Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

The Tamils of Malaysia, complaining of prolonged oppression by the government, may turn to the LTTE for support and take up arms unless international pressure, particularly from India, compels the Badawi regime to change its attitude, some moderates among them have said, pointing out that several Malaysian Tamils support the LTTE and contribute to the Tigers' war machine in Sri Lanka. In the massive rally of the Malaysian Indians in Kuala Lumpur on November 25, several protesters were seen carrying portraits of Mahatma Gandhi to show their faith in non violence. One of the leaders of that rally called by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), P.Waytha Moorthy, had declared that Gandhi was his role model and even went on satyagraha when arrested. The police used force to disperse the protesters, which drew all round condemnation, including from TamilNadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi, who wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking India's intervention. In an ap...

A "CYBER cold war" is developing as international web espionage and cyber attacks become the biggest threats to internet security, according to a report. Computer security firm McAfee said governments and government allied groups were engaging in increasingly sophisticated cyber spying, with many attacks originating from China. Some 120 countries could be developing the capacity for such activities. In the past 12 months, there have been reports of cyber attacks against government targets in the US, Germany, India, New Zealand and Australia. What started as probes to see what was possible have become well-funded and well organized operations for political, military, economic and technical espionage, the report said, with perpetrators aiming to cause havoc by disrupting critical national infrastructure systems. Targets include air traffic control, financial markets, water and sewer- age systems, electricity, payrolls, intensive care units and even traffic lights. In September:...

Latte factor makes the day brighter and happier for most youngsters. Yes, many can't function without their coffee of choice but the latte factor is more than that. This term owes its name to the coffee culture, but it describes the loosening of purse strings on a regular basis for an expensive magazine, CDs, cup of coffee, a certain sandwich from your favourtie daily, taking cabs and getting your hair done only in the best salon… At the end of the month or year, a huge chunk of money is spent on daily expenditure, which might seem trivial in the short run. But it's hard to quit the latte culture as it is one of the highlights of the day. And you have every reason to indulge in the latte factor in your youth as this is the only time when you have the least amount of responsibilities according to the youth. Rowena Rumah of Ideal Degree College says, "Looking cool is very important so we get our hair cut every two months in fancy parlours." Shoe addict, Mohit Srivastava...

Have a blog? Where are the readers? Touched a raw nerve, right? Don’t fret it’s not tough to get them, if you follow these rules The 4Ps of blog marketing - BY AJAY JAIN Setting up a blog is as easy as it gets getting traffic is another proposition altogether. Yes, blogs by their very nature are supposed to be search engine optimization ready but there is a catch: Your blog needs to break free from the millions of blogs jostling with each other for attention. And there is no magic wand to do this for you. You could, however, seek out Philip Kotler for some inspiration his 4Ps of marketing can work for your blog, too without spending a dime or morphing into a nerd. Product No matter how sleek a car, it is of no use if it does not run. The same goes for your blog unless you want to attract only monkeys, no one will care to read about the bowl of nuts you enjoy sitting under a tree. Content is everything; this is your product and the first P. “Start by asking why you are writing a blo...

India: This year Railways will be able to run seamlessly through dense fog with the help of signals from the sky, literally. A Geographical Positioning System, or GPS, device will connect trains with a satellite orbiting the earth and tell drivers about foggy conditions ahead and direct their actions accordingly . The "Fog Safe Tech Device" is a high-tech kit of an antenna, a monitor and a few consoles installed at the train's engine. It shows in the monitor visibility conditions up to four kilometres ahead. Moreover, it also alerts about obstructions on the track. "This device lets a driver know what lies ahead even if he cannot sight them. There is also a gauge, which shows the level of visibility and the position of the tracks. Therefore, trains can run even in zero-visibility," said a Northern Railway spokesman. For Railways this is a quantum leap, considering that until last year, drivers used to rely on small explosives called detonators to explode ahead t...

They call him Bijli Wale Baba and not without reason either. Baba Mangal Das, a priest at the Ram Janki temple Bamhorisar village in Lalitpur district, takes electric shocks regularly and actually feels comfortable with a live wire placed on his body. Explaining his bizarre liking for electric shocks the intensity of which can kill an ordinary mortal, the Baba says, "I have been accustomed to this since the past three years. At night, I plug in the wire and place the other end either inside my mouth, ears or under my armpit to sleep well. If I do not take these shocks, I cannot sleep." He claims that he actually feels better after taking the shocks. The 52-year-old priest confesses that he was addicted to opium, smack and marijuana for several years but his craving for intoxicants remained unsaturated until he accidentally touched one end of an electrified iron rod in 2004. "The electric shock that I received gave me a strange kind of satisfaction and then I trie...

Newyork: Just give a second thought before you perch the laptop computer on your lap it can affect your fertility. Researchers in the United States have carried out a study and found that the heat generated by the laptops raises the risk of infertility in men who balance the machines on their lap, the WebMD reported. "Working on laptop computers in a laptop position causes significant scrotal temperature elevation as a result of heat exposure and posture-related effects," according to lead researcher Prof Yefim Sheynkin. Prof Sheynkin and his fellow researchers at the State University of New York came to the conclusion after studying 29 healthy young men aged between 21 and 35 for two, one hour sessions in a climate controlled room.