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   http://www.lankanewspapers.com/elephanthouse - Archive of Dec 2011




What is creative destruction?
Thursday, 1 December 2011 - 2:24 PM SL Time

Wrong. It has nothing to do with the Hellam War. It`s a relatively new expression used in the business world. The article below will be able to enlighten you on the real meaning of it.

China, Inc. Goes Global

Karl P. Sauvant

2011-11-30

China, Inc. Goes Global


NEW YORK China`s economy is now taking its next great leap forward: parts of its manufacturing sector are now moving up the value-added chain and out of the country. The China challenge is now a global one.

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Sonali is obsessed with gadgets
Thursday, 1 December 2011 - 8:20 PM SL Time

Is this the famous Sonali you are all talking about? If so, then I can fully understand CG`s reaction, haha!

By: The Hitlist Team Date: 2011-11-28 Place: Mumbai

Sonali Bendre is obsessed with picking up any new electronic item in the market. She owns an Ipad, an Itouch and a Mac book pro and of course her mobile phone, which she keeps updating whenever, a finer version comes in the market.
She`s so hooked to her phone that her friends apparently complain about not getting enough attention. Wonder what hubby Goldie Behl has to say.

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These guys are really nuts
Friday, 2 December 2011 - 2:32 AM SL Time

1 December 2011 Last updated at 00:47 GMT

MPs take aim at Sri Lanka minister over dumped coconuts
By Charles Haviland

BBC News, Colombo Coconuts are an intrinsic part of Sri Lankan culture and cuisine

A government minister in Sri Lanka has come under fire over the fate of thousands of Indian coconuts.

Questioned in parliament, internal trade minister Johnston Fernando admitted that 22,500 coconuts had been dumped in the sea last year.

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Best of the World 2012
Friday, 2 December 2011 - 3:56 PM SL Time

From the 20 destinations proposed in the National Geographic Magazine, I have selected 10 (including Sri Lanka, of course).

Your TravelElephant

What places are calling your name for 2012? Whatever your mood, Traveler magazine has a recommendation for you from the romantic hills of Croatia to the perfect beach in Thailand.

Iceland
Photograph by Johnathan A. Esper, Getty Images
Harmonic Convergence

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A better `Welcome to London` than we have seen recently thanks to the robots
Friday, 2 December 2011 - 10:50 PM SL Time

This is just a little summary from the Robotville Festival in London.
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A new express high way and train line to a fishing village?
Saturday, 3 December 2011 - 4:11 AM SL Time

New road and rail line to connect Sri Lanka`s Southern port city to surf city in East
Sat, Dec 3, 2011, 12:31 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Dec 02, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to construct another expressway to connect the rising Southern port city of Hambantota to the popular surfing destination in the East coast, Arugam Bay.

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Isn`t the dog the Master`s best friend
Saturday, 3 December 2011 - 5:47 PM SL Time

Dog shoots hunter in buttocks

A US hunter was rushed to hospital after being shot in the buttocks by his dog.

The 46-year-old man was hit after his `excited` pet stepped on a shotgun in his boat, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He escaped serious injury, receiving only minor wounds to his buttocks and probably a bigger one to his pride.

Police said the man had been duck hunting with a friend on the Great Salt Lake, Utah, when the bizarre accident happened.

The hunter, from Brigham City, was shot as he climbed out of the boat to move decoys in an area of shallow marsh.

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Dollar pinching, holidayers pick Sri Lanka over London
Sunday, 4 December 2011 - 3:20 AM SL Time

Chinmayi ShalyaChinmayi Shalya, TNN | Dec 4, 2011, 01.05AM IST

MUMBAI: Despite dollar touching a record high and becoming expensive, Indian tourists are not cancelling their trips abroad but are making compromises to make up for the 15% rise in travel expenses. Tour operators say a devalued rupee has forced many to shrink their budgets and choose less expensive locations closer to India.

According to the tour operators, passengers will have to pay 15% more on hotels, shopping and sightseeing at places like the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and even Singapore. `If a family of four is travelling to one of these places, the holiday budget will shoot up considerably,`` said Ajay Prakash, president, Travel Agents` Federation of India (TAFI). He added that one of his clients, who was planning a holiday to Northern Europe, decided to settle for Hong Kong instead. `There are many people who take one annual holiday. They might change their destination to suit their budgets but won`t cancel travel plans,`` Prakash said.

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Who Shot Duminda Silva?
Sunday, 4 December 2011 - 1:27 PM SL Time

■ Exclusive pictures reveal extent of brain damage
■ Duminda shot from close range: 30 100 cm away

By Faraz Shauketaly


A scan of Duminda`s brain according to his lawyer , These exclusive pictures reveal, that a section of the skull was removed and clearly some surgery has taken place on the brain and Duminda Silva

Exclusive pictures published for the first time in this newspaper reveal that Duminda Silva was shot at from virtually point-blank range. Forensic experts have confirmed that the burn marks at the entry point of the bullet from the upper forehead is consistent with being shot at from a distance of anything between 30 100 centimetres away. 35 cm is about the width of a single sheet of this newspaper.

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Ex LTTE cadres despatched overseas to spy for MoD
Sunday, 4 December 2011 - 6:45 PM SL Time

by Our Special Correspondent in Colombo

(December 04, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lanka`s State Intelligence Service to target pro-Eelam groups and anti-government activists abroad.

Sri Lanka`s Ministry of Defence is said to have dispatched these intelligence agents to pro-actively gather information for the Ministry of Defence from various pro-Eelam groups and befriend anti-government activists living in Europe.

The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) in Sri Lanka is said to have dispatched ex-LTTE cadres to Europe and Canada as part of the Sri Lankan state intelligence services clandestine agenda to target pro-Eelam Tamil activists and groups including the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) and the likes of the splinter LTTE group led by Nediyavan.

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Sri Lanka s rank in Doing Business Index 2012 improves greatly
Monday, 5 December 2011 - 3:17 AM SL Time

According to the `Doing Business 2012` report published by the World Bank, Sri Lanka`s overall ranking in the `Doing Business Index had risen by nine places from a ranking of 98 in 2011 to a ranking of 89th in 2012 from a universe of 183 economies said Vidya Nathaniel and Janeen Fernando of Verit Research.

According to the report strengthening investor protection rank improved by 28 points, by jumping from the 74 position last year to 46th in 2012.

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The Economist Highlights
Monday, 5 December 2011 - 5:30 PM SL Time

Britain`s economy: Into the storm
Charlemagne: The horsemen approach
Egypt`s election: Islamists of every stripe to the fore
The Republican nomination: The day of the Newt
Pakistan and America: Till deaths us do part
Myanmar and America: A new Great Game?
New Zealand`s politics: Key to the kingdom

George Osborne, Britain`s chancellor of the exchequer, was forced to admit that the government would not meet its target of eliminating the structural budget deficit by 2014-15, and would have to make further austerity cuts after the next general election. The announcement came after the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent statutory forecaster, slashed its growth projections for Britain. A day later hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers went on strike, protesting against pension reforms. See article

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Sri Lanka Elected to the UN Industrial Development Board
Tuesday, 6 December 2011 - 12:23 AM SL Time


Vienna, 06 December, (Asiantribune.com):

At the elections that took place at the closing session of the 14th General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) ob 2nd December 2011, Sri Lanka was elected by consensus to the UNIDO Industrial Development Board (IDB) for a term of 4 years. Sri Lanka is among 26 countries which were elected to this important forum.

The UNIDO Industrial Development Board is a main body of the Organization which deals with policy issues in the arena of industrial development, with an authority to make recommendations on the effective implementation of core aspects of its mandate. The Working Group on the Future of UNIDO established by the Industrial Development Board in May 2011 is already considering issues relevant to strengthening of the organization, through the enhancement of its core competencies. The technical cooperation portfolio of the organization currently stands at US $ 186 million.

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In the USA snail mail will become even slower
Tuesday, 6 December 2011 - 12:21 PM SL Time

Postal cuts to slow delivery of first-class mail
By HOPE YEN | AP 13 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) Facing bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing ahead with unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring that will slow delivery and, for the first time in 40 years, eliminate the chance for stamped letters to arrive the next day.

The estimated $3 billion in reductions, to be announced in broader detail on Monday, are part of a wide-ranging effort by the cash-strapped Postal Service to quickly trim costs, seeing no immediate help from Congress.

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Sri Lanka media group challenges websites blocking
Tuesday, 6 December 2011 - 6:31 PM SL Time

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI, Associated Press Bharatha Mallawarachi, Associated Press
15 mins ago


COLOMBO, Sri Lanka A media rights group has filed a court challenge over the Sri Lankan government`s blocking of five news websites for content that was deemed insulting, a spokesman said Tuesday.

The local Free Media Movement filed a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court on Monday on the basis that the blockade breaches the people`s right to information and freedom of expression, the group`s convener, Sunil Jayasekara, said.

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Sri Lanka under fire over PR firm Bell Pottinger speech
Wednesday, 7 December 2011 - 12:34 PM SL Time

Sri Lanka has strongly denounced a report in a UK newspaper which said a leading lobbying company wrote a speech on behalf of the president.

In a report on Tuesday, the Independent quoted a Bell Pottinger company spokesman as saying it wrote a speech the president gave to the UN in 2010.

The spokesman is quoted as saying the speech was `very well received`.

Bell Pottinger has so far not commented on the contents of the Independent`s report.

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Make sure you are pressing the right button
Wednesday, 7 December 2011 - 8:07 PM SL Time

Sex to become electronic in 2030


British futurologist Ian Pearson believes that people will not need to have sex already in 2030. To experience orgasm and other pleasant sensations that occur during sex people would only have to apply microchips on their skin. The chips will record the signals from the central nervous system received during sex and then simply play them again any moment, when needed.

The scientist is certain that such sensors will become available for all in the near future. The sensors will be sophisticated enough to detect and map the collection of stimuli that create certain sensory experiences - be it someone shaking your hand, hugging you, or having sex with you. Afterwards, the sensors will stimulate your nervous system to create illusions of warmth, pressure and movement.

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Is Sri Lanka`s tourism industry on the right path?
Thursday, 8 December 2011 - 1:00 PM SL Time

Harischandra Gunaratna
The Island
Publication Date : 08-12-2011




The Deputy Minister of Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane recently said that Sri Lanka targets 950,000 tourists in 2012. And our target for 2016 is an ambitious 2.5 million tourists.

It is positive thinking and good vision. But the Minister has not explained how we could reach this target without a proper marketing strategy and aggressiove promotions. One should remember that tourists would not simply fly to this country and the tour operators will go the extra mile to recommend Sri Lanka as a destinations without much needed awareness. There are other countries in the region which are our competitors and they have launched vigorous campaigns to lure holyday makers to their respective lands, with considerable budgets for promotions which we lack.

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The Impoverished Asian Century
Thursday, 8 December 2011 - 7:17 PM SL Time

2011-12-06

The Impoverished Asian Century


HONG KONG By 2050, Asia will have more than five billion people, while the European Union`s share of the global population will decline from 9% to 5%. Annual economic growth in Asia over the past 30 years has averaged 5%. Its GDP is projected to increase from $30 trillion to about $230 trillion by 2050. The balance of power in the twenty-first century is shifting in social, economic, and, arguably, political terms from west to east.

Western anxieties about a looming Asian century stem largely from the precedent of twentieth-century geopolitics, in which the West dominated less-developed nations. But this dynamic is outdated, and Asia would suffer as much as the West from any attempt to emulate the British and American empires of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

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Also written by PR firm Bell Pottinger?
Friday, 9 December 2011 - 7:27 AM SL Time

President Rajapaksa speaks about democracy at Bali forum

Thursday, 08 December 2011 22:02

.


(Srilankamirror) - Sri Lanka`s president Mahinda Rajapaksa said today (Dec. 08) that if democracy is to be meaningful and command people`s respect it must have a direct impact on their everyday lives.

There must be closest possible interaction between the government and the community, he told the fourth Bali Democracy Forum in Bali, Indonesia.

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Sri Lanka Nov tourist arrivals hit yearly, monthly records
Friday, 9 December 2011 - 8:21 PM SL Time

Fri Dec 9, 2011 4:28pm IST

COLOMBO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka`s tourist
arrivals hit a record high in November and for the year, with
visitor totals climbing every month on a year-on-year basis
since a 25-year civil war ended in May 2009.
Tourist arrivals in November hit a monthly record of 90,889,
up 25.8 percent from October, surpassing the island nation`s
previous monthly peak of 84,627 in December.
The arrivals in the first 11 months of 2011 jumped 33.1

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Britain, not leaving but falling out of the EU
Saturday, 10 December 2011 - 2:52 PM SL Time

Dec 9th 2011, 10:29 by Bagehot

BRITAIN did not walk out of the EU last night. But let there be no doubt about it: we have started falling out.

David Cameron finally did what British prime ministers have threatened in Europe so many times, and used his veto last night in Brussels, my BBC radio told me at dawn this morning. This is an astonishingly dramatic moment, the BBC added: the British prime minister has refused to sign up to a new EU treaty involving all 27 members, because the rest, led by France and Germany, would not grant him the safeguards he sought giving Britain powers to block unwelcome regulation of the City of London.

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UK removal flight to Sri Lanka despite recent UN concerns over torture allegations
Sunday, 11 December 2011 - 4:38 AM SL Time

A charter flight which is due to remove refused Sri Lankan asylum seekers from the UK next week has brought with it new fears for the safety of individuals who stand to be forcibly returned to the country.

Freedom from Torture recently launched a public action calling on the UK government to take urgent steps to ensure they are not returning anyone to a serious risk of torture in Sri Lanka following its publication of forensically-documented evidence of ongoing torture in the country.

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No More Even A Former Army Commander Says Military Spokesman
Sunday, 11 December 2011 - 3:19 PM SL Time

■ Fonseka Not To Be Remembered

By Indika Sri Aravinda

Army spokesman Brigadier Nihal Hapuarachchi told The Sunday Leader that Fonseka is not referred to as the former Army Commander anymore.
Even as history is being re-written by the Rajapaksas, the former army chief will not be a part of history when Sri Lanka`s victorious battle against the LTTE is documented.

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Politicians appear to be saints against corrupt journalists
Sunday, 11 December 2011 - 10:57 PM SL Time

by Pearl Thevanayagam
(December 11, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) We blame politicians and politicians blame the media. But the media in Sri Lanka have taken a new path out of extricating themselves and into the limelight through self-promotion. Or rather through those intrepid and honest journalists who sacrificed their lives.

How come Iqbal Athas, despite many death threats and bomb throwing at his residence never succumbed to seeking refuge in foreign climes or getting himself a fellowship abroad. Simply put, no journalism school could teach Iqbal the fundamentals of investigative journalism. He has it his veins and he cannot be bought with a few thousand dollars.

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New laser camera system installed on Sri Lanka`s first expressway to prevent speeding
Monday, 12 December 2011 - 1:25 PM SL Time

Leading News from Sri Lanka::

* New laser camera system installed on Sri Lanka`s first expressway to prevent speeding
Mon, Dec 12, 2011, 10:37 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Dec 12, Colombo: Sri Lanka police spokesman Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said that a new laser camera system has been installed on the Southern expressway and it is functioning since Sunday.

The camera system can capture the vehicle number and the driver`s image of speeding vehicles. Earlier cameras used by Sri Lanka police could only record the speed.

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Durban 2011 meets bright and dark sides
Monday, 12 December 2011 - 8:29 PM SL Time

By Ramesh Jaura
IDN-InDepth News Report

BERLIN (IDN) - The outcome of the Durban global climate talks, which dragged on for 14 long days, has been declared as disappointing or encouraging depending on the perceptions of beholders some of whom are setting their sights on the half-empty glass and others who prefer to focus on the half-full glass.

The United Nations, however, is expectedly keen to provide a balanced view highlighting positive aspects and at the same time cautioning of risks involved if what has been agreed is not translated into action by all countries and institutions involved.

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Consensus building forum in London
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - 8:04 AM SL Time

by Victor Cherubim

( December 12, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) A gathering of six visiting MP`s from both the Governing UPFA and Opposition UNP and the TNA, along with members of the Sri Lanka International Alert and Chamber of Commerce, came face to face with the Sri Lankan diaspora in UK, on11 December 2011 at Norbiton, near Kingston,Surrey.

The concept definition of diaspora was viewed differently and not as a monolithic idea as mooted in Sri Lanka. For the Tamil people abroad, it was a conflict generated diaspora.

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Address the past for Sri Lanka`s sake
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 - 9:19 PM SL Time

Jehan Perera
The Island
Publication Date : 13-12-2011




Periodically there are strong statements by members of foreign governments on the issues of war crimes and human rights violations in Sri Lanka. But it ends there unless the Sri Lankan government chooses to answer. While the international rhetoric of war crimes and human rights abuses still prevails, there is little or no manifestation of that pressure in concrete terms. Now there are media reports that the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Navaneethan Pillay, has decided to postpone her planned visit to Sri Lanka until after the public release of the report of the Presidential Commission on Lessons Learned and Reconciliation. At the present time this report is with the President.

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CERN stops short of Higgs boson discovery claim
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - 4:30 AM SL Time


By Reuters

Posted On Wednesday, December 14, 2011





Geneva Scientists at the CERN physics research centre said on Tuesday they had found signs of although not yet conclusively discovered the Higgs boson, an elementary particle which is the missing link in the Standard Model of physics.

Fabiola Gianotti, the scientist in charge of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, said the signal was centred at around 126 GeV (Giga electron volts).


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When most wonderful day of
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - 10:34 AM SL Time

NEW YORK - When Emily Russell`s two young
sons wake up on Christmas morning, they`ll
find that Santa left them a note instead of the
videogames they requested.

`Hey, I couldn`t get by your house last
night,` Russell, a single mothers_day.jsp' class=black>mother from

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2012: Sri Lanka`s growth to slowdown, rupee to depreciate
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 - 8:50 PM SL Time


The World is unlikely to meet its end in 2012 but the Sri Lankan economy would face a challenging year ahead with pressures mounting on every front.

Standard Chartered Bank releasing its flagship publication `Global Focus: 2012- The Year Ahead` said Sri Lanka`s economic growth was expected to slowdown to 7.5 percent in 2012 after recording 8 percent growth in 2010 and 2011 due to pressures on export earnings. This growth would be sustained by heavy government spending on infrastructure.

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Eating or Heating in UK
Thursday, 15 December 2011 - 4:26 AM SL Time

Fuel poverty is a particular problem among the old in UK every winter. With the Big Six Energy suppliers hiking prices of fuel, over and above inflation, some 25,000 elderly people of the 10 million pensioners, die every year from cold related illnesses, because they are unable to keep themselves warm. There is also cold comfort whether to buy or not to buy, as prices of food and essentials at supermarkets escalate.

The definition of fuel poverty is when a household needs to spend more than a tenth of its income on fuel to make a satisfactory heating regime, (usually 21degrees for the main living area and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms). Today we are informed that the elderly need to spend a seventh of their income from their pension on energy bills.

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In India, a Growing Safety Problem
Thursday, 15 December 2011 - 2:36 PM SL Time

By HEATHER TIMMONS

Rupak De Chowdhuri/ReutersRescuers carrying a patient out of the AMRI hospital in Kolkata after the fire on Friday.

This week`s report of more than 100 people near Kolkata dying from bootleg liquor coming on the heels of a fire in that city that killed more than 90 is the latest in a steady stream of horrific tragedies that seem to strike with brutal regularity in India. Rail accidents, stampedes at over-crowded religious festivals, bus accidents, building collapses, and a world-record number of traffic fatalities, are among the hazards regularly reported across the country.

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Hope dies last amid global recession angst
Thursday, 15 December 2011 - 9:02 PM SL Time

By Richard Johnson
IDN-InDepth NewsReport

GENEVA (IDN) - A spectre is haunting the world`s better off the spectre of global recession with dire consequences for the international economy pounding the coffers of the wealthy and nibbling away at the savings of the middle income groups.

But are things really that bad? Yes, things are bad but not hopeless, provided that global leadership steps out of existing structures to solve the world`s multiple challenges, a new report says. In times of crisis, the leadership `must use what works, innovating on the spot, being decisive while mitigating risk, and being in a position to deal with the consequences.`

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Football: 2011 / 2012 Champions League
Friday, 16 December 2011 - 5:30 PM SL Time

Here an update on this highly disputed competition in a chronological order:
Teams qualified for the 8th final vs. my prediction, as per Aug. 26 posting on my page
Today`s drawings and my comments
Various articles regarding the subject

1) Teams qualified for the 8th final.

My predictions of Aug. 26 were 13 / 16 accurate. The amazing thing is that I did not expect the Swiss team Basel to be qualified!
Group winners: Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Benfica Lisbon, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, APOEL Nicosia, Barcelona

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EU statement
Saturday, 17 December 2011 - 4:13 AM SL Time

Statement by the spokesperson of the EU High Representative
Catherine Ashton
on the publication of the report of Sri Lanka`s Lessons Learnt
and Reconciliation Commission
The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement
today:
`The High Representative takes note of the presentation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation

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When the junior beats the original
Saturday, 17 December 2011 - 5:01 PM SL Time

I`m very frustrated by the fact that non-Youtube videos cannot be uploaded on LNP. I was hoping the final of the Wednesday evening show of the M6 Incredible Talents would appear with the undisputed winner, but for the moment you have to watch it on
http://www.m6.fr/emission-la_france_a_un_incroyable_talent/prestations/4266-une-prestation-habitee.html
(the add. is only for a few seconds and I hope it can be watched everywhere).

A new star was born in the name of Marina Dalmas. Imagine, this French girl

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The brand new Magic Gold
Sunday, 18 December 2011 - 8:39 AM SL Time

Switzerland has no petrol and its` future depends on high tech and continuous innovation. On Thursday a significant announcement has been made by a top Swiss watch manufacturer regarding a new type of gold that will certainly become a reference in the luxury watch industry. Here the announcement:

Hublot presents new alloys for watchmaking and jewellery, developed in collaboration with EPFL.

On Thursday 15th December, in the Metallurgy department of the Hublot Manufacture in Nyon, Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot`s CEO, and Andreas Mortensen, a Professor at EFPL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) unveiled a range of brand new alloys which are set to revolutionise the characteristics of precious materials and may also pave the way for new alloys to be used in the high-tech industry.

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Sri Lanka war report lays blame on both sides
Sunday, 18 December 2011 - 10:20 PM SL Time

Ben Doherty
December 19, 2011

SRI LANKA`S civil war reconciliation commission has blamed both Sinhalese and Tamil leaders for the violence that gripped the country for more than a quarter of a century, but it has refused to criticise the army for the violence at the end of the conflict, in which it is alleged civilians were targeted and up to 40,000 non-combatants killed.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, the government-backed tribunal that took evidence in thousands of interviews and dozens of public hearings across Sri Lanka, says both sides were to blame for the war.

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Breaking News: The end of another dictator
Monday, 19 December 2011 - 1:37 PM SL Time

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dead, son hailed as heir

By David Chance and Jack Kim | Reuters 14 mins SEOUL (Reuters) -

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported on Monday, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear program.

A tearful television announcer dressed in black said the 69-year old had died on Saturday of physical and mental over-work on his way to give `field guidance` - a reference to advice dispensed by the `Dear Leader` on his trips to factories, farms and military bases.

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Fake claims on International status
Monday, 19 December 2011 - 10:41 PM SL Time

by Gamini Weerakoon
(December 19, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Keeping up with the Joneses (or as we Sri Lankans say, Pereras or Silvas) is perfectly natural. The Caveman would have no doubt been harangued by Mrs. Caveman to have the granite grinding stone in her kitchen replaced by white quartz which her neighbour had.

Today, Mrs. Silva wants her `luxury` re-conditioned Japanese car replaced with a brand new automatic hybrid. Such is the craving among all human beings which Buddhists say is `the cause of all suffering`.

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Accountability and Reconciliation
Tuesday, 20 December 2011 - 1:27 PM SL Time

Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka interviewed by Radio France International (rfi) on Accountability and Reconciliation (Aired on 15th December 2011)



(December 19, Paris, Sri Lanka Guardian) Yesterday Sri Lanka rejected calls for an independent probe into war crimes committed during its thirty years civil war. The External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris- also said they did not need international policemen to solve internal issues.



The country`s war ended in May 2009 with both Governments` troops and Tamil Tiger rebels accused of using brutal and inhumane tactics. Efforts of reconciling the country`s culturally diverse population have been made but Sri Lanka`s Ambassador to Paris, Dayan Jayatilleka, tells Radio France International`s Rosslyn Hyams they have not been entirely successful.

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Sri Lanka welcomes the 800,000th tourist arrived this year, with an unprecedented boom in the tourist industry
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 - 7:11 AM SL Time

Wed, 2011-12-21 00:47 editor

By A.A.M.Nizam in Colombo
Colombo, 21 December, (Asiantribune.com):

The number of tourists visited Sri Lanka this year exceeded 800,000 yesterday. A special function was held at the Katunayaka Airport yesterday to welcome the 800,000th tourist. This is the highest number of tourist arrivals recorded in a year in Sri Lanka.

The British national John Chummy became the 800,000th tourist arrived in Sri Lanka. He arrived with his wife Naadiya Chammi in a Sri Lankan Airways flight from London for their honeymoon in Sri Lanka. John Chummy is an Executive Officer and his wife is a Teacher and they have got married in Cyprus three months ago.

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Ces ria vora, Singer From Cape Verde, Dies at 70
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 - 3:41 PM SL Time


By JON PARELES


Ces ria vora, who brought the music of the tiny Cape Verde islands off Senegal to a worldwide audience, died on Saturday in Mindelo, on S o Vicente, her native island in Cape Verde. She was 70.

Her death was announced by her managers. She had a stroke in 2008 and a heart attack in 2010. After another stroke this year, she announced her retirement.

Ms. vora`s music was in a style called morna, which is sung in taverns on the Cape Verde islands: slow, pensive ballads with an underlying lilt, suffused with sodade, the Cape Verdean creole term for a nostalgic longing that pervades music across Portugal (where the word is saudade) and its former empire.

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The 50 Best Websites of 2011
Wednesday, 21 December 2011 - 11:38 PM SL Time

We honor the scrappy newcomers and established players that make the Web so useful, entertaining and just plain indispensable

Full List
Music & Video
8tracks
HBO GO
Howcast
My Damn Channel
Turntable.fm

Family & Kids
CafeMom
Dear Photograph
Poptropica
Proust
Wonderopolis

Sports
Bleacher Report
Grantland
Jayski`s Silly Season Site
Onion Sports Network
SB Nation

News & Info
Big Think
GetHuman
Instapaper

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Heavy rains affect many areas in Sri Lanka s North and North Centreal provinces
Thursday, 22 December 2011 - 4:51 PM SL Time


Thu, 2011-12-22 01:18 editor

A.A.M.Nizam in Colombo


Colombo, 22 December, (Asiantribune.com):

Sri Lanka is once again threatened with damages due to heavy rain being received in many areas, especially in the North and North Central areas of the country.

The Disaster Management Centre informed that 10,225 families have been displaced due to the inclement weather situation and majority of them are from the Kilinochchi district in the Northern Province.. One death has been reported from the Muhudubada Pattu Divisional Secretariat Division in the Mulaitivu district.

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James Blunt
Thursday, 22 December 2011 - 11:18 PM SL Time

James Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974),[1][2] better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including `You`re Beautiful` and `Goodbye My Lover`, brought him to fame in 2005. His repertoire can be best described as a mix of acoustic-tinged pop, rock and folk. After recording on the independent American label Custard Records, Blunt won two Brit Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards, and by 2006 was nominated for five Grammy Awards. The following year, he released his second album All the Lost Souls (2007). Blunt`s third studio album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released in November 2010. Worldwide, Blunt has sold over 15 million albums, and his debut album, Back to Bedlam, is the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.[3]

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The Dead Sea Scrolls
Friday, 23 December 2011 - 8:46 AM SL Time

Ten Commandments scroll goes on display in New York
By David Gibson| Religion News Service, Published: December 19
NEW YORK It is an irony of history that the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai on two stone tablets are found in their purest form on a strip of ancient parchment so delicate that it is hardly ever seen by the public.

A rare exception is being made this holiday season as the 2,000-year-old Ten Commandments Scroll goes on display through Jan. 2 in a New York City exhibit dedicated to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

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The Intellectual and Politics
Friday, 23 December 2011 - 5:20 PM SL Time


V clav Havel, who died on December 18, was that rare intellectual who, rather than forcing his way into politics, had politics forced upon him. In 1998, while serving as President of the Czech Republic, he offered the following reflection on the benefits and dangers of his career path.

PRAGUE Does an intellectual by virtue of his efforts to get beneath the surface of things, to grasp relations, causes, and effects, to recognize individual items as part of larger entities, and thus to derive a deeper awareness of and responsibility for the world belong in politics?

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Corruption plagues daily life says South Asian Corruption Barometer
Friday, 23 December 2011 - 9:46 PM SL Time

A Statement Issued by the Transparency International
(December 23, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The South Asian Corruption Barometer released by Transparency International Secretariat in Katmandu today (22) indicates findings that suggest that corruption is still perceived a problem in Sri Lanka with some 49% of Sri Lankan respondents claiming corruption was on the increase while only 19% thought there was no change.

The new survey covers six South Asian countries published today by Transparency International, found that more than one in three people who deal with public services claimed of having paid bribes. In previous surveys of this nature, only Sub-Saharan Africa had a higher rate of bribe-paying.

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Giant dog gets more Christmas cards than owners
Saturday, 24 December 2011 - 1:21 PM SL Time

Published: 24/12/2011 07:00
A giant dog has proved such a hit in his new village that he has received more Christmas cards than his owners.

Shakespeare, a fawn coloured Great Dane - who at 6ft 6ins tall on his hind legs is in the running for Britain`s biggest dog - has won his popularity by letting youngsters ride him like a horse.

This festive season the 17-stone, three-year-old has received dozens of Christmas cards, even though he only moved to Clare, near Haverhill, with his owners in September.

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Lost last month, blind dog gets home for Christmas
Sunday, 25 December 2011 - 7:26 AM SL Time

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A blind dog that was lost and believed to be dead is reunited with his San Antonio family for Christmas, thanks to Craigslist, a school teacher and an animal care agency.

Nearly a month after Stevie Oedipus Wonder disappeared -- and was reported dead -- the cairn terrier mix puppy is home for the holiday, the San Antonio Express-News reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/unONGF .)

`This is my Christmas miracle,` Stevie`s owner Belinda Gutierrez said. `I actually thought I was going to have a sad end of the year and a sad Christmas.`

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Sri Lanka on right track to development
Sunday, 25 December 2011 - 2:37 PM SL Time

Drive to continue in 2012:

Sri Lanka on right track to development
By Shirajiv SIRIMANE


Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Performing Arts Centre

Next Sunday would mark the beginning of a new year which would see the completion of more development projects that two decades ago were confined to the drawing boards of bureaucrats and politicos. The year 2012 would see more dreams of Sri Lankans turning into reality, taking the country closer towards its goal of becoming the Wonder of Asia.

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Tsunami Demons Haunt the Coast
Monday, 26 December 2011 - 5:35 AM SL Time

By Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Dec 24, 2011 (IPS) - Seven years after monster waves crashed into homes, hotels and vehicles on Sri Lanka`s coast, people in this island nation continue to be haunted by demons from the sea.

For those who lived to tell the tale of how 30,000 souls perished on that fateful Boxing Day in 2004, the slightest change in the mood of the sea is enough to send a chill down their spines.

Udayam Sujatha, who survived the tsunami after being dragged some way by the waves, now lives with her husband near the coast in the eastern town of Batticaloa. `I sometimes hate the sea,` she told IPS.

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Sri Lanka President to grant a special pardon to prisoners Freedom for Fonseka anticipated
Tuesday, 27 December 2011 - 4:19 AM SL Time

Sri Lanka Presidential Secretariat sources say that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is considering a presidential pardon for special prisoners based on the good behavior.

Speculations are ripe that former Army Commander and defeated Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka who is jailed for two prison terms will also be considered for the presidential pardon which may be granted by January 01.

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The Pakistanis Have a Point
Tuesday, 27 December 2011 - 9:54 PM SL Time

The Pakistanis Have a Point

By BILL KELLER


As an American visitor in the power precincts of Pakistan, from the gated enclaves of Islamabad to the manicured lawns of the military garrison in Peshawar, from the luxury fortress of the Serena Hotel to the exclusive apartments of the parliamentary housing blocks, you can expect three time-honored traditions: black tea with milk, obsequious servants and a profound sense of grievance.

Talk to Pakistani politicians, scholars, generals, businessmen, spies and journalists as I did in October and before long, you are beyond the realm of politics and diplomacy and into the realm of hurt feelings. Words like ditch and jilt and betray recur. With Americans, they complain, it`s never a commitment, it`s always a transaction. This theme is played to the hilt, for effect, but it is also heartfelt.

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The first solar ski lift in the world opens in Switzerland
Wednesday, 28 December 2011 - 1:39 PM SL Time

In the remote of Grisons, Safiental this winter comes to a premiere. The first solar ski lift takes the world on its operation. Its stands above the small Walser village Tenna which 450 meters long and equipped with 82 `Solar Wings`. Each of 100 pound Solar Wings equipped with three panels to support cables mounted several meters above the ski lift. They provide about 90,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, which are required for operating the lift around 25,000 kilowatt hours per year.

The excess energy goes into the public grid. The solar modules achieve a high efficiency, because they automatically turn to the sun. And large snowfall is no problem. The modules can be placed almost vertically, so that the snow falls. Although the lift is only 450 meters long, it opens up 4.5 km of groomed slopes. The 1.35 million francs solar ski lift was financed by the solar lift from its own resources, from donations from churches, organizations and private donors. The solar-lift will be officially opened on December 17 with a celebration. To celebrate the day, the lift can be used free of charge. The ski village of 110 souls-Tenna is also followed by 25 francs for a day pass to the very favorable.
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Back to the future: Samoa and Tokelau to cross international date line, jump forward a day
Thursday, 29 December 2011 - 10:34 AM SL Time

KENI LESA

Associated Press

10:17 PM CST, December 28, 2011

Advertisement

APIA, Samoa (AP) The tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa and its neighbor Tokelau will jump forward in time on Thursday, crossing westward over the international date line to align themselves with their other 21st century trading partners throughout the region.

At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 29, time in Samoa and Tokelau will leap forward to Dec. 31 New Year`s Eve. For Samoa`s 186,000 citizens, and the 1,500 in Tokelau, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, will simply cease to exist.

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Tarzan s Cheetah Dead At 80?
Thursday, 29 December 2011 - 5:44 PM SL Time

Hardly a Christmas goes by that some star of stage and screen doesn`t pass away. And this year is no exception, as we mourn the loss of a star who could reportedly hit you with a handful of his own faeces from up yo 30 feet. Yes, the chimpanzee who reportedly played Cheetah in the 1930s TARZAN movies is dead, having died from kidney failure on 19th December at Florida`s Suncoast Primate Sanctuary. He was reckoned to have been 80-years old.

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From North Korea, an Altered Procession
Friday, 30 December 2011 - 9:11 AM SL Time

The funeral of Kim Jong-il on Wednesday called to mind the best stage-managed Communist state productions: the falling snow, the wailing mourners, the perfectly spaced limousines and rows of chest-beating men.

So perhaps it was because the scene was so nearly impeccable that someone an overzealous North Korean photo editor? appears to have taken issue with an errant group of men, barely noticeable in a sweeping photograph of the procession in central Pyongyang, and removed them.

According to an analysis by The New York Times and the digital forensics expert Hany Farid of Dartmouth College, a photograph distributed by North Korea`s state news agency and transmitted by the European Pressphoto Agency was altered using Photoshop to remove the men after the picture was shot.

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Sun City to invest $800 million in Sri Lanka tourism
Saturday, 31 December 2011 - 4:39 AM SL Time

South Africa`s Sun City resort will invest $800 million in a tourism project in Sri Lanka, the head of the island nation`s state-run Tourism Board said on Friday.

Sun City resort is run by South African gaming and hotels group Sun International Ltd (SUIJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

It will be the largest ever investment in the country`s leisure sector, which is booming since the end of a 25-year war in May 2009.

`Sun City of South Africa is now going to make an $800 million investment in a 200-acre private property,` Nalaka Godahewa, head of the Tourism Board told Reuters in an interview.

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No prisoner release in Sri Lanka on New Year`s Day
Saturday, 31 December 2011 - 2:34 PM SL Time

Dec 31, Colombo: The Commissioner General of Prisons P.W. Kodippili has dispelled the speculations that there will be a presidential pardon for special prisoners based on the good behavior on the New Year`s Day.

Responding to an inquiry by News First, the Commissioner has said that there is no truth to the statements claiming that prisoners would be released on January 01.

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SEASON S GREETINGS
Saturday, 31 December 2011 - 7:17 PM SL Time

SEASON`S GREETINGS

Dear LNP friends,

Once again we have reached the end of the year and I would like to share one of my favorite pieces of music (that I have posted earlier this year) with you.

Thanks to you I will cross the 300 000 hits on my page before the New Year and I just wanted you to know that due to my increased activity in a major French language forum, the postings in LNP will have to be reduced accordingly. There are also new objectives in 2012 on the professional, cultural and sportive side to keep me busy too.

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FOREVER CRAZY
Sunday, 1 January 2012 - 6:56 AM SL Time

In Europe the new year is always greeted by various cabaret shows, particularly those from Paris. The top 3 places are:
Le Moulin Rouge (the red mill)
The Crazy Horse
The Lido

Personally I have only been to the Moulin Rouge that is considered as the best cabaret in the world from various experts (I`m not one of them, haha!).

At the risk of Brownie kicking me out of LNP, here one of the soft versions of last year`s Crazy Horse show! After all I really don`t want Poppy and Co. to get a heart attack, haha!

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