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| Morning Spice by Ginger Sending tourism further into the doldrums So they have written fin to duty free liquor and cigarettes. Good just the de-incentive needed to send the tourist industry further into the doldrums. Many a budget class tourist made good use of this concession to cut down on expenditure. Further more, many a Middle East returns or those coming home for a holiday used to bring home some of these by way of gifts. If prohibition is one of our aims we have started at the wrong end. Most of those who purchase duty free liquor and cigarettes are those who leave the country after a few days and there is little purpose in weaning them away from the habit they will be returning to climes where they could get soaked in the stuff if they wish to. Now Ginger wonders whether the purpose of this rescript is to lessen the use of alcohol or please the tub thumpers of prohibition for political gains but I am sure that quite a few hands that go up on behalf of the bill would have deftly wrapped their fingers round the neck of a bottle of duty free liquor, now where is this political myopia going to take us? With a government scraping the barrel for existence, how wise would IBE to fool around with the tourist industry? If on the other hand the whole idea is to introduce total prohibition can we afford to pass on all our excise revenue to the boot legger? We can have our own lucky lucianos and Al Capones who might out do them. America and India tried it and failed miserably besides political power is shifting on to the younger generation which is a hard and mundane lot quite capable of working out things for themselves and would resent strictures imposed on them. It may all backfire on those who introduce it. Prostate cancer A study done recently confirmed that a blood test that can spot prostate-specific antigens can reduce the chance of early death by as much as 70%. The latest discovery in detection of P.S.A.levels is a blood test that obviates the need for biopsies and this has been a boon to thousands of patients who go through biopsies to see if they have prostate cancer. A floating city Just fancy this. There is a team service on board to take you from one end of the ship to the other. You have swimming pools and a leisure complex schools for the kids and a 200 million dollar hospital. It can hold fifty thousand residents. All this however will cost you some money. A tiny 42 sq m unit will cost you as much as 90,000 dollars a year plus service charges and a three roomed penthouse will get you back by as much as 6m dollars. |
| Act of betrayal by minority political parties Sri Lanka with many plus and minus signs on its political scoreboard, presents yet another scenario where the most faithful and the most sought after minority parties like SLMC and CWC pressurise the government to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the LTTE. Whatever be the true intentions that would justify their stand, it does not see that they have an atom of respect for the cherished vision of the majority community. It embarrasses the government on the one hand and belittles the tireless ride of valiant columns of our young blood into the thick wilderness of the North in their noble task to save the homeland of not only the Sinhalese, but also of the minority races as well. Further, this endeavour of the minority parties pauses a question as to why their timing matches with the cry of the Tamil Nadu to save the Tigers. No country in the world has recognised a political arm of a terrorist group but Sri Lanka. No community in the Global village has ever tolerated dastardly atrocities of a killer group for years. No community in the world would have suffered so much a severe set back in all fronts of economic and social life than the Sri Lankans. The teens paid the supreme sacrifice of life. It may indeed paint a horrifying picture in the very eyes of this terrorist group which finds no parallel in this universe. In the midst of all this, it is really unfortunate, if not unwarranted, for the minority parties that enjoy the utmost confidence of the majority population to usher in such actions that can rightly be called betrayal. Let the Gospel truth be clear to all and sundry, that this pearl of the Indian Ocean wetted by the sweat of our innocent masses, smeared by the blood of the brave Sri Lankans, chanted and blessed by the clergy, is destined to exist in harmony and compassion as a unique example to the entire global village. It will only be a futile effort if any person or group endeavour to make crown princes of the racists misled by the misnomer used by anthropologists for their own convenience. Similarly, it is of national and religious interest for the Sinhalese Buddhists to think that Lord Buddha was not born a Sinhalese. The time for friendly discussions and tamashas in five star hotels have lapsed. It is time that all ethnic groups shun their differences and unit for the sake of building a Lanka stable enough to face the challenges of the 21st century amidst threats of nuclear experiments conducted in the Asian sub continent. U. W.
Senanayake, |
| Postal delay continues The postal dispute which dragged on for nearly two months, causing great inconvenience to the public, came to be settled after Posts and Telecom services were declared essential services under the emergency regulations and the Minister of Posts, Telecom and the Media came forward to discuss the demands with the UPTO which he did not do earlier, and found solutions to the issues involved. However, there are rumblings again in the postal trade union circles about the PMG not implementing the decisions arrived at by the Minister and the UPTO has talked of launching trade union action again, which will again disrupt the postal services. The earlier trade union action was also the result of the PMG not implementing the decisions given by the Deputy Minister and now it appears to be the turn of the Minister. And that too even before the postal services disrupted by the earlier dispute have returned to normal. The earlier dispute was settled over six weeks ago but the backlog of letters left undelivered due to the trade union action appears to have not been cleared still as evident from the letters posted months back being still delivered. The position appears to be worse in regard to registered and foreign letters. Is it that management employee friction is still continuing or is it due to a shortage of staff? Someone should look into the sad state of affairs and adopt measures to remedy matters. Industrial unrest should not be allowed to occur again and one or two individuals should not be allowed to run and ruin the postal services. M.
Jayasekera, |
| Merry-go-round
of the East There is an on-going war in the North East for the past so many years. The nation's youth are massacred like flies on this account, the country is on the verge of an economic collapse. Amidst all these unfortunate events, the country has become the venue of international cricket. Thousands are starving for want of a meal and the nation is spending magnanimously on Tamashas. Everywhere, it is a ceremony of laying a foundation stone for something or other, naming of a road to honour a politician etc. For all these events, school children are exploited to receive the VIPs and the school bands participate as if the country is an Utopia. The children lose many valuable hours for these frivolous matters. What a pathetic state of affairs. When will there be an end to these tamashas? Jinadasa
Wickremasuriya, |
| Gassing stray dogs Reading the much publicised article in a Sunday Newspaper of June 14, 1998 on gassing of stray dogs, we were most surprised at the Health Minister's attitude towards "Man's Best Friend." We are sure we could do better than just say, "The cost is too high to adopt another method." Come on, Mr. Minister, at least you could try. So much money is wasted on unwanted tamashas, isn't it time some of those funds are channelled towards good Buddhist teachings, in a country like ours? Your words, "I am sympathetic towards the cause," is simply not enough! Being Buddhist ourselves and thinking of the teaching of Lord Buddha's where we are supposed to show kindness to man beast alike, we would try to do something better. After all, Lord Buddha's teachings point towards rebirth and we believe in it, as we are sure all Buddhists believe in it as well. Mr. Minister, it is only you who could change the method, as it is the Ministry of Health that condones and approves the gassing method. If we were you, we would try to look into the possibilities and adopt a different method for the elimination of unwanted canines - after all, who knows what future re-birth awaits all of us? S. M.
de Silva, R. F. Wijeguneratne, |
| Hats off to Cricket Board for "No
Smoking Zone" Being a cricket lover I always enjoy a good game of cricket. I got hold of some of my friends and decided to watch the masters in action at the inaugural cricket match of the Singer Akai Nidahas Trophy Tournament 1998 between Sri Lanka and India. I never thought I ever have the luxury of watching the match seated peacefully on a "No Smoking Zone". It was royalty for an individual who has suffered immensely from passive smoking. Oh! What a treat it was for people like us who cannot afford a grand stand ticket of Rs. 1000. Watching youngsters in plenty in the No Smoking Zone enjoying themselves to the rhythm of the "baila" music made us, too, feel young at heart. It was indeed a great gesture granted to us - the non smokers by the top brass in the Cricket Board, at a time when youngsters are drawn into the so called "prestigious" life style of smoking. We salute you, Mr. President of the Cricket Board, for your attempt to divert this dangerous trend and trust that you will keep up your good work which is appreciated by both the young and the old, and specially the parents. C.
Madurapperuma, |
| Passive smoking and children In a recent TV programme, a specialist doctor attached to the Cancer Institute of Maharagama, revealed that passive smoking is 50 per cent more harmful to the human body than direct smoking. He further stated that smoking is a positive cause of many cancers such as oral cancer, cancer in the throat, pancreas, liver, and that smoking is responsible for 40 per cent of all cancers of man. Tobacco smoking is not only dangerous to the smoker, but to non smokers as well. Passive smoking increases the risk of lung cancer and cardio-vascular disease, acute effects of eye and throat irritation, fluid in the middle ear, respiratory problems etc. New research has shown that passive smoking could double the risk of heart disease. Passive smoking endangers the heart by reducing oxygen supply and damaging the arteries, due to daily exposure to tobacco smoke over a regular period. Therefore, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke can be defined as a serious health problem. This doctor further stated that this situation is very unfair since through passive smoking one does not inhale the smoke on his own choice, but because of another selfish person's action. This situation is even worse for pregnant women who have to bear an environment of cigarette smoke, since the unborn child may be subjected to numerous hazards such as deformity, low birth weight, due to passive smoking. Environmental effects of smoking is a cause of symptoms in asthmatic children. Asthmatic children are up to 2.5 times more likely to have their condition worsened by passive smoking. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a risk factor for new cases of asthma in children who have not previously displayed symptoms. Although the real truth is that smoking is detrimental to human beings, the industry has been able to deceive the young generation by hook or by crook. They have been able to entice atleast 25 children, per day, for smoking. Should we remain silent any more, as parents who care for our children? Manjari
Peiris Rupavahini — the big disappointment ns, are disappointed and dismayed by the antics and meaningless telecast of the much hyped and promised ‘World Cup’ live telecast. The build up leading to the matches was much publicised by Rupavahini and ended up as a damp squib, due to the following reasons. (1) On June 10, 1998, what was promised as ‘live’ ended up as a recorded telecast or a ‘dead’ programme at 10.30 p.m. (2) On June 11, 1998, it was a comedy of errors and blunders. The promised 9.15 ‘live telecast’ finally commenced at around 9.45 p.m. and was terminated at 10.00 p.m. for the news telecast. It was clearly evident to any fool that it was not ‘live’ after all. (3) The same day after the news telecast the politicians took the spotlight for their ‘cleaning programme’, very well knowing that millions were waiting anxiously for the soccer match perhaps realizing that it was the best time to force their views down the throats of the viewers. (4) This resulted in the teledrama being pushed back and it was followed by the lottery draw. Surely, the authorities, if they had any sense, should have followed the news with the teledrama, since there was time, and then with, the live telecast. After all, the World Cup is a ‘once in four years’ affair unlike these jokers and lotteries. We were expectant when the Rupavahini announced the telecast of the World Cup, but now, certainly are of the opinion how disgusting our national channel is. N.
Boteju, |
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