SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU, ADIOS

Blogging is a cyclical thing ... it seems that many of the political bloggers in NB have moved on to other things. I'm doing the same. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the effort.

I'll leave a few posts up here - ones that I enjoyed. Take care y'all.

Happy reading! 'koom

Former pros discuss head injuries at summit

by Canadian Press

January 19, 2009

LONDON, Ont. -- An all-star cast of medical men along with a sprinkling of notable former pros sought answers to the severity of head injuries at the well-attended London Hockey Concussion Summit on Saturday.

From a return to some former rules as suggested by Eric Lindros to four-on-four hockey touted by Mark Moore, the wide-ranging talks by a panel including those players and two others driven from the game by concussions, Jeff Beukeboom and Alyn McCauley, zeroed in on causes but was short on solutions.

Lindros, whose young brother Brett was driven from the game by concussions, was the victim of at least a half-dozen that helped end his career prematurely. Both, along with various hockey people and neurologists on the panel, seek to cut down on head injuries and concussions.

"I got my last one six years and one month ago," said Moore, a Harvard grad who had hoped one day to play for the Montreal Canadiens. "The top of a helmet got me in the jaw during practice. I was 20 feet wide on a drill passing the puck 10 feet right after. Next thing I remembered was being in hospital. And later, having to call the Canadiens to tell them I wouldn't be coming to camp."

McCauley remembers the Sheldon Souray hit that turned his life into trouble. Driving became a problem, as did handling bright lights and, like the rest, feeling generally off. He made it back but, like Olympic medallist Jennifer Botterill, it wasn't easy.

"It was just a scrimmage in August with the guys and Raffi Torres and I collided," said Botterill.

"It took three months," she added. "There were the headaches, the nausea - it took a long time before I felt like my true self."

Along with Beukeboom, who eventually took almost three years to recuperate from seven major concussions, the panel abhorred terms such as getting one's bell rung, conked or dinged, which tend to minimize a problem that accounts for so many games lost and careers ended.

"Mild concussion is an oxymoron," University of Toronto neurosurgeon Charles Tator said. "There is no known treatment, drug or physical exercise. The only way is prevention and if there is one, rest."

What the conference sought to accomplish was to draw attention to concussions in minor and pro hockey. First, all agreed, was that people involved in minor hockey - parents, trainers, coaches, have to be made cognizant of the signs of concussion and make sure there is rest and no physical activity until proper testing is conducted.

The symptoms are many, but typically they are dizziness, headaches, lack of focus, fatigue, blurred vision, despondency and a general malaise. Returning to activity too soon can put the victim at even greater risk. Concussion, panellists pointed out, is a brain injury, after all. Intervention is critical.

"Patience is very important (to the injured party)," said Botterill, whose brother, Jason, was knocked out of the NHL due to concussion.

All panellists agreed when it came to suspected concussion: If in doubt, sit them out.

The pro players left little doubt that there are teams in the NHL that aren't against hurrying a player back into action. Lindros says there's no mercy for somebody coming off a concussion.

"Guys like Simon Gagne and Patrice Bergeron have targets on their backs," he said.

Did he have one?

"Yes, it was ridiculous at the end."

Moore, whose brother Steve suffered broken vertebrae when jumped by Todd Bertuzzi in an infamous NHL incident, felt the four-on-four hockey that has been debated over the years could work well with the same roster size, only more sets of forwards and defence pairings.

"There are some great players on fourth lines that nobody sees much of," he said. "It has worked in other leagues."

In general, the conference was designed to help set a standard for the identification of concussion, its severity and impact on the individual and a controlled set of guidelines for the return of the athlete to action.

"And then they came for me" — Lasantha Wickramatunga

BBC - Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of a leading Sri Lankan newspaper editor and fierce government critic who was shot dead last week. Security was tight in Colombo as crowds paid their last respects to Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga. Reports say some 10,000 people attended a Christian service before a burial ceremony at Colombo's main cemetery.

Journalists in Sri Lanka have suffered a string of attacks as the war with Tamil Tiger rebels has intensified. Media freedom groups say intimidation and violence make it one of the most difficult countries in the world in which to report.

An obituary for Mr Wickramatunga, apparently written by himself in premonition of his killing, appeared in his paper on Sunday under the title ...

And Then They Came For Me

by Lasantha Wickramatunga

January 15, 2009

"No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last.
I have been in the business of journalism a good long time. Indeed, 2009 will be The Sunday Leader's 15th year. Many things have changed in Sri Lanka during that time, and it does not need me to tell you that the greater part of that change has been for the worse. We find ourselves in the midst of a civil war ruthlessly prosecuted by protagonists whose bloodlust knows no bounds. Terror, whether perpetrated by terrorists or the state, has become the order of the day.

Indeed, murder has become the primary tool whereby the state seeks to control the organs of liberty. Today it is the journalists, tomorrow it will be the judges. For neither group have the risks ever been higher or the stakes lower.

Why then do we do it? I often wonder that. After all, I too am a husband, and the father of three wonderful children. I too have responsibilities and obligations that transcend my profession, be it the law or journalism. Is it worth the risk?

Many people tell me it is not. Friends tell me to revert to the bar, and goodness knows it offers a better and safer livelihood. Others, including political leaders on both sides, have at various times sought to induce me to take to politics, going so far as to offer me ministries of my choice. Diplomats, recognising the risk journalists face in Sri Lanka, have offered me safe passage and the right of residence in their countries.

Whatever else I may have been stuck for, I have not been stuck for choice.

But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and security. It is the call of conscience.

The Sunday Leader has been a controversial newspaper because we say it like we see it: whether it be a spade, a thief or a murderer, we call it by that name. We do not hide behind euphemism. The investigative articles we print are supported by documentary evidence thanks to the public-spiritedness of citizens who at great risk to themselves pass on this material to us.

We have exposed scandal after scandal, and never once in these 15 years has anyone proved us wrong or successfully prosecuted us.

The free media serve as a mirror in which the public can see itself sans mascara and styling gel. From us you learn the state of your nation, and especially its management by the people you elected to give your children a better future. Sometimes the image you see in that mirror is not a pleasant one. But while you may grumble in the privacy of your armchair, the journalists who hold the mirror up to you do so publicly and at great risk to themselves.

That is our calling, and we do not shirk it.

Every newspaper has its angle, and we do not hide the fact that we have ours. Our commitment is to see Sri Lanka as a transparent, secular, liberal democracy. Think about those words, for they each has profound meaning.

Transparent because government must be openly accountable to the people and never abuse their trust.

Secular because in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society such as ours, secularism offers the only common ground by which we might all be united.

Liberal because we recognise that all human beings are created different, and we need to accept others for what they are and not what we would like them to be. And democratic... well, if you need me to explain why that is important, you'd best stop buying this paper.

The Sunday Leader has never sought safety by unquestioningly articulating the majority view. Let's face it, that is the way to sell newspapers. On the contrary, as our opinion pieces over the years amply demonstrate, we often voice ideas that many people find distasteful.

For example, we have consistently espoused the view that while separatist terrorism must be eradicated, it is more important to address the root causes of terrorism, and urged government to view Sri Lanka's ethnic strife in the context of history and not through the telescope of terrorism. We have also agitated against state terrorism in the so-called war against terror, and made no secret of our horror that Sri Lanka is the only country in the world routinely to bomb its own citizens.

For these views we have been labelled traitors, and if this be treachery, we wear that label proudly.

Many people suspect that The Sunday Leader has a political agenda: it does not. If we appear more critical of the government than of the opposition it is only because we believe that – pray excuse cricketing argot – there is no point in bowling to the fielding side. Remember that for the few years of our existence in which the UNP was in office, we proved to be the biggest thorn in its flesh, exposing excess and corruption wherever it occurred.

Indeed, the steady stream of embarrassing exposés we published may well have served to precipitate the downfall of that government.

Neither should our distaste for the war be interpreted to mean that we support the Tigers. The LTTE are among the most ruthless and bloodthirsty organisations ever to have infested the planet. There is no gainsaying that it must be eradicated. But to do so by violating the rights of Tamil citizens, bombing and shooting them mercilessly, is not only wrong but shames the Sinhalese, whose claim to be custodians of the dhamma is forever called into question by this savagery, much of which is unknown to the public because of censorship.

What is more, a military occupation of the country's north and east will require the Tamil people of those regions to live eternally as second-class citizens, deprived of all self-respect. Do not imagine that you can placate them by showering 'development' and 'reconstruction' on them in the post-war era. The wounds of war will scar them forever, and you will also have an even more bitter and hateful Diaspora to contend with. A problem amenable to a political solution will thus become a festering wound that will yield strife for all eternity.

If I seem angry and frustrated, it is only because most of my countrymen — and all of the government — cannot see this writing so plainly on the wall.

It is well known that I was on two occasions brutally assaulted, while on another my house was sprayed with machinegun fire. Despite the government's sanctimonious assurances, there was never a serious police inquiry into the perpetrators of these attacks, and the attackers were never apprehended.

In all these cases, I have reason to believe the attacks were inspired by the government. When finally I am killed, it will be the government that kills me.

The irony in this is that, unknown to most of the public, Mahinda and I have been friends for more than a quarter century. Indeed, I suspect that I am one of the few people remaining who routinely addresses him by his first name and uses the familiar Sinhala address oya when talking to him.

Although I do not attend the meetings he periodically holds for newspaper editors, hardly a month passes when we do not meet, privately or with a few close friends present, late at night at President's House. There we swap yarns, discuss politics and joke about the good old days. A few remarks to him would, therefore, be in order here.

Mahinda, when you finally fought your way to the SLFP presidential nomination in 2005, nowhere were you welcomed more warmly than in this column. Indeed, we broke with a decade of tradition by referring to you throughout by your first name. So well known were your commitments to human rights and liberal values that we ushered you in like a breath of fresh air.

Then, through an act of folly, you got yourself involved in the Helping Hambantota scandal. It was after a lot of soul-searching that we broke the story, at the same time urging you to return the money. By the time you did so several weeks later, a great blow had been struck to your reputation. It is one you are still trying to live down.

You have told me yourself that you were not greedy for the presidency. You did not have to hanker after it: it fell into your lap. You have told me that your sons are your greatest joy, and that you love spending time with them, leaving your brothers to operate the machinery of state.

Now, it is clear to all who will see that that machinery has operated so well that my sons and daughter do not themselves have a father.

In the wake of my death I know you will make all the usual sanctimonious noises and call upon the police to hold a swift and thorough inquiry. But like all the inquiries you have ordered in the past, nothing will come of this one, too. For truth be told, we both know who will be behind my death, but dare not call his name. Not just my life, but yours too, depends on it.

Sadly, for all the dreams you had for our country in your younger days, in just three years you have reduced it to rubble. In the name of patriotism you have trampled on human rights, nurtured unbridled corruption and squandered public money like no other president before you. Indeed, your conduct has been like a small child suddenly let loose in a toyshop.

That analogy is perhaps inapt because no child could have caused so much blood to be spilled on this land as you have, or trampled on the rights of its citizens as you do. Although you are now so drunk with power that you cannot see it, you will come to regret your sons having so rich an inheritance of blood. It can only bring tragedy.

As for me, it is with a clear conscience that I go to meet my Maker. I wish, when your time finally comes, you could do the same. I wish.

As for me, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I walked tall and bowed to no man. And I have not travelled this journey alone. Fellow journalists in other branches of the media walked with me: most of them are now dead, imprisoned without trial or exiled in far-off lands.

Others walk in the shadow of death that your presidency has cast on the freedoms for which you once fought so hard. You will never be allowed to forget that my death took place under your watch. As anguished as I know you will be, I also know that you will have no choice but to protect my killers: you will see to it that the guilty one is never convicted. You have no choice.

I feel sorry for you, and Shiranthi will have a long time to spend on her knees when next she goes for confession for it is not just her own sins which she must confess, but those of her extended family that keeps you in office.

As for the readers of The Sunday Leader, what can I say but thank you for supporting our mission. We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view.

For this I — and my family — have now paid the price that I have long known I will one day have to pay. I am — and have always been — ready for that. I have done nothing to prevent this outcome: no security, no precautions.

I want my murderer to know that I am not a coward like he is, hiding behind human shields while condemning thousands of innocents to death. What am I among so many? It has long been written that my life would be taken, and by whom. All that remains to be written is when.

That The Sunday Leader will continue fighting the good fight, too, is written. For I did not fight this fight alone. Many more of us have to be — and will be — killed before The Leader is laid to rest. I hope my assassination will be seen not as a defeat of freedom but an inspiration for those who survive to step up their efforts. Indeed, I hope that it will help galvanise forces that will usher in a new era of human liberty in our beloved motherland.

I also hope it will open the eyes of your president to the fact that however many are slaughtered in the name of patriotism, the human spirit will endure and flourish. Not all the Rajapaksas combined can kill that.

People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niemöller.

In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niemöller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niemöller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter.

As for me, God knows I tried."

*Source

STOP THE KILLING IN GAZA!

Grieving relatives carry the bodies of children killed in the Israeli bombardments.

When will the world say enough is enough?

In what amounts to an absolutely incredible display of the impotence and indifference of world leaders, the bloodshed in Gaza continues – seemingly unabated. Palestinian medical sources say the number of people killed in Gaza now stands at more than 500, with some 2,500 wounded. Crucially the hospitals in Gaza are running on emergency generators which amounts to a humanitarian crisis.

One million people are without electricity. Living conditions are deteriorating sharply. Supplies of fuel, food, water, and wheat are said to be running desperately low. A spokesman for Unrwa, the UN aid agency for the Palestinians, says food is urgently needed and people are facing "serious hunger", with supplies for just 48 hours. UNRWA is urging the Israeli Government to heed calls for ceasing its bombardment on Gaza. Israel is a signatory to international conventions that protect non-combatants in times of conflict. These conventions are worthless if they are not upheld.

A study carried out by Johns Hopkins University in late 2002 revealed very high levels of dietary deficiency among the Palestinian population. The study found that 17.5% of children aged 6–59 months suffered from chronic malnutrition. 53% of women of reproductive age and 44% of children were found to be anemic.

The hospitals in Gaza are practically out of supplies and yet the Israelis, with the support of their American puppet-masters, continue to bomb the area, with little or no apparent concern for the tragedy that is unfolding within the civilian population. It is reminiscent of the Vietnam war when entire villages were destroyed in an attempt to flush out the Viet Cong. Again, it was American bullets doing the killing.

There is an important story in the current edition of Vanity Fair online. In the story, entitled “Gaza Bombshell”, writer David Rose shows how George W. Bush and his political henchmen created the situation that we see today in Gaza. Bush’s misguided and generous support of a Fatah thug paved the way for today’s crisis. If you want to know the background to at least some of the current violence, read Rose’s article.

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the north and east. It is about 25 miles long, and between 4–7.5 miles wide, with a total area of about 139 sq miles. The area is not recognized internationally as part of any sovereign country but is claimed by the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Palestinian territories.

There is no argument but that there are problems on both sides which have led to this present crisis but when you take one and a half million people, stick them on a piece of land like the Gaza Strip and imprison them there, you have to expect they will fight back and that is what they are doing. Now the Israeli jailers are using the power of their American support to wage war against the jailed. The question being asked by many is whether the Palestinians can survive until January 20th and then whether Barack Obama will have the fortitude to stand up to the Isaeli lobby in the United States. The time has come to cut the umbilical cord.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7811301.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7812189.stm
http://www.un.org/unrwa/english.html

Peace on earth, good will toward men ... except in Gaza

Israeli army takes war against Hamas into Gaza - hundreds killed

GAZA CITY (AFP) - Israeli tanks and troops late Saturday entered Gaza and fought fierce battles with Hamas, heightening an eight day old offensive that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction.

A burning fuel depot hit by a tank lit up the night sky soon after troops crossed the border while the air force swooped on dozens of targets in the biggest Israeli military operation since its 2006 war in Lebanon.

Israeli tanks were reported to be in battles around Gaza City and the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya. Hamas forces fired back with mortars and rockets , witnesses said.

France led international criticism of the Israeli offensive and the UN Security Council called a special meeting on the Gaza crisis, which has caused critical shortages of food and power for the 1.5 million population.

Read more by clicking here

NB education: a weak system that long ago forgot how to succeed

So Kelly Lamrock, the inept New Brunwick Education Minister, is going to undertake yet another study to find out what’s wrong with New Brunswick students and why they’re performing below average in reading, ‘riting & ‘ritmetic skills.

The new report card on the provincial assessment results paints a pretty bleak picture when you look through it. You can see the results here if you’re so inclined: http://www.gnb.ca/0000/results/index-e.asp

The reading comprehension, math skills, writing ability and general processing skills of many students are below what they should be. And yet all of these students likely will earn New Brunswick grade 12 diplomas. So much for quality throughout the public education system.

It makes me wonder what’s wrong with the public education system because it’s producing such students. But every time the question is asked, the various stake holders rush to protect their turf – the teachers (perpetual victims) will tell you they’re doing their job as well as can be expected with diminishing resources; education department officials (always in ass-protection mode) will tell you the programs are sound – it’s the delivery that’s lacking; the politicians (vote seeking Cruise missles) will point to the budget and tell you how little there is to go around. The bottom line is that it appears no one is willing to take the educational bull by the horns and deal with the problem. And there is a significant problem. Just look at the results of the standardized tests. I’m sorry but regardless of the excuses offered, the results are not acceptable.

Social skills are important and self-esteem is important, but when do we tell these young people that they need a quality education and they have to meet certain standards or they will not succeed. We seem to pride ourselves on the retention rate in the New Brunswick public school system. All that it tells me is that we are using social promotion to ensure that no one leaves the system. Why has it become a mortal sin to tell a student that he/she has failed? Are we so inept in preparing our students for real life that we cannot allow them to fail? Are we more worried about what it says about the system rather than the student?

A few days ago, a friend told me that her 16-year old grandson’s high school guidance counsellor was giving the boy advice on how he could move out of home and go on his own with assistance from the provincial department of social assistance. This 16-year old kid regularly jigs school, hangs with the wrong crowd and now a guidance counsellor is telling him how to leave home!! Someone, somewhere needs to give their head a shake.

The New Brunswick government must ask itself some very serious questions about the current state of education in this province. We need to stop excusing the results of those standardized tests and stop burying our heads in the sand when it comes to poor performance. And we need to stop doing the inevitable, costly studies that only serve to justify and then maintain the status quo.

Let’s get back to the basics. Let’s focus on teaching little kids skills mastery in the fundamentals – reading, writing and arithmetic and ensure that the mastery trend is maintained all the way through the public school system. Education has become so watered down and so inoffensive that it’s hardly a wonder that kids are doing so poorly. Why bother with spelling or grammar when your teacher ignores that and focuses on your self-expression? Two words: bull dung!

There is nothing wrong with telling a student that he/she must take English, history, geography, math, biology, chemistry, physics, and French and succeed at it. There is nothing wrong with telling a student that he/she must be able to express themselves correctly on paper, including spelling and grammar and that to do less means they will not succeed.

There is nothing wrong with telling a student he/she has failed and must re-do the course until he/she gets it right.

That would be a far better approach than squeezing a marginal student through a weak system that long ago forgot how to succeed.

MOM?

MOM?

Ireland’s Simon Finnigan looks out through the legs of Tonga’s Manase Manuokafoa during their Rugby League World Cup match at Parramatta Stadium in Sydney, Australia

(Daniel Munoz/Reuters)