Saturday, August 1, 2009

International Friendship Day2009, Friendship Day Quotes

International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. In 1935 American Govt had killed a person on 1st Saturday of Aug. The next day his friend committed suicide in his memory. Since then American Govt declared 1st Sunday of Aug as friendship day. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in large number of countries. On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. Exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.
The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first sunday of August as National Friendship Day. Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The noble idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people and soon Friendship Day became a hugely popular festival.
Following the popularity and success of Friendship Day in US, several other countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated by several countries across the world. In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship.
Most countries in the world, however, celebrates the "Friends Day" on July 20th. For this reason, on July 17th, 2009 Facebook launched a marketing campaign declaring "Friends Day" as July, 20th.
" Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends. "
- Mary Catherwood
" Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival. "
- C. S. Lewis
" Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success. "
- Oscar Wilde
"Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.” - Elbert Hubard

“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost.” – Charles Caleb Colton

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” – Anais Nin

“My friends are my estate.” – Emily Dickinson

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” – Walter Winchell

“A friend is someone who is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else.” - Len Wein
"A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more."
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." : Walter Winchell
"A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." : Len Wein
"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."
"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."
"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.Don't walk behind me, I may not lead.Walk beside me and be my friend." : Albert Camus
Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships." : Abraham Lincoln
"The love of my life is the love between friends."
"To be depressed is to be lonely; to have a friend is to be happy..." : Guido
Friendship is like a perennial river which flows forever. It may change it's path but will never ever dry up.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Daniel Suelo, A man who lives without money.

Daniel Suelo says nine years ago, in the fall of 2000, Daniel decided not to use money. He now lives in a cave and writes about his hobo life at the library on a blog...for free, of course.

"He lives off the land, scours the forest and river bank for food and gatheris discarded items from the town.

So, he lives off of someone else's money, by scavaging. Simple as that.

Jesus, on the other hand, lived without money and didn't make anything of it. Jesus was more like the woman in Germany who has lived without money for 12 yrs.

Jesus performed kindnesses, healed the sick, received favors in return and with that was able to eat and feed his disciples, who likely had bank accounts they could tap in to. Who knows?

In any event, it's pretty much impossible to get by without money, either using your own or taking advantage of someone else's.

Unless, of course, you can make wine from water or catch a fish and reproduce it miraculously like Jesus did.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Hindustani classical vocalist Gangubai Hangal -- Died

A rebel who broke caste and gender barriers, a perfectionist and a singer par excellence - this is how Hindustani classical vocalist Gangubai Hangal will always be known to her numerous fans and fellow musicians.

The doyenne of the Kirana Gharana, who died in Karnataka's Hubli town Tuesday morning at the age of 97, had often said that she made music because she felt it was her duty to hand down her music to future generations for posterity.

In her musical career, Hangal was almost reborn when she lost her voice after a brief illness but returned with a new masculine one that was considered more gifted than many of her contemporaries.

'Initially, Hangal had a sweet and a high-pitched voice. But mid-career, she lost her voice after a brief illness. When she recovered, the tenor of her voice changed and it acquired a masculine timbre. She overcame the problem and continued to sing in her new androgynous voice, which was powerful than many male singers,' said veteran music writer and Hindustani classical music aficionado Kuldeep Kumar.

Born on March 5, 1913, in a small town called Hangal in Dharwad district (now Haveri district) in Karnataka, Hangal was often looked down upon by her peers since her boatman-agriculturist father Chikkurao Nadiger was from the fishermen's caste.

Hangal was also ridiculed as a 'gaanewali' for being one of the few women trying to breach the male-dominated world of Hindustani classical singing.

However, Hangal, whose mother Ambabai was a Carnatic musician, went on to become one of the illustrious members of the Kirana Gharana founded by Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Other exponents like Bhimsen Joshi, Roshanara Begum (Pakistan) and Mallikarjun Mansur also belonged to the gharana.

'After an early spell of training under exponents Dattopant Desai and Krishnacharya, she learnt music for over 15 years from Sawai Gandharv,' said Sanjeev Bharghava, a Delhi-based culture activist and promoter of Hindustani classical music.

As a child, she ran around the house trying to snatch bits of gramophone music being played around street corners.

'Gangubai had several odds stacked against her. But she smashed her way through them. She broke gender and caste barriers in music and should rather be described as the 'father of khayals'. The emancipation of women in Hindustani classical music began with her,' added Bhargava.

Gangubai was part of a group that sang to welcome Mahatma Gandhi and other Congress leaders at the 1924 Belguam session of the Indian National Congress. She used to sing at Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations and her big break came at a concert in 1933 in Bombay.

'For my first recording, when HMV invited me to Bombay, I went because they were taking care of the journey and sightseeing. Later, they gave me Rs.400 for my third recording but my family was annoyed as my name read Gandhari Hubali on the record,' she wrote in her memoir 'Nanna Badukina Haadu' (The Song Of My Life).

Gangubai had a great sense of humour.

In her memoir, she sums up the male domination in the field of classical singing thus: 'If a male musician is a Muslim, he becomes an Ustad. If he is a Hindu, he becomes a Pandit. But women like Kesarbai and Mogubai just remain 'Bai's.'

At the age of 16, Hangal married Gururao Kaulgi, a Brahmin lawyer. Her two sons were by her side when she died. Her only daughter died earlier in 2003.

Hangal succumbed to cardiac and respiratory problems, but had been suffering from bone cancer since 2001.

'I invited Gangubai Hangal to perform in Delhi in 2002 but she could not come because of the bone cancer,' Bhargava said.

Hangal's last concert was held three years ago in Dharward, when she was 94. She held the audience in thrall.

'I remember sending a team of young musicians for festival to Dharwad three years ago. We requested Gangubai Hangal to bless the musicians. We also sent a team to Gangubai's home and recorded her voice,' Jayant Kastuar, secretary of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA), told IANS.

According to Kastuar, Gangubai was also made a fellow of the SNA - an honour given to only 30 musicians.

The most abiding influence in her life was her guru Sawai Gandharv. 'He would teach us one note and would not go further till we mastered it. We were taught to make most of sur and made to practise for hours,' Hangal had once said.

As a result, she had the ability to innovate on one raag for two-three hours at a stretch, recalls Talwalkar.

The musician was honoured with prestigious awards like the Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy Award in 1962, the Padma Bhushan in 1971, Padma Vibhushan in 2002 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1973.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Jackson Effect: How MJ's death affected the Internet

It may sound weired but true, after Michael jackson's death news broke out Internet traffic become drastic, which lead to Jackson effect.
Wikipedia defines jackson effect as.....
The Jackson effect is an Internet phenomenon where a dramatic news event is initially indistinguishable from a coordinated denial of service attack.
The Jackson effect originated from the 2009 death of Michael Jackson where the Google search engine mistook the spike in search traffic for a coordinated denial of service attack. High volumes of traffic surrounding the death of Michael Jackson overloaded servers and internet service providers causing service to be very slow or stop completely. Google originally believed it was under attack by a virus attempting such a DoS attack replacing any searches for Jackson with, 'Your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application.' Twitter reported that its servers crashed due to users posting so many "Tweets" at one time which they say equated to 'more than 100,000 posts an hour.'

Jackson's doctor is father of his two children: Weekly

Rumours about the biological parents of Michael Jackson's three children have deepened, with Us Weekly saying that a Los Angeles-based dermatologist is the biological father of the late pop star's two children.
Quoting multiple sources, the magazine reported Tuesday that though Jackson was married to Prince and Paris' mother, Debbie Rowe, their biological father is Arnold Klein, Jackson's Los Angeles-based dermatologist and Rowe's former boss.
'He is the dad,' the magazine quoted a Jackson insider as saying. 'He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.'
Though neither Rowe nor Jackson ever confessed to their kids' true lineage, she did admit in 2002 that she carried his children as a personal favour and would not confirm that the marriage was ever consummated, the weekly said.
'I said: Let me do this. You need to be a dad. You have been so good to me,' Rowe was quoted as saying.
Rowe first met Jackson when she was a nurse's assistant in the 1980s.
The magazine said Klein refused to comment on whether he is the biological father of Jackson's two children.
But his attorney Richard L. Charnley has been quoted as telling Entertainment Tonight: 'Dr. Klein is aware of media reports connecting him to Michael Jackson. Because of patient confidentiality Dr. Klein will make no statement on any reports or allegations.
'Out of respect for his patients and adherence to federal HIPAA regulations, Dr. Klein asks that the media not contact his patients nor interfere with their medical treatments. Like millions of Michael's fans around the world, Dr. Klein is saddened by Michael's death and extends his condolences to Michael's family.'

Monday, June 29, 2009

'Thriller' voted Michael Jackson's 'Best Ever Track'

Fans of King of Pop Michael Jackson have voted 'Thriller' his best ever track in a poll after his sudden death.

The 50-year-old singer died at his home in Los Angeles last week on Thursday.

Fans flocked to AOL Radio to listen to the legend's greatest hits in the hours after his death was confirmed and have made the 1982 hit

their Jackson number one.

'Billie Jean' came second while 'Beat It' landed the third spot, reports Contactmusic.

'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' stood fourth and and 'The Way You Make Me Feel' rounded off the top five.

The list is as follows:

1. Thriller

2. Billie Jean

3. Beat It

4. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

5. The Way You Make Me Feel

6. Smooth Criminal

7. Man In The Mirror

8. Bad

9. Rock With You

10. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Jai Ho..............MJ

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69 Lyrics

I got my first real six-stringBought it at the five-and-dimePlayed 'til my fingers bled
It was summer of '69
Me and some guys from schoolHad a Band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got marriedI shualda known we'd never get farOh when I lock back now
That was seemes to last foreverAnd if I had the choiceYa - I'd always wanna be thereThose were the best days of my life(CHORUS)
Ain't no use in complainin'When you got a job to doSpent my evenin's down at the drive inAnd that's when I met youStandin on a mama's porchYou told me that you'd wait foreverOh and when you held my handI knew that it was no or neverThose were the best days of my life(Chorus) Back in Summer of '69Man we were killin' timeWe were young and restlessWe needed to unwindI guess nothin' can last forever, noAnd now the times are changin'Look at everything that's come and goneSomethimes when I play that old six-stringI think about ya wonder what went wrongStandin' on a mama's porchYou told me it would last foreverOh the way you held my handI knew that it was now or neverThose were the best days of my life(Chorus) Back in summer of '69

Friday, June 19, 2009

Paul Erdos- an eccentric Hungarian mathematician


Have you heard of Paul Erdos?

He is an eccentric Hungarian mathematician.

He is the son to Anna and Lajos Erdos (both were jewish mathematician). He is the only son as his siblings pass away before his birth.

I find what is interesting about him is that throughout his career, he offered prizes for solutions to unsolved problems. What is amazing that these prizes are still offered after his death. Currently, winners who solved the problems can either opt for a check signed by Erdos for framing purposes only, or a cashable check signed by the current administrator.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

statue of liberty garment


The Statue of Liberty is the most famous Statue of the world and the most visited one also.
Statue of Liberty was gifted to United States of America from France. It is sculpted from copper. The sculptor who made this great piece of art is Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.
It was made in France and was then shipped to USA in 1886. It is a symbol of freedom and hope.
Now some information about the garment of the Statue, The statue of liberty wears a robe made up of copper. The women of Ancient Rome used to wear such robe called stola. The holy figures of Rome were also depicted as wearing these kinds of robes. These Holy figures are called the Roman Goddess of liberty.
Such kind of robe is commonly called as a roman or a neo-classical robe.

The exact dimensions of the Statue are approximately:
35 feet in diameter (at the waist)111 feet tall17 feet head (in vertical direction)90 feet wide (at the shoulders)
The total covered surface area of the Statue of Liberty is approximately 1200 square yards. The Statue is wrapped in two layers of drapery which means that the total fabric required for such a hue statue is almost 4000 square yards.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Leonardo DiCaprio's new film about online casinos

Leonardo DiCaprio is set to star in an untitled film centring on the world of online casinos based in Costa Rica.
The Paramount project hails from scribes Brian Koppelman and David Levien, whose previous works include Rounders, The Girlfriend Experience and Ocean's Thirteen.
Appian Way's Jennifer Davisson Killoran is set to act as the film's producer, reports Variety magazine.
Koppelman and Levien were apparently teaming up with the actor and Appian on the thriller Beat the Reaper, based Josh Bazell's novel.
The Titanic star's Martin Scorsese-helmed Shutter Island is set to hit the big screen in the fall.

PMT-2009: BHU declares results

The result of the PMAs many 2090 candidates were short-listed in general category, 341 in OBC category, 450 in SC category, and 68 in ST category. Besides, 10 candidates were short-listed in general physically challenged category and nine OBC-PC category. According to the university spokespersons, the short-listed candidates would appear in the BHU PMT-2009 (Main) examination scheduled to be held at BHU on June 30 June. The candidates belonging to OBC, SC, ST and their respective PC categories obtaining higher rank have been included in the general category list.
http://www.bhu.ac.in/

Monday, June 15, 2009

clat 2009 results declared

The Common Law Admission Test-2009 (CLAT) was conducted in 16 cities across India successfully and 765 students from the state appeared for the examination at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore.
result can be checked at

Famous Couples with Taller Women














































amupmdc 2009 results

AMUPMDC AMUPMDC 2009 Asso CET Result Asso CET Result 2009
official link is....
www.amupmdc.org
Association of Managements of Unaided Private Medical and Dental colleges.

Kerala State entrance results 2009

KERALA EDUCATION minister MA Baby announced the results of Kerala Medical and Engineering entrance examination on Monday (June 15).Jaybin George and SRK.Johnson bagged first two positions in medical stream, whereas Arun Aloyshius and Akash P bagged the first and second ranks in Engineering.The announcement of the result ended the wait of the students, who were eagerly anticipating for the CEE results. Tension was palpable among students, who gathered around in large numbers at Internet cafes to know about their fate in the entrance test.An official statement said the web site of the commissioner for entrance examinations, www.cee.kerala.org will be provided with links of websites from where the results can be found.The results can be obtained from
keralaresults.nic.in,
cee.kerala.gov.in,
results.kerala.nic.in,
cee.kerala.gov.in/wap (for GPRS enabled phones). Links for all websites are available from ceekerala.org.The results will be available from the government’s call centres.
Subscribers of BSNL connections can dial 155300.
Callers from other connections can dial 0471-2115054, 2115098 to get the results.

Shiney Ahuja had admitted that they had sex but its not rape.

Shocking news has hit Bollywood today. Shiney Ahuja,36, has been accused of raping his maid.

Shiney Ahuja who started his career with Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and who has had a rather quite 2008, is accused of raping his house maid.

The maid says she was repeatedly being raped but she mustered the courage to go to the police just now. The maid has now been taken for a medical test to confirm whether she was indeed raped.

According to news Shiney Ahuja had admitted that they had sex but its not rape.

Shiney is Married to Anupama and they have 1 daughter.

Alice Waters is coming!

The word zipped through the Museum’s foodie and gardening subcultures: Alice Waters is coming! She’ll be signing her latest book,The Edible Schoolyard! June 13, 1-4 p.m.! Here!

Immediately, the creative suggestions (and gastronomic juices) flew: Can we stage the book signing in the Stars and Stripes Cafe? Better yet, how about on the Terrace, with our re-created Victory Garden in the background? Can the Cafe chefs create a special menu that features local and organic selections that day? Can we escort Ms. Waters to Bon Appétit,our signature exhibition of Julia Child’s actual kitchen? Would she talk with us about our ideas for a “Taste of American History” dinner series?

Usually book signing opportunities at the museum are merely an author sitting at a table, signing his or her book, chatting informally with patrons eager to have a moment with someone they connect with and a memento of that exchange. But this is Alice Waters! In 1971, she introduced local, organic fare at her Berkeley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse, and has been credited for helping change the food landscape in America. We at the museum recognize that; from corn to chocolate, fish, wine, and tortillas, we have long studied American foodways for their significance, since their stories incorporate social, political, technological and economic complexity into our nation’s history.

So, for this book signing, there’s justifiably a bit more activity behind the scenes than usual: signs being made, talking points devised, opportunities coordinated, and escorts briefed. Meetings are being held, and emails are flying! Some of Alice’s dishes will be served in ourStars and Stripes Cafe. Our restaurant operator, Restaurant Associates, is working with its food suppliers to have the season’s best fresh, local, and organic ingredients available. The authentically planted Victory Garden is being hoe’ed twice weekly by Smithsonian’s Horticulture Division. The facilities staff has been asked to polish the outdoor seating. Staff are volunteering to “work” that Saturday. And everyone is praying for no rain.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Johnny Benson in serious condition after deadly crash

NASCAR driver Johnny Benson is in serious condition at a Michigan hospital after crashing his ISMA supermodified car Saturday night at Berlin Raceway.

A spokesman for Spectrum Hospital told a Grand Rapids, Mich., television station that Benson is "expected to be fine." Benson's car caught on fire after making contact with Larry Lehnert's car.

Lehnert was not hurt in the crash. Benson was quickly pulled from his car, and the fire was extinguished.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Come Sail Away lyrics

Im sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
Ive got to be free, free to face the life thats ahead of me
On board, Im the captain, so climb aboard
Well search for tomorrow on every shore
And Ill try, oh lord, Ill try to carry on

I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But well try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

Friday, June 12, 2009

Orissa Exam Board Utkal University Results for 2009 +3 Arts / Science / Commerce Examinations

Orissa Exam Board Utkal University  Results for 2009 +3 Arts / Science / Commerce Examinations (Regular & Back)is announced today on June 12, 2009 at 1:00 PM.

You can check these Results on Orissa Exam Board Utkal University Website - 

http://orissaresults.nic.in/

Pune university result declared

University of Pune has declared Results of April 2009 Examinations for Law, Science, Arts and Education. Results of Commerce, Engineering and Management are still awaited.

You can check all these Results on University of Pune Website - www.unipune.ernet.in

Direct Link to Results - http://www.unipune.ernet.in/result_pages/APRIL2009/index.html

Amanda Knox "Angel Face" will testify


For five months now in the Umbrian hill town of Perugia, an American exchange student called “Angel Face” by the tabloid press has been on trial for the murder of her roommate. On Friday, for the first time, that student, Amanda Knox will testify on her own behalf. The case against Knox has so many holes in it, and is so tied to the career of a powerful Italian prosecutor who is under indictment for professional misconduct, that any fair-minded jury would have thrown it out months ago.
That is not to say the Italian courts are not fair-minded. We kill innocent Americans often enough through our legal system, kill them because of shoddy police work or racial prejudice. Knox’s fate is in the hand of six jurors, two judges among them, who meet two days a week and will soon take a long summer break before reaching a verdict in the fall.
But this is not about whose system is better. This is about a high-spirited British student, Meredith Kercher, found strangled and stabbed in November of 2007 in the Perugian cottage she shared with Amanda Knox. Justice must be done. And in fact, a man has already been convicted of her murder – more about that in a moment.
But it is also about Amanda Knox, an equally high-spirited student whose life has been nearly ruined by this collision of predatory journalism and slipshod prosecution – “the railroad job from hell,” as one outside expert hired by CBS News concluded.
Amanda Knox was 20 years old, a Jesuit-educated student from a Seattle family without money, when she arrived in Italy for a term abroad. She had worked three jobs while attending the University of Washington to save money for this trip. She had no criminal record, was an athlete whose soccer tricks had earned her a grade school nickname of “Foxy Knoxy,” a lover of theater and the written word. And she was also a “little spacey,” in the words oft-used by friends to describe her.
She started seeing an Italian student, Raffaele Sollecito, the son of a prominent doctor. They spent the night of the murder at his apartment, she said, and no reliable witness or credible evidence has ever placed them at the crime scene. But within days of the killing, these two would be painted across Europe as thrill-seekers who killed a woman in a drug-fueled orgy.
That may sound like a preposterous motive for a murder by college kids, but it’s a recurring obsession for the prosecutor in the Knox case.
“Case closed,” the Italian authorities said in those first days of November, 2007, even though they had yet to arrest the only man who has ever been found guilty of the murder.
As it happened, my daughter was studying in Italy at the same time – like Knox, una studentessa di Seattle. They did not know each other. But after the tabloid fallout, any female exchange student from Seattle was suddenly cast in a dark light.
After my daughter wrote about her experience for this newspaper, she found the paparazzi camped outside her room in Bologna. For all of that, our family consider ourselves honorary Italians; we lived there for a short while, our kids went to grade school there, and we love the country dearly.
Knox may not feel the same way. She spent nearly a year in jail without being charged. This, despite the fact that the only physical evidence found on the murder victim’s body was from someone else – a drifter with a drug problem named Rudy Guede.
Shortly after the crime, Guede fled Italy for Germany. His prints and his DNA were found in Kercher’s room and on the body. After being arrested, he underwent a fast-track trial and was found guilty last fall of complicity in the murder, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
That should have been the end of it. Guede initially told one story: that he had sex with Kercher and then went into the bathroom, plugged in his iPod, and came out to find a strange man standing over her with a knife.
Then, months later, Guede changed his story: he said that strange man was now Sollecito, assisted by Amanda Knox in a sex game that went wrong. Neither of them had been named by him before. Guede denied being the killer.
But if Knox and Sollecito had killed Kercher, and were in that blood-splattered room, why is there no physical trace from them on the body? A print? A swap of DNA somewhere? After all, Kercher had died after a brutal strangulation, evidence of considerable struggle, with knife pokes in the neck.
“In every murder, the killer always leaves something behind and always takes something with him,” said Anne Bremner, a former prosecutor and prominent attorney, a member of International Academy of Trial Lawyers, who is assisting the Knox family, pro-bono – though she has no role in the actual defense. “All the forensic evidence points to Rudy Guede.”
The prosecution says at least one of the college students did leave something behind. They said they found a bra clasp with Sollecito’s DNA on it. But they discovered Kercher’s clasp nearly six weeks after the murder – a highly suspect and tainted piece of evidence from a contaminated crime scene.
Knox and Sollecito were arrested in large part because of what they said under duress by interrogation of the prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini. Remember that name. After being questioned all night without an attorney or a professional translator, Knox said some things in response to a series of hypothetical questions. This was initially trumpeted as a contradiction, or worst – a confession. A higher court later threw out the most damning statements.
Lurid details were leaked to a press corps that trolled through Knox’s college sex life – something they would never do to a man. Her social network computer pictures, showing the usual 20-year-old drinking faces, were splashed across front pages.
The Brits, in particular, had a field day. Locked from her house in the first days after it became a crime scene, Knox went to a store one day with Sollecito to buy emergency underwear. The British tabs bannered this as a g-string celebration of remorseless killers.
Little wonder that an Italian television poll found Amanda Knox a bigger personality than Carla Bruni.
Still, Knox’s statements were troubling. She and Sollecito gave different versions of what they had done the night of the killing, their memories clouded no doubt because they’d been smoking hashish. And Knox raised the possibility that a bar owner with an airtight alibi could have been involved.
The authorities later claimed they found the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, at Sollecito’s house. The knife had Knox’s DNA on the handle – no surprise, considering how much time she spent with her boyfriend. But it was also described, after repeated and highly questionable testing, as containing a tiny amount of DNA that might match that of the victim.
That DNA, according to several outside experts, was of such trace amounts, and was available only after numerous enhancements in the testing, that it could belong to many people. Also, the knife did not match the bloody outline of a knife at the crime scene.
So why push forward against Knox and Sollecito? They had no motive. The evidence is flawed and flimsy.
One explanation comes from Douglas Preston, a prominent best-selling American author who lived in the Florentine hills while researching a book about a serial killer never found, “The Monster of Florence,” co-authored by Italian journalist Mario Spezi.
After the serial murders stopped, a prosecutor decided to reopen the case. His theory was that the killer or killers were Satanists from an ancient cult that harvested body parts. That prosecutor is the same one in the Knox case – Giuliano Mignini.
“One day I’m walking down the streets of Florence when my cell phone rings,” said Preston in an interview. “They say, ‘This is the police – we’re coming to get you.’” For three hours, the author was interrogated by Mignini about possible connections to the case. His phone calls with co-author Spezi had been wiretapped, and Mignini asked him to explain things. Preston said he was told he must confess to perjury or obstruction of justice.
“I’m not the kind of person who could be broken down,” said Preston. “But now I’m terrified. My wife and kids are out having lunch, and I’m thinking I’m never going to see them again.”
Preston is indicted – Mignini has that power – but then told he can go free if he leaves Italy. The author departs the next day, banished, humiliated and deeply troubled.
Fast forward to the Amanda Knox interrogations. She’s 20, hardly a world sophisticate, who spoke only passable Italian at the time. Mignini used the same methods – a pattern now coming to light in the misconduct case against him, in which he is accused by a Florentine judge of intimidation and wiretapping journalists and other perceived enemies. He has denied any misconduct. When Preston looked at the case against Amanda Knox, he saw a rogue prosecutor and a miscarriage of justice.
“There was no evidence,” he said. “I realized it was all bogus. Mignini believes that Satan walks the land and anyone who is against him must be working for the other side.”
One more thing about this case: a civil suit by the victim’s family and the wrongly accused bar owner is going forth at the same time, meaning that highly prejudicial information that a criminal jury would not usually hear is being aired, before the same people.
Amanda Knox faces 30 years in prison if convicted. For Mignini, what is at stake is his reputation, his honor – no small things in Italy. I’m haunted by an observation from Rachel Donadio, my Times colleague in Rome. In last Sunday’s paper, in trying to explain Silvio Berlusconi, she wrote:
“In Italy, the general assumption is that someone is guilty until proven innocent. Trials – in the press and in the courts – are more often about defending personal honor than establishing facts, which are easily manipulated.”
All trials are about narrative. In Seattle, where I live, I see a familiar kind of Northwestern girl in Amanda Knox, and all the stretching, the funny faces, the neo-hippie touches are benign. In Italy, they see a devil, someone without remorse, inappropriate in her reactions.
In the end, of course, this is about the victim. Meredith Kercher is gone, a daughter no more, leaving behind the “brutality, the violence, and the great sorrow it has caused,” as her mother said in court last week.
But one life taken should not keep anyone from asking the right questions before ruining two others.

After Indians,now Sri Lankan students faces racial attack in Australia

After Indians, a group of students from Sri Lanka have been allegedly attacked in Australia, with three men smashing the windows of their home and taunting them with "racist insults" in capital Canberra. Police are investigating allegations of attacks against a group of Sri Lankan students at their home, ABC News reported.
It is alleged that three men smashed the front windows of the students' house in Macquarie in north Canberra after an unsuccessful attempt to crash a party. The students said a car window has also been broken and that they have been taunted with "racist insults".
One of the students, Dijula Wijesuriya, said he has been threatened with a knife. "This guy comes up and takes out a knife and says 'get out of our streets'," he said.
Wijesuriya said they have been living in fear, especially considering the recent violence against Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne. "We really didn't go anywhere else, we just stayed at home, just go to uni and come back home straight away and lock the doors and stay inside.
" India Australia Association of Canberra president Madhu Kalia said she is surprised by the incidents. "So far Canberra, it has been alright, there have been no attacks on students," she said.
Police said they have investigated several incidents but have not received any reports that they have been racially motivated.

Nivea Hamilton and Lauren London Pregnant by Lil Wayne


American rapper Lil Wayne looks set to have two new babies by different women (Nivea Hamilton and Lauren London) this year. Nivea Hamilton is an American recording artist who famous during the early 2000s.Lauren London is an American film and television actress, model, and occasional music video actress. Not only is singer Nivea Hamilton rumored to be pregnant with Lil Wayne’s child, but so is Actress Lauren London.

Currently Lil Wayne has two other children. His first, a daughter named Reginae Carter (10-years-old), was born when he was a teenager and 6-months son Dwayne Carter III.In 2004, Nivea married music producer and solo star The-Dream and in 2005 she gave birth to their daughter and in 2006, twin boys. In December 2007, she filed for divorce.

Chastity Bono Undergoing Sex Change becoming man

Political and social activist Chastity Bono – the only child of entertainers Cher and the late Sonny Bono – began undergoing a sex change shortly after her 40th birthday on March 4. 

"Cher is very supportive and has known about Chastity wanting to do this for a very long time," a source tells PEOPLE. "This will be a long process but it's something Chastity has wanted to do for many years." 

Bono's spokesman, Howard Bragman, told TMZ, which first reported the story, "Yes, it's true – Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. 

"He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago."

He added, "We ask that the media respect Chaz's privacy during this long process as he will not be doing any interviews at this time." 

Cher 'Flipped Out'

According to a 1998 PEOPLE article about Bono, at the time she published her book, Family Outing, a guidebook of real-life examples (including her own) that showed young gay people the rewards and pitfalls that accompany being open about their sexuality, Bono first decided to tell her parents she was gay when she was a freshman at New York University in fall 1987. Father Sonny took the news in stride, but mother Cher did not. 

"I flipped out," Cher told PEOPLE. "I'd always had this idea that she would get married and have a family." And though Cher had won acclaim for her portrayal of a gay woman in the 1983 film Silkwood – and has counted upon gay audiences for being among her staunchest fans – she banished her daughter from her Manhattan apartment. Later, when Chastity decided to abandon her studies to pursue a career as a rock singer, she chose to keep her homosexuality a secret. 

It didn't work. While she was trying to launch a career with her band Ceremony in 1990, a weekly tabloid announced Bono's lesbianism to the world. Besieged by reporters, she also felt betrayed by members of the gay community, who had tipped off the tabloid. 

"It was the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me," she said in 1998. Bono felt completely at sea. "I closed my blinds at home," she said. "I didn't have a life, really." 

Parents Accepted

In 1992 she began a serious relationship with "Joan," a woman 20 years her senior, which ended tragically when the woman lost a battle with lymphoma and died in 1994. Finally, in 1995, Bono publicly embraced gay activism by posing for the cover of the gay magazine The Advocate, proclaiming herself "out at last" and taking a high-profile job with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). 

Bono's activism transformed her relationship with both parents, sparking pride in her mother, who "got to see me as a full person for the first time," said her daughter. But Sonny was by then a Republican congressman whose conservative agenda did not include gay causes such as legalizing same-sex marriage. "He accepted me, but his politics didn't," Chastity recalled. (Sonny Bono died in January 1998.) "I didn't talk to him about it, but I was angry." 

Thursday, June 11, 2009

tiger woods hawaii house


People want to know about the Tiger Woods house. It is understandable that they want to know. The house people are talking about is the one he built on South Beach Road, Jupiter Island, Florida. He owns several, however. Of course he would very much like to keep it absolutely private for security and privacy reasons. It is claimed that Tiger Woods lives in the Orlando, Florida community of Isleworth (src: Snopes.com). This appears to be incorrect. The Orlando area is where the great Arnold Palmer lives.Isleworth is west of Orlando and is a suburb (on the face of it) of Palm Harbour west of Tampa. This area is not exclusive enough for Tiger Woods.His name is unusual and very appropriate. His full name is Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods. "Tont" is a Thai name. Tiger Woods is 25% Chinese, 25% Thai, 25% African American, 12.5% Native American, and 12.5% Dutch. Maybe this amalgam is partly why his is so strong mentally and physically. In the cat fancy it is called hybrid vigor!

Tiger's father was in the army and he gave a Vietnamese soldier friend of his the nickname "Tiger". In return this person, Vuong Dang Phong, gave the same name to Eldrick Woods. The nickname is now better described as an additional middle name or his christian or first name. Tiger is a Buddhist, by the way.Tiger Woods also owns property in Orlando, California, Wyoming and Sweden, his wife's home country. His main residence is as mentioned above on Jupiter Island, on the Atlantic coast of Florida, about 200 miles south and slightly east of Orlando. This is a perfect place as it is exclusive with limited road access. It is a long thin island about 20 miles long and 500 yards to half a mile wide. It is about 500 yards wide where Tiger Woods has his home.

He had the original estate demolished. It cost $38 million to $48 million (we are not sure!). The whole lot was knocked down, it seems, which included: a 13-year-old mansion of 7,600 sq. feet, 3 other large houses, 2 swimming pools, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts and a mini-golf course. In fact one of the guest homes on the estate was hit by lightning after he bought the estate and destroyed - no big deal. His architect planned for a 10,000 sq ft, two-storey house. It is, it seems, a modern house in design. Other features of the Tiger Woods house are:
  • a glass lift from the huge entrance to the first floor.
  • 3 bedrooms and a master suite with 2 ensuite bathrooms.
  • basement wine cellar, cinema and games room.
  • feature windows facing the beach and the Atlantic ocean.
  • boat house, golf training studio, 3 car garage and guest house.
  • tennis court, small golf course, pool, gym and boat dock for his £10 million yacht, Privacy

Calicut University B.Com Result 2009

Calicut University B.Com Result 2009 
at
 www.universityofcalicut.info. 

University of CalicutCalicut University Examination Results for Calicut University B.Com .

Indian students in Sydney allege Lebanese youths attack them

Indian students today alleged that Lebanese youths were behind the racially-motivated attacks on them here as they took to the streets for the third consecutive night protesting against racial attacks. The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.

Scores of Indian students last night took to the streets of Harris Park in Sydney for the third consecutive night to protest racially-motivated against them by Lebanese youths. The protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for protection.

The protests came a day after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students against "vigilante action" to prevent attacks against them. Indian protesters continue to say that they were being attacked by Lebanese youths.

A man, who took part in the protest, was issued with a court notice for carrying an offensive weapon after being allegedly found with a piece of timber during a police search. Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with police, India's Consul General and members of Sydney's Indian community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop protest rallies.

Reliance deactivates 36,000 SIM cards in Jammu

 Investigations by the Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir police into the SIM card scam has resulted in deactivation of 36,000 SIM cards by Reliance Communication in Jammu.

It is alleged that the distributors of the company issued SIM cards without the mandatory prior verification and in some cases even by forging documents.

The Crime Branch team found that authorised dealers of private cellular companies issued SIM cards in violation of norms, threatening security.

According to J. P. Singh, Special Superintendent of Police (SSP) of crime branch, there are intelligence inputs that militants are using such SIM cards.

"The cards, which have been issued by the companies have finally landed into hands of militants and criminal elements. If they have been deactivated today, as the company has said, definitely it will be a big set back to the criminal elements and the anti-national elements. This is going to be great help to the security forces," said J P Singh, SSP Crime Branch.

Singh added that the company displayed corporate responsibility by deactivating the SIM cards. He hoped other private cellular companies would take a cue from Reliance Telecom.

Crime Branch sleuths are conducting surprise checks on authorised outlets of cellular companies and seizing their record for scrutiny.

They have already arrested three dealers so far.

Pakistan-born student of Georgia Tech in Atlanta found guilty of supporting LeT

A Pakistan-born student of Georgia Tech in Atlanta has been found guilty of conspiring to support terrorist groups including Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan based outfit blamed for the Nov 26 Mumbai attacks.

Syed Haris Ahmed, who provided videos of important places in Washington to LeT and Al Qaeda operatives, now faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)said Wednesday after a trial court in Georgia found Ahmed guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

'This case has never been about an imminent threat to the United States, because in the post-9/11 world we will not wait to disrupt terrorism-related activity until a bomb is built and ready to explode,' said David E. Nahmias, US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

'The fuse that leads to an explosion of violence may be long, but once it is lit - once individuals unlawfully agree to support terrorist acts at home or abroad - we will prosecute them to snuff that fuse out,' he said.

'This investigation is connected to arrests and convictions of multiple terrorist supporters in Atlanta and around the world-all before any innocent people were killed,' Nahmias said adding, 'This prosecution underscores the importance of international and domestic cooperation in combating terrorism.'

In April 2005, the FBI said Ahmed and his principal co-conspirator travelled to the Washington D.C., area to take the casing videos of infrastructure targets for potential terrorist attacks, including the US Capitol, to establish their credentials with 'the jihadi brothers' as well as for use in violent jihad propaganda and planning.

Ahmed's co-conspirator allegedly sent several of the video clips to Younis Tsouli, a propagandist and recruiter for the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda in Iraq, and to Aabid Hussein Khan, a facilitator for the Pakistan-based terrorist organisations, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Both Tsouli and Khan have since been convicted of terrorism offences in the UK.

The government also presented evidence at trial that in July 2005, Ahmed travelled from Atlanta to Pakistan in an unsuccessful attempt to enter a training camp and ultimately engage in violent jihad.

Ahmed was arrested in Atlanta on March 23, 2006, on the original indictment in this case, which charged him with one count of material support of terrorism.

The initial indictment was unsealed and publicly announced on April 20, 2006, after the arrest of the alleged principal co-conspirator in Bangladesh. Superseding indictments added three additional charges.

Joke: What Is Your Business Sign? Really funny

Instead of Astrological Signs, how about these .. What's Your Business Sign? hmmmmm

1. MARKETING You are ambitious yet stupid. You chose a marketing degree to avoid having to study in college, concentrating instead on drinking and socializing which is pretty much what your job responsibilities are now. Least compatible with Sales.

2. SALES Laziest of all signs, often referred to as "marketing without a degree." You are also self-centered and paranoid. Unless someone calls you and begs you to take their money, you like to avoid contact with customers so you can "concentrate on the big picture." You seek admiration for your golf game throughout your life.

3. TECHNOLOGY Unable to control anything in your personal life, you are instead content to completely control everything that happens at your workplace. Often even YOU don't understand what you are saying but who the hell can tell. It is written that Geeks shall inherit the Earth.

4. ENGINEERING One of only two signs that actually studied in school. It is said that engineers place ninety percent of all Personal Ads. You can be happy with yourself; your office is full of all the latest "ergodynamic" gadgets. However, we all know what is really causing your "carpal tunnel syndrome."

5. ACCOUNTING The only other sign that studied in school. You are mostly immune from office politics. You are the most feared person in the organization; combined with your extreme organizational traits, the majority of rumors concerning you say that you are completely insane.

6. HUMAN RESOURCES Ironically, given your access to confidential information, you tend to be the biggest gossip within the organization. Possibly the only other person that does less work than marketing, you are unable to return any calls today because you have to get a haircut, have lunch AND then mail a letter.

7. MANAGEMENT/MIDDLE MANAGEMENT Catty, cutthroat, yet completely spineless, you are destined to remain at your current job for the rest of your life. Unable to make a single decision you tend to measure your worth by the number of meetings you can schedule for yourself. Best suited to marry other "Middle Managers" as everyone in your social circle is a "Middle Manager."

8. SENIOR MANAGEMENT (See above - Same sign, different title)

9. CUSTOMER SERVICE Bright, cheery, positive, you are a fifty-cent cab ride from taking your own life. As children very few of you asked your parents for a little cubicle for your room and a headset so you could pretend to play "Customer Service." Continually passed over for promotions, your best bet is to sleep with your manager.

10. CONSULTANT Lacking any specific knowledge, you use acronyms to avoid revealing your utter lack of experience. You have convinced yourself that your "skills" are in demand and that you could get a higher paying job with any other organization in a heartbeat. You will spend an eternity contemplating these career opportunities without ever taking direct action.

11. RECRUITER, "HEADHUNTER" As a "person" that profits from the success of others, most people who actually work for a living disdain you. Paid on commission and susceptible to alcoholism, your ulcers and frequent heart attacks correspond directly with fluctuations in the stock market.

12. PARTNER, PRESIDENT, CEO You are brilliant or lucky. Your inability to figure out complex systems such as the fax machine suggest the latter.

13. GOVERNMENT WORKER Paid to take days off. Government workers are genius inventors, like the invention of new Holidays. They usually suffer from deep depression or anxiety and usually commit serious crimes while on the job...Thus the term "GO POSTAL".

4 Chinese Muslims shifted from Guantanamo to Bermuda

Four Guantanamo Bay detainees have been released and resettled in Bermuda, U.S. officials said Thursday.

The four are part of a group of 17 Chinese Muslims who have been in legal limbo at the military detention center in Cuba.

Abdul Nasser, one of the four detainees who landed in Bermuda early Thursday morning, issued a statement through his lawyers, saying: "Growing up under communism we always dreamed of living in peace and working in free society like this one. Today you have let freedom ring."

It's the first time since 2006 that the U.S. has successfully resettled any of Guantanamo's population of Uighurs (WEE'-gurs), whose fate has been wending through the courts for years. The U.S. government had determined that they weren't enemy combatants and should be released. But China resisted their release, contending they were part of a Chinese separatist movement, and it had been unclear where they would go free.

The Uighur detainees are from a Chinese region that borders several Central Asian nations, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, where they were captured in 2001. Thirteen other Uighurs remain to be freed from Guantanamo.

The Justice Department on Thursday issued a statement thanking the government of Bermuda for helping resettle four of the detainees. Arrangements are being made for other Uighurs to be sent to the Pacific island nation of Palau.

The Uighurs' lawyers said they will be part of Bermuda's guest worker program.

U.S. officials did not say what restrictions, if any, would be placed on the Uighurs as they are resettled inBermuda.

"We will consult regularly with the government of Bermuda on the status of these individuals," said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss negotiations between the two nations, said the four would not be allowed to travel to the United States without prior approval from American authorities.

The departure of the four detainees for Bermuda — a British territory — leaves 234 detainees remaining at Guantanamo, and comes in a busy week at the military base in Cuba.

On Tuesday morning, authorities brought detainee Ahmed Ghailani to New York to face trial in civilian court for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa. And the president of Palau said his nation will take some Uighurs.

The Uighurs are a unique group among the Guantanamo detainees. A federal judge ordered last year that they be released in the United States, but an appeals court overruled that decision. U.S. officials would not return them to China out of concerns they would be tortured or executed.

Albania accepted five Uighurs from Guantanamo in 2006, but declined to take more. Many nations have said no to receiving the Uighurs, out of concerns that doing so would anger the Chinese government.

Uighurs are from Xinjiang, an isolated region that borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and six Central Asian nations. They say they have been repressed by the Chinese government. China long has said that insurgents are leading an Islamic separatist movement in Xinjiang.

At one point, officials had considered bringing some of the Uighurs to Virginia, but the possibility provoked intense opposition in Congress, and the plan was shelved.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Palau to Take in 17 Muslim Chinese -- currently being held at Guantanamo.


Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (PalauanBeluu er a Belau), is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship(administered by the United States) in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and smallest nations. In English, the name is currently sometimes spelled phonetically in accordance with the native pronunciation Belau. It was formerly also spelled Pelew.Palau enjoys a tropical climate all year round with an annual mean temperature of 82 °F(27 °C). Rainfall can occur throughout the year, averaging a total of 150 inches (3,800 mm). The average humidity over the course of the year is 82%, and although rain falls more frequently between July and October, there is still much sunshine. Typhoons are rare, as Palau is outside the main typhoon zone.The population of Palau is approximately 21,000, of whom 70% are native Palauans, who are of mixed MelanesianMicronesian, and Malayandescent. Filipinos form the second largest ethnic group. Other Asians in South East Asia account for the minority groups.

The obscure Pacific nation of Palau, one of the world's youngest and tiniest countries, has agreed to take in the 17 Uighurs -- Muslim Chinese -- currently being held at Guantanamo.

President Johnson Toribiong announced in a statement to the Associated Press that Palau "agreed to accommodate the United States of America's request to temporarily resettle in Palau up to 17 ethnic Uighur detainees." He said their resettlement in Palau would be "subject to periodic review."

The announcement followed a visit to Palau by Ambassador Daniel Fried, the Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State who has been tasked with placing the remaining 240 detainees at Guantanamo.

The US government has pledged $200 million in aid to Palau, but a White House official denied that money, for development assistance, had anything to do with the Uighurs going to Palau.

Just a few days ago, the Obama administration asserted before the Supreme Court that the Uighurs have no right to come to America despite a district judge's orders last Fall that they immediately be brought to the U.S. and released.

Toribiong said Palau, located 500 miles east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo, with a population of around 21,000, is "honored and proud" to resettle the detainees.

"Palau's accommodation to accept the temporary resettlement of these detainees is a humanitarian gesture intended to help them be freed of any further unnecessary incarceration and to restart their lives in as normal a fashion as possible," Toribiong said. The country consists of eight main islands and more than 250 islets.

Asked about the president's statement, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "As you know, we’re working closely with our friends and allies regarding the resettlement and repatriation of Guantanamo detainees. As a matter of policy, we’re not going to comment on our bilateral discussions with individual countries. It’s really up to the – our partners to characterize the level of their involvement."

Formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau gained its independence on October 1, 1994. The U.S. is responsible for Palau's defense. The country is mostly Christian.

Three quarters of the population are Christians (mainly Roman Catholics and Protestants), while Modekngei (a combination of Christianity, traditional Palauan religion and fortune telling) and the ancient Palauan religion are commonly observed. According to the 2005 census[12]49.4% of the population are Roman Catholics, 21.3% Protestants, 8.7% Modekngei and 5.3% Seventh-day Adventists.

The official languages of Palau are Palauan and English, except for two states (Sonsorol and Hatohobei) where the local language, along with Palauan, is official. Japanese is also spoken widely amongst older Palauans, and, indeed, retains official status in the State of AngaurTagalogis not official in Palau, but it is the fourth largest spoken language.