The Maisel Twins: Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust reach Their 100th Birthday

Cameron Stewart in  Weekend Australian,  6-7 August 2022, where the title runs thus  Holocaust twins turning 100 are living proof miracles happen” …

Phillip Maisel says he has enjoyed two miracles in his life. The first was during the war when both he and his twin sister Bella survived the Nazi extermination camps of the Holocaust. The second was in Melbourne this week, when they both turned 100.

The twins as children in Poland before the war…. and now …The secret is staying positive’ … twins and Nazi extermination camp survivors Bella Hirshorn and Phillip Maisel get to celebrate their 100th birthday twice in Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Merril Fernando and Dilmah Tea: What A Stirring Story!

Tea mogul Merrill J. Fernando: ‘I owe everything to Australian consumers’.”  …. SEE “Straight Lefs from the Dilmah Tea Missionary” by Benjamin Law, in The Age, 13 June 2020, https://thuppahis.com/2020/06/17/straight-lefts-from-the-dilmah-tea-missionary-merrill-fernando/

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Challenging the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act aka TGEWA

“TGEWA” refers to the Tamil Genocide Education Week Act and Professor Chandra Dharmawardena in Montreal has sent this Memo re the progress of a legal challenge mounted against it via funds collected publicly … with Scott Fairley and Nicolas Rouleau as  lead counsels. This is both a report and an appeal for monetary contributions toeards this process.

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Protected Government Killers: The Trincomalee Shootings of 2 January 2006

Rajan Hoole and Kopalasingam Sritharan, in Colombo Telegraph,  27 July 2022, …. where the title runs thus “Impunity in times of uncertainty – Part IV: Kapila Jayasekera: Killer-in-chief in both ACF and Five Students Cases”

As we have previously pointed out, one of the hazards of tracing killer operations is that lines of responsibility have been deliberately fuddled. Kapila Jayasekere in particular has spent considerable energy covering his racist and murderous tracks, setting a dangerous example to the men under him.

Regarding the Trinco Five case: In August 2008, SP Operations Kapila Jayasekere tried to refute Dr. Manoharan’s testimony that on 2nd Jan 2006 Jayasekere was already at the scene in his pickup when the shooting of the 5 students in Trincomalee took place at 7.35 PM. In his effort to cover his tracks, Jayasekere made claims before the Commission of Inquiry that were fatal to his denial. The same trend is evident in the ACF case. Jayasekera told the Commission in the Five Students case that he picked up ASP Serasinghe in his vehicle and reached the scene of crime at 8.20 PM.

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An Indelible Achievement by Yupun Abeykoon at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

 Estelle Vasudevan, in Papare, 3 August 2022, where the title differs

Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon ended more than two decades of a wait to witness a track and field medal for Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games as he clocked 10.14 seconds to clinch bronze in the men’s 100 metres final in Birmingham on Wednesday. It was the first track and field medal at the Commonwealth Games for Sri Lanka since Sugath Thilakaratne (bronze) and Sriyani Kulawansa (silver) won medals at the Kula Lumpur Games in 1998. Olympic medallist, Susanthika Jayasinghe’s highest achievement at the Games was a fourth-place finish.

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Busts outdo Bums in the Paddy fields of Asia!

A ‘Byway’ and Productive Thought from Sanath Jayatilaka in Lanka !@#!!

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Appraising the Corona Pandemic in Kandy District: A Critical Survey

Gerald H.  Peiris, whose chosen title was “The Corona Pandemic in Kandy District: A Critique of Responses”

This article presents a grass-roots perspective, empirical in content, on the efforts to counteract the Covid-19 in the highland District of Kandy, set against information extracted from several published sources. As a guide to the sequence in this narrative I should explain that it begins with some introductory notes on the Corona pandemic and on Kandy District, proceeds to sketch the edifying experiences such as the guidance bestowed on people by their religious leadership, the priority accorded by the government on the management of affairs from perspectives of health-care, the selfless commitment of those on whom arduous responsibilities of implementing policy decisions and prescribed strategies, and, in general, the commendable level of successes achieved through the related efforts. Thereafter I focus on the disappointments and the occasional errors of judgement, the sporadic scenarios of prejudice and confusion, and the looming uncertainties. There are significant lessons that could be drawn from both these sets of experiences.

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It’s Time to Join the Queue ….. Sri Lanka Today

Capt Elmo Jayawardena

President gets ousted, Prime Minister gives a ‘walk over’ and Ministers join the soul-selling market to hang in there. Where? Of course, in Diyawanna Oya.** Though my senses overflow with the desire to write these stories, I, being a coward, feel ‘discretion is the better part of valor’ and will leave politics and politicians alone. What to write anyway? Things change so fast that by the time I get published the whole fairytale may change.

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“Be the Change” — An Appraissal of THE ARAGALAYA

Anonymous Pen **

Most people that I know, came to Galle Face on a weekend, waved the National Flag and shouted a few catchy slogans to cleanse their souls, took selfies and went home for a warm shower, had dinner and went to sleep, thinking that they had taken part in some heroic and historic act of Aragalaya.

 

 

 

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Indrajit: Sri Lanka between Abyss and Quicksand

Karan Thapar, in article headed “ “If Ranil Doesn’t Take Tough Steps, Sri Lanka Economy Could Fall into Abyss: Former Central Bank Head”

Indrajit Coomaraswamy identified four critical steps that the government must immediately start to implement as the first stage of restoring the economy to better health.

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