Jon stewart of the Daily show has recently mentioned in one his shows satirically that Osama Bin Laden's endorsement to president Bush affected the 2004 presidential election results. We have recently seen that Sen. McCain has brought the internal security issue again. So one may wonder what new threat from Al Qaeda is coming this time. This time the water is already been muddied as there was a report that Al Qaeda endorsed McCain:According to a new report:An al Qaeda leader has called for President George W. Bush and the Republicans to be "humiliated."Even...
October 30, 2008
Video of the day
US presidential candidate Barack Obama broadcast one 30 minute infomercial yesterday. Based on production quality and the message, the initiative was extraordinary. It drew 21.7 percent of households as six networks aired the telecast and Obama spent $4 million locking up the time. Was it worth the cost?Via Beliefnet.Related link: The Top Ten Reasons Conservatives Should Vote For Ob...
October 29, 2008
Islam in America
I could only watch one of the parts of the series broadcast by Al-Jazeera.In a special two-part documentary Rageh Omaar traveled across the United States to explore the story of Islam in the country. He attempts to discover if - far from being fundamentally incompatible – Islamic America holds the seeds of a lasting solution to global discord between east and west.Thanks to YouTube we can now view the complete series:This is a must watch for those who are spreading Islamophobia in the U...
October 27, 2008
Blood flows in a painful birth for Bangladesh
The Sunday Times releases from archive (April 4, 1971) a report of Nicholas Tomalin who witnessed a massacre by the Pakistan army."We thought the West Pakistan soldiers were attacking and scattered, only to discover, on a grass patch beside the road, men freshly stabbed and bludgeoned, lying in still-flowing pools of blood. Four of them were still just alive, rolling over and waving their legs and arms. None made any noise....Until about Thursday the West Pakistan garrison, which is about battalion size, was in some kind of control. But these troops...
Things that make your children taller, stronger and sharper
First published in Global VoicesRecently two advertisements of childrens food products made by Nestlé and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) aired by a Bangladeshi television channel were banned in UK. The Bangladeshi private TV channel NTV (not Nepali TV as some reports claimed) is rebroadcasted from UK to cover 58 countries in Europe and surrounding areas. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of UK has banned the adverts because they were misleading and...
October 26, 2008
Quote of the day
"On one side, behind barbed wire, stood together the lunatics of India and on the other side, behind more barbed wire, stood the lunatics of Pakistan. In between, on a bit of earth which had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh."- Toba Tek Singh by Sadat Hasan Ma...
October 25, 2008
October 24, 2008
Festival of lights
The Berlin Festival of lights is closing in a couple of days. Look at these pictures in Flickr which looks more impressive than what you see being there in person.Here are more night scenes from Berlin and around the world.(Image: Gendarmenmarkt by leonwpp used under a creative commons licen...
Today's links
Cashing on slaves: A mobile-phone service for low-income workers in UAE launched. Amnesty condemns 'horror' of Saudi executions.Military invades Bangladesh's judiciary.Bangladesh: Poor braced for "Monga" season.Bangladesh slaps ban on Hilsha catch in the Bay of Bengal. Climate change ground zero.Moved by a Crescent: Maureen Dowd on the Muslim American Soldier.What would be result if the world could vote in the US election?Myth of two world largest democracy is dedicated to secularism.Nobel Peace Prize in anti-Islamic wor...
Its about oil
Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar reveals:I think it's really interesting that while the bush administration are putting the last touches on this long term agreement with their Iraqi allies, bush issued a new presidential signing statement last week specifically to allow the U.S. government to control Iraq's oil resources! The statement was issued as a response to a congressional law that prohibits the U.S. government from taking control over Iraq's oil and gas resources.What a great message to be given at this time: not only we're planning to occupy your...
October 23, 2008
Bangladesh slips in press freedom index
Reporters Without Borders compiles an index of the world press freedom index every year. It measures the state of press freedom in the world. It reflects the degree of freedom that journalists and news organisations enjoy in each country, and the efforts made by the authorities to respect and ensure respect for this freedom.Here is the index for 2008 where Bangladesh slips 2 positions to 136th out of 173 countries. Here are the stats of Bangladesh in the past three years:2008 - 136th position2007 - 134th position2006 - 137th positionIt shows...
October 21, 2008
Toiletgate
When 122 labourers can be paid to fix a single toilet pan and no one could tell it that its out of the ordinary, you get a country on top of the world's most corrupt li...
October 20, 2008
Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama
Gen. Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President. Listen to what he had to say on different issu...
October 19, 2008
Sculptures, Bigots and Bloggers
First published in Global Voices Online.A new controversy rattled Bangladesh last week. Authorities in Bangladesh were forced to remove five sculptures of Bauls (mystic folk singers) including Fakir Lalon Shah in front of the Zia International Airport in the face of protests from an Islamist group. They formed a sculpture prevention committee which pressed that they do not want any sculptures in the airport area where the hajj camp is located and...
The United States of the World
This is an evidence of how much the average American know about the Global Current affairs.(Via Anthony Lowenste...
Hints of 1971
Dr. Irfan Zafar says that the current situation in Pakistan is not much different than 1971 which resulted in the break-up of the country:The Mukti Bahini was formed to fight off the military crackdown by Pakistan on March 25, 1971. However, with the rising discontentment of the local population against the government, the people in East Pakistan started supporting it which finally led to the popular Bangladesh Liberation War.In a similar fashion, the Taliban were supported by our government to fight against the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan....
October 15, 2008
Blog Action Day: Poverty and Citizen Media
My post on the blog action day has been published in Rising Voic...
Pakistan on the brink?
The recent National Intelligence Estimate of USA on Pakistan says that the situation in Pakistan "very bleak". The conclusions about the state of Pakistan in the report was: "no money, no energy, no government." The fear is that an unstable Pakistan will become a center for al-Qaeda plotting against the US.The last time when we saw such reports were in end March and early April 1971 when Pakistan army were marching with tanks and spraying bullets on the innocent civilians in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in the name of...
October 14, 2008
Image of the day
The Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland are the widest plain waterfalls of Europe. They are 150 m (450 ft) wide and 23 m (75 ft) hi...
Today's links
Bangladesh: Jamaat's charter in clash with country's constitutionBangladeshi journalist says govt should conduct checks for workersTrain travel in BangladeshBangladesh's Yunus says global financial meltdown to hit poorTake industries out of DhakaChina to help fund Burma-Bangladesh friendship roadWhy school shootings happen in affluent cultures?Islam, Democracy And ViolenceBerlin announces plans for world's largest community electric car infrastruct...
October 10, 2008
Today's links
Political parties in Bangladesh ordered to register or face banBangladeshi workers attacked by ghostsA resignation at Grameenphone gets attentionA change of hearthSurf's up, in BangladeshBangladesh issues 'mercy certificates' to graft-taintedPolice told to end open defianceRun Tata RunPolitical disaster in mot...
October 09, 2008
Proof of Ability
Congratulations to Bangladesh team for pulling out a victory against New Zealand in the first ODI in Dhaka. People thought that Bangladesh had weakened by the recent exodus of a few key players to the commercially lucrative ICL. But this victory is the proof of their ability and proof that the team is not dependent on a few players. Its good to see that Bangladesh can still produce more talents.Lets hope they develop themselves to be more consistent in their performan...
October 08, 2008
Campaign for Obama and the Internet
The US presidential candidate Barack Obama and his supporters are using the power of Internet most for raising funds and spreading the words. Here is one of such initiatives called 30 reasons (to vote for Obama and not for McCain) which can tell you what leverage he is having.Image by Chaz Maviyane-Davies, Boston, Massachuse...
A great Photoblog on Bangladesh
Geoffrey Hiller is an widely traveled photojournalist and a multimedia producer. He is currently in Bangladesh on a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach interactive media in the department of Media and Communication of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).Here is a feature on him in the Daily star by one of his students.The reason I am writing is to highlight his blog "Photos and notes from Bangladesh", which portrays Bangladesh and Bangladeshis in their true selves.Also don't forget to check his great work "Verve Photo", which portrays the best...
October 07, 2008
Attacks against Christians in India
In recent months radical mobs have attacked Christians and their churches in a number of Indian states. Ayesha Saldanha wrote a deep analysis on the issue in Global Voices:Right-wing Hindu groups, such as the VHP, its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) accuse Christian groups of converting Hindus, particularly from lower castes and tribal groups. It is alleged that Hindu activists in Orissa have tried to intimidate Christians to reconvert to Hinduism. The renowned journalist Khushwant Singh explains this conversion...
October 05, 2008
On US economy
This is quite old (from June '08) and probably had been circulated to millions of email accounts by now. But some pieces are timeless and they can be called a classic.Here is what Dr. Marc Faber concluded in his monthly bulletin of June 2008:"The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate.If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China.If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India.If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.If we purchase a...
October 03, 2008
You're gorgeous, can I hug you?
President Asif A. Zardari of Pakistan met with US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin recently and tried to outsmart himself in front of the attractive lady and spelled some flirtatious words (may be innocently). Well he is not the only one making such mistake. US President George Bush massaged Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel's neck and got away with it.But the Pakistanis are not Germans. So Zardari's act caused ripple's in the Muslim Pakistani...
Schwäbische Alb
Yesterday we had some great time in the Swabian Alb. From Wikipedia:"The Swabian Alb (German: Schwäbische Alb) is a low mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending 220 km from southwest to northeast and 40 to 70 km in width. It is named after the region of Swabia.The Swabian Alb occupies the region bounded by the Danube in the southeast and the upper Neckar in the northwest. In the southwest it rises to the higher mountains of the Black...
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