February 27, 2015 · 11:21 am

An Ordinary Tamil Man addresses the People of Lanka earnestly

His chosen title is “A message from an ordinary Sri Lankan Tamil” … and the ‘LETTER’ can be found at http://www.padalay.com/2015/01/a-message-from-ordinary-sri-lankan-tamil.html. There are a few brief approving comments  from mostly Tamils.

Dear Sri Lankan Sinhalese,
In the last few days, especially after the election result day there are two common opinions spreading across among my Facebook friends circle.
One is largely from Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa’s supporters, who now think Sri Lankan Tamils and Sri Lankan Muslims have voted out their favorite leader and LTTE has just realised its dream. Even Mr Rajapaksa echoed the same sentiment. While it may be true that the overwhelming votes of Tamil speaking people ousted Mr Rajapaksa from the top seat, one shouldn’t forget that Tamil speaking people still didn’t choose to boycott the election like they did in 2005 (following the instruction from LTTE), but voted for another Sri Lankan Sinhalese person Mr Sirisena.

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February 27, 2015 · 10:57 am

Pope Francis’s fervent address to the FAO in November 2014 on Behalf of Those Marginalized

Alex Arkadie

“I am honoured by your invitation and rejoice in your decision to convene this conference of representatives of States, international institutions, and organizations of civil society, the world of agriculture and the private sector, with the aim of studying together the forms of intervention necessary in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, as well as the changes that must be made to existing strategies.” … said the Pope

POPE FRANCIS - www.unmultimedia.org Pic from www.unmultimedia.org

Pope Francis observed that ‘development plans and the work of international organizations must take into consideration the wish so frequent among ordinary people, for respect for fundamental human rights and, in this case, the rights of the hungry.  “Every woman, man, child and elderly person everywhere should be able to count on these guarantees. It is the duty of every State that cares for the wellbeing of its citizens to subscribe to them unreservedly, and to take the necessary steps to ensure their implementation. This requires perseverance and support.” Continue reading →

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February 25, 2015 · 1:56 am

The Real Consequences of Islamic Indoctrination, Mind-Set and Logic, with 24 Items for Discussion and Debate

Ibn Wirriq**

With the ISIS caliphate jihadists re-enacting most of the 7th Century activities of Muhammed during his conquests in Arabia now in the 21st Century, [mainly initiated as a result of the violent Sunni-Shi’a divide and the Syrian civil war], such actions could only come from indoctrinated beliefs which have formatted the minds of all ISIS  jihadists and their tacit supporters. Other groups also gain their attitudes for violent jihad action to establish Islamic supremacy over all non-Muslims around the World from such indoctrination. That is the reality of the World situation today.

This critical evaluation does not arise from  attitudes of “Islamophobia,” but develops from the evidence of what can only be termed “Islamoreality” in all its forms, which in fact means, like it or not, that “Islam Is As Islam Does.”  The World needs to be aware of this as a fact! The 57 nations of the OIC also need to be aware of the truth of this assessment and stop their continued state of denial and demands for severe penalties for any negative comments or criticism of Islam and blasphemy and do need to seriously consider and enact an Islamic Reformation.

islam-symbol-icon

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February 24, 2015 · 1:43 pm

Archaeologists in Secret Underground War with ISIS

Joe Parkinson, Ayla Albayrak and Duncan Mavin, 17 February 2015, Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and The Australian, where the title reads “The Secret War against Islamic State waged by Academics“

IN a hotel basement on the Turkish side of this combat-scarred frontier, a group of unlikely ­warriors is training to fight on a ­little-known front of Syria’s civil war: the battle for the country’s cultural heritage. The recruits aren’t grizzled fighters, but greying academics, more at home on an archaeological dig than a battlefield. For months, they have journeyed across war-torn regions of Syria, braving shelling, smugglers and the jihadists of Islamic State.

Their mission: to save ancient artefacts and imperilled archaeo­logical sites from profiteers, as well as desperate civilians and funda­mentalists who have plundered Syria’s rich artistic heritage to fund their war effort.

Ruins in Palmyra in the Syrian desert Continue reading →

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February 24, 2015 · 1:28 pm

Have Fun! Gota stole my city and I’m good with it

Sudath Pasqual,**  2 November 2014, courtesy of http://forum.lankaninvestor.com/t2644-gota-stole-my-city-and-i-m-good-with-it

Six years, one month and a few days. That was when I was in the Old Country last. Didn’t take me long to realize that someone has done a job on the old place. It started with the airport. Hardly any dust, clean, duty free area brilliant, porters in uniform, no misplaced luggage (last time it took me 4 days to get my luggage) and nobody ransacked my baggage asking whether I had anything to declare. It was a very pleasant landing in the Old Country after a long flight and 9 long hours in transit at Heathrow. What a cheap ass airport; you only get 45 minutes of free Wi-Fi time at Heathrow.

pasqual 22

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February 23, 2015 · 9:57 am

Siri Gunasinghe at 90: Insightful Essays from Four Men of Letters

Courtesy of a special feature in the MIDWEEK REVIEW in the Island …. http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=119737 [1]

SIRI G--11 mid review

I: “Siri Gunasinghe — A Reminiscence” …. by H. L. Seneviratne, 17 February 2015

One of the semi official tasks that the University of Ceylon undertook as it established itself in the new campus at Peradeniya in the early 1950s, was the regeneration of national culture in the form of the arts. This was reflected in a seminar held at Peradeniya in 1956, whose proceedings were published in the same year under the title Traditional Sinhalese Culture. Prominent among the scholars who succeeded in that endeavour were Siri Gunasinghe and Ediriweera Sarachchandra. While Sarachchandra’s work was confined to literature and drama, Siri Gunasinghe stood out for his versatility, his interests covering every field of the arts. So much so that his adversaries who had embraced a different kind of cultural resurgence – a militant, prudish and philistine Sinhala Buddhist nationalism—derisively called him sakalakalavallabha, “the husband of all the arts”. Continue reading →

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February 15, 2015 · 1:47 pm

Indo-Pak ‘War’ at Adelaide Oval, 15th February 2015

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Indian ‘Extremist’ targets Pakistan: “Je suis Fanatic!!” …. and note that he is fortified by the presence of a SEA OF BLUE

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Continue reading →

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February 13, 2015 · 1:29 am

We “soldiers of the caliphate’’ — al-Kutobi and Kiad

Paul Maley, in The Australian, 12 February 2014, with the title “Suspects’ Chilling Video Message“

TWO alleged terrorists spoke of “stabbing the kidneys and striking the necks” of their victims in a chilling video message recorded just hours before their planned Sydney attack. Omar al-Kutobi, 24, and Mo-ham­mad Kiad, 25, were ­arrested on Tuesday afternoon in western Sydney allegedly as they were in the final planning stages of an ­Islamic State-inspired terrorist ­attack. In a video message seized by police, the pair proclaimed themselves “soldiers of the caliphate’’ who would carry out the Islamic State’s first successful operation in Australia.

AL-KUTOBI + Kiad and Kutobi – Pic from The Australian

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February 11, 2015 · 4:20 am

The Killing of Osama bin Laden: Rob O’Neill, the Seal, speaks

Toby Harnden, in The Australian, courtesy of The Sunday Times, 11 February 2015, with the title “The Man who shot Osama” IT was a fraction of a second, but the moment he saw Osama bin Laden is seared in Rob O’Neill’s mind. “Every time I close my eyes I can see it,” he says. “I remember looking at how tall he was, skinnier than I thought. His beard was shorter. He’d a crew cut almost and a white cap on.” O'neill in the Oz Rob “Neill as Seal- Pic from NewsCorp Through his night-vision goggles O’Neill could see the al-Qa’ida leader’s hands on the shoulders of his youngest wife, Amal, pushing her forward. He wasn’t surrendering. O’Neill shot him twice in the forehead, the second round hitting him as he crumpled. As bin Laden lay on the floor, the US Navy Seal put a third bullet into his head for good measure. O’Neill and I are sitting at a breakfast table on the patio of a hotel overlooking Laguna Beach, California. The 38-year-old, who grew up in Butte, Montana, and whose ancestors were miners from County Cork in Ireland, leans towards me. “It was this close,” he says. “Two feet, if that.” He continues: “You want the bullet to go through the back of the brain so you cut off the spinal cord. If someone might be wearing a suicide vest, you shoot him in the face. People don’t die as fast for real as they do in the movies. Shoot someone in the chest and he’s going to have time to explode the vest.” Continue reading →

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February 11, 2015 · 2:55 am

Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, 1877-1947: Art Historian, Writer and Philosopher

Thiru Arumugam

“The artist is not a special kind of person; rather each person is a special kind of artist” Ananda Coomaraswamy.

Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy (1834-1879) was the first Ceylon Tamil Knight. He was a lawyer and Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. He was the first non-Christian Asian to be called to the English Bar. He married a wealthy English lady, Elizabeth Beeby, who was a Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria. They had one child, Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, who was born in Colombo in 1877.

AK COOM Ananda grew up in England, where he studied at the University of London, graduating with first class honours in Geology and Botany. Having returned to Ceylon in 1903, he was appointed as the first Director of Mineralogical Surveys. In 1904 he identified the mineral Thorianite and his work on this subject led to the award of a Doctor of Science degree from the University of London. He called it Uraninite in an article in Spolia Zeylanica and then followed an extended correspondence with double Nobel Prize winner Madam Curie about its radioactivity. She suggested that it be called ‘Coomaranite’ but he declined the honour. Continue reading →

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