The last mile
The ongoing debate on Network Neutrality.
Today’s generation is the true Internet generation. Within our lifetimes, we have seen the technology and internet revolution change the way we live and learn. The internet is the sole medium enabling creativity, thought and ultimately revolution.
Now the telecommunication giants are here to change it all. They claim that the other carrier services like our postal services or shipping companies charge a premium for fast delivery. For example, courier services charge higher for next day delivery. Similarly, the telecom companies want to charge higher for providing faster access to websites. So for companies like Google, Yahoo or Craigslist, who generate higher traffic, will have to pay to keep the current level (if not more) traffic to their webpages.
What does this mean to users?
* Slower access to websites while we pay the same monthly charges for internet access.
* Bloggers, who are the next generation creative minds and use media such as audio and video, will be discouraged from uploading content, since access is so much slower
* Manipulation! When providers give better access to selective websites, they are doing an injustice by discouraging users to access other (slower) websites. This could mean lesser choices for users.
* Telecommuters will suffer badly if they don’t have reliable access via conferencing and other media for their home office. Smaller home businesses will also suffer the same casualty.
* Online sales will take a hit
* The non profit organizations that target to reach millions of users through the only low cost medium will have to rely on more donations from known sources. Philanthropy which is so hard to come by needs support from free medium like the internet.
There are much larger issues about the internet which need to be addressed urgently. Real issues like tracking molestors, child pornogrpahers and stalkers on the internet are issues which need to be more actively dealt by the powers at large. As more and more children go online each year, the threat to their safety and security is only increasing. Statistics show that one out of every 17 minors are solicited, threatened or harrassed online. Cybercrime is touching our lives in many ways and there needs to be an increased effort to tackle this issue urgently. With such serious issues needing immediate attention, Net neutrality should never have become an issue in the first place.

links:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/
http://handsoff.org/
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/35557/

Summers finally here!
So on the memorial day weekend, we decided to go hiking and do some nature walk. We discovered a trail which promised to show spectacular views of the ocean off and on.
Here are some pictures we took on our sunny day out.
Mt Tamalpais location:

On the day of the hike:

Genocide: Germany, Rwanda and Darfur..

gen.o.cide :
The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.

Genocide was often a word associated with the events in Nazi Germany. In history books we read about the atrocities committed on the Jews by the Nazis. In my childhood I read about "The Diary of Anne Frank" which revealed the horrors of what a simple girl like me went through because a group of people didn’t like another. As good people we hope and pray that humanity would not have to go through yet another heartless and senseless killing of people.

Alas, it happened again. In Rwanda.
One of the most poignant stories that we came across last year was the real life drama of Rwanda. "Hotel Rwanda" left us with a feeling of shock and anguish. In 1994, a systematic genocide of millions of the Tutsis of Rwanda, by the Hutus, was witnessed. What was worst is that the International Community stood and watched; no help came until it was too late.
What left me feeling sick was the fact that I was completely uninformed about the happenings in Rwanda.

Today it is happening again. Darfur, some 6000 people are marching 400 kilometers through unknown territories and forests, avoiding the known routes which are now heeded dangerous to travel because of land mines and collapsing bridges. Sudan has been at war and specifically experiencing genocide from 2003. There is no exact count on how many have died in this period. The displaced alone count to 2 million. Recently the UN commissioned a force to investigate into claims of genocide and concluded that there were severe human rights violations committed. To top it all, the food rations from the World Food Program have been cut in half, just as the UN reports occurrences of severe malnutrition. The rationing is happening in part due to the upcoming hunger season and in part due to the shortage of International donations. In spite of ceasefire and efforts at peacekeeping by the militia and the rebels, millions of Sudanese are facing starvation, the silent killer.
Mr. Morris, director of World Food Program, rightly asks, "Haven’t they suffered enough?"

Is this the world that we live in? Have we been brought up only to ignore moralities?
How many children, women and men have to die to shake us out of our inertia?
Think about it.. In my lifetime alone, in less than 35 years, I have witnessed 2 counts of genocide! We aspire to change the world we live in by our deeds.. how many more genocides should we see before we stand up and say "Stop!" There is a desperate need for each one of us to act and act now.. To contribute towards stopping this waste of lives NOW.. in any way we can.

Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3922461.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4954096.stm
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33060
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12554797/
http://www.hotelrwanda.com/main.html

Photo: courtsey www.unicef.org