Do check out my new blog.
http://secretdhaka.wordpress.com/

I got it up a few days ago. Still warming up, or something like that

And btw, I love the fonts–they are quite readable. But they do say black as a background is make or break.

I apologise if anything in this piece came across as “American elections won’t affect us” kind of rhetoric. Of course it will, much more so than elections in most other countries of the world. My point was simply that Mr. Sobhan’s op-ed left a lot to be desired in terms of making that connection. He has the brains and the platform to tell people the many different ways in which changes in Washington will affect our lives in Munshiganj for instance. He did not take that opportunity, making him sound a bit like Bhupati from “Charulata”. Thus my complaint.

To give credit where credit’s due: he has written once again on the American elections: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=61099

This time he has devoted 3 paragraphs on how those elections will affect our lives here. A definite improvement, and I expect a more in-depth treatment will be forthcoming. Not everyone has time or ability to draw the complex contours of power that emanate from D.C. to Dhaka.

I must humbly disagree with your assertion that DS has been “forced to compromise”. From my vantage point here, I made the same excuse numerous times until it became crystal clear that DS was not “forced” to do anything. They have chosen this path of their own volition and has made it abundantly clear that they were always anti-BNP more than they were pro-press freedom. Tragic really. But hey, this is Bangladesh. Did you expect anything else?

Would appreciate the Motiur Rahman link.

State of press freedom has been made a point in many newspapers, and although DS has been forced to compromise with the incumbent govt. to an extent larger than some others, that is probably because it has a much larger de facto following. Moreover, Motiur Rahman has nevertheless talked about Press Freedom vehemently in one of his articles.

I myself would subscribe to New Age rather than Daily Star, but that will be a relative decision, not an absolute one.