Rajapaksa xenophobia, and the inability of rulers.

crisis group's recommendations focus on, however, the trend Rajapaksa country, showed no concern about the country's mess, even if the responsibility of this government is to take a stake in power.

Two years into President Maithripala Sirisena’s term, Sri Lanka’s fragile hopes for lasting peace and cooperation across party and ethnic lines are imperilled. Despite significant achievements in the coalition government’s first nine months, progress on most of its reform agenda has slowed to a crawl or been reversed. As social tensions rise and the coalition slowly fractures, it is unclear whether it can push its signature new constitution through parliament and to a national referendum. Neither the president nor prime minister has made a serious attempt to win support for a more inclusive polity or to reform the national security state to tackle the institutionalised impunity that has fed ethnic unrest and harmed all communities. To protect democratic gains, enable lasting reforms and reduce risks of social and political conflict, the “unity government” should put aside short-term party and individual political calculations and return to a politics of reform and openness.

Global political change

I’ll ramble a bit but will get there. There have been many times in history when great men (and women) have appeared, led, and achieved great things. I am sure many of us think we are overdue for the next one, particularly in the light that more people are alive today than have ever died. The world recently seems somehow rather lost, directionless. In many countries in every continent, people are unhappy with their leaders. Everywhere, people are crying out for change, but no-one inspirational comes forward to lead. Where are today’s great men and women hiding? Sadly, I don’t know either.

New technology and old religion

Augmented reality is upending the interface between physical reality and human desire to shape our universe

The Oracle has spoken. His vision will soon become your personal gadget. In the latest F8 annual global developer conference last month, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, announced his vision of new technologies. He wants to change our lives by changing the way we perceive, engage and experience the real world around us. He wants to create augmented reality to spice up the mundane reality of our everyday world such as using an app to fill a cereal bowl with images of tiny swimming sharks.

Augmented reality is like this. It begins with dissatisfaction with the way the world appears before us. It panders to the worst of our human desires when it creates a world which is special to each one of us as if the world should be amenable to our desires rather than the other way around.