• English-language channel • India, Pakistan and Iran • Jackson English-language channel The Moscow Times — June 8, 2005 If the purpose of the new English-language, 24-hour satellite television channel being created by the Kremlin is to improve Russia’s image
• English-language channel
• India, Pakistan and Iran
• Jackson
English-language channel
The Moscow Times — June 8, 2005
If the purpose of the new English-language, 24-hour satellite television channel being created by the Kremlin is to improve Russia’s image and make Russia’s position better known abroad, then it has gotten off to an inauspicious start.
Confirmation that plans for the long-discussed television channel were going forward came late last week when RIA-Novosti, a state news agency, sent a release to media organizations abroad. RIA-Novosti must have understood that the news would quickly trickle back to Russia, and it did.…
This was the chance for the people behind the new channel to make a splash, to tell the world about their plans, to attract attention to their project.
Instead, the RIA-Novosti press office said it had no information about the channel and referred reporters to a news conference on Tuesday. Mikhail Lesin, a media adviser to President Vladimir Putin and a former press minister, who had long called for such a channel, also declined to comment Monday.…
The Kremlin could surprise us by creating a television channel capable of winning the confidence of international viewers by assembling a professional team and insisting on balanced reporting. Such a channel could go a long way toward improving understanding of Russia abroad.
But if the way in which the announcement of the new channel was made is any guide, Russia has a long way to go in learning how to get its message out.
India, Pakistan and Iran
The Hindu, Madras, India — June 8, 2005
The establishment of a joint working group on energy cooperation marks a new high in the development of bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. Having wisely set aside its political objections to the pipeline, India needs to sort out a whole raft of economic and financial issues with both Pakistan and Iran. The cost of gas at the well-head is a major issue for New Delhi and Islamabad, and one which the two countries will jointly have to tackle for maximizing their individual gains. Transit fees are another issue that will require careful negotiation. Eventually, trilateral discussions involving Iran will be needed to settle questions of security, insurance and infrastructure finance. An obvious factor to be taken into account is the United States’ publicly expressed opposition to the project. However, despite the existence of domestic laws such as the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, Washington will not find it easy to sabotage the proposed pipeline or block international sources of funding. Japan, for example, has successfully resisted the Bush administration’s pressure to walk away from the Azadegan oilfield project. As long as India and Pakistan remain firm on their right to conduct business with Iran, the U.S. will have to back off.…
Notwithstanding Pakistan’s insistence that the “standalone” Iran pipeline project will not be the harbinger of a broader set of economic linkages, the size of the venture is bound to generate positive externalities in every sphere. Creating mutual dependencies is the surest way of ensuring that India and Pakistan start living like normal neighbours.…
Jackson
The Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal — June 14, 2005
Look around. One in three females you see and one in seven males you encounter in any place, on any given day, has been molested before they reached age 18, according to the Department of Justice. It’s obvious child molestation hits far too hard, and far too often, well beyond the courtroom drama played out in Michael Jackson’s case in Santa Monica.
Jackson has been found not guilty, and the public should most certainly accept the verdict of the jurors – who heard weeks of testimony and then deliberated for days. Nonetheless, it’s easier to believe this ugly crime only happens to others – the wealthy, the poor, those not paying attention, those overly protective. But sexual abuse happens in homes, at friend’s houses, at schools, in church. Neighbors, family members and friends are the offenders, and they most likely will never see a day in court, or even have charges pressed against them. Their predatory actions depend – indeed thrive – on silence.
The average pedophile, according to the Amber Center for Missing and Exploited children, molests between 30 and 60 children before being arrested the first time and molests between 360-380 children in his/her lifetime. These numbers shock and disgust, but they do not lie. For this reason, it’s incumbent upon parents and guardians to take responsibility for their children, to be aggressive and protective of them. And outside adults must take action if something seems amiss in homes.
The American public watched the Jackson trial as a voyeuristic venue, presenting a behind-the-scenes workings of a bizarre lifestyle. But the true faces of childhood sexual abuse are not so far away. Just look around. And pledge to say something the next time something doesn’t seem right for a child.
- Provided by the Associated Press
