Tea time comics..enjoy!!!

Google Checkout

Google has luanched one more service Google CheckOut, a online shopping portal.
According to Google, Google checkout is faster, secure and more convinient. Here are some snapshots from Google checkout..
a) Search for participating stores across the web
b) Check out in a matter of seconds


3) Keep your credit card number and email address confidential
d) Track all your orders and shipping in one place

e) A few places to shop
Allready few web stores are associated with this new service of google. Some of them are..
Levi's , Timberland , Buy.com , StarbucksStore , Dockers , Jockey , Aeropostale , BlueFly , Dick's Sporting Goods , RitzCamera , Zales , eCost etc...

A short video tour of Google Checkout



(Excerpts drawn from: www.googl.com, www.checkout.google.com)

Rama Sethu or Adam's Bridge

This is one of very interesting and curious subject for anybody who knows about Indian Mythology & puaranas. The space images taken by NASA shows a mysterious( I believe for the people who know about Indian mythology it's not mystery) bridge between India and Srilanka, Which is mentioned in Ramayana (one of the two great epics of India).
NASA named this bridge as Adam's bridge(I donno why, NASA linked this bridge to Adam)






I would like to share some of the material which i came across & which i feel is logical(PS:My personal thought... no offence to anybody).

Shanti writes in here blog:

Correlations between Hindu Cosmology, Sea Level Curves and African -Asian Hominid Dating
By Malcolm P.R. Light

A sea level variation curve from about 8 million years ago to the present day (Late Miocene to Recent - Eberli, 2000) is compared in Figure 1 to the time of construction of Adam�s Bridge between southern India and Sri Lanka, Hindu cosmological dates and African Asian chronological data. There are a number of clear correlations between the Hindu cosmology, the sea level curve and the geochronological data.

Each of the Yuga cycles (Das 2004) appears to correspond to a major cycle in sea level change. The Satya/Kriti Yuga is preceded by a long period of rising sea level in the Late Miocene but sea level began to fall sharply during this Yuga reaching a minimum of -80 metres below mean sea level around 2.7 million years ago (Figure 1 Eberli, 2000). During the Late Miocene, early arboreal apemen, Sahelanthropus tchadensis (Toumai), Orrorin tugenesis and Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba lived in the extensive thick forests in Africa (Brunet et al. 2002; Wood, 2002; Pickford 2001; Aiello and Collard, 2001; Haile Selassie 2001; Senut et al 2001; White et al. 1994; Wood; 1994). The following Treta Yuga represents a period of rising sea levels during which Hindu cosmology said there was increased rainfall and the formation of new rivers (Das 2004). The Dvapura Yuga is a period of falling sea level, followed by a rise at the beginning of the Kali Yuga (Das 2004, Eberli 2000).

At the start of the Satya/Kriti Yuga, 4.3 million years ago (Das 2004) there was a general period of falling sea level (Eberli 2000) and major climate change in Africa during which the vegetation began to alter from thick forest inhabited by 4.4 million year old arboreal Ardipithecus ramidus ramidus to dry woodland and gallery forest inhabited by the 4.2 million year old Austrolopithecus anamensis (Leakey et al. 1995; White et al, 1994). By the end of the Satya/Kriti Yuga some 2.7 million years ago (Das 2004), sea level had reached its lowest level some 80 metres below the present sea level and the woodlands were still in habited by Austrolpithecines (Figure 1 Eberli 2000; Leakey and Lewin 1979; Gowlett 1984).

The start of the Treta Yuga (2.6 million years ago) when man began to pursue knowledge (Das 2004) corresponds exactly with the time the first tools appeared in Africa. These tools were made by the newly evolved upright hominids, Homo habilis and later Homo erectus (Foley 2003; Leakey and Lewin, 1979) who now inhabited the harsher savanna consistent with the description of the conditions in the Treta Yuga (Das 2004). Homo erectus began to migrate out of Africa because of increasing aridity in the rift savanna between 2 and 1.8 million years ago into Asia (Leakey, 1994; Leakey and Lewin 1979; Templeton, 2002) and India (Joseph 2004).

Hanuman, the monkey God in the Ramanyana (Joseph 2004), must have been Homo erectus and this hominid species would certainly have seemed ape-like to modern day man. They were the ancestors of Pekin man in China (Wolpoff and Caspari 1977), the 1.6 million year old Homo erectus in Java and probably the 18 thousand year old hobbits recently found on Flores island (Stringer, 2004; Dalton, 2004). Adam�s bridge appears to have been constructed between southern India and Sri Lanka 1.8 and 1.6 million years ago in the Treta Yuga during a period of sharp sea level fall to some 60 metres below the present sea level (Figure 2; Eberli 2000).

A strip of land must have been exposed between India and Sri Lanka as the sea level approached its lowest level, between 1.8 and 1.6 million years ago. Because Homo erectus had already reached southern India before that time he must have tried to get across to Sri Lanka when the land began to be exposed at low tide during this period of sea level fall, around 1.75 million years ago (Joseph 2004). The driving force for his migration was probably population pressure within the southern Indian forest which caused food shortage. The exposed region between southern India and Sri Lanka must have been a treacherous path with many quicksands and shallow lakes. It seems logical that after several of his company were lost during periods of rising tide, Homo erectus could have started to construct a causeway by throwing trees and other vegetation onto the loose sand and and covering them with rocks. Homo erectus must have built the floating bridge on the quicksands that is so elegantly described in Sage Valkimi�s account of the �Ramanyana �(Joseph 2004). Nala son of Vishvakarma (architect of the demigods) constructed a causeway - magnificent with its wonderful paved floor - like unto a line traced on the waves�(Joseph 2004).

The Adam�s Bridge causeway must have been a major engineering feat for its thin trace is still so clearly visible on the present day satellite images (Joseph 2004). It has resisted the relentless erosion of the sea for almost 2 million years and it attests to the great engineering skills of the ancient Indian people. It is the earliest and largest carbon-fibre reinforced civil engineering structure known to man and should be protected as a world heritage site. A shallow seismic survey could be used to detect the strong reflection acoustic signal of lignite formed from decayed wood in the framework of the causeway and this will guide later drilling programs where the actual structure of the causeway could be investigated.

In addition to the above correlations, one Brahma day (4.32 billion years)(Das 2004) is close to the value for the age of the Earth (4.6 billion years)(Lide 1994). One cycle of our Universe from Big Bang to Big Crunch assuming a Universe age around 15 billion years is 30 billion years almost identical to 1/100 of a Brahma year (31.1 billion years)(Das 2004). One Brahma year is 3.11 trillion years (Das 2004). Note the length of a Yuga cycle (and the start of the Satya/Kriti Yuga) at 4.3 million years is 1/1000 of a Brahma day (Das 2004).

Some more related links are here:

cyberspaceorbit

rootsweb

gisdevelopment new on Adam's bridge

NASA SHUTTLE IMAGES OF A MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT BRIDGE BETWEEN INDIA AND SRI LANKA

News about Rama's bridge in IndianExpress

A discussion about Ram(or Adam)'s bridge in nilesh.org

God will smile down upon us and grant these happy wishes

To this day I am unable to figure
what I did right to deserve you,
you, my life, my soul, my all,
and I, your smile, your heartbeat,your love.
The world around us oblivious to our joys
and we, lost in each other's eyes
in each other's embrace
in the words we share
in the love we cherish ever so deeply.
So let us pray with whole of our existance,
that God will smile down upon us and grant
these happy wishes,
For without them we are incomplete and lost
and with them we are the richest of them all.



You are my inspiration,
you are my reason for existing
in this harsh, cruel world,
You are the colors that fill my life's canvas
and now i can be selfish and keep you with me,
for you are mine to keep and cherish
till the mountains turn to ashes
and the seas turn into clouds and perish,
there is a world beyond this one,
there is another lifetime to live and love,
but without you there is no point in living
this time or any eternity even.
(Excerpts drawn from: esnips.com/web/SarzsPoems)

I'll Love You For Ever

His Love.....

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

Erma Bombeck wrote this excellent and truely touching poem, when she came to know that she's dying becaus of cancer.
The poem goes like this:

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute . . . look at it and really see it . . . live it . . . and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff.

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.

Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who love us.

And think about what we have been blessed with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally as well as spiritually.

Life is too short to let it pass you by. We only have one shot at this and then it’s gone.

I hope you all have a blessed day.

isn't it meaningfull and nice? yup it is .. :)
Live life's each and every moment... Once the moment is gone is gone.. it won't come back..
God bless you all..

Where the Hell is Matt?

Gandhi - Framestore Ad

"What if a great man of the last century – Gandhi,
say – had, had access to the communications networks of our age when he made one of his most important speeches?

The result is 'Telecom Italia Gandhi', an astonishing 60-second spot that has just started airing in Italy. The producers went straight to the A-List for their director, bringing Spike Lee on board to helm it. Such an ambitious project with such a high-profile director needed the very best in VFX support, and Framestore CFC were delighted to fill that role.

ABC Science: Scientists catch the early bird

I read a quite interesting report published in ABC Science magazine , its about the existance of amphibious bird about 100 million years ago.. Here i'm putting excerts from the ABC science magazine.. you can read.. (if you are interested:-) ) ..

Reconstruction of the ancient amphibious bird Gansus yumenensis - the most advanced Early Cretaceous bird yet discovered (Image: Mark A. Klingler/CMNH)

Spectacular 100-million-year-old fossils, complete with three-dimensional bones, feathers and foot webbing, suggest living birds evolved from waterfowl, say researchers.

Dr Peter Dodson, professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and team report in today's issue of the journal Science on five partial skeletons found 2,000 km west of Beijing, China.

Called Gansus yumenensis, the pigeon-sized bird probably resembled a tern or a loon (web-footed fish-eating birds), the researchers say.

It would have been an accomplished flyer and diver and could well be one of the ancestors of modern birds.

"Gansus is very close to a modern bird and helps fill in the big gap between clearly non-modern birds and the explosion of early birds that marked the Cretaceous period, the final era of the Dinosaur Age," says Dodson.

He says Gansus is the oldest example of the nearly modern birds that branched off the trunk of the family tree that began with the famous proto-bird Archaeopteryx, which provided evidence that birds evolved from dinosaurs.

"Every bird living today, from ostriches ... to bald eagles, probably evolved from a Gansus-like ancestor," says team member Dr Matthew Lamanna of Carnegie Natural History Museum in Pittsburgh.

Rich fossil bed

The fossils were found in an exceptionally rich fossil bed in China's Gansu Province, in a poor farming area near Changma, by an expedition led by team member Dr Hai-lu You of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.

In the Cretaceous period, 100 million years ago, it would have been a lake, surrounded by lush plant life, filled with crocodiles and fish, and with dinosaurs and early mammals prowling on land.
A nearly complete fossil skeleton of Gansus yumenensis - dark brown feathers are preserved associated with both wings (Image: Hai-lu You/CAGS)

Now the lake bed survives as layers of rock.

"You can walk up to a rock and peel off sheet after sheet like paper until you get to a fossil," says team member Dr Jerald Harris of Dixie State College of Utah.

The five skeletons found were 115 million and 105 million years old.

While none of them included a skull, the wings, legs and webbed feet of the specimens closely resemble those of living loons and diving ducks, with a few exceptions, the researchers say.

The birds had not yet evolved the hollow, air-filled bones that make modern birds to light and nimble, and it still had tiny claws at the end of its wings that probably would have made it slightly clumsy in flight, says Harris.

"It appears that the early ancestors of modern birds lived lifestyles that today we would stereotype as being duck-like, heron-like, stork-like, loon-like."

He says Gansus likely behaved much like its modern relatives, probably eating fish, insects and the occasional plant.

"We won't have a definitive dietary answer until we find a skull," whose teeth and jaws would reveal its feeding habits, says Harris.

(Excerpts drawn from: http://www.abc.net.au)

Al Qaeda planned N.Y. subway attack

Two months had passed since 9/11, and at the highest levels of government, officials were worrying about a second wave of attacks. CIA Director George Tenet was briefing Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice in the White House Situation Room on the agency's latest concern: intelligence reports suggesting that Osama bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had met with a radical Pakistani nuclear scientist around a campfire in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Absorbing the possibility that al-Qaeda was trying to acquire a nuclear weapon, Cheney remarked that America had to deal with a new type of threat—what he called a "low-probability, high-impact event"—and the U.S. had to do it "in a way we haven't yet defined," writes author Ron Suskind in his new book, The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11. And then Cheney defined it: "If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It's not about our analysis ... It's about our response." Suskind writes, "So, now spoken, it stood: a standard of action that would frame events and responses from the Administration for years to come."

Target of Terror: Passengers wait for their train on a New York City subway platform last week

In the following excerpt, Suskind describes the government's reaction to information about a different WMD threat: hydrogen cyanide gas. As in the rest of the book, he illuminates the constant interplay and occasional tension between the "invisibles," the men and women in the intelligence and uniformed services actually fighting the war on terrorism, and the "notables," high-level officials who "tell us that everything will be fine, or that we should be very afraid, or both." Suskind, who won the Pulitzer Prize as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, wrote the 2004 best seller The Price of Loyalty, an inside look at the Bush Administration. In The One Percent Doctrine, Suskind finds that the notables and the invisibles have at least one thing in common: a "profound sense of urgency." Time's exclusive excerpt: Read here. It's complete 7 page detailed report published in TIME magazine.

One more addition to this story..
Just read a related story on BBC..
Al-Qaeda 'planned US cyanide hit'


(Excerpts drawn from: time.com, news.bbc.co.uk and cnn.com, )

Fairytale - 光良-童话

A romantic chinese music video Tong Hua (Fairytale) - Guang Lang

The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments

What happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints? It's amazing and completely insane.

The first part of this video demonstrates a simple geyser, and the second part shows just how extreme it can get. Over one hundred jets of soda fly into the air in less than three minutes.



It's a hysterical and spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, brought to you by the mad scientists at EepyBird.com.

(Excerpts drawn from: EepyBird.com)

Cheeky Monkey

How PooR(ich) we are...

Today i got one forwarded e-mail from one of my friends. This is very simple & small story, but yet very close to real life.

The story goes like this:

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country(village) with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.


"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Refresh your perspective and appreciation.
"Life is too short and friends are too few."

Vikash Dhorasoo

Wikipidea records about him as below:
"Vikash Dhorasoo (born October 10, 1973 in Harfleur) is a French football midfielder, who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France Ligue 1. He is a member of French Team for 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.



Vikash, who is of Mauritius-Indian descent, was born and grew up in Normandy. He belongs to Telugu community, his ancestors having migrated to Mauritius from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He started his professional career with Le Havre Athletic Club, where he quickly excelled. After five years playing for Le Harve (1993-1998) he became a promising midfielder and then played for Lyon (1998-2001 and 2002-2004), Bordeaux (2001-2002) and AC Milan in (2004-2005). He won twice the French Ligue 1 title with Olympique Lyonnais (2003 & 2004).

Vikash Dhorasoo has played in French national team for the first time in 1999 but his appearances have been limited due to tough competition in midfield with players such as Zinedine Zidane or Patrick Vieira.

In 2006 He scored and give the Coupe de France (French Cup) to Paris Saint-Germain over fierce rivals Olympique de Marseille."



(Excerpts drawn from: wikipedia.org, uk.sports.yahoo.com)

Discovery Channel - Body Shape Changes with the Seasons

Spring Brings Curves
When researchers examined testosterone levels and body shape across seasons, they found that women appear shapelier, and men appear manlier, in spring. The changes correspond to lower testosterone levels.


Body Shape Changes with the Seasons:<b/> Seasonal changes cause fat to shift locations in our body, thus altering the shape of our figures at certain times of the year, according to a new study.
The study suggests women look more curvaceous in winter and spring. Men, explained Van Anders, look manlier during spring since waist and hip size becomes more uniform and less feminine." We hope you'll stop by Discovery.com ... and that you'll enjoy the feature that your friend chose for you!.........
Read more here.

(Excerpts drawn from: http://dsc.discovery.com)

Water Power.... Water Fuel

Water Power... Water Fuel Watch Video Clip

Missed Goals or Shots

TheHindu: Discovering the king

Excerpts Drawn from The Hindu (One of the India's leading daily)

Cut into the Thebes mountains in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor in Egypt, the cavernous tomb of the Boy King was filled with priceless artefacts.

THE GOLDEN MASK: A likeness of the king Tutankhamun.

......."With mounting excitement, Howard Carter, an English archaeologist, financed by Lord Carnarvon, opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. The first mortal who laid eyes on Tutu's tomb treasures was amazed by the grand and intricate design of the objects found within. It took years to sort out and catalogue the over 3,500 objects. The cavernous tomb was cut into the Thebes Mountains in what is known as the Valley of the Kings, near the town of Luxor, Egypt.".......

Curse of the mummy


....." The Egyptians mummified the bodies of kings and commoners and placed them in tombs filled with all the necessities of life. To protect the deceased in the afterlife and to prevent robbers or political enemies from desecrating the burials, the tombs were hidden in out-of-the-way places and a curse was invoked against violators

The belief in the mummy's curse was rekindled when Lord Carnarvon, died five months after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. He died of blood poisoning following a mosquito bite that became infected." .....
To read complete story click here.
(Excerpts are drawn from: www.thehindu.com)

One more vidoe on FootBall..ofcourse it's Soccer season now :)

Nike Portugal Vs. Brazil Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Figo, Cristiano R

Nike commercial...Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Roberto Carlos, Adriano, Brazil Airport

Beer Can Soccer ~~ Antarctica beer commercial

Some more free utilities, tools, guides ..... etc...

I was browsing something on the internet. I found some good links and resources, so again sharing with you all. I hope it'll be usefull to atleast one person :-) .

Free Partitioning Software - Copy, Create, Move, Resize, Convert, Undelete Partitions

Free Antivirus Software

Free Encrypted Email, Free Encrypted Chat

Free Personal Firewalls

Free Programming Libraries, Components and Source code

Free Online Programming Tutorials/ Frequently Recommended Programming Books

Free Emulators and Virtual Machines (Virtualizers)

Free Pearl and CGI Scripts

Free PHP Scripts

Free Web MAster Resources

Here are some websites list which will provide you online storage/ sharing of files

• Streamload
• fileXoom - 2 GB space. Allow all file types.
• Free File Hosting - 150 MB file size limit.
  
• RapidSharing - 200MB per file, unmetered downloads, fast and reliable.
• Verzend.be - 1 GB - Unlimited Downloads, Unlimited uploads, Unlimited Bandwith and 100% free of charge!!
• mysharefile.com - 150 MB is maximum file size limit.
• EZ-Files - Free file hosting with 50 MB limit.
• SaveFile - File size limit is 60 MB. After uploading you'll be given link, that others can use to download the file(unlimited times).
  

ABC Science Online: Why 666 is a devil of a day

Today one of my friend asked me, "what date is today?". I said, "it's 6th June". Then my friend said, " you know today is devil's day & it's very bad day". I told my friend, " do not worry, it's just belief of few christians & some other peoples as well". "Everyday is good. It all depends on how live your day", I said. I was just reading ABC Science Online and found an article on 666.. So thought of sharing with all.
Excerpts from ABC Science Online:


Today is the sixth day of the sixth month of the year 2006. Boil it down and you've got 666, the number of the beast according to the Bible's book of Revelation, which prophecies the end of the world.

"...The mythology of 666 goes back to chapter 13 in Revelation, the apocalyptic final book of the New Testament, which states "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast ... his number is six hundred threescore and six"...."

"...Macquarie University's Professor Max Coltheart, an Australian cognitive neuropsychologist, says being superstitious about 666 doesn't necessarily add up to a delusion...."

"...."If you believe something that people around you don't believe in, and there's no evidence for it, that's a good working definition of delusion," he says.

"If it's in the Bible someone might call that evidence."

Six is the first perfect number (Image: iStockphoto)
Associate professor of anthropology Phillips Stevens of the University at Buffalo in New York, says fears of 666 are actually based on a misinterpretation of the Bible.

He says the beast referred to in chapter 13 isn't Satan but several entities.

"Biblical scholars have pointed out there are several beasts in chapter 13 and elsewhere, and they all refer variously to Rome, Roman emperors and Roman cults of God and emperor worship," he says.

"John of Patmos ... was writing to other persecuted Christians in code."..."

Perfect numbers

Six also has significance because it is the first perfect number, says Bigelow.

Perfect numbers, which are rare, are the sum of their factors, for example, 6 = 1 + 2 + 3 and it can be divided by one, two and three.

The next perfect numbers are 28 (1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14), 496 and 8128.

The last time the 666 combination occurred was in 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London.

However, it also marked the year in which Sir Isaac Newton published his Law of Gravity, leading it to be dubbed the Annus mirabilis.

Wanna read it completely? click here.

(Excerpts drawn from: www.abc.net.au)

TheHindu: Ancient landfall ~~ Where did the Pallava ships go from Mamallapuram?

This article was published in "The Hindu" on 6th June,2006 is really quite interesting for the people who wish to know history and historical events. This article speaks about the links between 'Kedah' an oldest state in Malasia and Tamils (people of 'Tamil Nadu' a state in Republic of India).
I put here excerpts from The Hindu Magazine :
"......On a trip to Malaysia, we drove into the green Bujang Valley in Kedah, the oldest State in Malaysia. And we learnt that it is recognised as the oldest State because foreign sailors set up an ancient trading settlement there in the Fifth Century A.D. These "foreign sailors" were Tamils, subjects of the Pallavas. But the Bujang Valley had been mentioned in a Tamil poem, "Pattanopolai", as far back as the Second or Third Century A.D. There, the Bujang Valley is called Kalagan, which philologists claim eventually gave rise to the modern-day Kedah......."

PAST GLORY: The foundations of a Hindu temple (below) and the view from Gunung Jerai. PHOTOS: HUGH AND COLLEEN GANTZER



"..........Trading colonies seldom restrict themselves to trade for long and this also occurred in the Tamil settlement in Kadaram. As happened centuries later with the East India Company's trading station in Madras, the Pallava colonists decided to expand their activities. In the middle of the Sixth Century A.D., new waves of colonials from the Pallava Empire asserted themselves and engineered the break-up of the neighbouring Hindu state of Funan in Cambodia. Funan had, at that time, been in existence since the First Century A.D. The expatriate Pallavas must have been a formidable force to shatter such a long-established kingdom whose monarch had a significantly Pallava name: Rudravarman. Clearly, the fact that the people of Kadaram and those of Funan shared a common religion, culture and, possibly, a language, did not deter the Pallavas from widening their sphere of influence; to Funan's great misfortune...............''

Read complete story here.
(Exceprts drawn from: www.thehindu.com)

Cartoons of the Week from TIME magazine

Cartoons of the Week May 21-27 published in TIME magazine.

TIME Photo Essay | The Congo's Hidden Killers

Powered by The Congo's Hidden Killers Photographer James Nachtwey shows how the health crises created by the war in Congo can kill long shooting stops. Photographs by James Nachtwey/ VII for TIME Click the following to access the sent link: TIME Photo Essay | The Congo's Hidden Killers* *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.time.com/time/photoessays /2006/congo_audio/?promoid=rss_top