Sheep and goats’

Island editorial.

Sheep and goats’

September 6, 2015, 12:00 pm 

People sans basic science and maths skills tend to make bad decisions and run the risk of being ‘bamboozled’, BBC has reported, quoting Head of the British Science Association Prof. Dame Athene Donald. She is of the view that teaching students maths up to 18 years will help produce a wiser population.

Prof. Donald laments that students in the UK are forced to make subject choices too early in life––at the age of 14––and that practice effectively divides the nations into ‘sheep and goats, science and arts people’. The study by Prof. Donald et al is focused on Britain, but its findings, we believe, are of universal applicability. In this country, the sheep are separated from the goats when students sit the GCE O/L examination. Those who perform extremely well follow science subjects and others opt for streams such as arts and commerce.

One may wonder whether successive governments here have purposely created a situation where many students fail maths and science at the GCE O/L examination. When people lose interest in those two subjects very early in life and fail to make good decisions, politicians can hornswoggle them easily. The Education Ministry revealed last year that 52.14 percent of GCE O/L school candidates had failed the English language, 42.77 percent of them mathematics and 32.47 percent of them Science and Technology.

The UNP has, in its August 17 election manifesto, promised one million jobs within the next five years and the UPFA one and a half million jobs. Now that they have come together to form a joint government, they have to implement both these pledges; they will have to create 2.5 million jobs by 2020! Is it because of the high failure rate in maths and science at the GCE O/L examination that electors fall hook, line and sinker for such promises?

About 90 members of the last Parliament had failed GCE O/L and 145, GCE A/L. This may explain, going by the British Science Association research findings, why legislators make bad laws and decisions and the country is in such a mess.

Prof. Donald has said: "We may be mocked if our knowledge of Shakespeare or Austen isn’t perfect, but it is still OK to say: ‘I could never do maths at school.’ One, no doubt, has to learn maths to be able to improve one’s analytical skills and make intelligent decisions, but the fact remains that reading Shakespeare and other literary greats helps boost one’s brain power according to scientists. Reading Tolstoy, Conrad et al is sure to give a rocket boost to one’s brain!

A University of Liverpool research team, in 2013, demonstrated, using brain scans, that challenging literature such as the works of Shakespeare and Eliot ‘shifts mental pathways and prompts new thoughts in readers’. Besides, a research carried out by Emory University in the US has proved that reading novels boosts memory. According to a 2009 study by University of Sussex six minutes of reading can help reduce stress by 68% and prepare the mind and the body for a good night’s sleep.

One cannot but agree that there is a pressing need for promoting science and maths, but the importance of developing liberal arts education cannot be overemphasised. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) report (2013), titled, The Heart of the Matter, has recommended a well-rounded education where science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are coupled with the humanities and social sciences and stressed the fact that ‘all disciplines are essential for the inventiveness, competitiveness, security, and personal fulfillment’ of the public. Commenting on the AAAS recommendations, we argued in an editorial comment, A gem-studded report, on June 25, 2013 that what was needed was not the promotion of STEM at the expense of liberal arts but an education system that facilitated the cross-pollination of disciplines for the benefit of students who needed to be equipped to face multifarious challenges in life.

One has no difficulty in agreeing that maths and science help make good decisions, but one has a question which, perhaps, not even the veteran British Science Association researchers may be able to answer. Why do the students of Science Faculties at Sri Lankan universities, especially, in Colombo, Jayewardenepura, Kelaniya and Matara cannot make wise decisions in tackling seemingly simple problems without resorting to mindless violence? These undergrads also allow sinister, external political forces to ‘bamboozle’ them in spite of their superior knowledge of maths and science. They are no better than their counterparts in arts faculties characterised by frequent clashes, bloodshed besides savage ragging. Why oh why?

From <http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=news-section&page=news-section&code_title=55> 

games people play

Games people play.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

7:48 PM

ISIS / ISIL are fighting Assads Syria.

They, the ISIS, are hated by the West;

Assad is a hated thorn to the West for his support to Russia.

The west is bombing everybody.

The west is bombing ISIS, in Syria, ignoring the fact that its attacking a sovereign state, killing ordinary Syrians in the process and reducing this proud land to rubble. Russia is doing nothing concrete to stop the West, and can it really ?

So, is the west attacking ISIS because they like them less than Assad and is it doing Assad , the Russian protégé , a favour ? No. Then why and what's going on here ? Because they the ISIS, are the patsy, the dumbos , the pawns sold on some religious theory by some of their Arab brothers, who are in fact pawns of the West. Think Saudi Arabia and you are probably right.

Russia has its only Mediterranean Naval Base in Syria; is newly energized by Putin, militarily coming in fast to match the West, but it cant match the wests weaponry, yet. Given a few years, very likely cheaper and effective stuff.

Russia and China have teamed up to break the monopoly of the West in International Trade and more significantly, in the use of the Dollar for all trading activity. Today, the heavily indebted United States and Europe are not getting wiped out overnight financially because their debit banking position is being propped by inward Dollar flows as all payments from all over the world need to be cleared through New York.

War is a good thing in a sagging economy; its boosts the economy and right nor the west is broke.  But war , using your own men is a political liability; the populace wants to win, be ascendant, but not lose its men to war, even a foreign war not on their shores. Next best thing is to use a proxy, who is the ISIS.  Where indeed did they get their men and material and who are these people that can defy the Wests best intelligence gathering capability? Its clear they are the patsy.

Mud brained Arabs and muslims from other lands , sold on a story of a Caliphate just around the corner, they are the patsy of the West and its hidden promoter, Israel. ISIS doesn’t talk, even touch Israel, why ?  A Caliphate is something else, requiring decency, principled action by an army of muslims and in no way an army of thugs shouting Islamic slogans yet praying in all directions except Mecca ! Syrians know this but the world media doesn’t tell the American people; its not news worthy in a Jewish controlled media.

Now the proxy doesn’t know he's a Patsy; he's then bombed out of his ass by the French who gallantly attack with superior aircraft and make light work of ISIS and everything in Syria, its infrastructure, its innocent people and its dignity.

Syrian refugees bombed out of their wits , now run as refugees to the west as their Arab brothers have deserted them. Slaves they become, taken in by pity by the west in small numbers, grudgingly, and leave the refugees eternally grateful, for having bombed them and thereafter taken some in. A once self-sufficient community of Christian and Muslim and others have become slaves in a set up.

War games played out by super powers have successfully carved out new artificial territories before and todays no exception as its all an old imperial game.

If you sri Lankan's don’t believe me, just consider our story. Tamils were used as proxies and patsies for 30 years, after creating chaos where there was none before.

Our refugees fled to western lands, and became significant contributors to their western economies by dint of natural intelligence and hard work, never ever to return to lanka. Meantime , the state of Sri Lanka, savaged by   all manner of western resources including the UN, succeeds making us a willing Client state after a regime change. MR , was practically Chinese and he had to go. The West has won, sanctions to lanka look distant and everything seems right in their world, the Wests' world.

And China hasn’t lost either. They got Gwadar Port, Pakistan, much bigger than Colombo could ever offer, a new multi lane Karakoram highway linking China by Road to the Arabian sea; Pakistan's ecstatic in being  client state to China and they're probably justified too and everything is hickory dory.

Where is God in all this Mess ?

SYRIA burning, Refugees miserable all of them pouring over and into western nations borders, infants dying mothers crying, where is God in all this? 

Its not that agnostic people don’t want to believe in God, in whatever form that each theistic religion likes to portray Him , be it Hinduism , Christianity Islam or even Buddhism, the last, a religion too,  insofar as Buddhists worship Buddha and ask him divine favours;  its that such people are unsure of  such a God , however portrayed and they ask the natural question of whats God doing in all this mess that is the world.

To them , the portrayal of God doesn’t add up and I don’t blame them either; for where is the Merciful God when disaster strikes , they ask ? 

At the end of the day, what we are debating about is only a value system, a belief system, a system offering solutions , promises, and restitution of robbed rights. At the end of the day, people are well advised to do good and carry on doing good to others till its time for your own departure from this earth, sans everything you own and enjoyed, save your deeds, good and bad. This will abide by you, no matter whether you are of any faith or faithless.

But let me tell you  that only islam that makes  wide ranging , deep promises in the life to come. Other faiths are at best a vague assertion of what happens next. Only Islam explains in great detail. 

Indeed it's only natural that if someone were to promise you something in the future, that you’ve never experienced before, nor seen anyone alive who can confirm such a promise, then this promise must be spelt out here and now, so that people can work toward it. If any religion falls short of explaining the promise, what is the purpose in inviting people to listen to their story alone. I use the word story deliberately, as its all a promise, nothing actually experienced by  someone who lived on earth to tell the tale. 

No religion except Islam promises clearly, unambiguously, a permanent afterlife in one of two locations, heaven or hell. Every other religion is so vague in explaining to its followers the results one gets by following their particular belief system and this is amazing to me. 

Only Islam offers hope for the dispossessed; a stern warning to the oppressor no matter who he may be and including the so called ISIS; only Islam offers a guide to the world weary , hope to the seemingly lost and a offers a never ending always increasing Felicity to the   believers. 

Whether you believe or not, Islam offers a choice, an intelligent choice is always open to man.  

All the worlds troubles and all its happiness is but absolutely nothing in comparison to what's in store and I invite people to reflect upon this following sentence..

A single dip in Paradise, for a fleeting second will make the worst deprived  world weary refugee and  believer, swear that he never ever knew any tribulations whilst on earth; by severe contrast an instants reprieve from the scorching Fire of Hell, will make the damned man only ask of his Lord to be relieved from just Looking at Hell itself.

 Think of the extreme states that we are promised.  Joy and utter despair is yours to choose; Your own actions, your own hands , your intentions, your mouth and your sexual organs will you to one of these places. Indeed. Stay around and find out  or do something about it today itself. 

amantubillahi

amantubillahi

Friday, August 28, 2015

4:32 PM

1. I believe in strange things, things I haven't seen or experienced , so I don’t mind if other religionists share their beliefs however different  they may seem to me. This is an open invite to Hindus, Buddhists, Christians Communists, agnostics of every kind, and Gnostics of every flavour. Share views, ask questions about the other; keep your faith, know another's. Let me start by telling you mine….

2. I believe in Deity, Planned evolution, A God, not a plural of God, just One, Unique, the One to whom every created and non-created thing owes  its very being, who isn't begotten or does He beget children. To reduce Him to the created in our eyes, is to reduce Him to human terms and the Uncreated cannot be a created. Thus said,

3. I believe in a whole universe is out there hidden from our eyes, incredibly larger than we humans could ever imagine. I believe in beings called Angels, certainly not looking like a cherub, nor your earthly beloved, but huge creatures who are in the total absolute bidding of this One God.

 Just one of these Angels, called Michael, has a head so large that it can retain the waters of the earth, without ever spilling a drop. Imagine , if you will , his body size, and he isn't the biggest one of them either. Gabriel is larger. Man, is a very weak creature, though he thinks he is something else ! We are unable to see and hear beyond certain parameters and for example we cannot hear as well as a dog, yet know a dog can hear better than us.

4. I believe that this God, this Allah, created Man and thereafter gave him an instruction manual, consistent stuff.  If any scripture is inconsistent with itself it simply means, it's not from God, whatever is claimed otherwise.

It's something like we expect an instruction manual when you buy the latest BMW, and an entirely plausible thing that IF God made Man, He ought to have invested him with an instruction manual too. What's implausible is that God made Man in His Image, taken literally and that to me is because, apart of divesting His Godhood, He, God would have to be a Multi Colored , Multi-racial black, white and yellow Being of varied hue, Frizzy haired here n Spiky Chinese hair there, and elsewhere, dunno where, long of locks and besides this,  being Man and Woman at the same time too. Nope, implausible.

5. I believe God gave Foremen to teach them Men to Drive. These foremen, aka, Prophets , Messengers, and holy me were the authoritative, certified guides of the manual of conduct of vehicle Man.

  The Manual, thus sent had to be simple, yet complex, understood by every man, simple minded and complex thinking.

 So, Aboriginal Australians , with a limited vocabulary, 600 words in all to their language, believed that God was a Unique Being having no alimentary canal, no asshole, and therefore no need for food. Simple, eloquent thinking and succinctly put ; if a " God" had to eat , He would be subject to hunger and could die in the absence of food. God didn’t have to prove his Godhood by eating a broiled fish and honeycomb, no indeed, that was actually done to prove Jesus' manhood, human hood, not god hood !

 For other tribes and nations came the Ten Commandments and a full exhaustive explanation to the 10, was and is , the Quran. You can claim that Quran is of Human  origin, but do tell the Catholic Church at Pontiffs level, they'd be very interested as they've been trying to disprove the Qurans Divine origin these 1000+ years past.

Radical departures from the manual sent , as many have done in history, is an entirely probable thing, for man changes words n meanings of a divine text to his liking and own prejudices,  never mind what God, the Deity said. In the case of Quran, the text has never been changed , say its worst detractors, but we have to admit that frequently people have tried and failed,  to change its interpretation and succeeded amongst their own narrow supporters.

And , the message itself, universally spelt out is: " Hear oh israel ! The Lord thy God is One God" -Bible; and "Qul Huwallahu Ahad ! - Quran… exactly same in meaning. ( so, why are they fighting ?)

6. I believe in a purpose to Life as Life itself is short and death certain and choices given as options to behaviour. If no choices were available to man, there would be no purpose to life ! As to the question you may ask, " why all this stuff about creation choice, manual, heaven hell", the simple answer is I don’t know, and its beyond my pay grade and yours. 

I believe in lasting solutions , not quick fixes, where father Time stands still, where we don’t age, and we live happily in ever increasing detail, never to be removed,  ever. Not interested in re birth, paradise on earth, for living on earth is a daily grind even for the rich. Life on Earth, is really a bore, for by the time you’ve made it(materially), you’ve had it( life ends) Better to hope for a promise lasting and work toward it. No loss in the offer , no loss in trying anyway.

7. Getting seriously philosophical now, with every one of us, there's stuff that’s happened in the past that unchangeable now, by its very nature.  Things happened and it was just meant to be; no room in my life for gnashing teeth and saying" if only etc etc" Destiny is all what happened in the past so get over it and start anew. That’s Qadr or Destiny I'm speaking of.  Look at it as  tests only in a short sharp life on earth.

This then is the very  core of my beliefs.. I've shared with you and will love to hear yours too.