Category Archives: accountability

January 9, 2021 · 1:36 am

England Cricket Squad in Lanka …. Moeen with Covid

Rex Clementine, in  ISLAND, 8  January 2021,  “England begin training after negative PCR tests”

There was good news coming from the England camp in Hambantota yesterday after PCR tests done on the team turned negative for COVID-19 except for Moeen Ali. The all-rounder had tested positive for the virus on arrival at Mattala and he is currently in isolation. England Media Manager Danny Reuben told The Island that Chris Woakes, a close contact of Moeen had tested negative but will continue to isolate in his room.

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January 8, 2021 · 8:11 am

Satha and De Saram: Outstanding Batsmen as well Prominent Jailbirds

Nicholas Brookes in The Cricket Monthly at ESPNcricinfo, 6 May 2019, where the title runs “The story of De Saram and Satha: batting geniuses who went to jail” …. Two of Sri Lanka’s greatest batsmen had memorable lives, but they have been nearly forgotten today

The 1947 Ceylon squad that played South India: De Saram and Sathasivam are seated third and sixth from left (holding bats) …. details at bottom of this item

Ask any sports fan what it takes for a player to reach the pinnacle of their game and you’ll get the same tired answers. Talent. Temperament. Determination. But sporting greatness also relies on factors more arcane. Like luck. Or opportunity. Being in the right place at the right time. Just imagine if Pelé had been born in Bombay or if Gavaskar had grown up in Brazil. Where would they be now?

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January 6, 2021 · 3:29 pm

“Bridge over the River Kwai”: In Appreciation of Ian Watt’s Fictional Tale

Tony Donaldson, … with underlining emphasis imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The essay “Bridges over the Kwai,” written by Ian Watt, a prisoner of war on the Burma-Siam railway in WW2, provides a perspective on the book and film from the perspective of an insider. It is well-known that Pierre Boulle’s The Bridge over the River Kwai was fictional, but here Watt suggests Boulle’s narrative had some basis in fact. Thus, a worthy read for those interested in the book, evaluations of the film, or WW2 history.

 

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January 6, 2021 · 8:15 am

The Covid Vaccine: Vital Information from Dr David Agus

His POD CAST Video Advice for Americans……..Dr. David Agus on the COVID-19 vaccine as cases surge nationwide………….. .CBS This Morning

As Americans start to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the death toll in the United States due to the virus has surpassed 300,000. CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus joins CBS News correspondent Anna Werner to explain what you need to know about the vaccine’s safety, efficacy, and availability,

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January 4, 2021 · 1:38 pm

Sabotage! FIVE EYES Operation undermined Oz-China Relations

Tony Kevin, in ConsortiumNews, 8 December 2020, where the title reads “Australia Sabotaged Its Own Interests in China Relations”

The destruction over the past five years of Australia’s mutually beneficial diplomatic and trade relationship with China was probably a successful “Five Eyes” information warfare operation,  writes Tony Kevin.

Hong Kong protester throws egg at President Xi Jinping’s portrait on China’s National Day, Oct. 1, 2019. (Studio Incendo, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)

The address to Federal Parliament by Chinese President Xi Jinping on  Nov. 17, 2014, marked a highwater mark in bilateral relations.  Xi was in Australia for the G-20 summit in Brisbane hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott. His theme was that China was committed to peace but ready to protect its interests.

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January 2, 2021 · 2:46 pm

Sri Lanka Squad in South Africa decimated by Injuries

Anderw Fidel Fernando in ESPNCricinfo, 1 January 2021 –where the title reads “Sri Lanka limp towards second Test with squad decimated by injuries”

Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara and Dinesh Chandimal are all almost certain to miss Sri Lanka’s second Test against South Africa, due to injury. Dhananjaya de Silva had already been confirmed to be out of contention.

 Dinesh Chandimal receiving treatment mid pitch

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January 1, 2021 · 10:59 pm

Two Horrendous Assassinations

THUPPAHI darkens our entry into The YEAR 2021 and its Cumulus Cloud of COVID with two pictorial memories of two horrendous acts of political assassination by Pirapaharan and the Tamil Tigers ….. that of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Neelan Tiruchelvam in 1999 …. with the roadside memorial painting at the junction of Rosmead Place and Kynsey Terrace where the LTTE’s female suicide killer ended Neelan’s life on earth (as he headed for his office) marking the moment …. albeit in temporary modality …. WHILE conveying an everlasting message.

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January 1, 2021 · 2:39 pm

Epitaphs for War Heroes: The Kranji War Memorial in Singapore

Athanasios Tsakonas has produced a book on the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore entitled In Honour of War Heroes: Colin St Clair Oakes and the Design of Kranji War Memorial ….

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January 1, 2021 · 9:24 am

Charting Anagarika Dharmapala’s Many Pursuits

Nandasiri Jasentuliyana, reviewing  Bhadrajee S. Hewage’s book “A NAME FOR EVERY CHAPTER: Anagarika Dharmapala and Ceylonese Buddhist Revivalism”

‘The unexamined life is not worth living.’ – Socrates.

Rarely has so much been written both in the West and in the East about the work of a ‘revivalist,’ that one would conclude there is nothing left to be revealed of the man or his work. That is until you read Bhadrajee Hewage’s “Anagarika Dharmapala and Ceylonese Buddhist Revivalism.”

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December 31, 2020 · 3:46 am

PUL ELIYA Comments reviewed critically by Ceylon Civil Servants for ROHP

“PUL ELIYA” QUOTATIONS AS PRESENTED to the CCS and other personnel

I quote some passages from a book by Dr. E. Leach entitled “Pul Eliya A Village in Ceylon” (Cambridge, 1961). He is a socia1anthropologist who lived for several months in Pul Eliya, a Dry Zone Anuradhapura area village, in the mid 1950’s. There are some interesting passages pertaining to Government regulations and their practical implementation. While these views pertain largely to the 1940’s and 1950’s they are, both implicitly and explicitly, held to apply to most of the 20th century for he has also delved into past records. I present some for your comments.

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