Tête-à-tête

Thought of the week:
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?"
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Ah, the last leg of the O level exams are in sight, and the A levels are also halfway through. Just when you think you're not stressed enough, the Opposition throws in a hartal. They're defending their decision as a 'protest against the deaths of our colleagues and brothers'. I wonder who's going to protest against the atrocities committed on the streets in the name of hartal? The CNG driver who is lying in the hospital, suffering from serious burns, which he received when the picketers set alight his CNG scooter. Who's protesting for him? I guess you need to be a noted politician before anyone gives a hoot about you.

If these hartals are called for the people, why are the people themselves being victimized? Why do the students have to wake up in the middle of the night to rush to their exam centers because the so-considerate politicians want to stage a strike? Just whom is this strike helping?

Anyway, enough on that. This week, we have comics taking the focus on cover. On page 6, we've got Durdana Ghias recalling her experience of getting into the RS. The current team completed a year of being in RS sometime this February, and once again, it's time to bring in what Mood Dude and I jokingly refer to as 'fresh meat'. If you think you've got what it takes to take this magazine to the next level, drop in your CV and a sample of writing to the RS office before June 9. We've received a few inquiries about application, and I'd like to make some things clear. Firstly, it's better to mail or hand-deliver your applications rather than by e-mailing them. Secondly, the sample write-up should be short and original we will not accept copies of work that has been published before, even if it has been published in the Rising Stars. Thirdly, calling the RS office to ask us whether we've received your application won't make it any easier for you to get in, so please refrain from such activities. If there are any further queries, just drop me a line. Best of luck!

Send your polls, love letters, hate mails, and opinions to [email protected], or mail me at my yahoo address at [email protected]

By The Girl Next Door

Faces in a bus

Picture yourself riding a bus, for the first time in your life. You are nervous, you are unsure. What to expect from the people around you? How to know when to get off the bus? In these "dark times" (ok fine, I am a Star Wars fan), wouldn't you like an insight into what sort of people you will meet during the journey? Well here is my noble attempt towards that end, a sort of who's who inside a bus.

1)The spectacular sleepers: these people are simply amazing. They board the bus, find a seat and immediately fall asleep. Minutes before reaching their destination, these folks wake up and get ready to disembark. In the few encounters the narrator has had with this type, they fail neither to fall asleep nor to wake up in time.

2)Last man standing: these poor dears board the bus and find no empty seats. So they stand, holding on to a handrail. Even when a few seats are vacated, other people more adept at the game take over the seats and our heroes just stand and watch right till their desired stop.

3)The musical chair maestros: a stark contrast to the standing type described above, these people initially satisfy themselves with one of the back seats. However, they are forever watchful of those precious seats towards the front, nearer to the exit. As soon as any such seat becomes available, they run to take possession, moving bus and all. This little game continues until the "player" has to get off the bus. These people are one of key reasons why others never get a seat.

4)The Honorable Speakers: this type does not know what silence means. They are so far removed from silence that even the shadow of silence makes them scream and hence, break the silence. This type usually starts a discussion about the weather, or the crowded streets. Within minutes, the topic switches to politics. If the speakers support the same party, all is well and good. Otherwise prepare yourself to witness a nasty argument not unlike the ones we see in our Parliament. By the way, did any of you ever notice that the letters in "Parliament" can be re-arranged to read "Partial Men"? P.S: younger members of this category usually switch to cricket instead of politics. The possible outcomes remain the same, though.

5)And lastly, the idle aatels with no one to talk to, and a comfortable seat secured, this type watches all the other types, contemplating writing a book on them someday.

Now then, any guesses which type the narrator belongs to?

By Mohammad Hammad Ali

Jokes

2 People In One Grave?
A woman and her little girl were visiting the grave of the little girl's grandmother. On their way through the cemetery back to the car, the little girl asked, "Mommy, do they ever bury two people in the same grave?"
"Of course not, dear," replied the mother . "Why would you think that?"
"The tombstone back there said, 'Here lies a lawyer and an honest man.'"

Tic, Tic, Tic
A guy walks into a bar with his dog on a leash the barman says, "Geez that's a weird dog: he's stumpy-legged, pink, and doesn't have a tail, but I bet my rottweiler would beat the heck out of it."
50 bucks is laid down. Out in the yard the rottweiler gets mauled to pieces.
Another drinker says his pit bull will win but the bet is 100 bucks.
Another trip to the yard and when it's all over there are bits of
pit-bull terrier all over the place. The drinker pays up and says, "Say what breed is that anyway?"
The owner says, "Until I cut his tail off and painted it pink it was the same breed as every other alligator."

I''m a Photographer, Not a...
A photographer for a national magazine was assigned to take pictures of
a great forest fire. He was advised that a small plane would be waiting to fly him over the fire.
The photographer arrived at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Sure enough, a small Cessna airplane was waiting. He jumped in with his equipment and shouted, "Let's go!" The tense man sitting in the pilot's seat swung the plane into the wind and soon they were in the air, though
flying erratically.
"Fly over the north side of the fire," said the photographer, "And make several low-level passes."
Why?" asked the nervous pilot.
"Because I'm going to take pictures!" yelled the photographer. "I'm a photographer, and photographers take pictures!"
The pilot replied, "You mean you're not the flight instructor?"

This is in response to the letter written by M.E. Manzie, which was sent to the RS Mailbox on May 19 2005 in response to my article, which was published on May 12 2005. Before I write about adoption I would like to ask M.E. Manzie, what percentage of the population here knew about "adoption" before 1970's? If the information I received from one of my superiors, adoption was very a rare phenomenon at that time. It made a bigger entry into our culture after the 1980's. My all brothers including my sister had born before 1980's i.e. 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977 and 1979 respectively and only I had born in very end of 1986. So adoption was really out of the question for us.

Can you tell me Mr. Manzie, How many orphanages there were before 1975? Very few people had the mentality to take adoption at that time. On top of that, my parents were not childless. So they really did not think about it. In M.E. Manzie's article, he has briefed us about the procedure of adoption. Unfortunately my parents did not have the financial means required to undergo the process, and to take care of an adopted child since they had already 4 children in their family.

My father never blamed my Mom for not having a daughter. Let me remind you, my parents were not unhappy with their sons, just thirsty for a daughter.

In conclusion, I appreciate M.E. Manzie's proposal about adoption. It was really very thoughtful of him. But we should also think about the limitations of others.

By Rajin Ahmed
[email protected]

Smile a while
*Why did the cop climb the tree?
Ans: Because he worked for a Special Branch!
*What is the favourite biscuit of a pilot?
Ans: Plain Biscuit!
*Why is Tommy not getting married?
Ans: Because he is studying for a Bachelor's degree!
*How can you make a Venetian blind?
Ans: Poke him in the eye!
*Where do ghosts go swimming?
Ans: The Dead Sea, of course!
*Where do tadpoles changes into frogs?
Ans: In the croakroom!
*Why do bees buzz?
Ans: Because they can't whistle!
*What do you serve and don't eat?
Ans: Tennis ball!
*Why was the teacher fired for having a squint?
Ans: Because she couldn't control her pupils!
By Farhana Anita

A few important things every dog owner should know

A dog is a living being which needs proper maintenance just like any other animal.
It needs adequate nutritious food everyday.
It requires exercise and should not be chained up all day.
A dog needs to have clean and comfortable living quarters, which are cool and dry in summer and warm in winter.
Your pet needs to be taken to the vet for treatment in case of any illness or injury.
It has to be vaccinated annually against all possible diseases.
A dog needs to be de-wormed every 3 months or whenever there is an infestation.
The dog must be properly treated for fleas, ticks and other parasites.
Fresh clean water should be available all the time for your dog.
Some important information regarding breeding dogs
Only knowledgeable and responsible breeders who will maintain the purity of bloodline should undertake breeding.
A female dog/bitch should not breed before she is 2 years old.
A female dog/bitch should not be made to breed more than once a year.
The breeder must refrain from inbreeding at all times
All puppies must be de-wormed, and vaccinated in due time.
The breeder must find good responsible homes for their puppies.
Most of all the dog deserves all the love and attention in the world from its master and should not be deprived of it.
By Shihab Ally
The author is a member of Bangladesh Kennel Club (BKC)

Staff writers wanted for RS

Its that time of the year again when our staff writers spread their wings and fly off. If you are interested in writing please drop off your CV as well as a short sample article before the 9th of June. The article should be not more than 500 words and the topic should be on a current news event that is creating waves among the general public, or you can write a short essay about an event that made an impact on your life.
If you think you can regularly meet deadlines and submit an article every week to the boss then this job is yours. That's the difficult part. The rest of the tasks are easy such as listening to bosses scream, growing a fondness for drinking gallons of tea and generally looking busy sitting in front of a computer.
No previous experience is required other than the fact that you should be able to write correctly and creatively.
All mails should be sent to this address: RS Editor, The Daily Star, 19 Kawran Bazar, Dhaka or email to [email protected]