Literal Truth?
A working replica of Noah’s Ark!-ET Cetera-News-The Economic Times
A working replica of Noah’s Ark!REUTERS[ MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2007 04:07:16 AM]
SCHAGEN: The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was thrown open on Saturday — you could say it was the first time in 4,000 years — drawing a crowd of curious pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible. Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan’s fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house. Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold. “The design is by my wife, bianca,” Huibers said. “She didn’t really want me to do this at all. but she said if you’re going to anyway, it should look like this.” A contractor by trade, huibers built the ark of cedar and pine-biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been. Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. Visitors on the first day were stunned. “It’s past comprehensive,” said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
DNA - India - Lalu paid off a debt to his wife handsomely - Daily News & Analysis
Lalu magic in the family
DNA - India - Lalu paid off a debt to his wife handsomely - Daily News & Analysis
NEW DELHI: Barely days before their nuptial, she had complained bitterly to her parents for marrying her off in a penniless family.
Years later, Lalu Prasad proved his 'worthiness' and political acumen by making Rabri Devi the Chief Minister of Bihar -- a passage from kitchen to cabinet, literally!.
It was Lalu's way of ''paying off a debt to his wife,'' reveals a yet-to-be-released pictorial monograph on the Railway Minister.
In her own admission, Rabri Devi says, "Shadi mein khoob ladai hua (my marriage involved a lot of family drama). The reason was that while all of my three sisters were married off to the well-to-do families having huge landed properties, my in-laws had just a thatched roof.
"Just everyone kept telling my father that why are you handing out your daughter to a 'bhikhmanga' (beggar)?"
The 300-page monograph, the first of its kind on the charismatic politician, is slated to hit the bookshops in India before the politician's 60th birthday on June 11.
Interestingly, the coffee table book will be released on June 5, the day Jaya Prakash Narayan had launched Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution), his social transformation programme.
Authored by Neena Jha and Shivnath Jha, the monograph comprises 20 chapters and carries several interesting articles on the veteran politician's life, his 'basic mantra' for success in his life and his incredible turnaround of Indian Railways.
The book is dedicated to late Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur (the political mentor of Lalu Prasad), Jaya Prakash Narayan (who re-shaped India politically), late Dhirubhai Ambani (who had the audacity to dream of a business empire and the resolve to realise it) and some other down-to-earth nationals, who made India proud.
DNA - India - Lalu paid off a debt to his wife handsomely - Daily News & Analysis
NEW DELHI: Barely days before their nuptial, she had complained bitterly to her parents for marrying her off in a penniless family.
Years later, Lalu Prasad proved his 'worthiness' and political acumen by making Rabri Devi the Chief Minister of Bihar -- a passage from kitchen to cabinet, literally!.
It was Lalu's way of ''paying off a debt to his wife,'' reveals a yet-to-be-released pictorial monograph on the Railway Minister.
In her own admission, Rabri Devi says, "Shadi mein khoob ladai hua (my marriage involved a lot of family drama). The reason was that while all of my three sisters were married off to the well-to-do families having huge landed properties, my in-laws had just a thatched roof.
"Just everyone kept telling my father that why are you handing out your daughter to a 'bhikhmanga' (beggar)?"
The 300-page monograph, the first of its kind on the charismatic politician, is slated to hit the bookshops in India before the politician's 60th birthday on June 11.
Interestingly, the coffee table book will be released on June 5, the day Jaya Prakash Narayan had launched Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution), his social transformation programme.
Authored by Neena Jha and Shivnath Jha, the monograph comprises 20 chapters and carries several interesting articles on the veteran politician's life, his 'basic mantra' for success in his life and his incredible turnaround of Indian Railways.
The book is dedicated to late Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur (the political mentor of Lalu Prasad), Jaya Prakash Narayan (who re-shaped India politically), late Dhirubhai Ambani (who had the audacity to dream of a business empire and the resolve to realise it) and some other down-to-earth nationals, who made India proud.
DNA - Mumbai - Teen pregnancies on the rise in Mumbai - Daily News & Analysis
Teen pregancy growing in India
DNA - Mumbai - Teen pregnancies on the rise in Mumbai - Daily News & Analysis
MUMBAI: Gayatri was only 14, but she was pregnant after she had sex with her cousin. Without a mother to talk to about the changes in her body, Gayatri was well into the fifth month of pregnancy before her father took her for a check-up because she had been vomiting. At the hospital, he was shocked to discover she was pregnant. It was too late for an abortion, so she delivered a baby which she gave up for adoption. The physical and psychological trauma still keeps Gayatri awake at night years later. Her father thinks it has scarred her for life.
Gayatri is not the only teenager in the city who has had to deal with pregnancy. The third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) found that in 2005-06, 6.7 per cent of girls in the 15-19 years age group in Mumbai were or had been pregnant, or were already mothers. “I have an increasing number of unmarried teenagers coming to me for abortions,” says Anita Soni, gynaecologist, LH Hiranandani hospital.
Accurate figures on teenage pregnancies and abortions are hard to compile because young girls tend to go to quacks and shady clinics to keep the matter under wraps. But the NFHS says there were 36,700 teenage abortions in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in 2005-06.
Experts attribute the rise in teenage pregnancies to sexual promiscuity at a younger age. “Teenagers today treat sex very casually. I get patients who come to me for abortions with their boyfriends, and after a couple of years they’re here again, with another boyfriend but for the same reason,” says Bela Kedia, gynaecologist at Wockhardt Hospital. “Teenagers are financially independent today; their lifestyles make them adventurous,” adds Anita Soni.
DNA - Mumbai - Teen pregnancies on the rise in Mumbai - Daily News & Analysis
MUMBAI: Gayatri was only 14, but she was pregnant after she had sex with her cousin. Without a mother to talk to about the changes in her body, Gayatri was well into the fifth month of pregnancy before her father took her for a check-up because she had been vomiting. At the hospital, he was shocked to discover she was pregnant. It was too late for an abortion, so she delivered a baby which she gave up for adoption. The physical and psychological trauma still keeps Gayatri awake at night years later. Her father thinks it has scarred her for life.
Gayatri is not the only teenager in the city who has had to deal with pregnancy. The third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) found that in 2005-06, 6.7 per cent of girls in the 15-19 years age group in Mumbai were or had been pregnant, or were already mothers. “I have an increasing number of unmarried teenagers coming to me for abortions,” says Anita Soni, gynaecologist, LH Hiranandani hospital.
Accurate figures on teenage pregnancies and abortions are hard to compile because young girls tend to go to quacks and shady clinics to keep the matter under wraps. But the NFHS says there were 36,700 teenage abortions in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai in 2005-06.
Experts attribute the rise in teenage pregnancies to sexual promiscuity at a younger age. “Teenagers today treat sex very casually. I get patients who come to me for abortions with their boyfriends, and after a couple of years they’re here again, with another boyfriend but for the same reason,” says Bela Kedia, gynaecologist at Wockhardt Hospital. “Teenagers are financially independent today; their lifestyles make them adventurous,” adds Anita Soni.
One killed as fresh violence erupts in Nandigram
Nandigram Again : Marketization
One killed as fresh violence erupts in Nandigram
One killed as fresh violence erupts in Nandigram
By IANS
Sunday April 29, 02:14 PM
Kolkata/Nandigram, April 29 (IANS) Fierce gun battles and bomb attacks between an anti-land acquisition group and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) men broke out in West Bengal's trouble-torn Nandigram Sunday, claiming one life, as the area turned into a combat zone since morning.
'We have confirmed report of one person dying in the clash, but cannot say to which side the victim belongs,' Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
Bengali TV channel reports said the victim was a CPI-M supporter, Dilip Mondal of Gokulnagar in Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata in East Midnapore district.
However, one TV channel said another CPI-M activist, Mohit Karan, had also died in the firing.
According to reports, several houses were set on fire in an area bordering Nandigram and CPI-M-controlled Khejuri during the clash. A heavy exchange of fire and bomb attacks broke the fragile peace in the area
Several people sustained bullet injuries in the clashes. Many injured have been admitted to hospital, police said.
'We have got reports of fresh violence. The area where the clashes occurred is an interior pocket called Satrangi Bazar under Nandigram. The place is so remote that policemen had to walk 10-15 km to reach the spot,' Kanojia said.
'We are taking measures to quell the situation,' he said even as local people alleged that police were playing the role of mute spectator.
Abdus Samad, a leader of the Bhum Uchched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Prevent Farmland Acquisition) that spearheaded the movement against land acquisition for industry, said: 'The CPI-M men from Khejuri were firing on us for the past few days. Saiful Haq, who is around 40, was injured in the firing on Sunday. They have also set on fire several houses.'
'Of what I heard many were injured in the firing,' Samad told IANS from the troubled area.
'Khejuri has been turned into a dangerous camp from where CPI-M attack people in Nandigram. The CPI-M men are even raping their own women there in the camp,' alleged Sisir Adhikari, Trinamool Congress East Midnapore district president.
'We have every right to protect ourselves,' he said.
Trouble has been brewing for the past few days.
On Friday, Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator from Nandigram S.K. Ilias Mohammed was allegedly assaulted by Trinamool Congress supporters in Nandigram while in CPI-M-controlled Khejuri there were sporadic reports of firing.
On March 14, at least 14 people were killed and over a hundred injured when police opened fire to quell a mob protesting proposed takeover of agricultural land for a special economic zone (SEZ) and a chemical hub in collaboration with the Salim group of Indonesia in Nandigram.
The proposed SEZ was scrapped after the March 14 mayhem but Nandigram has continued to remain tense.
While Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has been requesting the opposition parties to thrash out a peace initiative to restore normalcy, parties like Trinamool Congress refused to heed to his pleas and instead demanded that the CPI-M first stop violence in the area, especially the firings resorted to by their men from Khejuri.
Nandigram has been on the boil since early January when six villagers were killed by alleged CPI-M men.
Thousands of people are still homeless as sporadic violence continues despite the chief minister's assurance that no land would be acquired in the area for any project.
A hearing into the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s report into the Nandigram carnage by the Calcutta High Court remained deferred amidst reports that apart from killings there were also atrocities committed on women during the police action.
One killed as fresh violence erupts in Nandigram
One killed as fresh violence erupts in Nandigram
By IANS
Sunday April 29, 02:14 PM
Kolkata/Nandigram, April 29 (IANS) Fierce gun battles and bomb attacks between an anti-land acquisition group and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) men broke out in West Bengal's trouble-torn Nandigram Sunday, claiming one life, as the area turned into a combat zone since morning.
'We have confirmed report of one person dying in the clash, but cannot say to which side the victim belongs,' Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
Bengali TV channel reports said the victim was a CPI-M supporter, Dilip Mondal of Gokulnagar in Nandigram, about 150 km from Kolkata in East Midnapore district.
However, one TV channel said another CPI-M activist, Mohit Karan, had also died in the firing.
According to reports, several houses were set on fire in an area bordering Nandigram and CPI-M-controlled Khejuri during the clash. A heavy exchange of fire and bomb attacks broke the fragile peace in the area
Several people sustained bullet injuries in the clashes. Many injured have been admitted to hospital, police said.
'We have got reports of fresh violence. The area where the clashes occurred is an interior pocket called Satrangi Bazar under Nandigram. The place is so remote that policemen had to walk 10-15 km to reach the spot,' Kanojia said.
'We are taking measures to quell the situation,' he said even as local people alleged that police were playing the role of mute spectator.
Abdus Samad, a leader of the Bhum Uchched Pratirodh Committee (Committee to Prevent Farmland Acquisition) that spearheaded the movement against land acquisition for industry, said: 'The CPI-M men from Khejuri were firing on us for the past few days. Saiful Haq, who is around 40, was injured in the firing on Sunday. They have also set on fire several houses.'
'Of what I heard many were injured in the firing,' Samad told IANS from the troubled area.
'Khejuri has been turned into a dangerous camp from where CPI-M attack people in Nandigram. The CPI-M men are even raping their own women there in the camp,' alleged Sisir Adhikari, Trinamool Congress East Midnapore district president.
'We have every right to protect ourselves,' he said.
Trouble has been brewing for the past few days.
On Friday, Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator from Nandigram S.K. Ilias Mohammed was allegedly assaulted by Trinamool Congress supporters in Nandigram while in CPI-M-controlled Khejuri there were sporadic reports of firing.
On March 14, at least 14 people were killed and over a hundred injured when police opened fire to quell a mob protesting proposed takeover of agricultural land for a special economic zone (SEZ) and a chemical hub in collaboration with the Salim group of Indonesia in Nandigram.
The proposed SEZ was scrapped after the March 14 mayhem but Nandigram has continued to remain tense.
While Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has been requesting the opposition parties to thrash out a peace initiative to restore normalcy, parties like Trinamool Congress refused to heed to his pleas and instead demanded that the CPI-M first stop violence in the area, especially the firings resorted to by their men from Khejuri.
Nandigram has been on the boil since early January when six villagers were killed by alleged CPI-M men.
Thousands of people are still homeless as sporadic violence continues despite the chief minister's assurance that no land would be acquired in the area for any project.
A hearing into the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s report into the Nandigram carnage by the Calcutta High Court remained deferred amidst reports that apart from killings there were also atrocities committed on women during the police action.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Chitika Blog Bash : 30 DAYS 30 EXPERTS : » Blog Archive » What is this thing called a blog anyway? A Perspective from India -By Keith Dsouza
Chitika Blog Bash : 30 DAYS 30 EXPERTS : » Blog Archive » What is this thing called a blog anyway? A Perspective from India -By Keith Dsouza
Learning Blogging
Sharing Wisdom of Today's Expert Blogging for Tomorrow's Blogger.
April 2007 Learn More
What is this thing called a blog anyway? A Perspective from India -By Keith Dsouza
April 28th, 2007
Expert: Keith Dsouza, Techie Buzz
About the Expert
Keith Dsouza is owner of Techie Buzz, a blog about technology, computers and software. A Software Engineer by profession, Keith started blogging as a hobby after discovering the power writing has in other successful blogs.
Keith’s aim at blogging is to spread the news about the latest technology and keep it as simple as it gets, review beta and alpha software, give information to users about how they can use this software and what the good and bad features are and occasionally write some tutorials and personal views on tweaking software, fixing errors and some tips for better usability experience. Chitika is pleased to share Keith’s perspectives on blogging in India.
Blogging in India did not build up much momentum until the last couple of years. Till then, blogging was a medium used by a select few people who were already aware of it. Even though I had a passion for writing, taking up blogging took a longer time for me as I was not aware of it even though I used the Internet on a daily basis.
It was when one of my friends came up with this topic of blogs that I realized what blogging was. The first thing I learned about blogging from my friend was that he made money every month from his blogs and how many hits he got from Google.This was the biggest mistake of my blogging experience, thinking of a blog as a money making tool rather than a medium of communication with countless numbers of people who I have never met or known.
But within a few months, I liked blogging and so money went down to second rank on my list. I did make my first 100$ after 6 months of blogging, but that was just the icing on the cake, because within six months I had started enjoying blogging so much that I was finally hooked on it. I went from owing one domain to owning two in the first 3 months itself.
I have made quite a few mistakes in my blogging career. I didn’t follow a niche and wrote just about everything on the same blog. I write more about technology so mixing a personal blog with technology didn’t turn out to be the right choice. People would be more hesitant to visit my blog to read tech related news as it was in my personal name.
Though I corrected the mistake and bought another domain name within a couple of months and moved my tech news to that domain, it was a costly mistake because I lost those readers I had generated in the first couple of months.
Along the way, I’ve made lots of friends across the blogosphere, thus coming to know people from various places which would have been impossible if I hadn’t taken up blogging. The reason I am writing this post is also because of a dear friend, Liz Strauss.
Mistakes, mistakes and more mistakes
The hardest part about blogging is that many people take it up just as a medium of making money and in the end earning nothing and losing a medium of communication. Many bloggers tend to get lazy if they are not making money because that’s the reason they took up blogging for. Many such blogs die a painful death, even if the blogger is an extremely good writer.One way I see many bloggers err is that they sometimes just write for the sake of writing completely unaware that what they write is being communicated to their readers. I have come across blogs where the title is good but the English is horrible or at times, the whole thing is horrible. I have had to use the close button the moment I have read the first paragraph because if I don’t understand what I am reading, what’s the point in reading it?
It’s ironic how people assume others to interpret things when they cannot understand it. Communication using blogs has to be good if not perfect. Though there are many blogs that are very good, there are far too many that are very bad.
Many bloggers do not realize that content is king and if they have good content people will definitely want to come to their site. Once the blog is successful, money will also follow.
The other thing is that there are far too many duplicate posts being created. What I read on one blog will be a copy of what I read in another blog a few hours ago without much effort made to write the post in their words.
If there is a major release by a company like Google many posts have the same content, though it is bound to happen, some effort should be made by the author so that the information being passed through the blog is in his own words, something that makes a user read it again even after the information he has already devoured.
Many a times a flaw found in software gets more attention than the software itself, so if the blog is about software, rather than writing about the software, it could be more useful to use it and find out its features and limitations and write a post about that.I had an experience when Google Calendar was released, many people wrote about it being released. I took the time to use the software and found out that it did not work in IE7 passing back that information to my users through the blog. It made a lot of sense for me to do that, unfortunately not many bloggers do that.
Another thing is many bloggers do a lot of SEO for their sites. They tend to write posts for search engines not humans. Few succeed but many more wither away.
Lack of original posts and ideas
Another thing about many of the blogs I’ve seen is the lack of originality in the articles, most of the blog posts are news picked up from the blogosphere or new software releases which is bound to duplicate, though that’s not bad as not all readers are aware of all the things at times so imparting that information is not bad, but writing an original post is a must, which many bloggers tend not to do.
I like to read articles from Digital Inspiration as it posts original articles. LifeHacker is pioneer of original articles and I love reading those along with CyberNet Technology News.
I have made a few posts which are original and help users solve problems or add value to their computers. Whenever I have solved a problem which I cannot resolve using search engines, I make a blog post out of it so that my readers can benefit from them. Few articles were related to un-installing Media Player 11 when it was in beta stage (I get about 200 visitors from Google for this), mounting box.net in windows explorer, fixing Firefox search box problem etc.
Making such original posts regularly increases the value of the blog and keeps readers coming in from various search engines even months after you have written a post, since it is more likely to turn up in search results.
Also most of the new trends that pick up in the blogosphere make its way into Indian blog sites rather than the other way around. Contribution to the blogosphere by writing articles is a great thing but we need to also contribute with more trends that are used by others. A recent trend was that of guest writing which picked up a lot of momentum in the last couple of months.
That’s a definite sore point missing in the Indian blogosphere.
Abuse and Misuse
Many new bloggers abuse the blogosphere to get more traffic. A couple of things I have noticed is that many new bloggers comment on better rated blogs which will be read by a lot of people as a way to get traffic. This is a menace and cannot be identified as lots of comments relate to the topics.
Another thing I have seen is that many bloggers post their own content to sites like Digg and Reddit using different identities and getting a meager amount of traffic but in the process losing credibility in front of thousands of people and also misusing a system to generate traffic.
I have seen literally every new article from many new sites in the upcoming pages of Digg. This is what irks me as many new bloggers use this platform to build their sites which is not wrong but in doing this they lose many a readers and may really not have a chance to be on the Digg home page even if they write a very good article.
Lack of Information
When I started blogging there was not much information I could make use of, but today there are loads and loads of sites where you can get information about blogging. ProBlogger is the best place to start from. No one could be better than Liz Strauss to learn about having a relationship with the blogger. She is also the reason I am writing this post today.There are many more things that come up as problems with blogging in India. Internet bandwidth is a costly affair in India and thus writing articles, gathering information about software, downloading and using them has to be done carefully.Technical Difficulties
Many ISPs in India provide users with a cap of 1 GB download per month and charge per MB for any additional downloads. This limits the researching capability as many users will be blissfully aware of their remaining bandwidth. Though there are unlimited data packages, those are during odd hours when half of the people are asleep.
Finding a good hosting solution is also quite a pain, many hosting providers charge a princely sum for a meager 20MB of web space, which usually deters a user from having their own blogs. Even in these there are bandwidth caps which further add up to the cos, a couple of Digg front page hits and the blog is paying thousands of rupees as bandwidth charges. I host my blog on Dreamhost which is a very reliable and provides me with unlimited bandwidth, etc.
Many users look for free blogging platforms like Blogger, but look at the content - more than 50% of bloggers host crap and a very large amount of those sites are created by Indian bloggers. Most of the blogs that have a personal domain turn out to be pretty good.
Future Looks Good
Today blogging in India is big and most big media companies like Rediff, NDTV, CNNIBN are pushing the blogging platform to the users and making them more aware of it. Newspapers like Mumbai Mirror are also publishing snippets from around the blogosphere on a given current topic.
The exposure has definitely reached great heights, but the quality has yet to do the same thing. I find significantly less bloggers in India whom I prefer to read in my RSS reader. Hopefully along with the exposure the quality will improve too.Unfortunately at the time when I started blogging, I did not have the luxuries of knowing more about blogging other than the money making part. That mistake caused me to lose an opportunity to create a great niche and even more revenue at this stage of my blogging.
But I am starting all over again, I got a well deserved break that allowed me to think over and plan what I need to do. Now that I am in the US, it will allow me give more time towards blogging, which I love. Hopefully I will keep up the trend of writing more original posts.
Learning Blogging
Sharing Wisdom of Today's Expert Blogging for Tomorrow's Blogger.
April 2007 Learn More
What is this thing called a blog anyway? A Perspective from India -By Keith Dsouza
April 28th, 2007
Expert: Keith Dsouza, Techie Buzz
About the Expert
Keith Dsouza is owner of Techie Buzz, a blog about technology, computers and software. A Software Engineer by profession, Keith started blogging as a hobby after discovering the power writing has in other successful blogs.
Keith’s aim at blogging is to spread the news about the latest technology and keep it as simple as it gets, review beta and alpha software, give information to users about how they can use this software and what the good and bad features are and occasionally write some tutorials and personal views on tweaking software, fixing errors and some tips for better usability experience. Chitika is pleased to share Keith’s perspectives on blogging in India.
Blogging in India did not build up much momentum until the last couple of years. Till then, blogging was a medium used by a select few people who were already aware of it. Even though I had a passion for writing, taking up blogging took a longer time for me as I was not aware of it even though I used the Internet on a daily basis.
It was when one of my friends came up with this topic of blogs that I realized what blogging was. The first thing I learned about blogging from my friend was that he made money every month from his blogs and how many hits he got from Google.This was the biggest mistake of my blogging experience, thinking of a blog as a money making tool rather than a medium of communication with countless numbers of people who I have never met or known.
But within a few months, I liked blogging and so money went down to second rank on my list. I did make my first 100$ after 6 months of blogging, but that was just the icing on the cake, because within six months I had started enjoying blogging so much that I was finally hooked on it. I went from owing one domain to owning two in the first 3 months itself.
I have made quite a few mistakes in my blogging career. I didn’t follow a niche and wrote just about everything on the same blog. I write more about technology so mixing a personal blog with technology didn’t turn out to be the right choice. People would be more hesitant to visit my blog to read tech related news as it was in my personal name.
Though I corrected the mistake and bought another domain name within a couple of months and moved my tech news to that domain, it was a costly mistake because I lost those readers I had generated in the first couple of months.
Along the way, I’ve made lots of friends across the blogosphere, thus coming to know people from various places which would have been impossible if I hadn’t taken up blogging. The reason I am writing this post is also because of a dear friend, Liz Strauss.
Mistakes, mistakes and more mistakes
The hardest part about blogging is that many people take it up just as a medium of making money and in the end earning nothing and losing a medium of communication. Many bloggers tend to get lazy if they are not making money because that’s the reason they took up blogging for. Many such blogs die a painful death, even if the blogger is an extremely good writer.One way I see many bloggers err is that they sometimes just write for the sake of writing completely unaware that what they write is being communicated to their readers. I have come across blogs where the title is good but the English is horrible or at times, the whole thing is horrible. I have had to use the close button the moment I have read the first paragraph because if I don’t understand what I am reading, what’s the point in reading it?
It’s ironic how people assume others to interpret things when they cannot understand it. Communication using blogs has to be good if not perfect. Though there are many blogs that are very good, there are far too many that are very bad.
Many bloggers do not realize that content is king and if they have good content people will definitely want to come to their site. Once the blog is successful, money will also follow.
The other thing is that there are far too many duplicate posts being created. What I read on one blog will be a copy of what I read in another blog a few hours ago without much effort made to write the post in their words.
If there is a major release by a company like Google many posts have the same content, though it is bound to happen, some effort should be made by the author so that the information being passed through the blog is in his own words, something that makes a user read it again even after the information he has already devoured.
Many a times a flaw found in software gets more attention than the software itself, so if the blog is about software, rather than writing about the software, it could be more useful to use it and find out its features and limitations and write a post about that.I had an experience when Google Calendar was released, many people wrote about it being released. I took the time to use the software and found out that it did not work in IE7 passing back that information to my users through the blog. It made a lot of sense for me to do that, unfortunately not many bloggers do that.
Another thing is many bloggers do a lot of SEO for their sites. They tend to write posts for search engines not humans. Few succeed but many more wither away.
Lack of original posts and ideas
Another thing about many of the blogs I’ve seen is the lack of originality in the articles, most of the blog posts are news picked up from the blogosphere or new software releases which is bound to duplicate, though that’s not bad as not all readers are aware of all the things at times so imparting that information is not bad, but writing an original post is a must, which many bloggers tend not to do.
I like to read articles from Digital Inspiration as it posts original articles. LifeHacker is pioneer of original articles and I love reading those along with CyberNet Technology News.
I have made a few posts which are original and help users solve problems or add value to their computers. Whenever I have solved a problem which I cannot resolve using search engines, I make a blog post out of it so that my readers can benefit from them. Few articles were related to un-installing Media Player 11 when it was in beta stage (I get about 200 visitors from Google for this), mounting box.net in windows explorer, fixing Firefox search box problem etc.
Making such original posts regularly increases the value of the blog and keeps readers coming in from various search engines even months after you have written a post, since it is more likely to turn up in search results.
Also most of the new trends that pick up in the blogosphere make its way into Indian blog sites rather than the other way around. Contribution to the blogosphere by writing articles is a great thing but we need to also contribute with more trends that are used by others. A recent trend was that of guest writing which picked up a lot of momentum in the last couple of months.
That’s a definite sore point missing in the Indian blogosphere.
Abuse and Misuse
Many new bloggers abuse the blogosphere to get more traffic. A couple of things I have noticed is that many new bloggers comment on better rated blogs which will be read by a lot of people as a way to get traffic. This is a menace and cannot be identified as lots of comments relate to the topics.
Another thing I have seen is that many bloggers post their own content to sites like Digg and Reddit using different identities and getting a meager amount of traffic but in the process losing credibility in front of thousands of people and also misusing a system to generate traffic.
I have seen literally every new article from many new sites in the upcoming pages of Digg. This is what irks me as many new bloggers use this platform to build their sites which is not wrong but in doing this they lose many a readers and may really not have a chance to be on the Digg home page even if they write a very good article.
Lack of Information
When I started blogging there was not much information I could make use of, but today there are loads and loads of sites where you can get information about blogging. ProBlogger is the best place to start from. No one could be better than Liz Strauss to learn about having a relationship with the blogger. She is also the reason I am writing this post today.There are many more things that come up as problems with blogging in India. Internet bandwidth is a costly affair in India and thus writing articles, gathering information about software, downloading and using them has to be done carefully.Technical Difficulties
Many ISPs in India provide users with a cap of 1 GB download per month and charge per MB for any additional downloads. This limits the researching capability as many users will be blissfully aware of their remaining bandwidth. Though there are unlimited data packages, those are during odd hours when half of the people are asleep.
Finding a good hosting solution is also quite a pain, many hosting providers charge a princely sum for a meager 20MB of web space, which usually deters a user from having their own blogs. Even in these there are bandwidth caps which further add up to the cos, a couple of Digg front page hits and the blog is paying thousands of rupees as bandwidth charges. I host my blog on Dreamhost which is a very reliable and provides me with unlimited bandwidth, etc.
Many users look for free blogging platforms like Blogger, but look at the content - more than 50% of bloggers host crap and a very large amount of those sites are created by Indian bloggers. Most of the blogs that have a personal domain turn out to be pretty good.
Future Looks Good
Today blogging in India is big and most big media companies like Rediff, NDTV, CNNIBN are pushing the blogging platform to the users and making them more aware of it. Newspapers like Mumbai Mirror are also publishing snippets from around the blogosphere on a given current topic.
The exposure has definitely reached great heights, but the quality has yet to do the same thing. I find significantly less bloggers in India whom I prefer to read in my RSS reader. Hopefully along with the exposure the quality will improve too.Unfortunately at the time when I started blogging, I did not have the luxuries of knowing more about blogging other than the money making part. That mistake caused me to lose an opportunity to create a great niche and even more revenue at this stage of my blogging.
But I am starting all over again, I got a well deserved break that allowed me to think over and plan what I need to do. Now that I am in the US, it will allow me give more time towards blogging, which I love. Hopefully I will keep up the trend of writing more original posts.
NDTV.com
Gujarat Police Criminals
NDTV.com
NDTV Correspondent
Saturday, April 28, 2007 (Ilol)
Journalists were attacked by the supporters of DIG Vanjara, the main accused in Gujarat fake encounter case when they had gone visiting his native village ilol.CID was expected to reach there in connection with the probe on Kauser Bibi, wife of the Sohrabuddin who was killed in a fake encounter in 2005.Kauser Bi had also gone missing since 2005 and on Friday, government of Gujrat had told the Supreme Court that she too may have been killed by the police.Meanwhile MPs on Saturday staged a protest outside the Parliament demanding a federal enquiry into the case involving three IPS officers.
NDTV.com
NDTV Correspondent
Saturday, April 28, 2007 (Ilol)
Journalists were attacked by the supporters of DIG Vanjara, the main accused in Gujarat fake encounter case when they had gone visiting his native village ilol.CID was expected to reach there in connection with the probe on Kauser Bibi, wife of the Sohrabuddin who was killed in a fake encounter in 2005.Kauser Bi had also gone missing since 2005 and on Friday, government of Gujrat had told the Supreme Court that she too may have been killed by the police.Meanwhile MPs on Saturday staged a protest outside the Parliament demanding a federal enquiry into the case involving three IPS officers.
NDTV.com
India's Rape Police
NDTV.com
Shailendra Mohan, Ali Reza
Saturday, April 28, 2007 (Aurangabad)
Two days after a 15-year-old girl told the police that she had been raped by atleast four policemen, no arrests have been made.Though it's been 48 hours since the girl registered her complaint, the policemen, including Bhaskar Palve, assistant commissioner of police in Aurangabad, who were named by the minor girl, are said to be missing.''By running away they have defeated their own purpose. Their behaviour is suspicious and we are investigating,'' said Eknath Budhwant, ACP, Aurangabad.''We will take action and nobody will be spared,'' said P S Pasricha, DGP, Mumbai.On Tuesday, accusations of a minor's rape by policemen rocked Aurangabad. In her statement, the 15-year-old claimed that she had run away from home and reached Aurangabad.She was allegedly molested by four men in a bar. After an eyewiness complained, she was rescued by the police.But the girl said after her medical check that she had been raped by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the three policemen who had rescued her earlier.''I have a copy of the girl's testimony. We won't allow the police to slacken on this case,'' said Mangal Khimsara, Activist.To save face, the police is now blaming the media for flashing out the names of the accused cops, giving them them time to run away.
NDTV.com
Shailendra Mohan, Ali Reza
Saturday, April 28, 2007 (Aurangabad)
Two days after a 15-year-old girl told the police that she had been raped by atleast four policemen, no arrests have been made.Though it's been 48 hours since the girl registered her complaint, the policemen, including Bhaskar Palve, assistant commissioner of police in Aurangabad, who were named by the minor girl, are said to be missing.''By running away they have defeated their own purpose. Their behaviour is suspicious and we are investigating,'' said Eknath Budhwant, ACP, Aurangabad.''We will take action and nobody will be spared,'' said P S Pasricha, DGP, Mumbai.On Tuesday, accusations of a minor's rape by policemen rocked Aurangabad. In her statement, the 15-year-old claimed that she had run away from home and reached Aurangabad.She was allegedly molested by four men in a bar. After an eyewiness complained, she was rescued by the police.But the girl said after her medical check that she had been raped by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the three policemen who had rescued her earlier.''I have a copy of the girl's testimony. We won't allow the police to slacken on this case,'' said Mangal Khimsara, Activist.To save face, the police is now blaming the media for flashing out the names of the accused cops, giving them them time to run away.
Narendra will be jailed in two days - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
Human Trafficking MPs MLAs Practice New Trade
Narendra will be jailed in two days - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
Narendra will be jailed in two days
DH News Service Hyderabad:
The human trafficking issue continues to rock the Telangana Rashtra Samiti with its chief K Chandraskhekhar Rao taking on the suspended number 2 of the party, A Narendra, Lok Sabha member.
The human trafficking issue continues to rock the Telangana Rashtra Samiti with its chief K Chandraskhekhar Rao taking on the suspended number 2 of the party, A Narendra, Lok Sabha member.KCR on Friday charged Narendra whom he suspended on Thursday following his alleged involvement in human trafficking case, with being a “criminal” and said he would be jailed in two days’ time.“He has betrayed the country. It is unpardonable,” he said in an interview to the media on Friday. On Thursday, hours after being suspended, Narendra who represents Medak in the Lok Sabha, alleged that KCR’s underhand dealings with human traffickers and other racketeers were “well-known.”
‘Deals’He called him a “drunkard” who sold Assembly and Parliament tickets and made “deals” with Opposition parties for crores of rupees. Narendra admitted to taking and keeping with him for several months passports of two party MPs. He, however, said he did not know they had visa stampings for three countries.In turn, KCR called Narendra a “liar” and explained that the party had decided to suspend him only after verifying with the police that he was involved “neck-deep” in the human trafficking case. “A senior police officer told me that it is a matter of days before Narendra is arrested. This left me with no option but to suspend him. How can I share the dais on such an important occasion with a man who has committed an unpardonable crime,” he asked.He was referring to the celebrations in Warangal of the TRS completing five years that took off on Friday. KCR said he would file a suit of defamation against Narendra for alleging that he had taken Rs 50 lakhs from a Delhi businessman for a Rajya Sabha seat. The CA-turned MP Mehrotra has denied the allegation as “absolutely false”. Mr Mehrotra whom Narendra referred to as Malhotra is a member of the Central Board of Trustes of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation which is under the Labour Ministry and as the Union Labour Minister, KCR was its chairman.Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said that public representatives involved in human trafficking should be disqualified and debarred from public life permanently. “They should be prosecuted and punished immediately,” he said. Referring to reports that MLAs and MPs from across the political spectrum were involved, he said he would not hesitate to expel such persons if they were found in his party.“This is an extremely painful development. Is politics meant for such things? I feel ashamed,” he said here on Friday.
Narendra will be jailed in two days - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
Narendra will be jailed in two days
DH News Service Hyderabad:
The human trafficking issue continues to rock the Telangana Rashtra Samiti with its chief K Chandraskhekhar Rao taking on the suspended number 2 of the party, A Narendra, Lok Sabha member.
The human trafficking issue continues to rock the Telangana Rashtra Samiti with its chief K Chandraskhekhar Rao taking on the suspended number 2 of the party, A Narendra, Lok Sabha member.KCR on Friday charged Narendra whom he suspended on Thursday following his alleged involvement in human trafficking case, with being a “criminal” and said he would be jailed in two days’ time.“He has betrayed the country. It is unpardonable,” he said in an interview to the media on Friday. On Thursday, hours after being suspended, Narendra who represents Medak in the Lok Sabha, alleged that KCR’s underhand dealings with human traffickers and other racketeers were “well-known.”
‘Deals’He called him a “drunkard” who sold Assembly and Parliament tickets and made “deals” with Opposition parties for crores of rupees. Narendra admitted to taking and keeping with him for several months passports of two party MPs. He, however, said he did not know they had visa stampings for three countries.In turn, KCR called Narendra a “liar” and explained that the party had decided to suspend him only after verifying with the police that he was involved “neck-deep” in the human trafficking case. “A senior police officer told me that it is a matter of days before Narendra is arrested. This left me with no option but to suspend him. How can I share the dais on such an important occasion with a man who has committed an unpardonable crime,” he asked.He was referring to the celebrations in Warangal of the TRS completing five years that took off on Friday. KCR said he would file a suit of defamation against Narendra for alleging that he had taken Rs 50 lakhs from a Delhi businessman for a Rajya Sabha seat. The CA-turned MP Mehrotra has denied the allegation as “absolutely false”. Mr Mehrotra whom Narendra referred to as Malhotra is a member of the Central Board of Trustes of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation which is under the Labour Ministry and as the Union Labour Minister, KCR was its chairman.Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said that public representatives involved in human trafficking should be disqualified and debarred from public life permanently. “They should be prosecuted and punished immediately,” he said. Referring to reports that MLAs and MPs from across the political spectrum were involved, he said he would not hesitate to expel such persons if they were found in his party.“This is an extremely painful development. Is politics meant for such things? I feel ashamed,” he said here on Friday.
Web 2.0: Wired to the world
Wonder that is Web
Web 2.0: Wired to the world
Is the new Web a bigger bang?Posted by Tejas Patel on 26.4.2007
Have you ever thought about the difference between using the Internet in the late 1990s and in 2007? The most important and revolutionary change that has come about on the net is the gradual rise of a new collaborative Web. This new Web environment has so become a part of our daily lives that the Time magazine named its Person of the Year for 2006 as 'You'. The decision was based keeping in mind the role played by this phenomenon in changing the way people use the Internet. According to the magazine: "The story of 2006 was a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the people's network YouTube and the online metrolpolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."A number of definitions are being put forward to explain this growing phenomenon. The most widely used explanation of the concept was given by O'Reilly Media in 2004, who termed it as Web 2.0.According to it, Web 2.0 refers to second-generation of web-based services - social networking sites, wikis, blogs, User Generated Content (UGC) - that accentuate online collaboration and sharing among users. It is an arena where the web is a dominant platform compared to the desktop.
Illustrative Web 2.0 Meme MapCollaborative platformWhat actually has changed in last few years? In the past, the Internet was primarily a platform for one-way interaction where people used to get information or services by going online. But now Internet users are engaged in a two-way collaborative platform with an amazing array of web services like tagging, blogging, vodcasting, podcasting, and social networking among others. In the words of Tim O'Reilly, Web 2.0 is based on social software where the users not just consume the content but generate it. Technically, Web 2.0 has ensured the replacement of the personal computer as a platform by the net. Now a host of services like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and many others are available on the internet and users don't need to install costly softwares on their PCs. They can directly use these tools on the net and save their work there itself.Growing trendNow, what exactly is a Web 2.0 website and how does it affect the lives of millions logging onto the net. So, for all those who have little or no clue about this new concept, here's a list of some of the sites and services.
There are hundreds of Web 2.0 websites that are catering to the increasing appetite of the online community. According to a business report, more than 1000 Web 2.0 companies were started in Silicon Valley last year.The rise of this new Web can be attributed to the need for a more collaborative platform. The web pages on the original web were too static and there was no way a user could have contributed or customized them the way he wanted.User primacyBut Web 2.0 is a different ballgame. Now Internet users can contribute and create all types of content - from text (www.wikipedia.org) to pictures (www.photobucket.com) to videos (www.muvee.com) to personal information (www.hi5.com) to open source software (www.openoffice.org).There are also a variety of innovative and rich Web 2.0 applications that are being used by youngsters, students and almost all who seek knowledge. The most prominent among them being Nuvvo (www.nuvvo.com), Schoolr (www.schoolr.com), Learn Without Limits (www.learnwithoutlimits.com), and Qunu (www.qunu.com). Another reason for the immense popularity of the Web 2.0 concept is the continuous rise in the number of Internet users. On the other hand, doubts have also been raised about the reach and low user involvement of Web 2.0 sites. According to a study by US Internet firm Hitwise, only 0.16 per cent of visits on YouTube by users are to seek to upload video for others to watch. Also, only two-tenths of one per cent of visits to Flickr are to upload new photos. But despite low user involvement it can be said that the new collaborative Web has certainly changed the lives of Internet users.Web 2.0, seen by many as a confluence of technology, people, and their attitudes, has changed the way we think and use the Internet.
Web 2.0: Wired to the world
Is the new Web a bigger bang?Posted by Tejas Patel on 26.4.2007
Have you ever thought about the difference between using the Internet in the late 1990s and in 2007? The most important and revolutionary change that has come about on the net is the gradual rise of a new collaborative Web. This new Web environment has so become a part of our daily lives that the Time magazine named its Person of the Year for 2006 as 'You'. The decision was based keeping in mind the role played by this phenomenon in changing the way people use the Internet. According to the magazine: "The story of 2006 was a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the people's network YouTube and the online metrolpolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."A number of definitions are being put forward to explain this growing phenomenon. The most widely used explanation of the concept was given by O'Reilly Media in 2004, who termed it as Web 2.0.According to it, Web 2.0 refers to second-generation of web-based services - social networking sites, wikis, blogs, User Generated Content (UGC) - that accentuate online collaboration and sharing among users. It is an arena where the web is a dominant platform compared to the desktop.
Illustrative Web 2.0 Meme MapCollaborative platformWhat actually has changed in last few years? In the past, the Internet was primarily a platform for one-way interaction where people used to get information or services by going online. But now Internet users are engaged in a two-way collaborative platform with an amazing array of web services like tagging, blogging, vodcasting, podcasting, and social networking among others. In the words of Tim O'Reilly, Web 2.0 is based on social software where the users not just consume the content but generate it. Technically, Web 2.0 has ensured the replacement of the personal computer as a platform by the net. Now a host of services like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and many others are available on the internet and users don't need to install costly softwares on their PCs. They can directly use these tools on the net and save their work there itself.Growing trendNow, what exactly is a Web 2.0 website and how does it affect the lives of millions logging onto the net. So, for all those who have little or no clue about this new concept, here's a list of some of the sites and services.
There are hundreds of Web 2.0 websites that are catering to the increasing appetite of the online community. According to a business report, more than 1000 Web 2.0 companies were started in Silicon Valley last year.The rise of this new Web can be attributed to the need for a more collaborative platform. The web pages on the original web were too static and there was no way a user could have contributed or customized them the way he wanted.User primacyBut Web 2.0 is a different ballgame. Now Internet users can contribute and create all types of content - from text (www.wikipedia.org) to pictures (www.photobucket.com) to videos (www.muvee.com) to personal information (www.hi5.com) to open source software (www.openoffice.org).There are also a variety of innovative and rich Web 2.0 applications that are being used by youngsters, students and almost all who seek knowledge. The most prominent among them being Nuvvo (www.nuvvo.com), Schoolr (www.schoolr.com), Learn Without Limits (www.learnwithoutlimits.com), and Qunu (www.qunu.com). Another reason for the immense popularity of the Web 2.0 concept is the continuous rise in the number of Internet users. On the other hand, doubts have also been raised about the reach and low user involvement of Web 2.0 sites. According to a study by US Internet firm Hitwise, only 0.16 per cent of visits on YouTube by users are to seek to upload video for others to watch. Also, only two-tenths of one per cent of visits to Flickr are to upload new photos. But despite low user involvement it can be said that the new collaborative Web has certainly changed the lives of Internet users.Web 2.0, seen by many as a confluence of technology, people, and their attitudes, has changed the way we think and use the Internet.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Now desi Viagra to increase sperm count - Sify.com
Now desi Viagra to increase sperm count - Sify.com
PTI
Now desi Viagra to increase sperm count
Deepti Saxena in Dehra Dun Friday, 27 April , 2007, 11:53
This aphrodisiac may give Pfizer's Viagra a run for its money following successful clinical tests.
A government enterprise in Kerala has claimed it would soon produce a desi viagra which can also increase libido as well as male sperm count.
For more visual treat click here>> For more Science and Technology news click here >>
The Thrissur-based Pharmaceutical Corporation Kerala Limited, the largest government Ayurvedic medicines producer in India, would shortly lauh "Vigour Plus" having all the qualities of vitality, said its Chief Executive Officer H Nagesh Prabhu.
The company, having a turnover of Rs 20 crore and popularly known as Oushadhi, is an ayurvedic medicines manufacturing company fully owned by the Kerala government.
After successful clinical tests, the new medicine is undergoing R and D tests which are in final stages, said Prabhu. The new Viagra comprises three main ingredients sarpgandha, a herb found in Garwhal Himalayas and two other herbs -- Vayalchulli and Atamagupta.
Pointing out that other aphrodisiac medicines have side-effects, Prabhu said the new herb would considerably increase sperm counts. "There has been widespread concern over the fast decline in sperm counts among males. So our new medicine would be a revolutionary step in this regard," claimed Prabhu on the sidelines of a health fair here.
The Centre recently released Rs two crore to the company for improving the quality control and other R and D facilities.
The company has already produced 450 ayurvedic formulations including 17 patent medicines.
The company has set up a stall at Arogya 2007, a health fair jointly organized by FICCI, Union Ministry of Health and Uttarakhand government, where it is displaying a host of products.
For more visual treat click here>> For more Science and Technology news click here >>
Originated as Sree Kerala Varma, the government ayurvedic pharmacy was set up in 1941 at the instance of the late Maharaja of Cochin for supplying medicines to government hospitals in Thrissur and erstwhile princely family of Cochin estate. After independence, the Kerala government took the company under its control.
PTI
Now desi Viagra to increase sperm count
Deepti Saxena in Dehra Dun Friday, 27 April , 2007, 11:53
This aphrodisiac may give Pfizer's Viagra a run for its money following successful clinical tests.
A government enterprise in Kerala has claimed it would soon produce a desi viagra which can also increase libido as well as male sperm count.
For more visual treat click here>> For more Science and Technology news click here >>
The Thrissur-based Pharmaceutical Corporation Kerala Limited, the largest government Ayurvedic medicines producer in India, would shortly lauh "Vigour Plus" having all the qualities of vitality, said its Chief Executive Officer H Nagesh Prabhu.
The company, having a turnover of Rs 20 crore and popularly known as Oushadhi, is an ayurvedic medicines manufacturing company fully owned by the Kerala government.
After successful clinical tests, the new medicine is undergoing R and D tests which are in final stages, said Prabhu. The new Viagra comprises three main ingredients sarpgandha, a herb found in Garwhal Himalayas and two other herbs -- Vayalchulli and Atamagupta.
Pointing out that other aphrodisiac medicines have side-effects, Prabhu said the new herb would considerably increase sperm counts. "There has been widespread concern over the fast decline in sperm counts among males. So our new medicine would be a revolutionary step in this regard," claimed Prabhu on the sidelines of a health fair here.
The Centre recently released Rs two crore to the company for improving the quality control and other R and D facilities.
The company has already produced 450 ayurvedic formulations including 17 patent medicines.
The company has set up a stall at Arogya 2007, a health fair jointly organized by FICCI, Union Ministry of Health and Uttarakhand government, where it is displaying a host of products.
For more visual treat click here>> For more Science and Technology news click here >>
Originated as Sree Kerala Varma, the government ayurvedic pharmacy was set up in 1941 at the instance of the late Maharaja of Cochin for supplying medicines to government hospitals in Thrissur and erstwhile princely family of Cochin estate. After independence, the Kerala government took the company under its control.
Gere says "end the circus" over public kiss
Gere says "end the circus" over public kiss
Gere says "end the circus" over public kiss
Enlarge Photo
By Reuters
Friday April 27, 06:15 PM
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Asking the media "to end the circus", Hollywood star Richard Gere said on Friday that his kissing of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was due to his failure to understand local culture.
A Jaipur court, acting on a complaint by a local lawyer, described the kiss as an obscene act in public and ordered Gere's arrest. The kiss sparked sporadic protests in India.
Gere twirled Shetty in his arms, arched her over and kissed her several times on the cheek at an event in New Delhi last week to promote AIDS awareness among Indian truckers. Gere has since left India.
"My clumsy attempt at a 'Shall We Dance' dance move was a naive misread of Indian customs," Gere said in statement addressed to "my dear Indian friends" and issued by an AIDS charity he is associated with.
"To be honest, this recent media storm has taken me by complete surprise.
"End the circus around this episode," he said.
The 57-year-old "Pretty Woman" star's posters and straw effigies were burnt in protest in some parts of India, mostly by Hindu vigilante groups, who saw it as an outrage against Shetty's modesty and an affront to Indian culture.
Shetty, the winner of the "Celebrity Big Brother" reality TV show in Britain this year, had said the kiss may have gone a "little overboard" but it was not obscene and the protests made India look regressive.
Many commentators expressed unhappiness at what they said were fringe groups making a major issue out of a harmless peck on the cheek.
Gere said it was not his intention to offend anybody and described the charity event as an evening of celebrating courageous people associated with the fight against HIV/AIDS in India, which has the world's highest HIV caseload.
Although Gere, who also starred in "An Officer and a Gentleman", could face three months in jail or a fine or both for such an offence, he told a U.S. cable channel on Thursday that he did not know anyone who had gone to jail for something like this.
"Me kissing the girl on the cheek was nothing," Gere told cable channel Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" in New York where he was promoting his latest film, "The Hoax".
Gere, a devout Buddhist, visits India frequently to meet the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, and is a vocal supporter of the Tibetan cause as well as being involved with charities dealing with AIDS and orphans in the country.
Gere says "end the circus" over public kiss
Enlarge Photo
By Reuters
Friday April 27, 06:15 PM
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Asking the media "to end the circus", Hollywood star Richard Gere said on Friday that his kissing of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was due to his failure to understand local culture.
A Jaipur court, acting on a complaint by a local lawyer, described the kiss as an obscene act in public and ordered Gere's arrest. The kiss sparked sporadic protests in India.
Gere twirled Shetty in his arms, arched her over and kissed her several times on the cheek at an event in New Delhi last week to promote AIDS awareness among Indian truckers. Gere has since left India.
"My clumsy attempt at a 'Shall We Dance' dance move was a naive misread of Indian customs," Gere said in statement addressed to "my dear Indian friends" and issued by an AIDS charity he is associated with.
"To be honest, this recent media storm has taken me by complete surprise.
"End the circus around this episode," he said.
The 57-year-old "Pretty Woman" star's posters and straw effigies were burnt in protest in some parts of India, mostly by Hindu vigilante groups, who saw it as an outrage against Shetty's modesty and an affront to Indian culture.
Shetty, the winner of the "Celebrity Big Brother" reality TV show in Britain this year, had said the kiss may have gone a "little overboard" but it was not obscene and the protests made India look regressive.
Many commentators expressed unhappiness at what they said were fringe groups making a major issue out of a harmless peck on the cheek.
Gere said it was not his intention to offend anybody and described the charity event as an evening of celebrating courageous people associated with the fight against HIV/AIDS in India, which has the world's highest HIV caseload.
Although Gere, who also starred in "An Officer and a Gentleman", could face three months in jail or a fine or both for such an offence, he told a U.S. cable channel on Thursday that he did not know anyone who had gone to jail for something like this.
"Me kissing the girl on the cheek was nothing," Gere told cable channel Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" in New York where he was promoting his latest film, "The Hoax".
Gere, a devout Buddhist, visits India frequently to meet the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in northern India, and is a vocal supporter of the Tibetan cause as well as being involved with charities dealing with AIDS and orphans in the country.
Cops must have killed encounter victim's wife too: Gujarat
Cops must have killed encounter victim's wife too: Gujarat
Cops must have killed encounter victim's wife too: Gujarat
By IANS
Friday April 27, 04:37 PM
New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) The Gujarat government admitted in the Supreme Court Friday that the wife of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, victim of a staged shootout that has led to the arrest of three senior police officers, could have been killed too.
Acting on a Supreme Court directive, two officers from Gujarat and one from Rajasthan were arrested Tuesday for the murder of Sheikh in an engineered shooting in Ahmedabad in November 2005 after claiming that he was a terrorist with Lashkar-e-Taiba links and planned to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
In a damning disclosure, Gujarat government counsel told a bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee that there was a 'fair suspicion' of Kasuri Bi, missing since the couple's abduction by the police in November 2005, having been killed as well.
The counsel, K.T.S. Tulsi, made his statement during the hearing of a petition filed by Sheikh's brother Rubabuddin Sheikh, who sought a direction to the Gujarat government to produce Kasuri Bi before the court.
Apprehending that Kasuri Bi might have been killed by errant cops, Tulsi conceded before the court that the state government might not be able to produce her before the court.
The court adjourned the hearing till Monday saying that it would wait for the Gujarat government's report on the matter before passing its order on the habeas corpus petition.
The three senior police officers arrested this week for their alleged complicity in the crime are Inspector General (Border Range) D.G. Vanzara and Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajkumar Pandyan of Gujarat and Rajasthan officer M.N. Dinesh, who is Alwar SP.
The court had earlier this week asked both the union and the state governments to enquire into the matter and submit their reports to the court.
While the Gujarat government has failed to file any report till date, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam Thursday asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe as the police of more than one state were involved.
Attorney General Milon K. Banerjee Friday endorsed the recommendation and said that would be a constitutionally correct step.
Opposing the CBI probe, Tulsi told the court that the union 'government should not be allowed to play politics in criminal cases'.
He said the state had already taken action and three senior police officers had been arrested after painstaking investigations. He said he did not know why the attorney general 'was playing politics?'
Discounting the prospect of a CBI probe at the present juncture, the court observed: 'The state government was also conducting the inquiry and unless it felt that they are not doing it in proper manner, we cannot pass any order.'
As the Gujarat government counsel exchanged words with the attorney general, petitioner Rubabuddin Sheikh's lawyer said he was getting caught in a crossfire between the centre and the state.
He said the state government should be asked to submit to the court the four interim reports on the incident prepared by senior Gujarat IPS officer Gita Johari and that she should be included in the probe.
The court was informed that Johari had been removed from the investigation of the case and accepted the plea that the report prepared by her be produced before it.
Cops must have killed encounter victim's wife too: Gujarat
By IANS
Friday April 27, 04:37 PM
New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) The Gujarat government admitted in the Supreme Court Friday that the wife of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, victim of a staged shootout that has led to the arrest of three senior police officers, could have been killed too.
Acting on a Supreme Court directive, two officers from Gujarat and one from Rajasthan were arrested Tuesday for the murder of Sheikh in an engineered shooting in Ahmedabad in November 2005 after claiming that he was a terrorist with Lashkar-e-Taiba links and planned to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
In a damning disclosure, Gujarat government counsel told a bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee that there was a 'fair suspicion' of Kasuri Bi, missing since the couple's abduction by the police in November 2005, having been killed as well.
The counsel, K.T.S. Tulsi, made his statement during the hearing of a petition filed by Sheikh's brother Rubabuddin Sheikh, who sought a direction to the Gujarat government to produce Kasuri Bi before the court.
Apprehending that Kasuri Bi might have been killed by errant cops, Tulsi conceded before the court that the state government might not be able to produce her before the court.
The court adjourned the hearing till Monday saying that it would wait for the Gujarat government's report on the matter before passing its order on the habeas corpus petition.
The three senior police officers arrested this week for their alleged complicity in the crime are Inspector General (Border Range) D.G. Vanzara and Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajkumar Pandyan of Gujarat and Rajasthan officer M.N. Dinesh, who is Alwar SP.
The court had earlier this week asked both the union and the state governments to enquire into the matter and submit their reports to the court.
While the Gujarat government has failed to file any report till date, Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam Thursday asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe as the police of more than one state were involved.
Attorney General Milon K. Banerjee Friday endorsed the recommendation and said that would be a constitutionally correct step.
Opposing the CBI probe, Tulsi told the court that the union 'government should not be allowed to play politics in criminal cases'.
He said the state had already taken action and three senior police officers had been arrested after painstaking investigations. He said he did not know why the attorney general 'was playing politics?'
Discounting the prospect of a CBI probe at the present juncture, the court observed: 'The state government was also conducting the inquiry and unless it felt that they are not doing it in proper manner, we cannot pass any order.'
As the Gujarat government counsel exchanged words with the attorney general, petitioner Rubabuddin Sheikh's lawyer said he was getting caught in a crossfire between the centre and the state.
He said the state government should be asked to submit to the court the four interim reports on the incident prepared by senior Gujarat IPS officer Gita Johari and that she should be included in the probe.
The court was informed that Johari had been removed from the investigation of the case and accepted the plea that the report prepared by her be produced before it.
Trinamool member's remark over Nandigram angers CPI-M MPs
Trinamool member's remark over Nandigram angers CPI-M MPs
Trinamool member's remark over Nandigram angers CPI-M MPs
By ANI
Friday April 27, 06:44 PM
New Delhi, Apr 27 (ANI): A remark by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Member Dinesh Trivedi over the West Bengal Government's handling of Nandigram and Singur issues led to protest from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MPs in the Upper House today.
While getting a reply to a supplementary question on the adverse impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) during the question hour, Trivedi said "a day is going to come when farmers will revolt".
When asked about the incident, Trivedi told ANI: "During a reply (given by a Minister) to a question on the reduction of cultivatable land, I said the farmers would take definitely take revenge."
"Today they are committing suicide, tomorrow they would come ahead to kill you," he added.
He said that the Centre have data of decrease in agrarian land up to the year 2005. He added that the government says that it is a subject of the State list while on the other hand the Centre itself passes the SEZs.
Revolutionary Socialist Party Rajya Sabha Member Aboni Roy said: "The CPI-M members protested against the statement made by Trivedi but all left parties did not join them in their protest."
Earlier in the day, while intervening in the verbal fight between them, Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat asked CPI-M MPs not to react to Trivedi's remarks.
"Don't get irritated, otherwise Nandigram will be a problem for you", Shekhawat told them in vain. (ANI)
Trinamool member's remark over Nandigram angers CPI-M MPs
By ANI
Friday April 27, 06:44 PM
New Delhi, Apr 27 (ANI): A remark by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Member Dinesh Trivedi over the West Bengal Government's handling of Nandigram and Singur issues led to protest from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MPs in the Upper House today.
While getting a reply to a supplementary question on the adverse impact of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) during the question hour, Trivedi said "a day is going to come when farmers will revolt".
When asked about the incident, Trivedi told ANI: "During a reply (given by a Minister) to a question on the reduction of cultivatable land, I said the farmers would take definitely take revenge."
"Today they are committing suicide, tomorrow they would come ahead to kill you," he added.
He said that the Centre have data of decrease in agrarian land up to the year 2005. He added that the government says that it is a subject of the State list while on the other hand the Centre itself passes the SEZs.
Revolutionary Socialist Party Rajya Sabha Member Aboni Roy said: "The CPI-M members protested against the statement made by Trivedi but all left parties did not join them in their protest."
Earlier in the day, while intervening in the verbal fight between them, Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat asked CPI-M MPs not to react to Trivedi's remarks.
"Don't get irritated, otherwise Nandigram will be a problem for you", Shekhawat told them in vain. (ANI)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Plant vault passes billion mark
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Plant vault passes billion mark
Plant vault passes billion mark
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website
The Millennium Seed Bank already contains 18,000 species
Britain's "Noah's Ark" for plants has just collected its billionth seed.
The Millennium Seed Bank will present the seed, from an African bamboo, to Chancellor Gordon Brown, as it seeks funds to continue operating after 2010.
Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew, the bank already stores material from 18,000 species, some of which have become extinct in the wild.
Seed banks are seen as an essential part of plans to curb the rapid loss of biodiversity, in Britain and worldwide.
If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that
Paul Smith
By 2010, Kew plans to have amassed seeds from 30,000 species, representing 10% of the world's plants.
"Now we're starting to think about where we go beyond 2010," the project's head Paul Smith told the BBC News website.
"And we want to get to 25% of species stored away by 2020. If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that."
Dry world
Seeds are collected by Kew's partner organisations around the world and sent to the RBG site at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
Seeds for the bank are collected all over the world
They come from all over the globe, although British varieties are particularly well represented, with seeds from 88% of its native flora sequestered away.
Most of the seeds can be preserved by careful drying, after which they are stored at minus 20C. A few need more specialised, tailor-made treatment.
Some will last like this for millennia, others for decades; these will be planted and germinated before their expiry date comes up, and the seed of their offspring collected and stored anew.
But the idea is not to hide them away for ever. Where species have gone extinct, or are teetering on the edge, Kew's stores are used to replenish wild populations.
One British example is strapwort (Corrigiola litoralis), a critically endangered native of southwest England now found on only one nature reserve, which Kew's stocks are helping to keep alive.
Minimum investment
The billionth seed comes from the African bamboo species Oxytenanthera abyssinica, a plant used in Mali and other West African countries for building, furniture, and wine-making.
Gift for Gordon
Enlarge Image
Its presentation to Mr Brown is aimed at persuading the Chancellor and prospective Prime Minister to continue funding the Millennium Seed Bank after 2010.
It is a key year in conservation, marking the target date by which, under the UN biodiversity convention, the world's governments are pledged to have halted and begun to reverse the seemingly inexorable biodiversity decline.
"Scientists are always asking for money," conceded Dr Smith. "But what makes us different is that we have a proven methodology here, we have the network and we know how to do what we do.
"This costs about £2,000 ($4,000) per species; so to collect a quarter of what's out there would cost about £100m ($200m).
"With threats not only from climate change but also deforestation, changes in land use and so on, seed-banking is the bare minimum."
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Plant vault passes billion mark
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website
The Millennium Seed Bank already contains 18,000 species
Britain's "Noah's Ark" for plants has just collected its billionth seed.
The Millennium Seed Bank will present the seed, from an African bamboo, to Chancellor Gordon Brown, as it seeks funds to continue operating after 2010.
Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew, the bank already stores material from 18,000 species, some of which have become extinct in the wild.
Seed banks are seen as an essential part of plans to curb the rapid loss of biodiversity, in Britain and worldwide.
If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that
Paul Smith
By 2010, Kew plans to have amassed seeds from 30,000 species, representing 10% of the world's plants.
"Now we're starting to think about where we go beyond 2010," the project's head Paul Smith told the BBC News website.
"And we want to get to 25% of species stored away by 2020. If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that."
Dry world
Seeds are collected by Kew's partner organisations around the world and sent to the RBG site at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.
Seeds for the bank are collected all over the world
They come from all over the globe, although British varieties are particularly well represented, with seeds from 88% of its native flora sequestered away.
Most of the seeds can be preserved by careful drying, after which they are stored at minus 20C. A few need more specialised, tailor-made treatment.
Some will last like this for millennia, others for decades; these will be planted and germinated before their expiry date comes up, and the seed of their offspring collected and stored anew.
But the idea is not to hide them away for ever. Where species have gone extinct, or are teetering on the edge, Kew's stores are used to replenish wild populations.
One British example is strapwort (Corrigiola litoralis), a critically endangered native of southwest England now found on only one nature reserve, which Kew's stocks are helping to keep alive.
Minimum investment
The billionth seed comes from the African bamboo species Oxytenanthera abyssinica, a plant used in Mali and other West African countries for building, furniture, and wine-making.
Gift for Gordon
Enlarge Image
Its presentation to Mr Brown is aimed at persuading the Chancellor and prospective Prime Minister to continue funding the Millennium Seed Bank after 2010.
It is a key year in conservation, marking the target date by which, under the UN biodiversity convention, the world's governments are pledged to have halted and begun to reverse the seemingly inexorable biodiversity decline.
"Scientists are always asking for money," conceded Dr Smith. "But what makes us different is that we have a proven methodology here, we have the network and we know how to do what we do.
"This costs about £2,000 ($4,000) per species; so to collect a quarter of what's out there would cost about £100m ($200m).
"With threats not only from climate change but also deforestation, changes in land use and so on, seed-banking is the bare minimum."
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Best popular science books named
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Best popular science books named
Best popular science books named
The world's most famous tortoise
Six authors have been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
The chosen six include four practising scientists and two science writers - all are newcomers to the shortlist.
Issues covered by the books include climate science, psychology, human evolution, biodiversity and medicine.
The winner will be announced on 15 May this year and awarded £10,000; the author of each shortlisted book will receive £1,000.
Professor Colin Pillinger, from the Open University in Milton Keynes, who chairs the judging panel, said: "This year's shortlist reflects the great range of styles that science books can encompass."
He added: "We believe that they are the best six science books of the last year."
General appeal
Now in its 19th year, the award was known as the Rhone-Poulenc prize from 1990 to 1999. Until this year, it went by the name of the Aventis Prize.
Homo britannicus tells the story of the human occupation of Britain
There are two categories: The junior prize, which is given to the best book written for under-14s, and the general prize, for the best book written for a more general readership.
The general prize is often referred to as the "Booker prize for science writing", although the science prize winner often outsells its better-known counterpart.
Aventis no longer sponsors the award; it now bears the name of the Royal Society.
Last year's winner of the general prize was Electric Universe - How Electricity Switched on the Modern World, by David Bodanis. Other past winners have included Bill Bryson, Stephen Hawking and Chris McManus.
The judges are Colin Pillinger; Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio; Louisa Bolch, commissioning editor for science on Channel 4; Emily Holmes, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the University of Oxford; and Christine McGourty, science correspondent for BBC News.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The full shortlist for the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books:
Homo britannicus, by Chris Stringer (Penguin Allen Lane)
Homo britannicus tells the epic story of the human colonisation of Britain, from our very first footsteps to the present day. Drawing on all the latest evidence and techniques of investigation, Chris Stringer describes times when Britain was so tropical that humans lived alongside hippos and sabre tooth tigers; and times so cold they shared the land with reindeer and mammoth; and times colder still when humans were forced to flee altogether.
In Search of Memory, by Eric R Kandel (WW Norton & Co)
Nobel laureate Eric R Kandel charts the intellectual history of the emerging biology of the mind, and sheds light on how behavioural psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and molecular biology have converged into a powerful new science. These efforts, he says, provide insights into normal mental functioning and disease, and simultaneously open pathways to more effective treatments.
Lonesome George, by Henry Nicholls (Macmillan)
Lonesome George is a 1.5m-long, 90kg tortoise aged between 60 and 200, and it is thought he is the sole survivor of his sub-species. Scientific ingenuity may conjure up a way of reproducing him, and resurrecting his species. Henry Nicholls details the efforts of conservationists to preserve the Galapagos' unique biodiversity and illustrates how their experiences and discoveries are echoed worldwide. He explores the controversies raging over which mates are most appropriate for George and the risks of releasing crossbreed offspring into the wild.
One in Three, by Adam Wishart (Profile Books)
When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Adam Wishart couldn't find any book that answered his questions: what was the disease, how did it take hold and what did it mean? What is it about cancer's biology that means it has not been eradicated? How close are we, really, to a cure? There was no such book. So he wrote it. One in Three interweaves two powerful stories: that of Adam and his father; and of the 200-year search for a cure.
Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert (Harper Press)
Psychologist Daniel Gilbert reveals how and why the majority of us have no idea how to make ourselves happy. The drive for happiness is one of the most instinctive and fundamental human impulses. In this revealing and witty investigation, psychologist Daniel Gilbert uses scientific research, philosophy and real-life case studies to illustrate how our basic drive to satisfy our desires can not only be misguided, but also intrinsically linked to some long-standing and contentious questions about human nature.
The Rough Guide to Climate Change, by Robert Henson (Rough Guides)
Robert Henson has written this guide to a pressing issue facing the world. The guide looks at visible symptoms of change on a warming planet, how climate change works, the evolution of our atmosphere over the last 4.5 billion years and what computer simulations of climate reveal about our past, present, and future. It looks at the sceptics' grounds for disagreement, global warming in the media and what governments and scientists are doing to try to solve the problem.
Best popular science books named
The world's most famous tortoise
Six authors have been shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Society Prize for Science Books.
The chosen six include four practising scientists and two science writers - all are newcomers to the shortlist.
Issues covered by the books include climate science, psychology, human evolution, biodiversity and medicine.
The winner will be announced on 15 May this year and awarded £10,000; the author of each shortlisted book will receive £1,000.
Professor Colin Pillinger, from the Open University in Milton Keynes, who chairs the judging panel, said: "This year's shortlist reflects the great range of styles that science books can encompass."
He added: "We believe that they are the best six science books of the last year."
General appeal
Now in its 19th year, the award was known as the Rhone-Poulenc prize from 1990 to 1999. Until this year, it went by the name of the Aventis Prize.
Homo britannicus tells the story of the human occupation of Britain
There are two categories: The junior prize, which is given to the best book written for under-14s, and the general prize, for the best book written for a more general readership.
The general prize is often referred to as the "Booker prize for science writing", although the science prize winner often outsells its better-known counterpart.
Aventis no longer sponsors the award; it now bears the name of the Royal Society.
Last year's winner of the general prize was Electric Universe - How Electricity Switched on the Modern World, by David Bodanis. Other past winners have included Bill Bryson, Stephen Hawking and Chris McManus.
The judges are Colin Pillinger; Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio; Louisa Bolch, commissioning editor for science on Channel 4; Emily Holmes, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the University of Oxford; and Christine McGourty, science correspondent for BBC News.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The full shortlist for the 2007 Royal Society Prize for Science Books:
Homo britannicus, by Chris Stringer (Penguin Allen Lane)
Homo britannicus tells the epic story of the human colonisation of Britain, from our very first footsteps to the present day. Drawing on all the latest evidence and techniques of investigation, Chris Stringer describes times when Britain was so tropical that humans lived alongside hippos and sabre tooth tigers; and times so cold they shared the land with reindeer and mammoth; and times colder still when humans were forced to flee altogether.
In Search of Memory, by Eric R Kandel (WW Norton & Co)
Nobel laureate Eric R Kandel charts the intellectual history of the emerging biology of the mind, and sheds light on how behavioural psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience and molecular biology have converged into a powerful new science. These efforts, he says, provide insights into normal mental functioning and disease, and simultaneously open pathways to more effective treatments.
Lonesome George, by Henry Nicholls (Macmillan)
Lonesome George is a 1.5m-long, 90kg tortoise aged between 60 and 200, and it is thought he is the sole survivor of his sub-species. Scientific ingenuity may conjure up a way of reproducing him, and resurrecting his species. Henry Nicholls details the efforts of conservationists to preserve the Galapagos' unique biodiversity and illustrates how their experiences and discoveries are echoed worldwide. He explores the controversies raging over which mates are most appropriate for George and the risks of releasing crossbreed offspring into the wild.
One in Three, by Adam Wishart (Profile Books)
When his father was diagnosed with cancer, Adam Wishart couldn't find any book that answered his questions: what was the disease, how did it take hold and what did it mean? What is it about cancer's biology that means it has not been eradicated? How close are we, really, to a cure? There was no such book. So he wrote it. One in Three interweaves two powerful stories: that of Adam and his father; and of the 200-year search for a cure.
Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert (Harper Press)
Psychologist Daniel Gilbert reveals how and why the majority of us have no idea how to make ourselves happy. The drive for happiness is one of the most instinctive and fundamental human impulses. In this revealing and witty investigation, psychologist Daniel Gilbert uses scientific research, philosophy and real-life case studies to illustrate how our basic drive to satisfy our desires can not only be misguided, but also intrinsically linked to some long-standing and contentious questions about human nature.
The Rough Guide to Climate Change, by Robert Henson (Rough Guides)
Robert Henson has written this guide to a pressing issue facing the world. The guide looks at visible symptoms of change on a warming planet, how climate change works, the evolution of our atmosphere over the last 4.5 billion years and what computer simulations of climate reveal about our past, present, and future. It looks at the sceptics' grounds for disagreement, global warming in the media and what governments and scientists are doing to try to solve the problem.
U.S. Congress approves Iraq war withdrawal plan
U.S. Congress approves Iraq war withdrawal plan
U.S. Congress approves Iraq war withdrawal plan
Enlarge PhotoBy Reuters
Friday April 27, 12:25 AM
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In an unprecedented slap at President George W. Bush's war policy, the U.S. Congress on Thursday approved legislation that links withdrawal of combat troops to paying for the war, ensuring a certain veto.
Nonetheless, by a vote of 51-46, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in backing the hotly contested bill that would provide about $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year while setting a deadline to withdraw U.S. forces over the next 11 months.
It was the first time the Congress, controlled by Democrats since January, defied the president in more than four years since the conflict began.
Bush has repeatedly warned he will not accept "surrender" dates for the war and there is little doubt he will reject the bill when it is sent to him next week.
"The troops had the courage and the strength to win the war, but the president has not had the wisdom to win the peace," said Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who called for a "new direction in Iraq."
Democrats, however, are unlikely to see the effort to defy Bush succeed because they do not think they have two-thirds support in Congress to overturn a presidential veto.
If there is a veto and it is not overturned, leaders would have to craft a new bill giving money to the troops in Iraq, possibly with some watered-down conditions Bush could accept, and leave the fight over withdrawing troops for future legislation.
U.S. Congress approves Iraq war withdrawal plan
Enlarge PhotoBy Reuters
Friday April 27, 12:25 AM
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In an unprecedented slap at President George W. Bush's war policy, the U.S. Congress on Thursday approved legislation that links withdrawal of combat troops to paying for the war, ensuring a certain veto.
Nonetheless, by a vote of 51-46, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in backing the hotly contested bill that would provide about $100 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year while setting a deadline to withdraw U.S. forces over the next 11 months.
It was the first time the Congress, controlled by Democrats since January, defied the president in more than four years since the conflict began.
Bush has repeatedly warned he will not accept "surrender" dates for the war and there is little doubt he will reject the bill when it is sent to him next week.
"The troops had the courage and the strength to win the war, but the president has not had the wisdom to win the peace," said Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who called for a "new direction in Iraq."
Democrats, however, are unlikely to see the effort to defy Bush succeed because they do not think they have two-thirds support in Congress to overturn a presidential veto.
If there is a veto and it is not overturned, leaders would have to craft a new bill giving money to the troops in Iraq, possibly with some watered-down conditions Bush could accept, and leave the fight over withdrawing troops for future legislation.
Amnesty says death penalty nations now isolated
Amnesty says death penalty nations now isolated
Amnesty says death penalty nations now isolated
By Reuters
Friday April 27, 02:50 AM
By Stephen Brown
ROME (Reuters) - Amnesty International welcomed a drop in the number of executions in 2006 but urged six nations responsible for most of them -- China, Iran, Iraq, the United States, Pakistan and Sudan -- to join the global trend.
In a report due to be published on Friday, Amnesty said the Philippines last year joined the 99 countries that have banned the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
"Many more, including South Korea, stand on the brink of abolition," said Amnesty's Secretary General Irene Khan. "Hard core executioners are isolated and out of tune with global trends," he added.
The London-based human rights group will present its annual report on capital punishment in Italy, which wants a U.N. moratorium on the death penalty.
Although the United Nations opposes capital punishment, the death penalty still exists in nearly 70 countries.
Amnesty's data showed the number of executions worldwide fell to 1,591 last year from 2,148 in 2005.
"In Africa, only six countries carried out executions in 2006," said Khan. "Belarus is the only country that continues to use the death penalty in Europe. The USA is the only country in the Americas to have carried out any executions since 2003."
Iraq joined the list of the world's top executioners, said Khan. The televised hanging of dictator Saddam Hussein in December "belied the reality that the execution rate in Iraq had dramatically escalated over the year with more than 65 hangings, of which at least two of those put to death were women".
Iran's executions doubled to at least 177 people, Pakistan put at least 82 to death and Sudan at least 65 but probably many more. Iran and Pakistan broke an international ban on executions of children well. The United States executed 53 people.
China tops the executioners' ranking with more than 1,000 recorded, though the precise number is a state secret could be as high as 8,000, the rights group said.
However, Khan said officials in China and Iraq had "spoken of their desire to see an end to the use of the death penalty".
Iraq's human rights minister told the U.N. Human Rights Council in March that Baghdad, which re-introduced the death penalty in 2004 to combat violence, could as a first step limit it to extreme cases like genocide and crimes against humanity.
Khan had talks in Italy with Prime Minister Romano Prodi, whose government has backed EU calls for an U.N. moratorium.
With 20,000 people estimated to be on death row across the world, Khan called for a "universal moratorium".
Amnesty says death penalty nations now isolated
By Reuters
Friday April 27, 02:50 AM
By Stephen Brown
ROME (Reuters) - Amnesty International welcomed a drop in the number of executions in 2006 but urged six nations responsible for most of them -- China, Iran, Iraq, the United States, Pakistan and Sudan -- to join the global trend.
In a report due to be published on Friday, Amnesty said the Philippines last year joined the 99 countries that have banned the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
"Many more, including South Korea, stand on the brink of abolition," said Amnesty's Secretary General Irene Khan. "Hard core executioners are isolated and out of tune with global trends," he added.
The London-based human rights group will present its annual report on capital punishment in Italy, which wants a U.N. moratorium on the death penalty.
Although the United Nations opposes capital punishment, the death penalty still exists in nearly 70 countries.
Amnesty's data showed the number of executions worldwide fell to 1,591 last year from 2,148 in 2005.
"In Africa, only six countries carried out executions in 2006," said Khan. "Belarus is the only country that continues to use the death penalty in Europe. The USA is the only country in the Americas to have carried out any executions since 2003."
Iraq joined the list of the world's top executioners, said Khan. The televised hanging of dictator Saddam Hussein in December "belied the reality that the execution rate in Iraq had dramatically escalated over the year with more than 65 hangings, of which at least two of those put to death were women".
Iran's executions doubled to at least 177 people, Pakistan put at least 82 to death and Sudan at least 65 but probably many more. Iran and Pakistan broke an international ban on executions of children well. The United States executed 53 people.
China tops the executioners' ranking with more than 1,000 recorded, though the precise number is a state secret could be as high as 8,000, the rights group said.
However, Khan said officials in China and Iraq had "spoken of their desire to see an end to the use of the death penalty".
Iraq's human rights minister told the U.N. Human Rights Council in March that Baghdad, which re-introduced the death penalty in 2004 to combat violence, could as a first step limit it to extreme cases like genocide and crimes against humanity.
Khan had talks in Italy with Prime Minister Romano Prodi, whose government has backed EU calls for an U.N. moratorium.
With 20,000 people estimated to be on death row across the world, Khan called for a "universal moratorium".
Physicist Hawking gets taste of zero-gravity
Physicist Hawking gets taste of zero-gravity
Physicist Hawking gets taste of zero-gravity
Enlarge PhotoBy Reuters
Friday April 27, 04:10 AM
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - British physicist Stephen Hawking took a flight on Thursday that gave the renowned scientist, who is confined to a wheelchair, a taste of the weightlessness of space.
Hawking, 65, and an entourage of caretakers and other thrill-seekers took off from the space shuttle's runway at the Kennedy Space Center in a specially modified jet that dives through the sky to give passengers an experience of zero gravity.
They returned to the space center in Florida about two hours later after doing eight of the dives, giving him four minutes of weightlessness.
"It was amazing," Hawking said afterwards.
"Space here I come," he said, referring to his hope that the experience will prepare him for a real sub-orbital space flight in the future.
Hawking acknowledged before the flight that experiencing weightlessness, even for a few seconds, would be sweet relief from the bondage of a daily life immobilized by a debilitating and irreversible neuromuscular disorder.
"I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades and the chance to float free in zero G will be wonderful," Hawking told a pre-flight news conference.
The acclaimed cosmologist and best-selling author of "A Brief History of Time," who has posited theories to help explain black holes and other celestial phenomena, lost his ability for natural speech after a tracheotomy that followed a bout of pneumonia in 1985.
He speaks with the aid of a computer-controlled voice synthesizer.
Hawking said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that he feared that the human race did not have a future if it didn't go into space.
"I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. A zero-gravity flight is the first step towards space travel," he said.
"Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers," Hawking added at the news conference.
In a reference to his affliction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, Hawking noted that his flight also would serve as a demonstration that "everybody can participate in this type of experience."
During these flights, participants experience at least one free-fall, lasting about 25 seconds, where they float up from the floor. The maneuver is accomplished as the plane flies toward the ground following a steep climb.
The ride, which normally costs $3,500, was courtesy of Florida-based Zero Gravity Corp., which operates a commercial zero-gravity service similar to what NASA uses to train astronauts.
Hawking hopes to make a suborbital spaceflight aboard a new passenger service being developed by Virgin Atlantic Airway's offshoot, Virgin Galactic, expected to begin in 2009.
HOW DID HUMANS COME INTO EXISTENCE?
Hawking's insights about black holes have opened new avenues of thinking about the nature of the universe and helped resolve troubling areas of physics where the laws of nature appear to break down.
Of all the universe's mysteries, Hawking said he would most like to know how it is that humans have come into existence.
"The universe is so big, so smooth and yet just right enough for us to exist," Hawking said in the interview.
Speaking with Hawking is a slow, meditative experience. He twitches one of the few muscles still in his control -- his cheek -- to scroll through word lists stored in his computer. Constructing a 35-word sentence takes 15 minutes and leaves him fatigued.
Still, Hawking doesn't wait for a question to converse.
A quip about Hawking's robotic voice having a nice British accent, prompts him to reply, "Most people think my accent is American."
Later, when asked about the prospects of intelligent life beyond Earth, Hawking said he hopes it exists.
"There is not much sign of it on Earth," he said.
Physicist Hawking gets taste of zero-gravity
Enlarge PhotoBy Reuters
Friday April 27, 04:10 AM
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - British physicist Stephen Hawking took a flight on Thursday that gave the renowned scientist, who is confined to a wheelchair, a taste of the weightlessness of space.
Hawking, 65, and an entourage of caretakers and other thrill-seekers took off from the space shuttle's runway at the Kennedy Space Center in a specially modified jet that dives through the sky to give passengers an experience of zero gravity.
They returned to the space center in Florida about two hours later after doing eight of the dives, giving him four minutes of weightlessness.
"It was amazing," Hawking said afterwards.
"Space here I come," he said, referring to his hope that the experience will prepare him for a real sub-orbital space flight in the future.
Hawking acknowledged before the flight that experiencing weightlessness, even for a few seconds, would be sweet relief from the bondage of a daily life immobilized by a debilitating and irreversible neuromuscular disorder.
"I have been wheelchair-bound for almost four decades and the chance to float free in zero G will be wonderful," Hawking told a pre-flight news conference.
The acclaimed cosmologist and best-selling author of "A Brief History of Time," who has posited theories to help explain black holes and other celestial phenomena, lost his ability for natural speech after a tracheotomy that followed a bout of pneumonia in 1985.
He speaks with the aid of a computer-controlled voice synthesizer.
Hawking said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that he feared that the human race did not have a future if it didn't go into space.
"I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. A zero-gravity flight is the first step towards space travel," he said.
"Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers," Hawking added at the news conference.
In a reference to his affliction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, Hawking noted that his flight also would serve as a demonstration that "everybody can participate in this type of experience."
During these flights, participants experience at least one free-fall, lasting about 25 seconds, where they float up from the floor. The maneuver is accomplished as the plane flies toward the ground following a steep climb.
The ride, which normally costs $3,500, was courtesy of Florida-based Zero Gravity Corp., which operates a commercial zero-gravity service similar to what NASA uses to train astronauts.
Hawking hopes to make a suborbital spaceflight aboard a new passenger service being developed by Virgin Atlantic Airway's offshoot, Virgin Galactic, expected to begin in 2009.
HOW DID HUMANS COME INTO EXISTENCE?
Hawking's insights about black holes have opened new avenues of thinking about the nature of the universe and helped resolve troubling areas of physics where the laws of nature appear to break down.
Of all the universe's mysteries, Hawking said he would most like to know how it is that humans have come into existence.
"The universe is so big, so smooth and yet just right enough for us to exist," Hawking said in the interview.
Speaking with Hawking is a slow, meditative experience. He twitches one of the few muscles still in his control -- his cheek -- to scroll through word lists stored in his computer. Constructing a 35-word sentence takes 15 minutes and leaves him fatigued.
Still, Hawking doesn't wait for a question to converse.
A quip about Hawking's robotic voice having a nice British accent, prompts him to reply, "Most people think my accent is American."
Later, when asked about the prospects of intelligent life beyond Earth, Hawking said he hopes it exists.
"There is not much sign of it on Earth," he said.
BBC NEWS | UK | Migrants 'deceived and exploited'
BBC NEWS | UK | Migrants 'deceived and exploited'
Modern Slavery
Migrants 'deceived and exploited'
The BBC found migrant workers were underpaid and exploited
Undercover filming
Migrant workers are being lured to Britain by deception and are forming a new exploited underclass, a BBC investigation has discovered.
Undercover Lithuanian journalist Audrius Lelkaitis discovered a new form of people trafficking, systematic underpayment and exploitation.
Human trafficking experts said the conditions suffered by some migrant workers was "modern-day slavery".
All companies targeted by the investigation deny exploiting workers.
Mr Lelkaitis, working as part of the BBC News investigation, posed as a migrant worker seeking a job in the UK.
This is a kind of forced or bonded labour - this is modern day slavery
Det Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell
Joining immigrant underclass
He paid hundreds of pounds to agencies in Lithuania and London in return for the promise of a job in Hull which did not exist.
After being offered work with licensed gangmasters Focus Staff Limited in Hull he was paid below the minimum wage two weeks in arrears.
After three weeks, he received £97 for 20 hours' work in his first week, although £50 was deducted for accommodation costs.
He also had money deducted for accommodation without it being shown on his payslip, which is illegal, and was forced to live in overcrowded accommodation.
Mike Dickenson, director of Focus Staff Ltd, denies any wrongdoing
Mike Wilson, chief executive of the Gangmasters' Licensing Authority said the withholding of wages when workers were already in debt sounded "suspiciously like a bonded labour situation which certainly we would not agree to at all".
Mike Dickenson, director of Focus Staff Limited, denied any illegal practices.
"I don't underpay my workers," he said. "Everything I do is legal and above board," he said.
'Bonded labour'
Deputy Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, programme director of the UK Human Trafficking Centre, said the opening of Europe's borders had brought with it a new kind of people trafficking.
He said: "This quite clearly is labour exploitation. Certain elements are there; there's a deception and there's a movement of people with an expectation of being paid a reasonable and appropriate wage.
"This is a kind of forced or bonded labour. This is modern day slavery."
Aidan McQuade, director of campaign group Anti-Slavery International, said trafficking to exploit labour involved a number of factors.
These included the use of deception, intimidation, the removal of documents, excessive charges for accommodation and transport, the exploitation of someone's irregular immigration status or the fact they are in debt, in order to force them to work in conditions they do not agree to, he said.
He added: "Some of these mechanisms are reported in this BBC News investigation."
Modern Slavery
Migrants 'deceived and exploited'
The BBC found migrant workers were underpaid and exploited
Undercover filming
Migrant workers are being lured to Britain by deception and are forming a new exploited underclass, a BBC investigation has discovered.
Undercover Lithuanian journalist Audrius Lelkaitis discovered a new form of people trafficking, systematic underpayment and exploitation.
Human trafficking experts said the conditions suffered by some migrant workers was "modern-day slavery".
All companies targeted by the investigation deny exploiting workers.
Mr Lelkaitis, working as part of the BBC News investigation, posed as a migrant worker seeking a job in the UK.
This is a kind of forced or bonded labour - this is modern day slavery
Det Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell
Joining immigrant underclass
He paid hundreds of pounds to agencies in Lithuania and London in return for the promise of a job in Hull which did not exist.
After being offered work with licensed gangmasters Focus Staff Limited in Hull he was paid below the minimum wage two weeks in arrears.
After three weeks, he received £97 for 20 hours' work in his first week, although £50 was deducted for accommodation costs.
He also had money deducted for accommodation without it being shown on his payslip, which is illegal, and was forced to live in overcrowded accommodation.
Mike Dickenson, director of Focus Staff Ltd, denies any wrongdoing
Mike Wilson, chief executive of the Gangmasters' Licensing Authority said the withholding of wages when workers were already in debt sounded "suspiciously like a bonded labour situation which certainly we would not agree to at all".
Mike Dickenson, director of Focus Staff Limited, denied any illegal practices.
"I don't underpay my workers," he said. "Everything I do is legal and above board," he said.
'Bonded labour'
Deputy Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, programme director of the UK Human Trafficking Centre, said the opening of Europe's borders had brought with it a new kind of people trafficking.
He said: "This quite clearly is labour exploitation. Certain elements are there; there's a deception and there's a movement of people with an expectation of being paid a reasonable and appropriate wage.
"This is a kind of forced or bonded labour. This is modern day slavery."
Aidan McQuade, director of campaign group Anti-Slavery International, said trafficking to exploit labour involved a number of factors.
These included the use of deception, intimidation, the removal of documents, excessive charges for accommodation and transport, the exploitation of someone's irregular immigration status or the fact they are in debt, in order to force them to work in conditions they do not agree to, he said.
He added: "Some of these mechanisms are reported in this BBC News investigation."
Woman sneaks into prison for sex - Sify.com
Woman sneaks into prison for sex - Sify.com
Woman sneaks into prison for sex
Baltimore: A woman pleaded guilty to using a false ID badge to enter a corrections facility while posing as an attorney so she could have sex with an inmate, state prosecutors said.
Tiffany Weaver, 29, entered the plea on Wednesday. She was charged with identity theft and use of false government identification after entering the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Centre in November to meet with inmate Jason Moody. Moody is serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter.
Weaver arrived at the centre with a Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification Pass with a photo and a business card with attorney Amanda Sprehn's name.
She asked for admittance to meet with Moody and showed the fraudulent badge. Corrections officials responsible for monitoring inmate meetings with attorneys witnessed the two having sex once they were alone. The corrections officers ended the meeting.
The real Amanda Sprehn, an Annapolis attorney, told The Baltimore Examiner she was on leave when her firm received a letter banning her from the jail.
"I was out on maternity leave," she said. "They informed me they received a letter saying I had been caught having sex with an inmate — which was a real laugh."
Weaver's sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
Woman sneaks into prison for sex
Baltimore: A woman pleaded guilty to using a false ID badge to enter a corrections facility while posing as an attorney so she could have sex with an inmate, state prosecutors said.
Tiffany Weaver, 29, entered the plea on Wednesday. She was charged with identity theft and use of false government identification after entering the Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Centre in November to meet with inmate Jason Moody. Moody is serving a 30-year sentence for manslaughter.
Weaver arrived at the centre with a Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification Pass with a photo and a business card with attorney Amanda Sprehn's name.
She asked for admittance to meet with Moody and showed the fraudulent badge. Corrections officials responsible for monitoring inmate meetings with attorneys witnessed the two having sex once they were alone. The corrections officers ended the meeting.
The real Amanda Sprehn, an Annapolis attorney, told The Baltimore Examiner she was on leave when her firm received a letter banning her from the jail.
"I was out on maternity leave," she said. "They informed me they received a letter saying I had been caught having sex with an inmate — which was a real laugh."
Weaver's sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
Gere, Shilpa 'kissa' attracts arrest warrants - Sify.com
Gere, Shilpa 'kissa' attracts arrest warrants - Sify.com
Gere, Shilpa 'kissa' attracts arrest warrants
Thursday, 26 April , 2007, 15:07
Jaipur: A Jaipur court on Thursday issued arrest warrants against Hollywood star Richard Gere and actress Shilpa Shetty for their public kiss during an AIDS awareness programme in the capital early this month.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jaipur city, Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants on a PIL filed by a Jaipur resident Poonam Chand Bhandari.
Gere's kiss on Bollywood actress Shetty's cheeks during an AIDS awareness programme had evoked strong protests in several cities
Activists, mostly of Hindu outfits, in Varanasi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Indore, Delhi and Mumbai burnt effigies of Gere and Shetty to give vent to their anger over the actor's act on stage at the programme in Delhi, calling it indecent behaviour.
Gere, Shilpa 'kissa' attracts arrest warrants
Thursday, 26 April , 2007, 15:07
Jaipur: A Jaipur court on Thursday issued arrest warrants against Hollywood star Richard Gere and actress Shilpa Shetty for their public kiss during an AIDS awareness programme in the capital early this month.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jaipur city, Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants on a PIL filed by a Jaipur resident Poonam Chand Bhandari.
Gere's kiss on Bollywood actress Shetty's cheeks during an AIDS awareness programme had evoked strong protests in several cities
Activists, mostly of Hindu outfits, in Varanasi, Bhopal, Kanpur, Indore, Delhi and Mumbai burnt effigies of Gere and Shetty to give vent to their anger over the actor's act on stage at the programme in Delhi, calling it indecent behaviour.
Y! India Movies - AbhiAsh wedding pics leaked by neighbour: Amitabh
Y! India Movies - AbhiAsh wedding pics leaked by neighbour: Amitabh
AbhiAsh wedding pics leaked by neighbour: Amitabh
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News service
Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan blames sneaky guests for the AbhiAsh snaps splashed on the Internet just hours after the nuptials - despite the super-care taken by the first family of Bollywood to keep the year's mega wedding under wraps.
Said an irate Amitabh: 'Some of the people who came to the wedding surreptitiously took photographs with their mobile cameras and disgracefully put them on the net.'
'In fact, I've caught a person who took the photographs. He's my neighbour. I've had a very serious talk with him and he has apologised profusely. He says he wasn't giving it to the press. While he was sending the pictures to his sister in the US they got intercepted on the net,' Amitabh told IANS.
A story even the Big B finds hard to swallow.
'I don't believe it. But I'd like to. He's my neighbour. And I can't believe a neighbour could be guilty of such an act of betrayal. Anyway, we will give photographs to the media officially.'
About media reports on people peeved by a lack of invite, he said: 'We had two kinds of cards made for the wedding. One was the wedding card and the other is the information card that will go to all our friends. It informs about the wedding with a shagun and mithai and asks everyone to bless the couple.
'We've sent this card to everyone in the film industry, the political circles because of Amar Singh and Jaya, and whoever has been a part of our lives. Even after all this if some people choose to be hurt, what can we say?'
Obviously angry with the intrusive media, Amitabh said: 'I don't think sections of the media have the right to dictate to me about how to conduct my life and how to deal with my family and social obligations. My family's privacy is very important to me. And I'll protect it with my dying breath.
'No one can dictate to me about how I should conduct my life or my son's wedding. We took all the relevant permissions from the civic authorities. They wanted a full guest list, the ceremonies, everything. We gave them all the details. We made the shamianas air-conditioned and soundproof for the comfort of the guests and so that people outside wouldn't get disturbed.'
He added: 'We had no fireworks to avoid sound pollution. We've done everything to make sure no one is offended in any way. If bitter comments are still being made about us in the media in spite of our best intentions, then what can I say?'
As a celebrity, Amitabh agrees he's naturally the cynosure of extra attention. 'And I cannot deny the attention that comes with the VIP label. The media is free to do what it wants. But you can't block my car when I'm taking my new daughter-in-law home after the wedding. Why spoil the most important moment in my son and his wife's life?
'I know the media was only doing its job. And I sincerely apologised to anyone who was hurt on our account. I've no malice towards the media. May be in their excitement, some excesses happened.'
At the moment the entire family, the new bahu included, are enjoying some quiet time together at the Bachchan residence Jalsa.
'I know this bliss is short-lived. I wish I could spend more time with Aishwarya, but we all have to get back to work soon. But the family is feeling so much happier.'
AbhiAsh wedding pics leaked by neighbour: Amitabh
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News service
Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan blames sneaky guests for the AbhiAsh snaps splashed on the Internet just hours after the nuptials - despite the super-care taken by the first family of Bollywood to keep the year's mega wedding under wraps.
Said an irate Amitabh: 'Some of the people who came to the wedding surreptitiously took photographs with their mobile cameras and disgracefully put them on the net.'
'In fact, I've caught a person who took the photographs. He's my neighbour. I've had a very serious talk with him and he has apologised profusely. He says he wasn't giving it to the press. While he was sending the pictures to his sister in the US they got intercepted on the net,' Amitabh told IANS.
A story even the Big B finds hard to swallow.
'I don't believe it. But I'd like to. He's my neighbour. And I can't believe a neighbour could be guilty of such an act of betrayal. Anyway, we will give photographs to the media officially.'
About media reports on people peeved by a lack of invite, he said: 'We had two kinds of cards made for the wedding. One was the wedding card and the other is the information card that will go to all our friends. It informs about the wedding with a shagun and mithai and asks everyone to bless the couple.
'We've sent this card to everyone in the film industry, the political circles because of Amar Singh and Jaya, and whoever has been a part of our lives. Even after all this if some people choose to be hurt, what can we say?'
Obviously angry with the intrusive media, Amitabh said: 'I don't think sections of the media have the right to dictate to me about how to conduct my life and how to deal with my family and social obligations. My family's privacy is very important to me. And I'll protect it with my dying breath.
'No one can dictate to me about how I should conduct my life or my son's wedding. We took all the relevant permissions from the civic authorities. They wanted a full guest list, the ceremonies, everything. We gave them all the details. We made the shamianas air-conditioned and soundproof for the comfort of the guests and so that people outside wouldn't get disturbed.'
He added: 'We had no fireworks to avoid sound pollution. We've done everything to make sure no one is offended in any way. If bitter comments are still being made about us in the media in spite of our best intentions, then what can I say?'
As a celebrity, Amitabh agrees he's naturally the cynosure of extra attention. 'And I cannot deny the attention that comes with the VIP label. The media is free to do what it wants. But you can't block my car when I'm taking my new daughter-in-law home after the wedding. Why spoil the most important moment in my son and his wife's life?
'I know the media was only doing its job. And I sincerely apologised to anyone who was hurt on our account. I've no malice towards the media. May be in their excitement, some excesses happened.'
At the moment the entire family, the new bahu included, are enjoying some quiet time together at the Bachchan residence Jalsa.
'I know this bliss is short-lived. I wish I could spend more time with Aishwarya, but we all have to get back to work soon. But the family is feeling so much happier.'
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Telegraph - Calcutta : Frontpage
The Telegraph - Calcutta : Frontpage
Earth’s cousin, wet and warm
G.S. MUDUR
An artist’s impression shows Earth (left), the new planet and the red dwarf star Gliese 581
New Delhi, April 25: Astronomers have discovered the first planet outside the solar system that could have liquid water and liveable temperatures, a potential new spot to look for extraterrestrial life.
The “most Earth-like planet yet”, orbiting a red dwarf star named Gliese 581, is the first that appears to lie in a habitable zone — the region around a star where water is in its liquid form — a team of European astronomers said.
The astronomers who announced their finding today in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, have estimated that the average temperature on the planet — which is about five times more massive than the Earth — would be 0 to 40 degrees Celsius.
Like other exoplanets — planets orbiting other stars — the planet around Gliese 581 is too small and too far for direct observations or temperature measurements.
“This planet will most probably be a very important target of future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life,” said Xavier Delfosse, a team member at Grenoble University in France. “On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” Delfosse said.
Gliese 581 is among the 100 stars closest to the solar system — only 20 light years away from the Sun, but smaller and colder.
Smaller planets are harder to find, but computer simulations show that they are more likely to hold water. “Calculations show that small planets turn out to be rocky like Mars or Earth,” Xavier Bonfils, a team member at Lisbon University, Portugal, told The Telegraph.
“During formation, small planets may accumulate water which — if still present — would be liquid in the temperature range we’ve estimated.”
The scientists detected the Super Earth by observing the change in the velocity of the parent star typically caused by orbiting planets.
They used an instrument called HARPS located in an observatory perched high in the mountains of Chile.
Earth’s cousin, wet and warm
G.S. MUDUR
An artist’s impression shows Earth (left), the new planet and the red dwarf star Gliese 581
New Delhi, April 25: Astronomers have discovered the first planet outside the solar system that could have liquid water and liveable temperatures, a potential new spot to look for extraterrestrial life.
The “most Earth-like planet yet”, orbiting a red dwarf star named Gliese 581, is the first that appears to lie in a habitable zone — the region around a star where water is in its liquid form — a team of European astronomers said.
The astronomers who announced their finding today in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, have estimated that the average temperature on the planet — which is about five times more massive than the Earth — would be 0 to 40 degrees Celsius.
Like other exoplanets — planets orbiting other stars — the planet around Gliese 581 is too small and too far for direct observations or temperature measurements.
“This planet will most probably be a very important target of future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life,” said Xavier Delfosse, a team member at Grenoble University in France. “On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” Delfosse said.
Gliese 581 is among the 100 stars closest to the solar system — only 20 light years away from the Sun, but smaller and colder.
Smaller planets are harder to find, but computer simulations show that they are more likely to hold water. “Calculations show that small planets turn out to be rocky like Mars or Earth,” Xavier Bonfils, a team member at Lisbon University, Portugal, told The Telegraph.
“During formation, small planets may accumulate water which — if still present — would be liquid in the temperature range we’ve estimated.”
The scientists detected the Super Earth by observing the change in the velocity of the parent star typically caused by orbiting planets.
They used an instrument called HARPS located in an observatory perched high in the mountains of Chile.
The Telegraph - Calcutta : Frontpage
The Telegraph - Calcutta : Fr
Tribals up-in-arms against Vedanta
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bhubaneswar, April 25: At least 30,000 people, many of them tribals, led by Green Kalahandi, an outfit founded by former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das, today gheraoed the office of Kalahandi district collector in Bhawanipatna to oppose the 1-million tonne alumina refinery by Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Alumina.
The gherao marked the end of the 12-day rally by Green Kalahandi in the district to protest against the refinery. The protesters along with politicians from the Congress, the CPI and the CPM vowed to stop the $900 million project. The agitators also blocked several roads in the town.
Tribal women dressed in traditional attire and wearing colourful headgear held placards that read “Vedanta go back”.
State Congress chief Jaydev Jena was present at the demonstration.
The rallyists, who started their march on April 14 from Kesinga town of Kalahandi, coursed through Lanjigarh and Niyamgiri, on foot braving the hot April sun. Das led the rallyists.
“The gherao is to protest the mindless exploitation of land, water and natural resources of the district by Vedanta. They must leave Kalahandi,” Das said over phone. “Vedanta is destroying the rich bio-system of Niyamgiri Hills by mining activities. The people would foil the company’s evil designs,” he said.
Kumuti Majhi, a tribal, said people belonging to his tribe would oppose the refinery tooth and nail. “The company can’t give us jobs. But it would take our water, forest and land. We would not allow the company to stay in Kalahandi,” he said.
Despite the presence of police slogans like “Vedanta go back”, “Niyamgiri or No Niyamgiri” and “Vedanta must leave Kalahandi” and “We want development not disaster” rent the air.
Dongria Kondhs of Niyamgiri, armed with traditional weapons, joined the protest. The Dongrias are among the most primitive tribes of the country and are found in the Niyamgiri Hills only.
Vedanta signed an agreement with Orissa in 2004 to set up an alumina refinery in bauxite-rich Lanjigarh.
");
}
//-->
ontpage
Tribals up-in-arms against Vedanta
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Bhubaneswar, April 25: At least 30,000 people, many of them tribals, led by Green Kalahandi, an outfit founded by former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das, today gheraoed the office of Kalahandi district collector in Bhawanipatna to oppose the 1-million tonne alumina refinery by Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Alumina.
The gherao marked the end of the 12-day rally by Green Kalahandi in the district to protest against the refinery. The protesters along with politicians from the Congress, the CPI and the CPM vowed to stop the $900 million project. The agitators also blocked several roads in the town.
Tribal women dressed in traditional attire and wearing colourful headgear held placards that read “Vedanta go back”.
State Congress chief Jaydev Jena was present at the demonstration.
The rallyists, who started their march on April 14 from Kesinga town of Kalahandi, coursed through Lanjigarh and Niyamgiri, on foot braving the hot April sun. Das led the rallyists.
“The gherao is to protest the mindless exploitation of land, water and natural resources of the district by Vedanta. They must leave Kalahandi,” Das said over phone. “Vedanta is destroying the rich bio-system of Niyamgiri Hills by mining activities. The people would foil the company’s evil designs,” he said.
Kumuti Majhi, a tribal, said people belonging to his tribe would oppose the refinery tooth and nail. “The company can’t give us jobs. But it would take our water, forest and land. We would not allow the company to stay in Kalahandi,” he said.
Despite the presence of police slogans like “Vedanta go back”, “Niyamgiri or No Niyamgiri” and “Vedanta must leave Kalahandi” and “We want development not disaster” rent the air.
Dongria Kondhs of Niyamgiri, armed with traditional weapons, joined the protest. The Dongrias are among the most primitive tribes of the country and are found in the Niyamgiri Hills only.
Vedanta signed an agreement with Orissa in 2004 to set up an alumina refinery in bauxite-rich Lanjigarh.
");
}
//-->
ontpage
DNA - India - UN award for Chhattisgarh, first for Asian state - Daily News & Analysis
DNA - India - UN award for Chhattisgarh, first for Asian state - Daily News & Analysis
UN award for Chhattisgarh, first for Asian state
IANS Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:57 IST
For the latest India News on mobile sms NAT to 4567
Email Article
To reprint this article, contact 3DSyndication
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh has bagged a UN award for 'excellence in participation and capacity building', making it the first state in Asia to receive the award.
"Chhattisgarh has been chosen for the UN award under UNDP's (United Nations Development Programme) 'excellence in participation and capacity development' category for its first report based on human resource development index, released by Chief Minister Raman Singh in December 2005," a UN press statement said on Wednesday.
The report, split into 10 chapters, was prepared by the Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS), an IT wing of Chhattisgarh government.
Aman Singh, chief executive officer of CHiPS, has been invited to receive the award in June at New York, UN headquarters.
This year, UNDP received 50 nominations from 39 countries in the 'participation and capacity building process' category but finally Chhattisgarh, which came into existence in November 2000, edged out all contenders.
The award came as a surprise to the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that is struggling to improve the quality of living of millions of decades old marginalized people, mostly residing in the state's vast northern and southern forested areas.
UN award for Chhattisgarh, first for Asian state
IANS Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:57 IST
For the latest India News on mobile sms NAT to 4567
Email Article
To reprint this article, contact 3DSyndication
RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh has bagged a UN award for 'excellence in participation and capacity building', making it the first state in Asia to receive the award.
"Chhattisgarh has been chosen for the UN award under UNDP's (United Nations Development Programme) 'excellence in participation and capacity development' category for its first report based on human resource development index, released by Chief Minister Raman Singh in December 2005," a UN press statement said on Wednesday.
The report, split into 10 chapters, was prepared by the Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS), an IT wing of Chhattisgarh government.
Aman Singh, chief executive officer of CHiPS, has been invited to receive the award in June at New York, UN headquarters.
This year, UNDP received 50 nominations from 39 countries in the 'participation and capacity building process' category but finally Chhattisgarh, which came into existence in November 2000, edged out all contenders.
The award came as a surprise to the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that is struggling to improve the quality of living of millions of decades old marginalized people, mostly residing in the state's vast northern and southern forested areas.
William Shakespeare - A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
William Shakespeare - A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616). —Dramatist and poet, b. at Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, on 22nd or 23rd, and baptised on 26th April, 1564. On his father's side he belonged to a good yeoman stock, though his descent cannot be certainly traced beyond his grandfather, a Richard S., settled at Snitterfield, near Stratford. His f., John S., appears to have been a man of intelligence and energy, who set up in Stratford as a dealer in all kinds of agricultural produce, to which he added the trade of a glover. He became prosperous, and gained the respect of his neighbours, as is evidenced by his election in succession to all the municipal honours of his community, including those of chief alderman and high bailiff. He m. Mary, youngest dau. of Robert Arden, a wealthy farmer at Wilmcote, and a younger branch of a family of considerable distinction, and whose tenant Richard S. had been. On her father's death Mary inherited Asbies, a house with 50 acres of land attached to it. The first children of the marriage were two dau., who d. in infancy. William was the third, and others followed, of whom three sons, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and a dau. Joan, reached maturity. He was ed. with his brother Gilbert at Stratford Grammar School, where he learned Latin from Lilly's Grammar, English, writing, and arithmetic. He probably read some of the Latin classics and may have got a little Greek, and though his learned friend Ben Jonson credits him with "little Latin and less Greek," Aubrey says he "knew Latin pretty well." This happy state of matters continued until he was about 13, when his f. fell into misfortune, which appears to have gone on deepening until the success and prosperity of the poet in later years enabled him to reinstate the family in its former position. Meanwhile, however, he was taken from school, and appears to have been made to assist his f. in his business. The next certain fact in his history is his marriage in November, 1582, when he was 18, to Ann Hathaway, dau. of a yeoman at the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery, and 8 years his senior. Various circumstances point to the marriage having been against the wishes of his own family, and pressed on by that of his wife, and that it was so urged in defence of the reputation of the lady, and as perhaps might be expected, they indicate, though not conclusively, that it did not prove altogether happy. The birth, in May, 1583, of his eldest child Susannah (who is said to have inherited something of his wit and practical ability, and who m. a Dr. John Hall), followed in the next year by that of twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the necessity of increased means, led to his departure from Stratford, whence he travelled on foot to London, where the next 23 years of his life were mainly spent. The tradition that his departure was also caused by trouble into which he had got by killing the deer of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlcote, is credible. Leaving Stratford in 1585 or the beginning of 1586, he seems at once to have turned to the theatres, where he soon found work, although, as Rowe, his first biographer, says, "in a very mean rank." It was not long, however, before he had opportunities of showing his capacities as an actor, with the result that he shortly became a member of one of the chief acting companies of the day, which was then under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, and after being associated with the names of various other noblemen, at last on the accession of James I. became known as the King's Company. It played originally in "The Theatre" in Shoreditch, the first playhouse to be erected in England, and afterwards in the "Rose" on the Bankside, Southwark, the scene of the earliest successes of S. as an actor and playwright. Subsequently to 1594, he acted occasionally in a playhouse in Newington Butts, and between 1595 and 1599 in the "Curtain." In the latter year the "Globe" was built on the Bankside, and 10 years later the "Blackfriars:" and with these two, but especially with the former, the remainder of his professional life was associated. It is not unlikely that he visited various provincial towns; but that he was ever in Scotland or on the Continent is improbable. Among the plays in which he appeared were Jonson's Every Man in his Humour and Sejanus, and in Hamlet he played "The Ghost;" and it is said that his brother Gilbert as an old man remembered his appearing as "Adam" in As You Like It. By 1595 S. was famous and prosperous; his earlier plays had been written and acted, and his poems Venus and Adonis, and Lucrece, and probably most of the sonnets, had been pub. and received with extraordinary favour. He had also powerful friends and patrons, including the Earl of Southampton, and was known at Court. By the end of the century he is mentioned by Francis Meres (q.v.) as the greatest man of letters of the day, and his name had become so valuable that it was affixed by unscrupulous publishers to works, e.g. Locrine, Oldcastle, and The Yorkshire Tragedy, by other and often very inferior hands. He had also resumed a close connection with Stratford, and was making the restoration of the family position there the object of his ambition. In accordance with this he induced his f. to apply for a grant of arms, which was given, and he purchased New Place, the largest house in the village. With the income derived from his profession as an actor and dramatist, and his share of the profits of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and in view of the business capacity with which he managed his affairs, he may be regarded as almost a wealthy man, and he went on adding to his influence in Stratford by buying land. He had enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth, and her death in 1603 did nothing to disturb his fortunes, as he stood quite as well with her successor. His company received the title of the "King's Servants," and his plays were frequently performed before the Court. But notwithstanding this, the clouds had gathered over his life. The conspiracy of Essex in 1601 had involved several of his friends and patrons in disaster; he had himself been entangled in the unhappy love affair which is supposed to be referred to in some of his sonnets, and he had suffered unkindness at the hands of a friend. For a few years his dramas breathe the darkness and bitterness of a heart which has been sounding the depths of sad experience. He soon, however, emerged from this and, passing through the period of the great tragedies, reached the serene triumph and peace of his later dramas. In 1611 S. severed his long connection with the stage, and retired to Stratford, where the remaining five years of his life were spent in honour and prosperity. Early in 1616 his health began to give way, and he made his will. In the spring he received a visit from his friends, Jonson and Drayton, and the festivity with which it was celebrated seems to have brought on a fever, of which he d. on April 23. He was survived by his wife and his two dau., both of whom were married. His descendants d. out with his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall.
Immense research has been spent upon the writings of S., with the result of substantial agreement as to the order of their production and the sources from which their subjects were drawn; for S. rarely troubled himself with the construction of a story, but adopting one already existing reared upon it as a foundation one of those marvellous superstructures which make him the greatest painter and interpreter of human character the world has ever seen. His period of literary production extends from about 1588 to 1613, and falls naturally into four divisions, which Prof. Dowden has named, "In the Workshop" ending in 1596; "In the World" 1596-1601; "Out of the Depths" 1601-1608; and "On the Heights" 1608-1613. Of the 37 plays usually attributed to him, 16 only were pub. during his lifetime, so that the exact order in which they were produced cannot always be determined with certainty. Recent authorities are agreed to the extent that while they do not invariably place the individual plays in the same order, they are almost entirely at one as to which belong to the four periods respectively. The following list shows in a condensed form the order according to Mr. Sidney Lee (Dictionary of National Biography) with the most probable dates and the original sources on which the plays are founded.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
FIRST PERIOD—1588?-1596
LOVE'S LABOUR LOST (1591)—Plot probably original.
TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (1591)— The Shepherdess Felismena in George of Montmayor's Diana.
COMEDY OF ERRORS (1591)— Menæchmi of Plautus and earlier play.
ROMEO AND JULIET (1591)—Italian romance in Painter's Palace of Pleasure and Broke's Romeus and Juliet.
HENRY VI. 1, 2, and 3 (1592)—Retouched old plays, probably with Marlowe.
RICHARD III. (1592-3)—Holinshed's Chronicle.
RICHARD II. (1593-4?)— do.
TITUS ANDRONICUS (1594)—Probably chiefly by Kyd, retouched.
KING JOHN (1594)—Old play retouched.
SECOND PERIOD—1596-1601-2
MERCHANT OF VENICE (1594)—Italian novels, Gesta Romanorum, and earlier plays.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1595)—North's Plutarch, Chaucer, Ovid.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1595)—Painter's Palace of Pleasure.
TAMING OF THE SHREW (1596?)—Old play retouched, and Supposes of G. Gascoigne, Shakespeare's in part only.
HENRY IV. 1 and 2 (1597?)—Holinshed and earlier play.
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (1597-8)—Italian novels (?).
HENRY V. (1599).
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1599)—Partly from Italian.
AS YOU LIKE IT (1599)—Lodge's Rosalynde, Euphues' Golden Legacie.
TWELFTH NIGHT (1599)—B. Riche's Apolonius and Silla.
THIRD PERIOD—1602-1608
JULIUS CÆSAR (1601)—North's Plutarch.
HAMLET (1601-2)—Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques.
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (1603?)—Probably Chaucer's Troilus and Cresseide and Chapman's Homer.
OTHELLO (1604)—Cinthio's Hecatommithi.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1604?)—Cinthio's Epithia.
MACBETH (1605-6?)—Holinshed.
LEAR (1606)— do.
TIMON OF ATHENS (1607?)— Palace of Pleasure and Plutarch written with G. Wilkins (?) and W. Rowley (?).
PERICLES (1607-8)—Gower's Confessio Amantis, with G. Wilkins (?).
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1608)—North's Plutarch.
CORIOLANUS (1608)— do.
FOURTH PERIOD—1608-1613
CYMBELINE (1610-11?)—Holinshed and Ginevra in Boccaccio's Decamerone.
WINTER'S TALE (1610-11)—Green's Dorastus and Fawnia.
TEMPEST (1611?)—S. Jourdain's Discovery of the Bermudas.
HENRY VIII. (1612-13)—Draft by S. completed by Fletcher and perhaps Massinger.
POEMS
VENUS AND ADONIS (1593).
RAPE OF LUCRECE (1594).
SONNETS (1591-94?).
The evidence as to chronology is three-fold—(1) External, such as entries in registers of Stationers' Company, contemporary references, or details as to the companies of actors; (2) External and internal combined, such as references in the plays to events or books, etc.; (3) Internal, content and treatment, progressive changes in versification, presence of frequency of rhyme, etc. The genius of S. was so intensely dramatic that it is impossible to say confidently when he speaks in his own character. The sonnets, written probably 1591-94 have, however, been thought to be of a more personal nature, and to contain indications as to his character and history, and much labour and ingenuity have been expended to make them yield their secrets. It is generally agreed that they fall into two sections, the first consisting of sonnets 1 to 126 addressed to a young man, probably Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of S., and 9 years his junior; and the second from 127 to 154 addressed or referring to a woman in whose snares the writer had become entangled, and by whom he was betrayed. Some, however, have held that they are allegorical, or partly written on behalf of others, or that the emotion they express is dramatic and not personal.
There are contemporary references to S. which show him to have been generally held in high regard. Thus Ben Jonson says, "I loved the man, and do honour to his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any," and Chettle refers to "His demeanour no lesse civil than exelent in the qualities he professes." The only exception is a reference to him in Greene's Groat's-worth of Wit, as "an upstart crow beautified with our feathers, that with his tyger's heart wrapt in a player's hide supposes he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke verse as the best of you. .. and is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a countrie." He is said to have written rapidly and with facility, rarely requiring to alter what he had set down. In addition to his generally received works, others have been attributed to him, some of which have been already mentioned: the only two which appear to have serious claims to consideration are The Two Noble Kinsmen, partly by Fletcher, and Edward III., of which part of Act I. and the whole of Act II. have been thought to be Shakespeare's. On the other hand a theory has been propounded that none of the plays bearing his name were really his, but that they were written by Bacon (q.v.). This extraordinary view has been widely supported, chiefly in America, and has been sometimes maintained; with considerable ability and misplaced ingenuity.
SUMMARY.— B. 1564, ed. at Stratford School, f. falls into difficulties c. 1577, m. Ann Hathaway 1582, goes to London end of 1585, finds employment in theatres and acts in chief companies of the time, first in "The Theatre" afterwards the "Rose," the "Curtain," the "Globe" and "Blackfriars," appearing in Jonson's Every Man in his Humour and Sejanus. Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, earlier plays, and perhaps most of sonnets pub. by 1595, when he was friend of Southampton and known at Court, purchases New Place at Stratford, falls into trouble c. 1600, having lost friends in Essex's conspiracy, and has unfortunate love affair; emerges from this into honour and peace, retires to Stratford and d. 1616. Productive period c. 1588-1613, 4 divisions, first (1588-96), second (1596-1601), third (1601-1608), fourth (1608-1613). Of 37 plays usually attributed, only 16 pub. in his life.
As might have been expected, there is a copious literature devoted to Shakespeare and his works. Among those dealing with biography may be mentioned Halliwell Phillipps's Outline of the Life of Shakespeare (7th ed., 1887), Fleay's Shakespeare Manual (1876), and Life of Shakespeare (1886). Life by S. Lee (1898), Dowden's Shakespeare, his Mind and Art (1875), Drake's Shakespeare and his Times (1817), Thornberry's Shakespeare's England (1856), Knight's Shakespeare (1843). See also Works by Guizot, De Quincey, Fullom, Elze, and others. Criticisms by Coleridge, Hazlitt, Swinburne, T.S. Baynes, and others. Concordance by Mrs. Cowden Clarke. Ed., Rowe (1709), Pope (1725), Theobald (1733), Johnson (1765), Capell (1768), Steevens's improved re-issue of Johnson (1773), Malone (1790), Reed's 1st Variorum (1803), 2nd Variorum (1813), 3rd Variorum by Jas. Boswell the younger (1821), Dyce (1857), Staunton (1868-70), Camb. by W.G. Clark and Dr. Aldis Wright (1863-66), Temple (ed. I. Gollancz, 1894-96), Eversley Shakespeare (ed. Herford, 1899).
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616). —Dramatist and poet, b. at Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, on 22nd or 23rd, and baptised on 26th April, 1564. On his father's side he belonged to a good yeoman stock, though his descent cannot be certainly traced beyond his grandfather, a Richard S., settled at Snitterfield, near Stratford. His f., John S., appears to have been a man of intelligence and energy, who set up in Stratford as a dealer in all kinds of agricultural produce, to which he added the trade of a glover. He became prosperous, and gained the respect of his neighbours, as is evidenced by his election in succession to all the municipal honours of his community, including those of chief alderman and high bailiff. He m. Mary, youngest dau. of Robert Arden, a wealthy farmer at Wilmcote, and a younger branch of a family of considerable distinction, and whose tenant Richard S. had been. On her father's death Mary inherited Asbies, a house with 50 acres of land attached to it. The first children of the marriage were two dau., who d. in infancy. William was the third, and others followed, of whom three sons, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and a dau. Joan, reached maturity. He was ed. with his brother Gilbert at Stratford Grammar School, where he learned Latin from Lilly's Grammar, English, writing, and arithmetic. He probably read some of the Latin classics and may have got a little Greek, and though his learned friend Ben Jonson credits him with "little Latin and less Greek," Aubrey says he "knew Latin pretty well." This happy state of matters continued until he was about 13, when his f. fell into misfortune, which appears to have gone on deepening until the success and prosperity of the poet in later years enabled him to reinstate the family in its former position. Meanwhile, however, he was taken from school, and appears to have been made to assist his f. in his business. The next certain fact in his history is his marriage in November, 1582, when he was 18, to Ann Hathaway, dau. of a yeoman at the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery, and 8 years his senior. Various circumstances point to the marriage having been against the wishes of his own family, and pressed on by that of his wife, and that it was so urged in defence of the reputation of the lady, and as perhaps might be expected, they indicate, though not conclusively, that it did not prove altogether happy. The birth, in May, 1583, of his eldest child Susannah (who is said to have inherited something of his wit and practical ability, and who m. a Dr. John Hall), followed in the next year by that of twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the necessity of increased means, led to his departure from Stratford, whence he travelled on foot to London, where the next 23 years of his life were mainly spent. The tradition that his departure was also caused by trouble into which he had got by killing the deer of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlcote, is credible. Leaving Stratford in 1585 or the beginning of 1586, he seems at once to have turned to the theatres, where he soon found work, although, as Rowe, his first biographer, says, "in a very mean rank." It was not long, however, before he had opportunities of showing his capacities as an actor, with the result that he shortly became a member of one of the chief acting companies of the day, which was then under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, and after being associated with the names of various other noblemen, at last on the accession of James I. became known as the King's Company. It played originally in "The Theatre" in Shoreditch, the first playhouse to be erected in England, and afterwards in the "Rose" on the Bankside, Southwark, the scene of the earliest successes of S. as an actor and playwright. Subsequently to 1594, he acted occasionally in a playhouse in Newington Butts, and between 1595 and 1599 in the "Curtain." In the latter year the "Globe" was built on the Bankside, and 10 years later the "Blackfriars:" and with these two, but especially with the former, the remainder of his professional life was associated. It is not unlikely that he visited various provincial towns; but that he was ever in Scotland or on the Continent is improbable. Among the plays in which he appeared were Jonson's Every Man in his Humour and Sejanus, and in Hamlet he played "The Ghost;" and it is said that his brother Gilbert as an old man remembered his appearing as "Adam" in As You Like It. By 1595 S. was famous and prosperous; his earlier plays had been written and acted, and his poems Venus and Adonis, and Lucrece, and probably most of the sonnets, had been pub. and received with extraordinary favour. He had also powerful friends and patrons, including the Earl of Southampton, and was known at Court. By the end of the century he is mentioned by Francis Meres (q.v.) as the greatest man of letters of the day, and his name had become so valuable that it was affixed by unscrupulous publishers to works, e.g. Locrine, Oldcastle, and The Yorkshire Tragedy, by other and often very inferior hands. He had also resumed a close connection with Stratford, and was making the restoration of the family position there the object of his ambition. In accordance with this he induced his f. to apply for a grant of arms, which was given, and he purchased New Place, the largest house in the village. With the income derived from his profession as an actor and dramatist, and his share of the profits of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and in view of the business capacity with which he managed his affairs, he may be regarded as almost a wealthy man, and he went on adding to his influence in Stratford by buying land. He had enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth, and her death in 1603 did nothing to disturb his fortunes, as he stood quite as well with her successor. His company received the title of the "King's Servants," and his plays were frequently performed before the Court. But notwithstanding this, the clouds had gathered over his life. The conspiracy of Essex in 1601 had involved several of his friends and patrons in disaster; he had himself been entangled in the unhappy love affair which is supposed to be referred to in some of his sonnets, and he had suffered unkindness at the hands of a friend. For a few years his dramas breathe the darkness and bitterness of a heart which has been sounding the depths of sad experience. He soon, however, emerged from this and, passing through the period of the great tragedies, reached the serene triumph and peace of his later dramas. In 1611 S. severed his long connection with the stage, and retired to Stratford, where the remaining five years of his life were spent in honour and prosperity. Early in 1616 his health began to give way, and he made his will. In the spring he received a visit from his friends, Jonson and Drayton, and the festivity with which it was celebrated seems to have brought on a fever, of which he d. on April 23. He was survived by his wife and his two dau., both of whom were married. His descendants d. out with his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall.
Immense research has been spent upon the writings of S., with the result of substantial agreement as to the order of their production and the sources from which their subjects were drawn; for S. rarely troubled himself with the construction of a story, but adopting one already existing reared upon it as a foundation one of those marvellous superstructures which make him the greatest painter and interpreter of human character the world has ever seen. His period of literary production extends from about 1588 to 1613, and falls naturally into four divisions, which Prof. Dowden has named, "In the Workshop" ending in 1596; "In the World" 1596-1601; "Out of the Depths" 1601-1608; and "On the Heights" 1608-1613. Of the 37 plays usually attributed to him, 16 only were pub. during his lifetime, so that the exact order in which they were produced cannot always be determined with certainty. Recent authorities are agreed to the extent that while they do not invariably place the individual plays in the same order, they are almost entirely at one as to which belong to the four periods respectively. The following list shows in a condensed form the order according to Mr. Sidney Lee (Dictionary of National Biography) with the most probable dates and the original sources on which the plays are founded.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS
FIRST PERIOD—1588?-1596
LOVE'S LABOUR LOST (1591)—Plot probably original.
TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (1591)— The Shepherdess Felismena in George of Montmayor's Diana.
COMEDY OF ERRORS (1591)— Menæchmi of Plautus and earlier play.
ROMEO AND JULIET (1591)—Italian romance in Painter's Palace of Pleasure and Broke's Romeus and Juliet.
HENRY VI. 1, 2, and 3 (1592)—Retouched old plays, probably with Marlowe.
RICHARD III. (1592-3)—Holinshed's Chronicle.
RICHARD II. (1593-4?)— do.
TITUS ANDRONICUS (1594)—Probably chiefly by Kyd, retouched.
KING JOHN (1594)—Old play retouched.
SECOND PERIOD—1596-1601-2
MERCHANT OF VENICE (1594)—Italian novels, Gesta Romanorum, and earlier plays.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1595)—North's Plutarch, Chaucer, Ovid.
ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1595)—Painter's Palace of Pleasure.
TAMING OF THE SHREW (1596?)—Old play retouched, and Supposes of G. Gascoigne, Shakespeare's in part only.
HENRY IV. 1 and 2 (1597?)—Holinshed and earlier play.
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (1597-8)—Italian novels (?).
HENRY V. (1599).
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1599)—Partly from Italian.
AS YOU LIKE IT (1599)—Lodge's Rosalynde, Euphues' Golden Legacie.
TWELFTH NIGHT (1599)—B. Riche's Apolonius and Silla.
THIRD PERIOD—1602-1608
JULIUS CÆSAR (1601)—North's Plutarch.
HAMLET (1601-2)—Belleforest's Histoires Tragiques.
TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (1603?)—Probably Chaucer's Troilus and Cresseide and Chapman's Homer.
OTHELLO (1604)—Cinthio's Hecatommithi.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1604?)—Cinthio's Epithia.
MACBETH (1605-6?)—Holinshed.
LEAR (1606)— do.
TIMON OF ATHENS (1607?)— Palace of Pleasure and Plutarch written with G. Wilkins (?) and W. Rowley (?).
PERICLES (1607-8)—Gower's Confessio Amantis, with G. Wilkins (?).
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1608)—North's Plutarch.
CORIOLANUS (1608)— do.
FOURTH PERIOD—1608-1613
CYMBELINE (1610-11?)—Holinshed and Ginevra in Boccaccio's Decamerone.
WINTER'S TALE (1610-11)—Green's Dorastus and Fawnia.
TEMPEST (1611?)—S. Jourdain's Discovery of the Bermudas.
HENRY VIII. (1612-13)—Draft by S. completed by Fletcher and perhaps Massinger.
POEMS
VENUS AND ADONIS (1593).
RAPE OF LUCRECE (1594).
SONNETS (1591-94?).
The evidence as to chronology is three-fold—(1) External, such as entries in registers of Stationers' Company, contemporary references, or details as to the companies of actors; (2) External and internal combined, such as references in the plays to events or books, etc.; (3) Internal, content and treatment, progressive changes in versification, presence of frequency of rhyme, etc. The genius of S. was so intensely dramatic that it is impossible to say confidently when he speaks in his own character. The sonnets, written probably 1591-94 have, however, been thought to be of a more personal nature, and to contain indications as to his character and history, and much labour and ingenuity have been expended to make them yield their secrets. It is generally agreed that they fall into two sections, the first consisting of sonnets 1 to 126 addressed to a young man, probably Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of S., and 9 years his junior; and the second from 127 to 154 addressed or referring to a woman in whose snares the writer had become entangled, and by whom he was betrayed. Some, however, have held that they are allegorical, or partly written on behalf of others, or that the emotion they express is dramatic and not personal.
There are contemporary references to S. which show him to have been generally held in high regard. Thus Ben Jonson says, "I loved the man, and do honour to his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any," and Chettle refers to "His demeanour no lesse civil than exelent in the qualities he professes." The only exception is a reference to him in Greene's Groat's-worth of Wit, as "an upstart crow beautified with our feathers, that with his tyger's heart wrapt in a player's hide supposes he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke verse as the best of you. .. and is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a countrie." He is said to have written rapidly and with facility, rarely requiring to alter what he had set down. In addition to his generally received works, others have been attributed to him, some of which have been already mentioned: the only two which appear to have serious claims to consideration are The Two Noble Kinsmen, partly by Fletcher, and Edward III., of which part of Act I. and the whole of Act II. have been thought to be Shakespeare's. On the other hand a theory has been propounded that none of the plays bearing his name were really his, but that they were written by Bacon (q.v.). This extraordinary view has been widely supported, chiefly in America, and has been sometimes maintained; with considerable ability and misplaced ingenuity.
SUMMARY.— B. 1564, ed. at Stratford School, f. falls into difficulties c. 1577, m. Ann Hathaway 1582, goes to London end of 1585, finds employment in theatres and acts in chief companies of the time, first in "The Theatre" afterwards the "Rose," the "Curtain," the "Globe" and "Blackfriars," appearing in Jonson's Every Man in his Humour and Sejanus. Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, earlier plays, and perhaps most of sonnets pub. by 1595, when he was friend of Southampton and known at Court, purchases New Place at Stratford, falls into trouble c. 1600, having lost friends in Essex's conspiracy, and has unfortunate love affair; emerges from this into honour and peace, retires to Stratford and d. 1616. Productive period c. 1588-1613, 4 divisions, first (1588-96), second (1596-1601), third (1601-1608), fourth (1608-1613). Of 37 plays usually attributed, only 16 pub. in his life.
As might have been expected, there is a copious literature devoted to Shakespeare and his works. Among those dealing with biography may be mentioned Halliwell Phillipps's Outline of the Life of Shakespeare (7th ed., 1887), Fleay's Shakespeare Manual (1876), and Life of Shakespeare (1886). Life by S. Lee (1898), Dowden's Shakespeare, his Mind and Art (1875), Drake's Shakespeare and his Times (1817), Thornberry's Shakespeare's England (1856), Knight's Shakespeare (1843). See also Works by Guizot, De Quincey, Fullom, Elze, and others. Criticisms by Coleridge, Hazlitt, Swinburne, T.S. Baynes, and others. Concordance by Mrs. Cowden Clarke. Ed., Rowe (1709), Pope (1725), Theobald (1733), Johnson (1765), Capell (1768), Steevens's improved re-issue of Johnson (1773), Malone (1790), Reed's 1st Variorum (1803), 2nd Variorum (1813), 3rd Variorum by Jas. Boswell the younger (1821), Dyce (1857), Staunton (1868-70), Camb. by W.G. Clark and Dr. Aldis Wright (1863-66), Temple (ed. I. Gollancz, 1894-96), Eversley Shakespeare (ed. Herford, 1899).
Yahoo! Mail - jacobthanni@yahoo.co.in
http://in.f84.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=7146_7941003_957572_3539_8155_0_32832_24504_2778846895&Idx=5&YY=71583&y5beta=yes&y5beta=yes&inc=25&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b&box=Inbox
From:
"yogi sikand" Add to Address Book
Date:
Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:27:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:
[saldwr] Counter-Currents Update
#message { overflow:auto; visibility:hidden }
HelloKindly forward this newsletter to your friends andencourage them tojoin this mailing list.http://www.counterc urrents.org/ subscribe. htm In SolidarityBinuIraq Has Two Virginia Techs Every Day By Juan Colehttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ cole190407. htmThe profound sorrow and alarm produced in the Americanpublic by the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech should give us abaseline for what the Iraqis are actually living through. They have twoVirginia Tech-style attacks every single dayOur Dead, Their Dead By Mickey Z. http://www.counterc urrents.org/ mickeyz190407. htmAs tragic as the Virginia Tech shootings are, let'sface it: 32 dead is a slow day in U.S.-occupied Iraq. "Those whose liveswere taken did nothing to deserve their fate," President Bush said."They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." He would know. InAmerica, we have the luxury of mourning our dead for days or even years(see 9/11). If Iraqis tried to"pull together" and "come to grips" with everymassacre of innocents... well, you get the idea A Lot Of Uninvited Guests By Dahr Jamailhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ jamail190407a. htmThe massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Syria hasbrought rising prices and overcrowding, but most Syrians seem to haveaccepted more than a million of the refugees happily enoughRefugees Bring In Some Brittle Strength By Dahr Jamailhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ jamail190407. htmSyria's decision to accept Iraqi refugees streaminginto the country has brought the government of President Bashar Assadmore power within Syria and the region, but at significant costSadrist Ministers Withdraw From Iraqi Cabinet By James Coganhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ cogan190407. htmSix ministers of the Iraqi cabinet, members of theShiite fundamentalist movement headed by cleric Moqtadaal-Sadr, formally resigned their positions on Monday. The Sadrists declared they wereresponding to the mass sentiment among their supporters that US andother foreign troops must be ordered to leave the countryThe Virginia Tech Massacre: Social Roots Of Another American TragedyBy David Walshhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ walsh190407. htmA day after the mass killing at Virginia Tech inBlacksburg, Virginia, along with grief and dismay, some reflections on lifein the US are clearly in order. The event was horrifying, but no onewho has followed the evolution of American society over the pastquarter-century will be entirely shocked Iran: The Price Of Being Defenceless By Ghali Hassanhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ hassan190407. htmEver since the U.S. began its preparation foraggression against Iran, Western media and Western elites have continue todemonise Iran and provide misleading propaganda to justify U.S. attacksagainst the Islamic Republic. On her part, Iran has the right to defendher sovereignty against any unprovoked act of aggression. Adefenceless Iran would pay the heavy price Iraq is payingNew US Postal Rates Undermine Small Publications By Stephen Lendmanhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ lendman190407. htmWith the new rates scheduled to take effect July 15under which small publications will pay postal rates as much as 20%higher than the largest ones in a willful plan to undermine themWhat Is The Main Plank Of The US Foreign Policy? By Chandi Sinnathuraihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ chandi190407. htmThe US proscribed the Tamil Tigers in October 1997under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Actof 1996. In October of 2003, �after further review itre-designated the Tamil Tigers as a �Foreign terrorist organisation.� Whilsttaking all such drastic actions however, the Bush Administration oftenneglected to take action or even to exert pressure against the Stateterror in Sri Lanka, particularly aimed at the Tamil population. The Tamilsare facing a mass slaughter in the East [Mattakalappu & Amparai] and theNorth of Sri Lanka even as I writeStatus Of Manual Scavengers In Laar, Deoria By Vidya Bhushan Rawathttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ rawat190407. htmTime has come for all of us to scrutinize government'sprogrammes and action to eliminate manual scavenging and take theofficials of the department to task. India's 9% growth rate or shiningIndia is absolutely farcical if this large community remains outside theambit of global changeShould BJP Be Derecognized? By Ram Puniyanihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ puniyani190407. htmIn a democracy it is a difficult choice toban/derecognize parties or organizations. What does one do with the organizationswhich pay lip service to democracy but are tied to apron strings ofthose organizations which stand opposed to democracy and Indianconstitution? It is no secret that RSS chief just six years ago called forscrapping of Indian constitution and bringing in one based in India holybooks. It is no secret that RSS combine is working for Hindu Nation.By implication though BJP takes oath for preserving Indian constitution, ithas no qualms in violating the same when the time comesIf You Haven'tMade A Donation YetDo It NOW !http://www.counterc urrents.org/ donate.htmYour Support Is AbsolutelyNecessaryFor Our Survival Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur SoyeDukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur RoyeThe world is 'happy', eating and sleepingThe forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping
From:
"yogi sikand"
Date:
Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:27:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:
[saldwr] Counter-Currents Update
#message { overflow:auto; visibility:hidden }
HelloKindly forward this newsletter to your friends andencourage them tojoin this mailing list.http://www.counterc urrents.org/ subscribe. htm In SolidarityBinuIraq Has Two Virginia Techs Every Day By Juan Colehttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ cole190407. htmThe profound sorrow and alarm produced in the Americanpublic by the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech should give us abaseline for what the Iraqis are actually living through. They have twoVirginia Tech-style attacks every single dayOur Dead, Their Dead By Mickey Z. http://www.counterc urrents.org/ mickeyz190407. htmAs tragic as the Virginia Tech shootings are, let'sface it: 32 dead is a slow day in U.S.-occupied Iraq. "Those whose liveswere taken did nothing to deserve their fate," President Bush said."They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." He would know. InAmerica, we have the luxury of mourning our dead for days or even years(see 9/11). If Iraqis tried to"pull together" and "come to grips" with everymassacre of innocents... well, you get the idea A Lot Of Uninvited Guests By Dahr Jamailhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ jamail190407a. htmThe massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Syria hasbrought rising prices and overcrowding, but most Syrians seem to haveaccepted more than a million of the refugees happily enoughRefugees Bring In Some Brittle Strength By Dahr Jamailhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ jamail190407. htmSyria's decision to accept Iraqi refugees streaminginto the country has brought the government of President Bashar Assadmore power within Syria and the region, but at significant costSadrist Ministers Withdraw From Iraqi Cabinet By James Coganhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ cogan190407. htmSix ministers of the Iraqi cabinet, members of theShiite fundamentalist movement headed by cleric Moqtadaal-Sadr, formally resigned their positions on Monday. The Sadrists declared they wereresponding to the mass sentiment among their supporters that US andother foreign troops must be ordered to leave the countryThe Virginia Tech Massacre: Social Roots Of Another American TragedyBy David Walshhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ walsh190407. htmA day after the mass killing at Virginia Tech inBlacksburg, Virginia, along with grief and dismay, some reflections on lifein the US are clearly in order. The event was horrifying, but no onewho has followed the evolution of American society over the pastquarter-century will be entirely shocked Iran: The Price Of Being Defenceless By Ghali Hassanhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ hassan190407. htmEver since the U.S. began its preparation foraggression against Iran, Western media and Western elites have continue todemonise Iran and provide misleading propaganda to justify U.S. attacksagainst the Islamic Republic. On her part, Iran has the right to defendher sovereignty against any unprovoked act of aggression. Adefenceless Iran would pay the heavy price Iraq is payingNew US Postal Rates Undermine Small Publications By Stephen Lendmanhttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ lendman190407. htmWith the new rates scheduled to take effect July 15under which small publications will pay postal rates as much as 20%higher than the largest ones in a willful plan to undermine themWhat Is The Main Plank Of The US Foreign Policy? By Chandi Sinnathuraihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ chandi190407. htmThe US proscribed the Tamil Tigers in October 1997under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Actof 1996. In October of 2003, �after further review itre-designated the Tamil Tigers as a �Foreign terrorist organisation.� Whilsttaking all such drastic actions however, the Bush Administration oftenneglected to take action or even to exert pressure against the Stateterror in Sri Lanka, particularly aimed at the Tamil population. The Tamilsare facing a mass slaughter in the East [Mattakalappu & Amparai] and theNorth of Sri Lanka even as I writeStatus Of Manual Scavengers In Laar, Deoria By Vidya Bhushan Rawathttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ rawat190407. htmTime has come for all of us to scrutinize government'sprogrammes and action to eliminate manual scavenging and take theofficials of the department to task. India's 9% growth rate or shiningIndia is absolutely farcical if this large community remains outside theambit of global changeShould BJP Be Derecognized? By Ram Puniyanihttp://www.counterc urrents.org/ puniyani190407. htmIn a democracy it is a difficult choice toban/derecognize parties or organizations. What does one do with the organizationswhich pay lip service to democracy but are tied to apron strings ofthose organizations which stand opposed to democracy and Indianconstitution? It is no secret that RSS chief just six years ago called forscrapping of Indian constitution and bringing in one based in India holybooks. It is no secret that RSS combine is working for Hindu Nation.By implication though BJP takes oath for preserving Indian constitution, ithas no qualms in violating the same when the time comesIf You Haven'tMade A Donation YetDo It NOW !http://www.counterc urrents.org/ donate.htmYour Support Is AbsolutelyNecessaryFor Our Survival Sukhia Sab Sansar Khaye Aur SoyeDukhia Das Kabir Jagey Aur RoyeThe world is 'happy', eating and sleepingThe forlorn Kabir Das is awake and weeping
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
