I used to think non-violence would win in the end. Even with a murderous megalomaniac for an opponent (I mean Prabhakaran, not Mahinda), I believed the offer of an open hand would prevail over the closed fist. Three bloody Eelam wars, each fought with more combatants and fiercer weaponry than the last, was proof to me that this fight could not be won on the battlefield. So when Eelam War Four began with the promise of a final victory, this time using a bold new strategy (more combatants and fiercer weaponry), I assumed it would end as it did the last three times–without an end. I was wrong. When the remnants of the LTTE were cornered, I assumed they would …

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What do you get for being the President of a country that is illegally occupying two sovereign countries, and has just recently killed 90 civilians in an airstrike? Answer: a Nobel Peace Prize!

And it gets worse: his administration criticized the Pakistani government for attempting to make peace with the Taliban, and pressured them to launch a massive military offensive in the Swat alley, which they obediently did. The offensive has killed thousands and displaced over two million people from their homes. President Obama has also continued to use airstrikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, even in spite of the attacks killing thousands of civilians.

He promised a fair trial for all the inmates at the military prison in Guantanamo …

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President Obama, in a statement made on the 13th of May, has requested the government of Sri Lanka to “stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including in several hospitals.” But with regard to the U.S. air strikes that regularly kill hundreds of civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which includes women and children (according to the International Red Cross), President Obama’s national security adviser, Gen. James Jones, ruled out ending air and drone strikes on the grounds that “we can’t fight with one hand tied behind our back.”

Meanwhile, the Obama administration in April chastised Pakistan for its attempt to appease and negotiate peace with the Taliban. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, …

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As I write this, Indian security forces are still fighting terrorists in Mumbai, the financial capital of India and centre of its glamorous film industry. Over a hundred people are dead, gunned down by young men in a crazed Columbine style shooting of unarmed civilians. A previously unknown group called the Deccan Mujahedeen have claimed responsibility. With the choice of this name-the Deccan valley being a large plateau in India-these guys are sending a clear signal: they are sons of Mother India. And they are not alone: a string of bomb blasts over the last year in Delhi, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, and Uttar Pradesh was claimed by another home-grown group calling themselves the Indian Mujahedeen.

India is the largest democracy in …

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I was at a protest rally on the 15th of October in support of Attorney-at-Law Mr. Weliamuna, whose house was bombed/grenaded as he slept with his wife and two infant children. There were many of us at the rally to support ‘Weli,’ as he is affectionately known, but as one of the speakers pointed out, there weren’t enough of us. Here’s why you should have been there.

‘Weli’ has been in the news lately for reasons other than his near death experience. He is the lawyer that fought the case against former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and various influence-peddlers who illegally transferred 118 acres of public land in Battaramulla to a crony businessman. The land, which was supposed to be used for …

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Lt. General Sarath Fonseka was interviewed in the Daily News and Sunday Observer recently. This wasn’t just an interview with an Army Commander; this was a man with political aspirations, who just happens to control an armed force of 162,000 soldiers with another 3000 joining every month.

The purpose of a military is to protect the nation and the democracy-in essence, to protect you and me. IF the system works correctly, we the people are the real rulers. We elect members from amongst us to represent our interests, and the military protects our right to do so. The military serves us. But the General thinks differently; he thinks we serve the military.

Here are a few sound bites from the …

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Most of our politicians are sanctimonious, bigoted, corrupt thugs; they are parasites sucking the blood out of our society.

And yet I don’t blame them. I don’t like them, but I don’t blame them. I blame our voters, most of whom if given the chance to become politicians, would turn into sanctimonious, bigoted, bribe taking, scum sucking thugs themselves. George Carlin (may he rest in peace) said it best: “garbage in, garbage out: if you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders.”

Our politicians like to hang out with Buddhist priests (who like to hang out with politicians). The moral nobility that is represented in the saffron robe is a good place for a politician to hide their sins. …

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A bomb on a train in Dehiwela killed 9 civilians, including a pregnant woman. The Sri Lankan government blames the LTTE; they deny it. Three days earlier, a claymore attack on van deep in LTTE territory killed 16 civilians, including 5 children. The LTTE blames the Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lankan army; they deny it. In February, a bomb on a bus in Dambulla killed 20, while a bomb at the Colombo Fort railway station killed 12, including 8 children from the baseball team at D.S. Senanayake College and a 12-year-old girl. The LTTE was blamed for both attacks; they denied it. A few days earlier, a claymore mine attack on a bus in the LTTE-controlled area of …

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By Under Dog
 
Amidst the bombs, the war, the white vans, and the checkpoints, I look back with fond memories of the ceasefire. It brought four glorious years of peace and prosperity, and also did what the naysayers said could never happen—it split the LTTE in two. Karuna, the LTTE’s fiercest combat commander, and an incessant thorn in our side during the ill-fated Jayasikurui operation, decided he wanted out. Perhaps he wanted a bigger share of the spoils from the LTTE money machine, perhaps more authority, or perhaps he had a lover’s quarrel with Prabhakaran (when the Dear Leader asked ‘do I look fat in this?’ he shouldn’t have recommended changing the uniforms to vertical stripes). Anyway, the …

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By Under Dog

Let me count the ways:

1. I love the way you worked for the benefit of the nation by busting through 1.4 billion rupees of public funds in 9 months.
2. I love the way you used 385 million rupees worth of fuel from the CPC without paying for it.
3. I love the way you convinced the Treasury (public funds) to pay off the fuel debt on your behalf.

 

4. I love the way you drove Lankaputhra Development Bank (founded with public funds to make small loans to small businesses) into insolvency by ‘borrowing’ 500 million rupees from it.
5. I love the way you plan to utilize synergies (steal profits away) by rationalizing routes (taking routes from) Sri Lankan airlines.
6. I love the …
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