I have been storing posts as drafts and not publishing them. Don't know why.
Anyhu, past ten days have been emotionally hectic, owing to the Bombay attacks. Especially if you are seated one one end of Africa, and the only sources of information in Internet. I beg your pardon, ONLY is the wrong word. But still, BBC, CNN, SKY and AL-JAZEERA tried, but it was mostly about 'The foreign nationals' . Hence, I terribly missed my beloved sensationalist Indian Channels. I apologise again for calling all the news channels sensationalist, as any other common Indian, my opinions are over shadowed with stereotypes and prejudices. I used to log on to TOI site every fifteen minutes checking for updates. I must say, they did do a fantastic job, with regular updates, stories from all spheres of the crisis, complemented by high quality videos from Times Now.
I called up friends as soon as I heard of the crisis, made sure they are alright. The panic was obvious in everyone's voice. I felt home sick, all I wanted to do was be there. I used to sit up and watch the events unfold till Friday morning.
The week after, emails started pouring in, survival stories, Mumbai will stay United kind of forwards. Petitions against the governments , media etc etc. Face book groups, events, status, notes, twitter, blogs, opinions, anger, distress, sorrow, fear, frustration, sympathy, zest, hope, love, fraternity, friendship, sacrifice, gratitude and patriotism.
Everyone said it was different this time, they attacked the Taj, Oberoi. I don't visit those places, but the people who do, thought they would be the safest there, but alas...
VT station, the big, old, lovely station. This place is where I get off to go to Mondegar or Leopold. Or shop and haggle at Colaba causeway, or to just grab a few quiet moments at Marine drive.
No one knows if the terrorists will be ever be punished, or if their parent organisations will ever be traced.
People are angry now, but will this anger change anything?
or will it be forgotten after a few days...
I am coming back to Mumbai, very soon, but will say that extra prayer before I step out , and step in to the house, for myself and my loved ones.
Dec 8, 2008
Nov 26, 2008
Our Gods
Having lived in a Hindu majority state, I took it for granted that everyone is aware of my culture. Until recently, I moved to Accra, Ghana temporarily, almost for 4 months. Christianity and Islam are the two primary religions, but one can see more Christians, hence I assume they form the majority. So, what is so different in living in a Christian majority state?
No one knows what Hinduism is, so one has to explain quite a bit. Also, I am often confronted with this question, will I go to heaven if I pray?
I didn't quite know what to say, I tried to explain the concept of 'Moksha'. I also witnessed a prayer meeting at a friend's place. It was a different experience. Honestly, I was slightly intimidated at first, which proved I am no different, I am a normal human being, who feels odd if placed in another radical social fabric.
This made me think, how people convert into religious fanatics, and the truth is it is very easy for some one who been told as a child that 'A' is right and 'B' is wrong, 'A' is going to help you always. The youth is extremely vunerable to this problem. When family, friends, governments, communities fail to help the individual, people often turn to God. That is faith, but what these youngsters do not realise that their faith is being insulted by some greedy individuals. People who do not respect God, in any form and religion, they will achieve their goals through authoratarian means. Be it any religion, any country, any leader.
I always say, Religion is a personal matter, yes it is. Even if you are not religious, you do care about it at some level, but being tolerant is the key. I am so happy to live in a secular state, where people are tolerant. Yes, there are problems, lots of them, animosity flares up time to time, but having so many religions in the same state is truly remarkable.
No one knows what Hinduism is, so one has to explain quite a bit. Also, I am often confronted with this question, will I go to heaven if I pray?
I didn't quite know what to say, I tried to explain the concept of 'Moksha'. I also witnessed a prayer meeting at a friend's place. It was a different experience. Honestly, I was slightly intimidated at first, which proved I am no different, I am a normal human being, who feels odd if placed in another radical social fabric.
This made me think, how people convert into religious fanatics, and the truth is it is very easy for some one who been told as a child that 'A' is right and 'B' is wrong, 'A' is going to help you always. The youth is extremely vunerable to this problem. When family, friends, governments, communities fail to help the individual, people often turn to God. That is faith, but what these youngsters do not realise that their faith is being insulted by some greedy individuals. People who do not respect God, in any form and religion, they will achieve their goals through authoratarian means. Be it any religion, any country, any leader.
I always say, Religion is a personal matter, yes it is. Even if you are not religious, you do care about it at some level, but being tolerant is the key. I am so happy to live in a secular state, where people are tolerant. Yes, there are problems, lots of them, animosity flares up time to time, but having so many religions in the same state is truly remarkable.
Oct 27, 2008
Of being on time or not
GMT/IST
I was waiting for my pizza, at a joint named 'pizza inn' at Accra Mall. The waitress told me "12 minutes". I was sitting with my friends, waiting for the meal, my friend said ' 12 minutes!!' A man sitting opposite said, ' that's 12 Ghanaian minutes!" And we knew that very instant that the pizza will only arrive in 20 mins or so, it also made me think of the Dominos offer, if the pizza isn't delivered in the stipulated time, it's free!
Yeah, so if one says 10 o'clock here, they are probably not going to turn up at 10, being late is not an uncommon phenomenon for Indians as well. Showing up late is probably going to get you noticed. Yeah ofcourse, but if that event is not a party, not many people are going to be pleased with your actions. Indian Stretchable Time is not popular just like that!
Ghanians and Indians should not migrate to Japan, I was watching a special show on BBC, on Japan, and their watch industry. That country is obsessed by being on time! Yeah, the lady who was being interviewed confessed it, everything is on time, trains, buses and most importantly people!
Hmmmm...some one please send the central railway officials to Tokyo, the cost of the trip will be worth all the time passenger save waiting for the locals. I have missed an entrance exam, because I was waiting for a fast train. hmpf.
Also, the traffic in Accra is erratic. All of a sudden on a saturday afternoon it will take 1 hour to reach Accra Mall, which is 10 mins otherwise, and sometimes when you expect a jam, there is none, so you end up reaching early. So, yeah one probably cannot blame people here for not being punctual.
But hey, one thing people are punctual about, their weekends! Anywhere except India, people LOVE their weekends, they even put their phones off! Yeah, in India if you put your phone off, you put your boss off, and then you may as well give that phone up.
Another thing, the traffic lights are not as high as the ones in India, so at night when you are on the road, it pierces right into your brains! Bright red, and green flashing at you, ouch! And also, there is absence of yellow on the traffic lights.
Oct 14, 2008
Elections and Economy
Apparently Sen.Barack Obama is associated with radicals and terrorists, is not the right man for America, and is anti-white. They also said US is a Christian state and hence Obama is not a right choice(???)
That's what the Republicans perceive him at Ohio.
Whoa, those are some seriously strong statements. I wonder who is feeding them all that? Or is it that they like to form opinions without knowing much? Whichever it is, it's a serious problem. I have seen the coverage of U.S elections before, but never have I felt so strongly about one of the Presidential candidates. I will be extremely upset if a capable man like Barack Obama is not selected for this post. But since it is not my Presidential election, I can choose to be indifferent, but the damn media does NOT leave me alone!! Obama and McCain everywhere!! I feel bad for Biden, he hasn't receieved as much coverage as Palin, but I guess he is doing good without it too!
It is not like there aren't other news stories to cover...but nowadays it is only the financial crisis or US Presidential campaign :|
Can some one bother to inform me what is happening in the REST of the WORLD???
That's what the Republicans perceive him at Ohio.
Whoa, those are some seriously strong statements. I wonder who is feeding them all that? Or is it that they like to form opinions without knowing much? Whichever it is, it's a serious problem. I have seen the coverage of U.S elections before, but never have I felt so strongly about one of the Presidential candidates. I will be extremely upset if a capable man like Barack Obama is not selected for this post. But since it is not my Presidential election, I can choose to be indifferent, but the damn media does NOT leave me alone!! Obama and McCain everywhere!! I feel bad for Biden, he hasn't receieved as much coverage as Palin, but I guess he is doing good without it too!
It is not like there aren't other news stories to cover...but nowadays it is only the financial crisis or US Presidential campaign :|
Can some one bother to inform me what is happening in the REST of the WORLD???
Oct 12, 2008
Of African markets
Si vous pensez l'Inde est une pays bonde, regarde-la!
Yes, I was trying to show off some french, but I hope that sentence construction was correct!or else I know some smart ass will correct me!!
Anyway, I visited the local African market in Accra, called 'Makola', as my friend corrected me it's pronounced 'Ma-a-k-0-laaa'. Hmpf. Great place though, especially if you place haggling and bargaining as your virtue and hobby. The shopkeeper shall say 12 cds ( 1 Ghanaian cd = 38 Rs. approx) and then you say 8, eventually it should be settled at 10. But it is way cheaper than the retail stores, I was window shopping ( yes, shopping becomes window shopping as soon as I glance at the price tag) at the Accra Mall, at a store called ' Truworths' , I liked one shirt, saw the tag, and made a face like I had tasted rotten tomatoes, it was freaking 70 cds!! You do the math, yeah I could buy 3 items from Bandra, from a store like Globus.
I saw shoes, yes shoe shopping!!! ( people who watch Scrubs will get the drift) Sandals, stilletoes, everywhere, and at a good price.
Just be careful of the vendors, they have some aggressive marketing strategies like holding your hand and literally pulling you to see their stuff!!! Now, don't get scared, they were trying to get noticed.
And hey, another thing, I was walking on the street, it was very crowded, yes I did not miss India so much at that point of time, anyway, so I happen to step on a girl's sandal, and it came off, it was not intentional, hence I said ' sorry'. The girl was pretty miffed and said.' why did you do that brownie?" !!!!! I was referred to as a brownie. haha. I said, ' sorrryyy wooman' and walked away, she laughed and I did too.
If I didn't have a lethal migrane today, I would have emptied my dad's wallet, are you feeling happy for my dad's wallet??
Meanies.
Le prochaine fois, je vais acheter tout le monde, donc, si vous voulez un cadeau pour toi, soyez gentil.
Yes, I was trying to show off some french, but I hope that sentence construction was correct!or else I know some smart ass will correct me!!
Anyway, I visited the local African market in Accra, called 'Makola', as my friend corrected me it's pronounced 'Ma-a-k-0-laaa'. Hmpf. Great place though, especially if you place haggling and bargaining as your virtue and hobby. The shopkeeper shall say 12 cds ( 1 Ghanaian cd = 38 Rs. approx) and then you say 8, eventually it should be settled at 10. But it is way cheaper than the retail stores, I was window shopping ( yes, shopping becomes window shopping as soon as I glance at the price tag) at the Accra Mall, at a store called ' Truworths' , I liked one shirt, saw the tag, and made a face like I had tasted rotten tomatoes, it was freaking 70 cds!! You do the math, yeah I could buy 3 items from Bandra, from a store like Globus.
I saw shoes, yes shoe shopping!!! ( people who watch Scrubs will get the drift) Sandals, stilletoes, everywhere, and at a good price.
Just be careful of the vendors, they have some aggressive marketing strategies like holding your hand and literally pulling you to see their stuff!!! Now, don't get scared, they were trying to get noticed.
And hey, another thing, I was walking on the street, it was very crowded, yes I did not miss India so much at that point of time, anyway, so I happen to step on a girl's sandal, and it came off, it was not intentional, hence I said ' sorry'. The girl was pretty miffed and said.' why did you do that brownie?" !!!!! I was referred to as a brownie. haha. I said, ' sorrryyy wooman' and walked away, she laughed and I did too.
If I didn't have a lethal migrane today, I would have emptied my dad's wallet, are you feeling happy for my dad's wallet??
Meanies.
Le prochaine fois, je vais acheter tout le monde, donc, si vous voulez un cadeau pour toi, soyez gentil.
Oct 6, 2008
Me and N-deal
My friend said:
"I am like the N-deal, keep postponing my plans!"
haha
Dude, I simply loved it...!
"I am like the N-deal, keep postponing my plans!"
haha
Dude, I simply loved it...!
Oct 1, 2008
Genocides and History
The Nuremberg Laws
What were they?
They were rules, formulated in 1935 by the Nazis which formed the building blocks of the discrimination between 'Aryans' and 'Jews'. Under these laws, it was forbidden for for any Jew to marry an Aryan or vice-versa. No Aryan could be employed by the Jews as their domestic help.
You can find more details here
But what is surprising was how could people ACTUALLY think of such rules, and implement them.
Almost 6 million Jews died. It was a genocide, the word itself was coined after this massacre.
It is probably considered general knowledge to know the basics about the holocaust, as it comes under the World War II, but hey my history books never went beyond the death toll, and the dictatorship of the Nazis. Adolf Hitler, and his inhuman ways of treating Jews, his downfall, his suicide. All in brief.
We were never taught about the details or this horror. I know one can say proximity is a good reason, but World War I and II are always taught in detail, so why not the holocaust?
Yes, it was a bitter chapter in human history, but everyone needs to know what happened, maybe in 10th grade, a 15 year old has a good mind, they will not instantly judge, and the motive behind teaching this event shouldn't be to create hatred against Germans, or sympathy for Jews, but to teach what stereotypes and hatred can result into. It's an example, the entire history is an example, to make sure we do not repeat those mistakes, though that's not true and we still commit the same mistakes over and over, but kids today need to know such horrendous acts took place, they need to know it happened, and that it should not happen again. I believe it could instill some level of tolerance among them. We need people to be tolerant. Tolerant to religion, language, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality etc.
How many of us knew about the Rwandan genocide of 1994 till we saw ' Hotel Rwanda' or studied only at college about the ' CNN effect'.
How many of knew about the Cambodian genocide of 1975 under the Khmer rouge regime, which slaughtered 1.5 million people?
Very few.
And why are we only taught about the European revolutions? French Revolution is as important as Latin American revolution, or the African revolution. It would be nice to study details about Nelson Mandela's freedom struggle. How various countries got their independence from their colonial powers, some literature from those eras could do wonders.
And our great Indian revolution, it's so much more than the way it is presented in our history text books. I could be sounding a history geek right now, but the fact is we were not educated enough. If math and science are important, so are social studies, they in fact, shape your opinions, what your teacher in school teaches you, you shall always remember, because at that point of time, you are probably listening and not hearing. I wish they would pick up more history and literature from around the world, and not make it just facts and dates, history has a purpose, if it is served, it can help in creating some peace today. Probably, maintain some harmony which we desperately need.
My professor once said' History is about the victor, not the vanquished', well we need to know about the vanquished too, or else we continue to repeat history over and over and over.
What were they?
They were rules, formulated in 1935 by the Nazis which formed the building blocks of the discrimination between 'Aryans' and 'Jews'. Under these laws, it was forbidden for for any Jew to marry an Aryan or vice-versa. No Aryan could be employed by the Jews as their domestic help.
You can find more details here
But what is surprising was how could people ACTUALLY think of such rules, and implement them.
Almost 6 million Jews died. It was a genocide, the word itself was coined after this massacre.
It is probably considered general knowledge to know the basics about the holocaust, as it comes under the World War II, but hey my history books never went beyond the death toll, and the dictatorship of the Nazis. Adolf Hitler, and his inhuman ways of treating Jews, his downfall, his suicide. All in brief.
We were never taught about the details or this horror. I know one can say proximity is a good reason, but World War I and II are always taught in detail, so why not the holocaust?
Yes, it was a bitter chapter in human history, but everyone needs to know what happened, maybe in 10th grade, a 15 year old has a good mind, they will not instantly judge, and the motive behind teaching this event shouldn't be to create hatred against Germans, or sympathy for Jews, but to teach what stereotypes and hatred can result into. It's an example, the entire history is an example, to make sure we do not repeat those mistakes, though that's not true and we still commit the same mistakes over and over, but kids today need to know such horrendous acts took place, they need to know it happened, and that it should not happen again. I believe it could instill some level of tolerance among them. We need people to be tolerant. Tolerant to religion, language, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality etc.
How many of us knew about the Rwandan genocide of 1994 till we saw ' Hotel Rwanda' or studied only at college about the ' CNN effect'.
How many of knew about the Cambodian genocide of 1975 under the Khmer rouge regime, which slaughtered 1.5 million people?
Very few.
And why are we only taught about the European revolutions? French Revolution is as important as Latin American revolution, or the African revolution. It would be nice to study details about Nelson Mandela's freedom struggle. How various countries got their independence from their colonial powers, some literature from those eras could do wonders.
And our great Indian revolution, it's so much more than the way it is presented in our history text books. I could be sounding a history geek right now, but the fact is we were not educated enough. If math and science are important, so are social studies, they in fact, shape your opinions, what your teacher in school teaches you, you shall always remember, because at that point of time, you are probably listening and not hearing. I wish they would pick up more history and literature from around the world, and not make it just facts and dates, history has a purpose, if it is served, it can help in creating some peace today. Probably, maintain some harmony which we desperately need.
My professor once said' History is about the victor, not the vanquished', well we need to know about the vanquished too, or else we continue to repeat history over and over and over.
Sep 25, 2008
BSE ka asar
A newspaper published a story once, " The Bombay Stock Exchange is being used to fund terrorism". The stocks have crashed multiple times this year, does that mean the terrorist's kitty is than than gopal?? (empty)
Tell tell...
Tell tell...
Sep 24, 2008
Larry King Live with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Larry King Live has been a popular show, with interesting guests. Few hours back, I happen to watch the skilled interviewer question the current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Most of the questions were on the stiffened ties between Iran and US. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clearly stated, " US has broken all ties with us unilaterally." He also went on to say that Iranian people do not have any problems with American people, in fact Americans should come to Iran, and learn about our culture and way of life. According to him Bush lost an opportunity to develop friendly ties with Iran, on questioned whether he would like to rekindle diplomatic relations with the US, the President said he is open to it. He also referred to Israel as a 'zionist' state, and condemned homosexuality. He made it clear that Iran will not encourage being bullied by anyone, and that US should not interfere politically beyond it's geographical means.
So, what does one conclude from this interview. Well, it is hard to say. On one hand, there are a few things which one could agree with the President, like how the US could not interfere with another nation 's policy, but is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself a popular leader, has Iran benifitted under his leadership?
Iran has been accused of creating nuclear weapons by US and Israel, and the mounting tension between them is only going to lead to another political crisis.
It is easy to point fingers, but I cannot create an opinion unless I know what goes on in Iran. All I have heard and read in recent times is the stepping up of moral police, women and men being arrested for indecent dressing, which has resulted in wide spread agitation among young Iranian women.
But again, moral policing, code of conduct become an internal issue, it isn't fair to judge them on that? or is it?
It will be interesting to watch how this diplomatic tie shapes up when Sen. McCain or Sen. Obama takes over the White House.
Most of the questions were on the stiffened ties between Iran and US. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clearly stated, " US has broken all ties with us unilaterally." He also went on to say that Iranian people do not have any problems with American people, in fact Americans should come to Iran, and learn about our culture and way of life. According to him Bush lost an opportunity to develop friendly ties with Iran, on questioned whether he would like to rekindle diplomatic relations with the US, the President said he is open to it. He also referred to Israel as a 'zionist' state, and condemned homosexuality. He made it clear that Iran will not encourage being bullied by anyone, and that US should not interfere politically beyond it's geographical means.
So, what does one conclude from this interview. Well, it is hard to say. On one hand, there are a few things which one could agree with the President, like how the US could not interfere with another nation 's policy, but is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself a popular leader, has Iran benifitted under his leadership?
Iran has been accused of creating nuclear weapons by US and Israel, and the mounting tension between them is only going to lead to another political crisis.
It is easy to point fingers, but I cannot create an opinion unless I know what goes on in Iran. All I have heard and read in recent times is the stepping up of moral police, women and men being arrested for indecent dressing, which has resulted in wide spread agitation among young Iranian women.
But again, moral policing, code of conduct become an internal issue, it isn't fair to judge them on that? or is it?
It will be interesting to watch how this diplomatic tie shapes up when Sen. McCain or Sen. Obama takes over the White House.
Sep 23, 2008
Of watching FIVE news channels...
As usual I have forgotten about my blog, but once or twice a year I have a panic attack, and I publish a new post, I usually make false politician promises, like how I will continue to write, and how much I like writing...etc etc etc. But this time, I am just gonna write something, and not plan for tomorrow, if I am upto it, I will.
I have transported myself to West Africa, for a while. Accra, Ghana , yeah that's where I am living now, and what am I doing? No one knows.
Anyway, being in this part of the world teaches you a lot of things. Like, how much a cinema theatre means to you, that's right people, no movie halls here, no no I ain't kidding, I actually cannot see a film on the big screen here! So people watch everything on DVDs. Also, I have been recently informed, that there is no copyright law in Ghana! This probably explains the absence of cinema halls.
Ghana is also the main stop for all the aid coming in from non governmental organisations. Lots of volunteering work taking place in and around Ghana.
Keeping yourself busy is probably the biggest challenge one could face here, so I joined Alliance Francaise, but even that is on a break now. I would say the television selection is far superior, I am only emphasizing on the television news channels selection. There is BBC world, CNN, Sky News- another Brit enterprise, Euro News- pays special attention to developemental stories in Europe, and last but not the least- Al Jazeera English. It's simply brilliant. The coverage, the perspective, and for the first time not just a western perspective, thank you very much!
They broadcast from London, Washington DC, Doha and Kuala Lampur. I am guessing out of the four mentioned cities, only Doha recieves the telecast of Al Jazeera English. Reason being, it's HQ is in Doha, and Al Jazeera Arabic and English are the primary source of information in the Arab world. So Washington DC and London miss out on a great source of news broadcast.
One could wonder what is so exceptional about the channel, for starters, it has an amazing programming, shows like 'Inside Story' telecasted everyday after the World news. It is a discussion on a certain topic involving a news anchor, and two experts on the topic, who are usually telecasted from other parts of the world. The recent episode on US troops leading the militant hunt into Afgan- Pak border, which resulted in civilian casualties was fantastic. They had a representative from the Pakistani ministry and one from the American foreign policy. The questions were to the point, with no streak of diplomacy. Questions which made the representatives truly uncomfortable.
Then we have the famous Riz Khan, if you have seen him, you would know what I am talking about, catch him on youtube, so what if the Indian I & B ministry is not open to telecasting the channel, catch it on the web. Riz Khan had a show recently, where the topic was Iraq after five years, thats probably the most uncomfortable place you can put the experts in. It's not that Al Jazeera is anti -west, it just poses questions which the western channels prefer not to raise, and I believe this process is extremely important. For example, one never gets to hear about the American point of view, along with the other side of the argument. Because, the argument ends up being ONE sided. If you go to Iraq, I assume you would read opinions which could be anti west in nature, and if you go to America, you will read opinions which could be justifying the Iraq situation. Finding out an in between route is almost impossible and often leads to controversy. But when such a debate is actually carried out, it gives the masses an opportunity to gain a new perspective. Being a global news channel is anything but easy, your commercial interests are positively going to affect your coverage, and commercial interests are most often carry a strong political influence.
Having said that, I would like to point out another example, the Beijing Olympics 2008. A breath taking opening ceremony, followed by a almost perfectly organised 15 day event. Top notch amenities, high quality judging, and an enthusiastic crowd, proved that China could do it, and has done it. They set a bench mark for future games. Now, lets get to the main point- the coverage-
BBC was more or less neutral. CNN and Sky did their best to prove that Beijing is the most polluted city and a huge risk for the athlete's health, even when the IOC health committee officially measured the amount of pollutants in the Beijing air, and made a statement that it was safe. Euro News was not aggressive either, and Al Jazeera, did the similar stories, but with a different twist, they went on to show the problem and then the solution. Now, readers could say I am being biased about this, but the truth is Al Jazeera did not carry out stories which were out to sabotage China's capability, on the eve of the summer games. The question I ask is- had the games been in London, Paris, Moscow, Sydney, New York, Madrid , would the media have reacted the same way?
I guess no, because no one expected China to do so well. Also, obviously because China is a communist state, they have a bad human rights record, and primarily because of the Tibet situation which took place in March 2008. But give it to them, they were brilliant, Olympics is about celebration, and they sure know how to do it!
I will keep posting more examples now and then, and this is not a politician promise!
I have transported myself to West Africa, for a while. Accra, Ghana , yeah that's where I am living now, and what am I doing? No one knows.
Anyway, being in this part of the world teaches you a lot of things. Like, how much a cinema theatre means to you, that's right people, no movie halls here, no no I ain't kidding, I actually cannot see a film on the big screen here! So people watch everything on DVDs. Also, I have been recently informed, that there is no copyright law in Ghana! This probably explains the absence of cinema halls.
Ghana is also the main stop for all the aid coming in from non governmental organisations. Lots of volunteering work taking place in and around Ghana.
Keeping yourself busy is probably the biggest challenge one could face here, so I joined Alliance Francaise, but even that is on a break now. I would say the television selection is far superior, I am only emphasizing on the television news channels selection. There is BBC world, CNN, Sky News- another Brit enterprise, Euro News- pays special attention to developemental stories in Europe, and last but not the least- Al Jazeera English. It's simply brilliant. The coverage, the perspective, and for the first time not just a western perspective, thank you very much!
They broadcast from London, Washington DC, Doha and Kuala Lampur. I am guessing out of the four mentioned cities, only Doha recieves the telecast of Al Jazeera English. Reason being, it's HQ is in Doha, and Al Jazeera Arabic and English are the primary source of information in the Arab world. So Washington DC and London miss out on a great source of news broadcast.
One could wonder what is so exceptional about the channel, for starters, it has an amazing programming, shows like 'Inside Story' telecasted everyday after the World news. It is a discussion on a certain topic involving a news anchor, and two experts on the topic, who are usually telecasted from other parts of the world. The recent episode on US troops leading the militant hunt into Afgan- Pak border, which resulted in civilian casualties was fantastic. They had a representative from the Pakistani ministry and one from the American foreign policy. The questions were to the point, with no streak of diplomacy. Questions which made the representatives truly uncomfortable.
Then we have the famous Riz Khan, if you have seen him, you would know what I am talking about, catch him on youtube, so what if the Indian I & B ministry is not open to telecasting the channel, catch it on the web. Riz Khan had a show recently, where the topic was Iraq after five years, thats probably the most uncomfortable place you can put the experts in. It's not that Al Jazeera is anti -west, it just poses questions which the western channels prefer not to raise, and I believe this process is extremely important. For example, one never gets to hear about the American point of view, along with the other side of the argument. Because, the argument ends up being ONE sided. If you go to Iraq, I assume you would read opinions which could be anti west in nature, and if you go to America, you will read opinions which could be justifying the Iraq situation. Finding out an in between route is almost impossible and often leads to controversy. But when such a debate is actually carried out, it gives the masses an opportunity to gain a new perspective. Being a global news channel is anything but easy, your commercial interests are positively going to affect your coverage, and commercial interests are most often carry a strong political influence.
Having said that, I would like to point out another example, the Beijing Olympics 2008. A breath taking opening ceremony, followed by a almost perfectly organised 15 day event. Top notch amenities, high quality judging, and an enthusiastic crowd, proved that China could do it, and has done it. They set a bench mark for future games. Now, lets get to the main point- the coverage-
BBC was more or less neutral. CNN and Sky did their best to prove that Beijing is the most polluted city and a huge risk for the athlete's health, even when the IOC health committee officially measured the amount of pollutants in the Beijing air, and made a statement that it was safe. Euro News was not aggressive either, and Al Jazeera, did the similar stories, but with a different twist, they went on to show the problem and then the solution. Now, readers could say I am being biased about this, but the truth is Al Jazeera did not carry out stories which were out to sabotage China's capability, on the eve of the summer games. The question I ask is- had the games been in London, Paris, Moscow, Sydney, New York, Madrid , would the media have reacted the same way?
I guess no, because no one expected China to do so well. Also, obviously because China is a communist state, they have a bad human rights record, and primarily because of the Tibet situation which took place in March 2008. But give it to them, they were brilliant, Olympics is about celebration, and they sure know how to do it!
I will keep posting more examples now and then, and this is not a politician promise!
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