Obama pens fresh US foreign relations policies

However, some experts believe that the Guantanamo step has been taken in a bit of haste. Reacting on the decision, Michael Scheuer, a previous CIA agent and an old hand on Al-Qaeda told TSI: “It is pretty unclear what will happen to the detainees. I don't make out where they would be taken. We have two choices with us. We can gun them down in the combat zone or treat them as POWs and discharge them when the conflict is over; so possibly never.”

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that ex-Senator George Mitchell would join Obama bandwagon as a special envoy for Middle-East peace, particularly resolution of Arab-Israeli issues. Mitchell, in the past, had led the peace initiative in Northern Ireland. She also named former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who negotiated the Dayton Accords to end Balkan Wars, as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The choice of Mitchell conveys an obvious pointer that the US will be back as an honest negotiator and will drift away from being Israel's lawyer, which Bush administration was. While, time and again, Obama has confirmed US's support to Israel, he's also indicated that he will refrain from towing the Likud's point of view on the issue. In one of his speeches, he expressed surprise and irony that while statesmen in Israel were open to disscussions, their supporters in the US took a very narrow view of the things. ....Continue

THE DESTINATION DOSSIER

Steering the course:
A number of airline options are available from almost all metros. Booking well in advance can get one great deals.

Cosy corners:
Be self indulgent in the city’s most luxurious full-service apartment complex, the Hilton, or one can check out many commercial guest houses.

The ‘season’ed traveller goes now:
The driest (and the best) season is from December to March for the west coast, the south coast and the Hill Country.

‘Savour’ faire:
Mallung is fondly eaten with curries, Lamprais is a dish with unique flavour and Wattalapam is a mouth-watering dessert. Eating them is much easier and delightful than ordering it.

Get to work:
From art galleries to casinos, from adventure sports to ayurvedic spas. However, a must is the ballooning over the cultural triangle.

What’s the word?
Just order your pitcher by asking for “kendiya” and thank him by saying “s-tu-ti”

Keepsake courtesies:
Blue sapphires, cheap clothing and accessories and almost anything to do with coconuts.....Continue

Vanessa 'X'posed!

To get into limelight, the "High School Musical 3" star, Vanessa Hudgens is following the footsteps of the infamous gals, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and has displayed her body all over online. She was seen posing in her lingerie in some pictures while in some others, she was completely nude! Miley Cyrus is another teen actress to follow suit. Guess for these teen stars, more skin show means more money!....Continue

Love-tokens, not ballots

Girdhari lal bhargava,BJP MP, Rajasthan

“Our party contests only 24 Lok Sabha seats from Rajasthan. We do field a candidate for the 25th seat – Jaipur – but only as tokenism,” says Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Mumtaz Masih. It needs chutzpah for a Congress leader to say that about a BJP MP, but Girdhari Lal Bhargava has no enemy, nor political rivals. His first rival in 1989 was the erstwhile ruler of Jaipur estate, Col Bhawani Singh – and the two were, and are, great pals. “The 1989 election was unique, because both candidates would praise each other, often refusing to address public meetings if somebody raised slogans against the other,” says CL Gupta, a foundry owner and Bhargava’s neighbour since the past 54 years.

Winning six times on the trot is no mean achievement for any politician. But, 72-year-old Bhargava thinks nothing of that: “The entire city is like family. Don’t you take care of your family?” Sounds easy, but takes a lot of integrity! Jaipur denizens bear him out. Bhargava makes it a point to attend all city wedding receptions and more importantly, all funerals, often skipping Parliament sessions to meet such commitments. He has also endeared the Jaipur masses by personally taking the ashes of the demised from poor families from city crematoria to Hardwar to be immersed in River Ganga. “Now with old age, my frequency has reduced from one visit every month to one every two months,” laments Bhargava......Continue