It was the “Little White Donkey” incident that pushed many readers over the edge. That’s the name of the piano tune that Amy Chua, Yale law professor and self-described “tiger mother,” forced her 7-year-old daughter Lulu to practice for hours on end — “right through dinner into the night,” with no breaks for water or even the bathroom, until at last Lulu learned to play the piece.

For other readers, it was Chua calling her older daughter Sophia “garbage” after the girl behaved disrespectfully — the same thing Chua had been called as a child by her strict Chinese father. (See a TIME Q&A with Amy Chua.)

And, oh, yes, for some readers it was the card that young Lulu made for her mother’s birthday. “I don’t want this,” Chua announced, adding that she expected to receive a drawing that Lulu had “put some thought and effort into.” Throwing the card back at her daughter, she told her, “I deserve better than this. So I reject this.”

Even before Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Chua’s proudly politically incorrect account of raising her children “the Chinese way,” arrived in bookstores Jan. 11, her parenting methods were the incredulous, indignant talk of every playground, supermarket and coffee shop. A prepublication excerpt in the Wall Street Journal (titled “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”) started the ferocious buzz; the online version has been read more than 1 million times and attracted more than 7,000 comments so far. When Chua appeared Jan. 11 on the Today show, the usually sunny host Meredith Vieira could hardly contain her contempt as she read aloud a sample of viewer comments: “She’s a monster”; “The way she raised her kids is outrageous”; “Where is the love, the acceptance?”

Chua, a petite 48-year-old who carries off a short-skirted wardrobe that could easily be worn by her daughters (now 15 and 18), gave as good as she got. “To be perfectly honest, I know that a lot of Asian parents are secretly shocked and horrified by many aspects of Western parenting,” including “how much time Westerners allow their kids to waste — hours on Facebook and computer games — and in some ways, how poorly they prepare them for the future,” she told Vieira with a toss of her long hair. “It’s a tough world out there.” (See Nancy Gibbs’ take on the challenges of parenting.)

Chua’s reports from the trenches of authoritarian parenthood are indeed disconcerting, even shocking, in their candid admission of maternal ruthlessness. Her book is a Mommie Dearest for the age of the memoir, when we tell tales on ourselves instead of our relatives. But there’s something else behind the intense reaction to Tiger Mother, which has shot to the top of best-seller lists even as it’s been denounced on the airwaves and the Internet. Though Chua was born and raised in the U.S., her invocation of what she describes as traditional “Chinese parenting” has hit hard at a national sore spot: our fears about losing ground to China and other rising powers and about adequately preparing our children to survive in the global economy. Her stories of never accepting a grade lower than an A, of insisting on hours of math and spelling drills and piano and violin practice each day (weekends and vacations included), of not allowing playdates or sleepovers or television or computer games or even school plays, for goodness’ sake, have left many readers outraged but also defensive. The tiger mother’s cubs are being raised to rule the world, the book clearly implies, while the offspring of “weak-willed,” “indulgent” Westerners are growing up ill equipped to compete in a fierce global marketplace.

One of those permissive American parents is Chua’s husband, Jed Rubenfeld (also a professor at Yale Law School). He makes the occasional cameo appearance in Tiger Mother, cast as the tenderhearted foil to Chua’s merciless taskmaster. When Rubenfeld protested Chua’s harangues over “The Little White Donkey,” for instance, Chua informed him that his older daughter Sophia could play the piece when she was Lulu’s age. Sophia and Lulu are different people, Rubenfeld remonstrated reasonably. “Oh, no, not this,” Chua shot back, adopting a mocking tone: “Everyone is special in their special own way. Even losers are special in their own special way.”

With a stroke of her razor-sharp pen, Chua has set a whole nation of parents to wondering: Are we the losers she’s talking about?

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2043313-1,00.html#ixzz1BkOv5XuI

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MUMBAI: The much-awaited Indian Premier League players’ auction will be held at Bangalore on January 8 and 9 and will see over 400 players going under the hammer, it was learnt on Monday.

“The auction is to be held in Bangalore and a total of 416 players would go under the auctioner’s hammer,” IPL sources said.

Under the IPL Player Regulations, each of the founding franchises could retain up to four players (of which only three could be Indian) in advance of the player auction - against fixed deductions from the $9 million salary cap.

Only Chennai Super Kings, the 2010 champions, and runners-up Mumbai Indians have retained the full compliment of players.

CSK have retained captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Murali Vijay and South African all-rounder Albie Morkel.

MI held on to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Sri Lanka’s sling-arm pacer Lasith Malinga and West Indian powerhouse Kieron Pollard.

By retaining four players, MI and CSK are each left with only $4.5 million to spend either in the auction or in buying Ranji players outside the auction.

Delhi Daredevils retained swashbuckling opener Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals decided to keep their two Australian stars Shane Warne and Shane Watson.

Rajasthan Royals will have $5.9 million available to spend while Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will each have a balance of $7.2 million available. The remaining franchises have the full $9 million available to spend.

This is the second time in four years that the T20 franchise-based League’s players’ auction is being held outside Mumbai where the inaugural one took place in 2008.

Goa was the venue of the second players’ auction in February 2009.

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WASHINGTON: Google has filed suit against the US government claiming the terms for a large Department of the Interior contract favour rival Microsoft.

The lawsuit was filed by Google and Onix Networking Corp, a reseller of Google products, in the US Court of Federal Claims.

Google argues that the terms of the bid for an email, calendar and document collaboration system for some 88,000 Interior Department employees implicitly rule out a Google product and favor one from software giant Microsoft.

The company is promoting its Internet-based suite of office tools, Google Apps, for the contract over Microsoft’s solution.

It said it was told there would be a “full and open competition” for the contract but the bid request “specified that only the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite-Federal could be proposed.”

Google said it was bringing suit on the grounds “that such specification is unduly restrictive of competition” and in violation of US law.

The Internet giant said it was told its product was “not compliant with (Interior Department) security requirements,” but that is not the case.

Google announced in September that three million businesses and more than 30 million people are using Google Apps, which are hosted on the Internet “cloud” as services on demand.

Google Apps include products or services such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs and are seen as the Mountain View, California company’s challenge to Microsoft’s popular Office software.

The Wall Street Journal said the Department of the Interior contract is estimated to be worth $58 million over five years.

Read more: Google sues US govt for favouring Microsoft - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Google-sues-US-govt-for-favouring-Microsoft/articleshow/6857208.cms#ixzz146SwpqnC

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LONDON: Lee Westwood was officially confirmed as the new world number one on Monday ending Tiger Woods’ five-year long reign at the top.

But the 37-year-old Englishman, who moved marginally ahead of the American despite not playing last week as he had amassed more ranking points over the last two years, insisted any talk of Woods as a waning force was wrong.

“I’ve learnt never to write Tiger off,” Westwood, the first European golfer to head the rankings since compatriot Nick Faldo in 1994, told the BBC.

Woods’s seemingly well-ordered life was thrown into turmoil by revelations of an affair that led to the collapse of his marriage and a five-month break from the game he’d dominated.

The 14-times Major champion has yet to win a tournament since returning to competitive golf but Westwood believes Woods showed signs of returning to form in last month’s Ryder Cup.

Woods, 34, won three points from four matches including a final day thrashing of Francesco Molinari, although Europe still beat the United States at the Celtic Manor course in Wales.

“It certainly looked at the Ryder Cup like there were green shoots of recovery in his game,” said Westwood.

“I’ve seen him play at his best and I’ve seen him play with a broken leg when he won the US Open a couple of years ago.”

Woods, chasing fellow American great Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 Major titles, did not seem too bothered by relinquishing top spot in the rankings - a position he’s held since June 2005.

“As far as the world ranking is concerned, yes, I’m not ranked number one in the world. In order to do that you have to win and I didn’t win this year,” Woods explained.

Westwood’s time at the top could be short-lived as any one of Woods, Martin Kaymer or Phil Mickelson - who unlike Westwood have all won at least one of golf’s four Majors - could depose the new number one in the rankings when the quartet contest the WGC- HSBC Champions event in Shanghai this week.

“It’s an exciting time for golf,” Westwood added. “If anyone can put a run together it’s so close they could take the number one spot.”

Nevertheless, Westwood, sidelined recently by a calf problem, was proud of his achievement.

“It’s a dream everyone has to say there is nobody better than me at the moment. You have to say it’s a highlight.

“When you are growing up and people say what do you want to achieve, everyone says I want to be the best in the world. Right at this moment I can show people the world rankings and say I am the best on the planet.”

But he knows the acid test will come at the Majors - the US Masters, US Open, British Open and USPGA.

Now Westwood, who has secured top three finishes in four of the past five Majors, cannot wait for the Masters in April, the next Major tournament.

“Every other world number one has got one so I’m under a little bit more pressure to win a major,” said Westwood, who rebuilt his game after falling to as low as 266 in the rankings back in 2001.

“I’m hoping to get to Augusta right where I want my game and contend once more. I just need to produce that extra special thing at the right time.”

Latest leading world rankings:

1. Lee Westwood (ENG) 8.29pts

2. Tiger Woods (USA) 8.13

3. Martin Kaymer (GER) 7.98

4. Phil Mickelson (USA) 7.83

5. Steve Stricker (USA) 7.20

6. Jim Furyk (USA) 7.09

7. Paul Casey (ENG) 6.14

8. Luke Donald (ENG) 5.70

9. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 5.44

10. Graeme McDowell (NIR) 5.43

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An assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, Jeffrey Hall, has identified five styles of flirting. Hall, who recently completed study into styles of flirting among dating adults, surveyed more than 5,100 people regarding their methods of communicating romantic interest.

Five styles of flirting identified are: physical, traditional, polite, sincere and playful.

Physical flirting involves the expression of sexual interest in a potential partner. People who scored high in this form of flirting often develop relationships quickly, have more sexual chemistry and have a greater emotional connection to their partners.

Traditional flirts think men should make the first move and women should not pursue men. Because they adopt a more passive role in dating, women with this style are likely to report trouble getting men’s attention and are less likely to flirt or be flattered by flirting. Traditional men often know a potential partner for a longer time before approaching them. Both genders tend to be introverted and prefer a more intimate dating scene.

The polite style of flirting focuses on proper manners and nonsexual communication. Although they are less likely to approach a potential partner and do not find flirting flattering, they do tend to have meaningful relationships.

Sincere flirting is based on creating emotional connections and communicating sincere interest. Although women tend to score higher in this style, it is advocated by both genders. Relationships involve strong emotional connections and sexual chemistry and are typically meaningful.

People with playful flirting styles often flirt with little interest in a long-term romance. However, they find flirting fun and enhancing to their self-esteem. They are less likely to have important and meaningful relationships.

Hall said that for the most part, there was little difference between genders within each flirting style.

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After a 15 year stint, Heinz Krogner , chairman of Esprit handed over the running of the $5 billion company to Ronald Van der Vis, CEO of Esprit, last November. The task on hand for Ron as the 69-year-old Heinz calls him, was not an easy one: “Though Esprit is young (founded in 1968), a brand gets tired over a period of time. Esprit is like a pearl, but does not shine anymore. It needs to be made more exciting which is a tough job and Ron has a lot of work ahead.” Along with young Ron, Heinz has laid out a roadmap with six identified focus areas.

A self-confessed Indophile, Heinz is in India along with Van Der, to launch the first SOS village, an organisation which works with orphans and which is supported globally by Esprit. Heinz is pragmatic about his expectations from India. And candid about the effects of the global economic crises and the fact that Europe’s consumption is shrinking at an alarming rate.

As he lays out the roadmap, it is clear that he has handed over the reins at a very critical juncture in Esprit’s history. “Take the case of Ford . What a ride they enjoyed back in the 1930s and 1940s! But as soon as companies like Porsche came in, things changed. Along with being successful, well-loved, well-perceived by your customers, comes the danger of becoming more common than normal. So, it’s critical to brush up again,” says Heinz.

Where Heinz is candid, Van der Vis is cautious. While he agrees its time to “re-polish” the pearl, he argues that Esprit was just “going back to the roots” to the DNA of the brand. Speaking about Esprit’s social conscience, he says it is hardly a recent development.

The founders, Susie and Doug Tompkins and their employees voluntarily did community work like planting trees among other things. Both founders are still hugely into ecological land preservation. “We do not have to fake it, nor is it just fashionable CSR,” says Van der Vis about supporting SOS.

Being conscious about the environment, is inculcated into every Esprit employee who, Heinz adds, is very young. The average age is 30. “Young people are very open to social responsibility. Of course we also have to be responsible to our shareholders but equally so to society. And in this, what Ron says is true, we have been doing this since 1968,” says Heinz.

When Van der Vis took over, there was the economic crisis, profits had been affected after a decade and though Esprit was still a very successful company it was time for some change. “We were going to strengthen the brand, because we are a branded company, selling branded apparel. We needed to enhance the brand globally,” begins an extremely focused Van der Vis.

Brand leads to product. Esprit operates 12 divisions but over time some of these had begun to get too similar and in fact, even started to overlap. The differentiation is being spearheaded by Heinz. He delineates the lines that cater to different customers, for different occasions and ensures that the products are fashioned accordingly. Thirdly, a tough but essential decision was to close down some of the loss making stores, (an announcement Esprit made at their full year results) to improve the profitability of their store network.

The fourth part of Van der Vis’s strategy was to focus on bundling the group’s sourcing efforts. Each of the 12 divisions previously had their own sourcing teams and the effort was to try to get them to work together: to centralise suppliers and yet ensure that a division use them individually. Logistics and IT followed with an aim to be efficient and more effective. “We are building a new distribution warehouse in Europe to improve our logistical efficiency as well,” adds Van der Vis.

What however brings in the big change for Esprit is the sixth focus area, of a new organisation structure for their sales. From a structure where they had continental presidents, responsible for retail and wholesale, they have turned back the clock. Heads now focus purely on either wholesale or retail and not on geographies. “We are going back to a proven system,” says Van der Vis, smiling at his ‘back to the roots’ line.

A big impetus to the brand will come from the fact that in February this year Esprit was able to buy back the 51% of their joint venture in China, strategically giving them a chance to build a second leg for the company next to their European business.

“We can focus on emerging markets like China where currently we operate more than 1,000 points of sale. We are the number three women’s brand in China. Thanks to Heinz’s involvement we were able to buy this back and this gives us a new growth engine for the future,” says Van der Vis.

Though majority of Esprit’s business still comes from Europe, economic circumstances are not easy at the moment in the continent, and it is, as Heinz emphasises, an increasingly saturated market. As compared to a decade ago, says Heinz, consumption has shrunk by 20%. The growth will says the chairman have to come from Asia Pacific and countries like China and India.

“Of course this will take time. It’s not like we can push a button and we can conquer Asia but we have a very good start-up position because we have already paid our entrance bill in China while the new players still need to invest huge sums to build it all up. We are already profitable in China. Maybe three to four years down the line, India would be the next growth potential,” says Heinz.

The idea in the end is to first make a better company and then a bigger company because as Heinz concludes, “A better company will become a bigger company; not the other way around.”

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NEW DELHI: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar said on Friday that he would like to focus on one series at a time rather than thinking too far ahead including the World Cup that will be held in the sub-continent, next year.

“I am not yet thinking about the tour of South Africa and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. My immediate focus is on the upcoming New Zealand series and only when that is over, I will start talking about South Africa,” Tendulkar said on the sidelines of a function that marked his association as a brand ambassador with a high-end watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet.

However, Tendulkar admitted that he would be happy if India can maintain the winning momentum in the coming series.

“The momentum is with us right now and we should not let it go. We are not taking anything for granted and want to be on our toes. We would be looking to keep on producing competitive cricket and stick to the basics.”

When asked whether he is currently enjoying the form of his life, the iconic batsman who recently completed 14,000 Test runs said that although he is happy but he is still not satisfied.

“There is always room for improvement. I am happy with my current performance but not satisfied. I want to get better. In fact, in any profession one must strive to get better and better,” said Tendulkar, adding, “I always want to remain a student of the game because that is when you grasp more and is always keen to improve.”

The 37-year-old, who had one of the most fruitful years of his career in 2010 as he won his first ICC’s Player of the Year Award and returned to the top of the world batting rankings for the first time since 2002.

In February, he scored centuries in successive Tests against South Africa before becoming the first man to reach 200 in an ODI against the same opponents.

When asked what all has remained in his wish list which he still want to achieve, Tendulkar said, “There is no wish list. I play because I always love playing cricket. The only thing I ever wanted to do was to play for my country.

“Now, my track is only cricket, where a lot of stations come and I cherish arriving at all of them. But I personally just want to do something for my country and go on playing. In this journey I want to achieve whatever I can till the time remains,” said the man, who remains just one short of scoring 50 Test centuries.

“It was a fantastic win the Test series against Australia. In fact, it was great to see some guys produced special cricket. (VVS) Laxman is definitely one such special guy, who snatched the victory for us. He was struggling to even jog as he was injured but he went out there and produced such a brilliant innings.

“Even Ishant Sharma, who shared a valuable partnership with him must get a lot of credit. I am extremely glad that we stuck to our No 1 position in Tests.”

Talking about the ICC award that he finally bagged this year by beating South African Hashim Amla, England’s Graeme Swann and teammate Virender Sehwag, the Mumbaikar said, “Whenever an award comes it always feels good.”

He further added, “But no one plays for awards. You always set goals and want to achieve those goals as individuals. And in cricket you always want to achieve goals as an individual and as a team.

“And when you succeed in achieving your goal and get appreciated for your efforts it always feels good.”

The cricketer, who was conferred with the Indian Air Force’s honorary rank of Group Captain to honour his sporting achievements and contribution to the nation last month, said that “it was a great honour.”

“Becoming the group captain with the Indian Air Force was a great honour. It is extremely special because I am associated with a force who protect us. I salute them.”

Read more: Would like to take one series at a time: Tendulkar - The Times of India

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