Desiree Bowie, whose chosen title for this article presented on web on 27 November 2024 is “Most Powerful Countries in the World: 2024 Rankings”
The most powerful countries in the world command the global stage with a unique mix of economic strength, military power, cutting-edge technology and cultural reach. These nations influence international policy and hold significant sway over global affairs, using their resources, strategic positions and diplomatic skills to maintain dominance.
Paul Wood: “The SAS have been betrayed in the name of human rights” … in The Spectator, magazine, 30 November 2024
The SAS are worried. Britain’s most elite military unit have come face to face with the IRA, the Taliban and Isis. But the enemy that really concerns them doesn’t carry a gun or wear a suicide belt. It’s the phalanx of lawyers they think are coming for them, armed with a deadly weapon: the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Many SAS soldiers now believe that if they pull the trigger during an operation and kill a terrorist, they’ll spend decades being hounded through the courts. They don’t trust the chain of command to look after them. They accuse politicians of a ‘betrayal’. That’s hurting morale and may eventually hit recruitment. We may all end up being less safe because of it.
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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.
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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:
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These are but some of his publications over a career spanning the 1950s to 2020s — with eyesight deterioration blighting his last platform of life. No more table tennis, but much to remember. So, here. let me doff my cap to thee, Gerry Machang, …. Mike
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Madhur Sharma, in Outlook.com, 28 November 2022, where the title runs thus “Why Rajiv Gandhi Sent IPKF To Sri Lanka And How LTTE Played Both Sides” .… with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord with Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayawardene in 1987. Under the pact, the Indian military was deployed as the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka. Soon after the deployment, the circumstances changed and IPKF was engaged in combat by the Tamil armed group LTTE.
Rajiv Gandhi with Anton Balasingham, Pirapaharan & AN Other in India ….. and Pirapahrana & MGR chat in South India
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AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE by Michael Roberts, 11 November 2024
Brig Retd Hiran Halangode sent me the Memorandum presented below as a RESPONSE to one of my reprinted articles on ‘’Religious Strands in the SL Tamil Rebellions of the 1970s to 2009.’’[1] As indicated by him, the memo presents a series of desultory thoughts and do not amount to a thorough-going academic essay. However, they serve as an incentive towards reflection. I have taken the liberty of inserting highlights to spotlight especially significant or controversial thoughts.
SL Army troops in defensive positions in the Vanni circa 2008
BRIG. HIRAN HALANGODE (retd) in Response to MR On Fri, Nov 8, 2024 …… presenting …… https://thuppahis.com/2022/10/02/religion-within-tamil-militancy-and-the-ltte/
Hi Michael,
An excellent effort. I have a few points which may be of interest to you. Random thoughts in fact.
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Michael Roberts
Naren Rajasingham was a trifle junior to me at Peradeniya University when he pursued a Vet/Science Degree before proceeding to postgraduate qualifications in the same field. It was only when I was fully enmeshed in researching the Eelam Wars and visiting Colombo with some frequency that I got to know him. My memory is imprecise in its notation of time; and I cannot fix precise dates to our exchanges.
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‘Yesteryear’ — A Sri Lankan Migrant
A = Support for Palestine in Raleigh North Carolina City Council ... when North Carolina is classed as a ‘conservative’ state!
Another articulate and brave young lady who reflects the changing face in the multi-ethnic urban zones of America with the younger demographic more independent, rebellious and skilled in the art of critical thinking.
https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyr0033/video/7381072938595781919?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Raleigh City, North Carolina ……… Population in 2023: 482,000
Population demographics by race:
White – 55.5%
Black or African American – 28.1%
Hispanic or Latino – 11.6%
Asian & Other – 4.5%
Foreign born persons – 13%
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Also worth listening to the anguished voice of this Jewish American lady…. Elena Stein is the granddaughter of a holocaust survivor: https://youtube.com/shorts/–lF7bOLEs8?si=Np7bfs1XQM8gEZBb…..Stop arming Israel and stop profiting from genocide
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AUTHOR unknown –– An Item sent by Nandi Jasentuliyana — Ex-Richmond College and long resident in USA
This documentary is by Beena Sarwar….. https://www.dawn.com/news/1864914
“There is a fine line between order and chaos. Its tenuous separation lies at the heart of the grand cycle of oppositional linkages in myth and history, in which fate, humans and nature seek a way out of the turbulence to which they may well have themselves contributed.
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thuppahi
