It amused me that Asahi reported a train driver in Nara who overshot the station "because he was thinking and was late applying the breaks". (In Japanese). He overshot the station by 250 metres, and correcting the error delayed the following two trains, inconveniencing about 100 passengers. (Those more familiar with Japan might be saying, "What? Only 100? Phish!", but the two reasons for this were that it was in deepest Nara and happened at 18 minutes past midnight on a work day -- so there were less than the usual number of workers commuting at the time.)
Now clearly, the Japanese should be indirectly translated as "wasn't concentrating", but it's very amusing that he made the mistake because he was "thinking" (direct translation). Anyone who's stood in the forward carriage of a JR West train and watched the automaton actions of their train drivers will understand this all too well. They are not, categorically not, supposed to think. Next time I'm in Japan I'll count the hand movements, but at each station, light and otherwise, drivers are supposed to point at their timetables, point at their dials, point at their equipment, and so on. Total concentration is required. The individual timetables are clipped to an eye-level clipboard next to the driver listing the arrival and departure times to the minute for each station along the route. Drivers are required to stick to these times at all costs -- clearly far too high a cost.
Perhaps if JR, and a number of other companies I could think of (anyone say, "Daiei"?) might do a lot better if employees where actually given some leeway to do dangerously risky things such as thinking.
24/06/2005
US isn't losing in Iraq, honest! No, really!
According to the BBC (Rumsfeld: US not losing Iraq war):
Thus, today, Rumsfeld confirmed what we all know: the US has lost the war in Iraq. That's another lost war. Oh dear.
To be serious, however, I'll be glad to get back to Japan to get away from the bombing. Japanese TV doesn't report bombings in Iraq, unless of course a Japanese national is involved, so it is easy to hide one's head in the sand there. Here, on the other hand, not only do we get the TV pictures on the BBC, but we also get the statistics. Never a day goes by without another couple of dozen killings. I just do not understand how such mayhem can be said to be 'better than under the last regime'. This one is worse! Yesterday, a BBC correspondent, who must be less biased than a US politician or a military spokesman, told how, although $500 billion (or so) has been spent on Iraq, there is no constant water supply and very little electricity in Baghdad -- which means no air conditioning in 50 degree heat. Wonderful! Of course, the reason is the constant guerilla attacks by the Iraq resistence forces (i.e. terrorists), but that can be little comfort to the people who have to put up with it. On the same day, the CIA, a now wholly Bush regime controlled institution from what we can understand, has come out to say that the situation is actually breeding terrorists. Well, guys, surprise, sur-bloody-prise!
OK, so maybe the so-called war (it was actually a bit too one sided to be a war, right?) may not have been 'lost', but one thing's for sure: nothing has been won. I terrible, sad situation.
"Donald Rumsfeld has said the US is not losing the Iraq war and it would be a mistake to set a timetable for American troops to leave the country."
Thus, today, Rumsfeld confirmed what we all know: the US has lost the war in Iraq. That's another lost war. Oh dear.
To be serious, however, I'll be glad to get back to Japan to get away from the bombing. Japanese TV doesn't report bombings in Iraq, unless of course a Japanese national is involved, so it is easy to hide one's head in the sand there. Here, on the other hand, not only do we get the TV pictures on the BBC, but we also get the statistics. Never a day goes by without another couple of dozen killings. I just do not understand how such mayhem can be said to be 'better than under the last regime'. This one is worse! Yesterday, a BBC correspondent, who must be less biased than a US politician or a military spokesman, told how, although $500 billion (or so) has been spent on Iraq, there is no constant water supply and very little electricity in Baghdad -- which means no air conditioning in 50 degree heat. Wonderful! Of course, the reason is the constant guerilla attacks by the Iraq resistence forces (i.e. terrorists), but that can be little comfort to the people who have to put up with it. On the same day, the CIA, a now wholly Bush regime controlled institution from what we can understand, has come out to say that the situation is actually breeding terrorists. Well, guys, surprise, sur-bloody-prise!
OK, so maybe the so-called war (it was actually a bit too one sided to be a war, right?) may not have been 'lost', but one thing's for sure: nothing has been won. I terrible, sad situation.
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