A Dangerous Game

I was criticised for being pessimistic last week. I have a very bleak view of the future and this is compounded by the financial mess affecting many parts of the world and the stresses being placed on our lives.
I now find myself concerned at events in the world that could lead us into new conflicts and confrontations. For it seems to me that we could be heading into a very dangerous game of brinkmanship brought about mainly by the actions of the US. The 'game' I refer to is the placing of a missile defence shield close to the border with Russia. The US claim this shield is to counter any offensive missile strike from rogue states in the Middle East or from North Korea. Russia do not believe this to be the sole reason and rightly suspect that it is targeting them. In an attempt to calm their fears, a request for participation in the project has been rejected and further to this, an assurance from the US that the system will not be used to target Russia has not been given. So just what exactly are the US playing at? Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the former Soviet Union, we have enjoyed relative security amidst mutual assurances, smiles and cordial meetings.So why seek to destroy this and plunge us into a new cold war? It makes no sense.
I don't believe I'm a loan voice. There have been murmurings across the Internet and in the press, expressing fear that we are on a path to confrontation. Many suggest that opposition to intervention in Syria or Iran will trigger either China or Russia to step in. If this were to happen then the outcome would be cataclysmic.
So who's calling the shots? Some suggest the European Missile Defense Shield is Pentagon driven, others that it is an arms industry hell bent of profiteering from a new arms race. I suspect that money is involved somewhere along the line - it normally is. Someone out there keen to make millions from making two superpowers push each other to the brink. Or am I just being overly pessimistic and bleak? Possibly... but I don't think it will be long before the threats turn into actions and make it from the columns to the front page.
We can only hope that common sense prevails. This will be a game with no winners.

Another opportunity and a dangerous defect

My trip this afternoon to Boston went quite well - in fact better than I thought it would I met a very nice guy called Joseph at Taylor ITEX who discussed with me my plan and the problems I had encountered along the way. He suggested I contact Lincolnshire Credit Union, an outfit I hadn't come across up to now. They are a community bank of sorts who provide loans to those who would find getting them elsewhere impossible. As I need the loan to advance my career, there's a good chance it will be granted. So this afternoon I completed another application form and will add the various other documents required tomorrow. I should have it in the post in time for the weekend and hopefully they can get to work on my application early next week.
So, another try...

Something in the news today that caught my eye is the Citroen recall which affects the C3 Picasso. Now, I wouldn't normally remark about car recalls - as there have in recent times been so many - but this one really is quite ridiculous. It involves the pedal arrangement and the fact that they have had to be moved to right hand drive configuration. Fine you might think. But not when the gubbins the brake pedal is connected to is left on the passenger side and protected by a thin piece of felt. For when the passenger presses his or her foot down , it connects  with the brake and stops the car. This can happen at any speed and without the knowledge of the passenger or driver. Unbelievable but true.
Now I always had great respect for Citroen. They have a fine history of car design and production but I find it incredible that such a fault could have gone unnoticed. Surely someone must have questioned the fact that the brake pedal gubbins was so accessible from the passenger foot well? Or did they just keep it to themselves for fear of appearing to criticise their management. Maybe they thought no one would notice and genuinely believed that no one would press their foot down in that particular spot? We'll never know.
I know only too well what it's like to lose all power in the fast lane of a motorway - that's bad enough but for the brakes to go on for no reason, well that could be disastrous...