Around ten agreements, including an extradition treaty, is likely to be signed during the current visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia.
A Riyadh Declaration is likely to cement the bilateral ties that have gone "beyond the normal cliches", Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said in Riyadh.
"You may see language in the Riyadh Declaration you may not have seen before," Tharoor said while informally interacting with the media late Saturday night.
The prime minister is on a three-day visit leading a powerful delegation of ministers and officials.
It is the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Saudi Arabia in 28 years.
The Riyadh Declaration is likely to take forward the historic Delhi Declaration, signed during the visit of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to India in 2006, had chalked out.
Around 10 agreements covering fields like security, science and technology, culture and media are likely to be signed during the course of the prime minister's visit, the highlight of which will be an extradition treaty between the two sides.
Calling for a wide-ranging strategic partnership between the two sides, the Delhi Declaration had charted out a new path for enhanced cooperation in energy and economic ties and a commitment by both sides to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.
Stating that there has been a qualitative change in relations between India and Saudi Arabia, Tharoor said: "It has gone beyond the normal cliches of bilateral relations. This is a relationship that has genuinely taken a leap forward."
According to the minister, when the Saudis use terms like strategic partnership, "one talks about a shared view of the world".
"We have seen the problem of so-called state terrorism. But we can sensitise our friends here on this," Tharoor said.
During parleys with King Abdullah Sunday night, the issue of regional security and anti-terrorism measures is likely to get top priority.
Regarding the issue of good Taliban and bad Taliban, Tharoor said the Indian side would make it very clear that there will be no place in the peace dialogue for those who try to enforce their extreme views on religion through the barrel of the gun.
"Those people who are called Taliban and who are willing to accept the democratic process and are willing to lay down arms and participate in the national integration of the Afghan country within the national system under (Afghan President) Hamid Karzai, such people India is willing to see coming," he said.
"Those who believe that pluralism is wrong, who believe in the extreme view of their religion and who want to enforce their views of their religion through the barrel of the gun, such people will have no place in the dialogue," Tharoor said.
"This is what we will be saying to the Saudi side. And I am sure the Saudis will not disagree."
"After 26/11, they were vociferous in their condemnation and sent a senior leader to India to express their views," the minister pointed out.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Pre-release Microsoft Windows 7 RC expires tomorrow
If, like us, you couldn’t wait to get your hands on the new Windows OS when the release candidate (RC) surfaced all those months ago, then you’ll have been seeing a rather annoying pop-up over the course of the last two weeks…
We actually got in on the action when the beta launched over a year ago but dutifully upgraded to the RC when it became available and over the course of the last two weeks Windows Activation reminders have been constantly popping up reminding us that;
“This pre-release version of Windows 7 Ultimate will expire in xxx days. To keep using Windows, back up your files, and then install any edition of Windows 7 Ultimate”
For people still running the RC OS, tomorrow is the beginning of the end. It was initially thought that the RC would be fully functioned until June 2010, and it will. Kind of.
From tomorrow, machines running the pre-release OS will periodically shut down every two hours, with no warning, so if you do intend to keep running it as long as you can, then you’ll want to keep on top of saving your work as you go.
This little elbow in the ribs will continue until June, at which point the release candidate software will be marked as non-genuine, and will boot your PC to a black screen telling you to install a genuine version of Microsoft Windows if you wish to continue using the OS.
To make matters a little worse, Microsoft doesn’t allow in-place upgrades from the RC to a genuine version of Windows 7. However, there is a way around this inability to upgrade, but it will only work if you want to upgrade to the Ultimate Edition as that was the build released as the RC.
If you want to know more about upgrading from the RC to a genuine copy then drop us a comment below and all will be revealed…
We actually got in on the action when the beta launched over a year ago but dutifully upgraded to the RC when it became available and over the course of the last two weeks Windows Activation reminders have been constantly popping up reminding us that;
“This pre-release version of Windows 7 Ultimate will expire in xxx days. To keep using Windows, back up your files, and then install any edition of Windows 7 Ultimate”For people still running the RC OS, tomorrow is the beginning of the end. It was initially thought that the RC would be fully functioned until June 2010, and it will. Kind of.
From tomorrow, machines running the pre-release OS will periodically shut down every two hours, with no warning, so if you do intend to keep running it as long as you can, then you’ll want to keep on top of saving your work as you go.
This little elbow in the ribs will continue until June, at which point the release candidate software will be marked as non-genuine, and will boot your PC to a black screen telling you to install a genuine version of Microsoft Windows if you wish to continue using the OS.
To make matters a little worse, Microsoft doesn’t allow in-place upgrades from the RC to a genuine version of Windows 7. However, there is a way around this inability to upgrade, but it will only work if you want to upgrade to the Ultimate Edition as that was the build released as the RC.
If you want to know more about upgrading from the RC to a genuine copy then drop us a comment below and all will be revealed…
Pentagon Loosens Reins Over Facebook, Twitter, Web 2.0 Apps
The Department of Defense granted military personnel access to Facebook, Twitter, Google Apps and other user-generated applications in a Feb. 26 memorandum. The move followed a review that began last August after the U.S. Marines and U.S. Army released contrasting policies for social network site use. The DOD clearly is trying to strike a balance between national security and acceptable social communication and collaboration. How military personnel behave in the wake of this decision will determine how long the current policy stands.
The Department of Defense has loosened the reins over the use of Facebook, Twitter and other user-generated applications among its personnel, ending the maddening inconsistency of Web 2.0 application use among the military.
In a Feb. 26 memorandum covering the "safe and effective use of Internet-based capabilities," the DOD said the entire non-classified network may provide access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other user-generated content and Web 2.0 applications, such as Google Apps, wikis and blogs.
"This directive recognizes the importance of balancing appropriate security measures while maximizing the capabilities afforded by 21st Century Internet tools," said Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III.
However, the document also gave the right for military management to deny access to sites in the case of abusive use and punish users abusing those privileges. The memorandum noted:
"Commanders at all levels and heads of DoD components will continue to defend against malicious activity on military information networks, deny access to prohibited content sites (e.g., gambling, pornography, hate-crime related activities), and take immediate and commensurate actions, as required, to safeguard missions (e.g., temporarily limiting access to the Internet to preserve operations security or to address bandwidth constraints).
With this move, the DOD is tacitly acknowledging the value of social media and other modern tools in letting colleagues and soldiers communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as with the family and friends. However, the DOD is also trying to strike a balance between national security and acceptable social communication and collaboration.
David M. Wennergren, deputy assistant secretary of defense for information management and technology, told the American Forces Press Service:
"If you look at either one individually, you will fail,” Wennergren said. "You will have great security, but no ability to access information sharing. [Or], if you think only about sharing, you will run into issues of operational security and letting bad things into your system. So you can no longer think of them as two separate subjects."
How military personnel behave in the wake of this decision will determine how long the current policy stands. Abuse of the social network sites and other apps could just as easily result in a permanent ban on these sites by the DOD.
The decree should solidify what have been nebulous policies regarding social network site use in the military.
For example, last June the U.S. Army decided to let its personnel access Facebook and Twitter, but banned MySpace and YouTube.
In August, the U.S. Marine Corps halted the use of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter for the next year. The Marines noted:
"These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries. The very nature of it creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC, COMSEC, personnel and the MCEN at an elevated risk of compromise. Examples of Internet SNS Sites include Facebook, MySpace and Twitter."
Right after the Marines' decision, the Pentagon began reviewing the use of social network use among the DOD.
The Department of Defense has loosened the reins over the use of Facebook, Twitter and other user-generated applications among its personnel, ending the maddening inconsistency of Web 2.0 application use among the military.
In a Feb. 26 memorandum covering the "safe and effective use of Internet-based capabilities," the DOD said the entire non-classified network may provide access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other user-generated content and Web 2.0 applications, such as Google Apps, wikis and blogs.
"This directive recognizes the importance of balancing appropriate security measures while maximizing the capabilities afforded by 21st Century Internet tools," said Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III.
However, the document also gave the right for military management to deny access to sites in the case of abusive use and punish users abusing those privileges. The memorandum noted:
"Commanders at all levels and heads of DoD components will continue to defend against malicious activity on military information networks, deny access to prohibited content sites (e.g., gambling, pornography, hate-crime related activities), and take immediate and commensurate actions, as required, to safeguard missions (e.g., temporarily limiting access to the Internet to preserve operations security or to address bandwidth constraints).
With this move, the DOD is tacitly acknowledging the value of social media and other modern tools in letting colleagues and soldiers communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as with the family and friends. However, the DOD is also trying to strike a balance between national security and acceptable social communication and collaboration.
David M. Wennergren, deputy assistant secretary of defense for information management and technology, told the American Forces Press Service:
"If you look at either one individually, you will fail,” Wennergren said. "You will have great security, but no ability to access information sharing. [Or], if you think only about sharing, you will run into issues of operational security and letting bad things into your system. So you can no longer think of them as two separate subjects."
How military personnel behave in the wake of this decision will determine how long the current policy stands. Abuse of the social network sites and other apps could just as easily result in a permanent ban on these sites by the DOD.
The decree should solidify what have been nebulous policies regarding social network site use in the military.
For example, last June the U.S. Army decided to let its personnel access Facebook and Twitter, but banned MySpace and YouTube.
In August, the U.S. Marine Corps halted the use of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter for the next year. The Marines noted:
"These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries. The very nature of it creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC, COMSEC, personnel and the MCEN at an elevated risk of compromise. Examples of Internet SNS Sites include Facebook, MySpace and Twitter."
Right after the Marines' decision, the Pentagon began reviewing the use of social network use among the DOD.
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