January 20, 2022 · 12:35 am

Kumari Jayawardena’s Study of the Bourgeoise in British Ceylon

Kumari Jayawardena:“Nobodies to Somebodies: The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka” ….. Paperback, 412 pages …………Published February 1st 2003 by Zed Books (first published February

Synopsis: The origins and growth of the bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka during British rule are important aspects of the country’s modern history. Here, Kumari Jayawardena traces the evolution of the bourgeoisie from a feudal society and mercantilist economy, to the age of plantations. She assigns primacy to class over caste, and details the rise of the new-rich Nobodies of many castes, ethnicities and religions into the ranks of the Somebodies. She discusses the links between capital accumulation, religious revivalism, ethnic identity and political movements, and highlights the obsession of the bourgeoisie with land acquisition and social status.

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January 19, 2022 · 8:06 pm

Receiving Semen with One’s Milk: A World Record in San Diego

News item in DailyNewsReported, January 2022, with this title “DNA Testing Reveals Milkman Fathered Over 800 Children Between 1951 and 1964”

Randall (Randy) Jeffries was a Milk Delivery man in the 1950’s and 60’s in Southern California. His route was in the San Diego area. Back in those days milk delivery was how we got our milk. No quick runs to the store or jaunts to the nearest Walmart. Week in and week out, Randy pounded the pavement from truck to doorstep.

Over the years he began to form relationships with his customers and in those times the vast majority of his interactions were with housewives. He was quite a handsome man back in his time and many were the customer who would request him. Frequently pies and casseroles were made for him.

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January 19, 2022 · 10:03 am

Buddhism among Tamils in the Past … and Present-Day Squabbles

PK Balachandran, in The Citizen, 8 August 2021, where the title is “In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Link with Buddhism is Brushed Under the Carpet”

Unsustainable claims put forward by the Sinhalese and the Tamils on language, religion and ethnicity, have muddied Sri Lankan politics in the post-independence era. The Sinhalese loudly proclaim that Buddhism is quintessentially and exclusively, a “Sinhala” religion. The Tamils, on the other hand, claim with equal vehemence, that they have always been unalloyed Hindus, who had never ever had anything to do with Buddhism, which they identify with “Sinhala hegemony.”

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January 18, 2022 · 11:48 pm

The Pandora’s Box That is the Djokovic Case

Josh Roose, in The Age, 16 January 2022, where the chosen title runs thus: “Right and left unite over Djokovic – and why they are both wrong”

It is easy to dislike Novak Djokovic. At the height of a pandemic that has claimed millions of lives globally, he has consistently refused to reveal his vaccination status, despite freely travelling the world for tennis tournaments, and has been pictured acting irresponsibly on numerous occasions.For many, he has become the embodiment of the adage that one rule applies for the wealthy and powerful and another for the rest of us.

 

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January 18, 2022 · 8:19 pm

Richard Gabriel’s Life and Work

Nilantha Perera Palihawadana

Beginnings and Family: Payagala Baduge Richard Mausuetus Don Gabriel was born on February 19, 1924, to Payagala Baduge Don Gabriel and Cyriline de Costa. He was the youngest of a family of three boys. His eldest brother was Edmund Don Gabriel, who became an accountant and was the bursar of Aquinas College. He also served as the secretary and treasurer of the Sapumal Foundation. The brother just senior to him was Edward Don Gabriel, who later became a businessman. Richard also had four half-sisters from his father’s first marriage.

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January 18, 2022 · 6:46 pm

Romila Thapar’s ZOOM Lecture on The Museum in India

Professor ROMILA THAPAR to deliver the Dr. ROLAND SILVA MEMORIAL LECTURE for the National Trust on 27th January 2022 at 6.00 pm on Zoom….

yes  ZOOM

Prof. Romila Thapar  who is a Professor of Ancient History, Emerita, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. The notice of the Lecture is appended (or attached) and we welcome you all to participate.

Roland Silva

 

 

 

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January 18, 2022 · 11:25 am

Covid Immunity: Issues ….. Growing Experiences

Maani Truu, in ABC Net, 17 January 2022, where the title reads “Can you catch COVID twice? Or does it give you greater immunity?”

Central Coast resident Mitch Rogers has just come out of two weeks of complete isolation, which he says was “pretty tough”. After contracting COVID early this year, the 32-year-old, who lives by himself, retreated to his Umina Beach home to ride out the symptoms. They ended up taking 14 days to subside, double the mandated seven-day isolation period.

 

More and more Australians have now had COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean they’ll never catch it again. (Pexels: Pixabay) Continue reading →

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January 18, 2022 · 10:26 am

Mirigama-Kurunegala Highway now Operational

Mirigama to Kurunegalle 40k Highway opened to public 15/1/22T

The highway goes through the  central lowlands of Sri Lanka. This 40.91 km sector from Mirigama to Kurunegala of the Central Highway has cost Rs.149 Billion.

 

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January 16, 2022 · 11:29 am

US Power and Sri Lanka’s Debt Crisis

Professor Tissa Vitarana, in The Island, 9 Jaauary 2022, with this title “The international plot to force Sri Lanka into the USA’s trap is thickening”

With the dawn of the Year 2022 I wish you all happiness, good health, and fulfillment of your needs and targets. But I cannot wish you prosperity, because only the rich are enjoying that privilege. The maximum tax on the rich including multi billionaires still remains at 14%. The average maximum in Europe is 40% while that in Scandinavian country is over 50%. Thus it is clear that the burden of the present economic crisis is being placed on all the people including the poor, but not on the rich.

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January 16, 2022 · 11:02 am

Paul McNamee steps into the Djokovic Courtside Drama

Paul McNamee in The Age, 15 January 2022, where the title reads “Djokovic an easy target in anti-vaxxer witch hunt”

Clearly, the outcome of the Federal Court case on Sunday has implications for Novak Djokovic. How about for the Australian Open?

The Australian Open is far and away Australia’s biggest international sporting event. Hosting all the world’s best tennis players in arguably the best sporting precinct in the world, it generates close to one billion dollars in economic impact for the state of Victoria. It puts Melbourne front and centre on the world stage for two weeks but, this year, for all the wrong reasons.

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