High treason conspiracy hatched to transfer chiefs of FCID and CID amidst arrests and remanding of high flying culprits !

(Lanka-e-News -28.June.2016, 11.30PM) Following the arrests and remanding of several ace notorious rogues of the Blue Brigand including Basil, Yoshitha, Gammanpila, Muzammil and Sajin Vaas during the last several days who were evading   the arms of the law throughout  the nefarious decade , these culprits who are waning and wilting after being hauled up before courts  have hatched a high  treason conspiracy to transfer the chiefs of the CID and FCID , based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Among the conspirators, those playing the lead roles are minister Rajitha Senaratne and IGP Poojitha Jayasundara alias  ‘Policepathi Koloma’ (IGP’s clownish acts). The conspiracy aims at  removing  two of the top notch most honest and efficient police officers , namely Ravi Waidyalankara the chief of the FCID , and Ravi Seneviratne the chief of the CID, and to replace them with the  henchmen of the conspirators – the henchmen are  Ranmal Kodituwakku and Mevan Silva. The conspirators are moving heaven and earth in this direction to achieve their traitorous and treacherous  goals.

Rajitha Senaratne specially is determined to get the FCID chief transferred because Ravi Waidyalankara is not taking action to suppress further  the complaint lodged with the FCID against Senaratne which was  hitherto kept hidden.

Lanka e news reported the fraudulent transaction of Rajitha and the charges against him under the caption ‘Minister Rajitha’s gobbling up of 2000 % public funds powered by ‘Power Asia’ ! Why didn’t FCID probe this hitherto ?’ .

Thereafter the FCID has initiated investigations, it is learnt. In the circumstances , It has become an urgent necessity for Rajitha to plant his own henchman in the FCID in order to suppress the investigations.

The ‘Policepathi Koloma’  Poojitha of course has other reasons to remove  these two honest hotshot Police officers in the police department from their present positions . Truly it is a necessity stemming from  Poojitha’s koloma (clownish acts).

When Poojitha was making desperate attempts to become the IGP , the latter conducted a mud slinging campaign against his rivals. He had slyly   instructed the chiefs of the FCID and CID , Waidyalankara  and Ravi Seneviratne respectively to forward to him the files of his rivals if there are charges against  them. Both Waidyalankara and Seneviratne who abide by laws and ethics have not complied with his ulterior motives driven request.
   
In addition, during that period when Poojitha was toiling hard to become the IGP , and was engaging in  poojas and exhibitionism  , these two officers have not attended those ceremonies.

Poojitha who is obsessed with cheap propaganda and hypocritical piety charades therefore bore a grudge against these two officers , and hence had supported these conspiratorial moves. 

Apart from these grounds , both Rajitha and Poojitha are having links with the crooks and cronies of the  Rajapakse Blue Brigand of the nefarious decade who are now being flushed out from their nooks and crannies by the FCID and CID like mice . These Blue Brigand scoundrels  have therefore pressurized this crooked minded  duo to somehow get rid of these two officers from their present positions.

Hence , this Rajitha- Poojitha duo are moving heaven and earth to transfer these two police officers from the FCID and CID through subterfuges and camouflages, and plant Ranmal Kodituwakku and Mevan Silva in their places ,  without revealing the actual reasons that are prompting them to make these traitorous moves. Indeed they have made a request to the president too to achieve their dastardly goal , but the president had declined. In any event , the president had pointed out  , unlike in the past , transferring police chiefs is not his responsibility.

Having failed with the president ,these conspirators are now seeking to pressurize the Police Commission to effect these transfers, based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division. 

It must be warned it is by supporting this  conspiracy against the rainbow revolution , Rajitha – Poojitha duo is going to  become kujitha (infamous) . Of course this does not mean they are not already kujitha to all intents and purposes. 

It was the aspiration, aim and objective of the  masses for good governance who were responsible for the successful rainbow revolution of 8 th January 2015 , that punishment shall be  duly meted out to the criminals, crooks and the corrupt .On the other hand let it be warned ahead  if there is a force or anybody   encouraging such a force to   conspire or militate against punishment being meted out , the same  pro good governance masses are  not going to  hesitate to take appropriate measures to combat those attempts. 

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by     (2016-06-28 20:57:51)

Elephants disallowed to the Perahera would be confiscated

Jun 28, 2016

Minister in charge of sustainable development wildlife Gamini Jayawickarama Perera said if the owners do not wish to give elephant’s and tuskers for the use of Perahera in the coming days would be confiscated under court orders.

The minister said the government has agreed to deploy all tamed elephant’s and tusker's for Perahera’s and the government would abolish the elephant license if any elephant owner’s breaks the law.
 
The minister gave these comments when the reporters questioned him following a function held in the central provincial council auditorium today 27th. The function was held to raise awareness to the central provincial council officials about sustainable development.
 
Elephant training center
The minister said it is not suitable to use the elephants which have been illegally kept in Perahera’s but he said some elephant’s has been severely tortured.
 
The minister said the government will have a count of the elephant’s and tuskers used for Perahera’s but for the moment he said there are 120 to 140 elephant’s. He further said an elephants training center would be started soon to tame the elephants to use in the Perahera and the ministry is hoping to tame 30 elephants.
 
The minister said “it would be ideal if a place like Ma oya where there is a large area, where the water can flow, is suitable for this elephant training center. Areas where there ponds are not suitable. Training of mahouts would also take place. The idea to start such a training center is to hold Perahera in rural areas. Some Vihara which don’t have a sufficient income cannot deploy elephant’s and tuskers for the Perahera. There is a large amount of money should be paid to get an elephant”
 
“The shortage of veterinary doctors in the forestry department would be filled soon. Discussions are undergoing to take the veterinary doctors to the department who pass out from the Peradeniya University”
 
Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said there is a shortage of seven to eight veterinary doctors and the shortage would be completed soon.

Navin, Dayasiri And Royal Turf Club Violate Public Property Act

June 28, 2016

Yahapalanaya Ministers Dayasiri Jayasekara and Navin Dissanayake along with the Royal Turf Club are in blatant violation of committing an offense against the Public Property Act number 12 of 1982 section 2, Colombo Telegraph can reveal today.

The violation falling under section 2 – ‘Mischief to Public Property’ is where the Royal Turf Club, a private enterprise registered under Act no 7 of 2007 Companies Act, is currently constructing an Equine Hospital and an Equine Pool on a property in the precinct of the Nuwara Eliya Race Course, where a purported Memorandum of Understanding has been obtained to rent only its premises for twenty four months.

Photo -Rienzie Edwards and Dayasiri – From the Royal Turf Club Facebook page.

The violation of this act is non bailable, and if anyone found guilty, would serve any a prison sentence of a minimum of one year and not more than 20 years.

The said MOU which is controversial by itself, has not followed proper legal procedures according to the treasury circulars, government’s rules and regulations and establishment code prior to it been rented out to Royal Turf Club. Besides no tender procedures have been followed, there was no government valuation report obtained for the value of the property to arrive at a rent as such as this. The monthly rent charged by the Sugathadasa Stadium Authorities for this invaluable property is only a paltry sum of Rs 110,000 a month. Further, this is an unsolicited proposal where even cabinet approval had not been sort prior to handing this property over to the Royal Turf Club.

The MOU was signed between Wijarathna Devagedara the Chairman of Sugathadasa National Sports Complex Authority and Suranjith Premadasa the President of the Royal Turf Club when Navin Dissanayake was the Minister of Sports.

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At least 28 killed in suicide attack at Istanbul’s airport, officials say

Turkish officials say two suicide bombers carried out an attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport that's reportedly killed at least 10 people and wounded around 40 others. (Reuters)

By Erin Cunningham June 28 at 5:19 PM

ISTANBUL — Three attackers with suicide vests detonated their explosives at the entrance of Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, killing at least 28 people and wounding 60 more, Turkish officials said Tuesday night. The attack is likely to raise tensions in Turkey, which has been the target of multiple attacks by militants in recent months.

Istanbul’s airport is one of the world’s busiest, and the bombers targeted the international terminal, a Turkish official said. Police manning a checkpoint at the terminal shot at the attackers as they approached. The attackers then detonated their bombs, the official said.

It was unclear why police initially found the suspects suspicious. The attackers also died.

Turkish media channels aired what they said was footage from the airport, showing panicked passengers fleeing and debris strewn across the terminal and outside parking area.

Flightradar24, a online live flight tracker, reported Tuesday night that most flights to Istanbul were being diverted to Ankara, the capital, or the western city of Izmir. A Turkish official could only confirm that the airport had been shut down to everyone but emergency personnel.

Both Kurdish and Islamic State militants have carried out bomb attacks in Turkey, including in Istanbul, the country’s largest city. But there was no immediate claim of responsibility Tuesday night.

State-run media on Tuesday reported that the prime minister, interior minister, and Istanbul's governor had formed a crisis desk to deal with the emergency response.

Turkey’s tourism industry has been crippled by the recent violence, including the security forces’ battles with Kurdish militants in the south, and suicide attacks in Istanbul and Ankara. On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey issued a travel warning for the country. The advisory warned U.S. citizens of increased threats of terrorist attacks.

President Obama’s assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, Lisa Monaco, briefed the president on the attack, a White House official said.

The U.S. Consulate in Istanbul said it was working to determine if U.S. citizens are among the victims.

As a member of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, Turkey has increased its strikes on Islamic State positions inside Syria in recent months.

Zeynep Karatas contributed to this report.

Gaza tunnels seen as vital tool of resistance

A Qassam Brigades fighter in a Gaza tunnel.Abed Zagout

Hamza Abu Eltarabesh

 27 June 2016

It was a warm night in Jabaliya, northeast of Gaza City. Abu Zein and his wife were fast asleep when what the couple first thought was an earthquake shook their bed so hard, its legs buckled.

They immediately jumped up and ran out of the home they had only recently moved into after getting married. But outside was quiet. No one was stirring, no damage was visible, the ground

stayed still.

The only movement came from the shadows where a couple of fighters with the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, emerged to ask the couple what had happened.

When Abu Zein — who did not want to give his real name for this article out of concern for his safety — told them, the fighters promised to repair any damage in the couple’s house. The next day, a man turned up with tools to repair the damage to the floor and money as compensation for the damaged furniture.

Land of layers

Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza have long used underground tunnels as an integral part of their military tactics. In this, they have taken a lesson from history. The Vietnamese dug an extensive network of tunnels in their battle against US troops, a network with which the American military never got to grips. Hizballah also went underground to resist the Israeli occupation of Lebanon and during Israel’s war on the country in 2006.

For Palestinian groups — especially the Qassam Brigades — the tunnels serve a multitude of purposes, from smuggling to infiltration to shelter. They are the only protection from Israel’s air power and prying eyes in the sky. They have also been used offensively, most notably in a 2004 attack on an Israeli military observation point in Rafah that saw five Israeli soldiers killed and in the 2006 capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Abu Zein’s story is one of many suggesting that Gaza is now made up of layers. Most people live and work above ground. But below — as illustrated in a 2015 Al Jazeera documentary in which correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh gained access to tunnels in the western part of the coastal enclave — others, these in military fatigues, go about their business.

Al-Dahdouh’s documentary is eye-opening. It shows the kind of tunnels seen on the news: narrow, claustrophobic, snaking their way under the surface. But it also shows larger spaces that function as storage rooms, bedrooms, living spaces, kitchens and bathrooms.

Tunneling is dangerous work and tunnels are designed from bitter experience. Roofs are curved, Qassam members explained to Al Jazeera, as flat ceilings collapse more easily. And their use is of utmost strategic import to the Palestinian resistance, say observers. They explain, said Yousef al-Sharqawi, a retired Palestinian Authority major-general, the ability of the Qassam Brigades to resist repeated, prolonged and ferocious Israeli attacks.

Tunnels, al-Sharqawi said, offered fighters shelter, freedom of movement and the ability to surprise and in some cases capture Israeli troops.

The Al Jazeera documentary also shows that tunnel engineers have access to reasonably sophisticated equipment that is a far cry from the manual methods used in the past. Additionally, the tunnels have their own communication network, allowing fighters to exchange information without risk of interception.

Risky work

In a chance encounter with a group of diggers from the Qassam Brigades, this reporter had an opportunity to ask about their work. Estimates vary, but according to the Brigades, as per the Al Jazeera documentary, some 4,000 people are engaged in digging tunnels, getting paid between $200 and $400 a month.

The work is round the clock, tough and dangerous.

“We suffer breathing problems,” said one of the men, in a coarse voice. All of the men remained masked during the brief encounter. “The air is not good beneath ground. But we get used to it.”

Another said they overcame their fear of tunnel collapse through faith.

“When we are inside, we trust in God. If something should happen, it will be our honor to be martyrs.”

The group left quickly. Security procedures do not allow members of Qassam, when bearing the group’s colors, to stay in the open long.

Their bravura notwithstanding, casualties of the tunnel industry are a commonplace phenomenon in Gaza. In January, seven young men died after a tunnel collapsed in bad weather.

With such danger involved, it is perhaps not surprising that the Qassam Brigades should be keen to advertise the strategic importance of the tunnels. At the beginning of the year, the group published a report on its official website citing what it called the “major achievements” of the tunnel tactics over the years. Seventy Israeli soldiers were killed in 13 operations, according to the report, 129 soldiers were injured and two were captured, Shalit in 2006 and Shaul Aaron‬‏ during Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza.

Israel’s costly counter

The Israeli military is certainly taking the tunnels seriously. Tunnels are one of the reasons Israel cites to prevent materials such as cement and wood from entering Gaza, stymying attempts at rebuilding the civilian infrastructure — from sewage networks to housing — badly damaged during repeated Israeli assaults.

The military is investing millions in technology to detect tunnels. In April, the army claimed to have discovereda tunnel 30 meters underground. It has secured US support in these detection efforts to the tune of $120 million.

None of this deters military leaders in the Qassam Brigades. One high-ranking fighter told this reporter in a written reply through an intermediary that “nobody can stop our tunnel operations … Israel tries to hide its failure to destroy tunnels by blocking the entrance of equipment and materials to Gaza.”

Fayez Abu Shamala, a political analyst and professor at Gaza’s al-Aqsa University, recently suggested in aFacebook post that any technological advances on the Israeli side would only be met by greater determination on the Palestinian side. A high-ranking source, he wrote, “told me that they have recently succeeded in establishing offensive tunnels at a depth of 50 meters.”

Destroying the tunnels was the stated goal of Israel’s 2014 ground invasion of Gaza and their continued existence is an embarrassment to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and a potential spark for another conflict. In January, Netanyahu threatened to act with “much more force” than in the 2014 offensive that killed more than 2,200 people. And the appointment last month as defense minister of Avigdor Lieberman, who has previously threatened a “thorough cleansing” of Gaza, only adds fuel to the fire.

Yet Palestinian resistance leaders maintain the tunnels are of such strategic importance as a means of pressure on Israel that the high costs are worth it. Of the tunnel Israel detected in April, one leader of the Brigadesestimated its cost at $4 million and told Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper that an average tunnel costs $2 million to dig.

“This cost is nothing compared to their value as an effective military tactic,” he said. “They remain a real challenge to Israel.”

Hamza Abu Eltarabesh is a journalist from Gaza.

After Brexit, G-7 Warns Against Disorderly Currency Moves, Vows to Provide Liquidity

Finance ministers and central bankers from the group issue joint statement as U.K. votes to leave EU

Foreign currency exchanges are seen displayed on a board in Sydney on June 23. PHOTO: DAN HIMBRECHTS/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

By TAKASHI NAKAMICHI andIAN TALLEY-June 24, 2016

Top finance officials from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations on Friday issued a joint statement warning against sharp, disorderly exchange-rate movements—and added a vow to ensure “adequate liquidity” to markets—as the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union jolted the global financial markets.

The G-7 was joined by a host of top-level officials from the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. and elsewhere who sought to calm jittery markets—and promised to step in if trading threatened to spin out of control.

Finance ministers and central bankers in the G-7, which include the U.K. said in its statement, “We recognize that excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability.”

“We will continue to consult closely on market movements and financial stability, and cooperate as appropriate.”

The G-7 has essentially given Japan and other members the green light to intervene in their currencies. Under previous agreements, the world’s leading industrialized nations said exchange rate intervention was only legitimate if currency movements are “disorderly.”

Tokyo’s leadership has already signaled it may intervene to tame yen strengthening. Against the U.K. pound, the yen has already retreated from its steepest gains over the last several hours. And although the U.S. Treasury and Fed officials said they’re prepared to act and work in concert with other global policy makers, there is no sign yet of intervention by Washington.

The seven advanced economies also said they stand ready to use standby instruments to ensure adequate liquidity in the financial markets. In the wake of the 2008/2009 global financial crises, the Fed and other major central banks opened up standing short-term credit lines to cover dollar shortages.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the emergency lender “strongly supports” commitments from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank “to supply liquidity to the banking system and curtail excess financial volatility.”

So far, however, none of the G-7 central banks said they have tapped the swap lines.

“We remain united and continue to maintain our solidarity as G-7,” the statement added, likely to reassure global markets that even though the U.K. is leaving the EU, the Brexit votes wouldn’t affect the group’s ability to collaborate on global economic matters.

“We will work closely with both London and Brussels and our international partners to ensure continued economic stability, security, and prosperity in Europe and beyond,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.

The secretary said officials would continue to monitor developments in financial markets closely and consult with their counterparts overseas, but expressed confidence policy makers would be able to avert any potential crises.

“The U.K. and other policy makers have the tools necessary to support financial stability, which is key to economic growth,” he said.

The G-7 also said the U.K. economy and financial sector remain “resilient,” and that the group is confident that U.K. authorities are “well-position to address the consequences of the referendum outcome.”

The Brexit is expected to jolt the U.S. and other economies and frustrate central bank efforts to spur growth.

Already, the referendum sent the dollar soaring as the British pound and euro plunged and equities markets into a nose-dive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, was down more than 400 points, or over 2%, Friday morning.

In the U.S., it will likely push back any plans for the Fed to raise interest rates, with some economists now predicting no raises anytime this year. Japan has been trying to push the yen’s value down by controversially pushing rates into negative territory.

The strong dollar weighs on U.S. exports, exacerbating the trade problems caused by the Brexit as it hits U.K. and European consumer confidence, investment and overall demand for U.S. products. Buyers, firms and investors, already skittish about U.S. and global economic prospects, likely will be even more hesitant to spend any cash—and more inclined to save—another weight to the U.S. economy.

Write to Takashi Nakamichi at takashi.nakamichi@wsj.com and Ian Talley at ian.talley@wsj.com

David Cameron gives a statement to the House of Commons following the referendum vote to leave the EU.

Cameron tells EU leaders they must offer UK more control over immigration

PM warned Brussels summit that free movement was at heart of Britain’s decision to reject European Union

Sources from Number 10 said Cameron would be recommending as close an economic relationship as possible with the EU. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters-- David Cameron and François Hollande during the EU summit meeting. Photograph: Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

EU leaders with David Cameron fifth from right. Photograph: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images

Heather Stewart andJennifer Rankin in Brussels-Tuesday 28 June 2016

David Cameron warned Europe’s leaders that they will have to offer the UK more control over immigration at the end of a fractious day where politicians across Europe clashed over the meaning and consequences of last week’s Brexit vote.

The British prime minster used his last Brussels summit to tell Angela Merkel,François Hollande and other European heads of government that anxieties about unrestricted freedom of movement were at the heart of the decision by Britons to reject the EU. 

Earlier in the day, however, many MEPs had turned their backs on Nigel Farage and jeered as the Ukip leader celebrated the result, although he drew the support of the far-right French deputy Marine Le Pen, who told the European parliament: “Look at how beautiful history is!”

Speaking ahead of the summit dinner, a Number 10 source said that Cameron would talk about what led to the unexpected result over a dinner of poached veal tenderloin and strawberries: “In particular, he will say that in his view, it’s in the interests of the UK, and the EU, that we have as close an economic relationship as possible; and the key to staying close is to look at reform to free movement, and how do you address that issue”.

Cameron’s remarks came hours after an acrimonious debate in the European parliament discussing the referendum result. Farage was angrily confronted by European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. “I’m really surprised you are here. You are fighting for the exit. The British people voted in favour of the exit. Why are you here?” Juncker said, in front of a packed session of MEPs in the European parliament.

Farage told parliament that they were “in denial”. He said hardly any of the MEPs had ever done a proper job in their lives, or created one. “We now offer a beacon of hope to democrats across the European continent,” he said. “The UK will not be the last member state to leave the EU.” He added: “You’re not laughing now, are you?”

Angela Merkel and other European leaders, meeting for the first EU summit since last Friday’s result, ruled out any special favours for Britain yesterday, insisting there would be no “cherry-picking exercise” in the exit negotiations. In a speech to the Bundestag ahead of the summit on Tuesday, the German chancellor said: “There must be, and there will be, a palpable difference between those countries who want to be members of the European family and those who don’t.”

These words have been echoed by other EU leaders including Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi. Xavier Bettel, prime minister of Luxembourg, added that the UK could not have a Facebook-style “it’s complicated” status with the rest of the EU: Britain could have “marriage or divorce, but not something in between”.

EU leaders also insist there will be no informal talks on a future trade settlement until the UK triggers article 50, which begins the exit process.

Juncker also urged Britain’s politicians to open up exit negotiations as soon as possible. “I would like our British friends to tell us what they want so we can get on with it,” he told a packed session of MEPs in the European parliament in Brussels.

At his final summit, the prime minister had to take part in long-planned discussions on migration, European security and the single market. Sticking to the timetable is intended to show the EU is still in business, despite the Brexit crisis that has raised fears of the union’s disintegration.

Cameron has repeatedly insisted since announcing his departure last Friday that detailed questions about what deal Britain may want with the rest of the EU are for his successor to answer.

But as he arrived in Brussels, he made clear he hoped to smooth the path for Brexit talks. “I hope the outcome can be as constructive as possible, because of course while we’re leaving theEuropean Union, we mustn’t be turning our backs on Europe.

“These countries are our neighbours, our friends, our allies, our partners and I very much hope we’ll seek the closest possible relationship in terms of trade and cooperation and security, because that is good for us and that is good for them,” he said.

Number 10 sources said Merkel has been understanding about Cameron’s decision not to invoke article 50 – the formal process for withdrawal from the EU – immediately. “I think what you’ve seen from Chancellor Merkel in the days since the referendum is her being one of the voices 

across Europe recognising the decisions that the prime minister has taken and that there will now be some time, and that was certainly her tone today, and that of other leaders.”

EU leaders are resigned to the fact Britain will not trigger article 50 immediately, because of the political and constitutional crises engulfing the country. But the pressure is likely to be raised once a new prime minister is in place.

Some EU politicians are hedging their bets on Brexit, or at least taking care with language. An EU diplomat said Brexit would be “an amputation”, adding, “if it materialises”.

Asked what would happen if the UK never triggered article 50, the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaitė, said: “welcome, welcome back”. Although she also said “mentally and psychologically, Brexit” was already happening.

Some EU diplomats think it was a mistake for European council president Donald Tusk to set up a group known as the Brexit taskforce. They stress the UK has not triggered article 50 divorce proceedings and remains a member of the club.

Cameron had hoped to be travelling to Brussels this week to reassure his fellow leaders that a remain vote in the referendum had settled the issue of Britain’s relationship with the EU for a generation.

Instead, the 27 other member states, who will have to agree what status to offer Britain when formal exit talks begin, will meet on Wednesday to discuss the way forward without him.

Cameron will return to the House of Commons to face prime minister’s questions, as Conservative MPs kick off their leadership campaigns.

Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, promised to convene a special summit of EU leaders in Bratislava in September, in an attempt to chart a course for the 27 remaining member states. The UK will not be invited, underlining its newly diminished status.

Reactions in Brussels to Britain’s vote for Brexit ranged from sadness to alarm, but officials insisted the show would go on. Some junior staff said they cried on hearing the results on Friday morning. Juncker said he was sad because he was not “a robot, a grey bureaucrat or a technocrat”.

Senior EU diplomats are also perplexed about how the prime minister managed to turn what they saw as a very generous deal – negotiated in February – into a catastrophic defeat that has plunged Britain into crisis. EU insiders thought the UK had got an exceptional offer, and were left bitter and disappointed when Cameron didn’t use it in the referendum campaign.

The Universal Basic Income headache -Capitalism’s strange crisis of abundance

Harbinger of the classless society

A convoy of driverless trucks

by Kumar David-June 25, 2016, 8:27 pm 

"Reduction of necessary labour corresponds to free development of individualities and cultural and scientific advancement of all in the time set free". (Edited).-Marx, Grundrisse, (p 706)

Striking advances in automation and the marvels of modern robotics are eroding the drudgery of labour. Millions of jobs have been "lost" (sic! What’s the problem if society can produce what it needs to sustain life with less labour?). Millions more will become redundant with the onward march of the productive powers of industry, agriculture and services. On-line retailing is driving main street stores to bankruptcy. How absurd that abundance is a source of deep anxiety and looming crisis for capitalism, the prevailing global order. The productive powers immanent in society can satisfy society’s needs and still leave time for the creative joys of life, but for the capitalist order it is frightening; what a paradox. If goods are plentiful and scarcity abolished an economy whose rationale of existence is profit vaporizes. Who will sell his labour power for less than the value it creates and allow another to usurp the surplus unless driven by necessity? None will if scarcity is abolished. Unemployment will by definition disappear – what can it mean in the midst of cornucopia? Time not needed to labour is leisure time, creative time. Unsaleable time, employment and unemployment, are concepts which will no longer have traction.

Marx welcomed automation and advances in productivity; he saw liberation; he celebrated it as escape from necessity to freedom. But he had reservations that it would drive capitalism into irredeemable decline. In this context he notes "Capital thus works towards its own destruction as the form dominating production" (Grundrisse, p.700), but more on Marx later.

The UBI concept is premised on three requirements; immense social productive power, second therefore, an abundance of goods or a post-scarcity society as it is sometimes called, and third a civilisation of global collaboration. The last at a minimum assumes universal access to food, shelter, clothing, education and healthcare at levels adequate to motivate populations to remain in situ. Sans these basics, sustained migrant waves from non-UBI to UBI regions will make today’s European refugee crisis seem a ripple. We Lankans know full well the meaning of the term ‘economic refugee’; even well to do emigrants are in truth in search of greener pasture.

What’s this flap about UBI?

My opening paragraph makes no sense in India, or Africa or Lanka, countries still far from cutting-edge productivity frontiers. Much of the world may never reach such prosperity if taken nation by nation. But this is where Marx has a trick up his sleeve. The socialist utopia (reality only mimics all utopias - democracy, Socrates’ just society, Thomas Moore’s utopia etc.) has no nations; socialism must be global. In a world where abundance prevails in some places, there will be plenty everywhere; and why not? Without profit maximising markets driving all life, what is to be done with abundance, an excess of material commodities – throw them in the sea? No, obviously redistribute.

Therefore what’s happening in Switzerland, Denmark and Finland and making newspaper editorials and debates in Europe and America are not far away irrelevancies. In lesser measure and a generation delayed the outcome of these first experiments will resonate all the way to the developing world.

Let me summarise current events for readers who may not have kept up to date. Switzerland held a referendum on 12 June on whether to introduce UBI; the proposal was to give all adult citizens a monthly handout of $2,500 and kids $625. I am not sure to what extent those who accepted would have been disqualified from free state medical care, subsidised education, etc. and ineligible for state pensions. The proposal was defeated with only 23% support; but this was its first outing and the next time or time after it will do better. Within a decade something on these lines will happen. Finland will experimental with a similar system for 100,000 people (presumably volunteers) this year. Three districts in Denmark will experiment, also I believe this year. If these test runs are encouraging the three small Baltic countries are likely to be the next to follow.

But these are small countries; what is more interesting is that a debate has opened up in America, UK in the pages of the Guardian, and in a study by John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor (Labour Party Finance Minister in waiting). In America, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, CNN and Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria and even right-wing politicians, for whom zeroing welfare, Medicare, Social Security, food stamps and unemployment handouts, are the attraction, are on board. The debate is getting hot and I will summarise the arguments for and against.

Those on the political right who back the idea do so for two reasons. They reckon annulling welfare will save a lot of money and greatly simplify procedures – whole departments can be closed. The other reason is that looking long term they see the writing on the wall. If automation drives millions out of the labour market and to the wall, will the day of revolution and anarchy arrive? Butter won’t melt in their mouth liberals have fairness and a good life for all in their blessed hearts; some on the left see it as recompense for centuries of exploitation of labour by capital. UBI is universal, not means tested poor-relief like samurdhi, but the relative benefit for the poor will seem magnified. Nevertheless left, right and liberals are all much divided and my guess is that the majority in all three camps reject the idea – at least at this point in time.

The propertied classes and I daresay conservatives in the middle class worry about two things; how to meet the UBI price-tag, and secondly, the undermining of an economy premised on a reserve army of (unemployed) labour. I can get across the former objection with one example. If a $10,000 a year guaranteed income is to be provided to every American citizen, tax as percentage of GDP would have to rise from its current 25% to about 35%. Income tax at upper levels would have to increase -marginal rates on the highest incomes by say 20% - and so would wealth and capital gains taxes. A second objection is argued more subtly and moralistically by bourgeois apologists. Let me quote from the Economist (4 June) "The stigma against leaving the workforce would erode; large segments of society could drift into alienated idleness". Stripped of its moralising mantle what the Economist is fretting about is that capital would find it harder to buy and dominate wage labour, hence to extract surplus value, hence to defend its raison d’etre, hence its cortege would launch.

The left is not enamoured either 

Funny, you would think that the left would plonk for UBI; not so. The non-Marxist, social-democratic or soft left reasons as follows: "I fear that this latest plan will drain the energies of the left and divert attention from other worthwhile alternatives: the living wage, boosting trade unionism, free childcare, radical changes in housing policy, reducing working time and green investment", says Professor Ian Gough of LSE. And in the same vein: "If we return to a taxation regime where there is an extra £50 per person per week fed into the system, then instead of doling it back we can fund public transport, abolish student tuition fees, stop closing libraries and swimming pools, maintain public parks, employ more nurses in the NHS, build council houses, and care for the mentally ill" says Dr Chris Grover of Lancaster University. (Both comments are from the Guardian of 12 June).

Marx’s take on all this is located on another planet. Grundrisse is a mass (and mess) of notes written in 1857-58, dug up (I like to imagine from a trunk under his bed) and first published in German nearly a century later in 1953. Penguin brought out a nine hundred page English version in 1972. It’s a stream-of-consciousness, hard to decipher buddle of notes. I have collated the fragments on productivity and technology relevant to my essay from pages 699 to 708 and the gist is as follows.

The full development of capital takes place when technology and machinery (fixed capital) appear opposite labour as the application of science to the production process. (Of course fixed capital is itself congealed past labour). In this process labour time, the mere quantity of labour turns into the subsidiary element and capital through the exploitation of science and technology (fruits of human social labour) becomes the dominating force in production. The dominance of capital over labour is established

Now comes what, for our purposes, is crucial and displays that the visionary Old Moor got it right 150 years ago: "(Technology) enters not in order to replace labour power where it is lacking, but rather to reduce massively available labour power to its necessary measure. Machinery (automation, technology) enters only where labour capacity is on hand in mass". The paradox of this dialectic is this: The two fundamental driving forces of capital are competition and profit. The former drives each capitalist to innovate and sharpen, but profit forces him to shed labour to a minimum. But the more capital as a whole sheds social labour, the more capital as a whole will cut the ground under its feet by diminishing its font of surplus value. "Capital’s tendency on one side is to create ‘disposable’ labour time, and on the other to create surplus labour. If it succeeds too well in the former, the more it suffers from surplus production – abundance of commodities - and the absence of surplus value - evaporation of profit". (I have edited the text).

The Economist laments "UBI might make sense in a world of technological upheaval (read revolution) but before governments plan for a world without work they should strive to make today’s system function better". Pathetic! But the Editors seem to have dimly perceived this much: "Capital works towards its own destruction".

Indian banks' bad loans may rise to 8.5 percent by March 2017 - RBI

A man walks past the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) head office in Mumbai, India, June 7, 2016.

REUTERS/DANISH SIDDIQUI/FILE PHOTO

BY SUVASHREE CHOUDHURY AND DEVIDUTTA TRIPATHY-Tue Jun 28, 2016

Gross bad loans at Indian banks may rise to 8.5 percent of total assets by March 2017 from 7.6 percent in March 2016 if the central bank orders them to conduct a second round of asset quality reviews, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, under a "severe stress" situation, total bad loans could rise to 9.3 percent in March 2017, the RBI said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report.

The RBI added that the assessments, though "stringent and conservative", were also hypothetical, saying "the severe adverse economic conditions referred to here should not be interpreted as forecast or expected outcomes."

The RBI last year told banks to conduct an asset quality review (AQR) in a bid to get a better picture of the extent of potentially soured assets held in the sector.

Outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had made cleaning up banks a priority during his nearly three-year tenure given the sector is saddled with $120 billion of sour loans, which is constraining new lending and corporate investments.

Still, the RBI has not ordered a second round of formal tests, although it has said it would continue reviewing asset quality at banks.

"The stress in the banking sector, which mirrors the stress in the corporate sector, has to be dealt with in order to revive credit growth," Rajan wrote in the report.

The first AQR led banks to recognise around $35 billion of new bad loans since September, pushing gross bad loans to 7.6 percent in March from 5.1 percent in September 2015.

Meanwhile, overall stressed assets - consisting of bad loans as well as restructured assets - rose to 11.5 percent in March from 11.3 percent six months earlier.

Though analysts believe the review has offered a more accurate picture of bad debt in the sector, it has dented profit and constrained credit growth over the past months.

This is the last Financial Stability Report under Rajan, after the former International Monetary Fund chief economist stunned the country this month by saying he would leave when his tenure ends on September 4.

But analysts broadly expect the next RBI Governor to continue the push to clean up the banking sector.

(Reporting by Suvashree Dey Choudhury and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Kim Coghill)