Bribe And Rip-Off Barb Over Mizoram Fence

By Kumar Rakesh

National Building Construction Corporation executive director R. L. Mehra.

New Delhi, Dec 26 : A huge chunk of the government's money, which is being poured into the north-eastern states for fencing the Indo-Bangladesh border, is apparently being siphoned off by corrupt officials.

A Mizoram contractor, assigned with fencing a section of the International Border, has accused a top official of the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) of continuously harassing him for bribe. The contractor quit the project midway after suffering huge losses.

N. Joshua of J. R. Construction on November 23 lodged an FIR against NBCC executive director R. L. Mehra for "cheating and misappropriating funds" amounting to over Rs.5 crore. The FIR was registered in Aizawl under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by a government official) and 420 (cheating). Investigating officer inspector O. U. Majumdar said Mehra escaped jail after getting interim bail from a local court.

Mizoram shares over 318 km of border with Bangladesh, of which only 68 km has been fenced. To check smuggling and the influx of illegal immigrants, including terrorists, the government has been trying to fence as much area as possible along the border, but the lack of official and public scrutiny in this remote region has resulted in the siphoning off whopping amounts of public money, an official said.

Some NBCC officials have faced corruption charges in the past and this is not the first time that the name of Mehra - the senior-most corporation official in the north-east - has figured in a corruption case. His premises were raided last year by the CBI after his name cropped during a probe into a National Projects Construction Corporation scam related to some works on the Indo-China border. After his questioning, the CBI officials said he had been evading them since. The then joint secretary (border management), Sadakant, was repatriated to his cadre prematurely after his name appeared in the probe, but Mehra continued unscathed.

An NBCC spokesperson claimed that Joshua's complaint was "motivated" since his contract had been foreclosed for failing to fulfil his contractual obligations. On the CBI probing Mehra, he said no action was required since the agency had not informed them of any adverse report.

Mehra said Joshua stopped working on the fencing project three years ago after losing money in other enterprises. "I spoke to him several times but it did not work. When we realised there was no way for him to fulfil his obligations, we acted against him. He is being vindictive now," he said.

Regarding Joshua's complaints to the Mizoram governor and the CM, Mehra said he had already replied to the governor and would file a reply to the CM too "in some time". About the CBI probe, he said: "It had nothing to do with me. A CPWD official took my name to justify the money found on him and the CBI had questioned me in this regard. I am in the clean."

But Joshua alleged that Mehra, who has been in office in the region for over nine years, was "very powerful" and had developed a "nexus" with the contractors and others. "He manipulates the system… Crores of rupees are being pumped in here for fencing and other works," he alleged.

J. R. Construction was awarded the contracts in 2006 for fencing two stretches along the border, totalling over 15 km. The works were for Rs.12.37 crore each, Joshua said. He claimed that Mehra wanted three per cent of the commission on the payments made to his firm. "I gave him the money but the problem started when my bills piled up and I had to spend from my pocket. The bills were finally paid after heavy deductions, sometime more than 60 per cent… and so I could no longer work on the project," he told MAIL TODAY over phone.

"My contract was then foreclosed because it suits the NBCC officials to bring in new contractors and make more money from them," he added. Joshua said the government should order an audit of the "real work" done in the region to discover how public money was being looted in the name of "sensitive border work".

 

Naga Dream Still Distant

By Pradip Phanjoubam

December is an auspicious festive month for most of Christian Northeast. In the Christian states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and to a great extent Manipur, red ‘Star of David’ lanterns on numerous rooftops light up the cold evenings in the streets of Kohima, Aizawl, Shillong and Imphal, setting the mood for celebrations and soul cleansing, and much reflections on the year that was. In trouble torn Nagaland and Manipur, however, the celebratory mood is subdued.

Hanging in the backdrop is the 11-year itch of the unsettled peace negotiation underway between the underground Naga group, NSCN(IM) and the Indian government. Ceasefire between the two entities began in 1997, and peace negotiations followed but the talks are still in dreadful stalemate, though each side continues to claim approaching a breakthrough and then blame each other for it not happening.

The reasons are not far to seek. One, the Naga insurgent movement is badly fragmented, with factional fights consuming much of the energy and public patience. A reconciliatory move commendably brought some of these factions together this year, but not every issue is settled and internal strife and sporadic bloody mayhems still mark the scenario. But the second reason should be much more frustrating for those pursuing a happy reconciliation to a problem that is as old as the Indian state. It speaks of a looming shadow of doubt of a possibility of the Naga dream if it is not moderated by an acceptance of modern realities.

Equally, at this moment, this moderation and the compromise called for seems too much for the Naga underground leaders to accept. The Naga leaders’ foremost goal is the creation of a greater Naga homeland that they have christened ‘Nagalim’ by merging territories of other states neighbouring Nagaland (and Myanmar) that they believe traditionally belonged to the Nagas. Once this is done, the degree of autonomy ‘Nagalim’ is to enjoy within the Indian Union is to be negotiated.

However, the shadow falls at the very outset on this very notion of territory. This could not have been spelled out louder and clearer than in the tussle over the creation of a new administrative district called SADAR hills (Special Area Demarcated as Autonomous Region) in Manipur. This new district is Kuki tribal dominated and is to be carved out of the Naga dominated Senapati district. The Kukis want it and the Nagas think the idea itself is an aggression on the Nagas. Friction between the two over the matter led to a 121-day blockade of Manipur recently.

The issue is too entangled to present an easy solution. The principal GoI negotiator, a retired bureaucrat, RS Pandey, did give it a shot with a recommendation he purportedly made, as was exposed by a Guwahati-based English daily. His proposal of a ‘Supra State’ status for the Nagas created quite a flutter.
Although the intent to bring to a closure the Naga problem is admirable the pertinent question is has the model taken care of existing realities, some of which can cause extreme strife in the Northeast’s ethnic cauldron? What exactly was the Supra State meant to be, if this proposal exists? Home minister P Chidambaram has since denied any knowledge of the proposal.

Even if his statement amounts playing his cards close to the chest, it does still indicate he too thinks the proposal is problematic.

The ‘Supra State’ in this context in all probability is a non-territorial solution of the nature so many intellectuals, including BK Roy Burman of the Centre for Study of Developing Societies, have advocated in reference to the Northeast’s many ethnic problems, and in particular the Nagas. The model conjures up the Sami parliament in the Scandinavian countries. The Samis are formerly nomadic indigenous reindeer herders living in Scandinavia and the Russian Federation before the region came to be dissected by political boundaries. They now find themselves living in different countries, though their traditional world never had any conception of such national boundaries, precisely because nation consciousness dawned on them late. An arrangement has now been made so that they can call themselves one people and nation but with no territory earmarked for their ‘nation.’

The NSCN(IM) leadership and their supporters everywhere have been maintaining a deafening silence on the proposal. Perhaps it was unilateral, put up by the negotiation interlocutor and not one on which there was a consensus amongst the negotiating parties. For indeed, if the proposal is modelled on the Sami Parliament, the NSCN(IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah had in the past rejected it and it is unlikely he would have had a change of heart now.

Even if Muivah agreed, two considerations would have been deterrents. One, if ‘Nagalim’ is not to be, the solution would leave a major section of the NSCN(IM)’s top leadership and cadres out of the core of the solution, as they belong to Manipur and not Nagaland. Two, any solution that does not address the question of sovereignty, even if notionally, would have to be after intense negotiations with the Naga public first, especially in the core Naga territory of the former Naga hills of Assam (now Nagaland), who have had to undergo tremendous hardships and losses for over half a century precisely because of their dream for Naga sovereignty.

While one hopes a solution to the Naga problem comes about soon, as of now, it is difficult to see such blueprints. The reported ‘Supra State’ definitely does not seem to offer one.

The writer is editor, Imphal Free Press

Manipur Christian body appeals for free and fair polls

Imphal, Dec 26 : With the ECI announcing January 28 as the date for the tenth Manipur assembly election, poll fever has gripped the state amidst Christmas frenzy.

Amid the sounds of hymns and church bells, the All Manipur Christian Organization (AMCO) appealed to all voters and candidates to ensure a free and fair election without indulging in proxy voting, booth rigging and bribery.

Of the total sixty seats in the Manipur assembly, twenty are from the five hill districts of Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong, Chandel and Churachanpur, which have a predominantly Christian population.

"On the way to the church and back, everybody was discussing the coming polls in the hills," said Peter M, a resident of the Naga-dominated Senapti district headquarters.

A conglomerate of all Christian bodies of the state, AMCO, has already organized a series of campaigns in the hills for advocating pastors and church leaders to remain neutral during the election period.

"Today is a sacred day for all Christians. Houses and churches are decorated and people pray for the coming of the Lord on this day. We appeal to the almighty to cleanse our hearts and ensure a bright and prosperous future. We appeal to all Christian brothers to ensure free and fair polls," AMCO president Prim Vaiphei said.

"As the church is one of the most powerful institutions for the Christians, we carried out advocacy meetings urging the church leaders to act impartiality during the polls. We also asked the Christian fraternity not to indulge in proxy voting and booth rigging during polls," he added.

Clarifying that AMCO is a purely non-political organization and has nothing to do with politics, the religious leader said the apex church body stands apart from any political parties.

"During the prolonged economic blockade, we could not carry out our advocacy meeting at Saikul area in Senapati district, but we will soon conduct it there," Prim added.

Social Networking Websites Asked To Screen Content By February

New Delhi, Dec 24 : In a major blow to 21 social networking websites including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and YouTube, a Delhi court on Saturday asked them to remove derogatory content by February 6, 2012.

All the 21 defendants have to submit an order of compliance to the court that they have received the court order and have to remove the derogatory content from their respective websites as directed by the court.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar took cognizance on a private criminal complaint and had directed the Centre for taking "immediate appropriate steps" and also file a report in the court by January 13.

Earlier, another court in a civil case had restrained these sites including Facebook, Google and YouTube from webcasting any "anti-religious" or "anti-social" content promoting hatred or communal disharmony.

In the fresh case, the court said, "It appears from a bare perusal of the documents that prima facie the accused in connivance with each other and other unknown persons are selling, publicly exhibiting and have put into circulation obscene, lascivious content which also appears to the prurient interests and tends to deprave and corrupt the persons who are likely to read, see or hear the same."

"It is also evident that such contents are continuously openly and freely available to everyone who is using the said network irrespective of their age and even the persons under the age of 18 years have full and uncensored access to such obscene contents," the court said.

The magistrate had summoned the accused companies to face trial for allegedly committing the offence punishable under section 292 (sale of obscene books etc), 293 (sale of obscene objects to young person etc) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The magistrate noted that in the website material submitted by the complainant, Vinay Rai, a journalist, contained obscene picture and derogatory articles pertaining to Prophet Mohammad, Jesus Christ and various Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

The magistrate said that as per the records placed before the court by the complainant, there are defamatory and obscene articles pertaining to various Indian political leaders which are being webcasted by these sites.

"The contents are certainly disrespectful to the religious sentiments and faith and seem to be intended to outrage the feelings of religious people whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

"There are certain degrading and obscene photographs of various political leaders belonging to different political parties and photographs pasted and the language used is also obscene, filthy and degrading," the court said.

It said that prima facie the accused are also liable to be summoned for offences of promoting enmity between classes and causing prejudice to national integration but due to an embargo under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court can not summon them under these offences without prior sanction of the Central or state government or district magistrate.

"I find prima facie that the accused persons are liable to be summoned for offences under section 153-A (promoting enmity between classes), 153-B (assertion prejudicial to national integration) and 295-A (insulting religion or religious belief of any class) IPC.

"However, owing to the embargo under section 196 of the CrPC which prohibits taking of cognizance under the said provisions except with the previous sanctions of central government or state government or district magistrate, the accused persons are not summoned for the said offences," it said.

Rai, in his complaint filed through advocate Shashi Tripathi, had said that contents hosted on these were "inflammatory" and seek to create enmity and communal violence among various religious communities.

The complainant alleged that the contents on these sites were obscene and may lead to "creation of obscene books, pamphlets, papers which can easily be downloaded from these social networking websites affecting the minds of children and were harmful for social harmony and may lead to increase in crime against women also".

The court also examined four witnesses during the hearing on Rai's complaint to ascertain the veracity of the materials produced as evidence and said, "from the testimony of these witnesses examined on record belonging to three different religions along with the material produced on record, it is evident that the same promotes enmity between different groups and religions, which is certainly prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and communal harmony."

The court had earlier sought response from the Delhi police regarding the authenticity of documents filed by the complainant as the addresses of most of the respondents (website companies) were beyond its jurisdiction.

On December 20, Additional Civil Judge Mukesh Kumar, in an ex-parte order, had directed the social networking websites to remove the objectionable content in the form photographs, videos or text which might hurt religious sentiments.

Northeast Leaders Are Apathetic

Only one MP participates in debate on ST amendment bill

By NISHIT DHOLABHAI

New Delhi, Dec 24 : A bill related to the Northeast was passed by the Rajya Sabha yesterday, with just one MP from the region participating in the debate that was not to be held by “agreement”.

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2011, which was passed yesterday, amends Part 10 of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order of 1950, giving individual recognition to indigenous communities that were so far grouped. Thus Kabui, Inpui and Rongmei have emerged from Kabui; Kacha Naga, Liangmai and Zeme from Kacha Naga, and Koirao and Thangal from Koirao.

It also confers Scheduled Tribe status on the Mate community and amends Part 18 of the order by substituting the name Galo for Galong. These may seem simple changes but they have a far-reaching impact on the aspirations and the way tribal communities in the Northeast view themselves.

In 2008, the cabinet cleared the amendment to the 1950 order to satisfy the aspirations of the Nyishi community regarding removal of the term Dafla and insertion of Nyishi in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Arunachal Pradesh.

Dafla was perceived by the community as derogatory and thus, it was not a matter as simple as that of a mere spelling change. The Galo tribe’s demand for change of name is said to be for similar reasons, but there was no one to explain that in Parliament.

Just one of the 14 MPs from the eight northeastern states in the Rajya Sabha — Biren Baishya of AGP — participated in a debate on the bill. The performance of the Northeast MPs has left much to be desired, as few of the 39 MPs from the region in both Houses have displayed enthusiasm to bring the region into focus. During the session, there was not a single starred question posed to DoNER.

A starred question gets oral answers in addition to a written reply from the minister concerned, while an unstarred question only gets a written reply. Ironically, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam. There are three other ministers from the region — Vincent Pala (water resources) and Agatha Sangma (rural development) from Meghalaya and Paban Singh Ghatowar (DoNER) from Assam.

On the other hand, those like Pyarimohan Mohapatra (BJD) from Odisha and S.S. Ahluwalia (BJP) from Jharkhand participated to press for fulfilment of demands from their respective states. D. Bandopadhyay from Trinamul Congress and Tariq Anwar (Maharashtra) also addressed the House.

At the end of the debate, the sense of the House was to get a comprehensive bill with regard to communities, which have Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste status in one state but do not enjoy in other states. In this important debate, however, there was little contribution from Northeast MPs.

Last week, the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and there, too, there was an attempt to “stall” it, alleged Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh, Takam Sanjoy.

The nonagenarian Congress MP from Manipur, Rishang Keishing, said he had been unwell and could not attend this session.

Mukut Mithi, the Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh, who is also the convener of the North East MPs Forum, was probably not even on the list of Congress participants. Mithi could not be contacted for comments.

“Big parties like the Congress and the BJP give little space to MPs from the Northeast to participate,” said Assam MP in Rajya Sabha, Biswajit Daimary, of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF).

But then, neither did tribal affairs minister V. Kishor Chandra Deo nor deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan insist on a discussion that could have unravelled the region’s diversity and identity complex.

At the outset, Khan even said there was an “agreement” that there will be no discussion on the bill, as there were “minor” changes.

Every ministry attracts several questions from MPs in both Houses, but DoNER is an exception. “Only three or four unstarred questions were asked in this entire session and no starred question was asked,” Ghatowar told The Telegraph. The tea tribe leader seemed to have played down the unenthusiastic performances. He should have added that among these three-odd questions to DoNER, two were from outside the Northeast, including one from a Jharkhand MP.

There are answers to this also, though.

Daimary argued that when DoNER was not even a full-fledged ministry what questions could one ask. In fact, DoNER does not have a standing committee to discuss bills affecting the northeastern states.

This does not augur well for the region, said Keishing. “The parties are not as strong as before (in the region) and there is deterioration among nationalistic forces. If anything happens, we will regret it,” he added, sounding a warning against neglecting the area. The Manipur MP and former Manipur chief minister called upon younger people to participate more.

Anti-Dam Protests Choke Arunachal

By Rahul Karmakart

Guwahati, Dec 24 : Economic blockade of the Manipur kind has changed lane to now trouble Arunachal Pradesh, thanks to a marathon anti-dam protest.
Several Assam-based organizations had from December 16 enforced a blockade on NH52 to prevent turbines and construction material from being carried to a major

dam site straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The blockade in Lakhimpur district of northeastern Assam, though dam-specific, spilled over to all vehicles to and from three districts in Arunachal Pradesh.

The dam on river Subansiri at Gerukamukh is for the 2010MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project (LSHEP) under the National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC). The project is scheduled to be completed by 2015, but has undergone cost escalation because of frequent protests.

“We extend our moral support to any democratic movement including this one against mega dams, but fact is East Siang, West Siang and Upper Siang districts of our state, dependent on NH52, have been facing acute shortage of fuel, medicine and other essentials since the blockage began,” All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (Aapsu) president Takam Tatung told HT from Itanagar.

Tatung said an Aapsu delegation met the anti-dam protestors on Friday requesting them not to harass the common people of Arunachal Pradesh. “They agreed after we told them that even vehicles carrying pregnant women for delivery have not been spared,” he added.

Because of its mountainous terrain and lack of proper healthcare facilities in the districts, people in Arunachal Pradesh have to use highways in Assam to reach state capital Itanagar.

The meeting between Aapsu and anti-dam protestors followed an appeal by a group of ministers constituted by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi for calling off the blockade. “Our movement is not against the people of Arunachal Pradesh and so we have ensured their people don’t suffer. But mega dams such as LSHEP are against the greater good of the people and not desirable in a highly seismic zone,” Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi said.

The anti-dam protestors also referred to a report by an expert committee comprising scientists from IIT Guwahati and universities in Assam. The report, submitted to the government a year ago, advised against mega dams in a tectonically unstable region.

Arunachal Pradesh has at least 140 hydroelectric projects, big and small, in various stages of construction. New Delhi is banking on these projects totaling more than 35000MW to take care of India’s power problems.

Is The Next Bhaichung Bhutia Just Round The Corner?

By Pulasta Dhar

Sunil Chhetri rightfully won the AIFF Player of the Year with his stellar performances for India in international tournaments, but while he was banging in the goals, there was another player who was stealthily making a mark in Indian football, forcing pundits to term him as the next Bhaichung Bhutia.

Jeje Lalpekhlua may not be a household name at the moment, but if he continues his prolific start, proving to be a lurking danger for every defender, then he might well be the person stepping up to fill the gap left behind by the ex-India captain.

When one mentions that the media is hailing him as the next football prodigy, Jeje laughs it off with candour followed by silence which says a lot about his respect for Bhutia and the amount of pressure that could already be playing on his mind.

It just gets confirmed when he says, “My favourite player in India is Bhaichung Bhutia.”

This will probably be the most common answer if you asked the same question to a million Indian football fans.

Jeje Lalpekhlua in action. Reuters

But Jeje knows he still has a long way to go before he could achieve that stature. “I still need to concentrate on my practice everyday. I need to improve my performance for both my club side and the national side.”

His current overall record is sensational considering he is just 20 years old. He led the Under-19 team to the South Asian games in Sri Lanka and scored a hat-trick in the last group-stage match of the tournament.

But all those achievements are put into the shade by his senior record of scoring four goals in his first three appearances for India.

But the player, who has scored eight goals in 16 appearances for India says that it all started in Mizoram when he was spotted in the region’s most famous championship. “I was 16 when I played in the Wai-Wai tournament in Mizoram and got picked for India Under-19.

“That was also the time when Pune FC spotted me and I signed for them immediately.”

Since then, Jeje has been a regular in the squad, but it took him an impressive run of scoring 14 goals in 16 caps on a loan spell at Indian Arrows to prove his mettle.

Since then, he has been touted as the brightest prospect in Indian football.

Jeje credits most of his success to a family culture of playing sport. “My father played for the club for which I made my debut and my brother also plays football. I have had no problems in convincing them to let me take up the game as a career.”

In a country where education and degrees often act as a hindrance, Jeje and his family set an example to let youngsters excel in their field of interest.

But even though he had the skill and the penchant of playing the Beautiful Game, his coach Benjamin (Ari Academy in Mizoram) says that he was very raw when he first came to him.

“We had to work a lot on his receiving and agility — two factors which are very important for a striker but he was hard-working, determined and very healthy and that gave me confidence that he could go on and make it to the national team.”

His international career looks set to continue as India step up their efforts to make a mark in Asian football and if he keeps banging in the goals, then a bigger club may come calling very soon.

“He is at the right place right now and should not move to Kolkata before he is 23-24 years of age because it is a big city and there is a lot of pressure there,” said Benjamin.

Talking about big cities, Jeje is said to be particularly shy about his surroundings and his coach remembers how he was surprised when he first visited Aizwal.

“He was from a small town and had no knowledge about city life. But he did his best to cope up with it!”

Knowing big places may not be his forte, but Jeje’s excellence took him to one of the most famous football cities — Glasgow.

Along with Sunil Chhetri, he went for a trial at Scottish club Rangers FC and was awestruck with the facilities there. “They have eight pitches for practice! Eight pitches! And we find it hard to get even one ground here to practice.”

Surely Scotland made a great impression on him and they have apparently promised the Indian that they will keep track of his record.

But can Indians really play in Europe? “There is not much difference in the skill and technique, but they play very fast football and they are physically very strong. I still think it will take time for someone to adjust to those rigours.”

He is also of the view that Indian players need better agents to make inroads into international leagues like those in Qatar, China and Japan. “The problem also comes down to whether you have a well connected agent. We don’t have that here and it restricts our opportunities to go abroad,” he said.

How To Set Up Your Facebook Timeline

Facebook Timeline: Tips For Setting Up Your New Profile

By ANICK JESDANUN

NEW YORK -- I've often joked that if something's not on Facebook, it didn't happen. Facebook's new Timeline feature makes that adage even more apparent.

Timeline is Facebook's new way of presenting you to the world. It replaces your traditional profile page – the one with your headshot and a smorgasbord of personal musings, photos and other items to share with friends. Instead of just a snapshot of you today, Timeline is supposed to be a scrapbook of your whole life.

But these highlights are culled from what Facebook sees as important – the stuff you and your friends have chosen to write or post photos about over the years. So it's crucial to spend time curating it, so your life doesn't come across as vain. If you're not careful, you also might reveal skeletons from your past to more recent friends.

Once you're ready for Timeline, you have a week to airbrush your life before it replaces your current profile. That's not a lot of time when you have (cough, cough) years of your life to go through. I suggest focusing on the years since you joined Facebook. You can always add photos from childhood later.

MAKING A SPLASH

Start by choosing a cover photo, the image that will splash across the top. You can choose a sunset, your dog, a hobby, anything that reflects who you are. Keep in mind the dimensions are more like a movie screen than a traditional photo. A close-up portrait of your face won't work well, but one of you lying horizontally will.

Your old profile photo will still be there, but it'll be smaller.

If you haven't done so already, you can add where you've worked, lived and went to school. If you specify years – such as when you started a job – those items will be added to Timeline's stream of life events, even if they took place before Facebook's founding in 2004.

You can also add other life events to the stream, such as when you broke your arm and whom you were with then, or when you spoke your first word or got a tattoo. By adding them to Facebook, you signal that those things really did happen.

MORE ON THE STREAM

The timeline stream is your life on Facebook in reverse chronological order.

At the top are your recent status updates, comments from family and friends, photos you're in and events you've attended. As you scroll down, you'll get highlights from last month, then earlier in the year. Scroll down even further for last year, the year before that and so on. Click one of the "Show" links to get all posts from a particular month or year.

Posts will be more sporadic the further you go back. You'll see when you joined Facebook and the first post you ever made – mine was "Anick Jesdanun is wasting a lot of time on facebook."

Beyond that, you may see details about high school or college. A colleague even saw the birth of her younger brother listed, after having told Facebook which of her friends were her siblings.

The bottom simply says "Born" with your birth date and birthplace, if you've chosen to share that.

This may come across as a big privacy breach, but keep in mind that people could have seen many of those posts before by continually hitting "Older Posts." The difference is most people wouldn't bother. With Timeline, you can jump more quickly to older posts.

Another thing to consider: Although your privacy settings remain the same, your list of friends has likely grown over the years, and your definition of friends has probably broadened to include parents, bosses and random flings at weddings. Someone you didn't know in 2008 would suddenly have easier access to something you posted then.

CURATING YOUR LIFE

You can change who has access to which posts. Perhaps you'd want to narrow an embarrassing photo from Thanksgiving to family members who were there. You might want to delete other posts completely or hide them so that only you can see them.

You can change the date on a post. For example, if you had waited a week to tell the Facebook world that you broke up with someone, you can change the date to reflect when all the screaming and crying took place. You can also add where you were, retroactively using a location feature that Facebook hadn't offered until recently.

For major events in your life, you can click on a star to feature them more prominently.

You'll likely feel overwhelmed when you see your Timeline for the first time. Years-old posts made by people you're no longer friends with are still there. Musings on a trip or a long-forgotten event suddenly lack context. Your life may also come across as duplicative, such as when multiple friends post similar photos from the same party.

Here are a few tips:

_ Start with your older posts. You were probably experimenting with Facebook then, and most of those could go into hiding. Plus, those are the ones you'd need to be most careful about because you had reason to believe only a few friends would see them.

_ Find the button for Activity Log. Click that to see all of your posts at a glance and make changes to them one by one. Open Facebook in a new browser tab first, though. Every time you switch between the log and the timeline stream, Facebook resets to a default view rather than let you return to where you were. So have one tab for the log and the other for the stream.

_ Think carefully about what you want to highlight when people scroll through your past. Facebook has a secret formula for determining which items are included in your highlights, using such factors as how many friends commented on a post. That may not necessarily be what you want to showcase.

Unfortunately, getting the stream to look right is difficult.

There's no easy way to highlight something Facebook's formula didn't pick, without starring it such that it gets splashed across the page. I also couldn't find a good way to remove something from the highlights without hiding or deleting it completely. There are events I wouldn't consider major, but would want people to see if they took the time to browse through my past.

There also ought to be a way to star or hide posts in batches.

And oddly, Facebook includes stuff posted by others, but it doesn't include items you've posted on other profiles. Older posts come across as one-sided without the back and forth for context.

MOVING FORWARD

Overall, I like the concept behind Timeline. I got a nice stroll down memory lane, and I enjoyed stalking my friends and uncovering their pasts, too.

I just wish it were easier to customize, and I don't appreciate being rushed. Facebook spent months developing Timeline and rolling it out to its 800 million users. Why give us just seven days?

If you're not ready to start Timeline, you can still view Timelines your friends have already activated. Just keep in mind that Facebook eventually will force you to switch, so you might as well do it now if you have the time.

You might also want to take this as an opportunity to clean up your presence on Facebook. Review your privacy settings and get rid of friends who don't need to be there. That will be the topic of next week's column.

___

Anick Jesdanun, deputy technology editor for The Associated Press, can be reached at njesdanun(at)ap.org.