Budget is a fraud – State sector gets 3124 while private sector gets 375 – nothing for estates!

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2014

The demands of the working people have been completely ignored in the budget proposals presented to Parliament today (24th) by Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the Minister of Finance, despite bragging that the working masses have been given a massive increase  in their salaries says the President of National Trade Union Center (NTUC) K.D. Lal Kantha.

Releasing a communiqué on behalf of the NTUC Mr. Lal Kantha says the state sector salaries have been increased by Rs.3124 but the increase for the private sector is only Rs.375. However, the estate sector has been completely ignored says Mr. Lal Kanatha.

The NTUC carried out a campaign before the budget was presented demanding that all allowances of state sector employees should be added to the salaries, the salaries should be increased by Rs.10,000 and laws should be adopted to increase the salaries of the private sector remind Mr. Lal Kantha in his communiqué.

However, the President has given from the budget only an allowance of Rs.2200 and a salary increase of Rs.924 pointed out the President of NTUC adding that the total increase for state sector employee is only Rs.3124. He said it is a complete deception of the working masses and added that this cannot even meet the arrears of the living allowance of Rs.15302 that has been accumulated since Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power.

Despite state employees demanding that all allowances that have been given should be added to the salary, only Rs.2346, which is only 20% of the Rs.10146, has been given. When the demand was for a minimum of Rs.10,000 increase to the salary the President has given only Rs.924.

Despite demanding laws to be adopted to increase the salaries of the private sector employees the President has proposed a minimum salary of Rs. 10,000 which increases the salaries only by Rs.375 pointed out Mr. Lal Kantha. It is not what the estate sector employees expected. There is nothing mentioned regarding salaries of estate sector employees.

The demands of the working masses have been completely ignored said Mr. Lal Kantha and said that by adding Rs.3123 as salary and allowance for the state sector the President has played a numbers game which is a big fraud.

He said the NTUC would never accept the proposals and added that the only path left for working masses is to commence a massive trade union action. He called upon the working masses to be prepared for a massive struggle to win their just demands.

UPDATE: 2015 Budget presented in Parliament

October 24, 2014

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, presented the National Budget for the fiscal year of 2015 to Parliament a short while ago. 

This is the 10th budget presented by Rajapaksa after assuming duties as President cum Finance and Planning Minister in 2005. It is also the 69th Budget of post Independence Sri Lanka. 

On Thursday, Rajapaksa tweeted that the budget theme will be ‘Unstoppable Sri Lanka’.

The 2015 budget gives Rajapaksa an opportunity to play up his economic record - Sri Lanka’s per capita output at $3,280 is twice India’s - but he has dismissed speculation that he will offer giveaways to voters.

The budget “will consist of many proposals that will upgrade the standard of both the people and country,” Rajapaksa was quoted in state media. “The budget is not prepared targeting elections.”

Rajapaksa has forecast Sri Lanka will grow 8.2 percent in 2015, up from this year’s expected 7.8 percent. He wants to trim the budget deficit to 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from this year’s planned 5.2 percent.


2015 Budget Proposals:

President Mahinda Rajapaksa today announced a special tax which will be introduced for vehicle imports.

He also said that a US$ 100 casino entrance tax will be introduced.

Value-added tax (VAT) to be reduced to 11 per cent from the current 12 per cent.

Bank of Ceylon to be recapitalized by Rs 10 billion next year.

US$ 150 million to be reinvested on Sri Lanka’s national carriers SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka in 2015.

Pay As You Earn Tax (PAYE) to be reduced to 12%.

Guaranteed price of paddy to be increased from Rs 34 to Rs 40 per kilogram  while seed paddy to be given free of charge to farmers.

Government to introduce pension scheme for apparel sector employees.

Fertilizer subsidy of Rs 350 to farmers will continue, President Rajapaksa said.

A monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 for kidney patients.

Funds to be allocated for mobile medical clinics in order to provide free medical checkups for every citizen.

Pre-school teachers to be provided with a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500.

The guaranteed price for local fresh milk to be increased to Rs 60 per litre while the price of locally manufactured milk powder is to be reduced by Rs 100 per kilogram.

Locally-made yoghurt to be reduced by Rs 3.

The number of Grade 5 Scholarship students to be increased from 15,000 to 25,000 while their monthly allowance will be increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500.

Samurdhi benefits to be increased to Rs 3,000 for 4-memeber families and Rs 2,000 for 3-member families.

Government to introduce pensions scheme for Sri Lankan nationals employed abroad.

Infant formula to be sold through Sathosa outlets at a subsidized price while the President requested other supermarket outlets to also provide subsidies for infant formula.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Budget reading said that dual citizenship will be granted for foreign employees.

Government to introduce pension scheme and insurance for three-wheeler drivers.

All disable persons to receive Rs 3,000 monthly grant while the monthly allowance provided to Senior Citizens is to be increased up to Rs 2,000 per month. July Strikers’ allowance increased by Rs 1,000. 

The monthly allowance of Rs 750 provided to the parents of tri-forces personnel increased to Rs 1,000 and also extended to the parents of police officers. 

50,000 students who don’t gain enough marks to enter universities will be given jobs in government sector after a special training.

Cost of living allowance for government sector employees to be increased by Rs. 2,500.

Motorcycles will be given for police Constables.

Pension and life insurance to be introduced for trishaw drivers

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Budget reading said that dual citizenship will be granted for foreign employees.

Rs. 1,500 will be provided as a scholarship for students who pass grade-5 scholarship exam.

700 million rupees allocated for development of Maharagama Cancer hospital. Special programs to develop cancer units in Anuradhapura and Ratnapura hospitals.
 
Special medical clinics will be held at religious places in Grama Sevaka Divisions island-wide. Sum Rs. 500 million allocated.

Sum 100 USD will be charged to enter into casino centers.

Bank loans will be provided for law interest rate of 6 per cent to be settled in 5 years.

2000 million rupees allocated to develop irrigation projects in dry zone.

New 500 buses will be imported for public transportation purposes.

Electricity tariffs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that use below 300 units to get a 25% tariff reduction while other sectors and industrial sector to get 15% reduction.

சட்டவிரோத மின்சாரம்: பார்வையிடச் சென்ற அதிகாரியை தாக்கிய மட்டு.விகாராதிபதி

[ வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, 24 ஒக்ரோபர் 2014, 01:28.47 PM GMT ]

கொழும்பிலிருந்து வருகை தந்த மின்சார புலனாய்வு பிரிவின் உத்தியோகத்தர் மட்டக்களப்பு நகரிலுள்ள பௌத்த விகாரையில் மின்சார பாவனையை பார்வையிட சென்ற போது அங்குள்ள பிக்கு இவரை தாக்கியுள்ளார்.

இச்சம்பவம் கடந்த புதன்கிழமை இடம்பெற்றுள்ளது.

பௌத்த விகாரையில சட்ட விரோதமான முறையில் மின்சாரம் பாவிப்பது தொடர்பாக விசாரணை மேற்கொள்ள சென்றபோது விகாரைக்கு பொறுப்பான அம்பேபிட்டிய சுமண ரத்ன தேரரால் தாக்கப்பட்டதோடு, அவதூறான வார்த்தைகளையும் பிரயோகித்துள்ளார்.

இவர்களோடு சென்ற பொலிஸாருடன் சம்பவத்தினை பார்த்துக் கொண்டு இருந்ததாக தகவல் கிடைத்துள்ளது.

இது தொடர்பாக விசாரணை மேற்கொள்ளப்படுமா என மின்சார சபை வட்டாரங்கள் கவலை தெரிவிக்கின்றனர்.

அதுமட்டுமின்றி, ஜனாதிபதி மகிந்தவையும் சுமண ரத்ன தேரர் ஆபாச வார்த்தைகளால் திட்டியுள்ளார்.

Rwanda MPs condemn BBC Untold Story programme on genocide

There are numerous memorials around Rwanda to those killed in the genocide

23 October 2014 

Rwanda's parliament has condemned the BBC for broadcasting a documentary which questioned official accounts of the 1994 genocide in the country.

Rwanda MPs Condemn BBC Untold Story Programme on Genocide by Thavam Ratna

Has Mahatma Gandhi’s Non Violence Philosophy Stood The Test Of Time ?

| by N.S.Venkataraman

( October 24, 2014, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Nandini Voice For The Deprived, an India based not for profit organisation organised an All India essay competition for college students on “Has Mahatma Gandhi’s non violence Philosophy Stood The Test of Time?” in the context of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on 2nd October, 2014. There was good response for the competition from students all over India.

While several students have argued that non violence philosophy has stood the test of time, there have also been other students who are of the view that the practice of non violence philosophy in its truest sense is not possible in the present time.

Highlights of both the view points are presented below.

"Non violence philosophy cannot be practiced in absolute form" :

After Mahatma Gandhi’s time, the limitations of non violence philosophy has been repeatedly exposed. It now appears that non violence philosophy can only be practiced in a limited way.

Mahatma Gandhi employed non violent methods effectively under conducive circumstances ,when Britishers were ruling India and British rulers had , by and large , faith in fair play. Several British intellectuals at that time even looked at India’s demand for independence approvingly. It is extremely doubtful whether Mahatma Gandhi could have employed his non violent methods successfully against someone like Hitler.

Contrary to popular opinion, non violence has never been an accepted norm in Indian history. Chanakya the great Indian philosopher was said to have advocated use of violence when dealing with those who are recalcitrant. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi himself was known to have said “I do believe that when there is only a choice between cowardice and violence , I would advise violence”.

Recent historical events in India shows that non violence could not have been employed in certain cases like Khalistan movement for separate country launched by Sikh extremists. India did not hesitate to use its armed mite to support the freedom fighters in Bangladesh and the Indians viewed India’s then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s decision to use force approvingly.

In conclusion , it can be said that while non violence is an idealised course of action practiced by some exceptional individuals like Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, the hard fact is that one cannot live in Utopian world based on high ideals and values that are fine in theory but impracticable considering the ground realities.

While non violence may not be the best solution to the present day’s world problems, neither is unrestricted violence. Violence can be justified only in specific circumstances and should not be resorted to as an act of pure vendetta.The world conscience and opinion should ensure this.

"Non violence philosophy has stood the test of time" :

It appears that the legacy left by Mahatma Gandhi was not well guarded by those who ruled India and other countries in the post Gandhian period, who have never completely understood what non violence philosophy is all about.

Several persons are not willing to practice non violence philosophy today , as it requires a person to have high level of courage and conviction to stand against the wrong and do personal sacrifice in the process. Perseverance and character are extremely important for the practitioners of non violence principle.

There are immediate examples before us of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the founder of National League for Democracy in Myanmar and she stood against the military junta with passive and non violent resistance as a matter of principle. She has succeeded already to a considerable extent. Anna Hazare in India has proved the power of non violent protest and fast very recently when the government of India was forced to listen to him. Sharmila Chanu of Manipur in India is another role model and she has taken the path of Mahatma Gandhi’s non violence principle to strongly protest with regard to the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in north eastern India. She has already shaken the conscience of India .

The world is now gradually realising that non violence is the best antidote to mitigate the march of violence and promote the social consciousness of understanding, cooperation , coordination and reconciliation which are of paramount importance to ensure peace and harmony .

Mahatma Gandhi proved the strength of ahimsa philosophy in his life time. Let us not question the practicability of non violence philosophy , when the fact and truth is that most of the people today , while respecting Mahatma Gandhi , have failed to live upto the standards set up by him.

The Regretful Jihadists of the Islamic State

The West is terrified of foreign fighters returning from Iraq and Syria. But not all of them are trying to bring jihad with them.

• BY LEELA JACINTO-OCTOBER 23, 2014

On sept. 24, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to adopt a resolution aimed at tackling the threat of foreign terrorist fighters around the world, French security services were wrapping up a "jihadist arrest" that seemed worthy of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau.
The Regretful Jihadists of the Islamic State by Thavam Ratna

'Thai police threatened to cut off my son's hands and feet'

JOHN SPARKS Asia Correspondent

The father of one of the Burmese suspects accused of murdering British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand says the pair were tortured into confessing to the crime.

Sweden calls off hunt for submarine

Reports of foreign underwater activity in the Stockholm archipelago triggered week-long search

The Swedish corvette HMS Visby during the search on Mysingen Bay. Photograph: Fredrik Sandberg/AP

David Crouch in Gothenburg-Friday 24 October 2014

Sweden’s navy has cancelled its week-long operation in the archipelago off Stockholm after finding no trace of the Russian submarine widely anticipated by military specialists and the media.

“Our assessment is that in the inner archipelago there was a plausible foreign underwater operation,” Rear Adm Anders Grenstad said. “But we believe that what has violated Swedish waters has left.”

Whatever was there could not have been a conventional submarine, Grenstad said, but a “craft of a lesser type”. It was not possible to state how big it was or to what country it belonged, he added. “The operation is substantially complete. The vessels and amphibious units have gone to port and resumed normal preparedness,” he said.

The hunt began last Friday after a member of the public contacted the armed forces with substantial and credible information, he said. The public reported 250 sightings during the ensuing week, with the navy taking five of them seriously.

Some reports given prominence in the media turned out to have innocent explanations, such as the “man in black” allegedly hunted by special intelligence who was revealed to be a pensioner fishing for sea trout. There was also a media focus on possible Russian “mother ships” in the Baltic that were linked to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

For seven days, Sweden’s navy criss-crossed a vast expanse of waterdotted with 30,000 islands, in what specialists likened to a search for a needle in a haystack.

Critics complained of a media circus surrounding the hunt, as several newspapers hired helicopters to follow the navy, whose specialist submarine-hunting helicopters were sold off in 2008. “In comparison with the newspapers’ reporting, Star Wars seems to be a social-realist documentary,” columnist Peter Kadhammar wrote in Aftonbladet, a popular tabloid.

Russia’s defence ministry consistently denied that one of its vessels was in Swedish waters, and dismissed the operation as a “tragicomedy”.

The fevered atmosphere of the past week recalled the cold war fears that gripped the country after a Russian nuclear-armed submarine became grounded on rocks in southern Sweden in 1981. For more than a decade, the navy conducted frequent searches of Swedish waters, sometimes dropping depth charges on suspect objects. But no Russian submarine was identified.

This week’s naval operation cost about SEK20m (£1.7m), or about the same sum that was spent on fighting forest fires in Sweden over the summer, Grenstad said.

Sweden elected a minority “red-green” government in September, which has faced pressure on defence spending after Russian incursions into the country’s airspace and heightened fears about Sweden’s defence capabilities in the worst crisis in east-west relations for a generation.

Before the submarine hunt, the government had agreed to implement the recommendations of a cross-party parliamentary committee to increase defence spending and proceed with the SEK900m purchase of 10 fighter aircraft and a submarine.

Announcing its first budget on Thursday, the government confirmed the additional SEK300m each year for the next five years, but the centre-right opposition claimed it amounted to a cut in real terms.

A conspiracy theory that the submarine scare was manufactured to strengthen the navy’s case for greater finance was widely discussed on social media. “The timing is almost too good to be true,” according to Aftonbladet.

Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov, official spokesperson for Russia’s ministry of defence, told Russian reporters on Friday that Sweden’s submarine hunt threatened the future free movement of shipping in the Baltic.

“Such uncorroborated actions by the Swedish armed forces, inflamed by rhetoric in the spirit of the cold war, lead only to an escalation of tension in the region. Their consequence is likely to be not a strengthening of security in the country, but an undermining of the basis of maritime economic activity in the waters of the Baltic sea.”

He said Sweden had adopted Napoleon’s principle to “get stuck in and then we’ll see” without thinking about where it would end, opting to drag out the “fiasco” for as long as possible.

Putin accuses United States of damaging world order

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, October 24, 2014.

BY ALEXEI ANISHCHUK-Fri Oct 24, 2014 

(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States on Friday of endangering global security by imposing a "unilateral diktat" on the rest of the world and shifted blame for the Ukraine crisis onto the West.
Putin Accuses United States of Damaging World Order by Thavam Ratna

China deploys troops and fighter jets in response to unauthorised flight

Three aviation technology company employees arrested for flying mapping drone near Beijing airport

An Air China jetliner lands at Beijing airport, where troops and fighter jets were deployed due to an unauthorised flight. Photograph: Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images

Thursday 23 October 2014

China deployed more than 1,200 troops and scrambled fighter jets in response to an unauthorised flight near Beijing airport by what turned out to be a mapping drone, state-run media reported on Thursday.

Three men were being prosecuted over the incident, the China Daily said.

It cited prosecutors as saying that 1,226 military personnel, 123 military vehicles, 26 radar technicians, two fighter jets and two helicopters were sent into action after the aircraft was spotted on radar screens.

Police arrested two men as they flew the drone and a third confessed later, according to the paper, which is published by the government. All three men worked for an aviation technology company, the report said, and the 2.3-metre-long (7.5ft) drone was intended to be used for survey and mapping purposes.

China forbids any flights, manned or unmanned, without prior approval from the air force, civil aviation authorities and the local air traffic control bureau.

A New Zealand man was briefly detained by police in June after he flew a camera-equipped drone over the Forbidden City, a popular tourist site and former residence of China’s emperors, which sits next to China’s top-secret leadership compound.

The Beijing airport drone incident, which happened last December, caused 10 flights to be delayed, the newspaper added.

Beijing combats garbage crisis with new trash incinerator

atwo Edit

By Kyle Lawrence Mullin Oct 24, 2014

Beijing’s ecologists say officials will worsen the city’s deadliest environmental issue in their efforts to solve another. In November, the world’s biggest trash incinerator will begin operating at full capacity in Lujiashan, a small locale northwest of the Chinese capital. The facility, which has been running in test mode all year, was built by Shougang, a company that operated a gigantic steel factory in same region until 2011, when it was shuttered because of its pollution output.
Beijing Combats Garbage Crisis With New Trash Incinerator by Thavam Ratna

Is it too late for an Ebola vaccine?

FRIDAY 24 OCTOBER 2014

As a New York doctor tests positive for Ebola, the race for a vaccine has picked up this week but are we close to developing one?
Is It Too Late for an Ebola Vaccine by Thavam Ratna

Ten Tips To Help You Control Your High Blood Pressure,And 10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

Oct 08, 2013

1. Make sure your blood pressure is under 140/90 mm Hg. If your systolic pressure (the top number) is over 140, ask your doctor what you can do to lower it.

2. Take your high blood pressure medicine, if prescribed, every day. If you have questions, talk to your doctor.

3. Aim for a healthy weight. If you are overweight or obese, carrying this extra weight increases your risk of high blood pressure. One way to determine if you need to lose weight is to find out your body mass index or BMI. If your BMI is above the healthy range (i.e., 25 or greater), or if your waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (women) or 40 inches (men) you probably have excess abdominal weight and you may benefit from weight loss especially if you have other risk factors. Talk to your doctor to see if you are at increased risk for high blood pressure and need to lose weight.

4. Increase your physical activity. Do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as walking, most days of the week. You can do 30 minutes in three 10-minute segments.

5. Choose foods low in salt and sodium. Most Americans should consume no more than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams) of sodium a day. That equals 6 grams, about one teaspoon of table salt a day. For someone with high blood pressure, the doctor may advise less.

6. Read nutrition labels. Almost all packaged foods contain sodium. Every time you prepare or eat a packaged food, know how much sodium is in one serving.

7. Keep a sodium diary. You may be surprised at how much sodium you consume each day and the diary will help you decide which foods to decrease or eliminate.

8. Use spices and herbs instead of salt to season the food you prepare at home.

9. Eat more fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy foods.

10. If you consume alcohol at all, consume moderate amount or restrict…

10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

1. Not emptying your bladder early:
2. Not drinking enough water:
3. Taking too much salt:
4. Not treating common infections quickly and properly:
5. Eating too much meat:
6. Not eating enough:
7. Painkiller abuse:
8. Missing your drugs:
9. Drinking too much alcohol:
10. Not resting enough: