Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

We don`t know exactly what General Fonseka`s motives were when he wrote that letter to the President, but the result is that now 130,000 Tamil civilians will have their freedom.

`Our cameraman S. Siriwardana took this picture of passengers on the new Samudradevi train on their way to work. The picture shows commuters seated on the floor and a disabled person standing. The GMR told The Sunday Times the new service took passengers to their destination faster. Passengers appreciated the faster service but said seating was problematic and the train lacked toilet facilities`

Train of questions on new Samudradevi

Is passenger comfort low on railway priorities?
Are toilet facilities on trains considered unnecessary luxuries?

Bashing NGO`s has become a cornerstone of Mahinda Chintana policy. Here is an example of good work done by an NGO (Oxfam):

[In an effort to help tsunami survivors restore their incomes, Oxfam helped repair damaged mills, paid wages to villagers while they restored the coir pits, provided spinning wheels to replace those that were destroyed, and helped spinners buy fiber and quickly return to work. If Oxfam had not intervened at that time, the coir industry would have been no more, said O.G. Padmini. But the industry is a troubled one: despite all their skills and hard work, coir workers earn little for their labor. We each spin about 50 skeins of yarn a day, said Mallika, twenty-five in the morning and 25 in the evening. Each skein sells for less than the equivalent of 15 US cents. These people are living in extreme poverty. Yet when asked what other opportunities exist for women in this area, they reply, just coir. As the emergency phase of the tsunami response drew to a close at the end of 2005, Oxfam turned its attention to helping coir workers in southern Sri Lanka raise their incomes above pre-tsunami levels.

The sea cucumber (B che-de-mer) is a marine animal found on the coral reefs of many Indian Ocean islands including Sri Lanka. Sea cucumbers are known in Sri Lanka as muhudu kekiri or atta but are not used locally as a food item or for any other purpose. They are, however, a great delicacy in Singapore and other countries with a Chinese ethnic population. Commercial exploitation of sea cucumber for export commenced in Sri Lanka in 1996 and exports reached a peak of 307,578 kg. in 1997. Due to over-exploitation of the resource, exports dropped to 82,593 kg. in 2001.

This is an appeal to all Sinhala patriots living abroad. This is a golden opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. Mahinda and his mate Cabraal would like you to buy gilt-edged treasury bills from GOSL. These are much more secure than Uncle Sam`s bonds, and Mahinda will ensure that you get a handsome rate of interest.

The alternative is that Mahinda will be forced to devalue the rupee by 20%, and essential goods like milk powder and medicines will cost 20% more when he goes for a General Election.

Extracts from Lasantha`s last editorial from the grave:

`Unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than quarter of a century`

`In the wake of my death I know that you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the Police to make a swift and thorough inquiry.....For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but your too, depends on it.`

Sri Lankan Muslim writer Ameena Hussein, who wrote two beautiful books of short stories, `Fifteen` and `Zillij`, has now published a novel, `The Moon in the Water`.

[She is uncharacteristically cagey about her new book, and will only say that it tells the story of a young, spunky Muslim girl who returns to spend some time with her family after her father dies in a bomb blast. She discovers a secret that the family has been holding and it derails her, says Ameena, explaining that this secret must now be investigated, and the consequences dealt with.

[Room 63 at Trincomalee General Hospital has little to recommend it. Hidden behind a green curtain in a crowded corridor, there is just room inside for a desk and two chairs. There is no waiting area, no privacy, and its bare, scuffed walls and small, high window, give it the claustrophobic air of a prison cell. But until three years ago, it was the sole mental health provision for a population of some 30,000 people.

It was a woefully inadequate service by any standards but particularly in Sri Lanka, a country which has a disproportionately high rate of mental illness estimated at 10 per cent and the seventh highest suicide rate in the world.

Thanks to jacob99 for drawing my atention to this song. His version of the Nimal Mendis song was sung by Vijaya Kumaratunge. This one is sung by the up-and-coming Sri Lankan singer Gresha Schuilling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresha_Schuilling

[Mexico

As south-east Asian currencies have soared - the pound has lost 16% versus the Thai baht year on year, and the Malaysian ringgit is at its strongest against sterling for the past 12 months - the Mexican peso has weakened 12.8% in the past month alone. With charter airlines such as Thomas Cook servicing Cancun from the UK, flights to Mexico are cheaper than to south-east Asia.

Sometimes, stability is the best you can hope for. The pound has been holding its own against the Turkish lira, and is worth the same amount as it was last year. New York might have been the Christmas shopping destination of choice in 2007, but Istanbul offers significantly better value, not to mention cheaper flights. It is the fastest-growing city break destination in Europe, and has seen an 18% increase in British visitors this year, according to Turkey`s tourist board. ]

This is great news for all patriotic Sri Lankans. Who cares how much it costs the Sri Lankan tax-payer we must all support this fantastic airline.

`Blacks` are a minority in the USA. This is why although they have had the vote for about 80 years (I think), a black has never been elected President. If Obama is elected on 5th November, it will be a seismic event. Although he is of mixed race he seems quite happy to regard himself as a black. If a black is elected as President it will show that America is still a great nation. If and when a Tamil is elected as President of Sri Lanka, that will show that Sri Lanka is a great nation.

The IMF has issued a `gentle warning` on the Sri Lanka economy:

[The risk of a global recession pushed up the number of worldwide borrowers at risk of credit rating cuts to the highest this month since September 2005, Standard & Poor`s said in a report yesterday. The IMF agreed last month to consider emergency loans to Hungary, Ukraine and Iceland to prevent the turmoil in global credit markets from escalating.