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A MONUMENTAL JOKE

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by Vijaya Chandrasoma

The only predictable thing about Trump is his predictability. He failed in his efforts to con his way to a Nobel Peace Prize, even with a forged letter of recommendation from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Now, a “monumental” suggestion has 16been made by the White House to the Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, to add the face of President Donald Trump to the four presidents already memorialized at Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore is located in a National Park surrounded by the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, and contains 60 ft. high faces, carved in stone, of the majestic figures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. The Father of the Nation, the Founding Father who was mainly responsible for drafting the Constitution, the president who signed the Proclamation of Emancipation and a Nobel Laureate famous for his Square Deal program, known as the “three Cs” – Conservation of natural resources, Control of corporations and Consumer protections. High company indeed.

The carving took 14 years to complete, having started in 1927, ending in 1941. There is room enough to add a fifth, even a sixth face to the monument.

Trump is convinced that he belongs in the illustrious company of these great presidents, conclusive evidence that his Narcissistic Personality Disorder is alive and kicking.

In an interview in 2018, Noem talked of a conversation she had with Trump in the Oval Office, during which he said that it was “always my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore.” Said Noem, “I initially thought he was joking and started laughing”. Then she realized he was deadly serious.

Trump again mentioned his “dream” in 2017, at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, saying that it (the carving of his image on Mount Rushmore) will “stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers, and to our freedom.”

At a speech on the eve of the 2020 Independence Day, Trump continued with his political strategy of further dividing the nation. He attacked the recent protests against police brutality, accusing the protestors of “engaging in a merciless campaign to wipe out our history”.

Trump indicated that his role in saving these monuments, which his white supremacist mind honoured American heroes, was proof of his eligibility to be honoured at Mount Rushmore. Even though some of these “heroes” were traitors like Robert E. Lee, a general of the Confederate army who waged a war of secession against the USA to perpetuate the inhuman institution of slavery.

He added more achievements in support of his inclusion in Mount Rushmore. Below are some of his greatest achievements, according to his Adderall deluded mind. Unfortunately, in reality, they represent the realization of the ambitions of Russian President Putin and those of Khrushchev, who famously said in 1956:

“We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within.”

Trump has behaved throughout his presidency as if he’s more interested in fostering Russia’s foreign and geopolitical aggressions in Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan. Even recent evidence provided by the US intelligence agencies that Russia was paying bounty to the Taliban to murder US soldiers in Afghanistan has elicited no response from Trump, though he has had conversations with his master after this crime was disclosed to him in his daily briefings.

A classic case of treason by omission, rivaled only by his support of Putin at the world stage in Helsinki in July 2018, when he agreed with the Russian president that there had been no Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Against the evidence provided to him by all 17 US intelligence services.

Trump’s lies about his major achievements are:

“I created the greatest economy the world has ever seen, out of the ruins I inherited from the Obama administration, all by myself”.

He has repeated this appalling lie so often that it has become the truth in many minds. They were initially believed by those voters who resented eight years of the scandal free presidency of an African American, which had gained universal admiration.

Obama’s presidency engineered the recovery left over by the deep recession caused by the reign of error of the George W. Bush administration, with a series of effective economic, stimulus and health programs. By the time he left the Oval Office, the economy was booming, unemployment was at its lowest levels in decades and Obamacare won health insurance for tens of millions of hitherto uninsured Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions.

The economy is in shambles today, with unemployment running at 12.5% and nearly 40 million people unemployed, mainly because of delayed action by Trump in containing the virus.

Trump continues boasting of his magnificent performance in controlling the Coronavirus, a recovery which exists only in his Alternative Universe. His ridiculous lie at a Coronavirus briefing last Monday that America “will be in very, very good shape in a short period of time” was made in the light of his colossal mismanagement of the Covid19 pandemic, which has already claimed over five million infections and 162,000 deaths, currently increasing by 1,000 per day. A continuing tragedy caused by his incompetence and “happy talk” in March and April, and a similar prediction a few days ago that the virus will disappear “like a miracle very, very soon”. Contrary to the rational predictions of his own scientists, who have been warning, from January 2020, that the virus will spread exponentially unless preventive action is taken immediately. And so it has been spreading, with no sign of abatement, from March until the present day.

The US, in spite of the backing of the greatest medical and technological infrastructure in the world, sees no end to the virus. With 4% of the world’s population and 25% of total deaths by the virus, the US is far behind the progress made by other developed nations, nations like Germany, South Korea and the United Kingdom which are on the verge of defeating the first wave of the virus and returning to normality. A happy situation brought about by competent leadership. New Zealand has not had a single Covid case in the last 100 days!

Trump lies of other achievements. During a Memorial Day speech on May 25, he lied that he signed the Veteran’s Healthcare bill in 2014, which was enacted during the Obama presidency! Just the other day, he announced that he was going to sign an Executive Order mandating all insurance companies to provide health cover to those with pre-existing conditions. Ironically, such cover is already the law of the land under Obamacare, which the Trump administration is currently trying to repeal in the courts. And, of course, he established the Space Force, primarily designed to fight the teeming crime, the murders, bank robberies and rapes committed by Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims and other Aliens rampant in outer space.

Great presidents of the 20th century, eminently suitable to have been memorialized at Mount Rushmore, never begged for this privilege. To make such a narcissistic suggestion would never have even occurred to them.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat – 1932 to 1945) guided the country through the Great Depression, introducing the “New Deal”, a series of socialist programs and projects aimed to restore prosperity in the country.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican – 1952 to 1960), served as the Commander of the American forces in Europe at the end of World War II, and was the first Supreme Commander of NATO from 1951. As President, Ike launched the Interstate Highway Network in 1956.

Jack Kennedy (Democrat – 1960 to 1963), whose chief success came after his assassination, encouraged the Apollo space program, and USA became the first country to put a man on the moon in 1969, “surely the most dramatic technical and engineering achievement ever, one of the great undertakings in all of human history”. Kennedy was a gifted orator, and the most charismatic president in our lifetime.

Barack Obama (Democrat – 2008 to 2016), Nobel Laureate, ended his second term with 72 straight months of economic growth. He enacted the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which paved the way to Single Payer healthcare. Obama is also a fine orator, a man of deep compassion, whose speeches echo the values of integrity and patriotism, of honesty and decency, values which have disappeared from the White House of today.

In bleak contrast, Trump has dragged a united country to a level of polarization and economic and social inequality no one would ever have thought to be possible.

Many people, even some independent voters outside his base, believe Trump’s lies today, lies that are reaching a crescendo as the election draws near. He still has supporters in spite of his incompetence, ignorance and the crimes he has committed, against America and against the world. He has also changed the Party of Lincoln to the Party of Trump, members of which are complicit in the regress of a once great nation to tyranny. The success of this massive con is Trump’s real achievement.

The credit for Trump’s major achievements, which have only served to hasten Russia’s return to its lost glory as a global superpower, really belongs to President Putin. Perhaps Putin’s face should be memorialized on Mount Rushmore.

 

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Islamophobia and the threat to democratic development

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There’s an ill more dangerous and pervasive than the Coronavirus that’s currently sweeping Sri Lanka. That is the fear to express one’s convictions. Across the public sector of the country in particular many persons holding high office are stringently regulating and controlling the voices of their consciences and this bodes ill for all and the country.

The corrupting impact of fear was discussed in this column a couple of weeks ago when dealing with the military coup in Myanmar. It stands to the enduring credit of ousted Myanmarese Head of Government Aung San Suu Kyi that she, perhaps for the first time in the history of modern political thought, singled out fear, and not power, as the principal cause of corruption within the individual; powerful or otherwise.

To be sure, power corrupts but the corrupting impact of fear is graver and more devastating. For instance, the fear in a person holding ministerial office or in a senior public sector official, that he would lose position and power as a result of speaking out his convictions and sincere beliefs on matters of the first importance, would lead to a country’s ills going unaddressed and uncorrected.

Besides, the individual concerned would be devaluing himself in the eyes of all irrevocably and revealing himself to be a person who would be willing to compromise his moral integrity for petty worldly gain or a ‘mess of pottage’. This happens all the while in Lankan public life. Some of those who have wielded and are wielding immense power in Sri Lanka leave very much to be desired from these standards.

It could be said that fear has prevented Sri Lanka from growing in every vital respect over the decades and has earned for itself the notoriety of being a directionless country.

All these ills and more are contained in the current controversy in Sri Lanka over the disposal of the bodies of Covid victims, for example. The Sri Lankan polity has no choice but to abide by scientific advice on this question. Since authorities of the standing of even the WHO have declared that the burial of the bodies of those dying of Covid could not prove to be injurious to the wider public, the Sri Lankan health authorities could go ahead and sanction the burying of the bodies concerned. What’s preventing the local authorities from taking this course since they claim to be on the side of science? Who or what are they fearing? This is the issue that’s crying out to be probed and answered.

Considering the need for absolute truthfulness and honesty on the part of all relevant persons and quarters in matters such as these, the latter have no choice but to resign from their positions if they are prevented from following the dictates of their consciences. If they are firmly convinced that burials could bring no harm, they are obliged to take up the position that burials should be allowed.

If any ‘higher authority’ is preventing them from allowing burials, our ministers and officials are conscience-bound to renounce their positions in protest, rather than behave compromisingly and engage in ‘double think’ and ‘double talk’. By adopting the latter course they are helping none but keeping the country in a state of chronic uncertainty, which is a handy recipe for social instabiliy and division.

In the Sri Lankan context, the failure on the part of the quarters that matter to follow scientific advice on the burials question could result in the aggravation of Islamophobia, or hatred of the practitioners of Islam, in the country. Sri Lanka could do without this latter phobia and hatred on account of its implications for national stability and development. The 30 year war against separatist forces was all about the prevention by military means of ‘nation-breaking’. The disastrous results for Sri Lanka from this war are continuing to weigh it down and are part of the international offensive against Sri Lanka in the UNHCR.

However, Islamophobia is an almost world wide phenomenon. It was greatly strengthened during Donald Trump’s presidential tenure in the US. While in office Trump resorted to the divisive ruling strategy of quite a few populist authoritarian rulers of the South. Essentially, the manoeuvre is to divide and rule by pandering to the racial prejudices of majority communities.

It has happened continually in Sri Lanka. In the initial post-independence years and for several decades after, it was a case of some populist politicians of the South whipping-up anti-Tamil sentiments. Some Tamil politicians did likewise in respect of the majority community. No doubt, both such quarters have done Sri Lanka immeasurable harm. By failing to follow scientific advice on the burial question and by not doing what is right, Sri Lanka’s current authorities are opening themselves to the charge that they are pandering to religious extremists among the majority community.

The murderous, destructive course of action adopted by some extremist sections among Muslim communities world wide, including of course Sri Lanka, has not earned the condemnation it deserves from moderate Muslims who make-up the preponderant majority in the Muslim community. It is up to moderate opinion in the latter collectivity to come out more strongly and persuasively against religious extremists in their midst. It will prove to have a cementing and unifying impact among communities.

It is not sufficiently appreciated by governments in the global South in particular that by voicing for religious and racial unity and by working consistently towards it, they would be strengthening democratic development, which is an essential condition for a country’s growth in all senses.

A ‘divided house’ is doomed to fall; this is the lesson of history. ‘National security’ cannot be had without human security and peaceful living among communities is central to the latter. There cannot be any ‘double talk’ or ‘politically correct’ opinions on this question. Truth and falsehood are the only valid categories of thought and speech.

Those in authority everywhere claiming to be democratic need to adopt a scientific outlook on this issue as well. Studies conducted on plural societies in South Asia, for example, reveal that the promotion of friendly, cordial ties among communities invariably brings about healing among estranged groups and produces social peace. This is the truth that is waiting to be acted upon.

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Pakistan’s love of Sri Lanka

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By Sanjeewa Jayaweera

It was on 3rd January 1972 that our family arrived in Karachi from Moscow. Our departure from Moscow had been delayed for a few weeks due to the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It ended on 16th December 1971. After that, international flights were not permitted for some time.

The contrast between Moscow and Karachi was unbelievable. First and foremost, Moscow’s temperature was near minus 40 degrees centigrade, while in Karachi, it was sunny and a warm 28 degrees centigrade. However, what struck us most was the extreme warmth with which the airport authorities greeted our family. As my father was a diplomat, we were quickly ushered to the airport’s VIP Lounge. We were in transit on our way to Rawalpindi, the airport serving the capital of Islamabad.

We quickly realized that the word “we are from Sri Lanka” opened all doors just as saying “open sesame” gained entry to Aladdin’s cave! The broad smile, extreme courtesy, and genuine warmth we received from the Pakistani people were unbelievable.

This was all to do with Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike’s decision to allow Pakistani aircraft to land in Colombo to refuel on the way to Dhaka in East Pakistan during the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It was a brave decision by Mrs Bandaranaike (Mrs B), and the successive governments and Sri Lanka people are still enjoying the fruits of it. Pakistan has been a steadfast and loyal supporter of our country. They have come to our assistance time and again in times of great need when many have turned their back on us. They have indeed been an “all-weather” friend of our country.

Getting back to 1972, I was an early beneficiary of Pakistani people’s love for Sri Lankans. I failed the entrance exam to gain entry to the only English medium school in Islamabad! However, when I met the Principal, along with my father, he said, “Sanjeewa, although you failed the entrance exam, I will this time make an exception as Sri Lankans are our dear friends.” After that, the joke around the family dinner table was that I owed my education in Pakistan to Mrs B!

At school, my brother and I were extended a warm welcome and always greeted “our good friends from Sri Lanka.” I felt when playing cricket for our college; our runs were cheered more loudly than of others.

One particular incident that I remember well was when the Embassy received a telex from the Foreign inistry. It requested that our High Commissioner seek an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Zulifikar Ali Bhutto (ZB), and convey a message from Mrs B. The message requested that an urgent shipment of rice be dispatched to Sri Lanka as there would be an imminent rice shortage. As the Ambassador was not in the station, the responsibility devolved on my father.

It usually takes about a week or more to get an audience with the Prime Minister (PM) of a foreign country due to their busy schedule. However, given the urgency, my father spoke to the Foreign Ministry’s Permanent Sectary, who fortunately was our neighbour and sought an urgent appointment. My father received a call from the PM’s secretary around 10 P.M asking him to come over to the PM’s residence. My father met ZB around midnight. ZB was about to retire to bed and, as such, was in his pyjamas and gown enjoying a cigar! He had greeted my father and had asked, “Mr Jayaweera, what can we do for great friend Madam Bandaranaike?. My father conveyed the message from Colombo and quietly mentioned that there would be riots in the country if there is no rice!

ZB had immediately got the Food Commissioner of Pakistan on the line and said, “I want a shipload of rice to be in Colombo within the next 72 hours!” The Food Commissioner reverted within a few minutes, saying that nothing was available and the last export shipment had left the port only a few hours ago to another country. ZB had instructed to turn the ship around and send it to Colombo. This despite protests from the Food Commissioner about terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit prohibiting non-delivery. Sri Lanka got its delivery of rice!

The next was the visit of Mrs B to Pakistan. On arrival in Rawalpindi airport, she was given a hero’s welcome, which Pakistan had previously only offered to President Gaddafi of Libya, who financially backed Pakistan with his oil money. That day, I missed school and accompanied my parents to the airport. On our way, we witnessed thousands of people had gathered by the roadside to welcome Mrs B.

When we walked to the airport’s tarmac, thousands of people were standing in temporary stands waving Sri Lanka and Pakistan flags and chanting “Sri Lanka Pakistan Zindabad.” The noise emanating from the crowd was as loud and passionate as the cheering that the Pakistani cricket team received during a test match. It was electric!

I believe she was only the second head of state given the privilege of addressing both assemblies of Parliament. The other being Gaddafi. There was genuine affection from Mrs B amongst the people of Pakistan.

I always remember the indefatigable efforts of Mr Abdul Haffez Kardar, a cabinet minister and the President of the Pakistan Cricket Board. From around 1973 onwards, he passionately championed Sri Lanka’s cause to be admitted as a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and granted test status. Every year, he would propose at the ICC’s annual meeting, but England and Australia’s veto kept us out until 1981.

I always felt that our Cricket Board made a mistake by not inviting Pakistan to play our inaugural test match. We should have appreciated Mr Kardar and Pakistan’s efforts. In 1974 the Pakistan board invited our team for a tour involving three test matches and a few first-class games. Most of those who played in our first test match was part of that tour, and no doubt gained significant exposure playing against a highly talented Pakistani team.

Several Pakistani greats were part of the Pakistan and India team that played a match soon after the Central Bank bomb in Colombo to prove that it was safe to play cricket in Colombo. It was a magnificent gesture by both Pakistan and India. Our greatest cricket triumph was in Pakistan when we won the World Cup in 1996. I am sure the players and those who watched the match on TV will remember the passionate support our team received that night from the Pakistani crowd. It was like playing at home!

I also recall reading about how the Pakistani government air freighted several Multi Barrell artillery guns and ammunition to Sri Lanka when the A rmy camp in Jaffna was under severe threat from the LTTE. This was even more important than the shipload of rice that ZB sent. This was crucial as most other countries refused to sell arms to our country during the war.

Time and again, Pakistan has steadfastly supported our country’s cause at the UNHCR. No doubt this year, too, their diplomats will work tirelessly to assist our country.

We extend a warm welcome to Mr Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is a truly inspirational individual who was undoubtedly an excellent cricketer. Since retirement from cricket, he has decided to get involved in politics, and after several years of patiently building up his support base, he won the last parliamentary elections. I hope that just as much as he galvanized Sri Lankan cricketers, his political journey would act as a catalyst for people like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to get involved in politics. Cricket has been called a “gentleman’s game.” Whilst politics is far from it!.

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Covid-19 health rules disregarded at entertainment venues?

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Believe me, seeing certain videos, on social media, depicting action, on the dance floor, at some of these entertainment venues, got me wondering whether this Coronavirus pandemic is REAL!

To those having a good time, at these particular venues, and, I guess, the management, as well, what the world is experiencing now doesn’t seem to be their concerned.

Obviously, such irresponsible behaviour could create more problems for those who are battling to halt the spread of Covid-19, and the new viriant of Covid, in our part of the world.

The videos, on display, on social media, show certain venues, packed to capacity – with hardly anyone wearing a mask, and social distancing…only a dream..

How can one think of social distancing while gyrating, on a dance floor, that is over crowded!

If this trend continues, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coronavirus makes its presence felt…at such venues.

And, then, what happens to the entertainment scene, and those involved in this field, especially the musicians? No work, whatsoever!

Lots of countries have closed nightclubs, and venues, where people gather, in order to curtail the spread of this deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of thousands.

Thailand did it and the country is still having lots of restrictions, where entertainment is concerned, and that is probably the reason why Thailand has been able to control the spread of the Coronavirus.

With a population of over 69 million, they have had (so far), a little over 25,000 cases, and 83 deaths, while we, with a population of around 21 million, have over 80,000 cases, and more than 450 deaths.

I’m not saying we should do away with entertainment – totally – but we need to follow a format, connected with the ‘new normal,’ where masks and social distancing are mandatory requirements at these venues. And, dancing, I believe, should be banned, at least temporarily, as one can’t maintain the required social distance, while on the dance floor, especially after drinks.

Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana keeps emphasising, on TV, radio, and in the newspapers, the need to adhere to the health regulations, now in force, and that those who fail to do so would be penalised.

He has also stated that plainclothes officers would move around to apprehend such offenders.

Perhaps, he should instruct his officers to pay surprise visits to some of these entertainment venues.

He would certainly have more than a bus load of offenders to be whisked off for PCR/Rapid Antigen tests!

I need to quote what Dr. H.T. Wickremasinghe said in his article, published in The Island of Tuesday, February 16th, 2021:

“…let me conclude, while emphasising the need to continue our general public health measures, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding crowded gatherings, to reduce the risk of contact with an infected person.

“There is no science to beat common sense.”

But…do some of our folks have this thing called COMMON SENSE!

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