Hollywood movies released in December 2008

DECEMBER 3, 2008

CROSSING OVER - Starring Harrison Ford and Jim Sturgess

DECEMBER 5, 2008

CADILLAC RECORDS - Starring Beyonce Knowles and Adrien Brody

FROST/NIXON - Starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - Starring Ray Stevenson and Dominic West

DECEMBER 12, 2008

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - Starring Jennifer Connelly and Keanu Reeves
Sci-Fi
A remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic about a humanoid aliennamed Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) who arrives on Earth accompanied by an indestructible, heavily armed robot and a warning to world leaders that their continued aggression will lead to annihilation by species watching from afar.
DOUBT - Starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS - Starring John Leguizamo and Freddy Rodriguez

DECEMBER 17, 2008

GRAN TORINO - Starring Clint Eastwood
THE WRESTLER - Starring Mickey Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood

DECEMBER 19, 2008

THE BROTHERS BLOOM - Starring Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody
SEVEN POUNDS - Starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson
THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX - Starring Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick
YES MAN - Starring Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel
Comedy
The story centers on a man who decides to change his life by saying yes to everything that comes his way.

DECEMBER 25, 2008

BEDTIME STORIES - Starring Adam Sandler and Keri Russell
Family
The life of a busy architect (Adam Sandler) takes a crazy turn when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to come true.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett
MARLEY AND ME - Starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD - Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
THE SPIRIT - Starring Scarlett Johansson and Gabriel Macht
VALKYRIE - Starring Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh

DECEMBER 31, 2008

DEFIANCE - Starring Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell

Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Some, such as the exotic car crashes, can be very expensive. But that's trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss". Our aim is to list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.

This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents and therefore are not included in this list.

Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Some, such as the exotic car crashes, can be very expensive. But that's trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss". Our aim is to list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.

This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents and therefore are not included in this list.

1. Chernobyl
$200 Billion
On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl, including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

2. Space Shuttle Columbia
$13 Billion
The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today's dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.
In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

3. Prestige Oil Spill
$12 Billion
On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia, Spain. Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.

According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

4. Challenger Explosion
$5.5 Billion
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today's dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today's dollars).


5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig
$3.4 Billion
The world's worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world's single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day.. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world's most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.
Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

6. Exxon Valdez
$2.5 Billion
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world's biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship's master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

7. B-2 Bomber Crash
$1.4 Billion
Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we're only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.
The crash was captured on video. It shows one B-2 Bomber successfully taking off followed by the B-2 Bomber which crashes. The crash starts at 2:00

8. MetroLink Crash
$500 Million
On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles. It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.
9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge
$358 Million
On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany. The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

10. Titanic
$150 Million
The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today's dollars).

Source:-http://www.nidokidos.org/

Did you ever drink from a plastic bottle and see a triangle symbol on the bottom with a number inside?

Do you know what the number stands for?

Did you guess that it's just for recycling?

Then you are WRONG!!!!!!

THE NUMBER TELLS YOU THE CHEMICAL MAKE UP OF THE PLASTIC.....

1) Polyethylene terephalate (PET)

2) High density polyethylene (HDPE)

3) Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) or Plasticised polyvinyl chloride (PPVC)

4) Low density polyethylene LDPE

5) Polypropylene (PP)

6) Polystyrene (PS) or Expandable polystyrene (EPS)

7) Other, including nylon and acrylic What you aren't told is that many of the plastics used are toxic and the chemicals used to create a plastic can leach out of the plastic and into the food / drink. Think about it, how many times have you or a friend said "I don't like this, it taste like the plastic bottle ..... "

THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE TASTING THE PLASTIC

The WORST ONES are Nos: 3, 6, and 7 !!!

DO NOT USE THESE NUMBERS if stated at the bottom of the bottle) !!!

Check out this chart that breaks down the plastic, its uses and chemical makeup (I find #7 a little scary) http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/guide_ref/guide_plascod3.html

AVOID re-using plastic bottles RIGHT AWAY !!!

Missing monk (Ven. Sivuralamulle Dhammasiri thera ) found

The Buddhist monk in the Ampara district who went missing since Nov 11 evening, had been found moments ago. Police said that the monk Ven. Sivuralamulle Dhammasiri thera was found kept inside a cave in the jungle.

Source:-www.dailymirror.lk

Related News:-

Police, backed by STF commandos, are combing the Kudumbigala jungle at Panama in Ampara for a Buddhist monk who is reported missing since November 11th afternoon. Accompanied by Civil Defence Force members, the monk, Ven. Kiralumulle Dhammasiri Thera, had gone by cab to the place to handover some needs to his father at a hermitage atop a hill in the area.After waiting for his return, the CDF men had gone to the place this morning, but found only the undergarment and the umbrella of the monk there.According to the police spokesman, search parties have so far failed to find any clue of the missing monk.

(Source: www.lankadissent.com)

Related Links:-

http://www.vimasuma.com/new_full_story.php?subcatcode=1&newscode=1222090992

http://www.vimasuma.com/new_full_story.php?subcatcode=2&newscode=1817252309

\http://www.lankadissent.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2387:search-in-ampara-for-missing-monk&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=32018

Barack Obama Wins US Election

Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States of America, John McCain, and will be sworn in as the first African-American to hold the nation's highest office. The electoral college tally as of now stands at Obama 338 and McCain 155.
With his projected win, Obama will become the nation's 44th president.

Democratic Senator Barack Obama says "change has come to America", after being elected the first black president of the United States.

Electoral College votes
Winning post 270
Obama – Democrat 349
McCain - Republican 162

For more details about Barack Obama read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama