JIMBO – THE INTERNET ENTREPRENEUR

 

 

ABOUT JIMBO:

Jimmy Donal “Jimbo” Wales was born August 7, 1966, is an American Internet entrepreneur and a co-founder and promoter of Wikipedia.

Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama in the United States. He attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school, then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance. While in graduate school, he taught at two universities, but left before completing a Ph.D. in order to take a job in finance and later worked as the research director of a Chicago futures and options firm. In 1996, he and two partners founded Bomis, a male-oriented web portal featuring entertainment and adult content. The company would provide the initial funding for the peer-reviewed free encyclopedia Nupedia (2000–2003) and its successor, Wikipedia.

In 2001, together with Larry Sanger and others, Wales helped launch Wikipedia, a free, open content encyclopedia that enjoyed rapid growth and popularity, and as Wikipedia’s public profile grew, he became the project’s promoter and spokesman. He is historically cited as a co-founder of Wikipedia, though he has disputed the “co-” designation, declaring himself the sole founder. Wales serves on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization he helped establish to operate Wikipedia, holding its board-appointed “community founder” seat. In 2004, he co-founded Wikia, a for-profit wiki-hosting service.

Wales has been married twice and has a daughter with his second wife Christine, from whom he is separated. He describes himself as an Objectivist and, with reservations, a libertarian. His role in creating Wikipedia, which has become the world’s largest encyclopedia, prompted Time magazine to name him in its 2006 list of the world’s most influential people.

SALARY:

Jimmy Wales’ biography on Wikipedia claims that he is independently wealthy. According to Wikipedia, Wales made enough money while working in the finance industry in Chicago to support himself and his wife for the rest of their lives. An article in Wired is cited. However on the talk page, Wales claims that his net worth is considerably less: “I do not have millions of dollars. I do not even have one million dollars.”

It is likely that Wales makes his living from Wikipedia. He is not paid directly by the Wikimedia Foundation, and he claims that he is not reimbursed for expenses while conducting Wikipedia business, even when traveling to board meetings. The way Mr. Wales makes a living is by getting $50,000 to $70,000 per speaking engagement when he goes and lectures about Wikipedia.

He also uses these speaking opportunities to publicize a side project, Wikia, which is for-profit. Wikipedia also deviates from its usual low tolerance for spam, allowing thousands of links to Wikia and not giving them the usual “no follow” treatment, thus elevating Wikia’s search engine rankings. This “interwiki” treatment is not always available to other websites.

The recent announcement of a partnership with Orange, a European telecommunications company, shows that Wales has a renewed interest in monetizing the content on Wikipedia.

JIMBO’s VISION:

Jimbo Wales wants Wikipedia to be open for everyone. He does not like to ban anyone, and indeed refused to ban anyone at all initially and did not allow admins to have the ability to ban. Jimbo is also keen on privacy, to the extent that admins cannot even see IP addresses, and to see something as commonplace as an IP address requires special magical CheckUser abilities that only a select few have.

Sadly, such rules end up being abused and making it less private than ever and more able to be abused with power tripping and corruption than a more open system. Jimbo’s vision is to create a serious encyclopaedia. He doesn’t particularly like it when people make fun of it, or treat it as anything less than super serious.

OTHERS:

In May 2010, Jimbo attempted to delete some of the pornography from Wikimedia Commons. He was condemned by a majority of Wikimedians and pressured to remove some administrative tools from his “founder” software status. Wikipedia was started by Bomis, an internet company that offered adult content. Bomis was founded by Jimmy Wales and Tim Shell. Bomis funded Wikipedia in the early days before Wikipedia began accepting donations.

Jimmy Wales claims to have no connection with Wikileaks (wikileaks.org). However his company, Wikia, owns the domain names wikileaks.com, wikileaks.net, and wikileaks.us. All three of these sites publish content from Wikileaks. (Note: the www format must be used: e.g. www.wikileaks.com).

HONORS, AWARDS & POSITIONS:

• 1) Wales received the Quadriga award on October 3, 2008
• 2) Mid-2005 — Wales was appointed as a member of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.
• 3) October 3, 2005 — Wales joined the Board of Directors of Socialtext, a provider of wiki technology to businesses.
• 4) 2006 — Wales joined the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization Creative Commons.
• 5) May 8, 2006 — Wales was listed in the “Scientists & Thinkers” section of the 100 influential people special edition of Time magazine.
• 6) June 3, 2006 — Wales received an honorary degree of doctor of laws from Knox College.
• 7) May 3, 2006 — The Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded him a Pioneer Award.
• 8) 2006 — Wales was appointed to the advisory board of the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.
• 9) January 23, 2007 — Forbes magazine ranked Wales twelfth in its first annual “The Web Celebs 25”.
• 10) 2007 — Wales was recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of the ‘Young Global Leaders’ of 2007.
• 11) May 2008 — Wales co-chaired the World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2008 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• 12) 2008 — CORUM awarded him The Global Brand Icon of the Year Award for 2008.
• 13) 2008 — Wales accepted on behalf of the Wikimedia project the Quadriga award of Werkstatt Deutschland for A Mission of Enlightenment.
• 14) October 30, 2008 — Wales was awarded the Business Process Award at the 7th Annual Innovation Awards and Summit by The 15) Economist “for public collaboration as a form of product and content development.”
• 16) November 4, 2009 — Wales was recognized with the Nokia Foundation annual award (2009) “for his contributions to the evolution of the World Wide Web as a participatory and truly democratic platform”.
• 17) November 2009 — Wales was awarded the Monaco Media Prize for enabling collaborative knowledge-seeking.
• 18) December 7, 2009 — Wales announced that he will be joining the New York City-based Hunch.com as Board Member and advisor.
• 19) April 8, 2010 — Wales was honored as a Stuart Regen Visionary at New Museum in New York City.
• 20) May 21, 2010 — Wales received an honorary degree of doctor of laws from Stevenson University. Wales said that this was the very first college commencement speech that he had delivered.
• 21) May 23, 2010 — Wales received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from Amherst College.
• 22) January 26, 2011 — Wales was slated to be awarded on the foregoing date the Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize according to an announcement made on October 8, 2010.

AS AN AUTHOR:

• 1) Brooks, Robert; Jon Corson, Jimmy Donal Wales (1994). “The Pricing of Index Options When the Underlying Assets All Follow a Lognormal Diffusion”. Advances in Futures and Options Research 7.
• 2) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (December 31, 2008), “Foreword”, in Fraser, Matthew; Dutta, Soumitra, Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World (1st ed.), Wiley, ISBN 0470740140, OCLC 233939846.
• 3) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (January 8, 2009). “Commentary: Create a tech-friendly U.S. government”. CNN.com.
• 4) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (February 10, 2009), “Foreword”, in Powell, Juliette, 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking (1st ed.), Financial Times Press, ISBN 0137154356, OCLC 244066502.
• 5) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (March 3, 2009), “Foreword”, in Weber, Larry, Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business (2nd ed.), Wiley, ISBN 0470410973, OCLC 244060887.
• 6) Wales, Jimmy (March 17, 2009), Lih, Andrew, ed., The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World’s Greatest Encyclopedia (1st ed.), Hyperion, ISBN 1401303714, OCLC 232977686.
• 7) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (March 30, 2009). “Most Define User-Generated Content Too Narrowly”. Advertising Age 80.
• 8) Wales, Jimmy; Andrea Weckerle (December 28, 2009). “Keep a Civil Cybertongue”. The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company).

Checkout the ASCII Art and Pictures of Jimbo in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the ascii art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/file/G0tkqK-5/Jimmy_Wales.html

MICHAEL POLLAN – FAMOUS AMERICAN AUTHOR

Michael Pollan was born on Sunday, February 06, 1955 and he is a famous American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. Pollan was born to author and financial consultant Stephen Pollan and columnist Corky Pollan. Pollan received a B.A. from Bennington College in 1977 and an M.A. in English from Columbia University in 1981. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife, the painter Judith Belzer, and their son, Isaac.

For the past twenty-five years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (2010); In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008); The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006) and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001). The Omnivore’s Dilemma was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by both the New York Times and the Washington Post. It also won the California Book Award, the Northern California Book Award, the James Beard Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A young readers edition called The Omnivore’s Dilemma: the Secrets Behind What You Eat was published in 2009. The Botany of Desire received the Borders Original Voices Award for the best non-fiction work of 2001, and was recognized as a best book of the year by the American Booksellers Association and Amazon.com. PBS premiered a two-hour special documentary based on The Botany of Desire in fall 2009. Pollan is also the author of A Place of My Own (1997) and Second Nature (1991).Pollan was named to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. In 2009 he was named by Newsweek as one of the top 10 “New Thought Leaders.” A contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine since 1987, his writing has received numerous awards: he was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in 2009 for best essay; he received the James Beard Award for best magazine series in 2003; the John Burroughs prize in 1997 for best natural history essay; the QPB New Vision Award for his first book, Second Nature; the 2000 Reuters-I.U.C.N. Global Award for Environmental Journalism for his reporting on genetically modified crops; the 2003 Humane Society of the United States’ Genesis Award for his writing on animal agriculture; the 2008 Truth in Agricultural Journalism Award from the American Corngrowers Association; the 2009 President’s Citation Award from the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the 2009 Voices of Nature Award from the Natural Resources Defense Council. His essays have appeared in many anthologies, including Best American Essays (1990 and 2003), Best American Science Writing (2004), the Norton Book of Nature Writing, and The New Kings of Non-Fiction, edited by Ira Glass. In addition to publishing regularly in The New York Times Magazine, his articles have appeared in Harper’s Magazine (where he served as executive editor from 1984 to 1994), National Geographic, Mother Jones, The Nation, The New York Review of Books, Vogue, Travel + Leisure, Gourmet, House & Garden and Gardens Illustrated, among others. In 2009, he appeared in a two-hour PBS special based on The Botany of Desire as well as in the documentary, Food Inc., which received an Academy Award nomination.

In 2003, Pollan was appointed the John S. and James L. Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and the director of the Knight Program in Science and Environmental Journalism. In addition to teaching, he lectures widely on food, agriculture, health and the environment.Pollan is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, a former executive editor for Harper’s Magazine, and author of five books: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (2008) The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006), The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World (2001), A Place of My Own (1997), and Second Nature A Gardener’s Education (1991).

His recent work has dealt with the practices of the meat industry, and he has written a number of articles on trends in American agriculture. He has received the Reuters World Conservation Union Global Awards in environmental journalism, the James Beard Foundation Awards for best magazine series in 2003, and the Genesis Award from the American Humane Association. His articles have been anthologized in Best American Science Writing (2004), Best American Essays (1990 and 2003), The Animals: Practicing Complexity (2006) and the Norton Book of Nature Writing (1990).

Pollan co-starred in the documentary, Food, Inc. (2008), for which he was also a consultant.

BOOKS

 

• Pollan, Michael (1991). Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 9780871134431.
• Pollan, Michael (1997). Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780679415329.
• Pollan, Michael (2001). The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375501296.
• Pollan, Michael (2006). The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 9781594200823.
• Pollan, Michael (2008). In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 9781594201455.
• Pollan, Michael (2009). Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0143116387.

ESSAYS

• Pollan, Michael (April, 1997). “Opium Made Easy”. Harper’s.
• Pollan, Michael (July 19, 2002). “When a Crop Becomes King”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (November 10, 2002). “An Animal’s Place”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (June 4, 2006). “Mass Natural”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (June 11, 2006). “Six rules for eating wisely”. Time magazine. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (January 28, 2007). “Unhappy Meals”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (22April 2007). “You Are What You Grow”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (December 16, 2007). “Our Decrepit Food Factories”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (April 20, 2008). “Why bother?”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
• Pollan, Michael (October 9, 2008). “An Open Letter to the Farmer in Chief”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
• Pollan, Michael (July 29, 2009). “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
• Pollan, Michael (September 9, 2009). “Big Food vs. Big Insurance”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-14.

INTERVIEWS

• Michael Pollan. Interview with Ketzel Levine. A Plant’s-Eye View Of The World (audio). Morning Edition. NPR. June 4, 2001. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Helen Wagenvoord. The Cheapest Calories Make You the Fattest (transcript). Sierra Magazine. September 2004. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Jason Marsh. Edible Ethics (transcript). Greater Good magazine. Spring/Summer 2006. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Amy Goodman. In Defense of Food (video/audio/transcript). Democracy Now. February 13, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Warren Etheredge. An Evening with Michael Pollan (audio). The Warren Report. October 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Bill Moyers. Bill Moyers Journal. PBS. November 28, 2008. (Interview ). Retrieved on 2008-11-29.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Melissa Moser. Food and Fossil Fuels (video). Powering A Nation: UNC News21 Project. June 25, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-08-04.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Melissa Moser. Checking Out Michael Pollan’s Garden (video). Powering A Nation: UNC News21 Project. June 25, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-08-04.
• Michael Pollan. Interview with Waylon Lewis. Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis interview: Michael Pollan. Sponsored by Gaiam. (video). Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis. June 22, 2009. Retrieved on 2010-09-23.

Checkout the ASCII Art and Pictures of Michael Pollan in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the ascii art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/file/jEP36gMO/Michael_Pollan.html

ANKIT FADIA – YOUNG ETHICAL HACKER

Ankit Fadia is an Indian computer security consultant based in Silicon Valley, USA. He has authored several books on computer security. Fadia is currently pursuing his Bachelors in Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University.

Fadia was educated at Delhi Public School. He started a website called “HackingTruths”, which he claims was judged as the “second best hacking site in the world by the FBI”. He claims that when he was 14, he trashed the front page of an Indian magazine’s website. He then sent an e-mail to the editor confessing to the hack, suggesting counter measures. At 15, his book on Ethical Hacking made him the youngest author to be published by Macmillan India. He claims that in 2001, he discovered links between the Chinese government and the China Eagle Union, a cracker group responsible for defacing many U.S. web sites. He stated that the “long-term goal of the Chinese government is actually to take over the internet and control all parts of the internet”. However none of these claims have been proved by substantial evidence so far.

As per his claims, in November 2001, Fadia was consulted by a classified intelligence agency for breaking an encrypted message which was believed to have been sent by one of Osama Bin Laden’s men. No evidence has ever been found to support this claim too. Many publications wrongly reported that Fadia is associated with FBI or CIA, however, he himself denied this.

In April 2002, Rediff.com published an interview with Ankit Fadia. Anti-India Crew (AIC), a Pakistani hacker group noted for defacing Indian Government websites, rubbished the claims that Fadia had made in the interview. Fadia had claimed that his alert to a U.S. spy agency had prevented an attack by Pakistani hackers. However, he never divulged the name of the agency, citing security reasons. AIC and another Pakistani hacker group WFD defaced an Indian Government site, epfindia.gov.in, and “dedicated” it to Fadia in mock deference to his capabilities to hack or prevent hacking. AIC also said that it would be defacing the website of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), www.cbec.gov.in, within two days and challenged Fadia to prevent the attack by patching the vulnerable website. AIC maintained that Fadia should stop calling himself a hacker, if it succeeded in hacking the CBEC website. AIC kept its promise and defaced the CBEC website after two days. At another defaced website (bhelhyd.co.in), AIC termed the claims of Indian media about Ankit Fadia as “Bullshit”.

Fadia’s earlier site, Ankitfadia.com, was attacked in 2003, by a cracker who self-identified as SkriptKiddie. Fadia explained that he was using a private web server for hosting his website and they were responsible for the lack of security.

Fadia has also claimed that he works closely with the Government of Singapore. He has also conducted many lectures and workshops for companies, college students and several law enforcement agencies.

FUTURE PLANS

In 2005, Fadia said that he is going to write a thriller on the lines of Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress, which he hopes to make into a movie. He claimed that a production company has approached him with a blanket offer. He said that he was also planning a restaurant in Pune or Ahmedabad.

RECOGNITION

Ankit Fadia has been honored with numerous awards, including the IT Leader Award 2005 and the Indo-American Society Young Achiever Award 2005. In 2002, the Limca Book of Records declared him among the “People of The Year”. Ankit Fadia has also sponsored the “Ankit Fadia Information Security Award”, which is given annually by The Singapore Management University, to an outstanding student in the Information Security and Trust Course under the Bachelor of Science (Information System Management) degree programme.

TV SHOWS

According to the DNA Newspaper article, in Oct 2009 MTV India announced the launch of Ankit Fadia’s new TV show on MTV called What the Hack! According to the MTV India website, on the show What The Hack! Ankit Fadia gives tips on how to make good use of the internet and answers people’s queries/questions. Internet users email their problems to MTV India and Ankit gives them the solution.

BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS

• The Unofficial Guide to Ethical Hacking, Course Technology PTR, 2020. ISBN 1931841721.
• Network Security: A Hacker’s Perspective, Course Technology PTR, 2020. ISBN 1598631632.
• Hacking Mobile Phones, Course Technology PTR, 2020. ISBN 1598631063.
• Tips and Tricks on Linux, Centro Atlantico, 2002. ISBN 972-8426-34-8.
• Email Hacking, Vikas Publishing, 2020. ISBN 9788125918134.
• Windows Hacking, Vikas Publishing, 2020. ISBN 9788125918141.
• Encryption Protecting your Data, Vikas Publishing, 2020. ISBN 9788125922513.
• Intrusion Alert: An Ethical Hacking Guide to Intrusion Detection, Course Technology PTR, 2020. ISBN 1598634143.
• Google Hacking – An Ethical Guide, Vikas Publications, 2020. ISBN 8125922490.
• Software Hacking, Vikas Publications, 2008. ISBN 9788125928676.
• System Forensics, Vikas Publications, 2020. ISBN 9788125931515.
• Cracking Admissions in Colleges Abroad, Vikas Publications, 2020. ISBN 9788125930754.

Checkout the ASCII Art and Pictures of Ankit Fadia in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the ASCII art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/file/xlxX9Dyz/Ankit_Fadia.html

CONFUCIUS – THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CHINESE PHILOSOPHER

The Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius was the founder of the school of philosophy known as the Ju or Confucianism, which is still very influential in China. He was born on 551 B.C.E in Tuo, China.

INFO OF HIS LIFE

Confucius is the Latinized name of K’ung Fu-tzu (Great Master K’ung). His original name was K’ung Ch’iu; he is also known as K’ung Chung-ni. The most detailed traditional account of Confucius’s life is contained in the Records of the Historian (Shih chi) by Ssu-ma Ch’ien, who lived from 145 B.C.E. to 86 B.C.E. Many modern scholars have dismissed this biography as only legend. Nevertheless, from this manuscript one can reconstruct a satisfactory outline of the philosopher’s life and influence.

According to the Records of the Historian, Confucius was a descendant of a branch of the royal house of Shang, the dynasty (a family of rulers) that ruled China prior to the Chou, and a dynasty which ruled China from around 1122 B.C.E. to 221 B.C.E. His family, the K’ung, moved to the small state of Lu, located in the modern province of Shantung in northeastern China.

It was believed that Confucius’s father divorced his first wife at an advanced age, because she had borne him only daughters and one disfigured son. He then married a fifteen-year-old girl from the Yen clan, who gave birth to Confucius. Ssu-ma Ch’ien refers to the relationship as a “wild union,” which very possibly indicates that Confucius was an illegitimate child, or a child born out of wedlock.

In the Analects, Confucius’s book of teachings, he writes that during his youth he was poor and was forced to acquire many different skills. It is clear that even though the fortunes of his family had declined, he was no commoner. Confucius unquestionably belonged to the aristocratic (ruling) class known as the shih. In the time of Confucius most shih served as court officials, scholars, and teachers. Confucius’s first occupation appears to have been as keeper of the Lu granary. Later he worked as supervisor of the fields. Both were low positions but consistent with his shih status.

CAREER AS A TEACHER

It is not known exactly when Confucius began his teaching career, but it does not appear to have been much before the age of thirty. In 518 B.C.E. he is said to have met the famous teacher Lao Tzu (sixth century B.C.E. ), who reportedly bluntly criticized Confucius for his stuffiness and arrogance. Confucius eventually returned to Lu around 515 B.C.E. For several years after his return he does not appear to have accepted a governmental position. Instead it appears he spent most of his time studying and teaching, gathering a large number of students around him. Although one can only guess about the school’s exact course work, it undoubtedly included instruction in ritual, music, history, and poetry.

Around 498 B.C.E. , Confucius decided to leave his home in Lu and embark on a long journey throughout eastern China. He was accompanied by several of his disciples (followers). They wandered throughout the eastern states of Wei, Sung, and Ch’en and at various times had their lives threatened. Confucius was almost assassinated (killed) in Sung. On another occasion he was mistaken for the adventurer Yang Hu and was arrested and held until his true identity became known.

Confucius was received with great respect by the rulers of the states he visited, and he even seems to have received occasional payments. He spent much of his time developing his ideas on the art of government, as well as continuing his teaching. He acquired a large following, and the solidification of the Confucian school probably occurred during these years. Not all of his disciples followed him on his travels. Several of them actually returned to Lu and assumed positions with the Chi clan. It may have been through their influence that in 484 B.C.E. Confucius was invited back to Lu.

FINAL YEARS

Confucius was warmly received in Lu, but there is no indication that he was given a responsible position. Little is known about his last years, although this would have been a logical time for him to work on the many texts and documents he supposedly gathered on his journey. Much of his time was devoted to teaching, and he seems to have remained more or less distant from political affairs. This was an unhappy period for Confucius. His only son died about this time; his favorite disciple, Yen Hui, died the very year of his return to Lu; and in 480 B.C.E. another disciple, Tzu-lu, was killed in battle. Confucius felt all of these losses deeply, and his sadness and frustration must have been intensified by the realization that his political ideas had found no support among the rulers of his own state. Confucius died in 479 B.C.E in Qufu, China. His disciples conducted his funeral and observed a mourning period for him.

CONFUCIUS’S TEACHINGS

Although we cannot be certain that Confucius wrote any of the works he is credited with, it is still possible to know something about the general nature of his philosophy. Shortly after his death his disciples compiled a work known as the Lun yü, commonly translated as the Analects but more accurately rendered as the Edited Conversations. This work consists of conversations between Confucius, his students, and an occasional ruler. The primary emphasis of the Lun yü is on political philosophy. Confucius taught that the primary task of the ruler was to achieve the welfare (well-being) and happiness of the people of his state. To accomplish this aim, the ruler first had to set a moral (good character) example by his own conduct. This example would in turn influence the people’s behavior.

Confucius is the first Chinese thinker to introduce concepts that became fundamental not only to Confucian philosophy but to Chinese philosophy in general. The most important of these are jen (benevolence), yi (propriety, or being proper), and li (ritual, or ceremony). Confucius believed that the chün-tzu, or “gentleman,” must set the moral example for others in society to follow. In the Lun yü jen, what has been translated as humaneness or benevolence (being kind) is a quality a chün-tzu should develop and attempt to encourage in others. Li is considered the rules and ritual that are observed in religious and nonreligious ceremonies and, as applied to the chün-tzu, composed rules of behavior. Yi represents what is right and proper in a given situation. The chün-tzu, by observing the ritual and because of his good nature, always knows what is right.

Confucius was basically a humanist and one of the greatest teachers in Chinese history. His influence on his immediate disciples was deep. His students continued to explain his theories until, in the first Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. –8 C. E.), the theories became the basis of the state ideology, the body of ideas reflecting the social needs of a culture.

JARON LANIER – THE TECH GEEK

Jaron Zepel Lanier, born on May 3, 1960. He is a computer scientist, composer, visual artist, and author.

IN THE SCIENCES

Jaron Lanier scientific interests include biometric information architectures, user interfaces, heterogeneous scientific simulations, advanced information systems for medicine, and computational approaches to the fundamentals of physics. He collaborates with a wide range of scientists in fields related to these interests. Lanier’s name is also often associated with Virtual Reality research. He either coined or popularized the term ‘Virtual Reality’ and in the early 1980s founded VPL Research, the first company to sell VR products. In the late 1980s he led the team that developed the first implementations of multi-person virtual worlds using head mounted displays, for both local and wide area networks, as well as the first “avatars”, or representations of users within such systems. While at VPL, he and his colleagues developed the first implementations of virtual reality applications in surgical simulation, vehicle interior prototyping, virtual sets for television production, and assorted other areas. He led the team that developed the first widely used software platform architecture for immersive virtual reality applications. Sun Microsystems acquired VPL’s seminal portfolio of patents related to Virtual Reality and networked 3D graphics in 1999.

From 1997 to 2001, Lanier was the Chief Scientist of Advanced Network and Services, which contained the Engineering Office of Internet2, and served as the Lead Scientist of the National Tele-immersion Initiative, a coalition of research universities studying advanced applications for Internet2. The Initiative demonstrated the first prototypes of tele-immersion in 2000 after a three-year development period. From 2001 to 2004 he was Visiting Scientist at Silicon Graphics Inc., where he developed solutions to core problems in telepresence and tele-immersion. He was Scholar at Large for Microsoft from 2006 to 2009, and Partner Architect there from 2009 forward. Lanier received an honorary doctorate from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2006, was the recipient of CMU’s Watson award in 2001, was a finalist for the first Edge of Computation Award in 2005, and received a Lifetime Career Award from the IEEE in 2009 for contributions to Virtual Reality.

AS AN AUTHOR

Lanier is a well-known author and speaker. His book “You are not a gadget” will be released in early 2010 by Knopf in the USA and Penguin in the UK. “Jaron’s World” is his monthly column in Discover Magazine, currently on hiatus, and devoted to his own wide ranging ideas and research. He writes and speaks on numerous topics, including high-technology business, the social impact of technological practices, the philosophy of consciousness and information, Internet politics, and the future of humanism. His lecture client list has included most of the well-known high technology firms as well as many others in the energy, automotive, and financial services industries. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Discover, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Harpers Magazine, The Sciences, Wired Magazine (where he was a founding contributing editor), and Scientific American. He has edited special “future” issues of SPIN and Civilization magazines. He is one of the 100 “remarkable people” of the Global Business Network.

IN MUSICAs a musician, Lanier has been active in the world of new “classical” music since the late seventies. He is a pianist and a specialist in unusual musical instruments, especially the wind and string instruments of Asia. He maintains one of the largest and most varied collections of actively played rare instruments in the world. Lanier has performed with artists as diverse as Philip Glass, Ornette Coleman, George Clinton, Sean Lennon, Vernon Reid, Terry Riley, Duncan Sheik, Pauline Oliveros, and Stanley Jordan. Lanier co-composed the soundtrack to “The Third Wave,” a documentary released in Sept. 2009 to critical acclaim after winning awards at film festivals around the world. Lanier’s work with acoustic “world” instruments can be heard on many other soundtracks as well, including a prominent role in “Three Seasons” (1999), which was the first film ever to win both the Audience and Grand Jury awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

He also writes chamber and orchestral music. Current commissions include a symphony for the Bach Festival Orchestra. Recent commissions include: “Earthquake!”, a ballet which premiered at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco in April, 2006; “Little Shimmers” for the TroMetrik ensemble, which premiered at ODC in San Francisco in April, 2006; “Daredevil” for the ArrayMusic chamber ensemble, which was premiered in Toronto in 2006; A concert length sequence of works for orchestra and virtual worlds (including “Canons for Wroclaw”, “Khaenoncerto”, “The Egg”, and others) celebrating the 1000th birthday of the city of Wroclaw, Poland, premiered in 2000; A triple concerto, “The Navigator Tree”, commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Composers Forum, premiered in 2000; and “Mirror/Storm”, a symphony commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and premiered in 1998. “Continental Harmony”, a PBS special that documented the development and premiere of “The Navigator Tree” won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. His CD “Instruments of Change” was released on Point/Polygram in 1994.

IN VISUAL ART

Lanier’s paintings and drawings have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States and Europe. In 2002 he co-created (with Philippe Parreno) an exhibit illustrating how aliens might perceive humans for the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris. In 1994 he directed the film “Muzork” under a commission from ARTE Television. His 1983 “Moondust” (which he programmed in 6502 assembly) is generally regarded as the first art video game, and the first interactive music publication. He has presented installations in New York City, including the “Video Feedback Waterbed” and the “Time-accelerated Painting”, which was situated in the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage. His first one man show took place in 1997 at the Danish Museum for Modern Art in Roskilde. He helped make up the gadgets and scenarios for the 2002 science fiction movie Minority Report by Steven Spielberg.CELEBRITY FLUFF

In 2005 Lanier was selected as one of the top one hundred public intellectuals in the world by readers of Prospect and Foreign Policy magazines. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (but certainly not the Wikipedia) includes him in its list of history’s 300 or so greatest inventors. The nation of Palau has issued a postage stamp in his honor. Various television documentaries have been produced about him, such as “Dreadlocks and Digital Dreamworlds” by Tech TV in 2002. The 1992 movie Lawnmower Man was in part based on him and his early laboratory- he was played by Piers Brosnan. He has appeared on national television many times, on shows such as “The News Hour,” “Nightline,” and “Charlie Rose,” and has been profiled multiple times on the front pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

AWARDS

• Carnegie Mellon University’s Watson award in 2001
• Finalist for the first Edge of Computation Award in 2005
• Honorary doctorate from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2006
• IEEE Virtual Reality Career Award in 2009
• Named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2010 (nominated by Microsoft VP Dan Reed)

WORKS

WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC

• Instruments of Change (1994),[22] POINT Music/Philips/PolyGram Records
  

VIDEO GAMES

• Moondust (C64, 1983)
• Alien Garden (Atari 800, 1982)

SIGNIFICANT PAPERS

• “One Half of a Manifesto”, Edge, 11.11.00
• “Digital Maoism: The Hazards of the New Online Collectivism”, Edge, 5.30.06
• “Beware the Online Collective”, Edge, 12.25.06

BOOKS

• You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2010, ISBN 978-1846143410

SPEECHES

• ‘Finding Humanity in the Interface: Capacity Atrophy or Augmentation?’ A debate between Jaron Lanier and Will Wright from the Accelerating Change 2004 conference.
• Video of Jaron Lanier speaking at a Film Festival
• Video of Jaron Lanier’s “McLuhan Ramp” Lecture
• Video of Jaron Lanier with Neal Stephenson, Neil Gershenfeld, Raymond Laflamme, and Tara Hunt, on The Agenda with Steve Paikin at the Quantum to Cosmos festival
• Video of panel discussion with Jaron Lanier, Neal Stephenson and Lee Smolin, “Seeing Science Through Fiction” at the Quantum to Cosmos festival
• Podcast of Science in the Pub panel discussion with Jaron Lanier, Hod Lipson, Wilson da Silva and Eliezer Yudkowsky: “So We’re All Gonna be Robots, Now?”
• Video of Jaron Lanier giving a talk titled: ‘Staying Human in a Tech-Driven World’ at Zócalo public square, on January 28, 2010

INTERVIEWS

• Interview with Jaron Lanier on Music
• Coding from Scratch: A Conversation with Jaron Lanier, Part 1
• The Future of Virtual Reality: A Conversation with Jaron Lanier, Part 2
• Brown, David Jay; Novick, Rebecca McClen (1995). Voices from the edge: Conversations with Jerry Garcia, Ram Dass, Annie Sprinkle, Matthew Fox, Jaron Lanier, & others. Freedom, CA: Crossing Press. ISBN 0-89594-732-3
• Interview by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Counterpoint program; Lanier strongly criticises both Wikipedia and singularitarianism
• A Conversation with Jaron Lanier

Checkout the ASCII Art and Pictures of Jaron Lanier in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/file/d-4oDaac/Jaron_Zepel_Lanier.html

PADMA LAKSHMI – LADY RUSHDIE

Padma Parvati Lakshmi, Lady Rushdie (born September 1, 1970 in Chennai, India) is an Indian-American cookbook author, actress, and model who has described herself as the first well-known model from India. She has been the host of the reality television program Top Chef since season two and is an ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

She was born into a Tamil Brahmin family in 1970 and raised in Madras, India and the United States. Her first name means “lotus” in Sanskrit, as well as “pearl” or “jewel.” Parvati is a consort of Shiva. Lakshmi is the name of the Hindu goddess of wealth. She attended the Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA and was studying in Spain when she was discovered. Magazines like Vogue, Elle and Glamour had her in their pages and she soon became a famous fashion model. Her career started and since then she modeled for names like Emmanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, Alberta Ferretti and Roberto Cavalli.

Padma Lakshmi made a 2002 guest appearance as alien princess Kaitaama in Precious Cargo, the 37th episode of the popular science fiction TV series Star Trek: Enterprise. She was also hostess of Domenica In, Italy’s top-rated television show. She portrayed Sean Bean’s nemesis in the 2004 -2005 iTV TV series Sharpe’s Challenge. On April 17, 2004 she got married to Salman Rushdie, a novelist. In 2006 Lakshmi appeared in ABC’s TV series The Ten Commandments with Dougray Scott, Naveen Andrews, and Omar Sharif. Padma took over as hostess of the popular TV cooking competition series Top Chef in 2006 during its second season and continues in 2007 in its third season.

Her first cookbook Easy Exotic was awarded Best First Book at the 1999 World Cookbook Awards at Versailles. She was host of the Food Network series, Padma’s Passport, which is part of the larger series Melting Pot. She has also been a guest host on parts of the British culinary tourism show Planet Food, hosting the segments on India and Spain. Her second cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet was released October 2, 2007. The Food Network series, ‘Padma’s Passport’ and ‘Domenica In’ is hosted by her. Some of the movies in which she was seen are “Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Glitter”, “Boom”. She has a film production company and a cinematic partnership with her husband.

FILMOGRAPHY

• Top Chef (1 episode, 2006)
• Sharpe’s Challenge (2006) (TV)
• The Ten Commandments (2006) (TV)
• The Mistress of Spices (2005)
• Boom (2003/I)
• Enterprise (1 episode, 2002)
• Glitter (2001)
• Melting Pot (2001) TV Series
• Caraibi (1999) (mini) TV Series
• Figlio di Sandokan, Il (1998) (mini) TV Series
• Linda e il brigadiere (1 episode)

SELF FILMOGRAPHY

• Last Call with Carson Daly (1 episode, 2007)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (1 episode, 2007)
• Top Chef (1 episode, 2006)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (1 episode, 2006)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (1 episode, 2001)
• Unzipped (1995) (uncredited)

Checkout the ASCII Art and Wallpapers of Padma Lakshmi in the below link. Extract the Files from WinRAR Archive. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/file/-ihNLfgu/Padma_Lakshmi.html

ATUL GAWANDE – AMERICAN DOCTOR / WRITER

Atul Gawande (born on November 5, 1965 in Brooklyn, NY) is an American doctor and journalist. He serves as a general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and associate director of their Center for Surgery and Public Health. He is also an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. He has written extensively on medicine and public health for The New Yorker and Slate, pieces which have been collected in his books Complications and Better.

Gawande was born in Brooklyn, New York to Indian Maharashtrian immigrants to the United States, both doctors. The family soon moved to Athens, Ohio, where Gawande and his sister grew up. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1987, was a Rhodes scholar (earning a P.P.E. degree from Balliol College, Oxford in 1989), and later graduated from Harvard Medical School. He also has a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

As a student Gawande was a volunteer for Gary Hart’s campaign. As a Rhodes Scholar, he spent one year at Oxford University. After graduation, he joined Al Gore’s 1988 presidential campaign. He worked as a health-care researcher for Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN), who was author of a “managed competition” health care proposal for the Conservative Democratic Forum. After two years he left medical school to become Bill Clinton’s health care lieutenant during the 1992 campaign and became a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services after Clinton’s inauguration. He directed one of the three committees of the Clinton Health Care Task Force, supervising 75 people and defined the benefits packages for Americans and subsidies and requirements for employers. He returned to medical school in 1993 and earned his M.D in 1995.

Soon after he began his residency, his friend Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate, asked him to contribute to the online magazine. His pieces on the life of a surgical resident caught the eye of the New Yorker which published several pieces by him before making him a staff writer in 1998.A June 2009 New Yorker essay by Gawande, “The Cost Conundrum”, which used as an example the town of McAllen, Texas to argue that unnecessary medical tests and procedures were a primary factor in driving up the cost of health care in the U.S., was cited by President Barack Obama during Obama’s attempt to get health care reform legislation passed by the United States Congress. According to Senator Ron Wyden, the article “affected [Obama’s] thinking dramatically”, and soon after its publication, Obama showed the article to a group of senators including Wyden and said, “This is what we’ve got to fix.” Gawande, in turn, later expressed approval for Obama’s health care proposals on the New Yorker “News Desk” blog. After reading the New Yorker article, Warren Buffett’s long-time business partner Charlie Munger mailed a check to Gawande in the amount of $20,000 as a thank you to Dr. Gawande for providing something so socially useful. Gawande reportedly donated the $20,000 to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health.

In addition to his popular writing, Gawande has published studies on topics including military surgery techniques and error in medicine, included in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is also the director of the World Health Organization’s Global Patient Safety Challenge. His essays have appeared in The Best American Essays 2003, “The Best American Science Writing 2002, and The Best American Science Writing 2009.

Gawande published his first book, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, in 2002. It was a National Book Award finalist, and has been published in over one hundred countries. His second book, Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance, was released in April 2007. It discusses three virtues that Gawande considers to be most important for success in medicine: diligence, doing right, and ingenuity. Gawande offers examples in the book of people who have embodied these virtues. The book strives to present multiple sides of contentious medical issues, such as malpractice law in the US, physicians’ role in capital punishment, and treatment variation between hospitals. Gawande released his third book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, in 2009. It discusses the importance of organization and pre-planning (such as through checklists) in both medicine and the larger world. The Checklist Manifesto reached the New York Times Hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in 2010.

In 2006 he was named a MacArthur fellow for his work investigating and articulating modern surgical practices and medical ethics. In the medical field, he is an expert on the removal of cancerous endocrine glands. He was also named one of the 20 Most Influential South Asians by Newsweek in 2004. In the (2010) (Time 100) he was included (fifth place) in Thinkers Category.

Checkout the ASCII Art and Pictures of Atul Gawande in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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DEBORAH GIST – THE COMMISSIONER OF RIDE

Deborah A. Gist, who taught and served directly in schools for more than a decade early in her career, began her service as the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education on July 1, 2009.Previously, she served as State Superintendent of Education in the District of Columbia, beginning in June 2007. As the first state superintendent of education in the District, she was responsible for transitioning all state-level education functions to the newly formed office of the state superintendent of education and for putting into effect the accountability systems of the federal No Child Left Behind education law.

As state superintendent of education, Gist created new, progressive educator-certification polices for teachers and school administrators, allowing school districts and nonprofit organizations to apply to certify educators, and she enacted new standards for teacher-preparation programs to improve quality, expand opportunity, and encourage innovation. Gist worked with the first state board of education in the District to transition its role to that of a policy-setting body during its first year of existence, and she developed many important state-level education policies, including standards for health and physical education, world languages, arts education, and early-childhood learning.

Before taking on the role as State Superintendent, Gist served for three years as the state education officer in the District. In that role, she restored the confidence of Congress in the Tuition Assistance Grants program, resulting in a federal funding increase of more than 100 percent for a program that now serves more than 5,000 college students in the District each year. She also oversaw dramatic improvements in much-maligned child-nutrition programs in the District, including the Summer Food Service program, which was subsequently named the best-performing summer-food program in America for four consecutive years.

Gist began her career in education 21 years ago, as a teacher in the Ft. Worth, Texas, elementary schools, where she focused on literacy education and applied learning. She later taught in Tampa, Florida, where she founded and directed a center on environmental education and later conceived, designed, and initiated Hillsborough Reads, which served families in 108 elementary schools in Hillsborough County. She won “Teacher of the Year” honors at her schools in both Ft. Worth and Tampa.

In addition to spending 10 years serving directly in schools, Gist was a senior policy analyst at the U.S. Department of Education. She advised the secretary and deputy secretary on top issues, analyzed proposed policy initiatives, and conducted research and feasibility studies. Gist also served as the marketing and development director of the Discovery Creek Children’s Museum, in Washington, and she later worked for the Office of the Mayor, in Washington, as the executive director of the office on volunteerism and service programs, Serve DC. While in Washington, Gist served as a volunteer mentor and a board member for Mentors, Inc.

Gist earned a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, where she was also selected as a Kennedy Fellow and received the Littauer Fellowship for academic excellence and community service. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in early-childhood education from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Arts in elementary education, with an emphasis in curriculum, from the University of South Florida. Gist became a certified public manager, following successful completion of a joint program with the District of Columbia government and the George Washington University. In 2008, she completed a fellowship with the Broad Academy for Superintendents, which prepares talented leaders to take on executive leadership roles in urban education.

Checkout the Collection of ASCII Art and Pictures of Deborah.A.Gist from the below link. Download the file and extract it to your PC. To view the ASCII Art that has been stored in the Notepad Text File, Open the text file in Notepad. Then Go to Format and Uncheck WordWrap, then In Format Go to Font and Change the Font to Lucida Console and Set the Font Size to 3 or 4 Pt. Now you could be able to see the ASCII Art. Maximize the window to view in full extent. ENJOY ! !

http://www.4shared.com/file/CU_sgAPC/Deborah.html

MALALAI JOYA – THE BRAVEST AFGHAN WOMAN

Malalai Joya (born April 25, 1978) is an Afghan politician who has been called “the bravest woman in Afghanistan.” As an elected member of the Wolesi Jirga from Farah province, she has publicly denounced the presence of what she considers warlords and war criminals in the parliament. She is an outspoken critic of both the Taliban as well as the present Afghan government of Karzai and its western supporters.

In May 2007, Joya was suspended from the parliament on the grounds that she had insulted fellow representatives in a television interview. Her suspension, which is currently being appealed, has generated protest internationally and appeals for her reinstatement have been signed by high profile writers, intellectuals such as Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, and politicians including Members of Parliament from Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. Joya has been compared to the symbol of Burma’s democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi. TIME magazine named Malalai Joya to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Joya has written a memoir with Canadian writer Derrick O’Keefe, under the title of “Raising My Voice”. Her most memorable quote is: “It is time for the women of Afghanistan to be unveiled, and for Afghanistan to rise again and be the great nation we remember it to be.” To be a woman growing up in Afghanistan under the Taliban and to survive is in itself a major feat. To be so lucky as to become literate in a place where girls are shrouded and denied even fresh air is close to a miracle. To start underground schools and educate girls under the noses of turbaned, self-appointed defenders of virtue and forbidders of vice is truly extraordinary.

But to get a seat in parliament and refuse to be silent in the face of the Taliban and warlord zealots shows true fiber. When Malalai Joya did this, her opponents responded in the usual way: expulsion from parliament, warnings, intimidation and attempts to cut her life short. She has survived all of it. Malalai, 31, is a leader. I hope in time she comes to see the U.S. and NATO forces in her country as her allies. She must use her notoriety, her demonstrated wit and her resilience to get the troops on her side instead of out of her country. The road to freedom is long and arduous and needs every hand.

AWARDS & HONORS

• January 2004, The Cultural Union of Afghans in Europe, awarded her the “Malalai of Maiwand” award for her brave speech in the Loya Jirga.
• December 2004, the Valle d’Aosta Province of Italy awarded her the International Women of the Year 2004 Award.
• March 15, 2006, Mr. Tom Bates, Mayor of Berkeley presented a certificate of honor to her for “her continued work on behalf of human rights”.
• March 2006, she got the “Gwangju Award for Human Rights 2006” from May 18th Foundation in South Korea.
• Aug.2006, the Women’s Peacepower Foundation awarded Joya “Women of Peace award 2006”.
• She was named among the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005”
• The World Economic Forum selected Joya among 250 Young Global Leaders for 2007.
• 2007 Golden Fleur-de-Lis (Giglio d’Oro) award given by Town Council of Toscana Region of Italy (July 23, 2007).
• September 11, 2007, The European Parliament named Joya among five nominees for Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2007.
• October 6, 2007, Commune of Viareggio city of Italy awarded her the Mare Nostrum Award.
• October 9, 2007, Commune of the Provincia di Arezzo, Comune di Bucine and Comune di Supino in Italy present Honorary citizenships to her.
• November 2007, The 14th Angel Award by The Angel Festival, CA, USA.
• February 11, 2008, Malalai Joya and the documentary “Enemies of Happiness” was honoured with the “International Human Rights Film Award” by Amnesty International, Cinema for Peace and Human Rights Film Network. The award was given to her by two times academy award winning actress Hilary Swank.
• October 6, 2008, Malalai Joya received the Anna Politkovskaya Award in London which is given to courageous women who have defended human rights.
• October 21, 2008, Regional Council of Tuscany (Italy) presented Malalai Joya a Gold Medal.
• October 30, 2008, Spanish organization, Spanish Committee for the Assistance to the Refugees (CEAR), announce Malalai Joya and Kurdish activist Leyla Zana winner of 2008 Juan Maria Bandres award for Human Rights and solidarity with the refugees.
• March 28, 2009, International Anti-discrimination Award 2009 by Dutch Unity is Strength Foundation, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
• November 8, 2009, US Member of Congress Barbara Lee Honors Malalai Joya.
• April 29, 2010, named to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, although she is angry at how she was portrayed as in favor of the NATO and U.S. occupation.
• June 23, 2010, Spanish daily El Mundo awards Yo Dona International award of “premio a la Labor Humanitaria” to Malalai in Madrid.
  

FILMS

• Malalai Joya champions rape victims, 2008, by Glyn Strong.
• Enemies of Happiness, 2006, directed by Eva Mulvad.
• A Woman Among Warlords (2007). Directed by Eva Mulvad. Aired on the Wide Angle TV series in September 2007.
• Afghanistan Unveiled 2004, by Nicolas Delloye, Aina Productions.

Checkout the Collection of ASCII Art and Pictures of Malalai Joya from the below link. Download the file and extract it to your PC. To view the ASCII Art that has been stored in the Notepad Text File, Open the text file in Notepad. Then Go to Format and Uncheck WordWrap, then In Format Go to Font and Change the Font to Lucida Console and Set the Font Size to 3 or 4 Pt. Now you could be able to see the ASCII Art. Maximize the window to view in full extent. ENJOY ! !

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MATT DAMON – THE TOUGHEST ACTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER

Matthew Paige Damon, or better known to fans as Matt Damon was born in Boston Massachusetts, USA to Kent Delfer Damon, a stockbroker, Realtor and tax preparer, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University. Matt has an older brother named Kyle who is now a sculptor. Unfortunately for Matt and his brother, their parents divorced in the year 1973.

The 5’10” star is of English, Finnish and Scottish ancestry. While his parents were still together, their family lived in Newton, before eventually settling for a divorce, where Damon and his brother moved with his mother to Cambridge. He grew up in a stable community back in Massachusetts. Matt also grew up near actor Ben Affleck, when he was younger.

Matt attended Cambridge Ridge and Latin School which is located in Cambridge and he performed in a number of theater productions during his time there. Later on, he was accepted into Harvard University as an English major in the fall of 1988 and was supposed to graduate with the class of 1992. While in Harvard, he kept on skipping classes to pursue acting projects, which included the TNT original film, Rising Sun (1993), and prep-school drama, School Ties (1992). It was until his film, Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), was expected to be a big success that he decided to drop out of university completely.

Arriving in Hollywood, Matt managed to get his first break with a part in the romantic comedy, Mystic Pizza (1988). However, the film did not do too well and his film career failed to take off. Not letting failure discourage him from acting, he went for another audition, and managed to get a starring role in School Ties (1992).

Up next for Matt was a role as a soldier who had problems with drug-addiction in the movie, Courage Under Fire (1996). Matt had, in fact, lost forty pounds for his role which resulted in health problems. The following year, his garnered accolades for Good Will Hunting (1997), a screenplay he had originally written for an English class at Harvard University. Good Will Hunting (1997) was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, one of which, Matt won for Best Original Screenplay along with Ben Affleck.

In the year 1998, Matt played the title role in Steven Spielberg’s film, Saving Private Ryan (1998), which was one of the most acclaimed films in that year. Matt had the opportunity of working with Tom Hanks and Vin Diesel while filming that movie. That same year, he starred as an earnest law student and reformed poker player in Rounders (1998), starring opposite Edward Norton and John Malkovich.

The next year, Matt rejoined his childhood friend, Ben Affleck and fellow comedian, Chris Rock, in the comedy Dogma (1999). Towards the end of 1999, Matt played “Tom Ripley”, a working-class young man who tastes the good life and will do anything to live it. Both Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow also starred in the movie. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) earned mixed reviews from critics, but even so, Matt earned praise for his performance.

Matt lent his voice to the animated movie, Titan A.E. (2000) in the year 2000, which also earned mixed reviews from the public. He also starred in two other movies, All the Pretty Horses (2000) and the golf comedy-drama, The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), starring alongside Will Smith. In the year 2003, he signed on to star in The Informant! (2009) by Steven Soderbergh and the Farrelly Brothers’ Stuck on You (2003). He also starred in Gerry (2002), a film he co-wrote with his friends, Gus Van Sant and Casey Affleck. One of Matt’s most recognizable work to date is his role in the “Bourne” movie franchise. He plays an amnesiac assassin, “Jason Bourne”, in The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Another praised role is that as “Linus Caldwell” in the “Ocean’s” movie franchise. He had the opportunity to star opposite George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle in Ocean’s Eleven (2001). The successful crime comedy-drama eventually had two other sequels, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). Among other highly acclaimed movies that Matt managed to be a part of was in Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm (2005), George Clooney’s Syriana (2005), Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (2006) and Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd (2006).

In his personal life, Matt is now happily married to Argentine-born Luciana Barroso, whom he met in Miami, where she was working as a bartender. They married in a private civil ceremony on December 9, 2005, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. The couple have three children Alexia, Luciana’s daughter from a previous relationship, as well as Isabella and Gia Zavala, both Matt’s and Luciana’s child together.

Matt is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox and he tries to attend their games whenever possible. He has also formed great friendships with his Ocean’s co-stars, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, whom he works on charity projects with. He and actor Ben Affleck, together with Ben’s wife, Jennifer Garner, are also good family friends and can be often seen going out together with Matt’s wife, Luciana Barroso.ACTOR

Green Zone (2010)- Miller
The Informant! (2009)- Mark Whitacre
Gake no ue no Ponyo (2009)- Koichi (voice in the English version). The film is also known as ‘Ponyo’ or ‘Ponyo on the Cliff’.
Che: Part Two (2008)- Fr. Schwartz. The film is also known as ‘Guerilla’
Youth Without Youth (2007)- Life Magazine Reporter (uncredited)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)- Jason Bourne
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)- Linus Caldwell
The Good Shepherd (2006)- Edward Wilson
The Departed (2006)- Colin Sullivan
Syriana (2005)- Bryan Woodman
Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D (2005)- Al Shepard (voice)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)- Wilhelm Grimm
Ocean’s Twelve (2004)- Linus Caldwell
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)- Jason Bourne
Jersey Girl (2004)- PR Executive #2
EuroTrip (2004)- Donny
Stuck on You (2003)- Bob Tenor
The Bourne Identity (2002)- Jason Bourne
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)- Matt, Batchelor #2
The Third Wheel (2002)- Kevin (uncredited)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)- Spirit (voice)
Gerry (2002)- Gerry
The Majestic (2002)- Luke Trimble (voice)
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)- Linus Caldwell
All the Pretty Horses (2000)- John Grady Cole
Finding Forrester (2000)- Steven Sanderson
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)- Rannulph Junuh
Titan A.E (2000)- Cale Tucker (voice)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)- Tom Ripley
Dogma (1999)- Loki
Rounders (1998)- Mike McDermott
Saving Private Ryan (1998)- Private James Francis Ryan
Good Will Hunting (1997)- Will Hunting
The Rainmaker (1997)- Rudy Baylor. The complete title is ‘John Grisham’s The Rainmaker’.
Chasing Amy (1997)- Shawn Oran
Courage Under Fire (1996)- Ilario
Glory Daze (1995)- Edgar Pudwhacker
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)- 2nd Lt. Britton Davis
School Ties (1992)- Charlie Dillon
Field of Dreams (1989)- Baseball Fan at Fenway Park (unconfirmed and uncredited)
The Good Mother (1988)- Extra (unconfirmed and uncredited)
Mystic Pizza (1988)- Steamer

WRITER

Gerry (2002)
Good Will Hunting (1997)

PRODUCER

Running the Sahara (2008)- executive producer
Feast (2005)- executive producer
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)- executive producer
The Third Wheel (2002)- executive producer
Speakeasy (2002)- executive producer
Stolen Summer (2002)

AWARDS

Matt Damon Awards in 1997

• Won – National Board of Review, Special Achievement in Filmmaking for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck.

Matt Damon Awards in 2010

• Nominated – Academy Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Invictus (2009).
• Nominated – Critics Choice Award, Best Supporting Actor for Invictus (2009)
• Nominated – Golden Globe Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for The Informant! (2009).
• Nominated – Golden Globe Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Invictus (2009).
• Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Invictus (2009).

Matt Damon Awards in 2009

• Nominated – Chicago Film Critics, Best Actor for The Informant! (2009)
• Nominated – Satellite Award, Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical for The Informant! (2009).

Matt Damon Awards in 2008

• Nominated – Empire Award, Best Actor for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Fight for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), shared with Joey Ansah.
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Male Performance for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
• Won – People’s Choice Award, Favorite Male Action Star

Matt Damon Awards in 2007

• Nominated – People’s Choice Award, Favorite Leading Man
• Nominated – People’s Choice Award, Favorite On-Screen Match-Up for The Departed (2006) with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson.
• Nominated – Screen Actors Guild, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for: The Departed (2006).
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award, Choice Movie Chemistry for Ocean’s Thirteen (2007).

Matt Damon Awards in 2006

• Won – National Board of Review, Best Ensemble for The Departed (2006).

Matt Damon Awards in 2005

• Nominated – Critics Choice Award, Best Acting Ensemble for Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
• Nominated – Emmy Award, Outstanding Reality Program for “Project Greenlight 3” (2005).
• Won – Empire Award, Best Actor for The Bourne Supremacy (2004).
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Male Performance for The Bourne Supremacy (2004).
• Nominated – People’s Choice Award, Favorite Male Action Movie Star.
• Won – ShoWest Award, Male Star of the Year.
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award, Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure/Thriller for The Bourne Supremacy (2004).

Matt Damon Awards in 2004

• Nominated – Emmy Award, Outstanding Reality Program for “Project Greenlight 2” (2003)
• Nominated – Producers Guild of America, TV Producer of the Year Award in Reality / Game /Informational Series for “Project Greenlight 2” (2003)

Matt Damon Awards in 2003

• Nominated – DVD Premiere Award, Best Audio Commentary, New Release for: Ocean’s Eleven (2001).
• Nominated – Kid’s Choice: Blimp Award, Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
• Nominated – Producers Guild of America, TV Producer of the Year Award in Reality / Game /Informational Series for: “Project Greenlight 2” (2001)

Matt Damon Awards in 2002

• Nominated – Emmy Award, Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality) for “Project Greenlight” (2001)
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best On-Screen Team for Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Matt Damon Awards in 2001

• Nominated – Blockbuster Award, Favorite Actor – Drama/Romance for All the Pretty Horses (2000).

Matt Damon Awards in 2000

• Nominated – Blockbuster Award, Favorite Actor – Suspense for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Nominated – Sierra Award, Best Actor for All the Pretty Horses (2000)
• Nominated – Sierra Award, Best Actor for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Musical Performance, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) shared with Jude Law and Fiorello
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Villain for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award, Choice Film Actor for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award, Film – Choice Liar for The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Matt Damon Awards in 1999

• Won – Blockbuster Award, Favorite Actor – Video, Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – London Critics Circle, Actor of the Year for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – London Critics Circle, Screenwriter of the Year Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Online Film Critics Society, Best Ensemble Cast Performance for Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Nominated – Teen Choice Award, Film – Choice Actor

Matt Damon Awards in 1998

• Won – Academy Award, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Nominated – Academy Award, Best Actor in a Leading Role Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Won – Silver Berlin Bear Award, Outstanding Single Achievement for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – Blockbuster Award, Favorite Actor – Drama for The Rainmaker (1997)
• Won – Critics Choice Award, Best Screenplay, Original for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Critics Choice Award, Breakthrough Artist for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Won – Chicago Film Critics, Most Promising Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – Chlotrudis Award, Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Florida Film Critics, Newcomer of the Year for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Golden Globe Award, Best Screenplay – Motion Picture for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Nominated – Golden Globe Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Won – Humanitas Prize, Feature Film Category for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Sierra Award, Most Promising Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Kiss for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Minnie Driver
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best Male Performance for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – MTV Movie Award, Best On-Screen Duo for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Nominated – Online Film Critics Society, Best Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Won – Golden Satellite Award, Best Motion Picture Screenplay – Original for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck
• Nominated – Golden Satellite Award, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by a Cast for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for Good Will Hunting (1997)
• Won – ShoWest Award, Male Star of Tomorrow
• Nominated – Writers Guild of America, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Good Will Hunting (1997) shared with Ben Affleck

Checkout the ASCII Art of Matt Damon in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/RzQaBr3r/Matt_Damon_1.html

http://www.4shared.com/document/tKd_Q7M1/Matt_Damon_2.html

http://www.4shared.com/document/nEBpN96u/Matt_Damon_3.html

http://www.4shared.com/document/0SkUzPsr/Matt_Damon_4.html