Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Harvey Norman expands fitness range to include exercise equipment

By Patrick Avenell

Harvey Norman has expanded its fitness range and is now selling BH exercise bikes, treadmills, rowing machines and ellipticals, in addition to smaller format products such as outdoor and sports GPS devices and heart rate monitors.

"Harvey Norman helps you lead an exhilarating and healthy life with our range of fitness equipment!" exclaims the retailer's promotional material. "Whether you want to lose weight, stay healthy or look good, our selection of exercise equipment is sure to help you reach your fitness goals! Boost your cardiovascular strength, tone your body and work up a sweat with our BH Fitness elliptical, treadmill, bike and rower machines."

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According to industry analyst Commercially Retail, this expansion is on-trend with Harvey Norman's move into non-traditional categories.

"Harvey Norman has diversified into the fitness market, with categories such as Connected Health, Personal Monitoring Devices, Connected Fitness and Fitness Equipment," said a spokesperson.?"In addition, it has entered a range of new categories under its Harvey Norman Big Buys brand ? categories include Baby, Kitchenware, Travel, Toys, Music and Camping."

Big Buys is Harvey Norman's online daily deals brand.

Harvey Norman's move into fitness equipment is part of a growing diversification trend in the industry. In late August, Costco revealed it was entering the discount petrol market and is seeking approval to install petrol pumps at future sites and, according to Commercially Retail, Aldi is now selling?winter sports equipment.

Source: http://www.current.com.au/2012/10/30/article/Harvey-Norman-expands-fitness-range-to-include-exercise-equipment/KNWNZYSHPP.html

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Romney scraps Monday night, Tuesday campaigning

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) ? Mitt Romney juggled politics and Hurricane Sandy's fury on Monday as he tweaked his campaign schedule and political rhetoric eight days before most voters head to the polls.

In two campaign stops in two states, the Republican presidential candidate called for President Barack Obama's defeat in the same speeches he called for supporters to send donations to help those in the storm's path.

"We love our fellow Americans. Wish them well!" Romney declared at a Monday afternoon rally in Davenport, nearly 1,000 miles from where Hurricane Sandy was set to make landfall along the Atlantic coast.

Romney, who also campaigned in Ohio earlier in the day, canceled an evening event in Wisconsin and Tuesday rallies across Ohio and Iowa "out of sensitivity for the millions of Americans in the path of Hurricane Sandy," according to campaign spokesman Gail Gitcho.

His campaign also mobilized campaign staff across storm-lashed Virginia to collect donations for victims, used a campaign bus to distribute supplies, and called on those in the hurricane's path to remove yard signs that could become dangerous projectiles in windy conditions. Just before his Iowa rally, Romney was briefed on the storm by officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Weather Service.

"It's going to affect a lot of families; it already has," he said. "And the damage will probably be significant, and of course a lot of people will be out of power for a long time. And so hopefully your thoughts and prayers will join with mine and people across the country as you think about those folks that are in harm's way."

The storm has created major headaches for both presidential candidates in the final days of a very close presidential contest.

The decision to cancel the campaign events was announced shortly after President Barack Obama decided to skip a morning rally in Florida and fly back to Washington to oversee the government's hurricane response from the White House. Obama also canceled campaign events scheduled for Tuesday.

Aides at Romney's campaign headquarters in Boston were scrambling to sketch out political contingency plans. In addition to postponing events, they planned to scale back criticism of Obama to avoid the perception that Romney was putting politics ahead of public safety.

The logistical strains on Romney's campaign were immediate.

In an organization where motorcade rides, rallies and the candidate's movements are scheduled down to the minute days before they happen, it remained unclear until about 3 p.m. Eastern time where Romney and his entourage of reporters, staffers and Secret Service agents would sleep Monday night. Reporters peppered his aides with possible swing states ? Nevada? Florida? Colorado? ? but received only anxious smiles until it was announced that Romney would return to Ohio to spend the night.

He was likely to appear at a local relief center in the Dayton area on Tuesday, although his schedule was far from settled late Monday.

Meanwhile, Romney did not ignore politics on Monday, keeping one eye on the storm and one eye on the Nov. 6 election.

"I know the people of the Atlantic Coast are counting on Ohio and the rest of our states," he told more than 2,000 supporters in the gymnasium of an Ohio high school earlier Monday. "But also I think the people of the entire nation are counting on Ohio because my guess is that if Ohio votes me in as president I'll be the next president of the United States."

Campaign officials say Republican vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan also was scrapping rallies in Florida and Colorado.

Romney was also considering traveling to New Jersey later in the week, where he could meet with victims and survey storm damage with Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a top Romney ally.

The move would mimic Romney's actions after the Republican National Convention in Tampa., Fla., in late August, which was cut short because of Hurricane Isaac. He toured storm damage in Louisiana with Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, another top supporter.

Republicans concede that the storm essentially pushed a pause button on the momentum Romney had been building in key states. But aides insist he is in a strong position in critical battlegrounds like Ohio, Florida, Colorado and Iowa, but acknowledge Virginia could be a problem. Romney was forced to cancel three rallies planned for Virginia on Sunday. It was unclear whether he'll be able to return before the election.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who was traveling with Romney, said Monday that the campaign was reviewing its plans "minute by minute," but downplayed the impact of the storm on Romney's chances of winning the election.

"It's been a long campaign and I think the issues are pretty much cemented in peoples' minds right now," Priebus said. "The first thing is making sure that people in the path of the storm are safe."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-scraps-monday-night-tuesday-campaigning-175648756--election.html

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Jane's Bits: Black Diamond Casino cruise ship to raise the plank and ...

? ? ???


Black Diamond Casino, Inc. ? ? ? ??
Port of Palm Beach
1 East 11th?Street

Riviera Beach, FL

561-845-2559


Get ready for some offshore gambling, a launch of the Black Diamond Casino cruise ship is planned for this weekend from the Port of Palm Beach.

Postponed several times since last summer, cruises of the floating casino are set to begin this weekend after a Coast Guard inspection on Thursday. The ship, formerly the Palm Beach Princess, has undergone $5 million in renovations, which includes an extensive security system. The casino will usually sail with a crew of 150 and 600 passengers but will initially sail with 200 passengers during its first trips to fine tune operations.

The schedule for the floating 160-foot casino will include morning ?trips Wednesday through Sunday and nightly cruises. Ticket prices will vary: mornings (10:30 a.m. - 4 pm.) will be $25; Sunday (11:30 a.m. ? 5 p.m.) $40; nightly (7 p.m.-12 a.m.) $30; Friday and Saturday (7:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.) $50. Ticket prices include a meal.

The 600-passenger ship will feature two gambling decks, one dining deck, and live entertainment. Players will be able to try their luck with craps, roulette, Black Jack, Baccarat, three-card poker and 250 slot machines. Black Diamond?s web site claims the boat will be ?Florida?s only full-scale, non-smoking casino.?

For more information, call 561-845-2559 or visit?http://blackdiamondcasinocruises.com/

Tags: Gambling ship Port of Palm Beach, floating casino Palm Beach County, floating casino Riviera Beach, Florida film researcher, film research, South Florida offshore gambling

Source: http://janesbits.blogspot.com/2012/10/black-diamond-casino-cruise-ship-to.html

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Design: Role: Traveling Project Manager/Business Consultant.

Hi,

Hope you are doing well,

?

This is Raja from Nihaki Systems. I have an excellent opportunity.

I would appreciate if you give prompt response on this.

?

Immediate need for a Project Manager/Business Consultant.?

This is a long-term consulting opportunity and the job description is below.?

Travel estimated at 50%

Base Location: Anywhere, since travel is so frequent

?

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

???????????????????? Must be willing to travel. Expenses are reimbursed on a weekly basis.

???????????????????? Mortgage banking experience required.

???????????????????? Must have experience with Lending Space or other Loan Origination Software. 7 or more years of system implementation experience.

???????????????????? 4 or more years in managing projects.

???????????????????? Experience with projects in multiple technologies and functions.

???????????????????? Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration.

???????????????????? Project Management certification is preferred.

?

JOB DESCRIPTION:

???????????????????? Manages one or more cross-functional projects of medium to high complexity. Projects may have significant enterprise-wide impact.

???????????????????? Responsible for project leadership including overall coordination, status reporting and stability of project-oriented work efforts.

???????????????????? Establishes and implements project management processes and methodologies to ensure projects are delivered on time, within budget, adhere to high quality standards and meet customer expectations.

???????????????????? Responsible for assembling project plans and teamwork assignments, directing and monitoring work efforts on a daily basis, identifying resource needs, performing quality review; and escalating functional, quality, timeline issues appropriately.

???????????????????? Responsible for tracking key project milestones and adjusting project plans and/or resources to meet the needs of customers.

???????????????????? Coordinates communication with all areas of the enterprise that impacts the scope, budget, risk and resources of the work effort being managed.

???????????????????? May assist Program Manager(s) in partnering with senior management of the business community to identify and prioritize opportunities and project challenges ultimately to achieve the goals of the enterprise.

???????????????????? Must possess extensive knowledge and expertise in the use of project management methodologies and tools, resource management practices and change management techniques.

???????????????????? Responsible for the management of one or more medium to large-sized, moderately to highly complex projects. Typically mentors project analysts and more junior project managers.

?

?

Note: while replying to this email Please don't make? changes to the subject line.

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Thanks & Regards,
Raja,

NIHAKI SYSTEMS INC.,

Ph: (732) 438 1906 Ext:106

Email: rc16@nihaki.com

Fax: (732) 438-6973

GTalk & Yahoo : mraja.recruiter

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Source: http://newsdesignworld.blogspot.com/2012/10/role-traveling-project-managerbusiness.html

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OmniVision unveils 5MP BSI sensor that takes low light cameras further into the entry level

OmniVision unveils 5MP sensor that takes low light photography to the entry level It's almost a truism that starter smartphones have poor cameras that struggle just to get pristine photos in broad daylight, let alone dim interiors. Thankfully, OmniVision's new OV5645 sensor could lead newcomers out of a very literal darkness. The 5-megapixel imager includes backside illumination, support for 1080p30 (or 720p60) video and its own internal autofocus system, but no dedicated JPEG compression engine -- in short, a lot of the low-light performance of more sophisticated smartphones without the usual attached costs. Its cost-cutting even extends to front cameras, as a forward-facing sensor can share resources with the back camera to scale back on redundant hardware. We're looking forward to when mass production starts in the first quarter of 2013; we might not have to excuse our photo quality for a long, long time afterwards.

Continue reading OmniVision unveils 5MP BSI sensor that takes low light cameras further into the entry level

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OmniVision unveils 5MP BSI sensor that takes low light cameras further into the entry level originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/omnivision-unveils-5mp-sensor-for-entry-low-light-photography/

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Monday, October 29, 2012

Microsoft unveils new lock screen for Windows Phone 8 powered by Live Apps

Microsoft unveils new lock screen for Windows Phone 8 powered by Live Apps

Microsoft is busy officially revealing all the bits and pieces that make up Windows Phone 8, and one of them is its new lock screen. Powered by Live Apps designed for Windows Phone 8 like Facebook, it lets apps directly update your lock screen with new photos and information. Exec Joe Belfiore is, as usual, excited about it, pointing to the "surprise" now waiting every time he picks up his phone. If pics from your last vacation popping up every time you turn your phone on doesn't get you going ,just imagine sports scores or other relevant info you've picked pushed straight to the front, just a button press away.

Microsoft unveils new lock screen for Windows Phone 8 powered by Live Apps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/29/microsoft-unveils-new-lock-screen-for-windows-phone-8-powered-by/

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Dansko Womens Bennett Pump | Ovarian Cervical Uterine Cancer ...

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Angel-Light Beamer: OUTSIDE INFLUENCES

Welcome to the Angel-Light Beamer! Happy Healing Love Energy to you! There is something on this site for everyone. Beginning with the latest articles and reading/scanning back through the archives as time allows is recommended. There is not a way to comment on this site, but do feel free to email me with "Your Blog Site" in the subject line. Showers of blessings upon you!

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Source: http://angel-light-love-healing.blogspot.com/2012/10/outside-influences.html

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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Hurricane Sandy may leave 10 million in dark

Hurricane Sandy, the storm barreling toward the east coast of the United States, could leave at least 10 million people without power, according to a new model.

  1. Science news from NBCNews.com

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      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Paranormal investigator Joe Nickell has busted a lot of ghostly myths over the past 40 years ? but the spookiest part of his job comes when he actually catches a ghost red-handed.

    2. How to eat a Triceratops in 4 easy steps
    3. Why dinosaurs showed off their feathers
    4. Fukushima fish still radioactive

"The most heavily impacted areas are going to be up through the mid-Atlantic, Delaware, into southeastern Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania and into New Jersey," said Seth Guikema, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University who developed the model.

As of 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 28, the center of Hurricane Sandy was located 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and 575 miles (930 km) south of New York City. The storm is moving toward the northeast near 14 miles per hour (23 kilometers per hour). A turn to the north and then the northwest is expected Sunday night and early Monday. The current forecast track puts the center of Sandy near the coast Monday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.

To predict the impact of the storm the team looks at the most recently available forecasts of wind gusts and duration for 19,000 census tracts along the Eastern Seaboard, Guikema told LiveScience. (A census tract includes between 4,000 and 6,000 people).

The most recent run of the prediction, current as of 8 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, suggested that at least 3 million people will be without power in New Jersey, along with 2 million in Maryland, 2 million in southeastern Pennsylvania, and 370,000 in Delaware, Guikema told LiveScience. Many more people could be out of power in New York City, but the team's model can't predict the city's power outages as well.

Con-Edison, which serves 3.2 million households in New York City and Westchester County, is preparing for the possibility of extensive damage to its networks.

"Because of the high winds that may impact on the overhead and then on the underground system there's a possibility that the storm surge floods could harm our equipment," said Con-Edison spokesperson Sara Banda.

Most power companies are mobilizing their repair crews so they are ready to restore power as quickly as possible, Guikema said. "They hunker down and they wait. There are rules on how low their wind speeds are before they are allowed to go out in their buckets."

[ How to Prepare for Hurricane Sandy ]

But once the winds die down, they can be deployed quickly, he said.

The best thing residents can do is call their power company if the electricity goes out, because companies don't have a way of tracking power in each home.

"Most utilities don't know for sure until they get the call in," he said.

To prepare for a long time without electricity, people should stock up on drinking water and non-perishable food, he said. People living in areas forecasted to get high winds should bring loose furniture and other items on decks indoors, he added.

"This storm is later in the season so it's also cold," he said. "So people have to have some way of staying warm."

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49589314/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Reconnecting With Bones's Lost Doc, Eric Millegan | ComicBook.com

At the New York Comic Con earlier this month, ComicBook.com caught up with Eric Millegan. Millegan is an accomplished actor on television and stage, but is best known to fans?and especially to the convention crowd?as Dr. Zack Addy from the hit Fox series Bones.

Millegan was a fan-favorite character on that series?brilliant, socially awkward and intensely likable, the actor made Addy relatable, likable and half of one of the best non-romantic relationships on TV (with T.J. Thyne?s Jack Hodgins). As a character who didn?t always know what to say, Millegan mastered the art of using timing and sparse dialogue to his advantage, turning silence into a powerful tool and making his occasional monologues and pseudo-scientific explanations even more effective. After he left, the chemistry on the show has never quite been the same, with showrunners and writers strugging to fill the hole left by his character?s departure with a rotating cast of recurring characters rather than attempt to replace Millegan with a new series regular in the role.

With Bones seemingly nearing its end in the next couple of years, a number of fans came up to Millegan at the show lamenting the loss of his character (who was written out of the show in 2008 and has returned infrequently since) and asked whether he might be return someday in the future.

?That would be cool? was his stock answer to most fans, indicating that he either didn?t know of any such plans or at least was playing them close to the vest.

Millegan?s character was written out in one of the show?s more divisive plot twists?revealed to have been the secret apprentice to a cannibalistic serial killer, Addy was arrested for murder after injuring himself in a well-intentioned attempt to destroy evidence without hurting anyone else in the lab.

He confessed and was sentenced to a psychiatric ward, only to return in a later episode and reveal that, while he did help the killer, he never killed anyone himself. Most fans have expected his comeback for a while, and it?s hard to imagine the show going off the air without at least one more visit from Addy, whose most recent appearance involved him breaking out of the asylum to provide assistance to the forensic team at the heart of the series.

Millegan gave us a few minutes during a signing appearance on the show floor to talk about his character, his craft and what?s next for one of the most conspicuously-absent television actors in recent years.

You?re best known for television, but have taken a bit of a sabbatical since you left Bones to work mostly in theater. I haven?t seen you in a feature film?did I miss one?

I?ve done two movies. One of them never came out but my main movie I did was a movie called On Line. It was a small, independent film but we played at Sundance and the Berlin Film Festival. It ultimately was released in 2003. It?s on DVD and I highly recommend it. It?s a good movie?a little racy, it?s not for children?but I think it?s really sweet, but definitely an adult film. You can get it at Amazon.

Now, what brings you to the New York Comic Con? You?re purportedly a pretty laid-back guy and this is?well, an insane environment.

It is! I came here because my friend Marco owns the company [where I'm signing] and he asked if I would be willing to do it. I said, ?Absolutely! It?d be fun.? I just did a convention in Paris, so I?m just getting?this whole convention thing is new to me. Even though I lived in L.A. for years, I never went to Comic-Con in San Diego, so this is fun. I like meeting fans.

Wasn?t there a Bones episode that was at Comic-Con?

There was a Bones episode at Comic-Con? Was I in that episode? There was a comic book episode, in which Zach got really into comic books, but I?m not sure I was in that one.

Now, obviously you?re best known for Bones. That became a very interesting character over time, didn?t it?

He did a lot. A lot happened to him.

Well, and you did a lot of growing as a character?then even once they wrote you out of the show, your return was a Hannibal Lecter thing, helping them find Buffalo Bill. Was that a very different challenge, playing from the other side of the table a bit?

Yes, and I welcomed that challenge. One of my favorite episodes to shoot was the episode in which you find out that I?m the Apprentice, because it was very emotional, and very challenging, and I liked the challenge.

Not every episode does your character have one of the main stories, because I was a supporting character. So some episodes I?m just straight-on helping them solve the case and you don?t learn much about the character. So I always liked the episodes in which you did, and that was one of them, definitely.

Well, and you?ve done a lot of stage work but the things I remember the most about your character is all the nonverbal acting, the stuff that wouldn?t come across as much on stage. It?s an interesting dichotomy, I think.

It?s always about telling a story. Saying your lines on cue, arriving on cue and telling the story. I always feel like that?s the same no matter what kind of acting you?re doing. Certainly you don?t have to project when you?re doing film like you do on stage, but even on stage nowadays you?re heavily miked so you don?t have to work as hard vocally on stage anymore, either.

And what are you doing next?

Well, just last night, I did a cabaret show in town, which I worked on all year. There?s a bunch of music that I?d never done before and it was with a band?it was so much fun.

I just did a film called Lady Peacock, which was shot in August. It?s a small, independent film and so I don?t know what?s going to go on with it or when it?s going to come out?or if it will even be called Lady Peacock whenever it comes out, since titles change.

I?m in New York right now, but I?m going to go back to L.A. for pilot season and try to get another series. That?s my next goal.

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Reconnecting With Bones?s Lost Doc, Eric Millegan, 10.0 out of 10 based on 3 ratings

Source: http://comicbook.com/blog/2012/10/28/reconnecting-with-boness-lost-doc-eric-millegan/

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Mourdock (talking-points-memo)

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How do you find health insurance when moving to the US? | Get ...

I recently had lunch with an old college friend and her husband, an Australian. I hadn?t seen this friend in about sixteen years, but she and her husband are planning to relocate from Sydney to the U.S. soon. One of the logistical items they?re concerned about, however, is health insurance. In Australia there?s a nationalized health system, which, as it happens, she and her husband are very fond of.

Last week on Yahoo Answers, we took a question from someone in a similar situation: a young woman with dual American and Irish citizenship who is planning to move to Pennsylvania. Like Australia, the Republic of Ireland has a nationalized health system. It?s possible to buy additional health insurance on top of the coverage provided by the government, but not many people do.

So, how do you find the right health insurance coverage when you?re moving to the United States?

The eHealthInsurance reply was chosen as Best Answer:

Unless you?re getting a job and can enroll in employer-sponsored coverage, you?ll want to purchase a plan on your own. Work with a licensed agent online or in your area to see what?s available and find the best match for your needs. It doesn?t cost anything extra to work with an agent.

Depending on your health status, you may have quite a bit to choose from. It?s hard to make a specific recommendation, however, since it?s such a personal decision. What kind of health insurance benefits are most important to you? What can you afford by way of a monthly premium? Or an annual deductible? Do you take prescription drugs on a regular basis? These are some of the questions you need to consider.

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Best wishes!

Image by Flickr user DorkyMum

Source: http://blog.ehealthinsurance.com/2012/10/how-can-i-get-health-insurance-when-moving-to-the-united-states-consumer-qa/

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Bald Beliebers Remind Us: Just Because You Read It On Twitter, Doesn?t Mean It?s True

bieberbaldMy mom always said that the most dangerous lies are the ones mixed with truth. That's why the internet, namely Twitter, can be such a spurious environment. We sometimes forget that with the real-time, viral benefits of the short-winded social network come the same negative effects. Truth can spread like wildfire, and so can lies. Today, the Bieber nation has learned that lesson. Behold, dear readers, the horror.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PBofj8NCFPo/

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Friday, October 26, 2012

CCSVI and Multiple Sclerosis: What's the Link?

People with a lifelong condition like multiple sclerosis (MS) are always on the lookout for a new treatment that might improve, or even cure, their disease. In the last few years, there's been a lot of buzz about a vein condition called CCSVI and its possible connection to MS.

However, this connection is very controversial. Some researchers say treating CCSVI can relieve MS symptoms. Others say CCSVI isn't even real. They compare it to the snake venom, bee stings, and other dubious "cures" that have been proposed to treat MS over the years.

So what is CCSVI? Could it be the next big breakthrough in MS research? Or is it just a false theory with a potentially dangerous treatment?

CCSVI Explained

CCSVI stands for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. It's a narrowing of veins in the neck and chest that carry blood away from the brain and spinal cord. The theory is that when blood flow is slowed, it backs up into the brain and spinal cord and leads to oxygen loss and iron deposits in the brain.

In 2009, Italian researcher Paolo Zamboni, MD, first introduced the idea that CCSVI might cause MS, or make its symptoms worse. When he used ultrasound to compare the blood vessels of people with and without MS, he found abnormal blood flow in 100% of the people with MS, but in 0% of people without MS.

Does CCSVI Really Exist?

Zamboni's findings sound impressive. But when other researchers have tried to copy his research, they haven't gotten the same results.

  • Some studies have found that CCSVI is more common in people with MS than in healthy people -- but not nearly as common as Zamboni found.
  • Other studies have reported CCSVI in almost exactly the same number of healthy people as in people with MS.
  • Some researchers have also found CCSVI in people with other nervous system conditions.

These differences in results raise questions about whether CCSVI is a real condition and how it relates to MS. "When something is true, it is replicated. This is how science works," says David A. Hafler, MD, chairman of the Yale School of Medicine department of neurology.

Why have researchers gotten such different results? One reason is that research teams use different criteria to evaluate CCSVI.

"The way the ultrasound is conducted is not yet standardized," says Robert Fox, MD, staff neurologist and medical director at the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for MS. "It's not like getting a blood count."?He found that when people were examined with different types of scans, the number of CCSVI cases changed.

The difference in results could also have to do with something as basic as how much water study participants had to drink before their scans. "If you don't have a lot of volume in the veins they're going to collapse down," Fox says. When he had study participants drink Gatorade before their ultrasound, many of them no longer had signs of CCSVI. "Once you fill up the veins, you have much more blood flowing through them, and they're much more plump."

Even though researchers are still divided on whether CCSVI exists, some studies have started looking at the effects of treating it with surgery.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/features/ccsvi-and-multiple-sclerosis?src=RSS_PUBLIC

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Horror Movies for Pets - Cheezburger

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Source: http://cheezburger.com/6704698112

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Pre-paid SMS ban in J&K taken at behest of Home Mi - Worldnews ...

Kashmir (Balti, Gojri, Poonchi/Chibhali, Dogri: ??????; Kashmiri: ?????, ??????; Ladakhi: ?????; Uyghur: ; Shina: ?????) is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. Today Kashmir denotes a larger area that includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (which consists of the divisions: the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh), the Pakistani-administered Gilgit?Baltistan and the Azad Kashmir provinces, and the Chinese-administered regions of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract.

In the first half of the first millennium, the Kashmir region became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism arose. In 1349, Shah Mir became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and inaugurated the Salatin-i-Kashmir or Swati dynasty. For the next five centuries, Muslim monarchs ruled Kashmir, including the Mughals, who ruled from 1526 until 1751, then the Afghan Durrani Empire that ruled from 1747 until 1820. That year, the Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Dogras?under Gulab Singh?became the new rulers. Dogra Rule, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

Etymology

The word Kashmir is an ancient Sanskrit word which literally means Land of Kashyap Rishi. Kashyap Rishi was a Saraswat Brahmin and one of the Saptarshis, who was key in formalizing the ancient Historical Vedic Religion. The Kashmiri Pandits are his descendants and have named the valley after him, in his honour.

History

Buddhism in Kashmir

The Buddhist Mauryan emperor Ashoka is often credited with having founded the old capital of Kashmir, Shrinagari, now ruins on the outskirts of modern Srinagar. Kashmir was long to be a stronghold of Buddhism.

As a Buddhist seat of learning, the Sarv?stiv?dan school strongly influenced Kashmir. East and Central Asian Buddhist monks are recorded as having visited the kingdom. In the late 4th century AD, the famous Kuchanese monk Kum?raj?va, born to an Indian noble family, studied D?rgh?gama and Madhy?gama in Kashmir under Bandhudatta. He later became a prolific translator who helped take Buddhism to China. His mother J?va is thought to have retired to Kashmir. Vimal?k?a, a Sarv?stiv?dan Buddhist monk, travelled from Kashmir to Kucha and there instructed Kum?raj?va in the Vinayapi?aka.

Adi Shankara visited the pre-existing (Sharada Peeth) in Kashmir in late 8th century or early 9th century AD. The Madhaviya Shankaravijayam states this temple had four doors for scholars from the four cardinal directions. The southern door (representing South India) had never been opened, indicating that no scholar from South India had entered the Sarvajna Pitha. Adi Shankara opened the southern door by defeating in debate all the scholars there in all the various scholastic disciplines such as Mimamsa, Vedanta and other branches of Hindu philosophy; he ascended the throne of Transcendent wisdom of that temple.

Abhinavagupta (approx. 950 - 1020 AD) was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians. He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exeget, theologian, and logician - a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture. He was born in the Valley of Kashmir in a family of scholars and mystics and studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus. In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is Tantr?loka, an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Trika and Kaula (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabh?rat? commentary of N??ya??stra of Bharata Muni.

In the 10th century AD Moksopaya or Moksopaya Shastra, a philosophical text on salvation for non-ascetics (moksa-upaya: 'means to release'), was written on the Pradyumna hill in ?r?nagar. It has the form of a public sermon and claims human authorship and contains about 30,000 shloka's (making it longer than the Ramayana). The main part of the text forms a dialogue between Vasistha and Rama, interchanged with numerous short stories and anecdotes to illustrate the content. This text was later (11th to the 14th century AD) expanded and vedanticized, which resulted in the Yoga Vasistha.

Muslim rule

The Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir lived in relative harmony, since the Sufi-Islamic way of life that Muslims followed in Kashmir complemented the Rishi tradition of Kashmiri Pandits, and Sufi saints such as Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali were thought of as Muslim Rishis. This led to a syncretic culture where Hindus and Muslims revered the same local saints and prayed at the same shrines . Famous sufi saint Bulbul Shah was able to convert Rinchan Shah who was then prince of Kashgar Ladakh to an Islamic lifestyle, thus founding the Sufiana composite culture. Under this rule, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Kashmiris generally co-existed peacefully. Over time, however, the Sufiana governance gave way to outright Muslim monarchs.

First Muslim ruler: Shah Mir Swati-Shams Al-Din

Shah Mir was the First Muslim ruler of Kashmir and the founder of the Swati dynasty named after him. Jonaraja, in his Rajatarangini mentioned him as Sahamera who was a Pashtun from Swat region, the (then) tribal belt of Pakhtunkhwa province of present day Pakistan. Shah Mir was succeeded by his eldest son Jamshid, but he was deposed by his brother Ali Sher probably within few months, who ascended the throne under the name of Alauddin[1] Following the Shahmiri Dynasty, was the Chak Dynasty that ruled until Mughal conquest in 1586. In his Book, the New Islamic Dynasties, Clifford Edmond Bosworth has referred to the King as Shah Mir Swati, Shams Al Din; p/310).

Some Kashmiri rulers, such as Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin who was popularly known as Budshah(?????) (the King) (r.1423-1474), were tolerant of all religions in a manner comparable to Akbar. However, several Muslim rulers of Kashmir were intolerant of other religions. Sult?n Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413) is often considered the worst of these. Historians have recorded many of his atrocities. The Tarikh-i-Firishta records that Sikandar persecuted the Hindus and issued orders proscribing the residence of any other than Muslims in Kashmir. He also ordered the breaking of all "golden and silver images". The Tarikh-i-Firishta further states: "Many of the Brahmins, rather than abandon their religion or their country, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped. After the emigration of the Brahmins, Sikandar ordered all the temples in Kashmir to be thrown down. Having broken all the images in Kashmir, (Sikandar) acquired the title of 'Destroyer of Idols'."

Kalhana's metrical chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, called the Rajatarangini, has been pronounced by Professor H. H. Wilson to be the only Sanskrit composition yet discovered to which the appellation "history" can with any propriety be applied. It first became known to the Muslims when, on Akbar's invasion of Kashmir in 1588, a copy was presented to the emperor. A translation into Persian was made at his order. A summary of its contents, taken from this Persian translation, is given by Abul Fazl in the Ain-i-Akbari. The Rajatarangini was written around the middle of the 12th century. His work, in six books, makes use of earlier writings that are now lost.

The Rajatarangini is the first of a series of four histories that record the annals of Kashmir. Commencing with a rendition of traditional history of very early times, the Rajatarangini comes down to the reign of Sangrama Deva, (c.1006 AD). The second work, by Jonaraja, continues the history from where Kalhana left off, and, entering the Muslim period, gives an account of the reigns down to that of Zain-ul-Abidin, 1412. Srivara carried on the record to the accession of Fah Shah in 1486. The fourth work, called Rajavalipataka, by Prajnia Bhatta, completes the history to the time of the incorporation of Kashmir in the dominions of the Mogul emperor Akbar, 1588.

Sikh rule

In 1819, the Kashmir valley passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan, and four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghans, to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of Lahore. As the Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghans, they initially welcomed the new Sikh rulers. However, the Sikh governors turned out to be hard taskmasters, and Sikh rule was generally considered oppressive, protected perhaps by the remoteness of Kashmir from the capital of the Sikh empire in Lahore; The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws, which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter, closing down the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, and banning the azaan, the public Muslim call to prayer. Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the vast Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs. High taxes, according to some contemporary accounts, had depopulated large tracts of the countryside, allowing only one-sixteenth of the cultivable land to be cultivated. However, after a famine in 1832, the Sikhs reduced the land tax to half the produce of the land and also began to offer interest-free loans to farmers; Kashmir became the second highest revenue earner for the Sikh empire. During this time Kashmiri shawls became known world wide, attracting many buyers especially in the west.

Earlier, in 1780, after the death of Ranjit Deo, the Raja of Jammu, the kingdom of Jammu (to the south of the Kashmir valley) was also captured by the Sikhs and afterwards, until 1846, became a tributary to the Sikh power. Ranjit Deo's grandnephew, Gulab Singh, subsequently sought service at the court of Ranjit Singh, distinguished himself in later campaigns, especially the annexation of the Kashmir valley, and, for his services, was appointed governor of Jammu in 1820. With the help of his officer, Zorawar Singh, Gulab Singh soon captured for the Sikhs the lands of Ladakh and Baltistan to the east and north-east, respectively, of Jammu.

Princely state

In 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh War broke out. According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India,

"Gulab Singh contrived to hold himself aloof till the battle of Sobraon (1846), when he appeared as a useful mediator and the trusted advisor of Sir Henry Lawrence. Two treaties were concluded. By the first the State of Lahore (i.e. West Punjab) handed over to the British, as equivalent for one crore indemnity, the hill countries between the rivers Beas and Indus; by the second the British made over to Gulab Singh for 75 lakhs all the hilly or mountainous country situated to the east of the Indus and the west of the Ravi i.e. the Vale of Kashmir)."

Drafted by a treaty and a bill of sale, and constituted between 1820 and 1858, the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu (as it was first called) combined disparate regions, religions, and ethnicities: to the east, Ladakh was ethnically and culturally Tibetan and its inhabitants practised Buddhism; to the south, Jammu had a mixed population of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs; in the heavily populated central Kashmir valley, the population was overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, however, there was also a small but influential Hindu minority, the Kashmiri brahmins or pandits; to the northeast, sparsely populated Baltistan had a population ethnically related to Ladakh, but which practised Shi'a Islam; to the north, also sparsely populated, Gilgit Agency, was an area of diverse, mostly Shi'a groups; and, to the west, Punch was Muslim, but of different ethnicity than the Kashmir valley. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which Kashmir sided with the British, and the subsequent assumption of direct rule by Great Britain, the princely state of Kashmir came under the suzerainty of the British Crown.

In the British census of India of 1941, Kashmir registered a Muslim majority population of 77%, a Hindu population of 20% and a sparse population of Buddhists and Sikhs comprising the remaining 3%. That same year, Prem Nath Bazaz, a Kashmiri Pandit journalist wrote: ?The poverty of the Muslim masses is appalling. ... Most are landless laborers, working as serfs for absentee [Hindu] landlords ... Almost the whole brunt of official corruption is borne by the Muslim masses.? For almost a century until the census, a small Hindu elite had ruled over a vast and impoverished Muslim peasantry. Driven into docility by chronic indebtedness to landords and moneylenders, having no education besides, nor awareness of rights, the Muslim peasants had no political representation until the 1930s.

1947 and 1948

Ranbir Singh's grandson Hari Singh, who had ascended the throne of Kashmir in 1925, was the reigning monarch in 1947 at the conclusion of British rule of the subcontinent and the subsequent partition of the British Indian Empire into the newly independent Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. According to Burton Stein's History of India,
"Kashmir was neither as large nor as old an independent state as Hyderabad; it had been created rather off-handedly by the British after the first defeat of the Sikhs in 1846, as a reward to a former official who had sided with the British. The Himalayan kingdom was connected to India through a district of the Punjab, but its population was 77 per cent Muslim and it shared a boundary with Pakistan. Hence, it was anticipated that the maharaja would accede to Pakistan when the British paramountcy ended on 14?15 August. When he hesitated to do this, Pakistan launched a guerrilla onslaught meant to frighten its ruler into submission. Instead the Maharaja appealed to Mountbatten for assistance, and the governor-general agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Indian soldiers entered Kashmir and drove the Pakistani-sponsored irregulars from all but a small section of the state. The United Nations was then invited to mediate the quarrel. The UN mission insisted that the opinion of Kashmiris must be ascertained, while India insisted that no referendum could occur until all of the state had been cleared of irregulars."

In the last days of 1948, a ceasefire was agreed under UN auspices, but since the plebiscite demanded by the UN was never conducted, relations between India and Pakistan soured, and eventually led to two more wars over Kashmir in 1965 and 1999. India has control of about half the area of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, while Pakistan controls a third of the region, the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir. According to Encyclop?dia Britannica, "Although there was a clear Muslim majority in Kashmir before the 1947 partition and its economic, cultural, and geographic contiguity with the Muslim-majority area of the Punjab (in Pakistan) could be convincingly demonstrated, the political developments during and after the partition resulted in a division of the region. Pakistan was left with territory that, although basically Muslim in character, was thinly populated, relatively inaccessible, and economically underdeveloped. The largest Muslim group, situated in the Valley of Kashmir and estimated to number more than half the population of the entire region, lay in Indian-administered territory, with its former outlets via the Jhelum valley route blocked."

Current status and political divisions

The eastern region of the former princely state of Kashmir has also been involved in a boundary dispute. In the late 19th- and early 20th centuries, although some boundary agreements were signed between Great Britain, Afghanistan and Russia over the northern borders of Kashmir, China never accepted these agreements, and the official Chinese position did not change with the communist revolution in 1949. By the mid-1950s the Chinese army had entered the north-east portion of Ladakh. : "By 1956?57 they had completed a military road through the Aksai Chin area to provide better communication between Xinjiang and western Tibet. India's belated discovery of this road led to border clashes between the two countries that culminated in the Sino-Indian war of October 1962."

The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whereas Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls of the disputed territory, Pakistan and China, the remaining .

Jammu and Pakistan administered Kashmir lie outside Pir Panjal range, and are under Indian and Pakistani control respectively. These are populous regions. The main cities are Mirpur, Dadayal, Kotli, Bhimber Jammu, Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot.

The Gilgit?Baltistan, formerly called Northern Areas, are a group of territories in the extreme north, bordered by the Karakoram, the western Himalayas, the Pamir, and the Hindu Kush ranges. With its administrative center at the town of Gilgit, the Northern Areas cover an area of 72,971?km? (28,174?mi?) and have an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. The other main city is Skardu.

Ladakh is a region in the east, between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Main cities are Leh and Kargil. It is under Indian administration and is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area and is mainly inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent.

Aksai Chin is a vast high-altitude desert of salt that reaches altitudes up to . Geographically part of the Tibetan Plateau, Aksai Chin is referred to as the Soda Plain. The region is almost uninhabited, and has no permanent settlements.

Though these regions are in practice administered by their respective claimants, neither India nor Pakistan has formally recognised the accession of the areas claimed by the other. India claims those areas, including the area "ceded" to China by Pakistan in the Trans-Karakoram Tract in 1963, are a part of its territory, while Pakistan claims the entire region excluding Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. The two countries have fought several declared wars over the territory. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 established the rough boundaries of today, with Pakistan holding roughly one-third of Kashmir, and India one-half, with a dividing line of control established by the United Nations. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 resulted in a stalemate and a UN-negotiated ceasefire.

Demographics

In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, Muslims constituted 74.16% of the total population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu where Gujjar Muslims constitute 20% population, Hindus, 23.72%, and Buddhists, 1.21%. The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 70% of the population. In the Kashmir Valley, Muslims constituted 95.6% of the population and Hindus 3.24%. These percentages have remained fairly stable for the last 100 years. Forty years later, in the 1941 Census of British India, Muslims accounted for 93.6% of the population of the Kashmir Valley and the Hindus for 4%. In 2003, the percentage of Muslims in the Kashmir Valley was 95% and those of Hindus 4%; the same year, in Jammu, the percentage of Hindus was 66% and those of Muslims 30%. In the 1901 Census of the British Indian Empire, the population of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu was 2,905,578. Of these 2,154,695 were Muslims (74.16%), 689,073 Hindus (23.72%), 25,828 Sikhs, and 35,047 Buddhists.

Among the Muslims of the princely state, four divisions were recorded: "Shaikhs, Saiyids, Mughals, and Pathans. The Shaikhs, who are by far the most numerous, are the descendants of Hindus, but have retained none of the caste rules of their forefathers. They have clan names known as krams ..." It was recorded that these kram names included "Tantre," "Shaikh,", "Bhat", "Mantu," "Ganai," "Dar," "Damar," "Lon" etc. The Saiyids, it was recorded "could be divided into those who follow the profession of religion and those who have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. Their kram name is "Mir." While a Saiyid retains his saintly profession Mir is a prefix; if he has taken to agriculture, Mir is an affix to his name." The Mughals who were not numerous were recorded to have kram names like "Mir" (a corruption of "Mirza"), "Beg," "Bandi," "Bach," and "Ashaye." Finally, it was recorded that the Pathans "who are more numerous than the Mughals, ... are found chiefly in the south-west of the valley, where Pathan colonies have from time to time been founded. The most interesting of these colonies is that of Kuki-Khel Afridis at Dranghaihama, who retain all the old customs and speak Pashtu." Among the main tribes of Muslims in the princely state are the Butts, Dar, Lone, Jat, Gujjar, Rajput, Sudhan and Khatri. A small number of Butts, Dar and Lone use the title Khawaja and the Khatri use the title Shaikh the Gujjar use the title of Chaudhary. All these tribes are indigenous of the princely state and many Hindus also belong to these tribes.

The Hindus were found mainly in Jammu, where they constituted a little less than 60% of the population. In the Kashmir Valley, the Hindus represented "524 in every 10,000 of the population (i.e. 5.24%), and in the frontier wazarats of Ladhakh and Gilgit only 94 out of every 10,000 persons (0.94%)." In the same Census of 1901, in the Kashmir Valley, the total population was recorded to be 1,157,394, of which the Muslim population was 1,083,766, or 93.6% and the Hindu population 60,641. Among the Hindus of Jammu province, who numbered 626,177 (or 90.87% of the Hindu population of the princely state), the most important castes recorded in the census were "Brahmans (186,000), the Rajputs (167,000), the Khattris (48,000) and the Thakkars (93,000)."

In the 1911 Census of the British Indian Empire, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu had increased to 3,158,126. Of these, 2,398,320 (75.94%) were Muslims, 696,830 (22.06%) Hindus, 31,658 (1%) Sikhs, and 36,512 (1.16%) Buddhists. In the last census of British India in 1941, the total population of Kashmir and Jammu (which as a result of the second world war, was estimated from the 1931 census) was 3,945,000. Of these, the total Muslim population was 2,997,000 (75.97%), the Hindu population was 808,000 (20.48%), and the Sikh 55,000 (1.39%).

The Kashmiri Pandits, the only Hindus of the Kashmir valley, who had stably constituted approximately 4 to 5% of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846?1947), and 20% of whom had left the Kashmir valley by 1950, began to leave in much greater numbers in the 1990s. According to a number of authors, approximately 100,000 of the total Kashmiri Pandit population of 140,000 left the valley during that decade. Other authors have suggested a higher figure for the exodus, ranging from the entire population of over 150,000, to 190,000 of a total Pandit population of 200,000, to a number as high as 300,000.

Culture and cuisine

Kashmiri cuisine includes dum aloo (boiled potatoes with heavy amounts of spice), tzaman (a solid cottage cheese), rogan josh (lamb cooked in heavy spices), yakhiyn (lamb cooked in curd with mild spices), hakh (a spinach-like leaf), rista-gushtaba (minced meat balls in tomato and curd curry),danival korme and of course the signature rice which is particular to Asian cultures. The traditional wazwan feast involves cooking meat or vegetables, usually mutton, in several different ways.

Alcohol is strictly prohibited in most places. There are two styles of making tea in the region: Noon Chai, or salt tea, which is pink in colour (known as chinen posh rang or peach flower colour) and popular with locals; and kahwah, a tea for festive occasions, made with saffron and spices (cardamom, cinamon,sugar, noon chai leaves), and black tea.

Economy

Kashmir's economy is centred around agriculture. Traditionally the staple crop of the valley was rice, which formed the chief food of the people. In addition, Indian corn, wheat, barley and oats were also grown. Given its temperate climate, it is suited for crops like asparagus, artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in the valley, and the cultivated orchards yield pears, apples, peaches, and cherries. The chief trees are deodar, firs and pines, chenar or plane, maple, birch and walnut, apple, cherry.

Historically, Kashmir became known worldwide when Cashmere wool was exported to other regions and nations (exports have ceased due to decreased abundance of the cashmere goat and increased competition from China). Kashmiris are well adept at knitting and making Pashmina shawls, silk carpets, rugs, kurtas, and pottery. Saffron, too, is grown in Kashmir. Efforts are on to export the naturally grown fruits and vegetables as organic foods mainly to the Middle East. Srinagar is known for its silver-work, papier mache, wood-carving, and the weaving of silk.

The economy was badly damaged by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which, as of October 8, 2005, resulted in over 70,000 deaths in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir and around 1,500 deaths in Indian controlled Kashmir.

The Indian-administered portion of Kashmir is believed to have potentially rich rocks containing hydrocarbon reserves.

Transport

Transport is predominantly by air or road vehicles in the region. Kashmir has a long modern railway line that started in October 2009 and connects Baramulla in the western part of Kashmir to Srinagar and Qazigund. It will link the Kashmir to Banihal across the Pir Panjal mountains through the Banihal rail tunnel in 2013 and to the rest of India in another few years as the construction of the railway line from Jammu to Banihal progresses steadily.

History of tourism in Kashmir

The state of Jammu & Kashmir is a region of widely varying people and geography. In the south, Jammu is a transition zone from the Indian plains to the Himalaya . Nature has lavishly endowed Kashmir with certain distinctive favors which hardly find a parallel in any alpine land of the world. It is the land of snow clad mountains that shares a common boundary with Afghanistan, China and Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of the Indian Union. Known for its extravagant natural beauty this land formed a major caravan route in the ancient times.

Trade relations through these routes between China and Central Asia made it a land inhabited by various religious and cultural groups. It was during the reign of Kashyapa that the various wandering groups led a settled life Buddhism influenced Kashmir during the rule of Ashoka and the present town of Srinagar was founded by him. This place was earlier called 'Srinagari' or Purandhisthan. The Brahmins who inhabited these areas admired and adorned Buddhism too. From the regions of Kashmir Buddhism spread of Ladakh, Tibet, Central Asia and China. Various traditions co-existed till the advent of the Muslims.

The Mughal had a deep influence on this land and introduced various reforms in the revenue industry and other areas that added to the progress of Kashmir. In 1820 Maharaj Gulab Singh got the Jagir of Jammu from Maharaj Ranjit Sigh. He is said to have laid the foundation of the Dogra dynasty. In 1846 Kashmir was sold to Maharaj Gulab Singh. Thus the two areas of Kashmir and Jammu were integrated into a single political unit. A few chieftains who formed part of the administration were of the Hunza, Kishtwar, Gilgit Ladakh. During the Dogra dynasty trade improved, along with the preservation and promotion of forestry.

See also

  • United Nations Security Council Resolution 47
  • Line of Control
  • Kashmir conflict
  • List of Kashmiri people
  • Kargil War
  • 2005 Kashmir earthquake
  • List of Jammu and Kashmir related articles
  • Notes

    Cited references

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    Further reading

  • Blank, Jonah. "Kashmir?Fundamentalism Takes Root," Foreign Affairs, 78,6 (November/December 1999): 36-42.
  • Drew, Federic. 1877. "The Northern Barrier of India: a popular account of the Jammoo and Kashmir Territories with Illustrations; 1st edition: Edward Stanford, London. Reprint: Light & Life Publishers, Jammu. 1971.
  • Evans, Alexander. Why Peace Won't Come to Kashmir, Current History (Vol 100, No 645) April 2001 p. 170-175.
  • Hussain, Ijaz. 1998. "Kashmir Dispute: An International Law Perspective", National Institute of Pakistan Studies.
  • Irfani, Suroosh, ed "Fifty Years of the Kashmir Dispute": Based on the proceedings of the International Seminar held at Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir August 24?25, 1997: University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, AJK, 1997.
  • Joshi, Manoj Lost Rebellion: Kashmir in the Nineties (Penguin, New Delhi, 1999).
  • Khan, L. Ali The Kashmir Dispute: A Plan for Regional Cooperation 31 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 31, p.?495 (1994).
  • Knight, E. F. 1893. Where Three Empires Meet: A Narrative of Recent Travel in: Kashmir, Western Tibet, Gilgit, and the adjoining countries. Longmans, Green, and Co., London. Reprint: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Company, Taipei. 1971.
  • Knight, William, Henry. 1863. Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet. Richard Bentley, London. Reprint 1998: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.
  • K?chler, Hans. The Kashmir Problem between Law and Realpolitik. Reflections on a Negotiated Settlement. Keynote speech delivered at the "Global Discourse on Kashmir 2008." European Parliament, Brussels, 1 April 2008.
  • Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara... from 1819 to 1825, Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971.
  • Neve, Arthur. (Date unknown). The Tourist's Guide to Kashmir, Ladakh, Skardo &c. 18th Edition. Civil and Military Gazette, Ltd., Lahore. (The date of this edition is unknown - but the 16th edition was published in 1938).
  • Stein, M. Aurel. 1900. Kalha?a's R?jatara?gi???A Chronicle of the Kings of Ka?m?r, 2 vols. London, A. Constable & Co. Ltd. 1900. Reprint, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1979.
  • Younghusband, Francis and Molyneux, Edward 1917. Kashmir. A. & C. Black, London.
  • Norelli-Bachelet, Patrizia. "Kashmir and the Convergence of Time, Space and Destiny", 2004; ISBN 0-945747-00-4. First published as a four-part series, March 2002 - April 2003, in 'Prakash', a review of the Jagat Guru Bhagavaan Gopinath Ji Charitable Foundation.
  • Muhammad Ayub. An Army; Ita Role & Rule (A History of the Pakistan Army from Independence to Kargil 1947-1999) Rosedog Books, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA 2005. ISBN 0-8059-9594-3.
  • External links

  • Instrument of Accession
  • United Nations Military Observers Group in Kashmir
  • Official website of the Jammu and Kashmir Government (Indian-administered Kashmir)
  • Official website of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government (Pakistan-administered Kashmir)
  • (Kashmir resources)
  • Category:Disputed territories in Asia Category:Geography of India

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