December 12, 2021 · 12:37 pm

Struggles in Geneva … with Yakku within the Rajapaksa Officialdom

Uditha Devapriya, in The  Island, 11 December 2021,reviewing Rajiva Wijesinha’s Representing Sri Lanka  (S. Godage & Brothers, 2021, 189 pp. Rs. 750) …. where the title is “Downhill All The Way”

I met Rajiva Wijesinha for the first time four years ago, at the Organisation of Professional Associations in Colombo. At a seminar on English language learning and teaching there, he handed me a book he had published a few days earlier. Titled Endgames and Excursions, it was an account of his official travels, friendships, and associations. I remember promising to review it, reading it, and then laying it aside. It was an unforgivable lapse, but one I now feel was justified: I was simply not qualified for the task.

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December 8, 2021 · 10:47 pm

Pressures on Lanka: Machinations in Washington

Fair Dinkum, responding to developments in Washington involving the US State Department and SL Tamil representatives outlined by Daya Gamage recently

Michael,  I read Daya Gamage’s article published in the Colombo Telegraph (4/12/2021) with considerable interest. It raises red flags for Sri Lanka, and I’ll touch on three in this short memo.

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/u-s-congress-state-department-to-bring-fresh-pressure-on-sri-lanka-for-devolution-accountability/

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December 8, 2021 · 2:57 pm

In Appreciation of Chandra Gunawardena, Educationist at Our Frontline Trenches

Marie Perera, in The Island, December 2021

Emeritus Professor Chandra Gunawardena, the founding Dean of the Faculty of Education, Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) and one of the finest educationists and a caring human being passed away after a brief illness three months ago, leaving a great vacuum in the field of education.

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December 7, 2021 · 10:46 pm

Rulership: Modalities of Superiority and Domination in Sri Lanka

Michael Roberts

When viewing the Tamil or Sinhala-majority arenas in pre-colonial times in Sri Lanka one can perceive manifest symbols of lordship and hierarchy existing amidst layers of caste and class differentiation. The penetration of Portuguese and Dutch colonial powers in certain coastal areas from the 16th century onwards merely complicated, amplified and strengthened these practices of superordination and subordination. Fortunately, the English prisoner Robert Knox observed these modalities of hierarchical power and provided us with classic ‘engravings’ of King Rajasinha the II’s imposing regality and autocracy in the mid-seventeenth century.

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December 7, 2021 · 8:10 pm

Eerie Splendour: Wild Animals in The Depths of Darkness

Introducing “Phantoms of the Night” by  De Silva, Gallangoda Happuaracchi & Jayaratne

 

“Phantoms of the Night” – Wild Cats of Sri Lanka, a book offering an incredible window into four species of felines making a living in their shadowy realm. Stunning photographs and their story will lure you into a world shrouded in mystery. Penned by amateur naturalists: Thilak Jayaratne, Janaka  Gallangoda, Nadika Happuarachchi and Madura De Silva. The book is the result of their two decades of wandering about in various parts of the country and their fascination with nature.

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December 6, 2021 · 6:45 pm

On the Table: The Nuclear War Option! God Almighty!

Brian Victoria, in Countercurrents, 5 December 2021, where the title is “An Option Taken Off the Table”

As most readers know, whenever the US seeks to force a nation to accede to its wishes, a spokesperson will say, “All options are on the table,” meaning the use of military force is at least a possibility if not likely. Seldom, however, will one ever hear a US spokesperson say, “The use of military force has been taken off the table.” Instead, one is left to ponder when military action doesn’t occur if it might have been called off because the offending country acceded to American demands. Thus, the mere threat of military action is sometimes sufficient to bring about the desired result.

 

 

 

 

Test Firing of the Hwasong Missile North Korea

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December 6, 2021 · 1:18 pm

Yogini. Stolen Artefacts and Sotheby’s Shame

Dalya Alberge, in The Guardian  5 December 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/04/looted-and-left-in-an-english-garden-the-goat-goddess-can-return-to-india

Looted and left in an English garden, the goat goddess can return to India. The statue, once on sale at Sotheby’s, was recovered amid claims it was part of a precious trove of stolen.

 

For more than 20 years, those who lived in and around the village of Lokhari in Uttar Pradesh, India, have prayed for the return of an important statue of a goddess that was stolen from a local temple. Now those prayers have been answered. The 8th-century goat-headed deity has been discovered thousands of miles away – in an English country garden, covered in moss.

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December 5, 2021 · 4:50 pm

Cricket Teams on the Road: Ship. Rail. Air. Road

Deepti Unni, in The Cricket Monthly, 1 November 2021, where the title is “Long way round. Will travel for cricket”

Bio bubbles, pandemics, extended quarantines, months away from family – cricketers have spent more time away from home this last year and a half than at any time in the recent past. It’s almost a throwback to the early years of the game, when Test tours would run six months and longer, including the time spent getting there and back by ship.

Well-wishers wave goodbye to Douglas Jardine and the other members of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) as they set sail from Tilbury to Australia on the Orient liner Orontes….Photo by Davis/Getty Images

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December 4, 2021 · 11:16 pm

Fascist Australians pressing the Murdoch-Morrison Juggernaut Campaign vs ABC and BBC

A Concerned Australian in Email Note to Thuppahi …who has added the highlighting

This afternoon …. Saturday 4th November …..  these right wing Nazis attempted to enter the ABC in Southbank Melbourne with a view to shutting it down.  The Vic Police prevented them achieving their goals. They are part of a growing extreme movement which the Federal government support  tacitly, which wants the ABC shut down.  Murdoch is calling for this and  also shutting down the BBC.  These Nazis only want the Murdoch media, Fox and Sky to be heard. The Federal Government approves because the ABC is the only thing in Australia holding the government to account, and they dislike any criticism.  I have to say Morrison is going off the rails and slowly turning Australia into a fascist state. The distance between Nazi ideology and right wing Liberal politics in Australia is very thin.  Continue reading →

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December 4, 2021 · 7:48 pm

Aggressive Defence! Encountering Emus in Belair National Park

 

 

 

Thuppahi’s recent item on the readiness of mother wild animals – an Elk in this tale – to enter into human contact at close quarters encouraged a Sri Lankan friend to present this Email Note: “Hi Michael, …. This is an amazing and heart-warming incident. This story is different from your normal writing in politics and history which educates me immensely. This elk story and potential attacks by wild dogs reminds me of an incident when we were at a picnic in the Adelaide woods near your place: an ostrich (sic) came and forcibly grabbed our lunch from our hands and from the table. I never experienced that before – What they can do with their long necks and heights they can reach! …..

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