London travel fares gonna increase AGAIN

According to BBC News this morning, the travel fares in London including both tube and bus are going to increase again, in 2010.

In my point of view, although it has been one year after the economic crisis in 2008, UK's economy is still in recession, the recovery is so slow as well as weak.

However, the travel fares, which is one of the most significant and relavant thing to Londoners keeps raising, is it fair?

Besides, there are always several tube lines closed on weekends, which affects people's outgoing a lot.

There's no good service, but people still have to pay more for their travel fees.

I can't unerstand, and I can't see any rational reasons to make this kind of decision as well.

Royal Mail

Post strikes will start next week.

As Royal Mail plays such a significant role in British people's lives, it will definitely affect people's ordinary life much.

I had my own experience of that.

I went to the bank last Friday to deal with the account thing, and I was offered two ways to get my card.

The bank agreed with me very much to pick the card by myself rather than the post due to the strike news.

It is really inconvenient, isn't it? Can't there be other alternative ways to figure it out?

2009 Nobel peace prize goes to Barack Obama

The first time I got the message from my friend, I thought she was kidding. I couldn't believe it until I checked several news websites.

I discussed with many of my friends, and the responses were almost the same--the news was pretty surprising and unimagined.

Since it had been a controversial topic, there were both supporters and opponents.

Frankly speaking, I really couldn't understand this decision by the Nobel Committee, who regarded Obama as the one made "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".

It is strange.

His presidential term was less than one year.

He decided to send more troops to Afghanistan several days ago.

The problem with either North Korea and Iran was still unsolved, or reached a stalemate, in other words.

He proposed "a world without nuclear weapons", and hoped that people in the world could have a peaceful environment, however, without any effective results, at least, not now.

Hence, why did Nobel Committee give a prestigious award to a person who hasn't got any effective results yet but only with good wishes and just started his plan at this moment?

Is it a kind of encouragement?

If it is, why isn't this rule suitable for other Nobel Prizes?

It is really confusing.