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A New Clan Found - Rare uncontacted tribe photographed in Amazon
2008-05-31 22:26:00
Rare uncontacted tribe photographed in Amazon RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Amazon Indians from one of the world's last uncontacted tribes have been photographed from the air, with striking images released on Thursday showing them painted bright red and brandishing bows and arrows.The photographs of the tribe near the border between Brazil and Peru are rare evidence that such groups exist. A Brazilian official involved in the expedition said many of them are in increasing danger from illegal logging. "What is happening in this region is a monumental crime against the natural world, the tribes, the fauna and is further testimony to the complete irrationality with which we, the 'civilized' ones, treat the world," Jose Carlos Meirelles was quoted as saying in a statement by the Survival International group. One of the pictures, which can be seen on Survival Inter...
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Lights bright ? despite dim times
2008-05-31 11:50:00
Lights bright ? despite dim times By Isuri KaviratneThe Sunday Times . LK ---------- The Vesak lights will glow this weekend as the country celebrates this most hallowed Buddhist festival but this year, it seems, the pandals and dansals, will be fewer as people struggle with rising costs. Organisations responsible for setting up pandals in and around the city of Colombo said their expenses had increased significantly. K. W. Padmasiri, president of the Sri Wishakaloka pandal organisation, which puts up the pandal at Thotalanga every year, said regular donors were unable to give as generously as they had in the past. ?Even the businessmen, whom we can depend on for donations, are facing financial problems themselves,? he said. Mr Padmasiri said the group put up their first Thotalanga pandal in 1955, and that this year will see their 57th production of the Vesak dr...
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Coin collecting: Tips to get started
2008-05-31 11:49:00
Coin collecting: Tips to get started By Charles Romanwww.sundayobserver.lk So you can?t wait to start collecting coins. Welcome to a fantastic hobby that will last your lifetime. Something you can pass on to your children and grandchildren. Don?t Panic. It is a very simple hobby to begin. And will be a lifelong adventure as you grow your coin collection over the years. The thrill of a great find is absolutely terrific.First off; go and visit the library. Pick up some of the standard reference books on coins. Some examples are: A Guide Book of United States Coins 2006, The Official Red Book by R. S. Yeoman, The New York Times Guide to Coin Collecting . Do?s, don?ts, facts, myths, and a wealth of history by Scott Travers. Read them thoroughly along with as many other coin collecting books you can find. You will find a wealth of knowledge and ideas. There is no need to guess with so much information available. Next search for and join s...
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Prison: Where prisoners are also human beings
2008-05-31 11:44:00
Welikada Prison : Where prisoners are also human beings The world is awaiting the themagula of or Lord Buddha. It is the time of giving and spreading compassion to humanity. In this time of good will, The Nation visited the Welikada Prison to share the spirit of Vesak and to find more of the recent endeavours to enhance the quality of life of the inmates ?By oneself is evil done and by oneself is one sullied. By oneself is evil not done and by oneself is one purified.? - Dhammapada By Randima Attygalle---www.nation.lk ?All prisoners are human beings,? state the placards that adorn the walls of the Welikada Prison. Any one walking through its gates will bear testimony to these words. A busy atmosphere coupled with a festive flavour of the Vesak season enveloped us. The prison inmates were pruning the garden flora, some carrying trays of mid-day tea to officers, whilst others were immersed in ...
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Kassapa?s Homage To Beauty
2008-05-31 11:42:00
Sigiriya- Kassapa?s Homage To Beauty A comment by? K.S. Sivakumaran A beautiful and an exhaustive study on Sigiriya ?Kassapa?s Homage to Beauty is the latest addition to the corpus of related material. The author is Siri Gunasinghe. The large sized book of 116 pages with colour photographs is a collector?s item. I like art and paintings having been a student of the arts and literature. But I am not willing to review the book for lack of knowledge on the subject. Instead, I will give information regarding the book so that based on such information, uninitiated readers will be persuaded to possess this historically relevant book. First about the author: Emeritus Professor Siri Gunasinghe is a Lanka born Canadian academic. A linguist (Sinhala, French and English), he is a leading figure in the field of performing arts and literature, and a pioneer in modern poetry in Sinhala with his Nissanda Kavi. ...
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Top billing for platypus at end of evolution tree
2008-05-31 11:40:00
Top billing for platypus at end of evolution tree Monotreme?s genome shares features with mammals, birds and reptiles - Nature reports A draft sequence of the platypus genome reveals reptilian and mammalian elements and provides more evidence for its place in the ancestral line of animal evolution. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is endemic to Australia and one of nature?s oddest creatures, seemingly assembled from the spare parts of other animals. The semi-aquatic monotreme is a venomous, duck-billed mammal that lays eggs, nurses it?s young and occupies a lonely twig at the end of a sparse branch of the vertebrate evolutionary tree. Now, the structure of its genome has revealed new clues to how mammals evolved. ?The analysis is beginning to align these strange features with genetic innovation,? says Wesley Warren of Washington University in St Louis, Miss...
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Chandra uncovers youngest supernova in our galaxy
2008-05-31 11:39:00
Chandra uncovers youngest supernova in our galaxy The most recent supernova in our galaxy has been discovered by tracking the rapid expansion of its remains. This result, using NASA?s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory?s Very Large Array, will help improve our understanding of how often supernovae explode in the Milky Way galaxy. The supernova explosion occurred about 140 years ago, making it the most recent in the Milky Way. Previously, the last known supernova in our galaxy occurred around 1680, an estimate based on the expansion of its remnant, Cassiopeia A. Finding such a recent, obscured supernova is a first step in making a better estimate of how often the stellar explosions occur. This is important because supernovae heat and redistribute large amounts of gas, and pump heavy elements out into their surroundings. They can trigger the formation of...
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Is the climate changing in Sri Lanka?
2008-05-31 11:04:00
Is the climate changing in Sri Lanka ? By DhaneshWisumperumawww.Nation.lk---------- - Climate change is among the major issues discussed in today?s world. Though it was not a key topic a year ago, it grabbed theworld?s attention during the year 2007. The facts revealed by the fourth assessment report published during the last year changed the attitude of the people. Their own experience of the changes taking place all over the world also contributed towards this change. Climate change, its impacts, adaptation, mitigation and climate politics are among the favoured themes now. In the Sri Lankan scenario, climate change will have an impact on a number of fields, which could eventually devastate the agriculture, economy, environment etc. Researches have repeatedly pointed out that tropical region will experience the worst impacts of the changing climate. Sri Lanka is an island surrounded b...
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NJ court requires subpoena for Internet subscriber records !!!
2008-04-21 22:16:00
NJ court requires subpoena for Internet subscriber records By JEFFREY GOLD, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 2 minutes ago NEWARK, N.J. - Internet service providers must not release personal information about users in New Jersey without a valid subpoena, even to police, the state's highest court ruled Monday.New Jersey's Supreme Court found that the state's constitution gives greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the U.S. Constitution. The court ruled that Internet providers should not disclose private information to anyone without a subpoena. A Washington lawyer who handles Internet litigation, Megan E. Gray, said the ruling "seems to be consistent with a trend nationwide, but not a strong trend." "It's contrary to what is happening with rights of privacy at the federal level," Gray said. "But it's all over the board for the states, with a mild trend toward protecting this information." The 7-0 ruling upheld lower court decisions th...
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Skype to sell unlimited international calls for $9.95/month
2008-04-21 21:59:00
Skype to sell unlimited international calls for $9.95/month By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Mon Apr 21, 12:02 PM ET NEW YORK - Skype, the Internet calling subsidiary of eBay Inc., is introducing its first plan for unlimited calls to overseas phones on MondayThe plan will allow unlimited calls to land-line phones in 34 countries for $9.95 per month, said Don Albert, vice president and general manager for Skype North America. The countries encompassed include most of Europe, plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. Calls to domestic land lines and cell phones are included as well, as are calls to cell phones in Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, but not cell phones in other countries. Skype has already been selling unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada for $3 a month. It is expanding that offering with another plan, for $5.95 per month, that gives free calls to Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monte...
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Some rivets on Titanic were substandard
2008-04-20 22:11:00
Some rivets on Titanic were substandard The tragic sinking of the Titanic nearly a century ago can be blamed on low-grade rivets that the ship's builders used on some parts of the ill-fated liner, two experts on metals conclude in a new book.The company, Harland and Wolff of Belfast, Northern Ireland, needed to build the ship quickly and at reasonable cost, which may have compromised quality, said co-author Timothy Foecke. That the shipyard was building two other vessels at the same time added to the difficulty of getting the millions of rivets needed, he added.''Under the pressure to get these ships up, they ramped up the riveters, found materials from additional suppliers, and some was not of quality,'' said Foecke, a metallurgist at the U.S. government's National Institute of Standards and Technology who has been studying the Titanic for a ...
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Now, Free Download : Indian Premier League team guide And Schedule
2008-04-19 23:29:00
Download Free - Indian Premier League team guide And Schedule as a,MS Word Document ,To download, use below links@ As a Word Document, Click Here@ As a WinZip file, Click Here
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CDC: Flu season worst in 4 years; vaccine didn't work well
2008-04-19 23:26:00
CDC: Flu season worst in 4 years; vaccine didn't work well By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Thu Apr 17, 7:30 PM ET ATLANTA - The current flu season has shaped up to be the worst in four years, partly because the vaccine didn't work well against the viruses that made most people sick, health officials said Thursday.This season's vaccine was the worst match since 1997-1998, when the vaccine didn't work at all against the circulating virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2007-2008 season started slowly, peaked in mid-February and seems to be declining, although cases are still being reported, CDC officials said. Based on adult deaths from flu and pneumonia, this season is the worst since 2003-2004 ? another time when the vaccine did not include the exact flu strain responsible for most illnesses. Each year, health officials ? making essentially an educated guess ? formulate a vaccine against three viruses they think will be circul...
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The oldest Americans are also the happiest, research finds
2008-04-19 23:20:00
The oldest Americans are also the happiest, research finds By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer CHICAGO - It turns out the golden years really are golden. Eye-opening new research finds the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests. The two go hand-in-hand: Being social can help keep away the blues. AP Photo: George O'Hare, 81, a retired Sears manager from Willowbrook, Ill., is seen at his home..."The good news is that with age comes happiness," said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. "Life gets better in one's perception as one ages." A certain amount of distress in old age is inevitable, including aches and pains and the deaths of loved ones and friends. But older people generally have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults, Yang said. This is partly because older people have learned to lower their expectations and accept t...
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Google shares soar 20 percent to record 1-day gain
2008-04-19 22:58:00
Google shares soar 20 percent to record 1-day gain By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer Fri Apr 18, 5:40 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc.'s stock soared 20 percent Friday, restoring $28 billion in shareholder wealth as Wall Street renewed its love affair with the Internet search leader after weeks of worry about an online advertising slowdown.Driven by stellar first-quarter results that surprised industry analysts, Google shares surged $89.87 to finish at $539.41. It marked the biggest one-day gain since Google's initial public stock offering in August 2004, leaving the shares at their highest closing price since January. Google had lost favor with investors as Web surfing data and the faltering U.S. economy raised concerns that people aren't clicking as frequently on the Internet advertising links that generate most of the Mountain View-based company's revenue. The trend threatened to chip away at Google's earnings because the company typically gets paid...
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Is it her genes? Oldest known person turns 115 on Sunday
2008-04-19 22:48:00
Is it her genes? Oldest known person turns 115 on Sunday By RICK CALLAHAN, Associated Press Writer SHELBYVILLE, Ind. - Maybe it was a lifetime of chores on the family farm that accounts for Edna Parker's long life. Or maybe just good genes explain why the world's oldest known person will turn 115 on Sunday, defying staggering odds. AP Photo: Edna Parker holds a rose that she was given during a birthday party for her...Scientists who study longevity hope Parker and others who live to 110 or beyond ? they're called supercentenarians ? can help solve the mystery of extreme longevity. "We don't know why she's lived so long," said Don Parker, her 59-year-old grandson. "But she's never been a worrier and she's always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it." On Friday, Edna Parker laughed and smiled as relatives and guests released 115 balloons into sunny skies outside her nursing home. Dressed in pearls, a blue and white polka dot dress and new w...
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"Cashews" Season Comes in April - Awa Kaju Ware , Sinhala Awrudde
2008-03-21 11:46:00
Cashews The delicately flavored cashew nut is a favorite between meal snack that can be readily found in your local market year round. It also makes wonderful nut butter and a special addition to salads and stir-fry dishes. Cashew nuts are actually the kidney-shaped seeds that adhere to the bottom of the cashew apple, the fruit of the cashew tree, which is native to the coastal areas of northeastern Brazil. While cashew apples are not appreciated in the United States, they are regarded as delicacies in Brazil and the Caribbean. Cashews are always sold shelled because the interior of the shells contains a caustic resin, known as cashew balm, which must be carefully removed before the nuts are fit for consumption. This caustic resin is actually used in industry to make varnishes and insecticides. This chart graphically details the %DV that a serving of Cashews provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to our Food Rating System...
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The Next Billion Years and the Significance of the Emerging Global Brain :
2008-03-21 10:03:00
Arthur C. Clarke LecturesWashington, DC 2000The Next Billion Years and the Significance of the Emerging Global Brain Prof. Joseph N. PeltonExecutive Director, The Sir Arthur Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and Information (CITI) and Deputy Director, Institute for Applied Space Research, George Washington UniversityChallenges to the Survival of HumanityThe so-called Third Millennium (at least as reckoned in the Western chronology) will be a time of enormous challenge and change. Simply put, how well we meet these challenges will decide how long the species homo sapiens will survive. These potential challenges to survival seem almost endless and suggest to some that even a thousand more years may be difficult for our species to sustain, let alone an eon.The problems to overcome range widely. They span a spectrum of environmental issues that start with global warming, carbon dioxide and methane build up, and the darkening albedo of the polar ice caps. They also include global po...

Biography - Sir Arthur C. Clarke
2008-03-21 09:26:00
Biography - Sir Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur C. ClarkeThe achievements of Arthur C. Clarke, unique among his peers, bridge the arts and sciences. His works and his authorship have ranged from scientific discovery to science fiction, from technical application to entertainment, and have made a global impact on the lives of present and future generations.Arthur C. Clarke is the son of an English farming family, born in the seaside town of Minehead, Somerset, England on December 16, 1917. In 1998, his lifetime work was recognized by H.M. The Queen when he was honored with a Knighthood ? formally conferred by Prince Charles in Sri Lanka two years later.After attending schools in his home county, Arthur Clarke moved to London in 1936 and pursued his early interest in space sciences by joining the British Interplanetary Society. He started to contribute to the BIS Bulletin and began to write science fiction.As with so many young men at the time, World War II interrupted in 1939 and he join...
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Sundown with Sir Arthur C Clarke
2008-03-21 03:45:00
Sundown with Sir Arthur C Clarke Jeff Greenwald Daily News When last I saw Arthur C. Clarke, in March of 2005, his memory was already fading. It was late afternoon. We sat on the patio of the Galle Face Hotel, one of Arthur's favourite spots in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It had been nine years since my last visit to his adopted island. Now I was back working with Mercy Corps, an international aid agency, on a tsunami relief project. Clarke sipped his tea and stared West, where the Indian Ocean stretched in an uninhibited arc to the coast of Somalia. "I don't remember anything about working with Stanley (Kubrick) on 2001," he said, "or my months at the Chelsea Hotel. I don't remember my last scuba dive, or what my mother's face looked like. The only thing I remember with any real clarity is the first kiss with the love of my life and our last words, before we parted." Sir Arthur with his private satellite dish, one of th...
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Vote nere ! Sinharaja Forest for "New 7 Wonders of Nature
2008-03-21 03:32:00
send Vote Sinharaja Forest for "New 7 Wonders of Nature " The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has called upon all Sri Lankans to vote for the Sinharaja Forest to be included in the "New 7 Wonders of Nature". How to vote...***************** ******** Click the links below as follows * Select the region (asia) * Select Singharaja Forest from the nominee list * click Vote Now... * Fill in the essential info, you have seven votes so select asia from the drop-down box * then Singharaja forest from the consequent drop-down box * Finally submit... Sources - Daily MirrorNew 7 Wonders of Nature Welcome to the election of thePlease browse through the list of nature sites nominated to date by a click on the world map below. Or select one of the following options:Vote for your nomineeYou have one voice, but seven vo...

Stop Tibet violence or I will quit: Dalai Lama
2008-03-21 03:24:00
Stop Tibet violence or I will quit: Dalai Lama By Jonathan AllenDaily MirrorDHARAMSALA, India, Tuesday (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama said today he would resign as Tibetan leader if the situation veers out of control in Tibet and denied accusations from China that he was inciting riots.?If things become out of control then my only option is to completely resign,? Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, told a news conference at his base of Dharamsala in northern India. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks to the media in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, March 18, 2008. Today, China's premier Wen Jiabao accused the Dalai Lama of orchestrating riots in which dozens may have died and said his followers were trying to ?incite sabotage? of Beijing's August Olympic Games.The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959, denied Chinese ac...
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Bill Gates: Testimony before the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S.
2008-03-16 04:19:00
Bill Gates: Testimony before the Committee on Science and Technology , U.S. House of RepresentativesRemarks by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates before the Committee on Science and Technology United States House of RepresentativesWashington, D.C.March 12, 2008MR. GATES: Thank you. It's a privilege to be here. Chairman Gordon, ranking member Hall, members of the Committee, I'm Bill Gates and I'm the chairman of Microsoft. With my wife, Melinda, I'm also the founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And it's an honor to be here to commemorate your 50th anniversary.During these 50 years incredible advances in science and technology have revolutionized the way people around the world communicate, run business, find information and much more. I'm optimistic that over the decades ahead, information technology will continue to transform business productivity and have a profound positive impact on our day-to-day lives. It will also help us address important global challenges relat...
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Beautiful Mountains in Sri Lanka
2008-03-16 04:13:00
We must protect Nature for posterity Mountains in Sri Lanka the central and southern parts of Sri Lanka there are several peaks that are of ecological importance and rich in bio diversity. These mountains are preserved as forests and are the starting points of many rivers. Let us learn some details about them Sri Pada Peak 2243 m The Sri Pada Peak is Sri Lanka?s holy mountain, where people go on pilgrimage to worship the footprint of Lord BuddhaThe Sri Pada Peak is the only mountain in the world, where four major religionsgather to worship. To the Buddhist, the imprint found on the summit of the mountain is the hallowed footprint of Lord Buddha. To the Hindus, the footprint is that of God Shiva. To the Christians, it is the footprint of St. Thomas, and to the Muslims it?s the foot print of Adam.In Sanskrit literature, Sri Pada is called Mount Lanka, Ratnagiri (Mountain of Gems), Malayagiri or Mount Rohana. This last name, like its Arab and Persian equivalent, Al R...
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The New Knight Rider comes to the local papers in Sri Lanka
2008-03-16 03:25:00
'Knight ' rides again By Himal KotelawalaSunday Times Knight Rider is back ? a quarter of a century after the original series. There's a new car, a new driver, and some smooth CGI to make it all look real. It most certainly is bigger, but is it better? The pilot aired in February as a TV movie and is more than likely to be spawned into a new series. The story takes place 25 years after the original KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand) ? the thinking, talking super car that could throw the occasional one liner ? is dismantled and its charismatic driver Michael Knight (David Hesselhoff) is forced to go into hiding. In the new movie, Charles Graiman, one of the surviving members of the Knight Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) founded by Wilton Knight many years ago, it is revealed, designed the original KITT. The opening scenes of the movie in Graiman's ...
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Buffett world's richest man, Slim second - Forbes
2008-03-15 19:40:00
UPDATE 1-Buffett world's richest man, Slim second - Forbes In Pictures: Race For Title Of World's Richest Man In Pictures: Berkshire Billionaires In Pictures: Berkshire Hathaway's Biggest...
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Another TV Network on air for Sri Lankan and Sri Lankan expatriates in othe
2008-01-27 21:18:00
Another TV Network on air for Sri Lankan and Sri Lankan expatriates in other countriesBy Quintus PereraColombo, 26 January, (Asiantribune.com): The newest television network that goes in the air is Lak Vision ? International Satellite Television Broadcaster and its lunch took place at Hotel Colombo Hilton with its Chairman, Nawaz Rajabdeen and host of popular artistes and other guests.This newest television network aims at the Sri Lankan expatriates spread all over the world, with special attention to those who are in the Middle-East and in the EU countries. While the Network is also accessible by the local clientele the programmes that would be telecast for overseas Sri Lankan viewers would also be in Sinhala.It is a TV channel with a mission to cater to specific needs of expatriate Sinhala community who may feel lonely in a foreign land. The channel brings wholesome programmes in Sinhala comprising news from Sri Lanka, tele-dramas, musical programmes to entertain and inform.At the...

Fun pic : "The effects of the African Shampoo"
2008-01-25 21:42:00
The effects of the African Shampoo http://skypedia.org
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"Mysterious ?Ghostly? Face of Child Appears In Cell Phone Photo"
2008-01-25 21:38:00
Mysterious ?Ghostly? Face of Child Appears In Cell Phone Photo At first glance, it seems to be an ordinary snap of a group of young people. But look more carefully and there appears to be an extraordinary, ghostly presence among them. Peeping out between the knees of two of the girls is the face of a child. The eerie image - clear enough to show a pair of eyes, a nose, a mouth and hair - was captured by 17-year-old Matthew Summers on his mobile phone as he and his friends were preparing to go out. ?I zoomed in to my sister?s mate?s little sister who was crying and I saw a face,? Matthew said. ?You can see all the facial expressions and everything. However, Ciaran O?Keeffe, a parapsychologist on Living TV?s Most Haunted show, has a more down-to-earth explanation for the ?child? in Matthew?s photograph. Dr O?Keeffe said: ?As human beings we?re very good at finding a pattern in randomness and related to that we?re good at finding faces in randomness. The term for this is pareidolia. ...
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Madara Madubhashini, A child created stamp, goes Island wide
2008-01-25 09:27:00
A child created stamp goes Island Wide !Madara Madubhashini,A 12 years old student of Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya , Matara, Sri Lanka , has made a Stamp and posted to the government. Then , it has been selected and made 1, 000,000 stamps after that.We are glad to see her with us , at our educa tional Center, T.F.G.E., The Future Global Educational Centerer.******************************** ***************************************** ***************************************** ***************************************** ********** Madara, also very much bright in Maths ( After she has came our TFGE center ), now in grade 8, and lives in Hittatiya east , Matara. We wish all the success in her life !
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