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Seafaring Sam has it all !
Some officers in the armed forces appear to have mastered the fine art of arranging foreign courses tailor made for them.

This story is about one who has been reporting more for a foreign military official than to his bosses. The sea farer, a close relative of those responsible for many a multi million dollar deal, saw the potential in a year-long course.

When the offer of the course arrived at the Ministry dealing with the subject, it turned out that it was the turn of those who fly. In fact, no one from that organization had gone on that course for almost two decades.

Even bosses in the Ministry conceded it was their fair turn. But soon they discovered that was a hitch. There was an unusual requirement, one that had not been spelt out before. It said that the applicant must have followed a staff college course in a western country.

Many did their home work and found out the answer. Only the seafaring Sam, as they called him, had all the required qualifications. Ministry boys are now in a dither what to do when such manipulation goes on. One insider said they will raise issue with the country concerned.

A language task force?
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga forwarded to Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe a proposal last week. The seven-page document was headlined "A partnership of all parties for the pursuit of peace, democracy, good governance and the development of vital infrastructure facilities in Sri Lanka."

If that is accepted, it will no doubt be a milestone in Sri Lanka's political history. That it will bring peace among political parties in the pursuit of peace, stop murders and prevent war is indeed good news for all Sri Lankans.

Yet, one is not too sure whether it would lead to some forms of murder, I mean proverbial ones like murdering the queen. Page one which is a lengthy preamble says in item 4: “To co-orporate and ensure the vital...”

Page two of the document that deals with peace talks about the setting up of a Joint Peace Council (JPC) "co-chaired by the President and the Prime Minister to oversea and manage the overall Peace Process….."

A paragraph later, on the same subject, this is what is stated: "JPC will form various technical committees compromising of non political experts….."

The word co-orporate should have read co-operate. What does oversea mean? The word should have been oversee. It was not compromising but comprising. Evidently the Presidential Secretariat is short of stenos with knowledge of English and common sense. The other day one of them sent off a letter to The Financial Times.

It was a contradiction over a story about the LTTE build up in Trincomalee. There was no date on it. It won't be a bad idea to have a Presidential Task Force to sort these problems out first.

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