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media Foreign
service
issue RIPPLE EFFECT
A closer look at the reporting patterns of Lal Masjid for the past six months raises some pertinent questions about the responsibility of media in a conflict situation Lal Masjid in Islamabad has
become literally so, after the 'Operation Silence' carried out last In essence, they must learn to responsibly report a conflict without risking their lives, credibility and without becoming a party to the conflict. Some studies on conflict-reporting suggest that the way media cover conflict has an impact on the conflict itself. A closer look at the reporting patterns of Lal Masjid for the last six months indicate that in the beginning the media flashed the inflated claims and inflammatory statements made by Lal Masjid administration without filtering them. Later, during the subsequent build-up by security forces it tilted to legitimising state aggression by subscribing to the official tactics of warfare employed in a domestic conflict. Some view that through its 'bullet by bullet' reporting of the armed conflict, the media reinforced the villain-hero relationship between Lal Masjid and the security forces. "The media appears to have treated this as an isolated incident without putting the issue in its social, economic, political and cultural context," said Mushtaq Gadi, an Islamabad-based anthropologist. "There is a difference between imposing and informing. When the media was denied access to the operation area, it started imposing the stale footage of violence." "It was like a running commentary of a cricket match rather than reporting of a complicated and sensitive conflict with extensive implication on the polity and stability of the society," remarked a media analyst based in Islamabad. It made the viewers a 'hostage' of unfiltered information, coming repeatedly from official quarters. Media representatives dismiss this criticism by terming it cynical and unfounded. "We did not stage anything; we reported and showed what was happening in and around Lal Masjid," said Yasir Qureshi, a senior producer working with Al-Jazeera TV channel. There was a trend of sending quick phono-beepers and tickers without thorough investigation. For instance, on June 3, the first day of the shootout, two television channels carried a ticker of Absar Alam -- veteran journalist and bureau chief of Geo TV Islamabad -- being shot in the head and hospitalised. This sent a panic message to his friends, colleagues and relatives and everyone started rushing to ascertain his well-being. Later, it was learnt that it was not a gun shot, rather a stray stone which caused head injury leading to four stitches. Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi was more readily available to the media than to the authorities for negotiations and reconciliation. The media was happy for having an eagerly accessible 'source', while on his part Ghazi was banking on the media as the only messenger of his tactical hoax. It's interesting to note that the besieged Ghazi with his comrades in arms sent SoS (save our souls) text messages to TV reporters instead of his alleged support base in religious outfits. It was perceived both by the media and the government that Ghazi's invitation to journalists to visit the besieged location could be a trap to make them hostage, to be used later for the 'safe passage' of those inside. The media chose not to avail the possibility to independently investigate the claims and counter-claims made by Lal Masjid's administration and the security forces. At this point, the question arises: who determines the news agenda, after all? If we look at it from the viewers' perspective, they were perhaps curious to know more about what was happening in the besieged location instead of what was happening outside. As a consequence, the media largely remained dependent on the official version churned out through multiple sources ranging from interior minister, religious minister and information minister and ISPR. Official narratives were packaged and reproduced by media which it seemed almost determined the public perception towards the armed conflict. The media tended to reproduce official lexicon of war in the context of an intra-state armed conflict without questioning the highly polarised terminology. For instance, words like 'surrender', 'collateral damage', 'safe passage', 'jihad' and 'war on terror' were subscribed to by media without putting these terms in the context. Dr. Naeem Khalid, a social anthropologist who teaches at SOAS, University of London, while commenting on news media coverage of Lal Masjid siege said that media has commercially branded armed violence as a 'saga', 'crisis' or 'showdown'. "The portrayal of religious extremism by the news media has further entrenched a chilling and yet crass state-driven dominant discourse in manufacturing public consent," Dr. Naeem said. Another popular perception is that the timing of 'Operation Silence' was premeditated to keep the media silent on the much debated All Parties Conference being held in London. It might seem like a far fetched conspiracy theory on its face, but in reality APC was quickly de-prioritised from the news agenda of private and non-private media. Only one channel tried to balance out the focus of coverage between 'Operation Silence' and APC. Media prefers to report conflict over disasters. This assumption is also validated when we compare the coverage time and focus on Lal Masjid with simultaneously unfolding a humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of torrential rainfall, cyclonic landfall and flash floods in Sindh and Balochistan. No camera crew or senior correspondents were thus spared for Shehdad Kot, Keti Bandar, Jhal Magsi, Turbat, and Gwadar etc to follow up on the plight of the affected people. Does it not reflect the inherent bias in corporate media in relation to setting the information agenda? Hamal Baloch of Turbat, currently studying in a university in Islamabad was critical of the media for downplaying the cyclone disaster in Balochistan. "We registered our concern through a protest in front of press club in Islamabad," Hamal told TNS. "Media was readily available to be the tool of establishment during army operations in Baloch areas but it's not seen now when the voices of flood-ravaged natives need to be amplified." Media analysts argue there were serious errors of judgement on the part of electronic media in the course of reporting the mosque conflict. These, they think, can be attributed to the fact that it's in an embryonic stage in Pakistan. Thus the need of the hour is that arrangements of extensive training and orientation sessions for the electronic media on conflict reporting are initiated by media establishments. There is a need to understand basic variables of conflict reporting which includes scope, spotlighting, concrete data versus euphemism, metaphors, characterisation, and source/authority related issues.
With no action being taken against advertisements published for medical services, foreign doctors are cashing in and disturbing local medical industry By Asra Pasha Nowadays, one often comes
across medical services advertised in our media, claiming The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) is the only statutory body of the country that regulates and registers medical and dental education and practitioners. The council thereby can take strict action against practitioners who violate any of the statutes laid by the PMDC. By the set of rules that PMDC enforces on its members, a doctor cannot lawfully advertise his/her degrees or other qualifications, guarantee cure or exploit a patient in any other way based on the patient's lack of medical knowledge. The statutes on advertising, chapter 15 in the code of ethics of the PMDC reads: "When publishing or broadcasting information the practitioner must not make claims about the quality of services or compare them with their colleagues. Published information must not put any pressure on people to use a service by arousing ill founded fear for their future heath. A practitioner may announce change of address or hours of practice once in three papers..., in a normal manner, not unduly prominently. Nameplates may be fixed at the residence and on premises of practice, but should not be ostentatious." In the light of these rules, the role of PMDC is witnessed as absolutely non-existent as the Sunday magazines and daily pages of newspapers are crammed with advertisements of different local and foreign doctors offering their services and claiming 100 per cent results. The PMA (Pakistan Medical Association) which is the national association of medical and dental practitioners has strong reservations against this trend which they also have been voicing on various occasions. "Since no statutory action has ever been taken on such advertising, people from abroad feel encouraged to come and advertise their services in Pakistan which is unethical, unlawful and unfair not only for patients but for the local practitioners as well," says Dr. Habib ur Rehman Soomro, Secretary General PMA. He added that it is outrageous that a foreign doctor may come in our country, advertise his visits several times a year, come here and earn millions of rupees in the name of a service that our local doctors can offer in a better way and yet charge tenfold less than that. "In Pakistan there is no one to question these foreigners' degrees or qualifications, while when we visit the country from where we have received our degrees we have to register with their local regulatory authority all over again and are tested for communicable diseases like HIV, Hepatitis, Malaria etc in came we hold clinics in that place," says Dr. Samrina Hashmi, a seasoned gynecologist and an office bearer of the PMA. She added: "We undergo all these procedures even if we are visiting the place the second time within the same month and only then get certified by the regulatory body." The biggest hazard of receiving such services is that the patient is left without a follow-up and the next visit of the practitioner is not ensured at the time of procedures. The Provincial Secretary of Health Sindh, Dr. Noushad Sheikh, also admitted the unlawfulness of the fact that foreign doctors are coming here and practicing without any prior permission from PMDC. "It is illegal for a foreigner to come and practice medicine here and touch a patient unless he is certified by the PMDC to do so," said Dr. Sheikh, who is also a member of the PMDC. He said that the PMDC needs to enforce its role in this regard and it is wrong that it is not as desired. PMDC Secretary, Dr. M. Sohail Karim Hashmi had more to say in his defense than one expected. "The PMDC is not entitled to take suo motu or punitive action against the violators like a court does. It cannot question the establishment of a hospital in the city. No one needs a license here to start a hospital, so speaking of standards is absolutely out of need. We can only take action to the extent of cancellation of license of a practitioner in case he/she violates the laws. Even for that, we have received a complaint from an outside source," said Dr. Hashmi. He said that even the complaints that reach them by hearsay can't be taken into account since there is a prescribed procedure for filing them on PMDC's website. "No doctor can practice here with a degree that is not registered with the PMDC according to the PMDC Ordinance 1962. Also none of them can advertise their services ostentatiously, but since PMDC is not empowered enough, people can get away with anything in Pakistan," he said. He said that ultimately the patient pays the heavy price. "The ordinance of 1962 is flawed but the government despite our several reminders to them has not shown the least interest in rectifying it. I would also like someone to ask the Health Minster what difference has he made to the health sector of the country in his five year tenure except giving excellent statements on the floor of the house but that does not change the life of the common man. The Ordinance on Hospital accreditation is lying in the house for months but to no avail. The PMDC laws are flawed but the health ministry's priorities are not to correct them, they are elsewhere," lamented Dr. Hashmi.
Taal
Matol
There was a short while,
back in the 1950s and 60s, the time of the De Sicas and the Now I have always held that no one actually sets out to create a great art form. If the Urdu Ghazal, or even the Persian, had been left to Rudaki or Wali Deccani, it would have been just another footnote in the history of poetry. But when it came into the hands of Hafiz and Saadi and Rumi it was lifted out of mediocrity into a great art form. The comic strip too was for long a footnote with the Li'l Abners and Blondies, until Charles M Schultz came along with Charlie Brown and the 'Peanuts' gang in tow and changed our whole view of comic strips, and life! There is little doubt in my mind that 'Peanuts' transformed from a popular strip to a cult phenomenon to a philosophy. Schultz understood life deeply and was able to convey his vision to us through a measly little medium right up to 'Happiness is a Warm Puppy!' Happily for us, Schultz had a long and prolific innings, and was also followed by a spate of others. One of the major phenomena of our times has been what we call 'corporate culture' and it has spawned its own jargon and institutions like the ruddy ISO's. And yet I think the only one who really understands it and is able to put it in the proper perspective for us is 'Dilbert'! I am afraid I have never been able to take too kindly to 'Garfield', although he seems to have a large following and they have even made a film of him. It is a one-joke strip and at its heart is rather vicious and I can only think it appeals to losers. The trouble is that even in this heyday of the strips the good ones are very few, and most of them have been monopolised by the paper from Karachi so the others have to do with riff-raff and pretty second rate stuff. Archie seemed fun in our boyhood but it is ancient and its culture is still the naive culture of Hollywood films from the forties. Beetle Baily was a product of the Korean war, as was 'M.A.S.H', and it has been clever enough to track off after General Halftrack but it is much of a muchness, and I have never been able to make much of, or indeed any sense of 'Cathy' and 'Big Nate' or a few dozens of others. I am slightly diffident about admitting that I am unable to understand some of the strips, but I am. On the other hand there are the good ones. Johnny Hart in his 'Wizard of Id' and even more so in 'B.C.' has been able to keep up his freshness and creativity in two very different moods for a long time. And then there is my current favourite 'Calvin and Hobbes' with which you may not be familiar because none of our newspapers carry it, but it is marvellous! The thing is that the comic strip is the resident phenomenon of our times, and its mirror, and you might as well get with it!
Lawyer's movement has contributed to Pakistan's constitutional jurisprudence, rule of law, political landscape and civil society activism in more ways than is readily apparent By Babar Sattar The lawyers' movement
seeking to protect cherished foundational principles of our This movement has provided the most influential critique of our conflicted and compromised constitutional jurisprudence -- the regrettable legacy of our judicature. The constitution can be reduced to an irrelevant text. It has to be brought alive by the judiciary by upholding its morality and principles, and interpreting the text to make law the supreme and just ruler in the country. If the judiciary fails its mandate, the loss of collective faith in the ability of law to produce justice is much more damning for the health of a nation than the injuries caused to individual rights. Successive Supreme Courts in Pakistan sacrificed justice on the alter of expediency by rehashing the mantra of necessity to justify blatant illegality or breach of elementary constitutional principles. This fuelled public despondency and the faith of ordinary citizens in the ability of law to protect their rights suffered grievously. Historical and legal analyses ruled against the Court's Machiavellian approach to the Constitution but such critique didn't preempt repeat telecast of the same phenomenon. This is the first time that the entire legal fraternity has launched a movement and spoken with one voice against molestation of the Constitution by the military-led executive in real time and sent a message to the Court that legal opinion on the doctrine of necessity and opportunistic interpretation of the Constitution is unanimous. For believers, justice eventually falls within God's domain. In that sense judges are performing a divine function. That raises expectations and when judges falter the disappointment is equally severe. In a utopian environment, the mind of a judge should not be influenced by any extraneous factors in determining the outcome of a case. In the real world, however, humans are influenced by their surroundings and are also susceptible to intimidation and other pressures brought to bear upon them. This reality has been exploited by illegitimate ruling regimes to the hilt in getting their constitutional transgressions justified through court rulings. This time around, the justice movement has garnered ample popular support to function as a countervailing force to the weighty influence of the ruling regime. The actions of both the Musharraf regime and the justice movement are outcome-driven. Attempting to influence the judicial mind is illegal, and the lawyers can be criticised on this count. But then in their defence, (i) The circumstances that gave birth to this movement are not of their making, and (ii) Law is a tool to realise the ideal of justice and the ultimate calling for practitioners of law must be to seek justice. The justice movement is focused on putting constitutional law in Pakistan back on the track leading toward justice and in that sense the protests have been against parts of Pakistan's constitutional law that have evolved over decades but are not justifiable under principles of justice. The second contribution of the justice movement has been its message to political parties that the nation does not suffer from apathy or indifference, but has divorced itself from a political process that functions exclusively to entrench political elites instead of serving citizens. The Chief Justice rallies might not be justifiable under the code of judicial conduct, but they brought along significant expressive gains for the nation. The massive public response and support to the Chief Justice and the lawyers' movement was unbelievable but not incomprehensible. A new era of political activism has been unleashed in Pakistan, which will hopefully redefine political accountability and bodes well for the soul and health of this nation. The PML-Q stalwarts who rented crowds to listen to General Musharraf's bravado over the last few months would appreciate the amount of coordination, convincing, enticing and intimidation that goes into bringing people out on the street. And yet public just poured out without effort to listen to and support a judge (not even a man of flowery prose), who stood up against intimidation and injustice and had the courage to say no to the ruling gods. In supporting the lawyers' movement, the public message to political parties has been two-fold: one, people are clamoring for change and if someone struggles for a just cause that resonates with an innate sense of righteousness of people, they will spring into action without being ushered; and two, any movement driven by principle and public interest as opposed to considerations of personal gain for political leaders becomes instantly credible and popular. The third major contribution of the justice movement has been to educate citizens regarding their fundamental rights and explain why supremacy of the law should matter to them. There is a new founded interest in the law, what it is and how it impacts the everyday lives of people. Further, this movement has re-energised the civil society, strengthened the civil liberties campaign, circumscribed the ability of the state to clamp down on personal freedoms by redefining their limits, facilitated freedom of the media and enabled it to raise troubling questions that couldn't previously be uttered. The movement has challenged the defeatist notion that Pakistan will have to wait for a messiah to bring us out of the woods. By leading a political movement independent of the political parties, the lawyers, as members of the civil society, have opened up new vistas for seeking alternate leadership and change. The Supreme Court has announced that the hearing of Chief Justice's petition will end next week. The outcome of the case will have little bearing on whether or not the justice movement has been a success, for aims of this movement are larger than the fate of an individual. However, should the Chief Justice be restored, the decision will be a triumph for the rule of law and will defeat the conventional wisdom that in Pakistan the fallen never rise. On the other hand, if the Supreme Court finds that our fundamental law allows the president to suspend the Chief Justice, the nation will have to reconsider whether the Constitution in its present form amply protects the independence of judiciary and strikes the right balance between the power wielded by vital state institutions. (The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad. Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu)
It seems no official authority in Pakistan is responsible for price control of basic commodities like flour which are left at the mercy of market forces Flour prices have shot up
making the lives of ordinary people more difficult. The reasons There's no logical explanation for the price hike in a scenario where according to Advisor to Ministry of Finance, Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan, the country saw a record wheat produce. On June 28 Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet took 'serious' notice of wheat and flour price escalation. "Hike in flour prices is considered 'preposterous' at a time when Pakistan has achieved the highest ever production of over 23.5 million tonnes of wheat against a domestic estimated annual consumption of about 22.5 million tons," said Dr Ashfaq. He told the media that at preset the total wheat stock with the government is 4.795 million tonnes, while the private sector is holding over 2 million tonnes. The flour millers took the ECC notice so seriously that within a week of this high level meeting the prices of commodity in open markets increased by Rs40 to Rs80 per 40kg. Two months ago, the government and the private sector purchased the same wheat from farmers at Rs410 to 425 per 40kg (Rs10.5 per kg) and now the flour is being sold at Rs560 to Rs600 per 40kg while the processing cost on the same quantity of wheat is not more than Rs40, according to Sufi Bilal, a former flour mills association chairman and zonal chairman for flour industry committee of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Though the support price fixed by government for wheat this year was Rs425 per 40kg, because of the bumper crop the rate suddenly decreased to around Rs400 per 40kg in the first week of May. "It was good for the consumers but the farmers suffered and that was the reason why the government allowed export of wheat on May 9 to strengthen the prices. Due to this step of the government, in just a week, the price of wheat rose to Rs440 per 40kg as the private sector stepped in to purchase wheat. This also affected the flour prices in the local market and the government once again banned wheat export in mid-June that was a setback for wheat hoarders," says a high official of Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) while talking to TNS. He thinks that now the private sector is trying to blackmail the government to get results of its choice. "They have purchased a huge quantity of wheat this year with a view to export it but as the government has banned wheat export to stabilise prices in local markets, the private sector is using such tactics," he says. According to him, the private sector's flour millers and hoarders purchased around 3 million tonnes of wheat this year are responsible for the present price hike. "According to State Bank of Pakistan's data, the private sector availing over draft facility from different banks has purchased 1.1 millions tonnes of wheat this season, while a large quantity they procured using their own sources," he says. Flour millers on the other hand say they are not responsible for present flour prices hike, but it is the rising rates of wheat in the market. One should have in mind, says Sufi Bilal, that the private sector comprises flour millers who just process the wheat they get from market at any price and wheat hoarders. "At the moment the government is not selling wheat to millers, so they are forced to purchase wheat from these hoarders at a very high price and that is the only reason for flour price hike," Bilal Sufi tells TNS. He says that in May, when the flour millers were purchasing wheat from the market at around Rs425 per 40 Kg, the 20kg flour bag was available at price of Rs250 and its retail prices was Rs13 per kg. "Now we are getting wheat at rate of Rs485 per 40kg from the market but we have increased our prices by only Rs20 to 25 per bag and it's available in the market at a rate of Rs14 per kg," he says. "It is an exaggeration to say that flour is being sold at a rate of Rs15 or 16 per kg in Punjab, but it is true that prices in Sindh and other provinces are around Rs600 per 40kg because of rains in these areas which have badly damaged the transportation infrastructure," he says. According to him, despite the recent hike, flour prices in Pakistan are the lowest in South Asia. The average wheat price and flour price in Pakistan is around Rs14 per Kg, which is far lower than in Bangladesh, where it is around Rs22, in India per kg flour price is also around Rs23 while in Sri Lanka prices are even higher where one kg of flour is available at Rs35. Sufi Bilal thinks that the only way out for the government is to release its own stock at around Rs450 per 40 kg. "The government at present is thinking about two options; first to start an early release of wheat which normally it starts in September every year, or to become a silent spectator," says the official of MINFAL. According to him if they choose the first option it will have dire consequences and the government will lose its leverage to control the flour prices towards the end of this year and before the next harvest. The official thinks that about 1.5-2 million tonnes of wheat is still in the hands of speculators. They have to sell it in market in the next couple of months as the government is not going to allow export for at least for four to six months. "They also need to make their storage places available for rice crop and also have to repay loans to the banks. That is why the government will not release wheat early," he says. The official also thinks that the government cannot dictate flour price unless it provides wheat to flour mills and that is why they are trying to extract more benefits before September. According to an official of Punjab Food Department, currently the Punjab government has stocks of 2.6 million tonnes against last year's 3.9 million tonnes during the same period and government will not start releasing wheat to flour millers before September. This means that consumers are at the mercy of these wheat hoarders for at least two more months. It seems no official authority in Pakistan is responsible for price control of basic commodities like flour which are left at the mercy of market forces.
My kind of film-maker Ever since I saw his Roger & Me (1989) as a college student, Michael Moore has been one of my favourite film-makers. Perhaps it's also because here we have an American ruthlessly tearing apart American society itself -- something that most Pakistanis would probably love to do themselves (though they would probably never admit it). In Roger & Me, he
showed the effect on blue-collar Flint in Michigan when the town's Reportedly, whenever the film was shown, a seat was left for Roger, in the hope that at least he would take out time to come watch a film based on him. In 1997, he directed his documentary The Big One which was about his tour across America publicising his book Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American, where he railed against corporate America's penchant for firing workers at very short notice, and despite record profits (clearly, these record profits came at the expense of the exploited/laid-off/underpaid workers and of course the poor consumers). This was followed in 2002 by his Bowling for Columbine where Moore tried to examine America's gun culture (the state of Texas for instance allows eligible residents to carry a concealed handgun) and the overwhelming influence and power over American politicians exercised by the National Rifle Association. Columbine is a high school in the state of Colorado where two teenaged boys killed 13 fellow students -- both fired a total of 176 bullets during their rampage in 1999. This won an Oscar for best documentary in 2002 and was followed by Fahrenheit 9/11 which was a stinging critique of America and especially the Bush administration in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001. I remember it perhaps for its opening scene where it showed then US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz using spit to wet a comb that he was using to groom his hair. The documentary, like others Moore had directed, was crisp and sharply critical of the Bush administration's policies post-9/11. Moore is now again in the news, thanks to his documentary Sicko what many say is a scathing documentary on America's medical healthcare system. To most outside observers, it is a corrupt and inefficient system which is unfair and unjust for America's poor. At the same time, technologically speaking, it is perhaps the most advanced in the world. But the benefits of this technology and life-saving operations and medicines is available only to those who can pay for it -- or those who have access to medical insurance. For most Pakistanis medical insurance may seem a luxury but in the industrialised west it is more of a necessity - mainly because healthcare is usually very expensive. As of 2005, over 46 million Americans, including 8.3 million children, did not have any health insurance. Statistics indicate that one key factor in this is poverty while another is the job market -- those who are laid off do not get the benefit of company-paid insurance. In any case, this figure by itself is startling for the developed world and hence it was about time that someone intelligent and critical of the system made a documentary on it. As expected, however, Moore has found more than his fair share of critics. Now criticising with no strings attached is fine but when the media begins to take a stand perhaps because of commercial considerations, then such criticism is unethical and in fact downright criminal because it is a willful attempt to sway public opinion not on considerations\arguments that are grounded in objective analysis but because of petty personal or corporate gain\profit. In the run-up to the film's release at the Cannes Film Festival in mid-May (it was released in the US on June 29), Moore's website reported that at least four major major pharmaceutical companies -- Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and GlaxoSmithKline -- had ordered their employees not to grant any interviews to him. The excellent website www.newshounds.us (whose logo is 'We watch FOX so you don't have to') documents a show by that most hated of TV commentators, FOX's Bill O'Reilly who tried to take Moore to task. O'Reilly said that Moore was afraid of coming on his show and that he was a socialist (of course something very bad in much of America) who wanted a cradle-to-grave healthcare system. O'Reilly's commentary was effectively rebutted when the website pointed out his sponsors for that show. They were: Advair (GlaxoSmithKline), Lunesta (Sepracor), Plavix (Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi), Sudafed (McNeil PPC, a division of Johnson and Johnson), and Aflac (an insurance company). The comments section at the end of this board has some well argued and cogent points. Perhaps none other was one which said that in America taxes pay for financing its military so why not a healthcare system for Americans where the state takes care of their medical bills. The answer (or part answer) to this, also contained in one of the posts, was that all these major corporations which make billions in profit also contribute millions of dollars to the campaign funds of many American politicians. The last president who wanted to overhaul the medical insurance system was Bill Clinton but he couldn't get it through Congress. Given the scams present in Pakistan and how consumers in general are taken for a ride by corporations here (take banks -- which 'revise' their charges every six months or even earlier, credit card companies who charge around 30 per cent per year on unpaid balances, oil companies which receive billions in 'subsidy' funds from the government in addition to the billions they milk from hapless motorists and so on), one wishes when we will have our own Michael Moore. Or is that too much to ask and expect? The
writer is Op-ed Pages Editor of The News. Email:
omarq@cyber.net.pk |
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week. Live transmissions, special editions and brief packages on the
ever-unfolding events were aired by the electronic media and endlessly so.
Some view it as a case of heroic reporting of conflict while others believe
the media -- particularly electronic -- has a lot to learn.
miracles they make happen in days despite a statutory ban against this
practice put into practice by the PMDC.
Fellinis when it
seemed that the old world of France and Italy and England had wrested
leadership of the cinema from America. But TV soon put paid to that and when
the revival came at the hands of Spielberg and Lucas, it came, rightfully, in
the cradle, because like it or not cinema is a wholly American art form. Come
to think of it so too is the comic books, Superman and Batman and the Lone
Ranger and Roy Rogers; and so is the other version the comic strip!
Constitution was triggered on March 9 with the suspension and removal of
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Seeking justice for the Chief Justice was
both the trigger and the immediate objective of the movement. But this
objective sprung from the underlying goal of guarding the independence and
integrity of Pakistan's justice system and reversing a tide of expediency
that plagued crucial decisions handed down by the Judicature with momentous
constitutional and political consequence for the country. The justice
movement has contributed to Pakistan's constitutional jurisprudence, rule of
law, political landscape and civil society activism in more ways than is
readily apparent.
cited for this recent price hike in Punjab are different from those in Sindh,
Balochistan and NWFP where the recent rains and floods and the damaged
transportation infrastructure are being held responsible.
biggest employer, General Motors, closed down its factory. 'Roger' was the
first name of Roger B. Smith, who at that time was CEO (he was in this post
from 1981-90) and president of General Motors, one of America's and the
world's largest corporations. Much of the film was a hilarious rendition of
how Moore would try all the time to get Roger to just talk to him -- he
(Moore) wanted to ask the GM CEO questions on the factory closure and so on
but never could.