Translated by Ranjini Obeyesekere, in The Island, 25 February 2015
My beard on fire
in haste, I was running, running down in the dawn,
bearing the burdens of life
all on my back;
at the edge of the road, in a large clump of grass
like a fat merchant spread eagled on his easy-chair
I saw you lie. Continue reading
Filed under cultural transmission, heritage, literary achievements, unusual people
Sudha Ramachandran, courtesy of The Diplomat, 26 February 2015, where the title is “A New Era for India-Sri Lanka Relations?‘ followed by the line: “A recent visit has encouraged optimism, but India will struggle to counter China’s influence.”
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s recent visit to India was aimed at mending bilateral relations that had deteriorated under his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on account of the latter’s close embrace of China. During Sirisena’s visit, India and Sri Lanka signed four agreements that are expected to strengthen bilateral co-operation. However, whether these can counter effectively China’s enormous presence in the island seems doubtful. India is still a long way from matching or reducing China’s role in Sri Lanka.
Of the four agreements, the most significant is that on civilian nuclear co-operation, which envisages an “exchange of knowledge and expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building and training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy.” Other agreements deal with co-operation in the fields of culture and agriculture, and will enable Sri Lanka to participate in the Nalanda University project. The two sides also agreed to expand defense and security co-operation. Continue reading
His chosen title is “A message from an ordinary Sri Lankan Tamil” … and the ‘LETTER’ can be found at http://www.padalay.com/2015/01/a-message-from-ordinary-sri-lankan-tamil.html. There are a few brief approving comments from mostly Tamils.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, democratic measures, governance, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world affairs
Alex Arkadie
“I am honoured by your invitation and rejoice in your decision to convene this conference of representatives of States, international institutions, and organizations of civil society, the world of agriculture and the private sector, with the aim of studying together the forms of intervention necessary in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, as well as the changes that must be made to existing strategies.” … said the Pope
Pic from www.unmultimedia.org
Pope Francis observed that ‘development plans and the work of international organizations must take into consideration the wish so frequent among ordinary people, for respect for fundamental human rights and, in this case, the rights of the hungry. “Every woman, man, child and elderly person everywhere should be able to count on these guarantees. It is the duty of every State that cares for the wellbeing of its citizens to subscribe to them unreservedly, and to take the necessary steps to ensure their implementation. This requires perseverance and support.” Continue reading
Ibn Wirriq**
With the ISIS caliphate jihadists re-enacting most of the 7th Century activities of Muhammed during his conquests in Arabia now in the 21st Century, [mainly initiated as a result of the violent Sunni-Shi’a divide and the Syrian civil war], such actions could only come from indoctrinated beliefs which have formatted the minds of all ISIS jihadists and their tacit supporters. Other groups also gain their attitudes for violent jihad action to establish Islamic supremacy over all non-Muslims around the World from such indoctrination. That is the reality of the World situation today.
This critical evaluation does not arise from attitudes of “Islamophobia,” but develops from the evidence of what can only be termed “Islamoreality” in all its forms, which in fact means, like it or not, that “Islam Is As Islam Does.” The World needs to be aware of this as a fact! The 57 nations of the OIC also need to be aware of the truth of this assessment and stop their continued state of denial and demands for severe penalties for any negative comments or criticism of Islam and blasphemy and do need to seriously consider and enact an Islamic Reformation.
Filed under accountability, arab regimes, cultural transmission, democratic measures, historical interpretation, Islamic fundamentalism, jihad, martyrdom, meditations, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, religiosity, security, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, world events & processes, zealotry
IN a hotel basement on the Turkish side of this combat-scarred frontier, a group of unlikely warriors is training to fight on a little-known front of Syria’s civil war: the battle for the country’s cultural heritage. The recruits aren’t grizzled fighters, but greying academics, more at home on an archaeological dig than a battlefield. For months, they have journeyed across war-torn regions of Syria, braving shelling, smugglers and the jihadists of Islamic State.
Their mission: to save ancient artefacts and imperilled archaeological sites from profiteers, as well as desperate civilians and fundamentalists who have plundered Syria’s rich artistic heritage to fund their war effort.
Sudath Pasqual,** 2 November 2014, courtesy of http://forum.lankaninvestor.com/t2644-gota-stole-my-city-and-i-m-good-with-it
Six years, one month and a few days. That was when I was in the Old Country last. Didn’t take me long to realize that someone has done a job on the old place. It started with the airport. Hardly any dust, clean, duty free area brilliant, porters in uniform, no misplaced luggage (last time it took me 4 days to get my luggage) and nobody ransacked my baggage asking whether I had anything to declare. It was a very pleasant landing in the Old Country after a long flight and 9 long hours in transit at Heathrow. What a cheap ass airport; you only get 45 minutes of free Wi-Fi time at Heathrow.
Courtesy of a special feature in the MIDWEEK REVIEW in the Island …. http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=119737 [1]
One of the semi official tasks that the University of Ceylon undertook as it established itself in the new campus at Peradeniya in the early 1950s, was the regeneration of national culture in the form of the arts. This was reflected in a seminar held at Peradeniya in 1956, whose proceedings were published in the same year under the title Traditional Sinhalese Culture. Prominent among the scholars who succeeded in that endeavour were Siri Gunasinghe and Ediriweera Sarachchandra. While Sarachchandra’s work was confined to literature and drama, Siri Gunasinghe stood out for his versatility, his interests covering every field of the arts. So much so that his adversaries who had embraced a different kind of cultural resurgence – a militant, prudish and philistine Sinhala Buddhist nationalism—derisively called him sakalakalavallabha, “the husband of all the arts”. Continue reading
Indian ‘Extremist’ targets Pakistan: “Je suis Fanatic!!” …. and note that he is fortified by the presence of a SEA OF BLUE
Paul Maley, in The Australian, 12 February 2014, with the title “Suspects’ Chilling Video Message“
TWO alleged terrorists spoke of “stabbing the kidneys and striking the necks” of their victims in a chilling video message recorded just hours before their planned Sydney attack. Omar al-Kutobi, 24, and Mo-hammad Kiad, 25, were arrested on Tuesday afternoon in western Sydney allegedly as they were in the final planning stages of an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack. In a video message seized by police, the pair proclaimed themselves “soldiers of the caliphate’’ who would carry out the Islamic State’s first successful operation in Australia.
Kiad and Kutobi – Pic from The Australian
thuppahi
