I had a comment on my Facebook by a friend who noted that as part of our political activities, wherever we go there is some sort of religious connotation. He lives in America, and there is STRICT separation of Church and State there, and there is NO religious involvement in everyday politics. There are a few notable exceptions such as ...
Our Schools are in a mess. However a plan to hoodwink people into believing funds have been allocated under the above schools program is another step in this campaign of disinformation, not just misinformation. If one reads what it is all about it is about more toilets, water facilities and protecting the security of the school from fences. After all ...
The Minister of National Heritage said that huge sums are required to preserve and maintain 275,000 sites of archeological interest, when only a day earlier in my blog I had estimated it to be 100K. The problem is that not even 50,000 of these sites are actually properly recorded in a way that it is indexed and can be assured ...
Sri Lanka has the unique distinction of having the highest concentration of sites of archealogical value of any Country on Earth. A rich 2500 + year history has seen to that, and in the past 10 years with the advent of relatively cheap metal detectors, most of the sites referred to have been desecrated of any item of historic interest. ...
The Minister of Health will distribute 224 ambulances to hospitals today, at an expensive ceremony with fanfare at the BMICH, and a further 150 will be delivered in the next 2 months; the latter, with the assistance of JICA, the Japanese NGO, which has been a major donor in Sri Lanka. See link:http://www.dailynews.lk/2013/04/06/news03.aspIt is time to take stock of the ...
The Sri Lankan Diaspora is estimated at about 4 million. 2 million of whom carry Sri Lankan passports, and 90% of that 2 million are temporary workers on renewable work visas, in countries, mainly in the Middle East, but also includes, workers in Cyprus, Korea, Singapore, Maldives and undocumented workers in Italy.The expected remittances directly through banks and indirectly through ...
There is a raging debate about the ethics and the basis of the huge rise in Electricity, which will see the poorest families of Sri Lanka, assumed to be in the under 60 units of usage a month (as opposed to my household which uses over 200 units on average!) have to pay a whopping 50% increase as compared with ...
The Sinhala papers have constantly harped on about the fact that the Southern Expressway has earned Rs 1B (koti 100 ka adayamak palamuweni wasara Dakshina Adivegi Margayan labuna) People falsely believe it is the profit!!!http://www.ceylontoday.lk/27-28421-news-detail-southern-expressway-incurs-rs-55-b-loss.htmlThe reality is that the tolls fees received was Rs1B approx in the first 12 months of operation. However as the article with the link shows, ...
My previous blog article was on CKDU, but I just came across another article, see link below that frightened the daylights out of me as another complementary reason as to why the Rajarata has been afflicted by these deadly diseases with no directly identifiable causes. http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/03/24/ruhuna-shouldnt-frolic-while-raja-rata-is-devastated/I will not re-write it hear except to say that ‘Accumulation of Algal toxins in ...
As thousands lie dying of CKDU (Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology) in the NCP(North Central Province), and half the dialysis machines in the hospitals there are not functioning due to maintenance issues the Govt is partying. A WHO report has finally come up with the conclusion that an unholy mix of Arsenic, Cadmium, Fluoride in the water and a ...
A well intentioned proposal to give patients (in this case, in house patients in Government Hospitals) an indication of the cost of their treatment has come under fire by the GMOA before it even debuts!I do believe patients who receive free treatment MUST be aware of the Cost the Government expends on their treatment, so that our citizens are aware ...
Apparently a new set of legislation that will prevent cults from spreading their beliefs is in the offing! Now what is the official line of any religion? Then what is a cult? Can a cult be defined broadly or narrowly?This proposed legislation is fraught with danger, and with everything Sri Lankan, it will never see the light of day, because ...
Recent reports have reinforced in stark reality, the alcohol consumption patterns of Sri Lankans, and it puts it on the top of world rankings despite SL being merely a middle income nation, and technically a poor one. Male addiction is most pervasive. There is an impression that President’s objective of the “mathata tithe” fullstop to alcohol promise has proved he ...
These are just the commemorations in the past three consecutive days.I will concentrate on the importance and appreciation of Water.http://www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/events/world-water-day/en/http://earthhour.org/sites/default/files/Earth%20Hour%202013_Story%20Timeline_FINAL_For%20Media.pdfhttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/world-tb-day-2013-things-tuberculosis/story?id=18738156#Being in the Tropics, we in Sri Lanka, with many thunderstorms, even one a few minutes ago where I am, and the monsoon rains
I just happened to come across a blog article entitled the confessions of a disgruntled student, and I wish to bring my readers to a point within it which needs further elaboration, namely the way forward.http://storiesofthewind.tumblr.com/post/45897272416/the-state-of-the-free-education-system-in-sri-lankaThe education SYSTEM, from Montessori to Post Graduate does not exist today. It is NOT that there is a system, or that it is not ...
When I was small living in Bambalapitiya in the 60’s, I distinctly remember the families of sparrows who lived in the house. They usually made their nests at the top of the cup above the ceiling fan that covered the hook that the fan was set on.There were so many that we even considered them as pests. “Ge Kurulla” ...
The Catholics have chosen and the debate is on. Its back to basics, the show is over for all the pomp and pageantry and display of wealth. In time some of the family silver will be sold, and I hope put to good use, not just to give to the poor, but to find means of raising the poor from ...
Interestingly I came across an article in Al Jazeera, about the health effects of using firewood to cook. Most people here in Sri Lanka including me, use firewood. I live on a farm, and I have a separate kitchen outside the main house where I use firewood to cook. As I live on farm, I have plenty of raw material ...
It is now agreed that Saddam Hussein had NO WMD and therefore both Bush and Blair were wrong to go to war in Iraq, and the consequences both for Iraq, USA and other parts of the world are clear for us to see. One likelihood as commented upon in the attached link is the fact that they received bad intelligence, ...
A few years ago when the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) bought the Harrods Department Store, it was merely from the Egyptian Mohammed Al Fayed for a cool 1.5B pounds sterling. It was rumored yesterday that the QIA is mulling the takeover of the famous British Institution of Marks & Spencer with famously Jewish roots for a cool 8B pounds.http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/17/marks-spencer-target-qatari-bid When ...
