"Do we have enough Jews......?

The General at a Russian Military Academy  gave a lecture on "Potential

​ ​

Problems and Military Strategy in Future Wars".  At the end of the lecture,he 

asked if there were any questions.

 An officer stood up and asked, "Will there be a third World War? And will

​ ​

Russia take part in it?" The general answered both questions in the

​ ​

affirmative. Another officer asked, "Who will be the enemy?" The general

​ ​

replied, "All indications point to China." Everyone in the audience was
 

shocked... A third officer remarked, "General, we a nation of only 150

​ ​
million, compared to the 1.5 billion Chinese.  Can we win at all, or even

​ ​

survive?"

 The general answered, "Just think about this for a moment :  In modern

​ ​

warfare, it is not the quantity of soldiers that matters but the quality of

​ ​

an army’s capabilities.  For example, in the Middle East we have had a few

​ ​

wars recently where 5 million Jews fought against 150 million Arabs, and

​ ​

Israel was always victorious."

 After a small pause, yet another officer – from the rear of the auditorium

​ ​

asked, "Do we have enough Jews......???"

BrahMos can't be intercepted in next 20 years

BrahMos, developed jointly in a strategic partnership between Indian DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya, is a stealth cruise missile with a range of 290 km and travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.

NEW DELHI: BrahMos, the world's only supersonic cruise missile and a symbol of theIndia's military prowess has been billed to be "uninterceptable" for the "next 20 years", by none other than the "father of BrahMos" himself.

"The equivalent of BrahMos is yet to built. And, in the next 20 years, it cannot be intercepted by an enemy," says A Sivathanu Pillai, scientist, and CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace sharing the vision for the future trajectory of growth for the iconic missile technology developed jointly by India and Russia.

Pillai, also Chief Controller (R and D), DRDO and hailed largely as the "father of BrahMos" mentions "missile technology" as one of the 10 key and "unique leap-frog technologies" for building a securer and greater future of India, "driven by youth power" in a new book which he has co-authored with the former President APJ Kalam.

Titled "Thoughts for Change: We can Do It", by two renowned scientific minds aims to be a clarion call to the youth of India to "reclaim its ancient scientific wisdom" even as it exhorts them to embrace and work towards building a future where "multiple technologies will intersect and interoperate".

"We take pride in the fact that BrahMos, world's only supersonic cruise missile, a symbol of Indo-Russian co- operation, where India provided the guidance, avionics, software and airframe components, etc, has been successfully delivered to both the Indian Navy and the Indian Army and the aerial version for the Indian Air Force too shall be ready in few years time," Pillai said in an interview.

BrahMos, developed jointly in a strategic partnership between Indian DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya, is a stealth cruise missile with a range of 290 km and travels at a speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

Among other technologies that the authors believe will lay the roadmap for the future of war theatres and health care, etc, in India is the convergence of Information, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology (nano-info-bio).

Other technologies in the list include - Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Sciences; Sensor Technology; Materials Technology; High Energetics; Fusion Technology; Space Technology; Hypersonics and Green Technology.

"Nano-info-bio and their convergence will redefine the future as we know it, whether in changing the dynamics of the war theatre where information technology will be coupled with the existing biotechnology and the new and emerging field of nanotechnology or health care. A simple looking bird flying in the air could be a surveillance and reconnaissance device.

"As per health, drug delivery through nano tech has been tried on Parkinson's Syndrome and Epilepsy patients outside India and has shown to stop their symptoms like shaking of limbs and has even allowed them to walk, not possible otherwise. And, it is definitely a future India is looking to, given its huge youth bank," says Pillai.

Divided into five sections, the book in fact lays a special emphasis on the youth power, especially in the final section titled 'Future India' where it asks the young India to "think big" and to "assume the leadership role" in building a "knowledge society" for the world.

"India has currently 580 million youth population. And, every one among the youth of India must prepare himself or herself to do remarkable work, which will create a place for him or her in the history of the world. History is not written for cowards and one who thinks small," he said.

Fending off worries that the Indian youth has been diverted by a current phase of commercialism, the 'father of BrahMos' urges them to remain positive and "believe in the power of India".

"This current phase of commercialism luring the youth is only a temporary phase. After ten years, you will see, the youth of India will change. And, I and Mr Kalam, himself a popular force among the youth of the country, we both believe that the future of India is great. And, we have to be a positive force and not a negative one, and tackle the problems of the nation," he says.

Commenting on the lack of research culture in Indian universities and organisations, Pillai emphasised the need for government's greater attention and allocation of resources towards building a "research-based paradigm" in educational and research institutions.

"Government is spending 1.7 crore to make one IIT graduate. And, after graduation, the best brains go for either corporate jobs or to US universities, among others. And, then that country becomes a great country.

They leave because they don't have research opportunities back home and that's why we need to focus more on research - based paradigm. Because, when science grows, country grows," he said.

The book has been brought out by Pentagon Press and also contains illustrations accompanying the text.
.

Work Intelligent.....

Do you wash your hands properly? Maybe not ............

While washing your hands is the best way to defend against the spread of infectious diseases, a new study from Michigan State University finds that when it comes to hand washing in restrooms, most of us do a poor job.


Of the 3,749 people researchers observed in public restrooms in bars, restaurants and other public establishments, most people didn't wash their hands long enough to kill germs. One third didn't use soap and 10 percent just opted out of hand washing altogether. To gather their data, student researchers tried to go undetected, standing off to the side and entering results on a smartphone. 

Separated by gender, findings showed that 15 percent of men didn't wash their hands at all, compared with seven percent of women. When men did wash their hands, only half of them used soap, compared to nearly 80 percent of women. Men in particular were found to be more likely to wash their hands if a sign encouraging them to do so was present in the restroom. Another factor that encouraged hand washing: a clean sink.

"These findings were surprising to us because past research suggested that proper hand washing is occurring at a much higher rate," said lead researcher Carl Borchgrevink.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose guidelines the researchers followed, reports that it takes 15 to 20 seconds of vigorous hand washing with soap and water to effectively kill germs. Yet, findings from the study showed that most people wash their hands for about six seconds.

The study, announced this week, was published in the Journal of Environmental Health.

Affordable Asia , Expensive Europe

Affordable Asia


Asia is featured heavily in the 10 most affordable international destinations, claiming four cities in total. Hanoi, Vietnam (#2), Bangkok, Thailand (#6), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (#7) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (#10). With an average cost of $203.79, these Asian escapes offer substantial savings as compared to the TripIndex world average of $321.70.

Least Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost
1	Sofia, Bulgaria	$96.29	$4.78	$40.44	$16.91	$158.42
2	Hanoi, Vietnam	$115.10	$6.10	$36.71	$18.23	$176.14
3	Warsaw, Poland	$103.30	$13.92	$53.15	$17.08	$187.45
4	Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt	$101.64	$2.90	$65.05	$21.75	$191.34
5	Budapest, Hungary	$103.89	$11.10	$49.98	$28.47	$193.44
6	Bangkok, Thailand	$109.27	$3.13	$69.75	$19.00	$201.15
7	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	$118.81	$2.13	$70.53	$26.26	$217.73
8	Tunis, Tunisia	$156.00	$2.59	$42.86	$17.46	$218.91
9	Cape Town, South Africa	$134.85	$13.69	$62.07	$8.85	$219.46
10	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	$167.38	$6.10	$46.66	N/A	$220.14

Expensive Europe


Europe is home to the most expensive international cities with six of the top 10 destinations: Oslo, Norway (#1), Zurich, Switzerland (#2), Stockholm, Sweden (#3),Paris, France (#5), London, England (#7) and Copenhagen, Denmark (#8). Travelers committed to traveling to Europe can find affordable escapes with Sofia, Bulgaria;Warsaw, Poland and Budapest, Hungary all within the top five least expensive international cities, coming in respectively at first, third, and fifth.

Most Expensive:

	Destination	Hotel	Return taxi trip	Dinner for two	Cocktails for two	Total cost
1	Oslo, Norway	$229.99	$28.97	$276.72	$45.40	$581.08
2	Zurich, Switzerland	$298.77	$38.94	$151.02	$34.68	$523.41
3	Stockholm, Sweden	$243.23	$27.18	$209.50	$41.77	$521.68
4	New York City, U.S.	$379.24	$22.90	$81.50	$32.33	$515.97
5	Paris, France	$322.89	$17.73	$104.72	$66.06	$511.40
6	Sydney, Australia	$231.57	$24.26	$167.28	$37.10	$460.21
7	London, U.K.	$271.00	$41.47	$101.79	$37.09	$451.35
8	Copenhagen, Denmark	$219.35	$38.47	$148.46	$37.30	$443.58
9	Cancun, Mexico	$317.17	$20.20	$80.22	$23.47	$441.06
10	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	$333.90	$26.59	$53.03	$22.14	$435.66

The full TripIndex Cities world list is available at:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.TripIndex_Cities_2013_US

Analytics Predict LeT attacks in coming months

There seems to be a scientific pattern in terror attacks too, if a team of top-notch computer scientists from the University of Maryland is to be believed.

The team has predicted that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) will attack on either professional security forces and/or public, symbolic, transport and tourist targets, in the next four months.

The predictions are based on a set of models devised by a team led by Prof VS Subrahmanian which are constructed on the basis of data of the terror group that were collected for 25 years, from 1985 to 2010.

"The data is recorded on a monthly basis and includes the values of approximately 770 variables for each month," Prof Subrahmanian told HT.

The models describe conditions under which LeT took various actions with the conditions acting as predictors of when they will take similar actions in the future.

The attack predictions made in May 2012 at a Washington DC conference, were claimed to be largely correct.

With counter terrorism as the goal, the scientists have attempted to forecast what LeT will resort to under a set of given 'environmental' and 'action' variables.

While 'environmental' variables relate to social, cultural, economic, military aspects in which LeT is operating, including state responses to terror, 'action' variables relate to actions that LeT took.

While maintaining that there is no policy that will mitigate all of LeT's deadly attacks, Subrahmanian insists that strategies that foster dissent within the organisation show greater effectiveness in reducing such attacks, besides taking recourse to cyber-operations as a means of spreading such information which is most likely to lead to increased paranoia among the top LeT leadership and the mid-level echelons.

"Among such strategies, exposing unfavourable information about LeT leaders, particularly financial corruption, is the most effective one," Subrahmanian said.

"Historically, when terrorist groups are under pressure, splinter groups like the Indian Mujaheedin carry out some of the deadliest attacks," he said.

"Evidence from the testimony of David Coleman Headley indicate that tension within LeT over its acceptance to the Pakistani government's alliance with the US, laid the seeds for the Mumbai Assault," the scientist added.

Why Indian kids win Spelling Bee: Habit, family, and ecosystem

The big difference from previous years and winners is that the words have gotten tougher and more obscure, even as the national exposure has gotten greater with extensive TV and online coverage.

WASHINGTON: Indian-American kids extended their stranglehold on the US National Spelling Bee championship for the sixth year in succession, winning their 11th title in the last 15 years sparking off renewed debate on whether it is a result of preternatural disposition or parental obsession.

New York City teenager Arvind Mahankali, 13, won the title by correctly spelling 'knaidel', a German-Yiddish word for dough. It was one of the easier words he cracked on an evening when he battled through obscure words such as glossophagine, chalumeau, and dehnstufe, among others.

That an Indian-American kid would win the nationally televised championship was a foregone conclusion long before the final round. Some 20 per cent of the 281 (from more than a million contestants nationwide) who made the cut to the final in Washington DC were of Indian origin. Seven of them made it to the final ten. After 12 exhausting rounds, the only three remaining the fray were Indian-American boys, the first time in five years the title would not go to girls.

Mahankali, a spelling bee veteran who was placed third last year and ninth in 2011, beat Pranav Sivakumar of Illinois (felled by cyanophycean) and Sriram Hathwar of New York (defeated by ptyalagogue). For his years' long labor, he won $ 30,000 in prizes, a sparkling trophy, various scholarships, and a blaze of television exposure including making the rounds of studios on Friday.

At 13, he announced in an ESPN interview his ''retirement'' from the annual event that entertains kids from 8 to 14.

The win generated what has now become an annual bout of sociological scrutiny on why the Indian-American community has begun to dominate events such as spelling bee, geographic bee, and assorted STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) challenges. The NationalGeographic Bee title was also won last month by an Indian-American lad, Sathwik Karnik of Massachusetts. Eight of the final 10 there were of Indian origin.

Explanations for the Indian dominance range from the community having developed a winning habit and maintaining an ecosystem to sustain the momentum (like Kenyans and Ethiopians with long distance running), to more complex elucidations about Brahminical traditions and predisposition to learning by rote, encouraged by the so-called "tiger moms" and "leonine dads" pushing their kids.

But Srinivas Mahankali, the winner's father, who is originally from Andhra Pradesh, says it is also a part of the immigrant desire to be part of the mainstream. ''They are very eager to show that they have mastered the cornerstone of the culture here — the language,'' he told NPR last year after his son placed third.

Family and community dynamics are also at play. At the Mahankali household, Arvind's verbal jousting is supported by his parents and his nine-year old brother Srinath, who plays his accomplice, helping him with wordy drills even as he himself prepares to step up to the stage. Two of the Indian-American finalists this year were siblings of previous title winners.

There is also a South Asian minor league circuit that acts as a training ground for what has now become a community rite of passage, and preps the contestants for the national stage.

While critics of the event, which generates electric tension in the final stages, suggest one should ''bee-ware'' of the obsession with rote learning, parents have a different take. They say preparing for the event also inculcates discipline and a spirit of inquiry. Learning new words provide an insight into everything from history to culture to science and medicine.

Indeed, this year's spelling bee rules were upgraded to put the kids through a written round where they had to explain the meaning of the words they were asked to spell.

"Even in Sanskrit, actually there is a shloka, or a saying, [that] if you learn something, nobody can take it away from you," says Mahankali.

Proof of the positive fallout may well lie in the career paths of previous winners. Balu Natarajan, the first Indian-American winner in 1985, is a successful physician practicing sports medicine in Chicago. Rageshree Ramachandran, who won the spelling bee title 1988, and was also a finalist in the Westinghouse Science Talent contest, is a gastrointestinal pathologist with an MD and a PhD. Nupur Lala, who triggered the ongoing winning spree in 1999 and featured in a riveting documentary titled Spellbound, is finishing up a master's degree in cancer biology.

Even when they have gone off the beaten track, past winners have done well in whatever they have attempted. Pratyush Buddiga, who won the title in 2002, is a professional poker player who took part in the World Series of Poker last year. The others are younger and finding their way, but they seem to have the confidence to do well in any sphere of life. Mahankali, who could barely suppress a grin in the final rounds as he cracked a series of words of German origin (which had defeated him last year) is a ig fan of Einstein and thinks he might become a physicist.

The big difference from previous years and winners is that the words have gotten tougher and more obscure, even as the national exposure has gotten greater with extensive TV and online coverage. Balu Natarajan's winning word was ''milieu'' and Rageshree won with ''elegiacal.'