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Showing posts from June, 2011

Black magic

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Black magic is the belief of practices of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers. This type of magic is invoked when wishing to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its uses, commonly in a ritualistic setting; the argument of "magic having no color, and it is merely the application and use by its user," backs the claim that not everything termed as "black magic" has malevolent intentions behind it, and some would consider it to have beneficial and benevolent uses. These uses could include killing diseases or pests. Practitioners who use magic in this way argue that the effect itself is malevolent by causing death to insects (as in the above example), but as an indirect consequence of black magic, good can be a result, such as in the form of less pests around. In this school of thought, there is n

MALANG

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Malang is the second largest city in East Java province, Indonesia . It has an ancient history dating back to the Mataram Kingdom . The city population at the present time is around 780,000. During the period of Dutch colonization, it was a popular destination for European residents. The city is famous for its cool air and the surrounding country regions of Tumpang, Batu, Singosari, and Turen. People in East Java sometimes call it "Paris of East Java." Malang was spared many of the effects of the Asian financial crisis, and since that time it has been marked by steady economic and population growth. History Hundreds, even thousands of years ago before Malang became the second biggest city in East Java, Malang used to be the centre of government of the Kanjuruhan and Singhasari Kingdom. In the following era, Malang regency became an important place when the government of Mataram Kingdom took hold of the area, making it the largest regency in East Java and sinc

Cigarette

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A cigarette (French: "small cigar", from cigare + -ette) is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well. Most modern manufactured cigarettes are filtered and include reconstituted tobacco and other additives. The term cigarette, as commonly used, refers to a tobacco cigarette but can apply to similar devices containing other herbs, such as cloves or cannabis. A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its smaller size, use of processed leaf, and paper wrapping, which is normally white, though other colors are occasionally available. Cigars are typically composed entirely of whole-leaf tobacco. Rates of cigarette smoking vary widely, and have changed considerably over the course of history – since cigarettes were first widely used

KOH I NOOR "Mountain of Light"

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The Kōh-i Nūr   which means " Mountain of Light " in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat (21.6 g) diamond (in its most recent cut) that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-i-noor (the " Sea of Light "). It has belonged to various Hindu, Mughal, Persian, Afghan, Sikh and British rulers who fought bitterly over it at various points in history and seized it as a spoil of war time and time again. It was finally seized by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. History Koh-i-Noor originated in the Guntur region of the Hindu Kakatiya kingdom, in what is now the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, one of the world's earliest diamond producing regions. This region was the only known source for diamonds until 1730 when diamonds w

recently discovered tribe in Brazil

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Just when you thought every nook and cranny of the globe was explored, news out of Brazil on Monday revealed a previously unknown tribe hidden deep in the jungle. Brazilian authorities claim to have pinpointed the location of a community of ancient and uncontacted tribespeople in one of the most remote corners of the world's largest rainforest. This indigenous Amazonian community was discovered after three small forest clearings were detected on satellite images, according to Fabricio Amorim, a regional coordinator for Brazil 's indigenous foundation, Funai. Flyover expeditions commenced in April, confirming the community's existence. The government agency, known by its Portuguese acronym Funai, uses airplanes to avoid disrupting isolated groups. Brazil has a policy of not contacting such tribes but working to prevent the invasion of their land to preserve their autonomy. Funai estimates 68 isolated populations live in the Amazon. Four straw-roofed huts, flanked

king Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud [1906 – March 25, 1975]

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Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (1906 – March 25, 1975)   was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975. As king, he is credited with rescuing the country's finances and implementing a policy of modernization and reform, while his main foreign policy themes were pan-Islamism, anti-Communism, and pro-Palestinian nationalism. He successfully stabilized the kingdom's bureaucracy and his reign had significant popularity among Saudis. In 1975, he was assassinated by his nephew Faisal bin Musaid for unclear reasons but popularly believed to have been killed through a Western conspiracy. ineage Faisal was born in Riyadh . He was the third son of Saudi Arabia 's founder, Abdul-Aziz. Faisal's mother was Tarfa bint Abduallah bin Abdulateef al Sheekh, whom Abdul-Aziz had married in 1902 after capturing Riyadh . She was a descendant of Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab, and her father was one of Abdul-Aziz's principal religious teachers and advisers. By the time of his father'

Ayman al-Zawahiri is the new leader of Al-Qaeda

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Ayman al-Zawahiri is the new leader of Al-Qaeda following Osama bin Laden’s death, according to a message that appeared on several jihadist websites. The decision to appoint al-Zawahiri leader was made out of respect to the “righteous martyrs” and to honor bin Laden’s legacy, the announcement said. The message also said that the fight against “apostate invaders” will continue “until all invading armies leave the land of Islam.” Al-Qaeda is known to disseminate information through its affiliate websites. Recently, news surfaced that Mi6 agents hacked an Al-Qaeda online magazine, which contained bomb-making instructions, but the network managed to reissue the magazine and later publish four more editions. Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda’s longtime leader, was killed in a secret compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, in May. Even before the death of bin Laden, al-Zawahiri was considered the leader of Al-Qaeda, but the Thursday’s announcement on the jihadist websites makes that official. [via CNN

Leader of the Birds Hoopoe [HUD HUD ]

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The Hoopoe is classified in the Coraciiformes clade, a group that also includes kingfishers, bee-eaters, rollers, and woodhoopoes (forming a clade with this one according to Hackett et al. (2008). A close relationship between the Hoopoe and the woodhoopoes is also supported by the shared and unique nature of their stapes. In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the Hoopoe is separated from the Coraciiformes as a separate order, the Upupiformes. Some authorities place the woodhoopoes in the Upupiformes as well. The fossil record of the hoopoes is very incomplete, with the earliest fossil coming from the Quaternary. The fossil record of their relatives is older, with fossil woodhoopoes dating back to the Miocene and those of an extinct related family, the Messelirrisoridae, dating from the Eocene. It is the only extant member of its family, although some treatments consider some of the subspecies as separate species. Several authors have separated the Madagascan subspecies (U. e. marginata)