Seven Reasons Why The Single-Issue Common Candidate Project Will Not Work

By Shyamon Jayasinghe -July 29, 2014

Shyamon Jayasinghe

Sri Lanka’s political evolution has clearly arrived at a crisis stage that demands just one great imperative action by the people, namely the abolition of the institution of Executive President. The current incumbent in office,Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR), has done one salutary service and that is to demonstrate the serious fault lines in the system by reducing it to the absurd drama that the JR Jayewardene-led United National Party government script can turn into. Governance has been reduced to shambles and the basic need for law and order and public confidence in what the rulers do has been totally obliterated. The character of the powerful executive created by the script has been able to capture every democratic institution-the Cabinet, the Parliament, the judicial system, the policing agency, the electing mechanism and the media all of which must necessarily have some measure of independence and teeth to checkmate any possible abuse of power. A fundamental reality of the use of power is its potential for abuse if gone unchecked. That is the nature of human behavior and it is doesn’t vary with a JR, a Premadasa, a MR or even a possible Ranil Wickremesinghe. There are no angels in politics.                                                          Read More 

A Common Strategy

By Baron A Kumara -July 29, 2014

Momentum is gathering. At the mention of an unlikely common candidate, in the form of Wigneswaran (Kusal Perera’s contribution), mainstream English editorials were quick to respond with what can only be called reactive political propaganda. One editorial was called, ‘President Rajapaksa, the undisputed choice’ [1], another editorial was called ‘Masses hail President Mahinda Rajapaksa’,[2] a opinion was called ‘President’s political acumen incomparable’,[3] and a feature was called ‘The President: quintessential common candidate.’ [4] The pro-government paper The Island, contained a feature called ‘MR can head next government democratically.’ [5] It is clear therefore that for every statement made in the press about a common candidate, the mainstream media will be abused into producing ten more that support Rajapaksa.

But as is clear to all those who have been following recent events in Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa will not head the next government democratically. He has subordinated the mainstream media and the judiciary, he has compromised the civil and foreign service, he has induced fear and self-censorship into what he calls a ‘peaceful’ democracy, and his regime has villanized, bullied and intimidated all those brave souls who stood, who still stand, against him. Those who yet believe that by siding with the President they have more to gain than by standing against him, have only to look at the Muslim community’s (SLMC sadly still tows this line) futile calls for peace in the wake ofAluthgama. None were arrested, the police stood by. Further, the North is militarized, despite the wipe out of the LTTE, and upon the least hint of dissent in the South, of declining Presidential popularity; will there be hesitation at militarizing the rest of our nation?          Read More

Parties tussle over Chief Justice in Golden Key case

• Mohan Peiris withdraws citing scurrilous letter defaming him in hearing the case

July 29, 2014 

There was a tussle over the Chief Justice hearing the Golden Key Credit Card Company Ltd. case, with one party opposing and the other requesting the move, and eventually Mohan Peiris announcing his withdrawal from the bench.
This was following Chief Justice Mohan Peiris yesterday citing an alleged scurrilous letter defaming him and stating that he was withdrawing from the hearing of the petitions on Golden Key.
The Chief Justice put his position before the Counsels appearing for the parties to elicit their opinion. Ali Sabry PC and Faizer Musthapha PC appearing for the intervenient Petitioners, the employees of the Ceylinco Insurance, informed Court that the instructions from their clients are that the Chief Justice should not hear this matter.
Other Counsels K. Kanag Iswaran PC, Faisz Musthapha PC, Nigel Hatch PC, Prof. H.M. Afulla, Junior Counsel for Romesh de Silva and Avindra Rodrigo as well as Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne informed Court that they have no objection and the Chief Justice can continue to hear the matter.
Counsel for the Ceylinco Insurance Emp-loyees Share Owning Trust Ltd. known as CIESOT had on 10 March submitted that CIESOT was incorporated in 2000 essentially as a trustee company and for this reason alone does not fall within the ambit of the investigation.
He had also submitted that the trustee company was created to hold in trust a parcel of shares for the benefit of the employees of the Ceylinco Insurance.
Avindra Rodrigo instructed by Mohan Balendra representing the depositors had submitted that this mechanism of trust was a legal sham, and contended that it was not a share ownership scheme for the benefit of the employees. The Court had made order that the Securities and Exchange Commission in cooperation with the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank investigates this transaction to determine it true nature, transgressions of any of the legal provisions and submit a report to Court.
Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne submitted a report on the investigation conducted on the order of the Court.
He said the Ceylinco Insurance Employees Share Owning Trust Ltd. known as CIESOT was created in 2000 with J.L.B. Kotalawala and nine others as Directors for the benefit of the employees of the Ceylinco Insurance.
He added that in 24 December 2012 there was a fresh Director Board replacing the first one but they did not give specific reason. He pointed out that fresh Board of Directors for the CIESOT was in place long after the collapse of the Golden Key Credit Card Company.
He also told the Court that the investigation revealed that there was no provision to allocate the shares of CIESOT to the employees of the Ceylinco Insurance but the employees are entitled to.
Directors in the fresh Board are Kotalawala, Alwis and E.P.L. Ranasinghe who are Directors of Ceylinco Insurance where Kotalawala possesses 50% of shares while other Directors possess balance 50% shares, he said.
He maintained that the CIESOT is thus under the control of Kotalawala and the employees hold no shares in their names but the shares are in the name of the company.
The Supreme Court on 9 May made order granting permission to the Board of Directors appointed by Court to give effect to the seizure and sale of assets of the Golden Key Credit Card Company Ltd. with the subsidiary assets of former Directors.
V.K. Choksy had then brought to the notice of the Court the said assets are valued to the tune of between Rs. 7 to 8 billion and that after the sale of assets and shareholdings, there will be a sum of Rs. 7.1 billion for the settlement of 40% repayment to the depositors.
Ali Sabry PC and Faizer Musthapha PC had objected to shares of the Ceylinco Insurance Employees Share Owning Trust Ltd. known as CIESOT being sold by GKCCCL. They contended that the beneficiaries of the CIESOT are employees of the Ceylinco Insurance, not others.
Intervenient Petitioners the employees of the Ceylinco Insurance in their intervenient petition state that the shares of Ceylinco Insurance which have been vested in the Golden Key Credit Card Company Ltd. which comprises the asset base of the company known as CIESOT have been acquired by the said CIESOT by utilising funding provided by the Ceylinco Insurance and the employees union of Ceylinco Insurance, as opposed to the nominal equity capital of Rs. 200 of the said company, a part of which can be attributed to J.L.B. Kotalawela.
They contend that a partial contribution to an equity of Rs. 200 would not in any event have entitled Kotalawala to an asset base valued at Rs. 6.126 billion.
They maintain it is inequitable to effect any seizure of the said shares of Ceylinco Insurance which have formed a trust property, of which the beneficial interest is vested with the intervenient petitioners, on the basis of attributing a partial contribution to the nominal equity capital by Kotalawala, against whom certain depositors of Golden Key Credit Card Company have preferred claims.

Scientists explore link between climate change and human health

By Graham Land Jul 29, 2014

The Australian Academy of Science has gathered 60 researchers in order to raise concerns about climate change as it relates to public health. The main purpose of the newly formed think-tank is to influence government response, but also public awareness about what increases in temperature and changes in weather patterns can mean for personal wellbeing.
Scientists Explore Link Between Climate Change and Human Health by Thavam

Qatar World Cup stadium workers earn as little as 45p an hour

Pay slips show migrant workers building the al-Wakrah stadium work up to 30 days a month for pay as low as £4.90 a day

Robert Booth and Pete Pattisson in Doha-Tuesday 29 July 2014 

Migrant workers building the first stadium for Qatar's 2022 World Cuphave been earning as little as 45p an hour, the Guardian can reveal.

The pay rate appears to be in breach of the tournament organisers' own worker welfare rules and comes despite the Gulf kingdom spending £134bn on infrastructure ahead of the competition.

More than 100 workers from some of the world's poorest countries are labouring in ferocious desert heat on the 40,000-seat al-Wakrah stadium, which has been designed by the British architect Zaha Hadid and is due to host a quarter-final.

Pay slips show they are toiling up to 30 days a month for as little as £4.90 a day. The rates are among the lowest the Guardian found during a week-long investigation into conditions for migrant labourers across Qatar's construction industry, and come despite pledges by the tournament's organisers to make workers' rights "our top priority".

Hadid, whose practice is likely to earn a multimillion-pound fee on the project, said in a joint statement with fellow design firm Aecom that they were "working closely with our clients to ensure that any outstanding issues are resolved".

Stadium workers also told the Guardian their passports were being held by their manager, in apparent breach of the World Cup organisers' own worker welfare standards which state: "The contractor shall ensure that all workers have personal possession of their passports and other personal documents."

Withholding passports has been identified by the Qatar government's own lawyers, DLA Piper, as an abuse of the country's migrant labour sponsorship system that can contribute to conditions of forced labour.

The problems for the World Cup workers come after the Guardian revealed on Monday that migrant labourers who fitted out luxury offices used by Qatar's World Cup organising committee have not been paid for up to a year and are now living in squalor.

There has been an international outcry over the deaths of hundreds of migrant builders in Qatar in construction accidents and traffic collisions, and from suicides and heart failure. Low pay, late pay and even no pay are now an increasing concern.

Pay slips for workers on the al-Wakrah stadium suggest the contractor is breaching rules on overtime pay and working hours limits set by Qatar's World Cup organising committee.

One labourer was hired on a basic monthly salary of £136 and worked 64 hours of overtime in April. He was paid just £29 for the overtime, making the overtime rate 45p an hour. His basic salary, if he worked the maximum 48-hour week allowed, was 64p per hour.

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy's worker welfare standards state overtime should be paid at basic wage plus 25% and that the maximum working week should be 60 hours. If the labourer worked on average 16 hours overtime a week as the documents suggest, after a maximum 48 hour week, then he would have worked longer than the allowable maximum of 60 hours.

Another labourer's pay slip shows he worked every day in April, including 38 hours overtime, for a total salary of £33.50 per week, or £4.80 a day. Qatar is spending around £2.4bn building eight stadia for the World Cup.

A spokesman for the committee said: "There are challenges with calculation of overtime pay and hours, and we are working with the contractor to rectify any non-compliance."

Mohamad Ahmad Ali Hussain Hamad, the project manager at Amana Qatar Contracting Company, which employs the workers, said an audit had "identified the need of further clarification with regards to workers' payslips and we are working with the supreme committee for Delivery and Legacy to clear up the same".

The wages are still slightly higher than in the workers' home countries. Building labourers earn around £3.20 a day in India and around £4.50 in Nepal, where salaries are rising because of a shortage of labour - partly the result migration to Qatar.

After workers on the stadium told the Guardian their manager had their passports, the World Cup organisers said: "The supreme committee expressly forbids any contractor to confiscate the passports of its workers."

It said that in the Amana contract, which was under an earlier version of its worker welfare standards, workers were provided with the option of voluntarily, and only with signed consent, handing over their passports to the contractor for safekeeping.

"Any involuntary confiscation of a passport, whether at Amana or any other contractor, is expressly forbidden and will be investigated," a supreme committee spokesman said.

Amana said: "There have been no complaints made to the company or the supreme committee about involuntary confiscation of identity documents." The company also said workers had access to their passports at all times.

Qatar's World Cup bosses have ensured that Amana provide high-quality accommodation for the workers on the al-Wakrah stadium. They live in solid and clean three-storey apartment blocks with no more than three beds to a room and with en suite bathrooms in some cases. Three meals a day are laid on, and living rooms are equipped with flatscreen TVs and wireless internet access. In the block shown to the Guardian there was table tennis, table football and a collection of cricket and football equipment. A domestic worker launders the workers' clothes while they are on shift and there is a suggestion box seeking ideas for improvements.

"This is a model of how serious we are in terms of wellbeing," said Stefan Van Dyke, a member of the Qatar 2022 welfare committee. "Once the worker lives well and eats well, he works well. We had to get the contractors to buy into the process and there is a return on their investment. We are being told that they are seeing a lower rate of absenteeism."

He said persuading contractors to understand the idea of decent housing was not always easy. "Some of the difficulties the contractors have is to visualise the standard [we want]," he said, adding that there was a moral obligation towards workers.

Study: Running May Add 3 Years to Your Life

Salem-News.com Staff-Jul-28-2014

Current U.S. guidelines for physical activity call for a minimum of 75 minutes per week of running or other vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

Runners may live an average three years longer than people who don't run, according to new research. Photo Courtesy: AARP

(AMES, Iowa) - Runners may live an average three years longer than people who don't run, according to new research.

But, the best news from this study is that it appears that you can reap this benefit even if you run at slow speeds for mere minutes every day, the 15-year study suggests.

"People may not need to run a lot to get health benefits," said lead author Duck-chul Lee, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University. "I hope this study can motivate more people to start running and to continue running as an attainable health goal."

It's not clear from the study whether the longer lifespan is directly caused by running. The researchers were only able to prove a strong link between running and living longer. There could be other reasons that runners live longer. It could be that healthy people are the ones who choose to run, noted the study's authors. The investigators did try to control the data to account for such factors though.

Current U.S. guidelines for physical activity call for a minimum of 75 minutes per week of running or other vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

But people who exercised less than that still received significant health benefits, according to the new research.

Running modest amounts each week -- less than 51 minutes, fewer than 6 miles, slower than 6 miles per hour, or only one to two times -- was still associated with solid health benefits compared to no running, the researchers reported in the Aug. 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The study also suggested that you can have too much of a good thing. People who regularly ran less than an hour per week reduced their risk of death just as much as runners who logged three hours or more weekly.

The study involved more than 55,000 adults aged 18 to 100, who were followed during a 15-year period to determine whether there is a relationship between running and longevity. About one quarter of this group were runners.

Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their running habits, and researchers kept track of those who died during the study period.

The researchers discovered that people who didn't run had a life expectancy three years less than that of runners. Running was linked to a 30 percent lower risk of death from any cause and a 45 percent lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke, compared to no running.

Even less-avid runners received significant benefits. Running a minimum 30 minutes to 59 minutes each week -- which equates to just 5 to 10 minutes a day -- was associated with a 28 percent lower overall risk of death and a 58 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease, compared with no running.

Source: Iowa State University/WebMD

Video

Two thousand miles from the border, Syracuse finds itself in immigration debate

Patricia Donovan, right, was among those voicing their concerns Thursday at a town-hall meeting in Syracuse, N.Y., about the mayor’s proposal to allow young, undocumented immigrants to be brought to Syracuse temporarily. (Michael Okoniewski/For The Washington Post)

By Monica Hesse July 28 at 3:57 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The immigration rallies — the protesters and the buses of undocumented immigrants that upended Southern California in early July — had already been on the news for a week when, 2,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner got an e-mail:
Two Thousand Miles From the Border, Syracuse Finds Itself in Immigration Debate by Maria Anderson

U.S. tells Pakistan: Do not let Haqqani fighters resettle

Insurgents suspected of being from the Haqqani network are presented to the media at the National Directorate of Security (NDS) headquarters in Kabul May 30, 2013.

BY PHIL STEWART-Sat Jul 26, 2014

(Reuters) - The U.S. government urged Pakistan on Friday to prevent displaced Haqqani militants from returning to their traditional sanctuary after a Pakistani military offensive near the Afghanistan border.

The Haqqani network, which mainly operates out of Pakistan's border areas, has been blamed for some of the deadliest and most sophisticated attacks on NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan.

"What we've asked for is that the Haqqanis, yes they’ve been displaced, yes they've been disrupted, but that they not be allowed to regroup and resettle back into those historical areas," said Jeffrey Eggers from the White House's National Security Council, speaking at a security forum in Colorado.

That would break a long tradition of tolerating those who did not target the Pakistani state. No one from the Haqqani network has been reported killed, however, since the offensive began in June in the remote region of North Waziristan.

The United States has long pressed for Pakistani action against the Haqqanis. Islamabad has said it would target any militants, including the Haqqanis, as they proceed with the military operation.

Pakistan's envoy to Washington, Jalil Abbas Jilani, sitting alongside Eggers and others at the event, acknowledged that Haqqani fighters almost certainly fled the region ahead of the military operation because it was pre-announced.

But Jilani also urged more to be done across the border in Afghanistan to deal with any militants who may have fled there.

"We are having good cooperation but I think something more is required to be done in order to make sure that the successes ... are conclusive," Jilani said.

Afghanistan's envoy to Washington, Eklil Hakimi, said his information suggested that Haqqani militants had safe passage inside Pakistan and were going elsewhere inside Pakistan.

John Allen, the retired four-star general who led U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, voiced skepticism about Islamabad's past willingness to go after the Haqqanis, even as he acknowledged the opportunity presented by the ongoing offensive.

"When I was commander there, the Haqqani killed or wounded over 500 of my troops. And the operations in Waziristan somehow missed them every time they conducted ops on the eastern side of the border," Allen said at the event.

U.S. lawmakers warn that Pakistan will have to crackdown on the Haqqanis or lose millions in U.S. military aid.

"What matters now is how this continues and whether or not the Haqqanis are afforded a sanctuary to return to when the operation gets into its terminal phase," said Eggers, the senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the NSC.

(Editing by Grant McCool)

The NSA's Cyber-King Goes Corporate

Here's why Keith Alexander thinks he's worth a million dollars a month.

• BY SHANE HARRIS-JULY 29, 2014

Keith Alexander, the recently retired director of the National Security Agency, left many in Washington slack-jawed when it was reported that he might charge companies up to $1 million a month to help them protect their computer networks from hackers. What insights or expertise about cybersecurity could possibly justify such a sky-high fee, some wondered, even for a man as well-connected in the military-industrial complex as the former head of the nation's largest intelligence agency?
The NSA's Cyber-King Goes Corporate by Thavam

Israel knocks out Gaza power plant, digs in for long fight

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the Gaza Strip July 28, 2014.

BY NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI AND MAAYAN LUBELL-Tue Jul 29, 2014

(Reuters) - Israel knocked out Gaza's only power plant, flattened the home of its Islamist Hamas political leader and pounded dozens of other high-profile targets in the enclave on Tuesday, with no end in sight to more than three weeks of conflict.
Israel Knocks Out Gaza Power Plant, Digs in for Long Fight by Thavam

Israel warns of 'lengthy' battle against Hamas

TUESDAY 29 JULY 2014
Gazans report one of the heaviest nights of bombardment from Israeli forces, after an address by the Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu warning Israel to prepare for a prolonged "campaign".----The children of Gaza - video.

How do people view Israel now? - video='Shocking hospital attack was by Hamas' - video

Israel's military said they targeted 70 "terror sites" in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Tuesday morning. At least 11 people were reported dead, with more fatalities expected.

The Israeli army said that five of its soldiers died after Hamas infiltrated through tunnels to Nahal Oz, inside Israel.

The heavy night of bombardment followed comments made by Binyamin Netanyahu quashing any hopes of a swift end to 22 days of fighting.

In a televised address on Monday night, Mr Netanyahu said that any solution to the crisis would require the demilitarisation of the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

"We will not finish the operation without neutralising the tunnels, which have the sole purpose of destroying our citizens, killing our children," Mr Netanyahu said.

"We need to be prepared for a lengthy campaign. We will continue to act with force and discretion until our mission is accomplished," he added.

The bombardment overnight on Tuesday also saw a missile fired at the house of Hamas Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh, but Gaza's interior ministry said there were no casualties at the site.

Medic Aid Palestinians said that 1,095 people have been been killed in Gaza, and another 6,500 injured.

Jonathan Miller @millerC4

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#c4news IDF explains overnight targeting in #Gaza City. Hamas al-Aqsa radio one of the sites hit.

3:47 AM - 29 Jul 2014

Paul Mason        ✔ @paulmasonnews

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First light Gaza City. Constant flare explosions til 3am, repeated air and arty strikes on targets inland (1/2)

10:58 PM - 28 Jul 2014

Paul Mason        ✔ @paulmasonnews

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Gaza (2/2) three massive impacts 1/2hr ago on same target. Our building repeatedly shook. More follows. Slept maybe 90 mins.

11:01 PM - 28 Jul 2014

Paul Mason        ✔ @paulmasonnews

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Can't assess damage yet, but Israeli heavy air/arty strikes hit targets in midst of densely populated downtown city, for last 6 hours.

11:05 PM - 28 Jul 2014

Paul Mason        ✔ @paulmasonnews

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We are far (5-7km) from the tunnel battle - IDF says 5 soldiers killed near Nahal Oz. Means Hamas staging tactical forays into Israel

11:15 PM - 28 Jul 2014