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Thursday, January 20, 2011

[chottala.com] Friends&Family Boishaki Mela 2011 [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Abu Rumi included below]


Attachment(s) from Abu Rumi

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[chottala.com] A glimpse of "The Talented Dr. Richard Benkin - BNP Sarkar's Jewish connections"



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    • The Talented Dr. Richard Benkin

    Dr Richard Benkin

    Mash | March 12, 2007, 12:02 am | Bangladesh, Foreign Policy, Politics | 15 comments

    [Hat tip to Shafiur via his comment and another hat tip to Salam Dhaka and Shuchinta]

    Lutfuzzaman Babar, Former State Minister for Home Affairs, BangladeshIt turns out that Dr. Richard Benkin, the "reporter" who is the source of stories about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury and Mr. Choudhury's supporter, is registered as a foreign lobbyist. However, if I asked you to guess which government he represented, you would probably be way off the mark.

    On September 6, 2005 Dr. Richard Benkin registered as a foreign agent with the United States Department of Justice, under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), for the Government of Bangladesh. [Click here to see the registration document.] Given the kind of articles Dr. Benkin writes about Bangladesh, this revelation is rather shocking.

    Dr. Benkin was hired to prepare and disseminate informational materials via radio or TV broadcasts, magazines or newspaper articles, letters or telegrams, press releases and the internet. He was hired to disseminate this information to public officials, civic groups or associations, legislators, newspapers and editors. According to the document filed with the US government, Dr. Benkin had already received $5000 from the Government of Bangladesh as payment for his services. He was to receive $5000 per month based on an oral agreement between Dr. Benkin and the Government of Bangladesh. According to the filing:

    The Registrant agreed to provide Public Relations services to the Foreign Principal at a cost of $5000.00 per month, to be paid to the Registrant at the beginning of each month for services that month. There is no formal duration, but it is expected to last at least twelve months.

    A month after Dr. Benkin filed his paperwork, the respected lobbying firms Ketchum Washington and The Washington Group also registered as foreign agents for the Government of Bangladesh to do public relations. [Click here to see Ketchum's registration and click here to see The Washington Group's registration.]

    There is one significant difference between Dr. Benkin's lobbying and those of Ketchum and The Washington Group. While Ketchum and The Washington Group indicated in their filing that they would deal with the Bangladeshi Embassy in Washington via the ambassador, Shamsher M. Chowdhury, the filing by Dr. Benkin indicated that he would deal with Lutfuzzaman Babar, State Minister for Home Affairs in Bangladesh. The difference is significant.

    As an aside, the reader will note that in the first email Rabbi Sue Levy sent me regarding Mr. Choudhury, she accused the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington of trying to discredit Mr. Choudhury.

    It does seem unusual that Dr. Benkin would ink his deal with a Bangladeshi state minister involved with domestic law and order, rather than with the official representative of Bangladesh, that is the ambassador and the Embassy. Why the Bangladesh Embassy was sidestepped in a foreign lobbying effort is certainly food for thought. Further Mr. Babar is featured and cited in a large number of Dr. Benkin's "reports" about Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury - yet, Dr. Benkin never mentions that he is a paid consultant working for Mr. Babar. Mr. Babar was also featured in a glowing article dated June 15, 2006 entitled "Babar & His Magic Stick" in the Asian Tribune, Dr. Benkin's mouthpiece of choice. The article was written by a certain Christopher Giddings whose prose is decidedly Bangladeshi in tone, rather than one of a native english speaker.

    Those familiar with Bangladesh will note that Mr. Babar is a young politician who gained a reputation for ruthlessness by creating the Rapid Action Battalian (RAB) in March 2004, a paramilitary force responsible for countless extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh. Those unfamiliar with RAB under Mr. Babar can get a sense of their modus operandi by reading the publication "Judge, Jury and Executioner" by Human Rights Watch.

    The current interim government in Bangladesh is likely tightening the noose on Mr. Babar, now the former state minister, on alleged corruption charges. So far, anti-corruption forces have raided his home, and have arrested his personal secretary and his cousin on corruption charges.

    I can see why Mr. Babar might want a personal PR man to defend his brand of human rights abuses - a lot of people have famously died in the "crossfire" as RAB hunted extremists and common criminals alike. However, Mr. Babar might have been running his own little fiefdom without official government sanction. It makes little sense that at the same time the Government of Bangladesh, through legitimate diplomatic channels, was enlisting the likes of Ketchum and The Washington Group, that a state minister in Bangladesh would hire a foreign lobbyist on his own. It also seems odd that he is repeatedly cited by Dr. Benkin in his "reports" that masquerade as news stories without mentioning that Dr. Benkin is on Mr. Babar's payroll. I am sure the anti-corruption authorities in Bangladesh will have a few questions.

    There is a lot of reporting to be done here. I leave it to the reader and fellow Bangladeshi bloggers to fill in the blanks to paint the complete picture. Something smells, and it smells bad.

    BONUS for Bangladeshi readers: Here is a glowing article about Tareque Rahman by the aforementioned Christopher Giddings in the Asian Tribune. For non-Bangladeshis, Tareque Rahman, the son of the previous prime minister, is known in Bangladesh as "Mr. Ten Percent" and he has just been arrested for massive corruption.

     [FARA documents via Shuchinta]

     

    Share this post:
    © 2007 Mashuqur Rahman | Category: Bangladesh, Foreign Policy, Politics | 15 comments | 2,930 views | Subscribe to the comments of this post

    15 comments to The Talented Dr. Richard Benkin

    • Aah, the plot thickens. Great work, Mash. I knew your blog wasn't a fraud. I wonder what the opposing view's response will be to this little nugget of information. :-"

    • Great digging! Bring the rats out of their holes.
      I have wondered why Babar hasn't been on the list of hundred corrup individuals (many of them former ministers and MPs) that are being detained. Rumor had it, he used to have his own trained army of goons that attacked prominent poiticians during rallies in the last five years.

    • What a bizzare world.

      Good question - why is Babar not on the first 100 list?

      Richard Benkin lobbying for him? :-)

    • Robbie, I think the conversation in the other thread has hit rock bottom :)

      Zafa, Salam Dhaka, I think the charges against Shoiab are starting to get some meat on the bones. Dr. Benkin has been rather busy for his client. I wonder how many folks in Bangladesh actually know about the connection between Benkin and Babar from the filings in the US.

      Another thing to track down is this "Christopher Giddings" of the Asian Tribune. My money is that it is a pseudonym for some Bangladeshi writer. I have an obvious guess but it needs to be run down first. The two pieces he wrote praising Babar and Tareque are quite hilarious - the most sycophantic Bengali would have to work hard to heap such praise.

      Like I said, there is definitely some there there.

    • Group Captain Mandrake

      Great digging, Mash–investigative journalism at its best. This deal just keeps getting more interesting.

    • sharon

      Why are you trying to discredit Dr. Benkin? He, I believe is very sincere, and has helped Mr. Choudhury. Mr. Choudhury tries to fight propaganda and is an honest man.

    • Sharon, I think his record speaks for itself.

    • Sajjad Jahir

      Benkin should repent for his role during BNP-Jamaat raj.

    • Sajjad Jahir

      Sharon is very much wrong. Shoaib is the most dishonest person I ever came across. Less than two years ago, he was in New York hotel where a number of high profile businessmen and lobbyists were giving him awards. Shoaib, the crook was sitting side by side with the Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel. In his speech, Shoaib made up a story of a fourteen year Jewish girl in Chittagong being raped. He knew it was a big lie, but he wanted to dramatize bringing persecution of Jews in Bangladesh. He was challenged by a Bengali guy and could not give any good answer for his lie. Read the following essay:
      http://deshivoice.blogspot.com/2009/04/karma-chameleon-salah-uddin-shoaib.html

    • Jordan

      I saw Mr Choudhury speak at Rutgers during his most recent US tour. Mr. Choudhury was invited by various Jewish student groups at the school. I knew that something was strange when only Rutgers and Yale invited him to speak. An outspoken Muslim friend of Israel! Jailed and beaten for his beliefs! This should have been so interesting that Jewish student groups would be climbing over to invite him to speak. As a former Hillel event leader I thought about contacting my alma matter and telling them that they had to bring him - thank god I didn't.

      At the talk, I naively remarked to the girl next to me that he seemed to be in remarkable physical health for someone who had been severely beaten so many times. I detected no limps or scars. I generally am an obsessive googler of any person or talk that I am going to meet, as I believe that it is always beneficial to have context, but in this case I had been too busy in the days before the talk. While sitting there I started research him and Benkin through my phone's web browser, which is when I came across this blog. As an American Jew who made great sacrifices to move to Israel and serve in the IDF, there are few people who can claim to be bigger supporters of Israel than I. As such I was deeply embarrassed when I started putting the pieces together and realized what a sham this was. Mr. Choudhury's "talk" was nothing more than a diatribe against the Arab and Muslim worlds, in such simplistic and exaggerated terms as to be insulting to anyone with a hint of intelligence, let alone an esteemed university. I am a relatively right-wing Israeli voter - I voted for Ariel Sharon over Ehud Barak (although more recently chose Tzipi Livni over Bibi Netanyahu) and am doubtful about the viability of the two-state solution - but this was so low that I felt dirty and complicit just listening to it. When his "speech" ended after only 10-15 minutes I got up and left before the questions and the love-fest began.

      It's been a month and I am still embarrassed to have fallen for this ruse.

    • Jordan

      I should also add that this story is so bizarre that I feel even Kafka could not have made it up.

    • Between me and my husband we've owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I've settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.

    • Marlene

      I agree that this person is a total liar, cheat and phony. He steals money from people. I am a USA journalist and I want to expose him. Research of BD documents would help. Please write to me at msgrnbrg@aol.com if you want to help with this.

    • Surprisee Admin , i read with ur posting. LOL Please come to my blog

    Source:
     
     
     


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    [chottala.com] “Deshi Misty & Pitha Utsab” (Festival of Traditional Sweets and Cake) on Saturday, 12 February, 2011 at the Embassy



    Dear all

    We are pleased  to inform that  the Embassy of  Bangladesh in Washington, DC  will organize  "Deshi Misty & Pitha Utsab" (Festival of Traditional Sweets and Cake) on Saturday, 12 February, 2011 at the Embassy (3510 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC-20008). The Embassy family will put up stalls, and  there  will be an array of items  on sale during the Festival( 6pm -9 pm).

    All are cordially invited to attend the event  which is  being organized  by the Bangladesh Embassy for the first time.


    Sincerely,


    Muhammad Nazmul Hoque

    First Secretary & HOC




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    [chottala.com] MUJIB IN SHAHED ALI’S DEATH: A CHAIR HIT THE DEPUTY SPEAKER’S HEAD



     

    MUJIB IN SHAHED ALI'S DEATH: A CHAIR HIT THE DEPUTY SPEAKER'S HEAD

    Abid Bahar

     

    Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the most admired and at the same time controversial leader of Bangladesh who after his return from Pakistan was awarded "the father of the nation" title by the AL but lost the title again after his installation of one party BKSAL dictatorship. Mujib was also killed by freedom fighters, but even after his death he continued to draw respect from the AL that previously named him as most revered the Bangabandhu (the friend of Bengal).

     

    Research on his life shows Mujib's career took off mainly after he founded the Chatro League. For his non-student like behavior however, he was also expelled from Dhaka University. Despite his rough road to success it was Mujib who presented the historic 7th March  Jodi "If" speech.

     

    Despite all his great accomplishments over decades, witnessing the violent Chatro League and Jubo League cadre politics in Mujib' post liberation anarchic rule that was revived during Hasina's rule, scholars on Sheikh dynasty wonder whether Mujib the "father of the nation" also the founding father of Chatro League was also the founding father of violence in Bangladesh politics.
     

    Kamruddin Ahamed, a contemporary writer of Mujib's early years in politics shows that Mujib used fistfight in election centres during the United Front election to fight against his opponents. Today we see Chatro League cadres openly fight with guns to ward off the opposition members from voting centres. Immediately after Hasina took over power in 2008, Awami League cadres among other places and university campuses occupied the BNP Ramna office. Tofossal Hossain Manik Mia, of the daily Ittifaq notes in his book that Mujib regularly used widespread blackmailing and rumor as a tool to put down his opponents position.

     

    New information came to the surface that Mujib was also involved in Shahed Ali's death, which led to the dissolution of the United Front government and the Martial Law by Ayub in Pakistan. Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia reveals that Mujib's conspiracy to end Fazlul Haque led United Front was motivated by his greater interest to serve his party, the Awami League. Mujib latter confessed that to Manik Mia such move was necessary to serve Awami League's interest. It is a known fact that Mujib always prioratised with his party interest over the people's interest as testified also by Ataur Rahman Khan, mentioned in Abul Mansur Ahamed in his book. If this is true, it seems that very early on Mujib was showing the signs of a fascist, that fascists use their part apparatus to oppress people. 

     

    Shahed Ali's death

    -----------------------

    It was "20th September 1958, the date scheduled for reopening the East Pakistan Legislative Assambly…"

    "Speaker Abul Halim complained to President Mirza that he had been threatned with physical violence by Awami League leaders including Mujib if he entered the Legislative building."

     

    "Despite the threats he did assume the Speaker's chair when the assembly convened. But legislators began physically assaulting each other, liberally using as weapons whatever they could find to hand, including microphones and staff bearing the national standard. The Speaker shouted out an adjoinment order and fled the chambers. As the Awami League members refused to obey that order, Deputy Speaker Shahed Ali took over."

    On 23 October, "despite illness and reluctance to get embroiled in the Awami League's disputes with its critics, Shahed Ali Conceded…" Missiles including parts of the chamber's furniture were thrown and a chair hit the Deputy Speaker in the head." These (injured) men, (Mujib was not one of them) and the Deputy Speaker were taken to hospital where two days later, Shahed Ali expired." There was a gang of six Awami League members who were instrumental at throwing chairs with Sarkar and his loyalists; one of the chairs hit Shahed Ali.

    During this time, Mujib was starting to be the driving force within the Awami League the Party now slowly being taken over by Suhrowarthy. Realizing this trend Bhasani previously left Awami League to start a new party called the NAP. 

    During this time, it was a uncivil behavior of politicians "who apparently unable to either constitutionally rule the country or manage the political differences in a civil fashion." 

    " On 7th October. Mirza proclaimed Martial Law throughout the country and appointed Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator, handing him the state's executive powers."

     It was also the end of Bengali people's United Front. Surprisingly, Mujib was brought to politics by Suhrowarthy but before the latter's death he in an article published in the Ittifaq about Mujib's growing cadre style violent power politics and its future implications. True, Mujib's style "was my way or no way politics." The life of Mujib shows, Mujib was not such a naïve politician, as most people would think of. He repeatedly reminded his close associated that he knew what was doing. The source of his success and also his failure during the post liberation period (the rise and fall) was due his reliance on cadre politics.

     

    It is true, Mujib couldn't compromise with the West Pakistani leaders on his six point demands especially on having separate currencies. While Mujib's 7th March Speech followed by Bhasani's 9th March Speech prepared the nation to fight for independence against Pakistani army but alas after the 7th Mujib continued negotiation and he dressed up to surrendered on 25th March and his family remained safe in Dhaka but a genocide was carried out by the Pakistani army on the ordinary citizens. Mujib returns back from Pakistan to claim for himself the "father of the Nation."

     

    During the post liberation period Mujib establishes a one party BKSAL rule and bans all the opposition newspapers, ruins the economy by his cadres and a "man-made" famine was there in 1974 when a hundred thousand people lost their lives. As an inefficient administrator favouring his cadres like Golam Mostafa, he brought the name for Bangladesh as the "bottomless basket case."

     

    Today as we look back for the sources of cadre politics in Bangladesh, we see Mujib the founding father of Chatro League, the member of the gang of six at Shahed Ali's death who was also the man who killed the infant democracy in Bangladesh.

     

     In 1975 after Sheraj Sikder's capture, Sikder was brought to Dhaka at the Rakkhi Bahini head quarter where Mujib personally "talked to him" before giving order to kill him. After Sikder's killing without trial, Mujib like a thug but now with the title"Father of the nation" standing at the Parliament boostfully said, "Sheraj Sikder, where are you now?"He aso said " Jatir pitha hoichee bolea noitho Lal ghora dabaidetam."

     

    Mujib's such assertions no doubt rings the bell about his unique style politics that runs in the Awami League political tradition. But while Shahed Ali died within two days after his head injuries, Mujib survived long but died within the same year as Seraj Sikder. Despite Mujib's many significant contributions, not surprisingly Mujib's legendry thug style cadre politics, also known to the contemporary political analysts as his "fascist political style"while made him adorable through propaganda only during his Awami League in power, however, the wise Khalida of the BNP keeps herself  allof from the Awami League's frenzy showing respect to Mujib perhaps to remind the nation that Mujib style politics running in Hasina's tradition is the root of all evil ruinning Bangladesh. True, remembering Hasina, the like father like daughter, we see her pledge when she said "for one dead body, you will see there would be ten dead bodies of the opposition members." True, in 2008, on open daylight there were 10 people killed in front of the Baitul Mokarrum ground by Awami League cadres. Thus, following Mujib style power politics, Hasina Awami League's tradition of finding enemies within Bangladesh and friends for connectivity outside continues.

     

    References:

    Kamruddin Ahamed, Banglar Ak Modhubetter Atho Kahini (Bengali), Dhaka.p. 1-4, 15, 1979;

    Mujib's Role on the 25th March

    http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/photo.php?fbid=129324207126151&set=a.106033789455193.4807.100001457183148&pid=174105&id=100001457183148

     

     Toffozal Hossain Manik Mia, Pakistani Rajnitir Bish Botshor, pp. 68-69, 86-87, 90-91 talks about Mujib's widespread use of blackmailing intimidation and force to push through his agenda.

     Abid Bahar's recently published book SEARCHING FOR BHASANI, CITIZEN OF THE WORLD, 2010, p. 209. The director in charge of the Radio station was Kamal Lohani recorded that Mujib personally warned Lohani not to give Bhasani grand coverage as a hero at Bhasani's return from India. He was very annoyed with Lohani. But openly Mujib showed great respect for Bhasani. It seems that the clever Mujib used Bhasani whenever needed.

    A large part of the book (originally from Abid Bahar's Ph.D. dissertation "The Religious and Philosophical basis of Bhasani, 203, Concordia University)discusses about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

     Article: Abid Bahar, Bangabandu Mujib and Benito Mussolini: Striking Similarities, http://bangladesh- web.com/view. php?hidRecord= 218125

    Book: Abid Bahar's online book :An Illustrated history of Bangabandhu and Bangladeshhttp://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/bdresearchers/message/4231http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/13272772/1942031688/name/Book,+An+Illustrated+History+of+Bangabandu+and+Bangladesh.doc

    Amartya Sen, Poverty and Famines (Famine in Bangladesh, p. 131), New

    York: Oxford University Press,

    Badruddin Umar on Sheikh Mujib's role in Language Movement

    http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/02/04/16926

    Bangladesh Strategic Studies

    http://www.bdsdf.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=4601&st=15

     

     Mujib's Lost Page

    http://www.savebd.com/articles/mujibs-lost-page/

     Major Dalim's Story about Why they attacked Mujib in 1975:

    Article:

    Major Dalim says: "My self and my wife were kidnapped by Gazi Golam Mustafa (taken to Mujib's house)"

    Check the following link:

    Link:

    Abid Bahar, Mujib is a Social Disease in the Chatro League

    Abid Bahar, Bangabandu Vs. Mussolini of Italy: Striking Similarities

    S. Mahmud Ali, Understanding Bangladesh, http://books.google.com/books?id=FD2KzBG1ejwC&lpg=PA25&dq=shahid+ali+deputy+speaker&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q=shahid%20ali%20deputy%20speaker&f=false

    Abid Bahar, Tajuddin's Prophecy
    Abid Bahar, Dhaka is not the Fools's Capital
     
     
     
     


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