Legal Alien in London

Who will vote in the local elections?

2006-05-02T08:52:00.000Z

A fascinating feature of British society is the contradiction between being vocal about things that go wrong in society and voter apathy. As a nation, the British are an intelligent, educated lot. They seem to be more aware of international and domestic issues than many others. Most Brit's that I meet are perfectly capable of forming their own opinion on issues rather than blindly following the crowd or the government. But does this translate into the majority of people voting in elections? Its seems not.

Last weekend I asked my sister-in law if she would vote in the up coming local elections. "What elections?" was her reply.
We pay a fortune in council tax. How can people not even be aware that voting for the people responsible for spending your hard earned cash is happening?
Even in general elections, there is a sizable chunk of the population that do not bother to vote - about 40%. In the last local elections, just 32% of Londoner's voted. Therefore 68% could not be bothered. That is an appalling statistic.

It it a very sad feature of society when people are more interested in buying a nice new pair of shoes or the latest CD than voting for the people that run the public services, form government policy and spend your money.

It certainly is citizens civic duty to not only vote, but to be aware of what and who they are voting for. There have been calls recently for the UK to move to "compulsory voting".

I certainly do believe that people have a duty to vote, but do not believe that it should be compulsory. That seems to be a totally undemocratic solution that would infringe of peoples freedom. Certainly, more needs to be done to encourage people to vote. But forcing people to vote is surely not the way to go. Do we want people to vote because they have to or because they want to? If people have to, they may just vote for anyone without giving it a lot of thought. If people want to, they are much more likely to educate themselves on the record and policies of the candidates.

The first step in lifting voter turn out must be education. And the best place to start that is in the schools. We must get the younger generations interested in politics. Just as we make them realise that maths and English is important, we must make them realise that politics is just as important. They are after all the voters and leaders of tomorrow.

Lets hope that people care enough to turn up at next weeks local elections.

London Sunset

2006-04-03T21:30:00.000Z

View from London Eye

2006-04-02T15:24:00.000Z

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2006-04-02T14:39:00.000Z

A fireman? A friend of mine is moving back to Australia and she wants to be a firewomen (or is it fireperson?). But apparently only 1% of applicants are successful. Maybe you want to be an astronaut? A model?

Do any of us ever figure out what we want to do when we grow up? Do we ever really grow up!
I am 31 years old, and I still don't really know what I want to do with my life. When I was 15 years old and I had to decide what I was going to do with the last 2 years of high school, I had no idea. But that choice has had a massive impact on the rest of my life. If I wanted to become a scientist, I would have had to study science at university. Therefore I would have had to take science subjects in the last 2 years of high school. But I didn't know if I wanted to be a scientist, an artist, a programmer or a historian. I ended up studying business related subjects like accounting and economics. I did a commerce (business) degree. I didn't do as well as I should have because I didn't really enjoy it. I certainly wasn't passionate about it. Now I am doing a business job in a senior position for a high pressure company. Do I love it? No. Do I enjoy it? No. Do I even like it? Not really.

I have decided to quit my job and I am going to do something totally different. And I am going to be by own boss. I have always wanted to be my own boss, but never really been sure of the line of work. I'm still not totally sure but I am giving it a bash anyway. If it doesn't work out, I'll try something else.

Is that all we can hope for? Wandering through life trying a bit of this and a bit of that. I think so. And it ain't so bad. When I go out for a meal I often like the "sampler". Why should life be any different? Life is all about experiencing it. Trying different things is all part of that experience.

But I also believe we could all do with a bit more help when we are 15 and trying to figure out what subjects to take. Someone should say - Do what you enjoy. Do what you love. What are you passionate about? No one ever said that to me. My advice to someone pondering that very question: Forget about money. Forget about what is a good career. Think about what you are interested in and enjoy. Think to yourself, when I am 25 will I be happy doing X. What about 35? And if you find something that you enjoy, just do it. Life is way to short to be embarking on a career because your parents think it is respectable or you think you can earn loads of money. Life is to be enjoyed. You spend most of you waking life working, so make sure you enjoy it.

The Commonwealth & The Queen

2006-03-29T19:57:00.000Z

Isn't the Commonwealth great. One third of the worlds population in one collective group. A wonderful games spectical every fours years. Increased cooperation between member countries.

Or is it simply the left overs from the old British Empire? A modern day version of imperialism? Some of the member states, including my home land of New Zealand, still have the Queen as head of state. Shouldn't we be rejecting the ideas of the empire that once dominated the planet, raped and pillaged and sent entire civilisations into chaos? I think the time has come for countries to move away from any affiliation with the old empire. As a bear minimum, those countries with the Queen as head of state should become a repubilc and elect their own leader. What is the point in having your leader thousands of miles away? One that is not from your country and has not been elected by your people (or any people). I having nothing against the Queen, or the Royal famliy, but I do object to her being the leader of my home country. Come on people, wake up and smell the roses! Elect your own head of state and control your own destiny.

Thailand

2006-03-27T21:05:00.000Z

Spring is here!

2006-03-27T20:32:00.000Z

At long last spring seems to have finally hit London. It has been a long, hard, cold winter. I've been travelling to work on a scooter, and it has been damn freezing. Today was a lovely warm day. Ok it was overcast, but I can live with overcast if it is warm. And the werid thing is that the traffic was considerably lighter on the way in. It must be the fact that more people go by bike when the weather warms up..

Ankor Wat, Cambodia

2006-03-27T19:55:00.000Z

Frankfurt Bridge

2006-03-27T19:33:00.000Z

Iran War

2006-03-26T15:37:00.000Z

Ok so its not war yet. But it could be. I'm not really sure what to make of this.

On the one hand, Iran does appear to be treading on dangerous ground. Their leader has expressed a desire to wipe Israel off the face of earth. They could use the nuclear technology to build nuclear weapons. They have already signed up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement, so they would be in breach. Once they have nuclear weapons, we will not be able to negotiate with them at all. So perhaps it is better to stop them now before it is too late.

On the other hand, Iran appears to be a very civilized nation. Why do we assume that they are bad? Is it because George Bush has labeled them as being part of the "axis of evil"? But why should be listen to him? He has done more harm to the world than anyone in recent times. Why shouldn't Iran have the right to build nuclear power. Sure they have plenty of oil for energy, but that is bad for the environment. Nuclear is not perfect, but it is a lot better than oil, gas and coal. Either way, it is their business if they want nuclear power. And even if they do want to build a nuclear bomb, so what. Why should we have the monopoly on that. Perhaps the world would be a better best if there was a counter to the west power on the world and in particular the power of the US.

I don't think the US and UK have any right to tell anyone what to do. Bush and Blair invaded Iraq on false grounds and have made a complete mess of it. No weapons of mass destruction have appeared. Iraq was not a threat to anyone. Saddam was not a nice guy, but at the end of the day Iraq was in better shape with him in power then what it is now. If we are going to invade countries to get ride of bad leaders, we should start with Zimbabwe. The leaders of the US and UK are so hypocritical that we should never trust them. So don't trust them on Iran.

London Olympics

2006-03-26T15:25:00.000Z

It is fantastic news that London has won right to host the Olympics, it really is. I remember the wave of excitement that swept through the office when we won that right. There was even a airforce fly over, with blue, red and white smoke out the back of the planes. Obviously that is the colour of the union jack. I don't really get into the Olympics as I get bored watching sport on telly. Unless its rugby. But it was still good news.

But what is the true cost of the Olympics?

It will cost millions or perhaps billions to host. And I am being forced to pay. So is everyone who lives in London. Our council tax (the tax levied on the value of ones house that goes to local government) is going up my Â£20 per year to raise money for the Olympics.Supposedlyy all Londoners will benefit from the games, which is why we have to pay. But how will I benefit? The investment is on the other side of London. My transport links will not improve. I probably won't watch the games. I doubt that I would even go to see it in person. And if I did, I would pay to get in. So why have I been forced to pay? It is legalised robbery. But then so is a lot of tax.

Living in London

2006-03-19T17:54:00.000Z

"A man who is tired of London is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford"
- Samuel Johnson

I don't necessarily agree with that entire statement, but I do agree that if you tire of London, you tire of life. London has its downsides: It is very overcrowded. It is fairly polluted. It is very expensive. It is very noisy. There are no mountains close by. There is no nice beach close by.
But for all its negatives, London is a great place to live. Where else can you dine at a fine Indian restaurant for lunch, see some of the oldest artifacts in the world at the British museum in the afternoon, eat at the best French restaurant for dinner, and see an award winning West End show in the evening?
Living is London is so much more than the great things that you can see and do. That is great, don't get me wrong, but the real London can be found in the suburbs, or villages, or what ever you want to call it. Its the people that make London. There are so many different types of people, from all walks of life and all races, religion, sexuality, colour and background. You can learn about what seems like every type of person on earth in one place. That breeds a wonderful environment of tolerance for each other. And somehow togetherness. Everyone who lives in London is a Londoner, no matter where you are from originally. For a city, London is probably the greatest one on earth.

Welcome

2006-03-19T17:33:00.000Z

Welcome to "Legal Alien in London", a blog dedicated to the views of a foreigner living in London.

What is a legal alien anyway?

A legal alien is basically someone who has moved from another country and is living legally, as opposed to illegally!

Why are the views of a legal alien so damn important?

Well, maybe they are not. But I feel a legal alien has a valuable insite into the society that they are living in. They are restricted by pride, being nationalistic, or a one eyed view. They have lived in another country, another system and another society. That experiance will lead to a more honest, open minded view.

Why london?

Well, luckily I am living in London! Which is great, because London is one of the most, if not the most, multi-cultural cities in the world. I can see hundreds of different cultures all around me every day, in one compact place.
Of course I am not going to talk about just London. I will talk about anything and everything, no matter where in the world it is from.

I hope you enjoy my blog!