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Friday, October 17, 2008

[mukto-mona] Made in Bangladesh Exhibition at Manhattan, New York(OCT17-19)

Hello everyone,
 
What are doing this weekend (OCT 17-19)?
 
Why not You join the "Made in Bangladesh" festival including cultural program at Pennsylvania Hotel. There will be chili but sunny weather both in Saturday and Sunday in New York. But you can enjoy a lot of things there...
 
So move on........
 
Address..so simple..
 
Pennsylvania Exhibition Hall
401, Seventh Ave, Between 33 and 32st and so closed to Penn Station...
Time: 10am-10pm
 
All of you know how to go there...lot of Subways for New Yorkers..like 1,2, 3, F,V,N,R,W,Path Train to 34st, Manhattan.
 
CT,NJ,PA resident can come directly to Penn Station...
 
 
Have fun....
 
 

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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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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.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] Request for a write up in our magazine kaal4flash

Sir/Madam,

 

It will be absolutely fantastic if you kindly take some time out from your busy schedule to go through this email. I am writing on behalf of KAAL 4 FLASH ( pronunciated as Culture Flash) . It is a bilingual (english cum bengali) , theme based , little magazine which got inaugurated in the month of June 2008 , by the noted Bengali poet - Shri Bahbani Prosad Mazumdar .

 

We will consider us lucky and honoured if you help the magazine to enrich itself with your profound literary contributions which may be a poem (word limit 100 ) , short story ( word limit 500 ) , article , or anything else in any of the languages mentioned above. Preferred theme would be on Humanity / Manobota. With your write up , please include a brief introduction of your own for the better maintenance of our database. You may also send us more than one of your write ups , which are still unpublished in any of its forms in either hard or soft copy by the end of October ` 2008 . For the former , please courier us at :-

 

Reetwika Banerjee

Editor , Kaal4 Flash

9/1 , New Station Road

PO Bhadrakali

[Near Deshbandhu Park , Runner Club]

Dist Hooghly

Pin 712232

Contact No : (033) 2694 2783

 

While for the letter you may mail us at our official email id : kaal4flash@gmail.com

 

Please feel free for any further clarification needed.

 

Thanks ,

 

Reetwika Banerjee

Editor , Kaal4 Flash

18.10.2008



__._,_.___

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

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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.

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

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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

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

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

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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] Pakistan̢۪s forgotten ghetto residents

Pakistan's forgotten ghetto residents
Tariq A. Al-Maeena
 
In our prayers for the poor and oppressed of this world, including those in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, we can be somewhat be forgiven for ignoring the plight of more than a quarter million ghetto dwellers in squalid camps in Bangladesh.  These are the Biharis, forgotten remnants of the Indo-Pakistan partition, and there are very few voices that bring their destitute conditions to the fore.
 
While The United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights states every person has a right to nationality, these 'stranded Pakistanis' enjoy no such luxury.  For the past 37 years, they have been spread across Bangladesh in 66 squalid camps, each no bigger than a football field, with poor sanitation and shortages of running water..
 
Camp conditions are miserable, and large groups of families are often forced to share their living area with animals.   They have no rights, limited job options and few economic prospects.   They are refugees. Although they did not desert their country; their country appears to have forgotten them.
 
In pre-independence India, they were a Muslim minority in the region of Bihar.  At the time of the partition in 1947, many moved to what was then East Pakistan.   When civil war broke out between East and West Pakistan, the Biharis sided with the West. Subsequently in 1971, East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh, and these Biharis who had been loyal to Pakistan were denied citizenship because they were deemed as collaborators and had "supported the enemy".
 
Their first choice was to leave the new nation and go to the west, the part of Pakistan that still existed. They expected to be welcomed, and they waited. Almost four decades later, they continue to wait in silence and despair.  Pakistan initially denied them permission to emigrate, fearing a massive influx could destabilize the country.  The legal limbo they find themselves in predicts and even more despondent future.
 
There have been a few groups that have tried to break free this limbo and come up with a worthy solution.  On of them was the Rabita Trust established in 1988 under the auspices of the then Pakistani President, the late Gen. Zia-ul-Haque, and Dr. Abdullah Naseef the ex-secretary general of the Muslim World League.
 
They put forth a proposal to organize the repatriation of the stranded Pakistanis and domicile them in the Punjab province of Pakistan.  An estimated 40,000 homes were to be built and were to be freely allocated to those Biharis, funding coming primarily through donations. 
 
Over 3000 destitute families were issued Pakistani ID cards back in 1992 and over 1000 housing units were built in the Punjab to accommodate them.  Unfortunately, funds were not very forthcoming, and the political changes in Pakistan over the recent years had slowly pushed this issue on the back-burner.  Meanwhile, the camp dwellers suffer in silence.
 
The Pakistani Repatriation Council (PRC) made up of moral and dedicated individuals who want to correct this travesty of justice has been busy since highlighting the stranded Pakistani issue to each successive government.  In their recent proposal, they suggest the following:
 
"The government of Bangladesh should be included as a full member of the Rabita Trust.  Notwithstanding the fact that the Bangladeshi government had recently announced that they would selectively issue national passports for those born in the camps, their presence in the Trust is essential.
 
The Pakistani High Commissioner in Bangladesh should play an active part in ensuring the protection and security of these stranded refuges.
 
The government of Pakistan should demand 'refugee status' from the United Nations High Commission for Refuges (UNHCR)  for these people to allow them to receive essential UN aid in the form of food, medicine, education and other basis necessities until their issue is finally resolved. 
 
Those families who were previously issued Pakistani nationality cards and who still suffer in the camps should be repatriated as a matter of priority. 
 
The Rabita Trust, frozen by Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf back in 2001 should be re-activated to allow the building projects to continue. 
 
The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) should include this matter on their agenda and persuade national and international aid organizations to extend necessary sustenance allowances until they are repatriated.
 
The IDB, ADB and national banks must loosen their coffers to build an estimated 37.000 homes in Punjab province where land has been previously allocated for the remainder of these stranded Pakistanis.
 
Gulf countries facing a shortage of semi-skilled labor due to an unprecedented building boom could offer meaningful employment to these people living beyond hope."
 
Pakistan today faces many challenges.  But one of them should be the protection of rights for all its citizens.  While the PRC is actively promoting the cause of these destitute mortals, it alone cannot do everything.  It is also our moral obligation as citizens of this world not to ignore the forgotten.
  ;
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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

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

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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

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

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

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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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[ALOCHONA] Streamlining the intelligence agencies


SKEPTICS and concerned citizens may not be fully satisfied with the key institutional reforms started in right earnest by the present caretaker government. The expectations from the new order were high and thus dissatisfaction is not unlikely in an environment of unfulfilled aspirations. However, the present leadership has to be credited for at least initiating the long due reform efforts that may be carried to its desirable end by a truly representative government in the not-too-distant future.

With the above scenario in mind this writer would like to dwell upon the role and function of our intelligence agencies that without doubt are very sensitive organizations; and on account of its very secret nature few would like a free and frank discourse on its modus operandi. Present day security experts are, however, of the considered view that open discussion by competent and concerned persons may in fact rationalise the operations of such organization to the benefit of a democratic polity. One may look at recent events in Pakistan where the military has thought it fit to enlighten all lawmakers about the terror and religious extremism scenario.

One has to remember that intelligence bosses enjoy privileged access to the top political executive, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. The agencies provide direction to police organizations in addition to providing political-analytical inputs to the ruling regimes. The agencies have undertaken strategic exercises during elections, and conduct election forecasts and analyses to oblige the party in power.

It has been our unfortunate experience to witness that far from being confined to the proper intelligence role, over-zealous bosses became almost a confidante of the chief executive, adept at every task entrusted to them. There are events to believe the truly political role of the crucial intelligence organ of our State. The important lesson to be learnt is that politicization or lack of impartiality and objectivity in intelligence reporting can distort the policy process and thus damage the credibility and political legitimacy of the State. Is it not time that we know if our intelligence organs enjoy the benefit of a legal framework and a well-honed charter of duties? The political leadership has to perhaps decide whether they and the country stand to benefit if intelligence agencies are made to function in a political manner.

Facts, admittedly, are disconcerting. Intelligence apparently faltered when father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with most of his immediate family members and other near relations were murdered in the most gruesome manner. Similarly, intelligence could not prevent the tragic assassination of President Ziaur Rahman, the liberation war hero.

We had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a very sensitive intelligence organization working principally for the whims and caprices of a virtual dictator and using public funds for creating and destabilizing political parties, political horse-trading and shadowing people on personal and flimsy grounds in mid to late eighties. No wonder in such a scenario the professional efficiency was sacrificed and public servants turned into personal servants with the attendant ignominy.

The mission and strategy of our intelligence organizations had not been stable at least insofar as the domestic threat perception is concerned. It invariably changes with the change of a political government. Differing political agenda often tend to cloud the pragmatic understanding of our real national interests.

The broad function of maintaining public order for ensuring internal security is closely associated with the task of collecting and collating intelligence in the interest of the state. In reality, in our situation, the interests of the state often get diluted and mixed up with the interests of the government of the day. The situation is marked by an unfortunate lack of understanding and appreciation of the requirements of the state and the government in a democratic and pluralist society like ours.

The unpleasant truth is that intelligence agencies maintain file and shadow the leaders and workers of pronouncedly constitutional politics-oriented parties belonging to the opposition who are recognized partners in the business of politics. At some point of time when such opposition party comes to power, there is an uneasy relationship between the political masters and the agencies. In such a scenario, professionalism becomes the worst casualty, sense of direction is lost and the organization dips into a lackadaisical environment and interests of the state take a back seat giving greater space to partisan considerations. It needs to be kept in mind that the values of a democratic polity are universal and as such demand unconditional adherence to it.

The national agency is expected to be able to effectively serve national interests if directed appropriately by the political authority. If they (agency) have to remain preoccupied with largely inconsequential partisan matters to the detriment of national interest, then we will not be able to manage the crisis situation, not to speak of forestalling the tragedies of recent times. We have been criticizing the agencies very loudly without, however, appreciating the impediments to the growth of an apolitical professional organization. Time has come when we must have the honesty to call a spade a spade and realize that the governments will change hands but not the state.

In Bangladesh today, we are passing through a sad time when doubts are being expressed publicly about the efficacy and honesty of some vital organs of the state whose functions can neither be arrogated to others nor be privatized. The compounding tragedy is that such criticisms by leaders of our society cannot be summarily dismissed. It would not be prudent to treat a disease by denying its very existence. At the same time we cannot give in to the cynics by agreeing to endure what apparently cannot be cured. We can definitely overcome the impasse by dint of political goodwill and foresight if we admit that the damage caused during the yesteryears have to be repaired and the safety and security of the people will receive unbiased attention. Let us be forewarned that progress in the damage repairing will be slow but if we can muster enough courage to initiate the process and avoid being myopic, our future generations would be the proud citizens of a healthy polity. Our politicians have to take the lead. They have to rise to the occasion.

What may or may not be done to countervail the malevolence of the extremists concerns every right-thinking Bangladeshi but equally, if not more significant, is what kept the state apparatus in a deep slumber while the extremists carried on virtually undisturbed. There is a creeping suspicion that there never was a dispassionate appreciation of the real threat scenario. In other words, there was no effort to pinpoint the threats posed to our democratic polity and by extension to our independent national existence. These questions should bother us because patriotic citizens of the People's Republic of Bangladesh must know that.

Like the responses to other socio-economic issues of our national life, we have been disappointingly reactive in responding to the threats of national security. The whole approach appears to be ad-hoc and on a case to case basis. Somehow, the establishment wishes to assure itself by imagining that a hydra-headed monster has surfaced all on a sudden and will wither soon to the relief of a concerned population.

An intelligence agency should not be the judge of its own operations with regard to the necessity and propriety thereof, nor should it be allowed to operate as the agency or instrument of politicians, or degenerate into an institution for controlling the opponents of party in power, or elements within the party in power with which the high command of the party does not see eye to eye. There must be inbuilt constraints.

Security of the State should not involve:

i. assessing the election prospects of the ruling party;

ii. ascertaining the suitability of the candidates for contesting the elections on behalf of the ruling party;

iii. acting as the super-watchman over the activities of politicians regardless of party identity;

iv. being used as an instrument of political spying either by the government or an individual in the government.

At the heart of the matter, there should be a prescription for a charter of duties for the intelligence organ, putting responsibilities beyond doubt and to indicate what is permitted and what is prohibited.

The purpose for which intelligence has to be collected has to be clearly spelt. The same should not be to sub-serve the interests of a political party or an individual or to blackmail or control the opponents of the political party in power or hostile elements within the establishment.

The legitimate purpose of intelligence should be to anticipate developments that may imperil national interests so as to enable appropriate action with the imperative that any effort to equate national interest with party interest should be guarded against. Once the purpose is known, the chances of non-observance of fairness and objectivity in intelligence collection will be reduced. Constant vigilance against misuse will be needed as intelligence activities are carried on in secrecy.

The catch-all definition of 'national security' should not be used as a cover to hide a multitude of abuses. It should exclude activities that in effect mean denial of human rights and basic freedoms. The vague and antiquated formulations of colonial days relating to intelligence function should be replaced by:

i. clear and firm guidelines on the limits to the organization's authority;

ii. the area of its coverage;

iii. the manner of functioning;

iv. the permissible methods;

v. laying standards for the evaluation of the credibility of its sources of information;

vi. measures for enforcing accountability to the executive and legislature;

vii means of controlling and overseeing the operations.

A detailed and precisely honed charter for the intelligence organ in consonance with the spirit of the constitution needs to be worked out.

Our intelligence organization needs to work under pragmatic political leadership and if properly and professionally steered, it does not threaten our liberties. If we operate by the book, we will be adequately informed of the perils which face us. If we do not know the designs of the so-called extremists, then we could well be isolated and our liberties, too, could be in jeopardy. Therefore, we must be ready to deal with all aspects of the not-very-visible war of the extremists with all its ramifications and fronts, supported by external resources. The last thing we can afford to do now is to put our intelligence in chains. Its protective and informative role is indispensable in time of unique and continuing violence.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist of The Daily Star

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[mukto-mona] Stop these 21st century Halaku Khan's.

The Islamic apologists hide their ultimate intentions when they that in a theocratic Islamic state there will be freedom of choice and individual rights will be respected. This is a brazen lie. The removal and the fundamentalist outcry against the baul sculpture have again proved that an Islamic state will be a dictatorial and totalitarian state. Our cherished democratic dreams will be systematically destroyed in the name of Islam. An all out and ruthless effort will be made to immobilize the free human spirit. A dark medieval age will descend to push enlightenment into ignorance. Historically the half educated and illiterate Islamic clergy in the Indian subcontinent always tried to impose cultural Islam rather than spiritual Islam in this part of the world. This was basically a heinous conspiracy to create division in a congenial society thereby sowing the poison seeds of commotion and bloodshed. The general population of Bangladesh are not religious fanatics. Its spineless politicians are entirely responsible for this mess. The rise of religious fanaticism is a result of their blunders. Their petty political interests have jeopardised the future of the traditional Bengali culture which is peaceful, secular and beautiful. The governments are elected to guard the national traditions not to succumb to the pressures of a gang of reactionary people. Since 1971 this important moral aspect of an administration is sadly missing from the successive governments. A few religious bigots are now so much emboldened by this failure that they now dare to dictate the governments. The irony of the whole situation is that these religious fanatics who now dictate the sovereign governments are those marked people who openly opposed the struggle for liberation of Bangladesh. I hope a future democratically government will try the war criminals and prove once for all that there is no place for traitors in the land of Bengal.  This is an ominous sign for any thoughtful person. As nations grow older its traditions and culture grows younger. As for the mullahs culture does not mean anything. They worship fear and dogmas. This is the basic difference between ignorance and enlightenment.

 

Akbar Hussain




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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

*****************************************
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] An Interesting Site

NewsCred   :       http://www.newscred.com 
 
An international venture by two Bangladeshi men offers credibility-based online news service

Have you ever wondered how credible the news you are reading is? A recent study in the US shows that only 20% readers believe the news they read.

NewsCred, an international start-up by two Bangladeshi men, focuses on helping the readers find the highest quality and most credible news online.

Shafqat Islam, 27, who was born in Bangladesh but lives in Geneva, is one of the two founders of the site. He is a former project manager for financial systems at Merrill Lynch and now runs the site with his friend Iraj Islam, 24, a resident of Stockholm.

Shafqat believes all the other news aggregators are just too complicated for most users. He wanted to create something which is easy to use.

"I started NewsCred with my cofounder about a year ago in Dhaka. We both grew up abroad, but were always big news readers, and started NewsCred for two main reasons," said Islam.

"Every single person we talked to told us about their frustrations with the news media today, where they came across news articles or news sources that were not always accurate or were biased. Especially given the abundance of information online, it became increasingly difficult to find high quality news. So this was a problem we wanted to address," he said.

"We also didn't know of any news sites that were easy to customise and personalise, especially for the mainstream news audience like our families or friends. On NewsCred, it's extremely simple to set up a personalised digital newspaper of all your favourite sources. It's as simple as clicking on the logos of your favourite news sources," he mentioned.

NewsCred launched its public beta in August 2008.

NewsCred recently introduced the world's first personalised digital newspaper that gives readers all the world's most credible news, in one place (http://www.NewsCred.com). It aggregates news from the world's top newspapers and most established blogs, and then allows readers to vote on the credibility of articles, journalists and news sources.

The NewsCred community then votes on the credibility of articles, journalists and news sources.

When asked about the NewsCred voting system, Shafqat said their ranking/voting system is very straightforward. Any registered user can vote to either credit or discredit an article. A user can also credit/discredit a news sources or author directly.

"Our algorithm also has a bit of intelligence, whereby it propagates a vote on an article and affects the original author of that piece and also the publication where the article appears (we call it a 'waterfall' algorithm). We think it is important that authors and sources are held accountable for the contents they produce, so it's important to tie them all together," Shafqat said.

The binary system was chosen because it's simple and provides the least barriers to entry for the user.

"Our goal is to get our readers to think in terms of credibility and quality, and we wanted to give them a very simple platform to voice their opinions. We're thinking about modifying it slightly so that discredits must be accompanied by a short explanation or tag to explain the motivation behind the discredit. This is not simply to keep people honest--we think it will help people think through the process of evaluating an article for credibility," he added.

He said it is of course a challenge to get all users to think about credibility all the time. There is no way we can 'force' people into voting purely based on quality or credibility. But we've taken steps to help, including the full transparency of their voting and also explaining discredits.

If someone's voting history is simply filled with discredit of all Microsoft articles, it will become evident. "We might put in steps to weight his vote differently, but that does not exist yet. The important part is educating our community. The voting buttons have clear explanations of what they should be looking for (i.e. "if you think this article is biased, or factually inaccurate, please discredit etc"). We will be putting more of those tips and 'user education' throughout the site."

Every single user is not an expert and can not always get it right every time. "But we do believe in the principle of wisdom of crowds: we have confidence that the aggregate knowledge of our community, and the overall results of their voting, will be meaningful and will allow us to draw interesting and valid conclusions," he said.

People have local knowledge, specialised knowledge, and may be better at determining credibility of some articles rather than others. This all plays a part and, on the whole, the founders believe that their readers are doing a great job. "Everyone will have inherent biases, but to say that newsreaders don't have the ability to put that aside and determine quality or spin in an article is doing them a disservice. We believe being a newsreader is qualification enough to voice your opinion. As a fun metaphor, I would say you don't need to be a chef or a professional food critic to be able to critique food, right?" Shafqat said.

When asked about their business model, he mentioned that it is two-fold: they plan on having targeted advertising on the NewsCred.com pages. They think, with a large user base and given the traction they are seeing, they can monetise those page views.

The second half of their business model is to take all their in-house technology and build a news platform. "We want to work with publishers to give them compelling contents for their sites via APIs. We realise that we have a lot of great technology and community-powered data, so we want to be able to share this with publishers and news sites," he said.

"NewsCred is very different from Digg and other 'social news sites' because we are a credibility-focused operation. Digg is based on popularity, and NewsCred is driven by quality," Shafqat added..

In addition, in Digg, people submit individual links and often the quality of the links are not great, and are focused on trivial issues only. However, we source our news from a list of the most credible news organisations and blogs, so our quality of content is inherently better and more relevant to the mainstream newsreader.

Shafqat said they are different from Google and Yahoo News because "we focus a lot on community, and give users a platform to voice their opinions. This option does not exist on Google and Yahoo news."

In addition, the site's customisation and personalisation is a lot simpler-- users merely click on the logos of their favourite websites and they have a fully customised, digital newspaper. This is not possible on Google and Yahoo news. "We really respect our competition, but we think we can build a compelling solution that is better than the options out there, especially for mainstream newsreaders."

Shafqat believes NewsCred will certainly encourage other Bangladeshis to try their hand at entrepreneurship and shows that Bangladeshis can be successful in the global startup.
 
  http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=59034


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[ALOCHONA] A very simple and nice analysis of the US Presidential election & last debate between two US presidential candidates - Senator Barack Obama & John McCain by Mr. Aauniruddho Ahmed

Dear rational and enthusiastic readers,

 
A very simple and nice analysis of the US Presidential election &  last debate between two US Presidential candidates - Senator Barack Obama & John McCain by Mr. Aauniruddho Ahmed - 18.10.08
URL link is:
 
 
 
"Sustha thakon, nirapade thakon ebong valo thakon"

Shuvechhante,

Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan (ANU)
NEW ZEALAND.

Phone: 00-64-9-828 2435 (Res), 00-64-0274  500 277 (mobile)
E-mail: srbanunz@gmail.com

N.B.: If any one is offended by content of this e-mail, please ignore & delete this e-mail. I also request you to inform me by an e- mail - to delete your name from my contact list.

 



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[mukto-mona] American Muslim PAC Endorsed George W. Bush for President in Elections 2000: (I)

American Muslim PAC Endorses George W. Bush for President

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct 23, 2000 - The American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) today announced its endorsement of George W. Bush for president, citing his outreach to the Muslim community and his stand on the issue of secret evidence.

(AMPCC-PAC is an affiliated PAC of the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council. AMPCC members include American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Council, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Muslim Public Affairs Council.)

The endorsement was announced by chair of AMPCC-PAC, Dr. Agha Saeed.

"Governor Bush took the initiative to meet with local and national representatives of the Muslim community. He also promised to address Muslim concerns on domestic and foreign policy issues," said AMPCC-PAC head Agha Saeed.

The press conference was also addressed by:
Dr. Yahya Basha and Mr. Aly Abouzakuk of AMC,
Mr. Omar Ahmad, Mr. Nihad Awad, Mr. Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR,
Mr. Salam Al-Maryati of MPAC, and
Mr. Eric Vickers of AMA.

Representatives of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) attended the press conference as observers.

AMPCC made this critical decision after polling constituents and studying candidates' records on issues of concern to American Muslims.

"We have based our decision on a 3-point criteria", explained Dr. Agha Saeed: "1) Record, 2) community feedback, and 3) accessibility. It is on the basis of this criteria that we have endorsed Gov. Bush".

There are an estimated six million Muslims in the United States. Muslims constitute a potential swing-voting bloc in states such as California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. In several surveys of Muslim voters, the majority said they would vote for Bush.

The Muslim leaders also noted that Bush challenged the use of "secret evidence" at the second presidential debate. American Muslims and civil libertarians believe secret evidence, as it is currently used in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) deportation hearings, is unconstitutional. They believe that it is used disproportionately against Muslims in America.

A number of Muslim detainees have been held for up to four years based on evidence that is not revealed to them or their attorneys. The Secret Evidence Repeal Act currently awaits passage in the House and Senate.

"In the nineties", observed Dr. Agha Saeed, "the Muslim civil rights were significantly curtailed due to Executive Order of 1994, Secret Evidence clause of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1995, and ADC v. Janet Reno decision of the US Supreme Court of April 1999. Our collective efforts are aimed at rectifying these setbacks. It is extremely important for Muslims to vote for a civil agenda this year."

Source: American Muslim Alliance

 
 

American Muslim bloc vote in 2000 elections

American Muslims made history in 2000 presidential elections when they voted en bloc for George Bush. The American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC), a coalition of four major American Muslim organizations, only two weeks before the election announced its endorsement of George W. Bush for president, citing his outreach to the Muslim community and his stand on the issue of secret evidence.

 

In a post-election survey of American Muslim voters conducted by the Washington, DC-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the nation's largest grassroots Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups, nearly three-quarters of respondents indicated that they had voted for Texas Governor Bush. Of these, 85 percent noted that the endorsement of Bush by the American Muslim Political Coordinating Committee Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) was a factor in their vote. In this survey of 1,774 voters, 72 percent of Muslim respondents said they voted for Bush, 19 percent supported Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, and only 8 percent favored Vice President Al Gore. Muslims, therefore, became the only bloc vote for Bush.

The former Congressman, Paul Findley, in his book Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam, estimates that about 3.2 million Muslims turned out for vote and 65 percent voted for President Bush. Mr. Findley said: The importance of Muslim bloc voting arises from its magnitude as well as its focus. Best estimates put the national Muslim population at seven million, 70 as the percentage of those eligible to vote, and 65 as the percentage of those eligible who actually voted. This means that the national turnout of Muslims on Nov.7 came to 3.2 million.

About 700 Muslim Americans ran for various local, state and federal offices in the 2000 elections. At least 152 of them were elected to local and state offices. These individuals were elected as members of precinct committees, delegates to Democratic and Republican party conventions, city councils, state assemblies, state senates, and judgeships. Ninety-two of these were elected from Texas.

 

 AFP Report: Muslim vote went to Bush, says survey

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 2000: More than 70 per cent of Muslim American voters voted for Texas Governor George W. Bush in the presidential election, a poll released on Friday said.

The governor garnered 72 percent of the Muslim vote compared to Vice President Al Gore's eight per cent, in what the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) billed as a victory for the campaign to deliver a bloc vote for the Republican presidential candidate.

The Lebanese-American consumer activist and long-shot Green Party candidate, Ralph Nader, polled 19 per cent of the Muslim vote, according to exit polls taken by CAIR.

"Muslim voters clearly followed the lead of Islamic political groups in voting for George W. Bush. This signals that a Muslim voting bloc must be taken into consideration in future elections," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

The Muslim community endorsed Bush last month, citing his outreach to their community and his pledge to end the use of so-called secret evidence in immigration deportation hearings.

A full 85 per cent of the voters surveyed said the endorsement by the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council Political Action Committee (AMPCC-PAC) was a factor in their decision.-AFP
 

Elections 2000:


 

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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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[ALOCHONA] Uddins government’s heartless act and Tumpa’s departure

Fakhruddin-Moeenuddin government's heartless inhuman illegitimate action made departing daughters last meet with her beloved father impossible and father not to give her loving daughter the last kiss before her departure.  Yes, I am talking about Chittagong Mayor A.B.M Mohiuddin and the tragedy followed by the untimely death of her daughter Fauzia Sultana Tumpa in Bangkok Thailand.

 

Tumpa was a second year student of Premier University English department. How old she was, somewhere around twenty or twenty one?  She was diagnosed with killing disease cancer couple of months ago and was taken to Bangkok Thailand for treatment. Since then Mayor Mohiuddin, his wife and other family members requested government time and again to release him on parole, bail or using another means at government's disposal to see her ailing daughter who is fighting for life and seeking to see her beloved father for the last time. A departing daughter's last wishes, tears of a mother and wife, fathers hauling cry nothing troubled the iron heart of Gen. Moeenuddin or CA Fakhruddin.

 

Allas, the government did not let it happen, a fathers cry and a daughters last wishes of seeing her father has no value to a government who having a so solemn oath to bring the derailed train back into its track that the difference between life and death hopes or desire humanity and cruelty a complete derailment of a loving family can not be seen and judged. It is sad, very sad and makes me angry and I blame the government for its cruel mind which made the meeting of a dear father and a forever parting daughter's last pinnacle impossible. I wonder if the people in the government and their military backers have any family or not, whether they have a daughter or son to spare or not! Few weeks ago Mayors wife cried like a child begging Chief Adviser's clemency for release of Mayor Mohiuddin enabling him to see his ailing daughter but could not penetrate the army backed governments heart covered with fortified armament.

 

After a long court battle Mayor Mohiuddin was released from prison on bail NOT on mercy of the government. Since his release on 8th of August he was eagerly waiting to be with his dear daughter. But being a mayor he can not fly on his own will but requires him to take permission from government. Since 8th of October his petition for a leave of absence was hanging on the mercy of ALMIGHTY caretaker government which was not approved until the late night of 15th October.

 

Mayor Mohiuddin and his family moved swiftly and made all arrangement on 16th to fly on 17th of October to have the meet of father and daughter but God had a different plan. Just minutes before boarding the plane Mayor and his family received the final news,  Tumpa, there beloved daughter is no longer there , Inna Lillaha Waa Inna Elahirazune……………………………………………………………………….

 

Mayor burst into uncontrolled aloud cry for her treasured daughter and flied not to see her ailing daughter but to bring her dead body back! Before he left mayor said "My daughter is no longer there I have nothing left, I will comeback as dead body with my daughters body".

 

Mayor Mohiuddin, your love, teardrop or curse will not bring Tumpa back; you will never hear your daughter call you Baba again. You will never see the smiling face; no one is waiting for you in Thailand with an impatient eye, its all quiet in the final frontier, death has snatched her away………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Oh almighty Allah, forgive her and rest her in peace in your divine fold. Give peace and patience to Mayor Mohiuddin and his grieving family.

 

I will not curse the government as I find they are not even worthy of that but I know the nature will take its own course and the judgment will be served without the sermons, today or tomorrow.

 

Shamim Chowdhury

Maryland, USA

 

 News Link: http://www.prothom-alo.com/index.news.details.php?nid=MTk0NDM=

 

 

 


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