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Monday, June 30, 2008

[chottala.com] US 'escalates covert Iran missions'

 Seymour Hersh On Covert Operations In Iran [Fresh Air from WHYY]

Fresh Air from WHYY

Listen to Monday's show · June 30, 2008

 

 

World

Seymour Hersh On Covert Operations In Iran

In the upcoming issue of the New Yorker, Seymour Hersh writes that the United States may be closer to armed conflict with Iran than previously imagined.

 

Seymour Hersh
Alex Wong

Seymour Hersh writes about covert military operations in Iran in the upcoming issue of The New Yorker. [Getty Images]

Fresh Air from WHYY, June 30, 2008 · Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh believes that the United States may be closer to armed conflict with Iran than previously imagined. He writes about Congress' funding of covert military operations in the upcoming issue of The New Yorker.

A regular contributor to The New Yorker, Hersh exposed the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in a series of articles published in the magazine early in 2005.

During the Vietnam War, Hersh was the first to report on the My Lai massacre. He has been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, five George Polk Awards, two National Magazine Awards, and a dozen other prizes. He is also the author of eight books, including Chain of Command about Abu Ghraib.

 

Related NPR Stories

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92025860

 

Video: US 'escalates covert Iran missions'
AlJazeeraEnglish - 3 hours ago
Al Jazeera's Ghida Fakhry talks to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh about his latest article in New Yorker magazine, claiming that US congressional ... Show video

Election Season Wild Card: Covert Operations Against Iran, al Qaeda
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 8 hours ago
With 18 weeks to go before the presidential election, two news reports today serve as vivid reminders that a foreign crisis could still erupt before the ...
 

US 'escalates covert Iran missions'
Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been captured by US forces, the article said [AP]

US congressional leaders have agreed to a presidential request for up to $400 million in funding for covert operations against Iran, according to a report in the New Yorker magazine.

Previous cross-border operations have included the capture of Iranian security officers and the backing of anti-Tehran armed groups, said the report by Seymour Hersh, the investigative reporter.

The operations have been taking place since last year, the article said.

Bush's request, made through a Presidential Finding document, was approved by US congressional leaders, including Democrats, late last year, the report said.

Cross-border US operations against Iran include seizing members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and taking them across the border to Iraq for interrogation, the report said.

But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which include the CIA, have now been significantly expanded, the New Yorker said, citing current and former officials.

Armed Sunni groups

Hersh says he believes the US is planning a possibe strike on Iran [GALLO/GETTY]
The operations also include providing support to armed Sunni Muslim groups opposed to the Iranian government, which is Shia.

Among groups inside Iran benefiting from US support is the Jundallah, also known as the Iranian People's Resistance Movement, according to Robert Baer, a former CIA officer cited by the article.

Vali Nasr, an Iran analyst, told Hersh that the group was a vicious organisation suspected of links to al-Qaeda.

The article said US support for the dissident groups could prompt a violent crackdown by Iran, which could give the Bush administration a reason to intervene.

US denial

Ryan Crocker, the US amabassador to Iraq, told the CNN news channel that he had not read the article, but denied the allegations of cross-border operations.

"I'll tell you flatly that US forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else," he said in an interview from Baghdad on Sunday.

Hersh has written previously about possible administration plans to go to war to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

An April 2006 article in the New Yorker that suggested "regime change" in Iran, whether by diplomatic or military means, was Bush's ultimate goal.

Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes only. 

Election battle

Hersh told Al Jazeera that he believed the US was planning for a possible strike against Iran, something that was being pushed by Bush and Dick Cheney.

"The president and the vice-president truly believe that the Iranians have [nuclear]bombs or will have them soon, no matter what their own intelligence says."

In December, a joint report by US intelligence agencies found that Iran was less determined to develop nuclear weapons than was previously thought.

Hersh said he also believed a strike was more likely if Barack Obama, the US Democratic presidential candidate, became favourite to win November's presidential poll.

Howeever Hersh said he thought that Bush and Cheney believed their policies would be safe in the hands of John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
US 'escalates covert Iran missions'
Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 9 hours ago
US congressional leaders have agreed to a presidential request for up to $400 million in funding for covert operations against Iran, according to a report ...

IRAN: Word of Bush's alleged covert war hits Tehran
Los Angeles Times, CA - 10 hours ago
New Yorker magazine investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's article this week alleging a major upping of American campaign to fund and back covert ...

 

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[chottala.com] "To compromise" or "Being compromised"

"To compromise" or "Being compromised"
A government bourne out of 1/11 should never hesitate to compromise as long as that is expected to benefit the general people. The most important lesson of 1/11 is "to compromise" - that should not be left out as a choice. However, government should never put the interest of general people in a position of being compromised.
 
 
It could be successfully argued that democracy is essentially an art of compromise - in its ideal form. However, our intelligentia, our press do not have enough gray materials to understand this basic premise. To them, when someone takes an uncompromising stand in national politics, they praise those stands to such an extend that the poor leaders forget the real purpose of politics which always should be the goodwill of the general people. Instead of giving a realistic feedback for their actions and policy stands, they create monsters out of gullible human being. A sad story of that trend is the creation of 1/11. However, that was just the final outcome, it started long back. Thats a long history, so, lets try to focus on today's topic.
 
In the current context, if government continue to make apparent concessions, is that a bad sign? Does that mean the excercise of last 18 months is all in vain? We don't think the answer to that is so straightforward. Making compromise is a good thing, we would rather argue. However, in doing so, government's main goal can't be compromised, the governments major policies can't be compromised. If Hasina or Khaleda needs some special treatment compared with other corruption accused, and if government accomodates those needs, that should not be seen as a sign of weakness. However, in doing so, if government deviates from its policy goal, then, these compromises will certainly be seen as a sign of weakness and there is a chance that the interest of general people will be compromised. 
 
We are still talking in indirect terms. Lets make another effort to clarify.
 
With reference to a previous article that originated from Innovation Line titled "The raw deal that general people of Bangladesh is
getting
", one could say the recent developments with regards to certain political leaders' accomodation is the direct result of activating one important segment of the power-brokers in Bangladesh (read: bureacracy) who were so far out of focus of the people's attention. They became consious that peoples' wrath might target them eventually! The cabinet secretaries (past or present) have access to the nerve of the govt. machinery and they are afraid the focus may turn into something more intense. So, things have started to move.
 
Off course, this is just a hypothesis. But if this is true, then what? Is the government compromising or is the government being compromised? 
 
The politicians of the past and their co-conspirators would like you to believe that government is being compromised, things are going in the wrong direction, etc etc.
 
However, we would ask you to hold your judgement. Check for yourself. Go to a government office where you may have something to do. Almost all the offices have citizen's charter by now. Consult the relevant charter and set a realistic expectation about what kind of service delivery you should expect from the officers concerned. Also, make sure that you know what to do if something does not go as per your expectation (e.g. the charter should say something about remedial measure if you do not get your promised service). Try to experience as many services as possible as soon as possible from the government.
 
If majority of your experiences are bad and if nothing happens when you have to complain, and if, this is the same story with most of the citizens of the country with most of secretariat, then you have to conclude that bureacracy is making deals with the corrupt politicians. And the fate of general people is being compromised. If a trend becomes clear, we forecast that there will be a time when each of the living cabinet secretaries will have to face a similar fate of the top politicians. And that will happen soon, not 10 years, but much earlier. You can put money on this forecast.
 
However, if majority of your experiences are good, if things are improving - that will mean that Dr. Fakhruddin's strategy is working. What is the strategy? You have to read the above mentioned article for that. [The raw deal that general people of Bangladesh is
getting
] Also, the state should not be made a matter of laughing stock. If the paroles are for certain time-periods, those time limits should be honored.
 
Aren't you tired of these conspiracy theory type opinions? If you are, we fully sympathize with you. Because we are also tired of that. So, lets try to think differently, something positive that we always try to do.  
 
If the government was really interested about solving the problems through dialogue and given the stance of the two big political parties (who says they can't think for themselves), then government would have arrange an dialogue between Khaleda and Hasina. Or at least let these two arrested leaders have a live video conference and try to come up with a common national goal. If they did that, then, we would have thought we, as a nation, have actually learned something important from 1/11. We say that because none of these might not have happened if these two ladies' could have a sane conversation between them during the end of 2006.
 
Are we talking about getting Hasina and Khaleda face-to-face conversation? Are we kidding? No, we are not. If those stupids of the traditional political parties do not have any gray materials in their head, then why not let these two talk out of the impasse. Lets see what kind of vision these two can create among themselves. But can they really talk, let alone making a conversation? One may ask. Thats an important question for which we don't know the answer.
 
Well, if they can't talk, then what the government should do? Then government should gather all the editors of the newspapers and the chiefs of news of all the tv channels and give them prime time tv slots to explain to the people of Bangladesh, why they always talk about, write about these two worthless persons who can't even have a conversation between them. The biggyo sompadok brindo should have a good explanation and they might show us a good way out.
 
Well, we are not being helpful here, you are thinking, right? I know. Ki aar kora.. lets give it another try.
 
The pshyche of the people has been broken in every aspect. The pride is not there, the peace is not there and even a good hearted compromise is being questioned. We spend many hours for blaming our father's generation. And we do that with a very good intention and we consider this as a service to our homeland. Surprising, isn't it?
 
But all is not in vain. Things are moving - in the right direction. People are having more voice. What is missing is a rudder. Overall, the national politics is still rudderless. People do not see anything promising yet, around which they can identify themselves. The leader is yet to show up.
 
The good news is exciting time is coming during next six months. A lot of elections! Hopefully, things will get better over time.
 
In the meantime, we would like to finish this article with expressing our gratitude to two person from our father's generation - these two person are like father to many of our generation. They are none other than Forhad Mozhar and Abdullah Abu Sayeed. 
 
Both of you have touched many of our generation directly and indirectly. A big thank you to both of you. Both of you have the pulse of the youth, may be from different perspective. But thats ok, life enriches with variety.
 
We are just curious if the government arranged a conversation between these two personalities who have influenced the lives of many of the youths during last few decades, can they have sane conversation between them and help guide the nation to develop a way forward? Do you think they can do that? No?
 
If even they can't have a sane conversation, then why are we blaming Hasina or Khaleda! We really hope government taps into these two personality (and may be there are others) and let them have a marathon public conversation among them. If things goes in the right direction, if they can build a concensus among themselves, may be then, government can take their service as policy advisors who can guide the government in developing a final understanding with the political parties.
 
 
If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the columnists in regular traditional media, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them. Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.
 
Thanks for your time,
Innovation Line
 
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Note: This is a freelance column, published mainly in different internet based forums. This column is open for contribution by the members of new generation, sometimes referred to as Gen 71. If you identify yourself as someone from that age-group and want to contribute to this column, please feel free to contact. Thanks to the group moderator for publishing the article as Creative Commons contents.
 
Dear readers, also, if you thought the article was important enough so it should come under attention of the head of the government please forward the message to them. Email address for the Chief Advisor: feeedback@pmo.gov.bd_ or at http://www.cao.gov.bd/feedback/comments.php .
 
The more of you forward it to them, the less will be the need to go back to street agitation. Use ICT to practice democracy.
Also send to your favourtie TV channel:
Channel i: http://www.channel-i-tv.com/contact.html
ATN Bangla: mtplive@atnbangla.tv_
NTV: info@ntvbd.com_
RTV: info@rtvbd.tv_
BTV: info@btv.gov.bd_
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[chottala.com] Survey says world’s top 10 intellectuals are Muslims

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2008/06/25/survey-says-worlds-top-10-intellectuals-are-muslims/

Reuters Blogs

FaithWorld

Religion, faith and ethics

 

Survey says world's top 10 intellectuals are Muslims

 

 

"No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list," the introduction said. "In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Within hours, votes in his favor began to pour in. His supporters—typically educated, upwardly mobile Muslims—were eager to cast ballots not only for their champion but for other Muslims in the Top 100. Thanks to this groundswell, the top 10 public intellectuals in this year's reader poll are all Muslim. The ideas for which they are known, particularly concerning Islam, differ significantly. It's clear that, in this case, identity politics carried the day."

 

 

From the Fethullah Gülen websiteStill, the results are interesting. Fethullah Gülen, pictured at right by his website announcing the survey result, heads a network of schools and media that is probably the world's largest moderate Muslim movement. He may be one of the most influential Muslims that non-Muslims have never heard of. We ran a feature about him just last month.

 

 

Second was Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi economist who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for the microcredit project run by his Grameen Bank. So he's not an unknown and he's here for his secular work rather than anything religious.

 

 

Abdolkarim SoroushFour other Muslim religious personalities made the top 10 — Youssef al-Qaradawi (3), the spiritual head of the Muslim Brotherhood and weekly preacher on al-Jazeera satellite television, Amr Khaled (6), a popular Egyptian television preacher, Abdolkarim Soroush (7 — pictured at left), an Iranian reformist theologian and Tariq Ramadan (8), the Swiss-born scholar popular among young European Muslims. Soroush, who is much more philosopher than activist, is probably the only one we have not written much about.

Several top-tenners besides Yunus made the list for their secular work. Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish novelist who won the 2006 Nobel Prize for literature, came in fourth. Next was Aitzaz Ahsan (pictured below), the Lahore lawyer whose lawyers' protest movement is possibly the Aitzaz Ahsan cheered by fellow Pakistani lawyers, 23 Feb 2008/Mohsin Razastrongest voice of secular civil society in Pakistan. Ninth and tenth places went to Ugandan-born cultural anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani and Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human rights lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

What do you think of this survey? Do you think these 10 are the world's top public intellectuals? If not, who would you nominate?

 



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Sunday, June 29, 2008

[chottala.com] Bangladesh eager to resolve Rohingya and other issues with Burma

Bangladesh eager to resolve Rohingya and other issues with Burma PDF Print E-mail
Written by Webmaster   
Friday, 27 June 2008

Dhaka: Bangladesh would like to resolve all pending issues with Burma through discussion, particularly the issue of repatriation of Rohingya refugees, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed said yesterday, according to BTV.

The head of the caretaker government of Bangladesh made the remark when outgoing Burmese ambassador to Dhaka U Nyan Lynn called on him at the Chief Adviser's office.

The Chief Adviser (CA) said Bangladesh was interested in the early conclusion of the farming agreement with Burma for cooperation in the field of agriculture for using its arable land. Dr Ahmed also expressed his gratitude to Burma for having sent rice to Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr.

The Chief Adviser told the envoy that there might be some cooperation between the two countries in some other areas, including direct banking arrangement and enriching the shipping link for enhancing trade. The CA also said that Bangladesh was keen to open the trans-border land route through Burma up to China , which would help the people in the region and maritime border demarcation could be amicably solved through talks. The CA further said annual consultation between Bangladesh and Burma would be held regularly for further strengthening bilateral relations.

On being asked the refugees said, "We are happy that Bangladesh is eager to solve the Rohingya problem through discussion with Burma . But, we are not willing to go back until and unless democracy is restored in Burma ."

The Burmese envoy said better road links would facilitate trade and people-to-people contact as well. He also said Burma had informed China about the tripartite road link. The envoy thanked the Chief Adviser for sending relief material to Burma soon after the powerful cyclone 'Nargis' hit the country on May 2 and 3.

The CA expressed sympathy for the people of Burma and their government due to the destruction their country had suffered in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. " Bangladesh , as a next-door neighbor, will stand beside Burma in its hour of crisis," he said. ##

 
Dhaka willing to resolve Rohingya, border issues
The Daily Star, Bangladesh - Jun 26, 2008
Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed has said Bangladesh is willing to resolve the issues of repatriation of the Rohingya refugees and maritime border ...
Bangladesh offers to settle core issues with Myanmar Gulf Times
all 3 news articles »
Bangladesh Looks Forward to General Maung Aye's Visit
Narinjara News, Bangladesh - Jun 27, 2008
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed also said that he is willing to resolve the issues of repatriation of the Rohingya refugees and the maritime border ...
Rohingya family  109261-burmese-muslim-girl-0.jpg
 Rohingya Refugees at a camp                                       [ A Rohingya Muslim Girl]
 
Rohingya refugees In Bangla
Ronhingya refugee mother with her child at a refugee camp near the Bangladesh/Burma border
2008-04-27-Rohingya_4.jpg
A sick Rohingya child stands unattended by the roadside
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[chottala.com] Fw: Response to Nondini Hussain's write-up on Women

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Saturday, June 28, 2008

[chottala.com] Glimpse of Bangladesh History - Lest we forget ! [You Tube Videos ]

You Tube Videos - Glimpse of Bangladesh History  - Lest we forget !
 
What Mujib Said:
7 March, 1971- Speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Zia clarifies his timing of declaration of independence
Bangladesh-71 (1)
March 23, 1971
Pakistan army action in Bangladesh 1971
A Martyrs wife
A documentary on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib by Bulbul Hasan
declaration of independence by Zia
Declaration of Independence Bangladesh
Part 1of6 of Untold Stories of liberation War of 1971
Part 2of6 of Untold Stories of Liberation War of 1971
Part 3of6 of Untold Stories of Liberation War of 1971
Part 4of6 of Untold Stories of Liberation War of 1971
Part 5of6 of Untold Stories of liberation War of 1971
Part 6of6 of Untold Stories of Liberation War of 1971
 
 
[Courtesy Zafar Chowdhury]
 
On 6/28/08, Zafar Chowdhury <zchow@yahoo.com> wrote
There are some people who always try to find issues to disparage our father of the nation. This theory that Mujib did not know the difference between lakh and million is an old one surfacing again. I  don't really know whether 3 million, or 3 lakh, 1 lakh or even 50,000 (as esmated by Tikka Khan) people got killed and truth of the matter is nobody will really know. Those of us who has actually been through
1971 never tried to count the number of deads-we were too busy running for our lives. But as a first hand eye witlesss who was in Dacca the whole nine months, let me tell you, we lived a life of  terror. There were buildings burned, men pulled out of buses and killed just because the bastard didn't like their faces. And if you  were Hindu, you were killed right away. Every Bengali was scared every single day thinking he or she may not see the end of day.Anyway about the `million' number-it came from foreign press. So if
we want to blame some one about incorrect estimate we should blame Time, Newsweek and other Internation press-not Mujib who was not relesed from Pakistani prison till early 1972. Please watch this video of Mujib. Hope this will clarify that Mujib  knew the difference between lakh and million. Hear him say "No body  can suppress 70 million people." No, he did not mean 70 lakhs, he meant 7 crores.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRu3rzJvFE:
 
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[chottala.com] Moyeen U's Illegally Earned Seven Horses

Moyeen U's Illegally Earned Horses
Abid Bahar
Military rulers' age old famous jingle: fight corruption; as if they are so honest! Contrary to the claim, we know that the Bangladesh military officers has been in control of the transportation sector in Bangladesh and the timber business in Chittagong Hill Tracts.  Fight corruption is the common slogan used by most coup leaders in the Third World countries. Ziaur Rahman, Ershad all used this phrase. But we know that Ziaur Rahman was personally honest. "...Ershad came to power to fight corruption and he was the most corrupt Predsident of the country. Ershad came to power through a military coup that corruption got institutionalised." Lately, the daily Star, Prothom ALO-Moyeen U coup also has been fighting with the same jingle-"fight corruption." They have arrested top to bottom civilian politicians. But with what intent? It started to become clear when Maudud Ahamed was arrested on charges of the possession of alchohol. I personally couldn't
believe it. Is Moyeen a Taliban in disguise? Was he trying for the minus two policy?
General Moyeen is a Bangladeshi civil servant. He was supposed to remain in the cantonment or in the Hill Tracts cleaning jungle or helping to built dams to prevent flood water affect Bangladesh. In India, that is what the military does to help their nation. But instead of an ass carying the load of the country, patrol the border, Moyeen U made himself visible in civilian affaires. He also promoted himself to the post of a General and lately he was given a red carpet reception in India, and was also given seven horses. We are still not sure who he is.  Only lately, the news that on charges of corruption, unlike Hasina, the late President Zia's children were made paralyzed. There was no urgency shown to give them treatment or send them abroad.
 A year ago, Moyeen had a secret meeting with Hasina's son Joy and recommended Joy to remain quiet. It shows, Hasina was arrested only to show netrality. This gave us the clue that General Moyeen was a former Mujibbadi and was chosen by the RAW as the future leader of Bangladesh. Then is it the beginning of the Pakistanization of Bangladesh's dog eating dog politics? Ofcourse, US and Indian RAW propaganda machines will now blame the whole issue as a common anti- democratic trend  in Muslim countries, "a problem inherent in Islam and among Muslims." 
Unfortunately, it will be the beginning of a period of unrest in Bangladesh but it seems Moyeen U has not learn the lasson from the past, both Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Khalid Mosheraf could n't keep India's seven horses! Did Moyeen know that he is only a civil servant and it will be hard for him also to keep his illegally earned horses?


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[chottala.com] Outline of a dream project - turning threat into an opportunity

Outline of a dream project - turning threat into an opportunity

We are talking about 30-35 billions of total investment over next 25 years. Start the process with very little investment at the moment. If things can be started well, in few years time, we are convinced that there will be so many interest in this project that you will have to return money from a lot of prospective investors!

 

This is a conceptual outline of a nation-wide project would attract billions of dollars, millions of tourists and skilled workers, thousands of experts, hundreds of companies to Bangladesh to make it a land of opportunities that would one day rival UAE and Singapore. However, these dollars, tourists, experts and companies will be a bit different in type compared to those others, we call them the version two that keeps sustainability in their mind in every step of the way.

If marketed in a proper way with the bold entrepreneurs from UAE and Singapore (who usually do not shy away from competition) with technical vetting from the experts from Netherlands (who has a track-record of making a living out of training rivers), this could add tremendous thrust to what has been achieved so far in Bangladesh.

Before going into the details, we want to empasize one thing. If the history our human civilization is any precursor, we as a species always falter before we catch up and do the right thing. With our latest mess of Global Warming, we have already completed the first part of the hypothesis, which is faltering with our actions and failing to do anything meaningful yet to freeze and reverse the warming. However, as we said, we will catch up - process of which has already started with changes of mind and hearts of millions of people around the world and soon these will be translating into actions. However, in the process of catching up, we may loose many of island states such as Maldives. This project will be able to reclaim enough land in the shoreline of Bay of Bengal that we could accomodate Maldives if such an unfortunate time comes which we hope will never occur.

Enough for introduction and motivation. Lets lay down the concept of the project. But for that you have to go at the bottom of this article and read the article from a German newspaper, specifically the second part titled "Taming Monster Rivers". We also recommend the following two institutes to start the groundwork of simulating the whole project so it can soon be taken to the drawing board.

RIKS (Research Institute of Knowledge Systems)

IWM (Institute of Water Modelling)

To start, its fitting to use few quote from the following news item if you haven't done so already.

"This island developed very recently .... the island will continue to grow."

".....sometimes finds the doomsday scenarios surprising."

In fact, hydrologically speaking the Netherlands is a country that shouldn't even exist. But skillful engineering has guaranteed the Dutch a successful existence. Polders, dikes and water-retaining structures protect its territory against the sea. According to Carvajal Monar, "this is precisely what we could do in Bangladesh, but unfortunately we're moving forward far too slowly."

Along with what is suggested here, we also want to add few things. River training mechanism should be adapted for the local terrain and situation. The techniques should not and can not be directly applied that worked for Netherlands. Thats why its important for the local researchers to get involved in a big way. The government has a big role in this.

Given the situation in Bangladesh, it seems that a distributed river training system would be more appropriate. Solar driven thousands of small pontun like sediment managment system should be deployed throughout the country. Down the stream and along the shoreline, there should be mechanisms in place that would encourage natural collection of the sediments that are coming from the Himalayas in millions of tons every year. Over the years this should enable us to push our south border in a significant way as well as build few sigficantly new islands.

However, the main focus should be to tame the rivers. Not only tame, a plan should be in place that will envision them to return to their earliers paths - where possible. This would do several miracle. Stop the creation of thousands of internal refugees. Increase the agricultural land. Stop the flood in many areas. However, this has a possible negative, too. If you can stop the flood, it would also create a problem with the fertility of the lands. So, we should take separate parallel projects that encourages farmers to use organic fertilizer in a large scale.

Reclaimed lands down south could become the world class tourist spot. If the simulations show that the reclamation and creation of the island with the sediments from Himalayas carried by these monster rivers can be projected in a reliable way, we think, there would be billions of dollars ready investment, aside from our own national investment. We could keep writing pages after pages, however, its better to leave the details for the experts. We have already mentioned two possible expert institutions who have the track-record for doing similar but smaller scale project. If the Government of Bangladesh is willing to examine the project, we would imagine that the real experts around the world will be very excited about the project.

As we have said earlier, this is project which should be treated as a strategic matter on the part of Bangladesh. And as a matter of fact, such a project would naturally require a smooth coordination among the downstream (Bangladesh) and Upstream (India, Nepal, Bhutan) countries. However, our suggestion would be to proceed with the project in a manner where we will assume total non-cooperation from India (which is usually the case). And there is no reason that we should expect that will change soon. But that should not stop us. Its easy to blame them. However, designing a system within the given realities is the job of the engineers and designers. It will be harder, but it is possible. We should go ahead taking it as a fact that India will keep doing what they have been doing with Farrakka, Ganges-Padma water sharing. Off course, things might improve over the time, so the overall design should be able to correct for that, too.

Such a project will be more than the budget of the nation, every year, spread over several decades. A rough estimate may put the whole project into 30-35 billion spread over next 20 years. Things should get clearer as we get some simulation result that incorporates real data. So, let the dream begin, soon.

Before we end, we should emphasize two supplementary projects that should follow the base level national project. A country like Bangladesh where the world's safest rivers like Meghna flows, such a country should not lift its drinking water from underground. Also, a country through which most of the waters from the Himalayas flows to the Bay, that country should become one of the world's leading exporter of drinking water.

 

If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the columnists in regular traditional media, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them. Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.

Thanks for your time,
Innovation Line

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Note: This is a freelance column, published mainly in different internet based forums. This column is open for contribution by the members of new generation, sometimes referred to as Gen 71. If you identify yourself as someone from that age-group and want to contribute to this column, please feel free to contact. Thanks to the group moderator for publishing the article as Creative Commons contents.

Dear readers, also, if you thought the article was important enough so it should come under attention of the head of the government please forward the message to them. Email address for the Chief Advisor: feeedback@pmo.gov.bd_ or at http://www.cao.gov.bd/feedback/comments.php .

The more of you forward it to them, the less will be the need to go back to street agitation. Use ICT to practice democracy.

Also send to your favourtie TV channel:
Channel i: http://www.channel-i-tv.com/contact.html
ATN Bangla: mtplive@atnbangla.tv_
NTV: info@ntvbd.com_
RTV: info@rtvbd.tv_
BTV: info@btv.gov.bd_
======================================================

Link:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,552811,00.html

May 12, 2008

NOMADS OF THE TIDES
How Bangladesh Is Preparing for Climate Change

By Gerald Traufetter

Part 1: How Bangladesh Is Preparing for Climate Change

Dutch engineers are helping people in Bangladesh build dikes, polders and water-retaining structures to protect them against recurring floods. Despite climate change, the country could even grow. Ultimately, though, the greatest threat in Bangladesh comes not from water but from political chaos.

Fortunato Carvajal Monar is in the land-making business. And this Saturday morning is shaping up to be the beginning of a good workday.

The sun strikes the dirty water of the Ganges River, causing it to sparkle in golden colors. Carvajal Monar jumps energetically from a speedboat onto the sand. He walks a few steps before reaching an odd-looking ledge, which had already attracted his attention when he saw it through binoculars.

The ledge is half a meter (about a foot and a half) tall. Light-colored lines of sand are sandwiched between layers of dark clay. Carvajal Monar sticks his ballpoint pen into the soil to test the consistency of the material. "Less than a year old," the 59-year-old hydraulic engineer succinctly concludes.

He tugs on the coarse tufts of dune grass that have become established in the soft soil. "This island developed very recently," he says. Vast amounts of sediment were washed up during the last flood, and based on his experience, says Carvajal Monar, "the island will continue to grow."

A native of Colombia, Carvajal Monar has often stepped onto new land in this nation, which everyone says is doomed. He works for the Dutch consulting company Royal Haskoning in Bangladesh, a country that is considered to be one of the biggest victims of climate change.

Carvajal Monar sometimes finds the doomsday scenarios surprising. They simply do not coincide with his experiences in Bangladesh. "This country has tremendous opportunities to grow," says Carvajal Monar, as he spreads out an older map and points to the Bay of Bengal. "Down here, for example, not much on this map is correct anymore."

The country is as ephemeral as human life. "Land is disappearing everywhere, but new land is taking shape elsewhere," says Carvajal Monar. "The problem is that the politicians here lack a long-term strategy of gaining, developing and protecting new land." His fingers slide farther south along the map, far out into the Bay of Bengal, where the light color indicating water turns to a dark blue. This represents the beginning of the continental slope, where the ocean floor plunges hundreds of meters and, along with it, 2.4 billion tons of unused sediment that the great rivers in Bangladesh, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, flush through their kilometer-wide riverbeds. Carvajal Monar has calculated that a year's worth of this sediment is enough to create 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) of new land.

"Nowadays," he says, "most of the sediment simply disappears into the deep sea." This, according to Carvajal Monar, is practically a mortal sin in a country that should have started a program long ago to use the fertile silt, mica and clay to protect its coastline, thereby protecting future generations from drowning.

It's no accident that he works for a Dutch engineering firm. The Netherlands and Bangladesh share a similar fate. Both countries are flat and much of their territory is below sea level, which constantly forces them to protect themselves against flooding. "In the Netherlands, this has long been seen as an opportunity, not a threat," says Carvajal Monar.

In fact, hydrologically speaking the Netherlands is a country that shouldn't even exist. But skillful engineering has guaranteed the Dutch a successful existence. Polders, dikes and water-retaining structures protect its territory against the sea. According to Carvajal Monar, "this is precisely what we could do in Bangladesh, but unfortunately we're moving forward far too slowly."

Aside from the morphological parallels, the Netherlands and Bangladesh have little in common. The Muslim country in the eastern corner of the Indian subcontinent, which liberated itself from Pakistan in a bloody war in the early 1970s, has been eaten up by a corrupt kleptocracy that was ousted in a military coup in January. An interim government controlled by generals rules the country today. The chaos in politics extends deep into ministries and the government bureaucracy, postponing decisions -- a great impediment to the construction of new structures to protect against flooding.

The Netherlands is already paying for a series of projects designed to protect the country's vulnerable flanks along the coast and riverbanks. A diagram outlining one of these projects is on a pinboard in Carvajal Monar's office in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. It is a plan that could expand the country's landmass by several square kilometers. In the Meghna delta region, through which up to 160,000 cubic meters (5.6 million cubic feet) of water flow every second, Carvajal Monar wants to connect newly formed islands with dams. The structure would force the river to deposit large amounts of sediment along its edges. "But the project has stalled," Carvajal Monar complains. "And that in a country of 150 million people where agricultural land is shrinking by one percent a year."

Things are moving forward at a faster pace in Hatia. Once they were two small islands in the Meghna delta, but then Dutch engineers came along and helped the Bangladeshis connect the northernmost of the two islands with the mainland. Now bulldozers are digging trenches to form the characteristic rectangular polder structure familiar to every tourist who has been to the Netherlands -- the difference being that in Bangladesh banana trees are planted on the dikes instead of poplars.

Zulfiquer Azeez is one of the engineers who, under the supervision of Carvajal Monar, is responsible for the construction work. He is familiar with the Netherlands' green rectangularity from a visit to the country a few years ago. "But here we would never dream of building golf courses on the newly reclaimed land," says Azeez, a 41-year-old Bangladeshi. "Almost every bit of it is used for fields."

A bulldozer is pushing the gray, sticky soil together. Only a few meters away, women from the village kneel in front of a piece of corrugated metal and turn red chili peppers to dry in the sun. The dike will soon protect the people here from spring floods and the giant waves that are regularly whipped up by cyclones. A protective bunker on stilts is as much a part of the basic equipment of the polder as its drainage ditches. "Without them," Azeez explains, "the land would become salinized."

But even the unprotected land in front of the dike is put to use as soon as it protrudes only about a foot above the water level. One of the daring is Shamsun Nahar, whose bamboo hut stands on a small earthen hill like a Third World version of the small islands in the North Friesian mud flats known as Halligen. She farms the fertile alluvial soil with her four children, and calls it "a gift from Allah." Nahar arrived here only a few months ago. Her husband works in the country's southeast, either on the docks or as a rickshaw driver. In fact, Nahar isn't exactly sure what he is currently doing, because, without a mobile phone, she has no way of staying in touch with her husband. She also lacks a radio that could warn her against cyclones.

She sends out her son to bring in the nets. Without catching fish, the family could not survive. The tide has reached the apex of the dike and water is swashing in front of her hut.

Nahar knows all too well how dangerous the vast amounts of water can be, and yet she takes the risk of living on the water's edge, hoping to become the owner of the reclaimed land. Under the unwritten laws of the nomads of the tides, the government will eventually turn over ownership of reclaimed land to the first to successfully take possession of it.

A gust of wind envelopes Nahar in a cloud of fine dust. The wind has changed direction and is now blowing from the south. The dry season, which typically lasts from November to April, is coming to an end.

Part 2: Taming Monster Rivers

A southerly wind is a sign of the coming summer monsoon, a time when Gerard Pichel's efforts will be put to a test. The Dutch engineer is trying to tame the rivers that swell into wild monsters during the monsoon.

Pichel is on his way to the Jamuna, as the Brahmaputra is called on the Bangladeshi side of the border. A hydrologist with DHV, an engineering firm from the central Dutch city of Amersfoort, Pichel, in a joint project with the Ministry of Water Resources in Dhaka, has secured the riverbank with dikes and two jetties protruding into the river at right angles. The last monsoon flood ripped off parts of the bulwark. "A similar disaster cannot be allowed to happen this time," says Pichel.

The Bangladeshis built the jetties at a right angle and not an oblique angle. As a result, the side facing the current is exposed to the full force of the water. "We made the same mistake in Holland in the past," says Pichel, shaking his head. "But one shouldn't have to make the same mistake twice."

He has already discovered annoying hydraulic engineering mistakes along the entire drive cross-country from Dhaka to the Jamuna: bridge openings that are too small, improperly dimensioned water-retaining structures. Besides, a lot of money is being spent on the wrong investments. The state-owned airline has just announced plans to spend more than $1 billion (€650 million) on new aircraft. For the same amount of money, millions of people could be saved from flooding. In fact, many things would be possible. Skillful engineers have developed ways to harness nature, with a well-placed dam, for example, forcing the river to deposit sediments along its edges. According to Pichel, the technology is "faster than any dredger and costs nothing."

But, as it happens, the dam has to be built manually. The scenarios unfolding before Pichel's eyes are reminiscent of the construction of the Pyramids. Using a wooden stretcher, sweat-drenched men drag blocks of stone from a junk, stumble across a bamboo plank from the ship to the dike, and drop the stone into the water.

For Pichel, climate change merely presents another engineering challenge. Besides, Indians, not global warming, are largely responsible for Bangladesh's acute flooding problems.

The country's much larger neighbor has built giant dams to harness its mega-rivers. As a result, the Indians are intervening in an equilibrium that is critical for Bangladesh. "The less water that flows from the north toward the sea, the farther the sea water penetrates up the rivers," says Pichel. The fatal outcome is salinization of fields in the south and lower crop yields.

Precisely the opposite happens during the monsoon period. To protect themselves against river flooding, the Indians open their locks, which causes flooding downstream in Bangladesh.

Climate change could cause additional melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, leading to even higher water levels in the rivers. "But that would be practically marginal compared with Bangladesh's current flooding problems," says Pichel.

Knowledge about the dangers of climate change hasn't yet reached the flat new strip of land in the Bay of Bengal. "I did hear the men in the city talking about something like that once," says Shamsun Nahar, the farmer on her little piece of reclaimed land in Hatia.

Nahar isn't sure which is worse: the whims of nature or those of human beings. Some time ago, some men from Dhaka showed up with false documents and a group of thugs, and drove her neighbors from their strip of land. "Who protects us?" she asks rhetorically. "No one!"

Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan



 

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[chottala.com] AABEA's Picnic & Science Fair on August 9 (Saturday) at 10 am. All of you are invited. It is NOT l

 
Respected friends & families,

AABEA (American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers & Architects) is requesting your presence to enjoy "Science Fair and Picnic" on August 9, 2008 (Saturday) at Lake Fairfax Park, Large Shelter Canopy Area, Reston, Virginia.  Here you will meet your friends & families residing in Washington DC metro area and out of state. 

 
THIS EVENT IS NOT LIMITED TO ENGINEERS & ARCHITECTS ONLY.  Everyone of you is requested to attend & enjoy.

Please mark your calendar right now for August 9, 2008 to enjoy AABEA's Science Fair & Picnic.  Please look at the attached flyer for detailed & clear information about this event.

Date: Saturday, August 9, 2008
Time: 10:00 am till 6:00 pm

Contribution:  $10.00 per person

                    $8.00 per student of 1st grade to 8th grade
                    Free for Science Fair participants of all ages and children up to 6 years old

Address:   Lake Fairfax Park
               Large Shelter & Canopy Area
               1400 Lake Fairfax Drive  
               Reston, Virginia 20190

Driving direction:  From I-495 (Beltway) in Virginia, take exit 47A (Route 7 West) towards Tysons Corner.  Drive about 7 miles.  Turn left on Baron Cameron Avenue (you will see "Meadows Farms Nurseries" on right corner & "Sunuco" gas station on left corner).  Turn second left on Lake Fairfax Drive.  At the end of the road (after driving 0.6 mile), turn left on STOP sign.  Turn immediate left on next STOP sign.  Your destination is right there.  You may also go to "
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/picnics/restnics-lkffx.htm " to get more information about this park.

Schedule:
10:00 am to 1:00 pm:  Science Fair for young generation;
                               Cricket, Volleyball, Badminton, and Soccer/Football game for all ages 
                               (Virginia versus Maryland/DC)
1:00 pm to 2:30 pm:   Delicious catered lunch
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm:   Fun games for all ages (Dorri Tanatani, Rooster fight, pillow pass, etc.) 
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm:   Award & prize giving ceremony

There are also swimming, water park, children's attractions, and boat riding opportunities located next to our picnic spot (nominal price charged separately for these attractions). 
 
If possible, please bring extra chairs, mats, bed-sheets, etc. to lay over on the ground around picnic shelter.

***********************************************************************************************************

 
Instructions for Science Fair:
The participants will be in four groups as described in the following:  Primary is students of KG to 3rd grade; Junior is students of 4th to 6th grade; Intermediate is students of 7th to 9th grade; and Senior is students of 10th to 12th grade.  The judges will move around all participants.  Each participant will explain & demonstrate his/her project to the judges. All participants will be recognized & awarded certificates anyway.  However, based on the judgment, special awards will be given to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd placeholders in each group.

Please encourage your children strongly to participate in Science fair.  The participants will bring any old or new science projects from school or home.  The participants will bring all accessories needed for their science projects.  There may be some wind problem at the park.  Some materials of the science project may fly away due to wind.  Therefore, the participants are strongly encouraged to bring heavy wight, masking tapes, or anything required to prevent their science projects fly away.  THE PARTICIPANTS FOR SCIENCE FAIR SHALL ARRIVE AT THE PICNIC GROUNDS BY 10:00 AM SHARP.  Sorry, no guarantees are given for the participation in Science Fair for late comers.


**********************************************************************************************************

We hope to see all of you by 10:00 am on August 9, 2008 (Saturday) to come & enjoy AABEA's Science Fair and Picnic.  Thank you very much for your outstanding support & cooperation. 

Shabbir Parvez, President: 703-793-0346; 703-606-2022 (cell)
Faisal Quader, President-Elect: 301-990-7363; 301-526-7888 (cell)
Mosabber Zaman, Secretary: 240-462-4482 (cell)
Mahfuzur Rahman, Treasurer: 410-796-0577; 301-646-3475 (cell)
Nasreen Chowdhury, Exec. Member: 703-493-9219; 703-944-4604 (cell)
Ajhar Nakib, Exec. Member: 703-760-9616; 703-953-4788 (cell)
Shahid Alam, Exec. Member: 703-922-0999; 571-272-4030 (work)


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