US counts the cost (human cost that is) of invading other nations in the name of 'freedom'

Read the report ! numbers are staggering and sad indeed as these are human beings after all..not war bots ..but people with Mothers,Fathers,Wives,Children and Brothers&Sisters etc...sent out to wage war in some distant land with a belief that it will 'protect' them on the longer run!

Nearly 130,000 US troops have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and vastly more have experienced brain injuries.over 1,700 have undergone life-changing limb amputations. over 50,000 have been wounded in action. as of Wednesday the report says 6,656 US troops and US defense department civilians have died but they have failed to account the hundreds if not thousands of third party contractors ,like Philippino security guards or Pakistani Truck drivers killed while serving US Govt and Private Contractors in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

What the US will not publish is the full body count of civilians killed in both invasions and the periods following...but of course the US will keep on telling minor States like Sri Lanka to uphold human rights and come up with measures like 'accountability' etc.. while even front line US commanders accused of cold blooded killings of civilians ,go squat free.

Some lessons ,we too can learn! but make no mistake, US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan got no parallels with Sri Lanka.we were effectively fighting to fend ourselves and the people of our country..while they, the US was fighting to impose their way of thinking on some other state, on its people and to reshape a land ,according to how US saw it fitting!

Frances Harrison- War Profiteer ,selling miseries of Sri Lankans for own benefit

this is how Frances Harrison, a former BBC correspondent decided to sell her upcoming book ,a sexed up fiction on last days of the war against the LTTE terrorist in Sri Lanka,while tweeting about a 'leaked' internal UN report ,evaluating UN's response during the last days of the war.

Frances Harrison @francesharris0n

btw this is link 4 book launch in #toronto next week #sctd http://www.benmcnallybooks.com/?q=events/still_counting_dead_frances_harrison …

don't these people have some shame? can't they stop living off on selling and profiteering miseries of Sri Lankans and stop opening old wounds? 

these are the very people who don't want to see any form of reconciliation and closure in Sri Lanka.

tweets on cyclones,endless rain & keeping a city alive..

 @tinker777

&I saw Policemen in kneed deep water amidst hvy rains&cyclone winds 2day,mannin traffic on Galle road wit no proper protective clothin!

@tinker777

saw Police,Municipal workers attendin 2 duties amidst hvy rains&cyclone winds 2day.a reason y i managed 2 get home &still got power,water.

@tinker777

even local hotels&super markets r open&those who stayed@work instead of rushin home made it possible 4 us all 2 endure d cyclonic rain&winds

@tinker777

days from now,politicians will jokey 4 credit 4 keepin thins going but its d ppl who stayed back,amidst a cyclone who deserve d accolades

@tinker777

its almost a week of endless rain&I think about d ppl on hourly/daily wage who were prevented from work,wonder how they will fare&d families

Indi, our beloved Kottu God is losing it...

I've been reading Indi.ca for some time and i really like the stuff he write about.. i follow him on a regular basis ..but lately I've been reading some pretty alarming stuff..especially on his 'coverage' of the recently concluded Presidential Election...and then came the bombshell ,titled 'Ranil should go' where Indi wants Ranil out of UNP...in his latest post, he lists clearly why he wants Ranil out.. and by god ..i guess now Ranil has no choice but to leave.. and leave soon...

Rather not waste more time on this issue.. below is my comment on Indi's post ..

"look Indi, i like you..

i like you for what your do in terms of facilitating and creating space in the blogspeare for a Sri Lankan voice but when you tell me (or in open fora..) about what Ranil should do next.. i think its time you go…

i assume you had been in Sri Lanka for least last few years and know the politics of this country for last couple of decades ..well, not the interpretations that you read on Wiki.,but what you read on national newspapers,that's mostly Sinhala and Tamil papers …

and if so, you would by now know (like most of ordinary Sri Lankans..not the western based,Obama and Hope types..) that after this election Ranil comes out as one of the winners and the only reason astute politicians like Ranil and Rauf Hakeem accepted defeat was not because they very lazy but because they understand the reality of politics well and because they were in touch with their party rank and file from all corners of Sri Lankan , because they know well, they can't offered to have a Elections petition without substantial evidence of malpractice as being alleged by some ….

that's one of the reasons why they had been on politics for some many decades and survived that much time…

just please spare us with your infinite wisdom and stick to what you know …while at it.. try and get yourself as a registered voter too…

good luck! "

My humble and erstwhile request to Indi is please get out of your Colombo 07 ,Western oriented high tech outlook and listen to what 6,015,934 humble and low tech people of Sri Lanka said on 26th January ,2010.

P.S- by the way i agree with Indi , i too think Ranil must go.. but not because of reasons provided by Indi..just because its time to overhaul the leadership of UNP and let the leadership reflect the aspiration and wishes of its grassroots ..the way it was before Ranil's ascend to power...

pls read my old post on Ranil...

A sigh of relief for Sri Lanka

When asked by a foreign journo about how he feels following the announcement of the results.. 'a big relief' said MR at the Elections Department.I think its a feeling reflected by rest of Sri Lanka today.After a tense and closely contested campaign where call for 'change' (of what and why most of Sri Lanka never understood..) was widespread, we have come to a glorious conclusion.And yet again Sri Lanka has defeated evil set upon by forces seen and unseen and i hope this is the second and the last time.This election was more about destiny of Sri Lanka,than change or any other call that was heard on many a varied fora and Sri Lanka decided on its future and opted for MR.. Good One..a Great One..Cheers for the 6,015,934 for making the right choice and all others for believing in our exercises of Democratic choice.

Half Won Battle and My Vote Today..

Mahinda Rajapaksha and Co are corrupt..there is no doubt about that...all you need to do is read Sunday Leader every week and you will get details of all the allegation leveled against MR&Co.,and if Mahinda is re-elected, corruption will continue but that's something I can live with .. 

Not that i endorse corruption, but i know i,as an individual citizen, with my vote in hand can fight corruption.. and may be even on the streets...if there is an opportunity for such..i know that's the responsibility of the Opposing..and the media ..so i know well that I'm not alone in fighting corruption..of course assuming Opposition and Media will focus on fighting or least deterring such practices and not yield to it.. 

But what i can't fight is Terrorism and Subversion.. for that you need the  Powers of the State and that's what Mahinda did when he uprooted the Cancer that's called LTTE and its call for Eelam..and the LTTE is gone .. least in Sri Lanka.. they are history and even a minute come back is not possible in the forcible future.. 

But the call for Eelam or a Separate,Mono Ethnic Tamil Only state that will take away 35-40% of Sri Lanka is still alive and well and is nourished by some sections of the Tamil Diaspora and some Western States and they have the tacit support of groups in Sri Lanka like the TNA for that venture..so, even if i voted today for the first time in an Independent Sri Lanka,that hard fought Independence will not be worthwhile if we lose the other half of the battle against the 'foreign' forces who call for Separation of Sri Lanka by other means.for this we need MR and no other.. and that's why i voted today for MR ..not because i want 'good governance' ' media freedom' and 'accuntability' ...those things can wait..but we can't wait and see the return of another 30 years of war and terror..

There can be no second best when comes to defending evils that are set upon this country..