Is it called ‘terrorism’ or ‘violent extremism’?

Faisal J. Abbas

Faisal J. Abbas-Sunday, 31 May 2015

The two recent attacks on mosques in eastern Saudi Arabia can’t be labeled as anything but evil acts of terrorism. Now, such a classification seems obvious to most of us, as there isn’t a term that is more expressive to describe these ideologically-driven, murderous attacks on a group of innocent people who were simply practicing their basic right of observing Friday prayers.

However, having just attended brain-storming sessions at the regional World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in the Dead Sea, I fear there might be some confusion as to what is defined as terrorism and what isn’t.

In particular, I met with a number of concerned U.S. and Arab officials, businessmen and intellectuals to discuss ways to prevent Muslim youth from falling into the allure of the likes of ISIS and al-Qaeda. Now, whilst the U.S. State Department representatives should be thanked for their efforts in arranging such sessions and attempting to cooperate with us to find solutions to defeat our common enemy; I did find an issue in how this common enemy was being defined.

Defining question

WEF organizers and U.S. State Department officials were repeating the term “violent extremism” to describe what we once knew as “terrorism,” Now, I can’t stop myself wondering when and how this definition came about?... and most importantly why?

The U.S. and its entire foreign policy used to be at the forefront of calling a spade a spade. Sadly, not any more

Faisal J. Abbas

Of course, the term “terrorism” itself is problematic and when it became popular post 9-11, there were many disputes over what it means and includes.

Nevertheless, the U.S. and its entire foreign policy used to be at the forefront of calling a spade a spade. Sadly, not any more.

However, although I’m not sure whether the recent shift is part of President Obama’s drive for political correctness and cultural sensitivity, I certainly hope not!

Having read so many explanations, like the Canadian government’s description of “violent extremism” which it defines as “the process of taking radical views and putting them into violent actions;” one is truly left puzzled as to what then can be described as “terrorism.”

However, the next part in the Canadian definition is even more alarming as it suggests that “Radical thinking is by no means a problem in itself” and explains that it (radical thinking) only becomes a threat to national security “when Canadian citizens, residents or groups promote or engage in violence as a means of furthering their radical political, ideological or religious views.”

There should be no tolerance for intolerance

By no means am I arguing against freedom of expression, the right to hold beliefs or the unwavering principle that people shouldn’t be innocent till proven guilty. There should be, however, no tolerance for intolerance, even if it doesn’t result in violent, deadly actions.

As such, it is ABSOLUTELY a problem to hold radical views which legitimize blowing up innocent people or decapitate others because they hold different beliefs. This issue is SERIOUS and must be dealt with by societies, parents, religious scholars, the media and governments.

Terrorism cannot be effectively fought with cartoons and slogans dreamed up by Washington or Virginia-based intelligence officials and linguistic experts

Faisal J. Abbas

Now, what is ironic is that whilst the U.S. administrations seems to be shying away from describing terrorism for what it is; this - thankfully and more importantly - didn’t seem to be the case with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers’ meeting, which took place in Kuwait a few days ago, under the theme “shared vision in promoting tolerance and denouncing terrorism.”

Terrorism cannot be effectively fought with cartoons and slogans dreamed up by Washington or Virginia-based intelligence officials and linguistic experts.

Instead, the U.S. State Department’s task force on combatting extremism should work hand-in-hand with entities like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), now headed up by former Saudi Information Minister Iyad Madani, and draw from his team’s expertise and deep cultural understanding.

Given the Saudi king’s appointment of a whole new generation of leaders - including new foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, who knows and understands Washington very well after serving there for decades - Saudi Arabia and the OIC are well equipped to fight the scourge of extremism.

Now, more than ever, is the time to act and rid the world of terrorism and the poisonous, deadly doctrines tearing the region apart.

________

Faisal J. Abbas is the Editor-in-Chief of Al Arabiya English, a renowned blogger and an award-winning journalist. Faisal covered the Middle East extensively working for Future Television of Lebanon and both Al-Hayat and Asharq Al-Awsat pan-Arab dailies. He blogs for The Huffington Post since 2008, and is a recipient of many media awards and a member of the British Society of Authors, National Union of Journalists, the John Adams Society as well as an associate member of the Cambridge Union Society. He can be reached on @FaisalJAbbas on Twitter.

Last Update: Sunday, 31 May 2015 KSA 18:15 - GMT 15:15

Calais migrant camp battle between Sudanese and Eritreans

MONDAY 01 JUNE 2015

Hundreds of Sudanese and Eritrean migrants clashed overnight at a migrant camp in Calais, in the north of France. 21 people were wounded, of whom 14 were taken to hospital.

Two men at the 'new jungle' migrants' camp in Calais (Getty Images)

Hundreds of Sudanese and Eritrean migrants clashed overnight at a migrant camp in Calais, in the north of France. Reports say 21 people were wounded, of whom 14 were taken to hospital in Calais.

Residents of what has been dubbed the "new jungle" encampment fought with stones sticks and iron bars. Tents are reported to have been set alight.

Between 200 and 300 people were involved in the fighting, which lasted for around two hours, said the Pas de Calais prefecture.

A spokesman told Channel 4 News that around 100 police officers and firemen were called to the scene, including CRS riot police. He said the motive behind the fighting was not known.

Those involved in the fighting suffered injuries to the head, throat and legs, according to a report on the French regional news website La Voix Du Nord.

Motorway incident

Fire services were still on site at the camp on Monday morning as they tried to put out any remaining fires.

This is the latest incident at the camp, which according to Le Monde newspaper holds between 1,800 and 2,000 migrants.

Clashes broke out last Thursday night after an Eritrean migrant was hurt by a bullet on the A16 motorway between Calais and Boulogne. The Pas de Calais prefecture spokesman told Channel 4 News there was no connection between this incident and last night's confrontations.

Some estimates say that up to 2,500 migrants - mainly Afghan, Sudanese, Eritrean and Syrian - live in camps around Calais, from where most hope to move on to the United Kingdom.

Watch below: tear gas fired by police during clashes between migrants in Calais in August last year

Addy Walker, American Girl

The role of black dolls in American culture.

From the cover of Meet Addy.

The Paris Review

May 28, 2015 | by Brit Bennett

In 1864, a nine-year-old slave girl was punished for daydreaming. Distracted by rumors that her brother and father would be sold, she failed to remove worms from the tobacco leaves she was picking. The overseer didn’t whip her. Instead, he pried her mouth open, stuffed a worm inside, and forced her to eat it.

Addy Walker, American Girl by Thavam Ratna

How a reviled African ruler survived a coup hatched in the United States

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, top, survived a coup attempt hatched by several plotters, including, from left to right on bottom, Njaga Jagne, Alagie Barrow and Lammin Sanneh. (Top: AP; bottom left: courtesy of the Jagne family; bottom center: Nick Strocchia; bottom right: courtesy of Jeffrey W. Meiser)

By Craig Whitlock and Adam Goldman-May 31

MINNEAPOLIS — Every other Saturday evening, the coup-plotters excused themselves from their wives and kids to join a conference call. The half-

dozen dissidents — all middle-aged men, most with military experience — dialed in from their suburban homes scattered across the South and Midwest.

How a Reviled African Ruler Survived a Coup Hatched in the United States by Thavam Ratna

Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people

The figures illustrate how disproportionately black Americans, who make up just 13% of the country’s total population according to census data, are killed by police. Composite: Guardian Design

Jon Swaine, Oliver Laughland and Jamiles Lartey in New York

Monday 1 June 2015

Guardian analysis finds 102 people killed by police so far this year were unarmed, and that agencies are killing people at twice the rate calculated by US government

• The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive

Black Americans Killed by Police Twice as Likely to Be Unarmed as White People by Thavam Ratna

Black mothers wonder if their babies were stolen decades ago

Zella Jackson Price at her attorney’s office in Clayton, Mo. on April 29.

By Associated Press-May 1, 2015

ST. LOUIS — Eighteen black women who were told decades ago that their babies had died soon after birth at a St. Louis hospital now wonder if the infants were taken away by hospital officials to be raised by other families.

The suspicions arose from the story of Zella Jackson Price, who was 26 in 1965 when she gave birth at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. Hours later, she was told that her daughter had died, but she never saw a body or a death certificate.

No one is sure who was responsible, but Price’s daughter ended up in foster care, only to resurface almost 50 years later. Melanie Gilmore, who now lives in Eugene, Ore., has said that her foster parents always told her she was given up by her birth mother.

Price’s attorney, Albert Watkins, is asking city and state officials to investigate. In a letter to Gov. Jay Nixon and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Watkins said he suspects the hospital coordinated a scheme “to steal newborns of color for marketing in private adoption transactions.”

The women’s story spread in recent weeks after Gilmore’s children tracked down her birth mother as part of a plan to mark their mother’s 50th birthday. The search led them to the now 76-year-old Price, who lives in suburban St. Louis.

In March, an online video caused a sensation when it showed the moment that Gilmore, who is deaf, learned through lip reading and sign language that her birth mother had been found.

The two women reunited in April. DNA confirmed that they are mother and daughter.

“She looked like me,” said Price, a gospel singer who has five other children. “She was so excited and full of joy. It was just beautiful. I’ll never forget that,” she said of the reunion.

‘I NEVER DID SEE THE BABY OR GET A DEATH CERTIFICATE. WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG AND SOMEONE COMES AND TELLS YOU THAT YOUR BABY’S DEAD, IN THOSE DAYS YOU ACCEPTED IT.’

 - Gussie Parker, 82

After the reunion, Watkins started getting calls from other women who wondered if their babies, whom they were told had died, might have instead been taken from them.

Their stories, he said, are strikingly similar: Most of the births were in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s at Homer G. Phillips. All of the mothers were black and poor, mostly ages 15 to 20.

In each case, a nurse — not a doctor — told the mother that her child had died, a breach of normal protocol. No death certificates were issued, and none of the mothers were allowed to see their deceased infants.

“These are moms,” Watkins said. “They are mothers at the end of their lives seeking answers to a lifelong hole in their heart.”

He plans to file a lawsuit seeking birth and death records. None of the women are seeking money, he said.

Watkins has no idea who, or how many people, may have been responsible if babies were being taken, though he believes they were stolen and put up for adoption in an era when there were few adoption agencies catering to black couples.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital opened in 1937 as a blacks-only hospital at a time when St. Louis was segregated. Even after desegregation in the mid-1950s, the hospital served predominantly African-American patients.

The hospital closed in 1979. Messages seeking comment from officials at the St. Louis Health Department were not returned.

Price gave birth to a baby girl born two months’ premature on Nov. 25, 1965. The baby weighed just over 2 pounds but Price was able to hold the crying child after birth.

A nurse took the baby away and came back an hour later. The little girl was struggling to live, Price was told. She might not make it.

Shortly thereafter, the nurse came back. The baby, she said, was dead.

Price recovered in the hospital for two more days, in a ward surrounded by happy mothers.

“It was depressing to see when they rolled the babies in and they were taking them to their mothers, but I didn’t have my baby,” she recalled.

Gussie Parker, 82, of St. Louis, heard Price’s story and was shocked by the similarities with her own life. Parker gave birth to a premature girl on Nov. 5, 1953.

Initially, she said, the child seemed fine. A short time later, a nurse told her that her daughter had died.

“I never did see the baby or get a death certificate,” said Parker, whose daughter, Diane, works for the Associated Press in New York. “When you’re young and someone comes and tells you that your baby’s dead, in those days you accepted it.”

Otha Mae Brand, 63, of St. Louis, was 15 when she gave birth to a girl in the spring of 1967. The child was two months’ premature and was hospitalized for 10 days while Brand was sent home.

She got a call from a nurse who informed her of her daughter’s death.

“I had no reason not to believe them,” Brand said. “I got that phone call and that was the last I heard.”

Now, she wonders.

“I told my children, ‘It’s a possibility your sister may be living,'” she said.

Retired physician Mary Tillman was an intern and did a residency at Homer G. Phillips in the 1960s. Calls to her home on Friday were unanswered, but she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the hospital had protocols and record-keeping to track mothers and daughters. She never had any suspicions of wrongdoing, but said it should have been doctors, not nurses, who broke the news of death to mothers.

Price, who has five other children, said she’s saddened by the lost years that she could have spent with her daughter.

“For me not to be able to love on this child like I did with the others, I’m going through a lot of emotions,” said Price. “But I’m so blessed to know that she is alive.”

NSA Loses Power to Collect Phone Data — At Least for Now

BY DAVID FRANCIS-JUNE 1, 2015

Two years after Edward Snowden spilled the National Security Agency’s secrets to the world, the agency late Sunday night lost the authority to collect data on the phone calls of tens of millions of Americans. For now.

During a rare Sunday session, the Senate advanced a House bill that would alter the NSA’s authority on how it collects bulk phone data on Americans. Under the lower chamber’s legislation, this data would be stored by a third party, not the government.

But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a 2016 GOP presidential contender and fierce libertarian, on Sunday evening blocked a vote that would make the bill U.S. law. That means the NSA’s authority under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the agency uses to sweep up the phone records of tens of millions of Americans, expired at midnight. The authority for two lesser-known programs — one that allows the FBI to track so-called “lone-wolf” terrorists, and a second that allows the NSA to eavesdrop on subjects who continually discard cell phones — also expired when the clock struck 12:00 a.m.

Paul admitted his victory is likely to be temporary, saying Sunday night that the “bill will ultimately pass” once lawmakers reconsider it this week. But, if only for a short time, the upstart Kentucky lawmaker managed to limit the NSA’s once-unchecked powers with two simple words: “I object.”

President Barack Obama and some intelligence hawks in the Senate argue limiting the NSA’s ability to collect data on Americans makes the country more vulnerable to terror attacks; the White House viewed the disingenuously-named USA Freedom Act as a compromise that would allow the NSA to keep monitoring U.S. data, but under different conditions.

But officials within the intelligence community, including former NSA chief Keith Alexander, have admitted the program never yielded much little actionable intelligence.

The 77-to-17 vote to move the bill forward is a stunning turnabout in the upper chamber. Just last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who tried to push through a two-month extension of the authorities to give lawmakers more time to negotiate, was able to stop it from moving forward. McConnell, like, Obama, believes the program helps to keep the country safe from terrorists.

The Senate agreeing to vote on the bill allows Paul the opportunity to position himself as a champion of American privacy, an issue important to his libertarian base and many Americans concerned that personal information ends up in government hands. It’s also a blow to the Obama administration, which has loudly lobbied Congress to pass the legislation.

The unusual Sunday session is the latest in the two year, stop-and-go legislative effort to reform the American surveillance apparatus after Snowden revealed the vast extent to it. It’s made strange bedfellows, uniting civil liberty groups like the ACLU with the Tea Party. Left-leaning Democrats like Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), an Obama supporter on most issues, is alsoopposing the USA Freedom Act.

On May 7 a federal court found the data collection program illegal, but left the door open for Congress to change U.S. law to allow it. The bill Paul is blocking, which passed overwhelmingly in the House, was an effort to do this.

Difference over how the United States should spy have not been limited to American shores. Snowden’s revelations have upended the international spy game. Once private disputes over allies spying on allies are now settled in the public sphere. The disgruntled NSA worker’s leaks have also threatened to derail U.S. relations with Germany, a country whose public is against surveillance, but whose government has been complicit with NSA efforts.

Photo credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Home»Natural Medicine» 10 Signs You are Gluten Intolerant10 Signs You are Gluten Intolerant

10 Signs You are Gluten Intolerant

Gluten sensitivity, also called gluten intolerance, should be checked to know if you should modify your diet. About 15% population of US is gluten intolerant. There are more than 55 diseases associated with gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. We have a list of symptoms to help you know if you are gluten intolerant. If you are experiencing at least 4 of these symptoms after eating products that contain gluten, you may want to modify your diet:

1. Digestion problems

The most common symptoms of gluten intolerance are digestive problems like gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea which are often experienced after eating foods that contain gluten. The symptom common in children is constipation. Many diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) feel better when they stop eating foods with gluten.

2. Mood

Problems associated with mood can signify you are gluten intolerant. These problems involve anxiety, depression, ADHD, and mood swings. You can alleviate some of these psychological issues by eliminating gluten from your diet.

3. Skin rashes

Skin conditions like keratosis pilaris and dermatitis herpetiformis are directly linked to gluten consumption. These skin conditions involve highly itchy rashes that usually appear on your arms, torso, face, buttocks, hairline, and elbows. Other skin problems that mimic eczema also show gluten contamination.

4. Migraine

Migraines or headaches that occur with diarrhea are different, but if a migraine starts an hour or two after eating foods containing gluten this shows you are gluten sensitive.

5. Fatigue

Chronic fatigue when combined with gastrointestinal problems, especially diarrhea, indicates gluten sensitivity. This happens when your body is incapable of absorbing essential nutrients and vitamins from food you eat.

6. Joint pain

Foods that contain gluten cause inflammation in the body. This inflammation causes joint pain which is sometimes misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis and is a common symptom of gluten insensitivity. Eliminate gluten from your diet and your joint pain will be reduced drastically.

7. Lactose intolerance

If you are having problems digesting foods that contain lactose then you are likely to have problems with gluten too. If the stomach lining and lactase is being compromised by gluten, you will also experience symptoms associated with lactose intolerance. It is advised to exclude gluten from your diet if you are already lactose intolerant.

8. Problems absorbing vitamins

This is a common symptom of gluten intolerance. If your stomach lining is unable to absorb essential vitamins and minerals from food it can indicate gluten sensitivity. Low iron is also a common indicator of gluten intolerance.

9. Hormone imbalance

Hormonal imbalance problems like infertility, PCOS, and irregular menstrual cycles are linked to gluten intolerance. Gluten causes inflammation which puts excess pressure on the adrenal glands which upsets the balance of the entire body and endocrine system.

10. Neurological symptoms

Neurological symptoms include dizziness, poor balance, feeling off-balance, vertigo, numbness, and tingling which indicate inflammation in the nervous system caused by gluten.
There are other symptoms which are not obvious signs of gluten intolerance including adult acne and diagnosis of an autoimmune disease.

10 Signs You are Gluten IntolerantBy Positivemed-Team
Edited By Stephanie Dawson
[Last Updated on June 5th 2014]

Right to Return id Inalienable and Needs to Be Implemented With Urgency

(Press Release/National Peace Council)-31/05/2015 

One of the unresolved and tragic problems of Sri Lanka’s war is the return and resettlement of the Muslim people who were expelled from the North by the LTTE in 1990. An estimated 80 percent of them continue to live outside their original places of residence. Recently the issue of resettlement of displaced Muslims took on controversial proportions and was linked to the alleged encroachment of the Wilpattu National Park. Sections of the national media gave wide publicity to statements by nationalist Sinhalese groups who accused displaced Muslims backed by Muslim politicians of being involved in this illegal and environmentally destructive activity.

IDPs in Sri Lanka ( 2009)

The government and environmental groups have now confirmed that there is no encroachment of the Wilpattu National Park which is located in the Puttlam District outside of the Northern Province. However, there is concern that the buffer zone is being illegally encroached upon in the neighbouring Mannar District, namely the Marichchukkaddei-Karakdikuli forest reserve that adjoins the Wilpattu North Sanctuary, which is contiguous with the Wilpattu National Park. There is evidence that it is the formerly all-powerful Presidential Task Force (PTF) that allocated these lands for resettlement as far back as 2011. Environmental groups have taken the position that no settlement or resettlement of people should take place in violation of the law and at the expense of environmental conservation.

The State has a legal and ethical obligation to provide alternative lands to the displaced people as the current places of resettlement are in dispute. This is essential to maintain peace. The war and conflict have created numerous land disputes between state and private, between communities and between individuals which in fact take communal overtones because of deep rooted ethnic and political divisions in the country. The previous government made some effort at resettlement but such efforts have not been according to the accepted procedures for the alienation of land under the land laws of the State. This matter has to be looked into by the new government and a permanent solution found.

It is also important to note that the practice of encroaching and settling people on protected forest land has also taken place elsewhere with other communities and needs to be stopped. No persons or body of interested persons should be allowed to encroach on state lands. Environmental groups have filed legal action in these cases or have publicly protested against them. An example would be protests by environmental groups in 2013 against the establishment of Namalgama and Nandimithragama in the Vavuniya District, where Sinhalese from the South have been settled.

The National Peace Council asks the general public not to be misled by groups with a partisan political agenda. We affirm the right of return of all war-displaced and forcibly evicted people, be they Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim to their places of original residence including that of the war-displaced Muslim people currently resident in Puttlam and other camps. If the security forces require the continued use of their lands, then it is necessary for the State authorities to provide such alternative lands according to theaccepted procedures for the alienation of land under the land laws of the State.

In view of the growing controversy and polarization within society on this issue, the National Peace Council calls on the government to formulate a national policy on resettlement of the war-displaced and to establish an administrative mechanism to ensure resettlement in a fair and transparent manner as a matter of priority. The government also needs to reconsider the issues of High Security Zones and the take-over of lands for purposes of setting up military camps especially where it has led to the displacement of significant numbers of people.

Sri Lankan perceptions on life post-war

by Iromi Perera 

- on 05/30/2015 

Six years after the end of war in Sri Lanka, the four main ethnic communities are still divided when it comes to issues related to reconciliation. ‘Sri Lankan perceptions on life post war’ is a series of infographics looking key public opinion data from CPA’s ‘Democracy in Post War Sri Lanka’ survey (conducted annually since 2011) on the theme of reconciliation.

Since 2011, a question that showed much division between the Sinhala and Tamil community has been on whether the Government has done enough to address the root causes of the ethnic conflict. While majority from the Tamil community has said that the Government has done nothing (32.3% in 2011 increased to 39.9% in 2014), majority from the Sinhala community has said that the Government has done a lot (41.1% in 2011, 35% in 2014).

When asked in March 2015 about whether there should be a credible mechanism to look into accountability of what happened during the last stages of the war, most people from the Sinhala community (44.4%) said no while majority from the other three communities said yes (Tamil – 83.9%, Up Country Tamil – 75.6%, Muslim – 61.7%). Those who said that there should be a credible mechanism were asked whether this mechanism should be exclusively domestic, exclusively international or both domestic and international. Again, the communities are divided on this with 57.8% from the Sinhala community stating that it should be an exclusively domestic mechanism while 44.9% from the Tamil community and 35.5% from the Up Country Tamil community stated that it should be exclusively international. 43.9% from the Tamil community stated that it should be a mix of domestic and international while only 7% said that it should be exclusively domestic, a clear indication of a lack of faith in an exclusively domestic mechanism.

The National Anthem being sung in both Sinhala and Tamil is another issue that divides the communities. 42% from the Sinhala community strongly feel that it should not be sung in Sinhala and Tamil while 82.9% from the Tamil community, 86.6% from the Up Country Tamil community and 69.4% from the Muslim community strongly feel that it should be sung in both languages.

These findings are all from CPA’s annual ‘Democracy in Post- War Sri Lanka’ survey, an island wide public opinion poll conducted annually in all districts since 2011. The infographics were designed by Shanika Perera.

Download the infographics as a PDF here.

Sirisena-Ranil and the art of the possible

"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall"

"Excellent joke!"

by Kumar David0-May 30, 2015

Whether this is a Ranil-Sirisena (R&S) government or an S&R one, is significant. It certainly started off with all the trumps and partnership seniority in Ranil’s hands, but time and completion of the 100-Day tasks has moved the equation into an S&R domain; so I will use this acronym assigning political seniority to the President. Typical of the shift is that Ranil asked for dissolution of parliament but President Sirisena, sweating under SLFP heat seems to be holding out for later, hinting at August-September. Pulling in different directions on this issue is understandable; though the calculations on both sides I believe are erroneous. The UNP opines that it will do better under the existing PR scheme while the SLFP (I hope not under the influence of astrological opium again) seems deluded that electorates which voted for Rajapaksa on 8 January are theirs for the asking.

Sirisena-Ranil and the Art of the Possible by Thavam Ratna

Vasu, Ranil, & Sumanthiran

By Jagath Asoka –May 31, 2015

Dr. Jagath Asoka

I once wrote about Pissudewa, Buruwansa, and Gommanpila, the latest incarnations of Sri Lankan Three Stooges; their hallmark is political farce, chauvinism, and Mahinda-nostalgia. Recently, as we say in the vernacular, Ape Pissudeva went bananas; in front of hapless school children, he displayed his arrogance and vituperative skills by using profanity. Bravo, my friend, you gave a pukka performance! You have concretized and given credence to my hypothesis. What an exemplary Marxist-Leninist? I don’t recommend a literal public beheading because Vasu has done it politically on national TV; however, I heard the following suggestion from another Sri Lankan: if Vasu has any decency, he should find a public toilet, immerse his swollen head filled with political fecal matter and flush it several times; by the way, if Vasu cannot do it himself, he should ask the former swine-faced, pseudo intellect, education minister, who appeared on TV and gave a lecture on the Sinhalese word “Paiyya,” to be a companion and participant in this ritual. After listening to my colleague, I watched Bandula’s comment. Folks, you got to watch this on YouTube; just search for the following: Bandula Explains Derogatory Word Used by Vasu in Parliament. Once upon a time, the name Vasudeva was synonymous with “integrity,” but now with the Sinhalese word “Pakaya.” What a pukka Shakespearian tragedy? A noble protagonist, who was somewhat flawed, ended up with an obscene conclusion. Vasu is throwing fuel into his own house on fire: He will not apologize, a true quality of a hallucinogenic revolutionary.

I think we have a candidate, not for President, but for Prime Minister: M. A. Sumanthiran.

The latest political fiasco is who is going to be our next Prime Minister. Pissudewa, Buruwansa, Gommanpila, swine-faced Bandula, and their ilk, in hallucinogenic ecstasy, keep regurgitating the same mantra: Prime Minister Mahinda. The majority of Sri Lankans are neither subversive nor incendiary. The majority of Sri Lankans are fairly intelligent and capable of critical reflection and reason; they were tired of corruption and knew that they had lost their freedom of expression. It is true that Ranil was appointed, not elected, due to peripheral issues. Ranil’s biggest faux Pas is to continue supportingArjuna Mahendran, when the perception is that Mahendran’s son-in-law had inside information, participated in financial skullduggery, and swindled the hapless Sri Lankans. Speculation, trust, rumors, and ethics are the wheels of financial markets. I hope Arjuna Mahendran is not another Raj Rajaratnam. As I have written in my previous articles, Sri Lankans would not accuse Ranil of stealing, but the perception is that Ranil would protect his friends without justification. The conclusion of this debacle was that Mahendran was not directly involved, implying that he was involved, indirectly. Ranil had an opportunity to be a political giant, instead he dwarfed himself, politically. So, now, our quagmire is: Who is going to be our next Prime Minister?Read More