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Barack Obama Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png Barack Hussein Obama II is the President-elect of the United States and the first African-American to be elected President of the United States. Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois from 2005 until he resigned on November 16, 2008, following his election to the Presidency. His term of office as the 44th U.S. president will begin on January 20, 2009.wfp/He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.wfp/Barack Obama was born at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Ann Dunham, a white American from Wichita, Kansas of mainly English descent. Obama's father was Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyangoma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. His parents met in 1960 while attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student. The couple married on February 2, 1961; they separated when Obama was two years old and divorced in 1964. Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw his son only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982.wfp/On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/BarackObama2005portrait.jpg/225px-BarackObama2005portrait.jpg Mr Obama http://localhost:8080/thewriteformat/png/logo.png 1

Electronic paper Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png Electronic paper, also called e-paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be changed later.wfp/To build e-paper, several different technologies exist, some using plastic substrate and electronics so that the display is flexible. E-paper is considered more comfortable to read than conventional displays. This is due to the stable image, which does not need to be refreshed constantly, the wider viewing angle, and the fact that it uses reflected ambient light. While it is lightweight and durable, it still lacks good color reproduction. The contrast ratio in common devices as of 2008 might be described as similar to dirty newspaper, though newly-developed implementations are slightly better.wfp/Applications include e-book readers capable of displaying digital versions of books and e-paper magazines, electronic pricing labels in retail shops, time tables at bus stations and electronic billboards.wfp/Electronic paper should not be confused with digital paper, which is a pad to create handwritten digital documents with a digital pen.wfp/Electronic paper was first developed in the 1970s by Nick Sheridon at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. The first electronic paper, called Gyricon, consisted of polyethylene spheres between 20 and 100 micrometres across. Each sphere is composed of negatively charged black plastic on one side and positively charged white plastic on the other (each bead is thus a dipole). The spheres are embedded in a transparent silicone sheet, with each sphere suspended in a bubble of oil so that they can rotate freely. The polarity of the voltage applied to each pair of electrodes then determines whether the white or black side is face-up, thus giving the pixel a white or black appearance.wfp/An electrophoretic display is an information display that forms visible images by rearranging charged pigment particles using an applied electric field.wfp/n the simplest implementation of an electrophoretic display, titanium dioxide particles approximately one micrometre in diameter are dispersed in a hydrocarbon oil. A dark-colored dye is also added to the oil, along with surfactants and charging agents that cause the particles to take on an electric charge. This mixture is placed between two parallel, conductive plates separated by a gap of 10 to 100 micrometres. When a voltage is applied across the two plates, the particles will migrate electrophoretically to the plate bearing the opposite charge from that on the particles. When the particles are located at the front (viewing) side of the display, it appears white, because light is scattered back to the viewer by the high-index titania particles. When the particles are located at the rear side of the display, it appears dark, because the incident light is absorbed by the colored dye. If the rear electrode is divided into a number of small picture elements (pixels), then an image can be formed by applying the appropriate voltage to each region of the display to create a pattern of reflecting and absorbing regions.wfp/Electrophoretic displays are considered prime examples of the electronic paper category, because of their paper-like appearance and low power consumption.wfp/Examples of commercial electrophoretic displays include the high-resolution active matrix displays used in the Amazon Kindle, Sony Librie, Sony Reader, and iRex iLiad e-readers. These displays are constructed from an electrophoretic imaging film manufactured by E Ink Corporation. The Motorola MOTOFONE F3 was the first mobile phone to use the technology, in an effort to help eliminate glare from direct sunlight during outdoor use.wfp/Electrophoretic displays can be manufactured using the Electronics on Plastic by Laser Release (EPLaR) process developed by Philips Research to enable existing AM-LCD manufacturing plants to create flexible plastic displays.wfp/In the 1990s another type of electronic paper was invented by Joseph Jacobson, who later co-founded the E Ink Corporation which formed a partnership with Philips Components two years later to develop and market the technology. In 2005, Philips sold the electronic paper business as well as its related patents to Prime View International. This used tiny microcapsules filled with electrically charged white particles suspended in a colored oil. In early versions, the underlying circuitry controlled whether the white particles were at the top of the capsule (so it looked white to the viewer) or at the bottom of the capsule (so the viewer saw the color of the oil). This was essentially a reintroduction of the well-known electrophoretic display technology, but the use of microcapsules allowed the display to be used on flexible plastic sheets instead of glass.wfp/One early version of electronic paper consists of a sheet of very small transparent capsules, each about 40 micrometres across. Each capsule contains an oily solution containing black dye (the electronic ink), with numerous white titanium dioxide particles suspended within. The particles are slightly negatively charged, and each one is naturally white.wfp/The microcapsules are held in a layer of liquid polymer, sandwiched between two arrays of electrodes, the upper of which is made from indium tin oxide, a transparent conducting material. The two arrays are aligned so that the sheet is divided into pixels, which each pixel corresponding to a pair of electrodes situated either side of the sheet. The sheet is laminated with transparent plastic for protection, resulting in an overall thickness of 80 micrometres, or twice that of ordinary paper.wfp/The network of electrodes is connected to display circuitry, which turns the electronic ink 'on' and 'off' at specific pixels by applying a voltage to specific pairs of electrodes. Applying a negative charge to the surface electrode repels the particles to the bottom of local capsules, forcing the black dye to the surface and giving the pixel a black appearance. Reversing the voltage has the opposite effect - the particles are forced from the surface, giving the pixel a white appearance. A more recent incarnation of this concept requires only one layer of electrodes beneath the microcapsules. The newspaper is set to change and evolve. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Electrophoretic_display_001.svg/275px-Electrophoretic_display_001.svg.png Scheme of an electrophoretic display. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Epd_color.svg/275px-Epd_color.svg.png Scheme of an electrophoretic display using color filters. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/E-ink.png Scheme of an electrophoretic display using color filters. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/489px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png 1

Table tennis Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets (also known as 'bats' or 'paddles'). The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart several varieties of spin to the ball, altering its trajectory and limiting an opponent's options to great advantage.wfp/The game is controlled by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), founded in 1926. Since 1988, table tennis has been an Olympic sport which includes four events. From 1988 until 2004, the events were men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles. Since 2008 the doubles have been replaced by the team events (Beijing was the first time where table tennis had an Olympic team event).wfp/The sport is played with two or four players hitting a ball with rackets back and forth to each other on a table, in a manner similar to tennis. The rules are slightly different, but the concept is very similar. In singles play, the serve is not required to cross from the server's right-hand court to the receiver's right-hand court (or left to left) as it is in tennis. However, serving across is required in doubles play. Ball spin, speed, placement, strategy and tactics play an important part in competitive table tennis matches. The speed of the ball can vary from slow serves with much spin to smashes that travel as fast as 112.5 kilometers per hour (70 mph).wfp/The game is played on a 274 cm Ã? 152.5 cm Ã? 76 cm high (9 ft Ã? 5 ft Ã? 30 inches high) playing surface. The International Table Tennis Federation requires an area not less than 14 m long, 7 m wide and 5 m high for competitions. No limitations in size or shape are specified.wfp/Modern rackets usually have a thin layer of rubber covering the racket's striking surface. The rubber may have pimples pointing outwards or inwards, as well as a thin layer of sponge between the plywood center and the rubber surface. Since spin plays a large role in the modern sport of table tennis, the composition of the rubber and the combination of sponge and rubber is designed to maximize the amount of spin and speed a player can impart onto the ball. Other technological improvements include the use of carbon or other synthetic layers as part of the blade to increase the size of the sweet spot or the stiffness of the blade. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Jan-Ove_Waldner_Olympia-2004.jpg Jan-Ove 'legend' Waldner who holds a career grand slam of 4 major titles (2 World Championships, 1 Olympic Gold, 1 World Cup). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Startingtabletenniss.jpg Table tennis depicted on a 1987 postage stamp from the DDR http://localhost:8080/thewriteformat/png/logo.png 1

Whale shark Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow filter feeding shark that is the largest living fish species. It can grow up to 12.2 m. (40 ft.) in length and can weigh up to 13.6 tonnes (15 short tons). This distinctively-marked shark is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae (called Rhinodontes before 1984), which is grouped into the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea and can live for about 70 years. The species is believed to have originated about 60 million years ago.wfp/The species was first identified in April 1828 following the harpooning of a 4.6-metre (15.1 ft) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. It was described the following year by Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in Cape Town. He proceeded to publish a more detailed description of the species in 1849. The name "whale shark" comes from the fish's physiology; that is, a shark as large as a whale that shares a similar filter feeder eating mode. Known as a deity in a Vietnamese religion, the whale shark is called "Ca Ong", which literally translates as "Sir Fish". In Mexico, and throughout much of Latin America, the whale shark is known as "pez dama" or "domino" for its patterns of spots. Whales sharks go by the name of "Sapodilla Tom" in Belize due to the regularity of sightings near the Sapodilla Cayes on the Belize Barrier Reef. In Africa, the names for the whale shark are very evocative: "Papa Shillingi" in Kenya came about as it is believed that God threw shillings upon the shark which are now its spots, and in Madagascar whale sharks are known locally as "Marokintana" which means "Many stars". In Indonesia, Javanese also called this species referring to star as "geger lintang" which has meaning "stars in the back".wfp/The whale shark inhabits the world's tropical and warm-temperate oceans. While thought to be primarily pelagic, seasonal feeding aggregations of the sharks occur at several coastal sites such as Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Ã?tila in Honduras; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan Mexico; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Nosy Be in Madagascar and the Tanzanian islands of Pemba and Zanzibar. Though it is often seen offshore, it has also been found closer to shore, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally restricted to about ±30 ° latitude. It is capable of diving to depths of over 700 metres (2,300 ft). The whale shark is generally solitary yet occasionally aggregating in groups when feeding at sites with abundant food.wfp/As a filter feeder it has a capacious mouth which can be up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide and can contain between 300 and 350 rows of tiny teeth. It has five large pairs of gills. Two small eyes are located towards the front of the shark's wide, flat head. The body is mostly grey with a white belly; three prominent ridges run along each side of the animal and the skin is marked with a "checkerboard" of pale yellow spots and stripes. These spots are unique to each whale shark and because of this they can be used to identify each animal and hence make an accurate population count. Its skin can be up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) thick. The shark has a pair each of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. A juvenile whale shark's tail has a larger upper fin than lower fin while the adult tail becomes semi-lunate (or crescent-shaped). The whale shark's spiracles are just behind the eyes.wfp/The whale shark is not an efficient swimmer since the entire body is used for swimming, which is unusual for fish and contributes to an average speed of only around 5-kilometre-per-hour (3.1 mph). The largest specimen regarded as accurately recorded was caught on November 11, 1947, near the island of Baba, not far from Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) long, weighed more than 21.5 tonnes (47,300 lb), and had a girth of 7 metres (23.0 ft). Stories exist of vastly larger specimens â?? quoted lengths of 18 metres (59 ft) are not uncommon in the popular shark literature â?? but no scientific records exist to support their existence. In 1868 the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright spent time in the Seychelles, during which he managed to obtain several small whale shark specimens, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of 15 metres (49.2 ft), and tells of reports of specimens surpassing 21 metres (68.9 ft).wfp/In a 1925 publication, Hugh M. Smith describes a huge whale shark caught in a bamboo fish trap in Thailand in 1919. The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, but Smith estimated that the shark was at least 17 metres (56 ft) long, and weighed approximately 37 tonnes (81,500 lb), which have been exaggerated to a more precise measurement of 17.98 metres (58.99 ft) and weight 43 tonnes in recent years. A shark caught in 1994 near Tainan County in Southern Taiwan is reported to have weighed 35.8 tonnes (78,887 lb). There have even been claims of whale sharks of up to 23 metres (75 ft). In 1934 a ship named the Maurguani came across a whale shark in the Southern Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark consequently became stuck on the prow of the ship, supposedly with 4.6 metres (15.1 ft) on one side and 12.2 metres (40.0 ft) on the other. No reliable documentation exists of those claims and they remain little more than "fish-stories". http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Rhincodon_typus.jpg A whale shark in the Maldives http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Whale_shark_Georgia_aquarium.jpg Whale shark from Taiwan in the Georgia Aquarium http://localhost:8080/thewriteformat/png/logo.png 1

Mount Everest Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png Mount Everest, also called Sagarmatha or Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.wfp/Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published height of Everest at 29,002 ft (8,840 m), although at the time Everest was known as Peak XV. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time. Waugh was unable to propose an established local name because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners at the time, although Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries.wfp/The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route (other eight-thousanders such as K2 or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2007 climbing season, there had been 3,679 ascents to the summit by 2,436 individuals. This means climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$25,000 per person. Everest has claimed 210 lives, including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone that most corpses have been left where they fell, some of which are visible from standard climbing routes.wfp/In 1808, the British began the Great Trigonometric Survey of India to determine the location and names of the world's highest mountains. Starting in southern India, the survey teams gradually moved northward using giant 1100 pound (500 kg) theodolites (each requiring 12 men to carry) to measure heights as accurately as possible. They reached the Himalayan foothills by the 1830s, but Nepal was unwilling to allow the British to enter the country because of suspicions of political aggression and possible annexation. Several requests by the surveyors to enter Nepal were turned down.wfp/The British were forced to continue their observations from Terai, a region south of Nepal which is parallel to the Himalayas. Conditions in Terai were difficult owing to torrential rains and malaria â?? three survey officers died from malaria while two others had to retire owing to failing health.wfp/Nonetheless, in 1847, the British pressed on and began detailed observations of the Himalayan peaks from observation stations up to 150 mi (240 km) away. Weather restricted work to the last three months of the year. In November 1847, Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India made a number of observations from Sawajpore station located in the eastern end of the Himalayas. At the time, Kangchenjunga was considered the highest peak in the world, and with interest he noted a peak beyond it, some 140 mi (230 km) away. John Armstrong, one of Waugh's officials, also saw the peak from a location further west and called it peak 'b'. Waugh would later write that the observations indicated that peak 'b' was higher than Kangchenjunga, but given the great distance of the observations, closer observations were required for verification. The following year, Waugh sent a survey official back to Terai to make closer observations of peak 'b', but clouds thwarted all attempts. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Everest_kalapatthar_crop.jpg/300px-Everest_kalapatthar_crop.jpg Everest from Kala Patthar in Nepal http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fe/102_0245eve.jpg/800px-102_0245eve.jpg Aerial view of Mount Everest from the south http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Mount_Everest_North_Face.jpg/320px-Mount_Everest_North_Face.jpg Mount Everest north face from Rongbuk in Tibet http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Everest_North_Face_toward_Base_Camp_Tibet_Luca_Galuzzi_2006_edit_1.jpg/300px-Everest_North_Face_toward_Base_Camp_Tibet_Luca_Galuzzi_2006_edit_1.jpg Everest North Face, Tibet http://localhost:8080/thewriteformat/png/logo.png 1

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Last updated: --now-- en.wikipedia.org/ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png/100px-Wikipedia-logo-en-big.png Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi listen (2 October 1869 - 30 January 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagrahaa resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence - which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He is commonly known around the world as Mahatma Gandhi and in India also as Bapu. He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.wfp/Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, for expanding women's rights, for building religious and ethnic amity, for ending untouchability, for increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraja the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (249 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on numerous occasions, in both South Africa and India.wfp/Gandhi was a practitioner of non-violence and truth, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.wfp/Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbander, a coastal town in present-day Gujarat, Western India, on 2 October 1869. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who belonged to the Hindu Modh community, was the diwan (Prime Minister) of the eponymous Porbander state, a small princely state in the Kathiawar Agency of British India. His mother, Putlibai, who came from the Hindu Pranami Vaishnava community, was Karamchand's fourth wife, the first three wives having apparently died in childbirth. Growing up with a devout mother and the Jain traditions of the region, the young Mohandas absorbed early the influences that would play an important role in his adult life; these included compassion to sentient beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between individuals of different creeds.wfp/In May 1883, the 13-year old Mohandas was married to 14-year old Kasturbai Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba," and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, as was the custom in the region. However, as was also the custom of the region, the adolescent bride was to spend much time at her parents' house, and away from her husband. In 1885, when Gandhi was 15, the couple's first child was born, but survived only a few days; earlier that year, Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, had passed away. Mohandas and Kasturbai had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in 1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in 1900. At his middle school in Porbandar and high school in Rajkot, Gandhi remained an average student academically. He passed the matriculation exam for Samaldas College at Bhavnagar, Gujarat with some difficulty. While there, he was unhappy, in part because his family wanted him to become a barrister.wfp/On 4 September 1888, less than a month shy of his nineteenth birthday, Gandhi traveled to London, England, to study law at University College London and to train as a barrister. His time in London, the Imperial capital, was influenced by a vow he had made to his mother in the presence of the Jain monk Becharji, upon leaving India, to observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity. Although Gandhi experimented with adopting "English" customs - taking dancing lessons for exampleâ??he could not stomach his landlady's mutton and cabbage. She pointed him towards one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Rather than simply go along with his mother's wishes, he read about, and intellectually embraced vegetarianism. He joined the Vegetarian Society, was elected to its executive committee, and founded a local chapter. He later credited this with giving him valuable experience in organizing institutions. Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society, which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to the study of Buddhist and Hindu literature. They encouraged Gandhi to read the Bhagavad Gita. Not having shown a particular interest in religion before, he read works of and about Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and other religions. He returned to India after being called to the bar of England and Wales by Inner Temple, but had limited success establishing a law practice in Mumbai. Later, after applying and being turned down for a part-time job as a high school teacher, he ended up returning to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants, but was forced to close down that business as well when he ran afoul of a British officer. In his autobiography, he describes this incident as a kind of unsuccessful lobbying attempt on behalf of his older brother. It was in this climate that (in 1893) he accepted a year-long contract from an Indian firm to a post in Natal, South Africa, then part of the British Empire.wfp/In South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination directed at Indians. Initially, he was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg, after refusing to move from the first class to a third class coach while holding a valid first class ticket. Traveling further on by stagecoach, he was beaten by a driver for refusing to travel on the foot board to make room for a European passenger. He suffered other hardships on the journey as well, including being barred from many hotels. In another of many similar events, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered him to remove his turban, which Gandhi refused. These incidents have been acknowledged as a turning point in his life, serving as an awakening to contemporary social injustice and helping to explain his subsequent social activism. It was through witnessing firsthand the racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa that Gandhi started to question his people's status within the British Empire, and his own place in society.wfp/Gandhi extended his original period of stay in South Africa to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. Though unable to halt the bill's passage, his campaign was successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa. He founded the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, and through this organization, he molded the Indian community of South Africa into a homogeneous political force. In January 1897, when Gandhi returned from a brief trip to India, a white mob attacked and tried to lynch him. In an early indication of the personal values that would shape his later campaigns, he refused to press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek redress for a personal wrong in a court of law.wfp/In 1906, the Transvaal government promulgated a new Act compelling registration of the colony's Indian population. At a mass protest meeting held in Johannesburg on 11 September that year, Gandhi adopted his still evolving methodology of satyagraha (devotion to the truth), or non-violent protest, for the first time, calling on his fellow Indians to defy the new law and suffer the punishments for doing so, rather than resist through violent means. This plan was adopted, leading to a seven-year struggle in which thousands of Indians were jailed (including Gandhi), flogged, or even shot, for striking, refusing to register, burning their registration cards, or engaging in other forms of non-violent resistance. While the government was successful in repressing the Indian protesters, the public outcry stemming from the harsh methods employed by the South African government in the face of peaceful Indian protesters finally forced South African General Jan Christiaan Smuts to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. Gandhi's ideas took shape and the concept of Satyagraha matured during this struggle. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Salt_March.jpg/180px-Salt_March.jpg Gandhi at Dandi, 5 April 1930, at the end of the Salt March. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Nehruwithgandhi1942.jpg/180px-Nehruwithgandhi1942.jpg Jawaharlal Nehru sitting next to Gandhi at the AICC General Session, 1942 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ca/Young_Gandhi.jpg/180px-Young_Gandhi.jpg A young Gandhi c. 1886. http://localhost:8080/thewriteformat/png/logo.png 1