Blogger. Twitter Legend. Movieopath. Humility personified. Occasional member of the civil society. Lover. Writer. Photographer. Traveller. Designer. Strategist. Barrister by education. Businessman for money. Oooh - also a cool & sexy Zen Master. In my head, I am the president of the world. Damn you irony & karma! Thousands of posts, so keep scrolling for them to appear. Formal bio in pages section. Like, reblog or share if you like. Thanks for visiting.
I keep looking at this and wondering if I’m watching babies drown… It’s slightly disturbing…
Source: derindengirenler
The Savar tragedy, RMG industry and Bangladesh | Dhaka Tribune f
The Savar tragedy is a symbol of our failure as a nation. The crack in Rana Plaza that caused the collapse of the building has only shown us that if we don’t face up to the cracks in our state systems, we as a nation will get lost in the debris of the collapse.Today the souls of those who lost their lives in Rana Plaza are watching what we are doing and listening to what we say. The last breath of those souls surrounds us. Did we learn anything at all from this terrible massacre? Or will we have completed our duty by merely expressing our deep sympathy?
(via masvki)
Source: earth-song
OMG Facts *official tumblr*: There's a filesharing network made up of USB Flash drives scattered around the world! f
There’s a filesharing network made up of USB Flash drives scattered around the world!
There’s a network of around 1000 USB flash drives scattered around the world, devised as a public file sharing project. Started by Aram Bartholl in 2010, project Dead Drops has grown to be one of the most…
Source: omgfactsofficial
Banana Republicans: Time to pick a side
By Matthew Islam (for Dhaka Tribune’s Op-Ed section as printed May 7th, 2013 and alternatively online by clicking the following DhakaTribune.com)
There is a very contemporaneous quote by Roy Barnes that is worth considering today: “We are all one or at least we should be — and it is our job, our duty, and our great challenge to fight the voices of division and seek the salve of reconciliation.”
Division is the poison that destroys nations. It has done so in the past and it continues to do so now. This is common knowledge to most.
Yet, we all participate in divisiveness quite actively. Why? How much more blood need be spilled before we understand the destructive nature of the beast whose belly we now live in?
I have educated friends from all spheres, my twitter friends and those on facebook — who have chosen sides in the politics we see unfolding in front of us today and I find it flabbergasting that they do not recognise a simple fact that no one is without blame and our system is totally broken; that if you choose sides, you are doing a disservice to your nation, fellow countrymen, your moral standards, and intelligence, and selling yourself short.
You are acquiescing to unknown people with unknown agendas, to parties and movements that truly deep down you do not and cannot, by standards of decency, support.
Awami League, BNP, Jatiyo Party, Jamaat etc, who really has ever fought for the betterment of this country lately? Ask yourself that. You look at the recent history of this nation and its clear, they have only ever fought and shown leadership for their own survival and all their means are directed to that end. How much more blatant do their activities, misrepresentations and buffoonery have to be for you to say: “You know what, my support of this system is insulting to me.”
The prime minister extends an olive branch, the country appreciates the effort, and then we end up with an ultimatum. All this has happened before and will surely continue into the future. They cannot bring themselves to sit on a table together to improve their own working environment because of inflated egos and score settling, and you expect them to fight for you?
Therefore unless you have an intention to launch a party of your own and gather like-minded good people, and have the strength and fortitude, both monetarily and organisationally, to push through reforms, I suggest you go about your daily lives ignoring politics altogether.
Forgive me for being a naysayer, but you can only be actively helpful to your country when you first shut off from contributing to the ongoing poisonous rhetoric and admit that the system is rigged and broken. I am saving you the pain and recurrent disappointment.
I implore you, the least you can do to help this sham of a democracy, lest it get worse, is to not participate.
Yes, in an age when everyone encourages one to participate, I am advocating that you do not participate. I am asking you to be a cynic, a skeptic. I am asking you to seek answers. I am asking you to value your democratic right. Don’t vote either.
I ask this because your voice is being misconstrued to mean that you support those active in politics today. You are fueling their power. Well, I am fed up with that. No one represents me in our politics and they do not represent you, either. When someone tells you otherwise, ridicule them. Tell them your support is valuable. That your voice is not on sale and you have little wish to sell out cheaply.
The killing, arson, looting, political bickering, lies, insensitivity, cruelty, fights and protests will as usual continue to be a part of our lives but at least it will not have your support and your conscience will be clear.
So I am asking you to pick a side and the side I am asking you to pick is your own and if you have any hope left, then in earnest, back your country. Only when you pick that side and admit to yourself we have a problem, can you truly begin to fight the division that poisons Bangladesh.
Matthew Islam is a Barrister-at-Law and CEO, Profusion Textiles.
The realm of the eff-able | Dhaka Tribune f
“The latest shenanigans of Hefazat must have the famous philosopher Søren Kierkegaard rolling in his grave. To Kierkegaard, the concept of God is rooted in infinity, and by implication cannot be comprehended through words invented by human beings who are, in contrast, finite.” Click link above to continue.
BANGLADESH, Dhaka : Islamists run as Bangladeshi police fire rubber bullets towards demonstrators during clashes with Islamists in Dhaka on May 5, 2013. “At least one person was shot dead and 35 people were injured,” police sub-inspector Rokon, who uses one name, told AFP. Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka police Sheikh Nazmul Alam would only confirm that they fired rubber bullets to disperse unruly protesters. Hundreds of thousands of hardline Islamists demanding a new blasphemy law blocked major highways cutting off the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka from the rest of the country, police said. AFP PHOTO/Munir uz ZAMAN
Source: afp-photo
Bucket List!!!!!
Unobstructed view of the Mont Blanc at “Le Panoramique” restaurant in Le Brévent, Chamonix, France. Photo by Lu Chien-Ping)
Source: theblackworkshop
Introducing Photos of You
Photos are memories of the people, places and moments that mean the most to us. We have always sought to give you simple and expressive ways to bring the stories behind your photos to life. Your captions and hashtags capture the “what?” and your Photo Map answers the “where?” but until today we’ve never quite been able to answer the “who?”.
Today, we’re excited to introduce Photos of You and bring you a new way to share and discover stories on Instagram. When you upload a photo to Instagram, you’re now able to add people as easily as you add hashtags. Only you can add people to your photos, so you have control over the images you share. And it doesn’t stop at people—you can add any account on Instagram, whether it’s your best friend, favorite coffee shop or even that adorable dog you follow.
There will now be a Photos of You section on your profile. When someone adds you to a photo, you’ll receive a notification and the photo will appear in your Photos of You. Want to make sure you like the photo first? No problem: you can easily adjust your settings so nothing appears on your profile until you approve it. Before your Photos of You section is visible to other people, you’ll have until May 16th to play around and get used to the feature. You can find more information about how Photos of You works and how to control your visibility at help.instagram.com.
Instagram for iOS version 3.5 is currently available for download in Apple’s App Store, and Instagram for Android version 3.5 is now available on Google Play.
Source: instagram
Who will speak for the dead? Demand an end to violence | Dhaka Tribune f
For all our pride and arrogance-filled daily bedroom rants against those who have destroyed our nation, we forget that we are part of the problem.
Our tacit acceptance of tragic events and our short-term memory is absolutely unforgivable.
This is a democracy. We are as much to blame for the state of our nation as any other actor in the demise of civility as a whole. We no longer value life or truth in any real sense of the words. Both of which must be held as a sacred standard for any developed society to flourish.
Why are we not disgusted to the point of doing something, at the death of our brothers, rape of our sisters, murders of officers on duty, killings of innocent citizens and those lost in countless accidents every day?
We must re-tune ourselves to the reality that surrounds us and not be as detached as we seem to be at this point in time. We must fight the gamification of violence that pervades every sphere of life in Bangladesh.
We can get thousands to demonstrate in Lungis for rickshawallahs in Baridhara, but we can’t gather numbers for people dying every day as a result of political violence?
A man dying in Fatikchhari or Fatulla should be as disturbing to us as a neighbour or family member falling victim to a crime.
Who will speak for the dead and maimed if we all stay in agreed silence, or pick sides?
I have been asked before of what anyone could possibly do in a country like ours, citing countless examples of failed attempts and my response is to keep trying. It is important to not stop until you get a response.
We must demand an end to violence. That should be a primary social priority now.
Write to your MP and the prime minister. Stage a demonstration truly devoid of political lineage. Take a little bit of time out to open a blog and gather support.
Make your voice heard on Twitter. Call your nearest television channel and newspaper and demand they cover your concerns.
Make yourself heard on Facebook. Tell ten people you are friends with to voice their concerns daily in some public forum. Call out anyone who directly or indirectly defends violence.
Seek nothing but the truth to be recognised, and justice for those who have passed away, and an end to confrontational politics! Seek constitutional reforms that ban such confrontations.
Simplify your arguments; ask for an end to the violence, is it really that hard for us to do as a society?
That should be a simple enough one point demand. Be a sincere activist; it’s easier now than ever before in our history as a species.
Ask yourself why are we a nation that finds it so easy to utilise these matters as a momentary talking point and nothing beyond? At what point, does it all become too much to do something about? Why do we end up politicising the dead?
Why, when we gather in historical numbers to demand justice, as we did in Shahbagh, is it that we don’t do so to end the violence in politics, corruption and other substantive matters?
You have a choice.
Do something about it.
Anything.
Do not let a vocal minority highjack your voice for their own agenda and cite you as an active example of their support base.
Remember that as long as we ignore the truth, devalue the dead as a statistic, and do not take an affront to the depreciation of civility, we will carry on blowing out the candles that give our society light.
Matthew Islam a Barrister-at-Law by education and a blogger at matthewislam.com / He also tweets @matthewislam.
(As published on Dhaka Tribune 21/4/2013)
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