India Ink: Government Quells Maoist Rebellion in West Bengal

KOLKATA —Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has often called the conflict against the Communist Party of India (Maoist) the greatest internal security threat that India faces. With some 6,000 dead in India’s heartland since 2005 alone, it has certainly been one of the most violent.

Mr. Singh’s lingering inability to quell the bloodshed through a “two-pronged strategy” of economic development and armed counterinsurgency has led to repeated howls of protest; from the left for human rights abuses committed by ill-trained troops, and from the right for not employing a heavier hand to crush the rebellion. Traditionally protected by tribal populations, which have struggled to take part in India’s booming economic growth, the mobile Maoists evaded disjointed state-by-state responses while traversing India’s heavily forested central states. Recently the conflict took a particularly gruesome turn, when the body of a constable was discovered in Jharkhand, with a bomb sewn into the abdomen.

But a surprising thing happened at the start of this decade. After years of feeling one step behind the insurgents, the conflict’s momentum has suddenly shifted to the government’s favor. This was nowhere more evident than in the state of West Bengal. In 2010, more than 400 people died here as the state became the epicenter of the long-running insurgency. However, according to newly released figures collected by the Institute for Conflict Management, a research organization based in New Delhi, there were a mere four Maoist-related deaths in West Bengal in 2012 – a 99 percent drop in two years. While Maoist violence across India has fallen by more than 65 percent during the period, in West Bengal it has been all but eliminated.

How did the state turn things around so dramatically – and so quickly? Inspector General Vivek Sahay, who leads the Central Reserve Police Force in West Bengal, is in charge of the state’s anti-Maoist operations. Mr. Sahay believes that a greater number of officers available to combat the insurgency was essential to the turnaround. However, he said renewed attention to developing the building blocks of governance was just as important in causing the turning point as any military or strategic gains.

By weakening the insurgency in West Bengal, the government has been able to re-establish a constructive presence in rural areas, something Mr. Sahay sees as crucial. “Our success can’t be judged merely by kills or arrests,” he said. “It should be judged by the ability of other (government) departments to spend, to ensure that there is no fresh escalation of violence.”

Mr. Sahay is speaking about the second leg of the government’s strategy, highlighting the Central Reserve Police Force’s mandate to create an environment secure enough for rural development programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and other service-minded efforts to operate. By directly engaging with citizens, the government hopes that programs like these are the key weapon in the battle to win rural hearts and minds. Meanwhile, members of Mr. Singh’s government are daring to project confidence for the first time, lauding the “two-pronged strategy” as central to its success.

Still, backroom dealings may have also played a role. The Trinamool Congress, West Bengal’s current ruling party, has been repeatedly accused of aligning with the Maoists to gain rural support before the 2011 elections that brought it to power. The Trinamool Congress’s electoral rival, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), alleged that the chief minster of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, orchestrated a cease-fire deal with the Maoists before elections in exchange for rural support. Ms.Banerjee denies the deal, but her colleague, Kabir Suman , recently gave the claims renewed validity, claiming that they would have lost several key rural constituencies (and perhaps even the election) without the Maoists’ help.

Yet this alleged alliance may actually have served as the inadvertent breaking point of the insurgency. After the Maoists broke a cease-fire by assassinating several Trinamool Congress politicians, members of the Central Reserve Police Force used information gathered from pre-election mingling to kill the then-operational head of the Maoists, Kishenji.

A combination of secret surrender packages and promises to other former Maoist leaders of government jobs – mainly spying on their former comrades – have decimated Maoist ranks, leaving few capable enough to lead guerilla battles. Ms.Banerjee has cashed in on these victories, and in presiding over a populist government that has actively tried to extend development to its rural base, has made more concrete attempts to weaken the appeal of the Maoists than any West Bengal chief minister in a generation.

Will this combination of military successes and new promises of rural development finally mark the end of the 45-year old Maoist movement? Strategic successes by state and federal forces and a supportive political climate in West Bengal have quelled much of the worst violence, but few see permanent victory as being just around the corner. Even so, most recognize the once-in-a-generation opportunity to win back rural populations who feel that their government has repeatedly failed them. As Mr. Sahay warns, “it would be a colossal blunder if we let it slip.”

Jason Miklian and Kristian Hoelscher are researchers at the Peace Research Institute Oslo in Norway working primarily on Maoist conflict in India.

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Almacenamiento en nubes crecerá y permanecerá por años

(Paquete Tecnológico)

México, 13 Ene. (Notimex).- Ante el crecimiento de la industria de almacenamiento en nubes híbridas abiertas y ampliables, se prevé que esta tendencia se mantenga por muchos años más, anticipó Red-Hat.

Lo anterior debido al crecimiento de este sector en los últimos años, como consecuencia de la demanda en la aparición de datos no estructurados e implementaciones de nubes híbridas abiertas.

Durante 2013 el panorama de la industria informática no sólo cambiará, sino que la innovación en estos espacios surgirá al ritmo que los clientes necesiten y no al paso que imponen los proveedores, estimó la compañía de soluciones de código abierto (open source).

Para ello, prevé el surgimiento de soluciones de almacenamiento que ofrezcan un enfoque unificado para la obtención, el aprovisionamiento y la gestión de los datos de las empresas.

Explicó que estas deberán ser independientes de la clase de datos, tales como de archivos, objetos, bloques y datos semi-estructurados o no estructurados.

Al implementar estas soluciones, las empresas obtendrán grandes beneficios que se traducirán en menores gastos y en mayores niveles de servicio para sus usuarios finales, expuso la firma tecnológica.

Asimismo, consideró que el uso de software de almacenamiento de código abierto por parte de las empresas en lugar de software de almacenamiento propietario gravitará hacia el enfoque de código abierto para resolver los desafíos de almacenamiento de dicho sector.

Destacó que el rol del administrador de almacenamiento cambiará radicalmente con las implementaciones de nubes híbridas abiertas y se enfocarán en asegurar que el almacenamiento en el centro de datos funcione de manera óptima.

NTX/ILC/MDT

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It's Halle Berry vs. Eva Longoria and the Thigh's the Limit

Stylewatch
Style News Now

01/13/2013 at 11:25 PM ET

Jason Merritt/Getty (2)

We could call it pulling an Angelina, but at this point, lots of stars have flashed lots of legs on lots of red carpets — and Halle Berry and Eva Longoria are two of the latest.

The stars tied for the “highest slit” award at the Golden Globes Sunday night, beating fellow risk-takers Lea Michele, Miranda Kerr and Katharine McPhee and giving all of us quite the eyeful. Berry gave the goods while posing in her Versace gown, while Longoria (in Emilio Pucci) made her big reveal as she walked toward the Beverly Hilton. So whose leg flashing did you like better? Vote in our poll below!

PHOTOS: FIND OUT WHICH STARS MADE THE BEST DRESSED LIST

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Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas

NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.

The flu season in the U.S. got under way a month early, in December, driven by a strain that tends to make people sicker. That led to worries that it might be a bad season, following one of the mildest flu seasons in recent memory.

The latest numbers do show that the flu surpassed an "epidemic" threshold last week. That is based on deaths from pneumonia and influenza in 122 U.S. cities. However, it's not unusual — the epidemic level varies at different times of the year, and it was breached earlier this flu season, in October and November.

And there's a hint that the flu season may already have peaked in some spots, like in the South. Still, officials there and elsewhere are bracing for more sickness

In Ohio, administrators at Miami University are anxious that a bug that hit employees will spread to students when they return to the Oxford campus next week.

"Everybody's been sick. It's miserable," said Ritter Hoy, a spokeswoman for the 17,000-student school.

Despite the early start, health officials say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The vaccine is considered a good — though not perfect — protection against getting really sick from the flu.

Flu was widespread in 47 states last week, up from 41 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The only states without widespread flu were California, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The number of hard-hit states fell to 24 from 29, where larger numbers of people were treated for flu-like illness. Now off that list: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina in the South, the first region hit this flu season.

Recent flu reports included holiday weeks when some doctor's offices were closed, so it will probably take a couple more weeks to get a better picture, CDC officials said Friday. Experts say so far say the season looks moderate.

"Only time will tell how moderate or severe this flu season will be," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said Friday in a teleconference with reporters.

The government doesn't keep a running tally of adult deaths from the flu, but estimates that it kills about 24,000 people in an average year. Nationally, 20 children have died from the flu this season.

Flu vaccinations are recommended for everyone 6 months or older. Since the swine flu epidemic in 2009, vaccination rates have increased in the U.S., but more than half of Americans haven't gotten this year's vaccine.

Nearly 130 million doses of flu vaccine were distributed this year, and at least 112 million have been used. Vaccine is still available, but supplies may have run low in some locations, officials said.

To find a shot, "you may have to call a couple places," said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, who tracks the flu in Iowa.

In midtown Manhattan, Hyrmete Sciuto got a flu shot Friday at a drugstore. She skipped it in recent years, but news reports about the flu this week worried her.

During her commute from Edgewater, N.J., by ferry and bus, "I have people coughing in my face," she said. "I didn't want to risk it this year."

The vaccine is no guarantee, though, that you won't get sick. On Friday, CDC officials said a recent study of more than 1,100 people has concluded the current flu vaccine is 62 percent effective. That means the average vaccinated person is 62 percent less likely to get a case of flu that sends them to the doctor, compared to people who don't get the vaccine. That's in line with other years.

The vaccine is reformulated annually, and this year's is a good match to the viruses going around.

The flu's early arrival coincided with spikes in flu-like illnesses caused by other bugs, including a new norovirus that causes vomiting and diarrhea, or what is commonly known as "stomach flu." Those illnesses likely are part of the heavy traffic in hospital and clinic waiting rooms, CDC officials said.

Europeans also are suffering an early flu season, though a milder strain predominates there. China, Japan, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Algeria and the Republic of Congo have also reported increasing flu.

Flu usually peaks in midwinter. Symptoms can include fever, cough, runny nose, head and body aches and fatigue. Some people also suffer vomiting and diarrhea, and some develop pneumonia or other severe complications.

Most people with flu have a mild illness. But people with severe symptoms should see a doctor. They may be given antiviral drugs or other medications to ease symptoms.

Some shortages have been reported for children's liquid Tamiflu, a prescription medicine used to treat flu. But health officials say adult Tamiflu pills are available, and pharmacists can convert those to doses for children.

___

Associated Press writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati, Catherine Lucey in Des Moines, and Malcolm Ritter in New York contributed to this report.

___

Online:

CDC flu: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

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3 suspects arrested in Nordstrom Rack robbery, captive situation

Los Angeles police have arrested two men and a woman on suspicion of carrying out a brazen robbery at the Nordstrom Rack in Westchester and holding 14 employees captive last week.

The LAPD released few details Sunday evening other than to confirm they had arrested at least two suspected gang members, including at least one at a Phoenix motel Saturday.

Police would not release the suspects' identities, nor would they detail how they were taken into custody or their alleged roles in the robbery and captive situation. Sources familiar with the investigation said the man arrested in Phoenix appeared to be the principal suspect but would provide no other information.

Sources said police had strong evidence linking the men to the crime, including physical evidence and security camera video. Prosecutors will decide this week whether to file charges.

The incident began around 11 p.m. Thursday at the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center, near the 405 Freeway. The LAPD called a tactical alert and closed off the area around the shopping center.

When the Police Department's SWAT officers arrived, they surrounded the store. At one point, one suspect exited, saw the police and ran back inside.

A second suspect walked out with an unidentified woman, saw police and also headed back inside. The suspects apparently fled in a while SUV, which police said they lost sight of. The officers entered the store at 3:30 a.m. and freed the captives.

At least three of the employees were wounded, including one woman who was sexually assaulted. Another woman was stabbed in the neck and sustained non-life-threatening wounds, and a third employee was pistol-whipped, police said.

It was unclear whether the robbers hid in the store or gained entrance after it closed. It was also not clear precisely how long they remained in the store before fleeing, and police would not say how much cash was stolen.

At least two employees hid in the restroom, LAPD officials said. The rest of the group was herded into a storage room by the robbers, except for one woman who was taken separately and sexually assaulted, police said.

To help identify the suspects, LAPD Robbery-Homicide detectives conducted numerous witness interviews and examined surveillance video from inside and outside the Nordstrom Rack as well as from surrounding businesses.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com

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IHT Rendezvous: Breathing in Beijing: Coping With China's Smog

BEIJING — With Beijing’s air pollution soaring to seemingly new, awful records this weekend, the classic parenting dilemma of “What shall we do with the kids?” had a grimly obvious answer: Slap on the antipollution face masks and go shopping for another air purifier.

That’s what we did on Saturday, as the Air Quality Index run by the United States Embassy in Beijing, which uses standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, hit a “jaw-dropping” 755 at 8 p.m., as my colleague Edward Wong wrote. “All of Beijing looked like an airport smokers’ lounge,” Ed wrote.

According to the index, anything above 300 is “Hazardous” and above 500 is “Beyond Index.” This weekend, the readings were Beyond Index for 16 straight hours.

Even the Chinese government’s monitors, which recently have grown more accurate but still tend to measure the pollution as lower than the embassy’s, were recording scary levels of around 500.

Furious, Chinese netizens wrote on their microblog accounts that the pollution had “exploded the index,” or “baobiao.”

They reached for strong adjectives: “postapocalyptic,” “terrifying” and “beyond belief,” Ed wrote.

So it was ironic that on Sunday there was a sense of relief as the index dropped to 319 (still “Hazardous”) then down to 286: a measly “Very Unhealthy.” By Sunday afternoon, it was “Hazardous” again though, at 373.

Ordinary Chinese are appalled. And increasingly, they can say so in public, as the state appears to be relaxing its censorship of reporting on the pollution that everyone can see and smell.

Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported on Jan. 1 that the environmental authorities were now releasing real-time air quality data from 74 cities in China, at www.cnemc.cn.

On its Weibo, or microblog, feed, CCTV, the state broadcaster, warned early Sunday that “the main air quality monitoring stations in eight city districts will be around 500, which is grade six, heavy pollution, with PM 2.5 and PM 10 the main pollutants,” referring to fine particulates and bigger particulates.

Of course, the problem wasn’t limited to Beijing. As this photograph from NASA appeared to show, pollution was severe across much of eastern China (Beijing is within the blue circle).

And on state media’s lists of the most polluted cities in China on Saturday, Beijing wasn’t even in the top 10. That honor went to Shijiazhuang and other places.

The People’s Daily online was frank, asking in a full-page spread, “What is Going on with our Air?” (Handily cached here by Sinocism, the Beijing-based newsletter.)

The scale of the problem is, quite frankly, overwhelming. A very revealing chart by Edgar, the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, from the European Commission, estimates that in 2011 China produced 9.7 million kilotons of carbon dioxide, nearly double United States’ 5.42 million kilotons.

Indeed, were the Chinese cement industry a country, it would be the sixth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, producing 820,000 kilotons in 2011, slightly ahead of Germany’s total carbon dioxide emissions that year of 810,000 kilotons, according to Edgar. Germany was the sixth most polluting nation in the world, with the United States the second and China the first, according to the chart.

But something else stands out here: China’s population of more than 1.3 billion is about 4.5 times that of the United States’ approximately 300 million. So though it leads the world in carbon dioxide emissions, it is still, per capita, far less polluting than the United States.

Unfortunately, that may change. China’s economy may overtake the U.S. economy sometime within the next decade or two, meaning that we may be facing a truly astonishing problem. As Ma Jun, the director of the Chinese Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post: “It is no secret that our way of development is not sustainable and the total pollution emissions in the region have far exceeded the maximum ecological capacity.”

How does a family justify living in this? For most people in China’s cities there is no practical alternative to life in the smog, though the appalling environment is a reason cited by most who emigrate (in a recent post I noted how emigration numbers were rising all the time).

To control the risk, we have family rules: above 100, and the air purifiers – all four of them – go on. Above 200, we wear face masks outdoors. Above 300 and no one exercises or plays outside, even with a face mask on. Above 500 and we try not to go out at all. That’s hard, especially for the children.

So this weekend, we breathed at home. Watched a movie. Read. And talked. Told the kids how their generation is going to have to clean up the environmental mess caused by all the previous generations. And watched the incredulity grow on their faces as they contemplated the stupidity of adults.

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Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagan Wins Miss America

01/12/2013 at 11:45 PM EST

Miss American 2013 Mallory Hytes Hagan

CraigSjodin/ABC

The crown is headed to the Big Apple!

Brooklyn, N.Y., native Mallory Hytes Hagan was crowned Miss America in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Miss New York, 23, beat out Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who placed second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third. Miss Wyoming Lexie Madden and Miss Iowa Mariah Cary rounded out the top five.

Miss Montana Alexis Wineman, who has autism, was one of 16 semifinalists.

Hagan tapped danced to James Brown's "Get Up Off That Thing" for her talent and answered a question about armed guards in schools from Good Morning America's Sam Champion, who was one of the celebrity judges for the pageant this year, in the Q&A portion of the competition.

"I don't think the proper way to fight violence is with violence," she said, donning a white evening gown.

Hagan, whose platform is child sexual abuse prevention, attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and hopes to obtain a degree in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing, according to her online bio.

She won a $50,000 scholarship as well as a sash and a crown.

Hagan's win was a bit of a surprise, considering Las Vegas oddsmakers didn't have her among the top 15 favorites to don the crown at the conclusion of the two-hour competition at Las Vegas's Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.

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Q&A: Scramble for vaccine as flu season heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missed flu-shot day at the office last fall? And all those "get vaccinated" ads? A scramble for shots is under way as late-comers seek protection from a miserable flu strain already spreading through much of the country.

Federal health officials said Friday that there is still some flu vaccine available and it's not too late to benefit from it. But people may have to call around to find a clinic with shots still on the shelf, or wait a few days for a new shipment.

"We're hearing of spot shortages," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorado offers an example. Kaiser Permanente, which has 535,000 members in the state, stopped giving flu shots this week. But it expected to resume vaccinations when new shipments arrive, expected this weekend.

Some questions and answers about flu vaccines:

Q: Are we running out of vaccine?

A: It's January — we shouldn't have a lot left. The traditional time to get vaccinated is in the fall, so that people are protected before influenza starts spreading.

Indeed, manufacturers already have shipped nearly 130 million doses to doctors' offices, drugstores and wholesalers, out of the 135 million doses they had planned to make for this year's flu season. At least 112 million have been used so far.

The nation's largest manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said Friday that it still has supplies of two specialty vaccines, a high-dose shot for seniors, and an under-the-skin shot for certain adults, available for immediate shipment. But it also is working to eke out a limited supply of its traditional shots — some doses that it initially hadn't packaged into syringes, said spokesman Michael Szumera. They should be available late this month.

And MedImmune, the maker of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, said it has 620,000 extra doses available.

Q: Can't they just make more?

A: No. Flu vaccine is complicated to brew, with supplies for each winter made months in advance and at the numbers expected to sell. Although health officials recommend a yearly flu vaccination for nearly everybody, last year 52 percent of children and just 39 percent of adults were immunized. Most years, leftover doses have to be thrown out.

Q: Should I still hunt for a vaccine?

A: It does take two weeks for full protection to kick in. Still, health officials say it's a good idea to be vaccinated even this late, especially for older people, young children and anyone with medical conditions such as heart or lung diseases that put them at high risk of dangerous flu complications. Flu season does tend to be worst in January and February, but it can run through March.

Q: I heard that a new flu strain is spreading. Does the vaccine really work?

A: Flu strains constantly evolve, the reason that people need an updated vaccine every year. But the CDC says this year's is a good match to the types that are circulating, including a new kind of the tough H3N2 strain. That family tends to be harsher than other flu types — and health officials warned last fall that it was coming, and meant this winter would likely be tougher than last year's flu season, the mildest on record.

Q: But don't some people get vaccinated and still get sick?

A: Flu vaccine never is 100 percent effective, and unfortunately it tends to protect younger people better than older ones. But the CDC released a study Friday showing that so far this year, the vaccine appears 62 percent effective, meaning it's working about as well as it has in past flu seasons.

While that may strike some people as low, Frieden said it's the best protection available. "It's a glass 62 percent full," he said. "It's well worth the effort."

Q: What else can I do?

A: Wash your hands often, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Viruses can spread by hand, not just through the air. Also, cough in your elbow, not your hand. When you're sick, protect others by staying home.

And people who are in those high-risk groups should call a doctor if they develop symptoms, added CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. They might be prescribed antiviral medication, which works best if given within the first 48 hours of symptoms.

___

AP Medical Writers Lindsey Tanner and Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.

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Henry's Tacos stands down

Janis Hood got her start at Henry's Tacos when she was 10.

Her mother allowed her to fasten caps on the hot sauce and serve RC Cola to customers.

Through 51 years, the family business served ground beef tacos and burritos to customers. But on Saturday, the Studio City neighborhood treasure — a favorite of actor Elijah Wood and comedian George Lopez — closed its doors.

The shutting of Henry's Tacos, named for Hood's grandfather, Henry Comstock, came after a yearlong saga with the landlord that Hood said began when she applied for a historic designation. She said the application sparked conflict, and the landlord refused to renew her lease.

"It's a very emotional day for me," Hood said Saturday.

In recent weeks, news of the closure prompted thousands of fans to sign an online petition to save the restaurant and inspired a Twitter hashtag (#SaveHenrysTacos).

At one point, a financial consultant and a TV writer were in talks to purchase the restaurant to keep it open. "It all just took us back to our childhood," said Matt Pyken, a Studio City TV writer who grew up eating at the stand, explaining why he sought to buy it with his former middle-school buddy. "We wanted it to be the same place."

But in the end, Hood decided to work with longtime employee Omar Vega, who wants to relocate the shop but keep the name. Hood said she plans to eventually sell the business to Vega. A preservation group has offered to store the stand's signage, she said.

On Saturday, customers formed a line down the sidewalk for a last meal, and Hood said the stand would keep serving them until the food ran out. Cathy McCroskey, a longtime customer, posed for a picture in front of the stand and pantomimed wiping away a tear. "This is a neighborhood icon," she said.

McCroskey and her husband, Steve, both 55, have lived in the Tujunga Village area since the late 1980s and came to pay one last visit to the stand they'd enjoyed for years. They took photos and, of course, ordered a bean and cheese burrito. They said the stand's Googie-style architectural design and history made it a neighborhood gem.

Near them, a large sheet of paper had been taped to a wall of the stand for people to jot their goodbyes.

"Sacred ground. We have been coming for four generations. It was the first food I ate and my kids ate. It saved my sister ... it was all she would eat when she was sick. Please prevail," wrote Kathryn Vanderveen.

"Henry, please keep the sign and stay in Studio City, we love you," another message said.

Vega, a 21-year veteran of the stand, said he hopes to do just that. He would like to retain the old location's ambience by using the old sign and menu and even hopes to replicate the colorful lettering on the stand's outside wall that spells "Henry's Tacos."

"I hope everything goes well," Vega said.

For Hood, the closure is the end of an era. She said the restaurant is where she grew up and recalled going to elementary school blocks away. After school, she'd walk to the stand to see her mother and linger there.

"A lot of the customers took me under their wing and were helpful to me," she said.

After Hood's mother, LeVonne Eloff, died in 2009 at 82, longtime customers shared stories with Hood, some of which she said she had never known. They told her, for example, that her mother and stepfather had sometimes used the honor system with customers.

Now, Hood said she's acting in the same vein, "paying it forward" by helping Vega get his start running the business, a move she sees as continuing her family's legacy.

nicole.santacruz@latimes.com

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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IHT Rendezvous: The Golden Globes Get Some Respect

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — It is awfully easy to make fun of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The group’s 84 voting members, givers of the Golden Globe Awards, insist, for instance, that they are impartial journalists. Yet they mostly write for obscure publications like Ogoniok, a Russian magazine, and they allow studios to court them aggressively. Tubs of Italian food, spread out at the group’s headquarters here on a recent afternoon, came with a sign: “Lunch courtesy of Harvey Weinstein.”

But Hollywood has largely stopped snickering.

The Globes, which will be handed out on Sunday (Mr. Weinstein’s movies are up for 14 trophies), are not taken seriously as artistic milestones, especially compared with the Oscars. But after a few rough years that included bizarre nominations, a strike that canceled a show, and lawsuits, the press association is on the rebound. Not only does it precede the Oscars but it has also nurtured a festive, flashy atmosphere for its show that stands in stark contrast to the more self-important Academy Awards.

Some of the credit goes to the group itself. It brought back Aida Takla-O’Reilly as president, and did what anyone does in Hollywood when under fire: hire a savvy publicity firm, in this case Sunshine Sachs.

“The bump was a bump, and it’s over,” Ms. Takla-O’Reilly said.

The association has also benefited from the weakness of the Academy Awards. About 17 million viewers have tuned into the Globes the last three years running, according to Nielsen data. But the Oscars have been well off their historical high (55 million in 1998), with about 39 million tuning in last year, compared with 38 million in 2011 and 42 million in 2010.

Ricky Gervais, the off-color British comedian who hosted the last three Globes shows, created a hip and buzz-worthy image. The Academy Awards, meanwhile, has been ridiculed for its selection of hosts. It tried to veer young in 2011, hiring the mismatched James Franco and Anne Hathaway, then overcorrected last year with Billy Crystal.

This time the Globes snared Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, drawing cheers from the industry and making the Oscars look bad: Ms. Fey has said no to hosting the Academy Awards. The Oscars, meanwhile, selected Seth MacFarlane, creator of the raunchy film comedy “Ted,” as its 2013 host — a choice that might be seen as an attempt to mimic the Globes’ success with a biting male comic.

And what was long seen as a weakness of the Globes — its inclusion of television — has become an asset. At least at the moment, television in many circles has more cultural heat than film.

“The Globes have exhibited some amount of prescience in conglomerating film and television,” said Matti Leshem, a movie producer and the chief executive of Protagonist, a Hollywood branding company. “Today, when the small screen is a viable stage for the caliber of great performances once reserved for the big screen, it seems passé to ghettoize television performances.”

The Globes have helped themselves in other ways. The oddball accolades that used to be commonplace, for instance, have been kept to a minimum. The last truly bizarre moment came in 2010, when voters named “The Tourist” as a candidate for best comedy or musical. (It was neither.) By comparison, this year’s surprise nomination of the arty romantic comedy “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” in that category looks downright reasonable.

Members have also started poking fun at themselves, a strategy children have effectively used against playground bullies: if you laugh at yourself, it makes it less enjoyable for others to do the same. Jaws dropped when Mr. Gervais, as host of the 2011 Globes, skewered the association’s elderly members. But the Globes invited him back the next year, calling him a “naughty, naughty schoolboy.”

It was Ms. Takla-O’Reilly who actually spoke those words. A fiery octogenarian who comes across as a decade younger, she has been a member of the organization since 1956 and served as its president from 1994 to 1996. Her current term ends this year.

Staring at a jasmine-scented candle burning on her desk, Ms. Takla-O’Reilly, who was born in Egypt and writes for several Dubai publications, said that she would not run again. Even though she swims every day and uses the elliptical machine in the corner of the office, she said the job had been exhausting, but added, “We have been working hard to put ourselves on better footing, and I think we are finally getting there.”

Things started to grow troublesome for the press association in 2008, when striking screenwriters forced the cancellation of the Globes ceremony. In 2010 the “Tourist” nominations gave ammunition to the group’s detractors and provided fodder for late-night comedians.

Later that year the association filed a lawsuit against Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Globes ceremony, over television rights. Then a few months after that, a former foreign-press association publicist filed a suit accusing members of “payola schemes” in the nomination process, and the group countersued.

The Dick Clark lawsuit was resolved in April. (The association lost.) The legal battle involving the publicist continues.

Ms. Takla-O’Reilly, who has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the Sorbonne, sounded a little testy over Dick Clark Productions. “They don’t do anything without us, but we do plenty without them,” she said.

The hardest part of her job, she said, has probably been asking Hollywood to accept the group for what it is. Sure, her members are a little colorful. Yes, her headquarters are between a gaudy gay bar and a drug rehab center. But the association is also not trying to pass the Globes off as something terribly serious, she said.

“It’s a party, and that’s it,” she said.

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