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The Bush re-election and South Asia

The re-election of George Bush to the position of US President by a margin of some 3.5 million votes over his Democratic contender John Kerry, makes it amply clear that the majority of the US public are strongly supportive of the incumbent Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies.

More specifically, this significant electoral triumph amounts to a notable 'thumbs-up' for Bush's national security policy, of which the 'war on global terror' has become almost idiosyncratic.

The electoral verdict could be considered clinching evidence that for the majority of US voters terrorism and security are continuing to be key issues for which rational answers are being sought.

Apparently, the average US voter is satisfied with the way the Bush administration has been handling these problems, particularly since the September 11th, 2001, tragedy which reduced the entirety of the US to a state of mourning.

We record our respect for these wishes of the US citizenry and congratulate the Government and the people of the US on conducting yet another presidential poll in the highest democratic traditions.

Particularly exemplary are the encouraging words which both the winning and defeated presidential front-runners exchange between each other on learning the verdict of the people.

It is customary for us in South Asia to inquire into the possible implications for the region of a presidential election and its outcome in the world's 'mightiest democracy'.

Compared to India and Pakistan, Sri Lanka is a small 'player' in South Asia, but, has over the past few years received considerable attention from the US on account of the challenges we ourselves have been facing from political terrorism.

In our effort to eliminate this threat, the US has been standing firmly by our side and has been a tower of strength in our continuing efforts to work out a political solution to our conflict. There is no reason to believe that the US would deviate from this course of giving us all the necessary moral and diplomatic support to resolve our conflict by political means.

Washington is unlikely to change its policy parameters in respect of the rest of South Asia either. Its efforts to defuse the terror threat would continue and for this purpose it would seek to enlist the cooperation of other major countries in the region.

It is our hope that the Bush re-election would help in speeding-up peace processes in this part of the world. This could very well be the case if the message now goes out that it is futile for militant groups to pursue the path of terror to resolve problems which are essentially political in nature.

Counting on mathematics

A few years ago, a book titled "Everything I learned I learned in the Kindergarten" became an instant best seller. On deeper reflection, this seems to be true as most things that we learn later in life are quickly forgotten and in any case, are totally irrelevant to our lives.

We learn to count early in our lives and a little later, to add, subtract, divide and multiply. And a calculator makes even that knowledge redundant. Algebra and calculus are fine, but do we need them in our day-to-day lives ? This is the challenge facing mathematics educators everywhere, as students veer away from the 'numbers' subject.

We came across an AFP report from Italy which highlighted this problem. The report notes that Enrico Giusti, who teaches at the University of Florence, finds himself addressing only 30 or 35 students in a class, while his colleagues who teach subjects like media studies, psychology, communications and architecture attract thousands.

Giusti is a man with a mission. His aim is to reveal the magic of curves, equations and theorems and bring mathematics closer to our lives. With this objective in mind, he wrote a book about mathematics in the kitchen, in which readers can learn the formula, for example, of why it is quicker to peel large potatoes than small ones.

His campaign has received indirect support from Italian Education Minister Letizia Moratti, who recently said she would free up 8.5 million dollars over three years to help whet the appetite of high school students for a career in mathematics. "The study of math must be reinforced, absolutely, from elementary school onwards," she says.

This would be an ideal example for our education authorities as well. Mathematics is often portrayed as a boring subject.

Young people perceive math as a difficult subject that requires a lot of work with little reward at the end. An attempt should be made to jazz up mathematics teaching in order to make it more alluring.

While we might not need the finer points of trigonometry to exist, such mathematical foundations play an enormous 'behind-the-scene' role in our lives. Just imagine the thousands of complex calculations needed to perfect a high-rise building. It is maths at work, but in a glamourless way.

The same goes for everything from a motor car engine to a microwave oven to a supercomputer. The truth is that our lives would be dull without mathematics. Just count to ten and spread the word.

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