Monday, January 21, 2008

[mukto-mona] On the Soul Debate

The debate on soul (regarding the the existence or non-) is similar
to that regarding God. For one thing there cannot be any "scientific"
discussion on soul. One will not find the word soul in any scientific
paper or book. A scientific discussion on soul is an oxymoron,
because soul, like god, is not an objectively defined notion that is
amenable to any rational/scienfic discussion. Any discussion on soul
has to be a philosophical one, which can invoke science depeneding on
the context. Such a discussion can be meaningful(rational) if it is a
(meta) debate on the debates on the existence of "soul". Why is the
debate on the "existence" of soul irrational? Because to assert the
existence or non-existence (of anything) would be a logical
proposition (a true/false statement) and a proposition is meaningless
if it involves a non-cognitive (objectively undefined) term like
soul or god (Please refer to my earlier post on Intro to Logic at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/16669). So as much
as it is illogical to assert that soul exists and to invoke
fallacious arguments to "prove" that it does exist, it is equally
fallacious to assert that soul does not exist,regardless of whether
the arguments to justify that assertion is a fallacy or not,because
the very notion one is trying to prove the existence(or non-) of, is
not a well-defined notion. It doesn't make sense to say that
something exists or that it doesn't if that very thing is vague,
objectively undefined (as far as it's existence or non-existence is
concerned)

Another meaningful(i.e scientific/rational) discusson can be why
humans have devised the notion of soul and god, however ill-defined
those notions may be? The answer to that is pretty well understood.
One simple yet precise answer is that in humans (and many laymen still
today cannot) could not understand or explain (by natural laws) how
human mind or consciousness arises naturally. So they lumped that
ignorance into a black box notion of "soul" which "causes" humans to
exhibit the consciusness (and thus all the human emotions, feelings,
free will etc). So the notion of soul from a rationalist perspective
is really that "soul" is a catchall term to reflect a human's
inability to understand and explain human consciousness by any known
natural law at the time. The same argument applies to the notion of
God, where the inability to explain or understand that gave rise to
the notion of God was the entire universe. Humans could not explain
(using known natural laws) why or how the observable universe came
about. So the simple logic of genesis of such non-cognitive notions
like god and soul is like this :

Humans do not understand how or why "A" is created or A acts in the
way it does. So invent a term X and say that X exists who created A
or that X exists and causes A to act the way A does.

More careful study using evolutionary ideas reveals that the notions
of God and soul are instincts instilled in human brain by evolutionary
forces. Anyway what reinforced the notions of God and soul was the
testimony by saints and mystics that they have experienced the feeling
of the presence of God, and in the reports of miracles by ordinary folks.
In case of soul the reinforcement was due to the reported sighting of
ghosts and apparitions of dead people. Although in scientific domain
personal testimonies have no relevancy in establishing or rejecting
a notion, for populations at large such personal testimonies do stick,
and seems to adds legitimacy to such notions in the public psyche.

Positing the existence of the cause (yet unknown) of an effect itself
is not illogical. Scientists always look for causes/explanations of
observations. What is illogical is to endow the unknown cause X with
known attributes and thus in effect claim to know the nature of X
when the very notion of X reflects an ignorance of that unknown cause.
A logical possibility of God or soul (defined as the causes or
creators of universe and humans) would be the laws of Physics. But
obviously it would be a fallacy to endow humanlike attributes to laws
of physics, as much as it would be a fallacy to say that "anger" has
hair, love has "legs" etc. That the laws of physics is behind human
consciousness is pretty much understood via the mechanism of
evolution. Evolution is laws of physics in action on complex systems
(Where laws of complexity and emergent effects apply). That universe
CAN BE created by laws of physics is also understood. But it is not
certain yet that Laws of Physics is the only way universe can be
CREATED, although it is certain that the universe EVOLVED after
creation according to the laws pf physics. It is also understood how
the feeling of having experiences the presence of god is generated in
the human mind thanks to the experiemnts and research of neuro-
theologists like Persinger, late Acquilli and many others. Avijit's
recent article has covered the scientific researches in this topic.
I have also discussed it my earlier posts in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uttorshuri/message/17727
(Brain and Religion)

and in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uttorshuri/message/14998
(Soul,Brain and the Laws of Physics)

Reports of ghosts and apparitions are also possibly due to neuronal
actions, or some other natural causes. I must add that the "fear"
of unknown is a hardwired instinct in the brain, that can apply to
anyone, rationalist or not. So even a rationalist may have a fear of
darkness, loneliness and may experience fear generated feeling/
illusion of ghosts and apparitions due to the neuronal workings
inside the brain.

What is still not known though, is how the laws of physics itself
(which seesm to be at the root of everything, from galaxies to viruses
to fear, jealousies etc in human mind) came about? We don't know the
"X" that causes or creates "A" (The laws of Physics). That is the
ultimate mystery. We can posit a cause "X" of the laws of Physics (A).
It would not be illogical to do so. We can even label that cause as
God, not to be confused with the "God" of Abrahamic religions. This God
would just be a label for a hithertoo unknown cause of an effect. Bt it
still powerful source of awe and mystery to a acientific mind. Probably
it is the possibility of that cause which mystified Einstein.

-Apathib

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[ALOCHONA] A boost to IT sector in Bangladesh

Dear Alochoks:

It is a hopeful sign to read the following story in the New Age that the finance ministry has approved BTRC's (Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission) request to cut internet access rates by 20%. Although the new rates are significantly higher than in India or Pakistan, this signal's the government's interest in breathing energy into our IT sector. The full story is at the following link: http://www.newagebd.com/nat.html#1

I have also been reading in other publications, BTRC's progressive steps towards legalizing VOIP in a way that provides consumers the best benefits of this technology without the government losing crores in revenue. Another interesting development is that India's IT costs have risen several folds in the last few years. This makes Bangladesh more competitive and attractive.

The next development to watch out for is the auctioning of international gateway licenses by the BTRC in February. If the government continues to make the right moves in the IT sector, it is quite likely that our IT industry could grow by several folds in the next 3-5 years. Based on recent developments, we can be hopeful.

- M. Raheem
New York, NY

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[mukto-mona] Saudi prince offers Israelis a vision of peace

Saudi prince offers Israelis a vision of peace

By Paul Taylor Reuters

Published: January 21, 2008

E-Mail Article

KRONBERG, Germany: A senior Saudi royal has offered Israel a vision of broad cooperation with the Arab world and people-to-people contacts if it signs a peace treaty and withdraws from all occupied Arab territories.

In an interview, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former ambassador to the United States and Britain and adviser to King Abdullah, said Israel and the Arabs could cooperate in many areas, including water, agriculture, science and education.

Asked what message he wanted to send to the Israeli public, he said: "The Arab world, by the Arab peace initiative, has crossed the Rubicon from hostility toward Israel to peace with Israel and has extended the hand of peace to Israel, and we await the Israelis picking up our hand and joining us in what inevitably will be beneficial for Israel and for the Arab world."

The 22-country Arab League revived at a Riyadh summit meeting last year a Saudi peace plan first adopted in 2002 offering Israel the full normalization of relations in return for a full withdrawal from occupied Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese land.

Israel shunned the offer then, at the height of a violent Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But it has expressed more interest since the United States began a new drive for Israeli-Palestinian peace at Annapolis, Maryland, last November, aiming for an agreement this year.

Turki, who has served as head of Saudi intelligence, said that if Israel accepted the Arab League plan and signed a comprehensive peace, "one can imagine the integration of Israel into the Arab geographical entity."

"One can imagine not just economic, political and diplomatic relations between Arabs and Israelis but also issues of education, scientific research, combating mutual threats to the inhabitants of this vast geographic area," he said.

His comments, on the sidelines of a conference on the Middle East and Europe staged by the Bertelsmann Foundation, were some of the most far-reaching addressed to Israelis by a senior figure from Saudi Arabia.

The desert kingdom, home to Islam's holiest shrines, has no official relations with the Jewish state, although both are key allies of the United States in the region.

"Exchange visits by people of both Israel and the rest of the Arab countries would take place," Turki said.

"We will start thinking of Israelis as Arab Jews rather than simply as Israelis," he said, noting that many Arabs historically saw the Israeli state as a European entity imposed on Arab land after World War II.

Turki, brother of the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, holds no official position now but heads the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.

He said Israel could expect some benefits on the way to signing a treaty and making a full withdrawal, noting that after the 1993 Oslo interim accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization, regional cooperation had begun and the Jewish state had achieved representation in several Arab states.

Those Israeli advances were reversed after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.

Israel was wary of the Arab League plan partly because it would entail handing back the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war, as well as re-dividing Jerusalem. Israel annexed the captured Arab eastern part of the city in 1967.

An Israeli participant at the conference, Yossi Alpher, co-editor of the Bitter Lemons Israeli-Palestinian Web site and a former senior intelligence official, welcomed the comments.

"I was delighted to hear Prince Turki's description of the comprehensive nature of normalization as he envisages it within the framework of the Arab peace initiative," Alpher said.

"His remarks should encourage us Israelis and Arabs to deepen and broaden the discussion of ways to reach a comprehensive peace, implement the Arab peace initiative and reach the kind of cooperation that his highness described."

Alpher said he hoped that once there was a comprehensive peace, Israel's Arab neighbors would accept Israelis "as Jewish people living a sovereign life in our historic homeland" and not as "Arab Jews" or "European Jews."

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Musharraf woos Europe while Pakistan seethes

President Pervez Musharraf is touring European capitals in a bid to show that he remains in charge of his roiling country, where his popular support has never been at such a low ebb.

In Opinion: Radical love gets a holiday

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[mukto-mona] Police Atrocity in India : five killed Bhagalpur [Bihar]

Bhagalpur toll five as youth dragged from house by police, shot dead

http://www.bihartimes.com/news08/Jan/19jan5.html

Patna, (Bihar Times): A day after the killing of three people in the police firing in Kahalgaon block of Bhagalpur district a young boy, Mohammad Khairuddin (18) alias Khairu, was dragged from his house, beaten in full public view by the police and then shot dead. Another person Mohammad Aslam suffered serious injuries in the process. The whole event was captured by a camera person and subsequently shown by a television channel.

Saturday was the day of police going berserk. According to the local residents a police party led by the deputy superintendent of police broke into several houses and indiscriminately started beating the people. They wanted to take the 'revenge' for the attack on police by the mob on Friday. With the death of one person in hospital the death toll in Friday's police firing rose to four. Thus the toll in the two days of violence rose to five.

Just after the killing of Khairu the town turned into a battleground with mob torching two hospitals, government vehicles etc. Home secretary Afzal Amanullah, who along with ADG, Abhayanand, went to Kahalgaon, said that the government had ordered the transfer of the SDO, DSP, BDO and officer-in-charge. He also said that the government would pay compensation of Rs one lakh each to all the four persons who died in police action on Friday and Saturday.

Bhagalpur is not the only place going without power for the last many months. Power shortages have sparked protests in many places and Bihar State Electricity Board offices have been ransacked in at least two dozen districts in the last few weeks.

The two days of police action has given fresh ammunition to all political parties. But what is causing concern is that in Bhagalpur and other district towns not only the opposition parties but even the activists of the ruling BJP and Janata Dal (United) are taking part in the protest against the administration.

Bindeshwari Jha, a BJP activist, did not mince a word to tell a television channel as to why only the DSP and SDO have been transferred when the district magistrate and superintendent of police were present at the time of police firing. Meanwhile, railway minister Lalu Yadav is rushing to Bhagalpur from Delhi.

What is strange is that on Saturday police were let loose when the home secretary and ADG were in the town to take the stock of the situation.

Bhagalpur cop atrocity incident: Human Rights team begins inquiry ...

Bhagalpur cop atrocity incident: Human Rights team begins inquiry ... Pak did not commit the "original sin" of bringing nuclear weapons: Aslam ( ANI ...
in.news.yahoo.com/070903/139/6k9uy.html - 38k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

The Asian Age - Enjoy the difference

Mohammed Khairo (18) was killed and another identified as Mohammed Aslam injured when the police opened fire on a mob that set ablaze the government ...
www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/youth-dies-as-cops-open-fire-on-bihar-mob.aspx - 24k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Eerie calm in Kahalgaon-Patna-Cities-The Times of India

Mohammad Asif nodded. "We did not take out the 'tazia' procession because we feel ... in his twenties, said and added another local, Mohammad Aslam, ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Eerie_calm_in_Kahalgaon/articleshow/2719613.cms - 1 hour ago - Similar pages - Note this

IndianExpress.com :: 'We gave up land for power plant, now they ...

Kahalgaon's Ramdev Mandal speaks for his dusty town in Bhagalpur district where, ... Mohammad Aslam, the 32-year-old who worked as a labour hand, ...
www.indianexpress.com/story/263813.html - 30k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Mourning Bihar town refuses to observe Muharram | Indian Muslims

Patna : Tension still runs high in Kahalgaon town of Bihar's Bhagalpur district ... IN the process, another Muslim youth, Mohammad Aslam, suffered serious ...
www.indianmuslims.info/news/2008/jan/20/mourning_bihar_town_refuses_observe_muharram.html - Similar pages - Note this

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[ALOCHONA] Continue Global sell off might create an opportunity for Bangladesh

Dear All,

We have been observing global sell off in financial markets and this might create an opportunity for Bangladesh to attract foreign investment in the pharmaceuticals sector in Bangladesh. Health care sector is the one the best sectors which will flourish during recession or depression whatever we call in this time.

The reason Bangladesh can attract huge foreign investment in the pharmaceuticals sector since people will look for cheap and quality medicines since number of baby boomers are increasing all over the world. Future investors will get good return of their investment in the pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh because law cost manpower and LDC status which provide ampule advantage to make money in this sector.

Bangladesh Govt needs to pay attention to this opportunity in this sector and provide all out help and develop a consortium to attract new investors ( e.g, start with Middle East countries). Middle East countries will look for an opportunity to make money off from their investment (US$2 Trillion) in the world and Bangladesh Govt has to convince them to invest in this sector which will have better return of their investment.

I hope that Bangladesh Govt is listening, they have my earlier proposal to develop this sector and at least start working with it for now. Bangladesh needs high income jobs to survive after worldwide inflation of essential items and Bangladesh has only this sector which can create high income jobs.

Few of the political leaders in Bangladesh might be thinking once they take power from the CTG, all the essential items price will be 100% below the current price, then think again they might be day dreaming. If constructive policies are not adopted now in Bangladesh, even Angel will not able to help Bangladesh.

Regards,

M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu), USA

www.amreteck.com

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[mukto-mona] Saudi Arabia : Forced annulment keeps couple apart

Forced annulment keeps couple apart

Photo: Mansour Al-Timani and daughter, Noha, age 2; courtesy of The Saudi Gazette.

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer Sun Jan 20, 4:14 PM ET

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Two years ago, a knock on Fatima and Mansour al-Timani's door shattered the life they had built together.

It was the police, delivering news that a judge had annulled their marriage in absentia after some of Fatima's relatives sought the divorce on grounds she had married beneath her.

That was just the beginning of an ordeal for a couple who — under Saudi Arabia's strict segregation rules — can no longer live together. They sued to reverse the ruling, publicized their story and sought help from a Saudi human rights group.

But the two remain apart and Fatima said she is considering suicide if her recent appeal to King Abdullah does not reunite her with her husband.

"Only the king can resolve my case," Fatima told The Associated Press by telephone in a rare interview. "I want to return to my husband, but if that is not possible, I need to know so I can put an end to my life."

Fatima's case underscores shortcomings in the kingdom's Islamic legal system in which rules of evidence are shaky, lawyers are not always present and sentences often depend on the whim of judges.

The most frequent victims are women, who already suffer severe restrictions on daily life in Saudi Arabia: They cannot drive, appear before a judge without a male representative, or travel abroad without a male guardian's permission.

Recently, the king did intervene and pardon another high-profile defendant — a rape victim who was sentenced to lashes and jail time for being in a car with a man who was not her relative.

The two cases have brought Saudi human rights once again into the international spotlight, revealing not only the weakness of the kingdom's justice system, but the scant rights of Saudi women.

"When I heard that the (rape victim) was pardoned, I couldn't believe it. My case is so much simpler than hers, since my divorce is invalid," Fatima said.

Fatima said her husband, a hospital administrator, followed Saudi tradition in asking her father for permission to marry her in 2003.

"My brother reported good things about him, so my dad accepted his proposal," said Fatima, a computer specialist who was 29 when she married.

She said her father knew that Mansour came from a less prominent tribe than hers, but that he did not mind because he "cared about the man himself."

A few months after the wedding, several of Fatima's relatives, including a half brother, persuaded her father to give them power of attorney to file a lawsuit demanding an annulment, she said.

Then her father died, and Fatima said she had hoped the case would be dropped.

But on Feb. 25, 2006, police knocked on the couple's door to serve Mansour with divorce papers — which said his marriage had been annulled nine months earlier.

"We were shattered. How did this happen? Why?" Fatima asked.

Under Saudi law, a woman needs the permission of her family to marry.

Saudi lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, who used to represent the couple, said local interpretations of Islamic law hold that relatives of a married couple have the right to seek an annulment if they feel the marriage lowers the extended family's status.

He said authorities are reluctant to overrule such annulment orders, believing they are private matters within extended families.

Fatima took the couple's 2-year-old daughter and 4-month-old son to live with her mother, who had persuaded her to let Mansour deal with the legal issues on his own.

But after three months without her husband, Fatima and the children sneaked out of her mother's house and flew with Mansour to the western seaside city of Jiddah, where they sought to live in anonymity.

Saudi police soon discovered them and imprisoned the family for living together illegally.

"The police told me I either return to my (mother's) family or go to jail," Fatima said. "I chose jail."

"My children and I were thrown in a cell with women sentenced for pushing drugs, practicing witchcraft and behaving immorally," Fatima said. Authorities allowed her to send her daughter back to live with her father, but the infant stayed with Fatima in jail.

"He learned to speak in jail, he learned to walk in jail and his teeth came out in jail," she said.

Meanwhile, Mansour went to court to appeal the divorce ruling, but a Riyadh appeals court upheld the decision in 2007.

Last September, the head of a prominent Saudi human rights group reportedly asked the kingdom's highest court to review the case.

Bandar al-Hajjar, head of the National Society of Human Rights, submitted two Islamic studies concluding that the divorce was invalid, according to the Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily.

The studies, conducted by Islamic researcher Adnan Al-Zahrani and Bassam Al-Bassam, a counselor at the Court of Cassation in Mecca, said that if a woman's legal guardian represented her at the original wedding, then other relatives have no right to object to the marriage based on compatibility.

Both studies concluded that Fatima married Mansour with her father's permission, and that only the wife can decide whether she wants her marriage annulled, the paper reported.

Despite their legal fight, Fatima and Mansour remain apart.

After nine months in jail, Fatima moved to an orphanage where she and her son share an apartment with several other women.

Fatima said she is holding out hope the king might pardon her, and recognize her as "married to Mansour, before God."

"I love him more than ever. He's the only one who has stood by me," she said.

"Say 'No' To Forced Divorce - 'Yes' to Reforms" http://www.petitiononline.com/no24orce/petition.html

For a complete media documented history of the Fatima and Mansour Al-Timani case visit:
http://muslimahwritersalliance.com/mwa-community/al-timani_case_chronology.htm

An unidentified Saudi doctor is seen in this Oct. 23, 2007, file photo taken in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hospital. Some Saudi women, including a woman divorced against her wishes and her husband's, are frustrated with the kingdom's judicial system — one based on Islamic law in which judges have broad discretion and that many say ignore women's interests. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Saudi Arabia: Torture: Culture of brutality - Amnesty International

... its 2000 campaign, highlighting the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. ... Write to the Saudi Arabian authorities and ask them to: ...

web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE230102000?open&of=ENG-2D2 - 25k - Cached

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[mukto-mona] Late night news: DU teachers and 11 students acquitted

Attention: Moderator(s)

mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com

mm_publication@yahoogroups.com

DU teachers and 11 students acquitted

First case

Today all 4 captive teachers and a student was produced before the special metropolitan court for hearing the verdict at about 10-30 am. The learned judge Mr. Habibur Rahman found all 4 teachers and 11 students out of 15 accused students not guilty and acquitted them honourably. Four other students however were convicted for two years imprisonment and a fine of Tk 1,000. If Tk 1,000 could not be realized from any convict he will have to suffer extra one-month imprisonment. However they teachers and acquitted students were not immediately released as they are still facing yet another similar case in another court.

Second case:

Immediately afterwards they were brought to the court of Mr. Golum Rabbani for hearing of the case. After completion of the court proceedings, the judge fixed January 22, 2008 as date of pronouncing verdict.

As soon as the judgment of the first case and hearing of second case the teachers and students rejected the verdict calling for unconditional withdrawal of all cases and thereby setting all teachers and students of DU and punished students of RU be set free immediately, if possible today (January 21, 2008). He students held protest rally, sang 'gana sangeet' in front of the 'Aparajeya Bangla'. The students also took position in front of the office of DU VC chanting slogan for the release of their fellow students and teachers. They also demanded resignation of the VC for his apparent dilly-dally position.

The Educational adviser assured that all students convicted or not, and teachers would be released very soon. He further said that cases (probably numbering 53 .. ) in which not yet formal charges have been framed yet might be withdrawn and the government is taking necessary steps in this direction. On the other hand the General Matin, adviser in charge of home affairs, assured that all teachers and students would be released, 'perhaps today, Insah Allah'.

Withdrawal of charges of second case.

Then hectic activities followed from the government side. The charges that were faced by 4 DU students along with a few students were dropped by the government that created a path of unconditional release of 4 teachers of DU and 11 DU students.

President came to the picture:

The President was then directed to invoke his constitutional power to pardon 4 convicted student of DU who were absconding and 10 punished students of and an employee of RU. This was done in the afternoon. The 11 punished students and the employee were set free in the evening from the Rajshahi jail. The released persons were greeted and cheerfully received by their family members and fellow students at the jail gate. Then followed a victory rally within the campus.

So came an end of episode of DU with a grand victory on the part of the academic community.

We are glad that government even very late came to their senses and did the right thing, which they should have done much earlier without mudding the otherwise clean water.

But is the lower level judiciary acted independently?

My mind, though I am happy that my colleagues and students are on the verge of release, is bothering how far the judgment as arrived at independently. I feel for the poor judges. On the one side movement of teachers and students demanding their unconditional release, on the other hand government pressure being built up almost visibly that the accused must be set free through legal procedure. The advisers were uttering day and night that teachers would be set free and a legal means being searched. Is not a pressure on the judiciary to find a way out for the embarrassing government? Could judge Habibur Rahman and Golum Rabbani fail to read the minds of the government. Can they act judicially and independently?

I must say in this case at least, because of government's indecision and uncertainty, it has killed the independency of our judiciary system at least at the lower level. It could have avoided this by withdrawing all cases much earlier that was precisely the students were demanding along with their teachers. Governments, whatever the regime is, never learns fast.

Any way, all well that ends well.

Ajoy Roy

Dhaka

January 21, 2008

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] ISLAMIC VOICE ?

http://www.al-ihsan.net/full_news.asp?sec=7&nid=71

http://www.al-ihsan.net/full_news.asp?sec=4&nid=32

http://www.al-ihsan.net/full_news.asp?sec=4&nid=33

Hasan Mahmud
__._,_.___

***************************************** Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm ***************************************** Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf ***************************************** MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona. ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm ***************************************** Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm ***************************************** Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/ ***************************************** MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm ***************************************** German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/ Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day: http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm ***************************************** Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona: http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm **************************************************** VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/ **************************************************** "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Bangladesh - Bharat - Pakistan People's Forum = Invitation

Final Route chart of the March between 1st February and 12th February 2008.

Manik Samajdar
bbp_peoples_forum@hotmail.com

Bangladesh – Bharat - Pakistan Peoples Forum
(Bharat Chapter)
28.Gurudwara Road, new Delhi 110 001
bbp_peoples_forum@hotmail.com
011 23714131, 011 23352273,033 2528 0427
Bangladesh – Bharat Border March (Simanta Yatra) [By Car]
From 1st February to 12 February 2008,from North 24 Parganas to Koch Bihar

Dear Friends,

You are invited to attend the Bangla - Bangla border march from 1st February to 12th February 2008 in West Bengal, Bharat (India).

March will start from Ghojadanga of District North 24 Parganas and will end at Chyangrabandha of District Koch Bihar, West Bengal. Route of March will be closed to the border of Bangladesh and Bharat.

On 11th February a trinational Conference and on 12th February a grand mass rally will be held at enclave (a land of India surrounded by the land of Bangladesh).

You are welcome to take part all along the march fully or partly and join the trinatioanl conference, publish the program in such a manner so that people living nearer to the border of both Countries can join the Jatha where ever and whoever possible.

Please Confirm and publish.

Manik Samajdar Debabrata Biswas (M.P.)
Convener. (Chairman)
B.B.P.P.F. (Bharat) B.B.P.P.F. (Bharat)

1.2.8.[24 PARGANA (N)]

Ghojadanga , Taki, Basirhat, Swarup Nagar, Bongaon*,
2.02.08 - Bagdah, Halencha, Sindhrani.

3.02.08 - NADIA
Duttapulia*, Hanskhali, Bhajan Ghata, Kristnganj, Mazdia, Krishnanagar (May be avoided), Chapra, Tehatta, Karimpur*, Shikarpur.

4.02.08 - MURSHIDABAD
Jalangi, Sheikh Para, Rani Nagar, Bhagabangola, Lalgola, Dhulian, Farrakka*,

5.02.08 – MALDAH
Kaliachak, Maldah, Gajol, Habibpur*, 6.01.08. Bulbulchandi, Bamongola, Amtulighat, Bhikahar, Pardaha, Tapan,

6.02.08 - DINAJPUR (S)
Laskarbalapur, Jalghar, Balurghat, Kamarpara, Teor, Primohini, Hilly*,
7,01,08 - (Back to) Primohini, Khapur, Patiram, Gopalganj (2), Gopalganj, Phulbari, Gangarampur, Buniadpur, Kushmundi/ Kaliaganj, Haldibari.

7.02.08 – DINAJPUR (N)
Hemtabad, Raiganj, Rashkoa, Sahapur, Islampur*.

8.02.08 – Siliguri*

9.02.08 - JALPAIGURY
Fansideoa, Rajganj border, Jalpaigury Sadar Simanta*.

10.02.08 - Koch Bihar
Manik Ganj, Chyanrgabandha*,
11.02.08, Sitai, Sitaldah, Gukarur Kuthi, Chowdhury Hat, Sahebganj, Nazirhat, Shalghara,

12.02.08 – Try national Conference and Open Mass Rally at Mekhliganj*
All [*] spots are scheduled to be halt at night.
___________________________________________________________________

Contact:
Manik Samajdar: 9339317761,Haripada Biswas: 9433062233,Hafij Alam Sairani: 9433007086,Rabindranath Chakraborty: 9331903152,Dibkakar Bhattacharya: 9433097336,Subodh Mitra: 9434177197,Samir Pututunda: 9433084644,Sahadat Ali: 931958638,Pradip Singh Thakur: 9836784768
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Attachment is a draft route plan.

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/

*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari

http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/

Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190
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[vinnomot] Positives NOT Negatives

Positives NOT Negatives

Everyday, without fail, there are a host of negatives in the world around us. Some of these negatives are passed down by family and friends, and some are in every conversation you hear between co-workers, or those you just happen to hear at the coffee shop, or around the water cooler. Just ask yourself, how many times have you engaged in negative thinking, negative conversations, or personal complaints? So often we walk this earth oblivious of who we really are, how we are perceived, unaware of what people think of us and how they themselves perceive us. Others views of me baffle me at the best of times, both the positive and the negative, I often get neither… is this because I have a low self image or is it rather that their perception of me is warped into what I give to the world? Tough question I know and one that is incredibly hard to answer but so often in life we do not listen to others and what they say of us.

In life I find we take to heart the negative more than the positive, we kind of sweep over the positive things people say of us and focus on the opposite. Each day that I am alive I become more and more aware of peoples affect on one another and it scares me in a way because not everyone is aware of this factor, some don't even care. Each time we speak to someone, each time we walk away from them we leave a piece of ourselves with them… if we treat them badly, say horrible things what are we leaving behind?

Now if you think of the saying "Positive people attract positive things" comes to mind, it makes sense in the end - if we are all positive then other positive people will be attracted to us because we give them energy and keep there positives high. In life, so often we get those negative people in our lives, they drain our spirit and destroy our positivism - when we walk away from them we feel drained, depressed and morose. In small doses the negative people are manageable but if left over time in close proximity to you their negative energy starts to work on you, you become negative and draining, not fun to be with.

In life there will always be those that drain us and those that energies us, it is our decision whether we are willing to deal with the drainers or not, it is our decision whether we are willing to just accept it or move on

The second question I have for you is why do we let them have this affect on us? Why do we let others dictate our views of ourselves, how we feel and our views on the world? Why do we let them do that to us?

Comments please

Xcite

Let me know your thoughts on my mails
reply me at: yasir_xx@hotmail.com
I'll appreciate them . Thanks

Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! for Good __._,_.___

__,_._,___

[mukto-mona] Fw: Not yet finished - The true state of the DU cases, January 21, 2007

Subject: Shesh hoiyao hoilo na shesh-- The true state of the DU cases, January 21, 2007

Dear All,

I can only say that the headlines you saw on television are not fully correct. Most headlines have stated that cases have been called off. That is not fully true.

A total of 5 cases were filed against teachers and students in relation to the Dhaka University incident in August 2007.

*** Case No. 1: The verdict of the 1st case was given today. 4 teachers and 11 students were acquitted. 4 students were sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. This was soon followed by a Presidential pardon under Article 59 of our Constitution.

*** Case No. 2: The verdict of the 2nd case is due tomorrow.

*** Case No. 3: The 3rd case was filed in relation to hostilities and destruction within the Dhaka University campus. This case has been called off.

*** Case No. 4: The 4th case was filed in relation to hostilities and destruction outside the Dhaka University campus at Shahbagh. The Government has declared that the FR (Final Report) of this case will soon be submitted, implying an end to this case as well.

*** Case No. 5: The 5th case was filed in relation to the destruction of a DGFI vehicle and the assaulting of an Army personnel. This case was filed against 25 students. The Government has agreed to remove the names of 18 of these students from the charge sheet. This means that this case WILL continue against the 7 remaining students.

Thus, I would say, especially with regard to the students, the issue has not been put to rest.

The saying, 'shesh hoiyao hoilo na shesh' is thoroughly applicable.

Bye for now.

Best,

Sanjeeb

__,_._,___

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[mukto-mona] ISLAMIC VOICE ?

[mukto-mona] Bangladesh - Bharat - Pakistan People's Forum = Invitation

[vinnomot] Positives NOT Negatives

[mukto-mona] Fw: Not yet finished - The true state of the DU cases, January 21, 2007

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