An Orcadian**
Herein one sees an example of the lines of disinformation on the war in Ukraine that is commonplace in the Western world. This is the Australian style disinformation published in The Age today [18 May 2022] The headline reads “Siege of Mariupol ends as soldiers leave.”
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Sutirtho Patranobis, in Hindustan Times, 1 April 2022, “China, India opposed to interference in border dispute” …. with highlighting inserted by The Editor, Thuppahi
The Chinese defence ministry was responding to comments from a top US official who said India was facing a severe situation on its border with China.
Jan 01 (ANI): Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China exchanged greetings and sweets along the LAC at Demchok on New Year’s Day, in Leh on Saturday. (ANI Photo) (ANI)
China and India are firmly opposed to any third party interference in the border dispute, the Chinese defence ministry said on Thursday, adding that the two countries have agreed to resolve differences by negotiating and consulting each other.
Mr C .… an orignal piece for Thuppahi** … with highlighting being the work of The Editor, Thuppahi
I found Asoka Bandarage’s essay was okay, but it suffers from a few argumentative flaws I will discuss in this article. The writer has made many claims. Some of these I agree with. Her main argument comes towards the end of the article which may be summarized as follows: Sri Lanka must avoid being exploited by foreign powers or caught up in geopolitical adventures played out between India, China and the US – a goal which it can achieve by creating food and energy security for itself by exploiting natural resources, and she mentions an area of Sri Lanka containing oil and gas resources. We know Sri Lanka is a fertile land and can easily sustain rice and food crops, if managed properly.
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Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, in Colombo Telegraph, 16 May 2022, where the title reads “Masks of Democracy & Energy Geopolitics: Is Full Spectrum Dominance the Endgame?”
South Asia’s Arab Spring has arrived amid energy wars and slow tectonic shifts in power and wealth eastward to Asia and the Indian Ocean Region. This has been hastened by the new Cold War proxy-war in Ukraine, US-led sanctions on energy-rich Russia and a refugee crisis in Europe.
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Mr C[1]
I found the essay by Asoka Bandarage[2] as okay, but it suffers from a few argumentative flaws I will discuss in this article. The writer Bandarage has made many claims. Some of these I agree with. Her main argument comes towards the end of the article which may be summarized as follows: Sri Lanka must avoid being exploited by foreign powers or caught up in geopolitical adventures played out between India, China and the US which it can achieve by creating food and energy security for itself by exploiting natural resources, and he mentions an area of Sri Lanka containing oil and gas resources. We know Sri Lanka is a fertile land and can easily sustain rice and food crops, if managed properly. While I agree Sri Lanka should strive for its own food and energy security, I am not sure this will be achievable in the case of energy security without significant foreign investment, which means the geopolitical problems he refers to are unlikely to go away.
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A Well-travelled Sinhala Octogenarian**
Hi Michael, I am not sure whether people despised persons of mixed race. I really don’t think so by my own experience. However, when it came to marriage, it was an entirely different matter.
In my growing years I have heard the term Thuppahi, but I thought it
referred to low caste people, not to persons of mixed race. But what was apparent to me is that they, the people in the 1940’s and 50s’and even 60’s, did not permit mixed marriages. This was taboo.
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Lakshman Gunasekara, in Daily FT, 14 May 2022, where the title reads: “Paradoxes of a schizoid Republic”
Attackers’ roared obscenities, screams of victims, the thunk of metal poles on defenceless humans and, the crack of smashed protester shelters, all combined to almost drown out the Bhikkus’ serene chanting of Pirith emanating from loudspeakers within ‘Temple Trees’, the official residence of the Prime Minister of our Democratic Socialist Republic.
To those being beaten up on the street right outside the official residence, the public watching from the road and later, to the millions watching TV news telecasts and webcasts around the world, this triple clash of brutality, spirituality and official propriety must have seemed absolutely bizarre, even schizoid if not psycho-pathic.
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Asoka Bandarage, in The Island, 16 May 2022, with this title “Sri Lanka: Debt crisis, neocolonialism and geopolitical rivalry” …. with highlighting in blue being impositions from The Editor, Thuppahi
Sri Lanka is in the throes of an unprecedented economic crisis. Faced with a shortage of foreign exchange and defaulting on its foreign debt repayment, the country is unable to pay for its food, fuel, medicine, and other basic necessities. Notwithstanding the austerities that would be entailed, a bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been accepted as the only way out of the dire economic situation.Opposition political parties, and citizens across the country, blame the Rajapaksa government’s widespread corruption and mismanagement for the crisis, and demand that the President and the Parliament resign. The Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa did so on 09 May 2022. However, the protesters at Galle Face Green, and elsewhere, have not been able to put forward an alternative leadership or a viable road map for the future. The country remains mired in confusion, chaos and a highly volatile political impasse.
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Once empowered by triumphant ethnic nationalism after a brutal civil war, the Rajpaksa dynasty has been wht its own allies call incompetence and denial. As the guests sat down for a banquet dinner last summer at the grand colonial-era home of Sri Lanka’s president, the small talk soon turned gravely serious.
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A BBC News Item, 20 January 2015, entitled “The story of the Last Post”
The Last Post will be played all over the world on Remembrance Day. But as Alwyn W Turner explains, its origins had nothing to do with mourning.
thuppahi
