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June 28 West Must Follow Singapore Example to Check Spread of H1N1I am neither a big optimist nor a soothsayer. Still, in a post here on May 1, I appear to have very wildly predicted that "the swine flu will soon fade away". How wrong I was can be gauged from the staggering statistics on the spread of the H1N1 virus!
The U.S. has more than a million people stricken with the virus and the U.K. almost 4,000 -- serious enough to merit attention despite the wide gulf between the two countries. While it orignated in Mexico, it is being rapidly exported to the world by the U.S., the U.K. and other countries in Europe (as well as Australia), no thanks to their laxity in tackling it. More than 75 countries are now affected, with deaths mostly confined to the West. It now even appears that the world will have to live with the swine flu for long, if its rapid spread is any yardstick.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was thus right in declaring H1N1 a pandemic. The advanced Western world thus became home to the century's first pandemic. Ironically, this came about even as the racist West believed that such a deadly flu can only happen in Asia and poor countries in the rest of the world!
The developed world, with all its misplaced focus on individual freedom, does not have the ability or the inclination to handle such emergencies. They are keen on only evolving processes, not implementing them. Importantly, they are not vigilant in keeping affected people quarantined within their countries. This lack of efficiency and a sense of social responsibility are causing pain to the rest of the world. All cases reported in India so far have been from infected people arriving from the U.S. The virus came to Singapore shores through travellers from the U.S., Europe and Australia. And the first thing that these socially irresponsible people generally do is visit pubs and shopping malls, thereby making it difficult for the authorities to keep its spread under check.
Singapore is doing all it can to miniimize the impact -- thermal scanners installed at airports automatically detect those with the flu symptoms without putting passengers into any inconvenience, quarantine centres have been opened to isolate the infected and rigid checks are made at hospitals and pubs. I have not heard about such stringent measures being implemented in the U.S., England or Australia. Singaporeans returning from affected countries are advised to stay at home for a week before they venture out, even if they show no flu symptoms.
Durring my visit to Chennai last week, all passengers were made to complete a declaration form and subjected to a manual fever check. By installing a thermal scanner, they could have easily overcome this hassle. No such checks were noticed at any of the medical centres I visited there. If the virus starts to spread in such densely populated countries such as India, the consequences can be dreadful.
The world has to follow the Singapore example if it is serious about tackling the swine flu.
--G Joslin Vethakumar
June 26 From Thriller to ShockerMichael Jackson’s Sudden, Sad Death Leaves the Pop World in Grief There was one joke of a concert that I reviewed for The Hindu in December 1989. It was by one of the legions of Michael Jackson lookalikes trying to capitalize on the popularity of the King of Pop. Dubbed “Jacksonmania” and featuring Nebraska Brice from New York, it was aimed at recreating the magic that made the “Beat It” boy a chart-topping pop megastar. The joke was that there was no on-stage singing as Brice was only dancing to the original score of Michael Jackson, who died of a sudden cardiac arrest in Los Angeles yesterday, plunging the pop world into mourning. Brice was not the only Jackson lookalike at the Royapettah YMCA grounds in Chennai that day. There were scores of pop buffs draped like Jackson among the audience. This was a phenomenon noticed at all of Jackson’s concerts worldwide, something that was comparable to the fan following of Elvis Presley. I am no big fan of Michael Jackson, but I will be lying if I say I ignored his music. Also, there can be no question he was an entertainer nonpareil. He could hold his audiences in a thrall with his energetic presence on the stage marked by high-decibel numbers, jazzy costumes, controlled footwork and bouncy acrobatics. He was no one-song wonder and his phenomenal success is no fluke – his “Thriller” is the best-selling album of all time with over 100 million copies sold. He was an inspiration to many in the world of entertainment. There are dancers and dance masters even in India who shot into fame in films by aping Michael Jackson. The glare of publicity meant his every step was closely monitored which is a shame -- the price one has to pay for fame. His eccentricities and aberrations also cost him dear, almost bankrupting him. It is a pity that the end came just two weeks before his “curtain call” tour which was slated to begin in London next month. It could have replenished his sagging finances and saved him some stress (a plausible reason for his untimely death). But life and death are not something we can script the way we want them. Michael Jackson thrilled his fans with foot-tapping numbers, but now he has shocked them with his sudden death. G Joslin Vethakumar June 16 Winning is Secondary to Gracious BehaviourIndian Fans Show Their Ugly Side in England
Winning hearts is more important than winning matches. No country will like to be saddled with a double whammy -- getting booted out of the World Cup and then drawing flak for exuberant, emotional behaviour by fans booing the rivals. This is what happened to India in the World cricket 20/20 championship now under way in England. It is not the loss to England that has riled me, I find the behaviour of the Indian fans there more irksome.
English skipper Collingwood has been quoted as saying that his team was driven by the booing they received on their own soil by the Indian fans. This is not a happy augury. Winning is secondary to gracious behaviour in a civilised world that should have no room for insularity and jingoism. Let's not confuse this with patriotism.
I will also like my favourite team to win, but that does not give me the right to mock at rivals. As the booing occurred in England, it is evident that it was by an educated, well-bred bunch who can be expected to be more civilised and good-natured. This is typical juvenile behaviour. Other than griping about it, there is nothing else we can do!
On the defeat itself, the blame has already been put squarely on Dhoni for making inane batting order changes. In a crucial match, it is puerile to take needless risks such as sending Jadeja ahead of in-form Yuvaraj. That poor decision cost India six overs, proving to be too much of a gamble in a 20-over match. An overconfident Dhoni was just hoping for a fluke performance by a junior player, thereby underestimating the bowling strengths of England. Calculated, sensible risks are welcome, but not by undermining the opposition and ignoring the proven abilities of a batsman who could have turned out to be a match-winner. Dhony himself was not able to measure up to the task, with no sixes coming from him when they were what that were needed.
And we all thought only young players had the ability to strike sixes! The IPL showed that veteran stars like Gilchrist, Hayden and Symonds were able to do that with finesse. Neither of them was in the Australian squad that had to face an ignominious early exit.
In a highly competitive world, losing should not unsettle us. Both the team and its fans should take it in their stride and help salvage some pride for the country with a gentler approach.
-- G Joslin Vethakumar June 05 Time to Dub U.S. a Terror State....?In its anxiety to project itself as a righteous nation with the moral authority to police the world, the U.S. often fails to realize that it is one of the biggest sponsors of terrorism. The last few days it has been caught in a hopeless dilemma on whether to put North Korea back in its list of terror states following a string of nuclear tests in the communist nation.
But who will put the U.S. in such a list? After all, who can deny its partnership with Pakistan is selfishly suspect? How can any nation opposed to terrorism openly hold hands with Pakistan, the world's biggest patron of terror? Pumping billions of dollars into Pakistan even as American giants are slumping into bankruptcy in the hope that the South Asian country spreading terror worldwide will come clean is tantamount to living in a fool's paradise.
Earlier this week, a Pakistani court freed Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed who was linked to the Mumbai explosions. But is the U.S. bothered? Its sole aim is to ensure that terrorism does not enter U.S. shores again. So what if its consorts continue to hound India?
To me, the U.S. must find a place in a global list of terror states!
-- G Joslin Vethakumar |
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