Does anyone know the latest joke doing the rounds?
When Air Lanka was a state airline its code letters UL were said to stand for "usually late". Now that SriLankan is now back under state management, they have gone one better. Now the code is said to stand for "unable to locate aircraft".
Funnily enough, this is exactly how dear old Air Ceylon collapsed. We used to have a few coasters and some cutlery emblazoned with the Air Ceylon Logo (which I always thought was really nice, much better than the Air Lanka or SriLankan logos -have a look at it here and here.
Coming back to the story of the collapse of Air Ceylon, it happened when one of its aircraft was seized in Europe for non payment of fuel bills in 1977. Another aircraft was blown up at Ratmalana in 1978 and that was the end for Air Ceylon. Ones wonders whether a similar fate will befall SriLankan?
More details on Air Ceylon's history are available here and here.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
BodybyKris: Closed for maintenance - Update
BodybyKris (BBK) a popular gym down Gregory's Road has been closed for maintenance and according to the owners will be opened again on the 10th of April.
The story on the grape vine however is that the gym has been closed due to non-payment of rent on the premises, most probably by a court order. For the sake of the fitness fanatics of Colombo let us hope that the gym is re-opened quickly because it is one of the few properly equipped gyms in the country.
For as long as anyone can remember there have always been gyms in the country but for the most part they were used only by a few hardcore bodybuilders. Sportsmen played their sport and practiced but apart perhaps from running on a field did not do much in the way of general fitness, and what little they did was not in a gym. Gym's were found in places like the YMCA or the Youth Centre in Maharagama and were equipped with weights - dumbbells, barbells a few benches and not a lot else.
The revolution in gyms came about with the advent of PowerWorld in 1994 or 1995. Fitness suddenly became fashionable. Gyms were equipped with air conditioning, piped music and machines - no longer was it necessary to work only with weights. Something that was previously the haunt of lower class men became a past time of the rich. The middle class and upper class started going to the gym, as did a number of women.
The craze spawned many imitators and gyms began to multiply. Given the wider availability one would expect that quality would improve but this was not to be. While the appearance, the decor and the amounts invested in equipment has increased, no one gym is fully equipped. The problem seems to be that the people investing their money in a gym do not seem to understand the needs of the users.
The expensive gyms in the large city hotels and places like Waters Edge and Fitness First are all built around cardio machines with varying levels of other equipment thrown in. It is extremely frustrating to go from gym to gym and finding each one wanting in one respect or another. The only two gyms that were, in my opinion properly equipped were PowerWorld in Colpetty (closed since December 2007) and BodybyKris.
The minimum equipment needed for a decent gym in my opinion are:
1. Incline, decline and flat benches.
2. Shoulder press rack
3. Cable crossover machine.
4. Low row, T Bar row, incline T bar row.
5. Power rack and Smith machine.
6. Preacher curl.
7. Pull down machine
8. Pec dec.
9. Leg extension, curl and press machines.
10. Calf raise.
Other desirable machnies:
1. Preacher curl machine
2. Chest press and incline press machines.
In addition, plenty of bars, wheels and dumbbells plus some cardio equipment.
The closest to a fully equipped gym in Colombo was BodybyKris and one hopes that someone will ensure that the gym equipment does not go to waste, although in the light of other pressing issues, this is likely to be last thing on people's minds these days.
UPDATE: According to the latest information available, the management says the gym will be open on the 16th of April, not the 10th.
UPDATE 2: The gym was due to open yesterday (16th) but is apparently still not open. According to the rumours going around members have been told that the gym will open in due course and that they will be notified when this happens. Memberships will be extended to cover the period of closure.
The story on the grape vine however is that the gym has been closed due to non-payment of rent on the premises, most probably by a court order. For the sake of the fitness fanatics of Colombo let us hope that the gym is re-opened quickly because it is one of the few properly equipped gyms in the country.
For as long as anyone can remember there have always been gyms in the country but for the most part they were used only by a few hardcore bodybuilders. Sportsmen played their sport and practiced but apart perhaps from running on a field did not do much in the way of general fitness, and what little they did was not in a gym. Gym's were found in places like the YMCA or the Youth Centre in Maharagama and were equipped with weights - dumbbells, barbells a few benches and not a lot else.
The revolution in gyms came about with the advent of PowerWorld in 1994 or 1995. Fitness suddenly became fashionable. Gyms were equipped with air conditioning, piped music and machines - no longer was it necessary to work only with weights. Something that was previously the haunt of lower class men became a past time of the rich. The middle class and upper class started going to the gym, as did a number of women.
The craze spawned many imitators and gyms began to multiply. Given the wider availability one would expect that quality would improve but this was not to be. While the appearance, the decor and the amounts invested in equipment has increased, no one gym is fully equipped. The problem seems to be that the people investing their money in a gym do not seem to understand the needs of the users.
The expensive gyms in the large city hotels and places like Waters Edge and Fitness First are all built around cardio machines with varying levels of other equipment thrown in. It is extremely frustrating to go from gym to gym and finding each one wanting in one respect or another. The only two gyms that were, in my opinion properly equipped were PowerWorld in Colpetty (closed since December 2007) and BodybyKris.
The minimum equipment needed for a decent gym in my opinion are:
1. Incline, decline and flat benches.
2. Shoulder press rack
3. Cable crossover machine.
4. Low row, T Bar row, incline T bar row.
5. Power rack and Smith machine.
6. Preacher curl.
7. Pull down machine
8. Pec dec.
9. Leg extension, curl and press machines.
10. Calf raise.
Other desirable machnies:
1. Preacher curl machine
2. Chest press and incline press machines.
In addition, plenty of bars, wheels and dumbbells plus some cardio equipment.
The closest to a fully equipped gym in Colombo was BodybyKris and one hopes that someone will ensure that the gym equipment does not go to waste, although in the light of other pressing issues, this is likely to be last thing on people's minds these days.
UPDATE: According to the latest information available, the management says the gym will be open on the 16th of April, not the 10th.
UPDATE 2: The gym was due to open yesterday (16th) but is apparently still not open. According to the rumours going around members have been told that the gym will open in due course and that they will be notified when this happens. Memberships will be extended to cover the period of closure.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Walls
Was driving past the new British High Commission office complex(at least that's what I think it is - its located just next door to the High Commissioners house), and was amazed to notice the degree to which it was secured.
Two walls as least and judging by what was going on, fencing security lighting and possibly even camera to come on top. Reminded me of a prison.
It brought back memories, not all that far off, when I used to cycle past Trenchard House. The walls were just four feet high, in some places where the earth had banked up against the wall it was only a couple of feet high. The gates were always closed, but in an even earlier era they were probably left open.
I remember the French embassy once having walls of only four or five feet high and the gates being open all day. When playing close by occasionally a ball would fly in to the embassy premises and someone would have to run in and fetch it. I don't even think there was a even a security guard there, but maybe that's just my memory: there should have been somebody manning the gate; at any rate we were never stopped or questioned us in our quest for missing balls.
Over the years I've watched as the gates closed and the walls climbed. Always slowly, first a foot, then another. I watched railings, cameras, barriers, security guards and even a police presence appear, into what was once an occasional extension of our playground.
Two walls as least and judging by what was going on, fencing security lighting and possibly even camera to come on top. Reminded me of a prison.
It brought back memories, not all that far off, when I used to cycle past Trenchard House. The walls were just four feet high, in some places where the earth had banked up against the wall it was only a couple of feet high. The gates were always closed, but in an even earlier era they were probably left open.
I remember the French embassy once having walls of only four or five feet high and the gates being open all day. When playing close by occasionally a ball would fly in to the embassy premises and someone would have to run in and fetch it. I don't even think there was a even a security guard there, but maybe that's just my memory: there should have been somebody manning the gate; at any rate we were never stopped or questioned us in our quest for missing balls.
Over the years I've watched as the gates closed and the walls climbed. Always slowly, first a foot, then another. I watched railings, cameras, barriers, security guards and even a police presence appear, into what was once an occasional extension of our playground.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
GoldQuest returns
A wew years ago, a pyramid scam by the name of GoldQuest was taking Sri Lanka by storm. To my horror I watched Bankers, Engineers, Accountants, Architects and various top level executives in business, people who one would expect to be skeptical and prudent, rushing in with enthusiasm.
The new business model, they claimed, the new way of marketing. Even people calling themselves professional marketers joined the fray. Presumably these 'merketing people' were people who lacked any kind of experience with actual distribution and who presumably equated marketing with advertising.
When sections of the press blew the whistle, GoldQuest responded with full page newspaper advertisements, television commercials, sports sponsorships and a host of other tactics to try and disarm its critics.
The scheme eventually collapsed and was banned by the Central Bank.
I know Sri Lanka has suffered a brain drain (who else but a bunch of mutts would have put this government into power?) but I was at a loss to explain how the upper echelons of the corporate sector could have been fooled by a trick that was almost a century old. I know people in this country are insular and unread but this was ridiculous.
Nevertheless I thought we had finally seen the back of them, but no, they are back: different name, but same old scam. They now call themselves Lotus Marketing see the stories here and here.
They have collapsed in many other places and have also been reborn as Qatana or Questnet. Do a google search and read the details.
Ach du! Seems like you cant keep a good crook down eh?
The new business model, they claimed, the new way of marketing. Even people calling themselves professional marketers joined the fray. Presumably these 'merketing people' were people who lacked any kind of experience with actual distribution and who presumably equated marketing with advertising.
When sections of the press blew the whistle, GoldQuest responded with full page newspaper advertisements, television commercials, sports sponsorships and a host of other tactics to try and disarm its critics.
The scheme eventually collapsed and was banned by the Central Bank.
I know Sri Lanka has suffered a brain drain (who else but a bunch of mutts would have put this government into power?) but I was at a loss to explain how the upper echelons of the corporate sector could have been fooled by a trick that was almost a century old. I know people in this country are insular and unread but this was ridiculous.
Nevertheless I thought we had finally seen the back of them, but no, they are back: different name, but same old scam. They now call themselves Lotus Marketing see the stories here and here.
They have collapsed in many other places and have also been reborn as Qatana or Questnet. Do a google search and read the details.
Ach du! Seems like you cant keep a good crook down eh?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Famous last words?
The President has been exhorting the people to stop thing of themselves as poor. He said Sri Lanka has maintained a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of more than 6.0 percent for three years running.
"In 2001 economic growth was negative and people said the economy collapsed. When economic growth is around 7 percent for three years, foreign reserves at the highest level, unemployment at the lowest, is the economy falling? Is this a joke or is it a treachery?"
Presumably the man is claiming credit for the improved economic performance since 2001. The tsunami, a global boom and the UNP probably had more to do with this than anything else but let us wait a while and see how the policies of 2005-7 translate to growth.
"In 2001 economic growth was negative and people said the economy collapsed. When economic growth is around 7 percent for three years, foreign reserves at the highest level, unemployment at the lowest, is the economy falling? Is this a joke or is it a treachery?"
Presumably the man is claiming credit for the improved economic performance since 2001. The tsunami, a global boom and the UNP probably had more to do with this than anything else but let us wait a while and see how the policies of 2005-7 translate to growth.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The Tigers break a promise?
I don't have a very high opinion of the local press, something I've blogged about here and of late I have been reading even less of it than I used to.
I have taken a couple of days off the gym routine so with a bit of time on my hands glanced through some of the papers and this caught my eye: "Tigers break promise, attack sports event".
The news story does not elaborate on the headline but the editorial of the same day mentions an LTTE pledge that it would not target sports events.
I don't seem to recall where they might have made such a pledge? In the ceasefire agreement? But that is a dead letter now. Perhaps in some earlier undertaking?
They have made and broken plenty of promises but that is not the question. Can someone elaborate? Did they actually make such a pledge and if so where and when? Or was the headline merely written in a way to increase readership?
I have taken a couple of days off the gym routine so with a bit of time on my hands glanced through some of the papers and this caught my eye: "Tigers break promise, attack sports event".
The news story does not elaborate on the headline but the editorial of the same day mentions an LTTE pledge that it would not target sports events.
I don't seem to recall where they might have made such a pledge? In the ceasefire agreement? But that is a dead letter now. Perhaps in some earlier undertaking?
They have made and broken plenty of promises but that is not the question. Can someone elaborate? Did they actually make such a pledge and if so where and when? Or was the headline merely written in a way to increase readership?
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Piano recital on the 5th of April
A good evenings entertainment awaited anyone who braved the rain to listen to Japanese pianist Masahiko Shinohara at the Russian Cultural Centre.
To begin with, an interesting programme: Mozart Sonata No.12, K332; Beethoven Sonata op. 111, two Rachmaninov Preludes (6&7 from op.23) and Chopin's rarely heard mature sonata, No.3 op.58.
The playing was more than competent throughout with the pianist showing much sympathy with the music being performed although he seemed a little less comfortable with the Chopin. Tempi tended to be brisk, slightly fast perhaps, but this worked well with all pieces save the Chopin.
The tragedy of the whole affair was the poor attendance, the (fairly small) hall being only about a quarter filled. The organisers who had no budget for publicity were partly to blame although the weather did not help. Given the cost of bringing the poor man down, they could have made a better effort to publicise details, which, if properly done, could have been achieved at no cost. The pianist seemed rather disappointed and opted to shed his jacket and tie to play the second half in his shirtsleeves.
He seemed well pleased by the applause at the end for he returned for no less than four encores, which I confess I could not identify. Two were, I am told Debussy images. I had to leave during his fourth encore and am not sure if he played any more after that.
To begin with, an interesting programme: Mozart Sonata No.12, K332; Beethoven Sonata op. 111, two Rachmaninov Preludes (6&7 from op.23) and Chopin's rarely heard mature sonata, No.3 op.58.
The playing was more than competent throughout with the pianist showing much sympathy with the music being performed although he seemed a little less comfortable with the Chopin. Tempi tended to be brisk, slightly fast perhaps, but this worked well with all pieces save the Chopin.
The tragedy of the whole affair was the poor attendance, the (fairly small) hall being only about a quarter filled. The organisers who had no budget for publicity were partly to blame although the weather did not help. Given the cost of bringing the poor man down, they could have made a better effort to publicise details, which, if properly done, could have been achieved at no cost. The pianist seemed rather disappointed and opted to shed his jacket and tie to play the second half in his shirtsleeves.
He seemed well pleased by the applause at the end for he returned for no less than four encores, which I confess I could not identify. Two were, I am told Debussy images. I had to leave during his fourth encore and am not sure if he played any more after that.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Some interesting blogs
While browsing the web, came across some interesting blogs by some old-timers. They offer some fascinating insights into the past, just thought I'd share them with everyone else. Hope you find them as interesting as I did.
http://albatz888.blogspot.com/
http://colombo.rediffblogs.com/2005_27_03_colombo_archive.html
http://kermeey.blogspot.com/
http://albatz888.blogspot.com/
http://colombo.rediffblogs.com/2005_27_03_colombo_archive.html
http://kermeey.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Bias and hypocrisy of the international community
This was long suspected and alleged. Minds raced as Pundits read into various issues and detected the subtle traces of a vicious and organised campaign against the democratically elected government.
The Government, never good at PR seemed helpless against the machinations of the evil coterie ranged against it. The actors included NGO's, INGO's the UN, the World Bank, the media even the Church.
Now it is proven. The hidden hand is revealed.
Four innocents have been killed and several others hurt, the full sorry story is here
and the perpetrator is an agent of the Church, fed on false information by the Bishops who in turn are in the pay of the INGO's. The text is damning: "He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. Its crashing tells about him; he is jealous with anger against iniquity."(Job 36:32 to 37:13 NRS)
The GoSL needs to wake up and act, Dayan Jayatillaka and Rjiva Wijesinghe need to take a stand.
The Government, never good at PR seemed helpless against the machinations of the evil coterie ranged against it. The actors included NGO's, INGO's the UN, the World Bank, the media even the Church.
Now it is proven. The hidden hand is revealed.
Four innocents have been killed and several others hurt, the full sorry story is here
and the perpetrator is an agent of the Church, fed on false information by the Bishops who in turn are in the pay of the INGO's. The text is damning: "He covers his hands with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. Its crashing tells about him; he is jealous with anger against iniquity."(Job 36:32 to 37:13 NRS)
The GoSL needs to wake up and act, Dayan Jayatillaka and Rjiva Wijesinghe need to take a stand.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
James Herriot
Was browsing around in the second hand bookshops on D.R. Wijewardene Mw, just at the corner of Darley road this afternoon. Now these bookshops were famous for their collection of porn and in the dark days of the 1980's and 1990's (and for aeons before that) the only reliable source of supply for the starved male population of the country.
I was there trying to make a quick buck by selling a couple of Playboy magazines (the April 2008 issue plus a Playboy Nudes Special Edition) but apparently things are not going well for the bookshops. Numerous police raids and the advent of the internet have killed their porn magazine business and nobody deals in that anymore. They now retail small quantities porn of DVD's and VCD's but thats about it.
I had gotten the Playboy magazines down after news spread that a girl with some Sri Lankan ancestry named Cristina Caldera appeared in the latest issue of Playboy. Many frantic email and SMS's later I had these two in hand, neither of which had the blasted woman. It was probably in the previous edition but the newsstands don't apparently stock back issues and my friend who brought these down was not able to track the specific issue down.
Disappointed I asked if they had a copy of the Singapore Story but no luck there either. Asked if they had any Kenneth Anderson books (the finest writer on the Indian jungles), but the guy had disposed of four quite recently and had nothing.
Finally asked for James Herriot and picked up two Omnibus editions for Rs.800, about half the price of the new book.
I've been trying to buy his books for some time, they are occasionally available at Vijitha Yapa's but the series is never complete. I read them as a boy and loved them but unfortunately I was introduced to them through the omnibus editions; All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Creatures Great and Small and The Lord God Made Them all. While these have the bulk of his books, some stories are missing.
I read the coffee table book, James Herriot's Yorkshire at the British Council Library, although the book was mangled with several pages torn out.
I did see some of the television series and I came across this wonderful tribute to the man on Youtube, by the actor who played him in the television series : check the links here and here.
To those not familiar with the man - these are books you simply MUST read. They can be enjoyed by both young and old and are an excellent way of reinforcing the reading habit in children (Enid Blyton, in my opinion, being the best way of sparking the interest reading in the first place)
The Wiki entry on the man is here.
I was there trying to make a quick buck by selling a couple of Playboy magazines (the April 2008 issue plus a Playboy Nudes Special Edition) but apparently things are not going well for the bookshops. Numerous police raids and the advent of the internet have killed their porn magazine business and nobody deals in that anymore. They now retail small quantities porn of DVD's and VCD's but thats about it.
I had gotten the Playboy magazines down after news spread that a girl with some Sri Lankan ancestry named Cristina Caldera appeared in the latest issue of Playboy. Many frantic email and SMS's later I had these two in hand, neither of which had the blasted woman. It was probably in the previous edition but the newsstands don't apparently stock back issues and my friend who brought these down was not able to track the specific issue down.
Disappointed I asked if they had a copy of the Singapore Story but no luck there either. Asked if they had any Kenneth Anderson books (the finest writer on the Indian jungles), but the guy had disposed of four quite recently and had nothing.
Finally asked for James Herriot and picked up two Omnibus editions for Rs.800, about half the price of the new book.
I've been trying to buy his books for some time, they are occasionally available at Vijitha Yapa's but the series is never complete. I read them as a boy and loved them but unfortunately I was introduced to them through the omnibus editions; All Things Wise and Wonderful, All Creatures Great and Small and The Lord God Made Them all. While these have the bulk of his books, some stories are missing.
I read the coffee table book, James Herriot's Yorkshire at the British Council Library, although the book was mangled with several pages torn out.
I did see some of the television series and I came across this wonderful tribute to the man on Youtube, by the actor who played him in the television series : check the links here and here.
To those not familiar with the man - these are books you simply MUST read. They can be enjoyed by both young and old and are an excellent way of reinforcing the reading habit in children (Enid Blyton, in my opinion, being the best way of sparking the interest reading in the first place)
The Wiki entry on the man is here.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Signs of changing times in Sri Lanka
The other day I walked into a little shop to buy a tub of yoghurt. While I was eating the yoghurt I noticed tea being served to some other customers, nothing very unusual in that given that most small shops are really tea shops with a few other items of food and drink thrown in, but the customers were being served with tea bags! Tea bags?? Good grief.
I looked around and I saw a few other customers, also being served with tea bags. Bemused, I asked the cashier if they had stopped making tea in the traditional way, out of cheapest available tea leaves (or more often tea dust or sweepings) and his answer was that it was easier to cater to customer preferences with tea bags - there would be no complaints that the tea was too weak or too strong, the customer could make it as he desired.
Until fairly recently, tea bags were an unheard of thing in Sri Lanka. I remember being mystified as a child as to how tea could come in a bag. When we eventually did learn as to what a tea bag was, it was still something exotic, bought by foreign buyers, not something consumed in the domestic market. When big hotels and cafe's like the Barista chain started using tea bags it still seemed pretty isolated which is why I was so surprised to see them being used by the common man. I have vivid memories of tea being brewed in wayside kiosks, the vendor pouring the milk tea from one large glass to another, to cool it down. The tea was poured out from a considerable height and would froth like a beer is the glass below.
Reminds of the time when ice-cream tubs were made of cardboard and the spoons were of wood (I think), like the matches made of wood, lunch packets wrapped in plantain leaves (not lamprais, these were just ordinary lunch packets - the plantain leaf being the cheapest thing to wrap them in), Morris Minor taxis, dustmen who used to walk down the lane to collect the dustbins from houses (no dumping garbage onto communal dustbins or leaving them on the road, the dustmen called at each and every house), rickshaws as a mode of transport (I only ever saw children riding in them, though) and haircuts that cost two rupees each, not to mention a time when one and two cent coins had value and were eagerly collected by children. Now beggars throw back anything less than two rupees.
Sigh. I think I'm getting old.
I looked around and I saw a few other customers, also being served with tea bags. Bemused, I asked the cashier if they had stopped making tea in the traditional way, out of cheapest available tea leaves (or more often tea dust or sweepings) and his answer was that it was easier to cater to customer preferences with tea bags - there would be no complaints that the tea was too weak or too strong, the customer could make it as he desired.
Until fairly recently, tea bags were an unheard of thing in Sri Lanka. I remember being mystified as a child as to how tea could come in a bag. When we eventually did learn as to what a tea bag was, it was still something exotic, bought by foreign buyers, not something consumed in the domestic market. When big hotels and cafe's like the Barista chain started using tea bags it still seemed pretty isolated which is why I was so surprised to see them being used by the common man. I have vivid memories of tea being brewed in wayside kiosks, the vendor pouring the milk tea from one large glass to another, to cool it down. The tea was poured out from a considerable height and would froth like a beer is the glass below.
Reminds of the time when ice-cream tubs were made of cardboard and the spoons were of wood (I think), like the matches made of wood, lunch packets wrapped in plantain leaves (not lamprais, these were just ordinary lunch packets - the plantain leaf being the cheapest thing to wrap them in), Morris Minor taxis, dustmen who used to walk down the lane to collect the dustbins from houses (no dumping garbage onto communal dustbins or leaving them on the road, the dustmen called at each and every house), rickshaws as a mode of transport (I only ever saw children riding in them, though) and haircuts that cost two rupees each, not to mention a time when one and two cent coins had value and were eagerly collected by children. Now beggars throw back anything less than two rupees.
Sigh. I think I'm getting old.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I come not to praise Mahinda Mama, I bow down in RESPECT
Thinkfree posted something with the above title here.
His thesis was roughly that things are not really all that bad and Mahinda maama seems to be doing a good job.
My contention is that while things may appear to be normal on the surface there are many fundamental flaws that will in time wreck the country, not today or tomorrow but gradually over the next decade or (if we are lucky) two.
Coming back to Thinkfree, it is true that the armed forces have been given a mandate to go after the LTTE regardless of consequences.
However it is also true that:
1. Certain people continue to make vast sums of money through corrupt arms and other deals;
2. The excuse of "National Security" and the "war" is being used to cover up a great deal.
Thanks to the media blackout, we get only little bits of information on the East, but from what I hear, all MR has done is hand the province over to Karuna's gang. The lives of the people - at least the minorities have not improved and by some accounts have worsened. A sham election has been held to crown a Pyhrric victory and guess who will sweep the polls at the the next presidential or parliamentary polls in the east?
The LTTE was disintegrating thanks to the peace process. Karuna split because of the peace process - remove the common enemy and other differences will start to appear, more splits would have taken place and it was losing support amongst the Tamils.
Instead of letting them fall to pieces, he has decided to re-engage - which is what the LTTE also wanted-which is why they made sure that no one in the North and East could vote at the presidential election.
MR says he is winning the war, he is certainly expending a great deal of resources on it, but with no independent reports, we have only his word for it.
In the meantime, thanks to the fact that he and his crew have no grasp on finance, he has merrily expanded the public sector, (200,000-300,000 recruited in the last two years)embarked on pork laden projects and subsidies with printed and borrowed money. Currently we have inflation of 25% and interest rates of 20%+. So far, no major fall out, but if the war stalls and stretches out for over a year or two more, then, we will be broke and with nothing to show for it and nothing left to fight the Tigers with either.
Only time will tell, for sure but he has abandoned the more certain path for the LTTE destruction in favour of the less certain path, one that has not worked over the last 30 years and he has bet the farm on it. If we win, we can survive, not necessarily thrive because we have mountain of debt and huge fiscal and structural imbalances to put right; if we fail we lose all and will end up a mess, maybe a Pakistan, maybe a Kenya, a Somalia or worse.
His thesis was roughly that things are not really all that bad and Mahinda maama seems to be doing a good job.
My contention is that while things may appear to be normal on the surface there are many fundamental flaws that will in time wreck the country, not today or tomorrow but gradually over the next decade or (if we are lucky) two.
Coming back to Thinkfree, it is true that the armed forces have been given a mandate to go after the LTTE regardless of consequences.
However it is also true that:
1. Certain people continue to make vast sums of money through corrupt arms and other deals;
2. The excuse of "National Security" and the "war" is being used to cover up a great deal.
Thanks to the media blackout, we get only little bits of information on the East, but from what I hear, all MR has done is hand the province over to Karuna's gang. The lives of the people - at least the minorities have not improved and by some accounts have worsened. A sham election has been held to crown a Pyhrric victory and guess who will sweep the polls at the the next presidential or parliamentary polls in the east?
The LTTE was disintegrating thanks to the peace process. Karuna split because of the peace process - remove the common enemy and other differences will start to appear, more splits would have taken place and it was losing support amongst the Tamils.
Instead of letting them fall to pieces, he has decided to re-engage - which is what the LTTE also wanted-which is why they made sure that no one in the North and East could vote at the presidential election.
MR says he is winning the war, he is certainly expending a great deal of resources on it, but with no independent reports, we have only his word for it.
In the meantime, thanks to the fact that he and his crew have no grasp on finance, he has merrily expanded the public sector, (200,000-300,000 recruited in the last two years)embarked on pork laden projects and subsidies with printed and borrowed money. Currently we have inflation of 25% and interest rates of 20%+. So far, no major fall out, but if the war stalls and stretches out for over a year or two more, then, we will be broke and with nothing to show for it and nothing left to fight the Tigers with either.
Only time will tell, for sure but he has abandoned the more certain path for the LTTE destruction in favour of the less certain path, one that has not worked over the last 30 years and he has bet the farm on it. If we win, we can survive, not necessarily thrive because we have mountain of debt and huge fiscal and structural imbalances to put right; if we fail we lose all and will end up a mess, maybe a Pakistan, maybe a Kenya, a Somalia or worse.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
To the citizens of the United States of America:
This is funny.
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary.
1. Then look up aluminium, and nuclear, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing them.
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise,
you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary' ).
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The
fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). In the meantime don't try rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.
13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God save the Queen!
by John Cleese, British Comedian
To the citizens of the United States of America:
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary.
1. Then look up aluminium, and nuclear, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing them.
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour', 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise,
you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise'. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary' ).
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The
fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
8. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.
9. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
10. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
11. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
12. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). In the meantime don't try rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.
13. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
14. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
15. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
16. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God save the Queen!
by John Cleese, British Comedian
Dullness
This is something I have been meaning to put up for some time, it makes sense to do it now because it is related to the previous post. The poem below was written by a former civil servant, probably in the 1960's or 1970's when the brain drain started. He left the country in the mid 1970's.
DULLNESS
Dullness pervades our land,
The dunces are getting out of hand;
Alexander Pope saw it coming
The age of Chaos descending.
It is easier to love your enemy
Than consord with stupidity;
Wordsworth extolled the ordinary
And sank into inanity.
Don't traffic with the normal,
Chase the exceptional,
If you would soar into poetry,
Shun mediocrity.
Find your bedfellows
Away from the shallows;
Cultivate the eccentric virus
to nourish your genius.
This advice is not Christian;
But remember the ruffian
Who baited the dull Pharisee
In and out of Galilee.
-Guy Amirthanayagam-
DULLNESS
Dullness pervades our land,
The dunces are getting out of hand;
Alexander Pope saw it coming
The age of Chaos descending.
It is easier to love your enemy
Than consord with stupidity;
Wordsworth extolled the ordinary
And sank into inanity.
Don't traffic with the normal,
Chase the exceptional,
If you would soar into poetry,
Shun mediocrity.
Find your bedfellows
Away from the shallows;
Cultivate the eccentric virus
to nourish your genius.
This advice is not Christian;
But remember the ruffian
Who baited the dull Pharisee
In and out of Galilee.
-Guy Amirthanayagam-
Sunday, March 09, 2008
From the mouths of horses....
It seems that Sri Lanka's politicians are in urgent need of a short course in logic. One is aware that thanks to the brain drain, Sri Lanka is now the home of only the old, the infirm, the damned (who know better but are condemned by fate to spend their lives here) and the stupid. From the bottom of this pool are dredged the leaders of the country: a misanthropic bunch of vagabonds, footpads, fakirs, freeloaders and ne'er do wells.
Two statements in the Nation newspaper caught my attention today. The JHU spokesman is quoted as saying: "the HRW should initially issue reports about the human rights situation in their own country before making statements about other nations such as Sri Lanka." He goes on to add that:
“We completely dismiss the report issued by the HRW. They should issue reports about the USA first, instead of making statements about Sri Lanka. They should talk about Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and their own country if they are really concerned about the violation of human rights,”
(For the full report please click here)
To begin with, what is the man saying? There are humans rights violations elsewhere, therefore Sri Lanka has no case to answer.
How the situation in other countries has a bearing on Sri Lanka, I fail to understand. Should'nt human rights be measured against certain standards, standards that the country is a signatory to? Trying to justify violations in Sri Lanka by saying there are violations elsewhere is lame at best.
The fact that the spokesman for the JHU has not even bothered to familairise himself with the HRW is abundantly clear-the website details reports on all of the countries mentioned by the JHU spokesman. Click on the links for reports on Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, the UK and the USA.
I doubt if the spokesman even bothered to read what the HRW had to say, never mind the Gautama's views on the subject.
In an interview in the same newspaper, Minister Basil Rajapakse follows the same logic as the JHU spokesman. When questioned on the HRW report he says: I don’t think the government should respond to all these things that appear on the internet. Most of these organisations have not even visited this country. They don’t talk about violations in their own countries. If you go to a website and see how many people are lost in New York City on a day, I think it is more than the population of Sri Lanka. Recently, a child was abducted and hidden under a highway for one week. This is the situation there. Everyday, if you visit a supermarket, you would see notices pasted on doors, saying, so and so is missing. These are the people who talk about Sri Lanka. Missing persons is an issue all over the world. You cannot just say there are abductions."
The Minister sees no differences between missing persons and political abductions.
I have often toyed with the idea of testing the intelligence of the members of parliament by subjecting them to an IQ test. As a control, one could also subject the inmates of the monkey house in the Dehiwala zoo to the identical test. Any bets on the winners?
Two statements in the Nation newspaper caught my attention today. The JHU spokesman is quoted as saying: "the HRW should initially issue reports about the human rights situation in their own country before making statements about other nations such as Sri Lanka." He goes on to add that:
“We completely dismiss the report issued by the HRW. They should issue reports about the USA first, instead of making statements about Sri Lanka. They should talk about Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and their own country if they are really concerned about the violation of human rights,”
(For the full report please click here)
To begin with, what is the man saying? There are humans rights violations elsewhere, therefore Sri Lanka has no case to answer.
How the situation in other countries has a bearing on Sri Lanka, I fail to understand. Should'nt human rights be measured against certain standards, standards that the country is a signatory to? Trying to justify violations in Sri Lanka by saying there are violations elsewhere is lame at best.
The fact that the spokesman for the JHU has not even bothered to familairise himself with the HRW is abundantly clear-the website details reports on all of the countries mentioned by the JHU spokesman. Click on the links for reports on Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, the UK and the USA.
I doubt if the spokesman even bothered to read what the HRW had to say, never mind the Gautama's views on the subject.
In an interview in the same newspaper, Minister Basil Rajapakse follows the same logic as the JHU spokesman. When questioned on the HRW report he says: I don’t think the government should respond to all these things that appear on the internet. Most of these organisations have not even visited this country. They don’t talk about violations in their own countries. If you go to a website and see how many people are lost in New York City on a day, I think it is more than the population of Sri Lanka. Recently, a child was abducted and hidden under a highway for one week. This is the situation there. Everyday, if you visit a supermarket, you would see notices pasted on doors, saying, so and so is missing. These are the people who talk about Sri Lanka. Missing persons is an issue all over the world. You cannot just say there are abductions."
The Minister sees no differences between missing persons and political abductions.
I have often toyed with the idea of testing the intelligence of the members of parliament by subjecting them to an IQ test. As a control, one could also subject the inmates of the monkey house in the Dehiwala zoo to the identical test. Any bets on the winners?
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Some miscellaneous thoughts on music
I had a sudden urge to listen to Only the Good Die Young, a song by the band Queen and this being the age of the Internet, turned to my usual source of music: Youtube. When listening to the song I was wondering why I could not see Freddy anywhere and when the camera focused on the pianist was more than a little surprised to see Brain May sitting at the keyboard.
A bit of quick research (on the web) and I find out that this is the only song by Queen that was conceived after Freddy's death and it is mostly a eulogy on Freddy. For the performance on Youtube look at this, for more details on the song check the Wikipedia entry.
Just thought this might be of interest to any fans of Queen.
The problem with music of today seems to be a lack of a distinct voice, in the sense that there does not seem to be a highly personal stamp on anyone's music, save perhaps Shakira's. A song by Abba is almost instantly recognisable as being by them and no one else. This is evident to most people, not just hardcore Abba fans. The same is true of the most other great bands: The Beatles, The BeeGees, Paul Simon, even cracko Jacko Michael Jackson.
Mariah Carey has a truly great voice (and is very very hot to look at) but her music lacks the distinct stamp of individuality. I don't know how many people have heard of Eartha Kitt, but just listen to this or this and one can see the difference with this. Madonna is actually good compared to creatures such as the Spice Girls or Britney Spears (who looks good and has a fairly decent voice but not much else).
I don't know if its simply a sign of old age but I really cannot distinguish between one musician and another these days. I know that a lot of music is written to formula by a small set of professional writers who try to cater to the current trend in the market and perhaps this is to blame for the decline.
The modern concept of popular music is in fact a creation of the media - first broadcast radio and a short while later the advent of recorded music. Before that there was a limited array of folk (meaning traditional as in the sense of folksong) and popular music, transmitted by means of printed sheet music and live performance at dances, local festivals and the like. It was the medium of broadcast and the availability of records that enabled musicians to cater to a vast audience and rake in millions in fees and which resulted in a huge influx of talent. As long as the record and broadcast industry confined themselves to developing existing talent, they succeeded in developing the cause of popular music, once they moved into the realm of creating music to fit the perceived needs of the audience (rather than simply attempting to bring new voices and talents to the audience) they seem to have unwittingly sowed the seeds of the eventual destruction of popular music.
A bit of quick research (on the web) and I find out that this is the only song by Queen that was conceived after Freddy's death and it is mostly a eulogy on Freddy. For the performance on Youtube look at this, for more details on the song check the Wikipedia entry.
Just thought this might be of interest to any fans of Queen.
The problem with music of today seems to be a lack of a distinct voice, in the sense that there does not seem to be a highly personal stamp on anyone's music, save perhaps Shakira's. A song by Abba is almost instantly recognisable as being by them and no one else. This is evident to most people, not just hardcore Abba fans. The same is true of the most other great bands: The Beatles, The BeeGees, Paul Simon, even cracko Jacko Michael Jackson.
Mariah Carey has a truly great voice (and is very very hot to look at) but her music lacks the distinct stamp of individuality. I don't know how many people have heard of Eartha Kitt, but just listen to this or this and one can see the difference with this. Madonna is actually good compared to creatures such as the Spice Girls or Britney Spears (who looks good and has a fairly decent voice but not much else).
I don't know if its simply a sign of old age but I really cannot distinguish between one musician and another these days. I know that a lot of music is written to formula by a small set of professional writers who try to cater to the current trend in the market and perhaps this is to blame for the decline.
The modern concept of popular music is in fact a creation of the media - first broadcast radio and a short while later the advent of recorded music. Before that there was a limited array of folk (meaning traditional as in the sense of folksong) and popular music, transmitted by means of printed sheet music and live performance at dances, local festivals and the like. It was the medium of broadcast and the availability of records that enabled musicians to cater to a vast audience and rake in millions in fees and which resulted in a huge influx of talent. As long as the record and broadcast industry confined themselves to developing existing talent, they succeeded in developing the cause of popular music, once they moved into the realm of creating music to fit the perceived needs of the audience (rather than simply attempting to bring new voices and talents to the audience) they seem to have unwittingly sowed the seeds of the eventual destruction of popular music.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Brilliant guitar playing
If anyone is interested in some virtuoso guitar playing, just check out Jerry C. He has written a lead guitar part into Pachelbel's canon and calls the result Canon Rock, quite amazing. Sacrilege? Not in the least, because he makes the music his own, there is more Jerry C than Pachelbel in the music, its more like variations on the canon and perfectly satisfying musically speaking.
One doesn't need to be a musician, a guitar fanatic or anything else to appreciate this:
For anyone who wants to compare this with a version of the music played by an orchestra, try this. If you would like to see the orchestra actually play then try this - but the quality of the playing is not as good as in the other example.
One doesn't need to be a musician, a guitar fanatic or anything else to appreciate this:
For anyone who wants to compare this with a version of the music played by an orchestra, try this. If you would like to see the orchestra actually play then try this - but the quality of the playing is not as good as in the other example.
The Hi!! Magazine
I have been trying to convince my friends that the only thing worth reading these days is the Hi!! magazine.
A look through the local newsstands reveals a dismal set of publications. The Sunday Times and the Nation are both worth reading, although the number of interesting stories is entirely dependent on the number of blunders perpetuated by the government that week. If the government, through sheer inaction (if they ever try to actually do something they will surely put their foot in it, but some weeks they do sweet nothing) commits no spectacular blunders then there is little to hold interest beyond the pictures of the pretty girls on the magazine pages. At least these two newspapers are well written and thus readable.
On weekdays the Daily Mirror is fairly good, although its colour scheme is beginning to go a bit over the top now. Again, the newspaper is fairly well written and readable.
As for the rest, the less said the better. I used to love reading the Sunday Observer and the Daily News, until quite recently, simply to understand what the government was thinking. If one reads a few important stories and the editorial, then it is fairly easy to see what they consider to be pressing matters and their view on it (which they presumably hope the public will agree with), but now they have degenerated to the point where they are quite dreary. The Island is quite simply, hysterical. I'm not sure where the editor picked up his journalism but if he expects anyone to take seriously a newspaper that runs front page editorials every fortnight, then he is sadly mistaken. The last time I looked he had not one but two editorials; one on the front page and one inside.
Reaching down into the gutter, one finds the Leader, sloppiness personified. It is badly written, poorly edited and badly printed and brims with half-truths and gossip. Some of their columnists can't even spell. I used to read it, just to get the gossip, but after a while I bgan to think that even the gossip was more fabrication than anything else. I now use it to put my feet on when taking my afternoon nap - I nap on the sofa and since my feet extend over the armrest onto the stool I use it to keep my feet from getting onto the stool.
This finally brings us to the publication that since subscribing to, I eagerly await. The one thing that tells me more about what is going on in the country than anything else, the one thing that can be re-read without effort, the Hi!! magazine.
Entirely free of substance, the one thing that truly reflects the society in which we live in today. I love it.
A look through the local newsstands reveals a dismal set of publications. The Sunday Times and the Nation are both worth reading, although the number of interesting stories is entirely dependent on the number of blunders perpetuated by the government that week. If the government, through sheer inaction (if they ever try to actually do something they will surely put their foot in it, but some weeks they do sweet nothing) commits no spectacular blunders then there is little to hold interest beyond the pictures of the pretty girls on the magazine pages. At least these two newspapers are well written and thus readable.
On weekdays the Daily Mirror is fairly good, although its colour scheme is beginning to go a bit over the top now. Again, the newspaper is fairly well written and readable.
As for the rest, the less said the better. I used to love reading the Sunday Observer and the Daily News, until quite recently, simply to understand what the government was thinking. If one reads a few important stories and the editorial, then it is fairly easy to see what they consider to be pressing matters and their view on it (which they presumably hope the public will agree with), but now they have degenerated to the point where they are quite dreary. The Island is quite simply, hysterical. I'm not sure where the editor picked up his journalism but if he expects anyone to take seriously a newspaper that runs front page editorials every fortnight, then he is sadly mistaken. The last time I looked he had not one but two editorials; one on the front page and one inside.
Reaching down into the gutter, one finds the Leader, sloppiness personified. It is badly written, poorly edited and badly printed and brims with half-truths and gossip. Some of their columnists can't even spell. I used to read it, just to get the gossip, but after a while I bgan to think that even the gossip was more fabrication than anything else. I now use it to put my feet on when taking my afternoon nap - I nap on the sofa and since my feet extend over the armrest onto the stool I use it to keep my feet from getting onto the stool.
This finally brings us to the publication that since subscribing to, I eagerly await. The one thing that tells me more about what is going on in the country than anything else, the one thing that can be re-read without effort, the Hi!! magazine.
Entirely free of substance, the one thing that truly reflects the society in which we live in today. I love it.
Rebellion
Ahoy, ahoy and hear ye all. The worm has turned and the blogger (still unsold despite yesterdays advertisement) has flown (if only for a day).
Having sloped off work today, went and got some spares for the jeep, signed some papers for an aunt and have returned home for an early lunch.
A little rest after lunch (no siesta, though), possibly a read through the all-important Hi!! magazine, and will be time to hit the gym in the evening.
And to all you poor slobs calling for your money, the phone's off, ha ha ha. Tomorrow is another day, lets just live for today.
Having sloped off work today, went and got some spares for the jeep, signed some papers for an aunt and have returned home for an early lunch.
A little rest after lunch (no siesta, though), possibly a read through the all-important Hi!! magazine, and will be time to hit the gym in the evening.
And to all you poor slobs calling for your money, the phone's off, ha ha ha. Tomorrow is another day, lets just live for today.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Blogger for sale
For Sale: one slighly used blogger
1. Can't dance
2. Can't act
3. Can sing a bit.
Comes with own teeth and hair. No user manuals, spare parts or extras included.
Willing to slave under any hot female for food. Others strictly cash. Please apply in the comment section.
1. Can't dance
2. Can't act
3. Can sing a bit.
Comes with own teeth and hair. No user manuals, spare parts or extras included.
Willing to slave under any hot female for food. Others strictly cash. Please apply in the comment section.
Managing cashflow
Boys and girls, if anyone ever offers you a job that involves managing cashflows, just Say No. Its the same as being offered cigarettes or drugs. Only worse.
The job is usually well disguised by a fancy title: Corporate Treasurer, Financial Controller or other such fancy names, but this hides the true horror that lurks within.
What does the job involve? First collecting money from customers, who never ever pay on time. They generally don't have the money, but will make a thousand other excuses - the invoice is wrong or written in the wrong name, the goods were not of the required quantity or perhaps quality, the purchase order that they issued to you had an error in it - just to delay actually writing the damn cheque. Once they get to the stage where they do get down to writing the cheque, there is waiting time while one or more signatures are obtained before you finally get payment.
The second and harder aspect of the job is paying suppliers - who you can never ever pay on time because YOUR customers haven't paid you. This involves receiving many angry phone calls a day and trying to persuade the suppliers not to stop supplying goods (otherwise the business grinds to a stop) while at the same time asking them to comeback later for the cheque.
In the meantime, your plans to actually keep to commitments get waylaid - the electricity bill turns out to be larger than expected and the phone bill even more so. The landlord wants repairs to be paid for and a bigger advance on the rent. Salaries turn up all too soon and you need to pay that or get throttled by your so called friends and colleagues. VAT payments are a nightmare all of their own, almost as bad as duties and clearing charges on imports.
And do you know the best part? This is STANDARD, I repeat standard in about 90% of the small and perhaps 85% of the medium sized businesses in Sri Lanka. The situation is getting worse these days, thanks to the Chinthanaya effect on business.
I did it once and vowed never to do it again, but I find that events seem to have overtaken me and the spectres from the past come back to haunt me again.
I need another job.
The job is usually well disguised by a fancy title: Corporate Treasurer, Financial Controller or other such fancy names, but this hides the true horror that lurks within.
What does the job involve? First collecting money from customers, who never ever pay on time. They generally don't have the money, but will make a thousand other excuses - the invoice is wrong or written in the wrong name, the goods were not of the required quantity or perhaps quality, the purchase order that they issued to you had an error in it - just to delay actually writing the damn cheque. Once they get to the stage where they do get down to writing the cheque, there is waiting time while one or more signatures are obtained before you finally get payment.
The second and harder aspect of the job is paying suppliers - who you can never ever pay on time because YOUR customers haven't paid you. This involves receiving many angry phone calls a day and trying to persuade the suppliers not to stop supplying goods (otherwise the business grinds to a stop) while at the same time asking them to comeback later for the cheque.
In the meantime, your plans to actually keep to commitments get waylaid - the electricity bill turns out to be larger than expected and the phone bill even more so. The landlord wants repairs to be paid for and a bigger advance on the rent. Salaries turn up all too soon and you need to pay that or get throttled by your so called friends and colleagues. VAT payments are a nightmare all of their own, almost as bad as duties and clearing charges on imports.
And do you know the best part? This is STANDARD, I repeat standard in about 90% of the small and perhaps 85% of the medium sized businesses in Sri Lanka. The situation is getting worse these days, thanks to the Chinthanaya effect on business.
I did it once and vowed never to do it again, but I find that events seem to have overtaken me and the spectres from the past come back to haunt me again.
I need another job.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Oh what lovely weather...
Cool crisp mornings. Bright sunny days, not too humid, not very hot. Gentle breezes in the afternoons and evenings and cool clear nights.
The weather in Colombo, typical for this time of year, could not better. Now if only there were some open spaces in which to enjoy it.
The Galle Face green is out of bounds, the Victoria Park does not somehow seem very welcoming and that leaves us with looking for someone who has a house with a large lawn (ours doesn't have one and finding one in Colombo is not easy now) or a club with something similar to enjoy an evening.
I wasted the entirety of last weeks evening breezes, let me now see if I can make use of this evenings breeze....
The weather in Colombo, typical for this time of year, could not better. Now if only there were some open spaces in which to enjoy it.
The Galle Face green is out of bounds, the Victoria Park does not somehow seem very welcoming and that leaves us with looking for someone who has a house with a large lawn (ours doesn't have one and finding one in Colombo is not easy now) or a club with something similar to enjoy an evening.
I wasted the entirety of last weeks evening breezes, let me now see if I can make use of this evenings breeze....
GBS on Music
I'm not sure how many know that Bernard Shaw wrote music criticism, initially under the pen name of Corno di Bassetto and later under his own name, but they a treat to read.
Shaw had little formal training in music; he seems to have taught himself to read, but he evidently had a keen ear and knew exactly what he liked in the way of music. This together with a formidable command of the English language makes him a brilliant critic.
The reviews are of concerts between 1888 and about 1895 or so, and are a little dated in the sense that the names of most performers are unknown hence we have no conception of how big a reputation he was skewering-which is half the fun in reading intelligent criticism, but the musical insights are still penetrating and the writing superb.
Here is a sample (I have added a few links to some of the names/terms for anyone who needs a bit more background information):
20 September 1888
James Henry Mapleson, alias Enrico Mariani, commonly and unaccountably spoken of as Colonel Mapleson, one time professional viola player, later operatic vocalist, and finally for twenty-seven years London impresario at Drury Lane and Her Majesty's Theatre, has written the Mapleson Memoirs. They are very amusing, especially to readers who, like the Colonel himself, have no suspicion that his record covers a period of hopeless decay. The financial record is depressing enough; but that is nothing new in the history of Italian Opera in England, since all the impresarios,, from Handel to Laporte and Lumley, lost money and lived, as far as one can make out, chiefly on the splendour of the scale on which they got into debt. Nevertheless, they kept the institution afoot in the good old style, with absurd high-falutin' prospectuses, expensive ballets, rapacious star singers and star dancers, and unscrupulous performances in which the last thing thought of was the fulfillment of the composer's intentions. What was wanted, after Lumley's retirement, was a manager with with sufficient artistic sensibility to perceive that these abuses, which Wagner and Berlioz had quite sufficiently exposed, must be done away with if the opera house is to hold its own against the ordinary theatre. Unfortunately, Colonel Mapleson's most indulgent friends can hardly claim for him any such musical and dramatic conscience. The period between the disappearance of Mario and the advent of Jean de Reszke is hardly to be recalled without a shudder, in spite of Christine Nilsson, and such fine artists as De Murska, Trebelli, Santley, and Agnesi. Costa maintained rigid discipline in the orchestra; and Titiens's geniality, her grand air, the remains of her great voice, and even her immense corpulence covered for a time her essential obsolescence as an artiste; but the prevailing want of life, purpose, sincerity, and concerted artistic effort would have destroyed a circus, much less the Opera; and the enterprise went from bad to worse, until it finally collapsed from utter rottenness.
Colonel Mapleson's negative contributions to this result may have been considerable. His positive contribution was the selection of such a line of tenors, all straight from La Scala, and all guaranteed beforehand to replace and eclipse Mario Giuglini, as we may fervently hope never to hear again. Colonel Mapleson hopes to take the field again next season; and no one can help wishing that his perseverance may be rewarded with success. But if he proceeds on his old plan, or for want of plan, he will only add another failure to his list. If he has learnt at last that the lyric stage cannot lag a century behind the ordinary theatre; that the days of scratch performances are over; that Donizetti is dead; that Wagner is the most popular composer of the day; that the Costa conception of of orchestral conducting has been succeeded by the Richter conception; and that people will not pay to see heroes and gentlemen impersonated by tenors who are not distinguishable in manners, appearance, voice, or talent from the average vendor of penny ices, then, and not otherwise, he may succeed. It is only fair to add, by the way, that Colonel Mapleson is by no means the only impresario who has hitherto failed to take this lesson to heart.
For anyone interested in buying a book look at this:
Shaw had little formal training in music; he seems to have taught himself to read, but he evidently had a keen ear and knew exactly what he liked in the way of music. This together with a formidable command of the English language makes him a brilliant critic.
The reviews are of concerts between 1888 and about 1895 or so, and are a little dated in the sense that the names of most performers are unknown hence we have no conception of how big a reputation he was skewering-which is half the fun in reading intelligent criticism, but the musical insights are still penetrating and the writing superb.
Here is a sample (I have added a few links to some of the names/terms for anyone who needs a bit more background information):
20 September 1888
James Henry Mapleson, alias Enrico Mariani, commonly and unaccountably spoken of as Colonel Mapleson, one time professional viola player, later operatic vocalist, and finally for twenty-seven years London impresario at Drury Lane and Her Majesty's Theatre, has written the Mapleson Memoirs. They are very amusing, especially to readers who, like the Colonel himself, have no suspicion that his record covers a period of hopeless decay. The financial record is depressing enough; but that is nothing new in the history of Italian Opera in England, since all the impresarios,, from Handel to Laporte and Lumley, lost money and lived, as far as one can make out, chiefly on the splendour of the scale on which they got into debt. Nevertheless, they kept the institution afoot in the good old style, with absurd high-falutin' prospectuses, expensive ballets, rapacious star singers and star dancers, and unscrupulous performances in which the last thing thought of was the fulfillment of the composer's intentions. What was wanted, after Lumley's retirement, was a manager with with sufficient artistic sensibility to perceive that these abuses, which Wagner and Berlioz had quite sufficiently exposed, must be done away with if the opera house is to hold its own against the ordinary theatre. Unfortunately, Colonel Mapleson's most indulgent friends can hardly claim for him any such musical and dramatic conscience. The period between the disappearance of Mario and the advent of Jean de Reszke is hardly to be recalled without a shudder, in spite of Christine Nilsson, and such fine artists as De Murska, Trebelli, Santley, and Agnesi. Costa maintained rigid discipline in the orchestra; and Titiens's geniality, her grand air, the remains of her great voice, and even her immense corpulence covered for a time her essential obsolescence as an artiste; but the prevailing want of life, purpose, sincerity, and concerted artistic effort would have destroyed a circus, much less the Opera; and the enterprise went from bad to worse, until it finally collapsed from utter rottenness.
Colonel Mapleson's negative contributions to this result may have been considerable. His positive contribution was the selection of such a line of tenors, all straight from La Scala, and all guaranteed beforehand to replace and eclipse Mario Giuglini, as we may fervently hope never to hear again. Colonel Mapleson hopes to take the field again next season; and no one can help wishing that his perseverance may be rewarded with success. But if he proceeds on his old plan, or for want of plan, he will only add another failure to his list. If he has learnt at last that the lyric stage cannot lag a century behind the ordinary theatre; that the days of scratch performances are over; that Donizetti is dead; that Wagner is the most popular composer of the day; that the Costa conception of of orchestral conducting has been succeeded by the Richter conception; and that people will not pay to see heroes and gentlemen impersonated by tenors who are not distinguishable in manners, appearance, voice, or talent from the average vendor of penny ices, then, and not otherwise, he may succeed. It is only fair to add, by the way, that Colonel Mapleson is by no means the only impresario who has hitherto failed to take this lesson to heart.
For anyone interested in buying a book look at this:
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Gym
Just a quick update for anyone who read the previous post. Went in today, but on the advice of the trainer decided to drop the shoulder routine. Did Back/biceps/triceps instead.
A good routine overall, decided that I may as well as focus on arms a bit since they are a bit scrawny so will be pushing them more next Tuesday and Thursday.
Been doing a strengthening routine for shoulders (prescribed by Dr Thurairaja the time before last when it popped). I still hear the occasional odd creak when the arm is stretched out or when the elbow is raised, so I'd better not put the shoulder under too much strain.
A good routine overall, decided that I may as well as focus on arms a bit since they are a bit scrawny so will be pushing them more next Tuesday and Thursday.
Been doing a strengthening routine for shoulders (prescribed by Dr Thurairaja the time before last when it popped). I still hear the occasional odd creak when the arm is stretched out or when the elbow is raised, so I'd better not put the shoulder under too much strain.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
On a roll
Warning: Extremely boring post coming up.
I am feeling pretty pleased with myself, things seem to be on a roll; in the gym that is.
Things started off badly on Saturday when I dislocated a shoulder. Its an old injury that keeps reappearing from time to time, but this time it came off while stretching! I had been doing shoulders and had increased the weights a bit, so that probably weakened the ligaments and connective tissue and a little carelessness was all it took to pop the joint. Damn. Damn. Damn!!!
Anyway, made a resolution to go back, against the advice of some of my gym buddies. Went in on Monday intending to do legs and a light routine on biceps and triceps. Surprised myself by ending up doing a pretty heavy routine, lifted more than my normal weights.
Went in today (Thursday), after a couple of days rest. Routine was supposed to be chest and biceps but biceps were dropped because my training buddy needed to leave early.
Mow working the chest does put a bit of pressure on the shoulders, particularly on the incline presses so intended to go a bit slow. Wonder of wonders, pushed pretty much close to last weeks level-which was a personal best for me! Did take it slightly easy on the inclines and dropped the Pec Dec altogether (did hammer presses instead) but a pretty good routine overall.
The best part is that I have been able to maintain the focus and the 'push'. Its a feeling that is a little difficult to describe - when one is in a good training zone the only thing that goes through ones mind is to keep pushing the weight until it literally drops. Training like an animal is how a friend describes it.
Its very difficult to get into that 'zone' and I think I had just gotten in and was afraid I would go out of it because of the injury but so far so good.
Am, grinning like a Cheshire cat at the moment - lets see how next Saturday goes - that when go back to shoulders again.
I am feeling pretty pleased with myself, things seem to be on a roll; in the gym that is.
Things started off badly on Saturday when I dislocated a shoulder. Its an old injury that keeps reappearing from time to time, but this time it came off while stretching! I had been doing shoulders and had increased the weights a bit, so that probably weakened the ligaments and connective tissue and a little carelessness was all it took to pop the joint. Damn. Damn. Damn!!!
Anyway, made a resolution to go back, against the advice of some of my gym buddies. Went in on Monday intending to do legs and a light routine on biceps and triceps. Surprised myself by ending up doing a pretty heavy routine, lifted more than my normal weights.
Went in today (Thursday), after a couple of days rest. Routine was supposed to be chest and biceps but biceps were dropped because my training buddy needed to leave early.
Mow working the chest does put a bit of pressure on the shoulders, particularly on the incline presses so intended to go a bit slow. Wonder of wonders, pushed pretty much close to last weeks level-which was a personal best for me! Did take it slightly easy on the inclines and dropped the Pec Dec altogether (did hammer presses instead) but a pretty good routine overall.
The best part is that I have been able to maintain the focus and the 'push'. Its a feeling that is a little difficult to describe - when one is in a good training zone the only thing that goes through ones mind is to keep pushing the weight until it literally drops. Training like an animal is how a friend describes it.
Its very difficult to get into that 'zone' and I think I had just gotten in and was afraid I would go out of it because of the injury but so far so good.
Am, grinning like a Cheshire cat at the moment - lets see how next Saturday goes - that when go back to shoulders again.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Lakshman Kadirgamar
Lakshman Kadirgamar was killed just over two and a half years ago, on the 12th of August 2005. There were many eulogies written about the man, one of which stood out from the rest.
It was written by Tony Anghie, former solider accused of plotting to overthrow the government in 1962. At a dinner party a couple of months ago some of Tony Anghie's contemporaries were reminiscing about the attempted coup. According to his contemporaries, he was a brilliant officer who topped the class at Sandhurst. He was, they claim, destined for a brilliant career, culminating surely in the position of Army Commander.
This is his appreciation of Lakshman Kadirgamar.
It was written by Tony Anghie, former solider accused of plotting to overthrow the government in 1962. At a dinner party a couple of months ago some of Tony Anghie's contemporaries were reminiscing about the attempted coup. According to his contemporaries, he was a brilliant officer who topped the class at Sandhurst. He was, they claim, destined for a brilliant career, culminating surely in the position of Army Commander.
This is his appreciation of Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Much has been written in the last week about Lakshman Kadirgamar. He was an excellent orator, brilliant advocate, ambitious and the quintessential Renaissance Man. Sri Lanka will not see the like of another Foreign Minister like him.
As his friend and of his family for nearly sixty years I admired him as a man of principle. He was a junior to his brother Sam, who defended me in the Coup Trial of 1962. Whenever I visited from Australia, he would always contact me and we would discuss men and matters. When he became a member of parliament in 1994, I was one of the first to congratulate him from Melbourne, as I felt he would make a difference to the 'run of the mill' parliamentarians-which he did.
But then Lakshman fell among political thieves. The man of principle became the political advocate. He could plead any brief with aplomb and conviction; whether in the UN General Assembly or any other international forum; this was his strength as Foreign Minister; and this became his trait in the last decade of his life. He was ambitious and Kadirgamar was for Kadirgamar and anyone's gain was a by-product. His shabby treatment of Jayantha Dhanapala bears testimony to this.
How else could one explain his stand on Thavakal, and Anura Bandaranaike's brilliant attack on him in Parliament. How could one explain his stand on the ISGA when in opposition - it should not be even be considered; and then his position when in government - it may be the basis for negotiations?
I am aware he wanted to quit politics after the defeat of the PA, - he would probably be alive had he done so. He was however persuaded to stay, and it is difficult to imagine how a liberal democrat like him would be the co-author of a coup and countenance the sacking of a Government which commanded a majority in the House? No doubt principle and political power are indeed strangers and no doubt Lakshman subscribed to this.
As his daughter Ajita mourned, the last decade of his life saw him a prisoner both politically and personally. He abandoned his two children and they were estranged from him, much to their sorrow, and any attempts at reaching him were rebuffed. As his son Ragi said, their loss was their country's gain! This was the great flaw is his personality and the sacrifice of principle both in his political and personal life; and we his old friends grieved at the change in the man.
No doubt when history is written, he will be remembered as the greatest Foreign Minister Sri Lanka has produced and nothing became him in life as his leaving of it.
To us his old friends however he will be remembered as a fallen idol. He was my friend. May he rest in peace.
Tony Anghie
Sunday, February 17, 2008
A question of bias?
The government, its spokesmen and supporters regularly accuse a variety of actors: INGO's, the press, sometimes foreign diplomats of being biased in their assessments of Sri Lanka.
The latest missive comes from Keheliya Rambukwella, reported here. he is quoted as saying "They are acting in total bias on a different agenda . . . may be on various considerations . . . to bring the country into disrepute."
He was referring to criticism of alleged human right violations by the security forces.
What strikes me as odd is that the primary charge is almost inevitably that of bias. Rarely or never are the charges refuted by provision of evidence to the contrary.
The Minster does go on to say that "they have been trying to accuse the government for things that have not been proved or things that are being investigated,"
If so, Honourable Minister, would'nt the best response be to set up a credible mechanism to investigate the allegations, thus clearing up the matter? Why the knee-jerk resort to the subjective charge of bias, when facts would have been far more effective?
Those who make the charge of bias are seemingly oblivious to the fact they represent the government view and can hardly be judged to be impartial or disinterested in these matters.
To be sure, committees and other bodies have been set up from time to time by the government, usually with much reluctance and are inevitably toothless so the government is never in a position to present an independent, credible report to counter the allegations.
The Government is long on rhetoric but seems rather short on facts.
The latest missive comes from Keheliya Rambukwella, reported here. he is quoted as saying "They are acting in total bias on a different agenda . . . may be on various considerations . . . to bring the country into disrepute."
He was referring to criticism of alleged human right violations by the security forces.
What strikes me as odd is that the primary charge is almost inevitably that of bias. Rarely or never are the charges refuted by provision of evidence to the contrary.
The Minster does go on to say that "they have been trying to accuse the government for things that have not been proved or things that are being investigated,"
If so, Honourable Minister, would'nt the best response be to set up a credible mechanism to investigate the allegations, thus clearing up the matter? Why the knee-jerk resort to the subjective charge of bias, when facts would have been far more effective?
Those who make the charge of bias are seemingly oblivious to the fact they represent the government view and can hardly be judged to be impartial or disinterested in these matters.
To be sure, committees and other bodies have been set up from time to time by the government, usually with much reluctance and are inevitably toothless so the government is never in a position to present an independent, credible report to counter the allegations.
The Government is long on rhetoric but seems rather short on facts.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Encounters with the Sri Lanka Administrative Service - II
The company I work for had overpaid customs duty on an import. The error was discovered (a misclassification of the cargo) after the goods were cleared. The sum involved was substantial - about a quarter of the company's annual profits.
Initially I just searched the Customs website and contacted a couple of senior officials, Director or of similar rank, and told them my problem. Too bad was the answer. There is nothing we can do. Spoke to several people, received the same answer.
Not keen to give up I spoke to a friend and asked him if he knew someone. He had a friend, a middle ranking officer, I called him and went over to meet him.
He explained to me that there was such a thing as a procedure for refunds, obtained for us the relevant forms and told us what documents were needed (many- including affidavits, letters from suppliers, etc). All were duly filled and submitted. My friends friend promised to help speed up the matter.
I called the contact person every so often to inquire on progress. He told me it had been sent to the Audit department to verify the facts and that it was difficult for him to inquire into matters once they were in audit. I was busy with work, so for a month or two did not call. When I called eventually, some 5 months after the application was submitted (I spoke to the clerk handling the matter) and found that he had been transferred.
Worried, I went over to customs, our contcact gave me the name of the new man in charge. Went up, he was'nt in, spoke to someone else there, he claimed he knew nothing of the matter. Waited around for about half an hour before the man walked in. After some confusion, the file was located. He looked and said a 'certificate of payment' was required.
A certificate of payment is a document issued by the Accounts Department of the customs certifying that payments (duties etc) have been made to customs. This is despite us attaching an original receipt, issued by the customs themselves, acknowledging payment.
I know better than to argue so I ask them how to get this document. I need to go to the Accounts Department (of the customs) located on the 6th floor, with the original reciept (actually the Assessment Notice, overprinted with the details of money received) and speak to them. First problem - original document is in the file with our application and the guy does'nt want us to remove it. Since we know someone in customs he reluctantly gives it to us and also gets us a photocopy.
I take the documents and go to the ACcounts, they say you need to bring a letter from the company requesting the certificate. Not carrying letterheads and rubber stamps with me, so I go back to the Refunds Branch (4th floor), return the original document and go back to the company to get the letter. Its about 1pm and I know better than to expect the guys to be working in the afternoon, and in anycase have had as much hassle as I can take for a day so I decide to take the letter the next day.
I go back the next day armed with the letter. The guy I met is missing but luckily the peon remembers me so he introduces me to another drone. Drone tells me you can't get such a certificate. I say I was asked to. He says ok but won't release the original document. I convince him to and he does, but gets me to sign on the back of the file to say I took it. I run to the Accounts on the 6th floor and ask for the certificate. The guys says I need to pay 150/- at the cashiers on the 3rd floor. The lifts serve either 2,4, 6 or 3,5 so there is sometimes no direct lift to the floor required, but this is not a serious issue for fit young fellow, god help the elderly.
I run to the cashier. Big crowd, but no queue. Force my way in and say I need to pay for a certificate. Cashier asks me for a voucher? What voucher? You've got to get a voucher from the relevant department telling the cashier to accept money.
Back upto the 6th floor, the guy gives me the voucher and I fill it out. Back to the 3rd floor, bigger crowd this time, manage to worm through. I hand over the money and the voucher plus the documents. One guy writes a receipt, another stamps the documents and I get them back. Back upto the 6th floor where the big-wig looks at my letter and says the title is not complete - but allows me to correct it in pen. Hurrah!
He looks at the two documents, (original plus photocopy)and asks me to give it to the first guy I met in accounts. The first guy takes it and I ask when I will get the certificate. May take a week or two he says, we need to write to the bank and they need to confirm the payment. I ask for his name-he gives it to me but says he does'nt have a contact no., so I need to follow up in a week or so. All for a confirmation of a payment, when I have submitted an original receipt!
Initially I just searched the Customs website and contacted a couple of senior officials, Director or of similar rank, and told them my problem. Too bad was the answer. There is nothing we can do. Spoke to several people, received the same answer.
Not keen to give up I spoke to a friend and asked him if he knew someone. He had a friend, a middle ranking officer, I called him and went over to meet him.
He explained to me that there was such a thing as a procedure for refunds, obtained for us the relevant forms and told us what documents were needed (many- including affidavits, letters from suppliers, etc). All were duly filled and submitted. My friends friend promised to help speed up the matter.
I called the contact person every so often to inquire on progress. He told me it had been sent to the Audit department to verify the facts and that it was difficult for him to inquire into matters once they were in audit. I was busy with work, so for a month or two did not call. When I called eventually, some 5 months after the application was submitted (I spoke to the clerk handling the matter) and found that he had been transferred.
Worried, I went over to customs, our contcact gave me the name of the new man in charge. Went up, he was'nt in, spoke to someone else there, he claimed he knew nothing of the matter. Waited around for about half an hour before the man walked in. After some confusion, the file was located. He looked and said a 'certificate of payment' was required.
A certificate of payment is a document issued by the Accounts Department of the customs certifying that payments (duties etc) have been made to customs. This is despite us attaching an original receipt, issued by the customs themselves, acknowledging payment.
I know better than to argue so I ask them how to get this document. I need to go to the Accounts Department (of the customs) located on the 6th floor, with the original reciept (actually the Assessment Notice, overprinted with the details of money received) and speak to them. First problem - original document is in the file with our application and the guy does'nt want us to remove it. Since we know someone in customs he reluctantly gives it to us and also gets us a photocopy.
I take the documents and go to the ACcounts, they say you need to bring a letter from the company requesting the certificate. Not carrying letterheads and rubber stamps with me, so I go back to the Refunds Branch (4th floor), return the original document and go back to the company to get the letter. Its about 1pm and I know better than to expect the guys to be working in the afternoon, and in anycase have had as much hassle as I can take for a day so I decide to take the letter the next day.
I go back the next day armed with the letter. The guy I met is missing but luckily the peon remembers me so he introduces me to another drone. Drone tells me you can't get such a certificate. I say I was asked to. He says ok but won't release the original document. I convince him to and he does, but gets me to sign on the back of the file to say I took it. I run to the Accounts on the 6th floor and ask for the certificate. The guys says I need to pay 150/- at the cashiers on the 3rd floor. The lifts serve either 2,4, 6 or 3,5 so there is sometimes no direct lift to the floor required, but this is not a serious issue for fit young fellow, god help the elderly.
I run to the cashier. Big crowd, but no queue. Force my way in and say I need to pay for a certificate. Cashier asks me for a voucher? What voucher? You've got to get a voucher from the relevant department telling the cashier to accept money.
Back upto the 6th floor, the guy gives me the voucher and I fill it out. Back to the 3rd floor, bigger crowd this time, manage to worm through. I hand over the money and the voucher plus the documents. One guy writes a receipt, another stamps the documents and I get them back. Back upto the 6th floor where the big-wig looks at my letter and says the title is not complete - but allows me to correct it in pen. Hurrah!
He looks at the two documents, (original plus photocopy)and asks me to give it to the first guy I met in accounts. The first guy takes it and I ask when I will get the certificate. May take a week or two he says, we need to write to the bank and they need to confirm the payment. I ask for his name-he gives it to me but says he does'nt have a contact no., so I need to follow up in a week or so. All for a confirmation of a payment, when I have submitted an original receipt!
Encounters with the Sri Lanka Administrative Service - I
The Sri Lanka Adminstrative Service is official title of a creature that the general public usually describe as bureaucrats or government servants.
The SLAS was created by Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the 1960's. The original admnstrative system was the elite Ceylon Civil Service, which had a well earned repuation for efficiency and integrity. Civil Servants were drawn from the very best of the University graduates (believe it or not, the local universities produced world-class products, before politicisation). These were men on high intellect and integrity, their service ethos was to serve the general public efficiently, withn the parameters set by the Minister in Charge, but ensuring that nothing contravened the constitution, the Financial and administrative regulations and the conscience of the officer. Being of high intellect and often of independant means they would not be browbeaten into anything. The ministers thus had a tough time implementing impractical, unnecessary or silly rules. The minister would need to convince the Permanent Secretary or other department head of the usefulness of the measure before it could be implemented properly.
This grated on the nerves of Felix Dias Bandaranaike and Mrs Bandaranaike. They decided they wanted a more servile system, one in which Civil Servants would not question, but obey. They decided to abolish the Civil Service. Existing officers were offered either immediate termination of service with pension or a limited further period of service (upto 10 years Or retirement I believe) and then termination with pension.
At a stroke, a system carefully built over a century and a half was skewered and half its guts removed. It evolved into the Ceylon Administrative Service and later the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.
The edifice did not crumble overnight. Although a good many officers left immediatedly, and were eagerly snapped up by such instututions and the World Bank and the UN, others remained.
Politicians began to stuff the service with their catchers. As the older CCS officers retired their place was taken by the newer appointees, who were mostly political appointees, chosen for their loyalty to ministers and not on ability.
In the meantime, the authorities, in wisdom had turned their attention to the destruction of the education system, first the Universities and then the schools.
Gradually the system crumbled and we have the monster of today. Who is interested in a government job today? Mostly people will little ambition and less ability. Who is interested in entering the local University system, at one time amongst the best in Asia?
This brings me to my next post - an encounter with ths Sri Lanka Customs.
The SLAS was created by Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the 1960's. The original admnstrative system was the elite Ceylon Civil Service, which had a well earned repuation for efficiency and integrity. Civil Servants were drawn from the very best of the University graduates (believe it or not, the local universities produced world-class products, before politicisation). These were men on high intellect and integrity, their service ethos was to serve the general public efficiently, withn the parameters set by the Minister in Charge, but ensuring that nothing contravened the constitution, the Financial and administrative regulations and the conscience of the officer. Being of high intellect and often of independant means they would not be browbeaten into anything. The ministers thus had a tough time implementing impractical, unnecessary or silly rules. The minister would need to convince the Permanent Secretary or other department head of the usefulness of the measure before it could be implemented properly.
This grated on the nerves of Felix Dias Bandaranaike and Mrs Bandaranaike. They decided they wanted a more servile system, one in which Civil Servants would not question, but obey. They decided to abolish the Civil Service. Existing officers were offered either immediate termination of service with pension or a limited further period of service (upto 10 years Or retirement I believe) and then termination with pension.
At a stroke, a system carefully built over a century and a half was skewered and half its guts removed. It evolved into the Ceylon Administrative Service and later the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.
The edifice did not crumble overnight. Although a good many officers left immediatedly, and were eagerly snapped up by such instututions and the World Bank and the UN, others remained.
Politicians began to stuff the service with their catchers. As the older CCS officers retired their place was taken by the newer appointees, who were mostly political appointees, chosen for their loyalty to ministers and not on ability.
In the meantime, the authorities, in wisdom had turned their attention to the destruction of the education system, first the Universities and then the schools.
Gradually the system crumbled and we have the monster of today. Who is interested in a government job today? Mostly people will little ambition and less ability. Who is interested in entering the local University system, at one time amongst the best in Asia?
This brings me to my next post - an encounter with ths Sri Lanka Customs.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Love
A wet, gloomy Friday has left Point with a slight sniffle and a rather foul mood.
Looking for some appropriate lines for Lady Divine's dilemma Point came across these: not quite helpful enough for the unfortunate damsel but worth reproducing here:
LOVE
All things pass but love remains
So sang the actress in a play;
A soothing song to still life's pains:
Would it were the truth of everyday!
Love passes, all else remains
And with it go life's fitful gains:
Tossed for brief while in joyous fears
Love casts about and disappears.
-Guy Amirthanayagam-
Looking for some appropriate lines for Lady Divine's dilemma Point came across these: not quite helpful enough for the unfortunate damsel but worth reproducing here:
LOVE
All things pass but love remains
So sang the actress in a play;
A soothing song to still life's pains:
Would it were the truth of everyday!
Love passes, all else remains
And with it go life's fitful gains:
Tossed for brief while in joyous fears
Love casts about and disappears.
-Guy Amirthanayagam-
Ozymandias
This is something I have been wanting to put up for a while.
I first encountered Ozymandias in the British Museum, standing before the statue of Ramesses II, who is also known by his Greek name Ozymandias.
The poem was a part of the recorded commentary on the statue (which is supposed to have inspired the poet - the wikipedia article linked above carries a picture) but with the hustle and bustle of the museum (it attracts visitor in numbers that are beyond wildest dreams of the Sri Lankan tourist industry) it made only a partial impact.
Some years later there was a reference to it in The Economist and I looked it up - only then did I realise its beauty and here it is, in all its glory:
OZYMANDIAS
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
-Percy Bysshe Shelley- , 1818
I first encountered Ozymandias in the British Museum, standing before the statue of Ramesses II, who is also known by his Greek name Ozymandias.
The poem was a part of the recorded commentary on the statue (which is supposed to have inspired the poet - the wikipedia article linked above carries a picture) but with the hustle and bustle of the museum (it attracts visitor in numbers that are beyond wildest dreams of the Sri Lankan tourist industry) it made only a partial impact.
Some years later there was a reference to it in The Economist and I looked it up - only then did I realise its beauty and here it is, in all its glory:
OZYMANDIAS
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
-Percy Bysshe Shelley- , 1818
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Wearing the Hijab - be mindful of traffic safety
Most pedestrians and cyclists don't realise just how difficult it is to see them under artificial light, particularly in poor driving conditions. I suppose one can only blame the educational system for this lapse.
The problem becomes magnified when women wear the black version of the Hijab.
I few years back I almost ran over a woman in a Hijab. It was at about 5 in the morning, with a fair amount of rain. She crossed the (unlit) road somewhere near Avissawella. Luckily for a moment the Hijab lifted and I caught a glimpse of her ankle in the headlights. I couldn't see the rest of her at all. I braked, the brakes locked and the car went into a skid. I turned the wheel but nothing happened. Luckily the ABS kicked in after a few moments and the car swerved away, otherwise I would have killed her.
So please, for your own safety and that of others, please carry something white at night.
The problem becomes magnified when women wear the black version of the Hijab.
I few years back I almost ran over a woman in a Hijab. It was at about 5 in the morning, with a fair amount of rain. She crossed the (unlit) road somewhere near Avissawella. Luckily for a moment the Hijab lifted and I caught a glimpse of her ankle in the headlights. I couldn't see the rest of her at all. I braked, the brakes locked and the car went into a skid. I turned the wheel but nothing happened. Luckily the ABS kicked in after a few moments and the car swerved away, otherwise I would have killed her.
So please, for your own safety and that of others, please carry something white at night.
CIMA awarded Superbrand status
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has been awarded "Superbrand" status.
What exactly is a Superbrand?
According to the definition it "aims to identify brands that perform above and beyond other brands within their respective markets."
The critera are "market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty and market acceptancy."
It seems to be a system of ranking brands, a beauty contest if you like of brands. So far so good.
The problem is that the exercise does not come cheap. According to estimates I have received (please correct me if I am wrong) it costs a million rupees in Sri Lanka. Not very big, perhaps, but big enough to pose the question : what value does this exercise bring about to the owner of the brand?
There is no question that a brand has value, but what does the awarding of Superbrand status do to a brand?
Does a brand, divorced from the product or service that it sells, have any value?
And how does the assignment of Superbrand status generate a return to the brand owner?
The winner of a beauty pageant, even a minor one (eg Miss Working Girl) can reasonably expect to get some offers for advertising, film or modeling work. The award thus brings some value to the holder. There is also a certain prestige that may go with the award.
Is this the case with Superbrands?
Given that all manner of brands have exactly the same award and that any one invited can get it there seems very little in the way of prestige that can be attached to the award. Conceivably if the award was limited to a very small stated number (say a dozen or a score), evaluated in a transparent manner and revised annually it might, over time create the necessary aura.
The brands thus awarded are allowed to place the Superbrands logo on advertisements but this to my mind at least is at best a distraction from the principal brand. The Superbrands logo does not blend in well and one is never sure of what exactly is being advertised. Superbrands or the product in question.
CIMA's Council have doubtless satisfied themselves as to the benefits of the exercise, it remains to be seen if members consider it reasonable use of membership fees. I for one am glad that I am no longer paying subscriptions.
What exactly is a Superbrand?
According to the definition it "aims to identify brands that perform above and beyond other brands within their respective markets."
The critera are "market dominance, longevity, goodwill, customer loyalty and market acceptancy."
It seems to be a system of ranking brands, a beauty contest if you like of brands. So far so good.
The problem is that the exercise does not come cheap. According to estimates I have received (please correct me if I am wrong) it costs a million rupees in Sri Lanka. Not very big, perhaps, but big enough to pose the question : what value does this exercise bring about to the owner of the brand?
There is no question that a brand has value, but what does the awarding of Superbrand status do to a brand?
Does a brand, divorced from the product or service that it sells, have any value?
And how does the assignment of Superbrand status generate a return to the brand owner?
The winner of a beauty pageant, even a minor one (eg Miss Working Girl) can reasonably expect to get some offers for advertising, film or modeling work. The award thus brings some value to the holder. There is also a certain prestige that may go with the award.
Is this the case with Superbrands?
Given that all manner of brands have exactly the same award and that any one invited can get it there seems very little in the way of prestige that can be attached to the award. Conceivably if the award was limited to a very small stated number (say a dozen or a score), evaluated in a transparent manner and revised annually it might, over time create the necessary aura.
The brands thus awarded are allowed to place the Superbrands logo on advertisements but this to my mind at least is at best a distraction from the principal brand. The Superbrands logo does not blend in well and one is never sure of what exactly is being advertised. Superbrands or the product in question.
CIMA's Council have doubtless satisfied themselves as to the benefits of the exercise, it remains to be seen if members consider it reasonable use of membership fees. I for one am glad that I am no longer paying subscriptions.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Independence
As Sri Lanka approaches 60 years of independence, I have been turning the question of independence over in my mind.
What does it mean? The Wikipedia definition is: "Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty."
We can safely say that the country is self governing, leaving the question of the quality of governence aside for the moment.
Ephimeral Ruminations blogs on the subject here.
and wonders how we may be independent in the golbal village.
The world is indeed an interdependent place although the rulers of this land seem intent on isolating the country. Self sufficiency as a concept seems dear to their hearts and their foreign policy has left us with Pakistan, Iran, Burma, Thailand and a handful of others to count as 'true' friends. The fact that most of these 'true' friends are either military dictatorships or one-party states is significant and may well point the way to future developments.
Can we look at independence at a deeper level? Can independence for example be equated with freedom? If so, it seems constrained.
Milton Freidman has observed that "The essence of political freedom is the absence of coercion of one man by his fellow men. The fundamental danger to political freedom is the concentration of power. The existence of a large measure of power in the hands of a relatively few individuals enables them to use it to coerce their fellow men."
By this standard, Sri Lanka seems to fare poorly. Freedom of thought is being challenged by the Defence Secretary (did you know the Public Performances Board operates under the Defence Ministry?), freedom of movement is restricted - by road closures, high security zones, parking restrictions and the like. There is the possibility of arbitrary arrest or detention if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Freedom House, a US think tank classifies Sri Lanka as being "partly free".
People may argue that Freedom House is subjugated to US foreign policy. Others may claim that these restrictions are necessary to fight terrorism but if we are to accept this argument then let us then also be honest enough to admit that we are only party independent.
What does it mean? The Wikipedia definition is: "Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty."
We can safely say that the country is self governing, leaving the question of the quality of governence aside for the moment.
Ephimeral Ruminations blogs on the subject here.
and wonders how we may be independent in the golbal village.
The world is indeed an interdependent place although the rulers of this land seem intent on isolating the country. Self sufficiency as a concept seems dear to their hearts and their foreign policy has left us with Pakistan, Iran, Burma, Thailand and a handful of others to count as 'true' friends. The fact that most of these 'true' friends are either military dictatorships or one-party states is significant and may well point the way to future developments.
Can we look at independence at a deeper level? Can independence for example be equated with freedom? If so, it seems constrained.
Milton Freidman has observed that "The essence of political freedom is the absence of coercion of one man by his fellow men. The fundamental danger to political freedom is the concentration of power. The existence of a large measure of power in the hands of a relatively few individuals enables them to use it to coerce their fellow men."
By this standard, Sri Lanka seems to fare poorly. Freedom of thought is being challenged by the Defence Secretary (did you know the Public Performances Board operates under the Defence Ministry?), freedom of movement is restricted - by road closures, high security zones, parking restrictions and the like. There is the possibility of arbitrary arrest or detention if you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Freedom House, a US think tank classifies Sri Lanka as being "partly free".
People may argue that Freedom House is subjugated to US foreign policy. Others may claim that these restrictions are necessary to fight terrorism but if we are to accept this argument then let us then also be honest enough to admit that we are only party independent.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Response to a post on Thinkfree's blog
A blogger by the name of Thinkfree published a letter by a Mr Asoka Weerasinghe, a resident of Canada to an MP in the British Parliament.
Mr Weerasinghe's argument, as far as Point can decipher from the meandering jumble that is Mr Weerasinghe's letter, is that the war should continue and that Britain has no business in interfering in these matters.
Whether the government should persue a military solution or a engage in talks is a matter that can be debated, Point's issue with Mr Weerasinghe is that he is not in the best of positions to preach war, the suspension of human rights, and all its concommitant horrors, when enjoying the very benefits of good governance overseas.
The original letter is to be found here:
Point's response (also posted at the above site) is reproduced below:
Mr Asoka Weerasinghe must leave Canada immediately and return to do battle at home.
He lives in comfort, enjoying all the fruits of stable democracy and good governance. Low interest rates, low levels of inflation reasonable growth rates and thus a future for himself and his family.
Thus luxuriating in comfort he chooses to prescribe treatment for the problems of others in far of lands. He pays little or no taxes in SL, he faces not the withering of his savings and the stunting of prospects he endures not danger to life and limb nor the petty discomforts that we face every day, ignores the thousands of others who leave every month to the middle East, to Africa, to the West, all in search of something better. He ignores history the 30 years wasted and the prospect of a further 30 that offers little else, and yet he presumes to prescribe. Come Mr Weerasinghe, come home.
Mr Weerasinghe's argument, as far as Point can decipher from the meandering jumble that is Mr Weerasinghe's letter, is that the war should continue and that Britain has no business in interfering in these matters.
Whether the government should persue a military solution or a engage in talks is a matter that can be debated, Point's issue with Mr Weerasinghe is that he is not in the best of positions to preach war, the suspension of human rights, and all its concommitant horrors, when enjoying the very benefits of good governance overseas.
The original letter is to be found here:
Point's response (also posted at the above site) is reproduced below:
Mr Asoka Weerasinghe must leave Canada immediately and return to do battle at home.
He lives in comfort, enjoying all the fruits of stable democracy and good governance. Low interest rates, low levels of inflation reasonable growth rates and thus a future for himself and his family.
Thus luxuriating in comfort he chooses to prescribe treatment for the problems of others in far of lands. He pays little or no taxes in SL, he faces not the withering of his savings and the stunting of prospects he endures not danger to life and limb nor the petty discomforts that we face every day, ignores the thousands of others who leave every month to the middle East, to Africa, to the West, all in search of something better. He ignores history the 30 years wasted and the prospect of a further 30 that offers little else, and yet he presumes to prescribe. Come Mr Weerasinghe, come home.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Hornby Railways
Point was ecstatic today. The dead, or more correctly, something though to be dead, was found to be alive and well.
Hornby Railways, maker of the finest model trains on the planet is still in existence, and judging by their website, producing trains as every bit as good as those in Point's rose tinted memory. No bitter disappointment, as in the case of Matchbox, where, sadly, the craftsmanship has sunk without trace. Just pure unadulterated joy.
Children brought up on Nintendo, video games and other such fripperies cannot possibly know, or even imagine, the power that Hornby exerted over young boys minds for over half a century. There were others who made train sets, toys or models, but Hornby was the Gold Standard, and anyone who owned one was the envy of the neighbourhood. The only thing that could possibly have commanded similar respect was a Raleigh bicycle.
Reading the "About" section on the website Point was amazed to discover that Meccano, another popular toy of that era was what Hornby actually started with, model trains came later. Further frantic web searches revealed that Hornby had recently acquired Airfix, maker of model aircraft kits and another hallowed name from Point's boyhood.
Careful study of the product catalogue lead to the discovery of their latest, and surely most marvelous product: a genuine steam powered model locomotiove. Not an electric powered one, but one that ACTUALLY RUNS on STEAM. Wonders will never cease. Hornby calls this range "Live Steam" and Point is now scheming on how one may be obtained and smuggled into the house......
The website is here:
http://www.hornby.com
Hornby Railways, maker of the finest model trains on the planet is still in existence, and judging by their website, producing trains as every bit as good as those in Point's rose tinted memory. No bitter disappointment, as in the case of Matchbox, where, sadly, the craftsmanship has sunk without trace. Just pure unadulterated joy.
Children brought up on Nintendo, video games and other such fripperies cannot possibly know, or even imagine, the power that Hornby exerted over young boys minds for over half a century. There were others who made train sets, toys or models, but Hornby was the Gold Standard, and anyone who owned one was the envy of the neighbourhood. The only thing that could possibly have commanded similar respect was a Raleigh bicycle.
Reading the "About" section on the website Point was amazed to discover that Meccano, another popular toy of that era was what Hornby actually started with, model trains came later. Further frantic web searches revealed that Hornby had recently acquired Airfix, maker of model aircraft kits and another hallowed name from Point's boyhood.
Careful study of the product catalogue lead to the discovery of their latest, and surely most marvelous product: a genuine steam powered model locomotiove. Not an electric powered one, but one that ACTUALLY RUNS on STEAM. Wonders will never cease. Hornby calls this range "Live Steam" and Point is now scheming on how one may be obtained and smuggled into the house......
The website is here:
http://www.hornby.com
Monday, January 28, 2008
Creeping militarisation of Sri Lankan society?
A report that the Defence Secretary wants censorship imposed got me thinking.
see link:
to quote from the link above, the Secretary apparently said:
"I think that there is no need to report any thing on the military. People do not want to know how many and what kind of arms we acquired. That is not media freedom. I tell without fear that if I have power I will not allow any of these things to write. I told the President that we need to bring press censorship at the beginning. I have been telling that we need bring in laws that can punish harshly for these reports… We need criminal defamation law…"
He seems to brook no criticism.
This comes hard on the heels of another report that the Sri Lankan military plans to start a television station. Apparently broadcast will start with two hours a day of programming and eventually end up as a 24 hour channel, with news and entertainment programmes.
Keen readers of the local press may have noticed a series of advertisements - usually half a page in all the major newspapers showing members of the army, air force and navy interacting with members of the public. Similar advertisements were aired on television. The theme was, if I am not mistaken, Api Wenuwen Api which roughly translates as We for Ourselves. The campaign has been running for around a year if memory serves me correctly and seems aimed at intertwining the armed forces with the population in general. Henceforth the armed forces are not to been seen as a branch of government but as a part of society, and an important part at that.
The military, it seems is stepping out of its traditional role of guardians against external threat into ordinary civilian life.
Does this point even further involvement in civilian administration, perhaps to the extent of martial law?
I have raised the possibility of a coup on Indi's blog and David Blacker argued that the regimental structure of the army would not permit such a thing to happen. However, a creeping dictatorship seemed likely and I wonder if these are further steps down that slippery slope.
Post script:
Groundviews carries an article on this subject here:
see link:
to quote from the link above, the Secretary apparently said:
"I think that there is no need to report any thing on the military. People do not want to know how many and what kind of arms we acquired. That is not media freedom. I tell without fear that if I have power I will not allow any of these things to write. I told the President that we need to bring press censorship at the beginning. I have been telling that we need bring in laws that can punish harshly for these reports… We need criminal defamation law…"
He seems to brook no criticism.
This comes hard on the heels of another report that the Sri Lankan military plans to start a television station. Apparently broadcast will start with two hours a day of programming and eventually end up as a 24 hour channel, with news and entertainment programmes.
Keen readers of the local press may have noticed a series of advertisements - usually half a page in all the major newspapers showing members of the army, air force and navy interacting with members of the public. Similar advertisements were aired on television. The theme was, if I am not mistaken, Api Wenuwen Api which roughly translates as We for Ourselves. The campaign has been running for around a year if memory serves me correctly and seems aimed at intertwining the armed forces with the population in general. Henceforth the armed forces are not to been seen as a branch of government but as a part of society, and an important part at that.
The military, it seems is stepping out of its traditional role of guardians against external threat into ordinary civilian life.
Does this point even further involvement in civilian administration, perhaps to the extent of martial law?
I have raised the possibility of a coup on Indi's blog and David Blacker argued that the regimental structure of the army would not permit such a thing to happen. However, a creeping dictatorship seemed likely and I wonder if these are further steps down that slippery slope.
Post script:
Groundviews carries an article on this subject here:
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Who is Point?
Some may have wondered about my strange nom de plume, well wonder no more, the truth can now be told.
Jack Point is a character in The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid, a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The character Point is a jester, hence the title of this blog.
I was taken by the song sung by Point ("I've jibe and joke"), the setting by Sullivan is delicious and the text amusing.
I thought it would be a good name to write under, partly because I did'nt want to be taken too seriously, sentiments that were expressed perfectly in these lines:
I've wisdom from the East and from the West,
That's subject to no academic rule;
You may find it in the jeering of a jest,
Or distil it from the folly of a fool.
I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;
I can trick you into learning with a laugh;
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
The song is a little gem, listen to it here.
For an excellent recording of the work, try this.
By the way, now that you know my name, you may as well as look up my number. ;)
Jack Point is a character in The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid, a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The character Point is a jester, hence the title of this blog.
I was taken by the song sung by Point ("I've jibe and joke"), the setting by Sullivan is delicious and the text amusing.
I thought it would be a good name to write under, partly because I did'nt want to be taken too seriously, sentiments that were expressed perfectly in these lines:
I've wisdom from the East and from the West,
That's subject to no academic rule;
You may find it in the jeering of a jest,
Or distil it from the folly of a fool.
I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;
I can trick you into learning with a laugh;
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
The song is a little gem, listen to it here.
For an excellent recording of the work, try this.
By the way, now that you know my name, you may as well as look up my number. ;)
Who is Point?
Some may have wondered about my strange nom de plume, well wonder no more, the truth can now be told.
Jack Point is a character in The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid, a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The character Point is a jester, hence the title of this blog.
I was taken by the song sung by Point ("I've jibe and joke"), the setting by Sullivan is delicious and the text amusing.
I thought it would be a good name to write under, partly because I did'nt want to be taken too seriously, sentiments that were expressed perfectly in these lines:
I've wisdom from the East and from the West,
That's subject to no academic rule;
You may find it in the jeering of a jest,
Or distil it from the folly of a fool.
I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;
I can trick you into learning with a laugh;
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
The song is a little gem, listen to it here.
For an excellent recording of the work, try this.
By the way, now that you know my name, you may as well as look up my number. ;)
Jack Point is a character in The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid, a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The character Point is a jester, hence the title of this blog.
I was taken by the song sung by Point ("I've jibe and joke"), the setting by Sullivan is delicious and the text amusing.
I thought it would be a good name to write under, partly because I did'nt want to be taken too seriously, sentiments that were expressed perfectly in these lines:
I've wisdom from the East and from the West,
That's subject to no academic rule;
You may find it in the jeering of a jest,
Or distil it from the folly of a fool.
I can teach you with a quip, if I've a mind;
I can trick you into learning with a laugh;
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
Oh, winnow all my folly, folly, folly, and you'll find
A grain or two of truth among the chaff!
The song is a little gem, listen to it here.
For an excellent recording of the work, try this.
By the way, now that you know my name, you may as well as look up my number. ;)
Sylvia Plath (1932 - 1963):Daddy
Post Galle Literary Festival, Jack Point, no man of letters by any definition of the term, is now dabbling in literature. Point hastens to add that he is no more than a dilettante in these matters.
Attending a talk on American poetry shortly after returning from Galle this particular poem made a powerful impact. The rhythms of the metre are compelling and the dark and desperate sentiments expressed within are haunting.
The poem starts off uneasily, and the pace becomes gradually more frenetic, until by the time it reaches "Ich, ich, ich, ich, I could hardly speak" all manner of dark fears start reaching out. By the time the line reaches "At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do." the nightmare is in full flow, fear has turned to terror, a and few lines later, terror has turned to madness.
Point hopes that no copyright is violated by reproducing it here (the poem being available on public websites)
Daddy
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time---
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal
And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off the beautiful Nauset.
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.
In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend
Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.
It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene
An engine, an engine,
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.
The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna
Are not very pure or true.
With my gypsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.
I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You----
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who
Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I'm finally through.
The black telephone's off at the root,
The voices just can't worm through.
If I've killed one man, I've killed two---
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
Daddy, you can lie back now.
There's a stake in your fat black heart
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath reads here poem "Daddy" on Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hHjctqSBwM
Attending a talk on American poetry shortly after returning from Galle this particular poem made a powerful impact. The rhythms of the metre are compelling and the dark and desperate sentiments expressed within are haunting.
The poem starts off uneasily, and the pace becomes gradually more frenetic, until by the time it reaches "Ich, ich, ich, ich, I could hardly speak" all manner of dark fears start reaching out. By the time the line reaches "At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do." the nightmare is in full flow, fear has turned to terror, a and few lines later, terror has turned to madness.
Point hopes that no copyright is violated by reproducing it here (the poem being available on public websites)
Daddy
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time---
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal
And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off the beautiful Nauset.
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.
In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
But the name of the town is common.
My Polack friend
Says there are a dozen or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my jaw.
It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene
An engine, an engine,
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belsen.
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.
The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna
Are not very pure or true.
With my gypsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.
I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
Panzer-man, panzer-man, O You----
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
Every woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who
Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I'm finally through.
The black telephone's off at the root,
The voices just can't worm through.
If I've killed one man, I've killed two---
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
Daddy, you can lie back now.
There's a stake in your fat black heart
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath reads here poem "Daddy" on Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hHjctqSBwM
Monday, January 21, 2008
Where are we heading?
This was posted as a comment on Indi's blog on the 31st of May 2007
I am a pessimist. I think we turned the corner at the last election, there is no way but down from here on.
Hope of a negotiated settlement grows more distant because:
1. The exit of moderates on both sides (Balasingham & Kadiragamar)
2. The basis of the existing CFA (recognition of territories controlled by each party) has changed - because the territories have changed, need to go back to the drawing board again if a realistic CFA is to come about.
3. The war seems to have taken a very personal turn. MR’s filial affections are well known, and so is his unquestioned support for his friends. All the incompetents who surround him (Sajin Vaas, Asantha De Mel, etc) are either friends who jhave helped him when he was a nobody or his family.
The two turning points in the war were the attack on Sarath Fonseka, (close buddy of Gota) and the attack on Gota. The initial campaign intensified only after the attempt on SF’s life in April last year, the attackon Gota brought about a further intnsification. As Arnie said in the Terminator movie “this time its personal”.
Any hope of a settlement must only come after exhaustion by both sides (govt runs out of money, tigers run out of cadres) After that stalemate emerges, then a settlement can be realistically explored (this is what the Norwegians have also said) BUT this takes political will plus a certain amount of competence. This regime lacks both.
I think the leaders have more interest in looting the treasury than in anything else, and they will happily do it as long as they can.
We can go the way of Kenya (lots of violent crime due to income disparities & poverty + rampant corruption) , Colombia (where various militias roamed the country kidnapping, extorting and fighting for turf) and any number of African countries.
We have to endure 12 years of MR (who will hang on by hook or more likely by crook). Then a power struggle, probably betwen Basil and Namal but which may include Gota as well. After that another 12 years of whoever, provided the other party decides to give way, if not a coup is possible (conditions are now right for this - an increasingly politicised military plus rampant corruption)
The JVP wants us to be like North Korea, The JHU wants us to be like Iran, the SLFP wants to take us back to the glorious days of 1956. What models the political leadership has.
WE are in for some interesting times old boy, make no mistake.
Indi's original post is here;
http://www.indi.ca/2007/05/the-expat-diaries/
I am a pessimist. I think we turned the corner at the last election, there is no way but down from here on.
Hope of a negotiated settlement grows more distant because:
1. The exit of moderates on both sides (Balasingham & Kadiragamar)
2. The basis of the existing CFA (recognition of territories controlled by each party) has changed - because the territories have changed, need to go back to the drawing board again if a realistic CFA is to come about.
3. The war seems to have taken a very personal turn. MR’s filial affections are well known, and so is his unquestioned support for his friends. All the incompetents who surround him (Sajin Vaas, Asantha De Mel, etc) are either friends who jhave helped him when he was a nobody or his family.
The two turning points in the war were the attack on Sarath Fonseka, (close buddy of Gota) and the attack on Gota. The initial campaign intensified only after the attempt on SF’s life in April last year, the attackon Gota brought about a further intnsification. As Arnie said in the Terminator movie “this time its personal”.
Any hope of a settlement must only come after exhaustion by both sides (govt runs out of money, tigers run out of cadres) After that stalemate emerges, then a settlement can be realistically explored (this is what the Norwegians have also said) BUT this takes political will plus a certain amount of competence. This regime lacks both.
I think the leaders have more interest in looting the treasury than in anything else, and they will happily do it as long as they can.
We can go the way of Kenya (lots of violent crime due to income disparities & poverty + rampant corruption) , Colombia (where various militias roamed the country kidnapping, extorting and fighting for turf) and any number of African countries.
We have to endure 12 years of MR (who will hang on by hook or more likely by crook). Then a power struggle, probably betwen Basil and Namal but which may include Gota as well. After that another 12 years of whoever, provided the other party decides to give way, if not a coup is possible (conditions are now right for this - an increasingly politicised military plus rampant corruption)
The JVP wants us to be like North Korea, The JHU wants us to be like Iran, the SLFP wants to take us back to the glorious days of 1956. What models the political leadership has.
WE are in for some interesting times old boy, make no mistake.
Indi's original post is here;
http://www.indi.ca/2007/05/the-expat-diaries/
The economics of Fighting the war
This is another comment on the same post by VIC (see my post below for context).
VIC replied to one of my comments by saying:
"But I'm ready fund this campaign with my tax money, if it's going to end in next 2 years. Otherwise, I will have to keep on funding this same war for another 20 years."
What I've been trying to argue is that we simply cannot afford to fight on for any length of time - there is no money. Very little room left to tax and still less to borrow.
In a nutshell, This is what Sri Lanka's government's income and expenditure looks like (estimates for 2007 taken from the budget):
Tax & non tax revenue Rs.580bn
Expenditure:
Pensions & Salaries of govt servants: Rs.240bn
Defence : Rs.140bn budgeted
Interest payments : 169bn
subsidies & transfers (to loss making govt businesses) 127bn
theres' other stuff as well but these are the main things
You can see there is a huge deficit. All the revenue is basically spent on salaries/pensions (no growth will come from this), interest (same as above) and defence (same story)
What about development - roads, schools, transport, health etc? Goevt says they will spend and this ges to make huge Budget deficit of Rs.235bn.
Where do they get the money from?
Money printing & borrowing.
The effects of money printing of last year can be seen in the inflation of today. For a lesson in what happens if this is taken too far read:
http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?newsID=317801223&no_view=1&SEARCH_TERM=1
The rest is financed by borrowing locally and from foreign sources plus a smalll component of aid (abt 24bn) Debt is now close to 100% of GDP (anything over 50% is considered high)
And what happens when we borrow? The interest bill keeps shooting up. Remember that as per the original budget, we spend more on interest than on defence.
The collapse of 2000-2001 was triggered under the CBK administartion when things got to this stage (Rupee went from 70 to the $ to 100, interest rates went to 20% and we had negative growth)
The UNP set things right in 2002-3 by cutting govt expenses, reducing borrowings, and thus reducing interest rates. This set a platform for private investment & job creation. (government has no money to invets in projects - becasue all of it is being eaten up by running expenses and borrowing and spending only digs the hole deeper.
Now we are going back into the same hole and very few people understand the implications.
Basically, in a year or two the government is going to run out of money to fight a war. If they continue, we go bankrupt. Zimbabwe's collapse where 80% of the population is unemployed is the result of about 10-15 years of rampant money printing, which is what governments do when they can no longer borrow.
There is some double counting of figures above. (the way the info is classified makes it hard to reconcile ) The gross deficit 235bn is taken straight from the budget though so that is OK
Read the last page of the budget speech here for the summary, if you go through in detail you can get the breakups.
http://www.treasury.gov.lk/FPPFM/fpd/budget.htm
VIC replied to one of my comments by saying:
"But I'm ready fund this campaign with my tax money, if it's going to end in next 2 years. Otherwise, I will have to keep on funding this same war for another 20 years."
What I've been trying to argue is that we simply cannot afford to fight on for any length of time - there is no money. Very little room left to tax and still less to borrow.
In a nutshell, This is what Sri Lanka's government's income and expenditure looks like (estimates for 2007 taken from the budget):
Tax & non tax revenue Rs.580bn
Expenditure:
Pensions & Salaries of govt servants: Rs.240bn
Defence : Rs.140bn budgeted
Interest payments : 169bn
subsidies & transfers (to loss making govt businesses) 127bn
theres' other stuff as well but these are the main things
You can see there is a huge deficit. All the revenue is basically spent on salaries/pensions (no growth will come from this), interest (same as above) and defence (same story)
What about development - roads, schools, transport, health etc? Goevt says they will spend and this ges to make huge Budget deficit of Rs.235bn.
Where do they get the money from?
Money printing & borrowing.
The effects of money printing of last year can be seen in the inflation of today. For a lesson in what happens if this is taken too far read:
http://www.lbo.lk/fullstory.php?newsID=317801223&no_view=1&SEARCH_TERM=1
The rest is financed by borrowing locally and from foreign sources plus a smalll component of aid (abt 24bn) Debt is now close to 100% of GDP (anything over 50% is considered high)
And what happens when we borrow? The interest bill keeps shooting up. Remember that as per the original budget, we spend more on interest than on defence.
The collapse of 2000-2001 was triggered under the CBK administartion when things got to this stage (Rupee went from 70 to the $ to 100, interest rates went to 20% and we had negative growth)
The UNP set things right in 2002-3 by cutting govt expenses, reducing borrowings, and thus reducing interest rates. This set a platform for private investment & job creation. (government has no money to invets in projects - becasue all of it is being eaten up by running expenses and borrowing and spending only digs the hole deeper.
Now we are going back into the same hole and very few people understand the implications.
Basically, in a year or two the government is going to run out of money to fight a war. If they continue, we go bankrupt. Zimbabwe's collapse where 80% of the population is unemployed is the result of about 10-15 years of rampant money printing, which is what governments do when they can no longer borrow.
There is some double counting of figures above. (the way the info is classified makes it hard to reconcile ) The gross deficit 235bn is taken straight from the budget though so that is OK
Read the last page of the budget speech here for the summary, if you go through in detail you can get the breakups.
http://www.treasury.gov.lk/FPPFM/fpd/budget.htm
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Comments on :Where there's no war, there's no market for peace!
A Voice In Colombo posted this on the 12th of July 2007
http://landlikenoother.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html
This was his closing para, which sums up his argument:
"Where there's no war, there's no market for peace merchants to sell their bullshit. With the Easter province falling away from tigers hands, the market for peaceniking in East has now collapsed. That's the truth! So the peace merchants will do their best, to retain this war for another decade."
My comment was:
This government is indeed persuing a more agressive military campaign, (indeed agression regardless of collateral damage in many instances) as promised in the election manifesto.
However this in itself is not vindication that they are "doing the war more honestly".
Just as much as there is a 'peace industry' there is also a 'war industry'.
The beneficiaries of the war industry include many within government, probably up to the highest levels, sections of the armed forces and the businessmen involved in procurement and supplies.
I have known persons who supply milk powder (commission used to be Rs.1 per kg - army used to be 100mt per month) to chicken (commission about Rs.25 per kg, supply was about 80 tons a month, if i remember correctly). The money was split between supplier, purchasing people in the army and a couple of others who where wholesale contractors. - Rs.1 was offered to the sales guy in the milk powder place - army used to buy direct, the "agents" wanted it routed through them)
This is the lower end. The big deals are on weapons and big equipment, which is why half the airforce fleet is grounded for lack of spares.
The government in office benefits in numerous other ways as well. The war is a convenient distraction from other pressing problems, and anti-terror laws can be used to suppress political opponents - such as Tiran Alles/ Sripathi etc.
Coming back to the original point that war is being fought honestly, my father who retired from the army about 30 years ago, is of teh view that to eliminate the LTTE one must go after the "strong base" or the head. In his day, this was in India and out of reach but today it is in Killinochichi and the Wanni.
Fightingf in the East will not eliminate the lTTE they will lose ground but the problem will remain. HOWEVER fighting in the East does make good political propaganda - fo rthe government - bringing the aforementioned benefits to the parties involved. True- it does bring more land under government control but holding it is difficult and costly.
This is going to be a long drawn out campaign, which needs to be funded - and the tax base is not wide enough to support this level of conflict for any length of time (in my opinion).
http://landlikenoother.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html
This was his closing para, which sums up his argument:
"Where there's no war, there's no market for peace merchants to sell their bullshit. With the Easter province falling away from tigers hands, the market for peaceniking in East has now collapsed. That's the truth! So the peace merchants will do their best, to retain this war for another decade."
My comment was:
This government is indeed persuing a more agressive military campaign, (indeed agression regardless of collateral damage in many instances) as promised in the election manifesto.
However this in itself is not vindication that they are "doing the war more honestly".
Just as much as there is a 'peace industry' there is also a 'war industry'.
The beneficiaries of the war industry include many within government, probably up to the highest levels, sections of the armed forces and the businessmen involved in procurement and supplies.
I have known persons who supply milk powder (commission used to be Rs.1 per kg - army used to be 100mt per month) to chicken (commission about Rs.25 per kg, supply was about 80 tons a month, if i remember correctly). The money was split between supplier, purchasing people in the army and a couple of others who where wholesale contractors. - Rs.1 was offered to the sales guy in the milk powder place - army used to buy direct, the "agents" wanted it routed through them)
This is the lower end. The big deals are on weapons and big equipment, which is why half the airforce fleet is grounded for lack of spares.
The government in office benefits in numerous other ways as well. The war is a convenient distraction from other pressing problems, and anti-terror laws can be used to suppress political opponents - such as Tiran Alles/ Sripathi etc.
Coming back to the original point that war is being fought honestly, my father who retired from the army about 30 years ago, is of teh view that to eliminate the LTTE one must go after the "strong base" or the head. In his day, this was in India and out of reach but today it is in Killinochichi and the Wanni.
Fightingf in the East will not eliminate the lTTE they will lose ground but the problem will remain. HOWEVER fighting in the East does make good political propaganda - fo rthe government - bringing the aforementioned benefits to the parties involved. True- it does bring more land under government control but holding it is difficult and costly.
This is going to be a long drawn out campaign, which needs to be funded - and the tax base is not wide enough to support this level of conflict for any length of time (in my opinion).
Comments on other people's blogs
When I created this blog, it was purely as a result of pressure - was commenting extensively on other people's blogs (off the Kottu blogroll) and people had started referring to me as a Troll. The perceived slight prompted me to start this, but after a week or so I realised that I was no diarist and was probably too closed a person to share my thoughts with the world at large, which is why it was abandoned for so long. Laziness (I'm long on that) also played a part,
I've said quite a lot on other people' blogs, so I'm going to collect a few of those comments and post them here, just for my own reference.
I've said quite a lot on other people' blogs, so I'm going to collect a few of those comments and post them here, just for my own reference.
Glories of the Anglican Hymnal
Coming from a Catholic tradition (although no longer a believer), I have always found the Protestant churches to be rather dull. Limited stained glass work (usually confined to one or two windows) and bare of statues and decoration, they seem to lack colour and character. The buildings themselves, generally in Gothic style, some with stone facing, are beautiful but the lack of decoration inside was what bothered me.
True, some of the Catholic churches can be rather over-the-top or vulgar in the decoration, but one can never accuse them of being bare or dull.
Then I discovered the Anglican Hymnal. All the energies that might conceivably have been devoted to the decoration of church interiors seem to have been directed at the hymn book, with some stunning results (traditional catholic hymns are, by contrast terribly dull, even banal-luckily it is possible to sing quite a number of the Anglican hymns in the Catholic church, provided of course that an enlightened choir master is in charge).
The hymns that have caught my attention at the moment are:
1. Great is Thy Faithfulness by W.M. Runyan (an American)
2. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty by J.B. Dykes
3. May God's Blessing by Cliff Barrows
All of which are excellent in every way and certainly good enough to keep this particular atheist in the choir. Had a wonderful morning practicing these, we have to sing these for a mass next Friday.
True, some of the Catholic churches can be rather over-the-top or vulgar in the decoration, but one can never accuse them of being bare or dull.
Then I discovered the Anglican Hymnal. All the energies that might conceivably have been devoted to the decoration of church interiors seem to have been directed at the hymn book, with some stunning results (traditional catholic hymns are, by contrast terribly dull, even banal-luckily it is possible to sing quite a number of the Anglican hymns in the Catholic church, provided of course that an enlightened choir master is in charge).
The hymns that have caught my attention at the moment are:
1. Great is Thy Faithfulness by W.M. Runyan (an American)
2. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty by J.B. Dykes
3. May God's Blessing by Cliff Barrows
All of which are excellent in every way and certainly good enough to keep this particular atheist in the choir. Had a wonderful morning practicing these, we have to sing these for a mass next Friday.
Issues, post victory for the government of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Government is engaged in mortal combat with the LTTE. There is little independent news as to success or failure, but judging from the little that is available, it seems as if the government does have the upper hand, at least now.
Given the fact that the LTTE's supply routes appear to have been cut and given the resources the government is pouring into the war, there is a possibility that the Tigers will be ejected from the Wanni. The Government will then proclaim victory and all will be well?
I doubt it.
Thsi article, in todays Sunday Times got me thinking.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080120/News/news0001.html
Col. Karuna, former LTTE commander of the East has pleaded guilty to breaching British immigration laws and faces a jail term of two years. The article goes on to state that "the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is expected to spend the coming months in sifting evidence and trying to construct a case against him probably under the Convention against Torture".
This is going to put the government and Karuna's cadres in a pickle.
To begin with, is there peace in the East? If not peace, at least stability? The Governemnt proclaimed victory over the Tigers in the East last year, but judging from the sketchy news reports emanating from the area, things are anything but normal.
The Government appears to have some administrative control and the army does have some presence there but by all accounts Karuna's cadres appear to be running the East as their own fief, extorting and terrorising much of the population, particularly the Muslims and the Tamils. The much vaunted liberation appears to have been little more than a handover to the Karuna gang, with the government retaining a minimal of control.
It is this that is going to cause the biggest headaches, post victory in the Wanni, if that comes to pass.
What does one do with the Karuna cadres? The Government apparently had a neat solution - pack them off with false passports to fairer climes, probably with a large wad of cash to help them on their way. The arrest and prosecution of Col. Karuna will be noted with more than a little interest by his followers. I doubt if the remaining kingpins in that particular gang are going to accept any further offers of a happy retirement abroad.
Which brings us to the question of what form their pound of flesh is going to take.
The current arrangement seems to be that they can run the East unmolested as long as they do not attack the government or its representatives. This may work in the interim but will it satisfy in the long term? Power does strange things to people and once acquired, it is not easily given up. Given that Government "control" of the East is dependent on Karuna, there is little that the government can do, other than dance to his tune. If the Government does decide to assert control, after a possible victory in the Wanni, then they will have a real fight on their hands. Minus the intelligence gathering by the Karuna cadres plus scattered roaming bands of Tigers staging random attacks (doing what they are doing in the Monaragala district) we will probably face a scenario of guerilla warfare across large tracts of the East, South and North.
In teh meanwhile, there are disturbing reports that the Karuna gang's terrorising of the muslim population is prompting them to take up arms against Karuna, so the East might turn into a three way battle.
Not the happiest thoughts to start the New Year with.
Given the fact that the LTTE's supply routes appear to have been cut and given the resources the government is pouring into the war, there is a possibility that the Tigers will be ejected from the Wanni. The Government will then proclaim victory and all will be well?
I doubt it.
Thsi article, in todays Sunday Times got me thinking.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080120/News/news0001.html
Col. Karuna, former LTTE commander of the East has pleaded guilty to breaching British immigration laws and faces a jail term of two years. The article goes on to state that "the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is expected to spend the coming months in sifting evidence and trying to construct a case against him probably under the Convention against Torture".
This is going to put the government and Karuna's cadres in a pickle.
To begin with, is there peace in the East? If not peace, at least stability? The Governemnt proclaimed victory over the Tigers in the East last year, but judging from the sketchy news reports emanating from the area, things are anything but normal.
The Government appears to have some administrative control and the army does have some presence there but by all accounts Karuna's cadres appear to be running the East as their own fief, extorting and terrorising much of the population, particularly the Muslims and the Tamils. The much vaunted liberation appears to have been little more than a handover to the Karuna gang, with the government retaining a minimal of control.
It is this that is going to cause the biggest headaches, post victory in the Wanni, if that comes to pass.
What does one do with the Karuna cadres? The Government apparently had a neat solution - pack them off with false passports to fairer climes, probably with a large wad of cash to help them on their way. The arrest and prosecution of Col. Karuna will be noted with more than a little interest by his followers. I doubt if the remaining kingpins in that particular gang are going to accept any further offers of a happy retirement abroad.
Which brings us to the question of what form their pound of flesh is going to take.
The current arrangement seems to be that they can run the East unmolested as long as they do not attack the government or its representatives. This may work in the interim but will it satisfy in the long term? Power does strange things to people and once acquired, it is not easily given up. Given that Government "control" of the East is dependent on Karuna, there is little that the government can do, other than dance to his tune. If the Government does decide to assert control, after a possible victory in the Wanni, then they will have a real fight on their hands. Minus the intelligence gathering by the Karuna cadres plus scattered roaming bands of Tigers staging random attacks (doing what they are doing in the Monaragala district) we will probably face a scenario of guerilla warfare across large tracts of the East, South and North.
In teh meanwhile, there are disturbing reports that the Karuna gang's terrorising of the muslim population is prompting them to take up arms against Karuna, so the East might turn into a three way battle.
Not the happiest thoughts to start the New Year with.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Crazy, crazy, crazy
A website I turn to, whenever things start looking too gloomy in the Paradise Isle is www.crazylanka.com.
The biting satire never fails to amuse and is a useful distraction from the pressures of life.
The latest update, which includes the SriLankan-Peter Hill affair and the Mervin Silva-Rupavahini affair, includes an editorial comment:
Sadly, When A Country Gets To This Crazy Stage, Satire Is Totally Ineffective!
Nuff said.
The biting satire never fails to amuse and is a useful distraction from the pressures of life.
The latest update, which includes the SriLankan-Peter Hill affair and the Mervin Silva-Rupavahini affair, includes an editorial comment:
Sadly, When A Country Gets To This Crazy Stage, Satire Is Totally Ineffective!
Nuff said.
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