அபிவிருத்தியா ? ஜனநாயகமா ?  மோதும் அரசியல் முகாம்கள்

2014-12-11 11:21:59 | General

ஜனநாயகமும் மனிதாபிமான முகத்துடனான பொருளாதார அபிவிருத்தியும் சமாந்தரமாக மேம்பாடுகாணும் போதே நாடொன்று சுபிட்சமடைய முடியும். ஆனால் எதிர்வரும் ஜனவரி   8 இல் இடம்பெறவிருக்கும் ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் இரு பிரதான அரசியல் முகாம்களும் தேர்தலுக்காக முன்வைத்துவரும் சுலோகங்களை அவதானிக்கையில் ஜனநாயகத்துக்கும் அபிவிருத்திக்கும் இடையிலான   மோதலே மேலெழுந்து கொண்டிருப்பதாக தென்படுகிறது. மத்தியில் குவிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் அதிகாரத்தினூடாக ஸ்திரத்தன்மையையும் அபிவிருத்தியையும் நாட்டு மக்கள் விரும்புகின்றனரா அல்லது ஜனநாயகம் மற்றும் சகல இனங்களையும் உள்ளீர்த்துக் கொண்ட கட்டமைப்பை நாடுகின்றனரா என்ற பரீட்சைக்களம் இலங்கை மக்களை எதிர்நோக்கியிருப்பதாக தோன்றுகிறது. ஆளும் ஐக்கிய  மக்கள் சுதந்திர முன்னணியின் வேட்பாளரான ஜனாதிபதி  மகிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ,  அபிவிருத்தியையும் ஸ்திரத்தன்மையையும் வலுவான முறையில் மத்தியில் அதிகாரம் குவிந்துள்ள அரசாங்கத்தையும் பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்துகிறார்.

பயங்கரவாதமோ, இன ரீதியான பிரிவினைவாதமோ எந்தவிதத்திலும் தலை தூக்க இடமளிக்கப்போவதில்லையென அவரின் அரசாங்கம்  சூளுரைத்து வருவதுடன் மனித உரிமை விவகாரங்களை முன்னிறுத்தி நாட்டை பலவீனப்படுத்த மேற்குலகு முயற்சிப்பதாகவும் குற்றஞ்சாட்டி வருகிறது. பலமாக மத்தியில் குவிந்திருக்கும் அதிகாரத்தினூடாக அரசாங்கம் முன்னெடுத்துவரும் அபிவிருத்தி நடவடிக்கைகள் தாழ்ந்த மட்டத்திலுள்ள நடுத்தர வர்க்கத்தினர் மற்றும் வறுமைக் கோட்டின் கீழ் வாழ்வோரை குறிப்பாக தென்னிலங்கை கிராமப் பகுதி மக்களை அதிகளவுக்கு ஆகர்சித்திருப்பதாக காணப்படுகிறது. அதேசமயம் பிரதான எதிர்க்கட்சியான ஐ.தே.க., அரசிலிருந்து வெளியேறியுள்ள  ஜாதிக ஹெல உறுமய, சரத் பொன்சேகாவின் ஜனநாயக கட்சி, அரசிலிருந்து வெளியேறிய ஸ்ரீலங்கா சுதந்திரக் கட்சியின் முன்னாள் செயலாளரும் தற்போது ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தலில் பொது வேட்பாளராக களத்தில் குதித்துள்ளவருமான மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனவின் அணியில் உள்ளவர்கள் ஆகிய தரப்பினரை உள்ளடக்கிய எதிரணி முகாம் அதிகாரங்கள் பகிர்ந்தளிக்கப்பட வேண்டுமென வலியுறுத்துகின்றனர்.

நிறைவேற்றதிகார ஜனாதிபதி முறைமை மற்றும் ஜனாதிபதிக்கு அதிக அதிகாரங்களை வழங்கும்  18 ஆவது திருத்தம் போன்ற எதேச்சாதிகாரத்திற்கு வழிவகுக்கும் கட்டமைப்புகள்  நீக்கப்பட வேண்டும் என்று வலியுறுத்துகின்றனர். இத்தகைய சீர்திருத்தங்களை மேற்கொள்ளாவிடின் ஜனநாயகம் மோசமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டு விடுமெனவும் அதனை தடத்திற்கு கொண்டு வர முடியாத நிலைமை ஏற்பட்டுவிடுமெனவும் அவர்கள் கூறி வருகின்றனர். ஆனால், பயங்கரவாதத்தை ஒழித்து பொருளாதார அபிவிருத்திக்கு அவசியத் தேவையான சமாதானத்தையும் ஸ்திரத்தன்மையையும் சிறுமைப்படுத்தும் பாதையில் எதிரணி செல்வதாக அரசாங்கம் கூறுகின்றது.

நாட்டுக்காக எதனையுமே ஆட்சியிலிருந்த போது செய்யாதவர்களே எதிரணியில் இருப்பதாக ஜனாதிபதி  ராஜபக்ஷ சுட்டிக்காட்டுகிறார். அவர்களால் யுத்தத்தில் வெற்றி பெறவோ அல்லது நாட்டை அபிவிருத்திப் பாதையில் கொண்டு செல்லவோ முடிந்திருக்கவில்லை என்பதையும் அவர் வாக்காளர் மத்தியில் முன்வைத்து வருகிறார். ஆனால், நிறைவேற்றதிகார ஜனாதிபதி முறைமையை நீக்க விரும்பினால்  அது தொடர்பாக பாராளுமன்றத் தெரிவுக் குழு மூலம் பேச முடியுமெனவும் தெரிவுக் குழு பரிந்துரைத்தால் அதுபற்றி ஆராய முடியுமென்ற கருத்தை முன்வைத்திருப்பதையும் அவதானிக்க முடிகிறது. மத்தியில் குவிக்கப்பட்ட அதிகாரத்தினால் பொதுமக்களுக்கு அனுகூலங்களிலும் பார்க்க பிரதி கூலங்களே அதிகம் என்பதை அறிந்திருப்பதன் வெளிப்பாடாக  இக்கருத்து காணப்படுகிறது.  எவ்வாறாயினும் அபிவிருத்திக்கும் ஜனநாயகத்துக்கும் இடையிலான சமராகவே தேர்தல் களம் உருவாகி வருவதாக தோன்றுகிறது.

Address to the AAGGSL by Victor Ivan and Gamini Viyangoda

 Thursday, 11 December 2014 

 

Australian advocacy for Good Governance in Sri Lanka launched its first address to the public at the Monash University, Rotunda Auditorium on 7th December. Victor Ivan and Gamini Viyangoda addressed the forum via skype technology from Colombo followed by a discussion with Dr.Jayampathy Wickramaratne. The emphasis was on Good Governance in Sri Lanka after the Presidential Elections.

The current situation in Sri Lanka in respect to Good Governance was discussed at length and Victor Ivan in his address sighted the fall of all democratic values and mass scale pilferage of public funds by the authorities.  Victor Ivan and Gamini Viyangoda analysed the current trends in the political arena and were prophetic that a change is needed at the helm and Maithreepala would, with the assistance of the rest of the parties be able to reverse this trend and move towards Good Governance in Sri Lanka.

Links to Victor Ivan’s and gamini Viyangoda’spre-recorded addresses could be watched via the following link:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Australian-Advocacy-for-Good-Governance-in-Sri-Lanka/396840260480513

13 Year President of the SLFP Branch in Melbourne joins the UNP
It was newsworthy to observe that thePresident of thirteen 13 Years of the SLFP branch in Melbourne, Australia joined the UNP by handing over the membership application to President Sarath Jayasuriya at the samevenue.

Mr. Sarath Jayasuriya (left) accepting the membership form Asoka Athuraliye (right)
Asoka Athuraliye, who was the President of the SLFP Australia Branch for 13 years today crossed over to the UNP at a Presentation held at the Monash University Auditorium on 7th December.  He was received by the President of the UNP Branch in Australia Mr. Sarath Jayasuriya, flanked by the secretary of the UNP branch Nalaka Navagaththegama, Sunil Archchci and Media Secretary Nalina Paranamanna.

A Response To Kumar David’s Prescription

By Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe -December 11, 2014

Ajit Rupasinghe

A Response to Kumar David’s article titled “Facilitating Rajapaksa’s Departure” appearing on page ten in the Colombo Telegraph; November 30, 2014.

Kumar David is a perceptive analytical thinker. He has  a wide store of information, a panoramic conceptual landscape and a powerful vocabulary. These attributes are combined with an ability to cut to the bone. In this piece, Kumar David has performed exceptionally as a political surgeon. For all its surgical skills, however, I thought that this piece requires comment for its blunted vision and political gimmickry, if not for the prophetic self-adulation of the author. “Still I am delighted since it is rarely that a prophet enjoys such fulsome validation….And why can’t a prophet be right twice”.

What Kumar David is arguing for is the precise intensity of lazer-targeted radiation, just the measured, graduated amount of  radiation to be delivered at the right time, so the patient won’t overdose, collapse and die. He has prescribed what is most desperately required to keep a tottering Capitalist State and a cancerous feudal-colonial social system and political order alive- and kicking. It is a project to regenerate a Comprador Capitalist State and ruling class that survives and thrives on imperialist profit and plunder. He wishes to see a unified country under a unitary State ruled by a new ruling class coalition that would better facilitate imperialist, neo-liberal penetration and plunder. The oppressed Tamil nation and the Moslem and Hill Country nationalities will just have to stand in line and wait until their problems and issues could be addressed in due time. The toiling suffering masses being thrown into abject poverty, indebtedness, degradation and misery will also have to take their turns, Just place your faith in Maithripala Sirisena until he becomes the next person to rule the Capitalist Dictatorship and get his act together. Just wait until he abolishes the Executive Presidencyand restores democracy and good governance. All will be hunky-dory in Paradise Isle. That is the “bright light at the end of the tunnel” that Kumar David envisions through his heartfelt endorsement of Maithripala Sirisena as the next Executive President.

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Discharge your duties impartially -- UNP to Elections Comm.

2014-12-12

The United National Party yesterday called on Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya to discharge his duties diligently and impartially as the election laws were violated daily.

“As Commissioner, Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya is constitutionally empowered to disqualify candidates who fail to abide by election laws. Three days after the nominations period ended, cut-outs and posters of the candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa still litter the streets across the country,” the UNP said in a statement.

The full statement Issued by the UNP:

The arrogance and extravagance of the Rajapaksa family regime is all too visible in their latest jaunt to Tirupati in South India. The trip was scheduled in the heat of the election cycle, when the forces opposing his rule are agitating for change and the end to the plunder of this state by a single family.

Undoubtedly, President Rajapaksa needs divine intervention at this Presidential election. He will have to look to the heavens to try to win back the favour of the people, who have tired of his nepotism, corruption and self-serving administration.

But as the opposition in this country we are obligated to query where the money came from for the President’s recent devout excursion. Who is incurring the enormous costs of the president and his entourage of lackeys who travelled to Tirupati on a special aircraft hired from SriLankan Airlines?

In addition to the enormous costs of chartering a plane, there is a larger loss of revenue from the aircraft being removed from its normal schedule. Paying passengers are left stranded in numerous airports and SriLankan Airlines is being forced to incur those costs as well. If this was truly a family airline as President Rajapaksa thinks it is then we the public could have looked the other way. But all these costs are borne by the Sri Lankan tax-payer. We pay for both the costs and the losses while the Rajapaksa family treats the national carrier like their personal air limousine service. At a time when the whole election focus is on extravagance, corruption and wastage of the Rajapaksa regime, the disregard of public opinion is emblematic of the power lust and ‘to hell with the public’ attitude that has been the hallmark of this rule. And this is what the voters are determined to defeat at this coming election.

Our one proud national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines has been a loss making enterprise since 2008, the year President Rajapaksa forced its international partners to withdraw over a personal incident. Since then the airline has incurred losses of over Rs 91 billion up to 2013. With another record loss in 2014 in the offing, the losses will rise even further. This is no surprise however because just like everything else in the Rajapaksa regime family and friends have taken precedence over capability and qualifications.

Without a doubt, the Rajapaksa regime has unleashed a multi-billion dollar campaign to ensure it does not lose its grip on power in January. The advertising campaigns and cut-out onslaught provides ample evidence of the spending power the regime commands. Where does this money come from? Who funds this mega-campaign? Does this money come from state coffers? Or is it the Rajapaksa campaign’s personal funds? In which case, how did this president and his family coterie amass this quantity of wealth? Has President Rajapaksa submitted a declaration of his assets to the Commissioner of Elections? If the common opposition candidate can do so, and make his declaration publicly available, there is no reason why the incumbent should be exempt.

President Rajapaksa has questions to answer. If he fails to do so, his extravagant campaign alone will be unshakable evidence. And it will be reason enough to send him and his long list of family members home on January 8.The time to end this circus has come. It is time to send this group of pillagers home. The people have had enough. They seek change.

We call upon the Commissioner of Elections to discharge his duties with diligence and impartiality. We demand that the Elections Secretariat insist that candidates submit their asset declarations. As Commissioner, Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya is constitutionally empowered to disqualify candidates who fail to abide by election laws. Three days after the nominations period ended cut-outs and posters of the candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa still litter the streets across the country. The material is giving rise to anger and contempt among the general public. Yet why does the Commissioner drag his feet? Why will he not put his words to action?

The people are crying out for a free and fair election, but the signs of such a clean, democratic battle are already fading. Mr. Commissioner, the ball is very much in your court. The decision of the people has already been made. The signs are visible everywhere. We urge you to take the strongest possible action against those candidates or parties attempting to thwart the will of the people. Nothing can stop the wave that has started against the inglorious rule of the incumbency, and if the Elections Commission stands in their way, the people will remember and condemn you for it.
You can decide to be a lackey of the incumbent, or you can choose to be a model democrat, a servant of the state, whose true masters are Sri Lanka’s people.

- See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/58771/discharge-your-duties-impartially-unp-to-elections-comm#sthash.Qy493Igu.dpuf

Sri Lanka leader suffers more defections ahead of vote

Botanical Gardens deputy minister V S Radhakrishnan and National Language Integration deputy P Digambaram joined opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, who is spearheading the challenge to Rajapakse in the Jan 8 election.

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse. (Photo: AFP/Ishara S.Kodikara)

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 10 Dec 2014

COLOMBO: Two Sri Lankan ministers quit the government on Wednesday (Dec 10), leaving President Mahinda Rajapakse without the two-thirds parliamentary majority he enjoyed before calling a snap election to seek an unprecedented third term.

The latest defections reflected growing political disenchantment with the president. Botanical Gardens deputy minister V S Radhakrishnan and National Language Integration deputy P Digambaram joined opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, who is spearheading the challenge to Rajapakse in the Jan 8 election.

"There will be more defections before the election," Sirisena told reporters at a news conference. "I am confident of victory in the elections," Sirisena said.

Rajapakse's party still holds a comfortable simple majority, but loss of the two-thirds support means it can carry out no constitutional changes without opposition support. Rajapakse called the snap election after his party suffered a sharp drop in support in September's local elections.

The president remains largely popular with voters from the Sinhalese majority after he won a 37-year war against Tamil separatists in 2009, but his support has eroded among minority parties, which usually hold the balance of power. Critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian.

Both ministers who exited the ruling party's ranks Wednesday are from the minority Tamil Hindu community. At an opposition press conference they vowed to topple Rajapakse, who has been in office since 2005 and is South Asia's longest-serving leader. "We are not alone," Digambaram told reporters. "We bring with us about 150,000 of our supporters."

The ministers' departures reduced the ruling party's strength in parliament to 148 seats, down from 161 when Rajapakse called the election last month.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said in a report this week Rajapakse was facing an unexpectedly strong challenge from his former health minister Sirisena, who has secured wide opposition support. "The sudden emergence of a strong opposition candidate caught many, including President Rajapakse, by surprise," the ICG said.

It warned the election could turn ugly and called for the international community to send monitors to observe the campaign and deter any violence.

There has been election-related violence in Sri Lanka in previous polls. But private monitors have voiced concern about police inaction this time in dealing with attacks against opposition activists, and suggest the post-election situation could be more serious.

- AFP/ec

UNP seeks travel ban on officials breaking election law

by a Special Correspondent-December 11, 2014

The main opposition today launched a campaign to deprive overseas travel of state officials who are flagrantly violating election laws and deploying government resources to boost President Mahinda Rajapakse’s re-election campaign.

United National Party (UNP) media chief Mangala Samaraweera said they launched a “Black Book” to list violations by public servants who are otherwise expected to be neutral under election law.

“We will publish the names of violators and make sure that all foreign missions in Colombo are kept informed by way of a newsletter every week,” Former Foreign Minister Samaraweera said.

“Most of these crooked officials want to send their children abroad to study. That is why we want to ask foreign missions to ensure that even the family members of these (black-listed) officials are not granted visas.”

Sri Lanka’s military already face travel restrictions to the United States in line with “Leahy Law”. Many  officials have already been deprived of US visas drawing strong protests from the defence ministry.

Samaraweera also read out a list of retired military officers who have been roped into campaigning for President Rajapaksa.

Army commander in electioneering!

 Thursday, 11 December 2014

Violating all rules and regulations of the Sri Lanka Army, its commander Daya Ratnayake is going to take over president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s elction campaign, say SLA sources.

He will summon all ranks in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts to the A’pura commander’s office today for a special discussion.

As the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has directly given the order to the Army commander. According to procedures, these had taken place previously through the defence secretary, but due to an unknown reason, the president has ordered the Army commander to take over his entire campaign in the north central province. The Army commander will come directly under the president.

Sumanadasa’s plot to ruin president!

Thursday, 11 December 2014 

The 08th of January, the date fixed by royal astrologer Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena for the presidential election, is very bad for the president as per his horoscope, Piyasena Rathuwithana, another astrologer loyal to the president, has told him.

Alarmed by Rathuwithana’s opinion, the president summoned several other astrologers and sought their view, and all agreed January 08 spelt badly for the president. A worried president wanted to know any remedies.

All of them expressed the opinion that in order to avoid the bad effects of the date, the president should go to Thirupathi Kovil as soon as possible and make a vow. Accordingly, the president set aside several scheduled work and suddenly went to India’s Thirupathi Kovil on November 09.

Commenting further on the presidential election, Rathuwithana said that even if the president won it by any means, he would find it difficult to rule according to his wishes.

Enemies Of The President’s Promise – Bash-Ful

By Rajiva Wijesinha -December 11, 2014 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

GL and Sajin meanwhile failed to take things forward in the other area which had been entrusted to them, in that they brought nothing from the negotiations to the PSC. It became such a joke that even representatives of the hardline parties asserted this and said it should be wound up. This made sense for nothing of what we had discussed, the unexceptionable measures which the TNA had accepted in principle, and which could have been fleshed out by the PSC, a second chamber for instance and increased power to local bodies, the elimination as far as possible of the concurrent list, were not discussed by the Committee. Both Vasantha and I had brought these matters up, and it was clear that the more intelligent members of the Committee found them interesting, but there seemed massive resistance to any reforms. But in a context in which Sajin vass Goonewardena seemed to be calling all the shorts, and given his control of both the Minister of External Affairs and the President’s son, so that the President himself seemed unable to move without his blessing, there was little hope of the regime breaking out of the straitjacket in which it was held. 

Mahinda and Vass

***

Namal however, though he would not stand up against Sajin, did seem to have his measure, as was apparent in the brief period in which Tamara Kunanayagam was able to deal direct with the President while she was in Geneva. Her sudden removal was probably due to what she had discovered while she was there, and the realization that her direct link with the President would stymie the various stratagems that were laying the country low.

When she arrived a month before the September 2011 UN Human Rights Council Session, she was informed that Kshenuka had been negotiating with the American ambassador about a resolution to bring Sri Lanka before the Human Rights Council for an Interactive Dialogue. When she contacted the Ministry about this and instructions on how to respond, it was to find that they had no knowledge of such an initiative. However they did not seem to take it seriously, so Tamara called the President direct, and he asked her to fly to Colombo immediately for a briefing.

When she did so, she found the Foreign Ministry totally hostile, and furious that she had come to Sri Lanka without authorization from them. At a meeting where GL and Sajin were present she was given instructions that she should go back immediately, and not meet the President. Fortunately she had a ticket that could not be changed, and the Secretary to the Ministry accepted this position, so she was able to meet the President.Read More

Horses and donkeys 

Editorial-December 11, 2014, 8:12 pm

The upcoming presidential poll is bound to go down in history as the electoral contest that caused the highest number of crossovers. Its aftermath is also likely to see many more defections as well as the return of some turncoats.

Some more crossovers are expected during the next few days and both the government and the Opposition are determined to outdo each other in the defection circus as it were. Common presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena has assured his supporters that an ‘exodus’ from the UPFA is imminent and asked them to be patient. The government, having secured the backing of the UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and persuaded JHU heavyweight Udaya Gammanpila to return to its fold yesterday, is promising a bigger surprise within the next few days. Social media, in overdrive, keeps the chatterati agog.

It is popularly said that many randy, blokeish males have the bad habit of condemning as strumpets decent women who reject their advances. Similarly, political parties insult those they fail to prevent from decamping and hail as heroes and heroines others who join them. Both the government and the Opposition claim they have got racehorses and lost donkeys during the last two weeks or so. It is a case of one man’s donkey being another man’s horse!

Gammanpila’s decision to back President Rajapaksa has split the JHU down the middle and the rebel group in the party led by Ven. Medhananda Thera is likely to make the most of the situation to win over some more party stalwarts who have pledged their support to the Opposition common candidate. The UNP has succeeded in creating a rift in the CWC which has pledged its support for President Rajapaksa.

The unfolding political drama or, more appropriately, soap opera is a slightly rehashed version of what we watched in 2010. There has been a change in the cast including the protagonist. Last time, it had only a few episodes but this time around it has been divided into many to keep the voting public in suspense. But, they are already aware of the storyline!

At the 2010 presidential election, there were Gen. Sarath Fonseka, the UNP, the TNA, the JVP, the SLMC, some SLFP dissidents, NGOs and the LTTE groups active overseas in one camp and President Mahinda Rajapaksa (from the SLFP), the LSSP, the CP, the JHU etc in the other.

At present, instead of Fonseka, the Opposition alliance has Sirisena as the presidential candidate and the JHU has been an addition. The JVP is backing the common candidate without getting actively involved in the campaign. The TNA will definitely back Sirisena as it wants to see the back of Rajapaksa, but it will delay announcing its decision until the eleventh hour in a bid to deny the government time for a counter propaganda onslaught; the SLMC is also very likely to throw in its lot with Sirisena in the end even at the risk of a split. The President’s camp consists of the same allies save the JHU or part thereof.

Slogans and issues are also more or less the same. In 2010, too, Rajapaksas were accused of corruption, abuse of power, nepotism and cronyism and they called their rivals traitors and puppets on strings furthering the interests of the enemies of the state.

A presidential election is a kind of joust where two contenders charge at each other, lances poised. The horse and donkey circus (or dog and pony show) may provide the public with entertainment and help the candidates attract media attention, but there is very little the defectors can do to influence the outcome of a presidential contest, much less help anyone win.

Was this shirt from Wimal’s Kollupitiya boarding?

Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay

1, 2014 by srilankatwo Edit

  

On Thursday, 11 December 2014

Hon. Minister Wimal Weerawansa was the chief guest at the launch of ‘Himalaya Pamula’, a book of adventures by a member of the old Hiru newspaper Kelum Kumara Mohotti in September. Those days he was called Wimalasiri Gamlath alias Vibhuthi. Two decades later, he is Wimal Weerawansa, an honourable cabinet minister.

Present at the launch were media colleagues like Sunil Madhawa Premathilaka and Winnie Hettigoda. There, Hon. Minister Wimal Weerawansa made a very emotional speech, recalling the past.

He tearfully remembered how Kelum, Uditha Gayashan and another journalist who is not in the country, and himself lived in brotherhood at the upper floor of the Hiru office in Kollupitiya. The T-shirts at that boarding had no owner. They were public property. The four shared the shirts among themselves.  Since Kelum is around six feet tall, others could not wear his trousers, but there was no problem with his shirts.

All these came to mind after seeing the shirt the Hon. minister wore for ‘Balaya’ programme of Hiru TV on November 27. It was of Burberry Brit brand. The online price of this shirt is around 344 US dollars. That is more than Rs. 45,000. Anyway, we are happy that Wimal lives so highly, although we do not have such wealth. We can sing the song written by Ven. Rambukana Siddhartha Thera – “Apith Ekka Ekata Hitapu Apey Lamayine – Ada Kaala Beela Endala Karala Yahathin Inne – Sathutu Veyalla – Irisiyawa Atha Herapalla.”

But, in a few days, he might come before TV and say, “Due to my old habit of sharing with Kelum, Bhashi, now I share clothes at Temple Trees with Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha as the adopted son of the president. So, I wore a shirt I found in a room at Temple Trees to Balaya programme. It belongs to Rohitha Malli. What is a Rs. 45,000 shirt to him? He wears Rs. 150,000 Louis Vuitton shoes.”

We are dead certain that our minister Wimal has not yet abandoned his habit of sharing. He is a real socialist. He has a real liking for public property for his personal use.

Hong Kong's #OccupyCentral protest camp falls - video

THURSDAY 11 DECEMBER 2014
Hong Kong authorities begin clearing the main pro-democracy protest site, marking an end to more than two months of street demonstrations that have choked parts of the Chinese-controlled city.

Tick, Tick, Bull, Shit

Don’t believe the CIA’s ticking time bomb excuse when it says it had to torture.

Tick, tick, tick. You know that sound? It’s the sound of a thousand irrelevant hypotheticals.

• BY ROSA BROOKS-DECEMBER 10, 2014

Most of them go something like this: There’s a nuclear bomb hidden somewhere in New York City. If it’s detonated, millions will die! And you, a heroic public servant — an honorable career employee of the CIA, perhaps — have captured the evil terrorist mastermind who planted the bomb! Nice work!

Tick, Tick, Bull, Shit by Thavam Ratna

Could a drop in oil prices reshape global economy? - video

PAUL MASON Economics Edito

Falling world oil prices bring some good news at the petrol pumps. But those revenues are also squeezing economies which are already under pressure.

Modi to Putin: Russia to stay India's top defence partner

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi December 11, 2014. 

 Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi December 11, 2014. 

BY DOUGLAS BUSVINE AND DENIS DYOMKIN-NEW DELHI Thu Dec 11, 2014

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi told President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Russia will remain India's top defence supplier, even though New Delhi's options had improved since the end of the Cold War.

Modi spoke after a one-day summit that sought to revive a relationship that peaked in the Soviet era. The two sides signed billions of dollars of deals in nuclear power, oil and defence.

In the biggest, state-owned Rosatom will build 12 nuclear reactors in India, oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM) signed a 10-year crude supply deal with Essar Oil (ESRO.NS) and India agreed to assemble 400 Russian multi-role helicopters a year.

The Ka-226T twin-engined helicopter deal is important for Modi, who wants to upgrade a military that relies on outdated Soviet equipment and build India's defence production capacity.

"Even if India's options have increased, Russia remains our most important defence partner," Modi, 64, told reporters after the first formal summit between the leaders since he won election in May.

Putin's visit comes as the Kremlin grapples with a sliding oil price and an economy that has been undermined by Western sanctions over its annexation of Crimea last spring and support for an uprising in eastern Ukraine.

The tension over Ukraine intruded on the choreographed visit when it emerged that the Russian-backed leader of Crimea had travelled as part of Putin's delegation.

"We highly appreciate the friendship, trust and mutual understanding with Indian partners," said Putin, who chiefly touched on bilateral issues in his statement to journalists. No questions were allowed.

VISION

The two leaders presided over the signing of a "vision" document setting out a roadmap for cooperation in the sphere of nuclear power. Putin said Russia could eventually supply India with 20 nuclear reactors.

In the event, Rosatom said that it would supply 12 nuclear energy reactors for India over 20 years.

A 1,000-megawatt reactor is operating at the Russian-built Kudankulam power station in Tamil Nadu, with a second due on-stream in 2015.

Indian officials said a total of six reactors will be built at Kudankulam. A further six will follow at a site to be determined.

Other strategic deals covered oil supply, infrastructure and an increase in direct diamond sales to India by Russian state monopoly Alrosa (ALRS.MM).

On defence, the two sides will seek to move ahead with long-delayed projects to develop a joint fifth-generation fighter jet and a multi-role transport aircraft, in addition to the chopper deal.

A spokesman for India's foreign minister said he was not officially aware of the visit by Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov, who is subject to Western sanctions.

But Gul Kripalani, a Mumbai businessman who met the Crimean leader at a New Delhi hotel, told Reuters the talks were unofficial and Aksyonov had travelled to India as part of Putin's delegation.

(Additional reporting by Nidhi Verma, Malini Menon and Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Robert Birsel, Larry King)