The Legend
Saint Theresa's Prayer - May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Anna Hazare says bring back the Black Money.
Do u know what willhappen if1,456 Lac Crores comes back.
1. India Financially No.1
2. Each district will get 60000 crores & each village will get 100 Crores
3. No need to pay taxes for next 20 yrs.
4. Petrol 25 Rs, Diesel 15 Rs, Milk 8 Rs.
5. No need to pay electricity bill.
6. Indian borders will become more stronger than the China Wall.
7. 1500 Oxford like Universities can be opened.
8. 28,000 kms Rubber road (like in Paris) can be made.
9. 2,000 hospitals (with all facilities) all medicine Free.
10. 95 crore people will have their own house.
PLease take time to read it.
10 things to know about Anna Hazare 'n Jan Lok Pal Bill.. !
1. Who is Anna Hazare?
An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War
2. What's so special about him?
He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra
3. So what?
This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills.
In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.
4. Ok,...?
This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.
5. Really, what is he fighting for?
He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.
6. How that can be possible?
He is advocating for a Bill, The Jan Lokpal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), bureaucrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.
7. It's an entirely new thing right..?
In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit their theft (corruption).
8. Oh.. He is going on a hunger strike for that whole thing of passing a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time?
The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.
Next, they make a joint committee to DRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% government participation and 50% public participation. Because you cant trust the government entirely for making such a bill which does not suit them.
9. Fine, What will happen when this bill is passed?
A Lok Pal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, that has been going for last 25 years without any result.
10. Is he alone? Who else is there in the fight with Anna Hazare?
Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, Social Activist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and many more.
Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan is supporting his cause.
11. Ok, got it. What can I do?
At least we can spread the message. How?
Putting status message, links, video, changing profile pics.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Did you know this about Libya?
Some other facts (that mainstream media will never disclose) about Gaddafi and Libya
- Loans to Libyan citizens are given with NO interest.
- Students would get paid the average salary for the profession they are studying for.
- If you are unable to get employment the state would pay the full salary as if you were employed until you find employment.
- When you get married the couple gets an apartment or house for free from the Government.
- You could go to college anywhere in the world. The state pays 2,500 euros plus accommodation and car allowance.
- The cars are sold at factory cost.
- *Libya does not owe money, (not a cent) to anyone. No creditors.
- Free education and health care for all citizens.
- 25% of the population with a university degree.
- No beggars on the streets and nobody is homeless (until the recent bombing).
- Bread costs only $0.15 per loaf.
No wonder the US and other capitalist countries do not like Libya.
- Loans to Libyan citizens are given with NO interest.
- Students would get paid the average salary for the profession they are studying for.
- If you are unable to get employment the state would pay the full salary as if you were employed until you find employment.
- When you get married the couple gets an apartment or house for free from the Government.
- You could go to college anywhere in the world. The state pays 2,500 euros plus accommodation and car allowance.
- The cars are sold at factory cost.
- *Libya does not owe money, (not a cent) to anyone. No creditors.
- Free education and health care for all citizens.
- 25% of the population with a university degree.
- No beggars on the streets and nobody is homeless (until the recent bombing).
- Bread costs only $0.15 per loaf.
No wonder the US and other capitalist countries do not like Libya.
Gaddafi would not consent to taking loans from IMF or World Bank at high interest rates.
In other words Libya was INDEPENDENT! That is the real reason for the war in Libya!
He may be a dictator, but that is not the US problem.
Also Gaddafi called on all Oil producing countries NOT to accept payment for oil in USD or Euros.
Two other leaders that have the courage to speak the truth are Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Mahmoud Ahmedinejad of Iran and though both are fighting an uphill battle courtesy the cowardly Saudis who'd rather live in luxury while their people wallow in poverty, the battle is intensifying - the hypocrisy of the West is gradually being exposed.
Gaddafi recommended that oil get paid for in GOLD and that would have bankrupted just about every Western Country as most of them do not have gold reserves to match the rate at which they print their useless currencies and cheat the world.
The last time someone had the “NERVE” to make a similar statement was when Saddam advised all Opec countries not to accept payment for oil in US Dollars! Let us wait and watch and pray that this time round, justice and truth prevail.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The cult of busy : Scott Berkun
When I was younger I thought busy people were more important than everyone else. Otherwise why would they be so busy? I had busy bosses, busy parents, and always I just thought they must have really important things to do. It seemed an easy way to see who mattered and who didn’t. The busy must matter more, and the lazy mattered less.
This is the cult of busy. That simply by always seeming to have something to do, we all assume you must be important or successful.
It explains the behavior of many people at work. By appearing busy, people bother them less, and simultaneously believe they’re doing well at their job. It’s quite a trick.
I now believe the opposite to be true. Or the near opposite. Here’s why:
• Time is the singular measure of life. It’s one of the few things you can not get more of. Knowing how to spend it well is possibly the most important skill you can have.
• The person who gets a job done in one hour will seem less busy than the guy who can only do it in five. How busy a person seems is not necessarily indicative of the quality of their results. Someone who is better at something might very well seem less busy, because they are more effective. Results matter more than the time spent to achieve them.
• Being in demand can have good and bad causes. Someone with a line of people waiting to talk to them outside their office door at work seems busy, and therefore seems important. But somehow the clerk running the slowest supermarket checkout line in the universe isn’t praised in the same way, it means they’re ineffective. People who are at the center of everything aren’t necessarily good at what they do (although they might be). The bar of being busy falls far well below the bar of being good.
• The compulsion to save time may lead nowhere. If you’re always cutting corners to save time, when exactly are you using the time you’ve saved? There is this illusion some day in the future you get back all the time you’ve squirreled away in one big chunk. I don’t think time works this way. For most Americans it seems most of our time savings goes straight into watching television. That’s where all the time savings we think we get actually goes.
• The phrase “I don’t have time for” should never be said. We all get the same amount of time every day. If you can’t do something it’s not about the quantity of time. It’s really about how important the task is to you. I’m sure if you were having a heart attack, you’d magically find time to go to the hospital. That time would come from something else you’d planned to do, but now seems less important. This is how time works all the time. What people really mean when they say “I don’t have time” is this thing is not important enough to earn my time. It’s a polite way to tell people they’re not worth your time.
This means people who are always busy are time poor. They have a time shortage. They have time debt. They are either trying to do too much, or they aren’t doing what they’re doing very well. They are failing to either a) be effective with their time b) don’t know what they’re trying to effect, so they scramble away at trying to optimize for everything, which leads to optimizing nothing.
On the other hand, people who truly have control over time have some in their pocket to give to someone in need. They have a sense of priorities that drives their use of time and can shift away from the specific ordinary work that’s easy to justify, in favor of the more ethereal, deeper things that are harder to justify. They protect their time from trivia and idiocy. These people are time rich. They provide themselves with a surplus of time. They might seem to idle, or to relax, more often then the rest, but that may be a sign of their mastery not their incompetence.
I deliberately try not to fill my calendar. I choose not to say Yes to everything. For to do so would make me too busy, and I think, less effective at what my goals are. I always want to have some margin of my time in reserve, time I’m free to spend in any way I choose, including doing almost nothing at all. I’m free to take detours. I’m open to serendipity. Some of the best thinkers throughout history had some of their best thoughts while going for walks, playing cards with friends, little things things that generally would not be considered the hallmarks of busy people. It’s the ability to pause, to reflect, and relax, to let the mind wander, that’s perhaps the true sign of time mastery, for when the mind returns it’s often sharper and more efficient, but most important perhaps, happier than it was before.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Green Thing
In the queue at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. |
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That is our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. T he store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. T hey walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.
But she was right. T hey didn't have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they washed the baby's cloth-diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. T hey dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.
But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.
Back then, they had one T V, or radio, in the house - not a T V in every room. And the T V had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. T hey used a push mower that ran on human power. T hey exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she’s right, they didn't have the green thing back then.
They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But they didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?
~Author Unknown
Friday, January 14, 2011
Clients have started focusing on growth: Infy CEO
Infosys’ Q3 results might have disappointed the market, but its CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan sees no reason to be unhappy. He says the next financial year will be a normal one for the Indian IT services industry which is reflected in the clients’ budgets. In an interaction with Bibhu Ranjan Mishra and Pradeesh Chandran ,he details the strategy the company has put forth for the coming financial year. Edited excerpts:
Your client addition during the quarter at 40 was quite healthy. Which are the growth spots?
We are witnessing all-around growth. But we are actually optimistic about North America, especially the US, and the rest of the world. We have some short-term concerns about Europe. We are pro-actively investing in Europe as we believe the region will be a very important market for Infosys in the medium to long term because the aggregate IT spending there is actually equivalent to the US. Most of your clients have finalised their budgets.
What are the messages you are getting from them?
These (budgets) are slightly up or may be, in some cases, flat, which is actually positive. Otherwise, we believe it's a normal budget cycle, which to me indicates that the year is going to be normal. We are also witnessing spending on the discretionary side. Companies have started focusing on growth as compared to costs during the downturn.
Which are the industry segments you believe to be future growth drivers?
Which are the industry segments you believe to be future growth drivers?
We are expecting significant growth in verticals like retail and BFSI. Even the spending pattern is different for each of them. In retail, investment can be seen in digital consumer and digital marketing since a number of advertisements are moving toward digital medium from print. In banking and capital market, the investment is going towards mobile commerce, mobile technology and risk management. M&A continues to be the driver for expenditure by banking firms. This is the third time this year you have revised the guidance.
Is the phase of volatility still on?
We said we would be cautious in the guidance, recruitment and capacity building. But if growth opportunities come, we will grow faster. This year, we saw that opportunity came and thus revised our guidance upwards.
What factors impacted your volume growth this quarter? It was 3.1 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent last quarter and 7.6 per cent in Q1.
We achieved a good volume growth of more than 5 per cent in the last three quarters. Normally, you would expect a budget flush in the last quarter of the calendar year. This year, however, most companies exhausted their budgets in the early part of the year, which is why the spending got impacted this quarter.
That is just a short-term phenomenon. Your focus had been the Fortune 1,000 clients.
Of the 40 clients we have added this year, several of them are Fortune 500 companies and Global 1,000 clients. Our model is that when arelationship starts, it starts small and then we start building it, which usually takes 12 to 18 months time. This is quite normal. Most of our top 10 clients started small, and those accounts have grown subsequently. This is why our repeat business is very high, around 97 per cent.
But are the project sizes getting smaller? Is this going to be a trend?
It is a relative term. In this quarter, we saw project sizes becoming shorter, partly because clients have spent most of their budgets in the early part of the year. Secondly, in an uncertain environment, clients don't make long-term commitments. While the overall programmes are actually quite large, the commitments were made for shorter periods - three to six months. Sometimes, projects might be given to multiple suppliers. That is something we have to live with or we have learnt to live with.
Markets have reacted very sharply to your financial performance this quarter?
I don't want to comment on the market.
Source: Business Standard
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Powerful in Delhi, powerless in Kerala
By E Jayakrishnan, India Syndicate, 08/09/2010
Powerful in Delhi, powerless in Kerala
The who's who of bureaucratic power elite in India is a breathtaking constellation of Malayalees
In the national pantheon of the influential and the powerful, Kerala rules; quite disproportionate to its size and standing in national affairs.
The roll call of the Malayalees in Delhi reads like a who's who of the Indian bureaucracy.
The immediate and the latest to ascend the stairway to power in the national capital from Kerala is P J Thomas, who has just taken over the critical position of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner.
He is unlikely to feel home sick in Delhi. He may even think the capital too crowded with denizens from God's Own Country.
For keeping him company in the sanctum sanctorum of bureaucratic elite in India is a whole gaggle of them. The list is indeed a breathtaking constellation of Malayalees.
Take a look:
K M Chandrasekhar, Cabinet Secretary
Shiv Shankar Menon, National Security Advisor (NSA)
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary
P J Thomas, Chief Vigilance Commissioner
T K A Nair, Prinicipal Secretary to the Prime Minister
Madhavan Nambiar, Aviation Secretary
G K Pillai, Home Secretary
The list is further extended if you include those who were not born in Kerala, but belong to the Kerala cadre of the Indian civil service. For instance, Vinod Rai, Comptroller and Auditor General of India and Sudha Pillai, Planning Commission Secretary. And the list gets even heavier if you add the relatively unknown but important functionaries like P P Madhavan Namboodiri, one of the private secretaries of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, whose son's wedding Rahul Gandhi graced recently at Thrissur.
However, Kerala's tryst with the bureaucracy is nothing new. It was V P Menon who led the way - he graduated from a one-finger typist to become the most important Indian in Viceroy Mountbatten's staff - and can be said to be the first and original Malayalee bureaucrat to reach the top of the power chart.
Many have followed in his wake, since Independence. Most through the 'steelframe of the Raj' - the vaunted Indian Administrative Service. And, the Indian Foreign Service.
The current NSA's family history is a testimony to the Malayalee penchant for babudom - his father P N Menon was an IFS alumni and retired as India's ambassador to Yugoslavia. His grandfather K P S Menon (senior) was India's first foreign secretary, while his uncle K P S Menon (Jr), was the former Indian ambassador to China.
This is apart from hundreds other Malayalees from the various other All India services and, not to forget, the thousands of the Malayalees in the national capital who are less venerated but do their bit in the various government offices as junior and middle-level staff with that peculiar Malayalee obsessions for 'rules' and going by the book.
Source: India Syndicate
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