Greek Economy and the EU

2010-05-11

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about the economic troubles faced by Greece and the impact this will have on the rest of the world as we try to recover from the international recession. Most expect that the European Union will bail Greece out and this will be a major test of the strength of the E.U. With that in mind, the E.U. has laid some restrictions on Greece to help make sure this will not happen again. I think one of the restrictions is completely inappropriate.

The Greek language has a very long history, of course. Many of the names used by people go back quite a way as well. To English speakers, some of the family names are long and difficult to pronounce. The members of the E.U. think those names are too long also. They have demanded that the Greeks shrink the size of their names so as to spend fewer resources printing long names.

Though I can see where the printing and storing of long names does use more resources than one would use with short names, this still seems wrong. German names can be rather lengthy as well but no one is clamoring to have their legacy chopped off. Family names are not only important to families, but are part of a nation's cultural heritage as well.

Let's hope that the E.U. can help Greece through this difficult time without demanding unrealistic or punitive measures. Hopefully, they will remember some of the problems caused by the excessive demands placed on Germany after the First World War. With luck, we will all get through this worldwide recession with all our names intact.

The New York Bomber

2010-05-04

As you may have heard, there was a recent attempt to detonate a fertilizer bomb in New York. The bombing failed and the hunt started for the moron who tried. Preliminary reports said the fertilizer was the wrong kind for making bombs. That leads me to think: what an idiot.

It is true that the culprit needs to be arrested, tried, and introduced to Pig Roger. However, I hope the media will do the right thing. I hope they will call him a moron.

Come on, even before the Internet, my friends and I knew how to make bombs. That was standard growing up male stuff to know. With the vast array of information waiting on the Net, there is no reason for such failure. Ignoring that it is stupid to think you are going to get away with trying to explode a truck in New York, using the wrong fertilizer is just incredibly stupid.

At every turn, we must make a point of calling this person, and any accomplices, a moron. Some of us must point and laugh, and chide him for his stupidity. Others should simply shake their heads in disgust and disbelief over his incredible lack of intellect. This offender is not a super villain; he is an incompetent boob.

What will happen instead, though, is that the media will treat him like the greatest criminal of all time. They will talk about his diabolical scheme and his ties to the League of Evil, or whoever is today's boogey man. They never take the time to say simply: what an idiot.