Dreamcatcher~321

SRI LANKA OPINION POLL: Most Sri Lankans say 2008 Budget 'bankrupt'

2008-01-01T01:59:00.000-08:00

A majority of Sri Lankans say that the 2008 Budget is 'bankrupt' and will increase the cost of living further. They also are very dissatisfied with the President's management of the cost of living. A majority of the Sinhalese also say that they do not want any snap polls while Tamils and Muslims support a snap poll.

The Tamils and Muslims are also divided with the Sinhalese on the impact of LTTE political leader Tamilselvan's assassination on the ongoing war against the LTTE. Most Sinhala respondents say 'it is beneficial for the ongoing war against the LTTE' while most Tamils and Muslims view it as 'detrimental.' As for the rating of President Mahinda Rajapakse, most Sinhalese and Muslims are only 'somewhat satisfied' on his conduct of peace talks, though the majority of Sinhalese are 'very satisfied' with the President's handling of the war. A majority of Sinhalese are also satisfied of President's handling of law and order.

These findings are from the latest nationwide opinion poll conducted in Sri Lanka by the Colombo based Social Indicator of Centre for Policy Alternatives (SI-CPA), a non-partisan opinion survey agency operating under the board of Directors of the independent think tank, the CPA. Conducted in November 2007 and released early this week, the Peace Confidence Index (PCI) Survey covered 22 Districts excluding the North. A total of 1600 Sri Lankans answered in this face-to-face questionnaire survey.

Has the Cost of Living Increased?

Almost all the persons surveyed (Sinhala- 98%, Tamil- 98.8%, Muslim-98.8%) stated that, compared to the situation a year ago, the cost of living in the country has increased. Answers regarding the primary reason for the increased cost of living drew out the same response from 53.5% of the Sinhala community, 49.3% of the Up Country Tamil community and 37.1% of the Muslim community where all three cited the escalation of the conflict between the Government and the LTTE. A majority of the Sinhala community (60.5%) agree to bear the rising cost of living for the sake of the government’s war against the LTTE. At the same time, majorities in the other three communities (Tamil-90.7%, Up Country Tamil- 90.4%, Muslim- 71.1%) disagree.

The 2008 Budget

Majorities among the Sinhala (41%), Tamil (47.2%) and Muslim (41%) state that the 2008 budget can best be described as a bankrupt budget. Majorities in the Sinhala (59%), Tamil (96.2%) and Muslim (85.7%) believe that the 2008 budget will increase the cost of living. While the majority of the Tamil (75.6%) sample surveyed stated that the budget was very important to them, 38.2% of the Sinhalese and 26.1% of the Up Country Tamils say that the budget is only somewhat important to them personally" the opinion report said and added "When asked to select who could influence what goes into the budget, majorities in the Tamil (45.9%) and Up Country Tamil (60.9%) state that it is the President.

Snap Polls

While a majority of the Sinhala community (44.5%) state that they do not want any snap poll, 35.4% of the Tamils and 46.3% of the Up Country Tamils surveyed feel that snap polls are desirable. Within the Muslim community, a majority of 50.8% state that snap polls are essential.

Rating the President

In the PCI’s attempted rating of President Rajapakse, majorities amongst the Sinhala (35.9%), Tamil (67.5%) and Up Country Tamil (84.3%) said that they were very dissatisfied with the President's management of the cost of living. With regards to the President's conduct relating to peace negotiations, 37.5% of the Sinhalese and 37.1% of the Muslims stated that they were somewhat satisfied. However, 65.4% of the Tamil community and 70.4% of the Up Country Tamil community said that they were very dissatisfied. A majority of the Sinhala community (57.1%) stated that they are very satisfied with the President's handling of the war. Within the Muslim community, 42.3% said that they are somewhat satisfied with the way the President was conducting the war. Majorities in the Tamil (43.8%) and Up Country Tamil (71.3%) stated that they are very dissatisfied. A majority of 84.4% of the Sinhalese expressed satisfaction the President's handling of law and order.

Present Situation in the Country

A majority of persons in the Sinhala (62.8%) and Muslim (40.3%) Communities feel that the present situation is best described as a war against terrorism. There are, however, 32.8% of the Muslims who feel that this is an ethnic conflict. This opinion is also shared by 48.2% of the Tamils and 44% of the Up Country Tamils.

THE FULL ARTICLE IN 'COLOMBO POST'

PCI - Nov 2007 REPORT IN FULL [pdf]

OQO - Worlds Smallest Tablet PC

2006-03-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

..lets go way back: GOOGLE, circa 1991

2006-02-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Yahoo Redesign Preview...

2006-02-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

BAD news for Tom Clancy !

2006-01-15T02:09:00.000-08:00

From http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net:

"....Tom Clancy's stories...are so mundane and formulaic, you could teach them in algebra (the syllabus would read: Chapter 1 - how to FOIL binomials and terrorist plots, at which point you would drop trow and pinch off a loaf on the teacher's desk for being such a corny bitch). Anyone could string together a Tom Clancy plot. Don't believe me?..." Try it

Google’s billion dollar brand in peril?

2006-01-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

What do the words heroin, aspirin, windsurfer, trampoline, nylon, escalator, biro, gramophone, thermos, kerosene, laser, linoleum and frisbee all have in common? They all began life as proprietary brand names but lost their registered trademark protection because they became so successful that they drifted into common usage and became generic.
READ MORE

TAG Heuer's radical new V4 watch movement

2005-12-18T00:46:00.000-08:00

Since its earliest days, TAG Heuer has led Swiss watchmaking tradition by challenging and innovating its most time-honored conventions. Founded in an horological golden age, it has repeatedly revolutionized the timing and watchmaking world. With the Monaco V4 Concept Watch, the first design-integrated mechanical movement truly of the third millennium, the tradition continues.
READ FULL

Download.com's Best FREE Desktop Enhancements

2005-12-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

The best things in life may be free, but most software isn't. Limited functionality, annoying adware, and pesky nag screens mean even most "free" software isn't actually without cost.
READ FULL

Mauritius to become first “unwired” nation

2005-12-18T00:38:00.000-08:00

The promise of ubiquitous high-speed wireless networking seems a long way off for most of us, but not for everyone. The tiny South West Indian Ocean island of Mauritius will later this year become the first country in the world to deploy a complete nationwide high speed wireless network..
READ FULL

The 360 degree LED television

2005-12-03T00:11:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking for a new centrepiece for your new entertaining area, the new 360 degree LED display from Dynascan offers exactly that – quite literally...
READ FULL

GMAIL ROCKS - IV- More Invites...

2004-09-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here are FOUR more invites...Enjoy!!

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-8bcde3bca5-772a35f49c-df0b589f3c

courtesy: senthilkumar.laguduwa.sankaran@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-c708fabb1-0aa670531d-f5c192466f

courtesy: jiaqi.li@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-61cc634ddf-1e4f899d9e-3ddb318562

courtesy: mmetris@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-1ca451e945-0a0fff5a49-8819f142b2

courtesy: dipskaran@gmail.com

Couldn't get any of above?

Go to the GMAIL SPOOLER below. IT WORKS.

IMPORTANT:

Enter Ur email add ON THE PAGE. There's NO submit button.
Press ENTER while your cursor is on the E-mail field.
YOU ARE DONE...!! In a short while -I.E AFTER 15-20 mnts- Youll get the invite to your inbox. But if you do not use it at once, someone else will use it since the SPOOLER sends the same invites to many!!

U'll get your invite if they have to spare.

http://isnoop.net/gmailomatic.php

GMAIL ROCKS - III

2004-09-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Some more invites...

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-28da85322b-f370d5ff17

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-682b901681-c3a65f7073

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-a1e004cd6c-147a1509d8

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-dadc0a8cdd-2fc9f6eaa1

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-a5396fca48-618836f277

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-3e3749ec9d-e9fa23125a

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-71119fa5a2-f5d61f7779

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-b60098a5f2-a04479aa5a

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-185b436f34-164bad7109-0a86757f48

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-d6a2542b3a-3d7c00e276-b642107672

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-d6a2542b3a-b95752ff3a-3b906071ad

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-d6a2542b3a-803b833143-0b53004d20

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-6927e1194d-9fa0793b56-91589225f6

GMAIL ROCKS - II

2004-09-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Two more toasty invites: I'll post more here as I receive them..
Keep checking this BLOG.

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-1175f4ddfb-2c5682189c-b19c6c44fa

Courtesy: Jenny.Collins@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-83a10732ca-b326adc10a-6299bf7018

Courtesy: phillanka@yahoo.com

GMAIL ROCKS ???

2004-09-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here R some extra invites i have received...Possibility of them being used - 20%

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-3c30fa1ea1-81b5b9605e-b60d633126
Courtesy: jarnot@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-83b55096c8-00c9da37d3-c36adfcf32
Courtesy: monkey.weasel@gmail.com

https://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-e4497b933f-e431052764-9bb1008d76
Courtesy: alrikb@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-480998d0ac-28013f6889-a11d0f3a39
Courtesy: dr.lyman.sanderson@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-c86da31d70-c93a4e4c81-bc505984dc
Courtesy: kinipela687@gmail.com

http://gmail.google.com/gmail/a-2cba95d5b3-66492c6782-8e7f7afa1a
Courtesy: kristen.walcott@gmail.com

Keep coming here for more invites which i'll post periodically!!

GMAIL!

2004-08-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

I received a GMAIL invite -at last!! Now i do have

josephonline@gmail.com

Is it worth the wait? Let's see!!

Petals Around the Rose

2004-06-10T06:16:00.000-07:00

Well, i'm trying to solve this stuff...
http://member.melbpc.org.au/~lborrett/computing/petals-j.htm
Still couldn't get it..

V-A-I-O

2004-06-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

What happens when a sub-notebook PC which U loved much dies? You feel REAL B-A-D. My VAIO sub notebook suddenly died. It was a GIFT from a JAPANese FRIEND.It had a Japanese WIN98 (!) but very useful even to work in English. ......Ahhh......!!

Trauma?

2004-06-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of bad news-My FATHER faced a major surgery and right now in the Intensive Care..But he's recovering day by day +progressing, albeit slowly. Since he's retired and no more the breadwinner, that does not affect me financially. But it hurts-because he's my father and seeing how my mother is affected...

The Good news: None, for now.

Reflections from Paradise

2004-05-28T01:13:00.000-07:00

May 28- Started this blog OUT OF BLUE while W.O.R.K.I.N.G. Fortunately, around here U R not monitored for your net use while @ work...