Cover your mouth please sir....

First of all for those that ran the London Marathon yesterday, congratulations! I'm proud to say that I've been in your shoes, but happy that I wasn't sweating it out with you this year!

Moving on...

With fear of swine flu running rampant, I was really pleased to be crammed into my train car like battery hen on my commute home from work today. Surrounded by men a foot taller than me with my arms pinned to my side, I couldn't even turn the pages of my newspaper. Ideal. Even more so, when the kind gentleman behind me began to cough unceremoniously without covering his mouth!

Come on man - it's common courteously to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. (My mom taught me a great little song about this - maybe I should have burst into song on the train to teach him a lesson). This is particularly in order in our current climate, where the first confirmed cases of swine flu were made in Scotland today, adding to the spattering of confirmed cases of swine flu across the globe since its initial outbreak in Mexico.

Fortunately swine flu, the H1N1 flu strain doesn't seem to be as mutatable or grave as the H5N1 avian flu, however in today's mobile society the prospect of flu outbreaks and pandemics are daunting. People are already out buying face masks - in fact, cunning Google was already cashing in on face mask advertising alongside flu related searches - however I propose reining in initial hysteria in exchange for everyone agreeing to cover their mouths when they cough on the train! Common colds are often considered collateral damage of such careless behavior; changing this mindset could help stem worse disease in future, and could keep us a little healthier in the here and now!

And for those that want to learn a little more on the risks of the recent flu outbreak, check out news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8021958.stm

G20 Summit: Let's See Some Action!

Yes, I want to see some action, and not the rioting, violent, “I’m scared to walk my normal route home from work for fear of being caught in the crossfire” action. Many Londoners went into work in jeans today, buying in to a ubiquitous dress down policy enforced through fear of attack from the protesters. Fortunately I have seen limited aggression so far; in fact, it pretty much seems business as normal to me from my vantage point in the City.

But I digress. I want to see action in the form of cooperation and progress at this summit. I’m not looking for mighty, unrealistic plans of grandeur but practical, cooperative strategy that addresses our current grim economic reality. Obama speaks of cooperation with the UK and Gordon Brown reasserts that the UK and USA will renew their special relationship through a “partnership of peace.”

This is all fine in principle but talk is cheap without show. There have been many rumblings of disagreement between the USA’s stimulus approach to economic reform versus the more regulatory approach favored in Europe. This debate will need to be had.

Economic upturn won’t come overnight but international cooperation may bring it one step closer. So I wait with the world for some first steps and positive actions.

Junk Food Ban in London School: Sensible or Stalinist

There's been a growing push in the UK for healthy school dinners (lunches), publicly endorsed by celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver. Growing obesity, in children particularly, has sparked this response for healthier eating agendas in schools.

One East London school committed to this agenda has taken things a step further; junk food is being confiscated by teachers in an attempt to encourage healthy eating. See www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/4207136.East_Barnet_school_criticised_for_banning_junk_food/

What are the no no's? Candy, chocolate, soda and other carbonated drinks and full-fat crisps (ie potato chips etc). Persistent offenders risk having their food confiscated.

I'm an advocate of healthy eating. If I had children, I would welcome healthier food in schools and would pack balanced, healthy lunches. But doesn't it seem a little nuts that parents are "not allowed" to send their kids off to school with a jaffa cake, or even a small snack sized kit-kat?

At the same time, why oppose a rule that has the children's health at heart. After cries for healthier culinary offers, is it hypocritical to complain about a school that is proactively enforcing this standard for all students? Maybe this step will encourage parents to instill healthier eating habits in the home.

But does the school have a right to tell parents what to feed their children? There are many other unhealthy food options that children could be bringing to school (pork pies, sausage rolls, hot cross buns etc.) Is this a slippery slope with future bans on the way?

I'm not sure where I stand on this one. It seems a step too far for me but I believe in its principle. Maybe I'm rebelling against the stifling of parental autonomy and sometimes overly regulatory culture of today?

Thoughts anyone?

Sunday Blues

How wonderful. It's 4:30pm on a Sunday afternoon and it's actually light outside. We change our clocks in a couple of weeks, at which point we'll prolong the "day"light another couple of hours. Whenever we get to this point every year I can't help asking myself how I made it through the cold, dark winter. Roll on endorphins!

Why then, do I feel that small nagging feeling of irritation....sadness.....regret? I had a great weekend visiting the Affordable Art Fair (www.affordableartfair.com/) and at a friend's 30th birthday karaoke party. I even sang 'Dancing Queen' by Abba, which might have sounded like a cat dying to others, but was really fun for me. And today is a beautiful, chilled out day. So what's the rub?

I think it's just the classic Sunday Blues at play. Those of you who work Monday - Friday must know what I'm talking about. Thursday is the new Friday and comes with a high that peaks on Saturday night. Sunday is good until about 4pm, and then that annoying 'feeling' creeps in. Don't get me wrong, I like my job and I like going into work. But I still can't help wanting the weekend to draw on for longer before I'm back on the train and then on my 20 minute walk into the office. Maybe it's the prospect of my Monday morning commute that gets me down?

City commuting is an art in itself. Everyone walks really fast and is on autopilot. Should a tourist or any person enjoying a leisurely stroll get in your way during the hours of 7:30-9:30am, they will be met with a shove, a dirty glare, a petulant sigh, a crash from behind or all of the above. Commuters don't tolerate laymen gladly. Sometimes they don't even see those they plow down in their path.

Last Monday, my commute involved: standing on the train to London with my face at armpit height to a man who obviously sprinted to catch the train; having a woman in a long red coat push across me as I was about to exit through the ticket barriers, only to have her tampon fly out of her pocket as she reached for her train pass (just desserts for pushing across multiple people - she didn't stop for the tampon but we all saw it sail across the crowd); almost being run down by a cyclist charging along outside of the designated cycle lane; steering clear of a woman swaying unsteadily and then tripping up stairs in stupidly high heels that she should have just changed into in the office. Maybe that's what gets me down?

I can only dream of what pleasures tomorrow morning will bring.

Blinded By Pride

Pride: a small word with large repercussions when your identity and home are at stake.

Israel ground forces moved into Gaza on Saturday, upping-the-anti on a week of air strikes in the region aimed at destabilizing Hamas. Protests erupted outside the Israeli Embassy in London, echoing calls from across the globe for an end to Israeli strikes and a looming humanitarian crisis.

Israel, hit with hundreds of rockets and mortars since the late December breakdown of a truce with Hamas, remains defiant in its response to militants. The United States backs its ally Israel and brands Hamas as the instigators of the ensuing violence.

International action falters, as the White House alleges support for a cease-fire and simultaneously blocks approval of a United Nations Security Council statement on cease-fire.

Confusion reigns in the region; heritage, politics, emotion, indecision blur the vision of the rest of the world. As a student of international relations I question the prolonged intensity of Israel’s campaign. But as a half Jewish New Yorker, I know that if militants were repeatedly, randomly firing rockets into the backyards of my family and friends, I would want to defend my borders.

But this is not a new battle; whether violent or latent, this mission has plagued the Middle East for years. Through warfare, negotiations, international pressure, truces.....this battle rages. What is at its heart? Is this a battle that can be won? I fear there is no “right” answer. But I feel a fundamental change of heart and mind is needed from both sides if justice is ever to prevail.

An Egyptian newspaper suggested that Palestinians are “pulling the wolf’s tail” when shooting rockets into Israel. I baulk at such aggression, which promises no true glory or result, but instead insights anger and large scale strife in return. For Hamas, this is a losing battle. They can’t match the arms capability of Israel and they may fall trying. Yet to a proud, stubborn fundamentalist, to fall is to become a martyr. The end game of what’s left in their wake is forgotten.

Maybe my college journalism professor was correct when suggesting that this battle will only end when one side wipes the other off the face of the earth.

The militant actions of Hamas should be condemned, but is Israel’s aggressive response is the most effective way to undermine this party? Will a heavy hand today pave the way for peaceful times tomorrow? Two wrongs do not make a right.

Would most Palestinians truly choose strife over living at harmony with Israel? I doubt it. Why then, did they elect Hamas, which refuses to recognize the state of Israel, instead of the more moderate Fatah? Hamas is an artist of psychological warfare: it galvanizes support through exploiting Palestinian grievances with Israel rather than working peacefully towards reconciliations; it builds Palestinians social care facilities alongside suicide training centers; it hides targeted officers in enclaves next to its children’s schools; it feeds sustenance with one hand and propaganda with the other.

Now, left in the wake of this exercise, many angry, proud, brainwashed Palestinians curse Israel as an unlawful aggressor. Israel may seek to defend itself from militant aggression, but these actions feed directly into this image perpetuated by Hamas. With every bomb dropped and ground offensive pursued, Palestinians may cling to an extremist ideology when there is no food, homes or infrastructure left. Much of the world will criticize Israel’s actions. Hamas will not diminish, but take further root in society, further supported by other Islamist extremists in the region.

Israel cannot be a sitting duck, at the mercy of senseless rockets and suicide bombers. But their current response may not do their cause justice. Inciting strife upon widespread Palestinians, many of whom are trying to lead ordinary lives, should not be considered collateral damage.

Here is where pride must cool; response and anticipated outcome must be reassessed. Here is where rationalism must begin. Israel should halt military action and enhance its safety through internationally backed pressure on Hamas to end its aggression. Israel must show moderate Palestinians incentive for dialogue through fair negotiation; actively working toward better, peaceful days of fewer economic and military barriers may precipitate a fundamental shift of heart in many Palestinians. Palestinians need to give these conversations a chance, and put pressure on their own to minimize aggression. It will be impossible to root out all veins of extremism but hopefully they may wither on the vine in more prosperous times.

After all, this is a region of such potential greatness. Years of strife have only slowed progress. We’re all human; can’t Israelis and Palestinians remove their blinders, put aside their differences, step away from pride, and see that? But history proves this is easier said than done.