High stakes for all players in Uttar Pradesh poll

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22 February 2012 Last updated at 12:35 GMT By Amit Baruah Editor, BBC Hindi Nearly 126 million people are registered to vote in the Uttar Pradesh state elections The styles of the contending campaigners are contrasting, but the goal is the same - the capture of power in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, where multi-stage elections could hold the key to national polls in 2014.

A lot is at stake for Rahul Gandhi, the fourth-generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty; Mulayam Singh Yadav, the old warhorse of Uttar Pradesh politics; and Ms Mayawati, a champion of India's oppressed Dalit underclass and currently chief minister of the state.

As Rahul Gandhi's helicopter descends from the skies at one of his many campaign stops, several thousand people are waiting to see this aspirant for India's top job in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

But, here, in Morava village, just outside the state capital of Lucknow, Mr Gandhi is fighting a semi-final battle to the big game in 2014.

Even a moderate success in the Uttar Pradesh elections would mean that a tottering Congress party, which has been out of power in the state for more than 20 years, is seen flying its flag again.

Clad in a flowing white tunic and white pyjamas, Rahul is constantly rolling up his sleeves, signalling that he is in the thick of political battle.

His speech is direct, to the point and is aimed at Ms Mayawati, accusing the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader of pilfering money sent by the Congress-run government in Delhi for the poor in Uttar Pradesh.

"Where has all the money gone?" he asks the audience. He then answers his own question - the money from the central scheme has been eaten up by the "hathi" or elephant, the electoral symbol of the BSP.

Rahul Gandhi has found himself in the thick of a political battle

He scorns former chief minister and Samajwadi (Socialist) Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's promise of providing electricity to every household in this power-starved state.

There is the positive as well. The central government in Delhi has ensured that every unemployed person will get 100 days of employment a year at 120 rupees ($2.40, £1.54) per day.

The Congress party has also introduced a food security bill in parliament which, if passed, will provide 35kg of grain to every poor family in the country.

He repeatedly refers to the women at the rally. Clearly, he is confident that women will play a crucial role in how his party fares.

Many in the audience tell me that they are seeing Mr Gandhi for the first time. Others say they have come to not just see him but to hear him out.

But merely being present at the rally of a political leader does not mean that a vote for the party is guaranteed.

'No comment'

From the direct message of Rahul Gandhi, the scene in Chhibramau, Kannauj district, where Mulayam Singh Yadav is to speak, is quite different.

Local leaders heap praise on this veteran politician, and full-throated slogans in support of the party are the flavour of the day.

Mulayam Singh Yadav says he does not want to personalise the election

Unlike in Rahul Gandhi's rally, where security was heavy, Mr Yadav's rally is quite relaxed.

In his brief speech, the Samajwadi Party leader promises not just electricity but free treatment for those suffering from heart, kidney and liver-related illnesses.

And, to loud cheers, Mulayam Singh Yadav says he always implements what he promises.

Red-capped party supporters rush towards the man, only to be pushed back by the police.

Just before he boards the helicopter, I manage to ask him what he thinks about Rahul Gandhi and his campaign. "No," he says firmly, "I don't want to comment." I persist with my question, but he refuses to answer.

Careful politician that he is, Mr Yadav does not want to personalise the election especially since there is a possibility of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party forming an alliance government after the elections.

A warning

The third day of this election tour is reserved for a Mayawati rally. She is an unlikely woman politician who has risen to be chief minister. Unlike the other two, Ms Mayawati reads from a prepared text.

Mayawati warns her supporters that if they abandon her they will be responsible for her defeat

It sounds more like a sermon than a speech. She is speaking to her underclass Dalit electorate, which makes up 18% of the state's population. Ms Mayawati is speaking in Etawah, considered to be a stronghold of her political rival Mulayam Singh.

After a frontal attack on the central government for not providing her state with funds, Ms Mayawati does what Indian politicians do not often do. She sounds a warning - telling her flock that if they are misled by the propaganda of other parties they would be responsible for her defeat.

In a country, where politicians usually go around begging for votes, she is certainly different. Her supporters, often at the receiving end of upper caste anger, are also told that their women and daughters would not be safe if Ms Mayawati and party do not return to power.

Ms Mayawati is unfazed by the allegations levelled against her; and her confidence in her support base appears supreme. The crowd is large, many of them poor. Unlike in Mr Mulayam's rally in Chhibramau, there are many more women here in Etawah.

Much more than the fortunes of any party or individual leader are at stake here in India's most politically crucial state. The results of these elections could well set the course for the country's national politics for the next five years.

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India defence minister 'not bugged'

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2 March 2012 Last updated at 11:57 GMT Officials have denied reports of bugs in AK Antony's office Defence officials in India have denied reports that Defence Minister AK Antony's office was bugged.

Earlier reports said authorities had discovered the security breach and that the intelligence bureau had been asked to hold an inquiry.

Ministry officials said they first came to know about the bugs on 16 February, Press Trust of India reported.

Last year, a similar incident was reported from the office of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Reports said adhesive-like substances were found in Mr Mukherjee's office, raising the suspicion that they might have been used to implant electronic listening devices.

The finance minister later said investigations had "found nothing" and urged the media not to waste time on "bogus things".

'Routine checks'

"Reports of 'bugging' in South Block [defence minister's office] in a section of the media is hereby denied," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said in a statement.

"Routine checks are conducted in the offices of the minister and other officers in South Block. Nothing has been found in these checks," he added.

Earlier reports had quoted officials in the ministry saying that "audio transmitting devices" had been found in the minister's office.

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IMF Says Threat of Sharp Global Slowdown Has Eased

The probability of a sharp global slowdown has eased due to recent policy measures adopted in the euro zone to tackle its debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, but it warned risks to world growth remain "squarely to the downside."

In a report to G20 finance ministers in Mexico over the weekend and only published on Thursday, the IMF said the euro zone should act decisively on multiple fronts to successfully resolve its sovereign debt crisis.

"The key risk remains that policies do not shift Europe toward a 'good equilibrium' and fail to break adverse feedback loops between real, fiscal, and financial sectors," the IMF said, urging euro zone policymakers to increase a firewall by about $500 billion to protect countries from financial contagion.

The IMF said the European Central Bank should continue injecting liquidity and stay fully engaged in securities purchases to help shore up financial stability.

Meanwhile, ECB monetary policy should focus on ensuring price stability, it said, adding that there was room to lower the target policy rate if needed.

In the United States, Britain and Japan, central banks should stand ready to expand unconventional measures if the outlook worsens, the IMF said.

In emerging markets, the IMF said growth had slowed more than expected, although risk perceptions had eased and capital flows had resumed into emerging Asia, Latin America and South Africa economies since the beginning of 2012.

In emerging countries with high inflation and public debt, including India and some economies in the Middle East, a "cautious stance" to policy easing was needed, the IMF said.

The IMF said higher oil prices were a risk to global growth and repeated an earlier warning that the impact of an oil supply shock in the Middle East "could be large" if supplies were not increased elsewhere.

In particular, a halt in Iran's oil exports could trigger an initial price increase of about 20 percent to 30 percent, the IMF warned.

Saudi Arabia assured G20 finance ministers over the weekend it was prepared to release more oil if necessary to make up for supply disruptions, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told a news conference on Sunday.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Stop Waiting for Euro Zone Collapse: Fund Manager

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Breaking Guitars & Making Money From a Viral Video

Everyone wants to create the next viral video, but once you reach that Holy Grail, the question becomes, how do you make money off of it?

This is your guitar. This is a baggage handler breaking your guitar. Any questions?!

Ask Dave Carroll.

You probably know him: He’s the guy who flew United Airlines, found out when he landed that his $3,500 Taylor acoustic guitar (he’s a professional musician) had been broken and got no help from the air carrier’s parent, United Continental Holdings [UAL  Loading...      ()   ] , to pay for the repairs.

So Carroll uploaded a video to Google’s YouTube called “United Breaks Guitars” that has been viewed more than 11 million times. (Watch the video.)

It’s got a catchy chorus that really sticks with you:

United United —
You broke my Taylor guitar.
United United —
Some big help you are.
You broke and you should fix it.
Your liable just admit it.
I should’ve flown with someone else or gone by car…

And it stuck with United, too: He got nowhere after haggling with them to cover the $1,200 repair for nearly a year, but two days after the video went up on YouTube he got a call from United offering to pay him double that amount.

Not to mention, it stuck with Taylor: The company sent him two guitars to use in his next YouTube videos.

But by that time, it was a full on media frenzy and Carroll’s inbox was blowing up.

“People were coming into my house like it was election night for a winning politician. Everyone was hugging and everyone was bringing finger sandwiches and casseroles,” Carroll said.

He got 10,000 emails in those first few weeks, with people sharing their own customer-service nightmares.

“It wasn’t just the millions that showed up to watch the video. It was the reaction and the energy behind it,” Carroll said. “I realized that if I could get 10,000 emails that quickly, I could get a million.”

So, he decided to launch a website to aggregate all of those complaints, called RightSideofRight.com.

Carroll was tapping into the growing resentment over bad customer service, but just aggregating the complaints wasn’t a viable business model.

“It was well-intentioned, but it wasn’t very effective. We just ended up asking people to share their stories,” said Carroll. “I didn’t have the time or expertise to do much about it.”

About a year ago, he was approached by a venture capitalist and a web developer who had seen the video and saw potential for the business.

So, they teamed up and transformed RightSideofRight.com into a new venture, Gripevine.com, a site that caters to customers as well as businesses. For customers, it offers a national forum for them to log a complaint — or a video of their own — and Gripevine connects them directly with the decision makers at the company they have the issue with — to save them having to go through the same story 20 times without reaching the right person.

The other side of the business, the money-making side, offers businesses a dashboard for managing all the facets of their customer service, including monitoring all the conversations and complaints about its business on Gripevine, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, and managing the resolutions.

Now, Carroll is not only is a co-founder of Gripevine, he also travels all over the world speaking to companies about his experience, customer service, and Gripevine. He’s also got a book due out in May, called “United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media.” He still plays and records music — his latest album, along with the “United Breaks Guitars” songs (there are now three) are available for download on Apple’s [AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] iTunes.

Customer service has really taken a hit since the recession — everyone, it seems, is focused on money, which has brought more surly reps, more automated systems, and more groans from consumers. The phrase “the customer is always right” is going the way of the dinosaurs.

“It’s not because people stopped caring,” Carroll said. “Companies are just trying to trim their workforces so much...they’re overworking employees or trying to shave on service. The quality goes down and for whatever reason, I think people have given up on customer service too easily,” he said. “And really, it’s the one thing they should be holding on to.”

With the rise of social media and the growing connectedness, the power of one complaint, like Carroll’s YouTube video, can become a gigantic public relations headache for companies.

Remember that video of the FedEx [FDX  Loading...      ()   ] guy throwing the computer monitor over the fence just a few days before Christmas? Yep, that one was viewed more than 8 million times.

“It’s very difficult to argue when guitars or packages go flying over fences — there’s a tremendous amount of evidence!” said Randy Jones, the creative director of marketing firm MindZoo.

And Gripevine isn’t the only business to capitalize on the big business of gripes: There’s ComplainApp, a complaint-logging app for consumers; GetSatisfaction.com, which focuses on the business side of managing complaints; and Consumerist.com, which aggregates stories about customer complaints. There are also companies on the rise, such as TOA Technologies, which makes software that helps businesses better track their service people to narrow down the maddening window of time that customers have to wait for everything from the cable guy to the United Parcel Service [UPS  Loading...      ()   ] guy to deliver your new Apple computer.

Jones said sometimes these incidents like the United guitar or FedEx guy tossing the computer, could be one-off rogue employees, but often it’s an indication that something is broken further up the chain.

In the same way that companies such as grocery chain Trader Joe’s or Nordstrom [JWN  Loading...      ()   ] have reputations for great customer service because they’ve made it a priority from the top down, so, too, can bad communications and customer service trickle down from the top.

“I swear, I could probably try to return a tire to Nordstrom — and they’d return it!” Mindzoo’s Jones said. “Or, at the very least, they’d say — let me see if I can find somebody.”

He added: “That kind of focus on the customer “absolutely comes 100 percent from management.”

Jones is so passionate about getting it right from the top down, so there are more Nordstroms in the world, he’s launched a program called Rediscover Courtesy to start a dialogue about improving how managers communicate with employees, how companies communicate with their vendors, and communications at every step of the chain. A dialogue that will include “a combination of rants, rhetoric, stories, and solutions,” he said.

“At a time when displays of good manners seem to be on the decline, my biggest fears are —does anyone even notice any more? Is ‘terse’ the new standard operating procedure in today’s over-stimulated business world?” Jones asked.

Well, if 11 million hits on YouTube and the rising cottage industry that’s sprouting up around the complaint business is any indicator, not for long.

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Apple TV Next Week? Not Necessarily a Good Thing

It's pretty clear that we're going to see a new iPad next Wednesday at the Apple event in San Francisco. But what about an Apple TV?

I'm going to make the case that investors should hope we don't get a television next week. Why? The iPad is Apple's [AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] newest growth machine, and deserves to have the spotlight to itself. And spring and summer aren't great times to sell televisions.

First, there's not a lot of upside to Apple stealing thunder from the new iPad. Think about it: Apple executives take the stage and talk about what a huge success the iPad has been; introduce new software and services for it; unveil a new model with a sharper screen, better camera and faster chip; design Jony Ive appears in a video talking about how there's never been a high-resolution touch display this responsive — and then, "One more thing" — a TV.

Whiplash. Marketing chief Phil Schiller would have to take another hour to explain how great the TV is. Design chief Jony Ive would have to appear in another video about how everything Apple has done in digital entertainment since the iPod has built up to this moment. And all the headlines would be about Apple's bold attempt to take over the living room. And oh yeah —there was something about a new iPad.

Considering Apple sold 15.4 million iPads last quarter for $9.2 billion in revenue, it would be sort of a shame for Apple to steal the buzz from a product category CEO Tim Cook says will be bigger than PCs. There would be a real financial cost to taking the focus off the iPad.

Then there's the question of timing.

There are two major shopping seasons in the 250-million-unit annual TV market. In North America in particular, the first is the holiday season, starting just after Thanksgiving. The second follows a month later, just before the Super Bowl. So if Apple's going to unveil a new TV, the best time to do it is probably August or September — that gives enough time for Apple to build up inventory after the announcement and have millions of sets on hand to sell.

Why would you unveil a TV set in March? Well, that would catch the Dads and Grads season if it's ready by May. But people don't buy TVs for Father's Day and graduations, they buy gadgets. And while there might be a little bit more incentive for shoppers to buy TVs this summer with the Olympics happening, summer is actually a slow season for TV in general.

Then there's the developer issue. If Apple needs software developers, gaming companies or other content providers to build products that work with an Apple TV, they'll want to give them a few months to work on things. That could justify showing us a TV this early.

But you know what might make the most sense? Apple could update the $99 Apple TV box with a lot of the features it intends to build into the full-fledged television, but save the TV launch for closer to TV-buying season. That would give the iPad its day in the sun, and let the TV stand on its own.

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10-year-old girl's death in fight with student ruled homicide

Joanna Ramos, 10, died after getting into a fight with another schoolgirl.

The death of a 10-year-old Southern California schoolgirl after a fight with another student has been ruled a homicide, the coroner said today.

Investigators said Joanna Ramos, a fifth-grader at Willard Elementary School in Long Beach, died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

"They did surgery on her brain because she had a blood clot, and after surgery the doctor said she was still alive, and then a few minutes later he comes back and tells us that her heart stopped and they couldn't bring her back," Joanna's sister, Vanessa Urbina, told the Associated Press.

Joanna died at 9 p.m. Friday. Earlier that afternoon, she and another fifth-grade girl had planned to fight in an alley near the school.

"They were fighting over a boy, just for a boy," classmate Stephanie Soltero told ABC News affiliate KABC, crying. "It's just stupid."

Police said there were seven witnesses to the fight, which lasted less than a minute and didn't involve any weapons. No arrests have been made, the AP reported.

After the fight, Joanna returned to her after-school program with blood on her knuckles from wiping a bloody nose. She also complained of a headache, prompting the school to call her parents. Joanna was unconscious and not breathing when family members took her to the hospital at about 5:50 p.m., according to police.

"There are times when words do not convey a sense of sadness and loss that we feel. This was one of those times," Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster said Saturday. "It's hard to understand how this can happen. If you're like me, you're also thinking of your own children, perhaps your daughter or your granddaughter, and you get a sense of how precious life really is."

Outside Willard Elementary School, friends left balloons, candles, stuffed animals, flowers and letters to Joanna.

Olivia Katrandjian, the Associated Press and  ABC News affiliate KABC contributed to this report.

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