Why I stand by our cartoon
Updated, 16 September, 6.30pm: It was brought to the attention of some hours ago that despite what Mr. Jayasuriya notes below (coupled with the fact that as we flag at the end…
Year: 2012
A tasteless cartoon, Twitter and Indo-Sri Lanka relations (Updated)
UPDATE, 1600hrs, Colombo: Despite the acting editor of noting via Twitter the following, #The lakbima cartoon is a matter of artistic expression and therefore of freedom of expression. #lakbimacartoon — Ranga Jayasuriya…
The Z-score imbroglio: Towards a fair and simple solution
Image courtesy I will assume in this article the general acceptance of two principles of fairness with regard to university admission. Fairness principle 1: That, apart from any affirmative action criteria used,…
Provincial Council Election: Real-time updates
@mhmhisham is turning out the best updates on Twitter. #PCelectionsLK and #ep2012 are key hashtags aggregating all the tweets on the September 2012 Provincial Council elections. See below for aggregation and real…
Youth in Sri Lanka need a chance
Photo courtesy Beyond Borders The Sri Lankan government shut down state universities on the 23rd of August in a bid to prevent an “Academic Spring”, rising amidst calls for 6% of GDP…
In Memoriam: Tilak Jayaratne
Tilak’s journey in search of people’s media, from the Tilak Jayaratne, veteran broadcaster and media advocate, passed away on September 6, after a long illness bravely borne. All those who knew Tilak,…
Muslims and the Eastern Provincial Council Elections in Sri Lanka: Kingmakers or Pawns?
Photo via As the campaigning for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) election concludes, there are only a few absolute certainties as to the outcome – most notably that there will be no…
In conversation with Chandraguptha Thenuwara: Art, politics and education in Sri Lanka
Chandragupta Thenuwara is one of Sri Lanka’s best known artists. As noted online, he is the director of the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts in Colombo, a not-for-profit art school which he…
Manel Tampoe: Perceptive Chronicler of Sri Lanka’s DDT Generation
Manel Tampoe, school teacher turned journalist and environmentalist, was a force to reckon with – but she didn’t look the part. Beneath her soft spoken and demure personality, she harboured a keen…
Facing an Uncertain Future: A ‘non-suba anagathayak’
Photo courtesy Bindaas Madhavi While the so-called ‘rulers’ prance about in their hubris, ignoring the global events that will also affect us, there is very serious concern that ‘We Are ‘Entering A Long-Term…
A disappearance every five days in post-war Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy WSWS On 21st at 2.31pm, August 2012, 32 year old Vasanthamala sent a sms from her mobile to her relatives saying she had been taken by the Criminal Investigation Department…
The Disappeared in Sri Lanka
Photo from HRW I am honoured to have been asked to speak at this Vigil, to Remember the Disappeared in Sri Lanka on this important occasion, of The International Day of the…
Open letter to Mark Davis, presenter of SBS Dateline on ‘Sri Lanka’s New Wave’
[Editors note: Watch SBS Dateline’s Sri Lanka’s New Wave, broadcast first in Australia on 28 August 2012, here.] Dear Mark, I am intensely troubled by the tenor of your report on Sri Lankan…
A Child of Apollo Salutes His First Hero: Remembering Neil Armstrong
When Neil Armstrong took that first ’small step’ on to the Moon, at 10.56 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 20 July 1969, a quarter of humanity — following it live on…
Rural entrepreneurship in post-war Sri Lanka: Jobs for youth and ICTs
Her day job aside, Sandya Salgado is a Director of the Foundation for Advancing Rural Opportunity and approached recently to talk with us about the organisation’s model for rural entrepreneurship in particular,…