Monday, May 31, 2010

Persistence

A few interesting quotes on Persistence.

Never give up.
~Nancy Kerrigan

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.
~Elbert Hubbard

Ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
~William Eardley, IV

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
~Hal Borland

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
~Napoleon Hill

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.
~Colin Powell

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a city in the Central part of Russia.

It is the capital of the Sverdlovsk Oblast. It is situated near the Ural mountains.

It is also home to the Ural State Technical University.

It is also an important junction on the Trans-Siberian Rail Line.

But what is it about Yekaterinburg which caught my attention?

It was this news article about the connection between the Tsar Nicholas II and Yekaterinburg.

Tsar Nicholas II was the last Russian Tsar.

Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their four daughters and a son, and several servants, were shot dead by the Bolsheviks in a basement in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in the early hours of July 17, 1918.  

Read more about Nicholas Romanov here.  

Smile Please

When times are tough, a smile comes to the rescue.


Almost five years back, in a poll, Cameron Diaz was voted as the star with the best smile.
You need not meet Diaz, but everyday you meet several people who give you that Million $ smile. And that makes your day!!

Catch up with some interesting quotes on smile.

A smile confuses an approaching frown. 
~Author Unknown

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. 
~Phyllis Diller

The shortest distance between two people is a smile. 
~Author Unknown

Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. 
~Charles Reade

A smile can brighten the darkest day. 
~Author Unknown

Smile - it increases your face value. 
~Author Unknown

A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime. 
~Author Unknown

Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
~Greta Garbo

The last quote left me intrigued. 

And finally to wrap up, some picture quotes on smile - they put forth the importance of smile.


Keep smiling!!

Perfect 10

What is Perfect 10(Ten)?

You must have heard about the sport of Gymnastics.


Well - the official definition is as below :

Gymnastics is a physical exercises designed to develop and display strength, balance, and agility, especially those performed on or with specialized apparatus.

Well, the sport of Gymnastics is a an Olympic Sport. The Europeans and the Russians are considered to be good in gymnastics.

If you have a sport, you need to have a scoring system.

Gymnasts - after their performance in their respective events were rated on a scale of 10. 

And whenever a gymnast gave an exceptional performance which was superbly appreciated by all the judges, she/he got a score of 10. This was the "Perfect 10".

There are several gymnasts who have reached a Perfect 10 over the past 100 years. Get the complete details here.

However, one person is often attributed with making the words - Perfect 10 - famous.

She is none other than Nadia Comaneci - a Romanian gymnast.


In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, she scored a Perfect 10 in her event - the uneven bars. Thereby she became the first gymnast to score a Perfect 10 in the Olympics.

Quite often, this phrase has been used to signify that someone has achieved something in totality.

Finally, why did these thoughts about Perfect 10 rush though my mind on a lazy Sunday morning?

Well, I am aiming for 31 posts on my blog in the Month of May 2010. If I am successful, would it be called a Perfect 10? Or shall I say, a Perfect 31?

Until then, fingers crossed!!

Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010

In spring-summer season in 2010 women will opt for the hairstyle and haircuts which give an air of sexy. No longer wear straight hair, pointed to the plate, which has been in past seasons trend. Fashion trends in 2010 is released back hair and a little wavy. The wear those sedu hairstyles that give you an air of naturalness. It is true that long hair is trendy in 2010, but that does not mean you can not be fashionable in 2010 if you have short hair or medium length. Important is that when arranged to not exaggerate the modeling products. Here are some photos of long and straight haircuts for 2010:

Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010

Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010

Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010Modern Sedu Hairstyles trends 2010

Mao Zedong, Maoism and Maoists

Maoists are causing a lot of havoc and destruction in India. Over the last 2 months itself, they have carried out three horrible attacks on the Indian citizens - resulting in the death of 250 odd precious lives.

So who are these Maoists? And what do they want?

We need to start with Mao Zedong.
Mao Zedong was a Chinese leader. He was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976. He was also the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959.

He is considered as the most influential Chinese Leader of the 20th century - and is regards by most Chinese as the person who set them on course to be become a super power.

Before the times of Mao Zedong, two prominent theories of Communism were in practice. They were Marxism - by Karl Marx, and Leninism - by Vladimir Lenin.

Marxism put forth that an economic minority (the wealthy class of people)  exploited the working class for their benefits. The theory advocated that the working class must seize political power through social revolutions.

Leninism argues for the forceful deposition of the incumbent government; assume power (as agent of the proletariat) and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat  government. Moreover, as the government, the vanguard party must educate  the proletariat — to dispel the societal false consciousness of religion  and nationalism that are culturally instilled by the bourgeoisie  in facilitating exploitation.(Courtesy Wikipedia).

Mao built on these basic tenets of Marxism and Leninism.

His theory of Maoism is built on the following concepts.

  • Revolutionary struggle of the mass against against their exploiting classes and their supporting state infrastructure. 

  • Political transformation through the involvement of the people from the lower strata of the society.

  • Supporting the struggle through guerrilla war tactics.
What has led to the emergence of Maoism in India?

India is a country which has a vast variety of natural resources at its disposal. Minerals are widely available in India and Mining is a important activity in India. 

The contribution of mining to the Indian economy is significant. Central India is especially rich in minerals. Large corporations have significant stakes in these mining activities. 

Many a times, or rather frequently, the policies of the government and the actions of these corporations are detrimental to the interests of the people who live in these mineral rich regions. 

The people in these regions often feel exploited. Frequently, the economic benefits gained out of such mining explorations are not given back to the region. This creates a sense of discontent among the mass leading to unhappiness.

The Maoists are people who are fighting for this strata of the society. They are fighting for the rights of the tribals from these regions of India. 

Maoists are active in regions of India which are rich in minerals. These regions - which see significant military activity from the Maoists - is also known as the Red Corridor.
Over the past many years, this fight has been bloody.

Significantly, recently, the Maoists launched three attacks on the Indian State which resulted in the death of a large number of people.

In April, they ambushed a group of armed forces in the jungles of Dantewada in Central India killing 76 jawans. Just a month later, they bombed a bus - killing 44 people - 15 among them being from the armed forces.

As India was coming to terms with this aggressive style of Maoist warfare, the Maoists blew up a rail track resulting in a train derailment just 3 days back. This was the worst among the three attacks - resulting in the death of more than 130 odd people.


India has been crying hoarse for strong action against these Maoists - which have some presence in approximately 28% of the Indian administrative districts.

Now 28% is a huge number - it means approximately 1/3rd of India. It is high time that the Maoists Movement is quelled before it becomes seriously damaging to the nation at large.

What is my take on the situation right now?

As an immediate measure, the Government of India should take strong decisive steps to bring down the Maoists. 

It can include holding peace talks with them - urging them to join the political main stream and assuring them of the Government's greater support in bringing all round development to the region, which they feel is neglected. But such peace talks will take time. Should India bleed till then?

As an alternative, the Government can launch an all out military offensive against the Maoists. These will make things bloody in short term. But if the offensive is successful, we can have assured peace later.

This would importantly require that the Indian State takes adequate steps to ensure the all round development of such regions - the lack of which is the cause of this struggle. This has been lacking to some extent in the last 60 years. And with the huge amount of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, ensuring this will be a far fetched task.

There is a section of the civil society which is against such military offensive. Their line of argument - why should you attack your own people? 

The argument is fine - but I think it holds good only till your own people support the nation. When they start going against the nation and its people at large, this argument should not hold good.

Can we draw an equivalence from Sri Lanka - which was fighting the LTTE for close to 33 years? After several years of peace talks, the Lankans launched an offensive against the tigers and defeated them in May 2009. We are now looking at a peaceful country and Sri Lanka is hoping to make the most of it.

Taking a decision on the plan of action against the Maoists is not easy. P Chidambaram, the Home Minister of India, is looking for a larger mandate to take appropriate against the Maoists.

A re-look at the policy against the Maoists is a must.

Finally, I strongly hope that we have a a peaceful solution to the threat from the Maoists.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Every avid book lover in the world must have read this book.

And if you haven't read this timeless classic - then it is time to pick up a copy of this book and start reading.

To Kill A Mocking Bird is a book written by Harper Lee exactly 50 years back. This books deals with serious issues like racial inequality in America and rape - all of this through the eyes of a 10 year old girl. 

In my personal opinion, Innocent narration is the hallmark of this book.

The book has been so famous across the USA and the world - that special celebrations are held across the world to mark its 50th anniversary.

Catch an interesting news article about these celebrations here.

Also catch up with some excellent quotes from this book.
Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout, Chapter 10.

The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch, Chapter 11

When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch, Chapter 9.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch to daughter Scout, Chapter 3.    

If you have read this book, do share your opinion on this book and how it caught your attention.

scarlett johansson images 2010

scarlett johansson images 2010scarlettjohansson.jpg



scarlett johansson images 2010about Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson images 2010about Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson images 2010Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson images 2010SCARLETT JOHANSSON



scarlett johansson images 2010scarlettjohansson.jpg



scarlett johansson HD wallpapers

scarlett johansson HD wallpapersScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson HD wallpapersScarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn



scarlett johansson HD wallpapersScarlett Johansson was born



scarlett johansson HD wallpapersDay 56- Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson HD wallpapersScarlett Johansson Celebrity



scarlett johansson HD wallpapersScarlett Johansson For



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HD

scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDscarlett johansson, sex



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDScarlett Johansson Given Some



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson sexy wallpapers HDScarlett came ahead of the



scarlett johansson top news wallpapers

scarlett johansson top news wallpapersScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson top news wallpapersScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson top news wallpapersScarlett Johansson Given Some



scarlett johansson top news wallpapersScarlett Johansson Photos



scarlett johansson top news wallpaperspeople told scarlett johansson



scarlett johansson top news wallpapersI see that Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010

scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Melanie Sloan, Scarlett's



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Scarlett Johansson.



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Scarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Scarlett Johansson + RBK



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Scarlett Johansson.



scarlett johansson wallpapers 2010Scarlett Johansson's Nose Ring



scarlett johansson gallery

scarlett johansson gallerySCARLETT JOHANSSON



scarlett johansson galleryscarlett-johansson-engaged.jpg



scarlett johansson galleryScarlett Johansson



scarlett johansson galleryscarlett johansson, sex



scarlett johansson galleryScarlett came ahead of the



scarlett johansson galleryScarlett Johansson, Brunette