Congestion across the world is a problem and no one seems to have found a solution but I think it will only ease than become worse. A key feature to electric cars is their size and this will be inherent as the lower the mass of the car the smaller power is required and since battery technology is not as advanced as originally speculated, electric power from a car is not easy to come by. As a result, cars will become smaller and without the need for a large front bonnet to encapsulate an ancient engine which is surely due to retire soon.

So how does this reduce congestion? Walking through London between the hours of five to seven in the evening one notices a few eyesores. Not only the never ending line of cars that reduce air quality lower than the EU allowable threshold as Marlyebone Road did last year resulting in a fine to the council but in the cars themselves I have certainly noticed nothing. Exactly – nothing. The majority of cars stuck in rush hour jams have one person in them – the driver, with the remaining volume of the car having no use at all with most infuriating empty seven seated cars for only the driver!

Public transport has failed to convince these people that they are more comfortable than sitting in a jam nor are buses anymore persuasive and so assuming the Mayor of London will continue his sabbatical, cars are here to stay. Did you say Boris Bikes or bicycle lanes? Well, in fear of London turning into down town Bombay with cyclist sporting lycra with waxed legs elbowing each other out of the way at traffic lights and shouting at buses for turning left – what happens when it rains?

Cars that are small and quiet will ease congestion taking up a smaller volume on the road causing a more pleasant journey for pedestrians and tourists alike. The Government have realized this and encourage consumers to buy electric with a £5000 subsidy for a selected fleet of cars that are due to come out. In addition, with densely populated reserved parking in prime locations attached with electric charging pods with an oyster card “tap in – tap out” system adopted, it all seems very simple. So when you slide into whatever “banger” you have the keys to at the moment, strongly consider an electric car. It will be cheaper to buy than expected, cheaper to run and tax-free.

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Universities Should Be More Selective

Summer is over, leaves are falling, somehow the Lib-Dem’s are in power and apparently it’s now acceptable to be a pain to the nation in Britain. Every week over the past two months someone, somewhere in our country is encouraging a strike against their organization and moreover they have been services that are adamant to everyday people.

We all remember the postal strikes with images of managers delivering mail in black cabs and personally seeing the workers sitting outside the Farringdon sorting office in protest causing disruption and emotional distress not only to businesses that drive the UK economy but to target Christmas, which is one of the only times of celebration that is embraced in this country, is ruthless.

Put it this way, I think we feel sympathy for workers who are bullied by their overpaid bosses and this has been the trend as cost cutting has been the key to survival in a recession, however when you protest at time where the nation needs your service the most such as Royal Mail during Christmas or British Airways during Easter, then you lose the sympathy of your people. This was evident specifically during the British Airways saga with more workers returning to work the longer the strike went on. As a result, how many companies have switched their delivery contracts away from Royal Mail to other private companies or people hesitating to book a flight with British Airways not risking their holiday being ruined due to the volatility of their work force, but isn’t it all a bit of whining?

More recently we experienced yet another train strike, which might as well be an annual calendar event or a bank holiday, not over people being fired or with a decrease in salaries but a small reshuffle of staff and in the day of the Oyster Card, who needs more than one person at the station ticket office anymore? And a similar problem echoed across to the fire department where leaders promised that no-one would lose their jobs or have a salary cut but a reshuffle in shifts caused outrageous strikes and even a threat to strike on the night where their department would be the busiest of all on Guy Fawk’s night! How unsympathetic could they be to risk London falling under ablaze merely so they could keep their secondary moonlighting jobs and just like that, things return to normal as if we forget their moaning like spoilt children throwing toys out a pram.

Loonies

Yesterday we had the rather comical protests of the “intellectual” students parading against university fees increasing in 2012. I say comical because it was going so well until one fool decided that to resolve this sensible exchange, he needs to smash a window in and just like that their argument is struck off for being complete fools. Who could take them seriously now? Yes the nation will feel that a three fold hike is a bit much but why sabotage your momentum by acting like a Parisian? What’s next burning cars, buildings then people? Please, don’t waste our time by pretending that students today are the future of tomorrow but then proving to the nation that maybe you are just a group of fake pretentious ignorants just seeking a bit of attention from the media like the train, fire and airline strikers – perhaps this fee increase may be a good thing so the quality of teaching augments so students will no longer feel it is acceptable to vandalize a government building.

“A revolution is needed” a socialist said to me recently protesting outside my university and I agreed, but it is just not the British way. We may admire their passion across the channel in Paris but we are more rational over here and by Christmas, when the tacky lights brighten Oxford Street all this will be forgotten. After all, don’t complain our government is careless with their money when they are too busy patching up windows you smashed in.

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Nevertheless, there is an aura of requirement in that the nation feels that this “problem” needs to be fixed. I say “problem” because the public are yet to be educated with the reality of the situation but rather we only know that too much money is being spent. So Mr Osbourne may have the nation’s backing – partly, a sense of he is doing the job that needs to be done but nobody would want to do.

The Conservatives have attacked the benefit frauds from the off and every tax payer would agree with this movement as some of the situations the press releases are hilarious of a man playing rugby for his Sunday league whilst claiming incapacity benefits or an immigrant woman living in a five bedroom mansion on housing benefit whilst she collects rent from her husband’s other property. This list is endless but as soon as you mention anything to do with cutting benefits, despite it going to fraud, the labour party are bright-eyed to show that they fight for the common man.

When cameron confessed that there needed to be cuts, the press was immediately bombarded by heads of different departments such as the RAF claiming a calamity if their budget would be cut or Headmasters warning of education breakdowns if their budget were to be cut. All this to deter the government and to win the nations support for their cause so their blow isn’t too hard.

However, this was all inevitable. Call it pruning, efficiency savings or a step back. Whatever spin you want to believe that brings you to see that this is positive. We will hopefully look back and laugh at the situation thinking how silly we were to be in such a state.

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Last week we were literally blessed with a visit from the Pope who received, at least a fifteen million pound, protection from our Queen loving police and as the papers moaned at this small amount of money, people flocked in numbers to the man Catholics follow with heart. With the press time this short stay has received, the multi-cultural Britain will have been exposed to a wave of religious analysis. As no paper would dare insult a religion, in fear of losing readers rather than morale values, the topic will be left with no conclusion which has left us with a lingering thought – and we are reminded with the feeling of what an echo in history feels like.

This seldom respect shown to a religious leader has now reignited the thought of religion into people. Something to believe in, regardless of your actual emotions, something unusual to the spotlight, people stare. The shear number of supporters witnessed on live television turning out in droves simply to receive a distant wave from a man in a rather comical vehicle is a reminder to the onlookers of Catholicism, the status of one man.

This coexisting following for such a man that we all stayed awake to feel the excitement so we could remember when aged to look back on with momentum changing effects, Barack Obama, is repeating itself today in Britain. Perhaps not for one’s personal admiration for the Pope and what he stands for but merely curiosity as to how so many people follow him. This man, whether you agree with him or not, is the face of a religion that is still very much widely followed in this country despite what we read about falling rates of religious members and I am confident in saying that next year’s consensus will agree and for one to criticize this, is blind.

Can you blame them?

Stephen Fry, Al Murray and Richard Dawkins were few of many protesters to the Pope and their mere actions are hypocrisy. Criticism, which is the main purpose behind any protest, is shameful of these intellects to impose onto a man than holds no compulsion onto them, or anyone like them, but only shows good-manners in leading in what his religion teaches to him. Yet, people feel defensive in that despite his anonymity, find the need to impose their beliefs onto him by ruining what may be the most-awaited moment of a Catholics life, by disturbing the peace.

But it reduces the two sides to faith. Something which if you have, could never be explained to someone without it. If people have faith or love in something then no soul can convince them that their obsession is flawed and that is what I truly believe separates society – faith. People collude on their understanding of faith. It is the unanswered argument of our lives where no scientific journal or article will prove right or wrong. Faith in anything, be it a man, a concept or a religion can ever be proved right or wrong in what we deem to be scientific proof. And such is the realms that contemplation of what Britain, and many other nations in the past, has experience over the last seventy two hours, will lead us to.

However, the difference of opinion on aspects that require faith into it or not is what keeps us united. Our civilization may soon be separated geographically where culture or values may no longer be the common ground but rather faith and the characteristics that come with it and has that not happened already? The West which is now a term used to describe a powerful movement of social evolution, is deemed to have less faith, discipline, traditions than The East. As people travel outside of social evolution to “find themselves” in areas of the world that are considered backward compared to their own and if found they return with faith in a new way of life, living as a new purpose. This same emotion, has been brought to the Catholics of Britain and it’s something that the people not of faith may never understand.

Featured Video:

The Pope in London September 18th 2010

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The eutopian concept of live and let live is rarely observed today. We see something we do not like and our faces immediately scrawl with disgust at their bad nature. Some of us even feel proud that we behave better with the ideology of “sucks to be you”/ or some of us will pluck up the courage to actually face that person in dialogue to put them in their place. On the other hand, if we see a similar act which we do not agree with, we quite simply – live and let live and it is clear which areas of the world are more fond of this concept. But why live and let live? On the face of it, it may seem a positive mannerism to adopt but analyzing this would result that perhaps it is not so black and white.

Personally I have spent most of my travels in more short lived years mainly in Europe and the Middle-East. Despite their obvious differences, one of them that I certainly admire is the concept of community. I have noticed that one is more likely to scrawl and snarl at a eye-sore of an act but less likely to act against it in the European regions, however in the Middle-East, if a bizarre act were to be observed, the Arabs would look at it with curiosity rather than judge but are readily very to act against a deed if frowned upon.

The Bigger Picture

When looking at someone in disgust, cui bono? But with a culture to greet alien actions with curiosity and ill actions with a suggestive improvement, people do benefit. This is done to improve the person but also with a future intent in mind. Thus so, future generations benefit creating a community feeling within common lands so that a common conduct is preserved and this is good. This is good because once these trivial ethics are agreed on, communities can grow which is the primary aim for any group of people – growth.

With urbanisation all over the world, rural areas will moan at their marginalization but I strongly feel that despite an unfair spread of wealth, the cities have lost their sense of community and thus have slowed down in their growth in comparison to the more rural areas of the world.

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With recent popularity of car review programmes such as Fifth Gear and Top Gear, we have been edutained with loud noises and wheel spin every Sunday evening and whilst the car is taking a good bashing by the environmentalists, it seems to be surprisingly robust in nature – but is it all changing?

I live on a main road where eighteen wheelers to horses ride up and down at all hours of the day. There is no rush hour, or peak period and Sunday is rarely quiet. At first, I branded it as “the buzz” of the city but now as the black dust collects on my plants outside and my windows have started to tint, I’ve noticed the damage caused by a method of transport that seems so normal to us. I am a hypocrite myself, I drive my car 100 meters down the road because I am too lazy to carry more than a heavy load of groceries home and yet I can sympathies with the environmentalists. I really think it is time to make the switch to electric cars and it isn’t the pollution that has swayed me.

Everyone would know the ambience of a library. Even if no-one is there, if there are stacks of shelves filled with books, you whisper. Every student will know how irritating it is when someone sneakily crunches on their packet of crisps hidden underneath their desk or violently turns the page of their textbook. Now think of the complete opposite of this. Unimaginable chaos of noise, stench and organization on a cold rainy day. Cars and trucks racing in opposite directions, too selfish about returning home themselves then anything they are passing by as pedestrians pray that they survive when crossing the road and keep an ear afloat for the screeching and overly-alarming noise of a police car as it bullies its way through the streets. There is an easy solution – electric cars.

They are the next step in our modes of transport. Nobody needs to reach 200mph in their car, or even has the nerve to. Nobody needs to reach 0-60mph in under 5 seconds and nobody needs to make so much noise when commuting. The reason why I am not promoting hybrid cars because it far too down the line to even waste time contemplating over it whilst electric cars are current. The eagle-eyed of you will have noticed the electric charge stands which offer you superior parking and with an easy oyster card like payment option – and the cars? Cheap. The G-Wiz has slowed the electric car campaign a tad but the new hybrid 2010 cars have entered the market without anybody noticing.

Don’t listen to the dribble that Clarkson exaggerates about the practicalities if an electric car to a petrol car, it is merely a new system to learn and the older generations will moan about how it was “different it was in their day”. Soon London will become a cycle city which will compliment the soon to be noise-free electric motors, giving the pedestrians (the ones who cause no damage at all) a more pleasant day.

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All this is happening 12000km away in South Africa, how does the result over there effect us over here? England’s opening game against USA caused huge amount of excitement, Obama vs Cameron, BP causing havoc on their coast and well, it’s their fault so many have died in Afghanistan. Every bar and pub in the West End was pre-booked with corporate hospitality and for once, London had no traffic.

This reoccurring practice in every country for their team is echoed and is a huge positive. If there is a positive result, people are happy. If people are happy, people spend money. If people spend money, businesses receive money and pay more tax to the government who as a result become richer. If a team lasts a whole tournament then their home country’s fiscal benefit is huge, so much so that an early exit can cause a reverse of this.

If England lose, pubs and bars will be empty when they would normally be full of customers, in addition, there will be no need for corporate hospitality or even people gathering in homes to watch the game. As a result, this “feel good” factor would not be apparent and people may not unzip their coin purses causing a restrain in economic growth. Furthermore, people will not feel like going out where they would normally spend money and a period of mourning will hit the nation, encourage mass suicide for The Sun readers.

The UK Economy

Earlier this week we saw the mighty George Osbourne animate his budget where pundits had already written their criticism of the budget before it was even released. When the dust settled and the alert readers took another look at the budget, they noticed that it may not be too bad. It was tough but fair, with an interesting yet some-what attractive mix of Lib-Dem Conservative policy and the message was uniform throughout, we need growth.

It is evident that our economy needs movement and for me it comes from small businesses. This can be achieved with pubs, bars and cafes being full for most of the World Cup serving the fans and generating business and why stop with football? If all sports were given the same media exposure as the World Cup, the streets will be full during Wimbledon, Ashes and Silverstone allowing our economy to grow and enjoying great sport.

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Type "abortion" into Google Images and you will conclude that my chosen image is mild.

The UK abortion law was introduced on the 27th of October in 1967 by David Steel. With this fact alone, many people would immediately conclude that this law is immoral and wrong but allow me a few sentences to explain why this law saved as many lives as it killed.

At the time, casual intercourse had become accepted and contraception research was not as advanced as it is today. As a result, the level of unwanted pregnancies augmented but there were no medical solutions nor was it socially accepted to abort your unborn child. From this, abortion on the black market became a popular service but sadly resulted in many women dying during this unsafe and unpracticed process. Unsurprisingly, orphanages and binned babies increased in number and parliament decided to introduce the abortion law which allowed a woman to abort their pregnancy within 28 weeks of gestation.

Unrelated to the above paragraph, Wikipedia statistics will tell you that in 2001 ten thousand women were raped and in 2002 three thousand more than previously in the UK. However in 2007, BBC reported a day before my birthday that 85,000 women had been raped but only 800 people convicted for rape crimes in that year. Either these 800 men are very quick or our justice system is rubbish but let’s pause for a moment. 85,000 women in a year – that’s one in two hundred women. I hope you are shaking your head in disgust too. Go to your Facebook friend list and take note that it is likely that someone on your friend list will be raped in the United Kingdom.

Putting the shock value aside, I would like to link the two together – becoming pregnant through rape. In the United States, 5% of rape victims under the age of 45 became pregnant resulting in 32,000 unplanned pregnancies that year. Would you have an abortion? Well you would probably be mad not to. Firstly conception outside of marriage never results in a positive upbringing but more importantly who would want to bare a child conceived in such a manner to a father of such evil. Would you have an abortion if it was against your religion? No religion out right bans abortion and that is true across the board of the major religions from Islam to Christianity – even Catholics, contrary to common misconception allow abortion.

Abortion in Today’s Society

In David Cameron’s manifesto he has pledged to lower the current abortion time limit from 24 weeks of pregnancy to 20 weeks. In 2007 nearly 200,000 women received an abortion in England and Wales where 38% were medical related, leaving 62% to unwanted children. More interestingly, 90% of these abortions took place within 13 weeks of gestation and 78% within 10 weeks. This shows that there are very few women who actually carry their child for more than three months who then decide they do not want it. So why is this reduction in abortion time allowance relevant?

Britain has the scar on its reputation of having teenage mums pushing around prams, holding a cigarette, on the way to the council to pick up their benefits. Whilst this policy may not reduce the number of abortions in numerical figures, it will play a psychological role in the morals that this country holds. Over the previous decade, the morals of the British have diminished severely and the quoted rape figures reiterates my statement. Don’t fall into it. Don’t become a common Brit that can be categorized as scum, who ruin your whole week just on sight of them. Our current coalition government show promise, and with their recent transparent motives, our nation cannot swoop any lower and the only way is up.

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The most recent phenomenon that parades itself through Europe is homosexuality. Recently, the United Kingdom legalized same-sex marriages after enough political pressure and Gay-Pride marches through the city. By all religious books, same-sex marriages are considered a sin, but with the acceptance of this, shows a decline in the importance of religion within leaders and its people.

So will religion die as nations become more liberal and socialistic in comparison to the dictatorship-like nations of the East? I do not think it is dead or in its last moments but instead has evolved, or rather people have tailored it to suit them and this is obvious. All scriptures in religion are metaphorical and literal. Their ethics are taught through stories or pictures, with parables and morals to go away with, but the ambiguity, created by the mischievous to suit their life, or their vision of how they want religion to be, is what we are fooled by so often.

Let’s take an example such as Al-Qaeda. This school of thought is possibly the most foolish that I have ever seen attract the media’s red light. They have managed to convince people that suicide with mass destruction is what their role is in this world. On the other hand, Bishops have been convinced that a relationship with a man is allowed because it’s considered celibacy as it is not a relation with a woman. Again, the logic doesn’t make sense does it?

Scenarios on smaller issues is where religion can play a vital role. “Come out for a drink with us after work” he says. “Oh, I’m Muslim. My religion does not allow me to drink”. Why is religion used as a barrier and not his own beliefs? “Are you free on Friday” he says.   “I’m Jewish, I don’t go out on Fridays” is what is so commonly heard, but why not “it’s the sabbath, I would prefer to stay in”. This idea of playing the “religious card” enrages me.

Specifically within religions themselves, people will attempt to take the moral high ground by using religion as their rescue. People today follow a set of rules and look for ways to become more efficient with them as if it has an on and off switch. It does not seem to be embedded within its followers but rather people refer to it in times of need, especially in arguments. It implies that people cannot be good people without religion. In a discussion of morals people refer to religion last as if no-one had thought of it and when mentioned, people realize “oh yeh, I have a religion to follow”.

People follow religion and don’t live it. To me, this is not what religion is supposed to be. Not a set of rules that its people follow blindly or because their parents followed a similar set of laws, the death of pure religion is imminent whilst people tailor religion so it works for them.

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It’s Presence – a curious thing no? If you have it, you will know what I am describing. When you walk into a room and heads turn. Not because of some ostentatious undignified display or a sound out of the ordinary that causes heads to turn your way, but rather your presence. You feel their piercing eyes penetrating your body like dozens of needles syringing adrenaline into your blood stream, yet it’s not something you have done but something you have. If you need to prove that you have it – you just don’t have it.

The well known phrase of a whisper is louder than a shout epitomizes the idea of presence. It is not something you buy, learn or teach – you are just blessed with it like the colour of your eyes or the size of your hands. This concept is echoed throughout the greatest leaders. Obama was earlier recognized for his gate in which he approached a stage before delivering his speeches or Churchill in the way he stood with his chest out. When the new Con-Lib give their press conferences, notice the presence of Nick Clegg will shine through the Prime Minister’s.

Do you have it? Well, difficult to tell. Presence is not something you notice when looking in the mirror or can add to your look with adolescent display, it’s just there. Not too long ago a car company caught this idea and adopted it for their adverts which is played below.

Mercedes Presence Advert

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