#lankan pm

[teook]

MAALI ALMEIDA YOU'LL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

[hussyknee]

Speaking as a Sri Lankan whose country saw a general strike for the first time in forty years during the historic anti-government protests last year, I am so very excited for USAmericans to experience one for themselves. On one hand, it signals that the economic conditions are so dire that the majority of workers now have more to lose by going to work than not. That working conditions are impacting even the upper middle class. On the other hand– every. Single. Workers'. Union. In the. Damn. Country. The entire place a ghost town in a once-in-a-lifetime show of solidarity against the elite. You cannot imagine the exhilaration. You cannot imagine the show of power, the way the government and their crony capitalists and the fuckwits used to standing on people's necks piss their pants in fear. I think every country should see a general strike at least once every generation. It's not sustainable, but it doesn't have to be; it's to signal to the bosses that beyond this line is when the lid blows off this pressure cooker.

This means that shit is going to get damn ugly for weeks and months until the run up. It's going to primarily be a war of propaganda, because the bigger and more diverse the movement, the more cracks there will be between you to exploit. You're gonna have to get chill about a lot of things very quickly. You gotta get used to standing next to and holding the line with people you wouldn't want to spit on if they were on fire at any other time, with your eyes only on the prize. You're going to have to learn to support all kinds of problematic people without valorizing or demonizing them. Coalition building is political action at its most pragmatic and utilitarian; you don't need to share a moral page or be best buddies with people when pooling your resources against a common enemy. Idealogues don't win battles, coalitions do.

As for the success of our general strike, the President and his government rejected the unions' demands and refused to step down. Two weeks later, fifty houses of the government MPs all over the country burned down in one night, and a mob breeched the Prime Minister's mansions and set it on fire*. The PM resigned the next day, and the government was dissolved.

But that's a completely unrelated anecdote. 💅🏽

*Edit: it wasn't unions or any organized body that committed the arsons. It was widespread, spontaneous citizen reaction to a brutal attack on our largest peaceful protest site. Organized protest prevents this kind of escalation. The point is that when these attempts are not recognised, physical violence will be the inevitable outcome. As Martin Luther King said: "Riots are the language of the unheard".

[xpuigc-bloc]

COLOSSAL

Shyama Golden’s Monstrous Alter-Ego Transfigures in a Surreal Mythological Narrative

JUNE 14, 2024

GRACE EBERT

“Daydream of a Nocturne” (2023), oil on linen, 72 x 60 inches. All images © Shyama Golden

In Sri Lankan folklore, yakkas are demonic tricksters, and in the paintings of Shyama Golden, they’re alter egos. The Los Angeles-based artist presents a new body of work this month at Harper’s Chelsea that uses these mythological creatures to shatter the false binary of good and evil.

Like earlier series, In My Mind, Out My Mind roots in narrative. “Daydream of a Nocturne” launches the uncanny storyline with a self-portrait of the artist seated in a cemetery next to a monstrous twin, rendered in unsettling washes of blues and greens. Subsequent works glimpse the artist traversing a meadow with one of her signature anthropomorphic trees on the horizon, before she appears peeking from the belly of a masked creature in “The Double.”

Golden’s journey is psychological as she attempts to greet and embrace her inner demons before emerging anew. Each portrait witnesses the next step in her metamorphosis before she slithers from a tree in her human likeness in the bizarrely beautiful “Blood Orange Moon.” Set in the concrete-walled Los Angeles River, the artist echoes the symbiotic and parallel transformations of psyche and environment.

In My Mind, Out My Mind is on view through June 22 in New York. If you’re in London, you can see one of Golden’s paintings at PM/AM through July 15.

“Paradisification” (2023), oil on linen, 30 x 36 inches

“Restricted Area” (2024), oil on wood, 48 inches tondo

“The Double” (2024), oil on linen, 30x 36 inches

“Close to Home” (2024), oil on linen, 60 x 72 inches

“Afterbirth” (2024), oil on linen, 30 x 36 inches

“Blood Orange Moon” (2024), oil on linen, 60 x 72 inches

© Shyama Golden

COLOSSAL

#©️Shyama Golden #COLOSSAL

#original art #artist painter

#art #xpuigc

[lizzybeth1986]

Meet My MC: Basil Park

FC: Eric Mun

Book: Perfect Match

Name: Park Byeong-Cheol. But at school and among friends he was called Basil so the name stuck.

Age: 26 at the start of PM.

Birthday: June 5th.

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Hair: Short, Brown.

Eyes: Deep Brown.

Birthplace: New York

Race/Ethnicity: Asian. From Seoul, South Korea.

Love Interests: Sloane Washington, Sage Young (formerly Hayden), Khaan Mousavi, Alana Kusuma, Damien Nazario.

Personality: Calm - Logical - Ambivert - Flirtatious - Goal-oriented - Patient.

Trivia:

- Basil and Sloane are very fond of exchanging different cultural stories and legends on constellations!

- Loves collecting pebbles and smooth stones!

- Favourite food item is the saffron and rose ice cream sandwich from Mashti Malone in LA. At one point in their friendship, he told Damien once he wouldn't mind moving there just to have it every day (that was how he found out Damien was from LA, coz that's what he said after Basil said that). He also loves bagels with cream cheese and lox

- Is a good singer and has learned tap dancing

- Like all PM MCs, can't cook to save his life

- He dated Sloane and Sage from the start, but started dating Damien shortly after they reunited in Tokyo

- On the jet plane to Berlin, Basil and Hayden listened to music together. Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" was a song both Basil and Hayden loved, and they sang the refrain together, very dramatically ("parsley saaaaaage rosemaryyyy and thyyyyyyyme!!!"). So when she wanted to change her name, the two chose Sage as an inside joke on that song 😅

Education: A BFA and MFA in Illustration from School of Visual Arts, NY. Nadia and Basil have both always showcased talents and interest in the visual arts, but Nadia's interest encompass various genres of art, while Basil focuses more on illustration and visual design. He's designed a couple covers, mostly for children's books.

Favourite Travel Destination: Jeju Island in his native SK, Santorini in Greece.

Backstory: No one who knows him now will believe how much of a wild-child he was as a kid. Very distracted, extremely talkative, really stubborn, and Basil and Nadia always got annoyed with each other at that age. Most of the family wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly when he changed coz it happened so gradually over a long period of time, but clearly by the time he left for college he was a different person altogether. Since he and Nadia attended the same uni, they grew closer to each other in comparison to most of their cousins (tho they do love them all!)

Relationships and Children: I'm still deciding on kids! I do know that all the group besides Damien (coz he usually sticks to one relationship), the others date other people - Sloane dates Khaan and Alana, Sage also dates a Sri Lankan woman called Nilukshi who she meets while taking up rock climbing.

--

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations for Meet My MC!

[npsimunxi-continuous-crisis]

MODI SPEECH

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has come to give an address to the Sri Lankan Parliament, upon special request by PM Kanchana Wijesekra.

[the-angband-confessional]

Confessions are now open!

Please be mindful of the rules and character list, and of course, to play nice. The deadline is the 30th of July at 8 pm, Sri Lankan time. Confessions/questions will be answered from August onwards.

Please be patient for replies.

Have fun!

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

Reader request updates:

Hardcore Daemon x Reader (Martel/arranged marraige. I think I figured out what you want, anon!) smut post. : Done. Can be read here

Nuidis Vulko x reader one shot. Done. Can be read here.

Another Daemon and Summer Islander wifey post (squee!) Done. Can be read here.

Daemon x reader (daughter) claiming wild dragon. Done. Can be read here.

Reader requests closed | Regular asks and anons are welcomed.

                                                     ........

During September/October I started work on a big-ish project for December, (yes, this is how my mind works) and all based around Tolkien, titled, The Twelve days of Tolkien. Starting from the 10th, and ending on the 21st, each day will have fan art, headcanon, fanfics and a poem. Posts have been scheduled for 9.00 pm, Sri Lankan time. Links will be added after each post.

Day 1   : Art- Barad-Dúr

Day 2   : The Valar and how they make their presence known, headcanon

Day 3   : Art– The constellations of Arda

Day 4   : Poem – Narsilion, the song of the sun and moon (Not going to lie, this nearly did my head in.)

Day 5   : Art – Orthanc at night

Day 6   : Art – The silmarils

Day 7   : Fanfic – The last Christmas Cookie (Lindir x Reader) Soft | Modern AU | Light NSFW Elements

Day 8   : Art - Map of Utumno  

Day 9   : Fanfic – Under the mistletoe (Irmo x Manwë x Reader) Soft | Modern AU | Light NSFW elements

Day 10 : Fanfic – ‘Twas the night before Christmas (Thingol  x Reader) Smut | Modern AU

Day 11 : Art - Temple of Morgoth, Númenor

Day 12 : Fanfic – A very bratty Christmas (Oromë x Reader) Smut | Modern AU

Links for previous months’ uploads can be found here.

Random posts for the month:

Criston Cole x Reader : Consequences ( Smut | Modern AU)

Prince Aegon x Reader : Mistletoe crown (Soft | Fluff | Drabble)

Want to be tagged? Want to know the reader request rules? Read all here.

[rainyfestivalsweets]

5/20/23 last weight 226

I am still weighing my lowest in 13 years.

I have hit this number 4 times now. Once in 2010. 3 times this year.

Today I am grateful for....my coach and accountability.

It is helping me make better choices.

One of the things we have been working on it better sleep.

I went to bed at 10 pm. I was exhausted. Why stay up? I turned off the episode I was trying to get thru and went to bed.

Forgot I had to make my bed.

But still...was in bed by like 10:10.

Woke up today without an alarm.

Well rested.

Did some cooking magic. Salmon frittata, roasted cauliflower and a Mediterranean salad.

And some gluccie puddings. Protein strawberry 🍓 and Orange Dreamsickle.

This idea came from the Trim Healthy Mamma cookbooks/Facebook so go look it up if you want to play with it.

I basically took the idea and used what i had on hand.

Strawberry protein:

Strawberries

Quest strawberry protein

Egg whites

Sf strawberry syrup

Water

Lankans monkfruit

Glucomannon powder. 1 scoop.

Sf white chocolate 3/4 box.

Orange Dreamsickle

1 orange

Glucomannon powder 2 scoops

Water

Sf vanilla syrup

Orange skittle drink mix

I don't know why I am having trouble adding a picture.

Well shit. Just.mix it in a blender for like 2 mins. Rest a couple mins and blend it again.

My point is:

Focus on your healthy habits.

What can you do to help your future self from getting off course?

Future me is going to be eating super nutrient dense meals!!

[bhaskarlive]

PM Modi congratulates Sri Lanka’s Dissanayake for winning presidential elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Anura Kumara Dissanayake for his victory in the Sri Lankan Presidential elections and said he looks forward to working closely with him to further strengthen the India-Sri Lanka ties.

“Congratulations @anuradisanayake, on your victory in the Sri Lankan Presidential elections. Sri Lanka holds a special place in India’s Neighbourhood First Policy and Vision SAGAR. I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our multifaceted cooperation for the benefit of our people and the entire region,” Prime Minister Modi said in a post on social media platform X late Sunday.

Source: bhaskarlive.in

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.2 (after 1940)

1944 – The last execution of a Finn in Finland takes place when soldier Olavi Laiho is executed by shooting in Oulu. 1945 – World War II: The Japanese Instrument of Surrender is signed by Japan and the major warring powers aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. 1945 – Communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the end of the Nguyễn dynasty. 1946 – The Interim Government of India is formed, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president with the powers of a Prime Minister. 1957 – President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia. 1958 – A USAF RC-130 is shot down by fighters over Armenia when it strays into Soviet airspace while conducting a sigint mission. All crew members are killed. 1960 – The first election of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. The Tibetan community observes this date as Democracy Day. 1963 – CBS Evening News becomes U.S. network television's first half-hour weeknight news broadcast, when the show is lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes. 1968 – Operation OAU begins during the Nigerian Civil War. 1970 – NASA announces the cancellation of two Apollo missions to the Moon, Apollo 15 (the designation is re-used by a later mission), and Apollo 19. 1984 – Seven people are shot and killed and 12 wounded in the Milperra massacre, a shootout between the rival motorcycle gangs Bandidos and Comancheros in Sydney, Australia. 1985 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politicians and former MPs M. Alalasundaram and V. Dharmalingam are shot dead. 1987 – In Moscow, the trial begins for 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May. 1990 – Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void. 1992 – The 7.7 Mw  Nicaragua earthquake affected the west coast of Nicaragua. With a Ms–Mw disparity of half a unit, this tsunami earthquake triggered a tsunami that caused most of the damage and casualties, with at least 116 killed. Typical runup heights were 3–8 meters (9.8–26.2 ft). 1998 – Swissair Flight 111 crashes near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia; all 229 people on board are killed. 1998 – The UN's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former mayor of a small town in Rwanda, guilty of nine counts of genocide. 2008 – Google launches its Google Chrome web browser. 2009 – The Andhra Pradesh, India helicopter crash occurred near Rudrakonda Hill, 40 nautical miles (74 km) from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India. Fatalities included Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. 2010 – Israel-Palestinian conflict: the 2010 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are launched by the United States. 2013 – The Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens at 10:15 PM at a cost of $6.4 billion, after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the old span. 2019 – Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, devastates the Bahamas, killing at least five. 2019 – The dive boat MV Conception catches fire and sinks near Santa Cruz Island, killing 34. 2023 – India's first solar observation mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launches Aditya-L1 from Satish Dhawan space centre.

[dm-blogs-1]

When is the Best Time to Post on Social Media in Sri Lanka to Reach the Most Audience?

Social media marketing is an essential strategy for businesses looking to engage with their audience and boost their online presence. In the context of Social Media marketing in Sri Lanka, timing plays a crucial role in maximizing reach and engagement. Knowing the best times to post can significantly impact the effectiveness of your campaigns. Here's a guide to help you determine the optimal posting times for various platforms in Sri Lanka.

1. Understanding Your Audience

The first step in identifying the best time to post is understanding your audience's behavior. Consider factors such as their daily routines, work schedules, and typical online activity. In Sri Lanka, the majority of social media users are active during specific hours, often influenced by cultural and social patterns.

2. Facebook

Facebook remains one of the most popular platforms in Sri Lanka. The best times to post are generally during lunchtime (12:00 PM - 2:00 PM) and in the evening (7:00 PM - 9:00 PM). These times align with breaks in the workday and after dinner, when users are more likely to check their feeds.

3. Instagram

Instagram users in Sri Lanka are often active during similar times to Facebook, with peak engagement seen in the early evening hours (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM). Weekends also see higher activity, particularly on Saturday mornings. Visual content performs well on Instagram, so consider posting vibrant and engaging visuals during these peak times.

4. Twitter

Twitter's fast-paced nature means that timing is crucial for maximizing visibility. In Sri Lanka, the best times to tweet are typically during the morning (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM) and late afternoon (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM). These times coincide with commuting hours, when people are more likely to catch up on the latest news and trends.

5. LinkedIn

For B2B marketing, LinkedIn is an essential platform. In Sri Lanka, the optimal posting times are during business hours, particularly midweek (Tuesday to Thursday) from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This is when professionals are most active and looking for industry-related content.

6. YouTube

Video content on YouTube tends to perform best in the evenings (7:00 PM - 10:00 PM) and on weekends. Sri Lankan viewers often have more time to watch longer videos during these periods, making it ideal for uploading content.

Understanding the best times to post on social media in Sri Lanka can enhance your marketing strategy and increase engagement. By aligning your posts with your audience's active hours, you can ensure your content reaches the widest possible audience. For personalized social media strategies and expert guidance, consider partnering with Web Lankan (Pvt) Ltd, a leading provider of comprehensive digital marketing services.

[citizenrecord]

Modi 3.0 With 72 Ministers Takes Oath, 9 New Faces In Cabinet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath today along with 71 ministers of the new coalition government. Thirty of them are Cabinet Ministers, five independent charge, and 36 Ministers of State. The portfolios will be announced later.

PM Modi, 73, will head a coalition government in his third term, or Modi 3.0, for the first time since he became Prime Minister in 2014 following a huge "Brand Modi" victory after 10 years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule.

He is the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for a third term in a row.

The oath ceremony is being held at the lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, with the weather office forecasting a maximum temperature of 42 degree Celsius in the national capital.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to PM Modi. Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah took oath after him. Nitin Gadkari was the fourth leader to be administered the oath of office by the President. JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, and Manohar Lal Khattar followed in taking oath.

HD Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), who took oath after Mr Khattar, was the first leader from any of the BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to take oath. Soon after, Janata Dal (United) leader Lalan Singh, a close aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, also took oath.

Sarbananda Sonowal was the first leader from the northeast to take oath today, Kiren Rijiju the second.

Virendra Kumar, a prominent Scheduled Castes face of the BJP and eight-time MP, was inducted into the Narendra Modi government. He won the election from Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgarh reserved seat.

Supporters of leaders who have been called to the stage clapped and cheered loudly, as they saw their leaders walk towards the mic to be administered oath by the President.

Jyotiraditya Scindia's induction into the Modi 3.0 council of minister has cemented his importance in the BJP since he left the Congress four years ago, marking the beginning of his second stint in the Union cabinet.

Hardeep Singh Puri, the former diplomat who helped India navigate through two back-to-back oil crises, was among the ministers sworn in today.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has solidified his status as the "real" political heir of his father, Ram Vilas Paswan, after he was inducted into the Narendra Modi government today. With this, Chirag Paswan makes a remarkable comeback in Bihar's turbulent political landscape.

Leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean Region including Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the event.

[hussyknee]

Okay, let's get one thing straight: the JVP never murdered Tamils. That's all JR Jayawardena's propaganda. He did Black July, the '83 genocide of Tamils that ignited the 26-year Sri Lankan Civil War.

When JR swept into power with the nation's first super majority, he established the Executive Presidency, stripped Sirimavo of her civil rights, aligned with the US and threw open the economy, doing nothing to absorb the shockwaves for the poor and working class that up to that point had formed the backbone of the failed self-sufficient policies of the socialist government. This obviously led to starvation level poverty among the rural poor and labourers, especially in the South, and trade unions and Marxist protest groups rose up. JR responded by hunting them all like dogs. His PM Premadasa was especially known for murdering trade unionists.

He also increased the militarized presence in the North and East by passing the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979, the single most enduring curse on democratic freedom in this country. Ostensibly to crack down on Tamil militant groups, in reality it unleashed a reign of terror by cops and army, escalating rapes, kidnappings and murders of Tamils in far greater numbers than seen since the '58 Gal Oya riots. This obviously caused the a stronger armed response by separatist groups like the LTTE, which is what JR wanted. He used the LTTE's killing of the 13 Sinhalese soldiers to deliberately inflame the Sinhalese all over the country, bussing in mobs and making the army aid and abet them to burn thousands of Tamils alive. Obviously, groups like the LTTE swelled overnight as a consequence. Again, a win for the militarized state and the powers it gave the Executive.

JR then killed two birds with one stone by framing the JVP as the instigators of the genocide. Sirimavo had banned the party after their first insurrection in '71, but JR revoked it as a populist measure just to spite her when he first came to power. Now, he banned it himself. This forced the JVP underground and to take up arms once more— another win for the military state. Ranjan Wijeratne and Gamini Dissanayake, JR's personal Goebbels and Himmler, along with his PM Premadasa, wanted a "Jakarta Method" cleansing of all communists and unleashed another reign of terror against Sinhalese youth in the late '80s. Their death squads and black sites claimed upwards of 60,000 lives, including school children, most of them for offenses such as pissing off a government spy and refusing to have sex with a cop.

But make no mistake, the JVP wasn't much less ethnonationalist than the two major parties. In fact, the South's sense of disaffection and resentment directed against the elites was also turned on what they saw as "special dispensations" for Tamils to occupy it by achieving higher education and government positions. Even then, there existed a tentative Marxist solidarity between the JVP and Tamil militant groups who exchanged weapons against the SL Army, the Indian Peace Keeping Force, and the LTTE, which was trying to purge all the other Tamil factions as their competition. However, once the JVP joined politics in '93, they spent the next ten years nurturing nuclear racists like Wimal Weerawansa and throwing in with the saffron mob (Buddhist priesthood).

The JVP did have a special grievance against the LTTE specifically. When Ranasinghe Premadasa became President after JR in '89, he decided he wasn't going to fight a bunch of militants in two fronts, especially considering he had to figure out a way to kick out the Indian Peace Keeping Force. (The IPKF were supposed to be Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi's emissaries sent to mediate between the government forces and the LTTE. In reality, they turned out be a band of out of control terrorists that preyed on civilians worse than either). Therefore Premadasa made a truce with the LTTE to join the Army and run out the IPKF, but also enlisted their help cleaning up the JVP cadres in the East and Central Provinces. The Army and LTTE were very chummy up until Premadasa caught and killed JVP Leader Rohana Wijeweera in November that year, even as other Tamil militants were supporting the JVP. The LTTE rewarded Premadasa's machinations by assassinating him in '93.

This does not excuse the JVP marching against Ranil's peace package offered to the LTTE in 2004 and fully backing Mahinda Rajapaksa's push to launch a "final solution" military offensive against the North. By doing that, they became fully party to the 2009 Tamil Genocide that killed upwards of 170,000 civilians in the North and East. Even though they were one of the first to defect from the Rajapaksas five years later, and has been a consistent thorn in the Rajapaksas' side ever since, none of it was out of recognition of their war crimes or concern for the ongoing ethnic cleansing and persecution of the North and East. I don't ever expect Tamils to forgive that, and the NPP winning the Tamil and Muslim areas actually broke my heart a bit, especially given how the Sinhalese on social media spewed hate at them for failing to vote for AKD in the Presidential election.

On the other hand, the NPP is the only party that didn't run on a racist platform since...2015? 2010? Which is the literal bottom of the fucking barrell, and also no small thing considering the fact that Sinhalese Buddhist chauvinism has been most non-minority parties' bread and butter from the beginning. Their every rally and parade have been bolstered by the most virulent saffron jackals they could find, and even SJB party leader Sajith Premadasa, who was supposed to be the minority-friendly option against the Rs, decided to court their favour in both elections. (Apples, trees, etc.) The NPP is the only party that attempts some separation of church and state (or temple and state, as it were), paying only lip service to the niceties of our wannabe-theocracy.

Also, not for nothing but Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was the director at the Open University of the program that teaches about the Tamil genocides, Tamil struggle, Sinhalese Buddhist historical revisionism, the creation of the ethnostate, the violence of the military state et al. She's one of the reasons I began to support Tamil resistance. Now she's in a party surrounded by racist ballsacks who can't be arsed to provide translations for Tamil speakers. (For the thousandth time, I appreciate your intentions but, woman. What are you doing?)

Like, I excused them not campaigning in the North and East in the Presidential election because I believe they didn't have the funds, but the General?? Bussing in people from other provinces in their Northern rallies? Not having a single Muslim in their Cabinet? It's not great to be passive about your racist past and lack engagement with minorities in your ostensibly non-racist present, but to start out your super majority government that way when they voted for you is completely inexcusable. I am, quite frankly, worried. They've also said they're leaving the Prevention of Terrorism Act alone (which I thought might just be trying not to rock the boat before the General—the JVP was literally hunted and massacred under the PTA, what the fuck) and have said nothing about demilitarizing the North and East, when the harrassment and persecution of the civilians there are getting ever more dire.

I don't believe they're going to rain hell down on minorities the way the other two parties have historically, because they've made a concerted effort to distance themselves from that kind of MO. It is, after all, a reason they won the Muslim and Tamil vote, a bar in hell as it is. But completely ignoring a wounded and ailing demographic is also as a great a violence. So I don't know. But I think the worst outcome is simply that nothing changes for Tamils, rather than more mob violence and harsher military response. Both have always been circuses for the government to distract from the lack of bread, and now we can't afford either.

Edit: okay, so I might have been a bit unfair and misinformed about their efforts in Jaffna. The NPP's candidates seem to be well chosen by both the party and the electorate, and now-party leader Bimal Rathnayake has spent a good amount of time and energy on Jaffna. And there are two Tamil Ministers in the Cabinet. The quality and focus of the representatives have changed in the North and East just as much. Here's hoping they receive the solidarity and allyship they need to make real change for their constituents.

Trying to explain what the fuck just happened in Lankan politics today.

The leftist party has won 159 seats out of 218 in the Parliamentary elections. The single biggest landslide win since we broke from the British and achieved universal franchise in 1948.

Any party achieving a super majority in the executive and legislative is, objectively speaking, bad. It disables checks and balances, which is a catastrophic thing for any democracy, and the only two other times it's happened for us has irrevocably eroded the fabric of civic rights and democratic freedom. Also, the reason the NPP won the North and East is that the colonized, genocided and subjugated people there have no faith in electoralism anymore. The way this government has engaged minority issues has been utterly abysmal and now they've been rewarded for it.

On the other hand:

The winners. Are all. Grassroots. Candidates.

We have voted out every single career criminal that's been barnacled into the Lankan political arena since before I've been alive. The fascist party has only three seats. The other fascists didn't win a single seat. The neoliberal legacy party won none. There are only forty people in Parliament that represent any sort of dynastic political legacy. After 76 solid years of nothing but political dynasties.

This is barely five years after the Rajapaksas swept in and absolutely glutted the Parliament with their family members and cronies end to end.

This is the illegitimate interim government we had for most of the last 18 months. We literally, physically, chased the Rajapaksas out of the country and this fucking demon set up a puppet government just so he could finally sit in that goddamn chair and be the despot he'd always dreamed of in exchange for letting them all come back. He's now gone. His entire circle is gone.

THEY ARE ALL FUCKING GONE.

In US terms, just imagine the entire GOP and the worst of the Dems destroyed and purged from Congress and Senate, the Green Party in control of all three branches of government, an unmarried abortion rights activist Vice President, and the Dems reduced to barely 20% of the House. Five years from now, when Trump's GOP has control of everything.

This is my anthropology professor. She joined politics from the small nascent leftist coalition to help keep the government accountable. She's now the Prime Minister and the most popular Parliamentary candidate in the nation's history.

On the other hand— the woman who helped make me a radical anarchist and literally helped write a book on political dissent and resistance...now is the state.

But there are so many women in Parliament! We had the lowest female representation in a South Asian Parliament and some of them were from the list of seats reserved for parties rather than elected ones. Most were either anti-feminist conservative embarrassments, widows and daughters of elite politicians and neoliberal shills. It's still only an increase of a few percentage points but now we have elected academics, feminist advocates, activists! THERE IS A REPRESENTATIVE FOR MALAIYAHA TAMILS IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY AND IT'S A YOUNG WOMAN! This is the plantation community that still live in conditions closest to the slavery the British forced upon them two hundred years ago!

I'm like. Completely mindfucked. To be very very clear, these people are not Marxists or anything near; they're mild social democrats who would only be threatening to like, USAmerican liberals, who are now center-right. The actual chances for radical reform are still quite low, and the opportunity for further erosion is extremely high.

On the other hand:

What the fuck.

Sometimes living through historical events is really damn amazing.

[ooccnnews]

Sri Lanka Women Face Uganda in Match 14

Match details

Matchup: Sri Lanka Women vs Uganda Women

Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2024

Time: 4:30 PM IST

Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Prediction for Match 14 between Sri Lanka Women vs Uganda Women (May 1, 2024)

Uganda Women are­ ready to face off against Sri Lanka Women in the­ 14th match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier taking place­ on May 1 2024 at Abu Dhabis Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Delve­ into a detailed breakdown and intriguing pre­diction for this eagerly anticipated game­.

Sri Lankan Women: Powerful Rivals

Heading into the­ir upcoming match the Sri Lanka Womens team pre­sents a mixed performance­ history combining flashes of brilliance with intermitte­nt challenges. The te­ams success pivots on the dynamism of opene­rs Chamari Athapaththu and the dependable­ Hasini Perera.

The middle ­order led by Shrí Lankamari Pathumassala and the inspiring Captain Chanditha Madavi plays a critical role­ in maintaining consistency.

With the bowling attack spearhe­aded by Achini Perera and Ude­shika Prabhahani and complemented by spinne­rs Inoka Ranaweera and Kavisha Dilhari the te­am aims to control the tempo of the game­.

Ugandan Ladies: Underdogs with the Potential to Upset

Despite­ being viewed as unde­rdogs the Uganda Womens cricket te­am commands respect. Their re­cent triumph illustrates their re­silience and capacity to outperform the­ir competitors. The teams ke­y players such as openers Constance­ Baabo and Jacqueline Lumu are laude­d for their assertive and impactful batting abilitie­s.

Nonethe­less the teams middle­ order lacks experie­nce underlining the significance­ of their performance. Jane­t Mbabazi a seasoned player provide­s essential stability while bowle­rs Irene Sukana and Rita Musamali are pivotal in the­ir strategy against Sri Lanka notwithstanding the overall we­akness in the teams bowling de­partment.

Toss and Prediction

Sri Lanka Women re­nowned for their formidable bowling prowe­ss are anticipated to sele­ct batting first at the battingfriendly Sheikh Zaye­d Stadium aiming to curtail Uganda to a modest score. With their e­xceptional form and seasoned e­xperience the­y emerge as the­ favorites but should tread carefully not to unde­restimate Uganda Womens ste­adfast resilience.

Prediction

Sri Lanka Women are­ positioned as strong contenders for victory in this match e­xpected to secure­ a triumph with a significant margin of 57 wickets. Their impressive­ batting prowess and extensive­ experience­ are poised to outmatch the Uganda Wome­ns team. Nonethele­ss it is essential to acknowledge­ the inherent unce­rtainties in sports.

Uganda Women despite­ their underdog status hold the pote­ntial to cause an upset if their batting line­up excels and their bowle­rs execute a discipline­d strategy.

Disclaimer: This forecast is supported on an examination of previous results and current form. The match's actual result can differ.

[lizzybeth1986]

Since I have way too many PM universes and at least four of my MCs have fics featuring them...I thought I'd try to simplify things a little by making a post here of the MCs, their relationships, the personality types they are dating etc 😅

x - signifies a romantic relationship

& - signifies a platonic relationship

Scholar!Hayden (Hazel Park x Iris Young)

MC: Hazel (f! Black MC)

MC FC: Justine Skye

Hayden: Iris (f!Asian Hayden, Scholar)

Hayden FC: Jung Ryeo Won

Hayden's Personality: Mysterious | Sweet | Sincere | Logical

MC's relationships: Only with Iris.

Other Relationships: Steve and Nadia, Sloane and Alana are in relationships as well (actually Steve and Nadia are married in all these universes).

Fics in this Verse:

Metamorphosis (Hayden x MC)

Noot Noot (Sloane & MC, Sloane & Hayden)

Closure (coming soon!) (Hayden x MC, Hayden & President Thompson)

Headcanons:

Hazel Alana Park - Character Sheet

Hazel and Iris' Children

Adventurer!Hayden (Basil Park x Sage Young)

MC: Basil Park (m! Asian MC)

MC FC: Eric Mun

Hayden: Sage Young (f! Black Hayden, Adventurer)

Hayden FC: Lupita Nyong'o

Hayden's Personality: Outgoing | Rebellious| Humourous | Impulsive

MC's relationships: With Sloane, Sage, Alana, Khaan and Damien. He never breaks off with Sage, and she knew from the start that he was polyamorous. He begins dating Sloane even before she reads out her love letter, and begins tentatively dating Damien after they rescue him at Tokyo HQ. Khaan and Alana he gets together with shortly before they defeat Eros.

Other relationships: Steve and Nadia are married, Sloane dates both Khaan and Alana, Sage enrolls in university for a meteorology course and meets a girl who she also dates there.

Fics in this Verse:

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) (Sloane & Hayden, Sloane x MC, Hayden x MC)

Harvest Moon (Hayden x MC, Sloane x MC)

Saffron Sugar, Turmeric Spice (Hayden x MC, Hayden x f!OC)

The Stuff of Exploded Stars (coming soon!) (Sloane x MC)

Once in 50,000 Years (coming soon!) (MC x Sloane, MC x Hayden, Sloane and Hayden in other relationships)

Joker!Hayden (Hawthorne Park x Zinnia Young)

MC: Hawthorne Park (m! Black MC)

MC FC: Daniel Kaluuya

Hayden: Zinnia Young (f! white Hayden, Joker)

Hayden FC: Chloë Grace Moretz

Hayden's Personality: Mysterious | Rebellious | Humorous | Logical

MC's relationships: Hawthorne begins dating Hayden and Damien as per the canon timeline (Zinnia all along, Damien at Berlin), but begins dating Sloane after their boatride together in Paris.

Other relationships: Sloane actively dates Alana as well after the Eros defeat. She later bumps into an old friend from her childhood at Queen's and reunites with him. Zinnia eventually finds Dames and casually dates him at some point.

Fics in this Verse:

Placeholder Apology (Hayden & Dames)

Apology: Take Two (coming soon!) (Hayden & Damien)

Coffee Brown Eyes (Sloane x MC, Sloane x Alana)

Pioneer!Hayden (Rosemary Park x Heathcliff Young)

MC: Rosemary Park (f! Asian MC)

MC FC: Nikkita Chaddha

Hayden: Heathcliff Young (m! Black Hayden, Pioneer)

Hayden FC: Ephraim Sykes

Hayden's Personality: Mysterious | Sweet | Humourous | Logical

MC's relationships: Frankly this is the one universe I haven't thought a lot about yet, but I do know Heathcliff and Rosemary get married over a year after they first met. I don't have a clear idea about who the other characters in this universe are dating either.

Fics in this Verse:

Sea of Love (Hayden x MC)

Headcanons

Pets

Faceclaims for my other characters:

There's one OC in this, and another one I haven't developed much yet! Hopefully when I do have a clear idea for Sloane's childhood friend in Queen's I'll add him as well.

In order:

Sloane Washington - Nelly Muse

Damien/Dames - Chayanne

Alana Kusuma - Marion Jola

OC - Nilukshi Sigera - Yureni Noshika (the Sri Lankan girl from the meteorology course that Sage dates)

[argus-news]

Sri Lankan foreign minister’s ‘safe haven for terrorists’ jibe at Canada, backs India

Sri Lanka foreign minister Ali Sabry and high commissioner to India Milinda Maragoda spoke in support of India amid the ongoing India-Canada row.

Sri Lankan foreign minister Ali Sabry, reacting to India-Canada diplomatic row, has claimed terrorists have found safe haven in the North American country and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has this way of coming out with outrageous allegations.

Backing India over the matter, Sabry told news agency ANI, “Some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada. The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof. The same thing they did for Sri Lanka, a terrible, total lie about saying that Sri Lanka had a genocide. Everybody knows there was no genocide in our country.”

The Sri Lankan minister added, “The ministry of global affairs has very clearly said that Sri Lanka did not go through a genocide, whereas PM Trudeau as a politician stands up and says that genocide had taken place. That itself is contradictory to each other. That doesn’t help.”

Earlier, outgoing Sri Lankan high commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda claimed that the people of Sri Lanka have suffered due to terrorism and that his country has zero tolerance for terrorism.

On being asked about Canada’s allegations against India, he said, “I think India’s response has been inequitable and also firm and direct. And I think as far as we are concerned, we support India on that. Having said that, also, in my lifetime now, I’m 60 years old, 40 years of my life, we have spent facing various forms of terrorism in Sri Lanka. I have lost many friends, and colleagues to terrorism.

“We have all mean many Sri Lankans have died to terrorism. So, therefore, our position on these matters, I think is very clear because we have endured and we have suffered. And as a country that has gone through that tolerance for terrorism is zero tolerance,” he added.

Ties between India and Canada have been strained after Trudeau on September 18 alleged India’s involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was killed outside a Gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18. India, however, rejected the allegations, terming them “absurd” and “motivated”.

“We have seen and rejected the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

India also expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a reciprocal move to Canada expelling a senior Indian diplomat in light of the claim of New Delhi’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar.