Thursday, December 31, 2009

GATHER TO VIEW PARTIAL ECLIPSE




1,500 gather at National Mosque to view partial eclipse

2010/01/01

KUALA LUMPUR: About 1,500 star-gazers gathered at the National Mosque here in the wee hours of today to witness a partial lunar eclipse.


The eclipse started at 1.17am when the moon entered the Earth's penumbra and started passing the umbra at 2.53am.

However, due to cloudy skies, these first two stages were hardly visible for the stargazers, even through telescopes.

The group was not totally disappointed when the clouds parted and provided a clear view of the eclipse when it reached its maximum phase at 3.24am. The total eclipse lasted for just 29 minutes before the moon passed through Earth's umbra at 3.53am.

Apart from the eclipsed moon, the stargazers also had the opportunity to observe Mars and Saturn through their telescopes.

At 2.30am, the Muslims stargazers performed the "solat khusuf" (lunar eclipse prayers) in conjunction with the phenomenon.
Stargazer Muhammad Nizam Shamsury, 26, said he was a little frustrated when he could not see the two earlier phases of the eclipse, even through a telescope, due to the cloudy skies.

"I waited till the end because I wanted to know how the eclipse of the moon occurred. This is the first time I am actually seeing it," he told Bernama.

For Muhammad Ridhuan Che Alim, 27, the opportunity to witness the eclipse was the best way to spend his New Year holiday.

"I did not mind the long wait because I was so thrilled to see for myself how an eclipse occurred. It's really something worth learning about.

"Even though I'm a little disappointed for not being able to see the first two phases, the information provided by the National Space Agency (Angkasa) was sufficient," he said.

Meanwhile, Angkasa Education and Science director Azreena Ahmad said those who had missed the opportunity to witness the partial lunar eclipse, could view its recorded version at Angkasa's website www.angkasa.gov.my.

She said the eclipse would occur at least twice a year.

On Jan 15, a solar eclipse was expected to occur, she said.

Also present to witness the lunar eclipse was the Grand Imam of the National Mosque, Tan Sri Syaikh Ismail Muhammad. - BERNAMA
SOURCE:
http://thestar.com.my



NEW YEAR MESSAGE

His Holiness the Dalai Lama - A Retrospective

“Hope and Encouragement in times of hardship and adversity”: Envoy Kesang Gyaltsen's new year message

December 31, 2009

tibet-envoy.eu[Tuesday, December 29, 2009 17:52]
by Kelsang Gyaltsen, Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama


The year 2009 has been an extremely difficult one for the people of
Tibet. Harsh repression marked the life of the Tibetan people inside
Tibet under Chinese Communist rule. Since the Tibetan protests in 2008
there has been a massive presence of military and security personnel in
Tibetan areas. Political campaigns such as the “Strike Hard” or
“Patriotic Re-education” are regular features of life in Tibet. On a
nearly daily basis we hear of new arrests of Tibetans, heavy sentences
handed down on Tibetans for peaceful expression of their grievances and
aspirations and according to our information four Tibetans have been
executed in October this year.

The year 2009 has also been a year without any face-to-face meetings
between the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and officials of the
Chinese leadership. This is the sad state of affairs of the Tibetan
people one year after the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Despite this gloom and grim reality, I remain optimistic on the issue of
Tibet in the long run. The spirit of the Tibetans - inside as well as
outside of Tibet - is stronger than ever. There is also growing
awareness of and concern about the Tibet issue in China and intense
internal discussions about minority issues are taking place in PRC........

World Tibet News


FELAFEL WITH YOGURT SOURCE

Recipes

Wednesday, 5 August 2009: Episode 26 Felafel with Yogurt sauce

Felafal with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

Falafel
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoons baking powder
Sesame seeds to coat (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Yoghurt sauce to serve

Yoghurt Sauce
150g natural yoghurt
3 tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic, crushed with a little salt
1 lemon juice
Pepper to taste
Herbs to taste (mint, coriander and parsley
Smoked paprika or sumac to garnish (optional)

Method

Falafel
Place dried chickpeas in a bowl and cover and soak in a lot of cold water overnight. Drain.

Puree chickpeas in a blender, the degree of blend depending on your own preference. Add garlic, onion, chillies, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Fold through all fresh herbs. Add just enough flour to get the mixture to come together into a ball, pulsing as you add each bit of flour until it is the right consistency. Pulse in the baking powder and check the seasoning, it may need more salt. Trial one in the oil to see that it doesn’t fall apart which will happen if there are cracks in the mixture, and that the oil is hot enough.

Form into balls about the size of a golf ball, and flatten into little discs. Coat in sesame seeds.

Fry in oil until golden brown and serve with Yogurt Sauce.

Yogurt Sauce
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, and check for seasoning. Put into a small bowl, sprinkle with a little smoked paprika or sumac, and top with chopped herbs and a drizzle of olive oil.

SOURCE:
http://www.abc.net.au/

SWINE FLU

Children more likely to catch swine flu, study suggests

Girl blowing nose
Children have been hard hit by the swine flu virus
Children are twice as likely as adults to catch swine flu, according to a joint UK-US study.
Imperial College London researchers and a team from the US looked at how the virus spread among families.
In a study of more than 800 people, one in eight people developed the infection after someone in their house got it.
But the team also dismissed suggestions that children may be "super spreaders" as they were found to be no more contagious than older people.
Rates of swine flu have tended to be higher among younger age groups, the official figures have shown.

If they are only likely to transmit the virus to other people for the first few days of their illness, keeping people off work for a week may be unnecessary and could be detrimental to the economy
Dr Simon Cauchemez, lead researcher
What is more, there is thought to be a large pool of children who have been infected but not displayed symptoms.
This research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed that children were more likely to become infected.
The team looked at the families and household contacts of 216 people infected with swine flu.
Of that group of 600, the under-18s were most likely to get it - twice as likely as adults under 50 - while those over the age of 50 were the least likely.
Infectious
However, the overall one in eight figure for infections was deemed to be pretty low compared to past pandemics.
The researchers, who were also drawn from the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at how long people remained infectious as well.
They found the average length of time between one person displaying symptoms and then someone else in their house falling ill was 2.6 days.
They said it meant suggestions at the start of the pandemic that people should stay at home for up to seven days when ill was probably unnecessary.
Lead researcher Dr Simon Cauchemez said: "If they are only likely to transmit the virus to other people for the first few days of their illness, keeping people off work for a week may be unnecessary and could be detrimental to the economy."
A Department of Health spokesman said: "All further information continues to add to our knowledge and understanding of the virus."

SOURCE:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/

FORMER IMFORMATION MINISTER DIES

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Information Minister and former Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat (pic) passed away Friday morning at his home in Bukit Damansara.

Tok Mat, as he is known, was 71. He was reported to have been suffering from diabetes and cancer.
He was to celebrate his 72nd birthday next Monday.
Tok Mat was the person who controlled for more than a decade what the Malaysian public saw and heard on Government TV and radio channels as Information Minister from 1987 to 1999.
In his interview on Oct 12 on the release of his book Umno: Akhir Sebuah Impian (Umno: The End of a Dream), he had admitted that his job was really as a Propaganda Minister.
In the book he explains how his ministry’s campaigns, such as Setia (Loyalty), were actually a response to the Team A versus Team B split in Umno in 1987.
Apart from being a Cabinet Minister, Tok Mat had also served as ambassador with ministerial rank to Indonesia.
Tok Mat has a son Datuk Nur Jazlan, who is Member of Parliament of Pulai, which is also his former constituency.
He will be buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery after Asar prayers.

SOURCE:
http://thestar.com.my/

WHERE DID MY MONEY GO?

Posted on December 31st, 2009
Read 220 times.
Arianna Huffington suggests that we should take our money out of big banks and put it in small ones. The problem, however, is that the small banks are likely to put your money right back into the big ones. We have a local bank where we are very happy — Banco Popular. However, our mortgage with them soon got moved to a big outfit and after that Wells Fargo.
As we all know some of our banks are rushing to increase interest rates and hit us in any number of ways for extra cash. Beware making a late payment. One cannot even be sure a bank will not lose a payment made.
I noticed that a mortgage payment for a house we own had not gone through my account. When I called to check, they had no record of receiving it and it certainly has not been returned by the Post Office. No charges that time except for a payment by phone.
I find as I run through bills error after error. Sallie Mae gives no monthly notice of payments due (our children’s student loan remnants), but charges late fees. It provides a booklet and no envelopes for sending in monthly payments.
And then there are the mysterious increases in rates — interest increases presumably. We have one outfit that ups rates from 3.99% to 29.99% with a late payment. Another demanded full repayment with a death of one of the card holders — offered a deal of a reduced amount.
And then there are those odd phone calls as well as emails that one knows are crooks — but how did they figure which bank was mine. Speaking of privacy there is no guarantee that someone cannot be bought to give out vital information.
Help!
SOURCE:
http://www.bloggernews.net/

WINTER IN RUSSIA


Last several years winter in Russia was more European and temperature seldom fell below -15C (+5F.) But is seems that this winter Mother Winter has rolled round too fast and it’s really overboard. Few weeks ago frost came to Russia and now it looks like it’s on its way westwards, straight to Eastern Europe. All this time temperature on thermometer seldom fell below -20C (-5F.) Because of that any road was clogged up to the brim every singe day. And now, when frost almost dropped Russia off and left just a bunch of two or three feet high snowbanks here and there, it seems that Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe countries just began feeling this snow frenzy.
SOURCE:
http://englishrussia.com/

SUSAN BOYLE SINGS ON...


Susan Boyle sings on Japanese New Year's Eve TV music show
Scottish singer Susan Boyle, recent star of the British television program "Britain's Got Talent," sang Thursday on "Kohaku Uta Gassen," a traditional Japanese TV music show on New Year's Eve. Boyle, 48, sang "I Dreamed a Dream," the song which she performed on the British show in April 2009, stunning the audience and judges. She shot to international fame partly because of the sharp contrast between her powerful singing voice and her dowdy appearance.



SOURCE:
http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/78790.php

HAPPY NEW YEAR-2010




New Year's Eve will reveal a blue moon. No, the moon won't actually be the color blue, but refers to when there are two full moons in a given calendar month, an astronomical rarity that happens seven times every nineteen years.
Even more rare, people living in the far east will witness a blue moon lunar eclipse, something that happens once every 15 to 20 years.
Happy Blue Moon everyone. Maybe this is a sign of a better decade to come.

SOURCE:http://www.allvoices.com/

READ MORE...   
http://spaceweather.com/

  BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhuanet)-- Revelers ushering in the New Year of 2010 in many parts of the world will be treated with a so-called "blue moon" -- the second full moon in a month if the skies are clear.      The term “blue moon” has nothing to do with the color of the moon. The name reflects the relative rarity of two full moons in a month and is linked to the saying "once in a blue moon."
    Most years on average have 12 full moons, with one appearing each month. An extra full moon in a month -- a blue moon -- occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007.
    New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time a blue moon appeared on New Year's Eve was in 1990, and it won't happen again until 2028.
    The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.


source:
http://www.chinaview.cn