Central Asia

GARLIC

gar'-lik (shum, used only in plural shumim; compare Arabic thum): One of the delights of Egypt for which the Israelites in the Wilderness longed; we know from other sources that, though originally a product of Central Asia, garlic was known to the ancient Egyptians.

It is the bulb of Allium sativum, Natural Order Liliaceae, and is cultivated all over the Orient.
It is eaten cooked in stews; its disagreeable penetrating odor is in evidence in the houses and on the breath of most Orientals.
A bulb of garlic, hung over a bed or over the door of a house, is a powerful charm against the evil eye and other malign influences.

source:E. W. G. Masterman
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.......'is thousands of years old', DNA shows.

Reseachers analysed the DNA of 132 individuals with wide-ranging backgrounds from 25 diverse groups around India.

They found evidence of strong inbreeding leading to genetic groups that had been isolated from each other for thousands of years.

Most people had a mixture of genes from two ancient populations representing traditionally upper-caste individuals and everyone else.

The first was genetically close to people from the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe, while the second had an 'Ancestral South Indian' lineage confined to the subcontinent.

The research challenges the notion that India's notorious rigid caste system, with its priestly Brahmans and low-status 'untouchables', was largely manufactured by the British.

The Indian and pakistan chromosome:By Dr Farrukh Saleem

The Indian chromosome
By Dr Farrukh Saleem

Twenty-five thousand years ago, haplogroup R2 characterized by genetic marker M124 arose in southern Central Asia. Then began a major wave of human migration whereby members migrated southward to present-day India and Pakistan (Genographic Project by the National Geographic Society; http://www.nationalg...). Indians and Pakistanis have the same ancestry and share the same DNA sequence. Here's what is happening in India:

Interesting times ahead.............

Russia raised the prospect of war in the Arctic yesterday as nations struggle for control of the world’s dwindling energy reserves.

The country’s new national security strategy identified the intensifying battle for ownership of vast untapped oil and gas fields around its borders as a source of potential military conflict within a decade.

“The presence and potential escalation of armed conflicts near Russia’s national borders, pending border agreements between Russia and several neighbouring nations, are the major threats to Russia’s interests and border security,” stated the document, which analysed security threats up to 2020.

The recent surrender by the Pakistani State to the Taliban [Images] in the Swat valley may well turn out to be a watershed in the history of the Indian subcontinent. In terms of long-term impact, this may even overshadow the recent Mumbai [Images] massacres. All signs point to the 'Talibanisation' of Pakistan. Here are several pointers:
I A Rehman writing in the Dawn newspaper on February 12 says 'the Pakistani armed forces were indoctrinated in General Zia-ul Haq's rule to reserve senior posts for genuine Islamists. The Pakistan army [Images] may have the capacity to kill hordes of people, but it will not -- and cannot -- do that.' The army and the State may well disintegrate if it does.

Sharing a forwarded email, source were not available.

Thu, Jan 15 10:40 AM

Nicosia, Jan 15 (ANI): The Dubai Ministry of Labour has been flooded with thousands of labour complaints, as a very big number of workers and employees have been laid off, or have been made redundant in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The majority of these workers are Indians. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 1,500 work permits and visas are being cancelled in Dubai each day.

Feeling the pinch of global slowdown many companies, mainly in the construction sector, have stopped all new employment and most of them have already laid off hundreds of workers.