İNDİA JOURNAL

Indian Co. Unveils World�s 1st Solar GSM System

Date Submitted: Fri Feb 27, 2009

By SUNIL BATRA

BARCELONA - It was a memorable day in the telecom history of India as a homegrown company Vihaan Network Ltd launched a “zero opex” GSM system, a technology enabling telecom operators to offer mobile services at much lower rates than current tariffs and not compromise on profits.

The network in terms of one base station could cost less than $10,000 (about Rs five lakh) compared to an estimated cost of over Rs 50 lakh from the traditional network vendors.

Vihaan Network Ltd (VNL), promoted by Rajiv Mehrotra of the Shyam Group, unveiled the world’s first solar-powered GSM system specially designed to enable mobile operators in the developing world to reach remote rural areas without compromising on their commercial interests.

VNL has spent the last five years re-engineering the complete end-to-end GSM system consisting of MSC, BSC, BTS, power System & Microwave Backhaul to overcome these challenges, Mehrotra said.

The use of solar power not only drastically reduces operating expenses for mobile operators but also is cleaner from the environment point of view, he added. (PTI)

NOS.nl

OMBUDSMAN

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lees voor
15 januari 2009
NOS Ombudsman, de voorlopige balans

Dit is mijn laatste stukje als NOS Ombudsman. Wat in september 2007 begon als een experiment, is met ingang van dit jaar een vaste voorziening van de NOS geworden. Mijn werk zit erop. Ik word weer 'gewoon' journalist. Totdat een opvolger is gevonden, is de positie van NOS Ombudsman vacant.

De doelstelling van de NOS Ombudsman is tweeledig: klachten onafhankelijk behandelen en de kwaliteit van de berichtgeving verbeteren.

Journalisten hebben een levendige traditie in het kritiseren van elkaar; de traditie dat ook buitenstaanders recht hebben op een beargumenteerd weerwoord is in de Nederlandse journalistiek nog pril. Omroepverenigingen lopen daarin voorop in vergelijking met kranten en weekbladen. Die kennen weliswaar het fenomeen van de ‘ingezonden brief’, maar veel minder van het antwoord daarop, dat bij omroepverenigingen sinds jaar en dag door afdelingen publieksvoorlichting wordt verzorgd.

Het instituut NOS Ombudsman gaat een stap verder.

Bij wijze van proef liet de NOS zijn programmering sinds medio september 2007 toetsen door een onafhankelijke ombudsman; bijna geen enkele Nederlandse media-organisatie doet dat.

Terugblikkend op de afgelopen zestien maanden blijkt dat deze onafhankelijke toetsing intern snel is ingeburgerd. Het bestaan wordt nauwelijks ter discussie gesteld; dat geldt uiteraard niet voor de afwegingen van de NOS Ombudsman. Die staan, zoals dat in een kritische media-organisatie hoort, van week tot week ter discussie en dat moet vooral zo blijven.

De vraag of het werk van de NOS Ombudsman de kwaliteit van de uitzendingen verbetert, is lastig te beantwoorden, maar er is wel het een en ander over te zeggen. In veruit het grootste deel van de gevallen waarin een klacht gegrond werd verklaard, gebeurde dat met instemming van de redactie. Het betrof onderwerpen waarbij eenzijdig is bericht, waarbij genoemde feiten geen feiten bleken te zijn of hoor- en wederhoor ontbrak. De voorzichtige conclusie lijkt gerechtvaardigd dat een onafhankelijke ombudsman die de klachtafhandeling publiceert, de zorgvuldigheid van redacties vergroot.

De buitenwacht had niet alleen een oordeel over de uitgezonden programma’s, maar ook over de NOS Ombudsman. De één ziet er een schaamlapje in voor een met veel te veel publiek geld gefinancierde, in zichzelf gekeerde linkse kerk; de ander (en dat is gelukkig een ruime meerderheid van de klagers) vindt het goed dat de NOS een ombudsman heeft, is blij met serieuze aandacht en reageert welwillend, ook als de klager in het ongelijk is gesteld.

Valt er door de NOS Ombudsman zelf niets te klagen?

Jazeker. De NOS Ombudsman is nog een te goed bewaard geheim. De website van de NOS Ombudsman is weinig wervend en wordt matig bezocht. Het zou een veel interactiever dagelijks podium voor discussie kunnen en moeten worden. De attentiewaarde zou kunnen en moeten worden vergroot door bijvoorbeeld promotionele aandacht op radio en televisie. De NOS Ombudsman zou ook een actievere rol moeten en kunnen spelen in het interne debat op redacties. Dat hebben directie en hoofdredactie inmiddels beloofd.

Tot slot enkele conclusies:

• Nieuwsuitzendingen roepen meer klachten op dan sportuitzendingen.

• Nieuwsberichten in de Journaals op radio en teletekst leiden vooral tot klachten over feitelijke onjuistheden.

• Langere nieuwsuitzendingen op radio en televisie leiden vooral tot klachten over eenzijdige berichtgeving.

• Over NOS Langs de Lijn, NOS Jeugdjournaal en NOS Met het Oog op Morgen wordt nooit geklaagd.

• De uitzendingen van NOS Projecten gaven twee keer aanleiding tot klachten; een klacht was er over het commentaar bij het Eurovisie Songfestival en veel klachten waren er over de in de ogen van de klagers geringe aandacht voor de Paralympics.

En enkele wetenswaardigheden:

• Als de kerstbomen in huis staan wordt er nauwelijks tot niet geklaagd.

• Als het regent wordt meer geklaagd dan als de zon schijnt.

• Mannen klagen meer dan vrouwen.

• Mannen zijn eerder tevreden gesteld dan vrouwen.

• Jongeren klagen nooit.

• Kleuters klagen via hun ouders als uitzendingen van het NPS-programma Sesamstraat vervallen vanwege programma’s van de NOS.

Wie vragen en/of klachten heeft kan als vanouds terecht bij de afdeling publieksreacties. Een interne beroepsinstantie is er binnen de NOS op dit moment tijdelijk niet. Wie zich niet kan vinden in de afhandeling van zijn klacht, kan als ook terecht bij de Raad voor de Journalistiek.

Ik dank alle brief en e-mailschrijvers hartelijk voor hun opmerkingen en klachten en voor hun vaak welwillende reacties op mijn oordeel.

Ton van Brussel

NOS Ombudsman


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* 15-1-2009> NOS Ombudsman, de voorlopige balans
* 13-1-2009> De waarheid in de oorlog
* 9-1-2009> Nog één keer: Israël en de Palestijnen
* 18-12-2008> Waarom de NOS minder mag samenwerken
* 11-12-2008> Met rectificaties blijft het tobben (2)
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More Opinion* THE LAST DAYS OF PRIVACY

As technology makes life richer and easier, we leave a trail of information that is susceptible to prying eyes


Within the next four months, a major Bay Area supermarket chain plans to introduce a payment system that uses biometric fingerprint authentication to verify customers' identities. Under this system, shoppers in checkout lines won't need to use cash, checks, debit cards or credit cards. Instead, they can place their fingers on scanners that read fingerprints, and once the device links to their bank or credit card accounts, they can buy groceries, get cash back and do everything else shoppers do.

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The system is already used in cities around the United States, including Portland, Ore., and Chicago, where one shopper says it has changed his life for the better. Linc Thelen, a 37-year-old interior designer, says the fingerprint system -- known commercially as Pay By Touch -- is convenient to use and expedites his way through grocery lines at Jewel-Osco, where he shops. Thelen says the system lets people leave their wallets behind, so they don't have to worry about being robbed or losing their credit cards.

"I had no reservation," Thelen said in a phone interview. "It's a safe way to store information."

But no system is 100 percent foolproof.

Despite the fact that armed men guard the computers that store the customers' virtual fingerprints, despite the fact that Bank of America's former security chief now heads Pay By Touch's security division, and despite the fact that Pay By Touch hires people to try to expose vulnerabilities in its computer system (so those vulnerabilities can be eliminated), Pay By Touch President John Morris acknowledges that "it's not impossible" for computer hackers to figure out how to tamper with its information.

And therein lies one of the 21st century's most vexing problems: More and more of our personal data are captured and stored by corporate and government interests, and are potentially available to anyone with the technological, legal or financial means to access that information.

Whether it's phone calls we make, library books we check out, CDs we buy on the Internet or divorces we finalize in court, we leave a trail of information that becomes susceptible to prying eyes. For the price of a bus pass, you can pay a company to supply anyone's address, phone number, political affiliation, estimated income and property history. For $20 more, you can find out if that person is married or divorced, has a criminal record, and what sort of jobs he or she has worked.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., says she will introduce a "privacy bill of rights" because identity theft and security failures of personal records have become "one of the most important issues facing us as individuals and as a nation."

The availability of personal information -- downloadable onto laptop computers, which are increasingly being fitted with fingerprint technology -- is changing the culture in ways that may seem trivial but are really benchmarks for a new society already in its formative stages.

A small example: Unbeknownst to the men who date her, Judy runs background checks on all of them, using a private investigator to dig out any "red flags" that would presage troubling behavior. A businesswoman in Southern California, Judy, 50, uses a company called DateSmart, whose client base has boomed in the past five years as more people confront the perils of online dating.

"I'm glad the information is out there," says Judy, who did not want her last name used because of concerns her suitors would read this article. "The men I'm talking to online are complete strangers. And I have absolutely no knowledge of their character other than what they're saying in their profiles. I need to feel comfortable knowing that they're not an ax murderer. The people you meet might be well dressed, but you never know if they have any criminal history. It's for (my) safety."

Background checks are nothing new. What's changed are the speed with which you can obtain them, their relatively small price (some companies advertise free checks) and their growing public acceptance. The information revolution has transformed the background check into a common and casual tool, and those being scrutinized probably don't have a clue. More obvious are the security cameras embedded in nearly every major American city, including New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and, yes, San Francisco, where lenses record people's activities in such crime-ridden neighborhoods as Bayview-Hunters Point and the Western Addition. The spread of these cameras is championed by authorities, who say it reduces criminal activity, and criticized by the ACLU, which says the equipment is an unnecessary intrusion into public spaces.

Civil liberties groups have joined the widespread outcry against the government's monitoring of Americans' phone-call records. Two weeks ago in federal court, the ACLU challenged the legal rationale behind the National Security Agency program, arguing that the NSA's actions -- involving "data mining" of records provided by AT&T and other telephone companies -- violate Americans' rights to free speech and privacy as guaranteed under the First and Fourth Amendments. Last week, privacy experts raised questions about the U.S. government's monitoring of international bank transfers -- previously secret data surveillance officials say is justified by the fight against terrorism.

Americans' rights to privacy will be tested even more in the next few years as biometric technology creeps increasingly into everyday arenas. For example, on the campus of UC San Diego, biometric experts are testing a soda machine that uses both fingerprint and face-recognition technology. The machine is in a lounge for grad students in UC San Diego's computer science building.

"The students are very excited about getting it working," Serge Belongie, a UC San Diego associate professor of computer science, says in a phone interview. "People think it's very cool. ... No one uses money. They have accounts. What would be fun is if (the machine) recognizes you and says, 'Would you like your usual?' "

If UC San Diego students are reluctant to use the machine, their privacy concerns are outweighed by convenience -- a sentiment echoed in survey after survey on biometric technology. In March, Unisys Corp. released a report on public perception of "identity management" that said convenience and efficiency were the two biggest reasons consumers would use biometric technology. (The most preferred biometric methods are fingerprints and voice recognition, according to the survey. The least preferred, because of its perceived intrusiveness, is an iris or eye scan.)

Two of the biggest turnoffs for those who shun biometric technology: suspicion of how the technology works and loss of privacy. Among respondents from North America, just 56 percent said they'd be willing to share their fingerprint with a government organization such as a post office or tax authority. Among respondents from the Asia-Pacific region, 71 percent said they'd share their fingerprint with the government.

"As consumer confidence grows in the large-scale usage of (biometric technology) and standards are more generally comfortably adopted, you're going to see a pretty rapid migration" to it, says Mark Cohn, Unisys vice president for homeland security solutions.

Cohn, a principal architect of the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT Exit system, which uses fingerprint technology to run background checks on visa applicants and verify their entry to and arrival from the United States, says Malaysia offers a preview of how the United States may change in the coming years.

Since 2001, the Malay government has issued a biometric "multipurpose card" to Malaysians 12 years and older. The card, which features a thumbprint and photograph, acts as a passport, driver's license, ATM card, toll and parking pass, and medical record that lists blood type and any allergies.

The card is convenient to use -- but it's a nightmare for Malaysians who lose it or have it stolen. Crime syndicates in Malaysia have altered cards with different photographs and used them to give members new identities, though the Malay government insists these identity thieves can't access the original cardholders' personal information. Special chip technology and other password features prevent this, they say. Also, the cardholder's fingerprint -- rather than being visible on the card -- is encrypted in the card itself: To reveal the fingerprint, the card must be inserted into a special biometric device that compares the encrypted print with that of the person claiming to be the cardholder.

For anyone who has read Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," where "telescreens" keep track of people's lives, this new biometric technology will seem like fiction come to life. It's showing up everywhere. By the end of this year, U.S. passport agencies hope to issue "electronic passports" with computer chips that have digital photos of the holders. With the help of face-recognition machines, airport security can compare a photo with the face of the passport holder. For two years, an American corporation, VeriChip, has sold government-approved electronic chips that are inserted under people's skin to give doctors instant access to patients' medical histories.

In 2008, as mandated by the Real ID Act, states plan to issue driver's licenses linked to a database that includes each license holder's photo and Social Security number. These licenses (civil liberties groups call them national identity cards) will likely include a biometric photo of the driver accessible by authorities.

In the meantime, banks are considering using iris scans and even palm scans at ATMs in an effort to cut down on fraud. (In 1999, Bank United in Texas adopted iris-scan technology at three of its ATMs in a test that was discontinued when Washington Mutual took over the bank.)

Some people love the new technology. Others shun it.

Pay By Touch admits it has encountered some resistance among shoppers it approached in supermarkets that already use the company's fingerprint service. But Morris, its president, says many of these customers are quickly won over by the convenience of Pay By Touch, which is free for consumers, and that the company keeps data points based on users' fingerprints, not actual fingerprints. So far, supermarkets in 40 states use the Pay By Touch system.

Pay By Touch, which is based in San Francisco, wouldn't say which Bay Area supermarket chain will start using its fingerprint system in the next four months -- only that the chain will use the system in just a handful of its Bay Area stores. Pay By Touch users sign up voluntarily and are under no obligation to use it at the checkout line.

Pay By Touch says it takes great care to safeguard its users' data. After fingerprints are converted into algorithms, they're encrypted, then stored in IBM computers. Those algorithms can't be reconverted into an exact copy of the fingerprint, though Pay By Touch may eventually store users' actual fingerprints if the technology improves, Morris says. The company insists it will never sell users' personal information or fingerprints to anyone else -- a pledge that's backed up in writing when users sign up with the company. But what if federal authorities, citing national security, insist on the finger scan and payment history of a Pay By Touch user?

Pam Dixon, who heads the World Privacy Forum, a public research group, went to Chicago to warn potential Pay By Touch users about possible dangers.

"It didn't stick," she says. "People were (more) concerned with (convenience than) the potential risks. People can put their thumb on a pad and be done with it. But meanwhile, their biometric data is sitting with another company, a third party, that's subject to subpoena. One argument that I made: Let's say that every supermarket in the country, particularly the large chains, (use) a biometric payment system. It's a law enforcement dream because who needs a biometric database run by the U.S. government when you've got one being run by private companies?"

Citing the recent disclosure by the Veterans Administration, which said a computer with credit information on millions of veterans had been stolen, Dixon says, "The second issue is information security. If the VA can't keep its records secure, which is a government agency that has all sorts of strict controls that are supposed to be in place, how on Earth can a private company without the resources of something like the VA manage to keep something secure? When we have a credit card stolen, we can call the credit card company and say, 'Give me a new number.' But you can't do that with your biometric. You can't say, 'Give me a new fingerprint.' "

Morris dismisses such concerns, saying that Pay By Touch will actually decrease the likelihood that consumers' credit information is stolen or misappropriated. "I think (Pay By Touch users) get pretty rapidly that it's the ultimate way to secure their private data," he says. "It connects (their accounts) to something that's uniquely them, as opposed to handing a credit card over to a stranger or writing a personal check that seven or eight humans touch before it gets in their statement. Securing information by a biometric is a giant leap forward. (Users) like that they don't have to pull their card out anymore. They (tell us they) like that they don't have to carry their (purses or wallets) through the parking lot of an urban supermarket. There's a physical security benefit. Their numbers are never displayed. The safety of securing their data is the No. 1 thing they like."

The marketplace will determine whether the public is ready to accept commercial fingerprint identification. Investors in Pay By Touch believe that day is here, capitalizing the company with $190 million in the past 12 months. More than 2.5 million shoppers already use the Pay By Touch system. Morris envisions a day when all stores -- even mom-and-pop ones -- offer a Pay By Touch option.

Soon, customers will be able to use Pay By Touch from home with the help of fingerprint readers attached to their computers. In ancient China, rulers would put their fingerprints on documents to give them an official seal. Artists would also mark their work with prints. It wasn't until the late 1800s that authorities realized they could use fingerprints to catch criminals. Their evolution as a way to pay for groceries is a 21st century twist fueled by technology. It's also a trade-off between privacy and convenience. Welcome to the brave new world in Aisle

MİM

Değerli arkadaşım Latife (Laguer) beni mimlemiş ve çocukluk anılarımı sormuş. Bazı "sandıklarımı" aktarıyorum ve ben de Türkan (Türkancaan), Elif (Elifelfin) ve Meryem (Suyeşili) arkadaşlarımı MİM'liyorum.

BEN ÇOCUKKEN, NEYİ NE SANIRDIM?

Hepimizin küçükken, söylenenlerden kendimize göre bir anlam çıkardığımız, hâyâl dünyamızda kendimize uygun canlandırmalar yaptığımız olmuştur.

Geçmişe bir yolculuk yapıp, neleri kafamda nasıl canlandırdığımı düşününce, çok ilginç şeyler hatırladım. Sanıyorum, herkesin buna benzer, anıları vardır. Ama eminim ki, şimdiki çocukların, hâyâl dünyaları da; gördüklerinden, duyduklarından çıkardıkları anlamlar da bizden çok farklıdır. Çünkü, teknolojik araçlar, onların umutlarını, sanılarını ve tüm maddi-manevi varlıklarla ilgili yargılarını daha net biçimde oluşturmalarına katkı sağlıyor.



Bir gün bir misafir gelmişti. Yemekten sonra dedem, misafirlere “Bir çiğ köfte yapalım” dediğinde misafirlerden birisi “Bu kadar yemeğin üzerine çiğ köfte yenmez” dedi. Dedem de “Yemeğin yeri ayrı, çiğ köftenin yeri ayrı” demişti. Uzunca bir süre, karnımızda binlerce bölüm olduğunu, her yediğimiz yiyeceğin kendi bölümlerine gittiğini sandım ve her yiyeceğin kendi yerini karnımızda nasıl bulduğunu merak ederdim. Hatta, siyah üzümle beyaz üzümün ayrı ayrı yerlere mi gittiğini, pek fazla bilinmeyen yiyecekler için de karnımızda ayrı bir yer ayrılıp ayrılmadığını sürekli düşünürdüm. Bir defasında dedeme merak edip “Patlıcan yemeğiyle, karnıyarık veya patlıcan kızartmasının yerleri ayrı mı?” diye sorduğumda, “hepsi aynı yere gider” diye cevap vermişti de, ben de binlerce yiyeceğin tek tek değil de guruplara göre ayrılmış yerlere gittiğine karar vermiştim.

“Çocuklar kahve içerse kararır” derlerdi. Ben de oldukça sarışın olduğum için, birazcık kararabilmek için, fincanların dibinde kalan kahveleri gizli gizli yalardım.

Çocukken, düğünü olup evlenen kadının bir süre sonra kendiliğinden bebeği olur sanırdım. (Düğün olmadan bebek olmaz diye düşünürdüm)
Gök kuşağının altından geçenlerin cinsiyet değiştireceğimizi söylerlerdi; çok okrar, gökkuşağı kayboluncaya kadar, yerimden kıpırdamazdım.

“Erkekler sakız çiğnerse, bıyıkları eğri çıkar” derlerdi. Ben de sakızı biraz sağ tarafımda, biraz sol tarafımda çiğnerdim ki, bıyığımın iki tarafı da eşit olsun.

Üniversitede okuyanların her şeyi bildiklerini sanır, duygularını anlatmak için hiç zorlanmayacaklarını, zorda kaldıklarında mutlaka bir çözüm yolu bulacaklarını zannederdim.

Bir gün mahallede bir hırsızlık olayı olmuştu. Görgü tanığı bir kişi, bir komşunun evinden eşya çalan kişiden bahsederken, “Ayakkabısı pırıl pırıl parlıyordu, yeni cilalanmıştı, saçlarını da ıslatarak taramıştı, siyah bir takım elbisesi vardı” diye anlatıyordu. O günden sonra siyah takım elbiseli, saçını ıslatarak tarayan, ayakkabısı cilalı kimi görsem, hırsız sanırdım.
Almanya’dan izne gelen tanıdıklarımız, orada meyveler sebzeler tek tek satılıyor derlerdi. Paraları yok da alamıyorlar diye çok üzülürdüm Almanlar’a...

Çocukken, daha bunlara benzer o kadar çok sanılarım ve benzetmelerim vardı ki, şimdilerde saçma gibi de gelse, o zamanlar her birine ne kadar kafa yorduğumu, ne kadar üzerinde düşünceler ürettiğimi hatırlayınca; o zamanlar kendi dünyamızda onları düşünmekte ne kadar haklı olduğumu, başka türlü düşünmemizin imkânsız olduğunu daha iyi anlıyorum.

Reval Management

Jiro Okochi (Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder) Jiro Okochi is responsible for

setting and executing the vision for Reval as the leading provider of financial
risk management technology solutions and services. He has more than twenty years
of experience in financial markets and management at Security Pacific, DKB,
Deutsche Bank and Westdeutsche Landesbank. Prior to starting Reval in 1999, he
was the head of derivatives sales at WestLB in New York. In 2003, Okochi was
selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Finance by Treasury and
Risk Management magazine. He is a frequent presenter at trade conferences,
including The Association of Finance Professionals, Eurofinance, Treasury &
Risk Management, Financial Executives International, Deloitte & Touche
events and at Kase & Company. Okochi holds a bachelor's of science degree in
genetics from the University of California at Berkeley. Woo Song (Chief
Technology Officer, Co-founder) With more than fifteen years of experience with
mission-critical trading systems, Woo Song oversees Reval's leading software and
delivery architecture. As a technology expert who is also a former derivatives
trader, he brings a unique perspective on the use of technology to enhance
trading and risk management activities. Song is also Co-founder and Chairman of
Intrasphere Technologies, Inc., a leading mid-size IT services firm located in
New York City. In recognition of his achievements, he was named an Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001. He currently serves on a number of
non-profit boards, including the New York Software Industry Association, and was
appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to the New York City Workforce Investment Board.
Song attended Stevens Institute of Technology, where he majored in computer
science. Dino Ewing (Chief Financial Officer) Dino Ewing is the chief financial
officer at Reval where he is responsible for financial, human resource, and
administrative management as well as professional services. Prior to joining
Reval, he was the Chief Financial Officer of HealthFirst, Inc. and, prior to
that, Vice President of Operations. At HealthFirst, he was responsible for
financial management of a $200 million healthcare enterprise including: business
planning, financial reporting, and medical risk management. Before that, Ewing
worked as an investment banker at CS First Boston and as a strategy consultant
at Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc. He also served as Director of Budget &
Analysis for the New York City Department of Transportation, overseeing the
city's $3 billion bridge rehabilitation program. He holds a bachelor's of arts
degree in economics, magna cum laude, from Yale University and an M.B.A. from
Stanford University. Philip Pettinato (Chief Operating Officer) Philip Pettinato
is responsible for the ongoing development and delivery of Reval's growing suite
of products and services. Pettinato has more than fifteen years of experience
managing and developing technology solutions for trading, risk management,
accounting and operational processing of capital markets products. He joined
Reval after seven years at EXIS Consulting, Inc., a leading financial software
provider of fixed income trading systems, where he headed product development,
operations and sales. Prior to that, he served in the global technology and
operations group at JP Morgan, where he led the development of mission-critical
systems for the government bond-trading desk. Pettinato holds a bachelor's of
science degree in computer science from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. with
honors from Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. Jay McGlynn (Senior
Vice President , Sales) Jay McGlynn is the senior vice president of sales at
Reval where he is responsible for the growth of sales for North America, EMEA,
and APAC. McGlynn has over 35 years experience in sales leadership roles at both
large and early stage software companies. Most recently McGlynn was Senior Vice
President of Worldwide Sales at Parlano, a leading provider of enterprise group
messaging solutions, which was sold to Microsoft. Before Parlano, he was Vice
President of Worldwide Sales for Marketsoft. He also held similar posts at early
stage companies Fatwire and New Era of Networks. His background also includes
key sales roles at Wang, DEC and IBM. McGlynn holds a bachelor of science in
Business Administration from Villanova University. Vivian Shpigler (Chief
Marketing Officer) Vivian Shpigler is the chief marketing officer at Reval where
she is responsible for the global marketing and communications for the firm.
Shpigler has fourteen years of experience in senior financial services marketing
roles covering marketing strategy, integrated marketing communications,
branding, public relations and market research. Shpigler joined Reval from
Standard & Poor's where she held the roles of Director of Marketing
Optimization and Director of Marketing & Brand Management. Prior to Standard
& Poor's, she served as the Vice President of Marketing at Derivatech
leading to the company's acquisition by a division of SunGard. She also held
senior marketing roles at Market News International, Decalog and TheStreet.com.
Shpigler holds a bachelor's of science degree in management from Lehigh
University's College of Business and Economics. Justin Brimfield (Senior Vice
President, Business Development) Justin Brimfield is the Senior Vice President
of Business Development at Reval where he is responsible for guiding the firm
through the development of strategic alliances and business partnerships.
Brimfield brings with him a robust understanding of how Treasury professionals
can leverage SaaS technology to meet their growing needs and responsibilities.
Prior to joining Reval, Brimfield held a number of senior leadership roles at
Thomson Reuters for their suite of Treasury products and services since 2000
which included the building and management of their fixed income consulting
business. Over the years, Justin has worked directly with companies like General
Electric, Ford and Amazon.com, advising on how to effectively manage capital
markets transactions such as balance sheet restructuring, targeted bond
issuance, tender and exchange offerings and open market repurchases. Justin
graduated from the University of Rochester with B.A. degrees in Economics and
Political Science.

Kitaplarım

http://www.kirsehir.gov.tr/sag_alt/haber/haber(172).htm

http://ahilikruhu.azbuz.com/readArticle.jsp?objectID=5000000006838637

http://www.kervansaraygazetesi.com/hb_goster.asp?id=574

Diyet mahkûmları

Kilo, şeker, kolesterol, alerji, karaciğer değerleri, akciğer fonksiyonu, tansiyon gibi şikayetler, insanları diyete zorluyor.

Eskiden yufka ekmeğe tereyağlı yumurtayı dürüp, yanında da bir tas pekmez içip, turp gibi hiç doktor görmeden 90-100 yaşına kadar insanlara bir bakıyorum; bir de bugün “Yok bu bana dokunuyor, yok bu bana zararlı” diye nimetlerin çoğundan kendisini mahrum bıraktığı halde, her gün bir yerinden şikayet edip, doktor kapısı bekleyen, her gün avuç dolusu ilaçla ayakta duran insanlara bakıyorum. Şaşmamak mümkün değil.


Etrafınıza bir bakın, gerek doktor tavsiyesiyle, gerek tahlil sonuçlarıyla, gerekse kimi insanların kendi tahminleriyle, bir çok gıda maddesinin vücutlara girişi yasaklanıyor. Kimi rakı içmez, kimi tuzlu yemez, kimi çaya şeker atmaz… Tuzsuz ekmek, yulaflı ekmek, kepekli ekmek, çavdarlı ekmek mahkumları… Acıya hasret, kuzu etinden yoksun, hamur işini unutmuş, baklava-kadayıf özlemi çeken, şarabın tadını unutmuş, çiğ köfte yasaklı insanlar…

Vücudundaki organ adreslerinden veya ruhunun derinliklerinden şikayeti olanlar; ölmektense veya psikolojisini bozup ele güne rezil olacaklarına mecburen diyet yapıyorlar.

Kimi diyetine hiç ihanet etmiyor, elinde liste, teraziyle ölçüp yiyip içiyor da… Kimi de “bir kereden bir şey olmaz” deyip, ara sıra kaytarıyor.
Bizim ev; Yürüyüş Parkı’nın kenarında… Sabahın erken saatlerinde de, gece geç saatlerde de eşofmanlarını çekmiş, spor ayakkabılarını giymiş, hızlı hızlı bir aşağı bir yukarı gidip gelen insanları görmek mümkün. Çoğu kilo verip, yakışıklı-güzel olmak için gidip gelseler de, bir kısmı da eminim bir rahatsızlığını yenmeye çalışıyor.

Yürüyüş sonunda sıcak pide alıp kahvaltıya koşanlar da var; yürürken acıkırsam diye içinde ekmek arası döner, tatlı, meyve olan poşet taşıyanlar da…

Çok tanıdığım var, şeker dokunuyor diye, çayını şekersiz içip de, oturduğunda iki porsiyon tulumba tatlısı yiyen… Veya “doktor pilav, çiğ köfte yeme” dedi diye, her fırsatta kısır yapıp yiyen… Sıkı sıkı diyet yapıp da bir ayda 4-5 kilo alanlara da rastladım.

Bir emekli öğretmen arkadaşım var.Allah için diyetine çok dikkat eder mesela… Hiç normal kola içmez. Hep diyet kola söyler; 1.5 iskenderin yanında… Kilomu koruyayım diye hep kepekli ekmek yer; ama her öğünde iki tane… Nasıl olsa tansiyon ilacı içiyorum diye, tuzu avuçla atar yemeklere… Doktor iki dilim ekmek yiyeceksin dedi diye, her yemekten sonra zorla da olsa iki dilim ekmek daha yer garibim mecburen.
Hakkını vermek lazım. Bir gazeteci arkadaşımın üstüne yoktur diyette. Ta Hatay’a gitmiş. Harbiye’nin ünlü kebabından bir lokma bile almadan gelmiş rejimdeyim diye. Belki rejim bozulur diye, konuşmuyor bile valla; yanlışlıkla ağzımdan kebap, tatlı kelimeleri çıkar diye.

Fakat diyette benim en takdir ettiğim kişilerin başında gelen bir tanıdığım var.. Böyle bir irade zor görülür. Bir paket sana yağını iki lokmada sade olarak yemekle bilinen ve eskiden oturduğunda yarım kuzuyla, bir tencere pilav ve 3-4 ekmek yiyen, ardından da bir tepsi baklavayı götüren tanıdık, diyete başlayıp kısa sürede 25-30 kilo verdi. 135 kiloluk arkadaş şimdilerde 110 kilo olması ve 100’ün altına düşebilmek için bir öğünde en çok 3-4 porsiyon döner veya 3 kıymalı pideyle yetinmesi, herkesi hayrete düşürüyor.

Bir arkadaşın en çok 64 olması gereken karaciğer değerlerinden birisi 690 çıkmış. Doktor içkiyi kesinlikle yasaklamış. Yana yana doktor gezmiş sonra. Belki biri insaflı çıkar da “içki serbest” der diye. Sonunda da kafasına göre bulmuş bir tane. “İç ama, az iç” demiş doktorun birisi. (Büyük ihtimal, ya rüşvet vermiştir, ya da yalvarmasına doktorun yüreği dayanmamıştır) O da az içiyor. Bir-iki saat sonra biraz daha içiyor. Akşam üzeri biraz daha, akşam da biraz… Doktorun söylediğine de uymuş oluyormuş böylece, az az içerek…

Bir arkadaşa, doktoru; eşinden bir süre uzak durmasını söylemiş. Fırsat, bu fırsat; hemşerimiz soluğu Soçi’de almış.

Nefes darlığı olan bir arkadaşa da doktor, kahveye gitmemesini söylemiş; o gün bugündür şehir kulübüne gidip oyun oynuyor.

Bir arkadaşa da doktor, sabah, öğle, akşam yemeklerinde, dişinin kovuğuna yetmeyecek kadar yiyecek önermiş. Arkadaş harfiyen uyuyor diyete bu öğünlerde. Ama ikindi ve gece yine bildiği gibi yeyip, içiyor, doktor o öğünlerde kısıtlama getirmemiş nasıl olsa.

Tabi kimi kilo vereyim diye, her türlü fedakarlıkla, hayatı kendine zindan edip, yeryüzünde ne kadar nefis yiyecek varsa; köşe bucak kaçarken; kimi de kilo almak için ne bulursa tepiştirir ama, gene de Etiyopyalı gibi kurum kurum kurur. Benim bir oğlan var. Biraz kilo alsın diye üzerinde titriyoruz; ne mümkün? Sofraya oturunca veya mutfağa girince, belediye yıkım ekibi gibi, ocağımızı batırıyor. Elektrik süpürgesi gibi ne bulursa çekiyor: Lakin 1 gram kilo almıyor; rüzgarda uçmasın diye nerdeyse cebine taş dolduracağız. 244 kemiğini saymak mümkün; resmen iskeletör kerata.

Velhasıl. Bu yeyip içme konusunda herkes perişan, herkes muzdarip.

MEHMET ATILGAN

FOREX EDUCATION | FOREX TRAINING

Do you have what it takes to become a successful Forex Trader?
Forex trading, or any trading for that matter, is an occupation that requires experience and the accumulation of proficiency not unlike any other highly skilled profession. Whether you are a leading executive at a major publically traded company, a professional golfer or trading from your kitchen table, there are 5 key ingredients that one must possess in order to become successful.

1. You must be Passionate about what you do.

As Forex traders we all face one unique set of circumstances that does not exist in any other profession. We get rewarded for when we succeed and equally punished when we don’t! Could you image a corporate worker one quarter receiving a significant accomplishment bonus and the next quarter actually getting money taken from their paycheck for missing performance targets? Not on your life!

We do as Forex traders and that is why passion for what you do will carry you through the tough times that are part of your trading business. Asked yourself why you trade currencies and would you still do it if Forex were not potentially lucrative? Your answers will be quite revealing. You’ve got to feel your passion for trading!

2. You have to Apply Yourself and work hard at it.

I talk to so many people that enter into Forex trading with the aspiration of getting rich quick. Without putting the time and energy into really getting good at trading I see them jump from strategy to strategy looking for the goose that will lay the golden egg and eventually quitting while blaming everything else, except the true cause.

I got news for you – you are the goose and your Forex education is the golden egg. The magic has always resided with the magician and not some strategy. Work hard at trading and the rewards will eventually come your way. Remember what Tiger Woods said, “Funny, the harder I work the luckier I get.” Apply yourself as a trader and it will be no accident when your account begins to blossom.

3. You must Focus to really get good at what you do.

Now here is the hurdle most Forex traders struggle to get over. You have the passion and you are applying yourself to your trade, now focus and really get good at just at what you are doing. Be the expert to the experts at just that one thing. Become the master of a strategy or risk management methodologies. Really focus on getting good at it.

Stop jumping around or getting pulled from the last “latest and greatest” into the next “latest and greatest” and focus on one aspect of Forex trading and know it inside out. Know it strengths and weakness. Set your sights on becoming expert on just one aspect of trading and watch it spill over in all other aspects for your currency trading. This is the time to fail forward fast, use every setback as a learning opportunity that will propel you 3-steps ahead!

4. You must Push Yourself beyond the point everyone else might have quite.

In Forex Trading this is simple. Assume there is someone on the other side of your trade that is pushing themselves and sharpening their edge. To be successful you must you must do the same thing. Now is the time to examine your mental edge. Do you know the single most critical factor in any currency trade? It is you, the trader! Sharpening you mental edge is the most difficult aspect of trading, but also the most rewarding.

Start with your Forex education and gain the self-awareness necessary to maximize your strengths and suppress your weaknesses. Any expert will tell you that trading is 80% mental. It’s time to sharpen your trading to the razor’s edge and you do this through Forex education. A constant and never ending process that will become the cornerstone of your Forex experience.

5. You must, without wavering, be Determined and Persist to your objective.

You will fail. I can state that emphatically. However, you will not be defeated unless you allow your failures to control your trading. It is the old adage; failure is not falling of your horse, failure is refusing to get back on. Your success depends on your ability to dismiss the criticism, rejection, self-doubt and pressures associated with Forex trading.

Defining what is a winning trade, losing trade and bad trade will go a long way into developing you as a successful trader. Without the determination and persistence in all aspects of your trading life, obstacle will definitely appear closer and larger than they actually are.

Take a moment and assess yourself and your trading. Do you have the key elements to succeed? Which areas are presents development opportunities? When conducting a self-evaluation it is critical to be totally upfront and honest with yourself. After all, you will only be dishonest with yourself. One of the most interesting observations you can make is that all key success factors are interwoven. One factor supports the other. This is why your Forex education is a continuous journey of forex strategy, money management and self-mastery. Set these factors as your Forex education goals and take your currency trading to new heights.

KYC compliance

Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance regulation has proved to be one of the biggest operational challenges banks, accountants, lawyers and similar financial service providers worldwide have had to overcome.

World-Check, the industry standard KYC compliance solution, provides an overview of KYC compliance and its origins, and outlines the compliance mandate as applicable to banks, accounting firms, lawyers and other regulated financial service providers – not just in the UK, Europe and the USA, but all around the world. Relied upon by more than 3,000 institutions worldwide, this KYC database solution provides effective legal and reputational risk reduction.

Why “Know Your Customer?”


The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre revealed that there were sinister forces at work around the world, and that terrorists activities were being funded with laundered money, the proceeds of illicit activities such as narcotics and human trafficking, fraud and organised crime. Overnight, the combating of terrorist financing became a priority on the international agenda.

For the financial services provider of the 21st century, “knowing your customers” was no longer a suggested course of action. Based on the requirements of legislative landmarks such as the USA PATRIOT Act 2002, modern Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance mandates were created to simultaneously combat money laundering and the funding of terrorist activities.

What is Know Your Customer (KYC)?


Know Your Customer, or KYC, refers to the regulatory compliance mandate imposed on financial service providers to implement a Customer Identification Programme and perform due diligence checks before doing business with a person or entity.

KYC fulfils a risk mitigation function, and one its key requirements is checking that a prospective customer is not listed on any government lists for wanted money launders, known fraudsters or terrorists.

If preliminary KYC checks reveal that the person is a Politically Exposed Person (PEP), for example, Advanced Due Diligence must be done in order to ensure that the person’s source of wealth is transparent, and that he or she does not pose a reputational or financial risk in terms of their finances, public positions or associations. Beyond customer identification checks, the ongoing monitoring of transfers and financial transactions against a range of risk variables forms an integral part of the KYC compliance mandate.

But to understand the importance of KYC compliance for financial service providers better, its origins need to be examined.

Origins of Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance


The arrival of the new millennium was marred by a spate of terrorist attacks and corporate scandals that unmasked the darker features of globalisation. These events highlighted the role of money laundering in cross-border crime and terrorism, and underlined the need to clamp down on the exploitation of financial systems worldwide.

Know Your Customer (KYC) legislation was principally not absent prior to 9/11. Regulated financial service providers for a long time have been required to conduct due diligence and customer identification checks in order to mitigate their own operation risks, and to ensure a consistent and acceptable level of service.

In essence, the USA PATRIOT Act was not so much a radical departure from prior legislation as it was a firmer and more extensive articulation of existing laws. The Act would lead to the more rigorous regulation of a greater range of financial services providers, and expanded the authority of American law enforcement agencies in the fighting of terrorism, both in the USA and abroad.

In October 2001, President George W. Bush signed off the USA PATRIOT Act, effectively providing federal regulators with a new range of tools and powers for fighting terror financing and money laundering. During July 2002, the US Treasury proceeded to introduce Section 326 of the PATRIOT Act, a clause that removed some key burdens for regulators and added significant enforcement muscle to the Act.

What 9/11 changed, in essence, was the extent to which existing legislation was being implemented. Using the provisions of the earlier anti-terrorism USA Act as a foundation, it included the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act, which allowed for federal jurisdiction over foreign money launders and money laundered through foreign banks. Significantly, it is this anti-terror law that would make the creation of an Anti Money Laundering (AML) programme compulsory for all financial institutions and service providers.

Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act dealt specifically with the identification of new customers (“CIP regulation”), and made extensive provisions in terms of KYC and the methods employed to verify client identities.

In accordance with this piece of updated KYC legislation, federal regulators would hold financial institutions accountable for the effectiveness of their initial customer identification and ongoing KYC screening. Institutions are required to keep detailed records of the steps that were taken to verify prospective clients’ identities.

Although current KYC legislation does not yet demand the exclusion of specific types of foreign-issued identification, it recommends the usage of machine-verifiable identity documents. The ability to notify financial institutions if concerns regarding specific types of identification were to arise, combined with a risk-based approach to KYC, proved to provide a robust mechanism for addressing security concerns.

Effectively, the risk-based approach to customer due diligence grants regulated institutions a certain degree of flexibility to determine the forms of identification they will accept, and under which conditions.

KYC compliance: Implications for banks, lawyers and accounting firms


The KYC compliance mandate, for all its positive outcomes, has burdened companies and organisations with a substantial administrative obligation. Additionally, KYC compliance increasingly entails the creation of auditable proof of due diligence activities, in addition to the need for customer identification.