The Popcorn Palace Economy

The Popcorn Palace Economy
The thirsty moviegoer fuels the business.

Once upon a time, movie studios and movie theaters were in the same business. The studios made films for theater chains that they either owned or controlled, and they harvested almost all their revenue from ticket sales. Then, in 1948, the government forced the studios to divest themselves of the theaters. Nowadays, the two are in very different businesses. Theater chains, in fact, are in three different businesses.

First, they are in the fast-food business, selling popcorn, soda, and other snacks. This is an extremely profitable operation in which the theaters do not split the proceeds with the studios (as they do with ticket sales). Popcorn, for example, because of the immense amount of popped bulk produced from a relatively small amount of kernels—the ratio is as high as 60:1—yields more than 90 cents of profit on every dollar of popcorn sold. It also serves to make customers thirsty for sodas, another high-margin product (supplied to most theater chains by Coca-Cola, which makes lucrative deals with theater owners in return for their exclusive "pouring" of its products). One theater chain executive went so far as to describe the cup holder mounted on each seat, which allows customers to park their soda while returning to the concession stand for more popcorn, as "the most important technological innovation since sound." He also credited the extra salt added into the buttery topping on popcorn as the "secret" to extending the popcorn-soda-popcorn cycle throughout the movie. For this type of business, theater owners don't benefit from movies with gripping or complex plots, since that would keep potential popcorn customers in their seats. "We are really in the business of people moving," Thomas W. Stephenson Jr., who then headed Hollywood Theaters, told me. "The more people we move past the popcorn, the more money we make."

Second, theater chains are in the movie exhibition business. Here they are partners with the studios. Although every deal is different, the theaters and the studios generally wind up splitting the take from the box office roughly 50-50. But, unlike the popcorn bonanza, the theaters' expenses eat up a large part of their exhibition share. They pay all the costs necessary to maintain the auditoriums, which includes ushers, cleaning staffs, projectionists to keep the movies in focus, and the regular replacement of projector bulbs that cost more than $1,000 each. The way they can squeeze out more profits from this business is to cut expenses to the bare minimum. Not uncommonly, theater owners delay changing projector bulbs even if they do not produce the specified level of brightness on screen. Or, rather than using a separate projectionist for each film, multiplexes use one projectionist to service up to eight movies, an economy of scale that saves seven salaries. While these projectionists are able to change reels for one film while other movies go unattended, this practice runs the risk that the other films might momentarily snag in the projector and get burnt by the lamp. To prevent such costly mishaps, projectionists slightly expand the gap between the gate that supports the film and the lamp, even though this puts a film slightly out of focus. This is often considered an acceptable trade-off to the financially pressed chains. "I've never heard a teenager complain about PQ [picture quality]," one movie chain executive said. "If they find it too dark, they still have the concession stand."

Third, the theaters are in the advertising business. They sell on-screen ads. And some advertisers are paying more than $50,000 per screen annually, especially to theaters willing to pump up the volume to near ear-shattering level so that seated customers will pay attention. Since there are virtually no costs involved in showing ads, the proceeds go directly to the theater chains' bottom lines. But to fit paid advertising into the gap between showings, multiplexes have to cut down on the length of the studios' coming attractions (which are free advertising), a decision that hardly pleases studios. (Often, getting the coming attractions shown involves the studios "leveraging our goodwill," as one studio executive explained. The studios will threaten to hold back a popcorn movie, such as the new Harry Potter or Star Wars sequels, unless the chain agrees to play a full reel of trailers.)

To keep their people-moving enterprise going, theater owners prefer movies whose length does not exceed 128 minutes. If a movie runs longer than that, and the theater owners do not want to sacrifice their on-screen advertising time, they will reduce the number of their evening audience "turns" or showings from three to two, which means that 33 percent fewer people pass their popcorn stands. Even so, if a long movie promises to bring in a big enough audience—a promise King Kong made but did not deliver—the theaters will play it. Indeed, the ultimate test for the popcorn economy is: Will a movie attract enough consumers of buckets of popcorn and soda to justify turning over multiple screens to it? Theater owners know that the popcorn audience is mainly teens. And, since the observation of teen test audiences over many years has demonstrated that they prefer action to dialogue, expect a salty, supersize portion of amusement-park movies this year.

what are all the google bots?

Well, beside the regular googlebots, there's

MediaBot - used to analyze AdSense page

suser agent "Mediapartners-google"

ImageBot - crawling for the Image Search

user agent "googleBot-Image"

AdsBot - checking AdWords landing pages for quality

user agent "AdsBot-google"

Regarding Adwords

This bot"googleBot/2.1" has been crawling one page of my site daily. The page being crawled is the target of an adwords campaign. So Adwords is definitely looking at target page quality. Note the upper case "Bot". This is ("googleBot/2.1") the entire referrer string as well. It has used multiple IP addresses.This bot ("googleBot/2.1") also detected a change to one of my robots.txt files (more liberal for google) and appeared to almost immediately trigger a deep complete crawl of the site from the conventional bot. I believe all the bots cooperate in collecting the robots.txt file.

there is another google bot use in mobile now:

Google Wireless Transcoder
The conventional bot has a lower case "bot""Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; googlebot/2.1; +http://www.google.com/bot.html)"

google has made it a little difficult to sort out all of their bots with one search string "/2.1" works but does find some extra unrelated odds and ends in logs. (Except of course googlebot-Image/1.0)

Referrer strings extracted directly from my logs

Adsense: "Mediapartners-google/2.1"

Adwords: "googleBot/2.1"google-: "

Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; googlebot/2.1;

+http://www.google.com/bot.html)"

Image--: "googlebot-Image/1.0"

Of course as mentioned, there's Froogle,Mobile,and Feed for RSS feeds.

Also google now appears to be exclusively using HTTP/1.1, until recently there has been a mix of HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/1.0. One thing important to note is google is now always requesting GZIP compressed content if your server provides it. Your website might get an "attaboy" if you served GZIP compressed content to the "bots". This could cut your website's bandwidth usage and boost your site's performance.

KISSING TIPS AND ADVICE

What is a kiss?

A romantic kiss is a special kind of kiss. It's a connection that two people share, usually on a date. It's when two people feel really close to each other and want to share something special with each other, they kiss.
When you and that special person get together on a date or simply hanging out and you can just feel that they like you in a romantic way and want to kiss you. It's like you can feel the the energy between the two of you, then kiss is a natural extension of that energy that brings two people on a date even closer.

Kiss can come on suddenly, where two of you are either alone or sitting right across each other or on a date or in some other comfortable situation and suddenly you feel kind of pleasant tension in the air. The kind of energy that you know when a kiss is about to happen. Suddenly you just feel your face almost uncontrollably slowly swaying towards that special someone... and then the kiss happens! :)

It's truly an amazing feeling of connection when that happens. As if all walls crumble and two of you unite in a fusion of energy that surrounds both of you and shines outwards and their date becomes much more enjoyable.

Kissing can be considered an art form, because you can learn how to be really god at it by reading kissing tips and advice.

FIRST KISS

What happens during a first romantic kiss?

First romantic kiss is probably the most memorable event in person's life. Almost everyone remembers their first kiss. It's that time when everything feels new, anticipation builds up with enormous force and as you hold hands and move in closer for that first magical moment and the rest of the world fades away as your lips connect to your partner's lips.
Well, maybe not quite like this :) First time can be quite awkward for some people. There is nothing wrong with it, I mean how are you supposed to know how to do something without having ever done it before? Humans learn through repetition and kissing is quite pleasant to be done a lot, so you will learn quickly :)

When you're with that special someone that you really like and he or she likes you back, you can try to kiss with that person. Different people have different comfort levels when it comes to kissing, so if you're unsure if your partner wants to kiss, you can ask him or her. Asking is probably going to be less awkward if you just try to go for the kiss, especially if your partner has never kissed before either.

There are a few tips that can help you avoid awkwardness during your first kiss! It's such an exciting moment!

Ask your partner if he or she wants to kiss.

Don't rush things too quickly, rather take your time

Look your partner in the eyes and exchange few warms words to help each other feel more comfortable.

Hold hands.

If you're a guy, softly stroke your girlfriend's hair, while looking into her eyes.

If you're sitting next to each other, you can whisper some sweet words into your partner's ear.

Give your partner a compliment to make them feel more comfortable.

As you look into each other's eyes try to move your head a little bit closer to their head and watch how they react.

Slowly move in closer and closer, turning your head slightly to the right (most people turn their head to the right when they are about to kiss) as you open your mouth slightly.

When your mouths connect, stop moving your head forward and softly press up against your partner's lips with your lips.

As you kiss their lips with your lips, you can softly, just a tiny little bit stick your tongue out and touch their lips.

Don't put the tongue into their mouth the first time you kiss, since first kiss is very delicate.

After a few seconds of kissing, withdraw your head and look into your partner's eyes and hug them :)

Tell your partner you really enjoyed their kiss to make him or her feel more comfortable.

Basic Kissing Tips

Great Breath - This is very important. Make sure you brush your teeth before going out on your date. There is nothing worse than kissing someone with bad breath.

If your date consists of having something to eat before the actual kiss, make sure you have a mint on hand to take right after you finish eating. Don't take the mint just before the kiss or chew on gum. You don't want to have something in your mouth when you kiss.

Moist Lips - You want your lips to be slightly moist when you kiss. Run your tongue over your lips once before you kiss. Don't wear lip gloss because that tends to make the kiss too gooey.

And don't wear a lot of lipstick unless you want your partner to wear it too after the kiss. Slightly moist lips makes it easier to move your lips over your partner's and gives both you and your partner a more pleasant experience.

Positioning - Stand close to your partner. As the two of you move closer together tilt your head slightly. If you can see which way your partner's head is tilting, tilt your head slightly in the opposite direction.

Close Eyes - Just before your lips meet, close your eyes. Some people prefer to leave their eyes open during the kiss. But until you know what your partner prefers, it is best to close your eyes.

Open Lips - Open your mouth slightly and place your lips over your partner's lips. Do not hold your breath! Breath through your nose. As your lips meet, press them gently over your partner's. You may wish to move your lips in a slow, circular motion or just leave them still over your partners.

Closed Lips - This is like the type of kiss you'd give your grandma or aunt. Instead of opening your mouth when your lips meet, keep them closed. This is also a good way of letting your partner know this is as far as it goes. It also makes a great hello/good-bye kiss or a great first time kiss if you're nervous.

French Kissing

This is the most popular type of kiss. This involves touching your tongue with your partner's and it can be quite a pleasant experience. There are a few tips to create a great french kiss.

Open Lips - Open your lips over your partner's slightly more than you would during a regular kiss. This makes it easier to place your tongue in your partner's mouth.

Tongue - Place the tip of your tongue on the tip of your partner's tongue. Do not force your tongue too far into their mouth. If you wish, you can play with their tongue by circling theirs with your own. Have fun with it. Explore.

Lips - You may explore different ways of using your tongue. Try running the tip of your tongue over your partner's lips. Do this slowly and gently, just using the tip of your tongue.

Suck Kissing

This can be a very seductive type of kiss. Instead of French Kissing with your mouth open, while your partner's lips are parted suck on their top our bottom lip with your own, just for a second or two. Then go back to another type of kiss or try the other lip.

Nip Kissing

This type of kiss has to be done carefully, but when done correctly can create a wonderful effect on your date. While suck kissing, gently bite their lip, but be VERY gentle so as not to hurt your date / partner. This kiss should only be done with someone that you've kissed a few times before, otherwise you may shock your partner.

Surprise Kissing

This type of kiss is done when your partner is lying down on a sofa or the ground, either asleep or just lying with their eyes closed. Quietly approach your partner and place a small, very gentle kiss on their lips. Intensify the kiss until your partner opens their eyes or awakens.

Shopping on 2008 Black Friday

It seems like the Friday after Thanksgiving has been a favorite shopping day for bargain hunters since Santa Claus gave hammer and nails to his toy-crafting elves. Once the turkey is down the hatch, many an American mind turns to Black Friday, typically the busiest shopping day of the year. With this year’s shaky economy, sales and discounts will be especially important when shoppers select under-the-tree items. Gallup poll results released on November 19 projected that Americans will spend an average of only $616 on gifts this holiday season, the lowest figure in Gallup’s 10-year history of that particular poll. To make shopping a bit easier on the wallet, here is a list of sales and specials around town.

Third Street Promenade:

Some of the biggies along the Promenade confirmed that they’ll be opening their doors in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, November 28. Other outlets along this bustling strip may have sales and special hours too, but here are the sure things:

Macy’s
Extended hours: 5 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Sales on various items throughout the store.

Victoria’s Secret
Extended hours: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sales on various items throughout the store.

Forever 21
Extended hours: 5 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Many items in the store will be offered at a buy-one-get-one-free rate.

Old Navy
Open on Thanksgiving Day, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; extended hours on Black Friday: 5 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sales on various items throughout the store.

Off-Promenade Retailers:

B.NY.
2449 Main Street
Regular store hours on Black Friday and continuation of a 40-percent-off holiday sale that started in recent weeks.

Berry Lee Shoes
2525 Main Street
Regular store hours on Black Friday and continuation of a holiday sale on various items that started in recent weeks.

Bertini Shoes and Clothing
2818 Main Street
Regular store hours and continuation of a 25-percent to 75-percent off sale on select items throughout the store.

Note: Angel City Books (218 Pier Avenue) will be closed on Black Friday, but will re-open on Saturday, November 29. Ten Women Art and Gift Gallery (2651 Main Street) will have a holiday sale on December 6.

Before hitting the stores, visit blackfriday.dealighted.com, where printable coupons for several stores and items are available.

9 shopping tips for Black Friday
2008 Black Friday Printable Coupons Round-Up!
Black Friday 2008

Black Friday 2008

There are way too many stores to cover so I picked a few of my favorites. There are plenty of stores and sales, but some of them can’t seem to measure up. Walmart has made it the place to buy this Black Friday, with crazy low prices!
Best Buy
Best Buy store doors open at 5am.
Reason to visit: Low prices on flat screen tvs.
Kohls
Their online specials begin at 1am EST and their stores open at 4am.
Reason to visit: Earn $10 Kohls Cash for every $50 in purchases.
KB Toys
Some stores are opening at Midnight on Friday morning.
Reason to visit: Buy 2 Get 1 free on all video games.
WalMart
Depending on the store, WalMart is listing their Black Friday sale at 3am EST, stores should open 3-5am
Reason to visit: Samsung 10.2MP Digital Camera for only $69.
Amazon
I am kind of disappointed with Amazon, I haven’t seen much from them. However you never know what you’ll find. Their Black Friday sale goes live at 3am EST.
Reason to visit: Nintendo DS Bundle w/ game for $134.99.
It will be interesting what these stores offer online, that they are going to be available in store. Are you planning on shopping on Black Friday?

9 shopping tips for Black Friday

2008 Black Friday Printable Coupons Round-Up!

2008 Black Friday Printable Coupons Round-Up!

We've compiled a list of the best printable coupons available for Black Friday:
• Avenue has a 25% off printable Coupon

• Bath and Body works $10 off $30 Printable Coupon

• Casual Male $20 off $75 or more Printable Coupon

• Champs $15 off $50 or more

• Crab Tree and Evelyn $10 off $50 Printable Coupon

• Dick's Sporting Goods Printable Coupon for $15 off $75

• Easy Spirit $10 off $50 or more!

• Famous Footwear $10 off $50 or more!

• Finish Line $10 off $60 or more!

• Kmart $5 off $50+ Printable Coupon

• Lane Bryant $50 off $150 Printable Coupon

• Macy's Printable $10 off $25 Coupon

• Pep-Boys $5 off $30 or more printable coupons!

• Reebok 20% off your entire purchase!

• Sears Printable Coupons $5 off Next Purchase, 10% off Appliances, Update Kitchen now, pay later!

• Sherman Williams $10 off $50 or more!

• Staples off $5 off $25 or more!

• Thomas Kinkade $100 off any framed Limited Edition canvas purchase!

• True Value $5 off $25+ Purchases

• Yankee Candle $10 off $25 or more!

Also, 9 Shopping tips for Black Friday!

9 shopping tips for Black Friday

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, but it is not easy work getting great deals. Here are some tips to help you make the most of it!



Retailers and shoppers alike eagerly anticipate this day, for the sales and the deals, but Black Friday can be overwhelming, so make sure you’re prepared:

• Get up early! If you like your sleep, plan to take a nap afterwards, but do not start shopping late on Black Friday. There will be shoppers camped out before any of the stores open (and they open early that day!) so if you want a deal or a parking space, make sure you set your alarm!

• Shop with a purpose. Black Friday is not the day to wander around, casually looking at gift ideas. There will be crowds, full parking lots, and better deals than you’ve seen all year! Do your research - look at the ads and pay attention to which products are in which stores and for how much. Then you can go directly to the stores that interest you and not waste time and energy fighting extra crowds.

• Shop in one place. Black Friday is not the day to drive all around town checking out every mall in the city. For one thing, once you have a parking space, you’ll want to keep it! Figure out which mall has the most of what you’re looking for and plant yourself there for the day, going to different stores, but not moving your car. I look for a place that gives me easy access to Best Buy, Kohl’s, Old Navy and Staples.

• Streamline. This is probably not the day to bring the stroller, the bulky diaper bag, or the dog on a leash. You’ll be moving in crowds and want to be as streamlined as possible. Make sure your purse is zipped or snapped closed and think about taking packages back to the car periodically. The less bulky packages you’re carrying, the easier it will be for you to move through the crowds!

• Get a team. Find out which of your family and friends will be attacking the stores on Black Friday and go together. You’ll be glad you’re all in one car looking for one parking space and not in four separate cars!

• Divide and conquer. The other great thing about shopping as a team is that you can spread out. If you are organized and have listed what you want from each store, assign certain people to different stores to get everything there. You will save precious time and sanity!

• Go with a sense of humor. You do not want to be one of those people who loses their cool and ends up on the news for attacking the person who got the last PlayStation! Instead, relax, be kind to your fellow shoppers and the stressed-out retail clerks, and plan to meet up with friends for dinner or coffee to share your shopping stories.

• Check the ads online first. You can see black friday ad scans (which are usually correct but not guaranteed) before the papers come out here.

• Think about using the Internet for your actually shopping. If you dislike crowds or getting up early, then you might want to do your Christmas shopping online! Some stores will give you the same deals on their website, while some will have different deals, so you’ll want to check on that. Be sure to check Amazon Black Friday Deals to vote on the items you want at ridiculous prices ($79 wii is sweet!)

• Check out coupon code database for additional saving when shopping online on Black Friday or any time!

Happy shopping!

What is Black Friday (shopping)?

From Wikipedia:

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November.

Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees take the day off, which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open very early (typically 5 am or even earlier) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s.

The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).The news media frequently refer to Black Friday as the busiest retail shopping day of the year, but this is not always accurate. While it has been one of the busiest days in terms of customer traffic, in terms of actual sales volume, from 1993 through 2001 Black Friday was usually the fifth to tenth busiest day. In 2002 and 2004, however, Black Friday ranked second place,[4] and in 2003 and 2005, Black Friday actually did reach first place. The busiest retail shopping day of the year in the United States (in terms of both sales and customer traffic) usually has been the Saturday before Christmas.

In many cities it is not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside, the stores shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big draw items. Electronics and popular toys are often the most sought-after items and may be sharply discounted. Because of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, many choose to stay home and avoid the hectic shopping experience. The local media often will cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began lining up at various stores and providing video of the shoppers standing in line and later leaving with their purchased items. Traditionally Black Friday sales were intended for those shopping for Christmas gifts. For some particularly popular items, some people shop at these sales in order to get deep discounts on items they can then resell, typically online.

--------------------------------

Black Friday is the discount shopping day that follows American Thanksgiving, which is always on a Thursday. Retailers promote Black Friday as the day to start shopping for Christmas. Black Friday is often advertised with "Christmas Sales" as well as "Thanksgiving Sales."

The word "black" in Black Friday refers to the term "in the black" meaning making a profit. Today, Black Friday is not a crucial source of profit to retailers, but is important in driving traffic into stores. Many retailers mail special Black Friday circulars to consumers, announcing deeply discounted items in the hopes that consumers will visit their store on Black Friday.

Marketing studies have shown that many Black Friday shoppers will buy other merchandise from stores in which they planned to visit to purchase advertised items. The increased volume of shoppers buying non-discounted items makes Black Friday profitable for retailers even though they do not make much profit on deeply discounted merchandise.

While some people head out on a Black Friday to just "window shop", others insist they will not shop on a Black Friday at all, citing overcrowded parking lots and wall-to-wall shoppers as reasons to forgo saving money at sales. Yet many others not only pre-plan which items they will buy from which stores, they are willing to brave long lines to get bargains on items they want. Each year, Black Friday has so many interested shoppers participating that it remains a retailing tradition in the United States.

Electronics and toys are popular Christmas gifts and are often the most sought-after bargains during Black Friday shopping excursions. Retailers often slash prices on the latest electronics and toys by as much as half or even one third of their suggested retail price. Retailers know consumers will respond to such enormous opportunities to save on Christmas shopping costs. Jewelry is another popular Black Friday item that shoppers look for discounts on, although gigantic discounts on jewelry items are not usually as common as drastically slashed prices on toys and electronics are.

As supplies on deeply discounted goods are often limited by retailers, "doorbuster" sales are common on a Black Friday. The people who arrive early to line up closest to the store's front doors are the only ones sure to be able to purchase the advertised bargains if the store runs out.

To help compensate for this, most stores try to have as many of each item as possible and/or mention the number available on their circular. Some stores also give out incentive prizes to those in line such as gift cards good for free merchandise in the store to the first hundred or more shoppers.

Origin of the name "Black Friday"

The earliest uses of "Black Friday" come from or reference Philadelphia and refer to the heavy traffic on that day, an implicit comparison to the extremely stressful and chaotic experience of Black Tuesday (the 1929 stock-market crash). The earliest known reference to "Black Friday" (in this sense), found by Bonnie Taylor-Blake of the American Dialect Society, refers to Black Friday 1965 and makes the Philadelphia origin explicit:

JANUARY 1966 -- "Black Friday" is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. "Black Friday" officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing.

The term Black Friday began to get wider exposure around 1975, as shown by two newspaper articles from November 29, 1975, both datelined Philadelphia. The first reference is in an article entitled "Army vs. Navy: A Dimming Splendor," in The New York Times:

Philadelphia police and bus drivers call it "Black Friday" - that day each year between Thanksgiving Day and the Army-Navy game. It is the busiest shopping and traffic day of the year in the Bicentennial City as the Christmas list is checked off and the Eastern college football season nears conclusion.

The derivation is also clear in an Associated Press article entitled "Folks on Buying Spree Despite Down Economy," which ran in the Titusville Herald on the same day:

Store aisles were jammed. Escalators were nonstop people. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season and despite the economy, folks here went on a buying spree. ... "That's why the bus drivers and cab drivers call today 'Black Friday,'" a sales manager at Gimbels said as she watched a traffic cop trying to control a crowd of jaywalkers. "They think in terms of headaches it gives them."

Encounter Specialist: Vijay Salaskar (The Rediff Interview)

Vijay Salaskar was killed in Mumbai terrorist attacks on November 27th at Metro Cinema.

With Tuesday’s encounter, the number of criminals shot dead by inspector Vijay Salaskar touched 78. Salaskar, who was reportedly sidelined for the last two years for unearthing the gutka-underworld nexus, was recently attached to the crime branch, where he currently heads the anti-extortion cell. An officer of the 1983 batch, Salaskar in his 24 years of service has eliminated many criminals. Amar Naik, Jaggu Shetty, Sadhu Shetty, Kundan Singh Rawat, Zahoor Makhanda are some of the gangsters who have fallen to Salaskar’s bullets. According to sources, the police officer had once even gone hunting for former don Arun Gawli. “But Gawli fled from the scene, forcing Salaskar to return empty-handed. However, Salaskar got even by killing his two trusted men, Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel, in 1997, triggering allegations that the encounters were fake. After this, Gawli was so scared that during the 2005 elections, he complained to the government that Salaskar was trying to kill him and requested that he be transferred,’’ sources said.

This is what Salaskar said in 2004 about Mr, Gawli.

Gawli may have become an MLA. But for me, he continues to remain a former Mumbai don and I have to keep tabs on his activities. If I get any information of his group's involvement in a crime or learn about any shady activity going on at Dagdi Chawl, I will not hesitate to raid his Byculla residence. If I have to arrest him, I will not refrain from doing so. Now that Gawli is an MLA, arresting him will involve certain procedures. I will not bow to any political pressure. I will only take orders from the police commissioner, who is my supreme commander.

It was embarrassing that khaki-clad policemen would be deployed to protect Gawli. In the past, we refused him police protection on several occasions. At that time, I had gunned down several of his top henchmen and so he was scared of me. But if Gawli is really reformed, he should not be afraid of me or any other policeman. We do not target innocent persons.

The Rediff Interview/ Vijay Salaskar

'In a shootout, no one has time for niceties. You kill or get killed.'
Assistant Police Inspector Vijay Salaskar, the fabled encounter expert of the Bombay police, is back in news. For killing underworld don turned politician Arun Gawli's most ruthless sharpshooter, Bandya, who was allegedly the city's top extortionist. An M Com from Bombay University, Salaskar joined the force as a sub inspector. Pritish Nandy encountered the man who rose to fame/notoriety for rubbing out Amar Naik, Sada Pawle, Vijay Tandel and, last month, Bandya from the annals of the underworld:

Why did you join the police force?
Even as a young boy, I was very attracted by the idea of working for the enforcement of law and order.

Who was the first criminal you caught?
It was a hit-and-run case. A car accident. The chap had knocked down someone and instead of reporting it, he ran away. Someone managed to get the number of the vehicle and gave it to me. I traced it from the RTO and found the person who was driving the car. It was quite a simple case to solve.

Which was your first shootout?
It was in 1983. There was this chap called Raju Shahabuddin. He was basically a rapist, who also attempted to commit several murders. The shootout took place in Malad. One day I got the information that he was coming to Malad. We tracked him down quietly but he smelt the police was after him. So the moment we encountered him, he started shooting. In retaliation, we also fired. That was my first experience in getting shot at.

How did you acquire this reputation as a sharpshooter, an encounter specialist?
Frankly, I do not see myself in any such role. But people see me as that. The media sees me as that. Gradually perhaps I am coming to accept myself in the role. Though I must confess, I do not like such a reputation. It unnecessarily creates a bad impression, particularly among human rights activists. They feel I am a trigger-happy policeman. Famous for killing others. I do not enjoy having such a reputation, sir. I just do my job.

Why are you carrying two cell phones? Is one a hot line for informers?
Yes, you could say that. Informants contact me all the time. If I am busy with one phone, they can reach me on the other. This kind of information cannot wait.

Why do so many informers reach out to you? Is it because they get some kind of a reward? Or is it because your name is well known by now?
I think it is because they believe in me. They believe I will not relay the information to others, that I will not disclose their names. Reliability is very important. If people rely on me, they will tell me things that they will not tell others easily. That is the way we can anticipate crime, contain it.

Do you also believe that popular cinema has made an impact on crime in the city?
Yes, I do. I think crime is increasing because of many reasons. Films are one of them.

Why has crime become so romantic in our time?
You are referring, I think, to the film Satya. It has created a new sympathy for the underworld. If you see the Gawli gang, you will find that many among them marry each other in Dagdi Chawl. They have countless love affairs there. People, in fact, describe Dagdi Chawl as Prem Nagar. They fall in love with each other out there very easily. Women there have affection for and are attracted to criminals.

But why? Why is the criminal becoming such a colourful figure?
Can you blame these people? He wears so many gold chains around his neck, has ample money, cars, social recognition. People come to him for settling their disputes. One crore (10 million) here. Two crores there. Three crores somewhere else. You can see it with your own eyes, how these chaps wield so much power, so much importance.

Is it because traditional ways of seeking justice are failing or getting compromised? The courts take too long. The cops get bribed. The common man has nowhere to go.
That's right. That's why people go to them. Otherwise, why should they? Mostly they deal with civil matters because the police have no jurisdiction to get involved in civil crimes. If someone is cheated of Rs 500,000 today, where can he go? The courts will take years. So people find it simpler to go to criminals to recover their money. It is out of desperation more than anything else.

But the criminal extorts a huge fee for the service?
He does. But at least some money is recovered. The man feels that he has got something back. If you recovery even Rs 200,000 out of the Rs 500,000 (cheated from you), even that is something. It is better than losing the entire money. And the more important thing is that the money comes back immediately. You do not have to wait for years. If you go to court, what is the guarantee that even after 10 or 15 years you will get your money back?

From your experience, what kind of people are getting attracted to crime?
Young people. Anonymous people. People you cannot trace back.

Where do they come from? UP, Bihar, the interiors of Maharashtra?
Most of them are from Bombay itself.

Young, unemployed Maharashtrian boys?
Yes.

But why are they getting so attracted by crime? The absence of jobs?
After the Datta Samant strike, many mills closed down, many workers lost their jobs, their livelihood and went back to their roots. But their children refused to leave Bombay. They had become too used to it. They did not want to go back to the village and start life afresh in an unfamiliar environment. So they stayed back. But because they could not find proper employment, they slowly drifted into crime.

Which is the most powerful group in the criminal underworld today?
All of them are equally powerfully. Dawood, Chhota Rajan. Gawli. But Gawli is the most organised among them. He has to stay here in Bombay and, therefore, has no choice. The others live in Karachi and Malaysia and do not have to worry about their own safety. He lives here. He has to be better organised just to stay alive and in business. That is why he is putting so much effort into building his political empire. Every month he spends at least Rs 40 lakh (4 million) on his Akhil Bharatiya Sena.

Do you feel your life is constantly under threat?
Yes, but what can I do? On a job like this, what protection can anyone give you? In any case, we do not ask for more protection. What we ask for is recognition. We may get monetary rewards every time we catch a criminal or confiscate their weapons. But that is not what we risk our lives for. We risk our lives for recognition, for official acclaim. And we do not get enough of that, sir.
In other states, policemen of our rank are promoted when they capture or kill the most wanted criminals. I have captured and killed the biggest among them. I have risked my life many, many times. My family lives under the constant shadow of fear. On my job, I get a lot of support from my superiors but that is not the same as official recognition, promotions.

How does it feel to kill a man, looking him in the eye?
In a shootout, no one has time for such niceties. Either you kill or you get killed. I am plain lucky to still be alive. In this job, you know, we take one day at a time. Who can predict what tomorrow will bring?

Hemant Karkare is Mumbai Terror Attack Death

Mumbai Police Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte, and ATS Hemant Mumbai were all killed in India today during the Mumbai blast. The Indian Express, the Times of India, CNN IBN, NDTV, The Hindu, BBC India, CNBC India are all reporting on the story and are saying at least 70 people are dead. See more on the story, pictures, a video, an India map and a Mumbai map below.

People are still trapped inside the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Oberio Hotel. Officials are saying the situation is still not under control. The attacks take place in South Mumbai, India’s financial capital, and frequent visiting place of westerners.
Reports say that British and Americans were the target of these attacks. Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attackers were Islamic extremists, but Indian Intelligence believes this group is a front for the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Further speculation is that they are funded by government agencies in Pakistan.
We’ll keep you posted as more information comes in.

Mumbai Terror: 100 people in hotels trapped, Maha announces compensation

NEW DELHI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 100 people are believed to be trapped and probably held hostage by terrorists in two five-star hotels in Mumbai, the Taj Intercontinental and Trident (formerly Oberoi) hotels, some of them are foreigners, the NDTV reported Thursday.

More than 100 people have been killed and hundreds injured in a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai at 10 places including hotels, hospitals and train stations since Wednesday evening.

At least 12 policemen have been killed across the city, including the head of the Maharashtra state's Anti-Terror Squad Hemant Karkare, who was shot three times in the chest. Mumbai is the capital city of the state.

Five terrorists have been killed and nine arrested inside the Taj hotel and 3-4 of them are still holed up, the report said.

Several staff members at the hotels have been killed, including two at Trident. Gunshots continued to be heard, the TV pictures showed.

Maharashtra's Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has said that Taj and Trident are still not under control.

"Encounter is on between police and terrorists at Taj and Trident. Our people have surrounded them and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) team has arrived at the Taj hotel," a police official said.

Army was called in to bring the situation under control and restore the sense of security in the city that was literally shaken the attacks, one of the worst in the country.

Maha announces compensation

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil today announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured in the serial terror attacks in the city.

For policemen who sacrificed their lives in their fight with terrorists, there are different norms of compensation, Patil said, after visiting the injured at the G T Hospital in South Mumbai.
India has lost great officials like Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Chief Hemant Karkare and others, he said.

This terror act is an attack on the entire nation and it is the time to work together as Indians against the terrorists, he said.