Democracies maintain checks and balances in various ways in the current interdependent global system. Sanctions or embargoes on the part of powerful countries play a role in keeping wayward countries on the right track. Freedom of speech, human rights, freedom of political actions, the right to elect representatives of the people, and the right to […]
On January 21st, 2023, all hell broke loose in Monterey Park, California, when a gunman opened fire in a crowded place. The residents were celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year there at that time. That fateful night claimed 12 lives and injured 9 more. The incident was covered by newspapers worldwide. Within the next 48 […]
“He thought he had asylum. Now, he could face a death sentence” ran a story by U.S.’s influential POLITICO on July 24, 2020. “Rashed Chowdhury was a bit player in a years-old coup. His home country wants him back.” (He thought he had asylum. Now, he could face a death sentence. – POLITICO). With that news in […]
With wars raging in Ukraine, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere, Roe v. Wade overturned and our resources being wasted on militarism instead of addressing the climate crisis, it can be hard to remember the hard-won progress being made. As we end a difficult year, let’s pause to remind ourselves of some of the positive changes that […]
As the World Cup gets fully underway, we can review the massive international campaign to make sure it never happened. The campaign was – obviously – not a success, but it involved at least seven countries and a host of lobby groups, PR firms, think tanks, and front groups. The first part of this investigation looks […]
The US Midterm elections in most cases is a losing affair for the incumbent party even during normal times. People are not better off during the first half of the Biden administration. In some cases, they are even worse off than during the Trump administration. The Democrats went to the voting centers with a nightmarish […]
The Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Ito Naoki, stated in Dhaka on November 14, 2022 that the police and other election officials “have stuffed ballot boxes the night before election day” in 2018. He further exclaimed that he had “never heard such things in any other country.” He also hoped that such things never happen again […]
On October 15, bipartisan resolution 1430 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in an effort to formally recognize the crimes against ethnic Bengalis by the Pakistani armed forces in 1971 as “genocide” and “crimes against humanity.” The resolution urges the Pakistani government, among other things, to apologize to the Bangladeshi people for the […]
Emboldened by the US led international pressures for a credible election in Bangladesh, the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been campaigning for some time for an immediate termination of the illegal current Awami League (AL) administration led by Sheikh Hasina. The BNP wants to hold the national elections under a neutral […]
Invincible Hasina! Having been in power for nearly 14 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of Bangladesh thought she was invincible. She had reasons for her assertions. She had carefully crafted the steps. First, the previous constitutional provision for an election time Caretaker Government (CTG) was unceremoniously discarded. It was aimed at managing the poll […]