Hakeem Mohammad Yasin, the Kashmir transport minister who is reputed to be pro-Indian, has urged the Government of India to grant freedom to all prisoners from Kashmir who have been languishing in jails and interrogation centers all over the country.

Yasin expressed his opinion that the prisoners who were not involved in serious ofences should be released by India on a priority basis. Yasin said,

This would be a goodwill gesture on the eve of Idd-ul-Azhah (the Muslim festival on the culmination of Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia).

Currently, different jails, sub-jails and interrogation centers hold a large number of Kashmiri prisoners in detention. Not much action has been taken regarding their release, even in the face of repeated pleas by separatist groups and human rights organizations to the Indian Government to release these prisoners.

Yasin also encouraged Indian and Pakistani political leaders to go ahead with the peace process in order to resolve all problems. Speaking on this issue, Yasin said:

The dialogue is the only method to address the problems and strive for peace in the sub-continent. The leaders of political parties of the Kashmir including separatists should be involved in the dialogue process to make it result-oriented.

Source:Newsblaze

The Radio Flyer Classic Red Tricycle 12-Inch is a device that any kid will be proud to possess. The tricycle has a unique retro style that is adorable to kids and parents alike. The Radio Flyer Classic has won several notable awards, including The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval, Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award and Parents Choice Classic Award.

The Classic Red tricycle is sleekly designed, with red and white streamers and a ringing chrome bell. Kids are sure to appreciate the shiny chrome handlebars and fender and the bright red finish.

The steel frame with double-decker rear step is durable, ensuring that the bike would last for several years. The safety of a kid has been given due consideration while designing the adjustable seat of the tricycle, which also aids his/her growth. The front wheel of the Radio Flyer Classic measures 12 inches in diameter. The double-deck rear step ensures that little kids can ride together.

The Radio flyer Classic has steel-spoked wheels with real rubber tires, and its controlled turning radius lends stability to the bike. This tricycle is ideally suited for kids of age 2-5 years.

The Classic Red tricycle comes with a full ONE-YEAR (from the date of purchase) guarantee, during which any defective items will be replaced at no extra charge. The bike is priced at $ 64.98 ( at a 28% discount on the $89.99 list price). Free ground shipping is provided (within Contiguous USA), and the product ships the next business day.

source:netshops

The World Meteorological Organisation ( WMO), in one of its reports, stated that, the emission levels of the main greenhouse gas emitted by fossil fuels, carbon dioxide, hit a record high in 2006. As a result, the process of Global Warming is getting accelerated. The WMO said “In 2006, globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached their highest levels ever recorded’. According to the UN climate panel, Carbon Dioxide is the main gas emitted from human activities that cause Global Warming.

According to WMO, Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose by 36 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century ( it rose from 0.53 percent in 2005 to 381.2 parts per million of the atmosphere in 2006).

However, in spite of several scientists’ fears that the rising temperatures could initiate a runaway thaw in the Siberian permafrost, the flattening out of concentration of the second-most important greenhouse gas, methane indicates that the permafrost would remain frozen. Methane, which is generated from sources like digestive processes of cows and rotting vegetation in landfills, termites and rice paddies, fell to 1782 parts per billion in 2006 ( a fall of 0.06 percent).

Although methane levels are 155 percent higher than the pre-industrial levels, WHO’s senior scientific officer, Geir Braathen, says ‘”Methane levels have been flattening out in recent years’. In response to scientists’ fears that Global Warming might release the frozen methane in the Siberian permafrost, Braathen said ‘A widespread melt of Siberian permafrost is a possibility but there is no sign of it in this data. “If it was happening it would turn up in these figures.’

The levels of the third-most significant heat-trapping gas, nitrous oxide, which is also generated from fuel-burning and industrial processes, also rose to a record high level in 2006 ( with a 0.25 per cent gain). The levels of nitrous oxide, at 320 parts per billion, are currently 19 percent above the pre-industrial times.

The WMO, in a report, says, ‘Atmospheric growth rates in 2006 of these gases are consistent with recent years’.

The relative importance of carbon dioxide among the greenhouse gases has been rising over the last few years. Its contribution in the total heating effect of greenhouse gases have gone up to 91 per cent in the last five years ( from 87 percent in the past decade).

The rising temperature levels due to global warming is likely to cause more floods,heat waves, droughts and rising ocean levels. As a result of increasing emissions of the greenhouse gases, earth’s protective ozone layer is depleting, as shown by reports in 2006.

A global meeting ( with more than 190 nations) will be held from December 3-14 at Bali, Indonesia. The meeting would try to launch two years of negotiations on a new global treaty that would succeed the Kyoto Protocol, the main paln of the UN to combat global warming.

source:reuters

It has been proposed by geologists and physicists from all over the world that detection of neutrinos can help to get an accurate image of the core of the Earth. A recent paper, ‘Imaging The Internal Structure Of The Earth With Atmospheric Neutrinos’, suggests that, with the help of IceCube, the neutrino detector constructed at the South Pole, the neutrinos that stream through the Earth from the other side can be detected.

The process of detection of neutrinos is similar to the technique of taking X-ray pictures. The process involves rays shooting through the earth, forming an image of the Earth’s structure, just as X-rays provide a picture of the human skeletal structure.

Neutrinos, the particles used for this research, are of very light mass, and do not frequently interact with other forms of matter. Even in a human body, neutrinos very rarely interact with the protons or neutrons that make up the body. As the energy of any neutrino particle goes up, its chance of interacting with other particles ( that have mass) increases. Whenever such interaction occurs, a cascade of other particles is created. A particle called muon is generated by this reaction and the presence of muons can be detected.

Neutrinos can be detected with the help of neutrino detectors, which are made up of a huge block of matter ( usually water or ice). An example of such a detector is the one placed at South Pole, IceCube, which is made up of one cubic km of ice. The presence of muons (generated from neutrino-particle interactions) is detected by small ’strings’ of detectors that are strategically placed in the ice.

Although the concept of using neutrinos for getting a view of the inner structure of earth has been present for more than a quarter of a century, IceCube is the first neutrino detector with the requisite power to detect neutrinos and provide an accurate picture of the earth’s core. The ‘core-mantle transition’ of earth ( where the earth’s core meets the mantle) can be more clearly understood using the images of the Earth’s core, obtained by using IceCube. The reason is simple: this method is much more accurate than all other methods that have been used earlier.

One of the co-authors of the research paper, Dr. Francis Halzen ( Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin) says that, unlike data on earth’s sound waves, that have to be ‘inferred’ from analysis of indirect data ( since they cannot be seen), the ‘core-mantle’ transition can be seen directly. Dr.Halzen says: ‘The precision of our mapping is directly related to our angular resolution on the path taken through the Earth by a neutrino.”

The dense core of earth acts like its ’skeleton’ and blocks some of the neutrinos coming through the core of earth. IceCube detects the neutrinos streaming through the less-dense mantle. This detector, though still under construction, has already started taking in data. More detectors are also being added to the ice to enhance the performance of IceCube.The entire process of taking images would be complete by the next three to ten years.
Regarding IceCube, Dr. Halzen says ‘An unusual feature of IceCube is that we operate the partially deployed detector while we are constructing it. We have been collecting data relevant to this problem for more than 1 year and hope to run half the detector starting this February, i.e. after another construction season over the Antarctic summer that just started.’

Recent researches by scientists have indicated the presence of evidence of the early historical processes of Earth’s formation on Mars.

Extensive researches were carried out at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). The studies showed that, since both Earth and Mars had almost identical complex histories, they had similar historical formation patterns, which have since been obliterated. However, while evidences of these processes are nowhere to be found on Earth now, they have been preserved on Mars. This clearly makes Mars the best source for an understanding of the formation of Earth.

The research was conducted using mass spectrometers, and precise measurements of neodymium isotope combinations of nine rare Martian meteorites were taken. This was done keeping in mind the relevance of Mars in understanding Earth’s history.

The prime focus of the extensive research by scientists were shergottites, a group of related meteorites from Mars, made up mostly of pyroxene and feldspar. Shergottites are named after the first-identified meteorite specimen that had fallen in 1865, at Shergotty, India. The shergottites have a wide range in chemical compositions, indicating the formation of their deep sources in Mars in the very early periods of history. Today, the shergottites are considered as a veritable goldmine of information.

Alan Brandon from JSC says ‘These rocks were lavas that were made by melting deep in Mars and then erupted on the surface. They were delivered to Earth as meteorites following impacts on Mars that exhumed them and launched them into space.’ Two radiometric isotopes were used by the research team for judging the time-period for the formation of the different shergottite.

Regarding the formation period of the different shergottite, Vinciane Debaille from LPI stated ‘We expected to find that their sources all formed at the same time. But what we found instead was that the shergottite sources formed at two different times. The oldest formed at 35 million years after the solar system began to condense from ice and dust into large planets about 4,567 million years ago. The youngest formed about 110 million years after the solar system began to condense.’

The researchers concluded that the scenario with the formation of a global-scale magma ocean, formed from melting in Mars during the final accretion stages, and their gradual solidification over the relevant time-period, best fits the data. The study also discovered data that showed that terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars, in their early histories
( ranging up to tens of millions of years), might have remained molten.

The discoveries of the research unit indicate that the cooling processes in both Earth and Mars had been slower than what had been initially thought by scientists. The scientists are also of the opinion that the slow cooling magma ocean in large planets cannot be entirely explained by early crust formation. Instead, findings indicate that at one point of time, Mars had a primitive atmosphere that had acted as an insulator.

Vinciane Debaille from LPI says ‘The primitive atmosphere was composed mostly of hydrogen left over from accretion into a rocky planet, but was removed, probably by impacts, about 100 million years after the planet formed’.

The findings of the researchers were summed up by Alan Brandon from JSC: ‘The most recent physical models for magma oceans suggest they solidify on timescales of a few million years or less, so this result is surprising. Some type of insulating blanket, either as a rocky crust or a thick atmosphere, is needed as an insulator to have kept the Martian interior hot.’

Manchester United, the defending champions, have been big spenders over the summer, bringing in Owen Hargreves ( from Bayern Munich), Nani ( from Porto) and Andersen. All the three have been pretty much effective so far this season, with Nani scoring a couple of really remarkable goals. Arguably the best footballer among the current crop of players, Christiano Ronaldo, England’s boy-hero Wayne Rooney and the lively Argentine, Carlos Tevez, make up a sharp and effective forward line, with the Frenchman, Louis Saha (albeit coming from a long injury layoff) providing cover. Hargreaves, Carrick, Andersen and Fletcher can control the midfield in crucial fixtures, while the acquisition of Edwin van der Sar couple of seasons back has lent a sense of stability in goal ( with the promising Tomasz Kuzcask as an excellent understudy). After an inexplicably slow start to the season, United have started to hit their stride in their last few matches, scoring at will, and winning 8 consecutive league matches. In Europe too, they have been excellent, gaining admission to the knockout stages of Uefa Champions’ League, with 2 games in hand too. Manchester united do look the best bet to defend their crown this season in the Premier league.

Chelsea, like united, have spent big over the summer, but the results have been, at least until very recently, not up to the mark. The Blues suffered a major blow with the departure of their coach-the self-proclaimed ’special one’-Jose Mourinho. His replacement, Avram Grant, started with a 0-2 reversal at Old Trafford. There have been long-term injury issues with John Terry and Michael Ballack sidelined, Drogba having to shoulder most of the burden of responsibility. To his credit, Drogba has excelled, and with Lampard in form, Chelsea has started to look stronger inrecent weeks. Like United, Chelsea also has qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions’ League already.

Arsene Wenger’s young Arsenal team looks to have the best chances to challenge Manchester United for the throne this season. Unlike United or Chelsea, they have not spent much over the summer on big names, and have concentrated to develop youngsters. Cesc Fabregas has been in stellar form, with the lanky forward Emmanuel Adebayor (while not quite filling the void created by the departure of Thierry Henry to Spain), providing pretty effective attacking thrust. There has been an issue under the goal, with long-standing German goal-keeper Jens Lehmann recently relegated to the bench in Michael Almunia. The team, as always, is playing sleek football, with the never-say-die attitude, epitomized by the last-gasp equalize by Gallas against United in the 2-2 home draw, providing a huge boost for the team’s confidence.

The perennial under-achievers among the Big Four, Liverpool, has again been unpredictable this season. There has been a lack of adequate wins in the league in recent weeks, with the new signings, Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, combining the old hands, Crouch and Kuyt, trying their best to score goals and win important fixtures. Success has come, but it has been a bit too spaced out for any Reds’ gan’s liking. European ambitions have also suffered jolts, unless the latest 8-0 win signals a transformation of fortunes, which Rafael Benitez, so dearly wishes. Among the Big Four, Liverpool do appear to be the least likely to make it to the top this season.

Apart from these clubs, Portsmouth and Manchester City have done extremely well thus far this season, but what with their limited bench-strengths, the other clubs are likely to catch up with them as the season wears on.

On form alone, Manchester United and arsenal seem to be the top two contenders for this year’s EPL title. Come May, we will actually know how each team finally fares in the season.

In the current age of much-hyped launches of star-kids, it seems improbable that Shahrukh Khan walked in the film-world as a virtual ‘nobody’ ( with only a couple of tele-serials{albeit successful} in his kitty, ‘Fauji’ being the most notable). SRK, as he is lovingly referred to world over , sought solace, work and passion in the alien world of acting as he recuperated after the recent loss of his parents.

SRK’s choice of roles over the years have been, just as his personality is, such that, more often than not, each of his performances have successfully eclipsed his previous attempt. After the critically-acclaimed ‘Maya Memsaab’ and the disastrous ‘Dil Aashna Hai’, ( and a few other ‘not-so-successful’ movies), SRK made the nation take notice of his arrival with the superhit ‘Deewana’. He had the guts to venture into the hitherto unknown genre of ‘anti-hero’ films, portrayed superbly by him in ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Darr’, both being immensely successful. A lukewarm ‘Anjaam’ later, he realized that the time had come to move on from his ‘negative’ character portrayals. Thus evolved the Prince of Romance, and boy, was he successful or what! With ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na’, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’(which recently completed 600 weeks in India), ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’,’Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘Mohabbatein’,’Verr Zaara’ and the immensely entertaining ‘Main Hoon Na’ among others, he took rapid strides to become the ‘King’ Khan. In the meantime, the critically-acclaimed ‘Dil Se’ and ‘Swades’ constantly reminded one and all of SRK’s versatility as an actor.

Just when he could have settled in the romantic groove for the rest of his acting career, he re-invented himself as the flawed and frustrated ‘ Dev Saran’ in ‘Kabhi alvida Naa Kehna’. Next arrived the super-cool and suave villain in ‘Don’. The earlier year had also seen SRK as a ghost in ‘Paheli’-India’s official entry to the Oscars that year. A stint as the host of the television game-show ‘Kaun Banega Crorpati’ met with grand success, with even SRK-critics agreeing that no one could have done the job better. The current year has seen him in ‘Chak de!India’, a pseudo offbeat movie, with no romance, no leading ladies, and 16 newcomers as co-actors! Not many would have dared to take on this challenging role, but SRK did, and boy, did he succeed or what?! In the last frames, as ‘Kabir Khan’ wills on his team to a win, the audience world over is captivated into praying with him. SRK’s latest release, ‘Om Shanti Om’, sees him poke fun at himself-with him sneering at himself for his allegedly ‘repetitive’ romantic character-portrayals. Once again, unprecedented success has followed, with the film being declared No.1 at the US box-office( a first for any Indian film).

Today, the biggest brand that India possesses is ‘Brand Shahrukh’. As he has constantly reminded us himself, he is not only an ‘actor’, but a ‘performer’ and a ‘complete entertainer’-thereby willingly stripping himself of the idealistic glamour that many others in his profession bask in. ‘The Inner and Outer World of Shahrukh Khan’ revealed to us a candid star talking unreservedly on his art and acting, the emotions and indeed, the economics, from being the Shahrukh brand.

Why is SRK so successful? An analytic look would show that a brilliant understanding of the mass-psyche has been the cornerstone of the SRK-phenomena. The best brand ever churned out by any Indian industry, he is intelligent, witty(extremely so), spontaneous and forthcoming in his interviews and have reached the pinnacle of success, keeping both his feet firmly on the ground. To the media he has been outspoken and often ‘outrageous’ ( the brilliant ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ was shunned by the media most probably for that precise reason), there has always been the proverbial ‘pinch of salt’ in his statements. While his work reflects his passion (at the time when he launched his production house ‘Dreamz Unlimited’, later re-named ‘Red Chillies’, he reportedly slept for 2 hours a day, and fought through threatening back injuries), a wry black humour is always attached to his persona, showing that the man is aware that it is the public which has made him successful, the public he never forgets to thank.

It has been over 15 years that SRK stepped into Bollywood, and over a decade that he has occupied the top rung of the ladder of his profession. There has been competition, from senior actors, contemporaries and even juniors, but SRK has held firm. He had always been determined to make sure that the journey that led from a suburban housing colony in New Delhi into the homes, hearts and minds of innumerable fans, all over the world, a never-ending fountain of success.

Currently 42 years young, SRK has reinvented himself yet again, with a toned body that guys half his age would die for, a true reflection of his determination. He has transcended national boundaries and artificial barriers of culture. Audiences have made him the ‘King’, and he has retained his throne for over a decade now, with no signs of handing over the baton...to anyone.

As ‘Om Orakash Makhija (in ‘Om Shanti Om’) would say: ‘Picture abhi baaki hain, mere dost!’

§ Disruptions in water supplies,
§ Flooding of coastal areas,
§ Outbreak of epidemics,
§ Soil erosion ( especially the alpine meadows and the coastal marshes).

All the signs indicate that it is likely that the sea-levels would rise further, and would make the variations in temperature more extreme. The pattern and quantity of precipitation, the amount of agricultural yields, retreating glacier positions, rare animal species and health of human beings would also be adversely affected.

The early warning signs are all in place ( since 1990). It is up to the scientists to decide how to combat this global problem-whether to reverse (or, at least, reduce), global warming, or, to try to make the earth ready for future consequences. The most significant global treaty aimed at reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the Kyoto Protocol, have been signed and ratified by most national governments.

The issue of Global Warming has become a raging worldwide political and public debate. The scientists are well aware of its causes and how to combat this problem. The problem is extremely urgent, and steps have to be taken immediately. It is up to the scientists to ‘turn up the heat’ ( or, so to speak!) to combat global warming, or the future generations might indeed be seriously compromised.