You took my place...

One day a man went to attend the church service,
got there a little too early, parked his car and got out.
Another car pulled up close to him and said, "I always park there!
You took my place!"

The visitor then went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down.
A young lady from the church approached him and stated,
"That 's my seat! You took my place!"
The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down.
Another member walked up to him and said,
"That's where I always sit! You took my place!"
The visitor was more troubled by this continuing contempt, but still said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them,
the visitor stood up, and to everyone's wonder, his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars started showing up on his hands and feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed the change in him and yelled out,
"What is happening to you?"
The visitor replied, as his hat got transformed into a crown of thorns,
and a tear flowed down from his eye,
"I took your place."

This message is powerful enough, right?
Maybe- just maybe-
we can get others to start thinking of who took our place...

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week-end.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Unrecognizable by 2050, earth could be!

The earth could become unrecognizable by 2050, if a growing affluent global population keeps consuming more resources, researchers in a major US science conference has warned.

Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund observed on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,"By 2050 we will not have a planet left that is recognizable if the global population continues to increase,"

The United Nations has predicted that the global population will reach seven billion this year, and climb to nine billion by 2050, "with almost all of the growth occurring in poor countries, particularly Africa and South Asia," said John Bongaarts of the non-profit Population Council.

Meanwhile, as income is expected to rise over the next 40 years -- tripling globally and quintupling in developing nations, people tend to consume more meat, eggs or dairy products, which would cost more grains to produce, adding more strain to the global food supplies.

"We want to minimize population growth, and the only viable way to do that is through more effective family planning," said John Casterline, director of the Initiative in Population Research at Ohio State University.

It takes around seven pounds (3.4 kilograms) of grain to produce a pound of meat, and around three to four pounds of grain to produce a pound of cheese or eggs.

"More people, more money, more consumption, but the same planet," Jason Clay commented urging scientists and governments to start making changes as to how food is produced.

Population experts called for more funding for family planning programs to help control demographic pressure, especially in developing nations.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the week.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Japanese crisis is world crisis

You'd think the world would have wised up by now to the risks of nuclear power, but that's not the case in this country and many others.

On Friday, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake initially measured to be 8.9 and now upgraded to 9.0 on the Richter scale. One of the largest quakes ever measured in history, its epicenter was just northeast of Japan. The quake unleashed a massive tsunami. Together, the quake and tsunami have claimed more than 10,000 lives.

Then, on Saturday an explosion occurred in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Located in northeastern Japan, near the quake's epicenter, the plant has six boiling water reactors. The first blast occurred at Fukushima Number 1. In order to keep the reactor cool, the system needs a regular influx of water. This water system, in turn, requires electricity. The generators were wiped out by the tsunami. Replacement generators were delivered but their plugs were incompatible with those of the plant.

Desperate attempts were made to keep the reactor's core cool by drawing in sea water. If the core is not kept cool, it can melt through the containment wall, causing a meltdown and radiation-leak.

Earlier on Monday, an explosion took place in reactor No. 3, whose core officials are now also struggling to keep cool. Again, early Tuesday an explosion was reported in No. 2. "Government officials admitted that it was 'highly likely' the fuel rods in three separate reactors had started to melt despite repeated efforts to cool them with sea water," reported Gordon Rayner and Martin Evans for theTelegraph. "Safety officials said they could not rule out a full meltdown as workers struggled to keep temperatures under control in the cores of the reactors."

Japan has formally called on the international community for assistance to address the problem.

As a result of Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Japan, leaders worldwide are rethinking their nuclear energy policy.

While some are reconsidering their safety mechanisms, others are radically scaling back. China and Russia, however, are considering building new reactors.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 442 nuclear power plants are currently in operation.

The largest consumers of nuclear energy are -- in order of megawatts consumed -- the U.S., France, Japan, Russia and Germany, followed closely by South Korea, Canada, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Sweden.

But as growing economies are building new plants, these rankings will soon change. Given plants under construction, the biggest consumers are set to be: China, Russia, South Korea, India, Japan, Bulgaria, Ukraine, France, Finland, Brazil and the U.S.

Here's a quick overview of the state of nuclear energy worldwide, focusing on its biggest consumers:

China: On Monday, China- the biggest consumer of energy worldwide but currently still well behind other nations in the amount of megawatts of energy drawn from nuclear power- announced its continued commitment to nuclear energy. To date, China has 13 nuclear reactors. A further 27 new reactors are currently under construction and another 50 plants are planned.

Russia: According to the Interfax news agency, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stated on Monday that Russia would continue with construction of 20 planned nuclear power plants. Russia is currently ramping nuclear energy from 16 percent to 33 percent of the overall energy budget. Russia has a vexed relationship to nuclear energy as a result of the nuclear meltdown in 1986 in Chernobyl, located in what was then the Soviet Union and is now the Ukraine.

India: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Monday that all of India's nuclear reactors will be proofed for security, particularly with regard to earthquakes and tsunamis. India has over 20 nuclear power plants, the majority of which are along its coast.

France: While the EU has called for a complete rethink of its nuclear energy policy, announcing an emergency meeting with the International Atomic Energy Association next week, its largest consumer of nuclear energy, France, has thus far not taken a public position as a result of crisis in Japan. France derives 75 percent of its energy from nuclear power.

Germany: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that she is reconsidering a moratorium on Germany's nuclear power plants. Last fall, Merkel announced that nuclear power plants would be extended by 12 years on average. In response, huge demonstrations took place. In 2000, the previous coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Green Party, announced a decision to phase out nuclear power plants by 2020. On Saturday, 60,000 protesters again demonstrated against nuclear energy, forming a 28-mile human chain from the city of Stuttgart to the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant. Both the city and the plant are located in one of the two states where Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party faces elections on March 27.

Switzerland: The Swiss government announced that it has suspended plans to build new atomic energy reactors. Minister for Environment, Transportation, Energy and Communications Doris Leuthard stated that current plants would be assessed for safety before decisions are made about new plants. Switzerland has five nuclear power plants, which account for 40 percent of its energy needs.

U.S.: The U.S. administration had been embracing nuclear energy as a solution to rising energy costs. President Obama's State of the Union proposed ramped nuclear energy with $36 billion in Department of Energy loans set aside for the construction of up to 20 new nuclear power plants. Just a few days prior to his State of the Union, President Obama announced G.E. CEO Jeffrey Immelt would be newly appointed as chairman of his outside panel of economic advisers, succeeding former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker. The reactors affected in Japan are U.S.-made, produced by G.E.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the U.S.'s Nuclear Regulatory Commission posted a short statement stating, "NRC's rigorous safety regulations ensure that U.S. nuclear facilities are designed to withstand tsunamis, earthquakes and other hazards."

Yet as Christian Parenti reports over at the Nation, of the U.S.'s 103 nuclear reactors, 23 are of the same G.E. design as the Fukushima reactor No. 1. Furthermore, nuclear reactors in the U.S. are also located on faultlines, particularly the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near the San Andreas fault and the San Onofre nuclear generating station in California.

Parenti calls attention to the "overlooked yet very real campaign to relicense and extend by 50 percent the operation of our rickety existing fleet of reactors."

It remains to be seen what the implications of the Japan earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown are for U.S. energy policy. But the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the unfolding GE nuclear reactor melting down in Japan may prompt people to begin demanding a more concerted effort to shift from our dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear, to clean and safe sources of energy like wind and solar.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week,

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Have you heard this story?

It is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.

He called his parents from San Francisco.

"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask.

I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me.

"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting.

He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg.

He has nowhere else to go, and

I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that, son.

Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father,

"you don't know what you're asking for. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us.

We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives.

I think you should just come home and forget about this guy.

He'll find a way to live on his own."

At that point, the son hung up the phone.

The parents heard nothing more from him.

A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police.

Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told.

The police believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.

They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know:

their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are us.

We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Someone who loves us with unconditional love regardless of how messed up we are.

There's a miracle called Friendship That dwells in the heart You don't know how it happens Or when it gets started

But you know the special lift it always brings And you realize that Friendship is God's most precious gift!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.

They make you smile and encourage you to succeed.

They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Be a good friend!

Enjoy the rest of your week-end,

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

'Beware' is the message.

American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000 ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board. By the time it surfaced the 160 ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier. According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy. The Americans had no idea that China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat. One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the beginning of the space age. The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon.

The lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines. And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. Submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it. According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines. It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was 'shadowing' the U.S. Fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as just a coincidence. Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its backyard. The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels. Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors. Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War. He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans. It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan". In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time.

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Why don't you shut up?

A woman goes to the doctor, beaten black and blue. . . . .

Doctor: "What happened?"

Woman: "Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my husband comes home drunk, he beats me to pulp...."

Doctor: "I have a real good medicine for that: When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of chamomile tea and start gargling it. Just gargle and gargle".

Two weeks later she comes back to the doctor and looks refreshed and like a reborn.

Woman: "Doc, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk, I gargled repeatedly with chamomile tea and he never touched me. No, we never had a quarrel.

Doctor: "So now you see how helpful it is to keep your mouth shut !"

May be you can follow suit.

Thank you and have a good week-end.

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil

Sensibility

Over the last weekend, I filled up my fuel tank when I thought petrol has become really expensive .

But then I compared it with other common liquids and did some speedy calculations which made me feel a little better.

Know why?

See the results below and you'll be surprised at how outrageous the price of some other products are!


Diesel (regular) : Rs. 39.00 per litre


Petrol (regular unleaded) : Rs. 54.51 per litre


Coca Cola 330 ml can : Rs. 20 = Rs. 61 per litre


Dettol antiseptic : 100 ml Rs. 20 = Rs. 200 per litre


Radiator coolant : 500 ml Rs. 160 = Rs. 320 per litre


Pantene conditioner : 400 ml Rs. 165 = Rs. 413 per litre


Medicinal mouthwash like Listerine : 100 ml Rs. 45 = Rs. 450 per litre


Red Bull : 150 ml can Rs. 75 = Rs. 500 per litre


Corex cough syrup : 100 ml Rs. 57 = Rs. 570 per litre


Evian water : 500 ml Rs. 330 = Rs. 660 per litre


Hey, Rs. 660 for a litre of WATER? And the buyers don't even know the source??
(Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)


Kores white-out 15 ml Rs. 15 = Rs. 1000 per litre


A cup of coffee at any decent business hotel: 150 ml Rs. 175 = Rs. 1167 per litre


Old Spice after-shave lotion 100 ml: Rs. 175 = Rs.. 1750 per litre


Pure almond oil 25 ml: Rs. 68 = Rs. 2720 per litre


And this is the REAL KICKER...


HP Deskjet colour ink cartridge: 21 ml Rs.1900 = Rs. 90476 per litre!!!


Now you know why computer printers are so cheap?
Because they have you hooked up for a lifetime of ink!


So, the next time you're at the pump, don't curse; just be glad your bike/ car
doesn't run on cough syrup, after-shave, coffee, or God forbid, printer ink!

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your week!

Love,

Prof. Dr. Alex Abraham Odikandathil