Use and abuse of Buddhism in geopolitics
Myanmar’s military junta leader, Gen MinAung Hliang on July 21 consecrated the world’s biggest seated Buddha statue—made of pure marble—in Napytaw, the political capital of the military. It is 19 metres in height, 4 metres taller than the Buddha statue at the Todaiji temple in Japan’s ancient capital Nara. The entire project built on a [...]
Old school mottoes
I was amusing myself, for want of anything better to do, by musing about the various mottoes of some of the better known boys’ schools in this country. When they are first established, all these schools are given stirring school anthems and noble school mottoes designed to inculcate values and a certain ethos in those [...]
Politics of violence, in the lead-up to the deadly Anuradhapura blast
Remembering Major General Janaka Perera, his wife, Dr Johnpulle, and his wife, a doctor, who were killed along with 27 others on October 6, 2008 By Upul Jayasuriya PC General Janaka Perera was a war hero. Among his commendations were the gallantry awards, Rana Wickrama Padakkama and Rana Sura Padakkama, distinguished service medals, the Vishista [...]
Managing the AI backlash: Lessons from history
MILAN – Disruptive technologies are rarely welcomed by workers or others with a significant stake in the status quo. Innovation requires adaptation, and adaptation is costly. Powerful incumbents’ resistance to revolutionary technologies has been a major factor in past periods of stagnant growth. Predictably, the initial enthusiasm for generative artificial intelligence, following ChatGPT’s release last [...]