วันจันทร์ที่ 31 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

New year revellers welcome 2013 with fireworks

Cities around the globe welcomed the New Year with spectacular fireworks, music and street parties

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Celebrations are being held around the world to mark the new year.
More than 1.5 million people gathered around Sydney harbour to watch that city's famous firework display.
Similar shows are taking place in cities across the world, with hundreds of thousands lining London's Thames and big crowds gathering in New York.
Celebrations have been held for the first time in Burma, where large public gatherings were banned by its previous military rulers.
More than two million people are expected to be on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach.
New York will mark the new year with the traditional New Year's Eve countdown and ball drop over Times Square.
Welcoming 2013 In Auckland, the major city closest to the International Date Line, fireworks exploded over the city's 328m (1,076ft) Sky Tower as midnight struck (11:00 GMT).
Two hours later, the huge crowds around the harbour in the Australian city of Sydney watched as seven tonnes of fireworks lit up the famous landmarks of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House to a soundtrack co-written by Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
Fireworks lit up the skyline in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, while South Korea ushered in the new year with the traditional ringing 33 times of the 15th century Bosingak bell in the capital Seoul.
Some 100,000 people were expected around Hong Kong's harbour for the city's biggest ever fireworks display, costing $1.6m (£980,000), the Associated Press reported.
Firework displays were also held in the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
New Year's fireworks in Rangoon, Burma Rangoon witnessed its first public new year fireworks display
Meanwhile, Burma for the first time welcomed in new year with a big public fireworks display in the former capital Rangoon.
Thousands of people attended the event, which also included live performances and countdowns from other parts of the world.
The celebration is in stark contrast to previous years, when the only big new year celebrations took place inside luxury hotels, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head reports.
Subdued celebrations The atmosphere in Rangoon was in stark contrast to a subdued atmosphere in the Indian capital Delhi, following the death last week of a 23-year-old victim of a gang rape.
The army cancelled its celebrations across the country, as did the governments in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
Thousands of residents and clubs also called off new year celebrations, and candlelit vigils have been held for the young woman and other victims of rape in India.
Venezuela also cancelled its public new year celebrations in central Caracas after the government announced President Hugo Chavez's health had taken a turn for the worse.
He is currently recovering from his fourth bout of cancer-related surgery, but has suffered "new complications" from a respiratory infection he has caught.
Information Minister Ernesto Villegas urged families "to ring in the New Year at home, praying and expressing hope for the health" of President Chavez.

Yingluck enters 2013 a survivor

Thanks to powerful supporters, the PM has made it despite the brickbats

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has survived more than 15 months in office despite repeated attacks from critics and opposition politicians on her alleged ignorance, lack of political experience, and tendency to stay adrift of key issues.

For many observers she has a good chance of completing her four-year term, thanks to support from many experienced and influential politicians behind her.

A political novice, Yingluck contested her first election and won a seat in parliament in the July 3, 2011 ballot. Only 49 days earlier, she became the Pheu Thai Party's prime-ministerial candidate although she was not - and has never been - the party leader.

In her brother's shoes

Her most outstanding quality was being the youngest sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is considered the patriarch of Pheu Thai - his third political party after two previous ones were dissolved on court orders for electoral fraud.

Thaksin has been in self-exile overseas to avoid imprisonment at home over a corruption case.

Many politicians from the ruling-coalition parties, as well as senior bureaucrats, reportedly visited Thaksin for his backing before Cabinet reshuffles and changes in top bureaucratic positions.

Unlike her predecessors, including her ex-PM brother, who often had to tackle key political issues by themselves, Yingluck seems to have tried to distance herself from contentious issues since assuming office in August 2011. Indeed, critics say the prime minister has sought to be invisible politically.

She seldom attended House of Representatives meetings in which opposition MPs queried the prime minister or Cabinet members. Yingluck often assigned relevant ministers to respond to the queries on her behalf. Her argument was that they had been assigned to particular responsibilities.

Even at the censure debate against her and three other Cabinet members in late November, the PM was absent for most of the session and often responded to opposition MPs' allegations from prepared notes.

She has also kept a distance from hot issues like constitutional amendment and the so-called reconciliation bill, which have been described by the opposition Democrat Party as attempts to help Thaksin out of his legal problems. She always insists those are matters for Parliament although her government and coalition parties support them.

Given her scant political savvy, Yingluck needs much support and assistance - mostly behind the scenes - from experienced politicians and advisers in order to survive. These include her trusted aides Suranand Vejjajiva and Kittiratt Na-Ranong, as well as her businessman friend Srettha Thavisin.

Suranand, the PM's secretary-general, has won Yingluck's trust and helps her on many key issues. He is known to prepare her statements and often updates her on current affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister Kittiratt, who is finance minister, has known Yingluck since they both were in the private sector. Yingluck was managing director of SC Asset, the Shinawatra family's property firm. Kittiratt was managing director of the Stock Exchange of Thailand and later - at her invitation - became president of Shinawatra University, which was founded by Thaksin. Kittiratt was a director of the Shinawatras' Thaicom Foundation, in which Yingluck served as secretary.


He has also served as a bridge between the Pheu Thai-led government and Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda.

'Brains' behind the operation

Yingluck also has a bigger group of people acting as her "brains" who work directly for her big brother. They include Pansak Vinyaratn, Prommin Lertsuridej, Phumtham Wechayachai, Pongsak Raktapongpisarn, and lawyer Noppadon Pattama.


Pansak is chief adviser to the Yingluck government. Prommin is a key man in Thaksin's think-tank, providing the prime minister with advice on economic policies. Phumtham serves as a key adviser to Yingluck and also acts as the link among the PM, her government, the ruling party, and people's groups, including the red shirts.

Yingluck's elder sister Yaowapa Wongsawat, who leads the ruling party's largest faction, also provides support, although she is believed to exert influence over the PM.

Unlike her immediate predecessor, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, Yingluck has not faced open shows of hatred by her political opponents. While serving as prime minister, Abhisit was harassed often by small groups of red-shirt protesters in public.

Abhisit's government was severely interrupted by the red shirts' street protests in 2009 and the unrest and riots in 2010, which paralysed Bangkok for more than two months and led to more than 90 deaths under a government crackdown to end the stand-off.

On the contrary, the largest anti-government rally Yingluck has faced so far was a protest in November by the Pitak Siam group, which lasted less than one day. The protest was easily subdued, thanks to an efficient and swift crowd-control operation by the police - something the Democrat-led government was unable to achieve while it was in power (the force at that time was accused of being led by 'red' pro-Thaksin officers).

Yingluck has often been derided by her opponents as just the puppet of her brother, who is said to pull the strings behind the ruling party and coalition government. She denies the charge and appears to have tried to prove she is in control, although many people remain unconvinced.

She will need to try harder and be more hands-on in government affairs to silence the critics and reassure the dubious public.

Crowds pack countdown celebrations

New Year's Eve was cheered in last night by throngs of revellers who gathered at Countdown 2013 parties nationwide, while tourist sites such as mountaintops and beaches were crowded with holidaymakers.

In Bangkok, hundreds of thousands attended Countdown events at CentralWorld, Crystal Park, Asiatique and Sanam Luang - the last for New Year prayers. At CentralWorld alone, at least 200,000 were expected. City police prepared 5,000 officers and volunteers to provide security at these sites.

In Chiang Mai city, more than 10,000 revellers were expected to turn up at Tha Phae Gate plaza's "Chiang Mai Countdown Festival 2013". Some 2,000 police were set to maintain order, while floating lanterns saw a 10-per-cent increase in sales as people bought yi peng lanterns to release for good luck.

In Khon Kaen's Muang district, where the countdown theme was "Nakhon Khon Kaen: Dance City", 500 police were on guard.

In the southern city of Hat Yai, locals and tourists from Malaysia and Singapore attended the "Night Paradise Hat Yai Countdown 2013", despite rainfall that was expected to dampen the festive mood until tomorrow. Officials beefed up security and kept watch for any violence from the restive far South.

Many people enjoyed a break camping in cool or cold weather on mountaintops. Phitsanulok's Phu Hin Rong Kla Park saw 7,000 campers setting up tents to observe the first daylight of 2013.

Nakhon Ratchasima's Wang Nam Kheow and Pak Chong districts, plus Khao Yai National Park, saw more than 60,000 tourists. They helped generate an estimated Bt400 million in revenue at the park over the long holiday.

About 10,000 devout Buddhists went to worship before the world's largest statue of the late respected monk Venerable Somdet Putthachan (To Phromrangsi) in Sikhiu district, before attending the cross-year prayers in the evening.

Southern forces honoured

The names of police officers and soldiers who have died in the violence in the deep South have been inscribed on the National Memorial in Don Muang for the first time.
The names of soldiers, police and defence volunteers killed in the far South insurgency are listed on the National Memorial in Don Muang district. WASSANA NANUAM
The exact number of inscribed names belonging to those who died in the far South has not been revealed as the public might become worried about the number of fatalities resulting from the conflict, said Maj Gen Narane Siriphuban, deputy chief of the National Defence College.
However, he said the names of hundreds of security forces personnel who died as a result of the southern unrest between 2004 and 2009 have been inscribed on the National Memorial, bringing the total number of those honoured on the monument to 7,654.
Previously, the National Memorial, only had names of soldiers who lost their lives during World War I, the Thailand-France Indochina Conflict, the Greater East Asia War (Asia-Pacific War), the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
"The armed forces realise that soldiers and police officers who lost their lives in the South must be shown the respect they are due," Maj Gen Narane said. "They fought to protect the land and attempted to bring peace to the country."
An additional 380 names of officers killed in 2010 have been proposed for inscription, he said. More spaces on the memorial will be arranged for them.
Maj Gen Narane said Supreme Commander Thanasak Patimaprakorn had instructed the armed forces to renovate the National Memorial ahead of Royal Thai Armed Forces Day on Jan 18.
Gen Thanasak also urged Thais to visit the memorial to pay respect to the officers who lost their lives to protect the country. The memorial was inaugurated by Their Majesties the King and Queen in 1988.
The National Memorial is just north of Don Mueang airport, and is open to the public.

King sends New Year greetings

His Majesty the King has called on all Thais to extend compassion to others as a way to lead a happy life, in the royal New Year's greeting card released by the palace Monday.
The New Year card features His Majesty the King in casual dress, flanked by the royal favourite pet dogs, Khun Thong Daeng and Khun Mali. (Photo courtesy of the Royal Household Bureau)
The New Year's card features His Majesty the King in casual dress flanked by his favourite royal pet dogs, Khun Thongdaeng and Khun Mali. It contains a poem bearing a royal message, and a royal blessing to the King's subjects.

The card is a royal tradition which the King has extended to Thais for the past several years.

In his poem, His Majesty the King said compassion is a virtue which can bring happiness to all. The gratitude expressed to those who extend their compassion will add to ties of care and friendship between people, His Majesty the King said.

The card carries a "Happy New Year" message on the right-hand side. The card, which was released about 7.45pm on New Year's Eve (0045 GMT Monday), is framed with lines of small human faces - all carrying smiles on them.

His Majesty the King also looks cheerful, with a light smile on his face.

EARLIER REPORT:

His Majesty urges compassion

His Majesty the King called on all Thais to extend compassion to one another as a way to lead a happy life in the royal New Year's greeting card released by Chitralada Palace on New Year's Eve.
The New Year card, featuring His Majesty in casual dress and flanked by the royal pet dogs, Khun Thong Daeng and Khun Mali, contains a poem of the royal message as well as a royal blessing for his subjects.
In a royal tradition extended to the Thai people for the past several years, the King said in the poem that compassion is a virtue which can bring happiness to all.
The gratitude expressed for those who extend their compassion will add to caring and friendship, His Majesty said.
The card carries His Majesty's "Happy New Year" message on the right-hand side.
The card, which was released at about 7.45pm on Monday, is framed with lines of small human faces - all wearing smiles.
The King also looks cheerful with a light smile on his face.
His Majesty's message came on the eve of New Year as people across the country looked forward to the countdown to 2013.
Bangkok has activities in 31 locations with the most popular spots being CentralWord, the Asiatique shopping centre near the bank of the Chao Phraya River, CDC by the Ekamai-Ramintra tollway and Sanam Luang, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MTB).
The MTB has deployed most of its force in the four places, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Pansiri Prapawat said on Monday.
It estimated around 100,000 New Year revellers would turn out at CentralWorld, which is equipped with four closed-circuit cameras for safety measures, he added.
At Sanam Luang, people began occupying the area from 6pm to pray for New Year wishes. It is part of a programme which will be held in more than 2,000 temples around the country.
Sasipim Khamdee, 35, said this was her second year at Saman Luang and this time she would pray for His Majesty. Mrs Sasipim said she and her three children will stay overnight to join the palm offering ceremony for monks on the first morning of 2013.
Elsewhere, some of the country's top tourist destinations are reporting overcrowding as thousands of New Year revellers arrive for the long holiday.
Among the most popular destinations are Phu Kradung National Park in Loei, Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai, Hat Yai district of Songkhla, Koh Samui in Surat Thani and Phu Hin Rongkla National Park in Phitsanulok.
Phu Kradung National Park chief Sanong Kaew-amphai said the park's famous mountain top, Phu Kradung, had reached its accommodation capacity of 5,000 tourists.
No more tourists would be allowed to ascend to the mountain top.
Phu Hin Rongkla was packed with about 7,000 tourists and the park expected about 10,000 holiday-makers would visit the park during the four-day long weekend, park chief Suwan Panunampha said.
Wat Prathat Doi Suthep at Suthep-Pui National Park is another popular destination which is near bursting point, officials said. The only road leading to the mountain was packed with tourist vehicles Sunday. Several cars broke down as they climbed the steep road to the temple, worsening the traffic jam on the route.
In Hat Yai, a shopping paradise for local tourists and visitors from Malaysia and Singapore, about 12,000 hotel rooms have been booked for the holiday.
On Koh Samui in Surat Thani, about 100,000 tourists are expected to join the New Year countdown, Wannee Thaipanich, president of the Koh Phangan Tourism Association, said.

ในหลวงพระราชทาน ส.ค.ส. 2556 แก่พสกนิกรชาวไทย


ในหลวงพระราชทาน ส.ค.ส. 2556


เรียบเรียงข้อมูลโดยกระปุกดอทคอม
ขอขอบคุณข้อมูลและภาพประกอบจาก เฟซบุ๊ก Information Division of OHM

          พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว พระราชทาน ส.ค.ส. ปีพุทธศักราช 2556 แก่พสกนิกรชาวไทย "ความเมตตาเป็นคุณธรรมนำความสุข  ช่วยปลอบปลุกปรุงใจให้หรรษา ความกตัญญูรู้คุณผู้เมตตา  ทวีค่าของน้ำใจไมตรีเอย"

          เมื่อคืนวานนี้ (31 ธันวาคม) เฟซบุ๊ก Information Division of OHM ของ กองข่าว สำนักราชเลขาธิการ อาคารศาลาลูกขุนใน พระบรมมหาราชวัง ได้เผยภาพ ส.ค.ส.พระราชทานพรปีใหม่ พุทธศักราช 2556 โดย มีรายละเอียดเป็นพระบรมฉายาลักษณ์พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว ในฉลองพระองค์เชิ้ตลำลองสีฟ้า มีลายเส้นสีชมพูและสีฟ้าฟ้าเข้มพาดตัดกัน พระสนับเพลาสีดำ และฉลองพระบาทสีดำ ประทับบนพระเก้าอี้

          ด้านขวาของพระเก้าอี้ที่ประทับ มีโต๊ะกลม วางพระบรมฉายาลักษณ์ครอบครัว และเชิงเทียนแก้ว ทรงฉายกับสุนัขทรงเลี้ยง คือ คุณทองแดงที่ทรงเลี้ยงมาตั้งแต่ปี 2556 สวมเสื้อสีทอง หมอบอยู่แทบพระบาทด้านขวา และคุณมะลิ แม่เลี้ยงคุณทองแดง สวมเสื้อสีทอง หมอบอยู่แทบพระบาทด้านซ้าย

          ด้านหลังพระเก้าอี้ที่ประทับ ตกแต่งด้วยดอกกล้วยไม้หลากสี ด้านขวาบน มีตราพระมหาพิชัยมงกุฎประดับ ส่วนด้านซ้ายมีผอบทองประดับ

          ด้านล่างของผอบทอง มีตัวอักษรสีทอง ข้อความว่า ส.ค.ส. พ.ศ. 2556 สวัสดีปีใหม่ และ ตัวอักษรสีขาว ข้อความว่า ขอจงมีความสุขความเจริญ HAPPY NEW YEAR

          ด้านขวา ใต้ตราพระมหาพิชัยมงกุฎ มีข้อความพิมพ์ด้วยตัวอักษรสีเหลือง ข้อความว่า "ความเมตตาเป็นคุณธรรมนำความสุข ช่วยปลอบปลุกปรุงใจให้หรรษา ความกตัญญูรู้คุณผู้เมตตา ทวีค่าของน้ำใจไมตรีเอย"

          ด้านล่างของ ส.ค.ส. มีแถบสีม่วงเข้ม มุมล่างขวา มีข้อความ ก.ส. 9 ปรุง 181122 ธ.ค.55 พิมพ์ที่โรงพิมพ์สุวรรณชาด ท.พรหมบุตร, ผู้พิมพ์โฆษณา Printed at the Suvarnnachad publishing, D Bramaputra, Publisher (พริ้นเทด แอท เดอะ สุวรรณชาด พับลิชชิ่ง, ดี. พรหมบุตร, พับลิชเชอร์)

         ขณะที่กรอบของ ส.ค.ส. พระราชทานฉบับนี้ เป็นภาพใบหน้าคนเล็ก ๆ เรียงกัน ด้านซ้ายและด้านขวาเรียงกันด้านละ 3 แถว ส่วนด้านบนและด้านล่างเรียงกันด้านละ 2 แถว ทุกหน้ามีแต่รอยยิ้ม

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 30 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

The flaws in the NRA’s school-security proposal


Aaron Kupchik is an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware and the author of “Homeroom Security: School Discipline in an Age of Fear.”
Politicians, political commentators and many others greeted with derision the National Rifle Association’s proposal that armed security guards be posted in all U.S. schools.
Yet this negative reactionruns contrary to bipartisan school policy choices over the past two decades. Since the mid-1990s, schools across the United States have hired security guards, many of whom are armed, and stationed police officers in their buildings full time. The New York City public school system alone has a dedicated police force, the NYPD School Safety 
This costly, nationwide expansion of police and security is financed by school districts, local police forces, states and even, in part, the federal government, which has provided funds for police-school partnerships since the Clinton administration. The expansion of police into schools over the past 20 years is very popular; there is no political resistance or even a critical dialogue about it in either major party. In my own research, I have found that administrators, teachers and often parents want more police and security guards in their schools.
But the evidence shows that the expansion of police into schools is a flawed policy that can have harmful effects on students. During many research visits, I have spoken at length with police officers stationed at schools full time. I have found almost all of these officers, usually called school resource officers, to be caring individuals. They are willing to let their professional reputations suffer — being a “kiddie cop” is often looked down upon by other officers — in an attempt to help local youths. Many of them mentor students and seek to be positive role models.
But their presence has effects that help transform the school from an environment of academia to a site of criminal law enforcement. Issues that might otherwise be seen as mental health or social problems can become policing matters once an officer is stationed in a school. Arrests for minor infractions, such as fistfights in which there are no injuries, go up. As the 2011 books “Punished” and “Police in the Hallways” have found — among other research — officers can start to see youths as thugs and criminals and begin treating them with hostility and sometimes even abusively. This comes at the expense of students’ rights and their education. Minorities are especially vulnerable to the overpolicing that can take place in schools, which increases both the racial-academic divide and racially skewed arrest rates.
A greater police presence in schools can also increase student offending rates. Research has repeatedly shown that schools can prevent student misbehavior by establishing positive social climates. Students do better when they feel respected and listened to, like a valued part of the school, and when they view school regulations and actions, including security, as fair. Introducing more police into schools can undo these efforts, making what had been an encouraging learning environment, where students are partners in an educational effort, into more of a place where students are subjects of school rules.
The NRA proposal is a bad idea not only because it means more policing but also because it would mean policing by the wrong people. While the presence of police officers in schools can have harmful effects, schools with security guards — particularly armed security guards — fare even worse.
A 2011 study published in the Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida and Loyola University in New Orleans with data from the National Center for Education Statistics, found that schools with security guards and guards who bear firearms have higher rates of serious violent crime than do similar schools that lack such personnel. Consider also that Columbine High School had armed security guards on staff, and Virginia Tech had a police force, and neither prevented the shootings that occurred there.
There are clear drawbacks to having armed guards in schools. Implementing such a policy would actually put more youth at risk and might divert attention away from a robust discussion of, and progress on, gun control. Instead, we should reconsider our school security policies, drawing on the available evidence of what works and what doesn’t.

วันเสาร์ที่ 29 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

Suu Kyi sweater sells for $49,000



A woolen sweater hand-knitted by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sold for US $49,000 at a charity auction at People’s Square in Rangoon on Thursday night.

(PHOTO: Kaung Htet / Mizzima)

Shwe FM, a local radio station, won the sweater after bidding which began at $6,000. Suu Kyi reportedly knitted the red, blue and green pullover almost 30 years ago when she was living in England and raising her two children.

“It is priceless because the sweater was made by my amay [mum] herself," said Nan Mauk Lao Sai, the chairwoman of Shwe FM radio station, according to an Associated Press report.

“I bought the sweater because I value the warmth and security it will give," she is reported to have said, adding that she plans to hang it up in the station's office for the whole staff to see. She said the 41,500,000 kyat, or $49,000, spent on the sweater was for a good cause.

The auction was part of a fundraising concert organized by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party to raise money for the education of poor children in Burma, officially known as Myanmar.
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Rainbows in the Frame: Emblems of Hope in a Dark Year

Gene Blevins—Reuters
Darkness and Light

July 13, 2012. A double rainbow appears after a heavy storm near Searchlight, Nevada.
Click here to find out more!


Over the past year, people around the globe endured epic, historic storms — literally and metaphorically — and were often left wondering, like countless generations before, whether the clouds would ever break. Peering through the dark lens of armed conflict, natural disasters and unfathomable barbarity in places as far-flung as Connecticut and Kandahar, we’ve all — at one time or another — wondered if the tide of catastrophe was, finally, simply going to overwhelm us.
As we approach 2013, it’s only natural that we look for glimmers of promise. Next August, for example, the United States will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech — an event and an eloquence so central to a nation’s ideas of what it can be and should be that, in celebrating the memory of that day, we embrace the notion that united, we can overcome any new adversity.
Here, LightBox presents a series of images from 2012 that are joined in theme and in import by a slim yet powerfully symbolic thread: a rainbow connection. As we envision what the coming year might bring, and how we might do better as individuals and as a culture in 2013, we pause to celebrate the fleeting emblem of peace that was seen and photographed in unexpected, incongruous places — scenes that many of us no doubt missed in the welter of the past year’s violence and sorrow.
It is not what’s at the end of the rainbow that counts; we know, in our hearts, that there’s nothing there at all. But taking a moment, now and in the future, to acknowledge the rainbow’s fleeting beauty costs nothing, and there’s never any harm in hope.

As fighting subsides, Aleppo residents find little left

By Arwa Damon, CNN
December 5, 2012 -- Updated 1236 GMT (2036 HKT)
Watch this video

Children fight for food in Aleppo


Editor's note: CNN's Arwa Damon and crew are some of the few international reporters in Syria, which has been restricting access of foreign journalists and refusing many of them entry. Read more from CNN inside Syria.
Aleppo, Syria (CNN) -- In a small village outside of Aleppo where we are hunkered down for the night, our host apologizes profusely. He doesn't have enough blankets for us and it's bitterly cold.
He and his family were forced to flee their home in the city to their unfurnished, humble residence in the countryside with nothing but the clothes they could carry. He spent 25,000 Syrian pounds -- around $300 -- to pay a truck driver just to bring out the bedroom furniture and a TV from their Aleppo home.
He couldn't afford another run.
We went to stay with his brother, who was also full of apologies because he couldn't offer us tea. The power was out and there was no cooking gas.
Terror on Syria's front lines
No defenses against chemical weapons
Syrians return to homes, but is it safe?
In the dark, we chatted about the situation in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. There, airstrikes have transformed buildings into heaps of rubble, and most of the city is now under rebel control. Many Aleppo residents fled when the fighting began, finding themselves crowded into relatives' homes or in refugee camps as winter set in.
The bitter cold and financial hardships brought them back. Others, like this family, returned only to retrieve some belongings and then quickly left again.
In Aleppo, the battle lines are fluid and, in some neighborhoods, snipers are a constant danger. Where the fighting has subsided, there are other threats.
"The incredible cost of living is causing a lot of problems," our host's brother told us. "Criminality has gone up significantly. Each day we are catching thieves, even young boys. People are hungry and cold."
The cost of a canister of cooking gas in this village jumped from 450 pounds to 3,500 -- from about $5 to $45 -- and that's when it's available.
"If the situation doesn't improve soon, people are going to start tearing each other apart," he laments.
Skyrocketing food prices and shortages mean some Syrian children are eating only one small meal a day, if that. Residents in one Aleppo neighborhood have taken matters into their own hands, collecting money to buy food for the neediest -- but it's never enough.
Children elbow and shove each other, the smaller ones trying to wiggle through for a ladleful of cracked wheat cooked in a huge vat in the middle of the street by the neighborhood volunteers.
Amid the chaos, little hands try desperately to grab small bags of hummus passing overhead. A block away, residents clamor for bread.
Fatme waited in line for three hours. She had fled Aleppo with her family, and returned a month ago when they thought it might be safe. They were wrong. Her husband was wounded by shrapnel in an explosion shortly afterward.
"Of course I am afraid," Fatme said. "But what can I do? Are my children not going to eat?"
Syria's chemical weapons 'deadly serious'
Syrian refugees' misery
Photos: Showdown in Syria Photos: Showdown in Syria
Across the city, what were once staples are now luxuries.
A child carries away two bowls with the burnt remains of the cracked wheat. It's all too much for one of the volunteers, Abu Abdo.
"Until when are we going to live like this?" he cries. "Look, people are eating burnt food!"
Everywhere in Aleppo, there is evidence that the fighting has taken a heavy toll on the most vulnerable.
Close to the bombed-out Dar el-Shifa hospital -- once the city's main field clinic, now a pile of debris -- families pick their way through rubble. Some stop and peer up at what is left, expressions of shock and deep sorrow etched across their faces.
Few are able to comprehend what has become their reality.
Hamza, 14, gathers with other children near a massive crater filled with grimy water from a burst water main, exploded in a blast a few days before. His parents sent him to fill a container with water after an airstrike cut off their supply.
He speaks softly, his arm in a sling.
"I was wounded in a strike in the village we fled to," he says simply.
Gunfire rings out on the streets of Sakhour, an Aleppo neighborhood that regime forces hope to retake so they can cut off a main artery for opposition forces and reopen a route to Aleppo's airport. Amid the street fighting, a group of women invite me into a house, venting their frustrations and anger.
"We know freedom has a price, but how long can we keep on living like this?" one woman asks.
Another tells of how her roof caved in from an explosion.
"Each time I hear one, I look up and expect to die."
She and her family moved around three times before they ran out of money.
"At least if there was work, anything, it would be a little easier," she says.
We know freedom has a price, but how long can we keep on living like this?
woman from Aleppo, Syria
For many children here, gunfire has become background noise. Khawle, 12, sits on the sidewalk, cradling a neighbor's infant daughter. She doesn't move or stop talking as the gunfire intensifies, simply hugging the baby and rocking back and forth.
Others flinch at the sound of each pop and blast of weapons.
Every time Saleh Hadidi leaves his house, his 4-year-old daugher clutches his leg and begs him not to go.
Metal rods protrude from his bandaged arm, a bullet wound he sustained at a government checkpoint that he says was meant for his daughter.
"She was sitting in the front (of the car) when the gunfire started and I put my arm around her," he recalled. "She was drenched in my blood, and the soldiers were screaming, accusing me of being a rebel fighter. They held a gun to my head three, four times and she was screaming, 'Daddy!'"
The girl flinches and clasps her hands, looking away as her father recounts that day.
As we leave a woman whispers to me, "Sometimes I want to die rather than live like this."

'Til death do us part: Marriage destroyed by war

By Salma Abdelaziz, CNN
December 29, 2012 -- Updated 1548 GMT (2348 HKT)
Mohammad Jumbaz and Ayat Al-Qassad were expecting their first child when Ayat was killed.
Mohammad Jumbaz and Ayat Al-Qassad were expecting their first child when Ayat was killed.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • 18-year-old newlywed Ayat Al-Qassab was recently killed by rocket in Syria
  • Ayat and her husband saw their marriage as act of defiance against al-Assad
  • Her family considers her a martyr
(CNN) -- For the third time, Mahmoud Al-Qassab lowers the body of one of his children into the ground. He steps back as neighbors and relatives shovel dirt over his teenage daughter's grave.
He does not cry or wail.
"I thank God this is my third martyr: Ahmed, Abdullah and now her. I thank God, and I will not say anything against his fate," Mahmoud told an activist filming the small funeral.
Just a few months ago, 18-year-old Ayat Al-Qassab sang and danced with her mother and aunts as they dressed the bride in her wedding gown. Now, her shattered and bloodied body lies in a grave below the crumbling, bullet-ridden buildings of Homs.
Photos: Showdown in Syria Photos: Showdown in Syria
Where things stand in Syria
Escaping Syria to marry
"She was killed and she took my heart, my soul, my mind and everything with her, but we will not give up. We will not retreat. We must keep moving forward," husband-turned-widower Mohammad Jumbaz said quietly.
Ayat did not lead battles or chair diplomatic talks. She is just like many other Syrians -- young, hopeful, and now dead.
"There was no daughter like her. She was bright and beautiful and playful. Then the siege happened and with it her destiny," Aisha Al-Qassab, Ayat's mother, said as tears streamed down her face.
Ayat and Mohammad recently found out they were expecting their first child. The new family was elated, even as UNICEF estimates that 2.5 million people, including many children, are affected by the violence and instability in Syria.
"My love, she was only married a few months, then pregnant and now a martyr," Ayat's mother said.
A 120 mm rocket fired into the family home struck Ayat in the head, killing her and her unborn child instantly. Ayat's father, who was standing nearby, was hit in the shoulder and wounded.
"The week before she died, a rocket attack injured her hand, and I had this feeling in my heart that it was a sign. It was as if God gave us just one more week to take her in and say goodbye," Mohammad said.
Young, defiant and in love
Brave and defiant, Ayat hardly spoke of the frivolities of bridal gowns and wedding cake.
"I wore a white dress, but we did not have a traditional wedding because of this animal in power," Ayat said in an interview shortly after getting married. "We hope once the regime falls we can have a wedding, because our happiness is the end of this government."
Although Ayat and Mohammad married just a week after meeting, the two were in love, her mother said.
"She was young, and I had not planned on her marrying, but the siege brought her destiny. A young hardworking man liked her and she saw him and he saw her and they fell in love and got married," Aisha said, shaking her head as if trying to forget.
The newlyweds saw their marriage as a symbol of the resistance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
For Mohammad, the part-time rebel fighter, revolution remained his shield, but the young man also believed living and loving was the greatest defiance of all.
"She was wonderful. We were newlyweds and we were happy. Even if she upset me I could not be mad at her. Her gentleness captured my heart and I pray that God opens the gates of heaven for her," he said, cracking a tiny smile as he remembered his wife.
Guns and battles are far from Mohammad's true passion: baking sweet desserts. The young pastry chef loves making indulgent treats for Homs' fighters, families and children.
"When I give a family sweets, it is as if I am handing them a treasure," he said as he laughed loudly for the first time, thankful for the power of a single cookie in a city ravaged by war.
Ayat shared Mohammad's delight for delivering glimpses of joy through pastries drizzled with sweet "ater" or syrup, even as gas, flour, sugar and milk were in short supply.
"She loved sweets, and more than that, she loved to watch me make them. We had even made date cookies and she died before she could eat them, so we gave them away," Mohammad said, still smiling.
A childhood cut short
Ayat Al-Assab was the third of five children.
Ayat Al-Assab was the third of five children.
Ayat was born and raised in the Old District of Homs, Syria's third largest city. Her father was a laborer and her mother stayed at home with the kids, instilling in her the value of hard work and family. The third of five children, Ayat's two older brothers spoiled the brown-eyed girl while the two younger siblings depended on her care.
"She loved to study and she would always study. When the siege happened there were no schools left open," Ayat's mother said.
More than 2,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed in civil war-related violence, and about 600 schools serve as makeshift shelters for internally displaced people, according to the Syrian government.
"She loved to help me with the housework, but I would not let her. I wanted her to study," Aisha said.
The western city of Homs relies largely on industrial jobs. For Ayat's family, education provided an opportunity for their children to escape manual labor in a country where the average monthly salary is $300.
"She wanted to be an expert in Sharia law -- maybe she could have even got her Ph.D. if she got good grades, but God did not plan this for her," Aisha said.
War and marriage
The Syrian uprising sparked by revolts across the Middle East forever changed Ayat's country and transformed Homs into a bastion of resistance against al-Assad's government.
"(Ayat) grew up on the love of God and when the demonstrations started she fell in love with the revolution and was very proud of her brothers who fought and died for freedom," Mahmoud said.
Revolution morphed into a full-scale civil war, consuming every corner of the beautiful country in a bloody and relentless fight for power. Amid a stifling siege on Homs, where the Syrian Army regularly blocked food, medicine and supplies, Mohammad and Ayat got married.
I would prefer my honeymoon to be here amid the bombs and shells than for me to abandon my nation.
Ayat Al-Assab
"I am very happy here with my life. Here our life is better than a honeymoon outside our country. We are not like the people who fled. Here we have our pride and we are defending our nation. I would prefer my honeymoon to be here amid the bombs and shells than for me to abandon my nation," Ayat told CNN earlier this year.
But as the bitter winter cold and intensifying government shelling added another dimension to the struggle for survival, Ayat began fearing for her life and the life of her unborn child.
"She began to get very scared, and every time she would hear a plane fly overhead she would become afraid," Mohammad recalled, "but she never asked to leave Homs. The opposite -- she was proud to stay, and I thank God for her martyrdom."
In Islam, martyrdom is a high honor granted by God to those who die fighting for their religion, country or rights of their community. Muslims believe a martyr is destined for heaven, so loved ones must celebrate rather than mourn their death.
"God gave her parents the patience to overcome the death of her brothers, and God gave me the patience to overcome the death of my brother. God willing, he will grant us the patience to overcome Ayat's death, too," Mohammad said.
After nearly two years of conflict, more than 40,000 people have lost their lives. Syria sees a steady stream of funerals for its so-called martyrs, where shrill cries of joy compete with wails of pain in haunting processions for the dead.
As difficult as it seems to rejoice over the death of a loved, the Islamic principle of martyrdom is at its core about blind faith that those who died righteously reside in a better place in the afterlife. It is a conviction the family clings to when nothing else can explain the death of a young, pregnant woman only a few months into her marriage.
"We had prayed that she would live and they would have children," Aisha said.
"And that we would become a grandpa and grandma, but God remembered her and he took her," her husband interjected.
"I pray that he destines us to martyrdom, too," Aisha added.
The family's near impenetrable faith prevents them from protesting Ayat's fate, but by accepting her death, the family must survive on memories of her life.
"I will remember everything about her. What more can I say? I will remember everything, everything," Mohammad murmured.
And with that, the family members bowed their heads and fell silent.

Protests in India after Delhi gang-rape victim dies

 
Sanjoy Majumder reports from a protest in Delhi


Thousands of people have joined peaceful protests in India's capital, Delhi, following the death of a woman who was gang-raped in the city.
The 23-year old woman, who has not been identified, died of her injuries on Saturday in Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment.
Six men arrested in connection with the rape have now been charged with murder.
The attack on 16 December triggered violent public protests over attitudes towards women in India.
Two police officers have already been suspended.
The woman's body will be flown back to India for what is expected to be a private burial.

Start Quote

Clearly, many Indian women face threats to life at every stage - violence, inadequate healthcare, inequality, neglect, bad diet, lack of attention to personal health and well-being”
On Saturday, police sealed off large parts of central Delhi close to government buildings, closed down a number of metro railway stations and asked people not to travel into the city.
Hundreds of armed police and riot troops are on duty and Delhi's police commissioner Neeraj Kumar has called on the public to remain calm.
Gatherings of more than five people have been banned in the city centre.
But some 4,000 people have gathered at the Jantar Mantar observatory, one of the areas of the city where protests are permitted, said the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in the city.
A large group staged a silent protest march through Delhi.
One protester, Poonam Kaushik, blamed the attack on "the government's inefficiency to ensure safety of women in Delhi" and said the woman's death would generate "even more anger".
One banner on display told politicians: "We don't want your condolences! We don't want your fake sentiments! We demand immediate action to strengthen the laws against sexual violence."
Delhi's Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit - who has described the death as a "shameful moment" for the country - arrived to speak to the protesters but was shouted down.
Protests have also been held in other cities, including Calcutta, Bangalore and Mumbai.
There has also been an angry reaction in the Indian media, with one editorial in the Times of India calling for wider changes in society and an awareness that as well as attacks on the street, there are "a thousand unheard voices" of women who face sexual violence at home.

Protest in Delhi, India (29 Dec 2012)
Our correspondent says that over the past two weeks, the anonymous woman has became a symbol of a much larger cause than her own, with protesters focusing on the wider issue of how women are treated in India.
Even after her funeral, the sentiment will continue, he adds, with the public pushing the government to take steps to make people feel more confident about the way women are treated.
'Constructive action' The Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore said the woman "passed away peacefully" early on Saturday with her family by her side.
Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said she had been in "an extremely critical condition" since arriving there, and had suffered severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain.
The Indian home minister said the government had decided to send the woman abroad for treatment on the recommendation of her doctors.
India's Home Affairs minister, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh, said he was "heartbroken" by her death.

Start Quote

We need to repent. And repentance would not be in hanging the accused or castrating them. Repentance will be in ensuring that no-one else goes through what she had to”
"I can only assure the family that the government will take whatever steps are needed to ensure that her killers get the harshest punishment in the quickest of time," he said.
"The government will work overtime to try and bring about laws and steps that will ensure that no other person, no other citizen of this country, has to go through or undergo the same kind of trauma."
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "very saddened" by the woman's death, and that the angry public reaction was "perfectly understandable".
"It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action," he said in a statement.
He called on politicians and the public to set aside "narrow sectional interest" and work together to make India "a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in".
The woman - a medical student - and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.
Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars, then thrown out of the moving bus into the street.
The assault sparked angry protests about the general conditions for women in India, and about what is seen as an inadequate police response to rape allegations.
India's High Commissioner to Singapore, TCA Raghavan: "We extend our condolences to the family"
Officials have since announced a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.
These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.
The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.
It has set up two committees - one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.
But the protesters say the government's pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough - many are calling for the death penalty.

วันศุกร์ที่ 28 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

China has passed a new law stipulating that family members should pay regular visits to their elderly relatives, according to the government's official website.
The ruling, approved by China's National People's Congress on Friday, is part of a package of amendments to the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly legislation and will come into force on July 1, 2013.
"Family members who live separately from the elderly should visit them often," the law says, adding that "employers should guarantee the right to home leave in accordance with relevant regulations".
The law mentions no specific penalties for those who fail to visit frequently, nor elaborates on what "often" means.
But it does state that if the rights and interests of the elderly are violated, they or someone on their behalf can seek official help or file a lawsuit.
The wide-ranging law includes clauses covering intra-family conflicts regarding support obligations, housing and assets. It stipulates punishments for people who abuse the elderly, fail to support them and interfere in their freedom to marry.
The legal changes reflect the challenge China faces in dealing with an increasingly ageing society after three decades of limiting couples to a single child.
The country's modernisation, rapid economic growth and increasing urbanisation have also put pressure on traditional family life.
The official Xinhua news agency said Friday that the law was amended "amid government efforts to find comprehensive solutions to issues facing the elderly population, as the number of Chinese senior citizens has grown rapidly in recent years".
At the end of 2011, there were more than 184 million people above the age of 60, Xinhua said, citing official figures, accounting for 13.7 percent of the population.
Legislator Yu Jianwei told reporters that China's elderly population is expected to exceed 200 million in 2013, according to Xinhua.
The United Nations estimates that that by 2050 some 30 percent of Chinese will be 60 or over, versus 20 percent worldwide and 10 percent in China in 2000.

Wider World by CS: วิีธีการศึกษาพระเนื้อดิน โดยเฉพาะพระซุ้มกอ

Wider World by CS: วิีธีการศึกษาพระเนื้อดิน โดยเฉพาะพระซุ้มกอ

วิีธีการศึกษาพระเนื้อดิน โดยเฉพาะพระซุ้มกอ

ก่อนอื่นท่านต้องทำความเข้าใจก่อนว่าพระเนื้อดินนั้นปลอมง่าย เพราะมวลสารทำจากดินหาได้ง่ายๆทั่วๆไป ท่านจะเอาดินแบบไหนก็แสวงหาได้ง่าย การทำปลอมก็ทำง่าย จะทำคนเดียว/ทำเป็นกลุ่ม/ทำกันสองสามคน/ทำเป็นทีม เหล่านี้ทำได้ทั้งนั้น ทำสองสามคนจะดีเพราะช่วยกันออกความคิดเห็นได้

ดังนั้นพระเนื้อดินจึงปลอมได้ง่ายสุดๆและดินก็มีหลากหลายชนิด มันอยู่บนโลกใบนี้นับล้านๆปีมาแล้ว ผู้แสวงหาก็ปลอมได้แนบเนียน และดูเก่าจริง

การเล่นพระเนื้อดินผู้เขียนว่าการเผานั้นไม่น่าจะเรียกกันน่าจะเรียกว่าการสุ่มไฟมากกว่า เพราะพระองค์เล็กๆไม่ใช่ตุ่มน้ำ/จานชามที่จะมาสร้างเตาไฟกัน พระหลักหมื่นหลักแสนก็กองนิดเดียว ไม่ใช่กองโตเลย สุ่มไฟก็เพื่อให้พระคงทนไม่แตกหักง่ายๆ

การทำพระก็ต้องผสมน้ำว่านเพราะช่วยการรักษาพระให้คงทนไม่แตกรานเปาะหักง่าย คนโบราณนิยมเรื่องว่านกันมานานแล้ว แม้แต่เอามาใช้กับคนก็ทำกันเพื่อให้เนื้อหนังคงทนอาวุธ เห็นไหมละความเก่งของคนยุคก่อน

พระซุ้มแกะนั้นอย่าไปใฝ่ใจให้มากเพราะถ้าจะแกะกันจริงๆก็คงไม่กี่สิบองค์ เซียนยุคก่อนชอบแหกตาคนเล่นพระโดยหวังผลจะได้พระนั้นจากชาวบ้าน ดังนั้นอย่าไปเชื่อพวกเซียนนี้ พวกนี้เลวมากๆทำเอาพระแท้เสียมวยมาเยอะแล้ว เพราะถูกหลอกเอาไปกินจากเซียนพระพวกนี้

วลีที่ว่ามึงมีกูแล้วไม่จนก็อย่าไปใฝ่ใจเพราะคนยุคก่อนไม่ได้สร้างพระไว้ขาย อย่าเชื่อเพราะถ้าท่านเชื่อแสดงว่าภูมิปัญญาท่านต่ำ สมควรแล้วที่ถูกหลอกง่ายๆ อันนี้ก็เป็นไม้เด็ดของพวกเซียนขายพระอีกเช่นเคย อย่าเชื่อว่าวลีนี้จะมีบันทึกไว้ในแผ่นโบราณ ถ้ามีก็แปลว่าปลอมอีกเช่นกัน เซียนพระนี้มันเก่งจริงเรื่องแหกตาคน

ถ้าท่านชอบพระเนื้อดินพระกรุ ให้ท่านยึดหลักการเล่นดังนี้
๑.ให้ดูลายพิมพ์กนกพระ ลายกนกพระท่านต้องอ่านให้ออกว่าเป็นฝีมือคนเก่งยุคก่อน คนยุคปัจจุบันทำไม่ได้แบบนั้น พระทางภาคเหนือจะแสดงออกถึงฝีมือ เช่นพระรอด/พระคง/พระบาง/พระเปิม คนภาคเหนือเก่งด้านฝีมือ แม้ปัจจุบันก็ยังเป็นอยู่ ดูตัวอย่างวัดร่องขุ่นของอาจารย์เฉลิมชัยเป็นต้นแสดงออกถึงฝีมือ ท่านเข้าใจเรื่องลายกนกไหม ไปสนใจและศึกษาซะ
๒.ดูเรื่องเนื้อดิน ดินต้องมีส่วนผสมของน้ำว่าน จะถูกสุมไฟหรือเนื้อดินดิบก็ตาม บางองค์เนื้อละเอียดเพราะกรองมาดี บางองค์เนื้อหยาบแต่ต้องมีกรวดทรายเก่าไม่คมแต่ขุ่น สายตาบอกว่าเก่าแน่นอน ต้องมีลอยย่นของคราบน้ำดิน แบบคราบน้ำลดบนชายหาดทรายดูเป็นรอนๆ
๓.อย่าสนใจเรื่องการชี้ตำหนิเกินควรเพราะไม่ได้ทำด้วยเครื่องจักร หายๆแหว่งๆไม่เป็นไร
๔.เพราะเป็นพระกรุ ดังนั้นต้องมีขี้กรุ พระไม่มีขี้กรุอย่าเล่นแต่ถ้านึกชอบจะเล่นต้องราคาถูกๆเอาแค่หลักร้อยก็พอ พระกรุต้องมีขี้กรุไม่งั้นจะเรียกพระกรุได้อย่าไร ขี้กรุต้องศึกษาอันนี้ใช้เวลาและประสบการณ์นะครับไม่ใช่อ่านแล้วเข้าใจเลย ความเป็นธรรมชาติของมันเองสีคราบกรุ ความแห้ง ความมันงามเมื่อปราดด้วยสำลีหรือขนแปรงภูกัน
๕.พระกรุภายในต้องเป็นฟองอากาศ หย่อนลงน้ำร้อนฟองอากาศจะพุ่งเป็นสายๆ
๖.พระต้องมีเสียงกังวาลบ้างเมื่อกระทบโลหะ ไม่หนึกๆหนักๆเพราะแสดงว่าไม่เก่าจริง
๗.ดูการตัดขอบพระด้านข้าง ลักษณะแบบมีลอยตัด ด้านหลังมีลอยปราดจะเรียบๆหรือเป็นเส้นๆหรือเป็นลอยกระดานก็ได้ อย่างไรเสียต้องมีคราบกรุติดแสดงด้วย
๘.การดูราดำหรือราปลอมนั้นไม่ยาก ถ้าราปลอมคือเอาสีหมึกมาทาหรือแต้มเอายางลบมาลบจะไม่ออกเพราะหมึกซึมเข้าไปในเนื้อดิน แต่ถ้าราดำธรรมชาติเอายางลบมาลบจะออกจนถึงเนื้อดินเลย


แปดข้อนี้ท่านต้องเข้าใจจริงก่อนได้พระแท้แน่นอน

บทความพระซุ้มกอนี้ สำหรับส่งท้ายปีพ.ศ. ๒๕๕๕

สวัสดีปีใหม่ทุกๆท่าน

ภาพประกอบ พระซุ้มกอกำแพงเพชรพิมพ์ใหญ่มีลายกนก







ม.โชคชัย ทรงเสี่ยงไชย
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India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital


Indian High Commissioner to Singapore T.C.A. Raghavan (R) speaks to journalists about the condition of an Indian rape victim, who was flown to the country on Wednesday by the Indian government, outside the ICU ward of Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore December 29, 2012. REUTERS-Edgar Su
SINGAPORE | Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:45pm EST
(Reuters) - The Indian gang rape victim whose assault in New Delhi triggered nationwide protests died of her injuries on Saturday in a Singapore hospital, potentially threatening fresh protests in India where her case is a rallying point for women's rights.

The 23-year-old medical student, severely beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi two weeks ago, had been flown to Singapore in a critical condition by the Indian government on Thursday for specialist treatment.
"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4:45 a.m. on Dec 29, 2012 (3:45 p.m. ET Friday). Her family and officials from the High Commission (embassy) of India were by her side," Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement.

Most rapes and other sex crimes in India go unreported and offenders are rarely punished, women's rights activists say. But the brutality of the December 16 assault sparked public outrage and calls for better policing and harsher punishment for rapists.
The case has received blanket coverage on cable television news channels. The woman has not been identified but some Indian media have called her "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure".

"We are saddened to learn that she has succumbed to her injuries, and would like to extend our deepest condolences to her family during this time of bereavement," Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, the hospital had reported that the woman's condition had taken a turn for the worse. It said that her family had been informed and were by her side.
T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said after her death that the family had expressed a desire for her body to be flown back to India. Moments later, the woman's body was loaded into a van and driven away.

Talking to reporters earlier on Saturday, Raghavan declined to comment on reports in India accusing the government of sending her to Singapore to minimize the possible backlash in the event of her death.
Some Indian medical experts had questioned the decision to airlift the woman to Singapore, calling it a risky maneuver given the seriousness of her injuries. They had said she was already receiving the best possible care in India.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been battling criticism that it was tone-deaf to the outcry and heavy handed in its response to the protests in the Indian capital.
"It is deeply saddening and just beyond words. The police and government definitely have to do something more," said Sharanya Ramachandran, an Indian national working as an engineer in Singapore.

"They should bring in very severe punishment for such cases. They should start recognizing that it is a big crime."
"SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY"
The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered "significant brain injury" and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore.
Protests over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi.
New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, severely disrupting traffic in the city of 16 million.

Commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues.
Many protesters have complained that Singh's government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion. A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 27 ธันวาคม พ.ศ. 2555

First 'Alien Earth' Will Be Found in 2013, Experts Say


The first truly Earth-like alien planet is likely to be spotted next year, an epic discovery that would cause humanity to reassess its place in the universe.
While astronomers have found a number of exoplanets over the last few years that share one or two key traits with our own world — such as size or inferred surface temperature — they have yet to bag a bona fide "alien Earth." But that should change in 2013, scientists say.
"I'm very positive that the first Earth twin will be discovered next year," said Abel Mendez, who runs the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo.

Planets piling up
Astronomers discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a sunlike star in 1995. Since they, they've spotted more than 800 worlds beyond our own solar system, and many more candidates await confirmation by follow-up observations. [The Strangest Alien Planets (Gallery)]
NASA's prolific Kepler Space Telescope, for example, has flagged more than 2,300 potential planets since its March 2009 launch. Only 100 or so have been confirmed to date, but mission scientists estimate that at least 80 percent will end up being the real deal.
The first exoplanet finds were scorching-hot Jupiter-like worlds that orbit close to their parent stars, because they were the easiest to detect. But over time, new instruments came online and planet hunters honed their techniques, enabling the discovery of smaller and more distantly orbiting planets — places more like Earth.
Last December, for instance, Kepler found a planet 2.4 times larger than Earth orbiting in its star's habitable zone — that just-right range of distances where liquid water, and perhaps life as we know it, can exist.
The Kepler team and other research groups have detected several other worlds like that one (which is known as Kepler-22b), bringing the current tally of potentially habitable exoplanets to nine by Mendez' reckoning.
Zeroing in on Earth's twin
None of the worlds in Mendez' Habitable Exoplanets Catalog are small enough to be true Earth twins. The handful of Earth-size planets spotted to date all orbit too close to their stars to be suitable for life. [Gallery: 9 Potentially Habitable Exoplanets]
But it's only a matter of time before a small, rocky planet is spotted in the habitable zone — and Mendez isn't the only researcher who thinks that time is coming soon.
"The first planet with a measured size, orbit and incident stellar flux that is suitable for life is likely to be announced in 2013," said Geoff Marcy, a veteran planet hunter at the University of California, Berkeley, and a member of the Kepler team.
Mendez and Marcy both think this watershed find will be made by Kepler, which spots planets by flagging the telltale brightness dips caused when they pass in front of their parent stars from the instrument's perspective.
Kepler needs to witness three of these"transits" to detect a planet, so its early discoveries were tilted toward close-orbiting worlds (which transit more frequently). But over time, the telescope has been spotting more and more distantly orbiting planets — including some in the habitable zone.

An instrument called HARPS (short for High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) is also a top contender, having already spotted a number of potentially habitable worlds. HARPS, which sits on the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope in Chile, allows researchers to detect the tiny gravitational wobbles that orbiting planets induce in their parent stars.
"HARPS should be able to find the most interesting and closer Earth twins," Mendez told SPACE.com via email, noting that many Kepler planets are too far away to characterize in detail. "A combination of its sensitivity and long-term observations is now paying off."
And there are probably many alien Earths out there to be found in our Milky Way galaxy, researchers say.
"Estimating carefully, there are 200 billion stars that host at least 50 billion planets, if not more," Mikko Tuomi, of the University of Hertfordshire in England, told SPACE.com via email.
"Assuming that 1:10,000 are similar to the Earth would give us 5,000,000 such planets," added Tuomi, who led teams reporting the discovery of several potentially habitable planet candidates this year, including an exoplanet orbiting the star Tau Ceti just 11.9 light-years from Earth. "So I would say we are talking about at least thousands of such planets."
What it would mean
Whenever the first Earth twin is confirmed, the discovery will likely have a profound effect on humanity.
"We humans will look up into the night sky, much as we gaze across a large ocean," Marcy told SPACE.com via email. "We will know that the cosmic ocean contains islands and continents by the billions, able to support both primitive life and entire civilizations."
Marcy hopes such a find will prod our species to take its first real steps beyond its native solar system.
"Humanity will close its collective eyes, and set sail for Alpha Centauri," Marcy said, referring to the closest star system to our own, where an Earth-size planet was discovered earlier this year.
"The small steps for humanity will be a giant leap for our species. Sending robotic probes to the nearest stars will constitute the greatest adventure we Homo sapiens have ever attempted," Marcy added. "This massive undertaking will require the cooperation and contribution from all major nations around world. In so doing, we will take our first tentative steps into the cosmic ocean and enhance our shared sense of purpose on this terrestrial shore."