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The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Contexts count. Hostage rescue operations are different from wars. Responding to military aggression is different from declaring war on a country on a pretext such as the possession of non-existent...
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Good governance, 'good medicine' and relevant ethics
This article was first published in the 'Daily Mirror six years ago (July 24, 2010), long before many yahapalanists heard of 'good governance' and long before its most ardent users robbed it of...
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Your shoes are more precious than you imagine
DISCLAIMER: This is for kids. Adults be warned: you may rediscover a child within you. A little girl wanted a pair of canvas shoes. She’s not so little, actually. She’s almost 13. Anyway, she...
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Let's cut into the business of medicine and treatment
This article was first published on July 24, 2010 in the Daily News under the title "Further cuts into the business of medicine and treatment". Things don't seem to have changed much. The language of...
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Angelo, Dinesh and others must do a Murali on the Aussies
Steve Smith, the Australian cricket captain has heaped praised on Muttiah Muralitharan. Darren Lehmann too. They have reason to do so. The Australian cricket team is in Sri Lanka and although on...
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Ranil applies brakes on media freedom
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s views on media freedom are two-faced. One, when in the opposition and one when in power. One sports a smile and the other a scowl. This two-facedness, if you will, is not Mr...
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Put hope on hold, democrats: blackmail's been scripted into 'good governance'
President Maithripala did it. Quite unabashedly. The President, who is also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) summoned those Members of Parliament who identify with the ‘Joint...
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Moragahakanda: where devolutionists will drown
A mild and entertaining debate was sparked when President Maithripala Sirisena took part in a ceremony to enshrine treasures at the site of the Moragahakanda-Kalu Ganga Irrigation Development Project....
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Before Chilcot there was Nick Clegg and the Purple Fury Doctrine
This article was published in the Daily Mirror on July 31, 2011, i.e around 5 years before the Chilcot Report was released. It was titled 'The fate of the Purple Fury Doctrine after Nick Clegg’s...
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Premakeerthi de Alwis and colours that remain unnamed
My maternal grandmother died on what would have been the 50th birthday of her daughter, who had died at the age of 10. My father mentioned it in passing and observed softly that it can take a long time...
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“You didn’t err, we did!”
A senior editor of a well-known Sunday newspaper once told an interesting story about one of his former bosses. At the time, our editor had been a cub reporter. New to the job. Handicapped by lack...
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The unbecoming undressing of 'Good Governance'
What did the Joint Opposition achieve by marching from Kandy to Colombo? What does it say about the strength of the Joint Opposition? Does it say anything about the strength or otherwise of what is...
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It's still raining in Afghanistan (six years later)
This article was first published in August 2010 in the 'Daily News'. It was titled "Have you seen the rain in Afghanistan?" It's still raining in Afghanistan. It's raining in other places too....
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Death by sugar: nothing sweet about it
Invisible. It's a word I first encountered in an Enid Blyton book. One of the 'Five Find-outers' if I remember right. At the time I didn't know what 'visible' meant. In fact I think I encountered...
View ArticleA short story of a stink-hole that the law is not interesting in plugging
I hardly ever listen to the radio, but if ever I get the chance I try to catch a night programme on Siyatha FM called ‘Mama kemathi geetha dayaha’ (Ten songs I like). The programme features 10 songs...
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Let's listen to Wigneswaran!
There’s talk of constitutional reform. A lot of talk. There’s talk of what should go in and what should be taken out. People were appointed to gather ‘public opinion’ and the gatherers, as always,...
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Reflections on things lost in the matter of winning and losing
History is written by the winners, this is well known. In other words, chronicling is an exercise that is framed by power realities. Those who win and those who wield power frequently bend the story...
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The story of Sri Lanka’s Mister Cheese
If I was asked to suggest a name that would go with the word ‘cheese’ I would naturally go for the known brands, which by the way do not always mean quality. Quality does go with ‘known’ but ‘known’...
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Foreign Policy and self-imposed non-negotiability
Small nations typically do not have much by way of bargaining power vis-à-vis powerful nations; ‘small’ meaning economically and militarily weak rather than land size. Weak, however, does not mean...
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Indo-Lanka Relations: reality and hallucination
A lot is often made of alleged historical ties between India and Sri Lanka. Too much and too often, perhaps. ‘Historical Ties’ is an oft used sweetener to help one party force unpalatables down the...
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