The Lamborghini Gallardo, built by the Italian car making company Lamborghini, is a dream car for the young generation. Gallardo is the most produced model till today from Lamborghini, which was designed as a competitor to the Ferrari 360, and now competes with its replacement, the Ferrari F430.

The 2009 model from Gallardo is called LP560-4, where “560” part of the name represents its horsepower, and the “4” designation indicates all-wheel-drive.
The engine not only gains power and displacement, it also features a new “Iniezione Diretta Stratificata” direct injection system. Despite its clearly increased output, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been reduced by a staggering 18 percent.
The automated e-gear transmission has been completely redesigned for the LP560. Gear change time reduced by 40 percent, and the driver may choose between five different driving and changing programs. The most performance-oriented “CORSA” setting not only affects shift speed — it also directs the engine for maximum acceleration. The ‘Thrust Mode’ ensures maximum acceleration from neutral while the angle of the throttle valve and the clutch are optimized.
The Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 at a glance:

Base Price:                                 $198,000
Drivetrain:                                 4-Wheel Drive
Curb Weight (lbs)                    3307
City (MPG)                                  12
City (MPG)                                  14
Hwy (MPG)                                 20
Horsepower                               553 @ 8000
Torque (lb-ft)                            398 @ 6500
Wheelbase (in.)                        100.8
Length (in.)                                171.1
Width (in.)                                  74.8
Height (in.)                                 45.9

View more pictures of Lamborghini Gallardo 560-4 at Photo Gallery

When some one works on a website design, it is important that the look will remain same in all browsers. But creating a consistent interface for users is a constant struggle for every application designer. Building consistency on the web is especially tough because the visual rendering differences across browsers and operating systems are wildly different and almost arbitrary in what can and cannot be done.

As is, the input with the type=”submit” is either too ugly (Firefox), a little buggy (Internet Explorer) or completely inflexible (Safari). I tried a lot to make them look same in all the browsers, but couldn’t find any easy way. Finally, I have got the solution form one of my friends, Mr. Kevin Hale. In one of his tutorials, he showed how easily we can do it by using images and a little trick with css.

Here I want to share the technique, if anybody finds it helpful, then let me know, I will try to come with some more examples in the future.

In this example, the first one acts as a submit button, while the other two work as links. You can change them according to what you want.

The HTML Part:

<form name="form1" method="post" action="">
<div class="buttons">
    <button type="submit" class="positive" name="save">
        <img src="images/apply2.png" alt=""/>
        Save
    </button>

    <a href="" class="regular"><!-- class="regular"-->
        <img src="images/textfield_key.png" alt=""/>
        Change Password
    </a>

    <a href="#" class="negative">
        <img src="images/cross.png" alt=""/>
        Cancel
    </a>
</div>
</form>

The CSS Part:

.buttons a, .buttons button{
    display:block;
    float:left;
    margin:0 7px 0 0;
    background-color:#f5f5f5;
    border:1px solid #dedede;
    border-top:1px solid #eee;
    border-left:1px solid #eee;

    font-family:"Lucida Grande", Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;
    font-size:12px;
    line-height:130%;
    text-decoration:none;
    font-weight:bold;
    color:#565656;
    cursor:pointer;
    padding:5px 10px 6px 7px; /* Links */
}
.buttons button{
    width:auto;
    overflow:visible;
    padding:4px 10px 3px 7px; /* IE6 */
}
.buttons button[type]{
    padding:5px 10px 5px 7px; /* Firefox */
    line-height:17px; /* Safari */
}
*:first-child+html button[type]{
    padding:4px 10px 3px 7px; /* IE7 */
}
.buttons button img, .buttons a img{
    margin:0 3px -3px 0 !important;
    padding:0;
    border:none;
    width:16px;
    height:16px;
}

/* STANDARD */

button:hover, .buttons a:hover{
    background-color:#dff4ff;
    border:1px solid #c2e1ef;
    color:#336699;
}
.buttons a:active{
    background-color:#6299c5;
    border:1px solid #6299c5;
    color:#fff;
}

/* POSITIVE */

button.positive, .buttons a.positive{
    color:#529214;
}
.buttons a.positive:hover, button.positive:hover{
    background-color:#E6EFC2;
    border:1px solid #C6D880;
    color:#529214;
}
.buttons a.positive:active{
    background-color:#529214;
    border:1px solid #529214;
    color:#fff;
}

/* NEGATIVE */

.buttons a.negative, button.negative{
    color:#d12f19;
}
.buttons a.negative:hover, button.negative:hover{
    background:#fbe3e4;
    border:1px solid #fbc2c4;
    color:#d12f19;
}
.buttons a.negative:active{
    background-color:#d12f19;
    border:1px solid #d12f19;
    color:#fff;
}

/* REGULAR */

button.regular, .buttons a.regular{
    color:#336699;
}
.buttons a.regular:hover, button.regular:hover{
    background-color:#dff4ff;
    border:1px solid #c2e1ef;
    color:#336699;
}
.buttons a.regular:active{
    background-color:#6299c5;
    border:1px solid #6299c5;
    color:#fff;
}

See the demo

Today, feeding children is based on concerns about heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure. There is reason to be concerned. More than 20 percent of Western children are overweight with a good chance that 50 to 70 percent of them will remain overweight as adults. It is important for parents to set good examples of healthful eating.

Research shows that children develop eating habits similar to those of their parents. While it is a parent’s job to provide balanced selections from the five food groups, children can be allowed a certain amount of freedom to choose what and how much they eat. Poor eating habits and craving for sugar snacks and fatty foods may develop if parents fail to direct the decision making process. Remember that the issue isn’t “good foods” versus “bad foods”.

If children balk at food put before them, don’t worry. Studies show children will, over time, eat the amount of food that is right for them if they are offered healthful choices. You can’t expect a child to want to eat broccoli if chips are offered, or drink milk or orange juice when parents are drinking sodas. Of course, an occasional high fat food, gooey dessert, sugary snack, or soda is permissible, provided they are not substitutes for nutritious foods. Parents can make eating a pleasure for the entire family by helping create positive attitudes about food that will lead to a lifetime of good health.

What are the five food groups, and how can we help the entire family eat a balanced diet? The food guide pyramid on this page shows how to select a balanced diet and how to teach your child to make wise choices. How many servings do you need each day?

Calorie level 1,600(Many women and older adults)
2,200(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
2,800(Teen boys and active men)

Bread Group Servings 6(Many women and older adults)
9(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
11(Teen boys and active men)

Vegetable Group Serving 3(Many women and older adults)
4(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
5(Teen boys and active men)
Fruit Group Servings 2(Many women and older adults)
3(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
4(Teen boys and active men)

Milk Group serving 2-3(Many women and older adults)
2-3(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
2-3(Teen boys and active men)

Meat Group Servings 2, for a total of 5 ounces (Many women and older adults)
2, for a total of 6 ounces (Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
3 for a total of 7 ounces(Teen boys and active men)

Total Fat (grams) 53(Many women and older adults)
73(Children, teen girls, active women and most men)
93((Teen boys and active men)

These are the calorie levels if you choose low fat.lean foods from the 5 major food groups and use foods from the fats, oils, and sweets group sparingly. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings. A balanced diet includes food from each of the following food groups:
1. Grains (bread, cereal, rice, and pasta);
2. Fruit (fresh, dried, or unsweetened canned);
3. Vegetables (raw or lightly cooked);
4. Meat (meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, eggs, and nuts); and
5. Dairy (milk, yogurt, and cheese).
Offer your children nutritious choices for meals and snacks. This way you can help them control their own diet. For example, you might offer a choice of an apple, an orange, or a banana. With older children (aged 7 and up) you can start by planning a menu together, letting the children check to make sure it includes all five food groups.

Author: Iri McPhee

Australia have named their Twenty20 International and One Day International squads to play South Africa with an eye on the future.

Veteran opener Matthew Hayden has been left out with David Warner and Ryan Harris coming into the Twenty20 squad while Shaun Tait has been recalled to the ODI squad. “The announcement of these squads for the KFC Twenty20 Internationals and the Commonwealth Bank Series is a clear indication we are now in full-scale planning for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 ICC World Cup,” chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch commented. “Winning a fourth consecutive ICC World Cup and our first ICC Twenty20 title is an ambitious project. For this reason there will be very few players selected from this point that we can not see playing a role in achieving this goal.

“The omission of Matthew Hayden from the KFC Twenty20 and Commonwealth Bank Series squads is not a reflection on his performances in the recent Test series but rather a strategic decision made by the National Selection Panel as we plan for these signature events. His possible selection for the upcoming tour of South Africa will be discussed as with all players when we select a squad after the round of interstate matches at the beginning of February.”

Mitchell Johnson has been rested while Michael Clarke will sit out the Twenty20 Internationals after sustaining ligament damage to his right thumb in the final Test in Sydney.

Long-term injury had already ruled out Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson. The first Twenty20 takes place in Melbourne on January 11th before the first of five One Day Internationals is held on January 16th, also in Melbourne.

Australia Twenty20 squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Mike Hussey (vice-captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Shaun Tait, David Warner, Cameron White

Australia ODI squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke (vice-captain), Nathan Bracken, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Shaun Tait, Cameron White

Source:  Cricket World 2009

South Africa, who lost the opening match in Melbourne by 52 runs, make three changes to the line-up with Hashim Amla and Morne Morkel also selected.

Amla replaces Jacques Kallis at the top of the order and Morkel replaces Makhaya Ntini while Parnell is in the side at the expense of Melbourne debutant Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

“It was always our plan to give every player in the squad at least one match,” explained coach Mickey Arthur. “We will certainly need to continue rotating the bowlers at the least in the ODIs,” added Arthur.

“There is a lot of cricket coming up when we get home for the return series against Australia and we must take the anticipated workload of the bowlers into account and make sure that they are fresh and ready to go.”

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Mark Boucher, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Johan Botha (captain), Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn.

Diabetes has afflicted my life physically, emotionally and spiritually for the last sixteen years of my life. My wife of twelve years and daughter has had to live with an abnormal functioning husband and father. As the years went by as a diabetic, it became more and more difficult to control my blood sugar levels. My diet had to consist of a lot of calories because I have a fast metabolism and twenty pounds underweight. The increasing periods of uncontrolled blood sugar interfered with my thought processes at work and especially with my family.

The most detrimental effect of high blood sugar happened when I had to be hospitalized during the birth of my only daughter. My wife was hurt because it appeared that I purposely used the excuse of diabetes to not want to be with her for my daughter’s birth. It seemed I could never get close to anyone because I was living in a world of dysfunctional blood sugar all the time. I woke up in the morning with high blood sugar and grouchy. During the day it was a guessing game to keep my blood sugar at a normal level. I was always just getting by with life and never fully enjoying anything, not even a close relationship with God.

As the years went by, I became desperate and would buy a lot of products to help me try to manage my disease with no results. I could not afford health insurance and Doctor’s visits. This would always get me into trouble with my wife because we would fight about me not trusting God for the answer and wasting money. The people that would sell me products were out to take my money and take up too much of my personal time which took me away from my family.

One late evening after work, I vented my frustrations on a forum for diabetics. A response came back from Dr. Joseph Khoo from Singapore. Dr. Khoo approached me as a brother in Christ and offered me an herbal formula called Combetic on the honor system. I began taking Combetic with Dr. Khoo calling me on the phone everyday to make sure I was safely controlling my blood sugar. Having a new friend caring about me meant more to me than the remedy of my condition. After three days on Combetic, we had results and my hope grew by each passing week. I continued to decrease my insulin and I became an easier husband and father to live with. I could think better and I felt as though a fog had lifted off of me. My wife and I thanked God she had a husband to love. Dr. Khoo needed distributors for Combetic so we agreed to help as a team. Dr. Khoo visited us a few months later and we formed a corporation to market Combetic called Third Day Resources. We are now a growing team to help diabetics get freedom from the imprisonment diabetes causes. Diabetics can now go to: http://www.thirddayresources.com to get informed about diabetes and order Combetic. Dr. Khoo and professional staff offers free consultation in order to provide safe effective advice for every diabetic needing freedom from the “prison” of high blood sugar so they can get back to their lives and their families.

Author: Robin Roberts,  Source: healthlibrary

Over the years there has been lots of discussion in the SEO community regarding building links to a web site. The debate is particularly heated at the moment, as Google rolls out its “Jagger” upgrade.

Let’s start with what we mean by inbound links, also called backlinks. These are links from other sites to your URL, which direct the surfer directly to your site when the link is clicked. The basic premise is that if you have high ranking sites linking to you, then you must yourself be important and have valuable content, and hence you should rank highly. The way in which Google ranks sites is called Pagerank and can be seen as a green line on the Google Toolbar representing ranks 0 to 10. As Google states:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.”

Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank, which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don’t match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines all aspects of the page’s content (and the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if it’s a good match for your query.

So, back to the question “Does having inbound links to your site help your site’s credibility”, and hence visibility when searched. The broad answer to this question is “yes”, but with a number of very important caveats which we will cover in the other sections.

OK, so backlinks are basically good, especially from high ranking sites, so how do we get them? The first way, and best way, is by having such great content on your site that all these high-powered sites want to link to you. Downside to this method is that it is slow and takes lots of time and effort on your part. But don’t worry, when anyone tries to build a level playing field there are always people out there that will provide work-arounds.

The first one was reciprocal links, whereby you say that you will link to a site if they also link to you. That’s stretching the original idea, but it’s not too bad because how many of these sort of links are you going to set up? Well, actually, some people have created thousands of such links between sites, maybe not what Google initially intended!

But then, due to the emphasis Google placed on link popularity, the concept of link farms was born. These are sites that link to other sites purely to increase the links to the site. Pay a few dollars and get thousands of links to your site. Too good to be true - you bet. Google hates link farms and sees these links as spam and will actively penalise sites that use such links. So, the first rule of linking is do not use link farms. The second rule is do not use lots of reciprocal links, Google can easily check this and the “Jagger” update that is currently rolling out seems to be particularly focused on penalising sites with lots of reciprocal links. The jury is still out on whether “themed” links will be treated in the same way. “Themed” links are links to sites that are very closely aligned to the same primary topic as your own site. If you think about this, it makes a lot of sense and is much more likely to be based on real content-based linking.

We believe another area Google is focusing on is how quickly your site gains backlinks. If your site is one month old, it is hardly believable for it to gain 100 real backlinks in that time. So, the third rule of linking is to ensure your links build in a realistic way. In all of these ways, Google is trying to ensure fairness and that’s why new sites are often held back in the results pages.

Finally, we should mention the sites that will improve your ranking - the Directories. There are many of these, but the most important is DMOZ, also known as the ODP. DMOZ is the Open Directory Project and is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors. It gets the name DMOZ from the acronym for Directory Mozilla, as it is administered by Netscape Communication Corporation. It’s Pagerank is 9 and hence a link from DMOZ will help your site. We recommend that everyone visits http://dmoz.org and attempts to get listed, it’s free. The Yahoo directory is also important and free for non-commercial sites, but $299 a year for business.

So, in summary, by far the best way of getting links is by having a quality site that other people want to link to. So again, we are back to content. If you provide quality information, over time, more and more sites will link to you, and if they are in the same business sector as you, so much the better.

Originally written by John Fowler, Source: www.a1-optimization.com

Ghana is currently facing the threats of food insecurity. This is as a result of the low production of food crops and climatic changes that has hit the major food growing regions in the country. Major food crops growing areas like the Eastern and Brong Ahafo Regions of the country have already started recording increase in the prices of food items as a result low production.Already, there are signs that the food crisis will affect the entire world which developing countries like Ghana will be the worst hit. In view of that most rice producing countries have started reducing the number of rice they import to other countries. It is estimated that only 6% of global rice produced are exported.

Already, there are signs that the food crisis will affect the entire world which developing countries like Ghana will be the worst hit. In view of that most rice producing countries have started reducing the number of rice they import to other countries. It is estimated that only 6% of global rice produced are exported. This food insecurity threat has already taken a global dimension. The crisis of surging food prices could mean “seven lost years” in the fight against worldwide poverty, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said. “While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs, and it is getting more and more difficult every day,” Zoellick said at a press briefing on the eve of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.To meet this crisis, Zoellick is calling for a “New Deal on Global Food Policy”. Ghana’s situation was worsened by the heavy floods that hit the northern part destroying farmlands and homes last year. These floods caused severe food shortage in the north thereby, affecting the southern part of the country. It must however be noted that there had been series of cautions to government over an imminent food crisis since last year in order for it to position itself to prevent such occurrence. Abibimman Foundation and its partners; The Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition (GTLC) and Food Security and Policy Advocacy Network (FoodSPAN) have since raised the alarm of looming food crisis. There seem to be every indication that government failed to take prudent measures to arrest the looming crisis. This comes in the wake of statements by the Minister of Food and Agriculture to the effect that Ghana is not threatened by food insecurity. With the recent high prices of foodstuffs, Ghanaians must pay more for the consumption of food even if locally produced. It is sad to state that Ghana has failed to optimize the agric sector for an all round food supply. This is due to inadequate attention given to the sector by the government. Should this trend continue, then the country’s quest of attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be hampered. Young people and youth stand to suffer the more since they will not get the necessary nutrient they require to grow as future leaders of this nation, thus increasing the rate of hunger in the country. Something quick must be done. For instance the Aveyime rice project which would have been a major supply of food is still lying down gathering dust. Other farm areas are either been encroached by developers or are not given the necessary attention they require. Government must show strong commitment to the mechanization of the agriculture sector to ensure better yield. Currently most of the farmers in the country are practicing small scale farming. There is an urgent need to turn our focus on them and see how best to help these farmers improve into large scale mechanized farming. Incentives such as farm materials, storage facilities and capital injection must be made available to make the sector more vibrant. Government should ensure that there is ready market for farm produce. Also it must see to the provision of reliable irrigation systems at these farming areas to facilitate year long farming. The issue of land for farming in recent times has become a major problem for farmers. To this end there should be strict regulation with usage of land. Land meant for farming must be solely used for that purpose.

Source:  www.endpovertyblog.org

We all like to think we do our best for the environment; cans in one recycling bin, bottles in another, old clothes in - well, actually, I’ll keep the clothes thanks. However as far as I’m aware, those pesky juice cartons have nowhere to go, except for the back of beyond, in… the RUBBISH BIN. Or so I thought.

Enter Rebagz, a brand that produces all of their stock from recycled cartons and rice sacks. I know, it doesn’t sound very glamourous does it, but the stylists at Ugly Betty thought otherwise and I’m beginning to think they were on to something.

Half the Sky Designs launched it’s Rebagz handbag line in July 2007 after company founder Marty Stevens-Heebner was searching for materials in the Phillipines for her handbag designs. When Stevens-Heebner found somewhere that was weaving leftover juice cartons, she was immediately inspired and felt it was the perfect fabric to create colourful and beautiful designs.

The Rebagz brand has grown tremendously over the passed year and now sells over 25 categories of bags, from the rice sack laptop carriers and the cozy coin purses, to the cosmetics bags and the business card holders. The wonder of the Rebagz brand does not stop there either, Half the Sky Designs have even gone ethical in their manufacturing; Rebagz designs are produced by a fair-trade certified women’s cooperative in the Phillipines.

So, who’s been spotted wearing these pretties? Brangelina (probably clutching the Bringing up Baby bag - they might have to buy another one if they have any more); Serena Williams (perhaps with the Sports pouch) and of course, Ugly Betty!

Unfortunately Rebagz do not currently ship from their website outside of the US, but you can get a few similar designs here from Rubbish Bags, available at Viva La Diva. I’m on to it already.

Nicky Branagh, Source: www.myfashionlife.com

Introducing Intel® Core™2 Quad processor for notebook and desktop PCs, designed to handle massive compute and visualization workloads enabled by powerful multi-core technology. Optimized for the longest possible battery life without compromise to performance, Intel Core 2 Quad processors for notebooks allow you to stay unwired longer while running the most compute-intensive applications.

Providing all the bandwidth you need for next-generation highly-threaded applications, the latest four-core Intel Core 2 Quad processors are built on 45nm Intel® Core™ microarchitecture enabling faster, cooler, and quieter mobile and desktop PC and workstation experiences.

Plus, with optional Intel® vPro™ technology, you have the ability to remotely isolate, diagnose, and repair infected desktop and mobile workstations wirelessly and outside of the firewall, even if the PC is off, or the OS is unresponsive.

Source: www.intel.com

Bangladesh is terribly in hot water as the protest for gender equality is underway. Hundreds are currently experiencing the lashes of the patriarchal system of male dominance over women.

What the country is undergoing is a long-battle with a noble goal that if ever it will be pushed to the limits, it will eventually result to women empowerment. Dhaka may seemingly be bloody as riots begin to curtail any movement to give women equal rights as men, but the members of the radical Islamic Constitution Movement should not be violent about their actions to temper down the situation.

Since the Sharia Law is the prevailing custom in Bangladesh, women receiving only half as much as men will be unfair to those who want to breakfree to traditions. We are living in the 21st century and the old ways of women being treated as second-class citizens should be abolished. The reality of too much female oppression in the region are still being denied by the radical group and consider violence as a normal way of living in Dhaka.

The Bangladeshi women treading their way to gender equality will open doors to the progress of the country. It is only proper that the women in the region be respected and be given importance by its men. After all, the women in Dhaka are human beings who should be fairly treated and protected from abuses.

A delivery company operating in Ontario has reached a settlement with eight Muslim women it fired three years ago for uniform violations after the women filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Nadifo Yusuf, 35, worked as a temporary employee at a United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery plant in Toronto for two years. She wore the traditional Muslim clothes — hijab, headscarf and ankle-length skirt — to work every day. At times when it was necessary for safety reasons, she tucked in her hijab and raised her skirt to mid-calf.

In April 2005, Yusuf got a full-time unionized position as a box scanner at the plant. However, UPS then told her that her clothes did not follow safety regulations and she must raise her skirt to knee-length for health and safety reasons. If she didn’t comply, UPS said, she would be fired.

Yusuf and several other Muslim women who worked for UPS explained their religion required them to cover their entire body, but UPS responded with a job hazard analysis that said ankle-length skirts could get caught when workers climbed high ladders and moved boxes as part of their jobs. Because of this risk, it couldn’t make exceptions to its policy of requiring skirts to be no longer than the knees.

The women said they wore long pants underneath the skirts, but these could still show the shape of their calves if a skirt was higher than the ankles. When they refused to comply with the skirt length requirement, UPS fired them on July 13, 2005.

The fired women filed a human rights complaint saying UPS discriminated against them because of their religion and sex when it fired them. The complaint was heard before the tribunal in September 2008.

On Nov. 17, UPS reached an agreement with the women. Details weren’t released, but the women said they were happy with the result.

Source: employmentlawtoday.com

Paharpur is situated in a village named Paharpur (Pahadpur) under the Badalgachhi Upazila of Naogaon district. The Somapuri Vihara at Paharpur was once the biggest Buddhist monastery south of the Himalaya. It dates from the 8th century AD. This is the most impressive archaeological site in Bangladesh; it was declared a protected archaeological site back in 1919, although the scholar-traveller Dr Buckman Hamilton had shown interest in it as far back as 1807. The name of the site has changed over the eons; it began life as Somapura (abode of the moon), then became Mahavihara (greatest monastery) before taking its current combination name.

The village Paharpur is connected with the nearby Railway station Jamalganj, the district town Naogaon and Jaipurhat town by metalled roads. It is in the midst of alluvial flat plain of northern Bangladesh. In contrast to the monotonous level of the plain, stands the ruins of the lofty (about 24m high from the surrounding level) ancient temple which was covered with jungle, locally called Pahar or hill from which the name Paharpur is derived.

After independence the site was further brought under excavation by the Department of Archaeology of Bangladesh. The operations took place in two phases. The first phase was initiated in 1981-82 and continued in every season up to 1984-1985. The second phase was started in 1988-89 and continued in the next two seasons up to 1990-91. In the first phase excavations were aimed at establishing the three major building phases of the cells which Dikshit mentioned in his excavation report and discovering the information of early levels. But in the second phase the works were confined to clear the cultural debris from the courtyard of the monastery.

Source: Internet

When you decide to run a successful business, you should consider some important factors which help you make your business booming.

Cover Sheet - Basic business info here - be sure to include contact people and phone numbers.

Table of Contents - This index can move readers in the right direction. Make sure that it is presented clearly.

Executive Summary - Because this if often the first part that is read, it must make a statement in a hurry. The entire business plan is reduced to a few paragraphs. Be sure to focus on: selling advantage, future projections, business cash requirements, payback time table, and business mission.

Business Context - Provide information that will give the reader an understanding of the larger market that you are in. Talk about growth potential, new products, and economic trends.

Business Profile - Explain in detail about your business, trends, organizational structure, influential factors in the market, patterns of research and development, contracts, and operational procedures.

Marketing Analysis - State who your customers are, your geographical range, growth potential, and customer satisfaction / customer service procedures.

Challenges and Responses - You need to show that you have thought out what could happen with your market and how your business will respond. Focus on dealing with the competition, your weaknesses and corrections, legal issues, and staffing issues.

Marketing Plan - This is probably the most important part of the plan. You need to have the following: a marketing strategy, pricing scheme, timetable for growth and development, marketing budget, guarantee policies, packaging and presentation, plan to test the effectiveness of your marketing, and knowledge of what certain media marketing costs.

Financials - Entrepreneurs tend to hate this section most. Bankers tend to look at it first. Spend some time here. You need a Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statements (for next three years). If you don’t know what these are, talk with your accountant and learn how to read these reports. Banks often look only at this section. Make your banker happy!

Time Table - This part talks about when you need the financing to come into the plan, lists parts of the marketing campaign (including dates), and gives the scheduled dates of production (when you actually will deliver the goods/services).

Summary of Needed Capital - Sum up why you want their money. Banks will usually loan money for equipment and raw materials or inventory (things they can sell off if you default).  Do not ask a bank for only “Operating Capital”.

Appendix - You could include footnotes, supporting documents, reports, biographies, graphs, copies of contracts, glossary of terms, and references.

Source:  Internet

1. Dust the screen regularly.Use a very, very soft, dry cloth to wipe the dust away.
2. Don’t touch the screen.LCD screens get dirty is from body oil on fingers.
3. Separate laptop keys from screen when closed.Place a thin, soft cloth between the keyboard and screen, keeping the screen from accumulating key marks.
4. Never use any cleaners that contain ammonia.You can either mix your own or purchased a premixed cleaning solution (usually mixed to 30% concentration) from a computer store. To apply the solution, use a very, very soft cloth, such as a piece of soft flannel or a synthetic microfiber material, and wipe the screen gently: too much pressure can cause the screen to crack or warp. You can use this cleaning method as often as necessary.
5. Clean gently.Also avoid paper towels, since they can easily scratch an LCD as they drag dirt and paper particles over the surface of the screen; that’s why it’s so important to use the softest cloth you can.

Diamonds - one of the most precious and glittering things that are generally used as ornaments by women, are not easily found as the form of use. There is a long and hard process to make the usable.Diamonds are useful and beautiful stones that undergo a complicated process before being used in a variety of applications, most commonly known would that of the jewelry-making business.

While there are now laboratories that create synthetic diamonds in a span of a few days, it is the formation and production of natural diamonds that require very specific conditions. Diamonds formed through natural circumstances are exposed to extremes in high pressure of about 45 to 60 kilobars and to comparatively low temperatures of about 900 to 1900 °C. These rough stones are mined or recovered through either pipe or alluvial mining.

Pipe mining refers to the extraction process found in volcanic pipes. In most locations, a pipe mine is composed of kimberlite, which is dug from the surface of pipes in rough opencast mining. Once these are exhausted, the diamond miners start digging tunnels into the deeper parts of the pipes. The rocks recovered, which contain rough diamonds, are then moved to a screening plant where the rock bits are separated from the diamond bits.

It typically takes an average of 250 tons of pipes to produce a one-carat gem quality polished gem.

Allluvial mining, on the other hand, is located on riverbeds or ocean beaches. When diamonds were formed in pipes deep inside the earth millions of years ago, some of these separated and was carried out along the rivers and oceans. In order to mine these diamonds, a wall is built to hold back the surf or water. Up to 25 meters of sand and rock can be bulldozed to reach the diamond-bearing level. Once these are recovered or mined, the diamond-bearing earth is transported to the screening plants.

Of all the diamonds mined in the world each year, less than half are gem quality, which are used in jewelry making and display a high standard of excellence, usually with a clarity grading of flawless to near invisible inclusions. The rest that are recovered are either near-gem quality or industrial quality diamonds. Near-gem quality diamonds can either be used to jewelry or industrial applications, depending on the actual stone.

As for industrial quality diamonds, these are usually of low quality or have a lot of blemishes and inclusions, and are usually used as drill bits and for cutting purposes. All the diamonds recovered from mining will undergo a cutting and polishing process to obtain their final form, as we know it.

Although technology has played an important role in perfecting these techniques, cutting and polishing diamonds has its origins in India, where it was discovered by Indian lapidaries that a diamond can be made to sparkle and be smooth simply by grinding it against another diamond. Nowadays, even with the use of machinery, diamond cutting and polishing can take anywhere from several hours to several months to complete. Some diamonds, especially gem-quality stones, are studied for months, even years, before the cutting and polishing process begins.

Each stone is different, and must be carefully studied and marked for cutting. That is why only experts commit to this process, as a diamond’s ultimate price and value may plummet due to a poor cut.

A diamond can usually stand to lose half of its original weight after this final process.

Paul Easton

Mangroves are the salt-tolerant forest ecosystems that evolve in the transition zones between terrestrial and marine environments of tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Mangrove forests currently occupy 14,650,000 ha of coastline globally. The Bangladesh coast supports about 587,380 ha of natural mangroves and a further 100,000 ha of planted mangroves, locally known as Perabon, and mostly distributed in the intertidal zone.

There are numerous ecological and economic benefits of the mangrove ecosystem. The fringe-like root system of mangroves act as a coastal soil stabilizer and binder of sediment and so aid in preventing erosion in the coastal areas. Moreover, mangroves provide goods and services among the local community, viz., household necessities (firewood, housing materials, and boat making materials), herbal plants for traditional medicines, honey and also protect lives and property from cyclonic storms.

From Sundarban mangrove forest, an average of 6000 ton/ha mangrove litter is released per year. After decomposition of this huge quantity of litter through mineralization process, enormous amount of organic nutrients are released in coastal ecosystem. This is a great source of natural food for aquatic organisms.

According to United Nations Environmental Programme (UNFP), the annual economic value of mangroves, estimated by the cost of products and services they provide, has been estimated to be US$200,000-9000,000 per ha. Another economic survey by World Conservation Union (IUCN) indicates that intact and healthy mangroves can have an overall yearly use value of as much as US$14,000/ha/household. The yearly protection value of mangroves is estimated at around US$2,000 per household.

On 26 December 2004 the largest earthquake in 40 yrs (seismic magnitude MW =9.0) produced the most devastating tsunami in recorded history, killing more than 283,000 people throughout the Indian Ocean region. The earthquake was so powerful it wobbled the Earth’s rotation. The tsunami triggered by seismic event swept across the Indian Ocean at speeds upto 800 km/hr, with succeeding waves reaching heights of upto 30 m. Along with vast numbers of people, man-made and natural structures and habitats were destroyed or damaged, including coral reefs, mangroves, beaches, seagrass beds, and other coastal vegetation.

Several reports based on initial post-impact surveys in southeastern India, the Andaman Islands, and Sri Lanka indicated that mangroves offered a significant defence against the full impact of the tsunami. The presence of mangroves saved lives along the Tamil Nadu coast of southeast India. Measurement of wave forces and modeling of fluid dynamics suggested that mangrove vegetation may shield coastlines from cyclone, storm surge and tsunami damage by dissipating incoming wave energy and reducing the erosion rates. Besides, the wave-driven, wind-driven, and tidal currents also reduce due to the dense network of trunks, branches and above ground roots of the mangroves.

Analytical models show that 3000 trees/ha in a 100 m wide mangrove belt may reduce the maximum tsunami flow pressure by more than 90 percent. These benefits are not found in artificial coastal protection structures. The artificial sea defences were not only expensive to build and repair, but they were also, in many cases, ineffective.

But the mangrove forest has been subjected to heavy human interference. A recent survey by the Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries indicates that mangrove areas are becoming smaller or fragmented and their long-term survival is at risk. Their satellite image and Geographical Information System (GIS) based research revealed the spatial distribution of only about 37,600 ha mangrove forest in lower Meghna islands, Noakhali, Feni, Chittagong and Coxs Bazar coast. The factors responsible for the destruction of mangrove forest are unplanned shrimp farming, salt production, removal of forest produces for fuel wood, grazing pressure, and human settlement.

In addition to these, the fishermen build dams in the mouth of the creeks, thereby disrupting tidal inundation and causing water stagnation. For this change in hydrology, the seedlings in stagnant water fail to survive, which seriously affect natural regeneration of mangrove forest.

Given the backdrop of increasing natural disaster around the globe it is imperative to fully enhance conservation of its coastal belts of shelter woods so as to improve protection against typhoons, storm tides, tsunami and other catastrophic consequences. Action has to be taken for plantation, restoration and development of mangroves in the required coastal areas.

Source: Daily Star, M. Shah Nawaz Chowdhury is Research Associate, Coastal and Ocean Research Group of Bangladesh.