Shamindra Ferdinando of the Island does not understand English!

Shamindra Ferdinando of the Island does not understand English! 

The Island reporter / editor Shamindra F in Sunday’s Island appears to have really made a complete ass of himself and moreover incur the wrath of the Governor of the Central Bank, which will probably result in a 5 Billion rupee lawsuit for making unsubstantiated allegations against him!

Lets talk about the Rs 5B first. As a person who can command US$5M a year, that has a present value of US $ 37M (Rs5B), which is at stake here, the lawsuit seeks potential lost earnings! If this allegations makes it impossible for him to be employed again, as ‘google’ and you get the hit syndrome.

What COPE report? There is NO COPE report it is only a report once it is tabled by the committee who attach their signatures to it. That did not happen on Friday, before the dissolution and so there is just NO REPORT.

We cannot fault our journalists for being idiots, because of the caliber of person who currently occupy many of these positions and he may have to plead insanity to avoid the lawsuit! And perhaps check himself in to Angoda for good measure.

While I have maintained as early as on 9^th of January 2015, IN THIS BLOG that appointing Arjuna Mahendran would lead to a conflict of interest allegation, and that it was nevertheless done, was an accident waiting to happen. The UNP has paid a heavy price for this accident. Will Ranil Wickremasinghe ever learn?

However fair is fair and until there is sufficient proof that he profited or gave insider information to his son in law’s company is a wholly different matter, and the Supreme Court also thought that there was NO case to answer even though the Speaker referred the matter to COPE to report and the fact they did not report within two weeks, is in itself as requested, MUST be open to investigation too.

It is NOT for the Island to regurgitate unfounded allegations circulating in FB from anti UNP forces bent on throwing mud at them, if they are a responsible paper they must first get their facts right, and report the facts.

So merely making front page headline allegations to sell the Newspaper must of itself, lay the paper open to be sued for slander and defamation of character.  

So in case the readers are confused as to what the lies are, firstly there is NO COPE REPORT that they refer to, so it is merely a figment of the writer’s vivid imagination. So he cannot make or take passages out of a report that does not exist and pretend it does and the rest is therefore mere defamation in order to sell the newspapers or to tow the line of their benefactors who have supported the paper handsomely the namely the Rajapakse Government! By way of hallucinating Kumara Welgama the Island Chairman’s brother.

Let this be a lesson to all, not to get into a situation where they are trying to bite more than they can chew, as all it does, it puts the future of your paper and ALL who work for it in jeopardy. Ceylon Today, is about to disappear along with the Rivira Group, let this not be the fate of the Island and Divaina too! 

I am qualified, I can perform, I want to volunteer but I am unable to collect the funds needed to get elected!

I will only work for ONE term, as that is the only period of 6 years that I can dedicate of my life for my country and to serve my people, asking for more from one is unfair.

What should I do? Prostitute myself asking my friends for campaign funds so I can win and get elected. Sure I can collect the needed funds that way, BUT once elected an MP I WILL HAVE TO return the favors, and that I can’t do!

So I will never get elected right! Under the present system, it is ONLY money that can get you elected, as it is merely a fashion parade of the most astute in being able to portray oneself as the most trustable, bankable star on the podium when seeking the votes of the masses.

SO NONE OF THE ABOVE WITH THAT ATTITUDE WILL GET ELECTED TO SRI LANKAS NEXT PARLIAMENT   

Actually, I feel like contesting as an independent, but even that is NOT allowed, as only recognized parties can contest, and a single individual has NO chance of being elected merely for his standing in society or altruism as an Independent person, not beholden to any political party. There is a slate for a political party, and the total polled must be x%

I am not for a moment implying that in other countries the system is not the same, as the US is a prime example of the BILLIONS needed for a Presidential campaign DESPITE various rules on expenses and spending!

In the interests of a fairer future for the people of Sri Lanka what should we do then?

How about one term in Parliament only! This is completely outrageous, as it does not happen in any country. But just think about it. One need only serve one’s people for a maximum of 6 years. Knowing that one does not need to be re-elected, there is NO reason for false promises, and one can act on one’s conscience on behalf of one’s principles and would NOT have to worry about being answerable to specific voters, but to the voter base in general.

The PM will be the most suitable candidate elected from the Party with the largest number of seats in Parliament, but who he or she is going to be will only be determined after the Parliament is elected, and the MPs will then elect their leader.

It is important that we grasp what is wrong with our system, by making outrageous suggestions, which will then concentrate the mind on how to improve the system at present. We know the whole system sucks, we don’t like our leaders, nor trust them, on both sides of the divide, and they are all publicity seekers who are looking for public acclaim, by making popular pronouncements, to get elected.

It is almost unheard of for a person who spends little money to be elected, so all we can hope for is that the sums expended are reasonable in light of the position they aspire to.

“Let the Games Begin” – Entertainment Sri Lanka – General Election Campaign

The announcement came last night on sms to me as it did to all who subscribe to this form, and so we move on to the next gear of excitement, exchange of opinion, and speculation as to what will happen, now that we know ELECTION DAY IS AUGUST 17 and a gazette to that effect has already been published!

The NEW Parliament convenes on September 1^st with approximately 80 new faces out of the 225 currently in parliament, meaning 80 retire or do not get re-elected nor get nominations! Nomination lists are accepted between July 6^th and 15^th 

Only on that last day will we know if the two UPFA factions will contest as one or two and if one there is NO likelihood of MR being on the list, as MS will not tolerate a coup to put him in as the PM candidate in a MS Administration at a later date as that possibility open up on a National List slot unless MS has right of veto!

Now the speculation in the UNP is who will get the ticket to contest, and roughly how many seats will they amass. The speculation is between 85 and 95 and NO MORE, as there is certainty that the UNP share of the poll will NOT increase from that of the Presidential due to a level of brand image falling during this honey moon period gone wrong. 

From the date nominations close there is only a month for elections and less than 30 days of actual campaigning, let us hope it will free of violence, and other mishaps.

Now that the 20^th Amendment is dead in the water, will it be a major promise of the UNP or the UPFA to reintroduce in the next parliament, or will the UNP manifesto call for a new constitution to be drafted by a Constitutional Assembly, and put to a referendum within the first two year period of NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE TWO MAJOR PARTIES.

If so, then the New Constitution will curb the powers of the Presidency much further, leaving only a figurehead like in India. This was NOT permitted by the Supreme Court in the 19^th Amendment, and so the Constitution will be most likely put to a referendum, and only a simple majority needed to be passed. This will do away with the two thirds of MPs!

It is likely then that as the 19^th or any of the Old Constitution will be superseded, that there will be a General Election under the new electoral system, and MS automatically becomes a mere figurehead President, who will sit out his term, and a new President appointed by the Parliament that gets elected under the terms of the new Constitution and new Electoral system. It is likely at that stage, that RW may come in before he turns 70 as a figurehead President to end his political career!

The Election of August will however NOT be fought on the basis as presented by me above, as it is too much of a complication for the voters to understand, and it will be on populist slogans, each side trying to fool the voter with a bunch of lies about the other, and the voter being confused as to which lie is more believable! God help the voter to sift through this quagmire, but have my word, they will still be able to surprise us beyond belief and prove all the pundits wrong. Either way it will be incumbent upon the President to quash any attempts at destroying the understanding he has with the PM to ensure that there will be a National Government of both major parties with only those who can be trusted!

Let us have faith that no treachery takes place putting personal goals ahead of the Country’s

Remember the following will be history at the NEXT PARLIAMENT

Please be reminded that the following will NOT be representing any party in the next Parliament. Many of them crooks and hypocrites who have sold their principles for personal aggrandizement. Some will not contest, some will NOT get the ticket and others will NOT get elected.

DEW Gunesekera, DM Jayaratne, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Basil Rajapakse, Chamal Rajapakse, P Dayaratne, Tissa Vitharana, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Dulles Allahaperuma, Duminda Silva, Wimal Weerawansa, Rishad Bathiudeen, Kumara Welgama, Susil Premajayanth, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Joseph Michael Perera, Tiran Alles, Mervyn Silva, Johnston Fernando Achala Jagoda.

This is NOT the complete list, and one needs to add about 45 more current MPs to this list. This means that there will about 65 new MPs to replace the outgoing ones, with the UNP likely to double their representation, with 50 new faces.

The March 12 Group who will resume their million signature campaign, will I hope get people to understand how important it is that we DO NOT elect crooks and drug dealers to parliament, greater female representation, amongst a whole host of other recommendations to improve the political process.

I hope that the voters this time will be cognizant of the fact that though no one has been convicted yet of the crimes they are indicted on and some of them may get the ticket from their questionable political party, especially if Mahinda Rajapakse continues to field his band of rogues in his party, and tries again to fool the masses! Today he had the unction to tell the voters that (from his Temple pulpit) that this Govt. puts people in prison before they find them guilty!!! For a joker who pretends to have passed his law exams to make such an asinine statement is tantamount to his regard for his gallery, a bunch of idiots devoid of any ounce of grey matter in their brains.

It is time people understand that white vans DO NOT pick up people (abduct is a better word) and then disappear, under his administration, while now his crooks are well represented by lawyers and are remanded UNDER THE LAW OF THE LAND and not of the jungle during his tenure.

The mind boggles how people in Sri Lanka still continue to even dream that there were any saving graces for MR, when he was at the head of an administration that does not now seem to have ANY thing good one can say about them.

Crime takes a while to prove and in many cases the crooks will get away with it, due to their ability to cover their tracks by using intermediaries who take the rap on their behalf, just as in the drug trade where the real barons are not hunted, and are elusive, whilst their mules are caught and imprisoned and even put to death for what!! TO PROTECT A CROOK.

     Time for Sri Lankans to understand that they are pawns in a game of chess where           they are  not even on the BOARD they are surplus to any stakeholder!

UNP Youth completely delusional for this Election – Time to plan for 2020

In my two prior Blog Entries, I showed clearly that the UNP has lost the plot for this election as far as devising a strategic plan to gain the majority of the under 35 vote bank.

This vote bank is 4.5M strong, and around 4M voted last time, and broadly they are the floating vote. I suspect due to the split of the opposition with the MS and MR camps, the UNP will emerge as the party with the largest number of MPs and Ranil Wickremasinghe will be the PM, the best of the rat bag of choices available to the voter.

My analysis here is that if my plan had been implemented in time, beginning with the time when MS was elected on the 9^th of January, the result would be far superior with a minimum of ANOTHER 1M votes for the UNP giving this party 135 seats instead of the likely 90 or so, and so the powers that be will rue the day they ignored my pleas for sense and sensibility.

Now I will have to work hard to save the party in 2020, as by that time their brand would have sunk, from the jokers who will enter the parliament under all parties, as it is still under the OLD SYSTEM which only elects people who have a huge war chest of funds at their disposal, funded by the crooks, to whom they will be enslaved in Govt. The level of corruption these jokers will engage in will make the MR corruption pale in comparison, as it is the old GUARD who want to squeeze as much from the Country before they drop dead in office, so greedy that even their survival is in doubt!

It is then up to the NEW UNP comprising the youth ALL UNDER 40 in 2020 who will run this country and they now have 5 years to plan their platform, with a vision, knowing what a mess of the economy these self-serving leaders will get into.

If the 20^th Amendment does not pass in this parliament, it is VERY UNLIKELY that it will ever happen again. The people of the Country want the 20^th but all 225 in the current parliament, MUST be held personally liable for not enacting the people’s choice and will be damned to “HELL IN PERPETUITY” with no remorse.

The New UNP Youth will be able to convince the people of this Country, that the whole rag tag of MPs, of all parties work against the Country, and appear ONLY to ensure their survival in power, with NO regard for the people of Sri Lanka who they pretend to represent. It will then be time for a new leader.

It is possible by that time, Ranil Wickremasinghe will be President, and he is more than likely to allow this new FACE UNP to exclusively represent the UNP as all the MPs of the then current parliament will be tainted, with ignorance, corruption, inefficiency, and incompetence, and the NEWLY EDUCATED youth the only choice the people have to gain Sri Lanka back if the Country is to remain a place they can live in and have confidence in the future, that they indeed have a future.

Let us therefore skip this joke of an election, where very few capable johnnies will be elected due to the Hobsons Choice available to the long suffering voters.    

Time for a change in UNP leadership of the Youth to the “Rural Youth”

I clearly showed in the previous blog entry, that the so called hierarchy both of the party, and the so called representatives of the Youth, those occupying the first two rows IS CLEARLY BANKRUPT.

It is therefore of VITAL importance that the party CAN go forward from a representative group of youth from the Provinces, (all bar the Western) to take back the leadership, develop their own program and take it to the grass roots, to address the real concerns of the masses of youth today.

Due to income disparity and economic advantage the Western Province Youth are not as disadvantaged as he rest of the Country, and are looking more for political leadership based on their level of wealth, rather than of being of real assistance and leadership, and knowledge to identify the real problems of rural youth, who currently don’t have a say, and who have all the votes at their disposal.

It is therefore the need of the hour to have a sea change to get the services of the youth in the peripheral areas to take control of the Youth Organization, so that it becomes RELEVANT and APPROPRIATE to their needs. Only then will they be able to empower the youth of today to the UNP, and help draft a policy that appeals directly to the disadvantaged youth of today, the population that needs special attention in Sri Lanka if we are to prosper in the future, out of dependence merely from the Western Province, that is sucking both the Human Resources from the hinterland, and but ALSO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.

The UNP leadership of today, being surrounded by sycophantic old timers on the first and second row, believe these mere time servers can provide the goods. Frankly their advice is completely out of date, and they are bankrupt for ideas to move forward, merely thinking that selfies and FB is the way to go in the future, little realizing that the majority of the youth try as they might, still are unable to access FB! Just goes to show how out of touch with reality the Colombo Centric First Row Bull Shit Brigade was at the Youth Meeting to even suggest FB pages for each Electorate.

Frankly they are jumping the gun, as we have identified local leaders who can work. They are NOT the ones you pick at the event, which was clearly the WRONG approach, where politically astute but utterly worthless worthies were selected.

It is time for grass roots rising, as there are very talented youth in the rural areas, who have not been identified here for high places, and their role in this regard is of paramount importance if the party is to forge ahead with credibility.

     Who within the party today, has the courage of their convictions to effect this                change? No one I know! That is damning. 

      It says that none of the time servers are competent. It is time for a new breed to             take over. Just like I have proposed that ALL current parliamentarians are banned         from contesting in future, we really need fresh faces, fresh ideas and people with           life, not the lifeless bunch of the same faces with the BROKEN RECORD

Youth Meeting in Temple Trees – 21st June 2015

The UNP called in their future leaders to a gathering of the Baby Elephants yesterday at Temple Trees.

A diktat went out from the General Secretary to all UNP Electoral Organizers to send 10 of their most active Youth to the event. They duly acquiesced, so a contingent of 1,500 were present of the best of the party if the Organizers did as they were told.

Including lunch the whole proceedings were only from 10am to 2pm even though it was scheduled to start at 9am. 99% of the people attending this event felt their time, energy, and money was WASTED as they came with nothing, and they went with even less.

http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/pm-wants-new-parliament-usher-changes-affecting-youth

A promise from the PM was not enough to satisfy their desires, and the only fun they had was taking selfies with some of the leaders. The problem with most of those who are hooked on selfies, is that they have NO vision, on how to attract youth, talent, and life as well as youth leadership to the party. A good hard hitting statement SHOULD HAVE SAID “ One of you here, under 35 will be the prime minister of our Country in 15 years, we will prepare you for that high office by giving you leadership from now” BUT NOT ONE SPEAKER DID THAT. It shows how bankrupt the thinking is!

Those gathered yesterday could have been empowered to win the next general election, by the following statement – “You can go back to your polling booth divisions, and with the most active female youth member of that division, as the leader, go to 200 homes in your polling booth division where there are females under 35 registered and speak to them, and give them our policy for youth. If you convince 125 of them to vote for the UNP next time, you will have changed the 1,000,000 female youth who voted for Mahinda and 500,000 to Maithripala, to change to 1,000,000 voting for Ranil and 500,000 for the others, giving a full 1M vote advantage to the UNP, as 500,000 more votes for the Elephant with a similar fewer votes for the Bulath Kolaya! And then we will promise”

“Each and every one of you here if you want will be provided with a job, commensurate with your ability and you have my word on it.” How powerful will those words resonate with the people present, and what more power when they go home and relate this to their kith and kin.

Wont they also want to join this winning team? Give them all the T shirt to be proud of their attendance instead of a biriyani lunch and send off!

Give workers a chance, and send them on a leadership training course to further empower them in the cause, just give the time servers a title and send them to Siberia. It is the time servers of the UNP that are spoiling the party, and preventing the visionaries from moving the party forward to the new age of Global thinking and doing.

In short accept this event as an utter unadulterated failure, learn from it and take a cue from this blog entry and follow some of its thinking, there is NO way if this thought process is followed you can lose, and it is all free advice to those sensible enough to take it. 

The exposition of relics especially of the Lord Buddha is taking competition to be another art form!

Think for a while. As a society have we gone mad? Exposition of relics of the Lord Buddha and other revered disciples, in Sri Lanka, is now advertised on TV radio and the newspapers more like a form of entertainment. It is regarding this lowering of our values of humility and sincere reverence to our belief system that I wish to get people thinking on.

This recent Poson, where ever one looks and hears there are expositions of relics, for people to pay their homage. It is advertised in a manner all devout Buddhists should make it a point to go to these expositions during this season.

Any scholar or Priest of Buddhism will tell you it is how you lead your life that is important and not how you venerate, where you venerate that matters. Therefore going to pay one’s respects at any point of veneration, is at best merely a family picnic to go on a quick pilgrimage to satisfy one’s demons that you can obtain questionable merit!

The worst challenge here is when the Priest also knows that the devout person is enslaved by this and takes maximum advantage of the pilgrim to gain from this act of showmanship, one upmanship or enhance one’s standing in society for being the temporary custodian of the relics in one’s temple.

Frankly all these are completely un-Buddhist activities as it encourages feelings of desire, and discourages the need to attempt to discard any longings one might have.

Trust me this pattern is going to increase and every Poson festival will feel naked without any exposition of relics. Temples that have relics will become popular for both permitting the use of their relics and transporting them to other places for exposition, and thus be considered very meritorious and receiving temples will similarly be glorified as places that give a person a unique experience. This created even more competition amongst Buddhist Temples to become more popular, and popularity is then measured by size, sophistication of the building and therefore the popularity of the priest is directly related to the size of the establishment and the congregation that he is able to muster.

The secondary benefit is the prestige attached to this never ending litany, and now we have come to expect the words for the fiftieth time, as being more DIVINE than the fortieth time!

Religion has turned into entertainment, and in order to attract crowds the reverence has been replaced by attractions. A Poson Zone today, is NOT complete without Dansals, Pandols, Bakthi Geethas, Lantern competitions, musical shows, stalls that sell all kinds of things intermingled with and around places of worship, that give the stall holders a captive clientele. It has all become one large business venture, and in fact a money making one, as local businesses are asked to contribute to the event, in terms that are worse than a tax, as there is NO benefit except for possible merit if one believes in that, and the Organizers are doing it to make money of the back of the generous benefactors and gullible public who are hoodwinked into thoughts that are factually untrue. All God stuff or good stuff, mind the pun.