The Same Shit

Somebody has to say it:

 

Hitler had millions of Jews killed in the holocaust. Hitler bombed cities and killed millions of civilians and brought misery to many more millions.

 

Merkel's Germany, being the main contributor to the EU budget, has poured millions into the projects for the benefit of Cyprus and other countries.

 

Hitler was a dictator, brutality suppressing any opposition.

 

Merkel is a democratically elected leader, and some day she'll will stand for election again. The decisions made with regard to Cyprus are not made by Merkel on her own, but are made in agreement with democratically elected leaders in Europe and the World.

 

Merkel = Hitler?

 

 

 

Students on the street - maybe the real crisis is in the educational system

Hitler was German. Merkel is German. Hitler was a Nazi. Merkel is a Nazi. This is the ugly face of prejudice and stupidity.

It hurts to have the suffering and misery of millions brought to the same level as the "plight" of account holders with more than 100 000 euro on their bank account.

NB! All the best luck to Cyprus. As a European taxpayer I do not mind chipping in to the saving of this beautiful country or other countries in difficulties. Let us by all means try to create a prosperous and peaceful Europe together.

And I do believe that the youths on the above picture are in no way representative of the Cypriot youths in general. There may be many opinions as to how Cyprus got into the present situation and to how the country should be helped to get out again. But let's keep a minimum level of human decency in the debate.

The Punch Line

Boxers and brain damage. Some years ago I watched a talk show on television. The guest was an old boxer. Very witty and full of beautiful anecdotes from the world of boxing. The show also included a Quiz, mostly about sports. He had all the right answers, and then a photo similar to the photo shown below came up.

"Who is Muhammed Ali fighting in this picture?" the question was.

The old boxer looked at it for a long time. A blank expression on his face. Then a smile came on his face, he turned to the host and said:

"The guy in the red shorts."

 

 

The Weather Four Days from now

Here I am, stuck in a small town out in the middle of nowhere. Some old colleagues of my former work place had invited me to a party.

“I’ll go“, I said to my wife, “they probably need somebody sensible to talk to”.

“Better check with them”, was her prompt reaction, “it could also be that it’s a birthday or another special occasion.”

(there’s nobody like a wife to demolish the beautiful illusions about yourself you have spent so much care and time to construct).

It turned out, in fact, that it was a birthday party. I would have to drive some 200 miles across the country. It being winter, I checked the weather forecast. Cold, but sunshine and no precipitation for the next four days.

I set out two days later. I got about halfway when the heavy snowfall made further progress impossible. I checked into a hotel in a small town.

How come they are able to predict by how many centimetres the water level will have risen in 20 years, when they cannot predict the weather four days ahead? It’s impossible. It is too complex. Mechanisms that have not even been thought of yet may come into play. I don’t believe them. No need to be so preoccupied.

I called my wife to complain, and I told her what I thought of the weathermen and the climatic forecasters.

“That they cannot predict it precisely” she said “does not mean that the water will not rise. If they are wrong, it may as well be that it will be much worse than predicted.”

I hope the snow will stop during the night and that I will be able to continue my trip tomorrow.

 

Global Warming

 

 

A Conditional Offer

This happened in the north, on the west coast. Here the wind is always blowing. The winter is long and cold, and the summer is short and cold. The soil is not very fertile, work is hard and life is tough. This makes for a special breed of people.

Anna has lived here all her life. She has always been able to take care of herself and her family. Never received any help from the public authorities.

One day she turns 100, still going strong. With many of the others in the small community the Mayor arrives at her house to congratulate her. He has a bit of a bad conscience. This old lady always coping on her own, never receiving any help. Everybody else seems to take their share.

“Maybe we can do something for you”, he says. “We run a scheme with home services for the elderly, would that be something for you?”. “Hmm” she hesitates, “let me think about for a couple of days and I’ll call you”.

Two days later she calls the Mayor. “I’ve been thinking about your offer. I am willing to take it on two conditions: it has to be within bicycling distance, and my salary has to been paid in black money.”

Not the other Half

My uncle, who died several years ago, had a small shop selling household appliances in a small town in a rural district. He was involved in local politics and had been elected to the local council.

His friends and his party, the very same people, wanted to make the main street into a pedestrian area to make shopping more attractive. The other party in town was against the idea, arguing that people would not come shopping, if they could not park in front of the shops. There was a stalemate – there were not enough votes to pass the proposed project.

My uncle, who had a lively temper and was quite outspoken, was interviewed by the local paper. “Half the members of the local council are pure fools”, he stated – among other things.

Now, this was a bit offensive, also to his friends and fellow members of his party. Polite politics please! They put pressure on him and made him promise to publicly take his statement back.

He published a statement in the very same local paper:

In a recent interview in this paper I stated that half the members of the local council are pure fools. I regret  my harsh view and would like to apologise.  To make things clear, I hereby correct my former statement:

HALF THE MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL COUNCIL ARE NOT PURE FOOLS.