better than you
i am. i will be
seeing black
screaming in this silence
of a world gone quiet
quiet to me.
nothing but revenge
of an ancestral creed
an outlet of hate
an outlet of righteousness
to me. you will be.
the pain i unleash
the same. pain you suffer.
you will do no honour
in dying for the sins
of you and your kind
die my darlings
die. as i.
your torture is an instant
in return for an eternity
of mine.
pain, retribution
washing away in an instant
nothingness awaits
with its warm embrace
i am righteous.
Showing posts with label Terror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terror. Show all posts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Coming Home to Eelam
The last bund of the LTTE in Pudumantalan has been broken down and the army claims to have rescued 5000 civilians. I live near the Rathmalana airport and sometimes have a chat with the Air Force guys guarding the top of our road. According to them, there are still a lot of troops dying, and they're not dying through enemy fire, only through mines, and they bring them via Rathmalana obviously, including the civilians who are injured.
I saw this video of this kid, would've been 16 years old, right leg ripped off above the knee, left leg by the hip, genitals gone in a flash of shrapnel, screaming his head off while his father sits by him in a shocked trance and his mother screams. There is a nurse trying to cover up his wounds but he's struggling and screaming too hard, shreds of flesh flailing from his torn limbs.
Is this what they are fighting for? The cowards, forsaking the lives of 'their own people' for a cause which they claim to be fighting for them, why would a force such as the LTTE, who claim to have the best interests of the Tamil people at heart, do this? And why would the Diaspora whose support they've relied on for so long, still support their activities knowing the carnage this is inflicting on their own people?
It's become a dirty fight, and it seems that it is almost at the end. Even the UN now claims that it is the rebels who are not letting the civilians be rescued, and coming from the normally despised or lauded (depending on which side you were on) 'peacenik' side's big cheese, it is a significant thing. Not that UN really has the truck or the credibility anymore to comment on 'humanitarian' crises, considering the tremendous hits it has taken to its credibility over the years, but its probably the closest thing we have to an unbiased coalition of an international organization.
The Tamil Diaspora is desperate. They don't know what to do or where to turn. They've supported the LTTE for so long that their psyche is unable to change their stance into one of acceptance of a possibility of a united Sri Lanka. It would be like turning traitor.
The Sri Lankan people should stop seeing the Tamil Diaspora as the enemy, or the germ of the LTTE would spread in their eyes to encompass every single Tamil living abroad. These people were oppressed, hate was bred within them, and the government and the rest of Sri Lanka were not completely innocent of crimes. Somewhere within the madness and delusion and terror and chaos there really was an original Tamil cause and everyone has to accept that.
EELAM is right here, but it’s called Sri Lanka, and people of different races live here together. ‘Come home’ is what the government and all of us need to say to them. Win them back, prove to them we’ve changed, prove beyond doubt that this country is a place where everyone can live in harmony in reality, not just in a speech of a politician or in the frames of a propagandist TV commercial.
Admittedly this may be easier said than done, but is needed to avoid an exacerbation of a fresh wave of violence/Eelamist extremism from abroad. Changes and compromises may need to be made. But isn't lasting peace worth all that? Society is too rigid.
Update: President says more than 35k civillians rescued and the 'complete defeat' of the LTTE imminent.
I saw this video of this kid, would've been 16 years old, right leg ripped off above the knee, left leg by the hip, genitals gone in a flash of shrapnel, screaming his head off while his father sits by him in a shocked trance and his mother screams. There is a nurse trying to cover up his wounds but he's struggling and screaming too hard, shreds of flesh flailing from his torn limbs.
Is this what they are fighting for? The cowards, forsaking the lives of 'their own people' for a cause which they claim to be fighting for them, why would a force such as the LTTE, who claim to have the best interests of the Tamil people at heart, do this? And why would the Diaspora whose support they've relied on for so long, still support their activities knowing the carnage this is inflicting on their own people?
It's become a dirty fight, and it seems that it is almost at the end. Even the UN now claims that it is the rebels who are not letting the civilians be rescued, and coming from the normally despised or lauded (depending on which side you were on) 'peacenik' side's big cheese, it is a significant thing. Not that UN really has the truck or the credibility anymore to comment on 'humanitarian' crises, considering the tremendous hits it has taken to its credibility over the years, but its probably the closest thing we have to an unbiased coalition of an international organization.
The Tamil Diaspora is desperate. They don't know what to do or where to turn. They've supported the LTTE for so long that their psyche is unable to change their stance into one of acceptance of a possibility of a united Sri Lanka. It would be like turning traitor.
The Sri Lankan people should stop seeing the Tamil Diaspora as the enemy, or the germ of the LTTE would spread in their eyes to encompass every single Tamil living abroad. These people were oppressed, hate was bred within them, and the government and the rest of Sri Lanka were not completely innocent of crimes. Somewhere within the madness and delusion and terror and chaos there really was an original Tamil cause and everyone has to accept that.
EELAM is right here, but it’s called Sri Lanka, and people of different races live here together. ‘Come home’ is what the government and all of us need to say to them. Win them back, prove to them we’ve changed, prove beyond doubt that this country is a place where everyone can live in harmony in reality, not just in a speech of a politician or in the frames of a propagandist TV commercial.
Admittedly this may be easier said than done, but is needed to avoid an exacerbation of a fresh wave of violence/Eelamist extremism from abroad. Changes and compromises may need to be made. But isn't lasting peace worth all that? Society is too rigid.
Update: President says more than 35k civillians rescued and the 'complete defeat' of the LTTE imminent.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Why should i give a damn for the world economy?
Is the problem I’m grappling with right now, having to write some 2000 words worth of assignment material on the stuff. Why should I? People talk about the death of capitalism but is capitalism really dead? Aren’t we all capitalists? even the communists are capitalists man. Capitalism is simply capitalizing on your power, market power, personality, position or any other power, we are all superheroes trying to use our powers to climb upwards the ladder.
Look at America, the self professed 'greatest nation of the world'. Many people just do not recognize the US for what it really is, an empire. Most talk about various aspects of the US; it's culture, people, habits, policies etc. Most even seem to be gullible enough to believe mainstream media and think that the US is just another nation among several other nations on a planet just trying to get by and help its fellow countries along, which is total bull.
Capitalism is good at one thing, creating an illusion. It is so good that you can't even figure out where it goes wrong. You talk about the widening gaps in income and the increasing percentage of people living on $2 a day (75-80% of the world's population) but how does it exactly transpire? How do policies of rich countries that seem, at face value, to be purely beneficial to these same rich countries alone while being totally harmless to anyone else, work in tandem with other such policies that create ripple effects that totally cripple whole sections of populations?
The victorious always write history. And contemporary history is no different. It is constantly being written as we speak, through CNN, BBC, Fox News, Bloomberg and a whole lot of other machines of the mainstream corporate controlled Big Media. They are so big that they have to be controlled by the powerful. FARC, the revolutionary Columbian rebels. some of the 'biggest terrorists of our times' were a bunch of farmers who lost their territory when the Columbian government together with the US built dams and various other infrastructure projects without giving a damn for them.
The US has always followed an economic pathway to world dominance. Don't look so shocked. Look at history; look at every single powerful nation that has ever risen. Haven't they always looked to test their skills against their counterparts and try to win their resources? History is littered with empires man. The world has always had some form of empire, but this empire you could say is different, because to most eyes and ears, it is underground.
After the world war, the prospect of a geographically expanded empire was deemed impossible due to the presence of nuclear weapons. Meaning that one too pissed off nation and boom half the world is reduced to radioactive trash. The prospect of an economic empire came about in the 1950s when the Shah of Iran was overthrown by Mohammed Mossadegh who then chased out all the British oil companies and nationalized the Iranian Oil industry. The US sent in Kermit Roosevelt (Theodore’s grandson) who paid off a lot of people, organized a coupé, overthrew Mossadegh, installed the Shah back into power, and brought the oil companies back. And that’s when they decided hey, this is not a bad idea. And they've been at it ever since.
Latin America has been a long standing victim. The basic format of empire building works like this. The US, through private corporations sends in economic teams who then convince the local governments to undertake massive infrastructure projects to 'develop' the country, This is of course just a way to get them to take vast amounts of debt from US banks which in turn are given over to US construction firms who build the dams, electrical grids etc. This infrastructure is often hugely extravagant and unnecessary but valid economic forecasts are provided to justify them and often, corrupt government officials are paid off to agree to the project. The countries subsequently find themselves unable to pay of these loans, get on the verge of defaulting and promptly become the US's puppet, which then gets free access to natural resources and UN votes and builds military bases on their soil, amongst other benefits.
If local governments try to resist, then the 'Jackals' go in and an assassination or a coupé is staged and someone more 'friendly' to US foreign policy is put into place.
The world isn’t a rosy place. It's far darker than we imagine. But its not a question of hating the US for what they are doing or getting paranoid about everything you read in the media. It is just enough if people try to understand and accept the truth. People are living in the illusion. The illusion cast by capitalism itself. And as long as the majority eats into the bullshit buffet that is broadcasted down and fed to all and sundry, the world has no chance of rising above itself.
Its stupid no? Capitalism in its essence, in its ideal, is a good concept. If everyone worked for himself collectively everyone will benefit. But it fails to foresee the potential for the failure of markets. It fails to realize that every action will have a thousand reactions in the greater economy and most of those reactions may not be good. It fails to realize that self interest without moral regulation can be an uncontrollable demon. And coupled with a messed up monetary system and open corruption and greed, we have a mallum of slow acting poison, a poison that will probably kill us all eventually, including the US
Look at America, the self professed 'greatest nation of the world'. Many people just do not recognize the US for what it really is, an empire. Most talk about various aspects of the US; it's culture, people, habits, policies etc. Most even seem to be gullible enough to believe mainstream media and think that the US is just another nation among several other nations on a planet just trying to get by and help its fellow countries along, which is total bull.
Capitalism is good at one thing, creating an illusion. It is so good that you can't even figure out where it goes wrong. You talk about the widening gaps in income and the increasing percentage of people living on $2 a day (75-80% of the world's population) but how does it exactly transpire? How do policies of rich countries that seem, at face value, to be purely beneficial to these same rich countries alone while being totally harmless to anyone else, work in tandem with other such policies that create ripple effects that totally cripple whole sections of populations?
The victorious always write history. And contemporary history is no different. It is constantly being written as we speak, through CNN, BBC, Fox News, Bloomberg and a whole lot of other machines of the mainstream corporate controlled Big Media. They are so big that they have to be controlled by the powerful. FARC, the revolutionary Columbian rebels. some of the 'biggest terrorists of our times' were a bunch of farmers who lost their territory when the Columbian government together with the US built dams and various other infrastructure projects without giving a damn for them.
The US has always followed an economic pathway to world dominance. Don't look so shocked. Look at history; look at every single powerful nation that has ever risen. Haven't they always looked to test their skills against their counterparts and try to win their resources? History is littered with empires man. The world has always had some form of empire, but this empire you could say is different, because to most eyes and ears, it is underground.
After the world war, the prospect of a geographically expanded empire was deemed impossible due to the presence of nuclear weapons. Meaning that one too pissed off nation and boom half the world is reduced to radioactive trash. The prospect of an economic empire came about in the 1950s when the Shah of Iran was overthrown by Mohammed Mossadegh who then chased out all the British oil companies and nationalized the Iranian Oil industry. The US sent in Kermit Roosevelt (Theodore’s grandson) who paid off a lot of people, organized a coupé, overthrew Mossadegh, installed the Shah back into power, and brought the oil companies back. And that’s when they decided hey, this is not a bad idea. And they've been at it ever since.
Latin America has been a long standing victim. The basic format of empire building works like this. The US, through private corporations sends in economic teams who then convince the local governments to undertake massive infrastructure projects to 'develop' the country, This is of course just a way to get them to take vast amounts of debt from US banks which in turn are given over to US construction firms who build the dams, electrical grids etc. This infrastructure is often hugely extravagant and unnecessary but valid economic forecasts are provided to justify them and often, corrupt government officials are paid off to agree to the project. The countries subsequently find themselves unable to pay of these loans, get on the verge of defaulting and promptly become the US's puppet, which then gets free access to natural resources and UN votes and builds military bases on their soil, amongst other benefits.
If local governments try to resist, then the 'Jackals' go in and an assassination or a coupé is staged and someone more 'friendly' to US foreign policy is put into place.
The world isn’t a rosy place. It's far darker than we imagine. But its not a question of hating the US for what they are doing or getting paranoid about everything you read in the media. It is just enough if people try to understand and accept the truth. People are living in the illusion. The illusion cast by capitalism itself. And as long as the majority eats into the bullshit buffet that is broadcasted down and fed to all and sundry, the world has no chance of rising above itself.
Its stupid no? Capitalism in its essence, in its ideal, is a good concept. If everyone worked for himself collectively everyone will benefit. But it fails to foresee the potential for the failure of markets. It fails to realize that every action will have a thousand reactions in the greater economy and most of those reactions may not be good. It fails to realize that self interest without moral regulation can be an uncontrollable demon. And coupled with a messed up monetary system and open corruption and greed, we have a mallum of slow acting poison, a poison that will probably kill us all eventually, including the US
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sinhalese or Sri Lankan
Sometimes, there seems to be this unspoken sense of superiority within people. Their eyes are telling you to fuck off back to your country. As a matter of fact, somebody did tell me to go back to my country and I asked him what the hell my country was, if it wasn't Sri Lanka.
He tells me to go back to Arabia, in the trading boats that my grandfathers came down in. Well, i tell him, my grandfathers may have come down from the sands of Arabia but my grandmothers were probably from around these parts.
Sinhalese blood? What blood is Sinhalese? And what is Sinhalese blood? Aren't we all Sinhalese in that case? I'm sure I’ve got some of this so called Sinhalese blood inside me.
Sometimes i laugh at those i perceive to be stupid, but i try not to because stupidity often disguises genuine ignorance. But when people say things like 'if you don’t know Sinhalese you don’t deserve to be living in this country' and 'you should go back to your country', is when i really know that here, finally! Is stupido ignoramo-ceylonis, a not-so-elusive Sri Lankan indigenous species.
And we aren't just Indians. Cos if we are Indians then where is our funny accent? (No offense to Indians, i merely jest Russell Peter-esque firmly acknowledging that Sri Lankans have their own funny accent), If we are Indians then where is our dynamic work ethic? (cos let’s face it, we are a pretty relaxed bunch, which i am not complaining about btw)
Our blood is very much unique to the world, Vijaya's posse mixed in with the indigenous people, the resulting mish mash mixed in with a host of other people, Arabs, Colonists, Tamils etc and now if you cut us up and put us through a zillion mass spectrometers you'd probably be hard pressed to find something too different. Although people of different races do look and act a bit different mainly due to cultural backgrounds, a lot have amalgamated too much for our identities to be easily guessed if we were all naked and trussed up in front of a concentration camp.
There was a discussion on one of David Blacker's posts and Acromantula casually comments (on the harassment that Tamils face at check points);
'Frankly Tamils brought this upon themselves.. (the whole racial profiling thing).. well some Tamils at least…instead of going after lost privileges since independence they should hv started integrating in to the Sri Lankan society (notice i used da word Sri Lankan)'
And as DB points out to him, what exactly IS this “Sri Lankan society”? Tamils are part of Sri Lankan society, so what do they have to integrate into? What Tamils are NOT a part of is Sinhalese society. It’s like telling an African-American to integrate into American society.
Are we a country of bigots? I am not saying that the Sinhalese in particular are bigots. Not at all. The majority populations of most countries are probably bigots, and so probably are minorities for that matter. Then is this simply a part of human nature? A result of an act of conforming to a strong identity that excludes the possibility of equality being bestowed upon somebody ‘different’ merging with the difficulties that emerge from having to live with and accept such people in mainstream society?
I say mainstream but how many of our cities and suburbs are truly cosmopolitan? An extreme case would be Kiribathgoda, where you'd be hard pressed to find a Muslim business operation due to there being a mafia like control where only 'Sinhalese' owned businesses are allowed.
That is not to say however, that there aren’t any towns where people of all races exist peacefully, in fact all (or most) the towns I’ve lived in my short life were peaceful places and I am glad to say this. But i think we have a long way to go and i think where it all needs to start is at the grassroots, we need to start educating our young.
I find that, in the case of a bigot, or a person not open to accepting a 'different' person, exposure and chances to form a bond or a friendship with a person from another race have been minimum. I went to a school where there were people from diverse backgrounds and when you're a kid you're not really aware of the concept of race so much. You play hide and seek and cricket and join the interact club and fight and scream and tussle and get punished together and see each other humiliated and share a few laughs over the years, by the time you leave school, chances of you being a bigot (even a closeted one) are remote.
That is not to say that where you school determines who you turn out to be, your whole life from your parents, family, neighbourhood and the nature of the times you live in probably play a heavy role in that. But my point is, for a country to be united, its people should genuinely accept each other, and what better way for me to accept and understand Sinhalese, Tamil or Burgher people than to have a strong friendship with one of them?
Policy should change to accommodate this. Screening of students in schools should be stopped. This de facto racial segregation sends a powerful negative signal and must be eradicated. Language policy needs to be re-looked at. There is only so much people themselves can do. The government has to look into this seriously. It has to prevent racial differences from being exploited for political gain (which has happened and is happening in abundance) and people should genuinely be allowed to integrate, and a new culture allowed to emerge.
He tells me to go back to Arabia, in the trading boats that my grandfathers came down in. Well, i tell him, my grandfathers may have come down from the sands of Arabia but my grandmothers were probably from around these parts.
Sinhalese blood? What blood is Sinhalese? And what is Sinhalese blood? Aren't we all Sinhalese in that case? I'm sure I’ve got some of this so called Sinhalese blood inside me.
Sometimes i laugh at those i perceive to be stupid, but i try not to because stupidity often disguises genuine ignorance. But when people say things like 'if you don’t know Sinhalese you don’t deserve to be living in this country' and 'you should go back to your country', is when i really know that here, finally! Is stupido ignoramo-ceylonis, a not-so-elusive Sri Lankan indigenous species.
And we aren't just Indians. Cos if we are Indians then where is our funny accent? (No offense to Indians, i merely jest Russell Peter-esque firmly acknowledging that Sri Lankans have their own funny accent), If we are Indians then where is our dynamic work ethic? (cos let’s face it, we are a pretty relaxed bunch, which i am not complaining about btw)
Our blood is very much unique to the world, Vijaya's posse mixed in with the indigenous people, the resulting mish mash mixed in with a host of other people, Arabs, Colonists, Tamils etc and now if you cut us up and put us through a zillion mass spectrometers you'd probably be hard pressed to find something too different. Although people of different races do look and act a bit different mainly due to cultural backgrounds, a lot have amalgamated too much for our identities to be easily guessed if we were all naked and trussed up in front of a concentration camp.
There was a discussion on one of David Blacker's posts and Acromantula casually comments (on the harassment that Tamils face at check points);
'Frankly Tamils brought this upon themselves.. (the whole racial profiling thing).. well some Tamils at least…instead of going after lost privileges since independence they should hv started integrating in to the Sri Lankan society (notice i used da word Sri Lankan)'
And as DB points out to him, what exactly IS this “Sri Lankan society”? Tamils are part of Sri Lankan society, so what do they have to integrate into? What Tamils are NOT a part of is Sinhalese society. It’s like telling an African-American to integrate into American society.
Are we a country of bigots? I am not saying that the Sinhalese in particular are bigots. Not at all. The majority populations of most countries are probably bigots, and so probably are minorities for that matter. Then is this simply a part of human nature? A result of an act of conforming to a strong identity that excludes the possibility of equality being bestowed upon somebody ‘different’ merging with the difficulties that emerge from having to live with and accept such people in mainstream society?
I say mainstream but how many of our cities and suburbs are truly cosmopolitan? An extreme case would be Kiribathgoda, where you'd be hard pressed to find a Muslim business operation due to there being a mafia like control where only 'Sinhalese' owned businesses are allowed.
That is not to say however, that there aren’t any towns where people of all races exist peacefully, in fact all (or most) the towns I’ve lived in my short life were peaceful places and I am glad to say this. But i think we have a long way to go and i think where it all needs to start is at the grassroots, we need to start educating our young.
I find that, in the case of a bigot, or a person not open to accepting a 'different' person, exposure and chances to form a bond or a friendship with a person from another race have been minimum. I went to a school where there were people from diverse backgrounds and when you're a kid you're not really aware of the concept of race so much. You play hide and seek and cricket and join the interact club and fight and scream and tussle and get punished together and see each other humiliated and share a few laughs over the years, by the time you leave school, chances of you being a bigot (even a closeted one) are remote.
That is not to say that where you school determines who you turn out to be, your whole life from your parents, family, neighbourhood and the nature of the times you live in probably play a heavy role in that. But my point is, for a country to be united, its people should genuinely accept each other, and what better way for me to accept and understand Sinhalese, Tamil or Burgher people than to have a strong friendship with one of them?
Policy should change to accommodate this. Screening of students in schools should be stopped. This de facto racial segregation sends a powerful negative signal and must be eradicated. Language policy needs to be re-looked at. There is only so much people themselves can do. The government has to look into this seriously. It has to prevent racial differences from being exploited for political gain (which has happened and is happening in abundance) and people should genuinely be allowed to integrate, and a new culture allowed to emerge.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Dining with Terrorists
Heres something that Realskullzero pointed me in the direction of. It's a video from AlJazeera taking in the 3 decades or so from the Southern JVP uprisings and the current 'terrorist' situation. Why 'terrorist' was in inverted commas was because the video clearly indicates Mahinda Rajapakse's sympathies with the Southern Sinahlese Nationalist uprising or the JVP uprising, which he now denies and says that the only thing he was sympathizing with was their feeling towards how the government quelled the rebellion and not their actual cause. But a young and radical looking Mahinda clearly talks about India's invasionary tendencies and how they are trying to 'take over this country' and how we could soon become 'a part of India' (unless that was a result of an editing trick where he was actually referring to what the JVP's sentiments about it were).
But in Sri Lanka today, his own government is accused of terrorist acts just like the then UNP govenment was accused of. What i realized on a personal note was just how much i didnt really know about the political history of Sri Lanka, the devil is in the details they say. Those in power will always exploit and push their own ideology forward not caring about the same ideologies and the need to be heard of others, it is the imperfect nature of the inherent power struture. And at the end of the day what is 'terrorism' in the first place? is it just a distinction between two sides? Where the ones challenging the existing status quo are branded so?
He seems anti establishment in terms of bowing down to the existing world order; to the pressures of the West and other external interests. But we all have seen how the West fights its own brand of 'terrorism' (which leaves whole lot to be said there). Fight fire with fire? And if so, you really can't make a distinction between the two can you? Government and terrorist? What then do we call them? Insurgents? Freedom fighters? I guess it depends on which side your sympathies lie on. Words build perceptions and unfortunately or otherwise, or perhaps as a simple characteristic of archaic (?) human nature, perceptions are everything.
If the embed has problems, you can view the vid here.
But in Sri Lanka today, his own government is accused of terrorist acts just like the then UNP govenment was accused of. What i realized on a personal note was just how much i didnt really know about the political history of Sri Lanka, the devil is in the details they say. Those in power will always exploit and push their own ideology forward not caring about the same ideologies and the need to be heard of others, it is the imperfect nature of the inherent power struture. And at the end of the day what is 'terrorism' in the first place? is it just a distinction between two sides? Where the ones challenging the existing status quo are branded so?
He seems anti establishment in terms of bowing down to the existing world order; to the pressures of the West and other external interests. But we all have seen how the West fights its own brand of 'terrorism' (which leaves whole lot to be said there). Fight fire with fire? And if so, you really can't make a distinction between the two can you? Government and terrorist? What then do we call them? Insurgents? Freedom fighters? I guess it depends on which side your sympathies lie on. Words build perceptions and unfortunately or otherwise, or perhaps as a simple characteristic of archaic (?) human nature, perceptions are everything.
If the embed has problems, you can view the vid here.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Don't Shoot! I'm with the government!
What's been happening around the place? when bloggers like RD, Gehan & The Messiah start talking politics you know that there's some seriously disturbing shit going down.
Lasantha was shot down and killed. I am deeply disturbed by his death. He was a beacon of free speech for all of us on this little island. A hopeful light that here, there still remains a man capable of defying the stifling blankets of control imposed upon us. Here was someone not afraid to fight for the truth. He was a symbol of freedom. In that freedom is a right to express yourself no matter what the environment.
In a day and age where patriotism is mistaken for supporting the government in everything they do, we are all liable to be shot down. Are we still living in a democracy, or are we heading for a pseudo autocracy? Do we all support the war? if we do, should we necessarily brand those who don't support it 'traitors'? Or should we shout down the warnings that say 'everything is not quite right here' because if everything was fine and dandy, there wouldnt really be reporters dying like flies, and TV stations being burned down yes?
A nationalist uprising? or rather, my brown Sri Lankan bottom. But perhaps it is, my bottom has been known to be wrong on the past.
Lasantha was shot down and killed. I am deeply disturbed by his death. He was a beacon of free speech for all of us on this little island. A hopeful light that here, there still remains a man capable of defying the stifling blankets of control imposed upon us. Here was someone not afraid to fight for the truth. He was a symbol of freedom. In that freedom is a right to express yourself no matter what the environment.
In a day and age where patriotism is mistaken for supporting the government in everything they do, we are all liable to be shot down. Are we still living in a democracy, or are we heading for a pseudo autocracy? Do we all support the war? if we do, should we necessarily brand those who don't support it 'traitors'? Or should we shout down the warnings that say 'everything is not quite right here' because if everything was fine and dandy, there wouldnt really be reporters dying like flies, and TV stations being burned down yes?
A nationalist uprising? or rather, my brown Sri Lankan bottom. But perhaps it is, my bottom has been known to be wrong on the past.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Terror, is it racial?
Okay you dopey morons. I’m gonna tell you about some insight that attacked my brilliant mind last Sunday while we were smoking up some good greens on the beach. where does terror originate?
The talk starts with the ultimate blight of the depraved System. None of us want to be a part of it. Yet we all ride it. None of us actually want to go to work. yet we do,. we are all in it for the money. A few lucky ones prefer to self actualize and choose a path of life that is apart from the mainstream. A few brave ones. But is not very much fun doing it if you don't have the money to support a house in Colombo, great food, and hangouts in all the artsy places around town. So the apparently altruistic, at least the ones we could identify, were all rich kids with big inheritances ditching the system cos their spoilt enough to afford it. The rest are all 'struggling artists' Which doesn’t really count right?
We have all go a set of needs to fulfill. And rarely will you find a bugger self actualizing without a shit given to basic necessities like food, shelter, security etc. So most of us on a default basis basically 'ride the system'. Which of course is, the economy as we know it. The system fakes everything up and tells you that you are making an honest living. and, little knowing the greed that is driving imbalance and oppression across the world, you gladly work for it. Hell i do too.
The system is a network of capitalization. The powerful always stay on top. It is driven by power and money. Any external benefits that happen because of it are purely there to help it grow. because the system knows its a give and take ball game. but it is essentially exploitative. That’s why you don’t see most companies take steps against pollution unless there is enormous public pressure for it to do so. It knows if doesn't comply, it's gonna destroy its income. So then we have 'green' sucker uppers.
The System has been running the world for a long time. Ever wondered why the British empire was never criticized for its sudden and disgraceful loss of power (After WW2 it went from owning almost half the worlds land mass to owning practically nothing.) Yet they still command oodles of respect in the world’s hierarchy of powerbrokers. Ever looked closely at the regions that the Brits pulled out of? Ever noticed what a fucked up state they were left in? look at Africa. They were doing really well in the days of the Empire. Now their hitting the dust again and again. Look at India. They were united in power against the occupier. Muslims, Hindus alike, the Brits left and somehow massive racial violence breaks out and what was once India is now several nations. Their power broken down. There's no telling really, what they might have achieved as a country if they had stayed united and never waged all these destructive internal wars that tore them apart.
The Brits had a strategic withdrawal plan alright; They were in cahoots with the Americans when they were doing it. Consolidating their power even in retreat. One can almost say the Empire never died. Just closed in on itself.
Just look at SL. Even India. We were divided before being colonized, then we finally united against a common enemy, who somehow made sure we divided again after we finally won over them.
Fine. Now leave all that aside and look at us people again. We are working for a system that runs the world. That’s fine. we don’t think a lot beyond our own needs, and essentially we don’t need to. The system works on the basis that everyone has a need for it to survive. But how about the crushed? how about its vast inefficiencies and the destruction that is waged by the system? How about the web of lies we continue to believe in because it gives us comfort and allows to pretend that what we are doing is actually the best thing we could be doing. That we are not contributing to the dastardly effects the system has on the world.
How about those few who stand up against it? Are they the terrorists? Or are they just one form of terrorists?
What do yall think? If you've managed to follow my reasoning so far. If not, I'm gonna tell you anyways what I think.
The talk starts with the ultimate blight of the depraved System. None of us want to be a part of it. Yet we all ride it. None of us actually want to go to work. yet we do,. we are all in it for the money. A few lucky ones prefer to self actualize and choose a path of life that is apart from the mainstream. A few brave ones. But is not very much fun doing it if you don't have the money to support a house in Colombo, great food, and hangouts in all the artsy places around town. So the apparently altruistic, at least the ones we could identify, were all rich kids with big inheritances ditching the system cos their spoilt enough to afford it. The rest are all 'struggling artists' Which doesn’t really count right?
We have all go a set of needs to fulfill. And rarely will you find a bugger self actualizing without a shit given to basic necessities like food, shelter, security etc. So most of us on a default basis basically 'ride the system'. Which of course is, the economy as we know it. The system fakes everything up and tells you that you are making an honest living. and, little knowing the greed that is driving imbalance and oppression across the world, you gladly work for it. Hell i do too.
The system is a network of capitalization. The powerful always stay on top. It is driven by power and money. Any external benefits that happen because of it are purely there to help it grow. because the system knows its a give and take ball game. but it is essentially exploitative. That’s why you don’t see most companies take steps against pollution unless there is enormous public pressure for it to do so. It knows if doesn't comply, it's gonna destroy its income. So then we have 'green' sucker uppers.
The System has been running the world for a long time. Ever wondered why the British empire was never criticized for its sudden and disgraceful loss of power (After WW2 it went from owning almost half the worlds land mass to owning practically nothing.) Yet they still command oodles of respect in the world’s hierarchy of powerbrokers. Ever looked closely at the regions that the Brits pulled out of? Ever noticed what a fucked up state they were left in? look at Africa. They were doing really well in the days of the Empire. Now their hitting the dust again and again. Look at India. They were united in power against the occupier. Muslims, Hindus alike, the Brits left and somehow massive racial violence breaks out and what was once India is now several nations. Their power broken down. There's no telling really, what they might have achieved as a country if they had stayed united and never waged all these destructive internal wars that tore them apart.
The Brits had a strategic withdrawal plan alright; They were in cahoots with the Americans when they were doing it. Consolidating their power even in retreat. One can almost say the Empire never died. Just closed in on itself.
Just look at SL. Even India. We were divided before being colonized, then we finally united against a common enemy, who somehow made sure we divided again after we finally won over them.
Fine. Now leave all that aside and look at us people again. We are working for a system that runs the world. That’s fine. we don’t think a lot beyond our own needs, and essentially we don’t need to. The system works on the basis that everyone has a need for it to survive. But how about the crushed? how about its vast inefficiencies and the destruction that is waged by the system? How about the web of lies we continue to believe in because it gives us comfort and allows to pretend that what we are doing is actually the best thing we could be doing. That we are not contributing to the dastardly effects the system has on the world.
How about those few who stand up against it? Are they the terrorists? Or are they just one form of terrorists?
What do yall think? If you've managed to follow my reasoning so far. If not, I'm gonna tell you anyways what I think.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tough Love
It’s all the rage upstairs these days I'm told. The war is 'coming to a close' and everyone is getting a bit cocky. And now we are within 'kissing distance' of Killinocchi. Nice. I’m kind of picturing Sarath Fonseka locking lips with Prabhakaran after a long drawn out battle through the dust and grime, through smoke and flying bullets etc. The poignant reunion of two estranged lovers. Slinky soundtrack plays and poof! There goes the ethnic conflict.
Meanwhile the Tigers seem to be showing us their purring affection by killing a claimed 170 SL Army troops. Funny thing though; we seem to have noticed only 25 of them gone. Maybe the rest haven't realized they're dead yet. Or maybe there's a problem with the paperwork. I mean, if the paper work says they aint dead, a simple thing like an actual dead body can't be allowed to show up and spoil it all yeah. Then again, they (the tigers) could be lying, and so could we. It starts getting a bit complicated when you start thinking along those lines.
On the subject of paperwork and petrol. Whooped for joy when I heard the cabinet was actually going to revise the petrol prices to 100 bucks and actually follow a Supreme Court order for a change and then deflated with a cigarette half an hour later when I found out that actually, they weren't.
The reason? Some complicated high end top secret national security concern? Not really, our government is not very competent in putting out vague generalizations with big words that make us go 'ah!' and shut up because we don't understand. No, at least they're straight forward. No photocopy was sent to the cabinet from the Supreme Court. A copy of the order to reduce petrol was not received by the cabinet. I mean the order that was put forward by the Supreme Court to reduce the price of petrol was not received in paper by the cabinet. the order the paper the petrol the cabinet the supreme court. And it all boiled down to an A4 sheet. I mean wtf?? Is it just me or does anyone else see anything completely absurd here that a finger cannot quite be put upon?
Maybe dunking my head in an ice cold bucket of water will clear things up. I suggest you do the same, cos pretty soon it's gonna get a bit hot in here me thinks.
Meanwhile the Tigers seem to be showing us their purring affection by killing a claimed 170 SL Army troops. Funny thing though; we seem to have noticed only 25 of them gone. Maybe the rest haven't realized they're dead yet. Or maybe there's a problem with the paperwork. I mean, if the paper work says they aint dead, a simple thing like an actual dead body can't be allowed to show up and spoil it all yeah. Then again, they (the tigers) could be lying, and so could we. It starts getting a bit complicated when you start thinking along those lines.
On the subject of paperwork and petrol. Whooped for joy when I heard the cabinet was actually going to revise the petrol prices to 100 bucks and actually follow a Supreme Court order for a change and then deflated with a cigarette half an hour later when I found out that actually, they weren't.
The reason? Some complicated high end top secret national security concern? Not really, our government is not very competent in putting out vague generalizations with big words that make us go 'ah!' and shut up because we don't understand. No, at least they're straight forward. No photocopy was sent to the cabinet from the Supreme Court. A copy of the order to reduce petrol was not received by the cabinet. I mean the order that was put forward by the Supreme Court to reduce the price of petrol was not received in paper by the cabinet. the order the paper the petrol the cabinet the supreme court. And it all boiled down to an A4 sheet. I mean wtf?? Is it just me or does anyone else see anything completely absurd here that a finger cannot quite be put upon?
Maybe dunking my head in an ice cold bucket of water will clear things up. I suggest you do the same, cos pretty soon it's gonna get a bit hot in here me thinks.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Where have all the terrorists gone?
Ok now here’s a question for all you people out there who think Prabahakaran’s a terrorist. Does he not wank at night before goes to sleep? If you prick him does he not bleed? If you stole his lunch and beat him up, would he not cry? Is he but a man like you and me? Or is he really a woman inside like Boy George or Mervin Silva? Or is he, like many believe him to be, the illegitimate, discarded son of the devil himself? Illegitimate because the devil in a drunken stupor landed in Jaffna thinking it was LA and did it with a bush lizard of some type thinking it was Celine Dion or Donald Trump? And even though you might say all the devil’s children, like George Bush, are illegitimate since after all the devil leads by example, discarded because a bush lizard is still a bush lizard and even the devil has his standards?
Yes, yes it is very brave of me to sit safe in my room in an undisclosed location in the greater Colombo area and smugly type away vicious insults to the grand old boy of Sri Lankan terrorism I know. But that’s okay, I am not asking for any medals, just doing my civic duty as a roadblock loving Sri Lankan citizen who would think nothing of sacrificing about 15 minutes of the first part of his crucial CIM exams so that some power loving money hungry white shirt wearing deranged komodo dragon of a politician can wait for his wife to leave (through a different route, eliciting the services of other patriots and honourable citizens such as I) so that he can get his servant to suck him off in the kitchen and still get his nice round ass to parliament for the next power hungry bastard with something to gain to kiss in 15 minutes flat. Oh yes, I am all for efficient governance.
While retracting my rather tasteless comments about the devil and his dirty deeds above, for after all a lady is still a lady even though she may have been unfortunate enough to have a son like Prabhakaran, I am forced to ask, who is the real terrorist here?
One, gets people to die for him without even meeting them in the name of an ancient cause that frankly no one even knows anything about anymore. The other, revels in the war effort and uses it to consolidate his power by scaring the people making them bend over double and give him all their money. Probably half of which he uses to buy weapons netting a handy commission out of the whole deal. Some might call it a lost cause. But no one really knows anymore.
It’s like when Mr Perera snapped at Mrs Soyza’s dog and Mrs Soyza called Mrs Perera a drunken whorebag because Mr. Soyza who drinks every night, can’t resist looking over the wall to get a peek at Mrs. Perera’s extra large green cotton panties hanging on the washing line. And so begins a long drawn out battle between the Pererá’s and Soyza’s and including, among it’s many casualties, a cut down thambili tree for daring to drop its produce on the wrong side of the parapet wall, a surprised bas unnahey who chose the wrong side of the border to keep his foot on during some construction, a harangued local police officer sick and tired of dealing with petty complaints and who ultimately suffered a stroke, and even more harassed looking neighbours unable to sleep due to noisy arguments from both sides all through the night, and who went out and didn’t contribute positively to the workforce and spread the insomnia throughout their acquaintances and throughout over ever widening circles causing car accidents, bus accidents, moral degeneracy and a serious economic down turn preceded by a financial crisis in the US where the Perera’s stressed and vacation deprived son was working at Bear Sterns as an investment banker looking for a new high return, risk insurable investment opportunity.
Ultimately, the Soyza’s dog died from a heart attack and Mrs. Perera stopped wearing extra large green cotton panties due to having lost so much weight by fighting all day and through having developed an allergy to cotton that brought her out in itches and boils that her doctor said was due to stress and from not being able to stand the colour green anymore because it gave her traumatic nightmares about how it all started. And Mr. Soyza stopped drinking after a bout of extreme depression when Mrs Perera stopped wearing extra large green cotton panties and stayed sober in order to better focus on the fight at hand and trounce the opponent even though he hadn’t the faintest what it was all about, having been drinking at the time it all started. And Mrs Soyza wouldn’t stop fighting till Mr Perera stopped and Mr. Perera didn’t see why he should stop until Mrs. Soyza backed off and apologized despite the pleadings of the harangued police officer and his insistence that there was nothing left to fight over anymore.
And so they bred the same hate and ignorance within all their children who in turn proudly presented it to their children as a part of the great heritage of their respective families and the Perera’s and the Soyza’s continue to fight to this day and no one really remembers or cares that it all started over a long dead dog and a pair of extra large green cotton panties.
So who’s the real terrorist here I ask you again. If you were to ask me, I would say neither. There are no terrorists here at all, only angry people with weapons (and a possibly inherited fetish for alcohol and extra large green cotton panties), who have forgotten why they got angry in the first place.
And as for terrorism itself, well we are all unknowingly embroiled in it. It is an aura surrounding us that we can't shake off.
Disclaimer -The selection of these two esteemed Sri Lankan last names was purely random, and may have been triggered by the memory of two families in my former neighborhood that were constantly at loggerheads with each other. No offense meant to any individual bearing the names of Soyza or Perera, nor to anyone fond of green cotton undergarments of any size, and i sincerely hope no offense was taken!
Yes, yes it is very brave of me to sit safe in my room in an undisclosed location in the greater Colombo area and smugly type away vicious insults to the grand old boy of Sri Lankan terrorism I know. But that’s okay, I am not asking for any medals, just doing my civic duty as a roadblock loving Sri Lankan citizen who would think nothing of sacrificing about 15 minutes of the first part of his crucial CIM exams so that some power loving money hungry white shirt wearing deranged komodo dragon of a politician can wait for his wife to leave (through a different route, eliciting the services of other patriots and honourable citizens such as I) so that he can get his servant to suck him off in the kitchen and still get his nice round ass to parliament for the next power hungry bastard with something to gain to kiss in 15 minutes flat. Oh yes, I am all for efficient governance.
While retracting my rather tasteless comments about the devil and his dirty deeds above, for after all a lady is still a lady even though she may have been unfortunate enough to have a son like Prabhakaran, I am forced to ask, who is the real terrorist here?
One, gets people to die for him without even meeting them in the name of an ancient cause that frankly no one even knows anything about anymore. The other, revels in the war effort and uses it to consolidate his power by scaring the people making them bend over double and give him all their money. Probably half of which he uses to buy weapons netting a handy commission out of the whole deal. Some might call it a lost cause. But no one really knows anymore.
It’s like when Mr Perera snapped at Mrs Soyza’s dog and Mrs Soyza called Mrs Perera a drunken whorebag because Mr. Soyza who drinks every night, can’t resist looking over the wall to get a peek at Mrs. Perera’s extra large green cotton panties hanging on the washing line. And so begins a long drawn out battle between the Pererá’s and Soyza’s and including, among it’s many casualties, a cut down thambili tree for daring to drop its produce on the wrong side of the parapet wall, a surprised bas unnahey who chose the wrong side of the border to keep his foot on during some construction, a harangued local police officer sick and tired of dealing with petty complaints and who ultimately suffered a stroke, and even more harassed looking neighbours unable to sleep due to noisy arguments from both sides all through the night, and who went out and didn’t contribute positively to the workforce and spread the insomnia throughout their acquaintances and throughout over ever widening circles causing car accidents, bus accidents, moral degeneracy and a serious economic down turn preceded by a financial crisis in the US where the Perera’s stressed and vacation deprived son was working at Bear Sterns as an investment banker looking for a new high return, risk insurable investment opportunity.
Ultimately, the Soyza’s dog died from a heart attack and Mrs. Perera stopped wearing extra large green cotton panties due to having lost so much weight by fighting all day and through having developed an allergy to cotton that brought her out in itches and boils that her doctor said was due to stress and from not being able to stand the colour green anymore because it gave her traumatic nightmares about how it all started. And Mr. Soyza stopped drinking after a bout of extreme depression when Mrs Perera stopped wearing extra large green cotton panties and stayed sober in order to better focus on the fight at hand and trounce the opponent even though he hadn’t the faintest what it was all about, having been drinking at the time it all started. And Mrs Soyza wouldn’t stop fighting till Mr Perera stopped and Mr. Perera didn’t see why he should stop until Mrs. Soyza backed off and apologized despite the pleadings of the harangued police officer and his insistence that there was nothing left to fight over anymore.
And so they bred the same hate and ignorance within all their children who in turn proudly presented it to their children as a part of the great heritage of their respective families and the Perera’s and the Soyza’s continue to fight to this day and no one really remembers or cares that it all started over a long dead dog and a pair of extra large green cotton panties.
So who’s the real terrorist here I ask you again. If you were to ask me, I would say neither. There are no terrorists here at all, only angry people with weapons (and a possibly inherited fetish for alcohol and extra large green cotton panties), who have forgotten why they got angry in the first place.
And as for terrorism itself, well we are all unknowingly embroiled in it. It is an aura surrounding us that we can't shake off.
Disclaimer -The selection of these two esteemed Sri Lankan last names was purely random, and may have been triggered by the memory of two families in my former neighborhood that were constantly at loggerheads with each other. No offense meant to any individual bearing the names of Soyza or Perera, nor to anyone fond of green cotton undergarments of any size, and i sincerely hope no offense was taken!
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