Whats New Archive -
September 2008 -
"...அரிய
சாதனைகள்
செய்யப்படுவது
வலிமையினால்
அல்ல -
விடா
முயற்சியினால்தான்..."
|
Week Ending:
Saturday 27 September 2008
Reflection
Tamil
Diaspora - a Trans State Nation
American Tamils
Protest before United Nations Headquarters
in New York - - as Sri Lanka President
Mahinda Rajapakse addresses UN General
Assembly: Save the Children - Text of Speech
by Usha S Sri Skanda Rajah
"..I come to
you as a mother; I make this desperate plea
on behalf of mothers - Tamil mothers all
over all over the world who are traumatized
by the suffering of innocent children - our
Tamil children who are facing genocide at
the hands of Mahinda Rajapakse and his
treacherous Sinhala forces..." more |
|
Reflections
1. "..But imagine it
happens: Killinochchi is flattened,
Mr P is dead, LTTE dissolved. Will the
Tamil dream of a Tamil
Eelam die? Of course not. It will be
revived, and new cycles of violence will
occur. And probably new CFAs. And
possibly the same mistake, confusing ceasefire with
peace, using it as a sleeping pillow
to do nothing..."
Conflict Resolution in Tamil Eelam - Sri
Lanka: the Norwegian Initiative -
Professor Johan Galtung
2. "..The film
portrays, quite brilliantly, the nature
of a guerrilla uprising. Walker (the
English mercenary) seems all too aware of
the danger of a popular uprising, when he
cautions the white rulers that 'the
guerrilla has nothing to lose.' And that
in killing a hero of the people, the hero
'becomes a martyr, and the martyr becomes
a myth.'... Amazon Review of Queimada -
Gillo Pontecorvo's
Burn!
|
The Strength
of an Idea
Revisited:Queimada - Gillo Pontecorvo's
Burn! "...
The young boy who guards the captured
Dolores (the rebel leader) stays with him
and provides Pontecorvo with a means of
allowing Jose Dolores to give his ideas
expression through dialogue. Jose Dolores
does not assail his captor; he tries to
inspire and convert him. He tells the young
man that he does not wish to be released
because this would only indicate that it
was convenient for his enemy. What serves
his enemies is harmful to him. "Freedom is
not something a man can give you," he tells
the boy. Dolores is cheered by
the soldier's questions because,
ironically, in men like the soldier who
helps to put him to death, but who is
disturbed and perplexed by Dolores, he sees
in germination the future revolutionaries
of Quemada. To enter the path of
consciousness is to follow it to
rebellion.....Pontecorvo zooms to Walker
(the English mercenary) as he listens to
Dolores' final message which breaks his
silence: "Ingles, remember what you said.
Civilization belongs to whites. But what
civilization? Until when?" The stabbing
of Walker on his way to the ship by an
angry rebel comes simultaneously with a
repetition of the Algerian cry for
freedom. It is followed, accompanied by
percussion, by a pan of inscrutable,
angry black faces on the dock. The
frame freezes, fixing their expressions
indelibly in our minds.." more |
International
Frame of the Tamil Eelam Freedom Strggle -
Canada
Democracy, Canadian Style
- Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne Refused Entry
Visa "..It has been reported that you have
publicly participated in LTTE activities by
personally and knowingly attending and
speaking at pro-LTTE events such as
PongoThamil in Madrid and London. In
addition, you have publicly announced your
support for B. Nadesan. As a prominent
member of a political party that has
historically and consistently shown support
for the LTTE we can conclude that your
actions constitute membership in the
LTTE..." Comment
by tamilnation.org
"The
sequential logic of the Canadian High
Commission in Colombo beggars belief. That
Mr.Karunaratne has never been to Spain and
did not attend the Pongu Thamil event in
London is not the
question. That the
Canadian High
Commission's allegation that
Mr.Karunaratne had 'personally and
knowingly' attended these events was an
allegation made with a reckless disregard
to truth is also not the
question..." more |
International
Relations in the Age of Empire
1. Global Priority: Feed
the Markets, Starve the Hungry - Devinder
Sharma "...in the days to come we will see
more and more bailouts ... No wonder,
Prof Nouriel Roubini of New York
University's Stern School of Business had
once called it: 'privatisation of
profit and socialisation of losses.'
...when financial intelligence fails,
and that too with the brightest of the
money managers from the best of the
business schools in control, you refrain
from even pointing a finger. You don't
ridicule the chiefs of corporate world
nor do you mock at what the so-called
prestigious business schools produce. The
reason is simple. We are all part of
the greed, which in one word can define
the reason behind the financial meltdown.
In other words, let us accept we are all
beneficiaries of a corrupt financial
system. Therefore, we refrain from
standing up and calling a spade a
spade..." more
2. Understanding Financial
Mania and Systemic Risk - 'Leveraged Buy
Outs', 'Private Equity', 'Hedge
Funds' - An interview with Damon
Silvers, June 2007 "...Private
equity is a term that was designed to
mislead people. The term encompasses all
sorts of investment funds that take
controlling interests in companies that
are not public - private companies -
through holding equity in them. And it
confuses basically three kinds of very
different investment strategies... A
hedge fund is another term that doesn't
tell you much about what it really is. A
hedge fund is an informal term for an
investment fund that operates under a
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
exemption.If you're running an
investment fund, you typically have to
register with the SEC and comply with the
rather extensive set of regulations
designed to protect investors. The
exemption is that if you're only taking
investments from sophisticated investors
- from large institutions and wealthy
individuals - you have an exemption from
these securities rules..."
more
|
Tamil
National Forum
1.Sanmugam Sabesan
writes from Melbourne, Australia
மணக்
கொடைத்
தடைச்
சட்டம்
- (சீ -
தனம்?!) |
�தமிழீழ
விடுதலைக்கான
போராட்டம்,
மண்
விடுதலைக்கான
போராட்டம்
மட்டும்தான்�
என்று
எம்மில்
பலர்
இன்னமும்
எண்ணியும்,
எழுதியும்
வருகின்றார்கள்....பெண்ணிய
அடிமைத்தனம்,
சாதி
ஒடுக்குமுறை,
வர்க்க
பேதம்
போன்ற
பல
சமூகக்
குறைபாடுகளைக்
களைவதற்கான
போராட்டங்களையும்,
'தமிழ்
மொழி
மீட்பு,
மண்
மீட்பு,
நெறி
மீட்பு�
போன்றவற்றிற்கான
போராட்டங்களையும்,
ஒருங்கு
சேர,
நடாத்தி
வரும்
போராட்டம்தான்
தமிழீழ
விடுதலைப்
போராட்டம்
என்பதை
நாம்
இந்த
வேளையில்
சுட்டிக்
காட்ட
விழைகின்றோம்."
more
|
2.Sachi Sri Kantha writes
from Japan on Bertrand Russell, the
Pig, the Donkey, the Sheep, the Performing
Animals & the cacophonous 'Alternative'
Tamil Leadership together
with Comment
by tamilnation.org |
|
2. Brian Senewiratne
writes from Brisbane, Australia
Sri Lanka - Time for
International public protests
|
|
"...Genocide has to be done with no
witnesses. So the Government of Sri Lanka,
in September 2008, ordered the UN agencies
and all humanitarian groups, to leave the
Tamil North, saying that their safety could
no longer be guaranteed... It is up to us
in the international community, to see that
what goes on behind the closed and censored
doors of Sri Lanka is bought to the
attention of the international community
(IC). By �the
international community� I
do not mean foreign governments.
Most Governments have very well informed
Embassies in Colombo and know full well
what is going on in the Tamil North and
East. There is simply no point in telling
them what they know, even better than we
do.Those who need to be apprised of the
situation are the people, the
ordinary decent people in the world, who
would baulk at this criminal activity by a
so-called �elected
Government�, in a
�Democratic Socialist
Republic�, as Sri Lanka
likes to call itself... . Many
have asked me, �What
are the Tamil Tigers doing about
this?� My answer
is, �Never mind the
Tigers, what are you doing about
it? ""
more |
Reflection
Week Ending:
Saturday 20 September 2008
Reflection
"So long as there
is widespread support for separatism and
militancy in the diaspora, peace in Sri
Lanka will be hard to come by... Stronger
political and legal pressure should be
applied to the LTTE outside Sri
Lanka...Western
governments� policies on
Sri Lanka should consciously include
attempts to open up political space within
their Tamil communities for non-Tiger
political voices. Those governments
with significant Tamil populations
should engage representative civil
society groups directly, ...
(whilst) actively guarding against any
intimidation of anti-Tiger Tamil groups...
The Tigers should also be required to take
some real steps towards transformation
before being accepted as a negotiation
partner. Such moves, however, may well
require new leaders (of the LTTE).
Peace supporters should consider setting a
deadline for renunciation of a separate
state, after which they would actively
pursue prosecutions of current LTTE leaders
for war crimes and crimes against
humanity.... Countries should develop
step-by-step benchmarks for progress
towards revoking the terrorist designation
� in part to encourage
Prabhakaran�s
removal..." Report by
International Crisis
Group (with Board Members Former UK
Cabinet Minister Lord Patten of Barnes, US
Ambassador Thomas R Pickering and former
Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans),
February 2008 |
Tamils: a
Transtate Nation - United Kingdom
Tamil Eelam
Struggle for Freedom - Maveerar -
அணையா
தீபங்கள்
|
Commemorating 21st
Anniversary of Thiyagi Thileepan's 12 day
Fast to Death - 15 September 1987 to 26
September 1987 "...My dear people, for whom did
Thileepan die? Why did he die? What is the
significance of his death? Thileepan died
for the Tamil people. He died for the
rights of the Tamil people. He died to
safeguard our freedom and our honour.... A
life is very, very precious. I am quite
aware of that. But even more precious is
our freedom, our honour, our
rights...தியாகி
திலீபன்
ஒரு
இலட்சிய
நெருப்பு..
" Velupillai
Pirabakaran on Thiyagi Thileepan
more |
Tamil Nation
Library - Eelam Section
International
Relations in the Age of Empire
1. Whither India? Two
Views - Top Down and Bottom Up
" "...More
than 60,000 Americans work in India
today. The largest US embassy in the
world is its mission in New Delhi, with
more than 550 expatriate Americans
supported by 2,500 local staff. Indian
back-office companies service American
banks, mortgage issuers and healthcare
providers..." more
2. The
Anti-Empire Report - William Blum
"I am sorry to say
that I think that John McCain is going to
be the next president of the United
States. After the long night of Bush
horror any Democrat should easily win,
but the Dems are screwing it up and
McCain has been running more-or-less even
with Barack Obama in the polls. The
Democrats should run on the slogan "If
you liked Bush, you'll love McCain", but
that would be too outspoken, too direct
for the spineless Nancy Pelosi and her
spineless party. Or, "If you liked Iraq,
you'll love Iran." But the Democrat
leadership is not on record as
categorically opposing either
conflict." more
|
Reflections
�இந்த
நாட்டிலே
நம்மவர்
வீடு
கட்டுவர்,
அதிலே
பல
அறைகளும்
அமைப்பர்.
மாட்டுக்கொட்டகை
ஒரு
பால்,
பொக்கிஷ
அறை
ஒருபால்,
சமையலறை
மற்றொருபால்
. . .
மற்றெதை
மறக்கினும்
ஆண்டவனுக்குப்
பூசை
செய்ய
அறை
அமைக்க
மட்டும்
மறவார்;
ஆனால்
அறிவூட்டும்
ஏடுகள்
நிறைந்த
படிப்பறையைப்
பற்றிய
பகற்கனவும்
காணார்.
படிப்பறை
மிகவும்
முக்கியமானது.
அவசியமானது.
அலட்சியப்படுத்தக்
கூடியதன்று.
ஆயினும்
அது
அவர்தம்
சிந்தனையில்
தோன்றாது�
Perarinjar
C.N.Annadurai
|
On Commencement of Birth
Centenary Year - 15 September 2008 -
Perarinjar C.N.Annadurai, One
Hundred Tamils of 20th
Century
" மனித
மேம்பாடே
என்
இயக்கம்!
தோழமையே
என்
மேடை!
-
கடமை -
கண்ணியம்
-
கட்டுப்பாடு
-
தெளிவு
-
துணிவு
-
கனிவு"
|
|
"... India is a continent; it should
be divided into a number of countries.
The continent of Europe has 32
independent countries. No one argues that
it should be a single country ruled by a
single government. Similarly there is no
need for India to be under a single
government..." more
|
Week Ending:
Saturday 13 September 2008
On War
& Armed Conflict
Revisited Counter Insurgency: Draining the
Swamp - Lt.Col. Wade Markel, Army
Strategist, U.S. Army's Training and
Doctrine Command's Futures Center, 2006
"...Instead of concentrating immediately
upon the areas where the insurgency was
strongest, Sir Gerald Templer (in
Malaya)... focused on building support
for the government where the insurgency was
weak. Such a policy had the advantages
of gradually accreting strength to the
government through enhanced economic
activity. It also created the
appearance of momentum, and it created a
favorable contrast with conditions in
areas troubled by insurgents... the
vital element in... counterinsurgency
efforts was the effective internment of the
subject populations, and not efforts at
social amelioration. While we would like
to believe that "winning hearts and minds"
is both important and effective, these
examples suggest that the effort is neither
essential nor decisive. Instead, what
will determine success in counterinsurgency
is how effectively the insurgent may be
denied access to his base of support... "
together with Comment by
tamilnation.org
"The short question that will arise in many
minds (not only Tamil minds) is whether US
foreign policy is directed to draining the
swamp or creating new ones.....The question
that the Sri Lanka government should be
asking itself is that perhaps, after all,
Tamil Eelam is not Malaysia and the
'format' is not quite the same. " more |
Reflections
1. "Twenty
years ago, the former head of Israeli
military intelligence, Yehoshaphat
Harkabi, also a leading Arabist, made a
point that still holds true. "To offer an
honourable solution to the Palestinians
respecting their right to
self-determination: that is the solution
of the problem of terrorism," he said.
"When the swamp disappears, there will be
no more mosquitoes... If we insist on
creating more swamps, there will be more
mosquitoes, with awesome capacity for
destruction. If we devote our resources
to draining the swamps, addressing the
roots of the "campaigns of hatred", we
can not only reduce the threats we face
but also live up to ideals that we
profess and that are not beyond reach if
we choose to take them seriously.."
Noam Chomsky in Drain
the Swamp and There Will Be No More
Mosquitoes, 9 September
2002
2. "..The would be
conqueror is always a lover of peace, for
he would like to enter and occupy our
country unopposed. It is in order to
prevent him from doing this that we must
be willing to engage in war and be
prepared for it..." Clausewitz quoted in Philosophers of Peace and War,
edited by Professor
Gallie
|
Reports on
Armed Conflict in Tamil Eelam to
include
Draining the
Swamp or Creating New
Swamps?
|
1.
Sri Lanka Bombs
Killinochchi Civilian Centre &
Demonstrates to the Tamil people that
'Political Power Flows from the Barrel of
the Gun' "..Sri Lanka Air Force
(SLAF) Kfir bombers attacked Killinochchi
town Wednesday around 7:00 a.m., wounding
a 90-year-old man and a 11-year-old boy
and causing damage to 23 houses. A
23-year-old pregnant mother was to be
operated due to fetal death, caused by
the bombardment and a 1-year-old child
was admitted in fainted state, medical
sources said. The attack has taken place
at the heart of the town where NGO
offices, residences, civilian facilities
and other offices are located. The Sri
Lankan bombers fired 16 bombs and
deployed lethal air bursts, causing wide
destruction. NGO office of Seva Lanka and
a store of OXFAM are located 100 meters
from the attack site." more
|
|
2. LTTE
Destroys Sri Lanka Radar Installation - and
finds India at
Work
"Eighteen years
after India withdrew its peace-keeping
force from Sri Lanka, two Indian radar
operators were injured in an LTTE air raid
on a Sri Lankan air force base in the
northern district of Vavuniya early on
Tuesday.The radar operators belong to the
Bharat Electronics Limited, and their
presence confirms whispers of renewed
Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan war
against the Tigers."... more |
International
Relations in the Age of Empire
Behind The Costly
Fannie/Freddie Mortgage Bailout: A Silent
Dependence On Foreign Money, Not Just
Oil - Danny Schechter "As CBS reports,
"Forty-four cents out of every dollar our
country owes in public debt is now owed to
foreign investors - $2.2 trillion worth.
That's nearly 10 percent more than just a
year ago... We clearly need the infusion
of these funds to keep our economy
afloat... Alas, the political parties are
still avoiding these issues. One writer who
analyzed the convention speeches of the
four major office seekers, found that none
of them mentioned the words, banks,
financial crisis, Federal Reserve Bank or
the collapse of Fannie and Freddy. Total
references by Obama, Biden, McCain and
Palin: 0." more |
Reflections
Media &
the Struggle for Tamil Eelam
Tamil Nation
Library - Eelam Section
Tamil
National Forum
1. Sachi Sri Kantha
writes from Japan Professor Susumu
Ohno (1919-2008), the Japanese Linguist
� An Appreciation
"...Susumu Ohno, the linguist,
derived recognition, notoriety and some
derision (among some academic circles)
for his provocative hypothesis of tracing
the affinity of Japanese language to
Tamil language. Prof. Ohno introduced
this hypothesis at a plenary lecture he
delivered on January 5th 1981
at the 5th International
Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies
(Madurai, India). I was fortunate to
be an eye-witness to this plenary
lecture, which at that moment infused a
breeze of fresh air to the staid theme of
Tamil linguistic relationships..."
more
2.
Rajan Sriskandarajah from USA, 15 years
ago In Sri Lanka, Partition
Can Stop the Violence
|
Tamil
Diaspora - a Trans State Nation
On the 'Sri Lankan Diaspora'
Conference in Kuala Lumpur together
with Comment
by tamilnation.org (as amended on 8
September 2008)"..That efforts should be
made by Sri Lanka authorities to make
inroads into the Tamil Diaspora is not a
matter for surprise... The fact that the
Conference in Kuala Lumpur on 28-31
August 2008 was titled an International
Conference on THE SRI
LANKAN DIASPORA �
THE WAY FORWARD spoke volumes. So did the
patronage extended to the Conference by
the Sri Lanka Ambassador to Malaysia...
It appears that a 'Sri
Lankan Diaspora' presumably
consisting of Burghers, Sinhalaese,
Tamils and Muslims are concerned to meet
in different parts of the world to map
out the 'WAY FORWARD'. The question that
arose in many Tamil minds was - 'WAY
FORWARD' for whom?.. We ourselves
received an invitation on 28 June
2008..." more
|
International Relations in the Age of
Empire
"Charmers of
Change"
|
Understanding Barack
Obama - Marc Herold
"Whereas Dwight Eisenhower
refused to wage war against Vietnam and
Cuba, it was John Kennedy, that charmer of
change, who launched both of those military
disasters.. So what does our contemporary
�charmer of
change�, Barack Obama,
propose regarding Afghanistan?... As
Patrick Buchanan points out, candidate
Obama has absolutely no exit strategy from
Afghanistan other than a presumed military
victory. He utterly fails to understand
the axiom of the guerilla strategy: the
guerilla wins if he fails to lose.
For the guerilla it is not about winning
pitched battles, it is about continuing the
fight... Anatol Lieven of
King�s College (London)
puts it aptly. Afghanistan is 'becoming a
sort of surreal hunting estate, in which
the U.S. and NATO breed the very
terrorists they then track down.'
Candidates Obama and McCain promise more of
the same carnage packaged as
change." |
Week Ending:
Saturday 6 September 2008
Tamils - A
Trans State Nation: Tamil Nadu
"ஈழத்
தமிழர்களுக்கு
ஆதரவுக்
குரல்
கொடுப்பது
எனது
உரிமை"
-
லட்சிய
தி.மு.க.
தலைவர்
விஜய
டி.ராஜேந்திரன்.
".. ஈழப்
பிரச்னையில்
எந்த
இயக்கங்களுக்கும்
நான்
ஆதரவாகப்
பேசவில்லை.
வேண்டுமென்றால்
என்னைக்
கைது
செய்து
சிறையில்
அடைக்கட்டும்.
தமிழகத்தில்
மட்டுமல்ல
உலகம்
முழுவதும்
பயணம்
செய்து
ஈழத்
தமிழர்களுக்கு
ஆதரவு
திரட்டப்
போகிறேன்.
வேறு
மாநிலத்தவர்கள்
வெளிநாடுகளில்
தாக்கப்பட்டால்
மத்திய
அரசோ
அந்த
மாநில
மக்களோ
அமைதியாக
இருந்து
விடுவார்களா?
அடிபடுவது
தமிழன்
என்பதால்
இந்த
அவமதிப்பா?��
more
|
Tamil Nation
Library - Eelam Section
Book Review by
M.Thanapalasingham of Tamils in Sri
Lanka by Murugar Gunasingham
Ph.D. |
இலங்கையில்
தமிழர்
� ஒரு
முழுமையான
வரலாறு
(கி.மு. 300
கி.பி. 2000 ) -
கலாநிதி
முருகர்
குணசிங்கம்
-
"வரலாறு
என்மீது
கருணை
காட்டும்,
ஏனெனில்
அதை
எழுதுவதே
என்
உள்நோக்கம்
என்றார்
வின்ஸ்ரன்
சேர்ச்சில்.
" History
will be kind to me, for I intend to write
it " Winston Churchill" more |
Tamil
National Forum
|
1.Sanmugam Sabesan writes from
Australia on தொல்
தமிழர்
முருகனிலிருந்து
-
நல்லூர்க்
கந்தன்
வரை
ஈழச்
சைவத்
தமிழ்
மக்களிடையே
மிகப்
பிரபல்யமான,
புகழ்
பெற்ற
கோவில்களில்
ஒன்றான
-
நல்லூர்க்
கந்தசுவாமிக்
கோவில்
தேர்த்
திருவிழா
ஆகஸ்ட்
மாதம்
29ம்
திகதி
வெள்ளிக்கிழமையன்று
கோலாகலமாக
நடைபெறவுள்ளது.
more
|
2. Sachi Sri Kantha
writes from Japan on
War Rhetoric and the
Numbers Game |
from Ranjan Wijeratne to
Anuraddha Ratwatte to Sarath Fonseka
to...?
|
"Just
like any average Tamilian possessing a
modicum of common sense, I do not trust the
contents of what appears in the
Colombo�s daily newspapers
owned by the Sinhalese media moguls. This
is because they strain simple logic
inculcated by our primary school teachers.
Nevertheless, infrequently some material
that gets published in the Colombo
newspapers (especially by the Sunday
Leader, an anti-SLFP organ) do some
justice to common sense. One such
commentary appeared in the Sunday
Leader of Aug. 24, under the byline
Ranjith Jayasundera. It was entitled,
�War Rhetoric and the
Numbers Game�." more |
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