𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒍 ( දුක් ගන්නා රාළ )

After seeing a Facebook advertisement for one of the paint manufacturers in Sri Lanka, I called their head office to see if I, as a walk-in customer, could also claim the same discount offered to online buyers. I was refused, but on my insistence, I was connected to their sales department, and a young lady executive picked up to reiterate that the offer is only for online purchases with free delivery, as stated in the advertisement. My rationale was that since it is a walk-in deal, the delivery portion of online shopping goes away, so the company benefits in the end. Knowing that these frontline sales staffs have little authority in taking decisions, I asked her, without offending her, to check with the senior sales team and give an update on the request. Surprisingly, after a few hours, she returned the call to inform me that the offer was only valid for online purchases, and it was confirmed by her senior management.  I thanked her profusely, only because giving an update by call...

A couple of days ago, I realized that I was unable to buy any stocks using the platform access given to me by the broker firm, and when they were contacted immediately to know the reason why my ability to buy was brought to near zero rupees, the reply I received was astonishing and alarming. My current portfolio is worth a couple of million rupees and has a healthy unrealized gain worth another couple of million rupees, yet the broker firm was not willing to give me any usable buying power. The reason they give is that many have bought shares on credit and are not willing to settle their dues. When asked as to why not “force sell” available shares of such people and recover their dues, they had no answer. I have spoken to a few more stockbroker firms and they all have the same song to play, which means that there is a very big credit exposure across the board but either instructions or guidance received from the governing body regulating the market activities and or their own managemen...

There are no good or bad people in this world, but there are happy and unhappy people. Some stay in their chosen corner forever, but some oscillate between the two extremes from time to time. That is when the unexpected or unimaginable happens in the world. We are all, whether we understand or not, unique storytellers. Some tell it openly, others in whispers, and the rest silently. Some stories, whether said in silence, whispered or loudly, are inspirational. So, if every happy storyteller could inspire another to have a chance to go from being unhappy to happy, it would be a positive change. Therefore, I end this note with an open-ended question. What is your story? Think about it. ඔබේ කතාව කුමක්ද? මේ ලෝ කයේ හොඳ හෝ නරක මිනිසුන් නැත, නමුත් සතුටින් හා අසතුටින් සිටින මිනිසුන් ඇත. සමහරු තමන් තෝරා ගත් මුල්ලක සදහටම රැඳී සිටින නමුත් සමහර විටින් විට අන්ත දෙක අතර දෝලනය වේ. අනපේක්ෂිත හෝ සිතාගත නොහැ කි දේ ලෝ කයේ සිදු වන්නේ එවිටය. අපි සියල්ලෝම, අපට තේරුණත් නැතත්, අද්විතීය කතන්දරකාරයෝ ...

At a time when all seems lost and gloom is engulfing the Sri Lankans financially, politically, and sportingly, a person of Sri Lankan descent winning the Booker prize recently is something worth celebrating. However, the euphoria was short-lived when a pirated version of the book started doing the rounds on many social media platforms. Some readers, with limited resources, were happy to be able to get their hands on it very cheaply to quench their thirst, and some are annoyed because it amounts to stealing, according to them. Further, it is denying the owner his rightful return for years of research and work to get the idea into book form. Yes, it is a valid argument, but what is the alternative to meeting at the halfway point so both needs can be met? It is no secret that while publishers are making a killing on such successes, the real owner gets a paltry sum as the writer’s royalty. Many publishing houses present the same book in many ways. Electronic access, hardbound and paperback...

 

One of my father’s younger brothers was in the Sri Lanka Police, not as a uniformed one, but as a male nurse in the police hospital in Colombo. My cousin was a couple of months younger than me, and we were in parallel grades in different schools. My uncle wanted to get his eldest son into the police force. He was having high hopes and when the ordinary level results came in, his hopes were dashed as my cousin could not secure results to meet even the basic entry-level requirement for a position as Sub Inspector in the police department. He was at a loss as he couldn't face his superiors after speaking in advance with some of the higher-ups to clear the way for his son’s admission to the force. He was aware of my results and his next move was to approach my father, his elder brother, to get his blessing for me to step in instead of his own son, who flunked. The only question my father asked him when the proposal was made was, " Are you crazy? " His hopes were dashed for th...

A Tribute to Late Nasser Muhandis (Engineer)  a.k.a. Nyerere Nasser came to work with us from the cargo section after he and another colleague had some disciplinary issues over there. Unlike Nasser, his colleague was a reserved guy. Nasser was a boisterous extrovert. He quickly picked up the work and the rhythm, ready to solo. On attendance and time, he has a different value system. Usually, he comes a bit late, especially for the morning shift, and knowing his habit, many get used to preparing work allocations accordingly. But once he is in, it is not important at what time he leaves the place of work. Sometimes with extended work, but mostly waiting for someone else to finish his work so Nasser can give him a ride home in his car.  While waiting, he would entertain others with many interesting stories while having a cup of tea. He was fond of tea and not a coffee guy. When he comes in the morning, he comes with some herbs with him, and the first thing h...

           Digitalization of all possible activities, ·          Create a unique number at birth for all citizens, and it should be their o    National Identity Card, o    Tax Reporting & o    Social security numbers, ·          Embrace the Open Market economy, ·          Set up a Task Force to educate the masses about the benefits of the market economy on an urgent basis, ·          The government should only take care of a few things. o    The national security, o    Monetary, o    Health, o    Education and o    Formulation of national standards & policies, ·          Setting up a big and independent income Tax office. o    Independen...

No matter how rude something someone says about you on the internet is, you can sue them but not the platform where they said it. That’s thanks to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which broadly protects websites from liability for posts made by third parties. But the Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a case that will test just how far that goes. The case the Supreme Court will take up, which was lodged against Google over YouTube recommending videos made by ISIS, is about what responsibility websites might have for hosting terrorist propaganda (as is a related suit the court also agreed to hear against Twitter). But Section 230 covers a whole lot more. Dating back to the pre-Google days of 1996, the 26-word law laid the foundation for the internet we have now by establishing that websites can set rules about what they allow users to post while still not being on the hook legally for user-generated content. With that much power, Section 230’s been controversial for a ...

Dear Mr Kerner, I may have watched many of your videos on social media platforms and they were very compelling. Your efforts to extricate the Sri Lankan mindset from the old and failed socialist perspective are commendable. An open market economy is something that I too endorse, as I have seen and enjoyed the benefits of such a system. Setting up a task force to educate the needy about the benefits of the market economy in cities and in villages is an urgent priority. Let the market forces control everything and not any government authority. The government should only take care of a few things. The national security, monetary, health, education and formulation of national standards should be in government control and the rest should be detached from the government control. One thing I have not seen you talking about is setting up a big and independent income tax office. Perhaps I was wrong that I may have missed a video in which you expressed your views on the issue. A big and independ...