January 12, 2021 · 9:39 am

The Moonstone that graced a Garden in Sussex …. and then Sold for $767,000

An Item in ba-bamail edited by Natalia J.

Bronwyn Hickmott took a beautiful garden paver from her late parents’ home and installed it at her own home in Devon, England. In an interview with BBC, Bronwyn said she had been fascinated with the beautiful detailing and the curious shapes of the stone ever since she was a child, which is exactly why she decided to keep it. Little did she know, the curious stone was one of the only seven existing Sri Lankan Sandakada Pahana, which are temple moonstones that date all the way back to the late Anuradhapura Period (10-11th century).

The Moon-stone found at the entrance of Uda Viharaya of Ridhi Vihara Sri Lanka Image Source: Reddit

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January 11, 2021 · 1:39 pm

The Looming Death of Kulams in Mannar … and Thus ….

Jeremy Liyanage

Mannar is a sand island perched on a limestone base. The hydraulic pressure of the groundwater in the kulams keeps the sea water from intruding. As significant areas of Mannar Island are targeted for mineral sand mining, working to a depth of 12 metres, the result will be widespread sea water intrusion which will then contaminate the groundwater supplies –promoting the destruction of agricultural livelihoods.

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January 11, 2021 · 2:51 am

Pelosi and Political Howitzers Aiming at Impeaching Trump

Professor Laurence Tribe joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the path forward in a potential new impeachment trial of President Trump

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January 10, 2021 · 2:46 pm

Locals and Environmentalists Challenge An Aussie Sand-Mining Project in Mannar

ABC Science  environment reporter Nick Kilvert and Jane Lee for Science Friction

As a small child, Shreen Abdul Saroor remembers getting up before dawn with her father to spy on the masses of migratory birds that would visit her island. The birds were on their way down the Central Asian flyway — a migration path that crosses 30 countries from Siberia to the Indian Ocean. “We would hide somewhere and … we don’t make any noise,” Ms Saroor recalls. “[Then we’d watch] them coming and landing in the causeway areas and then catching fish and taking off as a huge group covering the entire sky.”

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January 10, 2021 · 9:02 am

QAnon Right-Wing Extremists and Scott Morrison: Ominous Togetherness

 and in an essay in 2019 which gains relevance in the light of the recent events in Capital Hill in Washington …. This essay was entitled “Revealed: the QAnon conspiracy theorist who is friends with Australian PM Scott Morrison”

A significant Australian proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory is a family friend of Scott Morrison, and his wife is on the prime minister’s staff. The sprawling, disjointed and incoherent QAnon conspiracy variously claims that Donald Trump is leading a behind-the-scenes fight against a shadowy deep state, that powerful forces are hiding and protecting satanic paedophile rings, and that a secretive individual named Q leaves clues for his followers to decipher on internet forums.

 

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January 10, 2021 · 8:26 am

Ceylonese Enlisting in RAF during World War II: More Data

Group Captain Kumar Kirinde, SLAF (Retd)

 

Clarence Shelton Anthony Perera  was a member of the 1st batch of Ceylonese to join the RAF. As per the only ATA record available he has first served in the RAF from September 1941 to January 1943. He has left the service as a LAC. He then in April 1943 joined as a Pilot Cadet in the Air Transport Auxillary (ATA), a civilian organisation ferrying aircraft for the RAF and Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy ” — Charles Amarasekere Continue reading →

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January 10, 2021 · 1:52 am

The Lasantha Wickrematunge KILL: The Financial Shenanigans Inspiring the Strike

Ahimsa Wickrematunge, courtesy of Groundviews, 8 January 2021, where the title reads “The MIG Deal: Why My Father had to Die”

Twelve years ago today The Sunday Leader Editor, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was brutally murdered in broad daylight within a high security zone. His killers have never been punished. Here is why.

When I first heard the phrase “MiG deal” as a kid in 2007, I never expected that less than two years later, the printing of those two words in my father’s newspaper would lead to my standing over his open grave on the darkest day of my life. It has long been clear to me, and to all those familiar with the evidence, that had my father not exposed the MiG deal in The Sunday Leader, he would still be alive today, still writing, still exposing wrongdoing, still standing tall against the powers that be. He knew the risks of exposing a man who cherished his holier than thou public persona, but the risk did not stop him from doing his job.

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January 9, 2021 · 2:17 pm

Sathasivam’s Gem of a Double Century vs Madras in 1947

Nicholas Brookes …. with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

On February 1947, a Ceylon Cricket Association XI was invited to play Southern India in Madras. It was a great moment for Ceylonese cricket. Everyone scored runs: Makkin Salih made 98, de Saram 42, Jayawickrema 52 and Heyn 66 – but no one remembers these innings. They were blown out of the water by a sublime 215 from Sathasivam, a new record at Chepauk and according to many, the best innings ever played at the ground. Bertie Wijesinha, who made his first-class debut in the game, later wrote ‘Sathasivam wafted his magic blade and carved out a work of art’. Sport is often described as performance, but rarely has the term been more apt. Satha played for the crowd. His was a batsmanship elevated beyond the mere making of runs. 

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January 9, 2021 · 10:58 am

Coconut Goodies Sri Lankan Style …. with Hard Work

VISIT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJk4JaLNyd4

TRADITONAL ME tells us

Since the ancient times Coconuts have become so closely linked with every Sri Lankan cuisine! Coconuts have become a part and partial of Sri Lankan cooking. Later on due to this deep bond with this versatile crop, the coconut tree became well known as the “Kapruka“ on earth ( “Kapruka” is a mythical tree which is known to be in the heavens where it is believed to be a wishing tree that grant every wish & abundance of wealth).

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January 9, 2021 · 1:36 am

England Cricket Squad in Lanka …. Moeen with Covid

Rex Clementine, in  ISLAND, 8  January 2021,  “England begin training after negative PCR tests”

There was good news coming from the England camp in Hambantota yesterday after PCR tests done on the team turned negative for COVID-19 except for Moeen Ali. The all-rounder had tested positive for the virus on arrival at Mattala and he is currently in isolation. England Media Manager Danny Reuben told The Island that Chris Woakes, a close contact of Moeen had tested negative but will continue to isolate in his room.

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