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Wednesday, 5 June 2013

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HARRY POTTER COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR

Regime change fanatics -- at least of the female variety -- had been referred to in these spaces as banshees, and there is no apology for that description; in terms of the volume of noise generated, and in terms of the high pitched sounds made, ‘banshee’ has to be about accurate. But yet, recently, a reader of this newspaper asked one of our staffers whether the banshee terminology was reserved for a particular lady -- a former President, a ‘Bandaranaike’, and therefore a ‘banshee?’

Our staffer’s answer was in the negative, but he did add that if the cap fits, anybody is free to put it on, including a former President.

However, there was the qualifier that went with this – if Ms. Bandaranaike Kumaratunga wanted to call herself a banshee, she would have to call herself the Head Banshee. ‘The Head Girl is the Head Girl’, they used to insist, apparently at St. Bridget’s …

This leading article seeks to place in focus some of the banshee cries uttered by the lesser members of the tribe, however. Recently, one scribbler answering to that description had penned an article that appeared in those banshee-specialist websites.

The Halal issue was abruptly sponsored by the Rajapaksas, this writer states -- and equally abruptly dropped by them.

This is queer deduction, as the Halal issue was never ‘dropped’, it was resolved before it went off the national media radar. All parties agreed that the Halal logo in food items was an excess, considering that the Muslims have been eating Halal food for generations anyway, and that those of other religions do not have to pick up the tab for the unnecessary costs involved in labeling anything and everything including a bottle of potable water ‘Halal.’

Do not let the facts get in the way of an argument -- well, this is the banshee invocation, and therefore none of this stops the person who advances this critique from stating that Halal was a racist campaign ‘sponsored by the Rajapaksas, which others followed.’ With no substantiating evidence proferred, this is Harry Potter story number 1.

But the writer has bested her own previous work this time (Harry Potter 2) by taking the recent issue of milk and the possible contamination of milk products and tying it to some sinister plan that she sees as being possible, even though she does not adduce an infinitesimal jot of evidence to substantiate her startlingly extraordinary claim.

The central thesis goes something like this – the regime is in the habit of unleashing various issues abruptly in order to scare the minorities, bash the enemies, and keep the constituency pleased. At least that’s the translation from the banshee language which one needs to be a card carrying member of the B.C (Banshee Coterie) to fully comprehend.

As for the milk issue – people were warned, says the critic, about contaminated milk, but there was an abrupt volte face, and now the authorities say that milk is safe for consumption. This is seen as subterfuge, and foul-play of the worst order. Certain milk producers she says were targeted. Why, it is asked, couldn’t the authorities have conducted the tests, before sounding the alarm?

Yes, and exposed thousands of citizens to possible contamination? Scientific testing takes times, it’s not quite as easy as churning out transcripts out of deafening banshee cries. It is regular practice to, with an abundance of caution, advice citizens against buying a possibly contaminated consumer item, before a final laboratory determination is made. What’s regular administrative practice, has been made into a story full of cloaks and dangers, hobgoblins and stealth operators. It must be taking a specially spooky mindset to wake up one morning and think of things such as this – that the ‘Rajapaksas’ thought of a milk scare, for various racially motivated reasons!

For trying to make a Harry Potter story out of nothing, these people deserve the year’s special fiction potboiler Medal of Honour. However, once the award is given, never mind the scientific testing – a psychiatric evaluation is a must to go with the territory. Potter or no Potter, there is a special place for the paranoid, the regularly deluded, and the unstoppably hysterical …

Media freedom, and WILD ASS FREEDOM

The Minister said that “The media which is a trustworthy and powerful tool in moulding people’s opinion and understanding is playing an important and powerful assignment similar to the Legislature, the executive and the judiciary. If the people get true information about things happening in the country at all times they will come to right conclusions. The trust of the people will not get slackened. But distorting of information, misleading the people’s opinion, and destabilizing the society by using the media are also taking place. In this regard that it is important that the professional journalists should act with the right understanding.”

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With love, they come from China

Buses decorated with scenic photos of Sri Lanka were in service in major Chinese cities to boost tourism to the island nation. Sri Lanka's Ambassador to China Ranjith Uyangoda said on Wednesday the Sri Lanka tourism authority had paid to deck out 50 city buses each in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu with landscape photographs of the island so that more Chinese people will learn of its natural beauty.

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International Relations and Security:

The Arab Spring and its consequences

My worries about where America is leading us were increased by a recent visit to Tunisia, which I found fascinating. I also found it extremely sad, because tourism has suffered tremendously, since the Arab Spring, which it will be remembered began in Tunisia just 2 ½ years back.

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