Thursday, July 31, 2008

[mukto-mona] This early the campaign turned outright ugly!

This early the campaign just turned outright ugly!

A.H. Jaffor Ullah

The November 4 election, which will decide who gets into the White House as the chief executive, is nearly three months away but from the look of the recent TV advertisement especially the ones engineered by the McCain campaign, one may think that the election just 'round the corner.

Senator McCain had been telling the media ever since he became the presumptive nominee of the Grand Old Party that he wanted to have a clean and respectful campaign. Many political observers including this scribe thought that the Senator from Arizona would not tread the path trodden by George Bush and Dick Cheney in 2004 when their campaign chief, Karl Rove, engineered some nasty TV Ad to finish off Senator John Kerry's quest for the White House as the Democratic Party's flag-bearer. The Kerry campaign did not respond to those nasty Ads in a timely fashion, which did him in at the end. Those Ads injected doubts about Senator Kerry's military record in Vietnam. In actuality, Kerry was a celebrated war hero but not according to those nasty ads financed by groups supporting George W. Bush. Many ordinary Americans have way too much trust in the media. These gullible Americans fell for the disinformation campaign. Consequently, in the battleground states Kerry lost the election and the rest is what they say history.

Senator Obama's campaign is not like the Kerry campaign; it reacts rather quickly to any misstatements or falsehood engineered by the McCain campaign. The Karl Roves of Republican Party that are busily making the attack ads will be in for a surprise during this campaign season. We just saw a glimpse of it today (July 31, 2008).

Ever since Senator Obama had returned from the overseas trip in which he covered the major European nations and a few Middle Eastern nations including Iraq, Israel, and the West Bank, most leading newspapers and the network TV news covered the trip and the editorial write-ups on it were very favorable for Senator Obama. This however did not sit well with the Republican strategists and conservative talk show hosts. They wished that Senator Obama, who lacks foreign policy experiences, would stumble very badly and probably make a fool out of himself while visiting the European and Middle Eastern nations. But that did not happen; therefore, McCain supporters and his top-level campaign staffs were caught off-guard when they read great encomiums that were showered to the junior senator from Illinois. Also, the news of over 200,000 Berliners attending Obama's speech was a difficult one to swallow by the McCain campaign staff.

It's not an earth-shattering discovery that Senator McCain does not have enough oratorical skill. Consequently, he could hardly give speech to a spellbound audience. In fact, most Americans find him to be a ho-hum speaker. He often repeats his insipid messages that lack details and specifics. Also, he often becomes confused while talking about Shias and Sunnis in Iraq. He repeatedly had said that Iran is arming al-Qaeda terrorists. These oft-repeated blunders of McCain had turned him the butt of the jokes in the nightly comedy hours. Contrast these with that of Senator Obama's oratorical skill. Is it a small wonder that the McCain campaign is out there to engineer falsehood against the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee?

Since McCain campaign could not dig any dirt against Senator Obama that could hurt him politically, now the same bunch is questioning Obama's fitness to become the next president of America. They say that Obama is a lightweight celebrity a la Britney Spears – onetime teenyboppers' idol and Paris Hilton, a socialite whose photo graces the front-page of gossip magazines in America. Perhaps 200,000 Berliners swarming Senator Obama and listening to his awe-inspiring speech was way too much for Senator McCain. This attack Ad in TV is a direct response to Obama's popularity among Europeans.

On July 31, 2008 The White House contest between Obama and McCain took one of its nastiest turn as the campaign air filled with accusations of race-baiting and gutter politics. Important campaign issues such as the economy and the Iraq war rather took a breather, as the Republican McCain responded with fury to Obama's assertions that his opponents would exploit his exotic name and appearance for electoral gain. Barack Obama sent millions of e-mails to his supporters stating the following: "A few hours ago John McCain, the same man who just months ago promised to run a "respectful campaign," said he is "proud" of his latest attack ad. That's the one attacking your enthusiasm, comparing me to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and making false claims about my energy plan. Now, we're facing some serious challenges in this country -- our economy is struggling, energy costs are skyrocketing, and families don't have health care.
Given the seriousness of these issues, you'd think we'd be having a serious debate. But instead, John McCain is running an expensive, negative campaign against us. Each day brings a desperate new set of attacks."

David Plouffe, the campaign manager of Senator Obama, also fired off millions of e-mails to Obama supporters in which he wrote: "Less than 24 hours ago, the McCain campaign launched the latest and lowest in a series of misleading attack ads. This Karl Rove-style ploy misleads people about Barack's energy plan and even mocks his ability to inspire voters and bring Americans back into the political process. Watchdogs in the media are calling McCain's accusations "bogus," "desperate," "wrong," "misleading," "ugly," "offensive," "reckless," and "a nasty turn into the gutter."

This contest for the White House is in the first innings (to use a baseball metaphor) but look at the tenor of this campaign. The real campaign would begin right on Labor Day, which falls on September 1 this year. However, if this trend continues, then god almighty only knows how low it could get.

It would be better if John McCain could keep his earlier promise when he said that he would run a "respectful campaign." Come to think of it, this was his campaign promise. From the look of it, it seems as if the attack dogs were let loose by the Karl Roves of the Republican Party. The voters are sick-and-tired of the negative campaign. Instead, both sides should stay on their message. How do they plan to bring the nation out of the economic stagnation? How to balance the budget? How to end the war in Iraq? These are the genuine issues and the candidate who could give a better solution to these pressing national issues would win the election. In my opinion, of the two candidates John McCain had started the negative campaign because he is still trailing behind Senator Obama by a few percentage points. Let us have a clean fight for a change.

----------------------

A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA

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[mukto-mona] SAARC: Partnership for the betterment of the people

Dear Editor,

Hope you are doing well and thanks for publishing my previous write-ups

This is an article titled "SAARC: Partnership for the betterment of the people". I will be highly honoured if you publish this article. I apprecite your time to read this article.

Thanks

Have a nice time

With Best Regards

Ripan Kumar Biswas
New York, U.S.A

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SAARC: Partnership for the betterment of the people

Ripan Kumar Biswas
Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com

The Governments wish to develop partnerships with their counterparts that actively disseminate knowledge and information with a view to strengthening risk reduction at both bilateral and regional level.

Environmental and climate change, swelling food and fuel prices, economic slow-down, terrorism, new migration flows, and the risk of increasing conflicts over limited resources generally have a regional dimension. Most of the world's conflicts occur in regions where at least one of the neighboring countries is also affected by conflict. There is a need for closer regional cooperation on such questions with a view to preventing different types of humanitarian crisis.

The 15th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) — scheduled in Colombo , Sri Lanka from August 2-3, 2008, is now trying to evolve an organization devoted to an immediate implementation of its decisions with the theme "partnership for the betterment of the people."

Since its inception while its charter was formally adopted in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 8, 1985, SAARC countries have never been able to adopt realistic approaches going beyond the politics of mistrust and suspicion. May be the leaders had realized that SAARC had to evolve into a more people-centered organization and thus this year's theme was a progression from last year's theme of connectivity while they were adding Afghanistan as group's eight member in April 2007. The Summit is also expected to decide on the request of Australia and Myanmar for grant of observer status with SAARC. China, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mauritius, USA, and EU have already been granted observer status last year.

Such partnerships should include exchange of experience of peace and reconciliation measures, dialogues on reducing vulnerability to different types of humanitarian crisis, efforts to increase understanding of risk and conflict, and discussions on emergency response, gender issues and crisis management, with a view to strengthening local capacity.

But SAARC has not been able to build such partnership among the member countries like the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militants issue, the conflict between India and Bangladesh about border issues, human and drug trafficking, cross-border terrorism, water sharing and so on.

Although the foreign secretaries in 1981 in Colombo and the foreign ministers in 1983 in New Delhi identified areas to promote regional cooperation, which includes agriculture and rural development; health and population activities; women, youth and children; environment and forestry, science and technology and meteorology; transport; and human resource development, but the countries in South Asia are now facing the challenge of terrorism, food security, and energy crisis. Heads of state and government leaders would find shared solutions and adopt a series of measures with the main focus on a joint approach to combating terrorism, maximizing energy and water resources, food security, and poverty alleviation.

There are a number of countries that have had little success with disaster risk reduction, and one of the reasons for this is that they have experienced several crises in a short space of time with their limited resources and expertise. Closer regional cooperation on humanitarian and development policy should be established to improve the coordination of risk reduction and emergency response, particularly with respect to natural disasters or any major crisis. In addition, the need for more regional cooperation is increased by the lack of a clear UN mandate for preparedness, risk reduction, early warning, etc. So far, the UN's most important role has been responding to humanitarian crises, but in recent years it has played an increasing role in preparedness.

In regions where there are many small countries, cooperation will be of major significance, but it is important that regional organizations and forums involve the whole region. And in South Asia, the world's most densely populated area covering approximately 1.47 billion people, there is clearly a need for regional cooperation in order to address those above issues in this Greater Himalaya region. The South Asian people share many socio-economic and political problems, such as poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, unequal treatment of women, violence against women, pollution, exploitation of child labor, and religious fundamentalism.

Exchange of dialogues periodically and implement them as much as possible rather quite often between SAARC countries will communicate opinions, problems and way to solution is definitely helping hand to improve relations.

To move firmly towards the implementation of SAARC initiatives, keeping in mind the need for a regional focus and orientation, its members should be more active and vibrant to ensure progress and prosperity in the region. A number of SAARC documents including the Charter of SAARC Development Fund (SDF); Agreement on the establishment of SAARC Regional Standards Organization (SARSO); SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters; and The Protocol on the Accession of Afghanistan to SAFTA are expected to be signed during the Summit. These agreements will boost regional cooperation.

However, over the years, SAARC has made several progresses in a number of areas including trade, finance, poverty alleviation, and environment. In view of the growing demand to form a regional action plan for adaptation to climate change and mobilising funds for the purpose, environment ministers of SAARC countries sat for the first-ever such meeting in Dhaka on July 3, 2008. Though SAFTA is expected to be signed, but efforts are being made to create a level playing field by eliminating all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade. SAARC Food Bank would start its operation with a food reserve of two million tons of rice and wheat. The food will remain in respective storage of the member nations as food stock.

No doubt to say that SAARC is too important and could be more effective for its geopolitical relationship with surrounding countries and emerge as regional strength.

August 01, 2008, New York
Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York

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[ALOCHONA] Are you angree with Kuwait police or authority? SHOULD NOT BE , IF YOU ARE ...........

Seeing the maltreatment of Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, As a Bangladeshi you must be angree.

But if you are susil, and not angree with the CTG for their torture on Bangladeshi inside and outside of jail, seeing the failed CTG in power for 18 more months, who could not improve situation and withdraw emergency even after 18 months, you have no right to be angree with Kuwait.

If you not angree seeing the bangladeshi people in emergency bed for 18 more years, then you have no right to be angree with the CTG.

প্রতিনিধি , অশীল সমাজ
হে আল্লাহ আমাকে কখনো বিদেশীদের তাবেদার সুশীলদের অন্তর্ভূক্ত করো না

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com __._,_.___

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[ALOCHONA] Re: [chottala.com] Ph.D.

In fact Hasina got(managed/bought ????) in all 13 Ph.D's. The octogenarian sub assistant leader of BAL Zillur
Rahman once said boasting in the Mohan(?) Shangshad that his netri is so busy in the welfare of the "Apamor Jonoshadharan" so she refused many many dozens of offer of Ph.D to her .

Bangladesh is the luckiest country to have had such a erudite,prudent,knowlesgable,highly educated,dozens of Ph.D holders leader. The other countries must be jelous not to have such PM. As some of the PM's great great grand grandma or grandpa was Thief,begger(the Austrailian PM),or even one could not cross high school and was bus conductor (John Major,UK).

GOODS LUCK BANGLADESH.

JUGEY JUGEY JENO EROKOM KANDARI POW TAHOLEY AR 1/11 ER OBHABH HOBEY NA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faruque Alamgir

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 9:47 AM, shahid <shahid@merimo.net> wrote:

Subject: Ph.D.

FYI:

"Many Universities are offering Ph. D. degree to me but I could not
avail
these because I have shortage of time" said by ex-Prime Minister of
Bangladesh and Bangakaonna Sheikh Hasina. During her 5 years reign, she
obtained nine Ph.
D. degrees from various universities of the world. In fact, by obtaining
nine Ph. D. degree, she set up an world record. It is believed that
there
is no such person in the world who could be able to obtain nine Ph. D.
degree in his life time. Sheikh Hasina, who is a graduate of Dhaka
University, didn't complete her Masters degree but now she became the
richest person in the world in context of having Ph. D.

Last two years, a team of the Government officials was assigned to
contact
various universities of the world for finding any scopes to obtain Ph.
D.
degree for Sheikh Hasina. Thanks to almighty, they were able to manage
following degrees for her:

1. Doctor of Science: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibar Rahman Agricultural
University, Bangladesh.
2. Doctor of Laws: Boston University, USA.
3. Doctor of Laws: Waseda University, Japan.
4. Doctor of Liberal Arts: University of Albertay, Scotland.
5. Doctor of Literature (Deshikottom): Bishwabharati, India.
6. Doctor of Laws: National University, Australia.
7. Doctor of Laws: Dhaka University, Bangladesh.
8. Doctor of Laws: Catholic University, Belgium.
9. Doctor of Human Letters: Bridgeport University, USA.

Sheikh Hasina somehow managed nine Ph. D. degrees without suitable
academic
background but she spent millions of poor people's money for traveling
various countries to collect her degrees. It is also rumored that she
spent
huge public money for purchasing most of the Ph. D. degree she obtained.
Wastage of poor people's money for obtaining useless degrees is not
acceptable. We demand proper investigation of such unethical activities of
the past Awami League Government.

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Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49247

Subimal,

I am tired of arguing with you. That's why I refrained myself from answering your question. But, you are so persistent that I could not help but responding to your query about Sunil Gangooly.

Through Bangladesh Hindu Buddhists Christian Unity Council, I met some activist leaders from Kolkata, who are fighting for rights of Hindu refugees in West Bengal, who came from Bangladesh due to persistent persecution by previous Bangladeshi governments. They approached Sunil Gangooly several times to listen to their stories and write about them. Sunil Gangooly refused to do so stating that Hindus leave Bangladesh due to political reason and he does not want to get involved in the political matters. When Taslima Nasrin depicted plights of Hindus under the wrath of persecution in her book (Lajjya), all I hear from Sunil Gangooly is that her writings have no literary value, as if the stories or the subject matters have no value because of incompetent writings. He forgets that he has no courage to write something about this issue. He is vocal about plights of Muslim minorities in West Bengal, which is wonderful. I wish he could gather some
courage to write about the persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh together with the cause of the Muslim minorities in West Bengal. I have some other issues with Sunil Gangooly, which I cannot write at this moment because it is already 12 O'Clock mid-night now.
Jiten Roy

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
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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".
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Re: [mukto-mona] Re: Humayun Ahmed's comments

Marrying daughters friend is not unusual nor sin as you thought, it is leagally acceptable in any society. ,Marriage is much better than adultery. Therefore Islam allowed upto four marriage for a man (of course with certain condition). Don't blame Humayun Ahmed for marrying daughter friend. Main reason for this is "Love", Love is eternal. __._,_.___

***************************************** 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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[ALOCHONA] I Do Not Know This Bangladeshi Culture

We start everything with the name of Allah, not "in the name of Allah", sir. We are not Mollaas like you are. We do not start gathering with you reciting some Verse of Qoraan. If you say so, you are a liar.

Aziz Huq <azizhuq@hotmail.com> wrote:

We start everything in the name of Allah. Besides that, Quran is a reminder about one's responsibility, care, love, compassion for others. The Khutbah recited in Muslim marriages are according to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (SWS). To be effective, the recitation needs to be followed by a translation, which is not often done in Bangladesh. Even with out understanding, the words of the Quran has the power to soften the hearts of a believer.

Islam encompasses all the virtues you mention. Islam is also love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, justice, personal responsibility. humility, humbleness, modesty, charity, seeking knowledge, protecting the environment, taking care of parents, the sick and the poor and many others.

But it is not true that the five pillars have been invented by the Mullahs. Please open any book on the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (SWS) you will find one of the most famous Hadith attributed to Jibril (AS) whereby you will learn about the 5 pillar of Islam, 6 pillar of Iman, the definition of Ehsan.

Please do an exercise: Go to Google and type in "The Hadith of Jibril". How many do you want to see? There are many, all narrated by aythentic scholars of Islam. If you want to look at the original Sahih Muslim or Bukhari then go to Vol 1 Hadith# 18-21 (Muslim) and Bukhari Vol #1, Hadith#7. Do you want more proofs that this is not invented by Mullas.

This is not a forum to discuss Islam but I have learned in a long and hard way as to how Islam can benefit an individual, families and our society.

Aziz Huq

To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
CC: sa7rong@yahoogroups.com; dhakamails@yahoogroups.com; think-tank-of-pakistan@yahoogroups.com; urdu@yahoogroups.com; urdu2@yahoogroups.com
From: turkman@sbcglobal.net
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:48:31 -0700
Subject: [ALOCHONA] I Do Not Know This Bangladeshi Culture

May I beg to ask, why every gathering of Moslims has to start with recitation of Qoraan, when no Wedding in the days of my Holy Prophet used to start with Recitation of Qoraan?

If this is just to make us all sancticized of all our Sins, this practice is vile, conniving and cheating. You do not become a better Moslim by starting every gathering with recitation of Qoraan, when you are one of the most corrupt nations on earth, sir.

The Basics of Islam are not Mollaa created 5 Pillars of Islam that have never been mentioned as 5 Pillars of Islam by Allah in Qoraan. The Basics of Islam are ...

1. Not lying.

2. Not Cheating.

3. Not Stealing.

4. Not Robbing.

5. Not Coveting.

6. Not Killing anybody unless at a State Declared JehaaD against the Enemies of Allah, who want to kill you.

7. Not extorting Bribes.

8. Not offering Bribes.

9. Not commiting Adultry.

10. Not getting intoxicated.

11. Not mistreating Non Moslims under your rule.

12. Not insulting gods or leaders of other Religions.

13. Believing that God is one and He knows, what's in your Hearts.

14. All Moslims are same without any prejudice of color, race and Ethnic Background.

Farida Majid <farida_majid@hotmail.com> wrote:

         I am in partial agreement with Aziz Huq's complaints against the malaise of 'opo-sangskriti' at certain wedding ceremony gatherings in Bangladesh and in amongst the diaspora. I have tried to sample some of the Indian soap opera fares that my female relatives and houeholders guzzle on TV. I found them to be boring (devoid of true to life drama) and pathetically lacking in any heuristic substance or moral-elevating message like we used to get in old Bangla cinemas.

           However, unlike Aziz Huq, I have no memory of attending any wedding celebration, in recent times or ever, here in Dhaka or anywhere else, where I found ' weddings starting with the recitation from the Quran with translation, proper arrangements for prayer..., etc' Perhaps he got it mixed up with his memory of attending a 'kulkhani'.

         It must be mentioned here that nowadays there is a rich pool of Bangladesh's own band-music that is fast replacing the usual imports from Bollywood in popular demands at 'gaye holud' and wedding ceremonies. This 'band-music' is often a fusion of folk songs of Bengal in modern , pop and rock rhythm arrangements, sometimes using innovative lyrics by talented artists. This is part and parcel of any culture's youthful vitality and I would be an obstinate clod to call it un-Bangladeshi.

          Aziz Huq seems particularly aggrieved by a 'diregard for Islam' by Bangladeshi Muslims at such social events. Yet, the influence of Bollywood and Indian soap opera chic is most prominently displayed in the following web-site that proudly proclaims an ardent 'regard' FOR Islam!

A bit ironic, a bit of a hoot, but here it is for folks to judge for themselves:

================================

Please find this useful link below.

Thanks, Shafiqur Rahman

http://www.islam-bd.org/hijab/

How Bollywoody can you get?

        Farida Majid

From: azizhuq@hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:34:41 +0000
Subject: [ALOCHONA] I Do Not Know This Bangladeshi Culture

I DO NOT KNOW THIS BANGLADESHI CULTURE

The music was blaring so loudly that I could not talk to the next person. The couples were swinging violently to the tune. I was way back of the room and the words I heard of the MC were not very clear. I could not figure out if she was speaking in Bangla, Hindi or English. Same was with case with the songs being played.

Earlier, arranging for the evening prayer was a challenge. We were given a spot by the side of the corner room where food was later served. The Adhan was called. A very small number responded.

A friend of mine sitting in my table simply made a comment: "It looks like we need to learn Urdu or Hindi to understand what is going on".

Other persons sitting in my table were two young men, one from Egypt and the other from Iran. Both second generation immigrants and fully Americanized. Both left the party long before food was served. I had lengthy and interesting conversation with them. One of them asked me if the ceremony was a typical Bangladeshi wedding.

Yes, I was attending the wedding ceremony of a Bangladeshi couple both born in Bangladesh who came to the US very recently.

I could not relate to any thing Bangladeshi or Islamic in any thing that I saw last night. Later when I explained my feelings and experience I was told that Bangladeshi weddings are like that now a days.

Marriage is one of the most important institution in our society and as such this is regarded as a time to acquire blessing and good wishes from the family members and friends. All I saw last night was indecent jokes, rough talks, loud music and vulgar dances.

Is this the way we want our children to start the new phase of their lives?

I have attended many weddings in this country where the guests were   from diverse ethnic backgrounds, though mostly from the Indian sub-continent. I am used to weddings starting with the recitation from the Quran with translation, proper arrangements for prayer, sober introduction of family members, good food, sophisticated music some times Bangla, Urdu or Hindi classics. Besides Muslims, guests also include local American Christian and Hindus (both from India and Bangladesh).

Yet last night the huge hall was mostly full of Banladeshi Muslims (with the exception of the two guests I just mentioned).

I would request members of this forum who are dedicated member of all the scores of Bangladeshi associations to realize that in our zeal to hold on to Bangladeshi nationalism and our disregard for Islam we are losing our children to a cheap form of culture which is most unhealthy and far removed from the decent simple Bangladeshi culture we should be proud of.

I fully understand that many people in our society are not very serious about Islam but to the best of my knowledge most people are very proud of our language. I left the wedding hall with this thought in my mind: why are our children turning to this cheap, vulgar, loud popular Bollywood (I was told that this is what it is called) culture. Where is the Bangla culture? I do not know this Bangladeshi culture.

Aziz Ul Huq

July 24, 2008

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__,_._,___

Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49246

Dear Mr. Hussain,

Whenever I think about Rabindra Nath Tagore, this question comes to my mind: if he was born 1500 years earlier, what status he would have been given in that society?

I think they would have called him God's messenger, because whatever messages came to his mind are nothing but the heavenly messages. How could someone write something like what he has written without direct divine help? His messages have remained perpetual today, and, I am sure, those messages shall remain so until eternity. A person who delivered such eternal messages cannot be merely characterized as a "great poet"? There got to be a mischaracterization of this great sage.

Regards,

Jiten

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[ALOCHONA] Re: Bangladesh Coastline Rising

Can Crumbling Himalayas Protect Bangladesh From Rising Seas? - NYT

By Andrew C. Revkin

Sediment from rivers is adding land area to Bangladesh. Can this counter rising seas? (The New York Times)

Scientists in Bangladesh have been reappraising forecasts of eventual inundation of sprawling, crowded delta regions as seas rise in a warming world. According to several reports, a fresh satellite analysis shows that new lands formed by sediment carried from the crumbling Himalayas are adding to Bangladesh's land area — at least for now.

As wire stories circulated overnight, I sent out some queries to sea-level experts and will report back on how this battle between new sediment and rising seas will play out.

Sea level is not uniform globally. Juneau, Alaska, is rising, for instance. The land there is rebounding, freed of the weight of ice-age glaciers. When I visited Juneau last year, biologists told me that a fight is brewing over whether protected coastal wetlands should no longer be protected once they are dry. (Coastal property owners say the new land is theirs.)

The fate of Bangladesh's lowlands will be determined by a mix of changes in the height of the Indian Ocean, subsidence of deltas as aquifers are drained and newly deposited sediments compress, and the addition of all that Himalayan soil.

In checking out the news from Bangladesh, I noticed that the Dutch have been advising Bangladeshis to do as the Dutch do — use engineering to work with the flow of sediment and accelerate the accretion of new lands. A recent article in The New Nation — "Can Bangladesh Trap Silt?" — is worth a look. All of this serves as a useful reminder that humans are not some static element in the climate puzzle, but a dynamic, responsive and innovative one — at least once a human community gets a strong signal that action is needed.

When I wrote with James Kanter last year about the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on impacts from global warming, I made sure we noted how the consequences for humans change significantly when adaptation is taken into account (boldface added):

Without such adaptations, it said, a rise of 3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century could lead to the inundation of coasts and islands inhabited by hundreds of millions of people. But if steady investments are made in seawalls and other coastal protections, vulnerability could be sharply reduced.

Bangladesh has already proved to be one of the world's most resilient countries in the face of flood threats, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pointed out here. It sounds as if the country is getting geared up to find ways to exploit the eroding Himalayas as a way to counter the erosion of its coasts.

Adaptation can buy time and cut losses in the short run. But in the end, many experts note that unabated greenhouse-gas emissions essentially mean there will be no new normal climate or coastline to adapt to — in Bangladesh or anywhere else.

http://tinyurl.com/5r5sru

--- On Wed, 7/30/08, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Bangladesh Coastline Rising
To: dhakamails@yahoogroups.com, notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, alochona@yahoogroups.com, zoglul@hotmail.co.uk, khabor@yahoogroups.com, rehman.mohammad@gmail.com, bdresearchers@yahoogroups.com, mahmudurart@yahoo.com, rivercrossinternational@yahoo.com, sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com
Date: Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 5:43 AM

Bangladesh landmass 'is growing'

By Mark Dummett
BBC News, Dhaka

Bangladeshis are used to frequent flooding

New research shows Bangladesh may not be as vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change as previously feared, scientists in Dhaka say.

They say satellite images show the country's landmass is actually growing because of sediment dumped by rivers. A report by UN scientists has projected that rising sea levels will inundate 17% of Bangladesh by 2050, making about 30 million people homeless. One its authors said he saw little in the new research to change his mind.

'New islands'
Satellite images of Bangladesh over the past 32 years show that the country is growing annually by about 20 square kilometres (12.5 square miles), said Maminul Haque Sarker of the Dhaka-based Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services.

This was due, he said, to the billion tonnes of sediment that the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and 200 other rivers bring from the Himalayas each year before crossing Bangladesh. Only about a third of this sediment, he said, makes it into the Bay of Bengal. Much of the rest is dumped in Bangladesh's vast delta, attaching itself to river banks, or even creating new islands. Mr Sarkar said that in the next 50 years this could add up to the country gaining 1,000 square kilometres.

But others maintain that Bangladesh is going to lose land over that period. Dr Atiq Rahman, a lead author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, told the BBC that there was little in the new research to make him think that their projection needed revising. He said that many people living along the coast had observed that sea levels where higher now than in their grandparents' day. "The rate at which sediment is deposited and new land is created is much slower than the rate at which climate change and sea level rises are taking place," he said.

So while some new land may be created in parts of the country, elsewhere a much larger amount of land will disappear, he said. In any case, the new land will take decades to become useful, and so compensate for fertile farmland that was flooded. Dr Rahman said that what is needed now is a village-by-village survey of coastal Bangladesh.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7532949.stm

--- On Fri, 7/25/08, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
Subject: Bangladesh Coastline Rising
To: dhakamails@yahoogroups.com, notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, alochona@yahoogroups.com, zoglul@hotmail.co.uk, khabor@yahoogroups.com, rehman.mohammad@gmail.com, bdresearchers@yahoogroups.com, mahmudurart@yahoo.com, rivercrossinternational@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, July 25, 2008, 9:36 PM

Bangladesh Coastline Rising

http://prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MTc2ODE=

__,_._,___

RE: [mukto-mona] Khelafat Andolon's mamabarir abdar, i.e. CTG is a mamabari to them

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/49245

They are living in another world.

These insanities will bring their end nearer.Hasan Mahmud

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Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

1. The metaphysical or philosophical (not scientific at all) invention that I am He (soh hi ohom) and belief in the same has far reaching practical implications. If every one (any living thing) is potentially He, then the world should be a conflict free heaven. It has not happened in several thousand years.

2. "Know thyself" (Aristotle), Jesus' testimony on resurrection "I am He", "Everybody comes from Him and goes back to Him" (a Muslim utters on hearing the death news of another Muslim), and similar utterances by Sufi poets and others from different parts of the world and at different times are closely comparable to "Sohohm".

3. Ancient Indian sages (and others too) have philosophically "solved the mystery" in many ways! Solving the mystery is not enough. The major task is to change the world so that there is no discrimination---no caste hatred, no religious hatred, no racism, no persecution, no oppression, no exploitation, and so on. Unfortunately it has not happened.

4. We may feel proud of the "Bharat Chinta" (referring to a post by Tistarbahe) but being proud is one thing and seeing injustice everywhere is another thing. Upanishadic Bharat-chinta proved to be insufficient. For example we had to wait long (Buddha found the wrong early) to realize that many elements in the "Bharat-chinta" were inhuman. Infusion of "Arab-chinta" (again referring to Tistarbahe's e-mail) into "Bharat-chinta" proved to be a positive development. We got Chaitanyadeb, Kabir, Nanak, Rajab, Laon, Vivekananda, and others. America had to build on "Farasi-chinta" and other "chintas" too. There is nothing wrong about it.

5. I love to argue with my elder brother Dr. Jiten Roy. But I have to go now. He once complained that Sunil Gangooly is a fervent critic of Hindus. He did not elaborate. It is easy to assassinate one's character. But evidences are required. He still owes a response to my e-mail. l don't think he has anything to say against Sunil on this point.

6. I have quoted below a poem by 8th century Vedanta scholar Shankaracharya which I hope Akbar Bhaiya, a mystic man, will love.

--SC

I am He!

Mind, nor intellect, nor ego, feeling;

Sky nor earth nor metals am I.

I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!

No birth, no death, no caste have I;

Father, mother, have I none.

I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!

Beyond the flights of fancy, formless am I,

Permeating the limbs of all life;

Bondage I do not fear; I am free, ever free.

I am He, I am He, Blessed spirit, I am He!

--- __._,_.___

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

[mukto-mona] This early the campaign turned outright ugly!

[mukto-mona] SAARC: Partnership for the betterment of the people

[ALOCHONA] Are you angree with Kuwait police or authority? SHOULD NOT BE , IF YOU ARE ...........

[ALOCHONA] Re: [chottala.com] Ph.D.

Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

Re: [mukto-mona] Re: Humayun Ahmed's comments

[ALOCHONA] I Do Not Know This Bangladeshi Culture

Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

[ALOCHONA] Re: Bangladesh Coastline Rising

By Andrew C. Revkin

Bangladesh landmass 'is growing'

RE: [mukto-mona] Khelafat Andolon's mamabarir abdar, i.e. CTG is a mamabari to them

Re: [mukto-mona] KNOW THYSELF.

6. I have quoted below a poem by 8th century Vedanta scholar Shankaracharya which I hope Akbar Bhaiya, a mystic man, will love.

--SC

I am He!

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