replaced 1st video Aug. 25, 2014
originally on Al Jazeera
Struggles For Peace & Justice for Sri Lankan on May 21, 2009
May 12, 2009
…
The war in Sri Lanka has reached a decisive stage, as far as the fate of the trapped civilians is concerned. The hold that the LTTE had geographically has eroded so much and so extensively that it now appears that it would be impossible for them to make a comeback. The issues that remain can be whittled down to two in number: first, how the trapped civilian population can be evacuated with the least possible casualties; and second, the fate of Velupillai Prabhakaran. Both issues, while of great moment, are confined to, and will play out in, a small swathe of land in the north-east of the country. Yet there is another war being fought within Sri Lanka, one that continues to be kept on the boil: the war on dissent and freedom of expression. …
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The Listening Post – Roxana Saberi – 15 May 09 – Part 2
The US media is celebrating the release of jailed American journalist, Roxana Saberi, by an Iranian court this week, but The Listening Post asks why they do not campaign for the release of journalists held by the US.
unavailable in the US
see
Journalist Roxana Saberi freed by Iranian appeal court verdict
Sri Lanka: Inside the war zone
The Tamils of Sri Lanka – Distant Voices, Desperate Lives By John Pilger
Dandelion Salad 
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Let’s not forget, as well, that he has presidential elections coming up soon, and he as a politician, needs to campaign on all fronts, internally and externally. The externally part is for Obama, obviously; in addition to the fact that he needs to build up some political capital on the world arena in case Israel was intent on attacking Iran, as we know that the chance of that has become more probable with the new extremist Israeli government.
Ahmadi Najad has proven to be much shrewder than anyone thought, and that should be a lesson to US politicians not to make rash judgments about the political savvies of other world leaders. Ahmadi Najad played it like the shrewdest of them. He had Roxxana jailed, although made it seem that the court found her guilty of espionage. He knew of the uproar that would result from that, but he blamed it on the court. He immediately announced, after the court verdict, that it’s not over for her, and that he’d do his best to ensure her rights, and in other words: to see what he can do for us to get her released from jail. Soon after, her case was reviewed again with a certain recommendation and pull from him for releasing her, and she is released. Thusly, make it seem that he saved her from a horrible fate in jail, and that we better and should recognize what he did. He finally played a surprisingly new role, the good guy role. He’s a politician after all, and what he says or does are political games and tactics, and he’s proven to be pretty good at it, throwing a clear hint that ‘we can talk, and I can get things done around here, for you and me”. Aside with the religious shenanigans, that is meant mostly for local political consumption, politics and interests are mere games played the same way everywhere.