Old school record: Botticelli's Madonna sold for over $10 million.
31 January, 2013 RT

A Madonna and Child painting by the Italian master Sandro Botticelli has fetched $10.4 million at Christie’s Renaissance sale in New York, setting a record for the artist at auction. The masterpiece sold for twice its original estimate.
Botticelli's tour de force, dating to the early 1490s, sold over the phone after just a few minutes of bidding. The buyer's identity has not been disclosed.
The painting traveled to Hong Kong, London and Moscow before it was sold at Rockefeller Plaza.
The monumental work, "Madonna and Child with Young Saint John the Baptist", has been dubbed by art collectors 'the Rockefeller Madonna' after John D. Rockefeller acquired it in the 1930s.

otticelli’s previous auction record was set in 2006 when his “Madonna and Child, with a pomegranate, in an alcove with roses behind” went under the hammer for $7.5 million at Christie’s.

The highest-grossing lot featured at Christie’s Renaissance sale was The Madonna and Child by Fra Bartolommeo, painted in the 1490s under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci. The painting sold for $12.9 million in New York.

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/botticelli-sold-record-christies-137/

(பெத்லகேம் The word "#BETHLEHEM" is #Tamil word BETH பெத் + ALAHU அலகு+ AHAM அகம் பெத்=a place, living place, அலகு=Grain, அகம்= Inside,

#Jesus on the Cross Spoke #Tamil http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2DNb1iC4eM … http://www.biography.com/people/jesus http://twitpic.com/bob45j

Jesus on the Cross Spoke Tamil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2DNb1iC4eM

Of all the sayings of Jesus after being nailed to the cross, the saying 4

Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabacthani
எல்லோய் எல்லோய் லாமா சவக்(சாவு) தா நீ

is the only one which was recorded on his own words.

We are establishing here with sufficient proof that it was a saying in chaste Tamil.

Jesus should have spoken in three languages. Greek while communicating with Roman officials, Aramaic while conversing with his Jewish people and Tamil while he addressed the Almighty.

The world has to come to terms with the notion that the Tamil was the ancient language of the parent civilization of the world and the cradle of the human civilization is Lemuria continent which is otherwise referred to as Kumari Continent in ancient Tamil literature.

The truth would one day come out. No body could freeze truth for ever.

The history of the world has to be approached altogether in a different perspective. )


British scientists are attempting to preserve the Aramaic language spoken by Jesus and tied to Hebrew and Arabic.
Professor of linguistics at the University of Cambridge, Geoffrey Khan, has begun a quest to record the ancient language that’s been around for three thousand years before it finally disappears.
Prof Khan decided to record the language after speaking to a Jew from Erbil in northern Iraq. “It completely blew my mind,” Khan told Smithsonian.com.
“To discover a living language through the lips of a living person, it was just incredibly exhilarating,” he added.
By recording some of the remaining native Aramaic speakers, the linguist hopes to preserve the 3,000-year-old language on the verge of extinction. Speakers can be found in different parts of the world, from America to Iraq.
Over the past twenty years Prof. Khan has published several important books on the previously undocumented dialects of Barwar, Qaraqosh, Erbil, Sulemaniyya and Halabja, all areas in Iraq, as well as Urmi and Sanandaj, in Iran. He is also working on a web-based database of text and audio recordings that allows word-by-word comparisons across dozens of Aramaic dialects, Smithsonian.com reported.
Aramaic which belongs to the Semitic family of languages is known for its use in large sections of the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra. It is also the main language of Rabbinic Judaism’s key text, the Talmud. Parts of the ancient Dead Sea scrolls were written in Aramaic
The language was used in Israel from 539 BC to 70 AD. According to linguists it was most likely spoken by Jesus.
http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/aramaic-language-jesus-spoken-920/

BUBBLE-GUN!
'Kindergarten terrorist': 5-year-old girl suspended over bubble-gun ‘threat’
A 5-year-old girl was suspended from a Pennsylvania kindergarten after telling another girl that she was going to shoot her. The weapon she was going to use was a pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles.
Mount Carmel Area School District officials questioned the student without her parents present, deemed the girl a “terrorist threat” and suspended her for 10 days, according to attorney Robin Ficker, who was hired by the family to fight the suspension.
The incident happened on January 10 as the preschoolers were waiting in line for a schoolbus, Ficker told news website PennLive.com.
The girl, who has not been identified, said something like “I’m going to shoot you and I will shoot myself,” referring to the toy. She did not have the bubble gun on her person at the time.
School officials learned of the conversation and questioned the girl for over 30 minutes the next day, Ficker said. After the talk, she was suspended for 10 days, branded a threat and required to be evaluated by a psychologist, he added.
"This little girl is the least terroristic person in Pennsylvania,” he said.
The punishment has since been reduced to two-day suspension, the attorney said. He also argued that the girl’s permanent record should be expunged, and that she should be offered an apology.
Ficker said he was hired because the girl’s mother read that he had handled a similar case in Maryland. In that case, he represented a 6-year-old boy who was suspended by an elementary school for pointing at another student with his fingers folded like a gun and saying “pow.”
School authorities called it a “serious incident,” and said the boy “threatened to shoot” the other student.
Gun-related violence at schools is a painful issue in the US after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooting claimed 26 lives, including 20 children, shocking the nation and triggering a heated debate over tighter gun control.
Reuters / Darren Staples
http://rt.com/usa/news/bubble-gun-girl-suspended-322/

TSA ends naked airport scanners contract after years of controversy

The US Transport and Security Administration (TSA) will remove all 174 of OSI Systems Inc. (OSIS)’s Rapiscan body scanners from airports, following serious concerns over their inability to protect the privacy of passengers.
The $5 million contract Rapiscan had with the TSA will come to an end, leading to the removal of the invasive machines from all US airports. The contract has been terminated as a result of the company’s inability to meet TSA requirements that their machines develop software to produce less invasive images of passengers.
The need for a speedy adjustment intensified in November 2012, when Wired reported that Rapiscan may have been manipulating the results of tests on integrated privacy software that they were supposed to have been implementing. In a letter quoted by Bloomberg, Rep Mike Rogers (R-AL) claimed that Rapiscan “may have attempted to defraud the government by knowingly manipulating an operational test.”
As a result of the outcry that followed these accusations about the then-current software, the TSA ordered the manufacturer to adjust the machines so that an avatar of a miscellaneous body was displayed in place of the individual being searched.
Rapiscan indicated that they would not be able to meet the TSA’s demands until 2014. TSA Assistant Administrator Karen Shelton Waters said that it “became clear to TSA they would be unable to meet our timeline.”
As early as August 2010, the TSA had required that software be developed to make body scans of airline passengers less revealing, after the administration was criticized for essentially stripping their travellers naked. However, their airport scanners have continued to be a source of controversy – in 2012, a Texas woman was sent through a scanner three times, and told she was ‘cute,’
The TSA has been using two companies to conduct the searches, outsourcing to both Rapiscan and L-3 Communications Holdings to produce the machines. While the Rapiscan machines have been utilizing weak X-rays to create what appears to be a naked image of the subject, the machines of L-3 Communications Holdings use radio waves to depict concealed objects on an avatar image on a screen, and will continue to be used by the TSA.
The Rapiscan machines will be replaced by 60 units supplied by L-3.
Image:
A TSA agent waits for passengers to use the TSA PreCheck lane being implemented by the Transportation Security Administration at Miami International Airport.(AFP Photo / Joe Raedle)
18 January, 2013
http://rt.com

"Abu Dhabi is becoming justifiably renowned as a hub for progress… we are on the brink of an exciting sustainable future - clean energy for all"
HE Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations
http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com/

India confronts mountain of coal problems: Coal industry supplies most of the country’s soaring energy needs, but disjointed governance undermines prospects.
BASUNDHARA, India — Across India, thermal power stations are running below capacity because they can’t get enough coal, and factories are running on expensive diesel generators because they can’t get enough power.

But here at one of India’s largest mines, millions of tons of coal are stockpiled because they can’t be transported quickly to the nearest rail yard. Plans to expand production further have been put on hold because a branch line to the mine, already three years behind schedule, is still less than half built. And the sorry state of India’s railway network is only part of the story.

At a time when the country’s energy needs are growing at a staggering pace, India depends heavily on coal, drawing on the fifth-largest reserves in the world. But mining has consistently fallen below target, imports are rising fast and the problems in the largely state-run industry may have even more far-reaching implications.

“It is essentially a combination of misgovernance, apathy and neglect of the entire sector,” Ashok Sreenivas of the Prayas Energy Group, a nonprofit think tank, said of the industry and its troubles. “It has been allowed to deteriorate out of the public eye.”

The problems at the Basundhara mine in eastern India offer an example of the difficulties that threaten to undermine the nation’s economic ambitions and its plans to create tens of millions of jobs for its fast-growing young workforce through rapid industrialization.

At the mine, 1,400 trucks a day choke the road that wends its way from the mine through forests and villages to the rail yard, belching diesel fumes and coating plants in black dust. But even that is not nearly enough.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-confronts-mountain-of-coal-problems/2012/12/22/dd631a9e-327c-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_story.html?hpid=z3

中国巧克力制成的棋子，在苏州箱. A box of Chinese chess pieces made of chocolate in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. As western Christmas is coming, many new gifts have been created to attract customers. [Photo/Xinhua] Photo taken on Dec 2, 2012

It took a lot of #blood, #sweat and #tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.
#Barack #Obama

#Quotes #archbhoo #Children
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/children.html#PdjjW418fij4dyHj.99

Photos #Frost in #Russia reached minus 39 degree.
A resident of a private house in the city of Omsk region Tara takes firewood from the woodpile.
http://news.mail.ru/foto/118482/#photo14

#Peace #Temple-#Pagoda #Gotemba, #Shizuoka, #Japan
A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most (though not all) have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885-1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fuji was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to World peace.

The first Peace Pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where the atomic bombs took the lives of over 150,000 people, almost all of whom were civilian, at the end of World War II.

By 2000, 80 Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Civilization is not to kill human beings, not to destroy things, not to make war; civilization is to hold mutual affection and to #respect one another. -Most Ven. Fujii

The Peace Pagoda was awarded the Courage of Conscience award June 5, 1998 in Sherborn, MA.

Solar
INDIA’S SOLAR MISSION, PHASE 2

BY MERIBETH DEEN ON DECEMBER 10, 2012

The Indian government’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has released a draft of its policy for Phase II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). First inaugurated in 2010, the mission is a key component of India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. It aims to create conditions to drive down the cost of solar power and establish India as a global leader.

Since the launch of India’s Solar Mission, capacity has risen from 17.8MW to 1050MW. Fifty percent of projects launched through the program were photovoltaic, while the other 50 percent were solar-thermal. Phase I of the National Solar Mission comes to a close in 2013.

Phase II of the solar mission aims to increase generation by 10 Gigawatts. Strategies to meet that target include grants to cut project costs, loosening of restrictions on the purchase of overseas equipment and “bundling,” which would combine solar power with traditional power sources such as coal in order to reduce the cost of solar power alone. A Generation Based Incentive (GBI) will aim to increase rooftop PV systems and small power plants.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy says that Phase II will deliver power to some 20 thousand rural communities with off-grid solar projects including around 1 million solar lighting systems, 25,000 solar water pumps, 25,000 solar integrated telecom towers, 50,000 solar cookers and 8 million square kilometers of solar collectors for domestic solar heating and 100,000 square meters for industrial solar heating.

Meribeth Deen is a freelance writer, researcher, broadcaster and film-maker. Her writing has appeared in Canadian Geographic, the Vancouver Sun, Alberta Ventures Magazine, Green Living Online, THIS Magazine and Alternatives Journal.

Image:An Indian worker cleans solar arrays during the inauguration of a one-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant near Gandhinagar, in 2011. The ground-mount photovoltaic power plant is the first of its kind in Gujarat state, expected to produce 1.5 million kilowatt-hours of clean solar energy.

தட்டி "THATCH" Thatched Roof derived from Tamil word THATTI தட்டி (to cover-normally made from natural materials like, coconut leaf,straw etc).

#தட்டி #Thatch #Roof #Cover #Roof #Archbhoo #Architecture #Building

#Weather and #Coastal #Cities #People #Life

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST TODAY FROM 10:30 AM TO 11:30 AM ET
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, this Forum event will explore how people and cities rebound from devastating natural disasters and how they prepare for new catastrophes. With millions of people living in coastal cities, coupled with changing weather patterns, natural disasters present significant public health and policy implications -- from managing crises, to safeguarding infrastructure, to bolstering and leveraging the resilience of people and cities. This Forum event will be presented in collaboration with The Huffington Post.

E-mail questions for the expert participants any time before or during the live webcast to theforum@hsph.harvard.edu.

http://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/big-weather-and-coastal-cities

There are several similarities between the measurement system used in Tamil Nadu and that used by the Indus Valley civilization.

1= onRu
10= patthu
100= nooRu
1000= aayiram
10,000= pathaayiram
100,000= nooRaayiram
1000,000= meiyiram
10^9= thoLLunn
10^12= eegiyam
10^15= neLai
10^18= iLanji
10^20= veLLam
10^21= aambal
Tamil texts elaborate the following version:
1 = ONDRU- one
10 = PATHU- ten
100 = NOORU- hundred
1,000 = AAYIRAM- thousand
10,000 = PATHAAYIRAM- ten thousand
100,000 = LATCHAM- hundred thousand
1,000,000 = PATHU LATCHAM- one million
10,000,000 = KODI- ten million
100,000,000 = ARPUTHAM- hundred million
1,000,000,000 = NIGARPUTHAM- one billion
10,000,000,000 = KUMBAM- ten billion
100,000,000,000 = KANAM- hundred billion
1,000,000,000,000 = KARPAM- one trillion
10,000,000,000,000 = NIKARPAM- ten trillion
100,000,000,000,000 = PATHUMAM- hundred trillion
1,000,000,000,000,000 = SANGGAM- quadrillion
10,000,000,000,000,000 = VELLAM- ten quadrillion
100,000,000,000,000,000 = ANNIYAM- hundred quadrillion
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = ARTTAM- one quintillion
10,000,000,000,000,000,000 = PARARTTAM- ten quintillion
100,000,000,000,000,000,000 = POORIYAM- hundred quintillion
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 = MUKKODI- one sextillion
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 = MAHAYUGAM- ten sextillion
--
1 Valley -Veļi = 7 kāni = 6.43 acres = 2.6 hectares

All names related to Egypt, Nile river Ar ஆறு ARU and Pyramid derived from or it is just Tamil word.
Nile in Tamil Nile-lநீளம் long or Nile -நீலம் Blue or Nilem- Land- fertile, Valley also Tamil word -mean agri/ farm land (and counting the land area with how many valley? like acre/hectare
(1 (Valley)Veļi = 7 kāni = 6.43 acres = 2.6 hectares ( 1 Veli = 20 Ma = 5 kani only not 7 kani))
#Nile #River #Neilos

Nile River - the world's longest river (4150 miles); flows northward through eastern Africa into the Mediterranean-மத்தியதரை (Tamil -Mathiya Terrai-Middle Land) ; the Nile River valley in Egypt.

The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, meaning black.

* The Nile originates in Burundi, which is located South of the Equator and then flows across Northeastern Africa, finally crossing Egypt and then drains into the Mediterranean Sea.

* It is one of the longest rivers in the world; it used to be the longest but recent studies suggest that Amazon River can be longer than Nile. The length of the river is approximately 6695 km and the river has two tributaries.

* Only 22% of the river passes through Egypt, the other countries through which Nile passes are Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

* The cities that Nile flows past are Cairo, Khartoum, Gondokoro, Aswan, Karnak, Thebes and the town of Alexandria.

* River Nile has two tributaries namely the Blue Nile and the White Nile; the volume of water of Nile is mostly determined by the Blue Nile, which contributes more than 50% of the water of the Nile River but then fertility wise, both the tributaries contribute considerably. In fact White Nile is called so because it appears white due to the presence of silt. White Nile originates at Lake Victoria and then the Blue Nile, which originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, joins in Sudan and proceeds northwards.

* The source of the river is debatable since it is commonly known that the source of the river is Lake Victoria, which is the biggest lake in Africa, but it is observed that on the northern side of the lake there is a waterfall called Ripon Falls, which has a small opening and seemingly that is where the water in the River Nile comes from but then this cannot be held as the ultimate truth since there are many rivers that flow into Lake Victoria therefore which one of these or if all of them are the sources of The Nile. Presently River Kagera and its tributary, which is called Ruvubu whose headwaters are in Burundi, are considered to be the source of the River Nile.

* Nile also played an important in the building if the famous Pyramids since the blocks of stone, which were used to make these pyramids, were actually transported from the source to the site with the help of Nile.

The Nile Crocodile has been a major component of the Egyptian culture and way of life since the first Egyptians settled along the fertile banks of the Nile. Most Nile Crocodiles are approximately 4 meters in length, although some have been reported as longer. The animals make their nests along the banks of the Nile River, where the female may lay up to 60 eggs at one time. Some three months later the babies are born and are taken to the water by their mother. They will remain with her for at least two years before reaching maturity.

Today, exotic and sophisticated cities like Cairo grace the banks of the Nile River, as they have for thousands of years.

Ancient Egypt could not have existed without the river Nile. Since rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt, the floods provided the only source of moisture to sustain crops. Every year, heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian highlands, sent a torrent of water that overflowed the banks of the Nile. When the floods went down it left thick rich mud (black silt) which was excellent soil to plant seeds in after it had been ploughed.

The ancient Egyptians could grow crops only in the mud left behind when the Nile flooded. So they all had fields all along the River Nile.

Melting snow and heavy summer rain in the Ethiopian Mountains sent a torrent of water causing the banks of the River Nile in Egypt to overflow on the flat desert land.
---

The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means valley. The Nile floods the lands in Egypt, leaving behind black sediment. That's why the ancient Egyptians named the river Ar, in Tamil "AR" ARU (River)

* The Nile originates in Burundi, which is located South of the Equat"or and then flows across Northeastern Africa, finally crossing Egypt and then drains into the Mediterranean Sea.
--
#Archbhoo
#Bhoobalan

A general view of mosques and the great pyramids before sunset in Cairo, December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
#Mosque #Pyramid #Egypt #Cairo #archbhoo #Bhoobalan

Rabbis Schmuel Segal (L) and Yehuda Teichtal of the #Orthodox #Jewish #Chabad #Lubawitsch #community bless a #menorah after erecting it in front of the #Brandenburg Gate in #Berlin December 7, 2012, ahead of upcoming #Hanukkah #celebrations. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
--
#Archbhoo

Influenza (flu) is a contagious lung infection that causes fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Influenza can last a week or more – and it can make you feel miserable. Influenza can also cause serious complications. Every year, more than 2,000 New Yorkers die of flu and flu-related pneumonia. Even more are hospitalized.

Vaccination is the best way to protect against influenza. HHC hospitals and health centers offer the influenza (flu) vaccine to children and adults at little or no cost. Registered HHC patients should contact their doctor or clinic and schedule a flu shot now. New Yorkers who are new to HHC, can also contact an HHC hospital, health center or Child Health Center in their community to schedule an appointment.

This year’s flu vaccine also protects against H1N1. For the latest information about how to protect yourself and your loved ones from influenza visit nyc.gov.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hhc/html/services/flushots.shtml

Next government will reverse #FDI decision: #AIADMK.

New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) The AIADMK Friday gave a "solemn assurance" to reverse the decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail after the next Lok Sabha elections.
AIADMK leader V. Maitreyan, who moved the motion for a debate on FDI in the Rajya Sabha, said the final vote will be cast by the people in the next election.
"I give a solemn assurance that after the next Lok Sabha elections, the next government will reverse the decision of the UPA, and I stand by this assurance that FDI will only be on paper and will not be implemented in states.
"From now onwards we will see that the debate goes on across the length and breadth of the country and the final vote will be cast by the people at the next Lok Sabha elections," he added.
Slamming the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the AIADMK leader said it was willing to please foreign retailers and did not care about "public and national interests".
Maitreyan claimed that FDI in retail would not provide organised markets, transportation and storage to farmers to help them get reasonable prices for their produce and won't save the consumers from being exploited.
He questioned the intent of members who voted for FDI.
"A vast majority of the members are opposed to FDI but it is unfortunate that voting is not on the merits of the issue but other considerations."

#Soviet #Alumni #Moscow
В период с 28 по 30 ноября 2012 г. Минобрнауки России с участием МИД России, Россотрудничества, заинтересованных российских министерств, ведомств и организаций провело в Москве III Всемирный форум иностранных выпускников российских (советских) высших учебных заведений.

Целью Форума является определение путей, способствующих налаживанию всестороннего сотрудничества с гражданами зарубежных стран и соотечественниками, получившими образование в российских высших учебных заведениях (включая советский период), содействие созданию и развитию добровольных объединений выпускников в странах, поддержанию связей с Россией, учебными заведениями, которые они закончили, сохранению знания русского языка. В рамках Программы Форума прошли пленарные и секционные заседания.

28 ноября 2012 года в Колонном зале Дома Союзов состоялось открытие третьего Всемирного Форума иностранных выпускников российских (советских) ВУЗов, в котором приняли участие около тысячи делегатов из более чем 140 стран мира. Их приветствовали министр образования и науки Д. Ливанов, ректор РУДН В. Филиппов, ректор МГУ В. Садовничий, а также помощник президента Российской Федерации А. Фурсенко и главы зарубежных ассоциаций российских (советских) выпускников.

По окончании торжественной части и пленарного заседания Д. Ливанов организовал фуршет в честь открытия Форума. Если верить старожилам Дома Союзов, вот уже более 35 лет Колонный зал не видел столь громких и ярких мероприятий.
rudn.ru

Форум призван содействовать укреплению позиций российского высшего образования в мире, укреплению благоприятного отношения к Российской Федерации за рубежом, а также созданию дополнительных возможностей решения внешнеполитических и внешнеэкономических задач России.

28-30 ноября 2012 г. в Москве проходит III Всемирный форум иностранных выпускников российских (советских) вузов.

Торжественная церемония открытия III Всемирного форума иностранных выпускников российских (советских) вузов

Wings of a scandal: Saudi princes stopped trying to take rare falcons out of Russia.

The seizure of 49 rare birds at Russian customs may stir up a diplomatic scandal between Russia and Saudi Arabia, as two members of the Saudi royal family are involved.
Russia’s environmental protection agency, Rosprirodnadzor, has refused to grant a re-export license to the princes for the export of 49 falcons to their home country.
Prince Mohammed bin Turki bin Saud Al-Kabeer and Prince Saud Bin Bader Bin Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud took part in a falconry demo in Russia's Republic of Kalmykia, near the Caspian Sea. The princes displayed 49 birds – which they owned, an official customs document said.
But according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), some of the birds were brought to Russia in a violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The WWF claims that nine of the birds belong to a rare species and had been illegally smuggled from Russia on a prior occasion.
The Saudi princes actually smuggled sixteen birds into Russia, and 49 are now being illegally taken back, Oleg Mitvol of the Green Alliance, an environmentalist group, stated via his Twitter, raising further controversy in the Russian media.
Russian poachers are known to sell falcons for as little as $1,000, while Saudi price tags for the birds can reach as high as $50,000, Mitvol told Life News.
One of the Saudi nationals involved is actually the country's undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry, Kommersant reports, noting the possibility that his name in the official document was misspelled.
Due to diplomatic immunity, the princes cannot be detained, but Russian custom officers are “trying to prevent the princes from flying off by every means possible,” a Rosprirodnadzor spokesman was quoted as saying by Life News.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent a note to the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Moscow in connection with the incident, but embassy officials have given no comment on the issue.
The blue-blooded royalty of the Gulf countries are known to be avid lovers of falconry, spending huge sums of money on the rare birds.
Some sides of the falcon trade involve illegal wildlife trafficking. Recently, seven falcons were reportedly seized by Pakistani customs officials as a passenger tried to smuggle them to Bahrain.
Earlier in November, WWF Russia reported an attempt to smuggle 29 falcons to Arab Gulf countries from the Republic of Khakassia, in south-central Siberia.
The smuggled birds, which include rare saker falcons, may be confiscated by a court decision and then either set free or taken to falcon breeding centers, a WWF spokesman said.
RT Published: 05 December, 2012, 21:27

European Roma gypsies carry Indian bloodline: Study

In what could be a major turning point in the global socio-cultural-political landscape, an inter-continental team of scientists drawn out from Asia, Europe and the USA has found that the ancestors of the European Roma are the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from north-western India.

"We have proved scientifically that the forefathers of the European Roma Gypsies are the doma, a collective term for the ancient aboriginal populations of the Indian subcontinent, also known as Dalits," Dr Kumaraswamy Thangaraj from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad told The Pioneer. Dr Thangaraj led the team of scientists in the 30-month-long study.

The scientists were from CCMB, Estonian Biocentre, Tartu University, Estonia, University of Bern, Switzerland; University of Cambridge, UK and Stanford University, USA. The ancestry of European Roma Gypsies was always enmeshed in controversy though it was widely believed that they had their origins from north-west India. The exact parental population group and time of dispersal into various continents remained a mystery all these years. This is the first time a scientific research has proved that the Gypsies in Europe have an Indian Dalit origin.

The Roman Gypsies are spread all over Europe, the USA and South America. Dr Gyaneshwer Chaubey from Estonian Biocentre said the breakthrough was made by studying the Y chromosomes of the Gypsies with that of various ethnic groups in Indian subcontinent. "The Y chromosome is passed on from father to sons and grandsons. All males of a family or gotra evolved from a single founder male will possess the same Y chromosome," Dr Chaubey explained from Estonia through video-conferencing. He said the parental lineage of the Gypsies was traced based on the genetic signatures existing on Y chromosomes.

Nearly 10,000 males from around the world, including 7,000 males belonging to 205 ethnic population of India were screened by the scientific team which included molecular biologists, anthropologists and linguistic experts. "The aboriginal Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes populations of north-western India, traditionally referred as Dalits or domas are the most likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma," said Dr Thangaraj.

The genome sequencing and genetic studies proved that the Doma group had their origins in south India. "Their migration to other regions of the sub-continent began 24,000 years ago. We could establish that they migrated to Europe some 1,400 years ago," said Dr Chaubey.

Dr S Kalyanaraman, director, Saraswathi Research Centre, Chennai said the language of the Gypsies itself had its origin from India. "The language of Gypsies also appears in the Comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan languages of RL Turner."

"Many words of the Gypsy people are now part of the European vocabulary. For example, the word goro in Gypsy language means 'non-gypsy married to a gypsy'. This word got absorbed in many Indian languages referring to gora as meaning 'white or red'. The word dom refers to a Nuri Gypsy. The word also appears cognate with 'roma' referring to a Roman. In Gypsy language, rom means 'man, husband," said Dr Kalyanaraman, who has authored a multi-lingual dictionary of 25 ancient Indian languages including the language of the Gypsies.

"Our next step is to sequence the complete genomes of hundreds of Indians which will help us to find the relation and direction of migration among the Indians, Central Asians, West Asian and Europeans." said Dr Thangaraj and Dr Chaubey.

What is of significance is that a 2009 and 2011 research by Dr Thangaraj and Dr Chaubey in association with another group of international scientists proved that the Aryan-Dravidian theory was bunkum. "Human genome sequencing and genetic studies proved that Indians all over the sub-continent had the same genetic traits. The physical traits differed because of external factors like climate, food habits and living conditions. We have found that there is no scientific validity for arguments like Aryan Invasion or Aryan-Dravidian theory. Classifications based on caste and religion are of recent origin and has nothing to do with genetic traits," said Dr Thangaraj and Dr Chaubey.

Kumar Chellappan
Daily Pioneer
Sun, 02 Dec 2012 13:35 CST

Новые #колеса отмечает #Москве #горизонта! New #wheel marks #Moscow #skyline!

Gensler's observation wheel to offer stunning visuals of surrounding scenery, whilst aiming to achieve height record

The Vorobiev Hills, an area of Moscow already amply afforded with prestigious landmarks, is set to be embellished further with a striking new feature to its cityscape. Intended to accompany the likes of the Moscow State Circus and the historic Saz Theatre, the Moscow View project will offer visitors unrivalled panoramic views out over Russia’s capital city.

At the heart of plans devised by Gensler is a unique observation wheel, a grand centrepiece to the overall entertainment complex. Erected at the highest point of the region and managing to elevate up to 220m above ground - at its highest point - the visual impact of the surrounding scenery should be at a maximum.

In an effort to ensure that the installation is in no way to the detriment to adjoining areas, the decision was made to either submerge underground or elevate the project’s components. This move is intended as an effective means of retaining the picturesque parklands that will encircle the building’s base whilst procuring a tranquil circulation route for visitors to meander along.

Attaining elements similar to the iconic London eye, passengers will be borne upwards in a series of enclosed capsules - 48 in total - that will glide along a monorail-style ring embedded into a white, metallic exterior. Once disembarked from the design’s dominant feature, additional venues of a cultural, entertainment and retail disposition can be willingly perused in the 30,000 sq m base.

At the epicentre of the complex is an amphitheatre cast around a reflective pool. During the winter months, this practical water pool will freeze over, providing a temporary ice rink. Set in the waters midst, soaring upwards to penetrate the Moscow sky, is a 320m tall, spear-shaped tower. Likely to become the tallest observation wheel in the world, Gensler have managed to take an increasingly popular construction and give it a completely unique look.

Tom Aston
Editorial

Moscow View, Moscow, Russia Friday 02 Dec 2011
worldarchitecturenews
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Ar UK BHOOBALAN #Archbhoo

#RALPH #WALKER WAS ONE OF NEW YORK’S MOST SUCCESSFUL AND PROLIFIC #ARCHITECTS

Called “the only other honest architect in #America” by #Frank #Lloyd #Wright, Walker shaped New York’s skyline during the Roaring Twenties, from the iconic Barclay-Vesey Telephone Building at 140 West Street to the luxurious Irving Trust Building at One Wall Street in the heart of the city’s financial district. Walker was a master of modern ornament, using his skills as a designer to “humanize” the #skyscraper and the #city itself.

In 1957, a New York Times headline proclaimed Walker “Architect of the Century,” an honor bestowed by his fellow architects, celebrating his “brilliance” as a philosopher and a humanitarian. Walker invented a new language for telephone buildings across the country, shaped the Chicago and New York World’s Fairs of the 1930s, and became an outspoken advocate for his vision of a humane American city. Across the fifty years of his practice, Walker remained dedicated to defining a modern architecture that shaped and responded to human experience, from the dramatic towers of the dense city to the serene landscapes of the suburbs.

Image: Ralph Walker and Frank Lloyd Wright at a very prestigious function

http://walker-tower.com/architect-of-the-century/
#archbhoo