MR ready to scrap presidency if Eelam project is dropped 

October 12, 2014, 10:17 pm

If the Tamil National Alliance and the Tamil Diaspora gave up the eelam and separatist ideology, before anyone else he would be the first person to scrap the executive presidential system, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared in Killinochchi yesterday.

Addressing a ceremony to hand over 20,000 title deeds at the Killinochchi Central College grounds, the President said due to thirty years of terrorism not only lives lost were but also places of residence had been lost. The people had been forced to pawn their gold jewellery with LTTE banks.

"Because of this terror how many of your relatives and friends lost their lives? How much property was lost? We put an end to terror and now you can live as free men and women, President Rajapaksa said.

He said it should never be forgotten that the war the country fought to put an end to LTTE terror had not been against the Tamil people. " It was to protect your lives, your children’s lives and the lives of the unborn."

"By wiping out terrorism on May 19, 2009 we were able to give the people everywhere, be it in the North or the South, the right to live without fear or suspicion. People may have forgotten this fact by now but you knew the challenges we faced. You all were in welfare centres and were without your property", the President said, adding that he was happy that the government had been able to help them rebuild their lives.

MP: Gifted by Sri Lanka, Bodhi tree at Sanchi wilting for lack of care

Neeraj Santoshi, Hindustan Times  Bhopal, October 13, 2014

The famous Bodhi tree near Sanchi world heritage site is dying and wilting. Not being taken care of properly by the state government, the leaves of the tree looked withered and pale. Also, lack of water has killed most of the potted plants around it and the soil around this sacred tree has cracked.

This Bodhi tree has grown from a sapling that was planted by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on September 21, 2012 at the site of the International University of Buddhist and Indic Studies, just a few kilometers from Sanchi world heritage site.

Rajapaksa had brought the sapling from Sri Lanka, where he had cut it from Anuradhapura's Bodhi tree. The planting of the sapling in a way completed a circle that started over two millennia ago.

In 3rd century BC, Ashoka's daughter Bhikkhuni Sangamitta had taken a branch of the original Bodhi tree from India to Sri Lanka. Also, Vidisha, just 10 km from Sanchi, is the place of birth of Asoka's wife Sridevi.

Their daughter Sanghmitra and son Mahindra started their missionary journey to Sri Lanka from Vidisha and took along a Bodhi sapling which they planted in Anuradhapura while propagating Buddhism in the distant land.

When HT visited the site where Bodhi sapling had been planted -- nearly 45 kms from Bhopal -- it found that the tree had grown over 20 feet and its branches were struggling with metallic wire-mesh that had been put over the sapling when it was small.

The lower branches have now got entangled with the roof of the mesh. Most of the potted plants around the Bodhi tree have died for lack of water and the Bodi tree is withering away because of the combined effects of the disease and lack of water.

Just a few meters from the tree, four guards — in-charge of the security of the Bodhi tree — are themselves struggling, mostly on account of sultry weather, deficient water and power supply and no toilet facilities.

They also fear for their lives from snakes and scorpions that have been seen running and crawling on the rocky hillock. With no toilet facilities, the guards are left with no other option but to defecate in the open some distance away from the sacred tree.

"Our duty is to ensure security of the tree and we are doing that despite so many odds. Regarding the disease it is suffering and why it is not being watered regularly, you can contact senior officials," said Atar Singh, one of the guards.

In-charge of Mahabodhi Society of India at Sanchi, Bhante Vimal Tisse, was furious when HT apprised him about the condition of the sacred tree. "If the Government of India accepted the tree as a gift from Sri Lanka, it is its moral responsibility to take care of it. The negligence has hurt the sentiments of Buddhists and all those who love Buddha," he said.

When HT contacted collector Raisen JK Jain, he said he will look into the issue. "I will pass instructions to the officers concerned that the sacred tree be regularly watered.

We will also arrange for an agricultural expert to look into the disease that has afflicted the tree. The administration will make all possible efforts to see that the tree is healthy again," he added.

Petition Launched Against Monk Ill-Treating Elephants

Uduwe Dhammaloka

October 13, 2014 

Animal rights activists have launched an online petition urging the Prime Minister and the Wildlife Department of Sri Lanka to take immediate action to save Saama – a 27 year-old elephant in desperate need of vertirinary care, that is currently owned by popular monk Uduwe Dhammaloka.

Animal rights activists point to the most recent photographs taken of Saama that very clearly indicate the deteriorating state of the animal’s health. She carries a massive boil on her leg, which they point out is most probably a result of a bullhook wound and left untreated could be infected and turn worse in no time. They point out that this animal has been deprived of proper veterinary care for a prolonged period and also expressed concern over being tortured by her mahout.The elephant is presently being held at the Alan Mathiniyarama temple where the Dhammaloka – a Rajapaksa henchman resides. This animal was gifted to the temple three years ago by the Pinnawala elephant orphanage.

Although Saama’s sorry state has been exposed by local media outlets on several occasions and several complaints have been made to the authorities, they have continued to turn a deaf ear as the monk is well-connected.

According to sources, this is not the first elephant to be ill-treated at the hands of this mahout and the former elephant who was in his care had died prematurely as a result of neglect.

The petitioners are urging local authorities to intervene and ensure that Saama’s owner pays for proper medical treatment and also facilitate her transfer to a sanctuary where she may spend her remaining years.

They are also urging for other elephants currently held at the Alan Mathiniyarama temple to be sent to a sanctuary as well as and that the temple be banned from owning or keeping any other elephants in the future.

Local media has been repeatedly writing about widespread elephant smuggling rackets in the country where baby elephants are smuggled out of national parks under the sponsorship of powerful figures and are sold off. Certain temples are used as transit points in these rackets where the elephants are held until they are sold off to an owner, since most would not suspect an elephant held at a temple.

What if MH17 was shot down by jet fighters? 

By ROY BISHOP-October 13, 2014


Malaysian Airline flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur,cruising at flight level: FL330 (33,000 feet) was destroyed, apparently shot down over Eastern Ukraine, by a Russian missile, as claimed by the West and Ukraine or by Ukrainian ground-fire or fighter aircraft, as claimed by Russia. Each side's claim resonates from the political aims and standpoints of each party. Both claims cannot be correct and the truth and actual incident can only be derived from objective investigation and analysis.
 
The official air investigation conducted by – has released its preliminary report and it has not apportioned cause or blame but it has certainly muted some of the hyped claims hysterical demands for retaliation. It has not concluded that a missile shot down MH17 but it mentioned "high impacts objects" as the source of the damage to MH17.
Ukraine, Europe and USA are still insisting that a (Russian) missile is the only cause of the shoot down but the shrill hysteria has come down an octave or so. However, the ...report and other published info have enough info to give the neutral observer a reasonably good idea of what happened.
 
Malaysian Airlines say that MH17 was on the right track but the report shows MH17, 20 minutes before shoot down, requesting and then changing course 20 km northwards (towards East Ukraine) from the authorized flight path.(See Pic A) The reason was they feared adverse weather ahead. The report stated that there was no adverse weather on the track but alto-cumulous cloud formations and potential thunderstorms below 30,000ft. The crew asking for a left hand deviation could not be justified by threatening thunderstorms below.
 
MH17 according to the flight planwas supposed to be at FL350- a height of 35,000feet- but the captain refused to comply with the Uk ATC request to climb from 33,000ft level they were flying at. ATC had to rearrange the other nearby aircraft movements because of this. This is unusual in commercial aviation if there were no technical reasons for the refusal.
 
Remaining at this low level was potentially dangerous for MH17 because there was a NOTAM (international airlines warning to airliners) notice in place over East Uk warning of the war dangers below FL320- 32,000ft. All airlines and flight captains are supplied with NOTAMS each day. Given the notified dangers of flying at FL320 why did MH17 insist on flying at FL330 that is (1000 feet above) for no valid airline reason?Especially when there were threats of thunderstorms at FL300?
If MH17 captain had stuck to his official flight plan he would have been at FL350 – 5000ft above the NOTAM war risk flight level and 3000ft above thunderstorms. And he would have been 2 to 5 kms south of the East Ukraine war area.
Why did MH17 captain deliberately fly lower towards dangerous flight level and changed course towards the war area for no valid aviation reason? No answer so far has been given or attempted by Malaysian authorities, the West or Ukraine. Why did Ukraine ATC not refuse permission for MH17 to do these but instead allowed it?
 
The damage to the aircraft has been documented by the report. There is no analytical or photo evidence that MH17 was hit by a missile from below. On the contrary the evidence shows two disturbing factors. Firstly, the type of impact/exit damage to the forward fuselage was caused by "high impact objects" that look similar to either by bullets or shrapnel. In Pic 2, small clean holes can be seen caused by incoming objects. There are also lines of holes running diagonally across the fuselage skin similar to the line of machine gun bullets. Then there are holes or (cockpit window sill) panel damage and also large holes/gaps all outward edged showing the objects were moving out through the aircraft. This clearly points to the case of MH17 being fired at by machine gun (small holes) and cannon (large gaps) both of which are the standard armament of jet fighters.
Additionally, the photo of the cockpit floor shows small holes all exiting the cockpit floor from above to below indicating that the explosion or gun firing was from above MH17.
 
If a ground fired missile (such as the Russian BUK missile as claimed by the West and Ukraine) had hit MH17 there would be a massive explosion to the under belly or wing of the aircraft, as these missiles are heat/radiation seeking ones and target the engines.
 
The second disturbing factor is that all the impact evidence is on the forward fuselage around the cockpit and nosuch damage was found in the mid and rear sections of the aircraft. Why would a heat seeking missile fired from the ground hit the cockpit area of an airliner and not the main fuselage? The report does not seek to answer this question but calls for a full report.
The position of the fallen aircraft debris adds another factor. The cockpit /front fuselage lies in farmlands in Don about 1.6 kms from the estimated impact point while the rest of the aircraft – the main fuselage, wings engines and tail fell six kilometers further on. The front section was blown apart and fell immediately downwards while the main sections travelled further on and gradually fell.
 
When the Pan- Am aircraft was destroyed over Lockerbie by a bomb in the central luggage area, the debris was not so dispersed; neither would any aircraft hit by an explosive missile in its under-belly.
The reasonable conclusion would be that the impact projectiles, likely to be machine guns bullets/ cannon shells were aimed at the pilot cockpit area from both side of MH17 and slightly above it. As this is impossible to be from a ground missile, this can only be from jet fighters flying alongside MH17.
 
This is also consistent with the strange case of an Ukrainian ATC controller, 'Carlos' who claimed in tweets that Ukrainian jetfighters were trailing MH17 shortly before the shoot down. He was removed from duty shortly after and Ukrainian ATC Radar records were also removed. The Tweets were sent before any media reports of the tragedy therefore this 'Carlos' was either at ATC or had inside information. No official explanation of 'Carlos' has been given.

Why would Ukrainian jet fighters be following MH17? President Putin in his aircraft with roughly the same size, colour scheme and radar signature was reported to be flying from Brazil to Moscow and crossing the same area around the same time. If so, the shooting down of MH17 was either an assassination attempt on President Putin by Ukrainian hard line factions or to escalate the conflict in order to bring in the global powers after Russia's expected retaliation.

PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF TWO FRENCH JOURNALISTS HELD IN INDONESIA

PUBLISHED ON SATURDAY 11 OCTOBER 2014. UPDATED ON TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2014.

As French journalists Valentine Bourrat and Thomas Dandois begin their third month in detention in Indonesia, their support committee in France and Reporters Without Borders are launching a petition for their immediate release.

The petition, which notes that “fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to inform, concern the immense majority,” has already been signed by leading journalists such as Édith Bouvier, Claire Chazal, Laurent Delahousse, Guy Lagache, Jean-Pierre Pernaut, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, David Pujadas, Harry Roselmack and Melissa Theuriaux.

It has also been signed by such well-known public figures as Laurent Baffie, Charles Berling, Jane Birkin, Cali, Michel Cymes, Jamel Debbouze, Benoît Hamon, Baptiste Lecaplain, Noël Mamère, André Manoukian and Bruno Solo.

Detained in Jayapura, the capital of the eastern province of Papua (on the island of New Guinea), Bourrat and Dandois were arrested while preparing a report for the Franco-German TV station Arte. They are accused of violating immigration regulations and are facing the possibility of a long trial and a sentence of up to five years in prison.

“Bourrat and Dandois did not apply for press visas because such visas are rarely granted and would have resulted in restrictions on their ability to work freely,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

“The aim of this petition is to make the Indonesian authorities realize that it is absolutely unacceptable for them to continue detaining these journalists with the aim of deterring media coverage of Papua.”

To sign the petition, click here.

FREE TWO FRENCH JOURNALISTS
DETAINED IN INDONESIA

French journalists Valentine Bourrat and Thomas Dandois have been detained in the Indonesian province of Papua (on the island of New Guinea) ever since 6 August, when they were arrested while doing a report for the Franco-German TV station Arte.

They decided to work without official permission because they knew it was extremely hard to get a press visa for Papua and because they would be freer to move about and meet all they people they needed to talk to for their story.

But they were caught and now they are accused of violating immigration regulations. Until now, foreign journalists arrested in similar circumstances have been expelled within a few days. But Bourrat and Dandois have been held for nearly two months and are facing the possibility of a long trial and a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Bourrat and Dandois are experienced field reporters whose work has been broadcast in France and other countries and who have received prestigious awards. Their journalistic independence and integrity is recognized by the entire profession and is beyond dispute.

Fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to inform, concern everyone. We therefore call on both well-known figures and ordinary members of the public to sign our petition for the release of Bourrat and Dandois.

Sign the petition.

I SIGN

Cyclone kills 24 in east India, sparks fears of floods

A man fixes a tarpaulin after it was damaged by strong winds caused by Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam October 13, 2014. 

 Power lines and a passenger bus are seen after being damaged by strong winds caused by Cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam October 13, 2014. 

BY JATINDRA DASH-Mon Oct 13, 2014

VISAKHAPATNAM India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The death toll from a powerful cyclone which battered India's eastern coastline rose to 24 on Monday, as the storm weakened and moved inland, leaving a swathe of destruction and triggering fears heavy rains would bring flash floods.

Packing wind speeds of up to 195 kph (over 120 mph), cyclone Hudhud hammered the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on Sunday, forcing tens of thousands of coastal inhabitants to seek safety in storm shelters.

In the port city of Visakhapatnam, home to two million people, government workers began removing uprooted trees which had blocked roads, restoring snapped power and telecoms lines and clearing up debris including sign boards and corrugated iron roofs which had been ripped off buildings by the strong gusts.

"I do not know how many days it will take to restore my business. I have lost everything," said Heusikeswa Rao, a trader in Visakhapatnam, as he tried to gather the pieces of wood and metal which once formed his stall.

Huge lines were seen at the few petrol stations which reopened after a two-day closure as people carrying jerry cans jostled to get fuel which was in short supply. Residents also resorted to panic buying items such as milk, candles and kerosene in some places.

Few shops were open and schools and many offices were closed due to poor telecoms and no power for the second day in a row.

Officials in Andhra Pradesh, which reported 21 deaths, said initial surveys found that thousands of houses had been damaged and there was widespread destruction to banana, sugarcane and rice crops in the districts of Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, East Godavari and Vijaynagaram.

Tens of thousands of people spent a third night in cyclone shelters due to damage to their home or a lack of food or clean drinking water in their villages, officials said.

FOOD AIRDROPS

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu, who visited Visakhapatnam on Monday, said he was fully confident that response to the disaster would be quick.

"Visakhapatnam is a place I like very much. But, it is painful to see the city this way today," Naidu told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would visit the area on Tuesday. "Have been constantly taking updates on Cyclone Hudhud ... Will visit Visakhapatnam tomorrow and take stock of the situation," Modi tweeted.

Authorities in Visakhapatnam, locally known as Vizag, said 19 helicopters had been dispatched to drop food and water packets to affected villages. Four naval ships were also being readied to sail to the coast, carrying relief material for 5,000 people, and four more ships were on standby if required.

The relatively low death toll reported so far followed an operation to evacuate more than 150,000 people to minimise the risk to lives from Hudhud - similar in size and power to cyclone Phailin that struck the area exactly a year ago. 

According to India's weather office, Hudhud has weakened into a deep depression but is expected to dump heavy rains in northern and northeastern India and, eventually, snow when it reaches the Himalayan mountains.

Aid workers warned the rains were likely to inundate large tracts of farmland, comparing it to Phailin's incessant rains last year which caused major rivers and tributaries to overflow, submerging villages and stranding hundreds of thousands of people for days after the cyclone had passed.

In the coastal fishing village of Mangamaripeta, 25 km (15 miles) from Visakhapatnam, where scores of thatched homes had been swept away by storm surges, inhabitants waited for aid.

"We do not know how we manage for the next few days," said N. Bangaramma, housewife and mother of three. "Our house was damaged. Whatever we had was washed away."

(Additional reporting by Malini Menon in New Delhi. Writing by Nita Bhalla, Editing by Katie Nguyen)

Tougher Sanctions Now: Putin’s Delusional Quest for Empire

Aurel Braun-JULY/AUGUST 2014

T







his spring, as Russia’s puppet government in Crimea moved clocks forward two hours to coincide with Moscow time, Vladimir Putin seemed intent on moving the historical clock backwards to the age of nineteenth-century Russian imperialism. As the leader of an economically weak and vulnerable country with a corrupt governing class, the Russian president acted with brazen disregard for international law and norms, while the democratic West played a totally reactive role, and a feckless one at that. Ignoring very reluctantly introduced, and very limited, sanctions, Putin reciprocated with utter contempt for capitalist democracies, where he believes profits will always trump principle, and especially for President Obama, who, in the Russian dictator’s view, finds Western unity only in weakness, not in strength. But even though what appear to be irreversible faits accomplis occur every day in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, it is not too late for the West to seize the initiative, mobilize its vast economic and political capacity, and put Putin and the “yes” chorus of siloviki, who surround and encourage him, truly on the defensive.
Tougher Sanctions Now Putin’s Delusional Quest for Empire by Thavam

Taliban fighters kill 22 Afghan soldiers and police in ambush on convoy

Attack in north Afghanistan follows deadly bombings in Kabul as insurgents step up assaults before foreign troops withdraw

Reuters in Kabul-Monday 13 October 2014 

Debris from a suicide attack targeting an Isaf convoy near a US military camp on the outskirt of Kabul on Monday. Photograph: Wali Sabawoon/NurPhoto/Rex Features

Taliban insurgents have ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces in a mountainous northern region of Afghanistan, killing 22 soldiers and police, an official said, as bombs in the capital Kabul and elsewhere left three people dead.

The violence came as the Taliban and their allies step up attacks before the withdrawal of most foreign troops at the end of the year. The insurgency is seeking to weaken the new Afghan government that will take over most of the fight.

The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, attacked the convoy as it travelled through Laghman valley in Sar-e-Pul province, the governor, Abdul Jabar Haqbeen, said.

Eight security forces were wounded and seven were taken captive. “Twelve army and police vehicles are totally destroyed,” he added.

A suicide car bomber rammed a Nato military convoy along a road out of Kabul early on Monday, killing one Afghan civilian, the authorities said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jalalabad Road, a main thoroughfare with a US military base and a housing compound for UN and other international contractors and aid workers.

At least three foreign nationals were wounded in the blast targeting their armoured vehicles. Their identities have not been confirmed.

A spokesman for the US-led Nato mission in Afghanistan said a patrol was attacked but there were no fatalities among the international force. The force does not confirm injuries.

The bomber drove a Toyota Corolla into the convoy just before 7am local time, said Farid Afzali, head of Kabul’s police investigation department. “As a result of the blast, one of our countrymen was killed and three foreigners slightly wounded,” he added.

It was the second car bomb attack on international forces in Kabul in a month.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Majahid, tweeted that the target was a foreign military convoy and several troops were killed. The insurgents, who are fighting to expel foreign forces and re-establish their Islamist state, often exaggerate the results of their attacks.

In the eastern province of Nangarhar, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in front of a clinic, killing two people and wounding seven, the Ministry of Defence said.

A bomb planted in a crowded market in the Qarabagh district of Kabul wounded 22 civilians, five of whom are in critical condition. Four children were reportedly among the injured.

The Taliban took advantage of weeks of political paralysis following the disputed presidential election to regain territory in provinces such as Helmand in the south and Kunduz in the north.

President Ashraf Ghani appealed in his inauguration address last month for the militants to join peace talks but they denounced his government for signing a security pact with Washington, calling it a “sinister” US plot to control Afghanistan.

Turkey denies deal reached with U.S. on air base use in ISIS fight

U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched 8 airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria

The Associated Press Posted: Oct 13, 2014 10:46 AM ET Last Updated: Oct 13, 2014 11:12 AM ET

A Turkish soldier, part of a tank unit holding their position on a hilltop on the outskirts of Suruc, at the Turkey-Syria border, overlooking Kobani, Syria. Hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing ISIS militants have fled into Turkey from Syria. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press)

A Turkish official says there is no new agreement with the United States on using an air base in southern Turkey for operations against the militant group ISIS.

Turkey and the United States are still negotiating the use of the Incirlik air base as well as Turkish demands for the creation of a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees, the government official told the Associated Press on Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the issue publicly.

On Sunday, U.S. defence officials said Turkey would let U.S. and coalition forces use its bases to launch attacks against ISIS, also known as Islamic State or ISIL.

On the ground, an ISIS suicide bomber detonated his vehicle Monday in the Syrian border town of Kobani amid fierce fighting with Kurdish militiamen there, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It said the car was headed to the border crossing between Kobani and Turkey.

A Kurdish activist in the town, Farhad Shami, said the vehicle appeared to have exploded prematurely. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties.

• ISIS admits enslaving Yazidi women, kids in own magazine
• Turkey allows U.S. and partners to use its bases in ISIS fight
• ISIS triple suicide bombing in Iraq kills 58 including Kurds
• How ISIS sows global panic, and other facts about the jihadist group

U.S., Saudi Arabia launch air strikes

Reuters reported that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia launched eight airstrikes on Sunday and Monday against ISIS targets in Syria, including seven near Kobani, the U.S. military’s Central Command said

Four strikes southwest of Kobani hit ISIS units and destroyed a machine gun firing position while three strikes northeast of Kobani struck a militant unit and damaged a staging location and several buildings, Centcom said in a statement. Another strike hit an ISIS garrison northwest of Raqqa, it said.

The Sunni extremists of ISIS have carved out a vast stretch of territory from northern Syria to the outskirts of Baghdad and imposed a harsh version of Islamic rule. The fighters have massacred hundreds of captured Iraqi and Syrian soldiers, terrorized religious minorities, and beheaded two American journalists and two British aid workers.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled into Turkey from Syria recently ahead of the militants.

A U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the militant targets in and around Kobani for more than two weeks. The town’s fate has emerged as a major test of whether the air campaign can roll back the extremists in Syria.

The sound of explosions and occasional gunfire could be heard across the border from Kobani a day after Kurdish fighters managed to slow the advance of the jihadist group. What appeared to be a rocket-propelled grenade struck a minaret in the centre of the town, emitting a cloud of white smoke.

Activists said ISIS militants were carrying out a three-pronged attack from the eastern side of the town and that clashes were reported in the southern part.

The Syrian Kurdish enclave has been the scene of heavy fighting since late last month, with the better-armed ISIS fighters determined to capture the border post.

Feds seize $65 million cash in massive L.A. drug raid, including ransom money paid to secure the release of an American who was kidnapped and shot by Mexican cartel

• A raid in downtown Los Angeles this morning turned up $65 million in cash
• The 80 businesses targeted were all involved in the Black Market Peso exchange, a system that helps drug cartels launder money
• One business had accepted $140,000 from the friends and relatives of a man who was being held for ransom and tortured by the Sinaloa cartel

By CHRIS SPARGO FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 22:56 GMT, 10 September 2014 | UPDATED: 23:20 GMT, 10 September 2014

A massive raid earlier today in California turned up a staggering $65 million in cash.

Federal agents descended upon dozens of businesses in the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering done for Mexican drug cartels.

Among the cash seized was $140,000 in ransom paid by relatives and friends of a U.S. citizen who was kidnapped, beaten, shot, electrocuted and waterboarded while being held captive by a Mexican cartel.

Scroll down for video 

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Historic haul: Feds seized $65 million in cash during a raid of 80 L.A. businesses earlier this morning that were suspected of laundering money for Mexican cartels

Black market exchange: The businesses were all located in L.A.'s Fashion District, and thought to be aiding in the Black Market Peso Exchange

In addition to the money, nine people were arrested as 1,000 officers with the DEA, ICE, IRS and FBI descended on approximately 80 businesses.

'We have targeted money-laundering activities in the Fashion District based on a wealth of information that numerous businesses there are engaged in Black Market Peso Exchange schemes,' assistant U.S. attorney Robert E. Dugdale said in a statement. 

'Los Angeles has become the epicenter of narco-dollar money laundering with couriers regularly bringing duffel bags and suitcases full of cash to many businesses.'

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Kidnapping and torture: Some of the money seized was the ransom paid for an American man who had been shot and waterboarded by the Sinola caertel

The Black Market Peso Exchange is a complicated system in which businesses help to launder drug money for international cartels.

Brokers in Mexico will find a business that wants to buy goods from the United States, and have a drug dealer in the United States who wants to convert their U.S. dollars to Mexican pesos purchase those goods for the Mexican business using their U.S. dollars. 

Then, once the Mexican business sells all those purchased goods in Mexico, which had been paid for by the drug dealer in the U.S. with dollars, they hand over the pesos to the broker, thereby converting the dealer's U.S. dollars into Mexican pesos without ever physically moving any cash. 

The most harrowing news to come out of the raid was the revelation that one business, Q.T. Fashion Inc., a maternity apparel wholesaler, accepted $140,000 cash and then sent sent clothes to a retail business in Culiacan, Mexico,according to the Los Angeles Times.

That money had been for the release of an American drug distributor who was kidnapped and tortured by the Sinaloa cartel after U.S. agents intercepted a shipment of 100 kilograms of cocaine he was responsible for selling.

The man had been shot, beaten, electrocuted and waterboarded on a ranch in Mexico.

His friends and family members were the ones who brought the money to the business  

Arrests were also made at three other businesses, Yili Underwear, Gayima Underwear and Pacific Eurotex Corp., accused of laundering money. 

Sri Lanka needs tightening, not relaxation, of the electoral scheme

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Strenuous efforts are being made by the Government and its propagandists in the state/private media to justify planned attempts to amend Sri Lanka’s election laws, legalising what are currently classified as election violations.

Sufficient justification for prohibitions
But such prohibitions did not come about by a casual throw of the dice as these rude proponents of government power appear to believe. They were carefully and meticulously thought out in order to ensure free and fair elections at a time when Sri Lanka’s governance was not purely a matter of corruption and abuse of power as is the case now.

Sri Lanka Needs Tightening, Not Relaxation, Of the Electoral Scheme by Thavam

சிங்கள சகோதரர்கள் எமது மண் உரிமைப் போராட்டத்துக்காக குரல் கொடுக்க வேண்டும்: பொ.ஐங்கரநேசன் ​படங்கள் இணைப்பு 

13 Oct 2014

எமது மண்ணைப் படையினரின் மூலம் இலங்கை அரசாங்கம் பறித்து வைத்திருக்கிறது. மண் இல்லாமல் விதை இல்லை. எனவே விதை உரிமைப் போராட்டத்தில் ஈடுபடும் சிங்கள சகோதரர்கள் எமது மண் உரிமைப் போராட்டத்துக்காவும் குரல் கொடுக்க முன்வர வேண்டும் என்று வடக்கு விவசாய அமைச்சர் பொ.ஐங்கரநேசன் வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளார்.
‘விதை உரிமைகளைப் பாதுகாத்துக்கொள்வதற்கான தேசிய அமைப்பு’ முறிகண்டியில் இருந்து கொழும்பை நோக்கி நேற்று  சனிக்கிழமை ஆரம்பித்திருக்கும் பாதயாத்திரையின் தொடக்க நிகழ்ச்சியில் கலந்துகொண்டு உரையாற்றியபோதே அமைச்சர் பொ.ஐங்கரநேசன் இவ்வாறு வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளார்.

Blue sarees for Jaffna teachers!

 Sunday, 12 October 2014 

The zonal education director’s office has distributed blue-coloured sarees for teachers in the north to wear at a function to be held tomorrow (13) at Nelliadi in Jaffna with the participation of the president. The zonal education director has instructed every school to reduce the cost of the sarees from the salaries of these teachers. Expressing their opposition to this, the teachers say that they do not need blue-coloured sarees, and that they strongly oppose the reduction of the cost of the sarees forced on them from their salary.

In addition, the Army is collecting Rs. 1,000 from each shop and small businessmen at Nelliadi, purportedly to whitewash the walls in the area. Even unwillingly, they have given the money, as they fear harassment from the Army.