'Taliban, please leave Pakistan alone', says net surfers

Islamabad: A movement has been launched by several groups on popular social networking website Facebook against the Taliban, who are forcing their"brand of Islam" on Pakistanis.

"Taliban, please leave Pakistan alone. We do not want you enforcing your brand of Islam on us. We do not want our women to be beaten up by your groups of vigilantes. We do not want our young boys to be corrupted by your violent and intolerant ideology," reads a note of one of many groups created on Facebook to protest against" Taliban Raj".

The note on the Facebook called for the punishment of the Taliban for their crimes."We do not want you to take over our beautiful valleys and scare everyone into peace. We want a judicial system. Not a system run by microphone and gun-toting illiterate maulvis. We want safety and prosperity for our young girls and boys," it said.

The note added:" Leave our country alone from the violent way of life. We do not want to live in your fear. Pakistanis want to respect Islam and most want to be good Muslims."

In the past few weeks, Taliban fighters from the restive northwestern Swat valley have extended their influence to Buner and other areas located just 100 km from Islamabad.

As in Swat, the Taliban barred women from venturing out of their homes and stopped men from shaving their beards. They have also launched a major push for enforcing Islamic law in these areas.

"The women of Pakistan hate Taliban" is another group on Facebook that is raising its voice against" Taliban-instituted system of gender apartheid".

" Under Taliban rule women have been stripped of their visibility, voice, and mobility," wrote Syed Ali Raza, the creator of the group."We hate the bombs going off. We hate how they think they own Pakistan and we hate the fact the whole world thinks we support them. For the sake of our freedom and peace we want them out of Pakistan. Join the group. Invite your friends to show the world we want assault rifle brandishing militants out!"read Raza's message.

"No place in Pakistan for the Taliban Let's get them out" is yet another group floated by Ahmed Wahla.

Rise up fellow Pakistanis. Don't forget the principles on which our country was founded upon. Write to newspapers, come on news channels, and do everything and anything to make your voices heard. Let's let these Taliban know that Pakistan is united against them.

"My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilise all our resources in a systematic and organised way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation," wrote Wahla.

Dalit marriage party attacked, eight injured

Muzaffarnagar: Eight persons of a Dalit marriage party were injured when they were attacked by some locals at Chapar village in the district, police said today.

The incident took place last night when a marriage procession from Saharanpur district was on its way to the bride's place in the village.

The trouble broke out when a motorcycle entered into the procession, to which members of the party objected.

The motorcycle riders then called their friends and beat the members of the procession injuring eight of them, police said.

"A case has been registered against eight people in this connection," they said adding no arrest has been made so far.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital, where condition of three-Suraj Bhan, Raj Kumar and Dhyan Singh-is said to be critical.

This is second case of a Dalit marriage party being attacked in Western UP in last 15 days.

On April 15, 18 people of a Dalit marriage party were injured when a bus in which they were travelling was attacked by members of another community over a trivial issue at Kheda Hatana village in Baghpat district.

Container carrying swine flu virus explodes on Swiss train

Lausanne (Switzerland), April 28 : A container for transporting swine flu virus samples exploded on a Swiss train, authorities said Tuesday, but stressed that there was no danger to the public.

The container, which was filled with dry ice and carried samples of the H1N1 swine flu virus and was destined for Switzerland's national influenza centre in Geneva, exploded Monday night on board a train.

A laboratory employee had picked up the samples in Zurich to transport them by train to Geneva, but the package exploded near Fribourg and Lausanne, after melting dry ice, which had been wrongly placed, caused a build-up of pressure.

Two people suffered slight injuries, police confirmed, but authorities stressed there was no danger for the public as the virus was not the mutated strain which is suspected to have caused up to 149 deaths in Mexico.

The train was halted for several hours and the 61 passengers on board the affected carriage monitored until an infection could be completely ruled out, police said.

Analysts: Be cautious on Oracle-Sun merger

Acquiring Sun Microsystems elevates Oracle to "powerhouse" status, but CIOs should wait for it to announce hardware and middleware roadmaps before deciding on their license agreements, say analysts.
Gartner sent out a statement saying the merger marks the first time a large software company has bought a large hardware company, positioning Oracle as a "powerhouse" vendor targeting IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
It said the two vendors' combined product sets will give it a vertical "integrated" stack to offer customers, but customers should wait for Oracle to lay out its hardware road map before any long-term plans.

Customers on Sun's Sparc hardware should protect their investments by locking in longer support agreements of five- to seven years, said Gartner.

The analyst firm also recommended CIOs stay cautious before committing to Sun middleware products. It added: "As a precautionary measure, current Sun middleware customers should begin to evaluate alternatives and, if appropriate, develop a migration strategy."

IDC said Oracle's lack of hardware experience may see it eventually spinning off Sun's hardware business, which consists of servers, storage and tape.

A Technology Business Research (TBR) analyst too said the software giant will have to invest "significant sums of money to continue the hardware business as-is".

TBR said it may have to streamline the Sun server product line as a result, and focus on x86 machines. It also listed likely purchasers of Sun's hardware business: Fujitsu, EMC, Dell and HP.

Vendor consolidation: what CIOs should expect

The Gartner report also noted Oracle faces a challenge with customers who may not want to source for their enterprise stack from a single vendor.

Ovum's senior vice president of IT research, David Mitchell, however thinks that companies may benefit from Oracle's vertical offering.

In an e-mailed statement, Mitchell said: "Historically, it may have been prudent for CIOs to spread their spending across multiple suppliers, using competition between suppliers to keep prices keen."
However, the wide portfolios of giant vendors such as IBM, HP, Microsoft and Oracle may present CIOs with better bundled enterprise licensing agreements, he said.
Mitchell said CIOs resistant to procuring from a single vendor may have to accept that the IT landscape is consolidating, and that dealing with single vendors may be a trend that continues to gather momentum.
He said: "We are now entering a market context where the 'big four' will equate to IBM, HP, Microsoft and Oracle.
"These suppliers will, between them, define a significant proportion of the IT market landscape for the next 10 years or more."
As a result, other vendors need to focus on specialization, rather than try to scale to match the four, he said.
TBR said Oracle is in a good position to provide unique combinations of Oracle and Sun's products.
One potential appliance could fuse Sun server and storage hardware with Solaris and Java software, together with Oracle's database and Fusion middleware, it said. This "unique" offering would enable Oracle to "rapidly penetrate the small and midsize (SMB) market", said the report.

TVS Apache RTR 180 Menace Launching Soon

TVS Apache RTR 180 Menace will be launched soon

If industry rumors can be taken seriously, automobile industry is abuzz with the new to launch 180 cc bike from TVS Company. The rumors are that it will be named TVS Apache Menace. Menace! Yes I loved the name for the stir it can create in bike circles.
TVS Apache RTR 180 Menace will be an upgraded version of the most popular TVS Apache RTR product. The new bike is all set to gear up the bike enthusiasts with 180 cc engine that will deliver power of 18 BHP with a 16 Nm torque.  The new TVS Apache Menace will be a sporty version motorcycle and is expected to retain its naked beauty look but will feature some cosmetic upgrades to capitalize on the current market share.
The versatile 180cc, mono cylinder, bi-valve engine is said to have increased compression ratio and will be powered by fuel-injection system to deliver average mileage of 30-35 km per liter. TVS Apache RTR 180 Menace will be equipped with double-cradle chassis, mono-shock suspension and disc brakes at both front and rear end. The console system will feature all new digital speedometers and the stunning look will be further enhanced by no front scoop that will expose a part of the engine.
TVS Apache Menace is expected to rule on the Indian roads sometime later this year 2009 in colors Yellow, Red and Matt Grey. The speculation on price of TVS Apache Menace is that it will have a price range is Rs 78,000-Rs.80, 000 in New Delhi and I already sniff stiff competition with its adversaries Bajaj Pulsar 200cc and Yamaha FZ16.

Current to tune the sparks in Bangkok

Shooting of Current directed by Suryapratap, presented by Annapurna Studios and produced by Chintalapudi Srinivasa Rao and A Naga Suseela under the banner of Sri Nag Corporation with Sushant, nephew of Nagarjuna and grandson of Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Sneha Ullal in the lead was almost complete but for the canning of three songs.

Producers say, “We are planning to can a song on the lead pair at Bangkok. The film would be released in May as a summer special.” Charanraj, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani, Sunil, Shafi, Raghubabu, Vijay, Kishore, Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao, Sudha, Jhansi, Rashmi and others are in the cast.

Music is by Devisri Prasad, camera is by Vijay C Kumar, action is by Kanal Kannan, art is by Narayana Reddy, while editing is by Marthand K Venkatesh.

Sarah Palin: Levi/Bristol Would Shack Up "Over My Dead Body"

It is clear at this point that there is absolutely no love lost between Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston.

To recap: After he appeared on the "Tyra Banks" show to talk about his sex life with her daughter Bristol, Palin hit back hard by saying, "We're disappointed that Johnston and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship."

Then Johnston appeared on CBS, claiming that he was treated like an outcast by the Palins after the election, going so far as to call the family "snobby," which surely did not go over too well in Wasilla.

And while Johnston claims that he was living with the Palins for a time, the family denies that he did. Johnston's family, for their part, have backed him up and accused the Palins of lying.

Lest one think the issue has been put to rest, Sarah Palin was asked at a press conference Friday about Johnston's claim that he resided with the family before Bristol Palin gave birth to their child. Palin's response:

I know the truth about my family. I know details about whether Levi Johnston was allowed to live with my teenage daughter or not. By the way, it would be over my dead body that a kid would live with my teenage daughter.

For more on Levi's life with the Palins, read this excerpt from Esquire's profile of Todd Palin.