Use of a Government? Khay na pinde?

For a long time now, I've been theorizing that we've completely forgotten why we have a government. We've all gotten so used to paying our own way out of everything, that the 'government' is almost a group of entertainers who go on Sangsad TV and say the darnedest things. Accountability is a fairy tale creature, while Corruption is a way of life.

This freedom from responsibilities given to any Bangladesh government is too painfully clear at this stage of our lives in the backdrop of a few things - trials of war crimes/human rights violation of 1971, Awami League's indemnity due to being in power, the Shahbagh movement which is now called the 'Stage of Mass Awakening', and the violence we're witnessing across the country, especially outside Dhaka.

The way I, an ordinary working man and lunatic, see it, is that the war crimes trials would have taken massive planning to complete successfully. Especially, since if I am the party, then I've been lenient on criminals who work for me, and similarly, to war criminals who work for me, but I am happy to persecute the others. For success, in really wanting a successful rooting out of anti-liberation elements, I'd need to have either been fair to start with, or, planned way ahead using lots of intelligence gathering and precautions to avoid a violent situation, knowing very well that one particular opponent in the arena, have a knack for it just like me!

If I had security considerations, and knowing the violence-knacked-opponent, I also would not have allowed the Shahbagh to carry on, instead of using it to poke that violent beast and to put more ordinary people in harm's way.

BAL was never one to play down their 'party' identity even while holding the majority in parliament. Every hartal, we've seen their party members taking law into their own hands, right in front of the police. It is commonly alleged that the police is a force that was built largely using political leaning as a criteria. Even if it wasn't, they sure do let the BAL guys do what they want in front of them! In such times, when you hear the Queen mother ask us (the general people) to form 'defense committees' in every area, its everyone's guess that it would mean defense committeees comprising of these same BAL guys who have that knack. Whereas before,  I could say they were unlawful, now, its the Queen's calling!

The government has been given their rights by us the voters and taxpayers, and they usually have 'responsibilities' in most countries. Security in the wake of a 40 year late war crimes trial, combined with the criminals in question all being active in politics should've been of utmost importance. This should be counted in their tally of failures.

Note: The photo was the cover of a documentary titled My Architect, about Louis Isadore Kahn the architect. The film was created by his son.

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Hateful Inspirations

I hate it that I am inspired to write these long, meandering posts about politics, which lose meaning pretty quickly.

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Eye for an eye (Seven Psychopaths)

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Billboard Hits at Dhaka

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Interesting Times - Crimes and War Crimes (Continues)

Our interesting times continue. What started small, has now taken a form as large as could've been seen in the past decade in Bangladesh. No people were brought over there by political cadres on trucks with promises of  cash and free meals. The call went out over the social channels - Facebook and blogs, and what happened is largely documented there and also on video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Photos are flooding the internet and the print media is also enjoying covering this.

Shahbagh Square, it is being called (and in some places "Projonmo Chottor" or "Generation Square"), deriving from Tehrir Square and how a massive amount of people gathered there in protest. But unlike the latter, this was not opposing the government. Not once in the 3 days.

Not once? Even though the tribunal was thought by many to be greatly politicized by the government? That could've been changed if just one of the slogans asking for the hanging of Kader Mollah would be replaced by the question - Why wasn't he given the death sentence? Why, when Abul Kalam Azad was!? (esp. since he went missing before he could be arrested) (Can also read: সময়ের প্রতিবিম্ব: ফাঁসি কেন হলো না, জানতে চাই)

The square is illustrated with colors and paintings and long signature sheets and they are all calling for one thing only - the death sentence for all of the traitors of the independence movement of 1971. It is worthy cause, since their actions of that time led to genocide and those tales make you shudder in horror. But even then, I was waiting slowly again to see one banner or read about one shout that acknowledged that current times are not rosy, or that this movement doesn't stop with the war crime trials and banning of Jamaat-e-Islami. Surely we need to rid of this stigma of having among us those who do not believe in the sovereignty and the future of Bangladesh. At many times during the day, I felt strong urges to rush out and join the crowd, and the next questioning, why would I just ask for this? Just this? Are they all happy with how things have been running then? Who am I asking justice from? This movement is placed in a manner where its easily hijacked by the government.  Even though major members of the government were not allowed, and no political banners were allowed in the gathering, the last day did see a big presence of the pro-BAL intellectuals. The government is  showering praises on this generation in parliament and discussing submitting an appeal to get the death sentence to replace life-long imprisonment. As one editorial opines, this event seems a definite win-win. Are we just after mob justice then? Since we aren't questioning the mild sentence, just asking for the killing of the criminal over what the courts passed as judgement?

The positive thing of this gathering is that its big, its spirit has spread beyond Dhaka. I suppose an anti-corruption, safe roads, or good roads (we really don't have good roads anywhere and thats why the newly built Hatirjheel was our recent love affair), or  or pro-democracy* gathering might not have seen such unity. And they seem to be taboo now that we have a mass gathering, which is kind of sad. On the other hand, if anyone thought this would go over as a mild political drama, they were wrong! I believe it shakes things up a bit, a little bit, while being safe and pro-government. I would still want to see people rise from the core to get above ALL things that are adverse in our public life and for being a civilized and progressive society.

As it says in the song:
আমাদের যেন সব ছুয়ে যায়


Meanwhile:
Padma Bridge levy on cards 
(Mobile phones, air tickets, land sales among a dozen items on provisional NBR list)
জাহাঙ্গীরনগর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ছাত্রলীগ: লজ্জা!

সময়চিত্র: রায়ে কি বিস্মিত আমি! 

BAU closed after boy killed in BCL infighting

(Villagers set fire to halls, univ unit Chhatra League dissolved)

* You're kidding if you think we already have a democracy!

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Interesting Times at Bangladesh - Crimes, and War Crimes

A roommate once cooked something, or recommended a movie, I forget, to which I replied:
"Interesting!"

She just gave me a smile that let me know that she knows I am being nice to avoid saying I didn't think it was good! When, I title this post as "Interesting Times" - it is totally in that context.

I was just reading an article titled Sweatshop Garments Drag All of Us Down, which starts off with a little story from 102 years ago in New York, USA:

The turning point in the United States was the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, when 146 garment workers — mostly women seamstresses — were burned to death when an exit gate was purposely locked.

The article describes the reaction that incident caused from a huge number of people that ultimately led to reforms in laws and ensuring better protection for workers. That is an important result that we should be learning from considering the fires that are continually claiming lives of workers here. The thing to realize, is that businesses will be businesses, with their eye on profits, and it falls on a government to make sure the rights of the general people which includes workers, are set and protected.

Issues like this are all around us now in Bangladesh, but its amazing that most of us are not aware of our rights and what we can expect from the government. Two highly revered economists a few weeks ago tried to tell us on a TV show that the 'growth' stats that the government throws in the face of its critics can take place very much in spite of them. My own feeling is that the government hasn't taken very many steps to ensure growth of new entrepreneurs and in fact, that they step in the way only to move aside for a price. In USA today, big businesses are very influential, but they also have a culture of startups and small businesses. Big businesses are after all, now taking their production off USA to countries where their cost of production will come down. Again, on this end, we are relying on a pressure created from abroad, rather than local, to ensure our workers have a safe and just workplace.

I am now writing this from home while a hartal is underway. Called by the Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose many "top" members are on trial for war crimes of 1971. But they have on their side a factor that helped ease them into mainstream Bangladesh, despite their past - religion. Religion, namely Islam, is the religion of the masses here and that remains the one thing that can create a visible reaction - unlike workers dying in factory fires, unlike students being tortured by police, unlike any other issue that should create a massive uproar. The YouTube ban is an example. Jamaat's religious base helped them get a big following across the country who upholds their religious identity more than their national or any other. That resulted in them being invited into alliances time and again when the elections came and numbers mattered. They are also known to command a good financial hold.

Just like religion trumps most social issues we should've cared about, the war crimes trial is in a similar way clouding our already clouded consciences from other things happening around us. War crimes included murder, rape, and destruction. Each of those are still carrying on in this independent country of ours. Whereas to me it seems like the last ticket the ruling government holds over this country's people for a second term in office is this war crimes trial, its also a maneuver in the overall game to foil the chances for their arch nemesis, BNP. Meanwhile, the ruling party cadres are instructed openly to take to the streets on hartal days to protect the 'people', whereas just weeks ago a young boy named Biswajit was brutally stabbed to death by these people-protectors on suspicion of being a Jamaat-e-Islami! There were heart wrenching photos of that in the papers, and accounts of how he begged for his life, and tried to make them aware that he was hindu. The irony is almost forgotten. Even the police stand by while these party people go on showing their weapons - batons, guns or swords. Either the people don't know how to speak up against these things, or these events don't register in the heads of people as being serious enough for any thought for a significant amount of time. Right now, we just naively sit home and hope for justice from the war crimes.

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Us and Them

They've been establishing a political culture for ages now, and the citizens have over the days just tried to stay out of trouble and live a happy life considering themselves to be outside the effects of the political world. They paid taxes, the necessary bribes to get public services, and enjoyed the occasional voting rights the system allowed them.

Meanwhile, slowly, we've been losing the intellectual capacity for 'opinions' and critical thought, further facilitating this political culture where there are strong talks of strengthening 'education' and 'zero tolerance' for corruption, whereas culturally we're harboring 'mediocrity' in every sphere.

It would fall on the media and the people to stay connected and oppose this culture as one, but sadly, none of them are that strong.

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Democrisis.

The west is adamant that the east should have Democracy. Sure! I say, its a good ideology. Starts with "by the People, for the People... " and other goodness. However, what we get here instead, is worse than what the west ended up when theirs mixed with capitalism and corporate interests.

Since we failed to have education that leads to a moral society, rule of law, and a justice system, we ended up with "By the politician (and their friends), for the politicians (and their friends), ..." and so on. This latter phrasing of what is usually toted as the principle of democracy was however nicked from an editorial piece by Abul Moksud. You may (and should) read it here.

The watchdogs from the international arenas have problems with many things we do, except this new found implementation of Democracy.

Related:
No Faith in Democracy

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Junk Mail Greatest Hits

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Savior of Bangla Cinema

.... .... ... Or so I am told. 

And the age old question, "What is love?"

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Just Wasn't Fair, Damini! Biswajit!

The world isn't fair to a lot of people. That may mean a person dies of an unexpected car accident, an unexpected heart attack could claim the life of a seemingly well-functioning health nut, one could lose his life savings at the hands of a close friend and eloping wife, or it could mean you are beaten and stabbed to death from a political case of mistaken identity, or you are gang raped in a bus that is circling the city you call home, to die in its arms a few days later.

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Word of the Day: Euphony

eu·pho·ny

[yoo-fuh-nee]

noun, plural eu·pho·nies.

agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words: the majestic euphony of Milton's poetry.

[Source: Dictionary.com]

I picked it up from a forum where I guess it was wrongfully used in place of 'epiphany'. The definition to be defines the effect of reading Edgar Allan Poe.

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Beware the Wide-Eyed Optimist

As a loon, I am quite suspicious of the sane population, especially those wide-eyed optimists who insist the country is a beautiful place and that we're superior to so many countries around us.

Age is one factor that prevents these people from joining the legions of us loons. In fact, I can testify to the fact that I am much more the lunatic now than I was a few notches back. And I see a lot of the shades of positivity and compliance in a lot of the younger folks that I used to possess. Now and then I also meet the fascinating characters who have stayed those shades even at an age in proximity to my own! Well, Hallelujah!

I also, have lots of opinions about that, loony as they may be, that the wide-eyed optimism is harming us, - not doing us any good. As with the wide-eyed of any age, there seems to be a tendency to forget or forgive the authorities from any duty or accountability. If only having an increased number of cell phones on our hands, less child mortality and and sustained level of growth were enough to make our lives better, I imagine I would feel it. Maybe the wide eyed ones feel it, and I would only extend to them, my jealousy and admiration, but I don't perceive we're getting any better. I only see, in contrast to their views, a drop in every humane indicator (compassion, respect, courtesy, honesty and the like), and a drop in my sense of security* (yes even with all of our fine top-gun sunglassed policemen, RAB and armed police and their exposed weapons big and small, and their check posts**).

I would even go as far as saying that these wide-eyed-ness is a threat to our road to developing out of this mire of corruption and bureaucratic vertigo.


* Actual security and the sense of security, I think are different. I haven't died yet from a stabbing or got robbed of my car or belongings, which might mean I am secure, but I don't feel its very hard to die from a stabbing or get robbed, and I don't feel I can get justice if it should come to that - that's the 'sense of security'.

** Sometimes giving me the impression of this being Palestine or Iraq!

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Art of Talking (or Spaking*)

From watching this program to that during this eid holiday, a noticeable thing was the way people on TV are talking. Being able to describe someone as 'articulate' is tough these days, unless you have someone like Abdullah Abu Sayeed as a guest or presenter. There are not just problems with phrasing and vocabulary, but also with pronunciations. A regional dialect is hardly meant for a national TV channel anywhere in the world, but even from our news reporters, we hear such speech.

During a better part of the morning, we were mesmerized by the stories told by Saadi Mohammad on '71 - Ekattor TV's Facebook Page (a channel), on a live music show hosted by Alif Alauddin. The show was very entertaining where the songs were being presented on the self-narrated timeline of Saadi Mohammad's life (though prompted by the host), starting with his childhood, to first growing a liking to Tagore music after hearing Hemanta Mukherjee on the radio, to his time at Santiniketon as a student and so on. He also mentioned how pronunciation was an issue with some of his students. People may tell me off for criticizing someone for having a dialect on the news, but what happens when people are trying to sing a song? It makes for temporary comedy, but on a larger scheme of things, its sad. Saadi Mohammad himself mentioned at that point of the show, that its nice to hear someone articulating thoughts and emotions properly, especially for singers and people on television, but really, for everyone (even a prime minister, he proceeded to mention).

Having seen that, when later at night, we see an interview of Ananta Jalil by Munni Shaha, its frustrating.

Ananta Jalil, with all his money and stunts, thinks he has found the formula for good movies, and is out there to claim that he is a properly educated inidividual who has passed O' and A' Levels, and has a bachelors in business (BBA) from the UK (though its commonly known that they provide BComm and not BBA). These claims are meant to throw off everyone who says he has pronunciation poblems (he is often heard with a silent 'r' when it should appear after a 'p') in both Bangla and English.

On the other side of the ring was Munni Shaha, who is a senior reporter for ATN News, and conducts a lot of interviews. Ignoring her annoying nasal voice and frequent 'ehhh's when shes browsing her vocabulary mid-sentence, she (like a few others) has a habit of trying to put words into the mouths of her guests. All in all, it was a pretty bad show of where we are, and who gets to be on our 'media'.

Thats another thing, I see a lot of so-called celebrities, refer to themselves as 'people of the media'. I don't get that! Its like they are trying to elevate themselves to somewhere or something, their own little planet. It just sounds weird to me.

Related:

* Ananto Jalil @ Radio Foorti 88.0 - with English Subtitle

Lawmakers should talk and behave with dignity says Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed

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Nillohiter Ayna (Nillohit'r Mirror)

Its been a dismal year. And I say it again today as the news of Sunil Gangapadhyay (সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায়)'s death reaches us. I have a feeling of loss even though I have read just one of his books, and a few poems.

Translated in English with a still from the movie used as the cover. Buy

I am reminded of the first book that I read of his, a novella titled "Nillohiter Ayna" (নীললোহিতের আয়না), which had a great impression on me. I was still at school at the time, and our bangla teacher convinced that none of us (Chittagong, 'O' levels in the 90s, new school ~ 8 students in my class) was reading much, and to prove it, he said, bring me 4 of your favorite bangla books. I still can't recall what books I brought to class that day except the aforementioned. And I don't know what his plan was when he took those books, and never returned them!

Like often the case with me, I am left with just an impression from a film or a book, having forgotten everything else, but that. Its an abstract sensation that I couldn't express in words, but its one that will cause me to want to get it back. On many trips to bookstores I have asked for it, looked for it, in vain.

Another time, when I had this urge, was for the movie "Pratidwandi"(প্রতিদন্দ্বী), by Satyajit Ray (সত্যজিৎ রায়). This time, it was easier to get it back, and on this occasion it was the first time for my wife to watch it. We were both thoroughly moved with the film. The characters were well made, well directed, and the story of a young individual's struggle with ideologies, effectively told! At the end of that movie, we both noticed that this movie was also adapted from a book by the same name of Sunil. This inspired us to take on another Satyajit Ray/Sunil Gangapadhyay product - Aranyer Dinratri (অরন্যের দিনরাত্রি), which was equally impressive.

I struggle with finding time for books these days, but as people like Sunil pass away, I feel a sense of 'tragedy' in not being able to make time for their books. I have a sense of these times being less and less inspiring for the human race, and with lesser and lesser number of people to grasp these circumstances and to hold it to our faces in the form of literature, film and art.

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Dhaliwood Ways

Dhaliwood Song and Dance, possibly shot outside the country

A lunatic is by definition not attuned to the "real world". On the left, is a shot from a film that was made in our real world - Bangladesh, featuring the one, the only Shakib Khan, who was touted to be the sole actor for our mainstream cinema (Till of course, self proclaimed saviour of cinema, Ananta Jalil [producer, actor, lover, dancer, and stuntman] showed up), and an 'actress' who is wearing a wild ensemble from the Sundarbans in an effort to promote tourism. Though this picture has all the goodness that is cited by most mainstream film producers as necessary for a successful film - Shakib Khan for one, a slightly obese actress who can wear tight clothes and dance, and of course the 'foreign location' where the leading pair can shake their caboose, I don't get it! I leave it upto you lot to please explain, what we've come to accept as our own. I watched many a TV interview and film review programs where these cinema are talked about as the most natural kind of cinema we could have. Of course, I, don't get it!

Try, while I watch this video made from the flash cards my psychologist uses to calm me down.

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Obituary to Peace

How our media can treat such a massive attack on the Buddhist populace as a piece of everyday news, is beyond me. I am ashamed to be part of this society, where these attacks on Buddhist temples and the innocent folks and their houses in Ramu, Ukhia and surrounding places leave its population so unaffected.

I was hoping to see our channels put up a black badge at least to show they felt bad about this violence towards a mass of people from what got shared on one person's Facebook! The government could twist your arms into putting a badge up for their declared 'month of sorrow' in August, but now, it seems you are confused about how you feel, or you don't feel at all! Apathy! How strange was it that the news of this event was also treated like it was nothing! How sad!

Chhi!

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Lau, Kodu

This is all you get! "Lau" and "Kodu" are two names for one vegetable in the Bangla language. And they're used in the "To-may-toes .... Tomuhtoes" sort of expression in the language.

Related:
Good Morning Bangladesh!

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Politicians by Humayun Azad

Cover by Somor Mojumdar

1998 was 15 years ago. 1998 was the year I started university. Before that, I remember long bouts of load-shedding during important exams, or short 3-4 hours of having electricity, and walking around the dark neighborhood at night when studying by the emergency lamps became a headache. Before that I remember walking about 30 minutes to a friend's house to play cricket in the afternoons, whereas I wouldn't walk that same distance to school since school was closed for security reasons. It was the time of the BAL's non-cooperation movement to get 'caretaker government' system in place (which they announced unconstitutional this year). Before that I remember a movement to oust Ershad from his presidency and enjoyed the satiric cartoons that were in Unmad and Cartoon.

As a teen in 1998, I was lightly aware of politics as it existed and it didn't really affect me. I wasn't a taxpayer or a voter. Now, is a different story.

In 1998, Humayun Azad (হুমায়ুন আজাদ) wrote a book titled Politicians (রাজনীতিবিদগণ), which as I read, I see that the bitterness I feel towards the idiosyncrasies I see in politics today, are nothing compared to what he penned down there. The book is satiric too, with fictitious names used to draw real characters and a landscape that reflects the continuing reality of politics in Bangladesh.

Here's what it reads like (going over a to-do list for politicians before an election):

নিম্নলিখিত জিনিসগুলি তাগো দ্যাখতে হইবো, নাইলে চলবো না:

(১) ক্যাডারভাইরা ঠিক আছে কি না, তাগো যন্ত্রপাতি ঠিক আছে কি না, তাগো আরো যন্ত্রপাতি লাগবো কি না, আরো নতুন ক্যাডারভাই লাগবো কি না; ক্যাডারভাইরা অন্য রাজবংশে চইল্যা যাইতে চাইছে কি না- এইটা খারাপ লক্ষণ, এমুন হইলে বোঝতে হইবো ওই রাজবংশই ক্ষেমতায় আসবো; খালি ঢাকা শহরের ক্যাডারভাইদের ঠিক রাখলে চলবোনা, দ্যাশ-এর প্রত্যেইক গ্রাম, প্রত্যেইক ইউনিয়ন, প্রত্যেইক থানার ক্যাডারভাইদের ঠিক রাকতে হইবো; ক্যাডারভাইরা দ্যাশের মূলশক্তি;
(২) ইনভার্সিটির হলগুলি দখলে আছে কি না; ইনভারসিটি দখলে থাকলে আল্লাহর রহমতে দ্যাশ দখল করনে অসুবিধা হইবো না; ইনভারসিটিই বাংলাদেশ, এইটা দখল রাখতে হইবো; এইজইন্যে দুই চাইরটা লাশ পরলেও ক্ষতি নাই;
(৩) নিজেগো রাজবংশ হইতে সুবিধাবাদী রাজপুরুষরা অন্য রাজবংশে চ'লে যাইতেছে কি না, চ'লে যাওনের পথ খোজ্তেছে কি না এইটা দ্যাকতে হইবো;
(৪) অন্য রাজবংশ হইতে ভালো ক্যান্ডিডেট ভাগাইয়া আনন যায় কি না, কারে কারে ভাগাইয়া  আনলে লাব হইবো; কয়টা জেনারেল ব্রিগেডিয়ার মেজর কর্নেল দলে যোগ দিতে চাইছে, কয়টা সেক্রেটারি দলে আসতে চাইছে, কয়টা ব্যাংক ডিফল্টার যোগ দিতে চাইছে, অন্য দলের কয়টা প্রাক্তন মন্ত্রী এমপি মেয়র দলে যোগ দিতে চাইছে, কয়টা নামকরা রাজাকার দলে যোগ দিতে চাইছে, কয়টা রজাকার ভাগাইয়া আনন যাইবো, রাজাকারগো অবস্থা আইজকাইল ভালো;
(৫) কন্ত্রিবিউটাররা ঠিক মতো চান্দা দিতেছে কি না; কে কে চান্দা দেওন বন্ধ করছে, আর কে কে নতুন চান্দা দিতেছে; নতুন কন্ত্রিবিউটার আসলে বোঝতে হইবো দল এইবার জিতবো; চান্দা বেশি কইরা তোলতে হইবো, বেশি চান্দা পাইলে বোঝতে হইবো দল জিতবো;
(৬) দ্যাকতে হইবো ব্যাংক ডিফল্টারগুলি ঠিক আছে কি না; তারা মোটা ট্যাকা দিতেছে কি না, আর কয় কোটি কইরা তাগো থিকা তোলন যাইব; তারা কোন বংশের দিক ঝোকতেছে সেইটা দ্যাকতে হইবো, তারা যেই দিকে ঝোকবো সেই দিকই ক্ষেমতায় আসবো; দ্যাকতে হইবো তাগো কারখানায় ক্যাডারভাই পাঠাইতে হইব কি না;
(৭) ক্যান্ডিডেটরা কে কয় কোটি ট্যাকা দিতে পারবো সেইটা দ্যাকতে হইবো, স্মাগলার পাইলে বোঝতে হইব ভাল মালপানি হাতে আছে, পাচদশ কোটি খসায়তে কস্ট হইব না, তাগো ক্যান্ডিডেট করনই ভালো হইব; আর দ্যাকতে হইব তারা নির্বাচনরে অবাধ নিরপেক্ষ রাইখা ভোটার ভাগাইতে পারবো কি না;
(৮) ডিছি, ওছি, এছ্পি, টএনওগুলিরে ঠিক রাকতে হইবো; অরা ঠিক থাকলে অবাধে ভোটের বাক্স বোঝাই হইবো, নিরপেক্ষতা রক্ষা পাইবো;
(৯) আরও বিবিধ রকম জিনিশ দ্যাকতে হইবো, সময় বুইঝ্যা কাম করতে হইবো|

There are more passages that I feel strongly to share or put out there, and maybe I will. Through his satire he just paints a picture that makes much more sense than what these 'leaders' would like us to believe.

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Political Secrets

Diplomacy. The recipe for diplomacy has secrecy, disguised statements, or sweet nothings. As politics have evolved throughout the world, we've seen how dear they hold their right to secrecy.

In highly educated societies who have a certain level of consciousness and enlightenment, the population has been ascertained certain levels of access or guarantee of openness with regard to public or international policies the state establishes.  At least thats how I perceive how things are, in contrast to living here in Bangladesh, where the politicians word, not matter how far away from reality, is seemingly final and 'true'.

The contrast to everything as it stood came in the form of the Wikileaks/Assange affair. Before that we were able to get government documents out of the USA every 5 or 10 years, a provision by which let us know that the Nixon/Kissinger regime was against granting independence from Pakistan. That seemed like quite a gesture from the biggest or loudest proponent of democracy. Wikileaks however has taken off the tablecloth off of it and now we can see who are rubbing legs or kicking under there.

We saw the website and the founder Julian Assange come under fire not long after major news vendors started peddling articles with information from the leaks. The sites were being taken down and Assange charged with rape! Assange is now eagerly waiting for a way out of his stay at the Ecuador embassy in UK, but being careful still. The man has every reason to be careful, with fear that he might disappear and no one would leak that story.

Seeing these events turn out on my TV screen, I am pressed to believe once more, that politicians are just all alike. I wish I was a psychology major, because I would like nothing better than to study the psyche of these guys in whose hands we put our tax money and all the resources of our lands.

Related:
Assange Is A True Democrat: Chomsky
Assange Extradition Fact Sheet
UK 'withdraws threat' to Ecuador embassy

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