A white cane walk to the pool

Even with the help of an adult, 10 year old Subaharan took three attempts to cut the red ribbon that symbolised the beginning of the project. This is because young Suba, the son of a estate worker is born blind, so he didn't really know what he was meant to be doing.

“Revert to District Council”

As the Provincial Council  election for war ravaged Northern Province is nearing, various political parties have expressed various opinons  on the 13th Amendment and Provincial Council system while some allies in the government have threatened to break away if the election is held.

Celebrating Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day came and went, just another day in the calendar. Little bits of Colombo stirred, here and there, to celebrate – in hotels, homes and private occasions. But no organisation or institution, state-run or private, saw a need to organise a large-scale event, or discussion based on books, movies, personal experiences.

Ideas, Interests and Peaceful Co-existence

It was Georg Simmel, a  German sociologist, who distinguished between what he termed the Dyad and the Triad, in order to explain how social relationships can  become complex when human groups become larger. Dyad is a human pair and the two persons involved have to find common ground in order to co-exist.

Editorial - Eating poison because of a tyrannical world order

Amidst confusion, controversy and conflicting reports on the toxic chemicals in milk powder imported from New Zealand, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has disclosed that a toxic chemical has been found in imported white sugar.

The infamous ‘kick’

Being kicked upstairs is nothing new and has been around for quite some time in  this country. Indeed it is just the required tactical measure to handle what is referred to as belligerence or non - conformism.

Fuel; People pay for world and Lankan rackets - Editorial  

Amid allegations of large-scale corruption, waste, mismanagement and price manipulation by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), we heard the blazing news that the European Union is....

Democracy in Pakistan: Key role by Supreme Court

Clad in Pakistan Army’s camouflage uniform and carrying the staff in his left hand, General Ashfaq...

Towards sustainable growth or soda bottle growth?

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank last week reduced policy interest rates as much as 50 basis points to spur...

Pakistan’s democracy versus militant Islam

One small step forward for Nawaz Sharif, the new election winner, but one big step forward for...

Executive and the Judiciary should respect each other: Justice Marasinghe

Addressing the ceremonial sittings yesterday, May 15, newly appointed Supreme Court judge Justice Rohini Marasinghe said  that one of the basic requirements that is necessary to maintain that independence is to evoke a sense of respect from the executive for the judiciary.

a thought for judicial REFORM

A little child caught taking a few coconuts from an estate to pay for a school activity is remanded - a poor woman caught selling some Ganja to feed her children is in remand (the mudalali who gave her the Ganja to sell in never touched) - young men only suspected of having been LTTE sympathizers arrested in a bus in Colombo

wimal: a political tool

He may be a maverick or a Machiavelli but the irrepressible Wimal Weerawansa is in the news again. The Minister for Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities and the Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) leader is at the forefront of opposing the northern provincial polls.

Editorial - ‘Safe food’ is the entire nation’s baby

Milk is a substance that first exposes us to fragrance, texture and flavour.  It is our first source of nourishment.  Special status is accorded to milk, especially mother’s milk, in all cultures and all literatures, perhaps as a consequence of these facts.

What prompted Supreme Court appointment?

In the wake of concerns expressed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and members of the legal profession on the unprecedented transfers of judges and the appointment of a judge of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court by the President, bypassing the President of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, the question is posed as to whether the BASL and/or members of the legal profession have a right to express their concerns on suc

Institutional Decay Influences Development and Socio-Political Stability

In fact modern societies exist and maintain stability and order, largely on the strength of their economic, political, social and cultural institutions. In spite of their complexity and diversity these institutions are characterised by certain underlying principles and values critical for their effective functioning.

Keeping afloat in a man’s world

We are going through a turbulent period. People are becoming unsure of themselves and things around them. They look around for stable powerful entities. Such are the times for patriarchy and father figures.

Motor races and tourism: What’s the cost? Editorial

A roaring controversy appears to be going on over the plans to hold night motor races in the sacred city of Kandy next month.

SL Politics and Her Story

Sri Lanka ratified the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 05th of October 1981. CEDAW articles 7 (b) states that “State parties shall take over all appropriate measures to

What’s next to sell?

A massive protest was organised by the Medical Faculty Students’ Union of the Colombo Medical College, in front of the Faculty last week, against the intake of unqualified local and foreign students into local universities for the academic year 2011/2012, for LKR 7.5 million per head.

Difference between being Privileged and Ordinary

There was a famous joke about USSR in the days of Joseph Stalin. A Muscovite is woken up in the middle of the night by ominous knocks on his apartment door. He opens the door to find grim-looking NKVD men (Stalin’s secret police) standing outside.

Revive the Dairy Farming Industry - Editorial

The need to immediately and effectively revive a Sri Lankan dairy farming industry and produce fresh milk for Sri Lanka was underlined by the weekend disclosure that huge stocks of milk powder imported from New Zealand may be contaminated by a toxic chemical and even by radiation. 

Elections for the Northern Provincial Council BELIEF IN ‘RULE OF LAW’ AS OPPOSED TO ‘RULE OF PERSONS

The election for the Northern Provincial Council (the first of its kind) is scheduled for September of this year.  As the President ‘confessed’, the date will be selected by his astrologer – this to my mind is a shameful confession because it indicates that the President depends on the advice of soothsayers

INDIA, CHINA battle for influence

While the recent troop standoff in a remote Himalayan desert spotlights a long-running border dispute between China and India, the two emerging giants are engaged in a rivalry for global influence that spreads much farther afield.

Editorial - Punish Inefficient Public Officials

The Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama at a public rally recently demanded that inefficient state institutions should be punished. Mr. Amunugama, an experienced politician also said that if officials who run the state institutions could not be efficient they should be sent home.

Will the 1 MALAYSIA program be revisited? Polarised voting in Malaysian General Elections:

NajibRazak entered his second term as Malaysia’s Prime Minister on 6 May 2013 after closely contested general elections. The 13th General Elections reflected a trend of polarisation in voters which has become starkly obvious.

The Plantation Worker…of a bygone era...

With May Day rallies and the usual demands for workers’ rights, my mind went back to the early 1960’s when I was in the J Branch of the Central Bank’s Exchange Control department. The Exchange Control department was then housed in an old British Army barrack at Echelon Square on the site

Is this the way to win over the US

The US has been targeting Sri Lanka at every turn at the instance of the Tamil Diaspora ever since the LTTE was wiped out and the government appears to be at a loss on how to counter this campaign; but we Lankans living in the US are shocked surprised and perturbed........

Editorial - Dump this Bunch of Super Class Citizens

Commenting on yesterday’s Daily Mirror front page lead story headlined ‘Duty Free Cars for Ex-PC members,’ a reader quoted a famous cynic “Democracy is a system in which a dumb stupid majority elects dumb stupid leaders.”

China’s under-reported positive behaviour

China is a sitting duck. Not that long ago, as far as most of the rest of the world was concerned, it was almost a closed...