Book Review:

Title :    Travel, Sex and Train Wrecks

Author:  Julie Morey

Pages:    13, Kindle edition

Publisher: Julie Morey

Published: July 2012

ASIN:    B008NQUWHE

Edition  language:    English

Genre: Travel/ Non fiction

Julie Morey originally from Northern California, USA who was teaching  English in Thailand, suddenly find herself single with her ten years of marriage ending in divorce.  Not knowing what to do she embarks on a journey to travel the globe.  

This books talks of Julie’s travel adventures in Thailand, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka.  She unearths the experience of a white female solo traveler.  Her experience are saucy and thought provoking for a reader, and sure a guide  to anyone who wants a real time experience guide book on how to travel and what to expect in South and  South East Asia. 

Julie is still traveling long after publishing this book in South America and she was last seen in Argentina as the time of this review been written.

New Eelam war- no guns fired no blood spilled

It’s been close to four years since the separatist war, which dragged for 30 long years, was ended in Nandikadal lagoon with the death of LTTE leader Prabaharan.  The majority of Sri Lankans and the government believe that the Eelam war is no more and it is virtually impossible for the terrorist group to re- organize.  How can the youth in the North and East re- arm themselves when there are security personal standing almost next to every door-step, and countless numbers of CID agents working in silence?  Let that be the fact it is even harder for any other communal or youth group in any part of the country to gather as a movement. Perpetrators of  any kind of aggression, be it non-violent or violent, will be forced to surrender either through money or will be traumatized to the extent that they flee the country in fear of life or become dumb for the rest of their lives. This is the reality of post war Sri Lanka.

Although people sigh with relief that the war is no more; no more casualties, no more bomb blasts, no more bloodshed, is this the reality? Is Sri Lanka is free from war in reality? The ground situation must support the claim of the government that the terrorist are no more, that there is no more war.  

In reality it does not. Sri Lanka has already started fighting the Fourth Eelam war. It may sound a surprise and absurd to say. But, it is true.  The war is not fought with guns and bullets but with computers.  Sri Lanka is fighting a virtual war. A Cyber-war. 

Not many people are aware that almost 1952 Sri Lankan websites are being hacked or defaced by the cyber terrorists, out of these 22 are government websites.  Newspaper reports during the last few months have claimed that the Ministry of Mass media and communication, Department of Health, Department of Irrigation, Ports Authority and the North Central governor’s websites are among them. The Foreign Employment Bureau, Sri Lanka Customs, Rupavahini, One Sri Lanka television channel and Uva Provincial Council websites are among others that were recently hacked.

Although this phenomenon may sound new to many Sri Lankans. not many know that Sri Lanka faced the first known attack by terrorists against a country's computer systems in 1998. In 1998, ethnic Tamil guerrillas swamped Sri Lankan embassies with 800 e-mails a day over a two-week period. The messages read "We are the Internet Black Tigers and we're doing this to disrupt your communications." Intelligence authorities characterized it as the first known attack by terrorists against a country's computer systems.  

So what is this cyber-terrorism?  According to Wikipedia, “Cyber terrorism is the use of Internet based attacks in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses”.  Cyber terrorism can be also defined as the intentional use of computer, networks, and internet to cause destruction and harm for objectives that may be political, personal or ideological. 

In the western world mainstream media coverage often discusses the possibility of a large attack making use of computer networks to damage critical infrastructures with the aim of putting human lives in danger or causing disturbance on a national scale either directly or by disruption of the national economy. This became much more prominent after the September 11, 2001 attack on the USA.  Something that the western world was witnessing only on Hollywood movies became a reality. Another example of the cyber-attack on government website is the famous “Wikileaks” scandal, which exposed sensitive and confidential USA government security information. 

During the second stage to Eelam war in Sri Lanka the LTTE used cyber-attack as a weapon to destabilize the Sri Lankan government computer network. The present cyber attackers claim that the government should take responsibility for the war crimes committed at the Third Eelam war.  This sounds the alarming signal that we have entered in to the Fourth stage of Eelam war.

The significance of this form of war is that the enemy is not visible and cannot be readily identified. More to that don’t know you are under attack at all.  An operation can be done by anyone anywhere in the world, for it can be performed thousands of miles away from a target. An attack can cause serious damage to critical infrastructure, which may result in casualties. Vulnerable infrastructure could include power grids, banking systems, dams, media, and personal information. Hacking is not only defacing the frontal view of the website. It can be done by using malware, viruses, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, leaking information and admin user name or password, and using information in the site to commit fraud, hate or threat mail etc.

Since the 1998 attack the Eelam struggle has transformed into an event that attracts international concern. This is very clearly evident with the UNHRC allegation on war crimes and Channel 4 documentaries also with the Tamil diaspora propaganda against the Sri Lankan Government. 

The cyber-attacks on the Sri Lankan websites are just the initial steps for much bigger attacks to follow. The question of the hour is, how prepared are we for this kind of terrorism? Does the government have computer security capable of averting further cyber-attacks?  Anyone can develop a website and feed details, but securing it is the most important part, unfortunately this side has been neglected in Government sites. Hackers usually hack to obtain information or to promote their own ideologies, and sabotage the state security network and take control of the government. 

Installing trusted software, using strong passwords and keeping them secret, having regularly updated virus guard, maintaining firewalls, updating software and Operating Systems regularly and refraining from clicking hostile or suspicious links in emails or on the web, are some measures to secure sites. 

One should not forget that when Prabaharan first started LTTE he did not even have a gun on his own but he managed to build up an army that could fight a war for three decades.  Albert Einstein once said “I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth — rocks!”  We have already fought the third Eelam war now fighting the fourth and there is no weapon or visible enemy, but the enemy is much stronger and more powerful than its predecessor. As a nation we should be educated on how to face this new form of terror before it’s too late.

Hugo Chavez; “Humble Soldier” and a Peasant revolutionist.

 "This is the path: the hard, long path, filled with doubts, filled with errors, filled with bitterness, but this is the path, the path is this: socialism." Chavez, 2011.

Why the death of Hugo Chavez has taken centre stage in almost all the news media? Is it because he was a defiant leader who revolutionized the Venezuela? Is it because he just stood strong rebelling against the USA hegemony right under their nose? Is it because he paved way for “New Socialism?”

Whatever it may be one cannot deny the role he played in total reformation of Venezuela. By bringing smiles to the face of his own countrymen.  

Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias was born on July 28, 1954, in the rural town of Sabaneta in Venezuela's western plains. He was the son of a school teacher father and was the second of six brothers. His mother was also a school teacher who met her husband at age 16. 

Hugo and his older brother Adan grew up with their grandmother, Rosa Ines, in a home with a dirt floor, mud walls and a roof made of palm leaves.

Chavez was a very good baseball player, who wanted to pitch in the major baseball league in USA when he was young. He joined the Military at the age of 17 in the hope of honing his baseball skills. But his military carrier shaped his political life.  The young soldier immersed himself in the history of Bolivar and other Venezuelan heroes who had overthrown Spanish rule, and his political ideas began to take shape.

Chavez public life became highlighted with the failed coup led by him against the President Rafael Caldera in 1992. As a Para troop commander leading a military rebellion that brought tanks to the presidential palace. When the coup buckled, Chavez was allowed to make a televised statement in which he stated that his movement had failed "for now." The speech, and those two defiant words, propelled his career, shooting his image into the memory of Venezuelans.

Two years later He and his other coup prisoners were released by President Caldera dropped the charges against them. 

In 1998 Chavez formed a political party and ran for the president election, promising to clean up Venezuela's ingrained corruption and break its traditional two-party system. At age 44, he became the country's youngest president in four decades of democracy with 56 present of the vote.

After he took office he called for a fresh constitution and renamed the country as “Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” and extended the presidential term from 4 years to 5.  In 2000 his close relationship with Cuba and his confrontational style ended him losing the middle class supporter who voted for him. There were attempts by his opponents to remove him from power. This all ended in a blood bath in 2002 with a failed coup led by Rebellious military officers detained the president and announced he had resigned. But within two days, he returned to power with the help of military loyalists amid massive protests by his supporters.

Chavez emerged as strong president.  He defeated an opposition-led strike that paralyzed the country's oil industry and fired thousands of state oil company employees. The coup also turned Chavez against the U.S. government more, which had quickly recognized the temporary leader who briefly replaced him.

Chavez, created political and economic relationships that excluded USA and its allies. He categorically denounced the existence of Israel.  He strengthened the ties with Iran and Syria in large part; it seemed, due to their shared bitterness toward the U.S. government. Despite the souring relationship, Chavez kept selling the bulk of Venezuela's oil to the United States.

One cannot forget the remark he made in the U.N. General Assembly, he called President George W. Bush the devil, saying the podium reeked of sulphur after the U.S. president's address. And At a summit in 2007, he repeatedly called Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a fascist, prompting Spain's King Juan Carlos to snap, "Why don't you shut up?" 

Critics saw Chavez as a typical Latin American political-military leader, a strongman who ruled through force of personality and showed disregard for democratic rules. Chavez concentrated power in his hands with allies who dominated the congress and justices who controlled the Supreme Court. But, Chavez maintained a core of supporters who stayed loyal to their "comandante" until the end.

Chavez will be remembered as a "humble soldier" as he used to name himself, in a battle for socialism and against U.S. hegemony.  Chavez used his country's vast oil wealth to launch social programs that included state-run food markets, new public housing, free health clinics and education programs. Poverty declined during Chavez's presidency in the middle of a historic boom in oil earnings. 

He will be remembered for truing the rest of the world attention towards a Latin American nation.  As the country with the world's biggest proven oil reserves took a turn to the left under its unconventional leader, who considered himself above all else a revolutionary. 

Chavez was a very good communicator and know-how political strategist, and managed to turn his struggle against cancer into a supporting voice, until the illness finally defeated him.  He identified himself as the heir of Bolivar, who led much of South America to independence.  Chavez also was inspired by his guide Fidel Castro and took on the Cuban leader's role as Washington's chief opponent in the Western Hemisphere after the ailing Castro turned over the presidency to his brother Raul in 2006. 

Supporters compared Chavez with revolutionary legends ranging from Castro to Argentine-born rebel Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Chavez encouraged that out of the ordinary of personality, and even as he stayed out of sight for long stretches fighting cancer, his out-sized image appeared on buildings and billboard throughout Venezuela. The broadcasting frequencies boomed with his words: "I am a nation." Supporters carried posters and wore masks of his eyes, chanting, "I am Chavez."

In the battles Chavez waged at home and abroad, he enchanted his base by defending his country's poor.

Running a revolution ultimately left little time for a personal life. His second marriage, to journalist Marisabel Rodriguez, deteriorated in the early years of his presidency, and they divorced in 2004. In addition to their one daughter, Rosines, Chavez had three children from his first marriage, which ended before he ran for office. His daughters Maria and Rosa often appeared at his side at official events and during his trips. He had one son, Hugo Rafael Chavez.

After he was diagnosed with cancer in June 2011, he acknowledged that he had recklessly neglected his health. He had taken to staying up late and drinking as many as 40 cups of coffee a day. He regularly summoned his Cabinet ministers to the presidential palace late at night.

Chavez ran himself for one final election campaign in 2012 after saying tests showed he was cancer-free, and defeated younger challenger Henrique Capriles. With another six-year term in hand, he promised to keep pressing for revolutionary changes.

But two months later, he went to Cuba for a fourth cancer-related surgery, blowing a kiss to his country as he boarded the plane.

After a 10-week absence, the government announced that Chavez had returned to Venezuela and was being treated at a military hospital in Caracas. He was never seen again in public.

In his final years, Chavez frequently said Venezuela was well on its way toward socialism, and at least in his mind, there was no turning back.

His political movement, however, was mostly a one-man miracle. Only three days before his final surgery, Chavez named Vice President Nicolas Maduro as his chosen successor who was a bus driver himself, with a simple smile.

Now, it will be up to Venezuelans to determine whether the revolution can survive, and how it will evolve, without the leader who inspired it.

Chavez said he felt a deep connection to the plains where he grew up, and that when died he hoped to be buried in the savannah. 

"A man from the plains, from these great open spaces ... tends to be a nomad, tends not to see barriers. What you see is the horizon,” Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias (July 28, 1954 – March 06, 2013)

Are we prepared for a nuclear radiation disaster?

The news that is circulating the media these days is that Kudankulam Nuclear power plant is leaking radiation. Located few hundred miles from the Northern peninsula of Sri Lanka in South India, Kudankulam power plant should be viewed as a threat to Sri Lanka.

Commissioned against the public protest in South India, and a reserved objection by the Sri Lankan authorities, it is said to be radioactive and leaking radiation from February 27.  South Indian people’s concern over the building of a nuclear power plant in a densely populated area and very close to coast which is rich in sea resources is understandable.

Brain child of Former Indian Prime minister Rajiv Ghandi and Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev, The Power plant is a joint Inter-governmental venture commissioned as the result of the agreement signed in 1988 between Rajiv and Gorbachev. The   construction of the plant had to progress at a limping speed because of the fall of Soviet Russia and the Anti- nuclear protest.

Initially opposed even by the USA government for the negligence in adhering to the 1992 terms of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The question raised by the protesters at present is; “Is the power plant secure enough to withstand a disaster like the one that struck Fukashima in Japan?” People raised their objection highlighting that, there are more than One million people living within 30 KM radius of the power plant which is against the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board stipulations. And in the event of a disaster like Fukashima it is impossible to evacuate such a large number of people.

Public fear is understandable after the aftermath of Japanese Tsunami disaster. Since then Germany has started to shut down all its 23 nuclear power plants, and USA too looking for renewable energy sources.  England too agreed on policy wise to close down nuclear power plants. While the Western world is looking out for energy sources other than nuclear power. They have understood the safety concern of a  nuclear power plant and dumping of nuclear waste safely.

Whereas, 3rd world countries like Iran, India, Pakistan and North Korea are extremely interested in enriching Uranium and operating Nuclear power plants.  World has witnessed 3 huge nuclear power plant disaster already, to begin with Chernobyl in Russia followed by the Bhopal and Fukashima.  Hiroshima and Nagasaki Nuclear bombing by USA during the 2^nd world war is a prime example of radio activity even after half a century. Still those two cities in Japan are haunted and inhabitable. Still women give birth to deformed children as a result of radiation passed on by their ancestors to the next generation.  Fish caught off the California coast in USA found to be infected with radiaction of the Fukashima disaster.  Only last year Russians were able to cover the Chernobyl nuclear radiation completely at an expense on 18 billion Rubbles and 500 000 workers. The Chernobyl accident happened in 1986, with 31 deaths although causality count is disputed.

Indian too has its own example, though not a nuclear disaster but the worst industrial disaster to date.  

On 3 December 1984, a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked around 32 tons of toxic gases. The official death toll was initially recorded around 5,000. Many figures suggest that 18,000 died within two weeks, and it is estimated that around 8,000 have died since then of gas-poisoning-related diseases. The new born children still suffer from serious birth defects, even after generations.

Significance of the issue for Sri Lankans is this power plant is just under our nose in Northern peninsula and in the event of a disaster like Fukashima we are the ones who will be directly affected.   

Although Japan was well prepared for a disaster in the event of an earth quake and Tsunami they were caught empty handed with the magnitude of the earth quake and the force of Tsunami waves. 

Although the claim of radiation leak at the Kudankulam nuclear plan is politically motivated at a time where Indian government is side-lining themselves with USA against the Sri Lankan government in the UN Human Rights Commission, to pass a resolution calling for investigation of War crimes.  The objection raised by the Sri Lankan authorities is questionable and below their standards.  Initially they failed to educate the Sri Lankan people on the construction of nuclear power plant just under our nose. Secondly their objection was limited to a request to visit the power plant and issuing a report based on the guarantee given by the Indian Atomic agency.

It is not too late for the Sri Lankan government to raise its concern to the Indian government. To point the ecological unbalance that this power plant would make to the sea bed immediately. And the air pollution, and the fear of the public. If the Indian government is unwilling, take the issue too much higher forums and lobby against the construction and commissioning of a nuclear power plant right next to Sri Lankan border.   Further point out the out dated technology which is going to be used in enriching Uranium rods to produce electricity.

Local Tamil saying is “build the dykes before it floods”, so it’s not too late to act.

Rizana Reafeek Daughter of a Nation

An extremely deprived, poor Muslim family from Muttur, decided to find some stability to their living by sending their 17 year old eldest daughter for employment in the Middle East. In 2005 the salary would have been around Sri Lankan Rupees  16,000 (USD 150) per month and that for them would have been substantial.

 Rizana Nafeek arrived in Saudi Arabia in May 2005 to work as a housemaid. She was sent by her parents after the family lost all possessions and became refugees due the Tsunami in 2004.

Rizana Nafeek (4 February 1988 – 9 January 2013) was a Sri Lankan woman convicted and subsequently executed in Saudi Arabia for the murder of four-month-old Naif al-Quthaibi. It is alleged that in order to get work in Saudi Arabia the date of birth was altered on Nafeek's passport when in reality she was under 18 when the incident took place.

Her execution was contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The initial confession made by Nafeek was claimed to have been made under duress and without linguistic assistance.

This poor girl from remote Muttur, Rizana Nafeek, would not have even known, her passport was made with a false date of birth to get Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE)  approval. That’s when helpless parents are held responsible too for the misfortunes of their under aged children.

She went to work at the house of Mr. Naif Jiziyan Khalaf Al Otaibi whose wife had a new-born baby boy. A short time after she started working for this family she was assigned to bottle feed the infant who was by then four months old. Rizana Nafeek had no experience of any sort in caring for such a young infant. She was left alone when bottle feeding the child.While she was feeding the child the boy started choking, as so often happens to babies and Rizana Nafeek panicked and while shouting for help tried to sooth the child by feeling the chest, neck and face, doing whatever she could to help him. At her shouting the mother arrived but by that time the baby was either unconscious or dead. Unfortunately, misunderstanding the situation the family members treated the teenager very harshly and handed her over to the police, accusing her of strangling the baby.

Riyana's story came to light late in 2007, between  2005 to 2007 all the diplomacy and the attempt to release were blurred. Appeals at diplomatic level from Sri Lanka rarely affected the outcomes of the case and only the mission could render help.

During the two years Sri Lanka’s efforts to release her resulted in  nothing. It was a crucial period for both her and the country but it slipped away. Saudi Arabians are hostile towards migrant workers and its legal system reflects that fact. 

Judicial proceedings were in Arabia and it was known that Rizana was not provided with an interpreter. Although the missions in Saudi Arabia were aware of the situation their policies disabled legal aid to migrant workers. Instead she had to appear in court with an Indian Malayaly interpreter. Malayalam and Tamil are two different languages and Malayalam in not the language Rizana understands, and the interepreter has since left Saudi Arabia.

Within this background, whether Sri Lanka did all her could to secure her release is debatable. We could have done a lot more. Rizana was on death row in June 2007 and sentenced in September 2010 by the Supreme Judicial Council. It was only in October 2010 that Sri Lanka fully intervened. But by that time, her prospect of being set free was substantially diminished.

Rizana Nafeek was arrested in May 2005 on charges of murdering an infant in her care. She was 17 years old at the time. On 16 June 2007, she was sentenced to death by a court in Dawadmi, a town west of the capital Riyadh. The sentence was subsequently upheld by the Court of Cassation and sent for ratification by the Supreme Judicial Council. However, the Council sent it back to the lower court for further clarification. The case then went back and forth between the courts until 25 October 2010, when the Supreme Court in Riyadh upheld the death sentence. The case was then sent to the King for approval of the death sentence; The King did approve the death sentence, Rizana Nafeek was executed by beheading. On 9 January 2013.

Rizana appeared in court in February 2007. She appeared in courts again only in 2010. In the long interim, the absence of any support legal or otherwise for her barred the opportunity for a fair trial.

Rizana Nafeek had no access to lawyers either during her pre-trial interrogation or at her first trial. She initially “confessed” to the murder during interrogation but has since retracted her confession, which she says she was forced to make under duress following a physical assault. 

Her defense depended only on the Asian Human Rights who readied funds to pay blood money expecting the family of the deceased infant would pardon Rizana - something even Government of Sri Lanka  didn’t come forward with. When the case was before the Royal Court, the parents of the deceased child and the Reconciliation Committee (RC) of the Riyadh Governor were requested to meet to reach an amicable settlement. It was reported that the mother was in great urgency to witness Rizana’s execution.

At the police station also, she was very harshly handled and did not have the help of a translator or anyone else to whom she could explain what had happened. After physical assault she was made to sign a confession and later charges were filed in court of murder by strangulation.

As the significance of the case heightened in Sri Lanka the two foreign employment subagents who sent her abroad were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court and ordered each to pay Rs. 60,000 as compensation to her parents.

Last week the Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia informed Riyadh Governorate about the verdict making her execution imminent. President Mahinda Rajapaksa sent the second appeal on January 5 seeking her release. During the last few days, a delegation was being assembled including her parents to visit her. They had been waiting for her father to be discharged from the hospital where he was seeking treatment.

The amount of internationally attention the beheading of Rizana got is significant that the Saudi government was so furious and had to issue an media statement justifying that the parents are unwilling to pardon her  despite repeated request by the Saudi government and the  the Kings personal appeal.

It’s appalling that her parents still reside in a makeshift home despite all the support rendered to their daughter. They are survivors of the 2004 Tsunami and deserve more. 

For her family, offers of help keep coming. But in flashes of stabbing reality her mother asks "What's the point of money or a better house if my child back is dead?"

References.

• Fernandez, Minelle. "A family in pain - Al Jazeera Blogs." Blogs - Al Jazeera Blogs. N.p., 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. <http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/asia/family-pain>.
• "Execution of Rizana Nafeek - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_Rizana_Nafeek>.
• Perera, Kusal. "Waking up to migrant employment through Rizana Nafeek - Groundviews." Groundviews - Journalism for Citizens. N.p., 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2013. <http://groundviews.org/2013/01/14/waking-up-to-migrant-employment-through-rizana-nafeek/>.
• Proudman , Charlotte . "The beheading of a housemaid in Saudi Arabia highlights slave-like conditions - Comment - Voices - The Independent." The Independent The Independent | News . The Independent , 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-beheading-of-a-housemaid-in-saudi-arabia-highlights-slavelike-conditions-8451951.html>.
• "SAVE RIZANA NAFEEK." SAVE RIZANA NAFEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. <http://www.rizananafeek.com/#>.