Why I Write What I Write
I write about caring because I believe it lies at the heart of trust and relationships. In the end, you are going to measure your life by your relationships, including your relationships at work and with your clients.I write about value creation because I believe that we have a responsibility to make a difference. As you measure your relationships, you are going to weigh heavily the difference you made for others (and the difference they made for you).I write about nurturing relationships because it is the natural way we open and forge new relationships, including business relationships. Fast is slow. Slow is fast.I write about prospecting because it is the first step in winning an opportunity and making a difference for your clients, yourself, and your company. It solves more sales problems than almost anything else.I write about building consensus because that is how decisions are taken now. Without consensus, opportunities aren’t created or won. Without consensus, the status quo wins.I write on personal development because you are all you have to work with. You are the only asset you ever really own free and clear. The more you improve the asset that is you, the greater difference you make.Business has never been more challenging. It will only get more challenging as we pass through the Disruptive Age. You need professional grade chops. That’s why I write about professional development.I write about success. Sometimes I write about financial success because making money is important, and making money doesn’t mean you don’t value all the other measures of success (Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise).I write about human potential and the human spirit because I believe we haven’t yet scratched the surface of our capabilities. Individually and collectively.I write about excellence because it is what we are capable of. It is what we strive to be: excellent. This striving for excellence is how we continually improve.I write about resourcefulness because it is the linchpin attribute. There is always a way—even when we can’t see it. We don’t lack resources. We need to put more faith in ourselves and our resourcefulness.Initiative is the antidote to complacency. It is caring in action. I write about initiative because being proactive in the important things produces incredible results.I write about Me Management, or self-discipline, because it the cornerstone attribute of successful people. It is the difference that makes a difference and produces results.I write about business acumen and situational knowledge because these two ideas are what it takes to succeed in sales and business today. I write about competition because it is what helps us continue to improve, and because things worth having are worth fighting for.I write about capturing value because we have chased the bottom for too long and found it. Without the profits you need to deliver for your clients, you can’t make a difference.I write about optimism because, despite any alarmist, pessimistic views to the contrary, things just keep getting better all the time. Your attitude determines the quality of your life–and the experience you give others.I write about determination because most things worth doing take effort. If they’re really worth doing, you’re likely to fail a few (or a bunch) of times on your way to success. You have to hang in there.I write about passion because this life is short. You need to throw yourself into it. It’s the only one you’re getting, and you can’t call for a do over. Make it count.
Selling effectively is about having a range of choices available to you and selecting what is appropriate for producing the outcome you need. There is not one set of right words for any given scenario.
Essential Reading! Get my 2nd book: The Lost Art of Closing “In The Lost Art of Closing, Anthony proves that the final commitment can actually be one of the easiest parts of the sales process—if you’ve set it up properly with other commitments that have to happen long before the close. The key is to lead customers through a series of necessary steps designed to prevent a purchase stall.” Buy Now This is a tough differentiation strategy to sell.What this statement presupposes is that you have better people than your competitors. Somehow your company was able to acquire all of the good people available, all the real talent, leaving none for your competitors. This means that all of the best people prefer to work for your company, universally find that your company is the best place to work, regardless of role, regardless of location, and regardless of what other companies offer.This statement loses more credibility when your dream client has heard the very same thing from your competitors. If everyone says that they have the best people, they cannot all be telling the truth. They can also very easily look around their own company and recognize that they have people of varying ability and performance, and they have a tough time believing that your company is any different.The truth is that you don’t have all the best people. You are lucky to have some of the best people, and it is likely that your competitors have as many, give or take. You don’t have all the conscientious employees who care deeply about their work while your competitors suffer with employees who have a very casual attitude towards work. You don’t have all the engaged employees and your competitor all the disengaged, clock-punchers.What you may have is a crack account team for this particular client, one with a set of experiences and who has worked together long enough to play the game at a higher level than most other teams. You may also have an approach to serving that client that allows for better results with a few good people and processes that allow for better results. You might also have a set of insights about how to do things that allows you produce better results for your client.The reason you differentiate yourself, your company, and your solution from your competitors is to create a preference. When what you use to differentiate does not achieve that goal, then you must look somewhere else for a competitive advantage. It’s also important to remember that as the person selling, you are a large part, maybe the largest part, of the differentiation. Make sure how you describe that differences that make you different are credible.
The arrest of Iqbal Kaskar, the younger brother of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, might hold the potential to blow the lid off an alleged underworld-politician nexus in Thane. According to the Thane police, there are indications that political figures, including corporators, are hand-in-glove with Mr. Kaskar and others accused in the case.Mr. Kaskar was picked up from his sister Haseena Parkar’s residence late on Monday by the city police.Sought four flatsHe and three others have been arrested for allegedly demanding ₹30 lakh from a Thane-based builder, as well as four flats in one of his projects on Ghodbunder Road. Police said that according to the complaint filed by the builder, they had demanded more. All demands were made in Dawood’s name.The co-accused have been identified as Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Sayyed. Meanwhile, Haseena’s brother-in-law Iqbal Parkar and Yasin Khwaja Hussain, an alleged drug dealer, were also detained and are being questioned.On Tuesday, Thane Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh said, “We have information that the accused targeted several others in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. We are in touch with Central intelligence agencies to verify if Dawood is involved. We might also seek help from the Enforcement Directorate and are examining grounds for invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.”According to the FIR registered at Kasarwadavali police station, the complainant has claimed that shortly after his building project was announced in 2013, Mr. Kaskar contacted him through the co-accused and demanded four flats and ₹30 lakh from him. After several threats, the complainant agreed and the ownership of one of the flats was transferred to Mr. Sheikh, while the other three were sold and the proceeds divided among Iqbal, Mr. Sheikh and Mr. Sayyed.“Mr. Sheikh is a real estate agent and was supplying information to Mr. Kaskar about builders and their activities. The latter was also running similar rackets in Mumbai; we are working on identifying his accomplices,” a police officer said.Hawala trailMr. Kaskar is allegedly looking after Dawood’s real estate business in Mumbai, and was running an extortion racket with the help of some builders and local politicians in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. The police are also verifying if he was running a narcotics racket as he was with Mr. Hussain in the Nagpada residence. They said as some threat calls were made to builders from outside the country, hawala links are being investigated with the ED’s help.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday sought intervention of Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba into the alleged “thrashing of Kashmiri inmates inside the Tihar jail, including incarcerated son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin”.An official spokesman in Srinagar said Ms. Mufti “has expressed concern” over the reports of alleged harassment and manhandling of some inmates from the State at Tihar Jail in New Delhi.“Taking a serious view of these reports, the Chief Minister spoke to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and asked him to intervene in the matter,” said the spokesman.He said the Union Home Secretary assured the Chief Minister of “a thorough probe into the incident and punishing the culprits for having violated the jail manual”.Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani on Monday released pictures of at least four jail inmates with wounds on their bodies. One among the injured inmate was Syed Shahid Yousuf, son of Salahuddin. Mr. Yousuf is facing charges of receiving money from overseas and his custody has been extended up to December 22.Mr. Yousuf was arrested in New Delhi on October 24 in the 2011 funding case.
Goa govt.’s mining-lease renewal a bigger scam than illegal mining: Goa AAP Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court cancelled all existing iron ore mining leases in Goa, and ordered that the leases should be auctioned to new licencees after obtaining fresh environmental clearances. The court had also directed that all ore extraction activity on the renewed leases should stop by March 15. Goa Foundation, a Goa-based NGO, had challenged the State government decision of renewal of leases and sought that the government be directed to auction them. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on February 7 said that there was no need for panic over the Supreme Court’s order cancelling all 88 mining leases recently renewed by the Goa government. At his post-Cabinet meet press briefing at the State Secretariat on February 7, Mr. Parrikar said that a formal statement would be issued by his office in two or three days after studying the Sureme Court verdict.“There is no need to panic. We can decide in two-three days. I have to seek legal advice on the issue. As a Chief Minister, I cannot comment casually. The order is not applicable from tomorrow,” Mr. Parrikar said.“I will not offer any comment, unless I go through it and find out what exactly it is and what should be done. In that judgement, I understand, that court has also said that auction may not necessarily be the only means. I think it has been said somewhere in the order, I am told. So that means different possibilities have opened (up), but let me first read it properly,” Mr. Parrikar said in response to repeated questions on the issue by the media. Also Read
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has initiated the process of withdrawing 131 criminal cases concerning the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal violence in which over 60 persons were killed and over 40,000 displaced.In a letter dated February 23, Special Secretary in the Uttar Pradesh government Rajesh Singh has asked the district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar to provide the latest details of the cases. In the 13-point letter, the State government has sought the district magistrate’s “clear opinion along with reasons” regarding the withdrawal of cases in “public interest.”Along with the letter, the government has also attached copies of the basic details of the 131 cases, with penal code sections invoked in the matter, names of the villages and concerned police stations, but does not name any accused.The cases to be withdrawn include serious offences of over two dozen cases of murder and attempt to murder, and dozens of other cases of arson, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and dacoity.The opinion of the district police chief has also been sought along with the latest update of the court cases in the matter. Former Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar BJP MP Sanjeev Baliyan confirmed that on February 5 he had handed over a list of 179 cases in which 850 Jats were accused, to the Chief Minister. Mr Baliayan led a delegation of 12 Jat leaders to meet Mr. Adityanath.“I had given the Chief Minister a list of 179 cases in which 850 Hindus were booked in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli during the riots. It was the unanimous request of the delegation to reconsider these cases,” Mr. Baliyan said. All the cases which are in the process of being withdrawn were filed against “innocent Hindus, were politically motivated and were filed due to discriminatory policies of the Samajwadi Party goverment,” said the BJP leader, himself an accused in the riots.UP Law Minister Brajesh Pathak said he “cannot specifically comment about these cases” as he was yet to see the files. However, he said the Yogi Adityanath government had initiated a move to withdraw “politically motivated” cases or those filed for political vendetta under previous governments.”To lessen the burden of over 62 lakh cases pending in the state, the CM decided that politically motivated cases be withdrawn,” Mr. Pathak said.This is the second letter from the government this year. On January 5, the government had sought the district administration’s opinion asking if nine riot cases involving BJP leaders accused in the communal violence, could be withdrawn in public interest. Though the letter does not name anybody, the file details of the cases are mentioned. Some of the BJP leaders booked on charges of provoking the riots in 2013 include Mr. Sanjiv Balyan, Bijnor MP Bhartendu Singh, Cane development minister in Yogi Adityanath Cabinet and MLA from Thana Bhawan Suresh Rana, Budhana MLA Umesh Malik and party leader Sadhvi Prachi. BKU president Rakesh Tikait confirmed that he was part of the delegation which requested the CM to withdraw the cases against “innocent youths.” He said that in January the Yogi government initiated process to withdraw cases against BJP leaders filed against them during the riots. “Our argument was that you can’t differentiate between leaders and ordinary people. Lives of hundreds of youths were destroyed due to these politically motivated cases,” he said. Muslim activists, however, are of the view that the Yogi Adityanath government was reacting to the possibility of the ongoing peace efforts in the region to politically bring together Muslims and Jats, the two communities divided by the Muzaffarnagar riots. Many prominent activists had conducted several meetings in the region between Jats and Muslims with some initial concrete results which had given out a hope that the two communities who broke apart during the riots could come together yet again. Many Muslim victims of the riots had promised after these peace meetings to forgive and withdraw the cases they had filed against their Jat neighbours. The sudden move of the Yogi government aims to scuttle the peace process in order to ensure that Jats remain on the side of the BJP, said Ghulam Mohammad Jaula, a very senior former Bharatiya Kisan Union leader who now works among Muslim farmers after he broke apart from Jat leadership of the BKU in the aftermath of the riots. AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Twitter accused the BJP government of “Hindutva appeasement” and said it was throwing aside the rule of law to save BJP legislators accused in the violence.
People gather near a school van that was hit by a train at an unmanned railway-crossing near Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh on April 26, 2018. | Photo Credit: AFP At least 14 children, aged between eight and 10, were killed on Thursday when a train hit their school van at an unmanned crossing in Kushinagar district of east Uttar Pradesh. The accident took place between Tamukhi Road and the Dudahi station around 6.45 a.m., the Railways said. Later, Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani announced that the Railways was trying to eliminate all unmanned crossings by March 2020. He said that as of March 31, 2018, there were 5,792 unmanned crossings across the network. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting with the Railway Board Chairman and other officials to review the plan for eliminating unmanned crossings. A Ministry official said the target for eliminating such crossings in 11 zones will be September 2018 while for the remaining five zones, the target will be set shortly. 
A week after a Noida-based woman in an inter-faith marriage alleged communal harassment at the passport office here, the police on Tuesday said they found discrepancy in her application form.In its verification report to the Regional Passport Office, the police said the woman, Tanvi Seth, did not provide true details of her residential address.Living in NoidaWhile Ms. Seth had mentioned Lucknow as her residence, Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Sharma said during investigation it was found that she had been living in Noida and not in the U.P. capital. According to the rules, in order to clear police verification for a passport, a person must be living at a particular location for one year, the officer said.“We have sent a report to the regional passport office saying that she was not continuously living at the said address [in Lucknow] for the past one year,” Mr. Sharma told reporters.The police, however, did not clarify if the discrepancy in residential proof could lead to seizure of Ms. Seth’s passport, saying that the passport officials would take the next step.Ms. Seth and her husband Anas Siddiqui were issued passports last Thursday, a day after they narrated on Twitter how they were allegedly subjected to humiliation on communal lines by an official at the passport office.While Ms. Seth had gone there for a new passport, her husband Mr. Siddiqui wanted to renew his. The issue came to light when Ms. Seth reached out to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj complaining that she faced harassment at the passport office for having a Muslim husband and was chided by the granting officer for not changing her surname after marriage.
Amid deteriorating health on the ninth day of his indefinite fast demanding a loan waiver for farmers and quota for the Patidars in jobs and education, Hardik Patel on Sunday released his will. “It’s the ninth day and I have become weak while vital organs are getting affected. I want to state that I may die also of this hunger strike that is against the BJP government,” Mr. Patel said. In his will released by his aides Manoj Panara, Mr. Patel stated that he has ₹50,000 in his bank balance and one car. He said ₹30,000 should be given to his parents while ₹20,000 will go as donation to a gaushala. Moreover, he said the royalty amount likely to be generated after a book on him is released should go to his parents and sister. Mr. Patel wished that 30 % income of his book Who Took My Job will be equally distributed to his parents and sister, while the rest 70 per cent will be distributed to the families of 14 Patidar youths, who were killed in police firing during the quota agitation in 2015. He also said that his eyes should be donated in case of his demise during the hunger strike. Meanwhile, Gujarat’s leader of the opposition Paresh Dhanani visited Mr. Patel and slammed the state authorities for neglecting farmers and others. “If the State government had waived off farm loans, Hardik would not have had to go on fast,” Mr. Dhanani said. Meanwhile, Gujarat Cabinet Minister Kuvarji Bavalia expressed concern over the worsening health of Mr. Patel. Mr. Bavalia is the first Minister from the State government to have spoken on Mr. Patel’s health.However, so far the BJP government has refrained from any commitment either to consider his demands or offer to talk to him to end his indefinite fast.
Manvendra Singh, son of former Union Minister and BJP leader Jaswant Singh, on Friday quit the BJP, announcing his decision at a Swabhiman (self-respect) rally in Barmer.“Choosing the lotus was our mistake,” he said.While Mr. Singh could not be reached for further comments, The Hindu spoke to his wife Chitra Singh, who alleged that the Vasundhara Raje government had been troubling people close to Mr. Singh and the BJP’s central leadership paid no heed to his complaints. “BJP workers here, who were attached to us or came to the party with us and even government officials close to us were troubled by the CM since 2014. My husband complained, but nothing happened. We can’t leave those people. This decision has been taken because people wanted him to leave the party,” she said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a rally here on Saturday along with leaders of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.. Mr. Gandhi will speak at the party’s Parivartan Ulgulan Maha Rally at the Morahbadi ground with leaders of the JMM, the JVM and the RJD, JPCC spokesman Lal Kishore Nath Shahdeo said on Friday. “The JMM working president Hemant Soren, The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) chief Babulal Marandi and the RJD’s Jharkhand unit president Annapurna Devi have been invited to participate in the Congress rally tomorrow,” Mr. Shahdeo said. The JPCC spokesman, however, dismissed possibility of Mr. Gandhi meeting the RJD president Lalu Prasad lodged in jail here after conviction in cases of the multi-crore fodder scam. There is no possibility, Mr. Shahdeo said when asked whether the party has taken permission from the jail authorities for Mr. Gandhi to call on Prasad. The RJD chief has been in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda jail since December 2017 after his conviction in cases of the over ₹900 crore fodder scam that broke out in early 1990s in the united Bihar.Important ally The RJD has been an important ally of the Congress in Bihar as well in Jharkhand and Prasad is the national president of the party. Though Opposition parties have appeared together on many occasions as partners of the Mahagathbandhan, but seat-sharing among them is still not clinched. This will be the first visit by Mr. Gandhi to Jharkhand after the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, another Congress leader said.
The Southern Alps of New Zealand are some of the fastest growing mountains in the world—but they’re also eroding quickly. Wind, rain, and a variety of natural chemical processes are breaking down rock into 2.5 millimeters of soil each year. That’s about four times the highest rate previously measured anywhere else in the world, according to a new study. Researchers tallied the figure by measuring the concentrations of beryllium-10, an isotope produced naturally when cosmic rays strike rocks at Earth’s surface, in sediments gathered from slopes and riverbeds (image). They also measured the concentration of zirconium in the samples, which helps estimate the rates of various chemical changes in the soil. Together, physical and chemical weathering conspire to bring down mountains—and typically soak up CO2 in the process, but the overall magnitude of this climate-cooling effect has been long debated. Contrary to previous studies, the new data suggest that there isn’t a “speed limit” on the rates of chemical weathering in mountain soils, the researchers report online today in Science. The disparity with previous analyses, the researchers contend, stems in large part from the environment found in the Southern Alps. With an average annual precipitation of more than 10 meters in some locales, slopes sport temperate rainforests and shrubby ecosystems that trap soil before it can wash away to the seas, where its ability to scrub CO2 from the air would cease. In many of the areas previously studied elsewhere in the world, some of them relatively arid, erosion sweeps away soil quickly—there, as a general rule, the steeper the slopes, the less time soil sticks around. The longer the soil stays in place, the more time there is for the soil to chemically interact with the atmosphere. The new results may help scientists better assess how episodes of mountain-building deep in Earth’s past have affected climate over the long term.See more ScienceShots.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)
Water is one of the relatively few compounds in which the solid is less dense than the liquid. That, of course, is why ice floats in your glass. But not all ice is created equal. Researchers today unveiled a new solid phase of ice that’s the lowest density version known. Known as ice XVI, the 17th solid phase of ice discovered to date, it has a cagelike structure that can trap other molecules (green and gray above). Such ice cages, known as clathrates, are known to store enormous quantities of methane on the deep ocean floor. The new clathrate, by contrast, is empty, though it didn’t start that way. The cagelike structure originally formed surrounding neon atoms (blue). The neon was then leached out of the clathrate through rings of water molecules (red dashed lines). The new form of ice may help researchers better understand clathrates in general, and perhaps ease the flow of oil and gas through pipelines at low temperatures.
The Smithsonian Institution has asked its independent Inspector General (IG) to investigate allegations that one of its researchers, aerospace engineer Willie Wei-Hock Soon, violated the conflict-of-interest policies of several journals by failing to disclose financial support from a large energy company in his technical papers.“The Smithsonian is greatly concerned about the allegations surrounding Dr. Willie Soon’s failure to disclose funding sources for his climate change research,” the Smithsonian, which is based in Washington, D.C., said in a statement released late Sunday. “The Smithsonian is taking immediate action to address the issue: Acting Secretary Albert Horvath has asked the Smithsonian Inspector General to review the matter. Horvath will also lead a full review of Smithsonian ethics and disclosure policies governing the conduct of sponsored research to ensure they meet the highest standards.”The statement also notes that the Smithsonian “does not support Dr. Soon’s conclusions on climate change.”Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)The moves come after two environmental advocacy groups released documents this past weekend that raised questions about whether Soon had fully disclosed his funding from the Southern Co., a major energy concern, in nine technical papers published in seven journals.Soon is a part-time researcher at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a cooperative institute operated in conjunction with Harvard University. Soon “was hired to conduct research on long-term stellar and solar variability,” the statement notes, adding that the “Smithsonian does not fund Dr. Soon; he pursues external grants to fund his research.”In some of the papers at issue, Soon has essentially argued that variations in the sun’s radiation output play a bigger role in influencing Earth’s climate than do other factors, such as the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that humans are pumping into the atmosphere. He has also been a vociferous opponent of U.S. government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions; Soon’s work is often cited by politicians who agree with his views. (The Smithsonian notes that its “official statement on climate change, based upon many decades of scientific research, points to human activities as a cause of global warming.”)The Smithsonian and the observatory are taking the disclosure allegations “very seriously,” Charles Alcock, the observatory’s director, told ScienceInsider today. “We want to understand the facts, and then take whatever steps [needed] to make corrections, if we find things that we don’t like.” Alcock says that, if the IG’s office—which has extensive investigative powers—decides not to undertake the review, “we will do it ourselves.”One key issue, he says, is what disclosure policies were in place at the journals when Soon submitted papers to them. “You can’t hold people to present-day policies that weren’t in effect at the time,” he says. Yesterday, ScienceInsider reported that one of the journals involved, Physical Geography, had no formal conflict-of-interest or disclosure policies when Soon submitted one of the questioned papers, although it does now.In general, Alcock says he believes Soon should have disclosed his funding. “One informal rule that is always useful is: ‘When in doubt, disclose,’ ” he says.It’s not clear, however, what the Smithsonian can do if it concludes Soon did violate journal policies. The organization has no formal policy on disclosure, although officials have said that individual researchers are expected to comply with publishing guidelines.The uproar over Soon’s disclosure practices is unusual in the astronomy and astrophysics community. Most of the public controversies around conflicts of interest have pertained to biomedical science and environmental research. “This is new to us,” Alcock says. “I’ve published throughout my career in [a leading] astrophysics journal and I don’t think I’ve ever filed a disclosure statement. … In fact, our major journals do not have disclosure requirements. … Other fields have a lot experience [with conflicts], and some of it has been painful. I think we are going to have to look to them for guidance.”Alcock doesn’t expect a quick resolution to the current controversy. “We don’t want to be making policy in a hurry, because then we will have unintended consequences,” he says. “We’ll take a measured approach.”
The cover picture on Rashi Bhatnagar’s blog ‘H4 Visa, A Curse’ says it all. It depicts a woman sitting distraught in a golden cage. Rashi lived in the US for over 10 years before she started her blog. She says she chose the name ‘H4 Visa, A Curse’ “because it is not people’s choice that they are unable to work. It is a strange situation that has been imposed by the US government on immigrants.”Read it at First Post Related Items
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At least one person was injured after supporters of a BJP MLA and a Nagar Palika chairman clashed in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district late on Friday.The clashes broke out in the Mallawan area of Hardoi, where the two sides used brickbats and engaged in firing, forcing police to disperse them.The clashes took place, local reports said, after a dispute between the brother of Mallawan Nagar Palika chairman Ankit Jaiswal and an aide of BJP MLA Ashish Singh Ashu. Local reports also said three persons were injured, but Mallawan SHO Mahesh Gole said so far police knew of only one injured person. “We are investigating the matter,” he said.Both sides filed FIRs against each other under attempt to murder and rioting, among other offences, said Hardoi police.While one FIR invoked Sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 504 and 427 of the IPC, the second FIR invoked Sections 147, 148,149,307,452,354,395,504 and 427 of the IPC.
Eleven people including three women and as many children were killed when a speeding truck hit an overcrowded auto rickshaw and a motor cycle while trying to overtake them on a single lane road in Gujarat’s Kutch district. The victims were daily wagers from Madhya Pradesh, who had come here for livelihood. They were returning to Bhuj after a temple visit. “Five men, three women and three children died and six were injured,” said local Inspector YB Rana. “The driver of the truck fled,” he said. The police seized the truck belonging to a local transport company. The auto rickshaw was a modified vehicle known in local parlance as ‘chakda’. Widely used for public transportation in the Kutch and the Saurashtra regions, the tri-motorcycle-like vehicle can carry more than a dozen people.
Locked in a protracted power tussle with the BJP in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress “paraded” 162 MLAs in a Mumbai five-star hotel on November 25 evening in a show of united strength.The move came hours after the leaders of the three parties submitted a letter to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari claiming that they have the requisite numbers to form government.Which combine will win the floor test in Maharashtra Assembly? Who is legally the leader of NCP Legislature Party? Is the early morning swearing-in valid? The answers to some of these questions are still unknown as the Supreme Court reserved its order on the Maharashtra floor test issue for November 26.Maharashtra politics live updates | Show of strength by non-BJP parties at Hotel HyattHere are the latest political developments in Maharashtra:9.38 pm: Some Opposition parties led by the Congress are likely to boycott the joint sitting of Parliament on Tuesday called to commemorate the Constitution Day and will hold a protest against the political developments in Maharashtra.9.19 pm: A day before the Supreme Court rules on floor test for Maharashtra government led by Devendra Fadnavis whose swearing-in has been challenged by Shiv Sena- NCP-Congress combine, the three parties paraded 162 MLAs in a show of strength here.9.00 pm: NCP chief Sharad Pawar told a gathering of MLAs that he would personally ensure that none of them loses membership for voting against the BJP during floor test in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.7.32 pm: Hitting out at the BJP-Ajit Pawar government in Maharashtra, the Congress alleged that the only decision it has taken in “public interest” was to close corruption cases and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on the issue.5.32 pm: The Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress will “parade” 162 MLAs in a five-star hotel in Mumbai on Monday evening as a proof of their combined strength in the 288-member Assembly, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.4.24 pm: Vehement protests by opposition members, especially those from the Congress, in the Lok Sabha over the political crisis in Maharashtra forced adjournment of the House proceedings for the day, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dubbing the developments in the state as “murder of democracy”.3.14 pm: Congress president Sonia Gandhi led a protest in Parliament premises against the BJP’s move to form the government in Maharashtra as senior leaders from the opposition party raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.2.49 pm: The Congress said its alliance with the NCP and the Shiv Sena had the support of 154 MLAs and the BJP will get a “befitting reply” in the Maharashtra Assembly floor test.2.42 pm: NCP chief Sharad Pawar said he was not behind Ajit Pawar’s decision to align with the BJP and become the deputy chief minister and asserted that his party along with Congress and Shiv Sena will form the next government in Maharashtra.2.41 pm: Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day after the Congress and other opposition parties stalled functioning of the House over developments in Maharashtra.2.31 pm: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said his party, the NCP and Congress will prove to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that they have the numbers to form government in Maharashtra.2.11 pm: Amid the political uncertainty in Maharashtra, NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik posted a motivational couplet on Twitter to send across a message that nothing could deter them from succeeding.1.14 pm: NCP MLAs Daulat Daroda, Nitin Pawar and Narhari Zirwal, who were ‘missing’ since Saturday after attending the swearing-in of Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, return to Mumbai on Monday.12.13 am: The Supreme Court will give its order on Maharashtra government formation on Tuesday, says the apex court while hearing the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine’s plea against the governor’s decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister.11.34 am: The Centre tells the Supreme Court that BJP has the support of all 54 NCP MLAs to form a government in Maharashtra. It asks the apex court for two to three days to file a reply to the plea against the governor’s decision to invite Devendra Fadnavis to become Chief Minister.11:23 am: NCP chief Sharad Pawar asserts that his party along with the Congress and Shiv Sena will form government in Maharashtra.11.15 am: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, other party leaders hold a protest in Parliament premises against the BJP’s move to form a government in Maharashtra along with the NCP.10.46 am: The Supreme Court commences hearing on a plea filed by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine against the Maharashtra governor’s decision to swear in Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister.10:44 am: Amid the high political drama in Maharashtra and fear of ‘poaching’ of MLAs, the NCP has shifted its legislators from a five-star resort to two other hotels in Mumbai.10:24 am: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said leaders of his party and the NCP and Congress will meet Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday to present their side for government formation in the state.9:45 am: The Congress parliamentary strategy group meets at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence in Delhi in the backdrop of the Maharashtra political situation.Congress likely to raise the issue of Devendra Fadnavis’ swearing-in along with Ajit Pawar in both houses of Parliament.9:40 am: The Shiv Sena hits out at BJP, says those who did not respect their 25-year-long friendship with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party will one day dump NCP leader Ajit Pawar as well.9:09 am: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accuses the BJP of disregarding the Constitution in Maharashtra and repeating the “game” it played in Karnataka.