POWER OF A BLOGGERI am surprised to learn that a blogger tilted the French vote rejecting the European constitution. (via Buzzmachine)That does not help the cause of forming a stronger and united Europe, which is required to have a balance in the world powe...
May 31, 2005
CRICKET: ON BANGLADESH'S TEST STATUSFollowing the lacklustre performance of Bangladesh at Lords against England, the media went crazy trying to strip Bangladesh's test Status. Ex-players like Richie Benaud & reigning stars of cricket like Shane Warne are also vocal for the axe to fall on Bangladesh.However Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland talks some sense:"Ten countries isn't a lot of countries to be registered Test playing countries and in order for the game to continue to grow, which is what we want to happen, it's important...
May 30, 2005
May 29, 2005
FAMOUS BANGLADESHI SHOWCASE: BIBI RUSSELLLast night while surfing TV channels, I got glued to a fashion show in a Pakistani channel GEO TV, where models were on a catwalk wearing gorgeous and colorful outfits of the Indian sub-continent. The most striking thing of the show was that there were Bengali folk songs playing in the background which blended extremely well with the festivity. I had little doubts but soon the title came up on the screen-...
May 28, 2005
GUILTY MULESchapelle Corby, an Australian girl set out with her family on a 10 day holiday in Bali to enjoy the beach and the surf. She accidentally stumbled into a criminal network when the drugs were slipped into her bag once it cleared security checks, to be collected by a worker later. The Indonesian customs officials found 4.1 kg of Marijuana worth $80,000 inside her boogie board and she was put behind bars. After a controversial trial, Corby...
THE OTHER HALFAccording to this report, seventeen percent of the population of Bangladesh is "moderate poor", 31 per cent ultra poor and five per cent is destitute. That makes more than half of the total population below the poverty line. But how are our political leaders & parties and the government addressing this issue?* A political party called 2 days general strike for murder of one of its activist which lead to postponement of HSC examination and disrupting livelihood of the daily-laborers. An auto-rickshaw driver was brutally torched...
May 26, 2005
BANGLADESHI ROCK SCENEManish of Sepia Mutiny writes quoting Bangladeshi-American rocker Arafat Kazi that Dhaka rock scene is incestuous than India and Pakistan. The bands have a common cluster and are inspired by up-to-date music around the world. Elephant Road is a street which has three stores (namely Rainbow, Gitali, Ganer Bhuban) which has all kinds of LPs and later on CDs which they copy onto cassette for you for a fee (screw copyright).Read this post in the "Tales from the subcontinent" for more.Also read Maqsood's (blogger-cum-rocker) article...
FIRST EVER TRAFFIC RADIO CHANNEL IN BANGLADESHThe Bangladesh capital Dhaka today gets its first ever traffic radio channel in FM. Bangladesh Betar, BRTA, National Road Security Council, Traffic Department of Bangladesh Police and Dhaka City Corporation will coordinate the channel.That means I have to get my car radio fixed. I ignored it for long as I use the player only. Now there is a potential use for the radio t...
AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE* Joe brings you the 6th Bangladesh film festival from London. * Iftekhar writes about VOIP and its future in Bangladesh.* 'A baby makes love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten & the future worth living for' ~ Anonymous - quote brought to you by Simika and I wholeheartedly agree.* Nitin points out how political religion uses terror to its advantage and Wamy shares the lessons he has learnt from the recent bomb blasts in the Indian Cinemas.* Tim Blair looks closely...
THE 100 MILLION MISSING WOMEN IN ASIA DOCTRINEOwen has pointed me to an article which discusses the above misleading doctrine.It all started when the Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen claimed in an essay that there were some 100 million "missing women" in Asia. Amartya Sen meant that the mistreatment of girl Childs and selective abortions in populous countries like China, India, Pakistan & Bangladesh lead to this unequal ratio of women and men comparing to the West. Sen might be true in some extent but I do not agree to the figures which...
May 23, 2005
HEALTH UPDATE III usually do not give much importance to my health. But this time I really was sick. The food poisoning thing got me bed-ridden for a couple of days. Because of diarrhea & vomiting, I dehydrated too much in a night and was suffering from electrolyte imbalance. Lucky for me that I started the ORSaline intakes much earlier and could continue to have fluids in during the treatment. Otherwise the physician said there was no alternative to transfer me to a hospital. I am glad ICDDR'B invented this handy treatment for such fluid losses.Lucky...
May 19, 2005
HEALTH UPDATEWe are having a hell of a busy time as our eight month old daughter has become sick with food poisoning. Her mother suspects probably it is from a new cereal she introduced to her. Its very sad to watch a kid vomiting the meager intakes and all activities reduced due to fever and dehydration. She is under ORS medication and primary investigation reports show no sign of bacteria infection.On the other hand I have become sick from yesterday night too. The signs are the same - food poisoning. Probably the extreme heat and the excess labor...
GALLOWAY GALLS THE US SENATE COMMITTEE WHICH HAD ACCUSED HIMGeorge Galloway, the British MP, charged with profiteering from the Oil-for-food program in Iraq during Saddam regime has blasted the US senate committee, which had accused him earlier. In a rhetoric speech apart from boldly claiming that he is innocent, he accused the legitimacy of the accuser of reaching a verdict without proper evidence and without giving a chance for self-defense. From the Guardian:He told Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who chaired the senate investigations...
May 16, 2005
SMS IN BANGLA AND THE MOBILE WARআমি বাঙলায় কথা বলি, আমি বাঙলার কথা বলি ।For the first time in Bangladesh Bangla SMS is offered by the cell phone provider Citycell. Kudos to the four students of Computer Science & Engineering Department of BUET and part time programmers who developed the conversion software. The system they implemented converts Bangla Messages in English alphabet into Bangla Messages in Bangla alphabet and then transforms it into a compatible picture message. I hope the other mobile phone operators also join the race soon with...
SHORT TAKES* After numerous protests and deaths around the world Newsweek says that their report of Koran desecration at Guantanamo Bay was wrong. Roger L. Simon says that Newsweek quoted the news from anonymous source. Some say that the Newsweek incident should not pass unpunished. Chapati Mystery posts his views regarding this in the context of the Indian sub-continent.* According to this poll, 76% given verdict that the Awami Leagues boycott of the Bangladesh Parliament is not a right policy. Does AL read the statistics?* Nabil al-Wazer, a prominent...
BANGLADESH FERRY DISASTERYet another passenger ferry disaster in Bangladesh leaving more than 100 persons feared dead. If you look at the chronology of the disasters from 1986, you will see that the disasters are happening every year. The problem lies in licensing the makeshift ferries, which have poor structural designs and do not meet the safety standard. Although life-jackets are prescribed, they cannot be found in these ferries. Poor warning systems and overcrowding of ferries are also to blame.Bangladesh has one of the largest water network...
HAPPY SLAPPING - SADIST OR NOTPeople believe that comedies and spoofs are part of our lives. That is why television shows like Candid Camera & its localized derivatives like MTV Bakra are popular all around the world. The "Candid Camera" pranks usually don't hurt the victims physically.The current most alarming craze in UK is "happy slapping" and here is how the prank goes: teenagers look out for unsuspecting targets – mostly people minding their own business on buses or streets – and slap them in the face as hard as they can whilst a friend...
May 14, 2005
TODAY'S JOTTINGS* "Cookie Monster" turned into "Biskit Pagla": "Sesame Street", the long-running US public television children's series has successfully localized the educational series into "Sisimpur" for Bangladesh. Read details.* Jail blogging in Bangladesh: This blog promises to publish personal accounts of bribery, injustice and torture in the Dhaka Central Jail.* When will we be truly secular: an Indian perspective.* UN declares United States "Failed State!": from unconfirmed sources.* Health hazard looms in Bangladesh streets: The Daily...
May 13, 2005
BOOK SALE IN DHAKAThe publishing industry of Bangladesh produces about 1500 titles every year and it seems not enough for a population of 140 million. But the circulation is meager by any standard and the readership is not building up as expected when the literacy rate hovers around 50%-60% of the population. To improve this, initiatives like encouraging "reading societies" and building libraries in every educational institutions are mandatory. Moreover the cost of books should be at par with peoples' purchasing power, improving quality of the...
May 12, 2005
FACE OF BANGLADESHGurudasi Mondol gave herself up to madness in 1971, during the Liberation War of Bangladesh, as she watched her entire family being killed by the Razakars, the collaborators of the occupying forces. Imprisoned and raped by the commander of the Razakars, she was freed months later by a unit of the Bangladesh Liberation army. Thirty years later, she continues to roam the streets of Kopilmoni, in small-town Bangladesh, in search of...
May 11, 2005
SHORT TAKES* Bangladesh Cricket team starts well in their first warm up match in England. Khaled Masud is eyeing for a county contract. * Read how tough it is to be a maid in Mumbai. Not much difference from the maids in Dhaka only in the fact that the maids are usually brought from remote villages and the intelligent one's switch to a more lucrative job in a garments factory within a short period of time.* Create your very own cyberfireworks show!* Many in the GCC countries are flocking to Dubai for none other than a Destiny's Child concert.*...
DEMOCRACY PREVAILS IN BANGLADESHWith the overwhelming win of the opposition party(Awami League) candidate Mr. Mohiuddin in the Chittagong city corporation mayor election, it has become clear that the voters in Bangladesh still have power to choose. There was a strong ruling party campaign lead by many government ministers and high profile political leaders sadly at government expense. But the defeat of their designated candidate Mr. Nasiruddin, the current minister for aviation suggests that their confidence of popularity was disillusioned. But...
PARTY BLUESI had a great time last Monday night as we invited some of the friends and their spouses for a get-together. Although apparently it meant to be a celebration of my birthday and the recent promotion but my intention was to have a gathering of my friends, who are alienated by cruel realties of the busy life. I have not seen these faces for months whereas 10 years ago we used to interact almost everyday. There was so much to gossip and be updated and socializing with the spouses.S. took the pain by taking a leave an preparing some lovely...
May 08, 2005
SCRAPINGS* A tribute to mother on the mother's day.* I am amazed that a 13 year old girl can write this well!* More abuse of foreign workers in the middle east.* Gwynnth's Streets of Bangladesh Photo Album is available now. The tagline "The sights, the sounds, the smells of Bangladesh... The way Gwen sees it..." promises much and the close to 200 pictures will not disappoint you.* A firsthand account of an Arab woman about the changing treatment of women and elderly in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where the holy Kaaba is. Some think Wahabbis are...
May 07, 2005
BEGGING TAKES AWAY ONE'S MORALSnapshot 1: An women in ragged cloths with one dirty infant in her arms approaches my car which stopped at a red light in Shahbag. I become so moved by the thing that the baby is of about the age of my daughter. Looking tired from exposure to the hot sun the baby lays its head on the women's shoulder, who gently starts knocking in my window.I sprung from the sitting position just to pull my wallet to give her something. S. stopped me warning that the light will turn green at any moment. And then she tells me a shocking...
May 05, 2005
JOTTINGS OF THE DAY* "Keetha Oilow" and "Keetha Failam" may sound funny but they are two bright stars of the Sylheti film industry. For non-Bangladeshi readers, the Sylhetis are originated from Sylhet, a district of Bangladesh and they represent the most Bangladeshi migrants to UK starting from early twentieth century.* The job crisis in curry houses of Britain due to new government immigration rules will disrupt serving of around 2.5 million curries a week to the Brits. The industry currently employs 70,000 people mostly from South Asia.* Asians...
I'M BACKDid you miss me? I was on a forced hiatus from blogging to meet a couple of work related deadlines. I usually don't skip deadlines and do whatever it takes to finish the job (my boss said this while awarding me a promotion!). But long working hours makes my life miserable as the family gets ignored and that is why I hate deadlines. I have a couple of more personal deadlines to meet. Write one article for a magazine which is making a debut shortly and there is one guest post offer by Nitin. I believe that the main difference between creative...
May 01, 2005
GOOD NEWS FROM BANGLADESH* Salahuddin Shoaib Chowdhury is finally released on a bail. His affiliation with Inquilab TV (deemed as propaganda machine of right-wing Islami parties) is still an enigma to many (read my previous post).* The good news is that the number of internet users of Bangladesh has crossed 1 million. But it is still less than 1% of the population.* Bangladesh's export earnings rose to 12.5% in the first nine months of the current fiscal year July'04 - June'05.* Thanks to the introduction of rigorous law (death penalty) against...
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