Rains hit normal life in Kolkata

Normal life in the city continued to be disrupted for the second consecutive day on Monday due to heavy rains.

Durga Puja is approaching and if this rain continues than it will be really bad news for the devotees.

Almost all the low lying areas in the city's southern and northern areas were waterlogged causing serious disruption in vehicular movement. While tram services were withdrawn from many areas, buses waded through deep waters causing inconvenience to commuters. Eastern Railway was running skeleton suburban train services as the tracks were flooded.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation said they were running all the pumping stations to drain out water but heavy rain was causing disruption. Weathermen forecasted more rain due to a depression over Orissa.

Heavy rains had caused collapse of mud houses and dwellings in several villages in Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas district in which five persons were killed on Monday.

NY Fashion Week shows off feminine dresses

A woman's best dress up for spring fashion success? Spring 2008 styles shown at Wednesday's opening of New York Fashion Week were more loose and feminine than the ladylike, polished fall fashions now in stores.

Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. collection offered both mod frocks and sexy sheaths. BCBG Max Azria showed sheer, flowy dresses, while Abaete turned to '40s-inspired sheaths and halters for the collections shown at Bryant Park.

New York Fashion Week lasts eight days, previewing the spring-summer looks of 60 designers for fashion editors, retail buyers and stylists. Highlights this season will include Ralph Lauren celebrating his 40 years in fashion with a black-tie dinner Saturday night.

Dresses have been a strong trend the past three fashion cycles, but what started with short, boxy shifts in the spring morphed into shirtdresses for fall. It seems next season's shape — at least in early shows — is a loose sheath, one that glides over an hourglass shape without sticking to it.

For men, Nautica showed shorter hemlines while Perry Ellis experimented with different textures, such as bamboo fiber.

Diana on her 10th death anniversary remembered by whole world

Millions across the world are paying tribute to Princess Diana 10 years after her death in Paris crash. Britain is marking the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana's death with a royal memorial service and a string of other tributes to the "people's princess". With wrangling over legacy and conspiracy theories over her death still rife, Diana's sons Prince William and Prince Harry, her ex-husband Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, will mark the tragedy with a solemn service in London.

Her sons, aged 15 and 12 when their mother died aged 36 after a high-speed car crash in a central Paris road tunnel, now are officers in the British army. They were to give personally-selected readings during the service at their regimental chapel. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican church, has written two prayers for the occasion. Among the 500 guests will be Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his predecessor Tony Blair, who famously described Diana as the "people's princess," and pop singer Elton John, who sang an adapted version of "Candle In The Wind" at Diana's funeral a decade ago.

But Charles's second wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall -- who Diana dubbed "the rottweiler" and blamed for her divorce from the heir to the throne in 1996 -- will not be attending. Although royal officials initially insisted she would be there, Camilla announced Sunday that she did not want to "divert attention from the purpose of the occasion," reportedly on advice from the queen. Camilla will be out of London on Friday and is set to jet off on a Mediterranean holiday without her husband soon afterwards, London's Evening Standard newspaper reported. Royal officials never officially comment on travel arrangements. Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Diana's lover Dodi Fayed, who also died in the August 31, 1997 accident, was not invited to the service. Al Fayed claims that Diana and his son were killed by the British establishment and senior royals in a conspiracy designed to stop the princess marrying a Muslim.

Last year, the former head of London's Metropolitan Police, Lord John Stevens, ruled out any plot and said the crash, which also killed chauffeur Henri Paul, was a "tragic accident". French investigators concluded that Paul, an employee of the Fayed-owned Ritz Hotel, was well over the legal alcohol limit when he drove Diana and Dodi to the latter's Paris apartment with paparazzi in hot pursuit. Al Fayed, who also owns London department store Harrods, is holding a two-minute silence in the emporium an hour before the memorial service Friday. Staff and customers are invited to join.

Diana's death generated an unprecedented outpouring of public grief in Britain. One million people poured onto the streets of London for the funeral and some say the episode changed the country. The tragedy also forced the royal family to present itself as a more open and inclusive institution. But a decade on, she still divides opinion between Britons who miss her empathy and glamour, and those who are uncomfortable with the sentimentality her death unloosed.

Australian feminist Germaine Greer described Diana as "a moron" this month, but prime minister Brown hailed her as "an extraordinary woman" who "still has the remarkable ability to move and inspire." A steady stream of Diana fans have been tying flowers and cards to the gates of Kensington Palace, her former London residence, where hundreds of thousands of bouquets were left in the days after her death. "She was a jewel in the crown," said Stephen Jones, who was there laying flowers with his wife and two children.

"She really shone, she was the sparkle which is now missing." "Field Of Flowers," a new series of sculptures there, echoes this through 10 golden dandelions 3.5 metres (11 feet) high, topped with 630 flower heads, each of which has been gold-leafed by a visitor. The palace is also hosting an exhibition in her memory, as is London's National Portrait Gallery. Diana's childhood home, Althorp, in central England, where she is buried, is breaking with tradition by opening to the public on the anniversary.

The BBC is re-screening her funeral in full on a digital channel, while two national newspapers, The Times and the Daily Mail, issued special Diana supplements Thursday. Another stream of Diana pilgrims is expected to go to the Pont d'Alma tunnel where Diana and Dodi died.

The Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya and the Controversy Surrounding Its Origins

The Taj Mahal, located near the Indian city of Agra, is one of the world's greatest architectural treasures. The almost supernatural beauty of the Taj Mahal and its grounds transcends culture and history, and speaks with a voice of its own to visitors from all over the world of feelings that are common to all humanity.

There are two stories of how the Taj came to be.

The Taj's Love Story
It has been called the most beautiful temple in the world, despite the fact that it was built at the cost of much human life. The Taj Mahal is a real monument of one man's love for a woman. The story is a sad one, told many times. But it never hurts to tell it again. In 1631, when his wife died in childbirth, the emperor Shah Jahan brought to Agra the most skilled craftsmen from all Asia and even Europe, to build the white marble mausoleum that is the Taj Mahal. He intended to build a black marble mausoleum for himself, and the link between the two was to be a silver bridge. This fantastic plan suffered a dramatic and permanent setback when the Shah himself died.

Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond description, particularly at dawn and at sunset when it seems to glow in the light. On a foggy morning, it looks as though the Taj is suspended in mid-air when viewed from across the Jamuna river. This is, of course, an illusion. The Taj stands on a raised square platform with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.

If you don't want the huge crowds to distract you from your view, try arriving just as it opens or is about to close. A few minutes alone in the perpetually echoing inner sanctum will reward you far more than several hours spent on a guided tour. Especially if your tour guide is Murbat Singh, who makes it his job to find a new comic slant on the Taj story every time he tells it. To really do the Taj Mahal justice, you should plan to spend at least a full day in the grounds, to see this stunning piece of architecture at dawn, midday, and at dusk. The colours and atmosphere of the gardens and the Taj itself constantly change throughout the day. Under moonlight the marble glows.

The Taj's Other Story
If you have ever visited the Taj Mahal then your guide probably told you that it was designed by Ustad Isa of Iran, and built by the Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Indian children are taught that it was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000 artisans brought to India from all over the world. This story has been challenged by Professor P.N. Oak, author of Taj Mahal: The True Story, who believes that the whole world has been duped. He claims that the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya), worshipped by the Rajputs of Agra city.

In the course of his research, Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. Shah Jahan then remodelled the palace into his wife's memorial. In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai Singh for Mumtaz's burial. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur is said to retain in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for the surrender of the Taj building. The use of captured temples and mansions as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example, Hamayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions. Oak's inquiries begin with the name Taj Mahal. He says this term does not occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles, even after Shah Jahan's time. The term 'Mahal' has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria.

'The usual explanation that the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal is illogical in at least two respects. Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani,' he writes. 'Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters from a woman's name to derive the remainder as the name for the building.' Taj Mahal is, he claims, a corrupt version of Tejo-mahalaya, or the Shiva's Palace. Oak also says that the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists. Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates the love story. Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting that the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era: Professor Marvin Miller of New York took samples from the riverside doorway of the Taj. Carbon dating tests revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European traveller Johan Albert Mandelslo, who visited Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of the city in his memoirs, but makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of Mumtaz's death, also suggest that the Taj was a noteworthy building long well before Shah Jahan's time. Oak also points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies that support the belief that the Taj Mahal is a typical Hindu temple rather than a mausoleum.

Many rooms in the Taj Mahal have remained sealed since Shah Jahan's time, and are still inaccessible to the public. Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Shiva and other objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples. Fearing political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Oak's book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition with dire consequences. The only way to really validate or discredit Oak's research is to open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal, and allow international experts to investigate.

Raj Patel debuts in Archies comics

The motley crew of Riverdale has a brand new member. Raj, an Indian American character, made his debut this month in ‘Out-Raj-ous Behaviour’ featured in the latest issue of the Archie digest. Together with an increased focus on the African-American Chuck Clayton character and Veronica’s friend Ginger Lopez, it seems that Archie Comics is making a concerted effort to make their books more diverse. My editor, Victor (Gorelick), asked me if I had any ideas for a character of Indian ancestry. I did some research into the culture and I also sat down to come up with a personality that was distinct from the other Archie characters and could bring something new to the Archie pantheon, creator Fernando Ruiz said in an interview to comicon.com.

According to Ruiz, Raj has just moved into Riverdale High and likes sci-fi movies, building models and making films. And, he’s just as impulsive as Archie. Coming up with Raj’s look was one of the biggest challenges of creating the whole character. I wanted a character that reflected his background without looking like a caricature and still fit in seamlessly with the other characters. In terms of personality, I wanted to give him an interest that was unique and could be strongly associated with the character. Many of Archie’s friends have a signature interest. Chuck loves art and comics. Jughead loves food.

Betty loves... well, Archie! Raj loves films. His main interest is making his own movies and so he’s often going around with a camcorder recording his friends’ crazy antics, adds Ruiz. Ruiz has given Raj a perky appearance. He’s a bit smaller than most of Riverdale’s males. His lively, optimistic personality is portrayed as much through his wardrobe, bedroom and expressive face, as it is through his words. So, how will Archie and gang relate to Raj? Archie and his friends are a very friendly and cordial bunch. They welcome and take to Raj right away. Archie is the first of the Riverdale gang to meet Raj, who has just moved to Riverdale.

They both become fast friends, but Raj’s interest in film, art and sci-fi makes it natural for him to be friends with Chuck and Jughead, says Ruiz. As for the rest of the family, there aren’t much background details but they do look good. Raj’s father Ravi Patel is a doctor and his character is along the lines of Mr Lodge, only younger and Indian. Mona Patel, Raj’s mother, is a lovely, elegant looking lady, who apparently has the ability to change clothes between panels. Younger sister Tina is an Indian Veronica; and judging by her body language in the few panels she appears in, she shares more than looks with the inimitable Veronica.

Computer printers as harmful as cigarettes

Beware, computer users! Your office printer could be posing as much danger to your lungs as a drag on a cigarette, according to Australian scientists. After an investigation, researchers from Queensland University of Technology have revealed that some laser printers emit potentially dangerous levels of tiny toner-like materials in the air which could harm one's lungs. "These ultra-fine particles are capable of infiltrating the lungs and causing lasting damage on the scale of inhaled cigarette smoke," the Sydney Morning Herald reported, quoting researcher Prof Lidia Morawska as saying.

According to her, "These (printer) particles are tiny like cigarette smoke particles and, when deep inside the lung, they do the same amount of damage. "The health effects from inhaling ultra-fine particles depend on particle composition, but the results can range from respiratory irritation to severe illness such as cardiovascular problems or cancer." The conclusion came after the university's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health examined 62 printers and found that 17 were "high-particle emitters".

The study, published in the American Chemical Society's Environment Science and Technology journal, found indoor particle levels in the office air increased five-fold during work hours due to printer use. "Printers emitted more particles when the toner cartridge was new, and when printing graphics and images as they require greater quantities of toner," Prof Morawska was quoted by the daily. However, she said that the emission levels varied a lot between different machine makes, models printer age, cartridge model and cartridge age.

Railway in India need some changes

As i am one of the regular traveller of train and whatever disadvantage the train has that to be rectified as soon as it is possible.In train every boggie should have a big dustbin and in every row of the boggie there should be medium size dustbin.

The dustbin should be clean and place new cover in every 2 hrs of travel. people should be advise to use it and not to throw the waste anywhere in the train or station. try to keep the train, station and our nation neat and clean.

Courtesy: Dhanraj Chakraborty

Indian Sanskrit scholar built and flew aircraft before Wright brothers

Talpade – The Indian Sanskrit scholar who built and flew a mercury engine aircraft in 1895, 8 years before the Wright brothers!

Shivkur Bapuji Talpade, flew an unmanned aircraft, eight years before the Wright brothers demonstrated on December 17th 1903 that it was possible for a ‘manned heavier than air machine to fly’. But, in 1895, eight years earlier, the Sanskrit scholar Shivkar Bapuji Talpade had designed a basic aircraft called Marutsakthi (meaning Power of Air) based on Vedic technology documented in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. His demonstration flight took place before a large audience in the Chowpathy beach of Bombay. The importance of the Wright brothers lies in the fact, that it was a manned flight for a distance of 120 feet and Orville Wright became the first man to fly. But Talpade’s unmanned aircraft flew to a height of 1500 feet before crashing down and the historian Evan Koshtka, has described Talpade as the ‘first creator of an aircraft’.

This historic day in 1895 (unfortunately the actual date is not mentioned in the Kesari newspaper of Pune which covered the event) was witnessed by the famous Indian judge/ nationalist/ Mahadeva Govin-da Ranade and H H Sayaji Rao Gaekwad.
It is important to note that Talpade was no scientist, just a sanskrit scholar who had built his aircraft entirely from the rich treasury of India’s Vedas.

Shivkar Bapuji Talpade was born in 1864 in the locality of Chirabazar at Dukkarwadi in Bombay. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and from his young age was attracted by the Vaimanika Sastra (Aeronautical Science) expounded by the great Indian sage Maharishi Bhardwaja.

Surprisingly according to the bi-monthly Ancient Skies published in USA, the aircraft engines being developed for future use by NASA also uses mercury bombardment units powered by Solar cells! Interestingly, the impulse is generated in seven stages.

The mercury propellant is first vapourised fed into the thruster discharge chamber ionised converted into plasma by a combination with electrons broke down electrically and then accelerated through small openings in a screen to pass out of the engine at velocities between 1200 to 3000 kilometres per minute! But so far NASA has been able to produce an experimental basis only a one pound of thrust by its scientists a power derivation virtually useless. But over 100 years ago Talpade was able to use his knowledge of Vaimanika Shastra to produce sufficient thrust to lift his aircraft 1500 feet into the air! Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda was a great supporter of the Sciences in India, and was willing to help Talpade with
funds to build his aircraft and the mercury engines.

But the success of an Indian scientist was not liked by the Imperial rulers. Warned by the British Government the Maharaja of Baroda stopped helping Talpade. Talpade passed away in 1916 unhonoured, in his own country. It is said that the remains of the Marutsakthi (the aircraft
Tapade built) were ‘sold’ to a British company by Talpade’s relatives.

WEB 2.0 is the new Web a bigger bang?

Have you ever thought about the difference between using the Internet in the late 1990s and in 2007?

The most important and revolutionary change that has come about on the net is the gradual rise of a new collaborative Web.

This new Web environment has so become a part of our daily lives that the Time magazine named its Person of the Year for 2006 as 'You'. The decision was based keeping in mind the role played by this phenomenon in changing the way people use the Internet.

According to the magazine: "The story of 2006 was a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the people's network YouTube and the online metrolpolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

A number of definitions are being put forward to explain this growing phenomenon. The most widely used explanation of the concept was given by O'Reilly Media in 2004, who termed it as Web 2.0.

According to it, Web 2.0 refers to second-generation of web-based services - social networking sites, wikis, blogs, User Generated Content (UGC) - that accentuate online collaboration and sharing among users. It is an arena where the web is a dominant platform compared to the desktop.

Collaborative platform
What actually has changed in last few years? In the past, the Internet was primarily a platform for one-way interaction where people used to get information or services by going online.

But now Internet users are engaged in a two-way collaborative platform with an amazing array of web services like tagging, blogging, vodcasting, podcasting, and social networking among others.

In the words of Tim O'Reilly, Web 2.0 is based on social software where the users not just consume the content but generate it.

Technically, Web 2.0 has ensured the replacement of the personal computer as a platform by the net.

Now a host of services like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and many others are available on the internet and users don't need to install costly softwares on their PCs. They can directly use these tools on the net and save their work there itself.

Growing trend
Now, what exactly is a Web 2.0 website and how does it affect the lives of millions logging onto the net. So, for all those who have little or no clue about this new concept, here's a list of some of the sites and services.

BlogsSocial NetworkingPhoto/Video sharingContent Aggregators/Bookmarking
There are hundreds of Web 2.0 websites that are catering to the increasing appetite of the online community. According to a business report, more than 1000 Web 2.0 companies were started in Silicon Valley last year.

The rise of this new Web can be attributed to the need for a more collaborative platform. The web pages on the original web were too static and there was no way a user could have contributed or customized them the way he wanted.

User primacy
But Web 2.0 is a different ballgame. Now Internet users can contribute and create all types of content - from text to pictures to videos to personal information to open source software.

There are also a variety of innovative and rich Web 2.0 applications that are being used by youngsters, students and almost all who seek knowledge. The most prominent among them being Nuvvo, Schoolr, Learn Without Limits, and Qunu.

Another reason for the immense popularity of the Web 2.0 concept is the continuous rise in the number of Internet users.

On the other hand, doubts have also been raised about the reach and low user involvement of Web 2.0 sites.

According to a study by US Internet firm Hitwise, only 0.16 per cent of visits on YouTube by users are to seek to upload video for others to watch. Also, only two-tenths of one per cent of visits to Flickr are to upload new photos.

But despite low user involvement it can be said that the new collaborative Web has certainly changed the lives of Internet users.

Web 2.0, seen by many as a confluence of technology, people, and their attitudes, has changed the way we think and use the Internet.

CREDIT: NDTV.com

Interesting facts about India

The facts about India are divided as under:

History
India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. India is the world's largest democracy. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
Medicine Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India.

Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.

Math
The value of "pi" was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematician. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

Academic
The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700 BCE. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BCE was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Grammar constitutes one of India's greatest contributions to Western philology. Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, who lived between 750 and 500 BCE, was the first to compose formal grammar through his Astadhyai.

Hindus were/are the best.

Water vapour detected on alien world

Water vapour has been found in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet outside our solar system.

Planetary scientists had predicted that "hot Jupiters" - massive gas giants orbiting perilously close to their host stars - would have water vapour in their atmospheres. In April, astronomers claimed they had found some using the Hubble Space Telescope, but many dismissed the evidence as flawed.

Now Giovanna Tinetti of University College London and her colleagues have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to probe HD 189733b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a star just 63 light years from Earth. They studied starlight in three infrared bands centred around wavelengths of 3.6, 5.8 and 8 micrometres, and found that when the planet crossed the face of the star, the light dimmed in a manner consistent with the absorption of light by water vapour.

The team had predicted just such a dimming. "This is the first strong evidence of it," says team member Jean-Philippe Beaulieu of the Astrophysics Institute in Paris.

CREDIT: New Scientist magazine

UFO in India

UFO in India

UFO Sighting In India Two unidentified flying objects were spotted hovering/manouvering over Karnal (Haryana) and Delhi. DC of Punjab refused to comment and had a verbal fight with a tv reporter.. Conspiracy? On Sunday 8th July, Karnal town and Delhi North India there have been numerous reportings of UFO sightings.

On March 2007 ATC also reported some sort of Unidentified object surfacing on their radar and before they could send their plane it just disappear.

Coming back to Sunday event, People called up TV Stations reporting to have seen two light globes hovering in the skies,rotating and flying at different altitudes at great speeds for three hours this phonomenon was spoted. There have been hundreds of witnesses calling up the News channels.

Zee News, IBN7 and many more covered it...Aaj Tak made it sure that this is hoax.

Life Away in Solar System Could Be Different From Earth

The search for life elsewhere in the solar system and beyond should include efforts to detect what scientists sometimes refer to as "weird" life -- that is, life with an alternative biochemistry to that of life on Earth -- says a new report from the National Research Council. The committee that wrote the report found that the fundamental requirements for life as we generally know it -- a liquid water biosolvent, carbon-based metabolism, molecular system capable of evolution, and the ability to exchange energy with the environment -- are not the only ways to support phenomena recognized as life. "Our investigation made clear that life is possible in forms different than those on Earth," said committees chair John Baross, professor of oceanography at the University of Washington, Seattle.

The report emphasizes that "no discovery that we can make in our exploration of the solar system would have greater impact on our view of our position in the cosmos, or be more inspiring, than the discovery of an alien life form, even a primitive one. At the same time, it is clear that nothing would be more tragic in the American exploration of space than to encounter alien life without recognizing it."

The tacit assumption that alien life would utilize the same biochemical architecture as life on Earth does means that scientists have artificially limited the scope of their thinking as to where extraterrestrial life might be found, the report says. The assumption that life requires water, for example, has limited thinking about likely habitats on Mars to those places where liquid water is thought to be present or have once flowed, such as the deep subsurface. However, according to the committee, liquids such as ammonia or formamide could also work as biosolvents -- liquids that dissolve substances within an organism -- albeit through a different biochemistry. The recent evidence that liquid water-ammonia mixtures may exist in the interior of Saturn's moon Titan suggests that increased priority be given to a follow-on mission to probe Titan, a locale the committee considers the solar system's most likely home for weird life.

Besides the possibility of alternative biosolvents, studies show that variations on some of the other basic tenets for life also might be able to support weird life. DNA on Earth works through the pairing of four chemical compounds called nucleotides, but experiments in synthetic biology have created structures with six or more nucleotides that can also encode genetic information and, potentially, support Darwinian evolution. Additionally, studies in chemistry show that an organism could utilize energy from alternative sources, such as through a reaction of sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, meaning that such an organism could have an entirely non-carbon-based metabolism.

Researchers need to further explore variations of the requirements for life with particular emphasis on origin-of-life studies, which will help determine if life can exist without water or in environments where water is only present under extreme conditions, the report says. Most planets and moons in this solar system fall into one of these categories. Research should also focus on how organisms break down key elements, as even non-carbon-based life would need elements for energy, structure, and chemical reactions.

The report also stresses that the future search for alien life should not exclude additional research into terrestrial life.

Space missions will need adjustment to increase the breadth of their search for life. Planned Mars missions, for example, should include instruments that detect components of light elements -- especially carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur -- as well as simple organic functional groups and organic carbon. Recent evidence indicates that another moon of Saturn, Enceladus, has active water geysers, raising the prospect that habitable environments may exist there and greatly increasing the priority of additional studies of this body.


Credit: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent down a rock-paved slope into the Red Planet's massive Victoria Crater. This carries real risk for the long-lived robotic explorer, but NASA and the Mars Rover science team expect it to provide valuable science.

Opportunity already has been exploring layered rocks in cliffs around Victoria Crater. The team has planned the descent carefully to enable an eventual exit, but Opportunity could become trapped inside the crater or lose some capabilities. The rover has operated more than 12 times longer than its originally intended 90 days.

The scientific allure is the chance to examine and investigate the compositions and textures of exposed materials in the crater's depths for clues about ancient, wet environments. As the rover travels farther down the slope, it will be able to examine increasingly older rocks in the exposed walls of the crater.

"While we take seriously the uncertainty about whether Opportunity will climb back out, the potential value of investigations that appear possible inside the crater convinced me to authorize the team to move forward into Victoria Crater," said Alan Stern, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington. "It is a calculated risk worth taking, particularly because this mission has far exceeded its original goals."

The robotic geologist will enter Victoria Crater through an alcove named Duck Bay. The eroding crater has a scalloped rim of cliff-like promontories, or capes, alternating with more gently sloped alcoves, or bays.

A meteor impact millions of years ago excavated Victoria, which lies approximately 4 miles south of where Opportunity landed in January 2004. The impact-created bowl is half a mile across and about five times as wide as Endurance Crater, where Opportunity spent more than six months exploring in 2004.

The rover began the journey to Victoria from Endurance 30 months ago. It reached the rim at Duck Bay nine months ago. Opportunity then drove approximately a quarter of the way clockwise around the rim, examining rock layers visible in the promontories and possible entry routes in the alcoves. Now, the rover has returned to the most favorable entry point.

"Duck Bay looks like the best candidate for entry," said John Callas, rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It has slopes of 15 to 20 degrees and exposed bedrock for safe driving."

If all of its six wheels continue working, engineers expect Opportunity to be able to climb back out of the crater. However, Opportunity's twin rover Spirit lost the use of one wheel more than a year ago, diminishing its climbing ability.

"These rovers are well past their design lifetimes, and another wheel could fail on either rover at any time," Callas said. "If Opportunity were to lose the use of a wheel inside Victoria Crater, it would make it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to climb back out."

"We don't want this to be a one-way trip," said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "We still have some excellent science targets out on the plains that we would like to visit after Victoria. But if Opportunity becomes trapped there, it will be worth the knowledge gained."

CREDIT: Science at NASA

Zorse has a Zebra dad and mom Horse

Zorses, or zebroids, are normally stripy all over and have a zebra dad and a horse for a mum, but a zorse at a zoo in Germany is changing all that.hahahahahaha.

Human can create wonder and this is one of the wonder.

Eclyse the zorse is a bit different because her mum's a German zebra and her dad's an Italian horse, giving her a patchy coat that's stripy and plain. Hmmmmmmmm isn't it interesting.

Vets are worried that other zebras won't accept her so they're looking for a boy pony to share her field. That so cool..

Archaeology of Ayodhya

In the year 2003: The ASI reportThe Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavated the mosque site at the direction of the Allahabad Bench of the Uttar Pradesh High Court in 2003.

The archaeologists reported evidence of a large 10th century structure similar to a Hindu temple having pre-existed the Babri Masjid. A team of 131 labourers including 29 Muslims - who were later on included on the objections of the Muslim side[citation needed] - was engaged in the excavations. In June 11, 2003 the ASI issued an interim report that only listed the findings of the period between May 22 and June 6, 2003. In August 2003 the ASI handed a 574-page report to the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

Some results of the 2003 ASI report:
Period 1000BC to 300BC:The findings suggest that a Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) culture existed at the mosque site between 1000 BC and 300 BC. A round signet with a legend in Asokan Brahmi , terracotta figurines of female deities with archaic features, beads of terracotta and glass, wheels and fragments of votive tanks have been found.

Sunga Period. 200 BC:Typical terracotta mother goddess, human and animal figurines, beads, hairpin, pottery (includes black slipped, red and grey wares), and stone and brick structures of the Sunga period have been found.

Kushan period. 100-300 AD:Terracotta human and animal figurines, fragments of votive tanks, beads, bangle fragments, ceramics with red ware and large-sized structures running into twenty-two courses have been found from this level.

Gupta era (400-600 AD) and post-Gupta era:Typical terracotta figurines, a copper coin with the legend Sri Chandra (Gupta), and illustrative potsherds of the Gupta period have been found. A circular brick shrine with an entrance from the east and a provision for a water-chute on the northern wall have also been found.

11th to 12th century:A huge structure of almost fifty metres in north-south orientation have been found on this level. Only four of the fifty pillar bases belong to this level. Above this lied a structure with at least three structural phases which had a huge pillared hall.

Radar searchIn the January 2003, Candadian geophysiscist Claude Robillard performed a search with a ground-penetrating radar. The survey concluded the following:

"There is some structure under the mosque. The structures were ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 meters in depth that could be associated with ancient and contemporaneous structures such as pillars, foundation walls, slab flooring, extending over a large portion of the site".

Claude Robillard, the chief geophysicist stated the following:
"There are some anomalies found underneath the site relating to some archaeological features. You might associate them (the anomalies) with pillars, or floors, or concrete floors, wall foundation or something. These anomalies could be associated with archaeological features but until we dig, I can't say for sure what the construction is under the mosque."

Hari-Vishnu inscription:During the demolition of the Babri mosque in December 1992, three inscriptions on stone were found. The most important one is the Hari-Vishnu inscription inscribed on a 1.10 x .56 metre slab with 20 lines that was provisionally dated to ca. 1140. The inscription mentioned that the temple was dedicated to "Vishnu, slayer of Bali and of the ten-headed one" [Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu who is said to have defeated Bali and Ravana]. The inscription is written in the Nagari Lipi script, a Sanskrit script of the 11th and 12th century. It was examined by world class Epigraphists and Sanskrit scholars (among them Prof. A.M. Shastri).

PillarsPillar bases were first discovered by the ASI's former director-general BB Lall in 1975. In the Babri Mosque were at least fourteen stone pillars that have been dated to the early 11th century and more pillars were found during excavations buried in the ground near the mosque.

Two similar pillars were also found placed upside down by the side of the grave of Fazle Abbas alias Musa Ashikhan. This Muslim saint was the person that incited Mir Baqi to destroy the Janmasthan temple and build a mosque on it.

Hindus in India and World

During Islamic rule in the Indian sub-continent

The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent led to widespread carnage as Muslims regarding the Hindus as infidels slaughtered and converted millions of Hindus. Will Durant argued in his 1935 book "The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage" (page 459):

“The Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. The Islamic historians and scholars have recorded with great glee and pride of the slaughters of Hindus, forced conversions, abduction of Hindu women and children to slave markets and the destruction of temples carried out by the warriors of Islam during 800 AD to 1700 AD. Millions of Hindus were converted to Islam by sword during this period.

There is no official estimate of the total death toll of Hindus at the hands of Muslims. Estimates have stated that over 13 centuries and over the entire subcontinent, the number of Hindus that died at the hands of the Muslims goes up into the millions. There have been several occasions when the Bahmani sultans in central India (1347-1528) killed around 80,000-100,000 Hindus over a short period of time, which they set as a minimum goal, to their anti-Hindu campaigns

“The massacres perpetuated by Muslims in India are unparalleled in history, bigger than the Holocaust of the Jews by the Nazis; or the massacre of the Armenians by the Turks; more extensive even than the slaughter of the South American native populations by the invading Spanish and Portuguese.”

Prof. K.S. Lal, suggests a calculation in his book Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India which estimates that between the years 1000 AD and 1500 AD the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. Even those Hindus who converted to Islam were not immune to persecution, as per the Muslim Caste System in India as established by Ziauddin al-Barani in the Fatawa-i Jahandari., where they were regarded as "Ajlaf" caste and subjected to severe discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes.


By Arabs
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent began during the early 8th century, when the Umayyad governor of what is now Iraq, Hajjaj responded to a casus belli provided by the kidnapping of Muslim women and treasures by pirates off the coast of Debal, by mobilizing an expedition of 6,000 cavalry under Muhammad bin-Qasim in 712 CE. Records from the campaign recorded in the Chach Nama record temple demolitions, and mass executions of resisting Sindhi forces and enslavement of their dependents. This action was particularly extensive of Debal, of which Qasim is reported to be under orders to make an example of while freeing both the captured women and the prisoners of a previous failed expedition. Bin Qasim then enlisted the support of the local Jat, Meds and Bhutto tribes and began the process of subduing and conquering the countryside. Capture of towns was also usually accomplished by means of a treaty with a party from among his "enemy", who were then extended special privileges and material rewards.However, his superior Hajjaj is reported at objecting to his method by saying that it would make him look weak and advocated a more hardline military strategy:

“ It appears from your letter that all the rules made by you for the comfort and convenience of your men are strictly in accordance with religious law. But the way of granting pardon prescribed by the law is different from the one adopted by you, for you go on giving pardon to everybody, high or low, without any discretion between a friend and a foe. The great God says in the Koran [47.4]: "0 True believers, when you encounter the unbelievers, strike off their heads." The above command of the Great God is a great command and must be respected and followed. You should not be so fond of showing mercy, as to nullify the virtue of the act. Henceforth grant pardon to no one of the enemy and spare none of them, or else all will consider you a weak-minded man. ”

In a subsequent communication, Hajjaj reiterated that all able-bodied men were to be killed, and that their underage sons and daughters were to be imprisoned and retained as hostages. Qasim obeyed, and on his arrival at the town of Brahminabad massacred between 6,000 and 16,000 of the defending forces. The historian, Upendra Thakur records the persecution of Hindus and Buddhists:

“ When Muhammad Kasim invaded Sind in 711 AD, Buddhism had no resistance to offer to their fire and steel. The rosary could not be a match for the sword and the terms Love and Peace had no meaning to them. They carried fire and sword wherever they went and obliterated all that came their way. Muhammad triumphantly marched into the country, conquering Debal, Sehwan, Nerun, Brahmanadabad, Alor and Multan one after the other in quick succession, and in less than a year and half, the far-flung Hindu kingdon was crushed, the great civilization fell back and Sind entered the darkest period of it's history. There was a fearful outbreak of religious bigotry in several places and temples were wantonly desecrated. At Debal, Nairun and Aror temples were demolished and converted into mosques.[Resistors] were put to death and women made captives. The Jizya was exacted with special care.[Hindus] were required to feed Muslim travellers for three days and three nights.[8]. ”

Other historians and archealogists such as J E Lohuizen-de Leeuw, takes the following stance of events proceeding the sack of Debal:

“ In fact, we have clear evidence that the Arabs were very tolerant towards both Buddhists and Hindus during the rest of the campaign and throughout the time they ruled Sind...Of course that does not mean that no monuments were ever destroyed, for war always means a certain amount of damage to buildings but it does prove that there was no wanton and systematic destruction of each and every religious center of the Buddhists and Hindus in Sind.[9] ”

Mahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni was an Afghan Sultan who invaded the Indian subcontinent during the early 11th century. His campaigns across the gangetic plains are often cited for their iconoclastic and plundering targeting of Hindu temples such as those at Mathura and looked upon them as "jihad".

Pradyumna Prasad Karan further describes Mahmud invasion as one of putting "thousands of Hindu's to the sword" and making a pastime of "raising pyramids of the skulls of the infidels".[11][12] Holt et al. hold an opposing view, that he was "no mere robber or bloody thirsty tyrant" . Mahmud shed no blood "except in the exegencies of war",[13] and was tolerant in dealings with his own Hindu subjects, some of whom rose to high posts in his administration, such as his Hindu General Tilak

Mahmud of Ghazni sacked the second Somnath Temple in 1026, and looted it of gems and precious stones and the famous Shiva lingam of the temple was destroyed and it's fragments taken away to Ghazni where they were used as stepping stones of a mosque.

In the Delhi Sultanate
The first Muslim Empire of India, the Sultanate of Delhi, was established in 1210 CE by Turkic tribes that invaded the subcontinent from Afghanistan. Many temples were looted and destroyed. Infamous cases are the destruction of the Somnath.

Muhammad Ghori
Muhammad Ghori conducted genocide of Hindus at Koi (modern Aligarh), Kalinjar and Varanasi, according to Hasan Nizami's Taj-ul-Maasir, 20,000 Hindu prisoners were slaughtered and their heads offered to crows.[15]

Qutb-ud-din Aibak
Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. The first mosque built in Delhi, the "Quwwat al-Islam" was built after demolishing the Hindu temple built previously by Prithvi Raj and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper. This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by religion.

Iltutmish
Another ruler of the sultanate, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, conquered and subjugated the Hindu pilgrimage site Varanasi in the 11th century and had continued the destruction of Hindu temples and idols that had begun under the first attack in 1194.

Firuz Shah Tughlaq
Firuz Shah Tughluq was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The "Tarikh-i-Firuz Shah" is a historical record written during his reign that attests to the systematic persecution of Hindus under his rule. In particular, it records atrocities on Hindu Brahmin priests who refused to convert to Islam:

“An order was accordingly given to the Brahman and was brought before Sultan. The true faith was declared to the Brahman and the right course pointed out. but he refused to accept it. A pile was risen on which the Kaffir with his hands and legs tied was thrown into and the wooden tablet on the top. The pile was lit at two places his head and his feet. The fire first reached him in the feet and drew from him a cry and then fire completely enveloped him. Behold Sultan for his strict adherence to law and rectitude. ”

Under his rule, Hindus who were forced to pay the mandatory Jizya tax were recorded as infidels, their communities monitored and, if they violated Imperial ordinance and built temples, they were destroyed. In particular, an incident in the village of Gohana in Haryana was recorded in the "Insha-i-Mahry" (another historical record written by Amud Din Abdullah bin Mahru) where Hindus had erected a deity and were arrested, brought to the palace and executed en-masse.

In 1230, the Hindu King of Orissa Anangabhima III consolidated his rule and proclaimed that an attack on Orissa constituted an attack on the king's god. A sign of Anangabhima's determination to protect Hindu culture is the fact that he named is new capital in Cuttack “Abhinava Varanasi.” His anxieties about further Muslim advances in Orissa proved to be well founded.

Vijayanagara

Main article: Vijayanagara

The city flourished between the 14th century and 16th century, during the height of the Vijayanagar Empire. During this time, it was often in conflict with the kingdoms which rose in the Northern Deccan, and which are often collectively termed the Deccan Sultanates. The period saw brutalities from both sides. In 1366, Bukka I captured the Muslim region of Mudkal and slaughtered all but one inhabitant. The lone survivor of this carnage is supposed to have taken the news to Mohammad Shah, the Sultan of the Bahamani sultanate. In response the sultan ravaged the Hindus [20]. In 1565, the empire's armies suffered a massive and catastrophic defeat at by an alliance of the Sultanates, and the capital was taken. The victorious armies then razed, depopulated and destroyed the city over several months. The empire continued in slow decline, but the original capital was not reoccupied or rebuilt.

In the Mughal empire
The Mughal Empire was marked by periods of tolerance of non-Muslims, such as Hindus, Christians and Sikhs, as well as violent oppression and persecution of those people. The reign of Aurangzeb was particularly brutal. No aspect of Aurangzeb's reign is more cited - or more controversial - than the numerous desecrations and destruction of Hindu temples. Aurangzeb banned Diwali, placed a jizya (tax) on non-Muslims and matyred the ninth Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur. The confrontation with the Sikhs took Aurangzeb and his henchmen an endless series of atrocities against Sikhs which included torturous execution of several Sikhs including the eight and ten years old sons of Guru Gobind Singh by alive-burial.

During his reign, tens of thousands of temples were desecrated: facades and interiors were defaced and their murtis (divine images) looted. In many cases, temples were destroyed entirely; in numerous instances mosques were built on their foundations, sometimes using the same stones. Among the temples Aurangzeb destroyed were two most sacred to Hindus, in Varanasi and Mathura. In both cases, he had large mosques built on the sites.

The Kesava Deo temple in Mathura, marked the place Hindus believe was the birth place of Shri Krishna. In 1661 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple, and constructed the Katra Masjid mosque. Traces of the ancient Hindu temple can be seen from the back of the mosque. Aurangzeb also destroyed what was the most famous temple in Varanasi- the Vishwanath Temple. The temple had changed location over the years, but in 1585 Akbar had authorized its location at Gyan Vapi. Aurangzeb ordered its demolition in 1669 and constructed a mosque on the site, whose minarets stand 71 metres above the Ganges. Traces of the old temple can be seen behind the mosque. Centuries later, emotional debate about these wanton acts of cultural desecration continue. Aurangzeb also destroyed the Somnath temple in 1706.

According the Hindu claims the Mughals supposedly also destroyed the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, at the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama. On top of it, they built the Babri Masjid, which has since been a source of tensiosn between the Hindu and Muslim communities.

In Kashmir
The Hindu minority in Kashmir have also been historically persecuted by Muslim rulers. While Hindus and Muslims lived in harmony for certain periods of time, several Muslim rulers of Kashmir were intolerant to other religions. Sultãn Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) is often considered the worst of these. Historians have recorded many of his atrocities. The Tarikh-i-Firishta records that Sikandar persecuted the Hindus and issued orders proscribing the residence of any other than Muslims in Kashmir. He also ordered the breaking of all "golden and silver images". The Tarikh-i-Firishta further states: "Many of the Brahmins, rather than abandon their religion or their country, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped the evil of banishment by becoming Mahomedans. After the emigration of the Bramins, Sikundur ordered all the temples in Kashmeer to be thrown down......Having broken all the images in Kashmeer, (Sikandar) acquired the title of ‘Destroyer of Idols’".

During European rule in the Indian subcontinent
The Goa Inquisition, was established in 1560 by Portuguese missionaries. It was aimed primarily at Hindus and wayward new converts and by the time it was suppressed in 1774, the inquisition had had thousands of Hindus tortured and executed by burning. The British East India Company engaged in a covert and well-financed campaign of evangelical conversions in the 19th century. While officially discouraged conversions, officers of the Company routinely converted Sepoys to Christianity, often by force. This was one of the factors that led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Persecution of Dalits

Main articles: Dalit and Indian Caste System

Dalits, formerly known as "untouchables", include the members of Hindu society who are not included in the "caste system" as having a varna. Many Dalits have converted from Hinduism to Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. However, there has been at least one alleged instance of a group conversion of 3,500 Dalits back to Hinduism from Christianity, after it was alleged that Christians gave the Dalits "neither financial security nor social status."[

Under the 2,500 year old caste system, Dalits were considered as the lowest or outside the system. They were assigned the most menial of jobs, and enjoyed none of the rights that higher-caste Hindus did. They were not allowed to enter toilets, share water or food, or even so much as to touch or let their shadow fall over a higher-caste Hindu. In general, the sons of Dalits also took up these same tasks and in this way the entire Dalit community were relegated in Hindu society and persecuted by some Hindus. The caste system is now formally banned by the Indian government, and acts of violence against Dalits are considered crimes. Much of the legislation in regards to protecting Dalits remains completely unenforced. Dalits are presented with university quotas which allow them to achieve better paying jobs with lower marks than the higher castes. While this practice was meant to last 10 years after independence, it has instead increased. This has caused uproar amongst higher castes, leading to the 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests. They have been at least one attempt to encourage them to take on roles of leadership in Hindu society.

Discrimination against Dalits has all but disappeared in the urban public sphere, though prejudices remain in the private sphere. However incidents of violence still occur, especially in rural regions, that Dalits are still subject to persecution. In the Indian province of Rajasthan alone for instance, between the years 1999 and 2002, crimes against Dalits average at about 5024 a year, with 46 killings and 138 cases of rape. According to Human Rights Watch, over 100,000 cases of rape, murder, arson, and other atrocities against the Dalits are reported in India every year. Human Rights watch suspects the actual figure to be higher, given that Dalits do not tend to expect justice from their police for crimes against them.[37] Dalits were also targeted by Muslim rioters in the Gujarat riots, many being burnt alive.

Contemporary persecution
While the vast majority of Hindus live in Hindu-majority areas of India, Hindus in other parts of South Asia and in diaspora have sometimes faced persecution. The Hindu American Foundation's Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005 report surveyed the status of human rights for Hindus in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Pakistan, and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The report was based on media coverage, reports from human rights organizations, and firsthand accounts related to human rights violations perpetrated against Hindus because of their religious identity.


In the Indian subcontinent
Hindus, like Muslims, Sikhs, and members of other religious groups, experienced severe dislocation and violence during the massive population exchanges associated with the partition of India, as members of various communities moved to what they hoped was the relative safety of an area where they would be a religious majority. Hindus were among the between 200,000 and a million who died during the rioting and other violence associated with the partition.

India
In 1954, the Federal Government of India passed the Hindu Marriage Act that prohibited Hindu males in India from marrying more than one wife. Although by modern standards polygamy is a frowned upon act, the purpose of this act specifically only targeted Hindus, but did not mention any other religious groups, including Muslims, which are the 2nd biggest religious demographic and the 2nd biggest Muslim population in the world. Scholars believe the purpose was to entice Muslims to stay in India by giving their men the option to take more than one wife which is established as acceptable under Islamic Law.

Jammu and Kashmir
Pakistan has been covertly financing Islamic Terrorism in Kashmir. Islamic terrorists have routinely engaged in attacks on Hindu pilgrims in both Kashmir and neighboring Jammu. Kashmiri militants have consistently persecuted Hindus in the region, as well as moderate Muslims suspected of siding with the India. Kashmiri Pandit Hindus, who have been residents of Kashmir for centuries, have been ethnically cleansed from Kashmir by Islamic militants. In particular, the Wandhama Massacre in 1998 was an incident in which 24 Kashmiri Hindus were gunned down by Islamists disguised as Indian soldiers. Many Kashmiri Hindus have been killed and thousands of children orphaned over the course of the conflict in Kashmir.

Northeast India
In recent years, large parts of Northeastern India have become Christianized owing to the fervent activities of missionaries. In these states, especially Nagaland Hindus are not able to celebrate Durga Puja and other essential festivals due to harassment and killing by Christian Terrorist groups. In Tripura, the NLFT has targeted Swamis and temples for attacks. The Baptist Church of Tripura is alleged to have supplied NLFT with arms and financial support and encouraged the murder of Hindus, particularly infants.[45] A conventional tactic of the terrorists is to torch houses of Hindus with the residents still in it. They have been known to raid Hindu sanctuaries and shoot all the members.[46]

West Bengal
Main article: Morichjhanpi
The Left Front communist party government of the state of West Bengal executed a brutal massacre of low-caste Hindus in Morichjhanpi in 1978. The Morichjhanpi massacre was perpetrated by the communist government on poor Bengali Hindu refugees who were ethnically cleansed from Muslim-majority East Pakistan/Bangladesh during the Partition of India. They were migrating from other states in India where they had settled as refugees after the Partition of India. The attempt was seen by the communists as an "aggressive encroachment" so they manufactured allegations of "violating the forest act" and used it as a pretext to harass the refugees.The Morichjhanpi incident refers to the actions throughout 1979 when thousands of settler families were brutally evicted from the island. The incident resulted, directly or indirectly, in hundreds of deaths, including 36 refugees killed in police firings on January 31, 1979. In spite of a pathetic fightback by some of the islanders, several thousand settlers were eventually removed over the course of the year.

Bangladesh
The HAF report documents the long history of anti-Hindu atrocities in Bangladesh, a topic that many Indians and Indian governments over the years have preferred not to acknowledge. Such atrocities, including targeted attacks against temples, open theft of Hindu property, and rape of young Hindu women and enticements to proselytizationconvert to Islam, have increased sharply in recent years after the Jamat-e-Islami joined the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party.

Bangladesh has had a troublesome history of persecution of Hindus as well. A US-based human rights organisation, Refugees International, has claimed that religious minorities, especially Hindus, still face discrimination in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh, a nationalist party openly calls for ‘Talibanisation’ of the state. However, the prospect of actually "Talibanizing" the state is regarded as a remote possibility, since Bangladeshi Islamic society is generally more progressive than the extremist Taliban of Afghanistan. Political scholars conclude that while the Islamization of Bangladesh is real, the country is not on the brink of being Talibanized .In 1971 at the time of the liberation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan, the Hindu population accounted for 15% of the total population. Thirty years on, it is now estimated at just 10.5%. The ‘Vested Property Act’ previously named the ‘Enemy Property Act’ has seen up to 40% of Hindu land snatched away forcibly. Since this government has come into power, of all the rape crimes registered in Bangladesh, 98% have been registered by Hindu women. Hindu temples in Bangladesh have also been vandalised . The United States Congressional Caucus on India has condemned these atrocities.

Bangladeshi feminist Taslima Nasrin's 1993 novel Lajja deals with the anti-Hindu riots and anti-secular sentiment in Bangladesh in the wake of the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India. The book was banned in Bangladesh, and helped draw international attention to the situation of the Bangladeshi Hindu minority.

On October 2006, the United States Commission on International Religion Freedom published a report titled 'Policy Focus on Bangladesh', said that since its last election, 'Bangladesh has experienced growing violence by religious extremists, intensifying concerns expressed by the countries religious minorities'. The report further stated that Hindus are particularly vulnerable in a period of rising violence and extremism, whether motivated by religious, political or criminal factors, or some combination. The report noted that Hindus had multiple disadvantages against them in Bangladesh, such as perceptions of dual loyalty with respect to India and religious beliefs that are not tolerated by the politically dominant Islamic Fundamentalists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Violence against Hindus has taken place "in order to encourage them to flee in order to seize their property".The previous reports of the Hindu American Foundation were acknowledged and confirmed by this non-partisan report.

On November 2, 2006, USCIRF criticized Bangladesh for continuing persecution of minority Hindus. It also urged the Bush administration to get Dhaka to ensure protection of religious freedom and minority rights before Bangladesh's next national elections in January 2007.

Pakistan
There has been severe and often institutionalized persecution of Hindus by Muslims in Pakistan since its formation in 1947. The increasing Islamization has caused many Hindus to leave Hinduism and seek emancipation by converting to other faiths such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Such Islamization includes the blasphemy laws, which make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely and engage freely in religious and cultural activities. Minority members of the Pakistan National Assembly have alleged that Hindus were being hounded and humiliated to force them to leave Pakistan. In addition to the ethnic cleansing of Hindus following the Partition of India in 1947, the Hindus in Pakistan are subjected to anti-blasphemy laws, hate propaganda, attacks, and forced conversions. Hindus in what is now Pakistan have declined from 23% of the total population in 1947 to less than 2% today. The HAF report condemns Pakistan for systematic state-sponsored religious discrimination against Hindus through "anti-blasphemy" laws. It documents numerous reports of Hindus being held as "bonded laborers" in slavery-like conditions in rural Pakistan, something repeatedly ignored by the Pakistani government. Pakistan aggressively portrays its struggle against India as a Hindu-Muslim conflict, making it clear that its own Hindu minority is fair game for persecution.

1971 Bangladesh atrocities
Main articles: 1971 Bangladesh atrocities and Operation Searchlight
During the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities there were widespread killings and ethnic cleansing of civilians in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan under Pakistani occupation), and widespread violations of human rights carried out by the Pakistan Army, which was supported by political and religious militias during the Bangladesh Liberation War. In Bangladesh, the atrocities are identified as a genocide, which is disputed by Pakistan. Many of the victims were Hindus, and the total death toll was in the millions. TIME magazine reported that "The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Muslim military hatred."


Masih incident
On June 29, 2005, police in Nowshera, NWFP, arrested Christian janitor Yousaf Masih on blasphemy charges. Witnesses claimed Masih had burned pages of the Qur'an while disposing of trash for his employer. Following his arrest, a mob of between 300 and 500 protesters destroyed a Hindu temple and houses belonging to Christian and Hindu families in the city. While police arrested some perpetrators after the fact, under the terms of a deal negotiated between Islamic religious leaders and the Hindu/Christian communities, police released all of them without charge. Police released Masih from custody on bail on August 6, 2005.

Forced Conversions
Forced and coerced conversions of religious minorities to Islam occurred at the hands of societal actors. Religious minorities claimed that government actions to stem the problem were inadequate. Several human rights groups have highlighted the increased phenomenon of Hindu girls, particularly in Karachi, being kidnapped from their families and forced to convert to Islam.[citation needed]

Hindu women have also been known to be victims of kidnapping and forced conversion to Islam. Krishan Bheel, a Hindu member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, came into news recently for manhandling Qari Gul Rehman.

On October 18, 2005, Sanno Amra and Champa, a Hindu couple residing in the Punjab Colony, Karachi, Sindh returned home to find that their three teenage daughters had disappeared. After inquiries to the local police, the couple discovered that their daughters had been taken to a local madrassah, had been converted to Islam, and were denied unsupervised contact with their parents.


[edit] Temple Destruction
Several Hindu temples have been destroyed in Pakistan. A notable incident was the destruction of the Ramna Kali Mandir in former East Pakistan. The temple was bulldozed by the Pakistan Army on March 27, 1971.The Dhakeshwari Temple was severely damaged during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and over half of the temple's buildings were destroyed. The main worship hall was taken over by the Pakistan Army and used as an ammunitions storage area. Several of the temple custodians were tortured and killed by the Army though most, including the Head Priest, fled to their ancestral villages and to India and therefore escaped death.

In 2006, the last Hindu temple in Lahore was destroyed to pave the way for construction of a multi-storied commercial building. The temple was demolished after officials of the Evacuee Property Trust Board concealed facts from the board chairman about the nature of the building. When reporters from Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn tried to cover the incident, they were accosted by the henchmen of the property developer, who denied that a Hindu temple existed at the site.

Several political parties in Pakistan have objected to this move, such as the Pakistan People's party and the Pakistani Muslim League-N. The move has also evoked strong condemnation from in India from minority bodies and political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress Party, as well as Muslim advocacy political parties such as the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat. A firm of lawyers representing the Hindu minority has approached the Lahore High Court seeking a directive to the builders to stop the construction of the commercial plaza and reconstruct the temple at the site. The petitioners maintain that the demolition violates section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code prohibiting the demolition of places of worship.

Bhutan
The Hindus of Nepalese origin have been living in Bhutan since nineteenth century. On a 1980 census, the Bhutanese Druk autocracy found a significant population of ethnic Nepalese (mostly Hindus) which they interpreted as a danger to the Druk domination. [70] The monarch imprisoned a Brahmin democratic movement leader Tek Nath Rizal and forced the Hindus "to observe dress codes and etiquette characteristic of Northern Bhutanese, under threat of punishment". The Hindus were then tortured and expelled from the nation. Approximately 103,000 of such refugees including Hindus, Kirats etc are living in Nepal, which was the only Hindu nation left when they were exiled.

In other countries
The Hindu presence in countries outside South Asia is small but growing. Historically, there have been large Hindu populations in Indonesia, Cambodia, Fiji, and the Philippines. There have been Hindus in Guyana, Suriname,and Malaysia since the 19th century. The twentieth century saw the growth of Hindu communities in Saudi Arabia, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The persecution of Hindus have risen in several of these countries, especially in Muslim dominated countries such as Malaysia and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan had committed atrocities on the Hindu minority in the country. 500 Hindu families disappeared in Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban came to power.

During the Taliban regime, Sumptuary laws were passed in 2001 which forced Hindus to wear yellow badges in public to identify themselves as such. Hindu women were forced to dress according to Islamic hijab, ostensibly a measure to "protect" them from harassment. This was part of the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones. In addition, Hindus were forced to mark their places of residence identifying them as Hindu homes.

The decree was condemned by the Indian and United States governments as a violation of religious freedom. Widespread protests against the Taliban regime broke out in Bhopal, India. In the United States, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman compared the decree to the practices of Nazi Germany, where Jews were required to wear labels identifying them as such. The comparison was also drawn by California Democrat and holocaust survivor Tom Lantos, and New York Democrat and author of the bipartisan 'Sense of the Congress' non-binding resolution against the anti-Hindu decree Eliot L Engel. In the United States, congressmen and several lawmakers wore yellow badges on the floor of the Senate during the debate as a demonstration of their solidarity with the Hindu minority in Afghanistan.

Indian analyst Rahul Banerjee said that this was not the first that Hindus has been singled out for state-sponsored oppression in Afghanistan. Violence against Hindus has caused a rapid depletion in the Hindu population over the years. Since the 1990s many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such as Germany.

Fiji
Hindus in Fiji constitute approximately 38% of the population. During the late 1990s there were several riots against Hindus by radical elements in Fiji. In the Spring of 2000, the democratically elected Fijian government led by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry was held hostage by a guerilla group, headed by George Speight. They were demanding a segregated state exclusively for the native Fijians, thereby legally abolishing any rights the Hindu inhabitants have now. The Hindu minority are denied any land owning rights and are routinely attacked and harassed. Several dozen Hindu temples have been vandalized or destroyed by arson or looting.

The methodist church of Fiji repeatedly calls for the creation of a Christian State and has endorsed forceful conversion of Hindus after a coup d'etat in 1987.

Indonesia
Hinduism and Islam relationship in Indonesia have been benign for most parts of Indonesia due to the ingrained cultural influence. Hinduism was the indigeneous religion in Indonesia before the arrival of Islam in the 14th century, until the conversion of the local Acheh ruler to Islam. With the ruler's conversion, the majority of the people gradually converted to Islam. Islam spread east from Acheh to Java and gradually converted the people to Islam. Traces of Hindu influence remain in the Indonesia language, literature and arts. Early Hindu architecture can be seen in temples built by the Srivijaya, Kediri and Majapahit kingdoms.

In the present day, Hindus are subjected to renewed persecution to convert their faith by Christian missionary group and Christian evangelism in the temple town of Terupati has angered Hindus.Also, Hindus in Bali are persecuted by certain segments of the Muslim population.

Kazakhstan
In 2005 and 2006 Kazakh officials persistently and repeatedly tried to close down the Hare Krishna farming community near Almaty.

On November 20, 2006, three buses full of riot police, two ambulances, two empty lorries, and executors of the Karasai district arrived at the community in sub-zero weather and evicted the Hare Krishna followers from thirteen homes, which the police proceeded to demolish.

The Forum 18 News Service reported, "Riot police who took part in the destruction threw personal belongings of the Hare Krishna devotees into the snow, and many devotees were left without clothes. Power for lighting and heating systems had been cut off before the demolition began. Furniture and larger household belongings were loaded onto trucks. Officials said these possessions would be destroyed. Two men who tried to prevent the bailiffs from entering a house to destroy it were seized by 15 police officers who twisted their hands and took them away to the police car."

The Hare Krishna community had been promised that no action would be taken before the report of a state commission – supposedly set up to resolve the dispute – was made public. On the day the demolition began, the commission's chairman, Amanbek Mukhashev, told Forum 18, "I know nothing about the demolition of the Hare Krishna homes – I'm on holiday." He added, "As soon as I return to work at the beginning of December we will officially announce the results of the Commission's investigation." Other officials also refused to comment.

The United States urged Kazakhstan's authorities to end what it called an "aggressive" campaign against the country's tiny Hare Krishna community.

Malaysia
Approximately nine percent of the population of Malaysia are Tamil Indians, of whom nearly 90 percent are practicing Hindus.Indian settlers came to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between April to May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus. On April 21, 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers .

The president of the Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam in Selangor State has been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism.

Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old[85].

On May 11, 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister.

Another form of persecution is the requirement by the Malaysian government for the annual Thaipusam procession to obtain a police permit under the Internal Security Act, which by the anti-discriminatory standards of most nations, is flawed as it requires permits only for Hindu religious festivals.[citation needed]

Russia
Hindus in Russia have been subject to discrimination. For example, significant obstacles have been placed to the construcition of a Hindu temple in Moscow. It was reported that some influential official of Russian Orthodox Church propagated misinformation and defamation, e.g., describing Krishna as an "evil demon".

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocracy, and officially does not tolerate any other religion. Hindus are considered polytheists by Islamic law, which is used as a justification for greater discrimination in calculating accidental death or injury compensation. According to the country's "Hanbali" interpretation of Shari'a, Hindus receive 1/16 of the amount a male Muslim receives.

On April 1 2005, Saudi authorities demolished a clandestine makeshift Hindu temple in an old district of Riyadh and deported three worshipers found there, in act that is considered as persecuting Hindus by Paul Marshall.


Trinidad
Indians, predominantly Hindus, came as indentured laborers in 1838 to British Guyana and later to Trinidad, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Surinam. During the initial decades of Indian indenture, Indian cultural forms met with either contempt or indifference by the Christian majority. Hindus have made many contributions to Trinidad history and culture even though the state historically regarded Hindus as second-class citizens. Hindus in Trinidad struggled over the granting of adult franchise, the Hindu marriage bill, the divorce bill, cremation ordinance, and others.After Trinidad's independence from colonial rule, Hindus were marginalized by the African-based People's National Movement. The opposing party, the People's Democratic party, was portrayed as a "Hindu group", and other anti-Hindu tactics were used against them. Hindus were castigated as a "recalcitrant and hostile minority". Hindus were alienated by such Christian communal groups. The support of the PNM government to creole art forms in Carnivals, while their public rejection and ridicule of Hindu art forms, was a particular source of contention for the Hindu minority. The displacement of PNM from power in 1985 would improve the situation.

There has been persistent discontent among the Hindus with their marginalization. Many Christianized groups portray Hindus as "clannish, backward and miserly".During the General Elections of 1986, the absence of the Bhagavad Gita and the Quran at polling stations for required oath-taking was interpreted as a gross insult to Hindus and Muslims. The absence of any Hindu religious texts at the official residence of the President of Trinidad and Tobago during the swearing in of the new Government in 1986 was perceived as another insult to the minority communities since they were represented in the government.The exclusivist Christian symbolism operative in the country's top national award, the Trinity Cross, has persistently stung Hindu religious sensibility. This was to climax in 1995 with the refusal of the Hindu Dharmaacharya to accept the award, while issuing a statement that his action should be seen as an opportunity for those in authority to create a national award that recognizes the plurality of religious beliefs in this country. The national education system and curriculum have been repeatedly accused of such majority-oriented symbolism. The use of discernibly Christian-oriented prayers at Government schools, the non-representation of Hinduism in approved school textbooks, and the lack of emphasis on Hindu religious observace evoked deep resentment from the Hindu community. Intensified protests over the course of the 1980s led to an improvement in the state's attitudes towards Hindus[89].The divergence of some of the fundamental aspects of local Hindu culture, the segregation of the Hindu community from Trinidad, and the disinclination to risk erasing the more fundamental aspects of what had been constructed as "Trinidad Hinduism" in which the identity of the group had been rooted, would often generate dissension when certain dimensions of Hindu culture came into contact with the State. While the incongruences continue to generate debate, and often conflict, it is now tempered with growing awareness and consideration on the part of the state to the Hindu minority. Hindus have been also been subjected to persistent proselytization by Christian missionaries. Specifically the evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Such activities reflect racial tensions that at times arise between the Christianized Afro-Trinidadian and Hindu Indo-Trinidadian communities.


United States
The rise of the Indian American community in the United States has brought about some isolated incidences of attacks on them, as has been the case with many minority groups in the United States. Attacks specific to Hindus in the United States stem from what is often referred to as the "racialization of religion" among Americans, a process that begins when certain phenotypical features associated with a group and attached to race in popular discourse become associated with a particular religion or religions.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Indian American Hindus in the United States, together with adherents of other religions from the same community of the Indian Americans (mainly Muslims and Sikhs), have faced isolated instances of attacks on them, often for "looking Middle-Eastern" or being mistaken for Muslims. Notable instances include the attack on a Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna in Matawan, New Jersey which involved firebombing with a Molotov cocktail and instances of some Hindus being verbally assasulted and/or harassed.

Belarus
The tiny Hindu communities of Belarus have seen some of the worst persecutions in former Soviet Union. Most of the Hindus are either imprisoned in the notorious jails or are living as refugees in USA and other countries. See Also: Light of Kailasa - The first Hindu movement in Belarus.

Wake up People-HINDUS….. We have to prove that we are BEST.

Ice lingam at Amarnath to reduce its size by one-tenth

Due to rapid melt-down and if the mercury continues to raise then the size of Ice-Lingam (Lord Shiva) size will keep on decreasing. Weather will affects the shape and size of the ice lingam. Due to rising temperature around the cave shrine the size and height of the lingam has reduced considerably.

Four lakh devotees are on their way to visit the lingam not withstanding the weather vagaries.

The temperature in Srinagar has shown an upward trend in the past week and today's maximum temperature shot up to 32.5 degree celsius making it the hottest day of the season so far.

The minimum temperature rose to 20.1 degrees which is four degrees above normal.

Mummy of Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut found?

Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. She is considered by many historians to have been the most powerful and successful woman in ancient Egypt.

The attempt failed as evidence of her reign survived but the attempted historical revisionism of Thutmose III may have inspired Hatshepsut' s supporters to move her mummy to a safer location.

Really we found her... Mystery mummy is lost female pharoah. She use to dress like a man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy. Reason behind it as said that her stepson (Thutmose III) damage all trace after her death. Statues and monuments to her were destroyed and she was written out of the official histories.

Hatshepsut was behind of this Discovered in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until two months ago, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said. DNA bone samples taken from the mummy's pelvic bone and femur are being compared with the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut's grandmother, Amos Nefreteri, said molecular geneticist Yehia Zakaria Gad, who was part of Hawass' team."

Hatshepsut is really the one, that is good for the world of History to add her and give her due back as adding her in our world history page.

Interface Announces Pending Sale of Its Fabrics Division

Interface, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFSIA), a worldwide floorcoverings and fabrics company, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its fabrics division in an all-cash transaction valued at up to $70 million. The division, known as InterfaceFABRIC, is a leading producer of interior fabrics and upholstery products, which it markets under the Guilford of Maine(R), Chatham(R) and Terratex(R) brands, and provides specialized automotive textile solutions.

The fabrics division will be sold to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, a leading private investment firm. According to the terms of the agreement, Interface will receive approximately $63.5 million in cash proceeds at the closing of the transaction, with potential for an additional $6.5 million in cash proceeds, subject to the division meeting certain performance metrics over the subsequent six to eighteen months period. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter, subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be accretive to Interface's results by approximately $0.05 to $0.08 per diluted share on an annualized basis. In the second quarter of 2007, the Company expects to reflect the fabrics division as discontinued operations in its financial statements, and record an after-tax, non-cash loss of approximately $9.0 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, as well as other after-tax exit costs and expenses estimated at $5.0 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, as a result of the transaction (of these exit costs and expenses, the Company estimates that between $3.8 million to $6.0 million represent pre-tax cash costs and expenses). The final loss and expenses related to the disposition will be determined after the closing of the transaction based upon the closing balance sheet of the division.

For the full year 2006, the fabrics division generated revenue of $161.2 million and an operating loss of $27.3 million, and had depreciation and amortization of $9.4 million. These full year 2006 results include the operations of Interface's former European fabrics business, which was sold in April 2006. The divested European fabrics business accounted for sales of $17.3 million and an operating loss (after a $20.7 million goodwill impairment charge) of $19.6 million in 2006.

Source: Interface, Inc.