ரூ.10 கோடி செலவில் தங்க கிறிஸ்துமஸ் மரம்

ரூ.10 கோடி செலவில் தங்க கிறிஸ்துமஸ் மரம்!
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உலகம் முழுவதும் கிறிஸ்துமஸ் பண்டிகைக்கான கொண்டாட்டங்கள் இப்போதே தொடங்கிவிட்டது. அலங்கார பொருட்கள் மற்றும் குடில்களை அமைப்பதற்கான பொருட்களை இப்போதே மக்கள் வாங்க தொடங்கி விட்டனர். பல்வேறு நகரங்களில் வண்ணமிகு அழகிய கிறிஸ்துமஸ் மரங்கள் அமைக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. இந்த நிலையில் ஜப்பான் தலைநகர் டோக்கியோவில் தங்க கிறிஸ்துமஸ் மரம் ஒன்று தயாரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 2.4 மீட்டர் உயரத்தினால் ஆன இந்த கிறிஸ்துமஸ் மரம் டோக்கியோவில் ஜின்ஷா தனாகா என்பவருக்கு சொந்தமான நகைக்கடையில் வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. சுமார் 12 கிலோ தங்கத்தினால் வடிவமைக்கப்பட்ட இந்த மரத்தின் மதிப்பு ரூ.10 கோடி(இந்திய ரூபாய்) ஆகும். இந்த மரத்தை 15 தங்க நகை நிபுணர்கள் 4 1/2 மாதங்கள் இரவு-பகலாக சேர்ந்து வடிவமைத்துள்ளனர்.

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Posted in பல்சுவை

மசூதியில் பாடம் எடுத்துக் கொண்டிருந்த இஸ்லாமிய ஆசிரியர் ஒருவர் குழந்தைகளை அடித்து உதைத்து தாக்கியுள்ளார். ரகசியக் கமரா மூலம் குறித்த ஆசிரியரின் தாக்குதல்கள் அம்பலமானது.

இவர் நேற்றுக் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். 60 வயதான Sabir Hussain என்ற ஆசிரியரே கைது செய்யப்பட்டவராவர்.

சிறுவர்களை அமர வைத்து கைகளை பின்பக்கமாக வைக்கச் சொல்லி கடுமையாகத் தாக்கியுள்ளார்.
லண்டனில் உள்ள Keighley, West Yorkshire பிரதேசத்தில் உள்ள Jamia Mosque இல் தான் மேற்படி துயரச் சம்பவம் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளது.

தாக்கப்பட்ட சிறுவர்கள் பத்து மற்றும் பதின்மூன்று வயதுக்கு இடைப்பட்டவர்கள்.


குறித்த வீடியோக் காட்சிகளை லண்டனின் பிரபல சனல் 4 தொலைக்காட்சி தான் அம்பலப்படுத்தியிருந்தமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.


குர் ஆனை வாசிக்கும் போது தான் சிறுவர்களை தாக்கியுள்ளார் ஆசிரியர்.

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அல்சர் நோயை குணப்படுத்தும் வாழைப்பழம்

உள் குடல்களில் சுரக்கும் அமிலங்களும் நச்சுப் பொருட்களும் அரிப்பதன் காரணமாக குடல் புண் என்கிற அல்சர் ஏற்படுகிறது.



பச்சை வாழைப்பழத்தை தொடர்ந்து சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் இந்த பாதிப்பில் இருந்து விடுபடலாம்.

குடல்களில் பழுதுபட்ட மெல்லிய சவ்வுத் தோல்களைச் விரைவில் வளரச் செய்து புண்ணை ஆற்றிவிடும் சக்தி பச்சை வாழைப்பழத்திற்கு உண்டு.

1. வெண்டைக்காய் விதையைக் கொஞ்சம் கஞ்சியில் போட்டு காய்ச்சி முன்று நாள் வரை சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் சிறுநீர் கழிக்கும் போது எரிச்சல் ஏற்படாது.

2. உணவு சாப்பிடுவதற்கு 1/2 மணி நேரத்திற்கு முன்னதாக தினசரி அரை கோப்பை ஒலிவ் எண்ணெய்யைச் சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால், ரத்தக் குழாயில் கொழுப்பு படிவதை தடுக்கலாம். வாய்ப் புண் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு காரம் ஆகாது. முடிந்தவரை காரத்தைக் குறைத்துச் சாப்பிடுங்கள்.

3. தேங்காய்த் துண்டுகளைச் சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் எளிதில் வாய்ப்புண் ஆறும். ஜாதிக்காயைச் சிறு சிறு துண்டுகளாகச் சீவி அதை நெய்விட்டு வறுத்து சாப்பிட்டு வந்தால் சீதபேதி குணமாகும். இதற்கு சிகிச்சை மேற்கொள்ளும்போது தயிர், மோர், இளநீர் ஆகியவற்றை மட்டும் ஏராளமாகச் சேர்த்துக் கொள்வது நல்லது.

4. இரவில் படுக்கப் போகும்முன் வெந்நீரில் சிறிது தேன் கலந்து அந்த நீரில் வாயைக் கொப்பளித்து வந்தால் பற்களுக்குத் தொந்தரவு கொடுக்கும் பாக்டீரியாக்கள் செத்துப் போகும். பற்களின் எனாமல் சிதையாமல் பாதுகாக்கப்படும்.

a living miracle of our times<> St. Bernadette who died 122 years ago in Lourdes ,

These are the pictures of St. Bernadette who died 122 years ago in Lourdes ,
France . And was buried; her body was only discovered 30 years ago..
After church officials decided to examine it they discovered her body is
still fresh until today and if you ever go to Lourdes , France you can see
her in the church in Lourdes . Her body isn't decomposing because during her
lifetime, the Mother of Jesus would always appear to her and give messages
and advise to all mankind on the right way to live on this earth.
Many miracles have taken place in this place of Lourdes and still do until
today.

These pictures show her
body after 122 years.


Scientists have wondered about this because it defies the laws of nature and
instead of expecting a foul smell of a dead body, a fragrance of flowers canbe experienced when the glass of coffin is opened. Some say they experience
the fragrance by just going near the coffin. You  can visit the Church of
Lourdes , France, to verify yourself the authenticity of this truly
wonderful experience and see for yourself a living miracle of our times.

இந்த வருடம் குபேர கிரிவலம் 23.11.2011

உங்களுக்கு வாழ்க்கையில் பொருளாதார ரீதியாக ,

ஒரு சுமுகமான நிலை வர வேண்டும் என்று விரும்பினால் , நீங்களும் இந்த தினத்தைப் பயன் படுத்திக் கொள்ளுங்கள். 

உங்கள் ஜாதக அமைப்புப் படி - கிடைக்கும் பலன்கள் , முன்னே பின்னே தாமதப் பட்டாலும், நீங்கள் இப்போது இருக்கும் நிலையை விட - ஒரு படி நிச்சயம் முன்னேறுவீர்கள்.

இந்த வருடம் குபேர கிரிவலம் 23.11.2011 புதன்கிழமை வருகிறது.அன்று மாலை சரியாக 4 மணி இலிருந்து மாலை 6 மணி வரை குபேரலிங்கத்திடம் , உங்கள் நியாயமான கோரிக்கையை வையுங்கள். பூஜை முடிந்த பிறகு - அங்கிருந்து நீங்கள் கிரிவலம் தொடங்கி , முடிக்க வேண்டும். புதன் கிழமையாக இருப்பதால் மாலை 4  மணி முதல் 5 மணி வரை  குரு ஹோரையும் சேர்ந்து வருகிறது.

கிரிவலம் செல்லும்போது எவரிடமும் பேசாமல்,மனதுக்குள் ஓம்சிவசிவஓம் ஜபித்தவாறு செல்லவும். ஐயா மிஸ்டிக் செல்வம் ஐயா அவர்கள் கூறியபடி மஞ்சள் ஆடை , அல்லது வேஷ்டி

அல்லது ஒரு கைக்குட்டையாவது வைத்து இருந்தால் ,

 உங்கள் உடலில் இந்த மந்திர ஆகர்ஷணம் தங்கும்.
 

குபேர லிங்கத்தில் ஆரம்பித்து , ஈசான்ய லிங்கம் வந்து - அண்ணாமலையாரை தரிசித்து விட்டு - ராஜ கோபுரத்தில்

கிரிவலம் தொடங்கி , பின் அஷ்ட லிங்கங்களை வரிசையாக தரிசித்து விட்டு - ராஜ கோபுர வாசலில் கிரிவலம் முடிப்பது உசிதம். 

இந்த நாள் என்று இல்லாமல் , எல்லா நாளுமே திருவண்ணாமலையில் கிரிவலம் செல்வது , மிக மிக

நல்ல காரியம். இந்த நாளுக்கு இப்படி ஒரு சக்தி இருப்பது உண்மையோ , பொய்யோ - பௌர்ணமி அல்லாத ஒரு

சாதாரண நாளில் , நிம்மதியாக - சுற்றி இருக்கும் கூட்டத்தின் தொந்தரவு இல்லாமல் , மன அமைதியுடன் கிரிவலம்

வர முடியும். அஷ்ட லிங்கங்களை கண் குளிர தரிசனம் செய்ய முடியும். 

சாதாரண  நாளில் கூட ஒரே ஒரு முறை - குபேர லிங்க

வாசலில் ஒருவருக்கு அன்னதானம்  செய்தவர்களுக்கு -

ஒரு மாதத்துக்குள்ளாகவே - இரண்டு மடங்கு சம்பளத்துடன்

புதிய வேலை கிடைத்தும் இருக்கிறது.

எல்லாம், பதி பக்தியுடன் , நம்பிக்கையுடன் - நாம் வேண்டும் முறையில் தான் இருக்கிறது.. அப்படி இருக்கும்போது ,

இந்த நாளை பயன்படுத்துவது நல்லது என்பது

என் அபிப்பிராயம்.......

யோகம் உள்ளவர்கள் நிச்சயம் வர முடியும். நம்பிக்கையுடன் வருபவர்களுக்கு , அந்த அண்ணாமலையாரின் அருளும்,

லட்சுமி கடாட்சமும், குபேர சம்பத்தும் நிச்சயம் உண்டு..!

நேரம் தாராளமாக இருந்தால் , அண்ணாமலை கிரிவலம்

முடிந்து திருப்பதி சென்று வருதல் , கூடுதல் விசேஷமாக

அமையும்.  

மழை நேரமாக இருப்பதால் , அதற்க்கு தகுந்த ஏற்பாடுகளுடன் வருவது நல்லது. 

முயற்சி செய்து பாருங்களேன்..!  

வாழ்க அறமுடன் ! வளர்க அருளுடன் !

the natural world has some fantastic fireworks of its very own…..

Fountains of feathers
Male birds are some of the biggest show-offs in the animal kingdom, and their extravagant feathers can be the key to a female’s heart. We thought we would kick off our display with some of the most flamboyant, including the Atlantic royal flycatcher, the raggiana bird of paradise and an unusual albino Indian peafowl….

Bates’ pygmy antelope (Neotragus batesi)

Bates’ pygmy antelope (Neotragus batesi)

Bates' pygmy antelope is a shy, secretive creature, much like Mr Bates
It is doubtful that this secretive species was named after Downton’s favourite valet given that it comes from East Africa, but it does seem to share certain traits with the quiet Mr Bates.


The range of the male Bates’ pygmy antelope often overlaps those of two females. Sadly for our Mr Bates, it seems that the same can be said of him too, with his life being torn between his beloved Anna and his wife, the venomous Mrs Bates.

Bates’ pygmy antelope favours areas of dense vegetation cover, but it can also be found along roadsides and in village gardens. It tends to move around several suitable feeding sites on rotation, spending just a month or two in each area. Is this perhaps why Mr Bates keeps coming and going from Downton?!

(From Downton Abbey to the ARKive estate)

(wow it is so cute >

Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special to USA TODAY
With humanity coming up fast on 2012, publishers are helping readers gear up and count down to this mysterious — some even call it apocalyptic — date that ancient Mayan societies were anticipating thousands of years ago.
Since November, at least three new books on 2012 have arrived in mainstream bookstores. A fourth is due this fall. Each arrives in the wake of the 2006 success of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, which has been selling thousands of copies a month since its release in May and counts more than 40,000 in print. The books also build on popular interest in the Maya, fueled in part by Mel Gibson's December 2006 film about Mayan civilization, Apocalpyto.

Authors disagree about what humankind should expect on Dec. 21, 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era.

Journalist Lawrence Joseph forecasts widespread catastrophe in Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation Into Civilization's End. Spiritual healer Andrew Smith predicts a restoration of a "true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine" in The Revolution of 2012: Vol. 1, The Preparation. In 2012, Daniel Pinchbeck anticipates a "change in the nature of consciousness," assisted by indigenous insights and psychedelic drug use.

The buildup to 2012 echoes excitement and fear expressed on the eve of the new millennium, popularly known as Y2K, though on a smaller scale, says Lynn Garrett, senior religion editor at Publishers Weekly. She says publishers seem to be courting readers who believe humanity is creating its own ecological disasters and desperately needs ancient indigenous wisdom.

"The convergence I see here is the apocalyptic expectations, if you will, along with the fact that the environment is in the front of many people's minds these days," Garrett says. "Part of the appeal of these earth religions is that notion that we need to reconnect with the Earth in order to save ourselves."

But scholars are bristling at attempts to link the ancient Maya with trends in contemporary spirituality. Maya civilization, known for advanced writing, mathematics and astronomy, flourished for centuries in Mesoamerica, especially between A.D. 300 and 900. Its Long Count calendar, which was discontinued under Spanish colonization, tracks more than 5,000 years, then resets at year zero.

"For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle," says Sandra Noble, executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. To render Dec. 21, 2012, as a doomsday or moment of cosmic shifting, she says, is "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in."

Part of the 2012 mystique stems from the stars. On the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in about 26,000 years. This means that "whatever energy typically streams to Earth from the center of the Milky Way will indeed be disrupted on 12/21/12 at 11:11 p.m. Universal Time," Joseph writes.

But scholars doubt the ancient Maya extrapolated great meaning from anticipating the alignment — if they were even aware of what the configuration would be.

Astronomers generally agree that "it would be impossible the Maya themselves would have known that," says Susan Milbrath, a Maya archaeoastronomer and a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History. What's more, she says, "we have no record or knowledge that they would think the world would come to an end at that point."

University of Florida anthropologist Susan Gillespie says the 2012 phenomenon comes "from media and from other people making use of the Maya past to fulfill agendas that are really their own."

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Influencing The Atmosphere

Influencing The Atmosphere

Thoughts are very powerful.
It is thought power that creates the atmosphere in my home or office.
The atmosphere may or may not be positive depending on the thoughts of those present at home or in the office.
If I can control my mind and develop its positive power,
I can influence rather than be influenced by the atmosphere around me.
My dependence on others and physical things will decrease. I will gain satisfaction, and within that satisfaction there will be great strength. Then nothing will be experienced as difficult.
The question of wanting to drop out (leave) of the system or escape does not arise because, although I remain within society, in my thoughts I am beyond its influence.


Anything that we do in life will have a consequence.
If you do the right thing, you will have the right effect and if you do the wrong thing, you must bear the consequences of that activity.
This law is inviolable. Nobody can change it.

Remember you have control and mastery only over the cause.
Once the cause is laid, you do not have control over the effect.
The cause produces the effect.
Therefore, analyze and understand the cause of your suffering.
Exercise your influence and control over the cause.
Influence the cause and the effect is bound to change. That is the law.

Gopal Nair
For FREE Membership registration, click here http://mfgglobal.org/membership.php)

Magical Jonglage Strip Show : Video Clips From The Coolest One

Magical Jonglage Strip Show : Video Clips From The Coolest One

Who are the top 10 women in U.S. technology?

By David Zielenziger October 31, 2011 3:57 PM EDT

Who are the top 10 women in U.S. technology?

Nobody would ask who the top 10 men are in U.S. technology because their ranks fill the executive suites at Intel, Apple, Texas Instruments, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Motorola Mobility....and on and on

Finding the women is harder because there are fewer, especially at the CEO level, where they can really influence the company and the industry.

Here are a few more than 10 to start:

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, a mechanical engineer with a masters degree from Columbia University. Head of Xerox since 2009, when she succeeded Anne Mulcahy, who had been a senior VP of human resources. Burns, 53, is experienced with technology.

Part of her mandate is to make the Stamford, Conn.-based Xerox more profitable by adding services, so Burns has spent billions acquiring services companies, mainly in printing and document preparation, but also in services important to enterprises.

The gamble has paid off so far. Xerox has been consistently profitable, selling services to the global Fortune 500, a far cry from when people were wondering about the "paperless office."

Xerox has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion since Burns took over.

Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, the former CEO of eBay. Whitman, who has an economics degree from Princeton and a Harvard MBA, lacks a technology background. But she helped transform eBay into an auction and sales giant. In a month as CEO of HP, the No. 1 global computer company, she managed to raise the share price 23 percent.

Still, the verdict is out on Whitman, HP's second woman CEO. The first, Carleton (Carly) Fiorina, a former sales executive from Lucent Technologies, was ousted over her performance in 2008, highlighted by her acquisition of Compaq Computer.

Now Whitman, 55, has decided to keep HP's PC business, essentially "old" Compaq, and use it as a key for growth. Whitman is also relying upon her executive chairman, Ray Lane, former president of Oracle, as a co-partner, especially for software issues.

Stay tuned.

Virginia Rometty, CEO-designate of IBM. Starting Jan. 1, Rometty, now IBM's EVP for strategy, gets the ring at the No. 2 computer services company, where one of her top lieutenants will be Linda Sanford, EVP for computing. It's believed Rometty won the CEO job because she's 54, compared to Sanford's 58. IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano is stepping down at 60.

Rometty, who has a B.S. in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern, is well-regarded as a strategist and got high marks helping IBM manage its giant takeover of Pricewaterhouse Cooper's consulting.

The Armonk, N.Y.-based giant has never had a woman CEO since it was founded in 1911, so Rometty's touch will be different, for sure. But with more than 325,000 colleagues, IBMers are known to have changed over the years when the typical IBMer was a middle-aged man with a white shirt. No longer.

In the technology world, talent counts. Rometty (and Sanford) have been well-regarded for years because of their records.

Ann Livermore, director of HP and until June, EVP for enterprise business under its last CEOs, Carly Fiorina, Mark Hurd and Leo Apotheker. Livermore, 53, is a Stanford MBA and has years of expertise building up HP's networking business.

When HP bought Electronic Data Systems for $13.9 billion in 2008, she was responsible for oversight. Twice passed over to be HP's CEO, Livermore could well be poised to be CEO of just about any other company in the sector. She is now a director of UPS.

Safra Catz, one of two co-presidents at Oracle as well as its CFO for the second time. Catz, 49, came to the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based software company from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where she had a successful Wall Street career.

The Israel-born Catz has a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and testified in Oracle's intellectual property lawsuits against German rival SAP. She argued then that Oracle deserved the $1.3 billion awarded by a jury rather than the $40 million SAP lawyers argued for.

Serving alongside co-President Mark Hurd, former CEO of both HP and NCR, Catz will always be a No. 2 after Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison, 67. But she's among the most respected women in the sector.

Stephanie DiMarco, founder and CEO of Advent Software. Not as well-known as she should be, DiMarco, 53, founded San Francisco-based Advent in 1983, which has become one Wall Street's best-regarded financial management software developers.

DiMarco's personal Advent Software holdings are valued now around $28 million.

DiMarco has also been CFO and president of the company throughout her tenure. Advent now has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion and a blue-chip client list.

Ellen Kullman, DuPont CEO, where she is the first woman to run the Wilmington, Del.-based chemical giant. Kullman, 55, has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Tufts as well as a masters in management from Northwestern and worked at General Electric before joining DuPont in 1988.

Kullman is a major advocate of science-based education as well as using chemicals to increase food supplies. Not surprisingly, just about all her subordinates are men, save for Linda Fisher, VP for safety, health and environment, and Diane Gulyas, president of DuPont Performance Polymers.

After IBM and HP, DuPont's market capitalization of $44.9 billion makes it among the biggest technology companies with a woman CEO. Kullman assumed office in 2009.

Three university presidents with technology backgrounds of major research universities are: Susan Hockfeld, 60, president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2004; Shirley Ann Jackson, 65, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute since 1999; and Shirley M. Tilghman, 65, president of Princeton since 2001.

All three are at the top of their fields, Hockfeld in neuroscience, Jackson in physics and Tilghman in molecular biology. All are the first women presidents of their institutions, among America's greatest research universities that train the next generation of technical professionals and have the money for original research.

Besides serving as role models for students, all three presidents serve on at least one technology board of directors. Hockfeld is a director of General Electric; Jackson is a director of IBM and Medtronic and Tilghman is a director of Google.

Finally, in the U.S. government, two top women in technical positions are Lisa P. Jackson, 49, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Jane Lubchenko, 63, undersecretary of commerce and administrator of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Both women were appointed by President Obama in 2009.

Both are key policy makers on matters of the environment and climate change. Jackson is a chemical engineer from Princeton and Lubchenko, who has a doctorate in ecology from Harvard was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

There are other women in U.S. technology ranks: Carol Bartz, 63, was Yahoo CEO until she was ousted Sept. 5, but had served for years as CEO and chairman of Autodesk. Weili Dai, 49, is co-founder of Marvell Technology Group, the chipmaker, and an EVP, although her husband, Sehat Sutardja and brother-in-law Pantas Sutardja, really run the company.

Why so few at the top? Given that young women now outnumber men in graduate schools, there ought to be more. Surely, as far as consumption of technology products goes, from iPhones to Kindles, they are a huge market.

Will there be change over the next decade? Signals are mixed. But women were 50.8 percent of the U.S. population, the 2010 census reported.

Girls are nearly 50 percent of high school students who take the Advanced Placement exam in calculus but only 19 percent of the AP computer science test takers, the College Board reports.

In college, something happens. By graduation, women received only 18 percent of degrees in computing and information sciences in 2009, a sharp decrease from the 37 percent in 1985, according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

There are similar disparities in electrical engineering, the traditional source for semiconductor and computer industry talent. Both Bill Hewlett and David Packard were electrical engineers.

Of the 407,000 members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), 90 percent were male in 2010, despite years of supporting technical education for women.

Statistics also show that women engineers and technologists often leave the workforce in mid-career because they want to raise children or spend time at home. But other figures show they leave the technology sector for another. So that when the time comes for promotions, there are fewer women to choose from.

Besides the women mentioned above, there are several more who have been CEOs who might be available for another challenge.

Among them are Kim Polese, 39, who was CEO of Marimba when it was acquired by BMC Software; Diane Greene, a co-founder of VMware before its acquisition by EMC and then its spinoff, and Sandra Kurtzig, who founded ASK Group in 1972, is a mechanical engineer who built that company into one of Silicon Valley's biggest mid-range computer software developers. She sold ASK to CA Technologies in 1994. This year, she started Kenandy, another software developer, with $10.5 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Salesforce.com and the Wilson Sonsini law firm.

For feedback or corrections email editor@ibtimes.com

How dangerous is Mexico right now?

This is a subject of endless debate.


A security guard patrols the beach in Cancun. In light of headlines about drug-cartel violence and kidnappings in Mexico, Cancun has added security personnel and tourist greeters to make sure that visitors stay safe. CAPTIONBy Kitty Yancey, USA TODAYThe Mexico Tourism Board says the country is having a great year and that nearly 100% of U.S. vacationers queried say they had a great time. However, the board has launched a $30 million ad campaign targeted at Americans, which tells you that it knows Mexico has an image problem in the USA mainly due to drug cartel violence.

Meanwhile, some in the U.S. travel industry are bullish on Mexico. Hard Rock International says it is moving into Mexico, re-branding three all-inclusive palace Resorts. And Wyndham Hotel Group just announced it has added the 68-room Las Villas Hotel at Estrella del Mar in the Mazatlan area to its portfolio.

RELATED: $30 million ad campaign says Mexico is safe

But this week comes news of the apparent kidnapping of a Mexican luxury car dealer from a restaurant not far from the tourist zone of Cancun. That popular resort area has added security guards and is generally considered a well-patrolled area where American tourists can wander safely.

A report on foxnews.com says that the car dealer and three companions were abducted after leaving the unnamed restaurant last Friday. It said families did not officially report the disappearances, and that ransom had been demanded.

Kidnappings and "a move toward extortion" are increasing problems in Mexico, says Charles Regini, a former FBI hostage negotiator who now is managing director of crisis response and planning for Kroll Associates Inc. Kroll bills itself as "the world's leading risk consulting company" and offers security and negotiating services.

Regini says that Kroll's sources in the Cancun area confirmed that the kidnap happened on the Boulevard Luis Donaldo Colosio in front of a mall named Plaza Pabellon Cumbres in Cancun. So far this year, Kroll has seen no Americans kidnapped in Mexico, but that certain parts of the country are lawless -- like "the Wild West," Regini says -- because drug cartels have taken over.

Cancun and the Riviera Maya are considered "relatively safe," he says. But border towns, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallerta and Acapulco can be "extremely dangerous" once you leave the tourist areas, he says. "And overland travel in Mexico also is extremely dangerous" for Americans, he says.

"If you're going to Mexico, do some due diligence," Regini says. "Maintain awareness and don't put yourself in a position to be a victim." Leave the expensive watches and flashy jewelry at home, too.

While many tourists have positive and safe experiences, Regini is not high on Mexico right now. Trouble there is a big part of Kroll's business, he says. "Frankly," he adds, "I advise everyone I know not to go."

So readers, what do you think? Have any of you returned recently from Mexico? How was your trip?

P.S.: Just found out that Martha Stewart journeyed to Mexico City and offers a look at its culture, crafts, cuisine and more on today's The Martha Stewart Show on the Hallmark Channel. The episode was taped in Mexico City in July 2011 with support from the Mexico City Tourism Promotion Fund. You can watch the show on Stewart's website.

(sources :http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/11/how-dangerous-is-mexico/560394/1?csp=Travel)