Category Archives: war reportage

September 4, 2023 · 7:40 pm

The Lord of Cricketing Gods in India: MS Dhoni

Karthik Krishnaswamy in The Cricket Monthly, 24 July 2023 , where the title reads “MS Dhoni joined the pantheon of mythical Tamil heroes”

Superstars in Chennai emerge from cinema or politics or both. Then came along a cricketer from Ranchi

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni during the IPL 2023 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai, Monday, April 3, 2023. (PTI Photo/R Senthil Kumar)(PTI04_03_2023_000319B)

It begins when he steps over the boundary. A rasping chant. A name.

“Baashha!” A drumroll. “Baashha!” Another drumroll.

There are urgent bars of instrumental orchestration, and as they swell to a crescendo, a voice pierces the air: “Let’s welcome the new batsman, Mahendra Singh… Dhoniiiiiiiiii!”

The timing is just right. The announcer’s voice gives way to the power-packed vocals of SP Balasubrahmanyam.

Hey Baashha paaru Baashha paaru
Pattalathu nadaya paaru
Pagai nadungum padaya paaru
Coatu suitu rendum eduthu
Poattu nadakkum puliya paaru

Behold Baashha
Behold the warrior-like stride
Behold the army that sends
shudders down enemy spines
Behold the tiger in coat and suit

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, cricket for amity, cricket selections, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, nationalism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, refugees, rehabilitation, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes, zealotry

August 28, 2023 · 7:24 pm

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

August 20, 2023 · 3:31 pm

Central SL Navy Role in the Defeat of the LTTE, 2007-09

Michael Roberts

In responding to an email note from the Trinitian MOHAN SAHAYAM re another Trinitian TRAVIS SINNIAH, I proceeded to search for my articles on the role of Commodores Wasantha Karannagoda and Travis Sinniah in identifying and sinking the LTTE’s (illegal?) merchant navy supply ships way out in the Indian Ocean and sinking them in 2007 (a central element in defeating the LTTE).

These are some of my chance FINDS.

 

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, counter-insurgency, Eelam, foreign policy, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, sea warfare, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

June 30, 2023 · 12:07 am

Western Media in Blind Alley on Russian Scenario

An Observer in a Black Sea Town

Very pleasing to see no blue haired, transexual, transgendered non-binary people in this group of young attractive Russian girls filmed in February 2023 at the Shaman’s concert in Yekaterinburg singing the song Я Русский [I’m Russian]. The girls sing: “I am Russian, and I am lucky”. **

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, australian media, authoritarian regimes, disparagement, foreign policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, military strategy, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, slanted reportage, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, war reportage

June 15, 2023 · 5:22 pm

‘Nuclear War’! An Escalaton to Nuclear Weaponry Around the Corner NOW!

An Observer in a Black Sea Town

A Russian professor of history has put forward the case for Russia to use nuclear weapons sooner rather than later to get the West to back off and thereby save humanity. His argument is stimulating much debate inside Russia.  He presents a compelling argument.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, conspiracies, economic processes, European history, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, Russian history, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, World War Three?, zealotry

May 27, 2023 · 1:29 am

Is the Tide Turning in Favour of Russia in the Ukrainian War?

An Observer in A Black Sea Resort Town

1. Russia has started deploying nuclear weapons to Belarus to counter the build up of weapons and forces in central and Western Europe targetting Russia.

 A pro-Russian cartoon of the failed Ukrainian terrorist attack in Belgorod

2. Belarusian President Lukashenko says that “forces” supported by Poland to topple his government and carry out a coup in Belarus will not succeed in part because Belarus knows every individual involved in the plot and are monitoring their activities, and partly because Russia will intervene should any coup like activities even remotely start to occur. Russia already has 50,000 troops in Belarus. It is another sign of desperation by the West.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, European history, governance, landscape wondrous, life stories, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, trauma, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, war reportage, world events & processes

May 19, 2023 · 5:28 pm

Incisive Strategy & Tactics behind the Defeat of the LTTE in 2006-09

Serge De Silva Ranasinghe …  This article was first available online at jir. janes.com on 11 November 2009, where it carries this title: “Good Education: Sri Lankan military learns insurgency lessons”*++*

A SUMMARY: In May 2009, the Sri Lankan government declared victory in the country’s brutal civil war. Sergei De  Silva-Ranasinghe examines the effectiveness of the military tactics that helped defeat the LTTE. … While The Editor Thuppahi has imposed highlighting to stress some key aspects

Sri Lanka’s victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 offers insights and lessons in confronting an intractable and formidable insurgency. To achieve victory, Sri Lanka expanded its army and adopted new tactics for the largest military campaign in the country’s history. Determined leadership and superior manpower were ultimately decisive in a war that killed as many as 22,000 rebels and over 5,000 soldiers.

 

The maps indicate the Sri Lankan military’s advance through the country, the various operations that led to the capture of insurgents and the LTTE’s gradual downfall over the past four years.

 

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, Eelam, ethnicity, historical interpretation, insurrections, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, trauma, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

May 19, 2023 · 1:23 am

De Silva-Ranasinghe’s In-Depth Studies of the LTTE’s Downfall During Eelam War IV . A Bibliography

From Perth with Incisive Penetration: De Silva-Ranasinghe’s In-Depth Analysis of the LTTE’s Downfall During Eelam War IV …. A Bibliography

 

 

 

 

 

 

De Silva-Ranasinghe, Sergei 2009a “Political and Security Implications of Sri Lanka’s Armed Conflict,” Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, Feb.  2009, Vol. 35/1, pp. 20, 22-24.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, australian media, authoritarian regimes, counter-insurgency, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, sea warfare, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

May 12, 2023 · 7:18 pm

An Incisive Analysis of the US-NATO Involvement in the Ukraine

Scott Horton and Judge Napolitani in Revealing U-Tube Dialogue, May 2023

SEE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYp_TwlK24

**********

NOTE Some of the Initial Comments attracted on Web

Scott Horton has an amazing podcast… one of the best anti-war voices of our age.
Thanks Judge, I can’t believe how naive I was even ten years ago. I had to stop work with ill health and it was then I had the time to educate myself in the mendacity of the Western powers i.e. USA, UK, EU and NATO. Once your eyes have been opened you can never go back!
It’s a pleasure to see this gentleman back in your show
Extraordinary dialog by Judge Napolitano with critical questions on the origin of the Ukraine problem and Scott Horton valuable knowledge of the facts of U.S. intervention since the 1990’s. This conversation should be divulged as much as possible an answer to all who claim Russia was “unprovoked”. Scott coming book will be very important to read.

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, military strategy, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, Russian history, self-reflexivity, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, war reportage, world events & processes

May 10, 2023 · 10:15 am

Aussie Reporters Shooting at the Moon

A Canary Club Reader  .… with highlighting emphasis inserted by The Editor, Thuppahi

Does Peter Hartcher understand anything? …..

Here, he begins by stating:  “In the time it takes to read this article, two more Russian soldiers will be killed”, without providing a shred of evidence to substantiate his claim. Based on leaked US military documents in April this year, the reality is that in the time it takes to read this article, 14 Ukrainian soldiers would have been killed. You’d have to read the article many times before a Russian is killed.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, governance, historical interpretation, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, press freedom, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes