Child labor in Bangladesh
posted by Joe Beese on Apr 15, 2009 - 28 comments

What if you were one of the Rohingya people, and you faced death in trying to escape, or were expelled from your Homeland. Would you wait for others to help, or would you try and do it yourself...
posted by hadjiboy on Feb 28, 2009 - 6 comments

This is a city of ShipBreakers.
posted by allkindsoftime on Dec 25, 2008 - 28 comments

India, as she is today, was carved out of British India, in 1947 when the left and right hand sides of the country became the new nation of Pakistan (East and West) respectively. While the history of Islamic influence and subsequent tolerance and intolerance goes back centuries to the first advent of the Mughal invasion, it has been said that the post Independence troubles of the modern nations of India and Pakistan stem from this sundering. In 1971, war brought forth Bangladesh from the former East Pakistan on India's eastern border. The Partition, as this holocaust is known, embedded in current day Indian memory, history, culture, movies, books, TV serials and music, was an unimaginable horror of slaughter and bloodshed. This separation was not in the plans of the Mahatma, and it is said he was assassinated by Hindu fundamentalists for letting it happen. What future awaits the Hindus and Muslims who have lived side by side for hundreds of years?
posted by infini on Nov 26, 2008 - 37 comments

First, a bit of an introduction to the game of Cricket (youtube) for those of us who may not be familiar with the sport. Next, a few clips (1, 2, 3, 4) on how awesome the Gentleman's Game can be (and you thought we didn't do anything but roam around in our white pants and cotton shirts...). But, if that wasn't enough for you, then here's a taste of Twenty20 Cricket (the fast, fast paced version of the game), and the new DLF Indian (pdf) Premier League. (This is in addition to the One Day Matches, which were instituted to bring in a bit more excitement into the game during the 1970's, prior to which the match only consisted of Tests. However, some purists still maintain that the game would've been better served had it not been commercalized to the extent that it has, and still prefer the leisurely pace of the original format to its current incarnation.) [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy on Mar 20, 2008 - 56 comments

SOS-arsenic.net has excellent recipes, visuals, articles and information about life, history, living in Bangladesh, which borders India, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Burma and is near the Himalayan country of Bhutan. Among the many interesting things included in this site is disturbing information: mustard oil, whose production and consumption were until recently integral to India's way of life, has been banned, so as to provide a market for Monsanto's soya oil and the poisoning of between 85 and 125 million people with arsenic.
posted by nickyskye on Dec 7, 2007 - 20 comments

In 1971, George Harrison^RIP and Ravi Shankar organized, promoted, and put on The Concert for Bangladesh – the first high-profile rock concert to raise money (administered by UNICEF) for humanitarian causes – at NYC's Madison Square Garden.

Performances: Ravi Shankar { Bangla Dhun } George Harrison and band { Wah Wah, My Sweet Lord, Awaiting On You All, That's The Way God Planned (composed/performed by Billy Preston), It Don't Come Easy (composed/performed by Ringo Starr), Beware of Darkness (featuring Leon Russell on guest vocals), While My Guitar Gently Weeps (featuring Eric Clapton on lead guitar), Jumping Jack Flash/Young Blood Medley (performed by Leon Russell), Here Comes The Sun (featuring Pete Ham) } Bob Dylan { A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall/It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, Blowin' In The Wind, Just Like A Woman, Love Minus Zero/No Limit, If Not For You (soundcheck duet with George Harrison) } [Encore!, Encore!]
posted by Poolio on Aug 30, 2007 - 37 comments

In 1976, a young Bangladeshi economics professor named Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank to implement microcredit — lending small sums to the very poorest members of society. Today, he and his bank share the Nobel Peace prize. Grameen, a profit-making company with social objectives, has lent $5.3bn to 6.4m people. 97% of borrowers are women, as Yunus believes [video] "men will do whatever they could to enjoy for themselves personally [but] women looked at it for the children, for the family and for the future."
posted by matthewr on Oct 13, 2006 - 24 comments

The Chittagong ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh disassemble half of the world's supertankers. Shipbreaking, though profitable, is not particularly safe for either the workers in the shipyard or the surrounding environment. It does, however, make for some spectacular pictures. Also, pinpoint the location of the shipyard and explore via satellite with Google Earth.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Feb 18, 2006 - 54 comments

The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh "This website is dedicated to celebrating one of Bangladesh's unique popular arts, the paintings and decorations on the three-wheeled cycle rickshaw"
posted by dhruva on Jan 10, 2006 - 10 comments

Plant Cultures - central aim ... is to convey the richness and complexity of links between Britain and South Asia, through the story of plants and people
posted by Gyan on Nov 12, 2005 - 2 comments

"It is time to implement Islamic law in Bangladesh": 100 to 300 simultaneous explosions took place throughout almost every Bangladeshi district today, with credit taken by Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, an extremist group banned by the government earlier this year.
posted by highsignal on Aug 17, 2005 - 53 comments

Asia Grace
posted by euphorb on Jul 21, 2004 - 6 comments

Turning Bangladesh's Beggars Into Businessmen. One of Bangladesh's leading micro-credit groups has launched an initiative to lend money to beggars at easy repayment rates, to wean them off the streets and into small scale ventures.
posted by tranquileye on Mar 30, 2004 - 10 comments

"For the last 8 years, young women at the Shah Makdhum factory in Bangladesh have been forced to work over 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, denied maternity benefits, beaten and paid just 15 cents for every $17.99 Disney shirts they sewed." "Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney, pays himself $133 million a year, or about $63,000 and hour. It would take a worker in Bangladesh sewing Disney garments for 12 cents an hour 210 years to earn what Eisner does in an hour."
posted by headlemur on Jun 20, 2002 - 55 comments

An Original approach to armed robbery. And they say countries like Bangladesh are more repressed than the USA. Of course, this must have been an interesting day for the sketch artist down at the police station.
posted by jonmc on Dec 27, 2001 - 15 comments

Rising Sea Level Forcing Evacuation of Tuvalu. "During the twentieth century, sea level rose by 20-30 centimeters (8-12 inches)." The 1,196 tiny islands of the Maldives are "barely 2 meters above sea level". "In 2000 the World Bank published a map showing that a 1-meter rise in sea level would inundate half of Bangladesh's riceland." Here are EPA and NASA sites on the sea level. (NASA? They may be promoting justification to colonize other planets ASAP!)
posted by mmarcos on Nov 25, 2001 - 17 comments