Imagination

[Apologies - this is not much of a blog, is it? Just some occasional musings. Take it as you wish]

This week two prizes for imagination. One to His Excellency, Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka, for giving Mr Mervyn Silva (or is he Dr?) the portfolio of Deputy Media Minister. Maybe Mervyn is about to make amends for his assault on media personnel including the Rupavahini News Director in 2007. I don't suppose we are expecting him to close down all media like he did all taverns in his electorate. He has vowed to "protect journalists" maybe to achieve patron sainthood of some sort, now that he has an honorary doctorate and is a Honorable (?) Member of Parliament. His responsibility to protect could mean that he incarcerates all journalists and dictates their copy so that no known or unknown persons can attack them by barging into their offices or killing them at close range on the street. This could earn him one of my imagination prizes!

[For those who missed the 2007 drama check out http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/12/23031_space.html and if you can understand Sinhala try this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXjFf6aCLhY. You can read the body language even if you can't understand the commentary!]

The other prize for imaginative action (sans the cynicism of the first) goes to the National Transport Commission (NTC). In a surprising move, the NTC has taken a very imaginative initiative to provide transport to school children in some parts of the Eastern Province. Recognising that providing school buses was prohibitively expensive, they will soon be distributing free bicycles to school children. Maybe the RDA (Road Development Authority to the uninitiated) will take the hint and design roads with cycle lanes. There is hope for Sri Lanka yet!

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