Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Preak Vihea temple world heritage

Brief Description Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of Cambodia, the Temple of Preah Vihear is dedicated to Shiva. The Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800 metre long axis and dates back to the first half of the 11th century AD. Nevertheless, its complex history can be traced to the 9th century, when the hermitage was founded. This site is particularly well preserved, mainly due to its remote location. The site is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation.
Outstanding Universal ValueThe Temple of Preah Vihear, a unique architectural complex of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases on an 800 metre long axis, is an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture, in terms of plan, decoration and relationship to the spectacular landscape environment.
Criterion (i): Preah Vihear is an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture. It is very ‘pure’ both in plan and in the detail of its decoration.
This temple is situated at the Thai border on top of the 625 metres high Preah Vihear mountain in Svay Chhrum village, Kantuot commune, Choam Ksan district, 108 kilometres north of Tbaeng Meanchey, the capital of Preah Vihear province.The temple is 800 metres long and 400 metres wide. The Cambodian side of the mountain is very steep while the Thai side is gently rolling. The sanctuary is perched on the edge of the cliffs with amazing views over the seemingly endless Cambodian jungle to the south. The temple is not yet restored but has some very spectacular carvings and lintels. The orientation of the long stairways leading up to the central sanctuary is north-south and deviates less than 1 degree. There are no halls with doors or windows in the central sanctuary opening towards the east. Only in Gopura II the rising sun is visible.
There are no western views from any floors of the temple because the hill towards west is obscuring the view. Originally the temple was known as Sreysikharesvara ("The power of the mountain"). Construction started in the late 9th century, 100 years before the start of Angkor and was used to worship Shiva Brahmanism. Preah Vihear was the ultimate sacred temple for the Khmers and provided a place for worship and respect for kings and scholars during more than 300 years. Preah Vihear was more than a temple it was a special sanctuary for study and reflection on the close connection between the heavens and the earth as well as the divinity of Shiva.The Cambodian flag now flies proudly over the temple which has been fought for and argued over for a lifetime. In 1962, the International Court ordered that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but in subsequent years ownership has changed hands many times, particularly during the civil war when the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian army took turns in wrestling control from each other. Today, Cambodia benefits from the many visitors, though by far the vast majority come from Thailand. Visitors do not need a visa to enter Cambodia but receive special permission to cross the border to visit the temple before returning.

The Khmer ruins of the Preah Vihear Temple are located on top of a cliff on the Thai-Cambodian border approximately 220 kilometres to the south-east of Surin. Construction of the temple is believed to have taken place over a 300-year-period beginning in the ninth-century. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and was an important site which served as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and a retreat for Hindu priests.
Access to the TempleThe central sanctuary of Preah Vihear sits on Cambodian soil, but the most convenient form of access is from the Thai side of the border via a road and the start of a staircase which is located within the Thai national park of Khao Phra Viharn. Because of the terrain, access from the Cambodian side of the border is very difficult and most tourists enter the temple from the Thai side of the border. This means that visitors from the Thai side have to pay a fee to Thai authorities to access the national park and another fee to the Cambodian authorities to access the ruins themselves. Land DisputeThe temple has been at the centre of a land dispute that has been going on since 1904 when the border was drawn up between what was then Siam and French Indochina. The issue has never gone away and has flared up again at numerous points throughout the last one hundred years. In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple belongs to Cambodia but the surrounding land remains in dispute. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge took control of the temple and as a consequence land mines were laid in the area. The immediate grounds around the temple have now been de-mined but there are marked sections of land in the vicinity which remain off-limits to visitors. Because of the ongoing dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, the temple has been closed at various stages as tension between the two neighbours has risen. This tension flared again in July 2008 when Preah Vihear Temple was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status and with it the prospect of a significant boost in tourist money to the area. It also re-ignited nationalist sentiment on both sides of the border and has raised the prospect of a military dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.

How to make life successful

Bill Gates came from a family of entrepreneurship and high-spirited liveliness. William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington on October 28th, 1955. His father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. His late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International.

Bill Gates - Early Life!!!

He had an early interest in software and began programming computers at the age of thirteen. In 1973, Bill Gates became a student at Harvard University, where he meet Steve Ballmer (now Microsoft's chief executive officer). While still a Harvard undergraduate, Bill Gates wrote a version of the programming language BASIC for the MITS Altair microcomputer.Did you know that as young teenagers Bill Gates and Paul Allen ran a small company called Traf-O-Data and sold a computer to the city of Seattle that could count city traffic?


Bill Gates & Microsoft!!!

In 1975, before graduation Gates left Harvard to form Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. The pair planned to develop software for the newly emerging personal computer market.Bill Gate's company Microsoft became famous for their computer operating systems and killer business deals. For example, Bill Gates talked IBM into letting Microsoft retain the licensing rights to MS-DOS an operating system, that IBM needed for their new personal computer. Gates proceeded to make a fortune from the licensing of MS-DOS.
On November 10, 1983, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, Microsoft Corporation formally announced Microsoft Windows, a next-generation operating system.
On January 1, 1994, Bill Gates married Melinda French Gates. They have three children.
Bill Gates PhilanthropistBill Gates and his wife, Melinda, have endowed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with more than $28.8 billion (as of January 2005) to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning.

Successful football manager

Successful football manager

Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson, CBE, more commonly known as Alex Ferguson, Sir Alex, or Fergie (born 31 December 1941 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United , where he has been in charge since 1986. He has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of the English game.With 22 years as manager of Manchester United, he is the second-longest serving manager in their history after Sir Matt Busby, while his tenure is the longest of all the current League managers. During this time, Ferguson has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. Manchester United have won more honours during Ferguson's tenure than they did in all the years combined prior to his appointment.He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame for his great services to the English game, was knighted in 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II and currently holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen for his services to the city, having managed the city's football club to a host of major trophies in the early to mid 1980s.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football history – winning more than 30 trophies during his time in charge of the Reds. Yet despite more than two decades at the United helm he remains focused on increasing that tally, bringing yet more silverware to Old Trafford.The Reds boss enjoyed a playing career north of the border that saw him take in spells with Queen's Park, St Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United. But it is not for his playing of the game that Sir Alex was to become a success. Following a spell out of the game he moved into coaching, taking up the role of manager of East Stirlingshire, St Mirren then Aberdeen. It was his time at Pittodrie where he earned his reputation as a top coach. He broke the Glasgow dominance of Scottish football to lead Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup.Following the sacking of Ron Atkinson as manager of Manchester United, the Old Trafford hierarchy moved quickly for his services. They got their man on 6 November 1986.Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers supporters’ discontent, failed to break Liverpool’s domination. Stuck in the bottom four of the Division One table, Ferguson immediately set about attempting to stave off the very real threat of relegation. Without resorting to the transfer market, he guided United up the table to and eleventh place finish. By now it was clear to Ferguson that he faced a major job in turning the club around. United were an entertaining side but one that seemed unable to cope with the more physical aspects of League football. In his second season the Reds fared better finishing second behind Liverpool, but the position painted a falsepicture. The turning point came in the 1989/90 season. Following a run of games in which the Reds were drawn away in every round, United picked up their first silverware of the Ferguson era. Lee Martin scoring the only goal in a final replay against Crystal Palace to in the FA Cup.This first trophy opened the flood gates. The European Cup Winners’ Cup was won the following season in Rotterdam, Barcelona defeated 2-1 thanks to a brace from Mark Hughes. Then in 1991/02 the League Cup was added to United’s list of honours.Sadly the title remained elusive. It was the Holy Grail to United fans, the 26 championships free years being exacerbated by Liverpool’s dominance of the domestic and European game. In 1992/93 the long wait for the League championship came to an end. The Reds, inspired by £1m signing Eric Cantona, pipping Aston Villa in the final weeks of the season.The shackles were broken: the double followed in 1993/94, the double-Double (with ‘kids’) in 1995/96, and another title in 1997. Finally United were matching off-field might with on-field success. Liverpool’s dominance was well and truly over.Sir Alex’s greatestachievement came in 1998/99. No side before or since has achieved a treble haul of Premiership title, FA Cup and European Cup. On an unforgettable night in Barcelona his decision to throw on substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer assured history was made. The pair scored injury-time goals to win the Champions League and complete the treble.Ferguson was knighted following that success and some suggested he should retire, believing his desire would wane following the realisation of a dream. Not a bit of it. Another title followed in 1999/2000 and he made it three-in-row in 2000/01. His eighth Premiership duly arrived in 2002/03; his fourth FA Cup a year later, against Millwall in Cardiff. The Reds had by now entered a period of rebuilding. The side of homegrown players he’d first put together in 1995/96 was now breaking up and he’d recruited new stars like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to spark a new era of success.The rebuilding paid off with victory in the Carling Cup in 2005/06 and a ninth Premier League trophy in 2006/07. In May 2007 Sir Alex swooped for three players - Anderson, Nani and Owen Hargreaves - to bolster an already strong squad. This evolving team claimed more glory in 2007/08, defending the Premier League title and securing Sir Alex's second Champions League triumph.United followed European success by winning the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December 2008. The Reds then claimed the Carling Cup in March 2009 by beating Tottenham on penalties in the final. On 16 May 2009, United achieved what had seemed an impossible mission when Sir Alex arrived in 1986, equalling Liverpool's long-standing record of 18 league championships. Beating Liverpool to the 2008/09 crown - Sir Alex's 11th title in 17 seasons - made the feat even sweeter.

Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani
The final billionaire on the top 5 list, Mukesh Ambani inherited his $53 billion dollar fortune from his father, Dhirubhai Ambani. His father’s business was split in two due to the quarrel between Mukesh and his brother, Anil, who is currently the 6th richest person in the world. Mukesh is the head of Reliance Industries and is in the manufacturing and petrochemicals business. He was briefly the richest man in the world in 2007, momentarily seizing the title from its usual place in the hands of a United States billionaire. He currently resides in Mumbai, but has pursued his chemical and business studies both in India and in the United States, at Stanford University. Mukesh Ambani and his wife and three children enjoy a lavish lifestyle, epitomized by his soon to be 27-story private residence in downtown Mumbai, said to cost over $2 billion.
To learn more about the world's billionaires, read the companion article, http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Rank.html

Lakshimi Mittal

Lakshimi Mittal
Unlike the prior three men on the list of the world’s billionaires, Lakshimi Mittal inherited his steel fortune. He is 57 years old, married, and has two children. He is still of Indian citizenship but lives in London. He is worth $45 billion.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates
Bill Gates was the richest man in the world for many years but currently holds the #3 spot due to the recently poorer performance of Microsoft stock. Bill famously dropped out of Harvard undergrad to start Microsoft, the company that has long dominated the PC world. A recent failed merger attempt with Yahoo marked the beginning of Microsoft’s stock downturn. Microsoft alternatives and non-PC products, like Apple computers and software, are also becoming more mainstream. Currently, Gates is worth about $58 billion.
Bill and his wife, Melinda, are very involved in sponsoring charitable projects through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AIDS research and vaccination and public education in the United States are two of the foundation’s main focuses. Now 52 years old, Bill and wife Melinda have three children and live in a small city not far from Seattle, Washington.

Carlos Slim Helu

Carlos Slim Helu
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Worth $60 billion, Carlos Slim Helu isn't far behind Warren Buffet on Forbes’ billionaire list. The 68 year old made his billions in the Latin American telecommunications industry. Carlos is a widower with 6 children and lives in Mexico City.

Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet
The world’s richest person is currently Warren Buffet, worth $62 billion at age 77. His made his fortunes at Berkshire Hathaway by investing in Geico, See’s Candies, and Coca-Cola, amongst other major companies. Warren studied at the University of Nebraska and Columbia University, where his studies helped him to become a better investor. He has long been known for his conservative lifestyle, and he still lives in the same Nebraska house where he lived before he earned his large fortune.
Despite the fact that he has a wife and 3 children, Buffet plans to give the majority of his billions to charity. Much of this money has already been promised to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Elizabeth Nelson


World richest women

World's Richest Women5 Wealthiest Female Billionaires © Elizabeth Nelson
Jul 17, 2008 Liliane Bettencourt, Christy & Alice Walton, Abigail Johnson, and Jacqueline Mars inherited fortunes that put them high on Forbes' Billionaires List.
There's always a lot of buzz about the richest men in the world, but did you ever wonder about the wealthiest women? There are some females with serious economic clout out there.
Here are the current top 5:
Liliane Bettencourt
Liliane Bettencourt was in her mid-40s when she inherited the fortune of L’Oreal, the makeup company that her father, Eugene Schuller, founded. Now 85 years old, this Frenchwoman still owns a controlling interest in the company. Most of her time, however, is devoted to humanitarian and medical work with the Bettencourt Schuller Foundation. At approximately $22.9 billion, Liliane is the richest woman in the world.

Christy Walton
When John Walton tragically died in a 2005 plane crash, his wife, Christy, inherited a large portion of the family fortune. John’s father, Sam Walton, started Wall-Mart in 1962. Christy is now 53 years old and is worth $19.2 billion dollars. She lives in Jackson, Wyoming.
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Alice Walton
The Wall-Mart fortune created more than one billionaire female. Alice Walton, Christy’s 58 year old sister-in-law, also makes the list at $19 billion. Alice is divorced and lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Abigail Johnson
Next on our list is Abigail Johnson, the 46-year-old owner of a controlling interest in Fidelity Investments. Abigail inherited her $15 billion from her father, who went from an analyst to president in 15 years. Abigail went to undergrad at Hobart and William Smith College and earned her MBA at Harvard. After her education, she worked at Fidelity as a diversified fund manager, president of the mutual fund division, and currently the head of employer services. She lives in Boston.

Jacqueline Mars
The 5th lady on our list is Jacqueline Mars, the 68 year old inheritor of the Mars candy and pet food fortune. Mars, begun by her grandfather, Frank Mars, as a 1911 chocolate company, became famous after her father, Forrest, began making chocolate and nut candy bars. She inherited the $14 billion family fortune nearly a decade ago and currently lives in New Jersey.
The Billionaire List and the Gender GapThe gender gap is overwhelmingly evident on the list of the world’s billionaires. Only 9% of the billionaires (99 women on the list total) are female. It is also interesting that, despite the fact that they have been accomplished professionals, all of the women on this top 5 list have inherited their fortunes. This stands in stark contrast to the quintessential ‘self-made’ billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates who top the list of the world's richest men. In an age where a woman can be a CEO, a billionaire, or even a serious contender for the nomination to US presidency, gender inequality is still painfully clear on the lists of Forbes magazine.