In recent history there have been some amazing secret military and intelligence operations undertaken. This list looks at 10 of the most interesting or important. Be sure to use the comments to mention others that may not be included here.




1. Operation Paperclip


After the defeat of the Nazis during World War II, there was a scramble by all the major powers (U.S., U.K. and Russia) to capture the leading Nazi scientists and intelligence agents. The US operation was named operation paperclip. Many Nazi scientists were captured as a result – the most famous of whom were Wenher Von Braun and Arthur Rudolph, who helped the U.S. develop rockets for space exploration and, ultimately, the moon landing. The most famous of the intelligence agents recruited was Reinhard Gehlen, who was used to set up a spy ring against the Soviet Union (known as the Gehlen Organization). He also helped train the Israeli Special Forces Mossad.









2. Operation MKULTRA


Inspired by North Korea’s brainwashing program, the CIA began experiments on mind control. While including hypnosis and I.Q. tests, the most notorious part of this project involved giving LSD, and other drugs, to American subjects. In one reported case, a subject was given LSD continuously for 77 days. Scottish scientist Donal Ewen Cameron was also involved, in attempting to remove schizophrenia by erasing all memories and reprogramming the individual. His experiments included putting subjects into drug-induced comas for weeks at a time, while playing tapes of noise or simple repetitive statements.









3. Operation Anthropoid


This was the code name for the plan to assassinate Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, in 1942. Many called Heydrich The Hangman of Prague, due to his part in the planning of the killing of millions of Jews through “The Final Solution”. Two soldiers from the Czechoslovakian Army based in Britain were assigned, Josef Gabcik and Jan Kubis. On May 27, 1942, during, Heydrich’s daily commute, Gabcík and Kubiš waited at a tram stop. As Heydrich’s open-topped car neared the pair, Gabcík stepped in front of the vehicle, trying to open fire, but his gun jammed. Heydrich ordered his driver to stop the car. When Heydrich stood up to try to shoot Gabcík, Kubiš threw a grenade at the vehicle, and its fragments ripped through the car’s embedding shrapnel into Heydrich’s body. Heydrich, got out of the car, returned fire and tried to chase Gabcík, but collapsed. The assassins were initially convinced that the attack had failed. But after surgery, and several days in hospital, Heydrich died from infections from the wounds.











4. Operation Pluto


Better known as the Bay of Pigs invasion, although conceived by the Eisenhower administration, it came to define the early days of the J.F.K. presidency. The plans involved an invasion of southern Cuba by CIA trained Cuban rebels, with the help of American air support. The planners had imagined that the invasion would spark a popular uprising against Castro, which never happened, due to underestimated support for him. A promised American air strike also never occurred. This is the CIA’s first major public setback, causing President Kennedy to fire CIA Director of the time, Allen Dulles. Interestingly, Operation Pluto was also the name used for a WWII attempt to build a major oil pipeline in the sea between France and England.



 






5. Operation Wrath of God


After the Terrorist group Black September kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics in 1972, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad decided to seek revenge under Operation Wrath of God. During this time, covert Israeli assassination units killed dozens of suspected conspirators across Europe. The string of assassinations spurred retaliations and criticism of Israeli. The film Munich outlined these events.













6. Operation Eiche


After the allied invasion of Sicily and the collapse of the Italian government, Mussolini was arrested by King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, and imprisoned. Mussolini was imprisoned at the Campo Imperatore Hotel in the ski resort in Italy’s Gran Sasso. Otto Skorzeny was personally selected by Hitler to carry out the mission, and intercepted a coded message by the Italians to discovered Mussolini’s whereabouts. Skorzeny joined the Luftwaffe paratroopers when they crashed gliders into nearby mountains, before overwhelming the Italians without a shot being fired. Mussolini received a hero’s welcome at Hotel Imperial in Austria.













7. Operation Entebbe


Carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces, this was a rescue of 248 people from an Air France plane at Entebbe Airport, in Uganda. The Plane had been hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), while going from Athens to Paris. On July 4th, 1976, a raid took place at night by 100 elite Israeli commandos, after landing near the airport in three Hercules transport planes. The operation took only 35 minutes, the commandos caught the hijackers by surprise and killed all seven, as well as 20 Ugandan soldiers. Three hostages were killed as well as one Israeli commando, all other hostages were taken to Israel.













8. Operation Neptune Spear/Geronimo


The attack on Osama Bin Laden’s safe house in Bilal town, Abbottbad, Pakistan, occurred at 1:00 a.m. when the walls were breached by around 20 Navy SEALS using explosives. An airborne unit of the US special operations command, known as the Night Stalkers, provided two modified Black Hawk Helicopters and two Chinooks as backups. The SEALS split into two groups, one group taking to the main house. This group found Bin Laden on the third floor, unarmed, and shot him twice, one hit the left side of his head, another hit his chest. After the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden’s body to Afghanistan for identification, then buried it at sea within 24 hours of his death. There is currently some backlash as a result of the non involvement of the Pakistani intelligence (ISI) during the operation.

















9. Operation Valkyrie


While not successful in its end goal (assassinating Adolf Hitler) it is the most famous (helped by the Tom Cruise film). The Attempt was made by Claus Von Stauffenberg and other anti-Nazi Germans. With the Normandy invasion many believed the end of the Nazi regime was forthcoming, and the plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime. It was decided Claus would deliver the bomb, as he had close access to Hitler. The attempt was called off twice, because the conspirators wanted to kill other high ranking Nazi officials, also. Eventually, on the 20th July 1944, Colonel von Stauffenberg entered a conference room, moved up close to Hitler and placed the briefcase containing the bomb on the floor beside the German leader. A few minutes later, he left the room with the excuse of taking a phone call. It was later learned that after von Stauffenberg had placed the bomb and left the room, Colonel Heinz Brandt had found the briefcase in his way and moved it to the other side of a heavy table leg away from Hitler. When the bomb exploded, Hitler escaped with an injured hand and damaged eardrums.



               
 

World's longest bridge opens in China

World's longest cross-sea bridge opens in China (The video's owner prevents external embedding)

The 26.4 mile-long Qingdao Haiwan Bridge - the world's longest bridge over sea water - opens to traffic in China.

The marathon-length Qingdao Haiwan Bridge would easily span the English Channel and is almost three miles longer than the previous record-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the American state of Louisiana.

The vast structure links the centre of the booming port city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province with the suburb of Huangdao, spanning the wide blue waters of Jiaozhou Bay.


The bridge is expected to carry over 30,000 cars a day and will cut the commute between the city of Qingdao and the sprawling suburb of Huangdao by between 20 and 30 minutes.


The sheer scale of the bridge reveals further recent advances made by Chinese engineering.
China is already home to seven of the world's 10 lengthiest bridges, including the world's longest, the 102-mile Danyang-Kunshan rail bridge, which runs over land and water near Shanghai.

Lavoo ji ajj sadde Mod sabh ©od€nam€ 47 da birthday aa... saree bande de putt ban ke birthday wish karoo... lol

Oddan munda sadda bhut sau aa.. bus oh vakri gal aa... ke Kuriya nal kadde kadde jayada he friendly ho janda - mere warge nu fer evve lagda ke kuri sherrda aa... Challo anyways let cut the off topic crap...

Ek warr fer sadde mod sabh nu Janam din de lakh lakh wadiye hove ji  :happy: :hug:

Airbus, who unveiled its vision of the future ahead of next week’s Paris Air show, painted a picture in which everyone on board would be pampered irrespective of how much they paid for a ticket.
In fact cabin classes will be consigned to history. Instead there will be personalised zones, tailored to individual passengers.

No longer will they feel trapped in a darkened tube, instead they will enjoy panoramic views of the skies above and the world below.

Flying fatigue will be a thing of the past, instead a “vitalising zone” will enable people to recharge their batteries so they arrive refreshed rather than exhausted at their destination.

The sense of well being will be enhanced by the use of aromatherapy, with stale cabin air being replaced by aromatherapy scents complete with antioxidants and vitamins being wafted across the plane.

Mood lighting will be used to make passengers feel better and instead of being squeezed into a one-size fits all seat, they will be enveloped in one which moulds to their body.

The seat will not only apply acupuncture but use the heat generated by the passenger to provide some of the power needed to fly the aircraft.

Airbus also believes that the plane of the future will no longer be isolated from the ground below, instead an interactive zone will use holograms to make it possible to play a game of virtual golf or even try on clothes in a virtual changing room.

The plane will, thanks to the use of new materials, be lighter, consume less fuel and have a far lower carbon footprint than aircraft in the skies today.

“Our research shows that passengers of 2050 will expect a seamless travel experience while also caring for the environment,” said Charles Champion, Airbus Executive Vice President Engineering,
“The Airbus Concept Cabin is designed with that in mind, and shows that the journey can be as much a voyage of discovery as the destination.”

The new see-through plane of the future

If you dont know to flirt... Let baba ramdev handle that too... from beginning to 1:41 mins....


N THE GIRL BLUSHEDDDD  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Baba Ramdev Gets Personal - Part1

patendar asse evve daulle baunde reh geye gym wich.. patendar ne "Madur madur" karke kuri patt leye :hehe:

A mother passing by her daughter's bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was addressed, "Mom." With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Mom: It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you. I've been finding real passion with Ahmed and he is so nice-even with all his piercings, tattoos, beard, and his motorcycle clothes. But it's not only the passion Mom, I'm pregnant and Ahmed said that we will be very happy. He already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. He wants to have many more children with me and that's now one of my dreams too. Ahmed taught me that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone and we'll be growing it for us and trading it with his friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Ahmed can get better; he sure deserves it!! Don't worry Mom, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your grand children.

Your daughter, Judith

PS: Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at the neighbor's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card that's in my desk center drawer. I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home.

*What Does Love Mean?*
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:


"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That's Love. Rebecca - age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." Karl - age 5

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." Danny - age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss" Emily - age 8

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." Nikka - age 6

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday." Noelle - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." Tommy - age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." Cindy - age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." Clare - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." Elaine-age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." Chris - age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." Mary Ann - age 4

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you" Karen - age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." Mark - age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. (Now this will melt your heart.) The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When
his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

PARIS — This time, it felt less like "au revoir" and more like farewell for Roger Federer.
What may have been the great man's last best chance to beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open has come and gone.
And so, some will say, and perhaps not outlandishly, have his best years.
The verdict from France's red clay was merciless, yet again.
As magnificent as Federer is, and he acquitted himself so sublimely at Roland Garros on Sunday that his magnificence must still be described in the present tense, his four lost French finals to Nadal are a blot — well, perhaps more of an inkspot — on the greatest career tennis has seen.
Correction. Make that greatest career seen so far.
Nadal is collecting Grand Slam titles at a pace that, if it continues, could see him eclipse Federer's high water mark of 16.
That, of course, is a lot of "ifs." Judging from his fine play here, Federer could still win yet more majors, with his sights already set on his own personal favourite, Wimbledon, next.
Other ifs are Nadal's knees and assorted joints. They've seized up in the past and, given the pounding he gives them, could always do so again. Plus, Nadal moaned at this tournament about how hard he grinds to stay at the top of tennis, saying the sport he believes should be a "passion" sometimes feels too much "like work."
That is not to say that the No. 1 is anywhere close to even thinking about easing up. But it takes a truly special player to match the gold standard of motivation that Federer has set since he bagged his first major in 2003.
And there's Novak Djokovic to consider, too. Even though Federer ended his 43-match winning streak in the semifinals here, he has muscled his way, permanently one feels, into the Roger-Rafa rivalry. Given his youth, the 24-year-old Serb could be Nadal's next big rival after Federer, who'll hit his 30s this August.
This final, like so many of the previous 24 Rafa-Roger matchups, should have been broadcast with a health warning: Caution, you will be glued to your set.
The 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 score didn't capture just how fluctuating and intense this contest was. A Federer backhand drop shot that plopped just wide of the line would have, had it gone in, given him the first set. It felt like a turning point, and it produced the kind of doubt that will become more inevitable with every passing year: Would that ball have landed inside the court during his younger years when Federer was practically unbeatable?
Maybe.
Similar questions were thrown up by his repeatedly wayward forehands. Federer of old perhaps wouldn't have let Nadal off the hook quite so often.
Which is one reason why this felt like Federer's best last chance against Nadal at Roland Garros, a tournament the Swiss has won just once, in 2009, when Nadal had already been sent home to some fishing in Mallorca.
Federer said Sunday he'll be back next year. But he won't be any younger.
Plus, Nadal showed signs of fragility at times during these two weeks in Paris, kicking himself on occasion for not playing to his own high, exacting standards. Federer, on the other hand, didn't lose a set until his impressive victory against Djokovic.
Nadal now has 10 majors.
Federer was 25 years, 173 days when he hit double digits.
Nadal got there 171 days faster.
Not a margin to write home about. But proof, nonetheless, that when Federer looks behind him, there's a looming Spanish shadow.
If Nadal was a boxer, he'd be billed as The Man with the Iron Chin.
Federer chucked the kitchen sink at him on Sunday. Still, he wouldn't go down.
Forehands that zipped off Federer's racket with a "pop," zany-angled backhands that looked to be scudding out of court: Nadal hunted almost everything down like a hound told to "Fetch!"
Often, he not only retrieves seemingly lost balls but somehow manages to whip them back with interest, too. So where one venomous crosscourt winner might suffice against lesser players, Federer needs two, three or more cannon balls to breach the chateau-like defences of Nadal.
When it comes off, one can only sit back and applaud Federer's tenacity and ability to make such a succession of fine shots. If at first you don't succeed ...
Because he is forced to make plays, Federer had many more winners — 53 to 39 — than Nadal.
But by hurling his artistry back at him, Nadal also forced Federer into mistakes. Federer had twice as many unforced errors, 56 to 27.
In short, Nadal forced Federer to lose beautifully.
"I like to see him running left and right and left and right and see how long he can sustain it, you know?" Federer said. "Mixing it up. That's what I always do, and he does his things ... You know, I think he's happy to be Rafa; I'm happy to be Roger. That's why we like to play each other, maybe."
It's also why we like to watch them.
Appreciate it while it lasts.

THE MALDIVES

- The Maldives, officially Republic of Maldives, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls stretching in a north-south direction. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, 402 km (250 mi) south-west of India
- The chain of islands is an archipelago, which are in reality the tops of a vast undersea mountain range in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The atolls of the Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square km (34,750 sq miles), making it one of the most dispersed countries in the world in geographic terms
- It features 1,192 islands, of which two hundred are inhabited. The Republic of Maldives’s capital and largest city is Malé, with a population of 103,693 (as of 2006)
- The Maldives are the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in)
- The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate of the country by acting as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of Maldives ranges between 24 °C (75 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated
- Two seasons dominate Maldives’ weather: the dry season associated with the winter northeastern monsoon and the rainy season which brings strong winds and storms. The shift from the moist southwest monsoon to the dry northeast monsoon occurs during April and May
- During this period, the northeast winds contribute to the formation of the northeast monsoon, which reaches Maldives in the beginning of June and lasts until the end of August. However, the weather patterns of Maldives do not always conform to the monsoon patterns of South Asia
- The annual rainfall averages 2,540 millimetres (100 inches) in the north and 3,810 millimetres (150 inches) in the south
- The Maldivesè waters are home to wide variety of ecosystems, but it is most noted for their variety of colourful coral reefs, home to some 300 species of fish

Chennai: What would have been on Chennai Super Kings' wish list before this final? 1) Win toss on a slow pitch. 2) Great start by the openers. 3) Remove Chris Gayle for a duck. PS: While we are it why not knock out AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli cheaply? They got all that. Chennai produced a near-perfect game and mauled Royal Challengers Bangalore to lift their second IPL trophy.

M Vijay has rarely converted his starts this IPL and Michael Hussey hasn't sparkled in the previous few games. So what they do on the day of the big finale? They amass a sizzling 159-run partnership to launch Chennai to a massive total at the Chidambaram Stadium. R Ashwin then derailed the chase by packing off Gayle for a duck in the first over. Game over.

It was the ease with which the runs flowed and the calm manner in which they were accumulated by the Chennai openers that caught the eye. There were several big shots but nearly all of them were in conventional zones. There was just one bad shot in the first 14 overs. Just one. In the 10th over, Vijay had just played a nonchalant flick that sailed just clear of a lunging Luke Pomersbach on the deep-midwicket boundary. He then tried to slog the next ball across the line and edged it to the leg side. The reaction of the players reflected their awareness of the need to keep adrenalin in check: Vijay shadow practiced a straighter arc of the bat and Hussey rushed across to have a long chat.

For the duration of the partnership, which lasted 14.5 overs, they complemented each other with contrasting approaches. Hussey punctuated his bunts, chips and drives with the occasional big hit - the highlight was a monstrous heave off Syed Mohammad that crashed into the roof beyond wide long-on. Vijay went the other way. He punctuated his flamboyant on-the-up hits with quieter punches for singles and twos. They both ran between the wickets hard and fast and the scoring-rate never flagged. Vijay grew increasingly tired but it was Hussey who fell first, swatting a full toss from Mohammad to long-on. By then, they had laid a great platform.

It was Vijay who started the mayhem off the final delivery of the second over with a special shot. It was a short-of-length delivery with little room for maneuvering, or so it seemed, but Vijay wafted it on the up and through the line for a flamboyant six over long-on. Hussey pulled the next delivery, from Zaheer Khan, over the backward square-leg boundary to launch the assault. They repeated that double-dose of sixes again. Hussey swung the final delivery of the fifth over, bowled by Mohammad, over the midwicket boundary and Vijay lifted the next ball, from Chris Gayle, over long-on. Chennai reached 56 for 0 in six overs and kept going from strength to strength.

They started their bowling in the same way. Ashwin just needed three deliveries to remove the chief thorn in their path. The first two turned sharply away from Gayle before the third swerved in from round the stumps and skidded on to collect the edge from an attempted cut. de Villiers reeled off a few big shots but was trapped by Shadab Jakati and Suresh Raina had Kohli lbw to sew up the game for Chennai.

In contrast Bangalore slipped on the little things that matter on this stage. In the Powerplay, there were three instances of fielders succumbing to adrenalin rushes and indulging in needless throws; one, from Saurabh Tiwary, even went to the boundary. Pomersbach could have done a better job in seizing that chance from Vijay in the 10th over, and S Aravind messed up an opportunity to run out Hussey in the 12th over. Vijay, the non-striker, had called Hussey for a risky single and Aravind, the bowler who picked up the ball at short mid-on, flung it wide at the non-striker's end. There was another instance in the 11th over when the bowler, Mohammad, flung himself full stretch to his right but couldn't hang on to a difficult chance offered by Vijay. It was that kind of day. Things just didn't go right for Bangalore and everything went according to script for Chennai.