Daily Archives: November 6, 2015

The New Trudeau’s New Canada by Mark Entwistle and Ulf Gartzke – Project Syndicate

November 6, 2015 By in Business Administration, Canada, People, Politics Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

According to this insightful article from Project Syndicate, this week marks Canada’s first change of government in nearly a decade. The article tries to understand what the change will mean for Canada’s relations with the world. The authors suggest that the start point requires taking stock of Canada’s international posture under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s predecessor, Stephen Harper.

Source: The New Trudeau’s New Canada by Mark Entwistle and Ulf Gartzke – Project Syndicate

For me, Stephen Harper had a formidable record of achievement for Canada and Canada’s position in the world. On the other hand, I’m seriously unconvinced of Justin Trudeau’s experience and expertise to lead Canada. Time will provide the evidence, of course.

Thoughts?

Russian plane crash: Sharm el-Sheikh airport security concerns raised after tourists ‘pay £20 to skip bag checks’ | Africa | News | The Independent

November 6, 2015 By in Business Administration, People, Politics, Science 1 Comment
UK entry stamp from Gatwick Airport

UK entry stamp from Gatwick Airport (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the UK’s Independent newspaper, security concerns have been raised at Sharm el-Sheikh airport after a British holidaymaker claims he was “offered the chance to pay £20 to skip queues and baggage checks”. The article reports that Dale Parkyn, who visited the Egyptian resort with his wife earlier this year, told Sky News they were approached by a man in military uniform and asked if they wanted to avoid the long queues.

Source: Russian plane crash: Sharm el-Sheikh airport security concerns raised after tourists ‘pay £20 to skip bag checks’ | Africa | News | The Independent

This story castes a serious cloud over the security regime at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

Having flown through hundreds of airports, I understand the challenge. There are a number of dilemmas, latest technology versus manual inspection. Similarly, there’s a question over airport employed staff versus contractors.

Let’s face it though, the UK is far from state-of-the-art on airport technology and in my view relies far to heavily on contract employees. In the UK, these contract employees can often be quite rude and intimidating – if a passenger objects, the chances are that they’ll miss their flight. Many countries like India and China by comparison run world-class airports, with latest technology and well-trained and disciplined security staff.

As the UK media give Sharm el-Sheikh airport a tough time, I think it’s worth remembering that UK airports have a few problems too.

Thoughts?