| Eyes on the prize
More encouraging for him is a poll in that morning's Times which shows, less than two weeks to go, that his party is still ahead. It was this time four years ago, I remind him, that polls began to show the SNP's support falling over a cliff. "Believe me," he asserts. "If this campaign continues - with the positive SNP campaign on the one hand and the anti-SNP Labour campaign on the other, then we will win, because it's about the SNP." Victory must feel tantalisingly close, I suggest. "It is a big effort to keep yourself calm, cool and collected. This is unchartered territory," Salmond responds. One of his closest allies had admitted to me the previous week that being ahead in a campaign was "terrifying". After all, recent political history is littered with the corpses of front-runners who have suddenly slumped as they enter the final straight as, beneath the veneer of statesmanship, the public senses the unappealing view of a party hack.
New York Mets
Perfect partnership
She's a news junkie and loves pitching stories, talking to journalists and doing that side of the business. Prue is exceptionally good at strategy, ideas and writing, so we are a great match. What are your individual weaknesses? Lou tries to be superwoman, juggling family, work, clients and exercise. She is also sometimes too immersed in issues and crises and takes them home. Prue is juggling media commitments as well as her work here, so she sometimes needs to take a chill pill to put it all in perspective. How are these skills, strengths and weakness exploited in the partnerships? While we both love different roles and tasks so it is easy for us to work together. We also cover for each other and step in when one of us is drowning.
Finding Political Strength in the Power of Words
Not since the days of the whistle-stop tour and the radio addresses that Franklin D. Roosevelt used to hone his message while governor of New York has a presidential candidate been propelled so much by the force of words, according to historians and experts on rhetoric. Obama's emergence as the front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination has become nearly as much a story of his speeches as of the candidate himself. He arrived on the national scene with his address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his campaign's key turning points have nearly all involved speeches, and his supporters are eager for his election-night remarks nearly as much as for the vote totals. But his success as a speaker has also invited a new line of attack by his opponents.
BladeLogic Announces Webinar Designed to Help IT Organizations Achieve ...
BladeLogic, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLOG), a leading provider of next-generation data center automation software, announced today that it will host a webinar on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (ET) entitled, "Top 10 Management Principles that Lead to IT Operational Excellence." In an environment where business is dependent on IT more than ever before, operational excellence is critical in order to achieve consistent results. It is not enough to know what IT must do to optimize business value. Rather, IT organizations must also be able to consistently deliver at a level of predictable performance that enables the business to achieve its strategic objectives. In this webinar, Kurt Milne, Managing Director, IT Process Institute, will review the top ten management principles IT organizations can implement to achieve IT operational excellence.
Looking back at EliteXC's debut event
At first glance, the mixed martial arts (MMA) action Feb. 10 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss., seemed similar to what fans have grown accustomed to over the last few years. The fights were held in a venue near a strip of casinos. The combatants fought in a cage. Brandon Vera and the City Boxing crew were spotted at the fighters' hotel and the arena. Quinton Jackson was seen walking through press row, chatting it up, choice beverage in hand. VIPs dotted the arena, including former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George and TV talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel. Veteran referees Herb Dean and Steve Mazzagatti officiated the main events. And the night ended with a controversial Herb Dean-refereed match involving a Shamrock.
But a second glance revealed some differences -- subtle and not-so-subtle compared to what some MMA fans have gotten used to from a steady diet of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in recent years.
Wal-Mart site offers workers' blunt opinions about products
Microsoft is one of Wal-Mart's biggest suppliers. But that did not stop the Wal-Mart employee in charge of buying computers from panning Microsoft's newest operating system, Vista. "Is it really all that and a bag of chips?" he wrote on his blog. "My life has not changed dramatically - well, for that matter, it hasn't changed at all." Known for its strict, by-the-books culture - accepting a cup of coffee from a supplier can be a firing offense - Wal-Mart is now encouraging its merchants to speak frankly, even critically, about the products the chain carries. The new website, which was created during the holiday shopping season, has become a forum for unvarnished rants about gadgets, raves about new video games, and advice on selecting environmentally sustainable food.
Warm welcome for decision to retain cities’ brain surgery units
The latest retreat from the previous administration's move to increase centralisation of NHS specialist services, revealed in The Herald yesterday, came after an expert report concluded that there was "no clear evidence" to support a merger of the units in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Announcing the decision during a visit to the neurology unit of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Health Minister Shona Robison said: "By maintaining a neurosurgical presence in each of the units, we are directly addressing fears which have been expressed about the management of neurosurgical emergencies, particularly in the north-east. It is now up to the staff at each of the four sites to make sure the new model delivers maximum benefits to service users and their families." .
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