Harry Potter and the Copyright Infringement

Looks like you are new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Fans of the Harry Potter series may know how zealously the multi-million dollar brand is guarded. Recently, for example J .K.Rowling took a man described as one of her biggest fans to court for attempting to publish [...]

4 down, 96 to go

The traditional blessing for married women in India from elders was always ” May you be the mother of a hundred sons” ( Based on the indefensible notion that spawning boys is somehow more blessed. Now if all the womn in India did give birth to boys wouldn’t the population problem solve itself in [...]

Victory - it only took 56 years !(Updated)

India’s Sushil Kumar won the bronze medal in the men’s 66-kg freestyle category on Wednesday at the Beijing Olympics ending a 56 year drought. The last bronze medal won in wrestling was by KD Jadhav who won a bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Games (link)
( Sushil Kumar’s moment of glory :Image via TOI ) [...]

I want to believe: Bigfoot edition (UPDATED)

I confess to a healthy interest in all things paranormal. Alas , not too many of my friends or family do the same. I am always on the lookout for someone to play Mulder to my Scully.
Bigfoot lives, or is dead depending on your perspective
img: via About.com
I follow the adventures of Bigfoot aka [...]

When charlatans meet capitalism …

….worlds collide. At least they may soon in Bangalore where the creation of India’s and possibly the world’s first “Astrology Mall” (link)
It’ll house soothsayers: astrologers, numerologists, palmists, tarot-card readers, horoscope specialists - all under one roof…..The supermarket will also have astro-related materials like Rudraksha beads, gems and stones, yantras, puja materials and books relating to [...]

Suffer the little children(UPDATE 2)

Globalization has even touched the baby business. As this article in the NYtimes early this year said :

An enterprise known as reproductive outsourcing is a new but rapidly expanding business in India. Clinics that provide surrogate mothers for foreigners say they have recently been inundated with requests from the United States and Europe, as word [...]

Jindal to follow Obama?

Not that Bobby has had a change of heart and seen the light so to speak but rumor has it that Bobby Jindal will have a prime speaking slot at the GOP convention. (link)
( Tip: Santosh via email)
Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere said the campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has talked [...]

India’s Olympic drought ends (Update)

India’s Olympic medal drought ended with Abhinav Bindra’s win in the 1om air rifle event.(link)

Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in men’s 10 metre air rifle event of the shooting competition at Beijing Olympics.
The gold medal is India’s first since 1980, when the hockey team emerged triumphant in Moscow.

Update: Bindra’s gold medal is [...]

The Hindoo has come …to Uberdesi

Our regular readers know that we at Über Desi have been following with interest the controversy over the recent Mike Myers’ debacle “The Love Guru”. (See all previous posts here :1,2,3,4,5 and more).Its no secret which side of the controversy I stand on : I believe that the protests by Hindus were misguided and [...]

Breaking:Authorities in India defuse Surat bombs

18 bombs were defused by Indian authorities in a marketplace at Surat .See the entire story here .Thankfully, another major disaster close on the heels of the Ahemdabad blasts has been averted,
Authorities also apprehended 3 suspects in connection with the bomb blkasts in Ahmedabad.
Three suspects - Abdul Qadir, Hasil Mohammad and Hussain Ibrahim - were [...]

Don’t touch that! - Part 2

What is it with Indian men in Britain and the distressing habit of playing with their built-in pacifiers? Here we go again. Indian national Ray George, 38, a cardiology registrar at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton has been charged with committing an indecent act in a swimming pool packed with children. (link)

It is alleged that the [...]

Love Story 2050:Bad taste is timeless

“Love Story 2050″ proves that some love stories should *never* be immortal. Unfortunately, the idea of the movie is a novel one with lots of potential.
“Love Story 2050″: Desi sci-fi gone badimg: via Wikipedia
But Hindi movie scriptwriters are like inept hangmen - very poor execution. The incomprehensible plotline begins with the standard boy-meets-girl. Spoilt [...]

Arranged or Deranged?

Chaudhary Rashid a 54 year old Man in Georgia was charged with the killing of his daughter Sandeela Kanwal(link) .The purported motive is that his daughter reportedly was not happy with her recent arranged marriage that took place in Pakistan to a man who now lives in Chicago.
“The victim was not interested in marrying, [...]

The Summer of My Discontent

June has given way to July and what promises to be a long and hot summer. And I have had the dubious pleasure of watching a brutal, unforgiving presidential primary come to its end. Last time around , I was still a newbie , getting used to life in Amrika. This time I followed the [...]

WWII Nazi captured in India ?(UPDATE 2 )

In news that seems more like a film plot gone awry, news spread in India via email of an 88-year-old man alleged to be a former high-level Nazi officer being arrested by German and Indian authorities. Johann Bach alleged to be a manager of a concentration camp during WWII , fled Germany after the [...]

11 year sentence for Sabhnani (UPDATE 2 )

A judge has sentenced Mahendra Varsha Sabhnani convicted in a slavery case that we covered here , and here to 11 years of prison.Unfortunately, this is an AP news release so I cannot quote any of it here because of this .
UPDATE: CNN now reports that Varsha Sabhnani was sentenced to 11 yedars while Mahendra [...]

AP makes like Hindi fim villian

For those of our UD readers who have been here some time you know ( from our FAQ) :

Q. Where do you guys get your material from?
A. Al Gore created this tool called the Internet. No seriously, we just go through the daily news clippings, blogs, tabloids, editorials. You name it. We blog it.

A big [...]

Borrow an Indian atheist

This library has no books.
Thats right - instead this unique concept called the “Living library” lets you “borrow” individuals for half an hour of dialog. The individuals represent stereotypes that are targets of prejudice or hatred. The “Living Library” was started by Ronni Abergel, a Danish anti-violence campaigner who has taken this concept to more [...]

Mouse ears,yes.Turbans,no!

All is not well in Disneyland - the place that is supposed to be the “happiest on earth”. Sukbir Channa, a 24 year old Sikh of Indian origin, has filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging that Disney refused to renew his employment because of his turban and facial hair, both of which are mandated [...]

Movie Review: The Happening

*Note : This review contains spoilers so please do not read it if you intend to see the movie and do not want to anticipate the fun ! *
“The Happening” - a much awaited release from M.Night Shyamalan debuted at a strong # 3 position this weekend with a $ 30 million take. I contributed [...]

Pint-sized desi heroes

A strong nomination for the UberDesi Hero awards: 9-year old Ravnik Kler

and his sister Arnik who is just 7 years old were instrumental in saving the life of a toddler who almost drowned in Oakley, California. The Kler siblings, Shayne Webb, siblings BJ and Heidi Viola worked together to save the life of [...]

World’s worst job applicant

Just in time for Father’s day , this “heartwarming” story from India.
An Indian man, frustrated at failing to find employment, ordered the murder of his father to get his government job a day before the victim was to retire, police said on Tuesday. (link)
The Government in India has a policy of allowing qualified family [...]

We said it first, Mr.Chopra !

There is an old ,old cliche - great minds think alike. Ahem ! We are very happy to report that Deepak Chopra has come out swinging against those who are protesting Mike Myers’ “The Love Guru. We at UD were way ahead of him - see earlier posts 1,2,3.In an online essay,Mr. Chopra [...]

Murder down under

An Indian national has been accused of brutally killing his wife and stepdaughter in Australia.
(Sanjay)Mehta allegedly murdered his wife and stepdaughter in Dunn Way in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown, according to a police statement submitted to the Blacktown Local Court on Monday afternoon.(link)
Sanjay Mehta as been charged with the murder of his [...]

Desis in liquor ads - Part 2- Grin and Beer it

In a continuation of our series of liquor ads that feature desis (See the last one here) , UD presents the Carlos Menica Superbowl ad that debuted last Superbowl. Reminiscent of the old “Mind your language” British series (Remade badly in Hindi as Zabaan Sambhal ke) , the ad features Mencia teaching an English [...]