Kite string tangle!

Tuesday morning rescue mission!

Spotted this sweet carnivore trapped in a kite string tangle, in the backyard. Our family effort was just enough to keep him off the sun and we had to call Navy SEALs (Coconut plucker Nimal) to complete the mission. 

Navy Seals arrived after work and cleared the mission in a few minutes. 

I told this fella that I am not going to judge him by what he eats and set him free! 

Finally he decided to pose for a photograph! Showing his injured wing...  

Samandika Saparamadu 
22.07.15

Singapore and India finally found one thing, in common!

The internet has revolutionised the computer and communications world like never before. This global network connecting more than 190 countries and hundreds of millions of computers and devices creates a beautiful virtual environment for people to surf, search, research, get to know each other, meet people and to live in. Yes, to live in a computer-generated dream world. It sounds as if Lilly Wachowski’s (Formerly Andy Wachowski) dream in The Matrix (a computer-generated dream world) is coming true, doesn't it?

According to Internet Live statistics, there were more than 3.3 billion internet users (a person who has access to the internet at home) worldwide, in January 2016, representing more than 40% of global population. We will see how internet usage may affect human behaviours.

There has been a tug of war between the benefits and limitations of this powerful tool, and surprisingly psychiatrists over the last two decades have found more evidence to support the latter.

 

Internet addiction, cyber addiction, internet addiction disorder, problematic internet use or computer addiction is a serious and insidious concern worldwide. According to a research paper published in 2014, the second most cyber addicted country in the world is Singapore, and it is not surprising given that Singapore is a country with internet penetration of more than 80% (of the population) and handful of recreational activities given the vertical distribution of population structure. The country that tops the list of cyber addiction is India. It is quite shocking, isn't it? 54% of the population of India cannot survive for 12 hours without the internet, as per the research. Going off on a tangent: the research paper in question was published by an Indian research agency and it lacks good methodology and diagnostic criteria, which in turn makes it a poor tool to validate and generalise its results.

With many research findings in the literature we can safely assume that internet addiction (IA) is a growing concern in India, given India ranking high up on the list of the most internet-addicted countries in the world. 

IA is still not classified as a psychiatric disorder in "Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders" (DSM) of the US, instead it appears in section III of DSM 5 as a disorder that needs further study and research and which will be considered for inclusion in the main book as a formal disorder in the near future. Psychiatrists predict that the disorder will become equivalent to nicotine and alcohol addiction, and the disease burden could get worse, making it a psycho-social and economic burden in a few years down the pike.

Cyber addiction has a nice and a cohesive classification describing 5 main areas of addiction: cyber-sex addiction, cyber relationship addiction, net compulsion, information overload and computer addiction. As you all know there is nothing much to preach on cyber-sex addiction. Cyber relationship addiction has been found mostly among introverts, and it might be a spurious, non-scientific solution, if you are suffering an “Irish curse” or if you are over scrupulous of physical appearance. Net compulsion is about compulsive online gaming, gambling, stock trading, or the compulsive use of online auction sites including Amazon, eBay, etc.

You would not believe me, if I say that an average Singaporean gamer spends USD 250 per year across all platforms according to a survey carried out by “Touch Cyber Wellness”. Singapore’s total game revenue last year was USD 201.6 million, which in turn makes online gaming a million-dollar business, with "Clash of Clans” generating a turn over of USD 1.8 billion and "Candy Crush Saga" with generating USD 1 billion last year.

Well, these are not interesting facts found on Snapple caps! These are horrifying facts of people becoming human lab rats of a kind.

Information overload could be disastrous to family life and it is diagnosed by compulsive web surfing, leading to lower work productivity and fewer social interactions with family and friends. Computer addiction concentrates on offline computer and smart phone games addiction. Symptoms of addiction can vary from psychological symptoms and signs such as isolation, feelings of guilt, euphoria, falling behind with assignments, falling grades, low mood, anxiety, and withdrawal symptoms (in general), to somatic symptoms such as dry eyes, backaches, neck aches, sleep disturbances, weight loss and even carpal tunnel syndrome (symptoms of CTS).

Griffith’s components model, Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Criteria by 'Tao et al' are a few models which scientists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists and doctors use to diagnose internet addiction. Griffith’s criteria of internet addiction provide a good guideline to diagnose this to-be-listed disorder: preoccupation, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, conflict in life, etc. Young’s criteria of IA includes, 1. preoccupation with the internet, 2. the need to use the Internet for increasing amounts of time, 3. unsuccessful efforts to stop using the Internet, 4. mood change when attempting to stop or cut down on internet usage, 5. staying online longer than intended, 6. jeopardising of significant relationships or opportunities due to excessive internet usage, 7. lying about internet use, 8. using the internet as an escape from problems or seeking to relieve bad mood states. This has to be evaluated in the domain of 'non-work related' internet use. Addiction is thought to be present when a person reports experiencing five or more of the above eight criteria, for any given period of time, whereas in DSM, IA is diagnosed if criteria (5 out of 8) are present over 12 months period.

There is a general consensus that total abstinence from the internet should not be the goal of the interventions and that instead, abstinence from problematic applications and a controlled and balanced internet usage should be achieved, which is quite sensible.

Moreover, facing IA could be a challenge for a country like Sri Lanka, with internet penetration at less than 20% and extremely poor internet literacy rates. IA (in the  content of the detrimental effect it has on productivity and economic growth) could be an interesting topic for discussion for a developing country like ours, given the opportunities for expansion of usage and limitations of solid systems. In other words, Sri Lanka’s population growth is about 0.81% per annum whereas the growth of internet users is about 9% per year, which in turn predicts a steep growth in the number of and percentage of illiterate internet users, due to the lack of sensible and achievable policy changes and changes of infrastructure in education. However, increasing numbers of internet users at this rate and quality will open up thousands of opportunities for entrepreneurs while reducing productivity, which will ultimately endanger overall outcome, provided no intervention has been taken to intervene impending issues.

As Stanley Baldwin, British Conservative politician, three time Prime Minister and the man who dominated the United Kingdom government between the two World Wars said, "Power without responsibility, the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages”. Giving the power of using the internet without teaching ethics and ensuring literacy could encourage addiction as well as it could make people go blind on the difference between freedom of speech and freedom of hate speech.

Don't be afraid to seek professional support if you feel as if you are a victim of the internet. Always remember that the nature has been here for 4.5 billion years (if you believe evolution!), the modern form of human evolved about 200,000 years ago and we enjoyed our childhood at its best in 70s, 80s and 90s and it wasn’t with the internet. Thus, it was certainly more exciting and thrilling than posting a nude photo on snapchat, living in Instagram or waiting for the happy moment of "last seen to online to typing" on WhatsApp. After all, it’s all about you, your health and your happiness; so, give some thought to 'responsible use of the internet'.

Samandika Saparamadu

22/10/15

ISIS is creating an ‘Insecure Sphere for Individual Soul (isis)’liberty.

I am sure many of you must have already heard and seen recent events and terrorism promoted through ISIS. After watching the video which was released by the Islamic extremist organisation a couple of thoughts crossed my mind.

The definition of terrorism as per Oxford English dictionary is 'unofficial or unauthorised use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims; such practices used by a government or ruling group, in order to maintain its control over a population; such practices used by a clandestine or expatriate organisation as a means of furthering its aims'. But this definition has quite a few loop holes and FBI definition of international and domestic terrorism is more inclusive of religious extremism of all sorts including Islamic terrorism. Examples of organisations such as LTTE and BBS from Sri Lanka are vivid when it comes to international and domestic terrorism respectively.

Killing a human being is a crime both under federal law and as per the teachings of religions. Is how its done important? yes indeed, it tells the moral of the assassinator, brutal vibes, training, inception of execution, politics of the executor, tolerance and the will.

Please try to recall and compare a few historical incidents of civil wars, assassinations and torture chambers in Sri Lanka with this index case. Countless and well known LTTE mass murders and assassinations,  rape cases and massacres committed by SL army, and detention and torture chambers in Batalanda which involved a mass murder and was partly backed by Ranil Wickremesinghe, our incumbent prime minister and the SSP N Delgoda, who are said to be indirectly responsible for maintenance of unlawful detention houses at the Batalanda Housing Scheme. There had been a few evidence to testify these allegations against Mr RW and no conclusive evidence to set him free either. However it is not conclusive that RW is not guilty as well and the commission report is yet to be released, officially (trusted news sources say that the report is a good weapon against the prime minister all the time and it has even been used during the Air Lanka scandal of CBK!) 

This is a brief account of Sri Lanka’s state violence and LTTE terrorism, just to help everyone to reflect on what we see on the internet today through both ISIS and American press. These crimes that I mentioned above had taken place many years ago, either with a similar character or in the most brutal and agonising backgrounds in our own motherland, but then again the question is; is there a difference between these incidents? if yes what exactly it is? 

It has not been a politically sounded step to make those crimes public and air to be witnessed by the world, because most of them were categorised under ‘state terrorism’, then why LTTE after being a  terrorist organisation did not use it as a weapon? it is because the LTTE used its immaculate image in search of funding and they were looking for loopholes of the govt to prosecute leaders. The best example is the Channel 4 video. 

In this case ISIS which is another Islamic extremist terrorist organisation which is consolidating power in Islamic Caliphate, is trying to say something else to the world. Wait..!

In Sri Lanka we know many absurd news channels like Swarnawahini, Derana and Hiru TV which use human agony by the means of broadcasting tears, coffins, dead bodies in order to hold grounds in the competitive news arena and simply to capitalise the micro market in Sri Lanka. So as the ISIS. It uses these videos as a versatile tool to gain funds, intimidate people, to implant a fake imagination in people’s minds to convince them that it is unstoppable and to make people believe in terrorism and that it could be infuriating. The second use of these videos is the american press, even though it comes in the name of Islamism at times. These videos have been widely used by the US to justify and to defend their defensive and oppressive acts in different parts of the world.

So what can we do to prevent terrorism and to give a drop of relief to the humans who suffer in their native lands. The number of options that we can choose from, to support the oppressed are very limited since its extensive involvement in deep driven politics and economics but we can opt for the simplest change that everyone of us can do right now to make a simple but an important change. 

Sit down relax and start reading the world history of religions! Try to understand the instances that one religion could effectively bring peace to the entire world or at least a great majority of the population at a given point in time. You will soon realise that its an absolutely a null search result. 

Islamic and Catholic religions wrote the history with blood sheds with the only exception that Islamism beat the Catholic church to it, since killing of non-believers was not a part of it from its inception. Buddhism had it’s own ups and downs with blood sheds which were carried out in the name of the religion in order to secure relics just the way the Catholic empire did in Europe. Finally Hinduism and mythological wars and teachings in Rig Weda. These are just a couple of very superficial and arbitrary facts that I just tied together to get to one point. As you all know all the prophets and religious leaders/preachers did not promote violence and not at least non-violent civil disobedience, at the inception of every religion! Everything was written in the history by our hoi polloi because of the inherent nature of man to promote separatism while being a social being!

The scariest fact after all is, the spread of fake facts on religions, ethnicities and etc through social media in countries like ours where the Internet literacy is extremely poor. It was counted to be around 16% among the urban population (depending on the use of emails) in 2010. But now the use of the internet must be considerably high given the exposure to social media, but literacy is still very poor, indeed! When people get to read and listen to hate speech and evil propaganda with no idea on how to do proper fact checks and how to assess the reliability of sources they read from, it always works to the detriment of a country’s development and economy specially in countries like ours because of it’s beautiful inherent social convention of peace among different ethnic groups.

Another important thing is to stop propagation of terrorism and to make countries to hold their own federal laws against religious extremism without regulating freedom of speech and freedom of religion which is certainly an ambiguous area. Meanwhile we should be careful and smart enough to understand and avoid the traps of religious extremism that is omnipresent in our country in form of almost every religion, that sneaks in to our minds without our knowledge and understand that the most important religion is promoting equity and equality, securing life and dignity of human person, safe guarding rights of one another and solidarity. 

There are many people in every country who work tirelessly towards these goals, to enforce governments in decision making processes, for social justice and to promote human rights. Stop  being a type-worrier by sharing and posting on social media. Go, get involved in establishing processes, educate another human and make a change.

Getting back to the point: what we can do to make a small change right now? spread peace! I remember this verse which was written by the veteran Sri Lankan poet Mahagama Sekara, in his book "Prabuddha"

"If the war was created in the minds of people, cannot the peace also be created from and within the same place? Will we be able to build the ultimate society with war and atrocities?”

If you really want peace, work for justice! Help our dying and slowing down planet earth to breath without religious extremism.

Samandika Saparamadu

23/02/2015

Sri Lanka and Pakistan remain the poorest spenders on education in the region!

The right of education is enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948 as a Human Right. I quote below from the Article 26 of UDHR “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”

Government of Sri Lanka through Act, No. 21 of 1996 established the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in fraternisation with the UDHR and the Sri Lankan government is responsible for the maintenance and reinforcement of Human Rights in the country.Above proves that education is a basic human right and that higher education should be available on merit. Our governments were in concurrence to adhere to the above Declaration, but gradual choking of funds for free education and unnecessary compulsion in privatisation of education has led to a point where it could be termed as a violation of Human Rights.

The Private University concept was mooted in the late 1970s with the liberalised economy. It also takes us to the painful memories of the late 80s of the traumatic period when hundreds of young men were brutally killed. This saga of selling education has continued with eight attempts to form Private Medical Colleges during the last three decades. The lust for super profits by some unscrupulous local businessmen in exploiting private university education has led to recent controversies and malpractices.
 
This conflict became apparent with the release of the report of the five member committee which was appointed by the Hon. Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena “to look into the matters related to the Private Medical School (SAITM) at Malabe”, in March 2012. According to the Report, Malabe PMC was established in 2009 as a BOI (Board of Investment) project of a businessman, with no affiliation to Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy and without any formal approval of the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) and under the name South Asian Institute of Technology and Management (SAITM). In the very beginning, in defiance of the allegations of the SLMC and the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), SAITM kept on matriculating students for a degree program via propaganda which is not accepted by the SLMC and MOH.

This Institute promised its pupils a Medical degree (MD), without even being endowed with the basic prerequisites of a hospital with adequate patients, special facilities and a pool of qualified staff of adequate stature. This we consider a deliberate offence caused upon the students of the SAITM.

It is sad to find that some students who do not even have 3 simple (S) A/L passes are now studying at the SAITM. As it is mentioned in the report, the officials of the SAITM admitted that they had enrolled two students who did not meet the minimum SLMC eligibility criterion which is just 3“S” passes. This pathetic situation at the beginning signifies the magnitude of the issue of tomorrow. This affirms the validity of the allegations by the SLMC, GMOA and thousands of Medical students opposing the Malabe PMC.

A more shocking revelation is that the majority of the faculty staff serving the SAITM currently are foreign medical graduates who could not get through the Act 16 examination even after many attempts. These who have not passed Act 16 examination are, according to Sri Lankan standards not considered doctors. As students at the state Medical Colleges, we are shocked to witness this sinister attempt to devalue medical education and the medical profession in the country.

A profound controversy and a heated debate arose regarding the existence of the ERMP (Examination for Registration to Practice Medicine in Sri Lanka) or ACT 16 Examination with the emergence of PMC. It is unthinkable to come across paper advertisements of the Malabe PMC, on two Medical degrees. One is the twining programme where the candidate is supposed to come through the ERPM exam and the other is the SAITM medical degree where no Sri Lankan standard is required to practice medicine in the country.

To practise medicine in the US and in Australia medical graduates should pass the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) and AMC (Australian Medical Council) examinations respectively which even Sri Lankan graduates find difficult to pass. In the same way, any person of any nationality who wishes to practice in Sri Lanka should pass the ERPM exam. It is aimed exclusively to maintain the standards of medical practitioners of Sri Lanka.

Moreover, it has to be stated that foreign graduates who sit the Act 16 examination suffer a failure rate of nearly 80 percent. The amusing point is through a special gazette the Ministry of Higher Education has decreed that the PMC students need not sit for the Act 16 examination. This means, the category of the 80 percent students who failed Act 16 in the past will now be awarded medical degrees.

This means that Sri Lankans may be treated in the future by doctors who have not passed Act 16 examination or who have not competently qualified in Sri Lankan standards. If we passively allow this tragic legislation to take its natural course, the future of patients is anyone’s guess. So it is the responsibility of the intelligent reader to appreciate impending catastrophe.

Countries possessing high medical standards such as Cuba and New Zealand have rejected the PMC concept and in the UK and Australia, countries which earn enormous amounts of foreign exchange through education, have issued permits for only one and two PMCs respectively. The most important point is that the entry criteria for both government and state medical colleges remain the same, which in turn emphasises the commitment of those countries in maintaining the standards of their health care sectors.

But here in Sri Lanka, our relevant authorities proclaim that they are to issue permits for three more
PMCs, other than the current Malabe PMC. Moreover, reliable sources revealed that there are 15 more proposals pending in the pipeline. I would like to implore the government to explain the way this would serve our students and the masses.

The initial blow of all these is the drastic cut of funds for universities by the government which have resulted in the exodus of the qualified teaching staff from universities into private institutions because of the low salaries paid to them by state universities. Finally a gradual choking of the financial livelihood of state universities will result in a premeditated natural death of free medical education eventually.

Moreover, the five member committee report explicitly states the deception which was driven by the SAITM to circumvent the BOI, the SLMC and the MOH. This is an infraction of statute, deliberately carried out against its students and the masses with the sole purpose of accomplishing this particular business venture and of keeping the cash cow alive.

In this deceptive and unpatriotic ambiance perpetuated by the state allowing greedy businessmen to make more money, it is not an illusion for us to observe PMCs functioning under the auspices of the state and its bureaus. But it is astonishing to see our countrymen deceived by false propaganda by the state. At this crucial hour it is our patriotic entreaty that the government retracts this obnoxious legislation for the sake of the integrity and the perpetuation of the highest standards of our medical profession and for the safety of life of our countrymen.



Samandika Saparamadu
(From Daily Mirror in 2012)

Are you going to die at the age of 40?

Tens of millions of deaths in 2008 worldwide and 150 thousand deaths in Sri Lanka. A large proportion of these deaths occurred before the age of 60, so during the most productive period of life. It’s counting the number of silent bodies, in style.

I am attached to the social outcomes evaluation project of the University of New South Wales, Australia. With my professor [Name omitted], I visited two health promotion pilot areas of our research in [Name omitted] and [Name omitted] area, last week. I was stunned by the knowledge and attitudes of people. They didn’t know that physical exercise or active lifestyle is essential, for a healthy and a long life. But I guess that all dear readers who read this blog are well aware of it, aren’t you?

But, how many of you do put your knowledge in to practice every-day, or perhaps once a week?

Non-communicable diseases: Diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke and heart attacks have killed tens of millions of people every year, and a large proportion of these deaths occurred before the age of 60; during the most productive period of life.

According to “the Global economic burden of NCD” which was published in 2011, by the world economic forum and the Harvard school of Public health, Non-communicable diseases have been established as a clear threat not only to human health, but also to development and economic growth. Claiming 63% of all deaths, these diseases are currently the world’s main killer.

What does potentially lead to death? Is it the fault of your boss, your neighbour  your parents, your college, or your relatives? No my dear friends, it is yours...

Eighty percent of these deaths now occur in low- and middle-income countries. Half of those who die of chronic non-communicable diseases are in the prime of their productive years, and thus, the disability imposed and the lives lost are also endangering industry competitiveness across borders.

Over the next 20 years, NCDs will cost more than US$ 30 trillion, representing 48% of global GDP in 2010, and pushing millions of people below the poverty line. Mental health conditions alone will account for the loss of an additional US$ 16.1 trillion over this time span, with dramatic impact on productivity and quality of life.

A recent World Health Organization report underlines that population-based measures for reducing tobacco and harmful alcohol use, as well as unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, are estimated to cost US$ 2 billion per year for all low- and middle-income countries, which in fact translates to less than US$ 0.40 per person.

So what are we supposed to do? Don’t waste your time pondering; get started right now. It’s just your Dr. Diet and Dr. Exercise that is needed. Can’t you just spare 6 days per year, 24 hours per month, 6 hours per week or just 30 minutes per day for your own healthy life? I don’t think that anyone in the world would have an excuse for just 30 minutes a day. Be careful of your decades old joints and wear a knee guard and a comfortable pair of shoes and get on to the running track nearby your house or on to the main road. Start jogging or brisk walking. Or else if you prefer doing it at home, please go ahead and use your treadmill.

When you do your exercises please remember a few facts. Always pay attention to the gradual building up of the tone of the body with warm up exercises and stretching and then go in to your standard schedule. Once you have finished your schedule do some stretching and warm down before you sleep.

If the first step is taken, the rest of the story is at home. It’s all about how you eat! Can you reduce the amount of salt you put in to curries by half? Can you reduce the number of snacks and oily foods you eat by half? Can you start tasting a tea in the morning and afternoon without sugar? if you cannot start with a low sugar tea. If you are able to tolerate this list so far, trust me, you are through, but even if you don’t like it you may have to do it for the sake of your own health.

The current strategy of NCD prevention is driven through the concept of “Health promotion”. It’s all about coaxing and empowering people to actively think about their own health.

Are you empowered to get rid of this burden of NCD from your precious life? And are you encouraged to introduce this to your close family members and your partner, provided that you really want to make them live longer as you do? Are you motivated to engage in physical exercises at least for thirty minutes a day? Are you determined to modify your diet?

It is all about you and your family. The decision is yours.

Samandika Saparamadu

RIP Ana!

17th of April, 2014 marks the end of a legend of all time.

It is with great regret that I post this as a tribute to this inimitable personality, investment guru, eloquent speaker with aplomb, astrologer, charter member of many societies and clubs in the country and my beloved friend who always raised his voice and did not hesitate to put pen to paper against infringement, maleficence and discrimination.

I would never forget those wonderful memories of you; especially the good times we had with late night discussions, arguments and conversations at the Colombo Club, Capri club and almost everywhere in the city. All the books that you lent and gifted me will be a loving memory of you always!

 We hung up our last phone conversation with the hope of meeting on the 22nd of April, but…

 Ananda Chittambalam, a worthy son of the land, may your soul rest in peace!

The decay of education in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan education system is run by (mob) three super-stars! 

1) Minister of higher education is a former students’ union leader who betrayed all the student activists of the country. Both the Minister and his son were drooling over the documentary about Dr. Neville Fernando’s Private Medical College (PMC), SAITM, which was produced by my friend’s Media Company and used to call them on every morning and evening until it was ready! He wrecked the system to safeguard Neville’s almighty dollar with the certain hope of laundering his money which he has already done. 

2) Minister of education, doesn't even know how to hold a meeting, talk to people and he neglects important meetings. He has narcolepsy and sleeps while giving away the awards at ceremonies. He is a former tuition master and taking cognizance of his own past he closed the deal of the age-old bill which was proposed to prohibit tuition classes on Sundays. 

3) Finally the deputy Minister, (a veteran member of my own club) the owner of the largest International school network of the country, (even though he is resigned from his designations) that will be a conglomerate in the near future with new additions of his son’s business ventures.

Are we Sri Lankans so desperate to appoint a man with a conflict of interest as an authority of education? Or is it a part of the master plan of Rajapaksa Regime in creating a bogged down public education system?