AK Srivastava (SriAKS)

18 October, 1867: The U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiastically expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson. Russia wanted to sell its Alaska territory, which was remote, sparsely populated and difficult to defend, to the U.S. rather than risk losing it in battle with a rival such as Great Britain. Negotiations between Seward (1801-1872) and the Russian minister to the U.S., Eduard de Stoeckl, began in March 1867. However, the American public believed the land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase "Seward's Folly" and "Andrew Johnson's Polar Bear Garden," among other derogatory names. Some animosity toward the project may have been a byproduct of President Johnson's own unpopularity. As ...

-------------------------------------------- Look How Funny -------------------------------------------- ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... .................................................................................................

TOI 12 Oct 2008 : In the IIT joint entrance examination of 2007, a score of 15% in mathematics was enough to make it to IIT-Kanpur. If you found that shocki ng, look at this year's figures. In 2008, students could join IIT-Kharagpur despite scoring no more than 5% in physics. ….. For the second year running, the reduction of subject cutoffs to single digits under a procedure introduced in 2007 has allowed less meritorious candidates to slip into IITs even in the general category. ….. This flies in the face of the seemingly reassuring statistics put out by IIT-Roorkee on its website in August stating that in the 2008 JEE conducted by it, the marks obtained by the last admitted candidate in the general category were 63 out of 162 in maths (39%), 72 in physics (44%) and 45 in chemistry (28%). ….. The website glossed over the fact that some of the admitted candidates who obtained higher aggregates (and, therefore, higher ranks) actually scored much lower marks in one or the other subj...

CHANDIGARH: 1966 is a very long time ago but probably not ripe enough for Punjab government to fulfil a promise made to a veteran of the Indo-Pak war OF 1965. Kaka Singh, 79, lost his eyes during action at Khemkaran sector. Fired up by the selfless role played by him for his country, the state jumped to announce a prize of 10 acre for the gritty soldier. Three decades on, it took a Punjab and Haryana High Court order of January 30 to direct the state to keep its word. While that may have brought a flicker of hope but Singh is yet to set foot on the promised land as the government is still to allot that plot. However, this is not the first time that a former soldier or his widow has faced hardship in getting land promised to them in the heat of the moment. A resident of Zirakpur, Singh was a sapper with Bengal Engineers Group (BEG) Roorkee. He joined the Army on September 18, 1954, and was discharged on September 17, 1970, as a war casualty with 100% visual disability. Recalling the fa...

..... Backbiting, rear-licking, jealousy are often the words you use within the confines of office cubicles, while discussing the politics of your work place, RIGHT? It is no new rule to treat your superiors with adequate salaams. Politics is a reality you cannot avoid; species such as devilish bosses, backbiting colleagues and annoying subordinates will always be omnipresent. The trick is how you work around them to make your career skyrocket. Politics in some workplaces can get vicious though — and we’re not referring to our netas’ offices. Power and influence-management in your company will always be a part of your career, whether you have the temperament for it or not. While some of us say they don’t want to get ‘caught up’ in politics at work, most HR experts argue that playing the game is crucial to your career success. By not getting involved, you may find your talents ignored and your success limited, and you may feel left out of the loop. Politics gets nasty when an emp...

********* In a statement which has warmed the cockles of Indian hearts as much as it has created a ruckus in his own country, Pakistan president As if Ali Zardari has described militants operating in J&K as " TERRORIST ". This is the first time a top Pakistani leader has dared to state this in public and vindicate the stand of the Indian establishment. While New Delhi is still wondering about the real power centre (government, ISI or army) in Pakistan, senior government officials nonetheless seemed delighted with Zardari's interview to Wall Street Journal in which he also said that Pakistan did not look upon INDIA as a threat. "India has never been a threat to Pakistan. I, for one, and our democratic government is not scared of Indian influence abroad," Zardari said in the interview. "Whatever the situation in Pakistan, Zardari is the leader of his country and it is important for us that he makes the right noises. He seemed very positive in New York to...

………. The collapse of the mighty global financial system has triggered a series of chain reactions in India, but the impact is not going to be as widespread as earlier imagined. The collapse of the mighty global financial system has triggered a series of chain reactions in India, but the impact is not going to be as widespread as earlier imagined. The reasons are numerous. First, the subsidiaries of collapsed investment banks like Lehman are being bailed out by entities like Nomura of Japan. This includes the 2,500-strong back office operations in Mumbai, apart from the smaller securities set up. Similarly, American Insurance Group (AIG) in India has a tie-up with the ever reliable Tatas who have given thumbs up to all consumers who were worried about their insurance carried out through this vehicle. Second, and even more significant, is the fact that the conservative approach to reforms in the financial services sector has ensured that the tremors of earthquakes in the US are being fel...