polymerpunkah

Debbie Brill

No, the Tamils were there prior to British arrival. There was migration from India to SL to work on the plantations, and the treatment of those people after independence was "less than ideal", but the main issue was much broader than that.

Based on the two books I've read, I'd say the Brits weren't culpable in contributing to the civil war--particularly when compared to other former colonial possessions. As for the LLTE I haven't done enough reading to say whether or not what they did was justified. When is insurrection ever justified? Were their methods justifiable? How severe was Sinhalese repression, political and religious, etc. I was headed there next month, actually. And I was going to visit Jaffna and the north to get a sense of how the region was recovering. Maybe next spring, virus-willing.

Viva La GF Book Thread! Ironically, now that I'm off work, I'm "reading" less, as I generally listen to books all day on the job. Just finishing "The History of Sri Lanka" by Patrick Peebles. Not the best book I've ever read, but it does cover the entire history of the island, up to '05 or so, so it's a decent framework for further reading.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52224358 SA et al announce cease fire in Yemen. No indication of whether or not the Houthis will agree to it. But discussions are ongoing. A bit of good news amidst the gloom. (Though it's not going to do my BAE stock a lot of good.)

An explanation of how the virus works by a professor at University College London: Seems to tally with what has happened with Johnson, particularly re the ten day time period prior to his admission to the ICU.

He could have been the next Tarmac McCarthy.

Travelers With My Aunt

First to split with the missus, then to Split with the kids.

It definitely doesn't have the same tone of defiance as: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender..."

The current guinea pig looks to be China, as they've opened up both Hubei and Wuhan. I do wonder to what extent they're allowing people out of the region, and what sort of precautions they're taking. It seems improbable to me that just because they've reduced the number of cases substantially it won't take off again once movement restrictions are reduced and the economy is restarted. I hope they're taking good notes.

All the best, Jordy. As for Johnson, I'm hoping for the best for him as well. If it's a "road to Damascus" moment for him, all the better.

Apparently at least some proportion of the paper products used to make the masks/gowns etc., is produced here in Canada: The mill is currently working at full capacity to produce a recent double order from the US. Hopefully someone in the government will be able to recognize a bargaining chip when they see one.

I forgot National Lampoon. Very hit and miss, but when it was good it was very good.

Bloodline Great cast, but they've taken a 3 or 4 hour story and stretched it out to 13 hours. Ridiculous. (And only made more ridiculous by showing the ending at the start.) I quit after 5 hours. Figured it was almost over, checked to see how many more episodes and decided there was no way I was going to make it through another 8 hours of that, CV lockdown or no CV lockdown. Switched to "Kingdom" which I loved. Excellent in every respect, story, acting, sets, costumes, etc. Particularly enjoyed the two female leads.

National Geographic Mad Rolling Stone MacLeans (a Canadian current affairs magazine)

Jim Rockford Poirot Colombo Christopher Foyle Holmes (Brett)

Del Amitri: Kiss This Thing Goodbye

Paul Henderson celebrates scoring the winning goal in the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR. We thought we'd kick their asses, repeatedly and comprehensively. However it took a last minute goal in the final game of the series to decide it.

BTW: Acorn TV is offering a free month streaming. Code: FREE30