...Humaniti vs Extravaganza Perkahwinan Diraja?...

seribulan · Post time 8-4-2011 06:31 PM

Post Last Edit by seribulan at 12-4-2011 10:05

3 terbunuh, beratus cedera gempa di Jepun malam tadi...punca?

Experts downplay 'super effects' of super moon

Karsten Miranda, TNN, Mar 20, 2011, 03.38am IST

PANAJI: Even as the moon came closest to the Earth in 18 years on Saturday, Goan astronomy enthusiasts sought to distance themselves from lunar superstitions purported by astrology.

The 'supermoon' effect is most noticeable when it coincides with the period of the full moon. In fact, the word 'super' in 'supermoon' is really just a reference to the fact that the moon appears to be closer to the Earth than normal. However, the difference in the distance is believed to be only a few percent lesser at such times.

An NGO, 'Friends of the Association of Astronomy', together with the public astronomical observatory, organized a sky watch and a presentation at the Junta House in the capital on Saturday. Experts also sought to dispel doubts on the negative effects of the 'super moon'.

Recounting that it was American astrologer Richard Nolle who coined the term 'super moon', speakers condemned astrologers who linked the March 19 phenomenon to natural disasters. They also pointed out that astrology, which bases its theories on 12 constellations of stars, do not accept the scientifically proven fact that there are indeed 13 constellations, thereby lending very little credibility to their predictions.

Satish Naik, secretary of the NGO said, "The effects on Earth from a super moon are minor since lunar tides occur everyday. However, while the moon helps drive the Earth's tides, it is not capable of triggering earthquakes and tsunami

THE TIMES OF INDIA
© 2011 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved

(posted by mobile)
Japan ups nuke crisis severity to match Chernobyl

[url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/ap_av/av_ap3_wl/6b1d677dd69fc1f887937098747a1a25/41040990;_ylt=AmrosYb.enn78zUjmRAP1gxv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTE5ZWJlYXNnBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF92aWRlbwRzbGsDcmF3dmlkZW9tYWdu/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24861469]

[/url]
Play Video AP – Raw Video: Magnitude 7.1 aftershock hits Japan

Slideshow:Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant
[url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/reutersav/av_reuters_all/dc992cbec3593d82ee59e2aeb584a6af/41040755;_ylt=AgRN_yctrqDbXuHpgnJGhd5v24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTFiNzZjZjByBHBvcwM1BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtdGh1bWI-/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24861277] Play Video [/url][url=http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/reutersav/av_reuters_all/dc992cbec3593d82ee59e2aeb584a6af/41040755;_ylt=AkypXLdn45bFzQy8Livrvolv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTFhZnJqYzk1BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl9yXzNzbG90X3ZpZGVvBHNsawN2aWQtZWQtbGluaw--/*http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24861277]Video:Japan police hold moment of silence[/url] Reuters

SymbolPriceChange
^DJI 12,381.11+1.06
^GSPC 1,324.46-3.71
^IXIC 2,771.51-8.90

AP – A Japanese family walks along the flooded street at an area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and …

By YURI KAGEYAMA and RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press Yuri Kageyama And Ryan Nakashima, Associated Press – 12 mins ago

TOKYO – Japan's nuclear regulators raised the severity level of the crisis at a stricken nuclear plant Tuesday to rank it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
An official with the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, speaking on national television, said the rating was being raised from 5 to 7 — the highest level on the international scale.
The official, who was not named, said the amount of radiation leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was around 10 percent of the Chernobyl accident.
The level 7 signifies a "major accident" with "wider consequences" than the previous level, according to the standards scale.
"We have upgraded the severity level to 7 as the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean," said Minoru Oogoda of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
NISA officials said one of the factors behind the decision was that the total amount of radioactive particles released into the atmosphere since the incident had reached levels that apply to a Level 7 incident.
The action lifts the rating to the highest on an international scale designed by an international group of experts in 1989 and is overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In Chernobyl, in the Ukraine, a reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radiation over much of the Northern Hemisphere. A zone about 19 miles (30 kilometers) around the plant was declared uninhabitable, although some plant workers still live there for short periods and a few hundred other people have returned despite government encouragement to stay away.
Meanwhile, setbacks continued at Japan's tsunami-stricken nuclear power complex, with workers discovering a small fire near a reactor building Tuesday. The fire was extinguished quickly, the plant's operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said the fire at a box that contains batteries in a building near the No. 4 reactor was discovered at about 6:38 a.m. Tuesday and was put out seven minutes later.
It wasn't clear whether the fire was related to a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook the Tokyo area Tuesday morning. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
"The fire was extinguished immediately. It has no impact on Unit 4's cooling operations for the spent fuel rods," said TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda.
The plant was damaged in a massive tsunami March 11 that knocked out cooling systems and backup diesel generators, leading to explosions at three reactors and a fire at a fourth that was undergoing regular maintenance and was empty of fuel.
The magnitude-9.0 earthquake that caused the tsunami immediately stopped the three reactors, but overheated cores and a lack of cooling functions led to further damage.
Engineers have been able to pump water into the damaged reactors to cool them down, but leaks have resulted in the pooling of tons of contaminated, radioactive water that has prevented workers from conducting further repairs.

Aftershocks on Monday briefly cut power to backup pumps, halting the injection of cooling water for about 50 minutes before power was restored.

seribulan · Post time 12-4-2011 10:59 AM

Royal wedding: Gifts give way to charity

Austerity weddings 1947 style: Australians donate ingredients for Princess Elizabeth's cake
Continue reading the main story Royal wedding

Why have Prince William and Kate Middleton shunned the traditional wedding gift list? In a time of financial austerity, it makes sense not to appear extravagant. But their decision to ask for donations to small charities hints at how royal links with good causes have changed, says BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt.

Never mind the bone china crockery and the lilac coloured fluffy towels. Prince William and Kate Middleton are unlikely to have to deal with the challenge which has confronted the prince's relatives - how to respond diplomatically to some of the gifts people choose to send royals on their wedding day.
William's grandmother received 500 cases of tinned pineapple. It was what the government of Queensland thought 1947 post-war Britain needed.
Closer to home, two young women wrote to the then Princess Elizabeth to explain that they were "so excited and thrilled" when they heard the news of her engagement on the wireless that they burnt their toast to a cinder. Enclosed with their note of congratulations, according to the future queen's governess at the time, were two slices of very damp toast.
William and Kate are looking for money, not morsels - and they won't be the beneficiaries.
Instead, they've chosen 26 charities which aren't that well known. They're based in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, of course, the UK. The organisations do a variety of work including helping young people and service personnel; and tackling conservation issues.
Donations can be made in six currencies via a new website. Continue reading the main story

http://74.6.117.48/search/srpcache?ei=UTF-8&p=extravagant+royal+wedding&fr=yfp-t-701&fp_ip=my&u=http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=extravagant+royal+wedding&d=5052389257577813&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=fd862163,9343e5c7&icp=1&.intl=us&sig=.cg2d.7hAxKA0BUAFbCkJg--

Also by Peter Hunt...

Many are grassroots organisations. IntoUniversity, for example, says it works with "talented children from tough neighbourhoods" who need extra support if they are to succeed in life. PeacePlayers International uses sport to bring young people in Northern Ireland together. The charity argues the children they work with "represent the building blocks of peace for the future".

As well as raising money for many good causes, this move by a couple who aren't short of a bob or two may well - at a time of cuts - deflect any criticisms of royal extravagance.

seribulan · Post time 12-4-2011 11:11 AM

Post Last Edit by seribulan at 12-4-2011 11:05

Royal Wedding Won't Break These Records ... Unless the Cake Serves 59,001
Apr 6, 2011 – 6:35 PM

David Moye Contributor

When Prince William ties the knot with Kate Middleton on April 29, there's a good chance they will break lots of world records in the process.

Many media experts believe the nuptials will break the current world record for the largest TV audience for a wedding, which was set July 29, 1981, during the marriage of William's father, Prince Charles, to Lady Diana Spencer.

That wedding was watched by an estimated 750 million people in 74 countries. Considering that the world population has jumped by more than 2 billion people since then -- from 4.5 billion to 6.7 billion, with a corresponding rise in TV viewership -- it's a safe bet that this royal wedding audience will leave Princess Di and Charles' wedding record in the dust.

Wedding World Records

Largest Wedding Cake: Chef Lynn Mansel of the Mohegan Sun Casino Connecticut whipped up this seven-tiered, 15,032-pound cake in 2004, nearly tripling the record for the world's heaviest wedding cake. The recipe called for 10,000 pounds of pound cake batter and 4,810 pounds of creamy frosting. It could feed 59,000 people.
John Spivey, AP

The experts at Guinness World Records predict that the royal nuptials will be the most-searched-for celebrity wedding, topping the current record holder: the Sept. 27, 2009, ceremony between reality TV star Khloe Kardashian and Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom.

Other records that could conceivably be conquered by Kate and William include:

The longest wedding veil. The current record is more than 11,017 feet long and was worn by Sandra Mechleb at her wedding to Chady Abi Younis in Arnaoon, Lebanon, on Oct. 18, 2009.
The most crystals on a wedding dress is 43,008 and was achieved by Cosmina Englizian and presented at an event organized by E-Mariage in Romania, on March 24, 2010.
The largest wedding cake weighed 15,032 pounds, could feed 59,000 people and was made by chefs at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino in Uncasville, Conn., and displayed at its New England bridal showcase on Feb. 8, 2004. No word on how much dough it cost.
The longest wedding dress train measured more than 8,164 feet and was created by Lichel van den Ende. It was presented and measured in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, on Dec. 22, 2009, and the designer still has the record sewn up.

But while William and Kate's wedding will undoubtedly get them in the record books in some fashion, there are a few wedding records that are safe from their clutches.

For instance, there's the one for "Largest Underwater Wedding," which was achieved by 261 divers who took part at the marriage ceremony between Francesca Colombi and Giampiero Giannoccaro at the Morcone beach, Capoliveri, Elba Island, Italy, on June 12, 2010.

Meanwhile, the record for the "Largest Dog 'Wedding' Ceremony" was achieved by 178 dog pairs who sealed their marriage with a bark on the notes of the wedding march at the "Bow Wow Vows event" organized by the Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center in Littleton, Colo., on May 19, 2007.

It is highly unlikely that even the future king and queen of England are going to have as many bridesmaids or groomsmen as Canadian citizens Christa Rasanayagam and Arulanantham Suresh Joachim had at their wedding in September 2003: 79 for her and 47 for him.

Considering the stress associated with planning a royal wedding, it is doubtful that Kate and William will want to go through the hassles of breaking the record for vow renewals set by Lauren Lubeck Blair and David E. Hough Blair, who have pledged to have and to hold each other till death to they part a whopping 99 times.

The couple have slowed down a little bit in recent months and haven't rehitched since they last did it on Oct. 11, 2010 at Logan's Roadhouse in Gallatin, Tenn.

seribulan · Post time 12-4-2011 12:01 PM

Post Last Edit by seribulan at 12-4-2011 11:07

The most extravagant weddings

Tom Barlow, Forbes

Mon, Apr 11, 2011 6:53 AM GMT+00:00

Prince William's wedding is expected to rank among the most expensive of modern times. These are the A-list blowouts it will be judged against.

When it comes to getting married, the rich are really no different than you or me: They want to have weddings to remember. Their financial firepower just gives them more ways to pump up the drama than the average U.S. bride and groom with a $24,000 budget.

Rather than a simple spray of white roses, Donald Trump wed Melania Knauss amid 10,000 roses, peonies and hydrangeas. Where the more common man might have had Uncle Tony's son's garage band play at the reception, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise had Andrea Bocelli.

More from Forbes.com:

• Catherine Middleton's childhood home
• How to do your hair like Kate Middleton
• The world's richest royals

When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the heir to the throne in Dubai, married Princess Salama in 1981, his proud parents built a 20,000-seat stadium for the week-long celebration, the most expensive wedding on record at $100 million in today's dollars. The sheikh visited every town in the emirate by horseback during that week, and fed them all. During the ceremony, wedding gifts for his bride were delivered by 20 bejeweled camels.

When Indian steel barron Lakshmi Mittal married off his daughter Vanisha in 2005, the family sent out 20-page invitations contained in silver boxes. Mittal paid for 1,000 guests to stay for five days in five-star Paris hotels. The reception was held at the Palace of Versailles and concluded with a celebratory fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower. Total cost: $60 million, the third most expensive wedding of modern times by our estimation.

Across the channel, the British royal family has been no stranger to opulent nuptials. When Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, the fairy-tale wedding, complete with horse, carriage and a worldwide TV audience of 750 million, had a price tag to match: an estimated $70 million in today's dollars, No. 2 on our list, with Diana's ivory silk gown alone believed to have cost more than $15,000.

Prince William and fiancee Kate Middleton will reportedly take a more low-key approach to their big day, opting to arrive in a car rather than the traditional horse-drawn carriage. Despite the nod to more austere times, the estimates are still staggering. Reports suggest the wedding could top $30 million.
Perhaps the propensity for all of us, rich and not-so-rich, to go over the top for our wedding is an attempt to make sure we're serious about our mate on the first go-round. An opulent service, with vows made in front of hundreds, can place an obligation on the bride and groom to work through rough patches rather than toss it all aside at the first hint of rough water.
But no amount of glitz and expensive pageantry offers any guarantee. Take Liza Minnelli and David Gest. Michael Jackson served as best man at their $3.5 million wedding in 2002. Natalie Cole sang "Unforgettable." The ultra-A-list guest list, which one wag labeled "night of 1,000 facelifts," included Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Barbara Walters and 1,500 others. Yet a mere 18 months later, the two split up amid accusations by Minnelli that he tried to poison her, and by Gest that she brought a sexually transmitted disease to their wedding bed.

Here's hoping that Will and Kate do better.

1. Princess Salama to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
$100 million, 1981 (today's dollars)

To hold a really large wedding it helps to have a large venue, such as the 20,000-seat stadium specially built for the now-ruler of Dubai for his 1981 wedding to Princess Salama.

(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

2. Charles, Prince of Wales, to Diana Spencer
$70 million, 1981 (today's dollars)

There are special expenses when royalty weds, including mob control. Part of the millions spent on the fairy-tale wedding of the decade was allotted to ensure tight crowd surveillance. The joy of the occasion would later turn to ashes, proving that the amount spent on the wedding does not necessarily equate to the likelihood it will succeed.

(AP Photo)

3. Vanisha Mittal to Amit Bhatia
$60 million, 2005

Six days, 100 guests, the Palace of Versailles, free jet transportation to France for the ceremonies, five-star hotels, fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, can-can girls, all these expenses add up -- in this case, a total of $60 million.

(AP Photo/ISPAT Communications)

4. Aleksandra Nikolic to Andrey Melnichenko
$30 million, 2005

Entertainment was an important part of the wedding between this Russian billionaire and model, with performances by Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, and Julio Iglesias, each of whom raked in an estimated $3.6 million for the gig.

(Mikhail Fomichev/Newscom)

5. Priya Sachdev to Vikram Chatwal
$20 million, 2006

Take 600 guests for a 10-day wedding celebration and jet them from city to city in India, and you have the foundation for an over-the-top opulent wedding. Chatwal (nicknamed the "turban cowboy"), owner of luxurious hotels such as Dream New York, managed to bring the event in at a tidy $20 million.

Click here to see the complete list of the most extravagant weddings

my-alja · Post time 12-4-2011 08:59 PM

nak kata apa?....life goes on

redsinner · Post time 16-4-2011 09:44 AM

it comes down to: some people can some people cant, and other people just dont.

with the rate humanity is going these days, looks like these extravagance will be bigger and more incomprehensible regardless of other humans' circumstances.

aiish, mcm nih kawen kat umah, ajak 10 org jer ler. jamu snek eh.. hihi