Diwali, Celebrated for various reasons in various parts of the world. The common message in all reasons will be the victory of Good powers over the Evil. In south India Diwali is celebrated with a purana of Victory over Narakasura by Vishnu and bhooma devi. In North India Diwali is celebrated as two days named chota diwali (small diwali) and Bada Diwali or actual Diwali. There it will be celebrated as the return of Ram after the 14 years of Vanavasa and as a remark of his victory over Ravana. In Kolkata Diwali is celebrated with more enthusiasm as the victory of Durga over the evil powers.
Diwali is Celebrated with the help of lights, It is called as the festival of Lights. The Lights which we lit on Diwali is basically to remove the darkness of the world and the darkness of our mind. Light which is the source of life is celebrated and we opens the mind for light to remove the darkness which is in our Human Minds.
Diwali Celebration is done with fireworks in various parts of India, Sivakasi will be busy for Some three months before the diwali because of the purchase of firecrackers and other things.
Now due to the wide spread of Indians all over the world various goverment including US europe, Canada and east asian countries are celebrating Diwali in their country. Now Diwali is a world Festival which spreads the message of victory over the evil powers. This time US is also in celebration mood because US population crossed 300 Million
Enjoy Diwali with care.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Diwali - Victory of Good over Evil
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Be patient with Sania Mirza
Be patient with Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza needs not be disheartened by the criticisms her inconsistent performance draws. She has the whole-hearted support of Vijay Amritraj.
Amritraj insists there is no reason to write Sania off right now. "It is very tough out there and sania mirza has done remarkably well in the last three-four years. Now sania mirza needs support from all quarters to keep going. I would ask people not to go by her performance in a tournament. Rather, wait for the full season to get over," he said. "Sania mirza has done a brilliant job and inspired a whole generation of youngsters, which is fantastic for women's tennis in the country," he added.
Amritraj admitted Sania mirza has been inconsistent but argued she was not the first player to struggle. "Consistency has always been an issue in tennis, or any other sport for that matter. Not everyone can play like Roger Federer. He plays his matches on a different planet. It is important to look at one whole season. I think if you do well in five-six tournaments a year, that's quite good," he explained.
He also refused to read much into the fact that Sania mirza beat Martina Hingis in Seoul and then lost to a lower-ranked player in Tashkent. "I don't see any problem with her. Yes Sania mirza has had some defeats against lower-ranked players but again; Sania is not the first player to suffer. None questions Rafael Nadal when he lost to a lowly player. But why isn't anyone doing the same with Sania mirza? But yes, you have to play better in bigger tournaments because points are heavily loaded in (Grand) Slams, Masters and Tier-I tournaments," he added.
Amritraj, who led India to two Davis Cup finals, however, kept mum on Mahesh Bhupathi's refusal to play for the country. He admitted that there exists a huge gap between Sania mirza and the rest of the upcoming players.
Chinese Name confusion
Good Wan! (Good One!)!!
Chinese Name confusion.
Caller: Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan ?
Operator: Yes, you can speak to me.
Caller: No, I want to speak to Annie Wan!
Operator: Yes I understand you want to speak to anyone. You can speak to me. Who is this?
Caller: I'm Sam Wan. And I need to talk to Annie Wan! It's urgent.
Operator: I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone ! But what's this urgent matter about?
Caller: Well... just tell my sister Annie Wan that our brother Noe Wan was involved in an accident. Noe Wan got injured and now Noe Wan is being sent to the hospital..
Operator : Look, if no one was injured and no one was sent to the hospital, then the accident isn't an urgent matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!
Caller: You are so rude! Who are you?
Operator: I'm Saw Ree.
Caller: Yes! You should be sorry . Now give me your name!!
Operator: That's what I said. I'm Saw Ree .
Caller: Oh.....God.......
I can sleep when the wind blows
I can Sleep when the wind blows
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows."
This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace.
The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements.
The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man's words, "I can sleep when the wind blows."
Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. So when the wind blew, he was not afraid. He could sleep in peace.
It´s a 300 million Country
U.S. population hits 300 million mark
Today US Population officially hit 300 million landmark at 7:46 a.m EDT tuesday, The US Census bureau's population clock rolled over a big number.
It must be celebrated with fireworks and festivity celebration but in US there was no wild celebration, fireworks or any other goverment sponsored hoopla to mark the US Population milestone. Many experts still believes that the US Population mark of 300 Million has hit some months ago. So they are not in a mood of celebration.
"I don't think anybody believes it will be the precise moment when the population hits 300 million," Howard Hogan, the Census Bureau's associate director for demographic programs, said in an interview before the milestone was reached. But, he added, "We're confident that we're somewhat close."
It's not easy estimating the exact number of people in a country with the size of United states. If we count illegal immigration it gets complicated in counting the exact number of the US Population. This is another reason for federal goverement to let the US Population landmark to pass quietly.
During 1967 when the US Population officially hit 200 million, President Johnson held a news conference in commerce department about the challenges ahead. Life magazine dispatched photogaphers to find the 200th million Baby which was born at the exact moment. The Baby which was born on Atlanta has finally discovered as 200th Million US Population and citizen.
This year, there's a good chance the 300 millionth American has already walked across the border from Mexico.It's a couple of weeks before an election when illegal immigration is a high-profile issue and they don't want to make a big deal out of it, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
We should all feel good
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the Bush administration isn't playing down the milestone, though he said he had no plans for Tuesday. Census Bureau employees planned to mark the moment Tuesday afternoon with cake and punch.
I would hate to thiok uhat we are going to be low key about this, said Gutierrez, whose department oversees the Census Bureau. I would hope that we make a big deal about it.
Gutierrez said America's growing population is good for the economy. He noted that Japan and some European countries expect to lose population in the next few decades, raising concerns that there won't be enough young people entering the work force to support aging populations.
This is one more area where we seem to have an advantage, Gutierrez said. We should all feel good about reaching this milestone.The U.S. adds about 2.8 million people a year, for a growth rate of less than 1 percent. About 40 percent of the growth comes from immigration. The rest comes from births outnumbering deaths.
The Census Bureau counts the population every 10 years. In between, it uses administrative records and surveys to estimate monthly averages for births, deaths and net immigration. The bureau has a population clock that estimates a birth every seven seconds, a death every 13 seconds and a new immigrant every 31 seconds. Add it together and you get one new American every 11 seconds.
Most likely Hispanic The 300 millionth American — born months ago or on Tuesday — is probably Hispanic because they are the fastest growing demographic group in the U.S., Frey said.Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, said the Census Bureau has improved its population estimates in the past few years, but it still undercounts illegal immigrants.
There are an estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. Experts differ on the specifics, but many estimate that more than 1 million of them don't show up in census figures.
The census clearly misses people, said Passel, a former Census Bureau employee who used to help estimate the undercount. Having said that, when they crossed 200 million, they were missing about 5 million people. We think the 2000 census missed a lot less than 5 million people.
What is the exact time when India crossed 1 billion Indian Population.. Any anwers..
Source : Wih inputs from MSN News
Snipes Charged With Federal Tax Fraud
Snipes Charged With Federal Tax Fraud
Wesley Snipes (44) also failed to fine the tax returns for half dozen years was also indicated at Tampa. Federal procecutors said, Wesley snipes claimed refunds of nearly 12 million US Dollars i 1996 and 1997. This is also charged him with failure to file returns between 2000 to 2004.
According to the indictment, Snipes had his taxes prepared by accountants with a history of filing false returns to reap payments for their clients. As part of the deal, the indictment alleges, the firm, American Rights Litigators, would receive 20 percent of refunds from clients.
Snipes faces a maximum of 16 years in prison. Snipes, who had a home in Windermere, Fla., has not been arrested because authorities don't know where he is, the IRS said.
In 2002, the Justice Department sued a Florida tax preparer who it said filed bogus tax refund claims, including a $7.3 million demand for Snipes.
Snipes was not named as a defendant in that case, but the lawsuit said the preparer's largest claim was an amended income tax return filed on behalf of the actor and dated April 14, 2001. The return requested a $7,360,755 refund for taxes paid in 1997. The return said that Snipes' adjusted gross income was zero, according to the lawsuit.
It said the preparer, Douglas P. Rosile Sr., told clients that only income from foreign sources was subject to taxation. The resolution of that lawsuit could not be immediately determined.
Snipes is the star of the star of the "Blade" trilogy and as well as films such as Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever," and the 1992 blockbuster, "White Men Can't Jump."
In 2005, South Africa refused to admit him after officials said he tried to enter the country with a forged passport.
Some shots of Wesley Snipes
Monday, October 16, 2006
From Chinese jail to Miss Tibet! Its A girl dream
From Chinese jail to Miss Tibet! Its A girl dream
Three years ago, at the tender age of 17, Metok Lhazey sat in solitary confinement in a pitch dark, filthy and horribly cramped Chinese prison cell in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. This weekend, the nervous 20-year-old is dreaming about being crowned Miss Tibet in a small but controversial beauty pageant held by Tibetan refugees in northern India.
"My main motive is to push the Tibetan cause all over the world, because I know what is going on in Tibet," she told Reuters in her hotel room as she prepared for the contest, plastic beads in her hair and blue bangles on her wrists.
The Miss Tibet beauty pageant is in its fifth year, a budget contest in small town of McLeodganj that attracts only a handful of contestants but plenty of controversy.This year, a cosmeticist from Toronto in Canada, two students from India and one from Nepal make up the field.
Not surprisingly, the contest has irritated the Chinese, whose troops entered Tibet in 1950 and abhor the refugees "splittist" agenda.The reigning Miss Tibet was forced to withdraw from medium-level beauty pageants in Zimbabwe and Malaysia last year after objections from the Chinese, organizers say.
It has also irked conservative Tibetan Buddhists -- the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile here once famously called it "un-Tibetan" and "aping Western culture." This year it even managed to irritate the Indians -- one young woman serving with a high-altitude Tibetan unit in the Indian army was forced to withdraw on the eve of the contest.
In an attempt to generate a little more publicity, the organizers threw the controversial "swimwear round" open for public viewing for the first time this year.The Tibetan Womens Association expresses the ambivalence of many older Tibetans.
Anything that promotes the Tibetan cause is worth supporting, says president B. Tsering, even if she draws the line at Tibetan girls parading around in bikinis to a crowd of leering men."There are a few things we can take from other cultures, and some we can make do without," she said.
In truth, the girls looked a bit uncomfortable as they came on stage in bikinis Friday and were then presented with a microphone to talk politics and Tibet. But they all insist they are happy to demonstrate they have the body of a beauty queen.
TIBETAN CULTURE CHANGING
"Culture is not like stagnant water that remains in a pool," Lhazey said. "It is like a flowing river, it keeps on evolving, and Tibetan women should go along with this."Lhazey first fled Tibet in 1999, making the grueling trek across the Himalayas near the route where at least one refugee girl was reportedly shot by Chinese border guards last month.
She returned to Lhasa when her father grew ill, but did not make it in time to see him before he died. Instead she says she spent three weeks in small jails at Chinese checkpoints on the road to Lhasa, often beaten as she was interrogated about her links to the government-in-exile in India.Later she was jailed for more than a month in Lhasa before escaping again two years ago.
With her solid cheekbones and rosy cheeks she seems the most "Tibetan" of the girls. She is the only one who does not speak English, and the only one who has experienced what Tibetans call "the atrocities of Chinese rule" at first hand. But this might not be enough to secure the title, against more polished entrants who grew up abroad and who knew better how to get a rowdy, mainly male audience on their sides.
Still, she says she is having the time of her life. "When I was a child I learned so much about happiness and sadness," she said. "It is very important to experience everything. Today I am very happy."
Source Yahoo news