Viral Video Changes Homeless Man's Life

Before this week, the name "Ted Williams" most likely brought to mind the phrase "Teddy Ballgame." Now, the name has become synonymous with "Golden-voiced," as a homeless man with that moniker has shot to stardom as a result of his breathtaking vocal chords.

Recently, videographer Doral Chenoweth III filmed a brief interview with the Brooklyn-born Williams, who -- until recently -- panhandled on the corner of a highway.

Yesterday, the video went viral, and has (at the time of this posting) racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube. This ascent is most likely due in no small part to the , which took up the cause after Reddit user and Columbus-dweller "shiggiddie" posted the video to the site after hearing about the interview on a local radio show.

"I had already seen the immense good the Reddit community is capable of doing," shiggiddie says. "I hoped that maybe through the community I might find out who this Ted Williams character is, and how we might be able to help him get on his feet with some work other redditors might want/need for their businesses, etc."

The results were overwhelming: "I received anywhere from 70 to 80 job offers for Ted in my personal messages alone over the past day and a half, some coming from people claiming to represent the interests of nationwide radio programs, television shows, businesses looking for someone to do their voice systems, ads, ads and more ads, musicians wanting Ted to contribute his voice to their tracks, and even radio hosts wanting him to join their shows as a full-time jockey," shiggiddie says.

"I haven't even gotten to the news sources asking me for more information, of which I'd guess I received personal messages from at least 20 to 25."

The video spread from boards like Reddit to viral culture blogs, leading to appearances on major news outlets -- from print to to television.

In fact, the awestruck Williams recently appeared on , where he he tearfully told viewers that he's on his way back to Brooklyn to reconnect with his 92-year-old mother. From the side of the highway to television to New York -- that's a pretty rapid and drastic progression.

But the trip back to BK isn't the biggest opportunity that this turn of events has presented for Williams -- his lightning-fast ascent to the viral video firmament has also garnered him job offers from the likes of the and the Cleveland Cavaliers (and, by proxy, Quicken Loans). The Cavs also offered him a house.

Quicken Loans President Jay Farner heard about Williams's great talent last night. "We're working on a lot of marketing over here at the company, voiceover work, commercials and websites and all kinds of things for Quicken Loans and a variety of our companies who would need that. People heard the voice and thought that might be a great fit. And when I saw that he was in Ohio, I thought that was excellent because the Cavaliers are right there and we've got a Quicken Loans web center down there. We're kind of partial to helping folks in the Midwest."

Dan Gilbert, the principal owner of Cleveland Cavaliers, is also the founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, so the companies tend to work together rather closely. Still, the job would mostly entail doing voiceovers for the Cavs's arena.

When asked about the housing offer, Farner replied: "Heck, we're in the mortgage business, we're one of the largest lenders in America. Houses are something we know and do pretty well, we figured that it would make sense to find a home for him -- a place he could get established, get on his feet. Hard to start a new job if you don't have a place to call home."

Williams hasn't accepted the offer yet, but Farner says that the talented man seems excited by the prospect -- and the feeling is mutual.

"When you're looking for voice talent or someone to go out there and represent your brand, you could do all the focus groups in the world, you're never going to get 4.5 million people to tell you someone has a great voice," Farner says. "If 4.5 million people think a voice is great, that's about the best focus group you could ever get."

Manipur Dailies Begin Publications

Imphal, Jan 7 : Manipur local daily newspapers numbering around 12 that had stopped their daily publications for almost a week, began to hit the stands from today.

The local newspapers were circulated across the State as usual from this morning after the State scribes resumed their normal duties.

Media houses failed to bring out their daily editions since December 29 last year after the scribes under the aegis of All Manipur Working Journalists Union (AMWJU), an apex body of the journalists community in the State, launched an indefinite cease-work strike in protest against the arrest of editor of a local vernacular daily Ahongsangbam Mobi (55).

Mobi who was arrested for his alleged links with a militant organisation was released on bail after he was produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Imphal West yesterday.

Salam Imocha, CJM, Imphal West released editor of the daily titled Sanaleibak on bail. However, the editor will have to report to the said court every Sunday until further ruling.

On December 29 morning, police arrested editor Mobi for his alleged links with Kangleipak Communist Party (Tabungba group) and had been in police custody since then.

Rejecting the allegations of the police, members of All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU), an apex body of scribes in the State, had launched an indefinite cease- work strike besides staging a sit-in demonstration since then forcing the media houses to stop publishing daily newspapers till January 5.

Terming the police charges as ‘extreme injustice’ and demanding ‘unconditional release’ of the editor, AMWJU President Khogendra Khomdram in a memorandum to State chief minister said that editor Mobi being the Vice-President and spokesman of the union, was authorised to settle a number of stand-off between media and militants in Manipur following government’s failure to provide a secured environment for media in the State.

From early nineties onwards, six journalists were shot dead in Manipur besides making attempts at physical and mental harassment. Manipur dailies had refraomed from publication on October 18 and 27 last to protest militants’ diktats on what to print and what not to.

Peace And Conflict: A Tenuous Link

Assam did not oppose Rajkhowa’s bail. It is an acknowledgement that issues of underdevelopment and fear of the Assamese identity being swamped, which birthed Ulfa in the first place, are yet to be resolved

By Sudeep Chakravarti

There are compelling weather systems developing in India’s east. The release on bail of United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in Guwahati this past week is one such. Rajkhowa has asked for the release of several jailed colleagues in both India and Bangladesh for the peace process to move ahead conclusively.

If it were to, it would bring to an end one of eastern India’s most violent and embedded insurgencies. And it could help transform Assam into a robust economic engine.

On the face of it, it might seem odd that Rajkhowa is putting on a show of bravado when, as a leader of a cornered, even discredited, group he ought to be on the defensive. But it shows the complicated nature of peace and conflict in these parts. A significant point is that the government of Assam did not oppose Rajkhowa’s bail. It is an acknowledgement that issues of underdevelopment and fear of the Assamese identity being swamped, which birthed Ulfa in the first place, are yet to be resolved. And the Assamese wish to sort it out to their own satisfaction.

This would be only the first significant step in Assam; the Bodo development and autonomy issue is yet to be resolved; Bodo rebels hold out.

In Nagaland, the two largest rebel groups, National Socialist Council of Nagalim led by Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Chishi Swu, and a rival faction headed by K. Khaplang, have been in long-stuttering ceasefire talks with the government. Over the past two years, representatives of the two warring factions and lesser Naga rebel groups have met in civil society- and church-led peace and reconciliation talks. The political establishment in Nagaland is alive to this dynamic. The logic is straightforward: for the Nagas to meaningfully engage with Indian authorities and bring closure to the tragedies and ignominy since 1947—when Naga rebels opposed an arbitrary merger with India, leading to retaliation by Nehru—they must first reconcile contradictions among themselves.

It will be unwise at this point for India’s security establishment to crow about victory, that it has after decades managed to grind down several major rebellions in Assam, Nagaland, and the multi-ethnic cauldron of Manipur—which has recently seen the capture of Raj Kumar Meghen, chairman of a leading Meitei organization, United National Liberation Front; and some Kuki groups signing “suspension-of-operation” agreements with the state government. The reasons for grinding down range from scaled-up anti-rebel operations to rebels falling prey to the rigour of maintaining operations at high pitch, to losing initial idealism, to an India-friendly government such as the one led by Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh denying anti-India rebels sanctuary and even helping in the arrest of several.

In no case has it taken place exclusively on account of better development, lessening of kleptocracies, and the acknowledgement by the Indian government—and various political formations that run it—that regional and sub-regional identities in what is erroneously called North-east India have needs and minds of their own. (Mizoram is the exception, and that, too, bribed out of rebellion with an overly generous provision for government jobs.)

The reasons that led to the region’s myriad rebellions continue to exist—peace, intended peace, or not. Moreover, I have heard from several bureaucrats and police officers tasked with administering the Indian government’s will and testament at the grass roots in this region that, more often than not, those in-charge of the “North-east” in New Delhi—whether in the home or defence ministries, the key satrapies—are either disinterested or clueless about the complexities in this region beyond keep-China-out, and Delhi-knows-best. The relative spread of federal powers and responsibilities in what is known in these parts as “Mainland India” continues to be largely absent here. The driving imperative is that of an economy of conflict—a treasure trove of siphoned government funds and unfulfilled projects. The civic wrecks that are Guwahati, Kohima and Imphal offer only a passing—though significant—feel of the malaise.

There are several fine reports, such as the Vision 2020 document, that detail prospects of prosperity in India’s eastern extremity; of it being India’s bridge to South-east Asia. The region’s mineral and human resources are spoken of in seminars as the next big thing for India. From 1 January, the government of India has relaxed permit regulations for foreigners visiting Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, to draw tourists. Such laudable exercises are unlikely to get far until the basic causes of alienation and resentment are addressed.

Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues related to conflict in South Asia. He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country. He writes a column alternate Thursdays on conflicts that directly affect business.

Climate Change Impacts India's Tea-Growing Region

By Anjana Pasricha

Photo: AP

An Indian tea worker plucks tea leaves at the Amchong estate in Digaru district of India's northeastern Assam state (file photo – 27 May 2010)

New Delhi, Jan 5 : In India's main tea-growing region, scientists say tea production is being impacted by climate change. India produces nearly one third of the world's tea.

The rolling Himalayan hills in India's northeastern state, Assam, are carpeted with lush tea bushes whose leaves produce some of the world's finest teas.

But there are concerns that rising temperatures may be affecting the tea plantations, resulting in declining productivity of the brew to which millions of people across the world wake up.
The director of the Tea Research Association in Assam, Mridul Hazrika, is studying the impact of climate change on tea production.

"We have observed that minimum temperature has rise[n] by two degrees centigrade and there is a reduction in the rainfall in the last 90 years by around 200 millimeters. And this is very important, very significant from the point of tea as a plantation crop," Hazrika said.

Scientists say rising temperatures can affect the ability of the tea bush to grow. Tea production in the Assam region has declined in recent years, although the area under cultivation has risen.

Erratic rainfall patterns are of particular concern to planters because the tea plant is largely dependent on the weather. They point out that last year there were fewer days with sunshine, resulting in humid conditions which are unfavorable for the growth of the tea plant.

Planters are optimistic that the sturdy tea bush will adapt, but they are looking at ways to combat the impact of climate change.

Arijit Raha is an official with the Indian Tea Association, based in Kolkata.  

"The industry has been looking at irrigation as an option, but tea plantations are huge, irrigating 100 percent is a very expensive proposition," Raha said. "One is also looking at other options, drought-resistant plants but those are things which will come in the future."

There have been some reports that the flavor of the Assam tea, known to produce a strong cup of tea, has also been impacted.

But the chairman of the Indian Tea Association, C.S. Bedi, dismisses any link between quality of the tea and climate change. He says other reasons may be responsible for this.  

"I belong to a generation which in many ways has systematically gone in for very high fertilization," Bedi said. "That has affected quality I am certain. It's gone in for very high pesticide application, for very high herbicidal application. When you look back in hindsight, these were not really the best environmental friendly operations…Today we are looking at correcting things. We are looking for more organic products, we are looking at organic teas." 

Assam produces more than half of India's tea. India accounts for nearly one-third of the world's tea production.

The Bazaar Comes Too On A Train Journey to Assam

Passengers on the Brahmaputra Mail are entranced by an endless stream of hawkers, chai-wallahs and entertainers

By Rick Beven

Mobile bazaar ... vendors sell snacks to passengers on a train in India. Photograph: Kapoor Baldev/Sygma/Corbis

The Brahmaputra Mail from New Delhi to Dibrugarh in Upper Assam traverses most of northern India in a gentle parabola. When we got on at New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal the train was already 36 hours into its journey and was still a day from Dibrugarh.

Trolley service started immediately. Chai-wallahs strode through our carriage carrying huge kettles. Egg-wallahs followed with metal pails of boiled eggs shelled in a matter of seconds and served on squares of torn newspaper. Once under way, our train became a mobile bazaar. An endless stream of hawkers flooded through the carriage.

One reversed a battery-charged armoured car across the floor in front of a bored five-year-old. An itinerant cobbler fixed the zip on my neighbour's suitcase. A priest in a grey Nehru jacket offered us blessings for a fee.

We passed a troop train of turbaned Sikh soldiers, the regimental chefs peeling potatoes in an open wagon at the back of the train. Lunch arrived: foil plates of chicken biryani completely immune to our plastic cutlery.

A young boy holding a tin can led a blind singer through our carriage. Children swept the rubbish from under our seats before coming back to claim baksheesh. I watched them jump off at the next station to catch the down train and allow a new crew on.

There was a sudden flutter of excitement as a troupe of transgender hijras in shimmering saris and bangles passed through our carriage demanding dance money. It is considered unlucky to refuse.

I whispered the names of the stations we passed: New Cooch Behar, Bongaigaon, Bijni. Our arrival made them boil with activity. There were blue trolleys on bicycle wheels selling hot flaky puris with a gravy of potatoes and peas. Kiosks labelled "South Indian Food" sold masala dosas as large and fragile as teak leaves. Passengers got out to fill their silver tiffin boxes and casually stepped back on to the moving train.

Just before Guhawti the train clanked across a bridge over the limpid silver of the Brahmaputra river. A group of musicians in white dhotis pushed into the carriage amid a cacophony of drums and cymbals, while two girls of exquisite beauty danced a traditional Assamese dance. Our in-train entertainment had finally arrived.

Bru Repatriation to Resume on Jan 12

Aizawl, Jan 4 :  An official meeting would be held in Mamit district in Mizoram tomorrow to discuss arrangements for the repatriation of Bru refugees from six relief camps in North Tripura, scheduled to resume from January 12.

Official sources said today that the meeting, at a place near Mizoram-Tripura border, would deliberate on different issues including transportation, identification of villages where the repatriated refugees would be resettled and distribution of free rations.

In another development, the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the main anti-repatriation organisation among Bru refugees, agreed not to create obstacles during the proposed resumption of the refugee repatriation scheduled to begin from January 12.

Reports said that a meeting, convened by Suhas Chakma, Chairman of the Asian Centre for Human Rights at Kanchanpur in North Tripura on December 29 last, attended by Bru leaders including A Sawibunga, R Laldawngliana and Bruno Msha, respectively President, Vice-president and General Secretary of the MBDPF discussed the proposed repatriation at length.

The Bru leaders agreed that the proposed resumption of repatriation to begin from January 12 should not be obstructed but put conditions that negotiations must be held with the Centre and the State Governments of Mizoram and Tripura and that an agreement should be inked.

The issue would be further discussed among the Bru refugee organisations, Sawibunga said.

Bamboo Bane

KALA SAMBASIVAN

Settlers in the hilly region of the North East found the place exotic. There were evergreens, timber trees and over a hundred varieties of bamboo.

Come listen to yet another tale from your old langur story-teller!

It is a tale that I never tire of repeating for it is about an incredibly beautiful place in which lurks the shadow of Death.

Many hundreds of years ago, large groups of people from China moved south to find new homes. Some settled in Myanmar; some went further west into India. There in the hilly region of the northeast, they found a homeland that they named Mizoram or the “Land of Highlanders”. They couldn't have imagined a more exotic place than this tiny piece of land! The new settlers hoped for a prosperous and peaceful life. And why not? Trust an old langur when he tells you that Mizoram has everything any man or monkey would want.

On the slopes of the Mizo Hills they found evergreens, timber trees and over a hundred different varieties of bamboo. The dense forests sheltered tigers, elephants, bears, leopards and of course, monkeys. Colourful birds and butterflies filled forests and valleys, in which grew orchids, geraniums and many other flowers. Heavy monsoon rains helped them farm the land. Yes, life was wonderful for the people till 1869 when the Mull bamboo bloomed in the forests.

Blooming problem

Young ones, before I continue my story, I have to tell you a little about the bamboo plant. Have you seen one in a forest? Probably not. The hollow, woody stem is green as the plant has no leaves till it reaches its full height. Some grow to only three feet, others grow to be 50-ft giants. Some flower every year and some only once in 10,000 years! But one thing is the same for all bamboos — they bloom and die once new seeds are formed. The old bamboo makes room for new ones in the same place.

Back to my story.

The Mull bamboo blooms once every 50 years or so. When it gave out big clumps of flowers all at the same time, the Mizo people were mesmerised. They had never seen anything so beautiful before. In time the blooms produced millions of seeds. That was the start of a huge problem. From nowhere it seemed, a thousand rats appeared to feed on the protein-rich seeds. Soon, a thousand rats became ten thousand rats; and ten thousand became a hundred thousand and so on. Mizoram had a rat attack. The hungry rodents ate bamboo seeds, grains from fields, granaries and homes. There was no stopping them. There was nothing left for man and other animals. Many died of starvation. It was an unbelievable tragedy.

Did it happen again? Yes, the bamboo bloomed again in 1911. Another famine for the people. It happened yet again in 1959; and guess what, between 2006 and 2008, flowers appeared on mull bamboo. What will happen now?

I don't know. . . looks like there is no easy solution to this problem.

But, children, I ask you as a disinterested monkey, did rats enter the land of people or did people migrate to the land of the rats?

ULFA Softens Demand on Assam Independence

Soldiers stand guard in Guwahati

Guwahati, Jan 4 : United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the top militant group fighting in the country's remote northeast for almost three decades has dropped its demand for independence in talks with New Delhi, softening its stand in an insurgency that has killed thousands of people.

The ULFA is one of the deadliest separatist groups in the northeast, and progress in resolving the insurgency, which has been a drain on resources, would boost New Delhi in a region rich in oil and tea.

Arabinda Rajkhowa, also known as Rajib Rajkonwar, chairman of ULFA, said on Sunday his group was for the first time willing to talk to the government without condition.

The group has until now set conditions, including talks under United Nations supervision on the independence of Assam state. New Delhi rejected that demand.

"If our peace efforts fail we will come back to you and seek your guidance on whether to take up arms again or fight it out politically for our rights," Rajkhowa, who was caught in 2009 and released on bail this month, told a public rally.

Thousands have died in three decades of violence since ULFA was formed in 1979 in Assam, demanding independence from India which it accused of plundering the region's mineral and agricultural resources, but public support for the group has sagged recently.

(Reporting By Biswajyoti Das; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Daniel Magnowski)