Billy

The UNDEAD rise from the grave

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:51:00 +0000

Undead -is a collective name for mythological beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. Undead may be spiritual, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies

So says wikipedia and these stories- from France, England and the Czech Republic prove the undead walk the earth as dead men have been found alive and well with explanations that don't quite ring true. Faked deaths, or not, seem to be getting more common- I can't remember quite so many ever happening before. My favourite is still the canoeist John Darwin, who walked into a police station last year and claimed he couldn't remember anything. He'd disappeared whilst canoing and was declared dead 1 year later. His resurrection coincided with his wife's move to Panama and they are both charged with insurance fraud. His wife even produced a photo of the pair of them in Panama once the story broke and she realised the game was up, despite initial claims that she too had thought him dead.

Reuters' headline- "Man Returns from the Dead, suspected of fraud" - made me titter as it must be fraudulent to be dead and then be undead, surely? And how can it only be suspected? It has to be fraud, he was dead, now he isn't.

"Hmmm... I suspect he's not dead, I suspect he's even alive" said the police officer, "Well is he breathing? Does he have a heart beat? Is he dead or isn't he?" replied the boss man..... "Well he's undead Sir, he was and now he isn't- I suspect its fraud".

Its a good headline anyway, even though the fraud is related to life insurance policies (aren't all the dead/undead ones linked to that?) rather than whether he's dead or not.

Crime doesn't pay people and the undead walk the earth...... luckily Max Brooks has written The Zombie Survival Guard- Complete Protection from the UNDEAD..... it is essential reading as the dead reanimate

Colonel Karuna Sentenced

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:31:00 +0000

This is a bizarre one.... and thanks Embo for reminding me..... Colonel Karuna (who I've mentioned before here and here) is the former LTTE Eastern Military Commander in Sri Lanka who split from the LTTE in March 2004 and fought a little civil war with the northern command. Since then, the rumours have suggested the government was involved and supported Karuna and since the Sri Lankan Military have 'taken back' the east Karuna's TMVP (Tamil People's Liberation Party) 'political party' has been exerting more pressure politically over the Tamils in the area. I remember when based in Ampara and Batticaloa districts seeing the TMVP cadres armed to the teeth outside their political party offices, and the question always sprung to mind, why do the police/army etc. allow them to carry arms and at the same time the government denies they are a) carrying them and b) working with them?

The Karuna faction and TMVP have also been accused of many human rights abuses, including forced recruitment of children as cadres and there is good evidence to suggest this is true. Anyway, the story gets a little more bizarre as since 2004 Karuna hasn't really been seen, rumours said he was in Colombo, Australia and even that he was dead- but no one officially at least, knew. Then he turns up in the UK with a Sri Lankan Diplomatic Passport issued under a false name. Karuna says the Sri Lankan government gave it to him, the SL government denies this (of course). Anyway, Karuna has been charged with identity fraud in the UK and sentenced to 9 months in jail. Now it gets interesting as human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, want him to stand trial in the UK for human rights abuses, and his testimony could be very revealing about Sri Lanka's conflict since 2002.

Independence Day Bombs in Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:38:00 +0000

The 60th Anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence has been a show of strength for the government with army, navy and airforce marching around major cities, big gun salutes and heightened security in the form of road blocks and, if you are to believe an email thing that sends me stuff every now and then, Dialog, the biggest mobile operator in the country suspended SMS text messaging as a safeguard from the LTTE using texts to instill fear and organise bombings etc. - wow that's a pretty strong indication of what people think texts can do.

But, with or without text messages somebody, and lets not pretend, its 99.9999999999999 % certain to be the LTTE lets of a bomb on a bus in Anuradhapura (where I lived for 4 + years).

Its all such a mess.

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New Mammal Discovered and the Freeconomy, whatomy?

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Interesting day really. A Cat Sized Freak of a mammal (my description) has been 'discovered' in the mountains of Tanzania. Dr. Galun Rathbun (great name or what?) says "you get kind of wrapped up in them" and their bizarre appearance and unique behavioural ecology- quite. I'm sure the elephant shrew (for that is its type) was quite happy being undiscovered and I wonder if any locals said to the scientists- "Oh yeah that thing, there's loads of them round here, why are you so excited? Didn't you know about them?" and then turning to their mate smirking and saying " these mzungos, they ain't got a clue, go get the dog with the weird ears and see if they freak over him too". I didn't get the antelope likeness described here but I'm sure they know more than I do about antelopes. This photo of Dr. Rathbun is taken from the BBC... but I think you will agree that ain't no antelope he's holding. The mammal is- dubbed Rhynochocyon udzungwensis- I thought we dubbed knights?

Apparently some people, well one person, believes that Ghandi's first name was Goosey Goosey. That's what pressure does to a person on quiz shows like Uni Challenge (its a lot better than it sounds, and funnier too) and Who Wants to be a Millionaire (I do! The film High Society, from where the song comes (not the quiz) is damn fine, Bing and Frank and Grace- wonderful stuff). Any way, I'm wandering- my favourite reply to a question on a quiz has to be:

Q. Johnny Weissmuller died on this day. Which jungle-swinging character clad only in a loin cloth did he play?

A. Jesus

Dude, you got to love that. I can only presume that the answer came from the loin cloth part of the question, which must have triggered the Jesus image so beloved of crucifixion (go on google crucifixion and you'll see lots of Jesus in loin cloth) ..... Anyway, I don't recall jungle-swinging being mentioned in the Bible (but I might be wrong, there's plenty of genocide, misogyny and sex in there, so there might be jungle-swinging).

Right nearly finished, bare with me.....

In Russia 17 tourists at a health spar had to go to hospital when water and peroxide got mixed up- it makes me wince to even imagine. Apparently the similarity between water and peroxide (they're both clear) caused the Kerfuffle, rather than the stupidity of some one who couldn't read a label and has no sense of smell. The fact that it happened to 17 people also makes me wince- was it done 1 by 1, or were all 17 hooked up to the same bizarre machine with pumps and tubes included?

And finally, Mark Boyle is off!!! Meaning he's left home, but he might be "off his rocker" too. He's part of a v. small Free- Economy, Freeconomy (geddit) movement and is walking to India from Bristol without a single penny in his pocket. Good luck to the man, I wouldn't walk home without a wedge of cash in my man-bag murse and 10 dollars in my sock. You can follow his progress here and see who has helped him and how. He's from Bristol, my neck of the woods, and spent a couple of days in Glastonbury (the Vale of Avalon, King Arthur, Druids, Tors and the Pop Festival- ring any bells) where I'm sure people loved the idea of Freeconomy

"It's about making the transition from a money-based communityless society to a community-based moneyless society" (Its about making up new words too, obviously e.g. Freeconomy, Philisofree)

Whilst I am never ever going to walk from Bristol to India, I honestly hope that Mark Boyle makes it. Especially as he's " got a lot of faith in humanity" and I think we could all do with a little more faith in humanity, don't you? The BBC, as ever they are worried about him, mention Afghanistan as a partial stumbling block to this incredible journey. Rather I thought Dover might be an issue as he tries to blag his way onto the RO RO to France.... can you imagine it?

Mr. Boyle "Alright mate, I'm walking to India with no money, Can I get a free ride on your boat? "

Mr. Ticket Man " You having a larf mate? Go on gedoutoit.... "

Mr. Boyle " No really, I got a lot of faith in Humanity, I really don't have any money"

Mr. Ticket Man " Look mate, I got no problems with you people- Hippies and stuff, but you aren't getting on this boat with no money and those yellow trousers on"

Who knows I got a sneaking feeling it will all come good in the end... and we'll all know about Freeconomy by the end of the year.

What a great Friday!!!!

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Charles Taylor and Body Building

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:34:00 +0000

The former president of Liberia is on trial in the Hague, not for crimes committed in Liberia, but for "Crimes against Humanity" committed in Sierra Leone when, it is alleged, Taylor supported rebels and, by association, was responsible for the atrocities caused there. Its a complicated business and confusing to say the least. The local press here in Monrovia are heavily covering the trial which resumed only recently and coincidentally at the same time as the local Truth and Reconciliation Council has started. "The TRC has been charged with the responsibility of investigating the root causes of the conflict in Liberia" (https://www.trcofliberia.org/). Based on the model developed in South Africa the harrowing stories from witnesses describe rape, torture, amputation, murder and mayhem on all the front pages. I can't help but think how brave these individuals are to be the first witnesses, naming often well known individuals they must fear recriminations. I hope the TRC gather momentum and more people come forward to tell their stories.

In a completely unrelated note, and just cause I liked the blog title it created, went down into West Point before Xmas to meet Benny Da Bouncer and his mates who are all part of a makeshift body building club. West Point is a densely populated slum jutting out into the ocean on the western edge of Monrovia.

The guys have created an open air gym and weights made out of gear wheels and sprockets and dumbbells from cast iron. When wandering around the area, Benny and his brothers escorted us, fearing we would be jumped on by the reprobates who, its rumoured, live in the neighbourhood.

The great man himself is a Liberian weight lifter and last year traveled to Algeria to take part in an African nations competition. He looks a lot scarier than he is and he used to bounce in a pool bar in town......

The area suffers from many issues and problems, unemployment and lack of sanitation being two big ones..... .as this sign attests, neighbours do their best to stop people using their houses as toilets.....

Down by the sea, the beach area is covered in rubbish and small fish drying and smoking areas, it may look quite picturesque but believe me its the only place to pepe, ass ho.

And finally, friend Graeme had a rude awakening when he realised his double is a model for a barber shop sign.....

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New Years Day

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:58:00 +0000

You have to start the new year with a post on your blog- don't you? Considering I haven't for so long this will make me feel better..... Loch Lomond on a wet and cold day with friends on January 1st... 2008... where does the time go?

Has the world gone mad?

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:44:00 +0000

There is such a lot of STUFF going on at the moment, everywhere, information is flooding in from all over the place and most of it isn't particularly good. Is it?

Well England have won their recent football games and rugby matches, so the Rugby World Cup continues to distract- but it isn't very convincing.

Everything else seems to be BIG, messy and despondency rules. I can't help thinking even the slightly positive things that were encouraging at the beginning of the week are all going bad- marches in Myanmar (why has everyone started calling it Burma again?), possible peace talks in the middle east. Are these things there to taunt us before people, usually men, who believe themselves to be more important than the rest of us create more mayhem, death and cruely. Is the rapture approaching? Is it just because I'm reading to much news? Or has it really all gone to pot.

Rain: its been raining, all over Africa, leading to flooding

I can't even be bothered to put any links in today. HO HUM

Connor Lyons passed away in Colombo

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:11:00 +0000

To those of you from the old gang in Ampara, Ciaran sent round an email this morning saying that Connor, formerly of GOAL and back in Colombo with WFP passed away from a massive heart attack. A fitting write up has been published here. What a character and what a cheeky, warm, funny man he was.

I think it is time to mention Briney Yaeger, she kept us talking, amused and laughing for weeks!

Have a Guiness in hand on Saturday and watch Ireland in the Rugby World cup as Connor would have wanted us to.

Today in Monrovia....

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:21:00 +0000

Mostly the sun is shining which makes a change as I haven't seen the sun for any length of time since July 11th, it must be an inter-rainy season blip, but its welcome.

Hair weaves, now there's a subject, firstly, I don't know much about them, and didn't expect them to be quite so prevalent in Liberia... on first arrival I even thought - " These women have some of the best kept and audacious hair I've ever seen.... " I was rudely pulled back to reality by a colleague who pointed out that these hair styles are weaves. Gulp, I would never have guessed- well I might have, but not for a while. I did know that during the war here, fighters- hopped up on drugs and fired up by juju- often crossed dressed and wore women's clothes and weaves, thought they were invincible, bullet proof and ate their enemies. I'm glad to say these guys have slipped back into the wood work but hair weaves haven't...... and they have been banned from schools and universities... I think the real problem is lawmakers and 'adults' everywhere think fashion ruins the young.

You tube has some interesting videos related to Liberia... most notably this, this and that.... the first is groovy music, the second is linked to those fighters mentioned above and the third is a trailer for "sliding Liberia" a surfing movie which does look rather good although the website isn't up and running yet there is more info about the surfers and the documentary on myspace and here

I haven't found many blogs related to Liberia, but a couple have caught my eye here and here. What I need is INFO though, and I can't find that quick enough- someone should start a wetpaint wiki (I'll let you google that yourselves).

Technorati Tags: Liberia, Monrovia, Sliding Liberia, movie, weaves, wigs

Its a Holiday in Monrovia.....

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:18:00 +0000

Well its not a holiday but it fits with the Dead Kennedys 1980 classic "Holiday in Cambodia" and seems to go through my head on regular occasions.

So I'm in Monrovia, Liberia, one of the wettest places on earth and man it rains, it rains some more and then it rains again creating a muddy, drab, decidedly damp life in the west African capital city. This place gets 202 inches of rain each year- that's over 16 feet- and the place floods pdq.

Monrovia is a city bursting at the seems with thousands of IDPs squatting around the place looking for work and security in a country where, although calm and peaceful, you can't help but feel it wouldn't take much to tip the balance back into conflict. However, hopes are relatively high at the moment and, despite a foiled coup attempt, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf- Africa's first female head of state- seems to be keeping things together. However, like most people Liberians need things to move quickly and for life to get better asap.

Monrovia is also chaotic, with little functioning infrastructure due to the war and, as I drive around, it feels like I am very outside of the place- a real foreigner in a foreign land- and I think many of the photos I have taken recently reflect that, coupled with the fact that people (quite rightly) get a bit uppity when they see a camera, so many photos are snapshots of what is around me.

The view from my apartment window, out towards Tubman Boulevard sums things up.... do the bars keep me out and separate or do they stop Monrovia coming in?

The little blue shack is where you can change the mighty green back for local Liberian Dollars, "Liberties" that buy my fruit and veg and keep the guys who watch your car outside the supermarket happy.

I am glad to say that beasties still exist in West Africa and this one sat on my window sill for a while.....

Work is good, interesting and diverse, with a big team of committed and friendly people, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how people seem to cope with and after conflicts and still remain sane.. but there you go maybe that's what humanity is good at or maybe I haven't met the people who didn't cope quite so well yet?

Our office is on a little bluff, overlooking the sea, which recently has been eating away at the beach, and has inundated squatter houses built along it. The buildings you see have all been scheduled for bulldozing by the government, but who knows where the people will go, but I'm sure another little area will be squatted soon.

I haven't been anywhere much.... work is keeping me in the office... but the weekends are made for Golf at the Firestone rubber concession... and it is good to get out of town, even if it is in the boot of a car..... Firestone have a long history in Liberia, and mostly kept up production even in the darkest days... but there are claims of abuse and exploitation despite the schools, hospitals and jobs they provide.

I like signs, they say a lot about places:

Monrovia has a plethora of eating establishments with .... exactly the same menus.... and there are so many Lebanese owners that often it feels like I'm back in Beirut, eating hummous and fatoush, shwarma and foul... ever eaten foul? Well it isn't.... But they have my favourite- Calzone... and there's pool... so no worries about going hungry or getting bored....

TTFN

Technorati Tags: LIberia, Monrovia, rubber, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, food, rain

Timor Leste Elections

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:59:00 +0000

Yes... I"ve "Been around the world and I, I, I" came back again.... unlike Lisa Stansfield, who couldn't find her baby, I went to work in Timor Leste, who's elections last weekend have apparently gone quite smoothly.

Its a remarkable little country, born out of Portuguese Colonialism, Indonesian invasion and then, on the back of the Asian Financial Crisis (amongst other things a change in Indonesian leadership softened their approach to Timor), a resilient population voted in 1999 for independence- I say resilient because militia, backed by the Indonesian Army, threatened the Timorese if they even voted, yet a huge percentage did. This always amazes me, in our tidy, comfortable, well established democracies we seem to have forgotten that voting rights were hard to come by and that universal suffrage- the right to vote for everyone over 18- was hard fought. I can't imagine most British people going to the polling station if there was a risk they might get physically hurt. Would I? Hmm... not sure... and I hope I never have to find out.

Anyway, 61.3% of eligible voters turned out in the 2005 UK elections, in the USA Presidential elections of 2004- 54% of women and 46% of men voted.... gulp. Australia makes you vote.... Compulsory Voting.. so 90% turn up... or Compulsory Turnout might be a better word... as you can't stand in the voting booth and make someone vote... it wouldn't be 'secret' then would it? Arguments against  Compulsory Voting include- its not democratic, as you are forcing somebody to vote. Well you get forced to pay taxes too. Anyway, what I think I'm getting at is - I hope the Timor-Leste voters get a good, solid and honest government, that come through on the promises of independence, and I wish more people in more countries turned out and voted.

Dili, Timor's Capital, is a small, dusty place. I took to it instantly. The UN still has hundreds of international police there- UNPOL- and Australia and New Zealand provide troops- without whom the security situation would be a bit dicey. When numbers dropped off and the Timorese took over security pressure mounted; as witnessed in 2006 in what the Timorese described to me as "The Crisis" (my capitals). I won't go into details about that, but suffice to say 37 people died, thousands were and still are displaced and for a while there the world's first new state of the 21st Century nearly didn't make it.

The international presence in Dili does make for interesting restaurants however and Turkish, Indian, Thai, Italian and 'cafe' bars seemed to be on every corner in the city centre. It meant I could sucessfully continue my Expresso habit and eat Pat Thai as the sun went down

It took me two days of driving around with a rough idea in my head and a poorly drawn map to find the Tais market- local woven textiles- it was worth the wrong turns...

Who is Joni Mocho Mongkey?

And with that... I prepare for another adventure... this time in Liberia....

Technorati Tags: Timor Leste, Dili, tais, weaving, elections

A bin for your Dog!!

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 02 May 2007 12:38:00 +0000

At last a bin to put your unwanted dogs in.... what a great idea... but how would a great dane fit, or even a St. Bernard... maybe people only want to throw away little dogs... like terriers.

Home again Home again Jiggidy jig....

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:52:00 +0000

If you know where the title comes from then you're obviously a sci-fi fan......

Its small, its not very high, its iconic, its legendary, it Glaaaaaasssstonbury Tor, innit....

Back in Somerset, I have found that cider is a refreshing, tasty, rather light drink that goes down very well in the county that is famous for it. I have also found that house prices are very high, annoyingly high..... but it apprears to be the time to buy bricks and mortar, fill it full of my stuff and then bugger off abroad again. I have a plan.....

Sites and stuff......

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:37:00 +0000

Technorati Tags: cement, mixer, pump, construction, sri lanka

$25 K Meal......

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 07:47:00 +0000

Incredible, baffling, pointless, inspired, confusing.... but true

Friday, today, ending, slowly, pesto pasta, dinner, smashing

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:13:00 +0000

Journalism in Sri Lanka

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 10:15:00 +0000

Journalism is not the best in Sri Lanka and has been beset by government restrictions for years. Reporters without Borders have been reporting about this for a long time and many journalists, deemed to be biased or working on the wrong side of whatever politics, have been killed over the last 20 years. This article strikes me as weird and bizarre and I'm not sure video confessions are to be trusted- are they?

Free media Sri Lanka tries to fight for independent journalism and journalists but I can't help thinking that criticism (good journalism?) is never seen as constructive and the 'if you're not with us, you're against us' attitude, coupled with, we will harass you or worse if you don't toe the line, means that newspapers are stymied.

They either print absolute nonsense, based on a rumour your sister's, husband's mother's uncle's goat bleeted, which is so ridiculous as to be laughable or write the official line and try not to step on any toes and rarely give a decent balanced account of anything. I wince when reading the English language dailies and can barely get to the second page of most without ranting.

This is not to say that the European tabloids are any better, they aren't, but the difference is, no body really expects them to write well, the law can actually be used to sue them and no body gets killed if something bad is said against the government or the opposition or Jade Goody...

Technorati Tags: journalism, Sri Lanka, Free media movement, Reporters without borders

This is where the links lead us......

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 07:56:00 +0000

Cheap flights - low cost and budget airline specialist in Europe

Welcome to Woophy

Windows On Our World - Home

OneMoreLevel.com - Your daily loss of productivity

The BIG Picture Library

Baking Mad

HSE - Better Backs campaign homepage - Meet Baackpain

Cocolico — Design that makes sense

written on the city

Philip Pullman

LONDON LOST AND FOUND - the guide for the misguided

Technorati Tags: links, internet, del.icio.us

The East

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 07:43:00 +0000

Technorati Tags: Sri Lanka, East, people, places

Heathrow Fog means Doha Coffee, Wireless internet and the pondering of Gender

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:24:00 +0000

And so.... I'm in transit between Colombo and Heathrow...... and this fog stuff is causing havoc by all accounts at Heathrow, so I'm delayed.... for me it means extra time here in Doha, Qatar in what is a very nice airport with lots of free coffee and wireless internet. There is also a free games room where I may have to fight under 10's for a chance to play the latest PS2 game..... I would do it too.

Doha was recently the site for the Asian Games which leads nicely onto Gender/Sex as one of the Indian athletes failed a gender test. It was lapped up by the Sri Lankan daily newspapers where they said she failed a sex test which is, of course, a totally different thing to gender. Janelle mentioned that there are lots of genders, rather like dimensions, and the ones (dimensions or genders) which aren't well known are the ones that cause problems. I'm rambling, but the poor athlete failed an interview with the Indian railways because they couldn't put male/female on the form. She passed a gender test last year apparently.

I get to read the Qatar version of the International Herald and Tribune as well, a great newspaper, and with a focus on the middle east, info I am not normally privy to catches my eye. For example the Saudis are nervous and worried about the rise of Iranian influence in the region and, without any other country to block Persian expansion, the Saudis seem to be stepping up to the mark (read it here). You may know that the Saudi Ambassador to the US resigned recently, and the suggestion may be that Saudi foreign policy- throw your lot in with the Americans or choose a more regional slant- may have been the problem as the Saudi royals are divided over the issue. A Saudi, subsequently fired, recently said in the Washington post that they may have to intervene in Iraq on the issue of Sunni deaths, which, I suppose, is a consequence of Iran backing the Shias.

Phew, what a world! Right I'm off to bully pre-teens on the PS2 games.... always preferable to political analysis.

Technorati Tags: airports, flights, london, heathrow, fog, doha

Things that Catch the Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:12:00 +0000

Saturday morning and things potter along as usual. Fresh bread made an appearance, warm and delicious. Work raised its head as we finalise a grant to revitalise some local markets or 'pola' and Lara Croft will jump, hurrumph and jog her way through archaeological ruins later this afternoon.

Things do catch the eye and lead me on tangents, luckily-- many have appealed to me today and to name a few:

The King of Bhutan has abdicated, making way for his Oxford educated son. This small Himalayan Kingdom is bordered by the bohemoths of India and China. It quietly seems never make the news or pop up anywhere but it has always interested me from a romantic, buddhist perspective. I imagine it as a village where everybody knows each other and gossip rules (in a nice way of course). The Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) covers stories of the King awarding the red scarf (which is white as far as I can tell from the link). What does this mean? I don't know, but I want one. It caught my eye as there is a town there called Thimpu- and in 1985 Balsingham (see below) was involved in talks in a place called Thimpu....

Lal Hegoda has an exhibition of his photographs in Bath, a city close to my home village and the reason it caught my eye- Lal's photo of a Jaffna road brings back many memories and I'm sure Fred (who's blog you should read anyway) would feel the same, having got up far earlier than me to photograph Jaffna last year.

And finally, many of you have been visiting recently- 20 per day- and my little java script keeps tabs on you all- someone in Brunei popped by today, as did 3 in the states, one of whom was in Little Rock, Arkansas, a place I must one day visit for the name only. Why do you come and peek at me?

Technorati Tags: portrait, bee, flower, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Photography

Anton Balasingham Obituaries and Articles

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:37:00 +0000

There are numerous articles and obituaries being written- Tamilnet covers what the London Times had to say in their obituary. Prabaharan, the LTTE leader has called him 'my best friend' and a ' senior leader and elder statesman'.

I can't help but think of what will happen now, who can replace him? Who is close enough to Prabaharan, experienced enough and strong enough to advise the LTTE, to be a voice of reason in today's atmosphere of war? I've no idea, do you? Maybe the LTTE don't want a negotiator any more?

I wonder where he will be buried and what will happen here if he comes back to Sri Lanka- will he get a "Tamil Eelam" state funeral?

It could be an intersting weekend!

Technorati Tags: Anton Balasingham, obituaries, news articles, Sri Lanka

LTTE Theoretician Dies

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:05:00 +0000

Anton Balasingham has died in London, after being diagnosed with a virulent form of cancer last month. He's been involved in all major peace talks since Thimpu in 1985 and lastly this year. Its hard to know who can take his place for the LTTE, who would be experienced, credible and trusted enough. For Sri Lanka it will undoubtably mean a shut down in Tamil areas until after the funeral, which could prove to be a tricky proposition. The body will undoubtably come back to Colombo, but will the Government allow his body to be taken into the northern LTTE stronghold through the much fought over A9 road? If they don't there will be protests, demonstrations and quite possibly fighting. People are already saying on the usual news sites that he was the last surviving LTTE moderate, and that he'd fallen out with the Vani Leadership for publicly regretting the death of Rajiv Ghandi- widely thought to have been carried out by the LTTE- Balasingham didn't say the LTTE had assasinated Rajiv, but the statement upset a few hawks. They'll be huge ceremonies in the LTTE controlled areas to honour him, there'll be new determination, eulogies and who knows how this will pan out for the country as a whole.

Read 'em and Weep

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 09:33:00 +0000

The LTTE and the Government have been fighting heavily since yesterday.... in Trinco and Batti districts.... a pocket of land which is strategically very important for the Tigers- if they loose it completely (and they have 'strategically withdrawn' from parts of it recently) their eastern troops have no land bridge to the north and they would be effectively cut off. If they loose that stretch of coast as well it would make life very difficult. I suppose both sides know all this already, but it might explain why there is so much fighting this weekend- the LTTE want to keep that small piece of land and the government want it back = lots and lots of internally displaced people are being reported and lots of civilian deaths according to Tamil Net. It was even being reported on the BBC World Service - so it must be important right? There doesn't appear to be any middle ground for either side any more.... its all about blaming the other side and playing the advantages. Somebodies got to put their hand up soon and say ' there is no ceasefire ' - Norway, the monitors, can't really believe it still exists, can they? How many times do you have to catch a kid with a face covered in chocolate before you stop believing them when they say- its wasn't me... I didn't do it, I didn't eat it....

Technorati Tags: Sri Lanka, war, fighting, Tamil Tigers, Army

Anti-Terror Law

noreply@blogger.com (Billy) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 03:41:00 +0000

The President and his cabinet met yesterday to discuss the present security situation and what to do about 'stuff'.

The invocation of anti-terror measures is not a positive step on the road to peace, or rather, it means we're off road and we're taking a short cut to kill 'em all let god(s) sort them out'. Although the government didn't ban the LTTE (as if, effectively, they could?) 18,000 people were being held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2002 when the cease fire was signed, once the PTA was revoked 90% of those 18,000 were released without charge- because there wasn't anything to charge them with, they were being held on suspicion of 'looking a bit Tamil'.

You see from the USA via the UK and Europe governments are tightening laws, eroding civil liberties and reacting to fear and, it would appear, terrorism has remarkably disappeared hasn't it?

I'm sure its pretty easy to argue that these laws will make Sri Lanka safer, easier than arguing for a cease fire agreement or some kind of compromise.