Luck

Once I read somewhere that “Luck is a preparation needs an opportunity” and I like it. It is so me as I don’t believe in Luck as lottery. But what if I do all the preparations it needed and I just miss the perfect opportunity? What if I miss the opportunity to get what I have been preparing for? So does it mean I am not lucky? No, I don’t think so! I think I haven’t done my homework completely. I haven’t developed opportunity hunting skill! Or I shall say it better, I am not an opportunist! I believe it is very important to be an opportunist not in a negative way but in a positive way. It is important to get what we have been preparing for.

I have missed many opportunities in my life and I think those opportunities all are gone and they won’t come back again.

End

Ahmed The Terrorist

End of another chapter

It just seems yesterday to me when for the very first time I stepped in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering. I still remember every second of my PhD interview with Dr Nigel Russell and the short chat with former head of the Department (Prof Michael Hounslow). More than seven years has passed from that day and now it is time for me to leave the Department. During these years I learned many things and I made many friends. Some of them graduated and/or left CPE and the rest are still in the Department. I spent most of my time in the Department and I can say CPE was my first home for the past seven years as I spent more time in my office than in my flat!

I would like to use this opportunity to thank all of them, for their support, their time and their help which without them I couldn’t get my PhD and continue my career as post-doctoral researcher. I would like to thank my supervisor and friend Dr. Nigel Russell for his major role in my success. His great sense of humour, unflappability and patience brought a sense of much needed sanity in times of stress. He has been a great support for me in all these years. I express my sincere gratitude for having given me the opportunity to work with him.

My special thanks to Prof. Will Zimmerman for his priceless advices. His many years of research experience work meant he is a limitless resource of engineering and science knowledge. I was inspired by him during my work. He changed my perspective to engineering and science and I learned how to engineer the science under his supervision.

Million thanks to Prof. Agba Salman for passing my PhD application to Nigel and for his priceless support in these years. My thanks to Prof. Vida Sharifi and Dr. Robert Edyvean for their support and advice.

Also I would like to thank Dr Russell Hand and Dr Phil Ward which I had the privilege to work with them for the past two years.

For their kindness assistance and advice, super thanks are also due to Richard Stacey, Andy Fairburn, Dean Haylock, Ian Watts, Mike O'Meara, David Palmer, Andy Patrick, Keith Penny, Maria Soto, Louise Cowling, Natalie Swallow, Michael White, Christine Wilkinson, Oz McFarlane and the rest of the staff of CPE. With no doubt I could not do anything without their help.

Many thanks are also due to Dr Buddhi Hewakandamby which my computer and network worked smoothly without any problem in the past seven years. My thanks to the rest of them especially Dr Brian O'Sullivan , Dr David Poole, Dr Robert Bachmann, Dr Amjad Shaikhfor, Dr Bobby Assiddiq, Kieran Baker, Ibrahim El-Azizi, Karen Finney, Paul Gilbert, Zakaria Mirza, Marie Taylor, Gareth Barns, Jess Bastock, John Heneghan, Bennett Nwaobi, Hamid Pouran, Ammar Razak, Hayley Castlehouse and Winson Chung for making the department’s atmosphere friendly and pleasant.

I will miss all of them.

End.

Barclays shuts Iranian accounts

By Stephen Fidler in London and Daniel Dombey in Washington

Published: June 6 2008 20:37 | Last updated: June 6 2008 20:37

Source: FT

One of Britain’s biggest banks has shed customers linked to Iranian entities in the UK in an apparent effort to avoid falling foul of US financial sanctions.

The decision by Barclays to close accounts of Saderat and Melli, two Iranian-owned banks, along with those of bank directors and staff, follows a decision last year by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) to place the two on its list of specially designated nationals (SDN).

The sanctions against the two, along with Bank Mellat and other Iranian entities, were announced last October by Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary. Neither bank is subject to separate European Union or British sanctions.

The move was first reported by the Times newspaper of London. It quoted a letter from a Barclays lawyer, Deborah Cooper, to lawyers representing bank employees, as saying: “Barclays ... has a policy of not conducting business with people or entities which are publicly designated SDNs.”

The bank would not comment.

Lisa Osofsky, of the independent risk consultancy Control Risks, said: “The US has a very expansive view of its jurisdictional reach, and Barclays does a lot of business in the US and wants to keep easy access to US markets.”

Underlining the costs of falling foul of US authorities, Lloyds Bank said this week that it had made provision to put aside funds to cover £180m ($355m) related to historical payments being investigated by Ofac, the US Department of Justice and the New York county district attorney.

Though the Ofac sanctions make it more difficult for targeted organisations to obtain dollar financing, a key purpose has been to encourage governments – and individual banks and companies – to follow suit.

The policy is part of the US push to heighten financial pressure on Iran, and so increase the incentives for Tehran to rein in its nuclear programme and curb its support for radical groups such as the Hizbollah movement in Lebanon.

A United Nations Security Council resolution, championed by Washington and approved in March, also called for UN member states to exercise “vigilance” over Saderat and Melli.

So far, the EU has not fully implemented the measure. Some US officials hope that individual banks, such as Barclays, can act where their governments have not yet moved.

The EU is in the process of deciding on restrictions on Melli’s activities in Europe, but is unlikely to make a final decision for several weeks. Bank Saderat is more problematic for the bloc to act against, since one of the main grounds for the US action against the bank is its alleged ties to Hizbollah, which is formally classified as a terrorist organisation by the US but not by the EU.

Difficult!

For the first time in my life today I was in a very difficult position where I have to decide what is the best for me! These occasions don't happen very often and I didn't know what to do. I received a job offer today from a firm in North of London. The salary for start was so tempting and I didn't know what to do with it! I could accept the offer, move to London, be closer to my brother, see my friends more often, enjoy London life culture and change my career course or I could I stay where I am here, in Sheffield and go with the other firm in Sheffield which offered me a position months ago. What would you do? London or Sheffield? I was under lots of pressure. Well, at the end, I went for Sheffield not only for being in Sheffield, not at all. I went for Sheffield as I thought I will have a better opportunities with the other firm in Sheffield! In addition, due to some personal matters, I decided not to fall for the firm in London. I don't know I did the right thing or not, only time can say that and I hope I made the right decision and in 2 or 3 years time I won't regret it! End.