Celina get angry

Three Marathi actors recently denied entry into a restaurant in a suburban Mumbai 7-star hotel isn't an isolated case. Celina Jaitley had a nightmarish experience at the same establishment. Recalling the incident, Celina told IANS: "I went into the sports lounge of this hotel with a gay foreigner friend of mine for just 10 minutes. I saw a tall imposing middle-aged German guy making obscene gestures at me. At first I ignored him out of embarrassment.

Then he got bolder and came up to me to tell me in German in picturesque detail what he'd like to do to me. "He didn't know I speak German fluently. That was it. I asked the hotel's authorities to deal with the situation, since they hadn't allowed my bodyguard in. Forget about challenging the German lecher, they said they didn't know who he was! Luckily I had seen him sign his room number on his bill." When the posh hotel's cowardly personnel did nothing to help Celina, she left but returned the next day with three vans of cops, got the man out of his room and confronted him. "He fell to his knees and cried and begged saying he has a wife and children back home. He should've thought of them when he treated me to such vulgar intentions.

I made him write an apology and then for his family's sake decided not to press charges," Celina told IANS. "The worst thing was, nobody in the hotel wanted to co-operate with me in dealing with this situation. Even some of my well-wishers advised me to forget about it. "What I want to know is, whom do these hotels cater to? Are they for us Indians? Or are all the amenities and facilities only for foreigners? Why are foreigners given such blatantly preferential treatment in these posh hotels?" The actress decided to speak up on the matter after she heard about the humiliation of the Marathi actors who weren't allowed in because of their Kolhapuri slippers. "This isn't the first time that such an incident has happened.

Some time ago, a dress designer friend of mine requested the same hotel's security to inspect his car in the portico, as he didn't want the clothes in the car to get wet in the rain. There was an argument. They slammed the car bonnet on his hand and fractured it... "Don't they care about people who are not foreigners? Are these high-flying places so busy making big bucks that they've forgotten basic sense of decency?"

Christmas row over the newly-crowned Miss France amply shows

SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION, France (AFP) - When the bitching begins there are surely few sights uglier than a beauty pageant, as the Christmas row over the newly-crowned Miss France amply shows. ADVERTISEMENT Like a chaotic scene from the film "Miss Congeniality", this year's contest has rapidly descended into a complete French farce with bikinis, crucifixion imagery, an outraged bishop defending the girl, a post-colonial racism row and legal action set to follow. It all seemed so innocent when Valerie Begue, a 22-year-old business studies student, brought the coveted Miss France title back to the Indian Ocean island for the first time in 31 years.

She was given a heroine's welcome at Saint-Denis airport five days before Christmas, only for the publication of suggestive photos the next morning, in a French scandal magazine, to unleash a wave of controversy and potential legal action. Pictures of a scantily-clad Valerie in crucifixion pose in a swimming-pool, and lying on her stomach licking yoghurt, might seem increasingly blase in this day and age. But the rules for Miss France, and for Genevieve de Fontenay who has presided over most of the title's 61 years, strictly forbid posing for photographs in "ambiguous" fashion, past or present, with the girls having to sign formal declarations to that effect. The result? De Fontenay says she refuses to sanction "Miss France on a cross" and demands that Begue resign "immediately," which Valerie refuses to do. Instead, she is to mull over her position, perhaps sinking into some Christmas comfort food in the process.

The outcome has been an enraged Reunion Island uniting in protest at what the province's communist party deemed "a return to the (colonial) days of discrimination and racism." It has demanded an apology from de Fontenay, following a church demonstration on Sunday where some 300 leading figures offered their support to the 5 foot 10 inch (1 metre 74) brunette. None more so than the Bishop of Reunion himself, Monsignor Gilbert Aubry, who said: "Valerie is a victim in need of support. I have nothing to forgive her for, she has not offended me." Even if he found the religious metaphor used by the photographer "shocking" and an "insult" to Christians, he observed that bikinis and angels' wings were also used in the TV spectacular that saw Valerie win over celebrity judges and a popular vote. The offending pictures are said by the girl to have been taken three years ago in a try-out for lingerie brand, Pardon, and were not for publication.

The bishop had previously complained about the firm selling Virgin Mary thongs. Its director, Peter Mertes, has said he will file legal papers following the "theft" of the pictures, while Valerie's parents have stated that she will sue the magazine. Valerie will return to Paris to face de Fontenay's Miss France grand committee after the festive break, with Vahinerii Requillart, the reigning Miss New Caledonia, France's south Pacific territory, the favourite to take over the title if need be. Winners have been stripped of their crown before, with semi-nude images in Playboy putting paid to Laetitia Bleger's 2004 reign midway through, and a Mister France the following year also falling foul of his "contractual obligations."

TRUE News Story

A lawyer in Charlotte, NC purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against fire among other things. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim with the insurance company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost "in a series of small fires." The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason: that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued....and won! In delivering the ruling the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be "unacceptable fire," and was obligated to pay the claim. Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000.00 to the lawyer for his loss of the rare cigars lost in the "fires."

But... After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000.00 fine.

Aussie girls selling themselves for beer

Melbourne: Alcoholism is so rampant among Australian youngsters that girls as young as 11 get into prostitution just for a couple of cans of beer, a report by Sydney's Odyssey House revealed.

The annual report said children as young as 10 were being admitted to Odyssey's treatment program for alcohol abuse.

According to Sydney youth campaigner and head of Youth Off the Streets, Father Chris Riley, it was not surprising that the report showed that kids as young as 10 were abusing alcohol. Father Riley said that his personal experiences helping troubled kids were echoed in the report.

"In some of the communities we're working in at 9.30 in the morning, 12- (and) 13-year-olds have bottles of Jack Daniels in their hands, and it is just shocking the way these things are available to kids," news.com.au quoted Father Riley, as saying.

He added: "In one of our communities we work in, a group of girls aged between 11 and 16 go down to the bars and clubs at 1am, because that is when they will close, and will prostitute themselves simply for a can or two of beer. This is common throughout the communities we're working in."

"We're opening more and more liquor outlets, more and more access to alcohol... and we just don't get it, we just keep making it more available," said Father Riley.

"These kids can get access to alcohol whenever they want, and that is just not good enough,” he added.

He supported product labelling that warn kids about the dangers of drinking and called for alco-pops to be banned.

"I keep saying: 'Let's put labels on alcohol products saying that alcohol does brain damage to adolescents'," he said.

He added, "Let's take away those alco-pops which are targeting teens. Kids don't like the taste of alcohol, they like the effects that alcohol has on them, but they can get an alcoholic drink that tastes like a soft drink."

News by: ibnlive

Tricia Helfer: Naked, Fetching in Maxim

Battlestar Galactica is an underrated program, starring an underrated hottie: Tricia Helfer. The blonde bombshell bared it all in Playboy last year - and comes close to doing it again in a recent issue of Maxim. Let’s get right to the photos…

बिकनी बालाओं से सजा ‘किंगफिशर कैलेंडर’

मुम्बई। साल को खत्म होने में अभी भी कुछ सप्ताह बाकी हैं, पर कुछ लोग ऐसे भी हैं जो अभी से नए साल का जश्न मना रहे हैं। जैसे वे लोग जो ‘किंगफिशर’ के नए कैलेंडर के लॉंन्च पर पहुंचे।

कुछ ‘फ्लाइंग किस’, फिर डांस और कई सारी ‘हॉट’ मॉडलों की मौजूदगी से स्विम सूट पहनी मॉडलों की तस्वीरों वाले इस कैंलेंडर के लॉंन्च के लिए यह एकदम उपयुक्त माहौल बन गया था।

देखिए- बिकनी बालाओं का विश्व कीर्तिमान

इस मौके पर विज्ञापन फिल्मकार प्रह्लाद कक्कड़ ने कहा, “अगर ‘हॉट’ कार हो तो काफी अच्छा है, अगर ‘हॉट’ बाइक हो तो कहीं बेहतर है। पर अगर ‘हॉट’ कारों और बाइकों पर ‘हॉट’ लड़कियां हो...तो क्या कहने!”

इस साल के किंगफिशर कैलेंडर की फोटोग्राफी भारत के सबसे उम्दा पर्यटन स्थलों पर की गई है। मॉडलों के चयन के समय ‘किंग’ यानि विजय माल्या ने खुद हरेक बारीकी पर ध्यान दिया है।

इस मौके पर उद्योग हस्ती विजय माल्या ने कहा, “मैं शारीरिक पहलुओं पर ध्यान देता हूं...शायद मुझे यह जोड़ देना चाहिए कि केवल फोटोग्राफी के नजरिए से”।

इस मौके पर मौजूद बॉलीवुड अभिनेता जॉन अब्राहम ने कहा, “विजय (माल्या) ने एक कैलेंडर पर अपना हस्ताक्षर करके मुझे दिया है। आमतौर पर मैं इसे महत्व नहीं देता हूं, पर ‘किंगफिशर’ की खातिर मैं इसे अहमियत दूंगा”।

जहां तक बाकी लोगों की बात है तो उनके पास इस कैलेंडर को पसंद करने की वजह बिल्कुल साफ है!! अधिकांश मर्द इस बात से सहमत होंगे कि खूबसूरत लड़कियों को देखना सबसे सुखद बात है और अगर वे स्विम सूट में हों...तो कहना ही क्या!!!

हालांकि इन खूबसूरत लड़कियों की तस्वीर खींचने वाले फोटोग्राफर अतुल कस्बेकर का कहना कुछ और है! वे कहते हैं, “स्विम सूट में किसी लड़की को मैं पूरे साल तक नहीं देखना चाहता”।

Working nights can cause cancer

Twenty-three-year-old PR Executive Varun Mittal is an ex-call centre employee. He says he quit because working through the night threw his body clock completely out of gear.

"I felt tired all the time, had frequent headaches, digestive disorders, loss of appetite. You name it and I had it," says he.

But that's not all. According to a recent study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organisation, (WHO) working the graveyard shift could increase a person's susceptibility to cancer.

This is because working through the night disrupts the circadian rhythm or the body's biological clock.

Working overnight also leads to a drop in production of Melatonin, which is a hormone that suppresses tumour development.

WHO is now considering listing graveyard shift work as a probable carcinogen.

Consultant Oncologist, Jaslok Hospital Mumbai, Dr Suresh H Advani says, "In the night shift people tend to have junk food and there is lack of exercise."

Oncologists believe cancer is a lifestyle disease, so here are a few tips to help you lead a healthier life.

Dr Advani says, "Eating fish, lots of vegetables and fresh fruit, salads, and exercising regularly and having a tension free positive frame of mind will go a long way in keeping cancer at bay."

And that's not all. The best way to remain cancer free is to remain stress free and to take time out of your busy schedules and learn to relax outside your office space.

news by: ibnlive

Lingerie giant Victoria's Secret in sweatshop row

North Dakota (US): After fashion label Gap, it's now the turn of American fashion house Victoria's Secret. The company has been accused of profiting from sweatshop labour in Jordan. The National Labor Committee provided CNN with photos of D K Garment factory in Jordan where workers claim they are pushed to put in 100 hours a week, cranking out Victoria's secret lingerie for just 75 cents an hour and no overtime. "I think American people would be shocked,” said NLC Director Charles Kernaghan. According Kernaghan, employees who tried to protest their conditions lost more than just their jobs. "Management's response was to have six of the workers who had organised the protests imprisoned,” said Kernaghan. Victoria's Secret declined CNN’s request for an interview and released this statement saying the company is investigating the allegation: We are taking this issue very seriously and since the moment we learned of the report have had a team investigating the concerns. The Jordanian government has also started its own inquiry. "The Ministry of Labor has commissioned an independent third party to look into the case,” said Jordanian government spokeswoman Merissa Khurma. But this is not the first allegation of sweatshop labor to surface in Jordan. Earlier this year, the MLC obtained a video of another factory in Jordan where workers made similar claims of abuse. Some in US Congress say it may be time to begin imposing fines on American companies that profit off of the exploitation of cheap labor overseas. "I think if most people found out these things were happening at the end of their block they'd walk down to the end of their block and say you can't abuse people this way,” said Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. news by: ibnlive

Miss China becomes Miss World

Beijing:Twenty-three-year-old Zhang Zilin, who mesmerised the judges and millions of viewers world-wide with her beautiful smile, did China proud by winning for the first time the coveted Miss World 2007 title at a star-studded ceremony today in the southern Chinese city of Sanya.

The six feet tall Beijing-based secretary out shone 105 contestants including Miss India Sarah-Jane Dias. She was the pre-contest favourite with British bookmakers, along with Miss Dominican Republic.

Dias did not find a place in the final five. Miss Angola came second and Miss Mexico third at the beauty pageant. The other two finalists were Trinidad & Tobago and Sweden.

An impressive cast of international stars and music artists ensured that the 57th Miss World Final was a dazzling event.

"There are 1.3 billion people behind me," Zilin said during the 40-second interview stage of the contest, referring to her country's population.

"If I win, I want to become a link between the Olympic Games (in Beijing next year) and the Miss World Organisation."

"I want to use the power and beauty of Miss World to support those in need," she said.

The TV spectacular was hosted by top Chinese TV presenter Angela Chow, presenting Miss World for the fifth year in succession, alongside co-host Fernando Allende, who is one of Latin America's biggest stars and was making his Miss World debut.

The contestants were rated on an array of disciplines including physical fitness, style, dress, personality and beauty.

The Miss World contest is world's one of the largest live annual TV event with global viewing figures topping two billion across 174 countries.

News By: ibnlive