The best thing Chief Justice Roberts wrote this term wasn’t a Supreme Court opinion

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered the ninth-grade commencement address a Cardigan Mountain School, a boarding school for boys in New Hampshire. (Cardigan Mountain School)

By Robert Barnes July 2

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered eight opinions and two dissents in the just-concluded Supreme Court term.

But none probably meant as much as the statement he handed down on a rainy, early June morning in a small New Hampshire town.

It was the ninth-grade commencement address for the Cardigan Mountain School, an elite boarding school for boys grades six through nine. Sitting up front under a large white tent as John Glover Roberts Jr. took the stage was graduating student John Glover Roberts III.

In Canaan, N.H., Head of School Christopher Day said, the 17th chief justice of the United States would always be known as the dad of “our Cardigan ­­Cougar Jack.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

You may remember Jack Roberts from his own moment on the national stage 12 years ago, when his father was chosen for the Supreme Court. As President George W. Bush revealed his choice in a formal White House ceremony, John and Jane Roberts struggled to simultaneously ignore and control the rambunctious boy in the short-pants ice-cream suit. His father later said Jack was pretending he was Spiderman, shooting webs from his hands.

Roberts’s commencement address was not publicized in advance, but it was recorded by the school, uploaded to YouTube and is slowly gaining attention. Several readers emailed the link to me. One person wrote, “I’m a Democrat and I can’t stand the guy’s views, but I was in tears.”

There is nothing about the Supreme Court or the law in the short speech, although each graduating Cougar received an autographed, pocket-size Constitution along with his certificate.

Instead, the address was personal, understated and popular probably because it touched on universal themes, such as a parent’s worry about whether he or she is making the right decisions for their child.

Driving through the gates after leaving a student at Cardigan, Roberts said, parents travel a “trail of tears” to an “emptier and lonelier house.”

Roberts is considered one of the Supreme Court’s better writers, and his public addresses show a quick wit and professional timing. He first asked the Cardigan students to turn and applaud their parents and others who had guided them.

He joked that he would later be able to report that his speech was “interrupted by applause.”

Success, he reminded them, comes to those who are unafraid to fail. “And if you did fail, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again, you got up and tried again. And if you failed again — it might be time to think about doing something else.”

Roberts said commencement addresses customarily wish graduates success. He thought it better for them to experience challenges.

“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly,” Roberts said, “so that you will come to learn the value of justice.”

Betrayal “will teach you the importance of loyalty.” Loneliness will instruct people not to “take friends for granted.” Pain will cause someone “to learn compassion.”

“I wish you bad luck — again, from time to time — so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life,” Roberts said. “And understand that your success is not completely deserved, and that the failure of others is not completely deserved, either.”

A commencement speech is supposed to offer “grand advice,” Roberts said, so his first was to recognize the exalted perch from which they started — a school with a 4-to-1 student-teacher ratio, where students dine in jackets and ties, and tuition and board cost about $55,000.

Through his son, Roberts had come to know many of the students, he said, and “I know you are good guys.”

“But you are also privileged young men, and if you weren’t privileged when you came here, you’re privileged now because you have been here,” Roberts said. “My advice is: Don’t act like it.”

He urged them, at their next school, to introduce themselves to the people “raking the leaves, shoveling the snow or emptying the trash.” Learn their names, smile and call them by name. “The worst thing that will happen is you will become known as the young man who smiles and says hello,” he said.

Another thing:

“You’ve been at a school with just boys. Most of you will be going to a school with girls,” Roberts said.

Long pause.

“I have no advice for you.”

In his speech, Roberts quoted Socrates and, not surprisingly, he ended it with the words of “the great American philosopher, Bob Dylan.”

Roberts has quoted Dylan in judicial opinions, and he’s not alone. The New York Times a few years ago noted a study that found Dylan the most-quoted songwriter in judicial opinions, and said Roberts had “opened the floodgates” by quoting the Bard of Minnesota in a 2008 dissent.

The song he quoted at the commencement speech was “Forever Young.” Roberts is an unusual parent. Now 62, he and Jane married rather late in life. Their contemporaries are welcoming grandchildren, while they have two high-schoolers, Jack and his sister Josephine.

“May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young.”

The wishes expressed by Dylan for his son, Jesse, are “beautiful, they’re timeless, they’re universal,” Roberts said.

But the phrase that gives the song its title and refrain — forever young — is unrealistic, the chief justice said. It can’t come true.

“That wish is a parent’s lament,” he said.

Are You Emotionally Intelligent? Here’s How To Know For Sure

Emotional intelligence is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible.

Dr. Travis Bradberry, Contributor-07/02/2017 

When emotional intelligence (EQ) first appeared to the masses, it served as the missing link in a peculiar finding: people with average IQs outperform those with the highest IQs 70 percent of the time. This anomaly threw a massive wrench into the broadly held assumption that IQ was the sole source of success.

Decades of research now point to emotional intelligence as being the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. The connection is so strong that 90 percent of top performers have high emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions to achieve positive results.

Despite the significance of EQ, its intangible nature makes it very difficult to know how much you have and what you can do to improve if you’re lacking. You can always take a scientifically validated test, such as the one that comes with the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book.

Unfortunately, quality (scientifically valid) EQ tests aren’t free. So, I’ve analyzed the data from the million-plus people TalentSmart has tested in order to identify the behaviors that are the hallmarks of a high EQ. What follows are sure signs that you have a high EQ.

1. You Have a Robust Emotional Vocabulary

All people experience emotions, but it is a select few who can accurately identify them as they occur. Our research shows that only 36 percent of people can do this, which is problematic because unlabeled emotions often go misunderstood, which leads to irrational choices and counterproductive actions.

People with high EQs master their emotions because they understand them, and they use an extensive vocabulary of feelings to do so. While many people might describe themselves as simply feeling “bad,” emotionally intelligent people can pinpoint whether they feel “irritable,” “frustrated,” “downtrodden,” or “anxious.” The more specific your word choice, the better insight you have into exactly how you are feeling, what caused it, and what you should do about it.

2. You’re Curious About People

It doesn’t matter if they’re introverted or extroverted, emotionally intelligent people are curious about everyone around them. This curiosity is the product of empathy, one of the most significant gateways to a high EQ. The more you care about other people and what they’re going through, the more curiosity you’re going to have about them.

3. You Embrace Change

Emotionally intelligent people are flexible and are constantly adapting. They know that fear of change is paralyzing and a major threat to their success and happiness. They look for change that is lurking just around the corner, and they form a plan of action should these changes occur.

4. You Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Emotionally intelligent people don’t just understand emotions; they know what they’re good at and what they’re terrible at. They also know who pushes their buttons and the environments (both situations and people) that enable them to succeed. Having a high EQ means you know your strengths and you know how to lean into them and use them to your full advantage while keeping your weaknesses from holding you back.

5. You’re a Good Judge of Character

Much of emotional intelligence comes down to social awareness; the ability to read other people, know what they’re about, and understand what they’re going through. Over time, this skill makes you an exceptional judge of character. People are no mystery to you. You know what they’re all about and understand their motivations, even those that lie hidden beneath the surface.

6. You Are Difficult to Offend

If you have a firm grasp of whom you are, it’s difficult for someone to say or do something that gets your goat. Emotionally intelligent people are self-confident and open-minded, which creates a pretty thick skin. You may even poke fun at yourself or let other people make jokes about you because you are able to mentally draw the line between humor and degradation.

7. You Know How to Say No (to Yourself and Others)

Emotional intelligence means knowing how to exert self-control. You delay gratification, and you avoid impulsive action. Research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Saying no is indeed a major self-control challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them.

8. You Let Go of Mistakes

Emotionally intelligent people distance themselves from their mistakes, but do so without forgetting them. By keeping their mistakes at a safe distance, yet still handy enough to refer to, they are able to adapt and adjust for future success. It takes refined self-awareness to walk this tightrope between dwelling and remembering. Dwelling too long on your mistakes makes you anxious and gun shy, while forgetting about them completely makes you bound to repeat them. The key to balance lies in your ability to transform failures into nuggets of improvement. This creates the tendency to get right back up every time you fall down.

9. You Give and Expect Nothing in Return

When someone gives you something spontaneously, without expecting anything in return, this leaves a powerful impression. For example, you might have an interesting conversation with someone about a book, and when you see them again a month later, you show up with the book in hand. Emotionally intelligent people build strong relationships because they are constantly thinking about others.

10. You Don’t Hold Grudges

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat. When the threat is imminent, this reaction is essential to your survival, but when the threat is ancient history, holding onto that stress wreaks havoc on your body and can have devastating health consequences over time. In fact, researchers at Emory University have shown that holding onto stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease. Holding onto a grudge means you’re holding onto stress, and emotionally intelligent people know to avoid this at all costs. Letting go of a grudge not only makes you feel better now but can also improve your health.

11. You Neutralize Toxic People

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating and exhausting for most. High EQ individuals control their interactions with toxic people by keeping their feelings in check. When they need to confront a toxic person, they approach the situation rationally. They identify their own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. They also consider the difficult person’s standpoint and are able to find solutions and common ground. Even when things completely derail, emotionally intelligent people are able to take the toxic person with a grain of salt to avoid letting him or her bring them down.

12. You Don’t Seek Perfection

Emotionally intelligent people won’t set perfection as their target because they know that it doesn’t exist. Human beings, by our very nature, are fallible. When perfection is your goal, you’re always left with a nagging sense of failure that makes you want to give up or reduce your effort. You end up spending your time lamenting what you failed to accomplish and what you should have done differently instead of moving forward, excited about what you’ve achieved and what you will accomplish in the future.

13. You Appreciate What You Have

Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the right thing to do; it also improves your mood because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23 percent. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy, and physical well-being. It’s likely that lower levels of cortisol played a major role in this.

14. You Disconnect

Taking regular time off the grid is a sign of a high EQ because it helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment. When you make yourself available to your work 24/7, you expose yourself to a constant barrage of stressors. Forcing yourself offline and even—gulp!—turning off your phone gives your body and mind a break. Studies have shown that something as simple as an e-mail break can lower stress levels. Technology enables constant communication and the expectation that you should be available 24/7. It is extremely difficult to enjoy a stress-free moment outside of work when an e-mail that will change your train of thought and get you thinking (read: stressing) about work can drop onto your phone at any moment.

15. You Limit Your Caffeine Intake

Drinking excessive amounts of caffeine triggers the release of adrenaline, and adrenaline is the source of the fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response to ensure survival. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but not so great when you’re responding to a curt e-mail. When caffeine puts your brain and body into this hyper-aroused state of stress, your emotions overrun your behavior. Caffeine’s long half-life ensures you stay this way as it takes its sweet time working its way out of your body. High-EQ individuals know that caffeine is trouble, and they don’t let it get the better of them.

16. You Get Enough Sleep

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams) so that you wake up alert and clearheaded. High-EQ individuals know that their self-control, attention, and memory are all reduced when they don’t get enough—or the right kind—of sleep. So, they make sleep a top priority.

17. You Stop Negative Self-Talk in Its Tracks

The more you ruminate on negative thoughts, the more power you give them. Most of our negative thoughts are just that—thoughts, not facts. When it feels like something always or never happens, this is just your brain’s natural tendency to perceive threats (inflating the frequency or severity of an event). Emotionally intelligent people separate their thoughts from the facts in order to escape the cycle of negativity and move toward a positive, new outlook.

18. You Won’t Let Anyone Limit Your Joy

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from the opinions of other people, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When emotionally intelligent people feel good about something that they’ve done, they won’t let anyone’s opinions or snide remarks take that away from them. While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to compare yourself to others, and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within.

Want to increase emotional intelligence in your workplace? Consider attending one of our emotional intelligence certifications, which are held in major cities across the country. You’ll learn how to deliver the world’s #1 emotional intelligence training program.

FactCheck Q&A: Could there be a nuclear Armageddon?

By Martin Williams-4 JUL 2017

After a successful missile test, North Korea claims it is now a “full-fledged nuclear power” which is “capable of hitting any part of the world”.

Russia and the US believe this is a slight exaggeration, saying the missile actually had a medium-range and posed no immediate threat to either country.

But the development has scared many about the prospect of nuclear war. So how likely is it?

Who’s got nuclear weapons?

The US and Russia both reduced their nuclear weapon arsenal after the Cold War. But since the 1990s, the speed of this reduction has slowed down.

What’s more, because of constantly improving technology, the potential impact of each warhead is now far greater than it once was.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) says: “Comparing today’s inventory with that of the 1950s is like comparing apples and oranges; today’s forces are vastly more capable.

“The pace of reduction has slowed significantly. Instead of planning for nuclear disarmament, the nuclear-armed states appear to plan to retain large arsenals for the indefinite future.”

As far as we know, nine countries have nuclear weapons: Russia, the US, France, China, the UK, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. Between them, they are thought to have around 15,000 nuclear weapons.

Of these, Russia and the US have by far the most. But the FAS says that China, Pakistan, India and North Korea appear to have been increasing their stockpiles, while the others are either reducing the numbers or making no significant changes.

We can’t be sure of exact numbers because of the high level of secrecy, not least in North Korea.
Israel has also refused to confirm or deny its arsenal, but it is widely suspected to have about 80 nuclear warheads and enough plutonium to make many more.

Out of the 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world, the majority are not immediately deployable. A report by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in 2012 estimated that the US, UK, France and Russia had around 1,940 warheads which were “ready for use on short notice”.
The report said the numbers were so high because of “circular (though flawed) logic”.

“US nuclear forces are maintained on alert because Russian nuclear forces are on alert, and vice versa for Russian forces. Put in another way, if nuclear forces were not on alert, there would be no requirement to keep nuclear forces on alert.”

What would happen in a nuclear war?

After the US dropped a nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, an initial report said that two-thirds of the people who were within half a mile of the blasts had been killed. People suffered skin burns up to two miles away.

The final death toll of Hiroshima alone is now estimated to be between 66,000 and 150,000.
That was more than 70 years ago, though. Nuclear weapons today can be many, many times more powerful.

And that’s to say nothing of the economic, political and social consequences, which could potentially be monumental.

Bill Perry, a nuclear weapons expert who served as President Clinton’s Secretary of Defense spoke to Vice earlier this year. He said a worst case scenario would now mean nothing short of a total Armageddon.

“An all-out general nuclear war between the United States and Russia would mean no less than the end of civilisation,” Perry said. “That’s not being dramatic; that’s not being hyperbolic. That’s just what would happen.”

How likely is a nuclear war?

The world survived the Cold War without nuclear weapons being used. And with the main two nuclear powers reducing their arsenals, it might be tempting to think the risk is reducing.

But global security threats are very different to what they once were. And one bomb could lead to retaliation strikes.

Bill Perry said he believes the most likely scenario for a nuclear attack would be if a terrorist group got hold of a small amount of enriched uranium, allowing them to make an improvised nuclear bomb.
“Of all of the nuclear catastrophes that could happen, this is the most probable,” he said. “I think I would say it’s probably an even chance that this will happen sometime in the next ten years.”

He added: “We have the possibility of a regional nuclear war, between Pakistan and India, for example. Even if they used only half of their nuclear arsenal, those bombs would put enough smoke in the air – enough dust in the air – that will go up and settle in the stratosphere and then distribute itself around the planet and would block the rays of the sun for years to come.


“It could be millions of people who die from that alone.”

FGM: More than 5,000 new cases in England

4 July 2017

The NHS in England recorded 5,391 new cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the past year, data reveals.

Almost half involved women and girls living in London, NHS Digital found.

A third were women and girls born in Somalia, while 112 cases were UK-born nationals.

The practice is illegal in the UK and it is compulsory for family doctors, hospitals and mental health trusts to report any new cases in their patients.

FGM - intentionally altering or injuring the female external genitalia for non-medical reasons - carries a sentence of up to 14 years in jail.

It is the second time that NHS Digital has released annual FGM figures for England.

Most of the cases were spotted by midwives and doctors working in maternity and obstetric units.

The majority had originally had FGM done to them abroad and as a young child.

Funding concerns

The NSPCC says more should be done to end the practice: "FGM is child abuse. Despite being illegal for over 30 years, too many people are still being subjected to it and it is right that health services have started to properly record evidence of this horrendous practice.

"It takes courage to report concerns as many feel ashamed or worry they will betray friends and family. But we need to end the silence that surrounds FGM to better protect children."

The National FGM Centre, which is run by the children's charity Barnardo's and the Local Government Association (LGA), tries to prevent the practice, but its director Michelle Lee-Izu is warning it could be at risk of closure if government funding is withdrawn.

Cllr Simon Blackburn, from the LGA, said the government "must act now" to secure the National FGM Centre's "long-term future" by providing guaranteed funding.

He said: "Social work provision to girls and families affected by FGM has been quickly and significantly improved through the intervention of Centre social workers, embedded in council safeguarding teams, and hundreds of referrals have been received in areas that previously only recorded a handful of cases each year.

Mr Blackburn added that the government needed to back its commitment to ending FGM in the UK "with the long-term funding required to make that vision a reality".

Grassroots reporting

Anyone concerned about someone who has suffered, or is at risk of FGM, can contact the NSPCC FGM Helpline anonymously on 0800 028 3550 or visit nspcc.org.uk.

Wendy Preston, from the Royal College of Nursing, said: "Mandatory reporting and compulsory sex-and-relationships education are important weapons in the fight against FGM, and school nurses play a vital role in both educating children and young women, and spotting those who may be at risk.

"The government must act to attract and retain school nurses, to help address the problem at grassroots level, and maintain momentum in the fight to eradicate FGM."

A government spokesman said the start-up money for the centre came from the £200m Children's Social Care Innovation Programme, and was designed to lead to self-sustaining work, not ongoing core funding.

But he added: "Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims is a key priority for this government and a personal priority for the Minister for Women and Equalities, Justine Greening."

Government of national unity must accomplish its main task

 

By Jehan Perera-July 3, 2017, 8:46 pm 

Unless the government shows that it is capable of delivering results soon, the slow progress of problem solving at the ground level will continue to erode public support for the government. The weak performance of the economy is on the minds of most people. The expected job creation through industrial growth has not materialized nor has there been technological improvement that could raise the level of incomes of agricultural and fishing families. Instead of rising standards of living they experience the rising cost of living. In the case of the North and East where the bulk of the war affected people live, the discontent is even greater. They bear a double burden. In addition to not partaking of the fruits of nationwide development along with their compatriots in the rest of the country, they also suffer from the slow return of lands taken over by the military.

The root of the problem is that the new government which was elected in 2015 has inherited a polity that is deeply divided. Making matters more difficult is the fact that the new government is a combination of two political parties that have been traditional rivals. Therefore in ascertaining what the government is capable of doing it is important not to overload it with hopeful assumptions of its problem solving abilities. The government inherited a divided polity, divided in terms of political affiliation and ethno-religious identity. The government is itself a powersharing one in which there is not one centre of power, but two in the form of the President and Prime Minister and the two traditionally rival political parties they head. In these circumstances what can be expected from the government in terms of problem solving will be necessarily limited.

However, despite these weaknesses of the government the UNP-SLFP alliance, which has led to the Government of National Unity, is unique for Sri Lanka. It is also rare for any part of the world that two parties that are in opposition to each other, and have alternatively ruled the country since Independence, should form a coalition. Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s constant message is that this is an opportunity not to be missed to address the long standing ethnic conflict. Addressing an international conference on peace-building organized by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, with the participation of local and foreign scholars, political leaders, and social activists the former President said the present government gives a prominent place to the reconciliation and the development in the country.

DIFFERENT SITUATION

In her speech, the former President reiterated that the government including the President and the Prime Minister is dedicated towards the goal of a just political solution. She herself showed dedication to this goal during her tenure as President between 1995 and 2005. However, the conditions during her time were the opposite of what exists today. Her government faced two formidable opponents. One was the LTTE which did not place faith in constitutional solutions and political negotiations, but relied on their military power to achieve the outcomes they sought. The other was the UNP, which played the traditional role of the opposition party in the country and finally opposed the draft constitution that her government had invested several years in producing.

On the other hand, the political conditions in Sri Lanka today are the best possible to achieve a political solution to the ethnic conflict in terms of the availability of the numbers in Parliament. The UNP-SLFP alliance ensures a 2/3 majority in Parliament. When the leaders of these two parties are in agreement, there is no possibility of defeat in Parliament. Their ability to secure a 2/3 majority is buttressed by the fact that the ethnic minority parties are all united in their support of the UNP-SLFP national unity government. On issues of governance and minority rights the JVP, which usually takes on ultra left stances especially on economic issues, has also been supportive of positive initiatives of the government. Their support for the passage of the law establishing the Office of Missing Persons has been important in reducing the level of political opposition to it. Therefore the composition of the present parliament presents a unique opportunity for political reform.

Political reform needs to be the primary purpose of the present government. When it was elected in 2015 there was expectation that the government would speed up the country’s economic development and also crack down on corruption. Neither of this has happened much to the disappointment of those who voted for the government and has led to much criticism from the general public. The government is routinely described as a disappointment and failure for not taking action against corrupt politicians from the previous government and for tolerating corruption within itself. It has not been able to attract significant foreign investment in the manner that was anticipated and continues to rely on either expensive loans from China or political investments from China and India.

NEW START

However, several recent events suggests that the government is gearing itself for constitutional reform as the best way of showing the people that it is outcome oriented and can do what it sets out to do. The passage of the amendment of the Office of Missing Persons Act without opposition in Parliament was a preliminary indication of what the government can achieve if its two main partners are in agreement. The other significant event was the holding of the first National Conference on Constitutional Reforms organized by the Constitutional Assembly Secretariat of Sri Lanka under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The conference was aimed at bringing together a range of stakeholders from across diverse sectors in order to help promote the discourse surrounding the adoption of constitutional reforms for the people of Sri Lanka.

According to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the Constitution Assembly Steering Committee will meet next week to decide on the procedure to be adopted when enacting the new constitution. "Do we include all provisions or do we only include those which do not need a referendum in the steering Committee report? This is one of the questions we will debate next week. We are reaching a crucial stage in the consensus building process on the constitution, the Prime Minister said when addressing a conference on the new constitution organized by the Constitutional Assembly Secretariat. He also pointed out that the Steering Committee at its next meeting would decide whether to include all provisions of the constitution in the interim report or to include only the provisions which did not need a referendum.

The Prime Minister also spoke at length on the process and current challenges encountered in the business of constitution making, with references to key issues of national interest such as the nature of the state, the electoral system, the system of devolution of power and the religion of the state. The former Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa, Justice Dikgang Moseneke delivered an address where he recounted the challenges that South Africa faced on the issue of group rights, and how it opted for a strong bill of rights that protected individual rights as the best way forward. He said that a strong judiciary could protect the people’s rights between elections. The indications are that the Government of National Unity is on course to regain its sense of mission to achieve national unity which has eluded the country since the dawn of its independence nearly seven decades ago.

Sri Lanka: Asgiriya Chapter — a Guardian of the Nation

Rs. 10 million worth vehicle to Mahanayake of Asgiriya chapter to open closed road in front of Dalada Maligawa..!

Encroachment, vandalizing, and destruction of ancient Buddhist archaeological sites in the north and east provinces (where the hydraulic civilization of the Sinhalese reached its zenith) are acts of sacrilege and aggression as naturally understood by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority . Though lying in ruins, these sites are still places of worship as well as centres of pilgrimage for Buddhists.

by Rohana R. Wasala-Jul 4, 2017

( July 4, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lankans call the coconut tree a kapruka (kalpavriksha) – wish fulfilling divine tree- because every part of this tropical palm is so very useful to human life. The process (of latent Maha Sangha unity becoming manifest) can be likened to a coconut (seed-nut) germinating slowly as it normally does. The seedling, however, becomes a sapling in a short time. A coconut sapling needs to be protected from foraging animals. Some dishonest politicians in positions of power or influence, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, are already nosing around the steadily growing coconut sapling of Maha Sangha unity. They are posing the greatest threat to its survival and growth. If they had had the slightest concern for the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community (which implies equal concern for the minorities), they would have by now taken monks’ grievances seriously enough to investigate them properly, and take appropriate remedial steps (if their complaints are true) as they are demanding.

It is fervently hoped that the Maha Sangha will remain independent of divisive party politics in the long run. However, they are left with no alternative but to extend their favour to the leaders who have already proven their loyalty to the country, and who alone can be relied upon to provide the necessary political leadership to the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community. But even these politicians must enter into a covenant (a solemn written agreement) with the Maha Sangha on behalf of all Sri Lankans that once they come to power they will immediately attend to the legitimate grievances of the monks that drove them to the streets in desperation. The few disgraceful NGO and other misguided monks who disagree with the stance taken by the Asgiriya prelates should be safely ignored.

Great hope has been rekindled in the hearts of the overwhelming majority of Sri Lankans by the June 20th issue of a cogent statement by the Karaka Sangha Sabha of the Asgiriya Chapter. At a subsequent news conference, the Asgiriya monks revealed that they were in consultation with the important monks of the other nikayas during its preparation. Written and verbal statements issued by respected monks from various provinces endorsing the viewpoint of the Asgiriya Statement over the past few days point towards a timely awakening of the Maha Sangha, which is indeed a long felt national need. The Maha Sangha is sure to stay above partisan politics because the spiritual goal that they are voluntarily committed to as a religious vow always takes precedence over mundane affairs. But they will not deny the latter due attention as a responsible section of the society that provides moral and spiritual guidance for the lay Buddhists. Beginning with Ven. Mahinda Thera, the missionary monk who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka in 236 BCE, Buddhist monks have always advised the Lankan monarch, except during times of foreign occupation, but rarely have they dabbled in factional politics. Remaining above divisive politics Buddhist monks must reclaim their traditional role as the Guardians of the Nation. That is their hallowed right as well as their historic responsibility towards our motherland , Sri Lanka.

Encroachment, vandalizing, and destruction of ancient Buddhist archaeological sites in the north and east provinces (where the hydraulic civilization of the Sinhalese reached its zenith) are acts of sacrilege and aggression as naturally understood by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority . Though lying in ruins, these sites are still places of worship as well as centres of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The Buddhist monks are reacting to these acts of aggression by non-Buddhists. Contrary to resentful views prevailing against them among those who have no clear idea about what is actually happening, these monks are not making any extremist political or religious demands. The problems they are articulating and the solutions they are demanding for them are briefly mentioned in the Asgiriya Statement: the validity of Ven. Gnanasara Thera’s viewpoint despite his aggressive posture and speech, the government’s apparent condoning of blatantly racist statements made by communalist politicians while at the same time trying to silence the bhikkhus and lay Buddhists who react to them, the inadvisability of proposed changes to existing rules and regulations (which are adequate for the management of Buddhist temporalities), and silence in the face unlawful alienation of state land (through the irregular clearing of jungle in the Wilpattu forest reserve) under the pretext of settling internally displaced persons (of the Muslim community), the autocratic behavior of the government minister responsible for archaeological affairs, alleged attempts at the sterilization or extinction (wandakireema) of the Sinhalese race, statements made by certain individuals who call themselves Buddhists and persons of other religions that provoke the Buddhists. The eighth and final paragraph of the Asgiriya monks’ communiqué ends with a reminder to other religionists that they should not forget that Sinhalese Buddhists have always respected other faiths; at the same time, the monks condemn the activities of others that are in contempt of traditional Buddhist tolerance.

The Venerable Mahanayake Theras have declared their determination not to keep quiet any longer in the face of unprecedented challenges to the existence of Sinhalese Buddhists and their homeland. The Sinhalese respectively account for 75% and Buddhists for 70% of the Lankan population (2012 Census). The dominant Sinhalese Buddhist cultural identity of Sri Lanka is an undeniable fact, and it is not a bad thing. Young Buddhist monks are at the forefront of movements that are reacting to unlawful activities such as the encroachment and/or destruction of ancient archaeological sites the north and east, and mass scale forest clearance under the pretext of making room for settling IDPs, but as strongly suspected, as a ploy to create an enclave of Islamic extremists. The handful of communalist and fundamentalist elements that are behind these anti-national activities are raising a hue and cry against the Buddhist monks who are reacting to them urging the authorities to investigate their charges and stop such depredations immediately. The Asgiriya monks, on behalf of the Maha Sangha, remind members of the minority religious communities that they should not forget that Sri Lankan Buddhists have always respected other faiths. The monks unequivocally condemn actions of other religionists who act in contempt of Buddhist tolerance. The fact that the bhikkhus are expressing willingness to reassert their historic role as the Guardians of the Nation naturally brings hope to a nation that has long been suffering under colonialism, neo-liberalism, and terrorism-related violence and persecution. Even if politicians will not listen to them, the majority of the right thinking multi-religious masses will. This is a sine qua non for recalling the reconciliation which was there for five years until the end of 2014, but which has been seriously disrupted since.

( The writer is a columnist for The Island, a Colombo based daily, where this piece first appeared)

SRI LANKA: I WILL FACILITATE BUT NOT REGULATE NGOS – MINISTER GANESAN

Image: Minister Ganesan too organised a NGO to help victims of  Rajapaksa era white van disappearances. 

03/07/2017

Speaking to media Minister Mano Ganesan who is in charge of the  NGO secretariat of Sri Lanka,  on the subject of regulating the NGOs says that  ” Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe must be having his own reasons. But I don’t want to use the word, ‘Regulation’ but ‘Facilitation’.

On Minster Rajapakshe’s statement that some NGOs are detrimental to national reconciliation and religious harmony, Ganesan  has urged Rajapakshe to get him the facts as he notes that there are more hindrances to national coexistence from religious and political forces.

The minister noted that he has given strict instructions to the Director-General of the NGO secretariat and the staff under him to consider NGOs and INGOs as partners in State building.

Excerpts from the news story appeared in the Ceylon Today follows:

The Government has decided to closely monitor all Non Government Organizations (NGOs) and has initiated measures to take action relating to activities of ‘certain civil society organizations’ which are acting against the State.

The Government has also decided to scrap the abbreviation ‘NGOs’ and replace it with CSOs , an abbreviation for Civil Society Organizations, and will establish CSO Councils in every district and secretariat division islandwide.

Minister Ganesan has told that his Ministry is now conducting two separate investigations into two such NGOs.

“If I am provided with specific facts I will act according to the facts in complaints. But I can’t generalize on such a policy and say that most NGOs are functioning against the State and the objectives of reconciliation and close them down,” Minister Ganesan added.

Commenting on the Justice Minister’s suggestion to introduce fresh regulations to govern these NGOs, Minister Ganesan noted that he does not see any serious reason to endorse it as ‘regulations’ but rather call it ‘facilitations’ as long as they (NGOs) meet legal requirements to operate in their stated agendas.

On Rajapakshe’s statement that some NGOs are detrimental to national reconciliation and religious harmony, Ganesan urged Rajapakshe to get him the facts as he notes that there are more hindrances to national coexistence from religious and political forces.

The minister noted that he has given strict instructions to the Director-General of the NGO secretariat and the staff under him to consider NGOs and INGOs as partners in State building.

“Those Civil Society organizations which stood with us in the heydays of national change… well, I was there all along with the Civil Monitoring Commission, ‘Vipakshaya Virodaya’ and ‘Samagi Peramuna’. In fact, I played a significant role in that struggle from way back in 2005 with Raviraj, Lasantha, Bahu, Siritunga, Britto, Nimalka, Priyani when even some traditional CSOs and politicians backed out in fear. I can’t drop or ignore those which stood with us. I would call them Civil Society Organizations (CSO) rather than NGOs.”

He said after he took office and the National Secretariat for NGOs was brought under his Ministry, he has taken very many steps to restore an equilibrium in the perceptions about NGOs which were ” considered as ‘traitors’ and the INGOs were considered as ‘enemies”. That was how it was at that time.

He said he has received the blessings of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for this mission and that President Sirisena has also urged them at Cabinet meetings to get all the forces together to build the country. Taking the clue, I am now establishing nation-wide, district-wide, division-wide CSO councils.

He said that even some CSOs misunderstood this approach. Noting that it is an independent network, he said his ministry was only doing the facilitation part.

” I am going to get them official placements in the district and divisional DCC meetings to have their say in development and nation building affairs with elected representatives and State officials. We require all actors including civil society forces at every DCC meeting, where decisions are made on the spending of State funds. This will reduce levels of corruption, waste, mismanagement and identify the priorities of the poor masses.”

He stressed that there are wrongdoers in Parliament and violators among State officials, security forces and Police. We will identify them and clean the institutions in the best interests of the State.

But we can’t generalize such policies and close or dissolve Parliament, Police, and security forces and dismiss State officials at random. This is a country and not a kingdom but a people’s republic. We need these institutions in republican democracy.

Wijeyadasa’s madman responds

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

I am compelled to respond as a signatory to the civil society statement defending Attorney at Law Lakshan Dias against the threats and intimidation of Justice and Buddha Sasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. He has branded all of us signatories to that statement mad women and men who should be in Angoda.

Granville Perera, using alternate media, has responded to Rajapakshe’s claim about madness and I quote, “No mad man admits that he is mad. When you ask a patient at the mental hospital in Angoda if he is mad, he will without hesitating point towards the outside world and say all the mad men are out there. That is exactly what Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana (believed to be allegedly hiding the fugitive extremist Buddhist monk Gnanasara Thero), said on the Hiru TV show on 26 June 2017. He also claimed everyone who signed a petition in support of Lakshan Dias, the Human Rights defender and Attorney at Law, are ‘mad men’ who should be in Angoda. Is this a clear indication that he has lost his head? Lakshan Dias had to flee the country as he is being hunted by suspected Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe goons.”

Has Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe lost it or is he hoodwinking the Sinhala Buddhist voter into believing that Buddhism, which survived colonial rule and the kalu suddas thereafter, is under threat from a small minority of Muslims and Evangelical Christians? Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero and the Bodu Bala Sena have managed to keep their coffers filled from the sweat of our Sinhala workers in Korea and Japan using the same rhetoric. Is Rajapakshe doing this stunt to fill his ballot box?

Many Muslims and Christians voted for Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe because he was one among the few honourable candidates on offer.
Did we all misjudge the charming Rajapakshe?

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe is also a President’s Counsel, a former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka with a Doctorate in Law and in Buddhist Philosophy (University of Colombo and Kelaniya).

Lakshan Dias is a fearless young lawyer who boldly defended his fellow Christians in and out of the judicial system. I have had the pleasure of working with Lakshan in difficult circumstances on racist assaults on minorities and can without hesitation declare that Lakshan did not lie while on the Derena TV show where he claimed that there were 197 incidents of violence against Christians during the time of Yahapalanaya. Today’s count stands at 217 with 20 more incidents.

The National Christian Evangelical Association of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) has meticulously documented these incidents of violence against the Christian community. Police complaints have been made over some of these incidents, while others are going through the judicial process; most have photographic or video evidence. These have been published up to January 2017 and are in the public domain. Others are available in the web portal of NCEASL and are easily accessible by the public.

For Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe most of these are minor (sulu) incidents. I wish he would sit on the other side of the fence and experience the fear and frustration one has to endure when we see the Ashin Wirathu (nationalist Burmese Buddhist monk) style of intimidation of minorities. The Christians say it’s a test from God but I say a volcano is about to erupt.


Intentionally misled

President Maithripala Sirisena generated the confusion when he declared that there were no Catholic Churches that had been attacked by racists. A perfectly true statement because the Catholic Church was almost an extension of the Rajapaksa regime with Cardinal Malcom Ranjith being part of the Rajapaksa household. That concession and security continued even under Yahapalanaya. Regretfully, President Sirisena probably doesn’t realise the cold war between the Protestant and the Catholic Church. When the President asked the Cardinal whether there had been any attacks against his Church, he truthfully said no, there has not been a single attack. The Cardinal will face his Lord one day and will need to explain why he misled the President as he knew very well the daily torment that his fellow Christians undergo. In Sri Lankan parlance, the Cardinal led the President up the Murunga tree.

Rajapakshe claims that he has initiated action (or did he intimidate?) to disbar Lakshan Dias as a lawyer. The crime – Lakshan worked as an activist to defend his faith and claimed that there were close to 200 incidents of violence, hate, intimidation, threats, and destruction of Christian churches and prayer centres during the Derana TV talk show titled ‘Aluth Parlimenthuwa’ (New Parliament) on 14 June.

Ironically, three monks and a layman have initiated action in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka against Lakshan, probably at the behest of Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. We would soon know whether we need hybrid courts to hear cases against the grievances of the Northern Tamil minority as per the Geneva agreement or that we would have a Judiciary that cannot be intimidated by the Minister of Justice.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe also claims that he associates himself with the Asgiriya Prelate’s stand against minorities. As a Cabinet Minister, and also the Minister of Justice, is he questioning the minorities’ right to equal recognition as guaranteed by the Constitution? A person who cannot provide equal justice to all citizens should not hold the position of Justice Minister. He should immediately resign from his ministerial portfolio or should be removed by President Sirisena.

The Sri Lankan Constitution clearly defines that “every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. The assaults and intimidation of minorities’ right to religious freedom and practice is a clear violation of the Constitution.

Rajapakshe has joined the phobic extremists to accuse civil society of conspiring with western nations and the international community to undermine Sri Lanka, a clear reminder of the Weerawansa days of the Rajapaksa era when anything and everything was linked to an international conspiracy.

Rajapakshe and his Government go down on their knees for GSP+ concessions, loans to pay for their luxury duty free vehicles, import substandard consumables for the masses and to repay massive debt that has been accumulated through the misrule of our politicians during the last 70 years. Well, echoing our Honourable Minister’s parlance, they should all be in Angoda and not in Diyawanna.

Europe and the rest of the developed world dole out their taxpayers’ money to fill the begging bowl of Sri Lanka and other poor nations. They are answerable to their citizens (unlike our politicians) to ensure that they are not funding and supporting despotic rulers and to ensure adherence to democratic values, human, women’s and child rights, transparency, good governance, etc. They engage civil society organisations working in respective specialties to monitor the proper implementation of their grants to the Government. Most of these civil society organisations don’t work as an extension of the Government in power, hence there is constant conflict. The successive governments continue to have appointed ‘spokesmen’ to undermine the work of civil society. Regretfully, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has become one such person, attacking NGOs and civil society as traitors to the nation. For all of these opportunistic politicians, civil society has been their darling while they were in the Opposition. Evidence of this can be seen in the way Mahinda Rajapaksa is bending backwards to appeal to civil society.

The worst of Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe’s diatribes comes when he accuses his Muslim parliamentarians too of being mad men, which convinces me that Granville Perera has spoken the truth. Of course our Angoda mental hospital won’t be good enough for any of our honourable men from Diyawanawa but the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore would be an acceptable option.

In these days of minority bashing, I am reminded of a statement from State Minister Eran Wickramaratne, who said: “In any country, it is the responsibility of the majority community to protect and look after the minorities.” Does Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe agree with his parliamentary colleague?

A reappraisal of evidence and claims

Emerging Buddhist-MuslimRivalry in Sri Lanka?

by G. H. Peiris-July 3, 2017, 8:48 pm 

(Continued from yesterday)

These modalities of destabilisation have by no means ceased with the toppling of the Rajapaksa regime. What is of direct salience to a reappraisal of evidence for the claimed intensification of Buddhist-Muslim rivalry is that the same ‘regime change’ strategies are now being pursued with enhanced vigour for protecting the tottering regime installed in 2015, with a short-term focus on averting its probable collapse at the forthcoming all-island local government elections ̶ a debacle to somehow mitigate at least in the main municipal areas such as Colombo and Kandy where there is an electorally formidable Muslim presence.

A reappraisal of evidence and claims-Emerging Buddhist-MuslimRivalry in Sri Lanka.docx by Thavam on Scribd