ITEMS sent to me by my old Aloysian mate Sarri Junaid in Canada…
Trump’s Failed War on China ….
How long will Trump last
Europe is An Economic Basket-case
ITEMS sent to me by my old Aloysian mate Sarri Junaid in Canada…
Trump’s Failed War on China ….
How long will Trump last
Europe is An Economic Basket-case
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, China and Chinese influences, citizen journalism, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, Pacific Ocean issues, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes, zealotry
Introduction by Mithran Tiruchelvam …. a son of Neelan Tiruchelvam of the ICES [who was tragically assassinated by the LTTE in front of the ICES offices one year later]
The present collection of essays arose out of a symposium held at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES), Colombo from 13-15 March 1997, where researchers and scholars presented some of their recent research interests. This volume seeks to gather the threads of a hybrid collection of essays and weave them together in their shared historical moment. An anthology of this nature seeks organizational cohesion based on the papers’ common origins at the symposium, thereby sacrificing some degree of thematic or disciplinary unity. It is intended that such a collection make available to the general reader and to the scholar alike, a sense of the variety of social science pursuits being undertaken in Sri Lanka today. As such its purpose is to flavour as much as to nourish the reader’s palate, providing a sampling of the eclectic diversity of topics, methodologies and critical perspectives. engaging the social scientist today.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes, zealotry
Item in The Economist, 23 Nov 2024: “Sri Lanka’s Left Turn: Sri Lanka’s president with Marxist roots now dominates parliament too” .… with highlighting emphasis imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi
SRI LANKA was once a pioneer of free-market capitalism in South Asia. After J.R. Jayewardene took power with a super-majority in 1977, he introduced a French-style executive presidency and economic reforms that overturned the left-wing orthodoxy of the previous two decades. Cheered on by Western governments concerned about Soviet influence, Sri Lanka became the first country in the region to liberalise its economy.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, debt restructuring, economic processes, export issues, foreign policy, governance, IMF, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, parliamentary elections, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, rehabilitation, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, working class conditions, world affairs, world events & processes
A Circular Memo that reached the Thuppahiyaa, 25 November 2024
Big Tiger Event this week in every major city in Australia – share with Sri Lankans Aussies. ………….Please see the attached document and once you have read the contents, consider these actions:

Filed under accountability, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, counter-insurgency, doctoring evidence, Eelam, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, patriotism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, religious nationalism, sea warfare, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, violence of language, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
Richard Simon to Michael Roberts, Editor, Thuppahi
Thomia, as you know, is a comprehensive history of S. Thomas’ College presented in the wider context of Lankan history and focusing on the influences between the two. In this sense it resembles my previous history of the Ceylon tea industry, which you were kind enough to praise when it was published in 2017. It is very different from a typical school history and its appeal is certainly not confined to Old Thomians.
Now on sale: Thomia is available for advance purchase from today, 25 November 2024. I hope to finance printing of the book partly through advance sales; I am happy to say I have already received a number of pledges.
Filed under art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, chauvinism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
THIS Item was sent to Thuppahi by Jayantha Somasundaram in Canberra: it bore the title “Canadians refuse to Take King;s Oath” …. & … a sub-heading: “Town council in Canada at standstill over refusal to take King’s oath” attributed to “Nadine Yousif” of BBC News Toronto, 21 November 2024
A town council in Canada is at a standstill after its newly elected members refused to pledge allegiance to King Charles III as required in the swearing-in ceremony.
Dawson City in the Yukon Territory is home to about 2,400 residents…. Getty images
Stephen Johnson, the mayor-elect of Dawson City in Yukon Territory, and the new council were elected last month. They were to be sworn early this month but that process stalled after they refused to take the oath.
Henry Ergas in The Australian, 15 November 2024 with this title: “Jew hatred festers amid multicultural malaise” ….
The attacks, which followed a soccer game between a Dutch and an Israeli team, appear to have been premeditated and well-organised. Nor were they an isolated incident.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, European history, governance, historical interpretation, life stories, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, religiosity, self-reflexivity, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, world events & processes, zealotry
Ameen Izzadeen, in The Daily Mirror in Sri Lanka, 22 November 2024 …… where the title reads “Biden’s legacy: Gaza genocide and now possible nuclear war in Europe” **
US Alternate Ambassador Robert Wood raises his hand to veto a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday. AFP
Never has the world been so precariously on pins and needles as it is now, with Europe exposed to the threat of nuclear war, the West Asian region facing genocide, and the rest of the world uncertain about what to expect from the leadership change in the United States—a nation teetering on the brink of moral bankruptcy.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, arab regimes, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, foreign policy, fundamentalism, historical interpretation, human rights, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, military strategy, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, world events & processes, zealotry
About Bart Klem = My research is focused on questions of political order amidst and after civil war. I am interested in state institutions, de facto sovereignty of rebel movements and public authority. Sri Lanka has been my main country specialization, but I also work on Northern Cyprus and I have done some work on Indonesia (mainly Kalimantan). More details may also be found on my personal website.
Before joining Gothenburg University in 2020, I was lecturer at the University of Melbourne and the University of Zurich.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, colonisation schemes, communal relations, demography, economic processes, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
Vaishna Roy, whose article is entitled “The Hema Committee Report shows there is hope that the omertà enforced by powerful men in the film industry will be broken,” .… and has been placed in an Indian site with this Editor’s Note: “A powerful, defining moment” … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Writing in this issue of Frontline, the feminist scholar J. Devika says: “Malayalam cinema has been historically structured by feudal funding and practices, and women artistes were inevitably taken to be sexually available to the big male names.” This is true not just of Malayalam cinema, but of every film industry across the country, where the prevalent patriarchal belief is that simply by entering the world of cinema, whether to pursue a career in acting, cinematography, or make-up, the woman ineludibly signs her body away. After any complaint, a set of tabloids and television channels inevitably pipes up with the claim that “adjustment” is a part of cinema after all.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, chauvinism, cultural transmission, democratic measures, economic processes, education, female empowerment, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, theatre world, world events & processes
“Barbarians on scooters are riding through our capital city hunting Israelis and Jews,” David van Weel, the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, wrote on X late last week as a violent, largely Muslim, mob rampaged through Amsterdam’s streets.