Mackinac Bridge celebrates 50 years

Side profile of the Mackinac Bridge taken from the shoreline in Mackinaw City near Fort Michilimackinac (southwest side of the Mackinac Bridge). The photo was taken by Tim Burke, photographer for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

50th Anniversary Celebration
The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957.

The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet.

Photo Courtesy of Michigan State Police Photo Lab

50th Anniversary of Official Opening
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Free 50th anniversary memento for crossing the bridge on November 1st (while supplies last)

API and UPI correspondants who covered opening of Mackinac Bridge in 1957 will take part in 50th anniversary ceremonies

LANSING - October 26, 2007 - Two news service correspondents who were present when the Mackinac Bridge linking Michigan’s two peninsulas was opened to traffic on Nov. 1, 1957 will participate in ceremonies next Thursday (Nov. 1) commemorating the 50th anniversary of that event.

Tom Shawver, then a correspondent for the Associated Press, and Tom Farrell, who covered the opening for United Press International, were within a few feet of the toll booth when Gov. G. Mennen Williams paid the first $3.25 toll collected on the $100-millian-dollar span at 1:59 P.M. that day.

Source: Mackinac Bridge Authority

Cisco Outlines Globalisation Vision at Unveiling of Campus in Bangalore

Announces Additional $100 Million Venture Capital Funding to Expand Investments in Early-Stage Indian Companies

BANGALORE, India - October 31, 2007 - Cisco® today unveiled its state-of-the-art Globalisation Centre East campus in Bangalore at an opening ceremony presided over by former Indian President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO.

Cisco also announced that it is extending venture investment initiative in India by another $100 million to drive growth with high-potential Indian companies This venture investment in India is consistent with Cisco's long track record of driving growth in the information technology (IT) market through investment in the innovation economy. In 2005, Cisco designated an initial $100 million in venture funding for this purpose as part of its overall $1.1bn investment plan for India.

Source: Cisco

Wall Street Journal Editor Tunku Varadarajan Joins NYU Stern as Clinical Professor of Business

Tunku will infuse his classes with his firsthand knowledge of the media industry

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE) - October 29, 2007 - New York University Stern School of Business announced that Wall Street Journal Assistant Managing Editor Tunku Varadarajan has been appointed clinical professor of business, effective October 2007.

Currently a contributing editor at the Financial Times, Varadarajan will teach the course, Business and its Publics, to undergraduates, leveraging his experience in editorial writing, reporting and law to explore the dynamic relationship between business, society, markets, politics, media, art and culture. He will also teach the course, The Media and the Business World, to MBA students as part of the School’s Entertainment, Media and Technology (EMT) Program, which offers more than 17 courses at the graduate level that focus on the marketing, finance, management, accounting, legal and economic issues facing entertainment and media firms.

“We are honored to welcome Tunku Varadarajan, a recognized business journalist and editor, to NYU Stern,” said Dean Thomas F. Cooley. “As a clinical professor, Tunku will infuse his classes with his firsthand knowledge of the media industry and share his perspectives on the role of media in shaping business issues.”

Varadarajan joins NYU Stern from The Wall Street Journal, where he served as an assistant managing editor, and, previously, as the editorial features (or op-ed) editor, as well as chief television and media critic. During his tenure there, he tackled the issues of the day, informing the debate and dialogue of everything from religion to politics, entertainment to business.

Source: Business Wire

Robin Sharma Named #6 in Worldwide Ranking of Leadership Gurus - after Jack Welch

Robin Sharma - Helping People and Organizations Get to World-Class ^TM

Toronto, Canada, October 3, 2007 - Results of an independent survey led by leadershipguru.net released last week reveal that Robin Sharma, bestselling author of The Greatness Guide and CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc., was ranked #6 in a listing of the World''s top Leadership Gurus (Jack Welch was #5).

Sharma shot to fame with The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, a book that has been published in nearly 50 countries, translated into 42 languages, and appeared on bestseller lists around the world. HarperCollins Canada has just re-released The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari 10th Anniversary Edition, this #1 bestseller continues to inspire and engage business people and the general public around the globe.

The Greatness Guide 2, which will be published in December 2007 by HarperCollins Canada, is a powerful and practical handbook to help people and organizations get to "world-class". Offering additional practical and inspiring anecdotes, tips, lessons, and big ideas, Sharma provides readers with the tools to live their best lives.

For further info contact:
Media Relations
media@robinsharma.com or +1 416 962 7900

About Robin Sharma
Robin Sharma, LL.B., LL.M., is one of the world''s top experts on leadership and personal success. The author of eight major international bestsellers including The Greatness Guide, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari and Who Will Cry When You Die?, Robin is the CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc., a boutique training firm with a simple mission: to help people and organizations get to "world-class". His website robinsharma.com is one of the most popular personal success destinations on the Internet.

Source: Sharma Leadership International

Press Conference to Provide Update On Cisco Globalisation Centre, Bangalore

Inauguration of Cisco Globalisation Centre East

WHAT: Press Conference to Provide Update on Cisco Globalisation Centre, Bangalore

WHO:
John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco
Wim Elfrink, EVP and Chief Globalisation Officer, Cisco
Dr. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India

WHEN: Tuesday, October 30, 2007

TIME:
15:30 - 17:00 India Standard Time (Oct 30)
11:00 - 12:30 Central European Time (Oct 30)
06:00 - 07:30 Eastern Standard Time (Oct 30)
03:00 - 04:30 Pacific Time (Oct 30)

WHERE:
Cisco Globalisation Centre East
Cisco Systems India Private Limited
Cessna Business Park,
Kadabeesanahalli Village,
Varthur Hobli,
Sarjapur,
Marathahalli Outer Ring Road,
Bangalore 560087,
India

WEBCAST: Click here to attend live webcast.

For more information, visit http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2007/corp_102407.html, or visit the Cisco Island in Second Life

REPLAY: The webcast replay will be available shortly following the event at http://newsroom.cisco.com/globalisation/

Please note Cisco is also hosting a second press conference from its Globalisation Centre on Oct 31st Indian Time which will also be webcast. A separate media alert for this second webcast is also available at the above URL.

Source: Cisco

Sybase Chairman, CEO and President John S. Chen Receives 2007 New Silk Road Award from California-Asia Business Council

Award Recognizes Outstanding Contributions to Improving Business Ties with Asia

DUBLIN, CA — OCTOBER 29, 2007 — Sybase, Inc. (NYSE: SY), a leading provider of enterprise infrastructure and mobile software, today announced that Chairman, CEO and President John S. Chen was honored by the California-Asia Business Council (Cal-Asia) with its 2007 New Silk Road Award. The award recognizes each year one individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the development and growth of U.S.-Asia commerce.

“John Chen is being honored for building strong markets for American technology in China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere in Asia, and for vigorously championing the expansion of healthy U.S.-Asia commerce in Congress and in industry and policy forums,” said Brad Aris, senior vice president of Wells Fargo HSBC Trade Bank, San Francisco, and chairman of Cal-Asia's award committee.

The New Silk Road Award program, now in its 13th year, honors individuals who foster a healthy and active business environment between the East and the West. The name of the award symbolizes both the ancient trade routes between Asia and the Western world, and the economic importance of today's trans-Pacific commerce.

“I am honored to receive this award and offer my sincere thanks to the California-Asia Business Council for creating a forum that recognizes important contributions to strengthen business ties between the U.S. and Asia,” said John Chen. “I look forward to continuing to be part of this force and forge a greater, more robust trade relationship.”

Source: Sybase

Full text of Chen’s speech can be found at www.asianight.org/JohnChenRemarks.html.

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better

About this Talk
In this fast-paced talk (clocking in far shorter than his typical three-day seminars), iconic motivational speaker Tony Robbins explains how to unlock your true potential, and asks the audience (including former Vice President Al Gore) for a bit of high-level interaction. The spontaneous on-stage interaction between Gore and Robbins creates an unforgettable TED moment, and also demonstrates the power of Robbins' direct -- even confrontational -- approach, which calls on his listeners to look within themselves, and find the inner blocks that prevent them from finding fulfillment.



About Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins makes it his business to know why we do the things we do. The pioneering life coach has spoken to millions of people through his best-selling books and three-day seminars

"What Tony delivers is an ever crescendoing call-and-response oratory that often gives the proceedings a teetering, Pentecostal kind of energy. "
GQ

Bill Clinton: TED Prize wish: Let's build a health care system in Rwanda

About this Talk
Accepting the 2007 TED Prize, Bill Clinton says he's trying to build a better world to hand his daughter. Unequal, unstable, and unsustainable, our world must correct its course, and private citizens ("like me") can be powerful forces for change. His Clinton Global Initiative, fresh from success negotiating down pharmaceutical prices in the developing world, is now running a pilot health care system in Rwanda, based on the work of Dr. Paul Farmer in Haiti. In 18 months, its shown potential as a model for the entire developing world. Clinton's TED wish: Help him build this system in Rwanda, to bring world-class health care to a people who have overcome deadly hatred to rebuild their nation.



About Bill Clinton
Through his William J. Clinton Foundation, former US President Bill Clinton has become a vital and innovative force for world change. He works in four critical areas: health, economic empowerment, citizen service, and reconciliation.

"Welcome to the world of the Clinton Foundation -- which, it should be said at the outset, is not a foundation at all in the traditional sense, because it has no money of its own. What it does have, of course, is Bill Clinton."
Fortune

Richard Branson: Life at 30,000 feet

About this Talk
When Richard Branson was at school, his headmaster predicted he would wind up either a millionaire or in jail. Since then, he's done both. Here he talks to TED's Chris Anderson about the ups and the downs of his career, from his multibillionaire success to his multiple near-death experiences, from Virgin's line of spacecraft to the failure of the Virgin condom. He also reveals some of his (very surprising) motivations.

About Richard Branson
Richard Branson bootstrapped his way from record-shop owner to head of the Virgin empire. Now he's focusing his boundless energy on saving our environment.

"There is luck, and then there is Richard Branson luck."
The New Yorker, May 14, 2007