♕Pradeep's Blog♕

Who Own US??

2011-08-08T17:05:00.000+05:30

1. The IRS is not a U.S. Government Agency. It is an Agency of the IMF. (Diversified Metal Products v. IRS et al. CV-93-405E-EJE U.S.D.C.D.I., Public Law 94-564, Senate Report 94-1148 pg. 5967, Reorganization Plan No. 26, Public Law 102-391.)

2. The IMF is an Agency of the UN. (Blacks Law Dictionary 6th Ed. Pg. 816)

3. The U.S. Has not had a Treasury since 1921. (41 Stat. Ch.214 pg. 654)

4. The U.S. Treasury is now the IMF. (Presidential Documents Volume 29-No.4 pg.113, 22 U.S.C. 285-288)

5. The United States does not have any employees because there is no longer a United States. No more reorganizations. After over 200 years of operating under bankruptcy its finally over. (Executive Order 12803) Do not personate one of the creditors or share holders or you will go to Prison.18 U.S.C. 914

6. The FCC, CIA, FBI, NASA and all of the other alphabet gangs were never part of the United States government. Even though the "US Government" held shares of stock in the various Agencies. (U.S. V. Strang , 254 US 491, Lewis v. US, 680 F.2d, 1239)

7. Social Security Numbers are issued by the UN through the IMF. The Application for a Social Security Number is the SS5 form. The Department of the Treasury (IMF) issues the SS5 not the Social Security Administration. The new SS5 forms do not state who or what publishes them, the earlier SS5 forms state that they are Department of the Treasury forms. You can get a copy of the SS5 you filled out by sending form SSA-L996 to the SS Administration. (20 CFR chapter 111, subpart B 422.103 (b) (2) (2) Read the cites above)

8. There are no Judicial courts in America and there has not been since 1789. Judges do not enforce Statutes and Codes. Executive Administrators enforce Statutes and Codes. (FRC v. GE 281 US 464, Keller v. PE 261 US 428, 1 Stat. 138-178)

9. There have not been any Judges in America since 1789. There have just been Administrators. (FRC v. GE 281 US 464, Keller v. PE 261 US 428 1Stat. 138-178)

10. According to the GATT you must have a Social Security number. House Report (103-826)

11. We have One World Government, One World Law and a One World Monetary System. *

12. The UN is a One World Super Government. *

13. No one on this planet has ever been free. This planet is a Slave Colony. There has always been a One World Government. It is just that now it is much better organized and has changed its name as of 1945 to the United Nations. *

14. New York City is defined in the Federal Regulations as the United Nations. Rudolph Gulliani stated on C-Span that "New York City was the capital of the World" and he was correct. (20 CFR chapter 111, subpart B 422.103 (b) (2) (2)

15. Social Security is not insurance or a contract, nor is there a Trust Fund. (Helvering v. Davis 301 US 619, Steward Co. V. Davis 301 US 548.)

16. Your Social Security check comes directly from the IMF which is an Agency of the UN. (Look at it if you receive one. It should have written on the top left United States Treasury.)

17. You own no property, slaves can't own property. Read the Deed to the property that you think is yours. You are listed as a Tenant. (Senate Document 43, 73rd Congress 1st Session)

18. The most powerful court in America is not the United States Supreme Court but, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (42 Pa.C.S.A. 502)

19. The Revolutionary War was a fraud. See (22, 23 and 24)

20. The King of England financially backed both sides of the Revolutionary war. (Treaty at Versailles July 16, 1782, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80)

21. You can not use the Constitution to defend yourself because you are not a party to it. (Padelford Fay & Co. v. The Mayor and Alderman of The City of Savannah 14 Georgia 438, 520)

22. America is a British Colony. (THE UNITED STATES IS A CORPORATION, NOT A LAND MASS AND IT EXISTED BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE BRITISH TROOPS DID NOT LEAVE UNTIL 1796.) Respublica v. Sweers 1 Dallas 43, Treaty of Commerce 8 Stat 116, The Society for Propagating the Gospel, &c. V. New Haven 8 Wheat 464, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80, IRS Publication 6209, Articles of Association October 20, 1774.)

23. Britain is owned by the Vatican. (Treaty of 1213)

24. The Pope can abolish any law in the United States. (Elements of Ecclesiastical Law Vol.1 53-54)

25. A 1040 form is for tribute paid to Britain. (IRS Publication 6209)

26. The Pope claims to own the entire planet through the laws of conquest and discovery. (Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493)

27. The Pope has ordered the genocide and enslavement of millions of people. (Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493)

28. The Pope's laws are obligatory on everyone. (Bened. XIV., De Syn. Dioec, lib, ix., c. vii., n. 4. Prati, 1844)(Syllabus, prop 28, 29, 44)

29. We are slaves and own absolutely nothing not even what we think are our children. (Tillman v. Roberts 108 So. 62, Van Koten v. Van Koten 154 N.E. 146, Senate Document 43 & 73rd Congress 1st Session, Wynehammer v. People 13 N.Y. REP 378, 481)

30. Military Dictator George Washington divided the States (Estates) into Districts. (Messages and papers of the Presidents Vo 1, pg 99. Websters 1828 dictionary for definition of Estate.)

31. "The People" does not include you and me. (Barron v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore. 32 U.S. 243)

32. The United States Government was not founded upon Christianity. (Treaty of Tripoli 8 Stat 154.)

33. It is not the duty of the police to protect you. Their job is to protect the Corporation and arrest code breakers. Sapp v. Tallahasee, 348 So. 2nd. 363, Reiff v. City of Philadelphia, 477 F.Supp. 1262, Lynch v. N.C. Dept of Justice 376 S.E. 2nd. 247.

34. Everything in the "United States" is For Sale: roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, water, prisons airports etc. I wonder who bought Klamath lake. Did anyone take the time to check? (Executive Order 12803)

35. We are Human capital. (Executive Order 13037)

36. The UN has financed the operations of the United States government for over 50 years and now owns every man, women and child in America. The UN also holds all of the Land in America in Fee Simple. *

37. The good news is we don't have to fulfill "our" fictitious obligations. You can discharge a fictitious obligation with another's fictitious obligation. *

38. The depression and World War II were a total farce. The United States and various other companies were making loans to others all over the World during the Depression. The building of Germanys infrastructure in the 1930's including the Railroads was financed by the United States. That way those who call themselves "Kings," "Prime Ministers," and "Fuher,"etc could sit back and play a game of chess using real people. Think of all of the Americans, Germans etc. who gave their lives thinking they were defending their Countries which didn't even exist. The millions of innocent people who died for nothing. Isn't it obvious why Switzerland is never involved in these fiascoes? That is where the "Bank of International Settlements" is located. Wars are manufactured to keep your eye off the ball. You have to have an enemy to keep the illusion of "Government" in place. *

39. The "United States" did not declare Independence from Great Britain or King George. *

40. Guess who owns the UN?

Football’s greatest tattoo - Daniel agger's tattoo

2011-07-03T15:09:00.002+05:30

Liverpool's Danish defender showed off his ink-redible array of tattoos after England got under his skin in Copenhagen on Wednesday.

The star's arms and torso are covered in various designs and drawings. He loves them so much he has even qualified as a tattooist and offers his services free to team-mates.

Agger's back is covered with a tattoo of a scene depicting a Viking graveyard.

In the middle is a detailed image of a sculpture of Danish mythological character Holger Danske - Holger the Dane.

It is said he will wake from his sleep if Denmark is ever in danger, although he did not open his eyes after Darren Bent and Ashley Young scored for England!

Four famous Danish kings' gravestones are depicted - King Canute and Sven Forkbeard, both also rulers of England, Harold Bluetooth and Gorm den Gamle.

Near Agger's waist are the heads of three Vikings. The central defender, 26, also has a Latin proverb - 'Mors Certa, Hora Incerta' - scrawled across the top of his back. It means: 'Death is certain, its hour is not'.

On his right upper arm he has a Viking with the words 'Memento mori', which means 'remember you will die'. And there are inscriptions on his ankles which translate as 'Pain is temporary, victory is forever'.

While the names of his brother and sister are etched into his chest. The designs are believed to have cost him hundreds of pounds and taken weeks to complete.

Qualified artist Agger has promised to tattoo his Liverpool team-mates if they win the Premier League title. The Dane rarely talks about his body art.

When asked by journos about them recently, he said: "They're just tattoos."

Japan quake: 9,500 missing in Miyagi prefecture

2011-03-12T20:31:00.002+05:30

Japan scrambled on Saturday to avert a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, killing at least 1,300 people.

Jiji news agency said there had been an explosion at the stricken 40-year-old Daichi 1 reactor and TV footage showed vapour rising from the plant, which lies 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Live updates from Yahoo! India. Refresh this page for the latest.

8:08 pm: Japanese PM Naoto Kan said more than 3,000 people have been rescued since a powerful earthquake hit northeastern and eastern Japan: Kyodo News

8:04 pm: Switzerland announced it was sending a team of some 25 rescue and medical experts accompanied by nine sniffer dogs.

8:02 pm: Britain said it would be flying out 63 British search and rescue personnel to Japan in response to a request from Tokyo.

7:28 pm: There has been reports of further aftershocks in Japan. A magnitude 6 earthquake hit Fukushima: Reports

7:11 pm: About 9,500 people are unaccounted for in the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, prefectural officials said: Kyodo News

7:05 pm: The official death toll now stands at 574, with 586 people declared missing and 1,105 injured.

7:03 pm: Japanese authorities are making preparations to distribute iodine to residents in the area of both the Fukushima nuclear plants: IAEA

7:00 pm: Noriyuki Shikata, chief cabinet secretary for public relations for the Japanese PM says, "Blast was caused by accumulated hydrogen combined with oxygen in the space between container and outer structure. No damage to container."

6:24 pm: BBC's Damian Grammaticas describes the scenes of devastation in Sendai as "truly astonishing". He says, "Giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, all around me are trees and rubble. The streets covered in mud that was swept inland. There are dozens and dozens of cars that were carried along, twisted and turned, and crushed by the wave. The gas and water have been cut off, fires are burning, and locals say hundreds of people died in this area."

6:00 pm: Japanese authorities have confirmed there was no explosion at the troubled No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant: Kyodo News

5.53pm: Indian foreign minister S M Krishna sends his condolences to Japan. Ministry of external affairs sets up special cell to monitor developments.

5.45pm: Summary of what World Nuclear News is saying: The plant has six reactors, three of which were in operation when the quake struck on Friday. All three shut down at once, as they are designed to, and automatically began removing residual heat with the help of emergency diesel generators. The generators stopped functioning after about an hour, possibly because of flooding caused by the tsunami. Plant owners Tokyo Electric Power Company immediately notified the government of an emergency. Work at the site is now centered on connecting portable power modules to replace the malfunctioning diesels..

5.36pm: World Nuclear News puts out status update on radiation leaks. Its website crashes, but is restores soon.

5.28pm: Aftershocks continue in Japan, while attention is focused on nuclear reactors. Texas researchers put out a map which tracks tremors in near real time.

4.33pm: Map from The New York Times, offering interactive information on earthquake and tsunami damage.

4.30pm: Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says serious damage to Fukushima nuclear reactor container unlikely.

4.26pm: 2.15 lakh tsunami-affected people now in emergency shelters.

4.22pm: Tsunami waves reach Africa, northern Chile. No damage reported.

4.20pm: Experts are downplaying risks from the explosion. Reuters quotes Ian Hore-Lacy, of the World Nuclear Association, as saying. "It is obviously a hydrogen explosion due to hydrogen igniting. If the hydrogen has ignited, then it is gone, it poses no further threat."

4.05pm: There are over 1,000 people unaccounted for -- either dead or missing, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency.

4.04pm: All 81 aboard tsunami-swept ship rescued: Japanese team airlifts everyone on board to safety, CNN-IBN reports, quoting Jiji Press.

4.02pm: Sony, Toyota, Nissan and Honda are among firms to have closed plants due to the massive quake, reports BBC.

3.50pm: As officials and relavant agencies struggle to come to grips with the explosion at Fukushima: a) authorities have extended the evacuation area at the neighboring Fukushima; b) to a ten kilometer radius.

3.48pm: Blast the the plant may have been caused by a hydrogen explosion, say reports

3.47pm: BBC's nuclear expert Walt Patterson, an associate fellow with Chatham House, said the presence of caesium, one of the elements released when overheating of a nuclear plant causes core damage, does not pose any significant threat to public health. Meanwhile, as engineers try to establish if Fukushima is in meltdown, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has re-declared a state of emergency at the plant, and at the neighboring Fukushima.

3.40pm: Official claims that the radiation levels at Fukushima-Daiichi was not serious is meeting with considerable speculation. The BBC in a report pointed out that officials have been less than honest with their "reassurances" in the past.

3.23pm: Japan's Meteorological Agency officials have told people living on the Pacific Coast to remain alert although there's slim chance of a 10m or higher tsunami now.

3.17pm: Aftershocks continue. The USGS reports the latest one, magnitude 5.4, is just 25 km (15.5 miles) off the east coast of Honshu.

3.16pm: BBC reports, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is investigating the explosion at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.

2.57pm: The leak seems more serious than it first appeared. Kyodo News is now reporting that the amount leaking each hour is more than the maximum permitted in an entire year.

2.50pm: CNN reports that the Japan quake and resulting tsunami appear to have shifted the island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

2.47pm: Reports say the walls and roof of the Fukushima nuclear plant have sustained heavy damage in the blast, and preliminary reports indicate increased levels of radiation. Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission has warned that the plant, 150 miles (240 km) north of Tokyo, may be approaching or experiencing meltdown.

2.45pm Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has confirmed a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant

Reuters reports: Japan scrambled on Saturday to avert a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, killing at least 1,300 people.

Jiji news agency said there had been an explosion at the stricken 40-year-old Daichi 1 reactor and TV footage showed vapour rising from the plant, which lies 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

The country's nuclear safety agency could not confirm the reported incident, which came as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) worked desperately to reduce pressures in the core of the reactor that -- if not contained -- could lead to a release of radiation into the atmosphere.

"An unchecked rise in temperature could cause the core to essentially turn into a molten mass that could burn through the reactor vessel," political risk information service Stratfor said in a report. "This may lead to a release of an unchecked amount of radiation into the containment building that surrounds the reactor."

NHK television said the outer structure of the building that houses the reactor appeared to have blown off, which could suggest the containment building had already been breached.

Earlier the operator released what it said was a tiny amount of radioactive steam to reduce the pressure and the danger was minimal because tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated from the vicinity.

Media reports estimate at least 1,300 people may have been killed by the 8.9 quake, the biggest since records began in Japan 140 years ago, and the 10-metre tsunami that swept ferociously inland after it struck.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the earth's axis had shifted 25 cm as a result of the quake and the U.S. Geological Survey said the main island of Japan had actually shifted 2.4 metres.

Japanese officials and experts have been at pains to say that while there would be radiation leaks, they would be very small and have dismissed suggestions of a repeat of a Chernobyl-type disaster.

THOUSANDS FLEE

Friday's tremor was so huge that thousands fled their homes from coastlines around the Pacific Rim, as far away as North and South America, fearful of a tsunami.

Most appeared to have been spared anything more serious than some high waves, unlike Japan's northeast coastline which was hammered by the huge tsunami that turned houses and ships into floating debris as it surged into cities and villages, sweeping aside everything in its path.

"I thought I was going to die," said Watauga Fuji, a 38-year-old sales representative in Koriyama, Fukushima, north of Tokyo and close to the area worst hit by the quake.

"Our furniture and shelves had all fallen over and there were cracks in the apartment building, so we spent the whole night in the car... Now we're back home trying to clean."

The unfolding natural disaster, which has been followed by dozens of aftershocks, prompted offers of search and rescue help from 50 countries.

The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.

The disaster struck as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kant quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history.

Hans Zimmer on manipulating Edith Piaf for 'Inception': 'It's how you get from one dream level to the next'

2010-09-15T01:19:00.003+05:30

Christopher Nolan's dream-within-a-dream-heist comes with a taut, damning score, courtesy of the filmmaker's go-to-composer, Hans Zimmer. Yet the tense, minimal foghorn-like bellows take their inspiration from something far more delicate. Édith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" was one of the composer's prime sources of inspiration for "Inception."

Zimmer spoke about the connection to our sister blog Hero Complex when the film was released, and a video comparing Piaf's take on "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" with Zimmer's score has now become a viral hit (it's embedded below for those who haven't seen the almost spooky connection). The use of the Piaf song was included in Nolan's script, and Zimmer noted that it was almost cut from the film when Marion Cotillard, who starred as Piaf in 2007 film "La Vie en Rose," was cast.

Zimmer said he persuaded Nolan to keep the song in the film, and noted that pieces of the Piaf song were stretched and manipulated to fit into the score. Credits on the soundtrack's "Half Remembered Dream," which is used repeatedly throughout "Inception" in some of the film's most tense moments, note that the piece contains "interpolations" of the Piaf tune.

"If you were to see this movie a second time," Zimmer said, "you realize the last note you hear in the movie is the first note in the movie. It’s a Möbius band. But the next thing you hear over the logos is actually telling a story. You realize that the elements that we’ve extracted from the Piaf song are the way you get from one dream level to the next. When the movie starts, some action has already happened."

Nolan, said Zimmer, planted the idea that led to the composer twisting Piaf's number. "What Chris found interesting was its rhythmic phrase," Zimmer said.

Solar City Tower with ‘urban waterfall’ proposed for 2016 Rio Olympics

2010-08-27T08:19:00.001+05:30

Aside from the events that take place as part of the Olympics, it seems the competition is also on for each Games to become “greener” than those that have gone before. This year’s Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver boasted a variety of green initiatives, including Canada's biggest "living roof." London looks set to outdo Vancouver in 2012, but Rio is looking to up the ante again and be the first zero-carbon footprint games when it hosts the Summer Olympics in 2016. To help the city achieve this goal Swiss-based RAFAA Architecture and Design has proposed a Solar City Tower which features an eye-catching energy-generating waterfall.

The Solar City Tower is RAFAA’s entry in the International Architecture Competition for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The tower is adorned with solar panels that produce energy for the Olympic village by day, with surplus energy used to pump seawater into a tower. Then the water can be released to drive turbines and generate electricity at night. On special occasions the water can also be pumped over the edges of the building to create what the architects call an “urban waterfall”. This would be a symbol of the forces of nature, while at the same time acting as “the representation of a collective awareness of the city towards its great surrounding landscape”.

Access to the building is via an urban plaza located 60 meters above sea level, which can serve as a place for social gatherings and events, while a cafeteria and shop are situated beneath the waterfall (presumably under cover). A public elevator takes visitors to the observation decks on level 98 and the urban balcony situated at the top of the tower, 105 meters above sea level. Here visitors have a 360-degree view of the surrounding landscape and can walk over the waterfall on a glass skywalk platform. There would also be a retractable platform for bungee jumping on level 90.5.

RAFAA propose locating the Solar City Tower on the Cotunduba Island that sits at the entrance to Guanabara Bay. There it would act as an instantly recognizable landmark for visitors arriving in Rio by air or sea.

Via World Architecture News.

Weird Antimatter Particles Discovered Deep Underground

2010-08-20T09:00:00.002+05:30

Exotic antimatter particles have been detected deep within the Earth's interior, scientists report.

Studying these particles, which are thought to result from radioactive decay within Earth, could help scientists better understand how the flow of heat inside our planet affects surface events like volcanoes and earthquakes.

The particles, called geoneutrinos, are made of a strange type of matter called antimatter, which has properties opposite those of regular matter. When a regular particle, like an electron, meets with its antimatter partner, called a positron, the two annihilate each other in an energetic explosion.

Geoneutrinos are the antimatter partners of neutrinos, which are very lightweight, neutrally charged particles that are created within the sun and when a cosmic ray strikes a normal atom. An earlier project called KamLAND in Japan found the first signs of possible geoneutrinos in 2005.

Giant steel sphere

Researchers in the Borexino collaboration at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics discovered the geoneutrinos inside a nylon sphere detector containing 1,000 tons of a hydrocarbon liquid. This sphere is encased within a larger stainless steel sphere in which an array of ultrasensitive photodetectors point at the inner nylon globe. Both of these layers are enclosed within a third 45-foot (13.7-m) diameter steel sphere holding 2,400 tons of highly purified water.

The whole experiment is buried nearly a mile (1.6 km) below the surface of the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy

All of these fortifications serve to shield the experiment from detecting anything other than neutrinos and geoneutrinos. These particles are incredibly difficult to find, because they pass through almost everything without interacting in any way. Over a whole year of searching for the elusive geoneutrinos, the experiment detected only a few signals. The detection of solar neutrinos, which produces a different pattern, is somewhat more common.

The researchers detailed their results from two years of operations – running through December 2009 – in a paper published in the April issue of the journal Physics Letters B.

"This is an important result," co-researcher Frank Calaprice, a physicist at Princeton University in New Jersey, said in a statement. "It shows that geoneutrinos have been detected and firmly establishes a new tool to study the interior of the Earth."

Earth's inner warmth

Geoneutrinos are thought to be formed from the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium and potassium inside the Earth's crust (its outermost layer) and mantle (the layer below that, extending to 1,800 miles, or 2,900 km, beneath the surface).

The researchers hope that by studying geoneutrinos, they can learn more about how decaying elements add to the heat beneath Earth's surface and affect processes like convection in the mantle. Whether radioactive decay dominates the heating in this layer, or merely adds to the heat from other sources, is an open question.

Convection is a process of heat-driven mixing that pushes a flow of hot rock from deep in the interior up to the planet's surface. This drives plate tectonics, shifting the continents, spreading the seafloor, and causing volcanoes to erupt and earthquakes to tremble.

The results of the new study suggest the radioactivity within Earth probably contributes a significant fraction of the heat in the mantle, Calaprice said.

World Cup Science: Tricky Shots and Blind Referees

2010-06-19T12:11:00.002+05:30

Whether you call it football, futbol or soccer, the game that will capture the world's attention for the next month during the FIFA World Cup is governed by forces other than just a player's hard work, timely reflexes or seemingly magical foot skills.

Soccer-enthused scientists have pored over the game at minute levels and found that gravity, friction, and something called the Magnus force all play a role in deciding which team ends up notching a win.

And if you've ever thought the referees are blind, one study reveals they actually are, at least when it comes to calling an offside penalty.

How to make a ball 'banana'

Similar to how a billiards player puts English on a ball, a soccer player can influence a ball's spin by striking it in various spots. If done correctly, a spinning ball can bend like a banana around a wall of defensive players or float like a frustrating knuckleball towards the goal.

Here's how it works:

A forward-moving ball spinning in the clockwise direction creates greater air friction on its left side. This is because the left surface of the ball is moving against air flow.

This creates a slightly higher pressure on the left, causing the ball to move toward the right as the pressure tries to reach a balance. The opposite occurs for a ball spinning counterclockwise.

The faster the ball spins, the greater the friction and pressure difference, which leads to a bigger and more deceptive break.

Scientists call this effect the Magnus force, whereby an object's rotation or spin affects its path through air or a liquid. The Magnus force plays a role in other sports, too, particularly in baseball. The Magnus force is named after Heinrich Gustav Magnus, the German physicist who first described it (although some people claim Isaac Newton did it first).

A new ball introduced in this year's World Cup has proven even more frustrating than normal, as fewer panels and seams have caused the ball to fly even more unpredictably [learn more].

System overload

Picking up a ball's spin might help a player judge how the ball will break, but Cathy Craig, a psychologist at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has bad news for players: Their visual systems can't process this information.

Craig enlisted 11 players and nine goalkeepers from elite European professional teams to determine how well players can interpret how spin affects the ball's flight. Each player donned a virtual reality helmet that gave the perspective of standing in the center of the goal. They could look around the stadium, but there was no visual clutter, just a ball sitting 33 yards straight ahead, about the location of the average free kick.

When the ball was virtually kicked toward the player with no spin, but still having gravity affecting its flight, the players consistently judged accurately whether it would enter the goal. But when the ball spun clockwise or counterclockwise, even the expert goal keepers were lost.

"Gravity is constant and we've known how to deal with it since we were born," Craig told LiveScience. "But we're not used to dealing with spin, and our nervous system is better at dealing with invariance than things that vary all the time."

In the future, Craig suggests goalkeepers might prepare for an opponent by using a similar virtual device to accustom themselves with the type of spin the opposing free kick specialist puts on the ball.

It might also be good testing ground for manufacturers developing new balls. Sometimes engineers design a ball that flies well in a wind tunnel, but players hate it because the pattern painted on it makes it appear to wobble in flight. Trying out new paint jobs in a virtual setting could help companies develop a ball that both physicists and players love.

Offside fools

Soccer referees draw plenty of criticism from fans, but incorrectly calling "offside" tends to be the source of extreme ire.

The offside rule states that no offensive player is allowed to run past a defender and then touch the ball unless the ball is already in front of them. What makes it tricky is a player can run past a defender to receive a pass as long as the player has not passed the defender when the ball was kicked.

A wrong call one way can kill a team's legitimate chance of scoring, and a bad call the other way can allow a cheap goal.

Francisco Belda Maruenda, a physician and researcher in Spain, would tell you not to be so hard on the referees, since they're being asked to perform a physiologically impossible task.

The ability of the eye to change focus on a far object to one located less than 6 yards away is called eye accommodation. For most people, it takes around 600 milliseconds. Since the players and ball are spread all over the field, a referee almost always performs eye accommodation when making an offside call.

But according to Maruenda, the average running player can move roughly 5 feet in the time it takes for the ref's eyes to refocus, so 600 milliseconds is just too slow.

To make an accurate call, "it is necessary to stop time and to locate all the players who take part in that game in zero milliseconds," Maruenda told LiveScience. To watch the player making the pass, the player receiving the pass, the defender, and the ball at the same time is just too much for our visual systems to handle, especially from the close-up view of the referee.

Some soccer officials have suggested giving a referee a bird's-eye view of the game and freeze-frame television technology to make better offside calls. Until then, it's worth noting that fans who bash refs for bad calls suffer the same blindness to the truth.

How Altitude Could Cause Players to Overshoot

2010-06-19T12:03:00.001+05:30

World Cup players might notice some strange things happening to their kicks because of the peculiar aerodynamics of playing soccer at the high altitude of the Johannesburg, South Africa, stadium, a NASA scientist warned today.

At altitude, the air pressure is lower, and so are aerodynamic effects such as drag and lift, ultimately causing balls to travel faster and straighter than they would at lower altitude. Johannesburg is 5,500 feet (1,680 meters) above sea level, even higher than Denver.

"When they play there, the ball will behave differently because of air density compared to other stadiums," said Rabi Mehta, an aerospace engineer at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "When watching the games recently, you often see long passes that overshoot, and I think that's because of this effect."

Physics on the field

Drag is the force of air resistance pushing against a ball's motion and slowing it down, while lift is a force causing a ball to swerve off a straight path. Both forces are caused by the presence of air, so with less air molecules around, these forces are reduced. Thus, the same kick in Johannesburg compared with one at sea level would cause a soccer ball to travel faster and on a less curved path.

Players who are aware of altitude's effect on aerodynamics could have an advantage over those who don't, Mehta said.

"If they understand what happens in certain situations, that improves their performance," Mehta told LiveScience. "When the person is producing a pass he has to realize, 'I need to kick it not as hard as I would at sea level, otherwise it's going to go out of bounds.'"

In addition, the altitude can be tough physiologically for players not used to it. Less atmosphere means less oxygen to breathe, which causes a strain on athletes as they must breathe harder to get enough oxygen to their straining muscles. People can adjust to altitude, and their bodies will begin producing more red blood cells to take advantage of the oxygen that is available. But this takes time, so players who live at high altitude or arrive early enough to acclimatize have a definite advantage.

Knuckle-balling

Mehta also did some research on the aerodynamics of the new soccer ball being used at the 2010 World Cup. For the competition Adidas introduced a new ball called Jabulani (Zulu for "celebration"). The new model is made out of eight panels, compared with the previous 14, and has special aerodynamic ridges on its surface.

The ball is an adjustment to a previous new ball called Teamgeist, introduced for the last World Cup in 2006. At the time, Adidas said it was the world's most accurate soccer ball, though players complained it didn't perform as they were used to.

Mehta said Jabulani will probably have some of the same quirks as Teamgeist.

A primary issue is what's called "knuckle-balling." A knuckle ball is a ball that swerves or veers in unexpected directions. This happens because the ball is kicked straight, without spin.

Ironically, that lack of spin on the ball causes its path to curve because of aerodynamics. The ball is not perfectly smooth because of the seams between its panels, and now because of the added ridges. These irregularities cause an asymmetric flow of air around the ball, creating side forces that push the ball into a swerve.

The new ridges and overall design make Jabulani even easier to knuckle-ball at the speeds commonly kicked at during free-kick around the goal area.

Knuckle-balling is not necessarily bad – sometimes it helps throw the goalie off if a ball swoops at the last minute. But players like being able to anticipate where their kick will land, and the new ball will take some adjustment, Mehta said.

Mehta shared some of these findings with a group of students who were invited to test out the new ball at an event held by NASA Ames's Fluid Mechanics Laboratory.

"It's amazing how kids get excited when you start talking about sports," Mehta said. "All these efforts are meant to get kids more interested in science and engineering."

Why Goalies Hate the New World Cup Soccer Ball

2010-06-19T12:02:00.002+05:30

In the opening match of soccer's World Cup Friday, German midfielder Torsten Frings scored an amazing goal from 40 yards out. The ball started off straight and then tailed sharply to the right in the last 10 yards or so. It was an unstoppable shot, but with a different ball it might have been a simple save.

A scientist has explained why a new ball being used in this year's World Cup is frustrating goalies.

The new Adidas Teamgeist football, as it is called, has 14 panels instead of the 26 or 32 that traditionally create the hexagonal pattern.

Fewer panels means fewer seams, which will make the ball behave more like a baseball, says Ken Bray, a sports scientist at the University of Bath in the UK.

Complex whirls of air cause a spinning ball to drift toward the side that's spinning away from the ball's direction of movement [learn why]. A ball that's not spinning can bounce around unpredictably. Pitchers rely on this physics when throwing knuckleballs.

A good knuckleball is crazy because the ball rotates lazily in the air and the seams disrupt the air flow around the ball at certain points on the surface, Bray said.

"With a very low spin rate, which occasionally happens in football, the panel pattern can have a big influence on the trajectory of the ball and make it more unpredictable for a goalkeeper," Bray said last week.

Bray suggests one way to watch for the effect on TV.

"Watch the slow motion replays to spot the rare occasions where the ball produces little or no rotation and where goalkeepers will frantically attempt to keep up with the ball’s chaotic flight path," he said.

Butterfly Effect Could Improve Security of Money

2010-06-18T00:54:00.002+05:30

Scientists have reproduced the brilliant optical effect of tropical butterfly wings. The advance could lower bank fraud by leading to improved security in the printing of paper money.

The butterfly effect could be used to encrypt information on money or other valuable items and reduce forgery.

"The shiny green patches on this tropical butterfly's wing scales are a stunning example of nature's ingenuity in optical design," said researcher Mathias Kolle of the University of Cambridge. "Seen with the right optical equipment these patches appear bright blue, but with the naked eye they appear green."

Replicating the vivid, changeable colors on butterflies and other insects had stumped scientists in part because the effect doesn't come from pigments but rather as a result of light bouncing off microscopic structures on the insects' wings.

To figure out this visual ability, Kolle and colleagues studied the Indonesian Peacock or Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio blumei), whose wing scales are made of tiny, intricate structures that resemble the inside of an egg carton.

The shape of the structures, along with the fact that alternating layers of cuticle and air coat the structures, allows different regions of it to reflect and mix different colors of light.

Using artificial materials and special nano-techniques, the team created surfaces that were identical to those on the Swallowtail's wings, and the look-alikes produced the same vivid colors.

Likening the advance to unlocking "one of nature's secrets," Kolle speculated that the ability to show as two colors simultaneously could be an important evolved trait for butterflies.

"If [a butterfly's] eyes see fellow butterflies as bright blue, while predators only see green patches in a green tropical environment, then it can hide from predators at the same time as remaining visible to members of its own species."

Now, scientists will be able to take this self-encryption-through-iridescence effect to the paper surfaces of bank money and lessen forgery.

"These artificial structures could be used to encrypt information in optical signatures on banknotes or other valuable items to protect them against forgery," Kolle said. "We still need to refine our system but in future we could see structures based on butterflies wings shining from a £10 note or even our passports."

The results were published last week in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Moths' Eyes Serve as Blueprint for Reflection-Free Displays

2010-05-25T22:19:00.004+05:30

A new way to recreate the special patterns found on moths' eyes onto plastics could lead to remarkably reflection- and glare-free display screens for televisions, cell phones and more.

Makers of transparent plastic screens have long envied the lusterless eyes of moths, which evolved to prevent light from reflecting off them and catching predators' attention.

Though several companies have made products studded with nanostructures that mimic these antireflective bumps over the last decade, high costs and fragility have limited the adoption of "moth eye."

"There's very little moth eye out there," said Michael Foley, president and CEO of Reflexite, a Conneticut-based company that has sold moth-eye derived wares, such as projector displays, since 1999. "It's one of these Holy Grail products that if you could make it in large quantities and also have it be scratch-resistant, it would be a huge breakthrough."

The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, Germany, a long-time leader in the field, recently announced progress in bringing about this "duller" future.

Researchers there have demonstrated how to create a moth eye pattern on plastics during so-called injection molding, rather than afterwards in a separate step, that is also scratch-resistant.

During the common manufacturing process of injection molding, molten plastic is squirted into a mold where it then cools, assuming a desired shape.

Bumpy, moth-inspired textures can be etched onto plastic once it has hardened, and newer methods print directly in the mold, rather like how poured-in dough takes on a waffle shape as it cooks in a waffle maker.

But the plastic sometimes sticks to the mold and so does not pick up the pattern well, and scratches from normal wear-and-tear and cleaning of products can ruin their fragile, virtually reflection-less surfaces.

To address these issues, the German researchers developed a coating that lines the mold chamber. The coating picks up the contours of a light-absorbing nanostructure already etched into the mold cavity. This coating then remains on injected plastic that solidifies in the mold.

During this process, a thin, protective polyurethane sealant floods in and goes over top of the coating, making it wipe-resistant for easy cleaning without scratching.

Frank Burmeister, lead author of a 2009 paper describing aspects of the ongoing research and a project manager at IWM, said that "we believe that the new fabrication method" offers huge cost and manufacturing advantages over "conventional varnishing processes."

When reproduced on plastics, tiny moth-inspired bumps, pyramids or meshes cut down light reflection to fewer than three percent, Burmeister said. Reflexite's best moth eye-based materials reflect just half a percent.

The trick to how this works is that the bumps are a mere couple hundred nanometers, or billionths of meter, in height, making them smaller than wavelengths of incoming light. Moths' eyes absorb light extremely well and do not glimmer because light passes into their corneas without disruption, allowing the flying insects to see keenly in the dark while not giving themselves away.

These bumps are typically splayed in a hexagonal pattern over a moth's round eyes. The whole setup and phenomenon is akin to the sound-proofing foams made for rooms. These surfaces prevent echoes – the reflection of sound – with ridge patterns that are humongous compared to moth eye bumps.

Clear applications

The technological promise of moths' eyes has remained mostly unfulfilled ever since scientists discovered their characteristic bumps using microscopes back in the1960s.

If a truly economical moth-eye product were to come out, Foley said "100 percent of the television market would convert that day." Similarly effective though expensive antireflection films only appear in high-end sets such as plasma televisions currently, Foley said.

Televisions, however, are just the tip of the iceberg: computer monitors, mobile device screens, eyeglasses and everyday windows could all benefit from scratch-resistant moth eye plastics and films made on the cheap.

Solar cells, for example, outfitted with moth eye would reap significantly more electricity if less light were lost to reflection, Foley said. (In fact, the first moth eye applications emerged during work on solar power at the Fraunhofer Institute.)

Another good place for this technology, according to Burmeister, is the clear view screens placed across speedometers and other dashboard gauges in automobiles.

Conventional antireflection coatings that use different layers of material to cancel out light waves are too expensive for use in automobiles, Burmeister said. Accordingly, view screens are often curved and placed below a hood on the dash to reduce reflections from direct sunlight.

A cheaper coating enabled by the new moth eye manufacturing technique could eliminate the need for these measures and allow automakers "more freedom of design" in vehicle interiors, Burmeister told TechNewsDaily.

Antireflective cell phone displays with better visibility are also a possibility, said Burmeister, but the durability of the nanostructured polyurethane skins will need further investigation before someday going into production.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," said Burmeister, "but our results are very promising."

New Technology Could Boost DVD Capacity 1000x

2010-05-25T22:17:00.000+05:30

A new breakthrough by a Japanese research team may result in DVDs that hold 1,000 times more information than current discs.

Current single-layer Blu-ray discs, the most advanced kind of optical storage media on the market, hold five times as much information as a standard DVD. This new manufacturing technique would vastly outperform either disc technology.

The new technique uses a very common compound, titanium oxide, to act as an information-storage medium. Researchers found that titanium oxide, which is normally black, changed to brown when hit by light. When this happens, the titanium oxide changes from a simple metal oxide to a semiconductor, making it possible to use it in optical discs, such as DVDs, that already use lasers to read information.

Even more important to use in commercial products, titanium oxide does all this at room temperature. The University of Tokyo research team created particles of the compound as small as five nanometers in diameter. At that size, if used in a DVD, the titanium oxide would make it possible to pack in 1,000 times the information that can be stored on a Blu-ray disc (standard single-layer Blu-rays hold 25GB).

Another benefit of titanium oxide is its price. It is vastly cheaper than the rare element cocktail composed of germanium-antimony-tellurium currently used in Blu-ray and DVD discs. And it's already used in many consumer products.

While Shin-ichi Ohkoshi, chemistry professor at the University of Tokyo, already has plans to talk to companies about commercializing the technology, don't get too excited about seeing super-DVDs any time soon.

As Internet connections and broadband speeds become more reliable, the technology industry is seeing a migration away from physical media. Instead of buying DVDs and Blu-ray discs, people are downloading and streaming movies from sites such as Netflix. As this trend continues, discs will become less important to the average consumer, meaning that there may not be enough demand for larger disc capacity to make this technology commercially viable.

Why Does It Say 'In God We Trust' on US Money?

2010-04-25T16:10:00.001+05:30

The words "In God We Trust," a controversial phrase that some argue should be kept off of our currency, has appeared on all forms of U.S. money since 1963, although the history behind the motto dates back much further.

In 1861, Rev. M. R. Watkinson, a Pennsylvania minister, wrote to Secretary of Treasury Salmon P. Chase pleading that new coin designs include "the recognition of the Almighty God," according to Treasury Department records.

Chase was so moved by Watkinson's letter that he requested that the U.S. Mint prepare a motto that would sum up the growing religious sentiment during the Civil War era in "the fewest and tersest words possible."

"The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins," Chase wrote in a letter to the Director of the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia.

On April 22, 1864, Congress passed a law requiring that one-cent, two-cent and three-cent coins include the phrase. Later that year, "In God We Trust" first appeared on the two-cent coin.

The law that put the motto on paper currency was passed in 1955, Claudia Dickens, a spokesperson for the U. S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, told Life's Little Mysteries.

In 1956, Congress passed an act that made "In God We Trust" the official national motto of the United States.

Over the years, people have argued against the presence of the religious motto on American currency. President Theodore Roosevelt, in a letter published in the New York Times in 1907, wrote that keeping the motto on coins was unwarranted and possibly sacrilegious.

"My own feelings in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good, but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege," Roosevelt wrote.

In response to the first court case challenging the motto, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1970 that "its use is of patriotic or ceremonial character and bears no true resemblance to a governmental sponsorship of a religious exercise." The Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case.

Since then, the motto has been repeatedly challenged in federal courts, but it has not been found to violate the First Amendment's prohibition of the establishment of religion.

Humans Could Run 40 mph, in Theory

2010-01-25T08:20:00.000+05:30

Humans could perhaps run as fast 40 mph, a new study suggests. Such a feat would leave in the dust the world's fastest runner, Usain Bolt, who has clocked nearly 28 mph in the 100-meter sprint.

The new findings come after researchers took a new look at the factors that limit human speed. Their conclusions? The top speed humans could reach may come down to how quickly muscles in the body can move.

Previous studies have suggested the main hindrance to speed is that our limbs can only take a certain amount of force when they strike the ground. This may not be the whole story, however.

"If one considers that elite sprinters can apply peak forces of 800 to 1,000 pounds with a single limb during each sprinting step, it's easy to believe that runners are probably operating at or near the force limits of their muscles and limbs," said Peter Weyand of Southern Methodist University, one of the study's authors.

But Weyand and colleagues found in treadmill tests that our limbs can handle a lot more force than what is applied during top-speed running.

What really holds us back

Their results showed the critical biological limit is imposed by time — specifically, the very brief periods of time available to apply force to the ground while sprinting. In elite sprinters, foot-ground contact times are less than one-tenth of a second, and peak ground forces occur within less than one-twentieth of that second for the first instant of foot-ground contact.

To figure out what limits how fast we can run, the researchers used a high-speed treadmill equipped to precisely measure the forces applied to its surface with each footfall. Study participants then ran on the treadmill using different gaits, including hopping, and running forward and backwards as fast as they possibly could.

The ground forces applied while hopping on one leg at top speed exceeded those applied during top-speed forward running by 30 percent or more. That suggests our limbs can handle greater forces than those found for two-legged running at top speeds.

And although top backward speed was substantially slower than top forward speed, as expected, the minimum periods of foot-ground contact at top backward and forward speeds were essentially identical. The fact that these two drastically different running styles had such similar intervals for foot-ground contact suggest that there is a physical limit to how fast your muscle fibers can work to get your feet off the ground, the researchers say.

New speed limit

The new work shows that running speed limits are set by the contractile speed limits of the muscle fibers themselves, with fiber contractile speeds setting the limit on how quickly the runner's limb can apply force to the running surface.

"Our simple projections indicate that muscle contractile speeds that would allow for maximal or near-maximal forces would permit running speeds of 35 to 40 miles per hour and conceivably faster," Bundle said.

While 40 mph may not impress the cheetah, the world's fastest land animal reaching speeds of 70 mph (112 kph), it's enough to escape a grizzly bear and much quicker than T. rex, which may have reached 18 mph (29 kph) during a good jog.

The results were published in the Jan. issue of the journal Journal of Applied Physiology.

Strange Physical Theory Proved After Nearly 40 Years

2010-01-12T09:14:00.000+05:30

When physicist Vitaly Efimov heard his theory had finally been proven, he ran up to the younger scientist who had verified it and gave him a high five.

Efimov had predicted a quantum-mechanical version of Borromean rings, a symbol that first showed up in Afghan Buddhist art from around the second century. The symbol depicts three rings linked together; if any ring were removed, they would all come apart.

Efimov theorized an analog to the rings using particles: Three particles (such as atoms or protons or even quarks) could be bound together in a stable state, even though any two of them could not bind without the third. The physicist first proposed the idea, based on a mathematical proof, in 1970. Since then, no one has been able to demonstrate the phenomenon in the lab — until recently.

A team of physicists led by Randy Hulet of Rice University in Houston finally achieved the trio of particles, and published their findings in the online journal Science Express.

"It was very exciting, because after 40 years of this prediction being out there, it was finally verified," Hulet told LiveScience.

Hulet presented his work at a meeting in Rome in October that Efimov also attended.

"He gave me a high five after my talk," Hulet recounted. "He was so enthusiastic and so excited to see this prediction become true."

Efimov had calculated that the triplet of bound particles was possible, and that it was repeating: New bound states could be achieved at higher and higher energy levels in an infinite progression. All of the bound states would occur at energy levels that were multiples of 515.

To prove that they had really created the trios, called Efimov trimers, the researchers produced one set of three lithium atoms bound together, and then reproduced it with a binding energy 515 times the first one. (Essentially, binding energy indicates how tightly the particles hold onto one another and how much energy it would take to pull them apart.)

The researchers used a setup called a Feshbach resonance that allowed them to tweak the energy levels of their atoms. They found that when they hit multiples of 515, the particles would bind, but at other energies they wouldn't, proving that the trios really were Efimov trimers.

"It's an amazing effect, really," Hulet said. "A lot of people didn’t believe [Efimov] at first. It was a very strange prediction."

The theory is unique because it's a solution to a special case of what's called the "three-body" problem. Scientists have solved the "two-body" problem — that is, they have calculated exactly how two objects should move based on their starting positions, masses and velocities. Scientists can also calculate this scenario for many masses, but a pure solution to the general three-body problem has been elusive.

"Physicists can handle two-body problems quite well, and many-body problems fairly well, but when there are just a few objects, like the three bodies in these Efimov trimers, there are just too many variables," Hulet said.

The Efimov calculation isn't the solution to the general case, but rather a solution to a specific case of three bodies. Thus, discovering a real-life example of three particles fulfilling his prediction is an important step to learning more about few-body physics.

Top Ten Unexplained Phenomena

2010-01-12T08:52:00.003+05:30

10

The Body/Mind Connection

Medical science is only beginning to understand the ways in which the mind influences the body. The placebo effect, for example, demonstrates that people can at times cause a relief in medical symptoms or suffering by believing the cures to be effective - whether they actually are or not. Using processes only poorly understood, the body's ability to heal itself is far more amazing than anything modern medicine could create...

9

Psychic powers and ESP

Psychic powers and extra-sensory perception (ESP) rank among the top ten unexplained phenomena if for no other reason than that belief in them is so widespread. Many people believe that intuition (see #3) is a form of psychic power, a way of accessing arcane or special knowledge about the world or the future. Researchers have tested people who claim to have psychic powers, though the results under controlled scientific conditions have so far been negative or ambiguous. Some have argued that psychic powers cannot be tested, or for some reason diminish in the presence of skeptics or scientists. If this is true, science will never be able to prove or disprove the existence of psychic powers.

8

Near-Death Experiences and Life After Death

People who were once near death have sometimes reported various mystical experiences (such as going into a tunnel and emerging in a light, being reunited with loved ones, a sense of peace, etc.) that may suggest an existence beyond the grave. While such experiences are profound, no one has returned with proof or verifiable information from "beyond the grave." Skeptics suggest that the experiences are explainable as natural and predictable hallucinations of a traumatized brain, yet there is no way to know with certainty what causes near-death experiences, or if they truly are visions of "the other side."

7

UFOs

There is no doubt that UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) exist - many people see things in the skies that they cannot identify, ranging from aircraft to meteors. Whether or not any of those objects and lights are alien spacecraft is another matter entirely; given the fantastic distances and effort involved in just getting to Earth from across the universe, such a scenario seems unlikely. Still, while careful investigation has revealed known causes for most sighting reports, some UFO incidents will always remain unexplained.

6

Deja vu

Deja vu is a French phrase meaning 'already seen,' referring to the distinct, puzzling, and mysterious feeling of having experienced a specific set of circumstances before. A woman might walk into a building, for example, in a foreign country she'd never visited, and sense that the setting is eerily and intimately familiar. Some attribute deja vu to psychic experiences or unbidden glimpses of previous lives. As with intuition (see #3), research into ,human psychology can offer more naturalistic explanations, but ultimately the cause and nature of the phenomenon itself remains a mystery.

5

Ghosts

From the Shakespeare play "MacBeth" to the NBC show "Medium," spirits of the dead have long made an appearance in our culture and folklore. Many people have reported seeing apparitions of both shadowy strangers and departed loved ones. Though definitive proof for the existence of ghosts remains elusive, sincere eyewitnesses continue to report seeing, photographing, and even communicating with ghosts. Ghost investigators hope to one day prove that the dead can contact the living, providing a final answer to the mystery.

4

Mysterious Disappearances

People disappear for various reasons. Most are runaways, some succumb to accident, a few are abducted or killed, but most are eventually found. Not so with the truly mysterious disappearances. From the crew of the Marie Celeste to Jimmy Hoffa, Amelia Earhart, and Natalee Holloway, some people seem to have vanished without a trace. When missing persons are found, it is always through police work, confession, or accident never by 'psychic detectives'). But when the evidence is lacking and leads are lost, even police and forensic science can't always solve the crime.

3

Intuition

Whether we call it gut feelings, a 'sixth sense,' or something else, we have all experienced intuition at one time or another. Of course, gut feelings are often wrong (how many times during aircraft turbulence have you been sure your plane was going down?), but they do seem to be right much of the time. Psychologists note that people subconsciously pick up information about the world around us, leading us to seemingly sense or know information without knowing exactly how or why we know it. But cases of intuition are difficult to prove or study, and psychology may only be part of the answer.

2

Bigfoot

For decades, large, hairy, manlike beasts called Bigfoot have occasionally been reported by eyewitnesses across America. Despite the thousands of Bigfoot that must exist for a breeding population, not a single body has been found. Not one has been killed by a hunter, struck dead by a speeding car, or even died of natural causes. In the absence of hard evidence like teeth or bones, support comes down to eyewitness sightings and ambiguous photos and films. Since it is logically impossible to prove a universal negative, science will never be able to prove that creatures like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster do not exist, and it is possible that these mysterious beasts lurk far from prying eyes.

1

The Taos Hum

Some residents and visitors in the small city of Taos, New Mexico, have for years been annoyed and puzzled by a mysterious and faint low-frequency hum in the desert air. Oddly, only about 2 percent of Taos residents report hearing the sound. Some believe it is caused by unusual acoustics; others suspect mass hysteria or some secret, sinister purpose. Whether described as a whir, hum, or buzz and whether psychological, natural, or supernatural no one has yet been able to locate the sound's origin

Top 10 doomsday proposals !!

2010-01-12T08:44:00.002+05:30

With the upcoming disaster film "2012" and the current hype about Mayan calendars and doomsday predictions, it seems like a good time to put such notions in context.

Most prophets of doom come from a religious perspective, though the secular crowd has caused its share of scares as well. One thing the doomsday scenarios tend to share in common: They don't come to pass.

Here are 10 that didn't pan out, so far:

The Prophet Hen of Leeds, 1806

History has countless examples of people who have proclaimed that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent, but perhaps there has never been a stranger messenger than a hen in the English town of Leeds in 1806. It seems that a hen began laying eggs on which the phrase "Christ is coming" was written. As news of this miracle spread, many people became convinced that doomsday was at hand — until a curious local actually watched the hen laying one of the prophetic eggs and discovered someone had hatched a hoax.

The Millerites, April 23, 1843

A New England farmer named William Miller, after several years of very careful study of his Bible, concluded that God's chosen time to destroy the world could be divined from a strict literal interpretation of scripture. As he explained to anyone who would listen, the world would end some time between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. He preached and published enough to eventually lead thousands of followers (known as Millerites) who decided that the actual date was April 23, 1843. Many sold or gave away their possessions, assuming they would not be needed; though when April 23 arrived (but Jesus didn't) the group eventually disbanded—some of them forming what is now the Seventh Day Adventists.

Mormon Armageddon, 1891 or earlier

Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, called a meeting of his church leaders in February 1835 to tell them that he had spoken to God recently, and during their conversation he learned that Jesus would return within the next 56 years, after which the End Times would begin promptly.

Halley's Comet, 1910

In 1881, an astronomer discovered through spectral analysis that comet tails include a deadly gas called cyanogen (related, as the name imples, to cyanide). This was of only passing interest until someone realized that Earth would pass through the tail of Halley's comet in 1910. Would everyone on the planet be bathed in deadly toxic gas? That was the speculation reprinted on the front pages of "The New York Times" and other newspapers, resulting in a widespread panic across the United States and abroad. Finally even-headed scientists explained that there was nothing to fear.

Pat Robertson, 1982

In May 1980, televangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson startled and alarmed many when — contrary to Matthew 24:36 ("No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven...") he informed his "700 Club" TV show audience around the world that he knew when the world would end. "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world," Robertson said.

Heaven's Gate, 1997

When comet Hale-Bopp appeared in 1997, rumors surfaced that an alien spacecraft was following the comet — covered up, of course, by NASA and the astronomical community. Though the claim was refuted by astronomers (and could be refuted by anyone with a good telescope), the rumors were publicized on Art Bell's paranormal radio talk show "Coast to Coast AM." These claims inspired a San Diego UFO cult named Heaven's Gate to conclude that the world would end soon. The world did indeed end for 39 of the cult members, who committed suicide on March 26, 1997.

Nostradamus, August 1999

The heavily obfuscated and metaphorical writings of Michel de Nostrdame have intrigued people for over 400 years. His writings, the accuracy of which relies heavily upon very flexible interpretations, have been translated and re-translated in dozens of different versions. One of the most famous quatrains read, "The year 1999, seventh month / From the sky will come great king of terror." Many Nostradamus

devotees grew concerned that this was the famed prognosticator's vision of Armageddon.

Y2K, Jan. 1, 2000

As the last century drew to a close, many people grew concerned that computers might bring about doomsday. The problem, first noted in the early 1970s, was that many computers would not be able to tell the difference between 2000 and 1900 dates. No one was really sure what that would do, but many suggested catastrophic problems ranging from vast blackouts to nuclear holocaust. Gun sales jumped and survivalists prepared to live in bunkers, but the new millennium began with only a few glitches.

May 5, 2000

In case the Y2K bug didn't do us in, global catastrophe was assured by Richard Noone, author of the 1997 book "5/5/2000 Ice: the Ultimate Disaster." According to Noone, the Antarctic ice mass would be three miles thick by May 5, 2000 — a date in which the planets would be aligned in the heavens, somehow resulting in a global icy death (or at least a lot of book sales). Perhaps global warming kept the ice age at bay.

God's Church Ministry, Fall 2008

According to God's Church minister Ronald Weinland, the end times are upon us-- again. His 2006 book "2008: God's Final Witness" states that hundreds of millions of people will die, and by the end of 2006, "there will be a maximum time of two years remaining before the world will be plunged into the worst time of all human history. By the fall of 2008, the United States will have collapsed as a world power, and no longer exist as an independent nation." As the book notes, "Ronald Weinland places his reputation on the line as the end-time prophet of God."

Doomsday Clock to Change This Week

2010-01-12T08:27:00.000+05:30

The minute hand of the famous Doomsday Clock is set to move this Thursday, and for the first time, anyone with Internet access can watch. Which way the hand will move and by how much have not been made public.

The event will take place at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Jan. 14 at the New York Academy of Sciences Building in New York City. While the actual clock is housed at the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences offices in Chicago, Ill., a representation of the clock will be changed at Thursday's news conference. (You can watch the live Web feed at www.TurnBackTheClock.org.)

The last time the Doomsday Clock minute hand moved was in January 2007, when it was pushed forward by two minutes, from seven to five minutes before midnight. The change was meant to reflect two major sources of potential catastrophe that could bring us closer to "doomsday," according to the board of "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists," a magazine focused on warning the world of the dangers that the invention of the atomic bomb helped to unleash.

According to the board, the looming dangers included: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2,000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change.

The factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.

In December 1945, University of Chicago scientists who had helped to develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project created "The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists." The Bulletin's board of directors then in 1947 came up with the idea of a Doomsday Clock to symbolize these threats. The message is that humans are "a few minutes to midnight," where midnight represents destruction by nuclear weapons, climate change and emerging technologies in the life sciences.

The hands of the clock move in response to changing world events, marching forward or back depending on the state of the world and the prospects of nuclear war.

When the Doomsday Clock debuted in 1947, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was occurring, with the time showing seven minutes to midnight. The time has since changed 18 times.

The closest approach to Doomsday occurred in 1953, when the clock was changed to two minutes to midnight after the United States and the Soviet Union each tested thermonuclear devices within nine months of one another.

There's a trick to building a better brain

2009-10-18T08:23:00.000+05:30

Adults who learn new tricks such as juggling can improve the "wiring" of their brains, say British scientists.
Current Font Size:

" 'It is possible for the brain to condition its own wiring system to operate more efficiently'"

Research showed that newly trained jugglers had better connectivity in parts of the brain involved in movements needed to catch the balls - and the improvement lasted for weeks, even after they stopped practising juggling.

"We tend to think of the brain as being static, or even beginning to degenerate, once we reach adulthood," said Heidi Johansen-Berg of Oxford University's department of clinical neurology, whose study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience this week.

"In fact we find the structure of the brain is ripe for change. We've shown that it is possible for the brain to condition its own wiring system to operate more efficiently." White matter consists of bundles of long nerve fibres that conduct electrical signals between nerve cells, while grey matter consists of nerve cell bodies where the processing and computation in the brain is done.

Scientists have already shown that grey matter function can be improved by learning or experiencing new things, but improvements in white matter have not previously been shown.

The scientists took two groups of 24 adults, none of whom could juggle. One group had weekly juggling training sessions for six weeks and was asked to practise 30 minutes a day. The groups were scanned using special magnetic resonance imaging diffusion before and after the six-week period.

After the training, there was great variation in skill levels, the researchers said.

But all of the newly trained jugglers showed changes in white matter - suggesting the benefit was down to time spent training and practising, rather than ability.

Few inresting facts

2009-10-17T20:21:00.001+05:30

• The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
* "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt"
* Almonds are members of the peach family.
* The symbol on the "pound" key (#) is called an octothorpe.
* The dot over the letter 'i' is called a tittle.
* Ingrown toenails are hereditary.
* The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language.
* "Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."
* There are only four words in the English language which end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
* The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
* The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.
* The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.
* Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.
* An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
* Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
* Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a belly button. It was eliminated when he was sewn up after surgery.
* Telly Savalas and Louis Armstrong died on their birthdays.
* Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.
* The muzzle of a lion is like a fingerprint - no two lions have the same pattern of whiskers.
* A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
* There is a seven-letter word in the English language that contains ten words without rearranging any of its letters, "therein": the,there, he, in, rein, her, here, ere, therein, herein.
* Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
* A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
* It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
* Cranberries are sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball.
* The letters KGB stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti
* 'Stewardesses' is the longest English word that is typed with only the left hand.
* The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways; the following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
* The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
* Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning "containing arsenic."
* Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.
* Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
* The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means "the king is dead."
* The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
• The first word spoken on the moon was "okay."
• Seoul, the South Korean capital, just means "the capital" in the Korean language
• The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with
• Panspermia is the idea that life on Earth originated on another planet.
• An infestation of head lice is called pediculosis.
• The medical name for the part of the brain associated with teenage sulking is "superior temporal sulcus".
• Involuntary bad language, a symptom affecting about one in 10 people with Tourette's syndrome, is called "coprolalia".
• The word "time" is the most common noun in the English language.
• The clitoris derives its name from the ancient Greek word kleitoris, meaning "little hill".
• Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobiacs is the term for people who fear the number 666.
• Publishers have coined the term "Brownsploitation" for the rash of books that have sprung up in the wake of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code blockbuster.
• The "you are here" arrow on maps is called an ideo locator
• The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want
• In English, "four" is the only digit that has the same number of letters as its value
• Q is the only letter in the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any of the United States
• The word "trivia" comes from the Latin "trivium" which is the place where three roads meet, a public square. People would gather and talk about all sorts of matters, most of which were trivial
• TYPEWRITER, is the longest word that can be made using the letters only one row of the keyboard
• "Speak of the Devil" is short for "Speak of the Devil and he shall come". It was believed that if you spoke about the Devil it would attract his attention. That's why when you're talking about someone and they show up people say "Speak of the Devil"
• The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat," which means, "the King is dead"
• The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English language
• The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
• Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village"
• Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand
• The most common name in the world is Mohammed
• The longest non-medical word in the English language is FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION, which means "the act of estimating as worthless".
• Mafia in Old Arabic means 'sanctuary.'
• The longest word in the Old Testament is "Malhershalahashbaz."
• Karoke means 'empty orchestra' in Japanese.
• The first message tapped by Samuel Morse over his invention the telegraph was: "What hath God wrought?"
• The first words spoken by over Alexander Bell over the telephone were: "Watson, please come here. I want you."
• Papaphobia is the fear of Popes
• The Academy Award statue is named after a librarian's uncle. One day Margaret Herrick, librarian for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, made a remark that the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar, and the name stuck.
• The first words spoken by Thomas Edison over the phonograph were: "Mary had a little lamb."
• The three words in the English language with the letters "uu" are: vacuum, residuum and continuum.
• A baby in Florida was named: Truewilllaughinglifebuckyboomermanifestdestiny. His middle name is George James
• 'Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'
• There are only four words in the English language which end in '-dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
• The word 'Bye' is used in both English and Spanish meaning the same thing
• Pogonophobia: The fear of beards
• In Chinese, the words crisis and opportunity are the same
• The infinity character on the keyboard is called a "lemniscate"
• Good bye came from God bye which came from God be with you. So-long came from the Arabic salaam and the Hebrew shalom
• The word 'nerd' was first coined by Dr. Seuss in 'If I ran the Zoo'
• before Jets, Jet lag was called Boat lag
• The word "monosyllable" actually has five syllables in it
• There are no words in the English language that rhyme with silver and orange
• The letter "n" ends all Japanese words not ending in a vowel.
• It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.
• 'Zorro' means 'fox' in Spanish
• You won’t find a "6" in Cameroon phone numbers--the native language has no sound for "x."
• The only 15-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable."
• Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them would burn their houses down--hence the expression "to get fired."

100 Players Who Shook The Kop

2009-08-17T17:36:00.001+05:30

Rank Name Years Position Goals Nationality

1 Kenny Dalglish 1977-1991 Forward 172 Scotland
2 Steven Gerrard 1998-presentMidfield 64 England
3 Ian Rush 1980-1996 Forward 346 Wales
4 Robbie Fowler 1993-2007 Forward 177 England
5 John Barnes 1987-1997 Winger 110 England
6 Billy Liddell 1938-1960 Winger 229 Scotland
7 Jamie Carragher 1996-presentDefender 4 England
8 Kevin Keegan 1971-1977 Forward 100 England
9 Graeme Souness 1978-1984 Midfield 56 Scotland
10 Emlyn Hughes 1967-1979 Midfield 49 England
11 Ray Clemence 1967-1981 Goalkeeper 0 England
12 Alan Hansen 1977-1991 Defender 14 Scotland
13 Roger Hunt 1959-1969 Forward 286 England
14 Michael Owen 1996-2004 Forward 158 England
15 Ian Callaghan 1960-1978 Winger 68 England
16 Jan Mølby 1984-1996 Midfield 62 Denmark
17 Bruce Grobbelaar 1981-1994 Goalkeeper 0 Zimbabwe
18 David Fairclough 1974-1983 Forward 55 England
19 Peter Beardsley 1987-1991 Forward 59 England
20 Phil Neal 1974-1985 Full-Back 60 England
21 Ian St. John 1961-1971 Forward 118 Scotland
22 Steve McManaman 1989-1999 Winger 66 England
23 Steve Heighway 1970-1981 Winger 76 Ireland
24 John Arne Riise 2001-2008 Defender 26 Norway
25 Tommy Smith 1960-1978 Defender 48 England
26 John Aldridge 1987-1989 Forward 63 Ireland
27 Phil Thompson 1971-1985 Defender 13 England
28 Ray Kennedy 1974-1982 Midfield 72 England
29 Ron Yeats 1961-1971 Defender 16 Scotland
30 Ronnie Whelan 1979-1994 Midfield 73 Ireland
31 Alan Kennedy 1978-1985 Left-Back 21 England
32 Gary McAllister 2000-2002 Midfield 10 Scotland
33 Xabi Alonso 2004-2009 Midfield 8 Spain
34 John Toshack 1970-1978 Forward 96 Wales
35 Mark Lawrenson 1981-1988 Defender 18 Ireland
36 Jerzy Dudek 2001-2007 Goalkeeper 0 Poland
37 Terry McDermott 1974-1982 Midfield 81 England
38 Sami Hyypiä 1999-2009 Defender 26 Finland
39 Steve Nicol 1981-1995 Defender 46 Scotland
40 Jamie Redknapp 1991-2002 Midfield 41 England
41 Elisha Scott 1912-1934 Goalkeeper 0 Northern Ireland
42 Steve McMahon 1985-1991 Midfield 50 England
43 Luis García 2004-2007 Midfielder24 Spain
44 Dietmar Hamann 1999-2006 Midfield 11 Germany
45 Jimmy Case 1973-1981 Midfield 46 England
46 Gerry Byrne 1957-1969 Full-Back 5 England
47 Sammy Lee 1977-1986 Midfield 19 England
48 Peter Thompson 1963-1974 Winger 54 England
49 Alex Raisbeck 1898-1909 C-B 21 Scotland
50 Albert Stubbins 1946-1953 Forward 83 England
51 Chris Lawler 1963-1976 Right-Back61 England
52 Ray Houghton 1987-1992 Midfield 38 Ireland
53 Markus Babbel 2000-2004 Defender 6 Germany
54 Gordon Hodgson 1926-1936 Forward 240 England
55 Steve Finnan 2003-presentRight Back 1 Ireland
56 Bob Paisley 1939-1954 Defender 13 England
57 Stan Collymore 1995-1997 Forward 35 England
58 Stéphane Henchoz 1999-2005 Defender 0 Switzerland
59 Craig Johnston 1981-1988 Midfielder 40 Australia
60 Rob Jones 1991-1999 Right-Back 0 England
61 Pepe Reina 2005-presentGoalkeeper 0 Spain
62 Danny Murphy 1997-2004 Midfield 44 England
63 Joey Jones 1975-1978 Left-Back 3 Wales
64 Vladimír Šmicer 1999-2005 Midfielder 19 Czech Republic
65 Mark Wright 1991-1998 Defender 7 England
66 Matt Busby 1936-1945 Wing-Half 3 Scotland
67 Djibril Cissé 2004-2007 Forward 24 France
68 Gary Gillespie 1983-1991 Defender 16 Scotland
69 Jari Litmanen 2001-2002 Forward 9 Finland
70 Ronnie Moran 1952-1969 Full-Back 16 England
71 Paul Walsh 1984-1988 Forward 37 England
72 Ephraim Longworth 1910-1928 Full-Back 0 England
73 Peter Crouch 2005-2008 Forward 13 England
74 Jack Balmer 1935-1952 Forward 111 England
75 Brian Hall 1968-1976 Midfield 21 England
76 Ronny Rosenthal 1990-1993 Forward 22 Israel
77 David Johnson 1976-1982 Forward 78 England
78 Sam Raybould 1900-1907 Forward 128 England
79 Patrik Berger 1996-2003 Midfield 35 Czech Republic
80 Tommy Lawrence 1957-1971 Goalkeeper 0 Scotland
81 Alan A'Court 1952-1964 Outside-Left63England
82 Phil Taylor 1936-1954 Defender 34 England
83 Michael Thomas 1991-1998 Midfield 12 England
84 Howard Gayle 1977-1983 Winger 1 England
85 Alec Lindsay 1969-1977 Left-Back 8 England
86 Nick Barmby 2000-2002 Midfielder 8 England
87 Alun Evans 1968-1972 Forward 33 England
88 Mark Walters 1991-1995 Winger 19 England
89 Donald McKinlay 1910-1929 Defender 34 Scotland
90 Neil Mellor 2003-2006 Forward 6 England
91 Titi Camara 1999-2000 Forward 10 Guinea
92 Harry Chambers 1915-1928 Forward 151 England
93 Momo Sissoko 2005-2008 Midfield 0 Mali
94 Sam Hardy 1905-1912 Goalkeeper 0 England
95 Geoff Strong 1964-1970 Utility 32 England
96 Nicolas Anelka 2001-2002 Forward 5 France
97 Nigel Clough 1993-1995 Midfield 9 England
98 Tom Bromilow 1919-1930 Left Half 11 England
99 Erik Meijer 1999-2000 Forward 2 Netherlands
100 John Wark 1984-1988 Midfield 42 Scotland

Note:: The statics is the when they have got the spot

MAN U!!!.. WHO WANTS IT..-TORRES :-)

2009-08-12T00:39:00.001+05:30

ONE talented Spaniard may be heading for the Anfield exit door but Liverpool’s most valuable import insists he has never been happier.

Fernando Torres will return to his homeland for tomorrow’s friendly against Espanyol looking to build up his match sharpness ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

The prolific frontman only returned from his extended summer break on the eve of the Reds’ Far East tour but he looked like he had never been away.

He produced a dazzling 10-minute cameo against Thailand before opening his account during a half-hour burst in the 5-0 win over Singapore.

After being hampered by hamstring problems last season, Torres is on a mission to make up for lost time.

“I want to forget all my injury problems from last season and I want to play in every single game this season – be it the league, the Champions League, the FA Cup or the League Cup,” he said.

“Based on the quality of this squad, we can go very far and win many trophies.

“All I want is to score more goals to help the team win more trophies.”

Much has been made about Liverpool’s lack of firepower with Andriy Voronin, David Ngog and rookie Krisztian Nemeth the only possible alternatives.

Robbie Keane hasn’t been replaced since he returned to Spurs in January but Torres insists he is happy leading the line on his own.

“Playing up front alone has its challenges but I’m used to it since my days at Atletico Madrid,” he said.

“I don’t mind playing alone or with another striker. I don’t really think about it. As a striker, you are playing for the team and what is more important is that you score goals and help your team win the game in the end.

“I don’t think we need to sign any other players. We have already bought good players such as Glen Johnson whom I believe is a good signing for Liverpool.

“We don’t need to buy new players to prove that we are capable of winning.”

Torres admits he is relishing the prospect of renewing his partnership with Steven Gerrard following the skipper’s return to the Reds squad after his court appearance.

“Gerrard is the best player in the world and is a special friend to me,” Torres said.

“We have this special understanding between us on the field. He can read my mind and I can read his.

“He is always looking out for me on the field. Once I make a move, he will try and pass the ball to me. So far our partnership has worked very well.”

Xabi Alonso may have decided he wants to cut short his stay on Merseyside and move to Real Madrid but Torres insists he won’t be lured away.

The striker, who is under contract until 2013, is desperate to win silverware and believes he will achieve his dreams at Anfield.

“I have never thought about leaving the club,” he added.

“My team in Spain is Atletico Madrid and my team in England is Liverpool.

“I don’t think I’ll play for another English club, and definitely not Manchester United.

“I’m a Liverpool player and I just want to do my best for the club.

“I strongly believe we will win at least the league title within the next two years.”

MANU - A Club that doesn't know to treat a man

2009-05-17T16:52:00.002+05:30

Carlos Tevez has said he knows he will leave Manchester United at the end of the season and feels he has been treated badly.

The Argentine is reaching the end of a two-year lease from his rights-holders MSI, and is upset that the club have not acted more decisively to secure his services permanently.

Tevez appeared to wave goodbye to the Old Trafford crowd when he was substituted during Saturday's 0-0 draw against Arsenal, which clinched the Premier League title for United.

Fans booed Tevez's removal from the action, and after the game a noisy protest took place outside the ground calling for United to keep the 25-year-old.

Tevez told Argentinian TV station TYC: "I know that I am not going to continue at Manchester United. I feel that they have lacked respect towards me. It's not about whether they pay £5 million more or £5m less, but I feel I have been badly treated."

"There are ways in which the club is managed that I don't understand. When you don't agree with the manager in how the club is run... I don't have faith in a lot of things that happen here.

"I've been here for two years and the directors have never come to speak to me. Not once have I had a meeting with them.

"Therefore, it's best that I leave the club so as not to clash with Alex Ferguson and the directors. Neither do I understand why I don't play in the team.

"I've asked (adviser) Kia (Joorabchian) not to speak to me about offers during the next 10 days. I want to concentrate only on the final matches that we have to play. Afterwards, I've got a month to take a decision and choose where to go."

However, United chief executive David Gill said he and manager Alex Ferguson wanted Tevez to stay.

He told the BBC that he had met MSI chief Joorabchian in midweek and wanted to strike a deal "if the economic conditions are right". Gill also confirmed that United would have to pay around £25 million for him.
Alex Chick / Eurosport

Ferrari: 'We'll walk away from F1'

2009-05-12T23:17:00.002+05:30

Ferrari will quit Formula One at the end of season if the sport adopts a budget cap for 2010, the Italian company's board have warned.

Toyota and Red Bull, who also own Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso, have already threatened not to enter next year's championship unless the new rules published by the governing FIA are changed.
"If the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula One World Championship," a statement said.
The FIA, headed by Max Mosley, want to introduce an optional £40 million budget cap next year to encourage new teams to enter.
The plan would allow capped teams to operate with far greater technical freedom than those continuing with unlimited budgets.
Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo, head of the Formula One Teams' Association, has warned it would create a two-tier championship that could be "fundamentally unfair and perhaps even biased".
The Ferrari board backed his stance at a meeting at Maranello.
"For the first time ever in Formula One, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters," the statement added.
"The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula One in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years...would come to a close."
The FIA has set a deadline of May 29 for teams wishing to compete in 2010 to submit entries and state whether they want a cap or not.
Glamour team Ferrari have been in Formula One since the first championship race in 1950 and, with the Monaco Grand Prix, have long been seen as the jewels in the crown. They have been champions eight times in the last 10 years.
They have struggled this season, however, and are seventh in the constructors' standings after five races. The sport has been turned upside down by a raft of new technical rules and cost cuts to help beat the recession.
The Italian team have threatened to withdraw in the past, most recently in October after Mosley made proposals for a standard engine for all teams.
Mosley said recently that he was locked in a power struggle that he intended to win.
"The sport could survive without Ferrari," he said. "It would be very, very sad to lose Ferrari. It is the Italian national team."
Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone made clear last weekend that he was not prepared to let that happen: "Formula One is Ferrari and Ferrari is Formula One, it's just a marriage made in heaven," he said.
The Ferrari board also said it was disappointed about the way the FIA was taking decisions of such a serious nature.
"The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula One over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations," the statement added.
"Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia (team)'s approach to motor sport and to Formula One in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values."
Reuters

Ferrari statement in full

Read the full Ferrari statement on their intentions to quit Formula One if the proposed new FIA rules for 2010 are brought into effect

"The Board of Directors (have) examined developments related to recent decisions taken by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile during an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on 29 April 2009.
"Although this meeting was originally called only to examine a disciplinary matter, the decisions taken mean that, for the first time ever in Formula 1, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters.
"The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years - the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950 - would come to a close.
"The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams.
"The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations.
"The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA's endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are the priorities for the future.
"If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula 1 World Championship.
"Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia's approach to motor sport and to Formula 1 in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values.
"The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company's interests."
Eurosport

Top 20 Soccer kings

2009-05-05T22:56:00.000+05:30

List Version:

No. 20
Oliver Kahn
Age: 38
Nationality: German
Club: Bayern Munich
Earnings (million): $10.3, 5.1 pounds, 7.5 euros

No. 19
Raul Gonzalez Blanco
Age: 31
Nationality: Spanish
Club: Real Madrid
Earnings (m): $10.9, 5.5 pounds, 8 euros

No. 18
Lionel Messi
Age: 21
Nationality: Argentine
Club: Barcelona
Earnings (m): $11.9, 5.9 pounds, 8.7 euros

No. 17
Rio Ferdinand
Age: 29
Nationality: English
Club: Manchester United
Earnings (m): $12.5, 6.3 pounds, 9.2 euros

No. 16
Didier Drogba
Age: 30
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Club: Chelsea
Earnings (m): $13.4, 6.7 pounds, 9.8 euros

No. 15
Alessandro del Piero
Age: 33
Nationality: Italian
Club: Juventus
Earnings (m): $14.3, 7.1 pounds, 10.4 euros

No. 14
Frank Lampard
Age: 30
Nationality: English
Club: Chelsea
Earnings (m): $14.8, 7.4 pounds, 10.8 euros

No. 13
Michael Ballack
Age: 31
Nationality: German
Club: Chelsea
Earnings (m): $16.0, 8 pounds, 11.7 euros

No. 12
Francesco Totti
Age: 31
Nationality: Italian
Club: AS Roma
Earnings (m): $16.2, 8.1 pounds, 11.8 euros

No. 11
Wayne Rooney
Age: 22
Nationality: English
Club: Manchester United
Earnings (m): $16.3, 8.1 pounds, 11.9 euros

No. 10
John Terry
Age: 27
Nationality: English
Club: Chelsea
Earnings (m): $17.0, 8.5 pounds, 12.4 euros

No. 9
Steven Gerrard
Age: 28
Nationality: English
Club: Liverpool
Earnings (m): $17.1, 8.5 pounds, 12.5 euros

No. 8
Andriy Shevchenko
Age: 31
Nationality: Ukranian
Club: Chelsea
Earnings (m): $17.5, 8.7 pounds, 12.8 euros

No. 7
Fabio Cannavaro
Age: 34
Nationality: Italian
Club: Real Madrid
Earnings (m): $17.5, 8.7 pounds, 12.8 euros

No. 6
Kaka
Age: 26
Nationality: Brazilian
Club: AC Milan
Earnings (m): $17.7, 8.8 pounds, 12.9 euros

No. 5
Cristiano Ronaldo
Age: 23
Nationality: Portuguese
Club: Manchester United
Earnings (m): $18.5, 9.2 pounds, 13.5 euros

No. 4
Ronaldo
Age: 31
Nationality: Brazilian
Club: AC Milan
Earnings (m): $21.2, 10.6 pounds, 15.5 euros

No. 3
Thierry Henry
Age: 30
Nationality: French
Club: Barcelona
Earnings (m): $25.1, 12.5 pounds, 18.3 euros

No. 2
Ronaldinho
Age: 28
Nationality: Brazilian
Club: Barcelona
Earnings (m): $32.6, 16.3 pounds, 23.8 euros

No. 1
David Beckham
Age: 33
Nationality: English
Club: Los Angeles Galaxy

Liverpool duo claim Barclays awards .... Proud to be a LIVERPOOL fan

2009-04-05T20:30:00.006+05:30

Liverpool pair Steven Gerrard and Rafael Benitez have been named the Barclays Player and Manager of the Month.

Gerrard has scooped the Barclays Player of the Month prize for an unprecedented fifth time after a month that saw him star in emphatic wins over title rivals Manchester United and high-flying Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Benitez has been rewarded with the Barclays Manager of the Month award after his side picked up maximum Barclays Premier League points during March.

Gerrard was at his inspirational best over the course of the month, setting up David Ngog's opener in the 2-0 win against Sunderland, before scoring in the 4-1 victory away at Old Trafford, which gave the Reds' Barclays Premier League title challenge fresh impetus. Gerrard rounded off the month by netting a hat-trick in the 5-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield.

Benitez picks up the managerial award for the fifth time in his fifth season at the club. He joins only seven other managers to have won the award on five or more occasions, and is the only manager to have picked up the honour twice this season, having also won the award in October 2008.

The decision was made by the Barclays Awards Panel, which includes representatives from football's governing bodies, the media and fans.

RAFA BENITEZ: BARCLAYS MANAGER OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH
• Benitez was born on 16th April, 1960, in Madrid, Spain.
• Benitez worked on the coaching staff at Real Madrid from the age of 26 after injury cut short his playing career, and followed this with management spells at Real Valladolid and Osasuna. He was promoted with Extremadura and then Tenerife before joining Valencia in 2001. At the Mestalla, Benitez won La Liga twice and the UEFA Cup.
• He joined Liverpool in June 2004, replacing Gerard Houllier.
• In his first season at the club Benitez won the Champions League. He also secured the Super Cup in August 2005 and followed this by winning the FA Cup in 2006.
• Benitez's four previous Barclays Manager of the Month awards came in November 2006, December 2006, January 2007 and October 2008.
• The seven other managers to have won the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month award on five or more occasions are Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Bobby Robson, Martin O'Neill, Kevin Keegan, David Moyes and Harry Redknapp.
• Since taking over at Liverpool, Benitez's managerial record in the Barclays Premier League reads: Played 182, Won 101, Drawn 45, Lost 36 (up to 3rd April).

STEVEN GERRARD: BARCLAYS PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH
• Steven Gerrard was born on 30th May, 1980, in Whiston.
• Having signed as a trainee, Gerrard made his Liverpool debut in November 1998 against Blackburn Rovers and has remained with the club ever since.
• In 2001 Gerrard won the treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
• Gerrard lifted the Champions League trophy as captain in 2005, scoring in a 3-3 draw with AC Milan before Liverpool triumphed on penalties.
• In total, Gerrard has accumulated two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup, the Champions League and two Super Cups with Liverpool.
• Gerrard was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year following the 2005-06 season, and won the PFA Players' Player of the Year in the same season.
• This is Gerrard's fifth Barclays Player of the Month award, having previously scooped the prize in March 2001, March 2003, December 2004 and April 2006.

Hamilton sucx ...McLaren instructed Hamilton to let Trulli pass

2009-04-02T23:20:00.001+05:30

The FIA have revealed details of the new evidence that prompted stewards to strip McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton of this third place in the Australian Grand Prix and hand the place back to Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, who had originally been penalized for passing Hamilton under the safety car.

According to the FIA, in the original enquiry into the incident, both Hamilton and McLaren stated that they had not deliberately let Trulli pass. However, in interview footage recorded immediately after the race - and not originally seen by stewards - Hamilton says he was instructed to move over for the Italian.

Furthermore, the FIA say that McLaren radio recordings contain ‘two explicit orders’ given to Hamilton to let the Toyota pass. Based on this new evidence the stewards ‘felt strongly that they had been misled’ by the driver and team, resulting in their decision to disqualify the world champion.

Full statement from the FIA:

PENALTY IMPOSED ON DRIVER NO 1 LEWIS HAMILTON AND COMPETITOR VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES

SUMMARY OF KEY CONSIDERATIONS

At the first hearing following the Australian Grand Prix the Stewards did not have the benefit of the radio exchanges between driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and his Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes nor did they have access to the comments to the Media given by Lewis Hamilton immediately after the end of the race.

From the video recordings available to the Stewards during the hearing it appeared that Jarno Trulli’s car left the track and car No 1 moved into third place. It then appeared that Trulli overtook Hamilton to regain third place, which at the time was prohibited as it was during the Safety Car period.

During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the Stewards and the Race Director questioned Lewis Hamilton and his Team Manager David Ryan specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and the Team Manager stated that no such instruction had been given. The Race Director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted that he had not done so.

The new elements presented to the Stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened Stewards Meeting clearly show that:

a. Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the Stewards Meeting he gave an interview to the Media where he clearly stated that the Team had told him to let Trulli pass.

b. Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the Team contain two explicit orders from the Team to let the Toyota pass.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place.

Transcript of the radio transmission between Lewis Hamilton and his team:

Team: OK Lewis, you should need to make sure your delta is positive over the safety car line. After the safety car line the delta doesn’t matter but no overtaking. No overtaking.

Lewis Hamilton: The Toyota went off in a line at the second corner, ..., is this OK?

Team: Understood, Lewis. We’ll confirm and get back to you.

LH: He was off the track. He went wide.

Team: Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now.

LH: OK.

LH: He’s slowed right down in front of me.

Team: OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get back to you. We are talking to Charlie.

LH: I let him past already.

Team: OK, Lewis. That’s fine. That’s fine. Hold position. Hold position.

LH: Tell Charlie I already overtook him. I just let him past.

Team: I understand Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5, yellow Golf 5.

LH: I don’t have to let him past I should be able to take that position back, if he made a mistake.

Team: Yes, we understand Lewis. Let’s just do it by the book. We are asking Charlie now. You are in P4. If you hold this position. Just keep it together.

Team: OK Lewis, your KERS is full, your KERS is full. Just be aware. You can go back to black F2, black Foxtrott 2.

LH: Any news from Charlie whether I can take it back or not.

Team: Still waiting on a response Lewis, still waiting.

Team: Lewis, work on your brakes please. Front brakes are cold.

Team: If we are able to use one KERS that would be good. If you deploy KERS please do so now.

Team: OK, Lewis, this is the last lap of the race. At the end of the lap the safety car will come in, you just proceed over the line without overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing, but just hold position.

Are u fan of RED DEVILS..oh cool eat this....

2009-04-02T18:33:00.007+05:30

And the award for "The Most Hated Player in the EPL" goes to.....

Cristiano Ronaldo :39 %
El-Hadji Diouf : 9 %
Joey Barton : 22 %
Kevin Davies : 4 %
I just hate every player that aint in my own damn team. : 26 %

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's that man again! Mr.Cristiano Ronaldo!!

Yes, apparantley according to an online survey on Where'sTheMatch.com, 48% of 2,614 fans that took the survey nominated the Portuguese superstar as their most hated player int he Premierleague. Some 68% meanwhile classed him as "full of himself".

Suprisingly, El-Hadji Diouf came in second, with Newcastle bad-boy Joey Barton rounding of the medals.

I couldn't really believe my eyes however, when I saw that one Kevin Davies only managed, going on his standards, a dismal 10th place.

The 10 Most Disliked Top-Flight Footballers
1 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 48%
2 El-Hadji Diouf Sunderland 34%
3 Joey Barton Newcastle United 29%
4 Ashley Cole Chelsea 24%
5 Craig Bellamy Manchester City 22%
6 Didier Drogba Chelsea 19%
7 Gary Neville Manchester United 17%
8 Rio Ferdinand Manchester United 12%
9 Emmanuel Adebayor Arsenal 12%
10 Kevin Davies Bolton Wanderers 11%

wanna proof
http://soccerlens.com/forum/topic/and-the-award-for-the-most-hated-player-in-the-epl-goes-to

EPL Poll Crowns Torres Most Popular Player R u searching for cry baby ronaldo.. ha ha nice try...

A poll conducted by Barclays, the Premier League's worldwide sponsor, has found Fernando Torres to be the most popular player in the division.

Cristiano Ronaldo may have recently lifted the Ballon d'Or, which officially crowned him World Footballer of the Year, but Fernando Torres is more popular, according to the the Barclays 2008 Global Fan Report, at least.

The survey was taken by 32,000 fans from 185 countries, according to the Premier League's official website. They voted 'El Nino' their top dog, with 34% of the responses, followed not by Ronaldo, who was third behind Liverpool talisman Steven Gerrard.

Meanwhile, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was chosen as the favourite player in the history of the league.

The survey also highlighted that the Premier League is holding the fans' interest more than the other elite European competitions - Italy's Serie A and the Spanish Primera División.

Goal.com Polls, of course, allow the fans to have their say on football matters regularly. Recently, Goal.com readers didn't fancy Reds ace Torres for the Golden Ball; he lagged far behind surprising winner Gianluigi Buffon and second-placed Ronaldo, the real life winner.

Furthermore, Goal.com readers were split on their favourite 'big three' league. Serie A was the most popular league by the narrowest of margins, picking up 35.64%.

La Liga in Spain was the runner-up, with 34.65%, while the Premier League brought up the rear with 29.70%.

again want proof

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2008/12/11/1007466/epl-poll-crowns-torres-most-popular-player

Top most Fire and Hire IT companies in India

2009-03-14T10:03:00.001+05:30

Top most Firing IT companies in India

1) IBM — Right now this is the most firing company for IT professionals. In the last 6 months, this company has fired nearly 20% of their employees because of BG check and performance issues. This is the most insecure company from an IT professional’s point of view. They don’t have any strategic plans at HR policies regarding employee security. No appraisals (maximum 10%).

2) Accenture — This is second top most firing company. The firing rate is around 5%. This depends upon outsourced projects; they have a unique system where Accenture development centers around the world bid for a project coming into the company. Currently Philippines centre is taking the cake and the Indian centers are in a firing mode.

3) WIPRO — Firing people with very frequent back ground checks and firing them with out even experience letters and relieving letters (will mention as terminated from services)but will promise the employees that they will retain them. After the project is over they will fire away. Will threaten of criminal cases against such employees if they oppose the move and has also filed against some.

4) Intel — Recently joined the league. Running in heavy losses, hence firing 3000 employees in the Banglore center in a phased out manner.

5) CTS — Has a steady firing policy (checking the Educational background and previous employment and also employee performance in work). In a Recent HCL walk-in, around 50% attendees were from this company. Sadly the I-pods have not helped them.

6) CSC — Excellent package but fires folks in Background check and those on bench regularly. Recently fired 400+ employees from its subsidiary Covansys.

7) Satyam — Currently stopped firing. The Attrition rate is very high. No firing from 2005 until now when 1000 employees were fired in Hyderabad.

8. Patni —- They fired so many employees that currently they are facing understaffing and deficiency with number of employees. Very high attrition rate.

9) Keane India —- This USA based company is always involved in firing employees. Although they proudly say that they dont have hire and fire policy. Recently they fired java and as400 professionals after which most of the employees have started to pack their bags. Employees change this company within 1 year.

So take care before accepting offers from these companies.

Secure IT companies in India

1) Microsoft — Has projects till 2050.

2) EDS — Most secure company in India. Not laid off any of its employees even during 2001. Has lots of projects in Defense and financial areas

3) HP — Dream Company. In-house and outsourced projects

4) TCS — A govt. Company.

5) AOL, Google and Yahoo - Best companies to work with, great job satisfaction as well as great salary and work environment. Rarely fires an employee. As they are internet based companies’ they offer lots of opportunities to grow.

6) HCL — A good company to be in. Called as a retirement company.

7) HSBC— This is the most secure company. It has never fired any employee, even when they know that the employee is showing fake experience.

8. Aricent— a communication based software company, has never fired any employee and gives great perks & incentives, lot of projects in kitty. Minimal level of attrition.

9) KPIT Cumminns Infosystems Limited —- This is the most secure company not known to many. It has presently acquired CG Smith, Bangalore and has lots of projects in pipe line. Acquisitions plans will continue.

pradeep bloom

2009-02-21T10:23:00.001+05:30

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb

The most mis-under-estimated President

2009-01-20T23:04:00.000+05:30

The most mis-underestimated President

A mere editorial is not much of a sendoff for one of the worst things to have happened to the world twice over — George W Bush Jr as President of the United States. We wanted to give you a real reason why he will be missed. So we have put together a bunch of soundbytes, which we feel represents his thinking. The body of quotable quotes is so mind-bogglingly large and Dubya’s talent at coming up with them so prodigious that we are still recovering from the overexposure^If we have missed out your favourite, please feel free to berate us.

“General. I can’t name the general.” — after being asked to name the president of Pakistan, Boston, Massachusetts, Nov 3, 1999

“One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.” — Jan 3, 2000

“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” — New Hampshire, Jan 27, 2000

“The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case.” — Pella, Iowa, Jan 30, 2000

“I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.” — Bartlett, Tennessee, Aug 18, 2000

“The woman who knew that I had dyslexia —”I never interviewed her.” — responding to an article claiming he suffered from dyslexia, Orange, California, Sept 15, 2000

“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” —LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Oct 18, 2000

“Bill wrote a book at Yale. I read one.” — New York City, Oct 19, 2000

“Never again in the halls of Washington, DC, do I want to have to make explanations that I can’t explain.” —Portland, Oregon, Oct 31, 2000

“They misunderestimated me.” —Bentonville, Arkansas, Nov 6, 2000

"I will have a foreign-handed foreign policy" —Redwood, California, Sept 27, 2000

“I do remain confident in Linda. She’ll make a fine labor secretary. From what I’ve read in the press accounts, she’s perfectly qualified.” — commenting on Linda Chavez, Jan 8, 2001

“I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well.” — Washington, DC, Jan 29, 2001

“This administration is doing everything we can to end the stalemate in an efficient way^We’re making the right decisions to bring the solution to an end.” — Washington, DC April 10, 2001

“It’s amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, and incumbency.” — speaking to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Perrson, unaware that a live television camera was still rolling, June 14, 2001

"Put the ‘off’ button on. — giving advice to parents troubled by the graphic fare on television, Feb 14, 2000,

“It’s my honor to speak to you as the leader of your country. And the great thing about America is you don’t have to listen unless you want to.” — speaking to recently sworn in immigrants on Ellis Island, July 10, 2001

“My administration has been calling upon all the leaders in the — in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen.” — Crawford, Texas, Aug 13, 2001

“When I take action, I’m not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It’s going to be decisive.” —Washington, DC Sept 19, 2001

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully " —Saginaw, Michigan ,Sept 29, 2000“

"I couldn't imagine somebody like Osama bin Laden understanding the joy of Hanukkah.” — at a White House Menorah lighting ceremony, Washington, DC, Dec 10, 2001

“I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging.” — at the dedication of his portrait, Austin,Texas, Jan. 4, 2002

“I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.” — Charleston, West Virginia, Jan 27, 2002

“For a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times.” — Tokyo, 18 Feb, 2002

"We both use Colgate toothpaste —on what he had in common with Tony Blair, Camp David, Maryland, Feb 23, 2001

“I'm the commander — see, I don't need to explain — I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president.” — as quoted in Bob Woodward's

“Bush at War” “Do you have blacks, too?” — to Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Nov 8, 2001, as reported in an April 28, 2002,

Estado Sao Pauloan column by Fernando Pedreira, a close friend of President CardosoWe’re concerned about AIDS inside our White House — make no mistake about it —Feb 7, 2001

“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.” — June 18, 2002

“There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like.” — Washington, DC, Dec 11, 2002

"IT IS WHITE" — asked by a child in Britain what the White House was like, July 19, 2001

“The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself.” —Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jan 29, 2003

“I’m the master of low expectations.” — aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003

“Security is the essential roadblock to achieving the road map to peace.” — Washington, DC, July 25, 2003

“The ambassador and the general were briefing me on the — the vast majority of Iraqis want to live in a peaceful, free world. And we will find these people and we will bring them to justice.” — Washington, DC, Oct 27, 2003

“In my judgment, when the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if there isn’t serious consequences, it creates adverse consequences.” — Meet the Press, Feb 8, 2004

“There is no such thing necessarily in a dictatorial regime of iron-clad absolutely solid evidence.The evidence I had was the best possible evidence that he had a weapon.” — Meet the Press, Feb 8, 2004

"It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it —Saginaw, Michigan, Sept 29, 2000

“Joe, I don’t do nuance.” — to Senator Joseph Biden, as quoted in Time, Feb 15, 2004

“Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country.” — interview with Al Arabiya Television, May 5, 2004

“I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.” — Washington, DC, May 25, 2004

“I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.” —Nashville, Tennessee, May 27, 2004

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” —Washington, DC, Aug 5, 2004

“As you know, we don’t have relationships with Iran. I mean, that’s — ever since the late ‘70s, we have no contacts with them, and we’ve totally sanctioned them. In other words, there’s no sanctions — you can’t — we’re out of sanctions.” — Annandale, Virginia, Aug 9, 2004

“I'm not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America, where it's nice and safe and secure.” — Washington, DC, Sept 23, 2004

“Because he’s hiding.” — responding to a reporter who asked why Osama bin Laden had not been caught, aboard Air Force One, Jan 14, 2005

“You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that.” — to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb 4, 2005

“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table.” — Brussels, Belgium, Feb 22, 2005

“It’s in our country’s interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm’s way.” —Washington, DC, April 28, 2005

“I was not pleased that Hamas has refused to announce its desire to destroy Israel.” — Washington, DC, May 4, 2006

“The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany.” — Washington, DC, May 5, 2006

"After he had failed a reporter’s pop quiz last fall about foreign leaders, including the name of the Indian prime minister, Bush winced when a moderator mentioned the words “pop quiz.” Jokingly, Bush dared the moderator to ask him the name of the Indian president. “Do you know who the president of India is?” the moderator asked obligingly. “Vajpayee,” Bush said, grinning and looking pleased with himself. But Atal Behari Vajpayee is the prime minister of India; the president is K R Narayanan.” — February 26, 2000

President Bush: “Peter. Are you going to ask that question with shades on?”

Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times: “I can take them off.”

Bush: “I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.”

Wallsten: “All right, I’ll keep it, then.”

Bush: “For the viewers, there’s no sun.”

Wallsten: “I guess it depends on your perspective.”

Bush: “Touche —an exchange with legally blind reporter Peter Wallsten, to whom Bush later apologised,Washington, DC, June 14, 2006

“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.”
— interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric,Sept 6, 2006

“The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done.” — Greeley, Colorado, Nov. 4, 2006

“Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die.” — Washington, DC, Dec 7, 2006

“I’ve heard he’s been called Bush’s poodle. He’s bigger than that.” — on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair,as quoted by the Sun, June 27, 2007

“We’re kicking ass.” — on the security situation in Iraq, to Australian deputy prime minister Mark Vaile, Sydney,Australia, Sept 5, 2007

“I heard somebody say, 'Where's (Nelson) Mandela?” Well, Mandela's dead. Because Saddam killed all the Mandelas.” the former South African president, who is still very much alive, Washington, DC, Sept 20, 2007

“And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq.” — to Army Gen Ray Odierno, Washington, DC, March 3, 2008

“I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.” Washington, DC, May 12, 2008

“Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.” — in parting words to Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008

“I’m telling you there’s an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That’s the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best.” —White House, Washington, DC, Jan 12, 2009

2008-02-14T19:27:00.001+05:30

Best Gift to your Valentine

What could you think the best gift you can give to your valentine this 14th February? Apart from your pure heart, here is something you can think of. Most precious perfumes available on earth might be a good choice, well theses perfume will surely glorify the value of your heart with your loved ones. That is because they are the most expensive Perfumes as per Forbes.

Clive Christian's Imperial Majesty: $215,000 (16.90z)
Australian dollar: $285,000
Canadian dollar: $245,846
Euro: €177,727
Pound: £115,000
Rupee: Rs9,496,550

Only ten of these collectors' edition bottles were made: they're Baccarat crystal with a solid, 18-carat gold collar with a five-carat, brilliant cut, white diamond. The bottle is filled with nearly 17 ounces of No. 1, Clive Christian's signature scent, which has been widely marketed as the world's most expensive perfume.

For more information, call 011 44 207 839 3434 or visit www.clive.com.

#2

Clive Christian's No.1: $2,150 (1oz)
Australian dollar: $2,851
Canadian dollar: $2,458
Euro: €1,777
Pound: £1,208
Rupee: Rs94,966

The bottle for No. 1 isn't as spectacular as its big sister, but it's no stinker, either. It's hand-made lead crystal with a .33-carat diamond in the neck. Production of No. 1 is limited by the scarcity of its ingredients, which include ylang ylang specially grown in Madagascar, vanilla, orris, natural gum resin, sandalwood and bergamot.

For more information, call 011 44 207 839 3434 or visit www.clive.com.

#3

Caron's Poivre: $2,000 (2oz)
Australian dollar: $2,652
Canadian dollar: $2,287
Euro: €1,654
Pound: £1,123
Rupee: Rs88,340

Caron was established in Paris, and the company today is 101 years old. Poivre, which was originally created in 1954, means pepper in French. The scent lives up to its name: It's a lively blend of red and black pepper, cloves and other spices and can be worn by either sex. The bottle above is limited-edition Baccarat crystal.

For more information, call 212 319 4888 or visit www.parfumscaron.com

#4

Chanel's Chanel No. 5: $1,850 (15.2oz)
Australian dollar: $2,452
Canadian dollar: $2,117
Euro: €1,530
Pound: £1,039
Rupee: Rs81,715

Chanel No. 5 is perhaps the world's best-known fragrance, the first perfume to bear a designer's name and the benchmark for elite perfumes ever since. The oversized crystal bottle pictured above is parfum, the purest form available, and has 15.2 ounces of the fragrance, so you won't keep running back to Chanel for refills.

For more information, call 800 550 0005 or visit www.chanel.com

#5

Baccarat's Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes: $1,700 (.25oz)
Australian dollar: $2,253
Canadian dollar: $1,944
Euro: €1,405
Pound: £955
Rupee: Rs75,089

Baccarat, better known for its pure and high-quality crystal, decided to get in on the fragrance act in the late 1990s, with three limited-edition fragrances of its own. There are only six bottles of Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes left at the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie at Harrods, in London. The price is largely due to the pyramid-shaped bottle, made of Baccarat crystal, and the fragrance, which includes frankincense and myrrh, is meant to evoke the ancient Egyptians.

For more information, call 011 44 20 7730 1234 or visit www.harrods.com.

#6

Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien: $1,500 (3.4oz)
Australian dollar: $1,989
Canadian dollar: $1,715
Euro: €1,240
Pound: £843
Rupee: Rs66,255

Annick Goutal is a European perfumer, former model and prize-winning pianist. Her Eau d'Hadrien is a fresh, citrus-y blend of Sicilian lemons, grapefruit and cypress. The limited-edition bottle pictured above is Baccarat crystal and was released in 2005.

For more information, call 011 31 10 40 49 602 or visit www.annickgoutal.nl.

#7

Hermès' 24 Faubourg: $1,500 (1oz)
Australian dollar: $1,989
Canadian dollar: $1,715
Euro: €1,240
Pound: £843
Rupee: Rs66,255

24 Faubourg is a classic Hermès scent, a feminine floral containing rose, iris and orange blossom. There were only 1,000 of these limited-edition bottles released worldwide; the one above is St. Louis crystal.

For more information, visit www.hermes.com

#8

Shalini Parfums' Shalini: $900 (2.2oz)
Australian dollar: $1,193
Canadian dollar: $1,030
Euro: €744
Pound: £506
Rupee: Rs39,753

Shalini was created by Maurice Roucel, the perfumer behind Hermès' 24 Faubourg and Tocade. Neroli, ylang ylang and coriander are the high notes of the fragrance, with tuberose, tiare, vanilla, sandalwood and musk rounding out the base. The image above is of a limited-edition Lalique crystal bottle, exclusively available at Bergdorf Goodman and introduced for Valentine's Day. Only 900 bottles were produced.

For more information, call 212 505 2765 or visit www.shalini.net

#9

Jean Patou's Joy: $800 (1oz)
Australian dollar: $1,061
Canadian dollar: $915
Euro: €662
Pound: £449
Rupee: Rs35,336

Bulgarian rose, tuberose and jasmine form the base of Jean Patou's Joy, but the concentration is higher than most commercially available perfumes: 10,600 jasmine flowers and 336 roses go into every ounce of the fragrance. When Joy was introduced in 1930, it was marketed as the costliest fragrance in the world. The bottle pictured above is Baccarat crystal.

For more information, call 011 33 142 92 07 22.

#10

JAR Parfums' Bolt of Lightning: $765 (1oz)
Australian dollar: $1,014
Canadian dollar: $875
Euro: €633
Pound: £430
Rupee: Rs33,790

The world-renowned jeweler Joel A. Rosenthal has ventured into the realm of perfume-making, and his Paris boutique is a testament to his sense of drama and style. Hand-painted lightning bolts decorate the ceiling, and the store itself is as small and intricate as one of his jeweled creations. Bolt of Lightning is an extrait de parfum, and comes in a hand-etched glass bottle designed by Rosenthal himself. The fragrance is available at Rosenthal's Paris boutique or at Bergdorf Goodman.

For more information, call 011 33 1 40 20 47 20

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Time Value...

Do we really need a watch to know time? How many of Gen X guys use a watch to know time? Our craze for a wrist watch may not be the same that our older generation has. But these designer watches will definitely tempt you to buy one. Of course the prize tag may stop you. May be as per my theory “It may inspire you” Check out the most expensive and luxurious watches for your wrist.

1.

Oh, you can keep your perpetual calendars, minute repeaters and tourbillons, dahling--we'll take diamonds and plenty of 'em, thank you very much. As functional for suburban moms as it is glamorous for Park Avenue ladies who lunch, Chopard's "Super Ice Cube" is practically dripping with pricey ice--66.16 carats of diamonds altogether, including 1,897 brilliants, 288 trapeze-cuts, and a center case set with 16 squares. The "Super" is just one of over 50 variations on the "Ice Cube," from black diamonds to pastel sapphires to rubies and, if you can believe it, at least a few models for men.

2.

Named for the year Jehan-Jacques Blancpain opened his first factory, the shimmering 1735 boasts a half-dozen complications--two more than necessary to qualify as a "grand complication," and perhaps five more than you'll ever really need. But never mind. Within the ultra-slim, 42 mm platinum case--itself a complication, according to Blancpain's owner, the Swatch Group--the 1735 has a perpetual calendar, split-second chronograph, minute repeater, tourbillon and moon phase minder. It takes steady Swiss hands eight-to-ten months to piece together all 740 components, and only 18 out of a limited run of 30 watches have been assembled to date. With a crocodile strap and 80-hour power reserve, it'll wear well with just about anything--and for quite a while.

3.

Talk about inconspicuous consumption. The perfect timepiece for those who don't like to draw attention to themselves--or at least to their wrists--Vacheron Constantin's plain vanilla, manually wound Minute Repeater makes its statement in hushed tones. Though the sparkling white dial reveals only good ol' hours and minutes, the 36.5 mm, 18K yellow gold case harbors a mechanical minute repeater, first designed by Vacheron Constantin for Napoleon to let the little Emporer check the time on the battlefield without getting shot under torch light--or so the legend goes. There is also 34 hours of power reserve to spare. Sophisticated and gentleman's club classy all around.

4.

Complicated, mechanical and hand-wound, this Minute Repeater with Tourbillon from the Jules Audemars line dazzles with an 18K white gold case studded with 168 diamonds--1.31 carats altogether. If that weren't enough, the silvered dial is set with 104 diamonds (not shown here) and offers a tantalizing glimpse at the tourbillon movement, though apparently they could only find room for eight roman numerals. Pretty as the front is, there's no less of a show behind the scenes where a sapphire skeleton back lets you examine the ever-whirring ingenuity inside. A beautiful timepiece, made even more so by its classy black alligator strap

5.

For those with eyes for color and complication, Roger Dubuis's laboriously numbered Hommage watch is just the ticker. From its 43 mm, 18K white gold case to its mother of pearl dial, its white gold and blue steel hands to its applied and painted numbers, the watch practically jumps off the wrist. Fully mechanical and manually wound, the Hommage's complications include bi-retrograde perpetual day and date calendar, week, month, leap year and moon phase indication, and minute repeater with hours and minutes struck by gongs. In a limited edition of a nine pieces, each with its own hand-sewn crocodile strap with 18K white gold buckle.

6.

Part of the Haute Horlogerie collection, the Magistral Tourbillon has a face that just says, "power" though of course its actually hand-wound. The see-through, 36-by-37 mm case reveals the beauty of Girard-Perregaux's tourbillon movement and is water resistant down to 30 meters--though given the price tag you'd have to be crazy to test it. On the dial reside two seashell-shaped indicators, one for the instantaneous calendar and the other for 110 hours of power reserve. At first glance you might wonder whether they forgot about 2, 4, 8, and 10 o'clock, but something tells us you'll be able to get along without them.

7.

Introduced in summer 2003 as a very limited edition of seven, the 5437PT was created from original movements rediscovered in a safe at the Breguet factory in L'Abbaye, Switzerland--and at roughly $275,000 per timepiece, you can bet those are some movements. A tribute to company founder Abraham-Louis Breguet, the hand-finished complicated watch boasts minute repeater and perpetual calendar including moon phase functions, as well as handsome traditional styling all around. With a stylish black crocodile strap and a 39 mm platinum case surrounding a smart-looking 18K gold dial of engine-turned patterns and studious roman numerals, the 5437PT says "punctuality" so you won't have to.

8.

One of those rare Grand Complications that doesn't have to shout it from the rooftops, Patek Philippe's 10 Day Tourbillon is subtle and immensely stylish. Fully mechanical and manually wound, the watch boasts a sophisticated tourbillon movement and generous ten-day power reserve indicator, tricky complications to pull off together. A small second hand gives you something to watch on the commuter train. A rectangular platinum case with a 32 mm movement diameter surrounds a rose gold dial, while water resistance down to 25 meters assures you'll be able to wear it into the pool--if you dare.
9.

Inspired by the classic Italian automaker, the Pamigiani Bugatti Type 370 is a sports car for the wrist that turns time telling on its side with the first-ever transversal movement. Resembling an engine block, the watch's movement is divided into five separate plates, with hours and minutes appearing on its side and push-button crowns for setting and winding on the back. A patented power reserve ensures 10 days of walking around time, while the eight-part case includes six sapphire crystals which reveal automotive-inspired components including double-rim shaped wheels. Tailor-made Hermès straps are suited to the wearer, and purchasers can count on being invited to Fleurier for a factory tour with Michel Parmigiani. Limited to 150 pieces--50 each of red, silver and black dials, and only 50 individual pieces per year for the next three years.

10.

Now that's a busy watch. With 659 mechanical parts, IWC's self-winding Grande Complication features 17 functions all together, including chronograph, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, perpetual moon phase with a disc of burnished gold, small seconds with stop function, and convenient four-digit year display--as if you're ever really going to need that. Price varies according to the case--which comes in platinum or yellow gold--and the strap--with alligator at the low end and a pure platinum bracelet at the high end.

Golden Bricks

Luxury has no limit. Even many great spiritual gurus are fond of luxurious lives. Once I read that founder of Indian IT giant Infosys Mr.N.R.Narayana Murthy’s monthly expenditure is just about Rs.11000. i.e. about $300. We can rarely find such modest people in the world. But usually people can’t resist spending high when they earn more. I personally feel actually the life style of this rich and famous is the real inspiration for growth in life. Check out this list of most expensive homes published by Forbes. May be they can inspire some one.

1. $165 million Beverly Hills, Calif.

Once owned by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, this expansive villa sits on six and a half acres in Beverly Hills.

A massive 75,000 square feet of living space is spread across three stories. The home boasts 29 bedrooms and 40 bathrooms.

The home was built in 1926 in the style of a Mediterranean villa and was featured in the 1972 film The Godfather. The compound comprises six buildings, three swimming pools and a movie theater.

2. Bran Castle $140 million

Brasov, Romania

Once inhabited by Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Count Dracula, this castle, built in 1212, sits on 20 acres.

The 17-bedroom castle rests on the top of a cliff and offers views across the countryside and surrounding mountain

The current owner, Dominic von Hapsburg, is running the home as a museum. For more information, contact Baytree Capital

3. $138 million Updown Court
Windlesham, Surrey

Larger than either Buckingham or Hampton Court palace, this 103-room home has 58 acres of gardens and woodlands, making it the idyllic English country home for those flush with cash.

Several ballrooms and grand entrance ways punctuate this house, which has a panic room, an indoor squash court, bowling alley, 50-seat cinema, helipads, space for eight limousines and a heated marble driveway

Marble bathrooms are nice, but some would say indoor spas, jacuzzis and pools with views of the grounds are better.

For more information contact Savills, Beauchamp Estates or Hamptons International

4. $135 million Hala Ranch
Aspen, Colo.

Until Tim Blixseth finishes constructing his $155 million Montana ski lodge, this 95-acre ranch owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., is the most expensive in the country.

The Starwood Ranch estate boasts a 56,000-square-foot mansion with 15 bedrooms and 16 baths.

The estate features several smaller buildings, stables, a tennis court and an indoor swimming pool.

For more information contact Joshua Saslove at Joshua & Co., or Gregory Antonsen of Christie's Great Estates.

5. $125 million Maison de L'Amitie
Palm Beach, Fla.

In 2004, Donald Trump bought former health care executive Abe Gosman's palace, Maison de L'Amitie, center, at a bankruptcy auction for $41.25 million.

With the refurbished version--complete with ballroom, conservatory and 475 feet of oceanfront--Trump is confident the property will move.

If the water is too rough on the beach, the property has a 100-foot swimming pool surrounded by gardens.

For more information contact Christina Condon at Sotheby’s International Realty.

6. $100 million Tranquility
Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Conveniently on the tax-free Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, this 210-acre property is owned by Joel Horowitz, the cofounder of Tommy Hilfiger, who built the property from scratch.

The main house has 20,000 square feet of living space, is modeled after a northern European mountain home and has a 3,500-bottle wine cellar.

An indoor swimming pool and atrium, as well as a 19-seat movie theater, ensure constant entertainment, even if snowed in.

For more information contact Shari Chase at Chase International.

7. $100 million Waterfront Estate
Istanbul, Turkey

The fifth most expensive home in the world is in a somewhat unexpected spot, located on three-quarters of an acre directly on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey.

This residence offers more than 30,000 square feet of opulent living space in 64 rooms, which feature large windows looking to the water.

Details include gilded moldings and crystal chandeliers. The mansion has a rare quay that is nearly 200-feet long.

Listed with Alp Sahin at Luici Real Estate Agency.

8. Eurasia $100 million
Moscow

This sizable property consists of an 11,700-square-foot manor house, two 4,000-square-foot guest houses and a 91,000-square-foot recreation center that has a pool, Turkish and Russian baths; a gym; sauna; and lounges. The property is 15 miles from the Moscow city center

9. $99 million Bishops Avenue
Hampstead, London

Just under the $100 million mark--depending on today’s exchange rate--the Toprak Mansion was built by Turkish entrepreneur Halis Toprak.

The 28,000-square-foot house has a double staircase and glass elevator.

There is a swimming pool with a glass bridge and a Turkish bath for 20.

For more information, contact Glentree Estates.

10. 75 million Three Ponds
Bridgehampton, N.Y.

Three Ponds, which encompasses more than 60 acres of Hamptons farmland, is named for its surrounding lakes, but also features its own USGA-rated Rees Jones golf course.

Surrounding the main house are 14 gardens, a 75-foot-long swimming pool, golf pro shop, grass tennis court and a guest house.

The main house, designed by architect Allan Greenberg, has a great room with a 28-foot-high domed ceiling.

For more information contact Susan Breitenbach at Corcoran

11. $75 million The Portabello Estate
Corona del Mar, Calif.

The triple oceanfront lot along the Pacific Ocean in Southern California is only part of what makes the Portabello Estate so pricey.

The unique design resembles a nautilus shell, with a dramatic grotto surrounded by "chambers."

Built in 2002, the home has eight bedrooms and 10 full baths in nearly 30,000 square feet of ultramodern space.

uncommon Jeans

The California Gold Rush has given an opportunity to Mr. Levi Strauss, to invent a wonder called JEANS. But now this wonder has created another Gold Rush. Fashion houses from all over the world are making the most luxurious and expensive jeans designed by world famous designers. Forbes magazine published a list of most expensive Jeans recently. Have a look at this splendid collection.

1.

Escada

$10,000 / £5,814

Couture Swarovski Crystal Jeans

Available exclusively at Nieman Marcus

For more information, visit www.escada.com

2.

APO

$4,000 / £2,326

Customized Jeans 14 karat White Gold With Diamonds

Available in select stores in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, and Milan in the next few months

For more information, visit www.apojeans.net

3.

APO

$4,000 / £2,326

Customized Jeans 14 karat White Gold With Diamonds

Available in select stores in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, and Milan in the next few months

For more information, visit www.apojeans.net

4.

Escada

$3,250 / £1879

Under The Sea Jean

Available at Escada boutiques.

For more information, visit www.escada.com or call 1-800-869-8424

5.

Dolce & Gabbana

$2,995 / £1,741

Multicolored Floral Embroidered Jean

Available at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Hirshleifers, Dolce & Gabbana Boutiques

For more information, visit www.dolcegabbana.it

6.

Dior by John Galliano

$1,700 / £989

Stoned Washed Aged Denim And Leather Pant

Available at Dior boutiques worldwide

For more information, visit www.dior.com

7.

Roberto Cavalli

$1,440 / £837

Sequined Jean

Available at Roberto Cavalli boutiques worldwide

For more information, visit www.robertocavalli.com

8.

Chanel

$1,120 / £651

Washed Stretch Blue Jeans
Available at select Chanel boutiques

For more information, visit www.chanel.com

9.

Gucci

$460 / £266

Fall/Winter '05

Available at select Gucci stores

For more information, visit www.gucci.com

10.

Stella McCartney

$575 / £334

Snake Black Stretch Denim Jeans

Available at Stella McCartney boutiques in New York and Los Angeles

For more information, visit www.stellamccartney.com

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