“The headcount reductions have begun and will continue into 2009… the company also plans to forgo 2009 salary increases in most of the company’s markets,” Unisys Corporation said in a statement.

Unisys said that it is exploring a wide range of cost-reduction options and that actions currently underway are expected to reduce its annual cost structure by more than USD 225 million.

The cost-reduction actions –led by new Unisys Chairman and CEO Ed Coleman — are part of an overall programme to simplify the company’s business structure, concentrate its resources more effectively and drive improved market success and profitability, Unisys added.

The initial cost-reduction actions are focused on reducing selling, general and administrative (SGandA) expenses and controlling or reducing labor costs across the board.

“The company plans to reduce its spending on third-party expenses, facility consolidations, head-count reductions and a suspension of company matching contributions to the US 401(k) plan, which had been costing about USD 50 million annually,” the statement added.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/241/20081223/1265/tbs-unisys-to-axe-1-300-jobs-suspends-sa.html

“I tell my fellow politicians, particularly those belonging to my own party, that it is our duty to erase this image of the ‘ugly Indian politician’….it is necessary for the best and the brightest among the youth to join politics and serve the nation,” Advani said.

He was speaking at a seminar on “National Values Crisis and its Redressal” organised by the Foundation for Restoration of National Values.

The 81-year-old leader cited Transparency International’s annual reports where India ranks high in the corruption index and the United Nations report in which India ranks low in the Human Development Index. He held responsible the lack of professionalism among politicians as the reason for this state of affairs.

“Politics was a noble profession during the freedom Movement…After Independence, the spirit of mission got gradually diluted…Unfortunately, in India today politics is seen neither as a mission nor as a profession, but as pure commerce,” Advani lamented.

However, the senior leader pointed out that it was not just in politics that the values had gone down. “The lack of integrity and professional ethics is seen among lawyers, judges, doctors…. and even security personnel. It is seen even in the media,” Advani said.

BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate said though the intelligence quotient of an individual could develop lifelong, his emotional, moral and spiritual quotient developed mostly between the age of 15 and 25 years.

“It is necessary for the young to join politics and serve the nation,” he said.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081118/814/tnl-youth-can-change-image-of-ugly-india.html

Invasion of American English has been a recent event may be about five to six years that’s all but the effect appears to be enormous. It shows that our National Newspapers which were once upon a time clinging on to “correct Queen’s English” has now appointed an American for a fabulous pay package (again American term) just to “change” the entire paper to “American English” and now people in the wrong side of 30s who had with great difficulty picked up the difficult spellings are now making miserable efforts to learn the new simple spelling and crying to hell with it.. and to hell with what?

Beggars cannot be choosers and we are indirectly serving Americans and have to speak only American English. That’s why my third standard teacher’s diligent work to correct my spelling has lost its sense now and my 80 year old father who used to be “proud for speaking perfect British English” with the prefect accent on the right syllables fails to understand many phrases that assault him from everywhere. He asked me a pointed question what is this outsourcing – the very term is wrong because it should be Outsource and I blink because I am myself comfortable with outsourcing and again he asked why are these youngsters saying “anyways” when anyway is correct and also toward instead of “towards” and I should say that this is American English. He went on to trace Norman influence on English language and I was tired listening to it because I had myself been teaching this to my Literature Students.

And too many American phrases also confound him and one is “twenty four seven” and when one service engineer told me that “we offer twenty four seven service Ma’m” and I said O.K. my amused dad asked what is this “twenty four seven” and I told him it is nothing but round the clock service on all days without break even on Sundays. Today’s children prefer to speak shortly that is even a small word like mobile become “mobs” for them and I gathered the meaning with reference to the context. FYK (for your knowledge) and ASP (for as soon as possible) are words usually used in their conversation and it is really entertaining when you eavesdrop into today’s generation’s language because it is funny in many ways. “Yupe” for yes and “nope” for no and “single point of contact” and “one stop shop” and “MTI” for Mother Tongue influence in your English. We simply say “MTI is very high” and people like my father are bamboozled and it is just “guys” in general for boys and girls and there is no actress as even female artists are referred to as actors and the word chairperson is completely forgotten it is Chairman even the person is a lady. The figure thousand has disappeared in today’s English and for them it is 20 K and forty grand K and should speak rapidly and end with a shrug like an American and say “and that’s about it and nothing more” which would definitely make the eight decade old man stunned.

Actually the word “Call Center” (not centre as we were taught) is a bit obnoxious to hear by people like us. It was Americans who brought in the word “call girl” for prostitutes and now we casually say “its on call” when we phone a person to seek service for our computer or other gadgets. And several words are added to the dictionary like “gizmos” and “gadgets” and we talk about “personal space” the list is endless. Indians are very faithful because we are serving American community we will speak American English.

http://americatestprep.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/british-or-american-english-which-is-correct.htm

*To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m) of both near and far side of the moon.

* To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 25 km and high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with a spatial resolution of about 20 km.

It will take about 5½ days for Chandrayaan-1 to get to the Moon. Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be in a 100 km polar orbit around the Moon. Instruments of the European Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA are to be flown as payloads.

It will be a proud moment for all Indian when Chandrayaan-1 is successfully launched. I work for ISRO and knowing the efforts that have been put into this project, there is not even a speck of doubt in my mind that it will be a grand success. Send in your wishes for Chandrayaan-1 to be a grand success. You can email your wishes to moon@isro.gov.in

http://indiaregion.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/wish-india-s-moon-mission-of-chandrayan-1-a-grand.htm

http://damodarology.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/10/second-test-on-kumble-s-lucky-date.htm

Every teacher knows that a safe, clean, comfortable and attractive classroom can stimulate learning and help build a classroom community. But for many teachers, setting up the physical environment of their classrooms can be quite daunting, especially when faced with older buildings, crowded classrooms and insufficient storage space. You can make the most of your classroom environment by carefully considering your needs and the needs of your students.

Survey Your Classroom: Looking at the Basics : The first things to consider when organizing your classroom are cleanliness, light and temperature. Once you have checked the basic elements in your classroom, think about your floor plan. Your floor plan may depend on the grade you are teaching. For the lower grades, your classroom setup may include many different learning areas, such as a reading area, an art center and a technology center.

Classroom Decor: Facing the Blank Canvas : Encourage students to make the classroom space their own. Welcome their contributions to its decoration, and urge them to take responsibility for its maintenance. Interesting and attractive visual aids, such as bulletin boards and posters, are key components of an effective classroom. Wall decorations should be colorful, appealing and relevant to current classwork. They should be rotated and refreshed frequently.

The Greenhouse Effect : Caring for live plants can give your classroom a warm, comforting feel. It can also help teach students responsibility – and science! Local nurseries or greenhouses may even be willing to donate the plants to your class. Entrust children, especially older children, to care for the class plants. They can make sure that the plants receive adequate water, light and air.

Use Lots of Storage Space : The primary classroom should have as much storage space as possible, both for students’ personal belongings and for shared tools and materials. Each child should have a personal space, such as a desk or a cubby and a coat hook, for his or her own things.

When you’ve finished setting up your classroom, give it a practice run or two. Walk through a typical school day, making sure that both you and the students have enough space to work and move around, that everyone in the classroom can see and hear and that every part of the room is as pleasant as possible.Your classroom will continue to change and evolve as the school year progresses. These suggestions can help you create a classroom environment that is welcoming, comfortable, clean and secure.

http://teacher.co.in/2008/06/04/tips-to-create-effective-environment-in-classroom/

http://www.groundreport.com/Lifestyle/Security-At-Olympics-2008

PICTURE STORY!

Olympics Games opens in Beijing in the National Stadium nicknamed as Birds Nest !
The National stadium will host the main track and field competitions for the 2008 Summer Olympics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium can seat as many as 91,000 spectators during the Olympics. This stadium costs 423 million US$ for China to build .This is the showpiece of the Olympics and was designed by Swiss Architects.This is an architectural wonder which shows Chinas emergence as superpower.

Inside Story !

Ai Weiwei one of China’s renowned artists collaborated with the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in designing the Bird’s Nest. But since then he has become an outspoken critic of Chinese government policies on civil liberties and other issues. The man who designed this stadium says this “I was questioning whether it’s possible for a society that doesn’t have democracy to excite the joys and celebrations of its people. And is it possible for such a society to win international recognition and approval when liberty and freedom of expression are lacking? “Ai has coined the phrase, “pretend smile,” as a label for China’s Olympic effort. The biggest disappointment as per him is that China has fallen short of its promises, which is, “One World One Dream,”As the result of criticism he has not received any invitation for the opening ceremony!

PICTURE STORY!

Birds Nest at Night

China has spent estimated $42B To Host Beijing Olympics which is a big sum for a developing country to put into a two-week sports show. This Olympics hosted by Beijing would take the title of the most expensive games ever seen, thanks to the $20 billion worth of city improvements undertaken along with the games by the Chinese Government.

Insider Story!

The ground was broken on December 2003 to build Bird’s nest , and construction was started in March 2004. In January 2008, concerns about construction working conditions arose when it was revealed that 88 workers had died during the stadium’s construction. Chinese officials deny that there have been any deaths.

Picture Story

Aerial view of the Northeast Second Ring Road, a new highway interchange, from the top floor of a housing complex.

The plan to triple the size of Beijing’s expressways and build dozens of sports facilities is one of the largest construction projects ever in China since the construction of the Great Wall.Beijing had spent $12 billion in 10 years to spruce up the city. Much of the money will be spent on infrastructure and environmental projects regardless, but hosting the Olympics is seen as a natural extension of efforts to improve Beijing.


INSIDE STORY



New sports venues and $40 billion spent to improve China’s infrastructure have not solved Beijing’s air-quality woes.

Half of Beijing’s 3.3 million vehicles hs been pulled off the roads before the
Olympics to help clean the city’s air for the games. Under the Government plan during Olympics vehicles will be allowed on the roads on alternate days according to even or odd car registration numbers from July 20 until Sept20.

The Government has shutdown polluting factories in Tianjin, about 70 miles east of Beijing, part of the regional plan to temporaryly close factories across a large part of northern China during the Games.

SUCCESS STORY !

This turtle-shell-like structure is a terminal for a new express train linking Beijing Capital International Airport to downtown Beijing.Terminal 3 will be the world’s largest at nearly 10 million square feet.


At the same time, the money spent is already bringing benefits to China. This has given a powerful impetus to the construction of housing and transport facilities; Additional government contracts have encouraged the development of domestic high tech companies working in adavanced technology areas and expertise.

TECHNOLOGY STORY !

Light glitters on the glass-and-titanium shell of the National Grand Theater and on the surrounding water.

SMOG INSIDE STORY

Members of the US athletics team arrived in the Beijing city wearing face masks Pollution levels on a typical day in Beijing

Some researchers say pollution levels are nearly five times above WHO standards for safety.

While China Succeeded in creating a world class infrastructure for thIs Olympics on par or better than any other country which hosted in the past, this is one area which appears to be a challenge and huge embarassment to the Chinese Government .

Chinese promised green with the commitment of clear sky at the time of bidding for Olympics.Chinese officials promised to pour $12.2 billion into cleaning up. The difficulty is that Beijing has been trying to control pollution as its economy grows at more than 10% a year, Workers flood in from other provinces and more than 1,000 cars are added to the road each day.

President of the IOC, has warned that outdoor endurance events will be postponed if the air quality is poor.

While everyone was fighting for freedom and rights for Tibetians during the Olympic Torch events , the air quality has proved to be the biggest challenge now . It is finally going to be Mother nature who will decide the air quality .Wind can blow pollution to Beijing from thousands of miles away, while a lack of wind can cause chemicals and particulate matter to build up in the city.

Now the embarassment for Chinese Government for now is not freedom or human rights but this issue of freedom to breathe! The Western countries are trying to further embarass China by such gestures of asking athletes to land in China with face mask!

FINAL STORY OF ACHIEVEMENT

OPENING CEREMONY REHEARSAL

The Beijing Olympic Games will be a perfect occasion to fully display China’s 5,000-year history and its resplendent culture, a grand ceremony that will gather athletes from all over the world and present diverse and brilliant cultures.

The Olympic Games, especially the opening ceremonies, will be a showcase for the world’s fastest growing major economy. From the fantastic “bird’s nest” stadium to the lavish Olympic facilities which were all but complete last year, China is staking out its territory as an unprecedented success story on the world stage.

WELCOME BEIJING OLMPICS

WELCOME ASIAN SUPER POWER CHINA FOR THE SUPER SHOW

LET THIS BE THE MOST SPECTACULAR SPORTS EXTRAVAGANNZA OF THE YEAR 2008 !

http://sivaram56.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/beijing-olympics-picture-and-inside-stories.htm

http://zamorock.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/my-teacher.htm

Being host of the Olympics is a major undertaking, especially for the developing countries. But for Chinese, game take on extra significance,
a country barely feed itself 25 years ago has accomplished so much in so little time.

China is a developing country. Beijing will be the third Asian city to host Olympic games after Tokyo and Seoul [south Korea]. The Olympics mean a great deal to China, to both the government and average people. The Chinese are incredibly patriotic, even more so than our Americans. A major difference, though, is that there is strong element of shame in Chinese patriotism.

The Go West campaign has not been wildly successful, but it is equally clear that increased government investment in west China…..may be more concerned with political and social implications than economic impact.

If China’s economy sours, the government and the party would lose credibility with the people who are already angered by inequality, environmental damage and corruption such as India.!!!!!

Good Luck China

http://akber-a-kassam.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/07/the-beijing-olympics-dream-08-08-08.htm