June 2, 2017 · 3:34 pm

Blind Faith in Both Islam and Christianity

Charles Wooley,  in The Australian, 1 June 2017, where the title reads “When Blind Faith crosses out Reasoning”

I was watching the aftermath of the Manchester bombing on television when there came a knock on the door. I answered it to find two conservatively dressed and smiling women, one young and the other considerably older. I got in first: “Ah, religious people, I am guessing.” They agreed that this was the case but, before they could tout their sectarian wares, I explained politely that I wasn’t interested and closed the door.

 

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June 2, 2017 · 9:31 am

Police Counter-Terrorism in UK via Hannah Stuart

Policy Exchange’s Hannah Stuart discusses police counter-terrorism operations on BBC Radio 5 Live……..May 2, 2017 …. https://policyexchange.org.uk/news/hannah-stuart-5live/

Following the recent terrorism related arrests, Hannah Stuart, Policy Exchange Co-Head of Security and Extremism, discusses police counter-terrorism operations on BBC Radio 5 Live:

Hannah Stuart on BBC Radio 5 Live

About Us = Policy Exchange is the UK’s leading think tank. As an educational charity our mission is to develop and promote new policy ideas which deliver better public services, a stronger society and a more dynamic economy.

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June 1, 2017 · 3:13 pm

Al-Jazeera and Laksiri Highlight Rise in Anti-Muslim Mayhem in May

ONE: Al-Jazeera Item, “Sri Lanka; Buddhist leader stokes anti-Muslim tension,” May 2017, 

A manhunt is on in Sri Lanka for a hard-line Buddhist leader after a series of attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses that authorities accuse him of encouraging.  President Maithripala Siresena had vowed to investigate anti-Muslim hate crimes after assuming power in 2015, however, attacks have escalated over the past two weeks. Another Muslim shop in the town of Kahawatte was reportedly burned to the ground this week by unidentified attackers.

Galaboda atththe Gnansaara Thero

Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General-Secretary Galagoda Atte Gnanasara has encouraged his Buddhist supporters to lead another campaign against Muslims following the deadly Aluthgama riots in June 2014, which attempted to create disunity between Buddhists and Muslims.  Less than 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million are Muslim. The majority are Sinhalese Buddhist, while most Tamils are Hindu.

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June 1, 2017 · 11:32 am

Anti-Muslim Mayhem Escalates: Two Expressions of Concern

ONE: “NPC reports alarming number of attacks on Muslims,” Island, 29 May 2017,

The National Peace Council (NPC) has called for urgent action to prevent Muslims being targeted by extremist elements. Dr. Jehan Perera has issued the following statement on behalf of the NPC: “An alarming number of attacks against Muslim religious places of worship and businesses are being reported countrywide causing economic ruin to many people, hurting their religious sentiment and bringing them dismay and leaving the entire community in fear of life and security.  The worsening trend has been going on for several years and has a pattern of repeating after a short lull.  It has intensified since April this year with over 20 attacks or attempted attacks being reported from different parts of the country in the past two months.  So far no one has been arrested by the police for these crimes. Also, the government has so far failed to take steps to arrest this trend which has been acknowledged by the Minister of Law and Order in Parliament. This is an escalation of the longer-term trend that included the torching of a section of a town in the South of Sri Lanka (Alutgama) in 2014 in which Muslims live in large numbers.

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June 1, 2017 · 11:01 am

Sri Lankan Airlines in Giant Leap to OZ

Elephantine Step towards Skippy the Kangaroo

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June 1, 2017 · 1:58 am

Floods: Ruwani’s Swimming Efforts in Aid

A Tale from”Prasa,” her proud father

Dear Friends, …… I like to share something with you which made me very proud of my older daughter Ruwani, who is now in Sri Lanka. During last years floods she together with a group of friends formed an impromptu relief and rescue group.  To my knowledge it included two doctors,  a couple of divers, an ex Army Major and a handful of others including Ruwani.  They went when there was an appeal for swimmers to rescue marooned people. Last time she had swam out and done a number of swims carrying food parcels in siri siri bags in her mouth for the stranded victims who could not be brought a shore. They set up camp and treated many with first aid. They also collected dry rations clothes etc. individually through friends and made sure they went 100%  deserving.

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May 29, 2017 · 10:02 am

Flood Relief Donations: Pathways for Australians

The Situation Report  issued by the Disaster Management Center today at 7 am Sri Lanka time on the 29th May said that around 471,542 people belonging to 128,586 families were affected in 15 Districts . 164 deaths and 104 missing reported . Further, 75,236 people belonging to 18,652 families were located at 336 safe locations.


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May 28, 2017 · 8:13 am

“Demons in Paradise” at Cannes: Jude Rutnam in Firing Line

Hindustan Times,  http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/film-breaks-silence-on-madness-of-sri-lanka-civil-war/story-s9DP6d5Owq4SrySIlbDOpL.htmlhttp://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/film-breaks-silence-on-madness-of-sri-lanka-civil-war/story-s9DP6d5Owq4SrySIlbDOpL.html

 Jude Ratnam is worried how his film might go down with his fellow Sri Lankan Tamils. And he has a point. Demons in Paradise, which is premiering at the Cannes film festival, tells of the bloodbath that drove some Tamils to take up arms in the three decade-long insurgency that tore the island apart. But the documentary also shatters a taboo by insisting that some of most horrific violence the minority endured was at the hands of their supposed defenders, the Tamil Tigers.  And the “hard truth” comes from the mouths of former Tamil fighters   themselves.

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May 28, 2017 · 7:31 am

Severe Floods and Landslides in South-Western Lanka

 

News Reports

The number of deaths reported in floods and landslides was increased to 126 while 97 people had gone missing, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said today. In its latest situation report, the DMC said the adverse weather condition had left 49 people injured. In total, 423,068 people of 109,773 families had been affected by the weather calamity. The South-West monsoon unleashed torrential rains, which ravaged fourteen districts in the western and southern parts of the country on Friday and Thursday.

The disaster is described as one of the worst-ever calamities since the 2003 floods.

–See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Update-killed-in-weather-calamity–129692.html#sthash.tVT0J37T.dpuf

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May 27, 2017 · 5:08 am

Philip Maisel’s Oral History of Jewish Holocaust Experiences

Jewish Holocaust Centre, Melbourne ….  http://www.jhc.org.au/museum/collections/survivor-testimonies.html

The JHC has over 1300 video testimonies as well as over 200 audio testimonies in its collection. These provide eyewitness accounts of the horrors of the Holocaust, as well as glimpses into the vibrancy of pre-war Jewish life in Europe. The collection is widely used by researchers and students of oral history, the Holocaust and a variety of other disciplines. The testimonies’ project began in the 1980s as the Melbourne Oral History Project, established by Sandra Cowan and Jenny Wajsenberg and later co-ordinated by the late Anne Bernhaut. They conducted over 200 audio recordings of Holocaust survivors.

 Phillip Maisel has been recording a testimony of Holocaust survivors for 25 years. (ABC News: Peter Drought)

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