Apple kids

..by the children, for the children...

Seems iPhones are produced by kids. I just knew it.

Our psychos and their psychos

There is no crime worse than the killing of innocents

Breivik took it upon himself to launch an attack on a youth gathering. He strongly disagreed with what he imagined was their ideology. Or rather, the leniency members of the same party had displayed towards migration. More specifically, that they had failed to limit immigration of Muslims to Norway. To make his point, he outfitted himself with sufficient fire-power to start a small scale war and started liquidating unarmed children with no defence and no escape. After legal deliberations the court found him to be legally sane. That may just be legally correct, but anyone who can justify cold-blooded murder of children is not sane by any other standard. All the more so because Breivik sees himself as a hero. The best testimony in court was given by a 14 year old girl. She simply called Breivik a coward.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan now claims responsibility for the shooting of young school-girl Malala. The similarities are frightening.

jeppe.jansen@yahoo.fr
congemo.blogspot.fr

Lambda Lambada

It's my money, and I'll cry if I want to

Edvard Munch may not be my personal favourite, but he is arguably the greatest Norwegian painter ever. I am also not enchanted with the Lambda design for a new museum. As politicians have been playing ping-pong with the plans for a future Munch museum, what annoys me is that the political ambiguity incurs costs, not unlike like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Norwegian daily Dagbladet reports a maintenance cost of NOK 400 000 000, some € 50 000 000 while the city of Oslo reconsiders the location. 

And this is hardly a first. New airport for Oslo went through the same motions of final decisions revised. As has many a public initiative over the years. I really, really wouldn't like to have my tax money wasted like that. 

Democracy anyone?

I am troubled. When the financial crises really hit Greece, prime minister George Papandreou called for a referendum. The day that he started the process of getting rid of a job only a madman would want. 

Of course, he should have told aunt Angela and uncle Nicolas of his sudden democratic qualms in advance. Of course, the government should have asked the Hellenic people before they borrowed the money in the first place, not only when it came to paying back. In addition, the banks were outraged, big surprise, they thought they were home free and that someone would step in and shield them from losses. They can shut up. 

And yes, it is fair enough to be annoyed with the change of plans. But still, it is a bit of a puzzle that everybody thought it to be such a silly idea to trust the people with ruling themselves. Iceland, another pretender to being the oldest democracy in Europe, actually tried it. And despite a similar outcry, they actually survived and are, if not exactly doing well, on the way to recovery. 

What troubles me is the very question of democracy. At the end of the day, the people of Greece should be allowed to decide for themselves. If the banks do not like that, they certainly should not lend them money. They cannot expect interest on risks they never take. As for our elected people, well, they have been spending money they did not have. And they know it is unlikely they will still be in office when the debt is due. They have jeopardised the prosperity of just about every household in Greece. 

It really is quite simple. To quote Micawber: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Most people will be in trouble if they spend more than they earn. Why do politicians get away with it? Maybe they should not. Maybe there should be a referendum every time a government cannot cover its expense with income.