Sri Lanka’s Universities: Traders, Intellectuals & Industrial Treason

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News 21-27 July 2024

Sri Lanka’s policy mavens can learn from the Asia Times Business Editor (he’s not Asian). He laments the USA’s purported decline in industrial production and supposed economic lagging behind China. China is the white man’s latest goni-billa, mau-mau, boogie-boogie scarecrow. Yet again. Editor D. Goldman wishes to spur greater resolve among his settler-compatriots to advance the US role as the world’s richest and most deadly nation-state in history. Goldman (presumably no relation to that Mr Sachs) calls for another (did it ever stop?) arms race, as a spur to modern industrial production. ‘As a young researcher for [US President Ron] Reagan’s National Security Council’, Goldman says he ‘produced a study saying that SDI [aka Space Defense Initiative, aka Star Wars – ee] would pay for itself through civilian spinoffs… We get industrial policy right when we have a national emergency – Trump’s missile defense is the way to go.’

     This arms race did not begin with Reagan. It drove the presidencies of the genocidal Truman, Eisenhower & Kennedy & Johnson and… Goldman perhaps wishes we will forget that this circle-the-wagons & kill-off-the-Indians cry has long been the rallying cry of white settlers from Virginia to Guam to Gaza. Yet, it is important to hear his jabber.

     Despite having access to the latest media ‘intelligence’, he repeats nonsense like, ‘In 1979 China took a nation of farmers and turned them into industrial workers, and multiplied GDP per capita 30 times.’  Then again, which white man (& ee uses white as a political synonym for ‘genocidal & stupid’, not a skin color) can dare admit that in fact it was the energy & sacrifice of China’s emergence as an independent nation in 1949, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution’ from 1964, that, without foreign loans, built China’s huge industrial infrastructure.

     He does claim, however, that China now plans ‘to turn a nation of factory workers into a nation of engineers’. And also zeroes in, calling on the US to: ‘Reduce our forward deployment and concentrate resources on high-tech defense. We have faster chips. But it’s not just about processing speed: It’s know-how, education, an industrial culture & industrial communities’ (see ee Focus, China’s Long March through the Global South – David P Goldman).

     The omnipotence of such industrial workers is of course sniggered (interesting word, like the oft-used ‘denigrate’ – to insult, to make into a ‘negro’) at by our colonial-minded academics. Our education system, let alone the economy, and our minds, have been hijacked.

     ee continues looking at the imperialist hijacking of the education system, and the abduction of the exertions of our minds & bodies, to prevent a modern industrial system. Week after week, we are subject to the whining of professors (mainly from the English Department, see the ‘Kuppi’ series in Island which laments the loss of ‘liberal education’ and in stubborn jargon claims to be a ‘politics and pedagogy happening on the margins of the lecture hall that parodies, subverts, and simultaneously reaffirms social hierarchies’.Really! Despite all such ‘liberal’ claims, these English slaves still wish for their ‘Master’s degrees’… and while unable to heal the nation or prescribe panaceas, all wish to be known as ‘doctors’!

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• The economist Usvatte-aratchi provides a selective look in this ee Focus at the origins of the modern university, and provides an interesting survey of its evolution throughout the world. He points out how such ‘hallowed’ institutions as Oxford and Cambridge had no part in England’s rise as a modern industrial nation. He also laments the failure of our liberals to understand how the colonial version of ‘arts’ was broken off from mathematics, technology and science. Yet he fails to describe the role of the University’s architect, ‘sir’ Ivor Jennings, in not just imposing a colonial system of education into our midst, but also embedding sectarianism into the constitution and political system to prevent the unity needed to resurrect ourselves, while continuing the dominance of the most dangerous minority of all – a trader bourgeoisie).

     Usvatte-aratchi reviews a book by the University teacher Liyanage Amarakirti, on what a university is. A US Fullbright scholar, the half-bright Amarakirti is on the central committee of the JVP electoral front, the NPP. He is also infamous for writing an ‘open’ letter to China’s ambassador, accusing that country’s government of interfering in Sri Lanka’s affairs! Trying hard to praise Amarakirti’s achievements, Usvatte calls this teacher, ‘highly regarded’ but does not mention by whom, and claims Amarakirti has reached ‘highest level in the academic hierarchy’. Whatever those heights are. Usvatte is nevertheless critical of Amarakirti’s ‘eclectic’ style, and in the end is ‘disappointed’ by the book, pointing out that dropping the names and opinions of ‘celebrated writers and scholars’ is no substitute for ‘analytical studies’ of institutions and their functions. He suggests Amarakirti is rather Eurocentric, by failing to acknowledge variety across the world, and claiming Harvard was the first university in the world! Mind you, Usvatte, too, ignores that ancient Lanka (Mahavihara, Abhayagiri) and India (Nalanda) had world-famous universities (we could argue what constituted the ‘world’ then). Noting Amarakirti’s association with ‘5 universities, 3 overseas,’ he also suggests Amarakirti is not aware that one of the universities he attended in the US was a ‘land grant’ college.

     Usvatte points out, ‘in the US, 70% of all undergraduates study in government universities and colleges’. But he does not explain that imperialist governments the world over, including in the white settler states, gave land to white peasants in and from Europe. The government built land-grant colleges with government money to teach them how to farm better, providing local agents to further their expertise in farming, providing low interest rates to mechanize their farms, and promoted rural industrialization!

     Usvatte however claims, ‘the market has always determined university output’. We have no idea what this ‘market’ may be. We do know that many US universities were promoted by large industrial capitalists to further their monopolies in their state. As Usvatte himself says:

‘Universities became important agents in the economy after about 1850, because the economy changed to need their participation. Discoveries in physics, chemistry and biology in universities began to be exploited by both industrialists and farmers. Far-flung enterprises like railways needed managers with special training. The land grant colleges in US were partly a response to these demands. The ‘Wisconsin Idea’ of a university as a ‘service centre’ where people resorted to solving their problems was symptomatic of this transformation… ‘a very high proportion of the leading industries in the US, perhaps as many as 80%, are derived from discoveries in US universities’.

     Our universities are not allowed to make such discoveries, and if & when they do, they are immediately stolen to serve others.

     Usvatte in the end is luckily not as sanguine about how great such arts education is: ‘I am not sure that Armageddon is around the corner if teaching liberal arts in universities were to decline.’ As much of the information in this ee points out, the English embedded major divisions in the society (time bombs, as Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai called them) to prevent the only method by which we can secure our true independence – the making of machines. (see ee Focus, Universities & Liberal Arts Education – Usvatte-aratchi)

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• Why are our ruling minorities so fearful of what a clearly genocidal white man thinks of us? Are they truly arbiters of the good & the beautiful? Why do the published economists & business news writers religiously echo the gospel of ‘exports’? Why cry over the loss of access to imperialist markets?

     To answer these questions, ee has tried to select & classify a scoop of the weekly English news about Sri Lanka, for the last 6 years…wishing to expose the media’s role in the continued colonization (cannibalization, may be a better word) of Sri Lanka. The English media is not written for us, and is meant to be read as if the white man is looking over our shoulder, whose approval we are supposed to seek. 

     We are ruled by a comprador faction, who are nourished through supposedly ‘privileged’ access (GSP+) to the markets of the whites, who can turn this access on and off at will. This ‘minority’ of compradors are thus allowed to move their capital and their relatives to hideouts in and out of the country, creating periodic turmoil for most of the people (see ee Random Notes, CPSL calls on all Progressive & Left forces to defeat the RW Government).

     In return, this comprador gang has to show it is able to mobilize large numbers of people (not the majority) to maintain the appearance of mass consent to our subjugation. They have to appear large enough to put on an act, through 1,000 fake media channels to make them look like they are bigger than they are, and us, smaller than we are. Exiles & diasporas (also linked to the local compradors factions & their exporters of commodity & capital) too are locked into the games run by the US state departments and related pitbulls & poodles. And it is not just about traders & merchants & moneylenders. An entire wannabe class has been nurtured. Comprador academics are also shaped by their access to western capital & ‘markets’ (journals, film & lit festivals, scholarships, etc).

     Comrades D Trump & J Biden may be doing Russian President Vladimir Putin a favor by cutting the legs off Russia’s compradors. But who will do that for us? Our compradors have infiltrated us from all sides, and have thus been emboldened, but it is important to never forget that we are many & they are very very few.

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• This ee peeks into the plans being hatched by the greatest threats to peace & progress the world has ever known– the leading imperialist capitalist nation & their poodles – white & off-white, and their effect on Lanka. We offer a glimpse into the ‘presumptive’ next President of the USA and his foreign & economic policies, as well as those interests driving the ‘presumptive’ policies of his opponent (‘the more effective evil’), a rootless coconut (i.e., brown on the outside & white on the inside!) fallen far from the tree, an off-white Indo-Caribbean female married to a Zionist ambulance-chaser.

     The IMF is again expected in town to review our report card. And the subject is apparently, corruption, which only afflicts our economies, and provides an unscientific alibi for the real roots of our underdevelopment. This saw our so-called leaders rush to declare their dedication to transparency, etc. Meanwhile, US Senator Robert Menendez, a former Cuban, who represents Rockefeller’s tax hideout in New Jersey, USA and acts as a yankee pitbull against Cuba, and, yes, and, was featured as the USA’s Torquemada on Sri Lanka in the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, thundering against our supposed congenital corruption, and demanding our acquiescence to the IMF’s 17^th set of machinations – was himself caught trying to skim off the certification of Egypt’s ‘halal’ exports to the USA….  Meanwhile, the USA President’s resignation letter (he’s too demented to run again, but demented enough to have his fingers on the nuclear and other buttons) was supposedly written and forged by his aide and corporate fundraiser Steve Ricchetti. US Presidents too it turns out are mere captive algorithms. Models of the rule of law indeed!

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Contents:

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A1. Reader Comments –

• NGO Pandu & IGP Deshabandu • Munidasa’s Innovative Poetry • Curious Crowdstrike • SL Famous Geographers • US & Israel are One • English & US Election Choices • Auspicious July 19

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A2. Quotes of the Week –

• Tara still on Trial! • India’s SL Cobalt Grab • Electric Sea of Lanka • Chung’s Shadow Plays • Lenin on Our Shoulders • Pawn Addiction • Import Mafia Association (IMA) • Adulterated Lube • Compensating EnSlavers • Industry Impossible under Liberals • What do Sri Lanka’s Friends do? • Nationalize Big Data’s Magnificent 7 • Trade Treaties Need No Honor

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A3. Random Notes –

• CPSL on Hidden Secrets of Main Causes • Former Aussie PM Morrison Mystical Powers • Armed Industrial Security • Bloomberg on Trump’s Foreign Policy • Kamala’s Dollar Karma • Big Data’s Big Fall • Sex in Buenos Aires • Precision Worker Control

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B. ee Focus –

• B1. Universities & Liberal Arts Education – Usvatte-aratchi

• B2. China’s Long March through the Global South – David P Goldman

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C. Building Blocks –

• Guaranteed Rice Price for Industrialization • Creation of a Home Market for Industry • Japan’s Limits on Industrial Exports • Smallholding & Science • Extraordinary Culture of Machine Tools • Making Central Banks Independent of the People? • On State-owned Enterprises & Privatization

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D. News Index

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A1. Reader Comments

ee thanks Readers who send articles of interest. Please excerpt or summarize what is important about any news sent, or your comments, and place any e-link at the end. Email: econenews@gmail.com

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• ‘After the IGP Deshabandu affair: why don’t we give this country to the judiciary, black coats, NGO cabal, underworld & Catholic church?’

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• ‘Re: Munidasa’s poem: Aluth aluth dae nothanana, Jathiya lovae no nagee, Isn’t it: A nation that does not innovate will not rise?’

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• ‘Re: Gate Mudaliyar Bill & that tech outage: There’s not even a hint of a hint that it was due to an attack by China, Russia or Iran! These sources are usually presented as the evil party behind even a fly fart in the tech world. Why not this time? Crowd strike indeed!’

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• ‘Re: Geography & the University of Ceylon: No mention about outstanding geographers at Peradeniya… Prof K Kularatnam, the first Professor, joined the department from the Geological Survey, worked with AK Coomaraswamy: theorised the formation of Central Highlands & the course of Mahaveli. He questioned the theories of Scandinavian geologist FD Adams & Indian geologist Darashaw Nosherwan Wadia; George Tambiapillai, Climatologist, authority on rainfall of SL; WNKC Withanage, who later established the Geology Department; BL Panditharatne, urban geography; later Gerald Peiris, JM Gunadasa; later VC, expert in Climatology & Spatial Studies; Kusuma Gunewardena, Madduma Banda, etc. Of these, 4 became VCs of Peradeniya. Another was Hiran Dias, later at U of Colombo & Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok.’

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• ‘US & Israel are appendages of each other.’

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• ‘People elsewhere smirk at the choices put before the US voting public (40% of those eligible?) But the choice put before voters in England recently was not qualitatively any better than that between Trump & Biden.’

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• ‘The significance of last Friday, July 19, is not to be confused, glossed over, mixed up, and missed for its universal importance. The event(s) that would shape our international relations moving forward are deeply hidden in plain sight on this very important day. It is not a coincidence that Biden wrote and announced his resignation, nor is it a coincidence that there was digital technological accident of global nature that shut off and caused worldwide blackouts of the Microsoft system,  nor is it a coincidence that the ICJ pronounced its opinion on Israel occupation of Palestinian land that prompted an unprecedented international response supporting Palestinian people and the 2-state solution and condemnation against Israeli policy towards Palestinians. It is not yet Uhuru. Kgang ke bophelo. Struggle is lifetime. Aluta continua. Impilo impi. Ya kgaola yaya. Cheers!’

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A2. Quotes of the Week_

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• ‘Sri Lanka government’s renewed demand for the return of the famous statue of goddess Tara in the British Museum prompted me to thumb through a now crumbling book, A Catalogue of Antiquities & Other Cultural Objects from SL (Ceylon) Abroad. This 500-page book, written by late Dr PHDH de Silva, published by the SL National Museum in 1975, lists 1,000 of artifacts found in 140 institutions in 27 countries. 235 pages on artifacts in British institutions; obviously, Tara is not the only item ‘missing’… but please stay where you are. When we figure out how to feed our kids, someday, you can visit your homeland.’ – ee Workers, Tara, have pity on us…

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• Electric Sea of Lanka – ‘It is only natural that India would want to have access to cobalt, a resource that is required in building batteries for EVs. India’s interest in the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount is an extension of India’s national interests and also a means of preventing other countries from acquiring untapped resources in the IOR… Sri Lanka doesn’t have a written foreign policy. Its foreign policy has shifted depending on the political party and the political leadership. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s ability to withstand external pressures would depend on how that leadership and the party manage such pressures.’ – ee Sovereignty, Cobalt Conundrum: Is India testing disputed waters to underscore strategic pursuit?

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• ‘Over 15 years after the conclusion of the war, a lawmaker was killed in broad light at Nittambuwa by people influenced by Aragalaya. The Speaker himself claimed that he was also threatened by those behind Aragalaya. The ousted President, too, claimed the conspiracy also targeted him. There hadn’t been proper investigation to date as to what happened during the March 31-July 14, 2022, period that changed the course of Sri Lanka’s history. The common thread in all that was outgoing US Ambassador Julie Chung as she defended it as a peaceful protest movement and insisted that security forces & police should not lay a hand on them.’ – ee Sovereignty, Trump & Looking Back at political assassinations, violence in SL

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• ‘I recall how I carried home 45 volumes of Lenin, weighing more than 50kg with great difficulty, from the People’s Publishing House, then at Kumaran Ratnam Mw, Slave Island.’ – Sena Thoradeniya, ee Media, Inessa Armand & Lenin

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• ‘According to Central Bank statistics, the arrears of pawn advances which stood at Rs210bn in 2019 increased up to Rs571bn by March 2024 making it a growth of 172%. Pawning advances which stood at Rs411bn by the end of the crisis year 2022 rose to Rs546.7bn by end of 2023 with a year-on-year increase of 33%.’ – ee Finance, Interest relief announced for pawning advances

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• Import Mafia – ‘The new Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) Executive Council for 2024/25 includes Healthguard Pharmacy CEO Infiyaz M Ali as Vice President, Singer CEO Mahesh Wijewardena as VP, SPAR CEO Kumar de Silva as General Secretary, D Samson & Sons Director Asanka Rajapaksa as Assistant General Secretary, Perera & Sons Bakers Corporate Affairs Director Ruvini Kariyawasam as Treasurer, Vision Care GM/ Marketing Head Harsha Maduranga as Assistant Treasurer, Fashion Bug Director Shabier Suban as Council Member, Cargills Foods COO Indika Perera as Council Member, Overseas Reality Assistant General Manager Avanthie de Soysa, Abans Chief Marketing Officer Chathura Jayawardana as Council Member, SLRA Past President Murali Prakash, and Former President, Deputy Managing Director of Hameedia & Founder President Hussain Sidique.’ – ee Business, Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association hosts 7^th Annual General Meeting

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• GS Lubricants (Rockefeller, Caltex) forum on ‘Lubricants & Automotive Fluids’: Thanuj Wijesooriya, Deputy Director, Public Utility Commission, Chelaka Herath, Director General – Consumer Affairs Authority, Evangelin Ramos, Product Manager – Totachi Industrial Japan, Pawara Dasanayake, President – All Island Service Station Owners Association, Nishantha Amarasena – Secretary to the Association, Sunil Weththasinghe, Chairman – GS Lubricants, and Priyantha Perera, CEO – GS Lubricants.’ – ee Industry, Attention on adulteration & counterfeit problems in SL automotive lubricants & fluids market

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• ‘Back to the revelation that it was only in 2015 that English taxpayers completed servicing the loan which the English government used to compensate slave owners in 1835… Nathan Mayer Rothschild and his brother-in-law Moses Montefiore led a syndicate underwriting the issue of 3 new series of securities to raise £15million [to compensate slave owners]: we don’t know how much they retained and how much they distributed or sub-underwrote. A further £5mn was paid out directly in government stock.’ – ee Economists, England’s Slave Owner Compensation Loan, reparations & tax havenry

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• ‘The common assumption among these US & pro-western Arabs who support the Palestinians is that absent the Israel lobby, the US government and other western powers would become more friendly or, at the very least, far less hostile towards Arabs and Palestinians.’ – ee Sovereignty, Why blaming the Israel lobby for western Middle East policies is misguided’

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• ‘As a government built on a coalition of conflicting sectors & class interests, it was nearly impossible to build a coherent political program that could satisfy the demands of conflicting interests. Industrialization was recognized as an important development goal, but would require significant changes in the structure of the economy. Nascent industry would need to be promoted for the nation to become independent from imported goods, creating a clear conflict with the traditional import sector. The political system, built on an agreement to avoid conflict & defend the interests of conflicting sectors, including the most powerful groups, would find it very difficult, or nearly impossible, to make the needed changes.’ – ee Economists, the Struggle to Industrialize Venezuela

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• Real Friends & Foes – ‘In search of the technology needed to build new national industries, the Chavez government has not made the same errors of past governments. Instead of attempting to arrange for technology transfer from the dominant US and multinational corporations which are linked to powerful local groups and are uninterested in cooperating with Venezuela’s industrialization, the Chavez government has built close relations to countries that are interested in cooperating, such as China, Russia, Iran, Argentina, Belarus, Brazil,& others. And instead of worrying about the impact their policies would have on powerful economic groups in the country, the Chavez government has tended to focus more on the impact they could have on national development and the lives of the majority poor.’ – ee Economists, The Struggle to Industrialize Venezuela

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• Cash v Digital – ‘The Indian government abruptly wiped out most of the nation’s paper currency in hopes of ending ‘black money’ and curbing corruption. But a November 2017 study of 3,000 regulated agricultural markets for 35 major agricultural commodities, conducted during the 3 months immediately following demonetization, concluded that eliminating the high-currency notes had reduced the value of domestic agricultural trade by more than 15% in the short run, settling at 7% reduction 3 months late. In a largely ‘informal economy’, where the most vulnerable people still have no access to digital payments, this demonetization was a draconian measure that did a lot of damage to the poorest people in India…

     The question really centres on who owns and controls our digital world. The high concentration of that digital power is yet another reason for the replacement of capitalist corporations by public companies democratically controlled by popular bodies & the tech workers in them. We need to bring into public ownership the Magnificent 7 of social media & tech companies currently led & controlled by multibillionaires who decide what to spend & where. Then the huge waste of resources on tech projects designed just to make money and not to deliver useful & safe systems beneficial to people’s lives could be reduced dramatically. Human error would not disappear, but the organisation and control of our increasingly digital world could be directed towards social needs not private profit.’ – M Roberts, ee Economists, Crowd strikes out

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• ‘Robert Lighthizer is Trump’s former trade representative and now a leading contender to be Treasury secretary if Trump wins. In meetings that I have observed with non-US government officials, Lighthizer has argued that no trade agreement is ever sacrosanct, universal or permanent. Instead, as his recent book notes, he believes deals can and should be refashioned to uphold national interests, whenever needed. For Lighthizer, trade law is about leverage and power.’ – ee Economists, Why breaking the rules is easy for Trump

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A3. Random Notes (‘Seeing Number in Chaos’) _

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• CPSL on Hidden Secrets of Main Causes: ‘On April 12, 2022, the Central Bank Governor issued an official statement that the country was economically bankrupt. On May 12, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the leader of the UNP, was appointed as the new Prime Minister. After that, he was also sworn in as the successor president. Now 2 years have passed since all this happened. What is this economic crisis, simply & concisely? 1) the shortage of dollars in terms of foreign exchange, 2) lack of local currency (rupees), 3) the inability to pay instalments of local as well as foreign loans that had been taken until then, and 4) the impact of global political & economic factors on the national economy. Corruption, inefficiency in economic management etc are additional factors.

     How do we see the main causes of the crisis as the Communist Party? Those factors flow from the ‘Current Neoliberal Economic Strategy of Capitalism’ which has been called ‘the Open Economy’ since 1978. It is the scientific cause of the crisis. Although some changes were made under various governments after 1978, overall, the neoliberal economic strategy was implemented. This strategy is now in crisis at the global level as well. ‘In the last 2 years, the Ranil Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government spent all its time on the ‘debt restructuring’ process. There has been no end in sight until now. The reason is that the problem of loans obtained from the international financial market at high interest & for settlement in a short period of time has not been settled. In fact, the real factor that pushed the country into bankruptcy is the hidden secret that the loans obtained from these international moneylenders. The non-negotiable, hidden real factor. The amount of debt from the international financial market is 45% of the total amount of foreign debt. ‘Today’s economic crisis has also affected the political, social & cultural fields. It is this economic strategy that has led to poverty and income inequality. Corruption is raised as the main reason to cover up the real scientific reason. This has created a lot of confusion among the people in the country.

     ‘The traditional ruling political parties have broken up. It has not been possible to come to power without alliances. Alliances have emerged both within the government and within the opposition. It is a reflection of the crisis itself. The ‘right’ is trying to come back to power by getting the support of the forces in the ‘middle politics,’ and the Left is not able to come to power alone. In meeting national & international challenges, the new political alignment must necessarily be anti-imperialist & patriotic.

     In the face of new global political challenges, the imperative need to preserve the sovereignty of newly independent countries has emerged. This need can be achieved by a ‘Centre-Left’ alliance, and an international environment that is necessary and relevant for that is also being created – the strengthening of the ‘Global South’. Considering all these national & international factors in the upcoming elections, the Communist Party of SL appeals to all anti-imperialist, patriotic, progressive & Leftist forces to focus on a new political alignment. Accordingly, the CPSL has emphatically expressed the need for a broad political alliance of anti-imperialist progressive, Left & patriotic forces based on a minimum common program for the national role of building the economy.’ – ee Politics, CPSL calls on all Progressive & Left forces to defeat the RW Government

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• Former Australian PM Scott Morrison is a powerful man with mystical powers, who was in Colombo this week. He can summon at will Sri Lankan ships carrying ‘illegal’ migrants to appear on that stolen land’s settler horizons, at the very moment, he casts his own vote. So powerful, he can also instantly summon reporters, to tell his fellow voters to rise up and cast their ballots because Abo-look-alikes are a-coming to take their stolen land back. He then heroically summons the navy, military and police to intercept and double their guard, against these neo-Abos. (The only reason to use the derogatory ‘Abos’ is to recall early news & textbooks that claimed we were ‘Aborigine’.)

     Milinda Moragoda, CIA agent (so labeled by Sunday Times), failed banker & former envoy to India, and ‘the Ananta Aspen Center in New Delhi’, presented a copy of the Pathfinder Foundation’s Study Group Report on India-SL Physical Connectivity to former Australian PM Scott Morrison in Colombo. No mention of building that old bridge between Devundara & Darwin that caused all our kangaroos to hop off down under.

     We find it curious (curiosity can hasten the next cycle in samsara) that this new Pathfinder media stenography goes on to exclaim, ‘During his tenure in office, PM Morrison played a pivotal role in developing Australia’s relationship with the Indo-Pacific region in general, and India in particular’. Do they mean their ‘5-Eyes’, and other uncounted ears & noses & other intrusive organs. And speaking of ‘noses’, Morrison went on to forwardly tell us our home market is too small (a ’limited’ 22mn market!) and we need to ‘open up more’! He also claimed, Sri Lankans have a very important choice to make in the months ahead’. Pointing his nose at the ‘courageous decision-making by your President, who came into that office in some ways reluctantly, but was the man for the time’. Morrison also waxed philosophical, centering ‘economic conditions’ as shaping current ‘global political landscape’ as opposed to ‘shifts in ideology’.

     The Rockefeller-funded (thought Rocky smarter than that) Moragoda claims to want ‘reconciliation’. Yet Morrison shows how easily he can play the circle-the-wagons-massacre-the Gazans (oops the Abos), and so for ‘the serene joy & emotion’ of our pious readers’, recall ee’s take on his ‘pivotal’ (that Obamoid trope) role: ‘On the day of Australia’s general election (21 May 2022), a Sri Lankan boat was serendipitously ‘intercepted’ on its way to Canberra. ‘In a major development, Australian PM Scott Morrison told reporters, after casting his vote in his local electorate of Cook, ‘I can confirm that there’s been an interception of a vessel en route to Australia… I’ve been here to stop this boat, but in order for me to be there to stop those that may come from here, you need to vote Liberal and Nationals today.’ ‘It is understood about 15 people were on board the vessel that was intercepted by Australian authorities off the west coast of Christmas Island after almost making it to land.’ During the ruling National-Liberal Coalition government’s ‘khaki’ election campaign, Australia’s war minister Peter Dutton told the country to ‘prepare for war’ (against China). Morison was on the verge of losing. An agency of Morrison’s PR team must have arranged for the dispatch and ‘interception’ of the boat just as he was voting?! Corporate media has hijacked perceptions of public life and public actors…’ But yet we must look on in awe at Morrison’s almost Moses-like powers to summon the waves to part at his will to lubricate his reconciliatory settler vote bank. His visit also exposed his link to the immigration game, with a Sri Lankan lawyer in Australia, extolling his ‘amazing’ powers… – ee Sovereignty, The Indo-Lanka Physical Connectivity Presented to Former Australian PM Morrison

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• Armed Industrial Security – ‘Policymakers took what he called a ‘production gamble’ by assuming militaries could restart production in time for when the munitions were needed’ – The shortage of gunpowder presents yet another dire issue for Ukrainian forces – and for the West. It is made from nitrocellulose, a compound created by treating natural cellulose fibers such as cotton with nitric acid. The process is difficult and dangerous. As with the TNT plants, imperialist countries have spent the years since the end of the Cold War closing powder plants. The last in England were shuttered in 1998, and plants closed in Romania in 2004 and in Bergerac, France, in 2007, all due to insufficient orders. Germany’s Rheinmetall has retained powder production in Aschau, Bavaria and in Wimmis, Switzerland, but those plants are unable to meet current demands.

     The US Army’s sole nitrocellulose plant is located in rural Virginia. It opened in 1941… In 2012, the Army signed a deal to replace it… The nitrocellulose project, however, is a decade behind schedule, and costs have soared to $399million. Internal Army records and federal court records blame delays and cost overruns on contractor and subcontractor incompetence. Subcontractor Fluor Federal Solutions paid $14.5mn to settle US Securities & Exchange Commission charges related to the project. Fluor and contractor BAE Systems OSI have declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation over the matter… Russia, meanwhile, has been expanding several gunpowder plants, all date back to at least WWII. Its plant at the city of Kazan once made gunpowder for Catherine the Great. Even after demand fell following the collapse of the USSR, Russia managed to keep open its plants there and in Perm & Tambov, in part by diversifying into the supply of liquid nitrocellulose for civilian use as paints or lacquer.

     Lieutenant-Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO military committee, told Reuters, Russia had shown it could rapidly adopt a war economy and ‘order their industry to give priority to the war in Ukraine.’ The challenge facing Western democracies, he said, is to show they too can marshal their huge industrial resources.’ – ee Security, Years of Miscalculations by US, NATO led to dire shell shortage in Ukraine

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• Bloomberg on Trump’s Foreign Policy – ‘As president, Trump shattered the long-standing Republican orthodoxy of favoring free trade. He says he’ll go further if reelected. At Mar-a-Lago he offers an impassioned defense of US tariffs – he’s been studying McKinley, dubbing him ‘the Tariff King’ – to make it clear he intends to ratchet up levies not just on China but on the European Union, too. ‘McKinley made this country rich,’ Trump says, ‘He was the most underrated president.’ In Trump’s reading of history, McKinley’s successors squandered his legacy on costly government programs such as the New Deal (‘the whole thing with the parks and the dams’) and unjustly poisoned an important tool for economic statecraft. ‘I can’t believe how many people are negative on tariffs that are actually smart,’ Trump says, ‘Man, is it good for negotiation. I’ve had guys, I’ve had countries that were potentially extremely hostile coming to me and saying, ‘Sir, please stop with the tariff stuff.’ I can’t believe how many people are negative on tariffs that are actually smart. Man, is it good for negotiation.’

     To the consternation of many business and consumer groups, Biden maintained Trump’s tariffs on China, even increasing ones on steel, aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries and other goods. ‘This is going to add price inflation across the board, all in the name of ‘tough guy” election-year politics,’ Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, a nonpartisan advocacy group, said in May.

     In Trumpworld, however, Biden’s actions are seen as validation that Trump was right – and his Democratic critics were wrong – about the threat China poses to the US economy and security. Trump is eager to prescribe more of the same medicine, including to European allies. In addition to targeting China for new tariffs of anywhere from 60% to 100%, he says he’d impose a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports from other countries, citing a familiar litany of complaints about foreign countries not buying enough US goods.

     ‘The ‘European Union‘ sounds so lovely,’ Trump says, ‘We love Scotland & Germany. We love all these places. But once you get past that, they treat us violently.’ He mentions reluctance in Europe to import US automobiles and agricultural products as key drivers of the more than $200billion trade deficit, a statistic he considers a critical measure of economic fairness.

     As with so much else, Trump views trade in personal terms. He speaks of it as though it were a private negotiation between himself and recalcitrant foreign leaders who understand full well that they’re exploiting the US and therefore must be curbed. He’s animated as he recounts a conversation with Angela Merkel, then Germany’s chancellor. ‘Angela, how many Fords or how many Chevrolets are there in the middle of Munich right now?’ he remembers asking. He mimics Merkel’s German accent in reply: ‘Oh, I do not believe many.’ ‘How about none?’ he says he shot back.

     Satisfied that he’s illustrated his point, Trump turns back to the Businessweek reporters: ‘They treat us very badly, but I was changing all of that and that culture.’ Return him to the White House, he suggests, and he’ll finish the job. Trump’s transactional view of foreign policy and his desire to ‘win’ every deal could have ramifications around the globe – and even rupture US alliances. Asked about US’ commitment to defending Taiwan from China, which views the Asian democracy as a breakaway province, Trump makes it clear that, despite recent bipartisan support for Taiwan, he’s at best lukewarm about standing up to Chinese aggression. Part of his skepticism is grounded in economic resentment. ‘Taiwan took our chip business from us,’ he says. ‘I mean, how stupid are we? They took all of our chip business. They’re immensely wealthy.’ What he wants is for Taiwan to pay the US for protection. ‘I don’t think we’re any different from an insurance policy. Why? Why are we doing this?’ he asks.

     Another factor driving his skepticism is what he regards as the practical difficulty of defending a small island on the other side of the globe: ‘Taiwan is 9,500 miles away. It’s 68 miles away from China.’ Abandoning the commitment to Taiwan would represent a dramatic shift in US foreign policy – as significant as halting support for Ukraine. But Trump sounds ready to radically alter the terms of these relationships.

     His views about Saudi Arabia, by contrast, are more amicable. He says he’s spoken to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud within the past 6 months, though he declines to elaborate on the nature and frequency of their talks. Asked if he worries that increasing US oil and gas production would upset the Saudis, who wish to maintain their primacy in energy, Trump replies that he doesn’t think so, pointing once more to a personal relationship. ‘He likes me, I like him,’ he says of the crown prince. ‘They’re always going to need protection… they’re not naturally protected.’ He adds: ‘I’ll always protect them.’

     Trump blames Biden & former President Barack Obama for eroding US relations with Saudi Arabia, saying they pushed the country toward a key adversary: ‘They’re not with us anymore. They’re with China. But they don’t want to be with China. They want to be with us.’ He has reasons beyond US foreign policy for favoring closer ties with the Saudis. 100s of millions of dollars are at stake for him. On July 1 the Trump Organization and DAR Global announced plans to build a Trump Tower & luxury hotel in Jeddah. An investment fund founded by his son-in-law Jared Kushner has also taken a $2bn investment from the Saudi government’s wealth fund.

     Western allies, now familiar with Trump’s personal & mercurial approach to foreign policy, are taking extensive measures to prepare for his possible return to the White House. These include increasing defense spending, transferring control of military aid for Ukraine to NATO, racing to improve relationships with Trump’s advisers and affiliated thinktanks, and reaching out to Republican governors and thought leaders to divine his intentions. At a NATO summit in Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged allies to act quickly to help his country repel Russia’s invasion instead of waiting for the election results in November to decide what to do.

     Dan Caldwell, a policy adviser at the right-leaning thinktank Defense Priorities, says ‘it’s actually in Europe’s interest to ‘America-proof’ their defense and to start operating on the assumption that the US has other, more urgent national security priorities, and domestic ones as well.’ – Bloomberg, see ee Economists, Trump on Taxes, Tariffs, Jerome Powell & More

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• Kamala’s Dollar Karma – Husband Doug Emhoff, entertainment lawyer; sister Maya Harris married Tony West, Uber executive, PepsiCo general counsel, justice department prosecutor; Phil Gordon, closest adviser on national security. Mike Pyle, top economic adviser, formerly at BlackRock & now MacroAdvisory Partners, a consultancy close to the White House: ‘He embraced Biden’s industrial policy, seeing a revitalised manufacturing capacity as helpful to national security as well as the US economy; Deanne Millison, who now works for Ford on manufacturing policy, was Harris’s top economic adviser after Pyle left; Sri Lankan Rohini Kosoglu, former domestic policy adviser;

Wall Street funders are Jon Henes, formerly of Kirkland & Ellis, coordinates fundraising; Ray McGuire, Lazard banker & former Citigroup executive, Brad Karp, chair of corporate law firm Paul Weiss; Blair Effron of Centerview Partners, Blackstone president Jonathan Gray, Evercore co-founder Roger Altman; and Marc Lasry, hedge fund investor, former co-owner of NBA team Milwaukee Bucks; Reed Hastings, Netflix chair; Reid Hoffman, co-founded LinkedIn, Brad Smith of Microsoft; Sheryl Sandberg, former chief operating officer at Meta.’ – see ee Politics, Team Kamala: the people behind Harris’ White House run

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• Big Data’s Big Fall – ‘Is more regulation of the big tech companies the answer? I think not. Regulation of capitalist ‘for profit’ companies by [capitalist? – ee] government regulatory agencies has been a proven failure in just about every sector: finance, utilities, transport, communications etc.  These companies just ride roughshod through regulations, pay their fines if found out, but then carry on ‘business as usual’. What about breaking up the big tech monopolies? This is a common cry from some: ‘it is long overdue that Microsoft and other Big Tech monopolies are broken up – for good. Not only are these monopolies too big to care, they’re too big to manage. And despite being too big to fail, they have failed us. Time and time again. Now, it’s time for a reckoning. We can’t continue to let Microsoft’s executives downplay their role in making all of us more vulnerable.’

     But anti-trust measures that break up large companies have done little in the past. The major economies are even more dominated by large companies than they were 100 years ago. Take the US government breakup of Standard Oil in 1911, when it controlled over 90% of the oil sector in the US.  Did that breakup lead to the creation of lots of small ‘manageable’ oil companies globally that worked in the interests of society? No, because in many industries economies of scale must operate to raise productivity and for capitalist firms to maximise profitability. Now 100 years after the Standard Oil break-up, we have even larger multinational energy companies controlling fossil fuel investment and energy prices.

     It’s the same debate with digital banking. Just the day before the CrowdStrike global outage, the Bank of England reported that its banking transactions service CHAPS had broken down, delaying many time-sensitive payments. It seems that the international SWIFT cross-border payments system had an outage for several hours.  And indeed, there has been a litany of banking system failures at ATMs and in digital transactions over the last 20 years.’  – M Roberts, ee Economists, Crowd strikes out

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• Sex in Buenos Aires – [Former Argentine President Alberto] ‘Fernandez & his supporters’ moralistic hectoring of young people about covid-rule-flouting also boosted Milei’s appeal, which strangely endures. Fernandez’ authoritarianism was not, however, limited to lockdowns during a crisis which no government in the world knew how to deal with. In a desperate attempt to impress the youth, the previous government accommodated the worst tendency of the identitarian left, which is cancel culture. The former Ministry of Women, Genders & Diversity (scrapped by Milei), receiving 3.4 % of GDP at the time, enforced an esoteric new law against ‘symbolic violence’ which could easily be used to censor art and speech in public space and in the press. Dissidents emerged such as YouTube influencer Roxana Kremer, whose massively popular series explained to an audience of over 666,000 subscribers how constitutional guarantees of due process were being eroded once radical feminists began implementing an Argentine version of the US 1980s legal activism of Catharine Mackinnon and Andrea Dworkin. A slew of popular artists got cancelled, while ‘gender-neutral’ de-sexed Spanish became the official language in bureaucracies. It was as if engaged intellectuals were taking recipes from a Weimar cookbook: fomenting sexualized paranoia in conservative rural societies whose members already felt the future was lost unto inflationary chaos. Feminism has reshaped political spaces in Argentina, sometimes in necessary ways. But it is unpopular to point out that this likely alienated some workers who later became Mileistas.’ – see ee Economists, Milei as the Argentine Messiah after the Failure of the Intellectuals

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• The Precision Class – ‘It is no mere coincidence that the worker-councils movement acquired the most marked political and managerial characteristics precisely in those 3 regions where the machine tool, electromechanic & optical industries were most concentrated, ie, where highly specialised workers were predominant within the overall labour force. These highly specialised workers of the machine & tool industry with a high level of professional ability, engaged in precision work, perfectly familiar with tools (both manual & mechanical) and working alongside technicians & engineers in modifying the working process, were materially most susceptible to a political-organisational project such as the workers-councils, ie, workers’ self-management of production. The concept of workers’ self-management could not have had such a wide appeal in the German workers-council movement without a labour-force inextricably linked to the technology of the working process, with high professional values and naturally inclined to stress their function as ‘producers’. The concept of self-management pictured the worker as an autonomous producer and the factory’s labour-power as self-sufficient… Ford’s innovations did not amount to mere qualitative changes of machinery, but, in the long run, they meant the progressive extinction of the type of worker bound to the machine, to the factory, and to the craft. The highly skilled worker of the machine-tool industry was to give way to the unskilled, uprooted, highly mobile and inter-changeable modern assembly line worker. Thus, it is important to keep in mind that before the German ‘labour-aristocracy’ became the revolutionary vanguard, before it underwent the acid test, it had been objectively doomed to extinction by the capitalist vanguards. (Sergio Bologna, ‘Class Composition & Theory of the Party at Origin of the Workers-Councils Movement’, Telos 13, 1972, quoted in Geoffrey Kay, Development & Underdevelopment, a Marxist Analysis)

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B. Special Focus__

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• B1. Universities & Liberal Arts Education – Usvatte-aratchi

Professor Liyanage Amarakirthi of Peradeniya has written a book in Sinhala, Vishvavidyalaya Yanu Kumak Da? (A university, what is it?). His treatment of the subject is eclectic, and an adequate response will need an essay of at least 20 pages. I have not seen any comment on the book for nearly 2 years. I will remark on some selected themes, holding in my mind that the book is reading material for Sinhala readers, for whom the supply is scanty.

     The characteristic feature of a university is that it is a teaching institution; absent students, no matter how many researchers it has, there is no university. If it does carry on research only, it is a research institute and not a university. (There are 2 exceptions: All Souls College in Oxford, where except during a few years past, it has had no students although its accomplished Fellows taught in the university; the other was Rockefeller University in New York City, where for many years, there were only research scholars; now it has scientists who also teach graduate students in medical sciences.)

     Secondly, universities are old venerable institutions developed in Europe in the Middle Ages and spread worldwide, later. There are now universities in British Columbia to Brisbane and in Santiago de Chile to Osaka, Japan, with Africa in between. Wherever they are, certain features have remained unchanged. Were a professor from St Andrews University in 1487, to visit Ibadan University today, he would meet a vice-chancellor wearing the same clothes of office and a dean, attend a faculty meeting and, with luck, sit on a committee where a student defended his thesis for the award of a PhD degree. He would be reminded of ‘disputations’ (disputandum), a standard procedure for examining students in his own university, in an age without paper examinations.

     There are thousands of universities in the world today and they vary in what is taught and how students are taught. Oxford and Cambridge are famous for close supervision of their students; and there are many universities where lectures are delivered from a remote podium to hundreds of students, who listen on loudspeakers. And there are Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Many university graduates complain that they never saw the star scholars or scientists in their university whom they see on television. Universities also vary in ownership. In the US, 70% of all undergraduates study in government universities & colleges. Wisconsin University, where Prof Amarakirthi studied, is one of the best-regarded land grant colleges as are those of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York. City or county governments run their universities and colleges, eg, City University in NY, Hunter College in Manhattan, and Queens College in Fresh Meadows.

     Some universities were started by the community (eg, Harvard College in 1635) and prospered with donations of foundation money by alumni and other philanthropists. Princeton was a college run by the Methodist church and the first lay president was Woodrow Wilson in 1802 (his father was a Methodist priest). Johns Hopkins provided the initial funds to start the University which became a singularly important institution. The first universities were started by government in China, India, Japan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka. In some countries, there are universities owned by the church (eg, Ateneo universities in the Philippines) or private persons, some of which are run for profit. One can buy shares in privately owned for-profit universities on the Manila stock exchange. This variety is sorely missed in Prof Amarakirthi’s book. Harvard was not the first university in the world; universities exist worldwide, the private sector does not always own them, and there are high-quality government universities. All the same, they are fundamentally teaching institutions; some undertake research, others don’t.

     Similarly, the distinction between liberal arts education and training for professions is very old. In medieval universities, there were 5 faculties: arts, law (canon & civil), theology, medicine, and philosophy. Theology, Law & Medicine Faculties taught students for the professions. On completing 4 years in the faculty of arts, a student received a BA degree, and after 2 more years of learning, an MA degree. Some were designated as ius ubique docendi, qualifying them to teach in other institutions. In older universities, even now, some students are awarded a BA degree no matter their engineering graduation (there are still docents in some European university systems.) The highest faculty was the philosophy faculty. Even now, your professors are philosophiae doctor. The other faculties have their own doctoral degrees: JD or LLD, MD and DTh. Holders of these degrees may proceed to receive a PhD degree. The present arguments about liberal arts education spring from new concerns.

     What universities and their prototypes taught have changed over time and place? I have dealt with this question in 2 lectures delivered in Colombo: ‘Sarasvati meets Lakshmi’ and ‘What are universities for?’ (2004) The market has always determined university output. In medieval Europe, the church (sacerdotum) was the most powerful institution in the res publica Christiana. The other 2, imperium & stadium, were, in many ways, subordinate to the first. Universitas generale primarily served the church. They were controlled and run by clergymen, although graduates in other faculties were more numerous. Even those like Thomas More, Cranmer and (later) Richelieu who served in royal courts were churchmen. The principal motive of settlers who set up Harvard College was ‘educating civic leaders and preparing a learned clergy’.

     It took a long time for universities to become institutions critically important to the economy and society. Inventions that summed up the Industrial Revolution in England were the work of talented and skilled craftsmen. We have the evidence of Edward Gibbon and the recent analytical work of Joel Mokyr (The enlightened economy, 2009) that the 2 English universities had little to do with those advances in technology, that brought about an industrial revolution. In a blurb for the official history of Cambridge University, it is remarked ‘In 1970 the university was a provincial seminary enhanced by a traditional prestige’. Someone remarked at the beginning of the 19th century that ‘Princeton University was the most expensive men’s club in US.’

     Universities became important agents in the economy after about 1850, because the economy changed to need their participation. Discoveries in physics, chemistry and biology in universities began to be exploited by both industrialists and farmers. Far-flung enterprises like railways needed managers with special training. The land grant colleges in US were partly a response to these demands. The ‘Wisconsin Idea’ of a university as a ‘service centre’ where people resorted to solving their problems was symptomatic of this transformation. ‘a very high proportion of the leading industries in the US, perhaps as many as 80%, are derived from discoveries in American universities’ (Jonathan R Cole, 2009). The rest of the world has many of those industries. The Cavendish Labs in Cambridge and universities in Britain, Germany, France and Russia were similarly and equally productive. We have reached a new age where a discovery or an invention in a university itself becomes an industry. Silicon Valley provides examples. There are ‘enterprise incubators’ in universities like Harvard and MIT.

     During the 19th century, population congregations became more urbanized and complex. Individual scholars (Karl Marx) and other thinkers set out to understand those complexities and to find ways of improving living in exploding cities. There are gruesome accounts of filth & squalor in cities including Chicago in the 19^thC; Dickens provided such pictures of urban life in England. Universities were established to seek solutions to such problems. In Britain, London School of Economics and Political Science of University of London was a response. In Cambridge, the faculty of Economics and Politics came up much later and the first students sat for the tripos in 2005. All over the world, there was a rapid growth of university departments where economics, sociology, anthropology, politics and history were studied. These massive changes in the economy and society demanded responding changes in universities. That interest is now shown in the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) subjects taught in schools & universities. Liberal arts studies have suffered in comparison. I am not sure that Armageddon is around the corner if teaching liberal arts in universities were to decline.

     Let us be clear about liberal arts. They are not confined to language and literature studies. Recall, Francis Bacon (author of Novum Organon): ‘Nature is an open book but to read it you need the language of mathematics’. In addition to what Prof Amarakirthi deals with, liberal arts include mathematics, natural sciences and moral sciences (social studies). An education in liberal arts does not train a student for any profession. The leading liberal arts colleges in US (eg, Barnard, Harvard, Princeton, Swarthmore, Pomona, Dartmouth) all teach these subjects. Some of them (Swarthmore) teach engineering. Princeton University does not have any professional schools (business, law or medicine) as a part of it. The 2 old universities in England took a long time to start any professional schools. There is no evidence to maintain that learning in mathematics, science, economics, politics and history has dulled the wit of scholars who studied them. On the contrary. Some of the sharpest criticisms of society have come from mathematicians, scientists, economists, historians and students of politics. The pathology must lie somewhere else.

     In many universities, the world over, students begin studies relating to professions after high school. In Sri Lanka, students begin medical, engineering or business studies, directly after completing high school. In India, students can enter IITs directly after high school. Mathematics and basic sciences are learnt before training in the professions begins. In Germany, Technische Hochschulen. In US and many European universities, students need a first degree to pursue professional studies. In France, Polytechniques where professions are taught. Teachers and researchers have shifted their interest from liberal arts to professional courses. Chintaka Ranasinghe of Kelaniya, in a recent address to Samskrti, informed that students who came to study Sinhala in our universities were those in remote villages who were handicapped by a lack of options, which forced them to take Sinhala and related subjects against their better judgment. There is a report (13/07/24) that at National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan (3^rd in rank) ‘no student had accepted places in the history department for next year’. This is a threat that liberal arts departments in universities worldwide face. Language & literature departments in many universities (I recall the instance in university of Virginia) have contracted in size and sometimes integrated with social studies departments.

     A few words on the method (methodology for those who like long words) of treating the subject by Prof Amarakirthi. He quotes, at length, the opinions of celebrated writers & scholars who support his contentions. These are not substitutes for analytical studies of institutions, including their functioning.

     Problems of financing higher education and the consequences of different methods used have given rise to many issues including closing opportunities to those in lower-income categories. They are entirely missing from the book. Two books of interest in this area are Henry Rosovsky, University: an owner’s manual (1990) and Richard V Reeves, Dreams Hoarders (2017). Methods of financing & cultural factors have tended to perpetuate & engender lasting inequalities in access to university education. One also should reconsider the usefulness of the lengthy digression on Howard Gardener’s celebrated paper in his critique of IQ tests. Similarly, neoliberalism is a political philosophy, dealing with the individual and society. Neoliberalism seeks to minimize the role of government and widen the role of civil society, including the market (it has been widely and roundly criticized). This has no bearing on liberal arts education: liberal arts are taught in both state and non-state universities.

     The importance of education in economic growth came into prominence in the 1960s following a path-breaking paper written by Robert Solow. Neoliberalism has little to do with it. Magna Carta was a charter issued by King John who sought new revenue to set out on a crusade and ‘barons of the realm’, in a bargain, obtained certain privileges including ‘No man shall be seized or imprisoned or suspended of his rights or possessions… except by the lawful judgment of his equals or the law of the land’. We still go to court seeking a writ of habeas corpus. It was not an ex parte declaration comparable to the declaration referred to in this book.

     For those interested in universities, here are a few publications, I have used. In Sinhala, there is the ‘Visvavidyala Ankaya’ of Samskrti, 12: 4 (1965) edited by young Susil Sirivardana & SG Samarasinghe. I spoke about it in on Radio Ceylon in 1967 and a fragment of that talk was published in Samskrti in 2014. Susil Sirivardana & Usvatte-aratchi re-issued Visvavidyala Adyapana Ankaya with a new introduction by Usvatte-aratchi in 2014. Samskrti over time published many articles on university education. Japanaye Usas Adyapanaya (1971) is an excellent translation into Sinhala by Prof WA de Silva of Nagai Michio’s Higher Education in Japan and is useful both for information and vocabulary. Usvatte-aratchi also wrote a longish essay on universities in a collection Samajaya, Arthikaya ha Adyapanaya (2009).

     I read in Peradeniya in 1955 Hastings Rashdall’s 3 volumes on Medieval Universities and Abraham Flexners’ Universities: American, English & German. They are probably there still. There appeared in 1988 an excellent companion to Rashdall: A History of the University of Cambridge I by Damien Rehl Leader. Universities, for all their glittering modernity, are essentially medieval institutions (like parliament & trial by jury). They cannot be understood by beginning with Harvard College which opened 1635. (The public school which immigrants started in 1633, Boston Grammar School still thrives.) On modern US universities, papers and books abound. A good summary (though dated) is in American Higher Education by Christopher J Lucas (1940). On universities that England exported (to Ceylon, as well) the best source is Eric Ashby’s Universities: British, Indian & African. The British Council Library in Colombo ordered it in 1970 at my request. On European universities, there are many books and papers; the one volume I use is The Emergence of Modern Universities 1863-1914 by George Weisz. On Japan, Michio Nagai’s work is reliable. I am poor on universities in Latin America, mostly because I do not read Spanish. There are reports of commissions and committees appointed by governments to report on universities. Radhakrishnan Commission in India in 1948 was excellent. Needham Commission Report in 1958 in our country should also be looked at. The outstanding Robbins Committee Report on Higher Education, 1960, running into several volumes, is unexcelled as a source of information. In many countries which gained independence from colonial rule, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia appointed commissions to report on the establishment of universities. Among academic journals, Minerva edited by Edward Shills from Chicago, was available in the Peradeniya library. Prof Amarakirthi is not an infrequent visitor to the US, where he can read these in any good library. I wrote this brief because they are conspicuously absent from the reading list in his book.

     Prof Amarakirthi is a highly regarded teacher of literature. He has reached the highest level in the academic hierarchy. He is a prize-winning writer of fiction. He has written more books than most people read in their lifetime. He has been associated with 5 universities, 3 overseas. His companions, named in this book, include a brilliant galaxy of professors. Recently, he spoke on a political platform exhibiting considerable rhetorical talent. With all that, this book disappoints.

(Usvatte-aratchi is an economist, writes in both English & Sinhala. He says his handwriting, which never had form, has of late deteriorated to an illegible scroll. He has failed to find a typist who could make a neat typescript from his drafts. He regrets that these notes were not written in Sinhala. He would be grateful if someone publishes them in Sinhala.) – see ee Workers, Universities & Liberal Arts Education – Usvatte-aratchi

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• B2. China’s Long March through the Global South – David P Goldman

‘US should combine with Japan, South Korea & Germany to compete; together they have more resources, more capital’ – Asia Times Business Editor Goldman spoke on July 8 at the Israeli-run National Conservatism Conference in Washington, DC

The ‘Long March’ analogy isn’t my idea. Chinese policymakers talk of Mao’s civil war strategy of encircling the cities from the countryside. Why is this important? The working-age population of high-income countries will fall by a quarter this century due to low birth rates. In the case of Taiwan & South Korea, it’s more like 3-quarters. That’s why I doubt China will invade Taiwan; the Chinese don’t fight for what will fall into their laps sooner or later like ripe fruit. But the working-age population of so-called Middle-Income countries will rise by half.  The world’s scarcest resource is young people who can work in a modern economy. Empires of the past fought over territory. China’s goal is to control people.

     In 1979 China took a nation of farmers and turned them into industrial workers, and multiplied GDP per capita 30 times. Now it plans to turn a nation of factory workers into a nation of engineers – think of South Korea. That’s a messy and costly transition. But China is doing it. In 2020 I wrote of China’s plan to Sino-form the Global South. It knows a lot about getting people who make $3 a day to make $10 or $20 a day.

     China’s population has been in decline, but its highly educated population is growing: 10.5 million university graduates, up 60% in 10 years, 2X our total – and a third are engineers. That’s more engineering graduates than the rest of the world combined. South Korea quintupled industrial production between 1990 and 2010 while its factory workforce fell by a fifth.

     Will China collapse? Compare the US and China aggregate debt burden: the US is 262% of GDP, and China is 278% of GDP – But China lends the world a trillion dollars a year and we borrow a trillion dollars a year. Countries with positive growth and big current account surpluses don’t have financial crises.

     China has gotten many things wrong, but it got 2 big things right. The first is AI applications to manufacturing. It can produce a $9,000 electric vehicle (EV) at a profit, or 2,400 5G base stations a day in a plant with 50 workers – I saw this. It also claims to have a factory that can make 1,000 cruise missile motors a day. We can’t produce enough artillery shells to supply Ukraine. China can make as many ship-killer missiles as it wants. That’s the biggest change in relative firepower since muskets replaced crossbows. A US destroyer can carry 100 missile interceptors. There’s no limit to how many missiles China can launch from the mainland. We talk about prioritizing China: With what?

     We’re just rearranging the deck guns on the Titanic – China has 3 million 5G base stations. We have 100,000. China dominates key industries – telecom infrastructure, EVs, solar power, drones, steel and shipbuilding – and it’s aiming at semiconductors. Biden’s Treasury Secretary goes to China and says, ‘Please, you’ve got too much industrial capacity, don’t export so much!’ What about OUR capacity?

     The other big thing China got right is the transformation of the Global South. It doubled exports to the Global South since Covid – now exports more to the Global South than to all developed markets. Assimilates billions of people into its economic sphere. It did this with 200 soldiers deployed outside China vs our [US] 230,000. We spent $7trillion on forever wars. China spent $1trillion on Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) investments. Who got more influence? 40 countries have applied to join the BRICS group. This isn’t about authoritarianism vs democracy. China’s exports to democracies like India grew as fast as exports to Russia. The Chinese are incurious about how barbarians govern themselves. They want to make the world dependent on Chinese technology and supply chains. This is a gigantic undertaking: 4 out of 5 workers in the Global South are immured in the so-called informal sector. They pay no taxes, receive few services, have no access to capital & world markets.

     China is assimilating them with digital & transportation infrastructure. That connects people to world markets. Huawei and ZTE now deliver more than half the world’s telecom infrastructure and more than two thirds of the market in the Global South. BYD is building EV plants in Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey and Hungary. The $9,000 EV is today’s equivalent of the Model T for the Global South – a car the average family can afford. That’s as big as the Model T was for the USA.

     Meanwhile our position deteriorates. When Donald Trump left office, our trade deficit in goods was $800billion a year. Now it’s half again as big, at $1.2 trillion a year. Most of the new imports come from the Global South. We put tariffs on goods from China, so China instead shipped components to Mexico, Vietnam, India and a dozen other countries, which sold the finished goods to us. We import less from China but we’re more dependent on Chinese supply chains.  Like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, we smashed the enchanted broom that was flooding us, and now we have a dozen.

     The Fed’s Industrial Production Index is lower than it was before Covid. Capital goods orders are down more than 10% after inflation. Worst of all: We now import more capital goods – the goods that make other goods – than we produce at home. To produce more and import less, we need more capital goods, but we’ll need to import more capital goods today in order to import less in the future. That’s why across-the-board tariffs may do more harm than good. We cut off China’s access to advanced chip technologies, but China has worked around most of these barriers. It can produce the chips it needs for industrial automation, 5G telecom, & other real economy applications. Again and again, we overestimated the impact of our sanctions and underestimated China’s ability to adapt.

     Taking potshots at the elephant hasn’t done much good. We have to get our own elephant. We need a national effort on the scale of the Kennedy Moonshot or the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative. In 1965, 12% of all federal outlays went to R&D. Today it’s 2.4%.

     We get industrial policy right when we have a national emergency – Trump’s missile defense is the way to go. Reduce our forward deployment and concentrate resources on high-tech defense. We have faster chips. But it’s not just about processing speed: It’s know-how, education, an industrial culture & industrial communities, and we’ve let these slip. Trump is right to impose high tariffs on Chinese EVs – we have to protect our manufacturing base. He’s also right to invite Chinese auto companies to build plants in the US. China is ahead of us in industrial automation. Let’s appropriate some of China’s IP.

     Two simple proposals: We should combine with Japan, South Korea & Germany to compete with China’s Long March through the Global South. Together we have more resources and more capital. We should invite our NATO partners to join us in creating the technologies that will determine the outcome of the 21^st century. We won’t persuade them to rebuild conventional armies. But joining us at the cutting edge of technology is an offer they can’t refuse. As a young researcher for Reagan’s National Security Council, I produced a study saying that SDI would pay for itself through civilian spinoffs. I was wrong: It paid for itself 10 times over. This isn’t our first rodeo. We can do it again. We are more in need of reminder than of instruction. – see ee Economists, China’s Long March through the Global South

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C. Building Blocks

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Every ee carries these extracts below to counter: 1) The constant harangue about exports, when they must at all times serve to advance or recapture and control of our home markets to develop modern industry. 2) We need to learn about machine industry versus handicraft, assembly and manufacture 3) The rules of the Sangha require constant interaction between people.

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• ‘The biggest handicap to industrial development is not the lack of capital but the absence of external economics, such as cheap power, cheap transport, technical and managerial ability, and above all the lack of a home market. The home market in an agricultural country is essentially the rural market. It is only a prosperous peasantry that can provide the home market for our industry. This is the connection between a guaranteed price for paddy and the industrialization of our country’ – Philip Gunawardena

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• ‘The Creation of a Home Market for our Industry is the pivot on which the future industrialisation of our country rests. In Ceylon’s context The Home Market essentially means The Peasant Market. To create the home market therefore we must substantially raise the living standards of the mass of the peasants so that they will be able to buy the goods produced by our industry. This demonstrates clearly the necessary connection between Industrialization & Agrarian Reform.’ – Policy Statement of the Ministry of Industries, 1956

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• ‘Their field of production, the smallholding, admits of no division of labor in its cultivation, no application of science and, therefore, no diversity of development, no variety of talent, no wealth of social relationships. Each individual peasant family is almost self-sufficient; it itself directly produces the major part of its consumption and thus acquires its means of life more through exchange with nature than in intercourse with society.’ – Karl Marx, The 18^th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, p124

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• ‘Japan will retain and encourage the branches of the machine industry that yield high added value, but production facilities that involve a low degree of processing and generate low added value should be moved to developing countries… so that Japan can concentrate on high technology & knowledge-intensive industry.’– Japan’s Council on Industrial Structure, 1977 (in SBD de Silva, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment)

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• Economics Not Taught – The Machines Nobody Knows – The Extraordinary Culture of Machine Tools – If we were a truly ‘developing’ country, here are the questions a national media would need to ask: A plan requires a political, economic & military strategy, which will first assess peasant & worker power, land (including natural resources), & capital, that the nation possesses, and the time needed to transform these powers into material reality:

     Here’s ee’s Index of a Real Economy or, at least, how a real economy would be measured:

1. The index of a strong economy is modern industry.

2. The index of modern industry is the production of machines.

3. Machine tools (MT) are the most important of all machines.

4. MT is needed for huge diversified metal fabricating industries (auto, electrical, etc.)

5. MT is essential for production of machines for all other industries.

6. Full data on machinery production is needed:

7. What portion of our machinery needs are supplied by machines built in Sri Lanka?

8. What is the trend? Are we producing more or less machines than we did before?

9. Data on imports & exports of machinery is needed (esp shipments of MTs & other Industrial Machinery)

10. MT production vs imports, must include: Mining & Metallurgical Machinery, Pulp & Paper Machinery, Textile Machinery, Woodworking Machinery, Logging Machinery, Sawmill Machinery, Office & Business Machines (adapted from: ee 20-26 Sept 2020).

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• Making Central Banks Independent of the People?

– anchor.fm/shiran-illanperuma/episodes

– youtube.com/watch?v=_AWg6VvTj9g

– eesrilanka.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/imf-independence-the-central-bank/

– eesrilanka.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/make-the-central-bank-independent-of-capitalism/

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• On State-Owned Enterprises and Privatization

– anchor.fm/shiran-illanperuma/episodes/On-State-Owned-Enterprises-and-the-Privatization-Debate-w-Vinod-Moonesinghe-e1vric4

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D. News Index______________________________________________

• ee News Index provides headlines & links to make sense of the weekly focus of published English ‘business news’ to expose the backwardness of multinational, corporate controlled ‘local media’:

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D1. Sovereignty

(ee is pro-politics, pro-politician, pro-nation-state, anti-corporatist, anti-expert, anti-NGO)

ee Sovereignty news emphasizes sovereignty as economic sovereignty – a strong nation is built on modern (machine-making) industrialization fueled by a producer culture.

• Cobalt Conundrum: Is India testing disputed waters to underscore strategic pursuit?

‘…Sri Lanka doesn’t have a written foreign policy. Its foreign policy has shifted depending on the political party and the political leadership’

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/plus/Cobalt-Conundrum-Is-India-testing-disputed-waters-to-underscore-strategic-pursuit/352-287924

• Trump & Looking Back at Political Assassinations, Violence in Sri Lanka

‘The global community turned a blind eye to LTTE efforts to destroy the political party system here, while outwardly singing hosannas for democratic values world over.’

– https://island.lk/looking-back-at-political-assassinations-violence/

• Wikileaks discloses source of 40,000 (deaths) as Ranil Wickremasinghe

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/20/wikileaks-discloses-source-of-40000-deaths-as-ranil-wickremasinghe/

• Buddhist Viharas & Eelam Part 22B

‘The USA is interested in the Ravana cult in Sri Lanka’

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/20/buddhist-viharas-and-eelam-part-22b/

• Buddhist Viharas & Eelam Part 22C

‘Ravana worship has been introduced to Sri Lanka in the post-war period, without much fanfare. This is not the Ramayana Ravana this is Sri Lanka’s very own Ravana, sans Sita.’

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/23/buddhist-viharas-and-eelam-part-22c/

• Buddhist Viharas & Eelam Part 22D

‘sites where Ravana  shrines have been set up’

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/20/buddhist-viharas-and-eelam-part-22d/

• Buddhist Viharas & Eelam Part 22E

‘Sri Devram Maha Viharaya, Pannipitiya contains the largest Ravana shrine in Sri Lanka.’

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/22/buddhist-viharas-and-eelam-part-22e/

• Getting US help alone for hydrographic data may not be judicious

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/editorial/strike-it-with-ai-564719.html

• US supports Sri Lanka’s emergency preparedness through WFP

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/us-supports-sri-lankas-emergency-preparedness-through-wfp-564570.html

• Sri Lanka didn’t express concern over reconciliation between African Americans & Rednecks

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/editorial/strike-it-with-ai-564719.html

• JVP Leader Meets with Japanese State Minister of Foreign Affairs

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/23/akd-meets-with-japanese-state-minister-of-foreign-affairs

• Ven. Gnanasara granted bail pending hearing of revision petition

– https://island.lk/ven-gnanasara-granted-bail-pending-hearing-of-revision-petition/

• A sheikh revealed information about possible attacks: Gnanasara Thera

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/22/a-sheikh-revealed-information-about-possible-attacks-gnanasara-thera/

• Do not let terrorist groups get stuck in political camps: Gnanasara Thera

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/24/do-not-let-terrorist-groups-get-stuck-in-political-camps-gnanasara-thera/

• Tamil Progressive Alliance tells President they prefer assimilation to isolation in Sri Lanka

– https://island.lk/tamil-progressive-alliance-tells-president-they-prefer-assimilation-to-isolation-in-sri-lanka/

• SL gets more funds under India’s 2024-25 Budget allocation for Ministry of External Affairs

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100729/sri-lanka-gets-more-funds-under-indias-2024-25-budget-allocation-for-mea-

• Sri Lanka Navy detains Nine Indian fishermen off the Delft coast in the Sea of Sri Lanka

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/23/sri-lanka-navy-detains-nine-indian-fishermen-off-the-delft-coast-in-the-sea-of-sri-lanka

• Nine Indian fishermen arrested for poaching in Sri Lankan waters

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100730/nine-indian-fishermen-arrested-for-poaching-in-sri-lankan-waters

• Navy seizes smuggled Indian Tendu leaves in Negombo

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/25/navy-takes-hold-of-about-1780kg-of-smuggled-tendu-leaves-in-negombo

• Sri Lanka’s role as link between East and West on the Maritime Silk Road

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/sri-lankas-role-as-link-between-east-and-west-on-the-maritime-silk-road-564547.html

• The Indo-Lanka Physical Connectivity Presented To Former Australian PM Morrison

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/19/the-on-indo-lanka-physical-connectivity-presented-to-former-australian-pm-morrison/

• Moragoda presents Indo-Lanka Physical Connectivity report to ex-Aussie PM

– https://island.lk/moragoda-presents-indo-lanka-physical-connectivity-report-to-ex-aussie-pm/

• Sri Lankans have a very important choice to make in the months ahead: Scott Morrison

– https://island.lk/sri-lankans-have-a-very-important-choice-to-make-in-the-months-ahead-scott-morrison/

• More than 50 Lankan students stuck in B’desh as violence escalates

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/more-than-50-lankan-students-stuck-in-bdesh-as-violence-escalates-564764.html

• SL-Pakistan consultations at Foreign Ministry level after lapse of two years

– https://island.lk/sl-pakistan-consultations-at-foreign-ministry-level-after-lapse-of-two-years/

• Japanese investors meet Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Japanese-investors-meet-Ports-Shipping-and-Aviation-Minister/34-764457

• UNODC with Japanese funds provides Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat to SLN to catch narcos

– https://island.lk/unodc-with-japanese-funds-provides-rigid-hull-inflatable-boat-to-sln/

• Japan announces resumption of ‘Development’ Projects in Sri Lanka

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/24/japan-announces-resumption-of-development-projects-in-sri-lanka/

• Japan Officially Notifies SL of Its Decision to Resume Disbursement to Yen Loan Projects

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/25/japan-officially-notifies-sri-lanka-of-its-decision-to-resume-disbursement-to-yen-loan-projects

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Japan-officially-notifies-Sri-Lanka-of-decision-to-resume-disbursement-to-Yen-loan-projects/44-764738

• Swiss Defence Attaché Garraux makes farewell call on the Defence Secretary

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/22/swiss-defence-attache-makes-farewell-call-on-the-defence-secretary/

• US Human Rights Watch (HRW) demands moratorium on Prevention of Terrorism Act

– https://island.lk/hrw-demands-moratorium-on-pta/

• Sri Lanka rejects genocide allegations by Canadian PM again

– https://sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Sri-Lanka-rejects-genocide-allegations-by-Canadian-PM-again/2-1146387

• 41 years to Black July: Our voices towards meaningful reconciliation – L. Bopage

– https://www.ft.lk/columns/41-years-to-Black-July-Our-voices-towards-meaningful-reconciliation/4-764707

• Forty-one years after ‘83 July do prez candidates have answers for “TNQ”?

– https://www.ft.lk/opinion/Forty-one-years-after-83-July-do-prez-candidates-have-answers-for-TNQ/14-764708

• First-ever TMTK Convention in Jaffna today

– https://island.lk/first-ever-tmtk-convention-in-jaffna-today/

• Wiggy’s TMTK party expected to announce its stand on prez poll

– https://island.lk/wiggys-party-expected-to-announce-its-stand-on-prez-poll/

•  Belarus, Bangladesh and the Colour Revolution Machine

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxEoWzc_SqQ

• The epic bust-up between China and India could be ending

. Mr Modi will also be mindful that the recent loss of his party’s majority in parliament was partly because of frustration over a shortage of high-quality manufacturing jobs.

–  https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/07/18/the-epic-bust-up-between-china-and-india-could-be-ending

• Why blaming the Israel lobby for western Middle East policies is misguided

– https://blackagendareport.com/why-blaming-israel-lobby-western-middle-east-policies-misguided

• Palestinian Factions Sign Beijing Declaration on Ending Division & Strengthening Palestinian National Unity

– http://no.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgwj_1/202407/t20240723_11458788.htm

• China Brokers Unity in Palestine

– https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/07/china-brokers-unity-in-palestine.html#comments

• Yellow Dragon diplomacy on Palestine

– https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/501484/Yellow-dragon-diplomacy-on-Palestine

• Al Mayadeen obtains Palestinian factions’ Beijing declaration

– https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/al-mayadeen-obtains-palestinian-faction-s-crucial-beijing-de

• The Middle East’s problems extend far beyond Gaza

– https://www.ft.com/content/ce8a2c61-b935-436d-9ae4-2819961b5073

• China Brings Peace to the Middle East While Washington Bombs and Terrorizes

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/24/china-brings-peace-to-the-middle-east-while-washington-bombs-and-terrorizes/

• Yemen warns Tel Aviv no longer a safe zone after launching radar-evading drone

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360657-yemen-warns-tel-aviv-no-longer-a-safe-zone-after-launching-radar-evading-drone

• Yemeni envoy at United Nations warns of a devastating regional escalation

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360965-yemeni-envoy-at-united-nations-warns-of-a-devastating-regional-escalation

• July 21: Axis of Resistance operations against Israeli occupation

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360761-july-21-axis-of-resistance-operations-against-israeli-occupation

• Israel in Palestine, Rwanda in DRC

– https://blackagendareport.com/israel-palestine-rwanda-drc

• Analyzing the Israel Effect in Canada

– https://socialistproject.ca/2024/07/analyzing-the-israel-effect-in-canada/

• English Labour government ignores ICJ ruling and continues full Tory support for Israel

– https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/07/existence-vs-expansion/

• Menendez Will Resign from Senate over Egypt, Avoiding an Ugly, Intraparty Battle

– https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/nyregion/senator-bob-menendez-resignation.html

• Give Peace a Chance in Haiti

– https://blackagendareport.com/give-peace-chance-haiti

• Bolivarian Diplomacy vs. the Monroe Doctrine: A Conversation with Carlos Ron (Part I)

– https://blackagendareport.com/bolivarian-diplomacy-vs-monroe-doctrine-conversation-carlos-ron-part-i

• Nicaraguan Democracy Exposes the U.S. Oligarchy

– https://blackagendareport.com/nicaraguan-democracy-exposes-us-oligarchy

• Red On Red in Succession Politics – Russian Exceptionalists Try to Interpret US Presidential Politics

– https://johnhelmer.net/red-on-red-in-succession-politics-russian-exceptionalists-try-to-interpret-american-presidential-politics/

• Biden Delegates Key Economic Powers to Fund War in Ukraine

– https://thedeepdive.ca/biden-delegates-key-economic-powers-to-support-ukraine/

• The Polish Purge – Russian Assessment of Ex-Defense Minister Blaszczak’s Treason

‘Poland cannot defend itself from a combined Russian-Belarusian attack, and cannot count on the USA and other NATO allies to save it in time.’

– https://johnhelmer.net/the-polish-purge-russian-assessment-of-ex-defense-minister-blaszczaks-treason

• The Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump and Political Violence Waged by the USA

– https://blackagendareport.com/index.php/assassination-attempt-donald-trump-and-political-violence-waged-us

• USA’s democracy goes underground – M K Bhadrakumar

‘If Joe Biden’s mental acuity is no longer up to the job, shouldn’t that include his job as president?’

– https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/americas-democracy-goes-underground-3119350

• The Decline and Fall of Presidential USA. Are We Now Living in a Defeat Culture?

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/19/the-decline-and-fall-of-presidential-america-are-we-now-living-in-a-defeat-culture/

• Kamala Harris & The Future of USA: Caleb T. Maupin

– https://t.me/JotiBrar/3719

• BBC blames Russia for French arson attacks

– https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c28eyr3y18yo

• Anti-Gypsy Riots Break Out in London, Bus Set on Fire, Police Car Flipped Over

– https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/riots-break-out-in-leeds-bus-set-on-fire-police-car-flipped-over-6139119

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D2. Security (the state beyond ‘a pair of handcuffs’, monopolies of legitimate violence)

ee Security section focuses on the state (a pair of handcuffs, which sposedly has the monopoly of legitimate violence), and how the ‘national security’ doctrine is undermined by private interests, with no interest in divulging or fighting the real enemy, whose chief aim is to prevent an industrial renaissance as the basis of a truly independent nation.

• Deshabandu suspended; Prez asked to appoint acting IGP

– https://island.lk/deshabandu-suspended-prez-asked-to-appoint-acting-igp/

• SC Issues Interim Order Barring Deshabandu from IGP Post

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/24/sc-issues-interim-order-barring-deshabandu-from-igp-post

• Cabinet [to take?] decision following Supreme Court order on IGP

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/24/cabinet-takes-decision-following-supreme-court-order-on-igp/

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Cabinet-to-declare-position-on-IGP-court-decision-on-Friday/44-764736

• Any attempt to defy court order will be in contempt – Saliya Peiris PC

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Any-attempt-to-defy-court-order-will-be-in-contempt-Saliya-Peiris-PC/44-764735

• Next Acting IGP – Pathinayake or Weerasooriya?

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Next-Acting-IGP-Pathinayake-or-Weerasooriya/44-764734

• Easter Sunday security lapses: SDIG sent on compulsory leave pending disciplinary probe

– https://island.lk/easter-sunday-security-lapses-sdig-sent-on-compulsory-leave-pending-disciplinary-probe/

• Ex-Director of Institute of National Security Studies arrested at BIA

– https://island.lk/ex-director-of-institute-of-national-security-studies-arrested-at-bia/

• Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill passed with amendments

– https://island.lk/civil-procedure-code-amendment-bill-passed-with-amendments/

• Police Clearance Division relocated from Police HQ

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Police-Clearance-Division-relocated-from-Police-HQ/108-288071

• Sri Lanka Army returns home after successful Mali operation, earning 14.5 billion rupees

– https://www.ft.lk/ft_tv/Sri-Lanka-Army-returns-home-after-successful-Mali-operation-earning-14-5-billion-rupees/10520-764689

• Nearly one year on, these resettled families still groping in the dark

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/nearly-one-year-on-these-resettled-families-still-groping-in-the-dark-564605.html

• US supports Sri Lanka’s emergency preparedness through WFP

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/us-supports-sri-lankas-emergency-preparedness-through-wfp-564570.html

• Investigation into Club Wasantha’s murder compromised by poor crime scene management

– https://island.lk/investigation-into-club-wasanthas-murder-compromised-by-poor-crime-scene-management/

• Killing of Club Wasantha: Alles says only gunmen remain to be arrested

– https://island.lk/killing-of-club-wasantha-alles-says-only-gunmen-remain-to-be-arrested/

• Athurugiriya killings prompt fresh call for resumption of judicial executions

– https://island.lk/athurugiriya-killings-prompt-fresh-call-for-resumption-of-judicial-executions/

• CID secures Interpol red warrants for arrest of 164 Lankan criminals overseas

‘Annasi Merril, Siddique, Kosgoda Sujee, Karandeniye Sudda, Loku Patee, Podi Patee, Ahungalle Sanjeewa, Ooragune Victor, Kimbula Ela Guna, Pukudu Kanna, and Bumma’

– https://island.lk/cid-secures-interpol-red-warrants-for-arrest-of-164-lankan-criminals-overseas/

• Weapons and drugs make a dangerous combo, triggering a rise in crimes

‘According to the Global Organised Crime Index, Sri Lanka is a transit country for heroin, mostly originating from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, destined for Europe.’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/weapons-and-drugs-make-a-dangerous-combo-triggering-a-rise-in-crimes-564693.html

• Understanding the history of Roman-Dutch law in Sri Lanka

‘Rupesinghe recovers how local communities faced, moulded and changed the law in southern Lanka.’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/understanding-the-history-of-roman-dutch-law-in-sri-lanka-564563.html

• Maldives Parliament approves cooperation agreement with Lanka on criminal investigations

– https://island.lk/maldives-parliament-approves-entering-cooperation-agreement-with-lanka-on-criminal-investigations/

• Pakistani prisoners in SL to be repatriated

– https://island.lk/pakistani-prisoners-in-sl-to-be-repatriated/

• Intelligence sharing and experience saved the day: Michael Rosette

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/E4GVUPz6TOEXg8jFeSfl

• Planning Crimes: 2024 NATO Summit’s Agenda

– https://blackagendareport.com/planning-crimes-2024-nato-summits-agenda

• Poland to buy $10 billion in HIMARS rocket launchers and ammunition from USA

– https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/02/08/poland-to-buy-10-billion-in-himars-rocket-launchers-and-ammunition

• Zelensky Gets the Ukrainian Trains to Run on Time – Gerasimov Strikes Them as They Unload at the Front

– https://johnhelmer.net/zelensky-gets-the-ukrainian-trains-to-run-on-time-gerasimov-strikes-them-as-they-unload-at-the-front/

• Pentagon Again Applies Budget Lies to Deliver More Weapons To Ukraine

– https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/07/pentagon-again-applies-budget-lies-to-deliver-more-weapons-to-ukraine.html

• Years of miscalculations by USA, NATO led to dire shell shortage in Ukraine

– https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/ukraine-crisis-artillery/

• Obama and Democrats Share the Blame For Trump’s Supreme Court

– https://blackagendareport.com/obama-and-democrats-share-blame-trumps-supreme-court-0

• US Congressman and Doctor Report Woman Being Shot at Trump Rally: She’s Vanished from Official Reports

– https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/a-congressman-and-a-doctor-reported-a-woman-being-shot-at-trump-rally-shes-vanished-from-official-reports

• Protecting Trump & Jetsetting Adult Children Cost Taxpayers Over $1 Billion

– https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/protecting-trump-and-his-jet-setting-adult-children-during-his-presidency-cost-taxpayers-over-1-billion/

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D3. Economists (Study the Economists before you study the Economics)

ee Economists shows how paid capitalist/academic ‘professionals’ confuse (misdefinitions, etc) and divert (with false indices, etc) from the steps needed to achieve a modern industrial country.

• No such thing as import-substitution economy: President

– https://economynext.com/no-such-thing-as-import-substitution-economy-sri-lanka-president-172882/

• Sri Lanka warns of bringing back price controls amid sticky prices ahead of polls

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-warns-of-bringing-back-price-controls-amid-sticky-prices-ahead-of-polls-172889/

– https://island.lk/govt-warns-of-bringing-back-price-controls-amid-sticky-prices-ahead-of-polls/

• Government may enforce price controls if concessions not passed to consumers – Trade, Commerce and Food Security Minister

– https://island.lk/government-may-enforce-price-controls-if-concessions-not-passed-to-consumers-trade-commerce-and-food-security-minister/

• The future of the country will not be shaped by political agendas – President

– https://island.lk/the-future-of-the-country-will-not-be-shaped-by-political-agendas-president/

• SL economy outperforms in 1Q, but uncertainty looms due to elections: ADB

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/features/SL-economy-outperforms-in-1Q-but-uncertainty-looms-due-to-elections-ADB/185-287576

• Extensive legal reforms completed to propel economic stability – Sagala Ratnayaka.

– https://island.lk/extensive-legal-reforms-completed-to-propel-economic-stability-sagala-ratnayaka/

• Mixed emotions from MSMEs over forum with President

‘MSMEs are demanding a write off of outstanding interests and a rescheduling of capital because bankruptcies and crises were caused by factors beyond their control’

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Mixed-emotions-from-MSMEs-over-forum-with-President/44-764575

• Universities and liberal arts education – I & II: Usvatte-aratchi

– https://island.lk/universities-and-liberal-arts-education/

– https://island.lk/universities-and-liberal-arts-education-ii/

• Urgent need for SL to integrate into global value chain: Verité Research

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Urgent-need-for-SL-to-integrate-into-global-value-chain-Economist/108-286927

• How the West Debt Trapped Sri Lanka

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/21/how-the-west-debt-trapped-sri-lanka/

• Sri Lanka’s Bond Deal Should Not Set a Precedent

‘The new bonds are thus structured to game the IMF’s fiscal targets and increase the return bondholders get out of Sri Lanka’s debt exchange rather than to insulate Sri Lanka against future risks’

– https://www.cfr.org/blog/sri-lankas-bond-deal-should-not-set-precedent

• Truth About Debt Horror Story Banned Locally by Ranil Regime – Dilrook Kannangara

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/21/the-truth-about-sri-lanka-debt-horror-story-banned-locally-by-ranil-regime/

•  Colombo, Elections & Governance – Post Aragalaya Political Trajectory: Ramindu Perera

– https://groundviews.org/2024/07/22/the-post-aragalaya-political-trajectory/

• Kleptocrats and Corruption file trick

– https://island.lk/kleptocrats-and-file-trick/

• Yahapalana Propaganda Blowback

– https://island.lk/propaganda-blowback/

• Effective taxation & combating corruption: Strategies for economic recovery – Nuzla Rizkiya

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/features/Effective-taxation-and-combating-corruption/185-288005

• Proposed 13% primary expenditure rule for SL departs from economic theory and practice

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/features/Proposed-13-primary-expenditure-rule-for-Sri-Lanka-departs-from-economic-theory-and-practice/185-287901

• Critical difference between price and value – Dilhan Fernando

– https://www.ft.lk/agriculture/Critical-difference-between-price-and-value/31-764713

• Former Australian PM Morrison says Sri Lanka has the limited 22 million market

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Ex-Aussie-PM-shares-three-Ps-for-Sri-Lanka-s-focus/44-764574

• CPA Australia and Daily FT forum presents insights to digitalisation, AI, and future of business

– https://www.ft.lk/business/CPA-Australia-and-Daily-FT-forum-presents-insights-to-digitalisation-AI-and-future-of-business/34-764651

• Pathfinder Foundation participates in third Bay of Bengal Economic Dialogue

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Pathfinder-Foundation-participates-in-third-Bay-of-Bengal-Economic-Dialogue/34-764514

• SL should uphold SOE policy reform, avoid adversities – US Advocata

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/guCzjL5jSo6dQwgSK0XD

– https://www.ft.lk/opinion/SOERU-and-insulation-it-provides-against-bad-privatisations/14-764710

• Advocata calls for SOE reforms without delay

– https://island.lk/advocata-calls-for-soe-reforms-without-delay/

• US Verité urges SL to go for quality than increasing number of investment zones

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/SL-urged-to-go-for-quality-than-increasing-number-of-investment-zones/44-764737

• Operation Yukthiya, trade union action, and the stability state in Sri Lanka – Harindra B. Dassanayake & Rajni Gamage

– https://www.ft.lk/columns/Operation-Yukthiya-trade-union-action-and-the-stability-state-in-Sri-Lanka/4-764661

• Critical points for COPF review of proposed enactment of the Economic Transformation Bill

– https://www.ft.lk/opinion/Critical-points-for-COPF-review-of-proposed-enactment-of-the-Economic-Transformation-Bill/14-764662

• LKI Experts’ take on debt restructuring outcome and economic diplomacy

‘Hulangamuwa noted that a rise in the financial ratings of the country would cast a more positive outlook on the economy’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/experts-take-on-debt-restructuring-outcome-and-economic-diplomacy-564492.html

• Vicious cycle: Price increases trigger wage demands, fuelling further price hikes – Sanderatne

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/columns/vicious-cycle-price-increases-trigger-wage-demands-fuelling-further-price-hikes-564537.html

• Child’s guide to debt and debt restructuring: Part III – WA Wijewardena

– https://www.ft.lk/columns/Child-s-guide-to-debt-and-debt-restructuring-Part-III/4-764544

• A real minimum wage can set ground for productivity gains – Ajith Perera

– https://www.ft.lk/opinion/A-real-minimum-wage-can-set-ground-for-productivity-gains/14-764706

• Sri Lanka’s bond deal should not set a precedent – Brad W. Setser

‘Rather than reducing the risk of future debt trouble, SL’s Macro-Linked Bonds (MLBs) set up the risk that it will fall back into debt trouble in 2029 or 2030’

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/J9KkcLTUOhvIpmqDmSfA

• Sri Lanka unveils blueprint to transform outdated plantation sector to thriving agro-business

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-main/Sri-Lanka-unveils-blueprint-to-transform-outdated-plantation-sector-to-thriving-agro-business/245-288095

• Charting future of Sri Lanka’s plantations by 2030 – Lalin I De Silva, Planter

‘Obtaining certifications such as Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade’

– https://island.lk/charting-future-of-sri-lankas-plantations-by-2030/

• Adam Smith on Bengal and North America – Prabhat Patnaik

– https://www.newsclick.in/adam-smith-bengal-and-north-america

• How Not to Tackle India’s Jobs Crisis

– https://www.newsclick.in/how-not-tackle-indias-jobs-crisis

• Budget Making in the Shadow of Global Finance Capital – Narender Thakur, C. Saratchand

– https://www.newsclick.in/budget-making-shadow-global-finance-capital

• China’s Third Plenum – Michael Roberts

‘The Third Plenum release reminds us that China still has planning, not the centralized one of the Soviet Union, but ‘indicative planning’ with targets set for many sectors’

– https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2024/07/24/chinas-third-plenum/

• China’s Long March through the Global South – David P. Goldman

– https://asiatimes.com/2024/07/chinas-long-march-through-the-global-south/

• How the IMF Debt Trapped Kenya Causing Nationwide Protests

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXjyas5LNkw

• The Struggle to Industrialize Venezuela (2007)

– https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2689/

• Milei as the Argentine Messiah After the Failure of the Intellectuals

– https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/07/12/milei-as-the-argentine-messiah-after-the-failure-of-the-intellectuals/

• England’s Slave Owner Compensation Loan, reparations and tax havenry

– https://taxjustice.net/2020/06/09/slavery-compensation-uk-questions/

• Crowd strikes out – Roberts

– https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2024/07/21/crowd-strikes-out/

• Trump on Taxes, Tariffs, Jerome Powell and More

– https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-trump-interview/

• Taylor Swift and the fallacy plaguing modern economics – Tej Parikh

‘Swift’s concert tours have added hundreds of millions to US and English economies. What they fail to consider is the counterfactual: how Swifties would have spent their ticket money otherwise.’

– https://www.ft.com/content/93a3eed4-a42d-4822-948c-de75aeb5b0d2

• Feeling the Heat: Capitalism and Global Warming – Marty Hart-Landsberg

– https://socialistproject.ca/2024/07/feeling-the-heat-capitalism-and-global-warming/

• Why breaking the rules is easy for Trump

– https://www.ft.com/content/2f7b53e2-4db2-48bc-974a-c0e2d5f57c19

• Should the US Exit the Basel Accord in Trump II?

– https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/post/will-the-us-leave-the-basel-accord-in-trump-ii

*

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D4. Economy (Usually reported in monetary terms)

ee Economy section shows how media usually measures economy by false indices like GDP, etc., in monetary terms, confusing money and capital, constantly calling for privatization, deregulation, moaning about debt & balance of payments, without stating the need for modern industrial production.

• Supreme Court finds Bill & Reciprocal Recognition, Registration & Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Bill inconsistent with Constitution

– https://island.lk/sc-finds-certain-clauses-in-two-draft-bills-inconsistent-with-constitution/

• Public Financial Management & Economic Transformation Bills passed

– https://sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Public-Financial-Management-Economic-Transformation-Bills-passed/2-1146386

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Parliament-approves-Economic-Transformation-Bill/108-288058

• Cabinet nod to gazette and table proposed State Asset Management Bill

‘to evaluate and properly manage the non-financial assets belonging to the State up till now politically and purposely shut down by successive regimes during the past several decades’

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Cabinet-nod-to-gazette-and-table-proposed-State-Asset-Management-Bill/34-764650

– https://island.lk/state-assets-management-draft-bill-to-be-gazetted/

• New Bill to address insolvency issues

– https://island.lk/new-bill-to-address-insolvency-issues/

• Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 09 of 2024 to be submitted for concurrence of the Parliament

– https://island.lk/import-and-export-control-regulations-no-09-of-2024-to-be-submitted-for-concurrence-of-the-parliament/

• Cabinet Approval for President’s Proposal to Implement National Agenda for Anti-Corruption

– http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/cabinet-approval-for-presidents-proposal-to-implement-national-agenda-for-anti-corruption/

• National agenda on anti-corruption to be introduced

– https://island.lk/national-agenda-on-anti-corruption-to-be-introduced/

• Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Seminar incorporates anti-corruption policies to corporates

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Seminar-on-incorporating-anti-corruption-policies-to-corporates/34-764604

• COPE & COPA reforms have not fought state sector corruption: Opposition

– https://island.lk/cope-and-copa-reforms-have-not-yielded-desired-results-opposition/

• Public Service Commission (PSC) doesn’t implement Public Petitions Committee (PPC) recommendations

– https://island.lk/mp-waleboda-slams-psc/

• IMF delegation on progress review visit in SL next week

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/aqeLQL4vnwO4xYHu6dQz

• 22% of SL households in debt due to economic crisis: Department of Census & Statistics

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100769

• President unveils billion-rupee support package for MSMEs

– https://island.lk/president-wickremesinghe-unveils-13-billion-rupee-support-package-for-msmes/

• Central Bank of Sri Lanka Further Reduces Policy Interest Rates

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/24/central-bank-of-sri-lanka-further-reduces-policy-interest-rates

• Further reduction in policy rates to maintain inflation

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/hvLbNnJ7MiEsSkm2lDUe

• CB cuts key rates by 25bps to prop up credit, economic growth

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/CB-cuts-key-rates-by-25bps-to-prop-up-credit-economic-growth/108-288014

• CBSL’s decision on monetary policy rates energizes bourse; indices rise

– https://island.lk/cbsls-decision-on-monetary-policy-rates-energizes-bourse-indices-rise/

• CB Chief assures adequate tools to address potential liquidity issues

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/CB-Chief-assures-adequate-tools-to-address-potential-liquidity-issues/44-764739

• Single policy rate in the offing as technical works ongoing: Central Bank

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-news/Single-policy-rate-in-the-offing-as-technical-works-ongoing-Central-Bank/273-288093

• Sri Lanka’s economy on Y-o-Y growth expansion of 5.3 percent – CBSL Governor

– https://island.lk/sri-lankas-economy-on-y-o-y-growth-expansion-of-5-3-percent-cbsl-governor/

• 1H merchandise exports earnings top $ 6 b mark

‘apparel and textiles, tea, rubber-based products, coconut-based products, food and beverages, and spices and concentrates.’

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/1H-exports-earnings-top-6-b-mark/44-764638

• Private credit expands by Rs. 146 billion

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/gZ9VusqqQllXneO1rtZ5

• Supreme Court Blocks Community Advisory Committees for Development Projects as Propaganda

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/24/sc-blocks-community-advisory-committees-for-development-projects

• Sri Lanka banking system foreign assets positive in May, collects $6.7bn since rate hike

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-banking-system-foreign-assets-positive-in-may-collects-6-7bn-since-rate-hike-analysis-173011/

• Sri Lanka net foreign debt falls in 2023, despite borrowing US$1.5bn for budget

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-net-foreign-debt-falls-in-2023-despite-borrowing-us1-5bn-for-budget-173142/

• Amendments to Inland Revenue Act No 24 of 2017 to expedite the tax appeal process

– https://island.lk/amendments-to-inland-revenue-act-no-24-of-2017-to-expedite-the-tax-appeal-process/

• Inland Revenue Department (IRD failed to recover staggering Rs. 369 billion in tax arrears, says National Audit Office report

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/ird-failed-to-recover-staggering-rs-369-billion-in-tax-arrears-says-national-audit-office-report-564744.html

• Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to collect Rs. 22 b tax arrears

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/PH3aPnsRF2SsuqjoAHkw

• Ministerial sub-committee report on effective RAMIS system utilization presented to President

– https://island.lk/ministerial-sub-committees-report-on-effective-ramis-system-utilization-presented-to-the-president/

• IMF extends anti-corruption law deadline by six months to get more public feedback

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/imf-extends-anti-corruption-law-deadline-by-six-months-to-get-more-public-feedback-564749.html

• Goods retailers determined to hold high prices despite tariff trimming

‘Reduction in electricity prices is great,…but it’s overshadowed by astronomical rise in shipping costs.’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/goods-retailers-determined-to-hold-high-prices-despite-tariff-trimming-564766.html

• The US Literally Cannot Repay Its National Debt.

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/21/the-us-literally-cannot-repay-its-national-debt/

• Trump’s Sit-Down with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago Will Cost U.S. Taxpayers Millions While Profiting Trump’s Business

– https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/trumps-sit-down-with-netanyahu-at-mar-a-lago-will-cost-u-s-taxpayers-millions-while-profiting-trumps-business/

*

_______________________________________________________________

D5. Workers (Inadequate Stats, Wasteful Transport, Unmodern Plantations, Services)

ee Workers attempts to correct the massive gaps and disinformation about workers, urban and rural and their representatives (trade unions, etc), and to highlight the need for organized worker power

• The ‘right’ time for Trade Union action?

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/520byk7tDZib99mfozCf

• Special leave for employees who did not report for work in May, June

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Special-leave-for-employees-who-did-not-report-for-work-in-May-June/108-288027

• Doctors and academics given allowances not given to others

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/columns/vicious-cycle-price-increases-trigger-wage-demands-fuelling-further-price-hikes-564537.html

• Central Bank implements controversial salary recommendations by Parliament

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Central-Bank-implements-controversial-salary-recommendationsby-Parliament/44-764740

• Public proposals called to address public sector salary discrepancies

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100723/public-proposals-called-to-address-public-sector-salary-discrepancies

• Committee seeks proposals to address government service salary disparities

– https://island.lk/committee-seeks-proposals-to-address-government-service-salary-disparities/

• One public servant for every 13 citizens – Bandula

– https://island.lk/one-public-servant-for-every-13-citizens-bandula/

• National Water Supply & Drainage Board (NWSDB) rejects permanency for contracted manpower

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/fgjeyChmRyZS6yuB0LZu

• New Director appointed to Eye Hospital after doctors threaten to strike

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100715/new-director-appointed-to-eye-hospital-after-doctors-threaten-to-strike

• Docs responsible for child’s death have slipped out of the country?

– https://island.lk/docs-responsible-for-childs-death-have-slipped-out-of-the-country/

• Sri Lanka Telecom workers stage protest

– https://sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/IN-PIX-Sri-Lanka-Telecom-workers-stage-protest/2-1146383

• SJB lawmaker highlights plight of estate workers

– https://island.lk/sjb-lawmaker-highlights-plight-of-estate-workers/

• N’Eliya Magistrate orders arrest of Thondaman

– https://island.lk/neliya-magistrate-orders-arrest-of-thondaman/

• Court orders arrest of Jeevan Thondaman over Pedro Estate ruckus

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Court-orders-arrest-of-Jeevan-Thondaman-over-Pedro-Estate-ruckus/44-764626

• Just renaming 200-year-old English built “line rooms” as “villages” is not a solution”

– https://island.lk/tamil-progressive-alliance-tells-president-they-prefer-assimilation-to-isolation-in-sri-lanka/

• World Bank urges South Asia to overhaul social protection systems amidst growing vulnerability

– https://island.lk/world-bank-urges-south-asia-to-overhaul-social-protection-systems-amidst-growing-vulnerability/

• Govt. to implement national social protection policy

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Govt-to-implement-national-social-protection-policy/56-764653

• Cabinet approves special monthly allowance for pensioners

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/24/cabinet-approves-special-monthly-allowance-for-pensioners/

• 22% of SL households in debt due to economic crisis: Department of Census & Statistics

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100769

• ‘25% of children in poverty’: Sajith reveals plans for eradicating child poverty

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100709/25-of-children-in-poverty-sajith-reveals-plans-for-eradicating-child-poverty

• 40 Lankan children diagnosed with HIV/AIDS last year

– https://island.lk/40-lankan-children-diagnosed-with-hiv-aids-last-year/

• Duplicate NIC numbers delay Sri Lanka’s Aswesuma beneficiaries receiving payment: official

– https://economynext.com/duplicate-nic-numbers-delay-sri-lankas-aswesuma-beneficiaries-receiving-payment-official-173325/

• Without bank account, 135,000 Sri Lanka’s Aswesuma beneficiaries can’t receive funds

– https://economynext.com/without-bank-account-135000-sri-lankas-aswesuma-beneficiaries-cant-receive-funds-173345/

• Census for second phase of “Aswesuma” welfare benefit program concludes on July 31

– https://island.lk/census-for-second-phase-of-aswesuma-welfare-benefit-program-concludes-on-july-31/

• Attorney General (AG) clears National Minimum Wage Act amendment

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/zozktfIPnp48qKA7piEK

• Rockland Group’s ancient ways of tapping toddy

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/business-times/old-ways-of-tapping-toddy-564498.html

• Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) 37th Annual Conference from 26-27 August

– https://www.ft.lk/business/OPA-to-hold-37th-Annual-Conference-from-26-27-August/34-764729

• Government Solves Teacher Shortages by Appointing 16,000 Teachers

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/23/government-solves-teacher-shortages-by-appointing-16-000-teachers

• Government solved the teacher shortage by appointing 16,000 teachers despite challenges

– https://island.lk/government-solved-the-teacher-shortage-by-appointing-16000-teachers-despite-challenges-minister-of-education/

• Universities & Liberal Arts Education I & II – Usvatte-aratchi

– https://island.lk/universities-and-liberal-arts-education/

– https://island.lk/universities-and-liberal-arts-education-ii/

• State but not public universities, private but not universities: What do we have in Sri Lanka?

– https://island.lk/state-but-not-public-universities-private-but-not-universities-what-do-we-have-in-sri-lanka/

• After India, China helps Sri Lanka’s smart classroom concept ahead of polls

– https://economynext.com/after-india-china-helps-sri-lankas-smart-classroom-concept-ahead-of-polls-173294/

• State Defence Minister Tennakoon, launches KDU City Campus of Technology in Dambulla

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/22/state-minister-tennakoon-launches-the-kdu-city-campus-of-technology-project-in-dambulla/

• Eleven students to receive Munidasa Cumaratunga scholarships

– https://island.lk/eleven-students-to-receive-scholarships/

• Tara, have pity on us …

– https://island.lk/tara-have-pity-on-us/

• Art Gallery given last rites by heartless officials

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/expose/Art-Gallery-given-last-rites-by-heartless-officials/333-287981

• ARTI or Peradeniya University? – career dilemmas of a young man

– https://island.lk/arti-or-peradeniya-university-career-dilemmas-of-a-young-man/

• University of Peradeniya, 1953-62, not an elitist institution, (unlike Colombo)

– https://island.lk/the-university-of-ceylon-at-peradeniya-1953-1962/

• My Days with Dr. Mary Rutnam and Robin Rutnam

– https://island.lk/my-days-with-dr-mary-rutnam-and-robin-rutnam/

• My aunt, the Veda Menike and herbal medicine

– https://island.lk/my-aunt-the-veda-menike-and-herbal-medicine/

• Hotel management degree programs should be less theory and more practical experience.

– https://island.lk/four-concurrent-leadership-positions/

• “In Colombo, beggars sing baila”

– https://island.lk/conversations-with-pasindu-nimsara/

• Group of Sri Lankan Students Return Amidst Ongoing Bangladesh Protests

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/22/a-group-of-sri-lankan-students-return-to-the-island-amidst-ongoing-bangladesh-protests

• More than 50 Lankan students stuck in B’desh as violence escalates

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/more-than-50-lankan-students-stuck-in-bdesh-as-violence-escalates-564764.html

• Sri Lanka to introduce digital program for foreign workers facing problems

‘Sri Lanka has sent 301,000 domestic workers and 360,000 skilled workers abroad’

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-introduce-digital-program-for-foreign-workers-facing-problems-173438/

• Sri Lanka looks to revamp National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), eyes associate degrees

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-looks-to-revamp-nvq-eyes-associate-degrees-172883/

• ILO focusing on empowering SL’s next generation entrepreneurs

‘What are the ILO’s current top priorities in promoting decent work and social justice globally?’

– https://island.lk/ilo-focusing-on-empowering-sls-next-generation-entrepreneurs/

• Sri Lanka, Poland discuss worker deal

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-poland-discuss-worker-deal-173197/

• Poland to recruit Lankans for employment in certain targeted sectors there

– https://island.lk/poland-to-recruit-lankans-for-employment-in-certain-targeted-sectors-there/

• Urgent request to relocate Sri Lankan asylum seekers from Diego Garcia amid crisis

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Urgent-request-to-relocate-Sri-Lankan-asylum-seekers-from-Diego-Garcia-amid-crisis/108-288068

• Thousands of migrant kids reach Canary Islands alone; officials seek Spain’s help

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100726

• Panama Escalates Measures in a Pre Existing Migration Crisis

– https://blackagendareport.com/panama-escalates-measures-pre-existing-migration-crisis

• The World War on Asylum

– https://blackagendareport.com/world-war-asylum

• Chicago Authorities Want a “Conversation” with the Poor People’s Army about the DNC 2024

– https://blackagendareport.com/chicago-authorities-want-conversation-poor-peoples-army-about-dnc-2024

• U.S. government sues largest contractor housing immigrant children over systemic sexual abuse

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360534-us-government-sues-largest-contractor-housing-immigrant-children-over-systemic-sexual-abuse

• Kamala Harris is a descendant of an Irish slave owner in Jamaica

– https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/07/23/kamala-harris-is-a-descendant-of-an-irish-slave-owner-in-jamaica/

• We do not celebrate “South Asian Heritage month” in England

– https://youtu.be/tXjlS5Q8Lxo?si=XF_2IiEiXfe2XtT9

*

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D6. Agriculture (Robbery of rural home market; Machines, if used, mainly imported)

ee Agriculture emphasizes the failure to industrialize an agriculture that keeps the cultivator impoverished under moneylender and merchant, and the need to develop the rural home market, monetization and commercialization, to produce, rather than import, agricultural machinery.

• Colombo International Tea Convention (CITC) in Colombo

‘Ganaka Herath from McKinsey & Company who will highlight developments in Japan and East Asia,’

– https://island.lk/global-tea-confab-to-kick-off-tomorrow-in-colombo/

• Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) household water quality survey: Over 20% SL households lack basic drinking water

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/WpCz9t85XLsiwcpT4nhx

• Cadastral Template 2.0 – Sri Lanka

– https://cadastraltemplate.org/sri%20lanka.php

• Two fires in Badulla district destroy 60 acres of forestland

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/two-fires-in-badulla-district-destroy-60-acres-of-forestland-564660.html

• Land Reforms Commission (LRC) accuses plantation companies of land grab

‘1,000s of acres of state-owned plantation lands have been encroached upon by plantation companies over the years and are being used by them, the Land Reforms Commission (LRC) has alleged’

• Develop post-harvest loss indexes for crops

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/ET0yMGVz5BOmLfbf4hDs

• Qatar charity to provide free fertilizers to boost Sri Lankan farmers

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/WFPSTMiITUAvtnXPv1UX

• MOU signed for interest-free loans to agribusiness entrepreneurs & farmers – PMD

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/22/mou-signed-for-interest-free-loans-to-agribusiness-entrepreneurs-farmers/

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100713

• Agricultural Modernisation Program announces interest-free loans

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/RqMvNYvysLlauxS3Iamu

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Interest-free-loans-under-Agricultural-Modernisation-Program/44-764629

– https://island.lk/mou-signed-for-interest-free-loans-under-agricultural-modernization-program/

• Agricultural modernization program will end farmers being used as political pawns – Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries

– https://island.lk/agricultural-modernization-program-will-end-farmers-being-used-as-political-pawns-minister-of-agriculture-and-plantation-industries/

• USAID’s Agcelerator demo-day unveils innovative agribusiness solutions

‘Agripreneurs’ Forum, in collaboration with USAID) through its CATALYZE Sri Lanka Private Sector Development (PSD) Activity…60 leading investors, funding agencies, and companies joined…’

– https://island.lk/agcelerator-demo-day-unveils-innovative-agribusiness-solutions/

• Sri Lanka coconut price hit 17-month high at auction

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-coconut-price-hit-17-month-high-at-auction-173104/

• Local coconut oil industry wants Special Commodity Levy (SCL) scrapped

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/gzGbN25nTBVsZqK8Bdkp

• Plans to import spice under controlled mechanism

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/SfgirQcODMD1rtHjmlyP

• Jackfruit revolution: rising king of global plant-based alternatives – Rasangi De Silva

– https://www.ft.lk/opinion/Jackfruit-revolution-rising-king-of-global-plant-based-alternatives/14-764705

• Sri Lanka cultivates hybrid durian for export

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-cultivates-hybrid-durian-for-export-173319/

• International experts advocate sustainable economic growth for Sri Lanka through palm oil

– https://www.ft.lk/agriculture/International-experts-advocate-sustainable-economic-growth-for-Sri-Lanka-through-edible-oil/31-764714

• Unveiling a butterfly mystery: Research sheds light on little-known migration

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/unveiling-a-butterfly-mystery-research-sheds-light-on-little-known-migration-564627.html

• Initiative launched to train 6,500 green entrepreneurs for mangrove conservation

‘iLEAD International Academy, Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), and the Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).’

– https://island.lk/initiative-launched-to-train-6500-green-entrepreneurs-for-mangrove-conservation/

• SL Sustainable Development Council joins hands with Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet

– https://island.lk/sustainable-development-council-of-sri-lanka-joins-hands-with-global-alliance-for-a-sustainable-planet/

• White South African Expert on Leopards hunting in Colombo

– https://island.lk/leopards-people-and-everything/

– https://www.ft.lk/news/WNPS-lecture-on-Leopards-Today-by-South-African-ecologist/56-764732

• Israel weaponizing water in ongoing invasion of Gaza

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360500-oxfam-affirms-that-israel-weaponizing-water-in-ongoing-invasion-of-gaza

• Deep-sea mining would industrialise the last remaining intact ecosystems on the planet

–  https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2024-07-25-deep-sea-mining-would-industrialise-the-last-remaining-intact-ecosystems-on-the-planet/

• Preparing for a future of extreme heat waves

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/sunday-times-2/preparing-for-a-future-of-extreme-heat-waves-2-564531.html

*

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D7. Industry (False definitions, anti-industrial sermons, rentier/entrepreneur, etc)

ee Industry notes the ignorance about industrialization (versus handicraft and manufacture), the dependence on importing foreign machinery, the need to make machines that make machines, build a producer culture. False definitions of industry, entrepreneur, etc, abound, and the need for a holistic political, economic and military strategy to overcome domination by merchants and moneylenders.

• “Huge responsibility” delays Sri Lanka’s SOE restructuring: State FinMin

‘Deloitte India is the transaction advisor for divestiture of the Sri Lanka’s government stake in SOEs’

– https://economynext.com/huge-responsibility-delays-sri-lankas-soe-restructuring-state-finmin-172824/

• Sajith demands forensic audit on SLT sale

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Sajith-demands-forensic-audit-on-SLT-sale/44-764642

• Indian interest in SriLankan Airlines (SLA) resumes; state scouts strategic investor

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/business-times/indian-interest-in-sla-resumes-state-scouts-strategic-investor-564495.html

• French SITA partners with SriLankan Airlines to enhance airport services at BIA

– https://island.lk/sita-partners-with-srilankan-airlines-to-enhance-airport-services-at-bia/

• BIA second terminal project to begin soon following JICA’s funding renewal

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/business-times/bia-second-terminal-project-to-begin-soon-following-jicas-funding-renewal-564490.html

• Medical Supplies Division (MSD) owes Rs. 8.1 b to medicine suppliers

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/QOBzAQzUjmidNzvkAFd7

• Health Minister admits Govt. owes Rs. 8.1 b to essential medicines suppliers

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Health-Minister-admits-Govt-owes-Rs-8-1-b-to-essential-medicines-suppliers/44-764667

• Japanese boost for Lanka’s immunisation programme

– https://island.lk/japanese-boost-for-lankas-immunisation-programme/

• Sri Lanka receives Japan-funded refrigerated trucks for vaccine delivery via UNICEF

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-receives-japan-funded-refrigerated-trucks-for-vaccine-delivery-via-unicef-173258/

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Refrigerated-trucks-from-UNICEF-supported-by-Japan-to-boost-immunisation-services/56-764618

• New bureaus to be introduced to strengthen primary healthcare sector, says Health Secretary

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/new-bureaus-to-be-introduced-to-strengthen-primary-healthcare-sector-says-health-secretary-564633.html

• Discovery of Ilmenite in Vakarai has attracted mining companies

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Life-on-a-powder-keg/131-287710

• The mining industry: Overcoming challenges, a must for industry growth

‘Ministry of Industries’ Minerals and Related Industries Sector Advisory Committee Chairperson and the Chamber of Mineral Exporters’ Secretary Sandun Dalpatadu’

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/yT95jfFb1hzrSKwke3Bt

• Attention on adulteration & counterfeit problems in SL automotive lubricants & fluids market

– https://island.lk/attention-on-adulteration-and-counterfeit-problems-in-sri-lanka-automotive-lubricants-and-fluids-market/

• ‘Shell’ lubricants dealer N M Distributors gets enjoining orders preventing alleged illegal operation of competitor biz set up by employees

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Shell-lubricants-dealer-N-M-Distributors-gets-enjoining-orders-preventing-alleged-illegal-operation-of-competitor-biz-set-up-by-employees/34-764569

• Chevron to donate $35,000 to Red Cross Society for well-cleaning in flood-affected districts

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Chevron-to-donate-35-000-to-Sri-Lanka-Red-Cross-Society-for-well-cleaning-program-in-flood-affected-districts/56-764619

• Unilever wins Gold at ISGSD 2024 Industry Awards for Green Initiatives for Pioneering Clean Energy

– https://island.lk/unilever-wins-gold-at-isgsd-2024-industry-awards-for-green-initiatives-for-pioneering-clean-energy/

• Sri Lanka disconnected power customers about 12,000 a day: Minister

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-disconnected-power-customers-about-12000-a-day-minister-173091/

• Bio Energy Association of SL holds AGM 2024

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/GzDIme60ReVKQ6wk4897

• Japan discuss JCM de-carbonizing funding for SL to buy advanced Japanese technologies

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-and-japan-discuss-jcm-de-carbornizing-funding-173060/

• National Electricity Consultancy Board to be established

– https://island.lk/national-electricity-consultancy-board-to-be-established/

• Rooftop solar power: CEB ordered to sign agreements at previous higher tariff; downward revision overturned

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/rooftop-solar-power-ceb-ordered-to-sign-agreements-at-previous-higher-tariff-downward-revision-overturned-564666.html

• Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) leases land for 20-megawatt solar project in Trincomalee

– https://www.ft.lk/ft_tv/SLPA-leases-land-for-20-megawatt-solar-project-in-Trincomalee/10520-764742

• Central Environmental Authority (CEA) delays Adani wind power environmental impact assessment (EIA)

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/gb1qQzRUXf4DzOPthlJb

• Sri Lanka to pay rooftop solar higher than Adani wind rate

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-pay-rooftop-solar-higher-than-adani-wind-rate-173349/

• Sri Lanka’s Windforce commissions 389kWp solar power project in Zanzibar

– https://economynext.com/sri-lankas-windforce-commissions-389kwp-solar-power-project-in-zanzibar-173368/

• Local investors at risk: Renewable Energy Protectors’ Association (REPA) criticises new tariff rates for rooftop solar projects

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Local-investors-at-risk-REPA-criticises-new-tariff-rates-for-rooftop-solar-projects/34-764611

– https://island.lk/repa-accuses-govt-of-undermining-rooftop-solar-projects-discouraging-local-investors-systematically/

• Excise Dept. misled Parliament: ‘Liquor producers owe Rs6billion in taxes, not Rs600mn’

– https://island.lk/pataliexcise-dept-misled-parliament/

• IT outage: Lankan companies affected, but recover soon

‘SL companies from hospital, airlines, apparel, & banking sectors came to a standstill on Friday’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/it-outage-lankan-companies-affected-but-recover-soon-564776.html

• Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) to Assign 2 Cyber Security Officers for each State Institution

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/22/slcert-to-assign-two-cyber-security-officers-for-each-state-institution

• Speaker endorses certificate on Sri Lanka Telecom Amendment Bill to pay Musk

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100719/speaker-endorses-certificate-on-sri-lanka-telecom-amendment-bill-

• Cabinet approval to gazette revised Online Safety Bill

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100722

• Rise in Digital Payments Spurs Increase in Scams

– https://island.lk/rise-in-digital-payments-spurs-increase-in-scams/

• Lack of transparency and loss to country: Visa outsourcing under CoPF fire

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/lack-of-transparency-and-loss-to-country-visa-outsourcing-under-copf-fire-564707.html

• Fireworks erupt in parliament over Sri Lanka’s VFS Global controversy

– https://economynext.com/fireworks-erupt-in-parliament-over-sri-lankas-vfs-global-controversy-173423/

• Passport office in turmoil

– https://island.lk/passport-office-in-turmoil/

• Ceylon Chamber urges government to revisit Sri Lanka’s visa strategy

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-news/Ceylon-Chamber-urges-government-to-revisit-Sri-Lankas-visa-strategy/273-288094

• Japan willing to restart stalled Sri Lanka projects, LRT to be reevaluated

– https://economynext.com/japan-willing-to-restart-stalled-sri-lanka-projects-lrt-to-be-reevaluated-172846/

• Direct link to city and port will help logistics operations

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/direct-link-to-city-and-port-will-help-logistics-operations-564685.html

• UNODC with Japanese funds provides Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat to SLN

– https://island.lk/unodc-with-japanese-funds-provides-rigid-hull-inflatable-boat-to-sln/

• Sri Lanka-Bound Cargo Ship Engulfed in Flames off Goa; Coast Guard on Rescue Mission

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/20/sri-lanka-bound-cargo-ship-engulfed-in-flames-off-goa-coast-guard-on-rescue-mission

• Indian Coast Guard fights fire on Colombo-bound Maersk container ship with dangerous cargo

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/indian-coast-guard-fights-fire-on-colombo-bound-container-ship-with-dangerous-cargo-564762.html

• SriLankan Airlines says internet booking restored after global IT outage

– https://economynext.com/srilankan-airlines-says-internet-booking-restored-after-global-it-outage-172958/

• Hingurakgoda domestic airport to spread its wings

‘formerly known as RAF Minneriya, was built during World War II for the British Royal Air Force’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/hingurakgoda-domestic-airport-to-spread-its-wings-564668.html

• Election Commission Calls for Tenders to Buy Import Stationery Needed for Election

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/23/election-commission-calls-for-tenders-to-purchase-stationery-needed-for-the-election

• Rs. 300 m boost for handloom industry to empower women and youth

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Telco-and-banking-leaders-in-strategic-partnership-to-empower-SMEs/34-764605

– https://island.lk/women-and-youth-engaged-in-the-handloom-industry-to-be-economically-empowered/

• Hirdaramani Group invests LKR 10 Bn in sustainable textile mill ‘Mihila Tex’

– https://island.lk/hirdaramani-group-invests-lkr-10-bn-in-sustainable-textile-ill-mihila-tex/

• National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) opposes removing Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT)

– https://island.lk/national-chamber-of-exporters-of-sri-lanka-opposes-removal-of-svat-system/

• Chinese largesse of school uniform material helps Susil to save Rs 6 bn

– https://island.lk/chinese-largesse-helps-susil-to-save-rs-6-bn/

• Sri Lanka’s Dipped Products opens marketing office in India

– https://economynext.com/sri-lankas-dipped-products-opens-marketing-office-in-india-173278/

• The Struggle to Industrialize Venezuela

– https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2689/

• Geospatial Technology for Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

– https://ggim.un.org/meetings/2024/SIDS4_GTSD

• UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM)

– https://ggim.un.org/Mandates/

• UN Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP)

– https://un-ggim-ap.org/content/about-un-ggim-ap

• iPhone elbowed out of top 5 in China by domestic smartphone rivals

– https://www.ft.com/content/c362d125-70e7-43a9-a746-37b69f1b3ad0

• Italy Leonardo chief ‘open to’ Saudi role in fighter jet project if England cuts support

– https://www.ft.com/content/237c8be9-7c29-4977-aa77-d287a7929d16

• Full recovery from largest IT outage in history could take weeks

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360546-full-recovery-from-largest-it-outage-in-history-could-take-weeks

• Calls to end Microsoft’s monopoly after global outage wreaked havoc last week

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360744-calls-to-end-microsofts-monopoly-after-global-outage-wreaked-havoc-last-week

• JPMorgan pitches in-house chatbot as AI-based research analyst

– https://www.ft.com/content/96dfec5f-4d5f-4c3e-8f66-ebd0dfc8392d

*

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D8. Finance (Making money from money, banks, lack of investment in modernity)

ee Finance tracks the effects of financialization, the curious role of ratings agencies, false indices, etc., and the rule of moneylenders, preventing investment in modern production.

• Opium HSBC awarded ‘Best International Bank in Sri Lanka’ by Euromoney

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/HSBC-awarded-Best-International-Bank-in-Sri-Lanka-by-Euromoney/44-764628

• NDB Bank in collaboration with Suwaseriya Foundation refurbishes Hikkaduwa ambulance

– https://island.lk/ndb-bank-in-collaboration-with-suwaseriya-foundation-refurbishes-hikkaduwa-ambulance/

• Certified Management Accountants (CMA) National Management Accounting Conference

– https://www.ft.lk/business/CMA-Sri-Lanka-s-National-Management-Accounting-Conference-kicks-off-tomorrow/34-764610

• Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank gets Sustainable Fitch opinion to sell green bonds

– https://economynext.com/sri-lankas-commercial-bank-gets-sustainable-fitch-opinion-to-sell-green-bonds-172970/

• Fitch gives ‘good’ SPO for sustainable bond framework of Sri Lanka’s Combank

– https://economynext.com/fitch-gives-good-spo-for-sustainable-bond-framework-of-sri-lankas-combank-173264/

– https://island.lk/combanks-green-bond-framework-receives-milestone-spo-from-sustainable-fitch/

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) & Asian Development Bank (ADB) forum “Towards a Greener Horizon: Unlocking Opportunities through Sustainability Bonds”

– https://island.lk/opportunities-for-companies-to-raise-debt-capital-through-sustainable-bonds-for-a-greener-future/

• Sri Lanka to start another agency to deal with currency crisis fallout

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-start-another-agency-to-deal-with-currency-crisis-fallout-173204/

• Kurunegala based SMEs keen to explore capital-raising opportunities through stock market

– https://island.lk/keen-interest-from-kurunegala-based-smes-to-explore-capital-raising-opportunities-through-stock-market/

• Interest relief announced for pawning advances

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/S1cXBp5dvP8sx9NEdTDf

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Interest-relief-program-for-gold-pawn-advances-amid-economic-crisis/44-764639

• Govt. to provide interest relief for pawned gold jewelery in banks

– https://island.lk/cabinet-nod-to-grant-interest-relief-to-those-who-pawned-gold-jewellery-in-licensed-banks/

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news/100721/govt-to-provide-interest-relief-for-pawned-gold-jewelery-in-banks

– https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-provide-interest-relief-for-those-who-pawned-gold-173419/

*

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D9. Business (Rentierism: money via imports, real-estate, tourism, insurance, fear, privatization)

ee Business focuses on the rentier diversions of the oligarchy, the domination by a merchant mafia, making money from unproductive land sales, tourism, insurance, advertising, etc. – the charade of corporate press releases disguised as ‘news’

• NPP accuses Govt. of attempting to sell Hilton at undervalued price

– https://www.ft.lk/front-page/NPP-accuses-Govt-of-attempting-to-sell-Hilton-at-undervalued-price/44-764641

• Land availability: Limitations stifling private sector growth, investment

‘Harvard Center for International Development has identified land problem as one of key constraints.’

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/clMzelvea2A3j5Sa1s28

• Controversial land lease in Colombo: UDA seeks AG’s advice to cancel agreement

– https://www.themorning.lk/articles/bI2jdY6MfETfC2ZfcIJX

• CMC ignores UDA order to check on unauthorised construction on sanctioned street line

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/recomended-news/CMC-ignores-UDA-order-to-check-on-unauthorised-construction-on-sanctioned-street-line/277-287810

• Overseas Realty records Rs 3.5bn PBT in 1H

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/business-news/Overseas-Realty-records-Rs-3-5bn-PBT-in-1H/273-288092

• Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association hosts 7th Annual General Meeting

– https://www.ft.lk/business/Sri-Lanka-Retailers-Association-hosts-7th-Annual-General-Meeting/34-764731

• Thomas Cook, Red Apple Travel has to pay Rs 1 crore to man who lost his family on SL trip

– https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/20/thomas-cook-red-apple-travel-directed-to-pay-rs-1-crore-to-man-who-lost-his-family-on-a-trip-to-sri-lanka/

• Despite distractions, industry expects more visitors in remaining months

‘India is the biggest source market, with nearly 25,000 tourists in July making up 25%. There were 9,000 tourists from England, with 9%. China, Germany, and France occupy the next three spots’

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/despite-distractions-industry-expects-more-visitors-in-remaining-months-564703.html

• The Illusion of Choice in Consumer Brands

– https://www.visualcapitalist.com/illusion-of-choice-consumer-brands/

• The luxury industry is falling from its elevated heights

– https://www.ft.com/content/b2649668-5320-4ede-9cc3-03af2ffee1db

*

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D10. Politics (Anti-parliament discourse, unelected constitution)

ee Politics points to the constant diversions and spectacles and the mercantile and financial forces funding the political actors, of policy hijacked by private interests minus public oversight.

• Sri Lanka Communist Party Politburo to decide which Presidential candidate to support

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/parties-peddling-promises-labour-to-ring-more-doorbells-564677.html

• CP appeals to all progressive and leftist forces to defeat RW govt.

– https://island.lk/cp-appeals-to-all-progressive-and-leftist-forces-to-defeat-rw-govt/

• New Sama Samaja Party leader Vickramabahu Karunaratne passes away at 81

– https://island.lk/dr-vickramabahu-karunaratne-passes-away-at-81/

• Vickramabahu Karunaratne’s ‘Best’ Speech

– https://youtu.be/spBXxT5dVf0?si=an8CB_98gyp1qlm5

• Wickramabahu Karunaratne passes away

– https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Wickramabahu-Karunaratne-passes-away/108-288020

• Tamil Leader Sampanthan: Last of a Generation Leaves without Succession

– https://island.lk/tamil-leader-sampanthan-last-of-a-generation-leaves-without-succession/

• SLPP-UNP government is a dead man walking

– https://island.lk/a-sobering-knock/

• Dullas calls for raising deposit to prevent proxies being fielded at presidential poll

– https://island.lk/dullas-calls-for-raising-deposit-to-prevent-proxies-being-fielded-at-presidential-poll/

• Code of Criminal Procedure: Sri Lanka Hikes Fines for Election Offenses

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/21/code-of-criminal-procedure-sri-lanka-hikes-fines-for-election-offenses

• PAFFREL: Govt. in mighty hurry to complete projects; even half-constructed buildings ceremonially opened

– https://island.lk/paffrel-govt-in-mighty-hurry-to-complete-projects-even-half-constructed-buildings-ceremonially-opened/

• PAFFREL commences training for 8,000 election observers ahead of presidential polls

– https://island.lk/paffrel-commences-training-for-8000-election-observers-ahead-of-presidential-polls/

• Sarath Fonseka to Contest Presidential Election

– https://english.newsfirst.lk/2024/07/25/sarath-fonseka-to-contest-presidential-election

• Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) to launch front Samagi Jana Sandhanaya

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Samagi-Jana-Sandhanaya-to-launch-on-8-August/56-764645

• Hirunika gets bail

– https://island.lk/hirunika-gets-bail/

• MPs threatened to vote for 22A alleges Frontline Socialist Party

– https://island.lk/mps-threatened-to-vote-for-22a-alleges-frontline-socialist-party/

• Threat of early dissolution of House to get first time MPs’ support to 22A?

– https://island.lk/threat-of-early-dissolution-of-house-to-get-first-time-mps-support-to-22a/

• Minister Rajapakshe bypassed; 22nd Amendment Bill gazetted

– https://island.lk/minister-rajapakshe-bypassed-22nd-amendment-bill-gazetted/

• 22A: The death knell of a vibrant democracy – G. L. Peiris,

– https://island.lk/22a-the-death-knell-of-a-vibrant-democracy/

• 22A and Rahu Kalay

– https://island.lk/22a-and-rahu-kalay/

• India warns of Threats to Sajith taken up at a very high level

– https://island.lk/threats-to-sajith-taken-up-at-a-very-high-level/

• Shanakiyan calls for inquiry into news report on plot to assassinate him

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Shanakiyan-calls-for-inquiry-into-news-report-on-plot-to-assassinate-him/56-764644

• Part I: NGO Constitutional Principles, Legislature and the Executive

– https://island.lk/part-i-constitutional-principles-legislature-and-the-executive/

• Of that boomerang & Article 83b

– https://island.lk/of-that-boomerang/

• On Practice – Mao Zedong, 1937

– https://redsails.org/on-practice/

• Materialism, Realism, and the Theory of Reflection – Sean Sayers, 1982

– https://redsails.org/materialism-realism-reflection/

• France Election: Massive Mobilization of the Left

– https://socialistproject.ca/2024/07/france-election-massive-mobilization-of-left/

• Analyzing the Correct Method in Combating US Fascism, George Jackson, 1971

– https://blackagendareport.com/transcript-analyzing-correct-method-combating-american-fascism-george-jackson-1971

• US Project 2025, the 2024 Election, and Political Discernment

– https://blackagendareport.com/project-2025-2024-election-and-political-discernment

• Did Biden Quit?

‘No speech and no press conference. People working on Biden’s campaign had no pre-warning.’

– https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/07/did-biden-quit

• Biden’s Weakness, His Debate with Trump, and the Assassination Attempt on Trump

– https://blackagendareport.com/bidens-weakness-his-debate-trump-and-assassination-attempt-trump

• Why Barack Obama is the More Effective Evil

– https://blackagendareport.com/why-barack-obama-more-effective-evil

• Biden Steps Aside in Favor of Harris as the RNC Further Solidifies the Cult of Trump

– https://blackagendareport.com/biden-steps-aside-favor-harris-rnc-further-solidifies-cult-trump

• War, Genocide & Coups: Biden/Harris & the Irreversible Crisis of Neoliberal Fake Democracy

– https://blackagendareport.com/war-genocide-and-coups-bidenharris-and-irreversible-crisis-neoliberal-fake-democracy

• Team Kamala: the people behind Harris’s White House run

– https://www.ft.com/content/1265160a-dee0-4974-ba5c-c44e8aea26d4

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D11. Media (Mis/Coverage of economics, technology, science and art)

ee Media shows how corporate media monopoly determines what is news, art, culture, etc. The media is part of the public relations (corporate propaganda) industry. The failure to highlight our priorities, the need to read between the lines. To set new perspectives and priorities.

• Threats against media: Wimal, Udaya lambaste NPP

– https://island.lk/threats-against-media-wimal-udaya-lambaste-npp/

• Inessa Armand and Lenin

– https://island.lk/inessa-armand-and-lenin/

• The Ford Foundation and Black Power, Robert L. Allen, 1968

– https://blackagendareport.com/chapter-ford-foundation-and-black-power-robert-l-allen-1968

• SL Parties told to track voice-cloning that can soil polls outcome

– https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240721/news/parties-told-to-track-voice-cloning-that-can-soil-polls-outcome-564671.html

• Cabinet approval to gazette revised Online Safety Bill

– https://www.adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=100722

– https://www.ft.lk/news/Cabinet-nod-to-gazette-and-table-revised-Online-Safety-Bill-for-Parliament-approval/56-764643

• Canada Olympic soccer coach sent home over drone use as scandal widens

– https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/07/26/canada-removes-olympic-soccer-coach-drone/

• Even the US Propaganda Machine Can’t Whitewash Biden’s Sordid Record

– https://blackagendareport.com/even-us-propaganda-machine-cant-whitewash-bidens-sordid-record

• Venezuelan president denounces censorship of various international media ahead of elections

– https://www.radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/360762-venezuelan-president-denounces-censorship-of-various-media-ahead-of-elections-on-sunday

• Google’s Aborted Deals Show Antitrust’s Long Shadow Over Tech

– https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/technology/2024/07/23/googles-aborted-deals-show-antitrusts-long-shadow-over-tech/

• Who is Running USA?

‘the studied disinterest of the media in analysing how his Administration actually functions, tells us a very good deal about self-censorship and media ownership’

– https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/07/who-is-running-america/

• The origins of poetry: A Marxist analysis

– https://mronline.org/2020/02/10/the-origins-of-poetry-a-marxist-analysis/

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email: econenews@gmail.com

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

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