Odds & Ends

At the height of its ignominy the former National Intelligence Bureau was derided as the No Intelligence Bureau by the whole country. Its present day successor the State Intelligence Service too is fast acquiring a notoriety for being caught napping. Though so much resource is wasted by the political bosses to keep tabs on their political opponents rather than the real enemies of the country, yet till Wijeyadasa Rajapakse crossed the floor of the House on Wednesday our sleuths were clueless. So no wonder the LTTE was easily able to spread its tentacles in the Deep South and stage the devastating attack on the Anuradhapura air base, because our spooks were sleeping.

While the whole country was watching with bated breath the evolving political drama this week, it was not without its own moments of hilarity. One cheeky reporter phoned an official in the personal staff of a top minister and asked whether it was true that his boss too was crossing over to the opposition and the official equal to the task without batting an eye lid replied ‘yes’. The reporter thinking that he had hit the jackpot followed it up with the question: ‘who else is crossing over with the Premier?’ The knock out punch, which floored the scribe came without even a hint: ‘Don’t tell anyone, the President is crossing over with him.’

Enticements offered to potential defectors is not limited to cash handouts running to as much as Rs.50 million as announced in Parliament by a monk of the JHU. What had not been made public is the offer of a diplomatic post in a Buddhist country. So DPL monks could be the newest creation of politics.

Business sharks who recently ventured into the health sector to make killings are said to be going overboard to increase their bottom line. One shark is sending canvassers around the country to visit private medical practitioners offering massive commissions for referring patients to the hospital. So folks don’t be surprised suddenly if your doc decides you need to undergo a whole heap of tests. It is as much as a 20 per cent kick back in cash to a doc’s doorstep, we are told.

The Government rebels who had the patronage of an ex-queen are now left to battle-on on their own, for those close to the great dame says she will not be back till next year.But then a little bird whispers that with modern communications she could yet be directing operations. Who says ‘out of sight out of mind’?