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Biobanking for Sri Lanka

2018-05-24T09:25:00.004-07:00

Opinions:

Biobanking in Sri Lanka: a need of the hour

Sri Lanka is rich in lot of natural resources including rich biodiversity and a profound traditional knowledge. At the same time, we have a highly literate citizen base and thousands of modern scientists in life science. However, we see neither a proper directive of the scientific research on national requirements nor lack of recognition on important basic aspects like biobanking and data banking. Because of this, we come across news like gene theft, brain drain, knowledge theft, patent restrictions on our flora and fauna. The other important component is devaluing, underestimating and underutilization of our resources which could be used for better economic returns and sustainability of the country. Creating an interest in young scientists on different angles of national interests would result a good research culture and for this, proper dissemination of relevant information is mostly important. Adulating the efforts of Chemical Society of Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, here we discuss one aspect of such a national interest – exploring the treasures in biobanks.

What is Biobanking

Biobanks are stores of biologically important resources applied in medical, agricultural research and development works for the future use. At the same time, conservations and preservation of the biological resources are achieved (Wikipedia). Other than in situ or ex situ conservations, cryopreservation of tissues and DNA banking with proper data bank will result in a very good resource for the next step of the process.

Significance of Biobanks in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is famous to have lot of natural resources underutilized or without any utilization. In many policy documents, sustainable use of these resources are discussed but barely implemented. Biological resources of the country have been almost well recognized by most of the policy makers. However, it seems, biological information is more valuable than resources and that has not been recognized by the policy makers in the current scenario. Where there is importance and value, there is the threat of theft and that applies here too. Biobanks with genotyped data and subsequent research culture might be a good solution for this and they can play a significant role in healthcare, agriculture and industry in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has potential in developing biobanks for traditional medicinal plants, rice and field crops, vegetables and fruits etc, plantation crops, domestic and farm animals, all other flora and fauna in different locations, cancers, genetic disorders, other diseases and disorders and blood etc.

Some of the uses of each biobank could be listed as;

Biobanks for healthcare

These biobanks would include known and unknown medicinal plants, diseases and disorders patients and causative organisms. These have the highest potential for drug discoveries, drug analysis, diseases/disorders prevention & control and future applications like patient specific therapies (personalized medicine).

Biobanks for agriculture

These biobanks includes traditional rice varieties, field crops, vegetables fruit crops, plantation crops, minor export agriculture crops, domestic animals and fish species. These biobanks can play a role in development of highly productive varieties, pest control or resistance, salinity /drought tolerant varieties, and etc

Biobanks for industry

These biobanks includes almost all possible microbes, flora and fauna from almost everywhere. We should explore not only butanol producing bacteria in dust for bioenergy and cellulase producing fungus in plant debris to be used in textile industry but also new drug ingredients, active components in food, cosmetics and brewery industries. Biobanks and subsequent research cultures would pave the way for new discoveries in each sector. Our medicinal plants have lot of active ingredients that could be used in drug manufacturing. At the same time we have a profound knowledge base from our traditional medical practices. If we combine both and supplemented with new technologies, there will be lot of benefits for the world through new pharmaceutical industry in Sri Lanka which is almost totally dependent on imports.

Issues and probable solutions

Research culture – Sri Lankan research culture is now attempting to be well directed towards national interests. We are aware that various responsible institutes like NSF, NRC, CARP and COSTi and some ministries are striving in this but it’s debatable whether effective enough to the level required. There are some limitations in implementations of the policies. The main obvious positive outcome is human resource development in life science sector. Most of researches are planned and performed as per the individual scientists’ interests where it would be great if they were of national interests. Certain individuals like Srilankan Scientist Magazine will be trying to promote biotechnology as an “economic driver” and we believe this would get a good positive feedback from the policy makers and implementers.

In this case, for instance on drug discovery national interest, the research plan should be to develop various biobanks of medicinal plants, genotype them, analyze and document as research publications for each and every sample of the biobank through universities and research institutes. Undergraduates, MSc, MPhil, PhD students can then search for active ingredients in the biobanks with the help of traditional or current knowledge. Then other researchers can perform RNA and protein analysis and later cell health assays, cytotoxicity assays, invitro expressions and at last we can perform in vivo expressions as well leading to confirmation of the drug component.

Such successful experiments have resulted in various types of drug ingredients in the world and such a list is available for reference at

http://rainforest-database.com/plants/chapter2.htm or internet search will result more

Cost of technology

As biotechnology or life science as an economic driver, we have to invest into basic infrastructure like human resources and laboratories. Yes, we agree that those technologies are expensive but with which we do compare?

Figure: Maxwell 16 for automated DNA extraction

Meanwhile, research infrastructure development and capacity buildings are not handled properly as much of the investments are wasted while real researchers are pleading for facilities. If we could think of “National Centers of Excellence” with the most sophisticated technologies with proper usage policy, we could have saved a lot of money and directed to the national interests.

Finally we would conclude by saying that the government do not recognize the genetic conservation as a good source of revenues for the country if we have applied some protection for our national treasures of flora and fauna. In pharmaceutical industry, our resources are INVALUABLE. Medical Research and diagnostics industry, this is equally a treasure. Brewery and cosmetics industries our resources would be real revenue sources. If our scientists are directed with a target, we can unearth lot of treasures hidden in our country.

WPDK Fernando

www.scientist.lk

www.srilankanscientist.com

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බොන්නේ වස දියයි පූරුවෙ කළ පවට දුන්නේ කවුද මේ දුක රතුපස්‌වලට - from an email

2013-08-03T06:12:00.005-07:00

බොන්නේ වස දියයි පූරුවෙ කළ පවට
දුන්නේ කවුද මේ දුක රතුපස්‌වලට
මේ වතුරෙන් මූණ හේදුවොත් ඇස්‌ අන්ධ වෙනවා...
නාන්න, බොන්න බෑ...!
සියනෑකෝරළය ඇවිළුණේය. ගම්මාන දොළහක මිනිස්‌සු පාරට බැස උද්ඝෝෂණ කළහ. ගම්මු පාරට බැස තිබුණේ ප්‍රදේශයේ ජල සම්පත ආරක්‍ෂා කර දෙන්නැයි කියන්නටය. රතුපස්‌වල, නැදුන්ගමුව ප්‍රදේශයේ පිහිටා ඇති කර්මාන්තශාලාවකින් පරිසරයට මුදාහරින විෂ රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍ය නිසා ප්‍රදේශයේ භූගත ජලයට ඇසිඩ් එකතු වී ඇති බව ප්‍රදේශවාසීහු කියති. ගැටලුව තරමක්‌ බරපතළය. ඇසිඩ් යනු වසය. එසේ නම් වස බී මිනිස්‌සු මැරෙන්නට පෙර මේ ජල ගැටලුව ගැන සොයා බලන්නට අපිදු එම ගම්මානවලට ගියෙමු.

ප්‍රදේශය පුරා ජල ටැංකිය. තැන තැන කතා බහ කරන්නෙත් වතුර ගැනය. මුළු ප්‍රදේශයම ගල් වැදුණු දෙබරයක්‌ වැනිය. අප එම ප්‍රදේශයට යන විටත් මහර ආසන සංවිධායක ලසන්ත අලගියවන්න නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමැතිතුමා ප්‍රමුඛ මන්ත්‍රීවරු කිහිප දෙනෙක්‌ම වැලිවේරිය සභාවේ පන්සලට රැස්‌ වී ජල ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් සමග සාකච්ඡා කරමින් සිටියහ. ගම්වැසියෝ විශාල පිරිසක්‌ එතැන වූහ. අපි එතැනට යන විටත් ගම්මුන්ගේ ප්‍රශ්න පොදිය ඇමැතිවරයා ඉදිරියේ ලිහා අවසන්ය. කතා බහ තරමක්‌ ඝෝෂාකාරීය. අපි ද සවන් දී සිටියෙමු.

"සර්... මේ ප්‍රශ්නය අද ඊයේ ආපු එකක්‌ නෙමෙයි. මේ පැක්‌ටි්‍රය පටන් අරගෙන දැන් අවුරුදු පහළොවකටත් වැඩියි. මුලින්ම පැක්‌ටි්‍රයෙන් පිට කරන විෂ ද්‍රව්‍ය නිසා පහළ කුඹුරු කරන්න බැහැ කියලා මිනිස්‌සු පාරට බැස්‌සා. හිමින් සරේ ඒක යට යෑව්වා. ඊට පස්‌සේ විෂ දුම් පිට කරන එකට විරුද්ධව මිනිස්‌සු පාරට බැස්‌සා. ඒකත් යට ගියා. දැන් අපේ ගම්වල කිසිම ළිඳකින් වතුර බොන්න බැහැ. රජයේ රස පරීක්‍ෂකවරු ඇවිත් ජල සම්පල් ගෙනිහින් දැන් දවස්‌ ගානක්‌ වෙනවා තවම වාර්තා නැහැ. මීට ඉස්‌සරත් පැක්‌ටි්‍රයට විරුද්ධව මිනිස්‌සු පාරට බැහැපු අස්‌ථාවල මන්ත්‍රීවරු ඇවිත් බොරු කියලා ප්‍රශ්නය යට ගැහුවා. මේ පාර නම් එහෙම කරන්න දෙන්නෙ නැහැ. දැන දැනත් අපිට ඇසිඩ් බීලා මැරෙන්න බැහැ...

රැස්‌ව සිටි පිරිස මීයට පිම්බා සේය. එක්‌ කාන්තාවකගේ හඬ පමණක්‌ බණ මඩුව පුරා දෝංකාර දුන්නාය.

"අපි ළිඳෙන් වතුර ඇදගෙන බීපු මිනිස්‌සු. අපිට ඔය ක්‌ලෝරීන් වතුර බීලා පුරුදු නැහැ. ගම පුරා තියෙන ටැංකිවලට ගහන වතුරවලත් රොඩු. අනිත් එක ඒ වතුර කොහෙන් ගේනවාද කියලා අපි දන්නෙත් නැහැ."

"හරි... හරි... අපි මේ ප්‍රශ්නයට ඉක්‌මනට විසඳුමක්‌ හොයනවා. එතකම් ඔය ටැංකිවල වතුර බොන්න කෝ..."

ගම්වැසි කාන්තාවගේ දිගට ඇදෙන කතාවට බලහත්කාරයෙන් විරාමයක්‌ තැබූ ඇමැතිවරයා උණුසුම් ස්‌වභාවය මඟහරින්නට නිවුණු විසඳුමක්‌ දුන්නේය. ඇමැතිවරයාගේ විසඳුම ගැන සෑහීමකට පත් නොවූ ගම්මු උරණ වූහ. මිනිස්‌සු කියන්නේ කුමක්‌දැයි හරි හැටි තේරුම් ගැනීමට නොහැකි තරමට ඝෝෂාව වැඩි විය. එන පොට හොඳ නැති බව දැන් ගත් මැති ඇමැතිවරු එතැනින් හිමින් සෑරේ ලිස්‌සා සැප වාහනවලට නැඟ යන්න ගියහ.

සියනෑකෝරළය යනු ලංකාවේ පිරිසිදුම ජල සම්පතට උරුමකම් කියන ප්‍රදේශයකි. එහෙත් අද සියනෑවේ ගම්මාන දොළහක ජලය පානයට නුසුදුසු බව ජාතික ජල සම්පාදන සහ ජලාපවහන මණ්‌ඩලය දැනුම් දී ඇත. එනම් නැදුන්ගමුව, රතුපස්‌වල, ඇඹරළුව, සිවුරළුමුල්ල, ඌරුවල, බුත්පිටිය, මාහරගම, පිළිකුත්තුව, කතුරුවත්ත, කිඹුල්ගොඩ, මල්වතුහිරිපිටිය, මාලිගාතැන්න සහ වැලිවේරිය යන ගම්මාන මේ ව්‍යසනයට මුහුණු පා සිටී.

ගම්මුන්ගේ ඝෝෂාව තරමක්‌ පහව ගිය විට ප්‍රදේශයේ දැවෙන ප්‍රශ්නය ගැන කරුණු කරණා විමසා බැලීමට අපි ගම්මු අතරට ගියෙමු.

"මම ඔය පැක්‌ටි්‍රයෙ අවුරුදු ගාණක්‌ වැඩ කරපු කෙනෙක්‌... මම හොඳට දන්නවා ඕක ඇතුළෙ වෙන දේවල්. ඒ දේවල් ගැන අහන්න ගිහින් තමයි අපිව ඕකෙන් එළියට දැම්මෙත්..."

පිරිස අතරින් එක්‌ තරුණයෙක්‌ පෙරට පැමිණ කතාවට එසේ මුල පිරුවේය. ඔහු චමින්ද විඡේසේකරය. දැන් අපි ඔහුගේ කතාවට සවන් දෙමු.

ඔය පැක්‌ටි්‍රයෙ නිෂ්පාදනය කරන්නේ රබර් අත් මේස්‌. නිෂ්පාදන කටයුතු සඳහා පවුඩර් එකක්‌

ගේනවා. ඊට අමතරව ගොඩක්‌ම ගන්නේ රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍ය. කෙමිකල් වර්ග ඇතුළට ගෙනාපු ගමන් සේවකයෝ දකින්න ඉස්‌සර වෙලා ඒ ලේබල් මකලා වෙන ලේබලයක්‌ අලවනවා. හදන අත් මේස්‌ හෝදන්න ගන්නේ ඇසිඩ් එකක්‌. ඒ අත් මේස්‌ හෝදන තැන ටයිල් පුපුරලා. මම හිටපු කාලෙදී කීප වතාවක්‌ම එතැනට ටයිල් ඇල්ලුවා. ඔරොත්තු දුන්නෙ නැහැ. ඒ තරම් ඒ ඇසිඩ් එක විෂයි.

පැක්‌ටි්‍රය ඇතුළෙ ජල පිරිපහදුවක්‌ තියෙන එක ඇත්ත. නමුත් ඒක සාර්ථක නැහැ... දැන් කරන්නේ පැක්‌ටි්‍රය ඇතුළෙ ලොකු ටැංකි දෙකක්‌ හදලා නිෂ්පාදන ක්‍රියාවලියෙන් පිටවන හැම අපද්‍රව්‍යයක්‌ම ඒකට දාන එක. ඒ ටැංකි හදලා තියෙන්නෙ වතුර එළියට පිට වෙන විදිහට. අන්තිමට වෙන්නෙ වත්තට පිට වෙන වතුර කාණු හරහා පහළ මාහරගම වෙල් යායට ගලාගෙන යන එකයි. කුඹුරු යායෙන් ඇළ කාණුවලට ගිහින් කොහොමහරි දැන් මුළු ප්‍රදේශයේම භූගත ජලයට ඇසිඩ් එකතු වෙලා තියෙන්නෙ. ඒ මදිවට අර ටැංකිවල ඉතුරු වෙන මළජරාව හොඳ පොහොර කියලා අහල පහල වතුවල තියෙන පාළු ළිංවලට ගිහින් දාලා වහනවා. ඔය ජරාවට ෆැක්‌ටි්‍රය ඇතුළෙ කියන්නේ 'සඡ්' එක කියලා. දවස්‌ 15 කට ටොන් 14 ක්‌ විතර එකතු වෙනවා. හරි නම් ඔය සඡ් එක කොහේට හරි ගෙනිහින් පුච්චන්න ඕනා. ඒකට විශාල මුදලක්‌ වැය වෙනවා. ඒක නිසා අහල පහල ඉඩම් අයිතිකාරයන්ට රුපියල් හතළිස්‌ දාහක්‌ විතර දීලා ජරාව ටික ඒ වතුවලට ගෙනිහින් දානවා. ජාරාව අදින වේලාවට නම් මක්‌කොල්ලවත් ඉන්න බැහැ. අමුතුම සැර ගඳක්‌ එන්නෙ. ඒත් සල්ලිවලට කෑදර මිනිස්‌සු බලෙන්ම ජරාව ටික වත්තට ගෙනිහින් දාගන්නවා. අන්තිමේ ඒ ජරාවත් පොළවටම බී ගන්නවා. ඔය සේරම මළජරාව ගමේ මිනිස්‌සු ළිඳෙන් ඇදලා බොනවා.

වකුගඩු රෝගයෙක්‌ පෙළෙන සන්දීප්

දැන් ඔයාල කාලයක්‌ ඔය වතුර බිව්වනේ. එතකොට වතුරවල වෙනසක්‌ තේරුණේ නැද්ද? චමින්දගේ කතාවට බාධා කරමින් අපි එසේ අතුරු ප්‍රශ්නයක්‌ යොමු කළෙමු. එහෙත් අපේ පැනයට පිළිතුරු දුන්නේ චමින්ද නොව කාන්තාවකි. ඇය චන්ද්‍රකාන්තිය.

"මේ ෆැක්‌ටි්‍රය පටන් අරගෙන දැන් අවුරුදු විස්‌සක්‌ විතර වෙනවා. එදා ඉඳලම ෆැක්‌ටි්‍රයෙන් ඇසිඩ් පරිසරයට මුදාහැරියා. ටික ටික භූගත ජලයටත් ඇසිඩ් එකතු වුණා. අපිත් ටික ටික ඇසිඩ් වතුර බොන්න හුරු වුණා. කාලයක්‌ යන කොට තමයි ගමේ මිනිස්‌සුන්ට එක එක ලෙඩ හැදෙන්න පටන් ගත්තෙ. උගුරෙ අමාරු, හමේ රෝග, මුත්‍රා අමාරු, වකුගඩු රෝග. ඇස්‌ රෝග. ඒත් මිනිස්‌සුන්ට මේ විදිහට ලෙඩ වෙන්නෙ ඇයි කියලා හොයාගන්න බැරි වුණා. ඌරුවල ගමේ පුංචි දරුවෙක්‌ට වතුරෙන් වකුගඩුවලට විෂබීජයක්‌ ගිහින් කියලා දැන ගත්තට පස්‌සෙ තමයි මිනිස්‌සු මේ ගැන හොයන්න පටන් ගත්තේ. ඊට පස්‌සෙ ගමේ මිනිස්‌සු වෝටර් බෝඩ් එකට ගිහින් වතුරවල ප්‍රශ්නයක්‌ තියෙනවා ඇවිත් පරීක්‍ෂා කරලා බලන්න කියලා කිව්වා. වෝටර් බෝඩ් එකෙන් ඇවිත් වතුර පරීක්‍ෂා කරලා වතුරවල පී. එච්. අගය අඩුයි රෙදි කෑල්ලක්‌වත් හෝදන්න පාවිච්චි කරන්න එපා කියලා කිව්වා. ඒකෙන් පස්‌සෙ තමයි ගම්මු පාරට බැස්‌සෙ. මේ ප්‍රශ්නය ගැන දැනුම් දෙන්න තියෙන හැම තැනකටම ලි තව දැනුම් දීලා තියෙනවා. ඒත් විසඳුම් නැහැ. දේශපාලනඥයෝ ඇවිත් කියන්නේ ගමට වතුර ලයින් එකක්‌ දෙනවා. ඒකෙන් වතුර ගන්න කියලා. ඇයි අපි සල්ලි දීලා වතුර බොන්නෙ. සොබාදහම අපිට රත්තරං වතුර ටිකක්‌ දීලා තිබුණා. අපිට ඕනෑ ඒ වතුර. නැතුව ක්‌ලෝරීන් වතුර අපිට ඕනෑ නැහැ. කිසිම නිලධාරියෙක්‌ වතුරවලට වෙලා තියෙන දේ හරියට කියන්නෙ නැහැ. හැමෝම කතා කරන්නෙ ෆැක්‌ටි්‍රයේ පැත්ත අරගෙන. කවුරු මොන පැත්ත ගත්තත් මේ පාර නම් මරාගෙන මැරෙනවා."

පිපාසය නිවාලන්නට හඬ නඟන ඇයගේ සිත කෝපයෙන් ගිනි ගෙනය. ඇය පමණක්‌ නොව සෑම ගම්වැසියෙක්‌ම එසේය. ඔවුන්ගේ කෝපාවිෂ්ඨ වීම සාධාරණය. මන්ද වේල් ගාණක්‌ නොකා සිටියද දවසක්‌වත් වතුර නොබී ජීවත්වීමට නොහැකිය. එවැනි පසුබිමක මේ ජල ප්‍රශ්නයට සාධාරණ විසඳුමක්‌ නොලැබුණහොත් මේ මිනිසුන් මොනවා නොකරයිද? මගේ සිත එසේ ප්‍රශ්න කරද්දී අප වකුගඩු රෝගයෙන් පෙළෙන පුංචි දරුවාගේ නිවස සොයාගෙන ඌරුවල ගමට යැමට මගට වැටුණෙමු. අප ඒ නිවසට යන විට රෝගී දරුවාත් ඔහුගේ පියා සහ මවත් නිවසේ සිටියහ.

පුතුගේ නම ගිම්හාන් සන්දීප්... වයස අවුරුදු නවයයි. පුංචි සන්දීප් ඔහුගේ මවට තුරුලු විය.

"පුතාට උණ ගැනුනෙ නොවැම්බර් මාසෙ. අපි සාමාන්‍ය උණක්‌ කියලා ප්‍රයිවට්‌ තැනකින් දෙපාරක්‌ම බෙහෙත් ගත්තා. උණ හොඳ වෙන්නෙ නැති තැන ගම්පහ රෝහලට ගෙනිච්චා. එතැනදී පරීක්‍ෂණ කරලා වෛද්‍යවරු කිව්වා පුතාව කොළඹ ළමා රෝහලට අරගෙන යන්න කියලා. ළමා රෝහලේදී පරීක්‍ෂණ කීපයක්‌ම කරලා කිව්වා දරුවගේ වකුගඩුවලට විෂබීජයක්‌ ගිහින් වකුගඩු නරක්‌වී ගෙනයි එන්නේ කියලා. ළිඳේ වතුර බොන්න දෙන්න එපා කිව්වා. ගෙදර අනිත් අයත් ළිඳේ වතුර නොබී ඉන්නවා නම් හොඳයි කිව්වා."

මවගේ කතාව අවසන් කිරීමට පෙර සන්දීප්ගේ පියා නිශාන්ත කතාව වෙනත් ඉසව්වකට ගෙන ගියේය.

"අපේ තාත්තා නැති වුණෙ මාහරගම වෙල් යායේ කුඹුරු කරන්න ගිහින්. වෛද්‍යවරු කිව්වේ මී උණ කියලා. මමයි තාත්තායි කුඹුරෙ වැඩ කළේ. තාත්තාගෙ මිනිය ගෙදර ගේනකොට මටත් උණ හැදිලා ඉස්‌පිරිතාලේ ගේනිච්චා. තාත්තා විතරක්‌ නෙමෙයි මහප්පත් නැති වුණෙ කුඹුරු කරන්න ගිහින්. අපි පස්‌සෙයි දැනගත්තෙ මහත්තයෝ... මී උණ හැදිලා නෙමෙයි අපේ තාත්තා නැති වෙලා තියෙන්නෙ මේ පැක්‌ටි්‍රයෙන් දාන ඇසිඩ් විෂ වෙලයි කියලා. ඒ විදිහට අපේ ගම්වල කුඹුරු වැඩ කරපු කිහිප දෙනෙක්‌ම නැති වුණා."

"ඒ විතරක්‌ නෙමෙයි මහත්තයෝ... ඔය ෆැක්‌ටි්‍ර එකේ නිෂ්පාදන ක්‍රියාවලියෙන් ඊතයිල්

හැදෙනවලු. ඉස්‌සර ගමේ කසිප්පුකාරයෝ ෆැක්‌ටි්‍රයේ නිලධාරීන්ට කීයක්‌ හරි දීලා ඒ ඊතයිල් අරගෙන කසිප්පු පෙරුවා. එහෙම පෙරපු කසිප්පු වඩියකට දාපු ඊතයිල් ප්‍රමාණය වැඩි වෙලා ඒ කසිප්පු වඩියේ කසිප්පු බීපු අට දෙනක්‌ මැරුණා. විස්‌සක්‌ විතර සදහටම ඇස්‌ අන්ධ වුණා. තවත් සීයක්‌ විතර තවම ජීවත් වෙනවා. වෛද්‍යවරු කියලා තියෙන්නෙ ඒ අයත් කොයි වේලාවේද කියන්න බැහැ කියලා.

විවිධ ඉසව්වලට ඇදී යන අපේ කතාවට ප්‍රදේශවාසියකු වන මහේෂ් ධම්මික එසේ අලුත් මාතෘකාවක්‌ එකතු කළේය.

අදට ද ගොවිතැන ජීවනෝපාය කරගත් මිනිස්‌සු මේ ප්‍රදේශවල වෙසෙති. එහෙත් අද ඒ ගොවීන්ට තම කුඹුරු අස්‌වැද්දීමට නොහැකිව ළතවෙති. කුඹුරට බැස ගොඩඒමේදී කකුල් කැසීම, උණ ගැනීම වැනි හේතු නිසා ගොවීහු කුඹුරුවලට බැසීමට මැලි වෙති. එහෙයින්ම මාහරගම කුඹුරු අක්‌කර එකසිය පනහ පමණක්‌ නොව තවත් විශාල කුඹුරු කිහිපයක්‌ම පුරන් වී ගොස්‌ ඇති බව ද ගම්මු කියති.

සිද්ධිය එසේ පෙළ ගැසෙද්දී, අවසානයේ අපි මෙසේ කියමු.

කර්මාන්තයක සැලසුම් සැකසෙන්නේ උචිත පරිසර ආරක්‍ෂණ ක්‍රමවේදයන් තුළ සිටිමිනි. ලාභ ගණනය වන්නේ ඒ පිරිවැය ද අන්තර්ගත කරමිනි. එසේ ලබන ලභාංශයේ ප්‍රමාණය වැඩි කරගැනීම සඳහා නිර්දේශිත පරිසර ආරක්‍ෂණ ක්‍රමවේද නිර්දය ලෙස නොසලකාහරි නම්, එහි කාලකණ්‌ණි ප්‍රතිඵලය ලෙස ගම්මුන්ට ජීවිතය අහිමි වේ නම්, අප දකින්නේ සංවර්ධනයේ සුබ සිහින නොව, මරණයේ බිහිසුණු සෙවණැලිය. අපව කම්පා කරන්නේ මිනී පෙට්‌ටි ෆැක්‌ටරි බඳු මේ කර්මාන්තශාලා අභිමුව ජීවිතය ඉල්ලා හඬන මිනිසුන්ගේ වේදනාවය. එමෙන්ම මේ කර්මාන්ත කරවන සිත් පිත් රහිත අර්ධ මනුෂ්‍යයන්ගේ ගෝත්‍රික අමානුෂික ස්‌වරූපය.

විශේෂ ස්‌තූතිය වැලිවේරිය ලක්‍ෂ්මන් පයාගල
ජලයේ පී.එච්. අගය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ජල සම්පාදන හා ජලාපවහන මණ්‌ඩලයේ නිලධාරියෙක්‌ අපට මෙසේ කරුණු දැක්‌වූවේය.

පී.එච්. අගය යනු ජලයේ ඇසිඩ් ප්‍රමාණය මැනීමේ රසායන ක්‍රියාවලිය සොයා බැලීමය. පරිහරණයට සුදුසු ජලයේ පීඑච් අගය 6-7 ලෙස තිබිය යුතු බව ලෝක සෞඛ්‍ය සංවිධානය පවා පෙන්වා දීලා තියෙනවා. නමුත් ඔය කියන ජල ප්‍රශ්නයට මුහුණ දීලා තියෙන ප්‍රදේශවල ජලයේ පීඑච් අගය 4 කටත් අඩුවෙන් තියෙන්නෙ. පී.එච්. අගය අඩුයි කියන්නේ ජලයේ ඇති ඇසිඩ් ප්‍රමාණය වැඩියි කියන එකයි. ඇසිඩ් ගතිය වැඩි වූ විට එම ජලය භාවිත කිරීමට සුදුසු නැහැ. ඇසිඩ්වල ලවණ වර්ග ඉතාම වේගයෙන් දිය වෙනවා. ඒ නිසා වතුර කරාම, බාල්දිවල ඇති ලෝහ වතුරට දිය වී ගිහින් මිනිසුන්ගේ ශරීරවලට ඇතුළු වෙන්න පුළුවන්.

ප්‍රදේශයේ ජල ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් බස්‌නාහිර පළාත් සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක්‌ වන දිලිප් රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතාගෙන් අපි කරුණු විමසා සිටියෙමු. එතුමාගෙන් අපට ලැබුණේ මෙවැනි පිළිතුරකි.

පත්තරවල දැම්ම පළියට ප්‍රශ්න විසඳන්න බැහැ. මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ප්‍රකාශ නිකුත් කරන්න මට අයිතියක්‌ නැහැ. මම පළාත් සභාව නියෝජනය කරන මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක්‌ විතරයි. මේ ප්‍රදේශයේ ආසන සංවිධායක ලසන්ත අලගියවන්න ඇමැතිතුමා. එතුමා තමයි මේ ප්‍රශ්නය පිළිබඳ ප්‍රකාශයක්‌ කරන්න ඕනා.

ප්‍රදේශයේ ජල ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් මහර ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්‍රීවරයෙක්‌ වන වැලිවේරිය සභාව විහාරස්‌ථානාධිපති සීවලී ස්‌වාමින් වහන්සේ ප්‍රකාශ කළේ මෙවැන්නකි.

ප්‍රදේශවාසීන් කියනවා වතුරවල පී.එච්. අගය අඩු වෙලා තියෙන්නෙ කර්මාන්තශාලාවෙන් පිට කරන අපද්‍රව්‍ය නිසා කියලා. දැන් අපි ජල සාම්පල පරීක්‍ෂණවලට යවලා තියෙන්නෙ. ඒවා ආවාට පස්‌සෙ තමයි, මොකක්‌ හරි තීන්දුවක්‌ ගන්න ඕනා. නැතුව කවුරුවත් කියපු පළියට කර්මාන්තශාලාව වහන්න බැහැ.

උද්ගතව ඇති ජල ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් කරුණු කාරණා විමසීමට මහර ආසන සංවිධායක ලසන්ත අලගියවන්න නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමැතිවරයා දුරකථනය ඔස්‌සේ සම්බන්ධ කරගැනීමට අප කීප වරක්‌ම උත්සාහ කළෙමු. එහෙත් එය අසාර්ථක විය.

ප්‍රදේශයේ ජල ගැටලුවට තුඩු දුන් කර්මාන්තශාලාවේ නිලධාරියෙක්‌ හමු වී කරුණු කාරණා විමසා බැලීමට අපි එම කර්මාන්තශාලාවට ද ගියෙමු. එහෙත් එය ද අසාර්ථක විය. කර්මාන්තශාලාවේ ආරක්‍ෂක නිලධාරියෙක්‌ අපට මෙසේ කීවේය.

"අද නම් නිලධාරීන් සේරම හෙඩ්ඔෆිස්‌ ගිහින්. මහත්තේලට අපේ හෙඩ්ඔෆිස්‌ එකට ගියා නම් මේ ප්‍රශ්නය ගැන හරියට විස්‌තර දැනගන්න පුළුවන්."

තරංග රත්නවීර
ඡායාරූප - කණිෂ්ක හේවගේ

Let Nethuki hear your voice of LOVE

2013-06-20T02:34:00.003-07:00

ජීවිතයේ හඩ අසන්නට පුන්චි දොනිට උදව්වන්න ........

පුන්චි නෙතුකිගෙ කතාව......

මේ ඔබ දකින අවුරුදු දෙකක් වයසති පුන්චි දියනිය නමින් එච්.එම්.නෙතුකි අකින්සා දුම්මලසුරිය වතුවත්ත පදින්චි එච්.එම්.රසික සුදර්ශන හා එච්.ඒ.අනුශ්කා රසාන්ජලී දෙපලගෙ එකම දියනියයි.
උපතින්ම කන් නොඈසෙන , ඒ නිසා කතා කිරීමට නොහෑකි ඈයට කර්න සන්ක බද්ද සෑත්කමක් සිදුකල යුතු බව කොලම්බ ලමා රෝහලේ දොස්තර යසවර්දන මහතා විසින් නිර්දේශ කර තිබේ.(සායන නොම්බරය 647/13)මෙම සෑත්කම සදහා වන උපකරනය වෙනුවෙන් රුපියල් 3275000/=(තිස් දෙලක්ශ හෑත්තෑපන්දසක්) අතිවිශාල මුදලක් වෑය වේ.

පුන්චි නෙතුකිට ඈසීම ලබාදීමට වෙහෙසෙන ඈගේ දෙමාපියනට එම මුදල සොයා ගෑනීම ඉතා අපහසු බෑවින් එම මුදල එක් රෑස් කර ගෑනීම සදහා පින් සිත් ඈති දයාබර ඔබ සෑමගේ නොමසුරු ආදාරය බලාපොරොත්තු වේ. ...........ඡායාරූප හා වැඩි විස්තර සහිත සම්පූර්න ලිපිය කියවන්න - http://goo.gl/zMnrL

Cheers in Boston and Sri Lanka

2013-04-19T23:24:00.001-07:00

Cheers erupt on Boston-area streets after suspect's arrest (ending the horrific 5 day period)

Dirty hearted Sri Lankan beasts cheers in streets after the death of world’s infamous democratic symbol Mr Prabhakaran of LTTE (ending over 10 000 joyful days of LTTE’s humane bombs – facilitated by International gods India, America, Canada, Norway and UK)

Boston Cheers	Sri Lankan Cheers
End of two terrorists	End of world’s most dangerous terrorism LTTE (according to FBI)
End of Horror for 5 days	End of 10000 days of horror
Lost 3 innocent lives	Lost over 50,000 innocent civil lives
3 families sobbing	over 100000 families sobbing, widows, orphans, disabled
CNN BBC – Real Victory of the people	CNN BBC – Dirty work of Sri Lanka, Peace talks should have done, Now let us kill Sri Lanka with our newly found best weapon – Human Rights
Sri Lankans - Terrorism is terrorism. Must be eradicated. Not good for humanity.	UN - Terrorism in third world are ethnic conflicts and need peace talks only. Arm deals is allowed during peace talks. Terrorism against capitalistic invations by rich, is terrorism and must be destroyed with their family roots.

Messing with Sri Lanka - by an Indian

2013-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Messing with Sri Lanka

ByBharat Karnad

05th April 2013

It was the early 1980s when, as I recall, Anton Balasingham, “foreign minister” of the “Tamil Eelam” walked into my office, and vehemently protested a piece I had written warning of the dangers of being sucked into the Sri Lankan civil strife that was soon to morph into a full-fledged civil war with not little help from India. The Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres were trained by the Indian external intelligence agency, RAW, in guerrilla tactics, including demolitions, and in setting up a covert logistics chain. The Jaffna Tamils proved a highly motivated lot and clearly good pupils. Indeed, they attained proficiency so quickly that, in short order, this militant group emerged as the finest, most dreaded guerrilla force, and its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, as possibly the most brilliant tactician, effective strategist, and ruthless contemporary exponent of guerilla warfare in recent times. He expeditiously despatched budding competition within the Tamil rebel ranks, managed overseas supply of arms and ammunition for his forces, drove the Sri Lankan army into the ground, and ran circles around the Indian Peace Keeping Force after it entered the fray in 1987.

Besides his battlefield acumen and exploits, Prabhakaran’s leadership and motivational skills were such that there was never any shortage of Jaffna youth willingly donning explosive jackets, sharing farewell meals with the Jefe Maximo (supreme leader), and embarking on suicide missions to create unimaginable mayhem in Sinhala strongholds. In fact, so remarkable was Prabhakaran’s hold on, and leadership of, the LTTE that it neutralised the Indian Army contingent sent on coercive “peace making” at the “invitation” of that old fox, Sri Lanka President J. R. Jayawardene. India was thus hoist with the contingent containment of LTTE, a force the Indian government with its usual strategic myopia, had empowered. In other words, Colombo tasked the Indian Dr. Frankenstein to slay the monster he had created.

Predictably, the IPKF failed despite deploying helicopter gunships and tanks to assist the 80,000-strong force comprising four army divisions. The Indian Army, that had barely got the handle on insurgencies in the northeast by then, was pitchforked into an alien milieu where friends were foes, and there was no consensus about what to do or how to do it.

It lost more men — some 1,200 in operations than in any other single conflict since Independence. One can understand why the Sri Lanka Army, facing so formidable an adversary, prosecuted its actions in the final phase with such extreme prejudice.

I elaborated for Balasingham the arguments I had made against an Indian role in stoking separatist sentiments and helping the Tamil insurgency in Sri Lanka, or any other adjoining state — which case holds to this day. Politically, I said it was dangerous for India — itself a patch-work of different sub-nationalities, to encourage the fissiparous tendencies within neighbouring countries in a region of overlapping ethnicities and loyalties, because that would legitimate similar foreign attempts at balkanising India, and that such involvement would inevitably draw the Indian military into the actual fighting. Once that happened, I told him, it would be a disaster for the Indian armed forces because, as per historical experience, embroilment in civil strife usually bodes ill for the intervening foreign entity. Besides risking life and limb of Indian soldiers, it would, I ventured, tar the reputation of the Indian Army and, worse, end up seeding lasting ill-will in a previously friendly country. Unhappily, all these came to pass. Balasingham, however, remained unconvinced, maintaining that India could not “wash its hands” off the Eelam, or “disown its blood ties” with the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Indian armed intervention combining with the pro-consular attitude of the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo at the time, J.N. Dixit, moreover, left a deeply negative impress in Colombo, generating enduring resentment of India that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has mined to consolidate his rule in that country. It fuelled the Sri Lankan policy in the last decade of actively courting China which, beyond Humbantota, may soon fetch Beijing an oil tank farm and a naval presence in Trincomalee, a deep water port Nelson called the finest in the Indian Ocean.

Fortunately, the Indian government is now determined to go only so far in placating popular sentiments in Tamil Nadu, whence the half-hearted attempt in Geneva to introduce the word “genocide” into the UN Human Rights resolution targeting Sri Lanka but only after first alerting Colombo lest this move be perceived as other than a cursory blow to domestic politics. It was followed by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid rejecting outright the main planks of the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly — moving a resolution in the UN for a referendum on the Eelam in Sri Lanka, treating that country as unfriendly, and imposing economic sanctions on it.

What is incomprehensible is not that the recent events reinforce the reality of Tamil Nadu state politics adversely impacting bilateral relations with Sri Lanka. Colombo is familiar with New Delhi’s predicament on this score. Nor is it particularly surprising that the opposition DMK withdrew its support to the UPA coalition government headed by Manmohan Singh, and together with the ruling AIADMK and other Tamil parties is engaged in competitive pandering to the street sentiments. This has involved actions ranging from petty (disrupting sports ties) to vicious (not discouraging assaults on visiting Sri Lankan Buddhist monks) to foolish (demanding the arrest of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Prasad Kariyawasam, for his factual statement that the Sinhalese too are ethnically of Orissa Indian stock). But the calm, calculating, and sure-footed AIADMK chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, who has a better shot at the prime ministership if a Third Front materialises after the 2014 general elections than, say, the blustery Hindi-heartland hankerer for the job Mulayam Singh, has foreign policy-wise made a mistake. Sympathetic noises supportive of the Tamil community across the Palk Strait is one thing. Going the extra steps to reinforce fear in the minds of the Sri Lankan people can, however, become a liability for a prospective PM.

Bharat Karnad is professor at Centre for Policy

Research and blogs at www.bharatkarnad.com

2013-04-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

Himalayan Blunder

Thu, 2013-04-04

By Inderjit Badhwar

In voting against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC for a second time, New Delhi made a pusillanimous display of Pax Indiana's opacity in a region crucial to its geopolitical stability and security. And New Delhi has missed out on or deliberately ignored crucial home truths

. Inderjit Badhwar

First of these is that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a diehard nationalist who so far resisted the terrific pressure he has been under from the JVP and JHU for "being an Indian stooge." His base of support is now rock solid within his own country and he enjoys great relations with Malaysia, Indionesia, Vietnam, Russia, China, Argentina, Uruguay, Bhutan, Pakistan, (!!), Nepal etc.

Whatever the human rights abuses, he may be accused of, he is no Pol Pot or Idi Amin, and SL is NOT a Banana Republic no matter how autocratic the Rajapaksa brothers may be made out to be by their detractors. try to be.

Any R2P (right to protect) ideas that the US/NATO may have in SL are not going to wash after the miserable experiments in Libya, Syria and Mali that have wreaked mayhem and threaten to spread anarchy.

I think Rajapaksa would be far more sympathetic to Indian concerns in his country and respond dramatically and positively if India behaves like a regional superpower and display some independence rather than appearing to be a new satellite of the US/NATO interest.

India has an overriding interest in ensuring that Sri Lanka is not converted into a region for big power rivalries and there is no better person to ensure that than Rajapaksa. Had the US not backed Batista and sided with the Cuban revolution instead of alienating Castro-- he could have been the best friend America had in that region and Castro's Communism would have been more benign.

We dont want another Cuba in our backyard. Rajapaksa is hardboiled, earthy like Kamaraj, with the fiercely independent streak of Hugo Chavez and Castro and Allende. Do not misjudge him. He is still a true friend of India but getting angrier by the day.

Our bilateral trade has now crossed US$5 billion-- the bulk of the business coming from Tamil Nadu. Amma Jayalalitha is only hurting her local economy by calling for boycotts and the lijke. Already Gujarati and Odisha businessmen are reaching out to Sri Lanka in an effort to hog the emerging markets and exploit the improving economic climate.

I've talked to several up country Tamils and others and they seem to express the unanimous view that the renewed Eelam agitations in Tamil Nadu and India's domestic, competitive political one-upmanship is not helping but hurting the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka because it is vitiating the peace process and the goodwill generated by the resettlement and jobs programs in the erstwhile war torn North and causing Sinhala resentment against the local Tamils to rise again. This possible backlash is neither good for the peace process, the LLRC movement, for the Tamils of Sri Lanka, or for New Delhi, particularly when the demilitarization of the North is TRULY proceeding at a healthy gallop and auxiliary forces could be replacing the police, and elections are due in September.

Please remember, however critical you may of Rajapaksa, he NOT and will never be a Sinhala Chauvinist. But India's insensitivity towards his problems and predicaments and India's sympathies towards what he considers "propaganda" by LTTE sleeper cells could well push him into the hands of Sinhala chauvinists.

We are already surrounded by neighbors who do not exactly love us -- we've lost Nepal, alienated Bangladesh, fought wars with Pakistan and China who are breathing down our necks, alienated tiny Maldives with its Muslim population vulnerable to fundamentalist groups from Pakistan and the Middle East, and now New Delhi seems to be doing everything in its power to alienate our remaining true friend in the Indian Ocean-- our neighbour Sri Lanka whose leaders call India, "Elder Brother."

It is true that Rajapaksa hasn't moved forward of the 13th Amendment. It is even truer that, secretly, he has believed with Premadasa and most Sri Lankans that the 13th Amendment was forced down the throats of a Democratic Country by an "imperialist-dictated" Rajiv-Jayawardane treaty. (Isnt it ironical that even Prabhakaran felt the same way about it, and after initially announcing support, violently rejected it and even cooperated with Premadasa to meet that goal).

A year ago, before the first anti-SriLakan vote in the UHHCR in 2012, the 13th Amendment was at least "negotiable" from a Sri Lankan point of view. Today, because Sri Lanka feels India is part of an international move to isolate Sri Lanka, opposition to the 13th Amendment has become a national rallying point for Sri Lankans.

Any Sri Lankan President can ignore this reality only at his own political peril. The more we try and impose Constitutional "solutions" on Si Lanka from outside, the harder will be their opposition. Rajapaksa is committed to devolution, but not any formula dictated by India or outsiders. A softer, more sympathetic line, a shift away from repeating slogans raised by the human rights industry, a more open appreciation for Rajapaksa's unique feat in becoming the first nation to annihilate an entire internationally listed and banned terror outfit, may produce better results on the devolution from him than simply preaching the 13th Amendment to him and that too by a country like India which advocates bilateralism in settling controversial issues with its neighbors -- a principle solidly enunciated in The Indira-Bhutto Shimla Pact.

Rajapaksa says that forcing devolution formulas from outside is akin to foreign powers asking India to accept solutions such as splitting Kashmir into three -- Ladakh, Jammu and the Valley, with the Valley to be "independent" or jointly administered etc.; or NATO or the UN suggesting greater autonomy for Bodoland, Manipur, or creating a separate autonomous tribal central state to solve the Naxal problem. Would India stand for it? No, because no elected government in a democracy would brook such interference.

That's how Rajapaksa feels. Unlike his predecessors he is nobody's stooge. And nor does he want to behave like one. Gone are the days when Indian High Commissioners to Colombo a la J.N. Dixit could act like Viceroys and even threaten to "dismember" the nation with military intervention when the Sri Lankans at one point balked at accepting the 13th Amendment.

Today, in Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka has a leader who, in 2007 openly abrogated the Norwegian-brokered Cease Fire Agreement of 2000 when he became convinced that he LTTE was using the hiatus to step up terror bombings and increase its weapons caches. Similarly, if countries use the bludgeon of the 13th Amendment to badger Sri Lanka to accept outside interference that hinders the peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process, he may well publicly disown the 13th Amendment as blight on Sri Lanka's newly found sovereignty following the defeat of the world's most ruthless terror army.

Inderjit Badhwar is an Author, Adventurer and

former Chief Editor –‘ India Today’

voting against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC

2013-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Himalayan Blunder

Thu, 2013-04-04

By Inderjit Badhwar

. Inderjit Badhwar

Inderjit Badhwar is an Author, Adventurer and

former Chief Editor –‘ India Today’

An almost unspeakable truth - The Vietnam War (Real Human Rights Violators are & were ?)

2013-04-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Vietnam War: An almost unspeakable truth

(America’s 50-year ‘cover-up’finally unravels) By Selvam Canagara

“’Terrorism’ is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; ‘war’ is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it.” – Sydney J. Harris, in ‘Clearing the Ground (1986)’

It’s hard to believe that half a century later – besides 30,000 books on the subject and still counting – Americans were no-where near the truth about the Vietnam War until, that is, Nick Turse’s just published book: ‘Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam’.

“The findings disclose an almost unspeakable truth,” wrote Jonathan Schell, a Fellow at the Nation Institute, in his review of the book for the TomDispatch website.“Meticulously piecing together newly released classified information court-martial records, Pentagon reports, and first-hand interviews in Vietnam and the United States, as well as contemporaneous press accounts and secondary literature, Turse discovered that episodes of devastation, murder, massacre, rape, and torture once considered isolated atrocities, were in fact, the norm, adding up to a continuous stream of atrocity, unfolding, year after year, throughout that country.”

Reviewer Schell claims that his “angle of vision” on the Vietnam War was “a highly particular one”and goes on to explain that in early August 1967 he arrived in South Vietnam to report for the New Yorker on the ‘air war.’ The phrase was a misnomer, The Vietnamese foe, of course, had no assets in the air in the South, and so there was no war of that description.

There was only the unilateral bombardment of the land and people by the fantastic array of aircraft assembled by the US in Vietnam, ranging from the B-52, which he said, laid down a pattern of destruction a mile long and several football fields wide; to fighter bombers capable of dropping, along with much else, 500 pound bombs and canisters of napalm; to the reconfigured DC-3 equipped with a cannon capable of firing 100 rounds per second; to the ubiquitous fleets of helicopters, large and small that crowded the skies.”

As Schell flew overhead day after day, he watched long lines of houses burst into flames one after another as US troops moved through the area of operation. “No scorched earth policy had been announced but scorched earth was the result.” But still a huge piece was still missing from the puzzle. I was not able to witness most of the significant operations on the ground, first hand. I sought to interview some soldiers but they would not talk, though one did hint at dark deeds. . “You wouldn’t believe it, so I’m not going to tell you,” Schell quoted him as saying. “No-one is ever going to find out about some things, and after this war is over, and we’ve all gone home, no one is ever going to know.”

Nick Turse has put paid to that bombastic claim by one American soldier.

Like a tightening net, the web of stories and reports that Turse draws from myriad sources coalesces into a convincing inescapable portrait of this war, writes Schell– “ a portrait that, as an American , you do not wish to see; that, having seen you wish to forget, but that you should not forget; and that the facts force you to see and remember and take account of when you ask yourself what the United States has done and been in the last half century, and what it is still doing and still is.” Turse acknowledges that, even now, not enough is known to present the picture in statistical terms. He, never the less offers plenty of numbers – for instance the mind boggling estimates that during the war there were some two million civilians killed and some five million wounded, that the US flew 3.4 million aircraft sorties , and that it expended 30 billion pounds weight of munitions, releasing the equivalent in explosive force of 640 Hiroshima Bombs.

What Turse actually describes is not a war but a heinous War Crime. The whole world has known for nearly half a century about the massacre of innocent, defenseless women, children and old people at My Lai village by US. Army Lt. William Calley and the men in his unit, and the whole world was made to believe it was the mere aberration of a few men which had outraged the US. Army and its top brass.

Not so, says Turse. In his carefully researched and documented book, Turse details how Calley’s conduct wasn’t an aberration at all. Instead it was part of an intentional policy of death and destruction that was orchestrated and condoned (-i.e., allowed) by the US. government.

The official government policy was that US soldiers were prohibited from targeting and killing civilians. That was, after all, what the Geneva Convention provided. Thus the official rules of engagement were that soldiers could kill only combatants.

It was all a charade.

As Turse tells it, to ensure that US troops had no crisis of conscience over the killings, the Pentagon indoctrinated them with the mindset that the Vietnamse people, in general were nothing but ‘gooks or ‘dinks’ – in short, subhuman people who didn’t place the same value on human life as American Christians do.

At his trial Calley claimed “I was ordered to go in there and destroy the enemy. That was my job that day. That was the mission I was given. I did not sit down and think in terms of men, women and children. They were all classified the same, and that’s the classification we dealt with over there, just as ‘the enemy.’ I felt then, and I still do that I acted as I was directed and I carried out the order that I was given and I do not feel wrong in doing so..” He served less than four years under house arrest before being pardoned by President Nixon.

The official US. Army policy was simply a way to protect the higher-ups whenever atrocities –such as My Lai – were discovered (by the Media), to enable them to take cover under the so-called “rules of engagement.” Reminds Schell: “Keep in mind, after all, that every US general officer is familiar with the case of Tomoyuki Yamashita , the World-War II Japanese general, who was prosecuted, convicted and hanged by the US government for failing to prevent war crimes by the men under his command.”

“But the reality” Turse says “was that the higher-ups were actually encouraging the mass killing of civilians. Their ‘rules of engagement aside’, they also judged their troops by how many people they killed. That’s where the infamous ‘body-count’came into play. Lower-grade officers knew that their promotions were based upon how many bodies their units produced, and enlisted men were rewarded with things like beer, or extra recreation time for bringing in more bodies. Needless to say, hardly anyone asked any questions when the bodies were brought in or reported.

It turned out that the troops, in order to please their superiors, were going into villages and killing defenceless people en masse, including unarmed women, children and elderly people. Even worse, there were many instances of rape and subsequent murder of young women.

Oftentimes, when the Viet Cong ambushed one or more US troopers or used snipers to kill them, the US response was to go ballistic and wreak its wrath on all the people in the nearest Vietnam village, on the sure notion that the villagers were undoubtedly supporting the Viet Cong anyway.

‘Genocide’was a term coined only in the 1940’s. The US Army – read Government – added another horror during the Vietman War,

‘Ecocide’,the subject of next week’s column. “Vietnam Syndrome”.

Eat more GM Products - Genetically Modified Foods

2013-03-01T01:28:00.000-08:00

GMO acreage reaches new high

21.02.2013 - Global acreage of biotech crops have increased by 6% last year. Europe contributes only 0.075%.

Brussels/Manila - Genetically modified (GM) soybeans, maize, cotton and rapeseed were planted on 170.3 million hectares last year, according to figures from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). However, the adoption of biotech crops has become slower. After double digit growth rates three years ago, this year the cultivation area increased only by 6 percent or 10.3 million hectares compared to 2011.

However, Europe remains a minor player in the growing market for GMOs due to public hostility to GMOs. The EU countries grew 129,071 hectares of Bt maize, about 14,000 hectares more than in 2011. Spain remained the leading EU country for GMO acreage with 116,306 hectares in 2012. Poland discontinued the planting of biotech maize. The US (69.5m ha, +0.7%), Brazil (36.6m ha, +20,8%), Argentina (23.9m ha, +0,8%), Canada (11.6m ha, +11,5), and India (10.6m ha, +1,8%) were the leading GMO producers. Global Adoption of GM soybeans (+8%), cotton (+7%), maize (+4%), and rapeseed (+5%) increased as compared to 2011.

"There is one principal and overwhelming reason that underpins the trust and confidence of farmers in biotechnology: biotech crops deliver substantial, and sustainable, socio-economic and environmental benefits," stressed ISAAA chief Clive James. In fact, German BASF and Monsanto both filed for US approval of the first drought-tolerant crop last year. However, the US Department of Agriculture recently delayed the approval of new herbicide-tolerant GMOs because weeds are becoming more and more resistant to the herbicide Glyphosate, which is marketed together with Glyphosate-tolerant GMOs since 1996.

Russian meteorite crash

2013-02-15T09:00:00.003-08:00

(Reuters) - A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending fireballs crashing to earth which shattered windows and damaged buildings, injuring more than 500 people.

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave, according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 950 miles east of Moscow.

The fireball, travelling at a speed of 19 miles per second according to Russia's space agency Roscosmos, had blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 125 miles away.

Car alarms went off, windows broke and mobile phone networks were interrupted. The Interior Ministry said the meteor explosion had caused a sonic boom.

"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly became as bright as if it was day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.

"I felt like I was blinded by headlights," he said.

(rusiawe ulka wassa ulkapatha warshawa aliens natural disasters space)

No fatalities were reported, but President Vladimir Putin, who was due to host Finance Ministry officials from the Group of 20 nations in Moscow, told Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov to help those affected.

"Unfortunately, the normal work of some industrial enterprises was disrupted, people have suffered as has social infrastructure - kindergartens, schools," Putin told his Emergencies Minister Sergei Puchkov in televised comments.

"First of all, it is necessary to think about how to help the people, and not only to think about it, but to do it immediately," Putin said.

A local ministry official said such incidents were extremely rare and Friday's events might have been linked to an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool due to pass earth. However, the European Space Agency on its Twitter website said its experts had confirmed there was no connection.

"There have never been any cases of meteorites breaking up at such a low level over Russia before," said Yuri Burenko, head of the Chelyabinsk branch of the Emergencies Ministry.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 514 people had sought medical help, mainly for light injuries caused by flying glass, and that 112 of them were kept in hospital.

Despite warnings not to approach any unidentified objects, some enterprising locals were hoping to cash in.

"Selling meteorite that fell on Chelyabinsk!," one prospective seller, Vladimir, said on a popular Russian auction website. He attached a picture of a black piece of stone that on Friday afternoon was priced at $49.46.

WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE

The blast at around 9.20 a.m. (12:20 a.m. ET) shattered windows on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street and some of the frames of shop fronts buckled. The shockwave could be felt in apartment buildings in the city's center.

"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a shockwave that smashed windows."

Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens. They said what sounded like a blast had been heard at an altitude of 32,800 feet.

A wall was damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said there was no environmental threat.

New Grantee Program for Young Sri Lankan Scientists

2013-02-13T22:40:00.001-08:00

Avon

AVONPC’S NEW GRANTEE PROGRAM

Avonpc’s New Grantee Program*

Avon Pharmo Chem (Pvt) Ltd is pleased to announce the New Grantee Program, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka for the life science researchers.

AvonPC is one of the leading life science suppliers in Sri Lanka with the partnership of world leading brands like PROMEGA & IDT. We launch this as an accomplishment of Avonpc’s Corporate Social Responsibilityactivity for the development of life science sector in Sri Lanka.(Please email to dilip@avonpclk.com for more details of the products offered through this program)

Program Information:

New Research Grantees can order products for their life science research project at a specially discounted price ranging from 10-30% less than list price. Products can be of different research areas like Genomics,Proteomics and Cell based assays and at the same time general instruments and laboratory consumables are also included into the products list. Scientists involving in Drug Discoveries or Biobanking are encouraged to contact us for special packages for total solutions.

Offers made during the given period of this program shall be valid for 6 months or the entire year depending on the brand.**

How to get the benefit:

One member of the research team shall email the details of grant, title, principal investigator, team, contacts and the products to be purchased including purchasing schedule. The details will be registered and when the official quotations are called, the special discounts will be applied to the registered grants.

Eligibility:

Anyone of the researchers with their first grant for the commencement of life science research career is eligible for the special discounted offers. Researchers having first Grants from other sources may also contact us with grant details for other options.

Validity of Offers:

Offers are made from 13^th February 2013 to 13^th April 2013 only.

For more information or clarification, please contact Dilip K Fernando 0715454369,dilip@avonpclk.com

Products offered through the new grantee program

Promega Genomics 15% OFF

DNA/RNA Purification Kits – Cost-effective options for multiple sample types and volumes

PCR Reagents – Sensitive, reproducible reagents and kits for PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR and RT-qPCR including GoTaq DNA Polymerase, Reverse transcriptases, master mixes and etc

Subcloning Tools – Competent cells, vectors, enzymes and more

Maxwell® 16 Instrument Reagents – Cost effective, reliable, automated DNA, RNA, and polyhistidine protein purification

Biobanking with Promega

Promega Proteomics 30% OFF

In Vivo Protein Expression Systems: Choose from bacterial or mammalian systems

HaloTag® Protein Fusion Tag Technology – A multifunctional fusion tag for complete protein analysis

Cell-Free In Vitro Protein Expression – Rapid production of functional proteins in hours

Promega Cell-Based Assays 20% OFF

Cell Viability, Toxicity and Apoptosis Assays – Sensitive tools to understand cellular health

Reporter Vectors and Assays – Based on the highly sensitive and robust luciferase systems

Transfection Reagents – High efficiency, low toxicity FuGENE® Transfection Reagents

Drug Discovery with Promega

Promega Instruments 10% OFF

Instruments – Luminometers, fluorometers, microplate readers, and semi-automated DNA purification

Primers and Other oligo products (Integrated DNA Technologies - IDT ) – 10% OFF

Laboratory Consumables 15% OFF

Glassware – Flasks, Beakers, burettes, pipettes and etc

Plastic consumables – micropipette tips, tubes, cryo vials, freezer boxes, cryogenic storage boxes and etc

General Chemicals & HPLC chemicals

Laboratory Equipments 10% OFF

HPLC, Fume Hood, Laminar Airflow cabinets, Biosafty Cabinets, sterilizers, autoclave, Freezers and etc

Changumi - Sujatha Diyani drama information and pictures

2013-02-04T07:57:00.001-08:00

Here is a set of information on the Changumi or Sujatha Diyani tele drama and relevant Korean cultures

Daejanggeum(Jewel in the Palace)

Production : Producer Cho jung-hyeon / Screenwriter Kim Yeong-hyeon /
Director: Lee Byeong-hun
Main Casts ：Lee Young-Ae, Ji Jin-Hee Hong Li-Na, Im Ho, Yang Mi-gyeong, Gyeon Mi-ri

• Synopsis

Jang-geum (played by Lee Young-ae) is the daughter of Seo Cheon-su (played by Park Chan-hwan), a former judicial officer-turned butcher (the lowest social class) who lives in hiding after being expelled from the royal palace, and Madame Park (played by Kim Hye-seon), a former court lady working in the royal kitchen who narrowly escaped death following a murderous conspiracy planned by Court Lady Choi. As a young child, Jang-geum loses both parents and enters the royal palace in the kitchen. In the royal kitchen, she spends a harsh childhood in continuous competition with Choi Geum-yeong (played by Hong Li-na). Under the protection and tutelage of Court Lady Han, Jang-geum makes every effort to become the best cook in the palace. Her endeavors enable her to become a recognized cook; but Lady Choi and her faction, jealous of the success of Lady Han and Jang-geum, plot a conspiracy, which leads to the death of Lady Han and Jang-geum’s expulsion from the royal palace. Jang-geum is relegated to the position of maidservant for the local government office on Jeju Island. While in exile, Jang-geum learns medicine. Through native intelligence and patient efforts, she earns her reputation as a woman doctor on the island. After a time, she returns to the palace, where she is recognized by the king and becomes the royal physician, and also the first female physician in history to serve the king. The king falls in love with her, but she cannot return his love, as she is already in love with Min Jung-Ho, who has stood by her side during the most difficult times. * The concluding part omitted.

read more to view individual characters of sujatha diyani teledrama and some interesting pictures

• The Cast of Daejanggeum(Jewel in the Palace

Seo Jang-geum / Played by Lee Young-Ae - More Info
As a beautiful and intelligent woman blessed with a positive attitude, Jang-geum is haunted by numerous difficulties. Yet, she overcomes them with an iron will. She enters the royal palace at the age of ten and puts her heart and soul into cooking, finally achieving recognition for her talents. However, she is entrapped in a conspiracy aimed at her mentor Lady Han, and she is expelled from the palace. She is forced to work as a maidservant for the local government in Jeju Island. There, she studies medicine and re-enters the palace, ultimately becoming the head physician and also the first woman physician in the history of Joseon to serve the king.

Min Jung-ho / Played by Ji Jin-Hee - More Info
Min Jung-ho becomes closely bound to Jang-geum after his appointment as a Royal Guards officer. He is an outstanding scholar who not only passes the civil service examination, but also possesses great talent as a military officer, which leads to a position with the Royal Guards. He is a learned man with intelligence and good looks.
Deeply touched by Jang-geum’s wisdom and passion for learning, he helps her in many ways. At the same time, he falls in love with her, but his love also puts him in deep trouble.

Choi Geum-young / Played by Hong Li-na – More Info
Geum-young enters the royal palace with Jang-Geum and becomes her long-time rival in the royal kitchen. She is the niece of Lady Choi, who holds the place of power in the royal kitchen. Arrogant and burning with ambition, Geum-young has loved Min Jung-ho ever since she was a little child, but her love is never returned. She considers Jang-geum her rival, and is always out to defeat her.

King Jungjong / Played by Im Ho – More Info
He is the 11th king of the Chosun Dynasty. A gentle man, but at the same time irresolute and indecisive, the king cherishes Jang-geum’s many talents and later falls in love with her.

Lady Han (Han Ae-jong) / Played by Yang Mi-gyeong
–More Info
Lady Han is an outstanding cook and one of the teachers and mentors of the royal kitchen. Strict in her principles, yet warm-hearted, she cares for Jang-geum like a daughter. She dies in a conspiracy planned by Lady Choi.

Lady Choi (Choi Seong-geum) / Played by Gyeon Mi-ri
– More Info
She is the younger sister of the wealthy Choi Pan-sul and the aunt of Geum-young. Arrogant and self-assured, she is a master of cooking with a frightening tenacity to succeed. Her desire for power leads her to plot the death of Madame Park, the mother of Jang-geum, and Lady Han. She also expels Jang-geum from the palace.

• Photo Gallery of Daejanggeum

Click on the small photos to enlarge. To see more photos, click on to move to the next page. Click on to move back to the previous page.

http://www.imbc.com

• Filming Locations of Daejanggeum
To enhance the visual impact of the miniseries, Daejanggeum was filmed in numerous locations throughout the country, from Seoul to Jeju Island. Presented here are the major locations, which are not only popular tourist destinations, but relatively easy to get to.

[ Daejanggeum Major Locations 01 – Seoul and its Vicinity ]

Changdeokgung Palace
- Click here for Transportation and More Info
Changdeokgung Palace has been designated by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site. It appeared in episode 1 depicting the procession of King Yeonsangun, episode 3 depicting the procession of King Jungjong, episode 51 where King Jungjong is prevented from entering the residence of his son Gyeongwondaegun, and episodes 51 and 52 in which King Jungjong walks and talks with Jang-geum.

Korean Folk Village
- Click here for Transportation and More Info
The Korean Folk Village was the location of episode 54, in which Jang-geum gives birth to Min Jung-ho’s child, and Jang-geum, Min Jung-ho and the baby become a family. It is also the site of episode 51 in which Jang-geum takes care of smallpox patients in a village. Numerous other scenes were also shot here.

Hwaseong Haenggung Palace
- Click here for Transportation and More Info
Scenes of little Jang-geum undergoing training at the palace in episodes 3 and 4, the cooking competition in episode 8, the training of women doctors and Naeuiwon (medical facility in the palace) scenes in the latter episodes, and many others were filmed at Haenggung Palace.

Who Is God & Where is He?

2013-01-19T04:15:00.003-08:00

Traditional Concepts of God has to be changed now!
The World of believers are pleading for the God's revelation

How many religions exist on earth as you know ?

There are about 21 major world religions today.

Approximately half of the total world population (3.5 Billion) believes in One God with full comprehensive power of the universe.

Major part of the other believers believes or follows set of theories that has a direct link with forces of the universe.

About 1 billion people do not profess belief in any religion. But lot of them are nature lovers (at least since recent past)

We do not say any religion is right or wrong. But we see a lot of similarities in one aspect - bend towards the NATURE (Power of Universe + its expressions)

So we claim

Our Belief is God is the Nature. The Nature is the Creator

Somebody might think, this is a common or simple expressions that cannot be argued on. Because it is the truth.

But What is the new thing in this claim?

This Nature has some powers than what we normally think of. Yes, Nature (God) has forces of our studies like light, magnetic, cosmic, pressure, gravitational, electricity, sound and etc

But this God has natural forces that we can not scientifically touch (as yet). These natural forces can think beyond our imagination and work independently to "keep the balance of the universe".

In future we will work with natural forces as well.

We value your ideas on this regards.

All the Human Being has been created by (God) Nature. So We all should gather together to worship/respect/protect/work for One true God who makes us exist in this universe.

Wiki information on world religions

1. Christianity 2.1 billion
2. Islam 1.3 billion
3. Secular/Irreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.1 billion
4. Hinduism 900 million
5. Chinese traditional religion 394 million
6. Buddhism 376 million (see also buddhism by country)
7. Primal indigenous 300 million
8. African traditional and diasporic 100 million
9. Sikhism 23 million
10. Juche 19 million
11. Spiritism 15 million
12. Judaism 14 million
13. Bahá'í Faith 7 million
14. Jainism 4.2 million
15. Shinto 4 million
16. Cao Dai 4 million
17. Zoroastrianism 2.6 million
18. Tenrikyo 2 million
19. Neopaganism 1 million
20. Unitarian Universalism 800,000
21. Rastafari movement 600,000

Source(s):

wikipedia

Changumi marila ( Jang Geum Mai of Sujatha Diyaniya drama)

2013-01-16T09:49:00.001-08:00

Is Changumi Dead? Changumi Marunada?

read below to see what has happened and what will happen ( from Wikipedea)

රූපවාහිනි සංස්ථාව මගින් විකාශය කරන "සුජාත දියණි " නම් මෙම අර්ථවත් කථා පෙළ සෑම සතියේ දිනකම පස්වරු 6.30 ට රූපවාහිනී නාලිකාව ඔස්සේ ඔබට නැරඹීය හැක. මෙම කොරියානු කථා පෙළ සිංහල හඬ කවා මහත් වෙහෙසකින් අප හට ඉදිරිපත් කරන රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාවට සහ එම කාර්ය මණ්ඩලයට අපගේ ස්තුතිය

The Story begins

Starring Lee Young Ae, it tells the tale of an orphaned kitchen cook who went on to become the king's first female physician. In a time when women held little influence in society, young apprentice cook Jang Geum strives to learn the secrets of Korean cooking and medicine in order to cure the King of his various ailments. It is based on the true story of Jang-geum, the first female royal physician of the Joseon Dynasty. The main themes are her perseverance and the portrayal of traditional Korean culture, including Korean royal court cuisine and traditional medicine.

[edit] Synopsis

The story is set in Korea during the reigns of King Seongjong (1457–1494), King Yeonsan-gun (1494–1506) and King Jungjong (1506–1544).

[edit] Executions

At the outset, King Seongjong has ordered the execution by poisoning of his deposed wife Deposed Queen Lady Yun, the mother of the first-born son, the young crown prince (the future Prince Yeonsan). After carrying out the execution, one of the royal guards, Seo Cheon-soo, is haunted by the execution. On his way home, he suffers an accident and is rescued by a mysterious hermit with a cryptic message—that his life will revolve around three women: the first he will be forced to kill; another he will save, but will die because of him; and the third will kill him, but will go on to save many lives. It doesn't become clear until later in the story that the three women are the poisoned Deposed Queen Lady Yun, Park Myeong-yi (Seo's eventual wife and the mother of Jang-geum) and Jang-geum (the main character and Seo's only daughter). Haunted by the curse of the executed deposed Queen Consort, and his prophesied fate at the hands of the third woman, he abandons his post and also becomes a hermit, refusing to take a wife.

[edit] Park Myeong-yi

After many years, the former king dies and the Crown Prince ascends the throne as the 10th King of Joseon. Park Myeong-yi is a palace girl (orgungnyeo) and apprentice cook of the royal kitchen (sooratgan). She witnesses a fellow apprentice, a girl from the powerful Choi clan named Choi Seong-geum, slip poison into the Great Royal Dowager Queen's food. Unaware that the senior kitchen officers are part of a conspiracy against the said Queen, Myeong-yi informs the fragrance kitchen officer Kim sanggong (choigo sanggung).^[2] The officers, fearful that Myeong-yi might reveal their conspiracy, attempt to murder her. Myeong-yi's best friend, Han Baek-yeong, witnesses the crime and manages to secretly save her (by hurriedly diluting the poison with an antidote). She leaves the unconscious Myeong-yi a letter explaining what had happened. As Seo Cheon-soo wanders through the forest in his self-imposed hermitage, he stumbles upon the half-conscious Myeong-yi. He rescues her and the two fall in love and marry. They end up living peacefully in a remote village as lower caste commoners (Seo Cheon-soo posing as a butcher and village weapon smith) and raise a clever daughter named Seo Jang-geum.

[edit] Jang-geum

In 1504, Prince Yeonsan orders the execution of people responsible for his mother (Queen Consort Jeheon)'s death, thereby launching the notoriousLiterati Purges of 1504.

Jang-geum is warned by her parents to never reveal their true identities to anyone or they will all die. One day Jang-geum and her father go to a village fair. In a wrestling match she blurts out to the jeering crowd that her father is not a low-born butcher but a former guard of the royal palace. Words spread, and the king's guards arrest Seo Cheon-soo and execute him. Mother and daughter flee but are captured by the guards. As they are taken away, the group is ambushed by mercenaries hired by the Choi clan patriarch, who is determined to kill Myeong-yi and her daughter. Myeong-yi is injured and before she dies she tells Jang-geum her last wish: that she become the "Choi-go sanggung" of the royal kitchen and record the crime in a journal that is passed down through every generation of the "Choi-go sanggung"s.
Through a series of lucky coincidences (one involving Prince Yeonsan's half-brother Grand Prince Jinseong), Jang-geum manages to gain access and entrance to the palace. Unbeknownst to herself, she is taken under the wing of Han Baek-young, becoming her apprentice, her mother's best friend now raised to the rank of "sanggung". Jang-geum endures many ordeals and is bullied because she is more skilled and works harder than the other girls. During her tenure as a palace girl, Jang-geum befriends a young seonbi named Min Jeong-ho, who falls in love with her. Her rival is Choi Geum-yeong, another "gungnyeo" and Choi Seong-geum (also raised to the rank of "sanggung" due to her association with her aunt the former "choigo sanggung")'s niece. While not a cruel person, Geum-yeong's conscience is slowly subjugated and corrupted by Lady Choi's ruthless behaviour. Min Jeong-ho urges Geum-yeong to maintain her integrity and stand up to her evil relatives, but instead, hurt and angry, Geum-yeong accuses Jeong-ho of not loving her and being by her side.
Many years pass and Lady Choi schemes to win the position of "Choi-go sanggung" of royal kitchen. The Choi women have successively occupied the "Choi-go sanggung" position for five successive generations, allowing the clan to become exclusive suppliers of goods and produce to the royal kitchen, making the clan immensely wealthy and powerful. Eventually, a cooking competition is announced during which Lady Choi and Lady Han vie to become the "Choi-go sanggung". When Lady Han wins (and becomes "Choi-go sanggung"), and the King suddenly falls ill during one of his trips to a hot spring, Choi Pan-sool (Lady Choi's elder brother, and main supplier of the royal kitchen) and the Right Minister Oh Gyeom-ho (the Choi clan's ally within the Royal Cabinet) frame Lady Han and Jang-geum as traitors in league with Jo Gwang-jo, the famous Joseon reformer. In an effort to save Jang-geum, Lady Han declares that she alone is guilty of treason. Nonetheless, both are judged guilty and sent to Jeju Island to work as government slaves. On the way to Jeju, Lady Han dies from her injuries. Lady Choi replaces her as the "Choi-go sanggung", while Jang-geum vows revenge.

[edit] In exile at Jeju

Min Jeong-ho follows Jang-geum to Jeju Island. He offers to help Jang-geum escape, but she refuses since doing so would mean never be able to return to the palace to not only clear Lady Han's name, but obtaining justice for her mother's death. Min Jeong-ho declares he will wait for her at the palace, confident that Jang-geum will find a way to re-enter the palace.
On Jeju Island, Jang-geum meets a woman named Jang-deok, whom she first mistakes for a fellow slave. She soon discovers that Jang-deok is a famous female doctor. Jang-deok's blunt and forthright manner at first offend her, but as time goes by, she begins to see that the female doctor is dedicated and caring. As the days go by, Jang-geum realizes that her only way back to the palace is to become a female physician ("uinyeo"). She begs Jang-deok to teach her medicine. Jang-geum's friend, Jeong Woon-baek, an eccentric royal physician, disapproves of her decision to pursue medicine in order to take revenge on the Choi clan. In spite of this, Jang-geum perseveres and earns herself a post as a female doctor-in-training at the palace.^[3]
Upon returning to the palace, Jang-geum encounters Choi Geum-yeong, who, during Jang-geum's absence has been promoted to "Choi-go sanggung". The ruthlessly ambitious Lady Choi has ousted the former head officer of the palace ("Jae-jo sanggung"; one of their former allies),^[4] and now occupies that position herself. Min Jeong-ho is a lieutenant and a member of the King's Royal Cabinet. Jang-geum's childhood best friend, Lee Yeon-saeng, also a "gungnyeo", has caught the king's eye, and is now his concubine ("sook-ui"^[5]). Jang-geum endures many trials at the palace, from being forced to wash the feet of Geum-yeong, to a backstabbing "uinyeo" named Park Yeol-yi. In spite of this, Jang-geum manages to accomplish great feats, such as halting an epidemic and saving the king's life when the king's own physicians fail.
With Jang-geum's status rising, several events ensue that lead to an investigation of the Choi clan, resulting in the prosecution of Lady Choi, her elder brother and several high-ranking officials, including the Chief State Councillor. Everyone tries to escape, but only Lady Choi manages to evade the guards. Jang-geum finds her and asks if she is willing to sacrifice her niece, Geum-yeong, to the authorities while she herself escapes. Having abandoned her ethics and conscience for the sake of the Choi clan a long time ago, Lady Choi is unable to respond. Torn between self-preservation and guilt, Lady Choi wanders the countryside hallucinating. She ends up falling off a cliff off Mount Dongin and dies (but not before speaking and paying respects in front of the memorial grave of her former friend Park Myeong-yi, Jang-geum's mother). Choi Geum-yeong loses her position as "Choi-go sanggung" and is exiled along with the other officials.
Through her dedication, perseverance and medical skills, Jang-geum saves the royal family from re-occurring, seemingly never-ending ill fortune. After giving birth to a stillborn child, Queen Consort Munjeong remains ill. Jang-geum correctly identifies a second stillborn fetus in the Queen Consort's womb and saves her life. She convinces the Dowager Queen mother to undergo medical treatment at the risk of being beheaded. She also cures Grand Prince Gyeongwon, Queen Consort Munjeong's only son, of smallpox, which earns the permanent gratitude of the Queen Consort.

[edit] Court physician

For her achievements King Jungjong makes Jang-geum a 6th rank official^[6] and appoints her to be his personal physician, the first woman to hold such a position. The court is in uproar and the state councillors unanimously oppose the appointment on the grounds that it violates the country's constitution. When the Dowager Queen mother humiliates herself to express her disapproval, the king revokes his decision. She urges the king to take Jang-geum as one of his concubines. Although the king is in love with Jang-geum, he refrains from making her one of his concubines against her will. Jang-geum contains a Small Pox epidemy, and the king finally decrees her his personal physician. She is granted the honorific "Dae" (meaning "The Great"), as well as the position of a 3rd rank official.
Jang-geum fears that accepting this position will endanger her friends and family. However, with Min Jeong-ho's support, she accepts. The ministers and scholars of the court bitterly accept the decree, but demand that the king punish Min Jeong-ho for supporting Jang-geum's appointment. Seeing an opportunity to separate the lovers the king agrees and Jeong-ho is sentenced to exile.

[edit] Escape, and fugitives from the law

Eventually, the king's previous medical condition re-emerges. Jang-geum attempts to heal him using all the medical equipment and knowledge available at the time. The other doctors offer advice but nothing works; the king is dying. Jang-geum resorts to her last option—an experimental technique using newly 'discovered' anesthesia and surgery.^[7] However, the king's body is considered sacred and the court unanimously opposes this new procedure, and the king decides not to allow the operation. Knowing Jang-geum's life will be in danger after his death, the repentant king grants her escape to be with Min Jeong-ho. Jang-geum and Jeong-ho live as fugitives.
Eight years later, Jang-geum is spotted by her adoptive father, who alerts Jang-geum's friends in the palace. By this time Jungjong has been dead, along with his appointed Crown Prince (who became Injong, who ruled for less than a year plagued by a life of ill health. The second-in-line to succeed the throne is Grand Prince Gyeongwon, the only child and son of Queen Munjeong, who is now both the Great Royal Dowager Queen and the Regent, wielding enormous power.^[8] When she learns that Jang-geum is still in the country, she invites her and Jeong-ho to return to the palace and be reinstated to their previous positions. Jang-geum and Jeong-ho joyfully return, but decide for the sake of their family to live outside the palace.
As they return to their previous routine, Jang-geum comes across a pregnant woman, and successfully uses her surgical skills to deliver the woman's baby via Caesarean section, thus becoming the first physician in Korea to undertake a surgical procedure. While Jang-geum celebrates her success, Jeong-ho laments the repressive social climate of Korea, and its inability to accommodate a woman with ambitions.

AvonPC: NSF GRANT DEADLINE EXTENDED

2013-01-13T02:57:00.001-08:00

AvonPC: NSF GRANT DEADLINE EXTENDED: * Deadline to reach applications at NSF is extended up to January 31st, 2013 ** National Science Foundation (NSF) promotes technology de...

FAKE ALIENS through Saruwath Rains

2013-01-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

Please read following article from Wiki

Ask those prodigies following details

Why do you prejudice on aliens? Why not local think like spore/bacteria/fungi etc?
If you observe cell walls, did you try to think genetic matter? (DNA/RNA)
Do you want to be famous (ultimately notorious) ?

What about fish rains?

Wiki article

The Kerala red rain phenomenon was a blood rain (red rain) event that occurred from July 25 to September 23, 2001, when heavy downpours of red-coloured rain fell sporadically on the southern Indian state of Kerala, staining clothes pink.^[1] Yellow, green, and black rain was also reported.^[2]^[3]^[4]Colored rain was also reported in Kerala in 1896 and several times since,^[5] most recently in June 2012.^[6]^[7]

It was initially thought that the rains were colored by fallout from a hypothetical meteor burst,^{[clarification needed]} but a study commissioned by theGovernment of India concluded that the rains had been colored by airborne spores from locally prolific terrestrial algae.^[5]

It was not until early 2006 that the colored rains of Kerala gained widespread attention when the popular media reported that Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar of the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam proposed a controversial argument that the colored particles were extraterrestrialcells.^[3]^[8]^[9]

Red rains were also reported from November 15, 2012 to December 27, 2012 occasionally in eastern and north-central provinces of Sri Lanka,^[10] where scientists from the Sri Lanka Medical Research Institute (MRI) are investigating to ascertain their cause.^[11]^[12]^[13]

[hide]

[edit]Occurrence

Kottayam district in Kerala, which experienced the most intense red rainfall

The colored rain of Kerala began falling on July 25, 2001, in the districts of Kottayam and Idukki in the southern part of the state. Yellow, green, and black rain was also reported.^[2]^[3]^[4] Many more occurrences of the red rain were reported over the following ten days, and then with diminishing frequency until late September.^[3] According to locals, the first colored rain was preceded by a loud thunderclap and flash of light, and followed by groves of trees shedding shriveled grey "burnt" leaves. Shriveled leaves and the disappearance and sudden formation of wells were also reported around the same time in the area.^[14]^[15]^[16] It typically fell over small areas, no more than a few square kilometers in size, and was sometimes so localized that normal rain could be falling just a few meters away from the red rain. Red rainfalls typically lasted less than 20 minutes.^[3] Each milliliter of rain water contained about 9 million red particles, and each liter of rainwater contained approximately 100 milligrams of solids. Extrapolating these figures to the total amount of red rain estimated to have fallen, it was estimated that 50,000 kilograms (110,000 lb) of red particles had fallen on Kerala.^[3]

[edit]Description of the particles

Photomicrograph of particles from red rain sample

The brownish-red solid separated from the red rain consisted of about 90% round red particles and the balance consisted of debris.^[5] The particles in suspension in the rain water were responsible for the color of the rain, which at times was strongly colored red. A small percentage of particles were white or had light yellow, bluish gray and green tints.^[3] The particles were typically 4 to 10 µm across and spherical or oval. Electron microscope images showed the particles as having a depressed center. At still higher magnification some particles showed internal structures.^[3]

[edit]Chemical composition

Elemental analysis
	Analysis by the CESS (%)	Analysis by Louis & Kumar (%)
Al	1.0	0.41
Ca	2.52
C	51.00	49.53
Cl		0.12
H		4.43
Fe	0.61	0.97
Mg	1.48
N		1.84
O		45.42
K	0.26
P	0.08
Si	7.50	2.85
Na	0.49	0.69

Several groups of researchers analyzed the chemical elements in the solid particles, and different techniques gave different results. The particles were composed mostly of carbon and oxygen^{[clarification needed]} with lesser amounts ofhydrogen, nitrogen, silicon, chlorine and metals.

Some water samples were brought to the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) in India, where they separated the suspended particles by filtration. The pH(acidity) of the water was found to be around 7 (neutral). The electrical conductivity of the rainwater showed the absence of any dissolved salts. Sediment (red particles plus debris) was collected and analyzed by the CESS using a combination of ion-coupled plasma mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry and wet chemical methods. The major elements found are listed below.^[5] The CESS analysis also showed significant amounts of heavy metals, including nickel (43 ppm),manganese (59 ppm), titanium (321 ppm), chromium (67ppm) and copper (55 ppm).

Louis and Kumar used energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the red solid and showed that the particles were composed of mostly carbon and oxygen, with trace amounts of silicon and iron.^[3] A CHN analyzer showed content of 43.03% carbon, 4.43% hydrogen, and 1.84% nitrogen.^[3]

J. Thomas Brenna in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University conducted carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses using a scanning electron microscope with X-ray microanalysis, an elemental analyzer, and an isotope ratio (IR) mass spectrometer. The red particles collapsed when dried, which suggested that they were filled with fluid. The amino acids in the particles were analyzed and seven were identified (in order of concentration): phenylalanine, glutamic acid/glutamine, serine,aspartic acid, threonine, and arginine. He concluded that the results were consistent with a marine origin or a terrestrial plant that uses a C4 photosynthetic pathway.^[17]

[edit]Official report

Particles imaged with a scanning electron microscope

A single spore viewed with atransmission electron microscope, purportedly showing a detached inner capsule.

Initially, the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) stated that the likely cause of the red rain was an exploding meteor, which had dispersed about 1,000 kg (one ton) of material. A few days later, following a basic light microscopy evaluation, the CESS retracted this as they noticed the particles resembled spores,^[18] and because debris from a meteor would not have continued to fall from the stratosphere onto the same area while unaffected by wind. A sample was, therefore, handed over to the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) for microbiological studies, where the spores were allowed to grow in a medium suitable for growth of algae and fungi. The inoculated Petri dishes and conical flasks were incubated for three to seven days and the cultures were observed under a microscope.

Trentepohlia on Cryptomeria japonicabark

In November 2001, commissioned by the Government of India's Department of Science & Technology, the Center for Earth Science Studies (CESS) and the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) issued a joint report which concluded that:^[5]^[18]

The color was found to be due to the presence of a large amount of spores of a lichen-forming alga belonging to the genus Trentepohlia. Field verification showed that the region had plenty of such lichens. Samples of lichen taken from Changanacherry area, when cultured in an algal growth medium, also showed the presence of the same species of algae. Both samples (from rainwater and from trees) produced the same kind of algae, indicating that the spores seen in the rainwater most probably came from local sources.

The site was again visited on August 16, 2001 and it was found that almost all the trees, rocks and even lamp posts in the region were covered withTrentepohlia estimated to be in sufficient amounts to generate the quantity of spores seen in the rainwater.^[5] Although red or orange, Trentepohlia is aChlorophyte green alga which can grow abundantly on tree bark or damp soil and rocks, but is also the photosynthetic symbiont or photobiont of many lichens, including some of those abundant on the trees in Changanacherry area.^[5] The strong orange colour of the algae, which masks the green of thechlorophyll, is caused by the presence of large quantities of orange carotenoid pigments. A lichen is not a single organism, but the result of a partnership (symbiosis) between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium.

The report also stated that there was no meteoric, volcanic or desert dust origin present in the rainwater and that its color was not due to any dissolved gases or pollutants.^[5] The report concluded that heavy rains in Kerala -in the weeks preceding the red rains- could have caused the widespread growth of lichens, which had given rise to a large quantity of spores into the atmosphere. However, for these lichen to release their spores simultaneously, it is necessary for them to enter their reproductive phase at about the same time. The CESS report noted that while this may be a possibility, it is quite improbable.^[5] Also, they could find no satisfactory explanation for the apparently extraordinary dispersal, nor for the apparent uptake of the spores into clouds. CESS scientists noted that "While the cause of the color in the rainfall has been identified, finding the answers to these questions is a challenge."^[18] Attempting to explain the unusual spore proliferation and dispersal, researcher Ian Goddard proposed several local atmospheric models.^[19]

Parts of the CESS/TBGRI report were supported by Dr. Milton Wainwright at Sheffield University, who, together with Chandra Wickramasinghe, has studied stratospheric spores.^[1]^[20] In March 2006 Wainwright said the particles were similar in appearance to spores of a rust fungus,^[21] later saying that he had confirmed the presence of DNA,^[22] and reported their similarity to algal spores, and found no evidence to suggest that the rain contained dust, sand, fat globules, or blood. In November 2012, Dr. Rajkumar Gangappa and Dr. Stuart Hogg from the University of Glamorgan, U.K., confirmed that the red rain cells from Kerala contain DNA.^[23]

[edit]Alternative hypotheses

History records many instances of unusual objects falling with the rain — in 2000, in an example of raining animals, a small waterspout in the North Sea sucked up a school of fish a mile off shore, depositing them shortly afterwards on Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom.^[24] Colored rain is by no means rare, and can often be explained by the airborne transport of rain dust fromdesert or other dry regions which is washed down by rain. "Red Rains" have been frequently described in southern Europe, with increasing reports in recent years.^[25]^[26] One such case occurred in England in 1903, when dust was carried from the Sahara and fell with rain in February of that year.^[27]

At first, the red rain in Kerala was attributed to the same effect, with dust from the deserts of Arabia initially the suspect.^[14] LIDAR observations had detected a cloud of dust in the atmosphere near Kerala in the days preceding the outbreak of the red rain.^[28]^[29] However, laboratory tests from all involved teams ruled out the particles were desert sand.

K.K. Sasidharan Pillai, a senior scientific assistant in the Indian Meteorological Department, proposed dust and acidic material from an eruption of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines as an explanation for the colored rain and the "burnt" leaves.^[30] The volcano was erupting in June and July 2001^[31] and Pillai calculated that the Eastern or Equatorial jet stream could have transported volcanic material to Kerala in 25–36 hours. The Equatorial jet stream is unusual in that it flows from east to west at about 10° N,^[32] approximately the same latitude as Kerala (8° N) and Mayon Volcano (13° N). This hypothesis was also ruled out as the particles were neither acidic nor of volcanic origin, but were spores.^[5]

A study has been published showing a correlation between historic reports of colored rains and of meteors;^[33] the author of the paper, Patrick McCafferty, stated that sixty of these events (colored rain), or 36%, were linked to meteoritic or cometary activity. But not always strongly. Sometimes the fall of red rain seems to have occurred after an airburst, as from a meteor exploding in air; other times the odd rainfall is merely recorded in the same year as the appearance of a comet.

[edit]Panspermia hypothesis

In 2003 Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar, physicists at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, Kerala, posted an article entitled "Cometary panspermia explains the red rain of Kerala"^[34]in the on-line, non-peer reviewed arXiv web site. While the CESS report said there was no apparent relationship between the loud sound (possibly a sonic boom) and flash of light which preceded the red rain, to Louis and Kumar it was a key piece of evidence. They proposed that a meteor (from a comet containing the red particles) caused the sound and flash and when it disintegrated over Kerala it released the red particles which slowly fell to the ground. However, they omitted an explanation on how debris from a meteor continued to fall in the same area over a period of two months while unaffected from winds.

Their work indicated that the particles were of biological origin (consistent with the CESS report), however, they invoked the panspermia hypothesis to explain the presence of cells in a supposed fall of meteoric material.^[35]^[36]^[37] Additionally, using ethidium bromide they were unable to detect DNA or RNA in the particles. Two months later they posted another paper on the same web site entitled "New biology of red rain extremophiles prove cometary panspermia"^[38] in which they reported that

"The microorganism isolated from the red rain of Kerala shows very extraordinary characteristics, like the ability to grow optimally at 300°C (572°F) and the capacity to metabolize a wide range of organic and inorganic materials."

These claims and data have yet to be verified and reported in any peer reviewed publication. In 2006 Louis and Kumar published a paper in Astrophysics and Space Science entitled "The red rain phenomenon of Kerala and its possible extraterrestrial origin"^[3] which reiterated their arguments that the red rain was biological matter from an extraterrestrial source but made no mention of their previous claims to having induced the cells to grow. The team also observed the cells using phase contrast fluorescence microscopy, and they concluded that: "The fluorescence behaviour of the red cells is shown to be in remarkable correspondence with the extended red emission observed in the Red Rectangle Nebula and other galactic and extragalactic dust clouds, suggesting, though not proving an extraterrestrial origin."^[39] One of their conclusions was that if the red rain particles are biological cells and are of cometary origin, then this phenomenon can be a case of cometarypanspermia.^[3]

On August 2008 Louis and Kumar again presented their case in an astrobiology conference.^[40] The abstract for paper states that

"The red cells found in the red rain in Kerala, India are now considered as a possible case of extraterrestrial life form. These cells can undergo rapid replication even at an extreme high temperature of 300 °C. They can also be cultured in diverse unconventional chemical substrates. The molecular composition of these cells is yet to be identified".

On September 2010 he presented a similar paper at a conference in California, U.S.A.^[41]

[edit]Cosmic ancestry

Further information: Cosmic ancestry

Researcher Chandra Wickramasinghe used Louis and Kumar's "extraterrestrial origin" claim to further support his panspermia hypothesis called cosmic ancestry.^[42] This hypothesis postulates that life is neither the product of supernatural creation, nor is it spontaneously generated through abiogenesis, but that it has always existed in the universe. According to the theory, higher life forms, including intelligent life, descend ultimately from pre-existing life which was at least as advanced as the descendants.^[43]^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]

[edit]Criticism

Louis and Kumar made their first publication of their finding on a web site in 2003, and have presented papers at conferences and in astrophysics magazines a number of times since. The controversial conclusion of Louis et al. is the only hypothesis suggesting that these organisms are of extraterrestrial origin.^[48] And every time, they've been popular with the mass media, with major news agencies like CNN repeating their sensational panspermia story without critique, although almost nobody else in the scientific community accepts Louis and Kumar's space spore explanation.^[49]

Hypothesis' authors – G. Louis and Kumar – admitted no explanation on how debris from a meteor could have continued to fall on the same area over a period of two months, despite the changes in climatic conditions and wind pattern spanning over two months.^[50]^[51] Samples of the red particles were also sent for analysis to his collaborators Milton Wainwright at Sheffield University andChandra Wickramasinghe at Cardiff University. Louis then incorrectly reported in 29 August 2010 in the non-peer reviewed online physics archive "arxiv.org" that they were able to have these cells "reproduce" when incubated at high pressure saturated steam at 121°C (autoclaved) for up to two hours.^[39] Their conclusion is that these cells reproduced, without DNA, at temperatures higher than any known life form on earth is able to.^[52] They claimed that the cells, however, were unable to reproduce at temperatures that earthly cells do.

Regarding the "absence" of DNA, Louis admits he has no training in biology,^[49]^[53] and has not reported the use of any standard microbiology growth medium to culture and induce germinationand growth of the spores, basing his claim of "biological growth" on light absorption measurements following aggregation by supercritical fluids,^[38] an innert physical observation. Both his collaborators, Wickramasinghe^[54] and Milton Wainwright^[22] independently extracted and confirmed the presence of DNA from the spores. The absence of DNA was key to Louis and Kumar's hypothesis that the cells were of extraterrestrial origins,^[34] and Louis apparently has ignored their findings too, and to date he still claims that the spores contain no DNA.

Louis' only reported attempt to stain the spore's DNA was by the use of malachite green, which is generally used to stain bacterial endospores, not algal spores,^[55] whose primary function of their cell wall and their impermeability is to ensure its own survival through periods of environmental stress. They are therefore resistant to ultraviolet and gamma radiation, desiccation, lysozyme,temperature, starvation and chemical disinfectants. Visualising algal spore DNA under a light microscope can be difficult due to the impermeability of the highly resistant spore wall to dyes and stains used in normal staining procedures. In order to stain the spores' DNA, which is tightly packed, encapsulated and desiccated, spores must first be cultured in suitable growth medium and temperature in order to first, induce germination, then cell growth followed by reproduction.^[49]

Other researchers have noted recurring instances of red rainfalls in 1818, 1846, 1872, 1880, 1896, and 1950, including one described by Charles Darwin,^[49] and several times since then.^[56] Most recently, colored rainfall occurred over Kerala during the summers of 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008,^[57] and 2012; since 2001, the botanists have found the same Trentepohlia spores every time.^[49] This supports the notion that the lichen spores are a seasonal local environmental feature, rather than Kerala being some kind of a magnet for alien-microbe infested meteors.^[49]^[58]^[59]^[60]^[61]

[edit]Popular culture

Film director Rahul Sadasivan, has been working since the fall of 2012 on a science-fiction film named Red Rains, starring Narain Lishoy and Leona Lishoy. This science fiction film will be somewhat based on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala that happened in 2001.^[62]

[edit]See also

First Expressway Sri Lanka Opens - LK news

2011-11-26T06:33:00.001-08:00

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will declare open the first Stage of the Colombo-Matara Expressway, the Kottawa-Galle sector on the 27th of this month. This is the first and the longest Expressway of Sri Lanka.

This expressway constructed at a cost of Rs. 85 Billion has 48 under-passes, 12 overhead-passes and 18 major bridges, including Sri Lanka’s longest bridge of 780 meters in length and 18 meters in width over the Bentara River. The cost of this bridge alone amounted to Rs. 1,090 Million. This bridge connects the Southern province with the Western province. There are five main bridges located in the Kottawa to Kurundugahahetekma Section. They include the 150 meter long Kalu ganga bridge in Welipenna and the 120 meter long Mahauragaha bridge.

Under the second stage of the project it will be developed from Galle to Matara, and construction work of this sector is already progressing rapidly. When completed the travel time fro Colombo to Matara will be reduced by more than two hours. Up to Galle the expressway has 8 interjections and up to Matara it will have 11 interjections.

The Police Department will deploy around 500 personnel for duties along the Expressway, and a special Police Division has been formed for exclusive expressway duties after it is opened to traffic, Senior DIG Traffic Management and Police Field Force Headquarters Radio cars and motorcycle patrols will be on round the clock all days duty under this Police Division. It has been planned to establish the Headquarters of this Police Division at Kurundugahahetekma as it would be the central point of the Expressway once the construction is completed up to Matara,

Wiki information
Youtube on Expressway

Android applications free

2011-11-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

What is Android Apps and where we find Free apps?

Android apps (short for applications) are mobile software designed for running on the Android operating system, which is one of the most popular platforms used in cellphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Since Android was introduced, more than 290,000 Android apps have been developed and most of them are available for download from the Android Market—the online software store hosted by Google—but not all are free. To help you get the best of the free ones, we have selected some gems in each category and added them here in a convenient list with clear and brief descriptions of each application item.

Like the apps and want to give them a try? Search them by tapping the default Market app, or use one of the following ways to install the apps on your mobile device, quick and easy.

Quick Access to Android Market:

Move your mouse over the program icons and scan the QR Code images on this Android app list with your device’s barcode scanner; Or
Click or tap the program titles on this Android app list in your PC's or Android's browser, then install the apps from the Android Market.

Click below and find more free applications for your androids available for download

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-android-apps.htm

A nice story to share - from an email

2011-11-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do the others let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the

plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day !

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

WIN an iPAD - Life Science

2011-10-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Sri Lankan life scientists have a great opportunity to win an iPAD from Promega Corporation.

This is a promotion of TnT Cell Free Expression systems provided by Promega
If you are interest in Proteomics, this is a very good place to learn more and simplify your tedious research works.

What you have to do is watching three videos on this subject and answer a few questions.
The link is

http://www.promega.com/a/tntquiz/default.html?utm_source=promegaflyer&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=print_tntquiz_flyer

We wish you all the best.

If you are interested in more Promega products and services
go to www.promega.com
or contact
Avon Pharmo Chem (Pvt) Ltd
64B Jambugasmulla Road
Nugegoda
Sri Lanka
0715454369 - Prasanna
email : info@avonpclk.com

Sholarships for Sri Lanka 1

2011-10-23T19:43:00.001-07:00

Chulabhorn Graduate Institute – ASEAN Foundation Joint Post-graduate Scholarship Program in Science and Technology

The Chulabhorn Graduate Institute (CGI) and the ASEAN Foundation (AF) have entered into an agreement to develop highly qualified human resources in the area of science and technology within ASEAN member countries through the Chulabhorn Graduate Institute - ASEAN Foundation Post-Graduate Scholarship Program in Science and Technology.

The CGI is a multidisciplinary post-graduate academic institute established in 2005, under the initiative of Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol. The aim of CGI is to employ the most recent interactive teaching techniques used in leading educational and research institutions to train students in the program to be effective thinkers and leaders in their fields of expertise, to better serve their countries’ needs towards sustainable development. The CGI is presently offering programs leading to a Post-Graduate diploma, a Master’s degree and a Doctoral degree in Applied Biological Sciences: Environmental Health, Environmental Toxicology, and Chemical Biology.

The ASEAN Foundation, an initiative of the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), was established on 15 December 1997 to help bring about shared prosperity and a sustainable future for the peoples of all ASEAN countries. It has been mandated to promote greater awareness of ASEAN and greater interaction among its peoples and their increased participation in ASEAN activities as well as to undertake development cooperation activities that enhance mutual assistance, address equitable economic development and reduce poverty.

This year, 5 (five) scholarships are available for ASEAN nationals (except Thai citizen) who are interested to pursue a Master Degree at the CGI. Selection of successful applicants will be based on merit.

Eligibility

Scholarships are open to bonafide ASEAN nationals (except Thai citizen)
Hold a Bachelor’s Degree with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00
Applicants with at least 2 years work experiences in related field will receive favorable consideration
Applicants must have demonstrated English proficiency, preferably on one of two recognized test of language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS)
Applicants must provide a statement of purpose explaining their interests in the study

Field of Study

Applied Biological Sciences: Environmental Health
Environmental Toxicology
Chemical Biology

Scholarship Coverage

The scholarship will cover tuition and other academic fees, round trip airfare, accommodation allowance, monthly stipend, book allowance, health insurance and others.

Award Period

The award is tenable for a period of 2 years, subject to an annual review of the scholar’s satisfactory progress.

Application Procedure

Applicants should complete the Chulabhorn Graduate Institute – the ASEAN Foundation Post – Graduate Scholarship Program application form and submit together with other supporting documents to:

The Chulabhorn Graduate Institute
(CGI-AF Joint Scholarship Program)
54 Kamphangphet 6 Road,
Laksi, Bangkok 10210
THAILAND
Email: cgi_academic@cgi.ac.th

Application Period

Application for the CGI-AF Scholarship Program is due on 30 November 2011. Pre-session orientation program will commence in April 2012 while the academic program will commence in June 2012.

Notification of the Award

Successful applicants will be notified of the outcome by CGI.

Application Form

CGI - AF scholarship application form can be downloaded here (Microsoft Word Document, 174KB).

For more information, please contact:

The Chulabhorn Graduate Institute
54 Kamphangphet 6 Road,
Laksi, Bangkok 10210
THAILAND
Email: cgi_academic@cgi.ac.th
Website: www.cgi.ac.th
Tel Nos: (66 2) 554-1900 ext. 2155, 2154, 2130
Fax Nos: (66 2) 554-1990 / 554-1992

ASEAN Foundation
Jl. Sam Ratulangi No.2, Menteng,
Jakarta – 10350
INDONESIA
E-mail: secretariat@aseanfoundation.org
Website: www.aseanfoundation.org
Tel Nos: (62 21) 3192-4828 / 3192- 4833
Fax No: (62 21) 3192-6078

Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010

2011-10-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Full Text of Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010:

The State Department of the United States released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2010 on April 8, 2011. As in previous years, the reports are full of distortions and accusations of the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions including China. However, the United States turned a blind eye to its own terrible human rights situation and seldom mentioned it. The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010 is prepared to urge the United States to face up to its own human rights issues.

I. On Life, Property and Personal Security

The United States reports the world's highest incidence of violent crimes, and its people's lives, properties and personal security are not duly protected.

Every year, one out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the United States. No other nation on earth has a rate that is higher. In 2009, an estimated 4.3 million violent crimes, 15.6 million property crimes and 133,000 personal thefts were committed against U.S. residents aged 12 or older, ................

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Eating your greens can change the effect of your genes on heart disease

2011-10-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Eating your greens can change the effect of your genes on heart disease: "ScienceDaily (Oct. 12, 2011) — A long-held mantra suggests that you can't change your family, the genes they pass on, or the effect of these genes. Now, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, is attacking that belief.
See Also:

Health & Medicine
Cholesterol
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Heart Disease
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Reference
Allele frequency
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Detox diet
South Beach diet
The researchers discovered the gene that is the strongest marker for heart disease can actually be modified by generous amounts of fruit and raw vegetables. The results of their study are published in the current issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.
"We know that 9p21 genetic variants increase the risk of heart disease for those that carry it," said Dr. Jamie Engert, joint principal investigator of the study, who is a researcher in cardiovascular diseases at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and associate member in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. "But it was a surprise to find that a healthy diet could significantly weaken its effect.""

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