When BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress this morning, many expected to hear him apologize for the disaster his company has caused. Instead, GOP Congressman Joe Barton was the one saying he was sorry — to BP.

In his opening statement, Barton, the top Republican on the committee overseeing the oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal apology to the oil giant. He said the $20 billion fund that President Obama directed BP to establish to provide relief to the victims of the oil disaster was a “tragedy in the first proportion.”

Other Republicans are echoing his call. Sen. John Cornyn said he “shares” Barton’s concern. Rep. Michele Bachmann said that BP shouldn’t agree to be “fleeced.” Rush Limbaugh called it a “bailout.” The Republican Study Committee, with its 114 members in the House, called it a “shakedown.”

Let’s be clear. This fund is a major victory for the people of the Gulf. It’s a key step toward making them whole again. BP has a responsibility to those whose lives and livelihoods have been devastated by the disaster. And BP oil executives don’t deserve an apology — the people of the Gulf do.

Rep. Barton and Republicans like him don’t understand that the real tragedy is what’s happening to the people in the Gulf Coast. They’re the ones who deserve his apology — not BP.

But big oil knows exactly who its allies are. And if Republicans win control of the House, Rep. Barton could be chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee — overseeing regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Notably, companies like Halliburton — the folks responsible for cementing the Deepwater Horizon rig — are directing their political committees to deliver thousands of dollars to GOP candidates this cycle. Barton himself has received more than $100,000 from the oil and gas industry this election cycle.

Barton should apologize to the people of the Gulf and he should step down as the highest-ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Adding your name to our open letter is one of the best ways you can show him and other Republicans that they weren’t elected to defend big oil.

David Plouffe

These are the guys who try to solve the world’s problems!! Also guys political corruption is a global phenomenon, yes should we tolerate it in SL? What options do we have.

The promise of no war and infrastructure development is happening for all to see. It is us who will need to stand up and move forward. It is time we waited for a white knight to rescue Sri Lanka, it will not happen.

Interview III – Renton de Alwis from Young Asia Television on Vimeo.

This brings to mind a story a great advertising man (Udaya Tennakoon) told me once when I was a pup in the industry. He compared this countries moral direction to the way our public transport has transformed over the years. In Her hay day the country had the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) which had clean buses, uniformed drivers and conductors which the commuters used.  When passengers got in the conductor rang the bell for the bus to pull out of the station once they were seated and he would come up to them and take the money and give a ticket. Separate seats were marked for clergy, a pregnant lady or senior citizen would never be standing and yes it was the best transport service in Asia during that time.

Then in the late 70′s came the private coach (now the famed private bus). People are worth as little as the money they spend for a ticket or less. All of them race from bus halt to bus halt, people are flung in and out similar to chicken taken to a slaughter and mutual respect is not a thing which you experience in these chariots from hell.  Yes it sums up what our country is at the present. They have the upper hand with the law as many of them are owned by politicians or someone connected to the police. They don’t respect any other vehicle or human being. You frequently witness people hanging for dear life on the foot board and the isles which can accommodate 10 people packed with 100! And let’s not even fathom the plight of a young girl standing in the midst of the crowded bus.

So what is next? All who hoped for a country without corruption and nepotism got a 57.88% slap in their faces. As I mentioned in my previous post of the obvious result to which some accused of me being bias, this is the sad truth about our country. We middle class citizens who hope for a fair life in this country are a minority whose vote cannot influence an election. The only way we will have a say in this country is when we all realize that we are a minority who needs representation in parliament. We need to pick a leader who will represent our needs like the Muslims have done with Muslim Congress, the estate workers with Ceylon Workers Congress and the Tamil people in the North and the East with the TNA.

This party will demand rights before pledging support to any party who wants the support of the middle working class. Only then will we be able to make a change in this country as politicians will need our support to be elected. This party will have educated people heading it which will ask for parliamentary seats that will impact the members. This party will be able to set policies for the betterment of middle class citizens such as tax, education etc. This will also be the party which will cut across races and religions. It is time that we all realized that the hope of a Messiah to free the country will never be a reality and work towards a true dream of controlling the  nation that all of us help to fund from our hard earned money which is taxed. We have six years to do so and we can truly hope for a change from the private bus!

Let’s see the negatives of the President
He is accused of corruption, does it really matter to the masses?
The Colomboites complain that people are starving. But are people actually starving? Is there death due to starvation in this country which as is prevalent in the US, Europe and India.

Positives
He stopped the war which resulted in an immediate stop to our youth being maimed or killed. The majority of whom belongs to the 70% who will vote for him.
He is building the south (ironically Hambantota is his district) which is the region that started the first insurgency in 1971 way before the LTTE was formed and again in 1987 due to the frustration faced by the youth.
Rapid development is taking place in the East but I feel he will lose in that region due to the lack of support from the Muslim parties
At the last election the president did not get the 900,000 voter base in the North and East. But this year he is sure to get some of it which would be gratitude votes.
UNP has a voter base of 4.5 million of which all will not vote for the Genearl as the President gave them national pride and some view Ranil as a weak leader.
JVP has a voter base of nearly half a million which is now broken and has an alliance to Wimal Weerawansa. For many he is the JVP. Also the hard core would have got disgruntled with the party for joining the UNP! Even the University Student Councils are backing the government for the first time. JVP also lost badly in the South at the recent provincial elections.

Why the general will lose
There are many who view the present alliance as a stop gap which will never last, hence the country will be at a stalemate.
In his statement made to the Sunday Leader Editor Fredrica about the killing of LTTE leaders made the General lose respect with many as he broke the oath as a military man.
His wanting state benefits upon retirement which consist of 600 personnel, 12 vehicles and the right to occupy the army commander’s house which is a blatant misuse of public funds might make one wonder about what he will demand as executive president.
His taking the full credit for the victory will not sit well with the other forces. Agreed, the army faced the brunt of the attack but they were well supported by the other forces who were managed well as one team by the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya who is also a decorated military officer.
His reason for coming forth as a common candidate was purely for personal gain of getting back at those who pushed him out once the deed was done.
UNP is still accused of being traitors for having a secret pact with the LTTE and the recent media burst with regards to The General and the UNP signing a secret deal with the TNA is being exploited by the challenger’s camp.

My estimate would be that President Mahinda Rajapakse will win by a greater margin than he did the last time he was elected president.

Image credits : Wikipedia

It is indeed nice to see our country being featured in the top spot of the 30 places recommended to visit in 2010 by the New York times.

For a quarter century, Sri Lanka seems to have been plagued by misfortune, including a brutal civil war between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. But the conflict finally ended last May, ushering in a more peaceful era for this teardrop-shaped island off India’s coast, rich in natural beauty and cultural splendors.

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Keith Bedford for The New York Times
Guests by the pool at the Galle Fort Hotel in Galle, Sri Lanka.
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The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there’s the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unintended byproduct of the war.

Among the most scenic, if difficult stretches to reach, is Nilaveli Beach in the Tamil north. While a few military checkpoints remain, vacationers can lounge on poolside hammocks under palm trees or snorkel in its crystal-clear waters. Or they can order cocktails at the Nilaveli Beach Hotel (www.tangerinehotels.com/nilavelibeach), a collection of recently renovated bungalows with private terraces.

An international airport in Matara, on the island’s southern shore, is under construction, which will make the gorgeous beaches near the seaside village of Galle easier to get to. Decimated by the tsunami in 2004, the surrounding coastline is now teeming with stylish guesthouses and boutique hotels.

Unawatuna, a crescent-shaped beach a few miles south of Galle, may be furthest along. Higher-end hotels there include Thambapanni Retreat (www.thambapanni.biz), which features four-poster beds, yoga and an ayurvedic spa. The Sun House (www.thesunhouse.com), in Galle, looks like a place where the Queen of England might stay, with its mango courtyard and colonial décor. One stylish place tucked within Galle’s city walls is the Galle Fort Hotel (www.galleforthotel.com), a refurbished gem merchant’s house run by a couple of Aussies. — Lionel Beehner

It was Thursday December 10, the road leading to the Majestic City car park was congested and I thought that the global recession was over, they were fighting to get into Majestic City to spend their notes with Mahinda mama and the copy of the Iwo Jima monument, another original “apema ekak”. As I fought my way and reached within kissing distance of the turning to the car park, I realized that I was wrong. The congestion was due to a black Mercedes with police escort parked where the board states “No Parking”.

I asked the duty policeman why he was allowing these vehicles to break the law and park at a designated “No Parking” roadside. He was apologetic, “What can I do, Sir, this is a minister’s vehicle”. I called over the driver and politely informed him breaking the law and causing traffic congestion by parking at a “No Parking” spot. He said it was a minister’s vehicle, and this seems justification enough to break the law. I explained that citizens, Gods, Brahma’s and even recently proclaimed god kings have to abide by the same laws of the Republic and that he was committing an offence by parking at a No Parking space. Another holding a walkie-talkie arrived, presumably an “officer of the law” of the pink panther fame. He stated that they cannot communicate with me in English and that I should speak in Sinhalese.
I explained that English, Sinhalese and Tamil have equal status in the constitution of the republic and as a government official he had to communicate with me in my language of preference. Another walkie-talkie holding “pink panther” arrived. He was fairer in complexion than the others and his language was an example to the Sri Lankan law enforcement establishment. He said “palayan pakayo yanna”. I explained that I couldn’t understand his lingo. He seems constipated and agitated at the gathering crowd. The policeman in uniform meanwhile looked on with a grin on his face.
As I stood my ground and demanded that the Mercedes be removed, the “constipated pink panther” dismissed me by saying “meka Indian hari Pakistani ekek”. It seemed that according to this pink panther, who lives off the taxpayer, a complainant against a breach of the law could be dismissed if he is an Indian or a Pakistani national. God forbid if I was a “whitie” or, worse an NGO. I regret not talking to them in Tamil. The driver of the Mercedes said, since they had broken the law and parked the car in a No Parking zone, I could also park there and do my shopping. I was impressed, as even a judge could have applauded his reasoning. The driver seemed to be championing the principles of fundamental rights of citizens. If maama’s golayas park on a No Parking zone, causing a traffic jam, we mortals can also do so, if they speed push others into ditches, we mortals can also do so; if these golayas cross the dreaded white line, we mortals can also do so. I parked and walked away.

On my return, the policeman shook my hand and thanked me. He said that he couldn’t do what I did because he would lose his job. He said the occupant of the vehicle was Mervyn Silva’s son. I wondered if he was still into pistol-whipping as a pastime and why the Sri Lankan state was providing him security and vehicles at the taxpayer’s expense. Perhaps that’s what they mean by “Api Venuven Api”, keeping it in the family and the hangers on and conning the peasants. As maama goes to the polls, he had better keep an eye on his golayas as the rural constituency he depends on for his bacon is increasingly talking about the clan, living it up at the taxpayers expense.

The above is another story which makes one feel sick to the bone. Since of late many people tell me that it is our duty to change this. But how the hell can we change this. Democracy is controlled by 72% of rural population who in any case wouldn’t have got effected by the above.

The country is ruled by Ministers who would not pass the first interview in any government organisation and will be called for an interview in the Private sector.

Where does that leave us?

One Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI — A report on Sri Lanka to be released next week by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urges a less confrontational approach to that nation, citing strategic American interests in the region.

The report says that while the Sri Lankan government has been widely criticized for its handling of the war against the Tamil Tigers, who were fighting for a separate state for the ethnic Tamil minority in northern Sri Lanka, the government has also achieved a measure of progress in resettling the conflict’s displaced and rebuilding the war-shattered east of the country.

“With the end of the war, the United States needs to re-evaluate its relationship with Sri Lanka to reflect new political and economic realities,” says the report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “While humanitarian concerns remain important, U.S. policy toward Sri Lanka cannot be dominated by a single agenda. It is not effective at delivering real reform, and it shortchanges U.S. geostrategic interests in the region.”

The bipartisan report, which was endorsed by Senator John Kerry, the Democratic chairman of the committee, as well as Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican, is being released as the Obama administration is preparing to announce its new policy on Sri Lanka. It also comes as questions persist about what Western countries can do to influence the government there.

Concerns about human rights and humanitarian aid for the people affected by the conflict have dominated the relationship between the United States and Sri Lanka over the past few years as the hard-line government in the capital, Colombo, pressed its military offensive against the Tigers.

The tough strategy of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s president, and his two brothers, Gotabaya and Basil, helped defeat the insurgency in May after more than two decades of war. The rebel group used brutal tactics like the use of child soldiers and female suicide bombers. It was also responsible for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, a former prime minister of India who was hoping to return to power, in 1991.

Government troops overran a narrow strip of beach where the leaders of the rebel group were pinned down, along with about 300,000 Tamil civilians. Human rights groups have pointed to evidence of an indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by government troops in areas crowded with civilians in the last weeks of fighting. The United Nations documented at least 7,000 civilian deaths in a tally that does not include the last, and probably bloodiest, weeks of fighting.

The government also faced pressure to release nearly 300,000 Tamils it had held in closed camps since the end of the war. Officials said the displaced people needed to be screened to weed out fighters, but conditions in the crowded camps deteriorated as the monsoon rains arrived. On Tuesday , the government said the displaced were free to leave, with some limitations.

Sri Lanka has resisted calls for an international investigation of its conduct of the war, and has dismissed the demands of the Western countries that have bankrolled much of its humanitarian aid effort as imperialism.

Sri Lankan government officials have repeatedly pointed to growing ties between their country and China as a sign that the West’s influence there is on the wane. Mr. Rajapaksa, who is running for re-election in January — and is staking his campaign on the war victory — has accused foreign aid organizations and Western countries of meddling in Sri Lanka’s affairs.

More broadly, government officials have expressed dismay at the barrage of criticism they received abroad after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers. Mr. Rajapaksa portrayed the conflict as part of a global fight against terrorism, and the victory over the Tigers as a model for anti-insurgency military campaigns elsewhere. Sri Lankan officials deny that large numbers of civilians were killed by government troops.

The United States and other Western countries abstained from a vote at the International Monetary Fund in July to lend $2.6 billion to Sri Lanka. The United States has also curbed military aid because of concerns about human rights abuses in the war against the Tamil Tigers.

But Sri Lanka is too important a country to be isolated from the West, the report argues.

“Sri Lanka is located at the nexus of crucial maritime trading routes in the Indian Ocean connecting Europe and the Middle East to China and the rest of Asia,” the report says. “The United States, India, and China all share an interest in deterring terrorist activity and curbing piracy that could disrupt maritime trade.”

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I am sure General Foneska would have thought hard why he and his men risked their lives for these people whilst he was driving away.