Complaint to TFL regarding bus driver

Complaint I wrote to Transport for London just now regarding a racist/Islamophobic incident I witnessed yesterday on the bus on the part of the bus driver...

"I witnessed an incident yesterday that smacked of racism or Islamophobia perhaps. The bus driver took on all passengers and closed the doors. There was traffic ahead so he waited at the bus stop. An Asian lady came (visibly Muslim, wearing a headscarf) and gestured for him to open the door and let her in. He did not. That is strange but overlookable. She stood there right beside the door and clearly in the driver's view for what must have been at least 15 seconds, though he would not look directly at her pretending he could not see her. It was raining slightly and the driver wasn't going to open the door so she stepped back to take shelter under the bus stand. Then, another man came running, knocked on the boor and bizarrely this driver opened the door without a qualm. The lady from before saw the door open and stepped forward to get in. The driver without doubt saw her and closed the door in her face. I was fumed but did not kick up a fuss on the bus so as not to turn this whole situation into a fight and trusting that tfl has procedures in place to deal with such blatant abuse of position.

Btw, I didn't get the registration number but the driver had a yellow card in front of him with the number 208 on it if that is useful.

I have experienced such behaviour myself once previously from a bus driver and did write a complaint. However, after a number of weeks and queries from tfl for further information I was told no driver I described matched my description. I will be extremely disappointed if this happens again and will look to take this to higher authorities, whoever that happens to be. Apologies."

Don't like to complain and especially don't like to see bus drivers abused (my dad is a bus driver) but what I saw yesterday was just plain wrong. Maybe I should have kicked up a fuss on the bus there and then?

'Failure'

Uplifting quotes taken from an uplifting feature/article...

"... it's never as bad (or as good) as it seems at the time."

"...'Adversity will make the strong stronger and the weak weaker'..."

(Source: Wired, February 2010 issue, from an article entitled 'The Neuroscience of Screwing Up' with sub-caption 'If we can train our brains to embrace failure, we open ourselves to new discoveries')

We all find ourselves in sticky/difficult situations at times. Seems like the whole world has come crashing down on us. Yet time after time a way out opens up. Such is the measuring of the Almighty.

Likewise the delights of this world, temporary and short-lived.

How to shake hands with sincerity

Sincerity. Dominance. Small difference :)>

"... As they move in, the antagonist rotates their wrist 45 degrees to put you in a subordinate position..."

"... simply add your left hand to the fray, placing it on theirs in a sincere gesture, but applying downward pressure..."

"... Once in a Double Clasp, the only way out is to grab your opponent's right arm. There are three stages of dominant grab - forearm, elbow and shoulder..."

(Source: Wired, February 2010 issue)

It's a murky world

Agents. Double agents! Redoubled agents!! Triple Agents!!! (wiki the terms. crazy. mind boggling.)

"... [Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-]Balawi was a double agent, posing as a Jordanian informant but working for the al-Qaida terror network.

On December 30, he was invited for a meeting inside a U.S facility in the Afghan border province of Khost. Instead, Balawi blew himself up at the meeting, killing seven agents of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a Jordanian intelligence officer..."

(Source: Voice of America News)

For further info...

Bomber's Pre-attack English Video Message
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-I9C4y0hG0

CIA base bomber's message (Al Jazeera English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F-VO1MAoX0

The many faces of the double agent CIA bomber (Al Jazeera English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylmeYE_zRdY

... or, if you prefer, search 'cia bomber' on Google News or Youtube.

Hindsight can be ugly / Look forward :)>

"It's what you do next that counts."

"... We know what it takes to be a Tiger..."

(Source: Accenture advert featuring Tiger Woods from a few months ago)

(Underpants) Airline 'Bomber'

Just spent an hour on The Times website reading about 'umar farouk'. Really disturbing.

"...I am really disturbed. I would not want to say anything at the moment until I put myself together..."

(Source: Father of Umar Farouk quoted in one of the articles)

Worth taking some time out to read about this. Enter 'umar farouk' in the search engine of The Times or your news source of choice. The Times has good links with intelligence agencies.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/

FOSIS' Press Release is worth reading too. I can forward it to anyone who didn't get it or can't find it.

Perspective

"You think your phd is hard. Try looking after *him*."

(Source: My mum talking about my 1-year-old nephew Ismael. A month back he found himself alone with the computer and hit the on/off switch repeatedly. Maybe if it was Windows 7 it would have survived? Yesterday he found himself alone with the fish bowl and tipped it. The fishes spent some time out of water but survived, alhamduilllah.)

"... patta patta..."

(Source: My nephew saying as the freaks in the CBBC programme "In the Night Garden" say... and he still can't say "uncle"/"chachoo"! There is something freakishly not right about this programme but I can't quite put my finger on it.)