tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85922722024-03-08T03:58:57.397+00:00A Lecturer's ApologyThose who can't do, teach.spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.comBlogger378125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-91674952549937434152019-10-07T11:32:00.003+01:002019-10-07T11:56:59.381+01:00革命還是議和?蒙面惡法一出,網上登時又出現一大堆「休息」言論。<br />
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這場由「反送中」起演變至如今「反中抗暴」的「運動」,我方的兩派其實不是「勇武」與「和理非」之分,而是「革命派」與「議和派」之別。面對軍政府暴力與極權的升級,革命派主張同以升級應對,一於「攬炒」。但每逢局勢升級,議和派便會出來 de-escalate。說他們是議和派而不是和理非,是因為他們連和理非也不一定同意。「時代革命」這句口號剛成為熱門時,劉細良之流便曾呼籲不要叫「時代革命」,以免「令運動變質」及「激嬲中共」。說說也不准,更不要說做了。<br />
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議和派 de-escalate 的方法花樣百出,包括「關懷」、「代表」、「拖延」與「指責」。關心勇武就如上述蒙面惡法休息言論:天天不休息,偏要惡法推出第一天來休息?類似例子不升枚舉。猶記得721事件後,下一個weekend (對,要等足一個weekend) 的「主題」竟然是「勇武中場休息,和理非接力」。勇武固然需要休息,可是人家甚麼時候休息,居然是由你們決定?第二就是經常代表勇武派道歉。第三就是經常有各種藉口「等運到」,例如「集氣七一」,最新的是等美國通過法案。像721這種事,在一個稍為正常的國家,第二天必然全國警署被包圍繼而暴動,不管鎮壓於否,警察總長廿四小時內必定落台,唯獨香港人能如此「和平理性」。指責就更不用說,由五年前的「衝就係鬼」、「戴口罩就係鬼」,一路「進步」到今天慶高采烈地指擲汽油彈、破壞店舖的都是差佬。<br />
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議和派本質就是體制一部份,主張體制內解決問題,包括打官司與他們最喜歡的選舉。「血債票償」這句如此冷血無恥的口號,居然由六月叫到現在,未來仍然會繼續叫。不是叫你不要做,但要是選舉能解決問題,大家還要頭破血流嗎?更不要說你們似乎已忘了DQ,你是無得選的。說你們是金魚記憶簡直是侮辱了金魚。<br />
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不是說革命派就一定是對的。革命派的理論不外乎中共不敢攬炒、歐美圍堵中國機會千載難逢之類。之前說中共一定不敢開槍,出解放軍一定國際制裁亡黨亡國,出緊急法一定外資撤離。現在還不是開了槍,出緊急法恆指係咁意跌幾百點,渾不當一回事。但革命派是有必死的決心,寧為玉碎,不作瓦全。他們最後很可能會地下化、恐怖分子化,那也沒有辦法。歷史都是由勝利者寫的,贏了便是革命,輸了便是暴徒,恐怖分子。不管怎樣,香港是回不去的了,不要奢望社會能「回復正常」,能讓你回到被慢火煮熟的舒適裡。<br />
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<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-36860401584789803692019-10-07T10:03:00.002+01:002019-10-07T10:03:56.028+01:00Thank you, Alexandra HouseThank you for everything, Alexandra House at Leicester. Can't believe it has been 9.5 years. Despite the leaking window, midnight fire alarms and the fake intercom, I will treasure all those memories.spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-87700116998078881802019-07-20T10:30:00.002+01:002023-01-25T20:48:00.410+00:00論「律」與「例」逃犯條例風波,泛民念茲在茲要「伸張公義」,昨日有張超雄事件,之前又有楊岳橋等提出單次(即匪語「一次性」)修例、日落條款等。這伙人似乎(扮作)不知道中文「律」、「例」,英文 "law" 的意思。<br />
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律,清段玉裁《說文解字注》:「均布也... 律者所以笵天下之不一而歸於一。故曰均布也。」既云「法律」,則必須一視同仁,決不能度身訂造,「一次性」地針對。泛民等人諸多大律師,沒可能不懂這些常識。其實不止法律,科學上的 "law" 也必須是 universal。要是蘋果從樹上掉下來有一條 law,地球環繞太陽公轉要另一條 law,那就 law 不成 law,不是 universal law of gravitation 了。一條只能解釋蘋果掉下來而不能解釋香蕉掉下來的 "law"是沒有用的,因為沒有普適性。<br />
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「咁陳同佳案要點處理?」你問。難道就這樣由他逍遙法外嗎?是,正是這樣。<br />
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任何制度都不可能完美,必有「漏洞」。這件事當然涉及中港台敏感政治問題,又牽涉其餘七百萬人福祉,這早有人提出,這裡撇開這點。這裡想說的是泛民的「修例癮」其實是他們的左翼「大愛」及信奉 utopia 的又一體現。他們認為每一個人每一件事都能夠(以及必要)百分百達至完美,但有普遍性的原則不可能完美處理每件事,於是他們不斷 bend the rules,就每一次特別情況作例外處理,最後例不成例,變成人治社會。每次修法這麼麻煩,泛民議員個個都是包青天,未審已知此人有罪,何不直接由立法會判刑?<br />
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不錯,包青天式社會正是很多人的理想社會。在包青天的世界,其實是沒有法律的,但「公義」必能伸張。包青天式的「公義」怎樣 scale up 到整個國家?只有把政府職權無限加大。這當然又是左翼的 utopia 了。放眼歷史,何曾有過這樣的 utopia?spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-35729361199916486472019-07-18T05:02:00.000+01:002019-07-18T05:07:51.607+01:00Another Air France delay - though they have learnt their lesson this timeTwo years on from <a href="http://spyfung.blogspot.com/2017/07/complaints-against-air-france-and-ibis.html">the previous incident</a>, I was on the exact same sequence of flights again:<br />
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AF1565 10/7/2019 19:20 BHX - CDG 21:35<br />
AF188 10/7/2019 23:35 CDG - HKG 17:25 +1<br />
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(And if you wonder, why am I still flying with them? Well like I said, I need to use up all my mileage first, and although there is some progress, it is nowhere near completion...)<br />
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As you can see, the AF188 is scheduled at the exact times as two years ago, and AF1565 is scheduled 25 minutes earlier. The first thing I saw when I arrived at the airport was the flight is delayed... sigh. It shows a delay to 20:10. I then worked out (based on the timing last time) that there might still be a chance to catch the connecting flight. But subsequently it showed a delay to 20:45. It would need a minor miracle I thought; let's see whether they have learnt their lesson or if they want to give me another 800 euros.<br />
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The flight took off at around 21:00 - almost the same as 2 years ago despite the earlier scheduled time - and touched down 22:56 (9 minutes before the one last time, yay.) Again, there were 20+ people connecting to Hong Kong and some others to Beijing, Shanghai etc. And again they looked pretty inexperienced. I told myself, if we missed the connection again I'm going to teach them all how to claim the compensation - they didn't look like they know. That would be quite fun, wouldn't it.<br />
One French (?) passenger commented that this flight was always late.<br />
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It turned out AF did learn their lesson. There was already someone standing at the arriving gate holding a sign of "AF188 Hong Kong" picking us up. He then led the way, and there was one lane of the security checks open. They probably were about to close - it was around 23:15, the last boarding time - and maybe AF told them to keep it open.<br />
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So, you see, with some moderate amount of planning, it can be done and you can avoid all the costs of flying a less-than-full plane, overnight accommodation, overtime for rebooking staff, and most importantly compensation for the delays of the intercontinental flights.<br />
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I was almost disappointed that they made it; I was already planning in my head what to do in Paris.<br />
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I was also upgraded to Premium Economy in AF188. They must have me on file as a troublemaker. Well sorry but I believe all I wrote were useful suggestions for you to improve your workflow (and hence profitability).<br />
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It turned out AF188's departure was also mildly delayed - by various reasons such as unable to close the cargo door - and it would be even more ridiculous if we were unable to connect to it because of something like security staff gone off work.<br />
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Unfortunately, while we the passengers got to the connecting flight, our baggage didn't and they had to take next day's flight. But at least they delivered it pretty swiftly (the plane landed at 17:35 local time the next day and the luggage was delivered to my front door shortly before midnight.)<br />
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All in all this post is to give credits to AF. Not for the delay obviously but for learning their lessons.<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-28086503033868819842018-03-31T14:57:00.002+01:002018-03-31T14:57:12.336+01:00Well that was quick話說<a href="http://spyfung.blogspot.com/2018/01/unity-hair-salon-leicester.html">上回說到</a>理髮店頂手,想不到這麼快就換成了殘體字...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjC1kpNBqP0A8KKcmBiXJvKVyEcjw5gIaXyXEA7l-Y6LgoeDjx8GEi7Hn6TD_YHaTmA6a9oL0DQcjRCALtljwuxfJ8_OcWi7U-6Icsujok6qAyHEFH_3qhj-FGjw-jQfehNB78/s1600/20180310_142909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1305" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjC1kpNBqP0A8KKcmBiXJvKVyEcjw5gIaXyXEA7l-Y6LgoeDjx8GEi7Hn6TD_YHaTmA6a9oL0DQcjRCALtljwuxfJ8_OcWi7U-6Icsujok6qAyHEFH_3qhj-FGjw-jQfehNB78/s320/20180310_142909.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-39535847561609092962018-01-27T15:21:00.000+00:002018-08-24T21:37:31.585+01:00Unity Hair Salon, Leicester<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3-9IWHTxQVViM-y-JaGxiE_shUw43rTLhAZSNQxM9giu5vBjEfwWFoayPcCkPDRX0Q-4d4ONT60tCrpJGeRfiPFOj5jm6QTbDU7PBPm6o_5qdGFGU268lYIGO_v3WidJqcf4/s1600/unity-hair-2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1269" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3-9IWHTxQVViM-y-JaGxiE_shUw43rTLhAZSNQxM9giu5vBjEfwWFoayPcCkPDRX0Q-4d4ONT60tCrpJGeRfiPFOj5jm6QTbDU7PBPm6o_5qdGFGU268lYIGO_v3WidJqcf4/s320/unity-hair-2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unity hair in 2017 (from Google map)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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這是我來了這裡十多年一直光顧的理髮店。店是一位香港中年女士開的,說廣東話自然親切得多、放心得多。<br />
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近兩個月來,不見了那老闆娘,只見兩個年輕鬼妹在打躉,已心知不妙,心想會不會是賣了給別人。今天忽然心血來潮,冒雨去看看,果然見到那老闆娘,正當我以為是自己杞人憂天,卻聽她說店已給別人頂了,她只會一個月回來一次 (多半也只是初期才會吧),她跟兒子一家搬到別的城市了。我登時惘然若失,心想以後不知要到那裡剪了。(最近有另一家華人開的,不知會不會說廣東話,但很貴...)<br />
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剪完這可能是最後一次的光顧 (雖然其實是她監督下由鬼妹剪 ─ 以往也試過多次) ,就跟她說再見 (其實恐怕不會再見了),實在有點傷感。她不知道的,是我對她這店特別有點感情的另一原因:我當年來英國見工,第一次踏足 leicester , 最先看到的中文字,就是她店外的幾個中文字 (當年沒有那麼樣衰 ─ 見下圖),當時立刻覺得十分 reassuring,心想這小城市居然有華人剪髮,日後來住的話少了一件要煩惱的事。<br />
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Anyway, 多謝你替我剪了這麼多年髮,祝一切順利。<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU4Jh8MFglGeaN9aPpVqQlYm8MLspVPH1_vXO01Ror79skvQe7_oCALzBYA45mPubpM-ylJMgP_5n-Vh82XYL-iU2y3aI4QEWbGBqsT-D0OuHTouBpGcl1qcLe_KieEAsQEfs/s1600/unity-hair-2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU4Jh8MFglGeaN9aPpVqQlYm8MLspVPH1_vXO01Ror79skvQe7_oCALzBYA45mPubpM-ylJMgP_5n-Vh82XYL-iU2y3aI4QEWbGBqsT-D0OuHTouBpGcl1qcLe_KieEAsQEfs/s320/unity-hair-2005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in 2005</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-32089864742949960962017-12-31T18:43:00.002+00:002018-10-15T12:32:11.405+01:00And the end is almost upon us...高鐵一地兩檢通過,也是時候回顧香港是死在誰的手中。<br />
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早在2009年高鐵撥款時,我們已經大聲疾呼,指出必須從根本上反對整個計劃,原因不是泛民糾纏的甚麼菜園村、錦上路方案,而是因為那是中共殖民計劃的一部份。「中共殖民香港」才是看待近二十年一切中港問題的主軸,甚麼真普選、高樓價,你不從這個角度去看,永不能看出問題本質。<br />
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然而,泛民由始至終拒絕承認中共殖民,支持中港融合,反對港人身分認同,把一切本土意識打為排外法西斯。西方左膠思想本已是毒藥,和他們的大中華民族主義結合,更是所向無敵。支持新移民、讉責抗爭者、投票支持中港融合,每一件事都是站在殖民者那一方。這伙人經常引用彭定康那句「<span class="st">不是香港的自主權會被北京剝奪,而是這項權利會一點一滴地斷送在香港某些人手裏</span>」來形容建制派,其實對他們不也是十分貼切?<br />
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泛民1989年前是明刀明槍的愛國派,六四屠城,碰巧捉着港人恐共心理,轉型扮反共,行了三十年運。泛民過去的成功和香港過去的成功一樣,都是食老本,都是 an accident of history。面對殖民壓迫,本土思潮應運而生,你們泛民轉不了彎,還要扼殺新一代上位,處處對付本土派比對建制更兇狠。你們支持修改議事規則與剪布、對梁游DQ視如不見、對「13+3」和旺角抗爭者「親疏有別」。害人終害己,現在你們失去議席,動員不了群眾,實是種惡因,得惡果。<br />
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不錯,本土派的激進方式多半也不能阻止殖民。可是寧鳴而死,不默而生 (諷刺的是泛民現在呼籲巿民上街,居然也用這句,真是厚顏無恥),轟轟烈烈的死也是好的。至少也不要自欺欺人,說些「今天沒有輸」之類的廢話。<br />
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Hong Kong is a lost cause。我們要做的,就是紀錄你們的所作所為,好讓後世知道香港是怎樣死的。<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-53303222930966993542017-10-12T13:59:00.001+01:002017-10-12T13:59:57.084+01:00About my Accor/Ibis complaint and their customer "care"<br />
I'm officially not engaging with the Accor/Ibis customer "care" service anymore regarding my complaint.<br />
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The incident itself was detailed <a href="http://spyfung.blogspot.com/2017/07/complaints-against-air-france-and-ibis.html">here</a><here>. I sent a formal complaint letter to them and also used their website to file a formal complaint. You can find the letter I sent them at the end of this post.<br />
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Their website says they will give a response within 48 hours. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. After 3 weeks I was ranting on Twitter again. It seems their Twitter team is the only one doing anything. But all they did was to ask me to email to a certain address, which responded with a file number and said they were "currently carrying on the necessary investigation and will be back in touch with you as quickly as possible to inform you of the results of our investigation." Another 5 weeks passed and, you know what, nothing.<br />
<br />I don't know what "investigation" would have taken this much time. What can they investigate anyway? First you find out who that was - check your rota or CCTV, assuming you keep those things that long. If you cannot identify her then there is really nothing to investigate. And if you find out who she was, most likely she would have no recollection of the events anyway. So I wasn't really expecting anything more than a generic apology letter that most likely will contain no admission of wrongdoing. Is it too much to ask for? I'm not asking for her to be sacked or anything, although a written record on her file would be appropriate, I'd think.<br />
<br />Of course, this delaying tactic is hardly surprising. Wait long enough, and most people will have their anger died down, or even completely forgot the matter, so no action will ever be required. Unfortunately I'm not one of those people. </here>You see, I do take this rather seriously. I spent some time crafting the letter, and even went to the trouble of looking up the manager of the hotel on LinkedIn to be sure I was addressing the correct person. The anger is gone now, yes, but from now on I will just calmly do my best to make you pay, however little or ineffective it might be, for your (in)action.<br />
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<here><br /></here>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMvfkt-zFSAVD8X0P4EvdcJKx9K_h1bO_140hGmp5b4-Fl47hYge7hH6mClrOGxyQn1Sc3QwKJuiGh-KawfBsoAD-5-gtCXKpylquUcF4uM4KDJYvxHIPtIfO8C0eOSCyMNs0/s1600/AF-letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="749" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMvfkt-zFSAVD8X0P4EvdcJKx9K_h1bO_140hGmp5b4-Fl47hYge7hH6mClrOGxyQn1Sc3QwKJuiGh-KawfBsoAD-5-gtCXKpylquUcF4uM4KDJYvxHIPtIfO8C0eOSCyMNs0/s400/AF-letter.jpg" title="" width="338" /></a></div>
<here><br /></here>
<here><br /></here>
Mr. Damien Raphanel<br />
Ibis Styles Paris CDG Airport Roissy Hotel<br />
1 Rue de la Haye<br />
93290 Tremblay-en-France<br />
Paris-Charles De Gaulle<br />
FRANCE<br />
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Dear Mr. Raphanel,<br />
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I write to express my dissatisfaction about the attitude of one of your member of staff during my recent stay at your hotel.<br />
<br />
I was booked into this hotel by Air France for an overnight stay on 19th July 2017 after missing a connecting flight. Due to the length of my delay, Air France told me that I would be entitled to a free lunch at the hotel. This was handwritten onto the hotel voucher by an Air France staff member. When I checked in, it was very late at night, and the staff at reception collected the voucher and when I asked him about the lunch, he said I have to ask reception the next morning.<br />
<br />
The next morning when I checked out and asked about this, I received what I consider to be a very rude response from one of your staff member (a different one from the previous night). She simply said “no” and gave no further response. I demanded to see the voucher that was collected the previous night, she again said “no”. No explanation was given. Upon my further questioning, she eventually said a bit more along the lines of “you should have gotten a voucher last night, if you do not have one we will not give you lunch”. At no point did she try to help, offer any alternatives, or find out what happened. As soon as she finished the word "no" she went back to her own business – not that she was busy with anything – even though I was still standing there.<br />
<br />
While the issue of lunch may have been a mix-up and it could be Air France’s fault, my main issue was the attitude of this particular employee of yours. She was extremely unhelpful. Her attitude was basically “I have seen this trick (to get a free meal) many times, it won’t work on me”. In my opinion this sort of behaviour is completely unacceptable. I did not note down her name, by she stationed the reception at about 11:30am – 12:00 noon on 20th July 2017. (There was another male member of staff, but he was not involved.)<br />
<br />
I would like to think that what I experienced should not have come from a global hotel chain like yours. If this is indeed not the level of service that your hotel aims to offer, I trust that, as manager of the hotel, you would investigate the matter and take any necessary actions.<br />
<br />
<here></here>
I look forward to hear from you about the matter.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-20780323567096934122017-08-17T13:13:00.000+01:002017-08-17T13:13:24.383+01:00CompensationSo, I claimed and obtained compensation of 600 Euros from Air France as per <a href="http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm">EU regulations</a>. (That's not going to change my stance on EU and Brexit though, but more on that maybe later.) I must say I am pleasantly surprised at the speed they dealt with this. I was expecting months of waiting, and it came less than a week.<br />
<br />
Now maybe I should change my mind and take this particular flight combination every time, hope that they delay every time and then I will have indefinite free flights...<br />
<br />
Lesson: if the pilots do not mention reasons for the delay, it is a very big hint that it is for a compensatable reason.<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-87922930698620870272017-07-27T08:24:00.000+01:002017-12-31T17:21:53.051+00:00Complaints against Air France and Ibis Styles Paris CDGAfter venting my anger on Twitter:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Extremely unhappy with <a href="https://twitter.com/ibisStyles">@ibisStyles</a> Paris CDG hotel refusing to acknowledge <a href="https://twitter.com/airfrance">@airfrance</a> promise of lunch after missed flight</div>
— spyfung (@spyfung) <a href="https://twitter.com/spyfung/status/887998545730646017">July 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Guy at midnight checkin said speak to reception next day. Reception woman next day only says "no". Very rude woman! <a href="https://twitter.com/ibisHotels_FR">@ibisHotels_FR</a></div>
— spyfung (@spyfung) <a href="https://twitter.com/spyfung/status/888000485847945217">July 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
here is the full story.<br />
<br />
<i><u>The flights</u></i><br />
<br />
I was due to take the following flights:<br />
AF1565 19/7/2017 19:45 BHX - CDG 22:00<br />
AF188 19/7/2017 23:35 CDG - HKG 17:35 +1<br />
<br />
The BHX-CDG flight was heavily delayed. <b>No one ever explained why the flight was delayed</b>, but when we arrived at the gate, there was no plane there. After a while, the plane finally arrived - to offload its passengers! So clearly the incoming flight was also delayed.<br />
<br />
Eventually the plane took off about 75 minutes later than scheduled. There was a surprisingly large number (20+) of people on the flight who looked like Hongkongers, all connecting to AF188. Somehow many of them were rather inexperienced about this kind of situation. When some of them asked the crew, they were simply told to "run very quickly" to try to catch the connecting flight.<br />
<br />
<i><u>The rebooking and accommodation arrangements</u></i><br />
<br />
The plane touched down at 23:05, but with CDG being CDG, it took until 23:20, perhaps even later, for us to get off the plane. Obviously the gate for AF188 closed by then, but I still ran to it hoping they would have waited for us. It seems to make rather more sense to wait about 20 minutes for such a large group of passengers on a long-haul flight like this, than to go through all the trouble of rebooking so many passengers and to fly a plane with 20 passengers short. Still, it may be beyond their control (the security staff have already gone off work) and if you are those sitting on AF188 you would think otherwise.<br />
<br />
For me it was particularly disappointing as I was allocated a Premier Economy seat (I didn't book or pay for one, but someone got to sit there I suppose) only to see it gone.<br />
<br />
So a whole queue of people waited at a transfer desk while 2 staff members dealt with this - <b>extremely slowly</b>. It took a long time until eventually more staff arrived. Quite frankly, <b>they should be more prepared</b>. They should have known, even before AF1565 took off, that all these people were going to need to be rebooked.<br />
<br />
I was handled by a reasonably helpful staff member. She said I was the last one to be able to book onto the same flight 24 hours later (so it was worth the running...) Although that was not 100% true - the next day I recognized one girl on the same flight. But I was also aware of people being booked onto some Beijing-connecting flights. Anyway, I was reasonably happy with this arrangement and this particular staff member. She spent an awful long time on the phone (presumably to AF backoffice) about arranging my meals. The hotel booking included breakfast, and I was told the hotel would give me lunch as well - by her handwriting something onto the hotel voucher. I was also given a voucher for dinner at the airport the next day.<br />
<br />
<b>The whole process of arranging hotels and food and getting there was chaotic.</b> I was told to go to somewhere at the departure level to collect some food. Then I was told to walk across to the opposite terminal to get transport to the hotel. Could you not do things more centrally? When I eventually found my way there, I was simply directed to go elsewhere. Conflicting information was given - no one seemed quite sure when the CDGVAL train or some shuttle would have stopped running late at night. Somehow, after bumping into a bunch of overly-passionate Brazilians heading to the same hotel, I managed to arrive there. (Actually not the same hotel, they were booked into Ibis and me <a href="http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-8231-ibis-styles-paris-cdg-airport-roissy/index.shtml">Ibis Styles</a>, but fortunately they were just next to each other. They have an annoyingly large number of similarly-named hotels...)<br />
<br />
<i><u>Rude hotel staff</u></i><br />
<br />
But here is my real complaint.<br />
<br />
When I checked in, the guy collected my voucher. Fearing now I lost "proof" to my lunch entitlement, I asked him about this and he said I have to speak to reception the next day. Fair enough. The next day, when I checked out and asked reception about this, <b>the woman simply said "no". She was VERY RUDE and EXTREMELY UNHELPFUL.</b> I asked to see the voucher they collected the day before, she again said "no", without offering any reason. After repeated questioning she finally uttered a little bit more, along the lines of "you should have gotten a voucher last night, if you do not have one we will not give you lunch". At no point did she show any interest to help, offer any alternatives, or try to find out whose fault it was. She did not even try to blame Air France. As soon as she finished the word "no" she went back to her own business, even though I was still standing there. Not that she was really busy with anything. There was no attempt to even pretend to be sorry about what happened, or show any sincerity. Her attitude was basically like "Your trick (to get a free meal) won't work, I have seen this many times".<br />
<br />
<i><u>Twitter to the rescue?</u></i><br />
<br />
Then I went on Twitter to complain about them. Both AF and Ibis responded very quickly. Unfortunately, it simply ended in more disappointment. After a long exchange of messages with AF, where they basically offered to reimburse my lunch if I produce the receipts (which I cannot produce other than a 2.70 euro snack, since I didn't take a proper lunch), I was told to make a formal complaint. I'm not sure what's the point of your twitter team if all they do is to redirect people to your conventional complaint mechanisms. (Though it seems to be what most companies do these days...)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwSD1283IM2PlrehKA5LH6nkSw0K4hR93ci2MNBz2SR6hm2RrwgacOw8HTQ77YAQ9SdHojdCOL8VlOrl_islHCZYNAE3UGd9psG1tDie6JBNglhppigbgLtd9yYGtszbNjIgw/s1600/AF-twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="872" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwSD1283IM2PlrehKA5LH6nkSw0K4hR93ci2MNBz2SR6hm2RrwgacOw8HTQ77YAQ9SdHojdCOL8VlOrl_islHCZYNAE3UGd9psG1tDie6JBNglhppigbgLtd9yYGtszbNjIgw/s320/AF-twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm not going to go through the whole process to get 2.70 euro refunded. You ought to offer something better than this. It is like when you are caught stealing things at a supermarket, and you just offer to repay the value of the stuff stolen. And I'm sure the lunch promised was worth more than 2.70. If I had known you are going to refund, I would have gone about my day entirely differently.<br />
<br />
<i><u>Conclusion</u></i><br />
<br />
I wouldn't call myself a "frequent flyer" but I fly this BHX-HKG route very regularly (not always AF though) and I think you should treat your customers better. Now I only need a way to use my mileage points and be done with you. As for that hotel, is it your hotel's policy to treat customers with that sort of attitude? If not, I would demand to know what action is being taken about that staff member.<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-1744292585366669802017-06-09T11:43:00.001+01:002017-06-09T13:47:05.394+01:00Unorganized thoughts on GE2017 (2)More:<br />
<br />
(5) Tactical errors: the focus on who is the strong leader is not a wrong one. But these are the sort of things that should be done subliminally, not saying out loud. You want people to subconsciously accept the message. Saying it out loud makes people think and then question whether it is right.<br />
<br />
(6) More tactical errors: if you think this is about giving you a stronger hand for Brexit, then you should have no new policies. Just stick to most of what is promised in the 2015 manifesto. Instead, she was initially too confident, too greedy, and tried to grab "Labour heartlands" and the working class by those things such as pension lock. Trying to not rely on bribing the elderly for winning the election was a principled thing to do. (The "dementia tax" row is frankly quite ridiculous - who would have thought Labour is the one who want to encourage accumulation of wealth?) She tried moving towards the centre, ended up in the middle of nowhere.<br />
<br />
She has broadly good intentions or ideologies (for those on our side), but frankly was very incompetent in carrying them out.<br />
<br />
(7) So grammar schools are not going to happen er? Meritocracy has lost. (Well, it has lost a long time ago.)<br />
<br />
(8) I never understand this "mood on the doorstep" thing. Surely the young people and those who need to work are not there to answer the door.<br />
<br />
And speaking of young people... well this is what happens when they are mobilised into politics. The young voters obviously have not experienced the 1970's when the trade unions brought the country to a grinding halt. (Neither have I.) There are some very good reasons why some left-wing policies are perhaps good for society - for example, I am not actually that against some of those nationalisation policies, e.g. water, since clearly there is no meaningful competition whatsoever - but I very much doubt those 18-year-olds know anything more than the simplistic "liberal" ideologies that was being stuffed into their heads at school.<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-33798548722998937072017-06-09T10:42:00.004+01:002017-06-09T10:49:16.874+01:00Unorganized thoughts on GE2017<div>
(1) The happiest person in the country right now must be George Osborne.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(2) I didn't believe Brexit would win the referendum until that very day it won. I didn't believe Article 50 would be triggered until the very day it was. I still don't believe Brexit will actually happen (in any meaningful form) until it actually happens.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The liberal "establishment" would not just sit there and accept defeat to the so-called populism. They will fight back. They are in control of the world economy and power for so many years, there may be temporary setbacks but they would not go away easily. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(3) Speaking of populism or anti-liberalism or anti-globalization or localism, whatever you call it... they are so short-lived. We had high hopes, but now it seems it is all gone and everything is about to return to what it was before, indeed worse from our point of view. In Hong Kong, the localism movement barely lasted a few years. In electoral terms it only began in February 2016. A defeat in September of the same year, and now everything is dead. In Britain, UKIP had its moments in 2015 and is now dead. In France, a widely Eurosceptic electorate somehow ended up choosing the most liberal candidate (he calls himself centrist, I call that extreme liberalism).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For those of us fighting against political correctness, we are now pegged back to the corner and are going to need to defend for our lives from all sides. Prepare to embrace for more "choose love" and "hope not fear" and "social justice".</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(4) I have some sympathy for May. I always felt her hand was a bit forced when she had to call a general election, due to the slim majority. She cannot call it before triggering Article 50, and cannot do it much later. The police cuts, for which she was heavily criticized, were obviously made under the reign of Cameron and Osborne (again, laughing happily now).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But she made MANY misjudgments. She should not have gone all the way to the Supreme Court regarding Brexit (that will save a few months, allowing triggering Article 50 earlier and calling the GE earlier. If the GE happened <i>before</i> the local elections, the result may be reversed.) Then there was the NI contribution saga, then the social care reform, then of course calling the GE itself. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The campaign is a complete disaster. She looked shaken from start to finish. For some reason, in her speeches when she wanted to sound powerful, those "<i>Come with me...</i>" were voiced like Darth Vader saying "<i>... together we can rule the universe.</i>"</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-42930163936092664112017-05-23T21:04:00.001+01:002017-05-24T20:44:00.669+01:00On hatredphobiaI am certainly a negative person (unashamedly so - I don't think there is anything wrong with that). As such I am really quite fed up with this kind of blind positivity and optimism. Every time something like this happens, all you keep hearing and seeing is<br />
<ul>
<li><i>"We are not afraid, because that's what they want"</i></li>
<li><i>"We must carry on with our lives, we can't let them win"</i></li>
<li><i>"You cannot defeat us"</i></li>
<li><i>"Make love not war"</i>, <i>"Love trumps hate"</i>, <i>"Choose love"</i>, and hand gestures and drawings full of "love" </li>
</ul>
What's wrong with these, you say? Well, I cannot explain that. Those are such correct and positive things to say, how can you possibly argue against them? I am certainly not articulate enough to express any argument, I hope someone else could and I also kind of hope that deep down people feel that it is not right.<br />
<br />
Saying these things obviously does not help solve the problem. (Seriously? You carry on with your lives as normal, so they just carry on with their lives as normal and continue to kill people. Is that your definition of them "not winning"?) But that's ok; showing solemnity, solidarity and respect is absolutely the right thing to do. Even fooling yourself with a false sense of confidence and optimism is sometimes necessary to keep morale up.<br />
<br />
But more importantly, I feel that is not even the reason they say such things; rather it is to let them (subconsciously)<b> "feel good about themselves"</b>, to convince themselves that <i>"I'm a good person, I don't hate people"</i> (even after they do terrible things to you). This self-indulgence of "love" and the idea that love can magically solve all problems is alarming. (As in HK where "love and peace" can allegedly break through the armour of a tank...)<br />
<br />
People are being so conditioned these days, that no matter what atrocities happen, there is no anger, no rage, never mind hatred. There is no fight. These "negative" emotions have been suppressed. And I am not only talking about the "recognized", politically-incorrect forms of "phobia"; this also can be seen, for example, in the Jo Cox murder (killed by someone presumably far-right, and the husband repeatedly told people not to hate), and a while ago I posted on a case of a Taiwanese killing an innocent girl.<br />
<br />
If Daleks purged all emotion other than hatred, then the left is about to succeed in the exact opposite*. Both, I would argue, are anti-human.<br />
<br />
And I suspect this post may get me into some trouble...<br />
<br />
(*): Actually that's not quite true, they have no problem hating certain political parties or figures, ironically accusing them of spreading fear.<br />
<ul>
</ul>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-29661236547771014012017-05-01T18:23:00.002+01:002017-05-01T18:23:54.605+01:00Excuse me, whose Parliament is it supposed to be?It always baffles me why some political parties in this country openly stand for foreign interests and are against British interests. Like Labour who say they will <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39698465">unilaterally guarantee EU citizens' rights on day one</a>. Also Lib Dems at the House of Lords. We are electing members of the <i>British</i> Parliament, we are choosing a <i>British</i> prime minister. Why should they put foreign interests ahead of British interests? You don't need to worry about EU citizens' rights, because the other 27 countries are going to fight for it. That is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39755124">what they are demanding</a> and rightly so. The British government should be fighting for the rights of British citizens residing in EU; otherwise who is going to speak for them?<br />
<br />
And if it is such an "honourable" and "decent" thing to offer a unilateral guarantee, why don't they ask the EU to do this decent thing?<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-27363216014116640602016-11-28T19:07:00.001+00:002016-11-28T19:13:28.317+00:00The benefit of hindsight on Black Friday...I consider myself to be pretty good at holding out for the best discounts
for lego, but lately I'm not having any luck (or skill) and keep buying
at the wrong place at the wrong time.<br />
<br />
First, <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/21303-1">21303</a> and <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/21304-1">21304</a> were bought
last year, at full price, as soon as they were released; the Ideas theme was usually rather exclusive and difficult to get. Then, last month, they together with <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/21302-1">21302</a> were in Tesco 3-for-2 (on top of heavy discounts)... I could have got all three with <span class="text_exposed_show">£75 but buying separately costed me £125. That was </span><span class="text_exposed_show">£50 lost already...</span><br />
<br />
Then two weeks ago, I bought on ebay <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/42056-1">42056</a>, a set that probably is the only one in <span class="text_exposed_show">the
past 10+ years where the box is seriously important... and of all
things, it is the one that got damaged. Not only that, this weekend I
saw it £5 cheaper on Amazon, which is £20 cheaper than its previous
lowest (and when its availability was very patchy... now, at the lower
price, it is always available!) </span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<br />
And next, <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/10214-1">10214</a>, that strangely is still out there 6 years on. There was hope lego.com could have it on 20% discount on Black Friday, but it wasn't. I ended up picking it at John Lewis at 10% off. Normally I wouldn't even think about buying anything only 10% off - have to be at least 20-25% - but (again) this set was meant to be exclusive and rarely you see it in any discount at all. They put it in a box more than three times bigger than necessary. I almost killed myself bringing it home. Then two days later, on Monday, lego.com made it 20% off... A 10% difference is otherwise not that big a deal, but it was on the most expensive set I ever bought! The first and only set with 4000+ parts! Plus a free exclusive set <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/40223-1">40223</a> that probably worths <span class="text_exposed_show">£20</span> or so that lego.com offers, I lost another <span class="text_exposed_show">£40 here...</span><br />
<br />
Eventually I did buy something 20% off on lego.com, <a href="http://brickset.com/sets/42055-1">42055</a>. Interestingly, I held out longest for this one when this is the one I <i>really</i> want and <i>really</i> couldn't afford to miss. I held out when it was <span class="text_exposed_show">£149 at Amazon (and elsewhere). </span>Together with the gift, surely it can't go wrong this time?<br />
<br />
Still, I think of these as investments. Just like buying shares, often you buy when you think it is low enough, only to see it drop another 10% within a week... bad, but this happens to all of us.<br />
<br />
But after this spending spree I won't be "investing" for a very long time...</div>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-35050795459385507462016-10-13T23:38:00.001+01:002016-10-17T23:46:00.732+01:00On grammar schools, nuclear plants, and protesting outside Russia embassyWhen we voted Brexit, absolutely nobody could have imagined Theresa May would become Prime Minister and Boris Johnson the Foreign Secretary. So, where are we now? For politically incorrect people like me, things couldn't be better (policy-wise; my pockets continue to be deeply hit...)<br />
<br />
Theresa May tries to bring back grammar schools. You wouldn't bet this would be the first non-Brexit issue that she decides to take on. Especially given that she was unelected and it was on nobody's manifesto. She must truly believe in it to do this. Leftists don't like the idea of any kind of selection based on ability. They believe everyone must be equally capable at everything, no one is a failure even if only in some areas, everyone should go to university and so on. In the end academically stronger students get pegged back, academically weaker students are forced into doing things they are not good at, and everybody pass every exam because the bar is so low. And when you can't distinguish people based on ability, you end up choosing them based on money, "guanxi", etc.<br />
<br />
And she tried to block the nuclear power plant. I had some (foolish?) hope that she would have the guts to actually block it. This is probably asking too much, though. It was a suicidal idea inherited from someone else. But at least we get it delayed by several months; this may well give us several extra months to live after a future nuclear disaster that is bound to happen. Have nobody told you that everything made by China will explode? But this is still better than the situation of Hong Kong where we will be surrounded by tens of nuclear power plants soon, ready to blow up any moment.<br />
<br />
She tried to position the Tories in the centre ground. A "centre" not in the sense of traditional political ideologies, but in the sense of "what ordinary people think". Let's hope some common sense can come back to politics, so people don't have to support the embarrassing UKIP, or the dangerous hard-left, or the muddled "centre-ground" parties that silently exploit you for big businesses.<br />
<br />
And then Boris Johnson said those activists should protest against Russia's war crime. Though obviously not helpful to the situation, it is good that someone in his position cares and dares to point out the hypocrisy of those people. Those "peace activists" are not against war: they never protest against any war crime committed by Russia, or communists, etc. They are against America or the West. Which is perfectly fine; it is a perfectly legitimate position to take. Just say it out loud. Don't hide behind the banner of peace.<br />
<br />
And the Russian response is equally interesting, calling it "Russophobia". Leftists used the -phobia suffix on anything these days. Just add it after any thing, and that "thing" suddenly becomes sacred and any argument against it are all just irrational hatred. In fact you are not allowed to discuss that sacred matter at all. I am getting more and more phobiaphobic...<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-18632242624101834722016-09-05T12:30:00.000+01:002016-09-05T12:30:27.528+01:00七年<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_16">
七年了,我們做的,不知是為了甚麼?<br />
<br />
七年前,反高鐵喚醒了一少部份人的反抗意識。<br /> 四年前,我們夾手夾腳推了個范國威進去,心想這總算是一個好開始,四年後定必有一番作為。<br /> 兩年前,香港看似真的會勇武起來了。<br /> 上年和今年,滿街暴徒,左翼「今天我」社運全面退場……?<br />
<br />
到今天,我們自己輸也罷了,那是咎由自取。卻換來三個「左翼本土」高票當選。連和理非的范國威也給行刑式處決掉。「收共產黨錢」,結果我們沒有贏,建制也沒有增多,泛民也沒有減少(他們自己雷動取新棄舊而己),得益的居然是金鐘黃絲大台,真是諷刺。<br />
<br />
我們又回到了七年前,那個沒有(沒有人說)中港矛盾的「和諧社會」,反高鐵是因為土地正義、菜園村,抗爭是苦行、摺紙和感動政權……</div>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-73433375120937267512016-09-01T00:14:00.002+01:002016-09-01T00:14:29.101+01:00拉票 (2)因為本土派近日的一些事件,我都冇乜心機寫文。(不知內情者就繼續不知好了,千萬不要 google.) <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x414OAZvdl0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x414OAZvdl0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
國師,梁天琦,黃台仰,鄭錦滿,同台演出,連中出羊子都有。Those were the days, 唉。我只係想見到幾個本土派當選,大家齊齊整整,平平安安,點解咁難?<br />
<br />
本來我想特別數臭某些泛民左膠候選人,但心想讓他們平均分票(或吸票過多)才是最佳落選方法,所以還是不說了。隨意說幾點: <br />
<br />
(1) 大家超區冇得揀,要含淚投,那回到地方選區可以考慮下本土吧...<br />
<br />
(2) 很多人驚投錯票,擔心投了給那個原來是收共產黨錢的候選人。例如有一個說法就是港獨派是中共搞出來的,目的是製造藉口為23條立法。其實那有甚麼問題呢,只要他們推動的意識形態是我樂見的便可。要知道世上有回事叫「玩大咗」,他們要推動港獨,我們便順水推舟,港豬最缺乏的就是本土意識覺醒,現在有人貼錢幫你推廣那是求之不得。<br />
<br />
(3) 我很是擔心,三個新左膠(其實一點也不新)劉小麗羅冠聰朱凱迪,本來只是陪跑份子,現在竟然至少兩個走勢凌厲,要是這些新左膠出三中三 100% 命中,而本土派自相殘殺,只得兩三個當選甚至全軍盡墨的話,那就冇眼睇了。<br />
<br />
我唔明白點解會有人唔知劉小麗係左膠。聽個名都知啦,幾廿歲人叫自己乜嘢小麗老師,你而家教幼稚園咩,聽到都令人作嘔。偏偏卻用那隻 font,更加突兀。<br />
<br />
<br />
(4) 我其實就好L溫和嘅,我只係要求「中港區隔」,不論是港獨建國城邦歸英,甚至是密室談判或中共大發慈悲,或者真的 build a wall ,任何可以達致中港區隔的方式我都支持。<br />
<br />
各位大中華膠
,其實要建設民主中國,更須要中港區隔。<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.imgur.com/z51Q8de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/z51Q8de.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
其實<a href="https://www.facebook.com/1490131274572355/photos/a.1490407691211380.1073741830.1490131274572355/1490164364569046/?type=3&theater">東講西讀這幅圖</a>也不是百分百準確:大陸應該是一大桶污水而不是和香港一樣大。一小杯清水要救國,不是把自己倒進那一大桶污水裏,而是先設法阻止大桶污水湧進來,
之後再從詳計議。大中華膠認為香港有責任建設民主中國,本身就是承認香港是比大陸好的,正常人自是要維持著這個較高標準以作榜樣,他們卻要把香港拉下去。<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-15055581331382193832016-08-18T09:57:00.001+01:002016-08-18T10:02:29.196+01:00拉票 (1)這篇文是寫給所謂「黃絲」看的。(至於那些藍絲及認為中港融合無限商機的,大家道不同不相為謀,多言無益。) 我明知大家唔啱聽,99.99%是徙口水,但我無得投票,希望略盡人事,拉得一票得一票。我想懇請大家,考慮一下投給所謂「本土派」的候選人(*)。<br />
<br />
我知道很多人都有各種原因憎恨本土派:<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<br />
其人物不是黐線佬騎呢怪就是廢柴、政棍;<br />
其理論不是一廂情願等運到就是決不可行會死人;<br />
其行動不是暴力掟磚就是排外法西斯;<br />
後果不是分化泛民中共最開心就是激嬲中共出解放軍。<br />
<br />
然而,儘管他們是多麼的不濟,他們是唯一一批站在香港人一邊的政治人物。要不是他們,現在你們已經要配給奶粉了[1,2]。<br />
<br />
據說本土派都是黐線佬、暴徒、講粗口、還有最新的「咦~~~爛仔嚟嘅打交嘅」。又做出種種「十惡不赦」的惡行,包括拆金鐘大台、𠝹民主黨票、踢篋「整喊細路女」等等。<br />
<br />
首先我不認為這些是十惡不赦的行動,雖然我不一定全部認同。有時矯枉不免過正,年輕人過於熱血,希望大家體諒一下。其次,選議員不是選聖人,大是大非比小道德重要得多。[3]<br />
<br />
還有,就是因為現在的議員都是賣港的,本土派議會內沒有代表,才要採取激烈行動。你不是不知道香港現在變成怎樣:明明大家都經常長嗟短嘆,上水成了深圳領土、新城市廣場不再是給沙田友行的、個仔的功課學殘體字和「西紅柿土豆湯」兼且漢語拼音叻過英文... 只是你和絕大部份「正常」人一樣,本能地
shut off your senses to preserve your sanity,
那些本土的黐線佬沒有,就此而已。對於這些議題,泛民做了甚麼?他們支持大陸醫生來港、主張普教中、支持網絡廿三條、去聯合國告香港人、流晒口水見張德江開聲表明接受統戰、維護走私賊這個「弱勢社群」、背後老細在屯門開藥房賣奶粉...「泛民」沒有一個是站在香港那一邊的,一個也沒有。<br />
<br />
(說回那個著名黐線佬,現在方國珊黃碧雲陳淑莊都在跟,全部都係跟,我看見也覺得很有趣。[4,5,6,7])<br />
<br />
大家投了「泛民」幾十年,多一次唔多,少一次唔少,四年後他們肯定還會老神在在、搖頭恍腦說些甚麼爭取民主之類的話。好心吧,說了幾十年還說甚麼民主。民主遠不如反赤化、2047前途重要,這不是我說的,是練乙錚說的
[8]。反之本土派下次也不用選,四年後選舉主任自會替你篩選,這大概是最後一次有得給你投的了,無下次。你還是要投給泛民,那是無話可說,準備迎接飲茶唔識普通話冇得食的時代吧。[9]<br />
<br />
現在有些黐線的為你爭取,你靜靜雞在投票站投票即可,不用像我等拋頭露面做排外法西斯。他日要是這班人選了進去後通敵賣港,那我自是罪該萬死,打要企定,本文做證作鞭屍用。(說來四年前我出 post 推薦的候選人,第一是范國威,第二是長毛,如今再看真是不忍卒睹...)<br />
<br />
下個 post (如得閒的話):<br />
- 「本土理論不可行,本土政棍無恥喎!」<br />
- 支持中港區隔,才能建設民主中國<br />
- 逐個數點解唔好投泛民<br />
<br />
(*) for the purpose of this election, 本土派 = 熱普城 + 青政。要是大家真是投唔落手,范國威毛孟靜都勉強收貨啦<br />
[1] 食衞局搞奶粉配給制 加入本地媽咪會 港B兩周可買三罐<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhk.apple.nextmedia.com%2Fnews%2Fart%2F20130124%2F18144659&h=uAQFvc_JQAQGD0OYzOnSFzqL0b6nrs__zIQCffBpOkIHsgw&enc=AZMO-NTmCWoV7Vxg66_h1HI-YZpxEQU0btReEKRvYqBmJBG1I1AXp5gVCcPp1IP40OyPec4N6TiPjCswYXwz7JmT36hFiRo4YjmVsc4X_02J8RCdsNv6v5MGHuaA-ViScnt-jqNWHeC_CBB4Y20JiQI9m-fcUPfciK2t1feyJbFBQ0gKU9eAjAJcOX35NFGrc2I&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20130124/18144659</a><br />
[2] 配給奶粉 配合大陸<br />
<a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhk.apple.nextmedia.com%2Fnews%2Fart%2F20130126%2F18146399&h=0AQGcCnb7AQGF1KiFK2O14wxAogqvLYoaSW8K80nn1Hmopg&enc=AZNQvVH7ccZhDqBG69j97XkGgYIs6dmkNzqpn9R2c6mfesjFzPzp2MzX4HqpADhvI_yjsRpCtimwZx1mW7IovVzqrqprqZ3Si5zUXYOSDpH3PUQdwy89-KYNTdHfCTBOJWIbJy8JQIT0ifxyKZhvbJPKFl5QRYn-lbq9HAN1ZHck0CK0284ijl-QW1Jsfhownck&s=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20130126/18146399</a><br />
[3] <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cheng.lap.9/posts/10153403024122357">https://www.facebook.com/cheng.lap.9/posts/10153403024122357</a><br />
[4] <a href="https://www.facebook.com/christinefks/posts/10210015569531311">https://www.facebook.com/christinefks/posts/10210015569531311</a><br />
[5] <a class="profileLink" href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1206894789372833&set=a.805115286217454.1073741826.100001569693555&type=3">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1206894789372833&set=a.805115286217454.1073741826.100001569693555</a><br />
[6] <a class="profileLink" href="https://www.facebook.com/tanyachancp/photos/a.10150592570070733.443436.230625005732/10154235945135733/?type=3">https://www.facebook.com/tanyachancp/photos/a.10150592570070733.443436.230625005732/10154235945135733/</a><br />
[7] <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wan.chin.75/posts/10154373241842225">https://www.facebook.com/wan.chin.75/posts/10154373241842225</a><br />
[8] 練乙錚籲聚焦反赤化 <br />
<a href="http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20160810/19730433" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20160810/19730433</a><br />
[9] 收銀員包庇只識講普通話侍應 寶湖飲食集團向事主致歉<br />
<a href="http://www.passiontimes.hk/article/04-11-2016/29891" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.passiontimes.hk/article/04-11-2016/29891</a></div>
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-69415593457111766452016-06-28T23:50:00.002+01:002016-07-05T20:53:10.238+01:00Jean-Claude Juncker sums up all that's rotten about the EU<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3667054/Still-sneering-Britain-boozy-bully-sums-s-rotten-EU.html">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3667054/Still-sneering-Britain-boozy-bully-sums-s-rotten-EU.html</a><br />
<br />
No doubt this is a very biased article, but you never see this sort of thing reported on BBC. Over the last two weeks you can hear absolutely nothing on the BBC about criticisms against Juncker, yet every hostile word he said towards Britain they reported all of it.spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-22298429517734528022016-06-04T20:38:00.001+01:002016-06-04T20:40:51.895+01:00What I experienced throughout this fairytale season (3)<b>The nervous weeks</b><br />
<br />
What follows was a narrow defeat by Arsenal; despite that, the title is in sight. We are now clearly in the run-in: a long string of relatively
weak opponents, with 3 difficult matches at the end of the season.
Which for us was actually tricky, since the opponents would
sit back which did not suit our counter-attacking style.
The team also became very cautious, grinding out 1-0 wins game after game. In-between we drawn 2-2 at WBA, and everyone thought we dropped points, only to find out a bit later that
every other title contender in fact lost, so we actually gained ground!<br />
<br />
We also continued to receive a lot of luck on refereeing decisions. I lost count on the number of Robert Huth deliberately leaving an arm out at an awkward position, waiting for the ball to hit it; or swinging elbows at people; and so on.<br />
<br />
I had been constantly thinking about the fixtures, trying to work out whether we are likely to have the points needed to win the title. After week 33, with 5 games to go and 7 points in lead, my plan was like this:<br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>week</td>
<td>LEI: 72 pts</td>
<td>TOT: 65 pts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>34</td>
<td>WHU: D, 73 pts</td>
<td>STO: W, 68 pts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>35</td>
<td>SWA: W, 76 pts</td>
<td>WBA: W, 71 pts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>36</td>
<td>MNU: ?</td>
<td>CHE: ?</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>37</td>
<td>EVE: ?</td>
<td>SOU: ?</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>38</td>
<td>CHE: ?</td>
<td>NEW: ?</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So we needed to protect a 5-point lead over the last 3 weeks. There were two scenarios at this point:<br />
<br />
(1) If CHE-TOT was a draw then we only need 3 points, most likely a win against EVE. But it was important to get at least 1 at MNU, otherwise there would be enormous pressure and things could go horribly wrong:<br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>week</td>
<td>LEI: 76 pts</td>
<td>TOT: 71 pts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>36</td>
<td>MNU: L?, 76</td>
<td>CHE: D, 72</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>37</td>
<td>EVE: D?, 77</td>
<td>SOU: W, 75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>38</td>
<td>CHE: L?, 77</td>
<td>NEW: W, 78</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
(2) If TOT beat CHE then we would need to need 5 points, i.e. D-W-D in the
last 3 matches which is perfectly possible but we would be under
extreme pressure.<br />
<br />
<br />
Against WHU we indeed got a draw, although it was thanks again to some dodgy refereeing decisions. And the Vardy red card also throws everything in new light. And after I saw TOT beat STO 4-0, I feared the worst and thought they would not
drop any more points, i.e. Scenario 2 applies. But then next week they could only draw WBA. The table (and what could go wrong) now looked like this:<br />
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>week</td>
<td>LEI: 76 pts</td>
<td>TOT: 69 pts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>36</td>
<td>MNU: L? 76</td>
<td>CHE:W 72</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>37</td>
<td>EVE: D? 77</td>
<td>SOU: W 75</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>38</td>
<td>CHE: D? 78</td>
<td>NEW: W 78</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>The weekend that completed the miracle</b><br />
<br />
In the 1-1 draw against MNU,
we were again lucky. But very importantly, Drinkwater took a foul for the team and got red-carded. Had we lost that match, TOT needed only a D-W-W to get to 76, which looked extremely likely, and our failure would be a very real possibility.<br />
<br />
The next day, Monday 2nd May 2016, it was CHE v TOT. The day history will never forget. You all know what happened. I was watching snooker on TV while following live updates on BBC sport. When they were winning 2-0 I thought they were too good to be stopped. When I saw the 2-2 I could not believe my eyes. I switched to radio; the Internet was too slow!<br />
<br />
Then there was the final whistle. The fairytale was complete. I actually waited a few minutes for the BBC website to confirm it for me. Couldn't just believe by hearing...<br />
<br />
And even better, within 15 minutes Mark Selby won the snooker!<br />
<br />
(The subsequent downfall of Spurs was of course ridiculous. We have a lot to thank Chelsea, though; have Spurs won that match, their downfall would not happen and it would look overwhelmingly likely that we would be the one to let it slip.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-47941074127308681372016-05-28T20:50:00.005+01:002016-05-28T20:50:45.063+01:00Unconventional arguments on why we should leave the EU (3)Actually, for some personal reasons (see the other post) I'm not exactly in the mood of writing, moreover most common arguments have appeared everywhere. So this is perhaps my last post on this subject...<br />
<br />
The pro-leave side usually resort to sentiment, while the pro-remain side usually relies on tangible advantages like cost to the economy etc. Which is all very well, we can decide ourselves which is more important. But those tangible advantages given - especially when you hear them from young people (who are a lot more pro-EU) - show that they have little concept of priority. We are talking about a once-in-a-lifetime decision, it's about World War III and some such (if you believe them), and these young people are saying, "<i>I want to remain in EU because it is easier and cheaper to travel for holidays.</i>" What's wrong with you people?<br />
<br />
Another main argument to support staying in the EU from those people seems to be that, the EU enforces a lot of things like CO2 emissions, workers' rights, etc that are "good", and they would otherwise not happen under a Tory government. Which may well be true, but why don't you try to achieve those things via national politics - vote for Labour, Greens, etc at local and national elections? And if you cannot succeed in getting them to power, through a democratic process, maybe the rest of the public don't actually share the same opinion as you? Their idea seems to be that, since those things are "morally right", they need to get it from whoever can offer them, whether it is the EU, or some dictator, or some green alien about to enslave humans. The concept of a "nation" to them worths less than getting through airports quicker or cheaper flights.spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-6710892572997367982016-05-24T22:35:00.003+01:002016-05-24T22:35:41.624+01:00What I experienced throughout this fairytale season (2)<b>The first big hurdle</b><br />
<br />
December comes the first tough fixture period: 14/12 CHE, 19/12 EVE, 26/12 LIV, 29/12 MNC, the first point where people
expected us to crumble. I would have been more than happy had we got 3-4 points out of these 4 games. It turned out we got 7!<br />
<br />
Before the Chelsea game I was so praying them not to sack Jose Mourinho before it.
Fortunately they didn't, and our win proved to be Jose's last game
at Chelsea.<br />
<br />
We were then top of table, 2 points clear. It was also at this point that Gary Lineker made <a href="https://twitter.com/garylineker/status/676520648097865728">his infamous tweet</a>. He didn't know that, but it seems HKGolden's 賭 J is very powerful indeed...<br />
<br />
And after beating Everton, we are guaranteed top of the table at Christmas. A fan <a href="http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Leicester-City-fan-reduced-tears-live-air-606/story-28396883-detail/story.html#ixzz49bsESgrR">phoned-in to a radio programme and said</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"My son turned to me and looked me in the eye and said: 'Dad, dad, amazing, absolutely amazing.'</blockquote>
<br /><br />
Then a series of lacklustre result follows, including a 0-2 defeat to Liverpool, clinging on to a 0-0 draw with Man City, yet another goalless draw with Bournemouth, and even a 1-1 draw with Villa (!). But this slump still left us in a position better than people had expected. In this period Vardy had a surgery,
and I suspect the transfer window must also have caused some instability
as well. But somehow we were still near or at the top of the table - still quietly. <br />
<br />
<b>The second big hurdle</b><br />
<br />
We had three big matches in February: 2/2 LIV, 6/2 MNC, 14/2 ARS.<br />
<br />
I was very pleased to see us lose out in the FA cup replay.
Had we won that, we would have a 5th round FA cup match a few days
before the LIV match. As it turned out, we had 10 days rest, while LIV
played 4 matches in 10 days (or something like that).
We then beat LIV 2-0, thanks to a wonder goal from Vardy.<br />
<br />
At this point the neutral fans all begin to root for us. Like this one<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35497832">http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35497832</a><br />
<br />
6/2
MCI 1-3 LEI<br />
This was the day history will remember; the day when the rest of the world
suddenly realises that it might actually happen. Not just because of the successive wins, but because of the manner in which we dispatch away these opponents so convincingly. There were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/41230d2f-0456-4e53-9b58-9112e96c2ba5">articles pondering (still joking)</a> what might happen if this miracle, just for once, did happen. Gary Lineker <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/13/gary-lineker-leicester-city-premier-league-title">wrote a moving article</a>, describing it as "quite
possibly the most unlikely triumph in the history of team sport", and that he has never "wanted something to happen more in sport in my
entire life."<br />
<br />
But for us it was the start of the agony. It was the point where we started to fear, that this might turn from the greatest miracle in sporting history to the biggest flop in sporting history.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, it was just
like 2 seasons ago when we were promoted to the Premier League: flying under the radar for half of the season, and by the time the rest of
the world realised, it was already too late to catch us. <br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Next time: the home straight...</i><br />
<br />
spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-67857832757498486792016-05-24T22:01:00.001+01:002016-05-24T23:28:43.057+01:00Mid-life crisisWell, the inevitable is, finally, about to descend onto me. After years of dragging on, this new "leadership team" is now acting extremely swiftly (you have to admire how they patiently set the whole thing up, with everything in place before delivering the final punch - more on that in the future if I have the chance to write about it.) I knew it will happen one day, but when it arrives it is so sudden.<br />
<br />
It is something that has always been at the back of my mind, but I refuse to accept, and it is now too late for me: if you know you are in a wrong career, leave early. (I don't know how I survived the REF two years ago. But even then it was already too late.)<br />
<br />
At least it was after the good moments. We won the Premier League, man! (I always worried that this good news would be spoiled by bad news like this one, or some far worse ones.) It is the best thing that could ever happen to this city, so there is nothing more to look forward to.<br />
<br />
We'll know how bad it goes in a few months' time. Perhaps it won't be the worst possible outcome. Perhaps it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. In the meantime, I probably will stop blogging for quite a while after I finished the EU articles and the Leicester City articles... not that anyone cares.spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8592272.post-73362960166259177082016-05-19T13:12:00.001+01:002016-05-19T13:12:43.249+01:00Unconventional arguments on why we should leave the EU (2)退聯邊個最開心! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36310540">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36310540</a><br /><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Speaking in London, the prime minister said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of so-called Islamic State in Iraq, "might be happy" in the event of a Leave vote in June, remarks which Mr Johnson said were a "bit too much". </span><br />
<br />
I knew it! The Hong Kong left plastics' argument of 退聯邊個最開心 will find its way to the EU referendum debate!<br />
<br />
Just to give you some background, the "left plastics" in HK often criticizes strong, violent protests against communist China because they "give excuses" for the Chinese government to further suppress political opposition, and the Chinese government would be "pleased" to see that happen. The same logic was applied to the separation of many higher education student unions from the Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS). After the awakening to localism of most university students and student bodies, they want to separate from HKFS. Then they dished out this argument saying that the disbanding of HKFS will only make the Chinese government happy.<br />
<br />
Various counterarguments have been put out. But put it back to the context of IS and EU referendum:<br />
<br />
(1) You do or not do things because they are right or wrong, not because they would make someone else happy.<br />
<br />
(2) How do you know IS would be happy? Do you think like them?<br />
<br />
(3) Seriously, IS wouldn't care, they want to destroy all of you anyway.<br />
<br />spyfunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09954038366607991707noreply@blogger.com0