Another Attack on Karzai's companion

KABUL: A senior adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been murdered along with a member of parliament visiting him at his Kabul home, a senior government official told AFP on Sunday.

Jan Mohammad Khan, the former governor of southern Uruzgan province and a key ally of the embattled president, was killed in an attack that was still ongoing, according to police in the area.

A senior police official said a second man was also killed — a member of parliament from Uruzgan, Mohammad Hashem Watanwal — and an interior ministry official confirmed there had been a second death.

The attack comes less than a week after the president’s half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated by a close friend at his home in the southern province of Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban.

Social Gaming Capturing Market :- o

Social gaming is capturing the Video Gaming market nowadays, social games are the games that are played online on social networks as on Facebook, Myspace, Friendster etc. The game which has more than about 50 million users is Zynga developers game FARMVILLE. The survey found that 55% of social gamers are female and 45% are male. Females are more avid gamers, too; 38% of females said they play multiple times a day, but just 29% males said the same. Women are more likely to play with people they know (68% vs. 56% for males), and men are more likely to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%) than women are.

Facebook is the most popular destination for online games, with 83% of respondents saying they have played games there. Twenty-eight percent have purchased in-game currency with real-world money. The average gamer has played six social games, and more than 50% of gamers started playing a game because a friend recommended it or because they saw a friend playing it in a news feed or other social stream.

Zynga is grabbing the gaming world's market share nowadays by introducing newest social games as Cityville & Empire & Allies. Zynga has about a billion users on facebook who play Farmville, Mafia Wars, Cityville & it has 8 more games. The world leader in 3d graphics gaming Electronic Arts(EA) has been replaced by Zynga. I have a lot of friends who play Farmville & Mafia wars, but I only prefer Mafia Wars and I also spent real $5 money to purchase in game money. It has been over 18 months I am playing Mafia Wars and I spent 25 minutes a day on it.

Only Noble Award holder of Pakistan & Muslim World

Mohammad Abdus Salam was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the unification of the electromagnetic and weak forces. Salam, Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg shared the 1979 Nobel prize for this discovery. Salam holds the distinction of being the first Pakistani and the first Muslim Nobel Laureate to receive the prize in the sciences.

Salam was a science advisor to the Government of Pakistan from 1960 till 1974, a position from which he played a major and influential role in Pakistan's science infrastructure. Salam was responsible for not only major development and contribution in theoretical and particle physics, but as well as promoting scientific research at maximum level in his country. Salam was the founding director of Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and responsible for the establishment of the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) in Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). As Science Advisor, Salam played an integral role in Pakistan's development on peaceful use of nuclear energy, and directed the research on development of weapons in 1972. In 1974, Salam left Pakistan in protest when Pakistan Parliament controversially passed a parliamentary bill declaring Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as Non-Muslims. Even after his death, Salam remained one of the most influential scientists in his country. In 1998, following the country's nuclear tests, the Government of Pakistan issued a commemorative stamp, as a part of "Scientists of Pakistan", to honour the services of Salam.

Salam's major and notable achievements include Pati-Salam model, Magnetic photon, Vector meson, Grand Unified Theory, work on the quarks and the global symmetry, and most importantly Electroweak theory, for which he was awarded the most prestigious award in Physics the Nobel Prize. Salam made a major contribution in Quantum Field Theory and advancement of Mathematics at the Imperial College. With his student, Riazuddin, Salam made important contributions to the modern theory on neutrinos, neutron stars and black holes, as well as the work on modernizing the quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. As a teacher and science promoter, Salam is remembered as a founder and scientific father of mathematical and theoretical physics in Pakistan while his stay as Science advisor. Salam heavily contributed to the rise of Pakistani physics to the Physics community in the world. Even until his death, Salam continued to contribute in physics and tirelessly advocated for the development of science in third world countries.

Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization about (3300 BC to 1700 BC) that thrived in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys, now in Pakistan, along with the northwestern parts of India, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The civilization, which is also known as Harappan Civilization, lasted from 3300 BC to 1700 BC. The discovery of the Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization was made, when the Harappan city, the first city of Indus Valley, was excavated.  Geographically, the civilization was spread over an area of some 1,260,000 km, making it the largest ancient civilization in the world.

Discovery
The first description of the ruins of Harappa is found in the Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab of Charles Masson. It dates back to the period of 1826 to 1838. In 1857, the British engineers accidentally used bricks from the Harappa ruins for building the East Indian Railway line between Karachi and Lahore. In the year 1912, J. Fleet discovered Harappan seals. This incident led to an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921-1922.

Cities
Approximately 1052 cities and settlements belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been excavated till date, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar and Indus Rivers and their tributaries. The artifacts discovered in these cities suggest a sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture. The concept of urban planning is also widely evident. There is also the existence of the first urban sanitation systems in the world. the sewerage and drainage system found in the each and every city of Indus Valley comes across as even more efficient than those in some areas of Pakistan and India today.

Science
The people of Indus Valley are believed to be amongst the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their smallest division was approximately 1.704 mm. Decimal division of measurement was used for all practical purposes. The brick weights were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1. The numerous inventions of the Indus River Valley Civilization include an instrument used for measuring whole sections of the horizon and the tidal dock. The people of Harappa evolved new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead and tin. They also had the knowledge of proto-dentistry and the touchstone technique of gold testing.

Arts and Culture
Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry and figurines in terracotta, bronze and steatite, etc, have been excavated from the sites of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Other crafts that have been unearthed include shell works, ceramics, agate, glazed steatite bead making, special kind of combs, etc. There is also evidence of seals, toys, games and stringed musical instruments in the Indus Valley.

Trade and Transportation
Trade seems to the major occupation of the people of the Harappan Civilization. The main forms of transport include bullock carts and boats. Archaeologists have also discovered an enormous, dredged canal and docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal. The pottery, seals, figurines, ornaments, etc, of the civilization show great similarities with those of Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, indicating trade with them. Then, there are signs of maritime trade network between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations also.

Agriculture
The major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop derived from two-row barley. However, not much information is available on the farmers and their agricultural methods.

Symbol System
As many as 400 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals, ceramic pots and other materials excavated from the Indus Valley. Typical Indus inscriptions are, at the most, four or five characters in length and quite small. The longest inscription on any object is 26 symbols long. Indus symbols have been found on ritual objects also, many of which were mass-produced.

Religion
The large number of figurines found in the Indus Valley Civilization suggests that the Harappan people worshipped a Mother Goddess, who symbolized fertility. Some of the seals of that time also have the swastikas engraved on them. Then, there are some others in which a figure is seated in a yoga-like posture and is surrounded by animals. The figure is quite similar to that of Lord Pashupati, the Lord of Creatures.

Contribution of Muslim Scientists in Science & Technology

Unbelievable! those Muslim Scholars have revived the whole world with their religion, science, culture, arts even their behavior not to mention the revolution they led in the world. Muslims (We) were superior in arts and sciences because their caliphates were strong, safe, and stable. It's the truth, we (Muslims) have to fix our political situations and restore our natural resources before anything else. If we, Muslims, want to regain the leadership of this universe we should follow our ancestors' example.

Hajj and its Mysterious & Beneficial facts

When we perform Hajj, we should relate the rituals to our forefathers and ancestors in faith: Ibraheem, Ismaeel, Haajar, and Muhammad (S) as well as the first generations of Muslims. In Hajj, we commemorate them as well as their sacrifice, sincerity, dedication and patience, which constitute the main elements of their legacy. We should not perform Hajj only physically, but spiritually as well. We should try to understand the meaning of every thing we do and see what lessons we can draw. The following points are some reflections on the pillars of Hajj and some other rituals:

In Tawaaf - Circumambulating around Ka'bah- the pilgrims walk fast to commemorate the first generation of Muslims who came with the Messenger of Allah (S) to perform Hajj. When the Polytheists of Makkah started saying that the Prophet's companions were sick because they were effected by the fever of Madinah, the Prophet (S) wanted to disappoint them and show the opposite. That is why men almost jog with short steps in the first three circumambulations and uncover their right shoulders during all the tawaaf.
We also imitate the angels who circumambulate around al-bayt al-Ma'amour - the filled house - above in the seven Heaven as reported in many authentic hadiths.
When we kiss the Black Stone, which was brought from Jannah, we remember the other life and pray to Allah that Paradise will be our abode. In the Hadith , the Prophet (S) said that when the Black Stone was brought from Jannah., it was very white, but it darkened and became black because of the sins of human beings. We kiss it because we saw the Prophet (S) doing it and it is simply an act of following. The stone cannot bring any benefit or harm to us. All the rituals, the pillars of Islam and our lives should be established by following the best.

Honey and its Benefits

Honey is a sweet treat. In fact, it is man's oldest sweetener. It can be a good substitute for sugar in our drinks and food. But it is also good for many other things and treating many other conditions. Reliance on commercialized medicines which contains too much chemicals can become hazardous to our health.

Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small quantities. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it.

Benefits:

1. Honey is sedative, anti-fungal and nourishing

2. Soothes tissues and help retain calcium in the body

3. Antibacterial – great for both internal and external problem

4. Considered to be a swiss army knife in the world of alternative medicine.

5. Honey can boost the immune system.

Honey is also mentioned in Holy Quran;

"And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build: Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colors, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who reflect.” (Surat an-Nahl, 68-69)

In addition, the Prophet (PBUH) said:

“Honey is a remedy for every illness and the Qur'an is a remedy for all illness of the mind, therefore I recommend to you both remedies, the Qur'an and honey.”
(Bukhari)

The products of the hive are important to the modern agricultural system. Not only do honey bees provide us with honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and pollen but they also pollinate a good portion of our crops, including such diverse agricultural plants as fruit trees, oilseeds, small berries and forage crops.

GreenHouse Effect & its Benefits

Greenhouse Effect

There are two meanings of the term "greenhouse effect". There is a "natural" greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth's climate warm and habitable. There is also the "man-made" greenhouse effect, which is the enhancement of Earth's natural greenhouse effect by the addition of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels (mainly petroleum, coal, and natural gas).

 In order to understand how the greenhouse effect operates, we need to first understand "infrared radiation". Greenhouse gases trap some of the infrared radiation that escapes from the Earth, making the Earth warmer that it would otherwise be. You can think of greenhouse gases as sort of a "blanket" for infrared radiation-- it keeps the lower layers of the atmosphere warmer, and the upper layers colder, than if the greenhouse gases were not there.

 About 80-90% of the Earth's natural greenhouse effect is due to water vapor, a strong greenhouse gas. The remainder is due to carbon dioxide, methane, and a few other minor gases.

 It is the carbon dioxide concentration that is increasing, due to the burning of fossil fuels (as well as from some rainforest burning). This is the man-made portion of the greenhouse effect, and it is believed by many scientists to be responsible for the global warming of the last 150 years.

Benefits of Greenhouse effect

The presence of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere produces the greenhouse effect, which keeps the atmosphere warm. The warm atmosphere is very essential for the survival of life on Earth in the following ways:

• Precipitation of water, formation of clouds, and rainfall etc. life in the biosphere depend on these resources.

• The warm atmosphere helps in the growth of vegetation and forest etc. These are sources of food, shelter etc.

• This effect helps in rapid bio-degradation of dead plants and animals.

These are the benefits of the greenhouse effect.

 It is becoming apparent that the world may not be able to survive without fossil fuels. This means that we must develop renewable sources of energy which are environmentally sustainable. Fortunately, we already possess the technology at hand to provide clean and reliable sources of energy for meeting human needs. Renewable systems include solar photo voltaic power systems, solar hot water systems, wind turbines, bio-fuel plantations, hydroelectric systems and so on. These energy sources are sustainable because they never 'run out'. 

Most importantly, many renewable energy sources, such as wind power and solar thermal, are already cheaper than conventional fuels, even though the price of fossil fuels and nuclear power does not reflect their full environmental and economic costs.