Sri Lanka’s professional politicians are the cause, not the solution, to the country’s current catastrophe. They must ALL resign from politics. We must end the idea of politics as a profession. All of which might be harder to swallow than we think. As a group, they made politics into a lucrative form of organised crime … Continue reading Sri Lanka’s ...
I didn’t wish him a happy new year. How rude of me. In Sri Lankan culture, every mess and mishap is someone else’s fault. The natural thing to do is blame the culprit. Sneer and yell at their face. It feels good. So here goes. He failed to persuade people around me to stop repeatedly … Continue reading Person responsible for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse →
Sri Lankan politicians have refused to return billions of dollars they have stolen over 50 years. These funds are believed to be scattered across countries with confidential banking. The money is the fruit of bribes, kickbacks and misuse of public funds that is the default of Sri Lankan politics. The combination of foreign aid, the … Continue reading Sri Lanka ...
Tourist arrivals, legalising sex tourism, dollar casinos or beating up minorities will not save the Sri Lankan economy. However, the nation’s secret offshore foreign exchange (FOREX) reserves will. Built-up over five decades (possibly older), these untouched reserves amount to billions of dollars. Guesstimates have it at least over 20 billion. Optimists think it could allow … Continue reading Sri Lanka’s ...
Started this blog 15 years ago. Here’s the traditional link to my first post from 6th Feb 2007. It’s the longest thing I’ve done consistently. It’s older than my marriage, kids and current career. I’m not thrilled about the frequency, but it’s one of the constraints of life. The majority of my writing’s moved offline. … Continue reading 15 Years ...
The video below represents my generation’s Sri Lankan male culture when created by “good” COLOMBO boys’ schools. It’s American. Yes, it’s modern dance. The costumes are western. Yet being dance, the meaning transcends the costume. Visual swap out the western evening dress for a white “national” kit if you want to localise it. The closest … Continue reading Dancing without ...
There is no going back to the pre-pandemic world. Because we are at war with a virus, it has only one aim – to reproduce. If the host dies or is cursed with health problems for life, it cannot care because the organism has no capacity for such concepts. Currently, the humans are split into … Continue reading Are you Pro COVID or Anti COVID? →
Took this as the war was ending. He should be an adult or in his late teens now. The current economic mess doesn’t offer him much explicit hope. At least the pre-pandemic era offered the promises of hope. The same poison that each generation feeds the next. I didn’t make hopeful promises then. It’s harder to … Continue reading What would ...
Pre-COVID, I thought I was an extrovert. It took a plague to kill that delusion. Not having to perform in the world of face to face interactions was a relief. I felt I no longer had to hold my inner breath anymore. I could admit to myself the insanity of the commute. Why go to … Continue reading COVID and the inner introvert →
Good weather reminds me of the fragility of life. It’s not a pessimistic attitude. The fragility emphasises the privilege I have to relish such moments. Somewhere people freezing through blizzards. Trying to survive floods or walking endless drought-stricken kilometres for muddy drinking water. Weather changes suddenly, no matter what the meteorological soothsayers promise. It’s easy … Continue reading Good Weather ...
Sri Lankans are constantly paying a popularism tax. That tax takes many forms. Currently those forms are bitting deeper. Driving up the cost of survival. However it has alway bitten in less obvious ways. Look back into the blood bath of past history for all it manifestations. Despite the variation in the specifics, the pattern … Continue reading Paying the popularism tax →
No one knows but you. And you don’t want to admit it. The “In the dark” pun is overused. But it’s an apt metaphor. Any attempt to autopsy the issue descends into the usual inconclusive accusation shoot out. As with most things in Sri Lanka, there is no one cause. Or if there is, it’s … Continue reading Cause of Sri Lanka’s power cuts →
From their actions, I doubt it. My scepticism is based on a single broad fact: the brutality of history. Take your pick. Whether it’s the last 50 years or the previous 500, it doesn’t matter. The litany is impossible to ignore. You can choose to ignore it, but its consequences won’t ignore you. That’s the … Continue reading Do Sri ...
Sri Lanka’s vaccine rollout is sabotaged by the founding core purpose of the Sri Lankan state: looting and killing. The fact that any vaccinating is happening is an act of defiance against its original DNA. It was created by its various parents – Império Português, Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie, British Empire – to facilitate looting. The looting … Continue reading Re-purposing a ...
Current vaccines won’t kill the virus or stop COVID’s spread. Instead, they stop the vaccinated from dying. The plague will keep spreading through the vaccinated. After all, its aim is propagation. The host (people) dying is collateral damage beyond the perception (if it has any) of a COVID 19 virus particle. The best we can … Continue reading Post virus ...
Part of my childhood is slated for demolition. I grew up in an odd bit of public housing in Colombo called “Summit Flats” – an apartment complex built for the 1976 Non-aligned summit in Colombo. According to the daily noise, Urban Development Authority is demolishing the complex. I’m unemotional about it. “The Flats” was the … Continue reading Summit Flats ...
My “last” Tweet was over two years ago. Since then, I have deleted ALL social media apps on my phone. I gave up TV in 2014. Along with marrying Mrs C, they are among the best decisions I made. I free relaxed, happy, cleansed. There’s nothing on my phone worth my attention. So I let … Continue reading 2 yrs social media free 7 without TV →
There had to be something more than love at first sight. It was the early 1950s. How they met and where is a story too weird to publicise here. Even the astrologers didn’t see it. People from two continents getting married like that. There’s a tone of scandal when the older relatives talk about them. … Continue reading Tribute : 2 well lived lives →
My job doesn’t involve cats. Let’s get that clear. It’s the only thing certainty about my work. I’ve been a quantum mechanic for most of this century. It could be X or Z years. The exact number is uncertain. In this business, the pace of evolution eats technical experience. Few things have a stable plateau … Continue reading Job secrets ...