On the eve of parliamentary debate on the Indo-US nuke deal, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Anil Kakodkar, on Friday met India's former nuclear heads on the BilI and told them that he would convey their concern to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Kakodkar met the scientists at the Nuclear Power Corporation here on Friday. Those present included M R Srinivasan, Homi Sethna, A N Prasad, Y S R Prasad, P K Iyengar and A R Gopalakrishnan. Their stand was that the Bill will not serve the interests of Indian nuclear establishment since it had considerably deviated from the original July 18, 2005 agreement. "Kakodkar shares our concerns," they told mediapersons after the nearly three-hour meeting. In August 2006, these scientists had met the PM and expressed reservations about the nuke deal even before it was passed by the US Senate and the Senate and House of Representative versions were subsequently merged to become the Hyde Bill. Though the scientists were hoping that the Bill would be India-friendly, but that was not the case, prompting the meeting. A N Prasad said that they were clear that the Hyde Bill had departed from the original agreement and even from the promises made by the PM. "The points which we raised today should be used by our negotiators while dealing with the 123 Agreement and we have also insisted that it should be reflected in it," he said. The main thrust of their argument was that the 123 agreement should honour the commitments made in the understanding reached between US president George Bush and Manmohan Singh in Washington on July 18, 2005. Listing their concerns in a paper they said Hyde Bill suffers the following drawbacks:
• India has been asked to participate in an international effort on nuclear non-proliferation with a policy congruent to that of the US. • India has been denied the right to conduct future nuclear weapon tests. • The Act requires the US to encourage India to identify and declare a date by which this country would be willing to stop production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. • The Act is totally silent on the US working with India to move towards universal nuclear disarmament, but it eloquently covers all aspects of non-proliferation controls of US priority, into which they want to draw India into committing. They submitted the paper to Kakodkar who in turn may show it to the PM. "In short, it is obvious that the Hyde Act still retains many of the objectionable clauses in the earlier House and Senate Bill on which the PM had put forth his objections and clarified the Indian position in both the Houses," the paper said. "As such the government of India many convey their views formally to the US administration and they should be reflected in the 123 Agreement." Srinivasan said that the Hyde Bill would be discussed during the next meeting of AEC. "We have also opposed the commitment which we are supposed to make on foreign policy issues like Iran," he said. While pointing out that PM was keen on standing committed to the 2005, agreement, "both India and the US should accommodate each others interests. Our nuclear independence should not be bartered away," he added "We have advised the PM through Kakodkar that the conditions in the agreement should be congenial to Indian interests
Friday, December 15, 2006
Statues as symbols
We build statues out of snow and weep to see them melt, Walter Scott once said. From schoolyards to public grounds to neighbourhood parks you see them everywhere. Stone, bronze, clay and plaster of Paris. Some mounted on stone, standing in alcoves, some larger than life, some much more modest. To celebrate victories, record achievements, honour heroes and, at times, the mark of the ambitious eager for immortality. The occasion is often forgotten but we are reminded time and time again of the power of these memorials to touch a primal chord in us. At a time when instances of statue desecration cutting across political ideologies are growing, it makes sense to step back and examine what it is that makes them such potent tools for adulation or animosity. For a start these spatial and temporal landmarks are loaded with memory. Anthropologist Katherine Verdery says statues symbolise a specific famous person while in effect being the 'body' of that person. By arresting the process of that person's bodily decay, a statue alters the temporality associated with him, bringing him into the realms of the timeless. Many of these symbols that once found expression in the beliefs and rituals of primitive society, continue to remain embedded in what Carl Jung calls the "collective unconscious", or that part of the psyche that retains and transmits the common psychological inheritance of mankind. "Often these symbols are so ancient and unfamiliar to modern man that he cannot directly understand or assimilate them", he says. That is why statues or monuments evoke such strong reactions, be it awe, fear, adulation or anger and violation when they are demolished. Indians are hardly unique when it comes to statuemania. Societies from Greeks to Romans have been obsessed with erecting memorials and busts. But there is something deep-rooted in the Indian psyche that explains the countless statues dotting our towns and cities. Statues, which freeze memory and time, are ideal for perpetuating stereotypes. They also help foster and propagate an environment of blind hero-worship. Ergo, subjects are always portrayed larger than life — be it Nehru holding court in his trademark jacket or Gandhi striding ahead supported by his walking stick or Ambedkar cradling a copy of the Constitution. They are generally elevated and placed in an enclosure that is regarded as sacred. Celebrating the individual was one of the aims of Roman sculpture. Romans routinely liked to adorn their houses with busts or herms — pillars topped by busts — crafted in bronze or marble. This does not allow human appearances to be forgotten or the dust of ages to prevail against men. In this, Romans were no different from Greeks. But while Greeks had given their gods an ideal human form, Romans strove to make their rulers godlike. As Daniel Boorstin writes in The Creators, "When Julius Caesar was given the title of Augustus and became the object of worship, his statue had to be 'apotheosized'... Sculpture became the vehicle of politics and the visual symbol of empire. Sculptors had to offer recognisable likenesses of Augustus to unite imperial loyalties yet the figure had to be sufficiently idealised to serve a religious ritual function, raising him above human rank". This is when they become totems or objects viewed as having a special mystical or symbolic role in society. During Mao Zedong's resurgence in China in the early 1990s, street markets were suddenly full of Mao badges, posters,embroideries, bust and buttons and even alarm clocks. For some Mao became a good-luck charm, for others a talisman, reaching a crescendo just before his 100th birth anniversary in 1993. Thus if statues could perpetuate memory, destroying them can erase memories. Romans had "damnation memoriae" as a punishment for treason. Along with execution and confiscation of property, images of the person were to be destroyed and his name erased from all inscriptions. Statues are symbolic of a community and its shared ideals and beliefs. Which is why destroying one is akin to iconoclasm, and desecrating or mutilating a statue rouses much stronger emotions than if a disembodied comme-morative plaque of a park or road is defaced.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Your cell phone = your wallet
For nearly a decade, cell phone carriers have dreamed of the day when consumers can shop using their handhelds, not their wallets. One touch of the dial pad and the holiday scarf for Mom is sold.
Only recently, however, has it become technologically viable for users to transfer money securely to and from their cell phones. In Japan and parts of Europe, consumers are actively buying stuff with their handsets. So U.S. carriers must be falling over themselves to sell phones with ATM-like capabilities here at home, right?
As it turns out, mobile phone operators are the ones holding up a new era of wireless money transfers in the United States. The reason: They haven't found a business model they like. Negotiations between carriers and consumer banks have recently stalled over when - and how much - users must pay when they buy double-shot lattes via their cell phones.
The impasse is wilting once-rosy projections on the potential size of the mobile payments market. ABI Research recently cut by 10 percent the number of handsets it expects to ship in 2011 that have the 'near field communication' (NFC) technology that can beam payments from bank accounts to retailers.
"This is not going to happen as quickly as we thought," says Jonathan Collins, an ABI senior analyst. "The business model needs to be hashed out before mobile payments can take off."
A cash cow waiting to be drained
The problem, explains Collins, is about rivalry and profit-sharing. With their tight grip on the mobile ecosystem, carriers have been reluctant to open up their customer base to banks, whom they also consider competitors.
Fees are the other main sticking point. The phone carriers want a percentage of each sale made with a cell phone. But banks argue that's not a viable model because it will effectively mean higher prices for consumers. If mobile payment services aren't cheap and easy, the financial firms argue, consumers won't use them.
Carriers have plenty of reasons to break the deadlock. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $55 billion by 2008, according to consulting firm Celent. A chunk of those riches will go to handset vendors like Motorola (Charts) and Nokia (Charts). But the carriers stand to reap untold ancillary revenues: If consumers can use their cell phone to buy movie tickets at the box office, the next logical step is mobile banking and other services that require customers to buy pricey data plans.
Thomas Zalewski, a Nokia executive, agrees that the big promise of mobile payments for carriers lies in secondary services - and not in any direct fees from cell phone-based purchases. "Perhaps that's where they get a piece of the action."
Niche carriers look for an advantage
Analysts aren't making any predictions on when the standoff will end. For now, the most shoppers can hope for are rudimentary services from much smaller cell phone carriers. Known as "mobile virtual network operators" (MVNOs), these fledgling carriers lease spectrum from major carriers and chase after niche markets.
Amp'd Mobile - an MVNO that targets music buffs, has rolled out a scaled-down service that lets consumers exchange money with each other via their cell phones. So, for instance, a father could text message $100 to his college son's cell phone. Helio, an MVNO aimed at young adults, will soon unveil the same service, called Obopay.
The problem with the above scenario, however, is that both the father and the son must sign up for Obopay for the service to work. The only way they can purchase goods is with a traditional debit card, just like shoppers do today. So Obopay, while moving in the right direction, still has a ways to go. The service is working with both Helio and Amp'd Mobile to enable consumers next year buy with their phones.
7-Eleven is also pushing into mobile payments through its Speak Out Wireless cell phone service. Last month the convenience store chain began a trial service in its Dallas hometown that uses near field communication technology. 7-Eleven is testing the program with Nokia and MasterCard.
But small players like 7-Eleven and Helio - a joint venture of Korea's SK Telecom and Earthlink - aren't about to snatch the mobile payment opportunity out from under the major carriers. Their collective customer bar is far too small, and likely to stay that way.
"To really scale this you need a large carrier that's willing to take a chance," says Nokia's Zalewski. Like most handset makers, Nokia is eager to bring its NFC phones to the United States. But so far, no American carriers have ordered any - either from Nokia or any other device maker.
They might be in for a long wait.
"Mobile payments won't happen until the [major] carriers are confident they'll make money from this," says Collins, the ABI analyst.
Only recently, however, has it become technologically viable for users to transfer money securely to and from their cell phones. In Japan and parts of Europe, consumers are actively buying stuff with their handsets. So U.S. carriers must be falling over themselves to sell phones with ATM-like capabilities here at home, right?
As it turns out, mobile phone operators are the ones holding up a new era of wireless money transfers in the United States. The reason: They haven't found a business model they like. Negotiations between carriers and consumer banks have recently stalled over when - and how much - users must pay when they buy double-shot lattes via their cell phones.
The impasse is wilting once-rosy projections on the potential size of the mobile payments market. ABI Research recently cut by 10 percent the number of handsets it expects to ship in 2011 that have the 'near field communication' (NFC) technology that can beam payments from bank accounts to retailers.
"This is not going to happen as quickly as we thought," says Jonathan Collins, an ABI senior analyst. "The business model needs to be hashed out before mobile payments can take off."
A cash cow waiting to be drained
The problem, explains Collins, is about rivalry and profit-sharing. With their tight grip on the mobile ecosystem, carriers have been reluctant to open up their customer base to banks, whom they also consider competitors.
Fees are the other main sticking point. The phone carriers want a percentage of each sale made with a cell phone. But banks argue that's not a viable model because it will effectively mean higher prices for consumers. If mobile payment services aren't cheap and easy, the financial firms argue, consumers won't use them.
Carriers have plenty of reasons to break the deadlock. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $55 billion by 2008, according to consulting firm Celent. A chunk of those riches will go to handset vendors like Motorola (Charts) and Nokia (Charts). But the carriers stand to reap untold ancillary revenues: If consumers can use their cell phone to buy movie tickets at the box office, the next logical step is mobile banking and other services that require customers to buy pricey data plans.
Thomas Zalewski, a Nokia executive, agrees that the big promise of mobile payments for carriers lies in secondary services - and not in any direct fees from cell phone-based purchases. "Perhaps that's where they get a piece of the action."
Niche carriers look for an advantage
Analysts aren't making any predictions on when the standoff will end. For now, the most shoppers can hope for are rudimentary services from much smaller cell phone carriers. Known as "mobile virtual network operators" (MVNOs), these fledgling carriers lease spectrum from major carriers and chase after niche markets.
Amp'd Mobile - an MVNO that targets music buffs, has rolled out a scaled-down service that lets consumers exchange money with each other via their cell phones. So, for instance, a father could text message $100 to his college son's cell phone. Helio, an MVNO aimed at young adults, will soon unveil the same service, called Obopay.
The problem with the above scenario, however, is that both the father and the son must sign up for Obopay for the service to work. The only way they can purchase goods is with a traditional debit card, just like shoppers do today. So Obopay, while moving in the right direction, still has a ways to go. The service is working with both Helio and Amp'd Mobile to enable consumers next year buy with their phones.
7-Eleven is also pushing into mobile payments through its Speak Out Wireless cell phone service. Last month the convenience store chain began a trial service in its Dallas hometown that uses near field communication technology. 7-Eleven is testing the program with Nokia and MasterCard.
But small players like 7-Eleven and Helio - a joint venture of Korea's SK Telecom and Earthlink - aren't about to snatch the mobile payment opportunity out from under the major carriers. Their collective customer bar is far too small, and likely to stay that way.
"To really scale this you need a large carrier that's willing to take a chance," says Nokia's Zalewski. Like most handset makers, Nokia is eager to bring its NFC phones to the United States. But so far, no American carriers have ordered any - either from Nokia or any other device maker.
They might be in for a long wait.
"Mobile payments won't happen until the [major] carriers are confident they'll make money from this," says Collins, the ABI analyst.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Break the silence on sexual assault
Ten years ago, I was raped by someone whom I trusted. I was forced to lead a secluded life, but the one who should have been punished is leading a happy life today as the case is still in court. Initially, my parents discouraged me from reporting the incident. But with the help of an NGO, I lodged a complaint though I don't know if I will get justice." — Aparna, rape victim "When I went to lodge a complaint against the rapist of my four-year-old daughter, I was asked by the police to sign on a piece of a paper and I did. Later, I found out that the paper had a statement saying I didn't want my daughter to undergo a medical examination. In the absence of a medical report, the accused was let off. The review petition in the higher court was also dismissed because two years after the incident, my daughter had become more articulate and so it was felt that she was tutored." — R Kapoor, father of a victim (names have been changed) The Imrana verdict might seem to be a shot in the arm for rape victims, but such verdicts are very rare. Most rape cases go unreported or drag on in courts for years. Afreen, legal officer with Lawyers' Collective in New Delhi, says that in 90% of the cases, the victims at some stage during the trial feel that the whole exercise is futile and would prefer to back out because they cannot maintain anonymity, though the law provides for it. ""Even Imrana was publicly named. But she had the support of the media and her family. In many cases, they are not assured of any security," says Akhila Shivadas, executive director, Centre for Advocacy and Research. She recalls an incident where a victim charged her husband with rape. But before she could gather evidence, he killed her. In most cases, the victims are made to either marry the rapist or the parents arrange for a hush-hush marriage. Shahjahan, a counsellor at NGO Shakti Vahini, remembers an incident where a victim was married to the driver of the rapist. ""She agreed as she had nowhere else to go," he says. Approaching the police is also not a welcome prospect. ""Investigating officers are advised not to visit the house of the victim and if they do, they should be in plain clothes. But that never happens," says Sudhir Rai of Centre for Social Research. ""Often, they presume that the victim is lying and treat her at par with the accused," adds Afreen. The problems start with the FIR itself. ""In most FIRs, the police refrain from using the word "rape' or "assault' but use terms like wrongdoing," says Afreen. The victims are even discouraged from filing an FIR. ""Recently, the father of a victim was told was "why did you let your daughter have so much freedom'? " says Rai. ""Most of the victims don't trust the legal system," says Ranjana Kumari, women's activist. ""There is no conviction in 99% of the cases. Also, it takes many years to get justice," says Flavia Agnes, lawyer and women's rights activist. Women are also humiliated and asked uncomfortable questions. ""Even for judges, it's a big joke. They laugh at the kind of questions asked in court," Agnes adds. The solution, she says, lies in improving the conviction rates and in inspiring confidence so that victims feel encouraged to report crimes.
Young, restless & religious: How God bridged Gen gap
Contrary to what many might believe, the young in India are no less religious than their elders, though their faith appears to be on the whole just a little more abstract and less ritualistic. In fact, if there is an age group slightly less religious than the rest, it is those in the early stages of middle age. The TOI-TNS poll shows that 72% of those in their twenties strongly believe in God, which is only slightly lower than the overall average of 75%, and another 19% "somewhat believe". This is more than the 69% of 40-49 year olds who are strong believers, the lowest figure for any age group. Whether those in their early middle age are less believers because they happen to be from the generation that grew up in the sixties and seventies or because they are at a stage in life in which trials and tribulations take a toll on faith is hard to say. But given that 39% of 50-59 year olds say they are more religious today than they used to be, the latter explanation might be more valid. The 50-59 age group is, not surprisingly, the one that comes across as the strongest believers as well as the one that has more faith in spiritual gurus and in the idea of God having a human form. The young (20-29), however, are more into religious books and music than any of the other age groups. Interestingly, the younger age groups perceived God (if he/she had a human form) as middle-aged, while the middle-aged felt God would be young. Of course, this difference in perception may be not so much because they visualise different ages for God, but simply because the definition of young and middle-aged tends to be different for different age groups. To return to the young, they are less inclined to see God as present in places of worship, idols, spiritual gurus or holy books. They are also less convinced that God is the creator, though 87% of them do believe this against 90%-plus levels in other groups. The perception of God as always just is also much lower among the 20-29 age group. A fairly high 21% of the youngest respondents felt God was always unjust, another 29% that he/she was sometimes unjust. Despite this feeling of unjustness, the young were less inclined to fear God than their elders. While 69% of them either fully or mostly agreed with the statement "I fear God", that proportion was 77% for those aged 30-39, 76% for the 40-49 and 73% for the oldest age group in the sample. The young are also less convinced that God will punish them for their sins, that incidents like Ganesha drinking milk or brackish water turning sweet demonstrate the presence of God or that their fate is predetermined. Theirs is also a less certain embrace of faith. Against the 8% of 50-59 year olds who said they never doubted the existence of God, 14% of those aged 20-29 were as sure about their belief in a supreme being. If you think this indicates a more open mind, try and explain this one: The young were less open to the idea of people converting from one religion to another, though the difference between age groups on this question is fairly small.
Child-hoods in jail? It's simply criminal
Child victims of trafficking and sexual abuse often face further victimisation under detention. No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily." So states the Convention on the Rights of the Child, one of the seven core treaties of the international human rights framework. But, according to Unicef, an alarming number of children around the world are being deprived of their liberty, held in detention without sufficient cause. The Convention stresses that imprisonment of a child shall be used "only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time", but many children are rounded up simply for being a nuisance or perceived as a threat. Moreover, most of them are not tried, and are held for months, and in some cases years, often without access to legal aid. Also, in keeping with the Convention, legislation in most countries requires separate facilities for children to prevent abuse and exploitation by adults. Yet detention with adults is routine in many countries. Unicef estimates indicate that more that one million children worldwide are living in detention as a result of being in conflict with the law. The term 'children in conflict with the law' refers to anyone under 18 who comes in contact with the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence. Most children in conflict with the law have committed petty crimes or such minor offences as vagrancy, truancy, begging or alcohol use. Some of these are known as 'status offences' and are not considered criminal when committed by adults.
Child-hoods in jail? It's simply criminal Most of these children are from deprived communities and families and are criminalised for simply trying to survive. Often, they are held under deplorable and inhumane conditions. Physical abuse is common and children suffer deep trauma resulting from torture and interrogation. Child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation are often re-victimised. "Children in detention are frequently subjected to violence by staff...they may be beaten, caned, painfully restrained, and subjected to humiliating treatment such as being stripped naked and caned in front of other detainees. Girls in detention facilities are at particular risk of physical and sexual abuse," according to a UN study on violence against children released in August. Children in detention are also at risk of self-harm or suicidal behaviour, the study says. Putting children in prison instead of seeking alternatives stigmatises them as delinquents, robs them of opportunities for jobs and scholarships and exposes them to others who have committed more serious crimes. It also increases the likelihood of children breaking the law once again. Are there alternatives to detention? Yes, says Unicef. Its recommendations: Don't imprison children simply trying to survive; divert children who have committed minor crimes away from the criminal justice system; use detention only as a last resort; when children are imprisoned they should be kept separate from adults; governments should monitor the situation very closely, at a minimum having records of how many children are in jail and how long they have been there.
Child-hoods in jail? It's simply criminal Most of these children are from deprived communities and families and are criminalised for simply trying to survive. Often, they are held under deplorable and inhumane conditions. Physical abuse is common and children suffer deep trauma resulting from torture and interrogation. Child victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation are often re-victimised. "Children in detention are frequently subjected to violence by staff...they may be beaten, caned, painfully restrained, and subjected to humiliating treatment such as being stripped naked and caned in front of other detainees. Girls in detention facilities are at particular risk of physical and sexual abuse," according to a UN study on violence against children released in August. Children in detention are also at risk of self-harm or suicidal behaviour, the study says. Putting children in prison instead of seeking alternatives stigmatises them as delinquents, robs them of opportunities for jobs and scholarships and exposes them to others who have committed more serious crimes. It also increases the likelihood of children breaking the law once again. Are there alternatives to detention? Yes, says Unicef. Its recommendations: Don't imprison children simply trying to survive; divert children who have committed minor crimes away from the criminal justice system; use detention only as a last resort; when children are imprisoned they should be kept separate from adults; governments should monitor the situation very closely, at a minimum having records of how many children are in jail and how long they have been there.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
FACT ABOUT INDIA
Facts About India *The name India is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. *The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name Hindustan? combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus. *The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero. *Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ). *Chess was invented in India. *Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India. *The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India. *The first six Mogul Emperor's of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707. *The World's First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ' 80-tonne ' piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola *India is.......the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old). *The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population? *Islam is India's and the world's second largest religion? *Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C.E and 52 A.D respectively. *The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world's largest religious pilgrimage destination, larger than either Rome or Mecca, with an average of 30,000 visitors every day giving donations to the temple of $6 million ( U.S.) daily? *The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called 'Mokshapat.' The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births. *The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education. *Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake. *The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'. *Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days. *The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians. *Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ). *Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America ) *Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries. *Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. *Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts. *The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level. *The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982. *India has the most post offices in the world ! *The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !. *India exports software to 90 countries. *According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. *USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi. *The Co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla, is Indian. *The head of the team that developed the Pentium co-processor, Vinod Dham, is Indian. *The founder and creator of Hotmail, the world's best-known web-based email program, Sabeer Bhatia, is Indian. *The testing Director of Windows 2000, Sanjay Tejwrika, is Indian Be Proud To be Indian! 38% of Doctors in America are Indians.12% of Scientists in America are Indians.36% of NASA employees are Indians.34% of MICROSOFT employees are Indians.28% of IBM employees are Indians.17% of INTEL employees are Indians.13% of XEROX employees are Indians. These facts were recently published in a German Magazine which deals with WORLD HISTORY
When water & air conspires to kill
Chennai: A car can be a deadly place to be in an automobile accident. And then, you can die while simply sitting in a parked car, its engine running, the windows up and the air-con running. The freak accident that recently involved three Chennai-based young software engineers in a Santro is an illustration of how death can strike viciously and silently while doing nothing less innocuous than sitting in a car. Now, though knowledge of the circumstances in the incident is still forthcoming, a post mortem report of the three people points a probable finger at the cause of death — a heavy amount of carbon monoxide in the lungs. Here's a possible reconstruction of the tragedy. The three colleagues decide to head out in the car and find themselves stuck in a logjam of cars stranded in heavy rain and the flooding on G.N.Chetty Road. They decide to wait out the situation with the windows up — the rain otherwise would get into the car. The air-conditioner is running and set on `recirculate' — a mode people normally use to prevent the smellier components of urban air pollution from getting into the car. The engine is running to keep the air con functioning. In the meantime, water is rising below and around the car, and this means the hot exhaust gas, which normally has a larger volume of air to disperse into, is suddenly crowded up against the undersides of the car's floorboards. The situation might be more adverse if the car's exhaust system has a leak somewhere and all emissions are not properly exiting at the tailpipe as they are meant to. The gases might therefore be building up more heavily than normal under the car and inside the engine bay. And invariably, this gas will get into the car through the tiny access holes present in these regions — the little holes on the floorboard that drain water from inside a car, the innumerable gaps and holes that route wiring, cabling and mechanical controls like the steering column through the engine bulkhead — the wall that separates the engine bay from the passenger cabin. In the meantime, the air-con is steadily recirculating the deadly gases through the cabin of the car — and a silent and deadly killer gas — carbon monoxide — goes to work, poisoning the unwary occupants. How does CO kill? Carbon monoxide, or CO, is one of the gases emitted by your car's exhaust system. It is completely imperceptible to the human senses, being odourless, colourless, tasteless. And this poison is doubly deadly, as it gets absorbed into the bloodstream quickly — the hemoglobin in blood has a much greater affinity for this gas than oxygen, forming a strong bond that is devastating in nature — it starves organ tissues in the human body of vital oxygen. Symptoms of CO poisoning are things you'd shake off as the result of a stressful, long day at work — headache, dizziness, nausea and fatigue. And then you might decide to sleep it off for a while... Staying out of CO trouble in your car How do you stay out of flood and CO trouble? For a start, if you're stuck in a car when the road is flooding, or in a traffic jam, keep your windows down — at least a crack. This will let fresh air in, preventing a high buildup of CO in the cabin. See that your car's air-con system is set to 'ventilate' mode, as most car manuals recommend — this brings in additional fresh air. Turn the engine off if you can, and if the situation looks difficult, explore the possibility of parking your car and retrieving it another day. If your car is equipped with power windows and central locking — particularly an aftermarket fitment — see that your windows are kept open. It's rare, but your car's electrical system can short out with rising floodwaters. Additionally, even if the central locking system functions, you might not be able to open the doors simply due to the pressure of the water outside. Carry a hammer with a pointed end or an ice pick in the car — if you have to break a window open, it's only such a sharp, heavy tool that can attack modern laminated glass. And if you don't have one of these about, use the jack handle, if accessible. Finally, if you feel any of the symptoms of CO poisoning outlined in this report, take it seriously — get out, get as much fresh air as possible, and go to a physician.
LPG EXPIRE DATE
Have u ever heard about LPG gas cylinder's expiry date? I also didn't know. How to find LPG cylinder's expiry date? Very important information. Most of us do not know this. I came to know today from the gas stockiest, because here one accident occurred. Do you know that there is an expiry date (physical life) for LPG cylinders? Expired Cylinders are not safe for use and may cause accidents. In this regard please be cautious at the time of accepting any LPG cylinder from the vendor. Here is how we can check the expiry of LPG cylinders: On one of three side stems of the cylinder, the expiry date is coded alpha numerically as follows A or B or C or D and some two digit number following this e.g. D06. The alphabets stand for quarters - A for March (First Qtr), &n bsp; B for June Second Qtr), C for Sept (Third Qtr), & D for December (FourthQtr). The digits stand for the year till it is valid. Hence D06 would mean December qtr of 2006. Share this message with everyone you know, UR kind cooperation will save life of many people and create awareness among the public. Life is precious and important...Take care at the utmost!!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
