Just another dent in the damage…

For me writing this blog is a means to write. I write about whatever is on my mind I guess, whether that be a book I’ve read, a film I’ve seen, maybe it’s something work related, maybe it’s something totally random. I’ve always been quite happy not having a clear purpose or a specific interest to write about but I find this occasionally makes it more difficult to tell people what I blog about. I guess you could say I just blog about whatever I feel like, not for a specific reader, but rather for anyone with a general interest.

It’s very difficult for me to concentrate on one particular topic so I tend to just cover it all. I write about what I do, what I like, what I’ve seen etc. I thought a Wordle might give me an idea about what I’ve blog about in the past to give me a more clear focus for the future, instead it just confirmed the randomness of my ‘dents’, and I think I quite like it.

Now my question is. do blogs really need a specific purpose, do I need a target audience, does it put people off coming back to read when one minute I write about QR codes and the next I’m writing about the mass slaughter of marine mammals? Again I’m finding the whole divide in personal and professional too difficult to maintain. I want librarians to come here and see something they weren’t expecting, I want vegans to come here and read about something other than recipes and animal rights abuses, I want my friends to come here and see what I’m up to, I want work colleagues to see what my interests are outside the work place. I want to use this blog to reflect who I am not what I do.

This week’s Channel 4 Dispatches focused on piecing together the horrific terrorist attacks that hit Mumbai last November. It is incredibly detailed in its tracking of the young terrorists’ movements and their communications with their ‘commanders’ in Pakistan, featuring original voice recordings of mobile interceptions, amateur video footage and CCTV, interviews with eye-witnesses and news coverage of the time.

It’s pretty difficult to watch given the inclusion of extremely graphic images depicting the carnage that left at least 173 dead and a further 308 injured but an excellent documentary nonetheless. They’ve done remarkably well in reconstructing the group’s movements across the city and collating detailed descriptions of the plot that took the city of Mumbai hostage for three days.

It makes me question what the Indian authorities were doing at the time during these intercepted telephone conversations, was there contact with Pakistani administration? Were they able to trace the calls to find any further information out about the ‘controllers’? What has been/is being done to identify the leaders of the mob and how will Lashkar-e-Taiba be held accountable? What is to come of the Kasab trial (the sole surviving terrorist caught by the Indian forces and currently held in custody) given that on May 6th he pleaded not guilty to 86 charges? Surely there is enough evidence here which says otherwise?

And finally was it really appropriate for the Dispatches team to end the documentary with the ‘controller’s’ message to the media? – ‘this was just the trailer. wait for the rest of the film’.

There are 28 days left on the 4oD platform to catch-up or see Youtube’s five part break down:

• Part 1;
• Part 2;
• Part 3;
• Part 4;
• Part 5.

If you’re still not convinced though have a quick peek at this Channel 4 News report for a taster: