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Olympic Games History

2008-04-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

The original Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; Olympiakoi Agones) were first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were celebrated until AD 393.
Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".

The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. Participation in the Olympic Games has increased to include athletes from nearly all nations worldwide. With the improvement of satellite communications and global telecasts of the events, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters. The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games in Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games in Turin. The upcoming games in Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 sports. As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 sports.

Ancient Olympics

There are many myths surrounding the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. The most popular legend describes that Heracles was the creator of the Olympic Games, and built the Olympic stadium and surrounding buildings as an honor to his father Zeus, after completing his 12 labours. According to that legend he walked in a straight line for 400 strides and called this distance a "stadion" (Greek: "Στάδιον")- (Roman: "stadium") (Modern English: "Stage") that later also became a distance calculation unit. This is also why a modern stadium is 400 meters in circumference length (1 stadium = 400 m). Another myth associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of ἐκεχειρία (ekecheiria) or Olympic Truce. The date of the Games' inception based on the count of years in Olympiads is reconstructed as 776 BC, although scholars' opinions diverge between dates as early as 884 BC and as late as 704 BC.

From then on, the Olympic Games quickly became much more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis, and in whose honour the games were held. The number of events increased to twenty, and the celebration was spread over several days. Winners of the events were greatly admired and were immortalised in poems and statues.The Games were held every four years, and the period between two celebrations became known as an 'Olympiad.' The Greeks used Olympiads as one of their methods to count years. The most famous Olympic athlete lived in these times: the sixth century BC wrestler Milo of Croton is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics.

The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. After Emperor Theodosius I proclaimed Christianity the religion of the Empire and banned pagan rites, the Olympic Games were outlawed as a pagan festival in 393 AD.

During the ancient times normally only young men could participate. Competitors were usually nude, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. Upon winning the games, the victor would have not only the prestige of being in first place but would also be presented with a crown of olive leaves. The olive branch is a sign of hope and peace.

Even though the bearing of a torch formed an integral aspect of Greek ceremonies, the ancient Olympic Games did not include it, nor was there a symbol formed by interconnecting rings. These Olympic symbols were introduced as part of the modern Olympic Games.

Hasan bin Sabbah and the secret order of hashishins

2008-03-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

The story of Hasan bin Sabbah is a tale of sex, drugs, myth, and murder. A secluded mountain fortress, a paradisial garden, poison dipped daggers, and covert political maneuverings are the ingredients of this alchemical mixture, which is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing true stories ever told.

Hasan bin Sabbah - businessman, scholar, heresiarch, mystic, murderer, ascetic, and political revolutionary - was born in Persia (Iran) around 1034. As a child, the man who would one day claim to be the incarnation of God on earth (probably just another way of saying he was Enlightened) was a diligent student of theology.

Supposedly, Hasan was schoolmates with Nizamul Mulk (the future vizier to the sultan of Persia) and Omar Khayyam (the great poet/astronomer/mathematician). These three future luminaries made a pact whereas, if one of them reached a position of power and influence, he would assist his companions.

As a young man, Hasan traveled to Egypt, where he remained for a year and a half. Here he was taught at the illustrious Abode of Learning in Cairo, which was a Shiite training center (the Shiites are a branch within the Islamic community, they broke off from the mainstream Sunnis after a dispute over who should succeed the prophet Muhammad).

At the Abode, students were taught to question Islamic dogma, to the point where their only source of the truth lied in the teachings of their all-powerful instructors. The students had to ascend through nine degrees, until finally they were taught the Ultimate Truth: that the world is created through actions, and beliefs are powerless distractions used to enslave the masses. This system would later serve as the model for the organizational structure of the Hashishins . . .

Hasan ran into trouble in Egypt, however, after a controversy arose over who should succeed the Fatimid caliph. The Fatimids, who ruled Egypt at the time, were the heads of the Ismailis, a sect of Islam that separated from the mainstream Shiites. Before the Fatimid caliph died, he appointed his youngest son to take over the dynasty, because his oldest son died before he did. This infuriated Sabbah, who believed the descendant of the caliph's oldest son, Nizar, was the rightful heir to the throne.

Sabbah was imprisoned in Egypt for supporting Nizar, but, as luck would have it, the prison wall collapsed and he fled to Persia. While searching for a permanent residence, Hasan found a secluded fortress high in the mountains of Qazwin. This castle, called Alamut ("the eagle's nest") was the ideal stronghold for Hasan's new sect, the Nizari Ismailites (who later called themselves the "Hashishins"). Alamut was positioned in a central location, and so was an excellent hub from which Hasan could spread Ismaili propaganda.

Hasan went about securing Alamut using subtle trickery and persuasion. Whilst bargaining with the owner of Alamut, he requested only a portion of land that could be covered by the skin of a cow. The owner agreed, not realizing how clever and resourceful Hasan could be. Hasan proceeded to divide a cow's hide into such thin layers that he was able to cover the entire surface area of the fortress. The owner was forced to live up to his end of the bargain, and Hasan now had a stronghold from which he could extend his influence throughout the Mideast and, indeed, the history of Western civilization.

When word reached Nizamul Mulk (the childhood friend) of Hasan's securing of Alamut, he grew so inflamed with jealousy and rage that he sent an army to siege the fortress, a plot that failed miserably. For this, Hasan had Mulk killed by a dagger into the heart. So much for the pact.

Within Alamut, Hasan built the legendary "Garden of Earthly Delights", which would play an important role in the initiatic rites of the Hashishins (also called the "Assassins").

The garden lay in a beautiful valley nestled between two high mountains. Here he had imported exotic plants, birds, and animals from all over the world. Surrounding the garden were luxurious palaces of marble and gold, decorated with beautiful paintings and fine silk furniture. Streams of milk, wine, and honey flowed throughout this earthly paradise, while fountains gushed with wine and pure spring water.

The initiate, after being knocked out by a powerful potion mixed with hashish, would be carried into the garden. When he awoke from his slumber, he would be greeted by a host beautiful teenage girls (houris), who sang and danced and played lovely instruments for him. As he drifted into an ecstatic daze, the girls would go to work on the initiate, giving him a full-body tongue massage, while one girl performed oral sex on him. Eventually, the bedazzled young man would climax into the girl's mouth "as softly and slowly and blissfully as a single snowflake falling." (Robert Anton Wilson, from Prometheus Rising) No wonder Hasan could demand absolute loyalty from his followers, no questions asked . . .

This was only a small part of Hasan's system, which was divided into seven degrees. The Hashishins combined both the exoteric (communicated, "God's Law") and esoteric (subjective, mystical) doctrines of Islam. Sabbah was a noted alchemist, and a student of Sufism, so part of the initiatic curriculum for the future Hashishins involved mastering occult methods for reaching higher planes of consciousness. Of course, they were also taught how to properly kill a man using poison or a dagger. Initiates were trained to learn multiple languages, as well as the dress and manners of merchants, monks and soldiers. Moreover, they were taught to fake beliefs and devotion to every major religion of that era. In this way, an Assassin could pretend to be anyone from a well-to-do merchant to a Sufi mystic, a Christian, or a common soldier.

The Hashishin Order was set up much like your traditional bureaucratic organization. At the top of the hierarchy sat Hasan, the Old Man of the Mountain, who preached absolute devotion to a transcendental God. Below him were the grand priories (enlightened mystics), the propagandists, and finally the fidais, who were the lowest ranking Hashishins. The fidais were self-sacrificers (called "the destroying angels") who were willing to commit any atrocity their master demanded of them, including suicide. They dressed in white tunics with red sashes: colours that represented innocence and blood.

As the Hashishins gained power and influence, the sultan of Persia grew agitated. He decided to send troops to storm Alamut, which, like the similar attack attempted by his vizier, was a pathetic failure. Hasan had the sultan poisoned, and after his death the kingdom of Persia split into warring factions, which made the Assassins the most cohesive and powerful group in Persia for many years.

Hassan-i-Sabah:hasan bin sabbah and the secret order of hashishins

2008-03-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hassan-I-Sabbah . . . the only spiritual leader with anything to say in the Space Age.
~~ William S. Burroughs

Nothing is True, Everything is Permissible.
~~ Hasan bin Sabbah

Hasan i Sabbah was born Hassan Bin Ali Bin Muhammad Bin Ja'fr Bin Hussain Bin Muhammad al Sabbah al Hameeri in Re, Iran. He belonged to the tribe of al Hameer from Yemen.

Hassan-i-Sabbah (in Persian / Arabic حسن بن صباح or حسن صباح ) (circa 1034 - 1124), or "The Old Man of the Mountain", was an Iranian Ismaili missionary who converted a community in the late 11th century in the heart of the Elburz Mountains of northern Iran. The place was called Alamut and was attributed to an ancient king of Daylam. When Hassan discovered Alamut in the late 11th Century, it was in the hands of a Seljuk subject. Hassan prepared the takeover of the castle by secretly converting its staff. With the household on his side, he was smuggled into the castle and began to establish his rule at Alamut. When the castle's residents realized they were no longer in control it was too late. Hassan graciously allowed the former tenant leave of his castle in addition to a draft of 3,000 silver dinars in payment for the castle. From this point on his community and its branches spread throughout Iran and Syria and came to be called Hashshashin or Hashshishin or Assassins, an Islamic mystery cult.

Hassan was extremely strict and disciplined. The abrogation of Islamic law (sharia) occurred under a later Grand Master, Hassan II, in 1174. If hashish was used by the community (and this is uncertain) it probably also occurred later. There is dispute as to whether the term 'Assassin' means 'user of hashish' or 'follower of Hassan"

Not much is known about Hassan, but legends abound as to the tactics used to induct members into his quasi-religious political organization. A future assassin was subjected to rites very similar to those of other mystery cults in which the subject was made to believe that he was in imminent danger of death. But the twist of the assassins was that they drugged the person to simulate a "dying" to later have them awaken in a garden flowing with wine and served a sumptuous feast by virgins. The supplicant was then convinced he was in Heaven and that Sabbah was a representative of the divinity and that all of his orders should be followed, even to death. This legend derives from Marco Polo, who visited Alamut just after it fell to the Mongols in the thirteenth century.

He died on 26 Rabi utthani 518 Hijri in his abode, Alamut.

The cult was responsible for the assassination of a number of Sunni scholars and rulers. Non-lethal warnings could also be given, whereby a target would wake to find a dagger embedded in his pillow next to his head. They usually took the hint.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Assassins often allied with the Crusaders against the Sunnis. The Aga Khan is said to be the spiritual successor to the order - in terms of leadership, not methods!

Hassan-i-Sabah

2008-03-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hassan ibn Sabbā was born in the city of Qom in Persia in 1056 to a family of Ithna Ashariya Shīˤa. Early in his life, his family’s fortunes took them to Rayy, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Iran’s modern-day capital city of Tehran. It was in this center of religious matrices that Hassan developed a keen interest in metaphysical matters, and adhered to the Twelver Shi’ite code of instruction.

Rayy was a city that had seen a lot of radical thought since the 9th century. It had seen Hamdan Qarmat as one of its voices. It had also seen a lot of missionary work by various sects, each as impassioned as the next. The Ismā'īlī Mission or Daˤwa was a presence there. The Ismā'īlī mission worked on three layers: the lowest was the foot soldier, called the Fida'ai, then the Rafīk or "comrade", and finally the Daˤī or "missionary", who worked for the Daˤwa "Mission".

Young Hassan came in touch here with Amira Darrab, a Rafeek, who introduced him to the Ismā'īlī doctrine. With this doctrine, Hassan was unimpressed: he considered it to be merely an aberration of thought, not at all at par with the Sunnah. As he met Darrab, participating in many passionate debates that discussed the merits of Ismā'īl over Mūsā, Hassan's respect grew. Now, becoming impressed with the conviction of Darrab, Hassan decided to delve deeper into Ismā'īlī doctrines and beliefs. With his characteristic dedication and fervor, Hassan spent many months oblivious to all but his inquiry: reading till late in the night and caring little for sustenance and victuals, Hassan began to see merit in switching to Ismā'īlī eyes. Hassan converted and swore allegiance to the Fatimid caliph in Cairo. His studies did not end with his crossing over. He further studied under two other Daˤiyyīn, and as he proceeded on his path, he was looked upon with eyes of respect. For his young age, Hassan had done well.

Hassan's austere and devoted commitment to the Daˤwa brought him in audience with the chief Daˤī of the region: ˤAbd al-Malik ibn Attash. Attash, suitably impressed with the young seventeen year old Hassan, made him deputy Daˤī, and advised him to go to Cairo to further his studies.

Hassan did not forthwith go to Cairo. Here the life of Hassan gets mixed with legend and extremes. There is a popular legend associated with Hassan, Omar Khayyám, and the prime minister of the Seljuk Turks, Nizam al-Mulk. There was a pact amongst the three: whoever was the favored of fortune would, in turn, help the other two. Nizam al-Mulk (the name translates to "Minister of State") rose to a position of prominence in the court of the Turks who ruled those areas. He got Omar Khayyám appointed as court poet and mathematician. Hassan too was then granted an office in the court.

Working his way up the hierarchy, Hassan became the Intelligence Chief and began to aim for the post of Nizam al-Mulk. Getting a whiff of Hassan’s ambition, Nizam al-Mulk resolved to shame him in front of all the court. An ingenious scheme was thought of: Hassan took upon himself of furnishing the records of the entire kingdom in just 40 days. All went smoothly until the final day when Hassan was to present the records. Somebody had tampered with his papers and he could not make his presentation. The king ("Malik Shah," which are the words for "King" in Arabic and Persian, respectively) was furious. He sentenced Hassan to death. It was on the plea of Omar Khayyám that the sentence was terminated, and Hassan was instead banished from the kingdom.

There is a gap in this legend: Nizam al-Mulk was far senior in age to both Hassan and Omar, hence the three having been part of a pact is unlikely. Some historians have postulated that Hassan, following his conversion, was playing host to some members of the Fatimid caliphate, and this was leaked to the anti-Fatimid and anti-Shīˤa Nizam al-Mulk. This prompted his abandoning Rayy and heading to Cairo. He left the city in 1076.

Hassan took about 2 years to reach Cairo. Along the way he toured many other regions that did not fall in the general direction of Egypt. Isfahan was the first city that he visited. He was hosted by one of his Daˤiyyīn of youth, a man who had taught the youthful Hassan in Rayy. His name was Resi Abufasl, and he further instructed Hassan. From here he went to Azerbaijan, hundreds of miles to the north, and from there to Turkey. Here he attracted the ire of priests following a heated discussion, and Hassan was thrown out of the town he was in. He then turned south and traveled through Iraq, reached Damascus in Syria. He left for Egypt from Palestine. Records exist, some in the fragmentary remains of his autobiography, and from another biography written by Rashid al-Din Tabib in 1310, to date his arrival in Egypt at 30 August, 1078.

It is unclear how long he stayed in Egypt: about 3 years is the usually accepted amount of time. He continued his studies here, and became a full Daˤī. The concept that he stood for contained all at once Shi’ite and pre-Islamic Greek, Persian, and Babylonian philosophies. It was Ali and openly opposed to the Abassid Sunnis, whom they sought to overthrow; they also believed in community service.

Whilst he was in Cairo, studying and preaching, he upset the highly excitable Chief of the Army, Badr al-Jamalī. It is also said by later sources that the Ismaili Imam-Caliph al-Mustansir informed Hassan that his elder son Nizar would be the next Imam. Hassan was briefly imprisoned by Badr al-Jamali. The collapse of a minaret of the jail was taken to be an omen in the favor of Hassan and he was promptly released and deported. The ship that he was traveling on was wrecked. He was rescued and taken to Syria. Traveling via Aleppo and Baghdad, he terminated his journey at Isfahan in 1081.

Hassan’s life now was totally devoted to the Daˤwa. There was not one place in Iran Hassan did not visit. To the north of Iran, and touching the south shore of the Caspian Sea, are the mountains of Alborz. These mountains were home to a people who had traditionally resisted all attempts at subjugation; this place was also of Shīˤa leaning. Within these mountains, in the region of Daylam, Hassan chose to pursue his Daˤī activities. Hassan became the Chief Daˤī of that area and sent his personally trained missionaries into the rest of the region. The news of this Ismā'īlī's activities reached the intolerant Nizam al-Mulk, who dispatched his soldiers with the orders for Hassan's capture. Hassan evaded them, and went deeper into the mountains.

His search for a base from where to guide his mission ended when he found the castle of Alamut, in the Rudbar area, in 1088. It was a fort that stood guard to a valley that was about fifty kilometers long and five kilometers wide. The fort had been built about the year 865; legend has it that it was built by a king who saw his eagle fly up to and perch upon a rock, of which the king, Wah Sudan ibn Marzuban, understood the importance. Likening the perching of the eagle to a lesson given by it, he called the fort Aluh Amut: the "Eagles Teaching".

Hassan’s takeover of the fort was one of silent surrender in the face of defeated odds. To effect this takeover Hassan employed an ingenious strategy: it took the better part of two years to effect. First Hassan sent his Daˤiyyīn and Rafīks to win the villages in the valley over. Next, key people were converted and in 1090 Hassan took over the fort. It is said that Hassan offered 3000 gold dinars to the fort owner for the amount of land that would fit a buffalo’s hide. The term having been agreed upon, Hassan cut the hide in to strips and joined them all over along the perimeter of the fort. The owner was defeated. (This story bears striking resemblance to Virgil's account of Dido's founding of Carthage.) Hassan gave him a draft on the name of a wealthy landlord and told him to take the money from him. Legend further has it that when the landlord saw the draft with Hassan’s signature, he immediately paid the amount to the fort owner, astonishing him.

With Alamut as his, Hassan devoted himself so faithfully to study, that it is said that in all the years that he was there – almost 35, he never left his quarters, except the two times when he went up to the roof. He was studying, translating, praying, fasting, and directing the activities of the Daˤwa: the propagation of the Nizarī doctrine was headquartered at Alamut. He knew the Qur'ān by heart, could quote extensively from the texts of most Muslim sects, and apart from philosophy, he was well versed in mathematics, astronomy and alchemy. Hassan was one who found solace in austerity and frugality. A pious life was one of prayer and devotion. Hassan was a charismatic revolutionary; it was said that by the sheer gravity of his conviction he could pierce the hardest and most orthodox of hearts and win them over to his side.

Given the pillars of devoted adherence to the path of the faith, it is unlikely that the usually accepted "Assassin" postulate is accurate. Hassan had his son executed for drinking wine and another person was banished from Alamut for playing the flute. The theories of Hassan being associated with Hashish are, at best, debatable. Furthermore there have emerged traces that there was a name given to Alamut by the people with Nizarī leanings: al-Assas "the foundation". It was the base for all operations that Hassan wished to effect. Members of al-Assas were known as al-Assasīn.

From this point on his community and its branches spread throughout Iran and Syria and came to be called Hashshashin or Assassins, an Islamic mystery cult.

Hassan was extremely strict and disciplined. The event of the Great Resurrection (qiyamat al-qubra) occurred under the later Ismaili Imam Hasan ala-dhikrihi as-salaam in 1164.

Not much is known about Hassan, but legends abound as to the tactics used to induct members into his quasi-religious political organization. A future assassin was subjected to rites very similar to those of other mystery cults in which the subject was made to believe that he was in imminent danger of death. But the twist of the assassins was that they drugged the person to simulate a "dying" to later have them awaken in a garden flowing with wine and served a sumptuous feast by virgins. The supplicant was then convinced he was in Heaven and that Sabbah was a representative of the divinity and that all of his orders should be followed, even to death. This legend derives from Marco Polo, who visited Alamut just after it fell to the Mongols in the thirteenth century.

Other accounts of the indoctrination attest that the future assassins were brought to Alamut at a young age and, while they matured, inhabited the aforementioned paradisaical gardens and were kept drugged with hashish; as in the previous version, Hassan occupied this garden as a divine emissary. At a certain point (when their initiation could be said to have begun) the drug was withdrawn from them, and they were removed from the gardens and flung into a dungeon. There they were informed that, if they wished to return to the paradise they had so recently enjoyed it would be at Sabbah's discretion, and that they must therefore follow his directions exactly, up to and including murder and self-sacrifice.

The Wolf Girl of Devil's River

2008-03-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Feral Children
The Wolf Girl of Devil's River

In 1835, a group of American colonists, led by Dr. Charles Beale, were camped at Lake Espontosa, a renowned haunted location near what is now Carrizo Springs in southwest Texas. Half a mile away from the Beale group, John Dent and his pregnant wife Mollie Pertul Dent, both from Georgia, had built a brush cabin. Dent had come to trap beaver in the Devil's River area, north of the present day Del-Rio, but was also on the run from the law for the murder of a fellow trapper in Georgia. The Dents were to prove fortunate in their choice of a site distant from the lake. A band of Commanches raided the main Beale camp and massacred most of the inhabitants, afterwards throwing the bodies of the victims and their carts into the lake.

A Haunted Location

Even at this time Espontosa Lake had acquired a reputation for ghostly goings-on, this incident adding to the store of ill-luck and sorrow centering on what, to this day Mexicans consider a haunted location, the name Espantosa meaning 'frightful'.

As Mollie was approaching the end of her pregnancy, the couple were reluctant to travel despite the danger of hostile Indians. One night in May 1835, there was a severe thunderstorm and Mollie went into labor. She appeared to be having problems with the birth so Dent decided to ride westwards for help. He arrived at a Mexican goat ranch on the Pecos Canyon, and told them desperately about his wife's condition, begging for someone to ride back with him.

But as the Mexicans prepared their horses to leave there was a furious crash of thunder and a bolt of lightning struck Dent from his horse killing him instantly. After a considerable delay the goat herders mounted up and followed Dent's directions. However, darkness fell before they had got over the divide to Devil's River, thus delaying the search. Finally, at sunrise the next morning they located the Dent's isolated cabin.

But what they found outside the cabin, in an open brush arbor, was Mollie Dent lying dead, alone. She had apparently died in childbirth, but there was no trace of the baby anywhere. The child was never found, but fang marks on the woman's body and numerous wolf tracks over the area made the goat herders naturally assume that the infant had either been devoured or carried off by lobo wolves.

First Sighting of the Wolf Girl

But this was just the beginning of the story. Ten years later, In 1845, a boy living at San Felipe Springs (Del-Rio) reportedly saw 'a creature, with long hair covering its features, that looked like a naked girl' attacking a herd of goats in the company of a pack of lobo wolves. The story was ridiculed by many, but still managed to spread back among the settlements. Around a year after this incident, a Mexican woman at San Felipe claimed she had seen two large wolves and an unclothed young girl devouring a freshly killed goat. She approached close to the group, she said, before they saw her and ran off.

The woman noticed that the girl ran initially on all-fours, but then rose up and ran on two feet, keeping close to the wolves. The woman was in no doubt about what she had seen, and the scattering of people in the Devil's River country began to keep a sharp watch for the girl. There were similar reports by others in the region during the following year and Apache stories told of a child's footprints, sometimes accompanied by hand prints, having been found among wolf tracks in sandy places along the river. A hunt was organised to capture the 'Lobo (or Wolf) Girl of Devil's River' as she had now become known, comprising mainly Mexican vaqueros. On the third day of the hunt the naked girl was sighted near Espantosa Lake running with a pack of wolves.

The cowboys managed to separate the girl from her wolf companions and cornered her in a canyon, where she fought like a wildcat clawing and biting frantically to keep her freedom. They finally managed to lasso her to keep her still, but while they were tying her up she began to make frightening, unearthly sounds somewhere between the scream of a woman and the howl of a wolf. As she howled, the monster he-wolf from whom she'd become separated appeared and rushed at her captors. Fortunately one of the cowboys reacted quickly and shot it dead with a pistol, at which the wolf girl fell into a faint. Securely bound, the men were now able to examine the girl and noted that despite a body covered in hair and her wild mannerisms, her appearance was human. Her hands and arms were well muscled but not out of proportion, and she lacked the ability to speak, only making deep growling noises. She moved smoothly on all fours, but was rather awkward when made to stand up straight.

The girl was put on a horse and taken to the nearest ranch, an isolated two-roomed shack amid the desert wilderness. She was put in one of the rooms and unbound, the cowboys offering her a covering for her body and food and water, but she refused, cowering in the darkest corner. They then left her alone for the night, locking the door and posting a guard outside. The only other opening in the room was a small boarded up window.

Ghostly Cries

But as night fell the cowboys heard terrifying howls coming from the wolf girl's room. The strange cries carried through the still night air, unsettling her captors and soon finding answers from among the wolf pack in the wilderness beyond the shack. Soon there were long deep howls coming from all sides as the pack drew closer to the house, and occasionally strange howling screams from the girl answering them from inside her dark room. Suddenly the large pack of wolves charged into the corrals, attacking the goats, cows and horses and bringing the cowboys outside shooting and yelling to drive them away. In all the confusion the wolf girl managed to tear the planks from the window and escape into the night. The howls soon abated and the wolves crept back into the wilderness. The next day not a trace of the girl could be found.

Though there were a few unverified reports in the following years of a young hair-covered girl being seen with a wolf pack in the area, no one ever came in close contact with her. Meanwhile gold had been discovered in California and westward travel had increased significantly. In 1852 a surveying party of frontiersmen searching for a new route to El Paso were riding down to the Rio Grande at a bend far above the mouth of Devil's River. They were almost at the water's edge when they saw at close range, sitting on a sand bar, a young woman suckling two wolf cubs. Suddenly she saw them, quickly grabbed the pups and dashed into the breaks at such a rate that it was impossible for the horsemen to follow.

The girl would have been seventeen years-old that year. After that she disappeared into the wilderness forever. It is impossible now to know what became of Mollie Dent's daughter, presuming that's who the wolf girl was. There were subsequent reports of 'human-faced' wolves in the area right up until the 1930s, and author L.D. Bertillion (see sources below), wrote in 1937, 'during the past forty years I have in the western country met more than one wolf face strongly marked with human characteristics'.
The Ghost of Devil's River

The story of the Wolf Girl of Devil's River reads more like a folktale than a real feral child case, and the large amount of evidence for what happened is all anecdotal. She does, however, seem to live on in a more subtle form; her 'ghost' has apparently been seen in the old San Felipe Springs area beside the banks of Devil's River. In 1974 (the same year as the Delphos wolf girl in Kansas), a hunter in this area claimed to have seen her again, in the form of a white apparition which vanished before his eyes.

Back in the autumn of1835, when John and Mollie Dent had newly arrived in Texas, Mollie wrote her mother an odd letter. It said merely -

'Dear Mother,

The Devil has a river in Texas that is all his own

and it is made only for those who are grown.

Yours with love

Mollie'.

Sources & Further Reading

Of Wolves and Men - Holstun Lopez, Barry. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 1978.

'The Lobo Girl of Devil's River' - Bertillion, L.D. in Straight Texas - Publications of the Texas Folklore Society. Number XIII, Dallas, Southern Methodist University Press. 1966 (1937), pp79-85.

"Jewish World Domination"

2008-03-21T05:53:00.000-07:00

Jews planning world domination

In a Catholic Herald investigation published today, Bishop Richard Williamson, a senior English prelate of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), is exposed as a poisonous anti-Semite and 9/11 conspiracy theorist who believes that Jews are working on behalf of Antichrist.

Scandalously, the SSPX – a breakaway Catholic sect founded by the ultra-traditionalist French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre – is supporting Bishop Williamson. Moreover, a spokesman for the Society has refused to condemn The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious anti-Semitic forgery circulated by the Nazis – and endorsed on the record by Bishop Williamson.

Here is the Herald’s report, which is based on our tape-recorded transcript of an interview with Bishop Williamson, one of four priests ordained bishop by Lefebvre in 1988 and excommunicated by John Paul II as a result.

Williamson, 67, a former Anglican educated at Winchester and Cambridge, has left his anti-Semitic rantings all over the internet. In this pastoral letter, for example, he writes: “However, until [the Jews] re-discover their true Messianic vocation, they may be expected to continue fanatically agitating, in accordance with their false messianic vocation of Jewish world-dominion, to prepare the Anti-Christ’s throne in Jerusalem.”

You can see and hear Williamson in action on YouTube, in a series of films in which he claims that the Twin Towers were brought down by controlled explosions. This is a man who never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like. Yet, for 20 years, the Society of St Pius X has afforded him a place of honour as one of its four senior bishops.

The SSPX is currently negotiating with the Vatican about returning to full Communion with the Holy See. It should have expelled Williamson before the talks started. Now it is too late.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia called for the 1.3 billion Muslims of the world to unite against "Jewish Global Domination" before it may be too late for Islam. The Malaysian prime minister said that the "Jews rule the world by proxy" yesterday in his speech as chairman of the 10th Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference that took place in Putrajaya, Malasia. "They get others to fight and die for them," he added.

The democratic nation of Malaysia , has historically been a strong critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the U.S.A. policy in the Middle East, the war against Iraq and the U.S.A. unquestioned support of the Jewish Zionist state. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has governed Malaysia for 22 years and has been hugely successful in turning Malaysia into a leading world trading nation.

The prime minister urged Muslims to unite and devise more sophisticated plans against the Jews to win a final victory. He said, "For well over half a century we have fought over Palestine. What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before. If we had paused to think, then we could have devised a plan, a strategy that can win us final victory." He added, "The Jews invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy to avoid persecution and gain control of the most powerful countries." The prime minister said that "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews."

The Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Weaselthal Center in Los Angeles, said in Jerusalem that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's anti-Israel statements were worrisome. Rabbi Cooper said, "What is profoundly shocking and worrying is the venue of the speech, the audience and coming in the time we're living in." The Rabbi Cooper has been under scrutiny in California after he received over 18 million dollars from the California Speaker of the Assembly without accounting for the money.

The globe's Muslim nations now realize that the "War against Islam" by the United States is actually being orchestrated by the extremely powerful "Bush Zionist Cabal" and USA Jewry. The International Zionist Movement now has a strong political and economic grip of the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and other countries. They have accomplished "World Domination" mostly through their control of the international banking system and the international media. In the USA, a few European Jewish banking families actually control the privately owned "Federal Reserve System". The Federal Reserve System as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund through their control of "interest" on loaned monies now have a multitude of the world nations under economic servitude.

Zionism's Master Plan for World Power

2008-03-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

Before the American Mercury Magazine came into its present ownership, it was owned and controlled by a noted patriot by the name of Russell Maguire. He was a man of wealth and intelligent business initiative.

He became alarmed over what he knew to be Zionism's Master Plan for World Power. A documented research manuscript came into his hands and he had the courage to publish it.

Following its publication, he was the victim of attempted blackmail, physical threat, danger of assassination and the complete sabotage of his business enterprises. His life became so harassed that he left America for an isolated island home where he felt he could be safe from harassment, persecution and the risk of death itself.

Herewith is the Manuscript that this courageous patriot had the courage to reproduce.

"This article is not intended to focus on the Jewish people, only the individuals listed."

A Chronology of the Zionist Master Plan
for World Domination

Virtually all of the items included in this chronology are direct quotations from Zionists or from their books. At the end of this article there will be listed the various books, their authors, the publishing firms and the dates of publication. I. B. means "International Banker," A. M. means "American Mercury," p. means "page," MMM means 'Money Made Mysterious."

1896

Theodor Herzl published "The Jewish State." It became the Zionists' bible. The following exact quotes are from Herzl's book:

1. "When we sink, we become a revolutionary proletariat, the subordinate officers of all revolutionary parties; at the same time, when we rise, there rises also our terrible power of the purse." p.10.

2. " . . . the longer Anti-Semitism lies in abeyance the more fiercely will it break out." p. 4.

3."Universal brotherhood is not even a beautiful dream. Antagonism is essential to man's greatest efforts." p. 42.

1897

1. Lord Edmond Rothschild of London and Jacob H. Schiff of New York City, two of the Elders of Zion, got Theodor Herzl (of Austria) to arrange for the World Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland; 197 delegates met there and laid out a plan of World Conquest with plans for a World Government. Herzl, founder of Zionism, in opening the meeting, raised his right hand and repeated an ancient oath of the Talmudists:

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning." Herzl also said at this meeting: "We are one nation. We are neither American nor Russian Jews, but only Jews!" He also said: 'With a few exceptions that do not figure at all, the entire press of the world is in our hands."

2. Dr. Mandelstam said on August 29 at the opening of the Zionist Congress of 1897: "The Jews will use all their influence and power to prevent the rise and prosperity of other nations and are resolved to adhere to their historic hopes; i.e., to the conquest of world power." LE TEMPS, Paris, September 3,1897.

3. The Zionist Organization of America was organized in 1897 with Richard Gottheil of Columbia University as its first president, and Rabbi Stephen Wise as the first secretary. Branches for women (Hadassah), and children (Young Judea) were soon organized. ZIONIST NETWORK, p. 32.

1898

Dr. Mandelstam, professor of the University of Kiev, Russia, at Basel Zionist Congress in 1898 said: "The Jews energetically reject the idea of fusion with the other nationalities and cling firmly to their historical hope, i.e., of world empire." THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, by H. S Chamberlain, Vol. I, p. 335. Also p. 221 of DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION.

1900

1. Theodor Herzl, the Zionist leader, went to see Abdul Hamid the Sultan of Turkey, to buy land for the Zionists in Palestine. When the Sultan said "no" he had a revolution on his hands Note later item in 1914.

2. Between 1900 and the outbreak of World War I (1914), the United States was flooded by large waves of immigration from Eastern Europe.

1901

1. Because President William McKinley in the United States refused to be a stooge for the International Bankers, he was killed by Russian Zionist, Zolkozh. Presidents Lincoln [on Good Friday] and Garfield had been previously murdered.

2. Doctor Leopold Kahn summed up these sentiments when speaking about Zionism in a Jewish school at Pozrony (Bratislava) in 1901: "Jews will never be assimilated and will never adopt the customs or morals of strangers. The Jew will remain a Jew under all circumstances." WORLD CONQUERORS, p. 21.

1902

1. Lenin joins Trotsky in Switzerland on Editorial Board of Zionist publication ISKRA (THE SPARK). It was printed in Munich, Germany.

2. Kuhn, Loeb & Co. was one of the founders and chief financiers of the scandalous Panama Canal Co.

1903

1. Dr. Simon Flexner, one of three busy brothers became director of laboratories of the Rockefeller Institute. AMERICAN MERCURY, November 1958, p. 105.

2. At the Sixth Zionist Congress in 1903 at Basel Switzerland Dr. Max Nordau, an Elder of Zion said we quote from the AMERICAN JEWISH NEWS, New York, Vol. 4, No 2, September 19, 1919, "Theodor Herzl has considered it his duty to maintain valuable relations with this great and progressive power (England). Herzl knows that we stand (in 1903) before a tremendous upheaval of the whole world. Soon, perhaps some kind of world congress will have to be called, and England, the great, free and powerful England, will then continue the work it has begun with its generous offer to the Sixth (Zionist) Congress in 1903. And if you ask me now what has Israel to do in Uganda, then . . . let me tell you the following words as if I were showing you the rungs of a ladder leading upward and upward: Herzl, the Zionist (1897) Congress, the English Uganda proposition (1903), the future World War (1914-1918), the peace conference (1919-1920) where with the help of England a free and Jewish Palestine will be created."

"Like a mighty thunder these last words came to us, and we all were trembling and awe-struck as if we had seen a vision of old."

The above speech was also printed in the FASCIST (London) February, 1937. The same speech has been mentioned in a number of books, including (on page 221) DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION, by the great educator, Edwin D. Schoonmaker, publisher, Richard R. Smith, New York City, 1939.

3. Speyer & Co., the Zionist banking house, gave Mexico a loan of 12 & one half million dollars and secured all oil concessions in Mexico. From then on intrigue dominated Mexico.

1904

1. Kuhn Loeb & Co. (a Rothschild international banking firm) financed the war of Japan against Czarist Russia. (A planned revolution in Czarist Russia followed one year later.)

2. Chaim Weizmann commented as follows on Theodor Herzl's JUDENSTAAT:

"Four years ago world Jewry was divided into two camps: one on the east and one on the west. And when Herzl arrived and said to us that we must unite Eastern and Western Jewry, we carried out this order accordingly. Our unity today is Herzl's legacy to the Jewish people."

Theodor Herzl's JUDENSTAAT states: "Wir sind ein Volk!"Q"We are one people!" And today this is the only unity existing in a world divided into two hemispheres.

"We are one people despite the ostensible rifts, cracks and differences between the American and Soviet democracies. We are one people and it is not in our interests that the West should liberate the East, for in doing this and in liberating the enslaved nations, the West would inevitably deprive Jewry of the Eastern half of its world power." Chaim Weizmann statement in WORLD CONQUERORS, p. 227.

3. International Workers of the World (IWW) starts promoting violence and trouble in U. S. Austrian-born Felix Frankfurter later was counsel for IWW anarchists.

1905

1. Sidney Hillman (Schmoul Gilsman) was educated as a Rabbi. See WHO WAS WHO IN AMERICA, Vol. II, p. 254.

2. Abortive Revolution in Russia failed. It was led by Sidney Hillman who later came to the U.S. to direct "world operations." Another leader in the same revolution was Leon Trotsky ( Leiba Davidovitch Bronstein). During the revolution the Rothschilds helped finance, they had their termites in Russia destroy and sabotage the oil wells and refineries. It took many years to offset this tremendous sabotage. It handicapped Czarist Russia some years later when "Planned World War I" started.

3. Intercollegiate Socialist Society formed. Felix Frankfurter, a founder.

4. A copy of THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION was recorded in the British Museum, in London.

5. We quote from p. 76 of THE WORLD AT THE CROSS ROADS, by Boris Brasol:

"According to the information of the LONDON JEWISH CHRONICLE, the contribution of international Jewry to the Russian revolutionary cause in 1905 reached the sum of #874,341. (Nearly $4,500,000 U.S.)

No wonder that Mr. George von Longerke Meyer, United States Ambassador to Russia during the Russo-Japanese War, stated in an official letter dated December 30, 1905, to Mr. Elihu Root, then U. S. Secretary of State, that:

"The Jews have undoubtedly to a large extent furnished the brains and energy in the revolution throughout Russia."

Nevertheless, in 1905, the revolution financed by Jacob H. Schiff failed.

1906

1. In 1906 a dissolution suit was brought by the Attorney General, for the U. S. Government, against Rockefeller's Oil Company. The case was closed in 1908. The U. S. Supreme Court ruled against the Rockefeller interest in May 1911 and fined them $29,000,000. The State of Texas issued an injunction against the Rockefellers doing business in that state. William H. Allen's book, ROCKEFELLER: GIANT, DWARF, SYMBOL gives some of the details of the Rockefellers' prior questionable operations. When the Rockefellers maneuvered out of the fine of $29 million, Federal Judge Landis, who conducted the government trial, bitterly commented: "You can't convict a million dollars." AMERICAN MERCURY, November 1958, p. 104.

From the beginning the Rockefellers were financed by the Kuhn Loeb & Co. and other Zionist bankers. The Rothschilds advised and guided the Rockefellers. They had a deal to divide the world petroleum markets. See ROTHSCHILD' AND ROCKEFELLERS: DEDICATED MONOPOLISTS, in the AMERICAN MERCURY, November 1958, p. 100.

2. In the JEWISH ENCYCLOPAEDIA (1906), we read:

"It (Schiff's firm) subscribed for and floated the large Japanese war loan in 1904-1905." THE ALIEN MENACE, p. 112.

3. The Rothschilds financed ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE, published in Russia and elsewhere in 1907: "Capture the press! Through it everything will come to you in the natural course of events." Adolphe Cremioux. Founder, ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE, quoted from A. Shamakoff, ADDRESS IN DEFENSE OF T. DOKSHIN AND OTHERS, p. 36. Moscow: University Printing Office, 1907.

1907

1. Labor Zionist Organization of America Q Poale Zion - was organized in the U. S. to shape labor activities.

2. "There was another great crisis when the Knickerbocker Trust failed because manipulators of the millionaire class wilfully created a run on the banks, from which they emerged incomparably more powerful, having bought up the stock of the ruined victims which held to resell at par. At the same time the Steel Trust was able to complete its absolute monopoly. Solomon Loeb of Kuhn Loeb & Co., was a member of the Knickerbocker Trust." DEADLIER THAN THE H. BOMB, p. 45.

1908

1. The Socialists financed by the International Banking group said they would, in the future, "bury the whole capitalist system."

2. On advice of the Rothschilds the Belgian Government acquires the Belgian Congo. Edward Seugier is sent to Elizabethtown. War, minerals and other reasons were mentioned later.

3. Abraham Flexner became education expert for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. AMERICAN MERCURY, November 1958, p 106.

4. Federal Council of Churches of Christ organized at suggestion of Rothschild. Rockefeller and Carnegie interests active in it. Their Foundations later flow funds into it. 75 per cent of its finances have come from sources outside of its church membership. Congregations don't vote. "Selected" delegates meet only once each four years.

5. During a heated Congressional investigation into white slavery, The American Jewish Congress was formed. See p. 96, INTERNATIONAL JEW by Henry Ford, Sr. During years that followed, the AJC and Federal Council of Churches were to work closely together on many projects.

1909

1. Walter Rathenau, Zionist, Financial Dictator of Germany, selected by International Bankers after World War I in THE WIERNER FREE PRESSE,

December 25, 1909: "Only 300 men, each of whom knows all the others, govern the fate of Europe. They elect their successors from their entourage. These Jews have the means in their hands of putting an end to the form of any State which they find unreasonable."

2. THE UNSEEN EMPIRE OF FINANCE, a carefully documented research book by E. Alexander Powell, declared in The SATURDAY EVENING POST, June 19, 1909: "The European peoples are no longer under the Government of respective nations. They have passed under another scepter. They have become the subjects of another Power Q a Power unseen, but felt in palace as in cottage, in Russia as in Spain, by every parent and child, by every potentate and every laborer. No nation on the European continent has any longer an independence that is more than normal. The political autonomy of every one of them has been surrendered to the will of a despotism before which every kingdom and empire and republic fawns in the most abject subserviency." Above also in ZIONIST NETWORK, p. 6, by Senator Jack B. Tenney.

1911

1. "Mr. Paul Warburg was brother-in-law to Mr. Jacob H. Schiff. Warburg was born in Germany. His brothers conduct the powerful German banking house of M. Warburg and Company, Hamburg, financing the German shipping industry and controlling the Hamburg-American and North German Lloyd lines. Herr Max Warburg, head of this banking house played an important part in German politics, particularly at the time the Kaiser fled to Holland. Dr. Carl Melchoir, a partner in it, was one of the five German delegates-in-chief at the Peace Conference at Versailles (1919), and in later years (1930) was prominent in the founding of the Bank for International Settlements. This was the central bank of the central International Settlements, the central bank of the central banks established in Switzerland, which has been internationalized in peace and war alike, it pays no taxes, and it is above and beyond all law." ALL THESE THINGS, by A. N. Field, p. 5.

2. Correspondence of the Rothschilds to the German Kaiser reveals Rothschilds wanted World War I delayed. (They needed our Federal Reserve Act to finance World Wars.) INTERNATIONAL JEW by Henry Ford, Sr., P. 204.

3. The International Group running the Carnegie Foundation trustees' meeting "discussed the advantages of changing our government and institutions through war." (Later Alger Hiss was president of this "international" outfit.)

4. "I felt constrained to point out (to Kaiser Wilhelm II on his last visit to England in 1911) that the Jews . . . had captured and controlled the larger part of the German press. He did not dissent." Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister of England 1908 - 1916. THE GENESIS OF THE WAR, New York, 1923, p. 89.

5. The Zionist organization sent a German geologist, Professor Blankenhorn, to investigate the potentialities of the Dead Sea region in Palestine. THE ALIEN MENACE, p. 168.

1912

1. Bernard Baruch ushered into the President's office in the White House his very weak professor, Woodrow Wilson.

2. Richard J. H. Gottheil wrote that "The closer Jews are kept within the fold, the greater their interest in Jewish life and thought."

3. The best pamphleteers, the ablest journalists of Europe kept on the payroll of the various financial groups, were feverishly preparing public opinion for the future conflict between the European countries. Boris L. Brasol.

4. " . . . Finally it should be borne in mind that the press bureaus and the great Eastern dailies exert a disproportionate influence on the American press as a whole . . . The foreign news which came through these bureaus was primarily composed for the New York papers, so, in the last analysis, the control of the New York press meant the control of the entire American press." Horace C. Peterson.

5. " . . . The Northcliffe (Jewish-owned) press did more before and during the war to embitter and deliberately poison the English mind against Germany than any other agency." Clinton Hartley Grattan.

1913

1. Colonel E. Mandell House wrote a book, PHILIP DRU, ADMINISTRATOR David-Rex-Universe, See AMERICAN MERCURY, November 1954, p. 131 (Researchers say that E. Mandell House was an agent of the Rothschilds.)

2. President Wilson (during brief moments when he was not dominated by Brandeis, Baruch, Frankfurter, etc.) wrote "we know that something intervenes between the people of the U. S. and the control of their own affairs at Washington." FAR AND WIDE, p. 327.

The Hidden Hand put across five related items in 1913:

1. Graduated income tax law was passed. (16th Amendment.) A fundamental rule, laid down by The Communist Manifesto, for destroying of society is "A heavy, progressive or graduated income tax."

2. The Federal Reserve Banking Act was passed, December 23 Q two days before Christmas. It permitted aliens, through our privately owned Federal Reserve Banks to finance the world wars which were "planned." Elihu Root blasted this dangerous act in the Senate December 13,1913. (See MONEY MADE MYSTERIOUS- 3rd Book.) 4,000 pages of fine print was later slipped into it! It was cooked up at Baruch's Jekyl Island in a secret conference.

3. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was organized by B'nai B'rith. (Its pressure and intimidation record, and the sad events that happened thereafter, speak for themselves.)

4. The Rockefeller Foundation was established. Thereafter this outfit and the ADL were to cooperate. (Remember the 2 blades of a pair of scissors.)

5. U. S. senators would no longer he selected by the legislatures of each of the states. Thereafter senators would be elected by the masses. This gave the Internationalists and their Controlled Press control of the senators by their control of all communication media. They already had it on the Congressmen.

From this date forward, we were to be lied to, brainwashed and betrayed: Nationalism was thrown out the window for un-American internationalism. The money properly belonging to the citizen was taken from him by the Marxist graduated income tax and squandered by the internationalists through "their controlled government." Planned and promoted wars followed.

1914

1. As Zionists pushed England into war, U. S. had at the critical Constantinople post (Turkey) Henry Morgenthau, Sr., as Ambassador and Louis Einstein as its special minister.

2 Paul M. Warburg said, at a Congressional hearing: "I only decided to become a citizen after I was convinced the U. S. money system would be reformed." THE HIDDEN EMPIRE, p. 63.

3. Five men who were later to head various governments (Lenin of Russia, Ebert of Germany, Branting of Sweden, MacDonald of England, Stauning of Denmark) met as members of the International Socialist Bureau of the Second International!

4. Trotsky was introduced and recommended to them (Kuhn, Loeb & Co) by the publisher of the . . . revolutionary newspaper, FORWARD of New York . . . Henry Coston, LES FINANCIERS QUI MENENT LE MONDE, Paris, 1955, p. 114.

5. "One by one the Jews are capturing the principal newspapers of America . . . " From letter of Sir Cecil Spring-Rice (British Ambassador to U.S.) to Sir Edward Grey (British Foreign Minister), November, 1914.

6. At the start of World War I, Edmond Rothschild told Dr. Chaim Weizmann that "It would spread to the Middle East , where things of great significance to Political Zionism would occur." FAR AND WIDE, p. 285.

7. Colonel C. Repington recounts a conversation he had (April 5, 1921) with Count Mensdorff, who was Austrian Ambassador in London in 1914, as follows: "Mensdorff thought that Israel had won the War; they had made it, thrived on it, profited by it. It was their supreme revenge on Christianity." AFTER THE WAR, p. 155, Constable, 1922.

8. Lloyd George, who was counsel for the Zionists in England, was made premier of the English Government and chosen to "perform" during World War I. His secretary was Sir Philip Sassoon Rothschild. AMERICAN MERCURY - KNOW - December, 1958.

9. "The part which Jews all over the world play in white slavery is one of the foulest blots on our people." JEWISH WORLD, March 18, 1914.

10. "Mr. Paul Moritz Warburg practically controls the financial policy of the Administration.' Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, British Ambassador to the U. S. From ALL THESE THINGS, by A. N. Field, p. 5.

11. "Assimilation is national suicide." Louis D. Brandeis before Menorah Society, Columbia University.

1915

1. In 1915, while the U. S. was at peace, Bernard Baruch took part of his annual income of $2,000,000 to finance the training of soldiers to fight in a war which Baruch said he knew was 'certain." AMERICAN MERCURY Q October, 1956, p. 83.

1916

1. After months of terrific battle in Congress, Louis D. Brandeis was confirmed as Supreme Court Justice. He is the uncle of Felix Frankfurter, who years later dominated the Supreme Court. Christopher Sykes, son of Sir Mark Sykes, (who was the Secretary of the British War Cabinet) wrote a book TWO STUDIES IN VIRTUE, and, referring to the Balfour Declaration and the, part played by his father in advancing Zionism, Sykes said, - on page 183 of his book:

"He (Mr. James MalcolmQMalkom, a Zionist) then told Sir Mark Skyes of a very curious and powerful influence which Zionists could exert. One of President Wilson's closest advisers and friends was Justice Louis D. Brandeis, a Jew with the passionate Zionist faith of a recent convert.

"That Wilson was attached to Brandeis by ties of peculiar hardiness, because, so the story ran, in his earlier days the future President had been saved by this man (Brandeis) from appearing in a damaging lawsuit. It was said that Brandeis was regarded by Wilson as the man to whom he owed his career."

(Researchers said President Wilson was involved in "moral problems" at Princeton University, that Samuel Untermeyer had some damaging letters returned to Wilson after Brandeis was put on the Supreme Court). Re: Mrs. Peck, we quote from others:

"Woodrow Wilson's friendship with Mrs. Hulbert Peck (of Princeton, New Jersey) . . . lasted for seven years . . . It was wrecked in the end by gossip. The so-called Peck scandal furnished the zest for the whispering campaigns of two Presidential elections . . . Wilson had written hundreds of letters to the charming divorcee." George S. Viereck 80.283.

"It seems that the Peck letters were finally acquired by the Wilson estate." George S. Viereck.

"Mrs. Peck never demanded and Woodrow Wilson never paid hush money or blackmail." (Edward Mandell House) Probably correct Q putting Brandeis on the Supreme Court researchers say was the price the American public paid!

2. "A note drawn up by the American official (intelligence) services and transmitted by the High Commissioner of the French Republic in the United States, contained the following passage: 'In February 1916, it was learned for the first time that a revolution was being fomented in Russia. It was discovered that the undermentioned persons and concerns were engaged in this enterprise of destruction:

(1) Jacob Schiff; (2) Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Directors: Jacob Schiff, Felix Warburg, Otto Kahn, Mortimer Schiff, Jerome Hanauer; (3) Guggenheim; (4) Max Breitung." (From the American Consulate, Elbridge D. Rand, American Consul, Geneva, Switzerland, dated January 21, 1929.) National Archives, Dept. of State, Decimal File, 1910-1929, No. 861.4016/325.

3. Of the 63 delegates of the Committee of Russian Revolutionists that met in New York City, 50 were veterans of the 1905 revolution.

4. Zionists secretly cook up Palestine "deal." Documents available.

5. The notorious "Sunrise Conference" in Washington. The record of this sinister planning was suppressed. (In 1938 the enemy got our Senate Military Affairs Committee to hold a similar conference. Senator Bridges said in the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, March 2, 1939, "If the American people ever learned what was said there Q the nation would be shocked and stunned." DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION, p. 312.

6. President Woodrow Wilson was re-elected on the slogan "He kept us out of war." (At the same time, he and his foreign advisers were secretly taking steps to involve us in this unnecessary war.)

1917

1. The Bolshevist Revolution was not, as it is called, a revolution, but actually an invasion. DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION, p. 210.

2. Rabbi Wise says (New York Times 3/24/17): "I believe that of all the achievements of my people, none has been nobler than the part the sons and daughters of Israel have taken in the great movement which has culminated in free Russia" (revolution). From speech of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise March 23, 1917 to the mass meeting celebrating the revolution in Russia.

3. (April) Jacob H. Schiff of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. made a public declaration that it was thanks to his financial help that the Russian Revolution had succeeded.

4. "I have just had a long talk with Simonds of the NEW YORK TRIBUNE. He is prepared to help us (Zionists) to speak with vigor, editorially, on our behalf, but I think a word of yours to him will be important." Letter of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise to Justice Louis D. Brandeis - May 10.

5. We quote from the JEWISH COMMUNAL REGISTER of New York City: "The firm of Kuhn Loeb & Company floated the largest Japanese war loan of 1904-05 thus making possible the Japanese victory over Russia" . . . "Jacob Schiff financed the enemies of autocratic Russia and used his financial influence to keep Russia from the money markets of the United States."

6. " . . . The uprising of July 4, 1917, was intended to overthrow the Provisional Government according to the plans of Lenin and Trotsky. The revolutionaries were disconcerted by the intervention of a solitary regiment which had been withdrawn from the front and scattered themselves. Lenin escaped but Trotsky was arrested. Their cause appeared lost. But the Bolshevists had given proof of their courage, and a telegram arrived to bring them news of the financial support of Jacob Schiff, who was determined to push the Russian Revolution to the end. The importance of these funds placed at the disposal of Lenin and Trotsky in order to foment the Bolshevik insurrection of October, 1917, has not been fully realized. This action overthrew the Kerensky government and set up the Soviet regime. How these funds got to them is known. The United States Government published in October, 1918, a series of official documents entitled The German-Bolshevik Conspiracy." Henry Coston, LES FINANCIERS QUI MENENT LE MONDE, Paris, p.114.

7. Max Warburg of Hamburg (Sept. 21) opened by cable an account at (Rothschilds) Nya Banken in Stockholm, Sweden for Trotsky (Bronstein).

8. October 17. Zionists dominated England and France, betrayed the Arab-Moslem people and bargained away their Palestine territories. Lawrence of Arabia, an Englisman who was loved, trusted, and respected by the Arabs, returned to the British Government the decorations they gave him. (Shouldn't Eisenhower, as Commander-in-Charge of the U. S. Armed Forces, also return the valuable military decorations he received from Soviet Russia?)

9. " . . . Wladimir Olaf Aschberg . . . acted as the intermediary (in Stockholm, Sweden) between Kuhn, Loeb & Co. in New

York City and the firm of Max Warburg (in Hamburg) when they were financing the (Bolshevik) revolution of October, 1917. Aschberg was the head of the Nya Banken in Stockholm and later, in 1921, founded the Russian Commercial Bank. Thanks to this institution he became in a sense the dictator of Soviet finances." Henry Coston, LES FINANCIERS QUI MENENT LE MONDE, Paris, p. 115.

"In the match between these two heavyweights (the United States and the Soviet Union) the International Finance of the United States will have trained the adversary." Comte de Saint-Aulaire, GENEVA VERSUS PEACE, London, 1937, p. 75) (Library of Congress: JX1975,S.32) (He was the French Ambassador to the Court of St. James, London, from 1920 until 1924.

10. From the great book WORLD REVOLUTION Q THE PLOT AGAINST CIVILIZATION by the famous English historian, Nesta H. Webster, p. 93, we quote: "In a word, the peasant inherited from the aristocrat; he was disinherited by the usurer. Here is the true history of the disinherited, not in France alone, but in Russia, in Austria, in Poland; everywhere that the worker lives by tilling his own soil the abolition of feudalism has led to the domination of the money-lender, and the money-lender is in most cases a Jew."

11. We quote from Page 187 of TWO STUDIES IN VIRTUE by Christopher Sykes, as follows:

"Sokolow made a simple request, namely that the Zionist Committee should have facilities for commuications abroad. He pointed out they were an international body - should be granted Governmental privileges.

"It was agreed that the War Office and the Foreign Office would send Zionist letters and telegrams by way of Embassies, Consulates or Headquarters."

12. Jacob H. Schiff, the leader of Zionists, finances the complete rewriting of the Bible provided it is done under Jewish auspices. See his book p. 63, VII, also AMERICAN MERCURY, July, 1958, p. 120.

13. On Good Friday, April 6, 1917, the conspirators got the United States to foolishly declare World War I on Germany and to become an ally of the Revolutionists who had invaded and now dominate Russia. (It was also on Good Friday, April 14, 1865 that Abraham Lincoln was murdered.)

14. "Official information emanating from Russia itself informed the world that Communism, while barbarously opposed to every form of Christianity, made it a crime for any comrade to utter a single word of reproach against the Jews."

"The 1917 list of those who, with Lenin, ruled many of the activities of the Soviet Republic, disclosed that of the 25 quasi-cabinet members, 24 of them were atheistic."

"Between the years 1917 and 1938, more than 20 million Christians were murdered by the Communistic government in Russia."

"Between these same years, 40 billion dollar of Christian property was appropriated by the Lenins and Trotskys, the Zinofieffs and the Kemeneffs, the Litvinoffs and the Lapinskys - by the atheistic Jews and Gentiles Q both of Russia."

"Those were the desperate days when Christians were not expelled from their native land but were the targets for the machine gun which beat out its tattoo against human hearts; incredible days when the altars of Christ were desecrated and the servants of Christ were massacred on every multiplying Calvaries." From nationwide broadcast of Rev. Charles E. Coughlin, Sunday, Nov. 29, 1938.

15. Since 1917, Red Russia has been the land base for the conspirators. Later, evil men in the U. S. financed and industrialized it. AMERICAN MERCURY, January 1959, Mercury's Opinion, p. 110.

1918

1. " . . . I think that a Jewish Palestine must become a war aim for America . . . " Letter of Dr. Chaim Weizmann to Justice Louis D. Brandeis, Supreme Court, dated January 14.

2. Sixty-Fifth Congress, House Document 1868, Exhibit 243, "Paper Relating to Foreign Relations of the United States" contains a whole series of documents showing that the International

Bankers financed Lenin and Trotsky (Bronstein). Transfer of funds started in June, 1917. Document 9 shows that the international banking house of M. Warburg opened an account for Comrade Trotsky to purchase arms, etc. Also Document 12 shows transfer of funds for "agitation against England and France."

3. Soviet Russia law passed. "From 3/1/18 on, the right to possess women having reached the age of 17 and not more than 32, is abolished. Women proclaimed to be the property of the whole nation. The former owners may retain the right of using their wives without waiting for their turn." THE HIDDEN EMPIRE, p. 47.

4. The United States Secret Service (2nd Army Bureau) named the persons who financed the Bolsheviks in 1916. The State Department, under Jewish pressure, destroyed this report. As the report remarks: "All Jews."

5. 'We are living in a highly, organized state of socialism. The state is all; the individual is of importance only as he contributes to the welfare of the state. His property is only (his) as the state does not need it. He must hold his life and his possessions at the call of the state." Bernard M. Baruch in THE KNICKERBOCKER PRESS, Albany, New York, August 8, 1918.

(This ties in with (Rothschilds) Alliance Israelite Universelle which sent out bulletins "Nationalities must disappear, religion must be suppressed. But Israel (i.e., Zionism) must not disappear.")

6. The First World War brought to Edward Rothschild, and his associates, more than one hundred billion dollars of profit. THE SECRET WORLD GOVERNMENT by Major General Count Cherep-Spiridovich.

7. Bolshevist revolutionaries in Russia murdered adults and children of the royal family, and many others, thus launching their regime, in blood.

8. Bernard Baruch, testifying at a Congressional inquiry, said: "I had more power than any other man in the war."

9. U. S. Government paid Col. E. Mandell House $60,000 for expenses in N.Y.C. (for 6 months, July 1 to December 31, 1918.)

10. Bernard Flexner joins Roger Baldwin and his counsel of Zionist delegation to 1919 Peace Conference. (Records of both of these men speak for themselves.)

11. How these subsidized alien revolutionaries, having invaded Russia, proceeded to murder and rob on a wholesale scale has been recorded by many persons who had the misfortunate to be in Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. THE ALIEN MENACE, pages 113-114.

12. Those who wish to go further in the history of this plot against civilization should consult the books quoted; also RUSSIA'S RUIN, by Wilcox (Chapman & Hall, 1919). THE ALIEN MENACE, p. 114.

13. See MERCURY article, pages 115-ll6, February, 1958 entitled "Felix Frankfurter and Louis D. Brandeis." On 3/2/18 they, Frankfurter from Paris and Brandeis in the U.S., were raising a million dollars (for Weizmann to use in London).

14. Very few Christians ever read THE WORLD SIGNIFICANCE OF A JEWISH STATE by Braintruster A. A. Berle. Berle and Herzl had much in common.

1919

1. Of the making of the peace of 1919, Dr. E. J. Dillon of the LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH wrote in his book THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE, Harpers, 1920 that the delegates to the Conference from Eastern Europe set down the formula: " 'Henceforth the world will be governed by the Anglo-Saxon people, who in turn are swayed by their Jewish elements' . . . and who regard it as fatal to the peace of Eastern Europe." Page 497.

2. Between 1919 and 1924, three million recorded immigrants came to the U. S., mostly from Eastern Europe.

3. Professor J. R. Commons of the University of Wisconsin testified before the United States House of Representatives Barking and Currency Committee in 1927 that a member of the Federal Reserve Board had told him that the great inflation of 1919 was deliberately created by the Federal Reserve Board. ALL THESE THINGS by A. N. Field, p. 6.

4. Council of Foreign Relations was launched by Rothschild and Rockefeller at the sinister Versailles Peace meeting. The following two groups were set up to do the job:

I. Royal Institute of International Affairs, London.

II. Council on Foreign Relations, New York City (U.S.)

Annual grants by Rockefeller Foundation provided a direct, continuous method of control of both organizations. Carnegie Foundation and later Rockefeller Foundation were to constitute a gigantic lobby and pressure group serving to brainwash, influence and warp (or 'mold") the various nations' policies. Top officials were influenced to come to the Council of Foreign Relations for "advice" and "guidance." See facts in reprint WEINBERG REPLACES BARUCH.

5. If you read THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE (Harpers) by Dr. E. J. Dillon, you will see the characters who put across the vicious Versailles Peace Treaty. It made a subsequent World War inevitable.

6. In the new constitution recently adopted in the USSR we have another interesting provision which bears upon this passing of Russia. The Christian religion has for centuries been the religion of the Slav, as it has been the religion of the other races of Europe. We have seen the record of hatred of the Bolsheviki and the Soviet Government in relation to that religion.

7. In article 124 of the new Soviet constitution we find the following:

"Freedom to perform religious rites and freedom of antireligious propaganda is recognized for all citizens." Significant as this is, it becomes even more significant when taken in connection with a provision in the preceding article, 123:

"Any direct or indirect restriction of these rights . . . as well as any propagation of racial or national exceptionalism or hatred and contempt, is punishable by law."

8. The following extracts are quotes from the testimony of those who appeared before the U. S. Senate Overman Committee. Also printed in DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION, per pages listed.

"The leaders of the movement, I should say, are about two-thirds Russian Jews." William C. Huntington, Commercial Attache of the United States Embassy at Petrograd from June, 1913, to September, 1918. Page 69.

"In Russia it is well known that three-fourths of the Bolshevist leaders are Jewish." Mr. Welsh, for two years a junior officer of the National City Bank in Russia. Page 269.

"When the Bolsheviki came into power, all over Petrograd we at once had a predominance of Yiddish proclamations, big posters, and everything in Yiddish." Dr. Simons, Pastor of the Methodist Church in Petrograd, p. 142.

In the YALE REVIEW in an article entitled The World Menace, Mr. Henry C. Emery LL.D., former chairman of the United States Tariff Board supported this testimony. "No one who ever made a visit to Smolny Institute, when that was the headquarters of the Bolshevist government in Petrograd, could fail to understand how easy it is to get the impression that the Jews have at last seized power."

9. Potent international financial interests were at work (at the Peace Conference) in favor of the immediate recognition of the Bolshevists. Those influences had been largely responsible for the Anglo-American proposal in January (19l9) to call Bolshevist representatives to Paris at the beginning of the Peace Conference . . . The well known American-Jewish banker, Mr Jacob Schiff, was known to be anxious to secure recognition for the Bolshevists . . . and Tchitcherin, the Bolshevist Commissar for Foreign Affairs, had revealed the meaning of the January proposal by offering extensive commercial and economic concessions in return for recognition."

Henry Wickham Steed, THROUGH THIRTY YEARS, New York 1924 Vol. 2, p 301. Mr. Steed was the Editor of THE TIMES, London. Library of Congress D 397. S75.

10. Victor Marsden, the (London) MORNING POST reporter who spent many months in Russia, stated that "among the 545 leading Bolshevik officials there were 377 Jews at the birth of Bolshevism."

11. The German people were robbed and weakened by inflation. As a result of the international bankers' conspiracy, it took a billion-mark stamp (5 billion pre-war dollars) to send one letter in Germany.

12. British War Cabinet issues official "White Paper" listing Kuhn, Loeb & Co. and other Zionist bankers who financed Red Russian Revolution.

13. In March, Third International was organized by Zionists. See H. Fish Report.

14. March 1, Capt. Schuyler reported. Here are exact quotes from document in our possession:

"You will think I am hot about this matter (Bolshevism) but it is I feel sure one which is going to bring great trouble on the United States when the judgment of history shall be recorded on the part we have played. It is very largely our fault that Bolshevism has spread as it has...." From confidential report of Capt. Montgomery Schuyler, Chief United States Army Intelligence Officer, Omsk, Siberia, to Lt. Col. David Prescott Barrows, Intelligence Officer, American Expeditionary Forces, Vladivostok, Siberia, March 1,1919, p. 2. National Archives, Military Intelligence Files.

15. " . . . The prime movers (for the recognition of the Bolshevists at the Peace Conference in 1919) were Jacob Schiff, Warburg and other international financiers, who wished above all to boIster up the Jewish Bolshevists." Henry Wickham Steed, THROUGH THIRTY YEARS, New York, 1924, Vol. 2, p. 302. Library of Congress: D 397. S 75.

16. " . . . Trotsky was furnished large sums of money in America and . . . sent to Russia." Erich Ludendorff, KRIEGSHETZE UND VOLKERMORDEN IN DEN LETZTEN 150 JAHREN. Muenchen, 1936, p. 149. General Ludendorff was Commander-in-Chief of the German Army in World War I. Library of Congress: D 359. L 86, 1939.

17. "The collapse of these three Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia) in their old form represents a considerable gain for the carrying on of a Jewish national policy, and the fact that the same war, which brought about the world-wide recognition of Zionism, also brought about the fall of three anti-Jewish powers, is a unique coincidence which may well give cause for thought." DER JUDE, Vol. 3, p. 449, Dr. Martin Buber, Publisher, Berlin 1918-1919.

18. The Communist Party was set up in the U. S. on September 1, 1919. William Z. Foster (wife, Esther Abramovich) became its first general secretary. THE DAILY WORKER, the Communist New York daily, began its first publication about the same time.

19. The Versailles Peace Conference imposed on Germany the harsh conditions that sent the nation reeling toward Communism, depression, and finally despotism.

20. Bernard Baruch was invited to become the Soviet Union's peace-time adviser on industry and resources.

21. Dr. Weizmann said "we do not aspire to found a Zionist State. We cannot hope to rule in a country in which only 1/7th of the population at present are Jews." FAR AND WIDE, p. 318.

22. In the hearings before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Sixty-Sixth Congress, Document 106, p. 536, we quote:

Senator McCumber questions President Woodrow Wilson: "Do you think if Germany had committed no act of war or no act of injustice against our citizens that we would have gotten into this war?"

President Wilson: "I do think so."

Senator McCumber: "You think we would have gotten in anyway?"

President Wilson: "I do."

23. Poisonous propaganda started to flow into the minds of United States citizens.

24. "Jewish hopes for the future depend on two linchpins. One is the League of Nations idea, and the other is the British Government, and we need scarcely say that we refer to Jewish hopes in the widest application of the term." THE JEWISH WORLD, London, January 15,1919 (No. 2392), p. 5

"There must be a proper lookout for the civic and political rights and the status of Jews in various countries unless there be established a Power above all nations . . . " as above, p. 5.

25. "Peace" Conference in Paris in 1919 made the resumption of war inevitable, owing to its impossible financial clauses.

At this conference the chief financial adviser to the German delegation was Dr. Carl Melchior, partner of Max Warburg, whose brothers Paul and Felix were partners of Jacob Schiff, in Kuhn, Loeb & Co. The chief economic adviser to the American delegation was Bernard M. Baruch, the dictator of the all-powerful War Industries Board in America during the war and an associate in business of Jacob H. Schiff. The British economic delegation was headed by Lord Cunliffe, former Governor of the Bank of England and a partner in the international Jewish banking house of Goschen (ancestral cityQLeipzig, Germany). In connection with this conference, Lloyd George wrote in his memoirs: "They (the international bankers) swept statesmen, politicians, jurists and journalists all on one side and issued their orders with an imperiousness of absolute monarchs who knew that there was no appeal from their ruthless decrees." DEADLIER THAN THE H BOMB, p. 47.

26. The second reason for large scale Communist exploitation of the United States was our traditional lack of any laws prohibiting or regulating immigration into the United states and our negligence or politics in enforcing immigration laws when they had been passed (Chapter II, IRON CURTAIN OVER AMERICA.) "The illegal entry of aliens into the United State] is one of the most serious and difficult problems confronting the Immigration and Naturalization Service . . . Since the end of World War II, the problem of illegal entry has increased tremendously . . . There is ample evidence that there is an alarmingly large number of aliens in the United States in an illegal status. Under the alien registration act of 1940 some 5,000,000 aliens were registered." THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SYSTEMS OF THE UNITED STATES, pp. 629, 630.

The third principal reason for the Communist exploitation of the United States was the absence of any effective policy regarding resident foreigners even when their activities are directed toward the overthrow of the government. Thus in 1950 several hundreds of thousands of foreigners, among the millions illegally in this country, were arrested and released for want of adequate provisions for deporting them.

As shown in Chapter II, "persons of Khazar background or traditions had entered the United States in large numbers in the waves of immigration between 1880 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The Soviet seizure of Russia took place in 1917, however, and the hey-clay for Communist-inclined immigrants from Eastern Europe was the five-year period between the end of World War I (1919) and the passage of the 1924 law restricting immigration. Recorded immigrants to this country in that brief span of time amounted to approximately 3 million and large numbers of newcomers were from Eastern Europe." THE IRON CURTAIN OVER AMERICA by John Beaty, p. 45.

27. Lenin said: "The first World War gave us Russia, while the Second World War will hand Europe to us." (Note the certainty of World War II. It came, "as planned" - 2O years later.)

The urging of dual loyalty by Dr. Nahum Goldman, who is president of the World Zionist Movement and also president of the World Jewish Congress makes real Americans very concerned. See AMERICAN MERCURY, June, 1959, This Is What They Said, p. 146.

Events That Have Confirmed
the Research Summarized in
the Preceding Manuscript:

1. Five million dollars worth of research by the late Henry Ford resulted in the production of THE INTERNATIONAL JEW. This almost cost Mr. Ford his life and his company.

2. The Outline is consistent with the PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION, smuggled out of Russia and translated by a great English journalist. When the Jews told Mr. Ford that the PROTOCOLS were a forgery, he said: "I don't believe they are a forgery, but whatever they are they fit what is going on as the Jew attempts to gain world power."

3. By manipulations involving the First World War and the Second World War, the Jews were able to steal $20,000,000,000.00 (Twenty Billion dollars) worth of real estate, drive millions of helpless Arabs Q both Christian and Moslem Q into a desert to starve, die and suffer and establish what intelligent observers refer to as the counterfeit State of Israel. In the fulfillment of this project, they indulged in genocide, napalm slaughter and every known form of barbarism that could be meted out to an oppressed and defeated people.

4. In 1967 they seized the entire Holy Land and invaded Jordan and Egypt and announced their purpose through their Number One Zionist spokesman, Ben-Gurion, who said, "We shall make of this the Supreme Court of Mankind."

5. Although the Jew Zionists helped create the United Nations, they fouled their own brood and they were completely condemned by the United Nations, representing the reaction and the awakening of world-wide sentiment.

6. Jew Zionists have organized a world-wide screaming and complaining campaign against the Soviet Union because of its alleged mistreatment of the Jews. There is no way to know whether this means that the Jews have now 'fouled their brood' in the Soviet Union or whether it is a false front to mislead the world in preparation for the day when the Soviet Union will join with the Zionists in subduing the Arabs and capturing two-thirds of the world's oil supply. It is important, however, that every reader of this manuscript have a photostatic copy of the Report of Military Intelligence referred to in Item 7 on Page 29 which reveals that out of approximately 300 commissars in the first Communist government of Russia, 284 were Jews from New York and scattered portions of America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The following books are listed in the same order as they were mentioned in above article.

THE JEWISH STATE by Theodor Herzl, 1896,

ZIONIST NETWORK by Senator Jack B. Tenney, Standard Publications, P. O. Box 2003, Sacramento, California

FOUNDATIONS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY by H. S. ChamberIain, Vol. I

DEMOCRACY AND WORLD DOMINION by Edwin D. Schoonmaker, Richard R. Smith, New York, 1939

THE WORLD CONQUERORS by Louis Marschalko, Joseph Sueli Publications, London, 1958

THE WORLD AT THE CROSS ROADS by Boris Brasol, Boston, 1921. . . ROCKEFELLER: GIANT, DWARF, SYMBOL by William H. Allen, Institute for Public Service, New York, 1930

JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1906

DEADLIER THAN THE H-BOMB by Commander Leonard Young...

INTERNATIONAL JEW by Henry Ford, Sr....

THE UNSEEN EMPIRE OF FINANCE by E. Alexander Powell

ALL THESE THINGS by A. N. Field

THE GENESIS OF THE WAR, New York, 1923

THE ALIEN MENACE by Lt. Colonel A. H. Lane, Boswell Printing & Publishing Co., Ltd., 10 Essex St. Strand, London, W. C. 1, 1932

PHILIP DRU, ADMINISTRATOR by Col. E. Mandell House

FAR AND WIDE by Douglas Reed, Jonathan Cape, 30 Bedford Square, London, 1951

THE HIDDEN EMPIRE, published in London

AFTER THE WAR, published by Constable in 1922

TWO STUDIES IN VIRTUE by Christopher Sykes

LES FINANCIERS QUI MENENT LE MONDE, by Henry Coston, Paris .

GENEVA VERSUS PEACE by Comte de Saint-Aulaire, London, 1937

WORLD REVOLUTIONQTHE PLOT AGAINST CIVILIZATION by Nester H. Webster, London

JACOB H. SCHIFF, HIS LIFE & LETTERS by Jacob H. Schiff

THE SECRET WORLD GOVERNMENT by Major General Count Cherep-Spiridovich, New York, 1921

THE WORLD SIGNIFICANCE OF A JEWISH STATE by A. A. Berle

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE by Dr. E. J. Dillon, Harpers, 1920

THROUGH THIRTY YEARS by Henry Wickham Steed, New York 1924

KRIEGSHETZE UND VOLKERMORDEN IN DEN LETZEN 150 JAHREN, Muenchen, 1933

DER JUDE by Dr. Martin Buber, Publisher, Berlin, Vol. 3 1918-19 .

IRON CURTAIN OVER AMERICA by John Beaty.

The Man with X-Ray Vision

2008-03-21T05:39:00.000-07:00

J. Raoul Derosiers, a Canadian businessman, allegedly had one of the strangest talents on record, he could, apparently, see deep into solid earth. This x-ray vision was at one time known as 'water witching', but nowadays is more commonly called water divining or dowsing.

According to the story, Derosiers had often suffered from acute stabbing pains under his lower ribs but, although the attacks were painful, they never lasted long, so he didn't take too much notice of them. In 1940, however, the attacks started to occur more frequently and for much longer durations, convincing him that he needed to visit a doctor. The doctor though the problem was mainly psychological, and would be cured by rest. Accordingly he prescribed Derosiers sleeping pills, and indeed, this appeared to work for a while.

After he'd been taking the pills for about a month, Derosiers visited a cousin's farm in Quebec. The relative complained that lack of water was pushing him out of the cattle business, but although he felt sorry about the situation, Derosiers could do nothing. A few months later, while the two men were walking across a field behind the barns, Derosiers got one of his awful pains in the ribs. As it was happening, he said to his cousin: 'Don't ask me why I say this, for I can't explain it - but I feel that I am standing over a stream of underground water . . . good water. It is seventy feet down and it runs over the top of a layer of slate three inches thick. Don't drill through that slate or you will lose the water.' Three weeks later, the well was drilled in the place Derosiers had indicated using his mental x-ray, and an abundant supply of drinkable water was discovered only a foot deeper than he had specified. Underneath the water was a layer of slate three to four inches in thickness.

News of this miraculous 'water witching' spread quickly and Derosiers found his x-ray vision very much in demand. He chose locations for over six hundred wells, without failure, simply by walking over the land and stopping when he felt the stabbing pain in his ribs.

If accounts of Raoul Derosiers are accurate, then what remains is that somehow he developed a kind of x-ray vision, a seemingly supernatural ability to accurately describe the layers of rock, slate and sand that lay underneath him when he was struck by the sharp pain in his ribs. Apparently, his clients said he never missed. Perhaps the doctor's prescribed sleeping pills occasioned some change in him which facilitated this extraordinary skill.

Though his strange x-ray method of detection was bizarre to say the least, Derosiers' ability is not totally unique, there have been and are dowsers with similar skills. French dowser Barthelemy Bleton accidentally discovered his own talents at the age of seven because he always felt sick and faint when sitting on a particular spot. Subsequent digging at this spot revealed a powerful underground spring.
Sources and Further Reading

Edwards, Frank. Strange People. London, Pan Books. 1966, pp117-18.

Wilson, Colin. Mysteries. London, Granada Publishing Ltd. 1979, p123.

Woman among 4 foreigners killed in Islamabad's Italian restaurant blast

2008-03-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Two foreigners including a woman were killed and 10 others, mostly foreigners, were injured in a blast in an Italian restaurant in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday evening, TV channels quoted police as saying.

A restaurant employee Anwar-ul Haq said he saw 8 injured lying in the restaurant after the blast.

Witnesses said they saw injured were being shifted in ambulance from the restaurant in the busy Super Market.

The blast at Luna Caprese at 8:45 p.m. destroyed the wall of the restaurant.

There were 15 to 20 people, most foreigners, having dinner when the blast occurred.

The blast created panic in the market, where a large number of people were busy in shopping on the weekend.

The police cordoned off the main road outside the restaurant.

A witness Hussain Turi, working in a private office at Super Market, said he heard a huge blast and rushed to site.

"I saw three injured were being shifted in ambulance," he said.

Blast in Islamabad

2008-03-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan A bomb exploded in the back garden of an Italian restaurant popular with foreigners in Pakistan's capital Saturday night, killing two people and wounding nine, police said.

It appeared to be the first attack targeting foreigners in a recent wave of violence.

According to the cook of the Restaurant Liaqat he heard two blasts the first one was not heavy while the second was very strong.

Acoording to Local News 1 women died and while 15 injured

The women was a nurse in the American Embassy.

25 people were in the resturant

Police have not determined whether the bomb was planted in the Luna Caprese's back garden, or whether a suicide bomber attacked the restaurant, said police officer Irshad Abro. Two people were killed and 15 hurt, he said.

While one of them is a Chinesse

Witnesses say fire engines and police have been arriving at the scene after the blast in Islamabad at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

Blast hits Islamabad restaurant

2008-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

At least two people are feared to have been killed and 10 others wounded in an explosion at a restaurant in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Geo TV said a foreign woman was one of the dead in the explosion at about 8.40pm (0340 GMT) on Saturday night.

The cause of the blast at the Luna Caprese in the city centre is not known.

A police officer said: "At least 10 people have been injured and one wall of the restaurant has partly collapsed. We don't know whether it was caused by a bomb."

He said that most of the casualties were foreigners.

Local television station Dawn reported that many people were badly injured in the blast at the Italian restaurant popular with foreigners, diplomats, aid agency workers and journalists.

An employee told one news agency: "There are lots of injured people who have lost their limbs and legs.

"It's a very bad situation. We don't know what has happened."

Blast in Italian Restaurant in Islamabad Pakistan

2008-03-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Acoording to Local News a blast was heard in Italian restaurant where almost 15 injured and 1 feared dead while according to U.S News Agency 2People have died so far.A foreign Lady Dies in the blast and the bomb was not a sucide attack it was planted and it blasted on 8:50Pm Local Time.While most of the injured's are american citizen's and 1 or 2 Chinesse or Indonesian.

Dutch East India Company

2008-03-14T01:44:00.000-07:00

East India Company, any of a number of commercial enterprises formed in western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries to further trade with the East Indies. The companies, which had varying degrees of governmental support, grew out of the associations of merchant adventurers who voyaged to the East Indies following the discovery in 1497 of the Cape of Good Hope route by Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama. The most important of the companies were given charters by their respective governments, authorizing them to acquire territory wherever they could and to exercise in the acquired territory various functions of government, including legislation, the issuance of currency, the negotiation of treaties, the waging of war, and the administration of justice. The most notable companies were the following.

Chartered in 1729 by King Frederick IV of Denmark after unsuccessful attempts by Denmark to gain a share of the East India trade in 1616 and 1634, it enjoyed great prosperity in India until the advance of British power there in the late 18th century. As a consequence of the destruction of Danish naval power in the war between Britain and Denmark in 1801, the power of the Danish company was broken. Its principal Indian possessions, Tranquebar in Tamil Nādu and Serampore in Bengal, were purchased by Britain in 1845.

Incorporated from a number of smaller companies by the States General of the Netherlands in 1602, its monopoly extended from the Cape of Good Hope eastward to the Strait of Magellan, with sovereign rights in whatever territory it might acquire. In 1619 Jan Pieterszoon Coen, regarded as the founder of the Dutch colonial empire in the East Indies, established the city of Batavia in Java (now Jakarta, Indonesia) as the headquarters of the company. From Batavia, Dutch influence and activity spread throughout the Malay Archipelago and to China, Japan, India, Iran, and the Cape of Good Hope. During the course of the 60-year war between Spain and the Netherlands (1605-1665), the Dutch company despoiled Portugal, which was united with Spain from 1580 to 1640, of all its East Indian possessions. It supplanted the Portuguese in most of present-day Indonesia and in the Malay Peninsula, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the Malabar Coast of India, and Japan. During this period it was also successful in driving English rivals from the Malay Archipelago and the Moluccas. In 1632 the Dutch killed the English factors, or agents, in Amboina, capital of the Dutch Moluccas; for this act the English government later exacted compensation. In 1652 the company established the first European settlement in South Africa on the Cape of Good Hope. At the peak of its power, in 1669, the Dutch company had 40 warships, 150 merchant ships, and 10,000 soldiers.

Between 1602 and 1696 the annual dividends that the company paid were never less than 12 percent and sometimes as high as 63 percent. The charter of the company was renewed every 20 years, in return for financial concessions to the Dutch government. In the 18th century, internal disorders, the growth of British and French power, and the consequences of a harsh policy toward the native inhabitants caused the decline of the Dutch company. It was unable to pay a dividend after 1724 and survived only by exacting levies from native populations. It was powerless to resist a British attack on its possessions in 1780, and in 1795 it was doomed by the ouster of the States General at home by the French-controlled Batavian Republic. In 1798 the republic took over the possessions and debts of the company.

EU Approves Google-DoubleClick Merger

2008-03-12T04:44:00.001-07:00

Google-DoubleClick is now a reality.

The two companies' merger cleared a final regulatory hurdle Tuesday when the European Commission gave its blessing to the search company's $3.1 billion acquisition of the online ad provider. Google announced that the acquisition had closed shortly thereafter.

"The transaction would be unlikely to have harmful effects on consumers, either in ad serving or in intermediation in online advertising markets," the EU concluded.

Google announced in April 2007 that it would acquire DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in cash.

"We are thrilled that our acquisition of DoubleClick has closed," said Eric Schmidt, Google's chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "With DoubleClick, Google now has the leading display ad platform, which will enable us to rapidly bring to market advances in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers and agencies, while improving the relevance of advertising for users."

Together, Google and DoubleClick will be able to deliver more relevant advertising and improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers and agencies.

The E.U.'s competition regulator reached its decision after a four-month in-depth investigation of the $3.1 billion merger, which received the approval of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in December.

The deal is unlikely to harm consumers in ad serving or online advertising intermediation markets, the Commission said.

A merger of Google and DoubleClick will not hurt competition because the companies are not competitors, the Commission said: Google provides online advertising space on its own sites and, as operator of the AdSense service, an intermediary between publishers and advertisers, while DoubleClick offers ad serving, management and reporting services to publishers, advertisers and agencies.

The Commission also examined the risk of Google tying sales of its services to use of those of DoubleClick, or vice versa, to boost revenue. However, it concluded that Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL present sufficiently strong market alternatives that a merged Google-DoubleClick would be unable to exploit the link in that way.

The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), a Washington, D.C., lobby group for small and midsize entrepreneurial technology companies, welcomed the Commission's decision.

"It demonstrates both the dynamism of our industry and the need to give companies the flexibility necessary to adapt, compete, and meet the needs of consumers," wrote ACT President Jonathan Zuck.

"The merger will undoubtedly change the competitive landscape of our industry and fuel the evolution of internet advertising," he said.

Microsoft is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the antitrust authorities' approvals, according to Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, one of the lobby groups opposed to the merger.

Microsoft recently offered to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion. If that deal goes ahead it will almost certainly attract the scrutiny of antitrust regulators, as it unites the two biggest players in online advertising after Google.

"By permitting Google to dramatically grow in clout, regulators will have to likely permit the further growth of a number-two competitor to Google, which will be Microsoft," Chester said.

The result will be the emergence of a global digital duopoly over online advertising, Chester warned.

Tuesday's decision only relates to E.U. merger regulations, the Commission said, and does not alter the merged entity's obligations under E.U. law on the protection of individuals and the protection of privacy related to the processing of personal data.

Antitrust regulators have failed to respond to the growing consolidation of control over online ad delivery and data collection, a failure that will have unfortunate consequences for the Internet's role as a democratic communications medium, said Chester.

"DonorGate" Is Latest Scandal To Hit Wikipedia

2008-03-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

MSTCrow5429 writes "In the latest of a long train of scandals to hit Wikipedia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports on an accusation that founder and Wikia President Jimmy Wales traded a multi-thousand dollar donation for an article re-write. Jeff Merkey, formerly of Novell, claims that Wales approached him in 2006 and said that for a fee, Wales would personally see to it that the article on Merkey, which had cast him in a negative light, would be re-written in Merkey's favor. Merkey claims that after he donated $5,000, Wales followed through on this quid pro quo. The Wikipedia edit history does indicate that Wales wiped out the article on Merkey, and then personally re-wrote it. The SMH reports that Wales has called the allegation 'nonsense.'Merkey filed a harassment lawsuit in 2005 against a number of people and organizations, including Slashdot. Slashdot was removed from the suit on 2005-07-20.

"In the latest of a long train of scandals to hit Wikipedia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports on an accusation that founder and Wikia President Jimmy Wales traded a multi-thousand dollar donation for an article re-write. Jeff Merkey, formerly of Novell, claims that Wales approached him in 2006 and said that for a fee, Wales would personally see to it that the article on Merkey, which had cast him in a negative light, would be re-written in Merkey's favor. Merkey claims that after he donated $5,000, Wales followed through on this quid pro quo. The Wikipedia edit history does indicate that Wales wiped out the article on Merkey, and then personally re-wrote it. The SMH reports that Wales has called the allegation 'nonsense.'"

Ads With Your Name On Them

2008-03-12T04:37:00.001-07:00

The NYTimes is running an interesting blog piece on the answers Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, & Google gave to the question: Can they show you an ad with your name on it? The results: 'Microsoft says it could use only a person's first name [which it doesn't consider personal information]. AOL and Yahoo could use a full name but only on their sites, not the other sites on which they place ads. Google isn't sure; it probably could, but it doesn't know the names of most of its users.' Now whether or not they would use this information is a different story. AOL has no plans to, Yahoo is open to it, and Microsoft has implemented a technological barrier preventing it (despite behavioral and demographic data being served to the ad companies). Although Google might use name information at some point, they don't now do so; nor do they use behavioral or demographic data."

Ads With Your Name On Them

2008-03-12T04:37:00.000-07:00

MacBook Air Confuses Airport Security

2008-03-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

The MacBook Air's thin design is causing some confusion for the technically ignorant, according to one blogger who says that the ultra-portable caused him to miss his flight. When going through the TSA airport security checkpoint, blogger Michael Nygard was held up as security staff gathered around his MacBook Air, trying to make sense of the slender laptop. One of the less technically knowledgeable staff points out the lack of standard features as cause for alarm.

"I'm standing, watching my laptop on the table, listening to security clucking just behind me," Nygard recalls of the situation. "'There's no drive," one says. 'And no ports on the back. It has a couple of lines where the drive should be,' she continues."

Nygard was made to wait until a younger agent came over to the gathering to inform his comrades of their error, that it is indeed a laptop and not a "device". After making three attempts to describe the concept of a flash-based hard drive, security lets Nygard through the checkpoint, only to go back to the service center to rebook, as his flight had since left.

Tenth Anniversary of First Commercial MP3 Player

2008-03-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

Even though it doesn't quite have the same ring as Sony's Walkman turning 25, or the same social cachet as shelves bursting with CDs, 10 years ago today The Fraunhoefer Institute invented the MPEG 1 Layer 3 file format and the file suffix, MP3, became a much more manageable acronym for the standard's long and almost unpronounceable full name (IS 11172-3 MPEG Audio Layer 3 for those that care).

It had been a revolutionary idea on paper since 1992 and judged to be almost impossible, but it was proved and ratified in the mid 1990s- the rest is history, and gave birth to a new generation of players and piracy until finally, record companies have begun to sell songs to customers using the format legitimately as often as they sue them for stealing it. Those in there at the start with the right model, like iTunes and backbone provider OD2, haven't looked back even if MP3 wasn't the format they preferred to sell.

Other formats have arrived in its wake promising better music quality like Microsoft's WMA which does seem to retain more bass and has spread via the size and force of its parent company but to be honest the compressed format is merely a slave to the original's quality and none so far have been able to obtain MP3's universal worldwide domination, pushed as it was by a standards group for others to exploit rather than one monopoly company. Besides, the full-fat WAV format is also accommodated by ever-increasing hard disk sizes and has hardly died the death some people might have predicted.

Once again, it's another reason why it's good to pioneer in the computer industry. Couple this dominant format with the currently dominant player, Apple's iPod, and only time will tell whether we can get another ten years out of MP3 before it becomes everyday.

Ancient Greece Graves

2008-03-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

Greek workers discovered around 1,000 graves, some filled with ancient treasures, while excavating for a subway system in the historic city of Thessaloniki, the state archaeological authority said Monday.

Some of the graves, which dated from the first century B.C. to the 5th century A.D., contained jewelry, coins and various pieces of art, the Greek archaeological service said in a statement.

Thessaloniki was founded around 315 B.C. and flourished during the Roman and Byzantine eras. Today it is the Mediterranean country's second largest city.

Most of the graves — 886 — were just east of the city center in what was the eastern cemetery during Roman and Byzantine times. Those graves ranged from traces of wooden coffins left in simple holes in the ground, to marble enclosures in five-room family mausoleums.

A separate group of 94 graves were found near the city's train station, in what was once part of the city's western cemetery.

More findings were expected as digging for the Thessaloniki metro continues. Digging started in 2006 and the first 13 stations are expected to be done by the end of 2012. A 10-station extension to the west and east has been announced.

Jared Fogle

2008-03-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

Jared S. Fogle (born December 1, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana), also known as The Subway Guy, is a spokesman employed by Subway Restaurants in its advertising campaigns. He is noted for his significant weight loss, attributed to eating Subway sandwiches (prior to his hiring by Subway).

By his junior year at North Central High School, Fogle's weight was at 425 pounds (193 kg), and he reportedly wore size 6XL shirts.

Several years later, after his roommate, a pre-med student, correctly diagnosed Jared with Sleep Apnea and edema, he was sent to the hospital. Fogle's father, who is a physician, told him he might not live past 35, and Jared began to turn his life around. At the age of 20, Fogle estimated he consumed a diet of around 10,000 calories a day.

Interested by Subway's "7 Under 6" campaign, Fogle went and tried his first turkey club, and enjoyed the sandwich.[1] He developed his own "Subway diet", consisting of a 6-inch turkey club sandwich for lunch, and a foot-long veggie sub for dinner.

After three months on the diet, he had lost nearly 100 pounds, and weighed in at 330 pounds (150 kg). He stuck with the diet and soon began to walk as much as he could, rather than using transport, and would even walk up the stairs rather than take an elevator. By the end of the diet Jared lost over 240 pounds (109 kg)

In the Indiana Daily Student in April, 1999, a former dorm mate of Fogle's named Ryan Coleman wrote an article about Fogle's weight loss story after Coleman had run into Fogle and hardly recognized him because of the lost weight.[1] A reporter for Men's Health magazine saw the article, and included the "Subway sandwich diet" in an article on "Crazy Diets that Work". This article caught the eye of a Chicago-area Subway franchisee named Bob Ocwieja, who thought the story might have some potential, and he took the idea to Richard Coad, the creative director at Subway's Chicago advertising agency. In hindsight, Coad would later say "I kind of laughed at first, but we followed up on it."

Coad and Barry Krause (the president of Coad's ad agency) sent an intern to Bloomington, Indiana - with only vague instructions - to track down the "subway guy" (at the time, they were not sure if he even ate Subway sandwiches, or some other brand of submarine sandwich). The intern started by going to a Subway near campus, and began describing the story about the anonymous "subway guy". A counter worker there immediately knew who he was talking about, and said "Oh, that's Jared. He comes here every day." As of January, 2008, the store is still located below an apartment complex at 401 S. Woodlawn in Bloomington.

After finding out that Jared did indeed exist, and had lost weight as described in the article, Coad and Ocwieja took the idea to Subway's new marketing director, who had previous experience in fast food, and the marketing director responded "I've seen that before...Fast foods can't do healthy"as a marketing vehicle. Subway's lawyers also weighed in on the idea of the promotion, saying that there would be liability issues with promoting some sort of informal medical claim.

The idea looked to be fading into oblivion, but Krause and Coad decided to try to run a regional ad campaign, and many franchise owners in the area also liked the idea. However, regional ad agencies didn't normally pay to make their own commercials; instead, they usually paid only to run the commercial spots in their regions. Krause decided to make the commercials without receiving any money from other sources. He would later comment "For the first and only time in my career, I gave the go-ahead to shoot an ad that we weren't going to be paid for."

The first spot aired on January 1, 2000, introducing Jared and his story, complete with a disclaimer: "The Subway diet", combined with a lot of walking, worked for Jared. We're not saying this is for everyone. You should check with your doctor before starting any diet program. But it worked for Jared."

The commercial was a stunning success, and the day after it aired, Krause began receiving calls from USA Today, ABC News, Fox News, and Oprah.

A few days later, Subway's national advertising director called Krause and asked if the spot could be aired nationally. It was a smashing success, and Subway's 2000 sales exceeded those of the previous year by 18 percent. In 2001, they rose another 16%. Jared became a well-recognized national phenomenon.

Subway has used Fogle in a number of television commercials and sponsored in-store appearances throughout the United States. Fogle, who is Jewish, spoke at the grand opening of the first Kosher Subway in Cleveland.

In addition to his work directly for Subway, traveling as much as 200 days a year for the restaurant, Fogle also gives regular talks on fitness and healthy eating.Since Fogle's advertising campaign began, Subway sales have more than doubled to $8.2 billion, though the portion of the gain attributable to Fogle and his more than 50 Subway commercials cannot be determined. In 2008, a Subway campaign celebrated Fogle's maintaining his weight loss for a full decade, with Fogle's announcement that he would retire his old pair of 62 inch pants likely to a museum after a final "Tour de Pants", a humorous reference to the Tour de France.

According to one Subway executive, a brief departure from Fogle in 2005, coincided with a 10 percent drop in sales, until Subway felt compelled to bring him back.

Fogle has been lampooned or otherwise referenced in a number of films and television programs including Saturday Night Live, Robot Chicken, The Sarah Silverman Program, The Simpsons, South Park, Scary Movie 3 (in a deleted scene), Just Friends and Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Power pop band Fountains of Wayne wrote a song for the animated movie Monster House (which was ultimately not used) in which they list all the things the monster house supposedly has eaten -- including "Jared from Subway." The cartoon South Park's episode entitled Jared Has Aides centers around Jared and the true "secret" for his weight loss.

The richest Rothschild

2008-03-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

Gathered around the table at this high-powered lunch in central London earlier this month were the elite of the British business world.

Marcus Agius, chairman of Barclays bank, Sir David Arculus of the O2 telecoms giant, and Ian Davis, the global managing director of McKinsey consulting company, put down their knives and forks to listen.

The unassuming man - 20 years younger than the assembled company - delivered a considered and incisive view of global markets with a gravitas that belied his youth.

One witness says: "It was incredibly impressive. He waited for his moment, and then came across as calculating and powerful. I think everyone was taken by surprise.

"I found it impossible to square what I knew of his previous wild-child existence with the man who sat before us."

The man in question was Nat Rothschild - the 35-year-old scion of the wealthy banking dynasty, one-time black sheep of the family, and now a rising star in his own right.

Earlier this month, the New York Times highlighted his extraordinary metamorphosis from playboy to hedge fund prince, and tipped him as "a kingmaker in his own right, and an investor who some say may become the richest Rothschild of them all".

An extravagant assertion - but not without some plausibility. Rich-list compiler Philip Beresford says: "He has been on my radar for some time. He jets around the world empire-building, keeping in touch with his deals via the latest satellite communications. He has the years on his side and the right connections.

"What he needs is one of those historic opportunities like the ones seized by his ancestors. If he gets that golden moment, he could be the richest one of his generation."

Nat is in line to become the fifth Baron Rothschild and inherit around £500million from his banker father.

But now, thanks to a complicated web of private equity investments in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and his partnership in Atticus Capital, a hugely successful £7billion hedge fund, Nat is set to exceed the fortune he will be bequeathed with his own earnings.

His wealth has been accrued in his role as the adviser to Oleg Deripaska, one of the richest oligarchs in Russia and the owner of the aluminum giant Rusal, which recently merged with two other companies to create the world's largest aluminum company.

And, although discreet in his business deals, privately he lives the life one would associate with a Rothschild. His best friend is Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, and he is currently rumoured to be dating the young film actress Natalie Portman.

An accomplished skier, his principal residence is in Klosters, Switzerland, and he uses his Gulfstream jet to travel between his other homes in Paris, Moscow, London, New York and Greece. Two formally attired butlers accompany him everywhere.

Nat is a generous and gregarious host, who lavishes his guests with vintage champagne and wine from the Rothschild vineyards - but he no longer raises a glass himself: that would be to lapse into the libertine existence he has left behind.

For his rise is all the more noteworthy given the fact that it once appeared that Nat Rothschild - sadly like several of the dynasty before him - was self-destructing.

In 1996, one of Nat Rothschild's cousins, Amschel, hanged himself at the age of 41. He had just been asked to fill a leading position in the family bank in London.

Four years later, another cousin, Raphael de Rothschild, died in Manhattan from a heroin overdose. He was just 23.

For some years it appeared that Nat Rothschild, too, would follow in their blighted footsteps. From an early age, he appeared an unlikely dealmaker.

A contemporary at Eton remembers him as "a rather scruffy and unpredictable boy with a rebellious streak, who you would never have tipped to make a big success of his life".

At one stage during his Eton career, Rothschild was sent to live with a master, in a vain attempt to rein him in.

The friend says: "He seemed the classic example of a boy born into huge privilege, weighed down with parental expectations, but who resisted any type of conformism and resented authority."

He adds: "To be honest, aside from his name, he's the last person I would have expected to end up running his own hedge fund - but then perhaps that's what's made him so successful. He has a willingness to take risks, to seek out the extreme, to act impetuously."

While at Oxford, Rothschild soon became infamous for his excesses. He was a member of the notorious Bullingdon Club, the debauched all-male drinking society with a reputation for drug-taking and wanton vandalism, which counts David Cameron among its former members.

Indeed, Rothschild once pushed a portable toilet down a steep hill - with a friend still inside.

An Oxford friend remembers: "We were at Wadham together. Nat was rarely out of black tie, he would drink and party through the night, and then sleep through the day in his formal suit, much to the dismay of his history tutors.

"He's not blessed in the looks department, he's got carrot-red hair and freckles. But Nat is very charming and has a penchant for fast cars.

"At college, he was known as a babemagnet - at parties, the beautiful girls would flock to him like bees to honey. That's what the name Rothschild does for you. Women seem to find it a very powerful aphrodisiac."

Favoured girls would be asked back to his father Jacob's lavish country estate, where the young lothario reputedly slashed their car tyres so that he might detain them long enough to seduce them.

An escort girl recently claimed that in 1994, Rothschild asked her to supply drugs and strippers to a party at the Rothschild stately home, Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, which is now run by the National Trust.

She said: "They were very precise in what they wanted - three slim black girls in stockings, suspenders and high heels. They also wanted the girls to do extras."

When Nat embarked on a romance with Kate Moss's friend, model Annabelle Neilson, his family must have cast a jaded eye over his latest choice, whom he had met on a beach in India. They were even more horrified when, aged just 23, he eloped with her to Las Vegas, and married her.

"It was a huge shock to Jacob and his wife, Lady Serena," says a close family friend. "They expected him to date models and sow his wild oats - but marrying Annabelle was incredibly impetuous and obviously against the advice of the family lawyers. They were just appalled.

"The girl's party trick was to climb onto the dining table in her tiny dress and stilettos and dance amid the crystal and silver. Rather vulgar, I'm afraid. Nat's parents predicted it would end in tears, and it did."

For a while, the couple appeared to live a gilded life, gracing the pages of glossy magazines - partying in Cannes with friends such as supermodel Elle Macpherson, designer Alexander McQueen, and "It" girl Tamara Beckwith, or sunning themselves in the Caribbean.

After just three years of partying - and cataclysmic rows - the couple divorced and Neilson reportedly received a generous financial settlement in return for rescinding the dynastic name and signing a confidentiality agreement.

At that moment, alone in New York and, according to friends, "a mess", Rothschild took stock of his hitherto aimless society life.

Those close to him say that he suddenly found something repellent in his lifestyle. He decided to turn his back on partying and step up to his name.

To that end, he joined the merchant bank Lazards in London and then moved to New York. There Nat met Timothy Barakett, a young investor who was trying to raise money for Atticus, his new hedge fund (basically, a private investment fund open only to selected individuals and following a complex investment strategy).

He asked Barakett for a job, but was turned down. The men stayed in touch, though, and two years later, Barakett took Rothschild on, giving him the title of director of business development - a position in which he was, of course, able to open doors for his partner. At the time, they were Atticus's only two employees. But not for long.

Since its inception, the fund has grown an incredible 30 per cent a year and now has £7billion under its management. Success has brought huge rewards: in 2005, Rothschild was paid just over £40million.

According to insiders, he made even more than that last year. "He has had an incredible evolution, and he has done it on his own,"

Barakett told the New York Times. "It's not about family connections. He has a knack for identifying talented people and interesting investments."

Those close to Rothschild believe he is haunted by the desire to live up to his father Jacob's accomplishments, and is determined to enhance the family name.

He has recently joined his father in a business venture, JNR, which invests in Russian companies. There is a plan to float it on the London Stock Exchange next year, with some valuations approaching £2billion, making Nat's share worth £300million.

Like many Rothschilds before him, he is an avid collector of contemporary art - one of his favourite pieces being a life-sized canvas of a decapitated bikini-clad woman by the British artist Julian Opie.

When on business in America, he lives in a breathtaking, minimalist Manhattan town house, which is about to be featured in Men's Vogue.

The property is littered with giant flat-screen TVs and expensive boys' toys, with lacquered sliding panels hiding any mess.

Modernistic touch screens control the music, heat and televisions, and an outdoor shower graces the rooftop terrace.

Only the wine cellar betrays his old-money heritage, with the family connections to Chateau Mouton and Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.

Some 670-odd backlit bottles are cradled inside a series of top- of-the-range glass- doored refrigerators, jeroboams of Pierre-Jouet champagne jostling for space with the finest vintages from Bordeaux.

David Chipperfield, his architect, says: "Normally you build a house around somebody, around that person's rituals. But Nat isn't a person who necessarily stays in the house that much. His life is much more eccentric, much more erratic."

In fact, he rarely spends more than four days in the same place, flying in his elaborately equipped private jet from Siberia, to Switzerland via Greece, to New York - but always retaining a link to Britain.

Indeed, the dramatic centrepiece staircase of his five- storey New York house is fashioned out of English oak, while outside - rather incongruously - is a traditional moss- covered English country house garden.

There is only one thing missing, of course: a wife to share in his success.

After his disastrous marriage, Nat has shunned any long-term commitment, but he has reportedly had flings with Jonathan Aitken's daughter, Petrina Khashoggi, and Ivanka Trump, and is now seeing 25-year-old Natalie Portman - who is about to star as Anne Boleyn in The Other Boleyn Girl - taking her on a discreet date to Wiltons restaurant in St James's.

Just how has it suddenly gone so right? A friend from Rothschild's early days says: "It seemed that he suddenly discovered a way to harness his rebellious streak to his advantage, and he was off like a rocket.

"The next thing you know, he's got his own private jet and butler, and is a master of the corporate universe. "It's as if he just can't help making money."

THE RICHEST DYNASTY IN HISTORY

2008-03-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

That's the recurring question in Niall Ferguson's formidable The House of Rothschild, a history of the legendary European-Jewish banking family. ''There is but one power in Europe and that is Rothschild,'' said a French journalist in 1841, giving voice to the popular suspicion that the dynasty and its money held sway over the affairs of nations. In this first of a two-volume study (the second is due out next year), Ferguson confirms that often, the Rothschilds were behind the scenes, influencing policy across Europe in their own interest. However, the Oxford don also shows the clear limits to their power. With access to all extant Rothschild archives, Ferguson is well-positioned to separate myth from reality.

What has to be explained is how the Rothschilds rose so high from the obscurity of Frankfurt's 18th century Jewish ghetto. Seemingly overnight, they lifted themselves from Mayer Amschel Rothschild's coin dealership to become the world's richest family, with financial operations run by his five sons in London, Paris, Vienna, and Naples, as well as Frankfurt. Ferguson calculates that in relative terms, they were richer than any dynasty today--even the Saudi royal family.

That meteoric rise spawned several myths. In the first, Mayer Amschel was said to have hidden the fortune of William IX, ruler of the German principality of Hesse-Kassel, from the Napoleonic invaders and been rewarded with its long-term use. In fact, Mayer sheltered only routine papers. It was his son Nathan's leveraging of William's English investments that later helped make the Rothschilds a power in the City of London and on the Continent.

The most widespread Rothschild myth was that Nathan, after receiving news by carrier pigeon of Wellington's victory at Waterloo, made a vast fortune speculating on the rise in British government securities. The reality, says Ferguson, was quite different. The Rothschilds' couriers did alert them first to Napoleon's defeat, but since they had bet big on a protracted military campaign, any quick gains in bonds after Waterloo were too small to offset the disruption to their business.

Rothschild capital did soar--but over a much longer period. Nathan's breakthrough was a deal to supply cash to Wellington's army in 1814. Waging a high-risk campaign of exchange-rate transactions, bond-price speculations, and commissions, the family garnered huge profits from this governmental financing. Then, from 500,000 pounds in 1818, Rothschild capital rose to 4,330,333 pounds in 1828--about 14 times the resources of their nearest competitor, Baring Brothers, which had been a close second. Their strategy: financing the postwar stabilization of Europe's conservative powers. That meant luring monarchs and ministers, such as Austrian Chancellor Metternich, into their orbit. What made the Rothschilds ''the dominant force in international finance after 1815'' was ''the sheer scale--and sophistication--of their operations.''

One key to that scale was unity, a virtue that Mayer Amschel inculcated in his sons. That unity allowed the brothers--Nathan, James, Salomon, Amschel, and Carl--to run independent operations essentially as one firm stretched across Europe. Another advantage: By issuing foreign bonds in sterling, says Ferguson, the Rothschilds did much to create the international bond market. And as they returned profits to the firm, excluded ''outsiders''--in-laws, women, even their sisters' sons--and married off their children to first cousins, they added to their capital.

What these kings of the bond market craved was peace and stability, and they avoided lending to belligerent or unstable states. As Ferguson notes, however, there was an internal contradiction: The primary reason for states to borrow money was to wage war, which was what the Rothschilds worked to prevent in order to protect the bond market. One way out of this trap: moving into railway shares, which they saw as ''surrogate state bonds.''

The Rothschilds could be vulnerable. Fame brought a barrage of ugly anti-Semitic attacks. And despite their fear of instability, the Rothschilds were unprepared in 1830 and 1848, surviving the 1848 revolution only because of a timely silver shipment from their semi-independent New York agent, August Belmont. The rescue serves as a reminder of their biggest strategic error: the lack of a major U.S. operation.

Ferguson's fluid, masterful synthesis of a vast amount of material tends more toward the academic than the popular. But he brings vitality to a series of compelling issues, ranging from the Rothschilds' staunch Judaism to their intrafamily marriages. He makes brilliant use of literary sources from Disraeli to Balzac, and he is insightful about the Rothschilds' friendship with such musicians as the composer Rossini. Nathan and James come across as rude, hard-driving businessmen. It's not always a pretty picture, but by revealing what the Rothschilds were really like, Ferguson is better able to explain their achievement.

Were the Rothschilds pacifists, pillars of conservative monarchies, or, as the poet Heinrich Heine wrote, agents of a new revolutionary force, money? Chameleon-like, the Rothschilds were all--and none--of these things. For them, it was just business.

Yahoo battling 7 shareholder suits

2008-02-28T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yahoo Inc. is facing seven shareholder lawsuits alleging the slumping Internet pioneer bungled its response to Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid.

The Sunnyvale-based company provided a breakdown of the suits in an annual report filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange. The documents didn't provide any new information about Yahoo's attempts to shoo away Microsoft, which is threatening to pursue a hostile takeover unless a friendly deal can be negotiated.

Yahoo's board believes Microsoft's offer, originally valued at $44.6 billion, is insufficient. Microsoft, though, has stood firm and is now preparing to overthrow Yahoo's 10-member board, which includes the company's co-founder and chief executive, Jerry Yang. Microsoft faces a March 14 deadline to nominate an alternate slate of directors.

The impasse has triggered four shareholder suits in California's Santa Clara County Superior Court. Three other complaints have been filed in Delaware by pension funds that own Yahoo's stock.

Five of the suits allege Yahoo's board breached its duty by spurning Microsoft without trying to negotiate a better deal, according to the annual report. The two other suits allege Yahoo unfairly favored Microsoft's "inadequate" bid even though the board eventually turned down the original cash-and-stock offer of $31 per share.

Because Microsoft's stock price has declined by 13 percent since the pursuit of Yahoo began, the bid is now worth $28.94 per share, or about $40 billion.

Since its Feb. 11 rebuff of Microsoft, Yahoo has been exploring other options that would provide its shareholders with a better payoff than Microsoft's proposed takeover.

The other possibilities have included combining forces with News Corp.'s online hangout MySpace.com, or forming an advertising alliance with Internet search leader Google Inc., whose success spurred Microsoft's takeover bid.

Most analysts still believe Microsoft will end up buying Yahoo.

While trying to escape Microsoft, Yahoo also has been laying off workers in an effort to boosts its sliding profits. The annual report didn't provide any further specifics about the purge, which began Feb. 11. Management has previously estimated Yahoo will eliminate 1,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of its work force.

Clinton raises $35 million in 1 month

2008-02-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rebounding from weak fundraising in January, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to raise $35 million in February, a figure rival Sen. Barack Obama's campaign said it would surpass, a campaign official said Thursday.
The $35 million would be Clinton'sbiggest fundraising mark yet and represents a remarkable recovery for her campaign.

Obama's campaign reacted promptly, promising an even higher number, but divulging no totals.

"We've raised considerably more than that," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.

That would make February an astounding fundraising month for the Democrats. At that rate, both candidates would break records for contestants in a primary fight.

Clinton has been struggling to recover from weak fundraising in January. She raised nearly $14 million in January to Obama's $36 million.

The Clinton official spoke on condition of anonymity because the figure was to be formally announced later in the day. The official said almost all the money raised in February was for the primary election. The campaign averaged about a $1 million a day online alone.

Despite her increased fundraising, Obama is still outspending her in the crucial March 4 primary states of Ohio and Texas. As of Tuesday, Obama had spent a total of $7.5 million in advertising in the two states. Clinton had spent $4.6 million.

Obama also was getting help from labor unions. The Service Employees International Union began spending $1.4 million in ads in support of Obama in Ohio and Texas. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union was spending nearly $200,000 in ads in Ohio.

Visa's IPO

2008-02-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

Judging by the number of questions I'm getting about Visa, it's clear that many of you are interested in buying into the credit card processing company.

A past Ask Matt column, which you can read here, explains the all the background about the Visa IPO and puts it into perspective.

What some readers want to know, however, is how to keep up with developments on Visa's road to going public. The nitty-gritty details, such as the price per share and timing, are yet to be determined. But if you want to get the latest information, Visa has a Media Center, where it puts out details about the IPO. You can find it here.

You can also get the updates by reading the regulatory filings. You can access these, free, at www.sec.gov, which is the Securities and Exchange Commission's site. To make things easier for you, here's a link that takes to directly to the part of the SEC's website that contains information about Visa's IPO.

According to its latest 8K filing with the SEC, Visa is having a special shareholder meeting Feb. 7 to approve an increase in its total authorized capital stock by 360,000,000 shares of common stock in preparation for the IPO.

Keep checking the link and look for 8-K and S-1/a filings. They will contain the latest on Visa's IPO.

Visa IPO

2008-02-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

Visa Inc. hopes to cash in on its massive credit and debit card network by raising up to $10 billion in what would be the second largest initial public offering of stock in U.S. history.

The San Francisco-based company disclosed its target amount late Friday in documents it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a significant step in a hotly anticipated IPO expected to take place early next year.

Visa didn't specify how much stock would be sold or at what price per share. A proposed ticker symbol wasn't listed either. All that information will emerge in future filings leading up to the IPO.

If Visa realizes its $10 billion goal, it would be raising the second most ever generated in an IPO by a U.S. company, according to data maintained by the research firm Renaissance Capital. AT&T Wireless Group raised $10.6 billion in an IPO completed in April 2000 near the height of the dot-com boom.

MasterCard Inc., Visa's next largest rival, went public 18 months ago, raising $2.4 billion in the 17th largest IPO in U.S history, according to Renaissance Capital. MasterCard's shares have climbed by nearly fivefold from their IPO price of $39, closing Friday at $193.

The demand for Visa's stock is expected to be high because the company's revenue figures to steadily grow as consumers increasingly pay for merchandise with credit or debit cards instead of checks or cash.

Visa's payment processing network is by far the largest in the United States. Last year, the company processed 44 billion transactions totaling $3.2 trillion, according to Friday's SEC filing. MasterCard processed 23.4 billion transactions totaling $1.9 trillion.

Visa makes most of its money from the fees it charges card issuers and merchants for using its network. During the first nine months of this year, the company earned $771 million on $3.7 billion in revenue.

Because it acts as an intermediary, Visa doesn't sustain losses when consumers don't repay the debts run up on credit cards bearing its brand. Those liabilities instead fall to the banks that issue the cards and set the terms of repayment.

Most of Visa's major stockholders are banks. They include: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which owns 23.3 percent of the company's Class B Stock; Bank of America Corp., 11.5 percent; National City Corp., 8 percent; Citigroup Inc., 5.5 percent; U.S. Bancorp, 5.1 percent; and Wells Fargo & Co., 5.1 percent.

Besides being a major stockholder, J.P. Morgan also is Visa's largest customer. The New York-based company accounted for 10 percent of Visa's revenue during the first nine months of this year.

The SEC documents didn't indicate whether any of Visa's major stockholders intend to sell portions of their stakes in the company.

Visa's filing came just two days after the company rid itself of a potential albatross by agreeing to pay up to $2.25 billion to American Express Co. to settle a 3-year-old lawsuit alleging Visa engaged in illegal practices to stifle competition. Visa is responsible for $2.07 billion and another $185 million will be contributed by five member banks named in lawsuit, according to the SEC filing.

All the costs of the American Express settlement ultimately will be covered Visa's member banks.

Visa is still fighting a similar antitrust lawsuit filed by Discover Financial Services. That case is scheduled to go to trial next September.

The filing also disclosed that Visa has already paid its chief executive, Joseph Saunders, $10.2 million in bonuses this year on top of his annual salary of $950,000. Saunders, who was named CEO six months ago, has promised to remain on the job until May 15, 2009.

Ancient ceremonial plaza

2008-02-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

LIMA, Peru - A team of German and Peruvian archaeologists say they have discovered the oldest known monument in Peru: a 5,500-year-old ceremonial plaza near Peru's north-central coast.

Carbon dating of material from the site revealed it was built between 3500 B.C. and 3000 B.C., Peter Fuchs, a German archaeologist who headed the excavation team, told The Associated Press by telephone Monday.

The discovery is further evidence that civilization thrived in Peru at the same time as it did in what is now the Middle East and South Asia, said Ruth Shady, a prominent Peruvian archaeologist who led the team that discovered the ancient city of Caral in 2001. Shady serves as a senior adviser to Peru's National Culture Institute and was not involved in the project.

The find also raises questions about what prompted "civilizations to form throughout the planet at more or less the same time," Shady said.

The circular, sunken plaza, built of stones and adobe, is part of the Sechin Bajo archaeological complex in Andes foothills, 206 miles northwest of Lima, where Fuchs and fellow German archaeologist Renate Patzschke have been working since 1992.

It predates similar monuments and plazas found in Caral, which nonetheless remains the oldest known city in the Americas dating back to 2627 B.C.

The plaza served as a social and ritual space where ancient peoples celebrated their "thoughts about the world, their place within it, and images of their world and themselves," Fuchs said.

In an adjacent structure, built around 1800 B.C., Fuchs' team uncovered a 3,600-year-old adobe frieze — six feet tall — depicting the iconic image of a human sacrificer "standing with open arms, holding a ritual knife in one hand and a human head in the other," Fuchs said.

The mythic image was also found in the celebrated Moche Lords of Sipan tombs, discovered on Peru's northern coast in the late 1980s.

Walter Alva, the Peruvian archaeologist who uncovered the Lords of Sipan tombs, said the plaza found in Fuchs' dig was probably utilized by an advanced civilization with economic stability, a necessary condition to construct such a ceremonial site.

The excavation was the fourth in a series of digs at the Sechin Bajo complex that Fuchs and Patzschke began on behalf of the University of Berlin in 1992. Deutsche Forschung Gemeinschaft, a German state agency created to sponsor scientific investigations, has financed the most recent three digs.

The find "shows the world that in America too, human beings of the New World had the same capacity to create civilization as those in the Old World," Shady said.

Her discovery, Caral, made headlines in 2001 when researchers carbon-dated material from the city back to 2627 B.C., proving that a complex urban center in the Americas thrived as a contemporary to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt — 1,500 years earlier than previously believed.

NASA Takes Aim at Moon with Double Sledgehammer

2008-02-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Scientists are priming two spacecraft to slam into the moon's South Pole to see if the lunar double whammy reveals hidden water ice.

The Earth-on-moon violence may raise eyebrows, but NASA's history shows that such missions can yield extremely useful scientific observations.

"I think that people are apprehensive about it because it seems violent or crude, but it's very economical," said Tony Colaprete, the principal investigator for the mission at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

NASA's previous Lunar Prospector mission detected large amounts of hydrogen at the moon's poles before crashing itself into a crater at the lunar South Pole. Now the much larger Lunar Crater and Observation Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission, set for a February 2009 moon crash, will take aim and discover whether some of that hydrogen is locked away in the form of frozen water.

LCROSS will piggyback on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission for an Oct. 28 launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket equipped with a Centaur upper stage. While the launch will ferry LRO to the moon in about four days, LCROSS is in for a three-month journey to reach its proper moon smashing position. Once within range, the Centaur upper stage doubles as the main 4,400 pound (2,000 kg) impactor spacecraft for LCROSS.

The smaller Shepherding Spacecraft will guide Centaur towards its target crater, before dropping back to watch - and later fly through - the plume of moon dust and debris kicked up by Centaur's impact. The shepherding vehicle is packed with a light photometer, a visible light camera and four infrared cameras to study the Centaur's lunar plume before it turns itself into a second impactor and strikes a different crater about four minutes later.

"This payload delivery represents a new way of doing business for the center and the agency in general," said Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager at Ames, in a statement. "LCROSS primarily is using commercial-off-the-shelf instruments on this mission to meet the mission's accelerated development schedule and cost restraints."

Figuring out the final destinations for the $79 million LCROSS mission is "like trying to drive to San Francisco and not knowing where it is on the map," Colaprete said. He and other mission scientists hope to use observations from LRO and the Japanese Kaguya (Selene) lunar orbiter to map crater locations before LCROSS dives in.

"Nobody has ever been to the poles of the moon, and there are very unique craters - similar to Mercury - where sunlight doesn't reach the bottom," Colaprete said. Earth-based radar has also helped illuminate some permanently shadowed craters. By the time LCROSS arrives, it can zero in on its 19 mile (30 km) wide targets within 328 feet (100 meters).

Scientists want the impactor spacecraft to hit smooth, flat areas away from large rocks, which would ideally allow the impact plume to rise up out of the crater shadows into sunlight. That in turn lets LRO and Earth-based telescopes see the results.

"By understanding what's in these craters, we're examining a fossil record of the early solar system and would occurred at Earth 3 billion years ago," Colaprete said. LCROSS is currently aiming at target craters Faustini and Shoemaker, which Colaprete likened to "fantastic time capsules" at 3 billion and 3.5 billion years old.

LCROSS researchers anticipate a more than a 90 percent chance that the impactors will find some form of hydrogen at the poles. The off-chance exists that the impactors will hit a newer crater that lacks water - yet scientists can learn about the distribution of hydrogen either way.

"We take to the next step, whether it's rovers or more impactors," Colaprete said.

This comes as the latest mission to apply brute force to science.

The Deep Impact mission made history in 2005 by sending a probe crashing into comet Tempel 1. Besides Lunar Prospector's grazing strike on the moon in 1999, the European Space Agency's Smart-1 satellite dove more recently into the lunar surface in 2006.

LCROSS will take a much more head-on approach than either Lunar Prospector or Smart-1, slamming into the moon's craters at a steep angle while traveling with greater mass at 1.6 miles per second (2.5 km/s). The overall energy of the impact will equal 100 times that of Lunar Prospector and kick up 1,102 tons of debris and dust.

"It's a cost-effective, relatively low-risk way of doing initial exploration," Colaprete said, comparing the mission's approach to mountain prospectors who used crude sticks of dynamite to blow up gully walls and sift for gold. Scientists are discussing similar missions for exploring asteroids and planets such as Mars.

2008-02-27T06:22:00.000-08:00

The European Union fined Microsoft a record $1.3 billion on Wednesday for charging rivals too much for software information.

EU regulators said the company charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows desktop operating system.

Microsoft immediately said that these fines were about past issues that have been resolved and the company was now working under new principles to make its products more open.

The fine is the largest ever for a single company and the first time the EU has penalized a business for failing to obey an antitrust order.

The penalty far outweighs a a March 2004 decision that fined Microsoft $613 million and ordered it to share communications information with rivals within 120 days, taking an appeal to an EU court that it lost last September.

The European Union alleged that Microsoft withheld crucial interoperability information for desktop PC software -- where it is the world's leading supplier -- to squeeze into a new market and damage rivals that make programs for workgroup servers that help office computers connect to each other and to printers and faxes.

The company delayed complying with the EU order for three years, the EU said, only making changes on October 22 to the patent licenses it charges companies that need data to help them make software that works with Microsoft.

Microsoft had initially set a royalty rate of 3.87 percent of a licensee's product revenues for patents and demanded that companies looking for communication information -- which it said was highly secret -- pay 2.98 percent of their products' revenues.

The EU complained last March that these rates were unfair. Under threat of fines, Microsoft two months later reduced the patent rate to 0.7 percent and the information license to 0.5 percent -- but only in Europe, leaving the worldwide rates unchanged.

The EU's Court of First Instance ruling that upheld regulators' views changed the company's mind again in October when it offered a new license for interoperability information for a flat fee of $14,000 and an optional worldwide patent license for a reduced royalty of 0.4 percent.

60 Minutes

2008-02-27T03:47:00.000-08:00

60 Minutes is an investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the years. It is considered by many to be the preeminent investigative television program in the United States. The fall of 2008 will see the program's 40th anniversary, and it currently holds the record for the longest running program of any genre scheduled during American network prime time; the longer-running Meet the Press has also aired in prime time, but not continually as 60 Minutes has done.

The inspiration of the show came from the controversial Canadian news program This Hour Has Seven Days, which ran from 1964 to 1966.

Initially, 60 Minutes aired as a bi-weekly show hosted by Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace, debuting on September 24, 1968 and alternating weeks with other CBS News productions on Tuesday evenings. Don Hewitt, who had been a producer of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, sought out Wallace as a stylistic contrast to Reasoner (Madsen, 14). According to one historian of the show, the idea of the format was to make the hosts the reporters, to always feature stories that were of national import but focused upon individuals involved with, or in conflict with, those issues, and to limit the reports' airtime to around thirteen minutes (Madsen 14). However, the initial season was troubled by lack of network confidence.

Morley Safer joined the team in 1970, and he took over the task of reporting less aggressive stories. However, when Richard Nixon began targeting press access and reporting, even Safer began to do "hard" investigative reports, and that year alone 60 Minutes reported on cluster bombs, the South Vietnamese Army, Canada's amnesty for American draft dodgers, Nigeria, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland (Madsen 15). In 1983, Safer's report, "Lenell Geter's in Jail," single-handedly freed from prison the Texan who was wrongly convicted of armed robbery, and is, to this day, one of the program's crowning achievements.

In 1971, the "Point/Counterpoint" segment was introduced, featuring James J. Kilpatrick and Nicholas von Hoffman (later Shana Alexander), a three-minute debate between spokespeople for the political right and left, respectively. This segment pioneered a format that would later be adapted by CNN for its Crossfire show. This ran until 1979, when Andy Rooney, whose commentaries were already alternating with the debate segment since the fall of 1978, replaced it; Rooney remains with the program today.

By 1971, the FCC introduced the Prime Time Access Rule, which freed local network affiliates in the top 50 markets (in practice, the entire network) to take a half hour of prime time from the networks on Mondays through Saturdays and one full hour on Sundays. Because nearly all affiliates found production costs for the FCC's intended goal of increased public affairs programming very high and the ratings (thus advertising revenues) low, making it mostly unprofitable, the FCC created an exception for network-authored news and public affairs. After a six-month hiatus in late 1971, CBS thus found a prime place for 60 Minutes in a portion of that displaced time, 6-7 p.m. (Eastern time) on Sundays, in January 1972 (Madsen 15).

This proved somewhat less than satisfactory, however, as, especially during the fall when CBS broadcast late National Football League games, 60 Minutes got preempted fairly frequently; football telecasts were protected contractually from interruptions in the wake of the infamous "Heidi Game" incident on NBC in November 1968. Other sporting events such as golf tournaments occasionally caused this problem also. Nonetheless, the program's hard-hitting reports attracted a steadily growing audience, particularly during the waning days of the Vietnam War and the gripping events of the Watergate scandal; at that time, few if any other major-network news shows did in-depth investigative reporting to the degree carried out by 60 Minutes. Eventually, during the summers of 1973 through 1975, CBS did allow the show back onto the prime time schedule proper, on Fridays in 1973 and Sundays the two years thereafter.

It was only when the FCC returned an hour to the networks on Sundays (for children's/family or news programming), taken away from them four years earlier, in a 1975 amendment to the Access Rule that CBS finally found a viable permanent timeslot for 60 Minutes. When a family-oriented drama, Three for the Road, ended after a 13-week run in the fall, the newsmagazine took its place at 7/6 p.m. in December. It has aired at that time since, for over 32 years, making 60 Minutes not only the longest-running prime time program currently in production, but also the television program broadcasting for the longest length of time at a single time period each week in U.S. television history.

This move made the program into a strong ratings hit and, eventually, a general cultural phenomenon. Within the first season, 60 Minutes became the top-rated show on Sunday nights in the U.S. By 1979, it had achieved the number-one Nielsen rating for all television programs. This success translated into great profits for CBS; advertising rates went from $17,000 per thirty seconds in 1975 to $175,000 in 1982 (Madsen 17).

In 1979, Channel 9 in Australia licensed a spin-off of 60 Minutes, complete with ticking clock and format, and, later, New Zealand followed suit with its own 60 Minutes.

At 88 years old, Mike Wallace is not only the oldest television personality today (being four months older than Helen Wagner), but one who has lasted the longest with one news show continuously, having been a part of 60 Minutes since its inception in 1968. On March 14, 2006, Wallace announced his retirement from 60 Minutes after 37 years with the program. He continues to work for CBS News as a "Correspondent Emeritus".

As of 2008, 60 Minutes is the only regularly scheduled television program in American television history not to have used any type of theme music. The only theme sound is from the signature Aristo stopwatch in the opening title credits, before each commercial break, and at the tail-end of the closing credits.

60 Minutes is also aired via CBS Radio on several of their radio stations at the same time as the television broadcast, such as WCBS-AM, KNX, WBBM-AM, WWJ, and several other stations across the country owned by CBS. An audio version of the full show is also distributed via podcast and the iTunes Store, beginning with the September 23, 2007 progam .

Inflation And Investments

2008-02-27T03:31:00.000-08:00

When it comes to inflation, the question on many investors' minds is: "How will it affect my investments?" This is an especially important issue for people living on a fixed income, such as retirees.

The impact of inflation on your portfolio depends on the type of securities you hold. If you invest only in stocks, worrying about inflation shouldn't keep you up at night. Over the long run, a company's revenue and earnings should increase at the same pace as inflation. The exception to this is stagflation. The combination of a bad economy with an increase in costs is bad for stocks. Also, a company is in the same situation as a normal consumer - the more cash it carries, the more its purchasing power decreases with increases in inflation.

The main problem with stocks and inflation is that a company's returns tend to be overstated. In times of high inflation, a company may look like it's prospering, when really inflation is the reason behind the growth. When analyzing financial statements, it's also important to remember that inflation can wreak havoc on earnings depending on what technique the company is using to value inventory.

Fixed-income investors are the hardest hit by inflation. Suppose that a year ago you invested $1,000 in a Treasury bill with a 10% yield. Now that you are about to collect the $1,100 owed to you, is your $100 (10%) return real? Of course not! Assuming inflation was positive for the year, your purchasing power has fallen and, therefore, so has your real return. We have to take into account the chunk inflation has taken out of your return. If inflation was 4%, then your return is really 6%.

This example highlights the difference between nominal interest rates and real interest rates. The nominal interest rate is the growth rate of your money, while the real interest rate is the growth of your purchasing power. In other words, the real rate of interest is the nominal rate reduced by the rate of inflation. In our example, the nominal rate is 10% and the real rate is 6% (10% - 4% = 6%).

As an investor, you must look at your real rate of return. Unfortunately, investors often look only at the nominal return and forget about their purchasing power altogether.

Inflation: Introduction

2008-02-27T03:29:00.000-08:00

During World War II, you could buy a loaf of bread for $0.15, a new car for less than $1,000 and an average house for around $5,000. In the twenty-first century, bread, cars, houses and just about everything else cost more. A lot more. Clearly, we've experienced a significant amount of inflation over the last 60 years.

When inflation surged to double-digit levels in the mid- to late-1970s, Americans declared it public enemy No.1. Since then, public anxiety has abated along with inflation, but people remain fearful of inflation, even at the minimal levels we've seen over the past few years. Although it's common knowledge that prices go up over time, the general population doesn't understand the forces behind inflation.

What causes inflation? How does it affect your standard of living? This tutorial will shed some light on these questions and consider other aspects of inflation.

What Is Inflation?

2008-02-27T03:27:00.001-08:00

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase. As inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service.

The value of a dollar does not stay constant when there is inflation. The value of a dollar is observed in terms of purchasing power, which is the real, tangible goods that money can buy. When inflation goes up, there is a decline in the purchasing power of money. For example, if the inflation rate is 2% annually, then theoretically a $1 pack of gum will cost $1.02 in a year. After inflation, your dollar can't buy the same goods it could beforehand.

There are several variations on inflation:
Deflation is when the general level of prices is falling. This is the opposite of inflation.
Hyperinflation is unusually rapid inflation. In extreme cases, this can lead to the breakdown of a nation's monetary system. One of the most notable examples of hyperinflation occurred in Germany in 1923, when prices rose 2,500% in one month!
Stagflation is the combination of high unemployment and economic stagnation with inflation. This happened in industrialized countries during the 1970s, when a bad economy was combined with OPEC raising oil prices.

In recent years, most developed countries have attempted to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%.

Causes of Inflation

Economists wake up in the morning hoping for a chance to debate the causes of inflation. There is no one cause that's universally agreed upon, but at least two theories are generally accepted:

Demand-Pull Inflation - This theory can be summarized as "too much money chasing too few goods". In other words, if demand is growing faster than supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies.

Cost-Push Inflation - When companies' costs go up, they need to increase prices to maintain their profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or increased costs of imports.

Costs of Inflation
Almost everyone thinks inflation is evil, but it isn't necessarily so. Inflation affects different people in different ways. It also depends on whether inflation is anticipated or unanticipated. If the inflation rate corresponds to what the majority of people are expecting (anticipated inflation), then we can compensate and the cost isn't high. For example, banks can vary their interest rates and workers can negotiate contracts that include automatic wage hikes as the price level goes up.

Problems arise when there is unanticipated inflation:
Creditors lose and debtors gain if the lender does not anticipate inflation correctly. For those who borrow, this is similar to getting an interest-free loan.
Uncertainty about what will happen next makes corporations and consumers less likely to spend. This hurts economic output in the long run.
People living off a fixed-income, such as retirees, see a decline in their purchasing power and, consequently, their standard of living.
The entire economy must absorb repricing costs ("menu costs") as price lists, labels, menus and more have to be updated.
If the inflation rate is greater than that of other countries, domestic products become less competitive.

Fine for Microsoft

2008-02-27T03:25:00.000-08:00

The European Union is fining Microsoft Corp. $1.3 billion for charging rivals too much for software information.

EU regulators say the company charged "unreasonable prices" to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows operating system. The fine is the largest ever for a single company and the first time the EU has penalized a business for failing to obey an antitrust order.

Inflation

2008-02-27T03:22:00.000-08:00

Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in a given economy over a period of time. It may also refer to the rise in the prices of some more specific set of goods or services. In either case, it is measured as the percentage rate of change of a price index.

Mainstream economists overwhelmingly agree that high rates of inflation are caused by high rates of growth of the money supply. Views on the factors that determine moderate rates of inflation, especially in the short run, are more varied: changes in inflation are sometimes attributed mostly to changes in real demand for goods and services or fluctuations in available supplies (i.e. changes in scarcity), and sometimes to changes in the supply or demand for money. In the mid-twentieth century, two camps disagreed strongly on the main causes of inflation (at moderate rates): the "monetarists" argued that money supply dominated all other factors in determining inflation, while "Keynesians" argued that real demand was often more important than changes in the money supply.

A variety of inflation measures are in use, because there are many different price indices, designed to measure different sets of prices that affect different people. Two widely known indices for which inflation rates are commonly reported are the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures nominal consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures the nominal prices of goods and services produced by a given country or region.

Related economic concepts include: deflation, a general falling level of prices; disinflation, a decrease in the rate of inflation; hyperinflation, an out-of-control inflationary spiral; stagflation, a combination of inflation and rising unemployment; and reflation, which is an attempt to raise prices to counteract deflationary pressures.

In classical political economy, inflation meant increasing the money supply, while deflation meant decreasing it. Economists from some schools of economic thought still retain this usage. In contemporary economic terminology, these would usually be referred to as expansionary and contractionary monetary policies.

T.R. Knight

2008-02-27T03:16:00.000-08:00

Theodore Raymond “T.R.” Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an Emmy Award-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor. Knight's most high-profile role to date is his current role as Dr. George O'Malley on ABC's top-rated, hit medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Knight was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became involved with the Guthrie Theater at the age of five. After finishing high school at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Knight enrolled at the University of Minnesota for a brief period of time. He dropped out and soon landed leading roles at the Guthrie Theater.

Knight moved to New York City and has appeared on Broadway; his most notable role was playing opposite Patti LuPone in the 2001 revival of Noises Off. Knight's most recent stage appearance was in the 2004 drama, Boy. He also gained notice performing in 2003 as Damis in Tartuffe and received a Drama Desk Award nomination in 2003 for his role in the off-Broadway production of Scattergood.

On television, Knight was a regular cast member of the short-lived Nathan Lane series, Charlie Lawrence, with Laurie Metcalf. In 2005, he was cast as the sweet, bumbling intern George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. His role earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series in 2007.

Rumors over Knight's sexuality gained momentum when news reports surfaced in October 2006 that Grey's Anatomy co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington were involved in an argument during which, Knight and others allege, Washington used an anti-gay slur directed at an unnamed co-star. Washington later apologized, stating "I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set".

Knight, who is gay, did not disclose his sexuality to the public until October 19, 2006 — after the scuffle — when he released a statement through People magazine stating, in part, “I guess there have been a few questions about my sexuality, and I'd like to quiet any unnecessary rumors that may be out there. While I prefer to keep my personal life private, I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me.”

The controversy over the verbal exchange gained additional momentum on January 15, 2007 immediately following the Golden Globe Awards. When asked by E! Online reporter Ted Casablanca about the incident, Washington said, "I never called T.R. a faggot. It never happened."

Knight appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 17, 2007 and stated that Washington in fact had referred to him as a faggot on the Grey's Anatomy set on October 9, 2006.[4]

In June 2007, Knight's role was secured for an additional season of Grey's Anatomy, while Isaiah Washington's contract was not renewed.

T. R. Knight is inside People's Top 50 Sexiest Man Alive of 2007.

"Doomsday Seed Vault" in the Arctic

2008-02-27T03:11:00.000-08:00

One thing Microsoft founder Bill Gates can’t be accused of is sloth. He was already programming at 14, founded Microsoft at age 20 while still a student at Harvard. By 1995 he had been listed by Forbes as the world’s richest man from being the largest shareholder in his Microsoft, a company which his relentless drive built into a de facto monopoly in software systems for personal computers.

In 2006 when most people in such a situation might think of retiring to a quiet Pacific island, Bill Gates decided to devote his energies to his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest ‘transparent’ private foundation as it says, with a whopping $34.6 billion endowment and a legal necessity to spend $1.5 billion a year on charitable projects around the world to maintain its tax free charitable status. A gift from friend and business associate, mega-investor Warren Buffett in 2006, of some $30 billion worth of shares in Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway put the Gates’ foundation into the league where it spends almost the amount of the entire annual budget of the United Nations’ World Health Organization.

So when Bill Gates decides through the Gates Foundation to invest some $30 million of their hard earned money in a project, it is worth looking at.

No project is more interesting at the moment than a curious project in one of the world’s most remote spots, Svalbard. Bill Gates is investing millions in a seed bank on the Barents Sea near the Arctic Ocean, some 1,100 kilometers from the North Pole. Svalbard is a barren piece of rock claimed by Norway and ceded in 1925 by international treaty.

On this God-forsaken island Bill Gates is investing tens of his millions along with the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto Corporation, Syngenta Foundation and the Government of Norway, among others, in what is called the ‘doomsday seed bank.’ Officially the project is named the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard island group.

Doomsday Seed Vault

The seed bank is being built inside a mountain on Spitsbergen Island near the small village of Longyearbyen. It’s almost ready for ‘business’ according to their releases. The bank will have dual blast-proof doors with motion sensors, two airlocks, and walls of steel-reinforced concrete one meter thick. It will contain up to three million different varieties of seeds from the entire world, ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future,’ according to the Norwegian government. Seeds will be specially wrapped to exclude moisture. There will be no full-time staff, but the vault's relative inaccessibility will facilitate monitoring any possible human activity.

Did we miss something here? Their press release stated, ‘so that crop diversity can be conserved for the future.’ What future do the seed bank’s sponsors foresee, that would threaten the global availability of current seeds, almost all of which are already well protected in designated seed banks around the world?

Anytime Bill Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto and Syngenta get together on a common project, it’s worth digging a bit deeper behind the rocks on Spitsbergen. When we do we find some fascinating things.

The first notable point is who is sponsoring the doomsday seed vault. Here joining the Norwegians are, as noted, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the US agribusiness giant DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred, one of the world’s largest owners of patented genetically-modified (GMO) plant seeds and related agrichemicals; Syngenta, the Swiss-based major GMO seed and agrichemicals company through its Syngenta Foundation; the Rockefeller Foundation, the private group who created the “gene revolution with over $100 million of seed money since the 1970’s; CGIAR, the global network created by the Rockefeller Foundation to promote its ideal of genetic purity through agriculture change.

Pakistan lifts curbs on YouTube

2008-02-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

Pakistan's telecoms regulator said Tuesday it has lifted restrictions on the YouTube Web site that led to the knocking out of access to the popular video-sharing site in many other countries for a few hours over the weekend.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority ordered 70 domestic Internet service providers to restore access to the site after removal of what government officials had deemed a "blasphemous" video clip.

Pakistan ordered YouTube blocked on Friday over a clip featuring a Dutch lawmaker who has said he plans to release a movie portraying Islam as fascist and prone to inciting violence. As a result, most of the world's Internet users lost access to YouTube for several hours on Sunday.

An Internet expert said Sunday's problems came after a Pakistani telecommunications company complied with the block by directing requests for YouTube videos to a "black hole." So instead of serving up videos of skateboarding dogs, it sent the traffic into oblivion.

The problem was that the company also accidentally identified itself to Internet computers as the world's fastest route to YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc. That led requests from across the Internet to the black hole.

The outage highlighted yet another of the Internet's vulnerabilities, coming less than a month after broken fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean took Egypt off line and caused communications problems from the Middle East to India.

Mars News and Facts About Mars

2008-02-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Crusty, dusty and rusty describes the Mars of today.

Surface features of the Red Planet, however, hint at a watery past where torrents of groundwater carved out deep canyons, formed sweeping fans of sediment and cemented together huge fault lines.

"Groundwater probably played a major role in shaping many of the things we see on the Martian surface," said George Postma, a sedimentologist at UtrechtUniversity in the Netherlands.

Postma collaborated with Virginia Tech's Erin Kraal and others to recreate Mars' fan-like sediment deposits with a scale model. The group detailed their findings in a recent issue of the journal Nature.

A separate new study by Allan Treiman, a scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, details the role of groundwater in depositing minerals in rocky Martian crevices.

Rapid release

Scientists think a massive ocean once covered one-third of Mars, and recent photographs suggest that pockets of water may still be hidden beneath the planet's surface. Water is crucial for life as we know it, so signs of underground water now — and more extensive amounts of water in the past — both suggest Mars was or might still be habitable, at least to microorganisms.

Postma said such reservoirs of water probably carved out canyons, rapidly depositing step-like layers of sediment in Martian impact craters across the planet.

"When we examined photographs of Mars, we saw that some deltas had steps of material," Postma told SPACE.com. He noted that such formations are seen on Earth only where water rapidly deposits delta sediment, such as parts of the Sahara Desert's Lake Chad.

"Based on our models, these structures might have been caused by catastrophic events that filled the craters in one go," he said. Instead of taking millions of years to form, Postma said the fans probably formed in decades.

Ancient torrents of water spilling out of Martian ground with the output of the Mississippi River, for example, could have formed some of the dozen step-like sediment fans the researchers observed in about 13 years.

"Another puzzling feature is that you don't see a drainage network along the crater's side," Postma said — yet another clue that fans' formations were rapid and not the product of rainy runoff. "Craters are thought to be very porous, so the water can sink through. Another possibility is that the water just evaporated into the Martian atmosphere."

Mineral cement

In Valles Marineris, where about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) of 6-mile-deep (10-kilometers) chasms dwarfing the Grand Canyon stretch over Mars, Treiman thinks he has located more evidence of groundwater at work.

"Groundwater is a crucial reservoir in Mars's global water cycle and plays an important role in ... alteration of bedrock," Treiman writes in his study, detailed yesterday in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The Valles Marineris canyons formed when massive slabs of rock both lifted up and sunk, creating fault lines in the process. Spacecraft imagery of the landscape shows the crevices as ridges, which Treiman thinks were filled with mineral-rich groundwater between 3.5 billion and 1.8 billion years ago.

"This interpretation implies that liquid water was stable at or near Mars's surface when the fault zones were cemented," Treiman said, noting that only a "warm wet" climate on Mars could have made the deposits possible.

"The presence of liquid water is important in current ideas of Mars's history," Treiman said, "and central to Mars's potential for life."

Arctic Seed Vault

2008-02-25T00:21:00.000-08:00

Saving Seeds at Svalbard

The Seed Vault has a capacity of 4.5 million seed samples, equivalent to about 2 billion seeds. Samples eligible for conservation at Svalbard must already be housed in two conventional long-term genebanks elsewhere, in keeping with current international standards. The facility will start with a collection from the CGIAR and certain key national genebanks. As the collection expands, the focus will be on safeguarding as much of the world’s unique genetic material as possible and avoiding duplication.

Seed would be stored under what is known as “black box” arrangements, meaning that seed packages and boxes sent for storage would not be opened. The responsibility for testing material or for subsequent regeneration and multiplication will remain with the genebanks sending their seeds to Svalbard. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will not operate like a regular genebank, making material available to breeders, and in fact samples held in “black boxes” will only be released in the event that all other seed sources have been destroyed or exhausted.

Packaging, shipment and information management

Genebanks sending seed would be required to place the seed in specified, standard-size foil packages inside a standard-size box.

The Trust expects to provide support for the ongoing operations of the Seed Vault, and to provide funding for the preparation and shipment of seeds from developing countries to the facility. Provision of assistance from the Trust would only be granted for those collections that satisfy the Trust’s normal funding criteria, and relevant policies established by the Seed Vault.

The Nordic Gene Bank will establish and maintain a public on-line database of samples stored in Svalbard. In addition, a hardcopy would be kept inside each box in the facility. All records would indicate both a Svalbard and a depositor identification number. Depositors of seed will provide a complete electronic inventory of the samples with generally recognized passport, characterization, and evaluation data when available.

Arctic Seed Vault

2008-02-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

The Structure
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the ultimate protection for the world’s agricultural biodiversity, and will therefore be built to stand the test of time. Put simply, a tunnel will be excavated in the side of a mountain. The facility will have one entrance and a robust security door and airlock will separate the entrance area from the seed vault itself.

In order to maintain the temperature at a constant -10°C to -20°C, the cold Arctic air will be drawn into the vault during the winter, automatically and without human intervention. The surrounding rock will maintain the temperature requirements during the extremely cold season and during warmer periods refrigeration equipment will engage. However, in the event of an equipment failure, temperatures in the vault would not rise above approximately -3.5°C, and would, in fact, take months to warm even to that level which would be perfectly adequate for seed conservation for some years. The inside of the seed storage vault will be lined with insulated panels (in addition to the thick concrete wall) to help maintain the cold temperatures. Electronic transmitters linked to a satellite system will monitor temperature, etc., and send this information back to the appropriate authorities at Longyearbyen and at the Nordic Gene Bank, which will provide the technical expertise for managing the Seed Vault.

The remote location, as well as the rugged structure, provide unparalleled security for the world’s agricultural heritage, and the facility will also be equipped with motion detectors and possibly even CCTV. The presence of polar bears, which prowl the area, may be seen by some as providing an added layer of security.

The Seed Vault, with its combination of natural and mechanical cooling systems and remote location, is designed to provide a service that no genebank or even consortium of genebanks can offer, and which will function effectively centuries into the future.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

2008-02-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is being established on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the town of Longyearbyen (population 1900) in the remote arctic Svalbard archipelago. The island is about 1120 km from the north pole.

The Seed Vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement between the Norwegian government, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Nordic Gene Bank (a cooperative effort of the Nordic countries under the Nordic Council of Ministers). The Norwegian government has funded all of the approximately $8 million construction cost. The Global Crop Diversity Trust has played a key role in the planning of the Seed Vault and is coordinating shipments of seed samples to the Vault in conjunction with the Nordic Gene Bank. The Trust will provide most of the annual operating costs for the facility, and has set aside endowment funds to do so, while the Norwegian government will finance upkeep of the structure itself. The Gates Foundation has provided approximately $750,000 to assist developing countries and international agricultural research centers to package and ship seeds to the Seed Vault. An International Advisory Council is being established to provide guidance and advice. It will include representatives from FAO, the CGIAR, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources and other institutions.

The prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland participated in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" on 19 June 2006.

The seedbank is being constructed 393 feet inside a sandstone mountain at Svalbard on Spitsbergen Island.[2] The bank will employ a number of robust security systems. Seeds will be packaged in special 4-ply packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture. The facility will be managed by the Nordic Gene Bank, though there will be no permanent staff on-site. Spitsbergen was considered ideal due to its lack of tectonic activity and its permafrost, which will aid preservation. The location 426 feet above sea level will ensure that the site remains dry even if the icecaps melt.Locally mined coal will provide power for refrigeration units which will further cool the seeds to the internationally-recommended standard −20 to −30 C. Even if the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the temperature rises to the −3 C of the surrounding sandstone bedrock. Prior to construction, a feasibility study determined that the vault could preserve seeds from most major food crops for hundreds of years. Some seeds, including those of important grains, could survive far longer, possibly thousands of years.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault will open officially on 26 February 2008. Approximately 1.5 million distinct seed samples of agricultural crops are thought to exist. The variety and volume of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating. But the facility has a capacity to conserve 4.5 million. The first seeds arrived in January 2008.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault's mission is to provide a safety net against accident loss of diversity in traditional genebanks. While the popular press has emphasized its possible utility in the event of a major regional or global catastrophe, it will certainly be more frequently accessed when genebanks lose samples due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts and natural disasters. Such events occur with some regularity. In recent years, some national genebanks have also been destroyed by war and civil strife. There are some 1400 crop diversity collections around the world, but many are in politically unstable or environmentally threatened nations.

The Nordic Gene Bank has stored a backup of Nordic plant germplasm as frozen seeds at Svalbard since 1984 in an abandoned coal mine. The Nordic Gene Bank (NGB) has deposited more than 10 000 seed samples of more than 2 000 cultivars of 300 different species over the years. In addition, seed samples from southern Africa (SADC) have been safety duplicated with the Nordic collection for some years. Both the Nordic and African collections will be transfered to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault when it opens.

Pakistan Election News

2008-02-19T05:08:00.000-08:00

Future of the president, a U.S. ally, in question after parliamentary results.

conceded defeat Tuesday after opposition parties routed allies of President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections that could threaten the rule of America’s close ally in the war on terror.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, told AP Television News that “we accept the results with an open heart” and “will sit on opposition benches” in the new parliament.”

“All the King’s men, gone!” proclaimed a banner headline in the Daily Times. “Heavyweights knocked out,” read the Dawn newspaper.

The results cast doubt on the political future of Musharraf, who was re-elected to a five year term last October in a controversial parliamentary ballot.

With the support of smaller groups and independent candidates, the opposition could gain the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to impeach Musharraf, who has angered many Pakistanis by allying the country with Washington in 2001 to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

Final results were not expected before Tuesday evening, but the election’s outcome appeared to be a stinging public verdict on Musharraf’s rule after his popularity plummeted following his decisions late last year to impose emergency rule, purge the judiciary, jail political opponents and curtail press freedoms.

The private Geo TV network said the party of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and another group led by ex-premier Nawaz Sharif had so far won 149 seats, more than half of the 272-seat National Assembly.

The pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League-Q party was a distant third with 33 seats. A ream of party stalwarts and former Cabinet ministers lost in their constituencies.

Musharraf has promised to work with whatever government emerges from the election. But the former general is hugely unpopular among the public and opposition parties that have been catapulted into power are likely to find little reason to work with him — particularly since he no longer controls the powerful army.

Sharif has been especially outspoken in demanding that Musharraf be removed and that the Supreme Court justices whom the president sacked late last year be returned to their posts. Those judges were fired as they prepared to rule on whether Musharraf’s re-election last October was constitutional.

If the opposition falls short of enough votes to remove Musharraf, the new government could reinstate the Supreme Court justices and ask them to declare the October election invalid.

The spokesman for Sharif’s party, Sadiq ul-Farooq, told reporters Tuesday that Musharraf “should go.” But he added that if the restored justices validate Musharraf’s October election to a new term, the opposition would accept the decision.

“We want to put Pakistan back on the track of democracy, constitution and rule of law, and the restoration of sacked judges is a must to achieve this goal,” he said.

Diminished powers
Musharraf, at best, faces the prospect of remaining in power with sharply diminished powers and facing a public hostile to him. Last year he stepped down as army chief, and his successor has pledged to remove the military from politics.

History of Mongol Empire

2008-02-19T05:04:00.000-08:00

The Mongol Empire, also known as the Mongolian Empire (Mongolian: Монголын Эзэнт Гүрэн, Mongolyn Ezent Güren; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous empire in world history and for some time was the most feared in Eurasia. It was the product of Mongol unification and Mongol invasions, which began with Temujin being proclaimed ruler in 1206, eventually sparking the conquests.

By 1279, the Mongol Empire covered over 33,000,000 km² up to 22% of Earth's total land area. It held sway over a population of over 100 million people. However, by that time the empire had already fragmented, with the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate being de facto independent and refusing to accept Kublai Khan as Khagan. By the time of Kublai Khan's death, with no accepted Khagan in existence, the Mongol Empire had already split up into four separate khanates.

During the beginning of the 14th century, most of the khanates of the Empire gradually broke off. They went on to be absorbed and defeated.

Genghis Khan through political manipulation and military might, united the nomadic, previously ever-rivaling Mongol-Turkic tribes under his rule by 1206. He quickly came into conflict with the Jin Dynasty empire of the Jurchens and the Western Xia of the Tanguts in northern China. Under the provocation of the Muslim Khwarezmid Empire, he moved into Central Asia as well, devastating Transoxiana and eastern Persia, then raiding into Kievan Rus' (a predecessor state of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) and the Caucasus. Before dying, Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and immediate family, but as custom made clear, it remained the joint property of the entire imperial family who, along with the Mongol aristocracy, constituted the ruling class.

Mongols

2008-02-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

The name Mongols (Mongolian: Монгол Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups largely located now in Mongolia, China, and Russia.

A narrow definition includes the Mongols proper (self-designation Monggol), which can be roughly divided into eastern and western Mongols. In a wider sense, the Mongol peoples includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.

The name Monggol appeared first in 8th century records of the Chinese Tang dynasty, but then only resurfaced in the 11th century during the rule of the Khitan. At first it was applied to some small and still insignificant tribes in the area of the Onon River. In the 13th century, it grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan.

The specific origin of the Mongolic languages and associated tribes is unclear. Some researchers have proposed that they developed from a Tungusic splinter group; others suspect Paleosiberian influences.

Mongolians are revered around the world for their ability to get around large barriers namely the Great Wall of China.

Mongolia

The population of Mongolia consists of 85% Mongols, numbering approximately 2.7 million. Among those, the Khalkha, Uriankhai and Buryats are counted as eastern Mongols. The Oirats, living mainly in the Altay region, belong to the western Mongols.

The Chinese census of 2000 counted 5.8 million Mongols (according to the narrow definition above). Most of them live in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, followed by Liaoning province. Small numbers can also be found in provinces near those two.

Other peoples speaking Mongolic languages are the Daur, Monguor, Dongxiang, Bonan, and parts of the Yugur. Those do not officially count as part of the Mongol nationality, but are recognized as nationalities of their own.

In Russia, the Buryats belong to the eastern Mongols. The western Mongols include the Oirats in the Russian Altay and the Kalmyks at the northern side of the Caspian Sea. Together they amount to roughly half a million people.

Gates:Microsoft isn't raising Yahoo bid

2008-02-19T03:02:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE - Microsoft is not privately haggling with Yahoo over the software maker's rejected $31-per-share buyout offer for the slumping Internet pioneer, Bill Gates said in an interview.

"We sent them a letter and said we think that's a fair offer. There's nothing that's gone on other than us stating that we think it's a fair offer," the Microsoft chairman said Monday. "They should take a hard look at it."

Microsoft Corp. made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo Inc. just over two weeks ago. At the time, the deal was valued at $44.6 billion, but since then, Microsoft's share price has tumbled 12.8 percent, pushing the value of the cash-and-stock offer closer to $41 billion.

Yahoo spurned the offer and said it "substantially undervalues" the company's assets. The Web portal business was said to be in talks late last week with News Corp. about a complex deal to push its market value toward $50 billion. Yahoo also was reportedly discussing an advertising partnership with Google Inc.

Most analysts believe Microsoft will do whatever it takes to buy Yahoo. Redmond-based Microsoft has invested heavily in honing its own search engine and advertising technology, but neither it nor Yahoo have helped close the gap with Google, which dominates Microsoft and Yahoo in U.S. search queries and related advertising revenue.

Yahoo is believed to want at least $40 per share, but Microsoft has held firm so far, calling its original bid "full and fair." Microsoft's next move could be to take the offer directly to Yahoo's shareholders, or to attempt a hostile takeover of Yahoo's board.

Yahoo shares closed at $29.66 Friday. Markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day.

Gates' comment Monday was in response to a question during a phone interview about an unrelated effort to give students free access to certain Microsoft software.

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Brief History of Napoleon Bonaparte

2008-02-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

Napoleon Bonaparte (French: Napoléon Bonaparte) (August 15, 1769 – May 5, 1821) was a general and Emperor of France.

Napoleon was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica to Carlo Buonaparte, a lawyer and politician, and his wife, Marie-Letizia Buonaparte. The Buonapartes were a wealthy family from the Corsican nobility. Napoleon changed his name so it sounded more French.

Napoleon was able to enter the military academy at Brienne in 1779. He moved to the Parisian École Royale Militaire in 1784 and graduated a year later as a second lieutenant of artillery.

Napoleon was able to spend much of the next eight years in Corsica. There he played an active part in political and military matters. Napoleon was promoted in the military.

The French Revolution caused much fighting and disorder in France. At times, Napoleon was connected to those in power. Other times, he was in jail. He helped the French Republic from those who supported the former king of France. He became a general in the French army. He led troops in Italy and he began to gain fame and power.

Napoleon married Josephine de Beauharnais on March 9, 1796.

In May 1798, Napoleon left for a campaign in Egypt and Syria. The French needed to threaten Britain's empire in India and the French Directory's concerns that Napoleon would take control of France. The Egyptian campaign was a military failure. Napoleon went back to France because of a change in the French government. Some believe that Napoleon should not have left his soldiers in Egypt. Napoleon helped lead the Brumaire coup of November 1799.

By February 1800, Napoleon was the First Consul of France. France was still at war with most of Europe. Peace was gained for a short time after the Battle of Marengo.

Bonaparte changed many ways of life in France. His changes to the legal system, the Napoleonic Code, are considered to be a good change. Napoleon became First Consul for Life in 1802 and Emperor of France in 1804. This means that he was essentially a dictator.

Europe was not at peace for long. Fighting resumed. Napoleon and France won many battles against a range of alliances between Austria, Great Britain, Russia, and Prussia. Early on, Napoleon won many battles like the Battle of Austerlitz. Napoleon made his relatives rulers of some of the countries he beat.

Napoleon also made mistakes and suffered setbacks. The French navy was kept firmly in check by British navy. The British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar let the British control the ocean and sea.

Napoleon made his brother the ruler of Spain. This caused some in Spain to begin guerilla warfare against the French.

On March 11, 1810, Napoleon married his second wife, Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma. Many people were upset that he divorced Josephine.

In 1812, Napoleon went to war with Russia. They defeated many Russian cities and villages, but by the time they reached Moscow it was winter and his army did not have enough food. Napoleon's army was unable to defeat the Russians. The Russians began to attack. Napoleon and his army had to go back to France. Only 10,000 soldiers were able to fight at the end of the retreat.

On March 30, 1814, Paris surrendered. Napoleon gave up rule of France on April 11, 1814. He went into exile on the small island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea.

Napoleon was sent to the island of Saint Helena off the coast of Africa. He died on May 5 1821, of stomach cancer.

Struggle in Europe, rise to emperor - History of Napoleon Bonaparte
In June 1800, the Austrians were routed at Marengo. Napoleon returned to Paris to disprove the rumors about his defeat and death. Joseph, Napoleons's brother leading the peace negotiations in Lunéville, reported that due to British backing for Austria, Austria would not recognize France's newly gained territory. As negotiations developed more and more into a farce, Napoleon gave orders to his general Moreau to strike Austria once more. Moreau led France to victory at Hohenlinden 1800. As a result the Treaty of Lunéville was signed in February 1801, under which the French gains of the Campo Formio treaty were reaffirmed and increased; the British also committed themselves to sign a peace treaty and finally signed the treaty of Amiens in March 1802, in which Malta was to be handed over to France. It was during this period that Napoleon tried to ensure peace in Europe. However his enemies had difficulties in recognizing a republic, as all the countries bordering France were kingdoms and were horrified that the ideas of the revolution might be exported to them. In Britain the brother of Louis XVI was welcomed as a state guest although officially Britain recognized France as republic. Although France complied with some of the provisions of the treaty, for strategic reasons Britain did not cede Malta to France.

In 1803, Napoleon sold a large part of North America to the United States — the Louisiana Purchase — for less than three cents per acre; he had just faced a major setback when an army he sent to conquer Santo Domingo and establish a base was destroyed by a combination of yellow fever and fierce resistance led by Toussaint L'Ouverture. With his western forces diminished, Napoleon knew he would be unable to defend Louisiana and decided to sell it to finance the war against Britain, which at that time was more or less inevitable.

Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, memorialized by Jacques-Louis DavidThe dispute over Malta provided the pretext for Britain to declare war on France in 1803 to support French royalists. Napoleon, however, crowned himself Emperor on 2 December 1804 (illustration, right) at Notre-Dame Cathedral. Claims that he seized the crown out of the hands of Pope Pius VII during the ceremony in order to avoid subjecting himself to the authority of the pontiff are apocryphal; after the Imperial regalia had been blessed by the Pope, Napoleon crowned himself before crowning his wife Joséphine as Empress. Then at Milan's cathedral on 26 May 1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy, with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

History of Napoleon Bonaparte

A plan by the French, along with the Spanish, to defeat the Royal Navy failed dramatically at the Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805), and Britain gained lasting control of the seas.

By 1805 the Third Coalition against Napoleon had formed in Europe; Napoleon attacked and secured a major victory against Austria and Russia at Austerlitz (2 December) and, in the following year, humbled Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (14 October 1806). As a result, Napoleon became the de facto ruler over most of Germany. Napoleon marched on through Poland and then signed a treaty with the Russian tsar Alexander I, dividing Europe between the two powers. In the French part of Poland, he established the restored Polish state of Grand Duchy de Varsovie with the Saxonian King as a ruler.

Then on 17 May 1809 Napoleon ordered the annexation of the Papal States to the French empire.

History of Napoleon Bonaparte

Battles in Spain, Austria, and Russia - History of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to enforce a Europe-wide commercial boycott of Britain called the "Continental System". He invaded Spain and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as king there. The Spanish rose in revolt, which Napoleon was unable to suppress. The British invaded Spain through Portugal in 1808 and, with the aid of the Spanish nationalists, slowly drove out the French. While France was engaged in Spain, Austria attacked in Germany, but after initial success suffered defeat at the Battle of Wagram (6 July 1809).

Alexander I of Russia had become distrustful of Napoleon and refused to co-operate with him against the British. In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia. Napoleon ignored the advice of the Poles, who predicted long-term war rather than a quick victorious campaign. They proposed to retrieve former Polish areas from Russian hands gradually and build a base for further war there. As the Poles predicted, the Russians under Kutuzov, who declared a Patriotic War, retreated instead of giving battle. Outside Moscow on 12 September, the Battle of Borodino took place. The Russians retreated and Napoleon was able to enter Moscow, assuming that Alexander I would negotiate peace. Moscow began to burn and within the month, fearing loss of control in France, Napoleon left Moscow. The French Grand Army suffered greatly in the course of a ruinous retreat; the Army had begun as over 600,000 men, but in the end fewer than 10,000 crossed the Berezina River (November 1812) to escape. Encouraged by this dramatic reversal, several nations again took up arms against France. The decisive defeat of the French came at the Battle of Leipzig, also called "The Battle of the Nations" (16-19 October 1813).

Otto Von Bismarck Biography

2008-02-19T02:42:00.000-08:00

After Otto von Bismarck provoked France, which at this time was ruled by Napoleon III, the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870 and the southern German states, viewing France as the aggressor, joined the North German Confederation. France suffered a humiliating defeat, and Wilhelm I was crowned German Emperor in the Galerie des Glaces (Spiegelsaal) in Versailles, which served as the headquarter of the Prussian army, on January 18, 1871. Bismarck thus largely created the Prussian led 1871 German Empire, at the exclusion of Austria.

The Chancellor - Otto von Bismarck Biography
Celebrated as a national hero, Otto von Bismarck became the first Reichskanzler (Chancellor) of the new Empire. In foreign policy, he now devoted himself to keeping peace among the European powers of France, Austria, Germany and Russia. Bismarck's belief was that Germany's central location in Europe would cause it to be devastated in case of any war.

Internally, he was concerned about the emergence of two new parties: the Catholic Centre Party and the Social Democratic Party. The campaign against Catholicism that started in 1872, called Kulturkampf, was largely a failure. He attacked the Social Democrats in two ways: the party and its organizations were outlawed, while the working class was appeased with (very progressive) legislation guaranteeing accident and health insurance as well as old-age pensions.

In the elections of 1890, both the Catholic Centre and the Social Democrats made great gains, and Otto von Bismarck resigned at the insistence of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had risen to the throne in 1888. Otto von Bismarck spent his last years gathering his memoirs (Gedanken und Erinnerungen; "Thoughts and Memories"), and died at 83 years of age in 1898, in Friedrichsruh. He is buried in the Bismarck-Mausoleum there.

Both the WWII-era Kriegsmarine battleship Bismarck as well as two ships of the Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine), and Bismarck, North Dakota, were named in his honor, as was the Bismarck Archipelago and Bismarck Sea outside the former German colony of New Guinea, and several streets and schools in Germany.

Did you know about these JEWS

2008-02-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Allah Says in Holy Quran, Surah Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread) Ch.5 Verse.82
"Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, "We are Christians": because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant."

And it is evident, Jews happen to be the biggest enemies to Muslims.

* Did you know that non-Jewish Israelis cannot buy or lease land in the Zionist entity?

* Did you know that Palestinian license plates in Zionist entity are color coded to distinguish Jews from non-Jews?

* Did you know that Israel allots 85% of the water resources for Jews and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 400 settlers, while 15% must be divided among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians?

* Did you know the United States awards the Israel $5 billion in aid each year?

* Did you know that yearly US aid to Israel exceeds the aid the US grants to the whole African continent?

* Did you know that the Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?

* Did you know that the Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites?

* Did you know that Israel currently occupies territories of two sovereign nations (Lebanon and Syria) in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?

* Did you know that Israel has for decades routinely sent assassins into other countries to kill its political enemies?

* Did you know that high-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed by the IDF?

* Did you know that Israel refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?

* Did you know that Israel routinely confiscates bank accounts, businesses, and land and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer the confiscation?

* Did you know that Israel blew up an American diplomatic facility in Egypt and attacked a U.S. ship in international waters, killing 33 and wounding 177 American sailors?

* Did you know that the second most powerful lobby in the United States, according to a recent Fortune magazine survey of Washington insiders, is the Jewish AIPAC?

* Did you know that Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions?

* Did you know that today's Israel sits on the former sites of more than 400 now-vanished Palestinian villages, and that the Israeli's re- named almost every physical site in the country to cover up the traces?

* Did you know that it was not until 1988 that Israelis were barred from running "Jews Only" job ads?

* Did you know that four prime ministers of Israel (Begin, Shamir, Rabin, and Sharon) have taken part in either bomb attacks on civilians, massacres of civilians, or forced expulsions of civilians from their villages?

* Did you know that the Israeli Foreign Ministry pays two American public relations firms to promote Israel to Americans?

* Did you know that Sharon's coalition government includes a party -- Molodet -- which advocates expelling all Palestinians from the occupied territories?

* Did you know that Israel's settlement-building increased in the eight years since Oslo?

* Did you know that settlement building under Barrack doubled compared to settlement building under Netanyahu?

* Did you know that Israel once dedicated a postage stamp to a man who attacked a civilian bus and killed several people?

* Did you know that recently-declassifi ed documents indicate that David Ben-Gurion in at least some instances approved of the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948?

* Did you know that despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?

* Did you know that Palestinian refugees make up the largest portion of the refugee population in the world?

*** And finally These are the Terrorists ***

Al-Fayed: Royals wanted to ‘get rid’ of Diana

2008-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

LONDON - Luxury storeowner Mohamed al-Fayed accused the British royal family on Monday of wanting to "get rid" of Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris car crash along with his son.

Giving evidence at an inquest into Dodi's and Diana's death, the owner of London's Harrods store, al-Fayed directed accusations at the princess's former husband Prince Charles, and at her former father-in-law and husband to Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip.

"(Princess Diana) told me personally both before and during the holiday we shared in July 1997 of her fears," al-Fayed said in a written statement to the court. "She told me that she knew Philip and Prince Charles wanted to get rid of her."

Diana, 36, Dodi, 42, and driver Henri Paul, an al-Fayed employee, were killed when their Mercedes limousine crashed in a road tunnel in August 1997 as they sped away from the Ritz Hotel in Paris with paparazzi in hot pursuit.

Under British law, an inquest is needed to determine the cause of death when someone dies unnaturally.

Official probes: Deaths were accidents
French and British police investigations both concluded the deaths were tragic accidents caused by their speeding chauffeur who was found to be drunk. Both police probes rejected al-Fayed's conspiracy theories.

But al-Fayed insisted in his statement that French and British security and intelligence services had colluded in the killing of his son and Diana, and in a subsequent coverup.

"French intelligence helped the British intelligence to execute their murder," he said. "Princess Diana told me she had proof her life was in danger."

Strong words
Al-Fayed has said in the past he believes Diana's killing was ordered because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son.

He told the inquest on Monday that Diana had confided in him that she was pregnant, and that she and his son were about to announce their engagement.

The Kosovars are now independent

2008-02-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

PRISTINA, Kosovo - The United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence Monday, and Europe's major powers said they would do the same, setting up a confrontation with Serbia and its key ally, Russia.

Kosovo's leaders had sent letters to 192 countries Monday seeking formal recognition of independence, and suspense gripped the capital as its citizens awaited backing from the key powers.

But later Monday, President Bush said, “The Kosovars are now independent,” and the United States formally recognized Kosovo's independence in a statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We congratulate the people of Kosovo on this historic occasion," Rice said.

The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy said those nations also would recognize Kosovo.

"A majority of (European Union) member states will recognise a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo founded on the rule of law," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after talks among EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Tension as Serbs protest
A day after Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership made its historic declaration of independence from Serbia, tensions flared in northern Kosovo, home to most of the territory's 100,000 minority Serbs. An explosion damaged a U.N. vehicle outside the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, where thousands of Serbs demonstrated, chanting "this is Serbia!"

The crowds marched to a bridge spanning a river dividing the town between the ethnic Albanian and Serbian sides. They were confronted by NATO peacekeepers guarding the bridge, but there was no violence.

Another 800 Serbs staged a noisy demonstration in the Serb-dominated enclave of Gracanica outside Pristina, waving Serbian flags and singing patriotic songs.

yesterday," protester Goran Arsic said.

In a first sign that Serbia was attempting to retake authority in the north of Kosovo, some Serb policemen started leaving the multiethnic Kosovo police force on Monday and placed themselves under the authority of the Serbian government in Belgrade, a senior Kosovo Serb police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

There were about 320 Serb policemen in the U.N.-established force. The departure of Serb policemen in the force would likely trigger a confrontation with the U.N. administration.

‘It will be a big day’
President Fatmir Sejdiu played down the fears of renewed unrest, saying the government needed to set about the business of building a democratic country.

"It will be a big day today because we have lots of things that we need to start and finish," Sejdiu said Monday. "We need continuous work and commitment, and we are fully dedicated to fulfilling the promises to better our state."

On Sunday, lawmakers achieved what a bloody 1998-99 separatist war with Serbian forces could not: They pronounced the disputed province the Republic of Kosovo, and pledged to make it a "democratic, multiethnic state."

The proclamation sent thousands of jubilant ethnic Albanians into the streets overnight, where they waved red-and-black Albanian flags, fired guns and fireworks into the air and danced. One couple named their newborn daughter Pavarsie — Albanian for "independence."

Passersby stopped to scribble names and messages on a sculpture spelling out "NEWBORN" in giant iron letters across from the U.N. headquarters in central Pristina.

And the republic's new flag — a blue field featuring a yellow silhouette of Kosovo and six white stars, one for each of the main ethnic groups — fluttered from homes and offices.

"This is the happiest day in my life," said Mehdi Shehu, 68. "Now we're free and we can celebrate without fear."

Fasting Budha

2008-02-18T11:09:00.001-08:00

According to tradition, the historical Buddha lived from 563 to 483 B.C., although scholars postulate that he may have lived as much as a century later. He was born to the rulers of the Shakya clan, hence his appellation Shakyamuni, which means "sage of the Shakya clan." The legends that grew up around him hold that both his conception and birth were miraculous. His mother, Maya, conceived him when she dreamed that a white elephant entered her right side (The Dream of Queen Maya, 1976.402). She gave birth to him in a standing position while grasping a tree in a garden (Birth of the Buddha, 1987.417.1). The child emerged from Maya's right side fully formed and proceeded to take seven steps. Once back in the palace, he was presented to an astrologer who predicted that he would become either a great king or a great religious teacher and he was given the name Siddhartha ("He who achieves His Goal"). His father, evidently thinking that any contact with unpleasantness might prompt Siddhartha to seek a life of renunciation as a religious teacher, and not wanting to lose his son to such a future, protected him from the realities of life.

The ravages of poverty, disease, and even old age were therefore unknown to Siddhartha, who grew up surrounded by every comfort in a sumptuous palace. At age twenty-nine, he made three successive chariot rides outside the palace grounds and saw an old person, a sick person, and a corpse, all for the first time. On the fourth trip, he saw a wandering holy man whose asceticism inspired Siddhartha to follow a similar path in search of freedom from the suffering caused by the infinite cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Because he knew his father would try to stop him, Siddhartha secretly left the palace in the middle of the night (The Great Departure and the Temptation of the Buddha, 28.105) and sent all his belongings and jewelry back with his servant and horse. Completely abandoning his luxurious existence, he spent six years as an ascetic (Fasting Siddhartha, 1987.218.5), attempting to conquer the innate appetites for food, sex, and comfort by engaging in various yogic disciplines. Eventually near death from his vigilant fasting, he accepted a bowl of rice from a young girl. Once he had eaten, he had a realization that physical austerities were not the means to achieve spiritual liberation. At a place now known as Bodh Gaya ("enlightenment place"), he sat and meditated all night beneath a pipal tree. After defeating the forces of the demon Mara, Siddhartha reached enlightenment (Plaque with scenes from the life of the Buddha, 1982.233) and became a Buddha ("enlightened one") at the age of thirty-five.

The Buddha continued to sit after his enlightenment, meditating beneath the tree and then standing beside it for a number of weeks. During the fifth or sixth week, he was beset by heavy rains while meditating but was protected by the hood of the serpent king Muchilinda (Buddha sheltered by a naga, 1987.424.19ab). Seven weeks after his enlightenment, he left his seat under the tree and decided to teach others what he had learned, encouraging people to follow a path he called "The Middle Way," which is one of balance rather than extremism. He gave his first sermon (Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath, 1980.527.4) in a deer park in Sarnath, on the outskirts of the city of Benares. He soon had many disciples and spent the next forty-five years walking around northeastern India spreading his teachings. Although the Buddha presented himself only as a teacher and not as a god or object of worship, he is said to have performed many miracles during his lifetime (Bookcover with scenes from the life of the Buddha, 1979.511). Traditional accounts relate that he died at the age of eighty (The Death of the Buddha, L.1993.69.4) in Kushinagara, after ingesting a tainted piece of either mushroom or pork. His body was cremated and the remains distributed among groups of his followers. These holy relics were enshrined in large hemispherical burial mounds (stupa, 1985.387), a number of which became important pilgrimage sites.

In India, by the Pala period (ca. 700–1200), the Buddha's life was codified into a series of "Eight Great Events" (1982.233). These eight events are, in order of their occurrence in the Buddha's life: his birth (1976.402), his defeat over Mara and consequent enlightenment (1982.233; 1985.392.1), his first sermon at Sarnath (1980.527.4), the miracles he performed at Shravasti (1979.511), his descent from the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Buddha's Descent from the Trayastrimsha Heaven, 28.31), his taming of a wild elephant (1979.511), the monkey's gift of honey, and his death (L.1993.69.4).

Gandhara Civilization

2008-02-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

Pakistan is the land which attracted Alexander the great from Macedonia in 326 B.C., with whom the influence of Greek culture came to this part of the world. During the 2nd century B.C., it was here that Buddhism was adopted as the state religion which flourished and prevailed here for over 1000 years, starting from 2nd century B.C., until 10th century A.D. During this time Taxila, Swat and Charsaddah (old Pushkalavati) became three important centres for culture, trade and learning. Hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh both in Taxila. It was from these centres that a unique art of sculpture originated which is known as Gandhara Art all over the world. Today the Gandhara Sculptures occupy a prominent place in the museums of England, France, Germany, USA, Japan, Korea, China, India and Afghanistan together with many private collections world over, as well as in the museums of Pakistan. Nevertheless, the zenith of this Gandhara Art is one and only "Fasting Buddha" now on display in Lahore Museum, Lahore.

Finally, the light of Islam penetrated in this part of the world as early as 7th century AD. from the west with the Arabs and during the 10th century AD from the north with the Turks. Islam replaced the early way of life of worshipping idols and introduced new philosophy of faith in one God. With Islam in came a new culture in this land from Arabia and Central Asia. Hence, a new type of architecture, hitherto unknown in this area, was introduced. Tens of thousands of Mosques, Madrassahs, tombs and gardens were created by the Muslim rulers all over the Sub-Continent. The new style of Islamic architecture prevailed and matured in this land for over a thousand years. The most important contribution of the Muslim rulers to this land, however, is a new language ‘Urdu’ which became the national language of Pakistan since its independence in 1947.
The legacy of our predecessors at the time of our independence, on August 14, 1947, came to us as a treasure which may be called as Pakistan’s national heritage. So rich and diversified is this heritage that Pakistani nation can be proud of its glorious past, be Islamic, Post Islamic or pre-Islamic period as far back as pre-historic times. It is hard to find another country which can produce the treasure of by gone days as can be found in Pakistan. It is now incumbent upon us to treasure our national heritage and save it from further deterioration and theft.

The establishment of NFCH is much appreciated and a great interest is shown by the general public hence since its establishment in 1994 hundreds of proposals were received from different agencies and individuals for the conservation, preservation and publication of the Pakistan’s national heritage.

Three men busted for using Shah Rukh Khan's credit card

2008-02-18T00:48:00.000-08:00

15 February 2008 (Sawf News) - Three men splurged on clothes at Shopper's Stop at Nirmal Lifestyle in Mulund, Mumbai and then produced a ICICI credit card to pay the Rs 25,000/- charge. The credit card belonged to Shah Rukh Khan!

Since none of the three looked like Khan and one of them signed the charge as Vinay Vijay Tambe an executive informed ICICI and the police.

The three dimwits - Vinay Vijay Tambe (22), James Paul Peremal (28), and Shekar Jadhav (44) - are now cooling their heels in the pokey!

Shah Rukh Khan has confirmed the loss of his credit card.

from:Sawf News.

The alertness of a sales executive at a suburban mall led to the arrest of three persons who allegedly tried to use Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s credit card to purchase clothes, police said on Friday. Three individuals — Vinay Tambe, James Perenal and Shekar Jadhav, were arrested by the police in the north east suburb of Mulund on February 11 when they attempted to make purchases using Shah Rukh’s credit card at a mall there. “The three persons, who are all unemployed, have claimed that they found the credit card lying on a road in suburban Santacruz a few days earlier and took it to the mall to buy some clothes,” a senior police official at the Mulund police station told PTI. It has been verified that the credit card belonged to the actor, the official said, adding they were presently investigating how the trio had found it. The trio purchased clothes worth approximately Rs 25,000 and one of them produced the Bollywood star’s credit card at the time of paying for the garments, he said. The sales executive who saw the transaction slip in the actor’s name realised something was wrong.

Kosovo deserves its independence

2008-02-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

Far beyond the borders of Serbia a sickening form of revisionism has prevailed across the years among critics of Kosovo's desire for independence. Some of it is born from a smug desire for controversy. Much of it comes from ignorance. A part of it derives from racism: inscrutable, impoverished, Muslim, their language and culture unlike any other in Europe, Kosovo Albanians are an easy “white nigger” target for the self-satisfied elements of Western Europe's pseudo-political classes.

The argument of the critics of Kosovan independence rests on two bogus tenets of denial. First, they state that Serbia was not responsible for the widescale massacre of Albanian civilians between 1998 and 1999, and propose instead that Serb security forces were somehow tricked into killing thousands of innocents by the provocation of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Secondly, they advance the theory that the 800,000 Albanian refugees who fled their homes during Nato's 79-day air campaign did so as they were frightened of the bombing rather than Serb military units.

Were these claims true then the fundamental case for Kosovo's independence, in the spotlight since the expiry on Monday of a UN deadline for Pristina and Belgrade to reach agreement on the province's future status, would be fatally flawed.

But they are untrue. I know this not as an assumption, but as a fact. I have many memories of Kosovo acquired during the time I spent reporting there between 1998 and 2000. Among the images of mass graves, burnt villages and swelling bodies that spring to mind is one of particular significance. In the fields outside the town of Istinic in southwestern Kosovo one summer day I watched some 40,000 Kosovans corralled together by rings of Serb police. The young, the old; man, woman, child, they stared in abject fear to the horizon where smoke from their villages, torched in a Serb purge from which they fled, gathered thickly in the skies. “Where is Europe? Where is America?” one refugee beseeched me.

After a day or two the Serb police pushed them back into the hinterland, driving them with stinging switches and robotic threats broadcast from tannoys mounted on the sides of armoured personnel carriers. These people had not fled from fear of Nato bombing.

The first Nato bomb was seven months away from falling. This was the summer of 1998. The world little cared for Kosovo then and in a dry run for their larger purge operations a year later the Serbs were already driving thousands of people from their homes.

The memory is pertinent to Kosovo's case for independence now as it revealed the absolute complicity of the Serbian authorities in human rights abuses in Kosovo and proved them then, as later, a cruel and unjust power from which the oppressed Kosovo Albanian majority thoroughly deserved to be independent.

The KLA were no angels. An everyman insurgent force (rather than a simple mafia entity as suggested by revisionists) comprising freedom fighters, intellectuals, peasants, nationalists, they also had a criminal element and their own human rights record was abysmal. But they reflected the majority population's desire for independence, a wish made credible, more than anything else, by the behaviour of the Serbian Government towards the civilian population.

As the international community wrings its hands over what to do with Kosovo now, it would do well to remember those facts. For time is no longer on anyone's side. Too much of it has already been wasted in vaccilation since 1999.

Earlier this year a resurgent Russia, keen to reinvigorate its influence on the region, torpedoed the UN's reasonable plan for supervised independence for Kosovo. A further five months of fruitless negotiation between Serbs and Kosovans followed before the December 10 deadline passed without result.

The current impasse seems solid. On one side Kosovo's newly elected Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, a former KLA member, is readying himself for a unilateral declaration of independence, backed by the US, Britain, France and most of the EU.

On the other Serbia's nationalist Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, backed by Russia, has made Kosovo's status as part of Serbia a lead issue in Serb politics and has given warning of dire consequences should the EU recognise Kosovan independence.

Doom merchants paint a grim picture in which Kosovo declares independence only to have it challenged by Serbia as being illegal without the imprimatur of the UN Security Council, in turn blocked by Russia. Violence subsequently flares in the province, then across the Balkans as Serbs in Bosnia and Albanians in Macedonia also demand independence. Presto: a new Balkan war made worse by a new cold war.

But the realities suggest otherwise. Mr Thaci knows he needs international recognition for independence and has already said that a declaration will be made in collaboration with the EU and US. He understands that a rash unilateral declaration would only deepen the economic malaise of a province totally reliant on outside financial assistance for survival.

Furthermore, for all the Kostunica hype in Serbia, most Serbs are far more concerned with their own economic woes than Kosovo's status, and may be reluctant to seek Russian patronage if it means worsening relations with the EU. Having fought and lost four wars in 16 years they are in no particular hurry for another conflict, and despite the sabre-rattling there has been no mobilisation of Yugoslav army units.

In Kosovo itself, due to the absence of any reconciliation between the two ethnic groups since 1999, the minority Serb population exists in enclaves largely removed from the Albanians. Low-level civil unrest, rioting and murder are possibilities, but with 16,000 Nato troops in the province it is unlikely that there can be any widescale clash of opposing paramilitaries.

So the road ahead may not be as perilous as it is feared. Wriggle room exists. However, in the meantime the EU should bolster its civilian and military missions in Kosovo, ensuring that the Serb minority is well protected. Though it would be ideal if a way forward could be found with Russian and Serb agreement, the EU should also accept that this is now unlikely to happen.

And when considering how to respond to the inevitable declaration of independence, the EU should also divest itself as best possible from the emotive language of regional players and revisionists alike and remember three simple facts. The Serbs effectively and irreversibly lost control of Kosovo in 1999. The majority of Kosovans want independence. And, above all, they deserve independence.

Kosovo declares independence

2008-02-18T00:39:00.000-08:00

Kosovo's long-awaited declaration of independence triggered swift and furious responses from Moscow to Belgrade, launching a standoff that many politicians worry could end in destabilization in the Balkans and beyond.

Ethnic Albanians celebrated across the territory -- a Serbian province for centuries -- after the unilateral declaration was signed on parchment in Kosovo's parliament yesterday. More than 90% of Kosovo's population of two million are ethnic Albanian and have been living under United Nations rule since a U.S.-led bombing campaign by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization drove Serbian military forces from the province in 1999.

"Kosovo is a republic -- an independent, democratic and sovereign state," parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said after a unanimous vote to approve the document. Kosovo's 10 minority Serb lawmakers boycotted the session in protest.

Within hours, Russia called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council for later on Sunday and said it would ask it to declare Kosovo's claim to independence "null and void" -- a request that was unlikely to succeed as the U.S., France and Britain all have vetoes in the Security Council and support Kosovo's independence bid.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it would back Serbia's efforts to restore its territorial integrity, warning the move risks "a new conflict in the Balkans." The statement warned countries that recognize Kosovo as a country that they would be "supporting separatism" across the globe.

In an early sign of potential fallout, the ex-Soviet Republic of Georgia's two Russian-backed separatist territories, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, said they would ask Moscow to recognize their claims of independence, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Russia is not expected to comply immediately.

In Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, several hundred youths attacked a McDonalds restaurant and the U.S. embassy, as well as the EU's mission in protest at Western support for Kosovo's independence bid.

Serbia's nationalist prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica blasted the U.S. for backing Kosovo's independence bid, saying President George W. Bush and his European supporters would go down "in black letters" in Serbian history. "Today, on February 17, the fake state of Kosovo was illegally proclaimed on [Serbia's] territory under the control of NATO. This was an act of legal violence," Mr. Kostunica said on national television. "The United States puts force above law and showed that they were ready to break international laws for their own interests."

Mr. Bush said on a visit to Africa that the U.S. "will continue to work with our allies to the very best we can to make sure there's no violence." He praised the Kosovo Albanians' pledge to protect the rights of ethnic Serbs in the new state. "The Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America," he said.

Mr. Krasniqi and Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the independence proclamation before the unveiling of a national crest and a flag: a blue banner featuring a golden map of Kosovo and six stars, one for each of its main ethnic groups.

The declaration was carefully orchestrated with the U.S. and important European powers. International recognition could begin to come as early as today, when European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels. More than 20 of the EU's 27 governments are expected to recognize Kosovo quickly, as is the U.S. Once nations begin to recognize Kosovo, it will have a quasi-state status, unable to join the U.N. due to Russian opposition but accepted by a number of countries.

"Kosovo will never be ruled by Belgrade again," said Mr. Thaci, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which battled Serbian troops in a 1998-99 separatist war that claimed 10,000 lives. Mr. Thaci pledged that Kosovo would be "a democratic, multiethnic state."

The move in some ways will change little. About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeeping troops will remain in Kosovo to provide security, while EU administrators backed by some 2,000 police and judicial personnel will take over many of the functions the U.N. has performed since 1999, though in a more advisory role.

For Serbs and Albanians alike, however, yesterday's bid for "supervised" independence under a Western-brokered plan is a historic step. The move takes from Serbia territory it has held for centuries and with it some of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church's most hallowed churches. Most ethnic Albanians in Kosovo are Muslim.

NATO troops stepped up patrols in the mainly Serb enclave around Mitrovitsa, in Northern Kosovo yesterday. A bridge connecting the Serb and Albanian parts of Mitrovitsa is divided by barbed wire and cement blocks. A hand grenade exploded against the wall of a U.N. court in the town, but no one was hurt.

Serbs in the area have said they will continue to consider the territory part of Serbia, setting the scene for de facto separation and potential violence. More than half the roughly 130,000 ethnic Serbs still living in Kosovo are scattered across the territory, with the rest concentrated in the North, near Mitrovitsa.

Serbian officials have said they won't respond with force. But they could cut off trade and electricity to Kosovo and have said they will downgrade relations with countries that recognize Kosovo.

Germany was among nations yesterday that called for all sides to remain calm.

Pakistan votes amid fears of violence, rigging

2008-02-18T00:36:00.000-08:00

Pakistanis began voting Monday for a new parliament in elections shadowed by fears of violence and questions about the political survival of President Pervez Musharraf — America's key ally in the war on terror.

Musharraf was re-elected last October to a new five-year term, but the retired general faces growing public anger over his moves last year to declare emergency rule, purge the judiciary and curb independent media.

The parliamentary elections are broadly seen as a referendum on his eight years of rule — including his alliance with the United States that many Pakistanis oppose. An overwhelming victory by the opposition would leave Musharraf politically vulnerable, even at risk of impeachment.

he vote takes place against the backdrop of escalating Taliban militancy that has spread from volatile tribal regions near the Afghan border to major cities.

Violent rivalry between political parties also stalks elections in Pakistan. Before voting began Monday, one provincial assembly candidate died of his wounds from an overnight shooting in the eastern city of Lahore.

Musharaff's party trails in polls
Public opinion surveys have suggested that if the vote is fair, the Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto will finish first, followed by another opposition party led by ex-premier Nawaz Sharif.

The pro-Musharraf party — the Pakistani Muslim League-Q — is trailing a distant third, according to the surveys.

Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 military coup, warned Sunday that if the results are rigged, the opposition will launch a nationwide protest movement "from which those rigging it will not be able to escape."

For his part, Musharraf has warned he would not tolerate protests by disappointed opposition parties after the election. That could set the stage for a dangerous confrontation in this nuclear-armed nation.

The election was delayed six weeks after Bhutto died in a suicide gun and bombing attack in Rawalpindi on Dec. 27. Since her death, the campaign has been overshadowed by the fear of violence, which tamped down public rallies and took much of the spirit out of the contest.

Wave of violence
A series of deadly suicide bombings have left hundreds dead in past weeks, including at least 40 who died Saturday in a suicide car bomb attack against a campaign rally in northwest Pakistan. More than 470,000 police and soldiers have been deployed throughout the country to guard against further attacks.

Early Monday, a bomb exploded in a school to be used as a polling station in the volatile district of Swat, shattering windows but hurting no one, local police officer Shams-ur Rehman said.

In Lahore, gunmen opened fire late Sunday on supporters of Sharif's opposition party in two separate incidents, killing two men and wounding 12 other people, police said. It was not clear who carried out the attacks.

The dead included Asif Ashraf, a provincial candidate for Sharif's party, and one of his guards, said party spokesman Khawaja Hassan.

"This is part of the intimidation and harassment of our voters and no one else but the present government is responsible for this. But we are not afraid and our voters will certainly go to the polls," he said.

Kosovo declares independence from Serbia

2008-02-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

PRISTINA, Kosovo - Kosovo's parliament declared the territory a nation on Sunday, mounting a historic bid to become an "independent and democratic state" backed by the U.S. and European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia.

Serbia immediately denounced the declaration as illegal, and Russia also rejected it, demanding an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. President Bush said the U.S. would work to prevent violence after the declaration and the European Union also appealed for calm.

"Kosovo is a republic — an independent, democratic and sovereign state," parliament speaker Jakup Krasniqi said as the chamber burst into applause. Across the capital, Pristina, revelers danced in the streets, fired guns into the air and waved red and black Albanian flags in jubilation at the birth of the world's newest country.

Sunday's declaration was carefully orchestrated with the U.S. and key European powers, and Kosovo was counting on swift international recognition that could come as early as Monday, when EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels, Belgium.

But by sidestepping the U.N. and appealing directly to the U.S. and other nations for recognition, Kosovo set up a showdown with Serbia — outraged at the imminent loss of its territory — and Russia, which warned that it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups worldwide.

Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian — most of them secular Muslims — and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia.

Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu signed the declaration, which was scripted on parchment, before the unveiling of a new national crest and a flag: a bright blue banner featuring a golden map of Kosovo and six stars, one for each of its main ethnic groups.

"From today onwards, Kosovo is proud, independent and free," said Thaci, a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which battled Serbian troops in a 1998-99 separatist war that claimed 10,000 lives. "We never lost faith in the dream that one day we would stand among the free nations of the world, and today we do."

"Our hopes have never been higher," he told the assembly. "Dreams are infinite, our challenges loom large, but nothing can deter us from moving forward to the greatness that history has reserved for us."

Thaci pledged the new nation would be "a democratic, multiethnic state" — an attempt to reach out to Serbs who consider Kosovo the cradle of their medieval culture and religion.

But he also had stern words for the Serbian government, which last week declared secession illegal and invalid, saying in the Serbian language: "Kosovo will never be ruled by Belgrade again."

Thaci on Sunday signed 192 separate letters to nations around the world — including Serbia — asking them to recognize Kosovo as a state.

Serbian President Boris Tadic rejected the independence bid immediately, declaring Sunday's proclamation "unilateral and illegal." Kosovo's 10 minority Serb lawmakers boycotted the parliamentary session in protest.

And Serbia's government minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, said Sunday that Serbia would increase its presence in the roughly 15 percent of Kosovo that is Serb-controlled — an apparent attempt to divide the province.

Serbia's government ruled out any military response as part of its secret "action plan" drafted earlier this week as a response, but warned that it would downgrade relations with any foreign government that recognizes Kosovo's independence.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow supports Serbia's "just demands to restore the country's territorial integrity."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union and around the world. He is pressuring the U.N. Security Council to intervene.

Before Kosovo's parliament voted, President Bush said the U.S. will work to prevent violent clashes after the independence declaration. The State Department was reviewing the development with European allies as the province sought swift recognition from the West.

"The United States will continue to work with our allies to do the very best we can to make sure there's no violence," Bush said several hours before Kosovo's parliament approved the declaration.

"We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo," Bush said. "We also believe it's in Serbia's interest to be aligned with Europe and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America."

Kosovo has formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists.

The province is still protected by 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers, and the alliance boosted its patrols over the weekend in hopes of discouraging violence. International police, meanwhile, deployed to back up local forces in the tense north.

Spontaneous street celebrations broke out anew on Sunday, with giddy Kosovars waving Albanian and American flags and dancing in the streets.

Submarine Car

2008-02-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

GENEVA (AFP) - A car that can be driven underwater is set to be unveiled next month at the International Geneva Motor Show, the Swiss manufacturer of the GENEVA (AFP) - A car that can be driven underwater is set to be unveiled next month at the International Geneva Motor Show, the Swiss manufacturer of the

prototype announced on Friday.

The 'Squba' is like something out of a James Bond film and, according to the manufacturer Rinspeed, is the world's first real submersible car.

Rinspeed's head, Frank Rinderknecht, is a James Bond enthusiast who has dreamed of making the amphibious vehicle come true.

"For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water," said Rinderknecht in a statement. "Now we have made this dream come true."

The convertible sports car transforms into an underwater vehicle in which passengers breathe with the help of compressed air masks.

"It is undoubtedly not an easy task to make a car watertight and pressure resistant enough to be maneuverable under water," said Rinderknecht. "The real challenge however was to create a submersible car that moves like a fish in water."

Propelled by electric motors, the car can descend up to 10 metres (32.8 feet) underwater.

Aesthetic appeal aside, the open-top design of the car is actually a safety feature that permits passengers to get out quickly during an emergency and avert the problem of excessive water pressure on the windows of a closed car.

The invention will be presented at the car show in Geneva, which opens to the press March 4 and runs for the public from March 6 through March 16.

Rinspeed was not available Friday to specify the sale price of the new model.

prototype announced on Friday.

The 'Squba' is like something out of a James Bond film and, according to the manufacturer Rinspeed, is the world's first real submersible car.

Rinspeed's head, Frank Rinderknecht, is a James Bond enthusiast who has dreamed of making the amphibious vehicle come true.

"For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water," said Rinderknecht in a statement. "Now we have made this dream come true."

The convertible sports car transforms into an underwater vehicle in which passengers breathe with the help of compressed air masks.

History of Hanging Gardens of Babylon

2008-02-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

The ancient city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the traveler's eyes. "In addition to its size," wrote Herodotus, a historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world."

Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.

While archaeological examination has disputed some of Herodotus's claims (the outer walls seem to be only 10 miles long and not nearly as high) his narrative does give us a sense of how awesome the features of the city appeared to those that visited it. Interestingly enough, though, one of the city's most spectacular sites is not even mentioned by Herodotus: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Accounts indicate that the garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BC (There is a less-reliable, alternative story that the gardens were built by the Assyrian Queen Semiramis during her five year reign starting in 810 BC). This was the height of the city's power and influence and King Nebuchadnezzar constructed an astonishing array of temples, streets, palaces and walls.

According to accounts, the gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis. Amyitis, daughter of the king of the Medes, was married to Nebuchadnezzar to create an alliance between the nations. The land she came from, though, was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing. The king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens.

The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which mean not just "hanging", but "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

The Greek geographer Strabo, who described the gardens in first century BC, wrote, "It consists of vaulted terraces raised one above another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick and asphalt."

"The ascent to the highest story is by stairs, and at their side are water engines, by means of which persons, appointed expressly for the purpose, are continually employed in raising water from the Euphrates into the garden."

Strabo touchs on what, to the ancients, was probably the most amazing part of the garden. Babylon rarely received rain and for the garden to survive it would have had to been irrigated by using water from the nearby Euphrates River. That meant lifting the water far into the air so it could flow down through the terraces, watering the plants at each level. This was probably done by means of a "chain pump."

A chain pump is two large wheels, one above the other, connected by a chain. On the chain arehung buckets. Below the bottom wheel is a pool with the water source. As the wheel is turned, the buckets dip into the pool and pick up water. The chain then lifts them to the upper wheel, where the buckets are tipped and dumped into an upper pool. The chain then carries the empty ones back down to be refilled.

The pool at the top of the gardens could then be released by gates into channels which acted as artificial streams to water the gardens. The pump wheel below was attached to a shaft and a handle. By turning the handle slaves provided the power to run the contraption.

Construction of the garden wasn't only complicated by getting the water up to the top, but also by having to avoid having the liquid ruin the foundation once it was released. Since stone was difficult to get on the Mesopotamian plain, most of the architecture in Babel utilized brick. The bricks were composed of clay mixed with chopped straw and baked in the sun. The bricks were then joined with bitumen, a slimy substance, which acted as a mortar. These bricks quickly dissolved when soaked with water. For most buildings in Babel this wasn't a problem because rain was so rare. However, the gardens were continually exposed to irrigation and the foundation had to be protected.

Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, stated that the platforms on which the garden stood consisted of huge slabs of stone (otherwise unheard of in Babel), covered with layers of reed, asphalt and tiles. Over this was put "a covering with sheets of lead, that the wet which drenched through the earth might not rot the foundation. Upon all these was laid earth of a convenient depth, sufficient for the growth of the greatest trees. When the soil was laid even and smooth, it was planted with all sorts of trees, which both for greatness and beauty might delight the spectators."

How big were the gardens? Diodorus tells us it was about 400 feet wide by 400 feet long and more than 80 feet high. Other accounts indicate the height was equal to the outer city walls. Walls that Herodotus said were 320 feet high.

In any case the gardens were an amazing sight: A green, leafy, artificial mountain rising off the plain. But did it actually exist? After all, Herodotus never mentions it.

This was one of the questions that occurred to German archaeologist Robert Koldewey in 1899. For centuries before that the ancient city of Babel was nothing but a mound of muddy debris. Though unlike many ancient locations, the city's position was well-known, nothing visible remained of its architecture. Koldewey dug on the Babel site for some fourteen years and unearthed many of its features including the outer walls, inner walls, foundation of the Tower of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar's palaces and the wide processional roadway which passed through the heart of the city.

While excavating the Southern Citadel, Koldewey discovered a basement with fourteen large rooms with stone arch ceilings. Ancient records indicated that only two locations in the city had made use of stone, the north wall of the Northern Citadel, and the Hanging Gardens. The north wall of the Northern Citadel had already been found and had, indeed, contained stone. This made it seem likely that Koldewey had found the cellar of the gardens.

He continued exploring the area and discovered many of the features reported by Diodorus. Finally a room was unearthed with three large, strange holes in the floor. Koldewey concluded this had been the location of the chain pumps that raised the water to the garden's roof.

The foundations that Koldewey discovered measured some 100 by 150 feet. Smaller than the measurements described by ancient historians, but still impressive.

While Koldewey was convinced he'd found the gardens, some modern archaeologists call his discovery into question arguing that this location is too far from the river to have be irrigated with the amount of water that would have been required. Also tablets recently found at the site suggest that the location was used for administrative and/or storage purposes, not as a pleasure garden.

Wherever the location of the gardens were, we can only wonder if Queen Amyitis was happy with her fantastic present, or if she continued to pine for the green mountains of her homeland.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

2008-02-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (also known as Hanging Gardens of Semiramis) (near present-day Al Hillah in Iraq) are considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. They were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland. The gardens were destroyed in an earthquake after the 1st century BC.

The lush Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. Through the ages, the location may have been confused with gardens that existed at Nineveh, since tablets from there clearly show gardens. Writings on these tablets describe the possible use of something similar to an Archimedes' screw as a process of raising the water to the required height.

"Babylon, too, lies in a plain; and the circuit of its wall is three hundred and eighty-five stadia. The thickness of its wall is thirty-two feet; the height thereof between the towers is fifty cubits; that of the towers is sixty cubits; and the passage on top of the wall is such that four-horse chariots can easily pass one another; and it is on this account that this and the hanging garden are called one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The garden is quadrangular in shape, and each side is four plethra in length. It consists of arched vaults, which are situated, one after another, on checkered, cube-like foundations. The checkered foundations, which are hollowed out, are covered so deep with earth that they admit of the largest of trees, having been constructed of baked brick and asphalt — the foundations themselves and the vaults and the arches. The ascent to the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway; and alongside these stairs there were screws, through which the water was continually conducted up into the garden from the Euphrates by those appointed for this purpose. For the river, a stadium in width, flows through the middle of the city; and the garden is on the bank of the river."

There is some controversy as to whether the Hanging Gardens were an actual creation or a poetic creation due to the lack of documentation of them in the chronicles of Babylonian history. In ancient writings the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described by Berossus, a Chaldean priest who lived in the late 4th century BC. These accounts were later elaborated on by Greek historians.

Recent archaeological excavations of the palace in Iraq have uncovered evidence of a building with vaults and a well nearby. However, the location of the palace complex contradicts where Greek historians placed the Hanging Gardens, which was on the banks of the Euphrates River.

However, recently there have been excavations on the banks of the Euphrates River of some substantial 25 meter-thick walls. Also, excavations have shown that there may be some seeds scattered around this area which may suggest that the Gardens were real after all.

History of Napoleon

2008-02-16T04:43:00.002-08:00

Napoleon I
Emperor of the French
1769 - 1821

'Ambition is never content,
even on the summit of greatness'.

—Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the son of Carlo and Letizia Bonaparte. Through his military exploits and his ruthless efficiency, Napoleon rose from obscurity to become Napoleon I, Empereur des Francais (Emperor of the French). He is both a historical figure and a legend—and it is sometimes difficult to separate the two. The events of his life fired the imaginations of great writers, film makers, and playwrights whose works have done much to create the Napoleonic legend.

]Napoleon decided on a military career when he was a child, winning a scholarship to a French military academy at age 14. His meteoric rise shocked not only France but all of Europe, and his military conquests threatened the stability of the world.

Napoleon was one of the greatest military commanders in history. He has also been portrayed as a power hungry conqueror. Napoleon denied those accusations. He argued that he was building a federation of free peoples in a Europe united under a liberal government. But if this was his goal, he intended to achieve it by taking power in his own hands. However, in the states he created, Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments and fostered education, science, literature and the arts.

Emperor Napoleon proved to be an excellent civil administrator. One of his greatest achievements was his supervision of the revision and collection of French law into codes. The new law codes—seven in number—incorporated some of the freedoms gained by the people of France during the French revolution, including religious toleration and the abolition of serfdom. The most famous of the codes, the Code Napoleon or Code Civil, still forms the basis of French civil law. Napoleon also centralized France's government by appointing prefects to administer regions called departments, into which France was divided.

While Napoleon believed in government "for" the people, he rejected government "by" the people. His France was a police state with a vast network of secret police and spies. The police shut down plays containing any hint of disagreement or criticism of the government. The press was controlled by the state. It was impossible to express an opinion without Napoleon's approval.

Napoleon's own opinion of his career is best stated in the following quotation:
I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished feudalism and restored equality to all regardless of religion and before the law. I fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old Regime because the alternative was the destruction of all this. I purified the Revolution.

2008-02-16T04:43:00.000-08:00

History of Roman Slavery

2008-02-16T04:42:00.000-08:00

Slavery in the ancient world and in Rome was vital to both the economy and even the social fabric of the society. While it was commonplace throughout the Mediterranean region, and the Hellenistic regions in the east, it was not nearly so vital to others as it was to the dominance of Rome. As the Romans consolidated their hegemony of Italy and Sicily followed by the systematic conquest of western Europe, countless millions of slaves were transported to Rome the Italian countryside and Latin colonies all over Europe.

Though slavery was prevalent in households throughout the city itself, it was on the farms and plantations where it had its greatest effect. The Roman conquests of Carthage, Macedonia and Greece in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC altered what was once a luxury and privilege for the ruling elite into the predominant factor driving both social and economic policies for the Republic as a whole. The mass influx of slaves during this time period first was a sign of great wealth and power, but later destabilized an already fragile Roman class system. Farms originally run by small business families throughout Italy were soon gobbled up and replaced by enormous slave run plantations owned by the aristocratic elite. Cheap slave labor replaced work for the common man and the roles of the unemployed massive grew to epidemic proportions. These issues had a great destabilizing effect on the social system which had a direct role in the demise of the Republic. As the rift between Senatorial elite (optimates) and social reformers (populares) grew, the use of the unemployed, landless, yet citizen mobs were an overwhelming ploy grinding away at the ability of the Senate to govern. Though there are many factors involved in the Fall of the Republic, slavery and its effects rippled throughout every aspect of that turbulent time period.

Not only did slavery help push the Roman lower classes into organized mobs, but the slaves themselves understandably revolted against oppression. The 3 servile wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, with the rebellion of Spartacus in the 70's BC the most notable, showed that the social system was dangerous and unhealthy. By the end of these civil wars and general social disorder, slaves were abundantly present in Rome. The slave population was at least equal to that of freedmen (non citizens), and has been estimated at anywhere from 25 to 40% of the population of the city as a whole. One such estimate suggests that the slave population in Rome circa 1 AD, may have been as much as 300,000 to 350,000 of the 900,000 total inhabitants. In outlying provinces, the numbers are certainly far less substantial, dropping to between an estimated 2 and 10% of the total. Still though, in some places such as Pergamum on the western coast of present day Turkey, the slave population may have been around 40,000 people or 1/3 of the cities total population. At the height of the Empire in the mid second century AD, some have estimated that the total slave population may have approached 10 million people, or approximately 1/6 of the population as a whole.

In the ancient world, slaves were taken simply based upon need or want. There was no ethnic or territorial preference for the taking of slaves. As the vast majority was captured as the result of Roman wars, wherever there were Roman victories, there would be new slaves. There is no evidence to suggest that the Romans placed any preference for slavery, or exceptions, based on race or country of origin. The only thing the Romans held in deference was whether or not someone was a Roman. By the mid to late imperial period, citizenship was a rather non-exclusive status, and ethnicity played little part. They were rounded up first from among the Italian tribes, where it spread to Carthage, Greece, Macedonia, Gaul and all over the eastern provinces, with little regard for origin. The Romans simply needed to replenish the stock, and the legions provided the means to do so. As examples; at the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, it was recorded that as many as 150,000 residents of Epirus were sold in Roman bondage. It's also been estimated that Julius Caesar, upon his conquest of Gaul, may have captured and enslaved 500,000 people.

Though ethnicity seems to have played little role in who would be Roman slaves, it did seem to play a part in what tasks they would be assigned to once in service. Obviously, the era one looks at will play a role, as each major conquest would bring a new influx of people from various parts of the world, but certain factors seem to hold true throughout Roman history. Gauls, Germanics and other 'barbarian' races were preferred for their strength and endurance. In fact, the Romans in many cases preferred to use these tribes in auxilia army roles rather than as slaves in the strictest sense. Still, these people were often relegated to the menial labor tasks of mining, farming and other labor related industries, reflecting upon stereotypes of the day. Greeks were especially prized slaves for both their cultural refinement and education. Greeks with the ability to educate the Roman youth or with knowledge of medicine were expensive and highly sought after. By the late empire, the predominant house slaves in Rome came almost entirely from the east (and all its various ethnicities), as Western Europe and Africa were almost exclusively of citizen class.

Roman slaves were treated in a wide variety of manners, as would be expected, depending on the circumstances, the household and the time period. Obviously, life working in a mine as a Roman slave wouldn't be desired, by contrast to that of some house slaves. Some were so highly regarded that they were considered parts of families. Tombs and gravesites lend evidence to support the praise that some Romans felt towards their slaves. Some really worked what we might consider a regular shift and were free to come and as they pleased outside of that time. Others lived in the cruelest and harshest conditions, victim to the whims of society or the cruelty of their masters. In the late Republic, slaves were strictly seen as property by the vast majority, especially at a time when the availability of new 'property' was coming in at alarming numbers. Varro called them 'vocal agricultural implements' and likely would've preferred them without the vocal part. Cato the Elder, the great politician of 'Carthage must be destroyed' fame, once suggested that old and worn out slaves be sold, as a matter of economy.

Slaves, however, could be extraordinarily expensive, and the Roman household slave certainly had a different fate. The price for a male slave in Rome at the time of Augustus has been quoted at 500 denarii. A female could go for as much as 6,000 denarii. One recorded price in Pompeii at 79 AD indicates that a slave sold for 2,500 sestertii or 625 denarii. The expense of slaves made it lucrative for the smart Roman to treat them well and keep them healthy. Even in the case of gladiators, which is often misrepresented historically to show a non stop flow of blood and Roman decadence, it was considered a horrible disaster to lose a Gladiator to death or career ending injury. These slaves were worth their weight in gold, and while still kept closely guarded, they could also be afforded the greatest of luxuries when appropriate. Great fame and fortune could not only come to the owner, but the gladiators as well, and the best of the best were treated as such. Some Romans would even sell themselves into slavery, including the arena, in order to pay off tremendous debts or in an effort to become famous.

There were a number of Roman laws regarding slavery, and these too, changed over time. In the Republican period, as already suggested, slaves had no rights and were always subject to the whims of their owners. They did have some legal standing, however. They were allowed to act as witnesses in trials, and could gain freedom either through their owner's gratitude after loyal service or by buying it through the meager earnings they might collect over a lifetime of service. For example, owners in the Republic had the right to kill or mutilate slaves at a whim, but later imperial laws took this right away, though in practice this law could be largely ignored.

As the empire changed, and social conditions along with it, the spread of slavery slowed and eventually was transformed. The Christian church and its policies regarding bondage helped alter the conditional mindset of the populace, despite the fact that it and its priest often owned slaves as well. More importantly perhaps than the religious notions, however, were the economic and even military conditions of the time. As Roman military objectives were altered from one of conquest to border defense, the continual mass influx of new slave labor ceased. The cost to purchase slaves along with a completely destablized economy made employment of the free masses at cheap wages a far more attractive alternative. The shift from central Roman Imperial power to local lords, kings and feudalism brought about a new condition of serf or peasant labor where the masses were not necessarily owned slaves but were tied directly to the land owned by these local lords. While in theory this evolution from ancient slavery to middle age European serfdom may have been more attractive, the conditions of the time and the drastically limited personal opportunities may have been far worse, or at least no better than the ancient Roman form of slavery.

History of Compaq

2008-02-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Compaq Computer Corporation was an American personal computer company founded in 1982, and is now a brand name of Hewlett-Packard.

The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Dick Murto — former Texas Instruments senior managers. The name "COMPAQ" was derived from "Compatibility and Quality", as at its formation Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers.

Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it merged with Hewlett-Packard.

Compaq was founded in February 1982 by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments. Each invested $1,000 to form the company. Their first venture capital came from Ben Rosen and Sevin-Rosen partners. Like many small startups with unique beginnings, the original Compaq PC was first sketched out on a placemat by the founders while dining in a local Houston restaurant, House of Pies.

Two key marketing executives in Compaq's early years, Jim D'Arezzo and Sparky Sparks, had come from IBM's PC Group.

Compaq Portable

In November 1982 Compaq announced their first product, the Compaq Portable, a portable IBM PC compatible personal computer. It was released in March 1983 at $2995, considerably more affordable than competitors at the time. The Compaq Portable was one of the progenitors of today's laptop. It was the second IBM PC compatible, being capable of running all software that would run on an IBM PC. It was a commercial success, selling 53,000 units in its first year. The Compaq Portable was the first in the range of the Compaq Portable series. Compaq was able to market a legal IBM clone because IBM mostly used "off the shelf" parts for their PC. Furthermore, Microsoft had kept the right to license the operating system to other computer manufacturers. The only part which had to be duplicated was the BIOS, which Compaq did legally by using clean room reverse engineering for $1 million. Phoenix Technologies were the first to follow their lead, but soon "clone BIOSes" were available from several vendors.

In 2001, Compaq engaged in a merger with Hewlett-Packard. Numerous large HP shareholders, including Walter Hewlett, publicly opposed the deal, which resulted in an impassioned public proxy battle between those for and against the deal.

The merger was approved only after the narrowest of margins, and allegations of vote buying (primarily involving an alleged last-second back-room deal with Deutsche Bank) haunted the new company.

It was subsequently disclosed that HP had retained Deutsche Bank's investment banking division in January 2002 to assist in the merger. HP had agreed to pay Deutsche Bank $1 million guaranteed, and another $1 million contingent upon approval of the merger. On August 19, 2003, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission charged Deutsche Bank with failing to disclose a material conflict of interest in its voting of client proxies for the merger and imposed a civil penalty of $750,000. Deutsche Bank consented without admitting or denying the findings.

Before the merger, Compaq's ticker symbol was CPQ. This was melded with Hewlett-Packard's previous symbol (HWP) to create the current symbol of HPQ.

History of Yahoo inc.

2008-02-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their student hobby in a campus trailer in February 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations. Eventually, Jerry and David's lists became too long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories, then subcategories…and thus the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.

The Web site started out as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" but eventually received a new moniker with the help of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," but Jerry and David insist they selected the name because of its definition: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth."

Before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Yahoo! celebrated its first million-hit day in the fall of 1994, translating to almost 100,000 unique visitors. In April 1995, Sequoia Capital agreed to fund Yahoo! with an initial investment of nearly $2 million. Realizing the new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team. They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell's WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They secured a second round of funding in the Fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly-successful IPO in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.

And the rest is history…Now, more than ten years later, Yahoo! continues to grow its talent and audience with 12,000 Yahoos (employees) and more than 500 million unique visitors.

The History of Yahoo

2008-02-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! began as a student hobby and evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information and purchase things. The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in a campus trailer in February 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations. Eventually, Jerry and David's lists became too long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories. When the categories became too full, they developed subcategories ... and the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.

The Web site started out as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" but eventually received a new moniker with the help of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," but Filo and Yang insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth." Yahoo! itself first resided on Yang's student workstation, "Akebono," while the software was lodged on Filo's computer, "Konishiki" - both named after legendary sumo wrestlers.

Jerry and David soon found they were not alone in wanting a single place to find useful Web sites. Before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Word spread from friends to what quickly became a significant, loyal audience throughout the closely-knit Internet community. Yahoo! celebrated its first million-hit day in the fall of 1994, translating to almost 100 thousand unique visitors.

Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial investment of nearly $2 million.

Realizing their new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team. They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell's WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They secured a second round of funding in Fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly-successful IPO in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.

Today, Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 345 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 25 World properties. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States.

History of Yahoo

2008-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation and global Internet services company. It provides a range of products and services including a Web portal, a search engine, the Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, news, and posting. It was founded by Stanford University graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo in January of 1994 and incorporated on March 2, 1995. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

According to Web traffic analysis companies (including comScore, Alexa Internet, and Nielsen Ratings),Yahoo has been one of the most visited websites on the Internet, with more than 130 million unique users per month. The global network of Yahoo! websites receives 3.4 billion page views per day on average as of October 2007, making it one of the most visited U.S. websites.

On February 1, 2008, Microsoft made an unsolicited bid to purchase Yahoo shares at the price of $31 per share, a bid valuing $44.6 billion for all the shares. The offer was turned down by Yahoo's board of directors on February 11.

Apple Computer, Inc.: A History

2008-02-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

In many ways, the computer has been the formative invention of the second half of the twentieth century, much as the automobile was for the first half. As rapid technological change has enabled computers to become ever more powerful and at the same time smaller and less expensive, they have moved into every aspect of life. When the first electronic computer, ENIAC, was built in the 1940's, it was a monstrosity of wires and vacuum tubes occupying an entire room and so hungry for power that legend tells of it dimming the lights of all Philadelphia when it was first turned on. Within a matter of years the transistor made it possible to make electronic devices several orders of magnitude smaller than previously imagined, and the subsequent development of integrated circuits further fueled the move to miniaturization. With VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), it became possible to put the power of the earliest computers on a single piece of silicon, the microchip.

Into this atmosphere of tremendous change came two young men, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak. Each arrived at his interest in computers through a different route, but when they met one another, their ideas of the role of computing meshed and they began to seek a common vision. Jobs was a mystic who had come to believe that science and technology, not religious contemplation, was the key to human betterment, but continued to pursue his goals with a mystical fervor. Stephen Wozniak combined a more practical approach to hardware with a cheerful belief in the innate goodness of humanity. While Stephen Wozniak was still a high-school student experimenting with electronics, he came to recognize the important principle that design must work with the human element to be truly successful.1 The two of them worked together for a while in a partnership to make "blue boxes," illegal devices to enable people to manipulate telephone systems. After a few brushes with danger and the law, both young men decided to pursue a more legitimate line of business. However, their fondness for tinkering with electronics stayed with them.

In 1976, while working on a video teletype terminal for a friend's computer company, Wozniak began to combine that design with an earlier design for a computer, replacing the panels of blinking lights which has served as a display with a video screen. He then tried to market his design to Hewlett-Packard, but they saw no future in the idea of a personal computer and turned him down. Steve Jobs then convinced him that the two of them (Wozniak and Jobs) could start their own business to make this computer. Jobs called the computer an Apple, recalling his days of seeking enlightenment in the orchards of a Hare Krishna commune.2

In August of 1976 Wozniak saw a demonstration of a crude color display called the Dazzler and became obsessed with incorporating a color display into the Apple. At the same time, he wanted to simplify the memory architecture of the computer. This led to an innovation in which he made the processor share the memory with the raster (video) display. Wozniak realized that a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor spent a good fraction of its time whipping the electron gun back to start the next line. The processor would be allowed to use the memory during this time, while the monitor got the memory the rest of the time.3

The original Apple computer was made at Jobs' parents' home (where Jobs was living at the time), and sold as a partially assembled kit for computer hobbyists. Software was loaded from cassette tape. When the original interface for loading BASIC (a programming language) failed to work, Wozniak built his own. They also settled on the slogan of "Byte into Apple" for selling their computer. However, they quickly ran into trouble. Hobbyists were more interested in the Altair and other early kit computers, while the computer's $666.66 price drew fire from Fundamentalist Christians alarmed that this was the machine of the Beast. Jobs found a suitably mystical pat answer for the second, but the first problem proved more difficult to solve.4

In 1976, Jobs decided it was time to expand Apple's horizons, and sought contacts with venture capitalists. After an initial rebuff, he made the connection with Armas Clifford Markkula, who agreed to underwrite a bank loan of $250,000 to start a company that would build the Apple II. Thus was born Apple Computer, Inc. Formal papers were filed on January 3, 1977, and within three months it bought out the former partnership of Jobs and Wozniak which had built the original Apple.5

The newly formed company then moved out of Jobs's garage to new quarters in Cupertino. Now came the challenge of making the company work. Somehow they had to create a market for personal computers beyond the small core of hobbyists who had previously been buying kit computers. They ultimately settled upon a strategy of starting with the hobbyist market and then expanding from that base to pull in professionals with small operations. For this they emphasized the Apple's ability to automate various processes such as controlling appliances.6

Jobs pioneered the Apple II's attractive plastic case, believing that an ugly computer would turn away the very group of people they were looking to attract. He absolutely wanted to avoid the rough home-brew look of many hobbyist computers, and tried several designers before he could get one to create the look he wanted.7

In 1978 Apple introduced the enhanced Apple II (the Apple II+), which was the first personal computer to have a floppy disk drive. Previously size had restricted disk drives to mainframes, while users of personal computers had to make do with cassette tapes, which were slow and frequently tangled or broke.8

Apple also innovated in its first advertising campaign. Instead of restricting itself to the technical periodicals, as had been the practice with previous computers, Apple also bought advertising space in popular press magazines such as Playboy. Its advertisements emphasized the practical utility of a home computer for such things as household finances and income taxes.9

In its early days Apple had a "loan to own" program which enabled each employee to obtain an Apple computer after a year on the job.10 Although contemporary writers seem to think of this as a revolutionary, even New Age, innovation that proves Apple's new humanism, it actually hearkens back to the days of Henry Ford, who paid all his workers at his factory enough that they could actually have a reasonable hope of owning a Model T of their own within a few years.

In 1981 Jobs started toying with the idea of creating a "book-sized" Apple, to be known as the IIb. However, it didn't go anywhere because he feared that it would compete with the Macintosh. However, after being showed a picture of an early Toshiba portable, he decided to do it one better by coming up with a design that would include a built-in disk drive. The technical challenge of fitting all the components into a package little bigger than a three-ring notebook excited him.11

However, not all was well within Apple. Some of the problems were caused by the company growing faster than its organizational structures could handle. Apple stock was a major source of friction in the early company. Some employees received stock options while others did not. Salaried employees had far better opportunities to buy stock than did hourly employees. Sometimes it was easier for well-connected outsiders to buy stock than it was for employees. When the board decided to make Apple a public company in 1980, the friction became even more intense, exacerbated by the fact that Jobs feared losing control to the shareholders.12

Apple actually went public on December 12, 1980. Within that single days, the price of a share of Apple stock went from twenty-two dollars to twenty-nine. Apple was the most successful initial public offering since Ford Motor Company went public in 1956. Apple hit the Fortune 500 faster than any company had previously done, and soon was worth more than many major corporations.13

However, the management crisis within Apple could no longer be ignored. Apple's rapid growth had outstripped its leaders' ability to handle the situation, until it became absurdly bureaucratized, with memos on every conceivable thing, including how to write a proper memo. Jobs was alienating everyone with his intrusive, antagonistic management style. The board finally determined that something had to change, and the best way to do this was to bring in a new chief executive officer. The man they chose for this role was John Sculley, a college-educated PepsiCo executive.14

By 1983 Apple Computer was in serious trouble. The promised Apple III had been a failure, and the Lisa seemed ready to follow it. The entrance of IBM into the computer market seemed the death knell for Apple. They were putting a port on their personal computers which enabled those machines to "talk" with IBM mainframes. By contrast, Jobs adamantly insisted that each Apple computer should be totally self-contained. And an even worse problem was coming -- the Macintosh was aimed at the same market as the Lisa, but instead of pooling resources, the two divisions saw each other as enemies.16

Jef Raskin came up with the idea for the Macintosh in 1979. The central component of this concept was the mouse, which would enable the computer to run on a graphical user interface instead of a command line. When first presented with the idea, Jobs adamantly opposed it. However, he soon came to see its merits. When he did, he took over the project entirely, alienating Raskin, who subsequently left.17

In 1979 Xerox had permitted Steve Jobs and several other leading people from Apple to visit their Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and witness demonstrations of the Xerox Alto. This was a computer that actually ran a primitive but functioning system based upon the graphical user interface and the mouse. At the time Xerox regarded Apple as a partner rather than a competitor, but once Apple developed the concept in its own way and successfully marketed it in the Macintosh, recriminations quickly followed. These culminated in a lawsuit, which was subsequently thrown out of court on the grounds that the "look and feel" of the interface was too vague to be defined and Apple had clearly not stolen any Xerox code to create the Macintosh operating system.18

The Macintosh was an extraordinarily visionary computer when it was first developed. The Macintosh could be called the first virtual reality machine: its interface was a consistent virtual reality, in which the icons -- tiny pictures on the screen -- represented real things. These symbols -- documents, folders, trash can, etc. -- were borrowed from the familiar reality of the office. In the years since its introduction it has become familiar, but when it was first introduced, it was derided as a toy, unworthy of real computer users. Subsequently its fundamental concept has been incorporated everywhere, not only in other computer operating systems but also in run-time applications such as the control panels of high-end photocopy machines. Although the Macintosh will eventually pass into the electronic graveyard, its legacy will continue.19 Shortly before the introduction of the Macintosh, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stated that it was the only microcomputer beside the IBM PC that was worth writing software for.20 In retrospect that may seem ironic, since Microsoft Windows and the Mac OS have become fierce rivals. But one must remember that in 1984 there was a wide variety of computers and operating systems, all mutually incompatible, which have since been forced out of business by market selection pressures, leaving only Windows and the Macintosh operating systems as contenders in the personal computing arena.

Difficulties with hardware design also led to some choices that would prove visionary, particularly in floppy disks. The Mac became the first major computer to use the 3.5 inch microfloppy disk because of a problem with the original "Twiggy" high-performance 5.25 inch drive. The latter was one of Apple's own innovations, but various technical problems made it almost impossible to manufacture reliably. Almost all the drives coming off the assembly line were defective in one way or another, and the few usable ones were woefully inadequate for the projected demand of the Mac. By contrast, a Japanese company known as Alps was prepared to produce a new drive which Sony had developed. This used a smaller disk enclosed in a rigid plastic case with a metal shutter, more robust than the paper-sleeve floppies which could lose data simply by being bent in carrying.21 That too has become the norm, until many people have forgotten how innovative the microfloppy was at that time, and how pervasive the 5.25-inch disk was.

The public got the first inkling of the Macintosh on January 23, 1984, when Apple ran an enigmatic Orwellian advertisement during the Superbowl. This video clip featured a young woman rebel running into a theater full of staring human drones and smashing a giant telescreen on which Big Brother yammered away. The following Monday, Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh to the world with a demonstration of a program which allowed the computer to synthesize digital speech.22

The early acceptance of the Macintosh was hampered by the lack of application software, a deficiency partly compounded by Apple's strict rules on distribution of materials for software developers. Because Apple was refusing to allow mail-order companies to sell Macintoshes, it also forbade mail-order distribution of Inside Macintosh, the guidebook to the Macintosh architecture which was the programmer's bible for the system. Apple also put very tight restrictions on the Apple Certified Developer Program, by which software developers were able to obtain Macs at a discount and receive informational materials. A few daring employees worked around these restrictions to get development materials into the hands of every software programmer possible, under the idea that each Mac out in the field would help sell additional Macs simply through its presence.23

The Mac posed some difficult challenges for programmers accustomed to computers that were restricted to displaying standard ASCII characters in a grid of twenty-four lines by eighty columns. Because of the Mac's graphical orientations, programmers now had 160,000 individual pixels to deal with, and had to do it in a memory space so limited that they kept running out, leading to freezes and crashes. Jobs' insistence on a uniform look and feel across the platform meant that many features were burned into the ROM rather than being open for programmers to tweak. As compensation, five hundred basic routines were stored in ROM, but the programmers had to learn how to properly invoke this genie in order to use it well.

Initial sales of the Macintosh lagged far behind expectations. Hoping to improve their figures, the Macintosh division came up with a revolutionary marketing promotion in the fall of 1984. Called "Test Drive a Macintosh," this allowed people to borrow Macs from their computer dealers to try out. The idea was to get potential customers hooked on the Mac interface so that they would buy it rather than having to return it. Unfortunately it coincided with the Christmas rush, and dealers simply wanted no part of the additional hassle involved in administering loaner units. In retrospect, Mac evangelist Guy Kawasaki called it: "Right thing, wrong way."25 The "Test Drive a Macintosh" program also was problematic in that it was primarily aimed at consumers instead of businesses, and made potential business customers feel it demonstrated that Apple lacked discipline and focus.

Flying Dutchman

2008-02-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

Tales of phantom ships that sail long after sinking, ships that vanish into thin air, haunted ships, and ships that have mysteriously lost their crew.

The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman is without a doubt the most well-known of all ghost ships. Although much of its story is legend, it is based on fact - a vessel captained by Hendrick Vanderdecken who set sail in 1680 from Ams0terdam to Batavia, a port in Dutch East India. According to the legend, Vanderdecken's ship encountered a severe storm as is was rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Vanderdecken ignored the dangers of the storm - thought by the crew to be a warning from God - and pressed on. Battered by the tempest, the ship foundered, sending all aboard to their deaths. As punishment, they say, Vanderdecken and his ship were doomed to ply the waters near the Cape for eternity. What has perpetuated this romantic legend is the fact that several people claim to have actually seen The Flying Dutchman - even into the 20th century. One of the first recorded sightings was by the captain and crew of a British ship in 1835. They recorded that they saw the phantom ship approaching in the shroud of a terrible storm. It came so close that the British crew feared the two ships might collide, but then the ghost ship suddenly vanished. The Flying Dutchman was again seen by two crewmen of the H.M.S. Bacchante in 1881. The following day, one of those men fell from the rigging to his death. As recently as March, 1939, the ghost ship was seen off the coast of South Africa by dozens of bathers who provided detailed descriptions of the ship, although most had probably never seen a 17th century merchantman. The British South Africa Annual of 1939 included the story, derived from newspaper reports: "With uncanny volition, the ship sailed steadily on as the Glencairn beachfolk stood about keenly discussing the whys and wherefores of the vessel. Just as the excitement reached its climax, however, the mystery ship vanished into thin air as strangely as it had come." The last recorded sighting was in 1942 off the coast of Cape Town. Four witnesses saw the Dutchman sail into Table Bay... and disappear.

Ghosts of the Great Lakes
• The Great Lakes are not without their ghost ships either. In September of 1678, the Griffon left Lake Michigan's Green Bay... and vanished. Yet in following years, several sailors claimed to have seen the Griffon afloat on the lake.
• The famed Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore freighter which sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 losing all 26 of its crew, was sighted by a commercial vessel 10 years later.
• A recreational diver exploring the depths of Lake Superior in 1988 came upon the wreckage of the steamer Emperor. Swimming inside the old wreck, the diver swears he saw the ghost of a crewman lying on a bunk who turned and looked at him.

(click photo for enlargement)

Faces in the Water
James Courtney and Michael Meehan, crew members of the S.S. Watertown, were cleaning a cargo tank of the oil tanker as it sailed toward the Panama Canal from New York City in December of 1924. Through a freak accident, the two men were overcome by gas fumes and killed. As was the custom of the time, the sailors were buried at sea. But this was not the last the remaining crew members were to see of their unfortunate shipmates. The next day, and for several days thereafter, the phantom-like faces of the sailors were seen in the water following the ship. This tale might be easy to dismiss as maritime legend if it weren't for the photographic evidence. When the ship's captain, Keith Tracy, reported the strange events to his employers, the Cities Service Company, they suggested he try to photograph the eerie faces - which he did. One of those photos is shown here.

River of Death
It's understandable how a ship could be lost in the vast, deep, and volatile oceans, but how could a ship completely disappear without a trace in a river? In June, 1872, the S.S. Iron Mountain steamed out of Vicksburg, Mississippi with an on-deck cargo of bailed cotton and barrels of molasses. Heading up the Mississippi River toward its ultimate destination of Pittsburgh, the ship was also towing a line of barges. Later that day, another steamship, the Iroquois Chief, found the barges floating freely downriver. The towline had been cut. The crew of the Iroquois Chief secured the barges and waited for the Iron Mountain to arrive and recover them. But it never did. The Iron Mountain, nor any member of its crew, were ever seen again. Not one trace of a wreck or any piece of its cargo ever surfaced or floated to shore. It simply vanished.

The Flying Dutchman

2008-02-14T08:03:00.000-08:00

For many centuries has the Dutch phantom ship haunted the aters of the North Sea. The blasphemies of her skipper, von Falkenberg, have drawn this curse upon her, and neither ship nor crew shall ever find rest again. Without helm or helmsman, she drives helpless before the gale, and forever is the play at dice with the Devil for his soul. In Cornwall another legend tells of a phantom ship whose appearance always presages a wreck.

As the story is told, an ancient 17th Century Dutch sailing ship is occasionally seen by ship’s crews as their vessels battle the elements to clear the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

This ghost story has its origins in both Dutch and German legend. The most common is a tale about a Captain Hendrick Vanderdecken, who set sail in 1680 from Amsterdam to Batavia, in Dutch East India, and disappeared in a gale while rounding the cape.

It is said that Vanderdecken ignored the danger and pressed on into the teeth of the tempest. The ship foundered, sending all aboard to their deaths. As punishment for his foolishness Vanderdecken and his ship are doomed to spend eternity fighting the tempest at the Cape.

Ironically the dame Vanderdecken means “on deck” in Dutch.

There is a second version of the story. This one tells of a Captain Bernard Fokke who was known for the uncanny speed of his trips from Holland to Java and people said he was in league with the devil.

A third version changes the name to van Straaten, and yet a fourth version claims the captain’s name was Ramhout van Dam.

In all of the stories, the ship remains unnamed. The reference to the “Flying Dutchman” appears to describe the cursed captain and not the ship.

According to most versions, the captain refuses to retreat in the face of the storm. In yet other stories, some terrible crime occurs on the ship, or the crew is struck by the plague and is not allowed to enter any port. For whatever the reason, the ship and its crew are doomed to sail forever.

Literary buffs easily recognize this as a very old legend that dates back to the earliest of writings. Homer wrote of the traveler Ulysses who yearned for home. German mythology includes stories of heroic figures that crossed the waters and later were buried on land with their ships, or their bodies sent out to sea aboard their ships to drift forever.

One German legend tells of Herr von Falkenberg, a captain condemned to remain on the waves aboard a crewless vessel and playing at dice with the Devil for his soul.

Thus the Flying Dutchman is a retold old myth, rekindled by the Dutch during an era when they were masters of the sea. The story typifies their personal battles against the sea, and centers at a place most feared by the sailors of old, a point at the southern tip of Africa where it was almost always stormy and many a sailing ship was lost.

While there is general agreement that the Lost Dutchman is merely a legend, there have been actual reported sightings of a 17th Century sailing ship battling the elements at the Cape of Good Hope over the years.

Perhaps the first officially reported sighting occurred in 1835 when a crew of a British ship was rounding the cape and observed a “phantom ship” approaching in the shroud of a severe storm. The British crew said the vessel appeared to be on a collision course, but then it suddenly vanished.

The H.M.S. Bacchante encountered the Flying Dutchman again in 1881, also at the cape. The following day one of the two men that made the sighting fell to his death from the rigging, thus enhancing the story to include a curse on those that see the ghostly vessel.

A more recent sighting was made by people on the shore in March, 1939. What was astounding was that it was seen by dozens of people who all gave a detailed description of a Dutch merchantman from the 17th Century.

The last recorded sighting occurred at Cape Town in 1942 when four witnesses saw a sailing ship enter Table Bay and then disappear before their eyes.

MacBook Air Tests: Good Looks, Poor Battery Life

2008-02-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

The Air floats through our system performance tests, producing good results for a compact laptop. But its battery life disappoints.
Ultraportable laptops have a history of requiring compromises when it comes to performance. Lately, the PC World Test Center has seen some improvements in this regard—especially with respect to battery life. Unfortunately, you'll still be making major compromises with the Apple MacBook Air. In our tests, the Air produced respectable system performance, but mediocre battery life.

The MacBook Air's performance is more impressive, however, when you consider it against the nine ultraportable models we've tested with a minimum weight of four pounds or less (I selected this subset of data for comparison as these are the most likely competitive choices of someone considering a MacBook Air against its PC competition): There, the average WorldBench score is just 50.

Flying Dutchman

2008-02-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

The Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship in several maritime legends, was a sign of bad luck, particularly for sailors. In most versions, the ship appeared off the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa. The legend was inspired by the story of a Dutch sea captain named Vanderdecken who boasted that he could complete the journey around the cape during a fierce storm. He swore that he would do so or keep trying forever. As punishment for his rashness, he was condemned to sail around the cape until the end of time. A similar version of the legend involves another captain who was forced to sail across the ocean forever because he had sold his soul to the devil. In 1843 the composer Richard Wagner wrote art opera based on the tale of the Flying Dutchman, which spread the story's popularity.

History of Valentines

2008-02-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice... They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.

According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.
This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.
Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.
On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.

"From your Valentine"
While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.

Valentine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.

The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

History of Valentines day

2008-02-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In North America and Europe, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The first legend, and perhaps the best known, began in Rome, when the Emperor, Claudius II, was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. “Claudius the Cruel” as he was called, was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. So, he cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome!

The good Saint Valentine, who was a priest in Rome, in the year 269 A.D., together with his friend Saint Marius, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When Valentine's actions were discovered, he was sentenced to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.
But while in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl, who may have been his jailor's daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his death on the 14th day of February, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed
" From your Valentine"
In 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine.

Another legend says that Valentine's Day started ...
in ancient Rome, on February 14th, a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. Then, the following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
In those days, the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, on the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now ... well .. you know the rest....

Apple inc. history of logo

2008-02-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

The evolution of the Apple logo has been an interesting one. The company was founded in 1976, and incorporated in 1977. 30 Years later, the iconic logo for this company is only slightly modified from one of it’s earliest versions. Let’s take a look at how the logo for Apple has changed from 1976 to 2007…

The Original

This original logo was designed by Ron Wayne, who started Apple with Jobs and Woz in 1976. In 1977 White sold his portion of Apple back to Jobs and Woz when they incorporated. The image is a pen and ink illustration of Sir Issac Newton leaning against an apple tree with a portion of a William Wordsworth poem running around the border: “Newton…A mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought…alone” (Prelude, Book III, Residence at Cambridge)

Steve Jobs decided to scrap this image because he felt that Wayne’s logo was too cerebral and not easily reproduced at small sizes.

The Rainbow Logo

In 1977, with Wayne gone from the company, Jobs turned to the Regis McKenna Advertising Agency to produce a new, more iconic logo. After several attempts and variatons (and a ton of money spent), the result was the most iconic of all Apple logos. The Rainbow Apple logo.

This logo will forever be one that pops into my mind when I think of Apple…and I don’t think I’m alone on that. This iconic logo helped make Apple a world wide brand, and continues to be used by fans on Apple products to this day. This logo was “retired” in 1999.

The Logo. Reinvented.

The Modern look for the Apple logo has had a variety of color variations in recent years.

The “official” design is chrome looking, but we have seen the logo in a variety of colors on Apple’s official site, and within OS X itself. The current logo in Tiger is blue.

It has appeared on the site as red, blue, and gray.

The Apple logo has become one of the most iconic and recgonizable logos in the world, so it is doubtful that it will ever change too drastically from it’s current look, but it’s interesting to see how it has changed over the years, and I’m curious to see how it will evolve in time.
Filed under: Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. - A Brief History

2008-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

In 1976, friends Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak quit their jobs and moved into Steve's garage in Cupertino, CA. Here they came up with the idea of creating an inexpensive and user-friendly computer. Wozniak being the engineer had been working on an encased circuit board which included switches with flashing lights. Jobs insisted that he and Wozniak try to sell this play toy for computer hobbyists which they called the Apple I. That day the Apple Computer was born and the rest, as they say, is history.

After the Apple I was released, Wozniak and Jobs set off to improve the design and functions of their product. On June 5, 1977 the compact and self-contained Apple II computer was released. It was priced at $1,298.00 for 4KB of RAM or $2,698.00 for 48KB of RAM. The features included a 16-bit processor using MOS technology, 65021 MHz microprocessor and sound capabilities. The result was pure genius - a personalized computer that was attractive and easy to operate for the everyday user. Through the years Jobs and Wozniak created and sold over 2 million subsequent models that improved on the speed and original design of the Apple II. These models included the: Apple II Plus, Apple IIe, and Apple IIc.

In February 1981, Steve Wozniak left Apple after a he crashed his airplane while taking off from Santa Cruz Sky Park. As a result of the accident, he had temporary Anterograde Amnesia, but was able to restore his short-term memory with the help of his girlfriend, Candi Clark. On the board now, to take Wozniak's place was Jeff Raskin and Bill Atkinson who came up with the Lisa project and the extension of the Apple II. Both of these systems had switched to the Motorola 6809E processors, 64 KB of RAM and monochrome graphics fitting a 256x256 pixel display.

During 1983, Jobs did some research at the labs of Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) and Alto's GUI (Graphical User Interface) systems. After various visits to these labs, Jobs was convinced that he should add the GUI to both the Macintosh and Lisa systems to heighten its marketability. On January 22, 1984, following the Super Bowl Half-Time marketing blitz, which premiered the Macintosh commercial with a woman throwing a sledgehammer into an Orwellian "Big Brother" video screen representing the competitor: IBM. The final Macintosh featured 128KB RAM (2 64KB chips soldered onto the motherboard) and expandable to 512KB, the Motorola 68000 processor operating at 8Mhz, an internal, 3.5” floppy disk drive, and 384x256 pixel bitmap display. Included were the Xerox-inspired GUI and two user-friendly programs – MacWrite, a word processor, and MacPaint, a simple graphics program. The Mac retailed at a price of $2,495.00, much less than the similarly designed and financially disastrous Lisa model (at $9,995.00 and including an internal hard drive) released a year earlier.

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By 1984 the Apple Company faced several internal struggles between the CEO John Scully and Steve Jobs; eventually Jobs was forced out of Apple. During Jobs absence, Apple released Macintosh-specific packages such as, MacPublisher and Aldus PageMaker, along with the first LaserWriter Printer; this created a firm foundation for Apple's reputation of desktop publishing. The following year, Apple released the Macintosh Plus to combat the issues of the original Mac. The Mac Plus featured 1MB of RAM (expandable to 4MB), a SCSI hard drive controller that allowed for the possibility of adding 6 additional devices, and increased floppy disk capacity of 800KB.

In 1987 Apple upgraded to the faster Motorola 68020 for the Macintosh II and introduced color graphics and open architecture. The Mac SE, (a lower-cost version of the Mac II), was released in the same year to follow-up with the declining PC clone prices.

Later, the Mac IIx, Mac IIxi, Mac IIcx, Mac IIci, Mac II SE, and Mac IIfx were released into the 90's. During 1992, the sales of Macintosh computers suffered from the accumulation of inexpensive PC clones, and finally for the first time in its history, Apple resorted to creating clones. Eventually in 1997, Steve Jobs the founding leader of Apple returned. He maneuvered the company away from the clones and reversed their direction with a back-to-basics approach. In 1998 Apple released the all-in-one iMac, designed much like the original Macintosh in a clear plastic and trimmed in translucent shades of red, blue, green and orange. The unit design utilized SCSI and Apple desktop bus (ADB) ports and priced at $999.00. Later the iMac portable followed in 1999, using the same clear plastic and trimmed translucent colors. Mac released upgrades to the iMac that followed with the G3, G4, G5 and eMac systems. In 2001 Apple released the invention of the iPod MP3 player using a 1.8" hard disk and 5 GB. In 2004 and 2005 Apple released the iPod mini, iPod photo, iPod nano and iPod video along with the Mac mini, becoming the least expensive of all Apple computers. In 2006 and 2007, Apple switched to Intel's Core Duo processor which made operating Intel-processor based applications and software possible along with releasing the Apple tv.

Today, Jobs continues to lead the Apple Corporation into bold and revolutionary products and ideas that have changed the way we live our lives worldwide through technology.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells personal computers, portable digital music players, and mobile communication devices, as well as related software, services, peripherals, and networking solutions worldwide. The company's products include desktop and notebook computers, iPods, server and storage products, the Mac OS X Leopard operating system; iLife, a suite of software for creation and management of digital photography, music, movies, DVDs, and Web sites; and iWork, a suite of software for the creation and management of business presentations, newsletters and spreadsheets.

Microsoft Buying Yahoo

2008-02-12T04:44:00.000-08:00

Microsoft and Yahoo in recent months discussed a possible merger of the two companies or some kind of match-up that would pair their respective strengths, say people familiar with the situation. But the merger discussions are no longer active, these people say. The two companies may still explore other ways of cooperating.

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Nothing like a bit of rumor and speculation to kick-off a Friday. The New York Post is reporting that Microsoft is tired of losing out to Google and is trying to re-start acquisition talks with Yahoo.

The new approach follows an offer Microsoft made to acquire Yahoo! a few months ago, sources said. But Yahoo! spurned the advances of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant. Wall Street sources put a roughly $50 billion price tag on Yahoo!.

It makes sense on a number of levels. Microsoft and Yahoo combined, might have a chance of actually competing with Google as they would hold a combined search advertising market-share of 27%. That’s still a long way from Google’s 65% share, but it’s a whole lot better than they have now.

Microsoft would certainly benefit from placing all of its online advertising efforts under the Yahoo brand, while Yahoo could help bring it’s younger audience to MSFTs other products such as the Xbox and Office.

Still, with cost savings comes redundancy. Both Yahoo and Microsoft have recently spent hundreds of millions (billions?) in developing their own search marketing platform. They wouldn’t need both, so would they ditch one in favor of the other? More likely, they’d combine the best parts of each and create a more stable challenger to Google’s AdWords. For example, Yahoo’s algorithm and console would be my pick, with Microsoft’s audience demographics being a welcome addition.

Speaking of demographics. As the NYP points out, Yahoo has the attention of the younger crowd, while Microsoft’s is older and more business oriented, so they’d compliment each other very well.

How likely is this merger? Who knows? A $50 billion price tag is a steep price to pay, to simply take a few steps closer to Google. Both Microsoft and Yahoo opened the anti-trust can of worms, by complaining about Google’s DoubleClick acquisition, so it will be hard to shove those worms back in the canister, if they try to move forward with their merger.

Finally, Yahoo CEO Terry Semel’s career is certainly resting on the success of Yahoo to successfully compete with Google, now that Panama is deployed. If he has any indication that things aren’t going too well, selling to Microsoft would be an easy exit and he’d walk away as the man that grew Yahoo to one of the most powerful online players, negotiating one of the largest mergers in history. That would look a whole lot better, than consecutive quarters of failing to compete against Google.

Tsunamis: Facts About Killer Waves

2008-02-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

The Indian Ocean tsunami generated by the most powerful earthquake in decades on December 26 is believed to have killed more than 150,000 people and made millions homeless, making it perhaps the most destructive tsunami in history.

The epicenter of the 9.0 magnitude quake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquakes worldwide. A violent movement of the Earth's tectonic plates displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction.

Within hours killer waves radiating from the epicenter slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, snatching people out to sea, drowning others in their homes or on beaches, and demolishing property from Africa to Thailand.

Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean. They are most prevalent in the Pacific. But every ocean has generated the scourges. Many countries are at risk.

In the wake of the Christmas weekend tsunami in the Indian Ocean, one of the worst disasters in history, National Geographic News examines the killer waves' causes and warning signs—information that can be a lifesaver in a tsunami zone.

• A tsunami is a series of great sea waves caused by an underwater earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption. More rarely, a tsunami can be generated by a giant meteor impact with the ocean.

Scientists have found traces of an asteroid-collision event that they say would have created a giant tsunami that swept around the Earth several times, inundating everything except the mountains 3.5 billion years ago. The coastline of the continents was changed drastically and almost all life on land was exterminated. (Read the story)

• Tsunami (pronounced soo-NAH-mee) is a Japanese word. Tsunamis are fairly common in Japan and many thousands of Japanese have been killed by them in recent centuries.

• An earthquake generates a tsunami if it is of sufficient force and there is violent movement of the earth causing substantial and sudden displacement of a massive amount of water.

• A tsunami is not a single wave but a series of waves, also known as a wave train. The first wave in a tsunami is not necessarily the most destructive. Tsunamis are not tidal waves.

• Tsunami waves can be very long (as much as 60 miles, or 100 kilometers) and be as far as one hour apart. They are able to cross entire oceans without great loss of energy. The Indian Ocean tsunami traveled as much as 3,000 miles (nearly 5,000 kilometers) to Africa, arriving with sufficient force to kill people and destroy property.

Scientists say that a great earthquake of magnitude 9 struck the Pacific Northwest in 1700, and created a tsunami that caused flooding and damage on the Pacific coast of Japan.

• When the ocean is deep tsunamis can travel unnoticed on the surface at speeds up to 500 miles per hour (800 kilometers per hour), crossing the entire ocean in a day or less. Scientists are able to calculate arrival times of tsunamis in different parts of the world based on their knowledge of when the event that generated them occurred, water depths, and distances.

• A tsunami may be less than a foot (30 centimeters) in height on the surface of the open ocean, which is why they are not noticed by sailors. But the powerful shock wave of energy travels rapidly through the ocean as fast as a commercial jet. Once a tsunami reaches shallow water near the coast it is slowed down. The top of the wave moves faster than the bottom, causing the sea to rise dramatically.

• Geological features such as reefs, bays, river entrances, and undersea formations may dissipate the energy of a tsunami. In some places a tsunami may cause the sea to rise vertically only a few inches or feet. In other places tsunamis have been known to surge vertically as high as 100 feet (30 meters). Most tsunamis cause the sea to rise no more than 10 feet (3 meters).

The Indian Ocean tsunami caused waves as high as 30 feet (9 meters) in some places, according to news reports. In other places witnesses described a rapid surging of the ocean.

Flooding can extend inland by a thousand feet (300 meters) or more. The enormous energy of a tsunami can lift giant boulders, flip vehicles, and demolish houses. Knowledge of the history of tsunamis in your area is a good indicator of what is likely to happen in a future tsunami event.

• Tsunamis do not necessarily make their final approach to land as a series of giant breaking waves. They may be more like a very rapidly rising tide. This may be accompanied by much underwater turbulence, sucking people under and tossing heavy objects around. Entire beaches have been stripped away by tsunamis.

Many people have said a tsunami sounds like a freight train.

• The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami could rank as the most devastating on record. News reports so far suggest that more than 150,000 people may have lost their lives, many of them washed out to sea.

The most damaging tsunami on record before 2004 was the one that killed an estimated 40,000 people in 1782 following an earthquake in the South China Sea. In 1883 some 36,500 people were killed by tsunamis in the South Java Sea, following the eruption of Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano. In northern Chile more than 25,000 people were killed by a tsunami in 1868.

• The Pacific is by far the most active tsunami zone, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). But tsunamis have been generated in other bodies of water, including the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas, and the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. North Atlantic tsunamis included the tsunami associated with the 1775 Lisbon earthquake that killed as many as 60,000 people in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. This quake caused a tsunami as high as 23 feet (7 meters) in the Caribbean.

• The Caribbean has been hit by 37 verified tsunamis since 1498. Some were generated locally and others were the result of events far away, such as the earthquake near Portugal. The combined death toll from these Caribbean tsunamis is about 9,500.

• Large tsunami waves were generated in the Marmara Sea in Turkey after the Izmit earthquake of 1999.

Warning Signs

• An earthquake is a natural tsunami warning. If you feel a strong quake do not stay in a place where you are exposed to a tsunami. If you hear of an earthquake be aware of the possibility of a tsunami and listen to the radio or television for additional information. Remember that an earthquake can trigger killer waves thousands of miles across the ocean many hours after the event generated a tsunami.

• Witnesses have reported that an approaching tsunami is sometimes preceded by a noticeable fall or rise in the water level. If you see the ocean receding unusually rapidly or far it's a good sign that a big wave is on its way. Go to high ground immediately.

Many people were killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami because they went down to the beach to view the retreating ocean exposing the seafloor. Apparently they were unaware that this phenomenon precedes a killer wave. Experts believe that a receding ocean may give people as much as five minutes' warning to evacuate the area.

• Because tsunamis can approach the shore as fast as 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) it is often too late to get away if you see one. An approaching tsunami is not something to be admired unless you are safely on high ground.

• Remember that a tsunami is a series of waves and that the first wave may not be the most dangerous. The danger from a tsunami can last for several hours after the arrival of the first wave. A tsunami wave train may come as a series of surges that are five minutes to an hour apart. The cycle may be marked by a repeated retreat and advance of the ocean. Stay out of danger until you hear it is safe.

Survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami reported that the sea surged out as fast and as powerfully as it came ashore. Many people were seen being swept out to sea when the ocean retreated.

• A tsunami surge may be small at one point of the shore and large at another point a short distance away. Do not assume that because there is minimal sign of a tsunami in one place it will be like that everywhere else.

• Tsunamis can travel up rivers and streams that lead to the ocean. Stay away from rivers and streams that lead to the ocean as you would stay away from the beach and ocean if there is a tsunami.

• It's always a good idea to keep a store of emergency supplies that include sufficient medications, water, and other essentials sufficient for at least 72 hours. Tsunami, earthquake, hurricane—an emergency can develop with little or no warning.

Advice for Sailors

• NOAA advises that since tsunami wave activity is imperceptible in the open ocean, vessels should not return to port if they are at sea and a tsunami warning has been issued for the area. Tsunamis can cause rapid changes in water level and unpredictable, dangerous currents in harbors and ports. Boat owners may want to take their vessels out to sea if there is time and they are allowed to do so by port authorities. People should not stay on their boats moored in harbors. Tsunamis often destroy boats and leave them wrecked above the normal waterline.

• Heightened awareness of the potential for a tsunami to inundate the U.S. western coastline has caused NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Federal Emergency Management Administration to initiate a program to predict tsunamis more accurately. As a tsunami traverses the ocean, a network of sensitive recorders on the sea floor measures pressure changes in the overhead water, sending the information to sensors on buoys, which, in turn, relay the data to satellites for immediate transmission to warning centers.

• The Tsunami Warning System (TWS) in the Pacific, comprised of 26 member countries, monitors seismological and tidal stations throughout the Pacific region. The system evaluates potentially tsunamigenic earthquakes and issues tsunami warnings. There is no international warning system for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

• Use your common sense. If you feel or hear of a strong earthquake do not wait for an official tsunami warning. Tell your family and friends to join you in leaving for high ground.