People are talking about the Iraq war and new regulations for charities blah blah, but for me the top story has got to be the Case of the Poisoned Russian Spy. For those who havent bothered to follow the plot, here's the gist of this real-life James Bond plot.
Alexander Litvinenko was a former KGB colonel. He left Russia for England and obtained his English citizenship last year. He has been a fierce critic of the Kremlin .......
Oct 7: Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead outside her Moscow apartment. She had been critical of the Russian government for its handling of the Chechnyan war. Russian spy Litvinenko begins to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.
Nov 1: Litvinenko meets Mario Scaramella at a sushi bar -- Itsu -- in London, obtaining documents purportedly naming the killers. An assasin apparently sprayed polonium mist or powder onto Litvinenko's food. Later in the day, Litvinenko meets 2 Russian men at a hotel. He falls sick and is admitted to Barnet Hospital. Investigations since have found traces of polonium in the sushi bar, the hotel and Litvinenko's home.
Nov 17: His condition deteriorates and he is admitted to University College Hospital.
Nov 23: Litvinenko dies.
Just before he died, he crafted a message which is shown below.
I saw some words of inspiration on Channel 5 today. Really surprised to find such good stuff on a crap local TV channel, with ridiculous shows such as My Sassy Neighbour, Yin and Yang Sisters, and who knows what other shit they have. However, once in a while, the producers do manage to come up with something intelligent.
According to the late Audrey Hepburn,
For attractive lips, Speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, Seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, Share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, Let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody.
Remember: if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find One at the end of your arm. As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
In summary, try to be a little like me, and you'll be fine.
What is it about the bulk of taxi drivers that just make them crap drivers? Their utter disrespect for fellow road users just puts amateurs at BBDC or SSDC seem so godly and perfect all of a sudden. After watching those taxi drivers switch lanes as if they were playing Daytona, or drive off after dropping passengers without realizing that there may be cars behind trying to cut past their idle taxi bums makes me feel as if my own driving is impeccable, when I know damn well that if I were to take the driving test now, I would fail without having even made it out of the driving circuit, with offences such as
1) no signalling (up to 3 times) 2) taking twice as many attempts to get into a proper parallel parking position 3) swearing whenever some other driver cuts into my lane suddenly (maybe immediate failure)
So just tonight, in the short span of driving back home from MacPherson after dinner, I had 2 brushes with the Driving Devil.
Instance 1 On PIE, I was in the middle lane, needing to switch into the left lane, so I could exit through one of those filter exits. There was this taxi behind me which needed to switch from the left lane to the middle lane, aka opposite of what I needed to do. But alas, it was a taxi behind me, and not a normal citizen-owned car. So what would a normal human being have done? He should just cut in behind me, and allow me to cut left The diagram above is probably superfluous, but heck, I though I'd add in a graphic just for visual effect. So what did the taxi driver do? He had to accelerate past me, and then suddenly cut in in front of me, thus "politely" giving me the opportunity to cut into empty space on the left without having to worry about oncoming traffic. Thank you, is that what I was supposed to think? Bloody hell, if he wants to play "see who has shorter reaction time, or who can accelerate faster", I'd take him one. Piece of traffic shit!
Instance 2 The taxi several car lengths ahead had just stopped so that the passenger can alight. Hey, I have no problem with passengers; go ahead and alight, since I know you wanna get away from the psycho driving you. So the cars behind the taxi (which didnt even have the hazard lights on when it was being parked to allow the passenger to disembark) naturally moved to the right of the taxi, and overtook it. Of course, that was what the cars should be doing rite? What else you expect us all to do? Wait patiently behind the taxi, when there was no oncoming traffic in the other lanes, as if the taxi were the king of the road waiting to be feted. So I was shifting right as I approached the taxi, waiting to cut past it. But the "ass of the road" just suddenly moved off and accelerated, totally oblivious of cars trying to cut past it. Hey, I am not implying the taxi should just wait there patiently until there are no oncoming cars before moving off. That would be analagous to asking Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to stop whining -- impossible. Yes, both cases would resemble a pen without a tip -- POINTLESS! The taxi driver could have signalled to indicate he was moving off his lazy bum ... something instead of just accelerating.
Ok, I guess this enough for now. Please note that not all taxi drivers are so bloody idiotic. I am just recounting my experiences with those who are.
