Air pollution leads to lower IQ levels among kids: Study

POLLUTION-KIDS
Air pollution can not only affect one's respiratory system, it can lead to lower IQ levels among kids, a new study claims.
According to the study carried out in New York City, five-year-olds who were exposed to higher levels of urban air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) while in the womb exhibited an IQ four points lower than those subjected to less PAH.
The pollutants also negatively affected their vocabulary and reaction times, the study said.
"Alarmingly, the drop was similar to that seen in exposure to low levels of lead," said epidemiologist Frederica Perera, who led the study.
"These weren't even super impressively high levels of pollution" but the dip in IQ level was enough to affect school performance and scores on standardised tests, Perera said.
Most PAH pollutants -- black carbon and other particulate matter -- come from motor vehicle emissions, especially diesel- and gas-powered cars and trucks, and from the burning of coal.
Perera suggested that by limiting outdoor physical activity on smoggy days and adopting better policies on traffic congestion, we can reduce exposure to toxic chemicals.

Eunuchs can indicate sex as 'Other' in electoral rolls: EC

Eunuchs and transsexuals would now be put in the column of 'Other' in the electoral rolls if they do not want to be described as male or female, the Election Commission said today.
A decision to this effect has been taken by the EC following representations from various individuals and interest groups to include the eunuchs in the electoral rolls with an independent identity.
"The Commission has duly considered the request and has decided to allow eunuchs/transsexuals to indicate their sex as 'Other' where they do not want to be described as male or female," the EC said in a press note.
Besides the electoral roll, the decision would apply to all other Forms used by the EC wherein the provisions of indication of sex of the user was made, including IT based formats and website, it said.
Necessary instructions have been issued to all Electoral Registration Officers through the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories to give effect to the EC's decision.
Enumerators and Booth Level Officers (BLOs) shall be instructed to indicate the sex of eunuchs/ transsexuals as 'O' if they so desire, while undertaking any house-to-house enumeration or verification of any application, the EC said.
So far, the eunuchs were registered in the electoral rolls either as male or female, on the basis of the statement made by the person concerned.

World's most powerful: Obama on top, Osama makes it too

Four Indians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and fugitive Dawood Ibrahim, have made it to the Forbes list of the world's most powerful people topped by US president Barack Obama. Obama is followed by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the Forbes annual rankings that also features world's most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden.
Among the four Indians, Singh has been ranked highest at 36th position, while the country's top corporate house Reliance Industries' chief Mukesh Ambani finds himself ranked 44th ahead of Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata (59th). Ranked very next to Singh is al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden at 37th place, while Indian underworld don Dawood Ibrahim is at 50th position.
Dawood, head of the infamous 'D-Company', is wanted by India in connection with the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai and has been listed by the US as 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' for funding al-Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of 9/11 terror strike on US, too has been eluding US-led multi-national armed forces.
The list also features Dalai Lama at 39th rank and Pope Benedict XVI at 11th place. The Forbes ranking includes total 67 persons from across the world. Among the top-ranked, Obama, Jintao and Putin are followed by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (4th) and internet giant Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page joint fifth.

‘दिल्ली में रहना चाहती थीं तसलीमा, सरकार ने मना किया’

विवादित और निर्वासित बांग्लादेशी लेखिका तसलीमा नसरीन इस साल अगस्त में भारत में रहने के विचार से आईं थीं। लेकिन भारत सरकार ने हाथ खड़े करते हुए उन्हें इसकी इजाजत नहीं दी। तसलीमा के वेबसाइट के हवाले से ये भी बात सामने आई कि उन्हें इसके कारण भारत छोड़ने पर विवश होना पड़ा। “अगस्त महीने में भारत में लौटने का उनका मकसद भारत में रहने का था। उनकी कोशिश थी कि उन्हें दिल्ली में ठिकाना मिल जाए। अगल दिल्ली नहीं तो कोलकाता ही सही। लेकिन भारत सरकार ने उनकी अपील ठुकरा दी।” अपनी वेबसाइट पर तसलीमा ने कुछ इस तरह लिखा। इस समय तसलीमा नसरीन अमेरिका में रह रहीं हैं।

वेबसाइट के हवाले से अगर बात करें तो भारत सरकार ने उनके भारत में रहने की परमिट इस शर्त पर बढ़ाई थी कि वो भारत में नहीं रहेंगी और उन्हें भारत से बाहर जाने के लिए मजबूर किया। अगस्त में भारत सरकार ने तसलीमा की रिहायशी परमिट 6 महीने के लिए फरवरी तक बढ़ाई थी। तसलीमा भारत में स्थाई नागरिकता की मांग काफी समय से करती आ रही हैं। लेकिन भारत सरकार इस मुद्दे पर अब तक कोई भी निर्णय नहीं ले सकी है।

तसलीमा 1994 से निर्वासित जीवन व्यतीत कर रही हैं। जब उन्हें उनके विवादित उपन्यास लज्जा के चलते अतिवादियों के विरोध के चलते बांग्लादेश छोड़ना पड़ा था। इस उपन्यास में तसलीमा ने बड़ी ही बेबाकी से मुस्लिम महिलाओं की हालत पर कलम उकेरी थी। भारत में तसलीमा 2000 से रह रही थीं। वो आज भी सिटी ऑफ जॉय कोलकाता को अपना घर मानती हैं। कोलकाता से उन्हें 2 साल पहले दोबारा अतिवादियों के चलते कोलकाता छोड़ना पड़ा था।

जिसकी लाठी उसका नोबेल

आखिर ओबामा को क्यों मिला नोबेल? ये सवाल उसी समय से उठा जब मैंने चैनल पर ये खबर फ्लैश की। फ्लैश करने पर ही उठा...क्योंकि उसके पहले मैं मेल पढ़कर उसको छापने में व्यस्त था। लेकिन जब थोड़ी देर बाद जब होश संभाला तो लगा कि मैंने ये क्या छापा है... आखिर मैंने चैनल पर क्या देख रहा हूं।

ओबामा को शांति का नोबेल पुरस्कार उनके उन कोशिशों के लिए मिला जिससे उन्होंने विश्व में अंतर्राष्ट्रीय कूटनीति को मजबूत करने के लिए की। हालांकि उनकी ये कोशिशें कभी भी पूरी होती नहीं दिखी। मुझे एक बात ये समझ में नहीं आ रही कि कोशिशों के लिए कब से नोबेल मिलने लगा जब उसका कोई रिजल्ट सामने ना हो.... या यूं कहें कि उसका रिजल्ट हमेशा उलटा ही पड़ा... चाहे ईरान के परमाणु कार्यक्रम पर कार्रवाई की बात हो या फिर उत्तर कोरिया की... या फिर इराक से सेना हटाने की बात हो या अफगानिस्तान में जारी मानवाधिकार के हनन के मामले। हां एक बात तो उन्होंने जरूर पूरी कि ग्वांटोनामा जेल को बंद कर उन्होंने जरूर अपने कुछ अश्वेत वोटबैंक को खुश कर दिया होगा।

ओबामा के कार्यकाल में अगर देखा जाए तो अमेरिकी नीति में कोई परिवर्तन देखने को नहीं मिला। अमेरिका आज भी पाकिस्तान को उसी तरह मदद दे रहा जैसा कि पहले दिया करता था। अभी हाल में दी गई कई हजार करोड़ की मदद इसका सबूत है। ये मदद उस समय दी जा रही है जब सीमा पर पाकिस्तानी सेना और आईएसआई ने भारतीय जमीन पर घुस्पैठ के लिए कमर कसी हुई है। आतंकवाद के पोषक ये दो अपनी नापाक करतूतों से बाज नहीं आ रहे हैं।

Which US presidents won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Theodore Roosevelt (1906)

Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858-January 6, 1919) was born in New York into one of the old Dutch families which had settled in America in the seventeenth century. At eighteen he entered Harvard College and spent four years there, dividing his time between books and sport and excelling at both. After leaving Harvard he studied in Germany for almost a year and then immediately entered politics. He was elected to the Assembly of New York State, holding office for three years and distinguishing himself as an ardent reformer. In 1884, because of ill health and the death of his wife, Roosevelt abandoned his political work for some time. He invested part of the fortune he had inherited from his father in a cattle ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory, expecting to remain in the West for many years. He became a passionate hunter, especially of big game, and an ardent believer in the wild outdoor life which brought him health and strength. In 1886 Roosevelt returned to New York, married again, and once more plunged into politics.

Woodrow Wilson (1919)

Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856-February 3, 1924) was born in Staunton, Virginia, to parents of a predominantly Scottish heritage. Since his father was a Presbyterian minister and his mother the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Woodrow was raised in a pious and academic household. He spent a year at Davidson College in North Carolina and three at Princeton University where he received a baccalaureate degree in 1879. After graduating from the Law School of the University of Virginia*, he practiced law for a year in Atlanta, Georgia, but it was a feeble practice. He entered graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1883 and three years later received the doctorate. In 1885 he published Congressional Government, a splendid piece of scholarship which analyzes the difficulties arising from the separation of the legislative and executive powers in the American Constitution.

Jimmy Carter Jr (2002)

In October 2002 Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. According to the Nobel Prize Committee Chairman Gunnar Berge, "Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international cooperation based on international law." Jimmy Carter was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his "untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." Shortly after receiving the prize, Carter left for Jamaica to observe the strife-filled Jamaican national elections. Nobel Committee Chairman Berge noted that the choice of Carter, who opposes unilateral US military action against Iraq --- the impending war --- should be interpreted by the world as a criticism of the efforts of US President Bush to attack Iraq rather than search for other, non-violent resolution of the present crisis.

James Earl Carter, Jr. was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He uses the name Jimmy instead of his formal name. Important aspects of his childhood was the family business of peanut farming, politics, and the Baptist (Christian) faith. His father was a farmer and a local legislator. His mother was a nurse who was inspiringly generous and compassionate --- in her later years Carter's mother joined the Peace Corps. Carter studied at Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Jimmy Carter graduated in 1946 from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and he married Rosalynn Smith. The Carters have three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), and a daughter, Amy Lynn.

Barack Hussein Obama (2009)

US President Barack Obama was today picked up as the surprise winner of 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary" efforts to strengthen international diplomacy, hardly less than a year after coming to power. Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics, a statement released by the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, lauding his vision of a world without nuclear weapons. It was because of Obama's effort that multi-lateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play, the statement said. 48-year-old Obama is the fourth US President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Barack Hussein Obama II born August 4, 1961 is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first born in Hawaii. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for United States Senate in 2004. His victory, from a crowded field, in the March 2004 Democratic primary raised his visibility. His prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004 made him a rising star nationally in the Democratic Party. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 by the largest margin in the history of Illinois.

तीन अमेरिकियों को भौतिकी का नोबेल पुरस्कार

डिजीटल फोटोग्राफी में इस्तेमाल की जाने वाली प्रौद्योगिकी के निर्माण और दुनिया को फाइबर-आप्टिक नेटवर्क से जोड़ने में कामयाबी के लिए तीन अमेरिकी वैज्ञानिकों को 2009 का भौतिकी नोबेल पुरस्कार देने की घोषणा की गई है। भौतिकी का नोबेल पुरस्कार पाने वालों में अमेरिका के चा‌र्ल्स के काव, विलियर्ड एस. बॉयल और जॉर्ज. ई स्मिथ शामिल हैं। नोबेल पुरस्कार प्रदान करने वाली संस्था 'द रॉयल स्वीडिश अकादमी' के मुताबिक काव को जहां ब्रिटेन की भी नागरिकता प्राप्त है वहीं बॉयल को कनाडा की भी नागरिकता प्राप्त है। पुरस्कार के तौर पर दिए जाने वाले एक करोड़ क्रोनर यानी 14 लाख अमेरिकी डॉलर को तीनों वैज्ञानिकों के बीच बांट दिया जाएगा। पुरस्कार राशि का 50 फीसदी हिस्सा जहां काव को मिलेगा वहीं बॉयल और स्मिथ को 25-25 फीसदी राशि दी जाएगी। शंघाई में पैदा हुए काव ब्रिटेन में रहते हैं। काव को 1966 में की गई अपनी खोज के लिए पुरस्कार से नवाजे जाने की घोषणा की गई है। काव ने यह खोज की थी कि फाइबर-ऑप्टिक केबल्स के माध्यम से किस तरह लंबी दूरियों में प्रकाश को संचरित कराया जा सकता है। काव की यह खोज आधुनिक संचार नेटवर्क की रीढ़ साबित हुई और इसी की बदौलत दूरभाष और उच्च-गति वाले इंटरनेट काम करते हैं। बॉयल और स्मिथ ने साथ मिलकर चा‌र्ज्ड-कपल्ड डिवाइस का आविष्कार किया था। सीसीडी को डिजीटल कैमरे का आंख भी माना जाता है। इसका इस्तेमाल सर्जिकल उपकरणों में भी किया जाता है।