September 10, 2019 · 10:51 am

Sri Lanka’s President-to-be: Evaluating the Evaluations

Rajeewa Jayaweera,  from Island,  9  September 2019 where the title is “Hobson’s choice with Presidential Candidates”

Two recent articles published in The Island were eye-openers. The first was titled ‘Presidential Elections and the Peoples Options’ by a group of eminent persons collectively known as ‘Friday Forum.’ The other was titled ‘Milinda reminds seven cold economic truths as politicians go into overdrive with promises’ by former politician and minister Milinda Moragoda.

Goonesekere; Jayaratne; and Moragoda

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, devolution, electoral structures, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

September 10, 2019 · 10:17 am

Pictorials: Platform Poses and the People-in-Front

READER QUIZ:   Impose your captions for these PICTURES …. COMIC!@##! or DEADLY SERIOUS

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, performance, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, Presidential elections, press freedom & censorship, propaganda, psychological urges, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people

September 8, 2019 · 2:36 pm

An Eye-Opener: A Study of China’s Agricultural Biotechnology Policies

Ronald J. Herring reviewing GMO China by Cong Cao (see end for details)

Cong Cao’s book GMO China is refreshing and enlightening. Unlike many authors in this genre, he knows the essentials of his subject: biology, agriculture, politics, history. He is not a campaigner. Readers learn much about the historical evolution of China’s developmental state, global connections of scientists, and the growing importance of global activists and narratives as influences on Chinese domestic policy. We learn why China became a world leader in some applications of agricultural biotechnology and pulled back from others. More important for general readers, China is the most interesting historical-longitudinal case in the global fissures on GMOs: biosafety, bioproperty, and biopolitics.

Herring of Cornell University

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under biotechnology, China and Chinese influences, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, energy resources, export issues, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, world events & processes

September 8, 2019 · 3:23 am

Nadesalingam Family in Heated Asylum-Seeker Controversy

Tracey Ferrier, in AAP News Item,  3 September 2019, entitled “Peter Dutton lashes out at Tamil parents for “dragging” kids through court appeals”

A Tamil couple has unfairly “dragged” their two young children through drawn-out court appeals in an ill-fated bid to stay in Australia, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says. Mr Dutton has rounded on the couple, saying the reason they’ve been in Australia for so long is because they have refused to accept rulings that they are not genuine refugees. He said “excessive” appeals had kept them here and now they were complaining about having to leave the life they established in the Queensland town of Biloela.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton says the Tamil couple has unfairly dragged their two young children through drawn-out court appeals. Picture: AAP Image/Mark JesserMinister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton says the Tamil couple has unfairly dragged their two young children through drawn-out court appeals. Picture: AAP Image/Mark JesserSource:AAP

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, Australian culture, australian media, charitable outreach, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, performance, politIcal discourse, refugees, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people

September 8, 2019 · 12:49 am

Google Wonderland: Bradman’s Bat and Other Treasures Restored

A range of priceless cricket memorabillia, including the first bat of Don Bradman have been digitally restored by Google Arts and Culture to bring the sport’s rich history to life in the wake of a rejuvination of the ‘gentlemen’s game’ in the public eye.  Its present continues to enthral spectators, with the heroics of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer during the latest Ashes test and the World Cup final last month. The worldwide cricket audience was left stunned, mesmerised and borderline aghast at the majesty and audacity of the all-rounder as he struck a record-breaking 135* in the final innings to wrest victory from the imposing jaws of defeat.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under art & allure bewitching, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, cricket for amity, cultural transmission, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, unusual people, world events & processes

September 7, 2019 · 3:10 pm

Gotabaya’s Presidential Candidacy Highlighted in World Press … with Forked Tongue?

A Short Press Item by Sankalp Phartiyal and Shihar Aneez for REUTERS — typically brief in the style favoured by news media worldwide — has appeared in more or less the same words** in several  news reports in powerful print engines (see partial list below). They all bear the same title:  “In Sri Lanka, a polarising politician reaches out to minorities but suspicion lingers”

In Sri Lanka, a polarising politician reaches out to minorities but suspicion lingers© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE FILE PHOTO: Sri Lanka’s former wartime defense secretary and presidential candidate Rajapaksa shares a moment with Muslims during his visit at Ketchimale mosque in Beruwala

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, communal relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, doctoring evidence, economic processes, ethnicity, historical interpretation, human rights, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, religiosity, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes

September 6, 2019 · 10:46 am

Vale: Carlo Fonseka’s Manifold Gifts Inscribed in Memory

ONE: Ishara Jayawardena: “Carlo Fonseka: Unparalleled,” Daily News, 4 September 2019

 Professor Carlo Fonseka ushered in an episode rare in its own right. He always stood for what he thought was just. Not merely a physician cum academic, Fonseka established his turf far beyond the general boundaries as a political activist, rationalist, creative artiste and many more roles. His academic prowess was a remarkable factor, yet his wit fused with wisdom generously applied in writing as well as orations was significant.

The Daily News got in touch with three renowned academics to ascertain the intellectual estate he has bequeathed.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes

September 6, 2019 · 9:58 am

Dunkirk Once Again! Britain under Severe Threat

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, taking the piss, trauma, war reportage, world events & processes

September 3, 2019 · 11:24 am

The Political Paths We Sri Lankans Face

“Friday Forum” in Resurrected Form  Savitri Goonesekere, Chandra Jayaratne et al in Island, 3 September 2019, “Presidential Elections And The Peoples’ Options”

In a few months’ time this country will once again make decisions on the political leadership that will guide the destinies of the nation. This is a pivotal point in regard to the direction and manner in which our country will develop in the near future.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, constitutional amendments, democratic measures, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, parliamentary elections, patriotism, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

September 2, 2019 · 5:24 pm

For Sri Lankans: Dr David Young Honoured for His Medical Work

Item in the Sunday Times, 1 September 2019

His many friends across Sri Lanka hailed the Presidential award of the ‘Sri Lanka Ranjana’ to distinguished Australian orthopaedic surgeon Dr. David Alexander Young for his services to the country describing it as ‘well deserved’. The Presidential Awards ceremony was held at the BMICH on August 19. The Sri Lanka Ranjana is the second highest honour awarded to non-nationals for ‘praiseworthy services’ to the nation.

Lankan cricketing great Kumar Sangakkara said, “I am delighted that the efforts of Dr. David Young in his charitable endeavours in Sri Lanka are being recognized nationally. It has been a long time coming and to say it is well deserved is an understatement.” Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Australian culture, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, education, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, medical marvels, performance, politIcal discourse, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sri Lankan cricket, teaching profession, trauma, unusual people