It seems the events of Tibet are cutting little ice with the Olympic organisers so far.
The world tour of the Olympic flame comes to London on April 6th. The Times is today reporting that massive policing plans are underway to protect it.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3593993.ece It is strange that a flame in a torch may turn into a symbol of the struggle between Tibet and the People's Republic of China.
London, of course, is significant in all this as it is the next venue for the Olympics in 2012 so there is an element of handover and continuity in all this.
So far celebrities such as former Blue Peter presenter Connie Huq are set to help carry the flame. Miss. Huq has hosted debates during the London mayoral race so one would hope that she is no air head looking for 15 minutes of fame. Of course I realise there are two sides to any argument and maybe she sincerely see the Olympics being held in Beijing as a good thing.
I must admit that until the recent events in Tibet started to unfold I had not really given it much thought either way. On a visit to Hong Kong last year I heard people speak positively about the Games. The main concern was how athletes would cope with the dreadful summer smog that plagues Beijing. The equestrian events are set to be held in Hong Kong so there was some pride in this.
Hong Kong is the only bit of China I have properly visited and is unique in allowing freedom (within reason !) under the "one country, two systems" system. The Former Foreign Secretary, Sir Malcolm Rifkind in yesterday's Times proposed an extension of this to Tibet as a way of resolving the crisis. That may have its merits but it seems unlikely that the Chinese Communist Party would agree.
Meanwhile, back in London on April 6th, the carrying of the flame around the city may turn into a battle between those who want to showcase a "normal" advanced China as it emerges into superpower status and those who want to remind the world that it still has a number of areas it needs to reform, such as the routine resort to deadly force to put down opposition to the Communist Party regime in areas such as Tibet.
This being London, rather than say Paris, it is difficult to see this turning into too major event. Londoners, even immigrants, tend to go in for "scuffles" more than hurling cobblestones like their French cousins. However in a London sense, there may be trouble.
Here for information, is the route currently scheduled on April 6th:
Wembley 10.30 International dancers on stage at Arena Square, outside Wembley Stadium
Ladbroke Grove 11.00 Mini-carnival with entertainers in carnival masquerade costumes performing to Soca music
Notting Hill Gate 11.20 Carnival del Pueblo Latino carnival band
Oxford Street 12.00 Open-top bus carrying celebrity torchbearer
British Museum 12.20 A fanfare with Greek trumpets in the Great Court
Chinatown 12.30 Costumed dragons and lions perform under Chinese decorations and lanterns on Gerrard Street
Piccadilly Circus 12.40 Convoy passes
Trafalgar Square 12.50 Dance spectacular in front of Nelson’s column, to the accompaniment of a brass fanfare
Southbank Centre 13.30 Spectacular welcome for the torch along the front terraces of the Royal Festival Hall with a choir of 600, Kathak, poetry, circus, hip-hop and beatboxing
Somerset House 14.15 Aletta Collins-choreographed dance accompanied by music from the Bollywood Brass Band
St Paul's Cathedral 14.30 Band of the Scots Guards will welcome the flame with fanfares and music from the cathedral steps
Potter's Fields/More London 15.00 Rhythms of the City and live drumming sessions
Whitechapel Road 15.30 Kinetika perform storytelling, costumes and dance
Stratford 16.00 World-themed carnival with 300 school children, 50 spectacular carnival costumes and nine music floats. An aerial performance will take place at Theatre Square
Canary Wharf 17.00 Carnival themed entertainment including acrobats, jugglers, stilt-walkers, street theatre, music shows, dance performances, face painters, children’s workshops and treasure hunts
North Greenwich 18.00 Grand finale — a free, ticketed event will be a fusion of East meets West, the contemporary and traditional, in a display of Chinese ribbon dancers, an electro-acoustic music act, gymnasts, pyro displays and a performance from the Sugababes.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Chinese Crowd Control
(picture courtesy of Times of London - (Teh Een Koon/AFP/Getty))A Tibetan child looks on at a line of Chinese riot police.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Why the "great powers" are subdued on Tibet
Despite a strong grass roots movement across the world against the Chinese repression in Tibet, (see link for a spontaneous protest at the British Museum yesterday http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7303158.stm) it is noticeable that not one great power has come out strongly against the Chinese actions to date.
Noises have been made about "concern", calls for restraint (on both sides) have been made but that has been about it. Horrific pictures of Tibetan dead are available online but the same establishment media who were all too happy to carry the pictures of Abu Graib are reluctant to carry these pictures of misdoings by China against its own citizens in "peacetime".
No one is seriously anticipating an Olympic boycott, at least at this stage.
Today some progress was made as Gordon Brown responding to a question from David Cameron at PMQs stated he would meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to London in May. This followed a No. 10 e-petition that was signed by over 9,000 people- high in relation to a foreign policy petition on the No.10 website.
However the reason why no one really wants to rock the boat comes downs to the world economy. With the credit crunch in full swing, banks being propped up on both sides of the Atlantic, world food prices soaring ( rice hit a 36 year high today), the last thing that is needed is to seriously alienate a country of 1.3 billion people that is a relatively rare point of economic growth.
It is easy to pick holes in this rationale but it prevails for now. The fact the Chinese boom may be overheating and Chinese inflation is soaring is one fly in the oitment of those who claim all is rosy in China.
The fact that China remains broadly a dictatorship who is quite prepared to use deadly force against its own dissidents (see above) is somehow irrelevant in this too.
Another way to look at it would be if 2008 is really going to be such a bad year we might as well get all the bad news out of the way with. A boycott of the Olympics might upset the current Chinese regime but if encouraged real change surely this is a prize worth going for. Ironically if the Chinese economy faltered in the short term as a result, commodity prices might fall for the rest of the world.
The other option for the Beijing Olympics is that enough protestors get into the opening ceremony to disrupt it. A bit of booing could give the PRC its own "Ceausescu moment" to deal with.
Meanwhile the comfortable onlookers seem prepared to leave the Tibetans to carry on suffering for now. Of course they are concerned but their concern only goes so far......
Noises have been made about "concern", calls for restraint (on both sides) have been made but that has been about it. Horrific pictures of Tibetan dead are available online but the same establishment media who were all too happy to carry the pictures of Abu Graib are reluctant to carry these pictures of misdoings by China against its own citizens in "peacetime".
No one is seriously anticipating an Olympic boycott, at least at this stage.
Today some progress was made as Gordon Brown responding to a question from David Cameron at PMQs stated he would meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to London in May. This followed a No. 10 e-petition that was signed by over 9,000 people- high in relation to a foreign policy petition on the No.10 website.
However the reason why no one really wants to rock the boat comes downs to the world economy. With the credit crunch in full swing, banks being propped up on both sides of the Atlantic, world food prices soaring ( rice hit a 36 year high today), the last thing that is needed is to seriously alienate a country of 1.3 billion people that is a relatively rare point of economic growth.
It is easy to pick holes in this rationale but it prevails for now. The fact the Chinese boom may be overheating and Chinese inflation is soaring is one fly in the oitment of those who claim all is rosy in China.
The fact that China remains broadly a dictatorship who is quite prepared to use deadly force against its own dissidents (see above) is somehow irrelevant in this too.
Another way to look at it would be if 2008 is really going to be such a bad year we might as well get all the bad news out of the way with. A boycott of the Olympics might upset the current Chinese regime but if encouraged real change surely this is a prize worth going for. Ironically if the Chinese economy faltered in the short term as a result, commodity prices might fall for the rest of the world.
The other option for the Beijing Olympics is that enough protestors get into the opening ceremony to disrupt it. A bit of booing could give the PRC its own "Ceausescu moment" to deal with.
Meanwhile the comfortable onlookers seem prepared to leave the Tibetans to carry on suffering for now. Of course they are concerned but their concern only goes so far......
Spare parts
Did anyone see Horizon on BBC 2 last evening ?
It was a rather disturbing look at the billion dollar trade in "spare parts" from dead bodies.
I had heard of the horrible fate of Alistair Cooke's body, which was described in this programme but had no idea the practise of taking parts from dead bodies was so widespread either illegally or legally.
Routine operations such as repairs to damaged ligaments now involve replacements using real human tissue from dead bodies.
Squeamish at the best of times, this was not a comfortable watch. I had to open a window more than once but made it to the end of the programme !
Some people were extremely philosophical about it viewing their dead bodies as like a second hand car when finished with and quite appropriate to take parts from to help others still living.
It is clear that the illegal side of it, as well as being unethical, also cancels out the benefits as disease and sub-standard parts can result from unregulated "harvesting" of parts from dead bodies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/bodyparts/
It was a rather disturbing look at the billion dollar trade in "spare parts" from dead bodies.
I had heard of the horrible fate of Alistair Cooke's body, which was described in this programme but had no idea the practise of taking parts from dead bodies was so widespread either illegally or legally.
Routine operations such as repairs to damaged ligaments now involve replacements using real human tissue from dead bodies.
Squeamish at the best of times, this was not a comfortable watch. I had to open a window more than once but made it to the end of the programme !
Some people were extremely philosophical about it viewing their dead bodies as like a second hand car when finished with and quite appropriate to take parts from to help others still living.
It is clear that the illegal side of it, as well as being unethical, also cancels out the benefits as disease and sub-standard parts can result from unregulated "harvesting" of parts from dead bodies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/bodyparts/
Beijing Olympics
Above is a Peter Brookes Cartoon from today's Times giving a new interpretation on the carrying of the Olympic flame.
China seems to be adopting the classic tactic of the dictatorship- cover up anything, deny all press access and then nothing can be proved. Unfortunately for the hosts of the Olympics technology has moved on a bit and a total cover up is now largely impossible.
The attached link below is presented by the Free Tibet Campaign as evidence of Chinese attrocities in the form of a recent violent crackdown on Tibetans. Clearly from these pictures deadly force has been used.
The link comes with a big health warning that it is hugely graphic and potentially very distressing. Do not click on it unless you are prepared to see pictures of shooting victims.
http://www.freetibet.org/press/kirtiphotos.html (PLEASE DO NOT CLICK IF WITH ANYONE OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Paris Station
A short video from my recent trip to Paris at Gare du Nord, waiting for the train home.
Pastor Problem
Here is what was euphamistically referred to on CNN yesterday as Barak Obama's "pastor problem".
In full flow is Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Strangely only since these videos made it to mass circulation has Mr. O decided to officially drop Mr. W as his official "spiritual adviser".
In full flow is Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Strangely only since these videos made it to mass circulation has Mr. O decided to officially drop Mr. W as his official "spiritual adviser".
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Lhasa
A short interesting BBC piece on the rebellion in Tibet and the censorship the story receives in China.
Friday, March 14, 2008
The Olympic Shames
With smoke rising over the Tibetan capital Lhasa today (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/14/tibet.unrest/index.html ), there seems no better example of the the so-called "world community's" hypocrisy in its approach to China.
While there is still a need to "get real", as Hillary Clinton would say, about how to handle an emerging superpower this should not include the need to give up all principles.
While trade may be one thing, particularly at a time of hovering recession, to go along with the Olympics in Beijing regardless of what China does to its own citizens seems quite another.
For those with historical awareness, you will already know that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has already won the gold medal in one area- genocide. While the horrors of Nazi Germany probably amount to a numerical bronze in the killing totals, and Stalin's USSR can claim a bloody silver, the PRC with a claim to have killed 70 million of its people undoubtedly deserves a genocide gold.
This may be a rather unpleasant way of putting it but the facts themselves are far more unpleasant.Nowhere else in the world the Olympics be held or at least get such enthusiastic participation in the face of so many known abuses. If the UK invaded Ireland and was suppressing monks in Dublin it is difficult to imagine any countries coming to an Olympics in London. Equally if the US decided to annex a part of Canada and suppressed the people there with force, it is unlikely anyone would show up for an Olympics in New York. It is certain, to use a real example, that regardless of all the various claims and rights and wrongs that an Olympics would not get held anywhere in the middle east right now.
Yet because China is China and a superpower the whole world wants to go to a glorious celebration of modern China this August. India, to its shame, even suppresses peaceful demonstrations on its own territory to avoid "embarrassing the Chinese". Even Greece, the home of the Olympics sought to shoo away Tibetan protestors near Mount Olympia as if they were a simple nuisance.
I am not supporting a complete embargo on China. Not least, because for all its faults, China is making progress. I have visited the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau and met a friendly and welcoming people. Although the past is grisly there is some hope for the future.
However the cultural commendation that seems to come with the Olympics still seems wrong for China especially when you think of its ongoing treatment of Tibet. I doubt teams will pull out of the Olympics in any numbers. The urge for nations to get medals and recognition by competing is too strong, the meaningless platitude of keeping politics out of sport will be spouted, the wilful and happy ignorance of the masses who watch the games from their sofas will not care about armed suppression in remote corners of the world. Perhaps most importantly of all those who will make much money from the Olympics whether in merchandising, broadcasting, travel or elsewhere will have loud voices ensuring that the show is kept on the road.This is all a shame because to me the Olympics is all rather meaningless when set against teargas and bullets. the bodies hurriedly zipped into body bags for a quiet cremation or the knock on the door in the middle of the night from the security forces.
In a sense if the Olympics go ahead unchallenged and the ignorant millions eat hot dogs while watching the games on TV it will prove the uncomfortable reality that in some respects terrorism works. In his book "Why Terrorism Works" Alan Dershowitz charts the obscure beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict that is centre stage today. The conclusion he reaches is that a conflict over such a small area of land only reached the international consciousness to such an extent due to the early terrorist actions. This gained news coverage and, no less importantly, a response that allowed the conflict to escalate.
Lesser examples of such tactics include Northern Ireland and Spain. Superficially no less significant disputes such as those who claim Welsh independence or the areas that France gained from Germany after WW II are hardly taken seriously as no one is prepared to commit (significant) violent acts in the cause of those disputes. The assumption is that a dispute is only significant or a wrong only grievous if those effected commit violence.
As Tibetans are Buddhist and under the Dalai Lama almost inherently non-violent, this dispute with China is largely over looked by the mass media in a way that would not happen if they blew up airliners or set off bombs at railway stations in international capitals.
China is clearly a complex entity and is now a very significant part of the world economy. To that end talk of sanctions, trade embargoes are just not realistic. They could also be counterproductive and end the reform that has brought China this far. Therefore some carrot is necessary. However the Olympics is too big a carrot and without any stick will they ever take seriously the abuses that have occurred in Tibet and other areas.
There is a lot of fantasy associated with the Olympics in that it in some way it represents a tradition from Ancient Greece. This may be so but overlooks a 1600 year gap until 1896. There is talk about "Olympic spirit" but this overlooks the realties of showcasing dictatorships (Berlin 1936), mass terrorism (Munich 1972) or ongoing drug abuse and big money making.In reality the Olympics is a complex international event with many agendas shrouded in a slightly sentimental blanket of "sport for everyone". While this can be harmless diversion for many, when it is exploited for all its PR opportunities by hosts who are reluctant to reform fully, surely there is little point in taking part ?
Not to have the Olympics this year may be a shame but the shame of endorsing a regime such as the PRC with its violent suppressions in Tibet is a shame far greater.
While there is still a need to "get real", as Hillary Clinton would say, about how to handle an emerging superpower this should not include the need to give up all principles.
While trade may be one thing, particularly at a time of hovering recession, to go along with the Olympics in Beijing regardless of what China does to its own citizens seems quite another.
For those with historical awareness, you will already know that the PRC (People's Republic of China) has already won the gold medal in one area- genocide. While the horrors of Nazi Germany probably amount to a numerical bronze in the killing totals, and Stalin's USSR can claim a bloody silver, the PRC with a claim to have killed 70 million of its people undoubtedly deserves a genocide gold.
This may be a rather unpleasant way of putting it but the facts themselves are far more unpleasant.Nowhere else in the world the Olympics be held or at least get such enthusiastic participation in the face of so many known abuses. If the UK invaded Ireland and was suppressing monks in Dublin it is difficult to imagine any countries coming to an Olympics in London. Equally if the US decided to annex a part of Canada and suppressed the people there with force, it is unlikely anyone would show up for an Olympics in New York. It is certain, to use a real example, that regardless of all the various claims and rights and wrongs that an Olympics would not get held anywhere in the middle east right now.
Yet because China is China and a superpower the whole world wants to go to a glorious celebration of modern China this August. India, to its shame, even suppresses peaceful demonstrations on its own territory to avoid "embarrassing the Chinese". Even Greece, the home of the Olympics sought to shoo away Tibetan protestors near Mount Olympia as if they were a simple nuisance.
I am not supporting a complete embargo on China. Not least, because for all its faults, China is making progress. I have visited the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau and met a friendly and welcoming people. Although the past is grisly there is some hope for the future.
However the cultural commendation that seems to come with the Olympics still seems wrong for China especially when you think of its ongoing treatment of Tibet. I doubt teams will pull out of the Olympics in any numbers. The urge for nations to get medals and recognition by competing is too strong, the meaningless platitude of keeping politics out of sport will be spouted, the wilful and happy ignorance of the masses who watch the games from their sofas will not care about armed suppression in remote corners of the world. Perhaps most importantly of all those who will make much money from the Olympics whether in merchandising, broadcasting, travel or elsewhere will have loud voices ensuring that the show is kept on the road.This is all a shame because to me the Olympics is all rather meaningless when set against teargas and bullets. the bodies hurriedly zipped into body bags for a quiet cremation or the knock on the door in the middle of the night from the security forces.
In a sense if the Olympics go ahead unchallenged and the ignorant millions eat hot dogs while watching the games on TV it will prove the uncomfortable reality that in some respects terrorism works. In his book "Why Terrorism Works" Alan Dershowitz charts the obscure beginnings of the Arab-Israeli conflict that is centre stage today. The conclusion he reaches is that a conflict over such a small area of land only reached the international consciousness to such an extent due to the early terrorist actions. This gained news coverage and, no less importantly, a response that allowed the conflict to escalate.
Lesser examples of such tactics include Northern Ireland and Spain. Superficially no less significant disputes such as those who claim Welsh independence or the areas that France gained from Germany after WW II are hardly taken seriously as no one is prepared to commit (significant) violent acts in the cause of those disputes. The assumption is that a dispute is only significant or a wrong only grievous if those effected commit violence.
As Tibetans are Buddhist and under the Dalai Lama almost inherently non-violent, this dispute with China is largely over looked by the mass media in a way that would not happen if they blew up airliners or set off bombs at railway stations in international capitals.
China is clearly a complex entity and is now a very significant part of the world economy. To that end talk of sanctions, trade embargoes are just not realistic. They could also be counterproductive and end the reform that has brought China this far. Therefore some carrot is necessary. However the Olympics is too big a carrot and without any stick will they ever take seriously the abuses that have occurred in Tibet and other areas.
There is a lot of fantasy associated with the Olympics in that it in some way it represents a tradition from Ancient Greece. This may be so but overlooks a 1600 year gap until 1896. There is talk about "Olympic spirit" but this overlooks the realties of showcasing dictatorships (Berlin 1936), mass terrorism (Munich 1972) or ongoing drug abuse and big money making.In reality the Olympics is a complex international event with many agendas shrouded in a slightly sentimental blanket of "sport for everyone". While this can be harmless diversion for many, when it is exploited for all its PR opportunities by hosts who are reluctant to reform fully, surely there is little point in taking part ?
Not to have the Olympics this year may be a shame but the shame of endorsing a regime such as the PRC with its violent suppressions in Tibet is a shame far greater.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Earthquake, what earthquake ?
I am thankful that the earthquake so well publicised so well today was not felt at all in our part of London.
It was apparently felt in parts of London but generally seems to have been a non event down here. I guess we are fortunate to live in a country where the most signifcant earthquake in 20 years is measured in terms of numbers of fallen chimney pots rather than anything else.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23443207-details/Earthquake+hits+London/article.do
It was apparently felt in parts of London but generally seems to have been a non event down here. I guess we are fortunate to live in a country where the most signifcant earthquake in 20 years is measured in terms of numbers of fallen chimney pots rather than anything else.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23443207-details/Earthquake+hits+London/article.do
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A storm in a turban
I personally think too much is being made of the alleged smear campaign against Barak Obama by circulating a photo of him in traditional Somali dress (including Turban). Alarmingly I find myself agreeing with the Clinton campaign (a first time for everything !) that how can it be insulting for someone to be pictured wearing a national costume unless you devalue that nationality in the first place.
As seen above, our very own HRH Prince Charles is no stranger to unusual costume- although he's not wanting to run the country just yet !
I think the concerns over Obama are different and much deeper than unusual costumes.
For some reasons the Times has broken ranks from the media pack on at least 2 occasions to run critical articles on him.
This one deserves a read regarding the hidden funding from an Iraqi Billionaire given to the man who may well be the next president of the world's only superpower:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article3433485.ece
Mansion 'mistake' piles the pressure on Barack Obama
James Bone in New York and Dominic Kennedy in London
A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.
The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.
A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama's bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.
It's worth reading on at the link above. All in all, mysterious loans from shady foreign businessmen doesn't sound very "new politics" to me....
A less than gracious city….. Sometimes
London is, I suspect, typical of any big city in the rough and tumble to be had on its streets.
People at a superficial level have no time for one another and can come across as very rude. Happily in the face of big challenges or emergencies the mythical "blitz spirit" (sometimes an overused phrase) emerges and we all help each other out.
However there are times when I think the rudeness is getting the upper hand and is worse than it used to be. Maybe I am just getting older to think like this!
Here are three recent examples:
1) In suburban London, near to where I live, a middle aged woman found a discarded training shoe on her drive. I was walking past on route to the station and watched as she methodically kicked it down the drive way and into the gutter. There was something mildly shocking about this at that moment. It seemed to sum up a wider social breakdown. While she would no doubt belong to the large group who bemoan the behaviour of "hoodies" and similar, here she was showing no respect for someone else's property. The tale behind how the training shoe had got on her drive way was unknown but it presumably belonged to someone. The priority here was not a lost trainer but the aesthetic integrity of her suburban house. It seems the tyranny of property makeover programmes is now limiting our ability to be good citizens. Twenty years ago or even less I suspect the same woman in the same street would have picked up the trainer and put it on a nearby wall so that if the owner passed by they could see it and collect it. Now the trainer gets kicked in the gutter.
2) Walking through the City, to work, a man in his twenties storms off a double-decker bus. He walks up the road a few paces and gives the driver a "one finger salute". There was apparently some dispute about not letting him off while the bus wasn't at a stop. The bus was sitting in traffic at the time. The rights and wrongs of getting off the bus are unclear to me but the solution to the dispute was rudeness- in this case a rude sign.
3) In a card shop in the City just before Valentines Day. The shop is crammed with people ahead of this rather cheesy commercial fest- albeit one that some of us are obligated on ! The atmosphere is tense as City workers jostle round a dwindling stock of "acceptable cards". A woman calls to her friend, "Why are you standing there ?". Her friend replies "Because I'm getting fed up of people elbowing me in the back everytime they go past". This is in preparation for a celebration of love in London.
I will end this brief series of social observations on a positive note. Walking through a local park, we pass a middle aged couple who have just stumbled across a lost glove. The woman picks it up. The man debates whether to run after a a group of women pushing prams. He decides against it for reasons of embarrassment as there is absolutely nothing to link the glove to the group. His wife suggests leaving it "on top of that red box". The red box in question is actually a special bin for "dog waste". Deciding against this they settle for placing it on top of a wrought iron fence so it can be clearly seen and kept out of the dirt. The effort is more than likely to be futile but it is reassuring that even in London some sense of community remains and not everyone is out only for themselves.
People at a superficial level have no time for one another and can come across as very rude. Happily in the face of big challenges or emergencies the mythical "blitz spirit" (sometimes an overused phrase) emerges and we all help each other out.
However there are times when I think the rudeness is getting the upper hand and is worse than it used to be. Maybe I am just getting older to think like this!
Here are three recent examples:
1) In suburban London, near to where I live, a middle aged woman found a discarded training shoe on her drive. I was walking past on route to the station and watched as she methodically kicked it down the drive way and into the gutter. There was something mildly shocking about this at that moment. It seemed to sum up a wider social breakdown. While she would no doubt belong to the large group who bemoan the behaviour of "hoodies" and similar, here she was showing no respect for someone else's property. The tale behind how the training shoe had got on her drive way was unknown but it presumably belonged to someone. The priority here was not a lost trainer but the aesthetic integrity of her suburban house. It seems the tyranny of property makeover programmes is now limiting our ability to be good citizens. Twenty years ago or even less I suspect the same woman in the same street would have picked up the trainer and put it on a nearby wall so that if the owner passed by they could see it and collect it. Now the trainer gets kicked in the gutter.
2) Walking through the City, to work, a man in his twenties storms off a double-decker bus. He walks up the road a few paces and gives the driver a "one finger salute". There was apparently some dispute about not letting him off while the bus wasn't at a stop. The bus was sitting in traffic at the time. The rights and wrongs of getting off the bus are unclear to me but the solution to the dispute was rudeness- in this case a rude sign.
3) In a card shop in the City just before Valentines Day. The shop is crammed with people ahead of this rather cheesy commercial fest- albeit one that some of us are obligated on ! The atmosphere is tense as City workers jostle round a dwindling stock of "acceptable cards". A woman calls to her friend, "Why are you standing there ?". Her friend replies "Because I'm getting fed up of people elbowing me in the back everytime they go past". This is in preparation for a celebration of love in London.
I will end this brief series of social observations on a positive note. Walking through a local park, we pass a middle aged couple who have just stumbled across a lost glove. The woman picks it up. The man debates whether to run after a a group of women pushing prams. He decides against it for reasons of embarrassment as there is absolutely nothing to link the glove to the group. His wife suggests leaving it "on top of that red box". The red box in question is actually a special bin for "dog waste". Deciding against this they settle for placing it on top of a wrought iron fence so it can be clearly seen and kept out of the dirt. The effort is more than likely to be futile but it is reassuring that even in London some sense of community remains and not everyone is out only for themselves.
Rather childish but.......
with backers like this, you have to wonder. Here Senator Edward "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy makes an awkward slip of the tongue in referring to Barack Obama.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Don't touch the glasses
As someone who has stayed in quite a few hotels in the past I find the attached clip disturbing but while I am sure it is not a universal problem it is probably symptomatic of an industry where the staff are low paid and the guests high paying. The only real winner is the hotel owner.
Or as George Orwell rather better described it in " Down and Out in Paris and London" his semi-autobiographical work that described his experiences working in the French hospitality industry:
"Similarly with the PLONGEUR (general washer-upper). He is a king compared with a rickshaw puller or a gharry pony, but his case is analogous. He is the slave of a hotel or a restaurant, and his slavery is more or less useless. For, after all, where is the REAL need of big hotels and smart restaurants? They are supposed to provide luxury, but in reality they provide only a cheap, shoddy imitation of it. Nearly everyone hates hotels. Some restaurants are better than others, but it is impossible to get as good a meal in a restaurant as one can get, for the same expense, in a private house. No doubt hotels and restaurants must exist, but there is no need that they should enslave hundreds of people. What makes the work in them is not the essentials; it is the shams that are supposed to represent luxury. Smartness, as it is called, means, in effect, merely that the staff work more and the customers pay more; no one benefits except the proprietor, who will presently buy himself a striped villa at Deauville. Essentially, a 'smart' hotel is a place where a hundred people toil like devils in order that two hundred may pay through the nose for things they do not really want. If the nonsense were cut out of hotels and restaurants, and the work done with simple efficiency, PLONGEURS might work six or eight hours a day instead often or fifteen.
I once got a job offer from a hotel chain to work as an auditor. I am rather glad I didn't accept it.
Thanks to Iain Dale for highlighting this clip. http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/
If I didn't already, I will re-wash any glasses I drink from in hotel rooms. Although the level of trust we have to place in the hospitality industry in general is frightening to think about.
Or as George Orwell rather better described it in " Down and Out in Paris and London" his semi-autobiographical work that described his experiences working in the French hospitality industry:
"Similarly with the PLONGEUR (general washer-upper). He is a king compared with a rickshaw puller or a gharry pony, but his case is analogous. He is the slave of a hotel or a restaurant, and his slavery is more or less useless. For, after all, where is the REAL need of big hotels and smart restaurants? They are supposed to provide luxury, but in reality they provide only a cheap, shoddy imitation of it. Nearly everyone hates hotels. Some restaurants are better than others, but it is impossible to get as good a meal in a restaurant as one can get, for the same expense, in a private house. No doubt hotels and restaurants must exist, but there is no need that they should enslave hundreds of people. What makes the work in them is not the essentials; it is the shams that are supposed to represent luxury. Smartness, as it is called, means, in effect, merely that the staff work more and the customers pay more; no one benefits except the proprietor, who will presently buy himself a striped villa at Deauville. Essentially, a 'smart' hotel is a place where a hundred people toil like devils in order that two hundred may pay through the nose for things they do not really want. If the nonsense were cut out of hotels and restaurants, and the work done with simple efficiency, PLONGEURS might work six or eight hours a day instead often or fifteen.
I once got a job offer from a hotel chain to work as an auditor. I am rather glad I didn't accept it.
Thanks to Iain Dale for highlighting this clip. http://www.iaindale.blogspot.com/
If I didn't already, I will re-wash any glasses I drink from in hotel rooms. Although the level of trust we have to place in the hospitality industry in general is frightening to think about.
It is with considerable satisfaction
that this blog, rather sleeping of late, made it to the first page of a google search on British Gas- in actual fact the number 1 unsponsored position.
This goes some way to make our struggles with British Gas Homecare and their woeful parts distribution centre in Leicester last year seem purposeful. I noted this evening that people are still writing in to BBC1's Watchdog on the subject.
Keep protesting people !
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=DGUK,DGUK:2006-26,DGUK:en&q=british+gas+distribution+services
"British Gas Homecare- probably the worst service in the world !"
This goes some way to make our struggles with British Gas Homecare and their woeful parts distribution centre in Leicester last year seem purposeful. I noted this evening that people are still writing in to BBC1's Watchdog on the subject.
Keep protesting people !
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rls=DGUK,DGUK:2006-26,DGUK:en&q=british+gas+distribution+services
"British Gas Homecare- probably the worst service in the world !"
That's January done
Some people just seem to wish their life away.
I was talking with one colleague today who expressed sheer delight that we'd "got through January already". Quite what we were all getting through January to achieve was unclear but there was a reference to "soon be Christmas".
This is partly a joke I assume but there is an element of truth as many people seem to live their lives either "aiming for" the weekend, holidays, Christmas or similar. Whole oceans of time are endured for a short time on islands of apparent celebration.
How sad that whole months of our short lives are just seen as something to be "got through". There must surely be something wrong here ......
I was talking with one colleague today who expressed sheer delight that we'd "got through January already". Quite what we were all getting through January to achieve was unclear but there was a reference to "soon be Christmas".
This is partly a joke I assume but there is an element of truth as many people seem to live their lives either "aiming for" the weekend, holidays, Christmas or similar. Whole oceans of time are endured for a short time on islands of apparent celebration.
How sad that whole months of our short lives are just seen as something to be "got through". There must surely be something wrong here ......
A slow pipeline
I am no expert on the Oil industry but I note with some frustration that the price of petrol on my local forecourt remains stubbornly over £1 a litre.
This is despite the fact that the crude oil price has largely been falling since very early in January and fell another 3 % today at under $90 a barrel.
I am sure the official argument is that oil refining is a long process and it takes a long time for price falls to filter through the system.
It is strange that that argument never applies in relation to price rises.........
This is despite the fact that the crude oil price has largely been falling since very early in January and fell another 3 % today at under $90 a barrel.
I am sure the official argument is that oil refining is a long process and it takes a long time for price falls to filter through the system.
It is strange that that argument never applies in relation to price rises.........
Friday, February 01, 2008
Igglepiggle enters the Financial mainstream !
Yesterday when I picked up the FT at work I thought briefly I had been spending too much time in baby world watching "In the Night Garden". One of the characters from that programme,Igglepiggle, had appeared in the FT too !
In actual fact the FT journalist Jonathan Guthrie was going on to make a point about the dangers of name calling at work which can lead to legal action as it did by the actor playing "Tombliboo Ooo" on the set of In the Night Garden.
Amazing, watching baby TV can help make sense of reading the FT too !
Whatever next ? Gordon Brown will praise the environmental credentials of the Ninky Nonk (a special train to the uninitiated !). Come to think of it, the Ninky Nonk would be a big improvement on the services offered by South Eastern at present !
The dangers of talking dutty at work
By Jonathan Guthrie
Published: January 31 2008 02:00 Last updated: January 31 2008 02:00
Once upon a time three Tombliboos - Ooo, Eee and Un - lived together in the Tombliboo Bush. They played with their friend Igglepiggle, took rides in the Pinky Ponk and all loved each other very much. Then Ooo hurt his back, lost his job and complained that Eee had subjected him to homophobic taunts such as "faggot" and "bitch". Big hug? No chance. See you in court.
Tombliboos are innocent creatures with large bottoms and bobbly heads. But the performers who don costumes to portray them for the children's TV series In The Night Garden are more complicated. I witnessed some of the tears before bedtime at a recent employment tribunal. This highlighted the dangers that arise when a minority culture mingles with the mainstream one of the workplace.
In actual fact the FT journalist Jonathan Guthrie was going on to make a point about the dangers of name calling at work which can lead to legal action as it did by the actor playing "Tombliboo Ooo" on the set of In the Night Garden.
Amazing, watching baby TV can help make sense of reading the FT too !
Whatever next ? Gordon Brown will praise the environmental credentials of the Ninky Nonk (a special train to the uninitiated !). Come to think of it, the Ninky Nonk would be a big improvement on the services offered by South Eastern at present !
The dangers of talking dutty at work
By Jonathan Guthrie
Published: January 31 2008 02:00 Last updated: January 31 2008 02:00
Once upon a time three Tombliboos - Ooo, Eee and Un - lived together in the Tombliboo Bush. They played with their friend Igglepiggle, took rides in the Pinky Ponk and all loved each other very much. Then Ooo hurt his back, lost his job and complained that Eee had subjected him to homophobic taunts such as "faggot" and "bitch". Big hug? No chance. See you in court.
Tombliboos are innocent creatures with large bottoms and bobbly heads. But the performers who don costumes to portray them for the children's TV series In The Night Garden are more complicated. I witnessed some of the tears before bedtime at a recent employment tribunal. This highlighted the dangers that arise when a minority culture mingles with the mainstream one of the workplace.
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