I was hanging around ODEL junction, waiting for the protesters to come. The cops rolled out the barricades and stood in ambling protest against the protest. Or something. The police piled into buses and headed towards Kelaniya with the water cannons. I don’t think any students ever came. One never stands in the middle of the street cause you’re not supposed to, but sometimes you see things differently if you stop. Of if the cops stop everything for you. From that point, for example, you could see the white domes of Colombo 7′s mosque, Town Hall and clock tower line up just perfectly.

War is fundamentally people killing each other and occupying land. Even suicide terrorism seems to be a response to occupation, perceived or otherwise. Winning wars is basically occupying land and holding it, mainly by killing. The Sri Lankan model has been to do whatever necessary and deny everything. This resulted in 10 to 20,000 civilian deaths (no idea) and a stable end to war. The US counter-insurgency model is now to minimize use of artillery and air strikes. But they’re still not winning. And their soldiers are dying. This is causing grumbles, as reported in the New York Times.

IIFA Colombo cost the Sri Lankan government about Rs. 850 million. The event was perhaps not a flop, but certainly not a hit. None of the A-Listers (Aishwariya, Amitabh, Abhishek) were there and neither were many of the Khans (Shah Rukh, Amir, Saif Ali). One Khan that did show up was Salman Khan, and he’s back in town today, to film a movie here. Another return visitor was Vivek Oberoi, hanging around with Namal Rajapaksa and visiting former LTTE cadres. Both of these former beaus of Aishwariya have followed through on a connection to Sri Lanka even though her father-in-law Amitabh pointedly has not. Are two visits and one film worth Rs. 850 million? Er. Probably not. At least not yet.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry has alerted all missions in Europe to investigate the Buddha Bar chain of restaurants and bars. This is at a time when the Defence Secretary says there ongoing LTTE activity abroad. Sri Lanka is one of the last bastions of Theravada Buddhism, but this type of lame identity politics is unbecoming. Akon was recently prevented from entering Sri Lanka for five seconds in a music video showing models dancing in front of a Buddha statue. The international Buddha Bar chain basically makes a practice of this, so it’s gotten the attention of the government. It’s curious as to why this is a priority now.

Big Ears is a night of music and poetry and stuff organized by Thriloka. I say better than Open Mic because the crowd is bigger and more inclusive and because there’s more music. I suppose the better word is different, Open Mic was cool while it was. But Big Ears has the added benefit of existing. In fact, it’s tonight at the Arts Campus, 46, Horton Place, Colombo 07 (opposite Asha Central). Starts at six. I highly recommend.

Today I rented an Army paddle boat and puttered around the Beira Lake. Last weekend I saw them officiating a wedding. It’s weird, but honestly heartwarming. I was looking at some photos someone took of a Navy cruise ship. There was a small child in the captain’s chair, Navy crewmen grinning behind. It made me laugh. A year ago that ship was ferrying troops and evading LTTE suicide boats. Now a five year old is sitting in the captain’s chair. Last year troops in Jaffna were on edge, troops in the Wanni were cleaning their guns. This year they were making Vesak displays. I guess we still need a military presence, but it has really softened. They’re organizing weddings now. They say militarization like it’s a bad thing, but I’m honestly happy to see how things have changed.

I was trying to watch a World Cup match when I heard a horrid buzzing noise. Looking around I couldn’t see any flies or bees but I couldn’t shake that sense of irritation. Then I realized the noise was coming from the TV. Not that the TV was full of bees, but that the stadium was full of bees or something. I looked it up and the noise is actually coming from hundreds of people blowing this vuvuzela horn thing. I dunno what it sounds like alone, but altogether it sounds like a horde of angry bees. Apparently FIFA has decided not to ban the things, despite them disturbing player communication, coaching and probably disrupting TV revenue. I and this blog think that they should.

Couples are seated at tables with Ministers, Generals and movie stars. They are hemmed in a solid square by soldiers, lackeys and cameramen. Family and friends watch the scrum from a distance, fifty feet away. These are token couples, swarmed by media, tokenizing the event and obstructing the view for everyone actually there. If you wander back, however, some couples are sitting almost entirely alone.

The police are cracking down on courting couples and taking down indecent posters. Which is whatever, but I think they’re missing the point. A girl can’t take public transit without getting sexually harassed. I know exactly zero girls who haven’t been flashed at least once. A girl can get abuse or raped and it’s difficult to impossible to report. Marital rape is basically considered a part of marriage. It’s fucked up. I personally think half the men in this city need to be thrashed, including many in my social circle, but something socially must be done. We stand by and let way too much shit pass, and it’s more serious than posters and umbrellas. There’s a culture of rape on our streets and it has to stop.

I don’t know how to say this politely, but anyone who says Sri Lankan Tamils should go back to Tamil Nadu should go back to 1983. Sri Lankan Tamils are from here as much as anybody, as are Burghers and Muslims and, I think, anybody who chooses to settle here, including suddhas and kalu suddhas. Plus look at us. We’re an island 30km from Tamil Nadu and we’ve been able to sail or swim that far for thousands of years. You might as well ask Mahinda to go back to Tamil Nadu, or Malaysia, or China. We’re all mixed up on this island and everyone needs to chill.