Saint Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale (1947 - 1984)

SAINT Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwale was a (and to some extent still is ) Sikh hero of modern times. He was born in the family of Brar-Jatt Baba Joginder Singh and Mata Nihal Kaur of the village Rode in Faridkot District. Baba Joginder Singh was a farmer of moderate means. Bhindrenwale was youngest of the seven brothers. After primary education took up farming in his village. He engaged himself in farming until 1965 when he joined the Damdami Taksal of Bhinder Kalan village, about 15 km north of Moga, then headed by Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa. Hence the epithet Bhindrenwale. But his association with Bhinder village was only notional because Sant Gurbachan Singh, though associated with Gurdwara Akhand Prakash at Bhinder Kalan, usually took out his group of pupils on prolonged tours. Jarnail Singh underwent a one-year course in scriptural, theological and historical studies, at the hands of Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa partly during one of his tours but for the most part during his stay atGurdwara Sis Asthan Patshahi IX, near Nabha Sahib village, 15 km south of Chandigarh along the Chandigarh-Patiala road. In 1966, he rejoined his Family and settled down to farming again. He was married in 1966 to Bibi Pritam Kaur, daughter of Bhai Sucha Singh of Bilaspur, and had two sons, Ishar Singh and Inderjit Singh, born in 1971 and 1975 respectively. He continued his religious studies and also kept his close association with the Taksal, which after the death of Sant Gurbachan Singh Khalsa, in June 1969, was headed by Sant Kartar Singh Khalsa, who established his headquarters at Gurdwara Gurdarshan Prakash at Mehta Chowk, 25 km northeast of Amritsar along the road to Sri Hargobindpur. Sant Kartar Singh khalsa was killed in a road accident. Before his deadh on 16 August 1977, he had mentioned the name of Sant Jarnail Singh as his successor as the new head of Damdami Taksal. Sant Jarnail Singh was formally, elected at the bhog ceremony in honour of Sant Kartar Singh Khalsa at Mehta Chowk on 25 August 1977. He had a meteoric rise to fame and his photographs began to be avidly displayed on the front pages of newspapers and journals across the continents. Trained in a Sikh seminary to preach the holy word of the Gurus, he stood face to face with history at several critical moments. Bhindrenwale within his seven brief years of a total of 37, marked by a precipitous course, emerged as a man of extraordinary grit and charisma. Soon he came to be talked about in the far-flung academe as well as in political forums. Sant Jarnail Singh exhibited remarkable enthusiasm in carrying out his missionary responsibilities. The primary task he addressed was the administrating of amrit (Khanda Baate da Pahul) . He vehemintly denounced drugs, alcoholic drinks and trimming of hair. He took special notice of the Nirankari heresy Which was undermining the Sikh Structure. Opposition to the Nirankaris had started during the time of his predecessor, Sant Kartar Singh Khalsa. Matters camee to a head on the Baisdkhi day of 1978 when Nirankaris held a convention at Amritsar. The Damdami Taksal under Sant Jarnal Singh Bhindrenwale and the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, another purely religious organization, protested against government allowing the Nirankaris to hold their convention at a time the Sikhs were celebrating the birth anniverssary of the Khalsa. Some of them who marched to the site of the convention were fired upon by Nirankari guardsmen killing 13 of them on the spot and wounding 78 others. The episode brought Sant Bhindrenwale into the political arena. He was more against the Akali Dal which was then leading the government in the Punjab and was partner in the central authority in Delhi. On 4 january 1980, two days before the Lok Sabha poll, all the 64 Nirankari accused, including their chief Gurbachan Singh, being tried for the killing of Sikhs, were set at liberty, by the sessions judge of Karnal in Haryana. This bittered Sant Bhindranwale. The media in the Punjab took the part of the Nirankaris on the pica of' secularism. So did the Congress party which, on returning to power at the Centre, dismissed the Akali government in the Punjab, where too fresh elections were held and Congress government installed. On 9 September 1981, Lala Jagat Narain, a press baron of jalandhar, highly critical of Sant Bhindrenwale, was assassinated. The Sant too had been a strong critic of Jagat Narain. The government suspected the Sant's hand in the murder and issued warrants for his arrest. He was then on a preaching tour in Haryana and was camping at Chando Kalan village in Hissar district when a combined force of Punjab and Haryana police raided the village to nab him. He himself escaped to the security of his own headquarters at Mehta Chowk, but the police fired upon his jathd or band of disciples; their baggage was looted, and some of the sacred texts burnt. The Sant offered himself for arrest on 20 September 1981. This was followed by, a spate of violence. The Sant was released after the Central Home Minister, Giani Zail Singh, declared in the Parliament on 14 October 1981 that there was no evidence against him to show his hand in Jagat Narain's murder. The Sant had seen through the Congress conspiracy loaded against the Sikhs. His arrest and Subsequent release raised the Sant's stature among the Sikh community who, especially the youth, judging hitu against the moderate Akali leadership, flocked under his banner in ever increasing numbers. The Sant became increasingly outspoken. The governnient took notice of the change in Bhindrenwale's stance and proceeded to take action against him. An attempt Was made to arrest him while he was on a visit to Bombay was staying in the Singh Sabha Gurdwara at Dadar on 20 April 1982, but Sant Bhindrenwale was again able to reach safely in the Gurdwara at Mehta Chowk. On 19 July 1982 the police arrested Bhai Amrik Singh son of the late Sant Kartar Singh Khalsa and president of the All India Sikh Students Federation. Another senior member of thc Damdami Taksal, Bhai Thind Singh, was arrested on the following day. Sant Bhindrenwale felt highly provoked. Feeling that sanctuary at Mehta Chowk was not safe enough, he moved to the Guru Nanak Nivas rest house in the Darbar Sahib complex in Amritsar on 20 july and called for a Panthic convention on 25 july at which he announced thc launching of a morcha (campaign) For thc release of his men. Meanwhile., the Shiromai Akali Dal had been conducting a morcha since April 1982 against the digging of Satluj-Yamuna Link (S.Y.L.) canal which would divert part of Punjab's river waters to Haryana. The agitation inspite of immense support from the Sikh peasantry was not bearing any tangible fruit because the site (Kapori village on the Haryana-Punjab border where the Indian Prime minister had inaugurated the digging of the canal on 6 April 1982 was in a remote corner away from the Dal's headquarters. The Dal now decided to transfer the agitation, now designated Dharam Yuddh or religious war, to Amritsar from 4 August 1982. Sant jarnail Singh merged his own morcha with it, and thus became in a way the joint dictator of the entire Panth though he still swore loyalty to the former dictator of the Akali morcha, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal. A further provocation to the Sikhs came from the behaviour of the Haryana government and police during the Asian Games held at Delhi in November 1982. Sikhs travelling from Punjab to Delhi or back were indiscriminately stopped, searched and humiliated. Violence in the Punjab was on the increase. It was becoming more and more clear that the government would seek a military Solution of the situation in Punjab rather than a political one. Sant Bhindranwale exhorted the people to be prepared for a showdown. On 15 December 1983, he with his men entered the Akal Takht and With the help of a former major general of the Indian Army, Shahbeg Singh, prepared a network of defensive fortifications inside the complex collecting in the meanwhile a large stock of arms, ammunition and rations anticipating the possibility of a prolonged siege. The government on its part made elaborate plans for all army action while pretending all along its readiness for negotiations and denying any intention of sending armed forces inside the Darbar Sahib complex. The Punjab was placed Under the President's rule on 6 October 1983. A ordinance declaring parts of the state a disturbed area was promulgated, and the police was given power to search, arrest or even shoot whom they will with immunity from legal action. Six additional divisions of the army including especially trained para commandos were inducted into Punjab by the end of May 1984. On 1 June, while the Sikhs had started preparations in the Golden Temple for the observation of the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan, which fell on the 3rd of June, strict curfew was clamped on Amritsar and surrounding districts. The actual assault of the army's operation nicknamed Blue Star took place on the night of 5-6 June 1984. A pitched battle ensued in which the army also used tanks and artillery. On the 7 Of June the dead body of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was located in the basement of the Akal Takht.

K-9 Obituary Goes Viral: Pass the Tissues

There is a heartrending moment when pet owners realize it's time to time to say a final goodbye to their loyal companions. For Massachusetts State Trooper Christopher Coscia, it came on a frigid morning in early January when Dante, his K-9 partner of more than eight years — a big, loyal, smart German shepherd — suffered yet another seizure in the fresh snow outside of their house. "He was so beautiful, he was hard not to love," Coscia tells Yahoo Shine. "Everybody just wanted to be with him." Coscia knew it would be best to let Dante go, but before bringing him in to be put to be sleep, the duo took what Coscia refers to as "One Last Ride" together, and described those bittersweet final hours in a moving obituary that he posted on the State Police Facebook page on Tuesday. 

Coscia says the obit was meant for his colleagues at headquarters who knew Dante, but he's since received an outpouring of love and support from strangers as far away as England, and the tribute has been liked more than 10,000 times.You can read the full text on the Massachusetts State Police.

"Dante was best described as a one-person dog," Coscia wrote. "Every morning when I opened the door to his kennel he would jump up on me, wrap his paws around my waist, get his morning greeting and pat from me, storm up the stairs, and push the door open ready to go to work." Coscia tells Yahoo Shine that the 9-year-old dog truly loved his job, and some days he didn't even want to get out of the patrol car to go home. "After my shift, I'd go to the car and open the door, and I'd have to grab him by the collar and say, 'That's it, work's over.'"

Coscia's letter outlines Dante's stunning career fighting crime throughout the state, documenting how he tracked down abductees and murderers; sniffed out illegal drugs, including more than 1,000 grams of heroin, more than 8,600 grams of cocaine, and at least 1,000 pounds of marijuana; and helped recover more than $14 million in cash. No doubt Dante was one intelligent dog –– so clever, in fact, that he learned how to open the cruiser door, a skill he used to get closer to his favorite human. "He took this new knowledge and taught himself to slide open the door that separated us in the cruiser, his way to always be close to me," Coscia wrote. "While on patrol he would stick his head through for his occasional ear rub.

As vibrant and strong as Dante appeared to be for much of his life, he suffered from incurable pulmonary hypertension, a disease that prevented him from absorbing enough oxygen. After a series of tests, his veterinarian found that Dante's heart had become enlarged and his brain was being suffocated. He had his first seizure around Thanksgiving. Coscia's wife and two children, who were only 1 and 3 when their beloved pup first joined the family, witnessed his last collapse in the yard through their kitchen window. "I realized my wife and two children had been intently watching us to make sure all was okay," Coscia wrote. "But it wasn't, and when I walked in the door, my wife and daughter were crying, knowing what was to be coming ... sooner than we were ready."

After more than 2,300 official rides together — not counting all those off-duty trips to friends' houses and family vacations  — it was time for Coscia and his partner to take that final tour. Even though Dante had barely been able to walk after his most recent seizure, Coscia was amazed at how alert his dog was in the cruiser. They circled for eight hours, putting off the inevitable grim task ahead. "How does the dog who can barely breathe remain upright and vigilant for so long?" he wondered. Before they reached their destination, Coscia pulled into a parking lot to compose his last goodbye with Dante by his side. "I write this story with tears in my eyes and flowing freely down my face. Dante is still somehow sitting upright watching me as I write about him, every once in awhile sticking his head through the cage, letting me know things will be alright."

Coscia tells Yahoo Shine that he hasn't been able to make it through a full reading of his completed letter, and that the loss of Dante has been rough on his whole family. But, he adds, a new K-9 recruit is helping them through their tough time. "Without Felix, it would have been impossible," he says, referring to the bouncy 3-year-old German shepherd whom he started training in September. "He's happy-go-lucky and always wagging his tail." Felix has his final exams this week, and if he passes, Coscia will soon be cruising with a new partner.

Most Laid-back Dog Breeds

Do you prefer an evening in, snuggling on the couch and watching Turner and Hooch for the 60th time, to going out for a big night of dancing? Does your exercise come in the form of a nice, relaxing stroll? When it comes to canine companions, does just the idea of a dog who needs someone to run and play with him for hours on end exhaust you? If so, one of these five dog breeds might be your new best friend.

We asked 122 veterinary professionals for their opinions on which dog breeds they considered the most laid-back, and their five top choices are listed below. One important thing to keep in mind with all these dogs (and any others, for that matter): "Laid-back" does not equal "needs no stimulation." All dogs need at least some level of exercise (mental and physical), not to mention some human interaction, and these breeds are no exception.

 

Basset Hound

The good-natured Basset Hound is happy to cuddle on the couch with you, but he's also a fan of long (but leisurely!) walks. But he's one of the most talented dozers out there; after that long walk, don't be surprised if he falls into a sleep so deep nothing but the smell of food will wake him for a fe

The Newfoundland is a member of the Working group and has a long history of serving on fishing boats in his native land, but this pup is perfectly happy spending his time chilling out indoors with his family. He's no couch potato, though - he's always up for a little activity. Maybe just not all the time like .

Bloodhound

Sweet and lovable - but with a reputation for stubbornness - the Bloodhound might have the most recognizable bay in all of dogdom. This hound is a solid worker whose tracking abilities are nothing short of legendary. While he might display a laid-back attitude, don't confuse that with laziness. He's happy as long as he's with his people and occupied, but if left to his own devices, he can easily become bored - and a bored Bloodhound is often a destructive one.

The Great Dane is a loyal companion who loves nothing more than sharing the couch with you. That being said, his large size means that "sharing the couch" could equate to him sprawling out on the sofa while you perch on an armrest. As long as he gets a short walk each day, he's generally calm enough for spaces you might consider too small for a dog of his magnitude. So, apartment dwellers, don't be intimidated.

Mastiff

Another gentle giant, the Mastiff can weigh 200 or more pounds, but he's a loving dog with a loyal and protective disposition. He's powerful and somewhat stubborn but tends to be a sweet and quiet member of the household - although his flatulence has been known to clear a room in less than five seconds flat. 

Kate Middleton and Prince William Put Finishing Touches on Their New Home

We've not seen much of the Duchess of Cambridge since the start of the New Year, but I can reveal that Kate and Prince William have been hard at work putting the finishing touches on their magnificent new home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk. Last week the pair were up at Sandringham, the Queen's 20,000-acre country estate, on which Anmer Hall is located. The vast Georgian pile was a present to William on his 30th birthday, and the couple plan to divide their time between Norfolk and their London residence, Kensington Palace, from now on. The hall has a swimming pool and tennis courts, and with a brand new conservatory adjoining the kitchen, it is the perfect pad for entertaining.

As well as meeting the builders and ensuring the final stages of the refurbishment are going to plan, I'm told the couple enjoyed some downtime.

How it took this long for a video clip of an elementary-school-aged Kate Middleton playing Eliza Doolittle on stage to emerge is truly a mystery; but it's not worth bemoaning the delay now-we should just revel in its charms. And charms there are! Even while playing an imposter duchess, Kate exhibits a regal, downright noble presence onstage. She also manages to elicit notable laughs from the crowd as she delivers the character's famous "The rain in Spain" dialogue, and doesn't seem to be affected by any sort of nerves.

 
"They were there to relax and have some time out from London and see how the property is coming along," my green-Wellied mole told me. While Kate has been hunting for pretty antiques in the nearby village of Holt, William has been taking a keen interest in ensuring the property is private and the family can relax there without the fear of being photographed by the paparazzi. A driveway has been re-routed and trees planted to shield the residence from the public.

The house was due to be finished at the end of last year, but the project ran over and the couple are due to move in imminently. Meanwhile, the Duchess is planning to begin her official solo royal engagements with a trip to the National Portrait Gallery on February 11th. Kensington Palace says the Duchess will be guest of honor at a gala dinner.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

Man passes the 1,000,000 mile mark in his 1988 Volvo

When Vic Dres bought his Volvo GLE in 1988 he was determined to drive the car one million miles and even got a personalized license plate that read “GL1000K” to declare his goal. The Grover Beach, California man told , that there were many doubters. He told the station, "I don't think they, they believed me at all. But since I've been working in Goleta for 17 years, then they said, ‘Oh you know what, your car’s going to go on.’"

Vic’s round trip work commute of over 160 miles allowed him to rack up 800,000 miles towards his goal. Each time Mr. Dres passed 100,000 more miles Volvo awarded him a medallion, all of which he proudly displays on his car. "I'll look in my rear view mirror and you know, they're counting, ‘What? What are those?’ And suddenly they'll say, ‘Oh my gosh, you know he's got 900 thousand miles in this car,’" said Dres.

When the California resident took a job just 6 miles from home, his march towards the million-mile target slowed. Dres chipped away at the remaining 200,000 miles from 2005 until just a few days ago when the magic moment came while on a drive to the Four Corners.

The Swedish vehicle still has its original engine and original gasket, and the owner claims there are no secrets to its longevity. Dres laughed, "Like five thousand miles you need a quart of oil, that's about it, it does not burn." He said that he just sticks with the standard maintenance that Volvo recommends like regular oil and fluid changes, and upkeep on belts and hoses.

Volvo will certify Mr. Dres’ milestone and honor him with a one million mile club medallion later this week. “I have a zero, zero, zero, eight hundred ninety eight right now. So, as of now, I have a new car. I mean a used one and then become a new one,” said Dres as he headed off to hit the two million mile mark.

While Vic Dres’ achievement is quite impressive, one million miles is not the world’s highest vehicle mileage. In 2013, Guinness World Record holder Irv Gordon passed the three million mile mark in his 1966 Volvo P1800.

Caterham Electric Bicycle is So Cool in So Many Ways

British automaker Caterham is quite the ambitious outfit. While their track cars are superb, the group is now talking about an SUV, a closed-top coupe, and a few other crazy ideas. But the first to actually take fruition is this electric bike — and it’s so freakin’ cool.

Like the ICON E-Flyer, the Caterhman trio of bicycles feature electric motors alongside standard bicycle pedals. Power comes in the form of a 36v, 250-watt brushless motor with a 36v lithium battery. The Carbon E-Bike (pictured below), also comes with an 8-speed Shinamo Nexus internally geared hub.

Alongside the Carbon E-Bike sits the Classic E-Bike — a more retro take on the electric bicycle. Putting to use the same electric technology, the Classic sports a 250w motor and a 3-speed internal hub. It also travels a distance of 50 miles from a single charge.

Both of these E-Bikes come with an LED dashboard, which reads out battery status, speedometer, trip computer and range indicator. Pricing has yet to be announced.

"IRON LADY" FROMER P.M. BENAZIR BHUTTO

Benazir Bhutto بينظير ڀٽو بے نظیر بھٹو

21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician and stateswoman who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1988 until October 1990, and 1993until her final dismissal on November 1996. She was the eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former prime minister of Pakistan and the founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which she led.

In 1982, at age 29, Benazir Bhutto became the chairperson of PPP – a centre-left, democratic socialist political party, making her the first woman in Pakistan to head a major political party. In 1988, she became the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state and was also Pakistan's first (and thus far, only) female prime minister. Noted for her charismatic authority and political astuteness, Benazir Bhutto drove initiatives for Pakistan's economy and national security, and she implemented social capitalist policies for industrial development and growth. In addition, her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the denationalisation of state-owned corporations, and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. Benazir Bhutto's popularity waned amid recession, corruption, and high unemployment which later led to the dismissal of her government by conservative President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

In 1993, Benazir Bhutto was re-elected for a second term after the 1993 parliamentary elections. She survived an attempted coup d'état in 1995, and her hard line against the trade unions and tough rhetorical opposition to her domestic political rivals and to neighbouring India earned her the nickname "Iron Lady"; she was also respectfully referred to as "B.B." In 1996, the charges of corruption levelled against her led to the final dismissal of her government by President Farooq Leghari. Benazir Bhutto conceded her defeat in the 1997 Parliamentary elections and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 1999.

After nine years of self-exile, she returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007, after having reached an understanding with President Pervez Musharraf, by whom she was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a bombing on 27 December 2007, after leaving PPP's last rally in the city of Rawalpindi, two weeks before the scheduled 2008 general election in which she was a leading opposition candidate. The following year, she was named one of seven winners of the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.

Queen's household finances under fire

Tuesday took aim at Queen Elizabeth II's household accountants, saying they must cut their costs and tackle a huge backlog of repairs to the monarch's crumbling palaces.

Palace officials must also do more to boost the royal family's income as they are dipping into reserve funds alarmingly often, parliament's public accounts committee said in a report.

The queen's reserves are down to a "historically low" £1 million ($1.65 million, 1.2 million euros), the report revealed.

Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge said lawmakers felt the queen had "not been served well" by her household accountants or by the Treasury, which is supposed to scrutinise royal spending.

"The household needs to get better at planning and managing its budgets for the longer term –- and the Treasury should be more actively involved in reviewing what the household is doing," she said.

The report warned that palace officials were failing to invest in repairs, with nearly 40 percent of the royal estate deemed to be in an unacceptable condition when assessments were made in March 2012.

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One MP on the committee recalled that he had noticed leaks in Buckingham Palace's picture gallery on a recent visit.

"The rain was coming in on the expensive paintings," he told the committee.

The Victoria and Albert Mausoleum, where the late queen Victoria and her husband prince Albert are buried, has been waiting for repairs for 18 years, the report said, while other problems include walls riddled with asbestos.

Some of Buckingham Palace's 775 rooms have not been refurbished for 60 years, a palace official told MPs.

"The household must get a much firmer grip on how it plans to address its maintenance backlog," said Hodge.

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A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said tackling repairs was "a significant financial priority for the royal household".

"Recent examples of work include the renewal of a lead roof over the royal library at Windsor and the removal of asbestos from the basement of Buckingham Palace," she said. "The need for property maintenance is continually assessed."

The committee acknowledged that the queen's household has managed to cut its net costs by 16 percent since 2007-8, but said most of this was through increasing its income, such as by opening the palace to tourists.

The royal household must do more to make efficiency savings, the report said.

It added that the palace should make sure it has "sufficient commercial expertise in place" in order to maximise the royal family's income, such as through tours, leasing its properties and making its facilities available for commercial events.

Officials have also considered opening the doors of Buckingham Palace more often in order to bring in more money from tourists, but decided there were too many "constraints" including high set-up costs, the report said.

Currently the palace is open to the public during August and September, when the queen takes her summer holiday in Scotland, and there are private guided tours at other times.

The palace told lawmakers it had already made significant efficiency savings and had been forced to dip into reserves because of the huge cost of the diamond jubilee celebrations marking the queen's 60th year on the throne in 2012.

Last year the queen received £31 million from the taxpayer to cover her staffing costs, travel and the maintenance of her palaces. The so-called Sovereign Grant is set to rise to £36.1 million in 2013-14 and to £37.9 million in 2014-15.

Hillary Clinton hasn't driven a car since 1996

She may be in the driver's seat when it comes to the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but Hillary Clinton says she hasn't driven a car in nearly 20 years.

"I have to confess that one of the regrets I have about my public life is that I can't drive anymore," Clinton said in a keynote speech at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans on Monday. "My husband thinks that's a blessing, but he's the one who should talk.

"Last time I actually drove a car myself was 1996, and I remember it very well," the former first lady continued. "Unfortunately so does the Secret Service, which is why I haven't driven since then."

During her most recent stint in the White House, as secretary of state, she wasn't alone in giving up her car keys. Vice President Joe Biden, a noted car enthusiast, told Car and Driver magazine that security concerns prevent him from getting behind the wheel.

"I still have my 1967 Goodwood-green Corvette, 327, 350-horse, with a rear-axle ratio that really gets up and goes," Biden said in a 2011 interview. "The Secret Service won’t let me drive it. I’m not allowed to drive anything. It’s the one thing I hate about this job. I’m serious."

But that hasn't always stopped Biden.

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"My brother has one of those 556-hp [CTS-V] Cadillacs with a manual," the vice president explained. "He brought it down for me to eat my heart out. So I got in. I have a driveway that’s about 1,700 feet long. I knew the Secret Service wouldn’t let me drive it outside. So I jumped on that sucker and laid rubber.  A great feeling."

While former President George W. Bush has been behind the wheel of a pick-up truck on numerous occasions since he took residence in the White House, driving for him has been contained to his ranch in Texas.

"I haven't driven on a street in many, many years," he said in a statement last year when he put a truck up for auction to benefit military families. "but I have been able to drive this truck on my ranch."

During the automakers speech, Clinton also confessed to her biggest regret as secretary of state.

She said that the killing of four Americans during an attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was "a terrible tragedy."

THE ENVIRONMENTALLY DIRTIEST CARS FOR 2014

Unlike the ACEEE’s assortment of most eco-benign models, which were dominated by Japanese automakers (Honda and Toyota alone accounting for seven out of the 12 models cited), the “dirty dozen” vehicles for 2014 all come from domestic and European brands, including the burly Ram 2500 pickup and the Bugatti Veyron supercar.

How mean are they? The ACEEE’s  greenest car for 2014, the tiny two-seat Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, earned a “Green Score” of 59, which is the highest rating for a passenger car ever recorded by the ACEEE. By comparison, the aforementioned Ram 2500 received a rock bottom 18 points.

While the most environmentally friendly new vehicles for 2014 are, as one might expect, an amenable assortment of hybrids, electric cars and fuel-frugal gasoline-powered models, most of us would probably pay heed to the little cartoon devils whispering in our ears and find the assortment of rides at the other end of the eco spectrum to be far more appealing.
The ACEEE determines its Green Score rankings according to combination of factors that take into account a vehicle’s fuel economy and its tailpipe emissions. The latter include health-damaging and smog-forming airborne pollutants like hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, as well as greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. The Green Scores also consider such factors as emissions estimates for a vehicle’s manufacturing process, disposal impact and the sources of energy used to generate power for electric cars.

And even if you’re in the market for a purposeful pickup truck or midlife crisis indulging sporty car, keep in mind that neither necessarily has to be a Mother Nature-defiling gas guzzler. The ACEEE also identifies widely available, and in many cases, more practical and affordable, “greener” choices in a wide range of model categories on its greenercars.org website. The site also includes eco-ratings of more than 1,000 separate vehicle configurations, albeit available only on a subscription basis ($8.95 for 30 days or $19.95 for 12 months). Meanwhile, information on fuel economy and tailpipe emissions ratings for all new (and previous model-year) cars and trucks can also be found at no cost on the Environmental Protection Agency’s.

DR. B. R. AMBEDKAR GREATEST MAN

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.

Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.

In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.

The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.

After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.

In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.

When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.

Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.

In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.

In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.

In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.

On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.

China Moon Rover Hits Snag in Big Lunar Science Mission

The Chang’e 3 moon mission survived its first chilly and lengthy lunar night in early January.

A single "day" on the moon lasts about 28 Earth days, meaning the lunar daytime is nearly two Earth weeks long. During that 14-day/14-night cycle, temperatures on the moon are very hot in the daytime, about 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius). At night, the lunar surface gets extremely cold, a bitter minus 280 degrees F (minus 173 degrees C). [The Moon: 10 Surprising Facts]

Hardware survival on the moon is considered a major triumph, with the lander and rover using novel thermal technology, solar panels and so-called "nuclear batteries."

The Chang'e 3 mission landed on the moon Dec. 14 Beijing time, making China only the third country in the world to achieve such a moon feat after the former Soviet Union and the United States. The lander and its rover set down on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) just east of an over 1,475-foot (450 meters) diameter impact crater.

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The mobile Yutu rover is designed to operate for at least three months, while its stationary lander is expected to work for one year. Both the instrumented lander and the six-wheeled Yutu rover are being controlled from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC).

Early lunar science look

After awaking from its first hibernation period, the Yutu moon rover completed its first "taste test" of lunar soil using its sensor-mounted robot arm.

"Accuracy control of the mechanical arm at a distance of 380,000 kilometers has been realized in the probe, marking China's breakthrough in controlling a mechanical arm with high precision on the lunar surface," said Wu Fenglei, deputy director of the system design department at the BACC, according to Xinhua.

An early look at how the Chang'e 3 mission is behaving has also been released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

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The Chang'e 3 lander is equipped with four instruments: an optical telescope, an extreme ultraviolet camera, a landing camera, and a topography camera. The Yutu rover, meanwhile, carries four instruments of its own: a ground penetrating radar, a particle excitation X-ray spectrometer, an infrared imaging spectrometer, as well as panoramic camera.

According to CAS, the scientific goals of China's first robotic lunar landing are divided into a trio of assignments: investigating the surface of the moon, observing the sky and monitoring the Earth.

Except for the particle excitation X-ray spectrometer and the infrared imaging spectrometer, the other instruments were powered on shortly after the Chang'e 3 lander's touchdown. Science data from the moon-based equipment were received by two ground stations, one in Beijing and the other in Kunming, situated in Southwest China.

Earthrise from the moon

Between Dec. 14 and 26, the rover and lander spent their first lunar day on the lunar surface. Eight sets of scientific instruments were powered on and tested.

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"In the test phase, all of the instruments worked as well as expected. Large amounts of science data had been received," according to the preliminary science document, translated and provided to SPACE.com by Yong-Chun Zheng of the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).

For example, a view of Earthrise on the moon was captured on Dec. 23 by the lander's topography camera. Also, the lander-mounted optical telescope observed three different patches of the sky in the near ultraviolet band on Dec. 16, taking in 23 stars located in the constellation Draco. Imagery of the Earth's plasmasphere was taken Dec. 16 by the lander’s extreme ultraviolet camera.

Meanwhile, the nearly 310 lbs. (140 kilograms) Yutu rover was busy too, making use of a belly-mounted Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The subsurface structure of the landing site was profiled at different depths, using two GPR observation channels.

Data collected by the rover's particle X-ray device has helped scientists identify 11 types of chemical elements on the moon, such as magnesium, aluminum, calcium and yttrium.