Paul Gascoigne
I’m just listening to Gazza’s teammates talking about the footballer and winning the cup in 1991.
Someone texted in a quote of Aristotle.
No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.
Let’s hope he overcomes his problems, as he still has a lot to offer.
One of his teammates, Justin Edinburgh, said that after they’d finished training at Spurs, Gazza would often take the youth teams and train with them for another ninety minutes. If he can pass on his enthusiasm and a few of his skills, he might yet make a substantial positive contribution to football.
An aside for Liz: he talked about how the twelve steps had been a great help to him.
What is the Truth about Pakistan’s Links with Bin Laden and the Taliban?
I have said before that Pakistan’s Intelligence Services should have known more, but I have now read this analysis from Andrew North of the BBC. Read it.
It is all very murky and if Pakistan doesn’t sort itself out soon, then I am afraid one of its neighbours may well do the job for it.
The Ridiculous Tube Strikes
The RMT is calling a series of strikes on the Tube over the next few weeks. If ever there was a ridiculous set of strikes it is these.
The facts are a bit cloudy but it would appear that two drivers have been sacked. Transport for London says one thing and the RMT says another. Apparently, the cases of the two men are going before an Employment Tribunal.
So surely, all parties should cool off until the results of that!
The interesting things to read are the comments on the various news items on the BBC, The Times and other serious media. I have searched extensively, and can’t find any comment in favour of the drivers actions. As several thousand of them voted for the strikes, surely one or two could put a few words together to explain why they are striking.
In my view this strike and some of the others that have proceeded it is not about the issues, but is a result of the fact that the RMT has seen the writing on the wall of the future and doesn’t like it.
At present on the Victoria and Jubilee lines, the drivers effectively close the doors when everything is clear and start the train in the station and then it proceeds automatically until the next one. The Victoria line has had this method of operation since 1967. So surely, all lines will be updated to work this way in the next few years.
So in effect drivers will not drive the train anymore, but will effectively be train captains managing the train and its passengers. Obviously in an emergency, they would have an important role to play.
But because of the automation it is only one small step to drive the trains remotely. Even if this doesn’t happen, as costs in public services come under pressure, automation will mean that drivers can work safer and in a less stressful environment.
So as they are well-paid would many feel they don’t need the Union!
In other words, this strike may be more about Union survival, than any individual grievance.
It was the same in the printing industry, where in the 1960s and 1970s, the unions put vast numbers of companies out of business because of their attitude and refusal to accept new technology. My father was a printer at the time and his business was ruined because new technology made his business easy to bring in house. The unions only had one place of power and that was newspapers. So we had days without papers and all sorts of Spanish practices. The Times even shut for a year to reform its working practices.
Hopefully we won’t see anything as drastic as that, but Transport for London must stand up to the bullying tactics of the RMT. They in turn, should behave like a responsible union.
Both parties should also wait for the Employment Tribunal.
It is the least Londoners could ask for.
Littering From Cars
The government is thinking about allowing councils to fine people £80 for throwing litter from cars.
Good.
But they should also stop people throwing litter into my letter box!
Drugs in Prisons
A prison officer has been sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to smuggle mobile phones and possibly drugs into Feltham Prison.
Read about it all here.
The report quotes a Prison Service report which says.
The unpalatable but inevitable conclusion is that corrupt staff constitutes a significant supply route for drugs into prisons.
As many people end up in prison because of a drug problem, surely we should have a major rethink about crime and punishment. Prison should rehabilitate and not be a place, where drugs are freely available.
Unholy Water
There are reports on BBC London that Zam Zam water from Mecca containing arsenic is being sold in the UK. According to Wikipedia, Zam Zam water is prohibited from being exported from Saudi Arabia. So what does that mean about the water being sold in the UK?
I’ve never found any problems with London tap water.
Or is it just that religion gets people to do things, that their knowledge, intelligence or just common sense tells them is wrong? After all, transporting water half way around the world is an ecological crime anyway, as it generates just so much carbon dioxide.
But then many religions have been used by dodgy characters to fleece believers for thousands of years.
Bank Holiday Effects On Zopa
My repayments from Zopa over the last week or so have been rather erratic, with a lot of payments failing from otherwise good borrowers, quite a few loans being cancelled and other non-normal occurrences. I also didn’t have any repayments for several days, probably because the banking system was virtually shut down. I don’t think there is anything to worry about as the system seems to be levelling out to normal behaviour. Today for instance, I had the highest daily level of repayments ever.
A Proven Scam: Engineering and Consultancy Services
I few days ago I had an e-mail purporting to come from a Bryan Green at this company.
Hello,
It’s Bryan Green, ENGINEERING & CONSULTANCY SERVICES, HR manager.
We found your e-mail in the base of applicants for a job. If you are not in search of a job and not interested in extra earnings, ignore this letter please and I’m sorry for mistake. If you need a job, you have a good chance to work in our company.
We are searching for:
– Financial Department Associate.
ENGINEERING & CONSULTANCY SERVICES (U.K.) LIMITED is connected to many technology purchases and sales, global distribution, manufacturing and consulting. We are concentrated on buying and selling technology in Europe and United States. We offer generous salary for our part-time employees and also some discounts and benefits.
Get in touch with us and join our company. E-mail : hr@engineering-and-consultancy.co.uk
Yours respectfully,
Bryan Green,
HR manager
It had all the hallmarks of a scam, especially as I haven’t applied for any jobs lately.
I have now found out that it is a proven scam, with at least one person having had money stolen from their credit card. The UK Police have been informed.
For that reason the original post has been protected with a password. This is so the police can have access to the original post.
The Anonymous Widower 