'Making war against terror a success'- Island Editorial "Democracies, the world over have had to respond to threats from both within and without in a similar manner or concede victory to evil forces and perish in the process. Sri Lanka has, after years of oscillation between the two alternatives, finally opted for the former. Tiny as Sri Lanka may be in size, it has taken on the 'most ruthless terrorist organisation' in the world" says the Island in its Editorial published, today, Sep 2. "The only way to judge the success of a war is to see if it makes life better for civilians after its conclusion. Land may be liberated from the clutches of a terrorist outfit through military means, terrorists killed and the writ of the government re-established in some parts of the country where it had ceased to run, but, if civilians do not feel their lot has improved at the end of the day, the war has failed", the editorial further stated underscoring the need to address the fundamental needs of the affected communities. Following are excerpts of the editorial published in the Island daily, Tuesday, 1 Sep. War is hell as General Sherman famously said after the American Civil War. All wars in this world have been fought at the expense of the unarmed civilians on the side of both the victor and the vanquished. War crimes usually become the crimes committed by the vanquished and not the victor, who becomes the judge, the jury and the executioner. Military operations are like surgical operations: However desirous we may be of avoiding them, there come times when we have to face them whether we like them or not. The world was without an alternative to war in dealing with Hitler. Unless that psycho had been stopped in his tracks, albeit with some delay, he would certainly have made Jews of all the races in this world, save the one he favoured. Had the democratic world adopted the same appeasement policy as some nations that chose to lick his blood-stained Nazi boots in return for non-invasion and allowed him to do as he pleased, today's world would have become one massive concentration camp equipped with state-of-the-art gas chambers. Democracies, the world over have had to respond to threats from both within and without in a similar manner or concede victory to evil forces and perish in the process. Sri Lanka has, after years of oscillation between the two alternatives, finally opted for the former. Tiny as Sri Lanka may be in size, it has taken on the 'most ruthless terrorist organisation' in the world. Ironically, although Sri Lanka is doing exactly as the champions of global democracy are doing elsewhere in dealing with terror, and its victory against the LTTE is sure to send a chilling message to other terrorist outfits threatening global peace, the self-appointed custodians of global democracy are all out to throw a monkey wrench in the works on the pretext of a humanitarian intervention to let the cornered Tigers off the hook. They, ably assisted by the pro-LTTE INGO/NGO lobby, are preparing the grounds for invoking the so-called R2P (Responsibility/Right to Protect). The Tigers are on their last legs, having plunged the country into war in 2006. And the biggest challenge before the government is not capturing Kilinochchi or Prabhakaran but denying those members of the international community conspiring to help him by stopping the war an opportunity to achieve their goal. They are eagerly waiting for a humanitarian catastrophe in the Wanni to intervene and the LTTE is doing its damnedest to increase collateral damage and create conditions for that. The only way to judge the success of a war is to see if it makes life better for civilians after its conclusion. Land may be liberated from the clutches of a terrorist outfit through military means, terrorists killed and the writ of the government re-established in some parts of the country where it had ceased to run, but, if civilians do not feel their lot has improved at the end of the day, the war has failed. There are many backers of the on-going military offensives against the LTTE. But, sadly, among them, there is hardly anyone willing to make a contribution towards ameliorating the plight of the war-displaced, on whose wellbeing the success of war hinges. Various activities being done at a massive cost to boost the morale of the armed forces, who are already doing extremely well, should also be used to mobilise the public to help the war-torn populace. That is not a task that should be left entirely to a government. There must be popular participation in providing relief to the war displaced. Relief must flow into the Wanni from the four corners of the country! Meanwhile, it is reported that the army has at long last released a small portion of land in the high security zone in Jaffna to the people for paddy cultivation. That is the way forward. Land liberated from the terrorists must be returned to the rightful owners without u

Something I made for my son. My son, Matty, loves basket ball. So much so he plays for Ponteland (juniors) and Ponteland High School. Practice is a must so this had to be made! Originally it was sited at Burradon and belonged to North Tyneside Council. The council decided to update the play areas in Burradon and this was part of the clearout. A scrapman had secured the contract for metals removal. That scrapman then sold part of his "haul" to a local farmer to help make a paddock area - the fencing part. This basket ball loop and some of its support structure was put aside by the farmer because he had no use for it. The loop was squashed flat and there was serious damage to other parts. Bit by bit I remade and rebuilt it. The loop still isn't round but it will have to do - the metal is 1.5" thick and hardened! The back board had to be remade due to separation damage. The lppo and framework is built to basket ball regulations now. It's secured down by 8 anchor bolts into solid concrete. It's so heavy that I had to use a winch and jib to raise the loop and back board. The bolts had to be put in with air-powered wrenches due to their size. Yes - Matty's very happy! :)