tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62245992011-09-15T17:44:25.317+05:30Panhindha is an anciant writing instrument used in Sri Lanka. This is the weblog of a Sri Lankan.panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.comBlogger871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1146027878670346212006-04-26T09:50:00.000+05:302006-04-26T10:34:38.683+05:30

Yesterday LTTE has tried to assassinate the Army commander. This is not new to Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that this is a barbaric act done by the murderous LTTE. But if we look at the circumstances under which this has taken place, the only words I can think of to describe this are hilarious, stupid and incompetent. First, the Army commander was attacked inside the highly guarded army

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1145083656591973822006-04-15T12:12:00.000+05:302006-04-15T12:17:36.603+05:30

Sri Lankan government changed the clock from GMT + 6 to GMT + 5:30. I am not going to say anything about it. The above picture tells it all. (For those who don't know what Angoda is, it is a town in Sri Lanka which is famous for its mental hospital.)

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1138002970748013932006-01-23T13:44:00.000+06:002006-01-23T13:56:10.760+06:00

This is the Honorable President of Sri Lanka who was voted in by more than 3.8 million people. This is one of the pictures which was published in Sunday Leader news paper. He is supposed to have done this act during his visit to India. Even before this picture and the article was published, Mr. Rajapakse, the honorable President had called the editor of the news paper and, let me put it this way

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1137743359450299602006-01-20T13:46:00.000+06:002006-01-20T13:49:19.463+06:00

A couple of years ago, when the UNP was in power (but the Presidency was with the UPFA), the UPFA launched its election campaign against the UNP with the slogan “Kauda meevata vagakiyanne?” which means who is going to be responsible for this? or something like who would pay for this? Since the President had the control of the state media (TV and radio) every 15 minutes they blasted our eyes and

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1136791866620149102006-01-09T13:21:00.000+06:002006-01-09T13:31:06.630+06:00

I quote the following text because most of the so called Buddhists don't even know about this.Kalama SuttaDo not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it.Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1136780687672600372006-01-09T10:22:00.000+06:002006-01-09T10:24:47.686+06:00

Recently a friend of mine asked me why I write my blog and why is it about politics. The reason is the only thing Sri Lankans are really good at, that is, the only field Sri Lankans can be considered to be equal if not better than the best in the world is doing political blunders. We are really good at messing things up. So what subject is better or more interesting than world class political

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1136435152830938802006-01-05T10:23:00.000+06:002006-01-05T10:25:52.840+06:00

The government is carrying out search operations in Colombo and its suburbs these days. The man in charge is said to be former policeman Mr. Kotakadeniya. He is the adviser to the defense ministry about Police affairs or some thing. This guy is a member of the racist political party JHU. So I can assume that he is a racist himself. Now the TNA or Tamil National Alliance members of parliament are

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1136274203104734082006-01-03T13:36:00.000+06:002006-01-03T13:43:23.113+06:00

These days, most of the government schools wouldn't let mothers of school children to come inside the school premises unless they are wearing sarees (Kandyan or Indian version). The reason given is that certain dresses worn by mothers are provocative so it disturbs the students. (especially boys.) But does this mean that all women's clothes except sarees are provocative? Also, why does this only

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1135670884439879892005-12-27T14:06:00.000+06:002005-12-27T14:08:04.450+06:00

Mr. Wimal Weerawanse of JVP poked his head out of the fox hole he had dug for himself last week. The guy who was screaming his head off about the danger of LTTE before the presidential election was nowhere to be seen or heard once the LTTE escalated violence after the election. Now the guy appeared on TV and said that we all should be careful and think about the way the LTTE really want us to

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1135333231581779672005-12-23T16:17:00.000+06:002005-12-23T16:20:31.593+06:00

Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, our new president and his group of friends (JVP, JHU, etc.) were screaming before the presidential election about amending the ceasefire agreement. Now LTTE has killed more soldiers within one month after Mr. Rajapakse becoming president than the four previous years after the ceasefire agreement. Then the day before yesterday, LTTE has attacked some navy crafts and abducted

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1135223255918055692005-12-22T09:23:00.000+06:002005-12-22T09:47:44.706+06:00

During the past few year, after Mr. Ranil Wikckramasinghe signed the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE, the JVP, JHU and the right wing SLFP extremists were constantly saying that the country needs an “honorable” peace and not what ever that was there during that time. If the country needed an honorable peace that implies that there was no honorable peace. Either there should have been war or a

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1134703993339035892005-12-16T09:31:00.000+06:002005-12-16T09:38:00.916+06:00

I watched a political discussion on TV. I think that was on TNL last Monday. When I changed to that channel, there was a Buddhist monk (most probably a member of JHU) talking. He was saying that by looking at the history, it was evident that the LTTE eliminated its political opponents during times of ceasefire. He was accusing Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe of letting the LTTE get an upper hand by

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1134372545811628272005-12-12T13:21:00.000+06:002005-12-12T14:45:28.573+06:00

There is a sinhala saying “ballo maralahari vaedee karagannava” meaning getting the work done even by killing dogs. This means getting something done at any cost even if you have to stoop to an unimaginably low level. (Killing dogs is considered as a degrading act.) Well, a few of our politicians have done that. In fact what they have done is worse than killing dogs. It is paving way to kill

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1134367663932086002005-12-12T12:02:00.000+06:002005-12-12T12:07:43.950+06:00

We had a Presidential Election last month. Some of you my friends who are not Sri Lankans may not know much about it. OK, I'll give a brief explanation.There were two main candidates along with 11 or so clowns. Those two were, then prime minister Mr. Maninda Rajapakse and former prime minister Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe. Who are these two guys?Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse was the prime minister of the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1133771690196171152005-12-05T14:30:00.000+06:002005-12-05T14:34:50.206+06:00

Well, I have simply forgotten my blog because of my studies. During that time, all hell has broken loose in Sri Lanka. So I thought of starting my blog again. But some sites which had my comments, images, etc. have simply vanished. So some articles in my blog do not make much sense. But hold on to your seats. Panhindha is back!

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1105585752835979062005-01-13T09:00:00.000+06:002005-01-13T09:09:12.836+06:00

On CNN today, I saw a reporter interviewing a Buddhist monk of a destroyed temple. The report was said to show the Buddhist explanation for the Tsunami. The monk said that the Tsunami was the nature's way of punishing people for their bad behavior. In other words, the monk meant to say that there is a all mighty power which he referred to as the nature. This is similar to the concept of an all

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1105407716559226742005-01-11T07:39:00.000+06:002005-01-11T07:41:56.560+06:00

There are various organizations trying to help the tsunami victims. One is called the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Sahana Seva (JVP relief service) which is a part of the JVP political party which is part of the government. Earlier there were allegations that donations made by others were being distributed by the JVP pretending that the aid was from JVP. Now these people are pretending to help the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1105407529689251082005-01-11T07:38:00.000+06:002005-01-11T07:38:49.690+06:00

Even two weeks after the Tsunami disaster, the bodies of the victims still keep turning up. I saw within 500 m of coast line at least two badly decomposed bodies surfaced from the mud after two weeks.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1104807977524717732005-01-04T09:04:00.000+06:002005-01-04T09:06:17.526+06:00

The Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka on the 26th was the worst disaster recorded in the Sri Lanka's more than 2000 year old history. This is the first clearly recorded sea flooding after the flooding of Sri Lanka in the 1st century BC during the reign of king Kelani Thissa. That also could have been a Tsunami. Another similar but smaller in scale disaster was recorded during the Portuguese rule about

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1097295277038482172004-10-09T10:13:00.000+06:002004-10-09T10:14:37.060+06:00

Last week I heard on the radio that our president has said that Sri Lanka is spending several billion rupees to import milk powder and sugar and similar stuff. She has said that we should produce them instead of importing them so that we could save a lot of money. My god. Does this mean that all this time we had the capability to produce all the sugar and milk powder needed right here but was

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1097295163363669822004-10-09T10:11:00.000+06:002004-10-09T10:12:43.363+06:00

We know spam mail. Now there is scam mail. One of my friends received this mail recently. Dear Sir/Madam Please let me introduce myself to you, My name is Rosa the wife to the late leader of the National Union for The Total Independence of Angola who is now deceased leaving his family just one hope to secure their future. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately funds realized from Diamond

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1089515908281091292004-07-11T09:17:00.001+06:002004-07-11T09:18:28.280+06:00

This week Ravaya news paper carries an article about how some policemen caught the Chief Justice half naked with a young woman in a car. The story goes as how four police men on patrol found a parked car in an isolated spot near the Diyavanna oya (the road that goes near the parliament). When they searched the car found a half naked young woman in the driving seat and a half naked old man in the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1089515857525481652004-07-11T09:17:00.000+06:002004-07-11T09:17:37.526+06:00

A suicide bomber blew herself up killing herself and four Police personnel when they arrested her and tried to search her at a police station in Colombo last week. The new UPFA government came to power saying that the previous government compromised on security. But bombs didn't go off then. Now the new government is saying that the bomb was brought to Colombo during the time of the previous

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1089515718418158302004-07-11T09:13:00.000+06:002004-07-11T09:15:18.416+06:00

There is an old Sinhala saying that “Kithul gahata giya minihatath kiyanna dheyak thibunalu” which means that “even the man who climbed the Kithul tree had an excuse”. Kithul is a tree somewhat like a Coconut. Like Coconut, Kithul is also used to make Toddy, which is a local alcoholic drink. The toddy tappers will climb up the tree and would crush the Kithul flower and hang a pot under the flower

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1086746022170225282004-06-09T07:43:00.000+06:002004-06-09T07:53:42.170+06:00

The parliament was like the Muppet Show yesterday. The historical reasons behind this were that two Buddhist monk MPs who have got selected to the parliament from the JHU (the monk’s party as it’s called by international media) crossed over to the side of the coalition government of SLFP and JVP. Somehow one monk resigned from his post and when his replacement was about to swear in, the SLFP/JVP

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1085970420397968772004-05-31T08:24:00.000+06:002004-05-31T08:32:10.640+06:00

A friend of mine sent me the following info. There is a new plague in Sri Lanka. It’s not Dengue, Leptospyrosis or AIDS. It’s pyramid banking schemes. There is one which gives a gold coin or something. There is another called Pentagono. In this Pentagano scheme you have to pay Rs.1500 to your seller get an application form and then when you submit your form with Rs.3000 you get 3 forms so that

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1085800195097593802004-05-29T09:07:00.000+06:002004-05-29T09:09:55.096+06:00

Last week I heard about a statement given by the JVP which is a part of the coalition government expressing their dissatisfaction of involving Norway for the peace talks. They have said that the Sri Lankan government should get India involved. But isn’t JVP the party that banned Sri Lankans from doing any business with India when they were trying to overthrow the UNP government about 15 years

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1084675840625728462004-05-16T08:48:00.000+06:002004-05-16T08:50:40.626+06:00

One of the promises the JVP and their alliance the UPFA gave to come to power was that they would give the fertilizer subsidies back to the farmers. But after coming to power, I saw on TV, the minister of agriculture Mr. (Comrade) Anura Dissanayake of the JVP emphasizing the virtues of organic fertilizer. He said that using organic fertilizer instead of chemicals is healthy and would prevent the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1083468644370301362004-05-02T09:30:00.000+06:002004-05-02T09:35:04.843+06:00

I saw an article on a JVP news paper which said that the JHU monks have got themselves bogged down in a pool of shit. Well, I think the only reason they are complaining is that the monks got in that pool of shit before the JVP did and they are not letting the JVP play with the “Racist and Religious” shit. The two sides seems to be unable to divide this stinking pool of shit. So that's why they

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1083468557884131142004-05-02T09:27:00.000+06:002004-05-02T09:33:38.356+06:00

Well, first there was one hilarious part I'd like to mention first. Champika Ranawake, one of the leaders of Sihala Urumaya (Sinhala Heritage) party who gave its ticket to a group of Buddhist monks to run for the last election and let them change the party name to Jathika Hela Urumaya or JHU (meaning almost the same thing) said that the JHU's Uththariithara Sanga Sabhaava (Supreme council of

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1082596223164856512004-04-22T07:09:00.000+06:002004-04-22T07:14:29.920+06:00

The hideous marriage between the SLFP or PA or whatever and JVP seems to be in trouble. The SLFP had promised several ministries including Mahaweli ministry as the dowry when the marriage was arranged. But after the election, after getting jealous of JVP’s success, SLFP has refused to give part of the dowry which is the ministry of Mahaweli. So now the JVP is refusing to take any of the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1081679689978298952004-04-11T16:34:00.000+06:002004-04-11T16:38:41.936+06:00

The JVP has boycotted the swearing in ceremony of the ministers. According to today's news papers, the reason was that they didn't get the Mahavelli (irrigation) ministry. Another UPFA member has done the same. The reason for that, according to today's papers was that he didn't get the ministry of sports. The person is former Sri Lankan test cricket captain Mr. Arjuna Ranathunga. According to the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1081003012863122552004-04-03T20:20:00.000+06:002004-04-03T20:40:34.043+06:00

The voters of Sri Lanka have finished voting. The initial results do not look good. People seem to have voted for irrational, unrealistic promises over common sense and religion over solid clear policy. The JVP/SLFP alliance has promised jobs (the only way I think that is possible is to put more people in to government establishments that already have a surplus of workers) and various concessions

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1080480515212864342004-03-28T19:27:00.000+06:002004-03-28T19:35:26.966+06:00

There is a TV program called “Aeevarai Dhaeevrai” which means going once, going twice (like in an auction). I saw that couple of times here and there and it was supposed to be about local resources and places of interest which are supposed to be being sold or something. I did not get to watch that program in detail until today. Today's program was about water resources and various people talked

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1080387901852811112004-03-27T17:43:00.000+06:002004-03-27T17:48:32.983+06:00

There is a famous JVP phrase “going shopping for somebody” which means doing work for somebody else and not getting anything in return or “washing somebody else's dirty cloths”. Some people say that SLFP is going for shopping for JVP and some others say vise versa. So who is going shopping for whom? Well if you look at the statistics and note down the minimum number of preferential votes a

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1079867230099148542004-03-21T17:05:00.000+06:002004-03-21T17:10:33.483+06:00

By way of deception is the name of a book by Victor Ostrovsky, a former Israeli agent. This was one of the books I enjoyed reading. It gave an insight in to the Israeli society and the book has some references about Sri Lanka (basically how the Israelis helped J.R,'s government to deceive the World Bank, etc.). The title is taken from the motto “By way of deception thou shalt do war” of the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1079401723014394872004-03-16T07:48:00.000+06:002004-03-16T07:57:42.030+06:00

The GMOA or the Government Medical Officers’ Association has once again gone on strike over salary. This is like the 100th time the GMOA has gone on strike in the past 10 years. The only people affected by this are the poor people who don’t have money to go to private hospitals and not any government official. So the GMOA are taking the poor people hostage knowing that the political parties want

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1079233497070105472004-03-14T09:04:00.000+06:002004-03-14T09:08:10.450+06:00

A party called Hela Urumaya is running for the elections next month. The main thing that differentiates it from other parties is that all the candidates are Buddhist monks. Another difference is that this party doesn't seem to have a complete manifesto. All that party is saying is that they are going to make a Dharma Rajya (religious state) and going to work for the benefit of Sinhala Buddhists.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1078747633496626762004-03-08T18:05:00.000+06:002004-03-08T18:15:04.700+06:00

Once upon a time, there was a prince. For simplicity let's call him X. X's father was a king. After his father, X was going to become the king. He had everything. Power, wealth and every comfort a man can dream for. But he got fed up with power, wealth and comfort and wanted to liberate himself. So he gave everything up and started to search for liberation. Then he found it. His philosophy was

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1078562241760716472004-03-06T14:36:00.000+06:002004-03-06T14:43:01.796+06:00

At last it seems that some of the LTTE members have come to their senses. The leader of LTTE in Baticaloa area has split with the leadership of Prabakaran in the North. This guy Muralitharan or commonly known as Karuna had complained that their commanders in the North are discriminating against the members from the East. Sometimes we don't understand the discrimination based on the cast because

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1078496111364610702004-03-05T20:14:00.000+06:002004-03-06T14:19:19.920+06:00

A couple of years ago I saw a feature on CNN about Thaleban. This was way before 9-11 attacks and Thaleban was a new regime. CNN (or maybe it was BBC) interviewed a man who was as far as I could remember the second in command of Thaleban. He was around 35. He was talking in his own language and they put the translated text on the screen. He was talking about how and why the entire world should

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1078314829680427922004-03-03T17:53:00.000+06:002004-03-03T17:57:59.936+06:00

A couple of days ago, there was a TV program about a special screening of the film "Suriya Arana" for the Buddhist monks. This is exactly what Mr. Dayavansa Jayakody had requested. (See my post on January 27, 2004 with the title Suriya Arana.) Mr. Jayakody has accused the director of the film of being a supporter of Christian fundamentalism and a supporter of LTTE and an antibuddhist. But at the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1078314753766886612004-03-03T17:51:00.000+06:002004-03-04T07:38:28.530+06:00

Once again the LTTE has shown it's true colours. They have killed at least one candidate in the forthcomming elections. Earlier they have prohibited any Tamil person from contesting from the Northern and Eastern provinces without their approval (meaning only their henchmen can contest.). This has been done by the organisation which says that it has entered the democratic process. Who are they

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1077864999520884242004-02-27T12:36:00.000+06:002004-02-27T13:05:17.250+06:00

I found this news item. It says that a Sri Lankan man living in Canada had kidnapped one of his cousins and when he got caught, his lawyer is claiming that kidnapping women and trying to marry them is a tradition in Sri Lanka even though it's against the Sri Lankan law. I don't know which Sri Lanka he is talking about. Because the community which I live in does not tolerate that kind of thing.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1077586770769277512004-02-24T07:38:00.000+06:002004-02-24T07:42:17.653+06:00

The way the government media is being handled is shameful. This is similar to the manner the media was handled during president Premadasa’s regime even though now it is being handled by the people who opposed Premadasa. The minister in charge of media is Mr Kadhiragamar. I have a deep respect for Mr. Kadhiragamar but the way his ministry is acting is shameful. I know that, even though Mr.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1077433090895160032004-02-22T12:55:00.000+06:002004-03-04T07:39:17.826+06:00

There are interesting things happening in Sri Lankan politics these days. One is that the party called Sihala Urumaya (Sinhala Inheritance or something like that) becoming Hela Urumaya (meaning almost the same thing) and nominating a group of candidates comprising only of Buddhist monks. It's important to look at the past of Sihala Urumaya. The party was started as a party to look after the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1077069223994835662004-02-18T07:39:00.000+06:002004-02-18T07:56:23.093+06:00

Thilanga Sumathipala, the chief of the Cricket Board and the Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom who is also from the Sumathi business empire (mainly gambling) has done it again. Previously he manipulated the Buddhist community to silence the allegations against him claiming that the allegations were directed against him because he was a Buddhist and his mother was the chairperson of the Buddhist

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1077068154523337732004-02-18T07:34:00.000+06:002004-02-18T07:38:33.216+06:00

I reposted the entry "The Way Forward" of 02 January 2004 which I removed from the blog some time ago.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076770837846673202004-02-14T20:59:00.000+06:002004-02-14T21:03:12.140+06:00

Today is St. Valentine's day (I think because I heard something about it on the radio.). The first time I heard this term "Valentine's day" was when I was about 14 years old. I saw a movie called "St. Valentine's day massacre". I didn't hear about it for at least another 10 years. Then after all this private TV and radio channels started to operate, they made this "Valentine's day" a big deal.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076494286571186902004-02-11T16:01:00.000+06:002004-02-11T16:13:56.263+06:00

Last week end, I think Saturday night, the president of Sri Lanka dissolved the parliament. First of all lets forget what the government has done or what it ought to have done when it was in power and look why the parliament was dissolved. Our country was ruled by a president Chandrika Kumaranathunga from Peoples Alliance (or PA where the main party is Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP) and a

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076377666565925782004-02-10T07:47:00.000+06:002004-02-10T07:52:39.610+06:00

The other day I had to go to a police station to lodge a complaint. The policeman who wrote down the complaint on behalf of me started the chapter with “I such and such person of Sinhala Buddhist origin and blah blah blah.” I was amazed to see the phrase Sinhala Buddhist there. But it seems to be the normal way or writing a police complaint. It seems that if I am going to file a court case

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076291759582477172004-02-09T07:54:00.000+06:002004-02-09T07:58:25.390+06:00

When I started to write this blog a few months ago, I had something to write about almost everyday. But now I am struggling to find something to write about once a week. My blog seemed to be doomed. It was at the end of its short life. The future seemed bleak. But suddenly, my favorite person, our president came to the rescue. She dissolved the parliament yesterday and called for new elections.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076062955675562262004-02-06T16:21:00.000+06:002004-02-06T16:24:58.420+06:00

I also found the following quotation in my mailbox. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1076062682423137672004-02-06T16:12:00.000+06:002004-02-06T16:21:30.763+06:00

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. Rosalynn Carter I found the above quotation in an old mail in my mail box. I don't know who Rosalynn Carter is but it seems logical. I also saw the following quotation somewhere. Popular decisions are not always correct. The correct decisions are not always popular

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1075694136154553052004-02-02T09:54:00.000+06:002004-02-02T10:00:36.796+06:00

Mr. Somawansa Amarasinghe is back in the country. If you don't know who he is, he is the only remaining politburo member from1989 and supposed to be the secretary general of the JVP or something. In a TV interview he has said that, they, the JVP has not done anything wrong. Somebody told me that a Buddhist monk who was a teacher of a school in the Kotte area was shot dead in his class room, while

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1075427280811436412004-01-30T07:45:00.000+06:002004-01-30T07:50:43.246+06:00

Is the LTTE back in business in Colombo? Read this article. By any chance, does the government have any agents in LTTE controlled areas? Or are they only active in areas like Athurugiriya?

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1075182514908083442004-01-27T11:47:00.000+06:002004-01-27T11:55:38.373+06:00

Recently a friend forwarded this to me. This is an article written by a person called Dayawansa Jayakody. This person has seen a trailer of a film and says that the director is plotting against Buddhists and the films he has made previously support Prabhakaran. (I don’t know whether this guy has seen them or just the trailers.) Anyway, this guy seems to have some amazing powers to understand the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1075010849174420262004-01-25T11:49:00.000+06:002004-01-25T12:13:01.013+06:00

There is a good program on Rupavahini called Ilakkaya, I think around 07:00 hrs every Sunday. I didn't get to see all but from what I saw, this is a program where people discuss about improving attitude, improving productivity, managing your life, etc. The guests are usually well educated and they know what they are talking about. This is the kind of program we all need in Sri Lanka in a time

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074822598934042642004-01-23T07:38:00.000+06:002004-01-23T07:52:33.436+06:00

This morning, when I was inside a small shop, I overheard the shop keeper and another talking about the SLFP and JVP alliance. One said that the SLFP has lost a considerable part of their support so that's why they have joined the JVP. Well, that's obvious isn't it? They lost the last election didn't they? That means that they have lost support. I think the main reason is that Anura wants to come

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074821557357885522004-01-23T07:25:00.000+06:002004-01-23T07:37:09.496+06:00

The colour lights in the streets of Colombo are the most confusing set of colour lights I've seen. In a typical intersection, the green lights have arrows showing the direction you are allowed to go. But the yellow and red lights are simply circular. Normally if the light has an arrow, and based on the colour you know which direction you are allowed to go or not allowed to go. If the light is

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074650331857883922004-01-21T07:43:00.000+06:002004-01-21T08:31:13.293+06:00

The SLFP and the JVP signed a pact yesterday. I really don't know what's in it. They try to make it sound like the solution to all the problems. How come? The SLFP (as the biggest party in PA) was in power from 1994 to 2000. What did they do? Sold half of the government assets, waged a war but ended up in the same place... So what's the difference now? It's true that SLFP has lost a couple of

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074563542007116522004-01-20T07:49:00.000+06:002004-01-20T07:54:57.810+06:00

Yesterday a judge in Colombo remanded Thilanga Sumathipala. My personal thanks goes to the judge who was brave enough to put this thug away, at least temporarily.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074562961831165592004-01-20T07:40:00.000+06:002004-01-23T07:37:46.496+06:00

I received the following in an email. It has been taken from sinhala.net but since I could not find that article in that website, I thought of quoting it in my blog. It was reported that Ven Gangodawila Soma Thero’s controversial Russian journey was arranged by Prof Shanthi Jayasekera. This so called Prof Shanthi Jayasekera’s real name is Jayasekera Mudiyanselage Shantha Pushpakumara. His

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1074152370084402642004-01-15T13:12:00.000+06:002004-01-23T07:38:18.716+06:00

When I voted for Ranil during the last election, (that was the first time I voted for the UNP) I expected Ranil to do certain things, to make certain things right, to clean up some of mess Chandrika had created. They were 1. Change the corrupt chief justice (if the chief justice is corrupt we can't expect the other justices or magistrates to be honest and without honest judiciary we can not

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073977784569870162004-01-13T13:01:00.000+06:002004-01-13T13:10:05.826+06:00

In "The Lanka Academic" there is an article about an organization called the "Refugees International" saying that a lot of refugees do not return to the rebel controlled areas because they fear that their children would be recruited to LTTE and they say that the recruitment has increased since the ceasefire. So what is this crap LTTE talking about stopping child recruitment? Is our government

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073826829467469612004-01-11T19:11:00.000+06:002004-01-11T19:14:37.490+06:00

Please read these wise words of one of the most revered religious leaders.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073806394505618452004-01-11T13:31:00.000+06:002004-01-13T18:05:45.410+06:00

For sometime there has been rumours of various Christian organizations converting Buddhists to Christianity and carrying out an organized campaign to discredit leading Buddhists through the media. We all know for sure that there are Christian organizations like the Pentecostal church and Jehova's witnesses trying to convert Buddhists because they have come to our houses and workplaces

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073806148203775132004-01-11T13:26:00.000+06:002004-01-12T07:52:33.443+06:00

A friend who has read the blog has asked me why I criticize some Buddhist monks. The simple reason is I don't believe that the way some Buddhist monks behave is suitable for their status. A friend of mine has emailed me the following three excerpts from Dhammapadha. They are Bhikkhuvagga (The Monk) 362. He who has control over his hands, feet and tongue, who is fully controlled, delights in

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073626872840289252004-01-09T11:38:00.000+06:002004-01-09T11:41:32.583+06:00

Somebody sent me this slide show. (You'll need flash to view this.) New World This is something that we should all think about.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073612708238429542004-01-09T07:43:00.000+06:002004-01-09T07:45:27.903+06:00

I’ve heard that police departments in US are encouraging their officers to take the police vehicles home when they are off duty. The logic is that just by having a police vehicle in vicinity would discourage people from breaking the law. But can we say that about our police? How many times have you seen a policeman driving a vehicle (not during an emergency with the lights flashing and everything

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073526432888368982004-01-08T07:32:00.000+06:002004-01-08T07:47:32.230+06:00

I saw an advertisement on TV about an exhibition called Techno Lanka. The advertisement said that Techno Lanka exhibition would be held in such and such school between two specified dates. Then the advertisement went on to say that musical show with popular singers would be held every night. Throughout this, they showed a group of girls dancing in a public concert(most probably from a previous

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073379473848190882004-01-06T14:56:00.000+06:002005-12-05T14:28:35.053+06:00

I forgot the death anniversary of Dr. Carl Sagan which was on 20th December. He was one brave scientist who argued in favor of science. His dream was to find life outside of our planet. I saw his TV series “COSMOS” as a child and that is one of the things that made me think freely. He died in 1996 after battling for several years with a bone marrow disease. When he died there had been a rumor

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073367568273679342004-01-06T11:37:00.000+06:002004-01-06T11:44:56.556+06:00

I hope we have not forgotten this.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073288264794577352004-01-05T13:35:00.000+06:002004-01-05T13:51:19.046+06:00

One person who has read the blog had sent me an email asking me why I thought religion and law should not mix. Well, the simplest reason is, religion is in your mind. You are the only person who can control your mind. Nobody else can read your mind (unless that person is a Buddha). Since I don’t believe that there are any entities like gods who are supposed to know everything and no human has

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073101867782627222004-01-03T09:49:00.000+06:002004-01-03T09:51:25.756+06:00

It looks like the LTTE is tightening it's grip around the TULF leader Mr. Anandasangare's neck. Why? Simply because he doesn't recognize that the LTTE is the sole representative of the Sri Lankan Tamil's. So why doesn't he recognize the LTTE when the rest of the leading figures of the TULF like Mr. Raviraj and Mr. Sambandhan keep on insisting that the LTTE leader Velupillei Prabakaran is not

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1073031949176327022004-01-02T14:10:00.002+06:002004-02-18T07:35:36.250+06:00

I received the following email (sort of a chain mail) from one of my friends. It has been forwarded so many times and I really don't know where it originated. It says Dear Friends, It is not surprising if Ceylinco Group has circulated such an internal memo not to put yellow flags in honour of the late Ven. Soma. I am not sure how many of you are aware that "Dr." Lalith Kotelawela who earned

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072921975231521412004-01-01T07:36:00.000+06:002004-01-01T07:53:12.636+06:00

"The jaathika sanga sammeelanaya" seems to have achieved their goal. Minister Lokubandaara had promissed that the government will bring legislation against "forceful conversions". I believe that all Buddhists should be happy about this. But as a Buddhist I would want to clarify some details. What will this legislation exactly be? Will it say that no Buddhist should become a Christian? But not the

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072862983946545772003-12-31T15:16:00.000+06:002003-12-31T15:38:34.963+06:00

I just read on "The Academic" (www.theacademic.org) that the attorney general was going to take legal action against the minister of finance Mr. K.N. Choksy and the Prime Minister’s advisor Mr. R. Paskaralingam over allegations of financial fraud and irregularities in the construction of the Hilton hotel. They seem to have paid for entire floors of the hotel that were never built. I believe this

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072767955704287812003-12-30T13:02:00.000+06:002003-12-30T13:06:13.313+06:00

Yesterday, some Buddhist monks calling themselves “the Jathika Sanga Sabha” or something were holding a “Maaraanthika Upavaasa” (fast unto death) on Dharmapala Mawatha. They were condemning the Christians for converting Buddhists into Christianity. This is the same group that still claims that the late ven. Soma thero was murdered. It seems that the monks spearheading this group include ven.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072671384094362662003-12-29T10:08:00.000+06:002004-01-06T07:35:31.620+06:00

Tony Blair has tried to justify his war once again saying that the coalition has found evidence of laboratories which could have been used to make weapons of mass destruction. But just after that statement, the coalition chief in Iraq has denied that claim. This reminds me of the cat that pooped on a rock and then tried to cover it. Since the poop was on a rock, no matter how hard the cat

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072423876268301982003-12-26T13:15:00.000+06:002003-12-26T13:31:32.436+06:00

I saw a news article last week stating that the chief of the bribery commission has been called before a parliamentary privileges committee or something. That is because the bribery commission was investigating allegations about Mr. Palitha Range Bandara, an MP from Chilaw or somewhere accepting some chairs from Dholukandha temple (I believe this is the temple of the famous Dholukandha gold

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072412577099932242003-12-26T10:19:00.000+06:002003-12-26T10:34:14.476+06:00

I didn't know that there had been violence at the independence square after the funeral of Soma thero when I wrote the blog yesterday. I only saw that on TV last evening. What would you expect after speeches like that? Good thing that it did not get out of control. Does anybody know what the entire thing was about? If you know, just send me an email.

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072325934636089202003-12-25T10:17:00.000+06:002003-12-25T10:19:10.703+06:00

Before yesterday I had great respect for Ellavala Meedhanandha thero. He was called “Puraavidhyaa Chakravarthi” (Archialogical Expert) and I thought he was a scholar with a balanced mind. But what a fool I’ve been. Ellavala Meedhanandha thero and Rahula thero almost did it yesterday at Soma thero’s funeral. Those two almost turned the huge mass of mourners into an angry mob and set them loose on

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072260213309968692003-12-24T15:21:00.000+06:002003-12-24T16:03:49.390+06:00

At this moment Gandodawila Soma thero is taking his final journey. His funeral will be held in a couple of hours at the Independence square with state honors. While all this is happening, some posters have come up in Colombo accusing certain religious organizations of killing the thero. There is some tension in Colombo. Couple of days ago, some Buddhist monks have openly accused Christian

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1072019371245422942003-12-21T21:08:00.000+06:002003-12-22T08:48:45.250+06:00

We all know that ven. Gangodawilla Soma is no more. Even though I don't agree with ven. Soma on all issues, I really admired him for his attempt to eradicate "Avidhyaa" (ignorance or anti-science to be more precise.). In an age where the majority of Buddhist monks in this country are sowing the seeds of Avidhyaa through the meaningless rituals ven. Soma made quite a difference. But no matter what

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1071914013162196552003-12-20T15:52:00.000+06:002003-12-20T15:53:48.320+06:00

Last week we all saw what has happened to Sadham Husein. All I have to say about this man is that if he had put aside his militery mania a little bit, he would still be the leader of one of the most prosperous countries in the world and not a prisoner behaving like a monkey. There's a Sinhala saying that "you should not fall into the same pit during day time which you have previously fallen into

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224599.post-1071840975000508502003-12-19T19:32:00.001+06:002003-12-20T08:48:48.116+06:00

A regional leader of LTTE had issued a statement to ITN saying that the LTTE has stopped recruiting child soldiers with immediate effect after a high ranking leader (meaning Prabakaran) had ordered to do so. Doesn't this mean that they have been recruiting children upto date? But didn't LTTE promised a UN official (Otunu or somebody) to stop recruiting child soldiers years ago? So does this mean

panhindhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02661815375532518900noreply@blogger.com0