Another Renaissance Man, Lionel Fernando, dies

 Another Renaissance Man, Lionel Fernando, has completed his long and fruitful contribution to his community - to many of its sections: citizenry (as public administrator), victimised social grorups (as social activist, lawyer), ethnic communities, aesthetic audiences (as actor, writer). I believe he died on July 5, and his cremation is today at General Cemetery, Kanatta, this afternoon. Which I hope to attend. I first knew of him as an elder peace-maker in the ethnic conflict, then as Government Agent of Jaffna District, in a bad phase of the ethnic war, and later had the delight and privilege of working under him when he briefly served as chairman of Lake House newspaper group appointed by Chandrika Kumartunga in which I was then serving as Associate Editor, Sunday Observer, virtually running the newspaper during my beloved, brilliant, Editor and friend Ajith Samaranayake's frequent drunken absences. Long before I personally met him, I grew to respect him. I certainly revered his leadership in Lake House. In later years, our paths directly crossed at a South Asian regional consultation of govt and NGO experts on disaster policy convened by ITDG, UK (later known as Practical Action), in Delhi. I recall it was at the India International Centre, where I have stayed many times - lovely, spacious, quiet, residential, multi venue complex. Lionel headed the SL govt officials delegation, while I was the attending communications expert for ITDG's Duryog Nivaran disaster network of South Asia. There were also attending South Asian specialist NGOs. I recall flummoxing the Lankan officials and boxing them in on the issue of sidelining (and harassing) of NGOs by the GoSL which was in sharp contrast to the rest if South Asia. While certain types of NGOs like those in the human rights, social group mobilisation (workers, minorities, women, poor, etc) were harassed intd all of South Asia. But other S, Asian governments did collaborate systematically with NGOs according to practical needs in some sectors. In SL the sidelining of NGOs was almost total except for the health sector and one or two others like the religious and education sectors. But the newly emergent NGO sector on disaster issues was totally ignored in terms of actual prevention and mitigation operational integration. At that consultation, having heard each govt delegation report on their disaster operational set up, I asked each of the five or six attending govt teams whether they had fixed operational collaborations with various specialised NGOs. They all listed out various built-in as well as situation-based collaborations. Only the SL delegation had no reply (which I anticipated and was the point I wanted to make). I could see Lionel's very frustrated and embarassed expression. But there was no animosity in the least because, as a social activist himself (in his personal capacity at the time) he knew exactly what I was getting at. I only politely listened to the various answers and did not push the issue further with comments. It was not necessary and not the place. Actually, because it was Lionel leading the Lankan govt delegation, I had the confidence to gently, indirectly, raise the issue, because there was no fear of later retaliation of myself or of ITDG. I think I really won Lionel's respect and that made me very proud. I could see that in later years whenever our paths crossed.                   

එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යයේ සමාජ මාධ්‍ය භාවිතා කරන විට ඔබ දැනගත යුතුම දේ

එක්සත් අරාබි එමීර් රාජ්‍යයේ සමාජ මාධ්‍ය භාවිතා කරන විට ඔබ දැනගත යුතුම දේ

This lady speaking in a video report on The News Reporter website on 28/09/2022 is noteworthy for her definition of the motivation for the recent anti-Rajapaksa regime movement. This lady mourns the loss of the dream of "Subha Anaagathayak" promised to the Sinhala Buddhist vote bank won over by the Rajapakas and their politics of the SLPP and Viyath Maga. She mourns the stealing of that dream promise by the Rajapaksas who gave that dream to only their clan and cronies. She is but the third generation of mourning and angry mothers of Lanka. In 1971, too, hundreds of mothers mourned the loss of their children in rebellion over their own loss of a socialist dream promised by the Left leaders of the United (Left) Front government of 1970. Again, in 1987-91, tens of thousands of mothers mobilised in mourning and anger in the Mothers' Front initiated by Mangala Samaraweera & Mahinda Rajapaksa. They mourned the tens of thousands of dead Lankan youth of the DJV/JVP rebellion. That Mothers'  Front were inspired by the Mothers' Front of Jaffna who were already morning the loss of their children rebelling against ethnic oppression. Up to today, tens of thousands of mothers of the North and East continue to mourn their lost children even though the State agencies do their best to suppress such mourning. Mothers of the South who also lost their children in the ethnic war also have been mourning all this time, no? This lady talks only about the mothers of today who mourn not the loss of childrens' lives in their thousands. No, the mothers that this lady speaks of only mourn the betrayal of a dream of wealth and prosperity; of the loss of that promise of a prosperous Anaagathaya. These three different generations of mothers of Lanka mourn separately and parallely. Actually the current generation of mourning mothers, not yet affected by the actual mass loss of life, have the opportunity to share that reservoir of social strength they yet possess with those mothers of older generations who still mourn their dead children. In Lanka we have a bizarre form of 'co-existence'. A co-existence of parallel social agonies that are never mutually felt by those social groups in agony. In fact, each other's agonies and struggles and frustrations are not even recognised by each other.  Sometimes the agonies and struggles of one social group are even actively denied and rejected by other groups!  What kind of 'Wonder' is this ? With Pohottuva MPs calling for Manna Island to be converted into a gambling den in complete disregard of the interests and aspirations of the Mannar citizenry, it continues to be a nasty kind of 'Wonder'. I wonder what this speaker will say about such political arrogance and cynicism by an MP of the SLPP which she elected to power.

WHO-linked Sri Lankan Epidemic Experts' Statement - LG's comment (29-08-2021)

I just read through that public statement by a group of top specialists in the epidemic field, including WHO-linked experts calling, for an extension of this current (so-called) "lockdown". I am very disappointed in the content of this statement. In my opinion these specialists have failed as 'experts'. Their basic message, which is very good I just read through that public statement by a group of top specialists in the epidemic field, including WHO-linked experts calling, for an extension I just read through that public statement by a group of top specialists in the epidemic field, including WHO-linked experts calling, for an extension of this current (so-called) "lockdown". I am very disappointed in the content of this statement. In my opinion these specialists have failed as 'experts'. Their basic message, which is very good in terms of intentions, either deliberately or carelessly avoids focus adequately on THE key practical aspect of the governmental action they are calling for: namely for an extension of the 'lockdown'. As experts endeavouring to manage the SPREAD of the epidemic, their focus on what they call a 'lockdown' is utterly shallow and obfuscating. They do not simply explain WHY, despite nearly 14 days of this lockdown, there continues to be worsening and not lessening of the crucial dynamics of this epidemic (and any other communicable disease), namely, the RAPID SPREAD. Missing is a description of the currently implemented 'lockdown'. Their statement avoids describing the actual nature of these 'lockdowns' being grudgingly implemented by the Government this past year. The Government does not really hide the blatant pretense of its recent 'lockdowns' enforced during most of 2020. The pretense is simple:- use this term of 'lockdown' but in reality do not really implement it. The experts must explicitly say what THEY mean by a 'lockdown'. In terms of svere epidemic management, one of the first and continuous measures that is required is the drastic reduction in human mass activity - (a)mass production, (b)mass transit (whether for work or play) and (c)mass consumption (whether general supplies or luxuries, including leisure/entertainment). Thus, a REAL 'lockdown' means the MAXIMUM suspension of the above three activities. What is exempted from suspension and must continue to function, albiet in an epidemic controlling manner, are the genuine 'essential services': emergency services, full-scale medical management of epidemic, utilities supply, security and policing and, telecommunications (and a very few others). What has happened so far this year has been the infrequent and often inadequately lengthy suspension of only a portion of 'a', 'b' and, 'c'. Entire sectors of mass production including large scale construction, export manufacturing (apparel etc), agriculture and, their numerous ancillary industries and services (including freight, storage) and also major service sectors such as tourism (and ITS ancillaries) have been deliberately kept functioning as so-called 'essential services' (!). All this means not just mass production and mass consumption (although not luxury consumption) but, most importantly, mass transit as well. So, even during the so-called 'lockdown' that our WHO-linked Experts group refers to, it has only been a pretence with literally several millions of people commuting and concentrating in production and services sites all across the country! The Experts statement DOES NOT say whether it is this kind of sham 'lockdown' that they seek to extend until October. The only reference to the areas of lockdown is in the final item in the 'Recommendations' where they call for planning "in advance for a systematic re-opening of sectors, regions, ....". This implies that the major sectors have all been in suspension. But they have NOT! In effect, this Statement covers-up the pretense of the Government about its so-called lockdown. Let this group of Experts categorically state whether they wish the current pretense lockdown (with many major mass activity sectors NOT suspended) to be extended or, whether they want a genuine lockdown with the bulk of sectors in suspension. If the Statement can go into detail in persuasive arguments about some aspects of an extended lockdown, why has it not actuallly specified the very nature/scale of the 'lockdown' which they, as the authoritative experts, see as needed to manage the epidemic? Of course, in many genuinely planned pandemic counter measures in other countries over this past 18 months of the pandemic, there has been entire specialised state Budgets created by now - over a year into the pandemic. Our Government has none! What they argued in 2020 April (when the rate of infection was barely ten percent of today's) - that the country does not have the budget for a genuine lockdown - Government leaders continue to trot a whole year and more later! This is both pretense and total incompetence. The real outcome of the pretense is to be seen in the 2021 half-year business sector reportage: profits up for major corporates and a booming stockmarket. In macabre fashion, this boom in wealth for a few is parallel to the boom in infections and death and immense disruption and social trauma. In the 1980s, Sri Lanka advertised itself as a 'taste of paradise'. Today, in the eyes of world and in our own eyes this 'dharma dveepa' is an Island of Death and Cruel Sacrifice of Humanity for profit and market positioning. This kind of cruel, cynical opportunism is actually an insult to the 'ideals' of Capitalism. But are the Capitalists hiding as they check their banks online?

 

current thoughts:-    

> Ideological challenge to Capitalist Individualism & Market-based valuations by COVID pandemic (and also Climate Crisis) (e.g. individualism/opportunism vs. collectivism/social responsibility) 

> Political-economic challenge to Capitalism by COVID pandemic and need for centralised and planned economic action for pandemic management    

> If Bourgeois Parliamentary politics is not the main path of Sri Lanka’s progressive social transformation, how can traditional Leninist struggle evolve toward a successful revolutionary struggle that takes into account today’s social class contours and socio-cultural mobilisation dynamics? (e.g. how far can we use FB mobilisation without being trapped by its limits?)      

         

The Spectacle - Guy Debord

The spectacle originates in the loss of the unity of the world, and the gigantic expansion of the modern spectacle expresses the totality of this loss: the abstraction of all specific labor and the general abstraction of the entirety of production are perfectly rendered in the spectacle, whose mode of being concrete is precisely abstraction. In the spectacle, one part of the world represents itself to the world and is superior to it. The spectacle is nothing more than the common language of this separation. What binds the spectators together is no more than an irreversible relation at the very center which maintains their isolation. The spectacle reunites the separate, but reunites it as separate.

 - Guy Debord from The Society of the Spectacle, 1967  [posted 03 March 2020]       
                                         

Biblical Studies - Prof. Christine Hayes (Yale)

Early last year (2018), on You Tube, I discovered the whole progressive American discourse on Christianity, Judaism, Biblical studies, West Asian ("Near Eastern") studies. Wow!!! While I can imagine and, thirst for, the large corpus of writings by these scholars, because I cannot hope to either purchase the publications or access them in a local institution, I simply imbibe through You Tube.
Most appreciated, and still listened to, are :-   
Christine Hayes, Bart D. Erhman, Carol Mayers,  ... ... ... (will find the other names)    ... ... ...