Asia's spectacular monument of gratitude

Asia's spectacular monument of gratitude
By Raja M

Which two persons are rare in the world? One who serves others selflessly without expecting anything in return; and one who is grateful toward anyone who does one a kindness. These two persons are rare in the world. - Gotama the Buddha

MUMBAI - Air travelers over Mumbai will soon have something spectacular to goggle at: a cloud-high view of the golden Global Pagoda, the world's largest stone monument and the first dome in



human history of this size without any supporting pillars.

The completed massive main dome of the Global Pagoda, to seat
more than 8,000, is to be officially inaugurated this Sunday in the presence of many Indian leaders, including possibly Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This 100-meter-high monument, expected to be one of Asia's major tourist attractions, bridges Vipassana - an ancient path to liberation from all suffering - to the complexities challenging the world today. About 100,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony on the island of Gorai in suburban Mumbai, including guests from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and other countries.

In the morning, authentic relics of the Buddha will be enshrined in the Global Pagoda, atop the largest meditation hall on the planet, where more than 8,000 Vipassana students can practice together in one-day refresher courses. The Buddha bone relics were offered by the government of Sri Lanka and the Maha Bodhi Society in India in 1997, and have been awaiting this October day when the main dome of the Pagoda is ready. Another set of relics is being sent by the Indian government.

The Buddha relics had a long journey, from India to the London Museum, where the British colonial rulers of that time took them before World War II. The relics were returned to the subcontinent after strong but peaceful protests broke out in Sri Lanka over disrespect shown to the relics by placing them in a museum.

The Global Pagoda, the final resting place of these Buddha relics, has been modeled on the famous Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, as a mark of deep gratitude that Vipassana Principal Acharya (teacher) S N Goenkaji has for his teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899-1971), the first accountant general of independent Burma (now Myanmar), and to the little-known chain of Vipassana teachers in that country who preserved the teaching long after Vipassana was lost in India and to the rest of the world.

"If Emperor Asoka (265-238 BC) had not sent the words of the Buddha and Vipassana from India to the neighboring countries, they would not have survived anywhere in the world," said Goenkaji. "Fortunately, some wise monks of Sri Lanka and Myanmar as well as of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos preserved the Dhamma literature in its pristine purity through the teacher-student tradition for more than 2,000 years. Similarly, meditation teachers preserved the technique of Vipassana in Myanmar until recent times."

The Global Pagoda symbolizes the resurgence and quiet but rapid worldwide spread of Vipassana, the practical quintessence of the Buddha's non-sectarian, universal teachings. Residential Vipassana courses, from beginners' 10-days to advanced 60-days, are being offered without charge from more than 130 established Vipassana centers and innumerable non-center venues. Courses are run on voluntary donations and services of grateful previous students who wish to share the benefits with others.

An instance of Vipassana as a catalyst for peace is its growing popularity in both Israel and Iran, where demand for courses outruns supply. "Peace in the world is not possible without peace within the individual," Goenkaji said. For millennia, Vipassana has proved to be a powerful mind-purification tool to inner peace, by leading the practitioner to "egolessness".

Course participants cut across all professions, strata and religions of global society. "The Buddha has made me a better Muslim," wrote Imam Omar Rahman after doing a Vipassana course held at the Level 6 Security Alabama Prison, one of the most violent prisons in the US.

Many senior Christian priests and nuns have commented to Goenkaji that Vipassana is Christianity in practice, with Vipassana courses even being held in seminaries for novices. Many prominent Hindu leaders have undergone Vipassana courses. In India, more than 20 government circulars have been issued by the central and state governments enabling officials to undertake the 10-day Vipassana courses with paid leave.

Being built with voluntary donations, the Global Pagoda will have a large exhibition gallery giving accurate information about Vipassana and the Buddha's historical life. The Pagoda combines functionality with new architectural frontiers. A hollow stone monument with an octagonal base, the Pagoda externally rises and tapers at the top through a circular bell shape (see picture), forming within a stupendous pillarless hall 85 meters in diameter.

This pillarless 27-meter-high dome is attracting architectural wonder considering that thousands of stones, each weighing about 600-700 kilograms, are suspended without any external support. "These massive stones seemingly float over our heads, locked into place by the interlocking principle of one stone gripping and holding another. The more weight that is added to the stones, the more firmly the stones grip and hold each other," said M M Khandhar, a veteran construction engineer with experience of building projects in the US. When fully complete, the pagoda will be 100 meters high.

The biggest stone dome with a hollow interior built anywhere in the world before the Global Pagoda was the Gol Gumbaj Dome in Bijapur, southern India, which is 40 meters in diameter. The Global Pagoda is more than twice its size.

"We initially contemplated building the pagoda in reinforced concrete and steel. But the project aim is to build a structure to last for a thousand years, so we decided to use the basic building principles that have existed in ancient India for centuries, combined with latest construction technologies," explained the Mumbai-based Global Vipassana Foundation that is executing the project. "The construction plans were finalized following advice from consultants and research studies, including one by the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai."

When Goenkaji first expressed his wish to have such a dome built without any pillars in the meditation hall, to avoid inconvenience to meditators, almost all consultants and technical personnel expressed their doubts, saying this was almost impossible.

Chandubhai Sompura, an Indian architect, provided the breakthrough by demonstrating the idea of the locking system of stones using bars of soap cut into the same shape as the present stones are cut. A stone has grooves cut both horizontally and vertically, and is designed to interlock in both directions and hold the stones in place.

The inner dome and outside serrations are constructed from Jodhpur stone, historically known for its longevity and used in many Indian structures. About 15,500 cubic meters of Jodhpur stone and 46,000 cubic meters of rubble stone have been used so far, equivalent to a 120-kilometer-long line of trucks filled with the stones.

Posterity will look upon the Global Pagoda with awe similar to that evoked by the pyramids of ancient Egypt, besides the universal message of peace and purity that Asia's new monument of gratitude symbolizes.

GREENSTOCK 2007: A Benefit Music Festival for Peace and Sustainability

For interested folks in the Oregon
http://www.oregonpeaceworks.org/site/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3036&Itemid=151


WE NEED YOUR HELP!
ANNOUNCING GREENSTOCK 2007: A Benefit Music Festival for Peace and Sustainability

WHAT IS IT? A volunteer committee has come together to create a large-scale fundraising concert to benefit organizations working for the Earth.

WHO DOES IT BENEFIT?
Three statewide Oregon non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations were chosen as beneficiaries: Oregon PeaceWorks, Siskiyou Project and Nanish Shontie. The proceeds from the event itself are devoted to the important work the organizations are doing.
WHEN AND WHERE:
Fall of 2007, at a large capacity venue in NW Oregon. Exact date and location TBD.

THE ENTERTAINMENT:
We're negotiating with like-minded artists, Neil Young and Foo Fighters. Greenstock will also include a day of educational events and activities prior to the show to deepen people’s connection and commitment to the issues. It's expected to include slide shows, notable speakers including political activists, Tribal Elders, and local performers who educate through music and the arts. Tabling opportunities will be available for many causes and groups.

FUNDING:
Various levels of sponsorship opportunities are available to sympathetic businesses, groups and individuals. In return, you will receive publicity and the satisfaction of affiliation with causes and musical artists you can feel good about. A range of benefits is available depending upon your chosen sponsorship level:

SPONSORSHIP LEVELS:
20K+ level Title Sponsor
10K – 20K Event Sponsor
5K – 10K Greenstock Partner
1K – 5K Greenstock Affiliate
Under 1K Friends of Greenstock

Would you please consider a donation to this worthwhile event? No amount is too small (or too large)!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

In peace,

Peter Bergel,
Executive Director, Oregon Peace Works http://www.oregonpeaceworks.org
Julie Norman,
Executive Director, Siskiyou Project http://www.siskiyou.org/
Mala Spotted Eagle Pope,
President, Nanish Shontie http://www.nanish.org/

Jellyfish Cookies Selling like Hot Cakes

Jellyfish Cookies Selling like Hot Cakes
http://www.weirdasianews.com/category/weird-news/page/5/
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

Who would have ever thought that cookies made of jellyfish would become a hit product?

Mouthwatering cookies called Ekura-chan have done just that.

Ekura-chan saku-saku cookies --

The incredible edibles were jointly developed by Obama Fisheries High School and Fukui-based gift retailer Keifuku Shoji Co.

After hitting the market last October, more than 20,000 Ekura-chan cookies have been sold, far exceeding expectations.

The baked goodies–made of huge Echizen kurage jellyfish that is a nuisance to fishermen–also hit the shelves at a department store in Osaka’s Minami district.

To find ways to commercialize untapped marine resources, students at the fisheries school’s food industry department have since 2002 been developing tofu and fruit punch using jellyfish.

While developing these products, the students hit on the idea of turning jellyfish essence into a baking powder, which is odorless and tastes like bittern.

At the same time, Keifuku Shoji approached the school to jointly commercialize products made from jellyfish. (more…)

Pin Hole Camera, that you can make !

Why buying digital cameras?
Just download your next camera on our website.

Linatree invite you to download,
print, cut and build your pinhole.
A pinhole is a camera that uses a very
small hole, as if made by a pin instead
of a lens, for light to enter and
form an image on the film
or other light-sensitive medium.

* Download your camera (PDF Brochure)
* See the 3D animation that will help you to build it

Huge Anti-Nuke Demo was 30 Years Ago This Week

Huge Anti-Nuke Demo was 30 Years Ago This Week
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/04/28/830/
by David Tirrell-Wysocki

CONCORD, N.H. — Thirty years ago this week, hundreds of anti-nuclear demonstrators trekked down a dusty road and set up camp next to piles of construction material destined to become the Seabrook nuclear power plant.

0428 03Police dragged or carried away 1,414 protesters on May 1, 1977, ending the skirmish, but galvanizing a national anti-nuclear movement that moved from Seabrook’s marshes to national money markets to effectively halt orders for new plants in the United States.

Fast forward to today.

With energy prices skyrocketing, global warming, and calls for cleaner energy abounding, the nuclear industry is optimistic about a resurgence. And the anti-nuclear movement, including organizers of the Seabrook protests, is gearing up to respond.

Paul Gunter, who has made opposing nuclear power his career, is one.

“To ante up for another generation of nuclear power would be a collossal mistake that would really trivialize the Seabrook debacle,” he said. “Because right now we have maybe 10 to 20 years to make some very critical energy policy decisions that affect global climate.”

Seabrook was proposed as a twin-reactor plant in 1972, at an estimated cost of $973 million. When it finally won a commercial license in March 1990, it was a single reactor and cost $6.5 billion.

Protests started early. The first person arrested at the future construction site was Ron Rieck, who spent 36 cold hours atop a weather observation tower in January 1976. Later that year, 18 people were arrested, then 180. Then came April 1977.

Arnie Alpert was an environmental science major at Wesleyan University in Connecticut when he learned of planned protests at Seabrook. After training in nonviolent resistance, he organized two busloads of students to travel to Seabrook.

They became part of the Clamshell Alliance, an umbrella group that organized into small “affinity groups” for training, decision-making and support. On April 30, they approached the plant property from all directions, even through the ocean swamps.

Gov. Meldrim Thomson said the demonstrations were “a front for terrorist activity” and organized a small army of National Guardsmen and police from around New England to respond.

“If I thought about it at all, it was a joke,” Alpert said in a recent interview. “We knew we were not a group of terrorists. We knew we were a group of people passionately committed to nonviolence.”

The group walked onto the site, unopposed, and immediately began setting up camp, digging latrines, having meetings and celebrating.

“I was surprised we got onto the site at all,” Alpert said.

The next day, a Sunday, Thomson ordered the protesters to leave to avoid confrontations with construction workers due back Monday.

Those who didn’t leave - 1,414 strong - were arrested on trespassing charges and held for more than two weeks in National Guard armories around the state. The protest attracted worldwide attention and sent ripples far beyond Seabrook.

“The Seabrook demonstration touched off a grassroots, nonviolent insurgency against nuclear power that led to the creation of similar alliances around the country,” said Alpert. And he said the tactics and training spread to other causes, including peace and gay rights.

Now, some former Clamshell members find themselves focusing anew on nuclear power.

Spurred by skyrocketing energy prices, global warming, and calls for cleaner energy, the industry is making a comeback. New federal laws have streamlined permitting and construction and removed much of the financial risk, and the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute says construction could start on multiple plants by around 2010.

At Seabrook, spokesman Alan Griffith recalls being in high school during the first anti-Seabrook demonstrations, then covering protests as a reporter and editor.

He said streamlining licensing would have helped Seabrook, which was ready to run in 1986, but not fully licensed for four more years.

“I get paid to say this stuff, but I truly believe as a person that this country must have more nuclear power plants for reasons that have become crystal clear over time,” Griffith said.

“It is the only major source of electricity that is able to generate electricity cleanly, with no greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “The anti’s have a different perspective on that, but that is one of the main reasons of the resurgence.”

But Gunter, director of the Reactor Watchdog Project at the anti-nuclear Nuclear Information and Resource Service, said there is no room for nuclear, period.

“Our position is that they should have never built any of these in the first place,” he said. “We went to jail to stop that. People should realize that we were right _ and here we are 30 years after that demonstration and 50 years after the initiation of nuclear power and they still don’t know what to do with the first cupful of nuclear waste.”

With no national repository, nuclear waste is being stored at nuclear plants, as “pre-deployed weapons of mass destruction,” Gunter said.

Griffith responds thdat whether a repository is built or not, nuclear plants “have the ability to safely and securely store their waste.”

And so the debate goes. Each argument has 180-degree opposite answers, including on questions of safety.

Gunter and Alpert, state program director for the American Friends Service Committee, maintain that much more energy could be saved and created if nuclear subsidies went instead to more efficient appliances, increased conservation and renewable sources.

John H. Sununu, former governor, engineer and sometime nuclear industry consultant, couldn’t disagree more. He said the long nuclear hiatus squandered an opportunity to provide clean energy much earlier, and it’s time to acknowledge it was a mistake.

“I hope it lays the foundation for a much better response by the nation as the second round of opportunity of getting away from coal and oil and natural gas occurs,” he said.

How to Hack a Coke Machine

http://www.wikihow.com/Hack-a-Coke-Machine

> Categories > Hacks

How to Hack a Coke Machine

Want to dazzle your friends with your technical prowess while checking out the profitability of a vending machine route? Read on. Most Coke machines built since the late 1990s can be "hacked" with a simple access code. Once you enter the code, you can find out all kinds of information about the machine's sales.
Steps

1. Find a Coke machine that has an LED screen. The small screen will typically scroll a message such as "Ice Cold Cokes." If the machine's LED display simply displays the price, the steps below may not work.
2. Enter the access code by using the drink selection buttons. The default access code is 4, 2, 3, 1, but the buttons aren't numbered. They will either say nothing or have pictures of "Coke, "Diet Coke," "Sprite," and other Coca-Cola products on them.

* If the buttons are in a column, button 1 is the top one. Button 2 is the second one from the top, and so on.
* If they are in a grid or other format, button 1 is the top left one. Button 2 is the one directly to the right of that, and so on.
3. Scroll through the menu to find out information about the machine. Once you enter the correct access code, the message on the LED screen will change. Typically it will say "EROR," but on some machines it may simply display a number. Use the buttons to navigate the menu.

* Press button 1 at any time to return to the previous menu or to exit the menu to go back to normal mode.
* Press button 2 to scroll up through the selections.
* Press button 3 to scroll down through the selections.
* Press button 4 to select the displayed menu option.


Example Menu Options

1. EROR: This menu option displays error messages for the machine, including problems that occurred with the refrigeration system, the vending mechanism, the bill changer, and the bill validator. To see error messages, press the select button (button 4) when the display shows EROR, and then scroll through to see specific errors. Select an individual error to see more details. Generally if only one type of error has occurred you won't be able to scroll through other error options.
2. CASH: This option allows you to see the machine's total historical cash intake, as well as the resettable cash counted for each drink selection. Press the select button when the the LED display shows CASH. This will show you the historical cash counted by the machine. Note that it will include fractions of a dollar, such that if it displays 1352425, the historical cash count is $13,524.25. Use the scroll buttons (2 or 3) to navigate to the cash counts for each slot (each beverage selection). The number displayed will show first the slot number and then the revenue for that slot number since the last time the counter was reset. In some machines, it will be preceded by the letters CA or SL (for "slot").
3. SALE: This option allows you to see the machine's historical total number of sales, as well as the resettable number of sales for each drink selection. It works like the CASH menu above, except that the numbers displayed reflect the number of beverages sold.
4. RTN: Sometimes labeled EXIT, this option allows you to exit the menu completely and return the machine to normal mode. Press the select button to exit.


Alternate Menu

On machines with two panels of six buttons on each side, the same 4-2-3-1 code will access the Electronic Counter for the machine. After accessing this menu, press 1 to see the total lifetime sales, 2 for the total lifetime items sold, 3 for a breakdown of items sold of each selection, 4 for a breakdown of cash generated for each selection, and 5 for the machine's internal temperature. After a while without input, the machine will return to the normal menu.


Tips

* This only works for Coke machines, which may sell products such as Barq's Root Beer, Sprite, Dasani, Evian, Fanta, Fresca, Frutopia, Powerade, Hi-C, Minute Maid, Nestea, Odwalla, Mr. Pibb, Planet Java, Power Ade, Seagram's Ginger Ale, Simply Orange, Sparkletts, or Tab in addition to Coke and Diet Coke.
* In general, these are the only options you can access without having the door unlocked and open. Different machines may list these options in somewhat different formats, so experiment a bit to learn what each new one does.
* If you need to exit the menu quickly (i.e. when you just can't wait another second to buy an ice cold Coke) press the change (coin return) button. This will normally quit the menu.
* On some machines, holding the coin return button will display the machine's inner temperature.
* Vending machine owners or service people have the option to change the access sequence from 4231 to some other combination of buttons, but they rarely do. This is probably because having one code makes it easier for anyone to service all the machines along a route. It may also be because the information you can access through the external menu with the door closed is limited and fairly harmless.
* There are several videos available on the internet that show people using this hack. Many claim to be able to change prices or get a free drink, but the videos don't actually show them doing so.
* In order to get to the same menu in a machine that sells Pepsi products, simply enter 1,3,2,4. All the menu options with be the same. (This does not seem to work on all Pepsi machines)
* This might also work on some Coke vending machines that have a numeric keypad instead of buttons for specific drinks. Enter in the Coke code as usual, and you'll get to the sales menu!

Warnings

* This may be illegal in some jurisdictions, and it will generally be frowned upon by store staff or machine service people, so exercise caution when trying it out, and be sure to follow any applicable laws in your jurisdiction.
* Don't do this if there's a line behind you, as people get upset waiting for you.
* You might waste your time doing this, as Coca-Cola has distributed new firmware to their vendors that would render these instructions unusable.

Beautiful Russian cake-sculptures

Zhanna, a cake-shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, creates incredible sculptural cakes in the form of government documents, newspapers with herring on them, card-tables, casino games, maps, eye charts, skyscrapers, tennis shoes... Link (Thanks, Anonymous person!)

posted by Cory Doctorow at 09:19:50 AM permalink |