Random Rantings

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
- Martin Niemöller, German theologian

ABDUCTIONS or should I say “disappearances”…now there’s a scary word if ever there was one, especially in the current Sri Lanka context. Child abductions, youth abductions, businessmen abducted and held for ransom, and of course how could we leave out the ever so “infamous” ‘white van’ abductions! Okay, so why am I talking about such a hackneyed, stale topic (even though admittedly we can never speak enough about it)? Well…because it has a new twist now. Or new, at least as far as I’m concerned.

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Everyone’s got it. No matter how much you try to deny it. You’ve still got it. Some, swear by it. Others, don’t even give it the time of day. Still others, are desperate to tune into its’ frequency but, find it almost impossible to do so. I for one, am a faithful follower of the gut feeling. It might not always be right on the mark but, most often (thus far at least) it’s been in the vicinity of reality!

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So tell me do you hear the knell of the wedding bells loom nigh? If you do, read on. If you don’t, read on anyway. I’m sure everyone’s aware that there are but a few universally acknowledged truths; taxes, death and marriage in your 20’s! Not too familiar with the latter truth? Well I’d have been just as bewildered if I’d have not known any better but, unfortunately I do and believe you me, my tale of woe is not what you think it is…hear me out.

Am I in my 20’s? Yes. Am I enjoying my life? Yes. Am I 100% sure where I’d like to be in 10 years time? No (but, does anybody?). Would I like to meet (as cliché as this might sound) the man of my dreams and “settle down” someday? Maybe (if such a man actually exists that is). Am I capable of determining for myself how my future should take shape? I should think so! Evidently not as cut and dry as that it seems. Why? Well, let’s find out shall we?

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Ever hear of the phrase “curiosity brings the dead back to life?” No? Well that’s probably because there’s no such thing! Stating the obvious you think? Well, you might just be surprised…

I guess it would be safe to say that I, like millions of other Sri Lankans around the country probably go for an average of 50 or more funerals in their lifetime? I’ve been to so many funerals now, that people could easily start hiring me as a chief mourner! Jokes aside though, not only have I been to enough funerals now to know the ordeal the grieving family has to go through with just coming to terms with the death of their loved one, let alone the hundreds of other external issues and expenses they need to bear. Even if we were to assume that all the above mentioned issues are mostly part and parcel of an average funeral, and that most affected families tend to rely on their extended families for support, there’s still this one little hindrance that such families have to bear on their own…. Dare I share my insight with the rest of the world?

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Where there is faith, there is love;
Where there is love, there is peace;
Where there is peace, there is God;
And where there is God; there is no need.

- Leo Tolstoy

The warm rays of the late morning sun reached out and gently touched her skin. The cobwebs and dust that had gathered on the dull glass of the closed window could do little to protect their mistress. After a while, the creases of Gayani’s neck were damp with sweat. She deftly wiped herself with the edge of her covering sheet. The sheet had once boasted of a bold and colourful design, but was now faded and soft to the touch. Gayani adored all things faded and all her favourite clothes were invariably washed out.

Today was the 18th. She knew, because of her ‘Drifters Diary’, which she faithfully updated, on most nights. Among other things, it helped keep track of the days - days that seem to flow rapidly past her, without really touching her. Had she planned to do something today? Wondered Gayani. She vaguely remembered something… A special Tele drama maybe… one of those increasingly rare ones that won’t make you want to gnaw on the antenna wire or burn the Idiot Box and then bring the great dramatist, Samuel Beckett back to life, so that he would pee on it. No thought Gayani smiling to herself, it cannot be a Tele drama. Then what? She had folded her hands behind her head and staring into space, trying to figure out if there was anything special about that day, when she suddenly remembered and her body stiffened with a jolt. Her head felt woozy and her panicky heart, beat to a sickening thump. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. How could she have forgotten? She had promised her parents and the doctor that on the 18th she would definitely (for she had postponed it several times) start on the therapy recommended by the doctor.

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Earth Hour was a movement started in Sydney a year ago to make a statement and send a message nationally and internationally for the need to take action against Global Warming. On the 31st of March 2007, over 2 Million Sydney businesses and households switched off their lights. They found that the reduction in greenhouse gas emission during Earth Hour was equivalent to 48,161 cars off the road in a year.

Spread the word about “Earth Hour”! A simple action taken by us can make a huge difference in combating global warming. On the 29th of March ‘08, from 8 pm – 9 pm make a small contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emission in Colombo with a simple act. Log on to http://saveplanet.mobi to find what you can do in Colombo and for more information about earth hour log on to www.earthhour.org

Here are a few things we can do to help with the cause.

Individuals

· Register and Spread the word.
· Opt to have One light switch on and use candles
· Refrain from using electrical items for 1 hour
· Refrain from Charging your mobile phone & remove the plugs from the sockets
· Opt to have a candle lit dinner whether at home or at a restaurant. How Romantic
· Stay home that hour – think of the amount of C02 you will reduce.
· Have a candle get together with family and friends.

Organizations

· Turn out the lights in your building between 8pm – 9pm
· Communicate to employees and customers – say you support Earth Hour
· Use it in your communications & spread the word.
· Make a change everyday

Please pass this email around to all your family and friends and let’s make a difference together! Let us as individuals and organisations take a stand and organise our own earth hour. TAKE ACTION Today For Tomorrow! Make it a CSR project in your organisation.

“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation’s original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

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The ‘bitter truths’ of life are things that some hear about, a lucky few are forewarned about and most are left to learn about through experience. I unfortunately have, for the most part of my life fallen into the latter category. I’ve learnt that sometimes the best of friends can make the worst of enemies. I’ve learnt that a trust once broken can never truly be repaired. I’ve learnt that life doesn’t always seem fair, but given time, things usually balance out. I’ve learnt that you can never please everyone and that you shouldn’t waste your whole life trying to. I’ve learnt that once you let laziness in, it will consume you. I’ve learnt that age doesn’t determine your maturity. I’ve learnt that you shouldn’t place your happiness in other people’s hands. I’ve learnt that great expectations, more often than not, lead to great disappointment…

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Seven years out of school and I’ve completed my quota of higher studies for the time being, worked part/ full time from the time I left school, indulged myself in numerous extracurricular “arty” activities that I love, and am now taking a much-needed break from my rather hectic 20’s. I feel it’s high time I sit back and take a look at where my life is heading. I guess I’ve been so afraid of the “where I’d be in ten years” factor, that I completely overlooked the rather crucial “where I am right now” factor! Am I part of a strange breed, or is this very much part and parcel of being “twenty-something?”

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