April 2005 Archives

08 April 2005; Ulsan, Korea, republic of — Ulsan, host city of this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, is enthusiastically building a whale museum and a brand new marine park in anticipation. But we have uncovered plans, noticeably absent from the Ulsan council's bright and cheery website, that include a whale meat factory and whale burial ground. Is this the "city for whales", as they like to say, or the "city for whaling"?

"Spandanika" the cultural wing of Samaj celebrated New Year Day at Tiljala, Kolkata in a grand manner. Day was celebrated with exchange of greetings, meditation and talks on the significance of Bengali Solar calendar and the Glorious past of Bengal, exploited Bengal of the present day and its bright future based on the guideline given by the great philosopher, social thinker of all time Shrii P.R.Sarkar.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Wednesday, April 20: the government of Bangladesh is likely to allow foreign investors to set up small power plants to overcome the current electricity generation problem in the country and reduce the burden on public sector investment.

"..........there can be progress only in the spiritual sphere. In physical and psychic spheres there cannot be any progress. You will be where you were. Only when your spirit, your a'tman, your soul, comes closer to the starting point, that is the only progress, that's why there can be progress only in the spiritual stratum. Do you follow? In physical spheres, "no". Suppose a man is mentally just like a monkey, and he wears a good silken dress and drives an ultra-modern vehicle, but has there been any progress? He is in the monkey state, not in the human stage. So he is a monkey, a well-dressed monkey. So there cannot be any progress in physical and psychic spheres." ~ Shrii Shrii Anandamurtijii

National News Service, Kolkata, April 19, 2005: The Indian Media and the Indian cricket team are a true indication of the depth the Country has sunk to. Here is a tin pot dictator of Pakistan coming to India, and the media persons devoid of morality and with an eye on advertisement opportunities have blown him out of proportion.

Here is a Pakistani President who caused the death of more than a thousand valiant soldiers of our Country in Kargil for his own self glorification.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Sunday, April 17: a Bangladesh court has sentenced 22 people to death and six others to life in jail Saturday for killing an opposition lawmaker Ahsanullah Master.

The lawmaker, Ahsanullah Master, a senior member of the country’s main opposition Awami League, was gunned down on May 7, 2004 while addressing a local conference of the Sweccha Sehbak League near his residence at Tongi.

Libya is a relatively unknown country to the world. The US has branded it as 'terrorist.' But, leader Col. Muammad Qadhafi has created something wonderful. It is the Great Man-Made River, which brings 200 million cubic feet of water each day from underneath the southern desert sands to the northern regions where Libyan people reside. More than water, it brings Libya the potential for economic independence, so they will no longer be subjected to cruel economic sanctions and food embargoes. With water, they can develop their own economy and gain glorious self-sufficiency! Please Click here to read the complete article, Eighth Wonder of the World, by Garda Ghista

Throughout the world many groups of people are in urgent need of relief. They are suffering from physical, psychic and spiritual deprivation because the different socio-economic systems in vogue only pander to particular sections of society, neglecting those in need and society as a whole.

Marxism, for example, divides society into the capitalists and the proletariat. The state is theoretically for the welfare of the proletariat or shu'dras, and the non-proletariat are suppressed or oppressed. This is the rule of the shu'dras. But actually there cannot be any rule of the shu'dras. The very concept of proletariat dictatorship is unrealistic, impractical and unscientific. Marxism is a utopian ideal which has no roots in the soil of reality.

In 1977 there was a great change in the constitution of the Soviet Union. It gave up its stupid bogey of proletariat rule and declared itself a welfare state. But even still, Marxism is like a house of cards that will fall apart after a light hammering. It will leave no impact in this practical world.

National News Service 14/04/2005: The Country again celebrates the birthday of B. R. Ambedkar, the so called father of the Indian Constitution. A question remains unanswered till date. As far as history goes the constitution was drafted by the by Constituent Assembly after prolonged discussions, the assembly was constituted with 275 members, so why is one person singled out as the father of the constitution. Are we to assume that the other 274 members were duffers and puppets.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Thursday, April 14: millions of Bangladeshi at home and across the world welcomed Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year 1412, amid fanfare and gaiety.

The human race has only one culture. I am not prepared to accept that there are numerous cultures. But then, this much can be said: the dances, songs, pronunciations and festive celebrations of various groups of the human race have their local peculiarities. These local peculiarities, or differences in manners and customs, cannot be considered separate cultures.

Such differences in the local manners and customs of human beings cannot be removed by the force of law or by dictatorial rule. If attempts are made to destroy local manners and customs, languages, and other social conventions in the name of national unity, human unity, or national sentiment, in all likelihood that will result in the escalation of mutual distrust and violence, which will lead collective life down the path of destruction.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Wednesday, April 13: rescuers dug out four more bodies from the rubble of a garment factory that collapsed at Saver Monday last, taking the confirmed death toll to 30 Wednesday, with 100 or more people feared trapped inside.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Tuesday, April 12: at least 26 people were killed after a nine-storey garment factory collapsed in early hours of Monday near Bangladesh's capital and another 200 were feared to be trapped in the rubble, rescue officials said.

The accident occurred when workers were working the night shift on three floors of the nine-storey building of Spectrum Sweater and Knitwear Industry, which was constructed three years ago on 26 decimals of land at Baipail near Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road in Savar industrial town.

“Big dams are to a nation’s ‘development’ what nuclear bombs are to its military arsenal. They’re both weapons of mass destruction. They’re both weapons governments use to control their own people. Both 20th century emblems that mark a point in time when human intelligence has outstripped its own instinct for survival. They’re both malignant indications of civilization turning upon itself. They represent the severing of the link, not just the link – the understanding – between human beings and the planet they live on. They scramble the intelligence that connects eggs to hens, milk to cows, food to forests, water to rivers, air to life and the earth to human existence.” ~Arundhati Roy

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Monday, April 11: The state-owned Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has proposed to Bangladesh a joint exploration for gas in the blocks which have remained unexplored.

Director of ONGC AK Balyan in a letter to the state minister for energy and mineral resources of Bangladesh, AKM Mosharraf Hossain on April 4, said that the corporation is interested in joint exploration with Petrobangla.

Press Trust of India, Kolkata, April 8, 2005: The who's who of contemporary Bengali literature today rallied behind controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's plea for Indian citizenship saying her immense contribution to literature should be given due regard by the Centre while considering her request.

In a signed statement backing the embattled writer, Magsaysay awardee Mahasveta Devi, litterateurs Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shankha Ghosh, Buddhadev Guha and Dibyendu Palit said India was a strong advocate of freedom of speech and expression and her case must be considered in order to provide her a place to exercise this right.

Siddique Islam (National News Service) Dhaka, Thursday, April 07: at least seven devotees were killed and more than a hundred others injured in a stampede during 'Mahabaruni Snan', a holy dip for the Hindu community, in Kashiani upazila of Gopalganj district Wednesday.

According to local sources, the stampede took place at about 8:30am when around one lakh people gathered on the banks of two big ponds -- Kamonasagar and Dudhsagar -- at the village to have the holy bath.

Siddique Islam (National News Service), Dhaka, Tuesday, April 05: Bangladesh is considering to introduce Dhaka Interbank Offered Rate (DIBOR) aiming at setting a benchmark for daily transaction in the market.

The DIBOR is the rate at which banks are prepared to lend to each other for specified maturities within the Dhaka market. It is also fixed daily for reference purposes and is a key interest rate level used for setting rates for loans and floating rate notes and for calculating cash settlements of certain interest rate derivative instruments.

PROUTIST UNIVERSAL Editorial Note: This is an article written By Brian Hammer of People's News Service which would be good for the doctors, medical scientists and public health officers to read as it affects the Government budget and the health of the people. Please click here to read the article in PDF format.