Sunday, August 13, 2017

Pioneering type 1 diabetes therapy safe

Aleix was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged 18

By James Gallagher-9 August 2017

The first trial of a pioneering therapy to retrain the immune system and slow the advance of type 1 diabetes has shown it is safe.

The disease is caused by the body destroying cells in the pancreas that control blood sugar levels.

The immunotherapy - tested on 27 people in the UK - also showed signs of slowing the disease, but this needs confirming in larger trials.

Experts said the advance could one day free people from daily injections.

Aleix Rowlandson, from Lancashire, was diagnosed in 2015 aged 18.

"Your blood sugars affect how much energy you have," she told the BBC.

"If they're high, they can make you feel tired. If they're low, you can feel shaky.

"I'm more optimistic knowing that the study has gone well and they can use that to find further treatments.

"Even if it doesn't help me, myself, and it might help other people in the future, I'm very happy."

Aleix's immune system is attacking her beta cells, which release the hormone insulin to keep blood sugar levels stable.

As a result, she has to inject insulin several times a day.

Balance

Aleix is taking part in the trials of immunotherapy at the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas'.

It is an attempt to stop her diabetes by tapping into the immune system's natural checks and balances.

The body's defence system is primed to attack hostile invaders.

But it also has "regulatory T cells", which calm the immune response and prevent it attacking the body's own tissues.

Immunotherapies try to get regulatory T cells on-side by exposing them to fragments of proteins found in beta cells.

Prof Mark Peakman, from King's College London, told the BBC News website: "This is a landmark in the sense it's the first time it has been done.

"Importantly, [the trial] shows the overall safety is good and there is some evidence we're restoring the balance and getting some regulatory T cells activated."

Patients given the therapy did not need to increase their dose of insulin during the trial.

However, it is too soon to say this therapy stops type 1 diabetes and larger clinical trials will be needed.

And further types of immunotherapy that should deliver an even stronger reaction are already underway.

Beta cell saver

The trial focused on patients newly diagnosed with type 1 as they still have about a fifth of their beta cells left.

Even retaining these cells would make it easier to manage the condition, but the ultimate goal is to intervene even earlier to hopefully prevent the disease starting.

However, it is not likely to help people diagnosed with type 1 years ago.

Prof Peakman added: "At that stage, most of the beta cells have gone and we don't find, with any therapies tried, any evidence of regeneration so it seems unlikely to help someone who has had the disease for a while."

All the volunteers were injected either every two or four weeks for six months.

Karen Addington, the UK chief executive of the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, said: "Exciting immunotherapy research like this increases the likelihood that one day insulin-producing cells can be protected and preserved.

"That would mean people at risk of type 1 diabetes might one day need to take less insulin, and perhaps see a future where no-one would ever face daily injections to stay alive."

Follow James on Twitter.

Diabetes

There are two main types of diabetes:

type 1 - where the pancreas does not produce any insulin
type 2 - where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the body's cells do not react to insulin

Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, but usually appears before the age of 40, particularly in childhood.

About 10% of all diabetes is type 1, but it is the most common type of childhood diabetes, so it is sometimes called juvenile diabetes or early onset diabetes

Type 2 diabetes tends to develop later in life and is linked to lifestyle and being overweight.

Source: NHS Choices

Saturday, August 12, 2017

US must hold SL Govt. accountable for pledges it made: TNA

2017-08-12

TNA and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan urged the two US congressmen who were visiting Sri Lanka, that their government must hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for the commitments they have made to the international community particularly with regard to the full implementation of the co-sponsored UNHRC Resolution.

US Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen and Henry Cuellar arrived in the country on Wednesday and met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan on Thursday.

During the meeting held with the Opposition Leader, he had said that Sri Lankan government could not evade from its responsibility of fulfilling its commitment made to the international community.

Briefing on the progress of the framing of new Constitution Mr. Sampanthan said there was undue delay in the process and both the UNP and SLFP were holding on to their political future than looking at interest of the country.

“After obtaining the majority vote in parliament, the new Constitution must be approved by the people at the referendum. This opportunity should not be missed and I’m not speaking only on behalf of Tamils but for the whole Sri Lanka and its people,” he added.

Issuing a statement, the TNA said Mr. Sampanthan had stressed that the Sinhala political leaders must go out and campaign on the new constitution which is based on united and indivisible Sri Lanka.

“If they do so, not only this process would end in success but also it will clear all the unwarranted doubts that sections of the people have in their minds,” he said.

He said that or 50 per cent of the Tamil population had left the country due to this unresolved national question and if we don’t find a reasonable solution more people will leave. “We don’t want that to happen,” he added.

Speaking on the unemployment among the youths, Mr. Sampanthan highlighted that the government appears to have no concrete mass jobs. He requested the delegates to initiate proposals in this regard and to support the young people of the country. (KJ and SF)

Desalinised Water For Jaffna Peninsula – Is It Necessary?

By Willie D. Joshua –AUGUST 13, 2017

Willie D. Joshua

Expensive, unnecessary and environmentally damaging desalination projects for Jaffna can be totally avoided by a simple study to measure groundwater availability and optimised, evidence based water use management methods.

There have been many articles in the media about the necessity for a desalinisation project to supply potable water for Jaffna. The reason often quoted is that there is freshwater shortage due to over-usage of groundwater resulting in salinity and pollution. This reasoning will be correct only if it could be proven quantitatively by actual measurements, that the fresh water is insufficient for agriculture and domestic use. So far, no one seems to have made any systematic studies in estimating the actual quantity of available fresh water for human use throughout the dry season. This should be given the utmost priority and done immediately instead paying only lip-service. It can be only be proved by measuring salinity of water at different depths because fresh water is underlain by saline water. In addition, this information can be used to predict to what depth the wells should be dug to keep the water free of salinity always.

Computer modelling to quantify fresh water is not likely to be applicable to such limestone aquifers. Due to randomness of dissolution channels and pores, modelling inputs such as transmissibility and specific yield are widely variable at different locations, and it will not be possible to get reasonable results.

Illusion or fact

It has been proven beyond any doubt that the average rainfall during October to January recharges the aquifer with fresh water to much more than its maximum holding capacity ( Arumugam 1971, Wijesinghe 1973, Joshua et.al.2013). Only in occasional drought-years is maximum recharge not attained. By April-May, almost sixty percent of this overall storage of groundwater seeps to the sea/lagoon by subsurface outflow. This rapid depletion is a consequence of the increased outward pressure caused by the high watertable at the end of the rainy season. Normally, the stored water remaining after May is similar every year and has been sufficient for intensive agriculture and domestic use even for a population of 700,000 in the 1970s. So, is this water shortage and salinity, an illusion or a fact?

Groundwater formation and properties

Percolated rainwater into soil forms a fresh water layer, in the shape of a convex lens over the denser seawater in the aquifer. The lens will be thick at the centre and thins out towards the coasts. In all probability, Vadamaradchi, Thenmaradhi, Valikamam and the Islands have separate lenses of fresh water. In reality however, the lenses have fresh water only from the watertable down to certain depths, while the lower part of the lenses consist of a transition zone of increasing salinity. The transition zone is at variable depths at different location and probably results from the diffusion of salts from the underlying seawater into the lens. The existence of the transition zone has been proved by actual measurements (Arumugam-1971, Balendra 1969 and SMEC 2006). The thickness of the lens keeps on decreasing during the dry season with human usage and slow seepage till it is replenished by rainfall. For every unit drop in the watertable, the lens-seawater interface at the bottom of lens rises by about forty units due to density differences.

Depth of wells and salinity

Damning expose` :Money laundering crimes of Rajadurage Wijedasa alias Wijedasa Rajapakase alias Dealdasa – with evidence ! -whither SL ?

Lanka-e-News - 12.Aug.2017, 12.30PM) It is by now a well and widely known fact that present minister of justice and Buddha sasana Rajadurage Wijedasa alias Rajapaksage Wijedasa alias Dealdasa, is the traitorous scoundrel who is obstructing the enforcement of the law and taking legal action against the actual rogues who plundered the country’s assets and public funds . Not enough the destruction he is wreaking on the country by these sly and slimy treacheries , it has now come to light that over a long period he has been involved in money laundering activities too. That is, he is also a tax fraudster who had not declared his income ( earned through illicit channels) to the government , based on reports supported by cogent and concrete evidence reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Wijedasa Rajapakse and his eldest son Rakitha Rajapakse had been involved in money laundering activities in association with a German national (a lady) . The intermediary between Rajapakses and the German lady in these deals is a popular cricket English commentator Brian Thomas.

WR and RNR

Wijedasa Rajapakse and his elder son Rakitha Nirmala Rajapakse are associated with Brian Thomas under the code name WR and RNR while Brian was associated with the German lady. After the good governance government came to power on 2015-01-08 , and Wijedasa became a cabinet minister on 2105-10-31 , he had for the first time paid a whopping sum of Rs. 30,720,000.00 (Rupees thirty million seven hundred and twenty thousand ) to Brian Thomas, and thereby got involved in the money laundering business.

Again on 2015-11-13, a sum of Rs. 12,006,000.00 (rupees twelve million six thousand) was released towards Brian Thomas ‘ money laundering activities. The return for that sum has been paid via a most queer method . That is , the ‘sum invested’ x 22% x 60 % was the colossal return.

Though we have published the documented evidence pertaining to the above deals via the image below , based on oral evidence , these culprits have collected massive profit and investment monies- hundred fold more through the money laundering channel.

Rs. 2000 million for Rs. 300 million !

To cite one example : On one occasion , Brian was paid Rs. 300 million. After some months Brian has arrived at Wijedasa’s house and paid him Rs. 2000 million as the return on that account. It is learnt Wijedasa has not deposited these colossal sums of cash in the banks , and he is keeping them hidden in his house at different places.

Rapacious Wijedasa Rajapakse in order to safeguard this huge amount of illicit earnings bought an 18 feet wide Safe because a smaller safe will not be enough to safe keep his massive cash collections . Lo and behold ! that safe was enormous so much so that it could not be taken into his house. The only solution was to send it back. Last month Wijedasa flew to Germany in connection with his money laundering transactions.

The colossal illicit earnings of Wijedasa after he became the minister and until now have not been declared to the Inland Revenue department by him , meaning that he is a huge tax evader cum fraudster , in addition to his other slimy and sly activities. In short he is a downright dishonorable traitor while parading as an honorable minister.

Of course , doubtless after this report is out , he is going to physically transfer the illicitly earned monies in his house and Rakkitha’s to another place .

In addition to the money laundering business , Wijedasa along with his wife Hallawa Ralalage Mala Rajapakse are running a company under the name of ‘Lotus Holding.’ Though that is legally registered , no revenue taxes have been paid in respect of that Co. Believe it or not the company of Wijedasa a most responsible cabinet minister of a most sublime August assembly (parliament) , and even holding a Buddhist affairs ministry (Buddha Sasana) has not even a VAT registration number ( deceit !) . No wonder he is called Dealdasa who knows to do nothing lawfully or overtly despite being a justice minister who should set an example to others .

A building situated at Nugegoda belonging to this Co. has been given on a monthly rent of Rs. 8 million. No taxes are paid on this revenue too. No taxes are paid even on the sum of Rs. 0ne billion (1000,000,000.00) collected as deposit in this connection. They also receive a monthly revenue of about Rs. 3 million from another building at 275, Nawala where Dialog Co. is located.

No taxes are paid even on the revenue collected from assets acquired by force or illegally on account of his appearing for cases.

Coffee shop of Rakitha the venue of money laundering

Rakitha Nirmala Rajapakse the elder son of money laundering ‘just ice’ minister is the media secretary of president’s defense ministry as well as a director at ICTA. He is now opening a chain of super luxury coffee shops –Café Noir with gay abandon for the sole purpose of laundering the illicit earnings.

How can a puerile youth serving as secretary of a ministry cum director for three months open a chain of super luxury coffee shops , and why ? Obviously for nefarious purposes.

Lanka e news raises no objection when people earn wealth , deploy wealth , or invest. Whether those involved are Neanderthal Leftists or illiterate hypocrites is immaterial. What irks us and we strongly oppose is , the earnings being concealed from the State without revealing how those were acquired , and evading the taxes payable to the state . This is high treason because it is finally the people who are being cheated ,whether it is committed by Wijedasa , Dealdasa or any other Horadasa.

Clue for Bribery and Corruption Commission to take action…

Under the prevailing laws , the Bribery and Corruption Commission can consider exposures made by the media as a complaint and conduct a raid. Hence , the Commission if it is alert and is truly concerned about the country and its suffering people who are the victims ultimately of these rascals can launch a raid immediately on the residences of Wijedasa and his son Rakitha and take into custody the illicit cash collections before it is too late.

Brian Thomas can be arrested and interrogated in this connection. If witnesses are necessary we can provide them who will give evidence against the corruption and illegal activities of Wijedasa and his son.

Certainly , the opportunity is now knocking at the door of the president Maithripala to prove beyond doubt he is against corruption. Nobody is going to object if he uses his sweeping executive powers to instruct the Bribery and Corruption Commission to take appropriate action. It is anyway doubtful whether Sirisena will have the strength to take such a step because his close relatives and Rajapakse duo –father and son are baited by the aforementioned money laundering activities .

Please await a continuation of this article by Anubavananda about the most corrupt and ignominious records breaking minister Buddha sasana and justice of Sri Lanka , Rajadurage Wijedasa alias Rajapaksage Wijedasa alias Wijedasa Rajapakse alias Dealdasa ( the nick name by which he is best known owing to his shameless contemptible activities) hailing from Rajaduragoda village of Okewala district secretarial division

By a Lanka e News staff reporter

(The details of payments made by Dealdasa Wijedasa and his son Rakitha to Brian Thomas and payments received by them displayed by the ‘screen shot’ herein were extracted from the personal laptop of Rakitha Wijedasa. Incidentally , Rakitha has threatened those who garnered these details that he would murder them if the information is not destroyed !)

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by (2017-08-12 07:30:26)

“We’ll protect Wijedasa Rajapaksha”

August 12, 2017

The retired president Kurunegala District Parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking at Minuwangoda yesterday (11th) has said he and his group would protect the Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Wijedasa Rajapaksha if the Yahapalana government attempted to remove him from the government.

The government members have charged that Mr Wijedasa Rajapaksha has closely associated those who were involved in large scale frauds and corruption during Mahinda Rajapaksa administration and has interfered to delay legal action being taken against them.

Also, it was seen in Parliament that members of the Mahinda faction such as Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila, Prasanna Ranatunga, Dinesh Gunawardene speaking in favour of Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksha.
Minister Rajapaksha was accused of directly getting involved in releasing the passport of Nissanka Senathipathy of Avant Garde that was involved in illegal weapons racket.

Meanwhile, Mahinda faction has said they would support Mr Wijedasa Rajapaksha to get the Hambanthota Harbour agreement cancelled.

Wijeydasa Rajapaksa is a blatant liar taking credit for other people’s work to project a false image of himself

(Lanka-e-News - 12.Aug.2017, 2.45PM) On Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa’s recent ‘big talk’ of taking back Hambantota Port, Minister Dr. Rajith Senaratne had lambasted him at a News Conference reported in the Lankaenews under heading “Dealdasa the only the two legged buffalo with two doctorates ‘whip lashed’ by Rajitha ! – Lawyer Minister Dealdasa doesn’t know the difference between lease and sale”.

Big talking Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa had stated that he will vest the Hambantota Port Land in the people. The land is already with the people and only leased to a Sri Lankan Company, jointly owned by a Chinese Company and the Government of Sri Lanka.

In his ‘big talk’ he has also stated that he took over the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation. This is a shameful lie. It is well known that Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation was vested in the Government by Supreme Court because of frauds investigated and disclosed to Court by former PERC Chairman Nihal Sri Ameresekere. Though the Case had been filed in the name of Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Ameresekere had done all the work as disclosed by Vasudeva Nanayakkara at many meetings.

A COPE Sub-Committee of which Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa was not a Member had investigated the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation fraud first reported by Auditor General. A Member of the COPE Sub-Committee had said that they had been been assisted by former PERC Chairman Nihal Sri Ameresekere, who had prepared a Report, which Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa had tabled in Parliament as his own. What a shameful deceitful act of plagiarism, which is illegal.

In fact, as per attached Opinion given by Lawyer Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa to PERC in July 2006 he has fully exonerated the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Auditors Ernst & Young. In subsequent Supreme Court Case these Auditors Ernst & Young had been severely castigated by the Supreme Court and removed as the Auditors of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, making Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa a clown.

Being a Member of Parliament and Chairman of COPE at that time could Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa have given Legal Opinion to Government institution PERC and recovered considerable fees ? Members of Parliament are prohibited from doing this.

As Minister of Buddha Sasana Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa is not practising the basic principles of not telling lies. The Mahanayakes should take note and take-up with the President of Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa’s unsuitability.

(Please see the supporting documents in follwing images )

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by (2017-08-12 09:51:13)

The Resignation: Nothing to be proud of, or to boast of ushering a new culture

Ravi Karunanayake

by Rajan Philips-August 12, 2017, 7:16 pm

Ravi Karunanayake was defiantly proud of his decision to resign from his portfolio, asserting in parliament that he was doing it for the sake of the government and good governance. No sooner, the Prime Minister was on his feet claiming credit for ushering in a new culture, where Ministers will resign without interfering with the judicial process. There was nothing to be proud of, for he had no alternative but to resign. The pressure was not only on the Minister to resign, but also on the President to fire the Minister if he did not resign. Even UNPers had indicated to the Prime Minister that they would not support the Minister if the No Confidence Motion against the Minister came to vote in parliament. The government managed to use the sub judice bluff to delay the NC motion being taken up for debate, but it could not have delayed it indefinitely.

There is no basis either for claiming that a new governance culture is being born just because Minister Karunanayake has resigned. Nothing that led to his resignation has been explained or answered. Explanations and answers await the findings and conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry. The only good thing that has happened so far on this sordid bond scam matter is the appointment of the ongoing Commission. The Commissioners, and their knowledge and questionings are a blast of fresh air after two years of bluff and bluster. They have been able to stem the adversarial exuberance of literate lawyers, and cut through mumbo jumbo answers suggesting some kind of oracular wizardry in using global financial data to perpetually succeed in bond auctioning in Colombo. One would hope that the Commissioners are given the time to ask and find answers to all hitherto unasked and unanswered questions.

In fairness to Ravi Karunanayake, the matter over which he was proud to resign is not the centre piece of the bond scandal. The source of his undoing is a penthouse sideshow that should have never happened. There is surprising misunderstanding about criminal culpability and ministerial probity. The latter involves a much lower bar to judge than the former. For someone to be a minister, she or he must not only be incorrupt but also appear to be incorrupt. Given his circumstances, Mr. Karunanayake could not have continued as Minister until he is found guilty by a competent court. The penthouse matter may never go to court but the Minister had to go for all the implications that he has tied up with - unknowingly or otherwise.

But the bond matter goes beyond the former minister and the penthouse. In fact, it started even before the present government. The public has a stake and interest in knowing if the current inquiry will be mandated to canvass everything in bond auctioning that happened under the previous government. If not, why not? Will there be a separate inquiry, consistent with the new culture that the Prime Minister has in mind? Otherwise, there will be no new culture but the continuation of the same old quid-pro-quo culture binding the Rajapaksas and UNP leaders, as many have suspected and suggested.

And any positively new culture must also facilitate answers as to why the present government gazetted the Central Bank out of the Finance Ministry not only breaking with tradition but also creating jurisdictional questions involving the Finance Ministry, the Monetary Board and the Central Bank? Were there connections between the gazetted relocation of the bank, the choice of the new Governor, and the bond auctions that followed? How did the government and Central Bank decide on the money that needed to be raised through the issuance of bonds? Was election campaign financing a consideration in the requirement for money? Who were the ministers and others involved in these discussions and decisions? Will the public have the opportunity to hear from each and every one of them, including the Prime Minister? As has been ruefully suggested, what we have is a ‘large government’ and so far only one minister has been summoned to the dock. Needless to add, there is not only a large government, but also a super-large cabinet.

New Culture: Requisites and Prospects

In my article last week, I suggested that the introduction of the open economy has provided a new platform and impetus for corruption on a scale and style unlike anything before. Although I indicated that that it is not the open economy that is to be faulted but its crony beneficiaries and their political benefactors, I did not elaborate on the faultlessness of many who participated in the open economy and benefited from and contributed to it while keeping their hands scrupulously clean and without breaking the law in any way.

Hundreds of entrepreneurs and professionals have been participating in the open economy cleanly and legitimately creating jobs, contributing to the national economy, paying taxes and earning legitimate profits. They have created new export oriented industries and found markets for their products without much help by way of systematic government support. Tens of thousands of people are benefiting from these industries as employees, and contributing to the economy. Ironically, it is the Employees’ Provident Fund savings of these workers that has come under frequent threats from the bond operations of the Central Bank that is supposed to the guardian of these savings.

Any new culture must be grounded on the success and experience of the faultless participants in the open economy, while isolating and rejecting the inducements of crony beneficiaries and political benefactors. There cannot be any new culture without reforming the current procurement and tender practices associated with government purchases and contracts. These practices are not only corrupt but will also result in substandard purchases and infrastructure with questionable economic benefits, risks public safety and the creation of environmental hazards. The new culture must also be predicated on a new system of priorities giving due weight to the traditional sectors of the economy that support large sections of the population, and due scrutiny to property developments promoted by speculators.

Before asserting the birth of a new culture in Parliament, the Prime Minister issued a warning at a political rally in Hatton that "there is no place for thieves in the UNP". His illustrious kinsman and mentor, President Jayewardene was more realistic and honest when he famously confessed in 1981 after ethnic rioting and looting in the Sabragamuwa Province, that the UNP is a big tent party and so it invariably includes within its ranks: rogues, thieves, criminals and murderers. To this ‘blue collar’ list must be added the ‘white collar’ thieves. Successive governments have since 1977 have been aiding and abetting both categories – from underworld criminals to fraudulent businesses.

The system became institutionalized with the blurring of the boundaries between government and opposition. The same MPs are in both places and they have not been inclined to rock either boat too much. To multiply the metaphor, the ongoing inquiry revelations and the ministerial resignation would appear to have started rocking every boat in parliament. Waves are coming from the outside into parliament, and not the other way around.

The Joint Opposition that staged rally after rally to ‘bring back Mahinda’ is not rushing to rouse the people against the government on the bond issue. It is known that the Rajapaksas were not overly keen about bringing up the No Confidence against Minister Karunanayake. Likewise, many UNPers were not at all keen about defending the beleaguered minister. The JVP finally decided to start directly questioning the role of the Prime Minister in the bond scandal. The TNA would have been in utter quandary if the No Confidence motion had been taken for debate and vote. How long can the TNA sit on the fence between political corruption and constitutional promises? The TNA has its own hands full with corruption allegations rocking the Northern Provincial Council. The President has told his cabinet that he has done everything he could to fulfill his promise to expose and end corruption in government, past and present. The ball is on the Prime Minister’s court. All these are not signs of a new culture being born, but of an old culture in crisis.

'Illiterate' people making 'false' allegations against AG’s Dept: ASG Kodagoda

2017-08-12 07

Answering allegations levelled against the Attorney General’s Department as to how it examined 8,600 pages data retrieved from Arjun Aloysius’ mobile phone within two days, Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda PC said yesterday “some illiterate people” were making baseless allegations, because in the retrieval process, the experts had converted the data to a “PDF” file and using its search engine the relevant details could be found easily.

In a special statement to the PCoI, ASG Kodagoda explained the process adopted by the experts in retrieving the data from Mr. Aloysius' mobile phone.

He said when transferring the extracted data to a computer using a particular medium by experts, the data is then converted to a searchable and conventional PDF document which contained 8,600 pages.

He said that process of extracting, converting and downloading was done within eight hours.

The ASG said subsequently that PDF was searched by both the experts and the Counsel of the Attorney General’s Department for the purpose of identifying certain details.

“That is how 8,600 pages were scanned and details found within 48 hours. Not because I am a genius who could go through all those pages, obviously, illiterate people would think so, but literate people will know that it was done using the search engine of the PDF file”, ASG Kodagoda said.

He said he was of the view that it was the method they had used in gathering certain details which were submitted in 26 pages to the Commission when Minister Ravi Karunanayake was testifying

When Justice Prasanna Jayawardena wanted to clarify the fact that whether the PDF file could be altered or changed at some point during the extraction process, ASG Kodagoda said the PDF that was received by them was an uneditable document.

“Kodagoda can’t fabricate messages in Aloysius’ phone, and that has to be clarified, because some illiterate people are making false allegations, which only reflects the level of their literacy,” the ASG said.

When Justice Jayawardena said the Commission was not concerned about such outside comments, the ASG said, “No those comments matter because we are here to assist the commission only.”

ASG Kodagoda was of the view that it was about safeguarding his professional reputation from “illiterate comments”.

Senior Counsel Chanaka de Silva appearing for Arjun Mahendran said those submissions might or might not have been made elsewhere, hence, there was no necessity to be dealing with them at the commission.

The ASG however disagreeing with the counsel’s stance said he needed to be concerned about such comments because the Commission is the only forum in which he has to speak.

However, he also told the Commission that the method used in retrieving data from mobile phones would not be used for the laptops and computers because it was impossible to do so.

The ASG said there would be a cloned copy (copy of every data) stored in the hardware of such laptop devices after the extraction and therefore it would not allow to have a single PDF file of the material extracted from them.

He said they would have a mirror image of that cloned copy of the hardware for the investigations and they would do whatever was possible to retrieve the deleted data as well.

When questioned, the ASG said those extracted data would be available as a form of replication which was readable and he said the data could be copied to an external drive and given to the Counsel appearing for the individuals under investigation, on the assurance of protecting their privacy. (Shehan Chamika Silva)

Ravi did resign; when will SB resign?

- Aug 12, 2017

It was social empowerment, welfare and upcountry heritage minister S.B. Dissanayake who first made the call publicly for Ravi Karunanayake to resign from his ministerial position to facilitate an investigation. Here, Lanka News Web exposes just one among the many frauds SB had committed and which he did not allow investigations to happen.

A wealthy landowner by the name K.C. Nadaraja lived at Hewa Avenue, Colombo 07. He was a grandson of the late crown counsel K.C. Nadesan. A bachelor, Nadaraja died an alcoholic. We mention that because that becomes important later on. From his last will, Nadaraja transferred all his properties to the Colombo Medical College during 2008-09.

The higher education minister at the time was SB. He tried his best to claim this valuable property for himself. Using his powers, he got two of his men to live at Nadaraja’s house. However, Nadaraja’s relatives took the matter to courts, which gave a fair ruling and ordered Cinnamon Garden police to evict SB’s men and provide protection to the house. The OIC there at the time was Kapila Premadasa, now an ASP.

SB, his wife Thamara and Premadasa went to Nadaraja’s house one day. Nadaraja had a hobby of collecting the world’s best whiskies, and he had a very valuable collection, worth around Rs. 10 million, at the house. The trio took this whiskey collection, many antiques and a Prado vehicle owned by Nadaraja. A sergeant stationed for the house’s protection took a note of all the goods that were taken away.

Nadaraja’s relatives complained to the CID about this theft in 2008, but no investigation has been conducted so far, as SB has been able to cover it up through his friends there. After failing to swindle all the properties a gentleman had transferred through his last will to the Medical College, SB robbed part of it in broad daylight, and today holds a ministerial position after coming to parliament on the national list.

We are asking the CID as to what has happened to the investigation? What we ask from SB is what has happened to what he had robbed on that day? We are asking the president as to why the thief SB is not asked to resign for having committed a robbery and covered it up.

Beyond a resignation

Ravi Karunanayake

by Sanjana Hattotuwa-August 12, 2017, 4:57 pm

Sri Lanka has never had a Foreign Minster resign over allegations of corruption. But the once unthinkable happened last week. Many, including in government and from the ruling party, supported the resignation of the former Foreign Minister on the grounds that what is now in the public domain around his dealings with Arjun Aloysius, subject to a convenient partial amnesia, was deeply detrimental to government. Note that what’s flagged as embarrassing or wrong isn’t what was purportedly done, but rather, that it came to light. Power, and retaining it, trumps principle. Tellingly, even in his submission to Parliament, the former Foreign Minister offered no hint of contrition. Hubris and chutzpah rule, when shame and guilt should reign. What, if anything, has really changed?

The political theatre around the resignation masks other more disturbing developments. At the time of writing, the nominee to the now vacant post of Foreign Minister is an individual who is about as far removed from the avowed promise of yahapalanaya as one gets. In sum, we have one individual, tainted by allegations of corruption, out the door, replaced almost immediately by another who was forced to resign in 2015 from his Ministerial portfolio and was the erstwhile legal advisor to the Chairman of Avant Garde, Nissanka Senadhipathi. Frankly, ‘House of Cards’ couldn’t come up with a better plot twist.

Some have raised concerns around the nature and scope of the Commission of Inquiry into the bond issue, which isn’t part of the judiciary but acts with a vigour and verve that has many surprised, and asking the question as to why other investigations into allegations of corruption lack similar vitality. This is a fair question, since not a single investigation into the allegations of eye-watering corruption by members of the Rajapaksa regime have resulted in anything of consequence. The past fortnight alone showcases how when political will and partisan interest is behind a process, things happen, which by extension can only mean the lack of any discernible, meaningful progress in the investigations into high profile members of the Rajapaksa regime is a political decision as well. The question is who benefits, why, and at what cost.

One journalist tweeted that as a result of the 8,000 odd pages gleaned from the phone of Arjun Aloysius, several messages with initials, prima facie, implicating individuals in high political office were found. Some initials were pursued. Other initials were ignored. The bond issue involves individuals noted in the COPE report from last year, which itself saw high drama around finalisation and public release. These individuals are free to do and roam around as they see fit. Statements in Parliament around a new political culture of accountability ring hollow in this light. One response to this, tweeted by a senior government minister last week, is that those now in the Joint Opposition robbed more, killed more and abused power more. This is a false equivocation and one that the government must be unhesitatingly shamed for parading and promoting.

The baseline for democracy isn’t what the Rajapaksa regime was or wasn’t, or what the JO today is or isn’t. Constitutional democracy, the rule of law as well as the early promise of yahapalanaya, as enshrined in the Presidential Manifesto of 2015, matter far more as baselines. Unsurprisingly, compared to the JO’s sordid record, anything that happens today is a miraculous advancement of democracy. But that’s a false baseline, established and promoted only to hide the growing stench and sins of the present government. The mere resignation of a Foreign Minister signifies nothing other than a political calculation around electoral loss and liability.

No higher principle in operation here. The mere fact that the individual nominated to take up the office of Foreign Minister is someone roundly rejected by the people’s mandate in 2015 suggests that we will invariably see the re-emergence of the former Foreign Minister in some form or office a few years hence, when the present drama would have been forgotten. After all, this is a government that appointed this year the same individual in charge of Sri Lankan troops in Haiti accused of truly unspeakable child sexual abuse as the Army Chief of Staff. Clearly then, loyalty, kinship, friendship and corruption glue more than accountability.

The other key issue is around the constitution of the CoI. The establishment of it under Presidential fiat is problematic, because of its broad powers and the precedent it sets for a more authoritarian Executive, in the future, to use similar mechanisms to hound political opposition and quell dissent. A friend flagged valid concerns over the nature of the evidence collected – the manner in which witnesses were called, the degree to which the CoI had access to personal records carte blanche - including private content well beyond the scope of investigations - and the safeguards, or lack thereof, against this material from making it into the public domain. Even the former Foreign Minister has an inalienable right to privacy, and his enforced resignation from office, no matter how welcome, isn’t a presumption of guilt.

Further, the CoI has no obligation to make its findings public. This is why it isn’t a replacement for judicial intervention in cases of corruption. The danger is that proceedings of the CoI and a single resignation alone is seen as some great victory against corruption, when in fact it’s utterly meaningless in the larger scheme of things. And to those who think the President is a doyen of incorruptible governance, a simple question– what happened to the inquiry, initiated by the AG’s Department, around allegations of corruption published in the Australian mainstream media last year, that involved requests for vast sums of money to be paid to the SLFP?

A fairly high-ranking official now in government once told your author that he inherited an official body where the production and serving of every single cup of tea had someone skimming something, at some point of time, somewhere along the process. He said that if he were to root out corruption, it would necessarily involve the sacking of everyone presently employed. The challenge then becomes how much of corruption one countenances. This is murky terrain, but inescapable, because it is a fact of political life. Everyone is on the make, or is looking to create a deal that results in personal or partisan profit. Loyalty is bought. Clearly, mainstream media and journalists aren’t immune from the seduction of corruption, as is evident in public proceedings from the CoI that reveal a well-known Sunday newspaper to be funded by the same person the former Foreign Minister forgot he was on flights to Singapore with. The rot is everywhere, including in the private sector, which never loses an opportunity to grease the palms of those in power for greater security around returns on investments.

In speaking with youth, I don’t know any more how to inspire the hope and confidence in them that the political system, as it stands, can work for them. Making them believe in advancement through merit only seems to set themselves up to failure, anger, apathy and possibly even violence. We need to name and shame. Continuously. And it needs to start at the top, because it is a political culture supported by and for the benefit of a few, that gives life to corrupt practices by so many. The elephant in the room (no pun intended) is whether the stability of this government is important in order to prevent the rise of and return to power of the previous regime, which suggests a greater patience with corruption today, as somehow a necessary evil to ward off a greater one in the wings. Don’t buy into this. Corruption needs to be flagged without fear or favour. It is wrong no matter who does it, and if in flagging what’s wrong today, it is the JO that benefits, then so be it, because their odious rank includes those who did far worse.

A great purge of putrid politicians needs to be engineered and sustained, through media and discourse at multiple levels that holds up honesty as a virtue and value. Youth see this, and are impatient with those who promise much, but change nothing. Today’s anger is a result promises around yahapalanaya and how far removed the government is from them. Spin isn’t going to cut it. A mere resignation isn’t going to cut it. Heads must roll. Governments must fall. Democracy must win.

Waiting – still – for ‘Godot’ to come clean

Friday, 11 August 2017

Good things come to those who wait… as the actress said to the bishop. But all this making us wait for the inevitable end is the sublime descending into the ridiculous – as the bishop replied. In the end, the man went… as he could or should have long before it became ridiculous to keep us waiting. It would have been sublime if his head had rolled as a matter of principle at the first whiff of something unsavoury, rather than have him offer it as a sop to the baying hounds in the House.

Waiting – still – for ‘Godot’ to come clean.docx by Thavam on Scribd

Ravi Out Of The Way, How About Our Radar Next Cover Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe

By Shyamon Jayasinghe –AUGUST 11, 2017

Shyamon Jayasinghe

“Our struggle is to restore healthy and functional systems and we believe that systems will more often than not restrain individuals in high position in their instinct for abusing power.”

Campaigners for yahapalanaya, like me, are happy we prevailed over former Foreign Minister, Ravi Karunanayake. We salute Ravi for his decision, which (even reluctantly done) was the most honourable thing to do.

Yahapalanaya activists like us are not there to fight for personalities or parties. We fight for good governance in our country for the simple reason that law and order and accountability on the part of political and other critical players in the public domain is the fundamental precondition for economic and social progress and for a decent, civilised community life. We fought the Rajapaksa regime because it is that regime that brought in the law of the jungle and enthroned the power of shamelessness. Our struggle is to restore healthy and functional systems and we believe that systems will more often than not restrain individuals in high position in their instinct for abusing power.

The factor of people and civic power is vital to push politicians toward our goal for yahapalanaya. I quote from a previous article I wrote for Colombo Telegraph as follows: we the people are the transformative leaders. Since the revolution of January 8th we face a transformative era in the life of our country. Said Alfonsu Montuori of the California Institute of Integral Studies,“in this transformative moment, everybody contributes to, and in fact co-creates, the world we live in, whether conscious of their agency or not. Every choice, every action, every discussion, every interaction is a reflection of how we are leading our own lives.” Revd Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero had the quick vision to see this and he took the great initiative to launch the civil movement for yahapalanaya. Revd Sobitha saw that politicians cannot be trusted to launch in radical new systems.

Ravi being out of the way-at least for now- we have to turn our radar to other possible betrayers of the movement. Revolutions are often betrayed by insiders. In this sense, we are rather bewildered by some of the reported doings of the Minister of Justice, Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (WR). Let us watch this Minister. I was taken aback by WR’s recent statement to the Lankadeepe and reported by Daily Mirror (10/8/17). The report states as follows: “Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, said the sale of Hambantota Harbour – a public asset-to the Chinese was a wrong and assured the public that he would not rest until he regains its ownership on behalf of the people.”

I believe WR’s statement does many wrongs. Firstly, he undermines cabinet collective responsibility. WR is in cabinet and the cabinet examined the full proposal regarding the Hambantota project mooted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Cabinet unanimously approved the project firstly, as a practical attempt to relinquish unpayable gargantuan debts to China incurred by the previous regime; and secondly, to bring in positive foreign direct investment to the island economy, which is now in the doldrums.

Second, WR’s statement is irresponsible. Direct investment is crucial if we are to turn over our country from an import-dependent, broke, economy. Since 1977 Sri Lanka has never known what a trade surplus is. Every government has been creating jobs in government offices or driving desperate young women to save in the Middle East for a pittance. The economy does not grow enough to look after the needs of the people. The cake isn’t getting any bigger for sharing. Hence, poverty sharing has largely been the strategy. From one broke year to another. WR should know the good reasoning behind the vision of this project. He knows but condemns.

Third, and worst of all, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe is lying: The land in the area is not given to China as freehold. It is only a lease. Hence, the people still own the land and Wijayadasa has no role to play in a planned heroic struggle to “hand back to the people.” When during the last regime freehold title to valuable land assets had been given to China, we didn’t hear of WR’s heroic attacks. What a hero in the making he now is! Sri Lanka has had a surfeit of heroes like Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe who “fought for the country (meaning Sinhalese.)” Or fought for the people. We do not need anymore plastic heroes. Sri Lanka needs honest men and women in public life who can plan well and deliver the goods. I am afraid WR hasn’t yet demonstrated any such potentiality.