A Stranger Behind the Afghan School – #AngelinaJolie

At a school in a bombed-out Afghan village near Kabul, Angelina Jolie is known as an aid worker or engineer — never as one of the world’s most famous film stars. Jolie, a special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, built the school in Qala-i-Gudar last year and is planning to open more in Afghanistan with profits from a newly-launched jewellery line that she has designed.

The Hollywood star visited Qala-i-Gudar in 2011, and she retains an avid fanbase among residents who have never seen any of her films and have no idea about her global fame as an actress. Acting is controversial in the country, with many conservative Afghans associating it with un-Islamic behaviour and even prostitution. Homaira, aged 13, is one of 250 pupils at the all-girls school who has benefited from the new facilities, which opened for their first full academic year last month.

“We used to study in the backyard of the mosque, it was hard,” Homaira said. “Now we are so happy to have a school. It’s a beautiful place.” Asked who built her school, Homaira smiled and answered, “the beautiful American lady.” The two-storey building, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Kabul, has large windows and neat rows of desks. On the outside, which is painted light blue, is a plaque proudly boasting of its founder.“Through the generous contribution of Angelina Jolie UNHCR Special Envoy,” it reads.

Even headmaster Gul Rahmman Ayaz appeared ignorant of Jolie’s superstar celebrity, apparently believing she was a senior UNHCR official. “Is she?” Ayaz asked doubtfully after learning Jolie was an actress. “Well whatever, she is a great woman, very kind woman,” he added with a smile.
“She was very humble. She sat on dust. She didn’t behave like a movie star,” Ayaz said, remembering Jolie arrived in a UN-marked vehicle and wore a modest black outfit and brown headscarf.

Leonhard Euler honoured by Google doodle

The mathematician introduced most modern terminology and was renowned for his work in mechanics, optics and astronomy

Leonhard Euler, the influential Swiss mathematician, has had the 306th anniversary of his birth honoured by a Google doodle. Photograph: Google

The birth of the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler has been celebrated by Google with the publishing of an interactive Google doodle.

Euler was arguably the most important mathematician of the 18th century and one of the greatest of all time. He introduced most modern mathematical terminology and notation and was also renowned for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, and astronomy.

Euler was born in Basel on 15 April 1707. He was tutored by Johann Bernoulli, a family friend who was also Europe’s leading mathematician. When Euler’s father tried to make him become a pastor, Bernoulli persuaded him that his son had the potential to be a great mathematician.

He travelled to Russia, where he prospered until foreign intellectuals became unpopular and he moved to Berlin. When Catherine the Great succeeded to the throne, Euler returned to Russia, where he died in 1783.

Facebook can cause frustration: Study

Social networking site Facebook can make you feel envious of your “successful” friends, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction, a new German study has found.

Researchers led by Dr Hanna Krasnova of the Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin surveyed Facebook members regarding their feelings after using the platform.

More than one-third of respondents reported predominantly negative feelings, such as frustration. The researchers identified that envying their “Facebook friends” is the major reason for this result.

Krasnova, explained that, “Although respondents were reluctant to admit feeling envious while on Facebook, they often presumed that envy can be the cause behind the frustration of ‘others’ on this platform – a clear indication that envy is a salient phenomenon in the Facebook context”.

“Indeed, access to copious positive news and the profiles of seemingly successful ‘friends’ fosters social comparison that can readily provoke envy. By and large, on-line social networks allow users unprecedented access to information on relevant others — insights that would be much more difficult to obtain offline,” Krasnova said in a statement.

Those who do not engage in any active, interpersonal communications on social networks and primarily utilise them as sources of information, eg reading friends’ postings, checking news feeds, or browsing through photos, are particularly subject to these painful experiences.

The study also found that about one-fifth of all recent on-line/offline events that had provoked envy among the respondents took place within a Facebook context. This reveals a colossal role of this platform in users’ emotional life.

Paradoxically, envy can frequently lead to users embellishing their Facebook profiles, which, in turn, provokes envy among other users, a phenomenon that the researchers have termed “envy spiral”.

The researchers were also able to establish a negative link between the envy that arises while on Facebook and users’ general life satisfaction. Indeed, passive use of Facebook heightens invidious emotions that, in turn, adversely affect users’ satisfaction with their lives.

“Considering the fact that Facebook use is a worldwide phenomenon and envy is a universal feeling, a lot of people are subject to these painful consequences,” study co-author Helena Wenninger of the TU-Darmstadt said.

Related articles

• How Facebook and Twitter can boost your ego and make you more impulsive in just five minutes (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

Govt orders blocking of IIPM-related URLs

Internet service providers asked to block access to more than 70 URLs that appear to contain material critical of IIPM

In an unprecedented bid to block material critical of controversial business school Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), the Indian government has ordered Internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent access to more than 70 URLs following a court order.

The directive was issued on the basis of an order from a court in Gwalior, said Gulshan Rai, director general of CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team-India). The order signed by Subodh Saxena of the department of telecommunications (DoT) was issued on Thursday and was reported earlier on Friday by the Medianama website.

Interestingly, the URLs listed include a University Grants Commission (UGC) notification that IIPM is not a university and “does not have the right of conferring or granting degrees as specified by UGC.”

The move comes amid criticism of the government for recent steps that have been regarded as attempts to curb freedom of speech.

DoT couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. UGC and IIPM representatives also couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

IIPM has been the subject of several critical articles in various publications, including Outlook, Careers 360 and Caravan. A controversy had blown up in 2005 over attempts to gag a blogger critical of IIPM. That site too is among those ordered to be blocked.

Other URLs include stories on sites of publications such as The Indian Express, The Economic Times and blog posts on The Wall Street Journal site among others.

IIPM used to be a significant advertiser in large mainstream newspapers such as The Times of India and Hindustan Times until recently.

Guide to Excellent #Health and #Fitness I Exercise Fitness #Yoga Gym #Calorie Chart and #Stress Management

STAMINA EXERCISES

Walking: Excellent cardiovascular benefits for the advanced age groups.. Should be done briskly with swinging of the arms. Comfortable shoes must be worn. May be done morning or evening for 30-60 minutes.

Jogging: Suitable for younger age group below 50 years. 30 minutes is all that is required and may be done continuously, or jog and walk in between when fatigued. The pace of jogging is equal to that of a brisk walkrun on soft or grassy surface. Wear comfortable clothes and breathe freely.

Swimming: For those who know how to swim, 20 minutes of continuous swimming is sufficient. Alternately swim the length of a pool 10-20 metres, rest at the end for 30 seconds, swim back. 10 such lengths is good. Use any stroke you know. They are all of almost equal cardiovascular and muscular benefit.

Cycling: For any age group. Minimum time 45-60 minutes of continuous controlled fast cycling. Cycling up slopes gives added benefit. Ordinary cycles are good enough and indoor stationary exercycles may also be used at low resistance for 45 minutes.

Games: For the fitter younger age group. Get fit first before playing games such as squash, badminton, tennis, handball, basketball, football etc.. Warm up before the games. 30-45 minutes of the game is sufficient. Weekend or once a week games must be avoided unless other fitness programmes are done on other days. Play within your capacity.

STRENGTH EXERCISES

Strength Exercises: Improve muscular strength with 10-20 repetitions of each of these movements.

MOBILITY EXERCISES

BACK EXERCISES

YOGA

a) Yoga should preferably be done under expert supervision 2-3 times per week.
b) In case you know Yoga, we suggest that the following ‘asanas’ be included in your programme.
c) Each Yogasana is repeated 2-3 times except serial Nos. 1, 14 & 15.
d) Persons with back problems should avoid serial Nos. 2, 4, 10 & 12.
e) Persons with Cardiac problems, HBP, etc. should avoid serial 4 and 5.
f) This programme will not only keep you fit, but is also beneficial for those persons who have high B.P., respiratory problem, mental strain, head – aches, digestive ailments, back problems, joint problems, etc.

STANDARD YOGASANAS

1.  Stand warm up for Pawan Muktasana series.
2.  Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation) Effect – on full body including heart and circulation.
3. Ardh-halasana (30, 60, 90 degrees, double leg raises) Effect – on abdomen, legs, back reproductive organs.
4. Sarbangasana (Shoulder stand) Effect – on brain, nervous system, thyroid, circulation.
5.  Halasana (Plough pose) Effect – on spine, nervous system, back, lungs.
6.  Matsyasana (Fish pose) Effect – on chest, neck, thyroid, lungs.
7.  Bhujangasana (Cobra pose) Effect – on lower back, reproductive organs, lungs, spine, chest, abdominal organs.
8. Salabhasana, (Locust pose) Effect – an buttocks, legs, hips, constipation, gas, digestion, etc.
9. Dhanurasana (Bow pose) Effect – on abdomen, digestion, legs, back.
10.  Naukasana (Boat pose) (V sit-ups) Effect – on spine, abdomen, chest, etc.
11.  Bakrasana (Half spinal twist) Effect – on spine, fat on waist, gas, digestive organs.
12.  Paschmottasana (Sitting toe touch) or Padahasatasana (Standing toe touch) Effect – on digestion, spine, legs.
13.  Trikonasana (Triangle) Effect – on spinal nerves, waist, digestion.
14.  Pranayama (Deep breathing) 10 rounds each. a) Anulome / Vilome – alternate nostril breathing, and b) Kapalbhatti.. – belly breathing Effect – on lungs and respiratory system.
15.  Shavasana (Corpse pose) – as often as required. Effect – on physical / mental relaxation.

YOGASANAS

GYM EXERCISES / WEIGHT TRAINING

Weight training is basically for strengthening and building up the muscles. An all-round programme must have some stretching and cardio-vascular exercises as well. In addition, weight training loads the bones thereby strengthening and protecting against osteoporosis. The points to keep in mind in weight training are as follows:

1. The ideal weight training schedule is on alternate days i.e. 3 days a week with a complete rest on weekends.
2. The systems of training different muscle groups on different days, may be good for competitive sportsmen. The best system for non-competitive sportsmen is to exercise the entire body in each session. The major muscle groups are: Upper body – Shoulders, Arms, Chest and Lower body – Back, Abdomen, Legs.
3. Suppleness and stamina can also be built up through weight training by following a body builder-type schedule. Weights are also used to stretch muscles, build muscular endurance and cardiovascular stamina by repeating each exercise by using lighter weights with more repetitions.
4. If repetition are too easy, the weight used is too little. And in case it is not possible to complete the repetitions, it means the weight carried is too heavy.
5. A repetition is one complete exercise movement from the starting point to finish and then back again to the starting point. A set is a group of repetitions of the same exercise. Therefore, for the upper body 8 repetitions is one set. For the lower body, 15 repetitions forms one set.
6. We prescribe three sets of exercises for each muscle group. However, several systems of weight training prescribe different repetitions as well as different sets.

Nutrition and Calorie Management:

Generally speaking, our daily food intake must comprise a balanced diet of 1500-2000k calories with fibre (above 75 gm) and low fat (below 30 gm). Consult your nutritionist for specific advice.

Micro – Nutrients:
The guide to healthy eating pyramid provides you a balanced diet, with ample vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. The therapeutic benefit of these micro-nutrients are explained below.

STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress has existed from the time of Early Man but has now become an omnipresent phenomenon in the life of ‘Modern Man’. It has pervaded all layers of life. Stress is the bio-psycho-social response of the body to a demand, mental or physical. Stress is an arousal response the body makes, when a situation is perceived as being stressful. The impact of this arousal affects emotional as well as cognitive thinking. The impact is seen in behavioral and physiological change.. When stress is long term and chronic it leads to chronic psychosomatic ailments. While there is an undeniable link between stress and illness, optimal stress is a prerequisite for success in every task. Stress is the wind beneath your wings pushing you towards achievement. If stress can trigger off psychosomatic ailments in those living in the fast track, it can be a trigger even to those who suffer from monotony, boredom or frustration. It is therefore very essential to bring a balance between too much and too little stress.
The first step in managing stress is to develop a stress-free personality. A high self-esteem, assertive behavior and a positive attitude help in building a stress-free perception. It also helps to focus on areas where control and change are possible. Locate the source of stress and use a problem solving approach to deal with it step by step. All stress you can understand. Some you can change. Some you may have little control over. You may then need to change your attitude and response towards these stressors. Thereby reducing stress. Any exercise programme done regularly utilizes the body’s stress hormones. Exercise not only makes the body fit, but also acclimatizes the heart and lungs to increased activity, as in stressful situations. Relaxation and meditation techniques result in calming brain waves, and reducing the effects of stress. This is especially effective with stressrelated ailments such as Hypertension, Headaches, Digestive ailments, Cardiac ailments, Sleep problems to name just a few. Stress may be an irritant in your life or it may be a factor of passive existence.
Change of perspective will help change this stress to an active, rewarding life. One of the best gifts of nature is sleep. Daily sleep of 6 – 8 hours helps in relaxation and repair of the body and mind. It provides sufficient time for deep – NREM and dream REM sleep restoring physical and mental health. Stress may be an irritant in your life or it may be a factor of passive existence. Change of perspective will help change this stress to an active, rewarding life. One of the best gifts of nature is sleep. Daily sleep of 6 to 8 hours helps in relaxation and repair of the body and mind. It provides sufficient time for deep – NREM and dream REM sleep restoring physical and mental health.

• Use some of these stress defense mechanisms & optimize your stress.
• Quality time for family will ensure that you have a retreat called home.
• Plan your career well, it will give you challenge, satisfaction & security.
• An assertive personality is responsible to self & others. Learn this skill.
• Communication is the key to relationship building. Listen better and your conflicts will slowly dissolve.
• Develop a sense of humor. Learn to laugh at life, its paradoxes and at yourself.
• Plan a little idleness & quietness each day. You will be able to recharge.
• Exercise is arousal and relaxation is the opposite. Yet both are necessary on a daily basis. Practice both.
• Sleep well and you will have renewed energy to face the next day’s Stresses.
• Plan your time well. You only have 24 /hours a day and many important areas to fit in. A simple formula for time & stress management. You could personalize it to suit your needs. Remember you can’t delete any activity or reduce time for health factors.

More than 60,000 #Children Go Missing In India Each Year

Childhood is an eternal bliss until it lasts, but if childhood is lived in misery and abuse it becomes a curse with no reasons attached. Missing children has been highlighted as one the biggest problems in the country. Being a recurring concern it needs stringent method in order to repress the social menace. The Justice Verma Committee was formed to look into amendments in criminal law and he is working on making amends in the justice system to curb the number of missing children in the country. He said, “A lakh kids go missing every year. The police must file an FIR, DM should maintain records,” as reported by Meenakshi Upreti for ibnlive.com

Most of the missing children become victims to human trafficking and sexual abuse, which occurs often with police collusion, informed the Justice Verma commission. The conclusion was derived from the case of a minor girl, who was trafficked from Jharkhand to Delhi, who was forced to work without pay for a year and then trafficked to Punjab.

An NGO rescued the girl fortunately. However there are thousands of children waiting for a silver lining. Unlike in the case of the 11 year old son of Kunwarjit, who went missing two years ago, Kunwarjit informed that no legal action has been taken by the authorities to locate his son so far. He said, “Police hasn’t done a thing to find him. I got a call from my son once but the police refused to act on it saying that it was a hoax call. Had they acted then, probably I would’ve had my son, but now I think I won’t see him again,” as reported by IBN Live.
As per the official records 53, 000 children went missing in India in 2010, in 2011 the number increased to 59,000. It has been estimated that in every 8 minutes one child goes missing. The NGO activists claim that the biggest trouble with the increasing number and children remaining untraced is police inaction.

The capital, Delhi has the largest number of untraced children with 14 children estimated to go missing from the city each day. In most cases the police claim that children willingly run away, only occasional investigating chances of child sexual abuse and trafficking occur.

AR Chaurasia, an activist said, “The police shut the case saying that the child ran away and came back on his own. My question is what did the child do for four years? Someone must have employed him, why don’t they probe it?” as reported by ibnlive.com

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) estimated that 60, 000 children go missing each year even with the fact that large states like Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh also Jharkhand and Punjab have not provided the missing children data.

The chief secretaries of all the states and Union territories have been asked by the Supreme Court to instruct all the police stations to register an FIR and start investigation of the reported missing children.
A bench of chief justice Altamas Kabir, justices Vikramajit Sen and J Chelameswar has also directed that all police stations should have a special juvenile police officer to handle the cases of missing children, as reported by Rakesh Bhatnagar for DNA.

It was informed that these officers will be in plain clothes and will coordinate with the child welfare committees regarding the cases. The order was passed by the court on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan’ which claimed that between January 2008-2010 over 1.7 lakh children have gone missing in the country.  About 60,000 children go missing in India each year, with over 30,000 remaining untraced.

As per the recent report by the statistics ministry, it informs that while an absolute increase of 181 million in the country’s population has been recorded during the decade 2001-2011, it also records a reduction of 5.05 millions in the population of children aged 0-6 years during the same period.

Losing a child is the greatest sorrow felt by parents, it cannot be understood by anyone, let alone the police force. As the missing child isn’t considered as a fiendish crime in the Indian legal system very little attention is paid to the recovery of such children. With the numbers increasing the country is taking the matter seriously, however the need for efficiency and speedy recovery to resolve cases is most asked for in the country.

 

Related articles

• IMMEDIATE RELEASE-SC directs compulsory registration of FIRs in all missing children cases (kractivist.wordpress.com)

Top 10 tips to keep your kids and teens safe online

Here are 10 tips for you to share with your youngsters, to help make sure they’re clued up about internet safety.

1. Lock down your Facebook page. Make sure your profile is only shown to your friends – not their friends too and certainly not the whole world! It’s good to check your privacy settings regularly, too, because Facebook often updates them.

2. If you don’t know someone on Facebook, don’t be tempted to accept their Friend request.

3. Don’t post anything anywhere on the internet if you don’t want the world to see it. Once you’ve uploaded something, you cannot be sure that it will stay with just the person you’ve sent it to. So if it’s private, don’t share it!

4. Never give out your address, unless your parents have said it’s safe and it’s absolutely necessary (eg. when you are requesting a delivery). And never agree to meet in person someone you’ve met online.

5. Make sure you password protect your phone or any other device you use. And lock it when you’re not using it.

6. Don’t click on suspicious-looking links. If something looks strange to you, ask a parent or teacher if it’s ok to click on it.

7. If your friend has sent you a message but it looks weird, or isn’t something they’d usually say, check with them before you open it. It could be that someone is using their account to send messages which could be infected with something nasty.

8. Always log out! Make sure you don’t leave any account open when you go away from your computer, phone or other device.

9. Follow these password rules:

• Never choose passwords which are real words you’d find in the dictionary. Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, swap out letters for numbers, and use symbols like % and $ too.
• Make your password as long as possible. The longer it is, the harder it is to crack.
• Be creative! Never just use the name of your favourite sports team or band, or your pet’s name. They are too easy to guess, especially if you’re previously shared that information online.
• Use a different password for each website you use. If you struggle to remember them, you can use online ‘password management‘ software to save them for you. But remember to make your ‘master’ password VERY hard to crack!
• Don’t save your password to your computer if you share it with anyone. And never give anyone your password. Not even your best friend. It’s not silly to keep your password to yourself, it’s safe!

10. And finally, if it doesn’t look right, speak up! If you think something is suspicious or if you see something upsetting online, tell a parent or teacher, or report it to the website you’re trying to use.

10 punch lines from #NaMo’s speech at SRCC

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched the state’s model of growth and governance. Modi said that vote bank politics has spoilt the country and emphasised the need for good governance to make India globally competitive.

According to Modi all three major sectors of the economy viz., agriculture, industry and services should be given equal importance for development. This, he said, helps in overall development.

Here is a look at ten choicest punch-lines from his speech:

Nation of Mouse charmers

Mouse charmers: The youth of the nation has its finger on the mouse of computers and is changing the world. India’s journey has gone from snake charmers to mouse charmers!

Ignoring protests outside, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today used a college platform to project himself nationally saying his focus was on development politics and not that of vote-bank, which he said has “ruined” the nation.

India has a huge growth opportunity

“The ambassador of a nation asked me what major challenges India faces and I said the biggest one is that how we use opportunity. When asked what the opportunity was, I said the youth. Europe buddha ho chuka hai, China budha ho chuka hai.”

According to Modi India has a huge growth opportunity in the form of youth.

“Our country is not poor. We have vast resources, see eastern India is full of them. But we are unable to use that. We are unable to utilise the opportunity,” Modi said.

P2G2: Pro-people, good governance

“We need P2G2. Pro-People Good governance“: Pitching for the role of ‘good governance’, Modi said that the people of the country have sunk into an overwhelming state of pessimism.

“Even after six decades of freedom, the nation awaits good governance,” Modi said.

Speaking in Hindi on ‘Emerging business models in the global scenario’, Modi said the nation can progress by following ‘Gujarat model’ based on P2G2 (Pro-people good governance) principle.

Youth: New-age power

Youth ‘new-age power’, not ‘new-age voter’ alone. Youth have changed the way India is perceived today. Modi stressed the role of youth in the development of the nation.

His extempore speech was telecast live by news channels. “I am Chief Minister for a fourth term and based on my experience, with the same law, same Constitution, same rules and regulations, same officers, same people, same files, we can move forward. We can do a lot. I am confident that we can change things,” he said.

The glass is always full!

“I believe that the glass is full. One half with water and the other half with air.” There is despondency all over country but I am confident we can change the situation.

Picking up a glass of water, he said an optimist would say the glass is half full, while a pessimist would say it is half empty.

“I have a third point of view. For me the glass is always full — half with water and half with air. We can turn over the situation,” he said.

Milk in Delhi is from Gujarat

There must be no one in the audience who has chai without doodh from Gujarat in it. All the milk in Delhi is from Gujarat. Milk in Singapore is from Gujarat, Okra in Europe is from Gujarat.

Stating that the state’s agricultural sector has exhibited growth, Modi said, “If you go to Afghanistan, the people there have tomatoes that come from Gujarat.” Further talking about the development of the state, Modi said that the milk in Singapore and the ‘bhindi’ in Europe come from Gujarat.

Minimum government, maximum governance

Minimum government, maximum governance – this is my philosophy.

“This nation is being ruined by vote bank politics. This nation requires development politics. If we switch to politics of development, we will soon be in a position to bring about lasting change and progress,” Modi said.

“People feel nothing would change here. All are thieves, everything they do is waste. People consider it a curse to be born in India. They want to leave the country soon after completing their studies,” Modi said delivering the Shri Ram Memorial Oration.

Why not export teachers?

A businessman who goes abroad only captures dollars but a teacher influences a whole generation, said Modi while emphasising the need for education and promoting teaching as a vocation.

“We have created a university for teachers. I say we have so much youth and export so much, why not export teachers?”

Citing Gujarat’s mantra of success that can be emulated by the country for speedy progress, he said the focus should be on the manufacturing sector by making zero-defect products with good packaging.

Re-invent Made in India

Why shouldn’t we make the ‘Made in India’ tag a statement of quality for our manufactured products?,” he questioned.

Modi said there is a need to build the ‘Made in India’ brand. He drew a parallel between the credibility of a ‘Made in Japan’ tag and expressed the wish to have India reach such a level some day.

“The whole world says 21st century is India’s century. Some say it is Asia’s century, while some also say it is China’s century. I am confident that 21st century can be India’s century as knowledge is supreme,” he said.

Delhi’s Metro, Gujarat’s Coach!

Some years ago I launched a product which is now a part of Delhi. I launched a coach of the Delhi Metro! In Delhi all the metro coaches are coming from Gujarat.

Touting the recent ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ which accepted the global relevance of Gujarat with the presence of 121 nations there, Modi said, “When the world sees this, they infuse confidence that we can do.”

PTI

Facebook generated 2 cents per user last month in income

Facebook made two pennies per user per month.

A billion people offer their two cents every month to Facebook, literally.  That’s about how much income Facebook generated per user each month over the last quarter.

 Add it all up and the company made just $64 million on revenue of $1.59 billion. That means the company is generating about half a buck a month of revenue per user, and just $0.02 a month in income. Facebook says that a run-up in R&D hurt their profitability for the quarter.

Nonetheless, compared with the other tech giants (save Amazon, which has its own profitability problems), Facebook is not much of a money machine. It isn’t even within an order of magnitude of old-school companies like Microsoft or Oracle, let alone Apple.

But hey, it’s young. And detailed data on all of our lives has got to be worth something, right? Right? And the good news is that for the full year 2012, Facebook generated $13.58 in revenue per user in its most developed markets, the US and Canada. That’s up more than $2 over 2011 and $4 over 2010.

Update: Facebook would also probably like me to note that if you don’t follow the GAAP method and use Facebook’s own accounting, they made $426 million for the quarter, which is considerably more money than $64 million. Then again, there’s a reason they’re called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

The Atlantic

10 Most Popular Books of 2012

“A room without books is like a body without a soul” said Marcus Tullius Cicero. There are certain books that are shelved as ‘must read’ and each year so many such books are published. Here are 10 popular books that were published this year, as listed by goodreads.com. These books are certainly a must read!

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green:
The Fault in Our Stars is the fourth solo novel by John Green and was published in January 2012. The story is narrated by a sixteen-year-old cancer patient named Hazel, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she later meets and falls in love with the seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player and amputee. Green stated on his Tumblr blog and his YouTube vlog that “the title is inspired by a famous line from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar (Act 1, scene 2). The nobleman Cassius says to Brutus, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.’”

 

Pandemonium (Delirium, #2) by Lauren Oliver:
Pandemonium is a dystopian young adult novel written by Lauren Oliver, which was published in February 2012. It is a sequel to the 2011 book, Delirium. Pandemonium follows Lena, the series’ central character, as she explores the Wilds outside the walled community she was raised in.

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James:
Erika Leonard, better known by the pen name E. L. James, is the British author of the bestselling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Fifty Shades Freed is one of the popular books published this year. It is the third book in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. It was published on April 17 this year. The book is a mix of fate and spite combined to make Anastasia’s worst fears come true. Anastasia is the female protagonist of the trilogy. She is the primary love interest of Christian Grey, with whom she finds true love.

 

Insurgent (Divergent, #2) by Veronica Roth:
The second novel Insurgent in the trilogy ‘Divergent’ was released in May 2012. Divergent is the debut novel of American author Veronica Roth. Roth said that the idea for the series was born while she was studying in college. The third book in the series will be released in the fall of 2013.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling:
The Casual Vacancy is another ‘must read’ novel which was published this year. It is a tragicomedy novel by J.K. Rowling. The book was published worldwide by Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September this year. It was Rowling’s first publication since the Harry Potter series and her first novel for adults.

 
The novel is set in a suburban West Country town called Pagford and commences with the death of Parish Councillor Barry Fairbrother. Major themes in the novel are politics, class and social issues like that of drugs, prostitution and rape. The novel was the fastest-selling in the UK in 3 years and had the second best-selling opening week. It became the 15th best-selling book of 2012 in its first week of release. Within the first three weeks itself the book’s total sales topped one million copies in English in all formats across all territories. The book is being adapted into a BBC television drama and will be released in 2014.

 

City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare:
City of Lost Souls is the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and was published this year. It follows the books City of Bones, City of Glass, City of Ashes, and City of Fallen Angels. The next book in the series is City of Heavenly Fire which will be the final book in the Mortal Instruments, closing the series. City of Lost Souls was released on May 8 this year.

Bared to You (Crossfire, #1) by Sylvia Day:
Bared to You is a 2012 New York Times bestselling erotic romance novel by author Sylvia Day. It focuses on the complicated relationship between two people with equally abusive pasts. The novel was initially self-published on April 3, 2012 by Day, with Berkley Books re-publishing the book on June 12 this year with an initial print run of 500,000 copies. Day said that Bared to You will be the first novel in her Crossfire trilogy, with the follow-up novel Reflected in You published in October 2012. Bared to You was declared Penguin UK’s “fastest selling paperback for a decade” and Penguin Group (USA) reports that Bared to You is Berkley’s largest breakout book of 2012.

 

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer:
Cinder is the debut novel of New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer, and published by Macmillan Publishers through their subsidiary Feiwel & Friends. The story is freely based on the classic fairytale “Cinderella”.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking is a non-fiction book by Susan Cain published in 2012. Cain argues how modern Western culture misunderstands and undervalues the behavior and capabilities of introverted people, leading to “a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness.”  The book presents a history of how Western culture altered from a culture of character to a culture of personality in which an “extrovert ideal” dominates and introversion is seen as inferior or even pathological. Stating that temperament is a core element of human identity, Cain cites research in biology, psychology and evolution to demonstrate that introversion is both common and normal.

 
Quiet reached the number 1 position on the NPR Bestseller List, number 3 on the Los Angeles Times Best Seller list and number 4 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:
Gillian Flynn is an American author. She has published three novels Sharp Objects in 2006, Dark Places in 2009, and Gone Girl in 2012.