Features

A Zoo – the latest craze and other miseries

Published

4 years ago

2021/10/22

Cassandra scrabbles around for mishaps and mistakes, of the Mighty of course, for her Friday Cry and ruminates like a true female bovine for scraps of gossip starting Sunday. Strangely this Sunday she fished out nothing. There was much about Pandora and the papers that flew out of the box of investigative journos, but Cass decided not to touch these, too hot and far too close to a pretend royal family for an unprotected woman to look into, least of all, comment on. Then viola! Serendipity! Ooh la la! The editor of The Island, on Monday, October 18, inadvertently threw a morsel in her way: “A move to set up a zoo on a 72-acre land (in Piliyandala)…” And who pray is the Zoo Enthusiast, cruel to animals, behind it? Minister of Power, Gamini Lokuge who, the Ed implies, fits into Bob Hope’s definition of senile: “when candles cost more than the birthday cake,” and Cassandra says outright: Should have retired to anonymity, more probably ignominy, many years ago. Wasn’t this minister the one that defied COVID-19 restrictions and wanted open sesame for his electorate to go where they pleased, as they liked, when the entirety of Sri Lanka was locked down? Resembles another costly candle buyer, ex-tuition master, Bandula Goonewardena, who wanted a cricket stadium built in Piliyandala or thereabouts notwithstanding the many Colombo boasts of, and Moratuwa too.

These Ministers of the government who come up with these ‘brilliant’, read absolutely haywire but personal money making or vote catching, projects should have their heads examined. Free Sri Lanka is on its knees or on its last legs economically so how would it spend on such completely unnecessary projects. The land in Piliyandala was earmarked for a veterinary hospital and factory to turn out food for existing zoos. No, the ‘Big House’ man decided to imprison animals and not cure them. Cass suggests we set environment protector Devani on Lokuge. She will crush the bod using only her knowledge of nature matters, experience as ecosystem protector, womanly wisdom and of course, her sharp, unafraid tongue.

We are sick of these crazy ideas. More seriously, the country is damaged irreparably by these VIP-dreamed-up projects. Cynics say it is to harvest commissions. Surely you don’t send the country down the ‘pallam’ of destruction to enrich yourself? That is idealistic Cass speaking. The realistic Crier of Doom realises that the most important matter of the hour is stashing away pilfered lucre. And there are ways, means and facilitators for this as exposed in the Pandora Papers. The truth however is that now, persons will sell their mothers, their very motherland, to enrich themselves further. They impoverish an already economically challenged country, aggravate the poverty of most, so that 50 percent of the population is ill-fed and half of them malnourished to the extreme.

We, at first, freely allocated forest land for many insane projects; given away by mere word of mouth, however presidential, treating askance written orders. So we saw forest cover, of massive soaring trees, reduced to corn plants. The latest trend is to give away forest land to grow aloe vera. My heavens! Can’t this resilient plant be grown interspaced with trees in other plantations? Can one bear to cut down a tree for this insignificant plant? It is a money-plant though.

Next came the overnight banning of inorganic fertilisers, insecticides, weedicides; then delay in obtaining COVID-19 vaccines while power was consolidated and dual citizens legally brought to the country as saviours. Next followed the rape of Wewa bunds to lay jogging paths for non-est joggers. Billions were also earmarked for beautification of certain cities. OK with excess money obtainable. But aney appé not when the Treasury is drained of cash and SL cannot pay its debts, though, of course, the Governor of the Central Bank (CB) says we are on cloud nine money wise. Ex-Prez M Sirisena tots up billions that were sent in cheques from the Treasury in 2000-something and again on January 7, 2015, just the day prior to the presidential election that saw him through. He asks where the money was sent on a day business was not carried out. It was supposed to be for a huge project to divert the Nilwala Ganga and another to Hambantota. Not a tiny stream has been diverted nor even a start made. Money transferred though.

Now it’s zoos to be built. The Ed had a super solution to this latest craze. Yes, build the zoo with its protective boundaries that converts it to an open prison, but save the beasts and others of the wild and make the politico animals, who commit crimes against humanity, the inmates of the posh new Zoo in Piliyandala; named Lokuge Udyanaya or have again the R name one sees all over the island, except in the North.

Statements, not quite quotes

The President, at an army ceremony with much pomp and pageantry, apologised, or at least said, he had been unable to fully implement promises made to the people. We appreciate this admission. He does not seem to see reasons. Shall Cass dare point them out? To her it’s the false prophets, unwise advisers and the Cabinet who have caused him to be ineffective in the keeping of promises he made which won our votes. The Cabinet, different names given by different persons to most of them, knows only how to shake heads in the correct direction to say yes to the Prez and of course PM, and shake heads horizontally if the answer required is nay. Have we Ordinaries ever heard a Cabinet Minister asking an in-depth, contradicting question from either of the royals or shown the slightest disapproval of their proposals? Most are uneducated boors. So Prez, out with most of them and nominate pragmatic intellectuals in, women included; never mind if they are not lotus buds.

The Governor of the CB says that we can manage even if GSP+ concessions are not granted us. The visiting EU team’s negative opinion of this fair isle gone rotten will be no surprise judging by what a State Minister did while they were right here investigating the human rights status quo. The Minister goes marching into one prison, inebriated it was said, accompanied by a shorts-clad ‘beauty’ and played with the hangman’s rope disregarding the imprisoned inmates. To the other he barges in, not in a playful mood but revengefully and threatens Tamil prisoners with his gun to their heads. No reprimand; no punishment at all for this pohottuwa. And thus, no GSP in all probability. The Governor of CB suffers not, neither does the karachchal Minister, but our garment and fisheries exporters will, very significantly, losses passed onto the near-slaving factory and fisheries workers.

Minister Aluthgamage continues to be hit, trod on, spat at, red paint splashed and burnt. Oops sorry! Minister A’s effigy is subject to these crescendoing indignities. Cass spied another’s effigy being paraded by farmers somewhere. No burning of it; or no TV cameras captured it. These farmers are desperate and their cry for inorganic fertilizers should be respected and attended to immediately.

Teachers, and shockingly principals, striking and marching is not tolerable. They are crushing the dignity of pedagogues or pedagogy and seem to be dementedly following vituperative, hate scattering Stalin, their leader, who gives Cass the impression this mass strike is really a personal vendetta. Those who are supposed to mould totally balanced personalities out of the students in their charge, are behaving worse than jackals. What can salary increases be paid with? The situation is as basic as that.

And so the caravan of leaders moves on; the river of tumult flows; the sea of discontent rises and serendipitous Lanka is changed almost wilfully to a miserable place of high costs and low living.

All News Advertisement

Features

Maduro abduction marks dangerous aggravation of ‘world disorder’

Published

8 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Venezuelan President Maduro being taken to a court in New York

The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces on January 3rd and his coercive conveying to the US to stand trial over a number of allegations leveled against him by the Trump administration marks a dangerous degeneration of prevailing ‘world disorder’. While some cardinal principles in International Law have been blatantly violated by the US in the course of the operation the fallout for the world from the exceptionally sensational VVIP abduction could be grave.

Although controversial US military interventions the world over are not ‘news’ any longer, the abduction and hustling away of a head of government, seen as an enemy of the US, to stand trial on the latter soil amounts to a heavy-handed and arrogant rejection of the foundational principles of international law and order. It would seem, for instance, that the concept of national sovereignty is no longer applicable to the way in which the world’s foremost powers relate to the rest of the international community. Might is indeed right for the likes of the US and the Trump administration in particular is adamant in driving this point home to the world.

Chief spokesmen for the Trump administration have been at pains to point out that the abduction is not at variance with national security related provisions of the US Constitution. These provisions apparently bestow on the US President wide powers to protect US security and stability through courses of action that are seen as essential to further these ends but the fact is that International Law has been brazenly violated in the process in the Venezuelan case.

To be sure, this is not the first occasion on which a head of government has been abducted by US special forces in post-World War Two times and made to stand trial in the US, since such a development occurred in Panama in 1989, but the consequences for the world could be doubly grave as a result of such actions, considering the mounting ‘disorder’ confronting the world community.

Those sections opposed to the Maduro abduction in the US would do well to from now on seek ways of reconciling national security-related provisions in the US Constitution with the country’s wider international commitment to uphold international peace and law and order. No ambiguities could be permitted on this score.

While the arbitrary military action undertaken by the US to further its narrow interests at whatever cost calls for criticism, it would be only fair to point out that the US is not the only big power which has thus dangerously eroded the authority of International Law in recent times. Russia, for example, did just that when it violated the sovereignty of Ukraine by invading it two or more years ago on some nebulous, unconvincing grounds. Consequently, the Ukraine crisis too poses a grave threat to international peace.

It is relevant to mention in this connection that authoritarian rulers who hope to rule their countries in perpetuity as it were, usually end up, sooner rather than later, being a blight on their people. This is on account of the fact that they prove a major obstacle to the implementation of the democratic process which alone holds out the promise of the prgressive empowerment of the people, whereas authoritarian rulers prefer to rule with an iron fist with a fixation about self-empowerment.

Nevertheless, regime-change, wherever it may occur, is a matter for the public concerned. In a functional democracy, it is the people, and the people only, who ‘make or break’ governments. From this viewpoint, Russia and Venezuela are most lacking. But externally induced, militarily mediated change is a gross abnormality in the world or democracy, which deserves decrying.

By way of damage control, the US could take the initiative to ensure that the democratic process, read as the full empowerment of ordinary people, takes hold in Venezuela. In this manner the US could help in stemming some of the destructive fallout from its abduction operation. Any attempts by the US to take possession of the national wealth of Venezuela at this juncture are bound to earn for it the condemnation of democratic opinion the world over.

Likewise, the US needs to exert all its influence to ensure that the rights of ordinary Ukrainians are protected. It will need to ensure this while exploring ways of stopping further incursions into Ukrainian territory by Russia’s invading forces. It will need to do this in collaboration with the EU which is putting its best foot forward to end the Ukraine blood-letting.

Meanwhile, the repercussions that the Maduro abduction could have on the global South would need to be watched with some concern by the international community. Here too the EU could prove a positive influence since it is doubtful whether the UN would be enabled by the big powers to carry out the responsibilities that devolve on it with the required effectiveness.

What needs to be specifically watched is the ‘copycat effect’ that could manifest among those less democratically inclined Southern rulers who would be inspired by the Trump administration to take the law into their hands, so to speak, and act with callous disregard for the sovereign rights of their smaller and more vulnerable neighbours.

Democratic opinion the world over would need to think of systems of checks and balances that could contain such power abuse by Southern autocratic rulers in particular. The UN and democracy-supportive organizations, such as the EU, could prove suitable partners in these efforts.

All in all it is international lawlessness that needs managing effectively from now on. If President Trump carries out his threat to over-run other countries as well in the manner in which he ran rough-shod over Venezuela, there is unlikely to remain even a semblance of international order, considering that anarchy would be receiving a strong fillip from the US, ‘The World’s Mightiest Democracy’.

What is also of note is that identity politics in particularly the South would be unprecedentedly energized. The narrative that ‘the Great Satan’ is running amok would win considerable validity among the theocracies of the Middle East and set the stage for a resurgence of religious fanaticism and invigorated armed resistance to the US. The Trump administration needs to stop in its tracks and weigh the pros and cons of its current foreign policy initiatives.

Features

Pure Christmas magic and joy at British School

Published

9 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Students of The British High School in Colombo in action at the fashion show

The British School in Colombo (BSC) hosted its Annual Christmas Carnival 2025, ‘Gingerbread Wonderland’, which was a huge success, with the students themseles in the spotlight, managing stalls and volunteering.

The event, organised by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), featured a variety of activities, including: Games and rides for all ages, Food stalls offering delicious treats, Drinks and refreshments, Trade booths showcasing local products, and Live music and entertainment.

The carnival was held at the school premises, providing a fun and festive atmosphere for students, parents, and the community to enjoy.

The halls of the BSC were filled with pure Christmas magic and joy with the students and the staff putting on a tremendous display.

Among the highlights was the dazzling fashion show with the students doing the needful, and they were very impressive.

The students themselves were eagerly looking forward to displaying their modelling technique and, I’m told, they enjoyed the moment they had to step on the ramp.

The event supported communities affected by the recent floods, with surplus proceeds going to flood-relief efforts.

Features

Glowing younger looking skin

Published

9 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Hi! This week I’m giving you some beauty tips so that you could look forward to enjoying 2026 with a glowing younger looking skin.

Face wash for natural beauty

* Avocado:

Take the pulp, make a paste of it and apply on your face. Leave it on for five minutes and then wash it with normal water.

* Cucumber:

Just rub some cucumber slices on your face for 02-03 minutes to cleanse the oil naturally. Wash off with plain water.

* Buttermilk:

Apply all over your face and leave it to dry, then wash it with normal water (works for mixed to oily skin).

Face scrub for natural beauty

Take 01-02 strawberries, 02 pieces of kiwis or 02 cubes of watermelons. Mash any single fruit and apply on your face. Then massage or scrub it slowly for at least 3-5 minutes in circular motions. Then wash it thoroughly with normal or cold water. You can make use of different fruits during different seasons, and see what suits you best! Follow with a natural face mask.

Face Masks

* Papaya and Honey:

Take two pieces of papaya (peeled) and mash them to make a paste. Apply evenly on your face and leave it for 30 minutes and then wash it with cold water.

Papaya is just not a fruit but one of the best natural remedies for good health and glowing younger looking skin. It also helps in reducing pimples and scars. You can also add honey (optional) to the mixture which helps massage and makes your skin glow.

* Banana:

Put a few slices of banana, 01 teaspoon of honey (optional), in a bowl, and mash them nicely. Apply on your face, and massage it gently all over the face for at least 05 minutes. Then wash it off with normal water. For an instant glow on your face, this facemask is a great idea to try!

* Carrot:

Make a paste using 01 carrot (steamed) by mixing it with milk or honey and apply on your face and neck evenly. Let it dry for 15-20 minutes and then wash it with cold water. Carrots work really well for your skin as they have many vitamins and minerals, which give instant shine and younger-looking skin.