Setting up permanent power plants

            This vital matter was very rightly taken up in a front-page news report published in a local English-language daily on Wednesday.It is a cause for worry that no prompt positive action is being taken to expedite the important matter of issuing a letter of intent and no step is being taken by the authorities to sign the agreement for setting up four already government approved power plant.
            As stated in the report,Summit Group and GE Energy & Associates have been selected by the cabinet committee to set up three power plants for generating 1350 megawatts in Bhola.Why are these still being delayed and no steps taken to get this nationally important matter progress speedily?
            The signing of the agreements and issue of work-order has been stalled for the last six months.The files on this subject are lying somewhere inside the bottomless government bureaucracy.Meanwhile,people suffer every day with short supply of the much needed electric power in both urban and rural areas.What happened to the government's pre-election commitment that rapid action on power capacity expansion will be taken?
            Surely the suffering public deserve an answer from the elected government for this prolonged delay in signing the contract for the work to start,Is it not possible to have the contract signed within January 2011?Eill the authorities kindly clarify this important public matter? Or, is it not us to ask why? 

Justice for women still far away

   Women have been victims of inequality in all aspects of aspects of their lives in all ages.In the last century, women made made advances in the socioeconomic field amidst innumerable hindrances, but the cruelty towards women has not decreased.
    It is astonishing that women fall victims in a state which claims that there is the highest possibility for the full development of the freedom of women.Needless to say that in order to secure justice,state laws shall have to be friendly towards women so it is easy for them to access justice to a greater extent.
     Women litigants in Bangladesh are deprived of justice due to weaknesses in the legal framework.The personal laws promulgated during the British colonial regime are in force till now in our country , In many of those laws , women have been discriminated.
     In spite of the abolition of self immolation of Hindu wife in her dead husband's pyre, child-marriage,and other forms of oppression, the right of the women in the state-level could not be established in full in our social system. Victims of dowry , killing ,abduction, torture for the realisation of dowry, acid throwing etc become head lines in newspapers.The laws in the state level failed to establish the right women and to assure justice to the litigant women.Simultaneously , with the degradation of law and order at the state level,oppression of women is advancing and women lag behind in getting justice.
      On the face of the demand of the women's organisations to remove discrimination in providing justice, the government promulgated the Family Court Ordinance on June 17, 1985.It was prosumed that the Family Court ordinance of 1985 would play an epoch-making role in protecting the rights of women.However, after 25 years , it is observed that success of this law is so scanty, there is nothing the deprived village women are getting which is worth mentioning.
      It is time for the government to take steps for revising the law, The applied problems of the family courts,for which the women of Bangladesh remain in crisis, are as follows

A Great initiative & India Evertwhere

             A lot of people spent a lot of money to see an Indian film actor,Shahrukh Khan , totalling a tidy lot of cash. How much of it was paid to the extremely rich actor, we don't know . However, the sad fact is that while we spend money to see someone in three dimensions from a distance, we do not collectively donate money to help out the needy or enable a poor family to buy a rickshaw for income generation or put a roof over their head.
             Wednesday's newspaper , however,provided very useful news about a group that has started giving out interest-free micro - credit loan to needy enterprising people to enable them to improve their lot.  This is an excellent idea and I deeply appreciate the initiative and their magnanimity to develop such an idea.This is an excellent example and we need many more such people , so that they can develop themselves.This endeavour deserves widespread recognition,appreciation and publicity so that many such groups can be developed, and more families helped out of poverty.It is our moral obligation and religious duty to help the needy in whatever way possible. We should learn more about this interest-free -micro-credit idea that has just been launched. More information on the matter from our dailies will.More information on the matter from our dailies will be very welcome!
              Indian printers were recently ordered to print textbooks for the school-going children of Bangladesh.The policymakers are making Bangladesh too dependent on India.From the kitchen market to the bookstore,everything comes from there -eggs,onions,pulse, textbooks, you name it.What sort of independence is this when we are dependent on another country for each and everything? It is a shame.
               

stop hartal-based politics

         Political stability is closely related to a country's economic development.Our country saw some positive signs of economic development in recent time.But,there are also hortals and other economy destroying political programmes. In front of this hope , aspiration and possibility, the devastating,hartal-based politics can't be accepted any more.
          In this competitive global market, countries such as Turkey and Japan are now showing interest in investing and buying goods from Bangladesh,instead of China.Japan wants to buy various kinds of goods from Bangladesh rather than from China.These are all positive signs for our economy , which can be spoiled by political instability and hartal.The ruling and the opposition party have to realise it for sake of our economic development.
         The people and the business community do not want the politics of hartal.The government do not want the politics of hartal.The government has to take the responsibility of making the political situation stable.Besides,it should take urgent steps to prevent abduction,toll collection, tender manipulation, infrastructure problem, and gas and power crisis without making any delay.This opportunity of economoc development might not remain open for too ling. The government and the opposition party should play a significant role in creating an investment-friendly atmosphere in Bangladesh.

Job for every familly & Digital Bangladesh ruling party

       A report titled 'BCS qualifiers fall sick at fast - unto-death for jobs' which is very hardness of any mind.BCS qualifiers have to fast unto death for jobs whereas the ruling government was committed to ensuring at least one job for every family.Still now, in some development project people have not got back their jobs although most of them have already been in the revenue set up. Recruitment has been a crying need for a long time in government high school, district education offices,teachers training colleges, other colleges and some other offices.
        The students of the Engineering University of Chittagong have not had access to internet for a long time.I know it from a national daily.They are in need of internet facilities as it helps them to acquire global knowledge and learn their subjects better.Not very long ago,I found that a video conference was held from a remote area of Bangladesh apparently as a proof that Bangladesh was on the road to becoming digital.Recently , the prime minister , Sheikh Hasina , said in the parliament that the previous Awami League government had been able to increase the literacy rate by 20 percent but the rate was reduced by four percent during the rule of the BNP- led government.The dropout rate of primary terminal exam was 8 percent last year but this year the rate has been increased a lot which is a great failure of the Awami League-led government.Therefore,the government would be well -advised not to speak ill of others and work for the welfare of the country.

The Yunus Controversy

     I was shocked with an item, published recently in News, where an organisation dared suggesting the arrest of Muhammad Yunus, the  sole Nobel laureate from our country.
     Yunus winning the Nobel Prize spread the name for our country across the world. It is astonishing that Omar should suggest his arrest , where the finance minister himself said the so-called grant could have been transferred with the donor's consent.
      Such suggestions create nothing but chaos and anarchy while contributing nothing to alleviate the suferings of the people. Only jealousy can explain such propositions.If I were in your place, I should have ignored it and would not have published it all. 
      It is strongly recommended that responsible journalism should not forget to highlight the other side of the coin while criticising Yunus and microcredit.

Amendment to politics

Many will agree with Lutfor Rahman that good governance requires purification of our politics and out politicians(New Age,November 24.But as long as our political parties avoid internal reforms, depend on personality cults,crush dissent, operate a command structure and promote divisiveness, our constitution will remain a mockery of what it was intended to be.
     The spirit of our constitution is diametrically opposed to the politics practised in our unfortunate country .The people are wise but they can only vote for those who are put on the ballot.It is the political parties which decide whose name goes on the ballot , not the people, We are held hostage by our two.

Again a spate of nasty polities

  One thing about Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia that people from all social in Bangladesh praise profusely is her strong personality, especially her stubbornness not to compromise, at least in her political statements, with anything that could jeopardise the countey's sovereignty.
   People in general had feared that as usual the BNP , the present opposition party, this time too would vitiate the public life by calling 'hartal' on any excuse as frequently as the Awami League and the BNP both did when they were in the opposition. But the BNP leadership, after Awami League won the last election by a huge margin, did not realy find much of excusable issues that could drive people to respond to a call of 'Hartal'.Plus , Khalada Zia had earned a bed name of an incapable mother, at least by the stories-real or concocted-people gossiped and the news media reported about, in shepherding her sons properly across the corridor of power when she was the prime minister.

Tilting buildings

 Centuries after the leaning tower of pisa, a major tourist attraction which still has not fallen down after it was built,we,in Bangladesh,are determined to build many  tilting building in the many urban areas of Bangladesh.The wasy way out seems to be to pass the blame on building designers.The reality is,however,something very much different.It starts as a case of 'ignorance is bliss' with economy drive being the sole criteria of work.To begin with ground clearance between adjacent buildings, which is quite important, is ignored.

Saving Tigers from extinction

Drastic reduction of wildlife is a global concern as it contributes greatly to environmental degradation. Among other reasons, the fast -growing industries and economic boom in the developing and promising countries can be attributed to the wildlife population. For centuries , villagers living in Asia's forest , mountains and icy tundra have learned to fear and respect the mighty tiger.But rapid economic growth and modernisation have reduced the number of tigers to as few as 3200 in the wild, mostly in India, Russia and Indonesia . Currently there are fourteen tiger range countries in the world-Bangladesh,Bhutan ,Cambodia,China,India,Indonesia,Laos,Malaysia,Myanmar,Nepal,North Korea,Russia,Thailand and Vietnam.

Please do not make Class VIII students guinea pigs

       The education ministry recently announced its decision to hold the first-ever junior school certificate examinations, starting from November 4. It also announced the schedule for the examinations, according to which Bangla and Engish exams will be held in two days.We all know each subject has two papers of 100 marks each.In secondary school certificate and higher secondary certificate examinations, too, candidates take Bangla I and II on one day and English I and II on another.Is it not putting too much pressure on Class VIII students?

       Everyone agrees that our students are generally weak in English but the education ministry does not seem to have paid any heed to it . It has also ignored the routine of the Dhaka education board, according to which each paper can be held in a day.
       Some 15 lakh students are going to take the junior school certificate examinations .The education ministry has made a lot of changes in its decision with regard to the examinations since April. It seems the ministry has made students of Class VIII some sort of guinea pigs in its experimentations.

       Regrettably still, no one has yet raised any objection to the schedule for the junior school certificate examinations, although bundles of letter get published in different newspapers on different issues every day.

Non - stop population bloom in Bangladesh

    The Malthusian theory , a well - known theory of population studies , states that whenever human beings obtain more than mere subsistence, their number goes up until everybody is back at the level of subsistence. World population grew at a very high rate since the early 1950s because of higher level of  agricultural productivity during the green revolution period. The population continues to increase as the world is not in a position to return to its initial level of subsistence.Overpopulation is now a problem in many countres in the world and the population control has become a serious issue.
    Among many factors influencing population growth, dependency on children during crisis periods is considered as vital . Taking children is considered as a mode of insurance because parents expect to get financial and non-financial support from their children at their late age.Taking many children is comparable with modern portfolio theory which suggests diversification and options to manage risk from many activities, Under limited financial market without national health insurance and pension schemes, it is diffcult to motivate people to prefer fewer children and to make trade-off between children and alternative insurance. However, economic incentive has much to do because it can drive people to work hard , to produce quality products, to study , to invest, and to save.

Take about real issues

      Intolerable traffic jam, load shedding , gas crisis cripple our city life. These issues nowadays are the main focus of almost all Bengali and English-language dailies every day.A severe problem prevails in the Chittagong port. Awami League activists the other assaulted the officials at the deputy commissioner's office in Pabna and forced cancellation of a recruitment examination.The Bangladesh chhatra league activists are reporetedly doing the same throughout the country. A ruling party leader and his relatives destroyed a house in open daylight and grabbed the land.
     Traffic jam, load shedding , gas crisis intensify day by day.The government has not taken any effective measures to solve these problems but hammer on some issues that are hardly related to the well being of the people.

Constitutional mandate

      Syed Ali's opinion on the matter is a personal observation.If the members of parliament deem it necessary,they should pass appropriate laws governing the norms and procedure laws governing the norms and procedure vis-s-vis presidential clemency for convicts.Was not any view on the matter expressed their views and sincere advice on the matter , particularly related to exhausting of all legal channels.
      His opinion, or advice , to the president ,to 'judiciously' use his authority , is rather impolite .I am sure he could have written to the member of parliament of his constituency or to the president directly , if he felt so strongly about the issue, rather than putting it in the print media as a direct criticism of the president; which it amounts to!
      Also ,giving a hypothetical example is also not the way to go about it.It would have been better be to deal with the matter as it is since he seems to be well aware about it.Citing such examples,seems more like giving advice publicly , and that too, to the president.It seems rather impolite . After all is said and done, he is the head of state.

Restriction on import of day-old chick

      A number of hatchery owners have been charging Tk 70 for a day old chick since last year whereas, if business ethics is followed,the price of a chick should not be more than Tk 20.This has pushed up the price of  egg and chicken exorbitantly . As a consequence ,thousands of short and medium poultry farms could not make sustainable profit and a good number also faced closure.
     In the recent past that when the government decided to allow the import of chick ,hatchery owners convened a press conference and misled the public that Indian chicks would bring bird flu and destroy thousands of poultry farms in the country .In fact,they are jeopardising the poultey farms by charging irrationally high prices.They managed to persuade the government decision-makers to impose a ban and other restrictions on import of day old chick,egg and chicken .This is a conspiracy to monopolise the poultry business.

Traffic in Dhaka

     The traffic jams in Dhaka have become unbelievable nowadays.The country's capital is a big mess.There is na sign of the authorities' willingness to discharge its responsibility. Available roads and the number of vehicles are totally disproportionate.The ever-increasing number of vehicles on the road makes life more miserable for the citizens of the overcrowded city.Millions of work hours are list on the road.How can the  people of Dhaka get out of this painful situation? There is no simple solution.
      I think the government should encourage more public transportation and discourage private vehicles.Like all other big cities,the morning rush hour goes on from 7:00 am to 10.00 am.In these three hours the left lane of all main roads should be reserved for public buses only.All other buses and private vehicles should use the other lanes .It can be the same evening rush hours.
      People should be encouraged to take public buses and leave behind their vehicles at home.Public buses should follow a strict schedule with discipline.During the rush hours,every two minutes or five minutes (depends from where) there should be frequent bus services so that passengers can travel comfortably instead of owners and their employees by treating them fairly in a public-private partnership.

In praise of a teacher

    Just when I was beginning to think that Bangladesh was becoming bankrupt of all morals,common decency,and self-respect ,it was most refreshing and inspiring to read the letter from former schoolteacher Shakul Ali (New Age,September 17.)
    For 30 years Mr Ali had been part of the system that unapologetically inflicts pain and suffering on innocent and vulnerable children.He wrote that on very rare occasions he was one of the "torturers" (my description not his) for which he deeply regrets.Much to his honour,dignity and pride,he spent most of his school carrer trying to convince his colleagues that corporal punishment is wrong.
   No doubt Mr Ali is one of the rare breed of teachers, whom some of us were lucky to have teaching us,who've brought great honour , glory and respect to the profession and whom most of us admire long after we've left school.

Keeping Hope alive

    I was watching CNN's medical coverage on September 5.CNN's medical correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta is touring to chronicle Pakistan's flood affected areas.He is on a motorboat with his producer and a cameraman.The floods in the north-western province of Pakistan have devastated the area.Six million people have erected makeshift tents and trying very hard to get through this difficult time with their families.Children are suffering the most .They are getting sick in increasing numbers.In the documentary Dr Gupta stops at some of the tents with his medical bag to check on the children .He gives them whatever he is carrying with him.One child, about two years old, is suffering from dehydration.

Extortion on highway and police

         Extortion on the highway on the eve of any festival seems to have become a routine,the extortionists spare no vehicles, be it a bus or a truck or a car.According to a report front - paged in New Age on September 8, transport owners and employees alleged that they were forced to pay money to extortionists at different spots on the highways on a regular basis, and the traffic and highway police also take their share.Little wonder then that all the directives issued by the inspector general of police have had little or no impact on police officials down the line.It seems that they hear or see no evil while participating in the evil!

Obama to challenge Republican foes economy

The US president,Barack Obama,Wednesday threw down the gauntlet to Republicans on the economy,as the lagging recovery and crippling unemployment threaten Democrats with a mid-team election meltdown.
  Obama was travelling to Cleveland,Ohio in a personal challenge to Republican House of Representatives leader John Boehner, who used a recent visit to the city to demand the president sack his top economic aides.
  In what USA Today newspaper bills as the 'battle of Cleveland,' Obama was highlighting a multi-billion-dollar package of tax breaks for businesses and spending on transport infrastructure meant to spur jobs growth and woo voters.
     His plan,which faces an uncertain fate in Congress with lawmakers fixated on their own political skins ahead of the November
     2 polls , appears to be a bid by Obama strategists to ease their boss's political weakness on the economy.
    'We are in a very political period,people are going to be making choices,'said a senior Obama administration.
    'It is propitious we will be in Cleveland , where Mr Boehner was a couple of weeks ago,unveiling what he said was .

economic vision.

     Boehner, a conservative Ohio Republican with a colourful turn of 
phrase, is eyeing the speaker, s chair with his  party tipped to grab
control of the House from Democrats.

Good governance and Digital Bangladesh

      Digital Socciety focuses on a tecnology based society where information must vailable to all classes of people . It is obviously a forward thinking one  especially for a poverty ridder and developing country like Bangladesh . Each and every sector of a society should be  interconnected through I Connecting people and ensuring good governance is core prerequisite to digital Bangladesh . Good governance  includes different indicators like accountability of the government , transparency of the government , effective parliament ,effective  democratic system , freedom of print and mass media , indicators can be possible when society gets adaptation with ICT.Information should be exposed to mass people that can only ensure true communication.Connecting people depends on access of information.

     It is truly our dream to see digital Bangladesh by the year 2021.To me education is the most requirement of digital Bangladesh .In Bangladesh education rate is definitely low than other developed countries.Our government has taken different policies in order to provide light of education to every sphere of people in our society.

Councils and self-accountable politicians

    Political analysts,politically-oriented people.peace loving people,civil society members of Bangladesg have long been waiting for a peaceful and welfare society where the politics would be driven by the values and ethices and human right aiming at not only establishing a democratic state,rather establishing a welfare state.
    Nature of a society or any group or any party as a whole largely depends on the nature of smallest unit of the society or any group or any party,i.e.man in the case of society,member on case of the group and party workers in the case of the party,and on the nature of 'cementing materials' through which the society,group or the party get joined together .The more the 'cementing materials' would be perfect the more peaceful the society would be and the nature of the 'cementing materials'depends on the culture the people of the particular society or group practice.

    Though democracy is considered  as the beat from of government,political analysts,economists and social scientists have strongly criticised the efficiency of democracy.They base this on their premise of the irrational voter,Their argument is that voters are highly uninformed about many political issues on which they are fairly knowledgeable.

Democracy of families

     It sounds funny when someone says that is no Bangladesh without Hasina and there will be no Bangladesh without her familly.It is the extreme from of flattery.

     The struggle of the Bengali nation for Independence and democracy is not something new.Our Independence and our democracy is the result of a dynamic process and the same daynamic process will guide us in future also.When someone gives credit to some family,we should not forget the contribution,struggle and guidance the nation received from other great leaders like Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy,Maulana Bhashani, Manik Miah and others.We struggled for pure democracy,not the type of democratic monarchy as some quarters are advocating.Hasina should come out of the illusion created by flatterers and should not try to become a burden on the nation.She should not also try to put the burden of her family members,who are all foreign nationals,on the nation's shoulder.I believe that will be in the best interest for her and the Awami League.

Conspirancy or disparity

       Imagine that you are a garment factory worker who makes living on a day to day basis.You live in a slum raising children who often get sick due to malnutrition and poor hygiene.You leave home,in the dark,before sunrise and come back,in the dark,after sunset.Sick or healthy,you work 15/16 hours a day and are not fairly paod.The prices of essentials have gone through the roof over the last few years,while your wage has stayed where it was four years ago.You and your children are eating less every day.You cannot afford a doctor anymore.

       You see more and more high -rise buildings and pricy cars,shining with all the glories  of their owners.The glares of summer sunlight reflecting from those shiny buildings,cars and shiny faces of their owners blind you.You are locked inside the factory from dawn-to-dusk because your employer does not trust you.When fire catches up in any such factories dozens like you are are burnt alive.You know you may be the next , You come home at night to find no electricity or water,Your night is a nightmare.

Wastage of public money

         In the past I noticed the great work your newspaper did in bringing to light some issues and problems.Due to that exposure several things have been fixed and researched .For example, wastage of public money by government officials for purchasing expensive foreign cars,etc.
         May be you can do the same for the huge wastage of resources when roads are purposefully built in Bangladesh during the monsoon season.

        I have heard from several sources that roads are purposefully built during the monsoon season so that they don't last long and so those contracting and government agencies can keep getting more money from the donor agencies or whatever sources.I have noticed that during the winter months there is no construction work on any rpads,at least in Dhaka . But as the rain starts fixing and building of roads,at least in Dhaka.But as the rain starts fixing and building of roads starts in full swing .I have also heard that the main ingredient that is used to keep roads strong and last are not used here in Bangladesh.These allegations need to be investigated.

Drop a drop

      I do not lament those who want everything refind in Bangladesh.Because that is how it has to be. Aim for the vast space and that will take you to the moon,the mars and beyond.It is all about your contribution to the social evolution.Drop a drop in the ocean and that will make the ocean bigger by a drop.I do not want to say that scale of police brutality in the poor countries is always scary and Bangladesh is any exception.I do not want to say either that I blame the police alone for these atrocities they commit because the culture in which they work and operate does not let them do anything better .We have to start from a point , any point,to reach the destination.You cannot give by saying that there are too many point to start from.I will never say that Bangladeshi politicians are mostly illiterate.Literacy does not come with certificates.It comes from your interaction with environments and four walls of formal education is just another sort of envitonments.Education is a lifelong process, a continuous process and that is why the term continuing education is catching up this centaury.If you take me for an example , I will say that I enrolled myself, Like many other,in the lifelong learing course,the lifelong learning process,It is not the literacy that our politicians lack,they lack self-confidence.

Fight of global recession

         Economic recessions take place from time to time under the modern economic concept.History shows that the United States suffered its first recession  back un the years between 1797 and 1800.It was called the panic of 1797 ; this is termed as the travel of European recession to the America dur to the deflating effects of the Bank of England which disrupted commercial real estate markets in the US.
         Recession is generally identified as the reduction of a country's GDP for at least two quarters. In another way, a 1.5 per cent rise in unemployment within 12 months is defined as a recessionary stage.

         The collapse of the dot -com bubbke,the September 11 th attacks, and accounting scandals creates a relatively mind recession in the US economy in early 2000s and it continues six months up to 2001 . After six years of bubble dot com, the US economy again faces recession in December 2007 and it becomes unbearable in September,2008. The collapse of the housing marker led to bank collapses in the US and Europe, causing the amount of available credit to be sharply curtailed, resulting in a massive  liquidity crises.The prevailing recession leads private consumption to fall for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Pakistan's cheating inCricket

           Good things happen when the soules express them Similarly,when cheating tendency is deep-rooted in a society-all forms of evil express on a constant basis.(As feared by many) after the long history of association with match-fixing, doping , murder probe (2007 World Cup), injury feigning, tantrum-throwing, ball - biting, ball altering, betting, pitch damaging, religious exhibition during games, regional infighting, organised crimes, corruptions and British police against visiting Pakistan Test cricket team in England. Secretly filmed footage exposed one British -Pakistani bookmaker Majeed--who has 'manage' Pakistani cricket players over two years-accepting $150,000 (Bangladeshi Taka 16 crore) from a undercover journalist for guaranteeing 'no balls'. The allegations are relarted to 'no ball' delivered by Mohammad Amir and Mohammed Asif. ICC (International Cricket Council) and Scotland Yard are now investing the matter.No players or team officials have been arrested yet.

Make Electricity available

    Electeic power supply,after food and potable water is the critical need , vital for the country in all spheres of activity in industry,trade and national development.Irrigation, a vital need for food production, is critically linked to it and cannot be ignored by the government in any way.It should be on the top of development agenda.There can be no two opinions about the fact that,gross national product in all sectors will go down.

    We cannot afford to sit over the matter of generating more electric power any longer.Even if we have to take short cuts,and necessarily go for direct negotiation with any power plant makers and suppliers;in spite and despite all useless screams from the opposition politicians.

Mainstream America is not Islamophobic

         From the moment New York City's Landmarks Commission ruled that a building can be torn to clear the way to build a Muslim cultural centre and a mosque in lower Manhattan-everyone has some say about it.Two most used words in context to this ongoing debate are"Bigots"and 'Islamophobia. These are mpt the words of the common masses.Most Americans do not like bickering about religion.I taught in three different Parochial schools in Washington DC to know enough about how educated Americans of all religius  background feel.They want people to live in peace side by side,irrespective of their religion.It is those people who use offensive words to describe another religion-are nothing but ihnorant.Media also plays a pivotal part as to how those views are publicised .American media is often anti-Islam.It is also the failure of each leadership in American politics who failed to practice religious tolerance.Let this debate about the mosque that is yet to go up in New York-be a learning lesson.I pray that Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan can carry out their plan of building that mosque in lower Manhattan.As a Sufi Muslim Rauf can teach America about tolerance-not violence.

India's economy outpacing the world

         I am writing with reference to Op-ED: 'Farce and facts for Obama,' by Saeed Naqvi, distinguished fellow of the Observer Research Foundation
         In his analysis,Saeed Naqvi misses one fact that stands out prominently today: India's economy is outpacing the world.India's economy grew at the fastest pace in two and half years.making it  the second fastest growing economy in the world.Gross domestic product rose 8.8 per cent in the second quarter of this year.This is happening at a time of the global recession and even the chinere economy needed a massive stimulus to keep it going .In contrast ,the Indian continues to grow without any massive stimulus because unlike China,which is cependent on exports,Indea's growth is centred on the domestic consumption.

The wheel of fortune

          It is the late 1990s and a phenomenon known as the 'internet' has been touted to reshape the way man operates and lead to ever-increasing productivity. The IT bubble is rapidly expanding in the United State; companies possessing a dot.com suffix floating on the stock market by the minute and share prices doubling and tiipling within hours of floatation.Making a quick off the stock market has never been easier.
          Somewhere in the background , Alan Greenspan the Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United State,the Central Bank of  America murmurs against 'irrational exuberance' from investors.Then Long Term Capital Management (a US hedge fund) suffers losses of $4.6 billion in less than four mounths, the now famous Enron fraud reverberates through the system and numerous companies file for bankruptcy,haveing burnt through all their venture capital,never having made a profit in their short stint as they had no credidle business plan.

          That shameful episode resulted in $8 trillion of wealth being completely wiped out and the fortunes of millions of investors,big and small ending in tatters.A lesson learned the hard way that if assets,particulerly within the   artificial economy surpass their value ( in accordance with economic fundamentals) and overexposure to the capital market in a state of euphoria brought about almost entirely by speculation becomes the norm,the bursting of the bubble is quick and quite painful.

Kashmir is too protracted, too gory a story

         There is a story mainly pulled off by the Indian media establishment that their army and central reserve police force protect Kashmiris.But a few of the Kashmiris,as it is known by now,feel protected by them.People in India call them security forces and belive they save Kashmiris from terrorists but it is from them that Khahmiris want to be saved, as the stories come out nowadays . Kashmiris want these forces off their land. The only feelings Kashmiris have for them are of fear,hatrad and revenge.In the past two months or so, 64'boys' died ; latest, a 13-year old boy died in a hospital after he was brutally beaten up by the security forces in Kashmir . Most of them have a been youth who were either throwing stones or playing in their neighbourhoods. It is learnt that thousands of them went defying curfew to attend the funeral of a 17-year old 12th grader whose death begun the current spell of  youth protest in Kashmir. The boy was learnt to be thrown in a pond after killing, as two other boys saw that happening,but official story described he drowned.

GOLDA FARMING AT STAKE

         Hundreds of millions of foreign currency will be lost due to the infiltration of Indian so-called prawn fry:known as guest PL(post Larvae ). Everyday,a few million smuggled Indian PL are being sold to the golda farmers in Bagerhat,Shatkhira and Khulna region in the name of matural PL supposedly caught in the coastal rivers of Bangladesh.In reality, there is very little catch of golda fry from the rivers this year for number reasons.

          These smuggled PLs brought in the night from Shatkhira border, nursed for one day in the so-called 'Matir hatcheries',100s of which can be seen in the adjacent highway from Shatkhira town towards Kaligonj are later put  in the open pot and bucket and bucket and taken to the nearby markets to be sold to the farmers as river PL or natural PL.

ABOLISH FATWA

             A so - called parellel jurisprudence by the name of Fatwa is unique in Islam.It's not essential if a country is governed by the modern laws or not but an illiterate mullah can challenge the sovereign laws by proclaiming a religious edict which is popularly known as Fatwa and there is no law to prosecute that mullah.This practice not only violates the established norms of law but it creates an uncivilised precedence practiced in the middle ages. Governments in the Muslim nations are afraid to take corrective actions against the practice of Gatwa out of fear based on ignorance and illiteracy.It's a shame that a modern government succumbs to such deliberate efforts by the Islamic fundamentalists which undermines the authority of the gocernment with impunity .In the modern times,this practice of Fatwa is an attempt to impose a  system on the society based on medieval considerations.If the aim of law is to eliminate crimes this cant be done by beheading or cutting limbs and hands.This requires universal education,even handed social justice and equal distribution of wealth.

SMART GRID

           This is in reference to a report which is of interest for power sector in Bangladesh.It should provoke the planners in power sector(particularly the power ministry).
            But will they even go through it and try to understand its impact;possibly not ,as they are too busy pulling and pushing files and filling note sheets! The prospect of interconnecting renewable power source with the distribution grid,and its automated two way interaction provides the key to tap on to alternative energy sources. We should keep up with Smart Grid development and applications being done to increase power availability as a very relevant near future propect.

            Smart Grid operation is closely interlinked to high speed internet monitoring and operation.It can tap on to consumer's power sources in parallel with the transmission and distribution networks based on regional power shortage or surplus.

        

Free Parking of Cars

Free parking increases the demand for cars,and more cars increase traffic congestion ,air pollution,and energy consumption in turn spurs the search for more local remedies,such as street widening,more freeways,and even higher parking requirements.Offstreet parking requirements quietly create citywide problems that are far worse than the local ones they are meant to solve.The list of problems caused by free and under-priced parking is long:Car dependency : Free parking encourages people to drive more rather than seeking alternatives.Discouragement of environmentally-friendly transport:People who own cars are less likely to walk short distances since there is no economic penalty for driving;the increased cars in the street making bus service slower.

Civil Service Losing its Image

             The present civil service Structure of the subcontinent is the legacy of the British colonial rules . Once the Civil Service was the most attractive and prestigious position.But the glory and image of the service has been deteriorating since the inception of Pakistan due to various reasons for losing the attraction of the service to the meritorious students is the low salary compared  to the fast growing private and multinational sectors.The salary structure has never been adjusted with the market.As such,the bright and  meritorious students are not getting onterested in joining the service.Another important reason is the lack of opportant thing is building career in the service.Promotion and other facilities are not ensured timely.The most important thing is faulty,non-transparent ,obsolete and lengthy recruitment system.Merit does not get priority in our recruitment system.More over,corruption , nepotism are common traits of the system.Policies are formulated and implemented by the civil servants.Negotiations on vital issues with the rest of the world are also conducted by the civil servants.Queations are raised regarding efficiency and required skill of our civil servants for the job.Our political leadership is also not in a position to take the lead rather they are more dependent on the civil service.People expect this goverrnment to make radical changes/reforms in  the civil service to make it more vibrant and efficient for the wellbeing of the nation.

If Japan Can,Why can't we

DURING the 1980s, American industry was struggling to keep pace with that of Japan. At that time Japan was gradually establishing itself as a manufacturing powerhouse. The spectacular rise of Japan’s economy started in fact only in the late 1950s. This was naturally a big surprise to the rest of the world. How come, the nation, which was devastated in the Second World War, could turn around so fast?
   American think tank was little bit worried as slowly but surely Japanese products were being hailed by the Americans. Lloyd Allen Dobyns, a famous reporter who was working with NBC Television at that time, tried to dig into the mystery of Japan’s success. He went to Japan to see things physically. What did he manage to find after extensive research? Surprise! Surprise! The seeds for Japan’s success as a manufacturer of ‘Quality Products’ were planted by none other than an American, William Edwards Deming! Deming’s contribution to Japan’s economic miracle went largely unnoticed in the USA and to the most of the world until a 1980 NBC feature called ‘If Japan can...Why can’t we?’ by Lloyd Allen was published.
   Dr WE Deming was born in 1900 in Sioux City, Iowa. He did his graduation in Electrical Engineering in 1921 from the University of Wyoming. Deming got his MS degree in 1925 from the University of Colorado and in 1928 he was awarded PhD by the famous Yale University. His glamorous career started as a mathematical physicist at the United States Department of Agriculture. Dr Deming worked as a statistical adviser for the United States Census Bureau during the World War II. He was a professor of statistics at New York University’s Graduate School of Business Administration for quite a long period of time – from 1946-1993. He taught at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business as well. Deming did also work as a consultant for private business.

All are not equal in Eid jamaat?

IT IS sad and revolting that Baitul Mokarram mosque is reserving special place for the president of the republic and other high state functionaries in Eid congregational prayers, as is evident from photographs of Eid jamaat released to the media during Eid every year. After the next Eid we may expect to watch in the media the same familiar scene. This is repugnant to the teachings of Islam. In Eid jamaat or any congregational prayers all are equal and no one has any precedence except the Imam and the muezzin. To accord any individual of wealth or power any special place in namaaz undermines the ideals of Islam. We hope all Muslims will protest.

Shishu Hospital holds int'l training

Dhaka Shishu Hospital, in collaboration with Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation, completed a two-week training course on ‘Rapid Neurodevelopmental Assessment’ in the Dhaka city on Sunday.
   Professionals from home and abroad took part in the training. The local team included child health physicians and developmental therapists from government-sponsored Shishu Bikash Kendras in Mymensingh, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, and Rangpur Medical College Hospitals and the international team comprising eight medical consultants, education experts and statisticians from Bhutan, sponsored by UNICEF, Bhutan and a consultant in Developmental Paediatrics from Monash Univiersity, Melbourne, Australia.
   Twenty participants received certificates from Professor Naila Zaman Khan, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, and, National Co-ordinator, Establishment of Shishu Bikash Kendra in Government Medical College Hospitals Dr Ashrafy Ahmed, deputy programme manager, DGHS Dr Humaira Muslima, training director of the child development and neurology unit, Dhaka Shishu Hospital and Dr Shamim Ferdous, executive director of Bangladesh Protibondhi Foundation.
   International participants, including Dr Kinzang P Tshering, head of Paediatrics, and Dr Chencho Dorji, head of psychiatry, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, National Referral Hospital, and Dr Kate Milner from Australia, appreciated the quality of training they had received.

'Victimless crimes' and health challenges

Victimless crimes are offences in which the parties involved do not consider themselves to be 'victims'. These crimes, also known as consensual crimes, are activities which do not physically harm a person or property, or to which was in fact consented, and is currently illegal if based on statutory laws. Usually, a crime has identifiable victim who suffers as a result of the criminal behaviour. Victimless crimes tend to have no complaining parties other than the law enforcers because the immediate participants in these crimes do not see themselves as victims, have no desire to complain, and would fear criminal liability if they did complain. Moreover, since such acts usually take place in private and do not directly victimise any third party, other citizens are unlikely to observe the acts or to have sufficient incentive to complain. Such crimes are more commonly committed by the youths and so tend to undermine the workforce of a nation.
   The offences included in the victimless crime category are: public drunkenness, sale of illicit drugs, vagrancy, various sexual acts usually involving consenting adults (fornication, adultery, bigamy, incest, sodomy, homosexuality, and prostitution), solitary sex, obscenity, pornography, drug offences, abortion, gambling, and juvenile status offences.
   It has been argued that there is no such thing as a victimless crime, because most so-called victimless crimes have victims, or at least potential victims. Some of the offences on the list of victimless crimes do have direct victims, such as citizens offended or harassed by public drunks or disorderly persons; the spouse of the adulterer, bigamist, or prostitution client; or the spouse, parent, or child of a drug addict. Refusal to recognise the potential forms of victimisation requires problematic distinction, for instance, between mental distress and physical harm. Moreover, in many cases it is quite reasonable to argue that one or more of the participants in a victimless crime is, or will in the future become a victim of serious harm, such as the sporadic heroin user who becomes addicted, or the young person who becomes a prostitute.
   In both developed and developing countries, victimless crimes are going on in different forms in different sections of the society. These crimes are not only within the purview of the criminologists or sociologists, but also of health workers. As these crimes lead to health hazards that are preventable and manageable if detected and appropriate action taken on time. These crimes need to be reduced, as these are the challenges to public health. To overcome the challenges, further medicalisation of 'victimless crimes' by different government and non-government bodies need to be considered. This medicalisation has to be country specific taking into consideration the global scenario. It is strongly believed that many diseases can be controlled if such crimes are minimised. Social scientists need to collaborate with health workers in conducting further evidence-based research, and social work on victimless crime to minimize public health problems.