Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Jocko's will gives estate to mother, children

Washington, Jun 30: After the details of the autopsy report, the media has now unearthed Michael Jackson's will which reportedly divides his estate between his mother, three children and one or more charities, but his father's name however has not made the cut.



According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Tuesday, Jun 30, the King of Pop's will gives away Jackson's estate to his Mother and his three children along with some charities. Michael's father, Joseph Jackson however get no share of the assets.


The 2002 will which is belieived to be his last one is going to be submitted to a judge on Thurday, Jul 2.

According to WSJ, Micheal jackson has named lawyer John Branca and a music executive John Mclain, a friend of Jackson, as executors. And the lawyer has revealed that the parents have still not seen the will.

Jackson's mother was given the temporary custody of the three children on Tuesday, Jun 30 by a Los Angeles Court.

Mayawati statues spree challenged

The politician Mayawati has been accused of wrongly using public cash to make statues of herself and her allies, in a case at India's Supreme Court.

The court gave Mayawati, who is chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, four weeks to respond to the petition.

She has dismissed the case as a political conspiracy against her.

The case was brought by a lawyer who accuses her of wasting public money and space to build vast statues in the interests of self-glorification.

In the last week alone she has unveiled 15 new memorials, including two of herself.

'Shameful'

The BBC's Rahul Tandon in Delhi says that since coming to power Mayawati, as she is usually known, has constructed 50 huge figures of herself, her political mentors and of elephants - the symbol of her party.
Often called the Dalit Queen, she is an icon for India's 160m low-caste Hindus, formerly the "untouchables".

She leads the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which has its power base in Uttar Pradesh.

But Mayawati's spending on statues and memorials has come in for sharp criticism.

Uttar Pradesh is one of India's most deprived states, with a high crime rate and poor health services.

One Indian lawyer has filed a case accusing her of wasting millions of dollars in public funds in the construction of these statues.

India's Home Minister P Chidambaram has described the statue-building as "shameful".

Statues of political leaders are generally put up posthumously, but Mayawati has said that belief is outdated.

Microsoft to discontinue MSN messenger

Redmond, Jun 30: Get set to say goodbye to the blue, green, yellow, orange MSN butterfly that sits on the buddy icons of the MSN messenger, the web messenger service will expire on Tuesday, Jun 30.


Announcing the development Microsoft's website read, "We are preparing to discontinue MSN Web Messenger. The old MSN Web Messenger experience will end on 30 June."


This move comes as part of the Microsoft's efforts to realigning its online services under the Windows Live brand.

The old messenger will be replaced by Google's Gtalk-like web-based IM that is integrated with the Hotmail Inbox.

Chukka Jam Dispels Stupor in Nagaland

On 20 June, the Assam Trucker-owners’, Drivers’ and Handymen’s Association went on an indefinite chakka jam, preventing vehicles from carrying goods to Nagaland and forcing these to be dumped on the Assam (Karbi Anglong)-Nagaland border at Lahorijan.

This act did not come about on the spur of the moment but was the climax of years of harassment by Nagaland police personnel, militant cadres and sundry other organisations that have come up to forcibly collect taxes and donations.


A report in the Dimapur-based Nagaland Post says every truck entering Nagaland is “forced” to pay Rs 550 to the Dimapur municipal committee and an equal amount for parking.

Truck drivers alleged they were often “threatened at the DMC counter in the name of (the) United People’s Democratic Solidarity if they failed to pay”.

One wonders what the UPDS, a Karbi Anglong-based militant group in truce with the Centre and Assam for five years now, has to do in Nagaland unless some are in cahoots with the DMC.

This suggests that if any truck driver refuses to pay, his vehicle number is passed on to “militants” in Karbi Anglong and “punishment” is not long in the coming upon his return journey. There had been several reports of drivers and their assistants being beaten up and abducted, with police remaining silent spectators.

Another report says trucks entering Dimapur are forced to shell out Rs 5,000 as “annual permit” and another Rs 40,000, depending on what type of consignment is carried. Even taxis are reluctant to enter Nagalad and stop at Bokajan, with some drivers describing the Nagaland police gates as “terror gates”.

Thankfully, the chakka jam has stirred the authorities from their stupor. The Nagaland government has banned, with immediate effect, all forms of tax collection along the state highway by “any organisation or individual, including government departments such as the police, excise and forest departments”.

They have been told to do so only through proper treasury challans and those making payments have been advised to obtain receipts for any such transaction.

Nagaland home minister Imkong L Imchen suspects the involvement of a “mafia-like syndicate” in the extortion in and around the commercial hub of Dimapur, which he says can be tackled only with the help and support of the general public.

He says people who for long had been afraid to speak out against these forcible collections are now coming out openly — which is an encouraging sign. But he did not elaborate on who the “any organisation or individuals” were.

Do they include militant and student groups? There have been reports that NSCN(IM) cadres collect taxes from private car owners under the very nose of the police, who are reluctant to act for fear of being accused of interfering since this outfit is observing a ceasefire with the Centre.

Nagaland will earn kudos only if it can stop such rampant extortion by militant outfits which operate in duplicate and triplicate.

Also, it must provide adequate protection to Manipur-bound night bus passengers along the Bokajan-Dimapur route where there have been several reports of miscreants robbing weary travelers when they stop to either relieve themselves or grab an early morning cuppa at a wayside stall.

Truck drivers and their attendants deserve to be respected rather than harassed or tortured because they are the ones that ferry essential goods over long distances, come rain or shine.

Their stopping means a rise in the prices of essential commodities not only in Nagaland but in Manipur as well.

The ordeals of truck drivers and oil tanker owners on the Dimapur-Imphal Road — one of the most unsafe in the region — have been highlighted in these columns umpteen times.

Dr Manhohan Singh paints a rosy picture for the Northeast, saying the region will be the springboard from which the country will launch an economic integration with its eastern neighbours.

But given the prevalent situation and the continued reluctance to tackle it, one might well ask: But when, Prime Minister?