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Microsoft Will Stop Selling Windows 7 And Windows 8!!!

This is bad news!!!

This year 31 October frights are not limited to Halloween. Today is also the day Microsoft stops selling retail copies of both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The date is written large in the Windows Life Cycle Fact Sheet but, like the best Halloween scares, the real threat is not as big as the initial shock.

This is how it breaks down:

From 31 October there will be no more sales to consumers of Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium or Ultimate. There will also be no more sales of Windows 8 retail box copies.

There will be retail box sales of Windows 8.1 (Microsoft draws a hard line between Windows 8 and Windows 8.1) and businesses and consumers will still be able to buy Windows 8 Professional licences through ‘Downgrade Rights’, but it will come at additional cost and have limited availability.

For those keen to act fast there will be a stock pile of licences for Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate floating around major OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like Dell and HP. That said, given OEMs will not be receiving more licences from Microsoft after today, it is a ticking clock.

A note of warning: a big market for Windows 7 licenses is likely to sprout up online, particularly on auction sites, but be careful. Microsoft’s EULA (end user license agreement) makes selling on second hand copies null and void.

Ten Reasons to Invest In Sri Lanka

Jon Springer. Contributor – From forbes.com

From an investor’s point of view, the case for Sri Lanka is getting strong. In the rear view mirror, yet still lurking and causing hesitation for some, are the Sri Lankan Civil War that ended in 2009 and the market bubbles that followed the war’s end through 2011. While there are risks to investing anywhere, Sri Lanka has one of the best cases for an economy with the stars aligned in its favor.

Government Stability

President Rajapaksa recently called for elections in January 2015, a full 16 months ahead of when they would be required. Under his leadership, the civil war ended in 2009, term limits for the presidency were removed in 2010, a wave of infrastructure investment has been engaged and the country’s economy has experienced a still rising peace dividend. The previous election in 2010 resulted in his party taking a little over 60% of the seats in parliament.

In provincial elections in March and September of this year, Mr. Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) party held 55% of the vote in two provinces in March and 51% in the one province in September. With no other party gaining more than 40% of the vote in any of these elections, the only question in January is how significant the UPFA majority will be in parliament after January’s elections.

High Performing Stock Market With Room To Run

Sri Lanka’s stock market (up 25.8% year-to-date as of October 29, 2014) is currently on-target to finish among the top 10 performing stock markets in the world this year alongside the likes of Argentina (112.8% ytd), Denmark (20.91% ytd), Dubai (40.3% ytd), India (30% ytd), Indonesia (20.4% ytd), Pakistan (24.7% ytd), Philippines (23% ytd), Qatar (38.4% ytd), Thailand (24.3% ytd) and Vietnam (21.4%; all data as of October 29, 2014).

Harsha Fernando, Director and Chief Executive Officer of local brokerage SC Securities (Pvt) Limited, says:

“The market has witnessed a bullish sentiment due to the prevailing low interest rate scenario. Assuming this trend continues, the market will continue its bullish trend. Next year being an election year, I would assume the market to further strengthen its position due to elections defining a clear political scenario.”

Dihan Dedigama, CEO of Softlogic Stockbrokers concurs:

“We feel that the Colombo Bourse will continue to be a benefactor of the low interest rate regime we have seen from the beginning of the year and will realize good returns for the next few years. With the bank loan growth expected to gradually start picking up, companies will reap the benefits of the conducive environment and should be backed by strong corporate earnings growth. Meanwhile with political stability and the country’s economy poised to grow plus 7 per cent over the next 3 years, we do not see any reason why the stock market would not perceive a steady rise.”

Ceylon Asset Management has however made the boldest prediction reiterated to me last night by their Economic Advisor, Michael Preiss:

“We expect 25% growth in the equity market on average per year for the next five years. If you think about it, that isn’t that much based on 7 to 8% growth in the economy annually. What people don’t realize is that on a per capita basis, Sri Lanka is twice as rich as India.”

Modi’s India

Mr. Preiss went on to point out that India was an out of favor place for investments a year and a half ago but is now a popular place to invest with a high performing market since Mr. Modi was elected. There are two ways growth in India’s economy can benefit Sri Lanka:

• Based on trade relations and proximity, positive economic news for India is also positive for Sri Lanka.
• Mr. Preiss believes that as more money flows into India, investors will take the time to consider other countries in the region to invest which will net positive results for Sri Lanka.

Annual Tourism Records

The 26-year civil war was obviously bad for tourism. As a result Sri Lanka’s beaches, cultural sites, wildlife and natural beauty had multiple decades with minimal amounts of tourism. In late August this year, the one millionth tourist of this year was welcomed with great fanfare at the airport. Tourism from people in Europe and the Middle East is steadily rising. While India for now continues to be Sri Lanka’s largest source of tourists, the biggest rise in tourism this year has been from Chinese visitors with year-over-year increases in excess of 100% on a monthly basis.

The graphs above depict tourism numbers only through the end of July 2014. Almost more important than the fact that the number of tourists is increasing is the fact that tourist arrivals are also spending more money per tourist.

Ports And Chinese Investment

Chinese investment in Sri Lanka is aiding growth and providing a strong geopolitical and economic ally. The Chinese-led project to landfill 575 acres to create Colombo Port City adjacent to the capital of Colombo and its current port is a record-breaking private sector investment in Sri Lanka. While it may seem bold now, Sri Lanka is seeking to compete with Singapore and Dubai as a maritime center.

While other Chinese financed projects exist at other port facilities in the country, this one alone is estimated to be a $1.4 billion project. While India remains Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, China replaced the U.S. as Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner last year.

Internal Infrastructure

As of October 13th of this year, for the first time in 24 years, trains are connecting the north of the country with the south. Highway and road infrastructure is also improving around the country though significant government investment. This internal infrastructure developments:

• Will improve industrial, factory and distribution network efficiency.
• Will cut down on food spoiling in transit to markets internally and externally.
• Makes tourism and investor arrivals and experiences more pleasant. For example, the new highway from the airport means my next trip from the airport to Colombo city will take about half the time and miss all the potholes.

Most importantly, infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka are not merely government talk and in planning stages, they are being executed.

Becoming Middle Income

There is anticipation that Sri Lanka per capita income will increase sufficiently in the next two to three years that it will become defined by the World Bank as a middle income country. Ceylon Asset Management who launched the country’s first dollar denominated bond investment fund this year thinks this is a big deal. Mr. Preiss of Ceylon Asset Management says:

“When Sri Lanka moves into middle income in a couple of years, the credit rating will improve too. In 2 to 3 years, Sri Lanka could be investment grade. For fixed income investments, you make money if you invest before the asset is investment grade.”

Counter-Cyclical Like Vietnam

As with Vietnam, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is only recently lowering interest rates after raising them to reign in asset bubbles. While developed countries are still hovering near all-time low interest rates that sooner or later must rise, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are pulling back from double digit rates. Money market funds that were paying around 16% interest rates a year and a half ago are now around 9%. The price of money for business has gone down in Sri Lanka and economic growth has encouraging signs.

Real Estate On The Upswing

Ivan Robinson of “Lanka Real Estate” notes:

“With the announcement of the draft ‘Restrictions on Alienation of Land Bill’ having been passed in Parliament on the 20th of this month, the real estate sector in Sri Lanka is now set on the right foot to attract FDI in this specific field. After two years of uncertainty in this sector we now have a clear cut law that states that the previous 100% tax due on property purchases by foreigners is no longer applicable. The new law also states that a foreigner can now hold 49% shareholding of a company that buys land, which is up from the previous 25%, the balance 51% has to be held by a Sri Lankan nominee. After 20 years, this same company then gains the same rights as a Sri Lankan individual and can buy freehold land unconditionally. Also, a foreigner can lease property for 99 years by paying a one off tax of 15% based on the value of the lease.

This new law paves the way forward for a clear and transparent solution for foreigners, individuals or corporations, to invest in the Sri Lankan Real Estate market.”

Hardy Jamaldeen, manager and director of Steradian Capital since 2010 is also bullish on real estate:

“Along with the current growth trajectory many opportunities are continuously arising in the SriLankan Real Estate environment. The most exciting is the foreseeable demand for long-term income producing assets. Land and buildings can bridge this gap in the form of offices, industrial estates, shopping centers, student accommodation and hotels. Structuring these assets into bite sizes that the market can absorb will be the key to its success.”

Risks?

The two principal risks to Sri Lanka’s economy are a global economic downturn and the small chance that political instability is brought upon the country again by a political minority. Beyond that, there are currency exchange risks for foreign investors and there is the risk that investing somewhere else could do better. That said, all parties quoted in this article believe January’s election will lead provide an economic boost in the near-term and stable growth in the long-term.

* Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those involved in the recent flood and landslide in Central Sri Lanka this week.

Inside facts of Coal Mafia in Sri Lanka

Lanka-e-News -31.Oct.2014, 4.30PM

The Indian Coal Supplier who is accused of creating a loss for CEB is – Taurian Iron & Steel Co.Pvt Ltd. This company is in existence from 1997. It fully owned by Sumit Bajla & Amith Bajla brothers who are based in Mumbai – NO SRI LANKAN OWNS ANY SHARE OR WORKS FOR THIS COMPANY. (www.tauriansteel.com)

The company does not have any local agent. This is the reason the CEB did not award the last tender to this company though they were USD 50 million cheaper than the current supplier. The secretary of the ministry of power brought in a rule to say that all participants must have a local agent and disqualified Taurian from the race despite the Presidential Appeal Board verdict of the award for Taurian.

The Coal Mafia of Sri Lanka consists of – Supplier : Noble Resources (who is supplying coal from day one to Sri Lanka. The past two years at their same high price cancelling any tender which was floated), Local Agent – Ravi Wijeratne (Casino Owner), Power Ministry Secretary Ferdinando (Crony of Ravi Wijeratne) & Journalist FarazSauketaley (Sunday Leader, PR Agent of Crown Casino of Ravi Wijeratne).

The coal mafia ensures that NO other company supply any coal to Sri Lanka. The below story is a result of the well planned strategy of this mafia.

The Story;

02 ships of Noble Resources – Half Unloaded – Gets stranded in bad weather in Norochchole. Emergency situation where any delay will result in coal catching fire. No unloading is possible for 06 more months (Monsoon). Lanka Coal Company (State Owned) & Ceylon Shipping Corporation (State Owned) makes desperate plea to coal mafia to help by taking the vessels out and bring them back after monsoon.

The coal mafia which makes all the money with the coal supply does not bother to help. They tell government to fly a kite and just pay for the coal. No solutions given.

LCC & CSC goes around the world, trying to look for someone to help. And only company which came in for rescue was Taurian.

Taurian says that they will take the 02 ships back, bring the same quantity back after monsoon but to compensate for the extra costs involved (Freight charges of taking the ships back and returning which will well over USD 3 Million) they be given 03 more ships of supply (At the same Noble Contract terms & Pricing).

Taurian signs proper, legal contract with CSC as agreed by LCC (and Definitely with the knowledge of then Minister) and takes the 02 ships away.

THIS UPSETS THE COAL MAFIA BECAUSE THEY NOW KNOW THAT A SECOND PLAYER IS ENTERING AS A SUPPLIER INTO SRI LANKA.

After 06 months, Taurian innocently brings back the 02 ships, expecting to get the LC’s for 03 more ships.

Coal Mafia (Faraz) writes full page articles continuously (Sunday Leader) mentioning the the coal of Taurian is low quality. Ferdinando acts as per the plan and stops the unloading of the coal.

Taurian Submits the Load Port Test Certificate which certifies that the quality of the coal is good. Coal Mafia manipulates the local SGS certificate to show that the quality is poor.

As per the contract, CEB sends the third party samples to a “Neutral Testing Agency” in Indonesia which confirms that the coal is indeed good.

Ferdinando gets stumped, refers the matter to CID then to the Attorney General. Attorney General very correctly says that Taurian is not at fault and to implement the contract – Means give 03 more ships to Taurian and then conclude the contract – This way LCC would have got their entire coal back.

But NO ACTION WHATSOEVER is taken by LCC, CEB or CSC for the fear of Ferdinando. Contract is ignored and incomplete and no one speaks about it for two years (Due to the influence of the Coal Mafia) until this week.

There is no major bad quality scenario (of any it must be technically proven and contractually recovered from Taurian) or Corruption aspect on the Taurian deal. The real corruption is with the Coal Mafia and now they are diverting the attention towards Taurian misleading the public and also to frame the former minister with baseless allegations.

It is such a joke that a state owned company violates a signed contract with a foreign company SIMPLY BASED ON A SUNDAY LEADER ARTICLE.

TAURIAN

Has signed a contract, if Taurian has breached this contract, it is a simple matter of implementing the contract or taking legal action against them – Why was any of these not done for the last two years?????

Noble – Coal Mafia

First tender must have been awarded to Holcim but was won by Noble violating procedures.

Supplies at a very high price (CEB loses 25 Million USD minimum annually).

Period covered by the first tender ended 02 years ago. But they continue to supply.

Last two tenders (one won by Taurian, the other won by Swiss/Singapore) cancelled by Ferdinando.

Noble is blacklisted by Pakistan government for these same practices.

Never supplies on time or supplies the agreed quantities – Last season they were supposed to bring 700,000MT but brought only 300,000MT.

Future

Right thinking people must campaign to run a legitimate tender and award the coal supply contract to a lowest responsive bidder – Breaking the Noble Monopoly.

Either implement the Taurian contract or legally correct it instead of sitting doing nothing and instead of misleading public with baseless stories mentioning Taurian thus letting the real culprits get away.

Ranil, Daya, Harin visit Meeriya Bedda

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Ven. Theeniyawala Palitha Thera, UNP national organizer Daya Gamage, Uva province opposition leader Harin Fernando and other representatives of the party visited Meeriya Bedda in Koslanda, Badulla which was devastated by the recent land slide.

The affected people surrounded Mr. Wickremesinghe, told him about their woes and wept.

He also went to the camps for the displaced and distributed essential goods among them.

Speaking to the media, the opposition leader said a day of mourning should be declared and white flags raised in the country to remember the dead.

Also, the provincial council and parliament should take steps to introduce a housing scheme for the estate workers instead of the present line rooms, he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe went onto thank the armed forces members who are searching for the missing, and stressed that all should set aside political and communal differences and unite in this moment of national tragedy.

Officials cannot be blamed for the disaster, and a parliamentary dialogue through the politicians of the area could have averted it, he added.

Olive Oil: How It's Made in Italy - Concise version

Oliva Cordioli- How Olive Oil is made ( ඔලිව් තෙල් හිඳින්නෙ මෙහෙමයි 01 )

Students At University of Pennsylvania Can Study 'Wasting Time On The Internet' & end up Getting a Degree for it!

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Huffington Post By Natalie Tipping

Students at the University of Pennsylvania will be able to study "wasting time on the internet" as a degree level course from 2015 onwards.

For many years, the internet has been a fountain of all the procrastination material students could ever need, but now, for the first time, some students will be able to study the power of the internet in terms of wasting time.

The course is being offered by the University's Department of English to students with an English or Creative Writing major, and is being run by Professor Kenneth Goldsmith. Prof. Goldsmith is perhaps best known for his attempt to print off the entirety of the internet.

Students enrolled on the course will have a three-hour seminar each week where they will be sat in front of a computer, unable to converse with each other in a verbal form, restricted to doing everything over the internet - on social media and chat rooms. The raw materials collected from their in-class interactions over the internet will be collected together to create 'substantial works of literature'.

They will also be required to read texts from Raymond Williams, John Cage, and Betty Friedan, amongst others, about the history of wasting time.

Forgotten Corvette collection emerges from the dust after 25 years

36 Chevrolet Corvettes, one from every year of manufacture up until 1989, have been discovered

From Yahoo Finance UK 

Peter Max was not a car guy. So when he purchased a collection of 36 Chevrolet Corvettes, one from every year of manufacture up until 1989, he had a very specific plan: He would use this slice of American history as a tool to self-promote his work as an artist, painting the machines in lurid colors while staging them in various oddball scenarios only the most expressive of minds could envision. 

Only that never happened. Instead, Max left his collection in a New York City storage lot, which is where they've lived for a quarter of a century, sat gathering inches of dust, moved only when switching from one storage location to another.

However, that is all about to change, as the cars are now under new ownership – one that will lovingly restore the 'Vettes and get them back on the road.

The story of how Max acquired the cars began in 1989, when music network VH1 held a contest to award a lucky viewer with a Corvette from every year of the model's existence, from 1953 to 1989.Hemmings reports that VH1 purchased the cars for $610,000, and made its money back by creating a 900 number and charging contestants $2.00 per phone call to enter.

Placing just one call, Dennis Amodeo, a carpenter from Long Island, won the prize. Shortly after receiving his army of Corvettes, Amodeo received a call from Max who had seen the collection at an auto show in 1990.

Max stated that he wished to purchase the cars, and at a meet in New York City, the two hashed out a deal that reportedly included $250,000 in cash, $250,000 worth of Max's artwork and an agreement that if Max ever sold the cars, Amodeo would receive a portion of the proceeds, up to $1 million.

Why Max never executed his plan for the Corvette collection remains a bit of a mystery; in 2010, he talked about adding 14 more years of vehicles to bring the tally up to an even 50. Once again, that never happened.

Perhaps it was the sheer amount of work that was required after the artist had let the cars sit for so long; some of the cars, like the 1974 and 1984, would cost more to restore than the vehicle's worth, and time was reportedly unkind to most of the 'Vettes in the group – two-thirds of which sport the less-sought-after automatic transmission with 14 of the cars convertibles; none feature the prized big-block V-8.

Still, after Max approached a guy named Peter Heller to locate a new storage garage for his collection, according to the New York Times, Heller decided instead to offer the artist a deal to purchase the 36 Corvettes.

Max agreed for an untold sum (it's unknown whether Amodeo will receive a portion of the proceeds, as stated in Max's original deal). Some of the cars, Heller discovered, could be show-ready with relatively basic restoration, and he plans to have even most decrepit vehicles brought back to life.

When complete, the collection will return to the market, hoping to deliver a tidy return on Heller's investment and keep the wheels turning on the once forgotten Corvettes of Peter Max.

Maliban pulls 'offensive' ad following complaints

Maliban Biscuits, one of the leading confectionery manufacturers in the country, has pulled an ‘offensive’ advertisement off air after receiving a barrage of complaints particularly on social media networks calling the advert offensive and derogatory.  The advert in question is for Maliban's 'White Chocolate Puff'. When The Nation contacted the director of the commercial Udaya Dharmawardena, he cited that he had no say over the script since the project was merely handed to him by a PR agency. “We've come across worse adverts in the recent past, many viewers do not even know the extent to which children are abused for the sake of an advert, so this isn't particularly glaring.” Meanwhile, an official attached to Maliban cited that when the advertisement had been sent to the company for approval, they did not envision that it would cause such furor. “As a company we didn't mean to offend or discriminate anyone, however seeing that a lot of people have voiced concerns about it, we are pulling it off air.” Meanwhile many have taken to the popular networking site Facebook to voice the inane nature of the advertisement, with some saying that it ‘objectifies women on the basis of their skin colour…appalled that this got through the censor board’ Others have termed it as idiotic, offensive and even disgusting.

Statement by Maliban:-

Imagining That Third-Term

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“On second thought let’s not go to Camelot. It’s a silly place.”

The Knight of Camelot Song (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

( October 30, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Rajapaksa-verdict has arrived. No one assaulted Chris Nonis. He drank too much and fell off a stool. Twenty eight fellow-guests have given written evidence to that effect .

Chris Nonis. He drank too much and fell off a stool. Twenty eight fellow-guests have given written evidence to that effect .

Mohammad Irshad was the Samurdhi official who was tied to a tree by Mervyn Silva. That outrage was committed in public, in the presence of many witnesses including uniformed police officers. The video of the minister’s criminal conduct is still available on You Tube . But a Rajapaksa committee found Mr. Silva not guilty and concluded that Mr. Irshad tied himself to the tree.

Now, according to another Rajapaksa committee, Chris Nonis, like Humpty Dumpty, ‘had a great fall’; the King’s Man was blameless; all the King’s Horses have sworn it was so.

Earlier Minister Rambukwella claimed that Dr. Nonis was a gate-crasher at the party. Now an official government report accuses him of being uncontrollably inebriated. The implication is that Dr. Nonis, incapable of handling the copious quantities of liquor he guzzled, fabricated a story about being assaulted. Ergo, Dr. Nonis is either a liar/slanderer or he is severely delusional.

Based on the report, Sajin Vaas Gunawardane can file action against Dr. Nonis for loss of reputation and mental trauma. Who can doubt that Lankan courts will find Dr. Nonis guilty?

According to the report in Ceylon Today, a letter signed by several staffers at the Lankan High Commission in London accompanied the report. One cannot but wonder what further crimes the letter accuses Dr. Nonis of! 

From Mohammad Irshad to Chris Nonis, via J Tissanayagam and Sarath Fonseka, the path of Rajapaksa justice is clear. The guilty will go free and the innocent will be punished. There will not be a lack of witnesses or judges to enable this perversion.

Jeyakumari Balendran is still languishing in jail, accused (though not charged) of terrorism. The same authorities claimed that they cannot find any evidence against Kumaran Pathmanathan. Mr. Pathmanathan is wanted by India and the Interpol; he was the LTTE’s chief money-manager and weapons-procurer – and Vellupillai Pirapaharan’s chosen successor. But Rajapaksa investigators cannot find any evidence linking him with the LTTE. He is innocent and free, unlike the elderly Ms. Jeyakumari, whose only ‘crime’ was her insistence on discovering the fate of her son.

Imagine the shape and the course of Rajapaksa justice during a Third Term.

Dr. Nonis spent the last several years vigorously defending the Rajapaksas against charges of abuse and impunity. Now the same march of abuse and impunity has claimed him. He is reportedly too scared to return to Sri Lanka. 

That fate of self-exile will befall many more Lankans during a third Rajapaksa term.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is on record stating that traitors should be given capital punishment. In Rajapaksa Sri Lanka, a traitor will be decided not on the basis of facts and laws but on the basis of the needs, interests and whims of the rulers. During a third Rajapaksa term, condemning Rajapaksa opponents as traitors, via a Chris Nonis type investigation, might become the norm - and be accepted as such by a majority of the populace.

After all we have forgotten that there was a time when the total removal of presidential term-limits was unthinkable and a political solution meant more and not less devolution.

Fritz Stern argued that “civic passivity and willed blindness were the preconditions for the triumph of National Socialism….” That verdict is apt for Sri Lanka as well. A majority of Sinhalese may believe themselves to be unaffected by such Rajapaksa phenomena as the militarization of civil society and the steady occupation of the private sector economy by Rajapaksa kith and kin. But the monumental fall of Chris Nonis demonstrates that a third Rajapaksa term presents a clear danger to all Lankans, including Rajapaksa acolytes. A land in which the guilt or the innocence of a citizen is decided by rulers according to their needs/desires is nothing but the jungle.

A Calamitous Normalcy

A salary increase was among the many boons President Rajapaksa included in his election-oriented Budget. The pay-hike was to come via an increase in the COL allowance and the inclusion of all allowances in the basic salary. Just two days later, the Ministry of Plan Implementation announced that the pay-hike will happen only in July 2015, as the preparation of the new salary structure will take time. In the interim, an allowance of Rs.3,000/- will be given.

Are we to believe that neither the President nor the officials realised that the new salary structure cannot be implemented immediately? The truth is that the much vaunted salary hike is nothing but a classic Rajapaksa-eyewash. By July 2015, national elections are likely to be over. Then the regime will find some reason to abandon the promised pay-hike, while slashing the Rs. 3,000/- allowance based on dubious COL figures. A new threat to national security from terrorists/fundamentalists/separatists will provide an ideal excuse.

The second Rajapaksa term saw the mushrooming of BBS type extremist organisations. This phenomenon will intensify during a third Rajapaksa term. As economic difficulties mount and hopes plummet, the need for diversions and scapegoats will increase.

Religion, as a narcotic, has a dual function; it can induce slumber or unleash frenzy. The first was the traditional role of traditional religion. The overtly/explicitly politicised religious manifestations, from BBS to ISIS, aim at turning the ‘faithful’ into raving hate-machines willing to embrace barbarism in the name of fundaments/purity. 

Having tried its hand at dividing Tamils along religious lines, the BBS is now aiming to ignite clashes between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians. This week Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera organised a protest against two evangelical Christian centres in Ihala Karagahamuna in Kadawatha. In his speech he portrayed himself as the defender of Buddhism and Catholicism: “There were no problems in this country between Buddhist and Catholic people. We cannot allow colonialists to disrupt this coexistence and depict Buddhists as barbarians….. About 400 illegal organisations are operating immorally, creating problems for Sinhala-Buddhist and Sinhala-Catholic people….. If the law does not help, (we) will have to implement the law of the jungle unofficially.”

The implication is obvious; those (Christian/Muslim) religious institutions considered by the BBS to be ‘illegal’ will be attacked. And the BBS will do so in the name of Buddhism and Catholicism. The fact that the participants in this protest included a Western Province provincial councillor, the deputy chairman of the Mahara Pradesheeya Sabha and a representative of the Catholic Church is indicative of the way Lankans will be pitted against each other during a third Rajapaksa term.

As expected, several Sinhala Buddhist organisations including Bodu Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya have decided to back Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming elections . They and/or others of their ilk will have an even more critical role to play in a third Rajapaksa term – widen/deepen the existing ethno-religious faultlines and create new ones, so that Lankans become viscerally incapable of making common cause against Rajapaksa rule.

Avoidable disasters

Editorial from The Island - 31/10/2014

Wednesday’s deadly landslide which wiped out an entire village burying about 200 persons alive in Koslanda came as no surprise. Described as the worst ever natural disaster since December 2004, when massive waves barreled across the Indian Ocean and had a disastrous landfall, the collapse of the mountain slope had been predicted. Landslide warnings had been issued well in advance for several years but no action had been taken to evacuate the people living in the area, we are told.

Worse, two more mountains adjacent to the buried village are also said to be prone to landslides. It is hoped that each and every family living there will be removed to safety urgently before disaster strikes again. They won’t be able to shift on their own due to penury and they need help. The victims of Wednesday’s tragedy, too, had been unable to find alternative accommodation on their own in spite of landslide warnings as they had been living from hand to mouth, not knowing when the next meal would come or whether it would come at all. Either the management of the estates where they toiled or the government agencies concerned should have intervened to relocate them. Why they had been allowed to continue to live in a landslide prone area should be probed. Mere warnings won’t do; follow-up action has to be taken to ensure public safety.

Thousands of city dwellers are evicted at short notice to pave the way for mega development projects. They are given alternative accommodation. Why the people living in disaster prone areas cannot be relocated in a similar manner is the question.

Forty eight hours have already elapsed since disaster struck and rescue operations are going on against tremendous odds. Rescuers themselves are exposed to danger of being buried alive as there is no guarantee that another landslide won’t occur at the same location. It is likely that the disaster-affected village will remain a mass burial ground.

What needs to be done immediately is to help the survivors left without their near and dear ones. The government has taken steps to provide relief, but the onus is on all of us to do everything possible to fortify the unfortunate ones and ensure that their needs will be taken care of. Many a child is believed to have lost both his/her parents. These children will need assistance for years to come until they are gainfully employed after finishing their studies. Serious thought should be given to setting up a special fund for their benefit and seeking contributions from the public. Funds are bound to pour in from the four corners of the world if an appeal is made officially. What usually happens is that disasters jolt a large number of individuals and organisations into collecting funds and goods to be distributed among the victims, who are then left to fend for themselves. Some of the tsunami victims are still crying out for relief. Care should be taken to prevent the same fate befalling the landslide victims of Koslanda.

Plantation workers whose sweat and tears power the economy are exposed to landslides and other such disasters more than anyone else because they live on mountainous terrain sans any protection. They are mere ‘hands’ for most planters who don’t give a tinker’s damn about their safety. Politicians, too, remember these hapless workers only during elections. But, only very little will be done for the benefit of survivors faced with a double whammy—bereavement and the loss of their houses.

All disaster prone areas have already been identified fairly accurately and it is up to the estate sector trade unions, political parties and civil society groups to step in to have plantation workers and other villagers living there relocated without further delay. Torrential rains currently being experienced in the hills may trigger more landslides, rock falls, mudslides etc. Tomorrow may be too late!

Koslanda Landslide Video 2

Koslanda Landslide Video 1

President did not meet LTTE supporters

The Government today denied claims that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had met LTTE supporters during his last visit to the United States.

External Affairs Minister, Professor G.L Peiris told Parliament that he was with the President during the US tour and he can guarantee that the President did not meet any pro-LTTE diaspora members.

The President had been in the US to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting and he also had talks with world leaders on the sidelines of the meeting.

The leader of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe had recently demanded answers from President Mahinda Rajapaksa over who, from the Government, met the diaspora during his recent visit to America.

Wickremesinghe said that there were reports someone had a meeting with the diaspora in the US when the President was in the US and so he wants the President to reveal who met them and why.

Earlier the Government had accused Wickremesinghe of meeting the pro-LTTE diaspora during a visit to London recently but Wickremesinghe insists he never met any member of the diaspora.

The UNP leader also asked why the Government failed to be represented in the case against moves to lift the ban on the LTTE in the EU when the issue was first taken to court in 2011.

However Minister Peiris told Parliament the Sri Lankan Government cannot be represented in a case in another country and will instead address the issue with EU members States by sharing the information needed on the LTTE. (Colombo Gazette)

Sri Lanka says no hope finding mudslide survivors

KOSLANDA, Sri Lanka (AP) — Hundreds of desperate Sri Lankan villagers dug with bare hands through the broken red earth of a deadly landslide Thursday, defying police orders after a top disaster official said there was no chance of finding more survivors at the high-elevation tea plantation.

There were conflicting reports of how many people were missing in the slide, which struck Wednesday morning in the island nation's central hills after heavy monsoon rains.

Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said the number of dead at the Koslanda tea plantation would be fewer than 100. But Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center — which Amaraweera oversees — reported 190 people missing.

Villagers, meanwhile, said the death toll could easily exceed 200.

"I have visited the scene and from what I saw I don't think there will be any survivors," Amaraweera told The Associated Press on Thursday. "But that number is less than 100."

The search was suspended Thursday evening because of heavy rain.

Also Thursday, President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the disaster site and spoke to residents who are taking shelter in schools and temples. According to his website, Rajapaksa ordered officials to expedite rescue and relief for the victims.

Television footages showed Rajapaksa inspecting the disaster from the air and meeting with relief officials. Later he was seen distributing sleeping mats and boxes with essential items to the displaced people and consoling weeping men and women.

Amaraweera said the government had asked the National Child Protection Authority to take charge of children orphaned the disaster.

Many children had left for school before the slide Wednesday morning and returned only to see their homes buried with their parents. A government minister told Parliament that they have found 75 such children.

"The government will be fully responsible for them, we will not give them to anyone other than somebody from immediate family because they can be sent for child labor," he said.

A large number of children in Sri Lanka's tea plantations drop out of schools and work as domestic helpers or waiters in tea boutiques. Many times their parents themselves send their children to work due to poverty or alcoholism.

On Thursday displaced people spent their second evening crammed inside a dark, cold school classroom atop a misty mountain. Government officials had begun a survey of the dead and missing and doctors attended to the sick and wounded.

A 48-year-old truck driver who gave his name only as Raja said he lost all five members of his household — his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law and his 6-month-old grandchild.

"I left for work early morning and got a call asking me to rush back because there was an earth slip near my home," Raja said, weeping. "I came back and there was no trace of my home, everyone was buried."

A local government officer familiar with the tea plantation said he believes 200-250 people may have been buried, based on the number of people usually in the area at the time. There were many houses, a big Hindu temple, a playground and two milk collection centers where farmers bring their milk for selling.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because government rules prevent him from speaking to the media.

The tea plantation in Badulla district about 140 miles (220 kilometers) east of Colombo was one of many in the higher altitudes of Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon, one of the world's leading producers of tea.

Most of Sri Lanka has experienced heavy rain over the past few weeks, and the Disaster Management Center had issued warnings of mudslides and falling rocks. The monsoon season here runs from October through December.

Vettiyan Yogeswaran, who lives on a part of the tea plantation that was not affected by the landslide, said authorities had warned people that the area was vulnerable to mudslides and they should move. But he said no housing alternatives were offered.

"There are 50-70 families living in my neighborhood in the bottom of a mountain. If a mudslide happens we all will be buried," Yogeswaran said. "We want to leave but we have not been given a proper alternative."

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Associated Press writers Bharatha Mallawarachi and Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.

Here Comes The World's Thinnest Smartphone (For Now)

The Huffington Post  By Damon Beres

You’d be forgiven for not thinking the iPhone 6 is particularly "chunky" at .27 inches thick, but that didn’t stop Chinese manufacturer Oppo Electronics from one-upping it with its new R5 phone — now the slimmest on the market.

Coming in at a slender .19 inches thick, the R5 has been touted as the skinniest smartphone money can buy, and it’s a hard claim to refute. It’s thinner than...

Samsung’s Galaxy S5, which comes in at .31 inches...

The HTC One M8 at .37 inches...

The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact at about .28 inches and...

Your average pencil, which is about .26 inches thick.

While Oppo’s phone is thin, looks can be deceiving: It’s actually heavier than the iPhone 6 (4.6 ounces), Samsung Galaxy S5 (5.1 ounces), and surely a host of other smartphones at 5.5 ounces. It also lacks a Micro SD port and headphone jack, which means users who want to listen to music or take calls with earbuds need to use a micro-USB adapter or go wireless with Bluetooth, assuming they have compatible headphones.

That super-thin shell only fits 16GB of storage—a pretty major step back from the iPhone 6’s maximum capacity of 128GB.

Don’t be too bummed if your handset is significantly more robust than this one, though. Keep in mind that the difference in thickness between all of these phones is still pretty minor: close to the thickness of a dime or two.

"Thinnest" is also a title that tends to move around: In early 2013, the Alcatel One Touch was called the thinnest at .25 inches, but it was trumped a few months later by the Huawei Ascend P6 at .24 inches, and later, the Umeox X5 at .22 inches.

The R5 runs on ColorOS, Oppo’s own operating system based on Android. Neither the operating system nor Oppo is well known in the United States, so you may have a hard time finding the R5 in stores when it launches in a few months. Oppo’s own store locator digs up nothing in North America. Still, you may be able to find it online: It’s set to retail for $499 off contract.

Tim Cook Comes Out As Gay In Powerful Businessweek Essay

The Huffington Post By Cavan Sieczkowski

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay in a powerful essay for Bloomberg Businessweek.

In the essay, published Thursday, Cook said that he has never denied being gay, but has not publicly discussed his sexuality until now: "So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

He described how his sexuality has given him an acute social perspective.

Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple.

The revelation comes just days after Cook advocated on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in his home state of Alabama.

"[Alabama is] still too slow on equality for the LGBT community," he said, per the Associated Press, while calling for laws protecting people based on sexual orientation and gender identity. "Under the law, citizens of Alabama can still be fired based on their sexual orientation. We can't change the past, but we can learn from it and we can create a different future."

Cook's sexuality has been a point of speculation for quite some time. Gawker reported that Cook was gay back in 2011 before he succeeded Steve Jobs.

Since then, Cook himself has seemingly dropped hints about his sexuality. Last year, during a speech about human rights at Auburn University Cook discussed the discrimination he faced as a young person, according to ValleyWag.

"Since these early days, I have seen and have experienced many types of discrimination and all of them were rooted in the fear of people that were different than the majority," he said.

However, since the 53-year-old had not publicly come out, the question still remained. In May, the New York Times ran a story titled "Where Are The Gay Chief Executives?" and had to subsequently clarify their definition of "openly gay." CNBC's Simon Hobbs made headlines for mistakenly saying Cook was "fairly open" about being gay during a live segment back in June.

Head over to Businessweek to read Cook's full essay.