Pri's blog

Was too depressed to respond to the call from some concerned Colombo citizens.... Please go to this link to view the new spate of destruction Beautification, greening or are the concrete slab producers making a killing? If you want to join a group of outraged Colombo citizens who want to do something about this,go to the event on Thursday 29th.. .

For those who read my post of Saturday, 10th November , and got a taste for re-imagining, here is my colleague Nilakshi with more of the concept 

Was thinking while reading about Mervyn's Lambroghinis and the cynicism that is going around re the reduction of duty on racing cars, how 'sport' rather than religion, has now become the opiate of the masses.   In the Wikipedia page on the " Opium of the people"  you have the following entry from  the Marquis de Sade's  Juliette , published in 1797  where Sade uses the term in a scene where Juliette explains to King Ferdinand the consequences of his policies,  Frighteningly appropriate to the current situation, suggest you read the following and lament with me the absence of a Juliette among us! Though nature lavishes much upon your people, their circumstances are strait. But this is not the effect of their laziness; this general paralysis has its source in your policy which, from maintaining the people in dependence, shuts them out from wealth; their ills are thus rendered beyond remedy, and the political state is in a situation no less grav...

Was at the first session of the Institute of Policy Studies, State of the Economy 2012, annual conference, om Wednesday  which launched  their State of the Economy report, on the  rather unfortunate theme  "How can Sri Lanka stay on the Growth Expressway?"   I can see that following the budget and the reduction in import duties on racing cars, there can be snide remarks about what sort of Formula 1 racing is going to take place on the growth express way, remarks made by people who don't like the idea of the unmitigated commitment to growth that the theme implies, and fast tracked growth to boot. (Admittedly such people could be very few and far between, these days). For me, "staying on the growth expressway" conjurs an impression of driving fast for fast sake without any idea of destination or purpose.     Publication presented to the audience through a video and an e-book.   Chief Guest:  Tissa Vitharana, Senior Ministe...

Political storm threatens to uproot Chief Justice , while nature's storm uproots old trees round Colombo.