Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Jonty's Successor ?!?!



Sybrand Engelbrecht, remember this name folks. Looking at his performance in the Under 19 World Cup at the beginning of the year, many experts have touted him to be the next fielding sensation to emerge from the fielding production line that is South Africa.



The agility and the sheer energy and joy that Engelbrecht brings to fielding, (yeah, I too find it hard to pronounce the name, to fielding is what draws immediate attention and the likeness to Jonty.

Today I hang my head out and proclaim that the name of boy, who is still in his teens will become a household name in the cricket world in the not too distant future. And officially this is my first, call it proclamation or prophecy. Amen!!1

Hopefully we'll he'll be able to come close to Jonty thereby allowing us to revisit and relish the high standards set by the magician Jonty. His catch against Pakistan in the second semifinal of the Under 19 World Cup is just a pointer to what this boy is capable of. I hope he improves on the other aspect of his play and the whole world can see him in action. Soon, very soon!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Mumbai Rising!!

Mumbai will not forget the unfortunate and the brave,
We will pursue those responsible to their destined grave.

With the will of steel our Mumbai will soon recover,
All the villains who meant it harm will run for unsteady cover.

Those who decided to hurt Mumbai and test its metal,
Be prepared to hear the sound of the impending death rattle.

Forward we will march with great passion and fervor,
Our unstoppable progress resembling a rampaging river.

Let all doubts be put aside and questions kept in check,
Soon the mighty hand of justice will hang over your guilty neck.

Even god won't come to aid for you are doomed,
Your fate has been written and eternal hell loom.

Your actions will come to haunt you even after your death,
There is no salvation here right until your final breath.

Soon you will feel the wrath of a silent but deathly uprising,
Be prepared for your downfall and witness Mumbai Rising!!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Keeping the flame raging for 'Our MUMBAI'

The biggest challenge I think for all of us is to make sure that this
fire that is raging within us keeps raging for as long as the culprits, who perpetrated such a hideous and inhumane act on the Indian Soul is brought to justice.

We should keep applying the same sort of unrelenting pressure on our politicians and the security agencies handling the investing to make sure that they don't let their guard down.

One lapse on their part could mean that we could be back to square one. Take Pakistan for example, the swiftness of their action was induced more by our vigor to see actions on the ground and our unwavering commitment to see proactive measures against those responsible inside the country, as against Pakistan's sincere willingness to nab these sponsors of terror. This should be reason enough to keep our guard up.

To make sure that the recent action from across the border is not an eyewash and part of well planned delaying tactic from our inhospitable neighbor, it's imperative that we, the citizens of this great nation maintain our vigil, and let them, the people responsible for this, know, that any lethargy or disinterest from their
diplomatic, intelligence or enforcement channels are being closely watched.

It is not only the government agencies of India who are keeping an eye on the developments inside our country and in those countries that harbor antisocial elements with the intention to harm India, it is the people of India, the whole one billion plus of us who have taken it upon ourselves to see that any inaction by those concerned will be reciprocated by our counteraction.

Keep talking, discussing and spreading the word about the way we feel and how important our active participation is for fighting this evil is, which will help us in keeping this flame alive and raging until we see concrete, plausible and long-term results in the life lead.

Some ways that this can be done are:

• Making sure that our government doesn't forget our patience is not
an indication of indifference or a result of a lackadaisical attitude.

• America is a facilitator and not a dictator of any course of action
that we may chose to employ.

• Making sure that all the concerned parties are aware that our
democratic principles are our strength and not a weakness.

• We will not be fooled into thinking that immaterial and
unsubstantial measures will quench our desire to see outcomes.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Bravo to Team England!!!

The England Cricket team have done a great service to cricket and especially Indian cricket by agreeing to tour India under the current climate. They have shown real heart and in some respects, 'real bravery' by choosing to come to India and proving a point to all those who wanted to maim cricket and hurt India.

Although it would have been very easy for the England team to have stayed home and enjoy a unscheduled holiday, they decided to come back and test themselves in arguably the toughest tour to visit due to various reasons as the Australians found out recently.

So, this initiative by the England and Wales Crick Board, and especially the players invites for some words of approval and appreciation. And I was only too eager to oblige.

POMS, i use this word affectionately and not disparagingly as by the Australians often have, who, i would like to add have often wilted under the same pressure. My hats off to you all great bunch of lads.

All the best to you in India's tour, and may your performance live up to the obvious potential that you have.

For the first time in my life, i say, 'GO POMS'

Friday, December 5, 2008

What you mean to me??

Your thoughts can free a million dreams,
Your wish can unleash a 100 streams.

Your beauty can maraud any might breed.
Your care can conquer all of the words greed.

Your touch can overcome any mighty sword.
Your company can bring one closer to almighty God.

Your smell can bring heaven to shame,
Your desire can give life to a 1000 flame.

Your desire can lead to numerous quests,
Your rebuttal can leave salvation bereft.

Your curves can disturb nature's parity,
Your love can return a deluded to sanity.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Mumbai will boom amidst the gloom

They came and made us feel as hell has just struck,
but we the people of Mumbai refuse to buck.

Their intention was to spread death, distrust and destruction,
but our heroes came forth and secured resurrection.

What they hoped was to fracture our spirit and unity,
But we showed them the meaning of courage and integrity.

They might proclaim an immature and ill fated victory,
But they will soon realize all this was an exercise in futility.

The enemies morale will soon stumble and their whole foundation stumble,
India will certainly celebrate victory and still remain humble.

Their aim was to deny our progress to the top,
But their whole plan is going to sink like a rock.

They hoped their cruelty can bruise our compassion,
but their ignorance will soon bring about their own destruction.

All this targeted to mushroom manier secession testing our patience preparedness,
but India will emerge much stronger from this unholy madness.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Architects of India's Space Dream - Vikram A. Sarabhai



In 1943, Vikram A. Sarabhai, who was then hardly 23, went to the Himalayas in Kashmir to study cosmic rays at high altitude. He was so thrilled that he decided to set up a laboratory to study cosmic rays.

On his return from the United Kingdom with a Ph.D., he founded the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, an institution devoted to the study of cosmic rays and other space. In 1955, he set up a branch of the laboratory at Gulmarg in Kashmir. He also set up other branches in Trivandrum and Kodaikanal.

Sarabhai was born on August 12, 1919, and his wife was similar to Bhabha's. He, too, belonged to a wealthy family. Had he wished, he could have become an industrialist, but his basic interest was in mathematics and physics? The purpose of the Physical Research Laboratory that he founded was similar to Bhabha's creation, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. It provides the technology and scientists needed for the country's space programmes, just as the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research provides these for its nuclear programme.

In fact, Sarabhai ushered in the space age in the country by expanding the Indian Space Research Organization. The credit for much of what India achieved in space technology must go to him, though he did not live to see many of the fruits of his labour. Among the projects he planned was the one under which India's first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched in 1975. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975-76, which sought to bring education to five million people in 2,400 Indian villages, also owes much to Sarabhai.

Aryabhata SatelliteAlthough Sarabhai was busy with space programmes, he did not forget his first love-the study of cosmic rays. His basic interest was to find out how the rays vary with time and the implications of this phenomenon. Cosmic rays are a stream of energy particles reaching the earth from outer space. On their way to the earth they are influenced by the sun, the atmosphere and magnetism. Events taking place in space among the planets also affect these rays. At an early age Sarabhai realized that the study of cosmic rays would help in understanding terrestrial magnetism and the atmosphere, the nature of the sun and outer space. Most of his research was confined to this aspect of the rays.

In one respect Sarabhai went a step ahead of Bhabha. He built a variety of institutions-one devoted to modernization of the textile industry, another to development of management skills and yet another to popularizing science, apart from the Physical Research Laboratory and the Indian Space Research Institute.

Like Bhabha he died at an early age, when he was only 52. He received many honours and awards for his services to science and society. The International Astronomical Union named after him a crater on the moon in the Sea of Serenity.

The Architect of India's Space Dream - C.V. Raman







Born: Thiruchinapalli, India; November 7, 1888

Died: Bangalore, India; November 21, 1970

Nobel Prize: 1930 Physics, for his discovery of the "Raman" effect

Biography:

Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman, popularly known as C.V. Raman, was born in Thiruchinapalli, in Tamil Nadu, India on November 7, 1888. He was the second of children of Chandrasekhar Iyer and Parvathi Ammal. His father was a professor of mathematics. At an early age, Raman moved to the city of Visakhapatnam, in the present day state of Andhra Pradesh, where his father accepted a position at the Mrs. A.V.N. College. Raman's academic brilliance was established at a very young age. At eleven, he finished his secondary school education and entered Mrs. A.V.N. College and two years later moved to the prestigious Presidency College in Madras (present name, Chennai). When he was fifteen, he finished at the head of the class to receive B.A. with honors in Physics and English. During that time students who did well academically were typically sent abroad (England) for further studies. Because of Raman's poor health he was not allowed to go abroad and he continued his studies at the Presidency college.In 1907, barely seventeen, Raman again graduated at the top of his class and received his M.A. with honors. In the same year he married Lokasundari.

At the time of Raman's graduation, there were few opportunities for scientists in India. This forced Raman to accept a position with the Indian Civil Services as an Assistant Accountant General in Calcutta. While there, he was able to sustain his interest in science by working, in his spare time, in the laboratories of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. He studied the physics of stringed instruments and Indian drums.

In 1917, with his scientific standing established in India, Raman was offered the position of Sir Taraknath Palit Professorship of Physics at Calcutta university, where he stayed for the next fifteen years. During his tenure there, he received world wide recognition for his work in optics and scattering of light. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1924 and the British made him a knight of the British Empire in 1929. The following year he was honored with the prestigious Hughes medal from the Royal Society. In 1930, for the first time in its history, an Indian scholar, educated entirely in India has received the highest honor in science, the Nobel Prize in Physics.

In 1934, Raman became the director of the newly established Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, where two years later he continued as a professor of physics. In 1947, he was appointed as the first National Professor by the new government of Independent India. He retired from the Indian Institute in 1948 and a year later he established the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, served as its director and remained active there until his death on November 21, 1970, at the age of eighty two. Raman was honored with the highest award, the "Bharat Ratna"(Jewel of India), by the Government of India.

Bibliography:

General:

Chamberland, Dennis, "Nobel Prize", edited by , pages 373-380
Mehra, Jagdish, "Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman", in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillespie, New York, Charles Scribner and Sons
Blaniped, Williams A., "Pioneer Scientists in Pre-Independent India", Physics Today, 39: page 36 (May, 1986)
Jayaraman, Aiyasami and Ramdas, Anant Krishna, "Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman", Physics Today, 56: p56-64 (August, 1988)
Weber, Robert L, "Pioneers of Science: Nobel Prize winners in Physics:, eidted by Lenihan, J.M.A., Bristol, Adam Higler, 1980

Physics:

"Dynamical Theory of the Motion of Bowed Strings", Bulletin, Indian Association for the Advancement of Science, 1914
"On the molecular scattering of light in water and the colour of the sea", Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1922
"A new type of Secondary Radiation", Nature, 1928
"A new radiation", Indian Journal of Physics, 1928
Aspects of Science, 1948
The New Physics: Talks on Aspects of Science, 1951
Lectures on Physical Optics, 1959

Architects of India's Space Dream - Homi Bhabha




Homi Bhabha – A Profile

These days, young people dream of going abroad even before they have completed their studies, often for settling there permanently. Nearly sixty years ago, a young man made the journey in the reverse direction. After spending thirteen years in Cambridge, at that time the Mecca of Physics, Homi Bhabha, then aged twenty nine, came back to India not only to settle down permanently but to change her destiny as well.


Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born on 30 October, 1909 in Mumbai (then Bombay). The house he was born in was later destined to be the cradle of India’s Nuclear Energy Programme! Young Homi was educated at the Cathedral and John Connon High School. Absolutely brilliant in studies, he became a minor celebrity. Homi was a voracious reader and his father’s wonderful collection helped him to greatly broaden his outlook. In addition, he was also keenly interested in art as well as music (particularly western).


After passing the Senior Cambridge Examination and studying for a couple of years in the Royal Institute of Science, Mumbai, Bhabha went to Cambridge for higher studies. His father wanted Homi to specialise in mechanical engineering so that he could, on return, enter the corporate world of the Tata group of industries and rise to a high position there. But things did not work out that way. Bhabha found that right then, physics was going through a major revolution, a good bit of the action being in Cambridge itself. So he wrote to his father:


I seriously say to you that business or job as an engineer is notthe thing for me. It is totally foreign to my nature and radicallyopposed to my temperament and opinions. Physics is my line... I am burning with a desire to do physics. I will and mustdo it sometime. It is my only ambition.



The father was understanding and allowed Homi to study for the Mathematical Tripos, after completing the Mechanical Tripos. In 1932, Bhabha won the Rouse Ball Travelling Fellowship which enabled him to work with Pauli in Zurich and Fermi in Rome. Later, the Isaac Newton Studentship allowed him to spend some time in Niels Bohr’s Institute in Copenhagen. In between, Bhabha completed his PhD thesis under the supervision of R H Fowler, who was also the supervisor for S Chandrasekhar.
In Cambridge, Bhabha discovered what is now referred to as Bhabha scattering, a phenomenon whose existence has been confirmed experimentally. In addition, he developed, in collaboration with Walter Heitler, a theory for cosmic-ray showers, known as the cascade theory. Both these contributions made Bhabha quite well known in physics circles.


In early 1939, Bhabha came back to India for what was supposed to be a brief holiday. Meanwhile, the second World War broke out, and the holiday turned into a permanent stay. War severely disrupted the scientific scene in Europe, and it was clear that Bhabha would have to look for a job in India. Thanks to his reputation, he received a few offers from some Universities but in the end, he joined the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Here, with a small grant from the Sir Dorab Tata Trust, he started working on cosmic rays.


In the Bangalore period, Bhabha concentrated mainly on theory and discovered what is known as the Bhabha equation. Apart from this, he briefly collaborated with Harish-Chandra, later to win fame as a mathematician. Bhabha also tried his hand with experiments, building Geiger-counter telescopes and flying them in air force planes, to study cosmic ray behaviour at high altitudes.


By 1944 it became clear that the war, at least in Europe, was drawing to a close. Bhabha was in two minds about what he should do. Should he go back to the West, which offered so many opportunities, or should he stay? He wrote to his friend J R D Tata seeking his advice, adding that he was ready to continue in India as “it is one’s duty to stay in one’s own country and build up schools comparable in other lands.” J R D encouraged Bhabha to approach the Sir Dorab Tata Trust. Bhabha promptly did so, and in March 1944 he wrote to the Trust seeking grants and promising to build up in the course of time a School of Physics comparable with the best anywhere.


Prophetically, he also declared that when the time came, the School would provide the experts needed for exploiting nuclear energy, and that India would not have to look for such experts overseas.


Events now moved rapidly. With a small grant of less than Rs 1 lakh per year (of which the Tata Trust’s contribution was Rs 45,000/-) Bhabha founded the TIFR on June 1, 1945. It started functioning first in Bangalore but by December, Bhabha had TIFR shifted to Mumbai, locating it in the very house he was born in!


In the beginning TIFR concentrated exclusively on cosmic rays and mathematics, but as bright young people came forward to join it, it rapidly expanded in size as well as scope. Meanwhile the country became independent, and Bhabha, on account of his closeness to Nehru, was given the task of steering the country’s nuclear energy programme. Bhabha’s enthusiasm was infectious, and it was like a breath of fresh air in a country notorious for its negative and bureaucratic thinking (which, alas, persists). Both TIFR and the Indian Atomic Energy Programme blossomed in a few short years to proportions unimaginable and beyond all expectations.


Bhabha was a thorough-bred theoretical physicist, deeply influenced by Dirac. Yet, when it came to matters of technology, he was second to none. He also laid the seeds for our very successful space programme, which later Vikram Sarabhai and Satish Dhawan nursed with loving care. After the Chinese attack on India in 1962, Bhabha realised our backwardness in electronics and worked hard to prepare a masterplan to help the country leapfrog in this vital area. Unfortunately, he died before the report he had prepared (called the Bhabha Committee Report) could be submitted. Later, like all reports, this one too collected dust, and we never made the big jump in electronics we could have.


Bhabha was riding high, all the time reaching new pinnacles, but death came suddenly. In January 1966, Bhabha was on his way to Vienna to attend a meeting. As his Air India plane descended to land

in Geneva, it crashed into Mont Blanc. All the passengers including Bhabha perished. His body was never found. For the nation, it was an irreparable loss.
Bhabha was not merely a gifted scientist, and an able technocrat; he was much more. He was an artist, and a connoisseur of all the good things in life – art, music, literature, architecture, landscaping, gardening, ... Many hailed him as a modern Leonardo while JRD referred to him as an authentic genius. He represented the best in both science as well as culture, often regarded as unbridgeable. Expressing the sorrow of the nation, Indira Gandhi said of him:


He was a scientist of great originality. He was an artist endowed with unusualsensitivity. His interest in music was as serious as it was deep. The flower beds,the landscaping, the architecture of buildings in Trombay, all bear witness toHomi Bhabha’s perception of colour, form and design. India will long cherishHomi Bhabha’s memory, for he was deeply involved in her destiny and in theprocess of changing the texture and quality of her society.


Way back in 1928, Bhabha told his father: “Who says we can’t do science in India?” Not only did he convincingly demonstrate later that he could, but, more important, he made it possible for hundreds if not thousands of others also to do likewise.
G Venkataraman.

----Vice-Chancellor Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur, India

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Not Really?????

Failure is in accepting not trying,
Death is forgetting not passing,
Interest is appreciation not time,
Power isn’t taking but giving,
Love is the end not the means,
Friendship is taking not asking,
Grace is a feeling not action,
Strength is protecting not destroying,
Knowledge is wealth not burden,
Trauma is waiting not the result,
Beauty is all thought not felt,
Faith is believing yet not merely following,
God is now and not tomorrow,
Idleness is lonely not joy.
Growth is grasping not just reaching,
Fear is apathy not action,
Future is gift not a test.
Poison is presuming not just consuming,
Fashion is set not without any,
Stopping is looking back not halting,
Journey is start not destination,
Blogging is views not posting.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Best Among the Rest

The best of minds may not be slated on the first bench,
just like the best criminals are not found in a cornered prison,
the best of musicians might be busking under a dirty bridge,
the best of writers may have a weak pen,
the best director could be well walking around with a handycam,
the best of hope may fall in a beggar's bowl
the best of footballer may not have a boot to spare,
the best of sages may be in the deepest cave,
the best of all singers may be hiding in his bathroom,
the best of teacher could be the one using the least of rod and more of eyes,
the best of trancriber might be sleeping while the audio loads on,
the best of lawyer may not have swindled many,
the best of driver may not have driven downhill,
the best of GOD may not have seen Earth at all,
the best of artist may not even know his masterpiece,
the best of love may not have touched you yet,
the best of confusion may be created out of calm,
the best of friend may not be in the crowd,
the best of words may be waiting for silence to occur,
the best of food may not conquer your hunger,
the best of nectar might not have been in those bosom,
the best of engineers may not be a foreign stickler,
the best of Indians might have not taken birth in India,
the best of doctor might be drinking well water,
the best of snaps might have never seen the studio's darkness,
the best of questions may not require the best of answers,

the best of best may not be best anymore, any less!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Millions mark UN hand-washing day

Millions of children around the world are marking the United Nations' first Global Handwashing Day.

In India, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar will be leading the campaign that will see children across South Asia simultaneously washing their hands.

The UN says it wants to get over the message that this simple routine is one of the most effective ways of preventing killer diseases.

Nearly half the world's population do not have access to adequate sanitation.

'Critical times'

More than 120 million children in 70 countries across five continents are expected to participate in the campaign.

From Kabul to Karachi and from Delhi to Dhaka, millions of children will take part in the campaign and pledge to embrace more hygienic practices by the simple act of washing their hands.

India has recruited one of the country's biggest sporting icons, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, to be the face of the campaign.

Washing hands will be the topic of Afghan television and radio talk shows and Pakistani newscasts.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Therese Dooley of Unicef explains how to wash your hands properly

Nepal's new Maoist government is sending out mobile text messages. In Bhutan, special animated videos have been made with Bhutanese characters.

"The message we are really trying to get out is the importance of correctly washing your hands with soap and water at the critical times," Unicef's senior Sanitation and Hygiene programme adviser, Therese Dooley, said.

"And those critical times are before you cook or prepare food, before you eat and after using the toilet and after cleaning a baby."

The UN says washing hands with water alone is not enough "because you fail to wash off the germs".

"We are recommending hand-washing with soap," Ms Dooley said.

Unicef says using soap to wash hands, particularly after contact with excreta, can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by over 40% and respiratory infections by 30%.

Diarrhoea and respiratory infections are the main cause for child deaths in India.

Nearly half the population of South Asia has no access to toilets, whilst in sub-Saharan Africa this figure is as low as 28%.

With such poor sanitation standards, it is little surprise that children in the region are susceptible to diarrhoea, hepatitis and pneumonia - often leading to their deaths, the UN says.

The UN is celebrating 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation


Source: BBC

Friday, October 10, 2008

Numbers do the talking for Ganguly

With Ganguly recently coming clean on the reason for his early retirement, Cricinfo looks at the numbers that defines Ganguly's career and let them do the talking for ganguly. Enjoy.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Most Deadly Animals in the World

This is a list of the 10 most deadly animals found on land and in water. While some may seem innocuous - especially number 1, they lead to millions of deaths every year. From least, to worst, the list:


10. Poison Dart Frog
The backs of the poison dart frog ooze a slimy neurotoxin that is meant to keep predators away. Each frog produces enough of the toxin to kill 10 humans, though, strangely, in captivity, the frogs do not secrete this poison. The frogs are brilliantly coloured and live mainly in Central and South America. [Wikipedia Article]


9. Cape Buffalo
Cape buffalos weigh 1.5 tons and, when faced by danger, attack head on with razor sharp horns. They stand up to 1.7 metres high and 2.8 metres long. Humans are virtually its only predator and even lions will avoid crossing their path. Every year the Cape Buffalo is known to maul and kill multiple humans; some believe that it kills more humans in Africa every year than any other creature. [Wikipedia Article]


8. Polar Bear
These massive creatures, native to the Arctic, regularly eat elephant seals and could cut off a human head with one swipe of its paw. The Polar Bear is the most carnivorous of all the Bears and will eat walruses, whales, rheindeer, and even other polar beers. [Wikipeida Article]


7. Elephant
African Elephants, with their sharp tusks, are not as friendly as many believe. They kill over 500 people per year (either by stomping or impaling). The African Elephant generally weighs in at 16 tons. [Wikipedia Article]


6. Saltwater Crocodile
This is the largest of all living reptiles and is found mainly in Northern Australia and Southeast Asia. A healthy adult is typically 4.8 - 7 metres (15.75ft - 21ft) long, weighing up to 1.6 tons. There have been reports of larger. This creature is capable of killing and eating animals up tot he size of a water buffalo. In its most deadly attack (called the Death Roll) the crocodile grabs an animal or human with its mouth and begins to roll. A 1ton stallion is known to have been killed by this method in under 1 minute. In the water, the crocodile can move as fast as a dolphin. [Wikipedia Article]


5. African Lion
The African Lion can reach up to half a ton. Lions are thought to kill up to 70 humans per year in Tanzania. These large animals are eclipsed in size only slightly by the tiger. [Wikipedia Article]


4. Great White Shark
This shark is an exceptionally large shark found in coastal waters in all major oceans. It can reach lengths of up to 6 metres and can weigh up to 5 tons. The Great White Shark is the worlds largest known predatory fish. It is the only surviving species of its genus. In general these creatures do not attack humans, and (while there have been some fatalities) the majority of attacks on humans are believed to be test bites - the Great White Shark are known to test bite other objects in order to determine what they are. More people are killed each year in the US by dogs than Great White Sharks in the last 100 years. [Wikipedia Article]


3. Box Jellyfish
Also known as the wasp jellyfish, this salad-bowl sized jellyfish can have up to 60 tentacles as long as 15 feet. Each tentacle has enough toxin to kill 50 humans. They are found in Australia, the Philippines, and many other tropical areas. Since 1884 at least 5,567 deaths have been attributed to these creatures. [Wikipedia Article]


2. Asian Cobra
While the Asian cobra does not have the deadliest venom, it does make the most of what it has, causing the largest chunk of the 50 thousand deaths by snakebite per year. An average cobra is about 1 metre in length. [Wikipedia Article]


1. The Mosquito
Due to malaria carrying parasites transferred by the mosquito, it is responsible for the deaths of more than two million people per year. In addition, Mosquitos are estimated to transfer diseases to more than 70 million people per year. Even in countries such as the UK, New Zealand, and Japan, where the more temperate climate has reduced mosquito bites to mostly an annoyance, they still cause some deaths every year. [Wikipedia Article]

Source: http://listverse.com/nature/top-10-most-deadly-animals/

The Deepest Living Creature


Amphipods; Members of the Crustacean family (lobsters, shrimp)
The specimen you see in the photo was dredged up with 129 others from the Challenger Deep. This little guy is only about 4.5 cm long, but in amphipod terms, that’s a world record. Amphipods are flea-like creatures that are one of the most plentiful species of living things in all the worlds’oceans. Many species of amphipods are from 1 to 10 mm long, with the largest specimens growing up to 30mm. Finding living creatures at the bottom of the ocean in the Challenger Deep was exciting for the scientists who discovered them. They were equally surprised by the sheer size of these world-record holding amphipods.

The Deepest Living Fish Ever Found


The world's record holder for deepest fish goes to the brotulid* family, about which scientists know almost nothing. These fish are benthopelagic, living at depths of 7000 meters or more. The world's deepest fish (Abyssobrotula galatheae) was found in the Puerto Rican Trench at a depth of 8,372 meters (that's over five miles down!).

Their eyes appear to be virtually nonexistent. Maybe it's because there is never enough light for the fish to see, so why bother with the eyes? After all, eyes in most organisms are designed for gathering light in the creature's visual field and transmitting it to the brain - giving it useful information about its environment. In a world where no sunlight ever penetrates there's probably little use for eyes.
The brotulids probably have other, highly developed senses to compensate for their lack of vision, which help them to find their way around in the dark depths. Maybe YOU could be the scientist who studies this species and unravels its mysteries.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Ganguly prepares for a final Encore




Ganguly, the most successful Indian captain today announced that the upcoming four test match series against the Australians will be his last series after which he will be calling it quits from international cricket. I hope that he doesn’t decide to call it off from all forms of the game, at least for the sake of many of the fans like me.

Ganguly, who was famously christened God on the offside by Dravid or his elegant offside strokes was a captain who changed the face of Indian cricket from one which was blamed for a lack of killer instinct and a desire to win, to one which was aggressive, some times in your face with players like Dhoni, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Irfan who all made their debut and flourished under ganguly.

He was tough when needed to be, and heralded a more united, committed and more importantly more competitive Indian Team that we all admire today. He was the one who initiated and made popular the term 'Team India' and gave us the Indian huddle which has been replicated by many other teams.

He made India a forced to be reckoned with in both India and abroad and took the monkey of the back of all Indian supporters who were sick of the term Lions in India and Lame Ducks overseas.

He made this possible by bringing together bunch of cricketers who were motivated, driven and considered winning and being competitive just as important as being fair and a good sport, which the earlier teams were sometimes blamed for.

He was a captain who was a guide, mentor, motivator who stood by the team and made them believe in themselves and would go out of the way for the team and player. Dada was one of the few captains who got under the skin of the other teams and had the knack of bringing the best out of his team sometimes it seemed at the expense of his own performance.

Dada we are sure to miss you. All the best for everything that you decided to do in the future. I hope to see you as a coach of Indian team one day. You'll make a very good coach or manager from what we know and have loved to see over the years!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

An Old Story:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs dances plays the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

New Indian Version:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs dances plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.
The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter .

Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.
Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.
Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.
Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes,it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.
Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '
Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later...

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley,
100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India ,
..AND
As a result of losing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers, India is still a developing country...

Source: Anonymous

Myanmar Frees Longest-Serving Political Prisoner


YANGON, Myanmar -- Myanmar's longest-serving political prisoner, journalist Win Tin, was freed from Insein Prison on Tuesday after 19 years behind bars, family members said.
The 78-year-old Win Tin, a poet and editor who was a close aide of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested during a 1989 crackdown on opposition politicians. He was sentenced three times to a total of 21 years in prison.
Win Tin's release came as part of an amnesty granted to 9,002 prisoners around the country. Family members said Win Tin was in "good health," despite recent reports that he was ailing. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from the junta.
The United Nations and international-rights groups had repeatedly called for the release of Win Tin and referred to him as the longest-serving political prisoner in Myanmar. Amnesty International called for his release in July, saying Win Tin had been in solitary confinement for most of his imprisonment and needed urgent medical attention.
Win Tin was most recently sentenced in March 1996 to an additional seven years of imprisonment for writing to the U.N. about prison conditions and for writing and circulating antigovernment pamphlets in prison, which authorities characterized as "secretly publishing propaganda to incite riots in jail," Amnesty said.
State-controlled media announced the prisoner amnesty, saying freedom was granted to prisoners around the country who exhibited good "moral behavior."
"The government is trying to transform these convicted prisoners into citizens who can contribute to the building of a new nation," the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said, adding they were released "so they could participate in the fair elections to be held in 2010." The elections are part of the junta's long announced "roadmap to democracy," which will give voters the first chance to cast ballots since 1990. Critics say the roadmap is a sham designed to cement the military's power.
In 1990, Ms. Suu Kyi's opposition party won a landslide victory that the junta refused to acknowledge. Instead, the generals stepped up arrests and repression of dissidents. Ms. Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention and is currently under house arrest.
The government often grants amnesties to mark important national days, but most of those released are petty criminals. Tuesday's amnesty came ahead of the one-year anniversary of the junta's deadly Sept. 26-27, 2007, crackdown on antigovernment protests that were led by Buddhist monks.
The U.N. estimated at least 31 people, including a Japanese photojournalist, were killed when the army fired on peaceful protesters. Hundreds of activists were arrested in the crackdown and many fled the country or went underground.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Unnecessary Knowledge

Source - http://www.unkno.com/toplist/

- Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

- 50% of female polar bears also have a penis. 4.05

- An adult giraffe's kick is so powerful that it can decapitate a lion.

- The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

- Turtles can breathe through their butts

- 45% of Americans don't know that the sun is a star.

- The brain continues sending electrical wave signals for 37 hours after death

- Every year approximately 2,500 left-handed people are killed by using object or machinery designed for right-handed people.

- In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would swear on his testicles.

- Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

- On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents every day.

- Between 1902 and 1907, the same tiger killed 434 people in India.

- During their periods womens middle fingers shrink. No one knows why.

- In “Silence of the Lambs”, Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins) never blinks.

- It would take 1.2 million mosquitoes biting you simultaneously to drain all your blood.

- Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.”

Source - http://www.unkno.com/toplist/

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Most Influential Women of our Time!!!











Oprah Gail Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954), often referred to simply as Oprah, is an American television host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.

Born in rural Mississippi to a poor teenaged single mother, and later raised in an inner city Milwaukee neighborhood, Winfrey was raped at the age of nine, and at fourteen, gave birth to a son who died in infancy. Sent to live with the man she calls her father, a barber in Tennessee, Winfrey landed a job in radio while still in high school and began co-anchoring the local evening news at the age of 19. Her emotional ad-lib delivery eventually got her transferred to the daytime talk show arena, and after boosting a third-rated local Chicago talk show to first place, she launched her own production company and became internationally syndicated.

Credited with creating a more intimate confessional form of media communication, she is thought to have popularized and revolutionized, the tabloid talk show genre pioneered by Phil Donahue, which a Yale study claimed broke 20th century taboos and allowed gays, transsexuals, and transgender people to enter the mainstream. By the mid 1990s she had reinvented her show with a focus on literature, self-improvement, and spirituality. Though criticized for unleashing confession culture, and promoting controversial self-help fads, she is generally admired for overcoming adversity to become a benefactor to others.


Yelena Isinbayeva

Russian pole vaulter, Honored Master of Sport of Russia
Two-time Olympic Champion - Women's Pole Vault, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008
Holder of 24 world records in Women's Pole Vault

Yelena Isinbayeva was born on June 3, 1982 in Volgograd, Volgograd Region. From the age of 5 to 15, Isinbayeva trained as a gymnast in her hometown of Volgograd. She ultimately left the sport because as she grew she was considered too tall to be competitive in gymnastics, eventually reaching a height of 1.74 m (5' 8½")

In 1998, after graduating from a engineer-technical preparatory school, Isinbayeva entered the regional Reserve Olympians' College (UOR). In her first major competition, the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France, Yelena jumped 4.00 meter but this left her 10 cm away from securing a medal. In 1999, Yelena improved and won at the World Youth Games in Bydgoszcz, Poland with a vault of 4.10 m to take her first gold medal.

At the 2000 World Junior Championships, Isinbayeva again took first place clearing 4.20 m. The same year the women's pole vault made its debut as an Olympic event in Sydney, Australia where Stacy Dragila of United States took gold. 2001 saw another gold medal for Isinbayeva, this time at the European Junior Championships with a winning height of 4.40 m. She continued to improve in this relatively new event (world records for women's pole vault began in 1992) and 2002 saw her clear 4.55 m at the European Championships finishing 5 cm short of compatriot Svetlana Feofanova's gold medal winning jump.

In 2002 Isinbayeva entered the Volgograd State Academy of Physical Culture and Sport. She would complete her studies in 2005 and would graduate with a specialization in physical education. Continued Progress, and a Memorable 2004. 2003 was another year of progression and saw Yelena win the European Under 23 Championships gold with 4.65 m (in Bydgoszcz). She went onto break the world record clearing 4.82 m on July 13 at a meeting in Gateshead, England.

2004 was the year when the women's pole vault began to evolve as a major sporting event. During a meeting at Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor worlds best, with a height of 4.83 m only to see Feofanova increase this by a single centimetre the following week. The following month at the World's Indoor in March Yelena broke this with a gold medal winning jump of 4.86 m beating reigning indoor & outdoor champion Feofanova into bronze with reigning Olympic champion Dragila taking silver.

June 27 saw her return to Gateshead and once again the world record mark was improved to 4.87 m. Feofanova bounced back the following week to again break the record by a centimetre in Heraklion, Greece.On July 25 in Birmingham, England, Yelena reclaimed the record jumping 4.89 m and five days later in Crystal Palace, London, added a further centimetre to the record.

The pole vault was one of the most eagerly awaited events at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and although the competition did not reach the heights that were anticipated the rivalry between Yelena and Feofanova brought the event alive. With all of the other events finished the whole crowd were focused on the pole vault.

When Feofanova failed at 4.90 m the gold medal went to Yelena, who completed the memorable night by attempting and clearing a new world record height of 4.91 m. She broke her own record later that year at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels with a 4.92 m jump.

In July 2005, she broke the world record four times over three separate meetings. First in Lausanne, Switzerland, she added an extra centimetre to her own mark clearing 4.93 m. It was the 14th world record of Isinbayeva's career coming just three months after she broke her own indoor mark (4.89 m) in Lievin. Eleven days later, in Madrid, Spain, she added an additional 2 cm to clear 4.95 m. In Crystal Palace, London on July 22, after improving the record to 4.96 m, she raised the bar to 5.00 m. She then became the first woman pole vaulter to clear this metric barrier, achieving the mark with a single attempt. At the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, she once again broke her own world record, performing 5.01 m in her second attempt, and winning the competition.

At an indoor meeting on February 12 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva set a new indoor world record. She cleared 4.91 m. In August she won the gold medal at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.

Isinbayeva was crowned Laureus World Sports Woman of the Year for the 2006 season.

On 10 February 2007 in Donetsk, Ukraine, Isinbayeva broke the world indoor pole vault record again, by clearing 4.93 metres. It was Isinbayeva's 20th world record.

On 28 August 2007 she repeated as world champion in Osaka at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics with a modest 4.80 m, then failing three times at setting a new world record at 5.02 m. The next three competitors did no better than 4.75 m.

During the indoor season, Isinbayeva set her twenty-first world record, clearing 4.95 metres on 16 February 2008 in Donetsk, Ukraine. A few weeks later, in Valencia, Spain, Isinbayeva won the World Indoor Championships over Jennifer Stuczynski. Both vaulters achieved the same height, with Isinbayeva winning by virtue of fewer unsuccessful attempts.

On July 11 2008, at her first competition of the season, Rome's Golden Gala, Isinbayeva broke her own world record, clearing 5.03 metres. This was her first world record outdoors since the 2005 World Championships. Isinbayeva stated that she had tried so many times at 5.02 metres and was still unsuccessful, her coach told her to change something and so she attempted 5.03 metres. This record came just as people began to speculate her fall from the top of pole vaulting, as American Jennifer Stuczynski cleared 4.92 metres at the American Olympic Trials. Isinbayeva stated that this motivated her to maintain her reputation as the world's greatest female pole vaulter. A few weeks later, at the Aviva London Grand Prix, Isinbayeva and Stuczynski copmeted together for the first time of the outdoor season. Isinbayeva won the competition, with Stuczynski finishing second. Both attempted a new world record of 5.04 metres. Isinbayeva was tantalisingly close on her final attempt, with the bar falling only after Isinbayeva had landed on the mat.

Isinbayeva broke her 19-day old world record on July 29, in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. She cleared 5.04 metres, her twenty-third world record, on her final attempt.

On August 18, 2008 Isinbayeva broke her own women's pole vault world record on the way to defending her Olympic title. She beat the record by a centimetre with a clearance of 5.05 metres, finishing ahead of American Jennifer Stuczynski, who cleared 4.80m. Russia's Svetlana Feofanova took bronze with a vault of 4.75m. Isinbayeva showed her delight following her latest achievement: "I was trying to do my best for the crowd [...] It makes me happy, so happy, I felt that I could not go out without the world record because of the support the crowd gave me."

"I remember my feelings from Athens 2004 and I wanted to feel that again," Isinbayeva said. "Everyone was so sure that I would win so I felt a lot of pressure." Isinbayeva also gave her thoughts on the prospects of breaking the number of world records set by pole vault legend Sergei Budka with 35.

"I will do it. I just have 12 more to go. Life would be boring without records to break so I want to continue on forever. "It is hard to be more perfect than this. I will still improve and the next goal is London 2012."

In August 2005, in an interview with the BBC, top UK pole vault coach Steve Rippon remarked that Isinbayeva, "is one of the few female pole vaulters I look at and think her technique is as good as the men's. In fact, the second part of her jump is probably better than any male pole vaulter currently competing. She has a fantastic technique, she's quite tall and she runs extremely well."

Isinbayeva's high level of body control (courtesy of her background in gymnastics) especially pays off in the so-called "L-Phase", where it is vital to use the pole's rebound to convert horizontal speed into height.

Sonia Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi gän´dē , 1946-, Indian politician, b. Turin, Italy, as Sonia Maino. She met Rajiv Gandhi in 1965 when they were students in Cambridge, England.

They were married in 1968 and settled in his family home in India. Sonia Gandhi, who became an Indian citizen in 1983, was close to her mother-in-law, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi , accompanying her on many trips throughout India.

When Indira was assassinated (1984) and succeeded as prime minister by Rajiv, Sonia remained in the background. When Rajiv, too, was assassinated (1991), she continued to shun political life. She finally entered the public arena in 1998, campaigning for the faltering Congress party (see Indian National Congress ); she was instrumental in Congress's winning an increased number of seats in parliament and was elected head of the party.


In the 1999 elections Gandhi won a seat in parliament but failed to lead Congress in a return to power. When the 2004 elections resulted in a surprise victory for Congress and its allies, she chose not to become prime minister but remained the influential leader of the party. She resigned from parliament in 2006 when opposition politicians sought to have her disqualifed because she also headed the National Advisory Council (NAC), an unsalaried government post that nonetheless could be considered an "office of profit" and subject her to parliamentary disqualification. At the same time she also resigned her NAC post. Despite critics who object to her Italian birth, Sonia Gandhi, along with her son, Rahul, and daughter, Priyanka, remain immensely popular heirs to the Nehru family dynasty.

Queen Elizabeth II

Of the many pupils fondly remembered by Horace Smith, Royal Riding Master throughout the reigns of six British Monarchs, one young rider was always held in the very highest esteem. At the age of 12, having already distinguished herself as a gifted and eager horsewoman, Princess Elizabeth confided to her teacher that, had she not been born to be Queen, she would “like to be a lady living in the country with lots of horses and dogs”. These youthful remarks are revealing indeed, demonstrating not only a genuine passion for an aspect of Royal life that outsiders often dismiss as mere pomp and ceremony, but also for a remarkable degree of prescience and acuity. Even as a child, Princess Elizabeth understood the full significance of the role into which she had been born; and yet coupled with that awareness was an ardent desire to lead a simple, traditional country life. Little could the Princess have imagined then just how prophetic her words would be; for it is perhaps this blend of her sense of regal duty with a love of simple pleasures that came so uniquely to characterise the style of Elizabeth II’s reign.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London at 17 Bruton Street, at 2.40am on April 21, 1926. She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. With the Victorian era not three decades past, it might appear peculiar that Elizabeth’s parents applied so thoroughly modern a manner of bringing up their daughter – for, from the outset, it was decided that the Princess’s life was to be as normal as possible. No longer was the future Monarch to be sheltered from her people’s concerns by Royal excess and opulence; instead, she was to understand the inescapable reality of a nation still coming to terms with the loss of so many of its sons in the First World War. She was born in the year of the General Strike, and British society was undergoing a profound change. Accordingly, the Duke and Duchess of York were determined that Elizabeth should neither be shielded nor spoilt.

Much of the Princess’s early years were spent at the family home at 145 Piccadilly. Her parents’ commitment to providing the future Queen with an appreciation of both her privileges and her responsibilities was absolute. Yet Princess Elizabeth’s first year of life proved a rather solitary affair. Duty-bound to undertake an official visit to Australia in order to open its new Commonwealth Parliament, her parents were obliged to leave her in the hands of her nanny, Clara “Alla” Knight. This early separation was not as traumatic as one might expect – on the contrary, it served to forge an unbreakable bond between Elizabeth and her grandparents. King George V and Queen Mary were immediately entranced by their granddaughter, and proudly informed her parents of every new tooth and word.

When the Yorks returned in June 1927, they found a loving, confident, and slightly mischievous child. “Tillabet”, as the Princess referred to herself, was always ready to amuse. During that year’s Christmas party for the tenants of the Sandringham Estate, she clambered on to the dining-table and proceeded to pelt the guests with cracker after cracker, handed to her by her mother. Her well-developed sense of fun was equally evident in the games that she persuaded her grandfather to play with her. The Archbishop of Canterbury was once utterly discombobulated when, upon attending an audience with George V, he found the King crawling on all fours across the floor, pretending to be a horse, and the young Princess taking the role of groom.

By 1936, the elderly Monarch was dead, and “Tillabet” had become “Lilibet”, the affectionate name by which she is known to her Family to this very day. She had gained a little sister, five years previously, with the birth of Princess Margaret. Princess Elizabeth was initially educated at home, although the Duchess of York had always harboured the hope that one day her daughter would attend public school, and thus learn about matters both intellectual and social. This, however was not to be, as the new King, Edward VIII, had decided that it would not do for a Princess to be educated alongside commoners, and thus Elizabeth received the entirety of her instruction in private.

Given contemporary circumstances, it may well have been the case that the King was merely trying to minimise the level of press scrutiny on the affairs of the Royal Family. His relationship with Wallis Simpson was soon to become the United Kingdom’s most popular source of common gossip, and there can be little doubt that he was apprehensive as to the public reaction when news of her divorce came to light. By the end of 1937, Elizabeth’s life had changed dramatically: Edward VIII had abdicated, her father had been crowned King George VI, and she was Heiress Presumptive to the Throne.

Despite the requisite move to Buckingham Palace, and the ever-increasing pressure of life as the daughter of the King, the 11-year-old Elizabeth was essentially unchanged. Her propensity for pranks and play had been replaced by a more mature and responsible attitude to life and duty, but her formidable sense of humour remained very much intact.

As befitted an Heiress Presumptive, she took it upon herself to discover all she could about the matters that would one day form the basis of her ruling life. She began to attend lessons in constitutional history at Eton College, one of England’s most illustrious and intellectually demanding public schools. Soon, her love of all things historical led her to broaden her education in order to take in the history of Europe. A famous anecdote recounts the occasion on which Princess Marie Louise apologised to her fellow guests at a dinner party held at Windsor Castle for having spoken for so long about her life. With her customary warmth and sincerity, Princess Elizabeth answered: “But Cousin Louise, it’s history, and therefore so thrilling!”

The Princess’s idyllic days of study and self-improvement were soon to be curtailed by the menacing shadow that had fallen over Europe. Hitler’s National Socialist Party, in power since 1933, held Germany in its thrall, and, once again unified with Austria, was threatening to drag the world into another bloody conflict. When war came in September 1939, the people of Great Britain dug deeply, and pulled together as never before. The arbitrary divisions of class were rapidly cast aside as London was pounded by the full force of Germany’s Luftwaffe aircraft.

Princess Elizabeth decided it was time to show that she was ready to assume the full weight of her Royal responsibilities. Realising the need to boost morale, she became patron of organisations whose work she valued. Already President of charities such as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney, east London, and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, she embarked on a series of national visits with the King and Queen. She first bore the full weight of regal office at the age of 18, in 1944, when, during the King’s absence on a tour of the Italian battlefields, she performed many of the official duties of Head of State.

Click Here For Complete Profile

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The 10 Most Dastardly Dudes of all time!! Worth A Read!!

Source: The List Universe

Throughout time, scientist of one school or another have contributed great innovations to the world of medicine, alchemy, chemistry, physics, and more. Most of these gifts have been exceedingly useful and set the stage for even greater advances in the field. However, the coin has another side… a far more sinister and selfish side that somehow twists the very minds of the scientists making them want to do more harm than help. Granted, said scientific minds often believe that the evils that they are ultimately performing are doing good, and this is what truly makes these individuals mad. Here are ten of the most diabolical scientific minds in history.

10. Paracelsus 1493-1541Paracelsus

Switzerland, Paracelsus’ contributions to toxicology were based heavily in astrology and he is quite well known for offering the community a wide array of useful ideas and innovations. However, for all of his use, he also thought he might be able to create homunculi, or small humans, who stood no more than a foot or so hight and performed actions very similar to Golems. His are said to have run away after turning on their master. The homunculus creation used bits of people including semen and hair.





9. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer
1904-1967

Heading up the Manhattan Project, the very group responsible for the creation and use of the atomic bomb, Dr. Oppenheimer was a brilliant nuclear physicist. Oppenheimer said he was “a member of just about every Communist Front organization on the West Coast,” a subscriber to the People’s World, a Communist Party organ, and, he testified, “I was associated with the Communist movement.” He claimed to be horrified by the result of the project’s work. A co-worker, Victor Weisskopf said:

He did not direct from the head office. He was intellectually and even physically present at each decisive step. He was present in the laboratory or in the seminar rooms, when a new effect was measured, when a new idea was conceived. It was not that he contributed so many ideas or suggestions; he did so sometimes, but his main influence came from something else. It was his continuous and intense presence, which produced a sense of direct participation in all of us; it created that unique atmosphere of enthusiasm and challenge that pervaded the place throughout its time.

8. Alfred Nobel 1833-1897
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Discovering the use of nitroglycerine in his invention of dynamite, Nobel gave the world its first mass-produced use of deadly explosives. Killing first his own brother Emil and several others in a factory accident, the future death toll from his creation will number in the hundreds of thousands. Eventually he used his significant earned wealth to fund the yearly Nobel Prize to distract people from his invention, after reading his own obituary (mistakenly printed as he was not actually dead) which called him the “Merchant of Death”.





7. Trofim Lysenko
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While his experiments did not result in mass deaths, Lysenko needs to be on this list for his utter dishonesty in the field of Science that ultimately set the Soviet Union back decades in research. Lysenko was director of the Institute of Genetics and specialized in agricultural research. Lysenko’s habit was to report only successes. His results were based on extremely small samples, inaccurate records, and the almost total absence of control groups. There can be no doubt that there has never been such an abuse of the name of science as that of Lysenko. Here is a quote:

“In order to obtain a certain result, You must want to obtain precisely that result; if you want to obtain a certain result, you will obtain it …. I need only such people as will obtain the results I need.” Lysenko


6. Dr. Jack Kevorkian 1928

Kevorkian is most noted for publicly championing a terminal patient’s right to die via physician-assisted suicide and claims to have assisted at least 130 patients to that end. Imprisoned in 1999, he served eight years out of his 10-to-25-year prison sentence for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, 52, of Oakland County, Michigan. The judge that convicted him said:

“You were on bond to another judge when you committed this offense, you were not licensed to practice medicine when you committed this offense and you hadn’t been licensed for eight years. And you had the audacity to go on national television, show the world what you did and dare the legal system to stop you. Well, sir, consider yourself stopped.”

Regardless of your views on euthanasia, the fact remains that Kevorkian swore an oath to save lives, not to take them.

5. Members of the Tuskegee Study

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For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men (mostly impoverished and poorly educated share-croppers) in the late stages of syphilis. The essence was to gather data on the course of the disease when left untreated. The researchers understood from the outset that test subjects would provide most of their useful information in the form of autopsies, so great pains were taken to insure that subjects didn’t obtain medical care elsewhere. The program came to an abrupt halt in 1972 when its existence was made public by the Washington Star. It would be easy to dismiss this as a case of simple racism by a public institution, but that is not the case: The project was enthusiastically hosted by the Tuskeegee Institute, a historically black college, and many key researchers and staff on the project were, themselves, black.

4. Johann Konrad Dippel 1673-173402Dippel
Dippel was born at Castle Frankenstein and is rumored to be the inspiration for Shelley’s vile doctor. This is disputable, but what isn’t is the fact that this brilliant doctor performed vivisections on many recipients. Working with nitroglycerin he destroyed a tower, but also detected the medicinal use of it. It is rumored that he also preformed gruesome experiments within this tower with so called “cadavers”. Though the actual details of the experiments have never been truly confirmed it is rumored that he attempted to transfer the soul of one cadaver into another. Interestingly, his greatest contribution to the world was his animal oil (Dippel’s oil: a nitrogenous by-product of the destructive distillation manufacture of bone char) commonly known as a base product in Prussian blue - the low cost blue dye that is used to this day by artists; previously, blue dies were extremely expensive to create.


3. Dr. Sigmund Rascher 1909-1945

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Rascher was a despicable scientist during the Nazi use of concentration camps during WWII. Rascher’s infamous medical experiments at the Dachau concentration camp included hypothermia research in which three hundred test subjects were used against their will (one third of them perished), in high-altitude, malaria and medication experiments. At Dachau, Rascher also developed the standard cyanide capsules, which could be easily bitten through, either deliberately or accidentally. Ironically, this became the means by which Himmler (Rascher’s friend) committed suicide.




2. Dr. Joseph Mengele 1911-1979

Tengele gained notoriety chiefly for being one of the SS physicians who supervised the selection of arriving transports of prisoners, determining who was to be killed and who was to become a forced laborer, and for performing human experiments on camp inmates, amongst whom Mengele was known as the Angel of Death. On several occasions he killed subjects simply to be able to dissect them afterwards.





1. Shirō Ishii 1892-1959

Ishii was a microbiologist and the lieutenant general of Unit 731, a biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was born in the former Shibayama Village of Sanbu District in Chiba Prefecture, and studied medicine at Kyoto Imperial University. In 1932, he began his preliminary experiments in biological warfare as a secret project for the Japanese military. In 1936, Unit 731 was formed. Ishii built a huge compound — more than 150 buildings over six square kilometers — outside the city of Harbin, China.

Some of the numerous atrocities committed by Ishii and others under his command in Unit 731 include: vivisection of living people (including pregnant women who were impregnated by the doctors), prisoners had limbs amputated and reattached to other parts of their body, some prisoners had parts of their bodies frozen and thawed to study the resulting untreated gangrene. Humans were also used as living test cases for grenades and flame throwers. Prisoners were injected with inoculations of disease, disguised as vaccinations, to study their effects. To study the effects of untreated venereal diseases, male and female prisoners were deliberately infected with syphilis and gonorrhea via rape, then studied. A complete list of these horrors can be found here.

Having been granted immunity by the American Occupation Authorities at the end of the war, Ishii never spent any time in jail for his crimes and died at the age of 67 of throat cancer.

Bonus: Daedalus

Leighton30Granted he is a character of legend, but Daedalus deserves a place on any list of this type because he is probably the first recorded mad/evil scientist. Daedalus is often credited with inventing the very first labyrinth in which he imprisoned the step-son of King Minos, a minotaur. He is also, sadly, charged with killing his own son, though inadvertently, by creating Icarus and himself a set of wings used to escape his very own labyrinth. Icarus didn’t heed his father’s warnings about flying too close to the sun, thus melting his wings and plummeting to the earth.








Source: The List Universe