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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

මීන නුවන් යුග (meena nuwan yuga - Senanayaka Weraliyadda )

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RASWflVqT8
 
මීන නුවන් යුග කඳුළු සදාගෙන
දුරු කතරේ තනි වූ යුවතී
නිදි නැති රෑ සුසුමන් පවනේ
ගැයු ගී මී බඳුනේ රැඳුනේ

බාලේ ඉඳන් පෙම් සිතුවම් ඇඳි
අද වෙන්වී නුඹ හිම පියසේ
කාල වලා නැග එන්නා නබෝ ගැබ
බොඳ වී යයි මුදු වදන් මෙදා

සීත රටේ තනි මලට ලොබින්
ඈත ඉඳන් ආ බමරින්දූ
දෑසේ වෙළී සැඟවෙන්න වගෙයි අද
මානවිකා මා බාල ලියේ

අප රට ආර්ථිකව පොහොසත් රටක් නොවේ. දරිද්‍රතාවයෙන් මිරිකී ගිය කල්හි, අන් සරණ නැති කල්හි, දුරු රටවලට ඔව්හු යති. ඉන් සමහරුන් නෑඹුල් යෞවන විය නො ඉක්මවූවෝ වෙති. එසේ දුර රටකට යන තරුණියන් තම ගම රට සිහිවි නෙතු අග කඳුළ නගති. ඔවුන්ගේ පෙම්වත්තු හෝ සැමියෝ එලෙසම ඔවුන් මතක් කරන අතර ඇතැම්හු දුක තුනී කර ගැන්මට මධු විතක සරණ පතති. ඇතැම් විට ඔවුන් බාල වියේ සිට හඳුනන්නෝ වෙති. ඇතැම් විට දුරු කතර ගෙවා පැමිණ හමුවන්නෝ වෙති. නමුත් මේ වෙන්ව යාම තුල ඇගේ දෑස තුලම සැඟවී ඉන්නට පෙම්වතාට සිත්වේ. ඔවුන්ගේ ජීවිත වල අහසෙහි කළු වලා නැග එයි. ඔවුන්ගේ මුදු වදන් අද එකිනෙකාට අසෙනුයේ වයරයන් දිග එන බොඳ වූ හඬක් ලෙසිනි. 
විප්‍රයෝගයේ හැඟීම් කුළු ගන්වන ලෙස ඊට උචිතම හඬකින් වේරලියද්ද ශිල්පියා විසින් ගයනු ලබයි. "කාල වලා නැග එන්නා . ." හා "දැසේ වෙළී . ." යන පද ගායනයේදී ඔහු ඉහල ස්වර පරාස වලට ගමන් ගන්නේ ශෝකී හැඟීම් තිව්‍ර කරමිනි. භාව ප්‍රකාශනය උපරිම ලෙස දැක්විය හැකි මෑත පරපුරේ ගායකයෙක් වන වේරලියද්ද විරල හැකියාවන්ගෙන් පිරිපුන් ගායකයෙකි. ඔහුගේ ගීත සෑහෙන ගණනකට ඔහුම සංගීතය සපයා ඇති අතර එම ගී වල තාලයන්ගේ පරාසය විශ්මය ජනක වේ. වෘත්තීය හා අති විශිෂ්ට ගණයේ උඩරට නැටුම්කරුවකු වන වේරලියද්ද, තම කුඩා කල සිට ප්‍රගුණ කල ජන ගී තාලයන් එකක් වත් ඔහුගේ ගී වලට යොදා නොගන්නා අතර ඔහුගේ ගායන විලාශය පවා එම ලක්ෂණ නොදක්වයි. ඒ වෙනුවට ඔහු යොදා ගන්නේ බටහිර ආරයේ තාලයන්ය. නමුත් ඔහුගේ ගැමි, හා භාවපූර්ණ කටහඬ එම සංගීතය සමග ඔහු මනාව මුසු කරයි. මෙම ගීයද එම ලක්ෂණ මනාව ප්‍රකට කරයි. මෙහි සංගීත භාණ්ඩ මුළුමණින්ම බටහිර ඒවා වේ. නමුත් ඔහු කට හඬ හසුරුවන අයුර තුල අව්‍යාජ ගැමි කමක් ගැබ්වී ඇත.

මෙම ගීය ඔහුගේ අවසාන ගීත එකතුවට අයත් වූවකි. මැත වසර 2 - 3 තුල ඔහු මඳක් නිහඬව සිටිනු දක්නට ලැබිණි. මේ නිහැඬියාව තවත් අති විශිෂ්ට ගී එකතුවක් නිකුත් කිරීමේ පූර්ව සළකුණකැයි අප උදක්ම පතමු.
geerasavinisa

Sri Lanka 'porn actors' arrested and bailed

Sri Lankan police have arrested and bailed seven people accused of appearing in pornographic films.
Police said the seven had to make statements and pay a surety before being released.
They said those arrested were all suspected of featuring in locally made pornographic movies.
The faces of people accused of taking part were earlier published on the internet with a police plea for help to identify them.
"So far we have identified seven suspects out of 83," a police spokesman told the BBC.
They say that the accused are believed to have violated the country's anti-obscenity laws.
"They have been questioned and released under police surety. Investigations are still under way to identify others," a spokesman from the Police Women's and Children's Bureau said.
The suspects face up to six months in jail or a fine of 10,000 rupees ($89.75), or both, if convicted.
The suspects were allegedly identified by photos obtained by the police from the now banned local porn web sites.
Police are now probing pornographic videos that feature Sri Lankans in order to identify the people involved.
They said stern measures would be taken against individuals who posted the videos on the internet and those who produced them.
Police have also appealed to people forced to appear in pornographic films to come forward, in addition to people who appeared unwittingly.
The Sri Lankan media has reported that some of the pictures released by police were in fact from private videos released by estranged lovers, while some appeared to have been secretly shot with hidden cameras.
One woman identified as starring in the films is reported to have fled the country after being targeted by sexual predators.
The overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan newspapers have refused to publish the face shots of women, complaining that to do so would be unethical.
However local websites have posted the photos, which have also been circulated through e-mails.
Courtesy - 

A good night’s sleep?
That’s my dream


article_image
Chronic insomniac Richard Gray offers himself as a guinea pig to scientists studying the sleep disorder that’s a serious health risk

By Richard Gray,
Science Correspondent

The clock beside my bed changes to read 04.00. The flicker from the glowing digital display is barely perceptible, but it is a change I have become tiresomely familiar with as I struggle to get to sleep. I have been lying awake for about an hour on this particular night after just two hours’ sleep, and there is no sign that I am going to drop off any time soon as my whirring brain ignores my exhausted body. Instead, I am making a start on writing this.

I have always had difficulty sleeping; even as a child I didn’t particularly enjoy being in bed. At university I suffered mild bouts of insomnia and have always been a night owl. In the past nine months, however, my sleep pattern has taken an almost ruinous turn for the worse. I wake up after just an hour or two of sleep and am unable to drift off again. It is infuriating and utterly draining.

During the day, I find myself unable to concentrate and feel fatigued beyond belief. My limbs ache after the most sleepless nights, and I am plagued by headaches. At work my colleagues have begun to comment on my mood swings.

As the Sunday Telegraph science correspondent, however, I decided I was in a position to find out more about my condition. With the help of Prof Kevin Morgan, from the Clinical Sleep Research Unit at Loughborough University, I became the subject of an experiment to find out what was going on when I slept.

Fitted with an actigraph, a watch-shaped device that I wore on my wrist at all times, my daily movements while awake and asleep were monitored for a week. I also completed a sleep diary, describing the quality of my sleep each night alongside the times I thought had I drifted off and woken up at. The results confirmed my fears.

"You meet the diagnostic criteria for primary insomnia," said Prof Morgan. It is a condition that tends to affect younger people and is not associated with any other condition: many people who suffer from insomnia also have diseases such as cancer, chronic pain or asthma.

"Some nights your sleep is very light, and, on the worst night, you woke up around 4.30am, and there is as much activity as there was during the day two days earlier. You were incredibly restless. You have a very untidy sleep pattern, and there are clear signs you are suffering chronic fatigue during the day after a bad night. You have a sleep efficiency – the time you spend actually asleep while in bed – of about 66 per cent. For a young adult male, that should be about 80 per cent."

Sadly, Prof Morgan had even bleaker news. "Unfortunately," he said, "it tends to be a life-long problem. It is more prevalent in people who are under pressure, have lost their jobs, who are hurting in some way, who are depressed, who suffer from chronic conditions, and in older people. Generally, people who are unhappy develop insomnia, and people with insomnia are unhappy."

Insomnia is the world’s most prevalent sleep disorder and affects about 10 per cent of the population. It costs the NHS more than £36 million in sleeping pills, and the same amount again, at least, is spent on over-the-counter remedies.

The impact on the lives of sufferers can be profound. It can affect their work, home lives and relationships, while also leaving them at risk of depression. Research has also shown that insomniacs are more prone to accidents.

More worryingly, however, researchers are now also piecing together evidence that suggests poor sleep plays a role in a range of serious medical conditions and is even linked to early death.

Prof Francesco Cappuccio, an epidemiologist at Warwick University, has found people who regularly sleep less than seven hours a night are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and obesity than those who are well rested. In a recent paper that reviewed studies on 1.3 million patients, he found that those sleeping less than seven hours were more likely to suffer an early death.

"A lack of quality sleep can have huge impacts in the long term," said Prof Cappuccio. "People are trading sleep to cope with longer working hours and to find more leisure time, but we are finding that it is really not a commodity you can trade without long-term effects on your well-being.

"A hundred years ago the average amount of sleep people managed to get was around 9.2 hours; now in the UK we sleep an average of 6.9 hours. Our findings are showing that about seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep.

"There is a large amount of evidence from the laboratory that, when you sleep less than seven hours a night for a prolonged period of time, you affect the hormone balances that make you more prone to diabetes and affect your appetite. You also affect the low level of inflammation in the arteries, which is one of the prime mechanisms in cardiovascular disease.

"Longer sleep is also associated with health risks, but the cause is far less clear."

Yet, despite the apparent scale of the problem, insomnia is still relatively poorly understood, often being overlooked as the medical profession and neurologists have focused on other psychological problems. One of the reasons for this is that we still do not have a grasp on what insomnia really is. However, a study by the University of Pennsylvania and Glasgow University is beginning to shed light on what might be going on.

"It seems to be far more complicated than people being either awake or asleep," said Prof Colin Espie, director of Glasgow University’s Sleep Centre. "People with insomnia may be asleep, but their brains are more active. When you wake them up from this light sleep, they believe they were awake and can tell you what they were thinking about. When you look at the microstructure of the brain patterns while they are asleep, at times their brains look more like one that is awake.

"It appears that people with insomnia are experiencing some of their sleep as wakefulness because they are aware of a lot of mental activity, which is, in fact, underlying this."

The strange blur between wakefulness and sleep combines with another factor in insomnia that is now emerging as the overriding cause of the problem – worry.

Prof Espie said: "Our model sees insomnia as a disorder of selective attention that inhibits sleep. It is as if insomnia is a form of sleep stuttering – it is a disorder where the natural sleep process becomes inhibited by worry and concern about getting to sleep or quality of sleep.

"We are finding that people with insomnia are far more affected by words and pictures associated with sleep, such as beds and bedside tables, than those who have normal sleep patterns. As with speech, if you don’t think about it, it is easy. If you think and analyse every word, you can become incomprehensible."

Those who suffer from insomnia will have some form of predisposition to the condition. Some researchers are noticing strong trends within families that are hinting at a hereditary link, but no one has yet found the gene or genes that may be responsible.Prof Morgan believes insomnia sufferers are often found in professions that attract individuals with a certain type of mind. "They have a particular personality that makes them at risk. They tend to be people with a certain way of thinking. They are very focused and obsessional, which means they have trouble switching their brains off."

But not everyone with this predisposition will suffer from insomnia: it takes a trigger to set it off. In my case, the worsening of my sleep problems is clear. My personal life has undergone considerable turmoil in the past nine months, and 2010 has probably been the most challenging year of my life. I found I was unable to switch off my whirring brain at night. And the less I slept, the more I worried.
Courtesy - The Island

Petition against ‘flooding’


 A petition, seeking an order to ensure the removal of all the obstacles that cause water to stagnate in the Western province, mainly in the Colombo city was submitted to the Western Provincial High Court today.

The petition, which was submitted by the Centre for Environmental Justice-an environmental rights group in Sri Lanka- against the relevant Government Ministers and Government agencies, stated that that the people have been compelled to suffer from rain water but there has been no remedial measures taken by the defendants.

During the past few weeks Colombo and its suburbs experienced heavy flooding due to frequent showers which hindered the day to day life of the public severely. (Manopriya Gunasekera)
Courtesy - Daily Mirror

WikiLeaks to leak Lankan memos


Among more than 250,000 confidential US diplomatic cables, a portion of which was released by the WikiLeaks on Sunday, more than 3000 documents are related to Sri Lanka.

Among all the cables obtained by the WikiLeaks, there are 8,320 memos on China, 7,095 on Afghanistan, 5,087 on India, 4,775 on Pakistan, 3,166 on Sri Lanka and 2,182 on Bangladesh.

WikiLeaks began on Sunday publishing 251,287 leaked US embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain.

“The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government’s foreign activities,” the website said on the release of documents despite strong words from Washington.

“The cables, which date from 1966 to February 2010, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington,” it added. (Source : Republica) 
Courtesy - Daily Mirror

Monday, November 29, 2010

Galle harbour, another boon to tourism

For centuries naval and maritime activities had focused on Colombo Port creating major congestion and also resulting in the country losing its regional hub status.

One of the yachts already in Galle Port
Minister Tissera visiting the Galle Port

Some of the ships docked in Galle
Picture by Shirajiv Sirimane
To make Sri Lanka the maritime hub in the region the Mahinda Chinthana program spelled out the building and re-developing of five harbours simultaneously, a feat never even attempted in the Sri Lanka history.
The Ruhunu Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Harbour became the first international Port in the annals of the Sri Lanka maritime history after almost 200 years.
The Oluvil Port is set to open next January while the much awaited and long overdue Colombo South Harbour development finally took off the ground.
With the planned 2.5 million tourist arrivals by 2016, the need arose to broadbase the entry points to Sri Lanka. With this in mind construction began on the second international airport at Mattala and the Colombo airport. The other regional airports too are being developed.
The new airlines will increase frequency and the airport development plans could meet the demands of tourists sailing in cruise liners. The number of yachts also expected to increase by over 40 percent globally. For the first time in the regional maritime history Sri Lanka has embarked on building the region's first tourist Port at Galle in a bid to capture a share of this growing market.
The facilities for yachts at Galle Port were damaged during the tsunami and the proposed development will provide a fully fledged yacht Marina for the Galle Port to facilitate the calling yachts and attract more yachts. The development of Galle Port as a tourist destination will act as a catalyst to economic growth of Southern Sri Lanka. At the next stage, berthing facilities will be provided for passenger cruise ships. The yacht lifting facility and yacht repair workshop will be provided, soon.
Former Minister of Ports and Aviation Dayashritha Tissera who toured the Galle Port early this month said that the government planned to provide a one stop facility to high spending tourists in Galle.
"They can come in their yachts, anchor them in the Galle harbour and tour the country while the Port will look after their vessels," he said.
In addition, the Galle harbour management would also attend to repairs and also engage in refuelling and providing all essential items for yachts to embark on their return journey.

Opportunities emerge

New business opportunities would emerge as there would be need to provide them transport facilities, essential items in bulk and several other logistics.
The City of Galle seems to gear to this as one could see houses and even shops being converted to mini-hotels opposite the entrance to the Galle Port. A new supermarket is under construction to meet the future demands.
Arrangements are being made to have customs and emigration offices in a more organised manner. All Buildings and those acquired will be modified to improve the existing facilities and land acquisition is now in progress.
In addition the Galle harbour is also looking for retailers to operate the proposed duty free shop. An air-conditioned and upmarket style Club house and a restaurant too are being built under this expansion program.
The Ports Authority which oversees the operations is now set to build a mini star hotel in the Port which could act as a transit point. A tourist information Centre along with other facilities such as laundry, and a special building for showers and toilets will be built.
The service and repair facility for yachts would bring high revenue to the country. This would help Galle to become a major attraction for yachts. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has already called for tenders to find a suitable player for this project.
Since Galle caters to tourists with five star hotels being built, passengers have the facility to be in their yachts until such time their yacht is being attended to.
The new trend in which high class passengers on board the yacht would leave the vessel with the crew and travel to Colombo and take a flight to their home, opens new areas for business opportunities.
Under the first phase, the basic facilities will be developed to berth 50 yachts in the harbour.
The project which will start next year, will be completed within one year. The total project cost would be Rs. 125 million.

A cargo ship anchored in Galle
After completion, Phase one B would be implemented to improve the berthing facility to 30 more yachts and further develop the yacht repair facility. This yacht lifting facility together with crane beam supported by piles would be in place while car park and dry berthing facilities too would be in place.
The government will invest Rs. 175 million on this project.
The Japanese Government has granted US$ 135 million to develop the Galle port as a regional port.
The city of Galle from the Portuguese era is rich in heritage sites. Due to its strategic position in the Indian Ocean, Galle has served for many years as a hub of cultures with the Dutch leaving a remarkable history.
With the city being recognised as a world heritage site a tourist harbour is more viable. In addition, Galle city is gifted with the attractions, such as coastal beds with pure blue oceans and coral reefs, tropical rain forests, legends, the colossal Dutch Fortress, and archaeological artefacts.

World's best attractions

The International Yacht Society has recognised the Galle Port as one of the world's best attractions. The increase in the arrival of these yachts has revived the tourism industry in general and Galle in particular.
The urban population depends on the tourist and fisheries industries and the government is also keen to develop the fisheries sector. At presently 40 multi-day fishing vessels use the facilities in the harbour and plans are under way to provide better facilities for them.
Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century before the arrival of the British who later developed the Colombo harbour.
Successive governments continue to follow this policy and very little development has taken place in Galle. The Koggala Free Trade Zone and the domestic airport lay idle while very little development had taken place in the Harbour.
With the Galle Port to be developed as a Tourist harbour, the southern capital Galle would receive an economic boost which would lift the living standards of the people to even greater heights.
Courtesy - Sunday Observer - By  Shirajiv SIRIMANE

මුළු නුවරම - නන්දා මාලිනී (Mulu Nuwarama Nidigath E Mohothe - Nanda Malani)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbBL6NhN7M

මුළු නුවරම නිදි ගත් මේ මොහොතේ
ඔබ පමණක් අවදිව ඇත යහනේ
එකම හඳක් එක තරුවක් යට
ඔබ ඔබේ පැලේ - මම මගේ පැලේ

වන උයන් පුරා මල් සමය උදා වේ
දිය දම් දිනිතිය යොවුන් වියේ
අප මධුර මිලනයේ තියු ගී රාවේ
ප‍්‍රාර්ථනා කරන්නේ
කවදාද අප හමු වන්නේ
ඔබ ඔබේ පැලේ - මම මගේ පැලේ

පෙර ආත්මයක මධු සුවඳ සිනා සී
ඉඟි කරනා කල රාති‍්‍රයේ
හද සොවින් වලප්නා
නිදි නොලබා මාළිගා මවන්නේ
උන්මාද චිත‍්‍රා දෝ මා
ඔබ ඔබේ පැලේ මම මගේ පැලේ

ගායනය - නන්දා මාලිනී
සංගීතය - ලයනල් අල්ගම

මුළු නගරයම නිදයි. එ නමුත් ඔබ යහනේ අවදිව සිටියි. මේ පාළුව දැනෙනුයේ ඔබත් මමත් වෙන්ව සිටින බැවිනි. වන උයන් පුරා වසන්ත සමයේ මල් පිපී, මියුරු ගීත ඇසුණත් අප හමුවන්නේ කවදාදැයි අප නොදනිමු. පෙර ආත්මයක සිට පැවතෙන බැඳීමක් ලෙස දැණුන ද, මේ පාළු රාත‍්‍රියේ හද සොවින්, නිදි නොලබා වැලපෙන මම උන්මාද චිත‍්‍රා දැයි මට සිතේ. ඒ ඔබත් මමත් එක්ව නොසිටින බැවිනි.

නන්දා මාලිනිය විසින් කප් සුවහස් කල් ගීත සමුච්චය උදෙසා ගායනා කරන ලද මෙම ගීතය ශ‍්‍රී ලාංකික ගායිකාවකගේ ගායනයෙහි මුදුන් මල්කඩ ලෙස හඳුන්වා දීම වරදක් නොවේ. මෙය එතරම්ම පිරිපුන් ගීතයක් වන බැවිනි. ගීතය පුරාවට දිවෙන්නේ තනිකමේත් වියෝගයේත් වේදනාවයි. පරිසරයේ අසිරියට මෙම විෂයය නොගැලපෙන අන්දමට දිවෙන වේදනාව මින් ධ්වනිත වෙයි.

කවියාගේ පෙම්වතා නිදි නොලබා පැලෙහි තනිව සිටිනුයේ මුළු නුවරක් ම නිදිගත් මොහොතක, එකම හඳකුත් එකම තරුවකුත් යට ය. සඳ හා තරුව පවා තනිව සිටින බව කීමෙන් ගීතය පුරා දිව යන තනිකම පිළිබඳ හැඟීම තීව‍්‍ර වේ. මුළු පරිසරයම මෙම යුවළගේ පේ‍්‍රම සමාගමයට සැදී පැහැදී සිටින බවක් කවියාට දැනේ. ඔවුන්ගේ මධුරතර වූ එක් වීම සඳහා සොබාදම විසින් ගයනු ලබන ස්තුති (තියු) ගීත රාවය කවදා අසන්නේ දැයි කවියා තැවෙන්නේ ය. කවදා ද අප හමු වන්නේ යන පදය දෙවරක් ගායනා කිරීමෙන් අදහස තව දුරටත් තීව‍්‍ර කරනු ලැබේ. ඉන් පසුව ඔබ ඔබේ පැලේ - මම මගේ පැලේ යන්නෙන් මෙම වෙන්වීම උච්චස්ථානයක් දක්වා ගෙන එනු ලබයි. මෙම යුවළට ඔවුන් පෙර ආත්මයක සිට ඔවුනොවුන් පතා පැමිණි බවක් හැගේ. නමුත් නිදි නොලබා සිහින මාළිගා තනමින් සිත සොවින් වැලැපේ. දීඝ ගාමිණි වෙතින් සඟවනු ලැබූ උන්මාද චිත‍්‍රා තමා දැයි කවියා නැවත ප‍්‍රශ්න කර සිටින්නීය.

මෙම ගීතයෙහි ගායන විලාශය සලකා බලන විට ඉතා පුළුල් ස්වර පරාසයක ගැයෙන පද මෙයට ඇතුලත් ය. කට හඬෙහි දක්වන භාව ප‍්‍රකාශය ද ඉතා ඉහළ මට්ටමක පවතී. එකම හඳක් එක තරුවක් යට යන පද ගැයෙන විට තනිකම පිළිබඳ භාවයත් ඔබ ඔබේ පැලේ - මම මගේ පැලේ යන පදය ගැයෙන විට වෙන් වීම පිළිබඳ භාවයත් මනාව පිළිබිඹු වේ. ගීය අවසානය වන විට විප‍්‍රයෝගයෙහි වේදනාව දක්වා සිටින මුත් ඔවුන් දුරස් වීමට හේතු ඉදිරිපත් නොකරයි. ඇත්තෙන්ම ගීය අවසන් වන විට රසිකයා එම හේතුව දැන ගැන්මට උනන්දු නොවන තත්ත්වයක පසුවෙයි. ගීය එතරම් ම සිත තුළට එවිට කිඳා බැස ඇති බැවිනි.

අසන්න
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbBL6NhN7M

The Social Network — A Streak Of Genius

You’re going to be successful and rich. But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because you’re a tech geek. I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole.”
And that is probably one of the calmest and greatest break up lines ever uttered in a movie in the past decade. This takes place during the opening sequence of The Social Network which most people refer to as ‘The Facebook Movie.’
Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg played by  Jessie Eisenberg (watch Zombieland and The Squid And The Whale) whose face and name you will never forget after watching The Social Network, is just about to get dumped by his girlfriend Erica. He is driving her crazy, talking about a million topics at a time, never listening to her viewpoints and worse avoiding all eye contact! They are intellectually well matched and she is by no means left behind when they discuss Tibetan philosophy or financial stocks. But she is fed up with his condescending attitude and obsession about getting into Harvard’s elite clubs. To outsiders, Mark’s social inaptness could seem a little worrying and some films critics have even compared him to  an asperser syndrome like character.
Worn down by this relationship, Erica leaves Mark seated at The Thirsty Scholar Pub after telling him: “Being with you is like dating a Stairmaster.” Ironically, Erica’s words will have a prophetic meaning with Mark becoming the youngest billionaire in the world thanks to the creation of Facebook. However, despite conceptualizing one of the most revolutionary social networking tools in history, he will as the film portrays, carefully destroy every possible close relationship he could have potentially had with a human being. The last scene is of him hesitantly sending a “friends request” on Facebook to Erica and refreshing the page, waiting for her to answer sadly shows that even geniuses with minimal social skills need, maybe not all the time but to a certain degree, the presence of other living beings in their lives and not just laptops!
To get back to Erica after she leaves him, Mark takes his revenge on his blog and sets up a popularity contest called “Face Smash” among the female students of Harvard which gets 22,000 hits in two hours and causes the entire computer system of Harvard to crash.
Based on Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires and written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin, this incredibly well crafted script and outstandingly shot film by director David Fincher ( Seven, Zodiac and the upcoming US version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) revolves around two court cases filed against Mark Zuckerberg. This is precisely why The Social Network can be watched by just about anyone, even by those rare cases who do not have a Facebook account! The film does not require vast knowledge about hacking or computer programming; it could even be more like a court room drama. The Winklevosses twins  who are on the Harvard rowing team, future Olympians and as Mark says, “ not used to seeing things not going their way”; and their partner Divya Narendra, are suing Zuckerberg for breaking his  agreement to write a software code for the future HavardConnection.com, and for allegedly stealing their idea and transforming it into the hugely successful Facebook.
The second case which  is more upsetting has been filed by Eduardo Saverin, Mark’s once best friend, the one who not only came up with the initial algorithm used to rank chess players for “Face Smash”, but also put in the initial 1000 dollars and a business plan to start Facebook.  Eduardo’s decision to sue Mark comes up after he discovers that he signed a deal with Zuckerberg and the other main shareholders, allowing them to dilute his share of the company from thirty-four percent to three hundredths of a percent, while  the ownership percentage of all other parties remained the same!
The reason for this is unclear. Was Zuckerberg jealous of Eduardo getting into one of the elite Harvard Clubs? Was it a way of punishing him for not having a clear grasp of what Facebook is? This is shown in one sequence of the film when Eduardo’s angry girlfriend accuses him of not even knowing how to change his status on his Facebook profile. The reasons for the betrayal are not spelt out but the result is the same: the end of a long friendship.  The other key character behind Facebook is Napster creator Sean Parker who is portrayed by Justin Timberlake. Parker fascinates the young Zuckerberg injects in him the idea that Facebook can be not a million-dollar company but a billion-dollar one. The other very interesting aspect of The Social Network is that morality issues are left to be sorted by the viewer. There is no clear answer given as to whether Mark has stolen the Winklevosses idea or if he betrayed his best friend. However social networking sites existed before Facebook which can claim to be the largest but not the only one. The film never disputes the fact that Mark is pure genius, he can text message while answering questions from his professors or shut to silence an opposing lawyer. The Social Network does not offer truths but a million possibilities and some liberty to let your imagination wander. An intelligent movie, it was time! 
Courtesy - The Sunday Leader By Sumaya Samarasinghe

The Social Network Official Trailer -In theatres Oct 1 2010  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4 

Susanthika to make a comeback

Olympic silver medalist sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe is willing to make a come back to the international circuit after Sri Lanka's performance in recent international competitions deteriorated.

She said that an announcement regarding the decision will be made, after consultations with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the new Minister of sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
Courtesy - Daily Mirror (Daminda Wijesuriya)

Sri Lanka deport foreigners for gaining employment while on tourist visas

Nov 28, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Immigration and Emigration Department says that over 600 foreigners have been deported this year for gaining employment in the country after arriving on tourist visas.
A spokesperson for the Department has told the local media that most of the deported tourists were Indian nationals while others also include people from Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh.
According to the Department statistics, some 300 foreigners had been deported in this manner in the past three months alone.
Most of these foreign nationals have gained employment in restaurants and jewelry making businesses amongst others.
Courtesy - Colombopage

Sunday, November 28, 2010

‘Tikiri Suwanda’ tells a family tal


Tikiri Suwanda’ an interesting tale revolving around the innocence of children in the hands of cruel adults is now being screened at Savoy Wellawatta and other EAP circuit cinemas around the country.
Maiden cinematic direction of Sunil Aruna Weerasiri who had produced two films earlier, the film is played by a talented cast including Jayalal Rohana, Ramya Wanigasekara, Anura Karunatilake, Giriraj Kaushalya, Malisha Samaratunga, Duleeka Marapana, Jayani Senanayake, Rodney Warnakula.
Priyantha Seneviratne, Janaka Ranasinghe, Sarath Chandrasiri, Anura Bandara Rajaguru, Sarath Kothalawela, Upeksha Swarnamalee and Saranapala Jayasuriya together with a group of up and coming actors and children including Promod Mihiranga Weerasiri, Kalana Gihan, Santhush Dilhara, Nayani Kaushalya, Randhi Ushara, Thakshika Anjana, Supun Chathuranga, Sandun Sudharaka and Tharaka Premasiri who will make their maiden appearances in the cinema.
Young ‘Tikiri’ is brought up by his uncle ‘Baby’ and aunt ‘Rosalin’ after the death of his parents. Baby, Tikiri’s uneducated uncle is a miser and due to his ignorance Tikiri has to undergo a lot of hardships. Alponso and Jasmine live in a house that belongs to Baby and as this couple gets closer to Baby, Tikiri faces further hardships. Alponso is cunning and takes advantage of Baby’s ignorance.
Alponso one day comes to know that there is a gold statue, an ancestral property in Baby’s house and conspires to steal it. Further Alponso makes up a story and convinces Baby that Tikiri had stolen the statue. Baby rushes back home and assaults Tikiri.
Unable to bear the cruelties, Tkiri runs away from home and goes to the temple in the village. He is determined somehow to change Baby and bring him to a good way of life. 
Courtesy -The Sunday Times - By Susitha R. Fernando
Death of a tusker
Enraged by human invasion into their habitats, infuriated by the constant threat of being relocated into an area they are not familiar with and exasperated by the increased difficulty in finding sufficient food, the magnificent elephant population in the country has waged war with the humans.
The latest episode in this long-drawn-out war is the tragic death of another majestic tusker – a breed of elephants that is slowly being pushed towards extinction.
With a pair of five-foot long magnificent tusks, the Migalewa Tusker was a sight to behold. The sight of this animal, incensed beyond control by the village that was closing in on him, was enough to drive mortal fear into those who crossed his path.
That was before it met with its tragic end.
Known to be one of the biggest elephant bulls that roamed the Galgamuwa area in the Kurunegala District, the magnificent tusker wrought havoc in the villages of Galgamuwa, Migalewa and
Ulpathagama, which resulted in the death of a woman, before being captured by the officers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, with the intention of transporting it to a ‘safer’ location.
Following a struggle that lasted a few hours, the tusker was sedated and captured.
It was being taken to a sanctuary when the floorboards of the lorry that was transporting the animal gave way making a gap in the planks. The trapped beast had one of its legs stuck in the gap.
According to Wildlife Department’s Deputy Director (Veterinary), Dr Tharaka Prasad, the elephant died of respiratory difficulties. When the floorboard gave way under his sheer size, his chest was pinned against the floorboards. The elephant died of suffocation.
There are many theories as to how this had happened. Some suggest that the vehicle was not fitting to transport an elephant that was in its prime and that the Wildlife Department should have deployed some other method to transport the animal.
“Anybody can criticise the method of transport. If they think that it was flawed, I would like to ask them what is the correct method? That was the method I know. I’m open for anybody’s suggestions,” Dr. Prasad said.
The incident took place when the lorry reached Thambuttegama area. When Dr Prasad visited the scene the tusker was semi-conscious. Although they were able to revive the animal, to release it to the Siyambalagamuwa forest, they were not able to lift the animal off the lorry due to its sheer size. Despite the effort of many who gathered at the scene, the Migalewa Tusker succumbed to death.
“If we take it as an isolated incident, this is an unfortunate and tragic accident. Despite their best intentions, the Wildlife Department is lacking resources to transport an elephant in its prime. I wouldn’t want to call it a deliberate incident, it was purely an accident,” environmental lobbyist Jagath Gunawardena said.
Among Asian elephants tuskers are extremely rare. There are many who express the idea that had this been an elephant without tusks, this event would not have received such public attention.
Then again, the death of a tusker in its prime is a tragedy to be mourned.
“When we take our elephant population, only 6% has the genetic make-up to grow tusks. So, when a tusker dies before its time, it is a great loss to the genetic pool that reproduces tuskers. That is one of the reasons why we should try to protect tuskers,” Gunawardena added.
Over the years, we lost a number of magnificent tuskers that roamed our fast-diminishing jungles: Dalaputtuwa, Ravana and Kublai Khan being only a few of them. The first two were senselessly shot to death by poachers and the latter died due to natural causes.
The so-called human-elephant conflict is only one manifestation of widespread environmental destruction and degradation. It is a direct result of the habitat loss that threatens the entire ecosystem.
Wild elephant populations need vast areas over which to range. An average elephant spends up to 20 hours a day eating 150-170kg of jungle fodder. When the jungles areas decrease, inevitably, elephants come into clashes with humans.
“In the years to come, the problem of habitat loss is going to increase. This is going to affect not only the elephants, but the entire ecosystem per se. Therefore, we need to look at this problem from an ecological point of view. Trying to tackle the human-elephant conflict as an isolated issue is not going to solve any problem,” Gunawardena opined.
He also said that the so-called environmental experts only try to evolve patch-up solutions to the elephant problem, but they are not willing to look at the larger problem.
There is also a view that the elephant population in the country has increased over the years, making it difficult for the jungles to sustain the number of elephants roaming inside them.
Lawyer Gunawardena dismissed this idea and said, “What has happened is not that the elephant population has increased. Only the jungle areas have shrunk due to human encroachment.”
Human-elephant conflict is accentuated by the sheer size of the animal and the extent of destruction it can cause to humans lives, residences and cultivations. However, incidents of other jungle animals crossing path with humans are not uncommon.
A number of recorded snakebites has increased over the years and this is seen as a direct result of habitat loss of some of the highly poisonous snakes in the country. And this is only one example.
“When the jungles shrink, it is only expected that elephants reach villages to find food. And when the intruder is a tusker there are other motivations for some people to capture the beast. It is with much regret that I say that politicians protect the poachers who kill elephants for their tusks,” Gunawardena lamented.
He added that it is a miracle that Migalewa Tusker survived this long with tusks as long as five feet. And he applauded the effort of the Wildlife Department in protecting the tusker up to his death.
“The elephant was anyway doomed. If it was allowed to remain in the area, the villagers would have killed him. It is to prevent this tragedy that the department tried to relocate him. What ensued was an accident, a tragic accident. Many people try to portray it as wilful negligence, but I say it is not negligence,” he said.
However, the success in relocating elephants as a solution to the conflict is debatable. This greatly reduces their chance of survival. It was only a few months ago that an elephant which was ‘relocated’ to a ‘safer’ location decided to leave its new home and almost drowned in the sea.
The fondly-known ‘brigadier’ – before it met its death after falling into an agrarian well a few weeks ago – walked into the sea off Sampur mistaking it for a wewa (tank).
The fate of Wigalawe Tusker is indeed tragic. Perhaps the Wildlife Department should have been more careful, perhaps they should have tried to seek a more stable vehicle, perhaps they should have checked on the animal every few minutes. But there is no point debating about these matters, now that the animal is dead.
However, another environment source, on condition of anonymity said the animal was transferred in a hurried manner due to political pressure. “There was a lot of pressure to remove this elephant from the area. A certain politician from the area was twisting the arms of the Wildlife Department. They had to do this. And they did it hurriedly to the best of their abilities. The politician wanted to please the people in the area,” the source added.
What needs to be done is to ensure that there is no repetition of the incident and to take measures that would ease the human-elephant conflict in the long run, by implementing an all-encompassing environmental conservation policy.
Courtesy - The Nation - By Vindya Amaranayake

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thousands to welcome Cardinal Malcolm today


Sri Lanka’s New Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be given a grand welcome when he arrives at the Bandaranaike International Airport at 8.15 am today a week after Pope Benedict elevated him to the rank of a Prince of the Church.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will be welcomed at the airport by bishops, high-ranking priests of the Colombo Archdiocese, rectors of colleges and seminaries, politicians and members of his immediate family before proceeding in a motorcade to the National Basilica at Tewatta in Ragama.
At the Basilica, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith will pay tribute to Sri Lanka’s first Cardinal Thomas Cooray at his tomb. He will then impart his blessing to the thousands of Catholics who are expected to be present for service at the Basilica.
The state-sponsored civic reception at the BMICH on Monday will be attended by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, cabinet ministers and other religious dignitaries, Archdiocesan Mass Communication Director Rev. Fr. Benedict Joseph said.  
A special solemn thanksgiving Eucharistic service, concelebrated by the Cardinal, Bishops and the Apostolic Nuncio will be held at St. Lucia’s Cathedral in Kotahena on December 4 at 9.00am. 
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith was one of the 24 Cardinals consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI last Saturday. The newly appointed Cardinals received their red biretta from Pope Benedict during the Consistory at Saint Peter's Basilica on November 20.
The 63-year-old Cardinal was born in Polgahawela and was ordained a priest in 1975 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome by Pope Paul VI. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo in 1991 and the same year was appointed the Bishop of Ratnapura. He was appointed the Archbishop of Colombo in June last year.
Courtesy  - Daily Mirror - By Susitha R. Fernando

Lionel Ranwala awakens historical memory



There’s a story related by a journalist who was associated with a Sinhala newspaper. He had once gone to interview someone. The person concerned had asked him several times if indeed he (the journalist) worked for the said newspaper. The reason was simple. The particular newspaper had never thought it fit to carry any feature about this person for reasons best known to those who had the decision-making power in that newspaper.
Lionel Ranwala never sought publicity. His work was his advertisement. He was not a glamour-seeker and never hobnobbed with the so-called ‘glamourous’. It is possible that some saw in him an arrogance that was insufferable. It is possible that he was seen to be proud and distant. Some thought apparently that he was not ‘classical’ enough and that said more about their understanding of what’s classical and what’s not than about Ranwala.

Lionel Ranwala
Today, Lionel Ranwala’s name is always heard whenever there is any discussion about Sri Lankan folk music. He actively sought and documented folk songs, categorized and popularized them. Today, his son Sahan, continues the pioneering work undertaken by his father. Thanks to people like Lionel Ranwala we have a better understanding of what a rich folk art tradition we are heirs to, for it was not only melody but lyric as well that he ascribed currency to.
It’s all recorded now. In 1997 when his younger son Sahan had passed his O-L, Ranwala had asked what he would like as a present. Sahan, noting how effective his father’s lectures on music were when he used folk songs, had asked him to collect his (the father’s) songs and put out an album. That’s how Ahase Innavalu came into being. It was launched on the old man’s 60th birthday (November 27, 1999). Gama Avulagngnang was to come out on his 63rd birthday, but Lionel Ranwala met with a tragic accident and died a few days before. It was launched a year later. Two subsequent albums were produced by the foundation his sons helped start: Yuddetath Avith and Podi Ayata Jana Gee.
Ranwala’s research revealed the rich diversity of our folk music and especially how most modern forms were anticipated by our musical ancestors.
The flexibility and freedom of expression evident is our traditional music is truly amazing and speaks of a culture that placed great value on creativity, innovation, exploration and experimentation. Ranwala gave us pride and if he was proud he had a right to be so.
There’s ‘rap’ in our drums, drum beats, the bera pada, the mantara, the tika seepada. There’s rap in the ditty that almost every Sinhala child knows, athuru mithuru dambadivathuru raaja kapuru settiya... There’s education in our folk songs. They taught the young child courage; the athinniya (she-elephant) runs away in fear of the baby, for example: babuta baye duwanniya. You learn the folk songs and at the end of it all you’ve learnt a lot about paddy cultivation. Education was a song and not a curse as it should be, Sahan is wont to say: Adyaapanaya vaathayak nemei, geethayak.
Today would have been his 71st birthday. Today, his son and his students will be present when the last song that Lionel Ranwala wrote, composed melody for and arranged the music, is officially launched.
Rae elivena thuru or ‘Until the night is done’ was written a few weeks before this remarkable man left us. Thankfully his work, the traditions he helped unearth and give new life-lease to, remain. The song will be launched this morning at 9.30 at the Gangarama Temple.
It is based on the ‘Samudraghosha Viritha’, according to Sahan, the livewire of the Lionel Ranwala Padanama.
It is as it should be: men die, their work live on. Traditions outlive their champions and exponents. Lionel Ranwala would not have claimed that these art forms would have perished had he not done what he did. They would have been weak indeed if that kind of fate awaited these traditions. We are fortunate, nevertheless.
I’ve listened to these songs and even when it is for the first time it feels as though I’ve known them all my life.
Our ancestors live in us in some form or another, as remnant and life-thread. It awakens us to who we are and therefore inspire us to become who we want to be.
A little prompting helps. That’s a small part of what Lionel Ranwala achieved in his lifetime. Good to remember. Especially today.
Courtesy - Daily News By Malinda


Second-hand smoke kills 600,000 people a year: Study


Second-hand smoke has deadly effects for non-smokers too, according to a recent study.
Second-hand smoke has deadly effects for non-smokers too, according to a recent study.

The alarming findings - published on Thursday in the British medical journal Lancet - are based on a survey of 192 countries in 2004.Second-hand smoke globally kills more than 600,000 people each year, accounting for 1% of all deaths worldwide, according to a new study.

Researchers estimated that annually second-hand smoke causes about 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 deaths from lower respiratory disease, 36,900 deaths from asthma and 21,400 deaths from lung cancer.
Children account for about 165,000 of the deaths, according to the researchers.
"This helps us understand the real toll of tobacco," said Armando Peruga, of the World Health Organization, who led the study. He said the estimated 603,000 deaths from passive smoking should be added to the 5.1 million that smoking claims annually.
The study found that 40% of children and 30% adults regularly breathe in second-hand smoke.
Nationally, second-hand smoke causes 46,000 deaths from heart disease each year.
There are no figures on second-hand smoking deaths in the city.
But during a city council hearing in October, Health Department Commissioner Thomas Farley said smoking killed 7,500 residents over the age of 35 in 2009, 14% of all deaths in the city.
There are nearly a 1 million smokers in the city, including 18,000 public high school students, according to the Health Department.
Courtesy - BY JAMES FANELLI -DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
With News Wire Service

Friday, November 26, 2010

British Royal engagement ring with Sri Lankan gem

article_image
The most talked about ring in the world today is the one that Prince William gave Kate Middleton on their engagement. That 12-carat oval blue sapphire on the ring, which raised speculation as to its origin, was Sri Lanka’s contribution to the grandeur of Britain’s Royal Heirloom.

The ring was the same one that William’s father, Prince Charles, gave Lady Diana Spencer on their engagement in 1981.

The UK Daily Mail of Nov 17, reported that the gem on Princess Diana’s ring was a ‘Ceylon sapphire’. Other sources including National Geographic, have reported that this gem is from Sri Lanka.

The blue sapphire is surrounded by a cluster of 14 solitaire diamonds set on 18-carat white gold. It had been valued at 250,000 pounds sterling prior to the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales in 1997.
Courtesy - The Island

Pakistan beats Sri Lanka for Twenty20 bronze - Taiwan News Online

Pakistan beats Sri Lanka for Twenty20 bronze - Taiwan News Online















http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LdAQYN6ZS8

Email -  By Methlal Weerasooriya

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Christmas Carols and Songs

http://www.online-places.com/christmas/carols/index.html

Google to delete private data


London: Google has agreed to delete all personal data collected by its Street View cars from unsecured wireless networks.

Google sparked an international outrage last month after it admitted to collecting information from unsecured Wi-Fi networks as its vehicles roamed residential streets.

The company was accused of unlawfully harvesting data, including e-mails, passwords and website addresses, during the creation of its Street View maps.


British Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said Google will also introduce improved training measures on security awareness and data protection issues for all its employees worldwide, a newspaper reported.

Graham said, "I am very pleased to have a firm commitment from Google to work with my office to improve its handling of personal information.

"It is a significant achievement to have an undertaking from a major multinational corporation like Google Inc that extends to its global policies and not just its UK activities."

Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president, signed an undertaking on behalf of Google Inc to put in place improved training measures on security awareness and data protection issues for all employees, the Information Commissioner's Office said.

The company will also require its engineers to maintain a privacy design document for every new project before it is launched and the personal data collected in Britain will be deleted.

The decision is a victory for privacy campaigners, who were furious that Google had refused to back down over claims that it had unlawfully accessed private data, albeit accidentally.
Seenews.com

Student intake widens ( Laptop For 2011 University students)

University education:
Plans are under way to increase the students intake for local universities by 3,000 from next year. About 25,000 students would be admitted to Universities for the next academic year scheduled to start by June 2011, said Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake.
He was addressing the annual prize giving of the Hanguranketha Sirimavo Bandaranaike Balika Vidyalaya.
The Education Ministry will release A-L results in the next month and by January students for the next academic year will be identified. The Higher Education Ministry will supply Laptop computers for those students spending Rs two billion. A special three month English course will be conducted as the first step by June. Those who fail the English course will train again. They will learn English on-line via Vidatha Centres, Dissanayake said.
Nearly 200,000 schoolchildren sit for the A-L examination every year and 120,000 are qualified for university entrance.
Because of the capacity problem, nearly 21,000 students were selected to universities last year. In 2005, it was only 15,000 students.
Courtesy - Daily News - By Dinesh DE ALWIS

Red Riding Hood trailer: life in the hood ain't so Grimm


If you go down to the woods today, ladies, it seems you're more likely to get lucky with your fella than meet a cross-dressing wolf
Red Riding Hood
 
Scarlet woman ... Little Red Riding Hood comes of age Fairytales have always played a vital function, offering strict morality lessons that help to mould each generation of children into well-developed adults. However, now that they're primarily being used to sell subscriptions to satellite television companies, there's a real danger they may soon be a thing of the past.
 
Red Riding Hood
Production year: 2011
Country: USA
Directors: Catherine Hardwicke
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Julie Christie
 
So thank heavens for Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood, her forthcoming adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. If anyone can faithfully recreate the precise events of the definitive 1857 Brothers Grimm version of the story in a way that will appeal directly to the youngsters of today, it's her. Let's take a look at the new Red Riding Hood trailer to see her wonderfully faithful adaptation in action ...
Red Riding Hood 1 1) Here she is, Little Red Riding Hood. "A dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her," according to the Brothers Grimm. And she's wearing the bright red cape given to her by her grandmother, too. This is going to be delightful.
Red Riding Hood 2 2) However, all is not well in Little Red Riding Hood's village. A vicious predator is on the loose, and it's picking off villagers at random. What sort of monster could be responsible for a campaign of such relentless evil?
Red Riding Hood 3 3) That's right: a wolf. This worries Little Red Riding Hood, because her beloved yet sickly grandmother lives in an isolated cottage in the woods by herself so she's most at risk from a wolf attack. That's why, even though she knows the danger involved, Little Red Riding Hood decides to pack her things and ...
Red Riding Hood 4 4) Oh. She decides to have it off with a bloke up against a wall. Which admittedly isn't in the definitive text of the story, but since it's been argued that Little Red Riding Hood can be read as an allegory for sexual awakening, we can write this off as an acceptable deviation. Anyway, shag over, Little Red Riding Hood sets off into the woods to ...
Red Riding Hood 5 5) Seriously? To have it off with the same bloke? Again? This doesn't really seem on. If her grandmother has already been eaten by the wolf – which she totally has, by the way – then every time Little Red Riding Hood has sex from now on, she's going to automatically equate feelings of arousal with the murder of her elderly relative. That's bound to cause all kinds of profound and complex intimacy issues somewhere down the line. Demonstrate some reasonable foresight, Little Red Riding Hood.
Red Riding Hood 6 6) Right. OK. This is better. Little Red Riding Hood is setting off alone, with a basket of goodies in tow, into the woods to visit her kindly old ...
Red Riding Hood 7 7) GARY OLDMAN? Seriously, has Catherine Hardwicke even read Little Red Riding Hood? Does she even know how it goes? Everyone knows that there should a talking, anthropomorphised transvestite wolf here, not the acclaimed star of Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is very disappointing indeed. But never mind, let's just get this over with. Once she arrives at Gary Oldman's house, Little Red Riding Hood ...
Red Riding Hood 8 Red Riding Hood 8 8) Oh, for God's sake, really? Really? Little Red Riding Hood, can't you keep it in your pants for a poxy second? Look – people are being murdered and your grandmother has been eaten by a wolf and now Gary Oldman is in her house rooting through all her stuff, and all you can think about is sex? This is crap. This whole film is crap. And, incidentally, where's the wolf? We haven't even seen him yet. That wolf I showed you before wasn't even a real wolf. It was just a painting of a wolf on a door, and not even a particularly good one at that. In fact, is there even going to be a wolf in this film? Or has he been edited out to make room for all the shagging?
Red Riding Hood 9 9) I take everything back. It turns out that there is a wolf in this film, and it appears to be part robot. This film is going to be awesome.
Courtesy - 

Free healthcare for all - President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that all citizens of the country should have access to free health service.
He added that all citizens irrespective of the provinces where they live are entitled to receive the benefits of free health service.
The President was speaking at the presentation of appointments to 51
dental surgeons and 78 pharmacists at the Temple Trees. Enrolment of
1,655 student nurses for training also took place on the occasion.
President Rajapaksa stressed the importance of having a healthier nation for the country's development. He also commended the immeasurable services by the health officials including the nurses. No one can undermine the services of health officials, he added.
The President added that people can obtain drugs from pharmacies more easier than hospitals and they are being exploited by the pharmacies.
He said that this system needs to be changed soon.
Defence and health sectors are being given pride of place by the Government. He was of the opinion that a country cannot be developed without a sound healthcare system.
President Rajapaksa added that a large number of nurses were appointed to hospitals islandwide by the Government to provide a better health service to the people.
The President added that patient caring is more important than curing them. He was of the view that curing can be learnt but caring of patients should come from the bottom of heart.
Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said country's health sector will undergo revolutionary changes next year.
He added that the Prof Senaka Bibile's Drug Policy will be implemented from January on President Mahinda Rajapaksa's directive.
He said that Prof Senaka Bibile's Drug Policy would be implemented gradually. 
Courtesy - Daily News - By Chaminda PERERA 

A killer tusker, which was being transported by the Wildlife Department to be released, died when the floor of the truck he was in gave way, at Tambuttegaama on Tuesday night. The police say Wild Life officials had captured the tusker at Bulnewa, Galgamuwa after it killed several persons and caused intense damage to property.

Courtesy - The Island (Pic by Senaka illangakoon)

West Indies hope to reign in Sri Lanka’s scoring

Thilan Samaraweera made 80 as Sri Lanka frustrated their opponents

While praising Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara for his century, Roach said that they were looking to bowl the hosts out for just over 300 runs on the third day of the second Test at the R Premadasa Stadium.
He said: “Sangakkara batted pretty well on a very difficult wicket, kudos to him.
“The batters and bowlers stuck to their plans, but today (Wednesday) was a day for them. The pitch has more bounce than we had at Galle. The extra bounce is good for fast bowlers like myself.
“The pitch here was slow on the first day, and a bit slow on Wednesday as well, but it was good to get some bounce and carry.
“I would say the game is evenly poised at the moment. We would like to dismiss them as soon as we can and not let them get too many over the 300-mark, so we know we have work to do when play resumes.”
Talking about his personal effort, he said it was not easy to bowl in Sri Lankan pitches but was pleased with his bowling.
“The pitches are good for batting and I still have some work to do on my line and length. I have been working closely with the coach and the captain and they have been giving me good advice,” Roach said, who took three for 66.
Roach rued the missed opportunities of Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews and he felt that that could have given a different turn to the match.
“Obviously we would have loved to have taken the chances and have them six or seven down.
“But we are not down-spirited. These things happen in the game of cricket and we are looking to move forward and get the next five wickets and take it from there.
“On this type of wicket you will be playing and missing a lot outside the off stump,” Samaraweera said.
“When you try to be too defensive also that happens. At the end of the day I missed another hundred.
“It was lack of concentration. I am really disappointed because I fell into their trap.
“On the first day when I came at the close everyone appreciated my knock of 25 not out. That gave a lot of confidence to me. We knew if we could survive the first hour we could dominate the bowling, and that is what happened.”
Thilan Samaraweera who made a gritty 80 and shared a crucial 170-run partnership with his skipper Sangakkara said: “This year my one-day average is 49, I don’t know why I didn’t go to Australia. My duty is scoring runs. I am hoping for the best."
Samaraweera said he was confident that Sri Lanka can win the Test if the weather permits.
“We have to bat well on Thursday and if we can get 400 plus it is a big score on this wicket.”
Sport 360

Sri Lanka budget 2011 for stability, knowledge economy - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

Sri Lanka budget 2011 for stability, knowledge economy - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Aung San Suu Kyi: The Voice Of Hope – Conversations with Alan Clements

On the morning after International Women’s Day, let’s remember the most enlightened woman still under captivity in Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi
The political, social and economic tragedy that exists in present day Burma is a permanent stain on humanity.
In the words of U Tin U, Deputy Leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), “Burma is a prison within a prison.” The thoughts, movements and actions of 50 million civilians are under constant surveillance by a government obsessed with maintaining control. Yet the thoughts and words of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi provide a beacon of hope that a democratic and unified Burma will someday prevail.
Author Alan Clements travelled to Rangoon in December 1995 to meet secretly with Daw Suu Kyi and recorded a series of dialogues with the leader of the NLD. Clements’ involvement with Burma goes back 30 years. This became the book Aung San Suu Kyi: The Voice of Hope.
He is the first American to be ordained a Buddhist monk, and like every foreign journalist entering Burma, he has also encountered the wrath of the military junta by being deported.
The Voice Of Hope
Between his extensive knowledge of the domestic situation, and Daw Suu Kyi’s wisdom and elegance in answering every question put before her, readers will understand just how Buddhism is closely connected with politics in Burma, and why the concepts of faith and metta (loving kindness) are among the building blocks of any genuine democracy.
Each chapter is named after a sentence that typifies the beliefs, sacrifice and struggle that best summarise key points in Daw Suu Kyi’s existence.
It also demonstrates the enormous love that she shares for every person who has risked their life to hear speeches delivered from her compound. She also speaks repeatedly of compassion towards members of the SPDC and declares that they too can show love for the people of Burma.
This may surprise readers, but perfectly encompasses everything she stands for. One cannot help but show admiration for any individual willing to risk their life to hear a political icon outline the real situation in Burma, and be prepared to listen to how and why civilians are suffering.
In the process of unravelling Daw Suu Kyi’s deepest thoughts, Clements uncovers a defiant individual that will not be intimidated by weaponry in the hands of authority, while uncovering the keys to life; love for humanity, education and an open heart.
Daw Suu Kyi speaks modestly and candidly in describing her upbringing, the role of her parents in shaping her values, her frenetic daily routine while under house arrest, life abroad and eventual homecoming to Burma, and unrelenting commitment to non-violence.
The appeal of the dialogue is that Daw Suu Kyi’s answers to some of Clements’ lengthy questions and points are presented plainly and with fervour as if addressing a crowd of tens of thousands of her supporters. There is no place for political spin within these pages, which enhances the readability.
One theme that resonates through the entire book is the tenacity of the people of Burma and their ability to adopt a sense of humour in spite of the horrific conditions that they face. It takes a special human being to constantly laugh throughout years of suffering.
Clements has clearly done his background research to prompt thought-provoking answers from Daw Suu Kyi and in doing so, delivers possibly the greatest insight into the world’s most famous female political icon.
Use Your Liberty
Author Alan Clements
It is impossible to have conceived the danger facing Clements and Daw Suu Kyi, making the discussions and writing of this publication all the more plausible.
Throughout the course of the book, the reader becomes acutely aware of the volatile situation that Burma has faced in recent decades, a scenario sadly prevalent to this day. The facts itself relating to Burma’s political, social and economic demise are not new, but Clements aims to provide shock therapy and reveal to the world the extent and frequency of abuse.
He succeeds in piercing the heart and soul deeply enough and warn us that if we do not regard Burma as our highest priority, then it is not just the people that face the harshest consequences of tyranny. As a society, we will all carry the burden of watching humans slowly die without directly intervening.
Aung San Suu Kyi: The Voice Of Hope reminds us all that the forgotten people of Burma are not just the dead who have been forced to onto their knees for so much of their lives, but the living voiceless.
Alan Clements has presented us a manual for life that crudely tells the developed and most powerful leaders on the planet to stop waiting idly by for a miracle to occur without hard work. This book is the catapult that will launch individuals into taking immediate action.
The message here is loud and clear; use your rights and privileges to help the long-suffering civilians of Burma gain their freedom.
Matadornetwork