TODAY - February 4

 

NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

ON: FEBRUARY 4

New 2021 edition

TODAY’s PERSON:

One of the most important persons in the news these days is the leading Russian opposition politician ALEXEI NAVALNY.  He is 44 years old, educated as a lawyer and an economist, incl. studies at Yale University in New York in 2010.  He is in particular fighting against the wide-spread corruption in Russia ( via his Anti-Corruption Foundation ), and he has also in 2018 started the political party “The Future of Russia”.  He has been a candidate in the elections for mayor of Moscow and also a candidate in the Russian presidential elections in 2018. 

Navalny has more and more followers all over the country.  Since his new arrest by the Russian authorities on January 17, 2021 huge demonstrations have taken place for him all over Russia.  So far ( by Feb. 4 ) about 10.000 of the participants have been arrested.

He is also very active and popular on the social media such as YouTube  - with 2 million followers, and on his Twitter-account with 6 millions - https://twitter.com/navalny

One of Navalny’s mottos are:

Life makes no sense, if you have to tolerate endless lies. I will never accept this system, which is built on lies. I will not stop my fight against this junta!

See his photo below.

On February 4-6 the High Representative, the “foreign minister”, of the EU, Mr. Josep Borrell, will be visiting the Russian government to make a strong protest on behalf of EU – and also request Navalny’s release.  Follow the visit on EURONEWS .

If you want to follow events in English on reliable media, I can recommend:

THE GUARDIAN

MEDUZA – THE REAL RUSSIA       ( an independent news service from Riga )

RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION     (weekly report from the EU on Russian disinformation)

( you can get it for free on:  disinformation@euvsdisinfo.eu )

 

TODAY’s LENGTH:

This day is here in Belgium 1 hour and 28 minutes longer than December 21.  Its length is 9 hours and 26 minutes – from 08.14 to 17.39.

See more – also in English – about where you are on:  www.dagenslaengde.dk

TODAY’s NAME:

This day is called VERONICA’s DAY. She was the girl, who according to the legend wiped the sweat off Jesus’ face on his way on Via Dolorosa to Golgatha.  Later a picture of Jesus appeared on the cloth she had used.

 

The legend also tells that emperor Tiberius later was cured just by looking at this cloth.

The name Veronica is Latin and comes from the Greek girls name Berenice. In Christianity it also seems to come from “Vera Icon”, which means a true picture.

Today’s name in Belgium is the same:   SAINTE VÉRONIQUE.

 

TODAY’s EVENT:

1945: The Yalta conference on Crimea starts with Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill as participants.  The discussed and agreed how Europe should be divided after the war.  The conference lasted until February 11.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

The Peter Principle – what is that? And what does it mean today:

This expression tells that there is a tendency to promoting all employees beyond what their skills can manage. This naturally leads to incompetence and people being useless or worse in their jobs. The expression was in its most recent form described by the Canadian Lawrence J. Peter in 1969 (hence the name), The Peter Principle.

But already in 1910 Jose Ortega e Gasset wrote that all employees ought to be degraded to the level under the one they are actually working at. This would according to him give the best work.

To this description can be added – as others have done – that in such a situation (ruled by the Peter principle) staff often manages to manipulate with their incompetent superiors in such a way that they do not interfere in their work. It is often called Managing upwards.

As an old hand in the EU I wonder, if this principle still lives today J

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

Panic fear – where does that expression come from? And what does it mean?

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

EUROPE AT WORK     www.europe-at-work.be

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

People get throughout the day so much information that they loose their common sense

            This was said by the American-born French poet Gertrude Stein.

2.  Today’s quote:

The power in lead used for bullets is nothing compared to the power in lead used for writing.

Who has said that?

3.  Famous people born on this day:

1740:  Carl Bellmann  ( died 1795 )

1842:  Georg Brandes  ( died 1927 )

1871:  Friedrich Ebert  ( died 1925 )

1897:  Ludwig Erhard  ( died 1977 )

1902:  Charles Lindbergh  ( died 1974 )

1947:  Dan Quayle 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

1894:  Adolphe Sax  ( 80 years )

1983:  Karen Carpenter  ( 33 years )

1987:  Liberace  ( 68 years )

 

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

niels4europe@gmail.com  

www.simplesite.com/kimbrer   +  EUROPE AT WORK   www.europe-at-work.be



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