Whatgetsmygoat

So that's it, then. You can blow an airliner out of the sky, kill over 270 people on British soil, and then get released after only 8 years into your life sentence.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi is now a free man, as the Scottish Justice Secretary has decided to release him on compassionate grounds. We are told that Mr al-Megrahi is dying of cancer.My response to that is: so what?We make him as comfortable as possible, allow his family to see him, but we don't let him go for Christ's sake!!

What about the feelings of the 270 families who lost loved ones??Have their views not been taken into consideration?This whole thing stinks!

I have never believed that one man alone was involved.Now we will never know the truth. What is the point of sending troops to fight in Afghanistan, when closer to home we will cut short term deals to suit commercial interests? The British Government can conveniently blame the decision on the Scottish government, but the reality, I suspect, is that Gordon Brown probably supported the release in order to appease Colonel Gaddaffy. Let's not forget the oil that the West needs and the fact Libya has recently come in from the cold. You get suspicious when you hear that Peter Mandelson met with Gaddaffy's son in Corfu. You don't have to be a conspiraccy theorist to start drawing your own conclusions, but you do have to be a cynic.Was the al-Megrahi release a deal breaker that London passed on to Edinburgh?

Gordon Brown can then tell Washington that Britain had no say in the release, when we know that that is not quite the truth.The next time we hear a British politician spouting off about the "war on terror",we should tell him to shut up and piss off!!!

We say one thing..........

I have just got back from my holiday in the USA.What an amazing place!The Americans do things totally different than we do, and somethings they do really well like customer service.

Time and again, I was impressed with their attitude.

On entering a restaurant, you are made to feel welcome, and the effort is made to avoid waiting. Your waiter or waitress will tell you his/her name and then will be polite and helpful. You are never made to feel that they are doing you a favour by serving you. We may laugh that Have a nice day smile, and dismiss it as false,but to them it's meant to demonstrate that our custom is valued. They want you to come back!They want you to have a good time. They may also want a tip, but hey, if you have made my experience a good one, then it's only fair.

Compare that will service over here, where you are served by a moody, couldn't- give- a -toss person who hates the job with a passion.How many times have you been served by someone who frowns when you give then a large note or fails to smile? I was in a branch of the booksellers Barnes and Noble in New York, and there was an elderly man, who manned the information desk.He greeted each customer by telling them his name and then asking what they needed.He clearly loved his job!He was never less than helpful.

It is noted that a lot of college kids over there work in order to pay for tuition.College being the route by which they will be a better job.They need the custom and the money.

Comparing our attitude to customer relations with theirs is like comparing night and day.I can only conclude that a lot of people here hate their jobs and that's reflected in their attitude.The idea of working in a shop or eating place is seen as beneath them.Maybe this has something to do with our attitude to class. Do you notice how many people apply to go on Big Brother or X Factor?Working in a shoe shop or a bookshop is something that other people do,not me,mate!

When it comes to customer service, it's sad to say that the US beats us hands down.

Have a nice day, y'hear?