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Facebook joins forces with Skype

by arabicpages on 19/10/2010 - 12:15 pm |

Tag: Technology

Skype and Facebook have joined forces to let users of the popular internet communications service chat with their friends on the booming social network.The new Skype version 5.0 for Windows includes a Facebook tab and integrates Facebook's news feed and phonebook into Skype, the Luxembourg-based Skype said in a statement on Thursday.Skype users can call Facebook friends directly on mobile or landline phones, send SMS messages or make free Skype-to-Skype calls to Facebook friends who are also Skype users, it said.They can also post status updates to Facebook that can be synched with Skype "mood" messages and they can comment on Facebook friends' updates and wall posts."We're working with companies such as Skype to make it easy to find your friends anytime you want to connect," said Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network.Skype has also added a new group video-calling feature and "automatic call recovery", which helps reconnect calls interrupted due to internet connection problems.Skype said video-calling accounted for about 40 per cent of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the first half of the year.Skype, founded in 2003, bypasses the standard telephone network by channelling voice, video and text conversations over the internet.The company announced plans in August to raise up to $US100 million ($A101.15 million) dollars in shares by listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Mary MacKillop

by arabicpages on 19/10/2010 - 10:58 pm |

Tag: Religion and Spirituality

Mary Helen MacKillop (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Since her death she has attracted much veneration in Australia and internationally.MacKillop is the only Australian to have been beatified (in 1995 by Pope John Paul II). On 17 July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. On 19 December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the Roman Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. It was announced on 19 February 2010 that her canonisation would be formally declared on 17 October 2010, making her the first Australian saint. It has been announced that when she is canonised she will be known as Saint Mary of the Cross.Early life and ministryMary Helen MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne, on 15 January 1842. When baptised six weeks later she received the names Maria Ellen.Her father, Alexander, had been educated in Rome for the Catholic priesthood but, at the age of 29, left just before his ordination. He decided to migrate to Australia and arrived in Sydney in 1838. Her mother, Flora MacDonald, had left Scotland and arrived in Melbourne in 1840. Alexander and Flora married in Melbourne on 14 July 1840 and had eight children: Mary (the eldest), Margaret ("Maggie") (1843–1872), John (1845–1867), Annie (1848–1929), Alexandrina ("Lexie") (1850–1882), Donald (1853–1925), Alick who died only 11 months old, and Peter (1857–1878). Donald would later become a Jesuit priest and work among the aborigines in the Northern Territory, and Lexie would become a nun.






Mary Mackillop museum on Mount Street, North Sydney



Mary, the eldest of the children, was educated at private schools and by her father. She received her First Holy Communion  on 15 August 1850 at the age of eight. In February 1851, Alexander MacKillop left his family behind after having mortgaged the farm and their livelihood and made a trip to Scotland lasting some 17 months. Throughout his life he was a loving father and husband but never able to make a success of his farm. He was even worse as a politician or at any kind of job. During most of the times the family had to survive on the small wages the children were able to bring home.MacKillop started work at the age of 14 as a clerk in Melbourne and later as a teacher in Portland. To provide for her needy family she took a job as governess in 1860 at her aunt and uncle's place at Penola, South Australia. She was to look after their children and teach them. Already set on helping the poor whenever possible, she included the other farm children on the Cameron estate as well. This brought her into contact with Father Julian Tenison Woods, who had been the parish priest in the south east since his ordination to the priesthood in 1857 after completing his stud ...

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Lebanon

by arabicpages on 19/10/2010 - 02:30 pm |

Tag: Travel & Tourism

Lebanon's diverse patchwork of Mediterranean-lapped coast, rugged alpine peaks, and green fertile valleys is packed into a parcel of land some 225km long and 46km wide – an area approximately the size of Cyprus or Connecticut. An ancient land, Lebanon features in the writings of Homer and in the Old Testament. Its cities were major outposts and seaports in Phoenician and Roman times, just two of the great civilizations that touched this important Middle Eastern crossroads.The cosmopolitan flair of modern-day Beirut, the gastronomic renown of the country's food and wine, and an educated and outward-looking population complement a country that is both traditional and progressive in outlook. For all the flavors of its storied past and rugged natural beauty, Lebanon is a well-kept tourist secret that begs exploration.
There are four main geographic regions in Lebanon, differentiated by topography and climate. From west to east, they include: the coastal plain, the Mount Lebanon Range, the Békaa Valley, and the Anti-Lebanon Range.
The Anti-Lebanon Range is a stretch of arid mountains that rise to the east of the Békaa Valley and form part of the country's eastern border with Syria.
The Békaa  Valley, known in ancient times as “the breadbasket” or “granary” of the Roman Empire, is still the country's main agricultural region. Located on a high plateau between the country's two mountain ranges, the river-fed Békaa supports the production of tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, olives, and grapes, even despite summers that are hot and dry.
Besides some of Lebanon's best wineries (Ksara, Kefraya, Massaya), the Békaa's major attraction is the ruins at Baalbek. Originating as a place of worship to Baal, the Phoenician Sun God, Baalbek was known in Greco-Roman times as the famous Heliopolis, or “City of the Sun.” Perhaps because of the region's agricultural importance in feeding the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, some of the largest Roman temples ever constructed were erected at this site. The construction lasted over 200 years, and the well-preserved temples honor Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus.
The lovely Lebanese coast is framed by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Mount Lebanon Range to the east, its temperate climate bringing in sunny, hot summers and cool, rainy winters. The daytime temperature in the summer, which averages 30°C (86°F), encourages people to head to the beach or to the higher, altitude-cooled mountain slopes. In the coastal cities of Saida (Sidon) and Jbail (Byblos), tourists can enjoy the rare opportunity to snorkel amongst long-submerged Phoenician ruins, while excellent hiking is a mere hour away ...

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