B-School Notebook Buyers: Something to Think About

For business school students starting in the Fall who are about to buy a notebook computer for school, there are many alternatives. Notebook manufacturers offer many different product lines and models, numerous form factors that work and multiple operating system options. For example, Dell offers the excellent Latitude line from their business division, the XPS line, the Vostro line and even a series of netbooks.

Once you have the notebook you want figured out, there’s one more thing that you should keep in mind. If you decide to go for a Windows based notebook, Microsoft is about to release a major upgrade to Windows, called Windows 7. Vista, as you may know already, was not liked by a majority of those who switched to it. Vista takes up a LOT of resources and requires a more powerful computer to do almost the same things that you could do with an XP based computer before. In many cases upgrading from Vista to XP led to declines in performance infuriating users.

So what does Windows 7 have to offer:

Two main things really. First, a system that doesn’t need as much “overhead” as Vista did, i.e. it can run on a lot less resources.  Second, better performance.

Based on numerous reports from beta testers, Windows 7’s efficiency and performance is drastically better than that of Vista.

So why is this relevant to someone buying a notebook for school?

Windows 7 will likely not be available until the holiday season of 2009. However, if you buy your notebook with Vista (Home Premium, Business or Ultimate editions only) after June 26th (which is a date set by Microsoft), you will be eligible to upgrade to Windows 7 for free when Windows 7 is realeased.

So, if you can hold-off buying until June, this could be a reason to do so.

Note: Vista Basic is not eligible.

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UN Drops Sri Lanka Human Rights Probe

The United Nations brushed aside calls Wednesday to investigate alleged human rights abuses in the recently concluded fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s allies on the 47-member council, including China, Cuba and Egypt, forced through a resolution with 29 votes to 12 against and six abstentions condemning the rebel group for using civilians as human shields but stressing that the war was a “domestic” matter that didn’t warrant outside interference.

A majority on the council backed Sri Lanka in its defeat of the LTTE rebels after years of civil war. This position remained dominant despite pressure from some aid organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) which have previously been accused of taking a pro-rebel stance. Human Rights Watch is now active in the conflict region of Pakistan.

The U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay (of South African Tamil Origin) and several European countries, along with Canada, Chile and Mexico had backed a probe, and had urged Sri Lanka to fully open up refugee camps to international aid agencies.

The Geneva-based council chose instead to recommend that Colombo provide aid groups only with “access as may be appropriate” to refugee camps.

Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Geneva said European nations had failed with their “punitive and mean-spirited agenda” against his country. “This was a lesson that a handful of countries which depict themselves as the international community do not really constitute the majority,” said Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka. “The vast mass of humanity are in support of Sri Lanka,” he told The Associated Press.

The Sri Lankan government relaxed restrictions on motor vehicles in the country’s largest refugee camp today, the UN also said.

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Looking Back at the LTTE Trail of Terror

Readers of my blog have seen and felt the relief that I felt with the recent defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka and the demise of its leadership. The list below is the main reason that I am so relieved and excited to see this terror group gone from Sri Lankan soil. Piliyandala, pictured in the civilian massacres section below is where I grew up.

The information below is based on an article published in the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka on May 24th 2009 which attempts to create a chronology of the attacks that the LTTE (or Tamil Tigers) are responsible for.

Attacks on Moderate Tamil Leaders

The LTTE assasinated Tamil politicians and leaders who disagreed with their policy of all-out violence. Some of the attacks:

Lakshman Kadirgamar	Neelan Thiruchelvam	A Thangathurai	A T Duraiyappah	A Amirthalingam

2005 August 12: Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kadirgamar assassinated in Colombo.
1999 July 29: Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvan, TULF MP
1998 September 11: Ponnuyhurai Sivapalan, Jaffna Mayor
1998 May 16: Sarojini Yogeswaran, TULF Mayor of Jaffna
1997 October: S.P. Dharmalingam, SLFP organizer for Jaffna
1997 July 5: A. Thangathurai, TULF MP for Trincomalee
1990 June 19: K. Pathmanabah, Leader of EPRLF (together with all but one member of the party’s politburo)

1990 June 19: V Yogasangari, EPRLF MP in Madras
1990 May 7: Sam Thambimuttu, EPRLF MP and his wife.
1990 January 28: Ganeshalingam, ex EPRLF Provincial Council Minister for North and East
1990 January 28, Dr. (Mrs) Rajini Thiranagama , Human rights activist and lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Jaffna and Co-author of the book ‘Broken Palmyrah”
1989 July 16: PLOTE leader Uma Maheswaran
1989 July 13: V. Yogeswaran, ex-TULF MP for Jaffna
1989 July 13: A. Amirthalingam, Leader of the TULF
1989 June 28: K. Pullendran, Assitant Government Agent, Kopay

Rajini Thiranagama	Uma Maheswaran

1989 May 1: V.M. Panchalingam,Government Agent, Jaffna
1989 March 7:S. Samabandamoorthy, ex-TULF chairman, District Development Council, Batticoloa
1988 October 27: Raj Shankar, President, Citizen’s Committee, Tennamarachchi
1988 June 6: Rev. Fr. Chandra Fernando, President, Citizen’s Committee, Batticoloa
1988 March 28: Velmurugu Master,TULF organizer and Citizen’s Committee member, Kalmunai
1988 March 8: S. Wijeyanandan, District Secretary, Ceylon Communist Party

1988 January 13: S. Siththamparanathan, principal, Wigneswara Vidyalaya, Trincomalee
1987 December 14: M.E. Kandasamy, Principal, Palugamam Maha Vidyalaya
1987 October 8: S.S. Jeganathan, Assistant Government Agent, Batticoloa
1987. October 8: Anthonimuttu, Government Agent, Batticaloa
1987 September 15: Vignarajah, Assistant Government Agent, Sammanthurai
1986 May 6: TELO leader Shri Sabaratnam in Kondavil Jaffna
1986 September 26: Kathiramalai, Sarvodaya leader
1986 March 11: P. Kirubakaram , Primary Court Judge
1985 September 2: Alalasunderam, ex-TULF MP for Kopay
1985 September 2: V. Dharmalingam, ex-TULF MP for Manipay and father of D. Siddharthan, Leader of PLOTE

1985 August 22: P. Thambipillai, president, Citizen’s Committee Oddusudan
1985 June 26: C.E.Anandarajah, Principal St. John’s College, Jaffna.
1985 February 24: Gnanachandiram, ex District Judge, Point Pedro and Government Agent, Mullaitivu
1983 September 1: Mala Ramachandran, UNP MMC for Batticoloa
1983 August 12: A.J. Rajasooriya, UNP organizer for Jaffna
1983 January 19: K.T. Pulendran, UNP organizer for Vavuniya
1981 May 25: Member of Parliament of the Vaddukoddai electorate A. Thiyagaraja
1975 July 27: Jaffna Mayor, Alfred Duraiappah.

Targeted Civilian Massacres

2009 April 22: Sixteen civilians were killed in Karametiyawa, Inginiyagala.
2008 February 03: At least seven people died and 97 were injured in a suicide bomb attack at the Fort Railway station.

Central Bank blast

2008 June 06: Twenty one passengers died in a claymore attack on a bus in Katubedda Moratuwa.
2008 April 25: Twenty four civilians were killed in a parcel bomb explosion inside a bus in Pliyandala
2008 January 16: Twenty seven passengers perished in an attack on a bus in Buttala.
2007 November 28: Seventeen civilians were killed and 37 injured in a parcel bomb explosion at a Nugegoda shop.
2007 January 06: Fifteen civilians were killed and 40 wounded in a parcel bomb explosion inside a bus at Seenigama, near the Kahawa junction, Galle.
2006 July 15: Sixty seven passengers were killed and 90 injured in a claymore mine attack on a bus in Kebithigollewa.
2006 April 23: Six farmers were killed in the Polonnaruwa district
2006 May 29: Thirteen labourers were killed in the Polonnaruwa district
2001 July 24: Attack on the Bandaranaike International Air Port. Twelve people died and 13 aircraft destroyed.
2000 October 5: At least 12 persons were killed and more than 40 wounded when an LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up in an attempt to enter a PA election rally.
2000 March 10: At least 14 civilians and six police personnel were killed and 46 people were injured when a group of five suicide cadres attacked a motorcade on the road to Parliament at Rajagiriya.
2000 January 5: A female suicide bomber exploded herself while she was being body searched by Police near the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo. Thirteen civilians and three police officers were killed and 27 people wounded in the blast.

Piliyandala bus blast

1999 December 18: A suicide bomber, detonates a bomb strapped to his body, killing retired Major General Lakshman Algama and 11 persons at a United National Party (UNP) election rally at Ja-Ela in Colombo.
1999 September 18: Fifty civilians were killed in an attack in Gonagala.
1998 March 5: Thirty-six civilians and two police officers were killed and 270 civilians wounded when a mini-bus, filled with explosives, was blown up by a suicide bomber near the Maradana Police Station in Colombo.
1998 February 23: At least 51 troops and 28 civilians were killed in a suicide attack on the Point Pedro coast when eight Tiger boats laden with explosives crashed into two navy ships.

1998 January 25: A suicide bomber blasted a lorry-laden with explosives at the Dalada Maligawa. Sixteen persons were killed while extensive damage was caused to the Maligawa, a cultural heritage site recognised by the UNESCO.

1997 October 15: Suicide bombers detonated a truck packed with explosives in the parking lot at Galadari Hotel close to the World Trade Center in Colombo, killing 18 people and injuring at least 110 others.
1996 July 24: Bomb explosion on Colombo-Alutgama train at Dehiwala killed 60 civilians.
1996 April 18: The naval wing of the LTTE, Sea Tigers, launched a suicide raid on the port of Colombo. Nine LTTE cadres were killed when the troops blew up their boats.

1996 January 31: A suicide bomber detonated a truck loaded with more than 100 kilograms of explosives in front of the Central Bank in Colombo killing 91 people and wounding at least 1,400 others.
1995 November 24: Sixteen civilians were killed and over 50 injured when two women suicide cadres targeted the Army headquarters.

1995 November 11: Seven persons including 15 children were killed when a female suicide bomber exploded herself near the Kompannaveediya Railway Station in Colombo.
1995 October 26: Twenty six villagers were killed in Kebithigollewa.
1995 October 21: Sixty six villagers were killed in attacks in Ampara, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura.
1995 August 7: A male suicide bomber set off a cartload of explosives at Independence Square in Colombo, killing 22 people and injuring more than 40 others.
1995 May 25: Forty two civilians were massacred in Kallarawa.
1992 October 15: Massacre of 146 Muslim civilians in Palliyagodella.
1992 April 29: Some 130 Muslim civilians were massacred in the Alanchipothana village in the east.
1990 August 3: An LTTE gang killed 103 civilians in Kathankudy.
1987 July 02: The massacre of 32 Buddhist monks at Aranthalawa.
1987 April 21: One hundred and fourteen civilians killed in a bomb explosion near the Pettah bus stand in Colombo

1986 May 30: An explosion at Ceylon Cold Stores in Kompannaveediya killed eight civilians and wounded 22.

1985 May 14: The LTTE carried out an attack on the Jaya Shri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura, killing 120 civilians. The attackers while they were fleeing also killed 18 civilians in Wilpattu.
1984 Nov. 30: Sixty two civilians were killed in attacks on the Dollar and Kent Farms
1976 July 02: A fuel station manager, S. Nadaraja, was shot dead as he was believed to be an army informant.

Attacks on India and China

Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi

2003 March 20: Attack and capture of Chinese “Shu- Yun” trawler- 20 of the ship-crew died. 1991 May 21: Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and 17 Indians were killed in South India.

1987 -1990: More than 1,000 Indian Peace Keeping soldiers died in northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

1984: Forty passengers were killed in bomb explosion at the Chennai airport.

Assassinations of Sri Lankan Leaders

In many of these attacks a large number of civilians were also killed. 2008 October 06: More than 25 civilians, including Maj Gen Janaka Perera, were killed in an LTTE suicide bomb attack in Anuradhapura
2008 April 06: Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and 12 others were killed in an LTTE suicide bomb attack in Weliweriya.

Janaka Perera	Jeyaraj Fernandopulle	Gamini Dissanayake	Ranjan Wijeratne	R Premadasa

2000 June 7: A suicide bomber killed Minister C. V. Gooneratne and 24 civilians whilst he was in a procession organised to mark ‘war heroes’ day at Golumadama Junction in Ratmalana.

1995 May 26: The chief incumbent of the Dimbualagala temple Ven Kithalagama Shri Seelalankara thera was killed.

1994 October 24: Opposition leader and United National Party presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake and 58 persons, including several senior politicians, were killed by a female suicide bomber at Thotalanga in Colombo.

1993 May 1: President Ranasinghe Premadasa and 23 others were killed by a suicide bomber in Colombo.

1991 May21: A female suicide bomber killed India’s former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi while he visited the southern Tamil Nadu state for an election rally at Sriperumputhur.

1991 March 2: Deputy Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne and 18 people were killed in a blast at Havelock Road in Colombo.

Failed Assassination Attempts with Civilian Casualties

2009 March 10: Minister Mahinda Wijesekara was seriously injured in a suicide bomb attack at the National Meelad Festival in Akuressa. Ten civilians were killed and 60 others wounded in the blast.
2008 October 09: Minister Maithripala Sirisena survived an LTTE suicide attack at Katuwawala in Piliyandala, but five civilians died.

Bomb blast attempted at Army Commander

Piththala Handiya blast aimed at Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

Pannipitiya blast which killed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, Major General Parami Kulathunga

2007 January 28: A female LTTE suicide bomber targeting Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) leader and Social Services Minister Douglas Devananda blew herself up. The minister escaped but the blast killed his Public Relations Officer.

2006 December 01: Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa escaped an LTTE suicide attack in which six people, including his bodyguards, were killed.

2006 August 14: In a suicide blast targeting the then Pakistani High Commissioner Bashir Wali Mohammad seven people died.

2006 April 25: Army Commander Sarath Fonseka was wounded in a suicide blast inside the Army headquarters. The attack was carried out by an LTTE female cadre who posed off as a pregnant woman. Nine people, including civilians, were killed.

2001 October 29: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake escaped an assassination attempt when police intercepted a would-be suicide bomber who detonated explosives strapped to his body, killing himself and five others.

2004 July 07: In Colombo, five policemen were killed when a suspected LTTE woman suicide bomber blew herself up inside the Kollupitiya police station after she was arrested at Minister Douglas Devananda’s office.

2000 September 15: Seven people were killed and 28 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber, on being detected, blew himself up. Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva had a narrow escape as he had passed through the site barely seven minutes before the blast.

December 18, 1999: President Chandrika Kumaratunga was wounded and 21 were killed and more than 100 people injured at a presidential election campaign rally in Town Hall, Colombo.

1997 December 28: Three suicide bombers died when their truck exploded half a mile from the Magalle naval base in the Galle District where Navy Commander Cecil Tissera was staying. Ten shops and two houses were damaged.

1996 July 4: At least 20 people, including Jaffna military commander Brig. Ananda Hamangoda, were killed and 60 injured when a female suicide bomber blew herself up. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva escaped with minor injuries.

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Microsoft Announces iPod Touch Competitor – Zune HD

Microsoft has announced a possible competitor to the iPod touch, an “HD” version of their Zune MP3 player. It’s a pretty basic 3.3 inch touch screen media player, from what has been shown so far.

If you are someone looking at the iPod Touch and wondering why you would buy a Zune instead, there’s really not a lot going for it right now. Possible differentiators: HD Radio, HD Video Out and an OLED touchscreen.

The OLED (Organic LED) screen should provide better battery life than for example the last generation iPod touch. But most of these features (except for maybe the HD Video Out) will likely be included on the new generation iPod Touch, to be released this summer.

There may be some tie-ins with HD Movies and XBOX Live but for most consumers this is probably a pass. Especially considering that the screen on the Zune HD is lower res (480×272) than the last gen iPod touch! And who listens to radio on their MP3 players anyway?

Microsoft has promised that at E3 (Next week) we will see some unique tie-ins with XBox Live.

Another thing that remains to be seen is what type of interface and browser Microsoft uses here. The reason that the Touch did so well is the Apple interface and Safari browser. Microsoft will have to do a LOT better than they have in the past to get even close there.

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Prof. Garth Saloner Selected as New Dean of the Stanford GSB

Prof. Garth Saloner, extremely popular with current students and alums alike has been named the new dean of the Stanford GSB. Prof. Saloner will take up his office on September 1st, 2009.  He was the recipient of the distinguished teacher award in 2008 and also directed the school’s Center for Entreprenuerial Studies. He has co-taught Formation of New Ventures and Managing Growing Enterprises.

Official announcement email from the provost below:

Dear Colleagues,

I am extremely pleased to announce that the GSB Dean’s search has come to a successful conclusion.  John Hennessy and I have asked Professor Garth Saloner, the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Electronic Commerce, Strategic Management and Economics, to be the next dean and he has accepted.  As I note in the press release below,  I believe that Garth will continue the research focus for which the school is renowned, in addition to maintaining its outstanding educational programs.

I would like to thank the search committee, co-chaired by John Roberts, for the exhaustive and lengthy process that yielded this recommendation.  Garth will take office on September 1, 2009.  I hope you will join me in thanking him for taking on the responsibility of leading the GSB into the next decade.

With best wishes,

John Etchemendy

Provost

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Ellen DeGeneres Commencement Speech at Tulane

Ellen DeGeneres Commencement Speech at Tulane University, May 16th 2009.

Hilarious.

“..I didn’t go to college at all. Any college.

I’m not saying you wasted your time and money, but look at me I’m a huge celebrity.”

“..By the time I was your age, I really thought I knew who I was, but I had really no idea..

Like for example when I was your age, I was dating men..  so what I’m saying is when you’re older, most of you would be gay..   is anybody writing this stuff down? parents?”

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Terror Leader Prabhakaran: Acknowledged Dead

From Al Jazeera:

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have confirmed their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been killed.

“We announce today, with inexpressible sadness and heavy hearts that our incomparable leader and supreme commander … attained martyrdom fighting the military oppression,” Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the LTTE’s head of international relations, said in a statement on Sunday.

The Tigers said Prabhakaran had been killed on Tuesday during fighting between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military and declared a week of mourning.

Previously, on the 19th of May, the same individual (Selvarasa Pathmanathan) had stated “Our beloved leader is alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people,” in a statement carried on the pro-terror Tamilnet website.

Selvarasa Pathmanathan (also known as KP) is wanted by interpol for terrorism and weapons smuggling and is the only surviving member of the LTTE “higher level” operatives.

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Strategic Leadership Prep, Case Library and Housing

A few more homework reminders are starting to trickle in. Strategic Leadership (STRAMGT 207) seems to have the longest to do list.  The following need to be completed by the 19th of August:

A. 360-Degree Feedback Assessment
B. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
C. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)

I’ve also been checking out the resources available through gsbapps (Stanford’s remote access service, run through Citrix).

This gives full access to a number of research services, Dow Jones (Factiva), Capital IQ, Thomson One, etc and a lot of electronic books available through the Jackson library.

What I liked most was being able to look through the case library, all of the cases created at the GSB and read them in PDF format remotely.

Yesterday, I found out that I was assigned to a Studio in Munger. My application number (a number between 0 and 3000 and tells you your priority in the lottery) is > than 2500. This is probably the reason I didn’t get assigned to my any of my top 3 choices. I wasn’t too happy with a Munger Studio since its pretty much the most expensive housing option at the GSB (something like $1,450 a month). I guess I should have thought about that before listing “Any Munger” as one of my housing choices.

I plan to join the waitlist  again for a better alternative. Fingers crossed.

Picture: The T-Shirt from the admit weekend.

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Dispelling Some Myths About Cable TV (With a Focus on Comcast)

I was a DirecTV customer for the last five years. I was one of the first to buy the DirecTV HD Tivo in 2004 (model HR10-250), fell in love with the functionality of the HD DVR and the Tivo interface. A few years later I grudgingly gave up the HD-Tivo for a DirecTV branded HD DVR (HR20-700) in order to receive the new MPEG 4 format transmissions. The box grew on me and DirecTV kept continually updating the dvr with new features and bug fixes (sometimes on a daily basis) which improved the functionality significantly. The most important thing for me over the 5 years with DirecTV was that each receiver provided me with access to exceptional quality high definition programming, provided recording space enough for many hours of HD (100+ for HR20-700, 30 for HR10-250) programming (and several hundred hours of SD programming), and always recorded the programs that I scheduled it to record.

As the readers of my older posts know, I moved recently. My new apartment does not allow me to have a Dish installed. Only available option: local cable monopoly (Comcast).

I thought it can’t be that bad, and signed up for an HD DVR from Comcast, a motorola DCH3416, which the comcast rep assured me was the latest and greatest receiver that Comcast had to offer (I later discovered that many other cable networks use this same “top of the line” DVR).

My thoughts on the DVR:

Despite the fact that this is 5 years after the HR10-250 was released, the Motorola DVR is the worst piece of hardware that I have ever connected to my TV. First there’s the interface, the guide that fills 80% of the screen but still only shows a couple of rows and columns across, the program search that refuses to find programs in order to set recurring recordings (or season passes) – I think the reason is that it looks through a very limited guide, the remote control with inexplicable button mappings and layout and the obscure layering of menu options. For example to turn closed captioning on, the receiver must be turned off, a special key combination pressed to get into the “user menu” and subtitles set there. Even then, the captions briefly flash on the screen. The receiver has to be left “on” during recordings. i.e. it has no low power standby mode that it can enter when the power button is pressed, instead choosing to put up a menu across the middle of the screen asking you if you want to cancel the recording.

The DVR also has less recording capacity than the HD Tivo from 5 years ago. Considering how much cheaper storage drives are today vs. five years ago, I can’t imagine what drove this decision. Also, Comcast disables the ability to expand the storage on the DVR (although Motorola supports it).

All the interface gripes and inconveniences aside, the worst thing is that the picture and audio quality seems drastically reduced on the Comcast HD broadcasts than my experience with DirecTV. I assume this is a result of higher compression but my HD picture looks grainy at times and is much softer than the quality I am used to. On audio side many premium movie channels are being broadcast in DD (Dolby Digital) but they are not DD5.1 but DD2.0 (i.e. two channels of audio rather than 6), making the quality significantly lower.

Another claim I hear often is how Cable is not affected by the weather. Well in South Florida at least, the comcast signal can be lost, and I’ve lost audio completely multiple times during a storm. So, not really that different from my satellite experience during severe weather.

Lastly, and most infuriating, my DVR somehow managed to “lose” the first 50 minutes of the 24 season finale today. And as I finish watching 24, I see Shaq on TV advertising Comcast’s Digital Starter with HBO package for 29.99. The advertising is really deceiving as it claims that consumers can “lock-in” this “amazingly good offer” for 12 months. The reality: this is a new customer only offer that once you use for 12 months, you will never, ever, see prices anywhere near 29.99 again. The price after 12 months is something like $75 + $14 for HD DVR service, i.e. $90! Since the 29.99 is a one-time promotional rate, I don’t think its at all honest to call this “locking in” prices for a year, it’s just bait and switch. For me, for a Cable channel to claim that they are offering “Value” to subscribers they have to offer a value that customers receive on an ongoing basis, not a one year “Value” that will then be negated in a couple of months of regular pricing. Apparently this campaign is from Digitas which recently won Comcast’s national “demand-generation” account. (if anyone is wondering if its really $14 for HD DVR service, yep that’s right).

These advertising claims are almost as bad as Comcast’s claim that they have a 1,000 HD “choices.”

I’m not sure how much of this is specific to where I live and Comcast’s coverage in this area but honestly, my low expectations were a lot better than what was delivered. I would love to hear what your experiences or thoughts were, please leave a comment for me.

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“Please Take Care of My Family”

I spent the first 20 years of my life in Sri Lanka. I have never known a day that the country was truly peaceful. I grew up hearing regular reports of suicide, train and bus bombings, attacks on places of worship, attacks on the airport and even innocent farmers and civilians being hacked to death. Every day I pray asking selfishly for my family to be spared.

Those responsible: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (commonly known as the Tamil Tigers in the west), fighting for a separate state, once planned to cover more than a quarter of the small island nation below India.

Poor political maneuvers and governance by the Sri Lankan governments from the 1950s to the 1970s led to the Tamil people feeling that they were being discriminated against. Concerns were largely a result of language use (1956 Sinhala becomes only official language) and a standardization system (1970) (kind of an affirmative action scheme) for university entrance (which dictated a number of students from each region who would be admitted). The standardization meant that high achievers in areas like Jaffna in Northern Sri Lanka found it significantly more difficult to get into universities than they had in the past. A similar quota system was introduced for employment in the public sector.

The Tamil Tigers took their first breath in 1976 with the fatal Vaddukodai Resolution which stated that the Tamil people could only have their rights restored through a separate state (known as eelam).

Constitutional changes implemented after 1977 largely restored the previous grievances of the Tamil people. The education policies of 1970 were undone and free textbooks in both Tamil and Sinhalese were introduced. The militant Tamil groups that arose from 1976 however were not satisfied with the changes and saw a separate state as the only alternative.

Another major factor was the perceived lack of action by successive governments to quickly address communal riots. The most significant of these was after a deadly attack by the LTTE in the North which killed 13 soldiers in 1983 which spawned riots and massacres in the South of the country.

Nearly three decades later, the North and East of the country lies in shambles.  Almost 200,000 people are homeless, starving or fighting sickness. The country’s economy once seen as one of the most promising in Asia has been destroyed by defense budgets to fight a war that has refused to die. The people of both the South and the North are tormented by memories of loved ones lost to war, suicide bombings and brutal murder by the rebels. The systematic campaign by the Tamil Tigers to suppress all other Tamil voices other than their own has left the Tamil people with no moderate leadership. Rajiv Gandhi, the popular 9th Prime Minister of India is dead, assassinated by the LTTE. Ranasinghe Premadasa the Sri Lankan president and hundreds of others have lost their lives to a campaign that seemed to quickly forget the reasons that it took up arms in the first place. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, is partially blinded by an attempt on her life.  Many great leaders all lie in their graves, bearing witness to the meaninglessness of war.

In the news today, we hear that the leadership of the Tamil Tigers has been destroyed. Tamil Tiger supremo Veluppilai Prabakaran, his son Charles Anthony, feared Tiger Intelligence head Pottu Amman, and head of the Tiger “Navy” Soosai all lie dead after being shot while trying to escape from the Sri Lankan military. Even the head of the political division of the LTTE is no more.

What then has three decades of a “reign of terror“ in Sri Lanka achieved?

In the words of Selvaraja Padmanathan, a spokesman for the Tamil Tigers:

“I believe that over the 38 years we fight and only the civilian and human life are every day dying. The…in another 30 years will continue we don’t believe that – we believe in peaceful way for solution for Tamil people.”

The true result of the long-drawn conflict is a deep rooted communal distrust which will be very difficult to erase. Civilians are used to looking at each person or piece of luggage in a bus suspiciously to make sure they are not suicide attackers or bombs.

It’s unfortunate that it has taken this long for the separatists to realize that armed conflict does not resolve anything.

The government now has a tough job on their hands:

– Maintain peace and stability

– Create equitable economic development in the country in a way that does not leave room for the type of discontent that spawned the LTTE

– Most importantly, find ways to bridge the differences between the Tamil civilians in the north of the country and those in the south and build trust.

It will still be a while before the people in Sri Lanka stop praying for their families: please take care of my family.

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