TODAY'S LINKS* Tourist of death.* Wikia is the for-profit wiki company founded by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia. * Are we afraid of ordinary Muslims? * Activists applaud advancement Of anti-sweatshop bill.* A new challenge for Bangladesh.* For Bengalis, a place in USA for culture to shi...
March 31, 2006
MUCH ADO ABOUT INTERNET CENSORSHIPThe internet has evolved as a gateway to almost any information in the world. This fears some who want to dictate or suppress free flow of information. Now a day you are hearing about internet censorships, site bans, blacklists etc. But can you really censor internet?Pakistani blogger KO dicusses the issue in the light of the recent ban of many websites by Pakistani government. "Pakistan has 3 major internet links to the world, which consist of two submarine fiber optic links and a few satellite links. All of these...
March 30, 2006
PLUTOCRACYTasneem Khalil lists the businessmen-turned-politicians who are already in the Bangladesh national Parliament or will contest in the next election. The current issue of the probe magazine has the detailed report.No wonder why all the economic policies made in the parliament are in favor of the blue-blooded leaders' own establishments. E.g., we have to import low quality Indian cars (to profit some agencies owned by MPs) as reconditioned cars more than 2 years old are banned by the Government. Will Bangladesh continue to be controlled...
'NON' TO ENGLISHPresident Jacques Chirac of France stormed out of an EU summit meeting because one of his fellow countrymen dared to speak English - quelle horreur! IHT reports:When Ernest-Antoine Seillière, the French head of the European business lobby Unice began addressing the EU's 25 leaders in English, Chirac interrupted him and asked why he was not using his mother tongue. "I'm going to speak in English because that is the language of business," Seillière replied. With that, Chirac, 73, stood up and left the room, flanked by his finance...
QUOTE OF THE DAY"People see themselves—and have reason to see themselves—in many different ways. For example, a Bangladeshi Muslim is not only a Muslim but also a Bengali and a Bangladeshi, typically quite proud of the Bengali language, literature, and music, not to mention the other identities he or she may have connected with class, gender, occupation, politics, aesthetic taste, and so on. Bangladesh's separation from Pakistan was not based on religion at all, since a Muslim identity was shared by the bulk of the population in the two wings...
TODAY'S LINKS* Women around the world go missing by millions.* The story of Abdul Rahman: the infidel. (the update)* The photographic channel: photographic storytelling for electronic media.* Conspiracy theory: Akhand Bharat – dangers of an expansionist India.* The Life and Triumph of a Colossus: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman re-visited.* Info about the Immigration protests in the U...
March 29, 2006
WHAT IS 'AIR BANGLADESH'?"The European Union has recently issued a blacklist banning 92 airlines from operating in the region, saying they fail to meet international standards."(BBC)I was surprised to see one Bangladeshi Airlines on that list, i.e Air Bangladesh. I have never heard or read about it before. Here are some pictures (a,b) of the sole aircraft of the carrier. The aged Boeing 747 has a lousy paint job, with no airline info in its body and it is currently 'stored' somewhere.I was just wondering who is the owner of this airline and who...
March 28, 2006
BANGLADESH BLOG BUZZ:(Crossposted in the Global Voices Online)The latest happenings in Bangladeshi blogs around the world:1) Demolition: Dipu, the "Spoony Writer" reacts on the news that Modhumita Cinema Hall, one of the oldest and popular movie theatre in Dhaka will be demolished.2) Ranking: Sakib finds out that Bangladesh is the 31st richest country in the world considering the total GDP of the country's population.3) Probe: Journalist Tasneem Khalil posts an investigative report on Hizb_ut-Tahrir — one of the most radical Islamist organizations...
QUOTES OF THE DAYFrom the holy Quran:1)"If it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you then compel mankind against their will to believe?" (10:99);2)"If they turn away from thee (O Muhammad) they should know that we have not sent you to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message." (42:48);3)"Let there be no compulsion in religion." (2:256)"- Quoted from a letter of Mezba Mahtab, a Bangladeshi blogger in Toronto, published in the...
RECOGNITIONThis is awesome:An anonymous Iraqi woman has become the first blog author to be in the running for a big literary prize for a book published between hard covers. Baghdad Burning, by a 26-year-old author who has won an international readership under the pen name Riverbend, is longlisted for the £30,000 Samuel Johnson award.(The Guradian) Last October she won 3rd prize of the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage 2005 for the same book.Congratulations to Riverbend (pseudony...
March 27, 2006
POTTY BLUESHad I not read the Germany survival guide, I would not have known about the distinctive German toilets."Just go into any German toilet and you'll find a fixture unlike any other in the world. It has a cute little porcelain platform for the shit to fall on so you can inspect it before it whirls off into the watery abyss, and there is, in fact, no water in the toilet until you flush it. As a result German toilets have the strongest shit smell of any toilets anywhere."I don't know if this story is for real but our home in Berlin is furnished...
March 26, 2006
March 25, 2006
TODAY'S LINKS* Internet access spreads while computing power gets concentrated in wealthy countries.* Thai Muslim killed after smashing Hindu statue.* A powerful new militia dubbed "the Pakistani Taliban" has effectively seized control of swaths of the country's northern tribal areas of Pakistan in recent months.* The Germany survival bible.* Adhunika Blog - an interesting platform to share knowledge among women from every walk of life.* Just Nuke It! - heights of modern e-commerce. * A short history of Sri Lankan weblo...
WHITEWASHYes, that's the word all news sources are coining to describe Bangladesh cricket team's 4-0 series win over Kenya. Bangladesh has played convincingly in all the matches to show their class. They have won due to team efforts, not because of a few stars.So we can say that it is going forward in the right direction. Let us hope that it plays competitive cricket in the next home series with Austral...
March 21, 2006
HERE COMES THE SPRING
The weather is slowly getting better here in Berlin. One fine morning I woke up and heard a bird chirping. I took Rianna at the window to inspect the situation. In our backyards there are many trees and a nice childrens park covered in snow. The ice on the branches have melted and we saw a couple of doves in a branch. The sun came out that day. Yes Spring is coming. I sang a rhyme to her:
"Cuckoo, cuckoo
welcome thy sung.
Fresh breeze is blowing,
winter is going,
Spring time, Spring time
soon will be here"
She could only speak the words cuckoo,...
March 16, 2006
US PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS IN BANGLADESH EVACUATED?According to this news the American Peace Corps has suspended its operations in Bangladesh and evacuated its 100 odd volunteers. PC volunteer Kathryn reports that a couple of months ago the embassy of the United States informed the foreign ministry of Bangladesh of a plot by the banned Islamist organization Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh to kill the volunteers. According to the US embasssy in Bangladesh:"The peace corps in Washington, D.C. has decided to suspend indefinitely its programme in Bangladesh...
March 15, 2006
MAGDA GOEBBELS OF MODERN ERAI was reading the horrified accounts of the actions of the Rapid Action Battelion (RAB) to catch the bomb expert of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) Shakil alias Mollah Omar. They were living in a house called Jannatul Shafi or 'recommended for paradise' in Comilla. But the paradise turned into hell after the inmates refused to surrender and started hurling bombs to the RAB squad, who surrounded the house. The RAB started shooting in defense and after many shooting and bomb blasts when they entered they found...
March 13, 2006
GREETINGS FROM BERLINThe saying goes that when you have nothing to talk with a stranger, you talk about weather. Well I am writing about weather first because it is dictating my outdoor activities in Berlin. We've got TV now so I am updated about many things. Heavy snow blocked traffic in Hannover, more than 300 accidents in a day. Zugspitze, Germany's highest point recorded the lowest temparature in 100 years and its all happening in just before the official start of the spring. We have seen more snow in the last couple of days than the start...
March 09, 2006
RELOCATION UPDATEI guess this is the longest duration I have not updated my blog in last 3 years. I am typing from an Internet cafe and so far I had to cope with a lot of adjustments (like this is a slightly different keyboard and I had to ask how to type @). Reached Berlin a week ago. The journey was without trouble except for an episode in the Delhi airport. After a night's stopover at a hotel we were surprised to wait in line for 2:30 hours to check in for the flight to Frankfurt. Our luggage were booked directly to Berlin from Dhaka. But probably...
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