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It is heartening to read your article about the garment factory that
is providing employment to the soldiers who were injured in their
supreme effort in defending the Motherland.
I am suggesting you can try some more factories like manufacturing
leather shoes and other items required for the Army and may be to all
Forces.
Also, even handicrafts or any other items manufactured by these
injured heroes with a proper label and outlets to sell them and
supplemented by a marketing campaign.
Any person who has the slightest feeling about the country will buy
these items. Give back the employees a share from the returns.
I am afraid you must take the maximum opportunity from these kind of
news items and make some more propaganda to highlight the important
tasks performed by the valiant Forces.
There should be a strong counter-propaganda campaign against the
treacherous forces who only make out of proportion rights abuses while
not a single word is uttered about the killings and rights abuses
including the claymore mines killing innocent people and any body who is
against LTTE.
I feel as a national policy the government must make it compulsory
for all media institutions to publish and broadcast such material which
is State policy. In Singapore or China they take decisions best for the
country and others have to obey. For example when Chewing Gum was
jamming the doors of Singapore’s underground trains Singapore banned
Chewing Gum.
One English daily paper shows open support to LTTE. You can observe
any news item against the Karuna faction or the so called human rights
abuses by the government takes the highest priority with the front page
having articles with big and colourful headlines.
ROHAN NANAYAKKARA
The Avanhala in Kandy City bordering the Kandy lake is a busy and a
famous place of attraction, specially to the tourists because cultural
shows are displayed daily.
These are of a high quality and a popular feature. It is a great pity
that the Department of Cultural Affairs has not paid much attention to
the toilets and they are in an neglected state.
If we boast of Kandy as a heritage city then this drawback must be
remedied forthwith as we derive a revenue from these shows and moreover
our image is damaged.
EBERT PERERA
A lot has been said in the media on statements made by John Holmes,
the Humanitarian Chief of United Nations. Many including Ministers have
expressed their concern and now Holmes himself in a letter to Minister
Mahinda Samarasinghe has attempted to give a different perspective to
what he said.
Having associated with the UN for 17 years and having worked in the
North and East of Sri Lanka as a staff member of the UN until March
2007, I would like to vouch that North and East of Sri Lanka is not at
all dangerous to aid workers.
The courtesy extended by both Sri Lanka armed forces and the LTTE
cadres to aid workers, especially the UN staff is unimaginable. They are
so courteous and cooperative.
This directs us to the incident with regard to the plight of Mohan
Samaranayake, who is also an UN employee like Holmes, and a most
respected veteran journalist, who was taken to task by the UN for making
a clarification with regard to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
One should sit back and wonder what action the UN would take with
regard to Holmes, who has put the UN in a compromising situation with
the Government of Sri Lanka with his biased views.
GAMINI GUNASEKERA
Mulleriyawa New Town
The contents of the editorial of Dawn - Pakistan reproduced in the
Daily News on August 16, 2007 under the above caption applies well to
Sri Lanka too.
But, the million rupee question is why can’t our Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission follow suit by blocking the stolen cell phones
using their IMEI numbers?
It is high time the authorities including the relevant Minister read
this editorial carefully and got into action.
GMRK
Lunuwila
With reference to Tuan Rassool’s article.
Tuan Rassool says astrology is like gambling; perhaps he is not aware
of the study people have carried out over the centuries.
It is known that the gravitational force of the moon affects high and
low tide; also there is a saying that a full moon affects people’s
mentality. Perhaps gravitational effects of the movement of planets does
have significance in people’s lives.
Albert Einstein proved that gravity affects space and time. What is
to say it does not affect the physical and metaphysical energy of the
human beings?
The essence of astrology to my understanding is to study the impact
of planets on an individual and predict a range of outcomes, not give
definite answers as Rassool suggests.
There may be astrologers who use the art for personal gain but then
again can anyone claim that religions have not been used to gain power
and make money?
If death is not a punishment in your faith, can you explain why for
instance Rizana is condemned to death?
Isn’t this a form of punishment that Dr. Rafai defended a while ago
because it is in accordance with religious law?
Rassool says scientists cannot create the world. Perhaps he hasn’t
heard of evolution which a large proportion of scientists accept. No,
Mr. Rassool, I don’t think any scientist is trying to create another
world. Many of them would be trying to understand the universe and
evolution.
I cannot agree that beauty and complexity of the universe amounts to
mercy.
There is much ugliness and savagery as well and one must accept this
as part of existence of the universe. It’s all very well to marvel at
the eye but where does this leave someone who is blind? Creation is not
the only way to look at the existence of the universe.
Anyway aren’t people who believe in a merciful creator taking a
gamble?
It’s one thing to say God is everywhere and marvel at the wonders of
the universe or say one has to experience it, but that is subject to
personal interpretation. One can say the sun exists because its effects
are objectively quantifiable and measurable.
Can Rassool provide an argument to the existence of a creator that is
objective?
Don’t get me wrong, I have a deep and equal respect for all faiths.
But when someone condemns something and expresses superiority of their
own belief I would expect an argument with facts that are not subject to
personal interpretation.
ROSHAN DODANWELA
This is with reference to the letter of Dr. Mahes Ladduwahetty which
appeared on 14.08.07 in response to my article of 12.07.07. He asks who
or what created the designer?
Now, what the Intelligent Design proponents say is that there is
evidence in fields such as biology, cosmology, astronomy, physics,
biochemistry and even fields which study the mind and consciousness, for
intelligent design - i.e. as a scientific inference. Science cannot
identify the Designer.
That is left to religion and philosophy. As a Christian, I say the
designer is God - Muslims will say it is Allah, Jews will say it is
Jehovah, others may say something else.
Now, God is by definition the uncreated creator of the universe. He
is outside time and space (where cause and effect do not operate),
having created the universe and time itself.
The question ‘Who created God?’ is an age-old question of sceptics. A
more sophisticated way to put the question is: If the universe needs a
cause, then why doesn’t God need a cause? And if God doesn’t need a
cause, why should the universe need a cause? The answer is -
* Every thing which has a beginning has a cause
* The universe has a beginning (the ‘Big Bang’)
* Therefore the universe has a cause
The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning. God, unlike
the universe, has no beginning, so doesn’t need a cause. There is no
premise here that everything has a cause.
The question “Who created God?” is really illogical. It is like the
question “What does blue smell like?” Blue is not in the category of
things that have odour, so the question itself is flawed. Like-wise, God
is not in the category of things that are created, come into existence,
or are caused. He is uncaused and uncreated - He simply exists.
How do we know this? The argument has been put like this - “We know
that from nothing, nothing comes. So, if there was ever a time when
there was absolutely nothing in existence, then nothing would ever have
come to exist. But things do exist.
Therefore, since there could never have been absolutely nothing,
something had to have been always existing. That ever-existing thing is
what we call God.” (Knowing God - J.I.Packer)
DR. V. J. M. DE SILVA
Moratuwa
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