Category Archives: demography

King Abdullah Speaks Out: A “Two-State Solution” for Palestine Arena

Item in Washington Post, 14 November 2023

King Abdullah of Jordan penned an op ed for the Washington Post yesterday. It can be found at, …. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/14/king-abdullah-jordan-two-state-solution/
 
 Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein is king of Jordan. 

For more than a month now, the war in Gaza has been dividing the world, with the deepening split aggravated by intense emotions. Two narratives, Palestinian and Israeli, have pitted demonstrators, media outlets, religions, peoples and regions against each other. In the process, the moral clarity that we should and must share about basic human values has turned into moral confusion.

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, arab regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, constitutional amendments, democratic measures, demography, devolution, governance, historical interpretation, Jews in Asia, legal issues, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, terrorism, tolerance, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

Bertrand Russell’s Message to the World on Zionism in January 1970

“Bertrand Russell’s Last Message“…. January 1970 presented at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfCTz-ZuZU .… & now sent to me by “A Sri Lankan in Brisbane” who reiterates the stance he took a few days back with An APPRAISAL that I present for readers to appraise after listening to the You Tube presentation marked above and is attached Blogging Theology MEMO below.

Portrait of British philosopher and social activist Bertrand Russell smoking his pipe as he looks out to sea, circa 1960….. Photo by Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

 


Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, arab regimes, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, citizen journalism, demography, disparagement, ethnicity, European history, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, refugees, religious nationalism, self-reflexivity, social justice, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes

The GAZA Clash & Its Ramifications: Fundamental Grounding …. A Sri Lankan’s Reading

A Sri Lankan in Brisbane … responding to my Thuppahi Question: Why did HAMAS launch an attack in Palestine [with implicit awareness of extreme Israeli retaliations] ? … with the highlighting in red being that of the Editor, Thuppahi and that in black being the author’s.

HIS RESPONSE

Dear Michael,

Israel has never been a country that abided by International rules.

Although the majority of Jews migrated to Israel from Russia & Eastern Europe, the British & US heavily back Israel because the wealthy Jews who fund US Congress are in the US & UK. The US Congress is beholden to these wealthy Jews for their election funding. In addition, almost all Arab countries are headed by corrupt US cronies, beholden to the $.

Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, arab regimes, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, counter-insurgency, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, European history, Fascism, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, Hitler, human rights, Islamic fundamentalism, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, Middle Eastern Politics, military expenditure, nationalism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, religious nationalism, security, self-reflexivity, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, World War Three?, zealotry

On the Brink of World War III?

Fair Dinkum …. with highlights imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

As this war escalates, it’s only a matter of time before these US warships are sunk. They are sitting ducks in the Red Sea. The US is not in a position to deter anyone except perhaps for the occasional dolphin.
What has not been reported is that not only is Yemen launching drones and air strikes, but that a major escalation of Hezbollah attacks occured last night on the Lebanon-Israel border and that Hezbollah successfully hit a number of US interests in the region. 

Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, arab regimes, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, demography, foreign policy, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, politIcal discourse, power sharing, propaganda, racist thinking, sea warfare, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, vengeance, violence of language, war reportage, world events & processes, World War Three?

THE VOICE Referendum in Australia: ‘Overview’ of the Results

https://www.datawrapper.de/_/svSud/

The brutal truth of the referendum result was that Yes campaign couldn’t cut through to a hesitant electorate

Albanese and Burney stand behind podiums in front of the Australian, Indigenous and Torres Strait flags
Albanese’s position put an absolutely unfair pressure on his Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney to lead the debate.()

Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Aboriginality, accountability, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, democratic measures, demography, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, meditations, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, social justice, world events & processes

Rosen: An American Rabbi’s Slashing Condemnation of Israeli Warring Atrocities

Rabbi Brant Rosen

ONE: Brant Rosen, 24 September 2023

As a rabbi for a Chicago-based synagogue that holds a deep shared commitment to the struggle for Palestinian liberation, I am holding so much intensity and emotion right now. I am filled with horror hearing the cries for vengeance voiced by the Israeli government and media, and witnessing the shattering military response that Israel has unleashed on the people of Gaza.

Israel has now shut off all electricity and water for over 2 million Palestinians as the military wreaks complete and total devastation across that tiny strip, attacking hospitals, schools, mosques, marketplaces and apartment buildings. As of this writing, the death toll has risen to more than 1,500, with 5,600 wounded. More than 350,000 people have been rendered homeless — and these numbers will almost certainly rise significantly in the coming days and weeks.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, demography, disparagement, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, religious nationalism, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes

Sinhalese & Tamils Locked in Prejudice?

Michael Roberts 

An interesting chat with Mark LaBrooy in Melbourne on the phoe today induced me to re-visit my old SIGNATURE PIECE on “The Sinhala Mindset” in my Thuppahi site ….. Some of the commentary is as enlightening today as refreshing. That inserted by Jane Russell on 1 March 2012 and Chandre Dharmawardena’s  response  should continue to stimulate our thinking TODAY.

The problems of YESTERDAY still persist today.

Note that Jane is an Oxford graduate who secured her Ph.D in History at Peradeniya under KM de Silva’s supervision in Peradeniya in the 1970s. She has lived for lengthy spells in Sri Lanka since then because of her deep commitment to individuals and places within the land.

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, discrimination, economic processes, education, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, language policies, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

Reflections on Eustace Rulach’s Satire of January 1985

Michael Roberts

On the 27th of January 1985 The lsland newspaper presented a cartoon sketch of a lion being confronted by a cockroach possessing the same physical scale as the lion under the caption Hoisting the Flag for Lansi Eelam. The lion denoted the Sinhala people, that is, the Sinhala nation in all its deep history and majesty. The cockroach signified the Burgher people of Sri Lanka, namely the “lansi.” The cartoon was supported by a letter attributed to a “Sharm De Alwis.”

   Voila! So, it has come, but sooner than I expected: the call for a unified Lansieelam.

When I anticipated such a move I did tell a friend that were I the President I’d give the Burghers the Bambalapitiya Flats with the sea frontage thrown in for good measure. They would then be free to harness their intrinsic but long-forgotten skills in reclaiming the sea and build derricks to Mozambique or even Rotterdam.

But what bugged me was when my friend took me at my word and produced the next day the visual of the Lansieelam map. Not that I would have any objections to the apt depiction of the cockroach but that the pest had assumed the same proportions of the Sinhala Lion.

My friend re-assures me that what she has in mind is not a separate state but an isolated plot fully integrated with the Sinhala state and the cockroach, large as it now is, gives ample muscle aid to the Lion to combat other opposing factors.

Sharm de Alwis, 82/1, Kandy Road,, Kiribathgoda

Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, devolution, discrimination, disparagement, education policy, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Islamic fundamentalism, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry

Kissing Frolics at Peradeniya University: Now …. & Then

News item:- Daily News, 20th March 2023:  “No Bar to kiss at Peradeniya” .…  Suranga Dilhan, Gampola Corr.

“Peradeniya University is a place filled with love and there is no prohibition for kissing at the university premises,” Peradeniya University Vice Chancellor Prof. M. D. Lamawansa and Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Terrance Mudiyith said.

 

 

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, Afro-Asians, Australian culture, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, travelogue

Introducing an Essay on an Ethnic Confrontation at a Cricket Match in 1981

Michael Roberts

This ‘encounter’ took place in 1981 and involved a Burgher Sri Lankan barracker earning the combined ‘resistance’ of an Aussie cricketer and Sinhala bystander (Sinha). As an observer of this set of exchanges, I moved beyond a clarification of the historical understandings embedded in Sinha’s success in ‘defeating’ the aggressive Burgher to address the relationship and differences between ‘typical’ anthropological studies and ‘typical’ historical work.

The essay was published in Comparative Studies in Society and History in 1985. The pdf version has been converted into Word File by my Aloysian schoolmate KK De Silva, a cricketer and soccer goalkeeper in his school-heyday. Because it is a pdf, I have not been able to assemble the Footnotes as “End Notes.” Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, Australian culture, communal relations, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, demography, disparagement, ethnicity, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes