Okay I dont really like either of the crooks, although having lived through the rule of both I found the time of nawaz calmer, but thats besides the point.
CNN, BBC, pretty much all US and Uk papers are all about BB. Its about musharraf shedding uniform, holding elections and then BB..
I am sorry, they need to be intellectually honest and cover Nawaz Shareef as well, because he was the elected PM when he was ousted, he was tossed out again by the govt going against supreme court rulings.
I dont really need to wonder why he is teh step child and she is the chosen one for now.
Did anyone else notice that as well?
In the end, no matter what Nawaz is, he is not a sellout.
Okay I dont really like either of the crooks, although having lived through the rule of both I found the time of nawaz calmer, but thats besides the point.
CNN, BBC, pretty much all US and Uk papers are all about BB. Its about musharraf shedding uniform, holding elections and then BB..
I am sorry, they need to be intellectually honest and cover Nawaz Shareef as well, because he was the elected PM when he was ousted, he was tossed out again by the govt going against supreme court rulings.
I dont really need to wonder why he is teh step child and she is the chosen one for now.
Did anyone else notice that as well?
In the end, no matter what Nawaz is, he is not a sellout.
I may just start supporting him.
At the moment the issue in our country is not about who should be put in power BB, Nawaz, Imran or any other person....It's about institutional justice....a sense of civilization....feeling of being a human being, the right to be treated differently from animals>>>>
At the moment the issue in our country is not about who should be put in power BB, Nawaz, Imran or any other person....It's about institutional justice....a sense of civilization....feeling of being a human being, the right to be treated differently from animals>>>>
and where did I say that I am talkign about the issue in our country. there are 50 other threads on this topic. so I am nto going to go in that discussion, and niether was that the intent of this thread.
All I am discussing in this thread is the huge contrast in coverage of benazir vs Nawaz in western media. and wondering out loud who else noticed it?
To me it reeks of editorial bias and journalistic dishonesty.
its simple to evaluate, BB has always been out of country when not in power in Pak all her life and she has fame in international media cause of bhutto's daughter, people dont go into details but think she has struggled for democracy in Pakistan all her life and she has better exposure and know how to toil international media and govts towards her. NS never has been a international figure, he only know Sheikhs and thats where he is now. BB has been trying to get pat from US since day one in exile by promising everything to them and she can supercede any wannabe PM in selling the country. Thats what US likes and has given green signal to her.
but I really dont think she can ever win elections with simple majority without help from "angels"
you are right why we treat BB special, we should give both the same treatment (though both deserve to be in jail or away from Pakistan)
its simple to evaluate, BB has always been out of country when not in power in Pak all her life and she has fame in international media cause of bhutto's daughter, people dont go into details but think she has struggled for democracy in Pakistan all her life and she has better exposure and know how to toil international media and govts towards her. NS never has been a international figure, he only know Sheikhs and thats where he is now. BB has been trying to get pat from US since day one in exile by promising everything to them and she can supercede any wannabe PM in selling the country. Thats what US likes and has given green signal to her.
but I really dont think she can ever win elections with simple majority without help from "angels"
you are right why we treat BB special, we should give both the same treatment (though both deserve to be in jail or away from Pakistan)
Shak, I agree with you, but that is te common person;s view right. Oh look this is the oxford and harc=vard educated daughter of a PM who was killed by a military ruler, she is first woman leade rof a muslim country, she is liberal she is this.. I understand that.
But to me journalists need to cover more than perceptions, and if they are not either they are just pandering to the masses, or they are biased, or they are incompetent.
BB is smarter operator than Ganja, though more corrupt. She keeps herself in news by lecturing in universities and by statements that concern the western audience, like AQ Khan, OBL etc.
she also had free reign for a longer time than Nawaz since he was stuck in KSA and could not go anywhere else.
I agree with your reasoning. To me its just a little disppointing how little these journalists are doing, none of the recent stories go into her corruptiona nd conviction or idiotic actions when she was in govt, there is no mention of nawaz at all, or of that Mafia don hiding out in London and his impact and kartoot.
He is step child because he didn’t send messages across like “I will bend over as much as you like” (I will hand over AQ Khan), she has shown herself as “secular/liberal” etc… so she basically danced to the tunes of demanding music and now we see the “rewards” pouring out.
Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioun. I would rather support bringing him back to country but only for the purposes of prosecution of all cases against him.
but she has made those promises to the govts not to newspapers, unless you are saying that newspapers are selling their journalistic integrity and towing the govt line?
I agree with you, all political leaders should be allowed back and given equal opportunity and let the people decide. At the moment BB is getting an unfair advantage. Not that I am NS supporter but playing field should be level for everyone.
The reason BB is the darling of western media right now (over Nawaz) is because she is deemed as the best hope for a secular Pakistan. By aligning with mullahs, Nawaz has become the pariah of west and is deemed "dangerous".
By the way, who cares about intellectual honesty, anyway... that is such a naive concept in relation to modern media. Every media outlet has its particular bias and thats where the media spin kicks in.
but she has made those promises to the govts not to newspapers, unless you are saying that newspapers are selling their journalistic integrity and towing the govt line?
She has chances of making it to the seat and she is not in Saudi Arabia (more restrictions), she is now the darling of media and governments.
I agree to, that media doesnt really dig the stories and bring back the past of every one when they are discussing them, they tend to ignore it only and only for cause "what if BB comes to power, what will happen to them... etc etc.
so generally media is either bribed or just mindless bunch of loosers, or simple scared.
The reason BB is the darling of western media right now (over Nawaz) is because she is deemed as the best hope for a secular Pakistan. By aligning with mullahs, Nawaz has become the pariah of west and is deemed "dangerous".
By the way, who cares about intellectual honesty, anyway... that is such a naive concept in relation to modern media. Every media outlet has its particular bias and thats where the media spin kicks in.
yeah but usually for every bias there is an opposite bias, and this time it appears CNN and Fox are pals e.g. :D
Nawaz was the first one to make a deal with Musharraf and swap prison in Pakistan for royal exile in Saudi Arabia. But I am sure he will be allowed back in a few weeks to give BB the fright if needed. Notice how she deliberately announced a rally from Lahore to Islamabad, basically to start off from Nawaz's power base and put him in a tight spot. He has returned her invite to join with a two finger salute.
well I guess I missed this, now we know why US papers are so Benazir focused. they are drinking lobbyists koolaid, and so is our nation. same company that lobbies for the blackwater group. nice.
ISLAMABAD: It is ‘cash for honour’ policy and not the liberal views that has won Benazir Bhutto the tremendous goodwill in influential American circles that now see her as the panacea for all existing ills afflicting Pakistan.
Ms. Bhutto has allocated a major sum of her ‘hard earned’ money to court the US decision makers, their ‘independent’ media not being an exception.
Her spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar, confirmed that lobbying firms have been hired in the US. However he would not know whether Ms. Bhutto makes payment from her pocket or from party fund.
The PPP chairperson has learnt how to please Uncle Sam and his media canons who have mastery on portraying the worst as the best and vice versa. Least bothered about public opinion in Pakistan, her only worry is how to woo the Americans. And it clearly manifests from her ambitious plan to win the US influential circles, that she believes her real constituency.
Once billed as the most corrupt politician in this part of the world by the U.S. Administration, Congress and media, they are now all praise for her, courtesy the most expensive lobbying firm that she has hired in the United States. She has courted lawmakers, elite media and think tanks by putting to use a ‘small’ portion (over US $ 300,000) of her ‘hard earned’ money in just half a year. A single six-month contract fetches the firm a cool US $ 250,000.
Ms Bhutto is the valued client of a top lobbying firm, BKSH and Associates, a company headed by Charlie Black, a top Republican strategist and former advisor to Presidents Reagon and Bush I and II. The campaign has Democratic connections as well: Mark Penn, a top advisor to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is president of Penn Schoen and CEO of Burson-Marsteller.
According to a filing with the Justice Department of USA, the said lobbying firm was given the task to promote her party’s views to members of Bush administration; the US Congress, think tanks such as Brooking Institution and the American Enterprise Institute; business elites and members of the media in Washington, New York, the UK, and Brussels; and Pakistani expatriates living in the US.
According to The Hill, a US journal that monitors political and lobbying activities in Congress, BKSH and its affiliates first plan to survey elite opinion of Pakistan in the West. “Campaign material will be developed and op-eds and white papers circulated,” The Hill wrote soon after the contract was signed. The firm also plans as to how to initiate a broad public affairs campaign, contact administration officials and members of Congress and arrange Ms. Bhutto’s dinners for select individuals. The campaign, according to the US journal, also focused on the press by scheduling editorial board meetings for Ms. Bhutto with The New York Times and The Washington Post and ‘targeting top journalists’ like Newsweek’s Fareed Zakria and NYT’s Tom Friedman.
Ms. Bhutto is ‘privileged’ to be the only opposition leader that is client of the US most expensive firm, BKHS and associates.
Ms. Bhutto’s party is considered to be an exceptional client of BKSH and Associates as it seldom has opposition parties on its client list which mainly comprises the governments and big multinational companies. The lobbying firm’s other clients range from the governments of Taiwan and Haiti to companies such as General Electric.
It is not the only firm hired by the PPP chairperson. There is another PR firm, T. Dean Reed, having Ms. Bhutto as its client. “Reed has taken in roughly $ 70,000 since October 2004 to represent the Pakistan Peoples’ Party,” a US magazine that monitors the lobbying activities in Washington, said.
Gunjoo is happy sunbathing with the Arabs, getting hair transplants and dreaming about his grand re-return to Pakistan.....not to mention missing his good ol' days when he was having his trysts with Tahira Syed!
Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Rajioun. I would rather support bringing him back to country but only for the purposes of prosecution of all cases against him.