CONSUMER OF BANGLADESH NEEDS PRIORITY FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO UNDER CONTROL MARKET AND CO OPERATION

Awami League Incited Pilkhana Massacre: Mirza Fakhrul

Bangladesh Awami League, both as the government and as a political party, incited the 25 February, 2009 BDR rebellion, which later turned out to be a mass murder of Bangladesh Army officer. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting general secretary of the main opposition BNP has said this on Thursday as he attended a programme at the capital's Lalbagh area.



Mirza Fakhrul said, blame for both instigation of the carnage and failure to protect the army officers is to go on Awami League. The Prime Minister sat in a meeting with the people who led the murders of the officers and severe mistreatment of their families, added Mirza Fakhrul.



Mirza Fakhrul said, the failure to conduct operations to save the officers and their helpless family members is the utter failure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government, which other BNP leaders at the programme said have been done deliberately to weaken the relied defence structure of Bangladesh.



Other leaders including BNP volunteer's wing head Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel were present at the programme, where they demanded the withdrawal of politically motivated charges against Nasir Uddin Pintu.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM BNP: NOT RUSH IN POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

Body of tourist recovered in Rangamati!!!

Police recovered the body of a tourist from Holiday Cottage Resort at Rangamati Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Jotirmoy Nath.
Police said his check out time from the resort was scheduled at 12 pm of Thursday. Finding no response from his room, resort authority informed the police.
The body was sent to hospital for autopsy. A case was filed with the local police.

Role of Law Enforcement Agncy আমিন বাজার ট্র্যাজিডির শিক্ষা | News

The Daily Ittefaq | আমিন বাজার ট্র্যাজিডির শিক্ষা | News

ভরাট হচ্ছে রাজধানীর কৃষি ও জলাভূমি [What would happen of Gushan Area's aquired Lands| News

The Daily Ittefaq | ভরাট হচ্ছে রাজধানীর কৃষি ও জলাভূমি | News

Bangladesh police

Bangladesh police is set to install the first ever DNA labin next two years to expedite criminal investigations ensuring scientific andauthentic investigations, officials said here on Friday.

"The lab will help us to correctly identify realcriminals through DNA examination of the physical evidences like saliva, blood,hair and sperm of the culprits, expedite investigation process as well as makeinvestigation scientific and authentic," Mohammad Sarwar, project directorof the lab, told BSS.

He said construction works on the Deoxyribonucleic Acid(DNA) laboratory for police with state of the art technology would start inNovember next.

Sarwar said the lab would be of crucial help particularly routinelyidentifying bodies without identity.

The government in June last year approved DevelopmentProject Proforma (DPP) for setting up the DNA lab at a cost of Taka 21 crore,while Japanese Debt Cancellation Fund (JDCF) is to provide 80 percent of the amount.

Sarwar said the lab would be installed on the second floorof 14- storey under construction building of Criminal Investigation Department(CID) and Special Branch (SB) of police at Malibagh in the capital.

Construction of the building is expected to be completed byDecember 2013, he added.

Bangladesh Police had earlier wanted Dhaka MetropolitanPolice to run the laboratory but it decided to entrust CID with the task.

Officials familiar with the process said the initiative wastaken to install the facility under police management as an existing DNAlaboratory at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) "failed" to meetthe demand of police.

"The lab at DMCH takes a long time to give reports . .. it lacks experts to examine evidence properly for lack of knowledge oncriminal evidence," a CID official said.

The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs set up the

National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory (NFDPL) at DMCHunder the auspices of Multi-Sectoral Programme on Violence against Woman(MSP-VAW) in 2006 with Danish assistance.

Besides, five divisional DNA screening laboratories havebeen established in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, Chittagong MedicalCollege Hospital, MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet, Sher-e-BanglaMedical College Hospital in Barisal and Khulna Medical College Hospital.

KHALEDA ZIA DISHONORED THE COURT!!! FAME OR BLAME???

821 Staff of National University lost their service in Bangladesh

Lalbag(Hazaribag) Police Case: Whats happening!!! We would urge higher authority for such bad reputation in Police Service

EXPRESSIOM FROM MR HM ERSHAD OF JATIYO PARTY IN THE DEATH OF LATE SHAHJAHN

KU7LKHANI OF MEHBUBA SHIRIN RUPA'S KULKHANI: JATIYO PARTY

Karachi — political or military solution?

Can military control the Karachi situation? Disappointed by a political government that does not seem to have the will to control the rampaging criminal and militant gangs who are linked to mainstream parties, some sections of society have asked for a military operation in Karachi.

Their argument is that only the military has the will to carry out an evenhanded operation that will hold everyone accountable without fear or concern for individuals and groups affiliation.

Political parties as well as business groups have, on the basis of this argument, called for a military-led operation.

The Awami National Party (ANP), part of the coalition government in the province, has asked for a military operation as has the Jamaat-i-Islami.

ANP spokesperson, Senator Zahid Khan, while talking to Dawn, said his party was closely watching the ongoing operation by civilian law enforcement agencies in Karachi, which at the moment was headed nowhere. “What we have been hearing is that gangs are in possession of heavy arms including artillery, rocket launchers etc., and the presence of torture cells,” he said.

He explained that his party was asking for military action because most of the police officers who carried out the ‘90s operation had been brutally killed. This had discouraged the serving policemen from coming down decisively on the criminal and political elements involved in Karachi. Moreover, he claimed that the city police were heavily politicised.However, despite being aware of and acknowledging the lack of capacity of the police, experts are not in favour of a military operation.

Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, a known defence analyst, rejected the option. First of all, she said, the army wasn’t trained for urban warfare. Second, she pointed out that the army, if deployed would use extreme coercion, which in turn can lead to public opinion turning against the military.

Tactically, she added, a military operation could not guarantee a resolution. She explained that the moment a military operation started, the people would go into hiding and re-emerge as soon as the army returned to the barracks.

Pointing to the ‘90s, she said that on previous occasions also when the military was called to the city, the intervention only provided a temporary lull; the ethnic and political fault lines remained in place and simply emerged later.

She has a point. After all, the poor situation in Karachi in the ‘90s led to a military operation in 92. The military was replaced by the Rangers and the police, who proceeded to ‘clean up’ the city from 1994 to 1996 but the problem re-emerged in 2008 (or perhaps even earlier) and has been progressively getting worse.

She said it was purely a political issue that needed a political solution on the part of the concerned parties. The political forces have to decide whether they want to secure their immediate interests or work collectively to bring sustainable peace and prosperity to the city.

Her opinion is shared by those who were involved in the two clean-up operations in Karachi in the ‘90s. The first one was led by the army and the second was carried out by the police and the Rangers under the second Benazir Bhutto government.

A former inspector general of Sindh police, who did not want to be named, said the army had a very bad experience in 1992 when the then civilian government called it into Karachi. He said by the time it left, the military was anxious to be out of the city. He explained that this was because of the inability of the military to deal with a situation such as the one that exited Karachi. In his opinion, the army could be called in for a few days but not long term.

In response to a question, he said: “Based on its earlier experience, I strongly believe the army leadership will try its level best to stay away from Karachi, and will ask the government to use the Rangers.”

Similarly, Brig (retired) Imtiaz Ahmad, who headed Intelligence Bureau (IB) under Nawaz Sharif from 1990 to 1993, does not approve of the military option either; instead he calls for giving a free hand to police and Rangers. He added that the military was already facing a hostile environment in the country along with its involvement in the war on terror. Hence, its
engagement in Karachi would make it more vulnerable.

When asked if he was part of the decision-making process when the military operation was launched in 1992 as head of the IB, he said: “It was purely a military operation though the bureau did provide critical information on various criminal gangs then operating in the province.”

He said initially the 1992 military operation was aimed at dacoits based in interior Sindh and later its focus shifted to Karachi where the situation was equally bad.

However, he added, there were some reports at that time that India’s RAW had penetrated into Karachi, adding this might have partly prompted the army to carry out the operation in the city.

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s 117th Birthday Today

Today is the 117th birth anniversary of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Different socio-political organizations have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe the anniversary of birth of Suhrawardy, a pioneer in establishing rule of law in the sub-continent.



A politician from the days of undivided Indian Subcontinent, Suhrawardy was elected the Prime Minister of United Bengal (1946-47). He was also nominated to become the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan.



Upon the formation of Pakistan, Suhrawardy maintained his work in politics, continuing to focus on East Bengal as it became after the partition of India. On return to Dhaka he joined Awami Muslim League to join Maulana Bhashani formed.

Suhrawardy was a significant figure along with other leading Bengali leaders A.K. Fazlul Huq and Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, formed a political alliance in the name of Jukta Front which won a landslide victory in 1954 general election of East Pakistan.



His father Justice Sir Zahid Suhrawardy has been a prominent judge of the Calcutta High Court.



Suhrawardy graduated at St. Xavier's College and completed masters at the University of Calcutta.



Later he moved to the United Kingdom to attend St. Catherine's College, Oxford University from where he obtained a BCL degree. On leaving Oxford, he was called to the bar at Gray's Inn. He then started his practice at Calcutta High Court.



He died in Lebanon in 1963.



Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka and Khayaban-e-Suhrawardy in Islamabad in modern days, are named after him.

Teen Girl Forced to Give Cop Oral Sex -- What the Sick Abuse of Authority Says About Our Rape Culture

A girl files suit after sexual abuse from a cop reveals a departmental pattern; what is with authority figures using sex to dominate others?
September 6, 2011 |

Photo Credit: Lisa Norwood


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In our authority-oriented society, we're expected to put our trust in certain powerful figures: the police officers charged with protecting us, the clergy charged with guiding us.

So why is a culture of sexual abuse so rampant in many outposts of these kinds of institutions?

The answer lies in the question: wherever there is unquestioned power and authority, we'll see sexual abuse, because in our "rape culture" rape is above all about power, domination, and violence. And when the attacker feels that he or she can get away with it--as those who are revered or set aside by society do--the problem worsens.

Over Labor Day weekend, a chilling story came to light in Kansas City, Missouri. The court case arose out of a culture of police negligence around questionable sexual behavior, a culture that eventually led to a horrific assault on a young girl, a teen who was hanging out late in a park with her friends.

From Courthouse news service:

A teen-age girl says a Jackson County police officer forced her to give him oral sex in his squad car after he found her and some friends in a park after curfew. And she says that assault is just the tip of the iceberg of a pattern of sexual deviancy by Jackson County police officers...

Burgess told C.B.'s friends to leave, then he handcuffed C.B., fondled her breasts, vaginal area and buttocks, forced her to give him oral sex and ejaculated.

C.B and her counsel have pointed to a number of other instances both with this particular officer but also with his department, which indicates that for years, officers were getting a pass for essentially predatory and disturbing behavior.

Some of the allegations include: a sergeant receiving just a 3-day suspension for sending 95 sexually explicit jokes and cartoons from department computers; another sergeant receiving just a 5-day suspension for sending and receiving sexually explicit emails on department computers; and reassigning an officer, accused of making an inappropriate joke to a female officer, to work as a school resource officer at a local high school. That officer has since had several complaints from parents of girls at that high school about his conduct.

It's important that this brave girl is taking her claims to court--because her problem isn't an isolated one.

While her assault took place several years ago, there have been a number of high-profile cases in which officers of the law were accused of sexual assault this summer. One, the infamous "rape-cop" story in New York, led to a not-guilty verdict and this stricken statement from the anonymous victim, to whose aid the cops had been called:

Hearing that verdict brought me to my knees; it brought me back to my bedroom on that awful night when my world was turned upside down by the actions of two police officers who were sent there to protect, but instead took advantage of their authority and broke the law.

If you need any more proof that sexual assault is about power, not sexual desire, then look at these cases in which the alleged victim was completely at the mercy of the person accused of assaulting her, someone who was, by nature of his authority, given good standing in the community.

And while the NYC officers were immediately fired, it seems that the officer in Missouri and his colleagues had been acting with impunity for a long time.

If there's anything that comes to mind when thinking about this story out of Missouri--particularly the bit about the cop who acted lewdly being sent to work with minors at a high school--it's that there's a marked similarity to the culture of cover-up and shunting abusers from place to placea that underscored the widespread sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.

This is not to mention the general culture of authority and entitlement that allowed the abusers in both situations to get away with it.

PM Sheokh Hasina's companions :Comments from a Daily News

Obama to unveil crucial jobs plan

President Barack Obama will outline his eagerly awaited jobs plan later in an effort to boost the flagging US economy - and his re-election hopes.

In a rare address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama is expected to outline a $300bn (£185bn) package.

The main elements are tipped to be an extension of payroll tax cuts, and tax incentives for businesses to hire.

US unemployment, currently jammed at 9.1%, is expected to dominate the 2012 presidential election campaign.

Mr Obama will use his nationally televised speech at 19:00 EDT (23:00 GMT) to urge the passage of an American Jobs Act, which will be submitted to Congress next week.
Bipartisan backing?

Unexpectedly weak employment data, with no new jobs added in August, has heightened fears that the US may be heading for another recession.

White House chief of staff Bill Daley appeared on three US morning shows on Thursday, promising that Mr Obama's speech would be full of ideas with bipartisan appeal.

"The only reason some of these people may not support it now is because of the politics that's going on, which is again unfortunate for the American people," Mr Daley said.

Mr Obama is expected to outline how to pay for the jobs-creation package without raising the nation's spiralling debt in the long term.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have signalled that any proposals from Mr Obama on infrastructure spending could be a point of agreement.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

There are not high expectations, but I have a feeling the speech could be a pivot point for those who want more from their president”

End Quote
image of Mark Mardell Mark Mardell BBC North America editor

* Read more of Mark's thoughts

Before the speech, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed his support for a government-led stimulus package if the private sector fails to spark demand.

Conceding that the recession had been longer and deeper than expected, ge added that the Federal Reserve would do "all it can to help restore high rates of growth and employment", although he did not outline any specific measures.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday: "It's time the president starts thinking less about how to describe his policies differently and more time thinking about devising new policies."

Some congressional Republicans were expected to avoid attending Mr Obama's address.

Correspondents say that if Republicans reject the plan, the White House will seek to portray them as economic obstructionists.

After the summer's bitter partisan warfare over the country's debt levels, which prompted a historic US government credit downgrade, the president's approval numbers are sagging badly, though poll ratings for Congress have been even lower.

Mr Obama's plan is expected to propose extending programmes scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

These include unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for over a year and a lower payroll tax on earnings.

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Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke admits the US recession was deeper than expected

The package will also make proposals on unemployment insurance, spending to support construction jobs, and state aid to keep people in their jobs, say US media.

Mr Obama is expected to cover the costs by asking a new congressional supercommittee to go beyond its target of finding up to $1.5 trillion (£927bn) of deficit savings by November.

The debt panel, made up of members of both the House and Senate, met for the first time on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a Pew Research Center poll found a majority of voters were sceptical that Mr Obama's proposals would create jobs.

His much anticipated speech was part of a political dispute last week when the White House initially scheduled it for Wednesday night.

But that clashed with a televised Republican debate and amid a chorus of objections from that party, the address was rescheduled.

Bengali Times | Most popular Bangla newspaper in Canada.

Bengali Times | Most popular Bangla newspaper in Canada.

Our Creeping Police State: How Going to the Mall of America Can Land You in an FBI Counterterrorism Report

How writing in a notebook, filming, or looking around too much can throw you into the spooky world of homeland security.
September 7, 2011 |



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On May 1, 2008, at 4:59 p.m., Brad Kleinerman entered the spooky world of homeland security.

As he shopped for a children’s watch inside the sprawling Mall of America, two security guards approached and began questioning him. Although he was not accused of wrongdoing, the guards filed a confidential report about Kleinerman that was forwarded to local police.

The reason: Guards thought he might pose a threat because they believed he had been looking at them in a suspicious way.

Najam Qureshi, owner of a kiosk that sold items from his native Pakistan, also had his own experience with authorities after his father left a cell phone on a table in the food court.

The consequence: An FBI agent showed up at the family’s home, asking if they knew anyone who might want to hurt the United States.

Mall of America officials say their security unit stops and questions on average up to 1,200 people each year. The interviews at the mall are part of a counterterrorism initiative that acts as the private eyes and ears of law enforcement authorities but has often ensnared innocent people, according to an investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting and NPR.

In many cases, the written reports were filed without the knowledge of those interviewed by security. Several people named in the reports learned from journalists that their birth dates, race, names of employers and other personal information were compiled along with surveillance images.

One Iranian man, now 62, began passing out during questioning. An Army veteran sobbed in his car after he was questioned for nearly two hours about video he had taken inside the mall.

Much of the questioning at the mall has been done in public while shoppers mill around, records show. Two people, a shopper and a mall employee, also described being taken to a basement area for questioning. Officials at the mall would not address individual cases.

“The government is not going to protect us free of charge, so we have to do that ourselves,” said Maureen Bausch, executive vice president of business development at the mall. “We’re lucky enough to be in the city of Bloomington where they actually have a police substation here [in the mall]. … They’re great. But we are responsible for this building.”

Reporters at the Center for Investigative Reporting and NPR obtained 125 suspicious activity reports totaling over 1,000 pages dating back to Christmas Eve, 2005. The documents, provided by law enforcement officials in Minnesota, give a glimpse inside the national campaign by authorities to collect and share intelligence about possible threats.

The initiative exemplifies one of the cultural legacies of the terrorist attacks 10 years ago: Organizations and individuals are now encouraged by U.S. leaders to watch one another and report any signs of threats to homeland security authorities.

There is no way for the public to know exactly how many suspicious activity reports from the Mall of America have ended up with local, state and federal authorities. CIR and NPR asked 29 law enforcement agencies under open government laws for reports on suspicious activities. Only the Bloomington Police Department and Minnesota’s state fusion center have turned over at least a portion of the paperwork.

In 2008, the mall’s security director, Douglas Reynolds, told Congress [PDF] that the mall was the “number-one source of actionable intelligence” provided to the state’s fusion center, an intelligence hub created after 9/11 to pull together reports from an array of law enforcement sources.

Information from the suspicious activity reports generated at the mall has been shared with Bloomington police, the FBI and, in at least four cases, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Advertise on NYTimes.com Op-Ed Columnist Debating With the Stars

It was a dark and stormy night.



Except in those parts of the country where it was dry and fire-prone. But what did America care about the weather when it had the chance to forget about its troubles on Wednesday night and curl up with eight candidates for the Republican presidential nomination?

The voters have a lot to figure out. What would it be like to have a president who continually tells the country he’s going to get the working class workin’? And is there something going on with Mitt Romney’s hair? The dark part is looking darker and those little white tufts around the ears are getting whiter. It makes his forehead look as if it’s levitating.

The Republican nominating campaign has thus far been one long primal scream from party members desperate to avoid making Romney their nominee. Really, they will look at anybody. Remember the Donald Trump moment? Michele Bachmann, Front-Runner? Who knows where their glazed eyes will turn next? Rudy Giuliani is now running around saying that he might get in the race “if I think we are truly desperate.”

Which they would really, really, really have to be.

The current front-running Mitt Alternative is Rick Perry, possibly the first major presidential candidate opposed to the direct election of U.S. senators since the advent of the Bull Moose Party. He did not do anything superweird at his maiden presidential debate, unless you count bouncing up and down and cocking his head a lot. Or claiming that the reason a quarter of the Texas population has no health insurance is because of government interference.

And Romney cleaned Perry’s clock on Social Security. Young Americans, if you dream of someday running for president, try not to write any books calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.

“We’re not trying to pick fights here,” protested Perry, inaccurately. Attempting to change the subject, the Texas governor suggested: “Maybe it’s time to have some provocative language in this country and say things like: ‘Let’s get America working again and do whatever it takes to make that happen.’ ”

If you dare, candidates.

Perry and Romney had an interesting dust-up over who did the better job of creating employment. This is a fight that is going to go on for the next several months. Statistics will be cited, and by the time it is over you will come to understand why young people don’t dream of running away from home to become an economist.

“Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt,” Perry said at one point.

“George Bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did,” retorted Romney. Score. Republicans, do you want to trust your nomination to a guy who makes Mitt Romney look clever? Just think about it.

I was sorry that no one asked Perry more of the really critical questions. For instance, is it true that he saved his daughter’s puppy from being eaten by a coyote? This allegedly happened when Perry went jogging “packing a Ruger .380 with laser sights and loaded with hollow-point bullets.” Because, as he says, he is “that kind of guy.” His puppy-rescue is a stirring picture, especially considering that Perry’s chief competitor is the man who drove to Canada with the family dog Seamus strapped to the roof of the car.

But the more I think about it, the more I wonder. Where were his bodyguards? How did the puppy keep up with him if he was running? And where exactly was he carrying the Ruger? Many joggers I know have trouble hanging on to a water bottle.

Perry and Romney were not the only debaters. There was Jon (I Believe in Evolution) Huntsman Jr., hoping to be next in the Not-Mitt Sweepstakes. Rick Santorum, Bachmann and Ron Paul ganged up on Perry for trying to get Texas girls inoculated against cervical cancer. This is a big deal for some social conservatives, but it’s still interesting to think that we have presidential candidates who believe that they could score a stunning upset victory on an anti-cancer-prevention platform.

Santorum, ever hopeful, has been telling people that the competition is “like an episode of ‘Survivor,’ ” but I am thinking you need a more depressing image — maybe like an episode of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” or one of the several current television shows about people who bid on abandoned storage bin lockers.

The debate was at the Reagan library, and no matter what you think of Ronald Reagan, this crew makes him look good. It is the genius of the Republican Party in recent decades that it continually selects candidates who make the ones who went before appear better. Remember how great George H.W. Bush seemed once we’d lived with his son for a while? And I have a strong suspicion that whoever the nominee is this time will make us yearn for the magic that was W.
A version of this op-ed appeared in print on September 8, 2011, on page A29 of the New York edition with the headline: Debating With The Stars.

Fight For Equal Rights of Chttagongs

Bangladesh Ganatantrik League

WikiLeaks: The US officials love gossip

In the excitement of uncovering scoops and governments’ wheeling dealings in the WikiLeaks cables, the media seems to have missed the US officials’ love for gossip.

The cables from the Islamabad embassy for instance are a treasure trove of gossip, rumours and scandals about our politicians and the other political players that strut about on our stage.

Our politicos gossip, confess and unburden themselves to the American officials as if in a therapy session. And the US officials seem to lap it all up and report much of it faithfully and sincerely as revealed by the cables. Were they too having fun? Or is it because they realise that most politics is gossip in Pakistan.

Consider the cable of March 2008 in which Ambassador Anne Patterson reported that Asif Ali Zardari who was at that stage mulling over prime ministerial candidates, told her that “[Amin] Fahim was a bad choice [for prime minister]”. He further told the ambassador that “Fahim had spent most of the campaign in Dubai (with his latest 22 year-old wife) and was simply too lazy to be Prime Minister.”

What the cable does not clarify is whether or not the laziness had anything to do with the young wife that is mentioned.

But lest one think the ambassador didn’t like Fahim, she soon turns her guns elsewhere.

She goes on to add that “… after Benazir’s death, Zardari continues to feel quite comfortable with strong women. PPP Information Minister-Designate Sherry Rehman provides Zardari with guidance on party politics and public affairs. She has been a key negotiator on coalition negotiations to apportion ministries. Rehman also is credited with giving Zardari a sartorial makeover and controlling his press conferences.”

Clearly the Americans had noted the effort Zardari had made with his appearance after taking over the party.

In another cable where the US embassy in Islamabad tried to piece together the events that led to the firing of National Security Advisor Major General (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. The latter was fired by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for revealing that Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab was a Pakistani citizen (the government had already decided to make the fact public but Gilani just didn’t approve of the announcement that Durrani made without any prior warning to the prime minister).

It was left to Rehman Malik to explain the incident to the Americans. Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed to Ambassador Patterson, “Durrani had never managed to develop good chemistry with the PM. As you know, he said ‘the PM is not very smart.’ The PM had been smarting for weeks that he was out of the loop and not kept informed by his ministers on a range of issues. Speaking about his own relations with Gilani, Malik said that he had an air-clearing session with Gilani a few days ago and arranged to have better cell phone connections with him.” Poor Malik: he has been in the dog house with most PPP stalwarts since day one and its not just Zulfikar Mirza who does not like him.

Another good source of gossip was the former hapless finance minister.

That former finance minister Shaukat Tarin had a tough time trying to manage Pakistan’s economy is common knowledge. But how many know that he was frustrated enough to have told the Americans at the height of the Long March crisis in 2009 that “Zardari simply ‘does not listen’…” Enough said. Not really; the former finance minister had a lot more to vent about.

Complaining once about the hidden costs of the government service structure, Tarin also told the Americans in April 2009 that “Chief of Army Staff General Kayani’s base monthly salary is less than $700, for example, although if perks are included it might approach $12,000. In contrast, when Tarin was at Citibank his monthly salary was $15,000 in cash.” Wonder what the breakdown of these military perks would reveal.

The gossip from the PML-N is no less fascinating.

That the Americans preferred Nawaz Sharif’s advisors’ to him is obvious from the title of a cable about PML-N’s inner dynamics — PML-N Kitchen Cabinet: Nawaz’s Better Half. The cable added that though the exile had matured Sharif, “with breaking news, his inner circle still dashes to get a hold of him before the press gets a scintillating quote.”

And while the PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervez Elahi spent hours discussing Musharraf’s future with the Americans, they probably had little idea that their party men had made them the focus of gossip.

The PML-Q dissidents went so far as to argue to the Americans that one of the reasons for their break from the mother party was Hussain’s physical being. In a cable from September 2009, Hamid Nasir Chattha said Hussain suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was not in a position to lead the party while Saleem Saifullah complained that Shujaat’s “lack of verbal acuity” was a hindrance in this “media age.”

But there is no doubt that the US officials have a sense of humour that is unmatched by the politicos they deal with. In a cable from January 2007, the embassy is discussing nominations for inclusion in the Women’s Empowerment Strategy Session. After discussing the usual suspects such as Zubaida Jalal and Asma Jahangir, the cable suggests that an atypical candidate, Begum Nawazish Ali, be considered. According to the cable, “the widow of a retired Army Colonel” the transvestite alter ego of Ali Salim hosts a bold and compelling talk show.

All in all, the WikiLeaks give an insight into the minds of our politicians, who might not have gone to the couch with Sigmund Freud but are happy to make do with the US ambassadors.

Arifa Noor is Dawn’s resident editor in Islamabad.
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Great new 9/11 Memorial iPad app

Great new 9/11 Memorial iPad app


“The 9/11 Memorial: Past, Present and Future” is a new iPad app that looks at the World Trade Center using scores of videos and photos. Since being released last week, it’s quickly risen to be the #11 downloaded app in the News category in the iTunes app store. It’s by far the best 9/11 iPad app released so far this year, and begs the questions why haven’t others done this?

The app covers the building of the original Center, the tragedy of Sept. 11 itself and the future plans for the new memorial. Videos include interviews, site tours, and never seen before footage, the site’s Memorial Fountains, The Plaza, the Memorial Pavilion, and the large artifacts including the historic remains of NYFD Ladder 3 and massive steel ‘Tridents’ recovered from the site are all seen here.

The app was created by Steve Rosenbaum, the CEO of Magnify.net, a video curation platform, and the man behind the award-winning documentary “7 Days in September.” The app includes 400 photographs and about 40 videos, including some scenes from ”7 Days in September.”

The three sections of the app include:

Past: This section features never before-seen-footage, photos and videos of the devastation on September 11, 2001.

Present: Rosenbaum gained access into the entire building process of the actual memorial site, from start to finish. Here, viewers have a bird’s eye view of the initial planning meetings, the various architectural renderings, the chiseling of the names on the parapet, and the construction of the nation’s largest man made waterfalls.

Future: To date, the 9/11 Memorial is fenced off and unavailable to the public. The 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated on September 11, 2011, on the 10th anniversary, and will open to the public on September 12, 2011. This section features a comprehensive look of the enormous waterfalls and two reflecting pools, each about an acre in size. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.

The app is free until Sept. 12 and will be $9.95 after that, so get it now. It’s worth the download not just for the material itself but to see how good an app can be created simply by curating content.

/strong-earthquake-felt-in-delhi-132157&cp

New Delhi: An earthquake of low intensity jolted Delhi and its satellite towns late tonight, pulling panic-stricken people out of their homes.

The tremors, measuring 4.2 on Richter Scale with Haryana's Sonepat as epicentre, were felt across Delhi and its adjoining satellite towns of Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Gurgaon in Haryana at 11:28 pm.

The tremors were felt for less than ten seconds.

"The intensity was 4.2 and the epicentre was Sonepat," Shailesh Nayak, Secretary in Ministry of Earth Sciences, and IMD Director General Ajit Tyagi, told PTI.

The quake sent shivers among citizens who ran out of the high-rise buildings.

There were no immediate reports of any casualty.

The fire brigade and police said they have not received any immediate calls of casualty or damage.


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/strong-earthquake-felt-in-delhi-132157&cp

Making sense of 9/11 Prince El Hassan bin Talal

AMMAN: Over the past ten years, much has been written in an attempt to make sense of what happened on 11 September 2001. It is a difficult task. Analysing evil is not easy. Terror makes no sense to the rational mind. All that seems clear is that, for millions of Americans and the world at large, the events of that day will never become just a memory but will remain something they carry with them for the rest of their lives.

It has not been a happy decade – nor has it been an “American” decade. Economic decline, social immobility, cultural and artistic depression, and a loss of opportunity for ordinary people have all contributed to a future that no longer seems full of possibility. Optimism has eluded us. The factors are many and the reasons complex – but having grown up in a volatile region, I cannot help but believe that to some extent, this atmosphere is the by-product of the so-called “war on terror” – a war which seems to have no end in sight.

Has the struggle against those who seek to monopolise the truth on either side brought the West and the Muslim world closer together?

Over the past few years, it has often felt as if our mutual misunderstanding could not be deeper. Christian minorities in the Middle East face many difficulties. In many Western countries Muslim communities have been marginalised to satisfy competing ideologies and to sell newspapers.

And yet, since an indifferent leader fled his own country in Tunisia and a 30-year regime was toppled in 30 days in Egypt, that natural human fear of the “other” and of “each other” seems to have been replaced by something else. The spectre of religious extremism – although tragically it does exist – no longer has the resonance it once had.

The stereotypes that have for so long represented this region as beyond redemption are now competing with narratives of hope. Fewer Americans seem content to simply judge the Middle East – they want to understand it. This is both brave and unexpected. It is exactly what the likes of Al Qaeda do not want.

The fact is that although Americans and those in the Middle East are far apart, our destinies are intertwined. To suggest that the young Jordanian, Tunisian, Egyptian, Bahraini or Iranian grows up hostile to the United States is to simplify a complex relationship. Young people in Jordan and throughout the Middle East notice the situation in Palestine.

They have become accustomed to being disappointed, and can be depended upon to quite relentlessly point out any discrepancy between words and actions. But such feelings are also often mixed with admiration – for American movies and culture, for ideas such as freedom and individuality, for opportunity and meritocracy. It may be schizophrenic but it is real. The “right to pursue happiness” is a formula people everywhere aspire to and understand. But it is not easily won.

In the Middle East, ordinary people are paying the ultimate price for the right to have rights. The “Arab Street” has been pitted against the modern state security apparatus. The result, more often than not, has been wholesale repression, violence, intimidation and brutality.

At the same time, everywhere you look, a once-silenced majority wants approximately the same thing: a sense of dignity, control over its own destiny and access to opportunity. The uprisings have proceeded unevenly. They will end unevenly. Yet they will also prove revolutionary and evolutionary because they involve two central messages.

The first is that the Middle East can be different. The second is that it is changing, and changing fast.

As we’ve seen in this region of the world, coming to terms with the past as well as overcoming it isn’t easy. The attacks of 9/11 represented a calculated and cowardly attempt to fashion a great and gaping civilisational divide. This grand and twisted project has, despite our better angels, often seemed in danger of succeeding. We cannot let that happen.

It is the acceptance of difference, which implies a freedom from fear, that any terrorist must surely fear most. Instead of fighting against “terror”, we should be fighting for optimism and hope.

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal is Chairman and Founder of the Arab Thought Forum (ATF) and the West-Asia North-Africa (WANA) Forum.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL :Troy Davis' execution date

The day is now here - the state of Georgia has set Troy Davis' execution date for September 21st, just two weeks from today.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal earlier this year. But the story remains the same - Troy Davis could very well be innocent.

However, in the state of Georgia, the Board of Pardons & Paroles holds the keys to Troy's fate. In the days before Davis' execution, this Board will hold a final clemency hearing - a final chance to prevent Troy Davis from being executed.

Davis was convicted on the basis of witness testimony - seven of the nine original witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony.

One witness said in a CNN news interview "If I knew then, what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row."

I know it's difficult to believe that a system of justice could be so terribly flawed, but keep in mind that Troy has survived three previous execution dates, because people like you kept the justice system in check!

We've been bracing for this moment and the time for action is now! Here's what you can do to join the fight:
1. Sign our petition to the Board of Pardons & Paroles urging them to grant clemency! We'll deliver your signatures next week.
2. Organize locally for Troy: Take to the streets with us. Soon we'll be announcing the date for the official Troy Davis Day of Action. Sign up now to rally in the coming days to stop the execution of Troy Davis.
3. Tell everyone you know! Spread the word about this injustice on Twitter by using the hashtag #TooMuchDoubt. Be sure to tell your Facebook friends Troy's story too!
Thank you for fighting for Troy,

Laura Moye
Director, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign
Amnesty International USA

Bangladesh Court ruled on Appointment of 3rd and 4th Class employees

Demand of CLNB: Infront of National Press Club

Shocked in the deadth news of Shayem son of State Minister, JK Nanak: AMRA MUKTIYODHDHAR SANTAN

Shocked in the Death of Shayem, Son of State Minister Jahangir Kabir LGRD, Bangladesh

BISIC area Committee of Jatiyo Sromik Party

Deep Expression from the Leaders of Jatiyo Party for loosing assett of Bangladesh Late Azit Roy

Press Conference on the coming occasion of Indian PM

Books On Sunadarban and Nadia

Official meet begins

The one-on-one meeting of the two prime ministers ended after about 45 minutes, a quarter of an hour more than what was originally scheduled.

The two opposite numbers began their official meeting with their aides and other officials shortly after 6pm.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and his counterpart Sheikh Hasina began the closed-door meeting after 5:15pm at the Prime Minister's Office.

This was preceded by a brief meeting between Manmohan and foreign minister Dipu Moni at the Sonargaon Hotel where the Indian entourage is staying.

The two countries were expected to sign three agreements including one on Teesta water sharing, which appears to be off the cards for the moment.

Libya-CIA-MI6 Links Reveal

It is not Wikileaks, but a human rights organization which has revealed some documents found in a top government office at Tripoly revealing former Libian leader Gadhafi's links with western secret agencies.



Files found in the abandoned Tripoli office of Muammar Gaddafi's former foreign minister and intelligence chief indicate that US and British spy agencies helped his regime persecute Libyan dissidents, Human Rights Watch said.



The documents were uncovered by the human rights activist group in abandoned offices once occupied by Moussa Koussa, one of Gaddafi's closest associates who left Libya for the UK in February as the uprising against the now-toppled Libyan leader began.



The group said on Saturday it had uncovered hundreds of letters between the US's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the UK's MI6 secret service and Koussa, who is now believed to be in Qatar.



Letters from the CIA began, "Dear Moussa", and were signed informally with first names only by CIA officials, Human Rights Watch revealed.



According to other documents, the UK also invited two of Muammar Gaddafi's sons to the headquarters of its Special Air Service (SAS) special forces unit as Tony Blair, the then-prime minister, tried to build ties with the Libyan regime, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.



The paper said one secret document showed that Robin Searby, Blair's defence co-ordinator on Libya, had sent a confidential invitation in 2006 for Khamis and Saadi Gaddafi to watch "VIP demonstrations" of the SAS and its sister regiment, the Special Boat Service (SBS).



"There can be no publicity at all connected with this visit, either here or in Libya," it quoted Searby as writing in the letter, found in Saadi Gaddafi's abandoned office in the Libyan capital.



Britain's Ministry of Defence said the visits did not go ahead.



"The article alleges that they were invited on two particular dates in 2006. We have checked and no such visits took place," a spokesperson told the AFP news agency.



Documents uncovered by Human Rights Watch also indicated that Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the current military commander for Tripoli of Libya's National Transitional Government (NTC), was captured and sent to Libya by the CIA.



"Among the files we discovered at Moussa Koussa's office is a fax from the CIA dated 2004 in which the CIA informs the Libyan government that they are in a position to capture and render Belhadj," Peter Bouckaert, from Human Rights Watch, who was part of the group that found the stash, told Reuters news agency.



"That operation actually took place. He was captured by the CIA in Asia and put on a secret flight back to Libya where he was interrogated and tortured by the Libyan security services."



The files shed new light on the practice known as rendition, used by the US under President George W Bush, in which terrorism suspects were handed over to other countries for interrogation.



Rights groups have criticized the US for sending suspects to countries where they were likely to be tortured.



Belhadj has said that he was tortured by CIA agents before being transferred to Libya, where he says he was then tortured at Tripoli's notorious Abu Salim prison.



Western intelligence services began co-operating with Libya after Gaddafi abandoned his programme to build unconventional weapons in 2004. But the files show his co-operation with the CIA and MI6 may have been more extensive than previously thought, analysts say.

Assange belongs in mental asylum, says angry Mayawati Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/assange-belongs-in-mental-asylum-says-angry-ma

Lucknow: The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has said that either Julian Assange is mentally ill, or he is being used by Opposition parties to target her via WikiLeaks.

"We can make room for him in the Agra mental asylum," said Ms Mayawati, at a press conference today.

A series of diplomatic cables uploaded onto WikiLeaks say that the Americans believed that Mayawati functions as a dictator dogged with eccentric paranoia. It also claims that Mayawati's top aide Satish Mishra told US officials that the UP Chief Minister has a "penchant for personal corruption" and "a strong authoritarian streak". (Read: WikiLeaks cable on Mayawati aide Satish Mishra)

Satish Mishra, who is a senior leader of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, has denied meeting any US official in 2007 and plans to move court against what he calls a "conspiracy against the BSP ahead of the 2012 polls." Elections are due in Uttar Pradesh next year.

His leader stood stoutly by him. "Certain statements about me attributed by WikiLeaks to my two trusted men - Satish Chandra Misra and Shashank Shekhar Singh - were also evidently motivated with petty politics...As a befitting reply to all those who were behind this conspiracy, let me make it loud and clear that all this has only prompted me to give both of them greater importance in my scheme of things," Ms Mayawati declared.

She took extreme umbrage at one cable, dated October 2008, quoting journalists and other people interviewed informally by American political officers in UP as saying that she had sent a private jet to Mumbai to bring back her preferred brand of sandals. (Read: WikiLeaks - Mayawati's 'eccentric paranoia') The same cable, sent when David C Mulford was US Ambassador, said that many people recounted that Mayawati hired as many as nine cooks and two tasters to ensure her food was not poisoned. (Read the entire cable here)

The UP chief minister had a very Mayawati-like retort as she rubbished this. "As far as I am concerned, I do not know of any such thing. But if WikiLeaks and BJP leaders are making such a wild claim, then I would like to ask them if they also flew down in that plane to get me those special sandals?" And, "The politicians who have said that I have 9 cooks appear to be washing dishes in my house, that is why they claim to have such detailed knowledge of what happens there."

She saw political conspiracy in what she said was "the smirk on the face of BJP leader Muqtar Abbas Naqvi." Opposition leaders, she said, "getting cheap thrills out of the Wikileaks cables shows that the opposition parties are in league with Wikileaks, obviously with the sole intent of tarnishing my image."

(With IANS inputs)


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/assange-belongs-in-mental-asylum-says-angry-mayawati-131685&cp

EU Imposes Oil Embargo on Syria

Syria's main trading partner, the European Union (EU), has imposed an oil embargo on Damascus, affecting some 92 percent of Syrian exports to Europe.

The 27 member states of the EU voted last Tuesday to impose the ban hoping to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to halt the brutal government crackdown on civilian protesters in the country.

The EU ban, which spans the purchase, import and transport of oil and other petroleum products from Syria went into effect Saturday, but existing contracts are valid until November 15, according to the Chinese Xinhua news agency.

President Bashar al-Assad and other leading government figures are already blacklisted in Europe, banned from travel and their assets frozen. The list was extended last week by 15 other people, and an additional five firms.

At least 2,200 Syrians have died in the violence over the past six months.

The United States has already imposed sanctions in the form of an oil embargo and financial restrictions on the Assad regime.

However, an oil embargo imposed by Europe is likely to wield a much more powerful wallop, since the vast majority of Syrian business is tied up in energy products.

Last year Syria exported some 3.1 billion euros' worth of crude oil and petroleum products to the EU. Royal Dutch Shell and the French firm “Total” are the two biggest players in the Syrian energy market.
More on this topic

* Iran Helps Syria Kill Protesters; Tanks Surround Two Cities
* Report: Syria Willing to Cooperate with IAEA
* Hamas Moving HQ from Syria to Egypt, Warns Netanyahu
* Netanyahu: Israel Will Protect Its Borders
* Video Documentation of Syrian Brutality

Asking opinion from Media, Journalists and concerns personnel

In Bangladesh City Corporation election is nery nearer. In this events of Dacca what might be done is not selected. But opposition already asked for care taker govt. to make free fare election. We would may appreciate opinions from my global journalists community and friends on this topics. Our local administration, policing management and law and justice are not satisfactory. Its not fair only with friendship with India. Have to follow the time and developed country around the the world. Wherever International media personnel is hung by dirty and corrupted local peoples dictating we must have to express to the global media community. And all response would take the fake hired community. Appreciate opinion and suggection from my journalists community.

Thanx

MuktiMajid
Skype:MuktiMajid2011
http://themonthlymuktidooth.bloghspot.com
Peelkhana
Dacca
Bangladesh


MuktiMajid
Muktidooth Media

The Mukti Majid Daily

Momta is not Coming!!!সদ্য সংবাদতিস্তা নিয়ে আপত্তি: আসছেন না মমতা | | bdnews24.com

সদ্য সংবাদতিস্তা নিয়ে আপত্তি: আসছেন না মমতা | | bdnews24.com

WIKILEAKS EXPOSÉ: Bangladesh Abul a 'less than honest' man: Ex-US envoy

Dhaka, Sept 3 (bdnews24.com) — Former US ambassador in Dhaka James F Moriarty branded communications minister Syed Abul Hossain as a 'less than honest' man in his business dealings, according to cables leaked by whistleblower WikiLeaks.

In his cable sent in February last year, Moriarty said prime minister Sheikh Hasina was relying on the minister for the infrastructure development projects she had pledged to the people.

"The [communications] minister, who has a reputation for less-than-honest business dealings, remains focused on delivering the infrastructure projects he and prime minister Sheikh Hasina have promised to Bangladesh voters," Moriarty wrote in the summary of the message.

He said that allegations of corruption had continued to surround the communications minister.

The US ambassador, who completed his service in Bangladesh and departed on June 17, made the comment on the basis of 'other high-ranking government officials who acknowledged to the US problems with the minister's way of doing business'.

Moriarty also expressed his concern over Hossain's 'close ties to China'.

He sent the cable after he had conversed with the communications minister at a dinner party on Feb 3 last year.

WikiLeaks leaked the cables involving Hossain's affairs in its latest releases on Aug 30.

PADMA BRIDGE AND JICA

Though the minister expressed satisfaction with the levels of support donors planned to provide for the Padma Bridge project, which will directly link southwestern Bangladesh with Dhaka and the more prosperous eastern region of the country, he complained about the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that it was insisting on dividing the contract for the bridge into two parts.

The Japanese proposal to split the bridge into two structures, Abul said, would allow two different contractors to put blames for any problems on the other contractor.

He had told Moriarty that the proposal of JICA that pledged $500 million for the bridge was opposed by the government and other donors.

According to him, the World Bank pledged $1.5 billion for the bridge, the Asian Development Bank $550 million and the Islamic Development Bank $130 million, primarily in soft loans.

He, however, asked the US envoy to use his good offices with Japan and US support for the World Bank and ADB to urge JICA to reconsider its stance.

Moriarty said several US firms would be interested to get the job of dredging involving the construction of the bridge.

Apart from the Padma Bridge, Abul told the US envoy that his 'two other linchpins in the infrastructure-for-elections plan' were to expand Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Chittagong highways.

He told Moriarty that he had already awarded seven contracts to the foreign firms, mainly Chinese, and three others to local firms.

RAILWAY AFFAIRS

The minister urged the US to support a Dhaka infrastructure project to build an elevated road and rail crossing that would be 'tangible proof of the strong US-Bangladesh relationship'.

"We need a visible USAID project in the metropolitan area," he told Moriarty.

He also described several steps to modernise the country's railway.

He said the prime minister assigned him to develop an elevated rail system in Dhaka to ease the city's traffic crisis. JICA had expressed its interest to fund the project.

The minister also said the government had a plan to transform Bangladesh Railway into an independent, still the government-owned, entity from its current structure as a government-run enterprise.

Moriarty, in his cable, said Abul was 'confident that these plans to corporatise and then perhaps privatise Bangladesh Rail would greatly improve its efficiency and quality of service'.

WIKILEAKS EXPOSÉ: BangladeshAbul a 'less than honest' man: Ex-US envoy | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com

WIKILEAKS EXPOSÉ: BangladeshAbul a 'less than honest' man: Ex-US envoy | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com