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Morning Spice by Ginger
Private bus operators should not be above the lawI read a rather emotion charged letter to the editor asking the administrators of this country whether they are going to allow the Private Bus Owners Association to hold the people of this country to ransom on petty and trivial matters anymore. Unfortunately the answer is yet in the affirmative. We saw how badly manacled and helpless the Transport Ministry was when the bus owners kept off the road there wasn’t a semblance of resistance and the powers that be had to cave into the demands made by that rather unsavory group of human butchers.
Ginger certainly agrees with that reader who calls himself a regular traveller that these transporters should not be above the law. The trouble is that when the law touches them they strike and the worse problem is that we have no back up plan to counter their moves. Do the SLTB have stand-by drivers registered at their depots? Can private buses be commanded under the emergency? If so there would be little harm in putting such a scheme into operation. There is one element that is disposed and held in contempt by the whole country and it is this group of sub humans who call themselves private passenger transporters and their strikes are not likely to get much public sympathy.
Clinton’s sexual conduct
Why is it that America’s political leaders and political commentators have been unable to work up enough national indignation against Bill Clinton and his sexual conduct. The fact is that many of them feel reluctant to condemn a man for what they could have been accused of doing themselves.The statistics regarding what people felt on matters central to the Clinton issue make interesting reading. In September 63% approved of Clintons work as President. There were 34% who did not think so. Did they think that Clinton should be impeached. 29% were for it and 67% were against it. Only 33% wanted Clinton to resign from office and 63% felt he should not. Only one tenth of the population felt that Lewinsky was a victim while over 75% felt she was an opportunist.
Cell phones market
We all know that police officers and some drivers have two way compact radios. Now there are cell phones that can do the work of two way radios and pagers. Motorola is hoping that its new cell phone will be a big hit in the American market.Motorola’s latest addition to the market is its Iden I 1000 which can be purchased from Nextel. The advantage it has is that its radio function works within a 240-km range. This cell phone that costs about Rs. 20,000 in our money enables you to communicate with your colleagues and members of your family who have the same cell.
Omar Khayyam had it made. A jug of decent wine and a loaf of bread probably did not cost him the earth and there was plenty of wilderness around to escape to without having to pay artificially inflated prices for petrol for the trip. He would have used a camel in any case.
Why does the State squeeze excise taxes on alcoholic beverages? No doubt the "feel good" factor plays a role! A theoretician told me recently that it had been determined that there was a certain differential between the prices at which legal spirits and kasippu were sold and if one raised the price of the legal stuff the kasippu would follow suit to the same extent. According to this scenario, soon kasippu would be beyond the reach of the "common man", who would then stop imbibing. I tend to disagree.
Anyway, as long as it keeps the bosses happy, by all means ban the sale of alcoholic beverages on Poya days, World Temperance days and the like and close one’s eyes to the fact that the unholy can always buy kasippu and such-like throughout the day. (This is a little reminiscent of buying an extra pint or two of bitter in London just before "closing time" or moving on to Covent Garden where pubs were open at strange hours)
However, the purpose of this epistle is not merely to bewail the rising cost of alcoholic beverages to the law-abiding citizen. And let’s get something on record from the start. Alcohol is not an unmitigated evil when taken in reasonable amounts. The trouble is that many of those who consider it as such do not earn their livelihood either by the sweat of their brow, i.e. by hard physical labour, or in a highly charged workplace. There are many honest enough to admit to the restorative effect of a measure or two of spirits or some beer at the end of a day’s work (or after a row with the wife). There is undoubtedly much violence which would take place if not for the blessed help given by alcohol to ‘unwind’.
So, why the steady rise in taxation of alcoholic beverages? There are no prizes offered to those who guess that it is not to dissuade the consumption of alcohol but to help to balance the financial books. The books need to be balanced and this is one means towards the end.
Now, however, a question of " morality" does creep in. If one is charging money for a product is there not an obligation to give value for what one demands? In particular, if the product in question is one which is consumed, such as a food, is there not an obligation to see that steps have been taken to ensure that its consumption in reasonable amounts will not be injurious to ones health. ( Note that even sugar or mustard, if consumed in unreasonable amounts, is hazardous to health)
Take the case of Scotch Whisky. The government in Britain, where Scotch Whiskey is produced, levies an excise duty on this product as do most or probably all countries to which it is exported. Thus sale of this product provides a revenue to the producer, the wholesaler and retailer and the government concerned. As a part of the transaction, wherein the purchaser pays for a unit of this product and the four players mentioned above receive a revenue, the final consumer has the assurance that the spirits which left the distillery had a constant and predetermined quality and was fit for consumption. The confidence that this assurance has generated has resulted in Scotch Whisky being accepted unquestioned throughout the world.
Sadly, one does not have the same confidence regarding the quality of arrack sold even in the country in which it is produced. I once asked an official of a concern, which produces arrack, the reason for the variation in quality of a given brand of a product from day to day. The response was that stolen labels were pasted on bottles of arrack not produced by his company. Fair enough, that could well be a contributory factor.
However, one can consider other possible causes. One is the shortage of coconut today available. Has this led to the less stringent control of the distillation process in order to collect as much product as possible? It is said that the market requirement is met with 15% coconut spirits and 85% ethyl alcohol blended in various proportions.
Could increased supplies of coconut today help to improve the quality as well as the quantity of the arrack produced in this country? It has been reported that local research has indicated that the addition of urea or ammonium salts to the vessels used for the collection of toddy results in its having an increased content of alcohol. Could this be more widely popularised for use during the tapping process even though this renders the toddy less palatable.
The Sri Lanka Standards Institute has laid down specifications for arracks. Well and good! But how much analysis and testing is performed in the country on a day- by- day basis? Perhaps the larger arrack producers carry out quality controls, maintain records and keep samples for a certain period of time but what about the many small timers in the business? In the pharmaceutical industry, for instance, a batch of a product will be tested before packaging and again, before releasing to the market and records will be kept, as well as "keeping samples" for perhaps two years. Arrack is similar to pharmaceuticals in that both are consumed and neither should be treated in a cavalier fashion.
Regular testing (and not just random checks from the market or of bottles suspected to be adulterated) is much to be desired. More research is also needed as to what are the constituents which may be injurious to health and which may be found in the product. With the expected downturn in the economy in the years ahead, even those who could afford imported spirits earlier will be switching to the local products (it is already in evidence)! This may even extend to elegant cocktail parties.
Most of the constituents and components which go into the manufacture of a bottle of arrack could ( unlike in, for instance, the garment industry ) be sourced locally in due course. Export earnings would not be negligible. However, in order to break into the export market a uniform and high quality of product is essential. Some years ago, I personally took two bottles of local arrack to colleagues in Germany. Interestingly, without any prior tutoring on my part, they acclaimed the more expensive variety as "excellent", while the less costly was dismissed as "Rattengift" ( i.e. rat poison !)
At present, day-to-day responsibility for the quality of arrack is shared between different government agencies (Government Analyst, Excise Department etc.) It is much to be desired that a study be undertaken without delay to identify the best means of ensuring that each day’s production of alcohol in this country has been tested for quality and the results recorded for reference as needed. Perhaps the Health Department could set up facilities at Kalutara for these purposes for testing this widely consumed food item.
Sadly, rumours surface from time to time that certain samples of kasippu have been found to be of better quality than some of arrack. It would be a pity if the public started to switch over to drinking kasippu in preference not only for reasons of economy but also for quality. Depletion of the income of the registered distillers as well as of the coffers of the State would also result should such a perception gain widespread currency.
If the state is determined to extract as much revenue as possible as taxes on the sale of alcoholic beverages, it is well advised to utilise some of this income to ensure the quality of these products or it will surely be seen an even more accelerated swing to the consumption of untaxed liquor and diminishing returns. The economic costs of treating health problems the loss of workplace productivity in the past need no elaboration here.
Dr. Rohan H. Wickramasinghe
Some sacrifice their lives, some demand more pay
"A land of contrasts." Sri Lanka has that reputation for the widely varying features, be it topographical, weather, climate, vegetation and peoples contained within a small territorial area. Today, a further type of contrast has appeared, a contrast in human conduct and behaviour. This is the contrast between sacrifice and avarice; sacrifice and greed, a willingness to suffer much and a militant unwillingness to suffer much less comparatively. In short a giving of limb and life on the one hand, and a grasping aggrandisement on the other.
Consider the current headlines. Four soldiers killed in a skirmish in the north, and four wounded. Down here the Ceylon Bank Employees Union (CBEU) and the Banking Sector personnel threaten trade union action if their demands for more pay are not met. Up there, troops slog thro’ mud and slush to gain a few more kilometres for the country. Down here the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) staff get a handsome pay hike, and some other personnel there demand a like increase or else. Incidentally, the generous CEB pay hike means you and I will have to foot the bill. The Chairman, CEB was shrewdly silent as to how the increased expenditure will be met, but we can be sure that soon a tariff increase will be announced. Up there, Army Navy personnel brave suicide killers to keep the northern life lines going. Down here the GMOA will deprive patients of their very lives in many cases, because some anomaly or other in their safely obtained pay packet has allegedly arisen. Our Pilots risk life and limb to carry out some operation without qualm or query. Down here another group of workers demand more or else. Policemen too daily do their dangerous rounds up there. Here, trade unions whip up a cry for more. Truly we see "a land of contrasts" in a malignant sense now.
Personnel in the Banking sector, the CEB, Telecom etc. and the Medical service are better off today not only where pay is concerned but as regards other perks too. Pensions, Provident funds, Medical benefits, Railway warrants. Travelling allowances, CLA etc etc. It is a joke but also a shocking crime, no less, to see these people raking in the shekels and demanding still more. This is a type of bourgeois or even capitalist trade unionism gone berserk. It must be stopped or reigned in before those more deserving and less paid and not as well looked after lose any chance of getting anything.
The government should publicise for general information of the public, whenever held to ransom by unwarranted trade union action or threat of TU action by Bankers, Doctors, Engineers etc. their full Remuneration packages viz basic salary, allowances, perks, superannuation benefits etc. We would then judge how reasonable their demands are how poorly paid they are! This is a strategy that Govt. must employ in future. Their "more pay" hoax will then be uncovered.
Avarice stalker
Down to Earth
Bio-piracy: The new colonialism
by Derrick SchokmanOne of the first notable achievements of the international community was to rid the world of piracy on the seven seas. Today the international community faces yet another form of piracy - this time on the land in the tropical rainforests of South America, Africa and Asia, which are rich sources of biodiversity and medicinal treatments.
The industrial nations of the developed world are stealing or exploiting the rich biodiversity resources of these tropical rainforests without any form of recompense or reward to the people of the countries in which this biodiversity exists. It is tantamount to the removal of oil or mineral resources without payment - a new form of colonialism.
First and foremost let us determine why the industrialised nations have to do this when they have their own forests?
Ice Ages
It so happened that several ice ages experienced in the northern hemisphere, where the major industrialised nations are located, slowed down the perpetuation of plant and animal life forms. While the tropics and sub-tropics witnessed sustained evolutionary activity, resulting in a rich wealth of species and varieties.Most of the natural forests in the northern hemisphere have also been cut down and replaced with man-made forest plantations. These plantations do not have the rich ecosystems found in natural forests.
The naturally occuring tropical rainforests have therefore become an irreplaceable source of medicinal treatments derived from plants and animals.
Even though only about 1% of the 20,000 plants identified as having healing properties have yet been put to use by modern medicine, the $ 20 billion pharmaceutical industry relies largely on natural extracts. A quarter of the common medicines have been derived from tropical rainforest plants.
Medicines
Some of the better known examples of such medicines are Vinblastene from the Rosy Periwinkle which is used to treat lymphoma, curare to relieve muscle tension, quinine from cinchona for malaria, digitoxin from the foxglove for heart conditions and Taxol from the Yew tree for ovarian cancer.Tropical plants have also been used to treat child leukaemia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and other derivatives used in eye and abdominal surgery.
And now scientists are looking for tropical rain forest plant derivatives against the HIV virus, nerve conditions, cancers, cardiovascular and gastroenteritis disorders.
In the animal kingdom good examples are the armadillo which has given a treatment for leprosy, the Florida manatee which has assisted haemophiliac research, and the African Green Monkey in connection with a polio vaccine.
At present Brazilian scientists are testing extracts from a frog. This creature is used by the Yawanawa Indian tribe in the Amazon jungles to treat intestinal diseases.
Confrontation
As a result of increasing acts of bio-piracy, the confrontation between the industrialised countries and resource-rich emerging nations is hotting up. It will be fought by and large over a revision of world trade laws.At present some industrialised countries want to exempt plants and animals from being covered by intellectual property rights, while Third World countries rich in biodiversity object to such action.
The Biodiversity Convention signed at the Rio Summit in 1992 came closest to tackling this dispute. Unfortunately the USA, which has the greatest number of biological research laboratories, refused to ratify the convention. And anyway there appears to be no consensus worldwide.
For decades now drug companies and agribusiness firms have been tapping the world’s gene banks without paying anything to the countries where the genes were found. And now they expect to do the same by ransacking the tropical rainforests. But not without a backlash from affected countries.
Already in countries like India and China, which have had systems of natural medicines dating back thousands of years, protesters have rallied against foreign companies tampering with nature out of greed for profits.
In India the protests were in connection with protecting the active ingredients in turmeric and neem (margosa). Chinese scientists have been urging the government to prevent international companies from exploiting the country’s biological resources.
Solution
What can be done to provide an equitable solution to this skewed position in which developing nations are the main donors of biodiversity raw material and the industrialised countries are the main claimants of patent rights?An intergovernmental FAO commission that was created to look into this problem, agreed to consider plant genetic resources as the common heritage of humans, which should be properly conserved and freely exchanged.
On paper that development was encouraging. But in reality it turned out to be an illusion. Why? Because of the rapid development of molecular biology and genetic engineering where genes, the very building-blocks of life, are themselves becoming patented commodities.
It is like putting a patent on life itself. No government, company or scientist should be allowed to claim ownership of the innermost workings of a living organism.
In the circumstances, until adequate safeguards are designed and enforced by the UN there is every likelihood that biodiversity resource rich countries could restrict access to their biospheres, and cause a grave setback to scientific research and its impact on human well being.
It’s again AIDS awareness programme time! A certain anti-AIDS TV ad regarding a documentary, to raise an awareness programme, in the form of symbol, is completely detrimental, to what it should be. Instead of putting the message across the would be victim and the future victims, to enlighten the dangerous hazards of anti-social vices, this documentary ad follows the wrong path.
The ill-fated love depicted through a red rose, should not be embraced by using an artificial glove, but should be totally rejected, by marking a big cross, in red colour, right in front of the would-be victim’s natural hands, no sooner he is going to grab it.
This damaging ad tends to give a wrong concept — "No matter if you adopt a synthetic device, say a condom".
That’s the dangerous part of this unethical ad. Let the responsible parties remedy this mistake in the relevant telecast, at their earliest convenience.
Kasturiarachchi Warnakulasuriya
