A couple of people at the company I work for have been affected by contaminated petrol. The fuel pump in the car has been damaged and needs replacement. So far it seems that only petrol cars have been affected, particularly those pumping 90 octane fuel, there are no reports of problems with diesel or 95 octane petrol.Rumours of substandard or ...
Newspapers on quoting the Presidential Secretariat reported on Saturday that the purchase of shares in The Finance Company by the National Savings Bank had been canceled.The controversy started when the state-owned National Savings Bank(NSB) bought a 13.2% stake in The Finance Company(TFC) on the 27th of April. The NSB paid a price of Rs.49.74 per share well above the current ...
Indi posted something on this here, I wrote this as a comment but it grew so long I decided to post it on my own blog.There are a number of problems with stay dogs, because of their nature as pack animals and the tendency to chase things. People assume the problem is only about bites and rabies (which is a ...
I had a sudden attack of hiccups last afternoon. It was annoying, embarrassing and, after a while, a little painful. I searched on the internet for remedies. I tried swallowing air, unsuccessfully. Warn water was a little more helpful, it reduced the intensity but did not cure.I exercised in the evening and it disappeared after that, but reappeared as soon ...
I would like to exchange 3 tickets for the Tea and Poetry on Friday 20th in return for 3 tickets for the Tea & Poetry on Thursday.Details of the two events:Thursday 19 (this is what I want)3:45-5:00.TEA AND POETRY.(Dutch House)Join RISHMA DUNLOP and RANJIT HOSKOTE for afternoon tea.Dunlop reads from her White Album, which charts the life of a young ...
In an interview with the Sunday Leader, Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that he tried to control the notorious Mervyn Silva. This is entirely plausible, Mervyn Silva is a thoroughly bad hat and a public relations disaster. His maverick behaviour would certainly have been at odds with the orderly, controlled world of Mr Rajapaksa.Yet he did not succeed, at least not ...
According to a report in today's Sunday Times:The management of tourist resorts countrywide is now required to report to the Police Station in their area whenever bookings are made by local guests. Besides their names, the address, the date of arrival and departure are among the data sought.The report goes on to elaborate that: such data were often transmitted by ...
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 ...
There is a persistent problem with deaths in custody. No one seems to have kept a total score but putting together the various summaries published makes for disturbing reading.There were six between March 2011 and April 2012. There were ten between February and October 2010. There were about thirty two in 2009 and about twenty six in 2008. There were ...
There is a discussion to be held next week on the need for an alternate government. It is worth posing the question: What do people expect from a government? Why do we need one in the first place?The nation state is something that evolved over time. At its most basic, the role of the state is to provide common services ...
The Government has issued a menacing statement on the status of the privatised estate companies warning that "underpeforming" companies would be taken over by the Government.Taken at face value the statement seems innocuous - what is wrong with cancelling the lease and taking over something that is underperforming? The question is, what is defined as "underperforming" ? Returns below par? ...
Regular readers (all six of them!) will know that this blog looks into many burning issues, particularly those missed by the mainstream.The death of Gaddafi, who died horribly at the hands of a mob, leaves many unanswered questions. What does his death say about those who overthrew him? What prospects beckon for Libya and for the rest of the Middle ...
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has published a Monetary & Financial Road Map for 2014 and beyond.Its a peculiar document, part propaganda and part paen to the mighty. I'm still trying to make sense of it but buried on page 150 was the announcement that the Financial Transactions Reporting Act (link to act here) was to be extended to ...
Today's Daily Mirror has reported that two US neurosurgeons have visited Deshamanya R Dumindha Silva; who is in hospital recovering from gunshot wounds.It is important that he makes a speedy and complete recovery, not only because he is a prominent member of the Government but also because his recovery will prove to be a worthy test of the system of ...
I sometimes read email, blogs or browse the web while doing other things in the office.Last morning I was reading something online when a friend called. While I was on that call I saw the bank manager's direct number blinking on my office line. I ignored it (we have our priorities, right?) and went on with my conversation.When I had ...
I came across a very interesting list of characteristics that mark a fascist regime.Do all fascist regimes necessarily display all of these characteristics? Probably not, as in everything else I suppose there are shades of grey but if one finds that too many boxes are being ticked then its time to start worrying.
Another grave site has been discovered, this time in Mullaitivu. The GoSL blames the LTTE. We do not have much to go on, but an analysis of the reporting of the story tells us quite a lot. To begin with this is a major story, especially a month ahead of the UNHRC summit in Geneva.The news of the discovery emerged ...
There is a strong undercurrent of anti-Muslim sentiment that has come to the surface of late. It is primarily anti-Muslim, but secondarily anti-minority. Can this lead to another round of violence?To reduce the factors to an equation; the critical ones are:a) The spread of rumours, falsities and horror stories that play on the fears of the majority. The Muslim population ...
I ran out of reading matter just before the Avurudu holidays. While desperately searching for something to read, I came across my brothers copy of 1421. I had seen this before but never got around to picking it up.I started reading it but found it a bit hard going. Although no scholar, I am a keen student of history but ...
Like a lot of other people, I have tended to regard the harpsichord as an inferior instrument to the piano. The piano has a great deal of power and expressiveness that I thought was lacking in the harpsichord. I had never really listened to the instrument properly, I had heard the odd bit here and there and heard it mostly ...