Wednesday 20 October 2010

Farewell δημοκρατία *

Just as it was the ancient Greeks who introduced democracy to the world, so is their current government the first in the world to openly admit that democracy is no more.

"This is the worst thing that could happen to a lawmaker and the government which has to enforce the law - the refusal of society to comply with the rules," Health Minister Andreas Loverdos told Skai radio.

"We will continue implementing the ban no matter what," he told Reuters, adding that the government would review its strategy in December. "This doesn't mean we will withdraw the ban."
See, that's the problem with democracy, the public keep getting in the way of what government - err, by the people - wants to do.

* δημοκρατία = dēmokratía (democracy in Greekish)

UPDATE: A fair article, and comments, on the Greek rebellion in the Graun


6 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

I like Lucy Q's comment:

"Last week while waiting at the doc's office a woman arrived pushing a baby and sat near me. The stench of tobacco extended across the room.

I wonder why she wasn't charged with child abuse. How tragic that the kid will grow up ADHD due to lack of oxygen."

Smoking Hot said...

l really can't read the comments as it would put my computer in peril.

Dick Puddlecote said...

MW: Lucy Q is already in our catalogue of psychotic antis.

SH: Actually, they're rather sympathetic, go have a look. :)

Anonymous said...

(Not Anon, Lysistrata)
I live in Greece most of the year. Yes, it was a fair article in the Guardian. I could say a lot more about the American pressure on Greece - the chair of Greece's anti-smoking committee is a paid professor of Harvard University's School of Public Health. His cousin is a HUGE American philanthropist who has funded Harvard with millions of dollars. He made his money through pharmaceutical companies. Some of whom are now, of course, making money with their anti-smoking chemicals.Look up "Behrakis".

Back to the Guardian article - some of the comments - such as the one that Mark Wadsworth quotes - are eyewateringly arrogantly pig-ignorant. It almost made me cry to read them. Is this what even our "educated" left wingers have come down to? FFS, I used to know the people who helped spring George Blake from prison. I met Greeks who were tortured under the Junta. I fought for women's rights, and gay rights, and for anti-racism. Now the Guardian readers are mewling and whining about cigarette smoke?? You know what? You and all your babies are going to die too. There is nothing you can do about it. Now get on with life, and live it for all it's worth, and stop bugging me. You are making me too angry for my own health. I am too angry to write any more.

Dick Puddlecote said...

Lysistrata: Yep, today's socialists/socdems have been comprehensively gulled into supporting big pharma against the working classes.

Sadly, one must reluctantly admire the industry's con trick for its genius, while simultaneously cringing at the bovine lackwit mentality of yer modern lefty.

PT Barnum said...

The idea that being born in the US makes a person more cosmospolitan and internationalist is just boggling. Or is there another US I haven't heard of?