Electronic Portfolio

University Of Karachi Department Of English Evening Program 2008-09 Second Semester Media Discourse

Portfolio

Examples from the Print and Electronic Media Presented by Najia Zaheer Nazir

Disclaimer •The views that have been expressed to analyze each piece of advertisement pertain exclusively to the interpretation of the writer and by no means are the sole reflection of the companies’ code of work and ethics.

University of Karachi Goes Hi-tech • The University of Karachi, not only makes use of the print medium to advertise its commencement of new academic year, but uses the flourishing information technology to stay current .

Public Service Messages • PSAs are part of the licensing agreement of every commercial television and radio station and produce no advertising revenue. PSAs sell ideas, such as donating to charity. • Our first example is that of anti smoking ad and the second pertains to charity . Public Service Messages

Have You Been a Dad Today? • With this catchy title , this campaign was likely to inspire all those dads out there who have got their partners as working ladies and feel its fitting to chip in their efforts in child rearing. Public Service Message

Various Forms of Public Service Messages

12/04/09

Public Service Messages

Classified Ads

• Classified advertising differs from standard advertising or business models in that it allows private individuals (not simply companies or corporate entities) to solicit sales for products and services.

Out of Home Advertising • Out of home advertising includes everything from billboards to hot-air balloons. That means ads on buses, posters on walls, telephone booths and shopping kiosks, transit and rail platforms, airport and bus terminal displays, shopping mall displays. Also to remember are blimps and airplanes towing messages over our favorite stadiums. Bil Boards

Some Examples from around the Globe

Hot –air Balloons and Airplane Tows

Bill Boards Seen in Karachi

Bill boards

Narratives • In media terms, narrative is the coherence/organization given to a series of facts. The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end. We understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience. • The difference between Story & Narrative: • "Story is the irreducible substance of a story (A meets B, something happens, order returns), while narrative is the way the story is related (Once upon a time there was a princess...)" (Key Concepts in Communication - Fiske et al (1983))

Example of Narrative Text • A narrative structure in a movie is what the audience follows when they watch a film. It helps them to understand the content of a film and comprehend the meanings intended by the filmmaker. Tzvetan Todorov formed the theory of the 'Classic Hollywood narrative'. He believed that a narrative came in three stages, opening with a form of equilibrium, thus getting disrupted and then the equilibrium later getting regained and either a new or the opening equilibrium is returned. This theory relates to many of Hollywood's mainstream cinema releases to date. George Lucas's 'Star wars a new hope' (1977) is a good example of this theory.

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'Star wars a New Hope' has a linear narrative form, in which the film overall narrative goes straight from beginning to the end in a chronological order. The sequences of events are all related to each other via the use of cause and effect. Luke would never have found Princess Leia's message if it wasn't for him choosing to buy R2D2 over the other droids. This event took place and it then caused the effect of Luke going in search of 'Obi Wan Kenobi'. This then further caused many other effects to take place in the narrative such as the encounter with 'Han Solo'. This contrasts highly to that of Salvador Dali and Luis Buneul's 'Un chien Andalou' (1928). The sequence of events in this short film all occur one after another, each holding no relationship to each other and not presenting a definitive cause and effect structure in the narrative. The film opens with a man sharpening a razor blade; this is placed next to shots of a woman having her eye widened. Then, as the man looks up to see the full moon get cut across by that of a dark cloud, a graphic match is used to represent the classic shocking imagery of the woman getting her eye slit open with the razor blade. This then cuts straight to the title screen of '8 years later'. The two shots bare little relationship to each other, as the film progresses it becomes clear that 'Un chien andalou' does not appear to have a narrative that can be visibly read by the audience. There is no central character that presents the audience with a storyline to follow or gain interest in. All sequence of events appear random to each other, the woman whose eye is slit open is later seen in the film yet is not physically scarred. There is no explanation given or reference made back to the opening prologue. The man with the razor blade is never seen again throughout the rest of 'Un chien andalou' also. This proposes questions such as who is the man? Where is he? When is he? Did he just imagine a woman getting her eye slit open or did it really happen? If so, then why? All unanswered enigmas that are never exposed, thus going against Todorovs theory of

The Classical Hollywood Narrative .

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All these plot sequences in the film are juxtaposed together though to create a dream like representation which is what Luis Buneal and Salvador Dali intended. The film was deliberately made to not give 'Any idea or image that might lend a rational explanation of any kind…" 'Star wars a new hope' varies to this as George Lucas's science fiction classic runs in a chronological order in sense of time and space. The audience is represented with a vague idea of where the narrative is placed and when, the entire sequence of events happens in a logical order. This manipulation of time and space differs in 'Un chien andalou'. For, 'Un chien andalou' is not given a specific time nor space to be set in. The title screen tells us that one plot sequence takes place '8 years later' to the other one yet the audience is not given an opening set time to begin with anyhow. Where is the following sequence of events 8 years from? This is, along with a number of other enigmas in 'Un chien andalou's' narrative, never revealed to the audience. All the information given is that certain events have happened 8 years later, at 3 in the morning, 16 years ago and in Spring. Yet none of these events resemble any linkage to each other, so still, no sense can be made from this narrative structure's sequence of events. This differs to 'Star wars a New Hope' as 'Un chien andalou' does not give the audience a clear sense of closure in the narrative. It is left open for continuity. Due to this approach the film goes against the Classical Hollywood narrative, there is no equilibrium that is disrupted to later regain a new equilibrium

COPY

W R I T I N G--T H E L A N G U A G E ISING

OF A D V E R T

• Although advertising is highly visual, there are four types of advertisements in which words are crucial.  If the message is complicated, words can deliver the intended content easily  If the ad is for a high-involvement product, the more information the better.  Information that needs definition and explanation ( for eg. DSL information for a lay Pakistani consumer)  If the message tries to convey abstract notions, words can communicate explicitly( for example:persuading tax payers to exercise honesty)

Copy Wrtiing

Some Humming Friendly Pakistani Ads • ‘Daagh tau chala jae ga. Yeh waqt phit nahi aaye ga( Brite Total- A detergent) This ad for a detergent presents girls very jovially celebrating mehndi and how one of them clumsily lays her ubtan carrying hand on the bride’s mother’s pure white ensemble. The way the elegant lady forgives her thinking of her detergent ,really advocates effectively for the product. • ‘Har cheez Meezan main achi lagti hai’ ( Ad for Meezan Banaspati) This ad makes a pun on the word meezan, which is both the name of the product and refers to Urdu translation of the balance. Hence it creates an implicature of being a balanced and just the right product.this ad could be viewed at the following URL:

vidpk.com/view_video.php?vid=10311 Copy Writing

Some Bad Examples of Copies Gone Wrong •

Following are the excerpts of bona fide classified ads which fell prey to the sheer ingenious of their writers A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms." "And now, the Superstore - unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience." "Auto Repair Service. Try us once, you'll never go anywhere again." "Christmas tag-sale. Handmade gifts for the hard-to-find person." "Dinner Special - Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Children $2.00" "Dog for sale. Eats anything and is fond of children."

Copy Writing

Intertextuality • Intertextuality involves invoking of the reader’s/viewer’s schema based on his being accustomed to acculturation of mass media. It involves reading of sub-text to decode meaning from the literal meaning by interpreting various illusions employed by the creator of the ad. • The facing ad of Compaq processor makes a pun on the middleman. For an informed audience, this ad vibrates for an immediate need of a reliable processing system.

Celebrity Endorsement • Maybelline’s got a product that’s different from what their competitors are offering: a blusher for people on the go. They’ve summed it up perfectly with the caption “dot, blend, blush, go”. They’ve got the right mix of information, color, pictures and celebrity endorsement so this ad is sure to work.

Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity Endorsement in Pakistani Media • This facing advert is that Telenor Talk Shawk stars Aaminah Haq, Sonia Jehan and Ali Zafar, all of them being popular celebrities.

Celebrity Endorsement

Cricket Goes Dancing • Nauseating it has become for one to see the overdose of celebrity based dance shows! Here there is one more to come. Seasoned cricketer Wasim Akram paired up with ravishing Sushmita Sen for Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena . to be aired on Colors channelWhat is entertaining though is the fact that all these cricketers who use to dance after winning a match or taking a wicket, will have to dance first and then the winners will be decided. The show went live from 24th September,2008 on Colors TV.

Celebrity Endorsement

Societal Representation The media has come up with its definitions when it comes to personality portrayals of different societal groups and phenomenon We can divide this stereotyping into the following sub- categories • Gender stereotypes • Portrayal of youth • Male machismos Societal Representation and Stereotyping

The Gender Delimma • Most often than not , everyone has seen blatantly offensive advertisements that portray women as sexual toys or victims of violence. Such irresponsible advertising has rightly touched off cries of protest and organized action

1st Qtr

Societal Stereotyping

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East West North

The Portrayal of Youth • •

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To illustrate my point, I have put together two ads : the first one being an American advert this ad is concerning as it suggests to youth that alcohol is required to have a good time. The tagline reads: Tagline: Are we having Bud Light yet? With Just 110 calories, Bud Light is the choice for light, refreshing, thirst quenching fun. The second advertisement of a dairy tea whitener Tarang, stars Ali Zafar a music icon. This ad presents a typical rural young boy with aspirations to be a movie star fails to meet social obligations—till he meets local diva Reema , who casts him in a movie as her partner.

Societal Setereotyping

The Male Machismos • With the catchphrase The Best a Man Can Get, this brand for safety razors has become clichéd famous and underpins the ideology of masculine perfection. Also it highlights the latest trend of meterosexuality. In this instance Tennis ace Roger Federer, Barcelona footballer Thierry Henry and golf’s Tiger Woods introduce the new Gillette Fusion.

The Gender Dilemma

The Caricatures • of movie Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while caricatures stars are often found in entertainment magazines.

The Media and Politics

The Language of Politics • The inflated style itself is a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink Language of Politics

Example from Pakistani Political Scene • • •

THE NEWS APRIL 29, 2008 News Desk

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday went back on his word about judges’ restoration in 30 days, agreed in the Murree Declaration. Talking to Dr Shahid Masood in a Geo News programme “Meray Mutabiq”, he said what he along with Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif announced in Murree was just a political statement and it could be interpreted in different ways. He said, “What he said was not a Hadith and the Murree Declaration was just a political agreement.” He said the countdown for judges’ return was being carried out only by Geo that was off the air and his party restored it. When reminded that the ban on Geo was lifted before the elections, he said the channel was restored without its main actors. He told Dr Shahid Masood that you yourself were among those who were removed from the scene.

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The Media and Politics • Allegations of political bias in the media are common, although there is considerable controversy concerning the nature of this bias . The image of Sarah Palin, Candidate for Vice Presidency in the US poll,2008, was quite a butt of the joke by the media .

The Media and Politics

Language of Propaganda •

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The term propaganda has a broad application. It refers not only to efforts by a government to get people to adopt certain beliefs or attitudes, but it can also be applied to the ways in which corporations try to get you to buy things. Elements of Propaganda Propaganda is intended to alter the way people think and feel about the society they live in and its governing values and priorities Word Approval--One need only observe the influence of popular media figures in promoting everyday use of certain words or catch-phrases. Word disapproval – Whereby certain words or phrases expose the user to disagreeable social reactions like personal abuse, loss of preferment and even of employment, and other forms of victimization . Whereby the propagandist's message is 'packaged' or presented in a way likely to disarm criticism. This is designed to exploit the 'feel-good factor' among the all-too-gullible general public, using popular entertainers and radio/TV soap-operas as vehicles for multi-racialism, feminism, homosexuality, promiscuity, federalism, etc. Language of Propaganda

Propaganda Examples

Glittering Generalities

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Words of praise for a product or McDonald's is America's favorite person; using nice words like goodness or patriotism.

Name-calling

Trash-talking another product or Rush Limbaugh on Michael J Fox. person, "mudslinging", "ad Jib Jab Parody Movies hominem attacks" Ann Coulter trash talks "liberals".

Testimonial.

A famous person recommends a New Jersey Democrats endorse Hillary product; also political endorsements Actor Steve McQueen and Viceroy Cig

Plain Folks

Appealing to regular people's values like family, patriotism

Sherrod Brown for Senate campaign a It's Morning in America

Bandwagon.

An appeal to be part of a group

Old Soviet propaganda

Card-Stacking.

Manipulating information to make Hardee's chicken advertisement a product appear better than it is Comparison between Apple Macintosh often by unfair comparison or omitting facts

Transfer

An appeal which helps a person to image themselves as part of a picture.

Old cigarette television commercial Join the Pepsi Generation

Catch Phrases • Not only is this ad funny, but it also shows how life can be. Sometimes you can’t do well no matter how hard you try. Even if you fall, says Nike, it’s okay. You’ll get it right someday. Just do it!

Catch Phrases

Finger Linkin’ Good

Catch Phrases

Technique of Montage •

The syntagmatic structure of montage refers to the art of piecing together diverse items so as to construct a new style and in terms of advertising present a unique concept.

• The advert on the facing side: Image 1: A jubilant bride and a bridegroom are shown to have embarked on a journey Image 2: A breathtaking view of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India Tagline: The Right Choice. A Heaven for True Love Interpretation: For honeymooners , there is no dearth for honeymoon resorts. But this picture of Taj Mahal, assembled with that of a couple intrigues the viewer/reader to go for it.

Technique of Collage •

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Using the technique of collage enables the media creators to assemble thematically connected yet distinct items to introduce singular idea. The first advert is about the promotion of tourism in India. Here assorted images of various recreational spots have been displayed to make the reader/viewer have a visual impression of the luxurious resorts The second advert is that of chocolate where two love birds are shown busy in love bites .in the other two pictures they are shown to have left, adding nuances of deeper meaning.

Rubrics of Journalistic Writing • Lead: One of the most important elements of news writing is the opening paragraph or two of the story. Journalists refer to this as the "lead," and its function is to summarize the story and/or to draw the reader in (depending on whether it is a "hard" or "soft" news story

Hard News In a hard news story, the lead should be a full summary of what is to follow. It should incorporate as many of the 5 "W's" of journalism (who, what, where, when and why) as possible. (e.g. "Homeless youth marched down Yonge St. in downtown Toronto Wednesday afternoon demanding the municipal government provide emergency shelter during the winter months."

Soft News In a soft news story, the lead should present the subject of the story by allusion. This type of opening is somewhat literary. Like a novelist, the role of the writer is to grab the attention of the reader. (e.g. "Until four years ago, Jason W. slept in alleyways...") Rubrics of Journalistic Writing

Examples of Hard News Items The Dawn and New York Times •

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• From The Dawn,Thursday, May 14, 2009 ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, Wednesday revealed to the National Assembly that the army has detained a serving colonel along with a Rawalpindi based lawyer on the basis of espionage charges. Responding to the point of order raised by Hanif Abbasi of PML(N), Awan informed the house that according to Rao Mohammad Iqabl, Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO), Col Shahid Bashir and his close friend Nadeem Shah who is a lawyer by profession were currently being investigated by army officials on charges of spying. However, Awan did not speak about the charges in detail. 'Tomorrow, the CPO of Rawalpindi will provide us further details and we would duly inform us in this regard,' the minister said. On May 1, Rawalpindi District Bar Association (DBA) President Taufeeq Asif lodged a complaint with Sadiq Abad Police Station warned of launching a massive protest in case the police failed to recover Mr Shah. The Supreme Court had also taken sue-motu notice of Shah’s disappearance and during first hearing on May 11, a three-member bench of the superior court expressed its displeasure of the lack information provided by the CPO Rawalpindi. In his statement before the court, the CPO said that preliminary information gleaned from various sources suggested that he had been picked up by some intelligence agencies for investigation. The court had directed police officials to come up with complete details regarding the case during its next hearing on Friday. Shah’s elder brother had accused the police of involving him in espionage charges to save their skin. According to his brother, Shah is an ex-GDP pilot but joined the legal profession later on. According to details provided to the superior court, Shah and his friend Col Shahid Bashir went out for dinner together at an undisclosed location in Islamabad but disappeared mysteriously.

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• The New York Times PUBLISHED: MAY 13, 2009

WASHINGTON — A former American official charged with kidnapping in Italy in the 2003 seizure of a radical Muslim cleric filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to force the State Department to invoke diplomatic immunity to halt the prosecution. Italian prosecutors have claimed that the former official, Sabrina De Sousa, 53, was a C.I.A officer serving under diplomatic cover in the United States Consulate in Milan at the time the cleric, known as Abu Omar was grabbed on the street by American counterterrorism officers. He was flown to Egypt, where he later contended that he was tortured. The case became a symbol of the American practice of rendition, in which a terrorism suspect is captured and delivered to another country for interrogation. In the lawsuit, filed in United States District Court in Washington, and in an interview, Ms. De Sousa described herself as a diplomat and denied that she had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. A spokesman for the agency declined to comment on Ms. De Sousa or her lawsuit, but former agency officials said that she had worked for the C.I.A. in Italy…. The entire news story could be viewed at

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14diplo. html?ref=todayspaper

Rubrics of Journalistic Writing

Example of Soft News • •

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Negotiating Aid Package by Imrahim Malick, April 14,2009 http://www.chowk.com/articles/negotiating-aid-package-ibrahim-malick.htm

Should Pakistan accept conditions attached to billions Pakistan’s Prime Minister Gillani may have done something historic by categorically declining to accept US aid with conditions that are not in Pakistan’s national interest. He, however, did not explain conditions that his government opposes. When President Barack Obama appealed to the Congress recently to pass the aid package he also warned that there will be no ‘blank’ checks for Pakistan. But he wasn’t sure what restrictions will be proposed by the House legislation. And, neither was Pakistan. Subsequently, the House has proposed aid bill. On surface the proposed conditions look reasonable: 1. Limit the kinds of military equipment Pakistan could receive, 2. the ways in which it could be used, and 3. Require regular audits and presidential certification of counterinsurgency progress. And, if Pakistan agrees to these conditions (on a high level), Congress is willing to authorize $3 billion in aid to train and equip the Pakistani military over the next five years, along with $7.5 billion in economic and development assistance. In addition, the Obama administration has also requested $2 billion in a supplemental war-funding to be spent in Pakistan over next four years. These are not chum changes- and Pakistan is in dire financial need. So why is Pakistani Prime Minister posturing like a Punjabi film hero produced in Lollywood (Lahore)? Some would argue through this funding the US wants to transform Pakistan’s army from one that is ready to face India in traditional warfare to a leaner and flexible institution that can fight insurgents and terrorists. Secondly, Pakistan is being told not to spend funds to build up Army to fight against India. And, third (most importantly) Pakistan is being asked by the donor that it will be subject to audits. Congress wants to monitor Pakistani progress in defeating extremists and protecting human rights. Congress also wants to prohibit additional U.S. spending on Pakistan's F-16 jet fighter fleet, which the Bush administration agreed to upgrade. It is argued that the planes are part of Pakistan's defense strategy against India and have no use in counterinsurgency efforts against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. Together these seemingly innocent requirements not only challenge Pakistan’s most powerful institution but also open a plethora of diplomatic issues. What metrics can Congress use to determine that extremists are being defeated and human rights is not violated? Should Pakistan be reimbursed for the loss of capital in sale of F-16s (not in soybeans)? One can understand why these conditions are difficult for Pakistan. But America’s frustration is also understandable. Bush administration spent more than $5 billion to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban and several years later had nothing to show for. They had very few, if any, controls on the monies spent. It is widely accepted in Washington DC that money was diverted to help finance weapons systems designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban. And, that the United States has paid tens of millions of dollars in inflated Pakistani reimbursement claims for fuel, ammunition and other costs. The $5 billion was provided through a program known as Coalition Support Funds, which reimbursed Pakistan for conducting military operations to fight terrorism. Under a separate program, Pakistan received $300 million per year in traditional American military financing that pays for equipment and training. American legislators have the right to understand where did all of the money go? But, at the same time these negotiations must be managed from both side of the spectrum. Pakistan does not see this as aid- rather there is a sense of entitlement: Pakistan is fighting America’s war therefore, we deserve a better deal. I am confident that both of the parties will be open to reason and yield to principle, not pressure.

Editorial and Columns • • •

Sambrial tragedy The Dawn Feb 06,2003

Editorial TUESDAY’s deadly blast at the Sambrial dry port near Sialkot, which killed 18 people and left over 50 badly burnt and injured, betrayed not so much the lack of safety standards as criminal deception and corruption on the part of the importers and the authorities concerned. The container that exploded causing death and injury contained firecrackers imported from China, which were shipped under a false consignment bill stating the shipment in question contained perfumes and toys. This is not a simple case of misdeclaration but, knowing the inflammable nature of the consignment, a criminal offence of the first degree. The president — even though he was in Moscow on a state visit when he was informed of the tragic occurrence — has done the right thing by ordering an immediate inquiry into the incident. The federal information minister and the National Assembly speaker have also promised a high-level inquiry, but the Punjab government has so far kept mum. The dead and the injured included a customs inspector, many daily-wage labourers at the dry port and some school children passing by. The explosion was so powerful that it shattered glass windows of buildings located within a radius of one kilometre from the site of the blast, and sent human body parts flying into a wider area outside the port precincts. The blast occurred as the deadly consignment was being unloaded to be trucked off to its local destination. This was despite the fact that the shipment did not contain what the papers said it did, which gives credence to the allegations of culpability on the part of the importer and the customs officials posted at the Sambrial dry port. Firecrackers are no benign material, and isolated incidents involving these in a clandestinely operating cottage industry spread across the country, have been cause of blasts from time to time. That an incident of the present magnitude has occurred at a place where firecrackers should be the last thing to be present calls for tough action against the parties involved. This blast could have occurred at the Karachi port or en route to Sambrial, and could have caused a greater disaster in terms of human and property losses. The authorities must institute a high-level inquiry into the incident and bring those responsible to book in a swift and exemplary manner.

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An Excerpt of Ardsher Cawosjee’s Column from The Dawn January 25,2009 Navi gilli, navo dao’ • • By Ardeshir Cowasjee AS my long-suffering Gujarati friends have now realised, it is a new ball game. President Barack Hussein Obama, from what we know of him and from what he has said to the world, will play a new global game with a brand new ball. Pakistan is on the map, in large letters. One immediate appointment was that of a special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to fill it Obama has placed top-ranking diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, investment banker Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke who was seven years old when Pakistan was born. He will be the man who will talk to — or rather instruct — the present troika of president, prime minister, and most importantly, army chief who are the men presumed to call the shots in Pakistan. As Holbrooke himself has admitted, the situation in Pakistan is “infinitely complex.” It is difficult to differentiate chaff from grain or to be sure that the complex situation will remain as it is for the coming five minutes, so fluid is the state of flux…. …Obama’s cabinet headed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is made up of the secretaries of defence, education, energy, interior, homeland security, health and human services, labour, transportation, treasury, veterans’ affairs, agriculture, housing and urban development, the attorney general and the surgeon general — that’s it…. …There is one plus point for Pakistan that has come in with Barack Obama. The Jan 19 edition of the Financial Times covering the Obama inauguration came out with an article entitled ‘Fifty heavy lifters’, which outlines the changes that will be brought about in Washington with the new occupant of the White House. The Obama people are expected to be younger, of greater ethnic and gender diversity and more metropolitan and technologically savvy than the outgoing crowd…

Letters to the Editor • The Letters to the Editor section of any newspaper deals with subjective public opinion expressed through addressing them to the editor-inchief of any newspaper.

Examples from across the Globe Of Letters to the Editor •

Pity the Nation—The Dawn My 14,2009 ACCORDING to reports on CNN.com regarding the growing humanitarian crisis in Pakistans northern areas, “The [Pakistan] military has been releasing regular reports saying it has killed Taliban militants in the region, but it has produced little evidence of the successes it claims. Journalists have not been permitted to observe the offensive and the army has not shown bodies of the militants it says it has killed.” Any thinking person has to wonder what exactly is going on. Is it really militants that are being killed or innocent civilians? …The present situation brings to mind the words of great poet Khalil Gibran, who wrote in ‘The Garden of the Prophet’ (1933):

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Can Health Insurers Be Cost-Cutters? PUBLISHED: MAY 12, 2009 To the Editor:

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John Hendrix

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Paul Krugman (“Harry, Louise and Barack,” column, May 11) is absolutely right: the Obama administration should always remember the selfserving profit motives of the health care industry. But this is not 1993, and most Americans are now clamoring for health reform. The administration is not without leverage at the bargaining table; in fact, it comes with a strong hand. If industry is endorsing quality, efficiency and best of all, prevention, let’s make it walk the talk. The administration can (and should) demand that a reformed approach to health include substantial investments in prevention. This may be America’s chance to create a health system that truly protects and promotes our health; old villains cannot stand in the way. Larry Cohen Executive Director Prevention Institute Oakland, Calif., May 11, 2009

“Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. “Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

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“Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking. “Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again.

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“Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle. “Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.” SAIMA S. HUSSAIN Karachi

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