Whats New Archive -
January 2008 -
Week Ending:
Sunday 3 February 2008
Reflections
"...The
tie between information and action has been severed.
Information is now a commodity that can be
bought and sold, or used as a form of
entertainment, or worn like a garment to
enhance one's status. It comes
indiscriminately, directed at no one in
particular, disconnected from
usefulness; we are glutted with
information, drowning in information, have
no control over it, don't know what to do
with it...The computer is an answer to the
questions, how can I get more information,
faster, and in a more usable form? These
would appear to be reasonable questions.
But now I should like to put some other
questions to you that seem to me more
reasonable. Did Iraq invade Kuwait because
of a lack of information?.. Does racism in
South Africa exist because of a lack of
information?.. Here is what Henry David
Thoreau told us: "All our inventions are
but improved means to an unimproved end.
And here is what Socrates told us: "The
unexamined life is not worth living.""
Neil Postman in
Informing Ourselves To Death,
1990 |
Comments to
include
Professor Nayda
Cruz, Radio Alianza Celestial On
Jesus Christ - The Rebel of Rebels by Sachi
Sri Kantha "I just
want to thank you for showing a side of
Jesus the Christian church has failed to
see. I always believed that there was some
spunk to him... As a western Christian this
essence of Jesus has been forgotten or not
explored, it's taboo. He always taught to
be humble as a dove, but wise as a serpent."
more |
Tamil
National Forum
1. Sachi Sri Kantha
writes from Japan on Shell-shocked
Generals |
|
"
Chief
Fonseka: �I say! Will
you read that ceremonial speech which I
have to make here, after launching the
Mechanized Infantry Division
(MID)?�
Subordinate 1: �Sir,
here it is. LTTE is on the run. By the end
of this year, when I retire from my post,
there won�t be any LTTE to
talk
about��
Subordinate 2: (in a hush tone)
�Sir, just now we got an
SOS that Tigers are firing shells towards
Palaly tarmac..." more
|
2.
Sanmugam Sabesan writes from
Australia |
உலகப்
பயங்கரவாதி
அமெரிக்கா
"...இலங்கையில்
பிரச்சனை
இருந்தால்தான்
அமெரிக்கா
இலகுவாக
உள்
நுழைய
முடியும்
என்று
ஆரம்பத்தில்
குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தோம்.
இதனூடாக
உள்
நுழைந்து,
ஓரளவு
காலூன்றி
விட்ட
அமெரிக்கா,
இனி
இந்தப்
போரை
முடிவுக்குக்
கொண்டு
வருவதன்
மூலம்
தன்னுடைய
பொருளாதார,
கேந்திர
நலன்களைத்
திடப்படுத்திக்
கொள்ளத்
திட்டம்
போடுகின்றது..."....
more
|
Tamil
Digital Renaissance to include
Conflict
Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Sunday Leader on
The Political Fraud
behind the APRC Farce "After
labouring for 63 sessions, over 250 hours
and spending millions of tax payers'
rupees, the All Party Representative
Committee (APRC) and President Mahinda
Rajapakse last week delivered an ant in
what is nothing short of a massive
political fraud perpetrated on both the Sri
Lankan people and the international
community." more |
Tamil
Diaspora - a Trans State Nation
A Tamil Mother, Wife, Daughter
and a Refugee writes from Ottawa, Canada:
What can I do? -
Sharing my thoughts with the Tamil
Diaspora "The plight of our
people has been steadily reaching newer
levels of pain and suffering. And, after
being an observer with a hands-off
approach, I decided to do something about
it. I became proactive - in small ways.
As a mother of two young children living
in Ottawa, Canada and having many
commitments, it was not easy to change my
inaction - but I did. I firmly believe
now, that if we all do our little part
and started working towards a common
vision, that vision will and must
materialize. I realise
there�s spiritual
element to this as well, and of course
some people are skeptical when it comes
to these things. But I still wanted share
my simple suggestions at the end of this
article, with other ordinary people who,
like I used to be, are a bit lost when it
comes to how they can help..."
...
together with Comment
by tamilnation.org
"We
are privileged to publish this
article by a Tamil Mother, Wife, Daughter and
a Refugee in Canada. During the many
years that tamilnation.org has existed we have rarely
received a more authentic, touching and
moving call for action from a Tamil
in the
Diaspora to
the Tamil Diaspora. We publish also
an easily downloadable and printable
PDF version of the article - because
we truly believe that every Tamil in
the Diaspora will gain much
herself/himself by returning to read
this article from time to time. "
more
|
Reflections
"...It is claimed that Hindi should
be common language because it is spoken
by the majority. Why should we then claim
the tiger as our national animal instead
of the rat which is so much more
numerous?... ...A man had two dogs - a
big one and a small one. He wanted his
dogs to go in and out of the house freely
without him having to keep the house door
open all the time. So he built two "trap
doors" - one big trap door for the big
dog and one small for the small dog.
Neighbors who saw these two doors laughed
at him and called him an idiot. Why put a
big door and a small door? All that was
needed was the big door. Both the big and
the small dog could use it!.. Indian
government's arguments for making Hindi
the official or link language of India
are as ridiculous as the need for a big
door and a small door for the big dog and
the small dog... Why do Tamils have to
study English for communication with the
world and Hindi for communications within
India? Do we need a big door for the big
dog and a small door for the small dog? I
say, let the small dog use the big door
too!.." C N Annadurai,
1962
|
British Tamils Forum Boycott Campaign
against Travel by Sri Lankan Airlines to
include
Tamil
National Forum to
include
Tamil Nation
Library to
include
Passions of the Tongue : Language
Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970 Sumathi
Ramaswamy "It was a quiet, cool January dawn in
the South-Indian city of Tiruchirapalli in
the year 1964. A can in his hand, a man
named Chinnasami left his
home�leaving behind his
aging mother, young wife, and infant
daughter�and walked to the
city�s railway station. On
reaching there, he doused himself with its
contents and set himself on fire, shouting
out aloud, �inti
olika!tamil
vālka!� (Death to
Hindi! May Tamil flourish!).
Chinnasami�s example was
not lost. A year later, to the date,
history repeated itself but not necessarily
as farce: five other men burned themselves
alive �at the altar of
Tamil.� Three others died
just as painfully�not in a
raging blaze, but by swallowing
insecticide�also for the
sake of Tamil, they declared in their own
last words.." more |
Spirituality & the Tamil Nation:
Yogswami - the Sage from Tamil Eelam
to include
யாத்திரையும்
யாத்திரிகனும்
-
பராசக்தி
சுந்தரலிங்கம்
"நாங்கள்
எல்லோருமே
வாழ்க்கையில்
பயணம்,
யாத்திரை
செய்தபடி
இருக்கிறோம்.
நாங்கள்
யாத்திரிகர்கள்.
இது
புற
உலக
யாத்திரை.
�புற
உலகைப்
போலவே
அகஉலகம்
ஒன்றும்
உள்ளது.
அங்கே
உன்
பார்வையைச்
செலுத்து.
அகமுகமாகுக�
என்பது
சுவாமியின்
வேண்டுகோள்.
" more
|
Week Ending:
Sunday 27 January 2008
Festivals of
the Tamil People
Tamil Nadu Government declares First of
Thai as Tamil New Year
Day...
"Fulfilling a long time demand of
Tamil scholars, Tamil Nadu government
would declare the Pongal Day - the
cultural festival of Tamils, as Tamil
New Year Day, Governor Mr Surjit Singh
Barnala today announced in the Tamil
Nadu Assembly. What is now celebrated
as Tamil New Year Day falls in the
month of April... The move is in
accordance with the policy of the
Dravidian movement, which aims to
remove traces of Brahminical culture
and revive Tamil culture..."
more
|
Ideology: The
Strength of an Idea
Remembering Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose - born 111 years ago on 23
January 1897 'Freedom is not given, it is taken..
One individual may die for an idea; but
that idea will, after his death,
incarnate itself in a thousand lives.
That is how the wheel of evolution moves
on and the ideas and
dreams of one nation are bequeathed to
the next...'
Netaji Subhas Chandra
Bose
"...Subhash Chandra Bose's
life was a beacon to me, lighting up
the path I should follow. His
disciplined life and his total
commitment and dedication to the cause
of his country's freedom deeply
impressed me and served as my guiding
light..." Velupillai Pirabakaran, 'How I
Became a Freedom Fighter', April
1994
|
Tamil
National Forum to
include
1.
Victor Rajakulendran
writes from Australia On the APRC, President
Rajapakse & the International
Community together with
Comment
by tamilnation.org
"Mr.Rajakulendran is right to trace the
history of the ARPC and President
Rajapakse's twists and turns to survive in
power. Said that, we ourselves continue to
hold the view that the international
community is not so foolish as to be
'fooled' or 'hoodwinked' by President
Rajapakse. The international community is
not stupid...The actions of the
international community need to be
understood in the context of the
"International Dimensions
of the Conflict in Sri Lanka" and in
particular the
international community's
present
concern at the JVP-Chinaward
tilt/dependence of President Rajapakse.
Today, the international community's
actions are directed to pressurise
President Rajapakse to fall in line with IC
interests in the Indian Ocean region.
And if and when
President Rajapakse's own left of centre Sinhala nationalist
political constituency (which is his
power base) permits him to fall in line
with IC interests, the international
community will be content to allow
President Rajapakse to perpetuate Sinhala
rule of the people of Tamil Eelam through
mechanisms such as the 13th Amendment..."
more
|
2.
Sachi Sri Kantha writes from
Japan On that FBI
Report: �Taming the
Tamil Tigers: From Here in the
US� "In its 100
years of existence, the celebrated folks
who have been named, targeted and
harassed by the FBI as
�subversives�
for their beliefs and deeds surely make a
Dream Team of 20th
century�s ranking
thinkers, literati, scientists, social
activists, artists and entertainers. For
a sample, I provide the following names
who were identified by the FBI as
�subversives�:
Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Charlie
Chaplin, Sinclair Lewis, Carl Sandburg,
Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Arthur
Miller, Jonas Salk, John Steinbeck,
Aldous Huxley, Paul Robeson, John
O�Hara, Tennessee
Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. Now,
what would you say?
Isn�t LTTE and
Pirabhakaran in great company? " more
3.
Sanmugam Sabesan writes from
Australia யுத்த
நிறுத்த
ஒப்பந்தத்தின்
முடிவுக்கு
அப்பால்.....
|
Reflections
"...A
thousand years ago, Sun Tzu remarked that all
war is based on deception. Today,
'liberal democracies' who go to war,
extend that deception to their own people
as well. Faced with the need to secure
the consent of their people, they set
about manufacturing it.
Partial truths, and on occasion, outright
falsehoods are put out for public
consumption so that public opinion will
be supportive of the action taken by the
ruler. Usually, many years after a war is
over, classified documents are released
into the public domain - and journalists
and historians dig up the facts. The
cynicism of real politick is then
admitted, and even condemned - until,
ofcourse, the next time..." Nadesan Satyendra in
Nato, Kosovo & Tamil Eelam,
1999
|
Conflict
Resolution: Tamil Eelam - Sri Lanka
- All Party
Representative Committee (APRC )
Farce to
include Tamilnet News Feature - APRC:
key to peace or an
albatross?-
Tamil Eelam
Struggle For Freedom to
include
1.Tigers will bring clarity
to Sri Lanka's conflict - K.V.
Balakumaran, Senior Member, LTTE
interviewd by National Television of
Tamil Eelam (NTT) "...As a precursor to
the anticipated battle, the SLA is trying
to chip away the strength of the LTTE, as
well probing the LTTE strength through
small scale skirmishes at the periphery. We
understand their tactics, we haven't
underestimated their strength either...
Once the fire of freedom is lit, there is
no turning back; sacrifices are part of
this decision, and our people fully
understand this...We have to have a clear
view of what diplomacy means. Whether Sri
Lanka allows diplomats to visit, or when
Sri Lanka stops diplomats visiting Vanni,
they are trying to achieve the same
objective. That is to find ways to advance
the self-interests of Sri Lanka and the host countries of
the visiting diplomats. It is wrong to
think that allowing diplomats to visit
Vanni is in the interest of LTTE; we should
not entertain such delusions..." more |
2. On
Prabakaran's Role in the
Tamil National Struggle - Shanthi
Sachchithanandan
"...he
did not initiate the struggle; the demands
have already been articulated by Tamil
leaders long before... (but) Pirapaharan is the single most
dedicated leader who gave voice and form to
the demands put forward by Tamil political
leaders of the 50s, 60s and 70s..."
more |
Tamil National
Forum to include
Editorial on Bloody New
Year "...Almost six years after the signing
of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA), it is
again the subject to debate: was the CFA
and the subsequent peace talks a historical
mistake of the Tamils? In the past, only
the pessimists among us said so. They
talked about historical mistakes and so on
and predicted doom and gloom. Now the CFA
is dead the debate is alive again among all
sections of the Tamils..." more |
Tamils: a
Trans State Nation - living in many lands and across distant
seas...
Week Ending:
Sunday 20 January 2008
Reflections
�Do not seek the Guru
outside you, in hermitages or holy places.
The God in you is father, mother,
preceptor, and friend... Action is spiritual practice, when it
is done as seva. The service
attitude is most beneficial to the person
rendering it as well as to others. Service
is the best use to which the body can be
put. In fact, you are not doing service to
others. You are doing it always to
yourselves, to the God in you, the God who is equally present in
others." -
Sathya Sai
Baba
"Changing discourse within which something
is thought, spoken of and acted upon is a
very powerful approach.." Professor
Galtung |
Tamil
Nation Library: Conflict Resolution -
Revisited
Solving Tough Problems:
An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and
Creating New Realities
"...Increasingly we face
issues for which hierarchical authority is
inadequate. No country president can
resolve intractable political stalemates
that stand in the way of national
development... Faced with this reality, we
see everywhere a growing sense of
powerlessness and an increasing reliance on
force. The former reflects awareness that
the big issues are generally getting worse,
not better; the latter, a desperate
response to this awareness... Adam Kahane's
book poses a third option: a transformation
in our ability to talk, think, and act
together... While this third option is
commonly dismissed as idealistic and
unrealistic, Adam's belief in this
possibility has been forged in the fire of
some of the world's most complex and
conflicted situations....We are unable to
talk productively about complex issues
because we are unable to listen...
Listening requires opening ourselves. Our
typical patterns of listening in difficult
situations are tactical, not relational. We
listen for what we expect to hear...We
measure success by how effective we have
been in gaining advantage for our favored
positions. Even when these motives are
covered by a shield of politeness, it is
rare for people with something at stake
truly to open their minds to discover the
limitations in their own ways of seeing and
acting. Opening our minds ultimately means
opening our hearts. The heart has come to
be associated with muddled thinking and
personal weakness, hardly the attributes of
effective decision makers...When a true opening of the heart
develops collectively, miracles are
possible. This is perhaps the most
difficult point of all to accept in today's
cynical world, and I will not try to argue
abstractly for what Adam illustrates so
poignantly. By miracles I do not
mean that somehow everything turns out for
the best with no effort or uncertainty.
Hardly. If anything, the effort required
greatly exceeds what is typical, and people
learn to embrace a level of uncertainty
from which most of us normally retreat...
It is about discovering
how to act in service of
the whole, not just in service of
our own
interests..." |
Tamil Language &
Literature to include
International
Frame & the Tamil Eelam Struggle for
Freedom to
include
Tamil Nadu &
Tamil Eelam Struggle for Freedom to
include
Reflections
Tamil Eelam
Struggle for Freedom: Boycott
Sri Lanka Products and Services & Save
Tamil Lives to include
1.
R.Cholan writes from USA - We Send Them the Money:
So don�t Complain Part
VII |
|
"So Mahinda Rajapakse
has abrogated yet another solemn pact with
the Tamils for peace. And, we the Tamil
expatriates keep sending his government
billions of dollars every year with our
spending habits. As I pointed out in Part-I
of this series, our grocery spending is the
most grotesque.There are those who ask why?
�Why boycott ONLY the Sri
Lankan groceries?� Why not
the other ways in which the Tamil
expatriates are sending money to Sri Lanka?
Good question..." more
|
2.
British Tamils Forum:
Boycott Sri Lankan Airlines |
|
"...Sri Lanka
is bathed in the blood of innocent Tamils.
It is a 25 year old military war waged by
the Sinhala nation of Sri Lanka to gain
supremacy over the Tamils who comprise a
separate historical nation. 70,000 Tamils
have been killed in this unconscionable war
without witness and 1.0 million ruthlessly
driven away from their homes into internal
exile... Say No to blood
money earned by Sri Lankan airlines for the
Government of Sri Lanka.." more |
Tamil Culture - the Heart of Tamil
National Consciousness to
include
Nakeeran writes
from Canada on சங்க
காலத்
திருமணம்
"இன்றைய
தமிழரின்
மணமுறை
பண்டைத்
தமிழர்
மரபுக்கு
முற்றும்
மாறானாதாக
இருக்கிறது.
இதனைத்
தமிழ்
இலக்கியச்
சான்று
கொண்டு
காட்டலாம்.
அன்றைய
தமிழருடைய
திருமணம்
எளிமையாக
நிகழ்ந்தது.
அதில்
சடங்குகள்
எதுவும்
இல்லை.
எரியோம்புதல்
இல்லை.
தீவலம்
வருதல்
இல்லை.
அருந்ததி
பார்த்தல்
இல்லை.
புரோகிதர்
இல்லை. "
more |
Tamil
Language & Literature
Tamil National Forum
to
include
1. Sanmugam Sabesan
writes from Australia |
தைப்பொங்கல்
தினமே
தமிழ்ப்
புத்தாண்டுத்
தினமாகும்"தமிழரின்
தேசியத்
திருநாளான
தைப்பொங்கல்
நாள்
குறித்துப்
பல
கருத்துக்களை,
வரலாற்று
வழியாகவும்,
வாழ்வியல்
வழியாகவும்,
பண்பாட்டு
வழியாகவும்,
�பண்டைய
காலக்
கணக்கு
முறை�
வழியாகவும்
முன்
வைத்துத்
தர்க்கிப்பதுவே
இந்தக்
கட்டுரையின்
நோக்கமாகும்.
" more
|
|
2. Sachi Sri Kantha writes
from Japan The
Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology -
Part 5: Brewing Discontent on Rajiv and
Sonia Gandhi "The 9 news
reports, commentaries and interviews that
appear in this part (in chronological
order) predominantly cover two themes; (1)
brewing discontent on Rajiv and Sonia
Gandhi in early 1988, and (2) the tug of
war for Jayewardene succession among the
four UNP contenders amidst the ascent of
JVP terrorism in the southern Sri Lanka.
These were the sub-plots which exerted
influences on the progress of the Indo-LTTE
war..." more |
Fortnight
Ending: Sunday 13 January 2008
Tamilnation Home Page Extensively Revised &
Sequenced
Reflections
"why can't
we describe in words the aroma of
coffee?"
|
"...all the
propositions of logic say the same thing,
to wit nothing. To give the essence of a
proposition means to give the essence of
all description, and thus the essence of
the world. The limits
of my language mean the limits of my
world...What can be
shown, cannot be
said.There are, indeed, things that
cannot be put into words. They make
themselves manifest. My propositions
serve as elucidations in the following
way: anyone who understands me eventually
recognizes them as nonsensical, when he
has used them - as steps - to climb up
beyond them. He must, so to speak, throw
away the ladder after he has climbed up
it. He must transcend
these propositions, and then he will see
the world aright. What we cannot
speak about we must pass over
in silence... why can't we
describe in words the aroma of
coffee?..." Ludwig Wittgenstein,
Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus
|
Tamil
Language & Literature: Pazha Mozhi - Tamil Proverbs
- பழ
மொழி
"...But why so much
ado about nothing ? Why take so much
trouble about these proverbs ? What is the
good of it ? Who cares for these obsolete
childish things? Perhaps some old
grandmother, when telling stories to women
and children inside the houses who are half
asleep on their mats, may make some use of
them... My answer is that.. Whether we look
to the West or to the East we find that
figurative speech always has great
influence over the masses..." Hermen Jensen
in A Classified Collection of Tamil
Proverbs |
The Tamil
Heritage to include
Remembering Veera
Pandiya Kattabomman:
3 January 1760 -
16 October 1799
248th Birth Anniversary
- Era Ramachandran writes
from Thiruchi, Tamil Nadu |
"...
உலகம்
தோன்றியது
முதல்
இன்றைய
காலகட்டம்
வரை
பிறந்து
மறைந்தவர்கள்
எல்லோரும்
நம்
நினைவில்
நிற்கமுடியாத
நிலை.
ஆனால்
காலத்தால்
மறைக்க
முடியாத
மனிதர்கள்
இன்றும்
நினைவில்
வாழ்ந்து
கொண்டுதான்
இருக்கின்றார்கள்.
அப்படி
வாழ்ந்து
மறைந்த
மாவீரனாக
நம்
நெஞ்சங்களில்
வாழ்ந்து
கொண்டிருப்பவர்களில்
ஒருவர்
வீரபாண்டிய
கட்டபொம்மன்..."
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Reflections: New Year
2008
"அன்றும்
சரி,
இன்றும்
சரி,
தமிழரின்
உணர்வுகளை,
அவர்களது
வாழ்நிலை
அவலங்களை,
அவர்களது
தேசிய
அபிலாசைகளைச்
சிங்களப்
பெரும்பான்மை
இனம்
புரிந்து
கொள்ளவில்லை.
புரிந்து
கொள்ள
எத்தனிக்கவுமில்லை.
புரிந்து
கொள்ளும்
ஆற்றலும்
அறிவுத்
திறனும்
ஆன்ம
பக்குவமும்
அவர்களிடம்
இருப்பதாகவும்
தெரியவில்லை...
சிங்கள
மக்களின்
மகாவம்ச
மனவமைப்பில்,
அவர்களது
சமூகப்
பிரக்ஞையில்,
அவர்களது
அரசியற்
கருத்துலகில்
அடிப்படையான
மாற்றம்
நிகழுமென
நாம்
எதிர்பார்க்கவில்லை.
சிங்கள
- பௌத்த
மேலாண்மைவாதத்தின்
வீச்சும்
வலுவும்
தணிந்து
போகவில்லை.
மாறாக,
அது
புதிய,
புதிய
வடிவங்களை
எடுத்துப்
புத்துயிர்பெற்று
வருகிறது...
" Velupillai
Pirabakaran
மாவீரர்
நாள்
2005
"We
are proud of the history of our
country... We were taught to venerate
the glorious example of our heroes
and
martyrs...When
there are many men without honor, there
are always others who bear in themselves
the honor of many men. These are the men
who rebel with great force against those
who steal the people's
freedom, that is to say, against
those who steal honor itself. In those men thousands
more are contained, an
entire people is contained, human dignity is
contained... "
Fidel Castro Ruz, in
'History will Absolve Me' -
Speech in his own defence at
the Moncada Trial in Santiago de Cuba on
16 October 1953
"..The time
comes in the life of any nation when
there remain only two choices: submit or
fight. That time has now come to South
Africa. We shall not submit and we have
no choice but to hit back by all means
within our power in defence of our
people, our future and our
freedom..." Nelson Mandela,
on the formation of
Umkhonto we Sizwe,
(Spear of the
Nation), 16 December 1981
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Tamil Nadu
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