Here's what I've learned thus far...

... I'm SO gonna pass... sigh

Worse than ridiculous

I really can't sympathize with strikers. Unofficial strikers are even higher up my list of annoyances. Strikes disrupt our lives, but that's not what annoys me. What annoys me, is that these guys don't get it. They don't get the big picture.

A strike incurs costs to the company, that's a given. That's why workers strike, to hit companies where it hurts the most: their profits. A drop in profits will also affect investors' perceptions of the company. BA, for example, saw it's shares slip after the wildcat strikes were held. Before those strikers start cheering at this, they ought to consider what this means in the long run... job losses. Reduced profits, especially if sustained, can only be met my reduced costs. Planes go, pilots go, crewmembers go... and that means ground staff go too. It's not as if BA was doing tremendously well before... it had just recovered from a string of losses through strict cost reduction.

What's worse, ex-Gate Gourmet staff actually think the strike will help them get their jobs back. Earth to ex-Gate Gourmet staff: the company's about to go bust. Your actions have not helped. If it goes into administration, expect MORE job losses, not reinstatement.

So there we go, my two cents on industrial action. To summarize: strikes are a pain in the arse. Only use if your cause is truly justified. In this case, it isn't.

Trouble Ahead

Iran's playing a dangerous game. Or are they?




The West's hands are tied. Suffering from post-Iraq blues, America is unlikely to engage in another war in the Middle East, at least not alone. And Europe? The chances of me winning the lottery are much higher than any agreement by France, Germany and the UK about invading another Muslim country. That would inflame further sentiment among the Muslim communities that there is some secret conspiracy to attack Islam. And besides, China would definitely veto any decisions to attack Iran: they've signed lucrative oil contracts with them.

So what options are UN politicians left with... sanctions? Maybe, but that could prompt Iran to further withdraw from negotiations with the West. I can't imagine them playing a tougher line, but it could happen. They could go North Korea's route.

And therein lies the problem. We have two autocratic, tyrannical, unstable, fanatical countries developing nuclear weapons. There's no doubt about their intentions as all efforts by Europe offering civilian nuclear development have been rejected.

So why shouldn't they have nuclear weapons? Well, do we need to remind ourselves of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Without transparency, accountability, security, and more importantly, freedom of information, the leaders of these countries can use these weapons with impunity. On a whim of a dictator, we could see cities mushrooming out of existence.

And yet, the West looks particularly incapable of doing much at the moment... "Let Loose the Dogs of War" I say... kick some North Korean butt to show these IAEA rule-breakers we mean business (and also to show that there ISN'T a mad conspiracy against Islam). If the carrot don't work, use that stick.

Lost

Lost...

...just premiered tonight in the UK. I've watched the whole of series one, but thought I'd wait till the UK launch to comment... I am a BIG fan of the show. It's great! The characters really grow on you as you learn more about them...

Slight spoilers ahead...

Eps 1 - 3 : Ho-hum, plane crash, Jurassic Park-esque island complete with human munching critters. Typical hero type Jack and hot babe Kate. Hmm, Sayid's an interesting character. Charlie's annoying. Hmm, token Asian couple, black guy, and big guy.

Eps 4 - 6 : Whoa, Charlie's a ROCK STAR in an Oasis inspired band... cool! And Locke is even cooler! Hang on, there's more to Sawyer, Kate, and everyone damned person on the island. And nope, these are not token characters at all... Ok, I'm hooked.

Yup, that's a rough summary of how I got stuck on Lost. And now I can't wait till Season 2 begins on the 22nd of September. Just after my resits. Good stuff.

Discovery Back on Earth

Hey, good going America! I was more than a little concerned about the heat shielding, but thankfully everything went smoothly... another small step into space! It's a shame only America can afford space research... a bit more competition could possibly speed up our presence out there...

Crash

Crash, not to be confused with the movie released in '96, is fantastic.

It's a movie predominantly about racism, but is extremely well executed. It's thought provoking... can our preconceptions about race, class, and jobs really affect our decisions and actions, despite our best efforts to do what's right? The movie paints a lot of grey strokes... characters that were "noble" fall, others that were fallen "rise." In the end, nobody's wrong, but is anybody right?

Love this stuff, will keep a beady eye out for more Paul Haggis films in future. Then again, I wonder what happened to the guy who wrote Donnie Darko...

Oh, talked to that hot receptionist on Friday. Found out more about her, which is nice... she's over here for her summer break doing a working holiday, and will be starting college in Oregon in the States. She's flying back in a couple weeks... NOT a good time for me... resits are in a couple weeks. She talked about her water skiing, hiking, nature-loving antics... I suggested that she was probably bored here in London, far removed from nature sports. And she was. Hey, nature's expensive over here... guess her summer boyfriend (a fellow Londoner) is just as cash (and time) strapped as I am...

The Effects of Terror?

Should Islamic veils be removed?

Hell, no!

I'm not Muslim, nor Pakistani, nor Indian, and not the tiniest bit Middle Eastern. But the issue should NEVER have been the hijab, but rather our attitudes to it. Why should one hide one's identity or beliefs, if those believes do no harm to others? The hijab doesn't kill: fanaticism does.

It's a shame these women have to stop wearing the hijab because a small minority of the white population are anxious. This will only provoke more anger and frustration among the very community Britain needs to sort out the extremists!

And today, I was on the bus going to work. Three kids, about 12 years old and looking quite harmless, step onto the bus. Children don't have to pay for their bus rides, so they went to get seats. The bus driver calls out to the "brown" kid. "I don't want you on the bus," he says. The poor kid, and one of his "white" friends had to step off the bus... just for being "brown." What a farking racist that driver is!

Experiences like these cause the Muslim population to feel alienated. Heck, I'D feel alienated if that happened to me. Although I'm disappointed no one on the bus stood up for him, I HATE myself for not standing up for the kid. All I was thinking at the time was "I gotta get to work on time." Jeezuz! What is wrong with people these days??? ME included???

Slave to Money

Aren't we all?

I've been budgeting myself silly, counting my expenses down to the nearest pence. Why, I hear you ask (ok, so you didn't but I'm gonna answer anyway)? Because of the friggin resits... I'm trying to save as much as I can to pay for all those extra costs, as well as the money lost due to the unpaid leave I'm forced to take.

So I'm eating sandwiches for dinner, I eat at the subsidized canteen at work, and turn down weekend night outs... sigh... I feel depressed. I wanted to invite the hot receptionist out... Oh well, at least Blogger's free eh?

Hard Slog

Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I got my exam results back... passed one, failed the other. Shock. Horror. Bollocks.

I've got to do resits now, and a second fail would mean that I lose my job as stated in my contract. Can't blame 'em. Frickin exams are expensive, as I found out recently, through the school of hard knocks. The resit means that I have to settle all the bills myself, booking my own hols, paying for the course, and the exam registration fees. Ouch. Big frickin hole in my wallet.

And the funny thing is, I actually thought I'd pass this paper! I came out of the exam hall thinking "Cor, that was easy!" I guess the other candidates did too, sod em all!

On the bright side, I had a great weekend of commiseration! It sure reminded me of those joyous uni days! Blew another hole in my pocket, but what the hell... if you're stuck in a rut, you might as well dig deeper I say!