Tag: Opinion

WhiteBoard, a must-read for youths to relate Bangabandhu’s policies to today’s development
9Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market, USA

WhiteBoard, a must-read for youths to relate Bangabandhu’s policies to today’s development

Ask this generation what images they relate to on hearing about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the answer you are most likely to receive is his fiery speech, the gift of the red and green flag, and the unrelenting love for his countrymen. What you are least likely to hear is his policies and plans that shaped up the country’s course of development. To give access to that chapter, WhiteBoard, a newly launched policy magazine, dived deep into his policies and plans in its first issue, creating a space for the experts who either worked with Bangabandhu on formulating policies or possess ample knowledge of that matter.The publication gives a perspective that while youths observe today’s development and progress, they hardly recall that the seed of those developments was sown by Bangaban...
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Last ditch efforts of Imran Khan: Gilgit-Baltistan Elections 2020
9Nov mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

Last ditch efforts of Imran Khan: Gilgit-Baltistan Elections 2020

As the election date for the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) come closer (November 15), Pakistani Prime minister Imran Khan paid a visit to the occupied territory on November 1 and made an announcement that could be best described as a bribe to garner support for his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that has been struggling to find suitable candidates since most of those who were refused party tickets are now contesting against it as independents.Imran matched his visit with the day when on November 1, 1947 Major William Alexander Brown staged a coup against the legitimate ruler of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh, and arrested his appointed governor Ghansara Singh. The imperial governor agreed to surrender at gunpoint only after he was threatened with the massacre of loca...
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South link needs clarity
26Oct mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, Market, USA

South link needs clarity

As plans for the southern land bridge project make the headlines, doubts are growing on whether the multi-billion-dollar project will ever materialize, despite its economic benefits.Recently, Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered a new feasibility study for a land bridge in the South, which would connect Chumphorn province on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand and Ranong province on the southeastern shores of the Andaman Sea.According to him, as the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) alone won't be enough to boost the economy in the long run, the government had to look for another megaproject to invest in. Ultimately, it was decided that a land bridge would be a good choice.Two projects were considered -- in addition to the land bridge, the government also looked at buildin...
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India-Bangladesh relationship towards a healthy hike
22Oct mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

India-Bangladesh relationship towards a healthy hike

Despite being torn apart by geopolitical boundaries, Bangladesh shares a common socio-political heritage with its biggest neighbor India.The people of the two countries cherish more affinities than detachment, which is why India invested tremendous efforts for the cause of the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, and Bangladesh has always been very thankful to India for that.There have been minimal disturbances and discrepancies in India-Bangladesh relationship since then, and a strong fraternal unity has kept the two countries tied in harmony for decades.Especially, after the advent of the Awami League Government led by the daughter of Bangabandhu, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the second time in 2008, the relationship between India and Bangladesh has become so strengthened that even ...
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Locals in Bangkok resist environmental dictatorship
30Sep mmBy Brian Thompson1 Comment
Market

Locals in Bangkok resist environmental dictatorship

Picketing in front of the Government House, Anong Kuson told herself that this was just another test of “our determination to protect our forests and our home community”.Ms Anong, 34, and the mother of three from Ban Muang Takua, Phatthalung province started picketing along with some 20 residents who represented the Muang Takua community in Bangkok after the Phatthalung governor told them he had no power to stop the Irrigation Department's controversial dam project."I told myself never to feel discouraged, never to give up on our mission to stop the Muang Takua dam project. It will destroy our forests, waterways, our abundant nature. It will rob our children of life security and future. I will never let it happen."It has been decades since the protests began. After being shelved by strong ...
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It’s time for western universities to cut their ties to China
11Sep mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, Market, USA

It’s time for western universities to cut their ties to China

Western universities now need to close their Confucius Institutes and end their academic cooperation with China. Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, one of the ways China sought to rebuild its image abroad was by systematically forging partnerships with Western universities. At first, these partnerships mainly focused on research collaboration. Later, they grew to include the Confucius Institutes for language education and the establishment of Western universities’ branch campuses in China.At a time when China was undemocratic but liberalizing, such engagement seemed like a sensible strategy. There have always been uneasy moments in Western universities’ relationships with China, whether prompted by tensions over hosting the Dalai Lama or controversies over university self-censor...
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The rise of new India as PM Modi fulfils his promises
9Sep mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Market

The rise of new India as PM Modi fulfils his promises

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the country’s 74th Independence Day came with the credibility of six previous speeches in which all promises made by him have been kept. For example, in 2014, PM Modi promised a bank account for every Indian. Then, from 58% Indians in 2014, almost 400 million new accounts have opened now.A billion plus scale financial inclusion has since been used along with Aadhaar (biometric countrywide data base) to affect the largest and most successful Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) policy in the world.Now, during the recent coronavirus induced lockdown, while many developed countries struggled to give out some cash in the hands of the poor, India did it instantly within days of the lockdown utilizing the DBT regime.In the 2015 speech, Modi made the prom...
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