Monday, December 1, 2008
Best Web hosting deals
Hosting a website is cheaper than ever. You can host an website for less than 8 dollars a month. Below are a list of the top website hosting companies that are famous for their service, yet less expensive.
Monday, September 1, 2008
James Moriarty, Ambassador to Bangladesh, and Diplomatic Activism
Seeing Cherie Booth yesterday on TV demanding the immediate shipment of Hasina for medical treatment made me think about foreign interference in Bangladeshi politics. So I am going to blog about James Moriarty, the US ambassador to Bangladesh. His arrival earlier this month portends, I fear, a menacing level of interference.
“Diplomatic activism,” if we can call it that, has been key in the recent developments in Bangladesh not least in the installation of the current military-backed caretaker government. So what can we expect in the future? Judging from his recent stint in Nepal, Mr Moriarty is not the type to engage in sensitive diplomacy. Indeed one journalist wrote “Moriarty was to prove very much an American cowboy in a Nepali china shop.” Read “cowboy” as euphemism for stoking conflict, murder and mayhem. As the results favouring the Maoists come in from Nepal, Mr Moriarty - their implacable opponent - must be wondering where he went wrong. The truth is that he never did possess a realistic view of what was possibile in Nepal. Mr Moriarty’s CV on the web tells us he has won several performance awards. Perhaps these were won mainly when he was behind a desk in Washington. In Nepal, his performance would have earned him a severe dressing down given the perverse outcome. And hence perhaps his appointment/demotion to Bangladesh.
So what did he do in the last four years in Nepal? And what can Bangladeshis anticipate? Since 2001, with the appointment of Christina Rocca as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, the USA’s military involvement in Nepal has been considerable. The US pumped millions of dollars into building up Nepal’s security forces. Military exchange programs got expanded, and the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) saw its numbers swell from a pre-2001 figure of 35,000 to 100, 000 in 2005 and a projected 150,000 by this year. US military advisers swarmed the place, and the compliant RNA did their bidding from sabotaging peace talks to murdering people in cold blood. Many people believe that US arms support during this period intensified violence and killings of innocent people. John Mage writes:
The resumption of civil war in the fall of 2003 saw the highpoint of U.S. military involvement in Nepal. Elaborate permanent quarters for U.S. “advisers” were constructed adjacent to RNA headquarters in the centre of Kathmandu. Through its International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), the U.S. trained the security forces in “special operations.” There ensued “a policy to allow mass disappearances accompanied by tacit approval at the highest levels of state to use mass torture, extra-judicial killings and other gross abuses.” The government announced a plan for “Village Defence Volunteers,” based on Latin American paramilitary “death squad” models. This proved too much for the European Union Heads of Mission in Nepal, who up to this time had followed the growing U.S. intervention without adverse public comment. They warned, with diplomatic understatement, that in other countries such plans “have often been responsible for grave violation of human rights.
”Mr Moriarty arrived in 2004 and lost no time in engaging in “diplomatic activism.” The infamous killings and destruction of property in Kapilvastu in the Terai by the death squads revealed Moriarty’s political objectives. I again quote at length from John Mage:
“These semi-official communalist murders were immediately denounced by the European Union ambassadors and “Human Rights” groups. Moriarty, recalled to Washington for consultations, was reported to have pointed to these death squad activities as reasons for “optimism.” Moriarty returned to Kathmandu in May 2005 and did not deny the report when confronted with it, merely stating that there was a “range of opinion” about the Kapilvastu death squad outrage. Moriarty said his main concern was that the RNA was running out of bullets. Not wishing openly to break ranks with India or the European Union on the question of military assistance to the increasingly isolated royal regime, the United States turned to its Israeli surrogate. In August a “huge cache” of 5.56 mm bullets for the U.S. M-16 rifles was reported to have been supplied to the RNA by Israel.
”Earlier this year, another commentator, Mohan Nepali, had this to say about another massacre in the Terai:
“James F. Moriarty visited Nepal’s Terai region (bordering India), met Madhesi leaders and instigated them to take actions against the Maoists. Immediately after this, devastating communal violence erupted in the Terai region. The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, comprising not only armed robbery, smuggling and kidnapping gangs from both India and Nepal but also political workers and supporters from different mainstream parties ranging from moderate to ultra-rightist views, massacred 29 civilians in Rautahat in March 2007. The massacre is globally known as the Gaur Carnage.
”Moriarty’s job therefore was to stop the Maoists at all costs. Pratyush Chandra, writing in CounterPunch says, “for the US, the main task of the Nepalese politicians must be to eliminate the Maoists, not to bring in a stable democracy. The latter could be just an instrument in this regard. The “authoritarian rule” imposed by Monarchy per se was not wrong, If it had eliminated the Maoists, it would have been declared successful.”
A large number of writers describe how time and again James Moriarty over-stepped the boundaries of diplomacy to pursue these aims. On the eve of the historic April 2006 revolution which humiliated King Gyanendra, Moriarty was machinating to get the Seven Party Alliance to break their pact with the Maoists “and reconcile with the monarch contrary to the spirit of the people” according to Narayan Prasad Wagle. He goes on to state that
“Moriarty’s visits of army camps and frequent speeches about domestic political affairs do not confrom to diplomatic norms and etiquette, and principles of Vienna Conventions on diplomatic relations. The arms deal between the government and the Maoists was unreasonably delayed partly due to the threat of suspension of aid by America if the conditions put forward by it (were) ignored.
”I wonder now that Moriarty has left the country whether he has come to terms with why the Nepalese did not swallow his viewpoint. I wonder if he remembers his words from 2005 when he said the maoists were a “terrific threat” and wanted an “absolutely terrific totalitarian state in Nepal that also threatens the stability of the entire region.” His use of the word “terrific” is a bit strange as the writer Professor Gary Leup noted. He means it in the pejorative sense clearly. (Again according to his CV he speaks many languages including Nepali and Bangla. Some would say he should practise his English more - preferably back in the USA). But Gary Leup in the same article may have some light to shed on why Mr Moriarty’s dreams were never realised. Professor Leup assumes the voice of Thomas Paine and writes :
“The rebellion in Nepal is a revolt in favor of Reason. It makes no sense for 72% of its people to live below the poverty line, many in conditions resembling medieval European feudalism. It makes no sense for the government to neglect the population and present the king as the incarnation of a god. It makes no sense for 60% of the development budget to come from abroad, or for the country to so lack job opportunities that 50,000 Nepali women have to work as prostitutes in Mumbai, India — half the city’s total. It makes no sense for infant mortality to be 70 in 1000 because there’s just one doctor per 25,000 people, or for longevity to average 59 years, or for literacy to stand at 45% with only a third of girls getting any education. The revolution will quite likely change all this. The world is my country, all men my brothers, all women my sisters. So I reject the horrid depictions of it and yes, I support the truly terrific revolution in Nepal.”
Source:
http://shafiur.i-edit.net/?p=889#comment-109308
“Diplomatic activism,” if we can call it that, has been key in the recent developments in Bangladesh not least in the installation of the current military-backed caretaker government. So what can we expect in the future? Judging from his recent stint in Nepal, Mr Moriarty is not the type to engage in sensitive diplomacy. Indeed one journalist wrote “Moriarty was to prove very much an American cowboy in a Nepali china shop.” Read “cowboy” as euphemism for stoking conflict, murder and mayhem. As the results favouring the Maoists come in from Nepal, Mr Moriarty - their implacable opponent - must be wondering where he went wrong. The truth is that he never did possess a realistic view of what was possibile in Nepal. Mr Moriarty’s CV on the web tells us he has won several performance awards. Perhaps these were won mainly when he was behind a desk in Washington. In Nepal, his performance would have earned him a severe dressing down given the perverse outcome. And hence perhaps his appointment/demotion to Bangladesh.
So what did he do in the last four years in Nepal? And what can Bangladeshis anticipate? Since 2001, with the appointment of Christina Rocca as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, the USA’s military involvement in Nepal has been considerable. The US pumped millions of dollars into building up Nepal’s security forces. Military exchange programs got expanded, and the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) saw its numbers swell from a pre-2001 figure of 35,000 to 100, 000 in 2005 and a projected 150,000 by this year. US military advisers swarmed the place, and the compliant RNA did their bidding from sabotaging peace talks to murdering people in cold blood. Many people believe that US arms support during this period intensified violence and killings of innocent people. John Mage writes:
The resumption of civil war in the fall of 2003 saw the highpoint of U.S. military involvement in Nepal. Elaborate permanent quarters for U.S. “advisers” were constructed adjacent to RNA headquarters in the centre of Kathmandu. Through its International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), the U.S. trained the security forces in “special operations.” There ensued “a policy to allow mass disappearances accompanied by tacit approval at the highest levels of state to use mass torture, extra-judicial killings and other gross abuses.” The government announced a plan for “Village Defence Volunteers,” based on Latin American paramilitary “death squad” models. This proved too much for the European Union Heads of Mission in Nepal, who up to this time had followed the growing U.S. intervention without adverse public comment. They warned, with diplomatic understatement, that in other countries such plans “have often been responsible for grave violation of human rights.
”Mr Moriarty arrived in 2004 and lost no time in engaging in “diplomatic activism.” The infamous killings and destruction of property in Kapilvastu in the Terai by the death squads revealed Moriarty’s political objectives. I again quote at length from John Mage:
“These semi-official communalist murders were immediately denounced by the European Union ambassadors and “Human Rights” groups. Moriarty, recalled to Washington for consultations, was reported to have pointed to these death squad activities as reasons for “optimism.” Moriarty returned to Kathmandu in May 2005 and did not deny the report when confronted with it, merely stating that there was a “range of opinion” about the Kapilvastu death squad outrage. Moriarty said his main concern was that the RNA was running out of bullets. Not wishing openly to break ranks with India or the European Union on the question of military assistance to the increasingly isolated royal regime, the United States turned to its Israeli surrogate. In August a “huge cache” of 5.56 mm bullets for the U.S. M-16 rifles was reported to have been supplied to the RNA by Israel.
”Earlier this year, another commentator, Mohan Nepali, had this to say about another massacre in the Terai:
“James F. Moriarty visited Nepal’s Terai region (bordering India), met Madhesi leaders and instigated them to take actions against the Maoists. Immediately after this, devastating communal violence erupted in the Terai region. The Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, comprising not only armed robbery, smuggling and kidnapping gangs from both India and Nepal but also political workers and supporters from different mainstream parties ranging from moderate to ultra-rightist views, massacred 29 civilians in Rautahat in March 2007. The massacre is globally known as the Gaur Carnage.
”Moriarty’s job therefore was to stop the Maoists at all costs. Pratyush Chandra, writing in CounterPunch says, “for the US, the main task of the Nepalese politicians must be to eliminate the Maoists, not to bring in a stable democracy. The latter could be just an instrument in this regard. The “authoritarian rule” imposed by Monarchy per se was not wrong, If it had eliminated the Maoists, it would have been declared successful.”
A large number of writers describe how time and again James Moriarty over-stepped the boundaries of diplomacy to pursue these aims. On the eve of the historic April 2006 revolution which humiliated King Gyanendra, Moriarty was machinating to get the Seven Party Alliance to break their pact with the Maoists “and reconcile with the monarch contrary to the spirit of the people” according to Narayan Prasad Wagle. He goes on to state that
“Moriarty’s visits of army camps and frequent speeches about domestic political affairs do not confrom to diplomatic norms and etiquette, and principles of Vienna Conventions on diplomatic relations. The arms deal between the government and the Maoists was unreasonably delayed partly due to the threat of suspension of aid by America if the conditions put forward by it (were) ignored.
”I wonder now that Moriarty has left the country whether he has come to terms with why the Nepalese did not swallow his viewpoint. I wonder if he remembers his words from 2005 when he said the maoists were a “terrific threat” and wanted an “absolutely terrific totalitarian state in Nepal that also threatens the stability of the entire region.” His use of the word “terrific” is a bit strange as the writer Professor Gary Leup noted. He means it in the pejorative sense clearly. (Again according to his CV he speaks many languages including Nepali and Bangla. Some would say he should practise his English more - preferably back in the USA). But Gary Leup in the same article may have some light to shed on why Mr Moriarty’s dreams were never realised. Professor Leup assumes the voice of Thomas Paine and writes :
“The rebellion in Nepal is a revolt in favor of Reason. It makes no sense for 72% of its people to live below the poverty line, many in conditions resembling medieval European feudalism. It makes no sense for the government to neglect the population and present the king as the incarnation of a god. It makes no sense for 60% of the development budget to come from abroad, or for the country to so lack job opportunities that 50,000 Nepali women have to work as prostitutes in Mumbai, India — half the city’s total. It makes no sense for infant mortality to be 70 in 1000 because there’s just one doctor per 25,000 people, or for longevity to average 59 years, or for literacy to stand at 45% with only a third of girls getting any education. The revolution will quite likely change all this. The world is my country, all men my brothers, all women my sisters. So I reject the horrid depictions of it and yes, I support the truly terrific revolution in Nepal.”
Source:
http://shafiur.i-edit.net/?p=889#comment-109308
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Modern Ways to Achieve the Perfect Smile
Everyone desires to have a great smile. For a killer smile, one should have sparkling, bright, and shiny teeth.
Today, a lot of people are spending more money just to have their teeth whiter. They make use of the best teeth whitening treatments and undergo procedures to achieve the brilliant white teeth.
Teeth whitening had been an effective procedure to lighten the color of the teeth, without taking away any of the tooth surface. It will not completely whiten the whole set of teeth; it will just lighten the existing color of the teeth.
Only a few are blessed with pearly white teeth, and our teeth normally become discolored as we grow up.
Our teeth can also be stained on the outer part because of the food and drink. Coffee, tea, blackcurrant and red wine have effect on the discoloration of our teeth. Smoking is another cause of teeth discoloration. Most people may encounter staining beneath the surface which is caused by tiny cracks in the teeth or certain antibiotics that absorb the stains.
But what are these teeth whitening treatments and procedures? And are these done?
Bleaching. This is most common form of teeth whitening procedure. Your dentist will advice you if this is the best teeth whitening treatment suitable for you.
Bleaching is done by placing a gel or rubber to shield the soft tissue of your gums. Then, the whitening product will be applied on your teeth by using a special tray which shapes into your mouth like a gum shell.
The teeth whitening product usually contains carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide as the 'active ingredients'. When these ingredients break down, the oxygen enters the enamel of your teeth thus, making the color lighter. The entire treatment can be completed in three to four weeks time.
For those who wish to undergo to this treatment, you will need at least three visits to the dentist. On your first visit, the dentist will create a mouth-guard and take a caricature or impressions of it. Once the treatment has started, it is recommended that you continue it at home. You have to regularly apply the teeth whitening product over four weeks, for at least 30 minutes at a time.
Most of the known and best teeth whitening products can be applied for up to several hours at a time. The treatment can be done even while you're sleeping. Ideally, a good result can be attained in as little as one week.
Laser Whitening. This is also called the "power whitening". Though expensive, a lot of people especially artists consider it as the best teeth whitening method.
During this process, a rubber dam is placed over your teeth to shield the gums, and the whitening product is then painted on your teeth. A laser will be used to stimulate the chemical. The light will help boost the chemical reaction of the bleaching product, thus the color change can be attained more rapidly.
Dentists believe that the result of laser whitening treatment is good. It can make your teeth up to six shades lighter.
Unfortunately, not everyone can get a chance to undergo laser treatment. The dentist will have to check your teeth and ensure that you are fit for the treatment. The total procedure is usually done in an hour.
The effects of this power whitening is said to last up to three years depending on the person. The dentist still advice not to smoke, eat and drink products that may cause a stain in your teeth. Others may find their teeth vulnerable to cold after the treatment. But these symptoms usually vanish within a few days.
These are just two of the famous and best teeth whitening methods available. Despite the fact that they may cost a lot, the effect is still worth it. Through these methods, you'll surely flash everyone a perfect smile.
Today, a lot of people are spending more money just to have their teeth whiter. They make use of the best teeth whitening treatments and undergo procedures to achieve the brilliant white teeth.
Teeth whitening had been an effective procedure to lighten the color of the teeth, without taking away any of the tooth surface. It will not completely whiten the whole set of teeth; it will just lighten the existing color of the teeth.
Only a few are blessed with pearly white teeth, and our teeth normally become discolored as we grow up.
Our teeth can also be stained on the outer part because of the food and drink. Coffee, tea, blackcurrant and red wine have effect on the discoloration of our teeth. Smoking is another cause of teeth discoloration. Most people may encounter staining beneath the surface which is caused by tiny cracks in the teeth or certain antibiotics that absorb the stains.
But what are these teeth whitening treatments and procedures? And are these done?
Bleaching. This is most common form of teeth whitening procedure. Your dentist will advice you if this is the best teeth whitening treatment suitable for you.
Bleaching is done by placing a gel or rubber to shield the soft tissue of your gums. Then, the whitening product will be applied on your teeth by using a special tray which shapes into your mouth like a gum shell.
The teeth whitening product usually contains carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide as the 'active ingredients'. When these ingredients break down, the oxygen enters the enamel of your teeth thus, making the color lighter. The entire treatment can be completed in three to four weeks time.
For those who wish to undergo to this treatment, you will need at least three visits to the dentist. On your first visit, the dentist will create a mouth-guard and take a caricature or impressions of it. Once the treatment has started, it is recommended that you continue it at home. You have to regularly apply the teeth whitening product over four weeks, for at least 30 minutes at a time.
Most of the known and best teeth whitening products can be applied for up to several hours at a time. The treatment can be done even while you're sleeping. Ideally, a good result can be attained in as little as one week.
Laser Whitening. This is also called the "power whitening". Though expensive, a lot of people especially artists consider it as the best teeth whitening method.
During this process, a rubber dam is placed over your teeth to shield the gums, and the whitening product is then painted on your teeth. A laser will be used to stimulate the chemical. The light will help boost the chemical reaction of the bleaching product, thus the color change can be attained more rapidly.
Dentists believe that the result of laser whitening treatment is good. It can make your teeth up to six shades lighter.
Unfortunately, not everyone can get a chance to undergo laser treatment. The dentist will have to check your teeth and ensure that you are fit for the treatment. The total procedure is usually done in an hour.
The effects of this power whitening is said to last up to three years depending on the person. The dentist still advice not to smoke, eat and drink products that may cause a stain in your teeth. Others may find their teeth vulnerable to cold after the treatment. But these symptoms usually vanish within a few days.
These are just two of the famous and best teeth whitening methods available. Despite the fact that they may cost a lot, the effect is still worth it. Through these methods, you'll surely flash everyone a perfect smile.
Extreme Snowboarding
Snowboarding by itself is a fun and safe sport which is basically a cross between skiing and skateboarding. Using a single large snowboard, enthusiasts rush down slopes through the snow. The feel and balance is quite different from regular skiing since navigation through the snow is achieved on only a single board, and unlike skateboarding, snowboarders let gravity do all the work of propulsion for them as they slide down the slopes.
Naturally, once snowboarding caught on in popularity, it was only a matter of time before the most highly skilled practitioners decided to tackle harder and harder slopes, finding ones with more dangerous terrain, or natural formations that allowed for stunts like turnpipes in skateboarding.
Thus was born extreme snowboarding. Extreme snowboarding involves extremely tough slopes set at 45 degree angles or less, making runs down these slopes extremely fast and difficult to control. Unlike gentle civilian snowboarding slopes, extreme slopes will also usually have outcroppings of rock jutting out from the snow as part of the challenge.
This is not a fact to be taken lightly, and not a sport to be taken by amateurs. Given the speeds at which an extreme snowboarder can go, even a casual splash on the slope an lead to broken limbs or a broken neck from impact with the snow alone. When you factor in the presence of actual rock formations, you can see how this sport is one that is not undertaken lightly.
Extreme snowboarder slopes actually dont have any of the usual conveniences of a civilian ski or snowboard slope. There are no trans for uphill transport, no waystations for shelter and relaxation. It is wilderness all the way. More often than not, during extreme snowboard competitions, the boarders actually ride airlifts to get to the top of the course.
Like some extreme sports, snowboarding enthusiasts have even merged their styles with that of other extreme sports. For example, some snowboarders actually pack parachute gliders on their backs These extreme sportsmen take a snowboard and do a run all the way down a slope which ends at a sheer-drop cliff, and once they fly off the cliff, trigger the chutes and hang glide all the rest of the way down the mountainside. If that isn't an adrenaline rush, I don't know what is!
Some of the more popular and challenging snowboard slopes are located in New Zealand and Alaska. In the Alaskan slopes, there are 4000 foot vertical run areas with gullies, ditches, and wind lips, as well as trees to contend with on the slope. There is also an area with natural half-pipe formations and rolls where freestyle exhibitions similar to that done for skateboarding can be performed.
The New Zealand slopes are more challenging for those who enjoy absolute speed runs. With one of the steepest and sharpest slopes around, navigating the New Zealand snowboarding slopes requires perfect balance and control to keep from spilling.
Given the risks of snowboarding, every professional competing extreme snowboarder is required to learn first aid specializing in cold weather injury treatment, as well as survival, search, and rescue techniques for winter and mountainous terrain. On their runs, they are also required to bring avalanche transceivers for emergency pickups in case of an avalanche or if they go off course and get lost.
Like most extreme sports, extreme snowboarding is most definitely not for the weak or the faint of heart. But for those who are up to the challenge, it offers one of the most exciting blood rushes around.
Naturally, once snowboarding caught on in popularity, it was only a matter of time before the most highly skilled practitioners decided to tackle harder and harder slopes, finding ones with more dangerous terrain, or natural formations that allowed for stunts like turnpipes in skateboarding.
Thus was born extreme snowboarding. Extreme snowboarding involves extremely tough slopes set at 45 degree angles or less, making runs down these slopes extremely fast and difficult to control. Unlike gentle civilian snowboarding slopes, extreme slopes will also usually have outcroppings of rock jutting out from the snow as part of the challenge.
This is not a fact to be taken lightly, and not a sport to be taken by amateurs. Given the speeds at which an extreme snowboarder can go, even a casual splash on the slope an lead to broken limbs or a broken neck from impact with the snow alone. When you factor in the presence of actual rock formations, you can see how this sport is one that is not undertaken lightly.
Extreme snowboarder slopes actually dont have any of the usual conveniences of a civilian ski or snowboard slope. There are no trans for uphill transport, no waystations for shelter and relaxation. It is wilderness all the way. More often than not, during extreme snowboard competitions, the boarders actually ride airlifts to get to the top of the course.
Like some extreme sports, snowboarding enthusiasts have even merged their styles with that of other extreme sports. For example, some snowboarders actually pack parachute gliders on their backs These extreme sportsmen take a snowboard and do a run all the way down a slope which ends at a sheer-drop cliff, and once they fly off the cliff, trigger the chutes and hang glide all the rest of the way down the mountainside. If that isn't an adrenaline rush, I don't know what is!
Some of the more popular and challenging snowboard slopes are located in New Zealand and Alaska. In the Alaskan slopes, there are 4000 foot vertical run areas with gullies, ditches, and wind lips, as well as trees to contend with on the slope. There is also an area with natural half-pipe formations and rolls where freestyle exhibitions similar to that done for skateboarding can be performed.
The New Zealand slopes are more challenging for those who enjoy absolute speed runs. With one of the steepest and sharpest slopes around, navigating the New Zealand snowboarding slopes requires perfect balance and control to keep from spilling.
Given the risks of snowboarding, every professional competing extreme snowboarder is required to learn first aid specializing in cold weather injury treatment, as well as survival, search, and rescue techniques for winter and mountainous terrain. On their runs, they are also required to bring avalanche transceivers for emergency pickups in case of an avalanche or if they go off course and get lost.
Like most extreme sports, extreme snowboarding is most definitely not for the weak or the faint of heart. But for those who are up to the challenge, it offers one of the most exciting blood rushes around.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Social Networks
Online social networks are the talk of the town. In fact the popularity of facebook and myspace have sky rocketed due to their potential implications in media and the web. According to facebook they have more than 67 million active users and over 55 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks.
Social networks are website devoted to users who creates their personal profiles, search for friends or contacts, create groups, blogs and albums. There are over 300 social networking site in existence built around many different themes. There are social network sites for photo-sharing, video-sharing, music sharing, blogging communities and all purpose communities like myspace, facebook and professional networking sites like linkedin.
One such all purpose community site is meetbangla, which is betting its share of the market with a bit of ethnic Bengali touch and hoping to flourish along with facebook and others.
Social networks are website devoted to users who creates their personal profiles, search for friends or contacts, create groups, blogs and albums. There are over 300 social networking site in existence built around many different themes. There are social network sites for photo-sharing, video-sharing, music sharing, blogging communities and all purpose communities like myspace, facebook and professional networking sites like linkedin.
One such all purpose community site is meetbangla, which is betting its share of the market with a bit of ethnic Bengali touch and hoping to flourish along with facebook and others.
IT Revolution in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has acquired an orbit from the International Telecommunications Union for it’s very own satellite, to be established as Bangladesh’s own with in 5-6 years times http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=80308. Not only these, the country is taking other development decisions that will revolutionize the IT and telecommunications sector in Bangladesh. I believe if the government can maintain this pace then Bangladesh is poised for a remarkable development and lots of job possibilities. Below are some of the latest developments that are planned:
1. Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has also agreed to a proposal of Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF) to drastically cut Internet bandwidth cost in line with the charges in the neighbouring countries within the next two months.
2. Awarding of Internet telephony licences to Internet service providers (ISPs) within next six months.
3. Setting up small scale software technology parks at economic zones within six-nine months.
4. Setting up a 17-acre ICT village in Mohakhali within six months.
5. Set up a second submarine cable for more bandwidth and back up.
6. Establishing a central e-governance centre for effective implementation of e-commerce/digital business.
7. Allow credit card transaction for e-commerce and setting up an electronic payment gateway system.
8. Tax holidays by five years to software and IT enabled services.
9. Reducing the VAT and service charge for internet access to 4.5 percent from existing 15 percent.
10. Set aside atleast 2 percent of ADP (Annual Development Budget) for ICT for every ministries and departments.
11. Asign more frequencies for Mobil companies.
1. Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has also agreed to a proposal of Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF) to drastically cut Internet bandwidth cost in line with the charges in the neighbouring countries within the next two months.
2. Awarding of Internet telephony licences to Internet service providers (ISPs) within next six months.
3. Setting up small scale software technology parks at economic zones within six-nine months.
4. Setting up a 17-acre ICT village in Mohakhali within six months.
5. Set up a second submarine cable for more bandwidth and back up.
6. Establishing a central e-governance centre for effective implementation of e-commerce/digital business.
7. Allow credit card transaction for e-commerce and setting up an electronic payment gateway system.
8. Tax holidays by five years to software and IT enabled services.
9. Reducing the VAT and service charge for internet access to 4.5 percent from existing 15 percent.
10. Set aside atleast 2 percent of ADP (Annual Development Budget) for ICT for every ministries and departments.
11. Asign more frequencies for Mobil companies.
Bangladesh Needs Controlled Democracy
It is said, “It is easy to earn democracy but hard to maintain it”, also it is said ” A hard earned democracy is often smuthered away by crooked politicians and unruly mobs”. We see both the example happening in Bangladesh. Bangladesh earned its freedom in 1971 after long 9 months of fighting against the ruthless pakistani forces and then saw the freedom taken away by sheer neglect and corrupt practices of Awami League goons and their leaders. Again after long fighting against the military junta of Ershad, the country attained the right type of freedom in 1991 but alas! again the country was misrepresented by some unruly Al and BNP leaders who did nothing to help the country but their pockets. Hence we are in this situation..but only this time the country is on a track that is far better than any time since its independence. The country is destined for an election in Dec 2008 and all hopes are set on this new election.
However we have to be certain that this time, true and rightful candidates get their nomination and get elected. Year after year, we are electing wrong candidates in the parliament who does not care about the rule of law, full of conspirators, authoritarian and betrayer to their fellow citizens not to mention their constitutional obligations. From the press, high court to parliament and universities, everywhere they spread their venom of hatred, abuse of power, misrule and destroyed the basic principals of civilization. The country was treated like a family business and acted upon.
Considering all these heinous acts and other aspects of politics, it is high time that the country takes a slow approach to democracy and elect candidates who can represent the country as a whole and not some party. The country should form a sort of a coalition government with all rightful, honest party candidates and rule for the next five years. If all the party sits together and make up their mind, I am sure they can make a compromise. We can not be ruled by those leaders anymore. Otherwise we will end up with this scenario again after again.
If you look at the biggest democratic countries in the world like America, you will see the country has a democracy that is mostly controlled by rules and regulations. From the get go to campaign finance to processions, the whole country is ruled by laws and regulations. People and the politicians follow the same kind laws and they are accountable to the people. We also want the same.
Source:
http://alapbangladesh.com/blog/2008/05/02/bangladesh-needs-controlled-democracy/
However we have to be certain that this time, true and rightful candidates get their nomination and get elected. Year after year, we are electing wrong candidates in the parliament who does not care about the rule of law, full of conspirators, authoritarian and betrayer to their fellow citizens not to mention their constitutional obligations. From the press, high court to parliament and universities, everywhere they spread their venom of hatred, abuse of power, misrule and destroyed the basic principals of civilization. The country was treated like a family business and acted upon.
Considering all these heinous acts and other aspects of politics, it is high time that the country takes a slow approach to democracy and elect candidates who can represent the country as a whole and not some party. The country should form a sort of a coalition government with all rightful, honest party candidates and rule for the next five years. If all the party sits together and make up their mind, I am sure they can make a compromise. We can not be ruled by those leaders anymore. Otherwise we will end up with this scenario again after again.
If you look at the biggest democratic countries in the world like America, you will see the country has a democracy that is mostly controlled by rules and regulations. From the get go to campaign finance to processions, the whole country is ruled by laws and regulations. People and the politicians follow the same kind laws and they are accountable to the people. We also want the same.
Source:
http://alapbangladesh.com/blog/2008/05/02/bangladesh-needs-controlled-democracy/
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