Tuesday, February 26, 2008

[ALOCHONA] Re: Launch of Global Campaign for Accountable Democracy in Bangladesh

Dear Alochoks

I think it's always worthwhile to ask the question 'What is the
point?'

In this case I believe there is much to be gained by participating in
the petition. For a start there is the simple truth that any good
cause deserves support!

This petition will hopefully start a new trend, at home and abroad,
whereby a particular aspect of public opinion is quantified properly
and expressed properly.

Lets face it - the commentators and intellectuals have too much power
in Bangladesh. Its time the public had a say too.

This petition will hopefully help to bring like minded people
together.

This petition could be used as a reference point in the nation's
great debates.

This petition is part of a wider set of efforts seeking to bring
change in Bangladesh. All such efforts need to be supported.

Your voice and your opinion are worthy of every possible expression.
This petition is a great expressionon of your voice and your opinion.

This petition is worthy.

I urge everyone to participate in the petition.

The petition deserves to have your support.

And you deserve to have this petition working for you.

I'll be be signing the petition today.

Please, please sign it too!

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Sonar Bangla <sonarbangla08@...>
wrote:
>
> Dear Mr. Najib:
>
> First, this campaign is about personal gain as you have implied
very sarcastically.
>
> Second, this campaign is about education, including yourself.
>
> Third, reaching out to the political parties is not our
objective -- it's one of the strategies.
>
> Finally, perhaps you should learn to write and think with more
clarity as many of your written sentences are quite ambigous and
heard to understand.
>
> Masud
>
> zubair.najib@... wrote:
> I do not what you gain by this.
>
> Let see how things work in Bangladesh.
> Most of the party knows where the votes are. The problem lies
with political party symbols.
> The voters mostly are illiterate and extremely poor. They are
majority. If you have money (certainly corrupt money) you can buy
these votes.
> The people go to the booth and seal the symbol they are told to
do.
>
> We need to get rid of the symbols. If the political party wants
vote then they have to spend some time make literate the voters and
pay as you wish to vote against the candidate name. Hopefully this
will improve our literacy rate. The people get more literate they can
judge who to vote. In the long run our democracy may be benefited.
>
> If I am the govt. I will issue new 500 TK note. I guarantee lots
of cash are hidden by these criminals. I may be wrong but if you
reissue new notes than hidden cash may be invalidated since no
criminal wants to disclose this when they try to exchange old cash
with new notes.
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: alochona@yahoogroups.com [mailto:alochona@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu)
> Sent: February 21, 2008 1:47 AM
> To: khabor@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Launch of Global Campaign for Accountable
Democracy in Bangladesh
>
>
> For Immediate Release
>
>
> Change Bangladesh Launches Global Campaign for Accountable
Democracy in Bangladesh
>
> Little Rock, AR, February 21st, 2008 – Change Bangladesh is pleased
to launch a global Campaign for Accountable Democracy in Bangladesh
(CADB). The campaign will create a grassroots movement to compel the
major political parties of Bangladesh to embrace and implement
internal reforms towards democracy, accountability, zero tolerance
for corruption and a law abiding political culture.
>
> CADB plans to create the grassroots movement through the following
strategies:
> 1. Collect 10,000 signatures via an online petition by June 20008
> 2. Educate and engage through online and offline media
> 3. Partner with like-minded organizations to build momentum
> 4. Present the petition for change to the major political
parties of Bangladesh during summer 2008
>
> The ca! mpaign for accountable democracy is being launched on
historic February 21st, 2008 to mark the beginning of a new struggle.
Just as February 21st, 1952 marked the beginning of the struggle for
Bangladeshi nationalism, today marks a new struggle amongst all
Bangladeshis to reclaim our nation and destiny from the slavery of
corruption, political violence and kleptocracy.
>
> Bangladesh today, is challenged with a rare opportunity to reform
and rebuild its institutions of democracy, at the nucleus of which
lies the political parties. Since there is no alternative to
democratic governance, there is also no substitute to reforming the
political parties for altruistic service to the teeming millions.
>
> True democracy will not see the light of the day unless the
politicians adhere to some fundamental rule of politics and
governance.
>
> • Practice intra-party Democracy: Hold regular elections for
grassroots and top level party leadership positions. Introduce term
limits for party officials. Highly committed bright youngsters should
be identified for future leadership positions.
>
> • Accountability: Elect, appoint and promote party leaders based
on performance and meritocracy. Under performing party officials
should be demoted or removed from party hierarchies.
>
> • Zero Tolerance for Corruption: There should be zero tolerance
for corruption and unethical practices. "Politics of looting" has
shamed us worldwide.
>
> • Adhering to the rule of law: Political parties' modus operandi
must at all times be strictly followed. Reconciliation must replace
confrontation with either rival political parties or the government.
Political parties must stop illegal hartal, political violence, and
boycott of parliamentary sessions as instruments of defiance and
disagreement on issues of difference and discrepancy. To make your
voice heard and to elicit change in the lives of 150 million people
of Bangladesh - sign The Petition at:
>

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/accountable_democracy_bd
> or
>

http://www.bd-democracy.org

>
> For additional information on the Campaign for Accountable
Democracy, contact Kawser Jamal or visit www.bd-democracy.org
>
> Contact: Kawser Jamal
> Cell: 501-255-2814
> Email: info@... This email address is being protected from spam
bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
> www.bd-democracy.org
> www.changebangladesh.org
>
> Lets all work together for a better Bangladesh in the years to
come.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.
Try it now.
>

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[mukto-mona] Sibnarayan Ray

Sibnarayan Ray is no more. He was 87.

In the 1960s, we used to blindly malign this outstanding Marxist. We
discovered his worth after 6 December 1992. We were taught that as he
was a Royist, he had highly probable link with the CIA.

Two other antecedents throng my mind.

Once he dumped Rabindranath's painting but two decades later he made
an excellent self-criticism and described as one of the all-time great
painters in Desh weekly.

Another article was by him on Abu Syed Ayyub who got a first class in
physics (when one or two used to get it) but had to leave science for
high power specs. He turned to philosophy and gave us many preservable
essays and collections of essays especially on poetics.

We will miss him at Jijnasa stall at Book Fair. One comment on me in
person is vivid in my memory. " Mao-er opor Statesman-e lekhata apnar.
Ta chhadmaname kyaono" ( 'Chakrigato bandha', I said as I was in OBP
then). " Besh bhalo hoyechhe", he added. This too was in book fair.
Such appreciation from whom our elders used to call, "Shibe pandit",
was rare.

At least two scholars should write on him; Amlan Dutta and Sobhanlal Dutta Gupta. SNR was among the first to focus on Marx's early writing and cautioned that
old and new Marx should not be counterposed to each other.
__._,_.___

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[ALOCHONA] The India Policy of Bangladesh

The India Policy of Bangladesh

http://www.dailynayadiganta.com/fullnews.asp?News_ID=69229&sec=4

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Re: [mukto-mona] You like it or not, White House will be in the same hands!

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/46763

1. Personal attacks lead to more personal attacks. And that leads to a chaotic situation. Amidst the chaos is lost the thread of productive discussions. Moderators should have more proactive role so that such an unhappy situation can be minimized.Things have turned out to be so unpleasant sometimes that some very good contributors had to leave the forum. I believe this has made the forum less lively ( I still miss Taj Hashmi who was supposed to prove to me why Calcutta riots could be termed as a civil war between Hindus and Muslims.) For a forum like Mukto-mona it is never desirable that the members will have consensus on every thing.

2. The debate has been going on on the topic that can be paraphrased as: Muslims in general support Obama because of his Muslim background (and Hindus in general do not support Obama because of his Muslim background.)

3. The debate can still continue without any one being attacked personally. Objective analysis, facts, and data should be used to support the views of the those who participate in the discourse. Role of guess (let alone wild guess), intuition, and prophecy must be kept at minimum. Otherwise, real truth will never be revealed.

---SC

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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

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

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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.

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

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

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

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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

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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

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"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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[mukto-mona] Index page of 'swatantra bhabna'

I got the scanned copy of our book 'Swatantra Bhabna'. I have kept it in MM site:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/swatantra_bhabna/index_sb.pdf

Regards

Avijit

__._,_.___

***************************************** 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] ObamaVsMcCain

Choosing between McCain and Obama is very difficult for a conscientious citizen when one learns their reaction to Fidel Castro's decision to quit the post of Cuban President although comparatively McCain is a great jingoist.

The following opinion piece in NYT makes interesting reading anyway.

Sankar Ray

The Real McCain By David Brooks 26 Feb 08 (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin)
You wouldn't know it to look at them, but political consultants are as faddish as anyone else. And the current vogueish advice among the backroom set is: Go after your opponent's strengths. So in the first volley of what feels like the general election campaign, Barack Obama has attacked John McCain for being too close to lobbyists. His assault is part of this week's Democratic chorus: McCain isn't really the anti-special interest reformer he pretends to be. He's more tainted than his reputation suggests.
Well, anything is worth trying, I suppose, but there is the little problem of his record. McCain has fought one battle after another against lobbyists and special interests. And while I don't have space to describe all his tussles, or even the lesser ones like his fight with the agricultural lobby against sugar subsidies, I thought that, amidst all these charges, it might be worth noting some of the McCain highlights from the past dozen years.
In 1996, McCain was one of five senators, and the only Republican, to vote against the Telecommunications Act. He did it because he believed the act gave away too much to the telecommunications companies, and protected them from true competition. He noted that AT&T alone gave $780,000 to Republicans and $456,000 to Democrats in the year leading up to the vote.
In 1998, McCain championed anti-smoking legislation that faced furious opposition from the tobacco lobby. McCain guided the legislation through the Senate Commerce Committee on a 19-1 vote, but then the tobacco companies struck back. They hired 200 lobbyists and spent $40 million in advertising (three times as much as the Harry and Louise health care reform ads). Many of the ads attacked McCain by name, accusing him of becoming a big government liberal. After weeks of bitter debate, the bill died on the Senate floor.
In 2000, McCain ran for president and reiterated his longstanding opposition to ethanol subsidies. Though it crippled his chances in Iowa, he argued that ethanol was a wasteful giveaway. A recent study in the journal Science has shown that when you take all impacts into consideration, ethanol consumption increases greenhouse gas emissions compared with regular gasoline. Unlike, say, Barack Obama, McCain still opposes ethanol subsidies.
In 2002, McCain capped his long push for campaign finance reform by passing the McCain-Feingold Act. People can argue about the effectiveness of the act, but one thing is beyond dispute. It was a direct assault on lobbyist power, and earned McCain undying enmity among many important parts of the Republican coalition, who felt their soft money influence was being diminished.
In 2003, the Senate nearly passed the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. The act was opposed by the usual mix of energy, auto and mining companies. But moderate environmental groups were thrilled that McCain-Lieberman was able to attract more than 40 votes in the Senate.
In 2004, McCain launched a frontal assault on the leasing contract the Pentagon had signed with Boeing for aerial refueling tankers. McCain's investigation exposed billions of dollars of waste and layers of contracting irregularity.
In 2005, McCain led the Congressional investigation into the behavior of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The investigation was exceedingly unpleasant for Republicans, because it exposed shocking misbehavior by important conservative activists.
Over the past few years, McCain has stepped up his longstanding assault on earmarks. Every year, McCain goes to the Senate floor to ridicule the latest batch of earmarks, and every year his colleagues and the lobbyists fume. For years, McCain has proposed legislative remedies — greater transparency, a 60-vote supermajority requirement — that were brutally unpopular with many colleagues until, suddenly, now.
Over the course of his career, McCain has tried to do the impossible. He has challenged the winds of the money gale. He has sometimes failed and fallen short. And there have always been critics who cherry-pick his compromises, ignore his larger efforts and accuse him of being a hypocrite.
This is, of course, the gospel of the mediocre man: to ridicule somebody who tries something difficult on the grounds that the effort was not a total success. But any decent person who looks at the McCain record sees that while he has certainly faltered at times, he has also battled concentrated power more doggedly than any other legislator. If this is the record of a candidate with lobbyists on his campaign bus, then every candidate should have lobbyists on the bus.
And here's the larger point: We're going to have two extraordinary nominees for president this year. This could be one of the great general election campaigns in American history. The only thing that could ruin it is if the candidates become demagogues and hurl accusations at each other that are an insult to reality and common sense.
Maybe Obama can start this campaign over.

__._,_.___

***************************************** 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] Paul Robeson

If you want to listen to select video clips of Paul Robeson and his speeches, click http://cpusa.org/article/articleview/884/1/148/

*****************************************
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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[mukto-mona] Robot arms race seen underway (World Science e-newsletter)

* Robot arms race seen underway:
Proponents of robot weapons say they could keep
soldiers out of harm's way. Critics say the machines
raise troubling questions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_robots

* "Noah's Ark" seed vault opens:
A remote chamber designed to protect seeds for
posterity took in its first shipments.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_vault

* Pirates had "democratic" ways:
The pirates of old produced impressive examples of
self-rule and mutual fairness -- largely because
they had no choice, a researcher says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080222_pirates

* Expert: obesity, global warming could be
fought together
Redesigning cities to curb excess driving could
reduce both warming and waistlines, a physician
claims.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_obesity-warming

* Computers learn "regret":
New programs imitate human decision-making in
strategy games by looking backwards.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080221_regret

* SCIENCE IN IMAGES:
Among the disguises in the animal kingdom, the
swallowtail caterpillar's is surely one of the most
unappetizing.

http://www.world-science.net

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Re: [Mukto-Mona] Bangladesh's model - Questionable Kennedy School ?????

WRT:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/46714

Things do not look very transparent, What's cooking?

Dear All

As a matter of fact, Ayub Khan had Gustav P. Papanek of Boston Uviversity,
Ershad had Craig Baxter of Juniata Colege, ....now we see that Robert I. Rotberg
who directs Harvard University Kennedy School's program on intrastate conflict is trying
to line up behind Bangladesh's boss the American-trained (?) Moeen U. Ahmed. Hope we
all remember, General Moeen U. Ahmed visited Kennedy School at Harvard University
recently [on October 21st 2007].

Kennedy School has now a project on "sustainable democracy" in Bangladesh. This
project is supposedly funded by Bangladersh Government. These professors are one of
a kind bounty hunters, who design projects to cater short-term and long-term needs
of the "special interest groups" in the funding country. Professor Robert I. Rotberg vis-à-vis
Kennedy School's agenda is not likely to be any different. By his own admission, Professor
Rotberg recently visited Bangladesh. It will be interesting to who paid for the cost of his
Bangladesh tour. Is it any way connected to the "sustainable democracy in Bangladesh"
prroject?

Moeen U. Ahmed visited Kennedy School too. There is a rumor in Dhaka that the expense
for Moeen U.'s October 2007 visit was close to the tune of around $200,000 (that includes the expenses for his staff and entourage) from Bangladesh's coffer. What did people of Bangladesh got in return? Things do not look very transparent........

BTW, our well-known IT-specialist Sajeeb Wajed Miah recently got himself admitted into
a graduate program at the Kennedy School of Government. It will be very interesting to know
how his current academic pursuit is being funded at highly expensive Harvard University.
Mr. Sajeeb Wajed Miah's hitherto academic and professional background was computer
engineering and information technology. Any direct relevence to a program leading to
a degree in Government is not very apparent, unless he has been designated to be a CEO
of Bangladesh in the near or distant future, by the Kennedy School of Government...

The article "Bangladesh's model: It offers an alternative for countries immersed in conflict" By Robert I. Rotberg published in ChicagoTribune February 17, 2008 should read seriously and must be read between the lines.

Syed Aslam

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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

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

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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.

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary

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

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

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona

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

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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari

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

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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

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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

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[ALOCHONA] Talk is cheap, but taking action is tough

Dear All,

I just like to point out that talk is cheap either in this forum or other places, but taking action is tough either your are CTG, AWL or BNP supporter or not. We can waste thousands of hours arguing in the web, blogs and in locals who is the father of the nation and who is not, which party is better and who is not, barking one against others, complaining about corruption, talk mostly about past, but when we have urged to sign a Petition which will have impact on Bangladesh and most importantly 150 million people in the years to come, I do not see any major action from their part.

Some one was telling me other day, Bengali are very good in tearing down each others but when you ask for constructive things, they all flee to their own hiding. Some one told me that most Bengali are good to talk but lack in action and that's why Bangladesh is so behind even though we have good number of educated and intellectual people and serving in the top companies in the world.

The point of telling this is to that we have only one thing left in Bangladesh which is "Accountable Democracy", if we fail in this, there will be no future for 150 million people. It does not matter who comes to power but the focus of this petition is to make them accountable for their action and make them right under Democratic privilege.

So even you sign or not, it does not hurt or help me but I think it is our patriotic duty to support Bangladesh by signing this petition. I also urge you to stop the wasteful arguments about Bangladesh which does not help either you or Bangladesh.

Please sign the Petition. This Petition will be submitted to major political parties in Bangladesh in Jun/July 2008 demanding that NRB and local Bangladeshi want action, not just talk to talk, want walk to walk which will affect 150 Million people and their future. We will continue be watching their activities in future to make a better Bangladesh.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ accountable_ democracy_ bd/index. html

To find out more about the campaign, please go to:

http://www.bd-democracy.org/

CHANGE we need from "Democracy" to "Accountable Democracy"

Regards,

M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu)

www.changebangladesh.org

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[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.] To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

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[ALOCHONA] Yunus: In Saudi Arabia standing up for Bangladeshis

Yunus trashes reports of crimes by Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia

Star Report

Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, now on a visit to Saudi Arabia, has brushed aside allegations in Saudi media that a large number of Bangladeshis are breaking the law in the kingdom.

Any people can turn to crimes anywhere and so it is not fair to single out a certain nationality, he said during a reception hosted by Consulate General of Bangladesh at Al-Salam Holiday Inn in Jeddah Sunday evening, daily Saudi Gazette reported yesterday.

Dr Yunus' comments came following Saudi media reports that Bangladeshi workers are engaged in various criminal activities in the country for which Riyadh is reducing the quota for Bangladeshi workers there.

The Nobel laureate, who is visiting the Gulf country as a speaker at Ninth Jeddah Economic Forum now being held in Jeddah and plans to introduce Grameen Bank's signature microcredit concept in the country, urged the Bangladeshi expatriates to abide by Saudi rules and regulations.

"Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh have strong economic and cultural ties and Saudi Arabia has been a great friend of us in all circumstances," he said, noting that Bangladesh is a source of hard-working manpower for the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Dr Yunus' presence in the kingdom and his great speeches at Jeddah International Conference and Exhibition Centre received a big round of applause, making Bangladeshi expatriates proud.

Maintenance workers Mukhles Mian, Muhammad Munir and Jashimuddin said they were overwhelmed by the greatness of their countryman.

"Look, how all the Saudi men and women were clapping and listening to him with rapt attention. He is a great man. We are seeing him for the first time in flesh and blood," daily Arab News yesterday quoted one of them as saying.

The three men said Dr Yunus' presence in Saudi Arabia comes at the most critical time in the lives of the 17 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates in the kingdom.

"There are all these reports appearing in the local press about our iqamas (work permits) not being renewed and about recruitment of Bangladeshis being stopped and of our compatriots being in the news for all the wrong reasons," he said.

"There are websites that are running a campaign against us. Professor Yunus' presence here will go a long way in improving the image of Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia. All the top Saudi business leaders are here and after listening to Professor Yunus they will definitely have a soft corner for all of us. When they think of Bangladeshis, the Saudis will now definitely think of Professor Yunus."

For the three workmen, the presence of Dr Yunus was enough. "We don't know what he spoke about," said one of them. "We don't know English. We only saw the entire hall clapping intermittently and we saw that everybody stood at the end for quite a long time. Did you see anybody doing that when other speakers ended their speeches?"

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[mukto-mona] RSS mobilse Foreign Funding for Communal Riots

Dear Friends,

After Kandhamal Riot followed by Nayagarh Naxal attack, Sangha Parivar and Orissa Govt. led by BJP-BJD have left no time/occasion in alleging that a nexus (Foreign Funding - NGOs - Maoists - Christians ) is behind the Kandhamal riot and so called conversion. But, none of them took the pain to prove it. The people of Orissa hope the Sangha Parivar will prove it in future.

But, a citizens' group based in UK have gathered enough information to prove another funding nexus - (Foreign funding - Sangha Parivar - Communal riot). So, where is the moral right of RSS to question others ? The people of India have the right to expect RSS parivar members should be transparent and respect the law of the land (FCRA).

Please see an article(summery of the Report of the Citizen's Group) pasted bellow and the full report attached herewith for your kind information.

Regards,

Dhirendra Panda

More On RSS Foreign Funds -The Awaaz Report

Nalini Taneja

YET another citizens' report, titled In Bad Faith? British Charity and Hindu Extremism, by a citizen's group based in UK documents the sources and the fraudulent means whereby RSS receives foreign funds from the British public. One may remember that last year a report was released at the initiative of US based secular groups, which documented the sources and manner whereby RSS received funds collected for them by 'charity' organisations in the US.

This new report about the sources of RSS funds from UK is by AWAAZ (South Asia Watch), a non-partisan, secular network with no religious affiliation or any affiliation to any British or Indian political party. It was recently launched at the British House of Lords. We give below the summary which conclusively demonstrates that organisations directly linked with the RSS have received millions of pounds raised from the British public.

APPROPRIATING OVERSEAS FUNDS

These funds were collected by a Leicester-based registered charity organisation called the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and its fundraising arm, the Sewa International. It runs about 70 weekly physical and ideological training cells in the UK. The HSS is modelled on the RSS, actively promotes RSS ideology and shares the RSS aim of turning India into an exclusive 'Hindu nation'. The RSS in India considers the HSS to be its UK branch. Sewa International is not a registered charity. It uses the charity registration number of the HSS to raise funds from the British public.The Vishwa Hindu Parishad UK and the Kalyan Ashram Trust UK, both registered charities, are also branches of the RSS family operating in the UK. The full report details numerous, extensive, deep and active connections between the HSS and the RSS --- connections which were not made known to donors and the British public who gave funds in good faith for Indian humanitarian causes.

According to the report, around £2 million raised from the British public on grounds of the Gujarat earthquake alone went to fund the expansion of sangh parivar organisations in India. The overwhelming bulk of funds raised by Sewa International UK from the British public for Orissa Cyclone relief also went to RSS fronts. They were used for building sectarian sangh parivar schools, even though the British public was never informed of this intention, and for building the RSS networks all over the country. The organisations funded include not merely those ideologically inclined towards Hindutva, but also groups directly involved in large-scale violence and the promotion of hatred.

Both the Gujarat earthquake (2001) and the Orissa cyclone (1999) demonstrate a pattern in which a natural, human tragedy is used to enable the dramatic expansion of RSS institutions through the use of overseas funds.

EXPLOITING HUMAN TRAGEDY

All the £ 2 million raised from the British public by Sewa International for Gujarat earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation from 2001 onwards was for a major RSS affiliate, Sewa Bharati. Sewa Bharati's reconstruction work was directly related to furthering the RSS's political agenda, including through the organization of RSS cells. A key pattern found was that Sewa International funded Sewa Bharati for rebuilding work, but it was the RSS that conducted ceremonies for the start of rebuilding work or handed over the completed village to residents. One rebuilt village (Chapredi) included an important dedication plaque glorifying the RSS, its founder and a key RSS affiliate. A Hindu temple topped with saffron flags was built in the village. No evidence was found of Sewa International funding the building of mosques or churches, though many of these were destroyed in the earthquake. The RSS supreme leader K S Sudarshan undertook the foundation stone laying ceremony for one village (Mithapasvaria). The new village was handed over to residents by senior RSS leaders. The RSS supreme leader K S Sudarshan undertook the opening ceremony for another village (Rapar) during which he urged residents to expand the RSS network in the area. Funds were raised for this village through a multicultural event in the UK. RSS physical and ideological training cells were started by Sewa Bharati during the rebuilding and rehabilitation period for another village (Badanpur).

A large proportion of the £260,000 raised by Sewa International for Orissa cyclone relief (1999) went to enable the expansion of major RSS affiliates. Funds were used for building RSS schools. The HSS said Orissa cyclone funds would be channelled through RSS volunteers and given to organisations which get their workforce from the RSS. Funds raised by Sewa International's 'education aid' wing are significant, running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. ?Each of the 'supported projects' for which Sewa International raises funds from the British public is an RSS project or is linked to the RSS, including the ekal vidyalyas run by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Sewa Bharati, Vidya Bharati and other RSS/VHP affiliates.

PUSHING HINDUTVA AGENDA

Sewa International and the Kalyan Ashram Trust UK (a registered charity) raise funds for the RSS arm, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA), which has been responsible for considerable violence and hatred against Christian and Muslim groups, including during the Gujarat carnage in 2002. Allegations of violence against Christians by Sewa Bharati in Madhya Pradesh continue. Some Gujarat earthquake appeal funds collected by Sewa International from the British public were for the RSS-allied Lok Kalyan Samiti in Chanasma village, which has been implicated in the violent 'cleansing' of all Muslims from the village and the illegal occupation of premises and land previously under the charge of the statutory Muslim waqf board. ?Some Gujarat earthquake appeal funds collected by Sewa International from the British public were for the RSS's Border Jankalyan Samiti in Gujarat. The Jan Kalyan Samiti's Maharashtra branch was responsible for attacks on Christian organisations.

Needless to say, there are serious allegations that the RSS discriminated against Muslims and dalits in earthquake relief, and that the RSS and its allies attacked and intimidated secular NGOs undertaking relief work. Earthquake relief work by RSS allies was accompanied by violence and hatred against Christians. The RSS itself, in its response to the report, is able to speak of building 13 houses for Muslims when (as AWAAZ points out), "in 2002, the sangh parivar made 200,000 Muslims lose their homes."

Over a three-year period, only a small amount of a few thousand pounds was shown in HSS UK literature to have been donated by Sewa International to other causes. Despite the extreme need in Gujarat to help the victims of the Gujarat carnage of 2002, the HSS or the VHP UK, which lay claim to be non sectarian and humanitarian, did not launch any humanitarian appeal for the 2,000 people killed, mostly Muslims, and over 200,000 citizens of India who got displaced.

Based on its findings AWAAZ recommends that the charitable status of HSS and other associated charities should be withdrawn and public sector funding and political patronage of these organisations should end, and that politicians, public and voluntary sector organisations, religious and community groups publicly dissociate from the HSS, the VHP UK and their allied organizations. It also proposes to initiate an enquiry by the British Parliament into these concerns.

The report is based on site visits to Gujarat villages in September 2003, interviews in Gujarat from March-May 2003, interviews in the UK, US and other parts of India during 2003, and an analysis of papers and electronic documents, mostly from Hindutva organisations. It is published by Awaaz - South Asia Watch Ltd, London, 2004, ISBN 0 9547174 0 6. The full report is available on www.awaazsaw.org .

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[mukto-mona] Marching Forward : Pervez Hoodbhoy,

Marching Forward

Nuclear physicist, Pervez Hoodbhoy, talks about the urgent new needs confronting the Pakistan of today.

"Faith, Unity, Discipline." Mohammad Ali Jinnah's oft quoted phrase is known to every Pakistani. It has been used to serve different ends. Successive military rulers have claimed this is a call for all to march in step towards a goal that they have determined. Others have disputed this self-serving interpretation. But whatever Jinnah may have actually had in mind, nearly 60 years down the road, there is a new Pakistan with new realities - and pressing new needs.

For starters, Pakistan needs the participation of its people. There is open cynicism about Pakistan's political parties and its self-seeking, kleptomanic leaders. The military rules an apathetic nation. Young people have tuned in to mindless FM entertainment and tuned out of participation in social causes. University campuses are deviod of discussion and debate, and movements against manifest social and political injustice bring forth only handfuls of committed individuals. Millions demonstrated on the streets of London, Rome, Washington and New York against the criminal American invasion of Iraq. But in Pakistan - where the anger ran deeper - the response was invisible.

This apathy has an explanation. Most young people think that the world is naturally cruel and will remain so. They think vague hopes for a better world are like wanting a piece of the moon or eternal youth, and hence a waste of time. But this damning state of mind is recent - it was brought about by the deliberate policy of leaders to cripple our will so that we stop fighting them. A generation of left-wing activists has gone missing from the heady optimism of the 1960s - when revolution seemed around the corner - to the despair of the present.

But empowerment and people's participation can come once again to Pakistan if we are so determined. Labour must organise again, the ban on student unions must go, and the political parties must join hands on real issues and be allowed to freely campaign without fear of arrest and persecution. We need to dream our dreams, once again, because Pakistan's survival is at stake.

Pakistan needs, and deserves, a citizenry with alert minds and at least some understanding of how the world works. People must know what makes the stars and sun shine, what causes earthquakes and tsunamis, and why diseases of the body and mind are no more than various malfunctions of cellular machines. Unless such causal connections are accepted and contextualised within the larger scientific paradigm, we, like other pre-modern peoples, will continue to believe in evil spirits, in "jinn-bhoot-pareet," or in divine anger, as the cause of drought and flood, disease and dementia, poverty and misery.

Ignorance makes people fearful, drives them to passivity and acceptance of fate, and ensures that while others progress and prosper, we are left way behind. The history of humankind is replete with examples where diseases, plagues, and epidemics were attributed to sinful behavior. AIDS is a modern example. The devout everywhere, including Pakistan, saw this as "azab-i-ilahi" and a punishment for promiscuity. But microbiologists in the west looked at it as a challenge to first identify - and then contain - a mutant virus that attacks the human immune system. So, even as priests and mullahs bonded together to declare AIDS unstoppable, scientists and public health specialists quietly went about their work. Today, with no change in personal behaviours, the tide has been reversed and fewer people die every year from this dreaded disease in the west.

Pakistan needs freedom for its women. In much of rural Pakistan, a woman is likely to be spat upon, beaten, or killed for talking to a man or even showing him her face. Newspaper readers expect - and get - a steady daily diet of stories about women raped, mutilated, or strangled to death by their fathers, husbands, and brothers. With energetic proselytisers like Farhat Hashmi making deep inroads even into the urban middle and upper classes, the culture of suppressing women is spreading. Our cities are becoming culturally backward villages. As the pious multiply, the horrific daily crimes against women become increasingly less worthy of comment or discussion.

Pakistani notions of morality, and of right and wrong, have come to centre around women-related issues. There is nothing new in this. Historically women have been held responsible for depravity and promiscuity, their evil deeds bringing down divine wrath. From St. Augustine to Luther, Christian theologians agreed on the principle "thou shall not suffer a witch to live." So, when hail or storm ruined a crop, the search for witches would intensify and soon the air would be filled with the stench of burning flesh. When Egypt was faced by hunger because of the drying up of the Nile, the orthodox Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim, ordered women to be shut in their homes and forbade the manufacture of shoes for them. He thought mixing of the sexes was the cause. Today we know better. Or do we?

Pakistan needs economic justice and the working machinery of a welfare state. Economic justice is not about flinging coins at beggars. It requires organisational infrastructure that, at the very least, provides employment, but also rewards according to ability and hard work. Incomes should be neither exorbitantly high nor miserably low. To be sure, "high" and "low" are not easily quantifiable, but an inner moral sense tells us that something is desperately wrong when rich Pakistanis fly off to vacation in Dubai on a whim while a mother commits suicide because she cannot feed her children.

A welfare state in Pakistan is a receding ideal. India abolished feudalism upon attaining independence. But the enormous pre-Partition land holdings of Pakistan's feudal lords remained safe and sound, protected by the authority of the state. The land reforms announced by Ayub Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were plain eyewash. In later years, with the consolidation of military rule in national politics, the army turned itself into a landlord and capitalist elite. Today, officers not only own vast amounts of farm lands and valuable urban real estate, but also massive commercial assets in manufacturing, transportation, banking, insurance, and advertising. Take anything from cement to sugar, or corn flakes to commercial bottled water, and you will find that the military owns the means of their production. No other army in the world does that. Most countries have armies, but, as some have acerbically remarked, only in Pakistan does an army have a country.

Pakistan needs the rule of law. Nearly three centuries earlier, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau observed that each citizen of a state voluntarily places his person under the supreme direction of the "general will." An unwritten social contract between the individual and society requires that a citizen accept the rule of law and admit to certain basic responsibilities. In return the citizen receives certain rights from the larger entity. Without this voluntary submission by individuals, said Rousseau, humans would be no better than beasts.

How well is the social contract holding up in Pakistan, and to what extent do citizens exhibit responsible social behavior? How many of us pay our fair share of income tax, respect basic environmental rules, heed traffic laws, and dispose off garbage as we should? Pitifully few. An avalanche of law-breaking occurs because ordinary people see the nation's leaders and the powerful openly flouting the very rules they claim to protect, and because they can see that enforcement of the law is no more than a perfunctory gesture. The problem is compounded by Pakistan's fundamental confusion: is the citizen obligated to obey secular (or common) law or one of the many interpretations of Islamic law, or even the tribal law of jirgas? Surely a modern state has to set uniform rules for its citizens or else risk losing its legitimacy.

Pakistan needs hope. As the population explodes, oceans of poverty and misery deepen. Limbless beggars in the streets multiply. Water and clean air become scarce resources, education remains stalemated, democracy remains as distant as ever, and the distance from a rapidly developing world increases. There is a strong temptation for one to step aside, give up, admit helplessness. But then surely what we fear will actually come to pass. I go along with Antonio Gramsci, the great Italian philosopher, who spoke of "pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will." With the pessimism of the intellect we must calmly contemplate the yawning abyss up ahead. But then, after a period of reflection, we should move to prevent falling into it.

Howard Zinn - who I first heard speak at an anti-Vietnam war rally in Boston in 1970 - has a powerful message of hope for those who want to change their societies: To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness… If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to act. If we remember those times and places - and there are many - where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.

There is much reason for despair, but even more for hope. One hundred and sixty million people cannot disappear from the face of the earth, or allow themselves to be imprisoned indefinitely in a living hell. Human ingenuity and the good sense of survival shall inevitably assert themselves. It is for us all, as agents of change, to move in a way so that the inevitable arrives sooner rather than later. In Faiz's immortal words:

Hum dekhain ge, lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhain ge ; woh din ke jis ka wahda hai, jo loh-e-azal main likha hai.

E-mail: newsline@cyber.net.pk

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ZNet Commentaries by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Pervez Hoodbhoy

Professor of Nuclear Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy has been a faculty member at the Quaid-e-Azam University since 1973. In 1984 he received the Abdus Salam Prize for mathematics and is the author of 65 scientific research papers. He is chairman of Mashal, a non-profit organization which publishes books in Urdu on women's rights, education, environmental issues, philosophy, and modern thought.

Dr. Hoodbhoy has written and spoken extensively on topics ranging from science in Islam to education issues in Pakistan and nuclear disarmament. He produced a 13-part documentary series in Urdu for Pakistan Television on critical issues in education, and two series aimed at popularizing science. He is author of 'Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality', now in 5 languages.

Particle Politics column by Pervez Hoodbhoy

Pervez Hoodbhoy

Articles on Chowk: 59

First article: Dec 23, 1997

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