We watched an interesting TV show on BBC2 on Tuesday. Dramatising situations that Britain could one day face, Crisis Command: Could You Run The Country? gives three proven decision makers the chance to manage the country during a potential disaster. They have advice from Military, Emergency Services and Communications experts, but the final decisions are down to them alone. The team - acting as Ministers - were confronted by dilemmas arising from the situation on the ground that would influence the fate of millions, like several unexplained explosions at Waterloo station, a hijacked plane, a co-ordinated attack to British power stations and...chaos! Their objective was to work together to bring the crisis under control with as few casualties and as little economic impact as possible. Specially-shot dramatic sequences, computer-generated graphics and tailored archive news footage created an ultra-real crisis in a never-before-seen television event.


Unfortunately, the contestants did not make speedy decisions and even worse, they made wrong decisions several times. They allowed a supposedly hijacked plane to crash on the Houses of Parliament and they did not close the flooding doors in the Tube in London on time, so all passengers in all the Tube lines were killed. Conclusion : a total disaster. I guess they wanted to be 'humane' under a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, at home (ah, things are easier at home!) Slippery Kitten and I would have shot the plane down as soon as we heard the pilot's refusal to land in France. We don't know much of international aviation laws, but we were certain a pilot does not refuse to land without giving good reasons. 9/11 has changed History and they way people react under threats.


El martes vimos un programa interesante en BBC2. Crisis Command : Could you Run the Country? puso sobre la mesa situaciones desastrosas a las que un dia Gran Bretania podria enfrentarse y dio la oportunidad a 3 concursantes (con experiencia profesional en tomar decisiones - o eso parecia!)de ser Ministros y tomar el control del pais y de decisiones cruciales en tiempos de crisis. El equipo de concursantes se enfrento a desastres a gran escala que influenciarian gravemente a la poblacion y la economia del pais. Todo empezo con explosiones en la estacion de Waterloo, seguidos por un avion descontrolado, un ataque a las centrales electricas del pais y...caos!


A pesar de que recibian consejos de expertos en asuntos militares, comunicaciones y servicios de emergencia, la decision estaba siempre en manos de los concursantes. El objetivo era controlar la crisis con el minimo impacto posible, recibiendo la informacion mediante llamadas telefonicas, recortes de telediarios y contacto por videocamara con los periodistas o servicios de emergencia sobre el terreno. Lamentablemente, los concursantes no tomaron las decisiones adecuadas. El avion secuestrado se lanzo sobre las Casas del Parlamento en Londres y los tuneles del metro de Londres quedaron inundados, matando a miles de pasajeros,porque no cerraron las compuertas anti-inundacion a tiempo. Fueron lentos en tomar decisiones, sopesaron demasiado los pros y los contras y quisieron ser demasiado 'humanitarios' en tiempos de crisis. Mientras tanto, en casa (ah, es mas facil en casa, verdad?) Slippery Kitten y yo ya habiamos derribado al avion en cuanto el piloto se nego a efectuar un aterrizaje de emergencia en un aeropuerto frances. Poco sabemos de leyes internacionales de avion, pero nos parece que un piloto no se niega a seguir instrucciones sin explicar el porque. El 11 de Septiembre ha cambiado la Historia y la manera en que muchos reaccionamos bajo las amenazas.


The weather today:
Drizzle
11C
UV Index: 0 Minimal
Wind: From the Southwest at 17 mph
Dew Point: 11C
Humidity: 100%
Visibility: 2 miles