vaibhav1971’s blog

Over the years America has been dominating the air as well as the seas with its vast number of fighter jets and unbeatable carrier fleet. No other nation has been successful to beat its super carriers and fighter jets over the past decades. But with China’s development of the Dongfeng 21D Chinese Missiles, things are expected to change now.

The DongFeng 21D is a missile that could be launched from land and has the ability of accurately hitting and destroying moving super carriers up to more than 900 miles away. Basically, it is anti-ship ballistic missile and said to be the first of its kind in the world. The DongFeng 21D is the latest from China’s DongFeng 21 which apparently is a two–stage propellant as well as single-warhead medium range ballistic missile system developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology Academy.

The DF 21 is originally created for strategic missions, but later versions turns out to be designed for both nuclear as well as conventional missions. And apparently, the DongFeng 21D is the latest variant from the DF 21 system and according to some reports China is still in the process of perfecting the 21D and final testing of the missile is scheduled by the end of this year.

The development of DongFeng 21D could transform China’s position in the Pacific balance of power and could significantly weaken Washington’s ability to interfere in any conflict between Taiwan and North Korea. With the DongFeng 21 D, US ships will also find some difficulty to get to international waters near China. Beijing has been widely vocal with its demand for the US to stay away from China’s territorial waters.

But some experts find it a little doubtful for China’s ability to perfect the Dongfeng 21D specifically pertaining to having that kind of accuracy in hitting a moving super carrier. And despite China’s effort, it would take some time for China to be able to catch up against US carriers.

A version of the Dongfeng 21D missile has been shown in the Chinese military parade held last year. If the Dongfeng 21 D could really do what it promises to do, even if it will not really match up the amazing fleet US has, US will still find it difficult to penetrate the international waters near its territory.

How long will it take for China to perfect the Dongfeng 21D? Will the Dongfeng 21D give China the ultimate power in the Pacific region? These questions are yet to be answered.

As society advances people seem more and more drawn to the sky and build their homes higher and higher, but you’ll be surprised to know somewhere in Africa some people choose to live underground.


Matmata village

In Tunisia, 450 km south of the capital of Tunis, lies the small but impressive village of Matmata, the largest community of troglodytes (people who live in caves) in the world. The name Matmata comes from the Berber tribe that lives in this area of the country.

The history of how and why this place was first built is unknown but instead there are many stories regarding its beginnings. The most popular one says Matmata was born a long time ago, shortly after the Punic Wars, when the Romans sent two Egyptian tribes to the region and gave them permission to slaughter the locals and make the land their own. The original inhabitants left their homes and fled to the desert where they built new ones into the ground. They would leave their well disguised homes at night and attack the invaders until they managed to drive them away.


Matmata house

Other stories say this ancient settlement was born 700 hundred years ago when the people just couldn’t handle the burning sun. The whole village turned into an underground labyrinth where the homes were linked through intricate tunnels. The temperature inside one of these troglodyte homes remains constantly between 20-22 degrees Celcius during both summer and winter.


Matmata settlement

One of the most amazing things about Matmata is that although it has been around for at least 1000 years, no one even knew it existed until 1967 when heavy rain flooded the troglodytes’ homes and they were forced to send a delegation to ask the authorities for help. Many underground houses collapsed but with the help of the state, new surface residences were built. Now there are only around 100 dug-homes but they are enough to draw in hundreds of tourists from all around the world, every day.


View of Matmata

Now you might say to your self: “this place looks familiar”, and if you are a Star Wars fan, you would be right. This is the place where George Lucas shot the scenes set on planet Tatooine where Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru used to live. In fact if you’re interested in experiencing the troglodyte way of life you can rent a room at the Sidi Driss hotel, it’s surprisingly comfortable and it has served as a set in the science-fiction blockbuster.


Matmata home

Dreams of establishing a manned Moon base could become reality within two decades after India's first lunar mission found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface.

Data from Chandrayaan-1 also suggests that water is still being formed on the Moon. Scientists said the breakthrough ? to be announced by Nasa at a press conference ? would change the face of lunar exploration.





The discovery is a significant boost for India in its space race against China. Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission's project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, said: "It's very satisfying."





“The observations presented here show a combination of hydroxyl, OH (oxygen hydrogen molecules), and H2O (water) that resides in the upper few millimeters of the lunar surface,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division. “The average amount of water reported, if we were to extract it, is about a quart of water per ton (of surface soil).”
To put it another way, he said, about 16 ounces of water might be present for every 1,000 pounds of surface soil near the moon’s poles. For soil near the equator, only about two tablespoons of water is believed to be present in every 1,000 pounds.







Early results from Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) recorded temperatures as low as -238C (minus 396.4F) in polar craters on the Moon, according to the journal Nature. That makes them the coldest recorded spots in the solar system, even colder than the surface of Pluto, and could mean that ice has been trapped for billions of years, the journal said. The LRO has also detected an abundance of hydrogen, thought to be a key indicator of ice, at the poles.

Sultan Kosen, a former basketball player from Turkey, has been acknowledged as the world's tallest man, by the Guinness Book of Records.

26-year-old Kosen is 2 meters 46.5 cm tall and he also holds the record for the world's biggest hands (27.5 cm) and the world's biggest feet (36.5 cm). He grew as a normal child until he turned 10, then, due to a dysfunctional pituitary gland, his body developed at an accelerated rate.

During the presentation of the 2010 Guinness Book of Records, in London, Sultan Kosen declared he hopes this new found fame will make him more successful with the ladies. Because of his unusual stature, women have always been afraid of him, but now he hopes he will finally find his soul-mate and get married.

The former world's tallest man, Ukrainian Leonid Stadnyk, allegedly measures 2.57 meters, but refused to have his height officially measured, saying fame brought him nothing but problems and he needs peace and quiet.

BAHRAIN STARTS WORK ON $3B CAUSEWAY

The Bahrain Government said that the new $3bn Friendship Causeway, linking the country with Qatar will be the LONGEST IN THE WORLD. The new causeway, construction work for which has already started, is expected to boost the economy of the island nation.

Billed as world’s logest causeway, the new link will be one of the most important infrastructure projects in the region. Once the bridge is completed in about four years time, it will boast more than 40km of twin carriageway, running across 22km of viaductsover the sea and 18km of embarkments.

Travel time between Bahrain and Qatar by car at an speed of 120km per hour will be reduced to 30 minutes from the current four-and-a half hours.

This new link will help boost Bahrain’s role as an ideal access point for international companies to develop their business in Gulf region.

Bahrain has a strong history of working closely with neighbours and it is already linked by the very successful KING FAHAD CAUSEWAY to Saudi Arabia. The completion of these second causeway will be a welcome addition to Bahrain’s impressive air, sea and road links and will provide new opportunities for companies based in Bahrain to further develop their business, not only in Qatar but right across the GCC.

The causeway will also provide a connection for future high-speed freight and passenger rail lines between the countries. There are also plans to extend the route to link Istanbul, Turkey and Muscat in Oman.

EMMAR TO BUILD WORLDS TALLEST TOWER IN SAUDI

Emmar Properties, which is already building the worlds tallest skyscraper in Dubai, has won a chance to outdo itself with a tower rising to a height of  more than 1,000 meters - this one in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Kingdom holding company, a Saudi property company, announced on Saturday that it has picked Emmar to build a 100 billion Riyal (26.6 billion $) mixed use real estate project called Jeddah Kingdom City and Kingdom Tower, outside the Red Sea City of Jeddah. The tower will be “the highest in the world” Kingdom said in a news release.

Kingdom Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his Emmar Counterpart Mohammed bin Ali Al Abbar signed a joint venture agreement for the project on Saturday.

Emmar is building Burj Dubai an 800 meter-high tower that now ranks as the worlds talles man made structure.

Mr Singh's Team Mix of Young and Old

Team Manmohan was finally inducted Thursday with 34 Cabinet Ministers and 45 ministers of State taking  oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan to wrap up the 79 member council of ministers.

9 women find place in the Council of Ministers whose average age is 57.

The youngest is Agatha Sangma, the last to take oath who is 27 and the oldest at 77 is External Affairs Minister

INDIAN COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

CABINET MINISTERS

1. Manmohan Singh ' Prime Minister


2. Pranab Mukherjee ' Minister of Finance


3. P. Chidambaram ' Minister of Home Affairs


4. A. K. Antony ' Minister of Defence


5. S. M. Krishna ' Minister of External Affairs


6. Mamata Banerjee ' Minister of Railways


7. Sharad Pawar ' Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Relations


8. Virbhadra Singh ' Minister of Steel


9. Vilasrao Deshmukh ' Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises


10. Ghulam Nabi Azad ' Minister of Health and Family Welfare


11. Sushil Kumar Shinde ' Minister of Power


12. M. Veerrappa Moily ' Minister of Law and Justice


13. Farooq Abdullah ' Minister of New and Renewable Energy


14. S. Jaipal Reddy ' Minister of Urban Development


15. Kamal Nath ' Minister of Road Transport nad High Ways


16. Vayalar Ravi ' Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs


17. Meira Kumar ' Minister of Water Resources


18. Dayanidhi Maran ' Minister of Textiles


19. A Raja ' Minister of Communications and Information Technology


20. Murli Deora ' Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas


21. Ambika Soni ' Minister of Information and Broadcasting


22. Mallikarjun Kharge ' Minister of Labour and Employment


23. Kapil Sibal ' Minister of Human Resource Development


24. B. K. Handique ' Minister of Mines and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region


25. Anand Sharma ' Minister of Commerce and Industry


26. P. Joshi ' Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Panchayati Raj


27. Selja ' Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Minister of Tourism


28. M. S. Gill ' Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports


29. Subodh Kant Sahay ' Minister of Food Processing Industries


30. G. K. Vasan ' Minister of Shipping


31. Pawan K. Bansal ' Minister of Parliamentary Affairs


32. Mukul Wasnik ' Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment


33. M. K. Alagiri ' Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers

MINISTERS OF STATE WITH INDEPENDENT CHARGE

1. Praful Patel ' Civil Aviation


2. Prithviraj Chavan ' Science and Technology; Earth Science; and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office; Minister of State in the Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.


3. Sriprakash Jaiswal ' Coal; Statistics and Programme Implementation


4. Salman Khursheed ' Corporate Affairs; Minority Affairs


5. Dinsha J. Patel ' Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises


6. Krishna Tirath ' Women and Child Development


7. Jairam Ramesh ' Environment Affairs

MINISTERS OF STATE

1. Srikant Jena ' Chemicals and Fertilizers


2. E. Ahamed ' Railways


3. Mullappally Ramchandran ' Home Affairs


4. V. Naransamy ' Planning; Parliamentary Affairs


5. Jyotiraditya Scindia ' Commerce and Industry


6. D. Purandeswari ' Human Resource Development


7. K. H. Muniyappa ' Railways


8. Ajay Maken ' Home Affairs


9. Panabaka Lakshmi ' Textiles


10. Namo Narain Meena ' Finance


11. M. M. Pallam Raju ' Defence


12. Saugata Ray ' Urban Development


13. S. S. Palanimanickam ' Finance


14. Jitin Prasad ' Petroleum and Natural Gas


15. A. Sai Pratap ' Steel


16. Preeneet Kaur ' External Affairs


17. Gurudas Kamat ' Communications and Information Technology


18. Harish Rawat ' Labour and Employment


19. K. V. Thomas ' Agriculture; Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution


20. Bharatsinh Solanki ' Power


21. Mahadev S. Khandela ' Road Transport and Highways


22. Dinesh Trivedi ' Helth and Family Welfare


23. Sisir Adhikari ' Rural Development


24. Mukul Roy ' Shipping


25. Sultan Ahmed ' Tourism


26. Mohan Jatua ' Information and Broadcasting


27. D Napoleon ' Social Justice and Empowerment


28. S. Jagthrakshakan ' Information and Broadcasting


29. S. Gandhiselvan ' Health and Family Welfare


30. Tusharbhai Chaudhary ' Tribal Affairs


31. Sachin Pilot ' Communications and Information Technology


32. Arun Yadav ' Youth affairs and Sports


33. Pratik Prakashbapu Patil ' Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises


34. R. P. N. Singh ' Road Transport and Highways


35. Shashi Tharoor ' External Affairs


36. Vincent Pala ' Water Resources


37. Pradeep Jain ' Rural development


38. Agatha Sangama ' Rural development

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Dear fiends above information has been gathered from various sources due to which there is a possibility of having errors in it. In case there are any corrections please feel free to communicate.

Thanks

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SWINE FLUE

While there have been a number of outbreaks of the new strain of swine flu, there also have emerged a whole gamut of misinformation. Now, scientists have elaborated exactly what one needs to know about this new epidemic.

Infectious disease expert Charles Ericsson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of Travel Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has answered some questions regarding swine flu, which are as follows:

1. How do symptoms of swine flu differ from other types of flu?

None, really, although this flu might include gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhoea and vomiting), as well as the usual respiratory symptoms. The basic symptoms for swine flu are similar to the seasonal flu we are vaccinated for each year, which may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches, fatigue.

2. Is there medication for this?

Yes, Tamiflu or Relenza have shown to be effective against these recently reported strains of swine flu. Altogether, there are four anti-viral drugs that we commonly use to treat various strains of flu.

3. Is there a vaccine?

Not yet, but the CDC has this current strain of virus and will consider whether to add it to next year’s flu vaccine as time goes on.

4. Can I catch it from pigs?

No. This strain is one that is communicable through human-to-human contact. It is a mutated form of a swine virus.

5. Can I catch it from eating pork?

Absolutely not! Swine flu is not transmitted by food. It is not a so-called foodborne illness. Bacon, ham and other pork products are safe to eat, assuming they are prepared properly. An internal temperature of 160 degrees for cooked meat will kill any bacteria or virus.

Swine flu is transmitted by airborne droplets from an infected person’s sneeze or cough; or from germs on hands, or germ-laden surfaces. Eating pork will not give you swine flu any more than eating chicken will give you bird flu.

6. How does it cross from a pig to a human?

The swine virus mutates so that it can infect humans and be spread by humans.

7. Can it kill me?

Deaths have been reported from the Mexico City outbreak. So far the cases in the US have been mild and there have been no deaths as yet. But, like seasonal flu, there is the potential for serious outcomes.

8. How is it different from avian (bird) flu?

Avian flu so far has had difficulty infecting humans unless they are exposed intensely to birds, because the virus has not mutated in a way that makes it transmissible by humans to other humans. This virus has origins genetically from both pigs and birds, and the big difference from the avian flu is that this swine virus can be transmitted readily from human to human.

9. What if I’m on a plane? Should I wear a mask?

Not necessary. The air on a plane is filtered. Transmission might occur if someone sitting close to you coughs or sneezes on you. The newer designs of aircraft airflow keep the air in a top-down flow, not forced air from front to back. However, if you do have a respiratory illness, it might be best not to travel.

10. Other than hand washing and covering my mouth if I sneeze or cough, what can I do to take care of myself and others?

If you are ill, stay home. Control your sneezes and coughs. If you cough into your hand, remember the virus could be live on your hand at least for a few minutes, so wash your hands before touching anyone else.

If you get symptoms suggesting the flu, call your doctor, who can call in a prescription for medication to treat the flu. Resist going to the doctor’s office or a hospital ER for influenza symptoms unless you are seriously ill. You do not want to spread the disease to others.

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China’s CRH2
A list of the fastest trains in the world from China’s CRH2 to France’s TGV! CHINA’s CRH2 is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is a modified E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design, and represents the second Shinkansen train model to be exported, the other being the 700T series for Taiwan High Speed Rail.

TAIWAN ’s THSR
The Taiwan High Speed Rail is a high-speed rail network that runs along the west coast of Taiwan. It is approximately 335.50 kilometers (208 mi), and runs from Taipei City to Kaohsiung City. It began operation on January 5, 2007.

KOREA ’s KTX
The Korea Train eXpress (KTX) is South Korea’s high-speed rail system. It is operated by Korail. The train’s technology is largely based on the French TGV system, and has a top speed of 350 km/h, limited to 300 km/h during regular service for safety. On December 16, 2004, the Korean-made HSR-350x achieved an experimental top speed of 352.4 kilometers per hour.

JAPAN ’s SHINKANZEN
Japan’s main island Honshu is covered by a network of high speed train lines that connect Tokyo with most of the island’s major cities and Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu. Japan’s high speed trains (bullet trains) are called shinkansen and are operated by Japan Railways, often abbreviated as JR.

SPAIN ’s AVE
AVE, an acronym for Alta Velocidad Espa�ola (literally, “Spanish High Speed,” but also a play on the word ave, meaning “bird” in Spanish), is a service of high speed trains operating at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on dedicated track in Spain.

Eurostar is a high-speed train service in Western Europe connecting London and Kent in the United Kingdom, with Paris and Lille in France, and Brussels in Belgium. In addition, there are limited services from London to Disneyland Resort Paris (Gare de Marne-la-Vall�e - Chessy) and seasonal destinations in France. Trains cross the English Channel through the Channel Tunnel.

FRANCE ‘ TGV
The TGV (train � grande vitesse, French for “high-speed train”) is France’s high-speed rail service developed by GEC-Alsthom (now Alstom) and SNCF, the French national rail operator, and operated primarily by SNCF. Following the inaugural TGV service between Paris and Lyon in 1981, the TGV network, centred on Paris, has expanded to connect cities across France and in adjacent countries. It holds the record for the fastest wheeled train, having reached 574.8 km/h (357 mph) on 3 April 2007,and also holds the world’s highest average speed for a regular passenger service. TGV is a registered trademark of SNCF.