Sin duda la pérdida del empleo es uno de los momentos más difíciles en la vida de una persona. La disolución del vínculo grupal y de la empresa, no solo desorienta sino que exige reformular la profesión. Cómo reinsertarse en el mercado laboral y qué decisiones tomar a través del Outplacement.

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Parte 1
Parte 2

Autor: Marina Pagnutti
Fuente: Diario Buenos Aires Económico (BAE) 8/11/09

Eurowings BAe (Avro) 146-200 D-AJET (Lufthansa Regional) NUE, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Eurowings (Nuremberg) is gradually replacing its BAe 146-200 and 146-300 fleet with newer Bombardier CRJ900s. On Thursday (November 26) the company said goodbye at the Nuremberg base to its long-time BAe 146-200 D-AJET (msn E2201) known in the company as “A-JET”. This picture is taken on the ramp at NUE picturing D-AJET heading to runway 28 for its delivery flight to Star Peru (Lima). The aircraft was flying to Keflavik via Glasgow that day. After an overnight crew rest stop, the second day would see the aircraft flying via Kangerlussuaq (Greenland) and Iqaluit (Canada) for a second overnight stop at Montreal (Trudeau). The third day the airliner was due to stop at Orlando, continuing on to San José (Costa Rica). The last phase of the delivery flight is planned to go via Chiclayo (Peru) onward to the Lima base with a planned arrival date of November 29, 2009. Note the HF antenna on the top fuselage for communications over the North Atlantic. After being delivered on March 20, 1995 the dependable airliner operated for over 14 years with Eurowings. It is pictured in the Lufthansa Regional 2003 colors.

Copyright Photo: Gunter Mayer.

As we were preparing for today’s eviction of our campaign centre for green job creation, we heard about BAE’s announcement that it intends to lay off another 642 workers across the country, including 125 from the 385 at Cowes: that’s 2,300 announced job losses this year. And, of course, a further unacceptable cull to the numbers of skilled, unionised, and relatively well-paid jobs on the island. It has been leaked to us that this number will rise to 250.

At the Newport and Cowes Trades Council meeting on Wednesday, which was addressed by guest speakers from the Job Centre, the theme of the discussion was the continuing decline of the manufacturing sector on the island; at Broadlands House, the highest number of jobs opportunities are in the low-paid, privatised care sector. ( In fact, as I also found out yesterday, jobs losses are also quietly being planned in these civil services buildings).

There was no good news on the horizon. The welding course, which has been taken up primarily by ex-Vestas workers, was described as a one-off; and, even then, the six-month intensive course is training on the cheap for the companies that will benefit, while trainees subsist on measly benefits.
The Vestas campaign was never only about one factory. It was seen as part of a fight for the right to work for all, and more importantly the right to socially useful work, especially in jobs that deal directly with climate change.

The Workers’ Climate Action network which helped intitiate the Vestas occupation, was set up following the Heathrow Climate Camp, in the knowledge that it was all well and good opposing airport expansion or new power stations, but it was also necessary to address alternative employment for workers in these industries. We largely drew on the example of Lucas Aerospace workers from the seventies who championed through their own actions, and in their own name, what is now being called a “just transition” thirty years on.

Lucas workers, who had battled for years against rounds of redundancies and closures, came to the conclusion that they didn’t want a future based on the turbulent fortunes of the destructive military-industrial-complex. Through a democratic union structure, they sought out ideas from across the workforce – from the shop-floor, research and development, engineering and admin. They came up with an alternative production plan, with 250 prototype technologies that would meet the needs of a peaceful, just and sustainable society, that they wanted to work for. Their plan, along with other workers’ plans of the period, championed the idea that workers should be able to choose how we use our skills, and that given the choice, we don’t want technologies of destruction.

They advanced the design specifications for combined-heat-and power technology, road-rail transport, tidal power, and even turned their skills to designing mobility devices for people with spina bifida. They were defeated by the same kind of corrupt alliance of the powerful that we have been facing these last months: the ir company, the union bureaucracies, the Labour government of the time, who were all determined that any initiative of the workers themselves should be crushed.

On 7th December, the secretaries of the three island Trades Council shall be meeting the IOW Council CEO. They will be presenting a report detailing the loss of skilled jobs over the last fifty years, of course including the hundres of jobs gone from the current BAE site when it was Plessey Radar. They will also raise the issue of democracy in the process of job creation. The Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, which had already dispensed with representation for working people, is now handing over its functions and responsibilities to another costly and unaccountable consultancy, WM Enterprise.

I hope that Unite the union do not capitulate. Whether or not these job losses can be met by so-called ‘voluntary’ redundancies and ‘natural-wastage’, the island needs jobs. Tomorrow, young people across the country will demonstrate in London with the Youth Fight for Jobs campaign. I hope that BAE workers will fight for the interests of their community, and also the interests of a peaceful and sustainable planet, and join the growing wave calling on the government to create a million climate jobs now! BAE workers have our solidarity, for a defensive fight to protect existing skilled jobs and for a positive fight for alternative use of their skills.

Robin Sivapalan, Isle of Wight

La gratitud es importante en nuestras vidas. No podemos caminar por la vida si no apreciamos lo que tenemos, la vida misma, la perfección de nuestros cuerpos, nuestros hogares, familia y amigos, nuestros trabajos y nuestra capacidad para amar.

Cuando contamos nuestras bendiciones, estamos sincronizando nuestro espiritu con el Universo.  Estamos diciéndole a la vida, estoy alegre de vivir. 

Queremos darle las gracias a todos nuestros lectores y seguidores.  Esperamos que tengan un día de Acción de Gracias lleno de paz y de las alegrías que sólo se consiguen compartiendo con los seres queridos.

Feliz día de Acción de Gracias

Yeah.  I’m pretty effing hungry.

Tomorrow is my last day with SAIC.  Yeah, thats my company.  Not ABCD.  Whatever.  I figure I dont work for them anymore, and what are they gonna do, fire me?  But yeah.  Its kinda bittersweet, because I never really hated that job.  I mean, there were those moments when I wanted to strangle my boss, Kat.  But since she’s gone, things have been a little better.  I have friends and folks that I will miss.  Thankfully, I’ll only be down the hall, but it’ll still be a little sad.

Like I said the other day, we’re all going to Coastal Flats tomorrow for lunch.  That was my friend T’s stipulation.  Haha.  Our boss C doesnt really do seafood, but she’s ok.  After lunch its off to check out at SAIC in Chantilly.  Its the end of an era.

They were really good to me when I hated working for BAE, helped me out, got me out of the library, waited for me to get the qualifications that I needed, and then paid me pretty decently.  I have no qualms or issues.  (By the way, I know I just linked the hell out of that, and if you want to read more about the hell that was work w/BAE, click here)  I mean, hell, you can see by the sheer number of times that I updated back then that I was a) bored all the time and b) really unhappy.

But this isnt a post about the craptastic time that was working for BAE (think I’ve dropped their name enough times???).  This is about how hungry I am how much I am looking forward to tomorrow.  I’ll post then and let ya’lls know how it went.  Yaay for new beginnings!!

Look at the sprouties! Thats a metaphor for meeeeee!!!

Cordula Bieri describes how a CAAT protest took on a comic theme to highlight the absurdity of an arms company boss speaking on ethics.

On a cold and wet Thursday evening, 12 November 2009, supporters of Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) gathered outside Savoy Place in central London to have a good laugh. What happened?

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) invited BAE Systems’ Chairman, Dick Olver, to give its annual Mountbatten Memorial Lecture on ethics. The head of a company which is being investigated in several countries for alleged corruption and bribery and yet still denies any wrongdoing. So, naturally, we were really interested what he had to tell us about ethics.

CAAT supporter Dan, dressed as Dick Olver, gave people a warm welcome and invited them to come inside to listen what an arms dealer might have say about ethics. His announcements were met with hysterical laughter. Close by a sad clown was weeping  – what future would he have as a comic with the BAE boss bagging all the laughter?

Some CAAT supporters joined the audience inside to listen to Dick Olver’s presentation. In fact, his lecture was rather unexciting.  He talked a lot about ethical leadership and the crucial role of engineers in solving major global challenges. He mentioned various examples of ethical dilemmas engineers might face, but failed to mention any ethical dilemmas when selling deadly arms to countries in conflict or with great development needs.

Dick Olver called on universities, professional bodies, governments and companies to work together to solve ethical dilemmas. He didn’t acknowledge that civil society might also be interested in defining what is ethical and what is not.

After his speech the audience members asked questions about corruption, the Nimrod scandal and the ethics of arms trade in general. Unfortunately, the time for questions passed much too quickly. So we will have to wait until the next opportunity presents itself to question Dick Olver.

A warm thank you to all the CAAT supporters who protested outside and asked critical questions inside!

Sizlerden çoğunlukla arap ülkelerine seyahat sırasında vize yükümlülüğüyle ilgili sorular alıyorum. Bu nedenle hangi ülkeler Türk Vatandaşları’ndan vize istiyor hangileri istemiyor konusuna açıklık getirmek amacıyla aşağıda ufak bir liste hazırladım. İşte Kasım 2009 itibariyle Arap ülkelerinin Türkler’e uyguladıkları vize durumları. Güncel bilgileri almak için seyahat edeceğiniz ülkenin konsolosluk veya elçiliğini aramayı unutmayın.

Suriye : Türk Vatandaşları’ndan vize istemiyor. Doğruca sınır kapılarına giderek kendi vatandaşları gibi ülkeye giriş yapabilirsiniz.

Ürdün : Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Lübnan : Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Irak : Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

S.Arabistan : Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Yemen : Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Kuveyt : Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Katar : Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Bahreyn: Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Umman (Oman): Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

BAE : Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk, elçilik veya THY ile Emirates havayollarından vize almak zorundadır.

Mısır: Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Libya: Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Tunus: Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Fas: Türk Vatandaşları sınır kapılarından girerken vize almaktadır. Seyahat etmeden önce vize alma zorunluluğu yok.

Cezayir: Türk Vatandaşları ülkeye girmeden önce konsolosluk veya elçilikten vize almak zorundadır.

Davut Bekri

En los momentos de crisis, sólo la imaginación es más importante que el conocimiento.

Autor: Albert Einstein

Anyone that thinks this is an acceptable method for life sustainment of the F-35, needs to put away the crack pipe.

Chris Addison, a project director on the F-35 at BAE, says that his company has been given information it needs to fulfil its current work arrangements. But he adds that discussions about what the UK requires to support the aircraft through life are continuing.

“At the moment, we don’t know what the maintenance philosophy will be, so planes could just be sent back to the US [for repairs],” he says.

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CREDIT VIDEO: (me) xiaodano02

MP4: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1OE2D76X
(Credit vips2elfs if posting link to another site!)

And once again I know it is VERY late on posting this but you can never back down on BIG BANG!

Kyaaah~! soosooosooo cutecutecute!!! Especially Seungri and Jiyongie~! And OMG tabi being all sexay is like…*faints*…taeyang was..*hyperventilating*…8P…and eoddeokae daesungie~.hehe he’s soo hilarious!!! just why cant america have these kinds of technology-_-…

Türkiye ve Katar, birbirlerinin vatandaşlarına uyguladıkları vizeyi 20 Ekim 2009 tarihinde karşılıklı olarak kaldırdı. İmzalanan anlaşmaya göre, her iki ülkenin diplomatik, hizmet ve hususi pasaport sahibi vatandaşları, taraf ülkede, giriş tarihinden itibaren 6 ay içinde 90 günü aşmamak kaydıyla vizesiz kalabilecek. Eylül ayı içerisinde Türkiye ile Suriye arasında vizenin kaldırılması kararı alınmıştı. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti vatandaşlarına vize uygulamayan ülkeler arasında Andorra, Arjantin, Arnavutluk, Bahama, Barbados, Batı Samoa, Belize, Brezilya, Bolivya, Bosna-Hersek, Dominika, Ekvator, El Salvador, Endonezya, Fas, Fiji, Filipinler, Gambia, Grenada, Güney Afrika Cumhuriyeti, Güney Kore, Hırvatistan, İran gibi ülkelerde bulunuyor.

Bunun yanında Arap Körfezi ülkelerinden Bahreyn ve Oman (Umman) havalimanında Türk vatandaşlarına vize vermektedir. Katar’ın da eklenmesiyle, Arap Körfezi’nde bulunan ülkelerden sadece BAE, Kuveyt ve S.Arabistan seyahatlerden önce vize talep eder durumda kaldılar. Umarım bu ülkeler de İngiltere, Almanya ve ABD gibi ülke vatandaşlarına sundukları vizesiz seyahat imkanını bizlere de sunarlar.

Davut BEKRİ

Los econegocios se imponen para subsanar los estragos climáticos. Y, a pesar de la crisis mundial, el mercado de “bonos de carbono” ya moviliza 130 billones de dólares. Para cumplir con el protocolo de Kyoto y reducir la emision de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI), los países desarrollados financian proyectos que reduzcan la contaminación a través de la emisión de “bonos verdes”. Sepa porque la Argentina puede favorecerse. Además, la economista creadora del mercado de compraventa de bonos verdes, Graciela Chichilnisky adelanta a BAE las propuestas que presentará en la XV Conferencia sobre Cambio Climático en Copenhague.

Ver nota completa
Ver columna de Graciela Chichilnisky

Autor: Marina Pagnutti
Fuente: Buenos Aires Económico (BAE) 1/11/09

Special Performance:
Taeyang: Where U At@SBS Inkigayo October 25, 2009

MP4: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SON0SK2U

Dayuumm Bae’s song is MAJOOORRR hit! YG went all out for just this performance and look at it! Everyone just loves it! He brought the MV with him too and not to mention the choreographers…Shaun and Lyle were off the hook! They came back just for this performance!!!! The only thing I wish Bae could’ve done was AT LEAST take the hat off in the end, I wanted to see his eye candy ^_^….He was also singing live, LIVE MAN!! Mannn that boy can hit the high notes..!! AWESOME STAGE, AWESOME SONG/VOCALS= AWESOME PERFORMANCE!

Follow me on Twitter!: http://www.twitter.com/VIPS2ELFS

Cr: xiaodano02 for mp4; kpopweb.blogspot.web for video

Slå upp dagens DN Debatt och du finner ett brödgäng av sällan skådat slag. Nyblivne EU-parlamentarikern Alf Svensson (kd), metallbossen Stefan Löfvén, KTH-professorn Gunnar Eliasson och gamle gossen Göran Persson (s) gör gemensam sak och trashar regeringen och dess försvarspolitik. Med rätta.

Som jag skrev tidigare, självklart ska vi köpa svenskt försvarsmateriel, som vi dessutom plöjt ner åtskilliga miljarder i att utveckla. Vad gör regeringen? Jo, man köper från den finska staten, i övertro på något slags marknadsliberalism.

Försvarsminister Tolgfors (m) kallar på sin blogg Perssons utspel för ett självmål. Well, nog för att Persson rustade ner duktigt mycket, men uppenbarligen ser han i detta fall något som Sten Tolgfors blundar för. Värdet av en svensk försvarsindustri.
Vem vet, Persson kanske har ändrat sig? I vilket fall som helst är det fegt av Tolgfors att styra över frågan till den försvarspolitik som fördes när Persson regerade.

Svara på kritiken, tomhylsan. Och om du tycker den gamla sosseregeringens förbandsnedläggningar var felaktiga – varför monterar du då själv ner vårt kära försvar på samma sätt?

Albanian Airlines BAe 146-200 ZA-MAL (msn E2054) BLQ, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Copyright Photo: Lucio Alfieri.

Please click on photo or link below for full view, information and other photos:

http://airlinersgallery.com/2/2515327/#/gallery/whats-new-hot-new-photos/albanian-146-200-za-mal-09-grd-blq-la-lr-903919/

La visión parcial de los proyectos y los desafíos de la RSE.
El mundo empresarial ya no se reduce a crear puestos de trabajo y generar ganancias. Hoy necesita de un mayor compromiso social, lograr un cambio de paradigmas que modifique estructuras, sea responsable y sustentable. Cómo funciona la RSE en Argentina: Conflicto, transparencia y desafíos.

Ver Entrevista
Autor: Marina Pagnutti
Fuente: Buenos Aires Económico (BAE) 18/10/09

At a conference in Paris in 2003, Peter Clark, then the Deputy Chief of the US Department of Justice’s Fraud Section, was challenged by a Nigerian gentleman.   The exchange was reported in the Financial Times.  The issue was the politicization of anti-bribery cases and the gentleman boomed, “if you think anyone in Africa believes the US government will ever go after Halliburton for bribery, you are sorely mistaken”.   Mr. Clark stood and boomed back:  “if you think for a moment that we would shy away from a case for political reasons, you are sorely mistaken.”

The US investigation that followed resulted in penalties of $579 million assessed against Halliburton and the TSKJ joint venture earlier this year.   When Mr. Clark was challenged in Paris, the audience seemed to respond with a collective “we’ll see”.   And now we have seen.  Since then, we’ve also seen the Al Yamamah file closed in the UK and we’ve heard rumors of other European governments killing investigations before they began.  In light of that, it’s worth recalling this exchange and the success that the US Department of Justice has had at pursuing companies, independent of any political pressures.

Q-Sight by BAE, makes a door gunners job a lot easier.

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Şu ana kadar birkaç yazımda Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri’nin toplam yedi emirliğinden biri olan Dubai hakkında birşeyler anlatırken sürekli teknolojiyi ana başlık olarak almıştım. Bu ayki yazımda ise Dubai ile ilgili olarak minik bir seyahat rehberi hazırlamak istedim. Bu şekilde yakın bir zamanda Dubai’ye yolu düşecek herkese az da olsa bir rehber olma amacındayım.

İstanbul’dan yaklaşık 4 saatlik uçuş mesafesinde olan Dubai’ye sabaha karşı 1:00-2:00 saatleri arasında varılıyor. Bu saatlerde Dubai havalimanı çok yoğun olduğundan pasaport kontrolünden geçmek minimum 1 saat kadar bir zaman alıyor. Duty Free’si ile meşhur olan Dubai havalimanının varış bölümünde hiç de öyle muhteşem bir Duty Free bulunmuyor fakat İstanbul’a dönüş sırasında yani havalimanının dönüş bölümündeki Duty Free için aynı şeyleri söylemek mümkün değil. İstanbul’un birçok alışveriş merkezine taş çıkartacak Dubai Duty Free’de oldukça uygun fiyatlara alışveriş yapmak mümkün.

Para birimi Dirhem olan Dubai’nin (daha doğrusu Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri’nin) 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 ve 1000 dirhem olmak üzere yedi adet banknotu bulunuyor. Uzun yıllardır Amerikan Doları ile sabit döviz kuru bulunan dirhem (1 Amerikan Doları = 3,65 Dirhem) ile alışveriş yaparken ürünün Türk Lirası olarak fiyatını bulmak için fiyatı 3′e bölmek yeterli. Örneğin fiyatı 150 Dirhem olan bir eşyanın Türk Lirası olarak karşılığı yaklaşık 50 YTL.

Kalınacak yer anlamında çok çeşitli imkanları olmasına rağmen özellikle lüks tabir edilen otellerin çokluğu nedeniyle ucuz otellerde kalmak isteyen yolcuların yer bulma sıkıntısı olabiliyor. Yılda 100′e yakın fuara ev sahipliği yapan Dubai’nin en pahalı otellerinde bile bu gibi zamanlarda yer bulmak imkansız bir hale geliyor. 4-5 yıldızlı otellerin normal zamanlardaki fiyatları 400-500 USD arasında seyrediyor fakat fiyatlar yoğunluğa göre sürekli değişiyor. Özellikle sıcaklığın 50 derece civarında seyrettiği Haziran, Temmuz ve Ağustos ayında turist çekmek için oteller fiyatlarını biraz da olsa aşağıya çekiyorlar. Benim tavsiyem otelde kalmak yerine hotel apartments tabir edilen ev tipinde konaklama yerlerinde kalmak olacaktır. Minimum 4 yıldızlı otellerin konforunu aratmayan bu yerlerde gecesi 200 USD’ye kalmak mümkün.

Başta Hint, Filipinli ve Pakistanlı olmak üzere yabancı nüfusun toplam nüfusun %85′ini oluşturan bu emirlikte, İngiliz, Alman, Mısırlı, Suriyeli, Türk, Rus, Amerikan vs. her türlü milletten insana rastlamak oldukça doğal. Belki de bu kadar değişik insanın bir arada yaşıyor olmasından dolayı da insanların birbirlerine tahammülü ve hoşgörüsü çoğu zaman normalsınırların üzerinde ve bu nedenle de huzur anlamında yaşanılacak bir yer Dubai. Suç oranının sıfıra yakın seyretmesi de bu huzurun bir göstergesi.

Dubai’de ulaşım aracı olarak işçi kesimin dışındaki herkesin tercihi taksi olmasına rağmen ne yazık ki alışveriş merkezleri dışında yol üzerinde taksi bulmak neredeyse imkansız. ÖZellikle sıcak havalarda güneş altında taksi beklemek, seyahati kabusa çevirmeye yetiyor. Klimalı otobüs duraklarının yakın bir zamanda devreye alınacak olması bu beklemeleri sıkıntı olmaktan kurtarabilecek olsa da benim tavsiyem Europcar, Avis ve Fast gibi büyük firmalardan tam kaskolu araç kiralanması olacak. Fikir vermesi açısından 2007 model bir Peugeut 307′nin aylık kirasının 2500 Dirhem (850 YTL) olduğunu söyleyebilirim. Yalnız araç kiralamk için Turing’ten alınacak uluslararası sürücü belgesine ihtiyaç bulunuyor. 200 YTL karşılığı ehliyeti olan herkes bu belgeyi Turing’ten 10 dakika içinde alabiliyor.

Alışveriş açısından bakıldığında bu kadar çok çeşitli ve lüks alışveriş merkezinin bulunduğu bir başka şehir olduğunu duymadığımı söylemek istiyorum. Hemen hepsi minimum bizim İstanbul’daki Carousel alışveriş merkezi büyüklüğünde olan bu yerlerin başlıcaları şunlar: Ibn Battuta Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Center, Burjuman Center, Wafi City, Mercato ve Dubai Festival City. Şu anda en büyüğü Ibn Battuta Mall olan alışveriş merkezlerine 2009 yılı içinde katılacak olan Dubai Mall, aynı zamanda dünyanın en büyük alışveriş merkezi olacak. Prestijli markaların bulunduğu Burjuman Center ise biraz daha yüksek gelirli kesime hitap ediyor. Fiyat anlamında daha uygun olan Deira City Center’da çoğu hizmet sektöründe çalışan Filipinli’ye rastlamanız mümkün.

Dünyanın ilk 7 yıldızlı oteli (ikincisi de yine aynı ülkenin diğer emirliği olan Abu Dhabi’deki Emirates Palace’tır) olan Burj Al Arab, yelken şekli ve deniz ortasında olmasıyla özellikle akşamları oldukça güzel bir manzara sunuyor. Açıldığı ilk zamanlar isteyen herkesin belli bir ücret karşılığında girip görebildiği Burj Al Arab’a artık otel misafirleri ve restaurant müşterileri hariç kimse alınmıyor. Restaurantlarında rezervasyon yapmak da ayrı bir sıkıntı olan bu otelde 2 kişilik ortalama bir akşam yemeğinin fiyatı 1000 Dirhem civarında (yaklaşık 350 YTL).

Dünyanın en yüksek binası olan Burj Dubai’ye de ev sahipliği yapmaya hazırlanan Dubai, her ne kadar bir turizm ve iş merkezi olsa da henüz trafik sorununu çözmüş değil. Devam eden metro inşaatı ve gökdelen inşaatları nedeniyle işe gidiş ve dönüş saatlerinde trafik İstanbul’un trafiğini mumla aratıyor. Bahsetmişken devam edeyim, Burj Dubai henüz inşaat aşamasında ve bugün itibariyle 629 metre yüksekliğinde. Önümüzdeki yıl başında inşaatının bitirilmesi planlanıyor. Gökdelenleri ile ünlü Sheikh Zayed caddesi üzerinde yol alırken bütün ihtişamını gösteren Burj Dubai’nin çevresinde bulunan uydu kentler de tamamlandıkları zaman zaten rengarenk olan caddeye bir başka güzellik katacak gibi görünüyor.

Davut BEKRİ

Battlefield dispatch from General Whitewash and his brigade of rebel clowns:

Today at 1700 hours a highly militarised clown battalion laid siege to the BAE Systems stand at the Edinburgh University Careers Fair on Chambers Street. In a bid to disrupt the recruiting efforts of the world’s third largest arms company these brave clowns performed great feats of surrealist mayhem.

Their daring-do extended to other stalls when they were alerted to the presence of such villains as Shell, RBS and Procter & Gamble, all of which futilely attempted to conceal their misdeeds – which range from massive environmental and social degradation (here’s lookin’ at you Shell and RBS) to the routine torturing of animals for cosmetics’ testing (hello Procter & Gamble!) – behind nice and shiny PR smokescreens. Good thing these clowns come fully equipped with bullsh*t detectors!

Back at the BAE stand, company reps were definitely not overheard explaining to students how the company equips F-16 warplanes used by the Israeli army to reduce Palestinian and Lebanese villages to rubble. Like lightening clowns were despatched, heavily armed with sarcasm and fluorescent clothing, to make sure potential graduate employees were fully educated in the glorious history of BAE’s deadly dealings. 

Thus, in the same week the government’s Serious Fraud Office has decided to pursue charges against multi-billion-pound BAE Systems for multiple counts of international corruption, the company was hindered, if only temporarily, in its attempts to ensnare graduates by these excitable, conscientious and non-violent rebel clowns. 

One clown, identified as General Whitewash, commented “Clowning is the most effective way of getting our message across. It is a parallel response to the plainly ridiculous idea of giving this prodigiously unethical and possibly criminal company a platform to recruit on our campus. Honk, honk.” 

You can contact the clowns on: rca.edinburgh@googlemail.com

Links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/02/bae-systems-global
http://www.caat.org.uk/press/recent.php?url=20091001prs- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8284073.stm- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8284549.stm

dailymail.co.uk

A senior MP was warned by the Serious Fraud Office that he might be the target of a bugging operation involving BAE Systems, the British arms firm facing a criminal investigation for corruption.

Liberal Democrat frontbencher Norman Lamb was advised by an SFO investigator they should meet in a public place rather than his Commons office to avoid their conversation being secretly monitored.

Mr Lamb, who has been pursuing BAE over corruption allegations since 2001, became aware of the suspected security breach when the investigator asked him at short notice to meet in the bustling atrium of nearby Portcullis House.

Documents seen by this newspaper show that Mr Lamb wrote to the SFO expressing concern that such monitoring might be taking place.

More…

I really needed a quiet night last night after a week of full-on CLAW engagement. I didn’t have high hopes of actually pulling it off, noting my rather parlous record this week, did actually enjoy a couple of hours post-dinner immersed in a massive leather armchair and glass of Bud (I have learned this week that the real deal bud actually comes from the Czech Republic) and worked through The Telegraph and The Independent.

Snippets…

The UK Attorney-General has to decide whether or not to order the prosecution of BAe for ‘greasing the wheels’ in its securing of numerous international arms contracts. The short-term gain; a billion £ fine for government coffers and an opportunity for UK pollies to morris dance their way around the moral high ground. The longer term pain: factory closures and job losses as BAe scrambles to pay the fine; loss of orders as other, less scrupulous competitors wing into the vacuum leading to more factory closures and job losses. There are some unpalatable facts of life about doing business in most of the world and wheel-greasing is one of them – the moral high ground doesn’t develop much GNP…of course, the silver lining if BAe does step off centre stage is that the customers would then have a better chance of buying kit that a. works, and b. doesn’t need a PhD in Mechanics just to change the spark plugs…

The courts here have just issued their first order via Twitter. It’s a cease and desist order to an unknown offender who posts anonymously on a blog using the same username as the blog owner. Have fun enforcing that one and don’t too surprised if soon everybody starts abusing that username…there’s no Highway Patrol on the information superhighway…

There was an item on BBC4 this afternoon on the problems facing schools with yobbo students (this is in the same country that decided that yobs aren’t really a Police problem as the Police have better things to do – clearly if they can only manage 6 hours per bobby per week actually on the beat – and you should call your local council if you’re being harassed to the point of suicide, hammering your head beaten in with a hammer or having rocks hiffed through your front window every other night). Anyway…there seemed to be some close parallels with current COIN campaigns: schools are disgiusing rather than confronting the problem; there is no clear or uniform strategy within any one school let alone nationally; the problem might go away if we can move it to another area; if we change the metrics (much as I hate the term and the philosophy), the problem might disappear; we don’t actually know what the problem is because we are too busy addressing the symptoms. It kinda struck me as I did my 15th lap of the Oxford Ring Road (I spit on the Oxford Ring Road and all its descendants for a thousand years!) that the solutions might be similar as well: identify what the real issues are; identify what strategy will work in that society and environment; accept there are no easy answers or quick fixes; apply the strategy long enough for behaviours to change and become the norm. As schools deal with compressed generations of students, I thought it might be an idea to observe the various anti-yob initiatives and analyse what works and why as a possible cue for COIN concepts…after all, anyone with teenagers knows you don’t have to travel to encounter strange alien cultures…