Miscellaneous Topics

07-08-2007, 12:42 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/07/06/seven...ders/index.html
Countdown begins for new 7 wonders of world
(CNN) -- A new seven wonders of the world list will be unveiled Saturday following an online vote that began with the vision of a Swiss businessman to bring the world together. But the poll, while popular in some nations, has not been universally endorsed.

............

Some nations have enthusiastically endorsed the new wonders campaign. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jordan's Queen Rania have actively promoted their country's hopefuls.

But the new wonders campaign hasn't been universally recognized. The United Nations' cultural organization, UNESCO, issued a statement saying it has "no link whatsoever" to the vote.

Egypt's top antiquities expert also objected to the list. He said Egypt's pyramids are a "symbol of the genius of the ancient people" -- and are above any sort of online poll.

07-08-2007, 06:27 AM

Results are in: http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=633
Taj in list. Angkor Wat didn't make it. Pyramids out!

Husky · (This post was last modified: 07-08-2007, 07:23 AM by Husky.)

Can I just ask why a list of world wonders should be limited to seven? I mean, the old list was seven I know. But as this is a new list, why not include all world heritage spots ('Wonders of the Wide World')? Now'd have been the opportunity, or so I thought. Guess not.

dhu · (This post was last modified: 07-08-2007, 09:54 AM by dhu.)

Petra replacing Pyramids is a significant development. It corresponds to Hellenization of the Near East which was the motivation for subsequent christist deprivations. Probably we can also draw some Iraq war parallels.

The choice of Christ Redeemer is pure psychological warfare. It's nothing but an oversized art deco garden sculpture. There are modernist pretensions associated with it.

Roman Coliseum is in such disrepair. It's quite scandalous to choose Coliseum over Angkor Wat, Easter Island, and Pyramids.

Plus they had Indian Actress with affected accent, cavorting on stage with albinos. Psy-ops?

Perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky that Mount Rushmore and southern russian "steppes" were not nominated.

**Hauma Hamiddha** · (This post was last modified: 07-08-2007, 11:20 AM by Hauma Hamiddha.)

Of all of these Christ redeemer is the sore thumb. There is no doubt it is an attempt to force the most evil meme of that religion on everyone.

Taz- Moslem
Christ - Xtian
No place for hindus

08-07-2007, 06:30 PM

Saha pronounced 'sha-ha', though sometimes sa-ha, i am wondering in all the languages in india, what the different meanings for this word are? Do you have any insights?
In sanskrit alone i find many different meanings.
I am a little obsessed by words, i find them fascinating
Also, does anyone know a meaning for the name Tatowa/Tatawa?

08-19-2007, 10:55 PM

While browsing thru the net today, came across this site.

Has anyone on this forum heard of an Indian yogi 'Anandacharya'?

http://www.shriramsharma.com/chapters_4,_5,_6.htm

âNo doubt the 3rd world war will take place but not before 1995 A.D. Uptil then India will become the 6th Super Power of the world. Just as the Mahabharat war was fought in India, after scientific advancement, wherein all nations of the world were involved who used divine weapons of fire etc., in the same way the future 3rd world war will not only see the use of terrible chemical and atomic weapons but even other newly invented ones which no one is aware of today. It means that with the help of weapons obtained from other divine worlds, this war will be fought. Nuclear weapons of earth will look pale in front of the above mentioned divine weapons. After these divine weapons are used, they will leave no imprint behind for the scientists of earth to conduct research studies. Even women will take part in this war.â

âThis war will be fought mainly in Asia but its most tainted effects will be seen in Europe and Muslim nations. The role of India will become the ultimate decision. Initially India will try to stop this war but because of Chinaâs stance, people will not agree. Inwardly the fire of war will be kept ablaze by China and yet another country will be blamed for it. The flames of destruction due to this war will spread out so far and wide, that all countries of the world will request India to intervene and ward off destruction. Only then will peace prevail. After this war, human culture will change completely. All this will take place only after 1995 A.D.â

That Yogiâs predictions, which have been given in the lines mentioned above and in the following pages, was an Indian born in West Bengal in the year 1883 A.D. He was called Surendranath Baral.

09-04-2007, 09:27 PM

The Nomination Database for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1901-1951

Check this list, I have never heard of name Brahmachari and his contribution in Medical Science. Why Indians school books never mentioned his name and contribution?

10-02-2007, 10:39 PM

Manoj Rakshit Publications. By Yashodharman.

All books can be downloaded free of cost, or read online.

They have a lot of material.

Hindi Books: http://www.yashodharman.org/hindi/hindi_me...t_pustakein.htm

English Books page http://www.yashodharman.org/english/books_...d_published.htm
english catalog:
QUOTEArise Arjun: Awaken my Hindu Nation
Ayodhya Shri Raam Mandir: Facts that did not reach you all
Christianity in a different Light: Face behind the Mask
Gita for TodayÂ
Judaism Christianity Islam Secularism Hinduism
New Light on History of BhaaratVarsh(Do your History textbooks tell you these Facts?)
Popes Saints Cardinals Archbishops Bishops (mostly in Book 10)
That Unknown Face of Christianity
Muslim BhaaratVarsh: Expect this to happen to you pretty soon
Religions that teach Hatred & Enmity: Sanaatan Dharm does not
Christ or Krishn?


also have Tamizh and Kannada books.

Did we not have a separate thread to collect the books related book marks? ...could not locate it...

12-06-2007, 12:22 AM

by email
QUOTEWho indulged most in mass killing since 1950

1. 40,000,000 Red China, 1949-76 (outright killing, manmade famine, Gulag)

2. 10,000,000 Soviet Bloc: late Stalinism, 1950-53; post-Stalinism, to
1987 (mostly Gulag)

3. 4,000,000 Ethiopia, 1962-92: Communists, artificial hunger, genocides

4. 3,800,000 Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa) : 1967-68; 1977-78; 1992-95;
1998-present

5. 2,800,000 Korean war, 1950-53

6. 1,900,000 Sudan, 1955-72; 1983-2006 (civil wars, genocides)

7. 1,870,000 Cambodia: Khmer Rouge 1975-79; civil war 1978-91

8. 1,800,000 Vietnam War, 1954-75

9. 1,800,000 Afghanistan: Soviet and internecine killings, Taliban
1980-2001

10. 1,250,000 West Pakistan massacres in East Pakistan (Bangladesh 1971)

11. 1,100,000 Nigeria, 1966-79 (Biafra); 1993-present

12. 1,100,000 Mozambique, 1964-70 (30,000) + after retreat of Portugal
1976-92

13. 1,000,000 Iran-Iraq-War, 1980-88

14. 900,000 Rwanda genocide, 1994

15. 875,000 Algeria: against France 1954-62 (675,000); between
Islamists and the government 1991-2006 (200,000)

16. 850,000 Uganda, 1971-79; 1981-85; 1994-present

17. 650,000 Indonesia: Marxists 1965-66 (450,000); East Timor, Papua,
Aceh etc, 1969-present (200,000)

18. 580,000 Angola: war against Portugal 1961-72 (80,000); after
Portugal's retreat (1972-2002)

19. 500,000 Brazil against its Indians, up to 1999

20. 430,000 Vietnam, after the war ended in 1975 (own people; boat
refugees)

21. 400,000 Indochina: against France, 1945-54

22. 400,000 Burundi, 1959-present (Tutsi/Hutu)

23. 400,000 Somalia, 1991-present

24. 400,000 North Korea up to 2006 (own people)

25. 300,000 Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, 1980s-1990s

26. 300,000 Iraq, 1970-2003 (Saddam against minorities)

27. 240,000 Columbia, 1946-58; 1964-present

28. 200,000 Yugoslavia, Tito regime, 1944-80

29. 200,000 Guatemala, 1960-96

30. 190,000 Laos, 1975-90

31. 175,000 Serbia against Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, 1991-1999

32. 150,000 Romania, 1949-99 (own people)

33. 150,000 Liberia, 1989-97

34. 140,000 Russia against Chechnya, 1994-present

35. 150,000 Lebanon civil war, 1975-90

36. 140,000 Kuwait War, 1990-91

37. 130,000 Philippines: 1946-54 (10,000); 1972-present (120,000)

38. 130,000 Burma/Myanmar, 1948-present

39. 100,000 North Yemen, 1962-70

40. 100,000 Sierra Leone, 1991-present

41. 100,000 Albania, 1945-91 (own people)

42. 80,000 Iran, 1978-79 (revolution)

43. 75,000 Iraq, 2003-present (domestic)

44. 75,000 El Salvador, 1975-92

45. 70,000 Eritrea against Ethiopia, 1998-2000

46. 68,000 Sri Lanka, 1997-present

47. 60,000 Zimbabwe, 1966-79; 1980-present

48. 60,000 Nicaragua, 1972-91 (Marxists/natives etc,)

49. 51,000 Arab-Israeli conflict 1950-present

50. 50,000 North Vietnam, 1954-75 (own people)

51. 50,000 Tajikistan, 1992-96 (secularists against Islamists)

52. 50,000 Equatorial Guinea, 1969-79

53. 50,000 Peru, 1980-2000

54. 50,000 Guinea, 1958-84

55. 40,000 Chad, 1982-90

56. 30,000 Bulgaria, 1948-89 (own people)

57. 30,000 Rhodesia, 1972-79

58. 30,000 Argentina, 1976-83 (own people)

59. 27,000 Hungary, 1948-89 (own people)

60. 26,000 Kashmir independence, 1989-present

61. 25,000 Jordan government vs. Palestinians, 1970-71 (Black September)

62. 22,000 Poland, 1948-89 (own people)

63. 20,000 Syria, 1982 (against Islamists in Hama)

64. 20,000 Chinese-Vietnamese war, 1979

65. 19,000 Morocco: war against France, 1953-56 (3,000) and in Western
Sahara, 1975-present (16,000)

66. 18,000 Congo Republic, 1997-99

67. 10,000 South Yemen, 1986 (civil war)

*All figures rounded. Sources: Brzezinski, Z., Out of Control: Global
Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century, 1993; Courtois, S., Le
Livre Noir du Communism, 1997; Heinsohn, G., Lexikon der Vâ¬ Â¦ÃÂ¶lkermorde,
1999, 2nd ed.; Heinsohn, G., Shne und Weltmacht, 2006, 8th ed.;
Rummel. R., Death by Government, 1994; Small, M. and Singer, J.D.,
Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars 1816-1980, 1982; White,
M., "Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth
Century," 2003.

12-06-2007, 02:02 AM

Bhodiji,
QUOTEDid we not have a separate thread to collect the books related book marks? ...could not locate it...

Use the book folder in history forum: link

Husky · (This post was last modified: 12-16-2007, 08:16 PM by Husky.)

Thought this was optimistic and very feel good.
nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10482659
QUOTEIndian girl born with eight limbs leaves hospital
10:00AM Sunday December 16, 2007

BANGALORE - A two-year-old Indian girl born with four arms, four legs and extra internal organs left hospital smiling on Saturday, nearly six weeks after doctors removed her extra limbs in a gruelling operation.

The team of around 30 medics took away what amounted to Lakshmi Tatma's headless identical twin sister who was joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separate properly in the womb - an extremely rare case.

"I cannot say how happy we are," Lakshmi's labourer father, Shambu, told reporters as the family left Sparsh Hospital in the southern city of Bangalore for a flight home to Bihar state.

"My daughter is going to lead a normal life. We plan to build a temple in our village."

Lakshmi, named after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, was expected to be in the operating theatre for 40 hours in early November, but the surgery was completed after 27.
(The choice of name is so sweet.)

"Lakshmi has recovered adequately. She can now stand with help," said Dr. Sharan Patil, the chairman of the hospital, which said at the time that it had paid for the treatment.

"Medically, I have no reasons to believe she will not be a normal adult," Dr. Patil added.

Doctors had said that Lakshmi, who could not walk on her deformed limbs, would not have had much chance of living past adolescence without undergoing surgery.

She will need what doctors termed corrective treatment at a later date, but is being allowed home as her parents were keen to get back to their village.
"They have been here for more than two months. We will reassess her position when she comes back in a few months," Dr Patil said.

"Doctors have given us sufficient advice on how to take care of her at home. I don't see any problems. People in our village are waiting to see her," said Shambu.Very endearing. Yes, I am sure the whole village will be happy to see their 2 year old member return to them and be healthy <!--emo& Smile

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

Shambhu · 01-31-2008, 01:25 AM

Barbara Livesey, chief executive of Reconciliation Australia, a government-commissioned agency tasked with bringing black and white Australians together, said the apology on the day after Parliament resumes for the first time since November elections would be a historic moment.

"It's a moment that all Australians should feel incredibly proud of, that we're recognizing the mistakes of the past," she said.

----
From "Australia apologizes to aborigines" story on MSNBC.com today

Why should Australians (white) feel "incredibly" proud? Do you even need to feel proud? You are doing the least that you could do. I mean it, the least. Oz is not going to give the aborigines any $$$ for the "stolen generations", as was demended. Cheapskate racists just issue and apology. And wanna feel "incredibly proud" about that. And Barbara L. cannot even say "white oz should feel proud". No, everybody australian should feel proud, even the poor aborigines. that oz the state has apoplogized to aborigines. WTF!!

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-08-2008, 07:41 PM by Husky.)

Don't know where this can go. It may apply to you or else it's stuff to tell your mum, sister, daughters, wife or girlfriend or friends or what have you.

http://www.007b.com/bras_bare_facts.php
QUOTEThe British study on bra wearing and breast pain
In year 2000, two breast surgeons started a study including 100 women at two breast clinics (all of whom had breast pain) and found that over half of the premenopausal women with pain found relief when they quit wearing bras for three months. For some the pain relief was very dramatic, changing their lifes. When they resumed bra wearing for the last three months of the study, the pain returned. Besides the pain data, the doctors also showed video thermography footage that dramatically demonstrated the heat build-up from bra wearing, and they discussed the possible connections with cancer causation.

They also made a documentary film that was shown on nationwide television in Britain.Â The following is a press release from Channel 4 UK (England), for the documentary on the connection between bras and breast pain.
[...]
The two medical experts who divided the experiment between their clinics are:

ROBERT MANSEL - Professor of Surgery at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. He has studied breast pain for 25 years.
SIMON CAWTHORN is a consultant surgeon at the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. He is a specialist in the area of breast treatment.

On average, for pre-menopausal women, they found that the number of totally pain-free days went up by 7% which is regarded as significant for a problem that is otherwise so hard to treat. They are confident that this research warrants further investigation into the links between bra wearing and breast pain and cysts.

Several other studies have shown a link between breast pain and breast cancer. For example, French researchers at the University of Paris Necker Hospital have found that women with monthly breast pain have double the risk of getting breast cancer. They ascertained that statistically, pain can be as significant a risk factor as a family history of cancer.

It is important to note that this study had a significant effect on pre-menopausal women with breast pain. Post-menopausal women did not benefit as much from not wearing a bra.

Both Mansel and Cawthorne are clear that there is no medical benefit to be obtained from wearing a bra.That was in 2000. Earlier in 1991:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18272...t=Abstract
QUOTEBreast size, handedness and breast cancer risk.,Eur J Cancer. 1991;27(2):131-5.
[...]
Premenopausal women who do not wear bras had half the risk of breast cancer compared with bra users (P about 0.09), possibly because they are thinner and likely to have smaller breasts.
(About the use of 'possibly' - have they actually investigated the reason they're suggesting or are they merely reasoning theoretically here?)
Among bra users, larger cup size was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (P about 0.026), although the association was found only among postmenopausal women and was accounted for, in part, by obesity. These data suggest that bra cup size (and conceivably mammary gland size) may be a risk factor for breast cancer.

02-08-2008, 10:04 PM

QUOTEtwo breast surgeons started a study including 100 women at two breast clinics
How come anyone can make such serious suggestions with such an small sample size and that too from a small geographical areas? There could be other factors involved which the authors of the study may have overlooked.

QUOTEBesides the pain data, the doctors also showed video thermography footage that dramatically demonstrated the heat build-up from bra wearing, and they discussed the possible connections with cancer causation.
Well they seems to suggest that heat is one of the causes of cancer which IMHO is incorrect. If heat is really the cause of cancer then people living in tropics which have high temp than say in britain must also have an correspondingly high rate of cancer in the population, which is not the case.

Cancer is caused by a variety of factors like exposure to carcinogenic substances, type of food taken, stress and type of lifestyle the person leads.

QUOTEIt is important to note that this study had a significant effect on pre-menopausal women with breast pain. Post-menopausal women did not benefit as much from not wearing a bra.
Interesting finding which nullify their previous assertion that bras are the possible reason for breast cancer. Their finding that 'Post-menopausal women did not benefit as much from not wearing a bra' clearly shows that hormonal imbalances may be the factor that may be causing cancer rather an wearing an inner garment.

QUOTEAmong bra users, larger cup size was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (P about 0.026), although the association was found only among postmenopausal women and was accounted for, in part, by obesity.
Obesity caused by an sedentary lifestyle is indeed identified as one the factors of found to be causing cancer.

Check the dates of the studies, one was conducted in the year 1991 and another in 2000. After so many years, up until the year 2008 they have not yet found an correlation between the wearing of a bra and an increase in breast cancer. If there was any serious danger associated with wearing bras there would have been health advisory by respective national medical association like in the case of banning smoking in public which puts the non-smoking persons in public places to the risk of cancer due to secondary inhalation of cigarette smoke.

If there is an large scale study conducted and any scientific proof is found of the correlation between wearing bras and breast cancer then i may change my opinion but until then i dont believe this so called 'scientific study'.

Husky · (This post was last modified: 02-09-2008, 05:33 AM by Husky.)

Harshvardan, I don't think they meant it to be the penultimate findings on bras and possible correlations with increased occurrences of breast cancer. My mum found the article and I posted it here as I thought others might know more about this stuff or find it interesting/important.

QUOTEHow come anyone can make such serious suggestions with such an small sample size and that too from a small geographical areas?In the west they have been using bras for longer. I'd think the bra-usage in the UK was a good representative of Europe and America.
In other countries bras have only been catching up with the masses in the last decades. The native population where I live has only been wearing bras uniformly for the last two generations (some of their grandmothers still refuse to). So it won't make sense for instance, to get their data in there, if prolonged and prolific use of bras and correlation with pain is what people are initially trying to establish. Also, different ethnicities might already be more prone/less prone to different forms of cancer and that may skew results, too, unless samples are grouped by ethnicity and considered group-wise.

QUOTE<div class='quotetop'>QUOTEBesides the pain data, the doctors also showed video thermography footage that dramatically demonstrated the heat build-up from bra wearing, and they discussed the possible connections with cancer causation.Well they seems to suggest that heat is one of the causes of cancer which IMHO is incorrect. If heat is really the cause of cancer then people living in tropics which have high temp than say in britain must also have an correspondingly high rate of cancer in the population, which is not the case.</div>I think you've misunderstood what it is they've implied there. I think it's the pressure of maybe tight-fitting bras that causes heat build-up that they're referring to in this instance. Women in the tropics used to go bra-free and in some places women went topless for long periods of time. So they're not comparing climates but about localised temperature in one area of the body.
(Also, from what I remember from bio, breasts in women are part of the temperature regulating area: they're warmer when the person is cold, and colder when the person is warm or something. The secondary sexual organs in men also play a similar role. But my bio is hazy, don't quote me on that.)

QUOTEBesides the pain data, the doctors also showed video thermography footage that dramatically demonstrated the heat build-up from bra wearing, and they discussed the possible connections with cancer causation.If at all they're trying to link the heat they mention here with the second part of that sentence on "possible connections with cancer causation" (it's not clear that they are), then I think it might be heat build-up due to the more restrictive items (ones that might not be letting the circulation go its natural course or something) that they consider might be an additional factor in the occurrence of breast cancer.

In any case, the British study seems to be more about the relationship between bras and constant pain (and occurrence of cysts). And the second study mentioned (the French uni one) about constant pain often being a factor in exacerbating the chances of cancer and what that might say about bras. The PubMed paper appears to be about the correlation between (bra-)size and chances of breast cancer but makes some inferences about what the data says about not wearing bras versus wearing bras.

QUOTEInteresting finding which nullify their previous assertion that bras are the possible reason for breast cancer. Their finding that 'Post-menopausal women did not benefit as much from not wearing a bra' clearly shows that hormonal imbalances may be the factor that may be causing cancer rather an wearing an inner garment.Perhaps pre-/post-menopausal hormonal changes or changes in circulation might either negate contribution of wearing bras, who knows. The PubMed article merely noted that there was a difference between pre and post with respect to bra-wearing and cancer; the abstract does not attribute cancer to bras.
The British study did suggest that this prelimary test be a cause for more study:
QUOTEOn average, for pre-menopausal women, they found that the number of totally pain-free days went up by 7% which is regarded as significant for a problem that is otherwise so hard to treat. They are confident that this research warrants further investigation into the links between bra wearing and breast pain and cysts.

QUOTEObesity caused by an sedentary lifestyle is indeed identified as one the factors of found to be causing cancer.andQUOTECheck the dates of the studies, one was conducted in the year 1991 and another in 2000. After so many years, up until the year 2008 they have not yet found an correlation between the wearing of a bra and an increase in breast cancer. If there was any serious danger associated with wearing bras there would have been health advisory by respective national medical association like in the case of banning smoking in public which puts the non-smoking persons in public places to the risk of cancer due to secondary inhalation of cigarette smoke.

If there is an large scale study conducted and any scientific proof is found of the correlation between wearing bras and breast cancer then i may change my opinion but until then i dont believe this so called 'scientific study'.(Which of the three studies are you referring to...) I can't see that they're saying that bras are causing breast cancer at all. Rather, that it may be an indirectly contributing factor in situations giving rise to or exacerbating occurrence of this cancer (the French study is described as considering 'increased risk'). There are many factors that cause cancer and some have been identified, others may not yet have been. Perhaps frequent and continuous usage of ultra-tight bras are questionable at least where cyst formation is concerned (and more certainly, with respect to pain).

02-14-2008, 08:37 PM

Orissa government promotes terracotta pottery again

Thu, Feb 14, 2008
By Sarada Lahangir

Koraput (Orissa), Feb.14 (ANI): The Orissa government is making an effort to train traditional potters to take to terracotta as a medium. The changeover, it is felt will improve the sales, as also their living condition.

Orissa government has planned to motivate and train these potters for developing skills and showcasing their creativity in terracotta since there is fair demand in cosmopolitan cities for clay novelties.

"Our plan is to convert potters into terracotta artisans because they do not get enough from selling their products. This is happening due to availability of so many substitutes in the market like steel, stainless steel, and aluminum etcetera. We are trying to train them. Some of our trainers are at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad to chalk out an action plan for the potters," said P.K. Tripathy, Director Handicrafts and Cottage Industries.

Terra cotta is a ceramic. It has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery, as well as bricks and roof shingles

As of now, several potters in Orissa are compelled to lead a struggling life though many upwardly mobile families in cosmopolitan cities wish to collect designer pottery products for their homes.

Far off markets, the transportation cost, non-availability of proper marketing outlets and an overall depleting number of buyers are some of the major problems which have made these traditional potters a highly dejected lot.

A visit to Jhadiguda, an obscure village in Orissa's Koraput District presents a grim picture of potters' plight.

There are about 125 potter families in Jhadiguda Village. They are facing one of the toughest phases of their lives. The numbers of buyers are on wane.

"We have been pursuing this work for last 30 to 40 years. My father taught me how to make pots. Today, the labour and money invested in our profession costs more than the returns. We are compelled to sell our products door-to-door," said, Sripati, one of the potters at Jhadiguda.

Elderly potters today discourage their children and others from taking up pottery for livelihood.

"We face maximum problem while taking the pots to market. These items are not sold out on all days and thus we bring them back to our village. We need a proper stall to sell out our products," said, Harihar, another potter from Jhadiguda.

Potters remember that there was a time when potters' had a big demand for their items. The masses used to cook in earthen utensils and pots. Today, stainless steel and aluminum wares have replaced the clay made utensils.

"We are confronting a major problem here. What is our life? We are not able to provide even education to our children. The Government should provide us with better facilities. We have to buy wood to bake our products and also cook food. One bundle of wood costs rupees 30 to 35 (just over half a dollar). You can imagine our plight. How can we buy wood, when our earning is nominal?" said Rameshwar, a potter.

Usually, these potters take along with them a limited number of their products. But despite selling the products at rupees 150, the margin of profit is mere Rs.50. Many times, when they are not able to sell, the potters find themselves with no option but to resort to distress sale.

02-16-2008, 08:11 PM

QUOTE'Blacklist websites which carry harmful sexual content'

Sat, Feb 16 05:05 PM

Concerned over youth being 'misguided' by the mass media on sexual issues, sexologists appealed to the Centre to create special cells to monitor and blacklist websites which carry pornographic materials and harmful sexual content.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at the 3rd International Conference on Sexology, organised by the Indian Institute of Sexual Medicine and Chennai-based Aakash Institute of Fertility and Research.

They said the monitoring body should be vested with adequate powers to deal firmly with such websites as they adversely affect the younger generation.

The medical experts also requested the Centre to incorporate sex education in academic curriculum so that the youth get positive knowledge on sex-related issues.

Introducing specialised diploma and degree courses in sexual medicine would help in creating adequate number of experts in the field, they suggested.

The sexologists also urged the Centre to form separate departments, headed by competent experts under the Health Ministry, to design, develop and execute programmes and projects giving emphasis on the preventive aspects of sexual diseases, especially sexual dysfunctions and abnormalities caused by lifestyle modification.

02-19-2008, 01:02 PM

QUOTEEx-IITian unveils filters to enhance data transmission for optical networks

19th February, 2008 (ANI)

Washington, February 19 : An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay has announced the conception of a potentially perfect way to sort and distribute the massive amounts of data that travel daily over optical fibres to people across the world, as part of a project he undertook as a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory.

Rana Biswas says that the new technology, a three-dimensional photonic crystal add-drop filter, shows promise to dramatically enhance the transmission of multiple wavelength channels (wavelengths of light) that travel along the same optical fibre.

He sees the new innovative filter as a significant achievement in the efforts to develop all-optical transport networks.

According to him, such a network may eliminate electrical components from optical transmission links. It may even guarantee virtually flawless data reception to end users of the Internet, and other fibre-based telecommunications systems, he adds.

"There are up to 160 wavelength channels traveling through an optical fiber at the same time," said Rana Biswas, one of the developers of the new add-drop filter.

"That means a lot of dialogue is going on simultaneously," added Biswas, who is also an Iowa State University adjunct associate professor of physics and astronomy and electrical and computer engineering.

The researcher says as information is transported over these multiple channels, it is necessary to drop off individual wavelength channels at different points on the fibre. At the same time, it's essential to be able to add data streams into unfilled wavelength channels.

"When the data being transported in multiple frequency channels over an optical fibre comes to a receiving station, you want to be able to pick off just one of those frequencies and send it to an individual end user. That's where these 3-D photonic crystals come into play," said Biswas.

He and his colleagues have successfully showed that 3-D photonic crystals may serve as add-drop filters, and thereby provide greatly enhanced data transmission.

The researchers used a three-dimensional, microwave-scale photonic crystal constructed from layered alumina rods and containing a full bandgap, a wavelength range in which electromagnetic waves cannot transmit, to prove their concept.

Biswas says that just like electronic bandgaps that prevent electrons within a certain energy range from passing through a semiconductor, photonic crystals create photonic bandgaps that confine light of certain wavelengths.

This is not the first time that the idea to use photonic crystals for add-drop filters has been conceived, as many research groups worldwide have been working to develop the technology with two-dimensional photonic crystals since the mid Nineties.

"It works, but there is loss of some intensity to the end user because 2-D photonic crystals don't confine the light completely. For example, in a phone conversation, the voices would dim out. But with 3-D photonic crystal add-drop filters, the communication would be clear," Biswas said

The researcher says that one great challenge before his team now is to get the size of the photonic crystals down to work at the wavelengths used for Internet communications.

Very sad, Now IP for this invention will get patented in US.

02-25-2008, 09:37 PM

Another Neantherdal specimen makes it's apperance in Australia

QUOTEAussie channel nine news chief labels females incapable and says they need to be f---able
February 26, 2008

CHANNEL NINE's head of news, John Westacott, has been accused of making offensive and sexist remarks to female journalists in new documents lodged with the Federal Court.

Mr Westacott is alleged to have told a group of female journalists at a book launch last year that they were hired only for their sex appeal.

"To make it in this industry, you gotta have f---ability. To make it in this game, women have to be f---able," Mr Westacott is alleged to have said.

The allegations were made by Nine's Los Angeles correspondent, Christine Spiteri, in an unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination claim in which she is seeking damages of $US522,497 ($597,000).

Spiteri also alleges Nine has damaged her reputation by saying she was not "good enough" to host a news program, such as Nightline, having given the position to the reporter Michael Usher, and that she was "unable to engage in serious journalism".

The allegations echo those made in an affidavit by the former Nine news chief Mark Llewellyn, in which he referred to the then Nine chief executive Eddie McGuire discussing sacking the then Today host Jessica Rowe.

The Federal Court action follows an unsuccessful attempt by Spiteri's lawyers to settle a similar claim against Nine lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Mr Westacott is also alleged to have said women reporters should do the "soft news" stories and leave the big-hitting reports to their male counterparts.

"Sheilas do health and consumer stories, the second-break stuff [after the second advertisement break on commercial television]. You want your blokes, your main guns, doing the real news stories," he is alleged to have said.

Spiteri has been at the network for 14 years but has been told her contract will not be renewed next month.

When the journalist Leila McKinnon moved to Los Angeles in July 2006 with her husband, David Gyngell, who is now Nine's chief executive, Spiteri was given the option of transferring to London or back to Sydney in a hosting role, on her existing $US261,000 contract.

She alleges neither job promise materialised and that she has been offered only inferior roles.

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