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TO THE EDITOR
Obama in Japan
The US President showed his respect with a bowed head to the Emperor of Japan & a group of political analysts strongly condemned the gesture.
This could be some way of showing respect to someone and it has no relation with country's image and power. Respect comes from heart, not from a powerful country’ and you cannot earn respect with weapons & power.
Mohammed Anowarui Azim Babupur
Senbag, Noakhali
Criticism is always due for President Obama, from getting the NnbeJ Prize to his first visit to Asia. The criticism always comes from his own country’. This time critics say that as the US president he should not have bowed his head to the Japanese Emperor which he did last week. With others I also think he did the right thing. To pay respect to the elderly Japanese Emperor is not bad behaviour.
Lutfor Rahman
Seoul National University Korea
Rickshaw issue
I am indeed indebted to Mr Chisti ofLalmatia for his letter in DS 18 Nov on the subject supporting rickshaws. Before going in to details I would draw his attention to the letter “VIP roads" by Ameer Sobhan, a student of NSU in the adjoining column. Ameer has raised pertinent points in defense of the rickshaw in the circumstances prevailing TODAY that
will partly answer some of Mr Chisti's fears. We will talk about the freeways, new roads, subways, metros, circular rails, waterways and other lollipops WHEN THEY ARE A REALITY, not before.
First of all I want to reassure Mr Chisti that if rickshaws can be replaced on Dhaka's road, I would be the happiest person. But - and this is a big BUT -only when there is a viable substitute. It raises my ire when apparently educated and sensible people do not believe the evidence of their own eyes by playing the rickshaw blame game of the illusion of private cars being synonymous with "progress". All one has to do is stand on any rickshaw-free road intersection in Dhaka and see what causes the perpetual jams. 1 would draw Mr Chisti's attention to one of my previous letters “Facts and Figures” which should prove an eye-opener for him. Briefly Dhaka’s roads (7%) are incapable of accommodating the 4-4.5 lakh Gas Guzzling Monstrosities (100-150 GGMs added every day) occupying 90% of road space while carrying a scant 1-2% people. The 4 lakh rickshaws carry 50% of Dhakabashis add Tk 10-15 crores to GDP EVERY DAY AND PROVIDE LIVELIHOOD TO OVER 20 LAKH rickshaw-related people.
I would be a fool to even suggest that one take a rickshaw ride from Azimpur to Uttara or Uttara-Motijheel. Prof Rabbani did not do so either, but for the many every day short trips, are they not ideal? All Prof Rabbani had suggested was that we should
have a few car-free days to see the difference. 1 thank Mr Chisti for being a regular reader of my letters on traffic control (this one is 55th) as he has referred to an old Ramadan letter, advising me to get used to and adapt 'when a facility ( rickshaws) is not available'. Elaborating the circumstances. I reiterate that the facility WAS available then, but at 4.30 on an enervating September afternoon, 1, (76 years old and fasting) was summarily ejected from my rickshaw near Square HO by a traffic cop busy clearing Mohakhali Road for a few private cars, most of which were empty/half empty. Was this not a denial of my constitutional rights? I told the cop that if I could not ride a rickshaw I would walk and did so in the MIDDLE of the road. A dozen other home-goers joined me and there was chaos and confusion while cars piled up behind. Next day, more than 50 men, women and children including musallis after Asr prayers joined our march right up to Gulshan 1 circle in protest. The gridlock that day was long and noisy, but we paid no heed nor did we budge from the middle. Fearing that it would take just one impatient driver to cause an undesirable incident, I gave up, but we had made our point.
Mr Chisti should not be surprised if I say that far more people avail of rickshaws to go for medical treatment than ambulances and private cars and if someone is stuck in an ambulance behind a rickshaw on a narrow lane, you can be sure that it is the rickshaw that
is being obstructed by the parked cars all over the roads and foot-paths. Does this come into their reckoning? Please Mr Chisti and Mr Rahat, do reconsider your views as per the circumstances prevailing in DhakaTODAY. not when all of us will have the lollipops promised to us for the last umpteen decades.
SikanderAhmed
Niketon, Gulshan-1, Dhaka
President of European Commission
I am glad Tony Blair did not get the job. He had alienated a lot of British Muslims by the invasion of Iraq on falsified intelligence report and Labour lost the Tower Hamlets constituency (last Labour MP, Oona King) to George Galloway's Respect Party. Many European countries were against the candidacy of Blair although he was the most known name in the running. Blair's running generated mild xenophobia against Britain and the Belgian newspaper La Capitale just before the final selection printed a list of "10 reasons to hate Britain" widely covered in the British media.
The ( abbreviated) list is as follows:-
1. They think the world revolves around them.
2.They do not attempt to speak our language when they get lost here. They look down with condescension on anyone who mispronounces one word of English.
3. They do everything differently including driving on the
left.
4. Their food is horrible: without doubt the worst in the world.
5. They drink warm beer. 6.They are real drunks.
7. Their weather is even worse than ours.
8. Their tabloid papers only think of bums and scandals and lack respect and dignity.
9. They unfairly eliminated the Belgian national football team in 1990 World Cup with a last second goal.
10. We haven't forgotten their hooligans who were responsible for the death of 39 people at Heysel Stadium in 1985.
However, tire paper conceded that there were some reasons to like Britain for instance Bobbies, buses and telephone boxes; English girls and 'marvellous' English gardens, and their willingness to come to our aid when we were invaded.
Engineer Shafi Ahmed London, UK
My orphaned life!
As much as I talk to the Bangladeshis' at home and abroad, the signals they send out, reminds me of a common terminology (“whatever”) that Americans use a lot. This is a lingo that American teenagers use to express their sense of frustration, however the adults use it too, when they do not or can not make a sense of complicated or semi complicated issues. Most of the time Bangladeshis' frustration would be expressed as “the country is screwed up, I don't give a damn, let them do whatever they want, Allah is displeased with us etc”. Almost all the comments would send a signal of learned helplessness, hopelessness, sadness, irritability.
It seems to me that the fundamental problem is that we did not know who is/was our father. Even Pakistan accepted a person as a father, but when a thirty eight years old adult struggles to know the identity of his/her father, the sadness and the confusion could be paramount. When the mothers or (he adoptees provide conflicting information, no wonder even as an adult I / we suffer from confusion and lack of sense of a collective identity and subsequent complications ensues.
Let me elaborate how rny/our growth and development remain stunted secondary to the mixed parental messages. From my birth, for less than four years, I accepted someone as my father and he was assassinated. During November 7, 1975 someone showed up and announced “I am your long lost father”. As I am getting to know him, perhaps as an adopted parent, he started mingling with "collaborators” and promised 'T il make things (politics) difficult.” As if, my birth and, my life as an orphan was not complicated enough, it seemed Allah just accepted his utterances right away and things got really “difficult”, and of course he was assassinated too! Then my uncle showed up and announced his surrogate fatherhood.
Subsequently, my biological sister, who was abroad and luckily survived, and my adopted mother fought bitterly to establish their claim over me, and that fight continued. I stayed with both of them for years, neither is better than the other. When I stay with my biological sister, she seems to continue to do the same mistakes that my original father did (too soft on family members) and did not learn from the death of my father. Also she dwells in the past, unnecessarily. As 1 like to mature up faster, and my biological father would have liked that, this process of
dwelling hinders my growth. She suffered a lot to take care of me, almost gave her life several times, I certainly appreciate that. She seems to trust people very easily, but recently showing some maturity, perhaps age related wisdom kicked in.
After analysing all these 1 came to the conclusion that the optimal development only happens when the biological and emotional processes run parallel. For example when two toddlers play and break something, and mommy asks, "Who did it?” They will always point fingers at each other, as they are not emotionally grown up yet to take the responsibility of collective mistakes. It is alright to accept these denial and projection as psychological defence mechanisms from children. However, when two adults or grand adults do the same they are called pathological, denial and projection could be the most pathological defence mechanism in adults.
Now what do I want? Please allow me to grow up, I could still survive, perhaps you can not give me love and tenderness, as you did not, probably, receive it. however give me honesty and truth. I would still grow up fine, even without a father, who's killers will be punished soon.
Anonymous NY, USA
Why not Zia murder case?
The recent verdict is a milestone in our history. But why not revive the Zia murder case?
HafizChandan
Wuhan University China
Commonwealth scholarship
Commonwealth Scholarship is perhaps now the only important and prestigious scholarship available to our young scholars. It is therefore expected that great care would be taken in awarding this scholarship. It seems regrettable that the UGC this year has suddenly changed the prevailing rules of select-
ing the awardees from among the applicants, apparently ignoring the fact that there still exists two different systems of examination in the older public universities and there are significant differences between them.
One is based on the numerical marks where 60% is considered to be first divi-sioo/class which is rather difficult to obtain, especially in non-science subjects; the other one is the letter grade system convertible to grade points and in this system to obtain high marks is comparatively easy.
Furthermore, in the numerical system second division/class bandwidth is very wide stretching from 45 to 59%, one who obtains 45% marks along with the one who obtains 59% belong to the same bandwidth, although between the latter and the one who belongs to the next higher band obtaining 60% marks there is hardly any qualitative difference. In the grading system, the bandwidths between the grades are much narrower and as such, anomaly does not exist.
The UGC had not mentioned the change of rules in its advertisement. The UGC seems to have not attempted to synchronize the two systems resulting in the automatic exclusion of the students coming from the numerical system. The new system introduced by the UGC strongly favours the newer public universities and the private universities.
Moreover, it appears that the UGC considered a first division in SSC/HSC to be equivalent to a first class in Honours /Masters, which does not seem to be right either. It is not fair to summarily dismiss/reject the application of a candidate simply because he/she has a second division in SSC/HSC. There are subjects like philosophy, English etc. where to obtain a first class in Honours /Masters is really difficult.
We would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to look into the facts stated above and take necessary steps to rectify these. ^ citizen On e-mail