Tracking back from some of the titles on the stats page I clicked on one of the posts whose contents I had forgotten and which linked to another one that was of relevance, and both of them kinda flashed me on the current political situation we are in. Yeah, it had to do with governance, political ‘deals’, ending the war, the ethnic divide and whether the Rajapakses style of governance was beneficial to the country. And, in addition to the contents of the posts, the comments to one of them, particularly the ones from ‘dj’ proved to be quite interesting (if ‘dj’ is who I think it is) with the benefit of hindsight.

The feeling of Dejavu is strong, in the sense that we are still saddled with much of the same conditions we were in when the pieces were posted nearly three years ago, in spite of the war being over and the spectre of Prabhakaran being a thing of the past. What we are free of, now that the war is over, are the suicide bombings, the deaths of the soldiers and the cadres on the other side, the huge amounts of money that was spent on the fighting, the fear and depression caused by the conflict and other results of the fighting that caused the economy to be in dire straits. And what we hoped for with the ending of the fighting was a period of peace that would bring about an ending of the inconveniences of road-blocks, security checks, closure of roads to safeguard those who were susceptible to planned attacks, a recovering economy and a stability that would ensure freedom of speech, freedom of movement and basic human-rights. However, not very much has changed. And the question to be asked is ‘why?’.

Now there is an alternative to the present power-structure with the advent of a candidate challenging the incumbent president at the impending election. The candidate, who is without any political experience, is running on a platform provided by opposition parties that pledges to end the rampant corruption and nepotism that has become firmly entrenched in our political firmament. However, we have to take him at his word – and his words in the past have not been exactly encouraging, at least with regard to the equality of minorities. There is also the fear from some quarters that a dictatorship could result in the event of the challenger’s victory and there is really no way to be sure, one way or the other.

The quandary for the folk who are sick to death of the current regime’s deeds and lack of being able to sort out the economy is that they are between the devil and the deep blue sea (or a rock and a hard place). The only hope that some of them I have spoken to have, is that a chance will have to be taken if we are to see an end to the corruption, nepotism, abuse of human-rights, danger to journalists and other conditions that cause fear and instability among a many of the citizens of this country. As one individual put it, “..you have to hold hands with the devil sometimes…and hope for the best.”

But now that we are looking forward, the question is, would the type of change that is on offer be better for the country, or what….?

Got this link in the mail today and having checked it out, I was filled with a combination of revulsion and a feeling of satisfaction that my gut feeling about these guys was spot on. It is quite incomprehensible how any leader with even a modicum of integrity could tolerate such characters in a political party – and this view isn’t restricted to the current leadership either, as these ‘stalwarts’ were once on the ‘other’ side, and a polecat doesn’t change its spots overnight. It only goes to show that the state of Sri Lankan politics has descended to such depths that leaders of parties don’t care about integrity or positive capabilities and all they are interested in is in getting to that top spot – and to hell with the people and the country – or so it seems.

Anyway, check out the link and form your own view.

Java was sorta disappointed that there were no responses from those ‘patriotic’ bloggers  to our most recent post on trying to get a patriotic point of view and wondered if they hadn’t seen or read the post or, if they had, whether they were in a quandary with regard to how to react. For sure none of them are reticent to air their views on their own blogs on how they react to views that oppose establishment policies, but as there was no attempt to answer any of the questions posed in the post referred to above, we took it to mean (in the event they had read the post) that they are just too chickenshit to cop to their true views. And if that were to be the case, then could it be possible that these folk are a bunch of cowardly ‘patriot-imposters’ who are afraid to commit themselves for fear of exposure of their true nature?

We’re sure that most the kottu regulars know who these ‘patriotic’ bloggers are, so there you are – like the man said “what you see is what you get”. So in future, pay no heed to the meaningless platitudes and tiresome claptrap put out by these ‘patriots’, it is painfully obvious where they are at.

We have already expressed our take on ‘patriotism’, but in view of the recent developments on the political scene and as the word ‘patriot’ has been bandied about without respite to condemn those with views that differ to those of the powers that be, Java thought it would be useful to have those patriots out there (particularly the ‘patriotic’ bloggers) give us their views on what they really consider what exactly it takes to be ‘patriotic’. It would help if you would check out the link above, as much of its substance is directly relevant to this post – the opening paragraph of which is as follows:
Samuel Johnson’s quote on ‘patriotism’ is perhaps the most famous of them all “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”. Theodore Roosevelt, one of the better loved American presidents said in 1918, “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is also morally treasonable to the American public”. Mark Twain said, “Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You can not shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let them label you as they may”. Howard Thurman – “During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable, even though it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism”. And finally, Hermann Goering (he should know about this!) “Naturally the common people don’t want war, neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country”.

The thoughts in that post were expressed three years ago when the scenario in the country was decidedly different, however the definition of ‘patriotism’ doesn’t change with the scenario, so let’s check on some aspects of relevance today.

For instance, if you are a ‘patriot’, do you believe that the country is being governed in a way that is beneficial to its citizens? This would include agreeing with the rationale of the GOSL for the heavily bloated Cabinet, the massive amount of funds being spent on projects that are abandoned halfway through, the inclusion of criminal thugs in governance, the blatant abuse of power (a relatively minor one being the closing of roads at the whims and fancies of so-called VIPs), the huge security details assigned to politicians (especially since the end of the war) and other acts that are neither transparent nor beneficial to the country.

Then, if the Police Department is as inefficient as it appears to be, in that so many murders, assassinations and abductions are carried out with impunity without being resolved, shouldn’t there be some changes that would replace inefficient officers with those who could do a better job? Or do you think they are there to serve the purpose of powerful persons and not solve the many high-profile crimes that have been committed?

Would the patriots among us agree with the political appointments made that favour friends and relations of those in power over highly qualified civil-service personnel as ambassadors in countries that are important to our wellbeing?

There are hosts of other questions that we’re sure will come to mind as you read this, so there is hardly any point of listing the litany of questionable acts on the part of the GOSL (and it is really irrelevant which party or coalition is in power – the principles remain the same). Anyway, the intent of this post is to get some feedback from folk like our ‘patriotic’ bloggers, so that we may be enlightened of their views in relation to the questions posed here.

And an important question in this regard would be: “if you disagree with the GOSL’s present policies would that make you ‘unpatriotic’ or a ‘traitor’?”

Do feel free to add your thoughts – whether you consider yourself to be a ‘patriot’ or not.

Dear Santa,

You must be used to getting our annual missive by now and this year at least, you will no doubt be happy to hear that you won’t have to put yourself and the reindeer at risk when you traverse our northern shores. Yes, that futile war that lasted over a quarter century has finally ended. However, things aren’t all that rosy for the children and others up there as yet, as many of them still languish in camps – for all sorts of apparent reasons, although none of those ‘reasons’ make any sense to folk like us. I’m not sure if it will be safe for Donner, Dasher and the others to try landing your sleigh anywhere there without a permit of sorts, as very few ‘outsiders’ are allowed in – don’t ask why! So it looks like the children up there may not be able to have the pleasure of your company this year either.

Other than that, there’s a bit of excitement in the air these days and it’s not just because Christmas is around the corner. The politicians are all agog and thrashing around wondering which way the wind will blow as recent developments have resulted in another impending election – and this one for President. I won’t get into the details, as I’m sure you will get all the relevant information before making the trip over here, but suffice to say it’s an ‘all or nothing’ gamble for all concerned.

I remember you mentioning in your reply to us last year about how you got some pretty weird requests from a bunch of guys who wanted some outrageous gifts from you. Well, don’t be surprised to get some more from the same motley lot, as they are still very much around and still very much in the same situations they were in last year. However, they may be even more desperate this year due to the election which may well set the scene for a complete dumping of the existing garbage and which may see some of them wondering around in the wilderness. I’m sure you can imagine the plots within plots, the stashing of hidden assets, the secret deals and escape routes planned in advance, so watch out for those requests.

There are lots of folk here who are hoping against hope for a change that will get our beloved country back to a state of real peace and harmonious living, so that enlightened, sustainable, development programmes could be implemented – programmes that would swell the coffers of state and not the pockets and bank accounts of those in power. Along with these hopes are also hopes for ending endemic corruption, an administration that is transparent in its dealings and accountable for its actions and a few other hopes that include integrity in politicians and officers of the law. Okay, we know this is a bunch of wishful hoping, given that our track record in these areas is abysmal, but miracles still happen, right? Even small ones? Anyway, if you can put in a word with the ‘Boss’…..

Finally Santa, and especially since Christmas and You are really mostly for the children among us (and in us, I might add), please do your best to make this Christmas a happy one for the children – particularly the ones who are severely deprived and with very little to look forward to. Please make this one a Christmas that they will remember fondly and look forward to more as the years go by.

Take good care on your trip and we shall look out for that flash in the Christmas sky and will strain our ears for the sound of those sleigh bells ringing on Christmas eve. Keep in touch and let us know how it all went when you get back and if you have the time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Java and I were mulling over the presidential possibilities – what with all the rumours going back and forth and the opposition thrashing around like headless chickens looking for an option to their likely prolonged stint in the political wilderness. The dialogue between Kusal Perera and  Mano Ganeshan on Groundviews also added to the grist and we came up with the following, which if a candidate were to make part of his/her manifesto and pledge to uphold, we would unhesitatingly vote for.

For starters, pledge to make the moves to…

•    Revise the constitution

•    Abolish the presidency

•    Get the Constitutional Council in place

•    Get those amendments in there

•    Sort out the ‘language issue’

•    Make inciting violence against ethnic or religious groups a serious felony

•    Slash the numbers in the cabinet to an acceptable/logical figure

•    Cancel all security personnel for ministers and other government officials (if they can’t handle the heat they should get out of the kitchen, right?)

•    Ban ministers and other government officials from hiring their relatives

•    Free the roads of security barriers and checks

•    Stop abusing power by shutting down roads for so-called VIP travel

•    Free all political prisoners unless they are guilty of committing criminal offences

•    Let all IDPs who are not charged with terrorist-related offences go home

•    Prosecute all those who have been accused of felonies with evidence in support of the accusations

•    Have a strict code of conduct for all ministers and government officials with penalties to be enforced for breaking it

…and finally:

•    Promise to sign a letter of resignation post-dated to one year from the date of taking office, in the event that he/she has not attempted to fulfill the pledges made.

Okay, so we are both aware that this is a rather simplistic list and there may be all sorts of legal implications and/or other factors that may get in the way, but IF a candidate were to sincerely pledge to uphold these promises, we would have no hesitancy in supporting and voting for him/her.

How about you?

Feel free to add your suggestions. And maybe a more comprehensive list could be forwarded to the candidates for their reactions?

The original version of this post was originally published by Groundviews

The one but last conversation I had with him was about death. And for the two of us, fellow trippers since the break of the seventies, it was all to do with the ‘trip’ and the sensations that would flow – from this reality to whatever was to be experienced next. The way we looked at it was that since there was going to be no respite from the pain and ebbing of the energy from what was left of the ‘life’, the release that death would bring would be welcome, and the fear and attachment that would be the norm for most folks must be moved aside to clear the ‘way’ to whatever came next. I related to him what I experienced in a dream about dying – how the ‘release’ that death brought about was realized in the form of a wet dream and how incredible the whole sensation of ‘liberation’ was.

In the early days of our friendship – both of us ‘refugees’ from the Western-Establishment and living the life that our friends in the counter-culture we knew in the West only dreamed about, we traveled the paths of Sri Aurobindo, Krishnamurthi, Carlos Castaneda, Timothy Learie, Babba Ram Das and like-minded folk, on a spit of land between the ocean and a lagoon on the east coast with two or three fellow-travelers. In a shack with a sandy floor with no power. Battery-powered music from Pink Floyd, Ten Years After, Tull, Hendrix, Blind Faith and that lot. Dark nights in an out-trigger on the lagoon with our fingers trailing through the dark waters leaving the plankton’s shimmering luminescence in very acidy trails behind us – strains of Floyd’s Ummagumma wafting across the waters. Idyllic. Then the aborted revolution took place and shattered that reality. I returned to the West but he couldn’t – and never again traveled abroad – some hassle with his passport – the reason he had to return in the first place. A far cry from crewing on the Jimi Hendrix yacht – but he didn’t mind. And he did love Little Wing – a lot.

I returned some years later and it was just like old times – he was like that. More tripping – of all types. Kataragama, Matara Swami, Siva Kalki, Gauribala, the Manik one and others on the way – good times. And then he found his niche – a fortunate landing – one which he appreciated and where he stayed until the end.

I said my goodbye just before leaving for Flowerbook a couple of days before he left and as I kissed him goodbye I knew deep down that I would never see Mo again.

When President John F. Kennedy welcomed 49 Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962 he said, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” And taking a look at some of Thomas Jefferson’s quotes, it is not difficult to understand why Kennedy thought that way. Have a look at the quotes reproduced below and see how perceptive Jefferson was – not just during his era, but all the way down the line to where we are at right now. The ‘truths’ don’t just apply to the US of A, but pretty much encompasses the global village of today.

Here are some of them:

Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.

And this one (circa 1802) that hits the nail squarely…

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered..

What do you think?

Yesterday’s post on what some may consider to be ‘deviant’ sex got Java thinking about terminology and semantics.

We know that to be sexually attracted to, or to have sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex is to be ‘heterosexual’, and to be sexually attracted to, or to have sexual relations with a member of the same sex is termed ‘homosexuality’. To have sexual relations with animals is termed ‘bestiality’ and folk who have sex with corpses are ‘necrophiliacs’. A quick Google search for other sexual terminology unearthed terms such as asphyxiphilia, apotomnophilia and autogynophilia, corophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism and toucherism. However, these terms are more descriptive of specific sexual acts, rather than being descriptive of different ‘categories’ of sexual preferences.  There were also  references to women who had sex using vegetables as a matter of course and even references to men who not only penetrated veggies like pumpkins, but who used suitable veggies to  penetrate themselves. However, we couldn’t find a term that described the specific act (of someone who had sex with a vegetable).

Then, as we pointed out in some previous posts here and here, folk also have sex with stuff like bicycles and furniture, and I’m reasonably certain that words to describe these acts have not yet been coined.

Can someone out there help us out on this by providing the existing terminology? Or maybe come up with a suitable term? Prize for the winning ‘terminologist’ will be a year’s supply of the heaviest-duty condoms available (just in case…) – entries close next week, so there’s no need to rush.

We have a few posts on what some may consider to be ‘deviant sex’ (you could check here, here and here if you want to see them) and this one from our mate Kranzloid was received a couple of days ago. It is a recent article out of the Washington Post and is food for thought – and more – particularly if you are vegetarian! See what you think about the incident…

In summary, the police arrested Patrick Lawrence, 22 year old white male, in a pumpkin patch 11:38 pm on Friday night.

‘He froze and was clearly very surprised that I was there, and then he looked me straight in the face and said… ‘A pumpkin? Shit …. Is it midnight already?’

The title of the article was ‘Best Come Back Line Ever’…