Friday, July 19, 2013

Elections in the United States

Election System in the United States
The United States has a federal government, with elected officials at the federal (national), state and local levels. On a national level, the head of state, the President, is elected indirectly by the people, through an Electoral College. Today, the electors virtually always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties and cities. It is estimated that across the whole country, over one million offices are filled in every electoral cycle.
Part 1: How the President of the United States is Elected 
Part 2: The electoral college explained

Part 3: Levels of election


Part 1
How the President of the United States is Elected 
Start with the Constitution. The basic process of selecting the President of the United States is spelled out in the U.S. Constitution, and it has been modified by the 12th, 22nd, and 23rd amendments. Many additional steps have been added over the years, by custom and by state law -- the process has changed quite a bit over time.
Who Can Run? The President and Vice-President are elected every four years. They must be at least 35 years of age, they must be native-born citizens of the United States, and they must have been residents of the U.S. for at least 14 years. (Also, a person cannot be elected to a third term as President.)
How Do the Political Parties Choose Their Candidates? That's up to the political parties. Most political parties hold conventions, which are large meetings attended by "delegates." Some delegates are selected by state "primary" elections, some are selected by state caucuses (very much like primaries, except with public voting instead of secret ballots), and some are chosen for their prominence in the party. A majority of delegate votes is needed to win the party's nomination. In most cases, the delegates let their chosen presidential candidate select a vice-presidential candidate.

Candidates for President and Vice-President Run Together. In the general election, each candidate for President runs together with a candidate for Vice-President on a "ticket." Voters select one ticket to vote for; they can't choose a presidential candidate from one ticket and a vice-presidential candidate from another ticket.
The Electoral College. The national presidential election actually consists of a separate election in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; in these 51 elections, the voters are really voting for "electors" pledged to one of the tickets. These electors make up the "Electoral College." (In most cases, the names of the electors aren't written on the ballot; instead the ballot lets voters choose among "Electors for" each of the tickets, naming the presidential and vice-presidential candidates each slate of electors is pledged to.)
Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives (there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population in the most recent census). The District of Columbia, although it isn't a state, also participates in presidential elections -- it currently has three electors.
The People in Each State Vote for Electors in the Electoral College. In most of the states, and also in the District of Columbia, the election is winner-take-all; whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C.) gets all the electors. (The only exceptions are Maine and Nebraska. In these states, just two of the electors are chosen in a winner-take-all fashion from the entire state. The remaining electors are determined by the winner in each congressional district, with each district voting for one elector.)
The Electoral College Votes for the President. The Electoral College then votes for President and for Vice-President, with each elector casting one vote; these votes are called electoral votes. Each elector is pledged to vote for particular candidates for President and Vice-President. In most elections, all the electors vote in accordance with the pledge they made; it is not clear what would happen in the unlikely event that a large number of electors violated their pledge and voted differently.
Normally, one of the candidates for President receives a majority (more than half) of the electoral votes; that person is elected President. That candidate's vice-presidential running mate will then also receive a majority of electoral votes (for Vice-President), and that person is elected Vice-President.
If There's No Electoral College Winner, the House of Representatives Chooses the President. In the rare event that no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, then the President is chosen instead by the House of Representatives, from the top three presidential vote-getters in the Electoral College; each state delegation in Congress casts one vote. (The Vice-President would be chosen from the top two vice-presidential vote-getters by the Senate.)
This is bizarre! Does it really work this way? Yes. There are many arguments pro and con the Electoral College, but this system does guarantee that the person elected President has substantial support distributed throughout the U.S. The Electoral College has also been a major factor in the United States' long-term political stability.


Part 2
The electoral college explained
Millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama as president on Tuesday, but he was in practice be chosen by an electoral college, the somewhat baffling and Byzantine system unique to the United States.
The important thing to remember is that the college is not a place but a process, in which each (presidential) candidate's goal is to reach the winning mark of 270 votes out of the total 538 in the college.
The system does involve real people, called electors, who are distributed among the 50 states and the District of Columbia according to the size of each state's Congressional delegation. These vary greatly: California is the largest with 55, while the likes of sparsely-populated Alaska and Montana have only three.
Although the results are known and declared on the night – barring any legal disputes – voters are in fact only indirectly voting for a president.
The constitution decrees that each state's electors should meet in December (on the first Monday after the second Wednesday) in their state capitals and the cast their votes for president and vice-President.
The electors are typically local political leaders chosen by their parties. In 30 states they are required to reflect the popular will, but in others they have been known to deviate and choose another candidate or make a protest abstention vote.
Most states have a "winner-take-all" system that awards all electors to the winning presidential candidate, although Maine and Nebraska each have a variation of "proportional representation".
The system was designed with two goals. Winner-take-all was intended to strengthen the political clout of the south, which had lower voting populations but economic power. The college's electors were supposed to act as guarantors in case the masses made a bad choice in the eyes of the elite.
The problem is that the winner of the popular vote doesn't necessarily win the electoral college.
In 2000 Al Gore won 500,000 more votes than George W Bush but lost the electoral college by five votes.
Millions of voters can feel somewhat disenfranchised. In 2008, more than five million voted for Senator John McCain in California, but had no impact in terms of the electoral college. The election is always concentrated on swing states where the population is habitually divided between the two major parties.
Criticism on Electoral College
The electoral college has long been criticized, for several reasons. It has been criticized for being undemocratic compared to a direct system of election. Another criticism is that it creates inequality between voters in different states during the presidential election. Usually, only voters in swing states determine the outcome of the election and as a result, it is claimed that the vast majority of Americans, who live in non-competitive states, are largely ignored by political campaigns. If the electoral college were abolished and if the whole country were treated as one district for Presidential elections, then the result would not depend on crucial swing states. It also creates inequality in that the populations of very small states, which have a minimum of 3 Electoral college votes, are overrepresented compared with voters from larger states. For example, Wyoming has a population of 493,782 and 3 EC votes, 164,594 people per EC vote. California has a population of 33,871,648 and 55 EC votes, 615,848 people per EC vote. Abolishing the college and replacing it with a national direct system would also prevent a candidate from receiving fewer votes nationwide than their opponent, but still winning more electoral votes, which last occurred in the 2000 Presidential election. Also, the electoral college discriminates against candidates who do not have support concentrated in several states. In 1992, Ross Perot won 18.9% of the national vote, but received no electoral college votes. The electoral college would require a constitutional amendment to be abolished, and since three-quarters of state legislatures would be required to ratify an amendment that would effectively redistribute voting power from many small states to numerically fewer large states, it is thought that an amendment would fail.

Part 3
Levels of election
The United States has perhaps the most complicated electoral system in the world. Voters are asked to make more decisions and asked to do so more frequently than citizens of other democracies. This Byzantine electoral structure in the US does provide the greatest opportunity for input, but at a cost—by demanding so much of the public it means that many are overwhelmed by the complexity of the system and ultimately fail to vote ("democratic overload").
I. Federal elections
The United States has a presidential system of government, which means that the executive and legislature are elected separately. Article One of the United States Constitution requires that any election for the U.S. President must occur on a single day throughout the country; elections for Congressional offices, however, can be held at different times. Congressional and presidential elections take place simultaneously every four years, and the intervening Congressional elections, which take place every two years, are called Midterm elections.
Presidential elections
The President and the Vice President are elected together in a Presidential election. The election is indirect, the winner being determined by votes cast by electors of the Electoral College. In modern times, voters in each state select a slate of electors from a list of several slates designated by different parties or candidates, and the electors typically promise in advance to vote for the candidates of their party (whose names usually appear on the ballot rather than those of the individual electors). The winner of the election is the candidate with at least 270 Electoral College votes. It is possible for a candidate to win the electoral vote, and lose the (nationwide) popular vote (receive fewer votes nationwide than the second ranked candidate).
II. Congressional elections
Elections to Congress take place every two years. Congress has two chambers.
Senate elections
The Senate has 100 members, elected for a six year term in dual-seat constituencies (2 from each state), with one-third being renewed every two years.
House of Representatives elections
The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected for a two year term in single-seat constituencies. House of Representatives elections are held every two years on the first Tuesday after November 1 in even years. House elections are first-past-the-post elections that elect a Representative from each of 435 House districts which cover the United States. It is correlated with presidential elections or halfway through a President's term.
III. State elections
State law and state constitutions, controlled by state legislatures regulate elections at state level and local level. Various officials at state level are elected. Since the separation of powers applies to states as well as the federal government, state legislatures and the executive (the governor) are elected separately. Governors and lieutenant governor are elected in all states, in some states on a joint ticket and in some states separately, some separately in different electoral cycles.
In some states, executive positions such as Attorney General and Secretary of State are also elected offices. All members of state legislatures and territorial jurisdiction legislatures are elected, state senators and state representatives/assembly members. Nebraska's legislature is unicameral, so only senators are elected. In some states, members of the state supreme court and other members of the state judiciary are elected. Proposals to amend the state constitution are also placed on the ballot in some states.
As a matter of convenience and cost saving, elections for many of these state and local offices are held at the same time as either the federal presidential or midterm elections. There are a handful of states, however, that instead hold their elections during odd-numbered "off years."
IV. Local elections

At the local level, county and city government positions are usually filled by election, especially within the legislative branch. The extent to which offices in the executive or judicial branches are elected vary from county-to-county or city-to-city. Some examples of local elected positions include sheriffs at the county level and mayors and school board members at the city level. Like state elections, an election for a specific local office may be held at the same time as either the presidential, midterm, or off-year elections.



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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Fw: How Much Would It Cost to Be Batman in Real Life?


How Much Would It Cost to Be Batman in Real Life?


It would cost $682 million for a real-life Batman to fund his world-saving lifestyle, thanks to the price of high-tech cars, gadgets, his mansion and training, a new infographic says.
The infographic, created by MoneySupermarket.com, looks at how much it would cost to run Batman's empire. The main conclusion? It's not easy on the wallet.
In fact, Batman's collection of vehicles alone cost about $80 million. His Tumbler/Batmobile alone has a price tag of $18 million due to its jet engine, front-mounted machine guns, remote-control system and GPS technology.
Meanwhile, it would cost about $37,000 each year to run Wayne Manor and the Bat Cave. His weapons cost about $10,000 — from a $50,000 TLPS Grappling Hook Launcher to a $15,000 thermal camera and a $5,000 night-vision monocular. Three Batarang Throwing Stars cost about $1,000.

Other pricey accessories include a memory cloth polymer cape ($40,000), ultrasonic bat attractor ($1,000), a retinal projection system featured in his mask ($10,000), forearm blades ($1,000) and custom boosts ($1,000).
Batman's training and education costs vary. Military pilot training would be $500,000, as would training for special firearms and several engineering degrees.
Batman-Infographic

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Electric cars with in-wheel motors

Protean Electric looks to revolutionize electric cars with in-wheel motors
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Protean Electric hasn't exactly reinvented the wheel, but what's inside of it is a different story.
The Michigan-based company is set to begin production of compact, in-wheel electric motors that could revolutionize the plug-in car business.
With an $84 million investment from Chinese investor GSR Partners, Protean is building a manufacturing center in the city of Liyang, China, that will have an initial capacity to build 50,000 motors per year and will begin pre-production in early 2013.
Unlike many existing systems that use large motors to drive either a transmission or axles to get power to the wheels, Protean's in-wheel motors are fully housed within the otherwise conventional wheels, which are bolted directly to them.
Versions of the motor measuring 18 inches in diameter weigh 68 pounds and provide 110 hp each, but they can be scaled up to 24 inches for higher power applications. Two or four are used on each vehicle.
Protean's innovative design packages the stationary, permanent magnet at the center of the device while the rotor is on the outside, making it easier for the wheel to be directly attached. Inverters and power electronics are housed between the two, rather than in a remote unit, further simplifying and reducing the weight of the complete system. Each motor is made up of between four and eight parallel submotors, so in the event that one fails the unit can continue to operate until it is serviced.





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Eat this, lose weight


Eat this, lose weight
eat slim.jpg
Dieting doesn't have to mean a boiled chicken breast on undressed iceberg lettuce—really! Some of the most mouthwatering foods around can help you shed pounds and improve your health. Even better? You can fill your shopping cart with these tasty items and never break the bank.

Here are some treats dietitians love—not only because these picks offer amazing (and proven) health benefits but also because they taste great. Read on to learn the smart, delicious ways you can add them to your diet every day.

Monounsaturated fats

Almonds: One of these nuts contains just 7 calories and is crammed with protein and fat (the heart-healthy monounsaturated variety). This powerful combination prevents the blood-sugar fluctuations that can lead to overeating.
Eat them: Raw—whole as a snack or slivered atop salads.

Avocados: This fruit is a great source of slowly digested monounsaturated fat, which releases hormones that help you feel fuller longer. That might be why researchers found that people on reduced-calorie diets that included avocados were able to lose as much weight as those who reduced-calorie diets were avocado-free.
Eat them: Diced on baked potatoes.

Olive oil: It's filled with potent antioxidants that naturally nip inflammation, the cellular damage that contributes to the development of chronic disease. The condiment also is brimming with monounsaturated fat, which helps target belly flab.
Eat it: Mixed with vinegar, salt and pepper for a classic salad dressing.

Protein

Eggs: Two large eggs contain a whopping 12 grams of figure-friendly protein—more than a quarter of your daily needs. In fact, an International Journal of Obesity study found that women who had an egg-based breakfast every day lost more than twice as much weight as those who started their day with just a bagel.
Eat them: Poached over whole-grain toast or hard-boiled as a snack.

Greek yogurt: Not many foods can top this one when it comes to energy-boosting, diet-friendly protein. A 7-ounce serving of this tangy treat delivers about 20 grams of protein. (That's on par with half a chicken breast.)
Eat it: Drizzled with honey or used as a replacement for mayonnaise in tuna salad.

Quinoa: This crunchy grain is packed with protein—about 8 grams per cooked cup—making it especially satisfying. What's more, quinoa is a stellar source of magnesium, a mineral that has been shown to improve sleep.
Eat it: With any dish that you'd normally pair with pasta or rice.

Lean ground beef: Hamburger gets a bad rap, but if you choose a pack that's 85 to 95 percent lean, it can help you shed pounds. How? Its protein naturally preserves muscle mass, experts say, and the more muscle you have, the more efficiently your body burns calories. Australian researchers recently found that women who ate lean red meat six times per week lost about 25 percent more weight than those who skimped on it.
Eat it: In spaghetti sauce.

Pork: People who dined on pork reported filling more full afterward than those who ate other kinds of food, researchers at Purdue University in Indiana found. The reason: A 3-ounce serving of lean pork contains just 122 calories but 22 grams of satiating protein.
Eat it: Ground in meatballs or in chili.

Fiber

Apples: One medium apple is packed with more than 4 grams of filling fiber. No surprise, then, that Penn State University researchers discovered that people who ate an apple before a meal consumed 15 percent fewer calories than those who didn't. Bonus: Apples are a strong source of disease-fighting antioxidants.
Eat them: Whole or chopped, sprinkled with cinnamon and microwaved for a minute to make a low-calorie apple pie—like treat.

Oatmeal: Whether you choose instant or old-fashioned, oats have one of the highest satiety rankings of any breakfast option. This whole-grain food is digested more slowly than most other carbohydrates, keeping blood sugar even and staving off that "I'm so hungry I could eat the fridge" feeling. One cup contains 8 grams of fiber, about a third of your daily needs.
Eat it: Cooked and topped with fruit or added raw to meat-loaf mix.

Black beans: They're high in satisfying protein and provide a heaping dose of fiber and complex carbohydrates. Bonus: Fiber helps move food through your digestive system more efficiently—which can help prevent constipation.
Eat them: Atop a taco salad or mixed into fresh salsa.

Lentils: These legumes are a solid source of soluble fiber, which binds to bad cholesterol, helping to remove it from the body. Numerous studies show that such fiber is a powerful weight-loss aid that fills you up, curbs cravings and helps keep people from overeating. Also, a cup of lentils exceeds your required daily amount of folate— a B vitamin that might reduce the risk of breast cancer in some women.
Eat them: Cooked, as a side with grilled chicken or fish.

Vitamin C

Clementines: At 35 calories each, they're a smart way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Because they're rich in vitamin C, which improves skin tone, they boost beauty and help ward off colds.
Eat them: Solo as a snack.

Grapefruit: The famous diet food actually lives up to its hype. In addition to being low in calories (a half grapefruit contains 37), this morning staple may banish bloat and constipation. Grapefruit also has hefty stores of vitamin C, which has been shown to fight off free-radical damage, reducing the risk of heart disease.
Eat it: Cut into slices and mixed with other citrus for a tangy fruit cocktail.


Omega-3s

Salmon: This seafood superstar is one of the foods highest in omega-3 fatty acids. Best known for improving heart and brain health, omega-3s also have a slimming effect. Studies show they help the body build and maintain more lean muscle mass and thus shed fat faster.
Eat it: Canned (it's cheaper than fresh).

Sardines: Don't overlook these tiny canned fish. They're less expensive than fresh fish (think cod and tilapia), yet still high in protein (one can contains about half your daily requirement). Plus, they're packed with omega-3 essential fatty acids which, along with protein, can aid weight loss.
Eat them: On top of whole-grain crackers or tossed in a salad.

Leafy greens

Kale: At 34 calories per raw chopped cup, this dark leafy green will barely make a dent in your daily calorie count—but because it's full of antioxidants, it can make a big difference in your health. Plus, one study found that women who ate a diet filled with water-rich produce such as kale lost 23 percent more weight than those who didn't. Experts say those foods fill you up better than other picks, quashing the urge to nosh later.
Eat it: Sautéed in 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Spinach: Raw spinach contains a mere 7 calories per cup. Plus, a cup of fresh spinach contains almost 200 percent of the daily recommended vitamin K, which helps improve bone health.
Eat it: Added to sandwiches for extra crunch.

Antioxidants

Blueberries: There is less than one calorie in a blueberry, yet these tiny treats have the highest antioxidant level of any fruit, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture research.
Eat them: Alone or folded into pancake or muffin batter.

Green tea: This drink has been tied to everything from a reduced cancer risk to a longer life, and some studies show that its catechins— potent disease-fighting plant chemicals— give your metabolism a slight boost, helping your body burn calories.
Drink it:  Hot or cold with a drizzle of honey.

Pomegranates: The seeds and red pulp are loaded with folic acid and disease-fighting antioxidants. One large pomegranate has only about 235 calories, making it a good-for-you snack.
Eat them: Alone, or sprinkle the seeds on a salad for a crunchy kick.

Smart snacks

Popcorn: People who eat popcorn consume 250 percent more hunger-curbing whole grains than people who don't snack on it, suggest recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. One caveat: Skip move theater popcorn, which can pack up to 300 calories per cup thanks to the butter topping and the palm oil it's cooked in. Make your own air-popped corn instead (a cup is just 30 calories).
Eat it: Sprinkled with cinnamon for a sweet treat or with chili powder for a spicy one.

Parmesan: Women who eat a daily serving of whole-milk products, such as most cheese, tend to weigh less than those who always opt for fat-free dairy, studies show. Experts credit the conjugated linoleic acid in whole-milk dairy. Scientists say that CLA might help the body maintain more muscle mass, helping people burn more calories. Bonus: This cheese's sharp flavor means you don't need a lot of it to feel satisfied.
Eat it: Sprinkled over roasted vegetables.

Chili peppers: These spicy veggies contain capsaicin, a compound unique to chiles that has been shown to boost metabolism.
Eat them: Chopped and sautéed (cooked chiles tend to be gentler on the palate) and added to tacos, stews and salsas.

Dieting can be delicious! Choose these tasty foods and lose weight, without sacrificing flavor


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Friday, July 12, 2013

Thorium and Air India Flight 101
Based on facts
 
Prologue
An interesting read - all episodes can be read individually or continuously.
All events described in this document are facts and can be studied in detail in wikipedia or other Internet sources.
 
 
Episode: Thorium
 
 
Thorium
Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder.
 
Thorium is estimated to be about three to four times more abundant than uranium in the Earth's crust. Similar to quartz extracted from sand, it is chiefly refined from a type of sand called monazite sand.
 
Reserve estimates
Under the USGS (US Geological Survey) estimate, USA, Australia, and India have particularly large reserves of thorium. Both the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) appear to conclude that India may possess the lion's share of world's thorium deposits.
 
The Government of India's latest estimate, shared in the country's Parliament in August 2011, puts the recoverable reserve at 846,477 tones.
 
When compared to uranium, there is a growing interest in developing a thorium fuel cycle due to its greater safety benefits, absence of non-fertile isotopes, and its higher occurrence and availability. India's three stage nuclear power programme is possibly the most well known and well funded of such efforts.
 
Research and development of thorium-based nuclear reactors, primarily the Liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR), has been or is now being done in India, China, Norway, U.S., Israel and Russia.
 
Nuclear Fuel
India has the capability to use thorium cycle based processes to extract nuclear fuel. This is of special significance to the Indian nuclear power generation strategy as India has one of the world's largest reserves of thorium, which could provide power for more than 10,000 years , and perhaps as long as 60,000 years.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Episode: Air India Flight 101
 
 
The FlightThe Boeing 707-437 VT-DMN had first flown on 5 April 1961 and was delivered new to Air India on 25 May 1961. It had flown a total of 16,188 hours.
 
 
The Morning of 24 January 1966Designated as Air India Flight 101, it was a scheduled passenger flight from Mumbai to London, operated by a Boeing 707, registration VT-DMN and named Kanchenjunga. After leaving Bombay, it had made two scheduled stops at Delhi and Beirut and was en route to another stop at Geneva. At Flight Level 190, the crew was instructed to descend for Geneva International Airport after the aircraft had passed Mont Blanc (the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe, and the European Union. It rises 4,810.45 m (15,782 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence.).
 
The pilot, thinking that he had passed Mont Blanc, started to descend and flew into the Mont Blanc range in France near the Rochers de la Tournette, at an elevation of 4,750 metres (15,584 ft). All 106 passengers and 11 crew were killed.
 
VHF omnidirectional radio range (VOR) - It is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft to determine their position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons, with a receiver unit.
At the time, aircrew fixed the position of their aircraft as being above Mont Blanc by taking a cross-bearing from one VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) as they flew along a track from another VOR. However, the accident aircraft departed Beirut with one of its VOR receivers unserviceable.
 
The investigation concluded:
a) The pilot-in-command, who knew on leaving Beirut that one of the VORs was unserviceable, miscalculated his position in relation to Mont Blanc and reported his own estimate of this position to the controller; the radar controller noted the error, determined the position of the aircraft correctly and passed a communication to the aircraft which, he believed, would enable it to correct its position.
b) For want of a sufficiently precise phraseology, the correction was mis-understood by the pilot who, under the mistaken impression that he had passed the ridge leading to the summit and was still at a flight level which afforded sufficient safety clearance over the top of Mont Blanc, continued his descent.
 
Wreckage of the crashed Boeing still remains at the crash site. In 2008, a climber found some Indian newspapers dated 23 January 1966; an engine from the Air India Flight 245 crash aircraft was also found.
 
On 21 August 2012  a 9 kg jute bag of diplomatic mail, stamped "On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs" was recovered by a mountain rescue worker and turned over to local police. An official with the Indian Embassy in Paris took custody of the mailbag, which was found to be a "Type C" diplomatic pouch meant for newspapers, periodicals and personal letters. The mailbag was found to contain, among other items, still-white and legible copies of The Hindu and The Statesman from mid-January 1966, Air India calendars and a personal letter to the Indian consul-general in New York, C.G. K. Menon. The bag was flown back to New Delhi on a regular Air India flight, in the charge of C. R. Barooah, the flight purser. C.R. Barooah's father, R.C. Barooah, was the flight engineer on Air India Flight 101.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
Episode: Indian Nuclear Programme
 
 
Homi J. BhabhaHomi Jehangir Bhabha, FRS (30 October 1909 – 24 January 1966) was an Indian nuclear physicist, founding director, and professor of physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Colloquially known as "father of Indian nuclear programme", Bhabha was the founding director of two well-known research institutions, namely the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Trombay Atomic Energy Establishment (now named after him); both sites were the cornerstone of Indian development of nuclear weapons which Bhabha also supervised as its director.
 
 
Career
Starting his scientific career in nuclear physics from Great Britain, Bhabha returned to India for his annual vacation prior to start of theWorld War II in September 1939, prompting Bhabha to remain in India, and accepted a post of reader in physics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, headed by Nobel laureate C.V. Raman. During this time, Bhabha played a key role in convincing the Congress Party's senior leaders, most notable Jawaharlal Nehru who later served as India's first Premier, to start the ambitious nuclear programme.
 
As part of this vision, Bhabha established the Cosmic Ray Research Unit at the institute, began to work on the theory of the movement of point particles, while independently conduct research on nuclear weapons in 1944.
 
In 1945, he established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Bombay, and the Atomic Energy Commission in 1948, serving its first chairman. In 1948, Nehru led the appointment of Bhabha as the director of the nuclear programme and tasked Bhabha to develop the nuclear weapons soon after. In the 1950s, Bhabha represented India in IAEA conferences, and served as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. During this time, he intensified his lobbying for developing the nuclear weapons, and soon after the Sino-Indo war, Bhabha aggressively and publicly began to call for the nuclear weapons.
 
 
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
When Bhabha was working at the Indian Institute of Science, there was no institute in India which had the necessary facilities for original work in nuclear physics, cosmic rays, high energy physics, and other frontiers of knowledge in physics. This prompted him to send a proposal in March 1944 to the Sir Dorabji Jamsetji Tata Trust for establishing 'a vigorous school of research in fundamental physics'.
 
The trustees of Sir Dorabji Jamsetji Tata Trust decided to accept Bhabha's proposal and financial responsibility for starting the Institute in April 1944. Bombay was chosen as the location for the prosed Institute as the Government of Bombay showed interest in becoming a joint founder of the proposed institute. The institute, named Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, was inaugurated in 1945  in 540 square meters of hired space in an existing building.
 
In 1948 the Institute was moved into the old buildings of the Royal Yacht club. When Bhabha realized that technology development for the atomic energy programme could no longer be carried out within TIFR he proposed to the government to build a new laboratory entirely devoted to this purpose. For this purpose, 1200 acres of land was acquired at Trombay from the Bombay Government.
 
Thus the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay (AEET) started functioning in 1954. The same year the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was also established. He represented India in International Atomic Energy Forums, and as President of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958.
 
India's three-stage nuclear power programmeBhabha is generally acknowledged as the father of Indian nuclear power. Moreover, he is credited with formulating the country's strategy in the field of nuclear power to focus on extracting power from the country's vast thorium reserves rather than its meager uranium reserves. This thorium focused strategy was in marked contrast to all other countries in the world. The approach proposed by Bhabha to achieve this strategic objective became India's three stage nuclear power programme.
 
Bhabha paraphrased the three stage approach as follows:
“ The total reserves of thorium in India amount to over 500,000 tons in the readily extractable form, while the known reserves of uranium are less than a tenth of this. The aim of long range atomic power programme in India must therefore be to base the nuclear power generation as soon as possible on thorium rather than uranium… The first generation of atomic power stations based on natural uranium can only be used to start off an atomic power programme… The plutonium produced by the first generation power stations can be used in a second generation of power stations designed to produce electric power and convert thorium into U-233, or depleted uranium into more plutonium with breeding gain… The second generation of power stations may be regarded as an intermediate step for the breeder power stations of the third generation all of which would produce more U-233 than they burn in the course of producing power. ”
 
Stage I – Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor
In the first stage of the programme, natural uranium fueled pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) produce electricity while generating plutonium-239 as by-product. PHWRs was a natural choice for implementing the first stage because it had the most efficient reactor design in terms of uranium utilization, and the existing Indian infrastructure in the 1960s allowed for quick adoption of the PHWR technology.
 
 
Stage II – Fast Breeder Reactor
In the second stage, Fast breeder reactors (FBRs) would use a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel made from plutonium-239, recovered by reprocessing spent fuel from the first stage, and natural uranium. In FBRs, plutonium-239 undergoes fission to produce energy, while the uranium-238 present in the mixed oxide fuel transmutes to additional plutonium-239. Thus, the Stage II FBRs are designed to "breed" more fuel than they consume. Once the inventory of plutonium-239 is built up thorium can be introduced as a blanket material in the reactor and transmuted to uranium-233 for use in the third stage.
The surplus plutonium bred in each fast reactor can be used to set up more such reactors, and thus grow the Indian civil nuclear power capacity till the point where the third stage reactors using thorium as fuel can be brought online.
 
 
Stage III – Thorium based Reactors
A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of thorium-232-uranium-233 fueled reactors. This would be a thermal breeder reactor, which in principle can be refueled – after its initial fuel charge – using only naturally occurring thorium.
 
KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini reactor) is a research reactor at Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam, India. Its first criticality was on October 29, 1996. It produces 30 kW of thermal energy at full power. KAMINI is cooled and moderated by light water, and fueled with uranium-233 metal produced by the irradiation of thorium in other reactors.
 
KAMINI was the first reactor in the world designed specifically to use uranium-233 fuel.
 
As a result of Bhabha's vision, "India has the most technically ambitious and innovative nuclear energy program in the world. The extent and functionality of its nuclear experimental facilities are matched only by those in Russia and are far ahead of what is left in the US."
 
 
Death
He was awarded Padma Bhushan by Government of India in 1954. He later served as the member of the Indian Cabinet's Scientific Advisory Committee and provided the pivotal role to Vikram Sarabhai to set up the Indian National Committee for Space Research.
 
After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment at Trombay was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. He is one of the most prominent scientists that India has ever had. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology. The famed radio telescope at Ooty, India was his initiative, and it became a reality in 1970.
 
In January 1966, Bhabha died, while heading to Vienna, Austria to attend a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Scientific Advisory Committee.
 
Among the 106 passengers died in the crash of Air India Flight 101 on 24 January 1966, was the chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
 
Many possible theories have been advanced for the air crash, including a conspiracy theory in which Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is involved in order to paralyze India's nuclear program.
 
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Episode: Thorium - revisited
 
The Great Thorium RobberyAccording to recent published report in ‘The Statesman’, the government has failed to control the export of monazite, the raw material from which thorium can be extracted, and has allowed extraction of 2.1 million tons of monazite.
 
The report estimates that if the thorium extracted from the monazite is estimated at $100 per ton, then the loss to the exchequer is approximately RS 48 lake crone, in addition to the incalculable loss to the nuclear fuel program.
 
The report comments on UPI's policy on natural resources. It says, “Since the UPA government assumed office in 2004 with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, 2.1 million tones of monazite, equivalent to 195,300 tons of thorium at 9.3 per cent recovery, has disappeared from the shores of India.”
 
‘Thorium disappearing’ should be considered more serious as it is related with India’s Nuclear programme. Thorium is a clean nuclear fuel of strategic importance for both nuclear energy generation and nuclear-tipped missiles. The beaches of Orissa Sand Complex, Manavalakurichi in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and the Aluva-Chavara belt on the Kerala coast have been identified under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as the main monazite bearing areas in the country.
 
In most other countries, thorium reserves are embedded in rocks which require elaborate processing to extract.
 
Public sector Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) having divisions at Chatrapur in Orissa, Manavalakurichi in Tamil Nadu, Chavara and Aluva, and its own research centre in Kollam in Kerala, is the only institution authorised to extract thorium from monazite sands.
 
Financial Loss
If the Comptroller and Auditor-General were to audit the accounts of the IREL and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), custodians of fissile minerals, the coalgate scam would look like small change. The missing thorium, conservatively estimated at $100 a ton, works out to about Rs 48 lakh crore, putting all other UPA scams in the shade.
 
The beach placer mining sector was opened to private entrepreneurs in 1998. Export of beach sands registered a quantum jump after 2005. As if to promote exports, even radioactive minerals, much needed for our nuclear energy programme, are allowed to be taken out of the country unchecked.
 
To add insult to injury, private exporters of prohibited minerals are presented with Special Awards and Certificates of Merit by the Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council (CAPEXIL) of the Government of India.
 
Indiscriminate mining, if not monitored and regulated, can cause severe erosion in the coastal areas.
 
Destroying Ramsetu: Easy approach to Thorium rich beaches?
 
It is considered that a large chunk of Thorium would be washed away if Ram Sethu is blasted. And almost all of it would be lost if another tsunami strikes the region. The Sethusamudram Canal, if built destroying RamSethu, will be beneficial to  private parties for easy snatching of beach sand for Thorium available on beaches of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
 
The social organizations which protested against Sethusamudram Project said that since India had rich thorium resources and the technology to use it, the US was pressuring the Centre to speedily implement the Sethusamudram project (through India-US Nuclear Deal).
 
“We suspect an international conspiracy to prevent India from becoming a nuclear power as the thorium deposits will meet the country’s requirement for 400 years,” said a spokesperson of the Vishva Hindu Parishad which criticized destroying of Ramsetu.
 

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Monday, July 8, 2013

Apple & Headphone

Apple & Headphone
 
Chinmayi Sripaada

 

 

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Terrible URLs

10 Terrible URLs

Honestly, what were these people thinking when they registered these domains?!

1. A site called 'Who Represents' where you can find the name of the agent that represents a celebrity. Their domain name… wait for it… is
www.whorepresents.com

2. Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at
www.therapistfinder.com

5. Then of course, there's the Italian Power Generator company…
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And now, we have the Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you're looking for computer software, there's always
www.ipanywhere.com

8. Welcome to the First Cumming Methodist Church. Their website is
www.cummingfirst.com

9. Then, of course, there's these brainless art designers, and their whacky website:
www.speedofart.com

10. Want to holiday in Lake Tahoe? Try their brochure website at
www.gotahoe.com


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Monday, July 1, 2013

Facts: World Class University in India with World Funding

Historical University in India
  • On 9 December 2006, the New York Times detailed a plan in the works to spend $1 billion to this University.
  • A consortium led by Singapore and including China, India, Japan and other nations will attempt to raise $500 million to build a new university and another $500 million to develop necessary infrastructure.
  • On 28 May 2007, Merinews reported that the revived university's enrollment will be 1,137 in its first year, and 4,530 by the fifth. In the 'second phase', enrollment will reach 5,812.
  • On 12 June 2007, News Post India reported that the Japanese diplomat Noro Motoyasu said that "Japan will fund the setting up an international university in Bihar". The report goes on to say that "The proposed university will be fully residential. In the first phase of the project, seven schools with 46 foreign faculty members and over 400 Indian academics would come up." ... "The university will impart courses in science, philosophy and spiritualism along with other subjects. A renowned international scholar will be its chancellor."
Facts
It was one of the world's first residential universities, i.e., it had dormitories for students. It is also one of the most famous universities. In its heyday, it accommodated over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers. The university was considered an architectural masterpiece, and was marked by a lofty wall and one gate.
 
It had eight separate compounds and ten temples, along with many other meditation halls and classrooms. On the grounds were lakes and parks. The library was located in a nine storied building where meticulous copies of texts were produced. The subjects taught at University covered every field of learning, and it attracted pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey. During the period of Harsha, the monastery is reported to have owned 200 villages given as grants.
 
Nalanda was an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India. Historical studies suggest that the University of Nalanda was established during the reign of a king called Śakrāditya.Nalanda University was the first great university in recorded history.
 
The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century. He described how the regularly laid-out towers, forest of pavilions, harmikas and temples seemed to "soar above the mists in the sky" so that from their cells the monks "might witness the birth of the winds and clouds." The pilgrim states: "An azure pool winds around the monasteries, adorned with the full-blown cups of the blue lotus; the dazzling red flowers of the lovely kanaka hang here and there, and outside groves of mango trees offer the inhabitants their dense and protective shade."
The entrance of many of the viharas in the Nalanda University ruins can be seen with a bow marked floor; the bow was the royal sign of the Guptas.
Libraries
The library of Nalanda, known as Dharma Gunj (Mountain of Truth) or Dharmagañja (Treasury of Truth), was the most renowned repository of Buddhist knowledge in the world at the time. Its collection was said to comprise hundreds of thousands of volumes, so extensive that it burned for approximately more than 6 months when set aflame by Turkish invaders. The library had three main buildings as high as nine stories tall, Ratnasagara (Sea of Jewels), Ratnodadhi (Ocean of Jewels), and Ratnarañjaka (Delighter of Jewels).
 
According to an unattributed article of the Dharma Fellowship (2005), the curriculum of Nalanda University at the time of Mañjuśrīmitra contained:
 
...virtually the entire range of world knowledge then available. Courses were drawn from every field of learning, Buddhist and Hindu, sacred and secular, foreign and native. Students studied science, astronomy, medicine, and logic as diligently as they applied themselves to metaphysics, philosophy, Samkhya, Yoga-shastra, the Veda, and the scriptures of Buddhism. They studied foreign philosophy likewise.
 
In the 7th century, Xuanzang records the number of teachers at Nālandā as being around 1510.
 
History of the university
 
Some historical studies suggest that the University of Nalanda was established during the reign of a king called Śakrāditya.
 
According to records of history, Nalanda University was destroyed three times by invaders, but only rebuilt twice. The first time was by the Huns under Mihirakula during the reign of Skandagupta (455-467 AD). But Skanda's successors promptly undertook the restoration, improving it with even grander buildings, and endowed it with enough resources to let the university sustain itself in the longer term.
The second destruction came with an assault by the Gaudas in the early 7th century. This time, the Hindu king Harshavardhana (606-648 AD) restored the Buddhist university.
The final blow came when it was violently destroyed in an Afghan attack led by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193. In 1193, the Nalanda University was sacked by Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turk; this event is seen by scholars as a late milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. The Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle, reported that thousands of monks were burned alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism.
 
The last throne-holder of Nalanda, Shakyashribhadra, fled to Tibet in 1204 CE.
 
File:Temple and Votive Stupas, Nalanda.jpgHistorians considers the destruction of the temples, monasteries, centers of learning at Nalanda and northern India to be responsible for the demise of ancient Indian scientific thought in mathematics, astronomy, alchemy, and anatomy.File:Nalanda Buddhist University Ruins.jpg
 
Ruins
A number of ruined structures survive. Nearby is the Surya Mandir, a Hindu temple. The known and excavated ruins extend over an area of about 150,000 square metres, although if Xuanzang's account of Nalanda's extent is correlated with present excavations, almost 90% of it remains unexcavated. Nālandā is no longer inhabited. Today the nearest habitation is a village called Bargaon.
In 1951, a modern centre for Pali (Theravadin) Buddhist studies was founded nearby by Bhikshu Jagdish Kashyap, the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. Presently, this institute is pursuing an ambitious program of satellite imaging of the entire region.

The Nalanda Museum contains a number of manuscripts, and shows many examples of the items that have been excavated. India's first Multimedia Museum was opened on 26 January 2008, which recreates the history of Nalanda using a 3D animation film narrated by Shekhar Suman. Besides this there are four more sections in the Multimedia Museum: Geographical Perspective, Historical Perspective, Hall of Nalanda and Revival of Nalanda.
 
Restoration and revival
Nalanda International University (also known as University of Nalanda or Nalanda University) is the name of a proposed university in Nalanda, Bihar which is expected to be functional from 2013 with seven schools or more and will expand in later years. The university is based on the ideal of the ancient center of higher learning which was present from the 5th century CE to 1197 CE.
On 28th March, 2006 then President of India A.P.J.Abdul Kalam proposed the idea while addressing the Joint Session of the Bihar Vidhan Mandal for revival of Nalanda university.
  • The Government of India constituted a Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG) in 2007, under the Chairmanship of Professor Amartya Sen to examine the framework of international cooperation, and proposed structure of partnership, which would govern the establishment of this University as an international centre of education. The University of Nalanda is proposed to be established under the aegis of the East Asia Summit (EAS), as a regional initiative. The NMG also has representatives from Singapore, China, Japan and Thailand. The NMG has met six times. The last meeting was held in New Delhi on 2-3 August 2010.
  • The Nalanda University Bill, 2010 was passed on August 21, 2010 in Rajya Sabha and August 26, 2010 in Lok Sabha. The bill received Presidential assent on September 21, 2010 thereby becoming an Act. The University came into existence on November 25, 2010, when the Act was implemented.
  • On May 11, 2008, The Times of India reported that host nation India and a consortium of East Asian countries met in New York to further discuss Nalanda plans. It was decided that Nalanda would largely be a post-graduate research university, with the following schools: Buddhist Studies, Philosophy, and Comparative Religion; Historical Studies; International Relations and Peace; Business Management and Development; Languages and Literature; and Ecology and Environmental Studies. The objective of the university was claimed to be "aimed at advancing the concept of an Asian community...and rediscovering old relationships."
  • On December 16, 2010, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao contributed US$ 1 million dollars for the Nalanda University during his visit to India.
  • In May 2011, George Yeo confirmed his support of the project to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. During May, Nitish Kumar also met SM Krishna to receive reassurement that the Central Government would allocate sufficient funds to the project.
  • On July 7, 2011, iNewsOne reported that a global competition will be held to get the best architectural design for the Nalanda International University at the ancient seat of learning in Bihar, officials said. For the sake of the best design for Nalanda university, a global competition will be held soon,' said N.K. Singh, a member of the Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG) headed by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
  • On 15 Nov, 2011 the Economic Times announced that China's ambassador to India, Zhang Yan had handed over a cheque of USD 1 million for the building of a Chinese-type library.

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