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Not wrong after all
Cabinet spokesman Mangala Samaraweera got his words a little mixed up during last week's press briefing. He wanted to query why the LTTE was not coming for talks when the government has conceded almost all its demands but instead ended up saying "I wonder why they are not coming for talks when we have granted the JVP all its demands".

When the minister realised that he had made a slip of the tongue, he looked at his JVP colleague Anura Dissanayake who was seated next to him, sheepishly, and then went on to correct himself. He wasn't wrong after all about giving into all the JVP demands, anyway.

A latter-day centurion
Traffic blocks affect everyone including senior policemen but unlike others, they have the facility to call up extra men to clear the roads for them. In this case, a DIG who resides in Katugastota had experienced the hassle of traffic blocks recently and immediately called in 100 extra policemen to be put on duty along the road he travels.

The DIG had been stuck in a major traffic jam when he was approaching Kandy on the Gohagoda road and clearly angry he had summoned policemen from the Peradeniya, Katugastota as well as Kandy police stations to clear the block. However the expected results hadn't been forthcoming and the traffic blocks continue.

Positive thinking needed
Parliamentary staff members attended a seminar last week at a hotel down south. The seminar was on "positive thinking" intended to motivate the workers of the legislature.

With the present goings-on at the House by the Diyawanna, not only the staff but the whole country needs lessons in positive thinking. After all, there is more gloom than good news around.

The drama continues
The drama continues at the National television station Rupavahini and resulting in the resignation of the Director (News) last week. The problem cropped up when persons in the government's good books were hired at high salaries to work in the Corporation.

This prompted persons who are employed there on contract basis for several years to make representations to the Chairman. The top man had handed them a letter to be given to the Director General requesting that they be absorbed into the permanent cadre.

However when the Chairman's letter came to the DG, he had read it and thrown it into the waste paper basket shouting out what powers the Chairman had to give such an order. So there will definitely be more episodes to this drama in the next few weeks.

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