A Sri Lankan Aussie
Category Archives: Fascism
The Jews in History: The Circle & Cycle of Atrocities
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, ethnicity, European history, Fascism, historical interpretation, Jews in Asia, life stories, martyrdom, Middle Eastern Politics, politIcal discourse, racism, religious nationalism, self-reflexivity, terrorism, trauma, war crimes, world events & processes
Against the Fascist Atrocities in Gaza: A Petition For All to Support
“I met Jean-Pierre and his partner Tamara Kunanayakam over dinner in Battaramulla at some point in 2013 or so with Dayan Jayatilleka and Jeevan Thiagarajah among the party ….and an amiable boxer dog with whom I developed a warm friendship. Jean-Pierre is a committed Leftist and trade unionist and is familiar with the world scenario; while Tamara’s wide-ranging history and her experience in the ambassadorial circuit also servef as an indicator of their intellectual sagacity.” ……. Michael Roberts
Those who wish to support their campaign should approach jean.pierre.page@gmail.com
Filed under accountability, arab regimes, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, democratic measures, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, racist thinking, security, self-reflexivity, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
Scott Ritter at the Coalface of the Catastrophe Unfolding in Gaza and Israel
Michael Roberts … summarizing some of the points made inan extended interview
Do spend time and digest the video presentation by Scott Ritter in a Q and A SESSION, …. It is a MUST-SEE event….. which also essays home-turuths about the war in Ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6mWeUPj84E
Filed under accountability, arab regimes, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, counter-insurgency, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, foreign policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, Jews in Asia, jihadists, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, religious nationalism, security, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, unusual people, violence of language, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
Putin shreds the Canadian Parliament’s Idiotic Charade
An Observer from a Black Sea Town ……. in an Original Set of Comments … where the highlightS are interventions from The Editor, Thuppahi
A fair comment by Putin here. The speaker of the Canadian Parliament introduced a 95 year old Ukrainian to the parliament as “a soldier who bravely fought Russia in WW2. “ This led to 3 standing ovations in the parliament for this brave Ukrainian.
Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, Canadian politics, citizen journalism, discrimination, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, foreign policy, historical interpretation, life stories, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, propaganda, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, world events & processes, zealotry
Chandra Schaffter: A Sturdy Sri Lankan Sportsman and Administrator For All Seasons
Michael Roberts
Sri Lanka has been blessed with generations of talented cricketers over the decades: from
- the Kelaarts and Saravanamuttus of the 1920s and 1930s … to
- the Macarthy’s, de Sarams and Heyns of the 1930s and 1940s …
- the Gunasekeras of the 1950s
- the Lieversz, HIK Fernandos and Reids of the 1960s
- Anura Tennekoon, Michael Tissera of the 1960s-1970s
- Duleep Mendis and the Wettimuny’s of the 1970s/80s
- Ranjan Madugalle and Arjuna Ranatunga of the 1980s
- the Aravinda-Ranatunga-Jayasuriya-Kaluwitharana-and-Vaas dynamos of the 1980s and the 1990s
- the Mahela Jayawardena and Sangakkara duo of the 2000s …..
- while not losing sight of that unique phenomenon we know as “Murali” in the 1990s-to-2000s.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cricket for amity, Eelam, ethnicity, Fascism, historical interpretation, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, meditations, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, unusual people, world events & processes
Understanding the Kamikaze Attacks in World War Two
Kostas Sapardanis, at http://sapardanis.org/2016/05/20/kamikaze-who-they-were-why-they-died/ on 20 May 2016, where the title runs thus “Kamikaze – Who they were, why they died” ... item sent to me by retd Brig Hiran Halangode
“Every time one country gets something, another soon has it. One country gets radar, but soon all have it. One gets a new type of engine or plane, then another gets it. But the Japs have got the kamikaze boys, and nobody else is going to get that, because nobody else is built that way.” …. John Thach
Near the end of 1944, almost 10 months before the end of the 2nd World War, the Japanese had already realized that their military effort would lead them to defeat. Their weapons and armaments were short, the stock of soldiers was dramatically decreasing and morality was low. Their precious bombs, other than being too few, were missing their targets and their pilots could not contest the Americans. So, in a desperate last effort to revive the army, the Kamikaze Special Attack Unit was formed. The aim was to obstruct enemy planes from taking off from aircraft carriers. The conversion of pilots themselves into bombs would surely mean the decrease of the failed bomb attacks.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, cultural transmission, ethnicity, Fascism, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, martyrdom, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, psychological urges, religiosity, self-reflexivity, suicide bombing, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes
Life As A Weapon: Tamil Tigers and Jihadists
Michael Roberts: A recent invitation to present a Zoom Lecture from Dr. Geethika Dharmasinghe of Colgate University in USA found me stumbling upon one of my unpublished Notes from yesteryear: a “Note” which seems worthy of resuscitation for public consumption now with suitable illustrations added.
Young LTTE recruits receive their kuppi (cyanide capsule) as final award at a passing out ceremony filmed by the BBC in Jaffna in 1991 …. One of the LTTE officers at this ceremony was the Australian Adele Balasingham, who told he BBC team that “the cyanide capsule has come to symbolise a sense of self-sacrifice by cadres of the movement, their determination, their commitment to the cause and, ultimately, of course, their courage.”
Apropos of the misleading interpretations of suicide attacks by Western commentators such as the political scientist, Robert Pape, it is important to note that the act of suicide was initially adopted by the LTTE as a defensive tool to protect the organisation from the leaking of information after capture. It was also a mark of their dedication to the Tamil liberation cause and thus a method of drawing popular admiration. It was not till 5 July 1987 that it was deployed as a low cost precision weapon when Miller (a nom de guerre) drove a truck bomb into an SL Army encampment at Nelliyadi. This was but one instance of uyirayutham — life as weapon.
Filed under accountability, anton balasingham, art & allure bewitching, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, Eelam, ethnicity, Fascism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, immolation, insurrections, landscape wondrous, life stories, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
The Fate of the Roma Gypsies in Europe: From Nazi Holocaust to Continuous Marginalization
Celia Donert, in History Today, February 2022, where the title reads “The Roma Holocaust”
Europe’s Roma were the victims of Nazi genocide during the Second World War, but their persecution did not end in 1945
Robert Ritter, head of the Racial Hygiene and Demographic Biology Research Unit of Nazi Germany’s Criminal Police, conducting an interview with a Romani woman, 1936
“In 1944, I was deported to the concentration camp in Terezín, where I was imprisoned until May 1945. After returning from the concentration camp I did my military service, and then moved with my family to the village of B., as part of the drive to resettle the borderlands … My family and I lived decently from what I earned as a forestry worker; I didn’t live like a Gypsy, and I always had a fixed residence. I have never had a criminal record. Despite this, I’ve been put on the new register of Gypsies in 1947, and I was issued with a Gypsy registration card. I am requesting that my name be removed from the Gypsy register, and that my registration card be cancelled. “
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, demography, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, Fascism, historical interpretation, human rights, life stories, martyrdom, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, refugees, self-reflexivity, trauma, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes, World War II
Adolf Hitler’s Logic
Courtesy of Richard Koenigsberg in New York
HITLER: “If I don’t mind sending the pick of the German people into the hell of war without regret over the spilling of precious German blood, then I naturally also have the right to eliminate millions of an inferior race that multiplies like vermin.” …..
Adolf Hitler raises a defiant, clenched fist during a speech.
circa 1933: German Dictator, Adolf Hitler addressing a rally in Germany. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, historical interpretation, Hitler, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, military strategy, nationalism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, racist thinking, self-reflexivity, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, war reportage, world events & processes, World War II, zealotry
Forgotten Political Aggression: India in Sikkim and Taiwan under Chiang Kai-she
ONE: Lin Minwang
New Delhi has been making new moves at the border recently. From October 14 to 31, India and the US are scheduled to hold the annual joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas” in Auli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand – deliberately choosing to hold the event less than 100 kilometers away from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the China-India border.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, ethnicity, Fascism, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, legal issues, military expenditure, military strategy, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, truth as casualty of war, world affairs
