Features

THE STORM IS COMING

Published

4 years ago

2022/10/2

by Vijaya Chandrasoma

“The devil whispers to the warrior slyly, can you withstand the coming storm. The warrior responds, ‘I am the storm.” Anon.

Hurricane Ian, predicted earlier last week to reach Category 4 levels, hit Florida on Wednesday morning, wreaking catastrophic damage to life and property. By the time it made landfall in the shores of southwestern Florida, the severity of the storm was downgraded to Category 3. But in that time, it had claimed at least 19 lives, a number that is certain to rise.

It continues to cause great damage to environmental structures, homes and property, and power outages. Although the eye of the hurricane has begun to diminish in Florida, it is still packing an increasingly formidable punch as it moves across the state of Florida towards South Carolina.

President Biden pledged on Wednesday that the federal government will be with Florida and South Carolina “every step of the way to help the states clean up, rebuild and get them moving again”. An encouraging reassurance that we now have come to expect from a President of all states of America, Red and Blue.

Beyond human tragedies, the ultimate damage caused by Hurricane Ian will be in the region of $20 to $40 billion dollars. These numbers will increase exponentially as it continues its catastrophic path north towards South Carolina.

Politically, the USA has been experiencing a perfect storm in the White House over the past six years, following the perfect lull of the Obama presidency. During which the nation had enjoyed eight years of integrity, decency and a thriving economy, in spite of having inherited the war-torn, near recession economy left by the Republican Bush administration in the early years of the 21st century.

Eight years when we could look up to the American Dream, when the son of an African immigrant/student and a white woman from Kansas could rise to the highest position of the land. And a descendant of an African slave could aspire to being the First Lady. A president who delivered the greatest scandal-free and prosperous two-term presidency the country has ever seen. Who, together with the First Lady, raised two daughters who grew up in the White House so gracefully from pre-teens to beautiful, highly educated young ladies without a trace of scandal. A family we could all look up to as a role model for the world.

Just after Obama’s presidency was announced in November 2008, Jon Stewart, comedian, satirist and then anchor of the popular TV Daily Show, made, at the end of the live show after the election, this memorable statement: “At last, we are now what we always said we were.” His meaning was obvious; The nation had finally shed its racist fetters of white supremacy and embraced cultural diversity and inclusiveness. Man, was he wrong!

A totally different type of storm has been engulfing the nation ever since the questionable election of the most dangerous, unhinged lunatic to the presidency in 2017. An election which confounded the optimism behind Jon Stewart’s words. The USA was not getting less racist and more inclusive with the election of a black man to the presidency. In truth, it was the complete antithesis.

The USA has, till the middle of the 20th century, been a racist nation of a majority of white supremacists, desperate to maintain their control over people of skin colour different from their anemic pink/orange. But after the Civil Rights Act of 1965, that racial hatred was driven below the surface. Unfortunately, Jim Crow was not dead. He has just been driven into hiding.

Systemic racism and white supremacy combine to threaten the nation with the worst storm of violence in centuries. A storm that will break with the inevitable arrest of Trump and his acolytes, sooner than later, for their attempt to destroy democracy after the 2020 elections. The restoration of accountability will result in an explosion of random violence not seen since the Civil War. And for the exact same reason – the retention of white control and supremacy over dark skinned minorities.

“We are the storm” is the slogan of the Republican Party of Texas, which the New York Times described as “an unusually visible example of the Republican Party’s dalliance with QAnon.” This was one of the catchphrases of the QAnon cult, along with other rallying cries of American and global fascists, known simply as “The Fourteen Words” or “14/88” – 14 words – “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children”, followed by the secondary slogan, “Because the beauty of White Aryan woman must not perish from the Earth.” The numbers 88 refer to a repetition of the eighth letter of the alphabet – HH – Heil Hitler.

It is a little known, well concealed, fact that the threat of Nazism in the United States in the 1930s was far more in evidence than we are taught today. The narrative is that America entered the War after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, stepped in to turn the tide for the Allies and helped save the world from fascism. This narrative ignores the fact that there was a considerable minority of Americans who were rooting for Nazi Germany. “America First” was a slogan of the pre-war, pro-Nazi American isolationist movement, now reborn as a slogan for the neo-Nazi cult of former president Trump.

QAnon is a radical right political movement, consisting of racists espousing far right conspiracy theories, who crawled out of the woodwork in 2017 after the election of Donald Trump. The core QAnon conspiracy theory is “that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children, operating a global child sex trafficking ring, are conspiring against Trump, claiming that this cabal (read Democrats, progressives) has been conspiring against Trump in a continuing “witch hunt” since the beginning of his presidency. In their demented minds, Trump is still the president of the United States, the Chosen One, who has been chosen by the Christian God to lead America into its destiny of White Aryan domination. Aryan Shades of the 1930s of Hitler and pre-WWII Germany.

From its inception, Trump has been denying any connection with, indeed ignorance of, this lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. He said at a public rally that he had no connection, indeed no knowledge of QAnon, except that “he has heard that they really like me.” He also denied all connection with violent white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys and, the Oathkeepers, until he used them to incite the insurrection of January 6, 2021.

It would have been difficult to top the accusation and conviction of a defeated president for the crime of sedition, of inciting a violent insurrection against the legally elected government carrying out its constitutional duties at the citadel of American Democracy, the Capitol.

But nothing vile is beyond Trump. He has now been accused of stealing 28 boxes of classified documents from the White House, and storing them in an unsecured basement room at his resort/club in Mar a Lago, Florida. On being informed of this theft, the FBI requested that all documents be returned to the National Archives, where Top Secret and classified documents are stored in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). Such documents are accessible to only those with the highest security clearance.

Trump’s lawyers returned 15 of these boxes, with a signed statement that these contained all the documents removed by Trump when he left the White House. The FBI received information that more boxes containing documents were still at Mar a Lago. When Trump’s lawyers denied this, they obtained a search warrant, signed by a Trump appointed Judge, to search the Mar a Lago resort. During the search, conducted in the presence of Trump’s lawyers, 13 more boxes were found, again in an unsecured location, accessible to any tourist/guest/member at the resort.

Trump has said that all the documents were his, mainly newspaper clippings which would be needed when he was writing his memoirs. They were not. They were classified documents, more than 100 containing the title: Top Secret SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information), a heading given to documents of the highest secrecy. Some of these documents gave details of the nuclear capabilities of allies and adversaries, and CIA and Secret Service operations.

Trump said that he had declassified all the documents found at the White House. When it was pointed out to him that no evidence of such declassification was available, Trump, remaining true to his image of narcissism, ignorance and complete denial of the rule of law, said that he had declassified the documents in his mind, telepathically. I kid you not.

Of course, this is most credible when we read some of the ignorant statements made by Trump during his presidency. The choicest of these were that “disinfectant is a cure for Covid” (of course it is, death is a certain cure of all ailments), that “the noise of windmills causes cancer”. And the winner, that Puerto Rico is “an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water!”

What completes escapes his criminal mind is that the stealing of ANY White House documents, classified or unclassified, and storing them in an unauthorized location is a felony, tantamount to espionage and treason. These documents belong to the people of America, and are stored in National Archives.

What was Trump’s motive in stealing these documents? Ever the grifter, ever the criminal, he planned to sell them to the highest bidder. Evidence is emerging that he has already sold some of these Top Secret documents, especially when it was found that some documents in folders marked Top Secret were missing.

Attorney General Garland is closing in on Trump on both the insurrection, espionage and treason charges. The District Attorney of New York last week brought a $250 million civil lawsuit against Trump and three of his children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, for tax evasion, insurance and bank fraud. The Attorney General of the state of Georgia is said to be finalizing its case against Trump, Lindsay Graham and Rudi Giuliani for election fraud in 2020. And the January 6 Special Congressional Committee has unearthed video evidence showing Trump minions, headed by felon Roger Stone, planning the overthrow of the results of the 2020 presidential election in June, 2020, a full four months BEFORE the election they were sure Trump was going to lose. This incriminating video was supposed to be shown at a public hearing of the Committee last Wednesday. The hearing was postponed because of the hurricane, and will be aired next week.

Trump has at last realized the inevitability of his conviction for multiple civil and criminal crimes: tax evasion, bank, insurance and election fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, and the biggies – sedition, espionage and treason. In desperation, he has publicly aligned himself with the radical right, violent organizations like QAnon and others, hinting at violence if any legal action is taken against him. He is now wearing QAnon lapel pins in public, overlaid with white supremacist phrases “The Storm is Coming” and “WWG1WGA”, an acronym for “Where We Go One, We Go All.”

It has taken a long time to come this point, especially as there has long been overwhelming evidence against Trump on felony counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, sedition, espionage and treason. The USA is fast becoming the Land of the Free – Felons.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is a very patient and cautious man who has, in the past got convictions by gathering indisputable evidence. He is acting in character, and consensus is that he will indict Trump very soon.

And the violence that will be wrought by Trump’s white supremacist allies on his arrest will be swiftly quelled by the National Guard, with weaponry that will make these thugs’ AR 15s look like mousetraps. A National Guard which will be immediately called to action by a President totally dedicated to preserving the safety of all citizens of the nation.

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Features

Proactive peacemaking becomes a paramount need

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wasting wars: Some war-displaced people in Lebanon. BBC

It may be some time before the full impact of food inflation is felt in the West. Until such time the world would continue to keep itself in suspense over whether the Trump administration is in earnest when it seeks to convey the impression that it is backing a negotiated solution in West Asia.

As is usually the case, consumer stress would be one of the final determinants of political change. To the degree to which the average US consumer somehow ‘muddles through’ and puts the food on the table, to the same extent would the Republican sections of the US public in particular be tolerant of the Trump administration’s inconsistent handling of the West Asian war and the main issues stemming from it. That is, there would be no grave popular disaffection and a demand for political change in the short term.

However, the indications are that the Trump administration’s support base is suffering some erosion in the wake of the current economic crisis. While reports indicate that Democratic sections are firming-up their opposition to the political centre, Republican support for Trump is also showing signs of waning, we are given to understand.

The above developments are probably why Trump is on record as having given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘dressing down’ recently on his seeming intransigence on the question of giving negotiations a chance in West Asia. The show of displeasure could be really aimed by Trump at containing the impatience of the American public.

However, the current ground situation in the Middle East, particularly the uncontained bloodshed, is likely to impress on the thinking sections of the world that more than temporary political change is needed in West Asia and the US.

A well thought out political solution that addresses all the contentious issues at the heart of the Middle East conflict is what enlightened opinion would demand, and very rightly. Right now, the ‘peace efforts’ initiated by the Trump administration give the impression of being piecemeal solutions at best.

There have been, of course, numerous initiatives in the past aimed at bringing permanent peace to the Middle East. These failed mainly because they did not address in full the root causes of the conflict.

At bottom the Middle East conflict is mainly about race and religious hate bred by socio-economic and material inequalities. For instance, if the Palestinian people were not displaced and deprived of land occupied by them at the time of the founding of the Israeli state, ethnic enmities would not have grown to the current unmanageable proportions.

When addressing the above questions, though, it must be remembered that the Israelis too were a displaced people who were entitled to land and a state of their own in the Middle East. Basically, out of these seemingly irreconcilable and conflicting demands have grown the Middle East imbroglio.

Middle East peace is considerably about reconciling these demands and arriving at a solution that would ensure the creation of two states that would opt for peaceful co-existence thereafter.

As long as the US does not see the need for a non-partisan solution that addresses the needs of both ethnicities and religions and goes all-out, as it were, to have it implemented, the Middle East would continue to bleed.

However, staunching the blood flow through the creation of two states would be only half the job done, though a very important part of it. More pernicious, pervasive and difficult to remedy are the inter-ethnic and inter-religious hatreds that have been unleashed over the decades.

However, if substantial, long-lasting peace is to be fostered in the region the latter ‘demons’ would need to be exorcised from the hearts and minds of the communities concerned. No doubt an uphill task but one that must be undertaken by those who wish the region well.

The UN would need to put its ‘best foot forward’ in such undertakings but it is time that it dawned on the international community and other caring quarters that Middle East peace, and all other such uphill challenges, require proactive peacemaking on the part of all civilized sections for their effective management. That is, public involvement in peacemaking too is a must.

Since hatreds are harboured in the human consciousness the enmities embedded in the latter need to be managed and defused judiciously alongside other undertakings in a peace process. In the case of West Asia, such enmities could be even spread globe-wide besides being multi-dimensional. For instance, it ought to be thought-provoking that Iran is insistent on a peace initiative that would also include Lebanon.

Besides security considerations it is also ethnic and religious affiliations that account for Iran making this demand. For instance, the Shias are a numerically important religious community in Lebanon and they provide a significant number of Hizbollah fighters, who are in a vital sense carrying out a ‘proxy war’ for Iran. It also needs to be factored in that Iran is a Shia-majority country.

Thus trans-border religious affiliations could add to the complexities and enormity of ethno-religious conflicts. However, the task of managing centuries-long enmities needs to be launched and prodded on with by peacemakers since a downing of arms alone would not guarantee substantive peace.

It is not realized sufficiently that the process of ending hatreds begins with mutual apologies by antagonists to a conflict for the harm inflicted on each other. This would be anathema in some ears but there is no getting away from the requirement. It is the vital first step to permanent peace anywhere.

In fact there could be no reconciliation worth speaking of without such mutual apologies. It is a point worth re-iterating in these times when even the government of Sri Lanka is voicing the need for national reconciliation. Well, without the words, ‘I am sorry’, there could be no permanent end to enmities – they would do well to remember.

The above requirements may not go down very well with governments, but they resonate in the hearts and minds of most people, since they are inheritors of religious traditions of some kind.

This is a principal reason why peacemaking works well when publics too are involved in them. The effectiveness of such campaigns increases several fold when they have a Mahatma Gandhi or a Jawaharlal Nehru at their helm. A strong proactive involvement by the public in peace could lead to the emergence of such leaders at some point in these campaigns.

Features

Dialog Brings Sri Lanka’s Largest Digital Vesak Experience to Matara

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

From left to right: Hon. Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, and Lasantha Theverapperuma experience the Dialog 5G Ultra-powered VR tours.

Official Digital Partner of the 2026 ‘Dakshina Prabha’ National Vesak Zone

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, collaborated with the Ministry of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs to bring one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most technologically advanced Vesak experiences to the ‘Dakshina Prabha’ National Vesak Zone. The three-day celebration, in Matara attracted more than hundred thousand visitors, who engaged with a series of innovative digital activities powered by Dialog 5G Ultra, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) experiences, digital pandols and a Data Dansala. The opening ceremony was attended by Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development and Hon. Saroja Savithri Paulraj, Minister of Women and Child Affairs, along with distinguished guests and Dialog’s senior management.

One of the key attractions at the venue was the Dialog 5G Ultra-powered Virtual Reality (VR) experience, which attracted more than 35,000 participants. The activation enabled devotees to virtually visit and pay homage to sacred Buddhist sites, including the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in India and the Atamasthana in Anuradhapura, directly from the Vesak zone in Matara.

Visitors receive complimentary mobile data through Dialog’s QR-powered Data Dansala.

Dialog also conducted an AI Digital Vesak Greeting Card Competition from 21 May to 01 June 2026, attracting numerous entries from across the country. The shortlisted designs were showcased across 20 large LED screens throughout the venue and across Matara City, and were also made available for download via mobile devices. Further, through the use of AI, traditional Jathaka Katha were reimagined in a digital format, demonstrating how technology can be used to preserve and enhance cultural and religious heritage. Together, these initiatives blended traditional Vesak celebrations with emerging technologies, offering visitors a unique and immersive way to engage with Vesak traditions.

Extending the spirit of Vesak through connectivity, Dialog conducted a special Data Dansala powered by its QR Reload platform, enabling visitors to receive complimentary mobile data by scanning QR codes placed across the venue. In addition to the Matara National Vesak Zone, similar Data Dansala activations were also conducted at the Gangaramaya and Bauddhaloka Vesak zones in Colombo.Visitors also had the opportunity to create personalised Vesak-themed digital photos through an AI Photo Booth, generating AI-enhanced portraits using their own photographs and adding a contemporary digital element to the Vesak celebrations.

Visitors watch AI-generated Jathaka Katha

Commenting on the initiative, Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, said, “The 2026 Dakshina Prabha Vesak Festival marked the first time AI-powered digital innovations were incorporated into a National Vesak Festival in Sri Lanka. Presenting Buddhist stories and teachings through technology created a new and engaging way for visitors to connect with these traditions. We thank Dialog for supporting this initiative and for working closely with us to bring our vision to life. Their contribution played an important role in making this first-of-its-kind event a reality.”

Lasantha Theverapperuma, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We thank the Government of Sri Lanka for the opportunity to support the 2026 Dakshina Prabha National Vesak Festival and for embracing technology as part of this year’s celebrations. As the Official Digital Partner, we were privileged to contribute through our Dialog 5G Ultra and AI capabilities, creating new ways for visitors to engage with Vesak traditions while preserving their cultural significance for future generations.”

Beyond supporting the National Vesak Zone in Matara, Dialog also enhanced the Gangaramaya and Bauddhaloka Vesak zones through a range of digital activations during the Vesak season. The company additionally continued its sustainability initiatives, including the Thirasara Aloka Poojawa, which illuminated rural places of worship through solar-powered lighting solutions.

Features

Beauty, elegance and talent…for women

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

Universal Woman is an international pageant focused on “beauty, elegance, and talent” for women, positioning itself as a platform to shape global ambassadors. The 2026 edition will be held in Cambodia, and Sri Lanka will be there, as well.

According to reports coming my way, contestants, at the international event, will work with industry trailblazers, under international standards.

Sri Lankan supermodel, runway and pageant trainer Chulpadmendra Kumarapathirana, is the National Director for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026.

With over two decades in the industry, Chula was crowned Miss Sri Lanka 2006, and has since shaped the next generation of titleholders through her Colombo-based Chulpadmendra Catwalk Studio, widely regarded as one of the country’s leading modelling academies.

The team behind Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026

A former host of Derana Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World 2008 and a judge for Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2025, Chula now serves as National Director for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026, leading the franchise’s search for Sri Lanka’s delegate to the international final in Cambodia.

Applications for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 are being taken, via WhatsApp: 077 659 4994, says Chula.

The judging panel for Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 includes Senaka De Silva, Pageant Aesthetic Advisor & Chairperson of the Judging Panel, Angela Seneviratne, Caroline Jurie, Rozelle Plunkett, and Suraj Mapa.

Universal Woman Sri Lanka 2026 officially began its journey with a first round of auditions, held in Colombo, marking the start of an exciting new chapter in Sri Lanka’s pageant industry.

Launching the first round of auditions

The platform aims to empower women while selecting an intelligent, confident, and inspiring representative to compete at the Universal Woman International Pageant 2026 in Cambodia, this September.

Universal Woman Sri Lanka now moves forward with the vision of creating one of the country’s most prestigious and empowering pageants while preparing to crown a queen who will proudly represent Sri Lanka on the international stage.