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2011-05-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

It Costs How Much? How To Prevent The Top Five Most Expensive Repairs - http://ping.fm/C2Q91

STAND WITH ANNA HAZARE

2011-04-08T01:43:00.001-07:00

220,595 have signed. Wow we hit our 100,000 signature goal in 15 hours!! Let's get to 500,000
Campaign launched on 7 April 2011
Right now, Anna Hazare, a 73-year-old Gandhian, sits fasting in the burning sun, and he will stay until death -- unless the government agrees to consider a powerful law that could rid Indian politics of the scourge of corruption.

This “Modern Mahatma” is taking the utmost act of courage and determination to push through a bill that would give an independent body the power to punish corruption -- even in the Prime Minister’s office. Across the country a movement has exploded, driving a media storm of pressure that’s engulfing Singh. But dirty politicians are desperately trying to water down or kill the law.

For the first time in forty three years, we have the chance to change the way politics is done. Let's join together and stand with Anna Hazare to tackle corruption and clean up Indian politics. We have no time to lose -- sign the petition to be delivered directly to Prime Minister Singh and reported to the media, and spread the word to everyone:

Click here to sign the petition!

Hazare is championing a citizen-developed bill called “Jan” Lokpal that will create an independent body, selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities, with enough power to investigate and punish all politicians. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence its investigations.

Since 1968, when this bill was first introduced, greedy politicians have thwarted its passing. Now the government is pushing for a watered down Lokpal with no hope of ending fraud, vice and dishonesty -- it gives politicians overriding power to decide who will be investigated, and is a complete sellout.

Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Singh to endorse the "Jan" Lokpal. Members of the opposition party have begun to make the right noises in support of Anna Hazare. And even the National Advisory Council, a powerful advisory body to Sonia Gandhi have come out in favour of the bill. But corrupt politicians and vested interests are doing all they can to kill it.

Anna Hazare has set the example. But only a national citizens movement can ramp up the pressure to get Singh to endorse “Jan” Lokpal and save Hazare's life.

Click here to sign the petition!

Corruption in politics has become a plague across our country, it is draining our resources and demoralizing our nation. This bill would go a long way to deterring those that steal and undermine the public good. Last year, the Avaaz community in Brazil won an important victory -- against the odds millions of people came together and pushed through a historic anti-corruption law. India has a proud history of people power overcoming oppression -- today if we all stand with one voice we can fight this corruption that is poisoning our political system.

in reference to: Avaaz - STAND WITH ANNA HAZARE (view on Google Sidewiki)

Indian style in desert city

2011-04-06T12:33:00.001-07:00

The fashion fervour has set in in full swing. If the ongoing fashion week in the city is keeping the style savvy in spirits, there’s more in store later this month. The upcoming Dubai Fashion Week (April 19 - 23) will have an inimitable Indian flavour with many of our home-grown designers all set to showcase their collections in the desert city.

The strong Indian designer contingent that is Dubai bound this month, shortly after the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week is over, comprises of Delhi based designers such as Gaurav Gupta, Reynu Taandon, Hemant and Nandita. Other designers such as Ekta Singh, Meher and Riddhima will also be part of the showcase. And designer Raajesh Pratap Singh will carry the torch of the grand finale at the Dubai Fashion Week.

Designer Reynu Taandon who’s not participating in the ongoing WIFW says, “I have set up a stall at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week so that I do not miss out on making my presence. For the fashion week in Dubai I have come up with an exciting collection that reflects the sensibilities of the place. My collection for the Dubai show is all about the jungle resort look. There will be lot of kaftans in georgette, embellished with African embroidery.”

Dubai is the city of buyers, which is another reason for the designers’ strong interest in the city. “Dubai has a lot of buyers so it’s always good to showcase in such places. I’m going to showcase the holiday collection which emphasises on kaftans, tunics, lots of zebra print with tribal embroidery,” says designer Nandita from the designer duo Hemant and Nandita. Another reason that draws Indian designers to the city is that they consider Dubai to be more fashion forward as compared to India. Designer Gaurav Gupta who’s participating at Dubai Fashion week buys that thought completely.

“Dubai is cosmopolitan and fashion forward for sure. The fashion sensibility of the people there is very modern. Keeping that in mind, my collection is semi-couture with interesting detailing and contemporary designs,” says Gupta. Designer Nandita adds, “They demand for trendy and attractive clothes. For them fashion comes above comfort unlike Indians.”

in reference to: Indian style in desert city - Hindustan Times (view on Google Sidewiki)

2011-04-06T03:45:00.001-07:00

Japan earthquake: Radioactive leak plugged at reactor - http://ping.fm/57cY4

2011-04-06T03:36:00.001-07:00

Golf in Russia looking for major expansion - http://ping.fm/zzq0G

2011-04-06T03:35:00.001-07:00

Asian economic recovery solid but inflation a risk - http://ping.fm/R5zKg

Keep your eyes to yourself

2011-04-05T23:09:00.001-07:00

There’s an unwritten rule followed by nearly all city dwellers—never make eye contact. If you attempt to do so, your glance will be met with utter disregard. You do not exist, other than being an object to avoid. I learned this the hard way. Upon moving to San Francisco from Minnesota—the friendliest of all possible places—I would attempt to make eye contact with strangers on the street out of courtesy. In Minnesota, this is commonplace. There, my glances were often met with a polite smile or a courteous “hello.” In San Francisco—even on streets that were anything but crowded—they were ignored with complete indifference.

Imagine, then, my surprise when I learned of San Francisco’s reputation as a friendly city. If San Francisco is considered friendly, I thought, then I’m steering clear of New York. I mused that such indifference to others must be an artifact of city life. That’s not to say there aren’t friendly people there—it’s true that San Franciscans are a generally genial bunch once you get them off the sidewalk, as are the New Yorkers I’ve met and nearly every other person from a big city. But when I’m in a small town, things sure do feel different. Walking down the street is no longer a sterile affair. It’s no family reunion, but it is degrees warmer than in cities. Still, my own experiences weren’t enough to convince me that this could be a universal trend.

Luckily, my hunch was proved correct the other day by a study which compared the rates of eye contact among people in central Philadelphia, suburban Bryn Mawr, and rural Parkesburg. The study’s authors parked two college students—a guy and a girl—outside a post office and a store in each location for two hours. The students counted the number of people who made eye contact and if anyone said “hello,” “how are you,” or the like. Lo and behold, rural Parkesburg held true to the small town stereotype. Between 70 and 80 percent of passersby glanced at the stationary students in the Parkesburg, while just 10 to 20 percent did in Philadelphia. Bryn Mawr’s pedestrians fell predictably in the middle, with around 40 to 50 percent making eye contact.

The rural types were also much more likely to say something to the strangers. One quarter of people in Parkesburg opened their mouths in greeting, while just three percent did for Bryn Mawr and Philadelphia combined. (The city center was by far the least friendly—only one person said something to each person at both the post office and the store.) In addition, everyone who did say something did make eye contact.

The study’s authors contemplated a few possible explanations for why the city dwellers were so hesitant to make eye contact. They favored the sensory overload hypothesis—that people in big cities are surrounded by too many people, noises, and other distractions—though they also speculated that city folk may fear strangers more or that small town people may be more curious about strangers. They also touched on the idea that city people are more hurried than either suburban or small town people. This notion has been covered both before and since by a number of different researchers. In general, people in larger cities do tend to walk faster, so there may be some truth to this.

Whatever the reason, I admit I exhaled a slight sigh of relief when I discovered that science confirmed my suspicions. San Franciscans, New Yorkers, Londoners—no matter how friendly they are underneath, suffer the same aversion to eye contact as other big cities. Small towns do feel friendlier.

in reference to: Keep your eyes to yourself « Per Square Mile (view on Google Sidewiki)

TEPCO stops leak of radioactive water into Pacific

2011-04-05T21:43:00.001-07:00

FUKUSHIMA —

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) succeeded in stopping highly radioactive water from leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant early Wednesday morning after injecting a chemical agent, it said.

In a bid to stem the leak, TEPCO injected about 6,000 liters of ‘‘water glass,’’ or sodium silicate, and another agent around a seaside pit located near the plant’s No. 2 reactor water intake, through which the highly radioactive water had been leaking heavily.

The leak has apparently seriously contaminated the marine environment, as a seawater sample taken near the water intake Saturday showed a radioactive iodine-131 concentration of 7.5 million times the maximum level permitted under law.

As the first case of contamination levels in seafood have exceeded the limit, radioactive cesium over the limit was detected in young launce in the sea near the northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture.

The highly radioactive water has been filling up the basement of the No. 2 reactor turbine building and the trench connected to it. The water, believed to have come from the No. 2 reactor core, where fuel rods have partially melted, ended up in the pit.

In order to make room for the storage of the highly contaminated water, TEPCO also continued to dump low-level contaminated water into the sea.

While officials have said the crack in a maintenance pit plugged was the only one found, they have not explicitly ruled out that radioactive water is leaking into the sea from another point.

Authorities insisted the radioactive water would dissipate and posed no immediate threat to sea creatures or people who might eat them. Most experts agreed.

Radiation concerns in the area intensified after the discovery over the weekend of the crack, which photos showed water pouring out of and splashing into the sea.

Since then, workers have raced to find a way to seal it, pouring in concrete and injecting a mixture of polymer, sawdust and shredded newspaper. Both failed.

But TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda said the injection of 400 gallons (1,500 liters) of “water glass,” or sodium silicate, and another agent near a seaside pit appeared to be successful.

It was a rare bit of good news for the utility that owns the crippled nuclear plant. But highly contaminated water continues to pool around the complex. Tsunoda said officials were investigating whether the contaminated water is leaking from other places.

in reference to: TEPCO stops leak of radioactive water into Pacific › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan nuke plant spews more radiation into sea

2011-04-05T01:50:00.001-07:00

16:00 JST April 5: Radiation in seawater at the shoreline off Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant has measured several million times the legal limit over the past few days, though officials contended Tuesday that the contamination still does not pose an immediate danger.

Radiation has been pouring in to the Pacific from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake spawned a massive tsunami that inundated the complex. Over the weekend, workers there discovered a crack where highly contaminated water was spilling directly into the ocean.

Experts have said that radiation dissipates quickly in the vast Pacific, but they have also said that it's unclear what the long-term effects of large amounts of contamination will be.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday that samples taken from seawater near one of the reactors contained 7.5 million times the legal limit for radioactive iodine on April 2. Two days later, that figure dropped to 5 million.

TEPCO said in a statement that even the large amounts would have "no immediate impact" on the environment but added that it is working to stop the leak as soon as possible.

The readings were taken closer to the plant than before - apparently because new measuring points were added after the crack was discovered - and did not necessarily reflect a worsening of the contamination. Other measurements several hundred meters farther away from the plant have declined to levels about 1,000 times the legal limit.

Radiation measurements from Tokyo Electric Power Co. were called into question last week, and the nuclear safety agency ordered the utility to reanalyze its samples. As a result, some figures were held back and several days worth of measurements were released Tuesday.

Radioactivity is pouring into the ocean in part because workers at the plant have been forced to use a makeshift method of bringing down temperatures and pressure by pumping water into the reactors and allowing it to gush out wherever it can. It is a messy process, but it is preventing a full meltdown of the fuel rods that would release even more radioactivity into the environment.

It means means water is pooling throughout the plant, and some of it is making its way to the ocean. Workers are now desperately trying to find a place to store it because it is also preventing them from restoring normal cooling systems.

Starting late Monday, they have been pumping more than 3 million gallons of less contaminated water into the sea in order to make room in a storage facility for the more highly radioactive water. That process is expected to take two days.

in reference to: Japan nuke plant spews more radiation into sea (view on Google Sidewiki)

10+ Points About Google +1

2011-04-01T22:07:00.001-07:00

Google +1 hit the press yesterday and many are wondering whether Google can get a truly social product off the ground. However, the product announcement is more of an invitation to join an experiment rather than a Google-wide launch.

The success of Google +1 really is in our hands. Here is a summary of the fundamentals:

1. It's just a voting button for search results pages.
In line with Google's latest social strategy, Google +1 is a social layer for search results pages, rather than a proper social network.

2. Everyone needs a Google Profile to use it.
Yet, it sort of is a social network because it can only be used by users with a public Google profile. Anyone who uses any Google products, already has a Google Profile, but it has to be upgraded to be made public.

Strictly speaking Google +1 is not a social network. At this stage it is more like a collaborative set of tools for users of Google products.

However, pay attention because, the bad news is that regardless of whether you want to use Google +1 or not, all Google Profiles will go public or be deleted July 31.

3. +1's are shared publicly, but can be undone.
Anything you +1 gets shared publicly with your 'social circles'. This means that people you are directly connected to will see, where relevant, what content you +1 and anyone visiting your public profile will also see everything you +1.

However, any +1 you make can be undone, both in the search engine results pages and in your public Google Profile. The +1 tab in your profile can also be made private - but it is important to note that it just hides the aggregated view of what you personally vote up, not the +1's themselves.

In all cases, anything you +1 is public in the Google search results pages unless you manually undo it.

4. Your 'social circle' will see your +1's.
Who gets to see what you +1 is defined by your social circle. Essentially your social circle is dictated by the Google products you use and any web apps that you use that use Google Profiles authentication (similar to Facebook Connect or Login with Twitter).

You can manage who can see your +1 activity via your profile dashboard - you need to scroll down to the "Social Circle and Content" section. There you can edit your social connections and your social content connections. The former is who you know in your Gmail contacts book and the latter is services you are connected to using Google Profile authentication (e.g. Blogger, Youtube and external services such as Quora).

It is worth noting that the social graph of Google +1 is exactly the same as the social graph of the fated Google Buzz.

5. You will see total +1 counts for sites you are not socially connected to.
Although personally identifiable +1's will only be shown to people you know, you will also see general counts for URLs in the search engine results pages (SERPs) which have received many +1's. This will be display is the same way as the 'shared by' counts which appear in universally targeted Google News results.

6. Paid search ads can be +1'd.
One fairly unique feature of Google +1 is that ads can receive votes. In effect, this means users can bookmark ads. Social buttons in search ads would mean social clicks could potentially turn into earned media (which in turn impacts social networks). Could +1 be the 'killer app' for Google's Pay-per-click business?

SEW expert, Alex Cohen, posed these questions on how +1 buttons might affect paid search campaigns to Jim Prosser, Manager, Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google:

How will +1 on ads impact Quality Score?
+1 does not change how we calculate Quality Score. As always, we look at an ad's performance relative to that of other ads for the same query, position, and UI treatment. However, while advertiser performance will of course vary, we believe that +1's may increase CTR, which would positively affect high quality ads.
Will advertisers ever be able to opt-out of it?
The +1 button and personalized annotations are the default experiences for all signed-in Google.com users searching in US English. If advertiser

in reference to: 10+ Points About Google +1 #SEWatch (view on Google Sidewiki)

Acquisition Marketers And The SEO ROI Dilemma

2011-04-01T22:05:00.001-07:00

After over 12 years practicing the art of SEO, and selling SEO services to clients, I thought the industry had reached a stage of “acceptance”.

But there is still a very smart group of people out there that are doubters – The Acquisition Marketers.

SEO Personality Types
Company executives and owners have varying degrees of sophistication when it comes to understanding why SEO is important, or why it should be an important part of the marketing mix. I would break down the most common personality types as follows:

Me Too – My competitors are doing it, I will too.
The Rank Hound – I want to be #1 for my favorite keyword because I know it’s important (without any proof to back it up).
The Small Portfolio Ranker – I understand that there are a number of relevant keywords that appear to drive business for us, let’s attack them as a group.
The More, The Merrier – Capturing the long-tail is an important part of driving relevant visitors to our site, and they are more likely to be buyers.
Doing Great, Just Need A Bit More - Our SEO is performing well for us. It would be nice to push it up a notch or two, what’s the latest and greatest?
Been There, Done That – I’ve hired consultants before, and we just haven’t see the results we needed.
The “Been There, Done That” group is the closest to The Acquisition Marketers in terms of mindset. For the most part, these are sophisticated marketers, who use tight measurements to determine where to spend their marketing dollars.

ROI Focused Marketers Still Doubt

Stock image from Shutterstock, used under license
The surprising part for me in recent weeks is that there are many Acquisition Marketers who still doubt that investing in SEO is even worth the effort. And, they have not even given it a try.

In some sense, it’s the “paralysis by analysis” conundrum. As SEO practitioners, we have all been faced with the question of “what’s the ROI?”

In my last article, 10 Quick & Dirty SEO Success Metrics, I made the case that tracking SEO success can get messy when you look at attribution tracking, and that you may have to resort to some more basic measurements to prove success.

It is exactly this messy success tracking that makes Acquisition Marketers hesitant to invest in SEO.

The Case For SEO As An Acquisition Vehicle
So, here’s my case for why SEO is a necessary piece of Acquisition Marketing:

A well-executed SEO strategy requires crafting and generating valuable content, promoting that content, and finding ways for trusted resources to link to that content. It takes time to see organic search results.

In this process, the most likely scenario is that “The Rank Hound” will be disappointed, and the “The Small Portfolio Ranker” will begin to have doubts, but may see some positive signs. “The More, The Merrier” will see the breadth of keyword traffic begin to expand, and will be happy to see that progress. But, even “The More, The Merrier” will begin to question if the right tail keywords are bringing in traffic.

However, this entire SEO process is moving the acquisition dial in the right direction!

Acquisition benefits include:

Purchase Influencing. Quality content that is generated is positively influencing buyer behavior. Whether or not the content is found via a search engine (at the beginning), the content is still pushing website visitors closer to being buyers. By “content”, I don’t just mean written text (which is of course valuable) – great content will take many forms, including video, images, graphical depictions (including infographics), webinars, contests & promotions, local search assets (e.g. Google Places), and many other forms of great, creative, and convincing content.
Awareness. Visits from long-tail keywords, even if not the best-converting keywords, are building brand awareness, and planting the seed that your site is there for them to come back to. You may see this traffic come back to you in future visits in your analyitcs as “Direct/Bookmark” or search queries for your brand name. But, it wa

in reference to: Acquisition Marketers And The SEO ROI Dilemma (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japanese earthquake and tsunami top SA Google searches

2011-04-01T03:29:00.001-07:00

South Africans flock online to find out more about the Japanese disaster that shocked the world

Natural disasters once again take prevalence on the list of fastest rising South African searches from the last 30 days.

Google Zeitgeist, a tool that provides insight into web searches, reveals that the earthquake and tsunami that took place in Japan on the 11th of March have captured five places on the list, after the quake in New Zealand took the top spot last month.

‘Japan earthquake’ comes in at number one, followed by ‘tsunami’ and ‘tsunami in Japan’. The last few places on the list focus on the current Cricket World Cup, with many South Africans still in mourning over the Proteas’ disappointing early exit from the tournament.

Fastest rising searches, last 30 days, South Africa

1. Japan Earthquake
2. Tsunami
3. Tsunami in Japan
4. Tsunami Japan
5. John Cena
6. Japan
7. CNN
8. Cricket Scores
9. Live Cricket
10. Cricinfo

The events in Japan also appear on the list of fastest rising Google image searches for the month of March 2011, indicating that many South Africans wanting to comprehend the extent of the disaster, turned to the Internet for visuals.

With multimedia sources becoming increasingly available, users also flocked to YouTube to see actual footage from the day. Videos such as ‘Tsunami slams Northeast Japan’ and ‘Powerful quake hits Japan’ have already received over 9 million and 5 million views respectively.

Despite global events, celebrities also feature on the image list - as always. Model Tracy McGregor appears in fourth position, perhaps because of the recent notoriety she received as Playboy South Africa’s first cover girl.

Vanessa Hudgens’ break-up with High School Musical veteran, Zac Efron, has also captured a lot of attention, with the young actress claiming the number seven spot. Controversial R&B artist, Chris Brown, takes eighth place amidst the media frenzy surrounding his recent backstage outburst after an interview on ‘Good Morning America’, an interview that he felt had focused too much on the Rihanna assault scandal.

Fastest rising image searches, last 30 days, South Africa

1. Japan Earthquake
2. Japan Tsunami
3. Japan Tsunami 2011
4. Tracy McGregor
5. Japan
6. Tsunami
7. Venessa Hudgens
8. Chris Brown
9. Smoking
10. Space

in reference to: Japanese earthquake and tsunami top SA Google searches (view on Google Sidewiki)

Impact of Radiation on Ocean Water May Be Seen in Long Term

2011-03-30T01:17:00.001-07:00

Since the first explosion occurred at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 12, steam and smoke carrying radioactive iodine and cesium has been blowing east, out to sea. General opinion has been that it is fortunate the cloud is over the ocean, not forming over the rest of Japan or China. However, the consequence for marine life and ocean water could be equally harmful in the long run.

Last week, the Japanese government reported that higher than normal levels of radioactivity was detected in rainwater in Tokyo. Radioactive rain has almost certainly been falling into the ocean as well.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has detected radiation 18 miles out to sea, but said, according to the latest readings taken on March 27, that levels have been dropping from what they saw days earlier.

“It can be expected that the data will be quite variable in the near future depending on the discharge levels. In general, dilutions by ocean currents and into deeper waters as well decay of short lived radionuclides e.g. I-131 or I-132 will soon lead to lower values,” according to the IAEA’s March 29 update.

Trenches have been built at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to prevent the radioactive water used in cooling from flowing into the ocean. Officials said Tuesday that the levels of water in trenches a mile from shore have remained stable, but they are contaminated and they are still not sure how the contamination got there.

The IAEA says dispersion of the radioactivity through the ocean will take months or years to reach other Pacific countries. The main transport of contamination across long distances is through the air, said the agency, where it will likely be diluted.

Scientists at Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, Canada, found iodine-131—a byproduct of nuclear fission—in the southern portion of Canada’s west-most province on March 19, 20, and 25. Nuclear physicist Kris Starosta told a press conference that the levels being seeing are not harmful to humans, but that the contamination certainly came from Fukushima, travelling to North American via a jet stream that crosses the Pacific Ocean.

.Although the effects of radioactive elements in the ocean may not be immediately observable, the size of the ocean should not be viewed as sufficient to dilute the radioactive waste.

“The vastness of the ocean is often taken to mean that it has an enormous power to dilute most of man’s wastes. That is a misconception that led most nuclear powers to dump radioactive waste into the ocean, before doing so was banned by international treaty in the 1970s,” wrote Jacob Hamblin via e-mail. Hamblin teaches history of science at Oregon State University and has researched and written about the history of dumping nuclear waste in the ocean.

in reference to: Impact of Radiation on Ocean Water May Be Seen in Long Term | World | Epoch Times (view on Google Sidewiki)

China says nuke programme affected by Japan crisis

2011-03-30T00:55:00.001-07:00

CANBERRA: China's rapid construction plans for nuclear generators will be affected by Japan's radiation crisis , but atomic power will be an essential supplier of the nation's burgeoning energy needs in the future, an official said today.

Chinese climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua said China's nuclear power rollout was under review in response to the unfolding emergency at Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, which is leaking radiation following a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

"I believe this accident will have some impact on the development of nuclear power not only in China, but also the rest of the world," Xie told reporters at a bilateral climate change policy forum in Australia's capital.

"I think that the nuclear development plan of China will be affected to a certain extent," he added, without elaborating.

Chinese power industry official Wei Zhaofeng was quoted by state media on Tuesday as saying that China was likely to scale back its plant construction plans under a new policy that stresses safety instead of rapid development.

Xie said nuclear and hydroelectric power would be the major contributors to fulfilling China's target of having non-fossil fuels account for 15 percent of national energy needs by 2020.

Beijing's plans had called for nuclear plants to supply up to 5 per cent of China's power by 2020, but Wei said under the new policy, it would likely be closer to 3 per cent.

Xie said geological surveys were under way in China to ensure that the proposed locations of future nuclear plants were safe from earthquakes.

Plant management and monitoring safety standards were also under review, he said. "We have to ensure 100 percent safety of these nuclear power plants," Xie said.

But alternatives to nuclear energy such as building more hydroelectric dams also carry problems, including ecological damage, difficulties in relocating populations whose communities would be flooded and cost, he said.

in reference to: China says nuke programme affected by Japan crisis - The Economic Times (view on Google Sidewiki)

Report: 2,000 bodies found in northeast Japan

2011-03-30T00:53:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- Approximately 2,000 bodies were found Monday in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's northeast coast, the Kyodo news agency reported.

If confirmed, the discovery would be the largest yet of victims from last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Roughly 1,000 bodies were found coming ashore on Miyagi's Ojika Peninsula, while another 1,000 were seen in the town of Minamisanriku, where some 10,000 people are unaccounted for, Kyodo reported.

Officials said earlier Monday that the official death toll from the disaster stands at 1,627, with more missing.As of 10:00 a.m. Monday (9:00 p.m. Sunday ET), at least 1,720 people were missing and 1,962 injured, according to the National Police Agency Emergency Disaster Headquarters.

The number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas.

in reference to: Report: 2,000 bodies found in northeast Japan - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Q&A: Japan's nuclear crisis

2011-03-29T23:52:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- Despite the heroic efforts of technicians and engineers battling to prevent a full nuclear meltdown at the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, radioactive material is still seeping into the surroundings of the power station.

Plutonium has been detected in soil samples near the plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said Monday.

And highly radioactive water has been found for the first time outside one of the reactor buildings on Monday, albeit in a tunnel. Radioactive iodine and cesium have also been detected in sea water near the plant, Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said last week.

These latest reports of radioactive leaks -- and the possibility that there may have been a partial meltdown in three reactors -- raise questions about the immediate dangers poised to human health and the environment.

How did radioactive water leak out of reactor No. 2?

It is still not entirely clear how radioactive water made its way into a maintenance tunnel leading to reactor No. 2's turbine building.

However, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says he has received a report that the No. 2 unit's containment vessel "is damaged and water is leaking."

Professor Robin Grimes, Director of the Center for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London, says it is possible that some contaminated water could also have leaked from the "external steam suppression unit," which may have been damaged during a hydrogen explosion in the building surrounding the reactor on March 14.

"This is a guess, it has to be emphasized, " says Grimes, "There is a complex cacophony of different sources that could have contributed to the leaking water."

What about the contaminated seawater?

Levels of radioactive iodine in seawater just offshore of the nuclear plant spiked to more than 1,250 times higher than normal, Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said Saturday. Those levels have been dropping in recent days.

The measurements also showed high levels of cesium and were taken outside the discharge canal for the plant's Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactors.

Journalist Martin Savidge, who is reporting on the incident for CNN from Tokyo, says one theory is that the tunnel may have contributed: "The fact that water has been detected in the tunnels could explain how it (contaminated water) has got into the ocean."

However, Japan's nuclear safety agency says there's no evidence yet of overflow. It said workers are using sandbags and concrete panels to keep the water inside the tunnel, which is located about 55 meters (180 feet) from the shore. The radioactive iodine and cesium could have also been in the atmosphere and then been washed down by precipitation.

And the radioactive soil?

Plutonium was detected in soil on the grounds of the nuclear power plant. The element was found in soil samples taken March 21-22 from five locations around the plant, says Tepco.

The No. 3 reactor has been of particular concern because it is the only one to use mixed-oxide fuel that contains a small percentage of plutonium, which is also a byproduct in other reactors.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Tuesday that it was "likely" at least some of the plutonium came from the plant.

Grimes said it is not clear where the plutonium in the soil had come from, also adding that it is possible that it was from the Fukushima plant.

"These are incredibly small amounts at the moment but we need to keep watching," says Grimes.

What is radiation?

In the context of nuclear energy it is ionizing radiation that is referred to, which passes through matter causing it to become electrically charged or ionized. In living tissues, the electrical ions produced by radiation can affect normal biological processes.

Are these leaks dangerous?

"The sea is a phenomenally large dilution vehicle so when you get radioactive material in the ocean most of it just gets diluted. Some of the radioactive particles could collect in material near the reactor and this will have to be monitored and cleaned," says Grimes.

"If it got into local sea

in reference to: Q&A: Japan's nuclear crisis - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Hole in US Airways plane was caused by a bullet, sources say

2011-03-29T23:42:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- A hole in a US Airways jet that landed in Charlotte, North Carolina, was caused by a bullet that pierced the passenger cabin, three government sources told CNN Tuesday.

Officials believe the bullet was fired in Charlotte, after passengers had exited the aircraft, one source said. The hole was discovered after the Boeing 737-400 landed Monday.

The sources said a bullet has been recovered inside the plane.

"We do not believe its terrorism related," said one of the government sources. "It appears to be a random event. We do not believe the plane was targeted. No one heard the bullet fired."

An investigation into who fired the shot into the aircraft has begun, said multiple government sources.

Flight 1161 from Philadelphia landed safely at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport about 4 p.m. Monday. The plane was being prepped for another flight when the pilot discovered the hole above a passenger window toward the back of the plane, according to airline officials. The airline pulled the jet from service and called in the FBI.

The plane holds 144 passengers, according to the US Airways website. It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the flight. All of the passengers on the next flight were accommodated on other planes, a US Airways spokeswoman said.

"We've released the plane back to US Airways last night," after completing their investigation, FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson said Tuesday.

But the airplane remained grounded Tuesday while US Airways performed its own investigation, said company spokeswoman Valerie Wunder.

Before the plane can be put back into service, it will have to be inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration for flight certification, according to agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

in reference to: Hole in US Airways plane was caused by a bullet, sources say - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

California town calls in FBI to help investigate cross-burning

2011-03-29T23:24:00.001-07:00

Arroyo Grande, California (CNN) -- First, an 11-foot wooden cross was stolen from Saint John's Lutheran Church in Arroyo Grande, California.

Then, weeks later, the cross was discovered set aflame in the middle of the night outside the bedroom window of a 19-year-old woman of mixed race.

Now authorities are investigating the case as a theft, arson and hate crime, police said Tuesday. The burning cross was erected in a neighbor's large front yard adjacent to the house rented by the woman and her mother.

The mystery of who stole the cross and set it afire has deeply disturbed the small coastal town of Arroyo Grande, located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It sits in the heart of a wine region, just 47 miles northwest of the vineyards depicted in the movie "Sideways."

Police Chief Steven Annibali told CNN Tuesday that a cross-burning is unheard of for his community of 17,000, and that only three hate crimes have been reported in his town the past 15 years, mostly for uttering slurs. That figure is the lowest for San Luis Obispo County, he said.

With a picturesque mountain backdrop and only about 5.5 square miles in size, Arroyo Grande calls itself "the gem" of the central California coast.

Authorities have announced a $3,500 reward in the case and even established a "Justice for All in Arroyo Grande" fund-raiser to raise that amount.

But an attorney for the alleged victim and her mother has criticized the police investigation.

"The family is trying to go about daily business, but they have ongoing concerns about their security and the direction of the investigation," attorney Louis Koory told CNN on Tuesday.

"For example, if there are known racist elements in the community, it is not clear that the police are looking at these groups. It appears that it would be a logical starting point for an investigation, if there are known racist groups in the community. The first problem is that the police initially treated this as a prank and may have lost the opportunity to conduct an effective investigation," Koory said.

Arroyo Grande police have not released the name of the 19-year-old woman, citing confidentiality provisions under California hate-crime laws.

Annibali, the police chief, said his agency moved quickly over the weekend following the cross burning, which occurred on a Friday, and is now working with the FBI, the California Department of Justice, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's investigators and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department. His agency is also working with the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP, he said.

"It's funny that he would even say that because we have a very good relationship with the victim and the mother from the start," Annibali said about the family's attorney.

"Like with most crimes, you look at who would want to do this, and have you been involved in any activities that would lead someone to do this, or do you know somebody who would," the police chief said.

"I'm very comfortable that we handled this appropriately," he continued. "We have been given access to any resources that the FBI has. And for a local agency like this, it's unprecedented."

Annibali said police never called the cross-burning a "prank," saying that word was misattributed by local media.

Agencies are now pursuing several leads, and he believes the cross-burning isn't the work of an organized hate group, he said.

"We feel right now that it's people who are local. We don't think it's an organized group or anything like that. It's bloggers who want to raise that issue," the chief said. "There's no active hate groups in Arroyo Grande, none that we're aware of. We're working with the FBI, so we're pretty confident."

Arroyo Grande police submitted physical evidence from the cross-burning scene to an independent crime lab for forensic analysis, authorities said. Authorities are also analyzing an "accelerant" used on the cross, Annibali said.

In an interview with CNN at her home, the mother said she and her daughter looked out their window after midnight March 18 and were horrified b

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Nurse haunted by screams of patients she could not save as tsunami hit

2011-03-29T06:05:00.001-07:00

At a hospital in northeastern Japan, the remnants of lives stolen in seconds are scattered on each of its four floors.

Metal beds are bent, I-V bags are filled with muddy water, and blood pressure monitors sit underneath splintered trees.

But Takata Hospital nurse Fumiko Suzuki doesn't just see the damage, she hears the haunted screams of the patients she could not save.

"The patients couldn't walk," said Suzuki, recalling the moment the tsunami hit.

"I heard someone screaming, 'Auntie, I can't save you. I'm sorry.' Then she ran out of the room."

Suzuki said a glance out of the window revealed a wave as high as the fourth floor.

The nurse said she told the patient "I'm sorry" as she raced up the stairs.

"If I tried to save this person who was lying on the bed, I would have lost my life as well," she said.

Suzuki pauses, grief etched on her face.

"It is the biggest regret I have," she said of leaving patients behind.

The tsunami following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11 engulfed every floor of the hospital just as Suzuki stepped onto the roof. At least 10,901 were killed nationwide.

Of the 51 patients hospitalized, doctors and nurses could not move 12 and they drowned in their beds, said Mikihito Ishiki, a medical director at the hospital.

One patient died as the hospital staff moved him to the roof while two more died on the frigid roof awaiting rescue.

"Ten of my staff also died with the patients," Ishiki said.

The doctor lost his staff, his patients and the hospital he proudly called his home. His wife remains missing and is presumed dead.

As soon as rescuers plucked the doctor from the engulfed building, he started working from a makeshift clinic on higher ground.

The doctor's composure cracks as he lifts a handwritten note from a satellite phone sitting in his clinic.

"Yokosawa is helping us from heaven," he reads, referring to a 60-year-old hospital administrator, Shigeru Yokosawa, set to retire in April.

After the tsunami warning, Ishiki asked Yokosawa to find the satellite phone on the first floor of the hospital.

Satellite phones are vital lines of communication after a natural disaster because phone lines are usually knocked out.

Yokosawa got the phone and moments before a massive wave swallowed him, tossed it to a colleague, who ran to the roof.

Seconds later, the tsunami engulfed the hospital.

His sacrifice is part of the reason Ishiki won't leave this clinic, now fully operational and treating patients across Rikuzen-Takata.

His fellow survivors tirelesslesly work along him.

Suzuki, who brought her elderly and sick mother to the clinic, said the doctors and nurses can't feel guilty for surviving the disaster.

"When I hear that," she said, "it breaks my heart. It's a natural disaster. They want to save everyone, but in this situation, they can't."

Suzuki said she is grateful to see familiar faces of her colleagues, and hope they realize they are making a difference in the present.

She pushes her pain -- the loss of her home, her friends and her relatives -- to the back of her mind as she focuses on her patients.

The town has given her not just a refuge from the pain, but donations of clothes for days she's not wearing her nurse uniform.

"Whatever the situation, I will stay here. Talking with the patients will be my cure. I feel like I'm not the one taking care of others, but the one being taken care of," she said.

in reference to: Nurse haunted by screams of patients she could not save as tsunami hit - CNN (view on Google Sidewiki)

Richard Quest reports from Rome

2011-03-29T05:31:00.001-07:00

Added On March 29, 2011
CNN's Richard Quest reports from Rome where the government is taking on the huge task of preserving Rome's historic sites.

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Australia PM Julia Gillard's computer 'hacked'

2011-03-29T04:59:00.001-07:00

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's parliamentary computer and those of at least two senior ministers are suspected of being hacked, according to a newspaper report.

The government was alerted to the security breach by a US intelligence tip-off, Sydney's Daily Telegraph said.

It is reported that several thousand emails may have been accessed from the computers of at least 10 ministers.

The Australian authorities have refused to confirm or deny on the reports.

The cyber attacks are believed to have targeted the Australian Parliament House email network, the less secure of two networks used by MPs.

Among the computers allegedly breached were those belonging to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith.

Reports suggest the hackers may have been trying to access information on Australia's lucrative mining industry.

Sydney's Daily Telegraph quoted four unnamed government sources as saying Chinese intelligence agencies were among a number of suspected hackers.

The government says it will not comment on specific intelligence matters.

However, Attorney-General Robert McClelland said that the Australian authorities were "constantly strengthening cyber security measures".

The US recently said China's cyber-warfare capabilities were formidable, though China routinely denies hacking claims.

in reference to: BBC News - Australia PM Julia Gillard's computer 'hacked' (view on Google Sidewiki)

Scottish teacher tells of Japan earthquake aftermath

2011-03-29T04:54:00.001-07:00

Neil Slorach, 30, from Milngavie, Glasgow, has lived in Japan for four years and teaches English to children.

For the last two years he has been a resident in Sendai, among the worst affected areas by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month.

Here Neil tells of his experiences.

From the moment the earthquake struck everything changed.

I rushed outside as soon as the shaking stopped, glad that my building hadn't fallen down. I stood outside in a t-shirt with snow starting to fall.

The streets were filled with people rushing to get to their homes and people cramming into local newsagents to buy up as much as they could before the shops closed their doors.

Crowds thronged the streets, afraid to go indoors because of the constant aftershocks occurring every five to 10 minutes.

With the night coming and no power for street lighting they eventually had to venture back in as they wanted to start cleaning their homes.

'Dark ages'

Not much sleep was had that night and the night time was strange and eerie, with pitch blackness and silence outside.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Most of the week consisted of taking a walk outside to see the damage, returning home to cook what little food I had and lighting my candles”

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Sitting at home with candles re-reading books, unable to contact family or friends, I felt as if Japan had been thrown into the dark ages.

For the following week the majority of people were without power or water and some were also without gas. I was without power and water but luckily I had gas due to my supply being fed from a canister outside my apartment.

With transport ground to a halt, and no shops open at all, most of the week consisted of taking a walk outside to see the damage, returning home to cook what little food I had and lighting my candles. Some supermarkets began to open for a limited time, with the amount each person could buy strictly limited.

If, however, you wanted to get into the supermarkets you had to wait in line for at least two to three hours. Once inside there was next to nothing left which is still pretty much the case as I write this.

Set limits as to how much each person can buy in certain shops are still in place. Most supermarkets have very little in the way of fresh food and nearly no liquids, with bottles of water in very short supply.
Some of the damage in Ishinomaki near Sendai, Japan Depression is a real danger as so many people now have no house, no job and no possessions

The majority of petrol stations are closed. This is also the case for the suppliers of the gas people use in their homes, with people being told they may have to wait for up to a month for supplies to return. Still, we know we are lucky.

Television channels carry endless coverage of the mounting number of dead and missing, along with story after heartbreaking story of people searching for loved ones among the wreckage of what were once busy towns.

These people, along with the extraordinary number living in the shelters are the ones who most need help.

From seeing these areas and speaking to Japanese friends, I know there are many people who are trying their best to remain positive about a very dire situation, but there are also many who are not coping as well.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

One Japanese friend described it as being as if the people had gone wild. For the orderly, disciplined Japanese this is a very painful experience”

End Quote

'Living hell'

Every day the main Sendai city broadsheet publishes a full page, sectioned into different areas of Tohoku, detailing the names of the dead and the missing. With each day bringing a new page of names it is a very sobering sight.

In their own words these people are in a living hell. Many don't want to face the reality of what has happened and are at the moment living from meal to meal and not thinking about the future.

They feel like giving up because as far as they can tell there is no hope. Depression is a real danger at the moment as so many people now have no house, no job

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Quake kills at least 74 in Myanmar, one in Thailand

2011-03-27T21:43:00.001-07:00

Yangon, March 25 (DPA) A magnitude-6.8 earthquake killed at least 74 people in northeast Myanmar and one in Thailand, officials said Friday.

About 74 people died and 111 were injured in Tarli and Tachilek towns, near the Myanmar-Thai border in Myanmar's Shan state, and destroyed 244 houses, nine government offices and 14 Buddhist monasteries, government-run Myanmar television reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake was about 50 km north of Tachilek, a border town 680 km north of Bangkok.

Myanmar Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Shwe was reportedly en route to the quake-hit area for an assessment tour.

The Myanmar Red Cross and Crescent Society has dispatched 1,000 relief packages to the area, but access to the region is difficult.

'It takes around four days to reach the affected area by car from Yangon and there are flights twice a week into Tachilek's airport,' aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres said in a statement.

There were no reports on casualties in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Myanmar's former and current capitals, respectively.

The earthquake struck at 8.25 p.m. (1355 GMT) Thursday, with its epicentre in northeast Myanmar, 589 km northeast of Yangon, and 772 km north of Bangkok, according to the US Geological Survey.

In Chiang Rai, Thailand, Hong Khamping, 55, died when a concrete wall in her home collapsed on top of her. The wall was poorly constructed, Thai officials said.

'There were no other deaths or injuries in northern Thailand,' said Chiatha Mositrat, head of the Chiang Rai Disaster Prevention Office.

Tourists in Chiang Rai, including members of the Syrian triathlon team, evacuated their hotel rooms for several hours.

in reference to: Quake kills at least 74 in Myanmar, one in Thailand - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Yuvraj Singh guides India past Ricky Ponting and into the semi-finals

2011-03-24T23:59:00.001-07:00

India's Yuvraj Singh, left, shakes hands with Australia's captain Ricky Ponting after the Cricket World Cup quarter-final. Photograph: Aijaz Rahi/AP

It is rare for such an eagerly anticipated contest to live up to expectations. But this one did. A fast-fluctuating, red-blooded contest played out in front of a cacophonous and ultimately euphoric crowd, was won by India by five wickets with 14 balls to spare. This means that there is the small matter of a meeting between India and Pakistan in the semi-final in Mohali on Wednesday.

The Australians defended a total of 260 for six, thanks to a superb century from Ricky Ponting, and they protected it tenaciously right until the end. They were often quite brilliant in the field, hurling themselves across the turf and throwing their bodies on the line at every turn. On one occasion Brett Lee stopped the ball with his eyebrow.

But their pacemen, despite summoning up every last dreg of energy, were not quite disciplined enough on a sluggish track. Moreover, the lack of quality in their spin department was exposed. They did not lack spirit but they lacked subtlety. So for the first time since 1996 someone else will be world champions.

Perhaps it will be India, though there were moments when they looked as if they might buckle under the pressure. In the end it was Yuvraj Singh, currently in princely form, who guided the home side to victory.

As ever there were some wonderful, flamboyant off-side shots, though he also threatened to run out several of his partners along the way. He finished it all off alongside Suresh Raina, preferred to Yusuf Pathan for this game, which now looks an inspired selection.

This pair of left-handers joined forces on 187 for five with the game in the balance. They did not exactly undertake to "get 'em in singles". Singh peppered the off-side boundaries when Ponting recalled his pacemen; Raina launched a six off Brett Lee into the stands at mid-on and the game was just about up for the Australians.

Earlier in the Indian reply Sachin Tendulkar had batted exquisitely for 53, long enough to get everyone thinking about that 100th international century. Then he edged outside the off-stump and walked for the second match in a row. For a while he was detained while the umpires checked the validity of Shaun Tait's delivery. It was just legitimate.

Gautam Gambhir scrambled a 50 but betrayed Indian nerves when he was run-out. So did Virat Kohli when he hit a David Hussey full-toss to midwicket. Those nerves extended to the crowd when MS Dhoni was caught at cover point with 74 runs still needed, but Yuvraj and Raina soon cheered them up.

There was not so much to cheer for Ponting, despite his return to form, though he could be proud of the commitment of his team. He did not bat like a man contemplating the delights of carpet slippers, the occasional round of golf and the odd guest appearance on Channel Nine's equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing –they must have one.

He batted like great batsmen do on the big occasion: pragmatically. It did not matter to him how he got his runs. But he was damn well going to get them. He willed himself to a hundred, not because he was consumed by saving his career, but because there was a very important game to win. Australia have appeared in the final of every World Cup he has played in and he was determined that this sequence should not be broken.

Ponting came to the crease in the 10th over after Shane Watson was bowled by Ravi Ashwin, attempting to sweep. For a while he was content to bat in Brad Haddin's shadow. The wicketkeeper has an exquisite touch; there were three boundaries from Munaf Patel's first over, followed by a delicious late cut in a 57-ball half-century.

But once Haddin was caught at extra-cover, Ponting had to carry the innings on his shoulders. Neither Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey or Cameron White could settle, but Ponting remained positive while spurning any unnecessary risks. There were glimmers of genius, a six over extra cover and moments of good fortune – he might have been lbw to Harbhajan Singh

in reference to: Yuvraj Singh guides India past Ricky Ponting and into the semi-finals | Sport | The Guardian (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan's Nuclear Disaster Gives Survey Participants Pause

2011-03-23T22:03:00.001-07:00

The Civil Society Institute said 53 percent of 814 people surveyed support a moratorium on new nuclear reactor construction if efficiency and renewable sources could meet near-term demand.

* Mar 23, 2011

Sixty-seven percent of 814 adults who were asked said they would oppose the construction of new nuclear reactors within 50 miles of their homes, according to a telephone survey conducted by ORC International for the Civil Society Institute (CSI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank in Newton, Mass. Twenty-four percent said they already live within 50 miles of a reactor site.

The earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan and created the Daiichi nuclear complex disaster were still fresh in participants' minds when surveyors contacted them on March 15-16. Four of the 12 survey questions made reference to the plant disaster.

"The Japanese crisis is a sobering occasion," said Pam Solo, founder and president of CSI, during a telephone press conference on March 22. She added that the survey results favor a conservative approach to energy, one that insists on safety.

CSI noted that it is independent and receives no direct or indirect support of any kind from any nuclear industry interest, or any other energy-related company, organization, or individual.

Solo, who began her public interest career in the 1970s by co-founding and -directing the Rocky Flats campaign and the national Nuclear Weapons Facilities Task Force, founded CSI 19 years ago. She formerly worked for the Armed Services committee professional staff and as campaign director for U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder.

Graham Hueber, senior researcher at ORC International (a major polling firm that has partnered with CSI to conduct 28 surveys to date), ticked off the survey results during the press conference and concluded: “When Americans are asked about their views on specific policy questions that go to the future of nuclear power, there is majority support across the board on every question for moving away from greater reliance on this power source.”

The survey found:

* 14 percent of participants said their views had not been changed by the Japanese reactor crisis.
* 73 percent of participants do not “think taxpayers should take on the risk for the construction of new nuclear power reactors in the United States through billions of dollars in new federal loan guarantees.”
* 74 percent of participants would support “a shift of federal loan-guarantee support for energy away from nuclear reactors” in favor of wind and solar power.
* 73 percent of participants would favor Congress reviewing a 1957 law indemnifying nuclear power companies from most disaster clean-up costs.
* 46 percent of participants would “support more nuclear power reactors in the United States” and 44 percent now oppose new reactors. According to CSI, that support level is down by more than 25 percent from the March 2010 Gallup Poll showing 62 percent support for nuclear power.

In May 2010, CSI also funded the report "Beyond Business As Usual," which was produced by Synapse Energy Economics, and looks at a future without coal or nuclear power. Bruce Biewald, president of the research consulting firm and a report author, said the United States over-relies on coal and nuclear technologies and should consider transitioning to efficiency, regional wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal power sources.

In related news, U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Lisa Murkowski on Monday released white paper (pdf) that outlines the questions that must be answered before lawmakers can develop a "Clean Energy Standard," which President Barack Obama mentioned in his State of the Union address. The national goal would be for 80 percent of U.S. electricity to come from clean energy technologies by 2035.

What Does FEMA Advise in a Nuclear Reactor Emergency?
In the nuclear power policy survey funded by the Civil Society Institute, 52 percent of participants living within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor told surveys that they do not know “what to do in the event of nuclear reactor emergency,

in reference to: Japan's Nuclear Disaster Gives Survey Participants Pause -- Occupational Health & Safety (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help

2011-03-23T01:47:00.003-07:00

Japan was hit by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded on March 11. The magnitude-9.0 quake spawned a deadly tsunami that slammed into the small island nation, leaving a huge swath of devastation in its wake. Thousands of people are dead and many more are still missing or injured; almost half a million people are homeless.

Japan has often donated when other countries have experienced disasters, such as when Hurricane Katrina impacted the United States. Below are organizations that are working on relief and recovery in the region.

AMERICAN RED CROSS: The American Red Cross is currently supporting and advising the Japanese Red Cross, which continues to assist the government in its response. You can help people affected by disasters, like floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as countless other crises at home and around the world by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Donate here.

GLOBALGIVING: Established a fund to disburse donations to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. We are working with International Medical Corps, Save the Children, and other organizations on the ground to provide support. Our partners on the ground are working hard to provide immediate relief. Donate here.

SAVE THE CHILDREN: Save the Children, which has worked in Japan since 1986, has an immediate goal of $5 million to launch longer-term recovery for children affected by Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Save the Children has opened the first child-friendly space in Japan, protective environments where children can gather to play and share their experiences under the supervision of trained, caring adults. Donate here.

SALVATION ARMY: The Salvation Army has been in Japan since 1895 and is currently providing emergency assistance to those in need. Donate here.

AMERICARES: AmeriCares and its relief workers in Japan are working to deliver medicines and supplies to hospitals, shelters and health responders to treat and care for survivors. The AmeriCares team began mobilizing within hours of the first reports of the dual disasters, dispatching an emergency response manager to Tokyo to direct the efforts of our relief workers in Sendai, the largest city closest to the impact zone. Our team is in direct contact with local officials, evacuation shelters and hospitals treating the injured in Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate to determine health needs. Donate here.

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: A team of doctors flew to Sendai, where they will be delivering supplies, assessing needs, and identifying communities that have not yet been reached. We continue to coordinate with local health authorities and partners on critical gaps, providing technical expertise and assisting with logistics. Donate here.

SHELTERBOX: ShelterBox responds instantly to natural and man-made disasters by delivering boxes of aid to those who are most in need. The box includes a tent for a family of 10, cooker, blankets, water purification, tool kit and other items survivors need to rebuild their lives in the days, weeks and months following a disaster. Donate here.

in reference to: Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help

2011-03-23T01:47:00.001-07:00

in reference to: Japan earthquake and tsunami: How to help - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Massive earthquake hits Japan

2011-03-21T03:06:00.001-07:00

An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit off the east coast of Japan early today. The quake -- one of the largest in recorded history -- triggered a 23-foot tsunami that battered Japan's coast, killing hundreds and sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, and boats. Editors note: we'll post more as the story develops -- Lloyd Young (47 photos total)

in reference to: Massive earthquake hits Japan - The Big Picture - Boston.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

War clouds hover over Tripoli

2011-03-21T01:45:00.001-07:00

TRIPOLI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- War clouds are gathering over here as Western forces have started launched air strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces after a no-fly zone is imposed on Libya.

At around 02:30 a.m. local time (00:30 GMT) on Sunday, missiles whistling from the sea hit the Tajura area near Tripoli and the ensuing huge explosions sounded over the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

The air-defense forces loyal to Gaddafi immediately fought back with anti-craft guns, misbelieving Western warplanes were coming to attack. The traces of anti-aircraft gun shots could been seen in the night sky over Tripoli.

Intensive anti-aircraft guns lasted about 10 minutes in the southern and southwestern part of the city.

Soon in the early Sunday morning, some angry local residents rushed to a hotel in Tripoli, where foreign journalists stay, to protest the air assaults carried out by the Western forces.

The world's major powers, Britain, the United States and France, Saturday started to launch strikes from the air and sea against Gaddafi's forces after the UN Security Council had passed a resolution to impose a no-fly zone on Libya and protect civilians in Libya.

France carried out initial four air strikes, while the U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines at more than 20 Libyan coastal targets.

French warplanes Saturday night attacked an air defense site in Tajura, about 10 km east of Tripoli, and destroyed several armored vehicles of the Libyan government troops near Benghazi, the last stronghold of Libyan rebels.

Libyan Parliament Speaker Mohammed Abul-Qassim al-Zwai told a press conference that foreign fighter jets hit Tripoli and Misurata, which caused many casualties.

Sixty-four people have been killed and 150 others wounded in the air strikes since Saturday, Libya's health officials said on Sunday.

Western warplanes have bombed civilian targets in Tripoli, causing the casualties, and several fuel tanks were also hit, Libya's state television reported.

In a brief audio message carried out by Libya's state television hours after the air strike, Gaddafi called the Western attacks as "a crusader war" against the Libyan people, saying that the air strikes were designed to "terrify the Libyan people" and were "terrorist means."

Gaddafi vowed to snatch a victory over Western forces, saying the western forces would be defeated.

All the Libyan people were united and have been given weapons, "ready for a long war" in the country, he said.

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said on Sunday that the initial stage of an international operation to set up a no-fly zone over Libya "has been successful."

Speaking to ABC's "This Week" news program, Mullen said the Libyan government forces' advance on rebel stronghold Benghazi has been stopped, adding the operation has "limited goals," and isn't aimed at regime change in Libya.

The UN Security Council Thursday adopted a resolution to impose a no-fly zone on Libya and authorize "all necessary measures," excluding ground troops, to protect civilians in the embattled country.

On Saturday afternoon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited leaders from some Arab countries and main Western powers to attend an emergency summit held at the Elysee Palace on the implementation on the UN resolution on imposing a no-fly zone on Libya.

After the emergency summit, Sarkozy said France had already taken military action against Libya, noting "our determination is total."

Earlier Saturday, several French reconnaissance planes were flying over Libya. French warplanes also fired the first shots Saturday, destroying tanks and armored vehicles near Benghazi.

Denmark dispatched six F-16 jet fighters to the U.S. base in Sicilia, Italy, preparing to participate in action against the Libyan government forces.

In addition, British and Canadian warplanes are on their way to join their NATO allies' operations against Gaddafi. Italy has agreed to open seven military bases for the operations.

On Satu

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China to monitor food imported from Japan for radiation

2011-03-21T01:40:00.001-07:00

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- China's quality watchdog said Monday it has asked local authorities to monitor food imported from Japan for radiation following the nuclear disaster at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant .

Local quality watchdogs should test food from Japan for radiation to ensure the safety of China's food imports, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said.

In 2010, bilateral trade between China and Japan reached 303.06 billion U.S. dollars, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

China imported 593 million U.S. dollars worth of agricultural products from Japan last year, accounting for 0.33 percent of Japan's total exports to China.

The country had been Japan's biggest trading partner and export destination as of the end of last year.

The massive earthquake that struck Japan's northeast coast on March 11damaged the country's nuclear power plants and killed thousands of people.

in reference to: China to monitor food imported from Japan for radiation (view on Google Sidewiki)

Russian Celebrity Has Her Twitter Account Stolen, Threatens Court Trial

2011-03-17T21:36:00.001-07:00

March 04, 2011 | Svetlana Gladkova

Russian celebrities are not really that different from every other celebrity in the world in their hunt for PR. Logically, many of them quickly jumped on the Twitter bandwagon when they realized the PR power of it. Tina Kandelaki, a TV personality, is one of the most active Twitter users among Russian celebrities as she reports quite a number of her daily events to more than 50 thousand of followers. And today she has had her account hacked.

The irony of the entire story is that the account has not even been stolen by some clever hacker (and we are supposed to have plenty of them in Russia) – it was just a journalist. Allegedly he wanted to get a comment from Tina on a now revived political issue she was involved with a few years ago but when he got none (because of her busy schedule or unwillingness to comment – does not matter), he decided to attract her attention in this pretty unusual manner.
The account is told to have been controlled by the journalist-hacker for a few hours. After managing to log in under the celebrity’s account, he has promptly changed the password to lock the owner out of her account. The only problem was that he has not changed the email linked to the account so Tina has managed to gain control of the account a few hours later. Over the hours, the journalist has allegedly posted 3 updates there regarding her unwillingness to provide a comment.
I personally do not think there is anything specifically extraordinary about someone hacking someone else’s account on a social network but still this issue poses a serious question given Twitter popularity today. It is pretty obvious that whoever manages to hack an account of a person with a significant number of followers will be able to broadcast messages that will be retweeted and eventually reach many-many eyes of the people who trust the person who seems to be their author. And it could have nothing to do with truth at the same time!

It is not clear yet what the reason for the hack was – a terrifically simple password for Tina’s account or some vulnerability of Twitter. I am inclined to blame Tina and her lack of attention in choosing a password because the suspect does not seem to be a hacker experienced in breaking into websites – he is a journalist who could probably only try a few meaningful and simple passwords to get in – and succeeded.

Or of course he could also hire someone way more professional – and in this case it could probably not be Tina’s fault but this scenario at the same time poses interesting questions regarding Twitter security. In fact, I would expect Tina to be pretty careful with her online presence given her obsession with the latest and greatest in technology. For example, she was the first among the Russian people I follow on Twitter to get her hands on an iPad of her own a few days after it became available in the US and sounded extremely excited expecting the flight from New York bringing the gadget to her. I would expect someone with this interest in technology to know what a secure password is and how to use it.

Anyway, the celebrity is now planning to appeal to the police for them to deal with the incident. And whoever actually hacked the account or whatever the reason, it will probably be the first trial about stealing Twitter accounts in Russia (there has already been some on local social networks) and it will be interesting to see if Twitter team chooses to cooperate with Russian law enforcement authorities now.

in reference to: Russian Celebrity Has Her Twitter Account Stolen, Threatens Court Trial | Profy | Internet news and commentary (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan earthquake: Footage of moment tsunami hit

2011-03-17T04:24:00.001-07:00

Japan earthquake: Footage of moment tsunami hit

13 March 2011 Last updated at 08:06 GMT
Newly emerged footage shows the force at which the tsunami struck Japan's coast.

In the fishing port of Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, boats were overturned, while video from Kamaishi city shows cars being dragged down city streets by the water.

The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages. Powerful aftershocks are continuing to hit the region.

Footage courtesy of TV Asahi and TBS

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Narora Atomic plant can withstand quakes: NPCIL

2011-03-17T04:10:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: With Japan's deadly quake raising questions over safety of nuclear reactors worldwide, the state-run nuclear operator today allayed any fears with regard to Narora Atomic Power Station located in seismic zone IV in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr.

"The design of the plant itself takes care of seismicity. It can withstand earthquakes measuring in the excess of 7 on the Richter scale," Sudhindra Thakur, Executive Director and Fellow, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited told PTI.

He said the Narora site falls in the Zone IV which is low seismic zone.

Thakur noted that IIT-Roorkee had suggested additional safety measures for the Narora plant which was the only plant in India to be located in seismic zone IV. The other plants fall in seismic zones II and III which have even less probability of occurrence of a strong earthquake.

Thakur pointed out that even in Japan, the damage to the nuclear plants was due to the tsunami that was generated after the powerful earthquake.

"The nuclear plants in Japan had shut down immediately after the earthquake. It is the subsequent tsunami that caused the damage," Thakur said.

Another nuclear scientist closely associated with the operation of the Narora plant said the region was not prone to earthquakes.

The plant had withstood the the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Uttarkashi, he said.

In Japan, the nuclear plants are located in Seismic Zones VII, VIII and IX.

in reference to: Narora Atomic plant can withstand quakes: NPCIL - The Economic Times (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan calamity calls temporary hit for rare earth Reuters / Pittsburgh

2011-03-17T03:59:00.001-07:00

March 16, 2011, 8:40 IST,,,,,,,,,,,,,The aftermath of Japan's disastrous earthquake and tsunami could hold down rare earth prices over the next month, but overall those prices are likely to remain elevated for the next few years, executives said.

Temporary closures of Japanese businesses, coupled with disruptions to ports and the electric grid as authorities struggle to stop the release of radiation from a quake-hit nuclear plant, may cause delays in shipments of the metals used in everything from Apple iPads to wind turbines. But few rare earth users are likely to turn away previously ordered materials in the face of continued export cutbacks by leading supplier China.

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"You're looking at something that probably has an impact of two to four months. We may see some relaxation in prices over that time, more as a knee-jerk reaction," said Jon Hykawy, rare earth analyst with Byron Capital Markets.

Over the long term, no rare earth users are likely to turn away shipments out of concern about the overall current short supply of the materials.

"Deliveries will go on, shipments will go on. There will be delays in processing," Hykawy said at the Asian Metal International Rare Earth Summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Western companies including Molycorp Inc, Lynas Corp Ltd, Great Western Minerals Group and Avalon Rare Metals are scrambling to redevelop mines capable of producing rare earth elements.

They are largely focusing on restarting mines that were idled at times when prices were lower, but look economical since China last year began reducing its rare earth exports.

Shares of rare earth producers sold off on Tuesday, amid a broad decline in US equities sparked by concerns about how Japan's disaster will affect world economic growth.

NOT 'IN THE MOOD'

For now, Japanese demand for rare earths has dried up, said one executive.

"We cannot call our customers right now and say, 'Do you want to buy something?' No one is in the mood ... So if 50% of the consumption of the world is in Japan and this 50% stops for a couple of weeks, or a couple of months, this will be a huge impact on the consumption side or the demand site," said Furkhat Faizulla, marketing manager from Advanced Material Japan Corp. "We will have to see the real situation in Japan in one week, two weeks, but maybe the prices will come down in the coming months."

But long-term demand is unlikely to be affected unless more of Japan's industrial core is affected by subsequent troubles, executives said.

"A large amount of the infrastructure in Japan is not on the coastal side of Japan, there's a lot inland," said Russell Starr, a partner in Euro Pacific Canada and an investor in the sector.

CHINA SHIFT?

Executives at the conference also wrestled with the question of whether China, which accounts for more than 95% of global rare earth production, but is estimated to hold just a third to half of the world's reserves, would eventually shift to become a net importer of rare earths.

Growing Chinese demand could have that country importing more rare earth than it expects at some point "beyond 2015," Great Western executive chairman Gary Billingsley said.

That was a similar to a projection made by Molycorp Chief Executive Mark Smith, who said he expected the gap between global demand and supply to be wider in 2011 than it was in 2010, when the boom began.

Pierre Neatby, vice president of

in reference to: Japan calamity calls temporary hit for rare earth (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan crisis won't trigger global recession: economists

2011-03-17T03:58:00.001-07:00

Japan's nuclear crisis and the devastations caused by last Friday's earthquake and tsunami are unlikely to trigger a global recession as happened in the aftermath of the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers three years ago, according to leading economists.

However, they expressed fears that automobile and electronic industries around the world, especially in Asia, Europe and the US, may face manufacturing delays, if the Japanese production of components remain crippled for a long period.

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Concerns over a renewed global recession or a bankruptcy of Japan are unfounded, said Thomas Mayer, Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank.

Even though Japan is the world's third largest economy, its share of the global gross domestic product (GDP) is below 5%.

Therefore, the consequences for the global economy from the catastrophe will be very minimal, Mayer said in an interview to German economic daily Handelsblatt.

In the areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami, relatively less industries are located, but the main problem is the disruption of power supply.

The Deutsche Bank estimates that the power cuts could reduce monthly growth of the Japanese GDP by 0.1% Mayer said.

The Japanese economy has to cope with a second successive quarter of negative growth this year after a strong turnaround in 2010.

Before the earthquake and tsunami, the Deutsche Bank had forecast a 1.6% growth for the Japanese economy this year.

This will have to be corrected downwards depending on whether the nuclear crisis intensifies and how long it takes to start the reconstruction, he said.

Mayer estimated the costs of reconstruction will be much higher than around 10 billion yen invested by the government after the Kobe earthquake if the situation at the crippled reactor complex in Fukushima worsens and becomes a full-blown nuclear catastrophe.

In the Kobe earthquake, much more industries were destroyed, but the number of casualties were around 6,500, which is about half of the estimated loss of lives in the present disaster, he said.

Klaus Juergen Gern of the Institute for World Economy at the University of Kiel said that the earthquake, tsunami and the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan could affect supply of electronic components worldwide, especially chips which are crucial for a wide range of industries, including the automobile sector.

in reference to: Japan crisis won't trigger global recession: economists (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast

2011-03-16T09:54:00.005-07:00

There has been debate among experts as to whether the nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan will affect the United States. One thing most agree on is that wind direction and weather patterns will play a role in the extent of the spread of the disaster.
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan last Friday forced Japanese officials to release radioactive steam into the atmosphere. The measure remains an effort to prevent a total meltdown of four damaged reactors and the subsequent release of massive amounts of radiation into the environment.
Elevated radiation levels have been reported as far away as Tokyo, 170 miles to the south of the troubled Fukushima Daiiachi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.
"No citizen of any country can be assured that he or she can be protected from radioactive contamination. One nuclear reactor can pollute half the globe... Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere," according to data from the Russian Institutes of Radiation Safety.
While the toxicity of a radioactive cloud may be diluted on its journey across the Pacific Ocean, there is no guarantee that if and when it reaches the west coast of the United States that there will be no consequences.
Radiation from nuclear waste can remain in the environment for up to 1,000 years.

in reference to: Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast

2011-03-16T09:54:00.003-07:00

in reference to: Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast

2011-03-16T09:54:00.001-07:00

in reference to: Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast

2011-03-16T09:45:00.003-07:00

in reference to: Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast (view on Google Sidewiki)

Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast

2011-03-16T09:45:00.001-07:00

in reference to: Japan radiation toxic cloud may hit US west coast (view on Google Sidewiki)

Russia Holds Emergency Meeting On Japan Disaster Effects

2011-03-16T01:05:00.001-07:00

Russia has held an emergency meeting on the disaster in Japan to make sure it is prepared for any effects on its own people. Prime Minister Valerie Putin said natural gas projects along the coastline facing Japan should be speeded up.

Putin said the region may be facing long term leaks from the damaged Japanese reactors, Ria Novosti reported.

“We should act faster on our plans to develop gas projects in the Far East, including the Sakhalin-3 project,” Putin said. “All services should be on alert for any possible scenario.”

There also has been talk of using an undersea cable connecting the two countries to deliver power.

There has been a rush on iodide pills, a form of iodine believed to slow or block the intake of radiation through the thyroid glance. Scientists say they are of limited value. Russian units on Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands have developed plans for an evacuation should it become necessary.

Although the two nations have long been at odds over disputes involving several islands, Russia appears to be putting them aside for now.

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Defence shield: India successfully test-fires ballistic missile interceptor

2011-03-06T22:28:00.001-08:00

Balasore: India successfully test-fired indigenously developed interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, today from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.

"Aimed at developing a full fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, the trial was carried out from two launch sites of ITR off Orissa coast," defence sources said.

Describing the trial as successful, they said the whole exercise is to achieve "desired result with precision".

The 'hostile' target ballistic missile, a modified surface-to-surface 'Prithvi', was first lifted off from a mobile launcher around 9:33 am from the launch complex-3 of ITR at Chandipur-on-Sea, 15 km from here.

Within four minutes, the interceptor, Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile positioned at Wheeler Island, about 70 km across sea from Chandipur received signals from long ranging tracking radars installed along the coastlines, and then travelled through the sky at a speed of 4.5 Mach to a definite altitude over the Bay to destroy it, sources said.

"After the launch of 'target' and 'hit' missiles from their launch sites, detailed results and the 'kill' effect of the interceptor were being ascertained by analysing data from multiple tracking sources," a Defence Research Development (DRDO) scientist said soon after both the missiles roared in to the skies leaving behind a thin white ribbon of smokes.

"While the interceptor designed for endo-atmospheric condition (up to 30 km altitude) is a seven-meter long and single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile, equipped with an inertial navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator under command by the data uplinked from sophisticated ground based radars, the interceptor designed for exo-atmospheric condition is a two stage missile," sources said. .

The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.

This is for the sixth time that the DRDO scientists are testing the interceptor missile.

The previous trials were conducted on November 27, 2006, December 6, 2007 and March 6, 2009 from Wheeler Island.

The fourth test which was scheduled in mid March 2010 was put-off twice. Due to some technical glitches in the sub-system of the missile, the mission was aborted prior to take off on March 14.

The next day on March 15, 2010 the target missile, modified 'Prithvi' deviated from its pre-determined trajectory, which forced the scientists of DRDO to put-off the launch of the interceptor missile in last minutes.

However, the last trial, fifth in its series, conducted on July 26, 2010 incorporating some new technologies to the interceptor missile was a success.

As a safety measure, Balasore district administration has temporarily shifted?401 civilian families, a total of 3221 people, residing within two km radius of ITR launch pad-3 at Chandipur this morning to the nearby shelter centres.

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The New Egypt: 5 reasons why US should be concerned

2011-03-06T22:13:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: When it comes to Egypt, US is walking a fine line in diplomacy. While it has always haboured reservations on Mubarak’s autocratic rule, it has also played safe by allying itself with the present government to maintain a strong foothold in the Middle-East.

Being the largest Arab country, Egypt has long been a cornerstone for US foreign policy and its strategic military partner in the Middle-East region. The fact that Egypt has made peace with Israel plays a strong role in keeping a check on Arab hostilities towards the Jewish state. The ouster of Mubarak raises the strong possibility that the present status-quo might be upset.

When the unrest in Egypt began, US took a guarded stance by not straying too far away from Mubarak while simultaneously supporting Egyptians’ cry for democracy. “We will be reviewing our assistance posture based on events that take place in the coming days,” the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs told reporters.

However, as the revolt grew in strength, the US has started making appropriate noises clearly supporting democracy for Egypt. "He (Mubarak) needs to listen to what's being voiced by the Egyptian people, and make a judgment about a pathway forward that is orderly but that is meaningful and serious," Obama has said.

US is slowly coming to terms with the fact that the cosy relationship it shared with Mubarak is nearing an end. It has now to mull on the possibilities and the steps it will have to take to protect its interests in the Middle-East region.

Egypt’s importance to US:

Egypt is the largest Arab country with the strongest military power among the Arab countries. This makes it strategically important to the US whose foreign policy is heavily influenced by it.

Israel-Arab relations:

The most important breakthrough for US in the middle-east came on the 26th of March 1979, when Israel-Egypt peace treaty was signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. With this treaty, Egypt became the first Arab country to recognise Israel, which made it next to impossible for Arab countries to go to war with Israel. US has since viewed Egypt as its closest ally in the Middle East and continues to supply it with military and economic aid, and supporting it politically. For the past 30 years, since the time Mubarak took over after Sadat’s assassination, Mubarak has been a close ally to the US, upholding the peace treaty and being the key to America’s foreign policy in the Middle East.

“The Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty is the pillar of the structure in the Middle East,” said Edward P. Djerejian, a former American ambassador to Israel and Syria. “If the 1979 agreement goes asunder, everything falls apart.”

Military cooperation:

Egypt is the second largest recipient of US military aid after Israel, which makes it a major non-Nato ally of the United States- a fact which plays to America’s benefit in the Middle East.

The US-Egypt military cooperation gives US key access in the Middle-East. It is also considered to be a part of administration’s strategy in maintaining the availability of Persian Gulf energy resources. It also ensures that the international oil route, the Suez Canal, is secure. The Suez Canal forms a critical route for US warships transiting between the Mediterranean, and either the Indian Ocean or the Persian Gulf.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

Egypt is a key figure in the ongoing process to reach a resolution on the Israel-Palestine conflict. US relies heavily on Egypt to broker peace negotiations between the two countries.

President Hosni Mubarak has often stepped forward to encourage peace negotiations and has hosted peace summits which brought together world leaders in an effort to reach a resolution for the continued crises between the two countries. His now elected vice-President, General Omar Suleiman has also made efforts in the same direction and is highly regarded by both countries.

With Palestine itself, Mubarak shares a love-hate relationship. While Abbas, who controls the West Bank

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Gadhafi forces battle rebels as 37 killed in Libya

2011-03-04T22:58:00.001-08:00

TRIPOLI, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi's regime struck back at its opponents with a powerful attack Friday on the closest opposition-held city to Tripoli and a barrage of tear gas and live ammunition to smother new protests in the capital. At least 37 people died in fighting and in an explosion at an ammunitions depot in Libya's rebellious east.

The bloodshed signaled an escalation in efforts by both sides to break the deadlock that has gripped Libya's 18-day upheaval, which has lasted longer than the Egyptian revolt that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and inspired a wave of protests across the region.

So far, Gadhafi has had little success in taking back territory, with several rebel cities repelling assaults and the entire eastern half of the country under rebel control. But the opposition forces have seemed unable to go on the offensive to march on pro-Gadhafi areas.

Meanwhile, in Tripoli — Gadhafi's most important bastion — his loyalists have waged a campaign of terror to ensure that protesters do not rise up in significant numbers.

Friday's assault on the rebel city of Zawiya, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, appeared to be the strongest yet by Gadhafi's forces after repeated earlier forays against it were beaten back.

In the morning, troops from the elite Khamis Brigade — named after the Gadhafi son who commands it — bombarded the city's western edges with mortar shells, heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft weapons, several residents said. By the evening, another brigade had opened a front on the eastern side. Armed Zawiya citizens backed by allied army units were fighting back.

The commander of the rebel forces — Col. Hussein Darbouk — was killed by fire from an anti-aircraft gun, said Alaa al-Zawi, an activist in the city. Darbouk was a colonel in Gadhafi's army who defected along with other troops in Zawiya early in the uprising.

A witness in Zawiya's hospital said at least 18 people were killed and 120 wounded. Libyan state TV reported the attackers had retaken the city. But al-Zawi, the witness and other residents said it remained in rebel hands, with skirmishes continuing after nightfall.

in reference to: Gadhafi forces battle rebels as 37 killed in Libya - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

N. Korea heir formally invited to China: South Korea spy agency

2011-03-04T22:52:00.001-08:00

SEOUL (Reuters) – China has formally invited North Korea's leader-in-waiting to visit, but it was not clear when Kim Jong-un would make the trip, a South Korean lawmaker said on Saturday, quoting a senior spy agency official.

China is the only major power isolated North Korea can count on as an ally. Jong-un is North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son and heir apparent, who came into the public eye in September when he was named to a senior ruling party post and promoted to the rank of four-star general.

South Korea's spy agency believes Jong-un is likely to accept the invitation and visit Beijing soon, said the lawmaker who is a member of the parliament intelligence committee after a closed-door briefing on Friday.
Senior officials from the spy agency attended the briefing, and members of parliament are asked not to disclose the information they were briefed on, the lawmaker said, declining to be identified.

Little is known about Jong-un other than he is in his late 20s and had a Swiss education. South Korean officials said the North's official media have been on a campaign to paint him as the person best fit for leadership of the state founded by his grandfather.
The visit, if it takes place, will boost Jong-un's standing as the North's next leader, as China remains the reclusive North's main economic and political backer.

Jong-un is likely to ask China for large-scale economic aid when he visits, a Japanese newspaper reported earlier last week, adding he could go as early as this month, after the end of China's National People's Congress meeting.
China has stood by the North even when Pyongyang was harshly criticized after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship last year, which Seoul blames on its neighbor, and the shelling of a South Korean island in November that killed four people.

Tensions peaked on the Korean peninsula after those attacks, with the rivals nations threatening war, but tensions have since eased and South Korea's president has called for dialogue.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

in reference to: N. Korea heir formally invited to China: South Korea spy agency - Yahoo! News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Libya rebels losing one city, but take another, as dozens die

2011-03-04T20:38:00.001-08:00

TRIPOLI, Libya — After a battle in which at least 30 civilians were killed Friday, forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had cornered rebels and claimed to have retaken a key city near the capital.

The rebels, for their part, claimed to have taken Ras Lanouf, a key oil port, while hundreds rallied in the capital Tripoli against Gadhafi. Live ammunition and tear gas were fired to break up the protest, witnesses said.
Friday's assault on Zawiya, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, appeared to be the strongest yet by Gadhafi's forces after repeated earlier forays against it were beaten back.

An improvised force of rebels had been pushed back to the central Martyrs Square in Zawiya, a rebel spokesman said. "Many people were killed in Harsha, which is now occupied by them," rebel spokesman Youssef Shagan told Reuters by phone, referring to a small town outside Zawiya.
"They shot at civilians. We still control (Zawiya's) central square," he added. "They are four to five kilometres away."

In the morning, troops from the elite Khamis Brigade — named after the son of Gadhafi who commands it — bombarded the city's western edges with mortars, heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft guns, several residents said.
By the evening, they had also opened a front on the eastern side. Armed Zawiya residents backed by allied army units were fighting back.
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"I have been to hospital less than 15 minutes ago," a Zawiya resident identified only as Mohamed told Reuters by telephone. "Dozens were killed and more were wounded. We have counted 30 dead civilians. The hospital was full. They could not find space for the casualties."

Mohamed said the Gadhafi forces used grenade-launchers, heavy machine guns and snipers on the rooftop of a new hotel in the town to fire at protesters while they marched after Friday prayers to demand the fall of the regime.

"People used swords and hunting rifles to defend Martyrs Square. Even mothers used those weapons," he added.
The account could not be independently verified and reports of the death toll in the clash varied widely, with the Associated Press quoting a witness at Zawiya's hospital as saying 18 people had been killed and 120 wounded. Another resident told Reuters that between 40 and 50 people were killed in the clashes.

Video: Gadhafi under increasing local, world pressure (on this page)
The commander of the rebel forces in Zawiya — Hussein Darbouk — was among those killed, Alaa al-Zawi, an activist in the city, told the AP. Darbouk, a n army colonel who defected along with other troops in Zawiya early on in the uprising, was shot to death by fire from an anti-aircraft gun, he said.

State-run TV and a source "close to the government" cited by al-Jazeera reported that the city had been retaken by pro-Gadhafi forces. But other accounts indicated control of Zawiya was divided between the rebels and security forces.
East of Tripoli, meanwhile, anti-Gadhafi rebels were on the offensive, attacking a military base on the outskirts of Ras Lanouf, a small oil port on the Mediterranean, about 380 miles from Tripoli.

Rebels attacked Ras Lanouf on Friday afternoon, feeling flush with victory after repelling Gadhafi forces who attacked them days earlier at Brega, a larger oil facility just to the east. Fighters armed with Kalashnikovs and heavy machine guns were seen streaming in pickup trucks and other vehicles from Brega heading in the direction of Ras Lanouf.

in reference to: Libya rebels losing one city, but take another - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - msnbc.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Cloud Computing And Software-As-A-Service : The Future Of Software

2011-03-04T04:46:00.001-08:00

Every time you search Google, you take advantage of cloud computing. Many of us use Gmail or other Google applications like Google docs and Google sites. These wonderful applications are a result of Google’s cloud computing infrastructure.

Before I write more about cloud computing, let me provide a perspective on what are web based applications and how they work:

Any program which is used over the internet through a web browser is termed as web application. Most commonly used web applications are Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter etc. According to internet experts, in the next 10 years, 80% software will be used over the web.

A web application functions in a completely different way than your desktop software. With web application, information is processed and stored on the Web Server which runs the application.

When you send request to a Web Server it processes your request and returns appropriate result on your web browser. Therefore, your personal computer is free from the burden of storing and processing information, since all the action happens on the Web Server.

Despite the fact that using web application is fun and extremely productive, it also invites problems such as availability and reliability. With increase in the number of users, the number of requests a Web Server has to process also increases exponentially. If the number of request a server receives, increases than its capacity, it crashes. That’s when we see errors such as ‘Server down’ or ‘Server inaccessible’.

You must be wondering how all this is related to Cloud computing. So let me tell you the story of Google and how they solved similar problems faced by their web application (in this case their search engine).

In late 90’s when Google was gaining huge popularity world-wide, one of the biggest challenges they faced was scaling their Web Server to handle millions of requests. In order to ramp up their capacity, they vociferously installed hundreds and thousands of web servers at various locations across the globe. This capacity built up was done at an investment of millions of dollars. A similar problem was faced by other internet companies like Amazon.com and they did the same with their own infrastructure. With the capacity ramp up, they were able to handle large number of user requests very efficiently.

However, they faced another problem after doing this ramp up. They realized that the processing and storage capacity of these servers were not fully utilized all the time. They discovered that other than peak loads, most of their servers resources were utilized only up to 50%. A large pool of server resources was lying underutilized.

During this period, the concept of Virtualization had started gaining momentum. Virtual Servers are similar to a physical server in terms of performance and availability but the biggest difference is in the fact that a Virtual Server in itself does not posses processing or storage capability; but it utilizes the underlying hardware to store and process the information.

With the advancement in Virtualization technology, companies like Amazon and Google started thinking about their Server as a piece of software that provides necessary resources (like processing power, memory and storage) to run a web application. Instead of web application being directly installed on the physical hardware server, they inserted an intermediate piece of software on the physical servers which would provide processing, storage and memory to the web application. Gradually these companies realized that by using the Virtualization technology, they can combine the processing power of thousands of server into a big Virtual Server which can be used to distribute computing capabilities to a variety of web applications. This was the birth of Cloud computing. Cloud computing allows resources needed by a web application to be virtualized by using an intermediate software layer called Virtual Server.

in reference to: Cloud Computing And Software-As-A-Service : The Future Of Software | Technology News, Updates, www.latest9.com : Latest 9 (view on Google Sidewiki)

China's defence budget to rise 12.7% in 2011

2011-03-04T03:51:00.001-08:00

BEIJING: China's defence budget will rise 12.7 percent in 2011 to 601.1 billion yuan ($91.7 billion), a government spokesman said on Friday, amid persistent concerns about Beijing's military build-up.

The figure was contained in a budgetary report submitted to the National People's Congress, the parliament's spokesman Li Zhaoxing told a news conference on the eve of the opening of the annual NPC session.

"China has always paid attention to controlling the size of defence spending," Li told reporters, describing spending as "relatively low" compared with the rest of the world.

Li, a former foreign minister, said the figure represented six percent of the total national budget in the world's second-largest economy.

The number however represents a return to double-digit increases, which have alarmed the United States and several of China's Asian neighbours. That trend had been broken last year when the defence budget rose 7.5 percent.

The People's Liberation Army -- the world's largest -- is hugely secretive about its defence programmes, but insists its modernisation is purely defensive in nature.

"This will not pose a threat to any country," Li said.

For Willy Lam, a China analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the published military budget -- which he said was likely only one-third to one-half of total spending -- will be poured into next-generation equipment.

"The return to this double-digit PLA budget reflects the growing power of the PLA," Lam told AFP. "They are trying to close the gap with Russia and the United States."

Experts say the spending hike also reflects a desire to keep the pressure on Washington, Tokyo and others in the region.

"The Chinese communist leadership needs to increase its military intimidation of the United States, Taiwan and neighbours like Japan and India," said Rick Fisher at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in the US.

"Spending increases advance this goal by ensuring that programmes entering their expensive procurement phase, like aircraft carriers and nuclear missile submarines, can proceed without delay," Fisher told AFP.

Tokyo has repeatedly questioned Beijing's military intentions, especially after collisions in disputed waters in September between two Japanese coastguard boats and a Chinese fishing vessel that sparked a major row.

"We regard the modernisation of China's military power and its growing and intense activities as concerns," top Japanese government spokesman Yukio Edano said Thursday, after two Chinese planes approached a contested island chain.

"Our country will continue to pay close attention to moves by China's military."

Japan has said it plans to send more forces to its scattered southern islands and away from Cold War-era locations in the north near Russia, citing Beijing's increased assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.

India's defence minister last month expressed "serious concern" over China's growing military might, pledging to boost its own forces.

The two countries have long-standing border disputes in the Himalayas.

On Monday, India announced a nearly 12 percent jump in defence spending to $36 billion in its annual budget -- up from a four percent hike last year.

In January, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Beijing to patch up frayed military ties -- and was instead greeted with the maiden flight of China's first next-generation stealth fighter.

Last month, the Pentagon proposed a record "base" defence budget -- excluding the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- of $553 billion for fiscal 2012.

"Advances by the Chinese military in cyber and anti-satellite warfare pose a potential challenge to the ability of our forces to operate and communicate in this part of the Pacific," Gates said after his China visit.

But he added that Washington and Tokyo were well-placed to counter the threat with high-tech hardware and that it was not a foregone conclusion that China would turn into a military rival.

in reference to: China's defence budget to rise 12.7% in 2011 - The Times of India (view on Google Sidewiki)

World's Most Beautiful Buildings

2011-03-04T03:36:00.001-08:00

World's Most Beautiful Buildings
Take a tour of the world’s most beautiful buildings, from Kansas City to India.

1), ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University

2), Sagrada Família, Barcelona

3), Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE

4), Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands

5), The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

6), National Congress Hall, Brasilia, Brazil

7), The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain

8), The Chrysler Building, New York City

9), Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France

10), Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building, Kansas City, MO

in reference to: Headlines, Today's News Headlines, Current Breaking News | Times of India (view on Google Sidewiki)

Earth's 6th mass extinction has already begun

2011-03-04T03:18:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON: Is the Earth on the brink of its sixth mass extinction? So believe the scientists who say the intensity is very low compared to the past five catastrophes.

In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, assessed where the mammals and other species stand today in terms of possible extinction, compared with the past 540 million years, and they found cause for hope as well as alarm.

"If you look only at the critically endangered mammals and assume... they'll be extinct in 1,000 years, that puts us clearly outside any range of normal, and tells us that we are moving into the mass extinction realm," said lead author Anthony Barnosky, UC professor of integrative biology. "If currently threatened species actually went extinct and that rate of extinction continued, the sixth mass extinction could arrive within as little as 3 to 22 centuries."

Nevertheless, it's not too late to save these critically endangered mammals and other such species and stop short of the tipping point, Prof Barnosky, who is also a curator at the Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley, said.

That would require dealing with a perfect storm of threats, including habitat fragmentation, invasive species, disease and global warming, the paleobiologist warned.

"So far, only 1% to 2% of all species have gone extinct in the groups we can look at clearly, so by those numbers, it looks like we are not far down the road to extinction. We still have a lot of Earth's biota to save. "It's important to devote resources and legislation toward species conservation if we don't want to be the species whose activity caused a mass extinction," he said.

For the research, Barnosky and his team estimated the range of plausible rates for the mass extinctions from the fossil record and then compared those rates to present status.

They chose mammals as a starting point because they are well studied today and are well represented in the fossil record going back some 65 million years.

Biologists estimate that within the past 500 million years, at least 80 mammal species have gone extinct out of a starting total of 5,570 species.

The team's estimate for the average extinction rate for mammals is less than two extinctions every million years, far lower than the current extinction rate for mammals.

"It looks like modern extinction rates resemble mass extinction rates, even after setting a high bar for defining 'mass extinction'," Barnosky said.

After looking at the — International Union for Conservation of Nature — list of threatened species, the team said if all mammals listed endangered now go extinct, whether that takes 1,000 years, Earth will be in a true mass extinction.

Read more: Earth's 6th mass extinction has already begun - The Times of India

in reference to: Earth's 6th mass extinction has already begun - The Times of India (view on Google Sidewiki)

Rebels in Libya win battle but fail to loosen Gaddafi's Grip

2011-03-03T23:37:00.001-08:00

Brega: From the feeble cover of sand dunes, under assault from a warplane overhead and heavy artillery from a hill, rebels in this strategic oil city repelled an attack by hundreds of Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi's fighters on Wednesday. The daylong battle was the first major incursion by the colonel's forces in the rebel-held east of the country since the Libyan uprising began. (NDTV reports from inside Libya: Oil town fights off Gaddafi)

The battle began at daybreak, when government fighters stormed the airport and the area around the city's oil refinery. By the early afternoon, hundreds of men from this city, wielding Kalashnikov rifles and knives -- joined by confederates from neighbouring cities with heavier artillery -- fought Colonel Gaddafi's men, who were backed by air power and mortars.

But as night fell, the government fighters were on the run and the rebels were celebrating in Brega and all along the road north to Benghazi, the seat of rebel power, where fireworks lighted up the sky.

The attack seemed to spearhead a broader effort by the government of Colonel Gaddafi to reassert control over strategic oil assets in the eastern part of the country, which have been seized by rebel forces. And what appeared to be a victory by the rebels continued a string of recent successes in beating back those attacks, as they did in the western city of Zawiyah earlier this week. But the rebels have not been able to shake the colonel's hold on power.

That quandary was apparent as the fighters celebrated their victory in a Brega square: the warplane reappeared and attacked the gathering.

"Yes, they won," said Iman Bugaighis, a spokeswoman for the rebel governing authority, which asked Western nations to conduct airstrikes against Colonel Gaddafi's strongholds on Wednesday. "We don't know how long it will last. He's getting stronger."

Eastern Libya, where opposition fighters forced out Colonel Gaddafi's loyalists 10 days ago, remains chaotic. Rumours come and go, with fears of fresh airstrikes and advances by pro-government forces, followed by bold but so far empty talk of a final assault on Colonel Gaddafi's Tripoli stronghold. The military here is leaderless, the towns governed by ad hoc councils.

The battle of Brega was a ragged affair. There were no orders, no officers, no plans: most of the men said they had simply jumped in cars to defend their freedom after hearing that government loyalists, whom the rebels call mercenaries, had begun a dawn raid on Brega.

Fighters carried every kind of weapon. Some manned big antiaircraft guns, wearing black military berets and saluting as they rode past. Others drove beat-up old taxis, clutching rifles, pistols, anything they could find, even butcher knives.

"We fought them barefoot," said Erhallem Jedallah, a burly man who wore crossed belts of ammunition across his shoulders. "So with these weapons we can defeat Gaddafi."

He was reassembling a big black antiaircraft gun -- taken from a military supply depot -- at a dusty checkpoint on the road to Brega. At his feet was a plastic crate full of gasoline bombs in soda bottles and a half-eaten piece of bread. Inside the gatehouse next to him were stacks of rocket launchers and boxes of ammunition.

"Victory or death!" the men around him shouted.

If the opposition lacks a plan for victory, Colonel Gaddafi's strategy is equally murky. His militiamen, travelling in 50 all-terrain vehicles, attacked at dawn, and later took dozens of local people hostage at the city's university, using them as human shields, witnesses said. Fighter planes bombed the area, leaving craters and shrapnel in a road near the university. The town has an oil and gas company and pipelines, and a small airport that might be a useful staging point.

But the attack, which left at least nine people dead and scores wounded, appeared to have succeeded only in further outraging people. "This man is a butcher!" shouted Imraja Saeed, who stood outside Brega's university at dusk on Wednesday. "His soldiers ran away disgraced. If they tried to land their planes

in reference to: Rebels in Libya win battle but fail to loosen Gaddafi's Grip (view on Google Sidewiki)

Libya's hidden wealth may be next battle

2011-03-03T23:25:00.001-08:00

London: As the battle for Libya rages on, the struggle over control of the country's sovereign wealth fund and its $70 billion in assets has just begun.

With a sizable pot of ready cash and stakes in a few elite European companies -- including the British publisher Pearson and the Italian soccer club Juventus -- the fund served as an emphatic calling card for its founder, Seif al-Islam el-Gaddafi, a son of the Libyan ruler who was once regarded as the reformer in the family.

Established in 2006, the fund was used by Mr. Gaddafi in an effort to make the case that Libya was ready to open itself to the West. It helped draw into Mr. Gaddafi's orbit a range of powerful figures, including the Rothschild family, Prince Andrew of Britain, the former European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, the cream of corporate society in Italy and the American private equity investors Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone and David M. Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group.

The United States said it intended to freeze any Libyan Investment Authority's assets controlled by American institutions, though no specific bank or asset had been publicly identified. In Britain, officials say the fund will be prevented from selling and repatriating its assets, which include, in addition to its Pearson stake, a small portfolio of commercial real estate holdings in London.

But what remains unclear is to what extent the $50 billion or so of cash and liquid securities in the fund, which operated under the indirect control of Mr. Gaddafi, is accessible to the regime of his father, Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi.

Virtually all of Libya's riches come from oil, and while the country may well be sitting on a cash mountain, deploying those sums in international markets to buy arms or pay outside fighters is likely to be very difficult.

People who worked closely with the fund said that its inner workings were largely a mystery as bureaucratic inertia and lack of investment expertise kept it from being more active. It made its first outside investments only in 2008. Most of the money is probably held in Libya or in other banks in the Middle East outside of the reach of sanctions.

"There was no backup, no staffing and no system -- and everyone wanted to have a cut of the action," said Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya. "It would be wrong to say that it failed, but it has not succeeded, either."

To a degree, Mr. Miles argued, the fund's experience mirrors that of Seif Gaddafi's reform agenda as a whole. "He did not have the professional knowledge and backup to do what he said he was going to do," Mr. Miles said, "and there is a question of how truly committed he was to reform."

While bankers say that some of the cash pool is probably being managed by the investment banks that so aggressively wooed the fund in its early days, they say it is also likely that the bulk of the assets have been kept in Libya's liquidity-rich banking system -- a reflection of the country's long experience with Western-imposed sanctions.

In addition to the fund, Libya's central bank has reserves of about $110 billion, giving it a net cash position of about 160 percent of the nation's annual gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Ever since his "rivers of blood speech" last month, in which Mr. Gaddafi first expressed his family's determination to stay in power at all cost, his once-wide circle of acquaintances has shrunk drastically.

In Britain, friendship has turned to revulsion.

Marjorie Scardino, the chief executive of Pearson, which publishes The Financial Times and The Economist, said the company was uncomfortable with Libya's 3 percent stake. The company has frozen the position and will not pay a dividend to the fund.

In the British Parliament, the opposition Labour Party has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to remove Prince Andrew from his position as a worldwide promoter of British business interests because of his reported ties to Mr. Gaddafi.

In Italy, where the fund was more heavily invested, in part because of

in reference to: Libya's hidden wealth may be next battle (view on Google Sidewiki)

Google Gmail Advertising Forum

2011-03-02T03:23:00.001-08:00

According to an article of a german online news site ( [heise.de...] )Google renamed their email service in Germany from "GMail" to "Google Mail". According to the german Google spokesman this change is only affecting Germany as they're currently in legal discussion with a German who registered "G-Mail" as part of a trademark for on- and offline messaging.
The different logo can be found at https://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/images/googlemail.gif
"Google Mail is an experiment in a new kind of webmail ..."

in reference to: GMail officially renamed to Google Mail in Germany Google Gmail Advertising forum at WebmasterWorld (view on Google Sidewiki)

Google Has Lost the Right to Gmail Name in Germany

2011-03-02T03:21:00.001-08:00

Nikola Koritz
October 14, 2008
Gmail users in Germany were surprised this summer when instead of gaining access to their email, they were greeted with the following message: "We can't provide service under the Gmail name in Germany; we're called Google Mail here instead. If you are travelling in Germany, you can access your mail at http://mail.google.com Oh, and we'd like to link the URL above, but we're not allowed to do that either."

What is the issue?

Although the service is one of the most popular mail solutions on the Internet, it seems like the company must rename the product in multiple regions after some companies sustained that Gmail is a registered trademark.

The first case was reported in 2005 in the UK when the search giant renamed the mail service to Google Mail after a company sent a notification to Google saying that Gmail is a registered trademark of their financial software.

In July 2007, Google Germany had to change from www.gmail.com as a result of a trademark lawsuit with a German businessman Daniel Giersch, who owns the German trademark for an e-mail service "G-mail... und die Post geht richtig ab" for his paid email service. Giersch startet using the name G-Mail in 2000, four years before Google released "Gmail".

"Google infringed the young businessman's trademark that had been previously been registered,"said the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in its judgement. "As far as the Hanseatic Higher Court is concerened, the legal situation is unambiguous to the extent that it has not allowed an appeal to the Federal Court of Justice (equivalent to the Supreme Court)," said Giersch's lawyer.

"Following this ruling, we decided not to offer or provide information about email services in Germany that include the word "Gmail"," the Google Germany spokesperson Stefan Keuchel said. "We're taking this action even though we believe we're not legally obliged to do so."

The trademark conflict started three years agon in July 2005, when Google changed its German service from Gmail to Google Mail.

The battle has dragged in for three years and has been fought in a number of State jurisdictions. Google has filed lawsuits against Giersch in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland. After the German decision a court in Switzerland threw out Google's case and now Giersch will file a suit to prohibit Google from using the name in that country.

"I have made a clear since the beginning that I will never sell the name," Giersch said, after Google offered $ 250.000 to buy the Gmail trademark. "It is my sole intention to realise my idea for a hybrid mail system. I am absolutely convinced of its success. Neither "Gmail" nor myself are for sale".

After the Google lawsuits have ended, Giersch hopes to focus his energies into the further development of "G-mail", which he touts as a new "standard of communication on the Internet".

in reference to: PIJIP: - American University Washington College of Law (view on Google Sidewiki)

TRAI: 1.71 mln users opt for mobile number portability

2011-02-09T02:11:00.001-08:00

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's telecoms regulator on Tuesday said about 1.71 million mobile users have opted to switch operators while retaining their numbers by Feb. 5, following the launch of mobile number portability (MNP) in the world's fastest-growing mobile market.

MNP was launched in Haryana on Nov. 25 last year and was expanded to all of India's 22 zones from Jan. 20.

While MNP has increased competition in the crowded 15-player mobile market -- that is also the world's second-biggest after China with 730 million users at end-November -- but has not led to price cuts so far.

A vicious price war had sent call prices tumbling in the second half of 2009, straining carriers' financials. But the market has stabilised with no major price cuts seen in the last several quarters.

read more....

in reference to: TRAI: 1.71 mln users opt for mobile number portability - Yahoo! India Finance (view on Google Sidewiki)

India's batmakers hit for six by global sponsors

2011-02-09T02:08:00.001-08:00

By Henry Foy

MEERUT, India (Reuters) - When the world's batsmen dazzle crowds at this month's cricket World Cup, many will use bats hand-made in India. But lucrative global branding that masks the bats' true makers threatens the country's craftsmen.

In cricket-mad India, family businesses that have supplied the country's leading cricketers for generations face an uncertain future of anonymity as global giants swamp the game with cash in exchange for TV-friendly logos on the big-hitters' bats.

"Buying players with advertising is far cheaper than investing in making bats. We are crafting bats, they are using stickers. They are ruining our brands, because we cannot afford to give that kind of money, those royalties to the players," says Rakesh Mahajan, director of B.D. Mahajan and Sons (BDM).

In his dust-filled workshop in Meerut, dozens of workers cut, glue, sand and bend hundreds of bats everyday to the exact specifications of international superstars, who rely on their decades-old techniques.

"Sponsorship is no harm, but removing the manufacturer's branding is not fair. We are building the bats, but people are not recognising us: the sponsors are taking the credit," says Mahajan.

Sat in his wood-paneled office, over the sounds of sawing and banging below, Mahajan proudly shows photos of players using BDM bats. But the pictures are undeniably dated: Former superstars carry the logo, but the current crop have followed the money.

"We have no issue with Gray Nicholls, or Kookaburra," says Mahajan, referring to the long-established UK and Australia-based equipment manufacturers.

"The problem is Nike, Reebok, Adidas, people like Brittania and Hero Honda. They make biscuits and motorbikes, not bats!"

BDM employs 300 people in its two factories in Meerut, 80 kilometres north-east of Delhi, where hundreds of sports companies gather at a major hub in the country's estimated 10 billion rupee ($219 million) cricket equipment market.

Wood shavings carpet the stone floor of the bat workshop, where scores of workers squat, filing the edges of countless bats to a smooth finish under towers of willow planks and cane handles that climb to the ceiling.

Boxes of finished bats pile up in every direction from the factory entrance, ready to be distributed across India and the world to global superstars, academy players and amateur batsmen.

WORLD CUP BOOM

Despite Mahajan's fear of cricket's commercialisation, which exploded with the launch of the billion-dollar Indian Premier League in 2008 that sent player wages and TV rights skyrocketing, he admits the globally-viewed World Cup is good for business.

Demand is strong, and Mahajan's sparkling 4x4 on the dusty lane that runs through the industrial estate filled with sports manufacturers attests to BDM's 10-15 percent annual growth.

With the first match just weeks away, the factory is churning out 1,200 bats a day for its largest ever order, and to meet soaring demands from schools and local authorities, while sacks are stuffed full of cricket balls branded with carmaker logos for promotional release during the tournament, which begins Feb 19.

The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricket heartlands of the UK, Australia and Pakistan.

English willow bats sell for 12,000 rupees ($263), while those made from Kashmiri wood range between 500 and 1,200 rupees ($11-$26). BDM's balls cost retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13).

"For the top bats, willow is imported from England , and cane for the handle is imported from Singapore. From India comes the labour and the technique," says Mahajan.

His is a very local operation. Having filled its dingy ball factory, BDM has turned to local villagers, who collect scores of unstitched balls and return with the finished products a few days later, which will be used in professional matches across the country.

Yet when these balls are smashed around stadiums by India's top batsmen, hundreds of

in reference to: India's batmakers hit for six by global sponsors - Yahoo! India Finance (view on Google Sidewiki)

Indian 'jugaad' comes to New York

2011-02-09T02:05:00.001-08:00

New York, Feb 9 (IANS) Jerry-rigged cars, homemade stoves and do-it-yourself water filtration are all examples of what the Indians call 'jugaad' in Hindi or 'making do' with what they have on hand in Indian cities.

Now Americans for the first time are set to experience 'jugaad' - loosely translated as that certain resourcefulness and innovation found in Indian cities - at an exhibition 'Jugaad Urbanism: Resourceful Strategies for Indian Cities', opening here Thursday.

Organised by the Centre for Architecture, the first exhibition in the US on contemporary Indian urbanism explores how the energy of citizens 'making do' can be an inspiration and a catalyst for the worldwide community of architects, designers, and urban planners.

With so much emphasis on high design and high-tech in typical architecture shows, an exhibition focussing on design by the people, for the people, of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune brings a new perspective to the international conversation about designing for life in contemporary cities.

The exhibition on view Feb 10-May 21 juxtaposes these homemade solutions and the 'designed' ones, showing how the two can build off of one another to improve city life.

As curator Kanu Agrawal says, 'Jugaad strategies allow designers to work with maximum adaptability and imagination'.

'Inspired by the skill and ingenuity of grassroots tactics as well as a careful use of meagre resources, designers can be thoughtful contributors for healthier, safer, and more equitable cities.'

'With their organisational skills and expertise they can provide examined ways of improving living conditions,' he says.

Margaret Castillo, president of the American Institute of Architects' New York Chapter, says: 'Together, the exhibition and programmes aim to educate both local and international audiences about the critical issues of growing cities.'

'While Mumbai may seem a world away from New York City, the lessons learned from its empowered citizens and designers can be applied to rapidly expanding cities with similar issues, such as Rio or Guangzhou.

'Object-based, small-scale urbanism proves that good design has the power to make the world a better place,' she says.

Related programmes will include a day-long symposium on informal settlements and low-income housing in India, organised in partnership with the UN Human Settlements programme, and a weekly film series of documentaries and Bollywood features that focus on life in contemporary India.

The exhibition is organised in partnership with the India China Institute at The New School, the Indo-American Arts Council and the Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects.

in reference to: Indian 'jugaad' comes to New York (view on Google Sidewiki)

Tendulkar bears immense burden at World Cup

2011-02-09T02:01:00.001-08:00

London, Feb 8 (Reuters): Sachin Tendulkar, possessor of every one-day batting record worth holding, carries an unparalleled weight of expectation over the course of the next two months.

Even the incomparable Australian Don Bradman, whose feats at the crease during the Great Depression sustained an emerging nation's morale, did not endure the pressure Tendulkar will confront at the 10th World Cup opening in Dhaka on Feb. 19.

According to the historian Ramachandra Guha, Tendulkar is the best-known Indian alive with a status equivalent to a Hindu god or a Bollywood film star. When he faced the former Pakistan opening bowler Wasim Akram the television audience in India exceeded the entire population of Europe.

"Batsmen walk out into the middle alone," wrote the Indian poet and critic C.P. Surendran. "Not Tendulkar. Every time Tendulkar walks to the crease, a whole nation, tatters and all, marches with him to the battle arena."

"A pauper people pleading for relief, remission from the lifelong anxiety of being Indian, by joining in spirit their visored saviour."

Tendulkar scored his 51st test century this year after a duel with South African fast bowler Dale Steyn recalling Bradman's jousts with England's Harold Larwood in the 1932-33 Bodyline series.

Three more one-day hundreds in the World Cup climaxing in his native Mumbai on April 2 would make him the only batsman to total 100 centuries over both forms of the game, a landmark which like Bradman's test average of 99.94 would probably last forever.

"I still want to achieve something and everyone knows that," Tendulkar, 37, said last month at a ceremony to celebrate India's number one spot in the world test rankings.

SPIN RULES

Fourteen teams have been divided into two groups for the tournament, co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, with the top four from each division advancing to the quarter-finals. The first round follows a week of warmup matches, further extending an already overlong competition, and on paper looks soporifically predictable.

In Group A, defending champions Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would have to seriously under-perform to miss qualifying ahead of Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.

Group B holds marginally more interest. Bangladesh barely hold their own in test cricket but they can be a force in the one-day game, especially on their own pitches as a 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand late last year testified.

With a host of slow, naggingly accurate bowlers on sluggish pitches, Bangladesh could well qualify at the expense of West Indies in a group including India, England, South Africa, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The explosion in the one-day game in India, which made the country the richest and most powerful nation in world cricket, followed their upset win over West Indies in the 1983 final under the inspired captaincy of all-rounder Kapil Dev.

At subsequent World Cups they have not played to their potential, reaching only one other final when they were demolished by an outstanding Australian side in 2003.

To exploit home advantage, India have packed their side with full- and part-time spinners in the knowledge that when the knockout stages eventually get away in late March temperatures will be soaring and the pitches will deteriorate faster.

MURALITHARAN DEPARTS

The other leading contenders have reached the same conclusion with even South Africa, who have historically viewed spin bowling with deep suspicion, naming three slow bowlers.

South Africa possess a modern-day master in all-rounder Jacques Kallis, whose averages stand comparison with those of Garfield Sobers. They will again field a confident, aggressive side but have consistently failed to convert potential into performance at the World Cup.

Australia, emphatic champions in the last three tournaments, were trounced by England in the Ashes but won the subsequent one-day series with Shane Watson batting with muscular authority at the top of the order and a revitalised Brett Lee bowling at express pace.

For their part, England have enjoyed a wonderful 12 months,

in reference to: Tendulkar bears immense burden at World Cup | Cricket News - Yahoo! Cricket (view on Google Sidewiki)

Katrina Kaif wants to have kids by 33

2011-02-09T02:00:00.001-08:00

By glamsham
Wednesday Feb 9 10:55 AM

Glamsham Editorial
Bollywood's most happening lady, Katrina Kaif aka 'Sheila Ki Jawani' hottie flaunts her curves exclusively on the February cover of GQ India magazine. The pretty actress strikes a sexy pose on the front page and we're sure fans are going to go gaga for this one!

Following are the excerpts from Katrina kaif's interview with GQ:

"Lack of sleep is dangerous. When I feel tired, I want to put on hats and scarves and build a wall around myself" says Katrina Kaif who is busy shooting for Yash Raj's MERE BROTHER KI DULHAN these days.

According to her working in films is a wonderful business, but it can be very tricky. "You're being watched and judged by a lot of people. You live through the newspapers." Overt displays of female sexuality, for example, are out. "I'm not comfortable beyond a certain line of sensuality," she says. "I think it can be offensive to certain sectors of your audience. It's important that it comes across as you."

Kaif's reluctance to open up extends to her wildly nomadic childhood. Born in Hong Kong, she left with her British mother Suzanne Turquotte, a veteran NGO activist, when she was two or three, spending time in France and Japan and then Hawaii by the age of 11, before arriving in London at 13. "I have a lot of feelings of being lost and shy and isolated. I felt alien," she says. "It makes you feel unsettled in your mind. You crave somewhere to settle." At 18, she found it after being cast in Kaizad Gustad's BOOM in 2003, the film that launched her career. To sound easier on the Indian ear, she took the name of her Kashmiri-British father, Mohammed Kaif.

When asked about her marriage she said, "Do I see myself married in two years? I don't really know. I think by the time I'm around 33, I should be having kids. But you can't plan it. I do want to get married, but do I want to have a child grow up without a father? No. I think you need more security."

in reference to: Katrina Kaif wants to have kids by 33 | Bollywood News - Yahoo! India Movies (view on Google Sidewiki)

Rare Flowers

2011-01-19T21:39:00.001-08:00

Here are pictures of some rare flowers, enjoy!

Beauriful RARE FLOWERS !!!

in reference to: Latest World News Updates, Indian Latest News, Breaking World News: Rare Flowers ! Have a Great Morning ! (view on Google Sidewiki)

Rare Flowers ! Have a Great Morning !

2011-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Rare Flowers

Here are pictures of some rare flowers, enjoy!

Blue Bell Tunicate

Flower Power

Luscious Lotus

Orchid in the Blue

Purple Foxglove

passion flower

How to Have a Great Conversation with Anyone

2011-01-19T21:31:00.001-08:00

The art of conversation takes practice, and is not as hard as you might think. It will take some knowledge, practice, and patience, and you can learn to relax and enjoy a great conversation.

With these tips you will be well on your way to having a good, meaningful and entertaining conversation with anyone!

1. Make a good first impression. Smile, ask questions that require more than a yes/no answer, and really listen. Maintain eye contact and keep as friendly and polite as possible.
2. Listen. This is the most important part of any conversation. You might think a conversation is all about talking, but it will not go anywhere if the listener is too busy thinking of something to say next. Pay attention to what is being said. When you talk to the other person, injecting a thought or two, they will often not realize that it was they who did most of the talking, and you get the credit for being a good conversationalist – which of course, you are!
3. Find out what the other person is interested in. You can even do some research in advance when you know you will have an opportunity to talk with a specific person. Complimenting them is a great place to start. Everyone likes sincere compliments, and that can be a great ice-breaker.
4. Ask questions. What do they like to do? What sort of things have they done in their life? What is happening to them now? What did they do today or last weekend? Identify things about them that you might be interested in hearing about, and politely ask questions. Remember, there was a reason that you wanted to talk to them, so obviously there was something about them that you found interesting.
5. Forget yourself. Dale Carnegie once said, “It’s much easier to become interested in others than it is to convince them to be interested in you.” If you are too busy thinking about yourself, what you look like, or what the other person might be thinking, you will never be able to relax. Introduce yourself, shake hands, then forget yourself and focus on them instead.
6. Practice active listening skills. Part of listening is letting the other person know that you are listening. Make eye contact. Nod. Say “Yes,” “I see,” “That’s interesting,” or something similar to give them clues that you are paying attention and not thinking about something else – such as what you are going to say next.
7. Ask clarifying questions. If the topic seems to be one they are interested in, ask them to clarify what they think or feel about it. If they are talking about an occupation or activity you do not understand, take the opportunity to learn from them. Everyone loves having a chance to teach another willing and interested person about their hobby or subject of expertise.
8. Paraphrase back what you have heard, using your own words. This seems like an easy skill to learn, but takes some practice to master. Conversation happens in turns, each person taking a turn to listen and a turn to speak or to respond. It shows respect for the other person when you use your “speaking turn” to show you have been listening and not just to say something new. They then have a chance to correct your understanding, affirm it, or embellish on it.
9. Consider your response before disagreeing. If the point was not important, ignore it rather than risk appearing argumentative. If you consider it important then politely point out your difference of opinion. Do not disagree merely to set yourself apart, but remember these points:
* It is the differences in people–and their conversation–that make them interesting.
* Agreeing with everything can kill a conversation just as easily as disagreeing with everything.
* A person is interesting when they are different from you; a person is obnoxious when they can not agree with anything you say, or if they use the point to make themselves appear superior.
* Try to omit the word “but” from your conversation when disagreeing as this word often puts people on the defensive. Instead, try substituting the word “a

in reference to: How to Have a Great Conversation with Anyone | Public Speaking Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

ICC World Cup,2011 Schedule

2011-01-17T02:41:00.001-08:00

Icc World Cup 2011 is going to be collectively held by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from february 19. It consists of 14 teams, 2 less than the earlier one, in two groups.
Group A:
Australia, Newzealand, Zimbabwe,Pakistan, Srilanka, Canada, Kenya

Group B:
India, South Africa, West Indies, England, Bangladesh,Netherlands And Ireland.

The teams to miss out from the previous events are Scotland and Bermuda.
The previous event was held in West Indies and the following one to be held in Australia and New Zealand.

विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण ७
Sat Feb 19

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 1st Match, Group B - India v Bangladesh

Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण ८
Sun Feb 20

04:00 GMT | 09:45 NPT 2nd Match, Group A - Kenya v New Zealand

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण ८
Sun Feb 20

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 3rd Match, Group A - Sri Lanka v Canada
Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambanthota
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण ९
Mon Feb 21

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 4th Match, Group A - Australia v Zimbabwe

Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १0
Tue Feb 22

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 5th Match, Group B - England v Netherlands

Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण ११
Wed Feb 23

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 6th Match, Group A - Kenya v Pakistan

Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambanthota
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १२
Thu Feb 24

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 7th Match, Group B - South Africa v West Indies

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १३
Fri Feb 25

03:30 GMT | 09:45 NPT 8th Match, Group B - Bangladesh v Ireland

Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १३
Fri Feb 25

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 9th Match, Group A - Australia v New Zealand

Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १४
Sat Feb 26

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 10th Match, Group A - Sri Lanka v Pakistan

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १५
Sun Feb 27

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT
11th Match, Group B - India v England

Eden Gardens, Kolkata
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १६
Mon Feb 28

04:00 GMT | 09:45 NPT 12th Match, Group A - Canada v Zimbabwe

Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १६
Mon Feb 28

08:30 GMT | 14:45 NPT 13th Match, Group B - Netherlands v West Indies

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७,फाल्गुण १७
Tue Mar 1

09:00 GMT | 14:45 NPT 14th Match, Group A - Sri Lanka v Kenya

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १८
Wed Mar 2

09:00 GMT | 14:45 NPT 15th Match, Group B - England v Ireland

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १९
Thu Mar 3

04:00 GMT | 09:45 NPT 16th Match, Group B - Netherlands v South Africa

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण १९
Thu Mar 3

09:00 GMT | 14:45 NPT 17th Match, Group A - Canada v Pakistan

R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
विक्रम सम्वत् २०६७, फाल्गुण २०
Fri Mar 4

04:00 GMT | 09:45 NPT 18th Match, Group A - New Zealand v Zimbabwe

Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera,

in reference to: The Universe of Cricket - Live scores,live streaming,updates,pictures,videos,ODI,Test,t20,: ICC World Cup,2011 Schedule (view on Google Sidewiki)

Former Microsoft India MD Rajan Anandan to head Google India

2011-01-12T20:50:00.001-08:00

Rajan Anandan, the former Managing Director of Microsoft, has joined search giant Google as the Vice President (Sales and Operations) and Head of India region.

Google, which reported a global revenues of USD 23.65 billion in 2009, has close to 2,000 people in India.
"India is an important growth country for Google. With Internet users growing at 50 per
cent year-on-year, a strong leadership team will ensure that Google captures this tremendous opportunity," Google President (Japan and Asia-Pacific Operations) Daniel Alegre said in a statement.

Shailesh Rao has been covering two roles -- as Japan and Asia-Pacific Managing Director (Media and Platform Sales) as well as MD and Head of Sales for Google India.

"Rao will remain in Gurgaon, but will now focus full time on media and platform sales business for Google. He has been instrumental in getting India off the ground from a start-up to a scaled-up and successful business operation, with revenues and headcount growing substantially," Alegre said.

Previously, Anandan was associated with Microsoft India and was responsible for all aspects of Microsoft's software, OEM and services business in India. Prior to joining Microsoft, he served as the Vice President and Country General Manager of Dell India and Partner with McKinsey & Company in Chicago.
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in reference to: Former Microsoft India MD Rajan Anandan to head Google India (view on Google Sidewiki)

State plans to develop airstrips of erstwhile royals Read more: State plans to develop airstrips of erstwhile royals - The Times of India

2011-01-05T22:43:00.001-08:00

AHMEDABAD: In order to promote intra-state aviation, the state government is planning to develop unused airfields set up by erstwhile princely states during the pre-independence era.

The state civil aviation department has already identified eight such airfields and is in the process of acquiring land to re-develop abandoned aviation infrastructure. Erstwhile princely states, including Wankaner, Wadhvan, Radhanpur, Limdi and Dhangdhra, used to have operational airfields till 1950. The British officials frequently used airfields in Chaadbet and Khavda in Kutch as well as Khambhalia airstrip in Jamnagar.

"These airfields have been out of use for the past five decades. Though they are no longer in use, the state aviation department would not to go through lengthy procedures to get licences and other permissions including environment clearances. Besides, we will get a readymade base and can create infrastructure at much faster pace," said an official in the state aviation department.

"An airfield was prepared post Independence near Wadhvan, which is situated on Surendranagar-Rajkot highway," said Chaitanyadevsinh Jhala, 65, of Wadhvan's royal family. Jhala used to travel from Mumbai to Wadhvan at the age of five with his father.

"Regular flights used to come at Wankaner," recalls septuagenarian Digvijaysinh Jhala of Wankaner's royal family. "Ambica Airliner, a company was instrumental for connecting Saurashtra and Mumbai," said Jhala.

According to him, the airfield near Kutch highway was abandoned after independence and presently is under cultivation. Of the 17 airports in Gujarat, nine are managed by Airports Authority of India (AAI). The AAI airports include Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Porbander, Bhavnagar, Kandla, Keshod and Disha. Three airports including Amreli, Mahesana and Mandvi are controlled by Gujarat government. Jamnagar, Bhuj and Nalia airports are under Indian Air Force, while Mundra and Mithapur are own by private players — Adani Group and Tata Group respectively. Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL) is the nodal agency for development airfields like Palitana, Mandavi, Morbi, Rajkot, Ankleshwar, Parsoli, Rajpipala and Ambaji.

Read more: State plans to develop airstrips of erstwhile royals - The Times of India
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in reference to: State plans to develop airstrips of erstwhile royals - The Times of India (view on Google Sidewiki)

PM rejects NAC's recommendation on minimum pay

2011-01-05T22:36:00.001-08:00

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has shot down the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council's recommendation that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) workers be paid the minimum wages set by states.

The prime minister, in his December 31 letter to the UPA chairperson, clarified that the wage rate fixed by the central government would be indexed to inflation but not linked to the Minimum Wage Act.

The PM's letter says that the consensual view that emerged after discussions with the ministries involved was that while NREGS wages should remain delinked from the Minimum Wage Act, the government will protect a real wage of Rs 100 per day by indexing the wage rate to the Consumer Price Index for agricultural labourers, from January 1, 2011 onwards.

The base will be reset every five years. A committee under the chairmanship of chief statistician Pronab Sen is working on an index for fixing NREGS wages in the future, the letter adds.

Members of the Rajasthan-based Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan whose pioneering efforts contributed to the passage of the Employment Guarantee Act termed the PM's decision as a violation of a Constitutional right. ''This represents a threat to the minimum wage structure which is the only buffer that the vulnerable have against inflation and arbitrary changes,'' Nikhil Dey of the MKSS told TOI. Inflation indexing, which is part of the Minimum Wage Act, will not by itself raise the wages of all NREGS workers to the minimum wage, he added.

Read more: PM rejects NAC's recommendation on minimum pay - The Times of India
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in reference to: PM rejects NAC's recommendation on minimum pay - The Times of India (view on Google Sidewiki)

HTC launches new handset

2011-01-03T22:29:00.001-08:00

Smartphone-maker HTC on Monday announced launch of ‘HTC 7 Mozart' handset in association with Tata Docomo. Priced at Rs.26,490, the new handset is powered by the new Microsoft Windows Phone 7 platform and seamlessly integrates the revolutionary new Windows Phone 7 experience with HTC's proven design and innovation capabilities.

Crafted from a single piece of brushed aluminium, the smartphone is equipped with advanced features like high-fidelity audio, 8 mega pixel camera with auto focus, Xenon flash and high definition video recording.

The HTC 7 Mozart comes with an exclusive offer for Tata Docomo users in India, wherein Tata Docomo subscribers will get special data offer on the handset, the company said in a statement.
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in reference to: The Hindu - HTC launches new handset (view on Google Sidewiki)

bad year for Bollywood in 2010

2011-01-02T23:16:00.001-08:00

It was a bad year for Bollywood in 2010 and industry analysts ended up blaming exorbitant movie budgets for scuppering the chances of many potential blockbusters.

With film budgets soaring to 800 million rupees and stars averse to pay cuts, high acquisition costs and massive marketing budgets have added to industry woes, leading to more turkeys at the box-office.

Text: Reuters

Images: Sify.com

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in reference to: Sify Movies - 2010: Bollywood gets a lesson in math (view on Google Sidewiki)

Chidambaram's appeal to media

2010-12-31T02:02:00.001-08:00

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday lauded the cooperation extended by the media to the Justice Srikrishna Committee. He, however, appealed to the media to extend the same cooperation to the government. The best way to do that “is to avoid speculative stories on the committee's report.''

“After the report is made public on January 6, 2011, the media should communicate the contents of the report to viewers and readers in a fair, impartial and balanced way and promote sober and mature debate. Such debate will help the government to take appropriate decisions on the report,'' Mr. Chidambaram said.

“Now, all of us should look to the future. The past – and the unhappy incidents of the past – must be put behind us. Together, I am sure, we can agree on the path forward, a path that will bring satisfaction, happiness and prosperity to the people.''

Refusing to say anything on the contents of the report, Justice Srikrishna said the Home Minister assured them that he would convene a meeting of all political parties from Andhra Pradesh to discuss the contents of the report. “You pose all your questions to the government now,'' he said.

The committee's member-secretary, Vinod K. Duggal, said the report had given the “way forward.''
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in reference to: The Hindu - Chidambaram's appeal to media (view on Google Sidewiki)

Bowlers give India famous win

2010-12-29T22:02:00.001-08:00

DURBAN: India concluded another famous win overseas — only its second in South Africa — in glorious sunshine on Wednesday afternoon when it dismissed the home side for 215 in its second innings here at Kingsmead.

The victory, by 87 runs and with more than a day to spare, was a fitting riposte by the world's best Test team after the beat-down it suffered in the first match in Centurion and after another lost toss that allowed South Africa the best of the conditions.

With the win, India levelled the series 1-1. The third Test will be played in Cape Town from Sunday, and if M.S. Dhoni's side can call upon the intensity it began Wednesday with, a historic series win in South Africa will be within reach.

India wanted to shift Jacques Kallis early on Wednesday. The firmness of his technique, especially in defensive play, and the intensity of his concentration when asked to bat time, makes Kallis a formidable blockade. South Africa's stroke-players feel secure in his presence, confident they can play around him with unhesitant bats.

The way South Africa started, it was clear A.B. de Villiers was charged with the duty of hustling the runs; Kallis would play Kallis. Fortunately for India, Sreesanth bowled an excellent first spell.

Close to best

Unlike a large part of the first innings, where he strove without success for control, Sreesanth was close to his best on Wednesday morning. He made Kallis play, getting just a touch of reverse-swing into the right-hander at a reasonable, but not rapid, speed (135 to 138 kmph).

What Sreesanth has always had, however, is the ability to bring into being, from seemingly nowhere, an unplayable ball. Even in the first innings, when his bowling was rarely better than mediocre, he managed a leg-cutter that got A.B. de Villiers.

The one that dismissed Kallis was every bit as difficult to evade: it climbed at a steep incline off a length that wasn't all that short; Kallis arched his back as he leapt, but the ball hounded the batsman, moving into him as it rose to hit glove and lob to gully.

The drama heightened when umpire Steve Davis asked the Indians to put their celebrations on hold while he confirmed with the third-umpire that Sreesanth hadn't over-stepped.

Kallis walked off when confirmation came, looking deeply anguished, but it didn't dismay de Villiers from playing insouciantly. Harbhajan Singh, who, like Sreesanth, began with a maiden, switched to bowling from around the wicket. De Villiers, with quick, decisive feet, and pliant, adjusting hands, countered the off-spinner.

Harbhajan won that little battle, an off-break from around the wicket making haste off the wicket to strike pad before bat. The trajectory and the turn were enough to both defeat de Villiers' stroke and satisfy all but one of the necessary conditions for an ‘lbw' judgment.

Height was the only issue — the ball-tracking technology estimated that the stumps would have been hurdled, comfortably.

If that was a marginal decision, understandable because it looked out in real time, the one that followed was poor. Zaheer Khan's delivery, from left-arm over, didn't come back enough to threaten the stumps, but Mark Boucher was still given his marching orders. An important wicket it was too, for Boucher is a dangerous stroke-player under pressure.

Zaheer worked Dale Steyn over, doing to Steyn what the South African fast-bowler had done to him — if not at the same pace, then certainly with the same intent. The left-armer asked for the extra over, making Ishant Sharma wait, and got his man, with the ball of fuller length from around the wicket.

Ashwell Prince (39 n.o.) held India up, first with Paul Harris and then with Morne Morkel. The left-handed Prince clipped the seamers off his legs when not pulling them, hitting the stroke with an economy of motion. His decision not to take the single, especially when batting with Morkel, was questionable, particularly given the defensive fields India set to the tail-ender and considering how comfortable he looked. South Africa's only chance was to force India to panic

in reference to: The Hindu : Sport : Bowlers give India famous win (view on Google Sidewiki)

India seal historic win in Durban, set up series decider in Cape Town

2010-12-29T05:02:00.001-08:00

India scored a historic Test win in Durban, a venue where had fared poorly at in the past, and levelled the series 1-1 with a game left in Cape Town. Needing 303 to win this game and the series, South Africa were bowled out for 215.

With Zaheer Khan's return, India had a rejuvenated bowling attack in this game. The veteran seamer took six wickets in the match, including 3-57 in the second innings while S Sreesanth hit top form taking 3-45.

Sreesanth began the day in fine style for India when a vicious bouncer aimed at Jacques Kallis' nose was fended off Virender Sehwag behind the wicket.

India had some luck with the umpiring decisions today. Harbhajan Singh bowling over the wicket got AB de Villiers LBW. Hawk Eye suggested the ball would have gone well over the stumps.

The dangerous Mark Boucher was dismissed quickly by Zaheer. Umpire Steve Davis gave the LBW but replays showed the ball was missing off-stump.

With the ball reverse-swinging, Zaheer worked out the lower-order.

The win was set up primarily by the batting exploits of VVS Laxman, who is the only man in the Test match to cross 40. In the first innings he made 38, following it up with 96, mainly batting with the lower order.

Harbhajan showed good form, taking 4-10 in the first innings giving India a substantial lead of 74 in a low-scoring game.
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in reference to: India seal historic win in Durban, set up series decider in Cape Town | Cricket News - Yahoo! Cricket (view on Google Sidewiki)

South Africa 2nd: 149 for 6 in 45.0 overs Run Rate: 3.31

2010-12-29T00:57:00.001-08:00

India in South Africa, 3 Test Series, 2010-11
South Africa vs India
Kingsmead, Durban, 2nd Test

Toss won by: South Africa
Status : Play In Progress Batted First : India Batted Second : South Africa
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South Africa 2nd: 149 for 6 in 45.4 overs Run Rate: 3.26

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in reference to: Cricketnext - Live Cricket: Ind vs SA (view on Google Sidewiki)

Priyanka starrer ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ – First look

2010-12-29T00:35:00.001-08:00

She had been making news for considerable time the day since she signed the dotted lines for this Vishal Bhardwaj’s thriller ‘7 Khoon Maaf’…. And after a long wait, here’s is the first glimpse of the film’s poster –
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Bannered under UTV Motion Pictures and VB Pictures, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ is produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Vishal. The film is out-and-out Vishal’s project because, besides producing, he has also written the script, music and background score.

The film is also written by Matthew Robbins while the music is done by Gulzar.

In ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ Priyanka Chopra plays the main protagonist who kills her seven husbands one by one – who range from old to young. Similary, Priyanka character will be shown in different ages, from 20 till 65.

Playing opposite to the actress are Naseeruddin Shah, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah's son Vivaan Shah, Neil Nitin Mukesh and a Russian actor Aleksandr Dyachenko. Neil is reported to be the youngest of her husbands.

According to sources, the film is based on the Ruskin Bond book, titled ‘Susanna's Seven Husbands’.

‘7 Khoon Maaf’ is expected to hit the screens on 18 February 2011.

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in reference to: IndiaGlitz - Priyanka starrer ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ – First look - Bollywood Movie News (view on Google Sidewiki)

Apple MacBook Air 13 inch, things to know before you buy one

2010-12-28T22:55:00.001-08:00

Bringing more delight for all who love to stay updated with technology, Apple’s MacBook Air comes refreshed and upgraded with something more for you to check out. Instead of adding just the regular simple upgrading such as CPU, GPU and Blu-ray drive, Apple introduces some excellent new hardware to its MacBook that is sure to have your interest aroused. The most prominent change in the new MacBook Air that is sure to catch one’s eye is its bigger screen of 13inch that allows better clarity and view.

Features
• It comes supported with Mac OS X 10.6.4 along with 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (6MB shared L2 cache), 2GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM and 128GB of Flash storage capacity.

• The new MacBook has 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display having 1,440×900 native resolutions (16:10).

• There is no optical drive and ethernet port

• It is equipped with AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), two USB 2.0 ports, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Reader and a mini DisplayPort video output socket.

• The device have all the regular features such as built-in stereo speakers, built-in FaceTime video camera (640×480 resolution), Internal omni-directional microphone, Bluetooth 2.1 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) and built-in full-size non-backlit keyboard with 78 keys

• MacBook has Multi-Touch trackpad that supports Multi-Touch gestures

• The MacBook uses a built-in 50-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery along with 45W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system

• 0.11-0.68 x 12.8 x 8.94 inches (HWD)

• Light and portable, the weight of the MacBook Air 13-inch measures around 2.9 pounds

Pros
Surely a better and upgraded version than its predecessor, the new MacBook Air 13-inch from Apple not only comes with a captivating design but also many pros that are sure to make it the choice of all tech lovers. An SD slot with extra USB port, bigger battery, excellent graphics options, higher resolution and easily portable lightweight casing adds to the features of the device that comes at a price tag of $1,299.

Cons
Though the price of this laptop remains $200 less than the last 13-inch Air, the new MacBook Air’s cost still remains quite pricey. Other than this, the 2GB memory configuration adds another weakness to the laptop device.
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in reference to: Apple MacBook Air 13 inch, things to know before you buy one | TopINews Blog (view on Google Sidewiki)

DHONI is 42 MIllions

2010-12-28T22:50:00.001-08:00

M. S. Dhoni, the Indian Cricket Team captain, bagged a staggering 42 million USD endorsement deal. This deal has put Dhoni ahead of Tendulkar’s record. Tendulkar was once the most expensive sports person in India to get to endorse any product.

Popularity can take you places and in case of Dhoni, it has made him a multi millionaire. Dhoni was world’s highest paid cricketer last year and was earning 10 millions USD whereas Tendulkar was at 8 millions USD. With his current endorsement deal with Rhiti Sports Management now Dhoni has broken the record of Tendulkar’s deal of 180 crore with Iconix.

This good news has come to Dhoni’s life just after he got married, his marriage is proving to be very lucky for him. Hope it proves lucky for Indian cricket as well!
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in reference to: DHONI is 42 MIllions | TopINews Blog (view on Google Sidewiki)

Dhoni looking at grey areas, faith on Zaheer

2010-12-28T22:46:00.001-08:00

Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said the devastating defeat South Africa has forced the skipper to ponder on how to fare in the next match that is scheduled to be held on 26 December. Although the batsmen of India performed well, it was a good effort wasted. India’s last two wickets were claimed in 35
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in reference to: Dhoni looking at grey areas, faith on Zaheer || TopINews!! (view on Google Sidewiki)

5 flop films of 2010

2010-12-28T04:18:00.001-08:00

5 flop films of 2010
this years top 5 bollywood movies.

in reference to:

"5 flop films of 2010"
- 5 flop films of 2010 Videos, Watch Free 5 flop films of 2010 Videos Online : IN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Exclusive Pics: Wankhede far from ready for the Cricket World Cup

2010-12-23T07:53:00.001-08:00

With less than two months to go for the ICC Cricket World Cup, the Wankhede Stadium, which is supposed to host the final as well as two more matches, looks far from complete. Our reporters sneaked into the under-construction stadium and the pictures they brought tell the story.
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con referencia a: By Shamit Ghosh & Alisha Coelho - Exclusive Pics: Wankhede far from ready for the Cricket World Cup - Photos (ver en Google Sidewiki)

Tendulkar, Sehwag in ICC shortlist for all-time greatest ODI team

2010-12-22T04:53:00.001-08:00

Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, along with Virender Sehwag, today found a place in the list of players nominated for an ICC online poll to pick the all—time greatest team as part of one—day cricket’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

The retired Sourav Ganguly is also part of the list of openers, from which only two would make the final dream team.

“To mark the 40th anniversary of One-Day International cricket, the ICC’s official website is asking supporters from across the globe to select their choice of the greatest ODI match and team of all-time,” the ICC said in a statement.

Website www.icc-cricket.com is asking supporters to select a dream team from a shortlist of 48 players and pick their favourite game from a choice of 10 memorable matches.

Fans can select dream team and favourite game till January 2, with the choices set to be announced on January 5 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first-ever ODI match between Australia and England.

“With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 now less than two months away, excitement and interest in the one-day format of the game will certainly intensify. We know that fans will enjoy having the chance to remember some of the great games and great players that have played in ODI cricket during the past 40 years,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.

The Australian ODI team from 1971 will also be presented to the crowd during the innings break of the first ODI match of the series between Australia and England at the MCG on January 16.

In the nominees for the Greatest ODI team of all time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian in the list of wicketkeepers.

However, no Indian has found a place in the list of middle-order batsmen and fast bowlers, while the legendary Kapil Dev has found a mention in the all-rounders’ nomination.

Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have made the list of spinners shortlisted for the dream team.

Two India match (the win over West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s, 25 June 1983 and the triumph against Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004) are there in the list of nominees for the greatest ODI match.

The shortlist for Dream Team:

Opening batsmen (2) — Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly, Gordon Greenidge, Matthew Hayden, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn Turner.

Middle—order batsmen (3) — Michael Bevan, Martin Crowe, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam—ul Haq, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards.

All—rounder (1) — Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Andrew Flintoff, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock.

Wicketkeeper (1) — Mark Boucher, MS Dhoni, Andy Flower Adam Gilchrist, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Moin Khan, Alec Stewart, Kumar Sangakkara.

Fast bowlers (3) — Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Waqar Younis.

Spinners (1) — Shahid Afridi, Carl Hooper, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori.

Greatest ODI match of all—time:

West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs at Lord’s, 21 June 1975.

India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s, 25 June 1983.

Pakistan beat India won by one—wicket at Sharjah, 18 April 1986.

England won by three wickets against Australia at Sydney, 22 January 1987.

Australia won by one—wicket against West Indies at Sydney, 12 January 1996.

Australia tied with South Africa at Edgbaston, 17 June 1999.

Pakistan tied with Sri Lanka, at Sharjah, 15 October 1999.

India beat Pakistan by five runs at Karachi, 13 March 2004.

Bangladesh beat Australia by five wickets at Cardiff, 18 June 2005.

South Africa beat Australia by one—wicket at Johannesburg, 12 March 2006.

Keywords: All-time ODI team
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/news/sports/fullstory-tendulkar-sehwag-in-icc-shortlist-for-alltime-greatest-odi-team-16754363-231948-1.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

How Indira's Congress got its hand symbol

2010-12-22T04:49:00.001-08:00

Bangalore: Eighty-year-old RK Rajarathnam vividly remembers the night of February 2, 1978 when Indira Gandhi, during an election campaign, came to his house in Madanpalle, Andhra Pradesh. She had just formed the new Congress (I) and the party was still without a symbol.

"AR Antulay and Buta Singh called me on the phone, kindly convey the message to Madam. Tomorrow by 10 am, if we don't give the choice, there won't be any symbol at all. I said Madam, hand will be easily recognisable. She just saw me like this. She immediately said, select hand, that's all," said RK Rajarathnam, Congress member.

Rajarathnam reminisces, "That house also gave power to all the people who visited my house that day. Madam Gandhi became the Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao became the PM, Chenna Reddy became Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Sharad Pawar became Chief Minister of Maharashtra."

The visit had its repercussions: The house was completely damaged by arsonists. "You are giving shelter to Indira Gandhi, you are going to suffer," Rajarathnam was told.

As the Congress celebrates 125 years of its existence, RK Rajarathnam is left with one last wish. That the hand that was born in his house over 32 years back will now handhold him in the twilight years of his life.

Rajarathnam says, "I was not recognised. Sonia Gandhi has to think of all these things."
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/news/current-affairs/fullstory-how-congress-got-its-hand-symbol-16749958-5a2c2266daed24a7b952f451446d28ac15f8e032-1.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

China's media launches search engine to rival Google

2010-12-22T04:44:00.001-08:00

After taming Google into submission, China has launched a new search engine of its own to make foray into its 420 million strong net users' market, a move believed to be aimed at taking firm control of the web media.

Known as 'Goso.cn', China's very own search engine has been launched by the country's largest newspaper the People's Daily, which is the official daily of the ruling Communist Party of China.

The state-run media already holds sway over the country where the flow of information is tightly controlled, and the move to introduce its own search engine signifies its aim to take control of the web media as well.

The move came as blog news is catching up fast posing a direct challenge to the hold of official media in the country.

Google was involved in a face-off with the Chinese government in March this year after it shut down its Chinese search engine and re-routed mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong, protesting cyber attacks.

Google, which resisted attempts of censorship for many months later gave in and got its license to operate in China renewed only after it agreed to abide by all restrictions.

Months later, the country's largest newspaper has launched a news search engine which came after six months of trial operations, state-run English dailies the China Daily and Global Times reported.

The launch of the People Search Engine is part of authorities' efforts to enhance the CPC international communication capacity, Zhang Yannong, president of People's Daily, said.

Given the fact that most of the rules and regulations of the information industry were set by foreign companies, and that several countries view development of the Internet as part of their national strategies, China must develop a search engine with independent technology, thus creating a good Internet environment for 420 million, China Daily quoted a 'netizen' Zhang as saying.
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in reference to: http://www.rediff.com/business/report/tech-chinas-media-launches-search-engine-to-rival-google/20101221.htm (view on Google Sidewiki)

It's official: Tees Maar Khan is a remake

2010-12-22T04:42:00.001-08:00

We had earlier reported that Farah Khan's [ Images ] upcoming Tees Maar Khan seems to be a ripoff of Italian master Vittorio De Sica's After The Fox.

Now, it emerges that Khan and co-producers UTV have officially bought the remake rights from Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

"The plot of the film (of pretending to shoot a film to get away with a robbery) is the same as After The Fox, which is very funny," says Khan. "But for some reason, the film didn't do well at that point, I don't know why. And we've changed everything else. Akshay isn't a master of disguise, the girl isn't his sister, we're on a moving train, and the villains have been changed. Everything's made bigger and brighter, and more relevant to today's scenario."

"And I haven't tried even once to make Akshay act like Peter Sellers," she added.

Italian neorealist master De Sica, best known for the 1948 classic Bicycle Thieves, ventured into spoofy territory with After The Fox, a 1966 comedy featuring Peter Sellers as a master of disguise who mounts a fake film production in order to get away with a daring gold heist.

In the process, the filmmaker lampooned fellow filmmakers Michelangelo Antonioni [ Images ], Federico Fellini [ Images ] and himself, among various other cinematic luminaries. Clearly this gives Khan, the director of Om Shanti Om [ Images ], quite the room for Bollywood-spoofing.

"I'm always torn apart by critics for my stories, and this time I can say the joke's on them and the story is by Neil Simon," laughs Farah, two days ahead of Tees Maar Khan's release.
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/news/entertainment/fullstory-its-official-tees-maar-khan-is-a-remake-16754415-63a84be3e4585542c00acbf7b100589eaa46820c-rhp.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

FASTER is a 2010 Hollywood action drama

2010-12-21T06:15:00.001-08:00

August 30, 2010 (Calcutta Tube): FASTER is a 2010 Hollywood action drama directed by George Tillman Jr. starring Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Maggie Grace and others. FASTER will be releasing in the USA on 24th November 2010. Sign up for the DVD release date for FASTER, check out the cast and crew, watch trailer online.

Synopsis
On the very day he’s released from a 10-year prison sentence, convicted bank robber Driver (Dwayne Johnson) hits the streets to take revenge on the men who bungled the job that got him busted and his beloved brother killed. But close on Driver’s tail are a driven cop (Billy Bob Thornton) on the one hand and a flamboyant contract killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) on the other. George Tillman Jr. directs this thriller that also stars Carla Gugino.
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in reference to: http://calcuttatube.com/faster-2010-hollywood-film-review-dvd-release/116788/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Moview Review: Mirch Star: 2.5/5

2010-12-21T06:09:00.001-08:00

Mirch is a sexy idea that doesn’t quite come to fruition. Inspired from sources as varied as the Panchatantra and Boccaccio’s Decameron, writer-director Vinay Shukla strings together four stories focusing on the complicated, fraught, deeply painful and yet life-sustaining games that men and women play with each other. Sex, lies, disguises, deviousness and tears are the weapons at hand and women, in one story literally, are on top.

Binding these stories together is the larger tale of a struggling filmmaker, Maanav played by Arunoday Singh, who narrates them to a potential producer.

Maanav worships at the alter of Bergman and Bimal Roy but the market insists that he cater to the multiplex.

So the producer drops lines like: Sex is as saleable as a star. Bas, vulgarity nahin honi chahiye.

Shukla deftly pulls off the first two stories, both set in ancient times, in which the women, played by Raima Sen and Konkona Sen Sharma, are happily adulterous and most importantly, unpunished.

Both cheat on their husbands and get away with it. It’s done so cleverly and both Raima and Konkona are so joyously wicked that you almost want to cheer them on.

Sadly, Shukla can’t maintain this when he moves to contemporary times. The modern day stories are also clever but they aren’t crafted as well as the first two. But what really bogs the film down is the larger framework that these stories are set in.

Shukla’s portrait of the uncompromised filmmaker is clumsy and heavy-handed.

We know that Maanav is a true artist because his house is filled with film books and he and his editor-girlfriend earnestly discuss Mughal-e-Azam and Kaagaz ke Phool.

Of course the hulking Arunoday Singh, who is frequently shirtless in the film, looks like he spends more time pumping iron rather than brushing up his Guru Dutt. Singh’s stiff performance doesn’t help either.

Eventually then, despite some good moments and smart writing, Mirch isn’t the spicy romp it could’ve been. I’m going with two and a half stars.
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in reference to: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_Review.aspx?id=578 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sheila’s sexy! But am I, asks Katrina Kaif

2010-12-21T06:06:00.001-08:00

Bollywood hottie Katrina Kaif’s successful run at the box office doesn’t leave much to be desired. Probably that’s also why this ‘Sheila’ won’t be asking much from Santa to fill her stocking with this Christmas. “It’s already brimming with so many blessings and love that I’ve been getting from my well-wishers and fans, that I feel I’d be greedy if I ask for anything more,” says Katrina, adding, “But if I did have to ask for something, I’d hope for peace and happiness.” And more hits? “Hopefully, the blessings will ensure that I never run out of them,” she laughs.

The actor’s currently in a super-busy mode and even Christmas won’t see her slow down. “Oh, I’ll miss celebrating Christmas with my family, as I’ll be shooting for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan on X’mas. But it’s okay, I guess,” she says.

Happy that the year’s ending on a happy note for the star, she’s happier that the coming year’s promising to be equally interesting. Does that include hot numbers a la her sizzling act in Farah Khan’s soon-to-release film? “No, no, nothing on for now. Only Farah could’ve made me do that!” she’s quick to reply.

Never mind that the song’s earned her the sexy tag, Katrina reveals that it’s not something that motivates her choice of roles or films. “Being sexy is not something that I think about, it was just a role I was required to do and I am glad I could pull it off. So, Sheila’s sexy? Yes. Katrina’s sexy? I don’t know!” she says modestly about her oomphlicious avatar that’s raised the sensuality bar in Bollywood by several notches.

“What I do know however is that I’m not going to do roles or songs just to keep up that image,” she adds, insisting that she’s still as keen to do challenging roles like she did in Rajneeti. “If my role requires me to be sexy, then I’d do my best to look the part, but I don’t mind taking a complete U-turn and doing something absolutely non-sexy either.”

And while the actor’s up for experimental roles, she’s not so keen to experiment as far as her dating scene is concerned. “I’m not averse to marriage or kids, but it’s not even on my mind right now.” And what about love? “Well, I’m not thinking about that either and definitely won’t talk about it,” she smiles, returning to the comfort of her by-now famous stance, when it comes to the matters of the heart.
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in reference to: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_sheila-s-sexy-but-am-i-asks-katrina-kaif_1484101 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Katrina cares more for Farah than Salman

2010-12-21T06:04:00.001-08:00

Actress Katrina Kaif has impressed one and all with her latest item number 'Sheila Ki Jawaani', and the girl seems to be forever indebted to Farah Khan for she recently promised that all the money she earned by performing on the chakaas number, she would give a certain percentage of it to Tees Maar Khan director and choreographer, Farah Khan !

However, Farah proved to have a more magnanimous heart and inturn said that whatever money Katrina gave to her, she would pass on to Salman Khan's 'Being Human' foundation! Now with a noble thought like that, we're more than happy that 'Sheila' is such a huge hit!

Katrina confirmed, "Yes, I've promised that I'd give a certain percentage of the sum I earn performing on 'Sheila' to Farah. I'm grateful for the opportunity she gave me. She has portrayed me well, she taught me how to dance, so it's only right!" Farah, too, said, "I hope Katrina lives up to her promise, if she does, I'd give all the money she gives me to Salman Khan's 'Being Human' foundation. If good is happening to us, it's important that we do good for others as well."

And our dear Sallu is only smiling as Farah Khan practises 'being human'.

Read more: Katrina cares more for Farah than Salman - The Times of India .
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in reference to: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Katrina-cares-more-for-Farah-than-Salman/articleshow/7139957.cms (view on Google Sidewiki)

How criminals use Facebook to commit crime

2010-12-21T06:01:00.001-08:00

London, Dec 20 (ANI): Think giving out basic personal information on Facebook is harmless? You might need to rethink, as a reformed burglar has given details on how a criminal can use your user account as a tool for committing a crime.
"The information people give out on Facebook, when linked up with other information freely available on the internet, is an absolute -goldmine for criminals," the Daily Mail quoted Michael Fraser, a reformed burglar who presents the BBC's 'Beat The Burglar' programme, as saying.
"One year, you might have a party and give out your address. A while later, you might tell everyone that it is your 30th birthday.
"So, if you've accepted me as a friend of a friend, I know your name, your address and your birth date.
"From that, I can go to 192.com and on there I can find out what you do for a living, how much your home is worth - and whether you're likely to be worth burgling.
"I might have already made up my mind because you've posted party -pictures on Facebook and I can see what kind of valuables you have in the house - and which rooms they're in. Then you go and tell your Facebook friends how much you're looking forward to going on holiday next Tuesday.
"I can go on to Google Street View and see actual photographs of your home. I can see if you have a burglar alarm, or whether there are any bushes in the garden to hide in. And I can see all the alleyways I can escape down. And, of course, I know you won't be at home.
"Burglars only burgle homes if they think they can get away with it. All of this information is likely to leave them feeling much more confident that they can," added Fraser.
Co-operative Insurance company revealed that 36 per cent of users regularly make use of them to broadcast their whereabouts when they are away from home.
"Once you accept a stranger into your Facebook account, they can begin what we call social -engineering - -delicately asking questions to build up information about you,' said Jason Hart, -senior vice -president of -CRYPTOCard Network Security.
"And that can cause havoc. Let's say they got your email address, then they could go to your email account pretending to be you and saying you have -forgotten your password.
"The account will then ask a security question - something like your favourite food or your first pet. Over the following weeks and months, it isn't hard for them to work -conversations round to subjects like that on Facebook.
"Once they have that secret -information, the email account will let them in. And once they are in there, they can find lots of sensitive information, such as your Amazon and eBay account history.
"They can then go to those sites pretending to be you and saying you have lost your passwords, and guess what happens then?
"Those sites send the passwords to your email account - the one that they have already conned their way into.
"Crooks who do this usually use the credit card details you have stored there to buy online gift vouchers that can be traded on the internet. It is a form of instant -currency.
"Even worse, if you have a PayPal account and have credit in it, your so-called friend could clean it out.
"Effectively, they have become an electronic version of you, they can change all your passwords and begin stealing from you.
"The message is simple: you wouldn't invite a perfect stranger into your house simply because they knocked on your door and said they wanted a look around. So why do it on Facebook?," Hart added. (ANI)
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in reference to: http://in.news.yahoo.com/criminals-facebook-commit-crime-20101220-001322-525.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Are Diet Foods Harmful?

2010-12-21T05:44:00.001-08:00

Walk into a local shopping mall and you will see a lot of tetra packs with eye-catching labels like light or lite, low calorie, low fat, no fat, fat free, no sugar, sugar free, and zero calorie...all promising great taste and convenience. Unfortunately, behind the glitzy and tempting packaging, there are various side affects to these diet foods. So here are some of the major Diet foods that are available in the market along with their side effects:

Diet Sugar: It is the single most popular diet food. This product caught everyone like wild fire when people realized that excessive sugar intake leads to obesity. There are many sugar substitutes available in the market like:
Saccharin: It is no longer popular due to the fact that it is linked to urinary bladder tumors.
Aspartame: It is extremely popular, but high doses of it are known to be unhealthy for pregnant women, phenylketonurics, diabetics. It also has adverse effects on the memory.
Stevia: It is one of the latest product to hit the market. It is still too fresh and mass consumption effects have not emerged as of yet. It is still under testing condition.
Diet Aerated Drinks: It is another popular category of diet food. But many of the so called diet fizzy drinks have unhealthy levels of salt, aspartame, chemical preservatives and chemical colors. As a result, many people who consume such drinks have an unbalanced insulin and blood sugar.
Diet Confectionaries: This is one category which is catching very soon to feed the sweet tooth! They include diet chocolates, diet cookies, and high fibre biscuits. But these contain a high level of fat which is equally fattening and the sweetener is again aspartame which retards weight loss by interfering with the insulin metabolism.
Diet Foods for Breakfast: These include a wide range of breakfast food like diet jams, diet honey, Fruit juices, sugar free maida (white flour) products like sweet breads, buns etc. They promise to be the best start in the morning. The ones with added aspartame should be avoided. Also, any product made with maida should be avoided as it unhealthy and fattening even if it has no sugar.
Cholesterol Free Snacks: These are a wide array of munchies like diet namkeens, diet chips, cholesterol free nuts etc. These are a very good option compared to their counterparts as they are fried in healthy cholesterol free oil but they should be consumed in moderation.
Diet Margarine: It is very unhealthy and inadvertently leads to fat deposits in the heart due to the trans-fatty acids, so it is best avoided.
Sweet Clear Water: Though better than diet drinks, it still has some levels of aspartame. Besides nothing beats natural water!
When selecting a low calorie or low fat plan, make sure you are consuming a balanced and complete diet. Bottom-line, they can help you lose weight but every coin has a flip side. Besides, nothing beats natural food.

Tags: Diet, Health, Weight Loss, Drink, Obesity, Sugar, Food, Nutrition, Low Calorie, Low Fat

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WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING

2010-12-21T05:42:00.001-08:00

Mirch
Tron: Legacy
Band Baaja Baaraat
No Problem
The Chronicles of Narnia - 3
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/news/entertainment/movie-reviews-0-0-1.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Hottest Victoria's Secrets Models

2010-12-21T05:41:00.001-08:00

Non-Collaborative List
arrows1Gisele Bundchen
1 video
view
arrows2Adriana Lima
1 video
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arrows3Heidi Klum
1 video
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arrows4Brooklyn Decker
1 video
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arrows5Miranda Kerr
1 video
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arrows6Tyra Banks
1 video
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arrows7Cindy Crawford
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arrows8Molly Sims
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arrows9Candice Swanepoel
1 video
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arrows10Selita Ebanks
1 video
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/lifestyle/fullstory-hottest-victorias-secrets-models-16735020-0571338b9df178698a569101b29d7409e755b98d-rhp.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

New York Police simulates Mumbai attack

2010-12-21T05:12:00.001-08:00

Sensing that New York remains on the terrorist hit-list, the city police simulated a Mumbai-type attack to gauge its preparedness in the event of a similar strike that killed 166 people in India's financial hub more than two years ago.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) was one of the few which sent its team of investigators to Mumbai in the immediate aftermath of the 26/11 attacks to learn lessons from the terrorist strike in which ten gunmen went on a rampage.

Since then NYPD has taken several measures to prevent such an attack and has held several real time exercises, including the one which it conducted early this month.

"The Mumbai attack two years ago was a bit of a game changer," Mitchell Silber, head of the NYPD's intelligence analysis division, told 'The Wall Street Journal'.

"It was a model that most counter-terrorism practitioners hadn't really considered. The armed gunmen roaming around the city taking hostages, that wasn't something, we had seen by any 'jihadist' group. That was a real eye-opener," he said.
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in reference to: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/new-york-police-simulates-mumbai-attack/727528/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Pak militants arrested and handed over to us: Iran

2010-12-21T05:06:00.001-08:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Chabhar country in the wake of the suicide attack in the town of Pakistan said that his country on the earth to give active militants arrested and handed over to him. Chabhar related to the suicide bomber killed 40 persons. The tensions in bilateral relations because the two countries has grown.

According to statements published on the official website of Iranian President Ahmadinejad conducted by telephone Monday that Iran and Pakistan to eliminate terrorism in both countries demand. Ahmadinejad in Iran terrorists carrying out terrorist Agativdhioan identify, arrest and prosecution for their assigned them to Iran Zardari said Pakistan's intelligence department to order.

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in reference to: http://khabar.ndtv.com/2010/12/21155639/iran-pak-terrorist.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

Facebook founder meets head of China search engine

2010-12-21T05:05:00.001-08:00

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg -- on holiday in China, where his global social networking site is blocked -- met with the head of the country's biggest search engine Baidu on Monday, a spokesman said.

Zuckerberg, 26, and Baidu chief executive Robin Li toured the company's offices in Beijing and had lunch together in one of the firm's "private dining halls", Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo told AFP.

"It makes sense -- he is interested in the Chinese Internet, he's made that very plain. Obviously this is one of the big dark spots for Facebook because it is blocked here in China," Kuo said.

"He has had a long-standing interest in China. I'm sure he wants to get the advice of someone who knows the Internet landscape well here."

Photos posted on popular web portal sina.com showed a smiling Zuckerberg -- wearing a khaki hooded sweatshirt -- walking with Li at the Baidu offices.

Zuckerberg, clearly keen to see his company crack the world's biggest Internet market of at least 420 million users, told an audience at Stanford University recently that he was "spending a lot of time" studying Chinese.

"It's kind of a personal challenge this year, I'm taking an hour a day and I'm learning Chinese. I'm trying to understand the language, the culture, the mind set -- it's just such an important part of the world," he said.

"How can you connect the whole world if you leave out a billion-six people?"

Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Priscilla Chan are on holiday in China, Kuo said, without providing details on the length of their visit or their itinerary, other than that they had visited the Tibetan Lama Temple in Beijing.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are blocked by the government, but many users on the mainland access them via virtual proxy networks.

Beijing has set up a huge online censorship system sometimes dubbed the "Great Firewall of China" that aggressively blocks sites or snuffs out Internet content on topics considered sensitive.

Zuckerberg's visit to Beijing comes after he was last week crowned Time magazine's "person of the year" -- the second youngest person to receive the honour.

Managing editor Richard Stengel said Zuckerberg's social networking service was "transforming the way we live our lives every day".
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in reference to: http://www.in.com/news/science-technology/fullstory-facebook-founder-meets-head-of-china-search-engine-16735629-231447-rhp.html (view on Google Sidewiki)

worst PJs ever

2010-12-20T23:26:00.001-08:00

To all the ppl who have been victims of PJs ... here's a few more of them .......
Q. What can you never eat for breakfast ?

A : Dinner.

Q. What gets wet with drying ?

A : A towel.

Q. Why is it easy to weigh a fish ?

A : Because it has its own scales.

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?

A : Liquid.

Q: what is the opposite of Nagpanchmi?

A: Nag do not punch me.

Q:now what is the inverse of Nagpanchmi? Come on.

A: I will punch the Nag.

Q.How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?

A.Concrete floors are very hard to crack!

Q.If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall,how long would it take four men to build it?

A. No time at all it is already built.

Q.If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?

A. Very large hands.(Good 1 na?)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?

A. It is not a problem, since you will never find an elephant with one hand.

Q. How can a man/woman go eight days without sleep?

A. He/she sleeps at night.

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?

A. Wet.( sorry abt this)

Q. What looks like half apple ?

A : The other half.(Too cool )

Q. What happened when wheel was invented ?

A : It caused a revolution.

Now the time for the worst PJ u'd have come across ........

Q:Chintu's mom has three sons.What is the name of the other two?

A:Chin-1 & Chin-3 (maaf, this was the worst 1!)
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in reference to: Worst PJ's...!!! (view on Google Sidewiki)

Kingfisher Calendar Launch

2010-12-20T22:54:00.001-08:00

Kingfisher Calendar Launch
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see all photos...
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in reference to: Kingfisher Calendar Launch - Photos (view on Google Sidewiki)

Delhi Chief Minister's emergency meet as onion prices soar

2010-12-20T22:09:00.001-08:00

New Delhi: A day after the Centre decided to suspend onion exports, Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit has called an emergency meet to discuss price control. Onion prices in the Capital as high as Rs. 80/kg are raising concerns. Besides onions, tomatoes and garlic prices have also risen considerably.

At an emergency meeting held on Monday, it was decided that onion exports will suspended till January 15 in the wake of skyrocketing prices of the commodity.

Agriculture cooperative major Nafed, a regulating agency, has been asked to stop giving fresh clearance to exporters.

The government has also made exports almost impossible for those who are already in possession of 'no objection certificate' (NOC) given by the Nafed and 12 other agencies.

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in reference to: NDTV - Delhi CM's emergency meet as onion prices soar (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sachin stars in ICC CWC 2011 campaign

2010-12-20T01:45:00.001-08:00

Sachin stars in ICC CWC 2011 campaign
The Indian great will be playing his sixth World Cup in 2011.
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seee video....

in reference to: http://cricket.yahoo.com/sachin-stars-in-icc-cwc-2011-campaign-video_sachin1812/category_features#cricket_video_header (view on Google Sidewiki)

Will the next Wikileaks expose India's corrupt?

2010-12-18T01:31:00.001-08:00

With Wikileaks set to disseminate another tranche of classified Pentagon [ Images ] documents, B Raman peers into the crystal bowl to see what this installment of the releases might contain

Wikileaks announced on Twitter, that it will be shortly releasing its third instalment of classified US documents.

The first instalment of 77,000 documents related to the American military campaign in Afghanistan. The second instalment of 400,000 documents related to the American military presence Iraq. According to the Twitter message, its third instalment will contain a much larger number of documents.

While Wikileaks did not say in its message what the third instalment of their release would cover. However, a Reuters despatch from Washington DC said that classified US diplomatic cables reporting corruption allegations against foreign governments and leaders are expected to feature in the official documents that Wikileaks plans to release. It added:"Three sources familiar with the US State Department cables held by Wikileaks say the corruption allegations in them are major enough to cause serious embarrassment for foreign governments and politicians named in them. They said the release was expected next week, but it could come earlier. The detailed, candid reports by US diplomats also may create foreign policy complications for the administration of US President Barack Obama [ Images ], the sources said. Among the countries whose politicians feature in the reports are Russia [ Images ], Afghanistan and former Soviet republics in Central Asia. But other reports also detail potentially embarrassing allegations reported to Washington from US diplomats in other regions, including East Asia and Europe.
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in reference to:

"Will the next Wikileaks expose India's corrupt?"
- http://www.rediff.com/news/column/b-raman-is-the-next-wikileaks-about-corruption/20101128.htm (view on Google Sidewiki)

Gifts That Keep on Giving

2010-12-18T01:15:00.003-08:00

The year's hottest gift (remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, the singing fish and pinnacle of kitsch décor in the late '90s?) rarely is the most gratifying item to give or receive for the holidays. Instead, consider our annual list of thoughtful, personal gifts that will save the recipients money in the long run -- either by eliminating some of their recurring expenses or boosting their earning power.

in reference to: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111514/15-gifts-that-keep-on-giving?mod=oneclick (view on Google Sidewiki)

Blue Nile Founder Explains Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Diamond Ring

2010-12-18T01:15:00.001-08:00

In the market for a diamond ring? It's a process that can be filled with excitement, especially if you are getting engaged. But let's be honest -- it can also be stressful.

Luckily, if you're in that camp, your friends at Tech Ticker have some great advice from Michael Vadon, co-founder and chairman of Blue Nile, the online jeweler.

Vadon's advice for picking out a diamond ring:

Step 1: Start with a budget.

Step 2: Know what color jewelry she favors. Does she wear platinum or gold? This is key in determining the ring's band.

Step 3: When it comes to the famous four "Cs" (color, clarity, cut and carat), start with the cut. "The first thing I tell people is, you've got to go with the best cut diamond," Vadon says. "Whether or not they shine or sparkle is whether or not they're cut properly." So pick cut over carat, even if that means picking a smaller stone.

Step 4: After cut, focus on clarity. "If you're trying to save a little bit, you're gonna try to go with clarity in the 'VS' or 'S1' range," Vadon says. He adds that no one will know the difference: "To the naked eye, it will look absolutely clean and beautiful."

in reference to: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/blue-nile-founder-explains-everthing-you-need-to-know-about-buying-a-diamond-ring-535729.html?tickers=nile,tif,^ixic,rth (view on Google Sidewiki)