THE King/Queen is dead, long live the King/Queen" is what used to be announced by the Buckingham Palace spokesperson when the reigning sovereign died. The reason was that the country could not be run without a sovereign. Likewise, a country cannot sustain itself without politics. Even if politics at times is suspended because of declaration of state of emergency or coup d'etat, a different brand of politics replaces the ongoing one. Politics requires prudence and judgment, which are what we need in life. So, one may say that politics is life and, therefore, one cannot help but be involved in some form of politics. And that is why politics never dies.

AS the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Copenhagen draws closer, it is worthwhile to review once again what is at stake for us and to clearly articulate the position that Bangladesh needs to take in the various phases of negotiations. The prime minister will attend the Convention, which may well define the fate of our country in the near future, and is expected to present the case of Bangladesh and similar countries that will be affected in various ways by climate change.

WITH A CLICK and a pop, my laptop stopped. (Try saying that six times very fast.)