Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Virgin Galactic Spacecraft

Virgin galactic's space tourist spacecraft will soon be a reality!



Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Gaza wall

With Israel having blocked supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip,the desparate Palestinians, starved for essential food supplies, medicines and fuel tore down the Gaza wall separating Gaza and the Egyptian town of Rafah, by blasts and with bulldozers.Some 200,000 Palestinians poured out of Gaza and into Egypt through this breach. The Egyptian police patrol were supposedly overwhelmed after an initial retaliation.

Palestinians walked unhindered over the toppled metal plates that once made up the border wall, carrying goats, chickens and crates of Coke. There were some who even brought back televisions,car tires, and even a motorcycle!

The Guardian has a short write up on the walled barrier which is seven miles in length,eight to nine feet high and made of corrugated sheet metal, with short stretches of concrete blocks and of barbed wire.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Rise and rise of food prices

Food prices are on the rise in an unprecedented way. In the US, the falling value of the dollar is contributing in no less a measure to this in general and in particular to the rise in prices of imported foods such as fruit from Spain. A gallon of whole milk that sold for $2.78 in January 2000 costs around $4 today.The free falling dollar isn't the only culprit. Record oil prices and the rush for meeting the huge demand for biofuels,as ethanol production has gone up several folds to meet clean air standards and reduce dependence on crude oil,seem to be having a ripple effect on food prices. Average food prices have gone up by 5.4% in the last one year and prices of dairy and related products has soared 14 percent.

Adding to these woes are higher demand in developing nations for food products due to increased population and rising incomes. According to the IHT,the other oil shock is the shortages and soaring prices for palm oil, soybean oil and many other types of vegetable oils.It reports that food riots have erupted in recent months in Guinea, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Pakistan, in recent weeks, is witnessing shortages in wheat and China has put price controls on cooking oil, grain, meat, milk and eggs.

Also,to cope with increased oil demands, countries are enhancing their oil crop acreage which, according to conservation groups,are leading to tropical forests being leveled to make way for oil palm plantations, destroying habitat for orangutans and Sumatran rhinoceroses while also releasing greenhouse gases.

With agroflation pounding in and food prices set to rise by 50% over the next decade, we can all be sure of a drop in standard of living.

Monday, January 14, 2008

RBS 6 Nations

For rugby fans who are interested to know the latest news and happenings in the world of European Rugby, RBS6nations is the official website for Europe's premier international rugby tournament.It gives rugby lovers the latest rugby news, fixtures,results and match analysis from the world of European rugby in which the six sides such as England, France, Ireland, Italy,Scotland and Wales compete.You can search their database to find out the results of games played years back from 1991 or the most recent results.If you can’t attend live matches, you could subscribe to their mobile videos to see some of their games.The website is updated daily.

They also provide some interactive rugby games and have a podcast section in it. Another interesting service they provide is video highlights for viewing missed matches.They also have the online version of the official magazine of the RBS 6 Nations where one can read some of the reviews about the games and the gaming teams.Their online store too has a lot of niche rugby merchandise and other products.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Dexcasinos

The popularity of casinos, in particular, the online casino industry, in recent times has spiked tremendously. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through the many available online and hone in on the genuine ones. If one is looking for safe and trusted casinos online, Dexcasinos is the place to go to for more complete information on this subject. Dexcasinos is a dedicated site that provides information and a complete ratings guide to the best online casinos, poker rooms and gaming sites on the web. Since we are wagering our money online, we need to look for professional and secure gaming environment which are also userfriendly.

Dexcasinos is a new online casino portal, which lays down the base for amateurs and novice players as well as professional gamblers.They offer a variety of information from a team of people who have years of gambling experience in online casinos and poker rooms. Interesting news and articles have been posted on the site for the readers. The recommended casinos can be accessed by clicking on the links provided on the site itself.

Players can take comfort from the fact that they will be free from online fraud and be assured that they are in the right gambling room because Dexcasinos offers a straight forward and rewarding gambling games on the internet.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

India's Nano

Four years after its conception, Tatas, India's leading automobile manufacturer, have unveiled the world's cheapest car for Rupees 100,000($2500)at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi.The car comes fitted with a rear-mounted 623cc engine,hollow steering-wheel shaft,an analog speedometer in place of a digital equivalent and runs with a horsepower of 33.


With innovative engineering that spurs superflous technology, the car is aptly called 'The People's Car'.Chairman Ratan Tata has said the car will be the least polluting car in India and will meet necessary safety standards. He said the Nano would pass domestic and European emission standards and would average about 50 miles per gallon. The major downside of this ultra-cheap car would be the clogging of the already choked and crowded roads. And with 80 new models expected to be introduced in India this year from a slew of manufacturers, the nightmare of traffic on the city roads will be unimaginable.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Operation Clear Skies

A platoon of ten thousand cops are to guard President George Bush on his historic visit to Isreal tomorrow. It will be the first visit by a US president in more than a decade. The huge security exercise has been aptly named Operation Clear Skies.

So, what exactly is the purpose of this visit? Is he going to broker a deal between the increasingly isolated Fatah and Israel or peace between the katyusha-firing Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israelis? No one is sure.

Meanwhile Iran has denied that five Iranian boats made aggressive manoeuvers and showed hostile intent against three U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route in the Gulf. It is also reported that the Iranian vessels dropped small white boxes into the water.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

$100 breached!

Crude oil has breached $100/barrel for the first time. Where are we heading from here on?