By Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Commenting on my article entitled The AluthParlimenthuwa” Debate on Glyphosate” that appeared in the Lankaweb ( http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2017/09/02/the-aluthparlimenthuwa-debate-on-glyphosate/),  a writer who uses the fake name Cerberus” has gone shopping for free  on the internet and comes back to tell us that glyhosate causes not only kidney disease, but also many other […]

By Professor Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. The government banned  the popular herbicide  known as Glyphosate” in 2105 using the epidemic of Kidney Disease in the Rajarata as justification for its drastic action. It proposed to create a toxin free nation” eventually banning agrochemicals.  Ven. Ratana  is  Sri Lanka’s presidential adviser on agriculture, promising to rid […]

Chandre  Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. There are many toxic substances used in our food. Because every substance  is toxic when exceeded beyond certain limits, and these limits are quite low for many substances. It is not just tobacco which is now well known as being dangerous, but the CEOs of tobacco companies have not been hauled […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. The following letter was sent to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa recently when a CBC broadcast  stated  the following about refugees sent back to Sri Lanka. This is about  Sri Lankan refugees in Hong Kong who had sheltered  the Wiki-Leaks journalist Snowden. There’s good reason to believe that they […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Sudath Gunasekera, writing to the Lanka Web (6th may 2017) has discussed the imposing statue by the Parakrama Samudra and raised questions about the grain going across the statue and its interpretation as a silver thread of the Brahaminic tradition given by some scholars. I have raised similar issues […]

By Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada. April 21, 2017, 8:57 pm The Buddha you never knew, and parts of the Tripitaka that never survived. Bhante Dhammika of Australia, writing in the Island Newspaper (21st April 2017) presents a valuable and timely reminder that what is often believed to be “core facts”of Buddhism cannot in fact be confirmed […]

Chandre Dharmawardana. All of us, even those living in remote parts of Sri Lanka or India have been eating Genetically Modified (GM) foods for decades. Most  US or Canadian flour  is from GM wheat.  The bread, buns, etc., consumed by everyone is made of GM flour. Similarly, most  Soya  products are from GM  soya. Many […]

Chandre Dhamwaradana. We should let the courts case against Monsanto and EPA officials take its course before jumping to conclusions. It is Monsanto and EPA officials, and not glyphosate, that is on trial. Litigation  is quite common in the US,  to sue companies for various grievances. Here is is a different case, where due process […]

Reviewed By Professor Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Gavin Karunaratne, a seasoned administrator and Economist trained at the University of Michigan. He has presented to the reading public a little book of 60 pages, where he takes up cudgels against the International Monetary Fund. The story is told using his newspaper articles and editorial comments […]

Professor Chandre Dharmawardana Canada. March 27, 2017, 8:46 pm Dr. K. Rajendra, writing to the Sunday Island, 26th March, makes some very important points on how to detect and deal with Dengue fever. I wish to engage on one of his comments and state how Dengue can in fact be completely eliminated rapidly, and in an […]

Chandre Dharmawaradana [A shorter version appeared in the Island, 11-Jan-2016] Two writers,  Dr. Pethiyagoda  (9-01-2016, Island) and Dr. Weeraratne (11-01-2016 Island) have raised the question why Sri Lankan scientists and government authorities are not moving to Murunga seed (seeds of Moringa Oleifera, or drumsticks”) to exploit  its claimed efficiency for water purification- a green solution”.  […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Engineer Harsa Kumara, a former Vice chairman of the NWSDB and General Manager of the water resources board has posted an article in the Lankaweb (Dec 14th, 2016) arguing his case in favour of Reverse Osmosis (RO) machines to provide clean water to the farmers in the dry zone who […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. A few years ago a newspaper report (Sunday Times, 2013) stated that Sri lankan rice took second place in a twelve-country list of rice containing high amounts of the toxic  metal known as cadmium. Many people even now claim that Sri Lankan rice has excess cadmium (Cd), and that this […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada The government,  some private sector groups, and NGOs have  spend a large amount of money on reverse osmosis (RO) machines for the purification of water as it was advocated  by a number of people who feared  that there are metal toxins (Arsenic, Cd, etc) in the water. The claim that metal […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana Roundup is one of the commercial names of a glyphosate-based herbicide (“weedkiller”). Glyphosate is manufactured mainly in China, though it originated in the USA. The government has just announced that the ill-conceived ban on glyphosate – an essentially harmless herbicide – has been relaxed to allow the tea industry to use it, […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. It is well known that ecosystems and societies are complex systems that do not permit careless tinkering. Social revolutions led by visionaries – usually with tunnel vision narrowed down by some ideology- have almost always ended in reigns of terror or long-lasting social chaos. However, when the government, goaded by eco-extremists […]

Chandre Dharmawardana The New Zealand government, after an long review of the weedicide Glyphosate (Roundup), has now given it the ALL CLEAR signal, confirming that it is VERY SAFE for use. Here is the report: http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/EPA_glyphosate_review.pdf BACKGROUND TO THE STORY: Sometime ago there were sensational claims that Glyphosate,  the popular weedicide,  causes kidney diseases, Cancer […]

by Prof. Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai, writng to the Lankaweb on the 24th of July has bemoaned the fact that the Dengue control program​ is an “Utter waste of money and Energy“. We can shrug our shoulders and say that this is no big deal considering the waste of public money […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada. Last year the Yahapalanaya leaders, flush with electoral victory banned Glyphosate, the well-trusted but controversial herbicide, heralding their “toxin-free nation” policy announced with much fanfare. The government hopes to replace modern agriculture with “traditional agriculture”, based on “traditional seeds” and “traditional farming methods” that do not use modern technology, chemical fertilizers, insecticides […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada The Brixit vote once again demonstrates the well understood but rarely acknowledged fact that referenda do NOT constitute a valid instrument of democracy when it comes to resolving complex questions. Most countries end up deeply divided, as also happened in Canadian French Separatist referenda.  There was potential for great anguish and violence, but […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Kumar David, well-known columnist and past Professor of Electrical Engineering in Hong Kong has come forward to defend (May 8, Island Newspaper, and in the Colombo telegraph) the controversial coal-power installation which has become a thorn of controversy. The ancient name of the city itself (saama-pura, the “city of Peace”), has […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Otatwa, Canada. I was prompted to write this note after having seen the article that appeared in the Lanka Web ( http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/04/26/unp-mp-cyril-mathew-report-to-unesco-proof-sinhalese-were-living-in-the-north-before-tamils/ ) by Shenali Waduge (SW), focusing on the submission by the late Mr. Cyril Mathew, Member of Parliament in the UNP government of J. R. Jayawardena. Mr. Mathew came under a […]

Chandre Dharmawardana Ottawa, Canada April 20, 2016, 8:46 pm (A shortened version of this article was published in The Island) In a midweek review article in The Island (April 20) Dr. V. J. M. de Silva attributes the quote “Science without religion is blind; religion without science is lame” to Einstein. Einstein quotes like “God does not play […]

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Mark Salter is a person who has come forward to write a book entitled “To End a War”,dealing with the “failed Norwegian Peace process” and related matters. In his second comment (March 30, 2016) on Ferdinando’s column, Salter writes that : “First, Ferdinando asserts that the ‘Norwegians believed decision making process […]

 Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Most people assume, without further inquiry, that moving to traditional farming methods, or what is sometimes caleld organic farming”, es essential to a ensure a healthy food supply and a sustainable future. Unfortunately, that view is too simplifitic and in fact wrong. Furthermore, a number of people have  expresses surprise about […]

By Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. The President unveiled a three-year program put forward by the  agriculture minister,  promising a toxin free nation” based on ”wholesome agriculture”. The minsters as well as Ven. Ratana are acting with what they believe are the best interests of the people. That modern agriculture” is responsible for an alleged  deterioration […]

By Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada. Christina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Communication barred Matthew Russell Lee from the UN  offices.  Lee  ran the website known as the  Inner City Press”,  based in New York. This website operated in a  grey area of journalism exposing”  institutional corruption, human rights abuses etc., and  supported   militant  groups […]

Chandre Dharmawardana Those in the forefront of the Tamils’ agitation for devolution of power have always been  vague, deliberately or unconsciously, in the terminology used in their arguments, and the distinction between provincial autonomy, states’ rights in a federal union, and a separate state have been blurred by a fog of verbiage, and obfuscation K. M. de […]

Chandre Dharmawardana Canada Courtesy The Island January 20, 2016, 7:26 pm The Minister for Parliamentary Reforms and Mass Media is said to have proposed a Bill to curb a number of human rights enjoyed by one section of the Sri Lankan public who are eligible to vote – namely, the Buddhist monks. For instance, they are to […]

by Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada The Minster for `Parliamentary reforms and Mass Media’ is said to have proposed a bill to curb a number of human rights enjoyed by one section of the Sri Lankan public who are eligible to vote – namely, the Buddhist monks. For instance, they are to be denied the right […]