The arrogance of the Russian ruling elite is prodigious but even by their standards this takes a bit of beating. "As Moscow residents sweltered in an unprecedented traffic snarl-up, the governor of the region around Moscow offered an unusual solution on Friday: buy a helicopter. "I fly in a helicopter. (You) should also buy helicopters instead of cars -- then you do not need roads," Moscow Region governor Boris Gromov told journalists, the RIA Novosti news agency reported." (Yahoo News, 2 July)This crass statement brings to mind Marie Antoinette's reputed statement on hearing that the lower orders were rioting because of the lack of bread "Let them eat cake". In Marie's defense she probably never said such a thing, but Boris did and he should remember Marie's fate. RD
The Glasgow & Edinburgh Branches Blog. Towards a better understanding of the world, in order to change it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
Paternalism is a common attitude among well-meaning social reformers. Stemming from the root pater, or father, paternalism implies a patria...
No comments:
Post a Comment