All things pork…!

There was this idea that came to me some time ago and then sort of got buried under the usual load of nonsense that occupies my mind space. Not that it wasn’t an important idea or anything, it just got tucked away for discussion at a later date. So here it is,

Is it just me or have any of you happened to notice that quite a lot of eating establishments have an aversion to serving pork dishes? Some even go down the road to hell and damnation by serving something they call ham and bacon, but in reality is actually chicken! How the hell can chicken be called ham or bacon?? If its not from a pig, then it’s definitely not bacon!

One of the main reasons I used to enjoy going to my College club was because they had a really good pork dish for bites. But that’s no longer the case as the kitchen management has changed and the new guys seem to be anti-pork! I think that’s pretty ridiculous, they’ve surely got to cater to the tastes of all the members of the club ya? After all, I think as a life member of the club, I have more of a say in what should be served by the kitchen than the owners of the said kitchen! I have already voiced my disappointment to the club and they’re discussing a way to rectify the issue.

Anyways, having discussed this issue with a few other pork lovers (while munching discontentedly on a chicken wing), I feel there definitely is a very big niche market here in Colombo for an exclusive pork restaurant. Sort of like a pork lovers heaven. I mean imagine a restaurant that would serve only pork related dishes? Starting with breakfast dishes like ham and eggs, bacon and eggs, pork sausages and pork waffles through to a dinner menu that offered pork chops, pork knuckles, pork barbecues and a range of fried and deviled pork bites! They could even offer takeaway stuff like double pork burgers and fried pork riblets!

I definitely would be a very loyal patron of such an establishment and I’m sure there are loads of other pork lovers out there who would not hesitate to make this place their first choice when deciding where to go for a bite to eat. Throw in a well stocked bar and you’ve just created paradise!

So what says you guys, is there a food and business minded individual out there who would like to take this idea on and provide a haven for people like me who don’t give an oink about swine flu and feel very discriminated against when reading through a menu?

I’m sure we can even get your advertising done in exchange for meal vouchers…

Nothing says it better than this…!

Britain’s got brains Jan…

Well, it certainly looks like the British voting public has got a lot more brains than the MP’s they’ve elected in the past. While MP’s like Miliband have been turning cartwheels trying to get the world to listen to LTTE focused propaganda, the public decided to send a message of its own. A message that very clearly said ‘NO’ to voices of terror in their parliament!

At the recently concluded European Parliamentary elections, Jan Jananayagam, who stood as an independent candidate with a platform of ‘Tamil genocide’ was beaten quite soundly by the saner voices in the race. But seriously, what else did she really expect? The British public want candidates who are focused on their issues, not on issues of people who live thousands of miles away. They rightly perceived that Jan, if elected, would spend most of her time crying wolf about the GOSL than worrying about the problems in her own constituency.

In spite of much hype created on her websites and on Tamilnet about how rap ’superstar’ and ‘Eezham heroine’ MIA was lending her enormous support, even going to the extent of wearing a ‘Vote for Jan’ T-shirt, Jan was just a non-entity in the final count. Even the offer of a free MIA download for every vote wasn’t enough to tempt those stiff upper lips into a smile of approval. Maybe the British taste in music doesn’t really run too much to the ‘Boom, Boom, Bang, Bang’ genre of music that MIA puts out.

I’m sure, given the immense creativity and intelligence of the Tamilnet journalists, we’ll soon see ‘top secret’ documents leaked from somewhere that indicate there was mass scale vote rigging carried out by the anti-Tamil elements in Europe. Naturally this could be the only way to explain how such an intelligent and honest candidate such as Jan could be defeated ya?

After all is said and done Jan, you could have put those thousands of pounds spent on campaigns and promo materials to a much better use, like maybe sending to a charity that’s working on the ground here in Sri Lanka. I’m sure they could have put those funds to much better use in feeding and clothing the innocent civilians you claim to speak for!

But seriously, I’m not in the least bit surprised, we’ve seen 30 years of war funded by people like Jan. She was very proud of her stripes, so why should she change now? What she doesn’t realize is the British public have also seen her stripes and recognized her for what she is. A voice of terror.

Will the Tamil aspirations be buried by the Diaspora’s memories?

originally published on GroundViews. http://www.groundviews.org/2009/06/01/will-the-tamil-aspirations-be-buried-by-the-diaspora%E2%80%99s-memories/

I was just watching a past episode of the ‘Riz Khan’ show which is available on YouTube and the subject for discussion was what the future holds for the Tamil people.

The three panelists consisted of the former Sri Lankan ambassador to the US and Mexico, a human rights activist and Ms. Jananayagam, a spokesperson for London based ‘Tamils against Genocide’. Ms. Jananayagam is also in the running for the European Parliament elections according to TamilNet.

Now while the entire aim of the panel discussion seemed to be on looking at what the future holds for the Tamil people now that the war’s over, I was pretty surprised to see the spokesperson for ‘Tamils against Genocide’ seemed only interested in talking about what has happened in the past. In fact, such was the focus of this lady that she even saw fit to speak about incidents that took place within one year of Sri Lanka gaining independence!

Now correct me if I’m wrong here, but I was under the impression she had been invited to talk about the future of the Tamil people, not about their past. I don’t believe anyone is denying the fact that there were incidents in the past that contributed to the entire war, but should we as a people allow ourselves to be bogged down by the past? I would rather think that we need to use this opportunity to move forwards towards reconciliation and a lasting peace that addresses the aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka. Not just one segment, but ALL of the people.

IMHO, the former ambassador was the only person on the panel who stuck resolutely to the subject at hand and kept reiterating the need to let go of past hatred and ill feeling. He kept constantly calling for the need to understand and move on from the past. Unfortunately it seemed the one person invited to speak on behalf of the Tamil Diaspora seemed only able to stick to the Diaspora party line of ‘genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’. In fact she seemed highly cynical of there ever being any form of reconciliation between the Tamil and Sinhalese people!

It was sad to see that when asked to discuss the future aspirations of the Tamil people, Ms. Jananayagam could only focus on the fact that Diaspora Tamils are in a state of shock and mourning and want only to see justice executed against the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). There was absolutely no indication of the Diaspora seeing any hope for the future!

It seems obvious that Ms. Jananayagam doesn’t believe in any future for the Tamils in Sri Lanka other than what is dictated to them by the Diaspora. The Tamil people, whether they liked it or not, have been constantly forced to go along with the aspirations of the Tamil Diaspora who tirelessly provided funding for the LTTE to carry on with their armed struggle for independence. I wonder if these Diaspora members who continue to carry a torch for an independent Tamil homeland have ever stopped to consider the views of the Tamil people who’re actually on the ground in Sri Lanka?

IMHO, it’s high time the Tamil Diaspora realized that their single-minded and almost obsessive focus on a separate nation has wreaked untold damage and suffering on the Tamil people. In fact it was this same obsessive thinking that eventually led to the LTTE holding their own people as human shields, whilst claiming to be their saviours! Even at this juncture in time, when faced with the unshakable evidence that 30 years of war have not been able to achieve this goal, they continue to cling mindlessly to this dream!

It’s not very hard for most people to see that more than a future for the Tamil people, what the Diaspora wants is for their twisted version of justice and fair play to be made a reality. Their dream needs to see light even if it means bankrupting the GOSL and making everybody, including the Tamils, suffer for the sins committed many years ago. They also seem totally unable to see that continuing with this course of action is only going to keep this ‘beggar’s wound’ of a conflict festering for many more generations to come!

So I believe its time for the Tamils of Sri Lanka to stand up and decide for themselves what they want for the future, and not let Ms. Jananayagam and the Diaspora bury these aspirations under yet another load of hate and rhetoric.