Saturday, May 29, 2010

Facebook temporarily banned in Bangladesh

According to bdnews24, Facebook has been temporarily banned by the Bangladesh government.

Here is the story:

Dhaka, May 29 (bdnews24.com) — Facebook has been blocked in Bangladesh for a brief period, a senior BTRC official told bdnews24.com Saturday evening after hundreds of users reported the social networking site was down.

The official, speaking on condition anonymity, admitted that elite crime busters RAB requested temporary closure of the site in the country.

"Yes, it's been blocked for a while," the official told bdnews24.com at 8:50pm.

The official would not give further details.

Hundreds of users reported that the social networking site was down after attempting to log on from 7pm.

BTRC's chief technical officer Biplob Chakma confirmed bdnews24.com at around 9.30pm that the site was indeed blocked based on a 'memo'.

He also said that he may be able to provide with further details about the shutdown on Sunday morning after reporting for duty.

However, Biplob declined to reveal the identity of the authority which issued the letter.

RAB arrested a youth from the capital early Saturday for publishing caricatures of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia.

RAB also alleged that the youth was responsible of a number of cyber crimes using a number of fake identities.

A number of religion-based political organisations demanded closure of the site on Friday.

The parties that made this demand in a meeting at Muktangan include the Islami Andolan, Islami Oikkyajot and Khilafat Andolan.

Meanwhile, the leading Bangla blog Somewhereinblog is now flooded with condemnation for this 'ghastly' act of the government. Many bloggers are offering proxy sites to bypass the ban for accessing facebook.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Parent's job description

Received via email.

PARENT - Job Description

POSITION :Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma, Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa

JOB DESCRIPTION :Long term, team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, atleast temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must bewilling to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.Must have ability to plan and organize social gatheringsfor clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared forthe worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge canultimately surpass you
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.