Tag: Editorial

Middle East is synonymous with crisis and its rich oil resources had attraced lots of attentions of the super powers. The power equations are changing and the people of the region are coming up voicing for regimes not supported by some power but powered by the people. People’s aspirations are high and the regimes in the region had been in power for decades. Of late we have a surge of people’s movement which led to downfall of dictators and people whom we thought will never see decline of their political legacy. We have also seen regime changes and we can only hope that the prominent powers still wielding influence in the region rise to the occasion and resolve the crisis once and for all . The UN has little say in any international conflict except recommending suggestions. What it says is important and states should come together under the UN to resolve the matter. What UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon stated on the issue is important as it reflects the opinion of the UN formed to work for peace. He had urged the Security Council to reduce the number of unarmed military observers in Syria and focus more on political efforts to end the Middle East country’s crisis.Ban recommended in a report submitted to the 15-nation Council that the UN Supervision Mission in Syria, or UNSMIS, with a ” reduced military observer component” be redeployed to Damascus from regional cities where the conflict has grown in recent weeks.According to a draft of the report distributed to reporters, the UN chief outlined several options for the force of about 300 unarmed military observers and more than 120 civilian staff in Syria . One of them is to temporarily reduce the number of observers and focus on political engagement until fighting subsides.
“If UNSMIS were re-oriented in this manner, the Mission would redeploy from the field to the capital to minimize risks, retaining core civilian and military observer capacities to focus on the spectrum of initiatives feeding into the political process, ” Ban wrote in the report.
He noted that from a central hub in Damascus , the civilian component would continue liaison and dialogue with opposition and government representatives in the provinces if security conditions allow.”A reduced military observer component would support these civilian-led activities with military liaison and, as it does now, conduct visits to incident sites,” Ban added.”A presence which shifts the primary focus to engagement recognizes that without a platform for and confidence in a political process, there is little more UNSMIS can do to urge the parties towards a cessation of violence,” the UN chief explained.The divided Security Council must make a decision on the future of the UN mission in Syria before July 20 when its mandate expires. The Council is scheduled to discuss the issue on Wednesday and is due to vote on July 18.UNSMIS was established by Security Council Resolution 2043 of April 21, 2012 to monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties and to monitor and support the full implementation of UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy for Syria Kofi Annan’s six-point plan.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/resolving-crisis/

Policies framed are not meant to be used when there is a legal fight. The government should ensure that the Acts passed are fully implemented. There are so many laws and when there is a problem legislators pass another bill without taking consideration the bills passed earlier. There are too many laws which negate each other and there are too many agencies working on the same issue. Health is an important issue and it was shocking to learn that it is mandatory to provide emergency medicines like antibiotic, glove, first aid free of cost in emergency and general wards. Nobody knows and when the RIMS Director recently said it should be practised he did not know that it is never practised. Similarly in other government hospitals we notice doctors recommending normal tests to be done in some specific private clinics. This is never checked , We need proper health policy and most important we need some policies to care about the patients. Those holding BPL cards have to be provided assistance throughout the country but in Manipur it is not practised and though central fund is coming the RIMS and other hospitals do not know how to implement it. It is bad. Medical insurance should be made mandatory or there should be assistance for those who can not afford treatment. Even the US considered one of the richest countries is taking lots of steps in health sector. The U.S. Supreme Court has approved President Barack Obama’s Healthcare
Reform Act.The Supreme Court said that the federal government is entitled, to raise taxes to force all Americans to buy private health insurance, or face fines, The Telegraph reports.”It is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income, but choose to go without health insurance. Such legislation is within Congress’s power to tax,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.According to reports, most of the law is due to come into force in 2014.The law, by compelling the young and healthy to buy health insurance, aims to reduce premiums for all and subsidize coverage for the poorest.It also aims to ban insurance firms from turning away new customers who have existing health problems.The endorsement of “Obamacare” boosted morale between Obama and his allies following months of speculation that the law was likely to be struck down.Speaking at the White House, Obama called the court’s decision a victory for the country.”Whatever the politics, today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country, whose lives will be more secure,” Obama said.”The highest court in the land has now spoken. We will continue to implement this law,” he added.Following the apex court order, Mitt Romney, Republican presidential nominee, immediately pledged to ‘repeal and replace’ Obama’s reforms and ‘defeat the liberal agenda’. The country needs health reforms and specially in Manipur where there are large numbers of poor people and poor medical facilities. The government should immediately stop doctors prescribing tests in private clinics. It is against humanity.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/health-policy/

There are only few countries where the government directly controls the media. In some countries the government tries to control the media using various ways. In India it was a different story during the Emergency days when officials came to read the next day’s newspapers. Unfortunately press law is not defined well and there is no mention of press freedom in the Constitution unlike most other countries. Forcing media persons to reveal sources, enquiring about the news to be published as done in an autocratic state are also beginning to appear its ugly head in our country specially in Manipur. As our neighbour Myanmar opens up we wonder if we will be closing the door in our region. Myanmar has vowed to make reform of state media after opening up to private media to a certain level since democratic reform began to take place last year.Private media is now considered to have the right to publish freely far and wide, an information official claimed.”Previously, the state media under the control of the ministry of information mainly inform the policies and stances, implementation and limited information of the government to the public. It barely published public based news and information, wishes, feedback and argument of people,” Minister of Information and Culture U Kyaw Hsan told the paper-reading session.Citing President U Thein Sein, U Kyaw Hsan urged giving serious attention to the print media, claimed as the 4th estate, as well as constructive criticism of the press, stressing the need to transform state media into the values of public service media to meet three objectives, namely to inform policies and stances and implementation of the government; to publish opinions, wish, aspiration and feedback of the people in response to the action of the government; and to make constructive criticism in this regard.He urged correct practice of the very essence of democracy, keeping people informed and educated.He insisted that every citizen shall be at liberty in expressing and publishing freely their conviction and opinions if not contrary to the laws, enacted for union security, prevalence of law and order, community peace and tranquillity or public order and morality.He urged journalists, who already have the freedom of expression, to observe journalistic code of ethics and existing laws and rules to the letter in practicing expression of freedom.Meanwhile, Myanmar’s private print media law has been drafted and submitted to the government for
discussions in the upcoming parliament session . The drafted law is said not inferior to international standard and those of ASEAN legislation and not to curtail freedom of literary world and journalists and press freedom but to shape dignified and genuine 4th estate. India aspiring to be a great democratic country should also ensure freedom of the press. Gagging the press does not mean end of the problem. Only an autocrat will not like his or her real image published in the media. It is only a mirror where we see our own self, if you are bad you are seen bad and if good you will be seen good. Change yourself rather than gagging the media.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/opening-up-media/

Human beings need care, food, shelter, health care and economic and political protections. When life is miserable people flee their sweet home in search for basic necessities. It is a global problem, Myanmar refugees are pouring in thousands. Many of them are in Manipur. Of late deadly riots have forced people to flee. It is good that United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations are planning aid programs for victims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state hit by recent deadly riot. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plans to extend aid to victims displaced to relief camps, while World Food Program (WFP) is to supply food to the victims, UNICEF to construct a new school building and supply refreshment and medical care, UNOCHA to also provide medical needs and water supply, Malteser International to assist in preventive measures against infectious disease and ACF to supply purified drinking water.In the post-violence period, a total of 37 refugee camps were opened in the unrest-struck state housing a total of 31,884 victims, according to official statistics. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 displaced people have been sent back to respective villages in Maungtaw last week as part of the repatriation move by the local government after claiming restoration of peace and stability to the area.The local authorities are providing the returnees security, the authorities said.Meanwhile, relief aid and donation are pouring in to the unrest- hit state. Donation in cash and kind from the community has amounted to over 168 million Kyats ( nearly 200,000 U.S. dollars) so far.The situation in the riot-hit Rakhine state is now generally calm after the declaration of a state of emergency in the state along with imposition of curfew in six townships in the state including Maungtaw and Sittway, the capital of the state, since June 10.The two measures are in force until further noticed.According to a latest government disclosure, a total of 62 people were killed in the riot from May 28 to June 21. A series of bloody incidents, which took place in May-June, triggered deadly unrest and violence in the Rakhine state starting with Maungtaw township on June 8.In the riot, 2,230 residential houses were destroyed in fire, according to earlier report. Political instability is the root cause and the military junta in Myanmar has done little to improve the conditions of the people. Dictatorship only leads to chaos. Political leadership should take the helms of affairs and solve the problem so that we can see a developed neighbour which will be beneficial to all.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/myanmar-refugees/

One should not be surprised to see three to five years old children sitting in benches without any physical movement. Vehicles blocking roads are parked near the schools waiting for the students to drop them home. Most schools do not have assembly complex, parking lot, playground. What are the rules and regulations for opening of schools ? Serious thought should be given to it. Many parents may think that active video games such as Wii FIt Balanceare are an easy solution to getting their kids off the couch, but a new study has found no physical benefits for children from these activities.
The Nintendo Wii game console, which arrived in the United States six years ago, was such an exciting prospect as it offered the chance for children to get exercise without even leaving the house.Tennis was one of the games in the Wii Sports software that came right in the box with the console. This was the progenitor of “exergames”, video games that led to hopes that fitness could turn into irresistible fun. But exergames turn out to be much digital ado about nothing, at least as far as measurable health benefits for children. The study undertaken by the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston was published early this year in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.Previous studies have shown that adults and children, who play active video games, when encouraged in an ideal laboratory setting, engage in moderate, even vigorous physical activity briefly. The Baylor team wanted to determine what happened when the games were used not in a laboratory, but in actual homes.The participants in this study were children 9 to 12 years old who had a body mass index above the median and whose households did not already have a video game console. Each was given a Wii. Half were randomly assigned to a group that could choose two among the five most physically demanding games that could be found: Active Life: Extreme Challenge; EA Sports Active; Dance Dance Revolution; Wii Fit Plus; and Wii Sports. The other half could choose among the most popular games that are played passively, like Disney Sing It: Pop Hits and Madden NFL 10.They found “no evidence that children receiving the active video games were more active in general, or at any time, than children receiving the inactive video games.”How is it possible that children who play active video games do not emerge well ahead in physical activity?“When you prescribe increased physical activity, overall activity remains the same because the subjects compensate by reducing other physical activities during the day,” said Anthony Barnett, an exercise physiologist who is a consultant at the University of Hong Kong, and one of the authors of the Pediatrics article.Changing sedentary behavior is extremely difficult, says Dr. Charles T. Cappetta, an executive committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.“It may seem that active video games are an easy solution to getting kids off the couch. But as this study and others show, they do no such thing,” he said.He stated that “live sports” – the kind that are outside of the home, without controllers and television monitors – “remain the gold standard to get cardiovascular benefit.” Findings of renonwed research organisations should be understood well and we should try to implement it in the interest of the students. It is a shocking sight to see children used as a commercial commoditiy and make destroy their physical and mental faculties. The government should control the establishments of institutes without proper infrastructure or the future of the children is bleak.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/kids-need-more-physical-activities/

There is an information vacuum in the state. Clarifications issued by officials do not even try to answer the queries people pose. Some ready made information is given to all which does not do any good or serve any purpose. We need a strong advocacy programme by the various departments to make people aware of their activities and to iron out differences. Gap between the departments and the people are increasing and the government may become a stranger in its own land. We need a strong information policy which can only be done by professionals. The engineering departments are headed by engineers, lawyers become judges but unfortunately in our state the DIPR is not headed by professionals. The task of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations is not to argue and find faults of the people but to strengthen the relations between the people and the government. Information officials earlier were personnaly to all media houses, general masses but now it is not functioning as it used to earlier. We have to understand that information and too correct information should be given to the masses. Let us take an example which people can understand. Strong public campaigns need to be organized by health advocates to educate people about the dangers of sugary beverages and the misleading corporate social responsibility campaigns that distract attention from the risks that their products pose.In a Policy Forum article, the authors (media and public health experts from the Berkeley and Boston, USA) examined prominent campaigns from industry leaders PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, that, according to the authors, have embraced corporate social responsibility (CSR) with elaborate, expensive, and multinational campaigns.The authors have said that while soda companies may not face the level of social stigmatization or regulatory pressure that now confronts Big Tobacco, concern over soda and the obesity epidemic is growing.In response to health concerns about their products, the authors argued that soda companies have launched comprehensive CSR initiatives sooner than did tobacco companies but that these campaigns echo the tobacco industry’s use of CSR as a means to focus responsibility on consumers rather than the corporation, bolster the companies’ and products’ popularity, and to prevent regulation.However, unlike tobacco CSR campaigns, soda company CSR campaigns explicitly target young people and aim to increase sales.The authors said it was clear that the soda CSR campaigns strengthen the idea that obesity is caused by “bad” behavior of customers, thereby diverting attention from soda’s contribution to increasing obesity rates.“For example, CSR campaigns that include the construction and upgrading of parks for youth who are at risk for diet-related illnesses keep the focus on physical activity, rather than on unhealthful foods and
drinks. Such tactics redirect the responsibility for health outcomes from corporations onto its consumers, and externalize the negative effects of increased obesity to the public,” the authors said.“Emerging science on the addictiveness of sugar, especially when combined with the known addictive properties of caffeine found in many sugary beverages, should further heighten awareness of the product’s public health threat similar to the understanding about the addictiveness of tobacco products.We should monitor public mood and help DIPR officials to be more productive and perform well.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/misinformation/

There is an information vacuum in the state. Clarifications issued by officials do not even try to answer the queries people pose. Some ready made information is given to all which does not do any good or serve any purpose. We need a strong advocacy programme by the various departments to make people aware of their activities and to iron out differences. Gap between the departments and the people are increasing and the government may become a stranger in its own land. We need a strong information policy which can only be done by professionals. The engineering departments are headed by engineers, lawyers become judges but unfortunately in our state the DIPR is not headed by professionals. The task of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations is not to argue and find faults of the people but to strengthen the relations between the people and the government. Information officials earlier were personnaly to all media houses, general masses but now it is not functioning as it used to earlier. We have to understand that information and too correct information should be given to the masses. Let us take an example which people can understand. Strong public campaigns need to be organized by health advocates to educate people about the dangers of sugary beverages and the misleading corporate social responsibility campaigns that distract attention from the risks that their products pose.In a Policy Forum article, the authors (media and public health experts from the Berkeley and Boston, USA) examined prominent campaigns from industry leaders PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, that, according to the authors, have embraced corporate social responsibility (CSR) with elaborate, expensive, and multinational campaigns.The authors have said that while soda companies may not face the level of social stigmatization or regulatory pressure that now confronts Big Tobacco, concern over soda and the obesity epidemic is growing.In response to health concerns about their products, the authors argued that soda companies have launched comprehensive CSR initiatives sooner than did tobacco companies but that these campaigns echo the tobacco industry’s use of CSR as a means to focus responsibility on consumers rather than the corporation, bolster the companies’ and products’ popularity, and to prevent regulation.However, unlike tobacco CSR campaigns, soda company CSR campaigns explicitly target young people and aim to increase sales.The authors said it was clear that the soda CSR campaigns strengthen the idea that obesity is caused by “bad” behavior of customers, thereby diverting attention from soda’s contribution to increasing obesity rates.“For example, CSR campaigns that include the construction and upgrading of parks for youth who are at risk for diet-related illnesses keep the focus on physical activity, rather than on unhealthful foods and
drinks. Such tactics redirect the responsibility for health outcomes from corporations onto its consumers, and externalize the negative effects of increased obesity to the public,” the authors said.“Emerging science on the addictiveness of sugar, especially when combined with the known addictive properties of caffeine found in many sugary beverages, should further heighten awareness of the product’s public health threat similar to the understanding about the addictiveness of tobacco products.We should monitor public mood and help DIPR officials to be more productive and perform well.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/misinformation/