MH17 victims put on refrigerated train bound for unknown destination

International monitors arrive in Torez to inspect wagons accompanied by convoy of heavily armed and nervous rebels

Railway employees near refrigerator wagons containing the bodies of victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at a railway station in Torez, eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters

Shaun Walker in Torez

 Sunday 20 July 2014

The bodies of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are being loaded on to three railway carriages, apparently with refrigerator capability, which are standing at the train station in the town of Torez, several miles from the crash site in the Donetsk region of easternUkraine.

MH17 Victims Put on Refrigerated Train Bound for Unknown Destination by Maria Anderson

Pro-Russian separatists removed bodies from crash site, officials and observers say

A Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 298 people and traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, falls in a Ukrainian field.

July 19, 2014Ukrainian rescue workers carry the body of a victim through a wheat field at the site of the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Grabove, in rebel-held east Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say the plane was targeted by separatist fighters using a surface-to-air missile, possibly with direct Russian aid. Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

By Michael Birnbaum, Karen DeYoung and Michael Birnbaum and Karen DeYoung

July 20 at 8:38 AM

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian rebels on Sunday cleared away bodies of victims from the shoot-down of a Malaysian jet liner, moving at least some of them to refrigerated railway cars at a nearby train station to prevent them from decomposing in the heat, Ukrainian officials and international observers said.

Pro-Russian Separatists Removed Bodies From Crash Site, Officials and Observers Say by Maria Anderson

Thai junta to media: Criticize us and we will shut you down

By Bangkok Pundit Jul 20, 2014

The Junta Issued A New Edict on Friday. Below is summarized translation (full Thai in parenthesis and mostly complete translation, but just too long in parts for 100% complete and full translation):.

Announcement of the National Council for Peace and Order No. 97/2557 (Notification No. maintain national No. 97/2557).

Thai Junta to Media Criticize Us and We Will Shut You Down by Maria Anderson

The 11 Items You Should NOT Keep In The Fridge! #4 Saved Me SO Much Money!

http://blog.petflow.com/

It seems like every time I return home from the grocery store, I’m stuck wondering what gets refrigerated and what I can leave out. Constantly throwing away food is the worst! I never knew that these 11 items should actually be stored at room temperature to get more bang for the buck. What a lifesaver!

When it comes to storing food properly, there are a ton of inventions that people swear by, but the easiest thing to do is to just store most items using things you already have in the home, like wax paper or paper bags. A few other items that you shouldn’t refrigerate are: avocados, olive oil, squash and batteries (some people swear by it!).

Please SHARE this helpful guide with your friends to help them save some money and make sure food always stays fresh and delicious!

4K

#1 Refrigerating tomatoes changes their texture and flavor!

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#2 Honey will crystallize and thicken faster in the fridge. Keep it at room temperature.

Flickr

#3 Garlic will sprout and grow mold in the fridge. Gross!

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#4 If you don't want your coffee to lose its bold flavor and absorb the odors in your fridge, leave it out!

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#5 Bread gets hard and dry in the fridge. Make it last by freezing or keeping it in a paper bag with a cloth towel around it.

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#6 Hot sauce can be stored in your cabinet for up to three years!

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#7 Yuck! Onions get moldy and mushy when refrigerated.

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#8 Basil and other fresh herbs will wilt and absorb other odors!

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#9 Melons lose their antioxidants in the fridge... and you want all of those you can get!

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#10 Refrigerating potatoes affects their flavor and makes them gritty and dried out.

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#11 Always store hard liquor at room temperature... and serve with a smile!

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Read more at http://blog.petflow.com/dont-put-in-fridge/?utm_content=buffer11a9d&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=sungazing&utm_campaign=PFPost#cH6feLATeSdwJv0w.99

Not only Tamils but Sinhalese and Muslims too to protest against MaRa’s arrival in UK; War criminal army officer to go hiding with MaRa

(Lanka-e-News-19.July.2014, 8.30PM) Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims residing in England are to stage protests against MaRa, the current chairman of the Commonwealth when he arrives in England for the inaugural ceremony on July 23 rd of the Commonwealth games scheduled to be held in Glasgow, according to reports reaching Lanka e news.

Previously, it were only the Tamils in England who staged protests against MaRa when he toured England. That was to demonstrate their resentment against MaRa for the war crimes committed and for the ruthless liquidation of about 40,000 Tamil civilians during the war. 

It will not be out of context if we point out that Mahinda Rajapakse must also squarely shoulder the full responsibility for acting irresponsibly despite being the President of the country for not bringing the criminals and culprits before the law those responsible for the murders; the disappearances and abductions of editors, journalists and media personnel; arson committed on media Institutions; the cold blooded killing of Sinhalese students at Rathupaswela when they demanded drinking water; and the killing of Muslims at Beruwala and Alutgama, looting their properties , setting fire to their homes and business establishments which were the latest in the series of escalating brutal violence , murder and mayhem under his reign, on an unprecedented scale across the country .

Yesterday, in the case of the ruthless murder of a British national where the suspect was liable to a death sentence, just a jail sentence was passed on the local body chairman , a Rajapakse close crony and lackey. 

When a lower court delivers a death sentence, the appeal court can only commute it to a 20 years jail sentence. In order to circumvent this possibility and in order to save the local body chairman , the lower court was made to deliver a 20 year jail sentence so that via a subsequent appeal that punishment can be commuted to a sentence suspended to a term of five years, whereby the chairman can be released. This was clearly a premeditated plan.

Based on the countless incidents such as these of MaRa, even the old guard of the SLFP who were with him have turned antagonistic to MaRa. In the circumstances , a massive protest awaits MaRa when he arrives in Glasgow. 

Meanwhile Lanka e news learns that notorious Major Pathirane who was the cause of disappearance of Lalith Kugan, who hurled tar in protests and another who responsible burning down of Udayan office on New year day , is accompanying Rajapakse on the England tour. 

Pathirane is scheduled after reaching England to go to France and return to England. It is clear that along with the visa of Rajapakse , the visas of war criminals are being obtained in order to take them along with Rajapakse out of the country.

Black July After 31 Years; The Sinhalese And Thamils Remain Deeply Polarized

By Veluppillai Thangavelu -July 19, 2014

Veluppillai Thangavelu

Thirty one (31) years ago on July 24, 1983 Sinhalese mobs executed an orgy of violence that surpassed all other previous pogroms executed in 1956, 1958, 1977, 1979 and 1981.

The events of July 1983 are poignant for the entire Thamil population around the world. Between July 24 and 29, Thamils were systematically targeted with violence in Colombo and many other parts of Sri Lanka.

1983 pic by Chandraguptha Amarasingha – A Tamil boy stripped naked and later beaten to death by Sinhala youth in Boralla bustation

The pogrom was a backlash by Sinhalese extremists following the mass funeral of 13 Sinhalese soldiers killed in an ambush on the previous day in Jaffna by members of the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE). In a deliberate attempt to inflame racial passions the GOSL gave wide publicity to the killings by televising, broadcasting and publishing the news. On the contrary the reprisal killings in execution style of innocent Thamils went unreported in contrast to the wide publicity given to the killing of the 13 soldiers in Jaffna.

Below is a synopsis of how the 1983 riots unfolded with all its fury:

Sri Lankan Governments officials categorized the violence as uncontrollable race riots instigated by the killing of 13 Sinhala soldiers on the night of July 23. However, history and the course of events during Black July illustrate the Sri Lankan Government’s undeniable involvement in the genocidal acts against Thamils.

July 24 (Day 1): At 1 o’clock in the morning of July 24, the army rounded up hundreds of Thamils in Trincomalee, Mannar, and Vavuniya in the Northeast who had fled the anti-Thamil riots of 1977 and 1981. These Thamils were forcibly taken and left without possessions in the central hills.

Before the riots broke out in Colombo, the army in Jaffna went on rampage in Jaffna. According to the report of the Presidential Truth Commission on Ethnic Violence (1981 – 1984) the army in Jaffna, in revenge for the killing of the 13 soldiers, killed 10 Thamil civilians on Sunday, 24 July 1983. By the evening, the number rose to 51 reprisal killings of Thamil civilians. They were all random killings just opening fire at the whims and fancy of marauding army personnel.                                          Read More

Sri Lankan Muslims at the cross roads – 8

By Izeth Hussain-July 18, 2014

The present article and my earlier ones of July 5 and 12 are meant to constitute a unity, focusing on the questions of what really the Aluthgama/Beruwela outrages signify, and what action can be taken by the Muslims to safeguard their lives and their legitimate interests. I concluded my last article by arguing that the Muslims should, in order to safeguard their legitimate interests, turn to the Government, even though it is carrying out an anti-Muslim project, and also have recourse to the civil society. But neither, I am afraid, will prove to be really effective instruments for safeguarding legitimate Muslim interests. For that they have to turn to what is potentially the most effective instrument available: the international community. I must justify that position before proceeding further because it might be taken by some as betraying an anti-national bias.

Sri Lankan Muslims at the Cross Roads – 8 by Maria Anderson

Sri Lanka’s 3G Jihadists – Pathfinders To Another Disaster

By Harishchandra Lokumanna -July 19, 2014

Harishchandra Lokumanna

“In time we hate that which we often fear.” ― William Shakespeare,Antony and Cleopatra

Although Jihadism refers, in the modern context, to the renewed focus on armed jihad in Islamic fundamentalism ,  in this article, I refer to the 3GSinhala Buddhist Jihadists; Gnanasara- Gota- Gammampila Combine (‘Thun kattuwa’ in Sinhala or the three Sinhala Buddhist Musketeers) who have been leading the way to national disaster through a well-organized  campaign to rekindle Sinhala Buddhist extremism. When the collective conscience of Sinhala Buddhists should stir and condemn these turn of events, it is a matter of shame that only few lone Sinhala Buddhist intellectual voices have emerged , while the silent Sinhala Buddhist society looks on, giving the hate groups the much needed oxygen by not condemning their tactics openly. I therefore would call these 3Gs, the pathfinders to another Disaster .

In my considered view,  the combined effect of these 3 Gs, (not the individuals, but the lobby they represent), acting in concert , harbour  vicious plans , to further their own agenda , to create an intolerant and a majoritarian minded Sri Lanka , with no space for the ‘other’ to exist as equal citizens with self-respect. Did we realize that these ‘Muslim extremism’ stories only came up after the War ended ,which should  create suspicions about the credibility of these lobbying groups and that a government which ended a War, is dragging their feet to act against these hate groups which shows their collusion. Fellow Sinhala Buddhists beware!         Read More

Sri Lanka: TID harasses Tamil journalist in Mannaar

Sri Lanka: TID harasses Tamil journalist in Mannaar

S.R. Lambart

 Saturday, July 19, 2014 
The ‘Terrorist’ Investigation Division operated under the direct control of the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry has again harassed Tamil journalist S.R. Lambart from Mannaar, media sources in North said. The interrogators of genocidal SL military have been harassing the journalist to disclose his email password for the second time while claiming they had tapped a news story as originated from his email address.  The journalist was first interrogated by the Sri Lankan TID six months ago on 09 December 2013.

During the first interrogation, Mr Lambart was shown around 40 news stories that the intelligence operatives claimed as reported by Mr Lambart. The TID operatives had also displayed log entries of phone numbers belonging to the people who were in touch with him. The SL operatives were trying to get his password from him, which he had declined.

Lambart was again forced to appear at the notorious 4th floor interrogation office of the TID in Colombo on Monday, 14 July 2014 through a instruction written in Sinhala.

This time, the TID operatives again asked him to disclose the password of his email.

If he didn’t provide the password, there will be a third interrogation, the journalist was told.

The interrogators had also questioned Lambart about his ‘connection’ to TNA parliamentarian Selvam Adaikkalanathan.

In a letter addressed to SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday, Mr Lambart said that local police officers were now preparing to harass his family members.

The SL military intelligence has stepped up harassments against journalists in Mannaar following their coverage on mass graves.

Lambart Letter to SL President by Maria Anderson

TNA has no faith on Mahinda’s probe

By admin on July 19, 2014

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says it has no faith in the Presidential Commission on missing persons even after the government broadened its mandate to investigate civilian deaths during the war.

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran noted that the mandate of Presidential Commission had been expanded only after the UN Human Rights office launched an investigation on the war.

Premachandran also recalled that the government had on previous occasions appointed commissions and named international international experts to overlook the investigations yet those attempts ended in failure.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had this week expanded the mandate of the Presidential Commission on mission persons and appointed three international experts to advice the commission.

In a Gazette notification, President’s Secretary Lalith Weerathunga had said that the President is of the opinion that the Commission of Inquiry should have the benefit of the advice of distinguished international experts, whose internationally recognized expertise and experience encompasses legal and other relevant dimensions of the matters covered in the mandate.

Accordingly the President named Sir Desmond de Silva, QC (Chairman), Sir Geoffrey Nice, QC and Prof. David Crane as the three experts to advice the commission.

The experts will serve on an Advisory Council to the Commission of Inquiry to which the President says he may appoint other experts as may be required from time to time, to advise the Chairman and Members of the Commission of Inquiry, at their request, on matters pertaining to the work of the Commission. (Colombo Gazette)

Needed A National Ideology To Replace Sinhala Buddhist Hegemony

CBK

By R.M.B Senanayake -July 19, 2014

R.M.B. Senanayake

Yesterday H.E Chandrika Bandaranaike spoke at a meeting of the Wives of War Victims about the present plight of our country. She said while the UN and Developed countries are talking about building an inclusive society we are seeking to build an exclusive society only for the majority. We have sought to, exclude the minorities- first the Tamils now the Muslims and eventually the Christians. Economists talk of inclusive growth so that the benefits of economic development accrue to all the people including the poor and the low income classes. But what about inclusive politics? It is not enough to make minority political parties a part of a coalition government if the government vests all power in the hands of the ruling family with others merely enjoying the lavish perks of office.

H.E CBK stated that the process began in 1956. But its intellectual antecedents began long before. Its creator was Anagarika Dharmapala of the 19th century. SWRD adopted these ideas although as a western educated liberal he perhaps did not believe in them in order to gain political power. Ever since the political parties  have accepted this ideology while paying lip service to the democratic ideals of freedom and equality. Dharmapala spoke contemptuously those who were westernized. He used despicable language against the Muslim and Christian minorities. He had praise only for the Sinhalese race and culture and hoped for a revivalist Sinhalese Buddhist ascendancy in the future when the country was freed from colonial rule.  There were a few critics who took issue with him. But he managed to win the hearts and minds of the majority Sinhala Buddhist population.

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