BOW WAVE 55

news and views on trade, insurance and risk

Bow Wave homepage
Previous issue (54) / Current issue / Next issue (56)

Wavy Line	sam@wavyline.com
(c)2000 WavyLine.com	Issue No 55 04 Dec 00
Published free of charge to Readers
Editor: Sam Ignarski
Subscribe	Unsubscribe

In this issue:

1. Welcome
2. Pat Gardiner in Kafka Country
3. Ports and E-Commerce Conference
4. Digital Ship's Newsletter
5. Rail Casualty Site Worth a Visit
6. And Finally...

1. Welcome

Call for Contributions

Our Christmas Issue will soon be upon us. Readers who have something droll or seasonal to share, your moment is coming.

Last year we featured some poetry, some ascii art, some words of wisdom on rail guages and some foolishness from the claims files of the insurance industry.

Enjoy

2. Pat Gardiner in Kafka Country

Many readers will know Pat Gardiner through his website which chronicles the Port of Felixstowe past present and future. He lives in East Anglia in country surroundings, keeps a small collection of animals and has recently suffered the attentions of MAFF, the ministry in the UK which deals with agriculture.

We recently received from him this press release:

"Ministry Official caught red-handed faking blood tests.
Another food scandal

See http://www.users.waitrose.com/~patgardiner/page18.html/

It is quite clear the officials concerned have misjudged the man and the dangers of bringing out the stubbornness in him.

He has recently sent the editor an update on events. He write:

"As you can see, I strongly smell a cover-up. I've taken the whole thing to the Select Committee of the House of Commons, all properly addressed in the required 20 copies.
They can ask MAFF why they are deliberately refusing a police investigation. I think the answer will be coughs and splutters. There is every sign of extreme panic."

If this kind of thing is widespread, are the underwriters who are paying out on claims in the know? We rather doubt it.

3. Ports and E-Commerce Conference

Benedict Young, the editor of PDI Magazine has reminded us of his organisation's forthcoming event in Amsterdam on E-Commerce in Ports on 7th & 8th December 2000 at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam.

He's got the sponsorship of IAPH, UNCEFACT and CLECAT and a strong presenters' slate including speakers from:

Port of Rotterdam.com, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Portsnportals.com, Navis, Steveco Containers, Dubai Ports Authority, Port of Barcelona and ECT Rotterdam.

for further details see:

http://www.pdimagazine.com/conferences.asp/

4. Digital Ship's Newsletter

Issue 14 of this new and aspiring publication's e-letter arrived in our inbox this week. If you are looking for a review of all there is new in maritime e-commerce, look no further than this:

http://www.thedigitalship.com

5. Rail Casualty Site Worth a Visit

The editor's column in Lloyds List today asks why there seems to be so little modern communications technology in use in British passenger railways during this period of great uproar.

" I ask because you can see the rudiments of it working today as people prepare to leave their places of work for their homes. An improvised internet network has grown to give early warnings. Only some of the information passing by e-mail from office to office--samizdat fashion--comes from the official web sites of the operating companies.

Travellers pass situation reports via their mobile phones to their families, to local radio stations and to their fellow sufferers. There are interesting single interest web sites you can visit to follow the rail industry at home and abroad. Those in the insurance industry could do worse than to visit the site called Danger Ahead, a site which looks at rail casualties both current and historic and which rises above the anorak tendency so prevalent amongst those of us who follow the steel wheels industry."

See that site at:

http://danger-ahead.railfan.net/

6. And Finally...

THE PALM BEACH POKEY

You put your stylus in,
You put your stylus out,
You put your stylus in,
And you punch Buchanan out.
You do the Palm Beach Pokey
And you turn the count around,
That's what it's all about!

You put the Gore votes in,
You put the Bush votes out,
You put the Gore votes in,
And you do another count.
You do the Palm Beach Pokey
And you turn the count around,
That's what it's all about!

You bring your lawyers in,
You drag the whole thing out,
You bring your lawyers in,
And you put it all in doubt.
You do the Palm Beach Pokey
And you turn the count around,
That's what it's all about!

You let your doctors spin,
You let the pundits spout,
You let your retirees sue,
And your people whine and pout.
You do the Palm Beach Pokey
And you turn the count around,
That's what it's all about!

You do the Palm Beach Pokey,
You do the Palm Beach Pokey,
You do the Palm Beach Pokey,
That's what it's all about!

Thanksawusa.com

BOW WAVE is published each week to around 4500 readers byavyLine.Com.

If you would like to subscribe simply type subscribe in your e-mail subject field. To unsubscribe type unsubscribe.

Thanks for reading BOW WAVE