Proxy Surfing: A Bypass Strategy

Writing from Bangladesh in the wake of facebook ban. Govt. of the people’s republic of Bangladesh did what it thought best. Many people are trying to bypass the block with proxy server but I don’t support them, not even slightly. But that is not the point.

Net surfing these days is pretty much like shouting your home address around the globe. Wherever you go, you leave trail of your IP address. IP address can be used to attack your machine. Better use proxy IP. My idea is

• search the net for proxy IPs of your desired countries. Here’s a easy site:http://www.hidemyass.com/proxy-list/
• Copy an IP address
• Open Firefox, go to options under tools, then go to the advanced tab, then to the network tab. Then click settings
• Select Manual Proxy Configuration and then paste the IP in Http Proxy field
• Click ok and enjoy safer surfing.

WARNING: This way you can also get around blocked sites. So be careful. Don’t use this for entering blocked sites. Take these steps at your own risk as you should not enter sites blocked for some reasons.

Fire Breaks Out in Bashundhara City Complex:Photos and Pictures

A huge fire has broken out in Bashundhara City tower just this noon. Live photos of the fire are given below.Bashundhara City Complex is one of the largest shopping mall complex in Asia. It is situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The fire is huge. The wind is very high around this time and the fire is far beyond anything that can be extinguished. Bangladesh fire fighting team has little experience of this huge a fire. They don’t have enough equipment or man power to extinguish this. This giant fire is almost eating out the tower. My house is near, so I can see it from here, this is creating havoc. The fire is eating down from top. Debris of glass is flying in the air. Dense smoke is covering the sky and shadowing nearby buildings. Rab, police are rushing to the spot to control the situation. Some first hand and tv pictures are given below. Photos will be updated as I get newer photos.

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

Fire burning Bashundhara Tower

A helicopter is hovering over the tower and we have seen it save lives. Bangladeshi fire-fighters have many limitations and little power they have to control this huge fire. People may be trapped inside, the number unknown. Thanks to Allah, its a Friday, all office are closed and the fire broke out during weekly Jumma Prayers when many people move to masjid (prayer halls/mosques). So it is possible that few people are trapped inside and fewer will be casualties.

The streets around Bashundhara City has turned into a sea of people. People are causing disturbance in the action of controlling fire. People should not stay there to watch as this is a situation that has to be brought under control and disturbance is out of question. IG of police, home secretary and some other officials are there. Army, RAB, Police, Fire brigade all are there to fight the fire.

May Allah save us from destruction and havoc.

Study Abroad: Watch Your Steps

Bangladeshi students are found to have a dream to study/live abroad. But we should be careful about whom we trust with our career and life. Many become victims of lies and misinformation. Its also highly tough to live in a completely different environment from home. What is home is home, we can’t deny this. Here’s a useful paper-cut I read today on New Age, a local daily.

Source: http://www.newagebd.com/2008/aug/27/oped.html

Going abroad for education: let sensible thinking be the guiding force by Towheed Feroze

GOING abroad for education at the post-higher secondary level and at the post-graduate level has been a preference among the local young for quite some time now. If we care to look at the statistics involving the countries preferred for higher education, we will see that, since the late 1980s, the whole trend of leaving Bangladesh for better education has seen several phases of changes. Back in the 1990s the most desired place was the United States but soon after 9/11, the flow towards the US halted and with the plummeting popularity of TOEFL, IELTS became the number one test required for going outside the country. With that, the destinations for education shifted from US cities to countries in the commonwealth this was also the time when students also started to go to other countries with the ultimate objective of entering nations within the European Union.
While there is a huge demand for foreign degrees for our students to get better jobs in the market, there is also no denying that a large number of students go abroad to study as well as explore employment opportunities. But how many students manage to finish education while earning a steady income and then a secured employment? In fact, the first question should be: how many students become disillusioned after landing in a foreign country with hearts filled with hopes? The unvarnished truth is that a lot of the students who go abroad find themselves faced with situations for which they were not prepared. In that context, we talk about the repeated advertisements that appear in the papers selling Cyprus as a top destination for education and, eventual employment. A noted Bangla paper did an elaborate story on this and we are informed that though Cyprus is projected by many student counselling centres as the best place for education and work, in reality our students often do not manage to get close to the ‘top notch’ schools there.
Moosa, a student having just completed his undergraduate degree went to Cyprus in 2002 as a post-graduate student because at that time, counselling centres lured prospective students with the line that soon Cyprus would be in the EU and then travelling and getting work anywhere in Europe would be as easy as unwrapping a candy. Add to this the never eroding belief among the young: something will happen if you go abroad!
Moosa realised the hard way that work was not easy to get and whatever he managed was only available during summer. Six years on, he is still struggling in Cyprus and with a near fatal motor cycle accident two years ago, life is proving to be extremely.
In reality there are hundreds of students like Moosa and their problems vary. Some, trusting the local education counsellors, went to a college and discovered that the institution was only a three room establishment with no proper accreditation.
But, the most troubling factor about going to Cyprus is the lack of employment opportunities. ‘Show me one person who managed to come back from Cyprus with some savings,’ remarked Shamsuzzaman, a student, who lived, studied and worked in that country but came back almost empty handed. ‘Some may have come back with savings but these are the people who colluded with dubious colleges to get students from Bangladesh at a commission,’ he added.
Another tragedy is that when students discover that they will not be able to get any employment to ensure a regular pocket money, they become disoriented and eventually the only path remaining is to come back home, often, without a degree.
But, still today there are countless ads coming out in the papers and, in almost every one of them, pledges of employment are made.
The victims are naturally the young students who, after passing HSC, want desperately to get on a solid track leading to a secured future. But, between the students and these so-called admission centres there is a huge gap – a gap of the right information. In fact, there is a big demand for information relating to overseas education in the market.
And it’s the government’s responsibility to provide information so that a student, before embarking on a trip, will know what to expect. Understandably, for students, having an income to meet the pocket expenses is important, and so, there needs to be a guide to provide the correct information about job markets in different countries with special emphasis on job regulations applicable for overseas students.
In this regard, the government can work to publish an essential guide for all overseas students that will cover all relevant issues, including jobs.
There are countless overseas education counselling centres and of them a few are in the business not solely to make profit but also to help students. These organisations can be roped in for making the guide and, until that is made, government sponsored student counselling sessions can be held at a public place at least once a month.
However, the whole fantasy regarding foreign lands should also be addressed. Many students believe that once their education in another country is over they may be able to stay back. But today, in a world where suspicion of militancy has become an obsession of sorts, staying back is often impossible. In that case, would coming back home with a degree from unknown universities and colleges help?
An effective way to reach a lot of young people would be to arrange TV talk shows featuring students who have studied abroad and faced different problems. All said and done, perhaps there needs to be awareness among the general people that everything that is ‘foreign’ is not always the best. The standard of education in Bangladesh now is quite competitive and one should only go abroad for high studies if they are able to find admission in an overseas institution that is markedly better. It stands to reason that those who study at well-known institutes get offers in other countries whereas those who get certificates from unknown places see their chances limited even back here at home.

How can I help Bangladesh?

Bangladesh needs you. There are several things you can do for your country. It is extremely important and crucial.

1. Please try to save as much electricity as possible. Turn off the fans, lights when you leave its area. Shut down your computer when its ideal. It is always BETTER to shut down your computer than leave it eating up our valuable electricity EVEN FOR 5 MINUTES. Keep your pc fast and speedy. It will save your time, patience and also electricity. Further it will take less time to start up. Check your computer’s power options. Go to control panel>power options. If you don’s watch movie regularly set 10 minutes for monitor turn off and 15 minutes for system stand by. At least turn off the monitor and sound box when not using them. Turn off the TV when not watching. When using IPS try to use as little electricity as possible. IPS does not generate electricity. It stores and gives supply needed time. So when you are using the extra privilege of electricity at the time of load shedding you might be as well keeping other people in dark for longer.
2. Please try to cut down your time in shower. Wash your car less frequently. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth. Water is also valuable resource which needs conservation
3. Please try to conserve gas as much as possible. Check if gas is kept burning just to save matches in your house. Gas is a valuable resource of our country which needs protection.
4. Try to use service from companies owned by Bangladesh. It keeps the money within our country. I can give example in telecommunication sector. There are many mobile phone company like Grameenphone, Banglalink, Warid Telecom etc. There is also Teletalk which is state owned. But companies other than state owned ones give better service, customer care etc. Its OK to prefer foreign companies but we should at least know better. If not personally but at least every family should own one teletalk sim and use it like others. Remember you are contributing to the country’s economy when you are using teletalk.
5. Foreign companies, banks etc. are serving our country. But are they really doing us any good? In every sector you will find a foreign company causing us loss and disaster. See the gas sector, power sector, coal sector etc. Government should watch them closely and we should prefer home companies even if it is lacking in performance.

Earthquake and Weather Patterns

This picture of the western sky, while the sun was setting and the clouds taking a special shape, were taken at around 7 P.M. Bangladesh time at Dhaka on 27^th July, 2008. Only after 6 hours later at around 1 A.M. an earthquake of the magnitude of 5.6 in the Richter scale rocked Dhaka alongside parts of north-eastern Bangladesh. The epicenter of the earthquake was about 238 km north-east of Dhaka at the Sylhet region near Bangladesh-Assam borders. The quake lasted for 5-10 seconds. At first there were two mild up and down vertical Shockwaves followed by a heavy north to south horizontal jerking of the ground. 3-4 hours before the earthquake had struck, lightings were seen in the sky without any thundering noises. The weather was suffocating, hot and humid. And minutes after the quake had hit, it started to drizzle which lasted for 2-3 hours into the night. Days before the quake in the same week suspicious gas underground gas pipe leakage took place. 2-4 hours before the occurrence dogs were heard to be barking. These information might be helpful for scientists for better understanding the changes in weather, clouds and climate patterns before and after an earthquake.

By  Kazi Noman Ahmed & Ahmed Kazi Niaz

Green Road,

Dhaka,

Bangladesh.