Chanakya

Chanakya is a great Indian politician, strategist and writer of 350 BC - 275 BC. He was an adviser and a prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor Chandragupta (c. 340-293 BC), and architect for him to rise to power. Some scholars consider Chanakya to be "the pioneer economist of the world".

Chanakya had composed two books, Arthashastra and Nitishastra which is also know as Chanakya Niti. The Arthashastra discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail. Nitishastra is a treatise on the ideal way of life, and shows Chanakya's in depth study of the Indian way of life.

Chanakya quotes

"A person should not be too honest.
Straight trees are cut first
and Honest people are victimised first."

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"Even if a snake is not poisonous,
it should pretend to be venomous."

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"The biggest guru-mantra is:
Never share your secrets with anybody. !
It will destroy you."

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"There is some self-interest behind every friendship.
There is no Friendship without self-interests.
This is a bitter truth."

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"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions -
Why am I doing it,
What the results might be and
Will I be successful.
Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."

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"As soon as the fear approaches near,
attack and destroy it."

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"Once you start a working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest.."
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"The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."
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"A man is great by deeds, not by birth."

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"Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years. For the next five years, scold them.
By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends."

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"Books are as useful to a stupid person
as a mirror is useful to a blind person."
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"Education is the best friend.
An educated person is respected everywhere.
Education beats the beauty and the youth."

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Some more details @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanakya

Barack Hussein Obama II

Cultural Integrity

In an interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family. "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." Obama has seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family, six of them living, and a half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband. Soetoro-Ng is married to a Chinese Canadian. Obama's mother is survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham. In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War.

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Web Article

In a web article posted in December 2006 [mediamatters.org], right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate.

Snippet taken from the site: http://mediamatters.org/items/200612200005

Schlussel's column fits into a larger pattern in the recent media coverage and commentary regarding Obama. Indeed, like Schlussel -- who has repeatedly appeared on MSNBC in the past -- numerous media figures have gone out of their way to highlight Obama's middle name in recent weeks:

- During MSNBC's special election coverage on November 7, co-anchor Chris Matthews remarked that Obama's "middle name is Hussein" and suggested that it would "be interesting down the road."

- On the December 5 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, senior political correspondent Carl Cameron told viewers: "Though he's written two books about himself already, most people know very little about Barack Hussein Obama Junior's uncommonly privileged life."

- On the December 11 edition of CNN's Situation Room, correspondent Jeanne Moos noted that "[o]nly one little consonant differentiates" Obama and Osama. She then added, "[A]s if that similarity weren't enough. How about sharing the name of a former dictator? You know his middle name, Hussein."

- On the December 11 edition of The Situation Room, CNN senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield compared the similarity of Obama's "business casual" clothing to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "jacket-and-no-tie look." Greenfield concluded the segment by saying: "Now, it is one thing to have a last name that sounds like Osama and a middle name, Hussein, that is probably less than helpful. But an outfit that reminds people of a charter member of the axis of evil, why, this could leave his presidential hopes hanging by a thread." He later explained on the CNN website that he was making "a joke."

- On the December 14 edition of Hardball, NBC's Mike Viqueira announced "a man named Barack Obama, whose middle name, incidentally, is Hussein, running for president."

From Schlussel's December 18 column:

Many months ago, readers began asking me whether Barack Obama is Muslim. Since he identifies as a Christian, I said, "no," and responded that he was not raised by his Kenyan father.

But, then, I decided to look further into Obama's background. His full name -- as by now you have probably heard -- is Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Hussein is a Muslim name, which comes from the name of Ali's son -- Hussein Ibn Ali. And Obama is named after his late Kenyan father, the late Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., apparently a Muslim.

And while Obama may not identify as a Muslim, that's not how the Arab and Muslim Streets see it. In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but they do not.

Then, there are the other items in his background. As best-selling author Scott Turow wrote in Salon, Obama went to a Muslim school for two years in Indonesia. His mother, Anna, married an Indonesian man (likely another Muslim, as Indonesia is Muslim-dominated and has the largest Islamic population in the world).

And Obama has a "born-again" affinity for the nation of his Muslim father, Kenya, and his Kenyan sister. (Although Kenya is largely Christian, it has a fast-growing Muslim population that has engaged in a good deal of religious violence and riots against Christians. And Kenyan courts will apply Sharia law, when the participants are Muslim.) Wrote Turow:

Obama's father died in a traffic accident in Nairobi in 1982, but while Obama was working in Chicago, he met his Kenyan sister, Auma, a linguist educated in Germany who was visiting the United States. When she returned to Kenya in 1986 to teach for a year at the University of Nairobi, Obama finally made the trip to his father's homeland he had long promised himself. There, he managed to fully embrace a heritage and a family he'd never fully known and come to terms with his father, whom he'd long regarded as an august foreign prince, but now realized was a human being burdened by his own illusions and vulnerabilities.

So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian, and even if he despised the behavior of his father (as Obama said on Oprah); is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his absent Muslim father, and who is now moving in the direction of his father's heritage, a man we want as President when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?

Is that even the man we'd want to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, if Hillary Clinton offers him the Vice Presidential candidacy on her ticket (which he certainly wouldn't turn down)?

NO WAY, JOSE ... Or, is that, HUSSEIN?

Visit Debbie Schlussel site for more details: http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2006/12/barack_hussein.html

Anna Hazare and Ralegan Siddhi

Just do it

Kisan Baburao Hazare, popularly known as Anna Hazare (January 15, 1940), is an Indian social activist who is especially recognized for his contribution to the development of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India and his efforts for establishing it as a model village, for which he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Govt. of India, in 1992.

Making of Ralegan Siddhi into a model village
Ralegan Siddhi was one of the worst victims, hopeless social and economic situation and irresponsible village leadership before 1975 when Kisan Baburao Hazare, affectionately know as Anna Hazare served in Indian army, until he retired voluntarily in 1975. His close brush with death in the 1965 war changed the course of his life. He decided to dedicate himself to work for the welfare of others and returned to work for the betterment of his own village.

The dilapidate condition of the temple in Ralegan Siddhi, from where wood had been used to fuel the liquor dens, symbolized to Anna the condition of the village. Since the temple represents the cultural heart of a community, Anna felt that renovation of the temple would be the best way to demonstrate his unselfish motives and created an interest in his activities. With his provident fund of Rs.20,000/-, Anna began the Renovation. Inspired by his selfless devotion, first the youth, then the rest of villagers slowly began to rally around him. Villagers, especially the youth group began gathering here everyday to discuss their problems and matters related to the welfare of village.

Watershed development

Anna Hazare says, you cannot expect a hungry man to live by principles. His first priority will be to feed himself and his family. Even though jobs, mostly government and army, provided economic certainties for a few, most of the population still dependent on agriculture in Ralegan Siddhi. Anna realized that the only way to increase agricultural production in a sustainable manner was to build better irrigation system. Taking into account the geographical location of Ralegan, located in the foothills, Anna Hazare persuaded villagers to construct a watershed embankment to stop water and allow it to percolate and increase ground water level. The first embankment that was built using volunteer efforts developed a leak and had to reconstructed this time with government funding.

Anna also took steps to stop the second big problem, soil erosion. In order to conserve soil and water by checking the run off, contour trenches and gully plugs were constructed along the hill slopes. Grass, shrubs and about 3 lakh trees were planted along the hillside and the village. This process was supplemented by afforestation, nullah bunds, underground check dams and cemented bandhras at strategic locations. The Watershed Development program turned into a huge success and helped increase the fortunes of many farmers as they now had a reliable source of water. Ralegan has also experimented with drip and bi-valve irrigation in a big way. Papaya, lemon and chillies have been planted on a plot of eighty acres entirely irrigated by the drip irrigation system. Cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugar cane was banned. Crops such as pulses, oilseeds and certain cash crops with low water requirements were grown. The farmers started growing high yield varieties of crop and the cropping pattern of the village also changed.

As a result of this total agricultural production went up from 294.3 tones in 1975-76 to 1386.2 tones in 1985-86. At current prices it meant an increase from INR 346,000 to INR 3,173,000 i.e. 4.7 fold increases in quantity and a 9-fold increase in value.

Grain bank

As the production of grain increased in the village, the farmers who had excess grain were to voluntarily donate grain to the "Grain Bank" which was started in 1983. Villagers who did not have enough grain could "borrow" grain from this bank. The idea was to ensure that no villager would have to borrow money to meet food requirements. The grain from the "Grain Bank" is given in the form of loan and is monitored by the youth group.

Restoring the green cover
Trees are the greatest friend a man can have, they keep environment clean and healthy. They also fulfill the fuel & fodder needs of village. Recognizing this, the villagers undertook a massive tree plantation drive. Almost 300,000 to 400,000 trees were planted and nurtured. "Social fencing" was introduced whereby villagers voluntarily prevented cattle, goats and sheep from grazing freely. Open grazing was completely banned with a new emphasis on stall-feeding (Kurhad Bandi). The Sarpanch (head of the village council) of Ralegan narrates: "There is a surplus of fuel wood and fodder. We now help neighbouring villages in their time of need." As fodder became available in abundance, the productivity and number of milk animals increased.

Uprooting alcoholism
As the next step towards social and economical change, Anna Hazare and the youth group decided to take up the issue of Alcoholism and ensured that all legal or illegal liquor shops and brewing was closed down. Also villagers were prohibited from consuming alcohol by obtaining from neighboring villages. The villagers decided that those men would be given three warnings, after which they would be physically punished. Twelve men who were found in a drunken state even after initial warnings were tied to a pole with help of youth group and flogged. Anna Hazare says, “Doesn’t a mother administer bitter medicines to a sick child when she knows that the medicine can cure her child? The child may not like the medicine, but the mother does it only because she cares for child. The alcoholics were punished so that their families would not be destroyed.”

It is now twenty five years since such measure were used to cure the village of alcoholism. Along with the removal of alcohol from the village, it was decided to ban sale of tobacco, cigarettes and beedies. In order to implement this resolution, the youth group performed a unique "Holi" twenty two years ago. The festival of Holi is celebrated as symbolic burning of evil. The youth group brought all the tobacco, cigarettes and beedies from the shops in the village and burnt them in ‘Holi’ fire. From that day, no tobacco, cigarettes, beedies is sold in any shop at Ralegan Siddhi.

Milk production
As a secondary occupation, milk production was promoted in Ralegan. Purchase of new cattle and improvement of the existing breed with the help of artificial insemination and timely guidance and assistance by the veterinary doctor has resulted in an improvement in the cattle stock. The milk production has also increased. Crossbred cows are replacing the local ones which give a low milk yield. The number of milk cattle has also been growing. This resulted in growth from one hundred liters (before 1975) to around 2500 liters per day which is sent to a co-operative dairy in Ahmednagar. Some milk is also given to Balwadi (Kindergarten or a play school in Ralegan Siddhi) children & neighboring village under the child nutrition program.

From the surplus generated, the milk society bought a mini-truck and a thresher. The mini-truck besides transporting milk to Ahmednagar is also used for taking vegetables and other produce directly to the market, thus eliminating intermediate agents. The thresher is rented out to the farmers during the harvesting season. Today Ralegan Siddhi earns nearly INR 10,000,000 per annum on dairy.

Education
In the year 1932 Ralegan Siddhi got its first formal school, a single class room primary school. In the year 1962, the villagers via community volunteer effort added more classrooms. By the year 1971 out of estimated population of 1209 only 30.43% were literate (72 women and 290 men). Boys moved to nearby towns to pursue higher education. But due to socio-economic conditions girls couldn't do the same and were limited to primary education. Anna Hazare along with the youth of Ralegan siddhi worked to increase literacy rates and education levels. In year 1976 they started Pre School to the primary school and a high school in 1979. The villagers started taking active interest in the village school and formed a trust called “Sant Yadav Baba Shikshan Prasarak Mandal”. The trust decide to take over the functioning of the village school which was in bad state due to government neglect and also lack of interest on behalf of teachers who were moonlighting.

The trust got a government grant to the amount of INR 400,000 was got for the school building. A new school building was built in next 2 months with volunteer efforts and the money got via grant. A new hostel was also constructed to house 200 students from weaker sections of the society. After opening of the school in the village, a girl student from Ralegan Siddhi completed her S.S.C in 1982 for the first time. Since then the school has been instrumental in bringing in lots of changes to the village.

Collective marriages
Most rural poor get into a debt-trap as they have to incur heavy expenses at the time of marriage of their son or daughter. It is an undesirable practice but has almost become a social obligation. Ralegan's people have started celebrating marriages collectively. The feast is held together where the expenses are further reduced by the Tarun Mandal taking the responsibility of cooking and serving the food. The vessels, the Loud-speaker system, the mandap and the decorations have also been bought by the Tarun Mandal members belonging to the oppressed castes. From 1976 to 1986, four hundred and twenty four marriages have been held under this system.

Gram Sabha
The Gram sabha is an important forum for collective decision making in the villages. If villagers are involved in planning and decision making process, they are more open to any changes taking place in the village. In Ralegan Siddhi, the Gram Sabha meetings are held periodically to discuss issues relating to the welfare of village. Projects like Watershed development activities are undertaken only after they are discussed in the Gram Sabha. All decision were taken in the Gram Sabha. Decisions are taken in a simple majority consensus. In case of difference of opinion the majority consensus becomes acceptable. The decision of the Gram Sabha is accepted as final.

In addition to panchayat, there are several registered societies that take care of various projects and activities of the village. Each society presents its annual report and statement of accounts in the Gram Sabha every year. The “Sant Yadavbaba Shikshan Prasarak Mandali” monitors the educational activities. The “Vivid karyakari society” gives assistance and provides guidance to farmers regarding fertilizers, seeds, organic farming, financial assistance, etc. “Sri Sant Yadavbaba Doodh Utpadhak Sahakari sansta” gives guidance regarding the dairy business. Seven Co-operative irrigation society provides water to the farmers from cooperative wells. “Mahila Sarvage Utkarsh Mandal” attends welfare needs of the women.

Village birthday
In order to foster a sense of unity in the village, the Ralegan Siddhi family celebrate a village annual birthday on 2 October of every year. On that day:

* The eldest male villager is honoured as father of the village.
* The eldest female villager is honored as the mother of the village.
* New clothes are stitched for every infant born in the village during the past year, irrespective of the child's caste or religion.
* New brides who have come to the village during the past year are welcomed with the traditional offering of coconut, as they are the daughters-in-law of the village.
* Students who have been successful in education are honored.
* Youth from the village who have achieved something special are honored.
* All villagers gather in the evening during this occasion and have dinner together to celebrate the event.

Present
Today Anna has almost acquired the stature of a saint. He donated his land for the hostel building. He gives his pension money to the village fund. A confirmed bachelor, he lives in the village temple with a bare minimum of personal belongings. He eats simple food normally cooked for the hostel boys. Both his parents and brothers stay in the village but they are no different from him than any other family in the village. This moral authority growing out of his selfless life has made him an unquestioned leader of the village.
Anna's moral code of conduct is also quite strict. Anna believes that punishment is an essential component of the process to bring about conformity to social morality. When a child stole a fruit from a tree on the common lands, he was tied to a pole and the fruits were kept before him to teach him a moral lesson. The fruit bearing trees are not protected by any watchman. Not a single fruit is stolen and ripe fruits are distributed to balwadi children and the school children. Public beating was used not to create terror but to bring public shame on the defaulter so that he/she exercises more self-control. People are proud of Ralegan's achievements and they have a share and a stake in its glory. Therefore they would not do anything which will hurt Anna or bring a bad name to the village.

Arrest
Anna Hazare was arrested in 1998 when a defamation suit was filed against him by then Maharashtra Social Welfare minister Babanrao Golap. He was released following public uproar.

Early Life
Anna Hazare was born in a poor family. His father Baburao Hazare was an unskilled labourer and his grandfather worked for the army. The family's financial situation was tough. Baburao's sister, who was childless offered to take care of Anna and took him to Mumbai. Anna's father, Baburao had troubles meeting end and eventually had to sell of his farmland making life tough for the family. This forced Anna who was in Mumbai and just completed his seventh grade in school to take up a job. Anna worked for a florist at Dadar, Mumbai earning about forty rupees a month. He eventually started his own flower shop. Two of his brothers came to Mumbai to join him in his business increasing the family earnings soon to about Rs700 to Rs800 rupees a month.

In a couple of years Anna fell into bad company and started wasting his time and money on vices. He also started getting involved in brawls and fights, especially when he found some simple person being harassed by goons. He became irregular in sending money to his family. The word went around in Ralegan that he had become a bad character himself. In one such fight, Anna bashed up a person rather badly. Fearing arrest, he avoided coming to his regular work and residence for some time. During this period (in April 1960) he appeared in Army recruitment interviews and was selected to join the Indian Army.

For his initial training, he was sent to Aurangabad. After training, he was posted in Punjab as a truck driver. Being far away from home and separated from all his friends, Anna felt lonely. He also had bouts of depression and a feeling of aimlessness in life. He had once resolved to end his life and even wrote a suicide note. However, on further reflection, he realized that his suicide may affect the marriage prospects of his younger sister. Therefore, he decided to postpone the implementation of his resolution until his sister got married.

In the meantime, some events gave his life a new direction. During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, he was driving a military vehicle somewhere on the western front when he saw a Pakistani plane flying low overhead. He and his colleagues jumped out of the vehicle and took shelter in the nearby bushes, lying flat on the ground. The truck was blown up and all his colleagues were killed, but Anna escaped unhurt.

In yet another incident, Anna had a near escape when he was posted in Nagaland. One night, underground Nagas attacked the military post and killed all the inmates. Anna had gone out to answer nature's call at that time and, hence, he was the lone survivor. These two events had a deep impact on Anna's mind. He realized that his life was not to be wasted and he came to believe that God considered his life to be precious. Otherwise, he thought, he could have had died along with his colleagues in either of these incidents.

When these thoughts were churning in his mind, he came across a small booklet titled Call to the Youth for Nation Building by Swami Vivekananda in a book-stall at the New Delhi station.

Vivekananda thoughts gave meaning to his life and he decided to devote the rest of his life working for the society. He read many more books by Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. His thoughts started developing and in 1970 he told his parents about his decision not to get married. He urged his parents to go ahead and arrange the marriage of his younger brothers. The new-found desire to live beyond his narrow self interest later drove him to seek voluntary retirement from the Army and come back to serve his own village.

He wanted his native village, Ralegan Siddhi, to improve, but did not know how and where to start. He sought retirement and, finally, in August 1975, he got relieved from the Army and came back to Ralegan Siddhi for good.

Awards
- Padmashree award by government of India in the year 1990
- Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra award, by government of India on November 19, 1986 from the hands of Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
- Krishi Bhushana award by Maharashtra government in 1989.
- Felicitation by Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation 15 January 1987
- Felicitation by Pune Municipal Corporation.
- On April 15, 2008, Kisan Baburao Hazare received the World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service: "Hazare created a thriving model village in Ralegan Siddhi, in the impoverished Ahmednagar region of Maharashtra state, and championed the right to information and the fight against corruption."

Quotations
Anna's philosophy is a mix of Hindu spiritualism and modern Hindu thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave. Various quotations taken from Anna's lectures reflect this philosophy and his the foundation of his concept of model village.

* Over every huge tree that we see over-ground, there always is a seed that had submerged itself into the darkness of the soil.
* Ban on consumption and sale of alcohol lays the foundation of rural development.
* It is impossible to change the village without transforming the individual. Similarly it is impossible to transform the country without changing its villages.
* If villages are to develop, politics have to be kept out.
* Education without spirituality cannot help development.
* Money alone does not bring development, but it certainly corrupts.
* In the process of rural development, social and economic development should go hand in hand.
* The work of social transformation is neither easy nor impossible.
* The ultimate goal of all politics and social work should be the upliftment of society and of the nation.
* Books alone cannot prepare future citizens, it requires cultural inputs to do so.
* Educational institutions are not enough to make good citizens, every home should become an educational center.
* Indulgence causes disease whereas sacrifice leads to accomplishment.
* One should not accept anything free; accepting charity makes one lazy and dependent.
* It is experience that gives the direction but it is youth that gives the drive to every plan.
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Cell Phone Myths Debunked

You've probably heard a lot of urban legends about cell phones. They cause cancer. They crash planes. Like many myths and rumors, many of these stories are based on speculation, misunderstanding of technology, and outright lies. Then again, some of them have facts and experts to support them.

Here, we sorts through the mess and explains some of the most popular rumors and legends. Whether you believe or not is up to you.

Cell phones crash planes
Myth: If you use a cell phone while flying, the signal can interfere with the plane's compass and navigation systems, possibly leading to a crash.

True or False? It's debatable.

Anyone who's flown knows that flight attendants ask you to turn off all electronics, including phones, until after takeoff. According to one pilot who was interviewed by ABC News, the reason for this is so you pay attention to safety instructions, and, in the case of an aborted liftoff, "I don't want a laptop flying across the cabin."

A UK study in 2003 showed some interference with compasses and navigation systems, but that was done in controlled settings, not on real planes. More recent studies by the NASA and the FAA have found no instances where a cell phone caused a crash, although some pilots claimed otherwise.

Currently, the approach is "better safe than sorry," but they say that systems in aircraft are shielded enough not to be disrupted. As soon as it's proven that there's no link or threat, you'll be able to talk someone's ear off instead of watching the crappy in-flight movie.


Cell phones can cause gas station fires
Myth: While pumping gas, using or turning on your phone can release a charge of static electricity that will ignite the fuel.

True or false? False.

This rumor dates back to the '90s, when a phony e-mail made the rounds of people's in-boxes around the world. The e-mail claimed that Shell Oil had issued a warning about three instances of cell phones causing fires at the pumps. When contacted about it in 2003, Shell claimed it was a complete hoax and that it wasn't aware of any such incidents.

While it has been proved that static electricity can cause fuel vapors to combust, cell phones do not emit a strong enough amount to ignite anything. Smoking, however, will still cause problems.

Cell phones cause cancer
Myth: Prolonged cell phone use can cause brain cancer or tumors because of radiation.

True or false? Debatable.

Ever since cell phones became popular, both the media and average people have claimed that cell phones can cause cancer. Unfortunately, there have been many medical studies on the issue and they still don't offer any definitive proof.

A 2005 study of 4,000 Europeans by the Institute of Cancer Research found no link to any types of cancer among regular phone users, but did say that radiation could potentially cause adverse effects, so moderation was recommended.

Last month, an Israeli scientist claimed that phone use causes tumors in salivary glands, saying that regular users had an increased risk of 50% for developing tumors. A few weeks before that, an Australian cancer specialist said the exact opposite (same goes for coffee and breast implants).

For now, this one seems like a personal choice, so proceed at your own risk.

Cell phones can be used to open up locked cars.
Myth: Broadcasting the sound of a remote keyless entry device over a phone can open up a locked car.

True or false? False

The rumor is that if you have an extra key remote at home, you can call someone and have them hit the open button while you hold your phone up to the lock. Well, those entry systems use radio waves and proximity – think about when you've tried to open your car from too far a distance – and can't be transmitted over a phone.

Unfortunately, if you lock your keys in the car, you'll have to get your spare set or AAA to open it for you.

Cell phones use #77 instead of 911 for emergency calls
Myth: Dial 112 anywhere in the world to reach emergency services, or dial #77 to reach highway patrol anywhere in the U.S.

True or false? Mostly false.

You've probably heard a variation of this story: a woman gets pulled over by an unmarked car, suspects the cop is a fake, calls one of these numbers and is connected to a local police force that tells her that he is, in fact, a fake, and she escapes.

First off, neither of these numbers will automatically connect you to someone who can tell you right away that you're in danger. Calling #77 in some parts of the U.S. will connect you to the local highway patrol, but in many areas it won't.

The solution? Dial 911. It will connect you every time and it's the same amount of keystrokes.

The other is that 112 is a worldwide emergency mobile number that you can call from any location if you're in trouble. Well, you can call 112 in many foreign countries, as it is the standard emergency number, especially from GSM phones in roaming areas, but the number will not work in the U.S.

Again, stick to 911 domestically, and, go online to find out what the local emergency number is in another country before you leave the U.S.

Dialing a special code gives you extra battery life
Myth: Entering *3370# or some other code will unlock a reserve amount of battery to allow you to make another call.

True or false? False.

Sure, it'd be nice if this trick really worked but, unfortunately, once a battery's drained, you're out of luck. One European Nokia executive even called this idea "pure science fiction." Some phones actually use codes like that to enhance voice quality, which decreases battery life.

Instead, keep your phone charged and don't rely on this one.

Cell phones interfere with hospital equipment
Myth: Cell signals disrupt hospital equipment and can kill patients.

True or false? False.

Many uniformed people have claimed that the radio frequency signals from phones somehow screw up medical technology in hospitals, so it's unsafe to use your phone in any of these settings. Even some hospitals have cell phone bans as a way to avoid this potentially life-threatening scenario.

Thanks to a study by the Mayo Clinic, this was proved to be completely untrue. 300 tests using two cell phones, four carriers, and 192 medical devices were conducted at the clinic's Rochester campus over five months and not one problem occurred. The study even recommended that hospitals lift their bans, so you can forget about this one.

Hitting a button gets you a number that will help you get your phone back if it's stolen
Myth: Pressing *#06# will give you a serial number that you can use to prevent your stolen phone from being used and help investigators find it.

True or false? Both.

Yes, entering the code *#06# on many phones with GSM (those from T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless) will bring up a 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI number that is unique to your phone. It's also usually printed underneath the battery. Depending on your carrier, you could use this number, if you wrote it down, to flag the phone as invalid if someone tries to use it with a different SIM card or provider. Unfortunately, this doesn't really do much for you in terms of getting your phone back.

The smarter option is to just report the phone as stolen to your service provider, which protects your account from unwanted charges. And invest in some handset insurance since phones just about top the list of most frequently stolen gadgets.

Cell phone use lowers sperm count
Myth: Carrying a phone in your pocket and constant use can lower your sperm count (that is, if you're a guy).

True or false? True

Sorry fellas, but if you're on your phone all the time, you might have a lower sperm count or abnormal swimmers.

A study at a Ohio fertility clinic tested 361 men with infertility issues and divided them based on cell phone usage. Those who used their phone more than four hours a day were found to have much lower sperm counts and higher amounts of poor quality semen.

The study is being reviewed currently, as it didn't take other factors such as drug use into account, and follow-up studies will also test electromagnetic radiation on sperm cells in labs to see if they're directly affected.

It will be a while before we know anything for sure, but in the meantime, you might want to keep your talk time down.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

The steep increase in the current fuel prices raises a serious question of “What are we going to do now?” In fact the pressure is more on research areas of the alternative fuels for automobiles.

The GM-EV1
The EV1 was the first modern production electric vehicle from a major automaker and also the first purpose-built electric car produced by General Motors (GM) in the United States.

Introduced in 1996, The EV1 electric cars were available in California and Arizona as a lease only, and could be serviced at designated Saturn retailers. They were discontinued after 1999 and subsequently removed from the roads in 2003 by General Motors. The car's discontinuation was and remains a very controversial topic.

Controversy

On June 30, 2006, a documentary film debuted entitled “Who Killed the Electric Car?”. The subject of the film is the demise of the EV1. Much of the film accounts for GM's efforts to demonstrate to California, that there was no demand for their product and then to reclaim every last EV1 and dispose of them. A few vehicles were disabled and given to museums and universities, but almost all were found to have been crushed.

According to the film, many EV1 lessees offered to purchase their vehicles from GM at lease-end for the residual price. For instance, US$1.9 million was offered for the remaining 78 cars in a Burbank storage lot. Apparently GM did not entertain any of these offers. Subsequently, the film depicts nearly all of the EV1s being decommissioned by GM, crushed and recycled as scrap metal. These are some of the reasons why many analysts question GM's motives. Several weeks before the debut of the film, the Smithsonian Institution announced that its EV1 display was being permanently removed and the EV1 car put into storage. GM is a major financial contributor to the museum.

According to interviews from various government officials and consumers in the film "Who Killed the Electric Car", many consumers and government officials questioned General Motors' commitment to the EV1 program. Concerns over inadequate marketing and limited vehicle supply have led some to believe that GM intended the EV1 program to fail. One theory is that GM intended to demonstrate that electric vehicles were not commercially viable with 1990s technology, which would [or did] discourage what was at the time a growing public interest in electric vehicles. GM's stated position was to spend US$500 million to produce a workable electric vehicle that could compete and win "heads up" in the marketplace. The company said that if they could have recouped their investment by selling the vehicles commercially, they certainly would have done so. GM never responded to the lessees offer to pay the residual lease value.

The film explores some of the reasons that the auto and oil industries worked to kill off the electric car. Wally Rippel is shown explaining that the oil companies were afraid of losing out on trillions in potential profit from their transportation fuel monopoly over the coming decades, while the auto companies were afraid of losses over the next six months of EV production. Others explained the killing differently. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss argued it was lack of consumer interest due to the maximum range of 80–100 miles per charge, and the relatively high price.

Ardent supporters of electric vehicles have been very vocal about the EV1 program's demise. Of particular interest is the leasing program which formally required the vehicles to be returned to GM at lease expiry. General Motors stated reason for the lease-only option was that, as the modern era's first ground-up electric vehicle, the EV1 could not be expected to maintain its performance level (or affordability in regard to maintenance) over the long run. GM also had significant concerns over long term liability issues relating to the vehicle. This was partly due to the relatively short R&D period the car was designed and produced under, and the high percentage of "invented on schedule" technology employed in the car as compared with a standard gasoline powered vehicle. While many lessees and prospective owners have complained about the lease-only availability of the EV1, it is important to note that each leased vehicle was in effect heavily subsidized by General Motors. The car was very popular with its lessees, but it was not known if anyone would have purchased a new electric vehicle at the time had it been offered for sale even at a "break even" price of US$35,000-40,000. A higher production volume would have been required for the production cost to be reduced.

The process of obtaining an EV1 was difficult when compared to the purchase of any other commuter car. The vehicle could not be purchased outright. Instead, General Motors offered a closed-end three year lease, with no renewal or residual purchase option. The EV1 was only available from Saturn dealerships (then less prevalent than they are today), and only in California and Arizona (for technical reasons).

Before reviewing lease options, a potential lessee would be taken through a 'pre-qualification' process in order to learn how the EV1 was different from other vehicles (a similar 'buyer familiarization process' was standard for all Saturn buyers). Following this, prospective lessees would be placed on a waiting list with no scheduled delivery date. After an average wait of between two and six months, the lessee would be allotted a vehicle. Installation of a home charger took one to two weeks and cost an additional US$2500 (on average).

An EV1 is still on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, in addition to the one in the Petersen Automotive Museum.


The Latest News

Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in series-hybrid electric vehicle by General Motors, with production expected to begin in 2010. The company has avoided the use of the term "hybrid," preferring to call it an electric vehicle with a "range extender" due to its design.

The vehicle is designed to run purely on electricity from on-board batteries for up to 40 miles — a large enough distance to cover the daily commutes of most Americans, which is around 33 miles. With use of a small internal combustion engine driving a generator to re-supply the batteries, the vehicle's range is potentially increased to 360 miles (579 km) on the highway.

The Volt was targeted to cost around US$40,000 to US$48000 and that only government tax incentives could take the price tag nearer to US$30,000.

GM faces competition from Nissan Motors, which announced their own electric cars on May 13, 2008, Toyota, Mitsubishi Motors, as well as a number of startup auto manufacturers, some backed by Silicon Valley angel financing.

Opel Flextreme
The Opel Flextreme is a diesel plug-in hybrid concept car created by General Motors. It can travel 34 miles on its lithium-ion battery before a small diesel engine starts charging the battery (it is a series hybrid). The Flextreme uses the same platform and technology as the Chevrolet Volt. In order to expand on different ways of recharging the battery on the GM E-Flex platform, GM created the Cadillac Provoq to recharge itself using a hydrogen fuel cell, in addition to the onboard gasoline, E85, and diesel engines found in the other concepts.

The Hy-wire
The Hy-wire (Hydrogen drive-by-wire) is a concept car from General Motors originally introduced in January 2002. The car runs on hydrogen fuel cells and uses a drive-by-wire system, meaning that the car is controlled electronically.
The fuel cell is capable of producing 94 kilowatts of power continuously without refueling on a saltwater solution and up to 129 kilowatts for short periods. The fuel cell itself is supplied with hydrogen from 3 tanks of compressed hydrogen located in the skateboard holding 2 kg, but future models may hold larger capacities, yielding increased driving range. With its three-phase electric motor the ~1814 kg vehicle has a top speed of 100 mph. General Motors has stated that it is confident that it can produce a commercially viable model by 2010.

The Sequel
The Sequel is a hydrogen fuel cell-powered concept car and sport utility vehicle from General Motors, employing the latest generation of HydroGen3 technology developed by Opel. The Sequel uses a drive-by-wire system. It has a range of three hundred miles, and its only emission is water. It debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show.

This vehicle can accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than ten seconds. Additionally, it provides a high level of control on bumpy terrain, snow, and ice. 42 percent more torque and quicker deceleration when braking are additional benefits of some of the new technologies used in the Sequel.


Small Segment Electric Cars (NEV)

Listed here a few electric cars, small in size and ment for shorter drives, classified as neighbourhood electric vehicles.

The Dynasty IT is a Canadian battery electric vehicle in production that is built by Dynasty Electric Car Corporation. It is designed to qualify as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, primarily made for urban, recreational and light commercial markets.[1] It is available in five different variants including a sedan, mini pick-up, van and two open air versions. The North American version has a range of up to 30 miles (50 km) and does not exceed 25 mph (40 km/h). Most models have a curb weight of 1450 lb (653 kg).

Buddy is a Norwegian electric car, produced by Elbil Norge AS, at Økern in Oslo. The Buddy is delivered with advanced lead batteries, which offer the best price/yield ratio. Completely discharged batteries can be recharged in 6-8 hours. The batteries can be rapidly charged so that one hour's charging allows the vehicle to be driven about 10 km. Charging requires an ordinary, grounded outlet with a minimum circuit of 10 A. The life expectancy for the batteries is expected to be between two and five years, or about 20 000 km, depending upon depending on driving and charging habits. A complete battery set costs NOK 19 000 excluding value added tax.

The Kurrent was designed in Italy and is built in Michigan, USA. According to the manufacturer, a fully charged Kurrent can travel up to 40 miles before needing a recharge. A Kurrent is not a hybrid vehicle, so it needs to be plugged in to a 120 volt outlet; when its batteries are fully drained, a complete recharge takes 8 hours. Its power comes from 4.1 kW electrical motor and powered by four 12 volt lead-gel sealed batteries. ( Total 48 volt system). It also has a battery to power optional equipment.

ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) is a 2-seat battery electric vehicle currently in production and built by ZENN Motor Company. It has a range of up to 35 miles and does not exceed 25 mph. Electric power is stored in six 12V lead-acid gel batteries, which has a recharge cycle of 8 hours.

Also optional are a retractable fabric sunroof, air conditioning, audio entertainment center, and AC motor, stated to be better for hill climbing. The 2008 model has a standard AC motor.

REVA G-Wiz or simply REVA is an Indian electric car intended for use as a City car. More REVAs have been produced than any other currently selling electric car and sales are increasing. It is manufactured by the Reva Electric Car Co, in Bangalore, India, currently the world's leading electric car manufacturing company.

The Reva is a small 3-door hatchback measuring 2.6 metres long, 1.3 m wide and 1.5 m high. It weighs 745 kilograms. The car can accommodate two adults in the front and two children in the rear. The back seats can also fold down to increase cargo space. The maximum passenger and cargo weight is 270 kg.

Power comes from eight 6 V lead acid batteries wired in series to create 48 V. The batteries are located under the front seats. The latest model now uses AC rather than DC motors which increases the top speed by nearly 10 km/h to 70 km/h and gives 40% extra torque for improved acceleration and hill-climbing. The maximum range is approximately 80 km, but using the heater reduces the range by about a quarter. The REVA is intended for short city trips, particularly in areas of high congestion.

The car may be exported to the USA with a speed limiter for use as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). The current price in the UK (where it is marketed as the G-Wiz) is approximately £9000 ($18,000) for the standard model. It qualifies for exemption from the London congestion charge due to being an electrically propelled vehicle.

Science Fiction

Laws of Robotics

In science fiction, the Three Laws of Robotics are a set of three rules written by Isaac Asimov, which almost all (good) robots appearing in his fiction must obey. The Laws are:


1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Asimov once added a "Zeroth Law"—so named to continue the pattern of lower-numbered laws superseding in importance the higher-numbered laws—stating that a robot must not merely act in the interests of individual humans, but of all humanity.

In the novels Foundation and Earth and Prelude to Foundation, the Zeroth Law reads: "A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm."

A condition stating that the Zeroth Law must not be broken was added to the original Laws.


Roger Clarke analyzed the complications in implementing these laws, in the event that systems were someday capable of employing them. He argued,

"Asimov's Laws of Robotics have been a very successful literary device. Perhaps ironically or perhaps because it was artistically appropriate, the sum of Asimov’s stories disproves the contention that he began with: It is not possible to reliably constrain the behavior of robots by devising and applying a set of rules."

On the other hand, Asimov's later novels (The Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire, Foundation and Earth) imply that the robots inflicted their worst long-term harm by obeying the Laws perfectly well, thereby depriving humanity of inventive or risk-taking behavior.


Modern Laws

Modern roboticists and specialists in robotics agree that, as of 2006, Asimov's Laws are perfect for plotting stories, but useless in real life. Some have argued that, since the military is a major source of funding for robotic research, it is unlikely such laws would be built into the design. SF author Robert Sawyer generalizes this argument to cover other industries, stating:

The development of AI is a business, and businesses are notoriously uninterested in fundamental safeguards — especially philosophic ones. (Few examples: the tobacco industry, the automotive industry, the nuclear industry.

The military would want strong safeguards built into any robot where possible, so laws similar to Asimov's would be embedded if possible. David Langford [British author, editor and critic, for science fiction field] has suggested, tongue-in-cheek, that these laws might be the following:

1. A robot will not harm authorized Government personnel but will terminate intruders with extreme prejudice.
2. A robot will obey the orders of authorized personnel except where such orders conflict with the Third Law.
3. A robot will guard its own existence with lethal antipersonnel weaponry, because a robot is bloody expensive.


Singularity

Statistician I. J. Good wrote of an "intelligence explosion", suggesting that if machines could even slightly surpass human intellect, they could improve their own designs in ways unforeseen by their designers, and thus recursively augment themselves into far greater intelligences. The first such improvements might be small, but as the machine became more intelligent it would become better at becoming more intelligent, which could lead to an exponential and quite sudden growth in intelligence.

A theoretical point in the future of unprecedented technological progress, caused in part by the ability of machines to improve themselves using artificial intelligence – this is better known as Technological Singularity.

Good (1965) speculated on the consequences of machines smarter than humans:

“Let an ultra-intelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultra-intelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an ‘intelligence explosion,’ and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultra-intelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make. ”

Mathematician and author Vernor Vinge greatly popularized Good’s notion of an intelligence explosion in the 1980s,

Vernor Vinge (Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author) calling the creation of the first ultra-intelligent machine the Singularity, later called this event "the Singularity" as an analogy between the breakdown of modern physics near a gravitational singularity and the drastic change in society he argues would occur following an intelligence explosion.

Vinge continues by predicting that superhuman intelligences, however created, will be able to enhance their own minds faster than the humans that created them. “When greater-than-human intelligence drives progress,” Vinge writes, “that progress will be much more rapid.” This feedback loop of self-improving intelligence, he predicts, will cause large amounts of technological progress within a short period of time.

Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics are one of the earliest examples of proposed safety measures for AI. The laws are intended to prevent artificially intelligent robots from harming humans. In Asimov’s stories, any perceived problems with the laws tend to arise as a result of a misunderstanding on the part of some human operator; the robots themselves shut down in the case of a real conflict. On the other hand, in works such as the 2004 film I, Robot, which was based very loosely on Asimov's stories, a possibility is explored in which AI take complete control over humanity for the purpose of protecting humanity from itself. In 2004, the Singularity Institute launched an Internet campaign called 3 Laws Unsafe to raise awareness of AI safety issues and the inadequacy of Asimov’s laws in particular (Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence 2004).



Laws of Prediction

Arthur C. Clarke (a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) formulated the following three "laws" of prediction:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Second variety

I remember a story I read during my school days. It was from a book called "Best Science Fiction Stories" or a name similer to it. (I had also read an another book called "Best Horror Stories" - in fact, both titles were similer except for genere.)

While browsing the net, I had stumbled upon that title & recollected the plot. It was quite interesting story for that time (I remember this was one the best I read from that collection apart from Asimov's), that too for pre-terminator / matrix kind of movies which had similer story line.

Here the plot goes.

Spolier

"Second Variety" occurs in the aftermath of an extensive war between the Soviet Union (sometimes referenced as Russia) and the United Nations. Early Soviet victories forced the American government and production to flee to a Moon Base. To counter the almost complete Soviet victory, U.N. technicians develop robots, nicknamed claws—the basic models are "a churning sphere of blades and metal" that ambush their unsuspecting victims "spinning, creeping, shaking themselves up suddenly from the gray ash and darting toward . . . [any warm body]." U.N. forces are protected from the claws by a special radiation-emitting wrist tab. Within six years, the sophisticated and independent claws have destroyed the Soviet forces, repairing and redesigning themselves in automated underground factories run without any human oversight.

The U.N. forces receive a message asking for a policy-level officer to go to them for a gravely urgent conference. The U.N. victory was costlier than they had expected. Major Joseph Hendricks is sent to negotiate with the Soviets. En route to the rendezvous, he meets a small boy named "David" who asks to accompany Hendricks. When they near the Soviet bunker, soldiers immediately kill the boy, revealing him to be a robot. The claws' development program has evolved to sophisticated robots, identical to humans, but designed to mimic humans and to kill. The three Soviets met by Major Hendricks — Klaus, Rudi and Tasso — reveal that the entire Soviet army and command structure collapsed under the onslaught of the new robots.

From salvaged internal metal identification plates, two varieties are identified: I-V, a wounded soldier, and III-V, David. The II-V—the "second variety"—remains unknown. The different models are produced independently of each other in different factories. The Soviets also reveal that the U.N. protective tabs are ineffective against the new robots. Hendricks attempts to transmit a warning to his H.Q. bunker, but is unable to do so.

During the night, Klaus kills Rudi, mistakenly believing he is the II-V. The next morning, Hendricks and the other two Soviet soldiers return to the U.N. lines. When they reach the bunker, they discover it overrun: a crowd of David and Wounded Soldier model robots attack, but Tasso destroys them with a very powerful hand grenade. Hendricks and Tasso flee, leaving Klaus to the old-style claws. Klaus survives the claws and the bomb blast and rejoins the others. But Tasso blasts Klaus, sending "gears and wheels" flying. Tasso tells Hendricks that Klaus must have been the II-V robot.

Hendricks, suffering from a wounded arm and internal injuries, hopes to escape to the Moon Base. He and Tasso search for a hidden escape rocket, which is revealed as a single-seat spacecraft. Hendricks attempts to leave, but Tasso quickly subdues him. She convinces him to let her leave and send back help. In his injured state, he has no choice but to agree. Hendricks provides Tasso with the signal code needed to find the Moon Base.

Alone and armed with Tasso's pistol, Hendricks returns to Klaus's remains and discovers from the parts that the robot was not a II-V, but a IV-V. A group of robots then attack Hendricks, including Davids, Wounded Soldiers, and several Tasso models. Tasso was the true II-V. Hendricks recognizes that he has doomed the Moon Base by sending a robot to them, and that he cannot withstand the onslaught of robots attacking him. As the Tasso models approach, Hendricks notices the bombs clipped to their belts, and recalls that first Tasso used one to destroy other claws. At his end, Hendricks is vaguely comforted by the thought that the claws are designing, developing, and producing weapons meant for killing other claws.