MR’s major mistakes
There are an enormous number of lessons to be learnt from the presidential election held on January 8. I shall touch on a few that I think significant. The first is that in my opinion no previous such election had the historical significance that this one did. It needs very little reflection to realise that [...]
The dethroning of a supremacist
This article is a sequel to “Challenging a Supremacist”, the Sunday Times 14.12.2014. On January 9, in a simple, hastily arranged ceremony a simple, unpretentious man was sworn in as the sixth President of Sri Lanka. There could have been no greater contrast between that man and that event, and any previous public event which [...]
Mythology hijacks Indian science meet
[NEW DELHI] The 102nd Indian Science Congress which concluded last week (7 January) in Mumbai will be remembered more for non-science than for scientific discourse. Media attention of the event focused around a session titled ‘Ancient Science Through Sanskrit’ with papers presented on mythical planes capable of inter-planetary travel and unproven claims of scientific breakthroughs [...]
Google kills off Glass
Google has halted sales of its controversial Glass wearable computer – but promises new versions are coming. The troubled product has failed to fire the public’s imagination, with wearers dubbed ‘glassholes’ and even many Google employees abandoning them. The company insists it is still committed to launching the smart glasses as a consumer product, but [...]
What does this election mean?
They say ‘fool me once — shame on you, fool me twice — shame on me’. This election it’s as if the People said executive presidents could only fool them twice — no thirds allowed. At first everybody thought Mahinda Rajapaksa would win. Then in their heads some were thinking he would somehow win. If [...]
The Beagle has landed
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Britain’s “Beagle 2″ spacecraft, once dubbed “a heroic failure” by the nation’s Astronomer Royal, was re-branded “a great success” on Friday for being found on Mars 11 years after going missing. Beagle 2, part of a European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission searching for extraterrestrial life, had been due to [...]
SL Gunasekera: An eternal hero in a battered land and his struggle for a sovereign state
To call SL a patriot in a country so full of pseudo patriots may not do justice to this giant of a man who passed peacefully away after a long and painful illness. He was a man in the true sense of the word. He left us having led a life of impeccable rectitude in [...]
Officer (nationalist) and gentleman
I cannot quite remember when I first met S.L. Gunasekara. As I recall, it was a few decades ago at an embassy cocktail party, at a time when heads like me of scientific associations were also invited. He recalled his correct stand at the Thimpu talks which I had dismissed as Indian interference after Indian [...]
Is juicing rotting your teeth?
Slowly sipping a glass of delicious, freshly made fruit juice is one of life’s great pleasures. From plain and simple orange or apple to complex concoctions containing vegetables, herbs or even spices, it’s never been more popular. It’s perhaps no wonder: advocates claim drinking juice and smoothies is incredibly healthy – an easy way of [...]
Why Indian author Perumal Murugan quit writing
“Perumal Murugan, the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He has no faith in rebirth. As an ordinary teacher, he will live as P Murugan. Leave him alone.” With these dramatic words on his Facebook page, the well-known writer in the Tamil language announced his decision [...]
Sri Lanka’s foreign policy – What’s next?
At the end of the Rajapaksa regime Sri Lanka had virtually lost its credibility and the lustre of its non-aligned foreign policy and became marginalised among the community of nations, particularly within the Western hemisphere. Hence the challenge before the new government headed by Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is to regain the [...]
Ten months on, Australia confident of finding MH370
SYDNEY, Jan 17 (AFP) – Missing airliner MH370 is “very likely” to be found if it lies in the undersea zone now being scoured, and is probably in good condition despite being submerged for 10 months, the Australian search chief told AFP. Three vessels, with a fourth on the way, are probing the depths of [...]
Corrupt comrades become gold diggers at China’s state-owned companies
Communist Party graft investigator, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said Ren is suspected of “serious law and discipline violations”. Ren has been a standing committee member of the Communist Party of Dongfeng Motor Company since August 2003. The 2013 annual report shows that in 2012, Ren was highest earning supervisor ahead of five others. [...]
We salute our Police Force
The 2015 presidential election was a highly tensed and closely contested election compared to the previous ones. The incumbent was challenged by the General Secretary of his own political party. This challenge became a do-or-die contest from the day the proclamation for the election was issued in November until election day on January 8. The [...]
Time for reflection: No racism in Sirisena victory
Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, on January 9, you would have seen a mirror image of yourself in the hearts and minds of the people. Sometimes, it is necessary for life to change to think and reflect on the past actions and the folly of such actions. Reflect on your victory speech in the august assembly of [...]
A nation’s expectations from the new Govt: Will promises be compromised?
As the nation under President Sirisena rises with hopes of a better future with freedom and equality, one question on everyone’s mind is will this change of government be different? Having experienced the past, what the common belief is “one set of crooks are replaced by another”. For the sake of all that is good, [...]
Charlie and the anti-Muslim media factory
PARIS – It is easy to discuss the deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo as an attack on freedom of expression. But are we supposed to be surprised that a global terror organisation known for its brutal disregard for human rights and humane values would attack a media outlet that has specialised in provoking it? Just [...]
Erdogan warns of clash of civilisations
ANKARA, Jan 17 (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned of a “clash of civilisations” following the wake of the Islamist militant attacks in Paris and he also appeared to criticise France for allowing the wife of one of the gunmen to travel via Turkey to Syria. Erdogan, a devout Sunni Muslim, has [...]
Pakistan hangs 19th militant since school attack
LAHORE, Pakistan, Jan 17 (AFP) -Pakistan today hanged a sectarian militant whose execution was cancelled but later reinstated after a court rejected a pardon from his victim’s family, officials said. The hanging brings to 19 the number of executions Pakistan has carried out since it lifted a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in terror [...]
Pope flees Philippine storm while on typhoon mercy mission
TACLOBAN, Philippines, Jan 17 (AFP) -Pope Francis was forced today to flee a fierce storm in the Philippines that killed a papal volunteer, cutting short a mercy mission to weeping survivors of a catastrophic super typhoon. Wearing a thin yellow plastic poncho to protect him from intense rain, Francis delivered an emotional mass to about [...]
US condemns ICC war crimes probe of Israel as ‘tragic irony’
WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (AFP) -The United States ocondemned as “tragic irony” the International Criminal Court’s decision to open a preliminary probe into possible war crimes committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians. “We strongly disagree with the ICC prosecutor’s action today,” State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a statement. “It is a tragic irony that [...]
Japan marks 20th anniversary of killer quake
TOKYO, Jan 17 (AFP) -Japan on Today marked the 20th anniversary of the Kobe earthquake that killed more than 6,400 people with renewed calls for the quake-prone nation to stay vigilant against the next “Big One.” More than 14,000 people gathered to commemorate the victims in the western port city of Kobe, where a 7.2-magnitude [...]
European police arrest dozens after Belgium foils ‘terrorist’ plot
BRUSSELS, Jan 16 (AFP) -European nations arrested dozens of Islamist suspects as Belgium said it had smashed a “terrorist” cell planning to kill police officers and France pursued fresh leads on last week’s Paris attacks. The raids renewed fears about the thousands of young Europeans believed to have gone to the Middle East to fight [...]
Australia, PNG deny violence at asylum-seeker camp
SYDNEY, Jan 17 (AFP) -Australia and Papua New Guinea today denied reports that protests at an asylum-seeker camp in the Pacific nation had turned violent, officials and reports said, as hundreds of detainees continued a hunger strike. Several asylum-seekers held on Manus Island in PNG have swallowed razor blades and washing powder and more than [...]
