The government has been silent on Taslima Nasreen case which deserves criticism. They have not taken any steps regarding this nor have they decided on providing her with security,'' said V K Malhotra, BJP spokesperson.

The BJP is now demanding that Taslima should be given a permanent visa. It also wants her to be treated like a political refugee and given asylum.

The controversial Bangladeshi author is in Delhi now as a guest of the BJP-led Rajasthan government after being moved from Kolkata last week in the wake of threats of violence there.

On his part, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh said that the West Bengal government had raised the Taslima issue to divert attention from Nandigram, but quickly clarified that he was speaking in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the Congress.

Market beat: The lingering ghosts of ’07 (LAT-WP)

For a lot of people on Wall Street, this year can�t end soon enough. But long after the calendar has turned, here are four memories of 2007 that will linger: The Most abused word of the year: �contained.� As in, �Subprime mortgage losses will be contained.� Or, �The housing market�s woes will be contained.�
Those were the mantras of many bank and brokerage executives and their federal regulators from January to July, as they sought to portray the mortgage and housing busts as limited in their effects on the economy and financial system. Was it wishful thinking � or were they lying outright? Or both?
By mid-August it was clear that containment had failed, if it ever was a realistic hope. Contagion, not containment, has been the buzzword since then. Like a nasty virus, the debacle in US mortgage-backed securities has infected banks and brokerages, money market mutual funds, state investment pools and the municipal bond market.

Bush touts Iraq progess, economic hope

Bush made clear he is not ready to accelerate a drawdown of U.S. forces, which are scheduled to return to pre-"surge" levels of 130,000 by midsummer. He cited a warning from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, that pulling troops out too quickly risks the recovery of al-Qaida in Iraq and an increase in violence.

Putting daughter on your credit card

Q. Is it true that authorized users on credit cards will no longer build up their own credit history? We're planning on making our high school senior an authorized user when she goes to college in the fall.-- A. Riley, Davie
A. No, it's not true. What will change, though, is that authorized users won't be able to get a FICO credit score unless they have some other form of credit in their own name, said Craig Watts, spokesman for Fair Isaac, which issues FICO scores. That change will be introduced sometime this year.When your daughter becomes an authorized user, the issuer will notify the credit reporting bureaus. If she has no other credit history, it will open a file in her name. At that point, she starts building her own history. The information arising from her use of your card will also be duplicated on your credit reports.Since she will be bombarded with credit card offers the moment she arrives on campus, make sure she understands how credit works and how, if abused, it will affect her ability to purchase a car, rent an apartment and even get a good job.