US, Russia stall attempts to ban killer robots
UNITED NATIONS (IDN)— As the US withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan on August 31 following a deadly 20-year-old war, one of the messages coming out of Washington was clear: the US will curtail “boots on the ground” in all future conflicts –even though there are still more than 40,000 American troops stationed [...]
No rice from starving Myanmar, please!
Some media reports have said that Sri Lanka is to meet the shortage of rice production in the country with purchases of rice from Myanmar. If this happens it will be a crime committed by this country against the 50 million Buddhists of Myanmar to cover up the folly of our Sinhala Buddhist leaders. The [...]
Taking the spirit out of Christmas and life out of Sri Lankans
It would have been doublespeak of a high order to have expressed our wishes for a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year last year and this year too for very obvious reasons. It is humbuggery — to use a current fashionable word among writers– we would have been told, had we done so. All Sri [...]
Discipline, teamwork and motivation
During this Christmas weekend, I have been musing about the speech made last week by our president at the Military Academy in Diyatalawa where he was chief guest at the passing out parade of the army’s newly commissioned officers. The president – a former army officer himself – felt it important to remind the newly [...]
Law and Order and the downfall of Police Intelligence
Police Intelligence is a matter that has lost its way for several years now. This underscores a fact that Police Intelligence was a prime requirement, for a century or more previously, in the annals of policing in this country. In effect, Police Intelligence is not a matter of time to come and go periodically as [...]
The US must not make empty threats
CAMBRIDGE – As Russia masses troops along its border with Ukraine, fears of an invasion are mounting. The United States has warned that Russia would pay a heavy price, exacted first and foremost through economic sanctions. But President Joe Biden has also declared that he would not send military personnel to defend Ukraine. It is [...]