Target Refusing to Pay Victims in Bangladesh

The popular departmental store Target is refusing to compensate the recent fire victims of the garments industry in Bangladesh. Change.org is arduously continuing its advocacy for the rights of the laborers in the developing world as "65,000 people from more than 70 countries call on American corporations with annual profits in the tens of billions to give a minuscule percentage of that to compensate workers killed or injured while making their clothing".

Target's profit is soaring, in the 3rd quarter of 2010, its profit rose 22.6% as the chain store earned 535 million dollars (CBS News). Its annual profit rose to 20 billion dollars. Change.org has already initiated a petition for the victims at the Bangladeshi garment industry that has been signed by almost 68,000 people all over the world.

Is reversing diabetes possible?

The CNN Health news drew a whole lot of negative reaction from the readers as the diabetes has no cure once diagnosed. The headline "Reversing diabetes is possible" seems to be misleading and confusing. Almost 26 million (8.3%) of the US Population have been affected by diabetes. Even patients can not reverse diabetes; they can successfully control its deadly impact by regulating food intake, weight management and physical exercise.

Egypt is burning

Source: Al Jazeerah

• Key things to watch now in Egypt: NPR
• Revolution of the People: MSNBC
• Protesters back on Egypt Streets: Al Jazeerah 
• Cairo falls into near anarchy: The Washington Post
• Mixed reaction in region: CNN

Tribute to 7 Stars of the Challenger

We proudly salute those seven heroes of the Challenger who boarded the shuttle on January 28, 1986. Millions of people were watching on live TV, just to find that after 73 seconds, they would be fallen heroes. Salute to them. Watch a video tribute from NASA:

Privacy Issues for Facebook Users

Almost six months ago in July 2010, Mark Zuckerberg celebrated Facebook's envious success as it reached to 500 million users. Facebook now plays an indispensable social network bridge that is connecting people across the social and geographical boundaries into the virtual world. But, how private and secured is Facebook?

Quick Snow Paralyzed Washington, DC

Fort Hunt Park after the snow storm

It was a quick snow storm on January 27th in the afternoon that stranded thousands of commuters back home.  The snow storm suddenly paralyzed the roads and highways and the drivers simply became either stranded for hours or abandoned their cars in the highways. Indeed, DC felt powerless (Washington Times) with outages and gridlock. Watch the video from MyFoxDc.com:

Dhaka is preparing for the World Cup Cricket

The World Cup Cricket 2011 is coming to Dhaka next month. As the country is getting ready for this exciting international sports, it's trying to get rid of beggars and hawkers from the city streets for next few weeks. This initiative will frustratingly displace thousands of the poor from the capital.  CNN reports:

"Hundreds of hawkers and beggars, quite often seen on Dhaka's major roads and at traffic stops, will be driven out next month ahead of the Cricket World Cup scheduled to begin in mid February... The Bangladesh government imposed a ban on begging amid criticism two years ago, saying they would stop the practice within five years. According to the law, anyone caught begging in public places faces a maximum three months in jail. But begging is still seen in almost everywhere in Dhaka ­­-- a city of ten million people, one third of whom are extremely poor and live in shanties..."

New Book: Bangladesh and Burma

Nova Science Pub Inc. has published a new book this month on the two South Asian neighboring countries, Bangladesh and Burma.  The book called, "Bangladesh and Burma: Background issues", has been edited by Brandon E. Stromberg. Hopefully, this new book will facilitate increased attention to the South Asian affairs as both Bangladesh and Burma are facing rampant poverty and corruption. You may preorder this 158 page long book from Amazon.

Are We Safer?

FRONTLINE presents this three episode investigative report called: Are we safer?

FRONTLINE's series launches with the latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, who investigates the sprawling terrorism-industrial complex that has grown up in the wake of 9/11. Her report, Are We Safer? -- produced and directed by FRONTLINE veteran Michael Kirk (The Warning, Obama's Deal) -- explores the growing reach of homeland security into the lives of ordinary Americans.

World Report 2011 Released

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released its World Report 2011, a 649-page investigative report. The report highlights the major human rights challenges in more than 90 countries of the world. The press release issued by the HRW criticizes the developed world for taking a softer approach to the rouged regimes.

Cheapest Buffets in Washington, DC

The local TV Channel TBD has come up with a list of the cheapest buffets in Washington, DC. The price ranges from $6.49 to $12. Interestingly, most of them are of the South Asian origin. The list is as follow:

No access to Scholarly Journals in Bangladesh



The British Medical Journal

Another round of sad news for researchers in Bangladesh came in as they would be denied free access to 2500 scholarly journals! The British Medical Journal (BMJ) in its January 11^th issue said: Five publishers have withdrawn free access to more than 2500 health and biomedical online journals from institutions in Bangladesh. One research leader has described the situation as “very discouraging.”

Code of Ethics for the Economists?

The American Economic Association is seriously considering code of ethics for the economists in its national convention. A documentary last year called "Inside Job" raised critical issues about conflicts of interests for the professionals. Marketplace has recently broadcast an interview on this topic: Should there be a code of ethics for economists?

An old Bangla Song - Pankouri

An old Bangla song presented by Sandhya Mukherjee and Manabendra Mukherjee on Pankouri. Listen it here:

Mental Health Laws in the USA

Michael Fitzpatrick talked about mental health in the U.S. including diagnosis, treatment, funding, and legislation. He responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. The program was hosted by C-SPAN's Peter Slen.

ওয়াশিংটন ডিসি’র ন্যাশনাল জু’তে আলোকসজ্জা

বছরের শেষ দিন। ওয়াশিংটন ডিসি’র ন্যাশনাল পার্ক জু’তে গেলাম রাতের বেলার আলোকসজ্জা দেখতে। গত ক’বছর ধরেই এই “জু-লাইট” বা আলোকসজ্জার ব্যবস্থা করা হয়। কিন্তু দেখতে যাওয়া হয়ে উঠে না।