Yearly Archives: 2011

Sri Lanka’s pachyderms: What does the elephant survey mean amid calls for boycott of religious pageants

Despite international excitement on the first elephant survey done in Sri Lanka last month (August) local scientists and environmentalists are not happy.
Rajapakse cronies
Sri Lanka’s present government has been particularly remiss in its duty towards the country’s fauna and flora actively supporting the massive destruction of virgin forests and national parks for so-called development projects that […]

By Melanie Perera | Published on September 10, 2011 at 1:21 am

Rights groups in stern letter to Commonwealth FMs: Sri Lanka hosting CHOGM 2013 grossly inappropriate

Open Letter to Commonwealth Foreign Ministers

Subject: The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013
We are gravely concerned about the ongoing discussions on holding the 2013 CHOGM in Sri Lanka.
At the 2009 CHOGM, Sri Lanka’s candidature for hosting the […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 9, 2011 at 11:30 pm

CROSSING RED LINES: THE NEW TAMIL CONSENSUS

Reduced to marginality by colonial conquests
A visit to the Mayan exhibition in Paris tells the tale of a splendid ancient civilization with an advanced mathematics, now reduced to
marginality by colonial conquest. It also reminds one that the civilization of the Sinhalese, whose language is distinctive, whose collective existence is not far flung and whose state […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on September 9, 2011 at 11:24 pm

BATTLE FOR COLOMBO: LG elections nothing but disillusionment whatever the outcome

Sri Lanka is fast becoming a land of elections. Since the Presidential Elections held in January, 2010, the people of this country have gone to the polls on three different occasions, making the forthcoming elections for the remaining municipalities and other local bodies the fourth within the last twenty four months. It is extremely uncommon […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on September 9, 2011 at 10:35 pm

HUMOUR with Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe

How to Know the Gender of a Fly?

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her
husband stalking around with a fly swatter.
‘What are you doing?’
She asked.
‘Hunting Flies’
He responded.
‘Oh! Killing any?’
She asked.
‘Yep, 3 Males, 2 Females,’ he replied.

Intrigued, she asked.

‘How can you tell them apart?’ !He responded,

‘3 were on a beer can,
2 were on the […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 7, 2011 at 8:48 pm

AI slams Sri Lanka: Inquiry into armed conflict fundamentally flawed, no accountability for atrocities says new report

The Sri Lankan government’s inquiry into the country’s civil war is fundamentally flawed and provides no accountability for atrocities, according to a new Amnesty International report.
When will they get justice? exposes the shortcomings of the inquiry, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). These include its failure to properly pursue allegations of war crimes and […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 7, 2011 at 10:30 am

The Anti-China syndrome

The denunciatory critics of the Rajapakse Presidency are at total variance with the overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan people, not
only on domestic matters but also on Sri Lanka’s external relations. The recent Gallup poll reveals that 9 out of 10 Sri Lankans approve of President Rajapaksa’s leadership; a colossal 91% which significantly exceeds the share […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on September 7, 2011 at 9:17 am

Pastor’s salary

There was a preacher whose wife was expecting a baby so he went to the congregation and asked for a raise. After much consideration and discussion, they passed a rule that whenever the preacher’s family expanded, so would his paycheck. After 6 children, this started to get expensive and the congregation decided to hold another […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 7, 2011 at 7:49 am

Grandparent mysteries

GRANDPARENTS ANSWERING MACHINE
Good morning . . . At present we are not at home but, please Leave your message after you hear the beep.
Beeeeeppp ….
If you are one of our children, dial 1 and then select the option from 1 to 5 in order of “arrival” so we know who it is.
If you need […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 7, 2011 at 7:17 am

You think you had a bad day…

A father put his three-year old daughter to bed, told her a story, and listened to her prayers which ended by saying,
“God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, God bless Grandma
and good-bye Grandpa.”
The father asked, ‘Why did you say good-bye Grandpa?’
The little girl said, “I don’t know, Daddy. It just seemed like
the thing to do.”
The next […]

By Staff Correspondent | Published on September 7, 2011 at 7:10 am