Thuppahi's Blog

Charith Senanayake in Facebook, December 2025 ….“In Memory of Mr. D. S. de Silva”

He was a fierce competitor both on and off the field. I still remember, back in the day when CCC played Moratuwa at the Moratuwa Stadium. DS was turning out for Moratuwa as their pro after his Minor county stint.

Our quicks had taken care of their top order, thanks largely to Gordon Parsons (county cricketer and a handful, character)…..Once Gordy was given a breather, DS quietly got on with his innings, grinding, fighting, and building it brick by brick, as he always did. I think he was well past 80 when I was finally given the ball. I always took my bowling more seriously than my batting, mainly because the ball didn’t come my way too often…..!!! I struck DS on the pad, ran down the wicket with a massive appeal, and the ump raised the finger. Out….

DS huffed, puffed, muttered a few choice words, and eventually walked off.

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Tisaranee Gunasekara in Groundviews 21 December 2025 …where the  title runs thus: PSTA: The NPP’s 1984 Moment?

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Alex Malcolm in ESPNcricinfo, 24 December 2025, where the title reads thus:  “A brave keeper, an unhappy bowler, and the genesis of an ingenious plan”

The genesis of Alex Carey‘s wicketkeeping genius in this Ashes series was a phone call between Australia coach Andrew McDonald and Scott Boland prior to the 2023 series in England. Carey had kept up to Boland on a low, slow, spinning pitch in Nagpur in February of that year in his only game of the India tour. Even greats like Glenn McGrath had to accept having the keeper up at times in India. But implementing it an Ashes series in England would require an ego hit that not every fast bowler could accept. Speaking on Christmas Eve ahead of his return to the MCG for a Boxing Day Ashes Test, Boland recalled the conversation.

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An Observer in a Black Sea Town

The world’s latest Christmas anthem has arrived. This Christmas tune is a bona fide global sensation, having taken the world by storm. This timeless classic is forever etched into the soundtrack of Christmas and has become an indelible part of Christmas folklore.

And what is this song?

It is called It’s all because of Christmas.

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CK Watt

Trump has accused Venezuela of stealing oil, land and assets from the USA.  He has branded the Venezuelan government “a terrorist organisation” which he believes legitimizes extra judicial killings of ordinary citizens, seizing Venezuelan oil tankers, and all such nonsense.

In a Truth Social post (which has nothing to do with truth), Trump declared: ‘V

[SEGMENT UNWITTINGLY CUT OFF]

In his usual psychotic rant, Trump declared: ‘[The US] will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY.’

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Asela Atukorala in     … where his  title reads “Suggestions for Sri Lanka’s Cyclone Ditwah Recovery”

“Sri Lanka relief location map” by Uwe Dedering is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sri Lanka suffered one of its worst natural disasters with Cyclone Ditwah which brought severe floods. Numerous lives have been lost, people are missing, houses are damaged or destroyed, some roads & railway tracks can no longer be travelled on among other problems. This is troubling as Sri Lanka is still recovering from its recent economic collapse. Relating to Sri Lanka’s economy, the IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Evan Papageorgiou revealed that Sri Lanka has requested approximately 200 million USD of assistance due to Cyclone Ditwah. The IMF Executive Board is considering this request and will decide whether to approve it. In this article, I am writing suggestions for Sri Lanka’s Cyclone Ditwah recovery.

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Lakshman Gunasekara in GROUNDVIEWS, 23 December 2025, with  this title “Trumpian America’s Unwitting Christmas Gift to Global South”

Photo courtesy of Tyla

“Every cloud has a silver lining,” wrote English poet-philosopher and leading 17th century civil servant John Milton in one of his lesser known plays. While Milton is best known for his theological-allegorical epic poem Paradise Lost, this phrase about silver lining has become part of commonly used idiom adopted by many cultures across the world.

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AN EMAIL NOTE From VANNI HOPE

Dear Supporters,

I hope this message finds you well. I’m writing to share that our team has now completed all video coverage and written reports for every Phase 1 initiative of our Cyclone Ditwah emergency response. Rather than sending these updates one by one, we felt it would be more meaningful to bring everything together in one place for you to view at your own time.

You can access all reports, impact data, photos and video coverage via our Cyclone Ditwah Response Updates webpage here:
https://vannihope.org/cyclone-ditwah-updates

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An Observer in a Black Sea Resort Town

Do read and digest this news item: https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/629792-blumenthal-venezuela-bondi-beach-attack/

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