Drought of justice, flood of funds

Ask the government for expansion of the NREGS, universal access to the PDS, more spending on health and education - and there's no money. But there?s enough to give away to the corporate world in concessions. A revelation by P Sainath.

Full article at:

http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/aug/psa-funds.htm

Rich MLAs, Poor Voters

In his new article, P Sainath says that a growing numbers of elected representatives fund their poll campaigns with corporate backing. And growing numbers of people with a big business background have ventured directly into the electoral arena.

Full article here:

http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/oct/psa-winter.htm

Death of a true hero: K Balagopal

Noted civil rights activist K Balagopal died of cardiac arrest at a hospital here, family source said today.

Balagopal (52) was taken to the hospital at Mehidipatnam in the city last night and he breathed his last while undergoing treatment, they said.

Born in Anantapur district, Balagopal worked in Kakatiya University as a professor but took to practising law nearly a decade ago.

He broke away from the Andhra pradesh Civil Liberties committee, with which he had been associated with since its inception in the 1980s, following differences over the issue of violence perpetrated by the erstwhile CPI-ML People’s War and founded the Human Rights Forum to fight for human rights and civil liberties.

For more, click here:

http://blogs.outlookindia.com/default.aspx?ddm=10&pid=2100&eid=5

Journalism, the best profession in the world

Fifty years ago, journalism schools were not fashionable. This craft was learned in newsrooms, print shops, run-down corner cafes, and at Friday night parties, says Marquez.

For full article, click at


http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?228937

The cafe reopenes

Hello All,

Your essential Cafe Chandigarh is starting again after a long summer break. The rains are here and there is nothing nicer than sit and read with a cup of hot tea or coffee (of course) in your hand.

So, now you know where to come every morning, afternoon, evening and have your fill of news and views and the beauty of life in between.

All are invited,

Sourabh Gupta

Issues and Policies

for BMC I (Very Important)

What should the government do to solve issues in education, health, environment and foreign affairs?

by Ramchandra Guha

Full article at http://www.indiatogether.org/2009/jun/rgh-policy.htm

I protest. Do you?

By Christopher Hitchens

The obvious evidence of fixing, fraud, and force to one side, there is another reason to doubt that an illiterate fundamentalist like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could have increased even a state-sponsored plebiscite-type majority.

full text: http://www.slate.com/id/2220520/

Iran's better than America. at least it protests

Iran, Iran

Caption: Police force its way into Tehran University to silence the protesting students.


for MMC I (Important. But I can't force you to read. Can I?)


Please continuously follow the ongoing political turmoil in Iran. Please. If all of you voted in Indian elections, understand the anger of the Iranian youth where the elections were rigged.


This what a blogger Abbas Raza wrote on www.3quarksdaily.com wrote today:

I tremble with the eagerness to be with my brothers and sisters in Iran who are peacefully resisting the illegitimate government of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, and who are about to be slaughtered.

Let the rest of the world no longer remain quiet and hope that by doing so, we will protect the brave forces of change from charges of being allied with foreign interests who are meddling in Iran. The time to remain silent is over. It is time to take sides, AND to urge our governments to take sides. I am a US citizen, and I will use every means at my disposal to push my government to make sure that they let the government of Iran know in uncertain terms that they will be held accountable and punished if the innocent civilians and the brave youth of Iran are attacked, killed, or injured in any way. I hope you will, too. It is NOW the time for the desperate, weak, and lying government of Iran to know that not only their own children, but the world is against them.

If you don't yet understand the urgency of this moment or the imminent savagery that awaits Iranis, have a look at some of the Twitter messages coming out of Iran (all other media are too heavily censored, or completely blocked) that are appended below this note. This is NOT a matter of supporting any Western or other interests, it is a matter of supporting the courageous hopes and defiant dreams of freedom of the Irani masses. This collection of Tweets comes via Andrew Sullivan.

Do something now! Write to whitehouse.gov or your representative. Do something! NOW! NOW! NOW!

Death to tyranny! Long live Iran!

Code of ethics for international journalists

for MMC I

The following principles of professional ethics in journalism were prepared as an international common ground and as a source of inspiration for national and regional codes of ethics.

Full information at: http://ethicnet.uta.fi/international/international_principles_of_professional_ethics_in_journalism

and here: http://ethicnet.uta.fi/international/declaration_of_principles_on_the_conduct_of_journalists

Poverty and unemployment

for BMC I

two important and fresh notes.

1. Unicef attacks India's poverty record

http://sanhati.com/news/1565/

2. Is India's unemployment rate really lower than America's?

http://sanhati.com/front-page/1447/

Price of rice: How to win an election

for BMC I (Compulsory reading)

In the class test, I had asked you to analyse the Lok Sabha election results. Mostof you got it wrong. Read this article by P. Sainath to know why.

http://sanhati.com/articles/1568/

No fear, No fear, we are with each other

I'm with the student protesting against the election fraud in Iran.

Are you?

http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2009/06/iran.html#comments

Support the uprising. Leave you comment on this blog and the blog link given above.

National Security

For BMC I

Syllabus notes on Topic 1

National security issues and policies
Foreign policies

1. New wave of terrorism in India

http://www.idsa.in/reports/anewwaveofterrorisminindia080609.html

2. Taliban Threat to India

http://www.idsa.in/issuebrief/HarinderSingh02062009.htm

3. Foreign policy advices

http://www.idsa.in/policy_briefs/southasia09062009.htm

4. Terrorism portal

http://www.satp.org/

5.

Obama's historic speech at Cairo University today

For MMC I (compulsory reading)

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

Full text at: http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2009/06/barack-obamas-speech-at-cairo-university.html#more

The Hero

Photo Caption: This unknown Chinese youth in photo stood alone to block a line of tanks heading to Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989.

In the spring of 1989, more than one million Chinese students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square and began the largest political protest in communist China's history.

Six weeks of protests ended with the Beijing massacre of 3-4 June.

Here the BBC charts the events that led to the deadly crackdown - using archive audio and video from the time.

Full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8057148.stm

China's Tiananmen generation speaks

China drew worldwide condemnation for brutally quashing a student uprising in Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989. But in the months and years that followed, the incident has remained largely unmentioned inside China, at least in public.

Here people born in the years around the crackdown talk frankly about their knowledge of the event and how they were taught about it.

More from the BBC here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8061483.stm

Lives of Great Men

by Inuo Taguchi, a Japanese poet

Lenin
Lenin is relieved
that the bronze statue of himself was taken down.
In fact for half-a-century
he has wanted to lie down in Red Square
and listen to the Beach Boys,
on some fine Sunday afternoon, for instance,
with his family and close friends, of course.
But he could not confess this sort of thing to anyone,
so he has kept standing as a bronze statue.
Imagine yourself a bronze statue.
Just standing watching history
would wear on him.

Newton

Under an apple tree
Newton encountered the Law of Universal Gravitation
and instantly fell in love with her.

Ah, she was indeed his eternal lover –
the universal love and the universality which was love.
That night he applied all his skill
to the writing of a love letter
entitled,
'On the Law of Universal Gravitation and Her Passionate Function.'

The Law of Universal Gravitation, however,
didn't give a damn about Newton,
because she was crazy about the quadrille
which was popular at that time.

Superman

Superman is strolling the garden
in his wheelchair.
Life is cruelty itself,
though sunlight falling down at this moment
is grace itself.

When I was flying the sky
I was still very young.
I was flying, surely,
but I still didn't yet know
what it meant
to be flying the sky.

But now it's different.
To fly the sky is,
as it were,
to move your little finger,
and even at that no more than half-an-inch.

Life is like a sublime joke.
But it's funny,
isn't it? You have to get a wheelchair
and then you can become superman.


More of his poems at: http://japan.poetryinternationalweb.org/piw_cms/cms/cms_module/index.php?obj_id=6410

Come home Dr Sen…

By Amit Sengupta

THE MORNING OF Monday, May 25, 2009, arrived like a song, crushed by little men, and yet waiting to happen. It sensitised the senses, lifted the mind, and pulled us all into a loop of hope and happiness. After two years, this nation can feel the redemption of relief. Along with thousands across the globe, in the universities and on streets, who cherished this dream of freedom for a man called 'The Good Doctor', imprisoned in a Raipur jail in Chhattisgarh, by a heartless BJP regime.

The joy was not only because the muscle pumping, chest thumping, xenophobic hate machine of the fascists led by a discredited and graceless 80 plus politician was defeated roundly by the people of India, it was also because a grave injustice had been partially corrected. This is because people campaigned for him hard, with the faith that they were on the side of justice and truth.

The bearded man's half smile behind the bars of a police van became an iconic image, especially among youngsters across the global landscape. The highest medical award in the US was given to him, British MPs signed a collective petition in his support. Academics from universities all over the world gave their names in solidarity led by Noam Chomsky, historians Romila Thapar, Sumit Sarkar and others. Twenty one Nobel laureates signed a petition to the prime minister of India and doctors from Christian Medical College in Vellore, where he studied medicine, and from across the medical fraternity in India and abroad, campaigned for him. In blogs, on websites, through email and sms campaigns, T-shirts, calendars, posters, film festivals, roadside shows, there were protests across cities and towns of India and the West, weekly satyagraha at Raipur where people from all over India would come and peacefully court arrest, poems, petitions and editorials were written, singer Sushmit Bose composed a song for him with his guitar and harmonica, documentaries were being made. Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, his classmate, met him in jail and said he will make a film on his life and work. Sri Sri Ravishankar went to meet him in jail. Rabbi sang Bulla ki Jaana in Delhi for him. 'Free the good doctor' became a living river of solidarity, a movement for freedom and humanism, an ode to peace and justice.

Ministers, MPs, even reportedly the prime minister, were persuaded by delegations. The BJP leadership was approached with fervent pleas that this is grave injustice. The entire Indian media backed his cause, plus prestigious publications like The Economist, The Guardian and medical journal Lancet. Even students of Development Communication bringing out an in-house tabloid in Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, wrote a moving editorial on him. This was a fire which spread on the wings of hope - for freedom, truth and justice.

But nothing touched the BJP-led government in Chhattisgarh and its leadership in Delhi. They remained as cold-blooded and thick-skinned as ever. Popular feelings and world opinion means little to little men whose minds are clogged with fanaticism and hatred, with not one clear stream of consciousness or compassion.

They forgot that this man they had put behind bars had inherited the incredible non-violent legacy of legendary mass leader Shankar Guha Niyogi, who transformed the lives of mine workers in Chhattisgarh with his innovative synthesis of 'sangharsh aur nirman' - struggle and creation. Niyogi never propagated violence. Not only were the mine workers the best paid, with collective social safety structures, they financially supported thousands of peasants and jobless workers across the terrain of Bhilai, Dalli Rajhara and Rajnandgaon for years. Tens of thousands would eat in this collective kitchen. Schools, public distribution systems, a Shaheed Hospital was built, where 'The Good Doctor' gave years of his life. This was a creative synthesis of peaceful, responsible mass action and greater common good.

This was the visionary legacy which was inherited by Dr Binayak Sen who chose to work among the poorest, setting up clinics, hospitals and health centres. Between this and his work in the civil liberties movement, there was no contradiction. He has always denied any links with Maoists and opposed all forms of violence - State, military, Maoist - or against people forcibly displaced from their land and resources. "Our agenda is clear," he said after coming out of jail on May 26. "Peace, not war. Political engagement, not military violence."

His work speaks, his conscience is clear. That is why every fabricated charge against him did not stick, the entire false edifice collapsed, and the whole nation and the world were convinced that this injustice is unacceptable. A great weight was thus lifted when he was released on bail by the Supreme Court. And a great wave of hope and happiness spread through the scorching summer streets of our hearts. Because, in his freedom also lies our collective redemption.

Come home, Dr Sen. Come to the world. Between home and the world (Ghore-Baire), the parched earth waits for rain.

from: http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/

Tips on how to write and report

Five news writing tips for all

1. The latest development on a story is not always the lead-point. Often it's best to stay with the original 'peg' but update the story to insert later news high up. For instance, BBC radio reported that two dogs had killed a baby, but very soon it was leading on the fact that "two dogs have been destroyed after killing a baby..." Wrong; the baby's death should still have been the lead point as its was more important than the dogs' destruction. Another example: an explosion and fire at an oil refinery killed dozens of workers. Within the same news cycle, another broadcaster moved on too soon to report that "An inquiry has been launched into a major explosion which..." Again, the later development (the inquiry) was not the most important angle at that stage - that remained the explosion and casualties.

2. Louis Heren, a legendary correspondent for The Times of London, said when asked his advice to young political reporters: “Find out why the lying b*****ds are lying.” It may sound extreme and over-cynical in these days of touchy-feely politics. But there is good reason why reporters should keep an adversarial relationship with politicians and not cosy-up to them. Heren’s advice was simple: assume that the politician is concealing the truth, and then look for the reason why. If you can find neither lie nor reason, it may be that the truth actually is being spoken – at least you have tried to test it.

3. Many readers and listeners to the news are natural sceptics and don't want to believe anything you write. It’s your task to convince them of your veracity and fairness. If you believe what you are writing, make them believe you!

4. Be a talker as well as a listener. Good reporters talk to just about everyone. Most folk want to talk with a reporter and tell them what they think, and often you can learn something useful. The best interviews can happen when you find something your subject really wants to talk about

5. Honesty breeds trust, and trust often leads to good stories. Don’t try to be too clever. Tell it like it is, as they say.


From: http://www.reuterslink.org/tips/index.htm

For news in Hindi

For all students who write in Hindi

This is a link to a website where you can find Hindi versions of any international or national news you want.
Is site par aap kisi bhi khabar ka hindi main anuvaad pa sakte hain.

http://cgi.wn.com/?t=worldnews/adv_search.txt

After labourers took over landlords' lands

For BMC I

Apropos of the ongoing agitation in Mansa regarding the Panchayati land acquisition, a series of protests were organised in Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa, Ludhiana, Chandigarh under the banner of CPI (ML) Liberation. Tarsem Jodhan, speaker of CPI (ML) Liberation said that the government’s anti-Dalit face has come to the fore. He also said that the party will work towards strengthening the revolutionary left movement in the country.

The arrested labourers in jails of Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Patiala have gone on hunger strike. Today in the Mansa local court the judge did not allow the labourers to appear in the court. He instead appointed a Naib Tehsildar to visit the labourers in the jail. The labourers were disappointed as they were not given an opportunity to put their views in the court.

An all party meeting is to held at Ludhiana on 02 July, 2009 to discuss the further course of the movement.

From a press release by Revolutionary Youth Organization (RYA), the youth wing of CPI (M-L)

Pakistan on the Brink

For MMC I and BMC II

An article by Ahmed Rashid

To get to President Asif Ali Zardari's presidential palace in the heart of Islamabad for dinner is like running an obstacle course. Pakistan's once sleepy capital, full of restaurant-going bureaucrats and diplomats, is now littered with concrete barriers, blast walls, checkpoints, armed police, and soldiers; as a result of recent suicide bombings the city now resembles Baghdad or Kabul. At the first checkpoint, two miles from the palace, they have my name and my car's license number. There are seven more checkpoints to negotiate along the way.

More at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22730

Monday Movie

For MMC I

Syriana.

The film explains the link between oil, terrorism and global politics.
with subtitles)

10.30 to 11.30 am.

The film, made in 2005, stars George Clooney and Matt Damon, is a geo-political thriller, which has three stories running parallel-- an American spy in Iran, a oil expert in USA and Pakistani immigrant to Saudi Arabia. The film has amazing cinematography and some parts of it are in Urdu.

Please set up the projector before the class begins so that no time is wasted.

The Dawn

This is for all classes.

As Pakistan fights the Taliban and faces counter-attacks (like Wednesday's devastating bomb blast in Lahore), I shall ask all the students to daily, at least once, visit this Pakistani newspaper site and know our neighbour's story in their own words. Its important that you know both sides of an event.

The site is The Dawn, Pakistan's most popular national English daily.

Just type The Dawn in Google or use this link

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/home/

You should also bookmark the website.

India created the LTTE and Parbhakaran

By M K Bhadrakumar

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran's death circa May 19, 2009, in circumstances we will never quite get to know, concludes a morality play.

As the curtain comes down and we leave the theater, the spectacle continues to haunt us. We feel a deep unease and can't quite figure out the reason. Something rankles somewhere. And then we realize we have blood on our hands.

Not only our hands, but our whole body and deeper down, our conscience - what remains of it after the mundane battles of our day-to-day life - are also dripping with blood.
Prabhakaran's blood. No, it is not only Prabhakaran's, but also of70,000 Sri Lankan Tamils who have perished in the unspeakable violence through the past quarter century.

All the pujas we may perform to our favorite Hindu god, Lord Ganesh, for good luck each morning religiously so that we march ahead in our life from success to success cannot wash away the guilt we are bearing - the curse of the 70,000 dead souls.

Our children and grandchildren will surely inherit the great curse.

A long time ago, we created Prabhakaran. We picked him up as an urchin from nowhere. What we found charming about him was that he was so thoroughly apolitical - almost innocent about politics. He was a simpleton in many ways, who had a passion for weapons and the military regimen. He suited our needs perfectly

What a bitter legacy!

Full article at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KE20Df03.html

BMC II: Understanding Feature Writing

A feature takes an in-depth look at what’s going on behind the news.

* It gets into the lives of people.

* It tries to explain why and how a trend developed.

* Unlike news, a feature does not have to be tied to a current event or a breaking story. But it can grow out of something that’s reported in the news.

It may be a profile of a person or a group -- an athlete, a performer, a politician, or a community worker or a team, a choir or a political organization. Or perhaps it’s an in-depth look at a social issue -- like violence in Canadian schools or eating disorders among young women. It could also be a story that gives the reader background on a topic that’s in the news -- like a story that explains how land mines work and the history of their use in war.

A feature story is usually longer than a news story -- but length is not a requirement! What’s more important is the form the story takes.

Think of the feature as the journalistic equivalent of an essay. Follow these guidelines:

* start with a premise or theme

* present information and opinions that back you point,

* bring the reader to a conclusion.

The feature often explores several different points of views, even when the story is about one particular person.

The story behind the news

Here’s an example of how a feature can explain and explore a story that makes news:

“Your local newspaper reports on the front page that school enrollments are dropping in your small community. The reason? Many people are being forced to leave the town to look for jobs in bigger cities and obviously, their children go with them. As a reporter you can go beyond the facts and figures in the news story by talking to one of the families who are leaving. How do they feel? What made them decide to go? What will they miss about home? What are they expecting in their new community? How do the children feel about leaving their school and their friends? Or you can look at the story from the point of view of the people who remain in the town. What’s it like to lose friends and family to far-away cities? How does it affect the school? What about the local economy?”

The news story tells the audience what happened. The feature will tell them why and how it happened, how the people involved are reacting, and what impact the decision is having on other people.

Personality in profile

Indulge your curiosity -- and that of your readers -- with a profile of an interesting person.

You can look at someone who’s making news in your community, province or country. Or it could be someone who's relatively unknown to the public but who has done something unusual or remarkable.

Here’s one example:

Your town elects a full slate of councillors to represent and serve the community. One is a 19-year-old student who was active in youth parliament and student politics. That makes him the youngest elected official in your province. But that’s not the whole story! He gets the most votes of any of the councillors, and according to the election rules, that makes him deputy mayor. What’s it like to be a politician when you’re still in your teens? What does your life experience add to the council? Are you seen as a spokesman for your generation -- but not the community as a whole? What do the other councillors think of their young colleague? Do people take you seriously?

That young politician may not be famous. But he’s certainly done something new. And his experiences will be something that others will want to learn more about.

Take a look at people from the world of sports, entertainment, politics, science, technology, business, health, international development, community activism, education, the military, the fine arts or any other field that interests you.

You can choose a subject and find out the basic facts of the person’s life and work. What have they learned so far? Are there any surprises? Is there an area of this person's life or work that the student would now like to focus on?

* Write your profile by telling your readers the facts of this person's life — while adding the color and details that make them unique.

* Talk to the person themselves whenever possible and use their own words to help tell their story.

Tracking a trend

Many of the best stories come from reporters’ observations of the world around them. Here’s just one example of how you can come across a great feature story in your daily life:

YOU are hanging around with friends at lunch time and talking about plans for the weekend. Someone says they’ve heard that the town council is considering a curfew for teens. Everyone under 16 has to be off the streets by 11pm on weekends. You have your own curfew - set by your parents - but you are surprised to learn that the mayor wants to put one in place for everyone.

You talk to some of your friends to find out what they think. You and other concerned teens go over to the town hall and ask the mayor or one of the councillors why they see the need for a curfew. You surf the Net and find out what other towns and cities have been doing.

You find that this is a bit of trend in North America.

What you now have is the basis for a really interesting feature. You have taken a little piece of information and investigated further to find out what’s going on. The story will focus on the issue and the thoughts and feeling of the people involved — namely local teenagers and the people who made the decision about the curfew.

Feature writing tips

The basic guidelines for good writing apply to all types of writing. However, if you expect to hold your readers attention for 1,000 words or more, your writing must be must be lively, specific and clear.

As a student writer you have to start with a lede that captures your reader’s attention.

* It could be an anecdote you have heard during the course of your research.

* It could be a description of a person, place or thing that draws the reader in and encourages them to learn more.

* It could a newsy lede that highlights the point of the story.

Move your story along with descriptions of what happened, quotes from people involved in the issue, and details that place the reader in the midst of the action. Make sure your ending is meaningful. Your closing words should make an impact on your readers and tie the various strands of your story together.

A powerful quote can often make for a good ending. Or you may want to come full circle and refer back to a word or an image used in your opening sentences.

MMC I Syllabus and advice

1. Writing international news reports. Difference with local news.

2. Latest world events that have been in news.

3. Stereotypes or typical images about foreign people or countries.

Study material: Refer to the notes. International news sites and previous posts on this blog.

Advice: Study widely but don't go too deep. Maintain word limit.

Don't worry: You already know the asnwers.

BMC I Syllabus and Advice

BMC I

The syllabus for the class test on Monday includes:

1. The Lok Sabha election results and analysis

2. The ongoing fight for cabinet berths and the reason behind them

3. What can you do to solve india's econimic problems

4. What happens when a journalist is under extreme pressure in a politically unstable situation. Is he forced to take sides or is he impartial?

Tips to get good marks:

1. Think coolly
2. Write clearly
3. Don't repeat the same ideas
4. Write short sentences
5. and most importantly,
Just follow the papers tommorow-- front page, editorial page, opinion page, and world news page.
Don't study too hard but come prepared.

Just remember: "Life is tough, exams are easy."
:-)

(Emergency: In case you are not able to understand anything, Call A Friend at 09888720338.)

Journalists deserve low pay

The demise of the news business can be halted, but only if journalists commit to creating real value for consumers and become more involved in setting the course of their companies.

By Robert G. Picard

Oxford, England:

Journalists like to think of their work in moral or even sacred terms. With each new layoff or paper closing, they tell themselves that no business model could adequately compensate the holy work of enriching democratic society, speaking truth to power, and comforting the afflicted.

Actually, journalists deserve low pay.

Wages are compensation for value creation. And journalists simply aren't creating much value these days.

Until they come to grips with that issue, no amount of blogging, twittering, or micropayments is going to solve their failing business models.

Where does value come from?

The primary value that is created today comes from the basic underlying value of the labor of journalists. Unfortunately, that value is now near zero.

The total value is the value of content plus the value of advertising. However, advertisers don't care about journalism – only the audience that it produces. Thus the real measure of journalistic value is value created by serving readers.

What are journalists worth?

Economic outcomes have traditionally held low priority for journalists. That's got to change.

Journalists are not professionals with a unique base of knowledge such as professors or electricians. Consequently, the primary economic value of journalism derives not from its own knowledge, but in distributing the knowledge of others. In this process three fundamental functions and related skills have historically created economic value: Accessing sources, determining significance of information, and conveying it effectively.

Read the whole article at www.csmonitor.com/2009/0519/p09s02-coop.html

(Robert G. Picard is a professor of media economics at Sweden's Jonkoping University. He blogs at http://themediabusiness.blogspot.com/)

Benazir Bhotto killed by US special squad, says US journalist

Caption: Late Benazir Bhutto with her husband Asif Ali Zardari, who is now the Pakistan President, in an old photograph.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on the orders of the special death squad formed by former US vice-president Dick Cheney, which had already killed the Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafique Al Hariri and its army chief.

It was disclosed by reputed US journalist Seymour Hersh while talking to an Arab TV channel.

He said the squad was headed by General Stanley McChrystal, the newly-appointed commander of US army in Afghanistan. Hersh said former US vice-president Cheney was the chief of the Joint Special Operation Command and he clear the way for the US by exterminating opponents through the unit and the CIA. General Stanley was the in-charge of the unit.

Seymour also said that Rafiq Al Hariri and the Lebanese army chief were murdered for not safeguarding the US interests and refusing US setting up military bases in Lebanon. Ariel Sharon, the then prime minister of Israel, was also a key man in the plot.

A number of websites around the world are suspecting the same unit for killing of Benazir Bhutto because in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV on November 2, 2007, she had mentioned the assassination of Usama Bin Laden, Seymour said. According to BB, Umar Saeed Sheikh murdered Usama, but her words were washed out from the David Frosts report, he said.

The US journalist opined that it might have been done on purpose because the US leadership did not like to declare Usama dead for in the case the justification of the presence of US army in Afghanistan could no more be there, hence no reason for operation against Taliban.

The entire news is here:

http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/us-special-squad-killed-benazir/

Nobel winners demand Burmese leader's release

Nine Nobel Peace Prize winners are calling for fellow laureate and Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed, calling her trial for violating her house arrest a "mockery," Costa Rica's government said Tuesday.

"The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is a mockery. There's no legal system in Myanmar," the peace prize winners wrote in letters to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to a goverment statement.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias joined Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Rigoberta Menchu, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Wangari Mathaai, Shirin Ebadi, Betty Williams, and Mairead Corrigan Maguire in the demand.

The pro-democracy leader's protection was necessary for prosperity and stability in Myanmar and the whole of Southeast Asia, they said.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in jail or under house arrest at the hands of Myanmar's generals, most of it at her lakeside house in Yangon.

The 63-year-old is now on trial at the notorious Insein prison outside Yangon, facing up to another five years' detention on charges of harbouring an American man who swam to her home.

Critics say the military regime has trumped up the charges to keep her locked up during elections due next year, and also to beat a May 27 deadline when her latest six-year period of detention expires.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said last week in a rare open letter that the imprisonment of Myanmar's 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate was "totally unacceptable."

Here is world news

For MMC I: Use these sites to find and use news for your group websites. Also mention at the story's end from which site you took the news from.


1. BBC World

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

2. Inter Press Service

http://ipsnews.net/

2. New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/

3. Reuters.com (International)

ttp://www.reuters.com/

and Reuters India

http://in.reuters.com/

4. Asian Wall Street Journal

http://www.wsj-asia.com/

Risks of reporting

Photo caption: Kenji Nagai, this 50-year-old video journalist from Japan, died in Army gunfire while he was capturing the pro-democracy uprising in Burma on September 27, 2007. This photo, by Adrees Latif, later got the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Story.

These sites will explain what we talked in class.

For BMC I: How journalists work under a set of pressures and risks in hostile nations. And also know how free is the press in different countries.

For MMC I: Follow these sites regularly to know what's happening and also pick news and info from them to post in your group websites.

1. Reporters Without Borders

http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20

Important: You must go through this report on the situation of local journalists in Swat Valley of Pakistan which was captured by the Taliban recently.

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30742

2. Global Journalist

http://www.globaljournalist.org/

She is Burma's Nelson Mandela

She has been put under house arrest by Burma's military dictators for 13 years now.

Today, she will again be put on trail and may be sent to five years in prison.

Only because she has been demanding, with the rest of the Burmese people, for democracy in the country. (So realise the value of Indian elections).

She was given the Nobel Prize for Peace but she can't move out of her house. She inspires millions but has been made helpless by the Burmese government.

She studied BA from Delhi's Lady Sri Ram College in the 1960s and later, she also lived in Shimla, as a fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in 1987.

Please stand up beside her, as she faces another trail in her fight for democracy.

Read her full profile here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE54H1CG20090518?sp=true

What made Prabhakaran unique?

Do you know that when Vellupillai Prabhakaran started the LTTE, he was just 18 years old, an age while most of you are in school or college! He was a shy man, but a born leader. He was single minded and believed in sacrifices to achieve the goal of freedom. He was first to create suicide squads.

His idols were Subhas Chandra Bose (he too founded the military group of INA) and Bhagat Singh.

Also, interestingly, he died just three days before Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary and two days after the Congress, led by the widow of the man Prabhakaran had killed, returned to power.

Read the full profile of Prabhakaran here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3236030.stm

Anand Giridhardas

For BMC II

This is the blog of a young Indian-American journalist Anand Giridhardas who does reporting on India for The New York Times and International Herald Tribune.

Notice his use of English, and his qualities in feature writing.

http://anand-g.blogspot.com/

The mayawati rally

For BMC I and MMC I

This UP election rally coverage by New York-based young Kashmiri journalist Bhararat Peer is a masterpiece. A must read.

http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090515/REVIEW/705149996/1008

The 2014 General Elections

The Congress Party has not just won the 2009 General Elections. It has also won the 2014 General Elections. The May 16, 2009, win has ensured an uninterrupted 10-year Congress rule.
Why?
Because in the BJP's time, as a national party of any consequence, is over. With Advani bowing out, it will cut the party's last link to its Ram Mandir past. The party will become more powerless in front of the growing charm and activities of Rahul-Priyanka.
The BSP has already stopped growing. The Left may rise again, but not as much.
But what after 2019? Ha..ha..

Hi

The new blog is ready. ROCK-AND-ROLLA!