News Archive for Dec 2012

Muslim Extremism and Building Mosques in Sri Lanka
Dr Rifai
Dear Aniz Moulana, Wassalam  I noticed your remarks with regards to communal relationship in Sri Lanka. I do agree that recent times our people have built mosques in very nook and corner of Sri Lanka without properly thinking about the social, communal and environmental implications of such buildings. Of course building mosques is a rewarding act in Islam if there is a need for it, and yet, what has really happened is totally different: it has become a competition between some Islamic groups to compete in building mosques. With pitiful dogmatic differences in Islamic legal discourses some... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/12/12)

NEVER POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, SWEAR GK DEPOSITORS
Chamikara WEERASINGHE- Courtesy The  Daily News
* Bona fide protests against CJ * ‘Been proved she wronged us’ Though some politically partisan persons and NGO elements have sadly resorted to criticising Golden Key depositors in public through statements claiming Golden Key depositors are playing a supporting role for government, it is far far from the truth, depositors claimed yesterday. Action taken by the Legislature to impeach Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka due to her financial irregularities and professional misconduct was an absolute necessity, Golden Key depositors said. “We staged our first... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/12/12)

The relationship between salt and blood pressure.
Dr Hector Perera       London
When it comes to eating and drinking during the holidays, it's easy to over indulge with some of your favourite traditional meals, desserts and drinks. A few lucky people have gone back to Sri Lanka during this time of the year to see the parents, families and friends with lots of presents to celebrate Christmas and New Year. They find any excuse to eat and drink such as Christmas then New Year. Once you are there, very likely you will be invited to too many places for lunches, dinners, weddings, birthday parties and for weekend... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/12/12)

අපේ පාලනයෙන් තොර හැමදේම අද ලංවිමට එකතුවෙන්නේ පාඩුවක් විදියට.-වැස්ස වැටෙයි ද නැද්ද කියනදේ අපිට පාලනය කරන්න බැහැ..තෙල්මිල ඉහල පහල යෑම වගේම රුපියල උඩ පහළ යන එකත් අපිට පාලනය කරන්න බැහැ
අමාත්‍ය චම්පික රණවක මහතා ලංවිම සේවක සමුළුවකට සහභාගී වෙමින් පවසයි.
 2012 තුන්වෙනි කාර්තුව අවසන් වෙද්දී කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය වාරිමාර්ග කේෂත‍්‍රය නියඟය හමුවේ සෘණ ආර්ථික වර්ධනයක් පෙන්නුම් කරද්දී සේවා සහ කර්මාන්ත ආර්ථිකය ධන මට්ටමේ පවත්වා ගත හැකි වූවේ දැඩි නියඟය හමුවේත් පැය 24 පුරා විදුලිබල සැපයුමක් ලබා දීමට ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලයට හැකි වූ නිසා බව අමාත්‍ය රණවක මහතා පවසයි.  2012 වසරේ රටේ ආර්ථික වර්ධන වේගය 8.5 ‍්‍ර ක්ව පැවතින. 2012 තුන්වැනි කාර්තුව අවසන් වන විට රටේ ආර්ථික වර්ධන වේගය 4.8 ‍්‍ර දක්වා අඩු වූයේ දැඩි නියඟයත් සමඟය. ප‍්‍රකෝටි ගණනක් අයෝජනය කළ කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය, වාරිමාර්ග කේෂත‍්‍රය සහ දිවිනැගුමේ ප‍්‍රයෝජන ලබා ගත නොහැකිව 2012 තුන්වැනි... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 30/12/12)

Bruce Haigh's Opinion piece on Sri Lanka
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada
28 December 2012 The Editor The Canberra Times , Canberra, Australia. Dear Editor: The Opinion piece by Bruce Haigh, the 1994 Deputy High Commissioner for Australia in Colombo, ‘Diplomats paint one-sided picture of Sri Lanka’ was disingenuous and strange, and I couldn’t let it pass by me without a comment. He says, “Bandula Jayasekara, gives a very-one side defence of the Sri Lankan persecution of dissenters.”  His opinion piece which is the flip side of what  Consul-General for Sri Lanka in Sydney, Bandula Jayasekara had to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/12/12)

The Aussie Thumping Was Forthcoming Despite Mahela Litany!
Top Spin By Suni
December 28th,2012   There are no excuses that will exonerate the Sri Lankans after the 2nd Test thumping at the MCG as it was in all probabilities forthcoming. The Lankans' susceptibility to true pace has been showing for long enough for the problem to have been rectified but apparently not so! And it was  sheer pace and perhaps a bit of inadvertent doctoring of both the Hobart as well as Melbourne wickets on which the Aussies performed quite well being their home turf thank you very much! ( the former being a minefield according to many observers)... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/12/12)

CJ must follow her own advice
Courtesy The Daily News 
Although widely expected, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake did not use the Forum of the Annual General Meeting of the Judicial Services Association to provide a response to the charges against her and plead her innocence. Normally, if any person believed that he had been charged wrongfully by any tribunal, he would have used a forum where his peers were present, to offer a response to the charges, and allay any doubts that his peers may have entertained in their minds about his conduct in the relevant matter. But, strangely, Dr Bandaranayake did not make use... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 29/12/12)

Judges expose systemic failure in corrupt judiciary
H. L. D. Mahindapala
The anecdotal evidence, revealing what the judges are up to on the bench, should have amused and, more importantly, shocked the Magistrates and District Judges gathered  at the Annual General Meeting of the Judicial Services Association, (JSA)  held on December 22, 2012. For instance, Appeals Court Judge Justice A.W.A Salam , speaking on the theme of judges  falling asleep on the bench while cases are in progress, confessed: “I also sometimes feel sleepy. I have my own way of doing it. When I’m quite alert, I just close my eyes and wait. Suddenly, I open my eyes and, to show that I had followed everything while my eyes were closed,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Bruce Haigh – You cannot change the fact that LTTE remains a vanquished Terrorist Organization
 Shenali Waduge
Bruce Haigh has responded to an article by Sri Lanka’s Consul-General in Sydney to the Weekend Australian titled “Diplomats paint one-sided picture of Sri Lanka”.     What would anyone really conclude when  someone who has been serially writing against the Government of Sri Lanka, who declares that the LTTE is not a terrorist organization, who is the patron of Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies in which his colleagues are proved supporters of the LTTE (Brahmi Jegan, Dr. Sam Pari) sees fit to call Sri Lanka’s Consul-General Bandula Jayasekera one-sided? Where is the evidence of Bruce Haigh’s... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Ravi Shankar (1920-2012): a gifted, complex and beautiful life
Dr Kamal Wickremasinghe
Pundit Ravi Shankar who died on 13 December at the age of 92 was a special human being. The Sanskrit 'Om' symbol on the red front steps of the sprawling hilltop home at Encinitas, San Diego, where he died, epitomised his life: he was remarkable not only for his extraordinary musical gift, but an enlightened mind. Shankar’s last musical performance was on 4 November, in Long Beach, California with his daughter, sitarist Anoushka Shankar Wright. Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury was born on 7 April 1920, in the holy city of Benares, now known as Varanasi. He was... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

EX PERC HEAD AND CORRUPTION VIGILANTE _‘PROUD SRI LANKA IMPEACHED CJ’-Cites UN corruption convention - Rubbishes Jayaratne
Courtesy The Daily News
Well known corruption buster and former Chairman of PERC (Public Enterprises Reform Commission), Nihal Sri Amarasekera said that as a member of a global anti-corruption organization, he would be proud to say to the world that Sri Lanka impeached her Chief Justice on integrity related issues. He said so in a radio interview with SLBC last morning with the programme People’s Power. Amarasekera said that there are serious integrity issues involving the CJ, and that she has not been able to acquit herself before a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating them. He stated that he... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Impeachment of Chief Justice : Resolution in first week of Jan -Keheliya
CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE- Courtesy The Daily News
The resolution on the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka will be tabled within the first week of January when Parliament meets, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday. “What has been practiced previously in the impeachment of any Chief Justice in the country will be followed in the case of incumbent Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka as well,” Minister Rambukwella said. The minister said this on being asked whether Parliament is set to take up the impeachment resolution on Dr Bandaranayaka when it meets on January 8 for the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Charges against CJ: Procedure constitutional - Bogollagama
Athapattu Bandara Courtesy The Daily News
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by the Speaker to probe charges against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike was a laid down procedure found in the constitution. The Standing Orders are created under the constitution by the legislature in dealing with certain specific areas for which the legislature’s functions have been determined by the creators of the constitution, former Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said. He was addressing the media with PSC chairman minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa on the theme ‘Insight on the impeachment motion’ at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on Wednesday. Bogollagama said... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Parliament is supreme – TU leaders
Ridma Dissanayake-Courtesy The Daily News 
Trade Union leaders yesterday said Parliament is the supreme institution in a country and the Judiciary has no right to challenge Parliament. “All public sector employees must respect the constitution,” they said. “According to the public sector ethics code, government employees are bound to serve the government honestly and disciplinary action can be taken against those who fail to do so,” they said. “But this procedure is different, when we look at those holding high public positions, including the Election Commissioner, Auditor General and the Chief Justice. The Legislature is the only body... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE SAYS MICROBES PRESENT IN RED RAIN STILL ALIVE MOVING LIKE SPERM AND UNUSUALLY HIGH IN A SILVER ARSENIC COMBINATION
 by Walter Jayawardhana
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of  the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology in the United Kingdom said the microbes present in the red rain water that had been collected in the Sevanagala area in Sri Lanka when seen through the optical microscope are still alive and are with tails moving  like sperm and high in arsenic and silver unlike any life form so far found  on earth. A combination of arsenic and silver are believed to be toxic to many life forms on earth. Media reports pour in to report continued  red/yellow rain from North Central Province in areas... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Church - Santa Claus is a lie, Jesus was not born on December 25, latest opinon poll among Christians showed
By: Anugrah Kumar Christian Post
When King James Bible Online asked the 110,000 users on its Facebook page if they believe Jesus was born on Dec. 25, Christmas Day, 83 percent of those who responded answered in the negative. A majority of the respondents also said Santa Claus is a "lie."... -Full Story- (au.christiantoday.com - 28/12/12)

China’s rapidly-expanding rival to GPS, called BeiDou
China’s rapidly-expanding rival to GPS, called BeiDou, has become available to customers across Asia-Pacific for the first time. It aims to claim a fifth of the satellite services market in the region in just three years. Previously, the satellite constellation was only used by the country's military and government services. Now, it is being commercialized. The services now available include positioning, navigation, timing and short messages for China and surrounding areas. BeiDou will conquer 15 to 20 % of the satellite services market in the Asia Pacific by 2015. China says that as it expands worldwide, the state-funded navigation system... -Full Story- (chinadigitaltimes.net - 28/12/12)

America is rapidly becoming a nation of takers.
America is rapidly becoming a nation of takers. An increasing number of Americans expect the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave, and they expect the government to dig into the pockets of others in order to pay for it all. This philosophy can be very seductive, but what happens when the number of takers eventually outnumbers the number of producers? In 11 different U.S. states, the number of government dependents exceeds the number of private sector workers. This list of states includes some of the biggest states in the country: California, New York, Illinois,... -Full Story- (westernjournalism.com - 28/12/12)

Establishment of Bhikkuni Sasana in Lanka by Venerable Sanghamitta
Article 15 Arrival of Venerable Sanghamitta [caption id="attachment_27882" align="alignleft" width="300"] Arrival of venerable Sanghamitta[/caption] Following the establishment of Buddhism in Lanka by Arahat Mahinda, brother of venerable Sanghamitta in 267 BCE, the new doctrine established well land speared rapidly in the island.  Wife of the king Devanampiya-Tissa, queen Anula and several other Lankan women expressed their desire to enter the Order of Disciples as nuns.  Consequently, King Devanampiya-Tissa sent a team of couriers to Emperor Asoka, led by his nephew Arittha, to obtain his assistance establishing female disciples in Lanka; enabling Lankan women to obtain ordination.  Personal message was... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 28/12/12)

Christianity came to Sri Lanka only after arrival of Portuguese in 1505
Shenali Waduge
Reply to E. Weerapperuma’s “Christmas celebrated before the arrival of the Portuguese” appearing on Daily News 25 Dec 2012. No one questions that there is no Christmas without Christ for all Christians just as we all know that Catholicism is a subset of Christianity after its split in 1054AD (Roman Catholic Church in Rome and Orthodox Church in Constantinople – Eastern and Western Churches) and split again to create the Church of England. We also know that Eastern Christianity began in Palestine (in the Middle East – including Syria and Egypt) and swept west into the Roman... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Judiciary under public scrutiny
Hiran Kulatilake- Courtesy The Daily News
Whilst it is spot-on to say that we live in cranky times and that every public institution is under intense scrutiny – if not siege – our system of justice is the last edge. The public appears forcefully and finally to be saying, “lawyer, heal thyself!”, and we in the system cannot be heard to say that we are not sick enough to take the cure. Public trust in the legal system is eroding because; the justice system’s status quo feels too prodigal, opportunistic, and costly for what it delivers and to whom.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Chief Justice’s questionable accounts, transactions:‘ACT AGAINST BANK THAT DIDN’T REPORT’
Chaminda Perera Courtesy The Daily News
CJ faced obstacles in discharging duties with husband assuming political appointment The Central Bank should take action against the bank which failed to report questionable accounts and transactions of Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake, International Consortium of Government Financial Management member and former PERC chairman Nihal Sri Amarasekera said yesterday. He said banks should report such accounts to the Central Bank’s Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) under the Financial Transaction Reporting Act of 2006 and the Central Bank can take action against the bank’s failure to report such transactions to the FIU. Amarasekera said the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Judges must secure people’s confidence - Yapa
Athapattu Bandara- Courtesy The Daily News
Explaining the importance of following the country’s prevailing law and the constitution, Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) head Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, probing charges against Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake said “everybody should work within their limitations and nobody can work beyond their limitations”. “Judges should secure people’s confidence to the maximum in every country. We have instances where judges lost people’s faith after which, when they returned, they suffered with adverse circumstances,” the minister told a press briefing on Wednesday. The Chief Judge of the Philippines was removed a month ago as... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Amazon Bestselling Author, Woo Myung's "Stop Living In This Land, Go To The Everlasting World Of Happiness, Live There Forever" is Now Available as an e-Book
Cham Books, Inc.
Bestselling author Woo Myung's messages on truth and inner peace are available on Kindle and other portable devices. Through his latest book, Woo Myung shares his unparalleled insights on what the human mind is and how to cleanse it to become the infinite universe mind. Woo Myung's much anticipated book, "Stop Living In This Land, Go To The Everlasting World Of Happiness, Live There Forever" has made its e-book debut on Kindle, Google Play Books, NOOK Books, and iBooks. Not long after garnering much attention and positive reviews, the hardcover version hit the Number One spot... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Three Buddhist monks killed in horror Christmas smash in Scotland
By Janaka Alahapperuma
The British Buddhist community was shocked on Christmas eve when they heard the sad news of three Buddhist monks have been killed in a head-on car crash on the A68 in the east of Scotland. The two car accident happened about ten miles south of Edinburgh and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Pathhead, Midlothian, on 24 December at around 7.30am. One of the cars, a gold coloured Nissan Note, was carrying five people including Buddhist monks ended up on its roof. Three male backseat passengers in the car, who were all Thai origin Buddhist monks,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Pathetic display by Sri Lankan Cricket Team
Larry de Silva Melbourne Australia
As a Sri Lankan expatriate living in Melbourne, I was one of thousands of such people disheartened and saddened by the pathetic display offered by the Sri Lankan Cricket Team at the MCG.  I wish to offer some thoughts as to why the Sri Lankans seem to be uncompetitive away from home; what plans should be employed to improve the competitiveness of SL cricket irrespective of where the matches may be played, and on player development. Quality comes from the player not the conditions.  In my opinion, it is a combination of many points.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Now it is Gomin Dayasiri in the fray with his “ Devalued Dignitaries”.
By Charles.S.Perera
Gomin Dayasiri recites another praise poem, “ Devalued Dignitaries”,  different from that of the other supposed to be leading Lawyer S.L.Gunasekara.  Gomin is devastated by the fall of his dignitaries.  He cannot avoid taking the trodden path of mentioning JR quoting what he can do  with the powers as the first executive President of Sri Lanka.  What a poor attempt Gomin to compare JR to the “Present Incumbent” who you say “..meekly tried to shunt the impeachment on an Opposition plea and pleads for an independent panel to seek advice on a conclusion foregone..”  What a fake... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Rape in India: Why are there no mass protests for raped Dalit women?
Shenali Waduge
 The question is very simple. While rape in any form is abhorred and should be severely punished by all nations what needs to be answered is what makes the recent gangrape by 6 men of a 23 year old on a bus in Delhi any different from the gangrape of a 16 year old Dalit women by 8 men who having taken photos of the crime had circulated it amongst the village leading to her father committing suicide out of shame? This Dalit girl was raped in 2011 and questions why there were no mass protests, no... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Merry Christmas
Asoka Weerasinghe (a Sinhalese-Canadian from the Ottawa-Vanier riding)
To the First Canadian Tamil MP Association lead by Rathika Sitsabaiesan and its member NDP Parliamentarians Peggy Nash, Peter Julian and Craig Scott. A Merry Christmas to you all. I am absolutely thrilled that we got a sensible organ in place to bring dignity to the Sri Lankan-Tamil community in the Greater Toronto Area by inculcating and promoting honesty among the new  criminal-minded Tamil refugees and immigrants  by asking them to keep off being Credit card scammers, thuggery, car insurance scammers, human smugglers, passport forgers, extortionists,  Federal election ballot-fixers; and the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

ENVIRENTMENTAL ATHORITY HAS BEEN ISSING LICENSES TO OBLITERATE THE GREATER TELDENIYA
Mahinda Weerasinghe
The people in the greater Teldeniya area are wondering what has gone wrong with their environment! Earth Slips and Landslides are happening in numbers as never before. Surely it has rained “cats and dogs” before and more aggressively than the years 2010 to 2012. Why is this this angry mother earth so vindictive to Teldeniya residents just the last two to three years? In fact there is a simple explanation, to this obvious question! But before we find an answer this query; why this drastic reaction of Mother Nature on the Teldeniya residents, we should try to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Life Abroad – 8: OUT INTO THE COLD
Dr. Tilak Fernando
One thing I soon learnt in London was how much a will power of a person can conquer anything as the English proverb says, where there’s a will, there’s a way! Confined to a box room most of the time with hardly any space to move about and not mingling much with the local English folk or even attempting to make some enquiries for a better accommodation etc., I was beginning to get depressed. Generally the English are very conservative; they mind their own business and keep them unto themselves without interfering into others affairs. That... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

School shooting-the lessons the Americans never learn
by Sarath W
It is with a lot sadness I read the news of the death of 26 students add teachers at Sandy Hooks Elementary School last week. President Obama was visibly in tears when he spoke about it. The anger and sadness in the western world and media was obvious. The statement made by the gun lobby following this incident was outrageous.This was followed by two  more random shooting murders. For these lunetic murderers there is no value of human life. What is the solution for these random killings of innocent people?  Are the innocent Americans paying for the sins... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 27/12/12)

Chickens Coming Home to Roost?
Hameed Abdul Karim
 Watching Barack Obama on TV, wiping a tear in his left eye as he spoke in his usual Harvard eloquence at the memorial service for the little children who died in the dreadful terror in Newtown Connecticut, reminds those of us who have seen the movie ‘Godfather’ of Marlon Brando giving out a short but heart rending sob on hearing of his son Sonny’s assassination in the movie ‘Godfather’. Obama’s lump in the throat speech must, of a necessity, move us all who still claim to be human for indeed this was a tragedy beyond... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/12/12)

WITHOUT DISSENTING, OPPOSITION MPs WALKED OUT - Yapa
Athapattu Bandara-Courtesy The Daily News
  ‘Had they stayed, we could have probed...’   Read the transcripts! The Opposition party members who sat with the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) had a responsibility to moot their own suggestions rather than walk away from the PSC inquiry, Chair of the PSC that probed the impeachment motion against the CJ, and Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said. He was addressing a press conference organized by the People’s Movement for Justice at the Foundation Institute yesterday. The Chief Justice, her lawyers and the opposition political parties decided to walk out... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 26/12/12)

Surrounds of Impeachment
Dr D.Chandraratna, Perth
The impeachment affair seems to have gone beyond the actual wrongdoing on the part of the Chief Justice with many experts spewing nonsensical arguments to hide the substance of the allegations. If the constitutional process was flawed why did the judiciary as a professional body stand silent for the last thirty years?  To become suddenly aware of the flaws in the constitution is pitiable plaintive stance on the part of those who are now shouting for the independence of the judiciary. The constitutional argument was a red herring and if one were to take that argument... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

“JUSTICE BOTCHED”; PRAY FOR GK DEPOSITORS-CJ had personal stake- Govt, only solace
CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE-Courtesy The Daily News
Pray that justice is meted out to Golden Key depositors whose families are suffering as a result of justice gone astray, Golden Key depositors said yesterday, appealing to the Christian community on Christmas day. Legal Academic, former special adviser to late President J R Jayewardene and consultant to European companies on international law, Asala Senanayaka said yesterday the prolonged suffering of Golden Key depositors is the result of their being victims of ‘an international financial fraud that had a flawed job of litigation to finish things off.’ Senanayaka said Chief Justice Dr Shirani... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

Why are Sri Lanka’s policy makers not using Buddhism as a Soft-Power tool?
Shenali Waduge
We are all well aware that both India and China are rivals for supremacy in Asia and both are fishing for new strategies to tap to forge the alliances needed to strengthen that supremacy. If India and China nations that once put Buddhism aside for other priorities are now realizing that their answer for supremacy lies with Buddhism why has Sri Lanka’s policy makers not utilized this power which is under their very nose? Historical facts have to be first made clear. The Buddha was born in Nepal. Buddha achieved enlightenment, gained spiritual following and achieved nirvana... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

Red Rains and the fancies of Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe.
R  Chandrasoma
Red rains hve been experienced in many parts of the world – most notably in Kerala, India where exhausive studies have been done on samples collected at various sites. The conclusion reached by Indian experts is as follows –‘The color was found to be due to the presence of a large amount of spores of a lichen-forming alga belonging to the genus Trentepohlia.  Field verification showed that the region had plenty of such lichens. Samples of lichen taken from Changanacherry area, when cultured in an algal growth medium, also showed the presence of the same species of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

School shootings
Janaka Wansapura
Last week, a lone gunman shot and killed scores of helpless children and their teachers at an elementary school in Connecticut in the US, driving the nation to despair and deep sadness. How can the society make sure that this type of senseless, heinous crime does not take place ever again? Earnest attempts are being made to answer this question though not for the first time as this type of shooting rampages in schools have happened, in the US and in few other western countries,  in the past.  Sri Lankans are no strangers to senseless killing rampages.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

DR. CHRIS NONIS ADDRESSES THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY FORUM, UK
The High Commission of Sri Lanka London
Dr. Chris  Nonis, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK addressed the Defence and Security Forum, UK,  the Foreign and Defence affairs “think tank” which is chaired by  Major General Patrick Cordingley, DSO, who commanded the ground forces in the First Gulf War. Its Deputy Chairman is Rt Hon Sir John Wheeler, former Minister of State for Northern Ireland, and  Lady Olga Maitland, former Member of Parliament, serves DSF as its President. DSF serves to inform and brief members of the City, the professions, diplomats and servicemen on current events in the field... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

DR CHRIS NONIS ADDRESSES THE MULTIFAITH FORUM IN THE UK PARLIAMENT
The High Commission of Sri Lanka London
Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dr. Chris Nonis and several British Parliamentarians were invited to address the Multifaith Forum in British Parliament, during Multifaith week in the UK. In his address, Dr Chris Nonis spoke of the multiculturalism of Sri  Lanka and the spirituality of its  people, and the value of faith as a unifier across communities. He also spoke about the progress Sri Lanka had made in the post conflict era, and that it was incumbent upon all communities to open their hearts to each other, to respect the diversity of each... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 25/12/12)

‘IMPEACHMENT MUST GO ON’
Chamikara WEERASINGHE-Courtesy The Daily News
* Parliament can decide whether or not to accept impeachment charges * Simple majority enough to pass resolution President Mahinda Rajapaksa said impeachment must go on with due respect for the Constitution, Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) leader and Senior Minister Prof Tissa Vitharana said yesterday. Prof Vitharana said this on being asked whether President Rajapaksa has responded to the letter submitted by him, Communist Party leader D E W Gunasekera and Democratic Leftist Front leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara, which requested the President was made respondent in the case after hearing it for three... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/12/12)

Devalued Dignitaries
By Gomin Dayasri
 Constitutional croaks trumpet awesome sayings to mystify simple minds: Presidential Powers are Overwhelming? Parliament is Supreme? Judiciary is Independent? Sovereignty is with the People…Helpless People stuffed on sovereignty, blandly watched a horrid exchange of rapid fire by the Executive- Legislature- Judiciary. Bruised and bloodied… with no soft hands.   Dignitaries stand deservingly devalued and devastated for ungainly conduct; needlessly plunged the country to a horrid depth.  J.R. Jayawardane predicted President’s omniscient was such, except on switching sex; all other gimmicks were on board. Present incumbent meekly tried to shunt the impeachment on an Opposition plea and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/12/12)

An Outsider’s View-23 EXPERIMENT IN DEMOCRACY: REGRESS OR PROGRESS?
By Shelton A. Gunaratne
 Two readers of my local newspaper have crossed cudgels with me for expressing the view that “for increasing numbers of immigrants from non-Western countries, the white founders of America do not mean much, nor does the primacy of the old Constitution the founders created” (The Forum, Nov 18, 2012, p. C8). The Lankaweb also published the same opinion column on Nov. 11, 2012. David J. Chapman, an immigration attorney from Fargo, ND, says that my “opinion pits native-born Americans against immigrants and naturalized citizens as the catalysts for the upending of the entire ideal upon... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/12/12)

OPEN LETTER TO THE VICE CHANCELLOR OF JAFFNA UNIVERSITY
Kanthar P Balanathan Retired Director & Specialist Power Systems Engineer
Sen. Prof. Ms Vasanthy Arasaratnam Vice Chancellor University of Jaffna  Dear Vice Chancellor, FUNDAMENTALIST & CAPRICIOUS BEHAVIOUR OF JAFFNA UNIVERSITY (JU) STUDENTS As a Tamil SriLankan Australian, it has become obligatory to write this open letter to your office, after reading ferocious behaviour of Jaffna University Student’s union Leaders. I prefer to refer me as SriLankan Australian, and not Tamil. I am a very senior person who has worked at KCW as the Divisional Head, and has seen Tamil’s pugnacious behaviour. As Tamils, we lack knowledge in listening skills... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/12/12)

HON MINISTER NIMAL SIRIPALA DE SILVA ADDRESSES THE DIASPORA COMMUNITY AT THE HIGH COMMISSION’S CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN LONDON
The High Commission of Sri Lanka London
The Sri Lanka High Commission in London celebrated a Christmas Carol Service on the 14 December 2012, with the participation of over 150 members of the  Sri Lankan Diaspora community living in the UK. The evening commenced with the lighting of the advent candles. Rev. Father Rohitha Rodrigo; Rev Father Tony de Alwis, Venerable Konwawe Ariyarathana Thero; Pastor Charles Abraham; and Rev Father Colvin  addressed the gathering, conducted prayers , and highlighted the significance of Christmas, and the message of  peace, love and goodwill to all. Hon Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 24/12/12)

Supreme Court and Appellate Court Judges attempt to distort the Constitution of Sri Lanka for a Dictatorship of the Judciary.
By Charles.S.Perera
 A good Lawyer is not one who has  qualified  passing Examinations. One may know the law as he may have read them in books or heard from lecturers.  A good lawyers is one who can think beyond the law  and understand the application of it correctly in relation to a demand and to see that good justice is dispensed.  A Judge goes beyond that definition, which requires experience to dispense correct judgment not being evasive and taking shortcuts to justice. A Judge does not make a mockery of justice overlooking the violation of the laws  that bind... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

The Chief Justice is badly advised
Dr Kamal Wickremasinghe -Courtesy The Daily News
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the ‘support group’ of the Chief Justice (CJ) led by the godfather of the NGOs, J.C. Weliamuna, and sections of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka connected to Wijedasa Rajapkshe have botched the legal and procedural strategy of her case, due mainly to their keenness to turn the impeachment into a rallying point for anti-government protests. First there was the major blunder of the walk out of the PSC hearing; Then there was the request to the Speaker of Parliament to appoint an external panel,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

Mullaititivu Tamils: The real Ambassadors of Reconciliation
Shenali Waduge
 The Mullaitivu district was the preferred home, training and hiding base of the LTTE leader for over 3 decades. It was also where the LTTE met its Waterloo. 30 years of absolutely no changes despite a host of foreign NGO/UN presence has seen remarkable changes in just 3 years something people need to finally admit. Mullaitivu is a district that has strategic importance and explains why foreign intelligence and Tamil political parties are attempting to gain a foothold to once more deceive the people. Mullaitivu is certainly a perfect model district to show how people can distance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE SAYS YELLOW RAIN IS YOUNG RED RAIN BEFORE GROWTH
by Walter Jayawardhana
Explaining the recent Polonnaruwa showers of yellow rain Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe said it is part of the growth cycle of red rain.  In an interview the scientist of the Buckingham Center of Astrobiology in UK said, “The Kerala rain also had the same changes of colour from red to yellow. In the cultivation of the cells we found that the young cells started off as yellow. It is part of a growth cycle.”  Media reports said Polonnaruwa and other areas recently experienced yellow rain.  Wickramsinghe recently visited Sri Lanka to collect samples of red rain from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

Christmas – an apt time for reflection on compassion and mercy towards animals
by Senaka Weeraratna
 A key test of a civilized society and basis of functioning communities is the protection afforded to the vulnerable. Whether those in need of protection happen to be children, the sick, aged, enfeebled, destitute, exploited humans, or animals, a value measure of civilization is the degree to which their rights and welfare are protected by law and other community practices.  Christmas is an apt time for reflection on such civilizational values because it is the season where hundreds of thousands of innocent animals undergo extreme suffering, exploitation, and death. Millions of turkeys are slaughtered for Christmas... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

Shocking eye-opener : A response A Sri Lankan Muslim’s Perspective of the Population Issue
Bisthan Batcha
 Sadly, the Sri Lankan Muslims are once again subjected to yet another futile effort to project the possibility of the Muslim Population in Sri Lanka exceeding that of the Sinhalese sometime in the future (See Post dated 17th December 2012 in Lankaweb). A comparison is made of the growth of the Sinhalese and Muslim Population over a 30-year period (1981 – 2011) and the fact that these two groups grew by 38% and 78% respectively is highlighted in a somewhat dramatic manner – obviously with the objective of driving fear into the minds of vulnerable persons. In... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 23/12/12)

Wimal weerawansa in Hathweni Peya 01
... -Full Story- (youtube.com - 23/12/12)

Wimal weerawansa in Hathweni Peya 02
... -Full Story- (youtube.com - 23/12/12)

Wimal weerawansa in Hathweni Peya 03
... -Full Story- (youtube.com - 23/12/12)

Wimal weerawansa in Hathweni Peya 04
... -Full Story- (youtube.com - 23/12/12)

Jaffna University students – rights, privileges and obligations
Asada M Erpini
On 21 December, the local media reported that the Higher Education Ministry will go ahead with the construction of hostel facilities for the undergraduate students at Jaffna University. There was also a report on the same day that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) – fondly referred to by the media as the major Tamil political party, although it may only be major in comparison to the one-man show of the Colombo-based Democratic People's Front (DPF) – is going on a hunger strike demanding the release of Jaffna University students who had been arrested. One redeeming feature... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/12/12)

Traitors back in action - 3: Unravel the conspiracy associated with conduct of Dr. (Mrs.) Bandaranayake
Courtesy The Sunday Observer
Remember the traitor who attempted to sell his country and danced to the tune of disgruntled forces both here and abroad in his lust for power during the 2010 Presidential election? Fortunately, masses rallied round the patriotic forces to ensure a landslide victory for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. If the traitors had captured power by any chance, we cannot imagine the pathetic situation the country would have been pushed to. Now those very same sinister elements and traitors have teamed up in inviting Dr. Mrs. Shirani Bandaranayake to take to politics. She has neither accepted nor... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/12/12)

THE ROVING EYE- For whom the Syrian bell tolls
By Pepe Escobar
The top geopolitical tragedy in 2012 is bound to remain the top geopolitical tragedy in 2013: the rape of Syria. Just as once in a while I go back to my favorite Hemingway passages, lately I've been going back to some footage I shot years ago of the Aleppo souk - the most extraordinary of all Middle Eastern souks. It's like being shot in the back; I was as fond of the souk's architecture as of its people and traders. Weeks ago, most of the souk - the living pulse of Aleppo for centuries -... -Full Story- (atimes.com - 22/12/12)

Sri Lanka arrests 100 Chinese for cyber fraud,Chinese police requested help from Sri Lanka police say
Sri Lanka on Saturday arrested at least 100 Chinese nationals accused of an internet fraud scheme targetting people in their home country, a police spokesman said. The accused, all in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, are suspected of hacking into computers in China and then demanding their owners transfer them money, police spokesman Prishantha Jayakodi told Reuters.... -Full Story- (in.reuters.com - 22/12/12)

Why do we need to be careful about cooking?
Dr Hector Perera             London
Time spent in the kitchen preparing food can be a great pleasure, but often by the time the festivities begin you are too worn out to enjoy it.  The list of things that one wants to do during Christmas is endless, too much to mention them over here.  If I say cooking is one of them, including baking a cake or two, is it right? Quite often meat is on the menu, chicken or turkey is a must, roast turkey and chicken or least chicken curry. Other kinds of meats such as beef, pork... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 22/12/12)

Lawyers playing politics with the Constitution
H. L. D. Mahindapala
The central issue argued before the Supreme Court was to decide whether the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has the judicial power to inquire into the allegations made against the Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, or not. The argument came down to question the right of parliamentarians to judge the judges. Tied to this was also the question of whether the Legislature was superior to the Judiciary or vice versa. If the Constitution had given powers to Parliament to judge the judges then obviously the Legislature is superior to the Judiciary. CJ's team mounted an argument to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Sri Lanka : Conflict of Interest when MPs are practicing lawyers whilst holding portfolios
Shenali Waduge
 All the calls for fairness, justice, integrity are all well and fine but how many in the legal fraternity have publicly questioned the justification of a Member of Parliament, a member of a political party and a practicing lawyer to contest and become the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka? How ethical is this and why is the legal fraternity silent?  When a member of Parliament in this case a member of the Opposition is elected to the role of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka where all lawyers are members it raises more than... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

DEPUTY SPEAKER SCOFFS AT APPEALS COURT ORDER- No Court shall issue notices on Speaker, PSC -Courts shall take notice of Parliamentary decisions
Chamikara WEERASINGHE-Courtesy The Daily News
The order given by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa stands on the matter of impeachment of Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka, said Deputy Speaker of Parliament Chandima Weerakkody yesterday, adding that no Court shall issue notices on the Speaker of the Parliament or members of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). He said that such notices are a nullity. Deputy Speaker Weerakkody said this on being asked about the Court of Appeal yesterday issuing notice on the respondents in the case filed by Dr Bandaranayaka against the PSC report. He said as in Section Nine of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Fonseka’s invitation to CJ – cat is out of the bag
The Daily News
Working to a political agenda, Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake has joined hands with a group of traitors, Public Relations and Public Affairs Minister Mervyn Silva and several intellectuals said yesterday. Minister Silva said the Chief Justice was acting a political role though she has been found guilty by the Parliamentary Select Committee in its investigation on the impeachment motion signed by 117 parliamentarians. He said the “cat was out of the bag” with Sarath Fonseka’s invitation to the Chief Justice to join politics. Minister Silva said there were a number of contradictions in the statement... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Sarath Fonseka's invitation to Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake
Editorial- The Island
The process of impeaching Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake has taken a dramatic turn with attempts being made in some quarters to intimidate lawyers supportive of her and the Golden Key depositors stepping up their protests against an alleged move to pervert the course of justice in favour of the crooks who cheated them out of billions of rupees. The CJ, too, has sought legal remedies and her supporters have adopted extra-parliamentary methods in a bid to scuttle the impeachment move. The government says it will oust her, come hell or high water! The hallowed precincts... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

No Commonwealth country has adopted Latimer House principles - C A Chandraprema
Chaminda Perera Courtesy The  Daily News
No Commonwealth country has adopted the Latimer House principles on judges as they are. Britain has also adopted these principles as applicable only to North Ireland, a British Colony, said journalist C A Chandraprema. He said Britain has not adopted these rules though certain segments say that the country is bound to adhere to the Latimer House principles. He was of the view that any country will be in jeopardy if it tries to adopt the Latimer House principles as they are. Speaking at a seminar organised by the People’s Campaign for Justice... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Rathika Sitsabaiesan: Upset about the arrests of the Jaffna students in Jaffna.
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 Canada
19 December 2012 Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP, NDP Member for Scarborough-Rouge River, Ontario. House of Commons, Ottawa. Dear Rathika: In your Statement of the arrest of students in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, you said: “Recently the Sri Lankan government arrested and detained students without cause following a silent protest after security forces broke up a lamp lighting ceremony at a woman’s hostel at Jaffna University.  The students, protesting against the lack of freedom of expression, were attacked and beaten by officers, with at least 20 undergraduate students... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE SAYS CONCENTRATIONS OF SILVER AND ARSENIC OF NON EARTH ORIGIN WERE FOUND IN SRI LANKA RED RAIN CELLS
by Walter Jayawardhana
Dr.Chandra Wickramasinghe of the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology in the Buckingham University , UK said the cells found in the Red Rain collected in Sri Lanka according to preliminary investigations contain high concentrations of arsenic and silver and “that makes them extremely unlikely of any earth origin.” Wickramasinghe who had just returned to the Buckingham University with several samples of red rain collected in Sri Lanka for further analysis added that he has had extensive discussions with Dr. Anil Samaranayaka of the Medical Research Institute (MRI) of Colombo Sri Lanka whose preliminary investigations he has reviewed... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

රවුෆ් හකීම් අධිකරණ ඇමැති වූවාට පසු නීති විද්‍යාල ප්‍රවේශ විභාගයෙන් සමත් වන මුස්‌ලිම් ශිෂ්‍ය සංඛ්‍යාව අසාමාන්‍ය ලෙස වැඩිවෙලා
නීතිඥ යලිත් විමලසුරේන්ද්‍ර චනක්‍ය ජයගොඩ
රවුෆ් හකීම් මහතා අධිකරණ ඇමැතිවරයා වශයෙන් පත්වූ පසු 2011 හා 2012 නීති විද්‍යාල ප්‍රවේශ විභාගයෙන් සමත් වන මුස්‌ලිම් ශිෂ්‍ය සංඛ්‍යාවේ අසාමාන්‍ය වැඩිවීමක්‌ සිදුවී ඇතැයි ජාතික විද්වත් සභාවේ සාමාජික නීතිඥ යලිත් විමලසුරේන්ද්‍ර මහතා පැවැසීය. කොළඹ ජාතික පුස්‌තකාල හා ප්‍රලේඛන සම්මන්ත්‍රණ ශාලාවේදී ජාතික විද්වත් සභාව පෙරේදා (19 වැනිදා) පැවැත්වූ මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී ඒ මහතා මේ බැව් කියා සිsටියේය. ඒ මහතා මෙසේද ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. නීතියේ න්‍යායන් අතර තිබෙනව කොතැන හෝ අයුක්‌තියක්‌ තිබේ නම් සමස්‌ථයම අයුක්‌තියට ලක්‌වන බව. අප දක්‌වන්නේ මුස්‌ලිම් විරෝධයක්‌ නොවේ. විභාගයෙන් සමත් වූ සියලු දෙනා සිංහල වුණා නම් එයත් වැරදියි. නීති විද්‍යාල... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Game in the name of Development
By Afshain Afzal
The US Senate has passed  Defence Bill to a tune of US dollars 631 billion. The budget seems insufficient to handle security situation arising after US and allies withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Libya as well as additional resources required to cap Iranian nuclear, military and strategic projects. A chunk of defence budget will also be spent on non-military areas including development projects under the supervision of militro-intelligence personnel. Washington has already taken initiatives through USAID and other International Organizations (IO), International Non Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and aid groups while in coming years most focus... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

Emerging World Order and Sri Lanka’s Role
Prof. Razeen Sally
 With old friends alienated and close friends like India at bay, and China, Lybia and Russia among main allies, Sri Lanka’s foreign economic policy is completely lopsided. This order of relations is in contrary to Sri Lanka’s needs, Professor Razeen Sally a leading economist from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore said during a lecture at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute on December 20. His lecture titled “Emerging World Order and Sir Lanka’s Role” revolved around 3 main themes; shift to the East, the big three and what implications for Sri Lanka. Distilling from... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

"අපද්‍රව්‍ය වලින් තොර මගකින් රට ආශ්චර්යය කරා ගෙනයාමට නම්, ඝන අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණයට යොමුවිය යුතුයි"
මාධ්‍ය අංශය විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය
විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රේමලාල් ජයසේකර, නිවිතිගල ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ ඝන අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාකරණ ව්‍යාපෘතිය ආරම්භ කරමින් අවධාරණය කරයි.  කලාපයේ සෙසු රටවල් හා සැසඳීමේදී කසල කළමනාකරණය අතින් අපේ රට ප්‍රමුඛස්ථානයේ සිටිනවා. රටට මේ තත්ත්වය හිමිකර ගැනීමට හැකිවී තිඛෙන්නේ, සාමාන්‍ය පුරවාසියාගේ සිට ප්‍රධාන පුරවැසියා හෙවත් ජනාධිපතිවරයා දක්වාම අපද්‍රව්‍ය කළමනාරණය වෙනුවෙන් යොමු වෙලා සිටින නිසා. ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ආසියාවේ ආශ්චර්යය කරා යන ගමන, කසල වලින් තොරවූ මගක් ඔස්සේ යාමට නම්, ඝන අපද්‍රව්‍ය කලමනාකරණය කරා යොමුවීම සිදුවිය යුතුම යැයි විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති නියේජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රේමලාල් ජයසේකර මහතා පැවසීය. ඒ මහතා මෙම අදහස් පලකලේ, අද (2012.12.21) නිවිතිගල ප්‍රාදේශීය සභාවේ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 21/12/12)

People’s Campaign for Justice hits out :CJ defied SC ruling, politicized bench,Ignored binding ruling of Justice Mark Fernando
Chaminda Perera- Courtesy TheDaily News
A pawn in the hands of NGOs
Patriotic National Movement president and prominent writer Dr Gunadasa Amarasekera said Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has played a political role in deciding to sit in judgment over the Divi Neguma Bill. He said this was in defiance of a ruling by Justice Mark Fernando that she should not be a part of Benches hearing political cases on devolution. Dr. Amarasekera said the Chief Justice had made political comments on the subject of devolution of power. The Jathika Hela Urumaya filed two cases in the Supreme Court... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

OH YEAH RIGHT, COLOMBO DID NOT KICK EIGHT SUPREME COURT JUDGES OUT! (Snicker)
Rajpal Abeynayake- Courtesy The Daily News
J. R. Jayewardene threw the book at eight judges of the Supreme Court of this country. No, not the law books that he swore by and studied from in those Pushcannon days. He threw his own little green book at them -- the thoughts of President Jayewardene. According to this little green book, when a country changed her constitution, that country’s President had the right to send more than half the Supreme Court packing. Little green book There was no impeachment not even by the rules of the Article 107 that he wrote... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

The logic of the impeachment - (The Island did not carry the article attached.)
Nalin de Silva. 
The economists usually say that on one hand this is the situation explaining some phenomenon related to economics, and then continue to tell us in the same breath that on the other hand the situation is exactly the opposite. The lawyers usually present their case listening to the other side only if the opposition presents a weak case. It is a case partly heard, but as far as the law is concerned it does not matter much. There are eminent lawyers arguing for or against the impeachment of the CJ without ever coming into any agreement... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

Jaffna university incident and bleeding hearts
Janaka Perera
Following the tensions between Jaffna university students and security personnel resulting in some students being assaulted several pundits have been condemning the incident as a denial of freedom of speech, obstruction to reconciliation and a violation of the rights of Tamils to commemorate their dead – meaning no doubt those who died in the separatist war. Among the panjandrums who have been expressing what they imagine is ‘righteous anger’ over this are Bishop Duleep Chikera, Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda, Anne Abayasekera, Island columnist ‘Shanie,’ Dr. Janaka Ratnasiri Past General President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

OBSTRUCTIONS & IMPEDIMENTS BY TAMIL DIASPORA FOR PEACE IN SRILANKA
Kanthar P Balanathan, Melbourne, Australia- Retired Director  & Specialist Power Systems Engineer
Since LTTE emerged as a  group in 1972, LTTE carried out assassinations and cold blooded killings of innocent Tamil civilians, Sinhalese civilians, Tamil politicians, GOSL Ministers, President, Prime Minister, failed attempts of assassination of the Army Commander; Mr Sarath Fonseka &  former President Chandrika Bandaranaike, robbed several banks, exhorted money and gold from Tamil civilians, blew up multistorey buildings and destroyed billion dollars’ worth of SriLanka assets, transformed into a key drug trafficking and dealing organisation, floated shipping and accrued billions of dollars of Bank reserves. More... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

Life Abroad - Part 7 : CHRISTMAS OR “KISS MAS”?
Dr. Tilak Fernando
The first Christmas in London was something to look forward to from what I had read about in books but not seen. The traditional Christmas preparation and celebration that I had seen at home as an adolescent was quite different to what I saw in England. Christmas in Moratuwa (Koralawella) was quite different. On a Christmas morning, I woke up to the screaming ‘alarms’ or rather the screeching death pangs of pigs while being slaughtered by ‘Aaron Bada’ (nick named Kusa Rajjuruwo) for sale. What I could not stomach was to watch a ‘respectable’ gentleman (bless... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

CJ’S WRIT APPLICATION TO DISCREDIT HOUSE - Experts
Chamikara WEEWRASINGHE and Jayantha De SILVA- Daily News
* Against the constitution * Trying to rouse int’l interest Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake yesterday filed a writ application in the Court of Appeal asking court to issue a writ of certiorari to invalidate the three charges she (CJ) was found guilty of recently by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). In addition the petition prays for an interim injunction preventing the respondents taking any future steps in this regard, until the final determination by the Court. The petition is to be considered by the Court of Appeal today. The... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 20/12/12)

Russian investigators to probe Lithuania’s role in Moscow riots
RT
Russia’s Investigative Committee intends to examine reports the Russian oppositions received training in so-called ‘orange revolution’ tactics at a special camp in Lithuania, a newspaper report claims. Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily quoted a source in the country’s top law enforcement agency as saying that the committee based their suspicions on the Anatomy of Protest documentary aired on the Russian television in early October. The film’s theory was that the Russian opposition received funding from abroad, especially that which organised a protest rally in Moscow in May that ended in violence.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 20/12/12)

AFGHANISTAN-A DECEPTIVE IMPRESSION
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
 While going through the details of suicide attack on Asadullah Khalid, the Intelligence Chief of Afghanistan, one feels that Khalid was strolling somewhere in a public park or enjoying a cup of hot Afghani Qahwa in a café along some deserted highway; he was not at a guesthouse used by the National Directorate of Security in a heavily guarded area of the capital Kabul. How could it had been possible for a suicide bomber to introduce himself as a peace messenger from Taliban and reach the Intelligence Chief deceiving all security check-points if Asadullah Khalid  were... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/12/12)

Sri Lanka Law College goes Halal
Follow the link below for full story in Sinhala
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items12/HALAL_FUTURE%20SRI%20LANKAN%20LOW.pdf  ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/12/12)

Promised Messiah on the status of Holy Prophet of Islam
By A. Abdul Aziz.
 A Sermon available from archive - delivered by Ahmadiyya Khalifa Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad – the gist of which is as below:-  Citing verse 128 of Surah Al Taubah (Holy Qur’an 9:128) Ahmadiyya Supreme Head gave a discourse on the supreme compassion of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in his Friday Sermon.  The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) is the superlative and the matchless example of imbibing Divine attribute on a human level and it is from his spiritual light that the world attained... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 19/12/12)

Some trying to rewrite country’s history for dollars - President
Chaminda Perera Courtesy The Daily News
No amount of money or might can change a country’s history President Mahinda Rajapaksa said, adding that we are living in an era in which certain elements were trying to rewrite the history of a country through money power. He said that certain elements are trying to remove all traces of Sri Lanka ‘s history by bulldozing places where historical artifacts are located. The President stressed the importance of protecting artificats which are our heritage. “We are witnessing an era in which some elements were preparing to destroy the history of other countries... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/12/12)

TNA claims Tamil women recruited to army forcibly have panicked!
Asada M Erpini
A report dated 16 December that appeared in the Sri Lanka media mentions the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, one Premachandran, stating that women from the North were forcibly recruited to the Army. For a moment, the writer wondered whether the TNA was talking about the period when its godfather Pirabaharan took children and women from the North by force to join his killer gangs. Another thought that surfaced was whether at least some of the women who chose, willingly or unwillingly, to join the LTTE were such innocent babes who did not have the heart... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/12/12)

Ambassador Aryasinha presents credentials to Pope Benedict XVI.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva
Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha, who is concurrently accredited to the Holy See, presented his credentials to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on the 13th of December 2012 at a ceremony held at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican. His Eminence Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See, and other high officials of the Vatican, also attended the ceremony which was held to mark the presentation of credentials of Non-resident Ambassadors from Zambia, Thailand, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Niger,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 18/12/12)

Russian warships set sail to Mediterranean amid possible Syria evacuation
rt
The Russian Navy has sent five ships to the Mediterranean Sea to replace the region’s existing fleet. The move comes after the foreign ministry said it may call for the evacuation of Russian citizens in Syria if the government in Damascus falls. ­Three warships and two support ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet are set to join the Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean. The Neustrashimyy-class frigate Yaroslav Mudri and landing ships Kaliningrad and Aleksandr Shabalin, accompanied by a towboat and a tanker ship, have set sail from their base in Baltiysk, the defense ministry announced on Tuesday. Their... -Full Story- (rt.com - 18/12/12)

Britons pay £136 million a year on phone calls to find out how much tax they have to pay
rt
Not only does the UK’s tax agency skim your salary, but if you disagree with any of the bills it sends, you will have to call a premium phone line – and then hope they pick up. Auditors say the agency wasted £136m ($220m) of taxpayer money in a year. ­A National Audit Office (NAO) investigation slammed HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) for running a premium-cost hotline, long waiting times, and a failure to respond at all to a quarter of calls.... -Full Story- (rt.com - 18/12/12)

America’s History of Political Crimes and Regime Change, which President Barack Obama should Change to bring Peace to the World.
By Charles.S.Perera
Can any one understand why American State Department is so engrossed in Sri Lanka’s elimination of terrorists and how the end of terrorism  was brought about  more than three years ago, when  today in America every aspect of life seems to be  degenerating ? In an Elementary School in Connecticut 26 persons,  of them  20 children between the ages of 5 to 6 years were massacred by Adam Lanza  a 20 year old youth with a personality disorder who killed his mother before massacring the Children. How many more of such youth are there in America ,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

Bankrupt politicians, CJ Shiranie B and a Sarath Fonseka !
P.A.Samaraweera, Melbourne
After the war on the instigation of 'bankrupt politicians' former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka dropped the uniform, donned the  national dress and took to politics. Not unusual for someone ambitious. But it was a disaster for him. When he was in prison the same group lined up to visit him. As soon as he was out of prison, the group which was, the UNP, JVP, and TNA dropped him like a hot brick. Even his 2 Lieutenants ran away from him. Rallying round bankrupt politicians was his downfall. Now he is deserted. Today, the same bankrupt politicians and anti-govt forces... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

Things we should know
Hasaka Ratnamalala  spokesperson FRIENDS OF SRI LANKA (CANADA)
Dear Sir, As your recent press release indicate your lack of knowledge on the matters of Sri Lanka we have decided to send you some articles based on the current situation in Sri Lanka which you can easily access from web. Hope you will not further rely on the people with vested interest to jeopardise the peace in Sri Lanka. It is important to know the facts before making allegations against a country, which is trying to come out after 30 years of some Canadian sponserd,funded and supported pro-terrorist war. It is time to help that country... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

Shocking eye-opener! population growth in S /L in the past 30 years (source govt. census data )
Shocking eye-opener! population growth in S /L in the past 30 years (source govt. census data )
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items12/Population%20growth%20from%201981%20to%202012%20v2.pdf  ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

"End of world as stipulated in Mayan Calendar. That may be a mythical or hypothetical event. But climate catamites are real and happening"-"මායාවරුන්ගේ කැලැන්ඩරය මිථ්යායවක්, එහෙත් ලෝක පාරිසරික විනාශය සත්යයයක් සහ සිදුවන්නක්"-
The Media Team Ministry of Power & Energy-මාධ්‍ය අංශය විදුලිබල හා බලශක්ති අමාත්‍යාංශය 
ඇමති චම්පික රණවක ලෝක පාරිසරික ආරක්ෂණය පිළිබඳ දෙවන සමුළුවේදී අවධාරණය කරයි.  ලෝකයේ පවතින පාරිසරික තත්ත්වයන් සහ පාරිසරික අර්බුද හමුවේ ගත හැකි ආරක්ෂණ ක්‍රමවේද පිළිබඳවත්, රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික මට්ටමින් ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය තීන්දු තීරණ සම්බන්ධයෙනුත් වාර්ෂිකව සාකච්ඡා කෙරෙන ලෝක පාරිසරික ආරක්ෂණ සමුළුව දෙවන වරට රැස්වීම, පසුගියදා ඉන්දුනීසියාවේ බාලි නුවරදී සිදුවිය. ලෝකයේ රටවල් 52 ක් නියෝජනය කරමින් පැවති සමුළුව සඳහා ශ්‍රි ලංකාව නියෝජනය කරමින් අමාත්‍ය පාඨලී චම්පික රණවක මහතා එක්විය.   පළමු දිනයේ සමුළුව ඇමතූ අමාත්‍ය චම්පික රණවක මහතා අවධාරණය කර සිටියේ, ලෝකයේ අවසානය පිළිබඳව... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

“Culture is Global” - Ambassador Jayatilleka and Madam Jayatilleka say Farewell to the DPL community in France
Embassy of Sri Lanka Paris
On December 14th, 2012, Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka and Madam Sanja Jayatilleka hosted a farewell reception, at the Maison Marie Walewska for diplomats, French officials and academicians.  Delivering his farewell speech, Ambassador Jayatilleka highlighted the value of his experience in Paris: “We have been truly enriched by our experience here. We have valued in France the experience of civilité in everyday life, as in diplomacy. We have had a very constructive and very warm friendly relationship with as France during my period here. Our interactions have been excellent. And also the many adventures we have... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

What is the importance of checking cholesterol level?
Dr Hector Perera       London
Cholesterol is a waxy substance found naturally in the blood. It is mainly produced in the liver however we also absorb cholesterol from foods such as red meat, high fat cheese, butter, and eggs. Cholesterol is essential for good health and only becomes a problem when the level in your blood is too high - a high cholesterol level increases the risk of heart disease. Following a healthy diet and lifestyle can help to lower blood cholesterol which is a risk factor in the development of heart disease. If you’ve discovered your cholesterol is higher than it should... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

The WWII Dresden Holocaust – ‘A Single Column Of Flame’
focus
On the evening of February 13, 1945, an orgy of genocide and barbarism began against a defenseless German city, one of the greatest cultural centers of northern Europe. Within less than 14 hours not only was it reduced to flaming ruins, but an estimated one-third of its inhabitants, possibly as many as a half a million, had perished in what was the worst single event massacre of all time. “You guys burnt the place down, turned it into a single column of flame. More people died there in the firestorm, in that one big flame, than died in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

Bullfighting must be stopped
Bullfighting is an event that started around 711 A.D. in Spain. During a bullfight a bull is released and the matadors chief assistant goes and test the bull by making it charge by using a bright red and yellow cape. Then a trumpet is sounded and men on horses called picadores ride out. the picadores drive spears into the bull for about ten minutes until the third and final trumpet is sounded. Then the matador comes out and finishes the bull. If the matador wins then he is awarded with a certain amount of body parts from the bull. The... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 17/12/12)

UNP and its call for foreign Intervention
S. Akurugoda
As per a press statement issued by the party secretary Tissa Attanayake of the UNP, the party is urging the President to appoint a committee comprising judges selected by the Secretary to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to probe the charges against the Chief Justice.  Mangala Samaraweera, in fact, had sent a letter requesting the Commonwealth Secretariat to order his disciplinary body, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to probe Sri Lanka on the impeachment of the Chief Justice (CJ). These politicians have forgotten or trying to mislead the people knowing very well that the only provision available for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/12/12)

Bob Rae: the Liberal Party Leader's Official statment about the Jaffna University Students riots
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1, Canada
16 December 2012 Hon. Bob Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP Interim Leader of the Liberal Party House of Commons, Ottawa Dear Bob: While I thank you for your consciously judicious and careful comment in your- Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae on the Situation in Jaffna, Sri Lanka – I wish to share with you my observations on your statement. Firstly I want to thank you for being judicious when you were not prepared to pull  unsubstantiated numbers out of the air of the  alleged... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/12/12)

A Sri Lankan Muslim’s Perspective of the Halaal Issue
Bisthan Batcha
A Vital Need of the Muslim Community : Prior to the introduction of the Halaal Certification System by the All-Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema (ACJU), most  Sri Lankan Muslims were in the habit of buying their requirements of Beef, Chicken and Mutton from Muslim-owned Shops assuming that the meat products available in such shops had been slaughtered in accordance with Islamic Rules and were therefore ‘Halaal’.  The key word here is ‘assuming’, because there was no way of verifying that this obligation was actually adhered to by the Owners of these Meat Shops.  Thus, the subsequent introduction of Halaal... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/12/12)

Beaten and sodomized: European human rights court finds CIA guilty of torture
RT
The European Court of Human Rights found the CIA guilty of torturing a terror suspect for the first time ever. A German citizen was illegally detained, tortured and sodomized by a CIA “rendition team’ after being mistaken for an al-Qaeda member. The Strasbourg-based court has unanimously ruled that German citizen Khalid el-Masri was tortured by a CIA ‘rendition team’. The court also found the state of Macedonia guilty of secretly imprisoning, abusing and torturing Khalid el-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese origin, and ordered €60,000 in compensation to be paid to the former detainee. The Macedonian government denied any... -Full Story- (rt.com - 16/12/12)

Asanga named Global Dignity Country Chair for Sri Lanka
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, the present Executive Director of Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute and a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum was named as the Global Dignity Sri Lankan Country Chair by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and the Board of Directors. This is the first time a Sri Lankan gets the opportunity to be the Country Chair of the Global Dignity. Global Dignity is the brainchild of three Young Global Leaders at the World Economic Forum: HRH Crown Prince Haakon (Norway), Professor Pekka Himanen (Finland) and founder of Operation HOPE, John Hope Bryant (United States). Honorary... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 16/12/12)

Judge C.G. Weeramantry went to J.R. Jayawardena’s office to complain about the new Constitution and was told to leave the office.
Kithsiri Athulathmudali, Florida, USA
I hesitated to write about Judge Weeramantry because I would upset few of my close relatives. After reading the last paragraph of the article by H.L. Don Mahindapala, “Judge Weeramantry’s legal protections Condemn CJ Bandaranayake”.  I thought let them be upset, but I need to write about relevant facts; about this British Colonial representative. These types of British Colonial representatives lived in an era where anything British is the norm of the day. They only know the British Parliamentary system and nothing else. The time when Judge Weeramantry went to complain to JR about the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

Sri Lanka: What reconciliation if the “learned” mourn Terrorists as martyrs?
 Shenali Waduge
The world would have been a better place but for a handful of people who are directly or indirectly responsible for the state of anarchy and disunity throughout the world. They do not function in isolation and if people were to open their eyes and spend some time to find the truth they would know how wars, conflicts and terrorism are all inter-connected in some way or the other. It is why conflicts will continue and it is why peace is unlikely to ever prevail. It is precisely why the annihilation of an entire terrorist... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

NCCT wants Canadians and Americans not to buy Made in Sri Lanka clothes
Asoka Weerasinghe. Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 Canada
15 December 2012 CALLING ALL SINHALESE-CANADIANS IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA (GTA), ESPECIALLY IN SCARBOROUGH, MARKHAM AND BRAMPTON. Today, December 15, 2012, the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) is rallying at Dundas Square, in downtown Toronto between noon and 3:00 P.M. to call on all Canadians and Americans NOT to buy ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ clothing. Let us show our solidarity for our Mother-Lanka and get the word out to the NCCT clearly and precisely – “Alright then, two can play your shell game.  You... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

Only disciplinary action against an individual: Impeachment – nothing to do with independence of Judiciary
Courtesy The Sunday Observer
We exposed the hidden hands and interested parties behind most of the recent protests supporting an individual who has been found guilty of conduct that is unbecoming for a person holding the senior most position in the Judiciary. We have the highest respect for the Judiciary and would always voice for the independence of the Judiciary. However, the present scenario has nothing to do with the independence of the Judiciary. It is only a matter of an individual who has been found guilty of conduct that is unbecoming of such a highly respected and dignified... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

Can corruption be condoned?
Editorial - The Sunday Observer
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which is governed by the law of the jungle, is now weeping buckets of tears over the independence of the Judiciary. The JVP, true to form, faulted President Mahinda Rajapaksa as he intends to appoint an independent committee to seek expert opinion on the verdict of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. Having examined the verbal and written evidence against Dr. Mrs. Bandaranayake, the PSC has found her guilty of charges 1, 4 and 5. Although the charges 2 and 3... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

No hasty trial - Ex-PSC Chairman
by Uditha Kumarasinghe Courtesy The Sunday Observer
Environment Minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to probe the impeachment motion against Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake categorically rejected the Opposition claim that the Government members of the PSC had concluded a hasty trial by presenting its report to Parliament. “We have concluded the PSC proceedings according to its timetable. We had been given only one month. We had to conclude our proceedings within that time frame and there was no other option to adopt,” the Minister told the Sunday Observer yesterday.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

US Heroes Sharing the Loot (Kosovo)
Susantha
We all believed that mass scale robbery by govt leaders occurred only in the Third World especially in small countries. Read on about what the land of the free and land of living by proper Laws do. That Crush at Kosovo’s Business Door? The Return of U.S. Heroes Akos Stiller American flags streamed recently above the main street of Pristina, Kosovo’s capital. One of the world’s newest countries, Kosovo separated from Serbia, with the support of the United States. By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Prime Minister Hashim Thaci is in a bind. His... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 15/12/12)

Golden Key Depositors Association alleges: Cj took over GK case on single affidavit- ‘Tried to block individual submissions’- ‘Affidavit which did not list the relief prayed accepted in spite of it’
Jeevani Pathirana- Courtesy The Daily News
When Justice Shirani Thilakawardena was hearing the Golden Key Financial Fraud Case successfully, Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake personally took the case under her wing on the basis of an incomplete affidavit submitted by a single person, alleged members of the affected Golden Key Depositors Association at a press conference recently. They said usually a person submitting an affidavit should finally mention the relief prayed by him or her in it, but in this case, an affidavit which did not list the relief prayed had been accepted by the Chief Justice. The depositors who attended... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

Lawyers Vs lawyers
Editorial- The Island
December 14, 2012, 7:12 pm The government's impeachment move and Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake's reaction to it have had the same impact on the society as the bitterly fought electoral contest between former Army Commander and the President. It has caused a deep rift. The last few days have seen lawyers’ protests against the impeachment issue which is said to have created a rupture in the unity of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) as well. Demonstrations in some areas have ended up in ugly brawls. What the warring lawyers ought to realise is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

Supreme Court of Canada says extradite Sriskandarajah and Nadarajah to the US to face charges.
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1, Canada.
 14 December 2012  Stephen Woodworth, MP for Kitchener Center,  Ontario House of Commons, Ottawa  Dear Stephen:  What do you know? Our, yours and my Supreme Court of Canada, today made the decision to send two of your area Tamils Suresh Sriskandarajah and Piratheepan Nadarajah to the U.S. to face charges for supporting  the Tamil Tigers, by attempting to buy missiles and AK47 assult rifles on Tigers behalf., for millions of dollars. I chalk the decision as 'one' for Asoka Weerasinghe, the anti-Tamil Tiger Canadian rump activist, 'one' for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

Statement on Sri Lanka
Ira de Silva London, Ontario.Canada
Mr. Stephen Woodworth, M.P. House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario Dear Sir: I have just been made aware of your statement on Sri Lanka where you express concern about the Jaffna University students and your concerns about "human rights abuses". What do you expect law enforcement to do when students throw petrol bombs at buildings in Canada? Congratulate the students and encourage their violence? You know that is not what Canadian law enforcement does so what gives you the right to expect law enforcement in other countries to be different? Your blatant bias and double standards... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

Independent Committee to study PSC report on CJ: University lecturers laud President’s decision
CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE-Courtesy The Daily News
If UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon could appoint a committee on Sri Lanka without UN approval as he did with the Darusman panel, there is no reason President Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot appoint an independent committee to advise him over the report of the impeachment motion on Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka, Colombo University senior lecturers yesterday said in an interview with the Daily News. They said, President Rajapaksa’s recent decision to appoint an independent committee to further study the report presented by the Parliamentary Select Committee that probed articles of allegations signed by... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

185 Scholarships were awarded to Grade V Scholarship Examination passed students and GCE (Ordinary Level) Examination passed students in Kilinochchi
Killinochchi Today
185 scholarships were awarded to Grade V Scholarship Examination passed students and GCE (Ordinary Level) Examination passed students in Kilinochchi on 13 December 2012. Security Forces Kilinochchi, under the direction of Security Forces Commander Major General Udaya Perera organized this scholarship programme and Mr Ricky Wijesinghe, who has established ventures in UK, made the financial sponsorship worth over Rs 1.4 Million for this scholarship programe. Mr Yohan Goonathilake, who resides in Malaysia, coordinated this effort with the Army. Both Mr Ricky Wijesinghe and Mr Yohan Goonathilake attended the scholarship awarding ceremony as the guests of honour and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

LIFE IN LONDON - Part 6:‘Boxed up’ and shivering in the cold!
Dr.Tilak Fernando
As I came out of the controlled area of the Heathrow airport, after going through immigration and baggage clearance, it was a great relief to see Sam waving at me from a distance, the only Sri Lankan face I could spot from the crowd waiting at passenger arrival gate. After proceeding to Victoria by coach, I was taken to a house at Hither Green in South London where temporary accommodation had been arranged for me at a Sri Lankan professional who had been in the UK for some time. I was thankful to the landlord even though... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 14/12/12)

Supreme Court upholds anti-terrorism laws
Kirk Makin - Justice Reporter
Canada’s anti-terrorism laws do not violate the constitutional rights of those suspected of furthering terrorist acts, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. The landmark ruling means that an Islamic terrorist from Ottawa – Mohammed Momin Khawaja – will spend his life behind bars for aiding a violent jihadist group based in England.It also paves the way for the extradition of two other Ontario men wanted in the U.S for helping acquire arms to be used by Sri Lankan terrorists. The rulings were a vote of confidence for a contentious wave of legislation enacted following... -Full Story- (theglobeandmail.com - 14/12/12)

Judge Weeramantry's legal propositions condemn CJ Bandaranayake
H. L. D. Mahindapala
Judge C. G. Weeramantry, the senior most retired judge in the country with 65 years of legal experience behind him, has come forward , out of the blue, to address the current crisis facing the Sri Lankan judiciary by issuing a general message on the subject. His message calling upon "every citizen and institution in the country to be concerned" about the legal propositions enunciated by him deserves serious consideration. This, incidentally, is quite an unusual move for him because he has studiously avoided getting involved in domestic politics. It is his practice to keep... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

CJ GOT RS 1.5 M DISCOUNT OFFICIAL SAYS UNDER OATH -Discount given as she heard ‘our cases’ -She played with hard-earned depositors’ money
The Daily News
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was given a Rs 1.5 million discount on a house she purchased, an official allied to the Ceylinco group of companies (allied to the Golden Key company), testifying before the Parliamentary Select Committee stated on oath, PSC members told the media at the Editors’ breakfast meeting yesterday. They said that this company official has been asked by PSC members why the discount was given, and he had said simply, ‘because she was a hearing cases that involved our company and we thought it fit to do so.’ However, the CJ never stood... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

Multiculturalism – who is really benefiting?
Shenali Waduge
Let’s first set something’s straight. Today the West enjoys coming up with theories and terminologies for how people of the world should function according to its formats. They issue blueprints for how nations should live. The West needs to be reminded that it was the West that began slavery, created white and non-white mentality from which discrimination, racism, and ethnic tensions originated. The West introduced inequality by way of formulating economic systems that divided people into haves and have nots and now wanting to tap further into the skills and unskilled of migrants to boost their economy... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

BAD DISCOUNT PUTS EGG ON Weliamuna- the Transparency International corruption czar-Transparency International will also be exposed soon
The Daily News-Editorial
It transpires, there is an official belonging to a private concern that had appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee investigating the conduct of the Chief Justice, who in sworn testimony, said that a 1.5 million discount was offered on a purchase of a house by the CJ, because the company felt that she was hearing cases that it was involved in. This impeachment stink gets more revolting by the minute. Here is the Chief Justice of the country, and she casually gets herself a whopping percentage cut on a purchase of a piece of real estate,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

S.L.Gunasekara joins the anti-Impeachment Bandwagon.
By Charles.S.Perera
Al Jazeera reported: “The country's highest court holds exclusive jurisdiction on interpreting the constitution. Should the Court rule that the PSC process violates the constitution, the entire impeachment process will be rendered null and void – but if parliament insists on its supremacy – a constitutional crisis is inevitable. But concern is building. Today members of civil society, representatives of the clergy, senior opposition figures took to Colombo's streets to protest the impeachment.” The NGOs and the International Community are expecting a show down. They are worried that it is not happening the way it happened in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

CJ QUIT PSC AS PRE-PLANNED; TRANSCRIPTS SHOW SHE WASN’T ABUSED
The Daily News
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was not verbally abused by any member of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) but she came into the meetings with the preconceived plan of walking out of it, Chairman and Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said at the Editors’ breakfast meeting with the President yesterday. She, from the beginning of the PSC proceedings, claimed she had no confidence in it, and therefore her modus operandi of hoping to walk out without offering a defence was evident from the very start, he said. “She refused to take the oath before the PSC... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

Others removed uniforms and did politics - CJ playing politics while in office
The Daily News
The President and several PSC members said yesterday at the Editors’ breakfast meeting, that the Chief Justice is playing a political role with the backing of several Non Governmental Organizations and political parties, that was totally unbecoming of her position. PSC members said the people cannot expect impartiality and justice from her as she is dancing to the tune of NGOs and political parties. They said walking out of the PSC investigating process was contempt of the Legislature, and her disdainful act of spurning PSC in violation of the constitution and her actions after the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

Impeachment hearings: CA should have sought AG's advise before seeking interpretation from SC
Jayantha de Silva Courtesy The Daily News
Attorney General Palitha Fernando yesterday contended before a three Judge Bench of the Supreme Court that the Court of Appeal in respect of hearing the applications in connection with the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake should have sought the AG's advise before reference to the Supreme Court. There is no proper reference by the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. "Otherwise there would be a floodgate of references from other courts to the Supreme Court". The Supreme Court hearing the 12 petitions including five intervening petitions field in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

Senator Lee Rhiannon ,the bugler of the LTTE fronts in the Australian Parliament.
Ranjith Soysa
The Senator LR was speaking in the Australian Senate supporting the separatist Tamil Tiger fronts recently when she mistakenly introduced maha veer day as the remembrance day for the “ Tamils all round the world” whereas it is a day observed  by  the Tamil Tiger fronts and their followers to hark back to the memories of the brutal terrorism in Sri Lanka. The vast majority of the Sri Lankan Tamils and the millions of other Tamils did not bother at all about the day which was the birthday of Prabahakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tiger terrorists... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

It is not only the Tamil poets who captured the Eelam violence, the Sinhalese poets did too
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada
12 December 2012 The Editor  FRONTLINE, India’s International Magazine from the publishers of THE HINDU  859-860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India Sir: I read K.SATCHIDANANDAN’s column in your Volume 29-Issue 25: Dec. 15-28, 2012, which had this introduction: ‘Sri Lankan Tamil writers tried to capture the trauma of the violence that gripped the country from 1983. The songs of the vanquished show how poetry can be a way of coming to terms with the despair of defeat.’ Then you had a portrait of Rudramoorthy... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 13/12/12)

Black Coat 'brahmins' and the impeachment probe
P.A.Samaraweera
The President had said that he would appoint an independent panel to review the Report of the PSC. Considering this as a weakness, the CJ and the  'brahmins' want the President to withdraw the PSC Report immediately, saying that it is an unlawful process. Accorrding to legal experts, the govt had established the PSC by Article 107(3) of the constitution. Therefore, it is recognised by the constitution. If it was illegal, the CJ and her legal team should have said so on the first day when they came for the PSC meeting. It was only after the CJ was found guilty... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/12/12)

Jaffna University Teachers threaten to strike
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada
12 December 2012 OPEN LETTER  to Minister of Higher Education The Government of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka’s  Parliament, Kotte, Sri Lanka. Dear Minister: I have just read a news item in today’s (Dec.12) ColomboPage which said – “Teachers of Sri Lanka’s Jaffna University to boycott classes until all arrested students released.” Let’s get one thing right – the Government should not cave into such black mail.  If they want to strike, then so be it.  Let the teachers know that you pay wages... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/12/12)

‘CJ has committed blunders unbecoming of an high official’
Dr Nath Amarakone-Founder President OPA
Reference letter by S L Gunasekera to the President Bar Association, copy of which has been sent to me, I wish to add some comments that may interest professionals in the OPA. I agree with SL that the CJ has committed blunders that an official of this high position should not have done. As the Chief employee of the Judicial arm of the government, she has to work closely with the other two components of the government, the Legislature, and the Executive, to promote public interest. On failure to do so or for... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/12/12)

Lesser known facts about the impeachment saga
Dr Kamal Wickremasinghe-Courtesy The Daily News
Parliament The now concluded impeachment trial of the Chief Justice (CJ) was remarkable for the ridiculous nature of the theatrics staged by the defendant and her legal advisors. It also stood out for the more significant reason of typifying and demonstrating the key elements of a widely used template devised by Western intelligence agencies to create unrest in post-colonial countries. Though the operation failed, they tried. A careful analysis of the major steps staged by the local ‘supporters’ who campaigned against the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/12/12)

PRO CJ LAWYER RALLY TURNS ANTI CJ -Dollar making elements berated
The Daily News
Protestors who thronged the Hulftsdorp Court Complex saying they were in support of Chief Justice (CJ) Shirani Bandaranayake ended up brawling after one group of lawyers broke away from the original protestors, claiming that certain dollar making elements were trying to destroy Sri Lanka in partnership with the CJ. They vehemently refused to support the CJ who faced serious integrity charges before the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). They maintained the law in the country applies equally to all, and whosoever violates that law should be penalized despite their position or status. Meanwhile, when the CJ was... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 12/12/12)

A reply to the Editor of “ Ceylon Today” on his Requiem for Justice.
By Charles.S.Perera
The Editor of the Ceylon Today wrote on the 9 December, 2012, a Requiem for Justice.  But he  made  a mistake .  The Justice in Sri Lanka is still alive and vibrant.  The Ceylon Today is already an outmoded journal with its name itself being an indication of trying to bring back some thing which is no more- “Ceylon”. What is dead like a Dodo is an independent  national  media in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka should have a national media to defend  it against the  rapacious West which is prowling like a beast of prey  to divide... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

Golden Key depositors speak out: CJ MUTE ON VANISHED FILE
Chamikara WEERASINGHE-Courtesy The Daily News
Said Registrar ‘could do nothing’ about it *Case was used as a means of amassing wealth Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayaka refrained from taking action against the disappearance of a special investigative report on the Golden Key Credit fiasco, which was prepared by the Special Investigations Unit of the Central Bank, five office bearers of Golden Credit All Depositors’ Association revealed yesterday at a press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundationb Institute. The report had been kept in the Supreme Court Registrar’s safe on the advice of former Chief Justice Sarath N... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

North for Tamils only when Colombo has only 24 percent Sinhala!
Asada M Erpini 
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is reported to “oppose any move to alter the demography in the North”, according to a media report on 09 December, attributed to its leader. Ironically, a day later, an English daily quotes the demographic pattern in Colombo city and how it has changed between 1971 and 2012: Tamils from 24.5% to 33%; Muslims from 19% to 40% and Sinhala from 50% to 24%.  The TNA position is not difficult to understand, although to say it is  beyond absurd is to put it very mildly. As long as the North is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

Stephen Woodworth MP: Sri Lanka's renewed human rights violations
Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)  Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 Canada
11 December 2012 Stephen Woodworth, MP Conservative MP for Kitchener Centre, Ontario House of Commons, Ottawa Dear Stephen:  Re: Press Release – MP Stephen Woodworth expresses renewed concern over human rights violations in Sri Lanka Having expressed your concern about the clashes at the University of Jaffna campus between Tamil students and security forces, did I miss you applauding the Sri Lanka government when they gave back 21 million of its peoples the right-to-life when they eliminated the Tamil Tigers on 19 May 2009, who... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM CJ’S EPISODE
Gamini Gunawardane
The inevitable became a reality sooner than expected. She will be found guilty anyway. Following are the lessons to be learnt from this drama by all public servants, especially judges. Take no favours from the government. Keep your distance. Ask no quarter give no quarter. Do your job well and clean. Suffer no bullshit from anybody. Be ready to quit any moment. Always have an alternative livelihood in view. Hold your head high and walk away when you have to. Be humble but not a doormat. OR Be servile and wallow in shit!... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

Can the Parliament exercise judicial power of thepeople directly?
Raja Goonaratne  Senior Lecturer - The Open University, National Housing Commissioner( Courtesy The Daily News )
This is a million dollar question that is being raised, debated and argued in every nook and corner of the country. Here is my analysis of the relevant Articles of the Constitution to find answer for this pressing dilemma. Sri Lanka has a democratic system of government. The cardinal principle of democracy is that the sovereignty is in the people. The sovereignty means and includes peoples’ triple power viz. people’s legislative power (power to make and unmake laws), people’s executive... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

Independent Committee to study PSC report on CJ – President
Prsident Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that he will appoint an independent committee to further study the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report over the impeachment charges against the Chief Justice and a fair decision would be taken by him. President Rajapaksa said that he should be satisfied with what he is doing in the long run. “I will appoint an independent committee to look into the PSC report further before any action is taken by me” , he said. Speaking at the opening of a building complex of the Chartered Institute of Sri Lanka yesterday, President Rajapaksa said that he as... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 11/12/12)

India takes up auto import tariff issue with S. Lanka

New Delhi, Dec 11: India today raised with Sri Lanka the issue of substantial rise in import tariff on automobiles from the country.“We have raised the issue in Colombo today through our mission. We will also be raising it diplomatically with Sri Lankan Finance Secretary, who is coming here shortly,” official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said.The issue was raised a day after the Commerce Ministry expressed concern over the hike and indicated that India will take it up with Sri Lanka.“Sri Lanka is a very important market as far as cars and commercial (vehicles) are concerned.... -Full Story- (The Hindu - 11/12/12)

கூட்டமைப்பினருக்கு எதிராக கிளிநொச்சியில் ஆர்ப்பாட்டம்
... -Full Story- (thinakaran.lk - 11/12/12)

Halal Certification – Why should Non- Muslims have to accept and pay for it?
shenali waduge
Natives of non-Muslim nations are asking one simple question – why have their Governments accepted an unfair trade practice of insisting food, pharmaceuticals and other products used by consumers have to be halal certified for which a fee is charged and for which the consumers end up having to pay for nothing related to their religion or culture. Today non – Muslims i.e. Buddhists, Hindus, Christians are increasingly asking why a religious practice that was solely confined only to Muslims for so long in the past is now being forced on non – Muslim nations. Muslims who... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/12/12)

CJ Bandaranayake HOISTED by her own PETARD
H. L. D. MAHINDAPALA
One of the arguments thrown in to defend the Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, claims that nowhere in the world does Parliament / legislature sits as accuser, judge, juror and executioner. It is argued that this is a violation of Baron de Montesquieu's political theory of separation of power where the legislature, executive and the judiciary are compartmentalised to prevent one dominating the other. A large crowd held a picketing campaign outside the Supreme Court Complex on December 4 protesting against the attempts made by the Judiciary to challenge the powers... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/12/12)

සුදු බැනියං-කලු කෝට් ආණ්ඩු ක්‍රමය
ජානක වංශපුර
පාර්ලිමේන්තුවත් උසාවියත් මේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය බලය ක්‍රියා කරවන ප්‍රධාන ආයතන දෙක ලෙස හැඳින්වේ. මේ ආයතන අපට ලබා දුන්නේ ඉංග්‍රීසීන් බව අපි කවුරුත් දනිමු. 1815 දී ඔවුන් විසින් පැහැර ගන්නා තෙක් අවුරුදු දෙදහස් ගණනක් තිස්සේ මෙරට රාජ්‍ය බලය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට මෙවැනි ආයතනවල අවශ්‍යතාවක් නොතිබිනි. නමුත් 1948 දී ඔවුන් රට භාර දුන්නේ මේ ආයතන දෙක නොමැතිව ක්‍රියාත්මක කල නොහැකි රාජ්‍යයකි. අද හිටපු ජනාධිපතිනිය ඇතුළු බොහෝ බටහිර උගත්තු අපට උපදෙස් දෙන්නේ මේ බටහිර රාජ්‍ය ක්‍රමය ආරක්‍ෂා කරන ලෙසය. ඔවුන්ට රාජ්‍ය ක්‍රමය ආරක්‍ෂා කිරීමට මිස රජය ආරක්‍ෂා කිරීමට අවශ්‍යතාවක් නැත.  අපි ඒ ක්‍රමය ආරක්‍ෂා කල යුත්තේ එය මිනිසා විසින් චිරාත් කාලයක්... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/12/12)

PSC report valid despite Oppn members walking out - law experts -CJ can resign before impeachment debate - Deputy Speaker
Chamikara WEERASINGHE Courtesy The Daily News
The report on the findings of the impeachment charges against Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake cannot be debated until January 8, 2013 in keeping with article 78 A of the Standings Orders of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, law experts said. These experts pointed out in accordance with Standing Order 78 A, “.....where notice of a resolution for the presentation of an address to the President for the removal of a Judge from office is given to the Speaker in accordance with Article 107 of the Constitution, the Speaker shall entertain such resolution... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/12/12)

The Western Media and Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza
Hameed Abdul Karim
 Israel’s unilateral bombardment of Gaza received the expected support from the American media which in turn extended to the rest of the Western media including the BBC. All described it as a ‘war’ like as if a battle was being fought between two armies of equal military and economic strength.  What was not mentioned was that the Hamas was equipped with primitive rockets while Israel was armed to the teeth with American supplied high tech weaponry. Neither was the fact that Israel is the 8th powerful army in the world, known by its Orwellian term as ‘Israeli... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 10/12/12)

NATO Intervention in Syria Imminent
By Stephen Lendman
December 09, 2012 "Information Clearing House" - On December 7, Voice of Russia (VoR) headlined: "Iraq 2.0, another false-flag invasion rated XXX," saying: "The US and NATO are set to invade Syria, something many of us have been warning about for a while now. It has been obvious that they have been looking for a pretext and that pretext has already been injected into the public debate." VoR cited fabricated claims about threatening chemical weapons. Media scoundrels hype them. Sarin nerve gas was mentioned. Reports claimed Assad readied it in bombs. No evidence whatever was cited.... -Full Story- (informationclearinghouse.info - 10/12/12)

When the Head is in Tatters, Can the Body Survive? Fish Starts to Rot from its Head.
Prof. Hudson McLean
 When judiciary is in conflict with the political hierarchy, will the Confidence & Credibility collapse in the Law Makers & Law Enforcers?  Brilliant analysis from H.L.D. Mahindapala How independent is the Judiciary? http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2012/12/03/how-independent-is-the-judiciary/....Posted on December 3rd, 2012  In an earlier scribble I made an error of judgment, regarding Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake being dragged into what I thought was a wrong grave. I apologise to the readers of LankaWeb for this error.  The second letter  by S.P.C. CJ’S BLINKING ACCOUNTS:- Open & Shut Case of Account Fixing/Corruption http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/12/04/fea02.asp  was a real eye-opener!  It is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

Fall outs from the impeachment of Shiranie Bandaranayake, CJ
P.A.Samaraweera
The PSC inquiry against Shiranie CJ is closed with the report of the PSC submitted to the Speaker. Now it is in the hands of the Parliament. Out of the 14 charges, the committee had looked into five and the CJ had been found guilty for 3 of them. They are, receiving a discount of Rs. 1.6 million for the purchase of an apartment at Trillium Residencies having taken over the case from a separate bench  of the Supreme court. Her husband is involved in a corruption case and she had not declared her assets. A Chief Justice is not immune... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

වම්ඉවුර -අගවිනිසුරුවරිය තේරීම් කාරක සභාවෙන් ඉවත්ව යාමෙන් දෝෂාභියෝග ක්‍රියාවලියට සුජාත බවක්‌ ඇතිවීද?
සී. ඒ. චන්ද්‍රප්‍රේම- දිවයින
අග්‍රවිනිශ්චයකාර තුමිය පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරීම් කාරක සභාව හැර යැමෙන් ඇති වන නෛතික තත්ත්වය කුමක්‌ ද යන්න ඉකුත් සතියේ කාගේත් අවධානය යොමු වූ කාරණය විය. ඇය පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ දෝෂාභියෝග ක්‍රියාදාමයෙන් ඉවත් වූ පසු සම්පාදනය කරන ලද පාර්ලිමේන්තු කාරක සභා වාර්තාවේ වලංගුභාවය කුමක්‌ ද යන කාරණය ගැන ද බොහෝ අය තුළ කුතුහලයක්‌ ඇත. විත්තිකරුවා පාර්ලිමේන්තු කාරක සභාවේ ක්‍රියාදාමයෙන් ඉවත් වුණොත් සිදුවන්නේ කුමක්‌ද යන්න ගැන පාර්ලිමේන්තු ස්‌ථාවර නියෝග වල කිසිවක්‌ කියවෙන්නේ නැත. පාර්ලිමේන්තු ස්‌ථාවර නියෝග 78 ඒ (5) වගන්තියෙන් කියවෙන්නේ දෝෂාභියෝග ක්‍රියාදාමයක්‌ තුළ පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරීම් කාරක සභාවක්‌ මගින් විමර්ශනයට ලක්‌ වන විනිශ්චයකාරවරයාට එම කමිටුව ඉදිරියට පැමිණ තමාට එරෙහිව ඇති චෝදනා... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

Judges’ integrity absolute must- A former judge went on leave until cleared in probe:
Rasika Somarathna in Minuwangoda
Whilst impressing on the need to safeguard the honour and dignity of the Judiciary, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said if the honour and trust in the Judiciary is affected, it will hinder proper governance of the country. He was of the view that Judges should be of exemplary conduct at all times and they should not leave any room for finger pointing at them for misconduct, which in turn will generate apprehension and misgivings towards the Judiciary and judges. The President was addressing a gathering of ministers, parliamentarians, politicians , government officials and the public... -Full Story- (Daily News - 09/12/12)

CJ SACKING MUST; U.S IMPEACHMENT CALLED ‘WITCH-HUNT’
Sandasen Marasinghe, Irangika Range and Disna Mudalige
... -Full Story- (Daily News - 09/12/12)

IN THE DEMOCRATIC U.S THEY CALLED CLINTON IMPEACHMENT A WITCH-HUNT!
Today, in some circles, the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake (now more or less a fait accompli after the Parliamentary Select Committee found her guilty on three counts) is being criticized as a witch-hunt -- or as an ill thought out, hurried and undemocratic exercise. However, impeachment proceedings are always within constitutional confines, and can be used as a political tool for beating the government with. Perfectly constitutional impeachments such as the impeachment of Bill Clinton by one House of Congress, have been called a DISGRACEFUL TRAVESTRIES. Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake The two articles we reproduced here about... -Full Story- (Daily News - 09/12/12)

THE TRILLIUM DISASTER AND JUSTICE GONE WILD
By S.P.C
The main charge on which the Chief Justice was found guilty was the misdoing with regard to the Trillium Housing scheme residence. Basically she has used a Special Power of Attorney to purchase a house from Trillium residencies, when it was known that properties could not be alienated from Trillium, which belonged to the Ceylinco group which was caught up in the Golden Key case.... -Full Story- (Daily News - 09/12/12)

A Planning Commission is a prime necessity for Sri Lanka
By Garvin Karunaratne Former Government Agent Matara
 These days the city of Colombo is totally blocked with traffic. Go anywhere, one has to sit in a car for hours. Every morning, from all rural areas people and children converge on the City in droves. Cars and vans are parked during the day and the exodus from the City starts  in the afternoon.  Something has gone wrong somewhere. The Western Province has it all. As much as 51% of the national production comes from the Western Province. Sri Lanka did have planning intact till 1977, when the IMF interfered and since... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

Sri Lanka’s Economic Migrants and their “Asylum Seeking” preference for Western destinations!
Shenali Waduge
Just as wars have become profits for a handful while the majority end up suffering the issue of immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees and economic migrants is also a source for profit for a handful and explains why the situation is never solved though series of efforts have taken place by organizations and individuals. Be that as it may the road always leads to the fact that a handful of people have found it easy to make money from the sorrows of the majority.  EU nations over the past 2 decades have received over 6.3m requests for asylum,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

Smoke em if you got em! Marijuana now legal in Washington State
RT
Thursday morning was the dawn of a new era for pot-smoking Washingtonians, as state law finally approved the personal possession of up to one ounce – or roughly 28g – of marijuana, making it the first US state to fully legalize the drug. Washington voters shocked the nation last month by voting for Initiative 502 (I-502), which legalizes the possession of up to one ounce (28g) of marijuana for personal use. Under the initiative, all penalties for marijuana possession and use have also been abolished. Many users said they would be gathering around various public areas across the state... -Full Story- (rt.com - 09/12/12)

Tamil Nadu tops in domestic violence cases
THE INDIAN EXPRESS
Tamil Nadu has got the dubious distinction of having the highest number of domestic violence cases in the country with the state recording 3,983 such cases last year, the government said today. According to the latest data of the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 9,431 domestic violence cases were reported across the country during the period, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath informed the Lok Sabha. Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of such cases against women with 3,983 cases followed by Gujarat with 3,266 and West Bengal with 1,661.... -Full Story- (indianexpress.com - 09/12/12)

Sampanthan says LTTE destroyed itself
by Saman Indrajith
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentary Group leader R. Sampanthan said yesterday that the LTTE was a terrorist outfit which killed Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala leaders and its destruction was inevitable owing to the path it took. Participating in the committee stage debate on budget 2013, under the Defence Ministry heading, the MP said: "The LTTE was not created by Tamils but by successive governments in the country. There were legitimate reason for the LTTE to emerge, that was why it became a terrorist organization and started killing Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese leaders and civilians. You call us... -Full Story- (The Island - 09/12/12)

What a furore over an Impeachment of a Chief Justice ?
By Charles.S.Perera
 What has got into the heads of the so called educated highly placed people in Sri Lanka.  It was mostly the rural youth who sacrificed their lives, limbs and blood with the fervent hope delivering Sri Lanka from the fetters of devilish terrorism , to keep the country united and undivided.  They were real heroes, they were not asking for pay hikes, political rights, bribes and commissions, but they faced the enemy without knowing whether they will be there to see another day.  But with such an indelible background what we see three years after is shameful.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

People's power is supreme
Editorial The Sunday Observer -Courtesy The Sunday Observer
The ongoing hearing of the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is a matter for the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by Parliament for the purpose. Now that the PSC has presented its Report to Parliament and the Chief Justice has been found guilty of three charges, she will have to face the consequences. The media has no right whatsoever to report on the PSC proceedings or comment on the outcome of the PSC probe though it could express the people's views. Nevertheless, it has the right to expose those... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 09/12/12)

Iran tests America's grasp of reality
By Pepe Escobar
In Election 2012's theater-of-the-absurd "foreign policy" debate, Iran came up no less than 47 times. Despite all the fear, loathing, threats, and lies in that billionaire's circus of a campaign season, Americans were nonetheless offered virtually nothing substantial about Iran, although its (non-existent) WMDs were relentlessly hawked as the top US national security issue. (The world was, however, astonished to learn from candidate Romney that Syria, not the Persian Gulf, was that country's "route to the sea".) Now, with the campaign Sturm und Drang behind us but the threats still around, the question is: can... -Full Story- (atimes.com - 09/12/12)

දෝෂාභියෝගය; ශ්රී ලාංකීය ජන සමාජයට හඩගා කියන පණිවුඩය-1
චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ විසිනි.
මේ වනවිට ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය ජන සමාජය තුල ප්‍රධාන පිල් දෙකක ඝට්ඨනයක් ආරම්භව ඇත. ඒ අධිකරණය හා ව්‍යාවස්ථාදායකය නම් වූ දෙආයතනයන් අතර හටගත් ගැටුමයි. මේ ගැටුම සමාජමය වශයෙන් හොද දෙයක්ද? නැත්නම් නරක දෙයක්ද? යන්න තීරණය කරන්නේ ගැටුමේ අවසන් පලය බැවින් මේ ගැටුම තුලින් හොද පලයක් ලබා ගැනීමේ දිසාවට ගැටුම ගලා යාමට සැලැස්සවීම මෙරට ජන සමාජයට උරුමව පවතින ඓතිහාසික කාර්යභාරයක් බවට පත්ව තිබේ. එංගලන්ත ජන සමාජය තුල එංලගන්ත මහා රැජිණට එරෙහිව කිසිවෙකු කථා කිරීමට ඉදිරිපත් නොවන්නා සේම මෙරට අධිකරණයට එරෙහිව කිසිවෙකුත් ඉදිරිපත් නොවෙන සමාජයක් අපට උරුම පැවතිණි. සැබෑ ලෙසම මෙරට ඔටුනු පලන් රජකම දැරුවේ අධිකරණයයි කීවද වැරදි... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

Impeachment panel finds Sri Lanka chief justice guilty
PanARMENIAN.Net
- Sri Lanka's chief justice has been found guilty of three charges in impeachment proceedings by a parliamentary panel, a government official said on Saturday, Dec 8, in a case which has sparked opposition protests and raised international concerns, Reuters reported. It was not immediately clear if Shirani Bandaranayake, Sri Lanka's first female head of the Supreme Court, has to step down effectively from now or has to wait until parliament debates the impeachment investigations in January. "We have found her guilty of three charges out of the first five we have investigated," Nimal Siripala de Silva, minister... -Full Story- (panarmenian.net - 08/12/12)

Statement on Sri Lanka
Ira de Silva London, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Patrick Brown M.P. House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario.   Dear Sir:   Reference your recent statement on Sri Lanka, it appears it is one more of your biased, uninformed statements, perhaps at the behest of your party, to help retain the Tamil Tiger voting block in the Greater Toronto Area. That you have linked your views with the NDP M.P. for Scarborough-Rouge River, Rathika Sitsabaiesan, who everybody knows is an ardent supporter of the Tamil Tigers as evidenced by the fact that she had the Tamil... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

Govt has not invested in SupremeSat - Minister Siyambalapitiya
by Uditha Kumarasinghe-Courtesy TheSunday Observer
Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told Parliament yesterday that the Government has not made any investments in the launch of SupremeSat and none of the satellite orbital slots belonging to Sri Lanka has been allocated for this project. Making a reply to a series of queries raised by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament on December 6 regarding this project, Minister Siyambalapitiya said according to particulars provided by the Board of Investment, the SupremeSat Solutions (PVT) Limited is a company registered under the provisions of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

The Scam at Ceynor Seafood Restaurant - HSBC Credit Cards
 A Concerned, Betrayed HSBC Card Holder….
I would like to share a bizarre incident that took place on the evening of the 29th of November, 2012. A couple of us decided to meet up to celebrate a mutual friends birthday and since we had an HSBC card holder amongst us we thought we’ll visit “CEYNOR SEAFOOD RESTAURANT” which is located on D.R Wijeyewardena Mawatha in Colombo (Adjoining the string of Casino’s) and make use of the 20% discount they were offering for HSBC Card Holders.  Once we were seated the first question we were asked was whether we were... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

Sri Lanka's impeachment panel says finds chief justice guilty
(Reuters)
- Sri Lanka's chief justice has been found guilty of three charges in impeachment proceedings by a parliamentary panel, a government official said on Saturday,Parliament Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa appointed an 11-member select committee, seven of them from the ruling party, to investigate 14 charges against Bandaranayake ranging from not disclosing her wealth to professional misconduct.... -Full Story- (Reuters - 08/12/12)

SRI LANKA WELCOMES RECOGNITION FOR POST-CONFLICT DEVELOPMENTS FROM INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY -AMBASSADOR WICKRAMASURIYA TO TOP CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS
Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC Press Release
Washington, December 8, 2012: Sri Lanka has been making a tremendous progress in all aspects of development since the dawn of peace in 2009 which merits positive recognition from its longstanding friends like the United States , Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya told a group of senior congressional staffers on Thursday (November 29). The Embassy of Sri Lanka hosted a dinner reception for  members of the House Chiefs of Staff Association (HCoSA) at the Sri Lanka Residence in Washington DC in order to update them on latest developments in Sri Lanka .  Among the invitees... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

KHALIFA OF ISLAM MAKES HISTORIC ADDRESS AT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT-Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad calls for peace through unity
By A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at – Sri Lanka.
According to our Press Department, U.K., on 4 December 2012, the World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and Fifth Khalifa, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad delivered an historic keynote address at the European Parliament in Brussels to a packed audience of more than 350 guests representing 30 countries. The event was hosted by the newly launched ‘European Parliament Friends of Ahmadiyya Muslims Group’, whose Chair and Vice-Chairs all took to the stage to welcome Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Martin Schulz MEP and President of the European Parliament... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

Contempt of Parliament- Sri Lanka should consider contempt of parliament to be a criminal offence.
By Amaris
Parliament of Sri Lanka should evaluate statements of some of  the opposition politicians, lawyers and NGO groups including statements  of CJ and her lawyers for possible cases of contempt of  Parliament and see whether these statements amount, or are intended or likely to amount, to  improper interference with the free exercise by a House or committee of its authority or functions, or with the free performance by  members of the members' duties. Contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

US breaching IHL by killing civilians with unmanned drones
 Shenali Waduge
The list of crimes committed by a single state over the last couple of decades is appalling to say the list. Like a bull in a china shop it simply continues to target and strike with little care for any international laws or humanitarian treaties most of which it has not signed but feel no remorse to quote it upon other nations demanding “accountability” and transparency. The Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) known as drones has become a favored mode of targeting the enemy, 62% of US citizens even approving such attacks without being aware that 80% of... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

PSC has full powers to issue ex parte decision against CJ -SPEAKER GETS REPORT TODAY; NGO’S LIE ON PROCEEDINGS-CJ should not have boycotted PSC proceedings - Choksy
The Daily News
* Fabricated account to malign PSC, locally, internationally * Members prepare PSC report in quick time The report of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to probe the impeachment charges against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake is to be handed over to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa today, sources said. Our sources said the PSC was preparing the report last evening after the Committee met in Parliament. The process was cut-short as there was no defence offered by the person facing the charges, who walked out of the proceedings. Meanwhile, a totally scurrilous fabricated version of what transpired in the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

“The absence of Multilingualism consumed tens of thousands of lives” - Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka Speaks at International Symposium on Multilingualism
Media Release Embassy of Sri Lanka Paris
On November 23rd, 2012, Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka participated as a panelist at the International Symposium on Multilingualism in Cyberspace organized by Maaya -World Network for Linguistic Diversity. The three-day symposium took place at the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research).  Dr. Jayatilleka intervened on the theme “Towards a World Summit on Multilingualism” with Prof. Adama Samassékou (President of Maaya and former Minister of Education of Mali), Ambassador Olabiyi Yai (Ambassador of Benin to UNESCO) and Dr. Iván Ávila (Delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to UNESCO).  Speaking on the importance... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 08/12/12)

Is coconut oil good to eat?
Dr Hector Perera London
Over the years, fat has become a dirty word. Its meaning has become synonymous with weight gain because the 'fat' we eat in foods is the same word we use to describe someone that is overweight. Though eating fat can lead to excessive weight gain, it's not the fat that's to blame, it's excess calories that you should point the finger at. Whenever you eat more calories than you burn, your body will store that extra energy as fat for later use. Whether or not you eat too much fat, protein or carbohydrates, the result... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/12/12)

December 8th 2012 marks the 32 anniversary of John Lennon's death
Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge 
Killing of a Butterfly
On that doom s day Near the Dakota Building NY Mark David Chapman gun downed a legend The ex Beatle with circular lenses Paid the prize for the Generation of 60 s He is a phony Yelled the killer He is the one who said Imagine there is no possession But he had everything Expensive cars, boats and houses All the way Chapman came from Hawaii Waited many hours near the Dakota Building Until his prey returned with Yoko He was a nowhere man from nowhere land But he... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/12/12)

President Rajapaksa declares open Sri Lanka’s first Travel Service Centre on an Expressway
By Janaka Alahapperuma
President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared open the “Canonwin Arcade”, Sri Lanka’s first travel service center and Rest House on Southern Expressway and the interchange at Welipanna, Kottawa entrance connecting the Southern Expressway to the Colombo Outer Circular Road this afternoon on 06 December. Almost a year has passed since the opening of the Southern Highway; the first Expressway built in Sri Lanka, the newly built travel service centre is an added facility on an environment friendly location at Welipenna at the Kottawa entrance to the Southern Expressway. President Rajapaksa also inspected the Southern Expressway entrance at Kottawa,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/12/12)

Delegation of Permanent Members to the UN calls-on President Rajapaksa
By Janaka Alahapperuma
A delegation of permanent representatives to the United Nations (UN), including ambassadors from Japan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Romania, called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Friday 07 December. The UN delegation visited Sri Lanka for a fact finding mission and held discussions with the President and other government officials. During these talks, many issues related to Sri Lanka were discussed and the UN delegation appraised about the progress achieved by the Sri Lankan Government in resettling IDPs, demining, rehabilitation process of former carders, reconstruction and rebuilding endeavours in the Northern and Eastern provinces. President... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/12/12)

Cassia fistula, Golden shower tree -EHALA POKURU WEL MAL in Sinhala
DR. Nishan Wijesinha (Director)MIS Services St. Anthony's Mawatha, Colombo
Cassia fistula, known as the golden shower tree (EHALA POKURU WEL MAL )  is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, natively associated with the Mullai region of Sangam landscape. It is the national tree of Thailand, and their yellowish cluster of showering flower is Thailand's national flower. It is also the state flower of Kerala in India and of immense importance amongst Malayali population within their religious and marriage rituals. It is also a perfect tree for city landscaping and for air pollution termination.  In Ayurvedic medicine, golden shower... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 07/12/12)

Patrick Brown MP: Press Release on Sri Lanka's human rights violations
Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.) Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada
6  December 2012 Patrick Brown, Conservative MP, for Barrie, Ontario  House of Commons, Ottawa  Dear Patrick: I have just read your undated Press Release – ‘MP, Patrick Brown expresses concern over the worsening human rights situation in Sri Lanka.’ This was an amazing essay based on lies and misinformation.  You have, right through your career as an MP have shot your poison darts at Sri Lanka supporting the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Tamil Diaspora.  Fair enough Patrick,  as I don’t expect any different as you seem to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

YOUR PRESS RELEASE RE: SRI LANKA
 Mahinda Gunasekera Canada
Mr. Patrick Brown, MP Member for Barrie House of Commons Ottawa Dear. Mr. Brown, I refer to the letter addressed by Mr. Rohan Basnayake of Ottawa to you with copy to me and a few others. Mr. Rohan Basnayake is not the only person to have reported on the emerging ground situation in the former territory in the Vanni region controlled by the internationally designated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aka Tamil Tigers. Tamil friends of mine from Toronto who visited the area too have said that the Tamil civilians who have been re-settled in... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

The Clergy and the people wants CJ to step down
P.A.Samaraweera
On Wednesday 5th, the All Island Clergy Organisation had requested Chief Justice Shiranie B to refrain from performing her official duties until the 14 charges against her are probed. Then there were massive demonstrations by the people in front of the Supreme Court premises asking her to resign from the high office she occupies. Thus public opinion is gathering momentum asking her to step down, which is not surprising. On Monday, she had summoned the Judges and Magistrates in the country for a meeting and after the meeting a statement had been issued on the current crisis. However, now... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

CJ FLEES PSC, WALKS OUT ON BOTH GOVT, OPPOSITION-Obstructionist attitude before PSC-Not even the first two charges responded to
The Daily News
Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake fled the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) meeting in Parliament yesterday, not having responded to any of the impeachment charges against her. In effect she spurned the Constitution, and the entire Parliament (the total Legislative Branch) including the Opposition, by rejecting the all-party PSC which constituted government party MPs as well as opposition MPs from multiple parties, including the main-opposition UNP. MP Range Bandara Having on two previous occasions not responded to any of the charges pertaining to her, on the third occasion yesterday,... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

Run a red light and get a broken leg
Dr.Tilak Fernando
Although it appeared to be somewhat complex to understand the underground railway network and the sophisticated time tables at major British Rail stations such as Paddington, Victoria, Kings Cross, Charing Cross, London Bridge and Waterloo where Flicker Row method with flipping train time tables operated, one could build up confidence and familiarise with the system with ease, but one thing that took some time to come to grips with was the old English money which was in Pounds (£), Shillings (‘s’) and Pennies (‘d’) - 20 Shillings or 240 pennies making one Pound, and the penny... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

JUST FOR A PEACEFUL TOMORROW
PROFESSOR ALI SUKHANVER
 Do we really need guns and cannons, drones and bombs particularly when we don’t have sufficient milk and food for our innocent children, medicines for our ailing patients and books for our deserving students? Certainly not; we will have to decide what we need and what we not. The wrong choice of needs and necessities is always the basic flaw that leads a society to a catastrophic destruction. Peace could never be possible in presence of weapons. No war can last longer if the confronting armies run short of arms and ammunitions. For a safer and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 06/12/12)

IMPEACHABLE GLORY -- OR WELIAMUNA, SO TRANSPARENTLY THICK
Daily News
So why is Weliamuna silent -- and more pertinently, why are the rest of the generally perky and rearing-to-go civil society paragons of virtue, silent about the fact that Weliamuna is silent? Why isn’t the former head of Transparency International sending out a signature angry press release about the financial accounts of the Chief Justice that have come under public scrutiny due to intense exposure in the media? If he thinks that there is no corruption involved or nothing irregular on the face of it in those accounts, why doesn’t the head of Transparency International say so?... -Full Story- (Daily News - 06/12/12)

Gun shy: US alarmed Qatari arms for Libya now in militants' arsenals
RT
Washington has raised alarms over Qatari arms shipments to Libya possibly being redirected to militants. The concern comes despite the fact that last year the US authorized Doha to export weapons to Libya as it struggled for democracy. ­The Obama administration is highly concerned that Islamist militants are arming themselves with weapons exported to Libya by Qatar, the New York Times quotes US officials and diplomats as saying. Following last year’s uprising and the subsequent overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains highly destabilized and flooded with weapons, which circulate among different armed groups. Some of those groups could easily... -Full Story- (rt.com - 06/12/12)

US starting to understand the reality of terrorist threat in Syria – Russian diplomat
RT
By including the Jabhat al Nusra group in the list of foreign terrorist organizations it proves Washington understands the terrorist threat in Syria, claims the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister. The main problem with the opposition in Syria is that it is often impossible to draw a line between them and terrorists as both groups refuse to start a political dialogue with the authorities, Gennadiy Gatilov said in a Twitter post. The announcement was made after reports the U.S. State Department is due to list the al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat al Nusra in Arabic as a foreign terrorist organization. The... -Full Story- (rt.com - 06/12/12)

US to declare leading Syrian opposition group foreign terrorist organization
RT
The US may soon name the Syrian rebel al-Nusra Front, one of the strongest among the opposition, a foreign terrorist group. The designation is likely to complicate the opposition’s fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The US Department of State has been collecting evidence against the group for several months to classify the Islamic radicals as a foreign terrorist organization. Officials believe the designation will come before the Friends of Syria meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 12 in Morocco. The Department of State originally planned to add the al-Nusra Front to its international terrorist list this week, but... -Full Story- (rt.com - 06/12/12)

Do we thank the Portuguese and Catholicism for saving Sri Lanka from Islamisation? – a response to Daily News article 3 Dec 2012
Shenali Waduge 
The article titled “Heritage Catholic Churches of the Kalpitiya peninsula” written by Wiruma based on Sagara Jayasinghe’s book “Santhanadeepaya” may include a collection of historical and architectural heritage of Catholic Churches in the Kalpitiya peninsula, but it also attempts to promote the theory that if not for the Portuguese and in particular Catholicism Sri Lanka would have been turned into an Islamic state. If the book attempts to suggest that allegations against the Church have been as a result of private agenda, it behoves a response in that very few historical accounts have praised the Portuguese... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/12/12)

‘Judges’ joint statement ‘work of CJ’s confidantes’ -All Island Clergy Organisation tells CJ: Step down until cleared - Should respect high office held:
Dharma Sri Abeyratne- Courtesy The Daily News
The All Island Clergy Organisation yesterday requested Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake, who is facing serious integrity charges before a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), to refrain from performing her official duties until the completion of the probe into the charges leveled against her through an impeachment motion. An impeachment motion containing 14 serious charges has been forwarded to Parliament and is being probed by the PSC. The Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary should function in harmony without an unnecessary power struggle to create a law abiding society, Sabaragamuwa University Vice Chancellor and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/12/12)

SHIRANI BANDARANAYAKE NOT SIRIMAVO BANDARANAIKE
Editorial- The Daily News 06/12/2012
The bane of Sri Lankan government service seems to be that everybody wants to be a politician. First it was an army commander. Now is it a Chief Justice? The apparent politicization of the impeachment issue has left a bad taste in the mouth of the ringside citizenry who have been privy to connected events, and perhaps those very far from the action as well. But, the entire political and media feeding-frenzy that is surrounding the impeachment, is in the first instance, causing the devaluation of what is after all the most sacrosanct public... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/12/12)

Medium and Small scale Fashion Fruit Plantation projects in Kilinochchi -Giranikke
Sri Lanka News
Medium and small scale Fashion fruit plantation projects are being now launched in Kilinochchi area.  This project has been launched in coordination and sponsorship of Gargills Foods (Pvt) Ltd. Total of 25,000 fashion fruit plants will be distributed amongst public in Kilinochchi as the 1st Stage of this project. The ancient name for  Killinochchi was "Giranikke', as there was a sanctuaary for Parrots (Gira, Kili in Tamil) in a forest of Nika trees (Nochchi in Malayalam) until the Magha invasion around the 10th century.  The Lumbini Vihara existed their till recent times.The Magha ruler simply... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 05/12/12)

US-NATO Sponsored Crimes against Humanity in Syria. Coverup by UN Human Rights Council Why is the UNSMIS Houla Report Missing?
By Ronda Hauben
I-Conflicting Views on the Human Rights Council September 28 Resolution On September 28, the UN’s Human Rights Council asked for a consensus vote on a resolution holding the Syrian government responsible for the violence in Syria. The resolution particularly referred to the Houla Massacre that took place in Syria on May 25-26, 2012. The resolution said it (1): “Condemns in the strongest terms the massacre of the village of AL-Houla near Homs, where the forces of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic and members of the Shabbiha were found by the commission of inquiry to be... -Full Story- (globalresearch.ca - 05/12/12)

“Legal Imperialism” and International Law: Legal Foundations for War Crimes, Debt Collection and Colonization
By Prof. James Petras
By now we are familiar with imperial states using their military power to attack, destroy and occupy independent countries. Boatloads of important studies have documented how imperial countries have seized and pillaged the resources of mineral-rich and agriculturally productive countries, in consort with multi-national corporations. Financial critics have provided abundant data on the ways in which imperial creditors have extracted onerous rents, royalties and debt payments from indebted countries and their taxpayers, workers, employees and productive sectors. What has not been examined fully is the over-arching legal architecture which informs, justifies and facilitates imperial wars, pillage... -Full Story- (globalresearch.ca - 05/12/12)

THE ROVING EYE-I love the sound of a drone in the morning
By Pepe Escobar
It may not have been a deadly Predator equipped with a Hellfire missile eager to incinerate a Pashtun wedding party, but in our Brave New UAV World - also known as Obama's Drone Wars - even a lowly ScanEagle, manufactured by a Boeing subsidiary, may be assured to steal the limelight. So here's the star of the show on Iranian TV after it was captured over the Persian Gulf. Geopolitical junkies fed up with the same old US generals regurgitating cliches on Fox or CNN will certainly feast on that ultra-retro "We will trample the... -Full Story- (atimes.com - 05/12/12)

‘Syria is not Libya’ - Lavrov
RT
The Russian Foreign Ministry has told its NATO partners that it hopes there will be no attempts at military intervention in Syria. Lavrov advanced Russia’s firm position on Syria after a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on Tuesday. "We hope there will be no foreign interference," he said. Moscow, which is pushing for a diplomatic resolution of the Syrian conflict, has regularly met with both the Syrian rebel opposition as well as those who are loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose rule has been fiercely challenged by a 20-month political uprising. Meanwhile, Lavrov revealed that NATO... -Full Story- (rt.com - 05/12/12)

An Official Response To The Impeachment Of The Chief Justice Suggests Legitimacy, Being Within The Constitution And Valid Despite All The Protestations !
Insight By Sunil Kumar
December 5th 2012  The Sri Lankan Government has officially declared the reasons why a motion of impeachment against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayeke was necessary, in a report to the global media where the reasons presented by a senior aide of the President to support this suggests legitimacy, being within the constitution and valid despite all the ongoing protestations from from many quarters in support of the Chief Justice. It might come from the High Buddhist Clergy, the Bar Associations or for that matter from the rest of the world arguing for a principle but the fact of the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

CJ Shiranie B's 'Jilmarrt' Bank Accounts !
P.A.Samaraweera
The PSC had its second sittings on Tuesday 4th and it was reported that the CJ had asked for 5 more weeks time to answer the charges. Most probably her lawyers are timing for a Supreme Court decision on petitions filed. Then some published photos of CJ surrounded by 'Black-coats' cheering as she was leaving Supreme Court to Parliament. As long as she is CJ there will be no shortage of 'Black-coats' trailing her !   Some papers have disclosed details of bank accounts held by CJ. It is daunting to see how she had manipulated her accounts. For reasons better known to... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

Point of view: No Judicial fetters
by Prof Sunanda Madduma Bandara - Courtesy The Daily News
Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayke Many assertions are being currently made that the first instance of an Impeachment Motion against a Chief Justice was the one that was brought against Neville Samarakoon, C.J. However, this is incorrect. An impeachment motion had been brought, on 6th June 1966, against the then Chief Justice M C Sansoni. The charge against him was that he went to the Katunayake Airport to bid goodbye to the then Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, who... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

Demos in Hulftsdorp, near Parliament:Protestors ask CJ to step down - CJ makes backdoor exit
Courtesy The Daily News
Protesters in their thousands thronged Hulftdrop , and the area adjacent to Parliament last morning to vent their feelings against Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake who is facing serious integrity charges before the Parliamentary Select Committee. The protests were held in support of the impeachment motion containing 14 charges which is being probed by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). A large crowd held a picketing campaign outside the Supreme Court Complex yesterday protesting against the attempts made by the Judiciary to challenge the powers of the legislature and... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

Ambassador Jayatilleka and Madam Jayatilleka say Farewell to Sri Lankan community in France
Embassy of Sri Lanka Paris
On November 30th, 2012, Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka and Madam Sanja Jayatilleka hosted a civic reception, at the Embassy premises, to say farewell to the Sri Lankan community in France.  Following the completion of the basic two year term, Ambassador Jayatilleka will return to Sri Lanka beginning of January 2013.  Delivering a speech, H.E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka highlighted what has been his role as Ambassador: “I have stood for the idea that the main duty of a Sri Lankan Ambassador in any part of the world is to represent his or her country in the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

Some reflections on Political Power, Law and Dhamma in Sri Lanka. A Citizen’s view
Sudath Gunasekara PhD (SLAS) and retired Permanent Secretary, President Senior Citizens Movement Mahanuwara. 2.12.2012.
I thought it would be useful to make few observations on the above subject in view of the ongoing and unfortunate conflict between the Executive and Legislature vs the Judiciary. Since I am not a politician or a legal personality I think a person like me is in a better position to look at this debate, rather the tussle, from an objective and an unbiased angle. The root cause of this issue I think is a misunderstanding between the Executive and the Judiciary. I deliberately... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 04/12/12)

How independent is the Judiciary?
H. L. D. Mahindapala
 The following anecdotal  evidence is narrated to test the independence of the judiciary that was supposed to exist before the current contest between Parliament and the Judiciary broke out. The raging  controversy is based on the claim that the Judiciary was independent and the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to probe into the conduct of the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake erodes the independence of the Judiciary. The following anecdotal evidence presents a skeletal profile of the hidden legal system on which the sovereign people were dependent solely for the rule of law and their share of justice:... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/12/12)

Emergency meeting of Judges and Hulftsdorp Coup !
PA.Samaraweera, Melbourne
Chief Justice Shiranie B convened a special meeting for all District Judges and Magistrates on Monday 3rd. Everyone including the Minister had been kept in the dark about this decision. The question is why the CJ called for this sudden meeting when there is a controversy between the Parliament and the Judiciary. The Judges and Magistrates had to attend leaving their official duties behind. Because of the meetinng Courts had not functioned on Monday. This had caused further inconvenience to the people who linger for years until their cases are heard. But the CJ is not the least concerned about the interests... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/12/12)

CJ’S BLINKING ACCOUNTS: OPEN AND SHUT CASE OF ACCOUNT FIXING/CORRUPTION
by S.P.C.
With the Parliamentary Select Committee hearings on the impeachment of the Chief Justice due today, independent observers have expressed shock and dismay over the manner in which some of her financial dealings have been manipulated, with a view to hiding her true financial worth from assessors. Financial regulators for example would have been put off by the fact that on repeated occasions over several years there was zero balance in her accounts on significant dates such as March 1st or December 1st.... -Full Story- (Daily News - 03/12/12)

Sri Lankans who continue to arrive on foreign soil illegally are in fact economic migrants and not refugees
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva
Addressing the 101st Council Session of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva on Friday (30 November), Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha has observed that emphasis by the international community that Sri Lanka is now free from the dangers that constrained it during the time of the conflict, has been an important factor for those who left the country as refugees during the time of the conflict to return, with the joint assistance of the host countries, and organizations such as the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/12/12)

Sri Lanka needs a National Media Commission to steer Journalistic Ethics
Shenali Waduge
 In the absence of self-regulation by mass media and communication channels there is a need for content analysis by a competent and unbiased team. The scale of lies, fabrication and distortion is not a local experience only. We have come to a stage where people cannot trust international media. Much of the current state of media is as a result of the influence that comes from foreign sources and the negative manner in which media have joined hands to partner political campaigns.  Sri Lanka’s situation is a sensitive one. On the one hand we have a country... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 03/12/12)

John Argue: Comments on Capt. Ravindra Bandanage's defection
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1, Canada
2 December 2012 John Argue Sri Lanka Coordinator Amnesty International Canada , Toronto, Ontario Dear John: Re:  Sri Lanka’s Army Captain Ravindra Watudura Bandanage : Refugee Claim denied in Canada You intrigue me always when you try to push and twist the Canadian Tamil Congress sponsored Amnesty International knife into Sri Lanka’s multi-ethnic body and hurt it more.   If you had wanted to see it bleed, you were out of luck, John.  Sri Lanka’s bleeding stopped on 19 May 2009, when the Master’s that bled... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

වම්ඉවුර - දෝෂාභියෝග ඇසීමට පාර්ලිමේන්තු ස්‌ථාවර නියෝග සම්මත කළ හැටි
සී. ඒ. චන්ද්‍රප්‍රේම-දිවයින
දෝෂාභියෝගයේ චෝදනාවලට අගවිනිසුරු තුමිය විසින් පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරීම් කාරක සභාවට ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද පිළිතුරු ඉකුත් සතියේ වෙබ් අඩවි ගණනාවකම පලවිය. අගවිනිසුරුවරිය දුන් පිළිතුරු අනුව අපට පෙනී යන්නේ තරගය ආරම්භ වීමටත් පෙර අවසන් වී ඇති බවයි. පාර්ලිමේන්තු තේරීම් කාරක සභාවට අවශ්‍ය නම් ඊළඟ වාරයේදීම විමර්ශනය අවසන් කළ හැක. දෝෂාභියෝගයේ හැම චෝදනාවක්‌ම එකිනෙක විමර්ශනය කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය නැත. ඉන් එක්‌ චෝදනාවක්‌ හෝ විමර්ශනය කොට අවසන් කිරීම ප්‍රමාණවත්ය. අගවිනිසුරුවරියට එරෙහිව තිබුණු චෝදනාවලින් වඩාත්ම බරපතළ චෝදනාව වන්නේ පස්‌වැන්නයි. එම චෝදනාවෙන් කියවුණේ අගවිනිසුරුවරියගේ ස්‌වාමිපුරුෂයා වන ප්‍රදීප් කාරියවසම් මහතා මහෙස්‌ත්‍රාත් උසාවියක සැකකරුවකු වශයෙන් සිටියදී ඔහුගේ බිරිඳ රටේ අගවිනිසුරු තනතුර පමණක්‌ නොව නිල බලයෙන්ම අධිකරණ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOUR COUNTRY WILL ALWAYS MAKES YOU BETTER – AMBASSADOR WICKRAMASURIYA TO SRI LANKAN AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA
Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC Press Release
Washington, Dec 2, 2012: Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States  Jaliya Wickramasuriya opines that one who does good for his or her country is always guaranteed of great satisfaction. Addressing a large group of US-Sri Lankan community leaders in California at a dinner reception Ambassador Wickramasuriya informed that the time has never been so right for them to help their motherland . “Doing something good for your country will always make you better. But helping your country now will make you feel far better as our motherland is doing very... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

Death of Mr. L.B.U. de Silva – Buddhist Social Worker
Senaka Weeraratna ( Hony. Secretary, German Dharmaduta Society) 
Mr.Liyanachchi Bertram Upali de Silva, Life Member and former Hony. Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the German Dharmaduta Society, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 02, 2012. He was 82 years of age. He was an old boy of both Rahula Vidyalaya, Matara and Ananda College, Colombo.  A Chartered Accountant by profession, the late Mr. de Silva commenced his career at Messrs. B.R. de Silva, Colombo, reputed firm of Accountants, and later served as an Accountant at the Ceylon Salt Corporation, as Chief Administrative Officer of the Sugar Cane... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

Galle Literary Festival Prepares for a Captivating Event in 2014
Galle Literary Festival Upper Dickinson Road Galle, No Region 8000 Sri Lanka
Dear Friend,  Galle Literary Festival prepares for a captivating event in 2014  The HSBC Galle Literary Festival will take place in 2014 with a host of renowned writers, authors, historians, poets and biographers both global and local.  In its very first year, the festival was voted ‘No.1 Literary Festival in the World’ by Harper’s Bazaar (UK). Last year, the Orange and Commonwealth Prize winning author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie described the festival as “one of the best literary festivals I have been to. The country is beautiful, the... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

'Sunday Times' raises issue on the Gender of the Buddha - but not a word about the Gender, race and colour of the Pope.
Comment
The following letter published in today's (December 02, 2012) Sunday Times ( letter to the Editor) raises the question whether Buddhahood is possible for a female. "  It is therefore puzzling that there is not a single female among the 28 past Buddhas. The Gautama Buddha said the next Buddha would also be a male. Can a woman attain Buddhahood? Is gender an obstacle to becoming a Buddha? Comment What is puzzling is why the Sunday Times does not raise similar ethical and moral issues relating to gender, race and colour in respect to practices of other dominant... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

Keerthi Tennakoon letter to the Kelaniya University
Keerthi Tennakoon Executive director CaFFE/CHR-SL and recently removed from the university of Kelaniya
November 22, 2012 To the members of the university council via the vice chancellor This is my response to the letter NAT/1, which I received on October 26, 2012. I will not say that the letter informing me that I have been removed from the university was unexpected. However that does not mean I am less unhappy or less regretful that I will not be involved with an academic establishment that I have great respect for. When I joined the university in the early 1990s I... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL’S INTERNAL REVIEW PANEL ON UNITED NATIONS ACTION IN SRI LANKA
The Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel
1. On 22 June 2010 the United Nations’ (UN) Secretary-General established a “Panel of Experts on accountability in Sri Lanka” (Panel of Experts) to advise him on accountability during the final stages of the war in Sri Lanka. In addition to its conclusions regarding the need for accountability for violations by the parties to the conflict, the Panel of Experts also concluded that there was a need for the UN to review its own actions1. On 12 April 2011, the Panel of Experts presented its report to the Secretary-General, along with a memorandum stating... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 02/12/12)

REPORT OF THESECRETARY-GENERAL’S INTERNAL REVIEW PANEL ON UNITED NATIONS ACTION IN SRI LANKA
UN
... -Full Story- (un.org - 02/12/12)

Parliament, Executive and Judiciary should act within their own powers: Parliament not answerable to Judiciary - Former CJ Sarath N. Silva
Translated by K.D.M. Kittanpahuwa- Courtesy The Sunday Observer
Power rests with the people: Former Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva expresses his views on the recent developments and his experiences: Former Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva Q: Can Law Courts issue notices on the Speaker in Parliament? A: Not at all. There is no law in this country defining the Appellate Court’s jurisdiction to issue writs. What is in practice in the nation is the British Common Law of Parliament that the Judiciary could never issue writs to Parliament.... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

Opinion Expose: The dual role of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake
Courtesy The Sunday Observer
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/12/02/fea03.asp The Chief Justice (CJ) of a country is the highest judicial officer in the land. From such a person, it is fair for the public to expect a standard of conduct that is above reproach. As a result, the CJ would be expected to display the highest degree of honesty and integrity. Even if the CJ may be prone to a bona- fide mistake on a rare occasion (like all human beings), deliberate and conscious misconduct or misdemeanour cannot ever be a part of a CJ’s conduct. ... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

Communication satellite launch: A giant leap for Sri Lanka
By Shirajiv Sirimane-Courtesy The Sunday Observer
It was President Mahinda Rajapaksa who did the impossible by ending 30-years of terrorism by leading a humanitarian operation, fulfilling one of the election pledges he made. The rocket at the launch pad Technicians busy with last minute preparations Governor Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that this was followed by clearing millions of landmines in record time. He said the opening of the Southern Expressway and several other... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

Time to play nice -- to avoid a heavy price
By Nimal Fernando
Nothing moves pragmatism to centre-stage than a threat to survival. If the coming months and years proves this observation to be right -- put in a myriad different ways, to be sure -- remember that you first read it here. As the dust settles on a bruising election, which saw a majority of American voters asking Barack Obama to remain at his old address, the soul-searching, blame-shifting and probably even (private) mea-culpas are yet to end ... In a listless Republican tent, which is not as large as once perceived, some... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

Cancer Facts - Meat Consumption and Cancer Risk
Cancer Prevention Project
The World Health Organization has determined that dietary factors account for at least 30 percent of all cancers in Western countries and up to 20 percent in developing countries. When cancer researchers started to search for links between diet and cancer, one of the most noticeable findings was that people who avoided meat were much less likely to develop the disease. Large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.1-3 In the United States, researchers studied Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group that is... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

Eating Meat Increases Cancer Risk By 300%
By Tessa R. Salazar Philippine Daily Inquirer
Diseases are almost always caused or triggered by external factors—the environment, stress and diet. Few have given thought to the idea that something as common, and relished, as meat or animal protein may have a hand in causing cancer. Early studies have linked excess consumption of animal protein not just to cardiovascular diseases, but to cancer as well. Literature from the journal Lancet, dated Nov. 27, 1976 and titled “Lymphomas and animal-protein consumption” by A. S. Cunningham revealed international comparisons, suggesting countries where more animal protein is eaten have more cases... -Full Story- (LankaWeb - 01/12/12)

UN Palestine vote a slap for US & Israel
By Edith Lederer
In an extraordinary lineup of international support, more than two-thirds of the world body's 193 member states approved the resolution upgrading the Palestinians to a non-member observer state. It passed 138-9, with 41 abstentions. It was a sharp rebuke for Israel and the United States. A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation, as the final vote was cast.... -Full Story- (nzherald.co.nz - 01/12/12)

Israel responds to Palestine's UN recognition with new settlements
ISRAEL has revealed plans to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank in response to the Palestinians' historic success in being recognised as a non-member state at the United Nations. During the landmark Thursday vote in New York, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution recognising Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member observer state. It was a major diplomatic coup for the Palestinians but a stinging slap in the face for Israel, which had lobbied hard to prevent it, arguing that it would cripple peace hopes.... -Full Story- (theaustralian.com.au - 01/12/12)

US Senators Make Bid To End Indefinite Detention In National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
Michael McAuliff
A bipartisan group of US senators made a bid Wednesday to end the indefinite military detention of Americans. Declaring that a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 put the country on a path to repeat the shame of World War II's internment camps, they argued the offending language should be stricken in this year's defense bill. The authority to detain anyone on suspicions that they backed Al Qaeda was codified in law for the first time in the NDAA last winter, although the two most recent White House administrations have asserted since... -Full Story- (huffingtonpost.com - 01/12/12)

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