http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/05/08/alistair_horne/
Horne nodded. "Yes, that's very true. If terrorism is effective, you become a freedom fighter. As Talleyrand said, 'Treason is a matter of dates.'"
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Headlines you will not see
My post about child soldiers yesterday was partially out of frustration with BBC for their reporting style of Sri Lankan civil war.I'm Sinhalese who believe that Tamil minority have been wronged in the past and the way out is only through negotiations.I firmly believe that Tigers are terrosists and should be defeated but we have take into consideration the ground realities.I witnessed how the moderates had to get in line on get killed during '87-'90 era in the south. I sympathasize with the remaining Tamil moderates who try not to antagonize LTTE in the north .This post is not about LTTE ,GOSL or Karuna.It's about the actual "Third Party" in the Sri Lankan conflict ,international media.
BBC has changed the headline substantially from yesterday.(check the google cache for news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/6144200.stm "S Lanka 'recruits child fighters'")
Sri Lankan government forces are recruiting child soldiers to fight against the Tamil Tiger rebels, the United Nations has said.
A senior UN official said the troops had been rounding up children to fight with the renegade Karuna rebel group. (emphasis mine)
Let's assume you are a ordinary person who checks the international news of the day.What is your first impression?
Now it has been watered down(Sri Lanka youth 'seized to fight' ).
"Elements in the Sri Lankan military are helping a breakaway rebel faction to abduct children as soldiers to fight Tamil Tiger rebels, the UN has said"(emphasis is mine)
The damage is already done .Who gives a ---- about a third world country where this headline could make life miserable for a lot of people for a long period of time?
Let's apply the same standards for another conflict ,Iraq.We can take the headline today . Since Iraqi army ,which is mainly shia ,is recriuted and trained by USA and UK(as occupiers since it is their ultimate responsibility as well ) ,I took the liberty of writing the news for the BBC guys(and gals specialy Dumeetha Luthra,Frances Harrison) !
Headline : US government is training Iraqi kidnappers
US government forces are training Iraqi kidnappers to fight against militants , the United Nations has said.
Iraqi military and Police which is recruited ,trained and armed by US and UK is fighting a increasingly brutal war, today kidnapped 150 civilians.
About 20 of the abductees were released on Tuesday evening, while Iraqi officials suggested some 40 to 50 hostages remained in captivity.
However, figures varied substantially. Initial estimates suggested that more than 100 people had been seized, but that was later revised down.
A spokesman at the education ministry said about 70 people worked in the building, but there was no way of knowing who was in the building at the time.
The attackers,initaily trained and armed by US , stormed the education ministry's research department, locked women in a room and took the men away.
Correspondents say many Iraqis believe mass kidnappings like this latest incident are committed by members of the Shia Muslim-dominated security forces, or take place with their collusion. The security forces are trained and armed by US and UK security forces .
Such kidnappings are often for ransom, but many victims are subsequently found dead.
P.S.
D.B.S.Jeyaraj does a fair round up I think.
BBC has changed the headline substantially from yesterday.(check the google cache for news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/6144200.stm "S Lanka 'recruits child fighters'")
Sri Lankan government forces are recruiting child soldiers to fight against the Tamil Tiger rebels, the United Nations has said.
A senior UN official said the troops had been rounding up children to fight with the renegade Karuna rebel group. (emphasis mine)
Let's assume you are a ordinary person who checks the international news of the day.What is your first impression?
Now it has been watered down(Sri Lanka youth 'seized to fight' ).
"Elements in the Sri Lankan military are helping a breakaway rebel faction to abduct children as soldiers to fight Tamil Tiger rebels, the UN has said"(emphasis is mine)
The damage is already done .Who gives a ---- about a third world country where this headline could make life miserable for a lot of people for a long period of time?
Let's apply the same standards for another conflict ,Iraq.We can take the headline today . Since Iraqi army ,which is mainly shia ,is recriuted and trained by USA and UK(as occupiers since it is their ultimate responsibility as well ) ,I took the liberty of writing the news for the BBC guys(and gals specialy Dumeetha Luthra,Frances Harrison) !
Headline : US government is training Iraqi kidnappers
US government forces are training Iraqi kidnappers to fight against militants , the United Nations has said.
Iraqi military and Police which is recruited ,trained and armed by US and UK is fighting a increasingly brutal war, today kidnapped 150 civilians.
About 20 of the abductees were released on Tuesday evening, while Iraqi officials suggested some 40 to 50 hostages remained in captivity.
However, figures varied substantially. Initial estimates suggested that more than 100 people had been seized, but that was later revised down.
A spokesman at the education ministry said about 70 people worked in the building, but there was no way of knowing who was in the building at the time.
The attackers,initaily trained and armed by US , stormed the education ministry's research department, locked women in a room and took the men away.
Correspondents say many Iraqis believe mass kidnappings like this latest incident are committed by members of the Shia Muslim-dominated security forces, or take place with their collusion. The security forces are trained and armed by US and UK security forces .
Such kidnappings are often for ransom, but many victims are subsequently found dead.
P.S.
D.B.S.Jeyaraj does a fair round up I think.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Child Soldiers
The leading news in BBC website has been a UN report on Sri Lanka (1 hrs+).
"
But Allan Rock, a special adviser to the UN representative for children and armed conflict, said government forces had forcibly rounded up young Tamil children to fight with Col Karuna's group.
"We encountered both direct and indirect evidence of... complicity and participation," he said of the government security services"
Who is Allen Rock?Is he this guy?
Allan Rock, PC, BA , LL.B (born August 30, 1947) is a lawyer and former Canadian politician and diplomat. He was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations (2004-2006) and had previously served in the Cabinet of Jean Chrétien, most notably as Justice Minister (1993-1997) and Health Minister (1997-2002).
"In his role as Minister of Justice, Rock was heavily involved in bringing about the Canadian gun registry. This program was plagued by massive cost overruns, and is rumoured to be one of the reasons for the failure of Rock's abortive leadership bid. However Rock's tenure as a federal cabinet minister was in general characterized by controversy ranging from the handling of compensation for victims of tainted blood donations to actions of his department in the Airbus affair (which ended in a public apology and $2,000,000 settlement to Brian Mulroney)."
Looks like Tigers are getting a "little help from their friends " in Canadian Liberal Party.
"Mr Rock said the fact that Sri Lankan troops were complicit in the recruitment of child soldiers meant that Tamil Tiger rebels would continue to do so, as it corroded the rule of law."
(Whoaha that's why they have been recruiting child solders all along! )
"
But Allan Rock, a special adviser to the UN representative for children and armed conflict, said government forces had forcibly rounded up young Tamil children to fight with Col Karuna's group.
"We encountered both direct and indirect evidence of... complicity and participation," he said of the government security services"
Who is Allen Rock?Is he this guy?
Allan Rock, PC, BA , LL.B (born August 30, 1947) is a lawyer and former Canadian politician and diplomat. He was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations (2004-2006) and had previously served in the Cabinet of Jean Chrétien, most notably as Justice Minister (1993-1997) and Health Minister (1997-2002).
"In his role as Minister of Justice, Rock was heavily involved in bringing about the Canadian gun registry. This program was plagued by massive cost overruns, and is rumoured to be one of the reasons for the failure of Rock's abortive leadership bid. However Rock's tenure as a federal cabinet minister was in general characterized by controversy ranging from the handling of compensation for victims of tainted blood donations to actions of his department in the Airbus affair (which ended in a public apology and $2,000,000 settlement to Brian Mulroney)."
Looks like Tigers are getting a "little help from their friends " in Canadian Liberal Party.
"Mr Rock said the fact that Sri Lankan troops were complicit in the recruitment of child soldiers meant that Tamil Tiger rebels would continue to do so, as it corroded the rule of law."
(Whoaha that's why they have been recruiting child solders all along! )
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Sri Lankan Attitude
Kumar Sangakkara is writing a column at CricInfo. He is off to a great start touching the very essence of Sri Lankan experience, 'Attitude'. The column is about the recent success of the team and the attitude change that caused it.
I quote ...
"One of the huge conundrums with Sri Lanka's cricket has traditionally been the absence of the question "why?" We are generally spoon-fed from an early age. The senior players are expected to know best and you can easily get caught-up in a herd. Nobody thinks of how things can be changed. An intelligent, questioning attitude is quietly repressed. But to stay ahead you must diversify. What we need is a system from grassroots to the national team that is continuously evolving to make you better. We need to free minds. "
If you grow up in Sri Lanka and went to a Sri Lankan school and university ,you will have a first hand experience of the what Kumar mentions above .An "Intelligent Questioning Attitude " as Kumar mentions is not encouraged at all .It is usually the opposite that happens, the suppression of creativity and inquiry .
Teachers usually (there are exceptions) don't like inquiry since they sometime don't know what they are talking about. The rest of the students do not like the guy who is asking all the questions since they consider him to be a show off and a distraction from their note taking .So teachers stick to giving notes they themselves were given by their teachers .Student obediently take notes down ,memorize ,pass exams and become teachers themselves .The vicious circle continues.
There are some areas you wouldn't expect this to happen ,for instance Science and Engineering education . Hence the following anecdote I got from a really curious guy who has a very sharp mind in his field, working for an IT company .He happened to be in a design meeting with some Europeans and Sri Lankans .Both groups of members had the same background in academics and in technical experiance.A third party came to conduct a class on one of the hottest technologies at the time.He said he sat there in amazement of the quality and quantity of the questions the europeans asked.He wondered why we don't ask questions.Is it our culture?Is it our religion or is it simply that we are destined to be lazy ass third world consumers?
I have sat through my share of class room time and listening to Buddhist sermons(Bana) expousing the virtue of obeying your elders and teachers.Those sermons are good but is it good enough to come at the expense of suppressing free thought ,creativity and inquiry?
Take for instance the Guttila Jatakaya.(Recommended reading for O/Ls and you get some question in the exam ,too).Guttila ,the good guy teacher has been wronged by his student Moosila ,simply because he has surpassed him in his subject!For any other teacher that would be a compliment!Not for Guttila.Vettawe Thero ,the 15 th. Century teacher monk who wrote the set of poems based on the story was involved in a bitter power struggle with his own pupil ,Thotagamuwe Rahula Thero.So he gave an extra twist to the poems ,too. That is simply a single story out of many .Then in every sermon and class room session it is respect to elders and teachers that is emphasized over and over again ,not that much creativity and inquiry.
To be fair to Bikkhus ,I have sat through several Bana session where they emphasised the following section from Kalama Sutta.Probably it is time we stress it more and cultivate creativity and inquiry from pre-school level.
From Kalama Sutta
Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.
Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya Vol. 1, 188-193 P.T.S. Ed.)
P.S.
Nice clip of Kumar
I quote ...
"One of the huge conundrums with Sri Lanka's cricket has traditionally been the absence of the question "why?" We are generally spoon-fed from an early age. The senior players are expected to know best and you can easily get caught-up in a herd. Nobody thinks of how things can be changed. An intelligent, questioning attitude is quietly repressed. But to stay ahead you must diversify. What we need is a system from grassroots to the national team that is continuously evolving to make you better. We need to free minds. "
If you grow up in Sri Lanka and went to a Sri Lankan school and university ,you will have a first hand experience of the what Kumar mentions above .An "Intelligent Questioning Attitude " as Kumar mentions is not encouraged at all .It is usually the opposite that happens, the suppression of creativity and inquiry .
Teachers usually (there are exceptions) don't like inquiry since they sometime don't know what they are talking about. The rest of the students do not like the guy who is asking all the questions since they consider him to be a show off and a distraction from their note taking .So teachers stick to giving notes they themselves were given by their teachers .Student obediently take notes down ,memorize ,pass exams and become teachers themselves .The vicious circle continues.
There are some areas you wouldn't expect this to happen ,for instance Science and Engineering education . Hence the following anecdote I got from a really curious guy who has a very sharp mind in his field, working for an IT company .He happened to be in a design meeting with some Europeans and Sri Lankans .Both groups of members had the same background in academics and in technical experiance.A third party came to conduct a class on one of the hottest technologies at the time.He said he sat there in amazement of the quality and quantity of the questions the europeans asked.He wondered why we don't ask questions.Is it our culture?Is it our religion or is it simply that we are destined to be lazy ass third world consumers?
I have sat through my share of class room time and listening to Buddhist sermons(Bana) expousing the virtue of obeying your elders and teachers.Those sermons are good but is it good enough to come at the expense of suppressing free thought ,creativity and inquiry?
Take for instance the Guttila Jatakaya.(Recommended reading for O/Ls and you get some question in the exam ,too).Guttila ,the good guy teacher has been wronged by his student Moosila ,simply because he has surpassed him in his subject!For any other teacher that would be a compliment!Not for Guttila.Vettawe Thero ,the 15 th. Century teacher monk who wrote the set of poems based on the story was involved in a bitter power struggle with his own pupil ,Thotagamuwe Rahula Thero.So he gave an extra twist to the poems ,too. That is simply a single story out of many .Then in every sermon and class room session it is respect to elders and teachers that is emphasized over and over again ,not that much creativity and inquiry.
To be fair to Bikkhus ,I have sat through several Bana session where they emphasised the following section from Kalama Sutta.Probably it is time we stress it more and cultivate creativity and inquiry from pre-school level.
From Kalama Sutta
Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.
Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya Vol. 1, 188-193 P.T.S. Ed.)
P.S.
Nice clip of Kumar
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