Viva La Revolución!

We have learned today that the massimo lider is indeed not well, but not terminally ill either. The BBC relies on a statement from Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, who has close ties to Castro. Let's hope that he's right. I'd feel a bit uncomfortable if he died while walking about in Havana.

Crime and Media coverage

Ever since my arrival in the UK in November 2005 I have wondered where there has been such an intensive and frequent media coverage of crime. Especially capital crime. This is true for newspapers, TV and radio. It also - unfortunately true for both tabloids and quality papers like The Times, The Daily Mirror, and The Guardian. I am under the impression that The Independent does have fewer crime related stories or at least does not push it that much than the others. Anyway, looking at the headlines and watching TV news reminded me of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine.

If you compare headlines and stories in general in German papers as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Die Welt you will soon find out that there are far less stories about crime. If your German is good enough of course.

This is because there is simply more capital crime in the UK and it does therefore affect people more. Really?

647 people were convicted of murder and manslaughter in Germany in 2004. This included attempted murder and manslaughter. For the England and Wales this figure is 670. Considering the inhabitants in the two areas and to make it more complicated, this is about 0.01% of the German population and about 0.008% of the population in England and Wales.

So there is more crime here than there is in Germany. Quod erat demonstrantum. But, given the very small total numbers does that really justify this intensive coverage? I sincerely believe it doesn't. I think it makes people feel unsafe.

Another reason for the dominant place of crime stories in UK media might be the rising number of crimes committed. So has the crime rate risen of the last years? No, says the British Crime Survey.

According to the BCS:

• In 2005/06 the total number of crimes in England and Wales was around 10,912,000.
• Total crime peaked in 1995, and has since fallen by 44%.

The Brits and Finance

I know that it is not quite English understatement to criticise people directly; however, I have just learned in my communication skills course that the English habit of apologising in advance rather than coming straight to the point. I also do nit intend to criticise people but a whole system. The British financial system this is.

I have already touched this issue on my blog and would like to add yet another story. I have recently changed my bank because my old bank charged me for going into debt. This is not unusual and I understand that banks charge fees if you do not comply with their terms and conditions. I consider my case - and maybe of millions of others? - to be a little different.

To start with, it took my more than two months to open the current account in the first place after the clerk suddenly decided to accept my overseas utility bill as proof of address. After about half a year I asked for an overdraft and was told that the bank, Barclays, could not grant me one. "But why? I have been a customer for over 6 months now and you see that I have a regular income." "I am sorry, sir, but we can't give you an overdraft". "But why?". "We can't give you one." "I just want to know why!" ...

I did not intend to use the overdraft. It was only a precaution to secure payments if I had to pay a large bill a day or so before my salary would be due. Exactly that happened two weeks after I had asked for the overdraft. So my account was in debt for two days and the amount was less than £5. I was charged £30. My enqueries in person and per email weren't successful so I decided to switch.

smile give you a £500 - at least for the first 6 months. Fine. Anyway, it all worked out well. They transfered my direct debits and I could use the account online about two weeks after I had applied for the current account.

Today I have received this letter. It is a joke, isn't it? I have checked this account online and the new direct debit is listed. So we on earth do they still need the details? And a cheque? Apropos, one of my next blogs will definitely about these ancient form of payment.

Tips for foreigners can be found here. Sorry, it's only available in German.

Make it easy

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be
the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was
the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English
spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in
plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make
the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up
konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the
troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like
fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to
reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always
ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is
disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with
"z" and "w"with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou"

and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu
understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze
forst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

Made in Offenbach. Fast.

Nicht nur, dass mein dänischer temp flatmate ein netter Kerl ist, er ist auch erfahren im bügeln. Zumindest ließ sein schnittiges Dampfbügeleisen darauf schließen. Nach anfänglicher Skepsis habe ich den Versuch gewagt und war vom Ergebnis sehr angetan. Es ist tatsächlich ein Leichtes, mit diesem Gerät zu bügeln und - das Entscheidende - das Hemd ist nahezu knitterfrei! Nach zwei Monaten (temp!) zieht mein flatmate nun wieder aus und nimmt natürlich sein Wundergerät mit.

Ich musste zur Tat schreiten. In einem Elektromarkt stand ich vor einem Regal mit 20 verschiedenen Bügeleisen, die sich m.E. nur im Preis unterschieden. In der Kategorie £25 fand ich glücklicherweise ein Modell von Rowenta. Gute deutsche Wertarbeit. Noch dazu aus Offenbach (zumindest dort gegründet, mittlerweile SEB). Wunderbar, nachdem ich letzten Monat nicht ohne Stolz herausfand, dass der Londoner Stadteil, in dem ich lebe, Tower Hamlets, mit Offenbach verschwistert ist, ist dieser Kauf schon die zweite gute Tat, um die ehemals heimische Wirtschaft zu unterstützen.

Als ich das gute Stück zu Hause auspackte und die Bedienungsanleitung studierte, musste ich jedoch voller Schrecken feststellen, dass es mit nichten in Offenbach hergestellt wurde: Made in China prangte neben dem Rowentalogo.

I'm working...

For those of you who always wanted to know what I'm doing. And were wondering if I'm working hard. Pa?

Clean pubs at last

The date the smoking ban in England will come into force has been announced today. It's the 1st July. So over a week for the pubs to clear until my birthday. Great. But let's have a fag the night before ;-)

Ladenschluss sucks!

Endlich!

"Auch Hessen und Brandenburg liberalisieren Ladenschluss

Nach anderen Bundesländern haben nun auch Hessen und Brandenburg den Ladenschluss weitgehend freigegeben. Der hessische Landtag in Wiesbaden entschied, dass ab Dezember der Einkauf an Werktagen rund um die Uhr möglich sein soll. Lediglich Sonn- und Feiertage bleiben weitgehend geschützt.Das Parlament in Potsdam beschloss eine ähnliche Regelung. Auch eine Ausweitung der Öffnungszeiten an den Advent-Sonntagen ist vorgesehen. Zuvor hatten bereits unter anderem Berlin, Nordrhein-Westfalen und Sachsen die Ladenschluss-Bestimmungen gelockert."

dradio-newsletters: Deutschlandradio 20 Uhr Nachrichten vom 23. November 2006

20 Millionen illegale Waffen in Deutschland

Diese Meldung hat mich geschockt.

[...] 2002 schätzte die Gewerkschaft der Polizei die Zahl der illegalen Schusswaffen in Deutschland auf 20 Millionen, die Größenordnung wurde seither nie ernsthaft bestritten. Die Sprecherin des Bundeskriminalamtes dazu: "Uns liegt hierzu kein statistisches Datenmaterial vor, und Schätzungen geben wir nicht ab." [...]

Ich habe für Amnesty International bei der Kampagne control arms (Waffen unter Kontrolle) engagiert und Passanten und Kinobesuchern erzählt, wie viele illegale Waffen in Afrika kursieren, dass Kindersoldaten an ihnen zum Töten ausgebildet werden und jede Minute ein Mensch durch eine Kugel stirbt. Dabei habe ich habe nicht daran gedacht, dass jeder vierte mit dem ich gesprochen habe, statistisch auch eine illegale Waffe zu HAuse im Schrank stehen hat. Vielliecht bin ich zu naiv...

What a week!

This week was quite an exiting one. It started with an accident just outside our office. A motor cyclist was hit by a car when making a right turn. Despite the fact that the hit must have caused a loud noise I didn't hear anything, but ran out of the office after seeing the crashed bike on the street. Everything I had learned in the First Aid Course rushed through my head. When I arrived at the scene I could see that the cyclist was lying in the street holding is leg that was apparently broken. He was surrounded by people and someone apparently had called an ambulance. So apart from reassuring him that help would be there soon there was no need for First Aid.

On Thursday we had a heavily drunken tramp who was also shouting at passers-by on our door step. We had to call the police. Once there they questioned him, but he was not really in the state to answer them. Then they tried to remove him from the steps. That didn't work either. By the time I left they managed to move him from the step to the pavement. After all.

Friday promised to be very busy as I had to hand in a report. Around lunchtime someone was due in to fix the electricity problem in the office. Too make a long story short, we ended up with an electrician who was furious when I had told that we cannot pay him by cheque as agreed before as the signatory had to leave because of an emergency. Ok, I did not deliver what was agreed. But, hey, what would you do if someone calls you in to fix a problem and you had agreed on a immediate payment after fulfillment? And knowing that the other option, i.e. invoicing your customer (not an unusual thing to do anyway, is it?) would bring you 100 quid more? Right, tell him you have to add that amount to the invoice, get your worksheet signed, leave and report to your boss. Well, he did all that in the end, but not without making a major fuss about our agreement, my responsibility and even our morality.

Just to be on the safe side

We all know that the terror cell who planned 9/11 was living in Marienstraße 54, Hamburg. I am pretty sue that the neighbours have been asking themselves again and again, why didn't we see or hear anything when they had planned the attacks next door? Could have prevented anyhing? The answer to these questions is probably now.

Just have a look at the picture above. I came across it on my way to work. The sign shows the entrance to a mosque. Does that ring a bell? Well, as I live two minutes from there I felt I should let you know...

Sozialneid

Kleiner Beitrag zum Thema Immer auf die Kleinen. Das unterste Viertel der deutschen Steuerzahler trägt weniger als vier Prozent zum Einkommenssteueraufkommen bei. Diejenigen auf den top Plätzen (das sind die ersten acht Prozent, die einen Spitzensteursatz 40 bis 42 Prozent zahlen) kommen für 44 Prozent auf. (Die Zeit vom 2. November 2006, S.23)

Mit anderen Worten, der Staat bekommt fast die Hälfte seiner Einnahmen durch die Einkommensteuer von acht Prozent der arbeitenden Bevölkerung.

Zitat der Woche

Zugegeben, FJ Jung war und ist kein Politpromi und selbst den meisten Hessen vermutlich kein Begriff. Er diente ein Jahr lang MP Koch als Kanzleichef und stand zwei Jahre der CDU-Landtagsfraktion in Wiesbaden vor.

Aber das Ergebnis einer ARD-Umfrage, hat mich dann doch etwas geschockt. "Mir sagt der Name gar nichts", oder "Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass der Franz Josef Jung so Sachbücher in punkto Kochen schreibt". Auch jemand, "der Musik gemacht hat", fällt zufällig gefragten Passanten bei dem Namen Franz Josef Jung ein."

You wonder what they have learned from the past...

Hello BBC! Anybody home? By putting the "news" about a German sex offender in the Europe section you proved me right (see posting below). Thanks for that.

But wasn't there something else? Something you - oh, sorry, should I limit this to the yellow press? - jump at immediately? Yes, there was. And yes it's the Nazis. They are back. In a way at least.

According to a survey by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation more than 15 percent of Germans want to have a "Führer with a strong hand", 26 percent a sole party in the country that represents the ethnic community ("Volksgemeinschaft")!!! By now all signals must have turned to red!

BBC, this is newsworthy! Not Britney's sex life or a tosser running on a prison's roof.

Media

Ich hatte es eigentlich schon aufgegeben, mich über die schlechte englische Presse zu echauffieren. Das schließt die ach so ehrwürdige und seriöse BBC ein. Eigentlich. Ab und an überkommt mich aber wieder ein Schauder. So auch heute. Obige Meldung erschien allen Ernstes heute Abend als "Breaking News", um nach wenigen Minuten zu einer Topmeldung aufzusteigen.

The verdict

It worries me that the Foreign Secretary has welcomed the verdict against Saddam Hussein. The former Iraqi president has been sentenced to death over the killings of 148 civilians in Dujail in 1982 today.

How can a government that clearly opposes the death penalty be in favour of a verdict that results in hanging? Mrs Beckett speaks of "appalling crimes" and that "It is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice."

Let's be clear. These crimes were appalling and whoever is responsible for them needs to be brought to justice. Two questions arise though. Firstly, was the trial against Saddam fair? International lawyers and Amnesty International have serious doubts. The human rights organisation claims that is was "deeply flawed and unfair". It appears that the trial was not judged by Western standards as Mrs Beckett implies.

Secondly, if you are under the impression that the trial was held under democratic standards - an opinion that is predictable if you are part of the "coalition against terror" - why do you feel obliged to hail such a verdict? And how credible is it if you then add that you are opposed to the death penalty? Does that mean we are generally against and it, but not this time? Why didn't Mrs Beckett join her European counterparts in their statements today? Most of them said that Saddam should be held accountable for his crimes, but that he should get life imprisonment rather than the death penalty.

BTW is it coincidence that the verdict was announced two days before the US midterm election?

CCTV

Die bemerkenswerteste Meldung der Woche ist, dass die Briten zugeben, in einer Überwachungsgesellschaft zu leben. Sorry guys, aber dass hätte ich euch auch vorher sagen können. Man wird schier von den Dingern erschlagen, wenn man durch Londons Straßen läuft. Im Königreich gibt es geschätzte 4,2 Mio so genannte closed-circuit televison (CCTV) Kameras. Eine Kamera für 14 Einwohner! Man kennt ja solche Rechnungen aus der Welt der Statistik. 280 Einwohner pro Quadratkilometer (Deutschland), 5 000 Einwohner pro Arzt (?) oder sehr beliebt 10 000 Londoner pro ATM (frei nach FL).

Man stelle sich das vor: 14 Einwohner pro Kamera! Die könnte man tatsächlich auf einem zur Kamera gehöhrigen Bildschirm sehen und identifizieren. Da das aber meistens nicht passiert, rennt der Einwohner Großbritanniens durchschnittlich 300 durch das Sichtfeld einer CCTV Kamera. Und wie stehts mit dem Datenschutz? Aber man muss doch nichts befürchten, wenn man ein braver Bürger ist und hat es eine abschreckenden Wirkung. Außerdem stelle dir vor: Ein Familienmitglied wird auf der Straße ermordet und man kann den Täter mittels CCTV identifizieren. So in etwa die Ansicht zweier meiner Kollegen zum Thema. Ich gebe nur zu Bedenken, dass sowohl die 9/11 als auch die 7/7 Attentäter aufgezeichnet wurden...

Anyway, wenn man dann das Gesicht zum Täter (oder potenziellen Täter) gefunden hat, kann man es mit der DNA Datenbank (3.5 Mio Einträge) und der für Fingerabdrücke abgleichen (6 Mio Einträge) und, weiß eigentlich?. Achja, zuschlagen. Und um sicher zu gehen, schicken wir 250 Polizisten zum Verhaften.

Damit überlasse ich euch das Feld. Und wer mir sagen kann, wie hoch die Wahrscheinlichkeit ist, dass ich auch schon in einer solchen Datenbank verzeichnet bin (Die UK hat 60 Mio. Einwohner), bekommt ein Pint.

Watch your money

We all now that we should watch our valuables in busy tourist areas, e.g. Amsterdam. But this is different and rather shocking. Brittle Euro notes have appeared in Germany. Apparently the notes literally fall into pieces while using them. The German Bundesbank denies that they are forgeries but claims that they must have come into contact with an acid.

I just try to imagine the day we have to pay our rent. Thanks to the great bank system and/or strange landlords we have to pay it in cash. So once every month we'd walk with well over £1,000 to the property agent. As you can imagine this already is quite a pile of notes. Now multiply this by say 20 and imagine the face of the agent when you put the crumbs on the table...

I have to say this is the first time I'm really happy that the UK have not (yet?) joined the EU monetary union. They have found 1,500 notes so far. Good luck guys!

My committment

If anyone has any tips re best man please leave a coment to this blog. My cousin gets married in March and I've committed myself to be his best man (I like the German word for it better. Trauzeuge. There's no direct translation into English for it, although it means witness to a marriage).

Already regret it, Sonja and Jörn, cause I bet you somehow make me sign this document where I commit myself to pay for you expenses when you loose your jobs, get the blame if your rats get poisened and so on. Well, I'll be prepared ;-)

SUV

Blocking the way entirely. This image shows a cycle lane in New Road in E1. Moreover SUVs represent a great threat to cyclists and pedestrians. They are much heavier than normal cars and "any injuries will be concentrated in the upper body due to the increased height of the bonnet above ground. [...] In the cae of a hit this leads to "impacts with the abdomen, thorax and head and so vital body organs will bear the brunt of the trauma and the victim will be killed or maimed."

BTW who needs a SUV anyway?

motor cycles

Blocking on all fronts

Giant Town Squadron

That's my bike. Not fully equipped though, I got another back roller and to red front rollers that can be attached to the low rider (that's also missing on this picture). Bought in Münster in 1997 it's still in a pretty good shape, don't you think?

Cycling in London

My bike is by far the most important investment I've ever made. I've started using it on a daily basis when I started uni in 1996. But only now, having lived in London for a year, I realise how important and comfortbale it is. It's maybe a personal thing: I just don't like public transportation. I don't mind trains for longer travelling, but I only use the tube when I need to go, say to the airport. Ok, and when I wear I suit four or five times a year. I love the freedom when I'm cycling. You don't have to wait for something to arrive you just go whenever and wherever you like. And it's healthy, guys. Especially after a long night out. It just takes a bit longer uphill...

When I came here I had no idea how the infrastructure would be and was delighted when I found it was pretty good (Münster is still No.1 though). I wasn't used to the cycle lane being part of the road. It is common in Germnay to have a pavement that's divided in a pedestrian and and biker part. I like the London type better and it's also safer. Despite being closer to the traffic and therefore being more vulnerable car drivers are aware of you as you are a road user - just a sthem. (Just looked the word up in a dictionary. The German translation is "Verkehrsteilnehmer". Well, much more comlicated, Amtsdeutsch...).

To be part of the club I joined the London Cyling Campaign. They also give you a liability insurance when you join - something most people in Germany have, but doesn't seem to exist in the UK. The LCC've really done a lot in recent years and conditions for cyclists have improved. Cycling has become popular. There are over 9m hits for "cycling in london"! Also the government promotes it. Also Ken's up for a ride.

There's also a downside to it. Or let's call it hassle with motorists. Although by far most motorists respect you and appreciate that you're weaker there are of course some morons. I pictured some below. Address unfortunately unknown ;-)

Käptn Picard Nachtrag

Bemerkenswert auch, dass die beiden folgenden Artikel im selben DLF newsletter (23. Okt. 2006) aufeinander folgten.

---------------
Bayer-Tochter plant Stellenabbau und Verkäufe

Der Bayer-Konzern will bei seinem Tochter-Unternehmen "Bayer Industry Services" mittelfristig jede zweite Arbeitsstelle streichen. Von den derzeit rund 5.800 Beschäftigten an den Standorten Leverkusen, Dormagen und Krefeld-Uerdingen sollten etwa 2.300 durch Verkäufe in andere Unternehmen wechseln, wurde nach einer Aufsichtsratssitzung in Leverkusen mitgeteilt. Betroffen seien vor allem die technischen Dienste. [...]

---------------
Wirtschaft wegen Abwanderung besorgt

Die deutsche Wirtschaft befürchtet, dass immer mehr junge und qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte ins Ausland abwandern. Die steigende Zahl der Auswanderer sei ein Alarmzeichen, sagte der Präsident des Deutschen Industrie- und Handelskammertages, Braun. Mit 145.000 Abwanderungen habe es im vergangenen Jahr die höchste registrierte Zahl seit 1954 gegeben.

Migranten

Es mutet schon seltsam an, wenn man dieser Tage Vertreter von Politik und Wirtschaft in Deutschland hört. Ludwig Georg Braun, DIHK Präsident, warnt vor einem "Brain Drain". Immer mehr kluge Köpfe kommen der Wirtschaft abhanden. Sie wandern schlicht aus. Entziehen sich dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt. Unverschämt. 145.000 im vergangenen Jahr. Und ich bin einer von ihnen. Schuldig Herr Braun. Herr Braun sagt, die Politik sei schuld. Die "Standortbedingungen" seien in aneren Ländern viel besser. Andere Länder weniger Abgaben. Die Politik gibt den Schwarzen Peter zurück. Und die, die da bleiben werden schlecht ausgebildet.

Gestern berichtete ein Migrationsexperte von seinem letzten USA Besuch. Er sei der Überzeugung, dass dass das Land mittelfristig mehr mexikanische Einwanderer brauche, um seinen Lebenstandard zu sichern. Kongressabgeordnete teilten seien Ansicht. Lediglich der Präsident lässt den Grenzzaun erweitern.

Rosie

Well, here they are the patrons of my blog. Rosie on the right ...

Stan

... and Stan on the left.

Welcome note

Welcome to my blog. It has just gone live. They say that the Brits like to talk about the weather. And that it's always raining in London. Well, they're always up for a smalltalk which not at all a bad thing and the weather is a good thing to talk baout anyway. The rainy Britain - at least that goes for London - doesn't exist. In fact, London had more sunny days than Rome or Madrid. I since I've been here I can only remember getting really wet twice. Honestly. And I cycle to wrok every day.
That is not more than a myth. The same is true for the fog by the way

Don't really know why I start with stereotypes here, but a colleague of mine asked me what sterotype I would have for Brits. I just came up with one, but that's really a classic. We all know that Brits love to queue. It doesn't really matter what for - she even said that. I'm still investigating how many cash machines are there per head in this country, but in Germany you would never wait longer than, say five minutes or you never have more than three people in front of you. In London, I mean London, the financial centre of Europe, I have to queue all the time in front of an ATM. The worst I saw on a Thursday early evening, I counted 19 people in front of a HSBC branch. I didn't join them in queuing though...

From sterotypes to facts. Brits are the champions in energy wasting. No wonder that we pay about £50 a month in winter for gas. Isolation, double glazed windows seem to be foreign words in the UK...