Author Archives: thuppahi

About thuppahi

Sri Lankan and Australian nationality; student of Sri Lankan society and politics; sociology of cricket;
December 16, 2020 · 1:12 am

From Trump to Hitler …. and Populist Mahinda Rajapakse

Richard A. Koenigsberg

Abstract: All the nonsense about “diagnosing” Donald Trump: calling him a “malignant narcissist,” for example: The delusion that giving identifying or naming Trump’s pathology–somehow constitutes an “explanation.”

I understand 70 million people voted for Trump in the recent election. The question is WHAT WAS TRUMP SAYING AND/OR DOING THAT APPEALED TO SO MANY PEOPLE?

I’ve analyzed Hitler for years. There are things one might say about Hitler’s “personality.” However, the central question is: What was Hitler saying–that the German people found so appealing?

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December 15, 2020 · 11:05 pm

The Spy Thriller: John le Carre leaves us ….

Jason Steger, in  Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2020, where the title runs thus: “A sit-down with a spy novelist: what John le Carre learnt from the secret service”

“When you enter the secret world and you are engaged in the intensive examination of your enemy, your opponent, you in a sense begin to know him and think about him not just as an opponent but some kind of secret sharer.”

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December 15, 2020 · 2:04 pm

When Zahira beat Trinity-Royal-St. Peters ….at Rugger …. 1932

…………… Salaa-Maley-Kum

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December 14, 2020 · 2:25 pm

El NINA Effect: Byron Bay’s Beaches under Threat Today

SEE ... https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/byron-bay-iconic-aussie-beach-left-unrecognisable-by-erosion/news-story/e15bc2d8e8b80280b2e ..……………………. AND …………………….https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-27/byron-bay-beach-disappears-as-erosion-takes-its-toll/12495864  …………………… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/14/byron-bay-beach-damage-worst-in-a-generation-as-storms-batter-1000km-of-coast

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December 14, 2020 · 7:41 am

Naseby decimates Tariq Ahmed’s Statement for Its Inaccuracies

Island, 7 December 2020, where the title reads “Lord Naseby: UK policy statement on Lanka riddled with factual inaccuracies”

Lord Naseby, the Honorary President of The All Party Parliamentary British Sri Lanka Group has, on the basis of assurances received from the heads of ICRC, Colombo, on three occasions; denied torture was taking place in post-war Sri Lanka. In a letter addressed to Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, [Naseby] reminded the Minister how some Tamils caused self-harm to gain entry into the UK.

 

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December 13, 2020 · 7:24 am

Tasmanian Devils: Their Story

Jason Bittel,, in National Geographic, whose prefered title is “Tasmanian devils return to mainland Australia for first time in 3,000 years”

It’s been 3,000 years since the Tasmanian devil’s raspy shriek rang through the forests of mainland Australia. But now, thanks to a dogged reintroduction effort, 26 of these endangered tiny terrors have returned.

No bigger than a lapdog, these marsupials are famous for their ferocity and powerful jaws, which can reduce large carcasses to smithereens in minutes. But in the 1990s, the species was hit with a contagious and deadly mouth cancer, causing its only remaining wild population, on the Australian island state of Tasmania, to drop to just 25,000 animals.

Tasmanian devils, known for their ferocious temperaments, have been plagued by a contagious facial cancer in recent decades.

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December 13, 2020 · 6:27 am

Wind-Power Takes Off in Mannar

Dr Tilak Siyambalapitiya, in The Island, 8 December 2020, where the title reads “Wind power in Mannar,now a reality”

On a windy day, way back in 2002, an engineer from the CEB, approached the Mannar island, searching for a location to set up a wind measuring system. Those were difficult times, with the ceasefire taking hold, but a flareup between the two warring sides was imminent. He precariously crossed the makeshift bridge, on the Mannar causeway, previously blown-up in the war. Moving toward Thalaimannar, the road was deserted and full of potholes, the result of years of neglect during the war. With calculations and estimates in hand, he knew Mannar would be a superior location for wind power, compared to Hambantota, where a pilot wind power plant had been fixed three years back, in 1999.

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December 13, 2020 · 1:40 am

Dissecting the Federal Option for SL Tamils in 2005 — An Important Appraisal

  Gerald Peiris, whose original refereed essay in 2005 in Faultlines, Volume 17, Journal of the Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi …. is entitled “Federalism and the ‘Federal Option’ for Sri Lanka” ….. Its Table of Contents is reproduced at the end of this presentation.

On Federalism as a Modality of Conflict Resolution

“The successful operation of federal systems requires a particular kind of political environment, one that is conducive to popular government and has the requisite traditions of political cooperation and self-restraint.  Beyond this, federal systems operate best in societies with sufficient homogeneity of fundamental interests to allow a great deal of latitude to local government and permit reliance upon voluntary collaboration.  The use of force to maintain domestic order is even more inimical to the successful maintenance of federal patterns of government than to other forms of popular government.  Federal systems are most successful in societies that have the human resources to fill many public offices competently and the material resources to afford a measure of economic waste as part of the price of liberty”.

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December 12, 2020 · 8:54 am

In Appreciation of Larry Schokman: As Sturdy and Productive as Ever in Florida 2005

Selva Kanagasabai, whose original title in this essay presented in 2005 [before Larry passed away] runs thus “Larry “Evergreen’ Schokman now foliates Florida”  …. while highlighting emphasis has been imposed here and there by The Editor, Thuppahi

During the 1950s, changes began to appear in the management of tea estates in (then) Ceylon: Although most of the planting jobs were still the preserve of British expatriates, political realities and foresight opened opportunities for young Ceylonese to enter this challenging and rewarding occupation. Initially, it was mostly Trinitians and some Royalists who were selected (probably due to a perception that Rugby players were better suited for the outdoor life on plantations). The presumption was “if you played hard, you worked hard!”

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December 12, 2020 · 8:25 am

Bonapartist Autocracy in Sri Lanka from 1977 Onwards

Uditha Devapriya who notes that the article that followw here was published in two parts by “The Island” in its “Midweek Review” of December 2 and December 9, 2020. It has since  been edited to incorporate information which at the time of writing the author was not able to add.

 Napoleone di Buonaparte

I: Viewed in retrospect, the yahapalanaya regime seems almost a bad memory now, best forgotten. This is not to underrate its achievements, for the UNP-SLFP Unity Government did achieve certain things, like the Right to Information Act. It soon found out, however, that it couldn’t shield itself from its own reforms; that’s how 2015 led to 2019. Despite its laudable commitment to democratic rule, the yahapalanists reckoned without the popularity of the man they ousted at the ballot box. November 2019, in that sense, was a classic example of a populist resurrection unparalleled in South Asia, though not in Asia: a government touting a neoliberal line giving way to a centre-right populist-personalist.

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