Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
DS BaseBall Team Tragedy
DS Brothers - You are in our hearts forever...
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
The highly active Fort Railway station is somewhat deserted with an extended weekend holiday in the offing. It is unnaturally calm in this normally busy transport hub. On this lazy Sunday afternoon gun totting security personnel at every entry\exit point remind the travellers of the troubled times they are going through.
Security has been beefed up and troops are on red alert, With Sri Lanka at the doorstep of another landmark in its annals, in the form of their 60th independence anniversary which is to be flagged off with a grand celebration in a few hours.
Sixty years hence the struggle by our forefathers to gain freedom from the clutches of colonial rulers, another struggle is being waged, this time to free the nation from the clutches of terrorism.
In this backdrop the Fort Railway station and the general area resembles a mini fortress with armed guards at every nook and corner.
The time is 2.05 p.m, the train from Kandy arrives at the station and among the crowd are seven young baseball players and their coach from D.S. Senanayake college in Colombo, returning after a club match in Kandy.
There are heavy bags on their backs and menacing looking baseball bats in their hands. The young men in the prime of their lives move to the exit point, at the corner of the number three platform, laughing and joking with each other. They either did not see or did not take any notice of, a young woman who had a deadly secret: a suicide jacket strapped to her waist. In their eyes, she could have been just another passenger waiting to disembark. But she had no plan of ever going home.
The big clock overhead turns to 2.10, and stops its tick, tick as crows are the first ones to take flight in unison with the sound of the deadly blast, sending its shockwaves on unsuspecting, innocent bystanders.
The clock which stopped at 2.10 p.m would be repaired in the near future and its hands would weave back and forth once again. But those young hearts which stopped ticking at 2.10 p.m on February 03, 2008, would never tick again. The life journey they began with so much hope and dreams is shattered so cruelly, on the concrete floor of a railway station to appease the bloodlust of terrorists.
White balls lathered in red slowly roll on the concrete floor and shattered bats lie in the cold concrete, so are their bodies which have been decimated in their prime.
For Rajarathnem Radeeswaran (18) of Dematagoda the fate has had it's say. His life has been snatched away by an organisation which claims to be the very guardians of the community he represents.
The tears of his mother M.Wasantha is the same as his dear friend Thiwanka's mother from Dehiwela, both have lost their beloved sons and at what cost they ask ?
His Father Vijayan Rajaratnam who is in shock over his son's death has a baseball cap in his lap, and talks about his son's love for the American game, which had paved the way for him to get the nod in getting admission to the famed D.S. Senanayake college.
Young Eranga Chaturanga who resides next to his beloved college too has bid adieu to this world at a time when both his mother and father had sought greener pastures in the Middle East, to make their son's life more comfortable.
But alas they have to return home abandoning the hope of a brighter future for their loved one, as his life has been terminated by a cruel terror which has no regard for human life.
Baseball captain of DS Nadeera Jayawardene who missed that fateful journey speaks painfully about the demise of his colleagues, calling it as an irreparable loss. The pain would haunt the rest of his and his friends' lives.
He painfully recollects the memories and says "I was scheduled to join them but because it was not a college match and also because I had to attend some other matters I did not go".
According to Nadeera six of his team mates had returned on the previous day but the rest had stayed back to visit the historic sights in Kandy, unknowing that death lay waiting to snatch them away on their return.
Kolitha Kumara (19) from Hokandara and Supun Halalla of Angoda who were studying in the A\L Commerce class were best of buddies according to their friends, and had excelled not only in sports but in studies as well.
Alas both had their future dreams shattered as victims of a conflict in which they never took part.
Young Dinuth Priyasanka of Agalawatte who was staying at his aunt's house in Colombo was eagerly awaiting to commence his A\L studies in the Science stream and according to friends was aspiring to be a doctor.
His father had migrated to Middle East with the untimely death of his mother to make his two children Dinuth and his sister's lives more comfortable. But now the grief stricken father has to return home, with his dreams shattered to see his beloved son lying in a cold coffin, a victim of a cold blooded attack by a group which calls themselves 'freedom fighters'.
Freedom at what cost? Could anybody even with a semblance of humanity justify attacks on innocent schoolchildren and unsuspecting civilians, asks Uvidu Vidura a senior prefect at the D.S.senanayake College. Now the only thing left for us is to pay the highest honour and assist their bereaved families on behalf of our college, says Vidura giving voice to the DS student community, as the coffins of their colleagues are brought to the school hall one by one.
The very gates from which they came to school day after day has opened for one last time. But this time round the entry is not on foot, but over the shoulders of their weeping colleagues, with their youthful bodies wrapped in satin in a cold coffin.
The young baseball coach of DS, Malinda Arumadura (27) of Gandara would never see his one year old child and his wife Sadeshi, whom he married recently. His dreams of a happy family life too got shattered like his body on that concrete floor at Colombo Fort.
A weeping student in front of their colleagues' remains says this Nation has lost many innocent young lives. "I hope my friends would be the last. I hope the blood spilled by them would not be in vain."
And as one banner erected by students proclaimed
Let the white doves fly
Don't let anyone cry
End War by and by
Then no one will sigh
The Last Group Picture after the Kandy Tour
Published Videos
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
LTTE kill 10 School Children: 7 Baseball Players & Coach
D.S. Senanayake College - BaseBall Team Members Funeral
DS Senanayake College Baseball team
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Boot It !
When your computer doesn't do what you type,
And half the screen is covered with a big white stripe,
The vendor won't pay any mind to your gripe,
So boot it. Just boot it.
When you discover that a process won't die,
If kill -9 won't work there's nothing else to try.
Your jobs are dead meat, so kiss 'em goodbye
And boot it. 50 hours of work,
Just boot it, boot it.
And if you can't boot it, shoot it!
When you reboot it, work will be lost.
It doesn't matter what this will cost.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
When all the characters are coming out weird,
And won't come back right even when the screen is cleared,
You can't fix such things by tugging your beard
So boot it. Just boot it.
If your computer still is running Windows,
And every time it crashes your frustration grows.
When the system's not free, you will always be hosed.
Just boot it. Put a GNU system on,
And boot it, boot it.
Or put it in your horn, and toot it!
It doesn't matter what was to blame.
Till you reboot it, your machine's lame.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
It doesn't matter what you did wrong.
Till you reboot it, your machine's gone.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
And half the screen is covered with a big white stripe,
The vendor won't pay any mind to your gripe,
So boot it. Just boot it.
When you discover that a process won't die,
If kill -9 won't work there's nothing else to try.
Your jobs are dead meat, so kiss 'em goodbye
And boot it. 50 hours of work,
Just boot it, boot it.
And if you can't boot it, shoot it!
When you reboot it, work will be lost.
It doesn't matter what this will cost.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
When all the characters are coming out weird,
And won't come back right even when the screen is cleared,
You can't fix such things by tugging your beard
So boot it. Just boot it.
If your computer still is running Windows,
And every time it crashes your frustration grows.
When the system's not free, you will always be hosed.
Just boot it. Put a GNU system on,
And boot it, boot it.
Or put it in your horn, and toot it!
It doesn't matter what was to blame.
Till you reboot it, your machine's lame.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
It doesn't matter what you did wrong.
Till you reboot it, your machine's gone.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Just boot it. Just boot it.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Whatt a Day....
Sometimes its shocking how life treats you. After all what matters is true friends who will march the jourey along with you. Yesterday was my friends Wedding and Home Coming. It was nice and hes the first person to get into married life from my college batch mates. Yohan and Asanthika, I wish you both Happiness and Posperity in the coming wedded years ahead.
Monday, January 21, 2008
RMS Sri Lanka Visit BLOGS & PICS
http://budlite.blogspot.com/
http://www.web2media.net/laktek/2008/01/19/rms-in-sri-lanka/
http://www.web2media.net/laktek/2008/01/19/rms-in-sri-lanka/
Hard facts on free software with RMS
Richard Matthew Stallman, popularly known as “RMS”, the founder of the GNU Project and The Free Software Foundation (FSF), was in Sri Lanka this week. He is an American software freedom activist, a hacker, and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system. Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft and is the main author of several copyleft licences including the GNU General Public Licence, the most widely used free software license. He has also developed a number of pieces of, highly used development tools, including the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), the GNU symbolic debugger (GDB) and GNU Emacs. Stallman co-founded the League for Programmeming Freedom in 1989.
The Nation Economist was able to get a special interview with the software freedom activist. The following are excerpts.
(Q) What is Free Softwear?
(A) ‘Freedom’, I believe, is translated into Sinhala as “Nidahas.” Free Software means, software that respects the user’s freedom. The idea is that computer users should be free. The crucial issue is always: what are the essential freedoms that everyone should have?
They should have four essential freedoms.
• Freedom 1: The freedom to run the programme as you wish.
• Freedom 2: The freedom to study source code and modify the programme.
• Freedom 3: The freedom to copy the programme so you can help your neighbour.
• Freedom 4: The freedom to improve the programme, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
So this makes the software part of human knowledge. So you can adapt, extend and pass on to each other.
The other alternative is user subjective software or proprietary software/non-Free Software. Software that keeps users divided and helpless. If you are forbidden to share with people, then it is unethical to use it at all. Fundamentally, unethical, because it is attempting to divide people, and helpless, because the users don’t have the source code, as it is kept secret, so they can’t change anything, they can’t even tell what the programme is really doing. This is, fundamentally, unethical, because it is dividing people. These developers are keeping the users helpless. These are predatory practices, which resembles colonial systems. After all, how does colonization work? Divide and rule. Keep people divided and helpless, and then you can get what you want from them. That’s what proprietary software does. It keeps you divided, by saying you are not allowed to redistribute and they keep you helpless, by not giving you the source code. This gives developers power over the user. That power is unjust. Proprietary software is, fundamentally, wrong. The goal of the free software movement is to put an end to this injustice. Our aim is, there should be no proprietary software, that all software should be free. Users of software should have the freedom they want.
(Q) The term “Free Software” has been widely misunderstood. Is it software that is free of charge?
(A) Not necessarily. It is a misunderstanding. It is because, in English, we don’t have a good word for “Nidahas”. We only have the word “free” which can also mean “gratis”. So, it causes confusion. It even took me a few years to recognize these two different meanings of the word “free”, have to be carefully distinguished. In Sinhala and Tamil, these two words explain it well. You have to get the meaning of this word right. It’s not a matter of price at all. It’s a matter of freedom. So, if you think of free speech, it is not free bear, then you will understand free software. I have nothing against programmemers getting paid to write software. In fact, most software programmemers paid to write are not meant to be proprietary, it’s custom software. One client wants to use it and is paying for its development. And that is ethical, as long as the developers respect the client’s freedom. So, most of the software has nothing do with this question. But most users are using proprietary software. That means they are victims. They are under the power of developers, who are usually mega corporations, such as Microsoft, Apple, Dobby, Oracle. There are many of them, as in the case of European colonisation, like some countries managed to grab more colonies and others managed to grab a few colonies, but still, its wrong. So, rather than trying to judge which colonial power is better, we should put an end to it.
(Q) How did you learn to appreciate free software?
(A) It’s trivial for people who are naturally born programmemers. Once you get an idea of programmeming, it is obvious. I read manuals of computers and thought of programmeming. To learn, I had to do it. I was absolutely fascinated by it. By chance, at MIT, I met a free software community. In the lab, the software we had was free. We were happy to share it with anybody at any time.
(Q) Was this the Hackers’ community?
(A) That’s right. We called our selves hackers. To be a hacker meant that you were fascinated by computer programmeming. But, more generally, hacking meant and still means playful cleverness. So, if you enjoy finding opportunities to play at being clever and if you admire other people’s playful cleverness, then you are a hacker at heart.
(Q) But isn’t it unethical to hack?
(A) It might be, in some cases. But generally, no. This term was confused in the 1980s. When the world found out about hackers, they focused on one kind of activity some hackers do. Some hackers, sometimes, do things like breaking security. Why did hackers originally, start breaking security? Because, at University, there were administrators who would stop them from using the computers, usually, for stupid reasons. There would be a computer nobody is using. Then, there would be somebody with something interesting to do, using this computer. Administrators would oppose that person citing rules and regulations. So, this clever person, the hacker, who enjoyed playful cleverness, rather than beat his head against the wall, would just go around and use this computer anyway, for research. It was not a matter of harming anyone. Because, these computers were meant to be used by university students for work and interesting things. So the people who want to use these computers did not let the bureaucrats get in their way.
The reason that they did was because they were fascinated by programmeming and they loved playful cleverness. So, their solution to any problem would be playful cleverness. This was not anybody’s privacy. The computer did not belong to any person. It belonged to the university, for students to use it. They did not steal anything. It wasn’t a bank’s computer. It was just a computer facility at university, meant for research.
I am not in favour of theft. Its fine that banks should have security and I don’t want people to break that security. I don’t want anybody to take my money or your money.
(Q) What happened at AI Lab, once you stared working?
(A) Initially, we had a free software community and eventually, it died due to commercial outside intervention.
(Q) So, that means there were people who had made free software before you?
(A) For sure. It was just the people’s way of life. I did not invent free software. In fact, in the 1950s, lot of software was free. Because, nobody thought of restricting the user. Even in the 1970s, there was still a fair amount of free software. Some operating systems were free software. During the 70s, that mostly disappeared. And by the 1980s, the lab’s free operating systems became obsolete too. Our community died for other reasons.
So, I found myself facing the prospect of looking at the rest of my life without freedom, without community, without anything but, a world of ugliness. I did not want to live that way. I thought, I would make life ethical. I am going to fight for freedom. So I started the free software movement. I did not invent free software. I launched a movement to bring back the freedom to cooperate with other people.
(Q) What is GNU project?
(A) I want to be able to use computers that have freedom and cooperate with people. Computers won’t run without an operating system. There wasn’t one. So, I decided to develop one. I named it GNU. There were about 50 operating systems at that time, but none were free. There were many different kinds of computers with many different operating systems. They were different in technical ways but, in terms of freedom, they were all same.
(Q) When you founded the GNU project, what was the reaction of the public?
(A) The public did not react at all. But, some programmemers were enthusiastic, and volunteered to write part of the system. So, in 1990, we had most of a part of the system. But one important part was missing. That part was the kernel, the programme which allocates the computer’s resources to all the other programmes which it runs. It’s the lowest level of the system. The other parts runs on top.
1992 Linux, which is a kernel, was released. So, when we put together GNU, which was mostly complete and Linux, to fill the last gap, the result was free operating system, which was basically GNU, but contained Linux as well. So, GNU plus Linux is the fair name for it. And ever since, it has been possible to use computers free.
The Community is developing more and more free software. Here you find SAHARA, a rather noteworthy piece of free software developed for disaster coordinating activities. Developers of these can be in one continent, while its Users can be anywhere.
I personally don’t do much of programmeming now. There are many who develop free software now. Most important thing I do now is to spread the idea of freedom. I have always been a freedom fighter. In the 1980’s, the best way I could contribute is writing software, because there weren’t many of us then. What I contributed personally, was an important part in what we did in 1980. It was a substantial part.
(Q) What is the difference between “Free Software” and “Open Source”?
(A) Free Software and Open Source are the slogans of two different movements with different philosophies. In the free software movement, the goal is to be free to share and cooperate. We say that non-free software is antisocial, because it tramples the users’ freedom, and we develop free software to escape from that.
The Open Source movement promotes what they consider a technically superior development model that usually gives technically superior results. Free Software and Open Source are also both criteria for software licenses. These criteria are written in very different ways but, the licences accepted are almost the same. The main difference is the difference in philosophy.
(Q) What are your views on the IT sector in Sri Lanka?
(A) It’s difficult to say. I have been here only a few days. Yet, I can see Sri Lanka has the same problem as in the US, which is most people are using proprietary software. This is a social problem which needs to be corrected. Like Microsoft, they restrict users’ freedom. So, you should not use them. You should use software that can be used in freedom.
You get a lot of practical benefits by using free software. It is almost like having freedom of speech. The particle benefits you get are you don’t pay lots of money to mega corporations, and mega corporations can’t restrict you freedom, because they are using unauthorised copies. Trying to stop people from sharing is evil. Government should never allow that.
(Q) What is your advice to aspiring young software developers in Sri Lanka?
(A) My advice is don’t make the mistake of thinking about software only in terms of practical convenience. Don’t forget about freedom. Don’t forget about social solidarity. Anyone trying to stop you from sharing information, is trying to tax society. Don’t let them get away with it. If you develop software, respect the freedom of the user. Don’t try to subjugate other people and don’t let anybody subjugate you. You deserve to be free.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
100 Things To Do Before You Die
Something to laugh about taken from the Internet...
1. Sucker-punch your boss.
2. Become a member of the Mile High Club, even if you have to do it alone.
3. Go to your high school reunion dressed as a homeless guy.
4. Stand outside the Today Show window and moon Al Roker for two straight hours.
5. Drink an entire keg of Guinness by yourself (no time limit).
6. Test-drive a top-end sports car and lead the cops on a high-speed chase.
7. Rack up $5,000 on your Discover card, then tell them you just “discovered” you don’t have any money.
8. Befriend George W. Bush and try to get him to start drinking again.
9. Interview a female intern on a trampoline.
10. Visit Don Knotts’ grave site. (Keep in mind that he’s still alive.)
11. Make it through an entire porn video.
12. Survive a bar fight.
13. Watch two women bring each other to fake orgasm in person.
14. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears.
15. Hike through a jungle, armed only with a machete.
16. Learn all the words to “Louie, Louie.”
17. Grow a handlebar mustache—just to see if it might look good on you.
18. Go to the top of the Empire State Building, then hit all the buttons in a crowded elevator on the way down.
19. Take the Steelers +3.5 and the Jets -2.5 and have the Jets beat the Steelers by three so you win both bets.
20. Hit a hole in one (with witnesses).
21. Hold auditions for a posse.
22. Wake up In a Frickin’ Gutter
Joe Alaimo, 32, Queens, NY:
“My five buddies and I arrived in Paris at night and decided to buy a bunch of wine. Soon after that I was walking across the Notre Dame plaza in my ’wears. Next thing I knew it was daylight and I was facedown in a gutter above the Seine, being shaken awake by some guy wearing a beret.”
23. Restore a Classic Car
John Heidenry, 34, Hoboken, NJ:
“I picked up my ’70 Cadillac convertible for $2,500. Over the next six years, I spent $16,000 on a new engine, rear quarter panels, a killer paint job, the interior, and rechroming. What the hell? I can fit five girls in the backseat—try doing that in a Porsche.”
24. Spend a night in jail for a semicool reason and talk shit about the screws.
25. Have sex on your boss’ desk. Don’t clean up afterward.
26. Get banned from a casino.
27. Get drunk in Tijuana and goad a tough yet disinterested Mexican to beat you up.
28. Go to karaoke night and sing “Free Bird,” regardless of what song’s playing.
29. Kick your dad’s ass.
30. Pleasure yourself in a voting booth.
31. Spray-paint “Scooby Rules!” on the Great Wall of China.
32. Backpack across Europe wearing loud Hawaiian shirts and a cowboy hat. Offer everyone ketchup.
33. Put all the money you have in the world down on a blackjack table. (This should be the very last thing you do before you die.)
34. Have an all-night orgy with all your ex-girlfriends, then present a trophy to the Most Improved Lady.
35. Foil a crime in heroic fashion.
36. Make Mike Tyson flinch when he’s old and punch-drunk.
37. Eat chunks of cooked dolphin off a naked woman’s body.
38. Smoke a joint in synagogue and yell out, “This is my High Holy Day, you bastards!”
39. Hurt yourself badly while working around the house.
40. Catch a home run at a baseball game—even if it’s just batting practice.
41. Visit Graceland and ask to see the bathroom where the King’s blue suede shoes were stepped on for the last time.
42. Grab the P.A. system at a department store and keep repeating the words “Blow jobs, two for one in aisle seven.”
43. Drive cross-country without a map.
44. Land a Big ’Un
“Wild Bill” Skinner, 53, Clovis, NM:
“Early one morning, in the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed a school of sharks. So I decided to do a little fishing. I hooked up a big chunk of bait, and as soon as I cast it a 12-foot hammerhead bit. Holy shit! I thought. I quickly climbed into the lifeboat and pushed off. For the next half-hour, that shark just wore himself out dragging me in circles. Then I rowed back to the main boat and spent 30 minutes reeling him in. However, the captain didn’t want a 600-pound fish thrashing the side of his boat. So I had to cut it loose.”
45. Do doughnuts on the White House lawn in a monster truck.
46. Give your girlfriend an enormous candy-diamond Ring Pop and try to convince her it’s the real thing.
47. Sit in the stands at a Packers game in December without a shirt.
48. Name a pet “You Filthy Whore” so when you yell, “Come back here, You Filthy Whore,” the whole neighborhood pays attention.
49. Invite friends over for dinner, then mail them a bill for everything they ate.
50. Pick up a piece of road kill with a stick and chase a child with it.
51. Learn to bowl overhand.
52. Run a marathon and stop at 26 bars along the way for refreshments.
53. Watch every second of every game of March Madness at a sports bar in Vegas.
54. Visit Australia…nah, strike that.
55. Stand outside a bar pretending to be a bouncer and collect a “cover charge” from clueless tourists.
56. Drop by an ex-girlfriend’s for a booty call even though it’ll cause a serious headache.
57. Convince a girlfriend to get a tattoo of your name on her butt.
58. Secretly record your girlfriend having an orgasm. Then put it on the outgoing message of your answering machine.
59. Enjoy a competitive game of “Where’s My Finger?” with the cast of Charmed.
60. Make double the salary your father made. If you can triple it, hire him as your personal valet.
61. Get drunk and cut someone’s hair.
62. Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet the moment it opens and stay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
63. Be a guest voice on The Simpsons.
64. Take a bank robber’s gun from him and blow his brains out…or, whatever.
65. Play a hurtful, unfunny practical joke on an office rival, where apologizing for an earlier unfunny practical joke is part of the gag.
66. Watch all 100 of Maxim’s “100 Greatest Guy Movies” (March 1998 issue) in one week.
67. Frequent a local bar so much they’ll let you cash a paycheck there.
68. Tour a brewery wearing your underwear outside your clothes.
69. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears, again.
70. Wait in the express line of a supermarket with too many items. When someone complains, take out a glue gun and start combining your purchases into one giant bundle.
71. Own a house that has a basement bar and rec room.
72. Expose yourself on a nationally televised sporting event.
73. Be a Champ!
Bob Hamm, Pana, IL:
“About five years back, I decided to become the world’s greatest six-gun twirler. I practiced five hours a day, every day (with prop guns). Three years later, when I climbed onstage for the World Gun Spinning Championship in Deadwood, South Dakota, I entered a state of pure concentration. I threw my guns for six minutes, culminating in a 15-foot-high Montana Big Sky Flip. When announced as the winner, I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. To celebrate I went out with my friends for a big T-bone steak.”
74. Have sex in complete silence, with your in-laws in the next room.
75. Get banned from San Antonio (like Ozzy Osbourne did in 1982 for urinating outside the Alamo), then try to break in. (Hint: Try the Rio Grande.)
76. Teach a monkey martial arts and then kick its ass.
77. Drink vodka in Moscow, smoke a cigar in Cuba, eat some Peking duck in Beijing, and take a dump in North Korea.
78. Whenever your girlfriend’s father starts to say something at dinner, pretend you gotta sneeze and say, “I’mherdaddy.”
79. Ride in the ambulance with Keith Richards on the way to get his transfusion.
80. Go into a gun store and ask the guy, “What do you recommend for teaching someone a lesson?”
81. Light a fire using only sticks. Then find a volleyball and befriend it. Next ask yourself if you’re a fucking wacko.
82. Secretly Date Two Women Who Know Each Other
John Kings, 34, New York, NY:
“The girls and I met at New York University. Besides a mutual dislike for each other, the only thing they had in common was a desire to get me into bed. Mandy made the first move. One night after a party, she took me back to her place. The next day, as I left her apartment, I ran into Sue, who lived only three buildings down. I knew it was bad, but up to Sue’s I went. Then things began to get weird. I was sleeping with each girl twice a week and I’d wake up forgetting where I was, worrying about saying the wrong name! After about a month and a half, it just became too damn psychotic, so I decided to break up with both girls.”
83. Eat between six and nine White Castle hamburgers for lunch every day for a week.
84. Snip the ponytail off a Hells Angel in a dive bar, then make a quick exit and tip over that row of bikes out front.
85. Go to a strip bar with your girlfriend and get her a table dance.
86. Date a coworker, break up, and ride out the awkwardness.
87. Jump from the second story of a building into a dumpster full of Chinese restaurant trash and fluorescent light bulbs.
88. Get a woman to pay you for sex. Or at least try.
89. Smoke opium in the jungles of Thailand. (Maxim categorically denies having just suggested that.)
90. Sneak into the Playboy Mansion while Hef’s alive. Work for the caterer if you have to.
91. Go to Vietnam and have a drink in a small dingy bar in memory of the guys.
92. Lock Emo Philips and Gallagher in a room together with nothing but two carrot peelers and a flatulent donkey. Leave them to die.
93. Call a cop a “doughnut-eating fascist” to his face. When you get out of the hospital, send him a dozen doughnuts.
94. Buy a round for a packed bar.
95. Meet Mr. T and thank him for helping keep you off the streets.
96. Discuss the latest advancements in superstring theory with Carmen Electra.
97. Pull off a hoax that gets reported as truth in a newspaper.
98. Knock on a random door in every country you visit and try to talk your way into a home-cooked meal.
99. Karate-chop a board in half with your bare hand.
100. Send your gorgeous sister to the Maxim offices so she can brighten up the lunch meeting with a striptease.
1. Sucker-punch your boss.
2. Become a member of the Mile High Club, even if you have to do it alone.
3. Go to your high school reunion dressed as a homeless guy.
4. Stand outside the Today Show window and moon Al Roker for two straight hours.
5. Drink an entire keg of Guinness by yourself (no time limit).
6. Test-drive a top-end sports car and lead the cops on a high-speed chase.
7. Rack up $5,000 on your Discover card, then tell them you just “discovered” you don’t have any money.
8. Befriend George W. Bush and try to get him to start drinking again.
9. Interview a female intern on a trampoline.
10. Visit Don Knotts’ grave site. (Keep in mind that he’s still alive.)
11. Make it through an entire porn video.
12. Survive a bar fight.
13. Watch two women bring each other to fake orgasm in person.
14. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears.
15. Hike through a jungle, armed only with a machete.
16. Learn all the words to “Louie, Louie.”
17. Grow a handlebar mustache—just to see if it might look good on you.
18. Go to the top of the Empire State Building, then hit all the buttons in a crowded elevator on the way down.
19. Take the Steelers +3.5 and the Jets -2.5 and have the Jets beat the Steelers by three so you win both bets.
20. Hit a hole in one (with witnesses).
21. Hold auditions for a posse.
22. Wake up In a Frickin’ Gutter
Joe Alaimo, 32, Queens, NY:
“My five buddies and I arrived in Paris at night and decided to buy a bunch of wine. Soon after that I was walking across the Notre Dame plaza in my ’wears. Next thing I knew it was daylight and I was facedown in a gutter above the Seine, being shaken awake by some guy wearing a beret.”
23. Restore a Classic Car
John Heidenry, 34, Hoboken, NJ:
“I picked up my ’70 Cadillac convertible for $2,500. Over the next six years, I spent $16,000 on a new engine, rear quarter panels, a killer paint job, the interior, and rechroming. What the hell? I can fit five girls in the backseat—try doing that in a Porsche.”
24. Spend a night in jail for a semicool reason and talk shit about the screws.
25. Have sex on your boss’ desk. Don’t clean up afterward.
26. Get banned from a casino.
27. Get drunk in Tijuana and goad a tough yet disinterested Mexican to beat you up.
28. Go to karaoke night and sing “Free Bird,” regardless of what song’s playing.
29. Kick your dad’s ass.
30. Pleasure yourself in a voting booth.
31. Spray-paint “Scooby Rules!” on the Great Wall of China.
32. Backpack across Europe wearing loud Hawaiian shirts and a cowboy hat. Offer everyone ketchup.
33. Put all the money you have in the world down on a blackjack table. (This should be the very last thing you do before you die.)
34. Have an all-night orgy with all your ex-girlfriends, then present a trophy to the Most Improved Lady.
35. Foil a crime in heroic fashion.
36. Make Mike Tyson flinch when he’s old and punch-drunk.
37. Eat chunks of cooked dolphin off a naked woman’s body.
38. Smoke a joint in synagogue and yell out, “This is my High Holy Day, you bastards!”
39. Hurt yourself badly while working around the house.
40. Catch a home run at a baseball game—even if it’s just batting practice.
41. Visit Graceland and ask to see the bathroom where the King’s blue suede shoes were stepped on for the last time.
42. Grab the P.A. system at a department store and keep repeating the words “Blow jobs, two for one in aisle seven.”
43. Drive cross-country without a map.
44. Land a Big ’Un
“Wild Bill” Skinner, 53, Clovis, NM:
“Early one morning, in the Gulf of Mexico, I noticed a school of sharks. So I decided to do a little fishing. I hooked up a big chunk of bait, and as soon as I cast it a 12-foot hammerhead bit. Holy shit! I thought. I quickly climbed into the lifeboat and pushed off. For the next half-hour, that shark just wore himself out dragging me in circles. Then I rowed back to the main boat and spent 30 minutes reeling him in. However, the captain didn’t want a 600-pound fish thrashing the side of his boat. So I had to cut it loose.”
45. Do doughnuts on the White House lawn in a monster truck.
46. Give your girlfriend an enormous candy-diamond Ring Pop and try to convince her it’s the real thing.
47. Sit in the stands at a Packers game in December without a shirt.
48. Name a pet “You Filthy Whore” so when you yell, “Come back here, You Filthy Whore,” the whole neighborhood pays attention.
49. Invite friends over for dinner, then mail them a bill for everything they ate.
50. Pick up a piece of road kill with a stick and chase a child with it.
51. Learn to bowl overhand.
52. Run a marathon and stop at 26 bars along the way for refreshments.
53. Watch every second of every game of March Madness at a sports bar in Vegas.
54. Visit Australia…nah, strike that.
55. Stand outside a bar pretending to be a bouncer and collect a “cover charge” from clueless tourists.
56. Drop by an ex-girlfriend’s for a booty call even though it’ll cause a serious headache.
57. Convince a girlfriend to get a tattoo of your name on her butt.
58. Secretly record your girlfriend having an orgasm. Then put it on the outgoing message of your answering machine.
59. Enjoy a competitive game of “Where’s My Finger?” with the cast of Charmed.
60. Make double the salary your father made. If you can triple it, hire him as your personal valet.
61. Get drunk and cut someone’s hair.
62. Go to an all-you-can-eat buffet the moment it opens and stay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
63. Be a guest voice on The Simpsons.
64. Take a bank robber’s gun from him and blow his brains out…or, whatever.
65. Play a hurtful, unfunny practical joke on an office rival, where apologizing for an earlier unfunny practical joke is part of the gag.
66. Watch all 100 of Maxim’s “100 Greatest Guy Movies” (March 1998 issue) in one week.
67. Frequent a local bar so much they’ll let you cash a paycheck there.
68. Tour a brewery wearing your underwear outside your clothes.
69. Jell-O wrestle Britney Spears, again.
70. Wait in the express line of a supermarket with too many items. When someone complains, take out a glue gun and start combining your purchases into one giant bundle.
71. Own a house that has a basement bar and rec room.
72. Expose yourself on a nationally televised sporting event.
73. Be a Champ!
Bob Hamm, Pana, IL:
“About five years back, I decided to become the world’s greatest six-gun twirler. I practiced five hours a day, every day (with prop guns). Three years later, when I climbed onstage for the World Gun Spinning Championship in Deadwood, South Dakota, I entered a state of pure concentration. I threw my guns for six minutes, culminating in a 15-foot-high Montana Big Sky Flip. When announced as the winner, I was overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment. To celebrate I went out with my friends for a big T-bone steak.”
74. Have sex in complete silence, with your in-laws in the next room.
75. Get banned from San Antonio (like Ozzy Osbourne did in 1982 for urinating outside the Alamo), then try to break in. (Hint: Try the Rio Grande.)
76. Teach a monkey martial arts and then kick its ass.
77. Drink vodka in Moscow, smoke a cigar in Cuba, eat some Peking duck in Beijing, and take a dump in North Korea.
78. Whenever your girlfriend’s father starts to say something at dinner, pretend you gotta sneeze and say, “I’mherdaddy.”
79. Ride in the ambulance with Keith Richards on the way to get his transfusion.
80. Go into a gun store and ask the guy, “What do you recommend for teaching someone a lesson?”
81. Light a fire using only sticks. Then find a volleyball and befriend it. Next ask yourself if you’re a fucking wacko.
82. Secretly Date Two Women Who Know Each Other
John Kings, 34, New York, NY:
“The girls and I met at New York University. Besides a mutual dislike for each other, the only thing they had in common was a desire to get me into bed. Mandy made the first move. One night after a party, she took me back to her place. The next day, as I left her apartment, I ran into Sue, who lived only three buildings down. I knew it was bad, but up to Sue’s I went. Then things began to get weird. I was sleeping with each girl twice a week and I’d wake up forgetting where I was, worrying about saying the wrong name! After about a month and a half, it just became too damn psychotic, so I decided to break up with both girls.”
83. Eat between six and nine White Castle hamburgers for lunch every day for a week.
84. Snip the ponytail off a Hells Angel in a dive bar, then make a quick exit and tip over that row of bikes out front.
85. Go to a strip bar with your girlfriend and get her a table dance.
86. Date a coworker, break up, and ride out the awkwardness.
87. Jump from the second story of a building into a dumpster full of Chinese restaurant trash and fluorescent light bulbs.
88. Get a woman to pay you for sex. Or at least try.
89. Smoke opium in the jungles of Thailand. (Maxim categorically denies having just suggested that.)
90. Sneak into the Playboy Mansion while Hef’s alive. Work for the caterer if you have to.
91. Go to Vietnam and have a drink in a small dingy bar in memory of the guys.
92. Lock Emo Philips and Gallagher in a room together with nothing but two carrot peelers and a flatulent donkey. Leave them to die.
93. Call a cop a “doughnut-eating fascist” to his face. When you get out of the hospital, send him a dozen doughnuts.
94. Buy a round for a packed bar.
95. Meet Mr. T and thank him for helping keep you off the streets.
96. Discuss the latest advancements in superstring theory with Carmen Electra.
97. Pull off a hoax that gets reported as truth in a newspaper.
98. Knock on a random door in every country you visit and try to talk your way into a home-cooked meal.
99. Karate-chop a board in half with your bare hand.
100. Send your gorgeous sister to the Maxim offices so she can brighten up the lunch meeting with a striptease.
Nine Women Every Guy Should Hey-Diddle-Diddle
1. A flight attendant
The theory: A cute stewardess under 200 pounds is as rare as a fiery plummet to earth.
2. A farmer’s daughter
The theory: Outfoxing a shotgun-toting father is the original extreme sport.
3. A nurse
The theory: She knows where it hurts and how to make it feel all better.
4. A broken wing
The theory: While she may have problems, screwing your brains out isn’t one of them.
5. A friend’s sister
The theory: It’ll kill your friend, and you and your other friends can high-five.
6. A teacher
The theory: She likes baby talk and naughty boys, and knows how to use a ruler.
7. A Foreigner
The theory: Remember—you’re in a band, and your phone number is 555-1212.
8. A cheerleader
The theory: Pompoms, short skirts, and white panties can bend time and space.
9. A work superior
The theory: She seduces you and then tosses you aside like garbage. Yes!
The theory: A cute stewardess under 200 pounds is as rare as a fiery plummet to earth.
2. A farmer’s daughter
The theory: Outfoxing a shotgun-toting father is the original extreme sport.
3. A nurse
The theory: She knows where it hurts and how to make it feel all better.
4. A broken wing
The theory: While she may have problems, screwing your brains out isn’t one of them.
5. A friend’s sister
The theory: It’ll kill your friend, and you and your other friends can high-five.
6. A teacher
The theory: She likes baby talk and naughty boys, and knows how to use a ruler.
7. A Foreigner
The theory: Remember—you’re in a band, and your phone number is 555-1212.
8. A cheerleader
The theory: Pompoms, short skirts, and white panties can bend time and space.
9. A work superior
The theory: She seduces you and then tosses you aside like garbage. Yes!
I'm 23 now...Phew
As the time passes by we all become old... A friend of mine ones said growing old is mandetory and growing up is optional..pick your choice?
Anyways my 23rd B'day was soo remarkable with a suicide bomb blast near my house. And i still pray God for saving my mom's and sister's lives with his mercyfullness.
People, Thank you very very much for all the warm birthday wishes…posted on ma wall, fun wall, super wall, post-it items, booze mails and sent personal messages, instant messages, emails, e-cards, letters, post cards, phone calls, anonymous phone calls, MSN personal messages, Jolly Greetings, and SMSs... as well as for the free gifts, graffiti, hatching eggs, growing gifts, actual gifts, pre-paid pizza deliveries, gift vouchers, Audio CDs, more live fish for my fish tank, aliens for my solar system, surprised lunch outs and not so surprised dinner outs :) …and etc. etc.
.. & .. man.. all those cakes thrown @ me.. yum yum yum & yep yep yep... i'll surely remember to throw... some @ you as well.. on your coming b'dayz. :)
Anyways my 23rd B'day was soo remarkable with a suicide bomb blast near my house. And i still pray God for saving my mom's and sister's lives with his mercyfullness.
People, Thank you very very much for all the warm birthday wishes…posted on ma wall, fun wall, super wall, post-it items, booze mails and sent personal messages, instant messages, emails, e-cards, letters, post cards, phone calls, anonymous phone calls, MSN personal messages, Jolly Greetings, and SMSs... as well as for the free gifts, graffiti, hatching eggs, growing gifts, actual gifts, pre-paid pizza deliveries, gift vouchers, Audio CDs, more live fish for my fish tank, aliens for my solar system, surprised lunch outs and not so surprised dinner outs :) …and etc. etc.
.. & .. man.. all those cakes thrown @ me.. yum yum yum & yep yep yep... i'll surely remember to throw... some @ you as well.. on your coming b'dayz. :)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Letter from a Tamil in Canada
The comments by various people show how foolishly we, Tamils continue to glorify violence, suicide and terror. We began all this in 1939 with G.G. Ponnambalam attacking the Sinhalese in a virulent speech in1939, resulting in the first Sinhala Tamil riot.
After the war SJV and others used every chance to gore the government instead of building bridges. They spurned the left leaders who stood for parity and preferred to hob-nob with their Colombo-7 capitalist leaders.
Our Colombo, Tamil leaders arrogantly started the ball rolling, and even claimed that they are "ready for state terror". The local militants realized that they were being bamboozled by the Colombo set, and they captured control, killed those leaders, our best men and women, and made cannon fodder out of our children.
Look at this partial list:
1. The JR government in 1977 granted all the demands on language etc. that the previous Tamil organizations had asked for. But we could not profit from it, because by then we were under the gun of Prabakaran.
2. India came in and merged North and East two provinces, and provided an honourable framework. But we reengaged the whole thing and started another war. Prabakaran would have been annihilated by the IPKF if not for Premadasa.
3. Further accommodation was possible under Premadasa. But we reengaged him and killed the 600 police who surrendered.
4. Under Chandrika we had the far reaching constitutional proposals by Neelan Thiruchelvan, but we replied by assassinating him.
5. Incredible concessions were made by the Ranil Wickremasinghe government with the Cease Fire agreement. But we used it to stock up arms, get ready for another war and made sure of such a war by preventing Ranil's Victory.
This list of 5 does not include the innumerable other chances that had been offered. Why would any politician think that a political solution is possible with Prabakaran?
So, why are were talking of a political solution?
LTTE has always worked for a military solution. This Anuradhapura attack is the same old Killinochchi wine that Bishop Chikera is now peddling and desecrating even the Eucharist. The LTTE does NOT want a political solution. It wants a military solution from the barrel of a gun. In the process it will destroy the Ceylon Tamils by destroying the future generation. How many Tamils are now left in the Vanni? What is the percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka today? The CIA world fact book says that there is now only about 5% Tamils in SL!
Instead of executing this attack on the Anuradhapura military camp, if Prabakaran had declared that HE IS FOR A FEDERAL SOLUTION and that HE WILL PEACEFULLY CONTEST ELECTIONS EVERY WHERE IN SRI LANKA, do you think ANY SINHALA POLITICIAN of any worth could OPPOSE IT? Even the most extreme "unitary man" would have to take up this chance. Even many Sinhala might vote for Prabakaran if he had the capacity to the right thing. But a "Venkai" does not change its spots.
Instead, for 30 years, he has led the Tamils on the path of destruction and suicide. Foolish Tamils, drunk with the venom of hat sing in his praise. I lay the whole blame on Prabakaran for destroying the Ceylon Tamils. He is the biggest friend of Sinhala Chauvinists. Prabakaran has done what no Dutugemunu could ever do - reduce the Tamil areas to a prison for the Tamils, reduce the reputation of Tamils all over the world, kill our next generation and convert the remainder into war-mongering youngsters unfit for civilian life. The adults have been reduced to displace persons.
School principles and Temple dignitaries have been assassinated. Only the Tamils living in cozy comfort in the foreign lands can continue to rattle their swords, mesmerized by Prabakaran's war games which have destroyed the Tamil people, and impoverished the Sinhala as well.
Nothing is possible for the Ceylon Tamils until Prabakaran is a factor in the balance of power. Tamils need educated leaders with a vision fit for today's global village.
Dr. C. Rasalingam
Canada
http://mawbima.blogspot.com/2007/11/letter-from-tamil-in-canada.html
After the war SJV and others used every chance to gore the government instead of building bridges. They spurned the left leaders who stood for parity and preferred to hob-nob with their Colombo-7 capitalist leaders.
Our Colombo, Tamil leaders arrogantly started the ball rolling, and even claimed that they are "ready for state terror". The local militants realized that they were being bamboozled by the Colombo set, and they captured control, killed those leaders, our best men and women, and made cannon fodder out of our children.
Look at this partial list:
1. The JR government in 1977 granted all the demands on language etc. that the previous Tamil organizations had asked for. But we could not profit from it, because by then we were under the gun of Prabakaran.
2. India came in and merged North and East two provinces, and provided an honourable framework. But we reengaged the whole thing and started another war. Prabakaran would have been annihilated by the IPKF if not for Premadasa.
3. Further accommodation was possible under Premadasa. But we reengaged him and killed the 600 police who surrendered.
4. Under Chandrika we had the far reaching constitutional proposals by Neelan Thiruchelvan, but we replied by assassinating him.
5. Incredible concessions were made by the Ranil Wickremasinghe government with the Cease Fire agreement. But we used it to stock up arms, get ready for another war and made sure of such a war by preventing Ranil's Victory.
This list of 5 does not include the innumerable other chances that had been offered. Why would any politician think that a political solution is possible with Prabakaran?
So, why are were talking of a political solution?
LTTE has always worked for a military solution. This Anuradhapura attack is the same old Killinochchi wine that Bishop Chikera is now peddling and desecrating even the Eucharist. The LTTE does NOT want a political solution. It wants a military solution from the barrel of a gun. In the process it will destroy the Ceylon Tamils by destroying the future generation. How many Tamils are now left in the Vanni? What is the percentage of Tamils in Sri Lanka today? The CIA world fact book says that there is now only about 5% Tamils in SL!
Instead of executing this attack on the Anuradhapura military camp, if Prabakaran had declared that HE IS FOR A FEDERAL SOLUTION and that HE WILL PEACEFULLY CONTEST ELECTIONS EVERY WHERE IN SRI LANKA, do you think ANY SINHALA POLITICIAN of any worth could OPPOSE IT? Even the most extreme "unitary man" would have to take up this chance. Even many Sinhala might vote for Prabakaran if he had the capacity to the right thing. But a "Venkai" does not change its spots.
Instead, for 30 years, he has led the Tamils on the path of destruction and suicide. Foolish Tamils, drunk with the venom of hat sing in his praise. I lay the whole blame on Prabakaran for destroying the Ceylon Tamils. He is the biggest friend of Sinhala Chauvinists. Prabakaran has done what no Dutugemunu could ever do - reduce the Tamil areas to a prison for the Tamils, reduce the reputation of Tamils all over the world, kill our next generation and convert the remainder into war-mongering youngsters unfit for civilian life. The adults have been reduced to displace persons.
School principles and Temple dignitaries have been assassinated. Only the Tamils living in cozy comfort in the foreign lands can continue to rattle their swords, mesmerized by Prabakaran's war games which have destroyed the Tamil people, and impoverished the Sinhala as well.
Nothing is possible for the Ceylon Tamils until Prabakaran is a factor in the balance of power. Tamils need educated leaders with a vision fit for today's global village.
Dr. C. Rasalingam
Canada
http://mawbima.blogspot.com/2007/11/letter-from-tamil-in-canada.html
Friday, October 26, 2007
Rational: To be or not to be?
The question to be examined here is whether we should "wear rose-colored glasses" or not. That is, given the choice of whether to structure our lives so that we realistically apprize our options at all times or to try to filter out the harsh realism of life and to focus on the good points. This is not a trivial question. We are daily subjected to the continuing arguments between the liberals and the conservatives, the Larry Kings and the Rush Limbaughs, about what is best for humanity.
The arguments between the two groups are never resolved. It is as if they were on different planes of reality. Their views seem to be "orthogonal" to use a mathematical term. It is impossible for any argument to be resolved because of this disconnect. The conservative says, "But we are broke. We have no money for these massive welfare programs". The liberal responds with, "Why are you so hard? Why are you so cruel to these poor people?". Nothing can be resolved when their discussions remain on different planes.
But who is right and who is wrong? Or, if we are hesitant to assign "rightness" or "wrongness" to these approaches to life, then let us at least consider which way maximizes the enjoyment of life? In this essay, I will try to examine these two approaches without bias. I will try to be objective about these two highly emotional issues that divide society so much. I believe this to be a fairly novel approach. Just kidding.
The Two views Objectively defined
The Realistic View
In this section, I will try to describe the realistic, rational approach toward life (for our purposes here, I am equating the two terms). It is recognized that no person is always rational -- that there are degrees of rationality. "Full rationality" will be defined as a reference point, while acknowledging that most humans will be somewhat less severe than this.
A rational person would make a strong effort to determine all the significant facts necessary to make a particular decision before that decision is made.
A rational person would look at the facts behind every issue before making a decision no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable it might make him or her feel.
A rational person would clearly establish the criteria from which she will make decisions. The rational person would not knowingly have hidden agendas.
A rational person would accept the environment that she finds herself in and not try to mentally make it into something else, more desirable or less desirable.
A rational person accepts the reality of her ownself:she accepts her shortcomings as well as her talents.
The Blissful View
Many, if not most, people in the world are not comfortable with looking at life in such a hard realistic fashion. We, after all, are humans -- not animals. We have imagination. We can make the world appear better than it really is by our on way of looking at things.
A blissful person will try to mentally filter out the unpleasantness of life where possible.
A blissful person will take every opportunity to interpret events in a positive light if at all possible.
A blissful person believes that humans are inherently good, that life is good.
A blissful person attempts to avoid unpleasant things, discussions, etc. even if they are factual.
Characteristics and Differences of the two approaches to life
First off, we need to decide what do we really want out of life. Would you trade having greater happiness for having greater knowledge? Some people would and some would not. It seems that happiness, or just feeling good, is not necessarily the criteria for evaluating life's qualities for many people. Why do we like to watch scary or sad movies? Maybe we like to experience emotions that feel "bad" as well as those that feel "good". In any case, other than to point out this puzzlement regarding what is desired in life, I will leave the detailed discussion for another time.
Defence of the Realistic View
The principle defence of the Realistic approach is that it allows you to plan and to live a more purposeful life. It allows you to intelligently evaluate optional approaches.
On the negative side, it tends to destroy cooperation. Social studies confirm that a purely rational person will defect, or not cooperate, in many social situations. A rational person would not vote, for instance.
Certainly more realism is needed in dealing with politics. History has proven time and time again that the blissful disregard of the growth of political forces can be very hazardous to your health.
A disadvantage is that the truth may be most painful in some situations. More about this in the next section.
Defence of the Blissful View
Much of the reality of life is painful to accept. It may be that knowing the true characteristics of humans is just too depressing. Consider the situation with differences in races -- if there are real differences between the races are we not better off not knowing about them?
The mind is powerful. Why not take advantage of it. What our mind actually delivers is quite filtered. These mental "rose-colored" filters can make life go a lot easier.
For example, falling in love can certainly be a lot of fun! Do we really want to know that the concept of "falling in love" may be nonsense? The truth is, most of the great works of art -- especially the great love stories in books, movies and music -- that have given us so much pleasure, depend on assumptions about the natural sexual behavior of humans that do not hold up under close scrutiny. Maybe it is best to avoid any truthful analysis of that subject!
"Pay me now or pay me later." Many people live the blissful life in their youth to only have to pay some really costly dues later on. That is, the pleasure of blissful ignorance often is paid for, at a dear price, later on in life. That would say then that we really should look at the lifelong ramifications of wearing those rose-colored glasses.
It is obvious that erroneous beliefs sometimes provide pleasure and happiness. For example, suppose that I believe that my father and mother are the epitomes of virtue. This gives me great pleasure and makes my life fuller. Suppose then that, later in life and after they are gone, they are both exposed as being cheats, secretly addicted to drugs, and their wealth was obtained by fraud. Would that improve my life in any way? Would I not be better off not ever knowing about that?
Social Acceptance
If our friends and associates tend to have this particular view, we will be a lot more comfortable if we go along with. The truth is that this is the overriding factor for most people. The desire to be accepted by our group determines which church we chose, our dress and our philosophy.
Summary
So which life style should we chose? It would be best to leave this decision up to each individual. Certainly, much more study would be needed before I would make a recommendation. However, I will try to summarize here some of the more important ramifications of choosing one lifestyle over the other. If I have done my job here I will have created more questions than answers for it is apparent that most people have never considered the possibility of choosing between these two options. Instead they just blindly follow one approach or the other!
But first, let me point out, there is a problem with my attempts at helping you make a decision between "rationality" and "blissfulness". You will need to be rational to be able to make such a decision! What a dilemma that is!
Do we really know enough about life to make our decisions on purely rational, deterministic factors? I think not. Any aspect of philosophy, when examined closely, has a few holes. Facts about our surroundings are only roughly perceived.
How we are perceived by others has a big impact on the quality of our lives. To be realistic is to be perceived as a hard person. You will be constantly reminded to "Wake up and smell the roses". This can be annoying and diminishes the benefits of living the rational life.
On the other hand, to be blissfully ignorant about many of the hard realities of life and to make choices based on "filtered" or erroneous information, can be dangerous.
With many thanks to Leon Felkins
The arguments between the two groups are never resolved. It is as if they were on different planes of reality. Their views seem to be "orthogonal" to use a mathematical term. It is impossible for any argument to be resolved because of this disconnect. The conservative says, "But we are broke. We have no money for these massive welfare programs". The liberal responds with, "Why are you so hard? Why are you so cruel to these poor people?". Nothing can be resolved when their discussions remain on different planes.
But who is right and who is wrong? Or, if we are hesitant to assign "rightness" or "wrongness" to these approaches to life, then let us at least consider which way maximizes the enjoyment of life? In this essay, I will try to examine these two approaches without bias. I will try to be objective about these two highly emotional issues that divide society so much. I believe this to be a fairly novel approach. Just kidding.
The Two views Objectively defined
The Realistic View
In this section, I will try to describe the realistic, rational approach toward life (for our purposes here, I am equating the two terms). It is recognized that no person is always rational -- that there are degrees of rationality. "Full rationality" will be defined as a reference point, while acknowledging that most humans will be somewhat less severe than this.
A rational person would make a strong effort to determine all the significant facts necessary to make a particular decision before that decision is made.
A rational person would look at the facts behind every issue before making a decision no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable it might make him or her feel.
A rational person would clearly establish the criteria from which she will make decisions. The rational person would not knowingly have hidden agendas.
A rational person would accept the environment that she finds herself in and not try to mentally make it into something else, more desirable or less desirable.
A rational person accepts the reality of her ownself:she accepts her shortcomings as well as her talents.
The Blissful View
Many, if not most, people in the world are not comfortable with looking at life in such a hard realistic fashion. We, after all, are humans -- not animals. We have imagination. We can make the world appear better than it really is by our on way of looking at things.
A blissful person will try to mentally filter out the unpleasantness of life where possible.
A blissful person will take every opportunity to interpret events in a positive light if at all possible.
A blissful person believes that humans are inherently good, that life is good.
A blissful person attempts to avoid unpleasant things, discussions, etc. even if they are factual.
Characteristics and Differences of the two approaches to life
First off, we need to decide what do we really want out of life. Would you trade having greater happiness for having greater knowledge? Some people would and some would not. It seems that happiness, or just feeling good, is not necessarily the criteria for evaluating life's qualities for many people. Why do we like to watch scary or sad movies? Maybe we like to experience emotions that feel "bad" as well as those that feel "good". In any case, other than to point out this puzzlement regarding what is desired in life, I will leave the detailed discussion for another time.
Defence of the Realistic View
The principle defence of the Realistic approach is that it allows you to plan and to live a more purposeful life. It allows you to intelligently evaluate optional approaches.
On the negative side, it tends to destroy cooperation. Social studies confirm that a purely rational person will defect, or not cooperate, in many social situations. A rational person would not vote, for instance.
Certainly more realism is needed in dealing with politics. History has proven time and time again that the blissful disregard of the growth of political forces can be very hazardous to your health.
A disadvantage is that the truth may be most painful in some situations. More about this in the next section.
Defence of the Blissful View
Much of the reality of life is painful to accept. It may be that knowing the true characteristics of humans is just too depressing. Consider the situation with differences in races -- if there are real differences between the races are we not better off not knowing about them?
The mind is powerful. Why not take advantage of it. What our mind actually delivers is quite filtered. These mental "rose-colored" filters can make life go a lot easier.
For example, falling in love can certainly be a lot of fun! Do we really want to know that the concept of "falling in love" may be nonsense? The truth is, most of the great works of art -- especially the great love stories in books, movies and music -- that have given us so much pleasure, depend on assumptions about the natural sexual behavior of humans that do not hold up under close scrutiny. Maybe it is best to avoid any truthful analysis of that subject!
"Pay me now or pay me later." Many people live the blissful life in their youth to only have to pay some really costly dues later on. That is, the pleasure of blissful ignorance often is paid for, at a dear price, later on in life. That would say then that we really should look at the lifelong ramifications of wearing those rose-colored glasses.
It is obvious that erroneous beliefs sometimes provide pleasure and happiness. For example, suppose that I believe that my father and mother are the epitomes of virtue. This gives me great pleasure and makes my life fuller. Suppose then that, later in life and after they are gone, they are both exposed as being cheats, secretly addicted to drugs, and their wealth was obtained by fraud. Would that improve my life in any way? Would I not be better off not ever knowing about that?
Social Acceptance
If our friends and associates tend to have this particular view, we will be a lot more comfortable if we go along with. The truth is that this is the overriding factor for most people. The desire to be accepted by our group determines which church we chose, our dress and our philosophy.
Summary
So which life style should we chose? It would be best to leave this decision up to each individual. Certainly, much more study would be needed before I would make a recommendation. However, I will try to summarize here some of the more important ramifications of choosing one lifestyle over the other. If I have done my job here I will have created more questions than answers for it is apparent that most people have never considered the possibility of choosing between these two options. Instead they just blindly follow one approach or the other!
But first, let me point out, there is a problem with my attempts at helping you make a decision between "rationality" and "blissfulness". You will need to be rational to be able to make such a decision! What a dilemma that is!
Do we really know enough about life to make our decisions on purely rational, deterministic factors? I think not. Any aspect of philosophy, when examined closely, has a few holes. Facts about our surroundings are only roughly perceived.
How we are perceived by others has a big impact on the quality of our lives. To be realistic is to be perceived as a hard person. You will be constantly reminded to "Wake up and smell the roses". This can be annoying and diminishes the benefits of living the rational life.
On the other hand, to be blissfully ignorant about many of the hard realities of life and to make choices based on "filtered" or erroneous information, can be dangerous.
With many thanks to Leon Felkins
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Because I'm A Girl - Kiss (Korean)
I found this video a long time ago, and didn't know anything about it... except it was an arresting "mini-movie" length Koren music video. It's either amazing romantic or insane, depending on your point of view. KISS broke up shortly after the album was made. Something people still talk about...
English translation of the lyrics:
I just can't understand the ways
Of all the men and their mistakes
You give them all your heart
And then they rip it all away
You told me how much you loved me
And how our love was meant to be
And I believed in you
I thought that you would set me free
(REFRAIN):
You should've just told me the truth
That I wasn't the girl for you
Still, I didn't have a clue
So my heart depended on you, whoa
(CHORUS):
Although I'll say I hate you now
Though I'll shout and curse you out
I'll always have love for you
Because I am a girl
Been told a man will leave you cold
Get sick of you and bored
I know that it's no lie
I gave my all, still I just cry
Never again will I be fooled
To give my all when nothing's true
I won't be played again
But I will fall in love again
(REFRAIN)
(CHORUS)
I loved you so
Now you leave me in the cold
How could this be
I thought that you'd only love me
Into the night
I will pray that you're alright
You hurt me so
I just can't let you go
You took advantage of my willingness
To do anything for love
Now I'm the only one in pain
Will you please take it all away
Never thought being born a girl
How I can love you and be burned
And now I will build a wall
To never get torn again
(CHORUS) [2x]
http://www.jinimusic.com/
Friday, August 31, 2007
Software Freedom Day: Taking open source to the streets
Thousands of open source advocates and enthusiasts from around the world are expected to take the message of free and open source software to the streets on September 15 for the fourth annual Software Freedom Day.
On Software Freedom Day, teams of enthusiasts hold local events to educate their local communities, supported by the parent organisation, Software Freedom International, and sponsors such as Canonical and the Free Software Foundation. It's an advocacy event whose the primary motive is outreach -- promoting free and open source software to local communities.
The event is growing. The inaugural 2004 Software Freedom Day had around 12 teams. Pia Waugh, president of Software Freedom International, says, "We had about 180 teams last year, and this year we are expecting about 250."
Events on the day vary from team to team. Activities usually include informational seminars, software demonstrations and training, and product giveaways. Some teams have been known to dress up in Tux costumes to gain attention and direct people to the action.
Running a Software Freedom Day event is beneficial to Linux and other open source user groups, as the impact can last beyond the actual day.
At Mawson Lakes, a suburb of Adelaide in Australia, Paul Schulz' 2006 Software Freedom Day event brought together different enthusiast groups. The most notable result has been the continuing interaction between local Linux user groups and Air-Stream, an Adelaide-based community wireless initiative. Their cooperation recently included a speaker interchange between the LUGs and Air-Stream. Several new LUGs have also been formed in the area due to the interest sparked from last year's event, and the organizers say they have seen a greater level of open source involvement in the local community center.
Another lasting effect can be seen in neighboring New Zealand, where past Software Freedom Day events in Christchurch have paved the way for a Linux and Free Software training programme. "Since we found a more permanent home for our SFD events, in a suburban library ICT teaching centre, we have been able to maintain the positive relationship through monthly Ubuntu and free software live CD-based evening classes," says Rik Tindall, a member of the 2006 Christchurch team. "Many new users have seen this series advertised, and come along for CDs, tuition, and installation help. Thus we also gained a regular schedule and base for training our SFD volunteers. From SFD, the profile of FOSS in the community has therefore been doubly lifted."
Best Event Photo 2006The training programme is so popular that there is also a need to cater for children. Tindall says, "This experience has also identified the need for a creche-like facility on SFD, for the many small children that attend a library with parents or grandparents on any weekend. We will prepare a section of our teaching suite accordingly, as a 'penguin creche,' with several games and puzzle packages ready."
By Melissa Draper
On Software Freedom Day, teams of enthusiasts hold local events to educate their local communities, supported by the parent organisation, Software Freedom International, and sponsors such as Canonical and the Free Software Foundation. It's an advocacy event whose the primary motive is outreach -- promoting free and open source software to local communities.
The event is growing. The inaugural 2004 Software Freedom Day had around 12 teams. Pia Waugh, president of Software Freedom International, says, "We had about 180 teams last year, and this year we are expecting about 250."
Events on the day vary from team to team. Activities usually include informational seminars, software demonstrations and training, and product giveaways. Some teams have been known to dress up in Tux costumes to gain attention and direct people to the action.
Running a Software Freedom Day event is beneficial to Linux and other open source user groups, as the impact can last beyond the actual day.
At Mawson Lakes, a suburb of Adelaide in Australia, Paul Schulz' 2006 Software Freedom Day event brought together different enthusiast groups. The most notable result has been the continuing interaction between local Linux user groups and Air-Stream, an Adelaide-based community wireless initiative. Their cooperation recently included a speaker interchange between the LUGs and Air-Stream. Several new LUGs have also been formed in the area due to the interest sparked from last year's event, and the organizers say they have seen a greater level of open source involvement in the local community center.
Another lasting effect can be seen in neighboring New Zealand, where past Software Freedom Day events in Christchurch have paved the way for a Linux and Free Software training programme. "Since we found a more permanent home for our SFD events, in a suburban library ICT teaching centre, we have been able to maintain the positive relationship through monthly Ubuntu and free software live CD-based evening classes," says Rik Tindall, a member of the 2006 Christchurch team. "Many new users have seen this series advertised, and come along for CDs, tuition, and installation help. Thus we also gained a regular schedule and base for training our SFD volunteers. From SFD, the profile of FOSS in the community has therefore been doubly lifted."
Best Event Photo 2006The training programme is so popular that there is also a need to cater for children. Tindall says, "This experience has also identified the need for a creche-like facility on SFD, for the many small children that attend a library with parents or grandparents on any weekend. We will prepare a section of our teaching suite accordingly, as a 'penguin creche,' with several games and puzzle packages ready."
By Melissa Draper
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Software Freedom Day 2007 Sep 15h --Bigger than Ever
September 15th marks Software Freedom Day, the world's largest celebration and outreach effort about why transparent and sustainable technologies like Free & Open Source Software are so important. Community groups in more than 80 countries organize local activities and programs on Software Freedom Day to educate the wider public about free software: what it is, how it works and its relationship to human rights and sustainability. We already have over 140 teams around the world registered: join them in spreading the word! Registrations for Software Freedom Day teams that want to receive a free SFD team pack close in two weeks, so register now!
"Software Freedom is about creating a digital platform for trust and longevity, particular in a future where more and more of our lives are dependent upon technology" explains Pia Waugh, President of Software Freedom International, the organization behind Software Freedom Day. "It is important we can participate in and trust the software we use in the same way we need to be able to participate and trust in a political system. Ultimately our basic freedoms are only as free as the tools we use, and thus our commitment to Software Freedom."
Support for this year's Software Freedom Day event is fantastic with Google, Mindtouch and the Free Software Foundation coming on board as sponsors as well as long term sponsors the Danish Unix User Group and Canonical. The event also has support from The Open CD, OsCommRes and the International Open Source Network.
"Software Freedom Day is a fantastic event that demonstrates the global reach of open source software." says Jane Silber, COO of Canonical. "We at Canonical are proud to sponsor the event and encourage everyone in the Ubuntu community, as well as the open source community writ large, to participate in this important global event."
Registrations of teams participating in SFD will continue right up to the event however teams who wish to receive a free SFD team pack, including stickers, t-shirts, CDs and balloons must register before the 31st July! So get in quick! There is also an online shop where anyone can purchase t-shirts and packs of The Open CD. Teams get a 50% discount on all prices marked. Teams that have difficult circumstances can write to the Software Freedom International Board with special requests for additional goodies.
Already this year's event is looking bigger and better than ever before, so what will you do to help take Software Freedom to the world. After all, freedom isn't just for geeks.
[ Thanks to Pia Waugh for this article. ]
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