Tiny stature doesn't get her down
What do you do if you're the world's smallest grown human being?
If you 15-year-old Jyoti Amge, you record an album with Bollywood pop music star, Mika Singh.
Jyoti is 1 foot 11 inches tall and weighs about 11 pounds. She's not as big as the neighbor's baby, yet she's fully grown.
According to the Indian Book of Records, the teenager is the world's tiniest girl. She has a form of dwarfism called achodroplasia. She's light years away from unhappy and has better things to do than sit around and feel sorry for herself.
"I am proud of being small. I love the attention I get," she told the Sunday Mirror.
"I'm just the same as other people. I eat like you, dream like you. I don't feel any different."
Jyoti attends her local high school, in Nagpur, India, where she studies alongside classmates of her own age, though she sits at a specially made miniature desk.
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Her mother, Ranjana, 45, explained that her daughter's condition was not apparent until some time after her birth.
"When Joyti was born she seemed quite normal. We came to know about her disorder when she was five," she said. "Jyoti is small, yet cute, and we love her very much."
Like most other teenagers, she loves listening to pop music and watching DVDs and even hopes to become a Bollywood actress. As stated, she's recently recorded an album with her favourite Indian pop star, Mika Singh.
The next time someone is complaining about being the "low man on the totem pole", slip them this story of Jyoti, the 11-pound, 23-inch-tall girl with the big dreams.
It might help them put everything into its proper perspective.
by Mondoreb
images/Source: World's smallest girl proud of her tiny size
image: walmart
Source: Jyoti Amge: World's Smallest Girl has Big Dreams
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AHMEDABAD: Call it good fortune or just the will of God. But the life in a seven-month-old foetus, that fell through the toilet bowl of a running train when the mother went to ease herself, still lives on!
In only what can be described as miraculous, a premature baby girl in India survived the impossible, birth in the toilet of a train only to be sucked down the pipes then landing on rocks between the rails of the track Tuesday night. The baby not only survived but is in good condition at the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Rajasthan Hospitals.
The baby's mother, seven months pregnant Bhuri Kalbi, was traveling on the Jodhpur-Ahmedabad train when she began to feel ill. She had sat down onto the toilet when she felt weak and then passed out. People banging on the door woke Bhuri up, it was then that she noticed her "stomach was flat. My child was gone."
Bhuri's baby, weighing a little over 3 pounds, had literally gone down the drain of the toilet landing on rocks between the rails of the train track. She had fallen near the Amblisayan railway station where "members of the Gram Rakshak Dal alerted station master KK Rai that a new-born child was lying on the track."
While rushing to the spot on foot, Rai said he could hear the cries of the baby from a distance. On coming closer, he could not believe what he saw. "The baby was lying dangerously close to the left track with the umbilical cord hanging by the side," Rai said. The baby had turned blue due to the chill at midnight.Bhuri's brother-in-law, Arjun, had found her semi-conscious in the bathroom.
The railwaymen wrapped the baby in a cloth and called the local doctor. While the child was being examined, a call came, saying the parents were traced.
"We immediately pulled the chain at Kalol, two stations away from where the child had slipped off and alerted the train guard," he said.Bhuri and her baby were reunited two hours later Kalol Civil Hospital.
By LBG
Image - Train to Ahmedabad
Source - Times of India - Foetus Slips Out of Moving Train, Safe
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USS Kitty Hawk could be decommissioned in 2008
Carrier could be sent to India
Throwing a monkey wrench into Russian plans
Could India be getting a decommissioned US aircraft carrier?
What new rhetoric can we then be expected to hear from Russia?
If current rumors in India are true, the United States could end up providing India what its traditional Russian arms supplier has long promised to provide, but so far failed to deliver. In the process the United States could deliver a severe blow to Russia's defense industry, adding another item to the long list of grievances Russian officialdom has lodged against the United States.
During the Cold War, India was famously the largest and most powerful of the "non-aligned" nations that stayed out of the East v. West confrontation. At the same time, however, India enjoyed close relations with the then-Soviet Union that went beyond just the bonds of political convenience and trade ties between the two nations.
India has been a favorite customer of Russia and the USSR in the past.
Former Indian PM Indira Ghandi was one of Soviet Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev's favorite foreign leaders, and he loved to make a show of that affection when she traveled to the USSR. Residents in sections of Moscow that straddle the main road leading from Vnukovo airport to the centre of the city can still recount how in those times they were dragooned by their local party officials to line the streets and wave Indian flags (if during the day) or flashlights (if at night) to greet Mrs. Ghandi's motorcade on official state visits..
India took advantage of their favored but non-allied nation status by purchasing from the USSR some of the most advanced weaponry available at the time. In the 1970s and 80s, India's fledgling defense industry benefited from Soviet specialists providing them with numerous current-day weapons platforms and the establishment of production lines to license-build Soviet hardware, such as the Mikoyan MiG-27s that were assembled at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) plant in Nasik
When the USSR and the Soviet empire collapsed, it the weapons dealings between the countries only grew. Russia needed the money and India needed the weapons.
In fact, Russia has sold India some weapons that not even the Russian armed forces have received--all for the bucks which a newly-configured Russia needed badly.
By the 1990s, Moscow was selling India some of the most advanced weaponry in its arsenal, including the high-powered Sukhoi Su-30MKI, a specialized variant of the heavyweight fighter than was optimized for aerodynamic performance and upgraded with a new-generation radar set, the NIIP N011M Bars model, that not even the Russian Air Force has in service.
Four years ago, Russia and India signed a contract to provide the Indian Navy with their own aircraft carried, plus a version of the MiG-29 to use on the carrier. New Delhi had long sought the power projection an aircraft carrier gives in the India
On the face of it this seemed like the perfect deal for both sides. India was to be given an older-generation aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov, for free, but would have to pay $700 million for a refit of the vessel, plus they would have to purchase the MiG-29Ks and eight naval helicopters for another $800 million. India was also offered options to purchase an additional 30 MiG-29Ks and upgrades to Indian port facilities in order to dock and service the Gorshkov for a total of another $1.5 billion. But, the program has proven to be overly ambitious and has run into a number of snags that threaten to derail a decades-long symbiotic relationship.
The deal has run into problems and has given a major migraine to some on both sides.
But, for all of the success at MiG in making good on their promises to the Indians to build a new-generation carrier airplane--tailhook and all--the progress on the carrier has been abysmal.
When the Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport (ROE) made the carrier deal, the vessel was scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Navy in 2008. ROE must not have known what they were getting themselves into and as of last summer the bad news for the Indians could no longer be kept secret. As reported by Russian military analyst Aleksandr Golts, "the money [$1.5 billion] was allocated, but the work was never done."
Another Russian military commentator, Pavel Felgenhauer, stated the situation more bluntly in one of his columns on the carrier entitled "Sold: The $1.5 Billion Lemon."
The Gorshkov is roughly have the size of a U.S. carrier and was originally designed with a flight deck large enough only for a vertical take-off and short landing (VSTOL) airplane like the famous Harrier jump jets operated by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. Russia's Cold War-era answer to the Harrier was the Yakovlev Yak-38, a lackluster performer and an airplane so dangerous that was referred to as "the widowmaker."
Now the USA has stepped into the breech and started doing some old-fashioned Yankee horse-trading.
Enter the United States. According to numerous sources inside India, when U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits New Delhi late in February (provided his Tuesday Potomac Primary Day broken shoulder does not alter his itinerary) he will be carrying a signed letter from U.S. President George W. Bush offering a better deal for India than the one they have been struggling to get out of Moscow for four years now. The Indian Navy will reportedly be offered the soon-to-be decommissioned USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) aircraft carrier for free--provided the Indian Navy will agree to purchase 65 of the newest model Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to be operated off of it.
If true--and if New Delhi accepts--this can do more than just sink the Russian carrier deal and the MiG-29K contract. The Indian Air Force (IAF) are deep in the throes of a tender to purchase almost 200 new fighter aircraft, with Boeing and RSK-MiG both in the field of six contenders. An order of 200 fighter airplanes is unheard of--larger than any such export sale in more than 20 years. In an era where sales of 12, 20, or 40 fighters are more common, this is the PowerBall Lotto of export competitions.
The Russians won't be happy, the Indians and Boeing are going to dancing in their offices, and the USA looks like it will kill 3 or 4 birds with one stone.
But there are sure to be voices raised in protest in all three countries.
1- In Russia at the lost business and prestige.
2- In India, by those who may be concerned at antagonizing Russia.
3- In the US, by those who can't just see the Kitty Hawk flying the Indian--or any other country's--flag.
You can be sure that the Kitty Hawk flying the Indian flag will be a strange sight for the thousands of US sailors who've served aboard her down through the years.
Will the deal go through? Will the USS Kitty Hawk be patrolling the Indian Ocean as India's first aircraft carrier? Will the Russian's denounce the imperialist Americans again?
Interesting, indeed.
by Mondoreb
For complete analysis of the possible effects of this deal, visit the Weekly Standard online.
hat tip: AR-15 forum
image: icci.navy
Source:
[Reuben F. Johnson in THE WEEKLY STANDARD online.]
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When we saw theheadline below, we had much the same reaction as RidesAPaleHorse, who sent us the above graphic. The story and original picture follow.
Man in India Marries DogA man in southern India married a female dog in a traditional Hindu ceremony as an attempt to atone for stoning two other dogs to death -- an act he believes cursed him -- a newspaper reported Tuesday.
more stories like this
P. Selvakumar married the sari-draped former stray named Selvi, chosen by family members and then bathed and clothed for the ceremony Sunday at a Hindu temple in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindustan Times newspaper said.
Selvakumar, 33, told the paper he had been suffering since he stoned two dogs to death and hung their bodies from a tree 15 years ago.
Sound like a Bollywood remake of Lassie Come Home might be in the works.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
Paris Hilton New SpokesCeleb for Tipsy Elephants
And no, boozing elephants does not mean alcohol-swilling Republicans. Evidently short and sweet statements can get you praise or your show taken off A and E. Witness Dog the Bounty Hunter and the power of uttering the N-word in a private conversation.
Word out from Gauhati, India is that Paris Hilton is catching praise from conservationists for helping "highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India." Paris' hard work on behalf of the 'elephants gone wild' consists of two "celebrity endorsements", a la Hilton.
Six wild and inebriated elephants raided a farm in the Indian state of Meghalaya. Too drunk to notice the pole they were in the process of uprooting was electrical, the pachyderms met an untimely and shocking demise.“There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad,” Hilton was quoted as saying in Tokyo last week. She was in Tokyo to judge a beauty contest.
“The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them,” the 26-year-old socialite said in a report posted on World Entertainment News Network's Web site.Sangeeta Goswami, head of animal rights group People for Animals, told The Associated Press: “I am indeed happy Hilton has taken note of recent incidents of wild elephants in northeast India going berserk after drinking homemade rice beer and getting killed.”
“As part of her global elephant campaign, Hilton should, in fact, think of visiting this region literally infested with elephants,” Goswami said.
Kudos to Paris for caring about the plight of the homemade rice beer swilling elephants in India.
Britney should take note.
Source - The San Diego Union Tribune - Paris Hilton's efforts to save binge-drinking elephants are praised by conservationists
Image [www.natashatynes.org]
By LBG
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
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Inspired by this Breitbart story, Monkeys Rampage in Indian Capital:Just weeks after the Indian capital's deputy mayor toppled to his death fighting off a pack of monkeys, the animals are back on the attack, sparking fresh concerns about the simian menace. One woman was seriously hurt and two dozen other people were given first aid after monkeys rampaged through a neighbourhood in east Delhi over the weekend.
"There were about three or four monkeys involved," deputy police commissioner Jaspal Singh told AFP.
"Wildlife officials are trying to find them. As police we're not experts in dealing with monkeys. We can deal with mad bulls but monkeys are more difficult," he said.
Along with an estimated 35,000 sacred cows and buffaloes that roam free in the capital, marauding monkeys have been longstanding pests. They routinely scamper through government offices, courts and even police stations and hospitals as well as terrorise neighbourhoods.
Pixelaneous #19:
Fantastic Sand Castles
[graphics: RidesAPaleHorse]
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Pakistan's nukes in the hands of terrorists has India--and other countries--uneasy.
Pakistanis aren't the only ones worried about the turmoil created by the state of emergency in the country. Amid rumors that the state of emergency may have been a move against President Musharaf, others are keeping a nervous eye on Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
India is closely watching events unfold--as well as al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
What could turn into an opportunity for terrorists could prove to be a nightmare for India or the United States. In short, any country worried about nuclear weapons in the hands of a small group with scores to settle.
More on this from the India Express:Nuclear-armed Pakistan is teetering on the verge of chaos after the imposition of emergency and US officials fear that the result could be every American's nightmare -- nuclear material or know-how, or even a nuclear bomb, falling into the hands of terrorists.
"If you were to look around the world for where al-Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard," Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council, was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
Pakistan is caught between trying to keep order while at the same time presenting a face of democracy to the rest of the world. The United States has been putting pressure on Musharraf to increase rights, step down and restore democracy in the wake of Saturday's declaration of a state of emergency.
India and Pakistan have fought a string of wars since both received their independence from Britain in the late 1940s. Both India and Pakistan acquired nuclear weapons in the last 20 years--at least once it appeared they both might use them, before tensions cooled.
So India will continue to keep a close eye on her neighbor to the west.
At least, until things quiet down.
by Mondoreb
& Little Baby Ginn
[image:awakenedwarrior]
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