The Island Opinion Friday 16th September, 2011 9 Minister of PR makes and breaks laws ood title for a front tion of such laws, not indi- page news item viduals, least of all strong G“Mervyn’s law of armed Ministers of State. the jungle rescues ani- Also, how do we mals from sacrifice?” know for sure the animals (The Island Wednesday were for sacrifice? The 14th) captive animals did not tell How dare he? the rampaging animals Insensitive to the core! that, nor were they brand- Chandi, perali good ed thus. Munneswaram deeds! Fostering racial Kovil has indulged in ani- and religious disunity. mal sacrifice, it being a That is not, repeat not, Hindu tradition or whatev- Buddhist metta nor a er, but it is not for you, me decent move. This is day- or a Minister of State to light robbery. A law unto compound their crime himself and unchal- with a crime of our own. e are now faced with a shortage Vidyajothi Gamunu Silva. Gemunu is lenged. This Minister is a govern- of rain in the catchment areas based somewhere in Anuradhapura. We Mervyn These were the ment unto himself, law- Wof all our reservoirs. Has any- also have the resources in the form of thoughts that clouded my maker/lawbreaker, and one given thought to the seeding of aircraft and anti aircraft guns. One Why not mind on reading that Minister Mervyn also a strange mix now of ruthless man clouds in those areas? Cloud seeding is problem with cloud seeding is that the Silva in charge of Public Relations, and animal friend. not a new idea. But it was effectively growth of rain clouds could result in with his goons the Kelaniya Pradeshiya End result is that sensible people used by the Chinese in 2008 before the major rain storms in places other than Sabha members, stormed the will fault him and he, with this pre- Olympics to clear the air pollution. the catchment areas. For that the winds Munneswaram Kovil in Chilaw and car- sumptuous act has done more harm During the Vietnam War, the Americans aloft should be monitored and clouds ried away more than 1000 animals and than good. He has fostered the festering used seeding of the monsoon clouds in try cloud seeded accordingly. If our deposited them in a government farm. of the wound of discrimination some ‘Operation Popeye’ to ‘make mud not Meteorological Department lacks the The news item goes on to say ethnic groups are subject to. At this war’. technology, we could request Sri Lankan that people ‘congratulated’ him – trust particular moment in time, we Sri Rain drops form around small parti- Airlines for accurate, satellite data our senseless people. (Remember how a Lankans must be extra careful, extra cles of dust and smoke called Nuclei. they have access to every day. ‘plane hijacker was hero worshipped by vigilant since the world looks on us as Cloud seeding is a process by which seeding? It is the tail end of the South West our kinsmen down South). The news violators of human rights. We need to more nuclei are added to a cloud to Monsoon. The winds, after traversing item also notes there is a law against step cautiously, not bulldoze into sensi- stimulate growth and if properly done many miles over the Indian Ocean, animal sacrifice. So we should let the tive situations with sharp ethnic will be of great benefit The common started raining in Colombo. This was bring in lots of moisture over the law take its course; government is divides. material used are Dry Ice and Silver due to the extra nuclei produced in the Island. We feel the humidity day and responsible for expediting the execu- Iodide which has to be sprayed from the form of smoke particles from night . All we need to do is to add more Concerned woman air or fired into the cloud by anti air- Kollonawa. Nuclei to the clouds. The time has come craft guns. Ground smoke generators I remember many years ago Group to help Mother Nature to produce the can also be used. Remember the LTTE Capt. Herbie Marasinghe and his team much needed rain. I am sure China attack of the fuel tanks in Kollonawa? from the Sri Lanka Air Force conducted also will help. Cloud seeding is worth a The fuel tanks started burning early in some research on ‘Rain Making”. try. Another member of the team was Guwan Seeya How ‘nikang bo’ the morning. In about fifteen hours it became Negombo! here is no doubt that Sri Lanka middle order batsmen. complete lack of concentration, even Cricket at present is in the dol- Romesh Ratnayake was one of the when they had to save the team from Tdrums. For a start ,the SLC best fast bowlers produced by Sri defeat. Even the batsmen lower down t a friendly Cricket Board (SLCCB) should make an Lanka. As a student of the game, a past the order, did not attempt to play a sup- gathering of in depth study of the causes of the Club Cricketer and Manager of portive role to Angelo Mathew, when he Athe Lankan recent poor performances of our Sri Lankan Cricket teams, I would was the only recognised batsmen left. expatriates in Riyadh Cricketers and find solutions without like to make my own observations The Captain Dilshan himself should the talking point was delay. Fortunately SLCCB has an array regarding the present impasse. With play with more responsibility, instead of the topic of the day of past Cricketers of distinction, who regard to the under performance of throwing his bat around as if playing in back home; renaming I am sure would be able to guide some of most of our batsmen in the current a of roads and streets. the talented Cricketers who appear to Test series, one of the reasons was the T. 20 match. Both Dilshan and Then to add some have lost their way when playing in the lack of application and concentration, Paranawithana have been vulnerable to humour to the serious big league. Any Cricket Board would and not being mentally tuned towards a the moving ball. In my opinion, Dilshan discussion, which was have been proud to have in its ranks, long stay at the wicket. The manner in shouild play down the order and either going on, one partici- past Cricketers of the calibre of which many of the top line batsmen Lahiru Tirimanne or Mahela should pant asked whether Michael Tissera, excluding Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar open the batting. Angelo Mathew must anyone knew how the Negombo Anura Tennakoon, Dulip Mendis, Sangakkara and play higher up the order. He is definitely name Negombo came Sidath Wettimuny, Marvan Atapattu, Angelo Mathew virtually threw away a better batsman than Wicket keeper into being. Seeing no response coming is Dickmans Road being named as Romesh Ratanayake etc. While Sidath their wickets at crucial stages of the Jayawardena. All the Cricketers who from anybody, he started relating, what long a name as Dr. Lester James Pieris Wettimuny and Marcvan Atapattu game, mainly by flashing their bats at have problems as indicated above he called his side of the ‘history’. He Mawatha, In some cases we find even were outstanding opening batsmen, balls wide oitside the offstump, should take a lesson from our World said a white man landed in the coastal the envelope is not long enough to Michael Tissera, Anura Tennakoon and or at balls too close to the off stump, Cup winning Captain.Arjuna town of Meegamuwa and wondered write the full street name. Thank god, Dulip Mendis were eqully oustanding not once but many times, showed a Ranatunga In the late 1990’s when what the name of the place was. He for the e-mail and SMS services which Arjuna was under performing with the walked up to a woman standing at her have effectively reduced the depend- bat he went to his School Coach Lionel door step with a dog. He asked her in ence on the good old postal system, Mendis, for advice. Soon after he English ‘what is the name of this which looks almost obsolete at pres- received the necessary advise from town?’ The woman did not know any ent. Lionel Mendis, we saw Arjuna at his English but seeing the stranger her Have a look at your passport and Sri Lanka Cricket dog started barking. The frightened see how long our country’s name is? It best in subsequent matches. I think Dilshan and others who are not per- white man tried to withdraw but the runs from one end to the other; forming as they should,must learn a les- woman persuaded him saying ‘nikang ‘Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri son from Arjuna. Meanwhile the emi- bo’ – meaning it only barks but doesn’t Lanka’! Why not just Sri Lanka, like - The Way Forward nent past Cricketers mentioned bite. The white man thought that she is any other country? During the time of above should put their heads responding to his question he asked cold war, we had three power blocks; together and guide Sri Lanka her and said ‘Oh I see, this is the right aligned to the US, the left Cricket towards the place it Negombo!’ and that is how the town aligned to the Soviet Union and the rightly deserves in World came to be known from then on! We all neutral group known as the non- Cricket. Finally I would sug- had a hearty laugh and forgot even the aligned.