Saturday, April 12, 2008
Poem: Power Struggle
Power Struggle
Human greed knows no boundary
You swim with the sharks or they wallop
you, skeletons and all.
It’s no use helping them to survive
by giving them money.
**
If you were to be a deva from Heaven
and you have unlimited blocks of gold
each the size of the bricks at the construction site
and every second you give this shameless man
one billion U.S dollars.
At the end of the 365th day
he would say : Ha, Ha, where has all the money gone ?
In broken English
He asks: How come all the money gone ?
Mr. So & So took them
Call in the police,
I want a through investigation
wake up, good citizens of the world.
Which are the devils deserving help?
Satans or Maras ?
**
Can’t you sense the dangers
With these evil assholes?
Whose faces are painted with all the malicious deeds
they intend to carry out ?
They are stress-ridden, and blood-thirsty
They are jealous of others’ progress
Yet they are unwilling to move to a better place
Even if the place is freely allocated to them.
Do you still want to help?
**
The frog tells the Grand eagle:
Please drop me back to the pond
That’s my place
Otherwise
Why do all the saints live in the caves?
End
Copyright © 2004 by Poh Tiong Ho
Human greed knows no boundary
You swim with the sharks or they wallop
you, skeletons and all.
It’s no use helping them to survive
by giving them money.
**
If you were to be a deva from Heaven
and you have unlimited blocks of gold
each the size of the bricks at the construction site
and every second you give this shameless man
one billion U.S dollars.
At the end of the 365th day
he would say : Ha, Ha, where has all the money gone ?
In broken English
He asks: How come all the money gone ?
Mr. So & So took them
Call in the police,
I want a through investigation
wake up, good citizens of the world.
Which are the devils deserving help?
Satans or Maras ?
**
Can’t you sense the dangers
With these evil assholes?
Whose faces are painted with all the malicious deeds
they intend to carry out ?
They are stress-ridden, and blood-thirsty
They are jealous of others’ progress
Yet they are unwilling to move to a better place
Even if the place is freely allocated to them.
Do you still want to help?
**
The frog tells the Grand eagle:
Please drop me back to the pond
That’s my place
Otherwise
Why do all the saints live in the caves?
End
Copyright © 2004 by Poh Tiong Ho
Protecting our environment
Global warming has only been taken seriously recently. It is indeed a good sign though whether or not the countries participating will be able to come out with something concrete and sincerely put it into practice is another matter. Nature has its own way of protecting the earth. For examples trees can grow readily on land and also in the seas. But the humans destroy these trees or prevent other trees from having the chance to grow.
Forest destruction
Extraction of timber can be excused if proper care is taken to see that other trees have the chance to grow. The trees we need can actually be planted. They grow readily and within ten years would be useful for commercial purposes. Wanton destruction of trees by burning and other means are most objectionable and no one can do anything except the governments of the countries concerned. Another cause of destruction is by mentally unsound people. During the dry seasons, these people enjoy seeing huge fires and they set alight the forest and other agricultural lands (not their own lands) for fun. Some companies also burn the areas they want to grow crops because this is the cheapest way of preparing lands for cultivation.
Effluent
In most countries, the effluent that is drained into public places, drains, rivers, seas etc must not contain more than 15 ppm of oil. It is very expensive to stick to this target. But the resulting fines would definitely be more expensive.
Your company may be able to get away with it at the moment because of the existing corrupt governments. But how do you make sure the next government will be just as corrupt? Don’t you think an incorruptible government may be elected next? By then, the fines will be many times more expensive than the expenses you have to spend on treating the effluent properly before dumping it into the sea.
(Shouldn’t the governments reward people who come forward to report abused cases?)
According to a Smithsonian Institution report, in 1995 alone, 363 millions gallons of used oils ended up in the oceans as run-of from land, municipal or industrial areas. In a polluted river, the water is smelly and discoloured. When oil enters a slow moving river, it forms a rainbow-coloured film over the surface. This layer prevents oxygen from entering the water, killing the animals in the river. Even birds are affected. The feathers of water birds can be contaminated and when they preen, the oil enters the gut, thus killing them.
It does not take a specialist to confirm a biologically dead river. Just stand at the river mouth, facing the sea. Can you see trees or creatures three hundred meters from your left and right?
Oil pollution disrupts sea and shore life for thousands of miles in Asia. The beautiful coral reefs and mangroves, once existed at those areas are gone. Didn’t they have a chance to exist too?
Sanitation
In the developing countries, this is the most neglected topic. Workers are expected to excrete and urinate in the wood. For hygienic and safety reasons, when there are less than 50 male workers in the yard, the following are needed:
Water closet (2) Urinal (3) Wash basin (3)
The number of water closets, urinals, and wash basins must be increased proportionately as the number of workers increases. There must be 24 hour supply of water in the toilets and the toilet facilities must be cleaned daily.
Litter
Litter must be removed from the yard and residential areas once in the morning and once in the evening. The litter must be dumped at designated dumping ground.
Pest control
Mosquitoes and houseflies must be fogged at least once every month. Stagnant pools of water must be removed immediately.
Cats and dogs must not be allowed to run around in residential and industrial areas or to breed there. One male and one female flea can multiply to 1000000 fleas within 100 days.
Grit-Blasting
During grit-blasting, some portions of the steels actually turn into powder. This powder can travel up to 100 metres or farther depending on the speed and direction of the wind. It is no use putting up canvas 8 feet high in the form of a fence, giving the workers that false impression of safety. It is best done at night, when majority of the workers are off-duty, if a confined space is too expensive to erect. When the metal powders go into the lungs, there is no way to get them out. Though the results will only be noted many years later, the workers and the victims can still sue the employers if the evidences are available and the lawyers who are well-versed in this field are willing to take up the cases.
As the average education of the workers, and those residents living nearby, grows higher, the day will come when many of them will be able to sue the employers or contractors, for damages like noise-induced hearing loss, and occupational loss of eyesight, lung cancer, welders’ diseases etc. The subsequent compensation claims could be very high. Moreover, by protecting the environment, you will minimize or avoid the environmental liabilities many of which may carry civil or criminal penalties in future as the governments of the countries you are working in become more and more transparent every day.
A healthy earth will surely result in more healthy humans. How many more years do we have to wait to see some concrete projects being put into practice?
(End)
Forest destruction
Extraction of timber can be excused if proper care is taken to see that other trees have the chance to grow. The trees we need can actually be planted. They grow readily and within ten years would be useful for commercial purposes. Wanton destruction of trees by burning and other means are most objectionable and no one can do anything except the governments of the countries concerned. Another cause of destruction is by mentally unsound people. During the dry seasons, these people enjoy seeing huge fires and they set alight the forest and other agricultural lands (not their own lands) for fun. Some companies also burn the areas they want to grow crops because this is the cheapest way of preparing lands for cultivation.
Effluent
In most countries, the effluent that is drained into public places, drains, rivers, seas etc must not contain more than 15 ppm of oil. It is very expensive to stick to this target. But the resulting fines would definitely be more expensive.
Your company may be able to get away with it at the moment because of the existing corrupt governments. But how do you make sure the next government will be just as corrupt? Don’t you think an incorruptible government may be elected next? By then, the fines will be many times more expensive than the expenses you have to spend on treating the effluent properly before dumping it into the sea.
(Shouldn’t the governments reward people who come forward to report abused cases?)
According to a Smithsonian Institution report, in 1995 alone, 363 millions gallons of used oils ended up in the oceans as run-of from land, municipal or industrial areas. In a polluted river, the water is smelly and discoloured. When oil enters a slow moving river, it forms a rainbow-coloured film over the surface. This layer prevents oxygen from entering the water, killing the animals in the river. Even birds are affected. The feathers of water birds can be contaminated and when they preen, the oil enters the gut, thus killing them.
It does not take a specialist to confirm a biologically dead river. Just stand at the river mouth, facing the sea. Can you see trees or creatures three hundred meters from your left and right?
Oil pollution disrupts sea and shore life for thousands of miles in Asia. The beautiful coral reefs and mangroves, once existed at those areas are gone. Didn’t they have a chance to exist too?
Sanitation
In the developing countries, this is the most neglected topic. Workers are expected to excrete and urinate in the wood. For hygienic and safety reasons, when there are less than 50 male workers in the yard, the following are needed:
Water closet (2) Urinal (3) Wash basin (3)
The number of water closets, urinals, and wash basins must be increased proportionately as the number of workers increases. There must be 24 hour supply of water in the toilets and the toilet facilities must be cleaned daily.
Litter
Litter must be removed from the yard and residential areas once in the morning and once in the evening. The litter must be dumped at designated dumping ground.
Pest control
Mosquitoes and houseflies must be fogged at least once every month. Stagnant pools of water must be removed immediately.
Cats and dogs must not be allowed to run around in residential and industrial areas or to breed there. One male and one female flea can multiply to 1000000 fleas within 100 days.
Grit-Blasting
During grit-blasting, some portions of the steels actually turn into powder. This powder can travel up to 100 metres or farther depending on the speed and direction of the wind. It is no use putting up canvas 8 feet high in the form of a fence, giving the workers that false impression of safety. It is best done at night, when majority of the workers are off-duty, if a confined space is too expensive to erect. When the metal powders go into the lungs, there is no way to get them out. Though the results will only be noted many years later, the workers and the victims can still sue the employers if the evidences are available and the lawyers who are well-versed in this field are willing to take up the cases.
As the average education of the workers, and those residents living nearby, grows higher, the day will come when many of them will be able to sue the employers or contractors, for damages like noise-induced hearing loss, and occupational loss of eyesight, lung cancer, welders’ diseases etc. The subsequent compensation claims could be very high. Moreover, by protecting the environment, you will minimize or avoid the environmental liabilities many of which may carry civil or criminal penalties in future as the governments of the countries you are working in become more and more transparent every day.
A healthy earth will surely result in more healthy humans. How many more years do we have to wait to see some concrete projects being put into practice?
(End)
