Author Archives: thuppahi

About thuppahi

Sri Lankan and Australian nationality; student of Sri Lankan society and politics; sociology of cricket;

July 29, 2020 · 3:45 am

Parliamentary Election Results: “Sam’s” Appraisal of Possibilities

‘Sam’ Samarasinghe aka “SWR deA” in USA in Island, 29 July 2020, where the title is “The Nation’s Choice”

In the August 5th parliamentary election, the voter has three choices. The first is to give the SLPP a two-thirds majority as the leadership of that party is urging the voter to do. The second is to give the SLPP a working majority in parliament – 113 seats or more – but not a two-thirds majority. The third is to deny the SLPP 113 seats. This third possibility can lead to one of two outcomes. One outcome is for the SLPP to form a coalition government with one or more of the other parties. The other is for the opposition parties to form a coalition and govern with
Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president. This last option is in effect a “national” government. Its “national” flavour will be enhanced if minorities and at least some of the SLPP members also become a part of the government.

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Eduard Hempel Flourishes in Galle and Lanka

SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda, in Sunday Island, 26 July where the title is “ A Seeker after Many Truths, The Lives of Eduard Hempel”

The canoe nudged its way through the deep brown water. It was thick and heavy, like treacle and the boat inched towards a tree trunk on the river bank. The boat sat low in the water, barely a few inches above the river. “Closer, closer,” said the voice at the stern. “I can’t really see it.”

“Well I can,” protested the voice from the bow. “Its close enough, isn’t it?”

” No, its okay. It doesn’t seem to be moving.” All of sudden the tree trunk moved. Coming suddenly to life, it slid down the river bank, crashing into the water.

“Don’t worry, they are much bigger on the Zambezi. It’s probably scared of us. That was why it was rushing into the water. Look they are all doing that.”

There was a series of splashes, each one louder than the other.

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Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, photography, plural society, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tourism, travelogue, unusual people, wild life, world events & processes

July 26, 2020 · 5:49 pm

A Promising Young Life crushed by an Elephant at Kilinochchi

THE INITIAL REPORT in AFP and Dawn, dated 21 & 22 July 2020 had this title “Elephant crushes scholar to death in Sri Lanka”

A young university scholar has become the latest victim of a deadly wild elephant attack in Sri Lanka, officials said on Monday, after a growing spate of similar incidents across the island nation.

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Filed under accountability, economic processes, elephant tales, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, politIcal discourse, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, trauma, travelogue, unusual people

July 26, 2020 · 5:00 pm

The Pacha-Gaha of Yesteryear in the Heart of Galle

Ruhuna Putra, in Island. 22 July 2020, with this title “Galle’s famous Fibber’s Tree”

It was a giant tree of the Banyan family (Ficus altissima), fairly tall, most of its branches canopied and dotted with many a rookery, while some branches bent downwards to the ground and propagated. It also had several subsidiaries. It was centrally located within the town of Galle in a small section of the large cattle pen of the mighty King Ravana covering vast acres, opposite the present police station and close to the war memorial roundabout.

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Filed under cultural transmission, elephant tales, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, press freedom, pulling the leg, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, travelogue, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes

July 26, 2020 · 3:34 pm

A Prospering Chinese Economy Today

Paul Schatz on “The Chinese Economy is strong and getting stronger,” 24 July 2020

28,064 views ….333K subscribers

Heritage Capital President and CIO Paul Schatz joins Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita to break down the latest market actions and tensions between the U.S. and China. #USCHINA #TrumpChina #

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E6NONeDVLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E6NONeDVLg

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Constitutional Knots and Tamil Politics within the Indian Shadow

DBS Jeyaraj in Daily Mirror, 25 July 2020, where the title is “TNA Must Seek India’s Help To Protect 13th Amendment”

The TNA may glibly say that everything is hunky-dory with India but this is not so. The reality is that of the Indian establishment being extremely disappointed with the TNA over the northern provincial council issue

Nowadays, India is more interested in getting closer to the governments in power in Colombo. Therefore New Delhi would not let the “Tamil issue” spoil a potentially beneficial “new” relationship with Colombo.

Sri Lanka was embroiled in a three decade long civil war that left the Tamils a battered and shattered people. Instead of opting pragmatically for the “next best”, the Tamils chose to pursue what could be termed with the wisdom of hindsight, as a “far worse” one

Instead of day-dreaming about getting quasi-federalism through discussions with the Rajapaksa regime, the TNA needs to safeguard and consolidate what has been gained so far

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Porch Frontals at Middle Street Western End

I lived and thoroughly enjoyed my life for ten years or so from the age of Ten at 38 Middle Street in a house rented from a Muslim family. We had two Temple trees in our narrow front ‘patch’ between house verandah wall and a parapet. The street arena had a small triangle of grass with a large breadfruit tree in the centre. THAT is no more …. and No. 38 is abandoned and decrepit — one among a [dwindling?] sprinkling in the Fort in such a state…… Michael Roberts