Easy Life Student

9 of the Most Beautiful Villages in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 8 May 2015 16:17:00 +0500

Europe is the birthplace of western civilization, home of some of the most exciting times in history. It’s where the Renaissance flourished, the origins of the all of the Grimm Brothers fairytales, and home to some of the most beautiful villages in the world.

1. Motrèsor, France
Nestled on the banks of the Indoris, this village is famous in France for preserving the cultural traditions and historical architecture.

2. Pučišća, Croatia
This magnificent village was built almost entirely of local stone, found on the Island of Brac, where it is located. The village has preserved the historical art of stonework, with parents passing the knowledge down to their children.

3. Hallstatt, Austria
Hallstatt used to be one of the most isolated places in Austria, with no more than 1000 residents. The village had a tradition of exhuming their dead every ten years to make space for new ones, and leave the skulls decorated with the owner’s name and profession.

4. Bled, Slovenia
One of Slovenia’s top tourist attractions, Bled is famous for its ancient castles and picturesque views.

5. Rocamadour, France
The name means “Lover of Rock”, and was given to the village to commemorate a hermit that used to live where the village now stands. It is claimed that the hermit actually conversed with Jesus, and his burial place became a place of pilgrimage for French believers.

6. Bonifacio, France
Originally founded as a fortress, Bonifacio is built above the water of the Mediterranean Sea, on the French Island of Corsica.

7. Gruyères, Switzerland
Built in medieval times, Gruyères’ streets are all made of cobblestone and the use of cars is greatly discouraged within the village.

8. Colmar, France
Fondly referred to “Little Venice”, this small village looks it came out of a Disney movie, and is known for its high-quality white wine – Alsatian Wine.

9. Bibury, England
Considered to be one of the prettiest villages in all of England, Bibury is most famous for its stone-built cottages, called “Arlington Row”. The buildings are so beautiful, that Henry Ford once tried to purchase them all, in order to ship them to the U.S.

14 Easy Ways to Save Gas & Money

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Mon, 4 May 2015 16:05:00 +0500

Despite a recent drop in prices, gas is still expensive. What most people
don’t know is that by making just a few changes in the way they drive will
save them both gas and money, for practically zero-effort. Following these
14 pieces of advice can end up saving you hundreds of $ every year.

1. Advertised M.P.G is a lie

Source

Most of the MPG ratings are based on tests in controlled environments

or are even completely made-up. The only true way to tell the MPG is
to drive the car and divide the distance by the amount of petrol.

2. Keep the pedal off the metal

Yes, it sounds good. It may even make you feel more powerful, but
every time you floor it – you waste between 5% more gas in the city,
and up to 33% on the highway.

3. Don’t brake too much

Brakes should be used when you can’t slow the vehicle down in other
ways. If you have enough distance, just take your foot off the gas and
let gravity and air friction slow you down. That save gas wasted as heat,
as well as extends the life of your brakes.

4. The speed limit is your friend

Most cars are designed to get optimal gas consumption at around
50m/ph (80k/ph)k, so as long as you stick to that speed, you’ll save
a lot of money.

5. Empty out the boot

Source

The heavier the car, the more gas it needs to move, so remove anything
you don’t need from the boot and keep only the essentials.

6. No need to top it off

You may think that it’s smart to give that one extra squeeze to the fuel
pump, but that extra squeeze will mostly go to waste. Excess gas goes
back to the station’s pumps to prevent spillage, and an overfilled tank
loses gas to vapor leakage and spills.

7. Idle cars are the devil’s playthings

Source

Idling your car is illegal in many places, and if it isn’t where you live, it
should be. If you leave your car running while you know you’re going to
be staying in place, even for a couple of minutes, it should be enough
reason to turn that key and stop the engine. An idling car wastes gas,
shortens the vehicle’s lifespan and pollutes the environment for no
reason.

8. Turn down the air conditioning

If you need the air, turn the a/c off and open the windows – it’s a more
effective way. Operating your car’s a/c on the highest settings can
increase your gas consumption by up to 25%. Remember though,
that keeping the windows all the way down creates drag, which
causes the car to use more gas too, so try not to open the windows
all the way down.

9. Got cruise control? Use it!

Source

Driving without cruise control is less efficient, resulting in higher gas
consumption. If you know you’re going to be driving at a certain speed
for a while, switch on the cruise control and enjoy the (cheaper) ride.

10. Keep the tires full

A properly inflated tire can save up to 3.3% of your gas consumption,
and will also last longer. If your tires are not properly inflated, you’re
going to be wasting about 0.3% for every 1psi that’s missing.

11. Maintenance is important

Source

Getting your oil changed every 5,000-7,000 miles (8,000-11,000k) is
normal for a modern car. While you’re at it, changing the filters, spark
plugs, and other parts will make your car purr like a happy cat, and save
you money in the long run.

12. Cheap gas is better

In the past, “premium” gasoline had additives and detergents that would
reduce carbon deposits in the system. Nowadays, all kinds of gas have
these additives, so unless your car specifically needs premium, you can
use regular and save a lot of money.

13. Keep your tires straight

Misaligned tired, even by as little as 0.17 inches will add another 100
miles for every 20,000. That’s about $185 that goes to waste. It’ll also
speed up tire wear and tear, which will cost you a pretty penny to change
as well.

14. Make sure your gas tank is properly sealed

Source

An improperly sealed cap allows gas to vaporize. That’s your money
going up in the air (and polluting it along the way).

First photo of Earth from space was from deadly rocket

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:42:00 +0500

Reference http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27036#.VQ0ghdKUfZJ

(Image: Johns Hopkins University via Bloomsbury Auctions)

We have the world's first ballistic missile to thank for taking the first ever photograph of Earth from space.

This scratchy image is an original print of the photo, taken in 1946 by a camera in the nose of a V-2 r

ocket more than 100 kilometres above our planet's surface. The 35-millimetre negative was retrieved from the remains of the camera after the rocket smashed back to Earth.

The rocket was designed by rocketry pioneer Wernher von Braun for a very different purpose. In 1944, German V-2s rained down on western Europe, terrifying civilians and killing thousands. But they were also a technological triumph: the first things made by humans to travel outside Earth's atmosphere.

After the war, unused V-2s were claimed by the victorious allies. Most were used to develop the rockets that would eventually propel US and Soviet satellites and humans into space – and to threaten nuclear war. The rocket that took this photo was part of the US haul, launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on 24 October 1946.

The original print of the photograph was auctioned today by Dreweatts & Bloomsbury in London. It was part of a collection of original early space photography from the golden age of the space race and fetched £1400.

Awesome photos from Europe's biggest solar eclipse

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:36:00 +0500

ESA's Sun-watching Proba-2 minisatellite had a ringside seat of the solar eclipse from orbit. Its SWAP imager views the solar disc at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths to capture the turbulent surface of the sun and its swirling corona(Image: ESA)

Umbraphiles all over the country headed outside for the biggest UK solar eclipse in 16 years. Some were

rewarded with spectacular views, while those of us who ventured out of the New Scientist office in cloudy London only saw the sky go gloomy – though some confused birds did start singing. I was in a London park, where I heard an Australian remark, "this is the most English thing ever: going outside to look at clouds".

The European Space Agency beat the clouds and got this awesome image from its Proba 2 satellite.

The eclipse was first since 1662 to coincide with the spring equinox, and traced a path over the Arctic. This is what was seen from Svalbard during totality, when the moon completely blocked the sun.

Total eclipse at Svalbard, Norway(Image: EPA/OLAV JON NESVOLD)

The editor of New Scientist headed to the Faroe Islands, where the eclipse was also total.

People watch in darkness on a hill overlooking Torshavn, capital of the Faroe Islands(Image: AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Target will pay hack victims $10 million

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:31:00 +0500

Target will pay customers who suffered from a 2013 data breach up to $10,000 each in damages.

Reference www.cnn.com

On Thursday, a federal judge in St. Paul, Minnesota approved a $10 million offer by Target to settle a class action lawsuit, according to an attorney representing those who were hacked.

But don't get excited. It's unlikely anyone will actually receive $10,000.

Under the terms of the settlement, Target customers who can prove they were damaged by the data breach will get the first shot at the $10 million. For example, victims will be reimbursed for unauthorized credit card charges, bank fees or costs related to replacement IDs -- so long as they are documented.

There was rampant card fraud after the Target hack. But in reality, banks typically reimburse customers 100% in cases of card fraud.

The more likely scenario? Target will reimburse victims for "lost time," as it says in court papers. That might include the time victims spent getting cards replaced and calling their bank -- and even then, only when it was documented.

A victim's time is valued at $10 per hour. And at most, they can get reimbursed for two hours for dealing with each instance of "substantiated loss."

After those claims are paid, any remaining settlement funds will be evenly distributed to class members without documentation. The settlement applies to the 40 million people whose debit and credit card data were exposed during the Target hack. If all 40 million were to join the class and no one were to claim any actual damages, the most each person would get is 25 cents.

In addition, Target (TGT) is required to improve its data security, including the designation of a chief information security officer. The company must also provide security training to its employees.

The data breach at Target, which took place during the height of the 2013 holiday shopping season, was one of the largest in U.S. corporate history.

Aside from the 40 million whose financial data was exposed, as many as 70 million customers had information such as their name, address, phone number and e-mail address hacked in the breach.

After the data breach was discovered, Target offered one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to all customers who shopped in U.S. stores.

In a statement, Target said, "We are pleased to see the process moving forward and look forward to its resolution."

The attorneys who sued Target come out best in this deal, though. The settlement will pay them up to $6.75 million in fees -- apart from the public's settlement fund. But U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson must now comb through invoices, and he could adjust that number, legal experts said.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story stated that the plaintiff's attorneys will receive $6.75 million in fees. They could receive up to $6.75 million in fees.

Facebook Plans To Turn Messenger Into A Platform

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:24:00 +0500

Reference http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/19/facebook-messenger-platform/

Next week at its F8 developer conference, Facebook will announce new ways for third parties to offer experiences through its Messenger app, according to multiple sources. Facebook hopes to make Messenger more useful, after seeing Asia’s chat apps WeChat and Line succeed as platforms that go beyond just texting with friends.

At first, Facebook will focus on how third parties can build ways for content and information to flow through Messenger. Depending on the success of the early experiments, Facebook may then mull bringing more utilities to Messenger.

While the Messenger platform is said to be a major part of F8 by all the sources, it’s unclear exactly what form the third-party integrations will take. Considering what WeChat and Line have done, there are plenty of opportunities including ways for businesses to communicate or share content directly with users, or options for richer friend-to-friend content sharing.

The platform is likely to start slow, with Facebook working with preferred partners, but it may eventually open to more developers. Facebook declined to comment on this story.

Avoiding Spam

Facebook is looking to recreate the best parts of its earlier web platform efforts without repeating its mistakes.

Facebook’s web canvas thrived with games, as it let users quickly bring their identity and friends to third-party experiences. And its Open Graph protocol connected people’s apps back to their Facebook profiles. Both were popular because they helped developers find an interested audience. That’s something especially tough now in the mobile era, as the app stores have become highly competitive and overcrowded.

Google investigation dropped by US regulators

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 12:23:00 +0500

reference- http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31981498

Google narrowly escaped being prosecuted by the US government in 2012, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had been investigating complaints from Google's rivals about its dominance of the internet search industry.

An internal report obtained by the paper showed that some FTC officials had wanted to prosecute.

Instead, the regulator persuaded Google to change the way its software worked.

Google said the "exhaustive" review showed there was no harm to competitors or consumers.

The FTC began its probe of the search market in 2011 following complaints from Google's competitors.

During the investigation the regulator's officials gathered nine million documents and obtained evidence from firms such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon, who had accused Google of taking content from their web pages.

The information Google gleaned was allegedly used by the firm to improve its own search ranking system.

The evidence gathered was enough to convince some FTC investigators that legal action should be taken, said the paper.

However when the regulator's investigation ended, the agency concluded that the company had not abused its market position to hurt rivals.

Even so, the FTC arranged a deal with the company to end some of the practices that its rivals had complained about.

The report was inadvertently sent to the Wall Street Journal when it asked for details of a separate FTC investigation.

The agency has not commented on the accidental release of the report.

In a statement Google said: "After an exhaustive 19-month review, covering nine million pages of documents and many hours of testimony, the FTC staff and all five commissioners agreed that there was no need to take action on how we rank and display search results."

It added: "Speculation about potential consumer and competitor harm turned out to be entirely wrong."

Live Express news channel

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sun, 11 May 2014 17:45:00 +0500

Top 10 Tallest Buildings In The World

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 12:38:00 +0500

Over the years,technology has grown by leaps and bounds. This has allowed architects to come up with some truly amazing structures. In developed countries, there are numerous tall buildings and structures which captures the attention of people. We all know about Burj Khalifa and how it has rapidly become a popular tourist spot because of its tallness. There are many other tall buildings in the world. I decided to compile a list of the tallest buildings in the world and add to the knowledge of the readers. These tallest buildings in the world are equipped with the latest architect technology and are well-known throughout the world because of their size and tallness.Here we present your the world’s tallest buildings 2013.

10. Guangzhou International Finance Center

Guangzhou International Finance Center stands at a mighty 440m height, making it

one of the tallest buildings in the world. Located in China, this 103-storey skyscraper broke ground in 2005 and completed in 2010. With a height of 1,440 ft, this is one of the tallest buildings in the world.

9. KingKey 100

The KingKey 100 is one of the tallest buildings in the world. It is located in Shenzhen, China. This tall building has a height of 442m or 1,449 ft. It is designed in a way to support offices and hotel space. The KingKey 100 has 100 floors, making it one of the tallest buildings in the world and the tallest building in Shenzhen.

8. Willis Tower

Willis tower, with a height of 442m, is one of the tallest buildings worldwide. Located in Chicago, this 1,450 ft tall structure is a popular tourist spot. Many people visit the glass balcony at the skydeck of the building. When it was completed in 1973, it was the tallest building in the world. Now it is the second tallest building in USA. According to reports, over one million people visit the glass balcony each year.

7. Greenland Center-Zifeng Tower

Zifeng Tower in Nijang, China, is one of the tallest building in the world. It has a height of 450m or 1,476 ft, making it one of the tallest buildings in the world. The building was completed in 2010 and consists of 89 floors, most of which are used as offices.

6. Petronas Twin Towers

Petronas Twin Towers are among the tallest building in the world. At a height of 452m or 1,483 ft, the Petronas Towers are a landmark of Kuala Lumpur. The Towers were the tallest building in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. People who visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, regularly visit the Twin Towers. The antennas at the top of the building are not included in the height of the buildings.

5. International Commerce Center

Completed in 2010, International Commerce Center is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Its height is 484m or 1,588 ft. Located in Hong Kong, it has 118 storeys. Apart from being one of the tallest buildings in the world, it is also the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong.

4. Shanghai World Financial Center

Shanghai World Financial Center is the fourth tallest building in the world. Located in Shanghai, China, the building contains many offices, hotels, conference rooms and shopping malls. It was completed in 2008. There are a total of 101 floors. The building also has the highest height to roof ratio. With height of 492m or 1,614 ft, this is one of the tallest buildings in the world.

3. Taipei 101

The first building to cross the height of 500m, Taipei 101 is one of the tallest buildings in the world. Located in Taiwan and standing at a height of 509m (1,670 ft), the building is a landmark of Taiwan. It was the tallest building in the world when it opened in 2004. It was only until Burj Khalifa was completed that the building lost its crown as the tallest building in the world.

2. Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel

The Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as Makkah Royal Clock Hotel, is the second largest building in the world. At a height of 601 m or 1,971 ft, it is one of the tallest buildings worldwide. It is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It was completed in 2012 and was built to facilitate the pilgrims in Mecca. The tower itself boasts of many records. It is the tallest clock tower in the world, the world’s largest clock, and world’s largest floor area. It is located right next to the sacred mosque, Masjid al Haram. It is the second tallest building in the world.

1. Burj Khalifa

Finally, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa. Located in Dubai, Burj Khalifa is in a league of its own. The tallest building in the world has an astonishing height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft). The building was completed in 2010. It consists of 163 floors, which just shows how huge the structure is. The building has been made using the latest architect designs and technology. The Dubai Fountain, Observation Deck, and Burj Khalifa Park are some of the features in the building. It is one of the most popular tourist spot and tourists love to watch Dubai from a massive height. It is an experience worth remembering.

http://omgtens.com/top-10-tallest-buildings-in-the-world/

Interesting and Amazing Facts To Blow your Mind

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 12:31:00 +0500

Interesting facts

1,525,000,000 miles of telephone wire are strung across the Unites States

1.7 litres of saliva is produced each day

10 percent of all human beings ever born are alive at this very moment

10% of human dry weight comes from bacteria

11% of the world is left-handed

123,000,000 cars are being driven on highways in the United States

27% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon

52% of Americans drink coffee

56,000,000 people go to Major League baseball games each year

28% of Africa is classified as wilderness. In North America, its 38%

99% of the pumpkins sold in the US end up as jack-o-lanterns.

80% of animals on earth are insects

80% of arrested criminals are male

28% of Africa is classified as wilderness. In North America, its 38%

"Taxi" is spelled exactly the same in English, French, German, Swedish, Portuguese, and Dutch.

"The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in English.

"Underground" is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters "und."

$203,000,000 is spent on barbed wire each year in the U.S.

111, 111, 111 X 111, 111, 111 = 12, 345, 678, 987, 654, 321

48% of astronauts experience motion sickness

One in ten people live on an island.

It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

A "2 by 4" is really 1 1/2 by 3 1/2.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A cat uses it's whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

A chimpanzee can learn to recognize itself in a mirror, but monkeys can't

A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.

A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph.

A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A crocodiles tongue is attached to the roof of its mouth.

A cucumber is 96% water

A day on the planet Mercury is twice as long as its year.

A decree declares that anyone caught stealing soap must wash himself with it until it is all used up.

A dentist invented the Electric Chair.

A diamond will not dissolve in acid. The only thing that can destroy it is intense heat

A donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule will not.

A dragonfly can fly 25 mph.

A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

A fish's memory span is 3 seconds.

A fly always jumps backwards for a quick getaway when you try to hit it.

A full-grown bear can run as fast as a horse.

A full-grown pumpkin has about 15 miles of roots.

A giant squid has eyes that can grow up to 20 inches in diameter. (Now think of how big your computer screen is..)

A giraffe and rat can go longer without water than a camel can.

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.

A googol is a 1 followed by 100 zeros. Mathematician Edward Kasner supposedly asked his nephew Milton Sirotta to suggest a name for the number, and he came up with this word.

A group of crows is called a murder.

A healthy (non-colorblind) human eye can distinguish between 500 shades of gray

A hedgehog's heart beats 190 times a minute on average and drops to only 20 beats per minute during hibernation

10 Tips For a Better Relationship

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 23:28:00 +0500

A relationship cannot survive on its own. It needs the care and nurturing of two adults, giving to each other in a way that creates a mutually beneficial connection. To foster a deep and loving relationship, there needs to be:

Kind, constant, and honest communication. Without talking, your relationship will not survive. The more you communicate, the closer you will be.
The willingness to work through difficulties and disagreements. Throwing in the towel, even if you don’t walk out the door, is not the path to happiness. You must face the discomfort that comes with differing opinions and ideas.
A sense of humor, some fun, and a bit of distraction from the rigors of daily life. Just as we need to breathe to survive, your love needs a breath of fresh air to flourish. Giving your relationship what it needs to thrive is a truly loving gesture. You can’t spend all your free time “working” on your relationship—don’t make it a hobby. Discuss what you like to do, where you’d like to go, and how you both like to have fun. Then go do it.
Sharing life lessons with the one you love. When you discover something about life, or you make a self-correcting move that is healthy for your relationship, let your partner know. You’ll be surprised by the positive response.
Emotional support, validation, and compliments. If you don’t feel that you partner likes and respects you, there will not be a strong connection. You have to lift each other up and let each other know the depth of your caring.
Love, intimacy, romance, and sex. These are the cornerstones of a loving relationship. Being great roommates just won’t cut it. There has to be the desire to be together as a couple. You may think the spark has gone, but there are too many ways to rekindle it. All you have to do is try.
Sharing goals and dreams that resonate with both of you. We are happier when we are working toward a goal than when we have achieved one. Make sure you always have something to look forward to and that you are pursuing it as a couple.
Compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness. These will show you the way through a difficult time. If you are together for a while, there will be losses, challenges, and some things that you just can’t fix. Weathering the storms together is a big part of what relationships are all about.
A mutual desire to step outside the box. The tried-and-true is good, but the never- attempted-before may be better. Couples who share new experiences together develop a stronger bond.
Being able to admit mistakes and to talk about them. We all screw up. Learning to understand and let go of mistakes that you or your partner make will turn your life around and give you more time for joy.

Just as we need to breathe to survive, your love needs a breath of fresh air to flourish. Giving your relationship what it needs to thrive is a truly loving gesture.

Original Story http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201303/10-things-your-relationship-needs-thrive

The world’s most incredible abandoned Airports

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:11:00 +0500

WELCOME to no-man’s land.

They are the airports to nowhere; commercial flights ceased long ago and they have been left to fall into ruin, yet we remain intrigued at just what went so “plane” wrong.

Here are the amazing stories behind 15 of the biggest, weirdest and most expensive abandoned airports in the world.

That includes “alien landing strips”, ruined runways and financial disasters.

1. Castellón — Costa Azahar Airport, Spain

What’s Spanish for “white elephant”? Officially declared open in March 2011, no commercial flight has actually departed or landed at Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport. Built at a cost of 150 million euros ($230 million), the enduring feature of this freshly-deceased airport near Valencia is a statue in honour of Carlos Fabra, the local politician who was the driving force behind its construction.

Castellon — Costa Azahar. picture: Sanbec, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

2. Don Quijote Airport, Spain

If you thought $230 million was a gigantic waste of money, how about $1.2 billion?Don Quijote Airport (or Ciudad Real Central, to give it its official name) was conceived in the 1990s as an alternative to Madrid-Barajas Airport. Fifty minutes from Madrid on a high-speed rail connection with Seville, it was Spain’s first private international airport, and Spain’s last — it went bust and closed in April 2012.

Don Quijote Airport. Picture: Africa Twin, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

3. Berlin Templehof, Germany

Built in 1923, Berlin-Tempelhof closed to passengers in October 2008. Until the construction of the Pentagon, it was the largest building in the world. It played a key role in the Berlin Airlift but over the years it became obsolete. Today ‘Tempelhof Field’ is the largest public park in the city and the airport buildings host events such as raves and fashion shows.

Berlin Templehof. Picture: Quapan Source: Flickr

4. Croydon Airport, England

Said to be one of the three iconic pre-WWII airports in Europe, along with Le Bourget in Paris and Templehof in Berlin (see above), Croydon was redolent of the romance of early aviation. Several famous figures, from Amy Johnson and Charles Lindbergh to Winston Churchill, graced its runway, which crossed a road on which traffic had to be stopped by a man waving a red flag. It’s also famous for being the first airport with air traffic control. Today, the old terminal Airport House still stands.

Croydon Airport. Picture: HHA124L Source: Flickr

5. Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus

Nicosia International Airport was the most important airport in Cyprus but commercial activity stopped after the Turkish invasion of 1974. Today it is a no-man’s land, a United Nations buffer zone from which both Greeks and Turks are barred.

Nicosia International Airport. Picture: Dicklebers, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

6. RAF Binbrook, England

The UK has a number of old disused airfields just waiting to be turned into the next ‘regional hub’ or Mayor of London-named mega project mooted as an alternative to Heathrow’s 11th runway. RAF Binbrook, near Brookenby in Lincolnshire was used by bombers during World War II and continued to be used by the Air Force until the 1980s. Its biggest claim to fame is as the set for 1990 flick Memphis Belle.

RAF Binbrook. Picture: MilbourneOne, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

7. Gaza International Airport, Gaza strip

Also known as Yasser Arafat International Airport, this airport served the Gaza strip. Opened in 1998, 700,000 passengers passed though it a year, but not for long. In December 2001 Israeli forces shelled its radar station and control tower, putting it out of action. A few weeks later, they bulldozed the runway.

Gaza International Airport. Picture: GishaOrg Source: Flickr

8. Stapleton International Airport, US

Stapleton International Airport served Denver, Colorado between 1929 and 1995, when it was replaced by Denver International. In July 1997, a storm caused severe damage to its structure, so it had to get knocked down completely. All that remains today is one old control tower.

Stapleton International Airport. picture: Bradleygee Source: Flickr

9. Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, US

“Welcome to Earth!” This was Will Smith’s greeting to an alien in Independence Day. Scenes from the classic 1996 sci-fi blockbuster were filmed at the Air Station Marine Corps El Toro airfield in Orange County, which looks exactly like the kind of place that an extraterrestrial attack force would use as a rendezvous point on our planet. It closed in 1999 (not because of an alien attack).

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. Picture: Dsearls Source: Flickr

10. Galeville, Shawangunk, US

The small military airfield in upstate New York was built during World War Two for use as a military academy. It had two paved runways and for some years operated as a civilian airport. It’s now part of the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge.

Galeville, Shawangunk. Picture: Danielcase, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

11. Johnston Atoll Airport, US

Imagine trying to land a plane here! Johnston Atoll Airport is, as the name suggests, a small atoll in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles south of Hawaii. It was a US military base for much of the 20th century but closed in 2005. Built on a small island, it housed 400 men and had an underground hospital. Attacked by Japanese submarines in During World War II, it’s now abandoned and lies in ruins.

Johnston Atoll Airport. Picture: USFWSPacific Source: Flickr

12. Montreal-Mirabel International Airport, Canada

Opened in 1975, Montreal International Airport in Quebec is now just used by cargo planes. But his beginnings were more ambitious. It was conceived as the largest airport in the world at the time, 10 times as big as Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Expected to receive 50 million passengers a year, this never happened. Despite government intervention, passenger flights ceased in 2004. The Tom Hanks movieTerminal was filmed here, while the track serves as a racing circuit.

Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. Picture: Yvan — Leduc, Wikicommons Source: Supplied

13. Floyd Bennett Field, New York, US

Formerly one of New York’s major airports, Floyd Bennett Field is synonymous with the exploits of Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes. Its glory days over, it was replaced by Newark Airport in New Jersey. Although these days is a public park, it retains some of the historic buildings that were part of the airport.

Floyd Bennett Field. picture: Uberzombie Source: Flickr

14. Robert Mueller Municipal Airport, US

Robert Mueller Municipal Airport served the city of Austin in Texas from 1928 to 1999 when it was officially closed and replaced by the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Now built over, the only thing that reminds us that one day there was an airport here is the old control tower.

Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. Picture: Seanmasn Source: Flickr

15. Kai Tak International Airport, Hong Kong

Kai Tak International was Hong Kong’s main airport from 1925 to 1998, when it closed and all traffic moved to the new Hong Kong International Airport, 48 kilometresto the west. Surrounded by mountains and buildings, it was one of the world’s most notorious for takeoffs and landings, especially on the famous track 13, since the aircraft had to make a turn of 90 or even 180 degrees.

Kai Tak International Airport. Picture: Alandot Source: Flickr

Original Story http://www.news.com.au/

How Hackers Could Be Watching You Right Now Through Your Webcam -

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 14:09:00 +0500

New computer security research has found that even newer PCs with built-in webcams are prone to an attack that allows hackers to remotely watch and surveil their victims.

Hackers are using tools such as www.onlinekeylogger.com which allows them to
log keystrokes live online as well as take Webcam Snapshots and Screenshots of the victims computer without them even knowing.

Best of all, these hacks are all undetectable by virus scanners! That’s right! It may seem like its a virus, but even today’s state of the art virus scanners do not pick up the files.

www.onlinekeylogger.com is just one of the many keyloggers out there, except its entirely online based. So no matter where you are, once you have installed the file on the victims computer, you can log into any browser around the world and take webcam snaps, screenshots and log key strokes.

Here are just some of the many features it includes:- Completely undetectable: No need for a private crypter or a private keylogger to use our service.
- Runs silently: Our keylogger executes silently on your target’s computer and runs automatically on each windows start-up.
- Record Keyboard Keys: Record all the pressed keys on your target’s computer keyboard and see the log changing on real time.
- Take webcam pictures: Remotely take webcam pictures and save them to your computer.
- Browser Killer: Ability to kill all browsers instances on the remote computer to gather specific data more quickly.
- Remote File Manager: Remotely explore your target’s hard drives and download any file you want
- Sending messages: You can send a message box to your target computer and write for him whatever you want
- Access from anywhere: Unlike any other keylogger, our keylogger allow you to access from any device, anywhere in the world
- Remotely open the browser: Open with a single click any website you want your target computer to visit.

Hackers have been able to turn remote computers into “slaves” for years. As far back as 1998, security researchers have exploited the loopholes in webcam security to demonstrate how easy it is to turn webcams into surveillance devices. Even worse, a webcam hack could leave a victim vulnerable to blackmail or theft of online banking passwords. Manufacturers such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), which pioneered the built-in laptop camera, have taken measures to ensure that in case a computer is compromised, the user will at least be alerted by the camera’s warning light. But according to the Washington Post, it is still possible for either the FBI or a kid with no programming chops at all to spy on someone without triggering a warning light.

In a recent paper titled “iSeeYou: Disabling the MacBook Webcam Indicator LED,” Matthew Brocker and Stephen Checkoway of Johns Hopkins University confirmed that hackers could get around the warning light on an Apple laptop. They were able to do this even without gaining root access to the computer.

The paper’s authors focused on older Macs, but the Post quoted Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) security specialist Charlie Miller saying that even newer laptops could also be hacked in such a way.

Just this fall, Cassidy Wolf, Miss Teen USA, fell victim to one of these individuals. One of her high-school classmates monitored her for months, taking nude pictures of the teenager. She received those same pictures of herself by email, and the police eventually caught her tormentor.

If you are concerned about your webcam security, you don’t need to buy expensive antivirus software. Just put a piece of removable tape over your webcam until you need to use it.

www.onlinekeylogger.com

A Photographer earns $15,000 in a Single Day Using Instagram -

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 13:56:00 +0500

Daniel Arnold, a photographer based in New York, was struggling with his life since he was unemployed and his bank balance was quite low. But, his fortunes were changed for the better as Instagram helped him earn around $15000 dollars in a single day.

Forbes reported on how the struggling photographer decided to change his financial situation on his birthday. He realized that he had good photography skills, a good archive of photographs and a good number of followers on his Instagram account. He decided to use these to his advantage and make money. Hence, he posted a message on his Instagram account. Here is the exact message:

“Hello, I just turned 34 this second. For one day only I am selling 4×6 prints of whatever you want from my Instagram archive for $150 each. I swear I will never sell anything this cheap again. If you’re interested, send a screenshot of the photo(s) of your choice to arnoldaniel@gmail.com (one d) and I will send a PayPal invoice, followed by a signed print. Easy peasy. Happy my birthday. I love you truly.”

By posting the above message on his Instagram account on the eve of his birthday, he made a smart marketing move to sell his archive of photographs. He had taken quite a lot of good-looking photographs of the New York city which were part of his archive. When he announced he was selling them for $150 each, his followers responded immediately. Only then did he realize the true potential of his photography skills and the power of an online social networking site such as Instagram. It shows that Instagram is not only for sharing photos and networking with friends. There are good business opportunities. This can be an inspiration for anybody looking to make money online.

Arnold had a very good collection of candid photographs of the New York city which he had shot without any idea of how well they would sell. He had shot some of them using his iPhone and some others using a 35mm camera. He had around 23000 followers when he announced this offer to them. Now he has around 30000 followers on Instagram.The rate at which they were ordering his photographs proved that those photos were a big hit. At the end of the day, Arnold announced that he sold 71 prints of his photograph collection. Some of his photographs on Instagram were quite popular with more than 1000 likes. Some of his followers were keen on buying these photographs and were also willing to pay over 1000 dollars for these photos. Actor James Franco also bought one of Arnold’s photos. He still has a backlog of photograph requests from his followers and he is busy fulfilling those requests.

This incident is not merely an indication of Instagram’s earning potential. This event shows that Instagram and other social networking sites are good for a lot more than the images of the backsides of celebrities and sharing things like what you had for breakfast and other such trivial things.

www.news.com.au

Facebook begins rolling out TV-style ads

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 13:50:00 +0500

Facebook begins rolling out TV-style ads

FACEBOOK has begun weaving video ads into people’s news feeds

in a bid to grab revenue from the lucrative television market.

Premium Video Ads that Facebook began testing at the end of last year are being gradually integrated
into accounts of its more than 1.2 billion members, product marketing manager Susan Buckner said in an online post.

“Brands now have another way of engaging people on Facebook with compelling video experiences,” Buckner said.

“We’ll roll out Premium Video Ads slowly and monitor how people interact with them.” The 15-second video ads play automatically when they pop-up in news feeds and are designed for advertises who want to reach large audiences with sight, sound and motion, according to Facebook.

Facebook did not disclose rates, but online reports indicated daily spots aimed at wide numbers of members at prime times could cost as much as $US2.5 million ($A2.79 million) a day.

“Premium Video Ads are bought and measured in a way that’s similar to how advertises already buy and measure ads on TV,” Buckner said.

Facebook has teamed with a company called Ace Metrix to measure such creative components of ads as watchability, meaningfulness and “emotional resonance”.

Facebook said it is working with a small set of advertisers at the start.

New video ads should begin appearing in Facebook members’ news feeds on desktop computers and mobile devices over the course of the next few months, according to Buckner.

- See more at: http://www.mobilelikez.com/technology/facebook-begins-rolling-out-tv-style-ads/#sthash.OkfOzI9l.dpuf

Pakistan Monument Islamabad

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 01:23:00 +0500

The Pakistan Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan, is a national monument representing the nation's four provinces and three territories. After a competition among many renowned architects, Arif Masood’s plan was selected for the final design. The blooming flower shape of the monument represents Pakistan's progress as a rapidly developing country. The four main petals of the monument represent the four provinces (Balochistan,

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), while the three smaller petals represent the three territories (Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas).

The Monument has been designed to reflect the culture and civilization of the country and depicts the story of the Pakistan Movement, dedicated to those who sacrificed themselves for future generations.

From air the monument looks like a star (center) and a crescent moon (formed by walls forming the petals), these represent the star and crescent on Pakistan's flag.

During the initial stages the plan was envisioned and started by Uxi Mufti son of Mumtaz Mufti in 2005 later the plan to build a national monument in the capital city of Pakistan was undertaken by the Ministry of Culture which was under Hamad Kashif at that time. In this respect, Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) organised a national competition around the theme of signifying strength, unity and dedication of the people of Pakistan into an icon representing an independent and free nation.

From a total of twenty submissions, three were short-listed. Finally, the design proposed by Arif Masoud was selected for construction, that revolved around the creation and development of the country.

The monument is located at the west viewpoint of the Shakarparian Hills, and is spread over a total area of 2.8 hectares. The high location makes the monument visible from across the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The foundation stonewas laid on 25 May 2004 and the complex was completed by the end of 2006 for inauguration on 23 March 2007. The total cost incurred was more than Rs.580 million.

The structure comprises four blossoming flower petals, built of granite, representing the unity of Pakistani people. The inner walls of the petals are decorated with murals. The central platform is made in the shape of a five-pointed star which is surrounded by a water body. A metallic crescent surrounding the star is inscribed with sayings of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and poetry of Allama Iqbal.

The high ground at west viewpoint of the Shakarparian Hills selected by a deputed team was approved. The area spread over seven acres (2.8 hectares) is about a hundred feet (30 metres) above Zero Point with ideal location, accessibility, visibility and prominence.? The Monument will be visible from all vantage points of the twin cities of Islamabad andRawalpindi.

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: leading theories

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:44:00 +0500

Countless theories have surfaced about the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 nearly two weeks ago.

Some are plausible, some are downright absurd. There is, unfortunately, no clear answer as the families of the 239 passengers and crew — and the rest of the world — wait in agony. Even the most logical hypotheses about what happened to the 209-foot-long Boeing 777 have holes. No scenario solves this mystery.

Here is a look at some of the leading, plausible theories — and their flaws.

Malicious pilot action

Investigators are looking at the histories of Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, who has been flying for Malaysia Airlines since 1981 and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, who just started flying a 777. Zaharie had built his own flight simulator at home, unusual but not out of the norm. Many aviation enthusiasts have similar setups; one Los Angeles flight attendant recreated a Pan Am first class cabin in his garage. Investigators are now trying to restore files deleted from that simulator.

Why suspect the pilots? The plane's transponder stopped signaling its location to air-traffic controllers and other planes at the perfect moment: the handoff from Malaysia's controllers to those in Vietnam. In the final radio contact from the plane, the co-pilot told Malaysian controllers "All right, good night." Vietnamese controllers were never contacted and the transponder shut off. The plane abruptly turned and then kept flying for up to seven hours.

The way several key communication and tracking devices in the cockpit were disabled — at different times — also places suspicion on the pilots.

The idea of pilots using a plane to commit suicide and mass murder is scary, taboo within the industry but not unprecedented. A SilkAir crash in 1997 and an EgyptAir crash in 1999 are both believed to have been the result of deliberate actions by pilots.

Terrorist hijacking

This theory was prominent early on after it was discovered that two Iranians on board — one 18, the other 28 — were traveling on stolen passports. Investigators haven't found anything linking either to terror groups; it is believed they were trying to illegally immigrate to Europe.

Ever since 9/11, it's much harder for an unauthorized person to enter the cockpit. Cockpit doors have been reinforced and procedures have been put in place to ensure nobody gains entry when a pilot exits. And passengers and crew have shown a willingness to confront anyone trying to take over or damage a plane.

Could someone have been allowed into the cockpit? It's against protocol, but does happen. Back in 2011, Flight 370's co-pilot and another pilot invited two women boarding their aircraft to sit in the cockpit for an international flight. During the journey, the pilots smoked and flirted, one of the women said this month.

Still, no credible group has taken credit for the disappearance and intelligence agencies say they haven't noticed any chatter in terrorist circles regarding the jet.

Sudden catastrophe

Aviation experts initially suspected that something sudden and horrific happened. Perhaps a bomb on board, or some type of failure with the engines or airframe. But if that were the case, debris would have been found in the spot where the transponder went off. Also, the Boeing 777 has just one fatal crash in its 19-year history — last year's Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco. If there was a sudden breakup, pieces of the plane would have been visible on radar.

Fire

An electrical fire, or perhaps a fire from hazardous cargo, could have knocked out communications equipment and prevented crewmembers and passengers from calling for help. Some people have speculated that smoke incapacitated the pilots. It's possible, but flight attendants and passengers would have had time to try to enter the cockpit and take control of the plane.

Decompression

A slow or sudden decompression, causing a loss of oxygen, could have killed everyone on board. If oxygen levels dropped, a loud, automated warning would have alerted the pilots to put on their oxygen masks and immediately descend below 10,000 feet, where there is enough oxygen to breathe without aid.

If the plane depressurized and killed its occupants, which happened on golfer Payne Stewart's business jet in 1999, that would explain the silence from crew and passengers. But aviation experts say in that case, the plane should have kept flying automatically toward Beijing and been visible on radar.

Hidden plane

It's possible that somebody landed the plane at some remote airport and is hiding it from the world. Maybe they want to hold the passengers hostage, although nobody has taken responsibility or demanded a ransom. Maybe there was something of value in the cargo hold — and this was the world's most elaborate robbery. Maybe terrorists have the plane and plan to load it with jet fuel and explosives and use it as a missile in the future.

Those scenarios all have holes. A very skilled pilot would have to land the plane at a small airport that normally doesn't accommodate 777s. They might have had to land in the dark, without normal navigation aids to assist. And they would have to dodge several nations' radar systems, though some have suggested that it stealthily flew in another jet's shadow.

Yet it's hard to rule out anything. It took Thailand's government 10 days to acknowledge that it spotted what might have been Flight 370 on its radar. Governments aren't necessarily open to sharing all their information, especially when it comes to their military radar capabilities.

But why go to all the trouble of stealing a commercial jet? A cargo plane would be easier to steal.

Accidental shoot-down

Civilian aircraft have been unintentionally shot down by a country's military. In July 1988, the United States Navy missile cruiser USS Vincennes accidently shot down an Iran Air flight, killing all 290 passengers and crew. In September 1983, a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down by a Russian fighter jet. There is no evidence that Flight 370 was brought down by a government entity.

Landed in the Andaman Islands

The plane was apparently at one stage heading in the direction of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the most easterly part of Indian territory, which lies between Indonesia and the coast of Thailand and Burma. It has been reported that military radar there might not even have been operating, as the threat level is generally perceived to be low.

Flew to Kazakhstan

The Central Asian republic is at the far end of the northern search corridor, so the plane could hypothetically have landed there. Light aircraft pilot Sylvia Wrigley, author of Why Planes Crash, says landing in a desert might be possible and certainly more likely than landing on a beach somewhere. "To pull this off, you are looking at landing in an incredibly isolated area," says Wrigley. The failure so far to release a cargo manifest has created wild rumours about a valuable load that could be a motive for hijacking. There has also been speculation that some of those on board were billionaires.

But the plane would have been detected, the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee said in a detailed statement sent to Reuters. And there's an even more obvious problem. The plane would have had to cross the airspace of countries like India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are all usually in a high state of military preparedness. But it's just possible that there are weak links in the radar systems of some of the countries en route to Central Asia, Wrigley speculates. "A lot of air traffic control gear is old. They might be used to getting false positives from flocks of birds and, therefore, it would be easy to discount it."

It flew south

The final satellite "ping" suggests the plane was still operational for at least five or six hours after leaving Malaysian radar range. For Norman Shanks, former head of group security at airports group BAA, and professor of aviation security at Coventry University, the search should therefore start from the extremes of the corridors and work up, rather than the other way around. He thinks the southern corridor is more likely for a plane that has so far avoided detection by radar.

The southern arc leads to the huge open spaces of the Indian Ocean, and then to Australia's empty northern hinterland. Without knowing the motive, it is hard to speculate where the plane's final destination was intended to be. But the plane may just have carried on until it ran out of fuel and then glided and crashed into the sea somewhere north of Australia.

Taklamakan Desert, north-west China

There has been speculation on forums that the plane could have been commandeered by China's Uighur Muslim separatists. Out of the plane's 239 passengers, 153 were Chinese citizens. One possible destination in this theory would be China's Taklamakan Desert. The region - described by Encyclopaedia Britannica as a "great desert of Central Asia and one of the largest sandy deserts in the world" - has no shortage of space far from prying eyes. The BBC's Jonah Fisher tweeted on 15 March: "Being briefed by Malaysia officials they believe most likely location for MH370 is on land somewhere near Chinese/Kyrgyz border."

But again, this theory rests on an extraordinary run through the radar systems of several countries.

It was flown towards Langkawi island because of a fire or other malfunction

The loss of transponders and communications could be explained by a fire, aviation blogger Chris Goodfellow has suggested. The left turn that the plane made, deviating from the route to Beijing, could have been a bid to reach safety, he argues. "This pilot did all the right things. He was confronted by some major event onboard that made him make that immediate turn back to the closest safe airport." He aimed to avoid crashing into a city or high ridges, Goodfellow argues. "Actually he was taking a direct route to Palau Langkawi, a 13,000ft (4,000m) strip with an approach over water at night with no obstacles. He did not turn back to Kuala Lumpur because he knew he had 8,000ft ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier towards Langkawi and also a shorter distance." In this theory it would be assumed that the airliner did not make it to Langkawi and crashed into the sea.

But Goodfellow's theory has been disputed. If the course was changed during a major emergency, one might expect it to be done using manual control. But the left turn was the result of someone in the cockpit typing "seven or eight keystrokes into a computer on a knee-high pedestal between the captain and the first officer, according to officials", the New York Times reported. The paper says this "has reinforced the belief of investigators - first voiced by Malaysian officials - that the plane was deliberately diverted and that foul play was involved."

The plane is in Pakistan

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has tweeted: "World seems transfixed by 777 disappearance. Maybe no crash but stolen, effectively hidden, perhaps in northern Pakistan, like Bin Laden." But Pakistan has strenuously denied that this would be possible. The country's assistant to the prime minister on aviation, Shujaat Azeem, has been reported as saying: "Pakistan's civil aviation radars never spotted this jet, so how it could be hidden somewhere in Pakistan?" Like the Kazakhstan theory, this all seems far-fetched, not least because the junction between Indian and Pakistani air space is one of the most watched sectors in the world by military radar. And despite the remoteness and lawlessness of northern Pakistan, the region is watched closely by satellites and drones. It seems scarcely believable to think an airliner could get there unspotted.

The plane hid in the shadow of another airliner

Aviation blogger Keith Ledgerwood believes the missing plane hid in the radar shadow of Singapore Airlines flight 68. The Singaporean airliner was in the same vicinity as the Malaysian plane, he argues. "It became apparent as I inspected SIA68's flight path history that MH370 had manoeuvred itself directly behind SIA68 at approximately 18:00UTC and over the next 15 minutes had been following SIA68." He believes that the Singaporean airliner would have disguised the missing plane from radar controllers on the ground. "It is my belief that MH370 likely flew in the shadow of SIA68 through India and Afghanistan airspace. As MH370 was flying 'dark' without a transponder, SIA68 would have had no knowledge that MH370 was anywhere around, and as it entered Indian airspace, it would have shown up as one single blip on the radar with only the transponder information of SIA68 lighting up ATC and military radar screens." The Singapore Airlines plane flew on to Spain. The Malaysian jet could have branched off. "There are several locations along the flight path of SIA68 where it could have easily broken contact and flown and landed in Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan, or Turkmenistan," Ledgerwood argues.

Prof Hugh Griffiths, radar expert at University College London, says it sounds feasible. But there is a difference between military and civilian radar. Civilian radar works by means of a transponder carried by the aircraft - a system known as secondary radar. The military use primary radar and this "ought to be higher resolution". So how close would the two planes need to be? He estimates about 1000m (3300ft). It is possible military radar would be able to pick up that there were two objects, he says. "It might be able to tell the difference, to know that there are two targets." If this happens, though, there's then the question of how this is interpreted on the ground. Is it a strange echo that would be discounted? When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, although the US radar operator detected the incoming aircraft, they were dismissed as US bombers arriving from the mainland.

There was a struggle

One of the hardest things to account for so far with an innocent explanation is the way the plane was flown erratically. It went far above its "ceiling", flying at 45,000ft (13,716m) before later flying very low. Big fluctuations in altitude suggest there might have been a struggle, says Buzdygan. Post-9/11, cockpit doors have been strengthened against the possibility of hijack but there are still scenarios where access could be gained. Pilots talk to each other "over a beer" about how they'd deal with hijackers, he says. Buzdygan would have had no qualms about flying aggressively to try to resist a hijack. "I'd try to disorientate and confuse the hijackers by throwing them around," he says.

The even more far-fetched

Many of the above theories might seem far-fetched but there are even more outlandish-sounding ones out there.

If the plane had flown up the northern corridor, experts maintain it would probably have triggered primary radar. Key countries whose airspace it might have crossed are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, or Thailand. After 9/11, an unidentified airliner entering sovereign airspace is likely to lead to fighters being scrambled, says Maffett. "If the plane is in the northern arc it could easily have been shot down." It's a theory circulating on some forums. The notion is that no-one would want to admit shooting down an airliner full of passengers, Maffett says, and thus might currently be concealing the event.

But there are a host of holes in the theory. Firstly, the plane would still have had to avoid numerous radar systems before finally triggering one. And the nation responsible would be trying to keep secret the fate of the world's currently most-searched for object. Covering up the incident for so long would arguably make the shooting down look far worse.

Then there are other conspiracy theories. Some forum postings have pointed to the US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, on the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia. The island is owned by the UK but leased to the US. One of the more extreme theories circulating online claims that the Kremlin believes that the US "captured" the plane and flew it to its base. With a conspiracy theory of this magnitude it is difficult even to know where to start with the rebuttals.

A completely different thread of conspiracy theory assumes a sympathetic regime. The scepticism about flying undetected through radar changes somewhat if the hijackers are in cahoots with a country's government. There are several authoritarian regimes within the aircraft's range, but the conspiracy theory doesn't even require a government's co-operation - the hijackers could just be in cahoots with radar operators. Again, this seems to be a conspiracy of incredible complexity to be kept secret for this length of time. And what would the motive be for those colluding?

Original Stories.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26609687

http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.580843

Expansion of Masjid Al Haram

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 21:45:00 +0500

Al-Masjid Al-Haram is in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds one of Islam's holiest places, the Kaaba. Muslims face in the direction of the Kaaba while performing Salat.MAsjid Al Haram expansion project is at full peak. Purposed map is shown below The Saudi government is taking all possible measures to facilitate the Haj and Umra pilgrims.

The number of pilgrims is going up every year, as a result of which the performance of tawaf (circumambulations around Holy K’aba) is becoming difficult because of the limited space available for the purpose.

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has approved a special project for the expansion of mataf, the area where tawaf is performed. The expansion is expected to be completed by October 2015, after which the hourly capacity of the area will increase from some 50,000 pilgrims at present to 130,000.

It will accommodate more people when the capacity in other parts of Al-Masjid Al-Haram rises to 2.5 million people following the completion of the entire expansion project.

According to the project details, bridges connecting various levels on the first floor will be parallel to the levels on the present mataf. The ground floor will be linked directly to the basement and masaa (the running space between the hillocks of Al-Safa and Al-Marwa) in the second phase of the expansion.

When the first phase of the project was launched in November 2012, construction around the mataf reduced the number of pilgrims performing tawaf to 22,000 pilgrims an hour.
The expansion is being undertaken on the basis of a study prepared by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj and Umra Studies. It focuses on using the available space and potential of the mataf to the maximum while maintaining the architectural features of Al-Masjid Al-Haram using advanced technology.

According to the study, the mataf will be separated from prayer areas and it will be linked to different floors of the mosque and facilitate entrance to and exit from the mataf. It will also take care of the crowding at the entrances to the mataf and nearby passages and give direct access from the mataf to the masaa. The mataf on the second and third floors will have cable cars to carry aged and disabled pilgrims and there will be direct access to these floors from outside. The topmost floor of the mataf will have automated walkway revolving around the K’aba.At present, more than 4,000 workers are engaged in implementing the expansion project.

Dr Muhammad Al-Khozaim, deputy head of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said that the capacity of the mataf will increase from 50,000 pilgrims per hour to 130,000 when the expansion is completed. The domes of the Ottoman-era hallway on eastern section of the holy mosque have been removed to make way for the expansion work.

The mataf is overcrowded these days because a good part of it has been blocked for new construction work. The congestion will be felt more seriously during the month of Ramazan when the number of Umra pilgrims is almost equal to Haj pilgrims.
The Saudi government has already reduced quota for foreign Haj pilgrims by 20 per cent and locals by 50 per cent to avoid overcrowding. The step is estimated to cause the government a loss of 50 billion Saudi Riyals. But the government is suffering this loss for the convenience of the pilgrims.

According to those working on the project, the entire complex will be gradually reconstructed over the next five to six decades.

A huge building outside the Holy K’aba housing Bin Dawood Store and a large of commercial offices will be demolished by the end of the next year and the space will be made part of the mosque.

The Saudi mega-corporation Binladin Group (Osama bin Laden’s family business) has won the tender for the expansion project.

The Binladin Group is an active member of the US-Saudi Arabian Business Council and plays a central role in deciding bilateral policy for the benefit of collective US-Saudi corporate-financier and corresponding geopolitical interests.

Saudi King Abdullah has also appointed the Imam of the Grand Mosque, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, to be in charge of the development plan.

Saudi Arabia Geography

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Mon, 7 Jan 2013 23:53:00 +0500

map 1
Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East which is the area of southwest Asia. Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula.

It is in extreme southwest Asia, on the Arabian Peninsula along with Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

(870,000 sq mi), constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula) and the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria). It is bordered by Jordanand Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast,Yemen in the south, the Red Sea to the west and Persian Gulf to the east. Its population is estimated to consist of 16 million citizens and an additional 9 million registered foreign expatriates and 2 million illegal immigrants.

Saudi Arabia officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية‎ al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabiyyah as-Su‘ūdiyyah, is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area (approximately 2,250,000 km²

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, and it describes itself as being Islamic. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and the kingdom is sometimes called "the Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi(in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.

Jeddah

Terrain

Saudi Arabia covers approximately four fifths of the area of the Arabian Peninsula, which can be described as a rectangular plateau gradually sloping eastwards till reaching sea level at the Persian Gulf.

The main topographical features are as follows:

The Sarawat or Sarat mountain range runs parallel to the Red Sea coast beginning near the Jordanian border until the southern coast of Yemen, gradually increasing in height southwards. It is largely made up of barren volcanic rock, especially in the south, and sandstone in the north, but it is also interspersed with ancient lava fields and fertile valleys. As one moves further south towards Yemen, the barren landscape gradually gives way to green mountains and even woodlands, the result of being in the range of the monsoons. In Saudi Arabia, the range is commonly known as the Hejaz, though the southernmost part of the range is known as 'Aseer. In the foothills of the Hejaz lies the holy city of Makkah, and approximately 400 km north of Makkah in an oasis between two large lava fields lies the other holy city of Madinah.

West of the Sarawat or Hejaz mountain range is a narrow coastal plain known as Tihama, in which the country's second largest city, Jidda, is located.

East of the Hejaz lies the elevated plateau known as Najd, a sparsely populated area of desert steppe dotted with small volcanic mountains. To the east of Najd-proper lies the Tuwaig escarpment, a narrow platau running 800 kms from north to south. Its top layer is made of limestone and bottom layer of sandstone. Historically rich in fresh groundwater and criscrossed with numerous dry riverbeds (wadis), the Tuwaig range and its immediate vicinity are dotted with a constellation of towns and villages. In the middle, nestled between a group of wadis, is the capital city, Ar-Riyadh.

Further east from the Tuwaig plataeu and parallel to it is a narrow (20-100 km) corridor of red sand dunes known as the Dahana desert, which separates the "Central Region" or "Najd" from the Eastern Province. The heavy presence of iron oxides gives the sand its distinctive red appearance. The Dahana desert connects two large "seas" of sand dunes. The northern one is known as the Nufuud, approximately the size of Lake Superior, and the southern is known as "the Empty Quarter," so-called because it covers a quarter of the area of the Peninsula. Though essentially uninhabitable, the edges of these three "seas of sand" make for excellent pastures in the spring season, but even the bedouin almost never attempted to cross the Empty Quarter.

North of the Nufud desert lies a vaste desert steppe, traditionally populated mainly by nomadic bedouins with the exception of a few oasis such as Al-Jof. This region is an extension of the Iraqi and Syrian deserts (or vice versa). After a rainy season, these barren, rocky steppes can yield lush meadows and rich pastures.

The eastern province is largely barren except that it contains two oases resulting from springs of ancient fossil water. These are the oases of Al-Qateef on the Gulf coast and Al-Hasa (or Al-Ahsa) further inland. Next to Qatif lies the modern metropolitan area of Dammam, Dhahran and Al-Khobar.

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Arabian Gulf 0 m (0 ft)
highest point: Jabal Sawda' 3,133 m (10,279 ft)
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, copper
Land use: arable land: 1.72%
permanent crops: 0.06%
other: 98.22% (1998 est.)

[edit]Climate

People tend to think of Saudi Arabia as an expanse of scorchingly hot desert punctuated with oil wells, and for most of the time in most of the country, they would be absolutely right. From May to September, the country (basically everything except the southwestern mountains) bakes in temperatures that average 42°C and regularly exceed 50°C in the shade. In July and August, in particular, all who can flee the country and work slows down to a crawl. The coasts are only slightly moderated by the sea, which usually keeps temperatures below 38°C — but at the price of extreme humidity (85-100%), which many find even more uncomfortable than the dry heat of the interior, especially at night. Only the elevated mountainous regions stay cool(er), with the summer resort city of Taif rarely topping 35°C and the mountainous Asir region cooler yet.

In winter, though, it's a surprisingly different story. Daytime highs in Riyadh in December average only 21°C, and temperatures can easily fall below zero at night, occasionally even resulting in a sprinkling of snow in the southern mountains# The winter can also bring rains to all or most of the country, although in many years this is limited to one or two torrential outbursts# The end of spring #April and May# is also a rainy season for much of the country# In the south, though, this pattern is reversed, with most rain falling during the Indian Ocean's monsoon season between May and October#

Saudi Arabia has the world's second largest oil reserves which are concentrated largely in the Eastern Province. Oil accounts for more than 95% of exports and 70% of government revenue, although the share of the non-oil economy has been growing recently. This has facilitated the transformation of an

underdeveloped desert kingdom into one of the world's wealthiest nations. Vast oil revenues have permitted rapid modernisation, such as the creation of a welfare state. It has also the world'ssixth largest natural gas reserves. It is the only country in the world where women are not allowed to driv

The World Ending And Islam

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:14:00 +0500

When Will The World End?

When will the world end? Will the world end in 21 12 2012? When will the time come for Dajjal to appear (Dajjal is the Anti Christ)? When will Imam Mahdi appear? What do we know about Yajuj and Majuj or Gog and Magog? Should we be concerned after being reminded nearly every other day about the end of world in 2012? Should we start to prepare for 2012 and dig out bunkers underground to save ourselves from the events that will take place in 2012? So many questions, but not enough trustworthy answers. Well, here is where you'll get it! Especially from an Islamic perspective on the end of the world.

My advice is not to worry at all because the world is not going to end on 21/12/2012. How do i know this and how can i advise you to not worry about this date? I don't. Only Allah knows. People who are taking everyone else for a ride think they know, but if no human being knows exactly when the world started, then how can any human know when the world will end? What do i know is that there is evidence in the Quran and Hadeeth in Islam regarding the matter of the the end of the world.

The Quran states, O Prophet the infidels ask you about the time of Qiyamah (end of the world, the Hour). So tell them that it's knowledge is with Allah only. (Surah Luqman)

There are many sequences of events, trials and tribulations to pass before even the start of the end of the world. The date 21st December 2012 is not significant as a date for the world to end, it's a scaremongering tactic and to make money off foolish, weak people. Only God knows when the world will end.

There are many things yet to have happened before the beginning of the end. For example, one of the most fascinating facts from the Hadeeth (Saheeh Al Bukhari) is that 'humans will go into the ancient times where battles will be fought on horses with swords and spears'. So where will the guns, tanks, submarines and fighter planes go? Something may happen so that things like these do not work, maybe? Another fact to remember is that we are still awaiting the arrival of the Dajjal (Antichrist), and not to forget Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog).

What will happen on the 21st December 2012? Should we be worried?

What Are The Signs Before The End Of The World?

To begin with, if you think about this very carefully, 'people will walk around nude, but they will be wearing clothes' .

How do we interprete the meaning on the above sentence taken from a hadeeth from Sahih Al Bukhari? Well, if we look at any magazine, newspaper, internet site we will see men and women fully nude apart from covering their private parts only, apart from the top shelf magazines and some newspapers with totally nude pictures.

If you go to a shopping centre you will notice women walking around wearing clothes that just cover their upper private parts only, and probably a very short skirt or something like hotpants so that they can show off their legs. Men also walk around in just shorts on beaches, towns and cities when it's good weather. This sequence has definitely come to pass because nudity is very openly shown on billboards, television, newspapers and magazines, and not to mention the internet. There is no 'shame' or 'shyness' in some people and society as a whole.

Below i have listed a sequence of events before the end of the world according to Islam from the Holy Quran and Hadeeth .

I am aware that people reading this may be or may not be Muslim, but i think it is very interesting to learn about the different beliefs about the end of the world, especially when you learn about what the Mayans and other predictions produced by people and groups around the world. We may still be a while away from the world ending, especially not on 21/12/2012. It may be that 2/3 of the world population being wiped out by some natural disasters or nuclear war, but NOT the actual end of the world.

Sequences Of Events To Pass Before The End Of The World In Islam

This is a list of a few sequences of events to pass before the end of the world. Some are Major and some are minor. Most of the minor signs have passed as you may have witnessed things yourself.

(This is in no particular order)

Passing of the last Prophet and Messenger - One of the major signs before the end of the world will be the passing of the last Prophet and Messenger of Allah (God) on earth. As everyone on earth knows, the last Prophet and Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (pbuh) came and went over 1400 years ago.
The splitting of the moon - One of the miracles of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was that he split the moon into two parts. Disbelievers claimed it was magic, and did not believe in Islam. This is a hadeeth related to the miracle; Ibn 'Abbas said, 'The mushrikeen (polytheists) gathered around the Messenger of Allah and said, 'If you are telling the truththen split the moon into two parts for us, one half over Abu Qubays and one half over Qu'ayqa'aan (two mountains near Mecca).' It was a night of a full moon, and Muhammad (pbuh) asked his Lord to give them what they asked for. So the moon split into two halves, one half over Abu Qubays and the other half over Qu'ayqa'aan, and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, 'Bear witness.'
The Sun will rise from the West - The Sun will rise from it's place of setting. At that time, the Gate of Repentance will be closed forever. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned in many Hadeeths about the Sun rising from the West. Allah will order the Sun to rise from the place of it's setting, so in the morning, it will rise from the place of it's setting. There is recent a scientific discovery which is called RETROGRADE MOTION. This is when a planet overlaps another planet, and it seems as if the planet is slowing down, stopping and then going backwards. This happens with Mars every two years. Allah knows, but this is how it may take place with the Sun.
Dajjal will appear - Dajjal will be born between the borders of Syria and Iraq to a poor family. Dajjal will have one eye with which he will see, and the other will look like as if it is hanging like a grape. Dajjal means trickster, fraudster, impostor and liar. Dajjal will be all those things. Dajjal will claim to be the Lord of the Worlds and will call on people to believe in it. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, 'Dajjaal is one-eyed, and your Lord is not one-eyed.'Dajjaal is the greatest trial that will ever appear on the face of the Earth! (May Allah portect us from the trial of the Dajjal).
A killer will not know why he killed, and the one who was killed will not know why he was killed - As we all know, there are continous wars going on all around the world, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then there are killings which have happened in the two World Wars. In the news every single day we here deaths of so many people in so many countries from bombings, fighting for land and fighting for politics. Click this link and you find out about the numbers of people killed, who probably had no idea why they were being killed.
The slave woman giving birth to her master - This may be slightly difficult to understand. I will try to make it easy. A woman will be a slave to her own child because the child will be growing free, without a father but the mother stays in bondage. The child's father is a free man, i.e. not married, and gets intimate with a woman. As we all know, there are huge numbers of children who are without fathers due to no commitment to marriage or family. The child will be a burden to the mother and the mother will be ruled by her own child.
Appearance of women who are clothed yet naked - Women will go out wearing tight and see through clothes displaying the shapes and their private body parts will be showing when they sit and walk. As i have already mentioned above, this is happening right now. If you just step out of your house, and you look around you, you will notice half naked men and especially women walking around. Go to the open shopping centres and you will see the same things in summer. Go to a nightclub, bar or a public house, you will again see with the naked eye the prevalence of 'clothed yet naked women walking around'. And then you get the nude women and men in magazines, newspapers, tv, videos, internet, mobile phones etc... it goes on and on. Pornography is available and promoted openly within all of the medium mentioned above.
And many others in other post to assure so wait for second post

End of Part One

Because this is such a huge subject, i have decided to publish it in 3 different parts so you can understand all the events that will lead up to the end of the world. Completing it in 3 parts will make it easy to read and understand too.

The end of the world is not far; we don't know what's going to happen in 2012 if anything, maybe nothing will happen, but remember this, ONLYALLAH KNOWS WHEN THE WORLD WILL END and we shouldn't be indulging ourselves in thinking about it too much, rather we should indulge in OUR OWN DEATH, because we could DIE any time, but will we be ready for DEATH??? Are wePRAYING FIVE TIMES A DAY??? Are we TRUE MUSLIMS???

THE MONTH OF MUHARRAM

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 00:12:00 +0500

The Islamic year lasts for about 354 days and consists of 12 months. Muharram is the first month and some Muslims mark the start of the Islamic year on the first day of Muharram. Many Muslims fast during daylight hours on the ninth and 10th or 10th and 11th days of the month to mark the Day of Ashura (Yaumu-l 'Ashurah). This is the anniversary of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammed.

With the sighting of the new moon the Islaamic new year is ushered in. The first month Muharram is one of the four sacred months that Allah has mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan:
Lo.’ The number of the months with Allah is twelve months by Allah ‘s ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are
sacred: that is the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them. (9:36)

The specification of these four sacred months is stated in a hadeeth narrated by Abu Bakrah radhiyallahu anhu ; Verily time has completed its cycle and returned to its original stage as it was on the day Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year consists of twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them occur consecutively; Zil Qa’dah, Zil Hijjah and Muharram , (the fourth being) Rajab of Mudhar (named after the tribe of Mudhar as they used to respect this month) which occurs between Jamadiul Aakhir and Sha’baan. (Bukhari Vol.2 Page 622)
From out of the four sacred months, Muharram has been blessed with certain specific virtues. The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: The best of fasts besides the month of Ramadhaan is the fasting of Allah’s month of Muharram and the best of salaat besides the fardh (compulsory) salaat is the tahajjud salaat (performed after midnight before dawn). Muslim Vol.1 Page 368
In another hadeeth, Ibne Abbas radhiyallahu anhu reports that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said: He who fasts on the day of Arafah (9th Zil Hijjah), his fast will be a compensation for the sins of two years and the one that keeps a fast in the month of Muharram will receive the reward of thirty fasts for each fast (in this sacred month). Tabraani, At Targheeb WatTarheeb Vol.2 Page 114.

THE DAY OF AASHOORAH (l0th MUHARRAM)
RECOMMENDED DEEDS ON THE DAY OF AASHOORAH
IMPERMISSIBLE ACTS ON THE DAY OF AASHOORAH

7 Things Your Muslim Wife Won’t Tell You

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:39:00 +0500

Most men have a hard time understanding women. Even a woman they’ve been married to for years.

One minute she’s perfectly fine. The next, she’s crying like a baby.

She complains about something but when we offer advice on how to fix it, she still isn’t satisfied.

After several years of marriage (and counselling) I’ve learned to not worry so much about what my wife says. Instead, I should worry about what she doesn’t say.

1. Above All, She Wants Your Love

When a wife shows her husband less respect, he in turn shows her less love.

And when a husband shows his wife less love, she in turn shows him less respect.

And the vicious cycle repeats itself.

Stop this prophecy before it becomes self-fulfilling. Show love to your wife.

That’s what she wants. Love her despite her flaws and quirks.

And Inshallah, she’ll respect you despite your flaws and quirks.

2. She’s Bored

It’s the same thing every day.

Week in and week out.

Not only is she bored but she’s also tired.

She has to care for the kids and run the household and then pamper you.

Just thinking about doing that every day makes me want to crawl under my covers and hide. I can imagine how the average Muslim housewife must feel.

And let’s not forget about working woman. Many Muslim women have to work a full time job as well as hold a house down.

So brothers, I implore you, make your wife feel special. Give her a break.

Take her out sometimes. Surprise her with a surprise meal. Bring her favorite desert home.

Just do something every now and then to break the monotany.

3. She Wants to Be Complimented

Appreciation.

Everybody wants it.

No one wants to feel as if the hard work they do goes unnoticed or even worse, it taken for granted.

Your wife does not have to clean your dirty clothes. And she does not have to cook your meals.

But she does.

And she does that on top of all the other things in her life:

Working or going to school.
Caring for the kids.
Striving to be a better Muslimah.

Show your Muslim wife that you appreciate and are thankful for the things she does to maintain you and your family.

A simple “thank you” is a good start.

4. She’s Insanely Jealous

There’s a reason most women don’t care for polygamy.

Be very careful how you talk about other women around your wife.

Don’t ever compare your wife to another woman.

Don’t compare her to some female movie star.
Don’t compare her to your mother.
Never, ever compare her to your ex-wife (or other wife!)

She’s wants to know and believe that she is the center of your universe. So make her feel that way.

Even the Prophet’s (pbuh) wives got jealous. Aisha (RA) even got jealous of Khadijah (RA) who was dead.

Expect, and respect, the same type of jealousy from your wife.

5. She Wants You to Help Her Become A Better Muslimah

If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to watch this video I did a couple of weeks ago for Muslim men. In this video I stress the importance of men taking the role of leader within their families.

And that’s the problem with a lot of Muslim men these days.

Not only are they not being good leaders, they’re being led by their wives (or mothers, or other women in their lives).

Your wife desires and wants you to be her leader. And what better way to lead her than to be show her how to be a better Muslimah?

But you can’t show her how to become better if you’re not that great either. Therefore, you have to upgrade your Iman. You have to improve yourself and then pass it on to her in a gentle, respectful way.

6. She Doesn’t Like to Nag, But Sometimes You Make It Hard

It’s a common myth that women like to nag their husbands. That’s not entirely true.

Yes, there are some people (men and women) whom you can never please. No matter what you do, they’ll always find fault in something. Let’s be reminded of the following hadith:

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: The Prophet said: “I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful.” It was asked, “Do they disbelieve in Allah?” (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, “They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. If you have always been good (benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her liking), she will say, ‘I have never received any good from you.”
Sahih Bukhari

So, yes sisters should be careful about denegrating the things your husband does for you.

But very often, you Brother, make it hard for her to hold your tongue.

Perhaps you’re always finding fault with her and she looks for things in your character to get even.

Perhaps you’re not working (or not working hard enough) and she has to work to take up some slack.

Perhaps you’re just not that great of a guy.

Once again, upgrade yourself and give her less reasons to complain and nag.

7. More Than Anything, She Wants a Stable, Happy Relationship With You

Women don’t get married just because they think it’s gonna be fun.

They get married because they want a happy family life and they believe you’re gonna give it to them.

Outside of her religious duties, that’s the most important thing in a Muslim woman’s life. Raising a happy, stable, Muslim family.

The funny thing is, it’s very easy for you to give that to her.

Stop acting like a jerk. Be a good husband to her. Be kind. Show her you love her.
Don’t threaten her with divorce or taking a second wife. Yes, you have the right to do both. But using them as threats is inappropriate and detrimental to your marriage.
Trust in Allah, watch out for the tricks of Shaytan, and be patient with her. There’s nothing Shaytan would love more than to destroy your marriage.

See? That isn’t all that hard, now is it?

7 Things Your Muslim Husband Won’t Tell You

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:33:00 +0500

Ever wish you could read your husband’s mind? Western culture encourages husbands and wives to talk to each other and discuss things.

However, in many Muslim cultures, men are raised to be stoic and tight-lipped. Muslim husbands are very often (not always) reluctant to talk about certain things with their wives.

Part of the problem is also that sometimes it is hard to actually formulate our thoughts into the right words.

The only thing more difficult than translating thoughts to words is translating feelings to words.

So, a lot of Muslim men and women go through their marriages with very l
ittle communication and never really knowing what the other person is thinking.

This quick list is for the Muslim sisters in my audience. This list will give you good idea of some of the things your husband thinks about, but just doesn’t know how, or want, to tell you.

1. Above All, He Desires Your Respect

I spoke about this in my article “Love or Respect: Which Do You Prefer?”.

In this article, I explained that women want to know their husbands love them, and men want to know their wives respect them.

It’s important that Muslim women understand the value of respect for men, especially Muslim men. In Islam, men are taught from a young age that they are supposed to be the bread-winners and caretakers of their families.

You can imagine how frustrating it would be for a man, who tries his best to care for his family, to be married to a woman who doesn’t respect him. She may declare that she loves him, but without her respect, he will quickly fall out of love with her.

This idea is put forward in the Quran where Allah says:

Men are in charge of women by what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard.
Chapter 4, Verse 34

If you fear there is a problem in your marriage sisters, I would suggest you start here.

>>Here’s What I Did To Earn My Wife’s Respect<<

2. He Desires Your Loyalty

This goes hand in hand with respect.

There’s nothing that will ruin a marriage quicker than the idea that your spouse is not loyal. The idea, that he or she is not going to stick by you.

I’m not talking about infidelity. This is what usually comes to mind when people talk about loyalty in a marriage.

What I’m talking about is knowing that the person whom you’ve chosen to spend the rest of your life with is going to be there for you when you really need them.

Most men won’t admit it, but we do need women. And we do need your support.

And it’s very troubling to be married to a woman who may not be around when the going gets tough.

If you are constantly threatening divorce or separation or Khula (Islamic divorce initiated by the wife), you can expect your marriage to fizzle out very quickly.

Your husband needs to know that you’re going to be by his side if:

He loses his job and the money gets tight.
He tries to do something (like start a business or go back to school) but fails at it.
His reputation is tarnished or his honor is attacked.

You should be loyal to your husband before everything else except Allah and His Messenger (pbuh).

If you’re loyal to your husband, than rest assured he’ll be loyal to you.

3. He Wants To Have Sex More Often

Let’s get this right out into the open.

Some women might think men are narrow-minded brutes for this, but it’s the truth.

Men desire sex. Men really desire sex.

So when you give him the following excuses:

“I’ve got a headache.”
“I’m not feeling good.”
“Can’t it wait till the weekend? I’m really not in the mood.”

Know that your husband is going to go to sleep a little upset with you, even if he doesn’t show it.

And do this often enough, he’s going to start resenting you. And that resentment will build up and may lead to him being unnecessarily mean to you or losing some love.

Please keep the following hadith in mind:

When a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond and he (the husband) spends the night angry with her, the angels curse her until morning.
Bukhari and Muslim.

Something to think about.

4. He Thinks About Other Women

Okay, first of all, calm down. Don’t unsubscribe from my mailing list just yet. Let me explain this.

All men think about other women.

It doesn’t mean he’s going to cheat on you.

It doesn’t mean he’s thinking about taking a second wife.

It doesn’t mean he’s fantasizing about another woman.

It just means that all (straight) men do, at some point in their lives, consider having another woman (i.e. wife).

You’re better off coming to terms with this and accepting it than having false, purile notions about men.

The best way to combat these thoughts are to apply the advice given in the first three secrets:

Respect him.
Be loyal to him.
Give him physical love when he wants it.

Does this mean he’ll never take a second wife if you do these three things? Of course not.

But it will raise your value in his mind relative to other woman and he’ll be all the more reluctant to look for those three things (respect, loyalty, and sex) elsewhere.

5. He Wants To Make You Happy

Why do you think men work so hard to make money?

Why do you think men are willing to leave their jobs and risk starting a business?

Why do you think men like buying women gifts?

Because deep down, we really just want to make you happy.

Sometimes we screw it up and forget our anniversary. But we really would prefer to remember because we know it would make you happy.

So when your husband buys you a gift, accept it, rejoice over it, thank him profusely, and use it as often as possible.

If he buys you some jewelry, wear it.

If he buys you a new smartphone, use it.

If he buys you a car, drive it.

And don’t be so quick to nag him about the things he doesn’t do right. Because then he’ll start feeling that you don’t respect (there’s that word again) the things he does do for you.

6. If You Nudge Him, He Can Be A Better Muslim

Nobody’s perfect.

Perhaps your husband isn’t a Muslim scholar. Perhaps he’s not the best Muslim in the world.

You can nudge him to make him better. But you can’t force him.

Do little things to get him to improve his Islam.

Offer to wake him up for Salaatul Fajr.
Encourage him to make Salaah at the Masjid.
Tell him how much nicer he’d look if he grew his beard.

This takes deliberate words, a soft touch, and careful action. No one likes to be preached to.

But if you do this right, you’ll be getting a double reward:

The reward that comes with living with a righteous husband. And the reward in the next life for encouraging your husband to the truth.

Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
Chapter 103, Verse 3

7. He Loves You, Even If He Doesn’t Always Show It

I know, this one may be kinda hard to swallow. But it’s true (usually).

Men are just not that good at showing emotion (unless we’re talking sports or politics).

We don’t tell our wives “I love you” often enough.

We’re not perfect. And constantly comparing us to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ain’t helping.

Of course, we are supposed to emulate him (pbuh) as much as we can. And for most of us, we are doing the best we can.

But we just can’t treat you the same way he (pbuh) treated his wives. Similarly, it’s unfair for men to expect their wives to behave like Aisha (RA) and his other wives (RA) did.

Just because your husband doesn’t treat you in the way (you think) the Prophet (pbuh) treated his wives, doesn’t mean your husband doesn’t love you.

It just means he’s human.

It is very important that you understand this.

If he’s doing his best to take care of you.
If he doesn’t abuse you or sleep around.
If he sincerely tries to solve your problems and helps you in the best way he can.

Then chances are he loves you. A lot.

Now move from in front of the television and go make me a sandwich.

JUST KIDDING!

20 Amazing Examples of Owl Camouflage

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 23:20:00 +0500

Gorgeous as it is, nature is the place where everyone has to fight for itself to survive. This is why most of them have developed some amazing camouflage techniques to be able to hide while resting or nesting.
Feathered animals have mastered the art of disguise of three different types: they either use color, marking or posture camouflage. A snowy owl, for example, can hardly be seen in winter; some birds pick the trees with a bark that resembles their feather patterns; and some even position themselves in a certain way to blend in the surroundings.
This time we put together a very deceptive selection of owl camouflage. These birds are real forest ninjas. If you think you see nothing but a tree or a rock in the picture, take a closer look and you’re in for a surprise!

Image credits: eoiarucasadvancedone.blogspot

Image credits: Lizard Martini

Image credits: P A B S

Image credits: strangetravel.com

Image credits: wikipedia.org

Image credits: Marianna Armata

Image credits: pathatch.com

Image credits: Vladimir Popov / Uhaiun

Image credits: Reggie Tidwell

Image credits: Bob MacDonnell

Image credits: Irawan Subingar

Image credits: Nathan Lovas

Image credits: Michael & Richard Webster

Image credits: bugtrumpet

Image credits: pbase

Image credits: Rum Village Park

Image credits: Usanimallovers.com

Image credits: Simon Litten

Image credits: indulgy.com

Image credits: Terry Townshend

Image credits: David Lingard

33 Perfectly Timed Photos

noreply@blogger.com (waqar) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:56:00 +0500

You may be the best photographer in the world, but sometimes all it takes to take the best shot is being in the right place at the right moment. It doesn’t even matter if you take it with your cell or high-end DSLR. Often, you won’t even notice you made an incredible picture until you come home and transfer your photos to a computer.

However, that doesn’t mean you should stop improving your photography skills and just wait for that one and only moment. As a popular saying goes:

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

So be prepared for it and be lucky! Here are 33 perfectly timed photos to get you inspired.

Photo Credits: bukagambar.com

Photo Credits: taringa.net

Photo Credits: engine.co.ua

Photo Credits: underwatercompetition.com

Photo by Simon Dawson

Photo Credits: iq-1.livejournal.com

Photo Credits: nature-wallpapers

Photo Credits: dailymail.co.uk

Photo Credits: kolyan.net

Photo Credits: unknown

Photo Credits: siteaks.com

Photo Credits: unknown

Photo Credits: sports.pixnet.net

Photo Credits: Pam Mullins

Photo Credits: perfectlytimedphotos.com

Photo Credits: Jibby

Photo Credits: tapuz.co.il

Photo Credits: buzzfeed.com

Photo Credits: simboragora.com

Photo by Matt Stuart

Photo Credits: metro.co.uk

Photo Credits: unknown

Photo Credits: burkhalter.pro

Photo Credits: unknown

Photo Credits: animalpicture.ru

Photo Credits: Tatiana Mikhina

Photo Credits: konctanciya.info

Photo Credits: telegraph.co.uk

Photo Credits: Tustel Ico

Photo Credits: oddee.com

Photo Credits: walnussodersack.blogspot.com

Photo Credits: buzzfeed.com

Hey, wait, there’s only 32 pictures here! Can you suggest the 33rd?

P.S: we always try our best to credit each and every photographer, but sometimes it’s impossible to track them. Please leave a comment if you know the missing authors. We’ll be more than happy to credit and provide a link back to the photographer.