Blatant Double Standards towards Israel & Sri Lanka pursued by UN Watchdogs

Shenali D. Waduge, in Lankaweb, 9 May 2024, ….where the title reads “UN/UNHRC/US & Allies hypocrisy – comparison of Sri Lanka & the Gaza Conflict”  ….

[My title and this article does not seek] to present a notion that Israel is right or wrong, or that Sri Lanka is right or wrong, but [seeks] to question UN’s treatment of Member states & the applicability of the UN Charter & the principles of equality & non-discrimination to Member states. UNGA has condemned Israel over 120 times. UNHRC has condemned Israel over 40 times. US has vetoed over 40 Resolutions against Israel but is spearheading resolutions against Sri Lanka in connivance with the UN. How fair is this to Sri Lanka?

 

Ashton Agar in Freelance Rejuvenation?

Alex Malcolm, in ESPNcricinfo … where the title of the essay runs thus  …. ” ‘It gives me flexibility’ – Agar opts for freelance life while still committing to Australia”

Ashton Agar has become the latest Australian player to make the bold decision to become a freelance global gun-for-hire, and he couldn’t be more excited about it.

Ashton Agar in his delivery stride•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

But the 30-year-old says he remains committed to trying to play for Australia in all three formats, including Test cricket, and playing domestic cricket for Western Australia when he’s available despite opting not to sign a state contract for 2024-25.

Vanni Hope ‘Smiles Upon’ Its Charity Work Over the Past Year

A Circular of Thanks from Ranjan Sivagnanasundaram

Dear Friends, Family, & Well-Wishers,

As we turn the page on another remarkable year at Vanni Hope, we are delighted to share with you the highlights of our journey through 2023. Last year was a testament to the power of community, collaboration, and compassion as we’ve continued to make strides or progress across Sri Lanka.

Enclosed within this email, and also accessible via our website, is our 2023 Annual Newsletter. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the projects, achievements, and financial milestones we’ve reached together. From the inauguration of Smart Classrooms that bridge the digital divide, to initiatives that provide clean water and safe housing, our efforts have been geared towards creating a sustainable and inclusive future for all in Sri Lanka.

The one & only Ranjan

 

For Ceylon. Roman Szechowycz in Gal Oya, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz … detailing his father’s dedicated work in the Gal Oya Project in the 1950s and in communication with  Michael Roberts in ways that mark his deep attachment to the island

Group Photo – Dr. Roman Szechowycz in middle.

L-R: Mr. (not legible), Mr. P. W. Richards, Mr. Coel Menai North Wales UK, Dr. Roman Szechowycz, Dr. A. J. Kostreamaks Bongor, Mr.. Anwari Dilmy Indonesia, Mr. B. A. Abeyvickram Colombo, Mr. R. A. DeRosaryro Colombo

Experiences: Working on the Gal Oya Project in Ceylon, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz, presenting a Memoir-cum-Report entitled “Gal Oya Project (1950-1960): Dr. Roman W. Szechowycz & the Gal Oya Development Board”

Dr. Roman W. Szechowycz was employed by the Gal Oya Development Board from 18 July 1950 to 1961. He arrived in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) with his wife Sabina (nee Czekan) Szechowycz and their 3-year-old daughter Maria. I was born in October 1951 in Colombo. During the time in Sri Lanka, we lived in Inginiyagala next to the post office.

My parents were displaced people who after World War II ended were in Hanover Germany in the British Sector. My father’s home was in northwest Ukraine and my mother’s home was in southwest Poland. These areas were occupied by Russians after the conclusion of World War II.

Tamil Women at War as ‘Birds of Freedom’ in the LTTE Cause

Vindhya Buthpitiya: “How to Capture Birds of Freedom: Picturing Tamil Women at War,” Trans Asia Photography (2023) 13 (1)  … derived from ………………………………………… https://doi.org/10.1215/21582025-10365016 … with the aid of my Aloysian mate KK De Silva; whilr the highlighting is my imposition.

 Abstract: This article examines the uses of images of women fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during and after the Sri Lankan civil war (1983–2009) to explore the contrasting mobilizations of visual representations of Tamil women cadres, focusing on the cultivation and framing of contradictory nationalist imaginaries by competing ethnic and state actors. In northern Sri Lanka, portraits of gun-bearing women fighters were wielded to signal revolutionary possibilities for the future of the Tamil nation-state as well as to inform the political socialization of its hopeful citizens. Meanwhile, images of Tamil women cadres were cast as gendered and ethnicized threats by the Sri Lankan state in what constituted a calculated form of visual ethno-political othering and weaponization. This article reflects on the ways in which such appropriations exacerbated the political precarity of and the denial of victimhood to Tamil women.

Malathy was the First Tamil Tigress to face death for the Tamiil for the Tamil Cause

How Collective Belief Heals War’s Hidden wounds

Daya Somasundram, Alvin Kuowei Tay & Rajitha Wickremasinghe, in Cambridge Core Blog, 2 November 2023 ... with the highlights being imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The mental and emotional aftermath, particularly from modern warfare that targets civilians, is profound. Civilians suffer alongside combatants, facing deaths, injuries, chronic disability, torture, disappearances, multiple displacements with uprooting of whole communities, loss of homes, destruction of essential services, infrastructure and environment. These traumatic experiences lead to a wide range of mental health issues, from depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse to family and collective trauma impeding personal and community recovery.

A Voice on THE VOICE ….. Its Double Standards

Peta Credlin in The Sunday Telegraph, 7 October 2023, where the title runs thus “Voice’s Yes campaign full of deceit and double standards”

The unauthorised protesters who marched through Sydney this week spewing anti-Semitic bile and screaming “Gas the Jews” are a sign of what can happen when people make everything about race.

After being poisoned for decades with hatred against “the Jews who stole their land”, it’s hardly surprising Palestinians (and their supporters here) don’t want peaceful co-existence with the people of Israel. Instead they want to wipe Israel off the map and drive the Jewish people into the sea, quite literally.

 Anthony Albanese and Ray Martin on stage at the Factory Theatre. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

Peta Credlin says Anthony Albanese has not been up front with the Australian public regarding the Voice. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

 

Vanni Hope’s Manifold Arms in Philanthropic Aid

VH Assistance For Education Facilities To Poor & Marginalised Children Karunakalicholai Pettalali =

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdyZ8ikQvsg

 

 

 

 

Ronaldo’s Magnanimity in Morocco: His Huge Hotel to Service Survivors from Earthquake

The earthquake in the Marrakesh area of Morocco has wrought enormous damage and taken many lives … at least 0000  known cases thus far. The famous Portuguese socccr player, Christiano Ronaldo, happens to be the owner of  huge hotel complex in Marrakesh … ………….. and has immediately made this set of luxury premises available for the  treatment of survivors. Reports thus far indicate that at least 2900 people have died.