saad kamal
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
pakistani marriage
(saeed al ismail) uncle of usman bin abdul hafeez and half brother of abdul hafeez al ismail.
USMAN RIVER (RUSSIA)
Usman (Russian: У́смань) is a river in Voronezh and Lipetsk Oblasts of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Voronezh River, and is 151 km in length, with a drainage basin of 2840 km².It was named after the famous scholar, Usman Yaqoob by Emir Khumair.
BURJ KHALIFA
Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة "Khalifa Tower"),[8] known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 828 m (2,717 ft).[8] Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January 2010.[1][9] The building is part of the 2 km2 (490-acre) flagship development called Downtown Dubai at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district.
The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill of Chicago. Adrian Smith, who started his own firm (Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture) in 2006, was the chief architect, and Bill Baker was the chief structural engineer for the project.[10][11] The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers.[12] Major subcontractors included Belgian group Besix and Arabtec from the UAE. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager.[13] Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting, is jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Khalifa.
The total cost for the Burj Khalifa project was about US$1.5 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US$20 billion.[14] Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Chairman of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said in March 2009 that the price of office space at Burj Khalifa had reached US$4,000 per sq ft (over US$43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Khalifa, were selling for US$3,500 per sq ft (over US$37,500 per m2).[15]
The project's completion coincided with a worldwide economic slump and overbuilding, and it has been described as "the latest ... in [a] string of monuments to architectural vacancy."[16] With Dubai itself mired in a deep financial crisis that forced it to seek repeated billion-dollar bailouts from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, the opening ceremony and surprise renaming of the tower to Burj Khalifa, after UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has been viewed by observers as an "attempt to boost confidence in Dubai by showing who is backing Dubai".
Eel Fish
Eels (Anguilliformes; pronounced /æŋˌɡwɪlɨˈfɔrmiːz/) are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators. The term "eel" is also used for some other similarly shaped fish, such as electric eels and spiny eels, but these are not members of the Anguilliformes order.
DESCRIPTION:
Eels are elongated fishes, ranging in length from 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in the one-jawed eel (Monognathus ahlstromi) to 3.75 metres (12.3 ft) in the giant moray.[2] They possess no pelvic fins, and many species also lack pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal or tail fin, to form a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal.[1] Most eels prefer to dwell in shallow waters or hide at the bottom layer of the ocean, sometimes in holes. These holes are called eel pits. Only members of the Anguillidae family regularly inhabit fresh water; they too return to the sea to breed. Some eels dwell in water as deep as 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Others are active swimmers.
Eels begin life as flat and transparent larvae, called leptocephali. Eel larvae drift in the surface waters of the sea feeding on small particles called marine snow. Eel larvae then metamorphose into glass eels and then become elvers before finally seeking out the adult habitat.
BLACK HOLE
HISTORY:
The idea of a body so massive that even light could not escape was first put forward by geologist John Michell in a letter written to Henry Cavendish in 1783 to the Royal Society:
If the semi-diameter of a sphere of the same density as the Sun were to exceed that of the Sun in the proportion of 500 to 1, a body falling from an infinite height towards it would have acquired at its surface greater velocity than that of light, and consequently supposing light to be attracted by the same force in proportion to its vis inertiae, with other bodies, all light emitted from such a body would be made to return towards it by its own proper gravity.
—John Michell
In 1796, mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace promoted the same idea in the first and second editions of his book Exposition du système du Monde (it was removed from later editions).[3][4] Such "dark stars" were largely ignored in the nineteenth century, since light was then thought to be a massless wave and therefore not influenced by gravity. Unlike the modern black hole concept, the object behind the horizon[clarification needed] of a dark star is assumed to be stable against collapse.[citation needed]
HISTORY OF URDU
HISTORY:
Etymologically, Urdu is a Turkish word which means "Army encampment". There are different theories that have been proposed about the emergence of the Urdu language, but they all stand close and similar. The most prominent and established theory suggests that Urdu developed after the Muslim invasion of the Indian subcontinent by Persian and Turkic dynasties from the 11th century onwards.[20] For the first time Sultan Mahmud, the greatest ruler of the Ghaznavid empire, conquered Punjab in early 11th century. Later on, the Ghurids invaded the northern Indian subcontinent in the 12th century who were then followed by the Delhi Sultanate. Muslim armies comprised of soldiers of different origins and elasticities who spoke different languages. Interaction among these soldiers and with the locals led to the development of a new language, mutually comprehensible by all. Urdu, therefore, developed as a hybrid version of Hindustani language which borrowed extensively its vocabulary from Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages.
Later on, during the Mughal Empire, the development of Urdu was further strengthened and started to emerge as a new language.[21] Under the reign of Shah Jahan, the term Urdu-i Mualla or Urdu-i Badshahi was employed to designate the language of Shahjahanabad.[22] Urdu scholars and poets then coined the term Rekhta (meaning scattered in Persian) to designate the Urdu language.
The official language of the Ghurids, Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, and their successor states, as well as the cultured language of poetry and literature, was Persian, while the language of religion was Arabic. Most of the Sultans and nobility in the Sultanate period were Turks from Central Asia who spoke Turkic as their mother tongue. The Mughals were also from Central Asia, they spoke Turkish as their first language; however the Mughals later adopted Persian. Persian became the preferred language of the Muslim elite of north India before the Mughals entered the scene. Babur's mother tongue was a Turkic language and he wrote exclusively in Turkish. His son and successor Humayun also spoke and wrote in this Turkic language. Muzaffar Alam, a noted scholar of Mughal and Indo-Persian history, asserts that Persian became the lingua franca of the empire under Akbar for various political and social factors due to its non-sectarian and fluid nature.[23] Urdu's vocabulary remains heavily influenced by the Persian language.[24] Since the 1800's, English started to replace Persian as the official language in India and it also contributed to influence the Urdu language. As of today, Urdu's vocabulary is strongly influenced by the English language.
KING ABDUL AZIZ
Born in the city of Riyadh, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Ibn Faisal Al Saud was brought up under the stringent care of his father. A group of contemporary scholars were assembled to teach him the fundamentals of Islam. He soon began to show an impressive array of qualities and talents, including shrewdness, courage, farsightedness and horsemanship. He was able to grasp both current and historical events. In 1891 and barely 12 years old, he traveled with his father, Imam Abdul Rahman Ibn Faisal Ibn Turki, to Kuwait. In ten years there, he acquired the necessary qualities of leadership and statesmanship. Consequently, hedecided to restore the rule of his forefathers, whatever the obstacles. A new epoch was launched when Abdul Aziz left Kuwait for Riyadh leading a small army of 60 men. This turned out to be "the small force that vanquished a big one, by God's Will."
The conquest of Riyadh occurred on the 15th of January, 1902 (5th of Shawal, 1319 H). Yet this was only the beginning of the "Jihad" campaign of King Abdul Aziz. Saddened by disintegration and the state of anarchy, ignorance, poverty and disease in the Arabian peninsula, he resolved to unify the ranks of his nation under the banner "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah."
King Abdul Aziz Al Saud went on to unify the scattered parts and splintered tribes of the Arabian peninsula. He annexed Al Qasseem in 1904 (1322 H), Al Ahsa in 1913 (1331 H), Asir in 1916 (1334 H) and Hayel in 1921 (1340 H). He conquered Taif, and entered Makkah in 1924 (1343 H). When Jeddah was taken in 1925 (1344 H), the entire Hijaz Region submitted to his rule. Continuing his Jihad for 31 years, Abdul Aziz was gradually able to establish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, declaring its founding on the 22nd of September 1932 (21st of Jumad Al Awal 1351 H).
Soon after establishing security in the Kingdom and uniting the peninsula's scattered regions and feuding tribes, King Abdul Aziz began to organize the State. He developed the administrative and organizational systems needed to function properly. He delegated the State's responsibilities and set up an organized government in the Hijaz upon its annexation. In 1926 (1344 H), he established the post of General Prosecutor in Hijaz, which was assumed by his son, Prince Faisal. In 1926 (1345 H) he set up the Saudi Shoura Council, also under the chairmanship of Prince Faisal. On the 30th of September 1931 (19th of Shaaban 1350 H), a special system was instituted: the Council of Deputies came into being under the chairmanship of Prince Faisal Ibn Abdul Aziz.
During these early stages of rule, King Abdul Aziz also established several ministries as an advance administrative organization, departing from the traditional administrative system of the First and Second Saudi States. The modern state established diplomatic relations in accordance with officially recognized political representation, including the appointment of ambassadors.
King Abdul Aziz Al Saud passed away in the city of Taif, in the Western Region, in 1953 (1372 H). His body was transferred to Riyadh, where he was buried with his Al Saud ancestors.
HISTORY OF DOLLAR:
The history of the United States dollar covers more than 200 years.
EARLY HISTORY:
The history of the dollar in North America pre-dates US independence. Starting with the issuance of Early American currency called the colonial script, in which the issuance of currency was equal to the goods and services in the economy. Even before the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress had authorized the issuance of dollar denominated coins and currency, since the term 'dollar' was in common usage referring to Spanish colonial eight-real coin or Spanish dollar. Though several monetary systems were proposed for the early republic, the dollar was approved by Congress in a largely symbolic resolution on August 8, 1786. After passage of the Constitution was secured, the government turned its attention to monetary issues again in the early 1790s under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury at the time. Congress acted on Hamilton's recommendations in the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the dollar as the basic unit of account for the United States. The word "dollar" is derived from Low Saxon "daler", an abbreviation of "Joachimsdaler" – (coin) from Joachimsthal (St. Joachim's Valley, now Jáchymov, Bohemia, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of the Czech Republic; for further history of the name, see dollar.) – so called because it was minted from 1519 onwards using silver extracted from a mine which had opened in 1516 near Joachimstal, a town in the Ore Mountains of northwestern Bohemia.
Because gold and silver in the open marketplace vary independently, the production of coins of full intrinsic worth under any ratio will nearly always result in the melting of either all silver coins or all gold coins. In the early 1800s, gold rose in relation to silver, resulting in the removal from commerce of nearly all gold coins, and their subsequent melting. Therefore, in 1834, the 15:1 ratio of silver to gold was changed to a 16:1 ratio by reducing the weight of the nation's gold coinage. This created a new U.S. dollar that was backed by 1.50 g (23.22 grains) of gold. However, the previous dollar had been represented by 1.60 g (24.75 grains) of gold. The result of this revaluation, which was the first-ever devaluation of the U.S. dollar, was that the value in gold of the dollar was reduced by 6%. Moreover, for a time, both gold and silver coins were useful in commerce.
In 1853, the weights of US silver coins (except, interestingly, the dollar itself, which was rarely used) were reduced. This had the effect of placing the nation effectively (although not officially) on the gold standard. The retained weight in the dollar coin was a nod to bimetallism, although it had the effect of further driving the silver dollar coin from commerce. Foreign coins, including the Spanish dollar, were also widely used[1] as legal tender until 1857.
With the enactment (1863) of the National Banking Act during the American Civil War and its later versions that taxed states' bonds and currency out of existence, the dollar became the sole currency of the United States and remains so today.
In 1878, the Bland-Allison Act was enacted to provide for freer coinage of silver. This act required the government to purchase between $2 million and $4 million worth of silver bullion each month at market prices and to coin it into silver dollars. This was, in effect, a subsidy for politically influential silver producers.
The discovery of large silver deposits in the Western United States in the late 19th century created a political controversy. Due to the large influx of silver, the value of silver in the nation's coinage dropped precipitously. On one side were agrarian interests such as the United States Greenback Party that wanted to retain the bimetallic standard in order to inflate the dollar, which would allow farmers to more easily repay their debts. On the other side were Eastern banking and commercial interests, who advocated sound money and a switch to the gold standard. This issue split the Democratic Party in 1896. It led to the famous "cross of gold" speech given by William Jennings Bryan, and may have inspired many of the themes in The Wizard of Oz. Despite the controversy, the status of silver was slowly diminished through a series of legislative changes from 1873 to 1900, when a gold standard was formally adopted. The gold standard survived, with several modifications, until 1971.
GOLD STANDARD:
Bimetallism persisted until March 14, 1900, with the passage of the Gold Standard Act, which provided that:
"...the dollar consisting of twenty-five and eight-tenths grains (1.67 g) of gold nine-tenths fine, as established by section thirty-five hundred and eleven of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall be the standard unit of value, and all forms of money issued or coined by the United States shall be maintained at a parity of value with this standard..."
Thus the United States moved to a gold standard, made gold the sole legal-tender coinage of the United States, and set the value of the dollar at $20.67 per ounce (66.46 ¢/g) of gold. This made the dollar convertible to 1.5 g (23.22 grains)—the same convertibility into gold that was possible on the bimetallic standard.
The gold standard was suspended twice during World War I, once fully and then for foreign exchange. At the onset of the war, US corporations had large debts payable to European entities, who began liquidating their debts in gold. With debts looming to Europe, the dollar to British pound exchange rate reached as high as $6.75, far above the (gold) parity of $4.8665. This caused large gold outflows until July 31, 1914 when the New York Stock Exchange closed and the gold standard was temporarily suspended. In order to defend the exchange value of the dollar, the US Treasury Department authorized state and nationally-charted banks to issue emergency currency under the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, and the newly-created Federal Reserve organized a fund to assure debts to foreign creditors. These efforts were largely successful, and the Aldrich-Vreeland notes were retired starting in November and the gold standard was restored when the New York Stock Exchange re-opened in December 1914 [2].
As the United States remained neutral in the war, it remained the only country to maintain its gold standard, doing so without restriction on import or export of gold from 1915-1917. During the participation of the US as a belligerent, President Wilson banned gold export, thereby suspending the gold standard for foreign exchange. After the war, European countries slowly returned to their gold standards, though in somewhat altered form.
During the Great Depression, every major currency abandoned the gold standard. Among the earliest, the Bank of England abandoned the gold standard in 1931 as speculators demanded gold in exchange for currency, threatening the solvency of the British monetary system. This pattern repeated throughout Europe and North America. In the United States, the Federal Reserve was forced to raise interest rates in order to protect the gold standard for the US dollar, worsening already severe domestic economic pressures. After bank runs became more pronounced in early 1933, people began to hoard gold coins as distrust for banks led to distrust for paper money, worsening deflation and gold reserves.
THE GOLD RESERVE ACT:
In early 1933, in order to fight severe deflation Congress and President Roosevelt implemented a series of Acts of Congress and Executive Orders which suspended the gold standard except for foreign exchange, revoked gold as universal legal tender for debts, and banned private ownership of significant amounts of gold coin. These acts included Executive Order 6073, the Emergency Banking Act, Executive Order 6102, Executive Order 6111, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1933 Banking Act, House Joint Resolution 192, and later the Gold Reserve Act[2]. These actions were upheld by the US Supreme Court in the "Gold Clause Cases" in 1935[4].
For foreign exchange purposes, the set $20.67 per ounce value of the dollar was lifted, allowing the dollar to float freely in foreign exchange markets with no set value in gold. This was terminated after one year. Roosevelt attempted first to restabilize falling prices with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, however, this did not prove popular, so instead the next politically popular option was to devalue the dollar on foreign exchange markets. Under the Gold Reserve Act the value of the dollar was fixed at $35 per ounce, making the dollar more attractive for foreign buyers (and making foreign currencies more expensive to those holding US dollars). The higher price increased the conversion of gold into dollars, allowing the U.S. to effectively corner the world gold market [5][6].
The suspension of the gold standard was considered temporary by many in markets and in the government at the time, but restoring the standard was considered a low priority to dealing with other issues [2][5].
Under the post-World War II Bretton Woods system, all other currencies were valued in terms of U.S. dollars and were thus indirectly linked to the gold standard. The need for the U.S. government to maintain both a $35 per troy ounce (112.53 ¢/g) market price of gold and also the conversion to foreign currencies caused economic and trade pressures. By the early 1960s, compensation for these pressures started to become too complicated to manage.
In March 1968, the effort to control the private market price of gold was abandoned. A two-tier system began. In this system all central-bank transactions in gold were insulated from the free market price. Central banks would trade gold among themselves at $35 per troy ounce (112.53 ¢/g) but would not trade with the private market. The private market could trade at the equilibrium market price and there would be no official intervention. The price immediately jumped to $43 per troy ounce (138.25 ¢/g). The price of gold touched briefly back at $35 (112.53 ¢/g) near the end of 1969 before beginning a steady price increase. This gold price increase turned steep through 1972 and hit a high that year of over $70 (2.25 $/g). By that time floating exchange rates had also begun to emerge, which indicated the de facto dissolution of the Bretton Woods system. The two-tier system was abandoned in November 1973. By then the price of gold had reached $100 per troy ounce (3.22 $/g).
CANCELLATION OF THE GOLD STANDARD:
In the early 1970s, inflation caused by rising prices for imported commodities, especially oil, and spending on the Vietnam War, which was not counteracted by cuts in other government expenditures, combined with a trade deficit to create a situation in which the dollar was worth less than the gold used to back it.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon unilaterally ordered the cancellation of the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. This act was known as the Nixon Shock.
In 1972, the United States reset the value to 38 dollars per troy ounce (122.17 ¢/g) of gold. Because other currencies were valued in terms of the U.S. dollar, this failed to resolve the disequilibrium between the U.S. dollar and other currencies. In 1975 the United States began to float the dollar with respect to both gold and other currencies. With this the United States was, for the first time, on a fully fiat currency.
US DOLLAR VALUE VS. GOLD VALUE:
The sudden jump in the price of gold after central banks gave up on controlling it was a strong sign of a loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. In the absence of a gold-market-valued U.S. dollar, investors were choosing to continue putting their faith in actual gold. Consequently, the price of gold rose from $35 per troy ounce (1.125 $/g) in 1969 to almost $900 (29 $/g) in 1980.
Shortly after the gold price started its ascent in the early 1970s, the price of other commodities such as oil also began to rise. While commodity prices became more volatile, the average exchange rate between oil and gold remained much the same in the 1990s as it had been in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Fearing the emergence of a specie gold-based economy separate from central banking, and with the corresponding threat of the collapse of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. government approved several changes to the trading on the COMEX. These changes resulted in a steep decline in the traded value of precious metals from the early 1980s onward.
In September 1987 under the Reagan administration the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury James Baker made a proposal through the IMF to use a commodity basket (which included gold) as a reference point to manage national currencies. However, the stock market Crash of October 1987 followed by the Iran-Contra scandal distracted the administration from such plans, and political momentum was lost.
As of May 2004, the U.S. reserve assets include $11,045,000,000 of gold stock, valued at $42.2222 per fine troy ounce (1.36 $/g)[citation needed].
SILVER STANDARD:
United States silver certificates were a type of representative money printed from 1878 to 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency.[7] They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, and were used alongside the gold-based dollar notes. The silver certificates were initially redeemable in the same face value of silver dollar coins, and later in raw silver bullion.
Since the early 1920s, silver certificates were issued in $1, $5, and $10 notes. In the 1928 series, only $1 silver certificates were produced. Fives and tens of this time were mainly Federal Reserve notes, which were backed by and redeemable in gold. In 1933, the Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed, which included a clause allowing for the pumping of silver into the market to replace the gold. A new 1933 series of $10 silver certificate was printed and released, but not many were released into circulation.
In 1934, a law was passed in Congress that changed the obligation on Silver Certificates so as to denote the current location of the silver.
The last government regulation regarding the silver standard was in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy issued Executive Order 11110, authorizing the Department of Treasury to issue silver certificates for any silver held by the U.S. Government in excess of that not already backing issued certificates. These redeemable silver certificates were issued for a short period in notes of $5, but they were eventually discontinued.
UNITED STATES NOTES:
A United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, was a type of paper money that was issued from 1862 to 1971 in the U.S. Having been current for over 100 years, they were issued for longer than any other form of U.S. paper money. They were known popularly as "greenbacks" in their day, a name inherited from the Demand Notes that they replaced in 1862.
While issuance of United States Notes ended in January 1971, existing United States Notes are still valid currency in the United States today, though rarely seen in circulation.
Both United States Notes and Federal Reserve Notes are parts of the national currency of the United States, and both have been legal tender since the gold recall of 1933. Both have been used in circulation as money in the same way. However, the issuing authority for them came from different statutes.[8] United States Notes were created as fiat currency, in that the government has never categorically guaranteed to redeem them for precious metal - even though at times, such as after the specie resumption of 1879, federal officials were authorized to do so if requested.
The difference between a United States Note and a Federal Reserve Note is that a United States Note represented a "bill of credit" and was inserted by the Treasury directly into circulation free of interest. Federal Reserve Notes are backed by debt purchased by the Federal Reserve, and thus generate seigniorage for the Federal Reserve System, which serves as a lending intermediary between the Treasury and the public.
FIAT STANDARD:
Today, like the currency of most nations, the dollar is fiat money, unbacked by any physical asset. A holder of a federal reserve note has no right to demand an asset such as gold or silver from the government in exchange for a note.[9] Consequently, proponents of the intrinsic theory of value believe that the dollar has little intrinsic value (i.e., none except for the value of the paper) and is only valuable as a medium of exchange.[citation needed]
In 1963, the words "PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND" were removed from all newly issued Federal Reserve notes. Then, in 1968, redemption of pre-1963 Federal Reserve notes for gold or silver officially ended. The Coinage Act of 1965 removed all silver from quarters and dimes, which were 90% silver prior to the act. However, there was a provision in the act allowing some coins to contain a 40% silver consistency, such as the Kennedy Half Dollar. Later, even this provision was removed, and all coins minted for general circulation are now mostly clad. The content of the nickel has not changed since 1946.[citation needed]
All circulating notes, issued from 1861 to present, will be honored by the government at face value as legal tender. This means only that the government will give the holder of the notes new federal reserve notes in exchange for the note (or will accept the old notes as payments for debts owed to the federal government). The government is not obligated to redeem the notes for gold or silver, even if the note itself states that it is so redeemable. Some bills may have a premium to collectors.[citation needed]
The only exception to this rule is the $10,000 gold certificate of Series 1900, a number of which were inadvertently released to the public because of a fire in 1935. A box of them was literally thrown out of a window. This set is not considered to be "in circulation" and, in fact, is stolen property. However, the government canceled these banknotes and removed them from official records. Their value, relevant only to collectors, is approximately one thousand US dollars.[citation needed]
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, there was $829 billion in total US currency in worldwide circulation as of December 2007.[10]
In September 2004, it was estimated that if all the gold held by the U.S. government (261.7 million ounces = 8.14 million kilograms = 8,140 tonnes) were again required to back the circulating U.S. currency ($733,170,953,704), gold would need to be valued at $2,800/ounce ($90/gram).
COLOR AND DESIGN:
The federal government began issuing currency that was backed by Spanish dollars during the American Civil War. As photographic technology of the day could not reproduce color, it was decided the back of the bills would be printed in a color other than black. Because the color green was seen as a symbol of stability, it was selected. These bills were known as "greenbacks" for their color and started a tradition of the United States' printing the back of its money in green. In contrast to the currency notes of many other countries, Federal Reserve notes of varying denominations are the same colors: predominantly black ink with green highlights on the front, and predominantly green ink on the back. Federal Reserve notes were printed in the same colors for most of the 20th century, although older bills called "silver certificates" had blue highlights on the front, and "United States notes" had red highlights on the front.
In 1929, sizing of the bills was standardized (involving a 25% reduction in their current sizes, compared to the older, larger notes nicknamed "horse blankets"[11]). Modern U.S. currency, regardless of denomination, is 2.61 inches (66.3 mm) wide, 6.14 inches (156 mm) long, and 0.0043 inches (0.109 mm) thick. A single bill weighs about one gram and costs approximately 4.2 cents for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce.
Microprinting and security threads were introduced in the 1991 currency series.
Another series started in 1996 with the $100 note, adding the following changes:
A larger portrait, moved off-center to create more space to incorporate a watermark.
The watermark to the right of the portrait depicting the same historical figure as the portrait. The watermark can be seen only when held up to the light (and had long been a standard feature of all other major currencies).
A security thread that will glow red when exposed to ultraviolet light in a dark environment. The thread is in a unique position on each denomination.
Color-shifting ink that changes from green to black when viewed from different angles. This feature appears in the numeral on the lower right-hand corner of the bill front.
Microprinting in the numeral in the note's lower left-hand corner and on Benjamin Franklin's coat.
Concentric fine-line printing in the background of the portrait and on the back of the note. This type of printing is difficult to copy well.
The value of the currency written in 14pt Arial font on the back for those with sight disabilities.
Other features for machine authentication and processing of the currency.
Annual releases of the 1996 series followed. The $50 note on June 12, 1997, introduced a large dark numeral with a light background on the back of the note to make it easier for people to identify the denomination.[12] The $20 note in 1998 introduced a new machine-readable capability to assist scanning devices. The security thread glows green under ultraviolet light, and "USA TWENTY" and a flag are printed on the thread, while the numeral "20" is printed within the star field of the flag. The microprinting is in the lower left ornamentation of the portrait and in the lower left corner of the note front. As of 1998, the $20 note was the most frequently counterfeited note in the United States.
On May 13, 2003, the Treasury announced that it would introduce new colors into the $20 bill, the first U.S. currency since 1905 to have colors other than green or black. The move was intended primarily to reduce counterfeiting, rather than to increase visual differentiation between denominations. The main colors of all denominations, including the new $20 and $50, remain green and black; the other colors are present only in subtle shades in secondary design elements. This contrasts with the euro and other currencies, in which the main banknote colors contrast strongly with one another.
The new $20 bills entered circulation on October 9, 2003, the new $50 bills on September 28, 2004. The new $10 notes were introduced in 2006. The new $5 bills on March 13, 2008. Each will have subtle elements of different colors, though will continue to be primarily green and black. The Treasury said it will update Federal Reserve notes every 7 to 10 years to keep up with counterfeiting technology. In addition, there have been rumors that future banknotes will use embedded RFID microchips as another anti-counterfeiting tool.[13]
The 2008 $5 bill contains significant new security updates. The obverse side of the bill includes patterned yellow printing that will cue digital image-processing software to prevent digital copying, watermarks, digital security thread, and extensive microprinting. The reverse side includes an oversized purple number 5 to provide easy differentiation from other denominations.[14]
On April 21, 2010, the US Government announced a heavily redesigned $100 bill that featured bolder colors, color shifting ink, microlenses, and other features. It is scheduled to start circulating February 10, 2011.[15] It will cost 11.8 cents to produce each bill.[16]
"The soundness of a nation's currency is essential to the soundness of its economy. And to uphold our currency's soundness, it must be recognized and honored as legal tender and counterfeiting must be effectively thwarted," Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said at a ceremony unveiling the $20 bill's new design. Prior to the current design, the most recent redesign of the U.S. dollar bill was in 1996.
Ingredients:
1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter -melted
Whole milk just enough to make the d
For the Sugar Syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Oil for frying
How to make gulab jamun:
Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.
The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.
Sugar Syrup:
The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.
1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoons butter -melted
Whole milk just enough to make the d
For the Sugar Syrup
2 cups Sugar
1 cup water
Oil for frying
How to make gulab jamun:
Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.
The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.
Sugar Syrup:
The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.
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