Saturday, April 30, 2011

Exhumed Body of Pope John Paul II


Pope John Paul's coffin was exhumed on Friday ahead of his beatification as tens of thousands of people began arriving in Rome for one of the biggest events since his funeral in 2005.
The Vatican said the coffin was removed from the crypts below St Peter's Basilica while top Vatican officials and some of the late pope's closest aides looked on and prayed.
Those present at the ceremony included Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, his personal secretary and right-hand man for decades, and the Polish nuns who ran the papal household for 27 years.
The wooden coffin will be placed in front of the main altar of St Peter's Basilica. After Sunday's beatification mass, it will remain in that spot and the basilica will remain open until all visitors who want to view it have done so.
It will then be moved to a new crypt under an altar in a side chapel near Michelangelo's statue of the Pieta. The marble slab that covered his first burial place will be sent to Poland.
The pope is being beatified on the day the Church celebrates the movable Feast of Divine Mercy, which this year happens to fall on May 1, the most important feast in the communist world.
The coincidence is ironic, given that many believe the pope played a key role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
As the Vatican prepares to move the late pontiff one step closer to sainthood this Sunday, Rome has been caught up with beatification fever.
The city is festooned with posters of the pope on buses and hanging from lamp posts as the city where he was bishop for 27 years awaits one of the largest crowds since his funeral in 2005, when millions came to pay tribute.
Large television towers are being erected along Via Della Conciliazione, the boulevard leading from the Tiber to the Vatican.
At least several hundred thousand people are expected at the mass in St Peter's Square on Sunday when John Paul's successor Pope Benedict XVI will pronounce a Latin formula declaring one of the most popular popes in history a "blessed" of the Church.
"MIRACLE CURE"
At least 16 heads of state and 87 official delegations from around the world will attend the beatification, the last step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic.
The Vatican has deemed that the otherwise inexplicable cure of a French nun, Marie Simon-Pierre Normand, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease, was due to John Paul's intercession with God to perform a miracle, thus permitting the beatification to go ahead.
Another miracle will have to be attributed to John Paul's intercession after the beatification in order for him to be declared a saint.
Beatification-related activities begin on Saturday night in Rome's Circus Maximus, the sprawling oval used by the ancient Romans for chariot races.
An all-night prayer vigil will be held in the oval, during which Normand, Dziwisz and Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the pope's long-time spokesman, will describe their experiences with him.
John Paul's beatification has set a new speed record for modern times, taking place six years and one month after his death on April 2, 2005.
While the overwhelming number of Catholics welcome it, a minority are opposed, with some saying it happened too fast.
Liberals in the church say John Paul was too harsh with theological dissenters who wanted to help the poor, particularly in Latin America. Some say John Paul should be held ultimately responsible for the sexual abuse scandals because they occurred or came to light when he was in charge.
Ultra-Conservatives say he was too open towards other religions and that he allowed the liturgy to be "infected" by local cultures, such as African dancing, on his trips abroad.
Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Twins for Mariah Carey



Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon celebrated their third anniversary with another milestone — becoming parents to a baby girl and boy.

Carey's representative, Cindi Berger, confirmed the births to The Associated Press. The singing superstar gave birth Saturday at 12:07 p.m. EDT at an undisclosed hospital in Los Angeles. Berger says the baby girl was born first, weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 18 inches long; her brother was next, at 5 pounds 6 ounces, and was 19 inches.

Berger says the couple has not named the children yet. Cannon drove Carey to the hospital in their Rolls-Royce Phantom. Berger said the 41-year-old Carey, who had gone through false labor, was calm, thinking that it was another false alarm.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Cannon was so nervous he went to the wrong department at the hospital, and was guided to the maternity ward by a nurse.

"It was like right out of an 'I Love Lucy' skit," said Berger.

Berger says they were listening to Carey's "We Belong Together" after the children were born.

The couple are expected to renew their wedding vows on Sunday. The pair got married in 2007 after a whirlwind romance. They were the subject of endless baby rumors, and the couple actually were expecting shortly after their marriage, but Carey had a miscarriage; they did not reveal the miscarriage until she announced her pregnancy last fall.

The couple plan to live a bi-coastal life, and have luxurious nurseries in both New York and Los Angeles.

As far as more children, Carey recently declared she's done.
Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Top 10 Retro Games


Those stilted graphics. The funky sound effects. Unforgiving game play. How did you manage to sit through these games all those years ago?

While most retro games have slipped into the too-outdated-to-play-anymore pile, here are a bunch of oldies that are as much fun today as they were when they first came out.

10: Tetris (Various)

Tetris

When Alexey Pajitnov first created this game in 1984, he couldn’t have known how Tetris would change the face of gaming forever.

This game needs no introduction. It has become so ingrained in our society that 27 years later, young children are familiar with the name and we still give it a whirl sometimes during the long train ride home.

9: Bubble Bobble (Arcade)

Bubble Bobble

If you were a kid in the 80s, you would remember feeding arcade machines with your lunch money just to pop those damn bubbles.

Created by Taito, this classic has given birth to many spin-off thats follow its basic skeleton.

8: Tyrian (Various)

Tyrian

Tyrian is a shoot 'em up with a complex plot. You play the role of Trent Hawkings, this galaxy's ace solo fighter-pilot, whose luck forces him to save the galaxy, one time after another. Again and again, Trent must fight off MicroSol, a company with the evil intent of taking over the galaxy.

Through your struggles, you will find yourself again and again betrayed by friends and allies, your parents will be killed and you will have to return to points you've already been to (with variations on the levels) in order to remove further threats to the galaxy and to yourself, all for the ultimate goal of overthrowing MicroSol.

7: Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Master System/Game Gear)

Sonic

If you asked a group of 10 people what is a hedgehog, about 6 of them will answer Sonic.

The blue lightning bolt took side-scrolling gaming to a whole new level. Running around collecting rings and jumping on robots never seemed so fun.

6: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

Zelda

LttP set standards for adventure games that many still try to achieve today.

The Light and Dark worlds allowed for some interesting game play, where the player can only progress by accomplishing ‘mirror’ objectives in both worlds. On top of that, it has its fair share of tricky puzzles and epic boss battles, putting it on our list and in our hearts.

5: Crash Bandicoot (PS)

Crash Bandicoot

Crash Bandicoot was one of the first games every created for the PlayStation. It was the first time may of us were introduced to Crash. We fell in love with his quirkiness and loyalty to his girlfriend, Tawna, almost instantly.

Even though Crash has gone on to cart racing and the like, he will always be best remembered smashing crates and running from boulders.

4: Pacman (Arcade)

Pacman

You know a game is good when 31 years later pirate programmers don’t change a thing about it.

Pacman is a landmark in video game history and succeeded in creating a completely new genre of video games. It has the highest brand awareness of any video game character. Its legend will forever be preserved in the Smithsonian, where it is one of only three video games on display.

3: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)

Final Fantasy VII

While FF7 was by no means the first role-playing game to hit the market, it was the first time many of us entered the world of Final Fantasy.

From the depth of character customization to the storyline to the game soundtrack, it gave birth to a cult movement.

Even today, fan boys routinely dress up as Cloud for comic conventions and full grown men shed a sad tear when remembering Aeris’ untimely death.

2: Street Fighter (Arcade)

Street Fighter

SF was the first competitive fighting game and started the worldwide cry of ‘Hadoken!’.

While the idea of an international martial arts tournament whose characters consist of ninjas, kung-fu experts and professional killers seem strange, SF ensues hours and hours of button-mashing fun.

1: Super Mario Bros (NES)

Super Mario Bros

Topping our list is the world’s most beloved Italian plumber. We have gone through years and years of helping him through the different worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Toadstool.

And I don’t think we’ll be getting sick of that anytime soon.

The face of Nintendo has popularized phrases like ‘power ups’ and ‘1-Up’ and even inspired modern remixes of chip music based on the game, sealing his place as #1 in our hearts.

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

US Hit by Tornado



Shocked Americans struggled Thursday to grasp the magnitude of the worst US tornadoes in decades, which carved a trail of destruction across the south, claiming at least 295 lives.
Communities like Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's small hometown of Tuscaloosa were virtually wiped off the map and officials warned the body-count would rise as rescuers uncover more dead amid the debris.
Disbelief was written on faces across eight states crippled by the ferocious spring storms -- the deadliest tornado tragedy to strike the United States since 310 people were killed in 1974.


Scene: Deadly tornadoes rip apart life in southern US

Recalling the more recent horror of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, families picked through the remains of homes, businesses and schools, bearing witness to scenes of devastation more common in war zones or after earthquakes.
The toll reached 195 in Alabama and President Barack Obama said he would travel to the worst-hit state on Friday for a first-hand look at the unfolding human tragedy.
"The loss of life has been heartbreaking, especially in Alabama," Obama said at the White House, describing the disaster as "nothing short of catastrophic."
The storms "took mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors -- even entire communities," he said, vowing to rush federal assistance to those most in need.
States of emergency were declared from central Oklahoma to Georgia on the eastern seaboard and governors called out the National Guard -- including 2,000 troops in Alabama -- to help with the rescue and clean-up operations.
"We had a major catastrophic event here in Alabama with the outbreak of numerous long-track tornadoes," said Governor Bentley, who declared a major disaster for the state, where up to a million people were left without power.
Emergency responders searched through toppled trees, twisted billboards and ruined homes for signs of life, while thousands of survivors prepared to spend the night in makeshift shelters.
"There were direct hits on two towns, Hackleburg and Dadeville," National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist in Alabama, John De Block, told AFP.
Most of the homes in Hackleburg, population 1,500, were built on slab foundations and "the slabs have been swept clean in several locations," he said, adding that colleagues told him the town was "90 percent destroyed."
Focus: Tornadoes whipped up by wind, not climate
More than 160 tornadoes were reported on Wednesday alone and if more than 148 are confirmed that would set a new record for a 24-hour period, surpassing the so-called "Super Outbreak" in 1974.

In Tuscaloosa, population around 100,000, an AFP journalist witnessed entire blocks of the small town obliterated. In addition to 36 confirmed fatalities there were at least 600 people injured and dozens unaccounted for.
"Infrastructure has been absolutely devastated," Mayor Walter Maddox told CNN. "When you look at this path of destruction, likely five to seven miles (eight to 11 kilometers) long and half a mile to a mile wide, I don't know how anyone survived.
"There are parts of this city I don't recognize," he added.
It was also a dark day for Birmingham, Alabama's largest city with more than a million residents. Mayor William Bell spoke of "whole neighborhoods of housing, just completely gone. Churches, gone. Businesses, gone."
Incredulous Birmingham residents assessing the damage were counting their blessings at having survived, while others were distraught over the loss of their loved ones or homes.
"There were two-by-fours (wooden beams) falling out of the sky," convenience store manager Jack Welch said, adding "there were well over 30 homes destroyed" just behind his store.
The overall toll includes 34 deaths in Tennessee, 32 in Mississippi, 14 in Georgia, 12 in Arkansas, five in Virginia, two in Missouri, and one in Kentucky, according to state officials contacted by AFP.
Facts: Deadliest tornado days in US history
"Oh my God, our town is in pieces," said Tim Holt, a clerk at a local hotel in Ringgold, Georgia. "We saw the funnel cloud coming and I ran into the bathroom with my wife and daughter. It's an 80 percent loss in our town."
Several eastern states were still on tornado and severe thunderstorm alert Thursday, while another major storm system was forecast to bring heavy rain and high winds on Saturday.

Source: AFP News

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer


Before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, many women notice vague symptoms, but dismiss them as something else, like menopause or PMS. If these symptoms persist, they cannot be ignored -- they need to be evaluated by a doctor.

Ovarian cancer is such a deadly form of cancer because it's a disease that can quietly develop and not give bold, immediately noticeable symptoms. Learn the symptoms of ovarian cancer today!
A few common ovarian cancer symptoms include:

Lower back pain:
The back pain occurs in the lower back and often feels like a dull ache. Some women describe it as feeling like labor pains.

Abdominal swelling and bloating:
Abdominal swelling and bloating is one of the more common symptoms of ovarian cancer. It is also a symptom that is most ignored. The bloating may be so bad that one can't button their pants, or even have to go up a size.

Pelvic pain:
Pelvic pain is pain or pressure felt anywhere in the abdomen below the navel. It may be intermittent or constant. Many women describe pelvic pain as a dull ache that may include sharp pains as well. Pelvic pain can be accompanied by other symptoms, like abnormal vaginal bleeding, lower back pain, and vaginal discharge. Being aware of other symptoms can be important clues in discovering the source of the pelvic pain.

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Guest List of the Royal Wedding


Clarence House has released a list of guests who are confirmed as attending the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011. The list is not complete:

Members of the Royal Family
The Queen
The Duke of Edinburgh
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
Prince Harry
The Duke of York
Princess Beatrice of York
Princess Eugenie of York
The Earl and Countess of Wessex
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence
Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn
Zara Phillips and her fiance Mike Tindall
Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley
Charles Armstrong-Jones
Lady Sarah Chatto and Daniel Chatto
Samuel Chatto
Arthur Chatto
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
The Earl and Countess of Ulster
Lady Davina and Gary Lewis
Lady Rose and George Gilman
The Duke and Duchess of Kent
Earl and Countess of St Andrews
Lord Downpatrick
Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor
Lady Amelia Windsor
Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor
Lady Helen Taylor and Timothy Taylor
Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor
Lady Gabriella Windsor
Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy
Mr and Mrs James Ogilvy
Marina Ogilvy
Lady Saltoun
Members of Foreign Royal Families
The Prince and Princess of the Asturias
Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium
The Sultan of Brunei and Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha
King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria
The Queen of Denmark
King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes
Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece and Prince Constantine of Greece
Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait
Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho
The Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia
Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco
The Crown Prince and Princess of The Netherlands
The King and Queen of Norway
Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman
The Emir of The State of Qatar and Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned
King Michael I of Romania and Crown Princess Margarita
Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman
The Queen of Spain
The King of Swaziland
The Crown Princess of Sweden and The Duke of Vastergotland
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand
The King of Tonga
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia
The Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia
Dignitaries
The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda
The Governor-General of Australia and His Excellency Mr Michael Bryce
The Governor-General of The Bahamas and Lady Foulkes
The Governor-General of Barbados
The Governor-General of Belize and Lady Young
The Governor-General of Canada and Mrs David Jonhnston
The Governor-General of Jamaica
The Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Satyanand
The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Mrs Michael Ogio
The Governor-General of the Solomon Islands and Lady Kabui
The Governor-General of St Christopher and Nevis
The Governor-General of St Lucia
The Governor-General of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Lady Ballantyne
The Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard and Tim Matheison
The Prime Minister of The Bahamas Hubert Ingraham and Delores Miller
The Prime Minister of Barbados Freundel Stuart
The Prime Minster of New Zealand John Key and Bronagh Key
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Lade Somare
The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Stephenson King and Rosalia Nestor King
The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves and his wife
The Premier of Bermuda Paula Cox and Germain Nkeuleu
The Premier of The British Virgin Islands Ralph O'Neal and his wife
The Premier of the Cayman Islands McKeeva Bush and Kerry Bush
Sharon and Rodney Halford (Falkland Islands)
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar Peter Caruana and his wife
The Chief Minister of Montserrat Reuben Meade and the Reverend Doctor Joan Delsol Meade
John and Vilma Cranfield (St. Helena)
Members of government, Parliament and devolved administrations
Prime Minister David Cameron and Samantha Cameron
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Miriam Gonzalez Duantez
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague and Ffion Hague
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Frances Osborne
Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor Kenneth Clarke and Gill Clarke
Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities Theresa May and Philip May
Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt and his wife, Lucia
Labour leader Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and Sally Bercow
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales and the Lady Elis-Thomas
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament Alex Fergusson and his wife
The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly William Hay and his wife
The Lord Speaker Lady Hayman and Martin Hayman
First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones and his wife, Lisa
First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson and Iris Robinson
First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond and Moira Salmond
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler
The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress
Sir Gus and Lady O'Donnell
The Lord Mayor of Westminster and Count Paolo Filo della Torre
Mr and Mrs Simon Fraser
Representatives from the Church and other Faiths
The Most Reverend Gregorios, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and his wife
Rabbi Anthony Bayfield
Anil Bhanot
The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady
Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth
The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe
The Rt Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton
The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper
Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army
The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan
The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor
The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols
Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
Rabbi Alan Plancey
Imam Mohammad Raza
The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)
The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara
Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust
Mr Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy
Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)
Canon Christopher Tuckwell
The Reverend Martin Turner
The Archbishop of York John Sentamu and his wife
Senior Members of the Defence Services
Major General and Mrs William Cubitt, Major General Commanding Household Division and GOC London District
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen and Lady Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff
General Sir Nicholas and Lady Houghton
Air Vice-Marshal David and Mrs Murray, Defence Services Secretary
General Sir David and Lady Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff
Admiral Sir Mark and Lady Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff
General Sir Peter and Lady Wall, Chief of the General Staff
Other guests
These are celebrities or people who have an official link to the couple. All have been invited with their spouses or partners if married or in a civil partnership.
David Allan, chairman of Mountain Rescue, England and Wales. Prince William has been patron of the organisation since 2007.
Major Tom Archer-Burton, Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry. He also led the Burnaby Blue expedition to southern Africa - an African community project supported by Sentebale, in which Prince Harry was involved.
Charlie Mayhew, chief executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust.
Alison Moore-Gwyn, chief executive of Fields in Trust.
Seyi Obakin, chief executive of Centrepoint.
Peter Cross, chief executive of the charity SkillForce, of which Prince William has been Patron since 2009.
Amanda Berry, chief executive of Bafta. Prince William has been president of Bafta since 2010.
Ann Chalmers, chief executive of the Child Bereavement Charity. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009.
Julia Samuel, chair of the Child Bereavement Charity and also a family friend of Prince William. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009.
Tessa Green, chairman of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in May 2007 having undertaken two days of work experience there in 2005.
Simon Johnson, worked closely with Prince William as Chief Operating Officer of the FA's 2018 World Cup bid.
Sir Trevor Brooking, Football Association's Director of Football Development.
Sir Clive Woodward, former coach of the England Rugby Team and the British and Irish Lions.
Gareth Thomas, met the prince several times in his role as Vice Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
Ian Thorpe, Australian Olympic swimmer who met the prince on a visit to Australia in 2010.
Barty Pleydell-Bouverie, led the Cycle of Life charity bike ride across Africa in 2008, which raised money for the Tusk Trust.
Rear Admiral Ian Corder, Rear Admiral of Submarines. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines by The Queen in 2006.
Brigadier Ed Smyth-Osbourne, Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Regiment and acted as their military mentor.
Major William Bartle-Jones, Prince William's Squadron Leader in the Household Cavalry Regiment based at Windsor.
Wing Commander Steven Bentley, Prince William's Search and Rescue Force Squadron Leader at RAF Valley, Anglesey.
Sergeant Keith Best, colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales.
Squadron Leader Paul Bolton, colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.
Wing Commander Kevin Marsh, met Prince William through his service in the RAF.
Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton, from the Household Cavalry. He was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2006.
Holly Dyer, sister to 2nd Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007. Joanna was a close friend of Prince William's at Sandhurst.
Susie Roberts, the widow of Major Alexis Roberts, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Major Alexis Roberts was Prince William's Platoon Commander at Sandhurst.
Bryn and Emma Parry, founders of the charity Help for Heroes to assist wounded service men and women.
Edward Gould, Master of Marlborough College when Miss Middleton was a student.
Andrew Gailey, Vice-Provost of Eton College, who was Prince William's Housemaster.
Edward Dawson-Damer, ex-Irish Guards officer, who was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 1980s.
Sam Stevenson, Prince William's New Zealand equerry during his visit to the country in July 2005.
Sir John Major, appointed a guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters when Diana died in 1997.
Rowan Atkinson, close friend of The Prince of Wales.
Tom Bradby, journalist known both Prince William and Miss Middleton for some time.
Ben Fogle, television presenter and adventurer and has met Prince William on a number of occasions.
Sir Elton John, performer who sang at Diana's funeral.
David and Victoria Beckham, have met the prince as President of the Football Association, on a number of occasions.
Guy Ritchie, friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.
Joss Stone, singer.
Mario Testino, photographer who took Prince William and Miss Middleton's official portrait photographs to mark their engagement.
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.
Sam Waley-Cohen, amateur jockey and a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.
Galen Weston, friend of the Prince of Wales and his family.

See also: Wedding Schedule

Watch the Royal Wedding Live at CNN

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

The Royal Wedding Schedule


The following schedule of royal wedding events is in Eastern Standard Time.

3:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. -- The morning of April 29 will start with an announcement from the Queen's office stating the titles that Prince William and Kate Middleton will take.

3:15 a.m. -- General wedding guests will start showing up at Westminster Abbey. These guests will enter the church through the Great North Door.

4:50 a.m. -- VIPs, such as Governors-General and Prime Ministers of Countries under the Commonwealth of England, Diplomatic Corps and distinguished guests, arrive at Westminster Abbey. They will enter the church through the West Door.


5:10 a.m. -- Prince William and best man, Prince Harry, depart Clarence House.

5:15 a.m. -- Prince William and Prince Harry arrive at Westminster Abbey.

Follow Prince William's Wedding Route to Westminster Abbey

5:20 a.m. -- Members of foreign royal families, including Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince Felipe and

Princess Letizia of Spain, arrive at the church.

5:20 a.m. -- Kate's mother Carole Middleton and brother James Middleton, depart the Goring Hotel.

5:27 a.m. -- Carole and James Middleton arrive at Westminster Abbey.

5:30 a.m. -- Members of the Royal Family begin arriving at the Abbey.

5:38 a.m. -- Father of the groom, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, depart Clarence House.

5:40 a.m. -- Prince Andrew (uncle of the groom) and his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie; Princess Anne (aunt of the groom), and her husband; Prince Edward (uncle of the groom) and his wife, arrive at Westminster Abbey and enter church through the West Door.


5:40 a.m. -- Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip depart Buckingham Palace.

5:40 a.m. -- Prince William and Prince Harry will move into St. Edmunds Chapel until moments before the royal wedding begins.

5:42 a.m. -- Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at the Abbey.

5:45 a.m. -- Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are the last guests to arrive at Westminster Abbey.

5:48 a.m. -- Kate's bridesmaids and William's pageboys depart the Goring Hotel.

5:51 a.m. -- Kate Middleton, accompanied by her father, will depart the Goring Hotel in a 1978 Rolls-Royce from the royal state car collection and make her way to Westminster Abbey.

5:55 a.m. -- Bridesmaids and pages arrive at the church.

5:58 a.m. -- The bride, Kate Middleton, who will be officially be known as Catherine, and her father Michael arrive at Westminster Abbey.

6 a.m. -- The ceremony begins. The service is set to last just over an hour and will include vows and a sermon delivered by the Bishop of London, private clergyman to the queen.

7:15 a.m. -- Prince William and the new Princess Catherine will depart Westminster Abbey, by carriage, and process to Buckingham Palace. The carriage carrying the bride and groom will be followed by 4 other carriages carrying their bridal party, parents and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Leave a Message for Kate and William in the Royal Guestbookr

7:30 a.m. -- The Bride and Groom arrive at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace.

7:40 a.m. -- Members of the royal family, foreign royal families, and other reception guests begin arriving at Buckingham Palace.

8:25 a.m. -- The married couple reappear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with the Queen and their families for 10 minutes.

8:30 a.m. -- The Royal Air Force, where Prince William serves as a search-and-rescue pilot, will perform a flyover.

See also: Prince William & Kate

Watch the Royal Wedding Live at CNN

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

NY case Wi-Fi privacy dangers


BUFFALO, N.Y. – Lying on his family room floor with assault weapons trained on him, shouts of "pedophile!" and "pornographer!" stinging like his fresh cuts and bruises, the Buffalo homeowner didn't need long to figure out the reason for the early morning wake-up call from a swarm of federal agents.
That new wireless router. He'd gotten fed up trying to set a password. Someone must have used his Internet connection, he thought.
"We know who you are! You downloaded thousands of images at 11:30 last night," the man's lawyer, Barry Covert, recounted the agents saying. They referred to a screen name, "Doldrum."
"No, I didn't," he insisted. "Somebody else could have but I didn't do anything like that."
"You're a creep ... just admit it," they said.
Law enforcement officials say the case is a cautionary tale. Their advice: Password-protect your wireless router.
Plenty of others would agree. The Sarasota, Fla. man, for example, who got a similar visit from the FBI last year after someone on a boat docked in a marina outside his building used a potato chip can as an antenna to boost his wireless signal and download an astounding 10 million images of child porn, or the North Syracuse, N.Y., man who in December 2009 opened his door to police who'd been following an electronic trail of illegal videos and images. The man's neighbor pleaded guilty April 12.
For two hours that March morning in Buffalo, agents tapped away at the homeowner's desktop computer, eventually taking it with them, along with his and his wife's iPads and iPhones.
Within three days, investigators determined the homeowner had been telling the truth: If someone was downloading child pornography through his wireless signal, it wasn't him. About a week later, agents arrested a 25-year-old neighbor and charged him with distribution of child pornography. The case is pending in federal court.
It's unknown how often unsecured routers have brought legal trouble for subscribers. Besides the criminal investigations, the Internet is full of anecdotal accounts of people who've had to fight accusations of illegally downloading music or movies.
Whether you're guilty or not, "you look like the suspect," said Orin Kerr, a professor at George Washington University Law School, who said that's just one of many reasons to secure home routers.
Experts say the more savvy hackers can go beyond just connecting to the Internet on the host's dime and monitor Internet activity and steal passwords or other sensitive information.
A study released in February provides a sense of how often computer users rely on the generosity — or technological shortcomings — of their neighbors to gain Internet access.
The poll conducted for the Wi-Fi Alliance, the industry group that promotes wireless technology standards, found that among 1,054 Americans age 18 and older, 32 percent acknowledged trying to access a Wi-Fi network that wasn't theirs. An estimated 201 million households worldwide use Wi-Fi networks, according to the alliance.
The same study, conducted by Wakefield Research, found that 40 percent said they would be more likely to trust someone with their house key than with their Wi-Fi network password.
For some, though, leaving their wireless router open to outside use is a philosophical decision, a way of returning the favor for the times they've hopped on to someone else's network to check e-mail or download directions while away from home .
"I think it's convenient and polite to have an open Wi-Fi network," said Rebecca Jeschke, whose home signal is accessible to anyone within range.
"Public Wi-Fi is for the common good and I'm happy to participate in that — and lots of people are," said Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that takes on cyberspace civil liberties issues.
Experts say wireless routers come with encryption software, but setting it up means a trip to the manual.
The government's Computer Emergency Readiness Team recommends home users make their networks invisible to others by disabling the identifier broadcasting function that allows wireless access points to announce their presence. It also advises users to replace any default network names or passwords, since those are widely known, and to keep an eye on the manufacturer's website for security patches or updates.
People who keep an open wireless router won't necessarily know when someone else is piggybacking on the signal, which usually reaches 300-400 feet, though a slower connection may be a clue.
For the Buffalo homeowner, who didn't want to be identified, the tip-off wasn't nearly as subtle.
It was 6:20 a.m. March 7 when he and his wife were awakened by the sound of someone breaking down their rear door. He threw a robe on and walked to the top of the stairs, looking down to see seven armed people with jackets bearing the initials I-C-E, which he didn't immediately know stood for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"They are screaming at him, 'Get down! Get down on the ground!' He's saying, 'Who are you? Who are you?'" Covert said.
"One of the agents runs up and basically throws him down the stairs, and he's got the cuts and bruises to show for it," said Covert, who said the homeowner plans no lawsuit. When he was allowed to get up, agents escorted him and watched as he used the bathroom and dressed.
The homeowner later got an apology from U.S. Attorney William Hochul and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Lev Kubiak.
But this wasn't a case of officers rushing into the wrong house. Court filings show exactly what led them there and why.
On Feb. 11, an investigator with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees cybersecurity enforcement, signed in to a peer-to-peer file sharing program from his office. After connecting with someone by the name of "Doldrum," the agent browsed through his shared files for videos and images and found images and videos depicting children engaged in sexual acts.
The agent identified the IP address, or unique identification number, of the router, then got the service provider to identify the subscriber.
Investigators could have taken an extra step before going inside the house and used a laptop or other device outside the home to see whether there was an unsecured signal. That alone wouldn't have exonerated the homeowner, but it would have raised the possibility that someone else was responsible for the downloads.
After a search of his devices proved the homeowner's innocence, investigators went back to the peer-to-peer software and looked at logs that showed what other IP addresses Doldrum had connected from. Two were associated with the State University of New York at Buffalo and accessed using a secure token that UB said was assigned to a student living in an apartment adjacent to the homeowner. Agents arrested John Luchetti March 17. He has pleaded not guilty to distribution of child pornography.
Luchetti is not charged with using his neighbor's Wi-Fi without permission. Whether it was illegal is up for debate.
"The question," said Kerr, "is whether it's unauthorized access and so you have to say, 'Is an open wireless point implicitly authorizing users or not?'
"We don't know," Kerr said. "The law prohibits unauthorized access and it's just not clear what's authorized with an open unsecured wireless."
In Germany, the country's top criminal court ruled last year that Internet users must secure their wireless connections to prevent others from illegally downloading data. The court said Internet users could be fined up to $126 if a third party takes advantage of their unprotected line, though it stopped short of holding the users responsible for illegal content downloaded by the third party.
The ruling came after a musician sued an Internet user whose wireless connection was used to download a song, which was then offered on an online file sharing network. The user was on vacation when the song was downloaded

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Nero 10



Simply Create, Rip, Burn, Copy, Share, Backup, Play, and Enjoy! Nero 10, the easy-to-use yet powerful multimedia suite, gives you the freedom to create, rip, copy, burn, edit, share, and upload online. Whatever you want – music, video, photo, and data – share and enjoy with family and friends anytime, anywhere.
Nero 10 is the next generation of the world’s most trusted integrated digital media and home entertainment software suite. It features new cutting-edge functionality that makes enjoying digital media content simple. This easy-to-use yet powerful multimedia suite, gives you the freedom to create, rip, copy, burn, edit, share, and upload online. Whatever you want – music, video, photo, and data – enjoy and share with family and friends anytime, anywhere. With easy-to-use Nero StartSmart command center, your digital life has never been more flexible, feasible, and fun.

Nero 10 Highlights:
• Fast and easy rip, burn, Autobackup, and copy functions
• Backup files to CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs*
• Create professional-looking DVD movies with integrated 3D menus
• Copy, burn, share, upload, and create music mixes like a DJ
• Convert music, photos, and DVDs to play on your iPod® and other mobile devices
• Quick photo and video upload to My Nero, YouTube™, and MySpace
• Watch, record, pause, and customize your live TV experience
• Play AVCHD and other HD formats

Creative Projects Are Easier than Ever
Using the intuitive Nero StartSmart command center of Nero 10, your digital life has never been more flexible, feasible, and fun. You directly access features and perform one-click functions such as Audio Ripping, Burning, Copying, and AutoBackup, with optimized performance for Windows Vista® with Nero DiscCopy Gadget and Nero Live (TV) for Windows Vista Sidebar.

Fully Enjoy Your Content at Home, Online and On-the-go
Whether it’s video, photo, or music, you can convert and share everything your imagination creates in your digital world. Convert & share multimedia files to play on iPod®, PSP®, and upload online your coolest photos and videos to share with online communities like My Nero, YouTube™, and MySpace.

Make Your PC a Dynamic Home-Entertainment Device
Experience TV from the comfort of your sofa with state-of-the-art TV technology, even for HDTV and DVB Radio. Pause, record, schedule, manage, and playback your TV shows.

Best in the Business Software Gets Better
The ripping and burning capabilities of Nero 10 are the most reliable in the industry. Burn and copy to CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc – even copy movies*. With DVD-R Dual Layer and DVD+R Double Layer support, you’ll get more data on a disc than ever before!*

Trusted and Reliable – Backup, Restore, and Secure
Don’t lose your valuable memories and important files to life’s potential hazards, system crash, or risky hardware. Backing up, securing, and managing files and data is a point-and-click away.

Nero 10 is available in the following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Czech, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil), English, Russian, Finnish, Spanish, French, Spanish (Latin America), German, Swedish, Greek, Thai,, Hungarian, Turkish, Italian

This Software requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 to run on Windows XP.

Size: 75.3 Mb
OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7

Source: Nero.com
Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Titanic's Unknown Child



Five days after the passenger ship the Titanic sank, the crew of the rescue ship Mackay-Bennett pulled the body of a fair-haired, roughly 2-year-old boy out of the Atlantic Ocean on April 21, 1912. Along with many other victims, his body went to a cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the crew of the Mackay-Bennett had a headstone dedicated to the "unknown child" placed over his grave.

When it sank, the Titanic took the lives of 1,497 of the 2,209 people aboard with it. Some bodies were recovered, but names remained elusive, while others are still missing. But researchers believe that they have finally resolved the identity of the unknown child -- concluding that he was 19-month-old Sidney Leslie Goodwin from England. [Photo of Sidney Goodwin]

Though the unknown child was incorrectly identified twice before, researchers believe they have now conclusively determined the child was Goodwin. After his recovery, he was initially believed to be a 2-year-old Swedish boy, Gösta Leonard Pålsson, who was seen being washed overboard as the ship sank. This boy's mother, Alma Pålsson, was recovered with the tickets for all four of her children in her pocket, and buried in a grave behind the unknown child.

The effort to verify the child's identity using genetics began a little over a decade ago, when Ryan Parr, an adjunct professor at Lakehead University in Ontario who has worked with DNA extracted from ancient human remains, watched some videos about the Titanic.

"I thought 'Wow, I wonder if anyone is interested or still cares about the unidentified victims of the Titanic,'" Parr said.

A name for the unknown child?

In 2001, with permission from the PÃ¥lsson family, the unknown child's remains were exhumed from Fairview Lawn Cemetery, one of the Halifax cemeteries where Titanic victims were interred. Parr had hoped to investigate the identities of other victims as well, though decomposition interfered. Two of the coffins held only mud, and only a 2.4-inch-long (6 centimeter) fragment of an arm bone and three teeth remained of the unknown child. But this was enough.

From these remains, Parr and his team extracted DNA from a section of mitochondria (energy-producing centers of the cells) that rapidly accumulates mutations, called HV1. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to offspring, so the team compared the unknown child's DNA sequence with samples from the maternal relatives of the PÃ¥lsson child. These didn't match.

They broadened their search to include five other boys under age 3 who had died in the disaster. Alan Ruffman, who became involved in the project as a research associate of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, ultimately tracked down the maternal lines of all six children (including the PÃ¥lsson child) with help from genealogists, historians, Titanic researchers, translators, librarians, archivists and members of the families.

By comparing the unknown child's HV1 with these other young Titanic victims, the researchers eliminated all but two of the boys -- Eino Viljami Panula, a 13-month-old Finnish boy, and Sidney Goodwin. [History's Most Overlooked Mysteries]

An expert analysis of the child's teeth put his age somewhere between 9 months and 15 months -- seeming to eliminate Goodwin, who was older. So, the researchers concluded the boy was Panula and, in 2004, published their results.

A second try

But doubts remained. Ultimately, a pair of leather shoes recovered from the unknown child and held in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic caused the researchers to question the identification.

The shoes had been saved by Clarence Northover, a Halifax police sergeant in 1912, who helped guard the bodies and belongings of the Titanic victims, according to the museum's website. A letter from Northover's grandson, Earle, recounts how the victim's clothing had been burned to stop souvenir hunters. Clarence Northover couldn't bring himself to burn the little shoes, and when no relatives claimed them, he put the shoes in his desk drawer at the police station. In 2002, Earle Northover donated them to the museum. These shoes were too large for a 13-month-old to wear.

Parr and his team attempted the identification again, this time with the help of the U.S. Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory.

They looked at another, less mutation-prone section of the mitochondrial DNA, where they found a single difference that indicated that Goodwin might actually be the unknown child. The Armed Forces lab confirmed this when they found a second, single difference in another section of the DNA.

"Luckily, it was a rare difference, so that is what gives you 98 percent certainty the identification is correct," Parr said.

The loss of a family

Before he died, Sidney Goodwin was traveling on the Titanic with his parents, Frederick and Augusta, and five siblings from England to Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Carol Goodwin, a 77-year-old Wisconsin resident, heard about the ill-fated family from Frederick Goodwin's sisters, one of whom was Carol's grandmother.

"I can't say that it really startled me or amazed me," Carol Goodwin said of the news that the unknown child was her relative. "I guess maybe it had been so long in coming."

As a child, she learned about Frederick Goodwin's family by eavesdropping on conversations between her grandmother and her great aunt.

"They didn't talk about the children that much," Carol Goodwin told LiveScience. "It was their brother who was a favorite brother, how kind he was to them growing up."

Goodwin's interest in family history didn't spark until her 13-year-old granddaughter Becky saw a Titanic exhibit and wrote an essay for school. When her teacher wanted to submit the article to the magazine "Junior Scholastic," Goodwin wanted to check the facts first.

Now Goodwin is working on two books on the subject, a smaller one about the unknown child and a larger book she has titled "The Goodwins Aboard the Titanic: Saga of a Third-Class Family." (The family was traveling third class.) And, in a year, she and her husband plan to take a centennial cruise in memory of the Titanic. [Titanic Versus the Lusitania: Time Determined Who Survived]

On Aug. 6, 2008, relatives of the Goodwin family held a memorial service in Fairview Lawn Cemetery where they now believe Sidney Goodwin was buried under the unknown child's headstone. A cousin read the names of about 50 children who had also perished when the Titanic went down and a bell was rung for each, she said.

A soft, drizzling rain began to fall as the first name was read, and stopped when the list was finished, she recalled. Ultimately, the family left the headstone and the grave as it was.

"The tombstone of the unknown child represents all of the children who perished on the Titanic, and we left it that way," she said.

The remains of the rest of the Goodwins family have never been recovered.

"From those (unidentified bodies) that were buried in Halifax, I have read the coroner's reports for each of them, and nothing fits," she said.

An article describing the genetic analysis that led to the final identification of the unknown child's remains is scheduled to be published in the June 2011 issue of the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics and is already available online.

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

LimeWire is Back!



LimeWire Pirate Edition 5.6.2 || FULL SILENT INSTALLATION ||LATEST VERSION WORKING LIMEWIRE EDITION

Limewire alive now with limewire pirate edition

LimeWire Pirate Edition 5.6.2

Based on LimeWire 5.6 beta
All the features of LimeWire PRO:
Turbo-charged downloads
Optimized search results
AVG Anti-Virus
Built-in torrent search
No toolbars, adware or spyware
No connection problems



Quote:
Size: 21.2 MB
Compress: Rar / Not Crypted
MD5: 0C5327AE9E6DDC19CDB0D5EBD3CFB9D7
Scanned: KIS 2011 / Status;Free
Platform: Windows Xp / Vista / 7

Download links

Please contact me if you want this! have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Friendster User Warnings


Attention, Friendster users: You have until May 31 to save your account contents including photos, testimonials, and blogs —or else you'll lose them in the social network's upcoming major reformat.

Friendster, a pioneer social networking site launched in 2002, issued the warning as it prepares a "new and improved version" in the coming weeks.

"Your Friendster account will not be deleted. You will still have the same email login and password in the new Friendster. Also, your list of friends will be preserved, along with your basic profile information. However, all the photos, messages, comments, testimonials, shoutouts, blogs, forums and groups that you may have now will no longer be part of your account by May 31, 2011," it said in its help forum.

To be preserved are the user's list of friends, along with basic profile information, wallet, and games.

But to help the user save his or her account content, Friendster offered an application to help download or export photos and blogs securely to third party sites, such as Flickr or Multiply.

Dubbed the Friendster Exporter, the app will be rolled out gradually and is now available for users in Singapore.

Users in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia can expect the app to be available in a few days after April 14, it added.

It said that the app will be available to all Friendster users before the end of April 2011.

Relaunching Friendster

Friendster was acquired in December 2009 by MOL Global, the parent company of Asia’s leading online payment solutions provider MOL AccessPortal Berhad.

Friendster said that it and MOL have been combined to create Asia's largest end-to-end content, distribution and commerce network, pairing MOL's offline retail channel partners and payment platform with Friendster's large online footprint, social network and user community in Asia.

But MOL CEO Ganesh Bangah explained that the new Friendster aims not to compete with, but instead to complement, Facebook.
Complementing Facebook

He noted that, while Facebook is a site where people can communicate with and find out what their real-life friends are doing, Friendster will be the place where people can meet new friends and play games and enjoy music with them. The pioneering social network will continue to innovate and be at the forefront of the social networking scene, he said in an article on ZDNet Asia.

Friendster said that its "new and improved" version will be focused on entertainment and fun, and will have new features to better enable users to connect with friends or engage new friends with similar interests.

"Our improved site is designed to create new profiles that allow you to connect differently with people and do things differently than other networking sites. Basically, the new site will complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites," the company said.
Popular in Asia

A July 15, 2010 article in the Global Post said that, while Friendster lost users in the United States to MySpace and Facebook in the mid-2000s, the social network exploded in the Philippines, where nearly half of its userbase is located.

It said that Friendster later spread to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Now, roughly 80 percent of Friendster’s 116 million users live in Southeast Asia, the report said. — TJD, GMA News

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Bamboo-Rattan Car Made by Ph



Kenneth Cobonpue's Phoenix. Photo from Cobonpue's Facebook fan page.
(SPOT.ph) Filipino furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue told Manila Bulletin that his Phoenix, the world's first and only car made from bamboo and rattan, was a "big hit" in Milan, Italy. It was showcased at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile during the Milan Design Week earlier this month.

According to Manila Bulletin, the Phoenix does not have an engine yet but it has caught the eye of the car industry. Cobonpue's managing partner in the US, Christopher Reiter, told Manila Bulletin that a visitor from Mercedes Benz was "amazed" by the design.

Reiter said, "He found the whole concept of a car made of bamboo and rattan so raw and yet so rich in terms of design and sustainability. Two other leading car manufacturers are also interested to pursue a collaborative project with Kenneth." According to Manila Bulletin, Consul General Lourdes Soliman Tabamo lauded Cobonpue's work. In an intimate dinner she hosted in Milan for Cobonpue and his staff, she said, "This is a moment of national pride for all of us."

Manila Bulletin quoted Cobonpue as saying, "I am very pleased with the feedback from everyone who came to visit our booth and saw the intricacy of the craftsmanship and the genius of the Filipino design."

Inquirer.net likened the Phoenix to a sleek bird posed to take flight. "It has a (vertebra) or spine that runs to the rear where it forms into a splay of rattan bundled with LED (Light Emitting Diode) rods to emit light; that's the tail light. The rear is also the space for the car engine." It took months to design the Phoenix, and 10 days to build it in Cobonpue's factory in Cebu.

For more on this story, log on to Manila Bulletin and Inquirer.net.

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Tools for identifying and removing viruses, worms and other malware


In connection with my post on detecting infection of computer viruses or worms that uses autorun.inf to spread itself, the following are some of the free tools that you can use for detecting and even removing infections of viruses, worm and other malware infections like spyware and adware.

1. TrendMicro HijackThis - this is a free tool / utility which quickly scans your computer to find settings that may have been change by spyware, malware or other unwanted programs. This tool generates a log file that allows you to view currently programs or processes running on your system. This gives you idea on what are the programs that runs every time you start your computer. It also allows you to remove a specific entry on your system registry but take note: HijackThis can’t determine good or bad programs.



Download URL: http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en...kthis/download

2. Microsoft Windows Malicious Removal Tool - a free tool from Microsoft that checks your computer for prevalent malicious software - such as Blaster, Sasser and Mydoom.



Download URL: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

3. SmitFraudFix.exe - a freeware by S!Ri created to remove rogue anti-spyware applications that utilize Trojans to issue fake taskbar security alerts or that change your background in order to scare you into purchasing the full commercial version of their software. I use this program to remove the infection of SpySheriff / Winstall.exe. You can find a detailed instruction from BleepingComputer.com regarding this tool. You better read it before using the tool.



Download URL: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/resources/link243.html

That’s all for now and I hope this helps you. Please remember to read all the details of the free tools before doing anything with your computer to avoid unnecessary results. Good luck!


Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

REMOVING AUTORUN.INF VIRUS & VIRUSES THAT USE AUTORUN.INF


There are several viruses that uses the autorun.inf to spread itself such as the Bacalid (hides itself in ctfmon.exe) and the RavMon.EXE. These viruses set its file attributes to System+Hidden+Read-Only attributes so some anti-viruses will have a hard time detecting or finding them. These viruses save itself in the root directory of every available drives of the current infected computer and runs itself every time you Double-Click the drive. In USB Sticks and CDs that are infected by the virus runs automatically especially if drive autorun is enabled for the current drives (which is usually by default, autorun for drives are enabled).

Autorun.INF is usually used by CD Installers to autoplay their installations but Hard disks by default should not have AUTORUN.INF in the drive.

Now, it is possible that your computer is infected by those viruses if you try to display the content of the your computer through command prompt, using the dir /ah command. You will see the following window if you try this:


You will see from this window that drive C contains a hidden file autorun.inf, this is a possibility that the computer is infected. Now to erase this, restart your window to Safe Mode Command Prompt. (Do this by rebooting your computer and pressing F8 before windows go out and select from the boot menu). On drive C and other drives type the following commands: 1. attrib -h -r -s autorun.inf 2. del autorun.inf

Do this steps to other drives to disable the autorun.inf .

Disable AUTORUN from Registry
Now you can disable the AUTORUN for all drives by configuring the registry. Open the registry by typing regedit.exe to the command prompt (if your still at the command prompt) or execute it in Run. Look for the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer as shown below:



Double-click the NoDriveAutorun DWORD entry and type the value HEX: FF (255 in Decimal). (If the NoDriveAutorun does not exists, you can creat it by right-clicking the right side area of the regedit window, then click New->DWord Value -> type NoDriveAutorun) Close the registry and restart the computer. This procedure will disable all the autorun for all drives of your computer and at least will prevent the autorun function of infected USB drives or CDs and avoid the infection of viruses like the Bacalid and RavMon.exe.

Update:

If you want to prevent viruses that uses autorun.inf to infect your USB flash drive, try to do this:

1. Open your flash drive via Command Prompt (do this via Start->Run->cmd.exe)

2. Change your logged drive to your USB flash drive (e.g. if your drive is at drive E: then type E: on the command prompt then press enter)

3. Create a folder named: AUTORUN.INF on the root directory of your flash drive. (to do this type the command: MD\AUTORUN.INF). If an error: a subdirectory already exists… shows, try to follow the instruction above to remove existing autorun.inf before doing this instruction.

The reason why this will avoid future infection is that autorun.inf viruses usually generates a file autorun.inf. Having an AUTORUN.INF folder on the root directory of your drives will make virus programs unable to create their own autorun.inf file, virus can’t even overwrite..

Try also New fake Anti-Spyware removal

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Monday, April 25, 2011

Kadhafi's Office been hit by the Air Strike


Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's office in his immense Tripoli residence was destroyed in an air strike early Monday, an AFP journalist said.
A Libyan official accompanying journalists at the scene said 45 people were wounded, 15 seriously, in the bombing. He added that he did not know whether there were victims under the rubble.
"It was an attempt to assassinate Colonel Kadhafi," he affirmed.
A meeting room facing Kadhafi's office was badly damaged by the blast.
NATO warplanes had already late Friday targeted the Bab Al-Aziziya district, where the presidential compound is located.
Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit

Conflict between Borders [Thai-Cambodian borders]


Cambodia and Thailand exchanged heavy weapons fire for the third straight day on Sunday, officials said, after fierce fighting on their joint border left 10 soldiers dead.
Thousands of civilians have fled both sides of the disputed jungle frontier because of the fighting, which has shattered a tense two-month lull in hostilities.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a ceasefire and said the neighbours should launch "serious dialogue" to resolve the dispute, according to a spokesman.
Thai villagers sheltering in makeshift tents in Prasat district, Surin province, told how they raced from their homes in fear when clashes began in the neighbouring border district of Phanom Dong Rak on Friday.
"When a shell fell next to my house, I knew I had to run away," said Somjai Lengtamdee from Baan Khaotoh village.
"I was so worried about my three children. We were separated and it took me all day to locate them all. I can only hope that the war ends soon. I'm so scared," the 37-year-old told AFP.
Somdee Suebnisai, a local official for Phanom Dong Rak said there were 16 camps in the area providing refuge to more than 18,000 people and the number was expected to rise to 20,000 by Sunday evening.
On the Cambodian side, the National Committee for Disaster Management told AFP that 12,000 people had been evacuated.
Cambodian villager Neb Oeuth and her six children were among those seeking shelter in a pagoda in Samrong, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of the unrest.
"Many bombs landed nearby my village and we were afraid. I have no idea when we will be able to return," she told AFP.
Cambodian field commander Suos Sothea told AFP the country's army had "suffered no casualties" in Sunday's fighting.
"The situation is quiet for now but a large-scale fight could start again at any moment. It depends on the Thai side," he said.
Thailand has also said no one was killed on Sunday.
Six Cambodian troops and four Thai soldiers were killed in the first two days of hostilities.
It is the first serious outbreak of fighting since February, when 10 people were killed near the 900-year-old Hindu temple Preah Vihear.
The latest clashes have taken place near a different group of temples more than 100 kilometres away from Preah Vihear.
Both countries have accused each other of sparking the violence.
"We have responded with machine guns and artillery, not gas or an invasion of Cambodian airspace," said Thai army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, referring to earlier Cambodian claims that Thailand used "poisonous gas" and flew aircraft "deep into Cambodia's airspace".
Thailand recently admitted using controversial Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, designed to burst into bomblets, during the February fighting but insisted it did not classify them as cluster munitions.
On Sunday Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Thailand was willing to hold bilateral talks and accused Cambodia of trying to "internationalise" the conflict.
Phnom Penh has asked for outside mediation, but Thailand opposes third-party intervention.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa is expected to travel to both countries on Monday for talks on the conflict.
Jakarta, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, has called for an immediate end to the violence.
The neighbours agreed in late February to allow Indonesian observers near Preah Vihear, but the Thai military has since said they are not welcome.
Ties between the two countries have been strained since Preah Vihear -- the most celebrated example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's Angkor -- was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6 square kilometre (1.8 square mile) surrounding area.

Please dont forget to leave a comments.. thanks and have fun

Stumble
Delicious
Technorati
Twitter
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
 

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

English French German Spain Italian Dutch

Russian Portuguese Japanese Korean Arabic Chinese Simplified

Feel Free Donate

AzerWorks Copyright © 2009 AzerWorks is Designed by Azer

azergwapo