Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Is the Next Karl Marx a Management Consultant? - Justin Fox - Harvard Business Review
Is the Next Karl Marx a Management Consultant? - Justin Fox - Harvard Business Review
Wouldn't it be nice, Francis Fukuyama writes in an article called "The Future of History" in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, if some "obscure scribbler ... in a garret somewhere" would "outline an ideology of the future that could provide a realistic path toward a world with healthy middle-class societies and robust democracies."
Want to look at the PISA test questions and try them out yourself?
Education in India:
Sample questions from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests have been published by the OECD, the organisation that conducts the tests
Sample questions from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests have been published by the OECD, the organisation that conducts the tests
You can also try out examples of computer-based questions to test reading of digital texts, mathematical and problem solving skills.
‘Strategic Vision,’ by Zbigniew Brzezinski - NYTimes.com
‘Strategic Vision,’ by Zbigniew Brzezinski - NYTimes.com:
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book “Strategic Vision” surveys current global affairs and assesses a hinge moment in time when the world’s center of gravity is shifting from the West to the East.
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book “Strategic Vision” surveys current global affairs and assesses a hinge moment in time when the world’s center of gravity is shifting from the West to the East.
a weakened America would increase the dangers of nuclear proliferation around the world. Were doubts to be raised about the United States’ nuclear umbrella, he says, countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and Israel would have to seek security elsewhere — that elsewhere meaning “nuclear weapons of one’s own or from the extended deterrence of another power — most likely Russia, China or India.”
Stanford Takes Online Schooling To The Next Academic Level : All Tech Considered : NPR
Stanford Takes Online Schooling To The Next Academic Level : All Tech Considered : NPR:
Last semester, Stanford University professors tried something radically new: They opened their classes to the world for free. Within hours, thousands had signed up to participate. The classes' success could transform the way we look at higher education.
Last semester, Stanford University professors tried something radically new: They opened their classes to the world for free. Within hours, thousands had signed up to participate. The classes' success could transform the way we look at higher education.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Reap What You Sow | This American Life
Reap What You Sow | This American Life: "Alabama's new immigration law aims to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they will "self-deport." And in a way it's working. Immigrants are fleeing Alabama...but not just the illegal ones. This and other stories of people living with the unintended consequences of their decisions."
Friday, January 27, 2012
Vedanta: From Mind to No Mind - Samadhi (Nirvana)
I have neither aversion nor attachment, neither greed nor delusion; I have neither arrogance nor jealousy; I have no duty (to perform) nor any wealth (to acquire); neither desire nor liberation; I am of the nature of Pure Consciousness-Bliss Absolute, I am Shiva, I am (verily) Shiva. Notes: Greed, delusion, pride and jealousy together with lust and anger constitute shad ripu (also called ari shad varga), the six-fold internal enemies of a human being. Dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desire), and moksha (liberation) are together known as purusharthas, the four objectives of a human being.
TEEGA: National Sins
TEEGA: National Sins:
Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) the Italian poet, in his 'Divine Comedy' referred to them as 'offences of love for earthly goods'. He proposed three categories - Perverted Love (Pride, Envy and Wrath), Insufficient Love (Sloth), and Excessive Love (Greed, Gluttony and Lust).
Hindu scriptures, the fountainhead of universal wisdom exhort that man can attain enlightenment only when he sheds sixteen bad qualities, namely the six internal enemies (ari-shad-varga), eight forms of pride (ashta-mada) and the twin qualities of restlessness and inertia (rajas-tamo-guna).
Dante Alighieri (1265 - 1321) the Italian poet, in his 'Divine Comedy' referred to them as 'offences of love for earthly goods'. He proposed three categories - Perverted Love (Pride, Envy and Wrath), Insufficient Love (Sloth), and Excessive Love (Greed, Gluttony and Lust).
Hindu scriptures, the fountainhead of universal wisdom exhort that man can attain enlightenment only when he sheds sixteen bad qualities, namely the six internal enemies (ari-shad-varga), eight forms of pride (ashta-mada) and the twin qualities of restlessness and inertia (rajas-tamo-guna).
Four Mantra Samhita Books
Four Mantra Samhita Books:
All Indian languages are full of epigrams or subhāşhitās (good-sayings) which reflect the many sided wisdom handed down by tradition. Many of these epigrams can be traced to the Atharvaveda. For instance the list of six psychological enemies ari shad varga such as lust kāma, anger krodha, greed lobha, delusion moha, arrogancemada and jealously mātsarya occurs in all languages. The Atharvaveda (8.4.22), also RV (7.104.22), explicitly refers to this list describing each quality by its associated animal or bird, the association itself being ancient. For instance the chakravāka birds denote lust, delusion by owl, jealousy by dog, destructive anger by wolf, greed by vulture and arrogance by eagle.
All Indian languages are full of epigrams or subhāşhitās (good-sayings) which reflect the many sided wisdom handed down by tradition. Many of these epigrams can be traced to the Atharvaveda. For instance the list of six psychological enemies ari shad varga such as lust kāma, anger krodha, greed lobha, delusion moha, arrogancemada and jealously mātsarya occurs in all languages. The Atharvaveda (8.4.22), also RV (7.104.22), explicitly refers to this list describing each quality by its associated animal or bird, the association itself being ancient. For instance the chakravāka birds denote lust, delusion by owl, jealousy by dog, destructive anger by wolf, greed by vulture and arrogance by eagle.
For Many in Pakistan, a Television Show Goes Too Far - NYTimes.com
For Many in Pakistan, a Television Show Goes Too Far - NYTimes.com:
Nongovernmental organizations are suing a station over a show featuring a group of women on the hunt for “immoral” behavior.
Nongovernmental organizations are suing a station over a show featuring a group of women on the hunt for “immoral” behavior.
An unconventional new biography focuses on the great writer's work as a philosopher and activist
The strange, spiritual life of Leo Tolstoy - Biography - Salon.com:
It is easy enough to lament, with Turgenev and Chekhov, the great writer’s inattention to literary matters in the latter part of his life. It is also easy to laugh at the myriad ways in which he failed to practice what he preached, and at his gross vanity and monstrous ego. But countless people found inspiration in Tolstoy’s proselytism. The 25-year-old Mohandas Gandhi, a lawyer in South Africa, read his tract “The Kingdom of God Is Within You” and found there the courage of his own convictions. Ludwig Wittgenstein found in Tolstoy’s “Gospel in Brief” a lifeline that kept him sane through the First World War. And as Bartlett demonstrates, Tolstoy played a key role in the changes Russian society underwent leading up to 1917.
It is easy enough to lament, with Turgenev and Chekhov, the great writer’s inattention to literary matters in the latter part of his life. It is also easy to laugh at the myriad ways in which he failed to practice what he preached, and at his gross vanity and monstrous ego. But countless people found inspiration in Tolstoy’s proselytism. The 25-year-old Mohandas Gandhi, a lawyer in South Africa, read his tract “The Kingdom of God Is Within You” and found there the courage of his own convictions. Ludwig Wittgenstein found in Tolstoy’s “Gospel in Brief” a lifeline that kept him sane through the First World War. And as Bartlett demonstrates, Tolstoy played a key role in the changes Russian society underwent leading up to 1917.
OMG this is so embarrassing ....Save us from Jan Brewer! - YouTube
OMG this is so embarrassing ....Save us from Jan Brewer! - YouTube:
It's not what she doesn't say in her intro, it's what she DOES say during the entire debate that exposes her inability to govern. Watch the entire debate at:http://www.azpbs.org/video/play.php?vidId=2349.
It's not what she doesn't say in her intro, it's what she DOES say during the entire debate that exposes her inability to govern. Watch the entire debate at:http://www.azpbs.org/video/play.php?vidId=2349.
The self-destruction of Newt Gingrich - Opening Shot - Salon.com
The self-destruction of Newt Gingrich - Opening Shot - Salon.com:
hat’s exactly what he did about 30 minutes in – and the result was devastating. It was at the start of the second segment that moderator Wolf Blitzer brought up a comment Gingrich made at a forum in Miami earlier this week, where he belittled Romney for living in “a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and making $20 million for no work.” In his most effective debate moments, Gingrich has lashed out at moderators and rallied the partisan audience to his side. He called the same play here, deriding Blitzer’s question as “nonsense.”
“How about if the four of us agree for the rest of the evening we’ll actually talk about issues that relate to governing America?” he asked.
Blitzer observed that Gingrich himself had made the comments about Romney – he was just asking about them.
“I did,” Gingrich replied. “And I’m perfectly happy to say that in an interview on some TV show. But this is a national debate where you have a chance to get the four of us to talk about a whole range of issues.”
It was here that Romney spotted an easy and effective opening. After Blitzer told Gingrich that “if you make a serious accusation against Governor Romney like that, you need to explain it,” Romney himself spoke up.
“Wouldn’t it be nice,” he asked, “if people didn’t make accusations somewhere else that they weren’t willing to defend here?”
At that, the crowd went wild. It was the first time that the cheers at the end of a Gingrich confrontation with a moderator had come for a candidate besides Gingrich. Then, almost as if to taunt him, Blitzer told Gingrich that he was ready to move on to the sort of substantive topics that Gingrich was so eager to address if he was. But Gingrich couldn’t let Romney’s line go, and tried to offer a comeback. But it didn’t really matter. The moment was over and Gingrich had lost it – badly.
U.S. TV Station calls Hindu Gods 'Weird', Removes Commentary After Protests
U.S. TV Station calls Hindu Gods 'Weird', Removes Commentary After Protests:
on an ice hockey match published on NBC Chicago website titled 'Why a 3-1 Blackhawks Loss Isn't So Bad', detailing Nashville Predators beating Chicago Blackhawks 3-1, said Predators were "swallowing up space like some weird Hindu god". The television station removed the commentary from its website within few hours the content perturbed the Hindu community. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, thanked NBC for showing responsibility and maturity for taking quick action and for having an understanding for the hurt feelings of Hindu community.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Captain Who Fell into the Lifeboat | Greater Good
The Captain Who Fell into the Lifeboat | Greater Good:
An article one of us (Zeno Franco) wrote with Philip Zimbardo, “The Banality of Heroism,”advanced five key features of heroism:
- Developing a “discontinuity detector”—that is to say becoming more mindful of situations in which conflicting information is present;
- Being willing to accept some interpersonal conflict—heroic decisions are often controversial;
- Remaining aware of a more distant time horizon and what the consequences of our actions in this particular moment may mean in the future;
- Resisting the urge to rationalize inaction and to justify evil deeds as somehow righteous; and
- Learning to control fear—heroism is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act despite it.
The Journal Takes Us Inside the Google Drugs Sting : CJR
The Journal Takes Us Inside the Google Drugs Sting : CJR:
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent page-one story today on how federal agents caught Google deliberately breaking the law so it could make money off sites selling drugs online. That case ended with a settlement in which Google avoided criminal prosecution by paying the feds more than half a billion dollars.
If there’s something missing in the Journal’s piece, it’s any mention of the First Amendment implications raised by the case (not to mention the War on Drugs).
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent page-one story today on how federal agents caught Google deliberately breaking the law so it could make money off sites selling drugs online. That case ended with a settlement in which Google avoided criminal prosecution by paying the feds more than half a billion dollars.
If there’s something missing in the Journal’s piece, it’s any mention of the First Amendment implications raised by the case (not to mention the War on Drugs).
Feds say senior Google execs knew about illicit pharma ads
Feds say senior Google execs knew about illicit pharma ads
Federal officials approached Google with evidence of its employees' wrongdoing in mid-2009. After two years of negotiation, Google agreed to pay $500 million to settle the allegations and ward off criminal charges against the company. The settlement was widely reported last year, but few details about the charges were made public at that time. New details emerged this week after the man the feds enlisted to help set up the sting, convicted con artist David Whitaker, revealed details about it to the Wall Street Journal. Whitaker received a nearly 6-year jail sentence for his part in an unrelated fraud case late last year—a sentence that was presumably reduced in recognition of his assistance in the Google case.
This isn't the first time Google has faced accusations of turning a blind eye to illegal activities by advertising customers. Last year, the Copyright Alliance, an advocacy group funded by major content companies,accused Google of turning a blind eye to the use of Google ads to monetize copyright infringement, and speculated that the firm's opposition to the PROTECT IP Act was motivated by a desire to profit from piracy.
Specifically, the post pointed to a 2006 affidavit in which the operator of a "rogue" website said that he had worked directly with a series of Google ad representatives who, he claimed, were aware of the infringing activity on the website but nevertheless helped him optimize his advertisements to increase clickthrough rates.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
America, arms-dealer to the world - U.S. Economy - Salon.com
America, arms-dealer to the world - U.S. Economy - Salon.com: "When it comes to weaponry, to paraphrase Seger, we’re still young and proud and makin’ Predators and Reapers (as in unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones) and Eagles and Fighting Falcons (as in F-15 and F-16 combat jets), and outfitting them with the deadliest of weapons. In this market niche, we’re still the envy of the world.
"
"
Madhuram Sundaresan & Indu Suntharesan
Inspiring Indeed:
2009 that her mother who was visiting her in Seattle, USA finally decided to make an attempt and started with the first of the three books on the ‘Taj Trilogy’ the ‘Twentieth Wife’. Though she never had any previous experience of writing, she plunged into the work whole heartedly with the help of the internet to look up tamil words. Once she started, the work gripped her and she got the English to Tamil dictionaries brought to her from Chennai. It took her a whole six months to do the translation of the first book.
2009 that her mother who was visiting her in Seattle, USA finally decided to make an attempt and started with the first of the three books on the ‘Taj Trilogy’ the ‘Twentieth Wife’. Though she never had any previous experience of writing, she plunged into the work whole heartedly with the help of the internet to look up tamil words. Once she started, the work gripped her and she got the English to Tamil dictionaries brought to her from Chennai. It took her a whole six months to do the translation of the first book.
What Could Pelosi Possibly “Know” About Gingrich? « Commentary Magazine
What Could Pelosi Possibly “Know” About Gingrich? « Commentary Magazine:
hatever damaging information on Gingrich that Nancy Pelosi claims to have in this clip, it apparently wasn’t horrible enough to stop her fromteaming up with him on a global warming campaign. It seems more likely that Pelosi knows the same things everybody else does: that Gingrich cheated on two of his three wives, skirted ethics rules, left Congress in disgrace, alienated members of his own party, has an out-of-control ego, lobbied for Freddie Mac, flip-flopped on too many issues to count and seriously lacks self-discipline. So far, those problems haven’t dissuaded Republican voters from supporting him,
hatever damaging information on Gingrich that Nancy Pelosi claims to have in this clip, it apparently wasn’t horrible enough to stop her fromteaming up with him on a global warming campaign. It seems more likely that Pelosi knows the same things everybody else does: that Gingrich cheated on two of his three wives, skirted ethics rules, left Congress in disgrace, alienated members of his own party, has an out-of-control ego, lobbied for Freddie Mac, flip-flopped on too many issues to count and seriously lacks self-discipline. So far, those problems haven’t dissuaded Republican voters from supporting him,
Padma awards 2012: Na Muthusamy
2012 பத்மஸ்ரீ, பத்மபூஷன் விருதுகள் « சிலிகான் ஷெல்ஃப்:
விருது பெற்றவர்கள் லிஸ்ட்
அழியாச்சுடர்கள் தளத்தில் ந. முத்துசாமி எழுதிய ஒரு சிறுகதை
ந. முத்துசாமி பற்றி எஸ்.ரா.
விருது பெற்றவர்கள் லிஸ்ட்
அழியாச்சுடர்கள் தளத்தில் ந. முத்துசாமி எழுதிய ஒரு சிறுகதை
ந. முத்துசாமி பற்றி எஸ்.ரா.
HHMI News: HHMI's International Early Career Scientists
Dr. Koushika is Reader at the National Center for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
Sandhya Koushika studies long-distance transport of organelles within neurons using the tiny transparent worm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. To understand how such transport is regulated, she uses genetics and live imaging combined with interdisciplinary tools and approaches.
View Research Abstract
Traffic tie-ups and crazy drivers frustrate Sandhya Koushika as much as anyone. But instead of cursing congested roadways and erratic motorists, she studies them for insights that might apply to her research.
Koushika’s interest is axonal transport—the highly coordinated movement of molecular cargo from one end of a nerve cell to the other.
| | Sandhya P. Koushika, Ph.D. | |||||||||||||||
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| Koushika uses Caenorhabditis elegans to study the movement of presynaptic vesicles from one part of a nerve cell to another. More | |||||||||||||||||
Chinese Researchers Lead in Howard Hughes Awards - NYTimes.com
Chinese Researchers Lead in Howard Hughes Awards - NYTimes.com:
China’s government has spent billions in recent years into building a top-notch research establishment. Now comes a hint that the effort is beginning to pay off.
Founded in 1953 by the eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, the institute, headquartered in Maryland, is one of the largest philanthropies supporting biomedical research. With an endowment of $17.5 billion, it dispenses about $700 million a year in grants to more than 350 researchers.
Portugal and Spain are each home to five of the winners of the new award. Dr. Tjian said those nations and China have made unusually strong efforts to excel in biomedical research. Italy and South Africa had two winners each, and Brazil, Poland, India, Hungary, Chile, South Korea, and Argentina each had one. The number of applications submitted by scientists from China was matched or nearly matched by scientists in some of the other eligible countries, the institute said.
Four of the seven Chinese winners work at China’s new National Institute of Biological Sciences, which is led by an American-educated scientist, Wang Xiaodong. The remaining three work at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics in Hubei Province, and Nankai University in Tianjin.
China’s government has spent billions in recent years into building a top-notch research establishment. Now comes a hint that the effort is beginning to pay off.
Seven — more than any other nation — are from China.
Founded in 1953 by the eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, the institute, headquartered in Maryland, is one of the largest philanthropies supporting biomedical research. With an endowment of $17.5 billion, it dispenses about $700 million a year in grants to more than 350 researchers.
Portugal and Spain are each home to five of the winners of the new award. Dr. Tjian said those nations and China have made unusually strong efforts to excel in biomedical research. Italy and South Africa had two winners each, and Brazil, Poland, India, Hungary, Chile, South Korea, and Argentina each had one. The number of applications submitted by scientists from China was matched or nearly matched by scientists in some of the other eligible countries, the institute said.
Four of the seven Chinese winners work at China’s new National Institute of Biological Sciences, which is led by an American-educated scientist, Wang Xiaodong. The remaining three work at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics in Hubei Province, and Nankai University in Tianjin.
a 2010 Battelle report stated that American spending on research was reaching a plateau, while China was overtaking Japan as the second-largest financier of scientific work. Over all, the report stated, the United States spent close to $396 billion on research and development in 2010, compared to about $141 billion in China.
The Oscars play it safe, nostalgic - Academy Awards - Salon.com
The Oscars play it safe, nostalgic - Academy Awards - Salon.com: "Hollywood applauds itself -- but ignores great turns in edgy films like "Melancholia," "Take Shelter" and "Shame""
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Shanawaz: Uyirmmai Publishers: Parotta Food
பரோட்டா மகாத்மியம்:
ஒரு முட்டை பரோட்டாவும் ஒரு சாதா பரோட்டாவும்
ஷாநவாஸ்.
உயிர்மை பதிப்பகம், விலை ரூ120.
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