Thuppahi's Blog

Chula Vitana’s Reading of Marco Rubio’s Speech at the Munich Security Conference

Dear Zoom Amigos,

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T. W. Roberts …. was a Barbadian who served the British Empire in Ceylon from 1901 to circa 1935 before settling down in the Fort of Galle with his second wife, Miriam Perera (also spelt “Pereira”). Freed from government service, he was sufficiently committed [also see other references] to the island and its people to pen two substantial articles on the colonial order in South Asia. THIS is one … carrying no date. **

This is one pamphlet and has  been formated for TPS by Mark Webster in  Perth, an Aussie married to Barbara Webster, one of TW’s granddaughers via Violet Stewart [who had married Ronald Stewart of the Ceylon Police Services].

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Item in THE ISLAND, 11 February 2026,

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ACIDITY ONE …  “Pakistan bowl; no handshakes between captains at toss” ….  https://island.lk/pakistan-bowl-no-handshakes-between-captains-at-toss/

…. AND …. EVEN the photograph is recalcitrant ……………………………. APOYI! Mokaddha Mey” ……

Whisper it, but Pakistan have reason to believe they can beat India ….Recent form, and the last three T20 World Cup meetings between these teams, give them reason to feel hopeful

Danyal Rasool

SO …. LET US INNOVATE  ….

Nimal Dias Jayasinha, … in Facebook …. https://www.facebook.com/nimal.diasjayasinha.9/posts/pfbid0r3Dnd5qRejx8mF63o5rE7pH4sAen4PSDkQUEc6idH6XF8QAcG6jt34dqzbmCP9Q3l

I  drive Uber. Night shift mostly. Last week picked up an old man at 11 PM. He got in and said: “I need you to drive me to five places tonight. I’ll pay you $500. Cash. But you can’t ask why until we’re done.” Handed me five addresses. First stop: a house in the suburbs. He sat in the car. Stared at it for ten minutes. Crying silently. “Okay. Next one.” I drove.

Second stop: elementary school. Empty. Dark. He got out. Walked to the playground. Sat on a swing. Stayed there twenty minutes. Came back to the car. “I taught here. 43 years. Best job I ever had.” Third stop: diner. He went inside. Ordered coffee. Sat alone in a booth. Didn’t drink it. Just sat. Looking around. Fifteen minutes. Came back. “My wife and I had our first date here. 1967.” 

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EDITORIAL IN GUARDIAN, 13 Feb 2026: “The Guardian view on Israel and the West Bank: the other relentless assault upon Palestinians” **

A campaign of ethnic cleansing and ‘tectonic’ new legal measures are killing the two-state solution to which other governments pay lip service.

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Uditha Devapriya, whose chosen title for the TALK at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia on 7 February 2026 was “Origins, Transformation, and Parallels” … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Members of the Audience.

Good evening. I am gratified to be here with you and am grateful to everyone – and I mean everyone – who made this book possible. Thank you, Sidath[1], for remembering our friendship and our work together. I could not have asked for a better team to coordinate everything, and I suspect I never will. Thank you also, Professor Sandagomi[2], for identifying the points in the book which interested and intrigued you thoroughly.

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2003 …. Muthiah Muralidaran might have been Sri Lanka’s most potent bowling weapon ever, but when it came to collecting one-day records, Chaminda Vaas was peerless. Already the holder of the best bowling figures in one-day cricket, 8 for 19 against Zimbabwe, on this day in 2003 he became the first bowler to take a hat-trick with the first three balls of a match, against the hapless Bangladeshis in Pietermaritzburg. He added a fourth in the same over, en route to figures of 6 for 25, and Sri Lanka won by ten wickets with almost 30 overs to spare….. See 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=8b9Y%2br5c&id=6BC2E32AFEB61399AAAF588D47CAAE5F7EC8E9C8&thid=OIP.8b9Y-r5c_ztWoS8RvhpOywHaEK&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.wisden.com%2fstatic-assets%2fwaf-images%2f6a%2fef%2f31%2f16-9%2f287828_1200x662-video.png&exph=1080

Kate Rogers, in Dalhousie News  ….6 …in RHODES  CONNECT, https://www.dal.ca/news/2026/01/08/all-rhodes-lead-to-home-sierra-sparks.html

Sierra Sparks was inspired by strong female role models from a young age. The first-year medical student from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, entered a field where women were few and stereotypes were plenty when she chose engineering for her undergraduate studies at Dalhousie.

Despite being told the path would be “too hard” and even encouraged to consider nursing instead, Sierra persisted—and excelled. She graduated in 2021 with an engineering degree and a passion for equity and inclusion.

Knowing she wanted to pursue graduate training in biomedical engineering, Sierra applied to one of the most prestigious universities in the world through the Rhodes Scholarship: The University of Oxford. Her acceptance made her Dalhousie’s 92^nd Rhodes Scholar, a milestone that opened doors to groundbreaking research and global connections.

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FROM https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/duleep-mendis-49629

Wisden Overview
A strong, burly, wristy batsman capable of destroying attacks at any level when the mood took him, Mendis played in key part in Sri Lanka’s early days as a Test-playing country. Mendis, who had first played for Sri Lanka in 1972 while at school but was almost 30 when they played their first Test, made a shaky start, but quickly found his feet, despite having the additional burden of captaining the side from their third Test. He hit 105 in both innings against India at Madras 1982-83, and nearly repeated the feat two years later against England at Lord’s, with 111 and 94. Considering the circumstances, he performed admirably leading Sri Lanka to its inaugural Test and series victory against India in 1985-86, scoring 310 runs at 62.00. Following his hundred against Pakistan the following winter he went into a steady decline, scoring only two fifties in his last 10 Tests. He was replaced as captain by Ranjan Madugalle for the tour to England in 1988, where he signed off with 56 in his final Test at Lord’s. He remained in the public eye, with Sri Lanka’s World Cup success coming while he was managing the side.

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