Barbara Rae | 
01 8th, 2009| 
Image via WikipediaSatyam means 'truth,' in Sanskrit. But truth is the scandal involving the Indian IT giant is the latest in a string of ethical lapses in business. The scandal at Satyam Computer Services, a leading Indian outsourcing company that serves more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies, points to a moral bankruptcy among our business leaders.
And it raises the question of how many other companies -- public, private, and even non-profit -- are cooking the books or manipulating their balance sheets to give the appearance that their performance is better than it is.
Ironically, Satyam had been awarded last year's Golden Peacock Global Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance 2008. Excellence at fraud, manipulation, and malfeasance is more like it. What due diligence was done by the body making such an award?
Satyam's chairman and founder, Ramalinga Raju, resigned after confessing to falsifying accounts and that 50.4 billion rupees (US$1.04 billion) of the 53.6 billion rupees in cash and bank loans the company listed as assets for its second quarter, were nonexistent. That is no rounding error, it's a blatant lie.
How do people like Raju and Bernie Madoff and others think this kind of behavior is acceptable? We have evolved into a culture of success at any cost. And our children are following our lead.
Last year, a survey in by Rutgers' Management Education Center of 4,500 US high school students found that 75 percent of them engage in serious cheating. Even more disturbing is the fact that 50 percent of respondents to the survey said they don't think copying questions and answers from a test is really cheating.
We need to send a message to our leaders and to our children that getting ahead by cutting corners, cheating, and lying is not rewarded. We need to get back to basics and encourage an ethic of truth and transparency.
Winning at all costs is not acceptable behavior.
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I just joined Qassia, which is an interesting way to get quality backlinks to your sites. And as we all know, more backlinks means more readers, which means you can make a bigger difference!
Please visit Qassia and take a look through the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other information about the service (for instance, as you add blurbs of “intel” to the site, you can earn Google Adsense money - if you have given Qassia your Google Adsense ID number).
The more “intel” (intelligence) you add to the site, the more likely your site will be to be listed in more places than just your profile page and on each of your “intel” posts. This site can be a pretty big boon to your readership with not a whole lot of time and commitment on your part.
I was impressed with it enough after learning about it just today to sign up immediately and give it a try. It didn’t cost me a thing, so I thought it was worth at least giving it a chance. I think you will, too, so go to Qassia, learn all about it, and sign up to give it a try!
Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley
What do you think about these kinds of opportunities to get backlinks and bring more readers to your site(s)? Worthwhile, or a waste of time? Let ‘er rip in the comments!
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The MOTO W233 Renew cell phone is reportedly the world's first cell phone made with the use of recycled plastics from water bottles. Motorola also claims the phone to be 100% recyclable, as well as carbon neutral. The phone has earned Carbonfund.org's CarbonFree Product ... [visit site to read more]You might also be interested in
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Whole-grain consumption is associated with a reduced risk of noncardiovascular, noncancer death attributed to inflammatory diseases. -ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Substituting whole- for refined-grain products may decrease the risk of diabetes mellitus. -pubmedcentral.nih.gov
Diets with high amounts of whole grains may help achieve significant weight loss, and also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. -sciencedaily.com
Often consumers find whole grain foods to have a different, less-pleasing texture than foods made with refined grain. This is true of most breads, cereals, pasta, and baked goods, at least according to my family! I say for all the benefits of whole grain I will put up with texture differences, because eating refined grain is pretty much the nutritional equivalent of eating sand.
One place you won't have to compromise taste, texture, or nutrition is with Dr. Kracker Flatbreads and Snacker Krackers. They make a snack or addition to soup that any health-conscious person will adore - vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores alike.Beginning in Germany nearly 10 years ago, the Dr. Kracker company (now based in Texas) is enthusiastically committed to using the highest-quality organic grains, seeds, and dried fruits, good old-fashioned yeast, and passion to create full-flavored, healthy artisan crackers just like you would find in fine European bakeries.
By the way, adding seeds to your diet is another resolution must-have. According to health expert and author Dr. Joel Fuhrman: "Because seeds and nuts are rich in minerals and fiber and have a low glycemic index, they are favorable foods to include in a diet designed for diabetics and even the obese. Researchers noted that people eating one ounce of nuts five times a week reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 27 percent ... They (also) prevent the formation of gallstones."
Visit the Dr. Kracker website for more information, including a list of all of the delicious varieties, an important allergy statement, recipes, the founder's blog, and other "fun stuff!" To buy Dr. Kracker products please check your local grocer, or greenshopper.com.
COUPON ALERT! Email Dr. Kracker at george.eckrich@drkracker.com
to receive three $ .75-off coupons. Be sure to tell them PassionateGreen sent you.
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The Wall Street Journal reported last week on several of these, including new provisions for tax credits in solar, small wind, and biomass stoves (those burning wood pellets or corn).
In addition, this year, both solar and wind residential tax credits can be claimed against the alternative minimum tax.
Improvements to weatherize your home could also qualify for an energy efficiency tax credit of up to $500. There are also new credits for upgrading your furnace, boilers, heat pumps, and water heaters.
Read more at WSJ.com: http://tinyurl.com/93n535
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Free plants?? Well almost. Winter sowing is one of the cheapest and hassle-free ways to grow new plants. You get some seeds, put them in a little clear container with some dirt and stick them outside. Yes, outside now, in the winter. Then you forget about them until the spring when the start coming up. Here are the details:
Seed selection
Winter sowing works best with native plants. In Michigan the plants I’ve had the best luck with are Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpura), Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostacha), Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis), and grasses like Little Blue Stem (Schizadyrium scoparius). Native plants are especially good for this because they already have evolved to withstand and grow in the local conditions. By winter sowing you’re just giving them a little helping hand and maximizing the ratio of seeds that survive.
Planting medium
This is easy. Dirt. Just plain old dirt. I like to use fresh compost or the cheapest dirt I can find at a store. If you use dirt from outside just be aware that you may get some weeds or other plants, so you’ll want to know what your seedlings look like at early ages so you don’t accidentally weed out all the good seedlings.
Vessel preparation
I like to use old, clear plastic two liter pop or juice bottles. I tried milk jugs but didn’t get great results from them. With an exacto knife poke about four or five small holes for air around the top, then about two holes on the very bottom so that water won’t collect. Then cut the bottle nearly in half, leaving a little ‘hinge’. (see photo) It should go without saying that the pop bottle should be well rinsed before use.
Planting
Fill the bottle about a third of the way with your dirt. Place your seeds in the dirt (usually two times as deep as the seed is long is a good rule of thumb). I find it easier to do one plant type per bottle rather than mixing them up. Give the dirt a small splash of water (just so it isn’t completely dry), then tape up the bottle along the cut so it stays closed. I’ve had good luck with regular masking tape. Then write the name of the seed in permanent marker in a few locations on the bottle (the bottle cap seems to keep the marker the best).
Spring harvest
As it gets warmer out in the spring you’ll start to see little sprouts form. Around the first week of May I start to poke more holes in the top of the bottles. Then after about a week or two I take off the bottle caps. Then at about mid May, after the threat of frost is gone I untape the bottles. The hardest part of winter sowing is determining when the seedlings are ready to plant. I tend to get excited and plant too early, so I usually wait longer than I think they’d be ready. But usually it’s before June when you plant them. I just take some scisors and cut the bottle open so I can easily scoop out the dirt as a whole unit. Then you carefully divide them and plant them. Remember to water them a lot as they grow.
The first year
Some plants like Purple Coneflower won’t flower until they’re two years old. So, don’t get too worried if your yearlings don’t get too big or flower. They’ve got a lot of work to do that first year. You’ll find that some plants work better than others, so have fun and experiment.
January 2nd's Tip
Start the New Year Green: We can all start the New Year green, and it doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. In addition to the ... [visit site to read more]Random Posts
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They make an obvious point of listing SOME of the nutrition facts on their website; however, they do not list the actual ingredients, which include MSG and many other "fake" substances that remain unpronounceable. Don't let the commercials decide for you - take a look at the actual label on the product before you ingest it!
I wanted to make a healthy version of chicken noodle soup to convince my family that it doesn't have to come from a can to taste good. It is an uphill battle fighting dangerous, unnatural flavor enhancers, but it can be done.
I started with a recipe from a cookbook I got for Christmas: Yum-o! The Family Cookbook by Rachael Ray. This cookbook is not vegetarian or even remotely concerned with food ethics, as Rachael herself is obviously not, but most of the recipes can be adapted quite easily. Take, for example, her Traditional Chicken Noodle Soup:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium-size carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf, use fresh if available
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 quarts chicken stock
1 pound wide egg noodles
1 pound chicken tenders or chicken cutlets, cut into bite-size pieces
For garnish:
1/4 cup (about a handful) dill, chopped
1 cup popcorn
1 cup oyster crackers
Preparation
Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with EVOO. Add celery, carrots, onions and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2-3 minutes then add chicken stock. Bring to a boil and add the egg noodles. Cook according to the package instructions, adding the chicken pieces during the last 4-5 minutes of cooking.
Ladle a portion of noodles, chicken, vegetables and soup into a bowl. Garnish with some chopped dill and popcorn or oyster crackers on the top.
Here is my leaner, greener version:
Ingredients
3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
3 organic celery ribs, finely minced
3 organic carrots, finely minced
1 large onion, finely minced
1 organic bay leaf
organic sea salt
freshly ground organic black pepper
2 quarts water
3 tbsp vegebase
1 lb whole wheat noodles
1 tbsp organic dill
The prep is basically the same. Notice I didn't bother with popcorn or crackers for a topping, because when you have noodles you don't really need any extra carbs. Most of us have way too many carbs in our diets to begin with. Notice also that there is no chicken in my chicken noodle soup! There are so few pieces of it in the canned version that no one really notices if it is there or not, so why bother? Using whole wheat noodles adds the necessary protein.
This is the perfect wholesome soup for winter time. Happy New Year!
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