When we were is school we told that the British (and the Portuguese and Dutch before them) invaded the country and exploited its resources and grew rich in the process. This was said as if it were accepted wisdom, simple statements but with no analysis. No one thought this was very important, since it was old history anyway and no ...

I had to pay a visit to one of the company's sites today in Embilipitya. I had not realised quite how far this was, somewhere off Ratnapura and the site itself yet further into the interior.It was pretty much off the main tourist track, the only thing of any note being an abandoned paper mill.I enjoyed the ride on deserted, ...

Anything.lk is a daily deals website. They sell discount 'vouchers' (in electronic form) for various products and services. The Company negotiates various deals with manufacturers or service providers and offers them to their customers, less a margin.The question is, what does Anything.lk offer that cannot be done more effectively by a bulk sms offering a discount direct to users? Or, ...

This story was narrated to me by a friend. He had been thinking of buying a Mitsubishi Montero (for Rs.12m, on a permit) and had almost finalised the deal. He quickly backed off when a couple of his friends who had bought vehicles on permits received letters from the Department of Inland Revenue, asking for details of income.Apparently details of ...

Violence against women in India seems to be a big problem. Attitudes and culture, where women are regarded as less important than men seems to be one of the causes. Abortion of girls, female infanticide and neglect; dowries are all symptoms of this attitude.Could a pledge help change attitudes?This is just an idea that I am playing around with, but ...

I used to love to travel and in the past was the main organiser of trips for groups of friends. Bungalows on estates were a favourite destination.I just returned from Bandarawela, we stayed a couple of days at an elegantly appointed bungalow, with a lot of history preserved, well laid out with some fine views. The food and atmosphere were ...

The lead story in today's Sunday Times, claimed that the Government was considering introducing new taxes on the rich.This is rather worrying. Increasing rates of tax is something that takes place on a regular basis, something that we are accustomed to, even if new changes are only accepted with a weary resignation. Our affairs are adjusted to the current system, ...

The eulogy delivered by Singapore's Prime Minister for the late Goh Keng Swee has a number of points that our rulers, who periodically claim to want to emulate the City State should note.Goh Keng Swee was Singapore's first Minister of Finance. The prudent approach to fiscal management and a commitment to sound money by Singapore's founding fathers was one of ...

The Roman poet Juvenal coined this phrase, to describe a type of populist politics.The lesson through the ages is that nobody cares about what politicians do, so long as people are well fed and entertained.Indeed I would not mind too much myself, except that all we got was the bloody circus.We'd like some bread now, please. Already long ago, from ...

Perth, Australia hosted the CHOGM in 2011 and that city faced a virtual lock down, with even the police force of New Zealand joining in the security arrangements. An extra public holiday was declared (by shifting the Queen's birthday holiday back by a couple of weeks) to reduce public inconvenience.If these were the arrangements in Australia, a place which is ...

For something a bit lighter, one of my favourite poems:A LONG and frantic search it has beenTo find the face to match the dream. Natasha! now that the face is seen, The dream recedes, it would seem. Another frantic search must start apace To find the dream to match the face. -Guy Amirthanayagam Some details on the author are here.

It was depressing to learn that internal conflicts within the UNP have now spilled out into open violence. It is the very last thing that we need.The problem is with the leadership of the party. Dayan Jayatilleka presents a decent analysis of why Ranil must go, while Mangala Samaraweera explains why he feels he needs to support Ranil. I agree ...

Heard that the people living in the Barnes Place "watta" have been asked to move. They have been given until Wednesday to move, armed guards have reportedly been stationed around the premises.These people are squatters, the rightful owners being a Muslim family. The property was distributed to the descendents of the original owners and, according to what I have heard, ...

I have been biding my time for some years, patiently waiting for Touchwood to collapse. That it was a Ponzi scheme was immediately obvious from a glance at the prospectus that they issued when they listed, somewhere in 2001. I spent some time trying to explain this to people but after making little headway, except amongst friends, gave up.The benefit ...

I seem to be having some difficulty accessing my blog through SLT. It works if one goes through a proxy or accesses it via some other provider. Can anyone tell me if it can be accessed through Mobitel?

The last time I looked at the Arab Spring I was not particularly hopeful of the prospects of the revolution resulting in a democratic form of Government.About two years on the situation in Libya seems quite dreadful so at least one conclusion is clear: a repressive state is probably better than complete anarchy. Neither is desirable but in a repressive ...

Much acrimony and confusion surrounds the impending Northern Provincial Council election. Its quite wearying to wade through the issues and controversies but the process itself exposes a few truths.That it was with much reluctance that the Government went ahead with it is obvious. It was long overdue and they had resisted all previous calls to hold the polls. Local events ...

The kings of old built pleasure gardens for their own use and amusement. The exact purpose they served is not certain but were probably used for hunting, games and ceremonial purposes. King Wickramabahu III was apparently the first monarch associated with gardens when he built one in 1371. Later ones followed suite.Under the evil colonials such great traditions died out ...

Do you know what an MP does? How much does he/she contribute to parliament? Is there some way of measuring what the person you voted for is actually doing?These are basic questions that the average citizen should ask.Manthri.lk, a website that was launched today, takes a small step towards attempting to analyse the contribution of MP's in their legislative function. ...

Thus spake the Lakmawa Diyaniyo, supposedly an ally of National Freedom Front (NFF). The NFF is lead by the irrepressible Wimal Weerawansa, who basically does what the rulers want done but don't want to do themselves.It seems that Wimal Weerawansa's antics have been observed, so Hey presto! out springs another front. The CIA coined the term Plausible Deniability to describe ...