Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Orbiting U.S. spy satellite could crash to Earth

Satellite has lost power and could fall to Earth sometime in February or March

A U.S. intelligence satellite has lost power and could fall to Earth sometime in February or March, a government official said on Saturday.


The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the spy satellite can no longer be controlled and it was not known where on the planet it might come down.

"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause."



In recent years, NASA has safely brought defunct satellites back to Earth. In 2000, the space agency maneuvered the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Source : reuters.com

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Many men force sex on wives, says survey

Two of every five young married Indian women face unwanted sex frequently or occasionally, according to two major studies by the Population Council.


The surveys show that "marriage does not necessarily make sex voluntary, pleasurable or safe for young Indian women" and can even be unsafe.

The council interviewed nearly 4,000 women across Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.

One of the studies, authored by senior programme official KG Santhya, found that 44 per cent of young married women faced unwanted sex either frequently or occasionally.

The studies found that sex is forced upon large proportions of urban women. "While we may think urban women will be freer of violence, this isn't so. The real point is that marriage isn't necessarily safe for young women," said Shireen J Jejeebhoy, senior associate at Population Council's Southeast Asia office and author of the other survey.

Jejeebhoy and colleague Rajib Acharya focused on 2,306 young married women, between 15 and 24 years, in rural and urban Maharashtra.
About 17.2 per cent urban women reported being beaten at least once by their spouses and 15.5 urban women reported forced sex¸ affecting their well-being.

The studies also suggest that cultural reasons — including the belief that sex is a routine duty — often don't let Indian women view sex as "forced" even when it is unwanted. However, women who knew their husbands well at the time of marriage faced lower risks of unwanted sex.

Source : hindustantimes

Criss Angel Walks on Water

Criss Angel Walks on Water






Criss Angel Walks on Water

Saturday, January 26, 2008

'Sex better than money for happiness'

NEW YORK: It is the news that frustrated partners have probably been longing to hear - regular sex is the secret to a happy life.


A team of international researchers has carried out a study and found that sex is better for one's happiness than money, the WebMD reported.

"The evidence we see is that money brings some amounts of happiness, but not as much as what economists might have thought. We had to look to psychologists and realise that other things really matter.

"We found it's sex which enters so strongly and positively in happiness equations," according to lead researcher David Blachflower of Dartmouth College.

In fact, the researchers came to the conclusion after analysing data on the self-reported levels of sexual activity and happiness of 16,000 people.

Despite popular opinion, they found that having more money did not mean one gets more sex; there's no difference between the frequency of sex and income level.

But the team found that sex had a greater effect on happiness levels in highly educated, and presumingly wealthier people, than on those with lower educational status.

According to them, overall, the happiest folks are those getting the most sex - married people, who report 30 per cent more between-the-sheets action than single folks.


"Many studies confirm that people who are depressed have less sex. Conversely, if you're not depressed - happy, as some might say -- you're more likely to have more frequent sex," another researcher Robert Hatfield of the University of Cincinnati was quoted as saying.

Source : TOI

Chocolate is injurious to bones

Women who eat chocolate daily may end up with weaker bones and could be more prone to fracture, a new study in Australia suggests.


Cocoa used in chocolate has been known to provide a range of health benefits including benefits to the heart.

But after monitoring the amount of chocolate eaten over several weeks by 1,001 women aged between 70 and 85, scientists said that women who ate chocolate every day were found to have lower bone density than those who ate it less than once a week.

The low bone density was found in the hips, neck, tibia and heel bones of the women surveyed, reported the online edition of Daily Mail.

The researchers led by Jonathan Hodgson at the University of Western Australia believe that the findings may be because chocolate contains oxalate, a poisonous acid, which can reduce the calcium absorption and sugar, linked to calcium excretion.

Calcium is vital for maintaining healthy bones. The findings of the latest study appeared in the latest issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition less than a month after British medical journal The Lancet warned against considering chocolate as a healthy food.

The Lancet article said consumers were generally unaware that chocolate manufacturers often remove a healthy element called the flavanols, an antioxidant, because of their bitter taste.

Source: IANS

Friday, January 25, 2008

Gemma Atkinson is the new Bond girl

Gemma Atkinson is the new Bond girl

The new James Bond film titled ‘Quantum of Solace’ will once again feature Daniel Craig as 007 and giving him company will be British newcomer Gemma Atkinson and Ukrainian model and actress Olga Kurylenko. Gemma, 21, the girlfriend of premiership footballer Marcus Bent and who is fresh out of drama school, will play MI6 agent Fields while Olga will play the dangerously alluring Camille, the latest in a long-legged line up of Bond girls.

Gemma has previously been linked with Man U’s Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo gifts Merc to ill mother Footie megastar Cristiano Ronaldo has bought a 25,000 pound Mercedes for his cancer-stricken mum. The Man United ace splashed out on the car for Dolores Aveiro as a present for her 53rd birthday. Ronaldo, 22, who earns 100,000 pounds a week, decided to treat her to the A-class Merc after she passed her driving test last October. A friend said: “Money was no object so he got all the trimmings.’’ Dolores, who lives on Portuguese isle Madeira, said on Tuesday: “I nearly had a heart attack. It was just what I wanted.’’ Earlier this month it was revealed she has been having radiotherapy after an op to remove a lump from her breast.


Eva makes Posh look thinner


Eva makes Posh look thinner
What’s the quickest way for a woman to look thinner? All that needs to be done is stand next to someone bigger than yourself. And that’s exactly what ‘Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria did. The 32-year-old wife of San Antonio Spurs basketballer Tony Parker and a pal of Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is so thin, she makes the ultra-skinny Posh look normalsized. The pair, who have become firm friends since the Beckhams’ move to Los Angeles, hugged as they met up backstage at the Spice Girls reunion show at Manchester’s men Arena. “Eva is a huge Spice Girls fan,’’ a source was qouted in an English website, adding that the ‘Desperate Housewives’ star had been longing to see her favourite group perform live. “She said it was the highlight of her trip to the UK,’’ added the source. Meanwhile, Victoria who posed alongside Eva in her gold corset outfit told an English eveninger: “I have such fond memories of living in Manchester. So I’m really excited to be here.’’

Gemma Atkinson


Source : timesofindia.com

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

‘Naked woman’ spotted on Mars in Nasa image

London: Life on Mars? Well, bizarre images have emerged showing a mystery female figure walking down a hill on the arid planet.


MYSTERY DAME: The image of what looks like a naked woman with her arm outstretched was among several taken on the red planet and sent back to Earth by Nasa’s Mars explorer Spirit

The photo of what looks like a naked woman with her arm outstretched was among several taken on the red planet and sent back to Earth by Nasa’s Mars explorer Spirit, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed website.

Though no official confirmation has come from Nasa whether the figure is an alien or an optical illusion caused by a landscape on Mars, it has set the internet abuzz that there really is life on Mars.

As one enthusiast put it on the website, “These pictures are amazing. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars.”

The news of the mystery woman on Mars came just days after a team of French scientists claimed to have discovered proof that the red planet possesses high-level dense clouds of dry ice, which scud across its orange sky.

Using data obtained by the OMEGA spectrometer on board ESA’s Mars Express, the team found the existence of the ice clouds which sometimes become so dense that they throw quite dark shadows on the dusty surface of the red planet. “This is the first time that carbon dioxide ice clouds on Mars have been imaged and identified from above. This is important because the images tell us not only about their shape, but also their size and density.

Previously, we had to rely on indirect information. However, it is very difficult to separate the signals coming from the clouds, atmosphere and surface,” according to lead scientist Franck Montmessin of the Service d’Aeronomie at University of Versailles.

Not only are the clouds surprisingly high — over 80 kms above the surface — but they can be several hundred kilometres across. They are also much thicker than expected. Instead of looking like the wispy ice clouds seen on Earth, they resemble tall convectional clouds that grow as the result of rising columns of warm air.

Even more surprising is the fact that the CO2 ice clouds are made of quite large particles — more than a micron across — and they are sufficiently dense to noticeably dim the Sun. PTI

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