Thuppahi's Blog

Nihal D Amerasekera **

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

 Be it ever so humble,

there’s no place like home!”

by John Howard Payne (1823)

Deep within each of us is a longing for home. Soon after I arrived in the UK in the early 1970’s I experienced the gnawing pain of homesickness. After several months the grief, sadness and distress of homesickness gradually waned and disappeared. I was left with an occasional yearning to return to my roots either physically or mentally.  The latter being just a daydream or a nocturnal dream in my sleep. Longing for home, or homesickness, is a universal and wistful yearning for a familiar place we belong. Homesickness is defined as a feeling of longing for one’s home during a period of absence from it. If there is no anxiety or unhappiness it is not a sickness. It is just a longing for home which is a normal phenomenon. Perhaps it is a feeling common to all emigres living in exile. They all have the freedom to return home if they so wish.

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Desert Wanderer, … who has an alternative title as well:  “The Malacca Chokepoint: The Hegseth-Sjamsoeddin Pact and the Blueprint for A Global War Against China” ….. Note that the highlights are interventions by The Editor, Thuppahi

The United States are moving toward a global maritime strategy designed to sever China’s trade lifelines and force international commerce into a US-aligned network. By using “Freedom of Navigation” as a cover, the US aims to turn international waters into zones where it decides which ships are allowed to pass. With the Strait of Hormuz already under immense pressure, the Strait of Malacca has emerged as the next critical battleground. This waterway is the primary artery for 40% of global trade and is vital to Chinese energy security, as roughly 80% of China’s oil imports pass through this chokepoint from West Asia. 

  Hegseth greets Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at the Pentagon (13 April). The photo captures them as brothers-in-arms, yet Hegseth’s hand-over-shoulder placement—a “strategic hug”—signals dominance and control over Sjamsoeddin. While appearing warm, body language experts view this over-the-shoulder reach as a power move designed to project an “upper hand” to observers.

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Shiran Illanperuma, whose essay marks Dr. S. A. Wickramasinghe’s 125 birth anniversary and is entitled “The doctor who felt the people’s pulse”

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Lankan Reefcomber, confronting a TPS Item from the International Crisis Group:  https://thuppahis.com/2026/04/21/sri-lankas-political-situation-today/#more-98556

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News Item received From Firazath Hussain of Galle & Colombo in Sri Lanka, 22 April 2026,…. with the full title being “Diplomacy or Escalation? The Iran War at a Crossroads” …. the highlighting here being that of The Editor, Thuppahi

The Iranian analyst Hassan Ahmadian speaks with Jeremy Scahill about Iran’s strategy, a potential deal, and how decisions are being made in Tehran.

The war against Iran launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has not gone according to plan. What was initially portrayed as a quick regime change action that would destroy the Islamic Republic and spark a domestic uprising soon morphed into a war of attrition in which Iran stunned the U.S., Israel, and international observers. Six weeks after the opening strikes that assassinated much of Iran’s leadership, it is President Donald Trump who appears desperate to find an exit. The Iran war is now at a definitive crossroads and the coming days will prove decisive.

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Observer in A Black Sea Town

One thing that must be said about Iranians, they sure know how to make great videos.   Yes, it is propaganda, but these videos are so intertwined with truth,  that the truth of the videos surpasses its potential propaganda value.

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video New Iranian LEGO animation style movie: history of American EmpirePreview YouTube video New Iranian LEGO animation style movie: history of American Empire

Preview YouTube video THE PUPPET STAGE: He Thought He Was in Control… The Strings WerePreview YouTube video THE PUPPET STAGE: He Thought He Was in Control… The Strings Were

Preview YouTube video WAKE UP AMERICA 🇺🇸 | You Are Enslaved by the Devil’s Plan | The Story of Iran LegoPreview YouTube video WAKE UP AMERICA 🇺🇸 | You Are Enslaved by the Devil’s Plan | The Story of Iran Lego

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SEE YOU TUBE VIDEO TALE ;  “Sri Lanka Welcomes Bhikkhu Pannakara — The Global Peace Walk Begins” on YouTube …. https://youtu.be/r4c9u-dGFfk?si=WQHgVaDxfevrmonw

https://www.facebook.com/walkforpeaceusa/posts/-introducing-the-venerable-monk-venerable-bhikkhu-pannakara-s%C6%B0-tu%E1%BB%87-nh%C3%A2n-leader-o/122120433573117633/

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International Crisis Group: An Assessment …. https://www.crisisgroup.org/rpt/asia-pacific/sri-lanka/356-sri-lankas-bumpy-road-political-reset

What’s new? Almost eighteen months into its term in office, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) government has kept Sri Lanka’s economic recovery on track and made notable efforts to fight corruption. But it faces growing questions about its ability and commitment to achieve its bold promises of “system change”.

  Why does it matter? Dissanayake’s election in September 2024 and the NPP’s subsequent parliamentary majority created a rare opening to address the country’s most important and intractable governance problems. Failure to achieve a substantial portion of their ambitious agenda threatens to open the way to a return to ethnic tensions and political authoritarianism.

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Sumanta Sen, Pasit Kongkunakornkul, Sam Li, Lewis Jackson and Colleen Howe, in article in Reuters.com entitled  “How China can survive without the Strait of Hormuz,” 

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