Author: Serkadis

from bristol no borders, 4 January 2010: “A report published by Migreurop (a Euro-African network of 40 organisations from 13 countries working on issues of immigration policy, externalisation and their consequences within and beyond the EU’s borders) in October 2009 paints a vivid picture of the effects of the EU’s migration policies by focussing on three regions in which a number of common denominators are identified in spite of the significant difference between them (the Calais region and the north of France, the Greek-Turkish border and the Oujda region in eastern Morocco)…” more

The Illinois State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) today announced a new awards program that recognizes employers who champion the health of their employees and strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity.

Called the WOWIES!, these awards honor Illinois-based organizations or companies that take a creative approach to inspire employees to make healthy, active choices during working hours.

Workplace wellness programs have been shown to be effective and contribute to a company’s bottom line.

According to Don R. Powell, PhD., president and CEO, American Institute of Preventive Medicine, Farmington Hills, Mich., employee wellness programs receive an average ROI of $3.48 to 1 due to reduced health care costs and $5.82 to 1 due to reduced absenteeism, making them worth considering.

Criteria for the awards were developed by a team of ISC-SHRM and BCBSIL wellness experts.

According to ISC-SHRM president John Jorgensen, to be recognized for a WOWIES! award, organizations must develop and implement a measurable, easy-to-follow program to achieve the recognition criteria.

Initiatives must be ongoing and in place for 30 days prior to the date of submission.

The WOWIES Award program has Silver, Gold and Platinum categories.

The Silver award will be given to organizations that demonstrate a solid foundation for success.

The Gold award is given to select worksites/organizations that meet the Silver criteria, as well as organizations that develop comprehensive programs producing results.

These programs are strategic and aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

The Platinum award recognizes organizations with well-defined and well-executed worksite wellness programming, and who meet the following criteria:

• Offer employees physical activity support
• Increase health eating options at work
• Promote a wellness culture
• Employ a minimum of 5 people
• Offer a variety of physical activities for employees

Companies that achieve any level of WOWIES! award recognition will receive:

• An official recognition letter from ISC-SHRM and BCBSIL
• A recognition plaque for display
• Recognition on ISC-SHRM and BCBSIL program Web site
• Recognition by ISC-SHRM and BCBSIL at local events and in communication materials supporting the recognition program.

Applications can be found at: wellness.illinoisshrm.org.

Deadline for submission is Jan. 29, 2010. Winner will be announced March 1, 2010.

About ISC-SHRM

The Illinois State Council for the Society for Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) is dedicated to serving the needs of SHRM chapters in Illinois by representation to SHRM and assistance in achieving each SHRM Illinois Chapter’s highest potential.

The ISC-SHRM promotes professionalism in human resources and adds value to the SHRM membership.

The ISC-SHRM Board is made up of volunteer representatives across Illinois who serve to advance the human resources profession.

ISC-SHRM supports over 9,400 human resources professionals in Illinois who are either members of SHRM Illinois chapters or members of SHRM by providing timely and relevant information, ongoing professional development opportunities and intra-state communication regarding issues of interest in the field of human resources.

For more information, visit ISC-SHRM on the web at illinoisshrm.org.

You can also find ISC-SHRM on Facebook at companies.to/isshrm or Linkedin at linkedin.com.

The PS3 was such a big hit over the holiday splurgefest, but we have yet to have the exact figures. Checking back at the Sony keynote at CES 2010, the company reports that sales for that particular

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Government/Legal

When word got out that the amount of high ranking government officials requesting access passes for the 2010 North American International Auto Show doubled versus last year’s numbers, we were less than surprised. After all, General Motors and Chrysler have received billions in bailout funds from Uncle Sam and we could understand (kind of) why officials would want to check on the progress of the American public’s investment. NAIAS chairman Doug Fox reportedly intimated that President Obama could attend North America’s biggest auto show.

While we’re sure the President would love to check out the latest sheetmetal from Motown and around the world, Leader One will not be stopping by Cobo Hall for this year’s show. Detroit News reports that White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage confirmed that President Obama would not be attending the event. DN did confirm that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be among several members of Congress to attend the show. We’re trying to contain our excitement.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Roll Up the Red Carpet: Obama reportedly not attending NAIAS after all originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Eeco is a flexi design production offering with either a 7-Seater or 5-seater option. Air-conditioning, high ground clearance, a fuel efficient but powerful engine, all new transmission, and especially passenger comfort being the highlights of the design. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki had this to say about the launch:

“Eeco performs the twin objectives of being a spacious family car and a dependable vehicle to run businesses. Maruti Suzuki engineers have especially developed the Eeco, its new powerful engine, and a new transmission system to meet the diverse consumer aspirations that look for a vehicle that fits a large family and at the same time provides flexibility for dual use. Towards this objective, Eeco will be a new powerful attraction.”
Maruti Suzuki is spearheading the adoption of more stringent BSIV norms and Eeco is the fourth model to meet these norms well ahead of the April 2010 deadline. In line with the Maruti Suzuki philosophy of making its range of vehicles environment friendly, Eeco is yet another offering from Maruti Suzuki stable which is ELV compliant. The Eeco is designed to meet the functional needs of its owner – be it personal such as an outing with family or for business. Its exterior continues the long standing Maruti Suzuki tradition of combining functional design with spacious volume. Trendy and contemporary body graphics adorn the sides of car giving it an appealing look. With balanced proportions, the 155/R13LT sized tubeless tyres add to the smooth, yet powerful drive with a good grip on the road. The dual tone interiors in shades of beige and grey provide a rich and spacious feeling. The seats have been especially designed with integrated head-rest to make for a comfortable ride. The digital meter cluster adds to the driver convenience as well as a sophisticated feel.

The overall dimensions make the vehicle spacious and stable. The proportions lend an outstanding ergonomic layout with ample legroom and headroom at the front and rear for passengers apart from providing a comfortable driving position. The presence of sliding doors offers eases entry and exit for passengers even in congested road conditions.

The Eeco platform complies with all safety norms prevailing in the country. The turning radius of 4.5 metres with suspension system, tuned specifically for Indian road conditions, offers superior riding comfort, stability and handling. The Eeco uses the 5-speed manual transmission system with the Diagonal Shift Assistance (DSA) technology, which has been extensively worked on to match the new engine to provide better fuel consumption. This DSA technology leads to an improved and gliding diagonal gear shift. The system eases diagonal motion and allows for a gear change without any break in continuity of the action, thereby improving the gear shift feeling.

Read more: Maruti Suzuki launches Eeco at 2010 AutoExpo in 3 variants – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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The US unemployment rate declined to 10.0 from 10.2 in November, 2009.

Join the conversation about this story »

The Eeco is a flexi design production offering with either a 7-Seater or 5-seater option. Air-conditioning, high ground clearance, a fuel efficient but powerful engine, all new transmission, and especially passenger comfort being the highlights of the design. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki had this to say about the launch:

“Eeco performs the twin objectives of being a spacious family car and a dependable vehicle to run businesses. Maruti Suzuki engineers have especially developed the Eeco, its new powerful engine, and a new transmission system to meet the diverse consumer aspirations that look for a vehicle that fits a large family and at the same time provides flexibility for dual use. Towards this objective, Eeco will be a new powerful attraction.”
Maruti Suzuki is spearheading the adoption of more stringent BSIV norms and Eeco is the fourth model to meet these norms well ahead of the April 2010 deadline. In line with the Maruti Suzuki philosophy of making its range of vehicles environment friendly, Eeco is yet another offering from Maruti Suzuki stable which is ELV compliant. The Eeco is designed to meet the functional needs of its owner – be it personal such as an outing with family or for business. Its exterior continues the long standing Maruti Suzuki tradition of combining functional design with spacious volume. Trendy and contemporary body graphics adorn the sides of car giving it an appealing look. With balanced proportions, the 155/R13LT sized tubeless tyres add to the smooth, yet powerful drive with a good grip on the road. The dual tone interiors in shades of beige and grey provide a rich and spacious feeling. The seats have been especially designed with integrated head-rest to make for a comfortable ride. The digital meter cluster adds to the driver convenience as well as a sophisticated feel.

The overall dimensions make the vehicle spacious and stable. The proportions lend an outstanding ergonomic layout with ample legroom and headroom at the front and rear for passengers apart from providing a comfortable driving position. The presence of sliding doors offers eases entry and exit for passengers even in congested road conditions.

The Eeco platform complies with all safety norms prevailing in the country. The turning radius of 4.5 metres with suspension system, tuned specifically for Indian road conditions, offers superior riding comfort, stability and handling. The Eeco uses the 5-speed manual transmission system with the Diagonal Shift Assistance (DSA) technology, which has been extensively worked on to match the new engine to provide better fuel consumption. This DSA technology leads to an improved and gliding diagonal gear shift. The system eases diagonal motion and allows for a gear change without any break in continuity of the action, thereby improving the gear shift feeling.

Read more: Maruti Suzuki launches Eeco at 2010 AutoExpo in 3 variants – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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The Eeco is a flexi design production offering with either a 7-Seater or 5-seater option. Air-conditioning, high ground clearance, a fuel efficient but powerful engine, all new transmission, and especially passenger comfort being the highlights of the design. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki had this to say about the launch:

“Eeco performs the twin objectives of being a spacious family car and a dependable vehicle to run businesses. Maruti Suzuki engineers have especially developed the Eeco, its new powerful engine, and a new transmission system to meet the diverse consumer aspirations that look for a vehicle that fits a large family and at the same time provides flexibility for dual use. Towards this objective, Eeco will be a new powerful attraction.”
Maruti Suzuki is spearheading the adoption of more stringent BSIV norms and Eeco is the fourth model to meet these norms well ahead of the April 2010 deadline. In line with the Maruti Suzuki philosophy of making its range of vehicles environment friendly, Eeco is yet another offering from Maruti Suzuki stable which is ELV compliant. The Eeco is designed to meet the functional needs of its owner – be it personal such as an outing with family or for business. Its exterior continues the long standing Maruti Suzuki tradition of combining functional design with spacious volume. Trendy and contemporary body graphics adorn the sides of car giving it an appealing look. With balanced proportions, the 155/R13LT sized tubeless tyres add to the smooth, yet powerful drive with a good grip on the road. The dual tone interiors in shades of beige and grey provide a rich and spacious feeling. The seats have been especially designed with integrated head-rest to make for a comfortable ride. The digital meter cluster adds to the driver convenience as well as a sophisticated feel.

The overall dimensions make the vehicle spacious and stable. The proportions lend an outstanding ergonomic layout with ample legroom and headroom at the front and rear for passengers apart from providing a comfortable driving position. The presence of sliding doors offers eases entry and exit for passengers even in congested road conditions.

The Eeco platform complies with all safety norms prevailing in the country. The turning radius of 4.5 metres with suspension system, tuned specifically for Indian road conditions, offers superior riding comfort, stability and handling. The Eeco uses the 5-speed manual transmission system with the Diagonal Shift Assistance (DSA) technology, which has been extensively worked on to match the new engine to provide better fuel consumption. This DSA technology leads to an improved and gliding diagonal gear shift. The system eases diagonal motion and allows for a gear change without any break in continuity of the action, thereby improving the gear shift feeling.

Read more: Maruti Suzuki launches Eeco at 2010 AutoExpo in 3 variants – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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The Eeco is a flexi design production offering with either a 7-Seater or 5-seater option. Air-conditioning, high ground clearance, a fuel efficient but powerful engine, all new transmission, and especially passenger comfort being the highlights of the design. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki had this to say about the launch:

“Eeco performs the twin objectives of being a spacious family car and a dependable vehicle to run businesses. Maruti Suzuki engineers have especially developed the Eeco, its new powerful engine, and a new transmission system to meet the diverse consumer aspirations that look for a vehicle that fits a large family and at the same time provides flexibility for dual use. Towards this objective, Eeco will be a new powerful attraction.”
Maruti Suzuki is spearheading the adoption of more stringent BSIV norms and Eeco is the fourth model to meet these norms well ahead of the April 2010 deadline. In line with the Maruti Suzuki philosophy of making its range of vehicles environment friendly, Eeco is yet another offering from Maruti Suzuki stable which is ELV compliant. The Eeco is designed to meet the functional needs of its owner – be it personal such as an outing with family or for business. Its exterior continues the long standing Maruti Suzuki tradition of combining functional design with spacious volume. Trendy and contemporary body graphics adorn the sides of car giving it an appealing look. With balanced proportions, the 155/R13LT sized tubeless tyres add to the smooth, yet powerful drive with a good grip on the road. The dual tone interiors in shades of beige and grey provide a rich and spacious feeling. The seats have been especially designed with integrated head-rest to make for a comfortable ride. The digital meter cluster adds to the driver convenience as well as a sophisticated feel.

The overall dimensions make the vehicle spacious and stable. The proportions lend an outstanding ergonomic layout with ample legroom and headroom at the front and rear for passengers apart from providing a comfortable driving position. The presence of sliding doors offers eases entry and exit for passengers even in congested road conditions.

The Eeco platform complies with all safety norms prevailing in the country. The turning radius of 4.5 metres with suspension system, tuned specifically for Indian road conditions, offers superior riding comfort, stability and handling. The Eeco uses the 5-speed manual transmission system with the Diagonal Shift Assistance (DSA) technology, which has been extensively worked on to match the new engine to provide better fuel consumption. This DSA technology leads to an improved and gliding diagonal gear shift. The system eases diagonal motion and allows for a gear change without any break in continuity of the action, thereby improving the gear shift feeling.

Read more: Maruti Suzuki launches Eeco at 2010 AutoExpo in 3 variants – WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

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1. Maruti Suzuki Eeco Pictures, Maruti Suzuki India The Eeco is powered by a 1200cc petrol engine, which…
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Things move fast in the tech publishing world and a number of blogs have risen to constantly outmaneuver established publishers and brands. Among the blogs, the competition is even greater, but it seems to be worth it as the biggest have readers in the millions and the revenue to match. It looks like Mashable, one of the most popular social media blogs, is in AOL’s cross hairs as the tech giant is looking to bolster its media lineup.

The rumor first surfaced on Gawker and seemed to be confirmed by a tweet by tech superstar and industry insider Robert Scoble who said: “My sources confirm that Mashable is being sold to AOL. Trying to get more details now.” Not much else is known and other details haven’t surfaced so far. In fact, it now looks like there are no talks about an outright acquisition but of some sort of ad deal.

“The latest on Mashable? Mashable staffers were denying that an acquisition was happening, but there is some sort of deal in play,” is one of the latest tweets from Scoble. “I’ve been told that Mashable’s ad network deal with Federated Media will end in a couple of months and that the talks with AOL are about tht,” he adds.

Either way, any type of deal would make a lot of sense for AOL. The newly independent company is trying to reshape itself as a content company and has been inv… (read more)

“The conventional wisdom is you can’t have back-to-back major financial crises. I think we’re going to push that, we’re going to have a look and see whether that’s true. And the next 12 months could really be exciting. People could be very positive, but we are setting ourselves up for an enormous catastrophe.”

He thinks the catastrophe is likely to happen in emerging markets such as China where it looks like we’re following the same Japanese pattern of the 90’s.

Watch the interview below:

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Paul Volcker Sets Out To Singlehandedly Rescue The Financial System
• Extending The Homebuyer Tax Credit Is Just Throwing Good Money After Bad
• Simon Johnson Decries Influence Of Wall Street Oligarchs, US A Banana Republic

German carmaker Mercedes Benz solidified its pole position among premium brands in Australia after posting a 2.5 percent increase in sales for 2009 over 2008, meaning a total of 19,000 vehicles sold in the country. This while the entire Australian automotive sector decreased by 7.4 percent.

"A combination of a strong and vigorous dealer network, comprehensive market management, and customer first retail actions has again shown the strength of the German luxury brand in what … (read more)

–Twilight, Sandra Bullock, and Johnny Depp were runaway winners at last night’s People’s Choice Awards…..

-Ronald Reagan’s grandson arrested…..

-Kanye for BAPE…..

-Former Destiny’s Child star Michelle Williams will replace Ashlee Simpson-Wentz as Roxie in Broadway’s Chicago…..

–Monsoon Wedding coming to Broadway….

-Mario Lopez has been tapped to co-host the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, The USA Network said Wednesday…

-Alanis is writing a book….

-James Franco will star in Danny Boyle’s new movie, 127 Hours. The script is based on a true story about a man who is crushed by a boulder and has to saw off his own arm…..

-Lawyers representing Keanu Reeves are asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from a Canadian woman who claims the actor fathered her children…..

The Democratic Party of Japan is trying to play off Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii’s resignation as the peaceful retirement of an old man.

But Fujii’s ouster had more to do with his open criticism of party boss Ichiro Ozawa, according to The Japan Times.

Fujii had criticized the so-called shadow shogun, aka the puppet master of the Cabinet, for his involvement in a campaign finance scandal last summer.

The feud will damage the party’s image at a critical moment, when President Hatoyama is presenting his 2010 budget and an ambitious plan to revive the country’s long-suffering economy.

Read more at The Japan Times –>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Japan’s New Kamikaze Finance Minister Is On A Mission To Blow Up The Yen, And Finally Let The Nikkei Surge
• Four Reasons Why Japan Could Be The Mother Of All Contrarian Bets In 2010
• Japan Finally Lets Its Sick Finance Minister Resign

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on January 5, 2010, that Washington State’s felon disenfranchisement law violates the Voting Rights Act because it results in minorities being denied access to the polls on account of their race.

read more

Last month, we noted that Philip K. Dick’s daughter was quite upset about the fact (at the time, unconfirmed) that Google was going to call its new phone, the Nexus One — insisting that this was a ripoff of the Nexus-6 robots from Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. It’s difficult to see any legal basis whatsoever for the claim, but we wondered if Google might just choose a different name anyway. Instead, it launched with the Nexus One name, and it took little time for the Dick Estate’s lawyers to send a cease & desist, claiming that it will sue Google for “trademark infringement.” There are a few problems with that, of course. The Dick Estate does not have a trademark on Nexus anything. Nor could it get one since it does not use the term in commerce. Oh, and since the phone is in a totally different business, it likely wouldn’t violate the trademark that the Dick Estate couldn’t get anyway. So how does Dick’s daughter respond?

“People don’t get it,” Isa Dick Hackett said. “It’s the principle of it.”

I’m trying to figure out just what “principle” that might be, because there doesn’t seem to be any legal principle. It’s hard to argue that there’s any moral principle either, since “nexus” is a word that’s been around since well before Philip K. Dick used it. In fact, the only matter of principle I can think of is the one where someone demands money for something where they clearly have no right to it and have done nothing to deserve it. Like demanding a big company pay up because it has a product named sorta similar to something your dad wrote decades ago.

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Vehicle remapping specialist Superchips launched a new ECU performance upgrade for the Peugeot 207 GTi THP 175. The upgrade is suitable to all model year 2007 onwards Peugeot 207 GTI THP 175 vehicles, and it can be purchased for £391 including VAT.

The 1598cc, 175bhp, twin scroll, turbocharged unit features an advanced MED17 engine management system, which required an extensive tuning of fueling, ignition and boost levels.

This has produced a performance remap for… (read more)

Getting hydrogen cars on the road in mass quantities has been no easy task. There have been many bumps in the road, so to speak, along the way and this trend will continue.

Even though hydrogen cars have been around for a couple hundred years now, preceding the gasoline engine, people and governments seem to be largely uneducated about how the gas should be handled. And when a government doesn’t know how to handle something “unusual.” like hydrogen they tend to throw out a safety net of “red tape” to surround it.

Mike Strizki got a taste of this when he was trying to build his hydrogen-solar home in New Jersey. The different state agencies had no building or safety codes for handling hydrogen, so they bogged him down in red tape until they could catch up. At one point, Mr. Strizki said about one of the agencies in frustration, “They’re worried about the deer running into the tanks” referring to the 200 psi hydrogen tanks in his backyard.

But, the U. S. isn’t the only place where red tape is holding back hydrogen. In the UK, Revolve Technologies is finding out that current British law blocks the use of “new fuel” vehicles on the road. One branch of the UK government, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has promoted hydrogen vehicles as a clean alternative to those burning fossil fuels.

But, not all of the UK’s government agencies have been brought up to speed. According to Revolve’s technical director, Paul Turner, “We didn’t realise when we began the hydrogen programme that we were pioneering not just a new technology but new legislation too. We have worked closely with a number of government departments to identify key issues and help them to develop a new series of regulations which can accommodate the safe storage, handling, dispensing and use of this exciting new carbon free fuel.”

Well, the “new carbon free fuel” part isn’t exactly accurate as it has been around a couple of centuries as previously pointed out. But, what is new is the renewed interest in this old fuel for powering vehicles and the new rules and regulations that must be created to modernize how we think about alternative fuels.

In some ways, breaking the bureaucratic red tape will be like breaking one of the many finish lines that hydrogen cars have to burst through on the way towards mass commercialization.