OT: US terminates funding for Pakistani Sesame Street

Looks like the cookie monster got caught with his hand in the jar.

But really - the fact that this project was sponsored by the USA is
beyond belief. Another example of your tax dollars at work - in this
case trying to socially re-engineer a foreign culture. How's that
working out for ya?

"If the corruption allegations prove true, it would be an
embarrassment for the multibillion-dollar U.S. aid program
in Pakistan, which some analysts have criticized for lacking
focus and not achieving results."

That's the story of US foreign policy for the past 30 years in the
middle east. Lacking focus and not achieving results (other than
blow-back, unintended consequences and global financial crisis and
recession).

===================

US terminates funding for Pakistani Sesame Street

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-terminates-funding-pakistani-sesame-102620969.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The U.S. has terminated funding for a $20
million project to develop a Pakistani version of Sesame Street, the
U.S. Embassy said Tuesday. The decision came as a Pakistani newspaper
reported allegations of corruption by the local puppet theater working
on the initiative.

The organization in question is the Rafi Peer Theater Workshop, a group
in the city of Lahore that jointly developed the show with Sesame
Workshop, the creator of the American series.

The show, which includes Elmo and a host of new Pakistani characters,
first aired in December and was supposed to run for at least three
seasons. The U.S. hoped it would improve education in a country where
one-third of primary school-age children are not in class. It was also
meant to increase tolerance at a time when the influence of radical
views is growing.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Robert Raines said the U.S. Agency for
International Development terminated funding for the program, but
declined to provide further details.

The Pakistan Today newspaper reported Tuesday that the cause was
"severe" financial irregularities at Rafi Peer, citing unnamed sources
close to the project. Officials at Rafi Peer allegedly used the U.S.
money to pay off old debts and awarded lucrative contracts to relatives,
the sources claimed.

Faizaan Peerzada, the chief operating officer of Rafi Peer and one of
several family members who run the organization, denied the corruption
allegations. He said the U.S. ended its participation after providing
$10 million because of the lack of additional available funds.

"Rafi Peer is proud of its association with the project and of the
quality of children's educational television programming created within
Pakistan as a result," the group said in a statement sent to The
Associated Press.

If the corruption allegations prove true, it would be an embarrassment
for the multibillion-dollar U.S. aid program in Pakistan, which some
analysts have criticized for lacking focus and not achieving results.

Rafi Peer plans to seek alternative sources of funding to continue
producing the local version of Sesame Street, which is called Sim Sim
Hamara, or Our Sim Sim. The original goal was to reach 3 million
children, 1 million of whom are out of school.

The show is led by a vivacious 6-year-old girl named Rani who loves
cricket and traditional Pakistani music. Her sidekick, Munna, is a
5-year-old boy obsessed with numbers and banging away on Pakistani bongo
drums, or tabla. Other new characters include Baily, a kindly donkey who
loves to sing, and Haseen O Jameel, a vain crocodile who lives at the
bottom of a well.

The action revolves around a mock-up of a Pakistani town, complete with
houses, a school and Baaji's dhaba, a small shop and restaurant found in
many places in the country. The town also includes a large Banyan tree,
known as the wisdom tree in South Asia, in the shade of which the
children often play.

Each episode is based around a word and a number, like the U.S. version,
and tackles general themes like friendship, respect and valuing
diversity. This last theme is particularly important in Pakistan, where
Islamist extremists often target minority religious sects and others who
disagree with their views.

The American version of Sesame Street first aired in 1969, and the U.S.
government has worked with the company since then to produce shows in
about 20 foreign countries, including Muslim nations like Bangladesh and
Indonesia.
.