Michael Bloomberg may throw his hat in US presidential ring

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, said he is considering running for US president in this year, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The 73-year-old founder of the eponymous financial information group was critical of the quality of debate in the presidential contest and said he was "looking at all the options" when asked whether he was considering a run, the newspaper said. "I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters," Bloomberg told the Financial Times in an interview, adding that the US public deserved "a lot better". Bloomberg has told aides to draw up plans for an independent campaign for the US presidency, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on 23 January, confirming a report in the New York Times. He would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his own money on a campaign for the November 2016 election, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the former mayor's thinking. Bloomberg has given himself an early March deadline for...

Read More........ → February 09, 2016

‘A director never finishes a film, he abandons it’

He likes to drive his characters mad and make his audience uncomfortable. But in persona, film-maker Darren Aronofsky, the mind behind intense and tough films like Black Swan is funny and easy. At a roundtable chat organised at the just concluded 12th International Marrakech Film Festival, he was full of quips and quotes. He also spoke at length about his forthcoming Russell Crowe film Noah. Excerpts: On hurricane Sandy’s impact on the filming of Noah: We actually were quite okay. We built a sea worthy vessel —the actual Ark was built in Long Island — which got wrecked since the impact of the Hurricane on Long Island was a lot. We couldn’t reach the sets for weeks. There was no electricity in that area for four days. But the emotional and human toll was much more than physical toll. On tweeting details about Noah: I’m a pretty private person. Agreed that Twitter is a pretty strange thing for me to get involved with, but I feel that we are in the New World so if one hasn’t got on to social media then one can feel left out. I’ve observed the great comedian Louis...

Read More........ → August 23, 2014

New York City to provide ID cards for all, including illegal immigrants

New York City will offer a municipal identity card for all residents, including illegal immigrants, amid a federal-level deadlock over immigration reforms that seeks to provide citizenship to some 11 million undocumented people, including Indians. The ID card will be issued to all residents of the five NYC boroughs, regardless of their immigration status. The city administration would immediately initiate implementation of the programme, with the goal of launching the new identification card in January 2015. The card would be issued at no cost for applicants during the programme’s first year. “We cannot accept a city where some of our residents are forced to live fearfully in the shadows, unable to visit their child’s school or sign a lease. This legislation will begin to provide New Yorkers with the dignity and peace of mind they deserve,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said here on Thursday. “This bill has become reality because community activists and organisers worked tirelessly to make this day happen.” The card would ensure access to city services and grant admission to all municipal...

Read More........ → July 17, 2014