2050 A Journey

Mr. Washington

2007-09-21T08:25:00.001Z

George Washington, the first President of the United States of America, is considered to the Father of his nation, for he was the leader of the revolutionary struggle for American independence from the British colonial rule. Like Gandhiji, Washington was also a lover of truth. When he was only a boy, he admitted chopping down his father’s cherry tree, saying Father, I cannot tell a lie.

Washington’s achievement in uniting the diverse elements which formed the U.S. earned him this unanimous encomium from his countrymen: First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.

Addiction to principles was Washington’s forte.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace. Cultivate peace and harmony with all nations. When he took over as President of the U.S., he said whatever we do will serve to establish a precedent and hence these precedents should be fixed on true principles.

Once when George Washington was out riding with some friends, one of the horses kicked off some stones in a farmer’s rock fence.

Washington told his colleagues to better replace them.

Oh! Let the farmer do that, they laughed.

Washington dismounted and carefully replaced the stones on the fence.

You are too big to be doing that, a friend remarked.

On the contrary I am the right size, replied Washington.

This is an extract from the book The Great Ones.

Lincoln: My DREAM

2007-05-14T12:30:00.000Z

A superb effort by LINCOLN auto. A refreshing experience.

Bagh Day

2007-04-13T13:26:00.000Z

The debris-laden garden was the venue of a peaceful public meeting held to protest the martial law imposed by the Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O' Dwyer. Just after the meeting had begun, Dyer marched in at the head of 50 soldiers. He stationed his men on either side of the entry and without a word of warning opened fire with machine guns on the people. For ten full minutes while the trapped Indians screamed for mercy the soldiers fired 1,650 rounds. The result was a stampede. Many jumped into a well in the garden while others tried to scale the walls to get out. Convinced that he had done a "jolly good thing" Dyer withdrew leaving the wounded and the dying to fend for themselves.

The Jallianwala Bagh lies in the heart of the walled city of Amritsar and at the heart of our struggle for independence. For it was bagh, in the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa April 13, 1919, that a massacre involving the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenseless Indians was ordered by Brigadier-General R.E.H. Dyer. This was a turning point in the history of Anglo-Indian relations, more decisive than even the first war of independence. A committee was formed with Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya as president to raise a memorial to perpetuate the memory of the martyrs.

The bagh was acquired from the Jallewala sardars on August 1, 1920 but the actual construction of the memorial had to wait until after Independence. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President on April 13, 1961, inaugurated the monument, and befittingly named the Flame of Liberty. The central 30-foot high pylon, a four-sided tapering structure of red stone standing in the midst of a shallow tank, is built with 300 slabs with the Ashoka Chakra, the national emblem, cast on them. On all four sides of the pylon the words, In memory of martyrs, 13 April 1919, is inscribed in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. Bullet holes are carefully preserved under thick glass frames. The well, now enclosed holds no water, only coins tossed by those who come to pay homage. At the adjoining martyrs' gallery the Jallianwala Trust files have recorded details of condemnation that followed the massacre.

Dyer was unrepentant when the British Parliament passed strictures against him. The Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer was shot dead 21 years later in London by Udham Singh, who was executed within months. Udham Singh's portrait rests in the gallery with the famous lines from his trial inscribed below, “What greater honour can be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland?”

2050: Closure

2007-04-12T15:47:00.000Z

2050 for the past year and a half has been an amazing journey. Loved all earlier posts, but sadly it did not hit the mark, did not reflect the point we're trying to make.

For me 2050 means more than typical posts, 2050 is a landmark and a goal to achieve. And thus, we will be going on a short break. I will remove everyone from the member list.

For the rebirth, anyone interested in the genuine idea of blogging till the year 2050 and think that they can do it often (one a week) please do drop me a mail so that I can add you.

Thank you for all you support all this time. Memories will be cherished, writings will remain forever.

America, India and their role in global security

2007-04-12T08:22:00.000Z

Today, the United States stands as a global colossus -- economically, militarily, and culturally. Yet even at this moment of unparalleled influence, the unipolar Pax Americana that emerged from the end of the Cold War is slowly being replaced by a multi-polar global order. This process may be slow, but it is inevitable.

With the rise of Asian powers like China and India reclaiming their historic place in the world economy, and as Europe integrates into a single economic bloc, the US will be forced to fundamentally re-think the very foundation of its foreign alliances that have served it so well during the Cold War. Similarly, the world will need to re-imagine its global institutions such as the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which were designed for a world order that no longer exists.

More immediate than these longer-term shifts in world power are the threat of global terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and the looming environmental degradation � that already pose a clear and present danger to our way of life.

It is because of these challenges, both near-term and long-term, that this column argues America must reach out for new allies, and that its focus must expand from Europe to Asia.

Today Asia is home to half the world's population, and is witnessing dramatic economic growth. It also contains the world's most explosive conflicts. The arc of instability now stretches from the Middle East to North Korea. An America that is no longer the only truly global power should reach out to rising nations of Asia to secure not only its own interests but also to maintain global peace and security.

Within Asia, it is specifically to India that America should turn its focus.

Bound by common values of democracy and secularism, and challenged by the same forces of terrorism and fundamentalism, America and India are moving towards a remarkable congruence of interests, and importantly, pose no strategic threat to each other. Furthermore, both countries must recognise and accommodate the rise of China, arguably the biggest global political dislocation since the rise of the US itself.

It is hoped that China's rise will be peaceful and benevolent, but we cannot pretend to ignore it could also pose profound challenges to both countries. Such challenges may occur not only in terms of economic interests, but also in terms of core values such as democracy and the rule of law. As the world's largest democracies, a US-India security partnership will be vital to global security and stability as the world's balance of power moves from Europe to Asia.

We do not limit ourselves to advocating for a stronger US-India relationship in isolation. Our intention is to examine and explore all world events from the perspective of this nascent relationship, in the belief that a US-India partnership will serve as the foundation of a new global security paradigm.

This is not an argument for an expansion of NATO into Asia, particularly given Asia's colonial history. Nor do we argue that a 'European NATO' should be replaced by an Asian kind.

Europe is still important. But the days are gone when the free world was challenged by one single enemy as during the Cold War, with Europe serving on its front lines. Any new security understanding needs to be global in scope, and flexible enough to be able to respond to a myriad challenges, hence making the one-for-all formal alliance embodied in NATO impractical in the future.

Countries may respond differently to different threats, and the nature of cooperation should not be limited to a narrow definition of security. An example of the kind of global security cooperation that we will see more of in the future, occurred after the Asian tsunami, when the US, Indian, Japanese and Australian navies jointly coordinated a rapid relief effort until the United Nations was able to take over its responsibilities.

We believe global challenges require global solutions and that, ultimately, countries sharing the same values and challenged by the same threats will come together to ensure their common security. Accordingly, democracies across the world should be encouraged to contribute to such a globalised security understanding.

However, we believe it is the US-India partnership that must be at the core of any future global security structure. India, alone among the democracies of Eurasia, is continental in size, and has the potential to project a military force that can truly work in partnership with the US.

This piece is written unashamedly from an American point of view. Yet this column is not designed to be an intellectual exercise in strategic relations among Washington think tanks. Rather, it serves as a strong advocate for a US-India strategic partnership, in the firm conviction that such a partnership is critical for US long-term interests, and the foundation for a future global security paradigm. The inherent advantage to American and Indian interests makes such a partnership inevitable.

Source: Rediff.com

who is Middle Class?

2007-04-10T06:51:00.000Z

very Often we hear about term Middle Class, Lower Class & Upper Class while talking about India. with Economy as indicator -- How can we define in measurable scale..!! with that Quest, I gather information to compiled this blog.

With a per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under US $1000, India is often regarded as a poor nation. Over 300 million Indians live with incomes comparable to the least in the world's other acknowledged poverty zone - sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the deep poverty of the country is borne unequally by lower income groups within this population. 46% of the income is accounted for by the top one-fifth of the people, while the lowest one-fifth accounts for only 8% of incomes. Even this breakdown presents only an incomplete picture; in fact the top 10% alone earns 33% of all income.

This large-scale deprivation has a curious companion - a grossly incorrect understanding of what the term 'middle class' means. The median family income in India is approximately Rs.4500 a month. By its conventional definition, the middle class includes families whose incomes lie between 75% and 125% of the median. Families with monthly incomes over Rs.6000 are thus above the 'middle class' line, and families earning more than Rs.8000 or 9000 a month are certainly among the top fifth of the nation. Still, among the urban salaried class that constitutes most of the audience for media outlets, many believe themselves to be members of the middle class. The view that they obtain 'middle class' incomes is widespread among many such families.

What's more, with proficiency in English largely confined to those who can afford private education, nearly everyone who can fluently say 'middle class families like mine' is almost certainly part of the India's economic elite.

Mudhal Payanam

2007-04-08T15:31:00.001Z

Live the Dreams, Remember the Past

[+] KLK-MudhalPayanam

[+] 6 More days for closure. 2050 Closing Down in 6 Days.

Little did i know!

2007-04-07T13:35:00.000Z

Lightning struck my heart
When I saw you down the lane
Arrows of your sharp features
Pierced through my soft features
I was rooted to my place
As you occupied my heart’s empty space
you were nearing me
My heart was nearing to burst open
You smiled at me as you passed me
Making my heart hammer against me
I gathered myself together
And wondered if I will see you again
Little did I know

I saw u in the park bench
Buried behind newspapers
But I knew it was you
Coz my heart said so
I sat next to you
To see if you will smile again
That melts me allover again
Yes, you did smile
And made me fly a mile
‘Jogging’ u asked me
I nodded in reply
‘Can I join you?’ u asked me
I wonder what I told you
But we jogged all around the lane
Till the end of the lane
I gathered myself together
And wondered if I will see you again
Little did I know

You came everyday
We jogged everyday
In one of the jogging sessions
Came our confessions
I do not know if it was you who made it
I do not know if it was me who made it
But both of us knew it, that
I was the sister whom you lost
You were the brother whom I lost
In the tragedy 10 years back
I gathered myself together
And wondered how you recognized me
Little did I know
That a new face from a plastic surgery
Doesn’t hide my old face to you.

Zanychild
Driving people insane as always

Living...once life..

2007-04-06T11:48:00.000Z

Over the years, our inbox were flooded with FWDs with speeches/articles of various personality from all walks of life (business executive, entrepreneurs, spiritually leaders, authors, celebrities,..) on this very topic - Life, whatz important in life? 100s-ways to lead happy life,?. with great appreciation of life, caring my past as memories, enjoying daily surprising experience as it comes, and with heavy baggage of culture/society thinking & belief, I continue my quest for better life - one with wisdom/knowledge/so called ways-to-lead-happy-life, while living a happy & exciting life...

Consistent contradiction of benefits of knowing too much vs. ignorance is bliss - its were is started. did ever gave hard thought about "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life..".? in certain ways I couldn't compile to this rules(so-to-speak). my attempt was unsuccessful - in someways or not, I had too infact sometimes we all are influenced by our emotions. its very romantic to say "live your life and dont live in results of others thinking.." but practically we trapped in thinking for living for our loved ones(parents/friends/spouse/children/..) in someways. our purpose and sense somehow doesnt go beyond. reason may be many..limit of knowledge/sense-of-understanding, whatever.. but by pursuit what we interpret and implement(half-barked) results in isolation mentally/thinking/lifestyle/intellectually from our loved ones(parents/friends) because its takes our thinking away from what they know and believed in...result is: we lead complex lifestyle & perform balancing act between what we know and what we were taught.

Someways, I envy someone with ignorance(is bliss). if you dont know what you are missing you dont miss anything. I dont claim to be intellect, but an individual who would understands the difference. unfortunate/fortunate but I cannot avoid thinking:

Much in life are directed by things preceding me, therefore out of my control.
Our mind will somewhat be polluted by public discourse(/superego - the division of the unconscious that is formed through the internalization of moral standards of parents and society, and that censors and restrains the ego)...
I cannot escape your emotions and it will always interfere with my sense of truth..
Always been a major distortion between what I know, what I will be able to communicate, and what people will then understand.
We are ultimately subject to forces beyond us, natural selection, laws of acceleration,etc.
What people tell you or how others view you will inevitably affect you.
You will sometime be subject to the needs of your containing vehicles: physical body, relationships, family, house, nation, car, etc.. and because of the nature of time, everything that persists requires maintenance.

it's hard to say whether I act based upon these dirty truths. perhaps, the proper way is to live in transcendence of these rules--i.e.. to keep up with an idealistic conception of life.

It's old adage, that for every answer there are two new questions. No matter how deep we penetrate any issue, or what we do to improve ourselves, our environments, our existence, there will always be an infinite number of steps before us. The process is one that never ends... as much as I hate to admit it, I love this game-of-life and cannot help thinking that's very reason why life is more exciting, and in those ugly truths all that it is reflected our wish to let it go on and on.

but then, may be its just me.. may be because of I am currently living in land of Socrates & Plato, may be I have too much of time, may be I am very happy man unnecessary complicating less complex life or may be only ugly, banal, truth is that happiness might be boring...

The Pit of Struggles

2007-04-03T06:59:00.000Z

I woke up to a bright sunny…err… wait a sec….it isn’t bright or sunny….instead it is pitch dark...oh maybe I am sleeping still….’wake up sleepy head’….I open my eyes wide open, still it is pitch dark….I try to look at my watch…it shows 6 :00 am….then wat is the matter? Why is everything pitch dark….I look next to me to find that my mother is not sleeping next to me…where could she have gone? And I see three people clad in white approaching me…..I strain my eyes and adjust them to the darkness…and see the three figures clearly…one is a woman and the other two are men…they come to me
‘Welcome to the pit of struggles’ says one of the men who is slightly taller than the others
‘We r the 3 wise people of struggles’ says the lady with them
I blink….what the heck is happening around me?
‘I am the director of this pit, she is the managing director and he is the assistant director’ says the man who is shorter…
I blink once again and ask them if this is some king of a joke?
They then ask me to look above…over thousands and thousands of foot above me I see a small glitter….the lady tells me that, that is my goal in life…
I am confused….what goal….who are all these crazy people??
As if reading my mind…the taller man says…that is the goal I am supposed to reach in my life…and the purpose of my life…
I laugh out! What the hell….I myself do not know wat my goal is…and here are three people defining my goals??
I then say to them…I want to get out of this spooky place and want to return back home…
The lady smiles at me and says…that even they want the same thing to happen…and for that to happen she says I have to reach my goal….
Me ‘!!!?????’
What the hell is happening around me! Is this some kind of a fantasy movie?
How can I reach that goal which is thousands and thousands of feet above me I ask them?
They reply that, that is why I am here…in this pit…this pit of struggles…which has to be overcome with the torch light of hope, and they give me a small pen torch…
I give them a confused look, to which they say…this is the torch light of hope…
Err…excuse me….I say….
With this teeny weenie torchlight of hope I am supposed to reach that goal….up...Up …above me…
they nod and smile at me….
That is impossible….I cry
They smile for this too…
And say this torchlight will show you the way of light you have to follow….
But what if I do not want to reach my goal? I ask them
They reply that only those highly ambitious people fall into this pit at a certain point of their life!
I laugh that they might have been mistaken…I am not that ambitious person….
They laugh back saying…all my ambitions are deep inside me…I have developed them gradually when I grew up…without me realizing it…that they are aching deep inside me to burst out….and only if I reach this goal of mine will I be able to get back to my world satisfied …. There is no other way out of this pit…
I yell ‘What the heck?’…..only I did not use heck….I used the F word….all three people shake their heads and mutter ‘Kids these days…..’
I shout back saying I am not a kid….I am an 18 year old adult….and ask them to go to where they have come from…I do not want to climb up the pit- I shout…it is soo unfair…
They just look down at me….with I do not know….if it was a look of pity or sympathy….
I sit there for a few minutes…with these weird people….they do not seem to be going…and I finally give up…
‘Ok seems like I do not have an option’
They smile at me again….
They and their bewitching smiles…I mutter to myself!
I get on my feet….they ask me to hold on to the walls of the pit with both my hands…and feel the rock wall…and use the clefts in it to climb….
I blink….but I have to hold a torch also….how am I supposed to do that?…
They smile asking me to hold the torch in my mouth…
I just shake my head…saying why can’t they give me a rope…and what if I do not know how to climb…
They smile saying I will find a rope halfway through my journey….and they very well know that I know to climb...they have seen me climb on the pipes of my house to reach my room…when I return home late….
Oops…how long have these weird people been watching me…?
I question back…what about others who fall in this pit…who do not know to climb?
They smile… (That bewitching smile!!!)...When in the pit of struggles...worry only about thyself….they said.
I show them a face…and start climbing…cursing under my breath….and I heard them cheering for me from below…..I very much need it right now!!
And they shout at me to be aware of snakes and other dangerous things….
Yikess!
I fall down again….they hold me…and say ‘we only said beware…we did not ask you to shout and lose your grip…you can overcome everything that comes your way’
And they also tell me…if I fall back again….definitely a set of hands will be there to hold me….those are hands of my well-wishers…
I continue this journey….keeping a watch for snakes….and I fall many times….and I am caught every time by a set of hands… and it puts me back on my foot….and I notice that every time it is a different set of hands….once I felt them like the hands of my mother…I also find a rope….and after endless hours I reach the glitter I saw from deep down below….it is no longer a glitter…it is beaming at me with such ferocity that it blinded me…..it looks like a big space of light….as I went near it….it engulfed me…and I felt warm all around me…….’Ouch’ I banged my head somewhere…
I get up with a start…I have been sweating….where am I?….I look around and find that I am in my room, in my bed……I can hear my mother calling for me to get up….she says it is getting late for college…..I wonder if what I experienced was a dream….when something brushes against my arm….I look down…it is the torch light of hope!

Zanychild
Driving people insane as always!

Traction De la Prise

2007-03-30T15:03:00.000Z

100+ Million blogs. What makes this interesting? NOTHING! And please, not everyone in the world likes cricket.

14 days. I'm pulling the plug, gonna redesign this site, gonna send out invitation only to interested people and only talk about how we are going to get to 2050!

So serious bloggers (part time/ full time/ whatever), mail me.

Thank you and Thank you for the wonderful 1+ year of support, it was not enough. Like I said, 100 mil blogs, what makes us good?

Emptiness!!!!!

2007-03-30T10:04:00.001Z

A tiring day….
The sun has receded back to its home
It has brought darkness everywhere in a matter of a few hours
Suddenly the world is engulfed in darkness...
And small illuminated lamps lit up my street
There is the usual hustle and bustle in the streets
The occasional barking of stray dogs
the wails of children
The sound of buses and all sorts of man made transports
I try to focus again on ‘working capital’ decisions’
Nothing is going through my head…
I stare at the white wall before me…
I am filled with emptiness…
A blank feeing…
I try hard to concentrate…
It doesn’t work
I throw my books aside….
I hit the covers of my bed…
The ceiling of my room is pitch black
I stare I stare….
My breathing becomes ragged
I try to think…
What have I made out of myself?
Have I taken all the right decisions?
Am I in the right place where I am?
Have I made a mark?
Will I make a mark?
Would things be different if I had heeded everyone’s wish to take science?
Would I found satisfaction there-more than what I get in solving accounts?
Was I right in deciding that this is right and this is not right for me?
Would I be feeling empty now...even if I had taken science and gone to become an engineer?
Will I be able to prove to the world, that I had made a right decision?
Better, will I be able to prove it to myself?
All I want is to be the on the cream of excellence
Do I have the stuff for it?
Time alone will answer….
Time alone will make a mark for me…
but still why do I feel empty???
??????

Indian World cup Dream

2007-03-29T10:13:00.000Z

THE DREAM OF WINNING THE WORLD CUP IS DEAD!!!

Ooh Aah IndIa...nO mORe iNDia

2007-03-24T06:44:00.000Z

BREAKING NEWS:Indian team died...
The Indian team bus met with a major accident in Jamica, that the whole team as well as their coach and physiotherapist were spot dead in the major crash between the bus and the goods carrier on 23rd march 2007...this happened right before the start of the match..the accident happened when they were coming to the stadium.
A pity sight, and a great tragedy, that now the whole India is mourning.

Wait..wait a sec!

Then who played against Srilanka in the match yesterday?

Hmm.....good question...they were the duplicate Indian team which BCCI has setup to face such tragedies. The news of the accident came only today morning. Because the BCCI were sure that the Subcontinent will break lose..and there will be riots and chaos everywhere...

But they were mistaken...how could they expect a duplicate team to perform as well as our dear old Indian team! the country has broken lose due to their dismal performance!! That I am very sure that only a fit for nothing team could have played such a disastrous game!

But the bowling of our clone team was some what acceptable. It would have been better if the same was the case with the batting side! The players were fielding quite above normal Indian standards..i mean they were better...the were just jumping and flying...a very rare fielding activity seen by the normal Indian team..but I think they thought they were doing good..and suspected people suspecting them to be duplicates, that they messed up the batting!!

How else could star batsman Sachin get out for a Golden Duck..to be treasured for sure in his last worldcup match! and Ganguly...my goodness what happened to Dada..he was in great form...he went out for 7!...Yuvaraj's dismissal was our turning point...that run out..which totally knocked our luck....all because of the miscalculation and lack of attention from Dravid as to where the ball is!..and then comes Dhoni....gone for a Golden duck by LBW....wasn't LBW a part of Dada..only he used to get out by LBWs! And then the look Dravid gave..was a thing to be pitied..he stood helpless there in the ground....the fate was destined..'return back to India!!....No more cricket for you Dravid!!....you have let us Down' must have chanted again and again in his ears...then how else will the smooth, slow wall...with a cramp in his leg and with a by runner (highly unlikely of Dravid style)hit 4s continuously in one over....and get out the very next...then comes Harbajan....he is trying all sorts of stroke and by fluke hits a 6 and a 4!...munaf patel for his share hits a 4 and you must have seen the gleam in his eyes....why wouldn't he be gleaming..a 4 to his score in batting in the world cup...which is none of his area!..

After that, everything happened quick.....we were totally knocked out for 185!!..they showed the faces of the Indian team in the pavilion..total disastrous looks they had....completely they were lost and shocked...no one was talking..they were dumbstruck, they did not know what to do? they knew the welcome they were going to receive back home. they were aware of the frustration, and how much of their hard earned property was going to be damaged...it couldn't be helped..they were helpless...what has happened has happened..they are out of the world cup virtually....they could only pray that bermuda wins bangladesh...which has a probability of 1/10000....

In the end...no one died..it was just a game...with a luck on the other side...there is always a second chance for everything in life...a mother wont desert her child just because he/she is disabled. In the same way our Indian team is luck disabled..not talent disabled...it is not right to desert them...nor is it right to show our anger on their properties and effigies. In the end of the day....they have lost a game to a good side..and decent enough..it is not a shameful defeat....let us welcome them back with consoling hands.....let our support go with them wherever they go!! but we can do one thing....we can select a proper coach...Chappell has come to India only to kick them out of the worldcup!!He has to be penalized for coaching India so badly..and for creating all such tensions within the team, starting with Dada

Disclaimer: The first para is completely fictitious and is not written with any intention to hurt anyone!

Zanychild
Driving people insane as always

Banks of Tomorrow

2007-03-19T15:28:00.001Z

The bank of tomorrow is already moving…towards community based services.

In UK: Zopa.com
In UK, Zopa contributes since March 2005 to the democratization of the banking economy and festival its second birthday. During these 2 years, Zopa called on 135.000 users impassioned who lent themselves money between them, without traditional banking intermediary.

Thanks to Zopa, the lenders obtained an average output of 6.75%. The borrowers could obtain advantageous interest rates (4,2% on appropriations at 3 years). The noted rate of average defect (borrowers not having been able to refund their loan) was not 0,2%, which much lower than what is noted in the traditional banking environment. Why? The social relations create a pressure by the pars which control the good relations within the community.

Also, Zopa is plans to move into US Market

In US: Prosper.com
In the US, the bank of tomorrow thrives with Prosper (180.000 members, 1 year of existence). Prosper, it is the eBay money. Prosper is a creator of confidence. A place of market of “social lending” can function only with the active participation and the enthusiasm of its members. The latter give a constant feedback: Zopa and Prosper work without relache with their community to improve their platforms uninterrupted.

Prosper is America's first people-to-people lending ... all » marketplace, and was created to make consumer lending more financially and socially rewarding for everyone. The way Prosper works is intuitive to people who have used eBay. Instead of listing and bidding on items, people list and bid on loans using Prosper's online auction platform. People who want to lend set the minimum interest rate they are willing to earn and bid in increments of $50 to $25,000 on loan listings they select. People who lend can easily diversify using "standing orders", which automatically make many small loans to different borrowers. It's a new asset class in investing. In addition to criteria commonly used by institutional lenders, such as credit scores, people who lend can base their decision on a borrowers' group affiliation. Groups on Prosper are critical to bringing people together for the common goal of borrowing at better rates. Groups earn reputations according to their members' repayment records. Groups with successful repayment histories should attract more lenders offering lower rates.

In the Netherlands: Boober.nl
The bank of tomorrow has just opened and has as a promise: “No banks, better deal”.

MicroFinance: http://kiva.org/
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Cricket World Cup Prediction

2007-03-19T15:25:00.000Z

notice this on Deepa's post
very interesting..

Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years later India won the world Cup!!!

Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died
2 years(2007) later will India win the world Cup???? .........

1982 Football World Cup won by Italy
1983 Cricket World Cup won by India

2006 Football World Cup won by Italy
2007 Cricket World Cup: INDIA ???

oOh aAh INDIA...OUCH it huRtS!

2007-03-18T14:58:00.000Z

What did we ever do to deserve such a shameful defeat?
what happened to the men in BLUE...that they have now become a black shadow on us??
where did they go wrong?
are the allergic to the first match of the world cup?
were they overconfident?
what was the very reason that they lost badly to such a young bangladesh team?
aren't they ashamed?
do they realize the consequences of their poor play?
what is the use of having a squad which cannot face a situation?
chappel should be chappaled...why did he have to experiment with different combo of 11 before the worldcup..before focusing on a fixed 11..?
why did dravid support shewag?
the people are boiling with rage throughout the subcontinent
we had packed the men in blue with such love, pressure and confidence, that they repay us back with such gratitude...
shewag should either be kicked out of the team, or sent in the middle order...
sachin should focus more on his cricket...
dada is amazing..he is the odd one out of the team....but he cud focus on increasing his strike rate...
dhoni has to bashed up if he doesn't perform the way he is supposed to perform...
dravid must continue to be the wall....the wall broke big time yesterday...he mustn't let that happen....
we have a team which is a mix of young and experienced players..there are three players having more than 10000 odd runs...
there are efficient bowlers...who must become more focused....
it was a huge disappointment to watch the match yesterday....losing to bangladesh was totally inexcusable...
the joy on the bangladeshi team was radiant..of course it will be....they have defeated the MEN IN BLUE....it is a huge victory for them.....while it is a huge shame for us with a bigger magnitude.....they scored runs amazingly...the ball was flying....while for our team....i could not even imagine it..we were 154/4 and then 157/9.....!!!!!!!!....totally unpardonable...
the bangladeshi team has lost one of their young colleagues and were mourning for them....and played great..they showed determination..
while this was bad enough...the fate of pakistan was much much worse....they lost to furst time debutants Ireland by scoring a meager 130 odd runs....but the celebration of Ireland was enjoyable....they totally smacked the pakistanis sending them packing home!!
well...all is well and good.....let us try to be optimistic....past is past, nothing can be changed....the men in blue would have learnt their lesson the hard way....let us hope..they make an amazing come back in the next two matches..have a ravishing victory over Bermuda and Srilanka....and walk with their head held high into teh super 8...nothing is impossible for the men in blue..... still nothing can dampen our hopes on them.....let us pardon them and smoothen their ruffled feathers.....we will come back...show the world that we indians are not easy to defeat.....we are a nation with cricket as our religion...nothing can make us turn our back to the world cup!!

I pray with whole of my heart that we will come back.....
ALL THE BEST TEAM INDIA!!
NOTHING CAN STOP US FROM GETTING THE WORLDCUP BACK HOME...
(don't ever make me rite a blog that is complete inverse of this one!)

What About Us That They Dont Like?

2007-03-14T11:48:00.000Z

Excerpt from a local Newspaper:

What text messaging has done to literacy is well documented (or maybe not) but while the cellular masses have dumbed themselves down to lives devoid of vowels, the Internet revolution continues apace. There is now a place called the "blogosphere", touted by its denizens as a Utopia of freedom of expression.

In my opinion, what they’ve really done is prove why freedom of expression was a really bad idea. In this country, a host of folk who never had a hope of getting published are now proving why not.

The local blogosphere is the domain of life-challenged grumblestiltskins and disenfranchised pundits whose asinine maunderings only show why they should never have had day jobs in the first place.

Rumour, innuendo, half-truths and damned lies are their stock- in-trade, and previously sacrosanct standards, principles and ethics are now laughable.

Are they not entitled to their opinion? Of course they are, as much as everyone else is entitled to ignore them. I would venture, however, that everyone has an opinion and a rectum, and not that many seem capable of telling one from the other.

But no, it’s all good. Let a hundred thousand million flowers bloom; let all voices be heard, in however fractured language, whether or not they have anything pertinent to communicate or any information worth more than spittle to offer.

The stupidity of the person who wrote this doesn't hide the ingenuity of this article in the eyes of the world. By writing this, the person revealed, bare naked the skin and color of his masters and their gripes and their fear.

Does this show that people are afraid of the blogger movements, collaborations that the powers that be think can topple them, where mass flow of information can crack open any crevice that these scums of the world seems to hide their tyranny and let it percolate hidden until the bloggers play their game and end their days. Maybe now we can understand what political blogging, and the freedom of speech is all about.

is India's future success a Myth..?

2007-03-12T19:14:00.000Z

recent article made me think is India's success story really Myth,,!? may be or may be NOT..

would recommend to read this before - Pankaj Mishra's "The myth of the new India" in The New York Times

While India is making significant strides in some areas thanks to opening up of its economy and a drastic change from a focus on agriculture and rural economy (an agenda of prior prime ministers) there is a lot that needs to be done. The current prime minister had been responsible for the economy change when he was the finance minister in an earlier administration.

One of the strongest things going for the India is its democracy "to the ultimate" - a country where it is possible to have a communist party take lead in some parts of India (something that cannot be dreamt in US). It is a democracy where the have-nots kick out technocrats in favor of communist party candidates - AND THAT IS TRULY DEMOCRACY!

Today, the strides made in India are focused on the educated elite - there is some trickle down affect - but not as much as desired. However these major strides have been in the past 16 years ONLY. What will the next 16 years bring about - I feel - A LOT. We have not given India enough time and one generation needs to pass before one can see significant changes at other levels.

There are still some remnant ills of past generations like, the caste system, poverty and poor distribution system - and not all have been fixed. But major strides are happening in all areas. Even
poor people see that their hope in a better life is in higher education, hence they are eager to give their children what they could not accomplish in terms of education. It will take a generation for those results to manifest. There is a VERY STRONG focus on education. Also notice nobody seems to talk about hunger in India. That has a lot to do with the distribution infrastructure and tech.

Investment is pouring in from all parts of the world. "Hi-tech" was focused on service oriented jobs, and now that has changed and a lot and VCs from the silicon valley and Europe are investing in the country - and so are big corporations.

Focus of the country has moved to nuclear energy for obvious reasons. Electric car manufacturers (like Reva) are beginning to taking a foot hold as well. India will be more nuclear than US because that is the only hope. I feel India is on the right track... give it time... it could end up exceeding China in the next generation.

When you hear about "hi-tech" in India, one thing that you do not hear about is "hi-tech" investment by the country in military. India will become a major power in economy AND military might.

Somethings to watch out for wrt India, will be its military might and to some extent Hindu fundamentalism. Why I say this, because ultimate power can bring about arrogance.

if you thinks Hindu fundamentalism, even though a weakling must be kept in check - and I feel it is under check for now. I don't expect Hindu fundamentalism ever taking a significant foot hold in India. Here is my hope: Hindu fundamentalists do get riled up because of other religions like Christianity and Islam trying to convert. Hindus do not have a branch in the religion that focuses on 'conversion to Hinduism' and that irritates many folks. The saying goes in Hinduism - "we do not want to or are even willing to convert you to Hinduism- don't do that to our people". One good thing going for Hinduism is its basic tolerance to other religions. Thanks to "Pantheism" they will worship any god of any other religions like Jesus Christ etc.

Should not surprise you that the Prime Minister is Sikh and the President is Muslim. Democracy and tolerance again. India narrowly missed getting a Christian prime minister.

There is a lot going on in defense technology. I would not be surprised it India is not working on Cruise missiles and Missile interceptors. They have neighbors that have not been very friendly in the north and the east.

Today, Indians are more free in India than Americans in US. You want Viagra you are free to get it without remorse or feel the the strong arm of a police state. Your life is not an open book to the
government like it is in US. Your finances are not 100% in the face of electronic tracking. I presume 50% of the economy does not show up on any books. It has its ills. Lack of proper taxation leads to
poor infrastructure. Flip side - the underground economy in completely legitimate products is capitalism to its ultimate.

My take: Give India another 20 Years. Many ills will be taken care of. It is a very good time for US to partner with India. India will not, ever be like China, a country to fear. It will be a very strong country, and will remain friendly and open.

India has a lot going for it in the realm of higher education.

It should not surprise you that the highest rated engineering school in the world is IIT and the highest rated Management school is IIM. Both tougher to get into than MIT and Wharton. Medical schools like AIIMS and CMC Vellore are not household names yet in US but they are names to watch, both with extremely tough standards. But these are schools you hear about. There are other schools as well, may not be as the well known, but still producing good human resources and in fairly good volume.

Give it time (and not too much either) India will surprise you and very fast.

India, with its rich culture, strong economy, friendliness and openness will be a country to envy.

Ahimsa Silk!

2007-03-12T16:00:00.000Z

Thanks to BlueMoon for information about "Ahimsa Silk" - that is woven from a cocoon after the butterfly/moth has flown away from the cocoon so that the worms escape the dip in the fatal boiling hot pail of water. And kudos to Kusuma Rajaiah for this excellent idea of varying the silk retrieval technique slightly to reap the huge benefit of not having to kill thousands of silk worms! This Hindu article dated 3/6/2007 has the story about the inspiration behind Kusuma's invention, Mrs. Janaki Venkataraman, wife of the former President of India, R. Venkataraman. I commend her stand that led to this wonderful invention! "Ahimsa" - a perfect name too!

This surely is wonderful news for animal lovers, not so much because it opens doors to a guilt free wearing of the fine material, but the hope that some day, yes some day, there would be a total transformation in the silk industry to produce silk in this non-violent manner. Until the production of the Ahimsa silk is streamlined and produced in masses, the costs will probably remain prohibitive to become the mainstream silk production. And until such a day arrives, we will still be pained by the cruelty behind silk, fur and other animal based products.

But today, I join the many compassionate folks who care, in celebrating the "Ahimsa" silk and do hope that when you go shopping for this much fancied fabric, you would consider choosing the non-violent alternative!

Please visit the official website www.ahimsasilks.com for details.

MIT's I/O Brush

2007-03-08T16:14:00.000Z

This is so awesome!

This is the MIT Media Labs I/O Brush. Amazing technology that uses movement, image and color recognition to paint a new world.

[+] MIT Tangible Media Group;[I/O Brush]

[+] I/O Brush

2006 Department of State Human Rights Report

2007-03-06T17:54:00.000Z

Read the full report here and find out how your county fared.

On a related matter, US calls the Darfur genocide the worst crisis now, and still doesn't do anything about it. I think for sure they don't do anything about it because it doesn't involve oil, Israel and America. In a few years when it turns into a holocaust, the world will call it a holocaust level crisis and still never do anything about it.

[+] The report

Evoloution of Marriage [contd.]

2007-03-02T17:56:00.000Z

This post is to bring to fore a very interesting theory put forward by Uma in addition to the 2 theories proposed in an earlier post.

She says

The theories you have posted are nice, but I think they are not strong enough, if you see it in the evolutionary point of view. Biologically the concept of ‘marriage’ is more favoring women than men. The basic animal instinct is to propagate their genes. For male, more they have sex, the chance of propagating their gene is more, but for women, she is fertile only 3days(even less) a month and even if she is successful in that period, she has to wait for another one year to reproduce again (after child birth etc.) So, naturally man worry about the quantity of partners he can get, but women more about the quality of the partner. If you see the sexual behavior of our ancestors, there were always fight between men to get their mating partner. The male have to prove their strength, to prove that their genes are worth and are the fittest to transmit to the next generation. Then why and when this concept of marriage came into existence?

The theory of “population control” is good, that can be justified biologically. The concept of marriage controls males and hence the population. But in nature always the sex ratio is maintained, so, the population control theory can be justified with an assumption that something terribly went wrong with the sex ratio.

But to have a women as a slave, might have evolved when man started being ‘lazy’ to fight with another male every time, when he wanted to have a mate. But to manage slaves is a big disadvantage for him. Also this is against the psychological evolution of men. Men’s psychology always makes him feel confident, only when he gets success after a fight by proving himself. So the “slave theory” favors only a smaller group of weaker men. So, biologically and psychologically marriage is a big compromise a men make and a big favor for women. Why the entire ‘male dominated’ cultures are favoring marriages? When we relax the cultural constrains (like in the western world) we can see less and less men are opting for marriage. I think there should be a stronger reason for the evolution of marriage. This comment is purely based on my readings and discussion I had with my fellow biologist. Please write if there are any flaws in my comment.

So do post your thoughts on the same.

Sitescore: Rate your blog

2007-03-02T15:12:00.000Z

"Sitescore is a free tool which rates how well designed, popular and accessible your website is."

Go here to rank your blog.

The score is based on Marketing, Design, Accessibility, Experience and User Feedback.

Marriage- The Evolution

2007-03-01T08:50:00.000Z

I have two theories to propose as to how the current concept of 'Marriage' came about.

This Photo of a Marriage is from DeviantART done by SoundofSanity.

Both the theories are based on my reading and interactions and discussions i had with with people on the same subject.

Centuries back, there were tribes roaming this earth. They used to hunt for food and copulated when ever they felt like. As a result, the population increased. Food started becoming scarce.

There was one tribe leader who noticed this phenomenon. He came to a conclusion that for his tribe to survive, sex [As it led to a large number of children] should be controlled. Initially, he must have allowed 3 or more women for a man; which as time passed reduced. As of now, it stands in most places as one.

A picture depicting a tribe or tribes:

[Source:University of Texas]

Long long ago, tribes used to raid other tribes for jewels and precious things. And women used to be taken as slaves. More slaves implied that they had more wealth. By and by, a slave leader came to be. Probably the importance of the slave leader grew and grew and transmogrified into the 'wife'. [Women being taken as slaves and how the prominence of a 'single' slave grew is documented in Thorstein Veblen's 'The Theory of the Leisure Class']

This painting by Gustave Boulanger portrays a 'Slave Market' of olden times.

[Source:Wikipedia]

NOTE: Readers, if you have any other logical explanations, both accounted and unaccounted, please post them as comments.

LOVE IS BLIND

2007-02-28T13:54:00.001Z

-dedicated exclusively to my sweet heart ‘Roger’!!

Oh my! I am falling in love, all over again. But still he is my ‘first love’. I drive him crazy. He makes me drive him crazy! He has been my constant companion in the past year. A year has flown. It is totally unbelievable. I saw him the first time when I was in my 11th std. Sleek, shiny, handsome and striking with his silver streaks he was. I wasn’t all over him at the first sight. He understood this, so he went to befriend my brother first. And I starter seeing a bit more of him when he accompanied me and my brother to the theatres, malls, to my grandma’s place, and very rarely to my college. He must have had a delight when he visited my college, it being a complete girl’s college.

Three years flew. Nothing great happened. Then my brother had to go abroad. So my brother acquainted me and him a bit more. We both started going out at times with my brother tailing behind us to see if everything is alright! Once my brother went abroad, it was celebration time for him. He has become mine. No more of my brother intruding us! He now accompanied me where ever I went. He used to wait patiently for me with love and concern in the rain and sun.

When I come out, he used to flicker at me with joy. At times he was angry with me; he wouldn’t come out with me. I would have to kick him hard and start him out of his lazy slumber to come out with me. Still I am grateful to him, that because of me he had to meet with an accident with another big macho man. But still he doesn’t grumble at me when he wears that scar that accident rewarded him. He wears that big white scar with pride and almost gleams at me!

There have been days, when he has been filthy and uncouth. There have been days he will have this rugged, unkempt look. There have been days when he looks like he has come straight out of the mud and dust. There have been days when he could not run properly, that he gallops like a horse as he is getting older. But always he will have that striking appearance, that makes him stand apart however filthy and dirty he is, and how much ever he gallops like a horse*. (*courtesy: my gang of friends)

Whatever happens, He is mine and will be mine forever. Yes. This entire blog is dedicated exclusively to my ‘Roger’. My sleek, shine, handsome, AY 8291 Scooty pep, black. He will be there with me and stand with me wherever I go. We have an amazing relationship. At times he may grumble to come out with me, but in the end he will definitely give in to my tantrums and start to accompany me wherever I go. Wherever I go he follows me. As long as he gets enough Air, petrol and oil to help him survive. He will be there for me.

Love you loads Roger

Zany child
Driving people insane as always.

The Economics of Advertisements

2007-02-28T05:34:00.000Z

Advertisements is not an uncommon thing of today. We find it on all kinds of media and also in the very close proximity of our houses, on walls, buildings etc.

[Read about this ad here]

The business houses are not stingy in providing free goods along with the goods and services they supply. Do they have an impact on the choices, we, the consumers make? Do these advertisements affect our choices?

A research done by Montague, a neuroscientist, stated that the brand overrode the actual quality of the product.

To see if there is a high dependence between our choices and advertisements, read more here.

Who Killed the SOLO?

2007-02-25T09:37:00.000Z

Why did the 10 minute solo become a 5 minute one?
Followed by the even more annoying 50 second one?
And now since the 5 seconder i stopped listening to em'

Is it just me or are the solos dying?

Most musicians, and i mean those aged 30 and above who actually experienced the golden years of music if not lived through them, feel that there aren't any good guitar players out there, let alone solos.. Ever since the arrival of RnB, HipHop, Rap, and Michael Jackson, the mainstream success of bands/guitarists has diminished. Now, even that wouldn't be too bad... but the skill/talent is also diminishing..... or isit??

Worse up. Many bands are giving too much importance to vocalists and not enough to drummers, bassists, and guitarists. It's considered corny these days to solo or to incorporate solos into your songs, and even if you think you must, the crowd/producers/who ever's involved cuts you down to within a minute....

Artists who were known for long solos, be it complicated or simple bends.. :

Jimi Hendrix

Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin

David Gilmour, PinkFloyd

Eric Clapton

B.B. King

Steve Vai, White Snake, G3

Joe Satriani, G3

Frank Zappa, and The Mothers

Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night

Stevie Ray Vaughn

Duane Allman, The Allman Brothers Band

Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead

Slash, Guns 'N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Velvet Revolver

And god Damn the list is endless... but the point i'm trying to prove is that, no guitarist, has shined or soloed like those mentioned above.. within the last 5 - 10 years. Every legendry guitarist's time of recognition was before the late 1990s.. not one has emerged after..

My theory on why the solo and guitar talent is fading.

DRUM MACHINES.. killed the acousticity.. destroyed motivation

Rise of RnB, Hip Hop and Rap genres of music albeit a different one but one which is killing rock music in general.. though i do appreciate some of the older rap, the one these days is from the bottom of the music pit.. yes you people listening to H***.fm are listening to S**T, ~~may you die in agony~~... pah.
Worse up, there is no encouragement for people to pick up a guitar for a living, every parent is urging their son/daughter to run into the corporate jungle where lions and tigers have suits these days, and where you climb a ladder for a living.. i mean what kind of life is that?!

Whatever happened to Sex. Drugs. and Rock n Roll.... well i intend to live that life, after i reach the top of the corporate ladder... or i might just start living that life right now....

So to all you people out there, i beg you to start playing an instrument, be it a fender or a piano.. just whatever.. even pearls.. just pick up and play.. who knows.. the next legend could be from our generation..

ah.. who am i kidding, 99% of us are nothing but brainwashed freaks who
think braces with shiny diamonds are cool..

On a lighter note, it was raining today, so i some how got a few Decent if not good pictures for your viewing pleasure.

And lastly as ever i leave you with todays song.. comfortably numb.. song is about 6 minutes with the solo being 2 - 3 minutes.. it comes inbetween and towards the end.. god damn this was the best solo ever in the history of music, yes its not fast but the technique is mind blowing and hence puts gilmour's solo on top of the top.

Come back solo... please ?

,\m/

25 years ago....

2007-02-20T12:17:00.000Z

I got this is from my friend...

A program was ... a television show
An application was .. for employment
Windows were..... something u hated to clean
A cursor ... used profanity
A keyboard was ...a piano
Memory was..... something u lost with age
A CD was... a bank account
If u unzipped in public u went to jail
Compress was something u did to garbage
A hard drive was a long trip on the road
Log on was adding wood to fire
A backup happened to your toilet
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
Cut.. u did with scissors
paste.. u did with glue
A web was a spiders home
A Monitor was some one who used to keep watch on classmates in absence of teacher or
A Monitor was class (School's)representative
A Desktop was desk's top surface.
And a virus was the flu!!

Hobbes is real and lynyrd skynyrd is dead

2007-02-19T07:51:00.000Z

This is the first time i'm posting up here so be nice =D

Every day there's a newspaper in my house i read it. Calvin and Hobbes. These Guys are THE BOMB, the hotstuff, whatever you chose to call it. They're brilliant and so is they're creator Bill Waterson. For those of you who still don't know ~~bloody ignoramouses~~ Calvin and Hobbes is a comic strip, and NO its not a STUPID COMIC... it's a comic STRIP.. a WORLD of a difference.

These Strips not only handled childish behaviour but also politics, death and consumer rights.

Calvin's a six years albeit a very smart one, who has a vocabulary as vast as the Sahara.

He feels the world's out to get him and is very anti social except with his Tiger Hobbes and the girl next door Susie Derkins.

The question of hobbes existance is one of long fought debates. The fact is, it doesn't matter whether hobbes is a real tiger, a stuffed one, or simply calvin's imaginary friend. It just matters that the character is there and his existance is more on a deeper plane of understanding rather than physical.

Now i leave you with some Famous Strips, Enjoy.

Recently, i've found my self interested in amateur photography, and the below are two of my best so far i've taken.

The first is called Reflections, for Obvious reasons. It's just a tumbler and me reflected innit.

However with a DSC P150 sony, life's pretty tought because 90% of pictures are blurred in the Manual mode. Sad..

This one below, correct me if'm wrong, is taken with a slow shutter and a quick flick of the wrist. Very, ' tres chic' non?

Am i avant-garde yet??

Lastly, here's a song i love, "sweet home alabama" a blues/southern rock anthemn by ever green

Lynyrd Skynyrd

The band is divine and not in a holy sense. They're casual riffs and bluesy piano blend so perfectly it makes me cry to think that 3/4 of the band, including lead singer johnny van zant died in a horribly plane crash.

SONG REMOVED : SWEET HOME ALABAMA by LYNYRD SKYNYRD

The limits of communication

2007-02-11T04:59:00.000Z

We write. We talk. We communicate in all ways possible. What do we want from this? Don’t we want the listener or the reader to get the feel of the ‘actual experience’ we had?

Language is an important medium of communication and perhaps the most significant one of all. It was introduced so that humans could communicate their emotions, ideas and feelings. Has the objective been achieved?

Yes. The feelings have been communicated. The ideas conveyed. And emotions expressed. If this is what we want from it, then ‘language’ has been successful.

But, if we wanted or desired the others to get the ‘actual experience’, and if we had tried hard to convey that (Either by writing, painting or music) then we will have failed. This is so because ‘our experiences’ cannot be shared by anyone else. It refuses to be shared.

And the closest we can come to it is through art-through expression. The ‘blogs’ tries it’s best to convey the ‘author’s emotions’. At times, few readers come close to it. Some readers wander off. Some get an opposite emotion. Basically, it all boils down to the perceptions of the readers.

Smiling-My remote DREAM!

2007-02-09T15:52:00.000Z

People say I no longer smile. I have completely lost it, my smile I mean, my brains are still intact. When and where did I lose my smile?

Was it when wars broke all over me? Was it when terrorism and terrorists became rampant in my place? Was it when due to the need of water I was malnourished, and my stomach rumbled resulting in destructions all over me? Was it when 3/4^th of the water in my body engulfed the other 1/4^th in the name of tsunami? Was it when Katrina dumped me and blew across me with such ferocity? Was it when I could not provide sufficient space to my expanding people resulting in poverty? Was it when the governments ruling my countries have become shamelessly corrupted and selfish? Was it when deadly diseases like AIDS and Cancer thronged their heads among the masses of my people? Was it when educational institutions’ became profit making institutions? Was it when medical services became minting money services rather than a noble service? Was it when people like Sadam Husain were once let to rule a country? Was it when innocent lives were taken, but corrupt and evil people like Osama Bin Laden were let to live? Was it when my next generation youngsters- the dream of the future started to follow the footsteps of such evil people? Was it when people in the name of religion started fooling others? Was it when it was no longer safe for little children to go out and play, due to the existence of such Noida serial killers? Was it when the amount of people committing suicide hit enormous figures? Was it when people could no longer live in harmony with others? Was it when materialistic satisfaction became more important to people than the concern for others? Was it when people started eating, drinking and living on money? Was it when God remained a silent visionary to all those happening around him?

Aren’t these plenty enough reasons for me to lose my smile? And are you thinking why I have lost my smile? Because, I am none other than ‘the World’. The poor, helpless world that, bears the extreme consequences of the above actions.

Will I smile in the future? It solely depends on you people and only you. Learn to make me smile. See me smile and blush, and I promise you that will be the most enriching, priceless experience in your life. It is a moment you wouldn’t forget. So work harder. Make me smile. Make my remote dream come true in the very near future.

Zany child

Driving people insane as always

Amazing comedy..

2007-02-08T09:22:00.000Z

http://media.putfile.com/CricketComedy

Some interesting comedy, even if you dont know cricket!!

A Step Closer

2007-01-01T16:39:00.000Z

Whether or not, you’re at the big apple New Years definitely start with a bang. And for me as one, the end of a bad year and the start of a hopefully good year with glad tidings’ been more than just a celebration, it’s been monumental.

I don’t have words of wisdom today. Neither do I have hackings that impress and intrigue you. But a simple wish for this year, this important life changing year of your life 2007.

Good Year 2007. One more step closer.

2050 and The New Blogger

2006-12-26T10:50:00.000Z

Dear All,

The 2050 blog is using the New Blogger now. All the members and anyone who wants to be a member has to switch to the New Blogger to continue posting here. If the switch function is not yet activated in your blogs, please be patient. It will appear very soon.

For the ones who has switched, welcome to the New Blogger and hope you make your stay worthwhile. Please do post often. I have set up labels to categorize the posts. If you are a frequent blogger and wants to be a moderator here, please buzz me.

There will be new goals for this blog very soon. We will be focusing more of the coming years and the evolution of humanity, earth and the Internet as said before. Hence I have separated the goals section into decades to better chart the changes happening around us.

Thank you,
Gp

Rita Levi Montalcini's discovery won the world's highest scientific honour.

2006-12-18T15:27:00.000Z

Rita Levi Montalcini was the last of four children born to the electrical engineer Levi and the painter Montalcini. Her father, though loving, believed that a career for women would interfere with family life and a career should never take first place. Rita convinced her father to allow her to become a doctor, and graduated summa cum laude in 1936. Shortly thereafter, Europe was plunged into World War II, and Mussolini and his Fascist supporters wrote decrees that curtailed the freedom of the Jewish people. Rita and her family went underground. For sometime, Rita tried to continue her research in a makeshift laboratory. When Germany invaded Italy, Rita and her family lived in fear until the Allies finally liberated Italy. Rita worked as a doctor to aid allied troops, before immigrating to the U.S. where she began to focus again on physiological research. She received the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine about a decade later, after she became an American citizen..

Rita's story is one of adventure and triumph, in terms of science and human spirit. It was in her secret laboratory, that she conducted her research on the growth of nerve fibres that led to her discovery of what scientists now call the trophic Factor. By studying chicken embryos, she determined the effect that limb amputation has on the nervous system. In 1946, she accepted an invitation to continue her research at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, where her work lead to the discovery of nerve growth factor or NGF a substance found in malignant tumors that affect the growth of nerve fibres. In the face of Fascist oppression, this remarkable scientist began a journey of discovery that culminated in her winning the world's highest scientific honor in 1986.

JOVE

2006-11-28T03:02:00.001Z

The YOutube for Science is here!

JOVE : Journal of Visualized Experiments

The Future Of Global Media

2006-11-21T06:39:00.000Z

The previous century is the war century, forever changing the political and socioeconomics scenario of the world. For better or worst, war has shaped our lives in ways never before thought. One pivotal tool of war would be the media; if the world wars were covered extensively by the print media, but only influencing from a minority role, the gulf wars and the current terror wars are heavily shaped by the satellite media. As we explore the roles of the big media corps such as CNN and BBC, and if we take a none biased looks, they are playing the cards of their masters. The big corps especially American media is still twisted by their political masters, more evident than ever since the Watergate scandal. While we hunger for the truth, the truth itself is fake these days.

Hence, the future of media must and if we want it such, be free of any political elements, offer an unabridged and non biased look at the matters unraveling around the world thats both can satisfy the individual need and offer a strong cultural significance.

Two new news channels were launched in this past week to offer an alternative view of the world. Al Jazeera , which has already been on air for 10 years launched worldwide this week while France 24 is a brand new satellite channel backed by France airing in English and French to the world.

[-] It's been more than a year since 2050 were formed. From now onwards, we will continue to chart the future and document the evolution of the Internet, Humanity and Earth by looking into the future and providing solutions. If you have any ideas to contribute that will make this journey into the future a more exciting one, please do drop us a comment, email us or just become a member.

Amazing idea!

2006-11-08T11:13:00.000Z

http://www.subservientprogrammer.com/main.aspx - something interesting!!

Quick talent and intelligent answers

2006-11-03T09:19:00.000Z

At what point is a person dead? And how does a perm work? You may need to talk your way out of questions like these to get into Britain's elite universities, a survey of applicants has revealed. They were some of the more curious questions recently pitched by interviewers at Oxford and Cambridge looking to find the very best among the thousands of students trying to get on courses at the prestige institutions. The survey of around 1200 students by Oxbridge Applications, which advises applicants, showed the interview process was living up to its reputation for being notoriously tough.

Among the questions reported by students included: Here is a piece of bark, please talk about it. (Biological Sciences, Oxford) Are you cool? (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Oxford) At what point is a person "dead"? (Medicine, Cambridge) Put a monetary value on this teapot. (Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Cambridge) Other questions, though it was not clear who asked them, included: What percentage of the world's water is contained in a cow; of all 19th-century politicians, who was most like Tony Blair? Jessica Elsom, of Oxbridge Applications, said the interview process was notoriously eccentric as the universities try to recruit the sharpest-witted among youngsters with flawless British school-leaving exam results.

With the increase in the numbers of students excelling at A-level, the Oxbridge interviews are one way of finding out who really cuts the mustard. The Times Higher Educational Supplement's World University Rankings, published earlier this month, ranked Cambridge as the second best, followed by Oxford in third place. Harvard University in the U.S. topped the list.

Yahoo! Time Capsule.. Contribute your Stuff fast!!

2006-10-30T13:02:00.000Z

Hey all!!!

Just a little under 10 days to contribute to Y! Time Capsule, to contribute your part to History..
Maybe this could make things easier for Anthropologists of tommorrow to know more about us..
The downside is that not all your stuff is going to be put in. it is being edited.. so a lot depends on what the editor feels about your stuff..
anyway.. worth a try...
to submit your stuff, go to http://timecapsule.yahoo.com

Jaleel Mohammed Jalaludeen
http://jusjal.blogspot.com

2006-10-09T09:35:00.000Z

Table Tennis...

till the last effort...!!

A woman established a new science.

2006-10-09T07:22:00.000Z

Rachel Carson was born at a time when the study of the environment was not a separate science. She was trained as a biologist, but made her mark by establishing a new field in Chemistry, an area that was not her expertise. She is the mother of environmental chemistry, a woman who inadvertently established a new science. In 1929, just as the Great Depression hit the U.S., Rachel started graduate school at Johns Hopkins University. At that time, biology was a male-dominated discipline. She graduated in 1932 with a master's degree in marine zoology, but there were hardly any jobs available, especially for a female scientist.

Rachel's era was a time of change, a time when women were fighting for equal rights. Franklin Roosevelt came to power and appointed a woman as secretary of labor the first time a woman was granted such a post. Around that time, Rachel began her career as a science writer. A trained scientist who was always meticulous about the accuracy of her research, she was also a highly skilled writer. After earning the highest score that anyone had ever obtained at the civil service examination, Rachel became the second woman to be hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. As junior aquatic biologist, this job allowed her to study the sea and write. It was a dream job. Rachel's first book, Under the Sea Wind, was a landmark in the history of science writing. Her honest depiction paved the way for modern science writing. Unfortunately, the book did not sell well, because the U.S. entered World War II. During the war, Carson's work as a scientist was greatly valued, as she could provide information on ocean currents and waves and help prepare accurate ocean charts.

Can know more about her here

MURATA BOY

2006-10-04T07:26:00.000Z

Another breakthrough from the world of Robotics.

Meet Murata Boy
[+] Do watch the videos from the site. Murataboy can reverse the bike while riding, stop dead in the track and even take corners. A companion to ASIMO?

First professional astronomer in the U.S.

2006-09-28T11:01:00.000Z

Is the continue of Some Interestion on Science..........

Maria Mitchell lived during the mid-1800s: a turbulent time when women were thought to be unworthy of higher education. Raised on Nantucket, in a broad-minded Quaker family, Maria rose above the prejudices that ruled her day to become the US's first professional astronomer.

Few girls of the time were lucky enough to have a father as broad-minded as William Mitchell. He taught her how to use a telescope, how to calibrate a chronometer, and encouraged her talent for science and mathematics. One of her earliest accomplishments was calibrating a chronometer (an instrument on which the safety of the crew depended) for Captain Chadwick, when her father was away. Unlike the other Mitchell children who found astronomy tedious, Maria quickly grasped mathematical principles and loved doing complicated calculations. At 16, Maria became a teaching assistant to a schoolmaster. The doors of the best colleges in the US were closed to her as a woman, and she could not immediately consider a professional career in astronomy. She later became a librarian and devoted her evenings to the study of the stars. Her position as a librarian also allowed her to continue her self-study of astronomy.

William Mitchell was loaned a telescope to conduct observations for the US Coast Survey, and Maria began to assist him. In 1847, Maria discovered a comet using their rooftop telescope. For this discovery, the King of Denmark gave her a medal. Her discovery also made her a celebrity and allowed her to travel widely through the U.S. and Europe. Maria set up an observatory behind the schoolhouse in Nantucket. She studied sunspots and double stars and wrote papers about astronomical events.

Some Interesting on Science……

2006-09-23T11:04:00.000Z

Men, in India and elsewhere around the world, have largely dominated the world of science and mathematics. But is this due to nature or nurture? Is there something biological that predisposes men to science and drives women away from it?

There is a growing body of research that proves otherwise. Societal values have long been forcibly imposed on female scientists, mathematicians and engineers, forcing them into second place. Despite subtle and overt expressions of oppression, however, there have been women who have excelled and become leaders in these fields.
Unfortunately, their contributions are often not given the recognition they deserve.

Everyone has heard of Einstein, but how many have heard of Emmy Noether, the mathematician whose work was invaluable to him, and whom he described as the greatest mathematical genius of all time? Many people attribute the discovery of the planet Uranus to William Herschel; yet few know that his sister toiled beside him, completed all the complicated mathematical calculations and countless minutiae that helped him in his research.

It would be impossible to chronicle the lives and contributions of the many women whose names are not as famous as they should be. Many died before their contributions were recognized, and thus their lives were not well documented. Let we explore the world of women scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians, and some females who made vital contributions to their fields in coming days.

2006-09-23T04:18:00.000Z

Backspace { FLOAT }

An amazing shortfilm.

What We Are

2006-09-15T14:34:00.000Z

What we are

Hero Steve Irwin died:(

2006-09-04T13:24:00.000Z

Steve Irwin famously known as The Crocodile Hunter have been killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, while swimming to film a documentary. more here....

Steve Irwin is a super hero of catching Crocodile. He makes documentary films with Crocodile and Reptiles for the televisions he hosted with his American Wife Terri Steve. Its been long I watched his shows in Discovery and Animal Planet. I love his shows and wonder of his brave act, it was very shocking to know about his death. We missed a real hero, his praise will be every where in this world, his memorise are undestroyed for his fans.

God beless his soul and my heart fell solace for every one who miss him, esp. for his cute Baby Robert known as Lil' Croc hunter.

Steve Irwin, Wife Terri and Little Hunter Robert

Diamond In the Sky

2006-08-25T05:00:00.000Z

Via Yahoo!

We are One!

2006-08-12T09:35:00.000Z

[ 44 more to go...]

Not mindless mimics

2006-08-09T09:24:00.000Z

The image of parrots as mindless mimics has been challenged by a 30-year study that has found they can add, recognise shapes and colours and identify up to 100 different objects. The scientist publishing the research says that parrots, whose brains are almost the size of walnuts, compare with chimpanzees and dolphins in having a level of intelligence similar to that of small children. Their communication skills are similar to those of a two-year-old child, but their adding and ability with colours and shapes are more like a five or six-year-old, said Irene Pepperberg, associate professor of psychology at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.

She carried out her research with African grey parrots. Although her work was ridiculed at first, the depth of research has gained the respect of other scientists, who increasingly accept her arguments. Professor Pepperberg will publish her latest results in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Alex, the most accomplished of her birds, is able to name seven colours and five shapes and count or add up to six. He can identify, request and refuse about 100 different objects and uses phrases such as come here and wanna go. He can also understand concepts such as zero, objects being bigger and smaller than one another, and the same or different. In one experiment, Alex was presented with collections of four, five and six blocks of three different colours and was able to provide the correct answer: Four blue.

Multiple Intelligences

2006-08-03T03:33:00.000Z

I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions. An important part of that understanding is knowing who we are and what we can do... Ultimately, we must synthesize our understandings for ourselves. The performance of understanding that try matters are the ones we carry out as human beings in an imperfect world which we can affect for good or for ill. (Howard Gardner 1999: 180-181)

[Continue reading the full article]

[VIA The CosmicCode Institute]

Sleeping away their blues

2006-07-28T07:02:00.000Z

Humans are not the only creatures who love their sleep. Animals too love tosleep, though their sleeping routine follows a strange pattern. We know that bears, ground hogs and opossums sleep all through winter. Though once in a while they do wake up. Can you believe that there are a few animals that sleep or hibernate right into spring without opening their eyes even once? These great sleepers are woodchucks and ground squirrels, their body temperatures dropping to near freezing point while they hibernate. Though a woodchuck may be the longest sleeper in the animal kingdom, they are in no way the strangest. The extremely naughty and playful sea otter takes his much needed sleep floating on its back in the water. The sea otter anchors itself to a piece of seaweed so that it will not drift off while sleeping. The otter's fine fur keeps the animal warm and cosy during its watery nap.

Bats sleep while hanging upside down and their favourite places are caves. Fish sleep with their eyes wide open, because the poor creatures have no eyelids to shut. But there is a particular type of fish that does not sleep at all. You guessed it, it is the shark.

The Alaskan blackfish takes the prize for being the strangest sleeper. When the cold Arctic winter comes, the waters, which are home to the blackfish, freeze. The black fish too freezes. Most people would assume that the black fish is dead. But the blackfish does not die but is in a state of suspended animation. Because a few months later with the arrival of spring the ice starts to melt and the black fish comes back to life. The walrus, like the whales and seals, enjoys travelling solo in the sea. But when it is time to snooze they all group together. They use their tusks to pull themselves up onto ice floes and lie down for a snooze, sometimes several hundred of them on one floe! All through the night members of the group take turns watching for attacking polar bears and killer whales. If one is spotted the guard flops over his friends and dives into the water, followed by his sleepy companions.

Would you Sing ... for me?

2006-07-20T13:08:00.000Z

visit www.crysocal.org/cryidol for details

The Voices of Freedom

2006-07-19T04:42:00.000Z

The Indian Government has taken a harsh decision by banning blogs hosted on Blogger.com and Typepad.com.

Various Indian bloggers are voicing their opinion and documenting the unraveling events at;
[Bloggers Against Censorship].

Please support them in this fight to redeem their blogging freedom. It might and can happen anywhere in the world.

[+] Bloggers Against Censorship
[+] Press Coverage of the Ban
[+] Global Voices Online

Stay healthy - Eating and Drinking Cancer away

2006-07-11T09:42:00.000Z

Cancer is as common as Fever now a day. What is cancer: It is a group of diseases in which abnormal cells accumulate more than normal and can spread to other parts of the body
Let help ourselves from now on at least in things that we know can produce cancer. Cancer happens when we have wrong inputs to our body. Our body is Gods temple and we need to take care of it……….well. God did not create the human body to suffer from cancer, heart attacks, or strokes, can we try to return the body to its original state
We know that a good, balanced diet helps to maintain health. But how our bodies react to food when it reaches the bacteria of our digestive system remains a great mystery. Doctors claims there are more bacteria in and around us than there are cells in our body. It is a new area of science with enormous potential for significant advances in health promotion.
Lets see how mandatory and useful these tips are to be healthy.

1) Do not use plastics in the Freezer at all. It will be much cheaper to buy containers that are made of glass than to pay for in Hospitals. At freezing temperatures plastic produces substance (called dioxines) which is not good for our health and is cancerous. Some food comes with a thin plastic wrapper on it. Never keep that plastic wrapper at on the food in the refrigerator. Remove it and keep the food.
2) Do not heat or cook in Microwave using plastic container at all even if they are compatible. Use glass or porcelain instead. Plastic produces the same substance called dioxins, as in Freezer, in Microwave temperatures which are cancerous. Also they have an influence in the development of the fetus and our children endocrine balance.
3) Do not use mobile for longer durations to speak. 15 min should be the maximum. If we know that it will take more then 15 min. then let’s use Land phone or talk later. It is said that it is better if we use the mobile on the left ear rather than the right ear since it affects the brain directly. Your tariff rates could be much cheaper like the current Re1. Per Minute etc. Do not fall for it.
4) Do not keep on using the empty plastic bottles of distilled water for our daily use at home. Do not use it for more than one or two weeks.
5) Water, while not listed in the food guide pyramid it is quite possibly the most significant nutrient we as humans require. We are made up of about 60% water (H20), somewhere around 84% of our blood is water, 22% of our bone and 75% of our muscles are water.
6) Drink lot of water each day. Make it a habit to take a glass of water in empty stomach in the morning itself.
7) Water comes in different flavors: natural mineral water, pure water, distilled water, filtered water and on and on. Some have natural carbonation and some have it added prior to bottling. carbonized water which contained benzene are Poisonous . Benzene is a poison known to cause cancer and was found in rather high levels as a contaminant of water as a consequence of their carbonation process.
8) If you store water in Plastic container clean and disinfect his or her container regularly at least once in a month or two using your hand. Repeated washing and rinsing can cause the plastic to break down and the carcinogens (cancer-causing chemical agents) can leach into the water that YOU are drinking. Many are unaware of poisoning caused by re-using plastic bottles. Some of you may be in the habit of using and re-using your disposable mineral water bottles (eg. Evian, Aqua, Ice Mountain, Vita, etc), keeping them in your car or at work. Not a good idea. In a nutshell, the plastic (called polyethylene terephthalate or PET) used in these bottles contains a potentially carcinogenic element (something called diethylhydroxylamine or DEHA). The bottles are safe for one-time use only; if you must keep them longer, it should be or no more than a few days, a week max, and keep them away from heat as well. Better to invest in water bottles that are really meant for multiple uses. This is not something we should be scrimping on.

9) Some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. But I have seen people having food in news papers too. The printing ink contains lots of unhealthy compounds which are really bad for our health.

10) Before we go in detail, an: Eating Guide line – “Eat Breakfast like a King and Lunch like a Noble man and dinner like a beggar”. Meaning have good solid breakfast and sufficient Lunch and less of dinner. Morning Breakfast should give us the strength to work for the day and lighter dinner means we do not need extra calories to sleep. But I have generally seen that the eating habits are the reverse order.

11) Eat food with lot of fiber. Good sources of fiber are found in Fruits and vegetables. The low level of fiber prevents the colon in our body from cleaning itself. This results in a buildup of toxic matter in the colon. The buildup of toxic matter in the colon can lead to many health problems, the most serious of which is colon cancer. A toxic body also means a weakened immune system and the body's inability to fight disease and illness.
12) General Health : Felicia Cosman, M.D., clinical director of the Foundation, reported recently on a study that confirmed that on a long run women who sit more than nine hours a day were reported to be 50 percent more likely to suffer a hip fracture than those who sit fewer than six hours a day. Get our joints moving! Power walking is an important exercise.
13) Having a full-term pregnancy before age 30 may decrease the risk for developing breast cancer.
14) Breast-feeding may decrease the risk of breast cancer. The benefit appears to be greatest in women who have breast-fed for longer than 12 months or who breast-fed several children.
15) No alcohols or consume less and No smoking (“Give up now and greatly reduce your risk of cancer”). Alcohols and smoking are cancerous especially for women. It is said that it increases the chances of breast cancer. But Red grape wine is good for preventing Cancer
16) Grapes and button mushrooms are good to prevent Cancers. We need to wash them properly due to pesticides that we apply on them. Eating grapes and mushrooms jam-packs us with nutrients, vitamins, and anti-oxidants that help combat infections, prostate cancer, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. Green onions, celery, bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli proved themselves as essential ingredients to a vitamin-filled diet but they do not help preventing cancer.
17) All cooking oils are bad for health but it’s good to use Olive oils at least 10 days out of 30 days. Olives are good brain food, Some other brain food are Walnuts, Raisons,Badam, Poppy seeds(less qty only), fig etc

18) Protect yourself in the sun and take care not to burn. Skin cancer is a largely preventable disease, but the number of cases has more than doubled so Protect yourself from the sun and harmful UV (esp 11:00 A.M to 3:00 P.M remember to take extra care with children) but research suggests that fifteen minutes a day of direct exposure to sunshine may be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of many forms of cancer. Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin”, our skin absorbs the rays and produces vitamin D.

19) If you snack, choose a healthy option such as fresh fruit or low calorie yogurts instead of chocolate or crisps.

20) Talking about fresh foods, oranges, peas, and cauliflower contain a very high capacity of antioxidant. One of the ways of preventing cancer is by taking antioxidant. Our body naturally produces chemical elements (reactive molecules) called free radicals. They can cause permanent damage to our cells. Cancer, aging, and cardiovascular disease are the causes of this damage. To protect us from these diseases, antioxidant plays a great role. What you might not know is that antioxidant may prevent prostate cancer, which is mostly found in men. Antioxidant protects body cells from the bad impacts of free radicals, such as pollution, exhaust fumes, radiation, certain drugs, chemical exposure, and even processed food

21) Don’t heap food on your plate (except vegetables). Think twice before having second helpings. It good to stop eating when you burp.

A portion of Healthy Food. This is roughly equal to:
an apple, orange, banana, or similarly-sized fruit
two plums, nectarines or similarly-sized fruit
a handful or grapes or berries
a slice of melon, pineapple or large fruit
one tablespoon of raisins or other dried fruit
two serving spoons of cooked vegetables, e.g. broccoli or carrots
a dessert bowl of salad
two serving spoons of beans and pulses (only one portion per day)
a 150ml glass of fresh fruit juice or smoothie (only one portion per day)
Beans, pulses can only count towards one portion a day. This is because they are high in fiber but don’t contain the same balance of nutrients as other fruit and vegetables.
Fruit juice can also only count towards one portion a day. This is because they are high in nutrients but low in fiber. And extracting the juice releases sugars which are bad for your teeth.
Mushrooms can also count towards your portions. But try not to fry them in lots of oil as they will readily soak it up.
22 ) If we eat foods that are as close to the state nature produces them we are most likely to get the nutrients we need together with all the other factors our bodies need to use them. This is crucial to any cancer diet.i.e Do NOT OVER COOK.
Ex. A shining example is iron. Our bodies need Vitamin C in order to assimilate iron. However, there are still iron supplements on the market that do not have Vitamin C included in their mix. Now, parsley is a very rich source of iron and, you guessed it, is also full of Vitamin C. To further complicate matters, Vitamin C is heat affected and water soluble, so cooking, particularly in liquids destroys it - hence my assertion that eating foods - in this case parsley - in their natural state is best. Of course this won't work for all foods - potatoes for example - but it is a good strategy to keep in mind when trying to maximize nutrition.
The other reason for eating foods in as near natural state as possible, is that cooking destroys the natural enzymes. Enzymes not only play a crucial role in digestion, and therefore influence the quality of the nutrients we get from our food, but some enzymes, particularly pancreatic enzymes, play a direct role in the fight against cancer.
23) Have no meal without SALADS. The answer to point No. 20. is salads. Using as wide a variety of salad vegetables and incorporating as many different colored salad veggies, is an excellent way to increase your intake of live enzymes But even with hot meals, many raw veggies can be added as a garnish, i.e. parsley chopped up over scrambled eggs. Herbs stirred in a casserole after the heat is turned off. A couple of rings of capsicum on top of cooked fish. Use fruits to dress up a steak or a roast. Even curry leaves can be mixed in low heat. broccoli and cauliflower, celery and carrots in raw form with cottage cheese are good for health. Raw foods into your daily diet, give yourself and your loved ones an edge in the cancer fighting stakes.
24) Phytochemicals are chemicals found in plants that protect plants against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Eating large amounts of brightly colored fruits and vegetables (yellow, orange, red, green, white, blue, purple), whole grains/cereals, and beans containing phytochemicals may decrease the risk of developing certain cancers as well as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The action of phytochemicals varies by color and type of the food. They may act as antioxidants or nutrient protectors, or prevent carcinogens (cancer causing agents) from forming.
The list below is a partial list of phytochemicals found in foods:
Allicin is found in onions and garlic. Allicin blocks or eliminates certain toxins from bacteria and viruses.
Anthocyanins are found in red and blue fruits (such as raspberries and blueberries) and vegetables. They help to slow the aging process, protect against heart disease and tumors, prevent blood clots, and fight inflammation and allergies.
Biflavonoids are found in citrus fruits.
Carotenoids are found in dark yellow, orange, and deep green fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, parsley, oranges, pink grapefruit, and spinach.
Flavonoids are found in fruits, vegetables, wine, green tea, onions, apples, kale, and beans.
Indoles are found in broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts, and turnips (also known as “cruciferous” vegetables). They contain sulfur and activate agents that destroy cancer-causing chemicals.
Isoflavones are found in soybeans and soybean products.
Lignins are found in flaxseed and whole grain products.
Lutein is found in leafy green vegetables. It may prevent macular degeneration and cataracts as well as reduce the risk of heart disease and breast cancer.
Lycopene is found primarily in tomato products. When cooked, it appears to reduce the risk for cancer and heart attacks.
Phenolics are found in citrus fruits, fruit juices, cereals, legumes, and oilseeds. It is thought to be extremely powerful, and is studied for a variety of health benefits including slowing the aging process, protecting against heart disease and tumors, and fighting inflammation, allergies, and blood clots.
Phytochemicals cannot be found in supplements and are only present in food. Foods high in phytochemicals include the following:
broccoli
berries
soynuts
pears
turnips
celery
carrots
spinach
olives
tomatoes
lentils
cantaloupe
garlic
apricots
onions
seeds
soybeans
green tea
apples
cabbage
Brussels sprouts
bok choy
kale
red wine
25) vitamin C (ascorbic acid)According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), vitamin C may protect against cancer of the oral cavity, stomach, and esophagus and may also reduce the risk of developing cancers of the rectum, pancreas, and cervix. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C may provide protection against breast and lung cancer.
the following foods are good sources of vitamin C:
one medium orange - 69 mg
1 cup orange juice - 124 mg
1 medium raw green pepper - 106 mg
1 cup raw strawberries - 81 mg
1 cup cubed papaya - 86 mg
1 medium raw red pepper - 226 mg
1/2 cup cooked broccoli - 58 mg
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin C has recently been increased to 75 milligrams per day for women and 90 milligrams per day for men. Safe upper limit = 2.000mg. If on high doses of chemo or nephrotoxins, upper limit = 500mg.
26) Beta caroteneBeta carotene, also known as provitamin A, may help decrease the risk of developing cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, this nutrient may prevent certain cancers by enhancing the white blood cells in your immune system. White blood cells work to block cell-damaging free radicals.
Good sources of beta carotene are dark green leafy and yellow-orange fruits and vegetables. In the body, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A. Eating foods rich in beta carotene is recommended to possibly decrease the risk of developing stomach, lung, prostate, breast, and head and neck cancer. However, more research is needed before a definite recommendation on beta carotene consumption can be made. Overdosing on beta carotene is not recommended. Large doses can cause the skin to turn a yellow-orange color, a condition called carotenosis. High intakes of beta carotene in supplement form may actually cause lung cancer in people at risk, such as smokers, and it is not recommended.While there is a recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A (safe upper limit = 25,000IU or 15mg), there is not one for beta carotene. Examples of some foods high in beta carotene include the following:
carrots
squash
collards
spinach
sweet potatoes
27) Vitamin EVitamin E is essential for our bodies to work properly. Vitamin E helps to build normal and red blood cells, as well as working as an antioxidant. Research is finding evidence that vitamin E may protect against prostate and colorectal cancer. The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin E is 15 milligrams per day. The adult upper limit for vitamin E is 1,000 milligrams per day. Good sources of vitamin E (and the amount each serving contains) include the following:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil - 6.9 mg
1 ounce sunflower seeds - 14 mg
1 ounce almonds - 7.4 mg
1 ounce hazelnuts - 4.3 mg
1 ounce peanuts - 2.1 mg
3/4 cup bran cereal - 5.1 mg
1 slice whole wheat bread - .23 mg
1 ounce wheat germ - 5.1 mg
Since some sources of vitamin E are high in fat. A synthetic form of a vitamin E is available as a supplement. Vitamin E supplementation is probably not needed for most individuals because vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and is stored in our bodies. Very high doses of vitamin E can also interfere with the way other fat-soluble vitamins work. Also, large doses of vitamin E from supplements are not recommended for people taking blood thinners and some other medications, as the vitamin can interfere with the action of the medication. To make sure you are meeting your needs, eat a varied diet that includes whole-wheat breads and cereals.
There is no recommended dietary allowance for antioxidants. Eat a variety of foods, including plenty of fruits and vegetables, to ensure you are getting adequate amounts in your diet.
28) omega-3 fatty acids
Researchers are studying the effects omega-3 fatty acids have on delaying or reducing tumor development in breast and prostate cancer. Since our bodies cannot make omega-3 fatty acids, we must get them from food or supplements. The omega-3 fatty acids include:
alpha-linolenic acid
eicosapentaenoic acid
docosahexaenoic acid
Sources and recommended servings of foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include:
seafood, especially cold-water fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, halibut, stripped bass, tuna, and lake trout (aim for three to four servings of these fish every week)
flaxseed oil and beans such as kidney, great northern, navy, and soybeans
The American Cancer Society recommends avoiding omega-3 fatty acid supplements in the following situations:
if you take anticoagulant medications or aspirin, as omega-3 fatty acid supplements may increase the risk of excessive bleeding
if you are menstruating, as omega-3 fatty acid supplements may increase the tendency of developing anemia.
if you have elevated cholesterol levels, as omega-3 fatty acid supplements may continue to increase your cholesterol levels
if you are pregnant or breastfeeding (Women should talk to their physicians before taking omega-3 supplements or any dietary supplements.)
29) Eating a healthy diet can reduce your risk of cancer. But it will also help to protect against other conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes, as well as improve your overall health and wellbeing.
30) Nobel laureate, Dr. Otto Warburg of Germany, won his Nobel Prize for his discovery of oxygen deficiency in the CANCER growth process. When pH is off and our bodies are running more acidic, our cells are getting less oxygen. Cancer thrives under an acid tissue pH/oxygen deficient environment. Is it any wonder today that cancer rates are up? Human blood stays in a very narrow pH range right around 7.3. Below or above this range means symptoms and disease. Total healing of chronic illness takes place only when and if the blood is restored to a normal,
slightly alkaline pH.

To keep the pH mineral and Vitamens are required. over-acidic food consumption can change the pH. Cigarette smoke is rich in cadmium (the blue color in the smoke). Cadmium is the most neurotoxic substance known to human beings. A low zinc/high cadmium ratio is implicated in learning disabilities. Smoking changes the body pH.

31) Stem cell preservation: Umbilical cord blood is an irreplaceable source of stem cells, like those found in bone marrow, which cannot be duplicates or created by artificial means. Cord blood contains the most potent supply of these life giving stem cells and may be used by your family to fight a host of deadly diseases. While most children will live long and healthy lives, the birth of the child is the only opportunity, your only chance, to possibly protect that child, or a sibling, or other family member against life threatening diseases far into the future. Make the decision to give the gift of cord blood banking to your family member or loved one.
While important advances are being made in cancer therapy, treatments for cancer are a miserable experience and do not always succeed, even when the cancer is detected early. When it comes to cancer, nothing beats prevention. Eat healthy to avoid Chemotherapy.

AMD 50*15, World Internet Usage

2006-07-11T04:30:00.000Z

[+] Real time World Internet Usage.

[+] AMD 50*15

The "Fairer" Sex

2006-06-26T15:35:00.000Z

My dear blogbuds and readers,
As I was checking my mail today, I came across this forward. No no .. this is not one of those chain forwards or friendship forwards. Here's an excerpt of what I got -
"An incident took place in Pune - a young girl was raped by a man posing as a plain clothes officer; he asked her to come to the police station when she and her male friend didn't have a driver's license to show. He sent the boy off to get his license and asked the girl to accompany him to the police station. Took her instead to an isolated area where the horrendous crime was committed. The law [which most are not aware of] clearly states that between 6 pm and 6 am, a woman has the right to REFUSE to go to the Police Station, even if an arrest warrant has been issued against her. It is a procedural issue that a woman can be arrested between 6 pm and 6 am, ONLY if she is arrested by a woman officer and taken to an ALL WOMEN Police station. "

Saturday, January 7, 2006 (Noida):

A school girl has reportedly been raped in Delhi's satellite town of Noida.
The 16-year-old was returning from her aunt's home when she was allegedly gangraped on January 5 in Sector 24 of the area.

Monday, January 9, 2006 (New Delhi):

A study indicates that up to 10 million female foetuses may have been aborted in India over the past two decades following prenatal gender checks.Fewer daughters have been born to couples who have not yet had a boy, according to the report published in Britain's leading medical journal Lancet.The journal said researchers studied data on female fertility from a continuing Indian national survey of six million people in 1.1 million households.Analysing information about 133,738 births, the researchers found couples were less likely to have a girl as a second child if their first child was a girl.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 (New Delhi):

The murder of a call centre employee in Bangalore last month has sparked discussions on improving the safety of women working in late night shifts.
The National Commission for Women is leading the initiative for a safer work place.
The Commission has pointed out that women constitute 40 per cent of the BPO industry's workforce, making a case for the BPOs to overhaul the way it treats female employees.
"We should sensitise male co-workers and empower the women, and provide them self-defence training," said Girija Vyas, Chairperson of the Commission.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 (Jaipur):

The alleged gangrape of an Anganwadi worker in Rajasthan by two government employees of the Woman And Child Welfare Department has shaken the administration. Lacho Devi, a tribal woman from Karauli district, was allegedly raped by senior officials while she was attending a 10-day programme for Anganwadi workers in Karauli on December 30, 2005. But it is only now that a case has been registered after pressure from social activists and women's groups.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 (Auraiya):

A sixteen-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district paid a heavy price when she resisted a rape attempt, as the attackers chopped her hands off. Anju Gupta was returning home from a local market in her village when three men forced her into a nearby field and tried to rape her. They cut her hands off when she resisted them violently.But that was not the end of trauma for Anju, as the local police refused to register an FIR against one of the attackers, Viresh, whom she recognised as being from her village.
It was only after the intervention of the DIG in Kanpur that the case was registered.
However, the police claim their investigations revealed that Anju had tried to commit suicide when her affair with Viresh became public, and that is how she lost her hand.
Anju and her family can now only hope that her case doesn't become another statistic in the worsening law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

Wednesday, March 8, 2006 (New Delhi):

A 22-year old woman was allegedly molested inside the secretariat of Delhi government on Monday. Manju, a resident of Ghaziabad, has accused a supervisor in the maintenance department of molesting her. She had gone there looking for a job. Manju claims that when she reached the secretariat, Ranbeer Singh Negi molested her. What is shocking is that her claims that the incident took place very close to the chief minister's office.

News Courtesy: NDTV.com

Here's some more information, courtesy : Amnesty

Every two seconds somewhere in the world, a woman is subjected to violence
At least one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.
In Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua Mexico, over 400 women and girls have been killed or disappeared in the past thirteen years.
An alarming number of these cases remain unsolved...
Federal authorities acknowledge that 177 state officials had acted negligently. Not one of them has been brought to justice

So is women's liberation a far fetched fantasy? Why is everyone so callous and indifferent to the woman? Why is she not respected? Why is she being objectified like this? Is a woman nothing but a toy to a man to satisfy all his needs?

Would you be this indifferent if any of the women mentioned above were anyone you knew or cared for? I always wanted to write on this topic. And thanks to NDTV, I was able to give you a 3 month history of some of the snippets relevant to this issue.

These are some horror stories that actually made it to the news.
God only knows how many are suffering in silence, tolerating all atrocites and taking all kinds of abuse. My silent prayers go to them.
I had put up this post on Mar 11th, 2006. To check it out in ma blog, u can click here.

Space Girl

2006-06-17T17:31:00.000Z

She went where only one man had ever been before and he was Russian too! Valentina Tereshkova became the first women to go into space on June 16th in1963. She blasted off in a Vostok 6 spacecraft and made 48 orbit of Earth, spending three days in space.

Valentina was trained in parachute jumping and this was the main reason she was chosen form among more than 400 applicants for the mission. After her return form space, she married another cosmonaut. Andrian Nikolayev. Their daughter Elena interested scientists as the first child born to parents who were both space travelers. It was only 19 year later in 1982 that a second woman was sent into space. She was another Russian. Svetiana Savytskaya.

CNN Future Summit

2006-06-13T01:47:00.000Z

[+] How will the world be like in 2035? Visit the CNN Future Summit site.
[+] Take the CNN Future Summit Challenge.

The Beautiful Game!

2006-06-09T09:53:00.000Z

The 2006 Fifa World Cup starts today!!!
[Soccernet]
[WorldCup2006]
[BBC-WC]
[WorldCupBlog]

Egypt cracks down on bloggers

2006-06-02T15:33:00.000Z

Egypt government detained and beaten six bloggers for their anti-regime movement and protests through their blogs. Few bloggers were sexually assaulted too. You can read the full story here. The Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel continues to blog from prison, his blog here. Any action against bloggers for expressing their opinions is condemnable. This is not the first time the bureaucrats and corporate honchos taking actions against bloggers. Earlier in India, the blogger vs IIPM fight raised the same question on our freedom of speech. Egypt government's action, IIPM controversy shows the decreasing trend in patience and accepting criticisms in this fast-paced world. Mr.Statesman, suing or arresting those who fielded views against you is utterly unproductive.

Blogging is an expression of freedom of speech, given to each and every citizen in a democratic country. However I analyse, I end up seeing the blog world is full of pros rather than cons. On technology front, blogging is the pinnacle of Web 2.0, which was conceptualized around user generated content. The old internet was based on providing information to users in a static and non-interactive way. The new Web 2.0 business model revolves around creating avenues and solutions for people to fill their content in web, which has proven to be highly successful. On creative aspect, Bloggers are multi-faceted personalities and blogging gives an avenue for them to exhibit their creativity. Lot of construction actions are happening in blogworld. In someways, the blogs listed as technorati's top 100 blogs seed a paradigm change in this world.

World has started listening to blog world discussions to understand the true mind of common people. Be it a controversy or appreciation, bloggers views are frequently quoted in all magazines. (Ex, DNA newspaper aggregation on blog views on hot topics). While listing a company profile, Google finance lists recent blog posts on those corporates too. Blog based business models and advertisement ideas are the talk of the wall street now. Metroblogging brings the bloggers in a city to a common platform and metbloggers differ from regular journalists and newspapers in reporting events happening in a city. Metblogs also serves as the original source of breaking news in cities. Wiki article on metblogs here.

Within short span of time, this little world has grown as a fifth pillar of democracy and it can be termed as true voice of common man in a country. With the expressed opinions and feelings in media, Statesmen should listen to criticisms and correct the mistakes in the system. Any kind of oppression on the freedom of speech (like egypt's ) should be condemned to the core.

CRY IDOL 2006 ... Agla Kaun ??!!

2006-05-31T15:46:00.000Z

CRY (Child Relief and You) America Inc.
Southern California Action Center

presents

THE CRY IDOL 2006
Here's your chance to participate and enjoy the shows
and support the cause of Child Rights all at the same time!

July 8th 2006:

Audition for CRY IDOL 2006A Song and Dance Competition you don't wanna miss!! Audition finalists will contest at the Grand Finale in August 2006.Registration ends June 30 2006. Hurry register today!Log on to http://www.crysocal.org/ for details.

Also... don't miss your chance to Laugh your heart out!...

June 10th 2006:
"Laugh for CRY" Comedy show at the Acme Theatre, Los Angeles.
Life, Love, Laughter...what priceless gifts to give our children
Limited Seats! Buy tickets online at http://www.crysocal.org/

The Power Of Dreams

2006-05-24T11:02:00.000Z

The future, today.

[+] ASIMO

[+] Honda Message to the World; [Global Ads]

Laugh For CRY!

2006-05-18T06:30:00.000Z

Laugh for CRY!

If you live in Southern California,

It's that easy to support the cause of Child Rights!

Enjoy a Comedy Show on June 10th 2006 at

the Acme Theatre in Los Angeles.

Please go to www.crysocal.org NOW to buy your tickets.

CRY America is a 501c3 registered non-profit organization and all donations to CRY America are tax-exempt.

Issues (2050)

2006-05-17T10:17:00.000Z

Dear members,

As I have reminded everyone before this, we are in a one year trial period regarding the group postings, policies and the general setup. While there is absolute freedom on what the members may post, generally it would be best to stay away from purely political posts. I have taken the liberty of deleting both the reservation posts, posted recently because it seems to be going in an unfavorable direction. While we can actively debate human rights and student rights issue, this Reservation issue is bordering on racial sentiments as well. Many countries in the world practice reservation, in some it works perfectly and in some it actually marginalize the minorities. This issues can be resolved peacefully, and in an intelligent manner if done at the right places, and I believe the general visitors will be somewhat disoriented in the direction this group is going. Sorry if it hurts the members whose posts are deleted, but I have decided against political matters that have no clear solution. We don't even know if it will benefit or not if it doesn't materialize first. And certainly the 2050 group doesn't want to debate something that not absolutely concrete. ( IF the members feel that we should leave the post as it is, please leave a comment and we shall work this out; the posts are is in the draft mode).

The one year anniversary of the 2050 Group Blog will take place in August. By then I will create a clear direction for the group, the objectives and such. The original goals are in the first posts (refer the sidebar). The main aim of the blog would be to take it to the year 2050 while charting the changes we experience around the world. Issues such as technology, entertainment, science, education, culture, language and the general socio-economic evolution of the world would be the forefront of our movement. We can make critical suggestions and changes if we really work together.

When the group was launched, we had many members who wanted to share this dream, I really appreciate everyone who is part of this enigmatic group and still supports and believes in this cause. There are over 50 members here. We will make this a grand effort. Come August, all the changes will be in place, the categorization of topics, the general layout and also the weekly or monthly report. I hope the members are also aware that the report for each post can be received in your mailboxes using the feedblitz function bar at the sidebar. Just enter your email and create an account and you will rreceive all the post updates.

Thank you for your patience, and all your efforts for this blog and also the entire blogging revolution. If any members have any ideas regarding this blog, suggestions and also comments please email [earth2050@gmail.com] or leave a comment here.

Thank you.

Truth? (2)

2006-05-12T07:01:00.000Z

ROMANIA VIOLATES RIGHTS OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

MDRI investigators found emaciated children, starving and near death, at the adult psychiatric facility in Braila. Several teenagers weighed less than 30 lbs.
(photo by MDRI)

Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI), has found children with disabilities hidden and wasting away, near death, in Romania's adult psychiatric facilities. A report released by MDRI, Hidden Suffering: Romania's Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities, describes teenagers weighing no more than 27 pounds. Some children are tied down with bedsheets, their arms and legs twisted and left to atrophy. [continue reading...]

[+] MDRI

Trust?

2006-05-10T11:18:00.000Z

This is disturbing and it's not the first time it's happening...

Peacekeepers, teachers prey on Liberia girls: report

By Alphonso Toweh Mon May 8, 1:10 PM ET

MONROVIA (Reuters) - UN peacekeepers, aid workers and teachers are having sex with Liberian girls as young as 8 in return for money, food or favors, threatening efforts to rebuild a nation wrecked by war, a report said on Monday.

Save the Children UK said an alarming number of girls were being sexually exploited by men in authority in refugee camps and in the wider community, sometimes for as little as a bottle of beer, a ride in an aid vehicle or watching a film. [continue reading...]

Several thing that might or may not happen by 2050

2006-05-05T16:19:00.000Z

Things that Probably will happen:
1)The end of the world
2)We will run out of oil
3)Cheaper, better, cleaner fuel sources
4)Humanity will invent cures for several diseases
5)Nano technology will modify our current thinking of everyday life
6)Several better telescopes to replace Hubble

Things that Probably will not happen:
1)The end of the world
2)Meeting of extra terrestrials
3)Cure for cancer/aids
4)End of global poverty/hunger
5)Extensive exploration of space.

Here just a quick things I could come up with before going to class. Please, feel free to add and modify as much as possible.

Say no to Mandal 2

2006-04-30T09:13:00.000Z

The proposed increase in OBC reservation from 22.5% to 27% in premier educational institutes in India has created the big students' uprising here. (The photo is from AFP taken during the students' uprising against reservation). The proposal seems to be politically motivated to garner up the vote share for congress in the election period.

It's government duty to provide equal oppurtunities for all its citizens to lead a normal life. A child from economically backward class has to face lot of challenges in family. When comes to competing with peer group in getting a good education, he/she stands in a disadvantage position. Historically reservation started to supplement this difference. Few percent of seats in educational institution are reserved in quotas for different segment of the people.

Mind my words usage when describing, it is economically backward class and it's not caste. This is the place where politics has enter into reservation policy. Linking caste with class is the historical blunder. It's like generalising people based on their sun signs- say Taureans are soft hearted people, lets reserve 15% of management seats for them. Funny, isn't it? Giving reservations based on the caste itself is a joke, besides that these stupid politicians keeps on increasing the quota.

The creamy layer idealogy essentially means there are different segments of people in same caste in different economic classes. When you prefer caste based reservation system, the whole idea of supplementing those disadvantaged people in their challenges gets defeated. So, what can be the possible solution?

Lets take the good points in arguments of those for and against the reservation. Lets develop a situation where consensus in a good reservation policy be arrived at. My take would be - lets categorise people based on their economy and livelihood. Propose reservation based on economic classes. Update people's status based on constant feedback and update their status. It's not that impossible. Indian census does this segregation and lets improve on the system. We have the all the essential system in place, refining the system based on consensus is what is needed.

Polluted water bodies

2006-04-28T07:08:00.000Z

According to Wikipedia, Water (from the Old English waeter; German Wasser), in its pure form, is a tasteless, odourless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known also as the most universal solvent. It appears colourless to the naked eye in small quantities, though it can be seen to be blue in large quantities or with scientific instruments.

This natural resource is becoming more scarce in certain places, and its availability is a major social and economic concern.

Currently, about one billion people around the world routinely drink unhealthy water. Poor water quality and bad sanitation are killers; some five million deaths a year are caused by polluted drinking water.

Hardly surprising, since in the developing world, 90 per cent of all wastewater still goes untreated into local rivers and streams. Some 50 countries, with roughly a third of the world's population, also suffer from medium or high water stress, and 17 of these extract more water annually than is recharged through their natural water cycles. The strain affects surface freshwater bodies like rivers and lakes, and also degrades groundwater resources.

Remembrance of Times Past

2006-04-25T12:54:00.000Z

OpinionJournal - From WSJ.com BY GEORGE MELLOAN : In 1990 the world was full of promise. How does it look today?

"Russian imperialism is again on the march, under the leadership of a KGB clique in the Kremlin who never quite lost their taste for authoritarianism.

The Israel-Arab relationship is worse than in 1990, at least in political terms. Bill Clinton and Yitzhak Rabin of Israel made a colossal mistake in 1994 of granting a lifelong terrorist, Yasser Arafat, power over Gaza and West Bank Arabs. His Oslo Treaty pledge to recognize Israel's right to exist was pure fakery, and today Palestinian terrorists are still striving to drive Israel into the sea.

Europe in 1990 was trying with mixed success to stabilize monetary exchange rates and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was about to make a costly mistake in granting newly liberated East Germans a monetary regime that would effectively price their broken-down industries out of competition with the rest of Europe. But despite the huge bills the Germans footed after putting the east on the dole, Continental Europe finally solved the exchange-rate problem in 2002 by adopting a single currency, the euro.

Europe's major achievements since 1990 have been the single currency, further progress toward a single market, and a more than doubling of European Union membership to 25 states with a combined population of 460 million and economic output roughly equivalent to the U.S. But "Old Europe" still labors with high unemployment and sluggish economic growth, in part because its elaborate welfare benefits subsidize idleness. The frictions between native peoples and immigrants have become more acute. Europe is no longer as reliable a U.S. North Atlantic partner as it was in 1990."

Hubble Space Telescope's 16th Anniversary

2006-04-25T11:02:00.000Z

The Hubble Space Telescope, the most successful space telescope ever, that paved the way for a deeper understanding of the universe and unraveled the mysteries of the cosmos, celebrates it's 16th anniversary today.

Read more on it at;
[HubbleSite]
[Hubble-Wiki]
[Hubble-BABlog]
[SavetheHubble.Com]

Barefoot Summer; Lost Voice(s)

2006-04-24T07:28:00.001Z

A sad loss of life.

(Photo taken from Nanyaar)

Read about it here;[JusticeProtest1];[Farewell];[Justice3].

On April 20th, 2006, an Indian student, Prashant Anchalia fell to his death at the University of Yereven, Armenia. Due to severe negligence in the part of Armenian medical authorities and the university itself, the still conscious student passed away.

The Indians students of University of Armenia is requesting help in highlighting the issue and addressing possible solutions to prevent such incident in the future. I request anyone who has the slightest concern towards the great injustice done, to address this issue in your blogs and website and please spread the word to make sure the death of Prashant doesn't go unnoticed.

The core of the issue lies in the fact that millions of foreign students around the world does not have proper protection by the laws of the countries they study in. Basically, they are all considered foreigners with the same rules and regulation as workers who migrate. And this death is not the first and it will not be the last unless we act today. Please take steps to convey your support to the students in Yereven and also lets take action today ensure that the lives of the millions are not in danger.

There are many horror stories from universities around the world, particularly from third world country universities of harassment, rapes and murder of foreign students whose truth remain hidden in the dustbins of politicians. The home countries protecting their economic and political interests often turn a deaf ear towards such incidents and the students themselves who try to raise a concern are subjected to political harassment. As we speak and convey this issue, there are still students in countries like Russia and Ukraine who are beaten up and robbed.

Students should and must have special rights in any country. Students are in the forefront of the next generation and carry the dreams and hopes of parents and their home country. As much as we strive for the freedom of internet and human rights, we must also stand up to speak of the rights of students of all age. Beyond borders, colors and religion, the same tragedy can happen to anyone.

Understanding the pain and struggles of these students who take to the streets to fight for justice, and understanding the pain that the parents of Prashant is going through, lets come together and voice out for justice. There are several organizations that you can contact to convey your feelings and highlight the issue. Send a message to the International Secretariat of Amnesty International;[VoiceOut], the Human Rights Watch;[HRW] and United Nations;[UN].

If everyone thinks that students around the world, be it at their home countries or foreign students should have their own human rights watch, declaration and justice, then let us gather our might and voices to fight for our fellow friends. If anyone wants to start a blog, website for the truth to be heard, and justice to prevail do let us know. Lets speak for peace together.

Everyone should know of their rights as the citizen of earth;United Nations Human Rights Charter.

Rest in Peace Prashant Anchalia.
May God bless the souls who left early on an uncharted journey.
Your voices and life will be redeemed.

April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day

2006-04-22T10:39:00.000Z

Have you ever opened a book, begun reading and then instantly disappeared into the pages? If you haven't then you have missed the best adventures in life. Every book has a story to tell. It could be historical, geographical, literary, poetry almost anything. The book will take you to places you have never been to and sometimes can never even dream to be in. Reading a story set in history will take you back to an age you have not experienced. You can imagine the people of that time, their concerns, their achievements, the kind of houses they lived in, the kind of food they ate. In your mind's eye you visualize the life of people you have never seen. It is the same with any other kind of book. You are immediately transported into another world, and in doing so you experience the magic of the unknown

It is to celebrate the joy of reading that UNESCO has set aside April 23 as World Book and Copyright Day. So how did they fix the date? April 23 happens to be the day (in 1616) when three great writers Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilasco de la Vega died. It is also the date of birth and death of the other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Halldor K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. So, on April 23 UNESCO encourages people the world over to appreciate the power of the written word and also remember those who have made exceptional contributions to Literature. April 23 is also World Copyright Day. According to there website: UNESCO's commitment to copyright dates from as far back as 1952, when the Universal Copyright Convention was adopted.

The advance in technology has many benefits but there is also a downside to it. For example while people queued up outside bookstores to collect their first copy of the highly priced Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the piracy market was already at work and very soon cheaper books were sold on pavements and even on the roads at traffic lights! It is to prevent this kind of thing that UNESCO finds the need for awareness campaigns to raise the level of protection and also to act as a deterrent to piracy. Every time you buy a book that has been printed in violation of the Copyright Act you are aiding in piracy and violating the Copyright policy. So on April 23 let us all make a promise to read and also support the need for copyright to be protected.

Earth Day

2006-04-22T08:33:00.000Z

Earth Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of April to commemorate our struggles and effort to safeguard the diversity and importance of our planets flora and fauna. In essence, the day appreciates nature and encourages it's protection and continuation. Google once again had a nice google logo for the occasion.

More info;
[Wiki-ED]
[Wiki-ED Links]
[Google-ED]

Joan Miró

2006-04-20T05:16:00.000Z

Google celebrates Joan Miro's anniversay with this special Google logo today. Joan Miro is a Spanish artist specializing in Surrealism art and lived between 1893 to 1983.

Read more here;
[Miro]
[Surrealism]
[Miro-Gallery]

Hillsborough Disaster Remembrance

2006-04-18T07:58:00.000Z

17 years ago, the greatest football tragedy in English history happened at the Hillsborough Stadium during the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. 96 innocent lives were lost and the history of English football will change forever.

The Hillborough disaster remembrance is held every year on the 15th of April, the day of the tragedy.

Read more about it;
[Wiki] [LFC-Memorial] [LFC'06]

Extreme Engineering

2006-04-12T07:12:00.000Z

Fancy a mile high skyscraper? Or a Transatlantic underwater tunnel? Discovery Channels Extreme Engineering series highlighted some of the most ambitious structures planned today. View the interactive archives here;[DEE-Amazing].

The list of all the projects covered in the series;[Wiki-EXtreme]

A similar program's in the National Geographics Channel;[Wiki-Mega]

The Sway of Bollywood

2006-04-09T12:21:00.000Z

With a sprinkling of fairy dust, Bollywood transforms the world into a dream riddled with fun in the form of music, dance and colorful beauty, where most people live comfortably and very few need worry about survival. This, of course, is in sharp contrast to the life lived by the target audience of the average Bollywood film and I suppose that would be the whole point...
Whilst most in India struggle to find work, make ends meet, enjoy life and marry in the name of love instead of family ordained suitability; those on the silver screen live the highly sought after, but rarely attained, notion of the good life, where you work for fun and your sole responsibility towards others is to show that throughout all the insignificant trials and tribulations of an altogether undifficult life, love will always triumph.
I apologise in advance for being negative about a genre cherished by so many, (be advised that my scepticism will wane later on ) but Bollywood is positively unrealistic. In most circumstances, it just influences the audience to think that what they have is not enough to be happy with and if they could simply work and struggle and push their children hard enough to be wealthy, georgeous and enviable, they could also happily live the glamourous, carefree, love-filled and largely unattainable lives lived by those seen in the films.
To those working in the industry, I would say that your influence on people is not particularly admirable. When you could be pushing for people to be more charitable and good towards an in-need of help Mother India, you prefer to use the money, talent and famous faces you have to reaffirm the importance of wealth, fun and love: things that are sometimes out of one's reach.
But the greatest hypocrisy of all in Bollywood and the pinnacle of unrealism is yet to be reached. This, of course, happens when the films shoot overseas (thereby supporting already-rich foreign economies) so as to quench the audience's desire to see more of the well-to-do and their lives and less of the Indian reality which includes a hardly ever shown in films side to India where there simply is not enough for everybody when a few players decide to hold all the cards for wealth, government, status, education and employment. What deliberate ignorance to worship the unreal.
On a lighter and chirpier note, I must admit, unrealism in film has its benefits though for good old India. All you have to do to see manifestations of India's wealth is look at the level of creative flow coursing through a popular Bollywood film. Nothing even comes near to the level of art coming out of India these days in these films in the form of a visual feast with music and dance from the likes of directors such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali, musical maestros such as AR Rahman and Anu Malik and dance masters such as Shiamak Davar, Vaibhavi Merchant and Saroj Khan.
All you need to do, to feel that there is still true patronage of grace, in art, alive and well in the world today, is look at a well-backed Hindi film. There is nothing an audience could love better than a good Bollywood song and dance number with one Bollywood beauty opposite one Bollywood cutie who together keep the passions running high throughout the film. I guess it's this unending lineup of beauties and cuties that keep you rivetted to the screen in spite of all that poor acting, corniness to the extreme and utter lack of plot driving the narrative. This together with the poetry of words coming from the Hindi and Urdu languages would manage to keep most audiences mesmerised in spite of everything.
So if you were to ask me for examples of Hindi movies worth watching for the music, dance, poetry and, of course, beauties including Aishwarya Rai (a former Miss World), Kajol and Rani Mukherjee and cuties like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, I would give you the names of a few films of interest including Taal (musically divine), Dil To Pagal Hai (dance spectacular), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (romantic saga) , Bombay (moving) , Dil Se (great music and issues), Lagaan (Oscar nominee) , Devdas ( grandeur unparalleled), 1947 Earth (a movie with actual substance), Bunty Aur Bubli (funny), Monsoon Wedding (includes the real India that sometimes make you squirm in discomfort), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (stunning visually), Saathiya (inspired by the Tamil film Alaipaiyuthey) , Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (crowd pleaser) and Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham (winner of the popularity contest and also with some great comedy and heartfelt moments)
All these movies are great to watch for their entertainment value but perhaps not all what they could be intellectually. What I sometimes feel is holding the entire industry back from world domination is the almost complete and total lack of substantial content, complex characters or admirable plot in any movie that has garnered popularity in the last few years. If just one famous actor or director could find themselves a decent story to get involved with, we'd all be saved.
I'd actually be able to sit through a Hindi movie without guiltily thinking that I was lowly enough to be watching the equivalent of a tv soapie or a Mills & Boon novel (so unchallenging that you would expect a person to be ashamed of reading them). Bollywood tries so hard to evade making the audience think, question or enter a state of turmoil that, as a member of the audience, you almost feel as if you are the lesser being.
Ten years ago, I would have said that North India just had to look to the South and be smart enough to be able to recognise a plot when it sees one. But now South India seems to be going by the popularity of Bollywood films and copying the lack of substance of all thing's North. Ten years ago I was proud of South Indian movies, especially those in Malayalam. They may not have been hip or glamourous but they had a level of intellectual credibility that had arthouse written all over it and the actors, like Mohanlal, could actually act. Movies such as Manichitratazhu, Devaragam, Desadanam and Aaran Thampuran had enough art, plots and real-life complications to make them memorable.
So, what I'm basically saying is, to anyone listening out there who has any connections to Bollywood, ask someone who holds some sway over the film industry to have the gall to do a remake of a movie like Manichitrathazhu, Bollywood style. The way I see it, that kind of a movie could actually contain enough Bollywood as well as intellectual elements to sustain any audience's appetite and then we would all have a truly applaudable blockbuster Indian movie to watch, proudly.
Don't get me wrong after seeing me critique the genre, I see that Bollywood has the potential to outdo every other film industry in the world and become the greatest source of inspiration for generations to come, I just want to see it reach that altitude soon so that I get to see films on a regular basis that make me think whilst enjoying a combination of high art with entertainment.

10 Most Admired Companies In Innovation

2006-04-06T05:54:00.000Z

Rank Company
1 Apple Computer
2 Google
3 UnitedHealth Group
4 Procter & Gamble
5 Walt Disney
6 FedEx
7 Genentech
8 Nike
9 Advanced Micro Devices
10 Target

[-] The 10 most admired companies for innovation in the states according to FORTUNE. Good to know that AMD is in there, and Intel is not!

[-] The full list;[BestFortune]

The Chennai Central Railway station sculpture is celebrating its 100th Year today.

2006-04-04T16:00:00.000Z

Chennai Central Railway station is celebrating its 100th year today. Central Railway station is oldest and tradition of India. It was constructed in British period. This railway station dint change form its great heritage nature and now also it was an unhide monument in all of our minds. No one-can denial, that in Tamil Films this Railway station tower is the only identity for us that this scene was taken in Chennai.

The tourist who comes form long distance to chennai, if they travel in Train or not, they will never forget to see this Railway Station. Some will take photos, so that whey can enjoy every day by seeing its beauty. The railway station, which got these Best things, is entering its 100th designed year today. Central Railway station was started in 1873, April 7. That time, the place like Hall, which is between the Booking office and 6th platform was act as Railway station. That place was also act as Booking office and lodging for passengers. Now also that place was called as Hall.

In Railway station the tentative place like 3,4,5, and 6 platforms self was there in that time. Very low trains were went and come. First time the train was started in double way between Chennai and Arakonam (a town near chennai). But after days go, the passenger’s visit was increased. Next to this stage, the railway was in a situation to extend the Railway station. For that in 1905 on April 4, the newly designed Railway station was opened. The British Engineer Chisholm its self designed the Railway station, for this he got 5,000 rupees award.

After paying the designed, railway station got a new beauty. The title appearance and its color was enticement every body. After that the number of platforms and number of Trains have been increased. Now there are 13 platforms in Central Railway station. Express and mails including 72 trains are operating every day. In 1981 the substitute Electric Railway station was open, that time only one platform was there. Everyday 220 substitute electric trains are operating. Including this two railway station everyday at least 2 lakh passengers are coming and going. The Height of Railway station’s central over roof’s tower was 136 feet. In the top of this there is 4 face giant Clock. It will raise sound for every 15 minutes and inform the passengers about the time. It’s sound will hear for 3 kilometers. Today (Tuesday) the Railway station design was completing its 100th year, like that on 7th Chennai Central Railway station is completing its 133rd years (from the station built.). We should be proud to tell that we have a beautiful heritage place in Chennai.

Bibliotecha Alexandrina

2006-04-03T03:52:00.000Z

The Bibliotecta Alexandrina located in the Egyptian city of Alexandria can be seen as the ultimate tribute to the great Library of Alexandria. Promoting the city as both a center of cultural and scientific excellence, the library which opened in 2002 stands testimony of the determination to seek knowledge and celebrate architectural genius.

Blooming cherry tree

2006-04-02T12:11:00.000Z

Little is as important in the Japanese spring than knowing when the cherry trees will bloom. Last year's prediction was off by several days, leaving forecasters at the Meteorological Agency red faced. Stung by a storm of criticism, the agency has revised its forecasting model to predict when the delicate pink flowers, a national obsession, will emerge.

Global warming, it seems, is to blame. Until this year, the Agency based its prediction on data from the past 50 years but global warming is making those figures less trustworthy and the period has been narrowed to 30 years. The arrival of warmer weather prompts the blooming and Japanese follow the event intensely as it moves south to north over about a month. Media publish frequent updates. The traditional appeal of cherry blossom viewing is said to lie in its poignant reminder of the shortness of life, but for many people it is an excuse to celebrate hanami (cherry-viewing) parties. Planning these parties is a matter of prime importance, which is why accurate predictions are crucial.

An Indian Expedition

2006-03-31T11:50:00.000Z

Hi Folks, recently prepared an India Quiz for an occasion. Here are some questions from the bunch. The answers are in the comment section. Lets get started.

1) These 7 islands were leased to the British East India Company in 1668 for a sum of £10 per annum. The Hornby Vellard a civil engineering project aimed at uniting all 7 islands into a single island was started in 1708 and all islands were linked by 1838. Name this Indian State Capital located on Salsette Island?

2) This torpedo was first devised by the British Army's Royal Madras Sappers, India, in 1912. It was extensively used in both the World Wars, notably during D-Day, primarily to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire. This torpedo was named after the place where it was first devised. How it is popularly referred as?

3) Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra, Andrott, Bangaram, Kalpeni, Minicoy & ____________.

4) The Pygmalion Point represents the southernmost point of land in the territory of India. How do we know it as now?

5) Incidentally, the name given to an Indian beach is also a common noun in English for a shore with facilities for docking small boats. Identify the beach?

6) In 1882, a young man from Bengal traveled to this Sea Shore to holiday with his brother. He arrived to find the most beautiful rendezvous of water and land he had ever seen. So bewitched was the youth, he wrote his first play, a masterpiece titled 'Prakritir Parishoota'. The Playwright is the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Identify the sea shore?

7) India's Antarctic Program opened in 1981 & Dr. S. Z. Quasim was the leader of this Expedition. The Indian Expedition team set up two stations in Antarctic, the first one was Dakshin Gangotri. What's the name of the second Indian station in Antarctica?

8) The saga of the heroic freedom struggle is brought alive in a moving Son-et-Lumiere show in this National Memorial. The construction of this building was started in 1896 and it was completed in 1906 with 698 dark rooms. The building was constructed with a tower in its centre connected to the three storeys high seven wings, spreading out like a seven-petal flower. What's this place?

9) Operation Floodlight, conceived by Collector K.R.Rajan, to make everybody between 5 and 60 years in the district literate, was a success in 1990. Identify the district?

10) This park, a World Heritage site, celebrates its centenary in 2005. It's a vast stretch of coarse, tall elephant grass, marshland and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests. It was created to preserve the rare breed “Rhinoceros Unicornis”. Identify place?

11) Canadian author Yann Martel's novel "Life of Pi" won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2002. Its French translation, L'Histoire de Pi, was also chosen in the competition, Le combat des livres. The protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel is a boy from an Indian town. Which Indian Town?

12) A 13th-century monument, now a World Heritage Site. The monument was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. The entrance is guarded by two lions, which are shown crushing a war elephant each. Each elephant in turn lies on top a human body. The monument symbolizes the majestic stride of God. The poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote: "here the language of stone surpasses the language of man". Identify the place?

13) The original name for this town was Sohra; it holds the Guinness world record for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year (1860/61) and in a single month (July 1861). Currently its yearly rainfall average is behind only to Mawsynram in Meghalaya and a Hawaiian Island. How do we know this town better?

14) What was Bangalore's M.G.Road known as before 1947?

15) Suketu Mehta's "Maximum City" was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and won the Kiriyama Prize in 2005. It is Mehta's account of the unfamiliar by lanes of a familiar city. Which city?

Solar Eclipse

2006-03-31T09:03:00.000Z

Thanks to GP for reminding me that I have one opportunity to post here! :)

This will be my first post here, and I am glad to have this chance to show you some great pictures :)

We happened to witness a partial Solar Eclipse in Cyprus on 29th of March 2006.
Please check my Flickr account for the pics of the Sun.

Parthian Shot

2006-03-27T07:48:00.000Z

Well how have you been? I know it’s been quite some time since I hit the blog circuit. Nope this was not a silence before some oncoming storm. Well this is what happened, the Indian Cricket team won the second test match against the English played at Mohali. A match which was clearly heading towards a draw but thanks to some splendid bowling performances by our bowlers.

With a drawn first test, everyone saw India would win the 3 test matches series. I was waiting to celebrate this moment in my next blog. The third test, all India had to do is either win or draw this test to win the series. A special test in more than one ways, this was the Indian Captain Rahul Dravid’s 100th test appearance, which makes him the 6th Indian to do so, and the master batsman Sachin Tendulkar’s becomes the player to make the most number of test appearances for India. This quite a milestone should be celebrated with a victory.

The conditions favored the Indian players, Rahul Dravid won the toss, and elected to field. That’s it, after this, everything went England’s way. England won the third test and that too how, with a margin of 212 runs. A daily printed a cartoon after the test, on Indian Captain Rahul Dravid’s 100th test appearance the entire team scored 100 runs. Probably there should have been someone to warn the Indian Captain of the “Ides of March” before he chose to field.

Well the problem here is consistency; the Indian Cricket team has never been consistent over the period of time. The lack of it made it lose the opportunity to leverage the top position they were in during the test series. The main reason being the failure of the formidable batting line-up the team had. Sachin and Shewag regarded as run machines were totally out of touch through out the series.

Things were starting to look good when the new coach Greg Chappell took over few months back, but now the age old problem of consistency has started creeping up all over again. Hope they bounce back during the 7 One Day series starting March 28, 2006.

A loyal but disappointed,
Indian Cricket Fan

L'OREAL UNESCO AWARDS

2006-03-27T05:20:00.000Z

Found this great piece of information in the Sunday Papers. Good to know that Women Scientists and Researchers are recognised unlike the hits and misses that happens with the Nobel Prizes.

[+] L'Oreal Unesco Awards

[+] Unesco Women and Science

[+] WISE

[+] The original articles;[StarWomen1],[StarWomen2]

[+] A Malaysian Scientist who was awarded withthe fellow ship grant. Only 15 such grants were awarded for this years awards. Only when I read the news did I realise that her lab at the uni was just a stone's throw away from mine!

A journey to the unknown...

2006-03-25T15:21:00.000Z

Whatever be the cause for us to actually stay pledged to the cause to blog till 2050, the need of the hour is to stay focussed on the work at hand, that of being successful individuals while charting our own road, and developing India into a strong independant nation, not being free in name, but being truly being free in the democratic sense, that of being able to decide who should rule us, about what decisions should be taken, and what faith we should follow, not just in the political arena.

By which, I mean that we should have a clearly charted road as to why we should take stands when there is a dispute which needs to be decided upon. I feel that the worst stand that anyone can take with respect to any dispute is no stand at all. Fence sitters are not what we need.

However, there are some things that need to be looked into. Taking sides or putting forth of ideas is what gives birth to new ideas. Whether it be the newest international policy that the Indian High Commissioner takes, or it is the doping scandal that has newly rocked the Indian Athletic scenario, everyone should have their say, and, more importantly, put forth their views without the need to feel afraid for doing so.

The point of the whole diatribe is to encourage dialogue among the denizens, so that there is a bigger and better tomorrow that our future generations can look at. I genuinely feel that there is a need for the fear of the authority to be removed.

However, I do not say here that the authorities should be blatantly abused or disregarded. I am not advocating an armed revolt. What I am saying is that there are people who want to put their thoughts across to the world. But they do not do so because they are under a mistaken belief that sanctions may be placed on them, and they may be shunned.

Break these shackles of inhibition, I say. Come out from this mistaken belief that there would be sanctions. If not anything else, scream in the anonymity of the web. There would be people who would listen and take up your cause. Have a substantial output, something meaningful to add to the confused voices that would provide some direction to the meandering processes.

Let us take India to the next level, whether it be the standard of living, or it be the way in which we are being governed, or the tax rate that we are being subjected to.

And the India that we live in would be a much better place to live in.

Love, laughter n keep the Faith

S

IT is very beautiful. Isn`t it ? ..............

2006-03-25T03:20:00.000Z

The greatest motivational act one person can do for another is to listen. - Roy E Moody

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world. - George Washington Carver

The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved. - Victor Hugo

There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there. - Indira Gandhi

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage. - Lao-Tzu

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. - Henry Ford

Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. - Isaac Asimov

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde

Bridging the gaps

2006-03-16T12:19:00.000Z

If you have heard of Ramayana, then you have definately heard of the bridge that was made between India and Sri-Lanka by the "Vanara Sena". It is known as Adam's Bridge by the NASA.
Here are few magnificent NASA Shuttle pictures of the same :

Google Mars!

2006-03-14T04:27:00.000Z

GOOGLE GOES TO MARS!

Where next? I bet they're looking to map Titan...just maybe.

[+] Read the release from GoogleBlog;[GoogleMars]. Google Mars was launched to commemorate the anniversary of Percival Lowell.

[+] Their past endeavors; [GoogleMoon] and [GoogleEarth]

16000 days to 2050

2006-03-12T08:28:00.000Z

Today there is exactly 16000 days to the year 2050!

International Women's Day

2006-03-08T14:08:00.000Z

The 2050 Project wishes everyone a Happy Women's day. May we never loose sight of the fight for equality and also liberty for every soul on earth and never loose respect towards every women who sacrificed their lives in building this civilization. Gender equality should forever mean that we believe in charting a future together, building from the basis forged by our predecessors and creating a world safe to all human. Truth, Believe and Love stands above everything else in our society and we shall make this our culture and goal for eternity.

[+] IWD by HSBC

[+] IWD in Wikipedia

Unexpected Comet Pojmanski Now Visible

2006-03-06T08:01:00.000Z

Credit & Copyright: Chris Schur

Explanation: Have you ever seen a comet? Comets bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye appear only every few years. Right now, however, a new comet has brightened unexpectedly and is visible as a faint streak to the unaided northern observer in the eastern morning sky just before sunrise. Binoculars may help. Comet Pojmanski, officially designated C/2006 A1 and discovered only in January, now sports a turquoise tail several times longer than the full moon. Comet Pojmanski's ion tail is due to gas particles expelled by the comet being pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind, the same wind that ionizes gas in the tail causing its blue tint. Pictured above as it appeared only last week, Comet Pojmanski has now begun to fade as its orbit around the Sun takes it further from the Earth.

State of the Planet, 06

2006-03-02T14:59:00.000Z

State of the Planet 06: Is Sustainable Development Feasible?

The Earth Institute at Columbia University will convene the fourth biennial State of the Planet Conference to discuss the feasibility of sustainable development for billions worldwide.
Internationally renowned scholars and opinion leaders will lead discussions, present ideas, and outline research throughout this two day forum, which seeks to explore the fundamental requirements of science, economy, governance and human behavior needed to achieve sustainable development.

The Long Now Foundation

2006-02-24T13:22:00.000Z

[+] Here's the download page for the LongNow Foundation. Some very interesting and informative seminar material uploaded; [LongNow]

[+] The site for the Rosetta Project

Other stuff

[+] An excellent blog project;[ArtisticYear]

Nikolai Ostrovsky

2006-02-24T12:11:00.000Z

An excerpt from Nikolai Ostrovsky's 'How the Steel Was Tempered'

"The most valuable thing to man is his life. Life belongs to him only once and should be spent this way: when he recalls his past, he will not regret having wasted any time or feel ashamed of having accomplished nothing. Thus he can say on his deathbed: I have devoted my whole life and every bit of my energy to the most magnificent cause of humanity - the struggle for the liberation of mankind."

Which side you want to be in ?

2006-02-21T12:33:00.000Z

Well iam starting to write this after just finsihing up a movie. FIGHT CLUB. It was really a conflict of one with himself .

It was only after watching this i realised ANNIYAN was so very messed up .

Its a fact that all of us want to be something else than what we are.More powerful … To be able to do what ever we want and not be afraid of others or this society .

I just relaised i have a wicked side too.How wicked i can be .. i guess is relative .
I see a girl on the way and i get attracted to her . what do u call that ..definitely not love ?
yes some call it appreciation of beauty but deep i know i would want to do much more than just appreciate.Before staring at me ask the same question back to yourself and you might be surprised .

Here in this story there a ordinary guy who thinks his life is boring and that he is pretty much useless.and he goes on to meet Tytler who is nothing but a part of himself and he is just what he really wants to be . Powerful active and happy with what he is doing.

But his real himself tries to keep him away from that wicked image atleast thats what it is shown as but the truth when u really watch out for is that his tendency is really to move more towards Tytler.

The director never lets you know this intention until the last frame wherein there is a flashing image that goes by !. He makes his galfriend stand out in a place and have all the buildings burst around her . and before you realise what has happened
The credits start rolling over . I had to rewind and see the frame again and i think all it says is the real persona has finally gotten rid of the real himself and his liking for the more powerful and more happy Tytler makes him become a real Tytler .

It seems unconventional because we expect the evil to be dead in the end .But what would have you done ?

Be the same yours or choose a new one !

did u see any change in my way ??

the copy of this post can be found at http://theyaga.3lo.net/blog/?p=10

--taggy