Parm Gill says “Canada assures justice on Lanka”
Posted on December 11th, 2013
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada
11 December 2013
Parm Gill, Conservative MP for Brampton-Springdale, House of Commons, Ottawa
Dear Parm:
I notice that its 13 days before Christmas and you seem to have started to jolly yourself to celebrate literally the Holiday spirit and have got on your high-horse to lambast Sri Lanka saying, “the Sri Lankan government has failed to uphold the Commonwealths’ core values which are cherished by Canada.” Come again, Parm! If that was supposed to be a Christmas spirit filled joke, you have pulled my wrong leg. It’s my left leg that has jingle bells. You must be kidding, Man!
The news item that I read said “Canada assures justice in Sri Lanka”, “Canada will continue to monitor events in Sri Lanka and urge the government to fully implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, promote respect for human right and the rule of law…”
Tell me honestly Parm, what the heck to do you know about “Human Rights” in Sri Lanka? You know absolutely nothing Parm. I think you better get off that high horse of yours as it will take you no where until you and your government acknowledge the following:
- That the Government of Sri Lanka restored the basic and treasured human right of every human being on earth, the right-to-life, when they gave it back to her 22 million peoples which had been hijacked for 27 bloodying years by the Tamil Tiger terrorists, when their behinds were whipped by the Sri Lankan armed forces and eliminated on 19 May 2009 on the beach sands of the Nandikadhal lagoon. That’s a classic text book example on Human Rights performed by Sri Lanka that you guys have missed so far. You, Parm, have to stop your bullish attitude on Sri Lanka, which has come through a horrendous 27 years of warring aided and abetted by Canada. Just get off your high horse.
- That the Government of Sri Lanka was engaged in the biggest liberation of refugees in modern history, when they liberated 295,873 Tamils who were herded for 30 months like unwashed cattle from the west coast to the east coast by the Tamil Tigers as a human shield. These Tamils were liberated, kept in welfare camps for their safety until their houses were rebuilt and over million land mines were cleared, and prepared over a million meals a day to feed them three hearty meals -breakfast, lunch and diner. Did you know that classic text book example of Human Rights performance by the Sri Lankan government and about the Sinhalese people who prepared those meals to feed the Tamils? You were wearing the blinkers of your high horse, weren’t you Parm, when all that was happening?
Well, Parm, let’s get this straight and honest. You Conservatives have lost it, Big Time, when you talk of Human Rights in Sri Lanka. You have abdicated your throne if you were sitting on one as a Human Rights promoter in Sri Lanka. Because you are still wearing your High Horse blinkers, Parm. Take them off.
Parm Gill, first be honest with yourself and acknowledge the above two class acts by the Sri Lankan Government on restoring Human Rights in Sri Lanka, and then you can claim your right to speak on Sri Lanka’s human rights. Until then just keep your gob shut and don’t make a fool of yourself and speaking out against Sri Lanka with a puffed up SuperMan chest.
And that is the rub Parm. Your bullish announcement against Sri Lanka just does not cut mustard with me and many other Sinhalese-Sri Lankan Canadians. It’s simple as that.
Oh! By the way Parm Gill, this announcement in Sri Lanka’s Daily News of today should eat your heart out. It said EU CHEERS LANKA ON WORLD HR DAY. There have been significant improvements in Sri Lanka since end of the conflict, particularly in resettlement and physical reconstruction…..” You know what Parm, these European Union representatives went into Sri Lanka with their blinkers off which made a big difference unlike Jason Kenney and Deepak Obhrai who visited Sri Lanka and debriefed their performance in Sri Lanka to the Tamil community on their return and not to the Sinhalese community. And that tells a lot as well as it smells a rat.
Sincerely,
Asoka Weersinghe (Mr.)
December 11th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Looks like PARM is living on Tamil PALM OIL.
December 11th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
For arguments sake lets reverse the players and it is Sri Lanka that is accusing Canada for the human rights violations against her French speaking population. Would Canada even give a hoot? would they even create something the rest of us call an emotional feeling? no because Sri Lanka has no bearing on Canada.
In that sense why should Sri Lanka give any response to a nation obviously voicing the Tamils in their population. Colombo needs to asses what nations are important to Sri Lanka and her growth and what nations are not. Nations like China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Russia alone are sufficient enough to keep Sri Lanka’s growth high. As for the rest of the nations give them a courteous dismiss.
December 12th, 2013 at 12:32 am
“Freedom of Expression” guaranteed by the US Constitution, is NOW INTERPRETED by the US Government to mean “The Freedom of Expression Monitored by the US Government.”
NOTHING is SACROSANCT! Big Brother is HERE!
What is NEXT? Video Cameras in Conjugal Bedrooms to enforce the INALIENABLE Right of the Government to KNOW ALL?
…………….
Tech Companies to NSA: Stop Your Rampant Spying on Americans
By Ameera Butt
News.Yahoo.com
December 11, 2013
It’s time for the spying to stop.
That’s the message eight tech giants sent to President Barack Obama and Congress earlier this week in response to the government’s mass surveillance of Americans’ personal data.
Google and Microsoft, along with Apple, LinkedIn, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, and AOL, have outlined five principles key to global reform of mass surveillance and developed a new website called Reform Government Surveillance.
In a letter to the government, the eight companies said the government surveillance practices worldwide have encroached on individual rights in many countries.
The world first learned of the surveillance after former government contractor Edward Snowden leaked sensitive National Security Agency documents earlier this year.
The effort to protect privacy marks a watershed moment in American history; thanks to the Snowden leaks, experts say there is more information about and confirmation of how the government has used advancements in digital technology to gather information that can have nothing to do with criminal or terrorist activity.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen revelations that the American government has gathered information on everything from video gaming habits to emails to cell phone locations, with little restraint or need for it.
“We are sort of seeing a sea change in public perception around surveillance, and this has led to a wide variety of opportunities to rein in government surveillance for the first time since 9/11,” said Rainey Reitman, activism director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The San Francisco–based nonprofit defends free speech, privacy, innovation, and consumer rights.
In the past few years, EFF has been at the forefront, filing lawsuits to stop the government from spying long before Snowden came into the picture.
Reitman said two dueling bills are making their way through Congress right now: the FISA Improvements Act from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that she said would collect some of the worst practices of the NSA, including the bulk collection of information of people’s digital communication, and an alternative being promoted by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that she said would attempt to rein in NSA surveillance and put stricter limitations on it.
“This is a fork in the road where Congress can choose to take steps to codify these terrible practices into law or make meaningful reform to stop these types of surveillance abuses,” Reitman said.
Having the companies come out right now in the middle of this debate and be firmly on the side of reining in bulk data collection is extremely useful, and it could tip the scales toward reining in the NSA in a meaningful way, she said.
Some of the principles from the eight companies dictate that the government should limit surveillance to specific, known users for lawful purposes and should not undertake bulk data collection of Internet communications. Other principles say governments should allow companies to publish the number and nature of government demands for user information.
The eight companies’ outlining principles are a “strong first step” in the right direction, Reitman said, adding they could have done more. She cited another website, Necessary & Proportionate, that is trying to end mass surveillance globally and uses principles that are more robust.
“Many of those principles are in alignment with what these companies just signed up for,” Reitman said. “There is definitely [a] similar vein between the two [websites].”
A principle from the Necessary & Proportionate website about not creating back doors could have been included in the companies’ list, she added.
The eight companies stated in the open letter this week that they are focused on keeping users’ data secure and deploying the latest encryption technology to prevent unauthorized surveillance on their networks and by pushing back on government requests to ensure that they are legal and reasonable in scope.
“We urge the U.S. to take the lead and make reforms that ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent and subject to independent oversight,” the letter said.
Mountain View–based Google’s CEO, Larry Page, echoed that sentiment and urged the U.S. government to lead the way.
Security of users’ data “is undermined by the apparent wholesale collection of data, in secret and without independent oversight, by many governments around the world,” Page said in a statement.
Big Internet companies are worried dragnet surveillance is undermining consumer trust, said Reitman.
Consumer data is being stored by these companies that is sensitive and can include financial, medical, and personal information.
“Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it,” said Brad Smith, general counsel for Microsoft, in a statement, adding that people won’t use technology they don’t trust.
The long-term economic repercussions of the surveillance may not be known, Reitman said, noting that this type of surveillance could create opportunities for international companies that aren’t based in the United States to compete with many of these American companies that have really owned the technology field in a huge way.
“This means that we might see competitors show up in a year or two, and international folks, who are nervous about trusting their data with American companies, might trust it with a company who isn’t based in the United States,” she said.
NSA has argued it has free rein to collect information on people around the world, she said.
“There is increasing concern, especially for people who are outside the U.S.—maybe some of these big-name American companies are a little too cozy with the NSA,” Reitman said. “That’s the message that a lot of these companies are trying to push back on, [and] undermining their ability to grow their market overseas.”
The EFF has had dialogue with most, if not all, of the tech companies on the list, she said.
LinkedIn has filed a brief in one of the EFF lawsuits, Reitman said, but she didn’t know where the rest of the companies stood with their briefs.