KJ

The Esala Perahera (the festival of the tooth) is the grand festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka.   It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consisting of dances and nicely decorated elephants. There are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandyan dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments. ( A few of many photos by Vihanga Dayananda who covered the recent Randoli Perahera.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Esala_Perahera   —   Kandy Esala Perahera 2013 courtesy : Tourism Sri Lanka

British Media Reports Allegation That Royal's Death Was No Accident British police are investigating a sensational claim that the Special Air Service commando unit (SAS) was involved in the death of Princess Diana, reports Sean Rayment. The allegation emerged at the second court martial of Sergeant Danny Nightingale, who was found guilty of illegally possessing a gun and ammunition. It came in a letter to the elite unit’s commanding officer by the parents-in-law of a special forces sniper, known only as Soldier N, who was Sgt Nightingale’s former housemate and a key witness for the prosecution. The letter said Solider N boasted the SAS “was behind Princess Diana’s death”. The Ministry of Defence, the Royal Military Police and the Service Prosecuting Authority have known of its existence and the claim since it was sent in September 2011. The seven-page hand-written letter – a copy of which has been seen by the Sunday People – also makes allegations over Soldier N’s be

 A mother and her young inquisitive son were flying on an Airliner/Flight. The son (who had been looking out the window turned to his mother and asked, "If dogs have baby dogs and cats have baby cats, why don't  planes have baby planes?" The mother (who couldn't think of an answer) told her son to ask the flight attendant. So the boy dutifully asked the flight attendant, "If dogs have baby dogs and cats have baby cats, why don't planes have baby planes?" The flight attendant responded, "Did your mother tell you to ask me that?" The little boy admitted that she did. "Well, then, tell your mother that there are no baby planes because Our airways always pulls out on time. Now, let your mother explain that to you."

If swimming is a good exercise to stay fit, then WHY are WHALES fat? WHY that is everyone wants to go to HEAVEN but nobody wants to die? Is there racial discrimination in CHESS as WHITE piece is moved first? If we have freedom of SPEECH, then WHY do we get telephone bills? If MONEY doesn’t grow on tress then WHY do BANKS have branches? WHY does a round PIZZA come in a SQUARE box? WHY doesn’t GLUE stick to its bottle? WHY do you call it a BUILDING when it’s already BUILT? If it is true that WE are here to help others, then what OTHERS are here for? If you aren’t supposed to DRINK AND DRIVE, then WHY do BARS have parking lots?

If Labor does win the forthcoming election, its leadership reshuffles will be the central reason for the result. I have a conspiracy theory about recent Australian politics. It starts with this premise: After more than a decade out of power, Labor wanted its own triple-term. So strategists set out to decide how best that could be achieved - and settled, from the beginning, on having two alternating leaders: a campaigner, and a legislator. Kevin Rudd was the great campaigner. He duly did the business – delivering, in 2007, an overwhelming victory. But after some symbolic moves – the national "Sorry" to aborigines, and signing the Kyoto protocol – Labor needed its leader to push through the big reforms. Julia Gillard was brought in and, after the tightest of elections, managed to keep Labor in power. Under her, despite minority government, lots got done. A carbon tax, school-funding reform, a national broadband network and a disability-insurance scheme are all sig