Interesting FAQ's

Who’s the youngest king?
Who is the world’s youngest king?Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk of Bhutan is, at 28, the world’s youngest king. This Oxford-educated monarch took over from his father Jigme Singye Wangchuk on November 6. His coronation took place at the Golden Throne Room at Tashichhodzong, a fortress and the power centre of Bhutan.

Why are the people of Japan also known as Nipponese?
Nippon is the Japanese name for Japan. It literally means ‘the sun’s origin’, which is often translated as the land of the rising sun. The Japanese name Nippon is used mostly for official purposes, including on the currency, in the constitution, on postage stamps and at many international sporting events. Nippon first appeared in history only at the end of the 7th century in the Old Book of Tang which said that the Japanese envoy disliked his country’s then name Woguo and changed it to Nippon. Another 8th -century chronicle, True Meaning of Shiji states that the Chinese Empress Wu Zetian ordered a Japanese envoy to change the country’s name to Nippon. And hence, people of Japan are also known as Nipponese.

What is a go-go fund?
It’s a mutual fund that invests in highly risky but potentially rewarding stocks. During the 1960s, many go-go funds shot up in value, only to fall dramatically. In some cases, they even went out of business.

What is the meaning of kemo sabe?
The phrase kemo sabe is often heard in the American radio and TV serial Lone Ranger. Its hero, a Texas Ranger, and his assistant, an American Indian called Tonto, keep calling each other Kemo Sabe. In an early episode, these characters run into each other for the first time. When they recognise each other as childhood friends, they utter the phrase kemo sabe. This phrase is not found in English or Spanish. Therefore, it is likely that the series writer coined the phrase based on some words in American dialects. According to many, the director of the radio version of Lone Ranger derived it from a Michigan dialect and suggested it to the writer. Apparently, in this dialect, the phrase means faithful friend or trusty scout. There are other theories related to kemo sabe as well.

What is green fluorescent protein?
Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is a naturally fluorescent protein isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. GFP is a fluorescent marker that makes possible the visualisation of protein in the cell. Cells can be stained by them and examined by fluorescence microscopy to reveal the location of a protein of interest. For example, glucocorticoid receptor protein is a transcription factor that controls gene expression in response to the steroid hormone cortisone. The receptor is linked to the GFP. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that, in the absence of the hormone, the receptor is located in the cytoplasm and in its presence, the receptor is translocated to the nucleus, where it binds with the DNA.

If noble gases are supposed to be inert and unreactive, how is krypton difluoride formed?
While krypton is generally an inert element, in extreme volatile conditions, it can form compounds in very small quantities. There are several ways that krypton can form its fluoride: by passing through an electrical arc, proton bombardment or photochemical process. All these processes require a very heavy amount of energy. Krypton has achieved a unique importance in science. In 1960, it was decided that the fundamental unit of length, the metre, should be defined in terms of the orange-red spectral line of Krypton 86.

What is VIX?
The VIX is calculated and disseminated in realtime by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). It’s a weighted blend of prices for a range of options on the S&P 500 index. The formula uses a kernel-smoothed estimator that takes as inputs the current market prices for all out-of-the-money calls and puts forth front month and second month expirations. The goal is to estimate the implied volatility of the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days. Investors believe a high value of VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) translates into a greater degree of market uncertainty, while a low value of VIX is consistent with greater stability.

What is the Cuban Wushu?
The term Wushu consists of two Chinese characters: wu meaning martial or military and shu meaning skill or method. Together, it translates as martial art. Bruce Lee films brought the first images of kung fu to Cuba. Since then, martial art fans in Cuba started discovering the harmonic, philosophical and therapeutic bases of what is known as Wushu today — a combination of Chinese martial art. In 1990, Roberto Vargas Lee, a fifth Dan black belt holder in Jyoshinmon karate went to China to learn the secrets of Wushu and developed it later in Cuba. He later established the Cuban school of Wushu.

ANY ANSWERS?
What is a volantor?
What is the bolero?
Is it possible for all planets in our solar system to align together in a straight line?
How do anti-allergen drugs work?
What is RTGS in banking?
What is vishing?

Youth vote carried Obama to White House

The Swing Has Fascinated Political Operatives Majority Of Young White Voters Too Backed Him

As India, with one of the youngest demographic profiles in the world, gears up for another round of geriatric leadership, it turns out that US President-elect Barack Obama has been substantially powered into the White House by the youth vote.

Analyses of the voting patterns in US Presidential elections 2008 show 66% of voters under age 30 preferred the 47-year old Obama while just 32% favored John McCain, 72. The margin was 25% more than the 9-point youth vote advantage John Kerry had over President Bush in the 2004 election.

According to political operatives who have dissected last week’s voting pattern, Barack Obama’s share of youth vote is nearly four times the size of John Kennedy’s lead with the group in 1960, which led the latter to famously declare in his inaugural address that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.”

Around 2.2 million more young people—accounting for 18% of the electorate— voted in this election, which is only a slight increase from the 17% in 2004. But if the vote had stayed along the same lines as in 2004, then Obama’s margin of victory in terms of popular votes would have been only about 2 points instead of around 5 points, according to one study.
But for the youth vote, Obama might not have won 73 electoral votes from Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, or Indiana, according to an analysis by the blog thenextright.com. In other words: Obama’s youth margin= 73 electoral votes.

Obama also got stronger support from African-Americans (95%) than Kerry did in 2004 (88%). Turn-out of African-Americans went up from 12% to 13%
Overall, based on initial numbers, it is estimated that over 133 million people turned out to vote on Tuesday—11 million more than voted in 2004— producing the highest turnout rate in 44 years (62.5%), which compares favorably with the turnout in India. By way of comparison, the turnout rate in 1996 was just over 49%.

Significantly, the share of white voters, who accounted for 81% of all voters in 2000, declined to 74% this year, with increases in African-American, Hispanic, and Asian vote share. Obama scored handsomely even among Hispanics, squashing speculation that they might not vote for an African-American.

But it is the swing in the youth vote that has fascinated political operatives. Even a majority of young white voters backed Obama.

While no Democratic presidential nominee had won more than 45% of young whites in at least three decades, Obama won 54% of young white voters, according to one study. He beat McCain 52-45 among white youth without a college degree and 57-41 among those with a degree. He also beat McCain among young white women without a degree (54-45) and young white college-educated woman (61-38).

“In other words, never in post-war American politics have youth voted so differently than older generations as they did in 2008,” the blog Politico.com observed. According to the political pundit Ariana Huffington, the US is witnessing “a tremendous ideological shift among young voters—one that could reshape our politics for decade to come.”

From 1976 through 2004, young voters basically supported the same candidate as older voters in most elections, she said. During that time, the average gap in presidential choice between young voters and the overall electorate was only 1.8%. In 2008, that gap was 28%, with Obama winning by 6%—but carrying the youth vote by 34%.

These developments in the US come at time when India, which has a national median age of 24.9 with around 70% of its population under the age of 30, faces a geriatric leadership in the upcoming parliamentary election. BJP leader L.K.Advani, who is 81, is the projected leader of the opposition alliance, while incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 76. Most key world leaders are in their 50s, and Obama, at 47, will be one of the youngest.

Obama goes headhunting online
New york: President-elect Barack Obama is inviting online applications from across the world to fill various positions in the new regime, reaffirming his tech-savvy nature. Obama along with his deputy Joe Biden is looking for people for “noncareer positions” in the White House or any federal body. “Applicants for any of these non-career positions — whether in the White House or in any federal department agency or commission — should use this website, as applying online is the fastest and most accurate way to get your information to us,” reads a notification on the official website of the President-elect. The call for applicants online is another affirmation of the ‘tech-savvy’ Obama, who has exploited electronic and new media like never before during his Presidential campaign. The website ‘www.change.gov’, of the office of the President-elect says Obama would make appointments throughout the federal government.

Obama team weighs what to take on in first months
Washington: With the economy in disarray and the treasury draining, Barack Obama and his advisers are trying to figure out which of his expansive campaign promises to push in the opening months of his tenure and which to put on a slower track. Obama repeated on Saturday that his first priority would be an economic recovery program to get the business system back on track and people back to work. But advisers said the question was whether they could tackle health care, climate change and energy independence at once or needed to stagger these initiatives over time.

Polish conservatives apologise for racist Obama comments
Warsaw: The Polish political party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of President Lech Kaczynski, apologized on Sunday for abusive and racist remarks about US President-elect Barack Obama made by one its deputies. On Wednesday a member of the Conservative PiS party Artur Gorski called Obama a “black crypto-communist”, and a “naive individual whose election must delight al-Qaida.” Barack Obama “is a disaster, it is the end of the white man’s civilisation,” he told the Parliament.