Biases of the American Press

anNY,

What a passionate and sincere post :)

One of the reasons I have so admired scout is that she is one outspoken, clear-headed, take-no-nonsense Muslim and Pakistani. Her passion, like yours, is mostly of the best kind. When people bring such passion to the table, there is bound to be both light and heat on any subject. That is part of the attraction! :)

Despite your generous words, I must confess I face the same difficulties that you do. Sometimes I lose patience, and can`t avoid the cheap momentary thrill that comes from indulging in one-up-man-ship, sarcasm, and scoring points (Sometime back, Professor Ahmad had a wonderful post requesting poeple to avoid such mistakes). For example, I just wrote a `sexist` post on another board!! (What can I say, I am ashamed, and expect to be hammered for it :)

anNY, please use Chowk both to learn and to have fun. The ability to interact with such a diverse, knowledgeable, and intelligent group of people is nothing short of pure miracle. Sometimes I think I must be the only non-expert here!

Think of it this way: what you see as conflict may well be the most productive and key aspect of our interaction. Afterall, if we were all agreeing with one another here, we would be wasting time regurgitating one another`s prejudices, right? We can all learn from every one, and our best teachers may be people we don`t often agree with.

Now, guess who made that point about conflict being useful most forcefully sometime back? :)

JAY!!

Jay # 125 in reply to Scout # 113

``Islam has survived so many centuries with out you, so will Pakistan, but one less Pakistani, is

one less to bash and we miss it.``

Eklavya # 124

Sir it is patronizing men like Mr. Jay up there that make me bang the keys on my keyboard so hard the entire table starts shaking...unlike you I cant get myself to ignore or skim posts by annoying men and women like him… it is then that I waste precious energy fuming; ranting and raving about obnoxious Indians who are in as much mud as we are but due to an incredible public relation campaign, propaganda (call it what you like) are now acting like they own the world…at this age wasting precious energy on a discussion board comes very naturally to me:) but you are right…bigotry has its charms and I fall victim to it very many times myself…it comes from the conditioning of many years to hate all things Indians….this is something I had written on the sad shia sunni divide in my part of the world (2 main muslim sects)just a few days ago and which applies.

``…I don’t grudge them this unfair bias because they like millions of others have been fed a staple diet that results in such strong negativity; they cannot under any circumstances be blamed for it. In my more honest moments I compare this unreasonable utterly stupid bias to mine against all things Indian. Since I have been a child a feeling of venomous hatred for all Indians plagues the inner recesses of my soul. Now that I am an adult and interact with some Indian nationals who are good people in the truest sense of the word I try to put it to a side but am not able to do so for even a few minutes. It is a handicap. Very few are able to rise above it but for every individual that falls victim to this hatred, there is a good man who will overpower and thwart it. And that goodness my father says, is what keeps the world moving...``

Say Mr. Eklavya, you make a lot of sense…u sure you`re an Indian? :)

wow!!

scout, you must be the only person on Chowk who has won the respect of people with ALL shades of opinion, Hindu-Muslim, Indian-Pakistani, young-and not-so-young, `hand-wringing Hindu apologists` and `Jihadi warriors!`

Hats off to you, lady! :)

friends, thanks for the kind words, email me if you`d like, jannat_bibi@yahoo.com

Scout!

I havent been following this thread and I didnt know what was going on here. Please do not lose heart. There are some good people on Chowk who really enjoy interacting with you and for me it is always a pleasure to see your posts. You are one of the very few voices of integrity, pragmatism, and passion; all combined in one. Chowk is sanner only because of few people like you. I request you to change your mind and be our friend again.

Chowk Staff:

Ki ho rahaya eh bhai? tusi kurri naraz kar ditti haygee.

scout, if you are reading this, here`s a NYT article you should look over. Would you agree this is as Pro-Pakistan an article as there can be give the circumstances?

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/09/world/09AFGH.html

IMO, biases mostly exist at the individual level. At the institutional level, the best Western newspapers all make at least some effort to be objective.

As far as I know, Barbara Crossette has never in her life written anything positive on India (except in her travel books - she also writes poor quality travel books). I have learnt to simply ignore her. Afterall, it takes all kinds to make this world of ours, right? :)

Scout,

you are significant on chowk, a muslim female on indo=pak bashing is an asset to both sides. If at all there is going to be a bridge across the trenches, it will be built by simple people like you, not the ones with sofistry and verbosity.

After the frontier post burning chowk has changed the censorship policy, it is looking more into the contents, its provocative nature than specific abusive words or personal insults.

There is no need to take chowk so seriously, nor yourself as so important, it is just innocous fun, a cyberspace paki bashing from the UK of the seventies. Islam has survived so many centuries with out you, so will pakistan, but one less pakistani, is one less to bash and we miss it.

regards and best wishes.

Jay.

Scout,

May I add my voice to that of anNy # 121.

Like darkness, bigotry has its charms, and most of us fall for it from time to time. Some of it is, as Farzana would say, Garam Khoon, some mere silliness, but the rest is the uncomfortable reality that must be confronted if we are to become a better people. Won`t you have it expressed upfront than hidden away under a heavy rug?

You have been a pleasure to read. Please stay.

anNY #121,

I have used the following simple trick to deal with the same problem [ofcourse, my problems mostly arise when reading folks on `your side` :)].

After I read a couple of posting from an individual, I get a broad picture of the intellectual calibre and make-up of a person. I ask: (1) Is this person raising real issues relevant to modern living, or is he (she) merely fighting ghosts residing in his/her mind? (2) Is he (she) proposing modern solutions to these issues, or merely repeating stuff that has failed to work for thousands of years? Having done that, I decide whom to read very carefully, whose words to merely skim through, and whose posts to not bother reading at all beyond a couple of lines. There are some people with whom I mostly have strong disagreements with but read because they are Indians, and for me, it is important to know what Indians think.

Ofcourse, people can move from category to category :) But this simple approach has brought me PARTLIAL success in not wasting my time and emotional energy on Chowk. Ofcourse, if you do not find ANY thing to agree with ANYone on the `enemy side,` then you might want to question your own stand on some of the issues!

Happy reading :)

Iran`s advice to India and Pakistan.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/8/01&Cat=4&Num=030

Tehran Times

Vajpayee`s Visit to Iran Will Bring Peace, Stability to Region, Analysts Believe

By Irfan Parviz

TEHRAN Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will make a historic visit to Iran on April 10 at the invitation of President Seyed Mohammad Khatami.

Political pundits believe that Vajpayee`s visit will pave the way for better Tehran-New Delhi relations in all known areas of cooperation.

Iran`s prominent journalist Hassan Rassouli voiced his optimism about the outcome of Vajpayee`s visit, saying, ``It (the visit) will herald a new era in Indo-Iranian ties in political, economic and social areas.``

The TEHRAN TIMES Editorial Board Coordinator, Rassouli, added, ``Mr. Vajpayee`s visit will cultivate a healthy political and economic atmosphere in the region based on mutual understanding.``

Talking to the TEHRAN TIMES, an analyst Ms. Tahera Sultan said, ``Iran and India have an ancient history of bilateral relations in political, social, cultural and economic areas.

``There is no doubt that Iran and India, through bilateral or multilateral cooperation, can bring peace, stability and prosperity to the entire region,`` she stressed.

Referring to a gas pipeline project that is expected to transfer Iranian gas to India via Pakistan, she noted, ``It will not only provide the cheapest and cleanest source of energy to the regional countries, but it will also serve as a major source of national income.``

She brushed aside the doubt cast over the future of the pipeline by some who describe it as risky, and who argue that Pakistan and India are archenemies.

Like Ms. Sultan, Rassouli also believes that the gas pipeline will help to bring India and Pakistan, the so-called ``archenemies``, closer together.

``I don`t believe that India and Pakistan are archenemies, as both have a lot to exchange in terms of economy, politics and culture, but not bullets,`` Rassouli noted.

``If both India and Pakistan prioritize their national interests, the sky will be the limit to their cooperation and progress,`` he pointed out.

However, contrary to the Iranian analysts` belief, a Pakistani Urdu daily * * * * Nawa-e Waqt * * * * voiced its concern over growing relations between Iran and India.

The daily, in its editorial, said that the defense agreement between Iran and Pakistan`s enemy, India, is a major source of concern for all the Muslims. The daily asked the country`s Foreign Ministry to take the necessary action in this respect.

A high level Indian business delegation is to accompany the indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s visit to Iran which starts from April 10.

Secretary general of the Federation of indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Dr. Amit Mitra told IRNA today that india is looking to expand its relations with Iran beyond the oil and gas sector.

The FICCI business delegation to Iran will comprise industrialists from various sectors like heavy engineering, construction, power, cement, telecommunication and information technology (IT), entertainment and film, healthcare and tobacco, automobile, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chartered accountants and company law, ports and infrastructure, Mitra said.

Scout #113

``Whatever is afflicting Pakistan and India is well deserved with people like ali, harimau, and rsaxena running around.

``

Hey you misssed the BOSS OF ALL, Mahamullah Urstruly. Add my name to this list too if you so desire.

Scoutapa # 113

``Chowkwallas,

It was good while it lasted. Whatever is afflicting Pakistan and India is well deserved with people like ali, harimau, and rsaxena running around.

I`ve had it with bigotry.

Khuda Hafiz``

Nononoo0000oo000oo0000ooooooo....like if you go away whooz going to put that annoying Rsaxena in his place everytime he gets high on himself? or give horrible mean self righteous men like harimau the verbal spankings they deserve...who`ll speak up for Pakistan in the face of 480 interactors who`ve made it their zindagee ka mission to demoralise us by quoting selected incidents that we really have no defence against....its difficult to compose a reply when one knows in another 25 mins there`ll be Indies all over the board taking turns at laughing, byching and patronizingly telling you what a miserable nation yours is beacause some morons attacked a newspaperoffice&because the army keeps sending the elected leaders back to their cribs ..the anger and helplessness of it all often makes me refrain from replying at all..it takes spunk aison kae moon lagna specially since many of the evils quoted are as true as is true..

pliss istay

Many wonder why pakistan is a nightmare. Police was found stealing electricity from a govt owned power supplier by the military. From dawn of today

MULTAN, April 7: Policemen were found stealing electricity at a police post in Gujrat Town by a joint team of army and Mepco staff. The team, headed by a sub-divisional officer of Mepco, disconnected the power supply to the police post.

``SDO Qazi Muhammad Akhtar told Dawn here on Saturday that police had taken direct supply from the main line. They did not apply for getting the power connection for the police post. Mepco subordinate staff had asked the policemen to desist from such unlawful act who threatened them with dire consequence. SP Col Farman Ali (retired) said that stern action will be taken against the responsible persons.``

RE: Scout`s khuda hafiz

Whatever ``crap`` chowk editors want to publish is their prerogative and if you want to boycott Chowk like you boycotted NYT, well thats your right.... but your gila-shikwa comes across as pretty childish.

Anyways, I regret if any of my ``crap`` offended you, that was never the intention, and I don`t recall ever attacking your personally.

You have put me in the same category as haramiu which I find very offensive... feel free to write a note of apology to sherali_rajput@yahoo.com Khuda Hafiz. :-)

Scout #113

Don`t worry.

I am on same boat.

The need of hour is amity between Pakistan and India.

Whether Harimau cleans the board with dumb Pakistani`s back does not matter now.

So what?

Universe is bigger than world.

And world is bigger than Chowk.

At least in my case.

[reposted]

Syed Ahmed #: 108

These are all nice warm and fuzzy feelings. Forget it! my man that the two sides will reach a peaceful situation. Indian / Pakistani educated elite are mo$Fuc$#r decedents of Maharajas and Sultans. They have no concept of saving their a$$es. They will happily choke on skyrocketing-taxes; corrupt bureaucrats and raping & murderous Generals. Rajas took all the money from the masses and spent on either Fu@k!ng themselves or their neighbors.

Now the army generals of the two countries are doing the same. We all walk to the house of Generals and get the ``desired`` satisfaction.

The pseudo intellectuals will continue blabbering about their favorite ones and trashing anyone who opposes them. They are ready to jump on RSS, Talibans, Pundits and Mullahs. You said it right in your post:

``The crème` of the bourgeois, deeply engendered with western sensibilities, seeks to enforce its liberal agenda with the same fascist overtones, that the conservatives practice in the mother country.``

So dream on my friend and let Harimau and Urstruly trash and whip every chowki`s behind.

Re: sigalph

Sorry for the dealy in replying to your post!


Bush saying that he regreted the Chinese pilot`s death was good sign that he was understanding the diplomacy of ``saving face``, which is the hallmark of Chinese foreign affairs.


Sig, the current tete a tete is nothing more than Freudian attempt to determine who is the ``big boy`` in Asia. Hence, both sides need to carefully reconsider the consequenes and decide upon their actions accordingly. Bush`s foreign policy team is too ``experince heavy`` and though it may sound impressive, in realistic terms it designed for gridlock, because all the actors have their own opinions and turf wars to fight. Rice, Powell, Rumsfield and Chenny (sounds like a law firm) are still in the process of mapping out their influence in the White House.


My friend remember, foreign policy works best when determination, strenght and clarity is mixed with a pragmatic sense of compromise. There are no principles in international relations despite what Woodrow Wilson`s best intentions. In this sense, I was, and still am, a great admirer of G. W. Bush`s father`s foreign policy!


Ciao!