Top Ten Most Expensive Houses around the World

Talk about the luxuries in the world, you can keep throwing in your money and might still not be enough to get the best of the best. This post covers the most expensive homes in the world till date and you will be surprised to see the creative way people chose to spend their money. The mere design leaves your mouth wide open and you just want to be able to stay in a haven like that for once. That was the case with me at least. You remember the show called MTV Cribs where they would go to the homes of random celebrities and give you a walk-through. Let’s just say, that those houses were cute compared to what you are about to look at right now. Moreover, the mere size is astonishing; I don’t understand the point of a wide-spread house. I will personally always prefer smaller, cozy houses. Either way, read on to find out more; it’s quite fascinating.

10. DRACULA’S CASTLE

Dracula’s castle is valued at 80 million dollars. The good part is that in the year 1980, it was converted into a museum so you can go visit it any time and roam the corridors of this huge castle. Archduke Domini owns this castle. The house has 57 rooms, 17 bedrooms and is full of beautiful antique furniture. The mere smell of the wood is a delight.

9. MAISON DE L’AMITIE

Maison de l’Amitie is owned by Donald Trump. It is located at the Palm Beach and stretches over 80,000 square feet. The house is equipped with a ballroom, fifteen bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a tennis court, a conservatory and a very luxurious guest house or a guest cottage. The house has one huge swimming pool and is valued at 125 million dollars. Fancy buying it?

8. FLEUR DE LYS

Fleur de Lys is also valued at a whopping 125 million dollars. The house was built by Suzanne and David Saperstein. If you are into architecture then there’s no way you haven’t heard these names. The house has 15 bedrooms, swimming pool and while the exterior is curtained with French limestone, the interior is made up of 24-karat-gold. Imagine walking into that pot of gold, weird and amazing at the same time.

7. UP-DOWN COURT

Up-down Court is located in England. As of 2011 this house was valued at 116 million dollars. One of the most interesting features of this house is that the driveway in this house is heated. Up-down Court has 113 rooms, a bowling alley, a movie theater and three swimming pools. The house is also equipped with a tennis court. Moreover, the house is an example of beautiful traditional English architecture that catches your eye in an instant.

6. HALA RANCH

Hala Ranch is valued at 135 million US dollars and it stretches across an area of 14,397 square feet which is quite a lot. The ranch has 27 bathrooms, 15 bedrooms, an indoor pool, private ski trails, sewage treatment plants, a tennis court, heated stables and even a gas station. The ranch is currently owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz. He hails from Saudi Arabia.

5. AARON SPELLING’S MANOR

Aaron Spelling’s manor is stretched across a wide are of 56,000 square feet and it was constructed in the year 1991. With 123 bedrooms, a tennis court, a skating area, a bowling alley and many swimming pools, the manor is valued at 150 million dollars. I just wonder how many days the owner actually spends in this manor and what exactly does he does with 123 bedrooms. Makes you wonder.

4. ELENA FRANCHUK’S VICTORIAN VILLA

It is weird how most expensive houses in this list are located in Britain. Having said so, Elena Franchuk’s Victorian Villa is located in London and its current worth is 161 million dollars. The villa is a five-story house with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool, a panic room, a theater, a sauna and a gym. 10 bedrooms are very reasonable compared to the other houses with several rooms and bedrooms. I could live here.

3. WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST’S MANSION

This particular mansion is owned by William Randolph Hearst as the name very well suggests. It is a beautiful mansion and is valued at 165 million dollars as of now which is why it made it to the number three spot. The place has three swimming pools, 29 bedrooms, a move theater and a discotheque. The entire mansion stretches over 6 acres of land. The fascinating bit is that it was put up for sale in 2007 but nobody was interested to buy it. It makes perfect sense to me, but the mansion nonetheless is very beautiful.

2. THE PENTHOUSES AT ONE HYDE PARK

The most expensive of these penthouses sold for 140 million pounds and that’s roughly around 223.93 million dollars. This makes the penthouse the topper in our list and is certainly the most expensive property of Britain. It is basically a six-bedroom apartment and it stretches across two floors. With bullet proof windows, a panic room, and beautiful view across the Serpentine owning a house at One Hyde Park is considered a trophy and you can well imagine why. The cheapest penthouse starts at 20 million pounds.

1. ANTILLA

Finally, the Antilla; the house, the mansion, the manor, that made it to number one on our list. The house is in India and it is owned by the world-renowned businessman who goes by the name of Mukesh Ambani. Yeah, he is currently one of the richest people of the world and well here is the proof of it. The current worth of the house is around 1 billion dollars and it is a huge 27 story building. The house can host up to 150 cars in the parking. Mukesh Ambani himself has 168 cars, so you can imagine why he decided to have such a huge parking lot for a house. The house reaches a height of 570 feet and it is constructed entirely of glass.

There you go folks this was our list for the most expensive houses in the world. If you were given a choice, which one would you choose to live in?

Some Best Intelligence Agencies in the World

Nearly every country in the world has an intelligence agency that is charged with espionage in order to protect its own interests in all aspects, including economic, political and military interests. While some of these agencies have agreements to share information with others for greater impact, others are very secretive and make it a point to share with no one. It is widely known that many countries have spies in other areas of the world for the purpose of gathering intelligence data. Who these spies are and exactly how they operate is more secretive in nature.

1.Mossad

The Mossad known in full as the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations is the national intelligence agency of Israel. “Mossad” is a Hebrew word for institute or institution.

The Mossad is responsible for intelligence collection and covert operations including paramilitary activities. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security), but its director reports directly to the Prime Minister.

The “Mossad Le’aliyah Bet” was a small, unorthodox Zionist organization whose mission in 1938 was to bring Jews to the British mandate of Palestine. This was done to subvert the British quotas on Jewish immigration. The Mossad’s modes of operation, its ideology, and politics resulted in the creation of the intelligence agency for the Israeli government once it was established in 1948. The agency consisted of several of the existing members who had worked to establish Israel as a Jewish state.

2.BND

The Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Service, BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of the German government, under the control of the Chancellor’s Office. Its headquarters are in Pullach near Munich, and Berlin  (planned to be centralised in Berlin by 2011). The BND has 300 locations in Germany and foreign countries. In 2005, the BND employed around 6,050 people, 10% of them Bundeswehr  soldiers; those are officially employed by the “Amt für Militärkunde” (Office for Military Sciences). The annual budget of the BND for 2009 was € 460,000,000.

The BND acts as an early warning system to alert the German government to threats to German interests from abroad. It depends heavily on wiretapping and electronic surveillance of international communications. It collects and evaluates information on a variety of areas such as international terrorism, WMD proliferation and illegal transfer of technology, organized crime, weapons and drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal migration and information warfare. As Germany’s only overseas intelligence service, the BND gathers both military and civil intelligence. However, the Kommando Strategische Aufklärung (Strategic Reconnaissance Command) of the German Armed Forces also fulfills this mission, but is not an intelligence service. There is close cooperation between the BND and the Kommando Strategische Aufklärung.

The domestic secret service counterparts of the BND are the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, BfV) and 16 counterparts at the state level Landesämter für Verfassungsschutzor State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution); there is also a separate military intelligence organisation, the Militärischer Abschirmdienst (lit. military screening service, MAD).

3.DGSE

The General Directorate for External Security (French: Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure, or DGSE) is France’s external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI (the Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence) in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence operations abroad. As with most other intelligence agencies, details of its operations and organization are not made public.

The DGSE can trace its roots back to 1947, when a central external intelligence agency, known as the SDECE, was founded to combine under one head a variety of separate agencies – some, such as the Deuxième Bureau, dating from the time of Napoleon III and some, such as the BCRA, from the Free French of World War II. It remained independent until the mid-1960s, when the SDECE was discovered to have been involved in the kidnapping and presumed murder of Mehdi Ben Barka, a Moroccan revolutionary living in Paris. Following this scandal, the agency was placed under the control of the French ministry of defence. It was restructured in 1981, eventually acquiring its current name (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) in April 1982.

In 1992, most of the defence responsibilities of the DGSE, no longer suitable to the post-Cold War context, were transferred to the Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM), a new military agency. Combining the skills and knowledge of five military groups, the DRM was created to close the intelligence gaps of the 1991 Gulf War.

4.SIS

The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. It is frequently referred to in the mass media and popular parlance by the name MI6, a name used as a flag of convenience during the Second World War when it was known by many names. Alongside the internal Security Service (MI5), the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS), it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

SIS is referred to colloquially within the Civil Service as Box 850, after its old MI6 post office box number. Its existence, or indeed that of its sister organisations, was not officially acknowledged in public until 1994. Its headquarters, since 1995, is at Vauxhall Cross on the South Bank of the Thames.

The Service is derived from the Secret Service Bureau, which was founded in 1909.[1]  It was a joint initiative of the Admiralty  and the War Office to control secret intelligence operations in the UK and overseas, particularly concentrating on the activities of the Imperial German government. The Bureau was split into naval and army sections which, over time, specialised in foreign espionage and internal counter-espionage activities respectively. This specialisation was because the Admiralty wanted to know the maritime strength of the Imperial German Navy. This specialisation was formalised before 1914. When the First World War started, the two sections underwent administrative changes so that the foreign section became the Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 6 (MI6), the name by which it is frequently known in popular culture today. Its first director was Captain Sir George Mansfield Smith-Cumming, who often dropped the Smith in routine communication. He typically signed correspondence with his initial C in green ink. This usage evolved as a code name, and has been adhered to by all subsequent directors of SIS when signing documents to retain anonymity.

5.GRU

GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (formerly the Red Army  General Staff of the Soviet Union). GRU is the English transliteration  of the Russian acronym GRU, which meaning Main Intelligence Directorate. The official full name translation is II Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Other name, GRU GSh (GRU Generalnovo Shtaba, i.e. “GRU of the General Staff”).

The GRU is Russia’s largest foreign intelligence agency . It deploys six times as many agents in foreign countries as the SVR, which is the KGB intelligence successor. It also commanded 25,000 Spetsnaz troops in 1997.

The current GRU Director is Lieutenant General Alexander Shlyakhturov.

According to the Federation of American Scientists: “…Though sometimes compared to the US Defense Intelligence Agency, [the GRU’s] activities encompass those performed by nearly all joint US military intelligence agencies as well as other national US organizations. The GRU gathers human intelligence through military attaches and foreign agents. It also maintains significant signals intelligence and imagery reconnaissance and satellite imagery capabilities.”  GRU Space Intelligence Directorate had put more than 130 SIGINT satellites into orbit. GRU and KGB SIGINT network employed about 350,000 specialists.

6.CIA

The United States of America’s intelligence community is made up of sixteen different agencies. Most notable and recognizable on that list are the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While in the past these agencies operated in mostly isolated states, the sharing of intelligence information has increased considerably since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The CIA is the largest of the intelligence agencies and is responsible for gathering data from other countries that could impact U.S. policy. The NSA is the country’s intelligence agency responsible for intercepting and deciphering foreign signals while protecting the information systems of the United States. The DIA gathers intelligence information that is pertinent to military operations around the world while the FBI is the link between the intelligence and law enforcement communities in the country.

The CIA’s primary function is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers. The agency conducts covert operations and paramilitary actions, and exerts foreign political influence through its Special Activities Division. The CIA and its responsibilities changed markedly in 2004. Before December 2004, the CIA was the main intelligence organization of the US government; it coordinated and oversaw not only its own activities but also the activities of the US Intelligence Community (IC) as a whole. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 created the office of the Director of National Intelligence(DNI), which took over some of the government and IC-wide functions.

7.MSS

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is the security agency of the People’s Republic of China. It is also probably the Chinese government’s largest and most active foreign intelligence agency, though it is also involved in domestic security matters.

Article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Law gives the MSS the same authority to arrest or detain people as regular police for crimes involving state security with identical supervision by the procuratorates and the courts. It is headquartered near the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

According to Liu Fuzhi, Secretary-General of the Commission for Politics and Law under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Minister of Public Security, the mission of the MSS is to ensure “the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counter-revolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China’s socialist system.”  One of the primary missions of the MSS is undoubtedly to gather foreign intelligence from targets in various countries overseas. Many MSS agents are said to have operated in the Greater China region (Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and to have integrated themselves into the world’s numerous overseas Chinese communities. At one point, nearly 120 agents who had been operating under non-official cover in the U.S., Canada, Western and Northern Europe, and Japan as businessmen, bankers, scholars, and journalists were recalled to China, a fact that demonstrates the broad geographical scope of MSS agent coverage.

Ten All Time Top Selling Recording Artists of the World

How many people or bands can you think of if I ask you about the best music bands or best singers of all time? I for one, off the top of my head, could come up with only two namely; Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Even if you are not into music, you would at least know these two artists. They were brilliant. But that’s not all. The world isn’t that small you know. There are other people, singers and artists that were huge. I am music enthusiast and I only recently got to know about them. Frankly, it was very embarrassing when people asked me whether I had heard them and I said no. So take my advice, read through the following list and know the best of the best in the world of music.

10. JULIO IGLESIAS

Julio Iglesias makes it to the number ten position with 250,000,000 album sales. There are many other artists who claim to have sold these many albums but there wasn’t sufficient proof so we decided to honor Julio Iglesias with the number 10 position. It’s not the position that matters, it’s the number of album sales and it certainly is one big achievement. He used to be a goal keeper for Real Madrid but because of a car accident, he couldn’t play for long enough time. He was later very successful with his music career selling around 77 albums and doing about 5000 concerts.

9. TINO ROSSI

Tino Rossi was a very successful musician and an actor from the year 1929 to 1982. He had a very vintage ‘Latin Lover’ touch to him and that was what defined him. That was also one of the bigger reasons why he was able to do so well in the music industry. Another one of the bigger reasons was obviously his voice. He appeared in around 25 different films and produced several hundred records. He was able to sell 300,000,000 albums.

8. QUEEN

This band was formed in 1970. Queen too was able to sell around 300,000,000 albums. They had 15 studio albums and another five live albums under their belt. This was one band that was regarded as one of the best when it came to live singing. They very critically acclaimed world over.

7. NANA MOUSKOURI

She started her music career in 1958. She was Greek-born and her trademark was the square-ish black glasses that she wore. Her voice was very emotional and unique and it suited perfectly with the personality she had built. She recorded many different albums in quite a few languages and was able to sell around 300 million albums worldwide.

6. LED ZEPPELIN

The band was formed in 1968 and they were able to sell 300 million albums worldwide as well. All of these bands and singers who sold roughly around 300 million albums are interchangeable. This band is considered as one of the first in the heavy metal genre and interesting though it is, they never released any of their songs in Britain as singles. This band is very inspirational for the younger generation of metal lovers and that included me at one time.

5. ABBA

Abba was a band that consisted of four members and they were able to sell 370 million albums worldwide. Believe me when I say that I have never heard even a single song from these guys but apparently they were quite popular back in the day and maybe even still. This band spent 10 years together, touring the world and blessing it with their music.

4. FRANK SINATRA

If you consider this list of best-selling music artists, Frank Sinatra is probably the one with the longest music career. He began in the 1930s and was still performing a few years before his death. He died in 1998. One interesting fact about him is that he was also an Oscar-winning actor. In his approximate career of seven decades (that’s saying something) he was able to sell 500 million albums worldwide. There hasn’t been a voice like his ever since. His most popular song is ‘Come fly with me to New York, New York’.

3. MICHAEL JACKSON

There is not a person in the world who doesn’t know his name. during his life he had to go through a lot of scandals and a lot of health related issues but whatever the case may be, he was one hell of singer, the ‘King’ of Pop. He started singing at an age of seven with his brothers and sisters. Back then they were called The Jackson Five. Later Michael went solo and was able to release around 11 different albums and each one of them was an absolute and complete hit. He was able to sell 750 million records worldwide. I think that he died at a very young age and I will always regret not being able to make it to one of his concerts.

2. THE BEATLES

The Beatles spend eight years creating music and recording albums together and in these eight years they too were able to sell 750 million records worldwide. People still buy their music and keep it in their collection. They recorded a total of 12 albums. It’s a pity they broke up otherwise the world would have seen more wonders from them. The work has been re-mastered over and over again and is available for download on iTunes.

1. ELVIS PRESLEY

He is the original ‘King’ of Rock ‘n Roll. Oh what a beautiful voice he had and such a unique way of doing a concert. He recorded a total of 77 different albums between 1954 and 1977. All of his recorded albums reached the top except only nine. There have been a lot of releases of his mastered albums after his death. One of his songs that I will always remember is ‘Can’t help falling in love with you’. Believe it or not I even have it on right now. During his career he was able to sell 1000 million albums worldwide and he deserved it.

 

Ten most Brutal Torture Practices of all Time

The world will seem a lot less frightening after you go through this article. This particular post discusses the most brutal torture methods that were used by the earliest of civilizations. Let me tell you however that after knowing all these torture methods, referring to them as a ‘civilization’ is hardly appropriate. The world we live in is cruel, harsh and scary but that is nothing compared to what everything and everyone actually evolved from. Your pupils will dilate exponentially as you travel down the list so you might want to take it easy and go slow and do not make the mistake of imagining yourself in that position because it will be nothing less than painful.

10. DEATH BY BOILING

Have you ever felt the excruciating pain when something hot spills on you? If yes then you might be able to imagine what the pain involved with this particular method of execution. The unlucky condemned were lowered into a huge pot of water. The water was initially cold. Then a fire was lit underneath the pot. The water would slowly start to boil and the condemned prisoner in it was forced to boil along with it. This method of punishment is around 500,000 years old and is said to have been practiced in China. Man, China sure had some brutal punishments. It is also reported that this method of execution was legal in the United Kingdom in the 1500s.

9. CRUCIFIXION

This method of execution follows that of Jesus Christ. The condemned would be nailed to a Crucifix and left in the open public. The prisoner would usually just bleed to death, if not that he would die by hunger or thirst. Most of the times if the prisoner was lucky, he would just die by severe cold or heat.

8. FLAYING

Flaying is one of the most brutal methods I have heard of. It involves the removal of skin from the entire body when the prisoner is very much in his or her senses. This was a public method of execution. After the skin was removed, the condemned would be thrown to   bleed to death. Added ingredients like salt was also used to increase the pain exponentially.

7. DISEMBOWELMENT

This was one of the most severe punishment one could be condemned to in the ancient times. Thieves and adulterers were the usual ones to receive this punishment. Reports say that disembowelment was mostly practiced in England. Under this punishment, ones vital organs would be removed from your body one by one and one be forced to go through the entire process in a conscious state until the body gave up and the condemned died.

6. BREAKING WHEEL

This particular instrument was also known as Catherine Wheel. The condemned would be tied to the wheel with the limbs wide apart and stretched. The wheel was made to rotate and then a person with a hammer would just hit at the persons bones to break them. This process usually took a very long time. Usually a person would be left alive with every limb in his or her body, broken. It certainly is a long and painful death. If the condemned was lucky, he would receive a direct blow on the chest or stomach and that would end his or her life immediately.

5. IMPALEMENT

Imagine taking a a medicinal shot through an injection; it makes you squint right? True enough, even the tiniest needle, if pierces your skin, makes you feel the pain. Now imagine this needle a thousand times bigger, and then imagine someone driving it through your stomach. If that’s not enough, imagine it being driven through your mouth. If that doesn’t do the trick for you imagine it being driven through your rectum or your vagina because all of these methods of impalement were practiced as a capital punishments in ancient times.

4. CRUSHING

This is another punished used in the Southern and South-Eastern Asia. The condemned would be tied up with his head on a stone or a slightly extruded surface. The head was crushed by a highly trained elephant, who would slowly exert pressure on the head. The condemned would feel all the horrors of his frightful death before taking his last breath. I for one would never ever prefer this punishment. It’s hard to imagine that people even committed crimes with these sort of punishments around.

3. DEATH BY BURNING

The heading actually explains what the punishment is all about but one thing to know is that the burning wasn’t just haphazard. It was arranged so that the first to burn off were the feet, then the calves, then thighs moving upwards to lower belly, the chest and then finally the neck and head. The person condemned would usually taste the burns and the pain till the fire roasted off the neck and face. Just imagine how painful the whole process is, even that is very hard to do.

2. SAWING

What is the worst possible thing you can imagine about a ‘saw’ and a ‘human body’. Whatever you think of, I’m sure this method will be worse unless of course you’ve seen the  movie ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’. Using this method, the condemned would usually be hung upside down with the legs apart. The saw would then slowly be driven through the entire body, eventually cutting the head in two. The person condemned usually wouldn’t die until the saw reached the head. Ouch!

1. SLOW SLICING

It was a common method for executing criminals back in the 900 AD and was usually practiced in China. The name gives away exactly what the punishment is all about. It is known in China as ‘Ling Chi’ which means ‘the lingering death’. Sounds scary? It actually is. The person who is condemned to slow slicing is punished by a mere knife which was used to slice off different parts of the body over a period of time. This was a very slow death, lasting over twenty minutes in most cases. So there you have it, this method of execution made it to the number one position. Do you think we did mercy to it?

10 of the Coolest Company Offices Ever!

Have you ever imagined being your most productive self while sitting in an office building that resembles a police witness protection room or do you think you would reach a creative high if in a place that oozes organic freshness and color. A place that equips your mind to achieve its maximum potential, for your nerves to be in relaxation mode despite the work load. It comes as no surprise that big companies, specially tech intensive companies look forward to hiring competitive employees. To attract them they need to offer not just a handsome pay package but a place that not only matches up to the grandeur of a sky scrapper but also the perks of a lifetime hardwired into the very aesthetics of the place. Scroll below to find ten of the coolest most attractive headquarters in the world.

10. PIXAR

We have all seen and been impressed by The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, the animated films that were out of this world. That is the Pixar team for you. Looking at the picture above you see tiny miniature huts that are actual individual offices. The mere look of it has such a homely feel to it, something we are sure regular employees, would yearn for.

9. AOL

America Online is no longer the company that it used to be. But kudos to them for trying. They have purchased various different websites ( Techcrunch and Huffington Post to name a few) to push up their level. The most notable change, however, would be the up-gradation of their personal space. They took heed from a gazillion big companies perhaps to come up with an office space which is now more personal and friendly than the linear, boring, and gray persona it had that screamed corporate. Good going AOL!

8. DTAC

DTAC Headquaters Bankok, Total Access Communications Public Company Limited is the second largest GSM mobile phone provider in Thailand. They have recently renovated their concept of a working place and bought all of their six offices under one roof occupying around 650,000 square feet. The office spans around 22 floors with the theme of “play and learn”. The office space, as depicted by the picture above portrays an employer of choice. It has a floor dedicated to fun which includes concert performing spaces. Other perks include a massive circular library, amphitheater and what not!

7. RED BULL

The offices of Red Bull in Soho London have been recreated or recycled (no pun intended) from combining five different pubs. None of the floors are on an equal level and aren’t even linked together so obviously the space turned out to be quite playful, creative, and a building that has plenty of space. They binned the corporate feel of the office and opted for a more of a lounge where every creative and imaginative Londoner would want to spend a few years of their career. Or perhaps even more once they are in!

6. YOUTUBE

Youtube head office, San bruno, reflects the office space concept of Google. Expansive and expensive office spaces seem to be a trademark of Google and thus this. At You tube, it is businesses rolled in with pleasure. Here is hoping that such personalized working spaces inspire the employees enough for them to come up with ideas that can pay for all the perks!

5. FACEBOOK

The head offices of Palo Alto, California came up with office space based upon a poll amongst their own office employees using their own software asking them what kind of an office space they would want to work in. The result is a huge and spacious working space with places where the employees can even skate and yes get this, they also have an in house DJ dock where they can practice their DJ-ing capabilities to their hearts content. You might be wondering that will all of that, how do they find time to work. Well perhaps you need to be there to know or you can simply time the success of Facebook with every passing day.

4. SELGAS CANO

When we talk about an office that inspires its inhabitant to work, it doesn’t necessarily have to anything with size. The Selgas Cano office is situated near a forest in Madrid, Spain. The office has to be one of the most relaxing places on earth. This relaxant capsule is half on and half under the ground. The office is light, its airy, and its colorful with a wide variety of food, gaming zones, and fun slides (which are now becoming increasingly popular). This office is so far away from harsh lighting, its not even funny.

3. LEGO

There are so many fans of Lego out their and some of them so drawn in that all they’d ever want in their office space surrounding them are blocks of Lego. This dream is the concept behind the office of Lego. In a tireless effort to trigger the imagination of the employees, the whole layout if open, friendly, and the sort that encourages the employees to play around. They are inspired to play with Lego thus coming up with new ideas giving the phrase “work with play” a whole new definition.

2. VOLKS WAGON PHAETON PLANT

Who thought working at a car assembly plant could be chic or macho as far as men are concerned. Well, this and so much more awaits the employees at Volks Wagon Phaeton Plant every day when they report for duty. Who ever says that factories and plants are ugly need to take a complete survey of this. In the words of Aladdin, it is ” A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view”!

1. GOOGLE

Without any doubts what so ever, the first spot of this list belongs to Google! Who else? It is perhaps Google that initiated this trend of heavy duty, personalized, friendly, employee centered work spaces that eventually inspired every big company in the world. Google’s GooglePlex is a world on its own. Apart from the million employee perks and a huge variety of food that it offers round the clock to its employees, here is one thing that you did not know. Inside the Googleplex, one might find various kinds of Dogs roaming. Surprised! Well you should be because Google allows its people to bring their poodles to work. How endearing!

The Ten Most Dangerous Dogs in the World

A dog is man’s best friend. I am sure that you have heard of this statement a million times but that does not under any circumstance means that a dog is completely harmless. Yes, there are friendly dogs but there exist the exact opposite ones as well. One thing that you must understand is that a dog does not necessarily have to be unfriendly to be dangerous. Sure, we love our pets be it cats or dogs nonetheless, one must know of the dangerous breeds as an extra precaution. It doesn’t really hold true that a specific breed of dog might react in a  specific way to something but after reading this, you might get the idea.

10. BOXER

Boxers originated from Germany in the 1850s. Their weight varies between 50 to 64 pounds while the height is between 20 to 25 inches.

A Boxer is a square dog and it also happens to be a very strong one. Boxers enjoy the long walks, but never ever make the mistake of forgetting the leash. They will be friendly with you and even obedient, but if a stranger takes a step out of line and that’s that for them. Keep these leashed and they will cause no problem at all. The ancestors (European Bulldogs) of a Boxer were used to hunt boars etc. so you can guess how dangerous can they prove to be.

9. PRESA CANARIO

Presa Canarios originated from Canary Islands, Africa. Their weight varies between 100 to 125 pounds while the height is between 25 to 26 inches.

These dogs hail from Africa where the dogs were trained for hunting and war so it’s no mystery why we decided to include a Canario in this list. This dog is also known as the ultimate fighter. Nowadays, however, a Canario is used for guarding purposes and they do their job quite well. They are not very warm towards strangers so while introducing your friends, please be careful. Also, they might not like every person you hang out with, so you might even have to be around certain people when you take this dog out for a walk.

8. SAINT BERNARD

St. Bernards originated from Switzerland in the Middle Ages. Their weight varies between 110 to 180 pounds while the height is between 24 to 29 inches.

St. Bernards are majestic in size so if you look at it for the first time, they might strike you as a bit weird. Bernards are not very fast, but they love to play with children. Don’t get me wrong, they are not lazy dogs, they’re the exact opposite. But if you spend long boring hours at office all day, do not make the mistake of buying a Bernard, because this is one dog that craves attention above all others. If you do not have time for a Bernard, you might as well just get some other dog. Also a Bernard is very peaceful, so you can let your children play with it, but do keep an eye out.

7. GREAT DANE

Great Danes originated from Germany in the Middle Ages (19th Century). Their weight varies between 90 to 120 pounds while the height is between 27 to 32 inches.

Great Danes are obviously huge. But contrary to their looks, these dogs are incredibly loving and warm. They do not mind other dogs and you can play with them whenever you want. They will be happy to be of service.

6. CHOW CHOW

Chow Chows originated from China. Their weight varies between 40 to 65 pounds while the height is between 18 to 22 inches.

These dogs are incredibly cute and were bred for the purpose of hunting and helping the shepherds. Therefore, they are in constant need of physical activity and if you own one of these, know that they will not let you rest.

5. DOBERMAN PINSCHER

Doberman Pinschers originated from Germany in the Nineteenth Century. Their weight varies between 65 to 90 pounds while the height is between 26 to 28 inches.

These dogs were originally bred for the purpose of protection and defense and also referred to as Dobermans. You need to understand that one must never struggle with a doberman or involve in an act of aggression with them. Remember, if the purpose of dog is protection, he can prove to be dangerous for you as well. But they can still adjust to a simple and quite life in the city, at your house.

4. ALASKAN MALAMUTE

The Alaskan Malamutes originated from North America in the Ancient Times. Their weight varies between 80 to 110 pounds while the height is between 23 to 28 inches.

These dogs are active and in constant need of playing or any activity that involves moving. These dogs are used to the cold weather (even snow) and have been used to transport goods on a sleigh. At times, their temper can get outta control, so you should really keep your distance.

3. HUSKY

Huskies originated from Siberia in the Ancient Times. Their weight varies between 35 to 55 pounds while the height is between 20 to 24 inches.

To train a husky is not an easy job so if you are only a beginner with the dogs, you might want to stay clear of these beautiful creatures. Huskies tend to be very loving and active. Also, they have no problem with the cold weather and they like to howl at the full moon, sounds wolf-ish but it’s okay.

2. GERMAN SHEPHERD

German Shepherds originated from Germany in the Nineteenth Century. Their weight varies between 70 to 85 pounds while the height is between 22 to 26 inches.

These dogs seem very beautiful to the eye and with their reliable and toned temper, this dog is a keeper. They like physical activities that might include playing or walking. They can prove to be excelling guards for your house.

1. ROTTWEILER

Rottweilers originated from Germany in the 1820s. Their weight varies between 85 to 110 pounds while the height is between 23 to 27 inches.

With strong jaws and a basic instinct to protect, these dogs often don’t like strangers and other dogs. Mostly bred for the purpose of protecting, its that reason that these dogs make it to the number one spot on our list. Remember that a dog with protective or guarding instincts can prove to be a dangerous dog.

The Ten most Dangerous Cities in America

When we travel to different countries, most of us like to explore the place on our own. While we explore, our biggest concern is safety. Following is a list of ten cities in the United States of America that you do not want to visit, at least without an American native with you. The following data was compiled after consultation from various crime reports and statistics.

10. STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA

The city has a population of 292,047 and there have been 13.8 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 49 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $45,730 while the unemployment rate is 18.4%.

Stockton is located forty miles east of Oakland and San Francisco and perhaps the reason for such horrible crime rates is because of the high unemployment rate. This city was rated as one of the worst cities to live in by Forbes Magazine in the year 2010 with violent crimes contributing a lot to its reputation. There are 267 cities with population over 100,000 and Stockton has the 27th highest number of murders per 1000 people. Considering the crime problems of the city, many times over, the California patrol units were asked to help the Stockton Police Department because of the over-whelming number of crimes.

9. ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS

The city has a population of 156,180 and there have been 14.5 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 20 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $36,990 while the unemployment rate is 13.3%.

True enough, when compared to Stockton this city does have better statistics, but the number that makes the difference is the population in this city. For this population, violent crimes of 14.5 per 1000 people is unusually high and thus it qualifies to be in this list. Rockford has fourth highest rate of aggravated assault and it amounts to 10.5 for every 1000 people living there. The number of murders every year have doubled since the year 2000. The reason being for these crime rates is probably because of the drug traffic. Rockford receives drug traffic from markets in Madison, Chicago and Milwaukee and that eventually results in higher violence rates.

8. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

The city has a population of 639,929 and there have been 14.6 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 223 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $38,772 while the unemployment rate is 7.4%.

If you consider the cities with population over 1000, Baltimore is ranked as the eighth-highest when it comes to violent crimes per capita. It also is the second-highest to the east of Mississippi. The number of violent crimes have dropped in the previous years but it is still not significant enough to be considered vital. The said number decreased from 9,600 to 9,300. Baltimore has the honor of having the fourth-worst murder rate in the country and it also has the 10th worst aggravated assault rate.

7. LITTLE ROCK

The city has a population of 192,922 and there have been 15.2 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 25 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $38,992 while the unemployment rate is 6.8%.

Little Rock is considered to have one of the highest aggravated assault rates in the entire country. It also manages to be a part of the top-ten when it comes to forcible rapes. Since the year 2009, the rapes have decreased while the aggravated assaults have increased. The police department claims that crimes in  Little Rock decreased by a 12% in the year 2010 but the violent crimes have increased from the year 2009 to 2010.

6. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

The city has a population of 409,723 and there have been 15.3 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 90 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $51,473 while the unemployment rate is 11%.

Between the years 2009 and 2010, the violent crimes in Oakland were reported to have dropped by about 5.5%; the figures fell from 6,800 to 6,260. Nonetheless, Oakland has the second-highest robbery rate, ninth-highest murder rate and tenth-highest rape rate in the country. In the year 2010, there were around 7.12 robberies for every 1000 residents. The Oakland Mayor decided to start late-night basketball games to keep the wrongdoers off the streets at night. As of now we are unsure whether this solved the problem or not.

5. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

The city has a population of 673,650 and there have been 15.4 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 89 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $34,203 while the unemployment rate is 9.9%.

If you consider the 24/7 Wall Street Journal rankings then Memphis has high rates for all the violent crimes. Between the years 2009 and 2010, the violent crimes dropped by 15%. The Mayor of Memphis started an operation by the name of ‘Safe Community’ and it seems as if it is working for him. The plan has a number of strategies to cut down on the crime rates such as toughening punishments for criminals etc.

4. NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

The city has a population of 124,856 and there have been 15.8 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 22 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $38,279 while the unemployment rate is 9.6%.

Historically, New Haven has the highest of the crime rates in the east coast. The police departments are working hard to decrease these crimes by installing security cameras at the intersections. One thing to note is that the number of murders doubled since last year.

3. ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

The city has a population of 355,151 and there have been 17.5 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 144 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $34,801 while the unemployment rate is 9.3%.

The crime rates have been falling since the year 2007 with a sharp decrease between the years 2009 and 2010. However, the murder rate and the aggravated assault rate were the third-highest in the year 2010. The city’s murder rate by gun-shot is the second highest in the country. At first is New Orleans.

2. DETROIT, MICHIGAN

The city has a population of 899,447 and there have been 18.9 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 310 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $26,098 while the unemployment rate is 12.7%.

Known as the Motor City of the United States, this city has suffered from high unemployment rates, homelessness and crime rate. With sixth-highest murder rate, fifth-highest robbery rate and the second-highest rate of aggravated assault, this certainly is a dangerous city to roam around in.

1. FLINT, MICHIGAN

The city has a population of 109,245 and there have been 22 violent crimes per 1000 people. A total of 53 murders were committed in the year 2010. The median income is around $27,049 while the unemployment rate is 11.8%.

The number of violent crimes considered while compiling this list have all been increasing for Flint. The number of murders increased from 36 to 53. If you consider the population and then the statistics, it spells danger however you might look at it. This city has a poverty rate of 36.2 and is ranked number one when considered the rate of assaults.