* Fighting for the soul of Bangladesh —Dr Ayesha Siddiqa* Bangladesh and its giant neighbors* The success story of an NGO in Bangladesh * Mobile phone lifeline for world's poor.* The scary twitter curve* YouTube blocked in Pakistan because of Dutch video about Islam* How a System Error in Pakistan shut YouTube* Here's one reason students Barack the vote: resp...
February 28, 2008
Techguide
* Life without desktop software : Take your pc in a USB drive.* Eye-Fi is a inovative memory card for cameras with built-in wifi connectivity.* 10 Tech Revolutionaries: Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy* Digging deeper: Your guide to Online Privacy* How to unblock websites.* 100 Things to do with Google Maps Mashups.* 'Blogged' creates human edited curated Blog Directory* Learning From YouTube: An Interview with Alex Juhasz (Part One, T...
Video of the day
20 minutes or so on why Barack Obama needs to be elected as the president of USA - Lawrence LessigA must see for those who are yet to vote in the US presidential elect...
February 26, 2008
Picture of the day
The marbel floor and glass roof sparkling interior of the Friedrichstadt-Passagen in Berlin Friedrichstrasse. This is part of Galerie Lafayette Quartier 2...
February 25, 2008
Today's Links
* With gift of six horses, India woos Bangladesh army chief* Bangladesh's model* Access to Global Information —A case of Digital Divide in Bangladesh* What a photo! Thanks Photoshop…* 25 things I've learned about journalism* Who speaks for Isl...
February 22, 2008
South Africa vs. Bangladesh test series and the Under 19 world cup cricket
The first test of Bangladesh vs South Africa has become very interesting on the first day when 14 wickets fell. Bangladesh reeled to a lowly 192 in only 54.4 overs which seemed more like a one day score. However their reply was also strong as they sent 4 South African batsmen home. The final score at the end of the first day was 76/4 (24 overs). From the Cricinfo commentary team:"Nobody would have least expected South Africa to be facing the heat at the end of the day, losing their top four, including Kallis. Shahadat got his inswingers spot on...
Bangladesh - Annual report 2008
Reporters Without Borders or RSF (French: Reporters sans frontières) is a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. Their World Press Freedom Index is widely accepted.RSF has published its annual report on Bangladesh for 2008 and it isn't pretty:"A drop in the number of physical assaults and death threats was eclipsed by dozens of cases of arrests, maltreatment and censorship committed by the army against independent journalists. The interim government and the military put an end to political disorder...
February 21, 2008
Are languages free? Thoughts on the International Mother Language day
Today is the International Mother Language Day, an annual event in UNESCO member states to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This is mostly the international recognition of the Language Movement Day called ‘Ekushey February', which is commemorated in Bangladesh since 1952. The date of 21st February was chosen in homage to a number of ‘language martyrs' from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) who were shot on 21st February...
February 19, 2008
Cricket: A team looses in four balls only
This has to be a record in any form of cricket. Bermuda's women cricket team lost to the South African women team in a world cup qualifier match the result of which will be hard to be matched in centuries to come. Bermuda could make only 13 runs in 18 overs with three of its batswomen scored 1 each (10 extras). Their captain Linda Mienzer held on to one end making 1 run off 48 balls. Form Line and length blog:In reply, the Bermuda opening bowler, Terry-Lynn Paynter, sent down nine wides and a no-ball before eventually getting one ball to land...
Today's Links
* Democracy on Bishwa Road* Bangladesh bank offers loans to US poor* Who clicks on online ads? The very few "Heavy clickers"* Obama and the "We" Generation* Say Goodbye to Tyranny Forever, Lovely Pakistanis* Pakistan's Opposition Parties Triumph in Blow to Musharr...
February 16, 2008
Plus two formula and other links
Himal South Asian is a great regional magazine in South Asia based and its published from Nepal. I don't know about its readership in the region but its available online. Its February issue has two articles about Bangladesh.Bangladesh: The plus two formula"One year on, as Bangladesh teeters on the precipice of economic and political breakdown, there are rumours of a martial law in the offing. These suggestions seem to gain strength even as the government and the army chief, Moeen U Ahmed, publicly deny them. Meanwhile, the only visible electoral...
February 15, 2008
Bangladesh press being silenced about specific news
I am shocked to see that all the newspaper or TV/Radio in Bangladesh was silent about the latest report by the Human Rights Watch on incidents of torture in Bangladesh and the ordeals against Tasneem Khalil. This was widely reported in many major international media.A journalist working in the Daily Star commented:"The press is still gagged tightly. We still cannot write about anything negative regarding the military in our articles. This has been going on for more than a year. Tasneem Khalil and Arifur Rahman incident have happened for a reason....
February 14, 2008
Torture and intimidation: where is accountability?
Bangladesh can ill afford to have these kind of publicity but yet again accusations of torture and intimidation flood the international media.The reason behind is a latest report by Human Rights Watch, the international Human rights watchdog that conducts research and advocacy on human rights published today an exclusive report on tortures in Bangladesh. This report presents the first hand accounts of torture on Tasneem Khalil (a Bangladeshi journalist...
Today's Links
* A Dhaka diary.* Cloud over Bangladesh caretaker Govt.* Taslima Nasreen and the Spirit of Islam.* Searching for the truth online.* Celebrate your languag...
Heartless regime
Red roses are banned in Saudi Arabia ahead of Valentine's day. How could anyone be so heartless? Can they stop love?Oh and Happy Valentines day to a...
February 13, 2008
February 12, 2008
Intolerance leads to idolatry
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy lingers on. From Yahoo News:"Danish authorities on Tuesday arrested three people suspected of plotting a cartoonist's assassination for his depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wearing a bomb-shaped turban that enraged Muslims two years ago.Three of Denmark's largest newspapers said they would reprint the cartoon on Wednesday to show they would not be intimidated by fanatics. It was one of 12 Muhammad cartoons published in 2005 and then again in 2006 that led to protests in Muslim countries."Islamic...
Its not about democracy, its about power
Polly Toynbee's latest piece in The Guardian "Try telling Bangladeshis that elections are bad for the poor" looks at the chasms of democracy:"Democracy struggles to take root in countries so poor that the rice needed to keep a family alive is willingly traded for a vote: patronage and clans promising corrupt favours will trump political ideals every time. Political scientists observe that democratic governments rarely survive in countries with per capita incomes of less than $1,500 a year: Kenyans and Pakistanis live on under $1,000. The same research...
YouTube video of the day
The Free Rice project is not a myth and its fun.Via the Road to The Horizon:"Eight billions grains of rice have been collected by all players. That starts to translate into REAL stuff. FreeRice donated over US$200,000 to the UN World Food Programme, resulting in actual rice going to refugees in Myanmar and Banglades...
February 11, 2008
Facebooked for life (or not)
The perils of the fastest growing social networking site are emerging. Anna quotes a Facebook customer in Sepia Mutiny:“It’s like the Hotel California,” said Nipon Das, 34, a director at a biotechnology consulting firm in Manhattan, who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account this fall. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."While the Web site offers users the option to deactivate their accounts, Facebook servers keep copies of the information in those accounts indefinitely.Another peril is that numerous research agencies...
Bureaucracy vs. Customer oriented service
The problem with a government owned corporation is that it is bureaucratic and not customer oriented. A big example is Biman Bangladesh Airlines and they are paying heavily for it. I hope they can realize the problem after a...
King Khan calls Rafique
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan bought the Kolkata cricket team for 75 million Indian rupees last month. He offered Bangladesh's spin star Md. Rafique to play for them in the Indian Premier League. Rafique did not decline and said he will think about it after the upcoming series with South Africa, when he will declare his retirement. (Source: Independent Bangladesh, Cricin...
Avian Bird Flu H5N1 in Bangladesh
We have been hearing about the presence of avian Bird Flu H5N1 in Bangladesh since March, last year. It has now spread in an epidemic scale (40 out of 68 districts). Widespread culling is in effect trying to reduce the virus from attacking the humans. The government has banned selling live poultry. So far no human deaths are not reported in Bangladesh although some flu affected humans were quarantined. The epidemic is not only confined to Bangladesh, but India, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand etc are also been affected. It seems we are witnessing another...
February 09, 2008
In Istanbul among activists
In case you were wondering why my blog was not being updated, I am out of station. My travel to Istanbul was eventful right from the start when I left my camera at home. Thats very unusual as I take it almost whenever I get out of the house even for a walk.One had to worry when you know you have to change the plane in Munich and go through immigration within 30 minutes and your flight started 15 minutes late. After the announcement in the mid air...
February 06, 2008
Picture of the day
A 600 year old Gothic masterpiece - The Church of St. Mary in Chojna (Königsberg), Pola...
Today's Links
* How to Beat Internet Tapping in Bangladesh. * When East Pakistan Became Bangladesh.* Can Muslims be vegetarian?* The face(book) of surveillance.* Facebook has a problem with trust* Millionaire Gas Worke...
February 04, 2008
Picture of the day
Clear water in the 10 km long and 1.5 km wide Werbellinsee in Barnim district of the Brandenburg Sta...
February 03, 2008
What if?
What if internet ceases to work? Will we be able to carry on with our lives? Will our plastic money be authorized? Will we be able to carry on with our jobs, businesses? Do we have a back up plan? Will our electronic passports be read so that we can travel on?We will have to have these answers ready as:The World is Flat, and More Vulnerable Than E...
February 01, 2008
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