Mahinda Rajapaksa's political life contains many lessons for populists, the power-hungry and the hawkish. But it contains more lessons for voters, about the choices we make.
Conspiracy Theories Swarm
As you read this, thankfully, an ogre has been ushered out of the White House and the world heaves a sigh of relief – but it may be short-lived. It has been a season of conspiracy theories and one attracting much attention is QANON, a movement with a large following which broadcasts gibberish that Donald Trump is the leader of a war against Satan-worshipping elitist paedophiles in government, business and media hell bent on destroying the great republic. Sure they are loonies but polls indicate there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who believe such bizarre stories. Traffic on social media sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube exploded since these movements surfaced in 2017. There are many nutty groups in America and conflict and commotion will be prolonged for long after noon last Wednesday when old Joe and pretty Kamala were sworn-in. Crushing these loonies is not a problem, inevitably it will happen, but the fear is that as we have often seen
Lessons Unlearned: Lanka’s Democrats Must Study The US Democrats
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
A tougher, tropical Trump, President Gotabaya bragged thus in a speech in Ampara, shown on TV news on Saturday, January 9
th 2021:
“…However, Nandasena Gotabaya has two characters [personalities]. Sometimes the Buddhist clergy still says to me that ‘we don’t want President Gotabaya; we want the Secretary of Defense– you must be a little harsh’. That also can be done. If that is the approach, I can also do it with that approach…You saw what happened to Prabhakaran when he began by trying to kill me with a bomb attack at the Pittala junction when I was Secretary Defense. But I finished it, with his body being carried like a dead dog on all fours at Nandikadal. [Things] Can be taken to that level too…”