Mizo Synod Nod For Woman Pastor?

Aizawl, Mar 8 : Mizoram might get its first woman pastor more than a century after Christianity first entered the hill state. A definitive 90 per cent of this state's population is Christian.

The call to make R L Hnuni, currently principal of the Baptist Church-run Aizawl Integrated Christian Studies ( AICS), the first ordained woman pastor grew louder following the recommendations of the chapel's pastoral committee. The Presbyterian Church, the state's biggest chapel, had observed that women should be ordained as pastors. The highest decision-making authority, the Synod, had however frowned upon the idea.

History will be created if the Synod, as is now expected, gives its nod to a resolution passed by the women's wing of the church last Saturday. But the Presbyterian Kohhran Hmeichhia (women's wing) has anyway passed a resolution earlier this month at its bi-annual meeting at Kawnpui village in Kolasib district that 65-year-old Hnuni be ordained as pastor.

So far, no woman has ever been appointed pastor in any church in the state where Christianity came in 1894. The Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church of Mizoram had earlier refused to accept women as pastors.

About 40 years ago too, Saptawni was the first Mizo woman to be elected as a Kohhran Upa (church elder) by the congregation of the Aizawl's Mission Veng branch of the Presbyterian Church. However, the church declared her election null on the ground that it could not accept a woman as a church elder.

Now, with the women's wing of the Presbyterian Church once again determined to appoint Hnuni for a pastor, all eyes are on the chapel's decision-making authority.

Silent Rally Echoes Mizo Pain of '66 IAF Attacks

Toofani Fighter A/C of Sqn 29, Tezpur AFS, Indian Air Force

Aizawl, Mar 6 : Hundreds of Mizos took out a silent procession here on Saturday to mark the 45th year of the Indian Air Force bombardment on the Mizoram capital and other places. The attacks had turned the beautiful hill town into ashes, five days after the Mizo National Front, led by the late Laldenga, declared "independence from the Indian Union".

Holding placards reading "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they did to us," and "No India, No Cry", the rallyists demanded a public apology from the Centre "for attacking its own citizens with combat aircraft as if the Mizos were its enemies".

Former Lok Sabha member H Lallungmuana, who addressed the demonstrators, regretted that the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson "still refuse to apologise to the Mizos for the Centre's terrible action 45 years ago". He added, "The Mizos will try to break away from their step parents if the feeling of being neglected or Delhi's step-motherly attitude towards them continues."

Even as Mizoram is one of the most peaceful states not only in the region but also in the country, the ghastly memories of the IAF attacks continue to haunt all those who had survived the aerial strikes. IAF had then used Toofani and Hunter jets to carry out strikes on MNF volunteers, who had laid siege to the Assam Rifles headquarters in Aizawl, on March 5, 1966.

Though there's no official record of any human casualties during the air raids in Aizawl and places such as Tlabung on the Mizoram-Bangladesh border and Sangau and Hnahlan on the Mizoram-Myanmar boundary, locals say at least 20 people were killed in the IAF attacks. "In the first wave of the attack, the combat planes used machine guns. Later, bomb attacks were carried out," said Mawia, a 67-year-old resident of Aizawl, who still shudders to think of the strikes. "The IAF resumed the air strikes the very next day and continued the operation for five long hours," added Mawia.

A retired IAF wing commander said the combat planes used the Tezpur air force base to attack Mizoram in March, 1966.

While the MNF, which had launched an armed movement against the forces from March 1, 1966 for a "sovereign Mizoram", was banned by the government in 1968, many Mizos still rue that "the Centre has not come up with any satisfactory explanations on why India had used such a huge force against its own citizens in the name of suppressing a handful of insurgents".

The then Assam government had said the IAF planes were only dropping food supplies to the troops deployed in the inaccessible Mizo district (then one of the hill districts of Assam). Two member of the Assam assembly, Stanley D D Nichols Roy and Hoover H Hynniewta, who visited Mizoram immediately after the aerial attacks, had shown evidence to his colleagues in the house that bombs were used in Mizoram.

John V Hluna, a college teacher and researcher, said, "We never wanted anything big from the Centre. All we wanted to is that the Prime Minister saying sorry in Parliament for all that it did in Mizoram in 1966."

You Can Sign The Petition and Also read More about the IAF Aizawl Bombings Here

Mizoram YMA Concerned Over Foreigners Influx

Aizawl, Mar 6 : Young Mizo Association (YMA), the most influential organisation in Mizoram has expressed its concern over the influx of ‘foreigners’ into the State.

Lalchungnunga, president of Central YMA, while expressing his concerns over influx said, “Our guests coming from our neighbouring country are not good guests”. Though the YMA leader did not name the country, it is presumed that he was pointing at Myanmar.

The YMA leader further said that indigenous people of Mizoram welcomed and accepted them as good guests expecting co-operation from them. “Despite such expectations, the reverse happened when they enjoyed long stay in our State”, he said.

A number of instances of their indulgence in crimes, violation of laws and social norms have been experienced. He also asked the people to open their eyes on this issue.

The YMA president also asked the Mizoram Government to look into the fate of displaced Mizos who left their villages in Sakhan area in Tripura.

This was conveyed to Mizoram Home secretary, Lalmalsawma by the Central YMA leaders who met him in his office recently. They also discussed various matters on repatriation of the Bru refugees presently lodged in Tripura camps.

The Central YMA leaders agreed to co-operate with the government in the ongoing repatriation of the refugees. They, however, reiterated their stand that only indigenous Bru people will be accepted to return to Mizoram.

Drugging Menace in Indian Trains Continues

New Delhi, Mar 6 : Train passengers continue to fall prey to drug mafia with over 900 cases of drugging reported last year.

A total of 231 criminals were also apprehended by RPF and GRP in this connection in 2010, according to data prepared by the RPF.

"We have arrested 231 criminals of 75 gangs involved in drugging cases in trains and railway premises in 2010," a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The modus operandi of the culprits is to offer drug-laced food like sweets, biscuits, or cold drinks to unsuspecting passengers in trains and take away all belongings after making them unconscious, the official said.

Even fruits like banana and watermelon are injected with sedatives by the drug mafia to target passengers, he added.

Though drugging cases are being reported throughout the country, the problem is more acute in trains going towards Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, North-east and on Delhi routes.

Last year, the maximum number of drugging cases were reported in Eastern Railway. "Fifty-seven criminals involving 15 gangs were apprehended in Eastern Railway zone alone," said the official.

The number of arrests in Northern Railway and North Central was also as high as 52 and 51 respectively in this connection.

Alarmed over the menace, the Railway Ministry has prepared a short film to be shown at different cantonments and Army camps as there have been several instances of Army and para-military personnel, particularly travelling in east-bound trains, falling victims to such gangs.

"We are launching a constant awareness campaign to educate passengers about the drugging menace through posters and pamphlets. We also make regular announcement at stations to alert passengers about the menace," he said.

Regular coordination meetings are being conducted between RPF and GRP for better exchange of intelligence regarding gangs indulging in such activities and a joint strategy is being formulated to effectively contain the crime in the drug-prone zones.

"Organised gangs are involved in the crime and certain trains are identified in which such incidents are frequently reported. We have taken certain measures to prevent the menace," the official said.

Tattoo-Crazy Celebs

These visual treats are among the oldest surviving fashion statements. Tribal chieftains of yore had them etched all over their body and even their face. Even the Egyptian pharaohs fancied them. And they weren't just a fashion fad, in many parts of the world they had significant values and purposes ranging from religious requirements to signs of bravery and sexuality, a means of protection against evil and more.

Tattoos can be permanent or temporary. While many prefer having temporary tattoos, there are a large number of tattoo enthusiasts including celebrated actors and models who have colourful and bold tattoos permanently etched on various parts of their body. And there are a fraction of them who have their entire body tattooed.

Megan Fox

She is one helluva tattoo lover and has at least seven of them.

One on her back that reads "We will all laugh at gilded butterflies", which has been inspired by a speech made by King Lear to his daughter Cordelia in Shakespeare's King Lear.
The best one among them, a beautiful sketch of Marilyn Monroe, can be seen on her right arm.

A little colourful one just above her right ankle is of a crescent moon on a star.

There's yet another much below her waist - her ex-boyfriend Brian's name.

A tribal tattoo on her left wrist symbolises the overlapping of two waves; the actress isn't too happy with this one and is considering removing it.

At the back of her neck is a miniature Chinese tattoo which is representative of strength.

A seventh tattoo, an inscription "there was once a little girl who never knew love until a boy broke her HEART" can be seen on her left rib cage.

There are rumours that the Transformers star, rated as one of the sexiest in the world, has more tattoos on her. Watch this space!

Angelina Jolie

Hollywood's tattoo queen has a spate of tattoos etched all over her.

The One in Gothic script seen on her back that says "Know your rights" is the title of a single by her favourite punk rock band The Clash.

Another just below her left shoulder in Khmer script was done by an artist in Pathum Thani in Thailand and has a spiritual context.This was done to protect her and her adopted Vietnamese son Maddox from evil elements. Translated to English, the it reads as "May your enemies run far away from you.If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always.Your beauty will be that of Apsara.Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides."

Four geographical co-ordinates on her left upper arm are the locations on earth where her four children hail from.

There's another on her right arm which is in Arabic. Believed to have been done to conceal an older tattoo, this one in Arabic means Determination.

Angelina Jolie had XIII tattooed on her left underarm to show that she does not care for superstitions. Perpendicular to it she has V MCMXL (Roman for May 1940). This is to pay tribute to the quote "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" made by Winston Churchill on 13 May 1940.

On her left forearm, the actress has the words of American playwright Tennessee Williams, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages".

And there are more tattoos, a cross on her waist, an 'h' on her left wrist and a huge one of a Bengal tiger on her lower back to celebrate her becoming a Vietnamese citizen.

The actress is contemplating having more tattoos in the future.

Rihanna

Besides a tattoo depicting stars on her back, the singer has at least a dozen more on various parts of her body. A one depicting a music note on her left foot, her Zodiac sign Pisces behind her right ear, a Sanskrit hymn on her hip, a star on her left ear, love inscribed on her left middle finger and shhh inscribed on her right index finger, "Freedom is God" tattooed in Arabic on her hip, a skull on her left ankle, a beautiful Indian-style design on her left hand, a gun (oops!) below her right arm and more. Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox had better watch out!

Barbara Mori

The ravishing Mexican star has a snake tattoo encircling her left ankle. She also has tattoo on her neck and a tattoo of 4 crosses on her right forearm and a recent one done on her right foot that symbolises sibling love. Her brother got a similar 'sibling love' motif done on his leg.

Victoria Beckham aka Posh Spice

Posh Spice's latest tattoo is the one behind her neck which is in Hebrew and when translated to English reads as "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine, that feedeth among the lilies". There's another with her husband David Beckham's initials on her left wrist. There is reportedly another "8th May" on another wrist, the day she and her husband first got intimate. A tattoo of four stars on her lower back represents her, her husband and children.

Natalie Portman

Popular for her role of Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the New York-based actress sports a tattoo NY on her left wrist.

David Beckham

When it comes to tattoos, the English football star seems to be in the same league as Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox. All his tattoos have to do with his love for his family.

There's one on his left inner arm, of Victoria, etched in Hindi script.

A very attractive one on his torso depicts Jesus Christ moving towards the Cross, which has been inspired by a painting by Matthew R Brooks.

A tattoo of a crucifix stands out on his back.

A superb tattoo of a guardian angel sits pretty on his right upper arm and another of a guardian angel tattooed close to the names of his three children Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz on his shoulder.

Number 7 tattooed as Roman numeral seven on his right inner arm is the number of the jersey he sported when playing for Manchester United.

There are more inscriptions and more tattoos on David Beckham and more to come in the near future.

Eva Longoria Parker

The Desperate Housewives star has a cross tattooed on her lower back, Roman numerals on her right wrist and a star on her left wrist. She also a small tattoo on the back of her neck that reads as NINE, the number of her ex-husband Tony Parker's jersey.

Rumer Willis

Budding Hollywood actress Rumer Willis has the words Be Present tattooed on her left rib-cage area and another on her right wrist. In addition to that, she has a tattoo of a bird on her right shoulder blade and a tattoo of a rosary on the ring finger of her left hand.

Drew Barrymore

The American actress has as many as six unique tattoos etched on her.

On her left hip she has a bouquet of flowers, butterflies on her stomach, a crescent moon on one of her toes, a cross with vines entwined around it on her lower right leg and a cross and an angel on her lower back.

Pamela Anderson

The buxom Baywatch star has around four tattoos on her. The most famous of her tattoos is the barbed wire tattoo on her left arm. She has a design running down her back, one around one of her fingers and another on her left heel.

Melanie Griffith

The actress has husband Antonio Banderas' first name tattooed in a heart design on her right arm and a floral tattoo on her inner left ankle.

Wayne Rooney

The English football star has tattoos on both his arms. The one on his right arm is a Celtic cross with his wife's name (Colleen) etched above it. A tattoo of St. George's flag adorns his left arm. Rooney had this done to show his patriotism. Another tattoo on his right lower arm is the title of the album of his favourite group the Stereophonics. It reads as 'Just Enough Education To Perform'.

Justin Timberlake

The strapping singer-actor-songwriter has a total of six tattoos on him - a prominent cross tattoo on his right arm and a very illustrative tattoo with a guardian angel and some script on the nape of his neck stretching across either shoulder, and there are smaller tattoos celebrating the successful releases of various albums.

Johnny Depp

The versatile actor belongs to the Hollywood club of tattoo buffs with a whopping 14 tattoos on him.

There's an elaborate one with a head of a Cherokee Indian (Depp is of Cherokee Indian descent) on his right forearm with Wino Forever inscribed above it. Interestingly the Wino Forever tattoo once read Winona Forever when the actor was in a relationship with actress Winona Ryder. He later got the -ona removed.

There are three little rectangles on his right index finger which the actor says are a phone doodle.
He has number 3 tattooed on his left hand. The actor says that the number 3 is of special significance to him and is magical.

An intriguing tattoo is a question mark that he has on his right ankle.

A recent one is the etching of the sentence 'Silence Exile Cunning' on his left arm which is from the James Joyce novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

A danger sign of skull and cross bones stares from his lower right leg.

As a tribute to one of his movies The Brave, Depp has the Brave Symbol on the inside of his right arm.

And as a tribute to the flick The Pirates of the Carribean, Depp has a symbol of a swallow on his right forearm. In the days of yore, swallows gave men at sea an indication that land was nearby. Below the symbol, Depp has had his son Jack's name engraved.A famous tattoo of a heart and overlapping triangles adorns his right forearm and a banner running across it has his mother's name Betty Sue ethched on it.

Amy Winehouse

The songstress' body is adorned by myriad tattoos all over. Among her many tattoos are a bust of a nude woman on her left forearm with Daddy's Girl and a large letter U tattooed above; a singing bird on her right inner arm with a message that reads "Never clip my wings"; picture of a girl on her right forearm with hearts all over and just next to it the picture of a nude woman holding a huge fan; an anchor on her right hip with the words Hello Sailor around it; and a pocket on the left side of her chest with Blake's etched over it.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt has two little tattoos one on her left heel and the other on her lower back. The first one is a writing "I am..." and the second one a pretty butterfly pattern.

Robbie Williams

The British pop singer is another tattoo enthusiast and has got more than 12 tattoos on him.
A very prominent one is a beautiful Maori design on his left forearm and it is representative of the ups and downs of life.
On his left underarm is an illustration of Jesus Christ being crucified.

On his right upperarm, Robbie Williams has got a huge lion tattoo symbolic of the animal's power. Over it is inscribed "Elvis, grant me serenity" and under it there's a banner "Born to be mild."

Robbie Williams loves The Beatles and hence the lyrics of the band's famous hit All You Need Is Love, on his lower back.

On the nape of his neck, the singer has got an eye of Horus tattoo to thwart evil eyes.

And there are other tatoos on his left underarm (and emblem), on his stomach (a pair of swallows symbolic of loyalty), on his hip (a Celtic cross), on his fingers (the world LOVE), on his chest (a phrase CHACUN A SON GOUT [meaning 'everyone has got his own taste]) and more.

Nicole Richie

The multi-talented Nicole Richie has a few simple tattoo designs on her self. She has Ritchie tattooed on the nape of her neck and above it a pretty red ribbon, a pair of feathers on her back, a cross on her lower back and a colourful tiara on her waist. A striking tattoo is the one on her left foot is of a rosary with a detailed cross. She has Virgin tattooed on her right wrist because she is a Virgo.

Lindsay Lohan

The attractive actress has some delicate tattoos drawn on her. A tiny heart close to her thumb of her left hand, a slighty bigger star on her left wrist; 'la bella vita' (meaning beautiful life) inscribed on her lower back; and the word 'breathe'(done in very light ink) on her right wrist. And there's a tattoo on one of her fingers that reads as Shhh.

Source: India Syndicate

Image credits: Reuters, AP, santabanta.com

Victoria's Secret's New Girl Kylie Bisutti Shows Her Wares in Racy FHM Shoot

She sprung onto the modelling scene after winning the 2009 Victoria's Secret Model Search competition which saw her walk in the internationally broadcast VS Fashion Show.

And now 21-year-old Kylie Bisutti is back in her underwear to grace the pages of the UK's FHM magazine.

The California native, who was just 19 and a newlywed at the time of the competition, is appearing in a racy spread for the men's magazine showing the world why she beat thousands of other women for the coveted opportunity.

The next big thing: Victoria's Secret model Kylie Bisutti took it all off for a spread in UK's FHM magazine

In the revealing photos Kylie initially appears in a lacy black push up bustier and matching black thong.

The towering black suede peep toe heels accentuate her long legs ans she lounges on the side of a white bath.

In another picture she flashes her toned tummy in black pants and a grey T-shirt which she provocatively pulls up to show some more skin while lying on a sofa surrounded by pictures of herself.

Making it big: The 21-year-old California native is still getting used to life in the spotlight

The model talked to the magazine about what her first year as a Victoria's Secret model has been like.

'I recently went to a resort in St Barts that was right on the water,' she says.

'A huge room, a five-star resort. It was beautiful and the whole things was paid for. Food, massages. It’s crazy how much they spend on their girls.'

She added: 'I’ve got a load of free underwear, a lot of free bras and different stuff like that.'

However for all the perks of the job she has also experienced some negativity.

'I was doing a shoe campaign in the street, and a girl walked by and yelled, ''This girl needs to eat something'', at the top of her lungs.

'Everything inside of me wanted to yell back, ‘I got through a whole pizza last night!’ but that wouldn’t have been the most professional.'

And it seems Italian food is definitely a favourite of the slender model who's measurements are 34C-24-34.5.

'My favourite dinner is probably spaghetti and meatballs.'

Indian Telecom Dept Orders Ban On Blog Hosting Site?

By Priscilla Jebaraj

The buzz on the blogosphere is resurrecting the ghost of 2006, when the Indian government ordered a block of certain websites hosted by Google’s Blogger service

After an evening at the theatre in Delhi on Thursday, Vikram Phukan attempted to log on to blog-hosting website Typepad.com in order to post his review of the play “Red Sparrow” on his own website Stageimpressions.com. To his shock, the screen flashed the terse message: “This site has been blocked as per request from Department of Telecom.”

“There’s nothing incendiary on my website at all, so I couldn’t imagine why the government would want to block it,” he said.

A little detective work found that he was not alone. Others had been complaining for days, with the first Tweet on the issue on February 27. Screenshots seemed to show that while a number of internet service providers were blocking the Typepad site – along with mobile applications site Mobango.com and bulk SMS site ClickATell.com – the message mentioning the Telecom department was only posted by Airtel, Reliance Netconnect and Fivenet Broadband. The message had disappeared by Friday evening, with the sites becoming accessible again.

The buzz on the blogosphere is resurrecting the ghost of 2006, when the Indian government ordered a block of certain websites hosted by Google’s Blogger service, resulting in internet service providers blocking the host Blogger.com itself. Thousands of blogs were inaccessible in India for almost a week before the issue was sorted out.

“All our hard work in writing a review that night was wasted,” says Mr. Phukan. “If there’s a problem with one website on terrorism or whatever, they should find a way to block that alone.”

It is not yet clear whether the recent case was similar to the 2006 incident. Queries with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) – the responsible agency under the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications – yielded little light, and director general Gulshan Rai was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.

An Airtel spokesperson insisted that there was “no directive from the government” and that the issue was “just a temporary network problem”, but was unable to explain why the message regarding a request from the Department of Telecom was posted.

So far as most veteran bloggers are concerned, the message is actually good news. “Usually, when the government wants to block a site, the user just sees an error message, so you don’t even know if it’s just a problem with your connection,” says Shivam Vij, blogger and journalist who has written on the issue for kafila.org. “At least now, the ISP has put out a message so we know where we stand. This culture of secrecy must end.”

“I am personally against blocking anything at all, but at least if a film or book is banned, there is a reason given and a notification put out,” says Nikhil Pahwa, editor of the digital news site Medianama.com. “But when you block an internet site, there is no information.”

Even RTI requests have failed to elicit reasons for the blocking of individual sites, he says. He wants the government to release updated details on all blocked sites. “This is regulation of content, a form of censorship. At least it should be open for public debate.”

Use Facebook Like A Professional

With some minor tweaks, the Facebook experience can considerably improve.

With over 500 million users, Facebook is not just popular. It’s also filled with features and customisation options that most don’t even know about. Learn a few of the Facebook tricks below, and you can separate yourself from the crowd and increase your productivity at the same time.

Keyboard shortcuts: Sure, Facebook is a website. But it’s surprisingly keyboard-friendly. For instance, if you use Internet Explorer on Windows, you can hold down the Alt key, tap the number 4 (Alt-4), release the keys, and press Enter to open your message list (and then Tab through the messages). The same sequence, but using different numbers, accesses other parts of the Facebook screen. Alt-1, Enter goes to your Home page; Alt-2, Enter goes to your profile; Alt-3, Enter lets you view Friend requests; Alt-M, Enter starts a new message; Alt-?, Enter places your cursor in Facebook’s Search box. If you’re using Firefox, the same shortcuts apply, but you’ll have to hold down both Alt and Shift rather than just Alt.

Search secrets: There’s a good deal of power hidden behind Facebook’s simple search box. Search filters, for example, let you both narrow the results of your searches and refine searches so that you can find information in Facebook that would otherwise be impossible to unearth.

To access the filters, first enter a search term in Facebook’s Search box, but instead of pressing Enter, click the magnifying glass icon to the right of the Search box itself. Doing so takes you to a screen that lists search filters in the left-hand column. These filters include “groups,” for narrowing your search result to relevant Facebook groups; “apps,” for displaying only Facebook apps relevant to a search term; “posts by friends,” for honing in on relevant posts made by those on your friends list; and “posts by everyone,” for finding any post on Facebook that includes your search term.

Facebook also includes a dedicated “classmate search” feature (http://www.facebook.com/srch.php?classmate), which helps you to locate classmates simply by entering the name of your school, your graduating year, and optionally a specific person you’re looking for.

Navigation gems: Knowing how to get around in Facebook can save you almost as much time as knowing the fancy keyboard shortcuts mentioned earlier. If you get buried deep within Facebook and want to get back to where you started when you first logged on, just click the Facebook logo. That’ll take you to your public wall, or news feed — it’s the same as clicking Home in the menu bar of the upper right-hand corner.

Clicking Home and then your user name will take you to a page displaying the publicly visible profile information you have provided, including Wall postings you’ve made, photos you’ve provided, and any notes you’ve added.

Privacy customisations: Take charge of what the world knows about your Facebook page.

Click the Account link in the upper right-hand corner, and select Privacy Settings from the drop-down menu. On the resulting Choose Your Privacy settings page, look closely at the Connecting on Facebook and Sharing on Facebook sections. Anything that is set to “Everyone” can be seen or found by anyone who searches the Internet. Click the Customise Setting links to determine exactly who sees what on your Facebook page.

Application power: One of the reasons Facebook is so popular is that, like the iPhone, there are developers around the world building add-on programs that make Facebook more fun or customisable. These programs are called “apps,” and you’ll find them in the official Facebook Applications Directory (http://www.facebook.com/apps/directory.php). There’s also a dedicated search box just for finding apps.