Features

Diva Diana; shooting star prices; example to follow

Published

2 years ago

2023/10/27

Much has been written and comments made on the vociferous fracas in the lobby of the Parliament of the Democratic – la la – Republic of Sri Lanka. While the seat of government and legislature ought to be a place of decorum and solemnity with members of dignity and decency, our Parliament is referred to as a zoo, a wildlife reserve, a place of donkeys and even a cesspit. All justified. And with the latest shenanigans it can be termed a gladiators’ Colosseum or even a pigs’ sty. The worst is that the chief combatant who seemed to have started the raucous argument and came close to blows, was a woman. Hence Cassandra’s comments though the incident is, as we say, stale news.

We had women prominently in the fray when in 2018 the Pohottu chappies and girlies made a bid to hijack government with Prez Sirisena attempting a coup – ousting PM Ranil W and installing Mahinda R in his stead. The fracas in Parliament was witnessed even internationally on TV. Remembered well are MPs Pavithra Wanniarachi very prominently among the male MPs who were destroying Parliamentary furniture and behaving disgracefully. Their women’s voices rose above the shouts of the men and their arms very prominent in the melee. We considered it an insult to the sari and were duly ashamed. The shame is greater in this latest fracas as it is solely a personal matter made very public.

More to blame

Cassandra blames Diana roundly. Cass couples the epithet ‘diva’ with her name Diana because one of its meanings is stated thus: “a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please.” Does not this definition fit State Minister Diana Gamage perfectly? At least it does in Cass’s reckoning judging by what she has heard and seen of the lady, nay dame, after she came into prominence. Brought into Parliament by one Party she votes with another to increase the power of that Party’s Head. However, it is clear she did it to gain personally.

From TV footage that was seen and shocked Sri Lankans in many foreign countries and which Cass studied, it seemed to be that Diana started the fracas by challenging Rohana Bandara. She got more vociferous and combative when Sujith Sanjaya Perera entered the fray as a peace maker. She challenged him to attack her and used her handbag as a threatening weapon. Her remark about clothes was indecent and reprehensible. In short, she was a disgrace to Sri Lankan women and womanhood as she ranted and raved in, of all places, Parliament. She seemed to be the instigator of the physical. Later, she raved verbally within the Chamber of the August House, acting the innocent injured. Then, with neck in a brace of sorts, she enters hospital as injured.

Cass blames the two male MPs involved too. There has been much talk of harassment of women MPs and women workers in Parliament. Often it looks as if the dregs of society, the scum of the earth are kapati suited in pristine white and sit in the Chamber. Their behaviour and speech are the epitome of vulgar Mariakade. To Cass however, very sadly, Diana outdid the two males.

We eagerly await the decision of the Police, appealed to by all three combatants. And most definitely the action the Speaker will take. However, the bet is that this incident will go the way of all such disgraceful displays of indecency in the House and be quietly forgotten.

Price hikes

The latest almost 20% hike in electricity tariffs has come like a lightning bolt and accompanied by the thunder of protests. People, except the very rich are actually thunderstruck. The middle class too finds it very difficult to manage living with prices of electricity, water, both increased and the price of essentials like vegetables not lowered at all. One comment made to Cass was: We have to pay bills, otherwise water and power are cut and restoring them costs so much more. So, we pay bills but live almost in the dark, saving on electricity and using water sparingly. The bills are now in the thousands when a year or two ago we paid in hundreds. So, we will pay bills and starve – no money left for food.

Cass dare not comment on the electricity matter as she is not adequately knowledgeable. She has, however, heard expressions such as ‘electricity mafia’; engineers paid in the millions; hydro power not utilised fully; power bought from private suppliers at high cost; use of solar power not encouraged. There was talk of privatizing the CEB. Too strong protests and the government backs out. Surely, surely, there are other

ways of earning money to meet shortfalls of government revenue rather than tax increases. For one, why aren’t perks of MPS curtailed if not withdrawn completely. Cass sees red when she sees on TV the huge limos they travel in. This scene occurs whenever a meeting is called at the old parliament building. Each luxury vehicle deposits just one personage. MPS never consider travelling together to save petrol.

How come ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa gets all the very expensive benefits given to ex-Presidents when he DID NOT complete his term of five years but slunk away after pushing the country to bankruptcy; his misguided, ill–advised policies aiding much in the decline. These sorts of expenses should be eliminated and thus saved millions given to the Treasury. There really is a limit to how much the population will tolerate ever rising cost of living.

Ideal President

A friend sent Cass a video clip of the August 24, 2021elected President and Head of Government of Zambia which country did away with the post of Prime minister. The first Prez elected in 1964 after independence was Kenneth Kaunda. He remained head till 1991 The present President – Hakainde Hichilema (b 1962) – is the 8^th. In 2017, he was arrested for treason for blocking the motorcade of the then President. It was a mere traffic offence but being in the opposition he was subject to eight days solitary confinement without food and any outside contact. International protests got him out and of course his popularity increased. He is a millionaire owning one of the largest cattle ranches in Zambia.

What the video showed was President Hichilema on a visit to Chingola Council, where he found that $200.000 m had been spent on new cars for the mayor, deputy mayor and another. He totally disagreed on sanctioning the money because, as he said, “Why do they want a VX? If you want to drive a VX, buy your own. That is tax payers’ money. The money spent could build a toilet in each of the markets in the constituency. Think along those lines.” He went on to say that on August 16 he was brought a purchase order to sign for $1.8 m. Asked what for, he was told it was an order for new cars made by his colleague for the newly elected president and his entourage. He questioned whether cars were available for the president, had they wheels, did they move? Positive answers had him cancelling the order. “I am conscious that this is not my money. I will not waste tax money for my use,” and added that he could not sign in any case as he had not been sworn in as President which would be on August 24.

Cass watched and admired the new President of Zambia. Remembering all the African Presidents who lived lives of luxury right next to hovels of the poor, and some of ours who were great imitators of Banana Republic Heads, she felt a tinge of skepticism. She hoped however, that power would not corrupt this now ideal Head of State.

Can we in bankrupt Sri Lanka hope for leaders of this ilk in the future? Only if the widely spread canker of corruption could at least be reduced, if not eliminated.

Sham

Keheliya R being removed from the post of Minister of Health in a recent minor Cabinet shuffle was termed cosmetic. Cassandra prefers to name the move a sham shame. He is given an equally important portfolio, when he should have been justifiably removed from the Cabinet. Even persons working under him in the health ministry have denounced him as corrupt. Bureaucrats within the ministry are rumoured to have made money from importing substandard drugs etc. But inevitably the blame comes to roost on the minister who is responsible for his ministry. So, his head had to roll first. Not in dear ole politics ridden S L.

A super verbal skit is circling. The Association of Undertakers (non-existent) are not perturbed that the number of deaths calling for their services is reduced with Keheliya R’s removal since now they could get timber very cheap to turn out coffins.

All News Advertisement

Up Next

Towards secularism

Don't Miss

Lessons hidden in Nobel laureate’s career

Click to comment

Features

Maduro abduction marks dangerous aggravation of ‘world disorder’

Published

21 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 progressive 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 of 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

21 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

21 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.