Just like learning the a new language at first I was so resistant to speak even I got a grade of 10 (B)in writing and grammar I'm still poor in communication because everybody is correcting me and I don't want to be corrected even with good or bad intentions. But then somebody told me just speak so that you learn it's their problem if they can't understand you, she said. So I did even my tongue got twisted I tried and tried and now they can not sell me anymore.

The lesson is I don't care if my writing is not prefect but maybe in a year I will improve so just write anything. And for the first time 2 weeks a go I think my stats plummeted from just less than 100 to now 442 wow and someone commented. I felt the excitement when there's some comments waiting to be moderated and wow it's nice to be noticed especially some of the fellow mommy bloggers like Brownpinay, pinaymommyonline, and desperateblogger cared to visit my site and commented and linked my site to them. I felt ecstatic, I thought star bloggers are snob but not all. All I need to do is to interact not just a reader then you'll get a response.

So to all who those who read my blog thank you for your time and I try my best to come up with something. I read a tip that you just act yourself so I going to blog about what I like and care about and I will publish some posts that's been lying on my draft for along time.

I new to this so just hang on there I'm still in the process of learning if you have any corrections, tips or comments I would surely welcome it.

Happy blogging!!!

sur http://lmsi.net/spip.php?article764

Introduction

Il y a des colères qui demandent explication. Je suis sortie très en colère du dernier Desplechin. Pourtant, j’ai toujours apprécié son cinéma, ou plutôt je l’ai toujours suivi avec intérêt. « Rois et Reine » m’a transportée, « Comment je me suis disputée... » me parlait intimement, « Esther Khan » avait de l’élégance, j’ai même tenu jusqu’au bout de « Léo en jouant Dans la compagnie des hommes... » avec l’incompréhension fascinée que l’on doit à certaines oeuvres qui caracolent fougueusement dans le ratage. Alors pourquoi une allergie si soudaine face à ce que de nombreux critiques et pas des moins estimables, considèrent déjà comme son chef d’oeuvre à ce jour ?

Article

Les arguments à charge sont nombreux mais pas décisifs puisque mobilisables depuis le début :

- le maniérisme obsessionnel qui vise à faire de chaque plan un micro moment d’anthologie (au risque de la pose, de l’invraisemblance, du ridicule ?) ;

- le faux naturel qui croit capter la vie quand il ne fait que souligner l’artifice du dispositif filmique (toujours délicate, la direction d’enfants est, chez Desplechin, particulièrement calamiteuse) ;

- le débraillé ostentatoire de khâgneux qui ose enfin lâcher sa gourme (ah, ces mots crus qui ont l’air de sortir de la bouche des acteurs comme les crapauds de celle des princesses de conte de fée...) ;

- le symbolisme de potache (Dedalus et Junon, il y tient absolument ?) ;

- la « kultur » littéraire écrasante...

Tous travers (j’élague volontairement) qui, jusque là disséminés ou intermittents, connaissent ici un taux de concentration vraiment élevé, rendant le film presque irrespirable, à force de « toujours trop ».

Mais ces ratages ne seraient que les risques assumés et pardonnables de l’audace et de l’originalité, si l’on ne ressentait une gêne plus générale, jusque là rampante, mais soudain évidente, face à ce qu’il faut bien appeler, quelque vague et passe partout que demeure cette notion, une « vision du monde ».

Chez Desplechin, en effet, la virtuosité stylistique, l’invention des moyens et des formes, la subversion volontariste et talentueuse du récit classique ne semblent jamais avoir pour enjeu de capter la diversité du monde social, et de s’interroger sur l’histoire en marche : la Famille reste bourgeoise, patriarcale, aisée ; la Femme, est forcément évanescente, mystérieuse, maîtresse des relations humaines mais socialement seconde (ce n’est pas elle qui dirigerait une teinturerie ou enchaînerait péremptoirement une guirlande d’équations...) ; paumé ou dominateur, l’Homme reste maître du logos et de l’initiative sexuelle (le scénariste a osé l’histoire de la fille échangée entre garçons : on se croirait chez Levi-Strauss !).

Ces partis-pris narratifs et scénaristiques ne me gêneraient nullement en eux-mêmes (au cinéma comme en littérature, tout est dicible d’une expérience singulière) si le cinéaste ne donnait constamment l’impression de vouloir les ériger en archétypes, laissant entendre, par sa démarche même, que « sa » famille, c’est toutes les familles , « sa » vision des femmes, toutes les femmes.

On en veut pour preuve cette ambition clairement affichée de se situer à la croisée du conte et du mythe, des dieux grecs et de la psychanalyse, de Shakespeare et d’Andersen : une femme est une femme, une famille, une famille, et il en va ainsi depuis la nuit des temps, depuis que le monde est monde...

Mais de même que les bouleversements climatiques qui affectent la planète rendent chaque année plus improbable la présence de neige à Noël sous nos latitudes – et donc passablement irréelle celle qui tombe, un 24 décembre, sur le Roubaix de Desplechin —, de même les rapports de classe et de sexe ne sont plus aujourd’hui tout à fait les mêmes que dans ce roman familial où a baigné l’enfance bourgeoise et provinciale du créateur.

On peut sourire (et Dieu sait qu’en France on ne s’en prive pas) du volontarisme un peu crétin avec lequel le cinéma américain impose dans ses scénarios des figures de la « différence », notamment dans les représentations de genre et de races : une enquêtrice enceinte (Fargo), une karatéka blonde (Kill Bill), une juge noire, une avocate homosexuelle, une physicienne à gros seins, une soldate mère de famille... I

l n’empêche que, même outrés et parfois invraisemblables, ces personnages sont les fascinants rejetons d’une société qui n’hésite pas à orchestrer une puissante révolution des représentations et qui, par sa réactivité au discours des sciences sociales, témoigne d’un formidable désir de se remettre en question et d’aller de l’avant.

Un jeune vieillard cramponné à la grande culture

Le cinéma de Desplechin serait un peu l’antithèse de ce cinéma-là : tourné vers le passé, les grands modèles, la littérature, il affirme implicitement que rien dans les structures ne change ; profondément ancré dans un milieu et une culture hyper typés et un rien faisandés (la bourgeoisie française de province, la khâgne, Normale Sup, une petite intelligentsia élitiste gavée de philosophie et de vieux romantisme littéraire..), il les pose comme horizon indépassable. Il n’y a pas jusqu’au physique de ses actrices qui ne respire un classicisme absolu : un vraie fille, ça a forcément des cheveux longs, un visage de madone et des formes épanouies.

Quand les collègues de Despleschin essaient de tâtonner vers autre chose (des rockeuses, des marginales, des filles entre elles chez Assayas ou Honoré...), quand le vieillissant Rohmer cherchait encore à capter la modernité des visages et des styles (Pascale Ogier dans Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune), Desplechin s’affirme, de film en film, comme un jeune vieillard fièrement cramponné à son système, dont la liberté formelle semble inversement proportionnelle au foncier conservatisme.

Il y a, chez lui quelque chose d’un néo-Gide ou d’un néo-Mauriac : on saccage avec fracas la belle baraque bourgeoise, sans jamais prendre le risque d’aller voir dans le jardin d’à côté, où les choses pourraient pourtant bien se passer d’une manière différente et surtout plus contemporaine, c’est-à-dire, renvoyant à la complexité polynucléaire de la société d’aujourd’hui, et nourri des réflexions de la pensée en marche.

Des noirs, des Arabes, des métisses ? Des ouvriers, des agriculteurs, des cadres moyens ? Des lesbiennes, des bisexuels, des refoulés ? Des grosses, des maigres, des androgynes ? Des classes populaires ou moyennes pour qui il ne va pas (plus) forcément de soi que Noël se passe dans la maison du patriarche, autour de la grande tablée familiale ? « Pas mon affaire » semble affirmer Desplechin qui, trop occupé à secouer le cocotier, ne voit pas qu’il s’efforce essentiellement d’éprouver la solidité de ses racines.

Elles sont blanches, bourgeoises, mâles, hétérosexuelles, et sur le fond, assez réactionaires et misogynes. Elles ne forment plus, aujourd’hui, qu’un petit arbre rabougri au milieu d’une forêt de jeunes pousses, même si Desplechin (et quelques autres) voudraient encore leur prêter la vigueur des grands chênes.

Dans un article qui, en son temps, avait fait pas mal de bruit, le critique des Inrockuptibles Serge Kaganski s’en prenait au film Amélie Poulain, au prétexte qu’il ne montrait qu’un Paris blanc et pittoresque, lavé de toute nuance exotique. La charge était pertinente mais sans grand risque parce que dirigée contre un film grand public qui, malgré ses parti-pris formels, ne s’inscrivait pas dans une démarche auteuriste ambitieuse. Il n’en va pas de même de Desplechin, que sa virtuosité de réalisateur surdoué semble rendre intouchable.

Un cinéma de "garçon"

Pourtant, au rebours d’une certaine critique que je trouve étrangement complaisante, et qui l’est peut-être avant tout pour des raisons de classe (le petit bourgeois journaliste médusé par l’aplomb aristocratique du Grand Réalisateur), je ressens exactement, vis à vis d’Un Conte de Noël, la colère de Kaganski autrefois vis à vis d’Amélie Poulain, et pour des raisons peut-être encore plus décisives :

- parce que ce film me donne le sentiment de mettre en scène un univers particulier, socialement situé et minoritaire, mais qui se donne pour central et surtout pour désirable (« vous les Vuillard, vous vous prétendez ordinaires, alors que vous faites tous des choses extraordinaires », souligne précisément l’Autre du film, la jeune femme juive incarnée par Emmanuelle Devos) ;

- parce qu’il naturalise, esthétise et embellit des rapports entre les êtres qui sont objectivement assez déplaisants ou conventionnels une fois qu’on leur a ôté leur habillage glamoureux/littéraire (le gros monsieur riche qui a épousé une belle femme beaucoup plus jeune, les garçons qui passent leur temps à parler du cul des filles...) ;

- parce qu’il s’agit, précisément, d’un cinéma de « garçon » qui n’envisage la femme que comme objet de désir ou de fantasme, jamais comme sujet social autonome (éventuellement doté d’ambition, de prestige social ou d’une rhétorique à toute épreuve...) ;

- et d’un cinéma bourgeois qui croit au caractère structurels, indépassables, « anthropologiques », de ses codes.

Hélas pour lui, tant mieux pour nous, nous ne vivons plus dans le monde de Gide ou de Mauriac, quand les enfants terribles de la bourgeoisie française pouvaient jouer aux sales gosses tout étant sûrs conserver la meilleure place, celle du centre et du sommet. Et quand la société toute entière n’avait, en matière de références culturelles, que la production de ce milieu là, aujourd’hui incarné par cette « bourgeoisie intellectuelle de gauche » dont l’écrivain Eric Reinhardt dénonçait récemment avec causticité, dans son roman Cendrillon, l’abus de position dominante.

Je n’ai pas encore vu, puisqu’il n’est pas encore sorti, le film de Laurent Cantet qui a été primé à Cannes. Quoique admiratrice de son cinéma, je le perçois comme un cinéaste moins immédiatement séduisant que Desplechin : plus appliqué, moins polyphonique, moins chatoyant. Je ne peux m’empêcher de penser cependant, qu’ayant eu à arbitrer, parmi beaucoup d’autres, entre ces deux films français, le jury cosmopolite du festival a fait un choix lourd de sens, qui valorise le social plutôt que l’ego, la bigarrure plutôt que le monochrome, le politique plutôt que l’intime.

Non, je veux le croire, par volontarisme politiquement correct ou par désir de jouer « le réel » contre « l’art » (grand styliste à sa façon, Cantet n’est pas Michael Moore, ni un vulgaire documentariste). Mais parce que le monde globalisé, en mutation rapide, secoué de revendications composites, a besoin d’un cinéma qui déploie ses angles d’attaque et ses points de vue, et qui, plutôt que de gommer par égotisme esthétisant tout rapport de domination, en révèle les nouveaux ressorts.

Pour les conservateurs à la Finkielkraut, il n’y aurait là qu’une insupportable « tyrannie du social » (cf. sa diatribe dans Le Monde du 4 juin). Pour tous ceux et toutes celles qui ne sentent ni représentés ni compris dans les oeuvres d’une certaine caste, ce n’est qu’un juste retour des choses.

Emmanuelle Retaillaud-Bajac est historienne, spécialiste d’histoire culturelle et des rapports de genre.
Post-scriptum
Une version plus courte de cet article a été publié dans Le Monde du 15 Juin 2008

Since we seem to be in the business of handling heavy topics here at newalbanytalks, weigh in on the death penalty.

I woke up and was glad to see that K wasn't up yet.  I love her to death, but I wanted a few minutes of "alone time".  That didn't last long when the doorbell rang.  I instantly thought I was a day off or someone else was a day off.  Ed is normally here on Friday's and with the end of summer, he's been coming over to play with K on Thursday as well.  So I peeked out my bedroom window to see a white Ford truck backed into my driveway.  Well, I wasn't expecting anyone, I didn't recognize it and I was still in my nightie, so I ignored his ringing the bell 6 times.  Yes, 6 times!!  This woke K up and she asked if Ed was here on the wrong day and I said no, so she sat down next to me.  About that time, I look back toward the window and the black man from the truck is putting our old front door in the back of his truck.  Just like that and he left.  The man took our old front door!!  Can you believe it??  It was propped up against our fence because the man was going to remove the glass and take it down with his cans to get money for the aluminum.  That fool just walked away with our door because we didn't answer the door.  What made him think he had a right to it when we didn't even answer??  He never even looked back.

I'm still amazed at how brazen that move was!!  SHEESH

Miss K has a huge red mound on her arm where she got her shot yesterday.  I don't like the look of it at all.  She says it hurts and it surely looks like it does.  They didn't tell me anything about "an adverse reaction in the location of the injection" yesterday.  It's never happened before.  It's red, it's hard and it's hot!!  Not my idea at all of what it should look like and as I said, it's never happened before.

Our thieving gremlin is back to work.  I can't find my reading glasses.  I went to Sam's to buy a 4 pack just so I wouldn't be losing glasses.  I read something in one room, then move to another room and need them and they turn up in a totally different room.  So, I buy the multi-pack to avoid this.  Need my glasses to make a phone call and have to look in the phone book and a business card and the glasses I just used are gone.  I swear if I find that gremlin me and him are gonna go 'round and 'round!!

Moving on....

I blindly make my phone calls.  Miss K and I already have dentist appointments in August that have been scheduled 6 months ago.  I call for our eye exams and they get scheduled the day before the dentist appointments.  I think this is cool....I'll get it all knocked out before the Schoolhouse starts.  Goodness knows I don't need any distractions with that!!  Next, I call the OB/GYN on post hoping that I can get in while K is gone next week.  Oh h*ll no, that ain't gonna happen.  The only day my good ole doc has open is the day after the dentist.  I ask for something else....she says "sure, if you want to wait another month".  {rolling eyes}  Now mind you, I'm already at least 3 months late on this.  I've done my best to procrastinate.  Heck, I ain't got the goods any more anyway.  I just want the refill on the hormones, which have lasted this long because I don't take them every day.  Plus, now I'm going to have to decide what to do with K because an appointment on post for the doc can be a day long adventure.

So recapping my schedule, Miss K is gone next week of which my house will be far too quiet because she won't be here AND she's going to be gone longer than usual.  Then she comes back and I have the mad dash to make sure my lessons are ready for the Schoolhouse and my religion class.  Then, we have an eye exam with a dentist appointment a day later.  The day after that is my all day adventure for an on post OB/GYN appointment.  I'll have a weekend and the Schoolhouse will begin.

Throw in whatever the man comes up with, usually with last minute notice and our retirement briefings.  Man oh man, I love my crazy life!!

And now, we know why it's called...

commotion from the ocean of life!!

El super-duper-mega fan # 1 del Zune (talvez el único), el que se tatuó el logo de dicho reproductor, ahora quiere borrarselo, porque se decepcionó al ver que en el E3 Microsoft no anunció ningún tipo de integración entre el Zune y el XBox. Dice que no ha visto muchas mejoras en el aparato y que se tapara el tatuaje con otra cosa.

Moraleja: No te hagas tatuajes con logos de aparatos o compañias ni con nada de lo que te puedas arrepentir luego. Porque, vamos, a quien se le ocurre tatuarse el logo del Zune. No es por nada, pero, el Zune!

Via: Gizmodo

+ Info: ZuneScene

The battle against the legality of home schooling in California may be coming to an end as a family court decides not to pursue charges against a home-schooling family.

In late February 2008, the California 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled that parents have no right to home school their children. Since then, pro-family attorneys have been preparing and delivering briefs in defense of a parents' rights to control the education of their children. 

But Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, explains that the juvenile court handling the original case has recently dismissed it. "Apparently the state decided it either didn't want to pursue the parents or the court decided that they couldn't pursue the parents," he adds. "And so, essentially, there is no case left, no parties left for the appellate court to actually apply their decision to."

Hausknecht believes one of the parties should ask the appellate court to dismiss the appeal completely as being moot. "And that should happen as a matter of course," he notes. "But since this is California, no one quite knows for certain. So we can't say with a hundred percent certainty that this case will go away, but we're pretty sure it will."
 
Ideally, says the analyst, state lawmakers would enact a law protecting parents' right to educate their children as they see fit. He says it looks as if home schooling has won, but Hausknecht believes it could be just a ceasefire "because the uncertainties that convinced the court of appeals...to outlaw home schooling still exist under California law." 

"And we hope that that law becomes solidified in the future rather than made more uncertain for families that home school," he adds.
 
But given the liberal nature of the California legislature, Hausknecht does not expect that to happen. He thinks it is a good sign, however, that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out so strongly in support of home schooling.

     Last Sunday, the White House and Federal Reserve made moves to ensure the survival of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the midst of market uncertainty.

     Fannie and Freddie, in combination, finance about 50% of  homes in the U.S., equaling $5.2 trillion in owned or guaranteed mortgages.  Though it’s commonly assumed that the two are government agencies, in actuality they are government sponsored entities chartered by congress but owned by shareholders.          

     The details of the government’s plan are still being worked out, but the basics involve the Federal Reserve’s agreement to lend money to the two companies at a discounted rate, allowing them to borrow at the same rate it charges banks. 

     The Treasury Department is seeking authorization to increase the government’s credit line and buy more stock in both companies.  The current credit line limits are $2.25 billion each. 

     So far neither company has tapped the newly available funds, and many believe their original capital will sustain them without ever having to borrow.

    The gestures by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve will come with a string attached—congress is being asked to grant the Federal Reserve a consultant status for the companies.  Through the Housing Rescue Package, currently moving through congress, the Treasury Department is seeking an even greater role for the Fed, moving to allow them to work in more of a side by side role with both Fannie and Freddie.

     This recent news is further indication that the market continues to change during this tumultuous period.  With the uncertainty of what rates will do, and changing guidelines, those who are considering buying would be well advised to secure financing sooner rather than later.

Ahora supón que tu mujer o el marido pierde el empleo. Hay que satisfacer una serie de pagos y el nivel de ingresos se ha reducido.

A - Decides dejar de salir de restaurantes y por las noches. Dejas el coche en casa y coges transporte público. Ahorras en la compra diaria eligiendo productos más baratos. Ayudas a tu esposa a buscar otro trabajo e intentas reducir el máximo de gastos para no descapitalizarte. Buscas además otro trabajo por las tardes.

B - Dices que aquí no pasa nada, que todo va bien y que para nada vas a sacrificar la alimentación o el nivel de vida de tus niños. En vez de ahorrar, les das una paga extra  de 400€ a todos para que se la gasten en chuches y para celebrarlo, los fines de semana a restaurantes caros (a razón de 2.500€ cena). Y si te preguntan que si te has vuelto loco, responde que tus niños son lo primero.

Es de sentido común que B está loco y es un suicida.

Sus hijos hoy piden en el Metro y él hace cola en la Cruz Roja para que le den algo de comida.

Cuando le preguntan por qué ha llegado a esta situación responde que la culpa la tiene su mujer, que como ingresaba más dinero se embarcaron en un modelo económico no sostenible, a  comprar casa, coche y tener muchos hijos.

Él no tiene ninguna culpa porque lo ha dado todo por sus hijos.

Sustituye A por Rajoy y B por Zapatero y descubriras el nivel de demagogia que la política económica del gobierno está alcanzando.

For those of you who mised my fifth of July party, I have to tell you that one of the highlights of the party (for me at least) was the playing of the EXTREME GAME!!!! If you don't know what the EXTREME GAME!!!! is, that's because it's a game my family made up. When it becomes an olympic sport, be sure to credit us.

It's played in the pool. There are two teams, and a small-ish cushy ball. The object is for your team to get the ball to the other side of the pool any way possible. The only rule is that there are no rules. No, that's not entirely true. We have two rules: 1. No choking anyone. 2. No sticking the ball down your pants/bathing suit. Both of these happened, so we did make rules about them. I'm sure you'll agree that we're not being unreasonable.

The game is utter chaos and hilarity. It's non-stop muscle-tearing intensity. People grab people and get dragged and dunked and scratched and twisted. The most common injury is scratches from fingernails. People have been thrown before, literally thrown. It's amazing to watch and more amazing to play. It is understandably too intense for some people, and we don't judge. Well, maybe just a little. However, for all my injuries, it remains one of my favorite games ever.

Please visit this site to browse the gallery of photos Cat took at Relay.   You will need to enter your e-mail address, then the password of relay to access the gallery.  Here are the rest of Cat's instructions / prices:

Once you are logged in:

To view a photo larger, click on it and it will open in another window.
You need to keep the mouse off of the photo to view it.
You can compare photos by clicking on the compare box.

You can also create a favorites folder by clicking on the 'favorites' word.
To view your favorites, click on the favorites word located in the brown highlighted area above the photos.

To order a photo, click order and choose what sizes you would like and the quantity.

Prices
4 wallets - $4.00
4x5 - $4.00
4x6 - $4.00
4x6 with Relay border - $4.00
5x6 - $6.00
8x10 - $10.00

When you are ready to check out, there are a few different options.
You can pay by check, paypal (credit card), or cash.

If paying by check or cash, please make the check payable to: Cat Thisius
and mail to:

Cat Thisius
1521 19 St NE
Rochester, MN 55906

ALL PROCEEDS FROM PHOTO PURCHASES WILL BE DONATED TO
THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY / RELAY FOR LIFE.

There is a $5.00 shipping/mailer cost so I can mail the photos to your home/work.
Minnesota sales tax will be added to each order.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL, PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL ME BEFORE ORDERING YOUR PHOTOS!  (507) 261-3730 (cell) or catsphoto@charter.net.

Thank you!
Cat

So with that I have realized yet another change in me from what I have been my entire life.  Five years ago, if you had asked me about a vacation, I probably would have said I'd rather stay home.  When the time came for us to take one, I would find myself dreading the trip and being away from home for any length of time. 

I have always heard that as you get older you get "set in your ways".  I have certainly not found that to be the case so far for me.  It seems that the older I get, the more changes I see in myself.  I'm not sure if I should, but I'm going to consider that a good thing.  I'm even hoping that some day I may  learn to like shrimp.

In short, most of this blog is a spoiler alert.  Check out my "Sources" list for my library of "Ghost in the Shell" paraphinalia and related resources.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

~ MMI

Os dejo el enlace del canal en Youtube y os añado el primer video que tiene.

Juro por dios que a mi madre, Klaus le hace eso!!! Lo que me he reído cuando el gato le tira de la oreja, no se lo cree nadie X'D

Y el último, sencillamente me encanta :D

Espero que sea más prolífico!

While there seem to be few blogs dedicated solely to the Assamese conflict, a number of news aggregators and security blogs report stories about the region. This aggregation of blogposts at Instablogs about the ULFA shows some updated information about the progress of peace talks between insurgents and the Indian government, as do the news blogs Thaindian News and Lawyer Blog. There was an interesting story in Naxal Watch, a government-run anti-Naxal blog, which links the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) to the Naxalite movement and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Dak Bangla Intelligence Scan, The Intelligence Summit, and Counterterrorism Blog also run stories about the region, albeit somewhat outdated. The South Asian Terrorism Portal runs comprehensive and up-to-date timelines of incidents involving both ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).

Also, the Indian citizen journalism initiative Merinews reported this story. Merinews has been the focus of some interest in the media world. Read this article at Gatewatching, a blog about citizen journalism, and this story about the role of citizen journalism in reporting human rights in the North East. Merinews has a confusing array of functioning portals. Aside from its homepage, it has an abandoned blog at Wordpress and a more active one at Blogspot. However, it is the pioneering citizen journalism initiative in India. Most other stories about the region on the website are sourced from mainstream news media.

While the conflict has received a reasonable amount of coverage in digital media, the region’s most active insurgent groups seem to have abandoned the internet as part of their efforts. The website of the ULFA is being maintained on an old geocities url and does not appear to have had any updates in the recent past. Its newer website has even less information. The NDFB also has a geocities website that looks like it was last updated in the late 1990s. We contacted both of these organizations to find out why. We got no reply, so any explanations we have are based on conjecture. Assam.org reports that security forces successfully hacked into the ULFA website, though it is unclear as to which one it was. This email thread from a mailing list at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs suggests that Indian police attempted to hack into the ULFA’s email address.

One for this is explanation is simply a lack of infrastructure or access to the internet. In the Northeast Internet penetration is tiny, at 0.14%. Broadband connection for the region was around 12,000 in 2007.

These websites appear to have been made at a time when there was a great deal of buzz about the internet, in the late 1990s. These groups may not have found the internet to be a particularly useful place to further their agenda, find new recruits, or affect the course of their struggle in any way.

But Sanjana’s post got me thinking about how digital media can affect conflict. For Sanjana, his numerous citizen journalism projects are not intended to have an effect on the conflict that is tangible in the here-and-now. Instead, he is more interested in making

A living history as it were, from a defined perspective, that in relation to others can present richer, more multi-faceted versions of history than that which would otherwise be possible.

Keeping this in mind, perhaps we should think of these ‘dead’ websites as a one-time effort to create a narrative from the ULFA and NDFB’s perspective. These efforts create a “more multi-faceted history” by simply existing. For example, on their website, the ULFA eschew the title “separatist” or “secessionist” movement.

The struggle for national liberation of Assam never is a seperatist [sic] or secessionist movement: Assam was never a part of India at any point of time in history. The fact is independent Assam has been occupied by India, and deploying occupation forces they are oppressing our peoples and persecuting them. ULFA itself and all freedom fighters of Assam are neither planning nor conspiring to break up India! We are not conducting any armed operation inside India. Freedom fighters of Assam are only trying to overthrow Indian colonial occupation from Assam.

I also looked at how the issue of human rights violations by the Indian army was being discussed on the internet. This Amnesty article deals with unlawful killings by security personnel. This comprehensive report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights was released in 2007. Human Rights Watch produced this report in 1993, but has made no mention of Assam in its more recent report on the problem of impunity in India. Local and national media also report human rights violations with some regularity. See these stories in The Hindu and Boroland News. The blog at Countercurrents posted this story based on the findings of the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee.

Overall, I found a good deal of activity about the region and specific issues. But the fact remains that the websites that are able to provide dedicated, up-to-date stories about the conflict remain those with some degree of organizational capacity: mainstream media, human rights organizations, or counterterrorism organizations. The internet remains yet another forum where these organizations to disseminate information. But until the Internet reaches a reasonable plurality of users (need a separate study on what that number might be), it's impact on coverage of remote conflicts will likely be minimal. India's Internet penetration is still only 3%, but with a growth rate of 33%, penetration will reach around 100 million users in 7-8 years.

Guest post by Anand Varghese

Push e-mail на @merkurov.com - работает
Синхронизация контактов и календарей - работает
Красота!