Prakash gives demo of Pipe Robot to President Obama

Congratulations to Prakash (Sub Vallapuzha) for his presentation to President Obama at CMU's NREC.

Obama says U.S. must invest in high-tech manufacturing

Published: Friday, June 24, 2011, 1:24 PM     Updated: Friday, June 24, 2011, 1:26 PM

View full sizeAssociated PressPresident Barack Obama is shown the working of SOLO, a Pipe Inspection Robot, by Sub Vallapuzha, right, and Ken Wolf,second from left, and Sam Cancilla as he tours Carnegie Mellon Universit's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) in Pittsburgh, Friday.

PITTSBURGH -- President Barack Obama called on Friday for a "renaissance in American manufacturing" that would replace shuttered steel mills with plants producing robotics, nanotechnology and other high-tech advances.

The president said this resurgence is how the country will create new jobs and stay competitive in a global marketplace where other countries are making great strides.

Speaking at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, a city that's taken hits from the decline of traditional manufacturing sectors like steel, Obama called for a joint effort by industry, universities and the federal government to help reposition the United States as a leader in cutting-edge manufacturing.

"We have not run out of stuff to make, we've just got to reinvigorate our manufacturing sector so that it leads the world the way it always has, from paper and steel and cars to new products we haven't even dreamed up yet," Obama said at Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center.

"That's how we're going to strengthen existing industries, that's how we're going spark new ones," he said. "That's how we're going to create jobs, grow the middle class and secure our economic leadership."

The president spoke after viewing projects at the center, including small robots that can enter sewer systems, and learning about technologies to create, among other things, next-generation diapers.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/obama_says_us_must_invest_in_h.html

Obama tours robotics center

FRIDAY, 24 JUNE 2011 12:27

WRITTEN BY DANIEL MALLOY

Our own Jim O'Toole was in the press pool for the presidential visit to CMU and Obama's time hanging with Kilroy Ned. Here's his dispatch:

President arrived in back room of Carnegie-Mellon Robotics center in Lawrenceville shortly after 10:30 am. He wore light blue suit, white shirt, red patterned tie. At first stop he was greeted by Regina Dugan, director of DARPA, Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, and Lt. Col. Nathan Wiedenman, program manager for project in which Local Motors developed combat support vehicle parked behind them through "crowd-sourcing" _ basically an Internet driven collaborative process in which outsiders compete to offer design proposals.

"So what've we got here,'' president said as he entered. After a briefing from the trio, he said, "That's really cool.'' He leaned into the driver's side window, but said, "They don't let me drive.'' Then he headed to an exhibit of a sewer and water pipe inspection robot, a tracked cylindrical gizmo about 15 inches long, whose name, it emerged, was Ned.

After some descriptions from three executives of Red Zone, a private robotics firm with CMU roots _ Ken Wolf, Sub Vallapuzha, Sam Cancilla _ Mr. Obama took the controls, a laptop touch screen, and said, "Let's see how Ned does.'' "He's sending back data as he's going through?'' Mr. Obama said at one point. 'This is pretty fascinating,'' he said later as he watched the torpedo-shaped device crawl through the pipe.

He turned to reporters, noted Red Zones ties with CMU, and government support of research there. " ... Government -funded research resulting in new products, new companies, new jobs.''

http://earlyreturns.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/early-returns-20/53-post-gazette-staff/2951-obama-tours-robotics-center

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110625/BUSINESS05/106250308/1004/NEWS03

http://cmsimg.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A3&Date=20110625&Category=BUSINESS05&ArtNo=106250308&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&MaxW=640&Border=0

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2011 Final

Law School Team Again Reaches Finals of Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

COLUMBIA FINISHES SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND, BUT TEAM MEMBERS TAKE OTHER TOP HONORS AT WORLD'S LARGEST MOOT COURT CONTEST

Public Affairs, 212-854-2650, publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu

New York, March 30, 2011--Columbia Law School was the runner-up at the White & Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

It is the second consecutive year the Law School’s team has advanced to the World Championship Final Round, and the third straight year Columbia has won the U.S. National Championship.

 There were 123 teams from 76 countries competing at the International Rounds, held March 20-26 in Washington. What organizers called “an incredibly close” final round was won by the University of Sydney (Australia).

 The Law School team of Jacob Johnston '12, Akshaya Kumar '12, Jennifer Lim '12, Benjamin Schrier '12, and James Wigginton '13 was selected to represent the U.S. at the international rounds after winning the Northeast U.S. Super Regional Championship in February.

 

From left, Jessup team members Akshaya Kumar, Ricardo Chirinos, Jennifer Lim, Jacob Johnston, James Wigginton, and Benjamin Schrier, seen here with judges from the quarter-final round won by the team.

At the international rounds, the team was victorious against teams from Germany, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore and the U.S. before the final round.

Kumar and Schrier defeated the National University of Singapore in the semifinals on Friday, and Johnston and Lim then argued in the final round the next day, with Kumar serving as counsel.Lim was also awarded the prestigious Stephen M. Schwebel Prize for the Best Oralist in the Championship Round, the same award Kevin Lin '11 won last year.

Johnston won the first place individual oralist award; Kumar won the 10th Place individual oralist award, and Lim won the 12th Place individual oralist award, based on scoring from the preliminary rounds. Schrier and Wigginton won each round in which they competed by a significant margin. Johnston and Lim were also recognized as the highest-ranked respondent team in the competition.

The team was coached by Ricardo Chirinos '11 LL.M. and Elisabeth Page '11. The team’s faculty advisor, Lori Damrosch, the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization and Hamilton Fish Professor of Law and International Diplomacy, and Viren Mascarenhas '05, provided guidance and support as the team prepared for the international rounds. Additionally, international law faculty and alumni who participated in the Jessup while at the Law School helped the team through a series of practice moots. 

The Jessup is the world’s largest and most prestigious moot court competition and the oldest dedicated to international law. This year's competition began with teams from about 650 law schools worldwide.It is named after Philip C. Jessup ’24, who taught international law and diplomacy at Columbia from 1925 until 1961. Jessup helped draft the statutes of the International Court of Justice and the International Law Commission, and served the government in a variety of advisory and representative posts.

Columbia has claimed three Jessup world championships - in 1963, 1965, and 2006. The Philip C. Jessup Moot Court at Columbia Law School is sponsored by an endowment from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School joins its traditional strengths in international and comparative law, constitutional law, administrative law, business law and human rights law with pioneering work in the areas of intellectual property, digital technology, sexuality and gender, criminal, national security, and environmental law.

http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2011/march2011/jessupmootcourt

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2011

Law School Teams Advance to Finals of Jessup and European Law Moot Court Competitions

STUDENTS MASTER TOUGH AREAS OF LAW

Media Contact: Public Affairs Office, 212-854-2650 publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu


New York, Feb. 28, 2011—Two teams of Law School students have advanced to the final rounds of the world’s largest international moot court competitions, the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and the European Law Moot Court Competition. 

Five students—Jacob Johnston ’12, Akshaya Kumar ’12, Jennifer Lim ’12, Benjamin Schrier ’12, and James Wigginton ’13—will compete against teams from around the world in the White & Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, which will be held in Washington, D.C. between March 20 and 26.  

The team advanced to the final rounds after placing first at the Northeast Super Regional Tournament where they defeated 24 schools including teams from Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Cornell University Law School, and NYU School of Law.  Benjamin Schrier ’12 won an award for best oralist in the championship round against Boston College.  In preparation for the rigorous competition, the team has received guidance from various people including faculty adviser, Lori Damrosch, the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, team adviser Viren Mascarenhas ’05, coaches, Elisabeth Page ’11, Kevin Lin ’11, and Ricardo Chirinos ’11 (LL.M.), and others.

Named after Columbia Law Professor Philip C. Jessup, this event is considered the premier international moot court competition, with participants from over 500 law schools across more than 80 nations.  It is sponsored by the International Law Students Association (ILSA) in conjunction with the American Society of International Law (ASIL), under rules prescribed by ILSA/ASIL.  The competition simulates a dispute between two countries before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial arm of the United Nations.  This year’s topic addresses drone warfare, the targeted killing of suspected terrorists, public bans on religious garments, and the OECD's anti-bribery regime.  

http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2011/february2011/International-Moot-Court

V S Vaidyanathan Jayanthi Concert - 2011

Narasimhapuram VS Vaidyanathan
Jayanthi Concert.

The 23rd of January, 2011.
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Vocal Concert by Shri Tadepalli Lokanatha Sarma
Violin Smt Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi
Mridangam R Ramkumar ( Disciple of Umayalpuram K Sivaraman )
Vocal support provided by Shrikrishna

Photos
More Photos
Videos
(this is a 12 part upload  on youtube.... download the videos for a better experience

Reviews of the concert - http://www.rasikas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15519

[Open notice] "Temporary failure in name resolution" on Mac OS X server in scripts run from Apache

[Open notice] "Temporary failure in name resolution" on Mac OS X server in scripts run from Apache

Target Date Funds Are No Bargains, Study Says

By: Joe Mont

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Investors may be losing as much as $1.3 billion a year because of target date funds' underperforming investments and fees, according to a study by Georgia State University.

Conflicts of interest can arise when fund managers turn to their own companies' mutual funds for employee retirement plans. Target date funds tend to select high-fee and underperforming funds, resulting in the worst-case scenario seen in research by Vallapuzha Sandhya, a doctoral student of finance at Georgia's J. Mack Robinson College of Business, data from 2003 to 2008 show.

With target date funds, investors choose a retirement year and let the fund automatically adjust a portfolio's exposure to stocks and bonds over time. Younger investors will likely have more aggressive portfolios, with upward of 90% devoted to stocks. In theory, the portfolios become more conservative as participants age. Target date funds are typically made up of other stocks and bond mutual funds.

There's an alternative that deserves greater consideration, Sandhya says: "Balanced funds" that can do the job as well, if not better, by mixing stocks and bonds. Unlike target date funds, balanced funds maintain their allocations, rather than adjusting for risk profile or market conditions. Popular examples includeVanguard Group's Vanguard Wellington(VWELX),T. Rowe Price's(TROW)T. Rowe Price Personal Strategy Balanced(TRPBX) and Wells Fargo's(WFC)Wells Fargo Advantage WealthBuilder Growth Balanced(WBGBX).

But traditional target date funds remain attractive. Assets in target date funds have skyrocketed from just under $2 billion in 1997 to $270 billion last month, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Increased popularity, however, wasn't matched by improved oversight.

With the financial meltdown of 2008, many investors found that even as they were nearing retirement, their target date fund was heavy on equities and had impractical levels of investment risk. That exposure had a disastrous impact on assets assumed to be safe: Losses of 30% to 50% in winding down target date funds weren't uncommon as the recession took hold. In response, the SEC proposed tougher disclosure rules.

Target date funds need to disclose not only the asset allocation percentages in their marketing materials, but also the underlying funds in which they invest, Sandhya says.

"These funds are aimed at people too busy to focus on their investments," she says. While investors who actively manage their investments have their choice of mutual funds, those who do not are often put into target date funds, which are approved by the Department of Labor as default options -- billed as "just set it and forget it and everything is taken care of," Sandhya says, and many believe it.

"As a concept, target date funds are a good instrument for retirement plans. The problem lies in the way they are structured and whether they are doing the right thing for their investors," Sandhya says.

She explains that otherwise underperforming funds, which are seeing reduced inflows, can be propped up by feeding them into target date funds. Funds with higher-than-average fees are also chosen to boost profits at the expense of investors, Sandhya says.

She is quick to point out that many target date funds take great care to protect investors. Her research doesn't identify those using a "fund of funds" approach and investing internally, which "opens up all kinds of potential for conflicts of interest."

-- Reported by Joe Mont in Boston.

(check it out at http://www.thestreet.com/story/10819838/2/target-date-funds-are-no-bargains-study-says.html)

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2010 Final

Law School Team Finishes Strong in Jessup International Moot Court Competition

TEAM RETAINS TITLE AS U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONS; KEVIN LIN '11 RECEIVES PRIZE FOR BEST ORALIST

Public Affairs, 212-854-2650

 

Washington, D.C., April 7, 2010—Columbia Law School competed in the World Championship Round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition held March 21-27 in Washington.

 

The Law School team finished second in the White & Case International Rounds out of 105 teams from 76 countries that competed. The Law School retained its title as U.S. National Champion, and also won the Alona E. Evans Prize for best written memorial in the international rounds.

 

The Law School team of Jacob Johnston ’12, Akshaya Kumar ’12, Kevin Lin '11, Erik Lindemann '11 and Elisabeth Page '11 advanced to the Championship Round through 14 undefeated oral rounds against teams from the U.S., Poland, Taiwan, India, and Slovenia.

 

Kumar and Lin argued in the Championship Round, with Johnston serving as counsel. The round was judged by former International Court of Justice presidents Stephen M. Schwebel and Dame Rosalyn Higgins, along with Harold Koh, the top lawyer at the State Department.

 

“We really pushed each other to perform at our best,” Page said. “It was wonderful, going into the elimination rounds, to know that we had no weak links, and that every member of the team could give an amazing performance.”

 

Although Australia National University took home the Jessup Cup, Lin won the Stephen M. Schwebel Prize for best oralist in the Championship round, which he received from Schwebel himself.

 

“Competing in the Jessup tournament was one of the most amazing experiences in my life,” Lin said. “It was an honor to meet and compete against teams from countries all over the world.”

 

This year’s team was led by Lindemann and Page, who defeated teams from India and Slovenia in three elimination rounds to enable Columbia to reach the final. Lindeman received the third-place individual oralist award, and Page received the 14^th-place oralist award.

 

The team received coaching from Suyash Paliwal ’10, last year’s first-place overall oralist. Jessup alumni and law students also helped prepare the team for the final rounds. The team’s faculty advisor was Lori Damrosch, the Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization.

 

The Philip C. Jessup Moot Court at Columbia Law School is sponsored by an endowment from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.

 

The Jessup Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition and the oldest dedicated to international law. It is named after Philip C. Jessup ’24, who taught international law and diplomacy at Columbia from 1925 until 1961. He published on maritime law, neutrality, collective security, and his most influential book, The Modern Law of Nations (1947). Jessup helped draft the statutes for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Law Commission and served the U.S. government in a variety of advisory and representative posts. In 1961 he left Columbia for a nine-year term as United States representative to the International Court of Justice.

Previously, Columbia has claimed three world championships–in 1963, 1965, and 2006.

 

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School joins its traditional strengths in international and comparative law, constitutional law, administrative law, business law and human rights law with pioneering work in the areas of intellectual property, digital technology, sexuality and gender, criminal, national security, and environmental law.

Akshaya - Columbia - Jessup - 2010

Law School's Jessup Moot Court Team Competes in International Championship After Sweeping Regionals

WINNING FOUR AWARDS AT REGIONALS, STUDENTS HEAD TO DC FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

Media Contact:  Nancy Goldfarb, 212-854-1584  nancy.goldfarb@law.columbia.edu
Public Affairs Office 212-854-2650 publicaffairs@law.columbia.edu

 

New York, March 19, 2010 - A team from Columbia Law School is competing in the International Championship round of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition between March 21^st and 27^th in Washington. The team took first place last month at the Super-Regional Northeast Round, competing against 23 law schools. The team also took the second-place-overall Memorial Award.

 

Team members Erik Lindemann ’11, Elisabeth Page ’11, Akshaya Kumar ’12, Kevin Lin ’11, and Jacob Johnston ’11 took home three individual awards. Out of 120 competitors, Lindemann won the fifth-place Oralist Award and Page won tenth place. Kumar won the highest score for a single-round competitor.

 

The Jessup Competition is the world’s largest moot court competition and the oldest dedicated to international law. More than 500 teams from 80 countries entered this year, developing arguments for both sides of a fictional dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice, the primary court of the United Nations. This year’s question involves sovereignty over land and natural resources, self-determination of peoples, bilateral investment treaties, and expropriations.

 

Teams submit written memorials for both sides in January and plead as Applicant and Respondent in oral rounds throughout the competition. Columbia Law School is one of 80 teams to advance to the White & Case International Rounds in Washington, which includes preliminary and advanced rounds for the International Championship. 

 

Lindemann and Page, both veteran Jessup competitors and last year’s national champions, are coaching this year’s team. The teammates undertook a rigorous schedule, including practice moots at federal courthouses and law offices where Jessup alumni are employed, as well as mooting before Law School professors, including Lori Damrosch, Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization, the team’s faculty advisor.

 

The competition is named after Professor Philip C. Jessup ’24, who taught international law and diplomacy at the Law School from 1925 to 1961. He helped draft the statutes for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Law Commission, and in 1961 began a nine-year term as a U.S. representative to the ICJ.

 

Columbia was one of three law schools to compete in the first Jessup competition, held in 1960, and has since claimed three world championships–in 1963, 1965, and 2006. For more information about the tournament, visit the Jessup web site.

Travails of a New Hair Cut

I was feeling adventurous one day when I was on vacation in Chennai and decided to chop off my carefully cultivated mane of many years! For people who came in late, It had been the object of much devotion - mainly in the part of my mom who had spent years taking a lot pride and care in my long tresses.

When it comes to hair styles, the laziness that is my wont actually takes front seat and drives! Usually, after seconds of contemplation, I used to carefully scrub and wear my hair in virtually the same style and setting for years on end!

It is not that I had not made several attempts to break the routine in the past, but most of them have been cruelly nipped in the bud, or should I say roots! Somehow, most men in our family seem to take extra privileges when it came to my hair - be it my husband, dad or even brothers and so at various points in time, when I have as much as said "Ahem, do you think I should cut.." someone would immediately pounce on the statement like they had seen it make its way up my throat and then come down defiantly with "Don't even think about it!"

This time was different! For one, I didnt formulate or postulate my ideas to any one! I did start discussions contemplating straightening my hair, but ofcourse, most people who are convinced that they know better than me in the world of fashion and how to wear my hair, decided for me that my straight hair didn't need straightening with an iron!

Armed with the results of the useless debate and discussion, one fine morning, I quietly sneaked off to the near-by salon and decided to let the hairdresser there have the final say on the matters that were overhead! The girl in charge, quietly rubbed her hands in glee, and I could almost see a glint in her eye that seemed to say "Guinea Pig" - Gotcha! The Salon, although situated in a posh hotel, seemed some how devoid of human population except for the workers in the salon and the fact that they outnumbered me 3:1 was little consolation!

I said, "bring me your book of styles" as though, it was something that I had done every day and knew what I was talking about! Obviously not! Instead, the "lady with the scissors" gave me a curt explanation and then decided to take matters in her own hand! Snip, Snap my tresses went and I was soon confronted by the fact that some of my hair would never be the same length as the rest. She then dangled one in the front, which for some reason, she called "fringe" and told me that it was very important that I say how long that one was supposed to be! Frankly, the answer was "No Idea". But, since I was pretending to be someone who cut hair at every whim and fancy, I rocked my head from side to side, with a "knowing" expression and then gasped that it was fine! So much for that!

Finally, moments later, my hair was all cut and shampood (conditioner, I learnt was another 100 bucks and it took me a minute to decide whether or not to have that!). When it was partly dry, there was an elaborate ritual of wrapping bits of my now short hair on a roller brush and drying it! Thoughts were rushing in my blow drying head about how on earth I was going to be able to roll my hair and blow dry it, considering there were two people doing it at the salon and I was already two persons short (given my total inexperience with coiffures or styles)! After playing around for a while, the two finally seemed satisfied and pronounced my hair done.

With a step in my stride and less weight in my hand bag and head, I left the Salon! When I met my mom later, she let out a stifled scream and then promptly disowned me! Years of care and money spent on coconut oil must have blinded her eye to my "suave", "svelte" new look with so many layers (atleast for that day)! Anyhow, the day after, she seemed to accept it, for after all they say, "hair today, gone tomorrow"!

Back in Bahrain, now it takes me a good ten minutes to achieve the casual, hardly brushed style! I wonder when I am gonna learn to keep the short hair stylish, but actually, all said and done, I am Loving IT!

Happy Birthday Roopu Kutti

Wish you a wonderful, happy, lovely Birthday. Hope you got our card.. Tell us all about your birthday and post some pictures too..

Love

Ram Periappa & Sowmya Periamma

Sharda's Letter to the editor in The Hindu - Nov 7, 2008

On Wednesday, I watched a historic moment unfold. Teary-eyed, I saw Mr. Obama deliver his acceptance speech. For the first time, I feel I can tell my children that they can be what they want to be. It was as if the doors to a life full of optimism and cheer were opened to the world.

I wonder if my grandparents felt the same way when Nehru made his tryst-with-destiny speech, and if the Americans felt this way when they heard the Gettysburg Address.

Sharda Suresh,

Chennai

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/07/stories/2008110753731001.htm

-------------------------

Sowmya - The CFA Quizmaster

CFA Bahrain 2008 Quiz has thrilling finale

More than 200 people watched with excitement as Bahrain's best brains were challenged at CFA Bahrain's second annual Financial Institutions Quiz that took place at the Gulf Hotel's Awal Ballroom on Saturday, 25th October 2008.

In an exciting final, the Khaleeji Commercial Bank team lifted the CFA Cup after beating their nearest rivals SICO Investment Bank. The winning team included Mr. Sylvan Verghese, Mr. Ramnath Narayanan and Mr. Tawfeeq Rahma.

Participation in the quiz was open to all banks and other financial institutions in Bahrain. Each institution was allowed to nominate a team of three members. From a field of twenty teams, the six best teams were selected for the final based on a preliminary selection round. Besides Khaleeji Commercial and SICO, the other finalists were Arcapita Bank, BNP Paribas, Investcorp Bank and Bahraini Saudi Bank.

The event was sponsored by Arcapita Bank and iShares as Platinum Sponsors, and Ernst & Young as Gold Sponsor. Other prize sponsors included Dadabhai Travels, Damas Jewellery, Jet Airways, Intercol and Samsung Electronics.

It was a 'quiz with a twist' that featured multiple rounds of questions and conundrums mostly from the world of business, besides questions on a wide range of general knowledge. The use of highly creative graphics and a challenge to the teams to use effective team strategies made the event scintillating and enjoyable for all. The quiz master was Mrs. Sowmya Ramkumar. (First from left in Photo)

The winning team was presented with the CFA Cup by representatives of the main sponsors - Mr. Abdul Kader from Arcapita Bank, Mr. Robert Broadwell from iShares, and Mr. Tariq Sadiq, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, together with CFA Bahrain President Mr. Austin Sequeira. The event was also attended by Mr. R. Raghunathan, First Secretary, Embassy of India.

CFA Bahrain, officially known as The Bahrain Investment Professionals Society, was established in June 2006, and is affiliated to the CFA Institute in the USA. The CFA Institute is a global professional organisation that awards the CFA designation, and leads the investment industry by setting the highest standards of ethics and professional excellence and vigorously advocating fair and transparent capital markets. The CFA designation has become known as the gold standard of professional credentials within the global investment community. Around the world, employers and investors recognise the CFA designation as the definitive standard for measuring competence and integrity in the fields of portfolio management and investment analysis.

Membership in the Bahrain CFA Society is open to all CFA charter-holders as regular members, and CFA candidates who can be admitted as associate members. The Society currently has 103 members. There are nearly 500 candidates pursuing the CFA program in Bahrain.

The elected governing board of the Society includes Mr. Austin Sequeira (President), Mrs. Lamees Al-Baharna (Vice President), Mr. Palani Alagappan (Treasurer), Mr. Essa Maseeh, Mrs. Sowmya Ramkumar and Mr. Asad Saeed Khan. The organization of the CFA Quiz 2008 was coordinated by the Program Chair Mr. Hamad Ali, Mr. Asad Saeed Khan and Ms. Souha Sawan.

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081103061345

http://www.ameinfo.com/174049.html

http://www.bahrainembassy.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document.home&id=412

Varsha compered the program to perfection....

The PSBB Millennium School

The chief guests for the inauguration of the Bharatiya Sanskriti, the cultural wing of The PSBB Millennium School was Padmabhushan, Sangeeta Kalanidhi, Kalaimamani Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman. The Managing Director and Trustee, Shri Shantanu Prakash and the President of Schools, Shri Sharad Agarwal were present to receive the Guest of Honour. Dr. Mrs. Y G Parthasarathy, Dean and Director, PSBB Group of Schools, Shri Y G Rajendraa, Smt. Sheela Rajendra — Vice-Principal and Correspondent PSBB Group of Schools were the other distinguished guests of honour who were welcomed.The programme began with a crisp welcome by Varsha Suresh of Std. IX. Varsha compered the program to perfection. This was followed by the Prayer song.


http://www.hindu.com/yw/2008/10/21/stories/2008102150051300.htm

http://www.psbbmillenniumschool.org/Files/2008062000000502/PhotoGallery/24949/28/661/DSC_0040L.jpg

Airtel: Master Cheats

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Airtel: Master Cheats

If you have had the occassion to be cheated by Airtel, Be assured that you are not alone. Airtel has prefected the art of false advertisement and luring customers with false promises and then cheating them out of their money. And they are unapologetic about this. This site tries to provide examples of various ways in which Airtel cheats you. Our sincere hope is that ay least after looking at this site, they mend their ways and attempt to redress their customer's grievances.

If you have had the misfortune of being cheated by Airtel, please forward your story and we will be happy to publish it for you. Of course be sure to include all the details of your experience so everyone can experience the despair you felt and come to realize the chicanery of Airtel and the extent to which they descend to cheat their unsuspecting customers.

Dasavatharam

Checked out Dasavatharam the other day at Thyagaraja theatre (saving at least an hour of commute) and thought that the movie was quite good - even given the enormous amount of hype that went with it; even though we landed 15 minutes after the start missing the entire Rangaraja nambi episode.

The movie had a strong screenplay and was directed well, retaining the pace as the story progressed. Though the movie would have been even better if the whole 10 roles by kamal was not the driving force behind the movie and he had used some other actors for all those roles - may be kamal should have had a cameo as Rangaraja nambi and been done with that.

Was so ticked off with missing the 1st 15 mins that even resorted to getting a DVD off the street to just catch that part of the movie!

Akshaya with Candidate Obama

Akshaya's Field Trip! - AUC

Akshaya was part of a student delegation that visited a number of countries in the Middle East during last two weeks. She is quoted in a report about the trip in an English language newspaper from Egypt, the Daily Star.

"A delegation of students led by Saad Eddin Ibrahim, a once-imprisoned democracy activist and current professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo (AUC), has returned this week from a field trip of a most unusual kind.

The much-publicized trip, alternatively described by Ibrahim as a "fact-finding mission" and "a study tour," brought 20 Egyptian and foreign students to cities and hot-spots across the Levant for meetings and panels with decision makers, activists and other students. It has been covered widely in the Arabic language media
...
Akshaya Kumar, an undergraduate from George Washington University who is studying abroad at AUC, agreed. "What really sticks in my mind is seeing the reality of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank, and the check-points, and the way that policies are actually implemented." She said, "When you read about them its one thing, when you see them it's another. You can feel the tension between the communities. There is so much hatred and anger and inability to see people as people."

According to Ibrahim, putting a human face on regional conflict is one of the main goals of these study tours. "No matter how much brainwashing and animosity there is, human beings can always relate to one another as human beings." He says: "That is why I traveled to Israel, Palestine and Lebanon with my students this year with this second generation of researchers. Because we can't make assumptions about anyone — Israelis, Palestinians, Hamas, Hizbullah — anyone."

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