Politics Unpacked
Good man gone?
Recently, a no nonsense publication on international affairs opined
that the best chance of becoming the next UN Secretary General falls on
a certain South Korean. Attributes that qualified him for the job were
liberally highlighted, but the conclusion of the piece was that the less
controversial and forthright a person was, the better chance he had of
heading the UN body.
It's roughly like this: If you had anything like real integrity,
forget it. What of our own man, Jayantha Dhanapala? A good candidate,
said the writer, but given that he had (fortnightly) advocated a
complete ban on all ballistic missile, his chances were greatly
diminished in the eyes of certain big powers interested in those types
of weapon systems.
Now, we all know who these biggies are, don't we?
By the book...
A novelist said recently that the best way to start a war is by
attacking the East. This got the goat of one of his ardent admirers who
said that with this kind of novel approach to problem solving, we could
expect more military experts to recline in their armchairs..
Malice on the beach
It takes extraordinary mean-spiritedness to undermine acknowledged
success. Recently, a scurrilous e-mail was doing the rounds about the
so-called attitude of a certain -- let us say -- seafood tsar ensconced
by a well known Beach Hut on the Wellawatte coast. His waadi styled
operation was maligned, just because somebody who is a nobody felt he
did not get VIP treatment.
Shabby, but all the hoteliers who got the virus like e-mail, joined
forces to stamp out this boor's discordant note. You could say a big
business mogul chipped in with his portly presence.
Not so black humour
A very politically correct hotel makes sure that no guest comes to
any premature conclusions about the nature of its immediate surro
It is said in bold lettering, right next to the lifeguards perch,
that the ''outlet to sea is strictly to drain seawater'' and that the
''sand is black because of the Kalu Ganga.'' Good thinking. One never
knows, next time some lobbyist masquerading as a sunbather might say
that black sand is due to imminent discovery of oil -- or worse still,
due to certain extra judicial happenings...
Sell of a thing
A
hotel industry man was confronted not too long ago, by a team of men who
said they wanted any hotel that was being sold on the southern tourist
belt. They were willing to buy ramshackle outfits for jaw dropping
prices, and if hotels were from the basket, you could say they were
buying in the fistful.
Now, why would they do that with the hotel industry said to be in
jeopardy? Or was this an operation of a cleansing nature?

No glasses pls
Somebody went too far in handling Vasu for the Mayoral race. One aide
wanted Vasu to be his own man (which he forgot, Vasu is anyway...) In
his zealousness to promote his man, he suggested that Vasu removes his
spectacles for all photo opportunities.
He said it's hardly the thing to
do, to carry the other fellow's election symbol on his noise. Vasu
laughed it off with his usual elan, saying if by chance he loses, they'd
have to look for the reasons right under his nose. |