Think about it

Contaminated ice
 

 

By Jun Velasco

 

 

WE were figuring if the President did right in declaring a state of national emergency at the height of the nation’s observance of Edsa’s 20th year anniversary.

It is ironic that the President, a product of  People Power  and  direct democracy  would take  drastic steps  to  “tame” democracy  which is  getting out of hand.

There would be a collision of views and opinions on the propriety of her action or the need to unleash “total measures” which could be another form of martial law.

But didn’t we ask for it when we made the situation chaotic?
In these confusing times, we remember the view of a great political thinker, Walter Lippman, who gives the president of a nation the right to decide what’s best for the constituency given his or her unique access to information.

The political ecstasy that was Edsa l986 is past.  What matters now is to move the nation to its rightful place in the sun – not through an outburst of emotions but in a planned, methodical and disciplined manner.

It  maybe best to seize the moment  with a resolve to spur us to work hard, fight our  weaknesses,  and  look for a common ground that would reunite and push the country to new levels of progress.

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Back to routine existence, writer Jullie Y. Daza makes this shocking discovery.
Here’s Jullie: “Where does the ice in your iced tea come from?

When a CNN reporter asked the question on a segment of the Anderson Cooper show last week, my stomach churned even before I could guess the answer.

The reporter took samples of iced cubes from five fast food outlets in five cities in the U.S. including Chicago. Los Angeles and New York and only one outlet in one city (NY) passed the test. The rest showed contamination by bacteria (yikes!) and fecal matter (double yikes!). The outlets are all global brands that are as familiar to you as they are familiar to your driver, barber, and children.

Where does the ice in your iced tea or Coke or Sprite come from when you order a cold drink in some restaurant or eatery? Do you know? Do our health authorities know, do the people in the city hall who issue licenses and permits?

The CNN report said it would be safe to assume that water in the toilet is cleaner than some source of ice cold  water and  dispensed in the most popular outlets. Dirty water or dirty hands may be the culprit, but it’s a riddle that nobody bothers to bring up and, therefore, nobody bothers to try to solve.

If it can happen in America, it can happen in the Philippines, global brands or not. Since my daughter and I saw that episode, we have forsworn drinking iced tea in commercial establishments. A laboratory technician interviewed by CNN said there was only one thing she could advise viewers to do: Enjoy your drinks at room temperature, without the ice.

Owners of food shops can do their share by training waiters/waitresses to wear gloves and never to use their dirty hands to scoop up ice when serving to customers. They should learn how to wash their hands “up to their elbows” after using the bathroom, etcetera, etcetera. And when no one is looking, they should be just as clean and conscientious.

Talking about this eye opener with my friends, I was just as horrified to hear their own stories of  how mais vendors have been known to urinate into the pot, how the men who deliver ice to restaurants piss on the ice before unloading it in the kitchen;  and so forth and so on.  Have a nice day!      

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Quotable quotes: Our Indian friend Ashok sent us this text message while we were writing this column:  “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.”

And here is General Pol Bataoil: “God is with us we will not allow any threat or group to destabilize the peace.”

Let us save, help and protect the country.