This is where I stand...

Despite being "only" a guest in the USA there have been quite a few times when I have been asked about my opinion of the so called "flag protest issue" in the NFL.

Here is a short video that gives my answer better than I ever could.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Computer(s) And "Friends"

And again it was a customer's email that brings forth another post on this blog; thank you G. G. With his kind permission here is his email:

I recently have run into a situation about which I don’t know what to do.

For the last few years I have occasionally let a friend, who does not have a computer, use mine.  This would be a few times per year.  Basically he wanted to go on Craig’s List, so he used my second address, with his own password for a Craig’s List account. I didn’t really question what he was doing, because I know one can sell and buy on Craig’s List.

What I found out is that he was posting sexually explicit ads on Craig’s List.

While the screen shows all the ads have been deleted, I cannot figure out a way to get them off of my computer.  An email to Craig’s List was of no help, it just told how to delete the ads, but not how to permanently remove them from my computer.

I’m finding this to be a difficult situation, not only because of the mechanics of getting rid of something I don’t want on my computer, but because of the personal factors involved with someone who was a friend, and trying to weigh in if that relationship can be continued.  Any help that you can give will be appreciated.  

And here is my reply:

Dear Mr. G,

I have heard of similar situations like yours and you have my sympathy.

To your question about cleaning up your computer: I can most likely help. I can try to do that via remote support or in a house call, that is your choice. Although since sexually explicit material is involved I would strongly prefer a house call. Working locally on the computer will allow me to disconnect the computer from the Internet which will allow deeper analysis and cleaning and protect the computer and your Internet connection from eavesdropping.

Additionally and because you asked me I will voice some general ideas:

• NEVER let a "friend" or relative (children, teenager, nephew/niece, grandchildren!) use your computer in/with your regular user account.
  
  If you are a "normal" home user you most likely always work in an administrator account; that can incur added risks.  If you follow this link to the explanation of administrator account please ignore the outdated line "Applies to Windows Vista". These basic concepts apply to all modern operating systems.
   
• For other people on your computer always create "standard" user accounts.
   
• NEVER trust that anybody will behave responsibly and that they will follow basic rules of safe computing.
   
• NEVER let anybody (and not for ANY reason) use an identifier that is tied to your person (email account). It may happen that you will have to answer to the FBI if the person for example uploaded child pornography.
   
• Only allow any third parties (whether visitor or family!) to use your internet connection (wireless network, cell phones, tablets a.s.o) when you can be certain that your internet connection is secured beyond browser and operating system based measures.
  One option of several is described here.

Above advice may seem harsh but consider your situation. Naturally I can not "advise" you on how to handle the situation with your "friend".

My very personal and for you irrelevant opinion is that this person has proven beyond doubt that he is not a friend, maybe not even an acquaintance worth my time. But I am certain you will find your way of dealing with this aspect of the situation.

Additionally and independent of all the preceding I want to ask your kind permission to re-work your question and my answer into an article on my blog. What has happened to you is so "typical" that it lends itself to wider attention. Naturally your text would be quoted completely anonymously.

So much for the customer's letter and my response.

All the above was meant to be the whole post on this issue and then the heavens made me meet with a friend who had given his computer to someone when last fall they were on a hunting excursion.

In this case there are no sexually explicit materials involved but the computer was majorly infected with PuPs, this nasty new kind of malicious programs that I talked about here and here. And here are a few more examples of how we get tricked to allow this stuff to be installed.

I want to add here that you should never activate the Guest account that you find in many versions of Windows. Crooks and hackers know about this account and will be happy to exploit it if they find a computer with activated Guest account.

Update 2/19/2015
I forgot to mention that all good will and the best intentions by us and by others are null and void if my
10 Commandment of Safe Computing are ignored!

As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

Why Me?

Recently I got asked by a prospect one too many times why he or his friends should prefer my computer services over some other person or big company. Thank you Larry P. for the question. Here is my answer:

I sell only my experience, my know-how and my time.

I sell NO material goods nor any software.

I do not get any kickbacks from any manufacturer, wholesaler or dealer.

I have worked professionally as a programer and administrator

     with computers since July 1^st 1964

     with Microsoft software on CP/M computers since 1977

     with PCs since February 1982

     with Microsoft Windows since version 3.1 in 1992

Since 2001 I have specialized in loss-less virus removal on small networks and home computers and protecting these machines from the dangers of the internet.

I do not charge sales tax.

I have NO contractual ties to any product, manufacturer or wholesaler.

I recommend and install only freely available and functionally proven programs.

No added “hidden” cost for the home user.
Even a proven alternative to Microsoft Office^® is officially available free of charge.

I have absolutely no hidden financial interest or other commercial bias.I receive absolutely no kickbacks of any kind, no matter where and what the customer buys.

Generally:

I prefer real-life usability and experience over personal opinions and commercial “tests”.

I abhor industry shenanigans and trickery and warn my customers.

I can explain technically complex concepts in layman's terms.

I do not mince words but rather say it as I see it.

 As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

Learning About Computers

During my last radio show (Jan 6, 2014 on WTKM 104.9 FM) a caller expressed his dismay about the demise of a good TV show with very helpful information and practical tips.

When I checked on the morning of Jan 7th I found a very interesting email from a listener with lots of information on the subject of computer info on TV. With that email author's kind permission (Thank you Jeremy R.) here is the full text plus an additional note he sent later. I have done only very minor editing but have added links to the web sites and shows mentioned and to persons as available.

I heard your radio show today.

I am enjoying the conversations you and Dave have been having when you are waiting for callers.

I decided to email you with some info about the TechTV show one of the callers talked about.

I missed TechTV when it went away, but now there are much better shows available online. I wanted to point your attention to some that are relevant. All of these are free and available on demand through their websites, or through set-top boxes like Roku, etc...

'The Screen Savers' (1998-2005)    (This is the one the caller talked about)

• A program on the old TechTV channel that no longer exists.
  
• The hosts Patrick Norton and Leo Laporte

• Revision3.comhttp://revision3.com/
  
• Patrick Norton from 'The Screen Savers' is now on Revision3.com
• Revision3 makes a variety of shows for varying degrees of computer skill.
• Some examples of their 20+ shows are:
• Tekzilla - News and brief How-To's much like TechTV stuff.  (host Patrick Norton)
• HD Nation - Focusing mainly on Home Entertainment computers and gadgets.  (host Patrick Norton) 
  
• GeekBeat.tv - brief technology news updates.
• The Ben Heck Show - in depth, hands on project building.
• Revision3 also makes a few shows purely for entertainment.

• TWiT.tv
  
• Leo Laporte from 'The Screen Savers' created his own network called TWiT.   ("This Week in Tech")
• Leo Laporte hosts most of the shows.
  
• Read about the transition from TechTV to TWiT here: twit.tv/the-twit-story.
• TWiT has 20+ audio and video broadcasts actively being produced.
• Various show topics include: Android Tablets, iPads, How-To, Home Theater, Free Software, Ham Radio, Security

• Category5.tv  (not related to the viewer's question)
  
• Based in Canada
• A relaxed show about current tech, including some hands on activities, and answering viewer questions.
• Airs LIVE every Tuesday night at 6:00pm Central Time.
• Viewers can ask questions by Phone, eMail, or Instant Message Chat
• Viewer questions range from quite technical to very basic.
• The host helps people with Windows and linux questions.
• Category5.tv is currently my personal favorite.
• Some episodes include:
• #327 - Fake Support Call Scammers
  Video recording of a 'Microsoft phone scam' in progress. 
  See what the scammers have people do on their computers.
  
  
• #321 - Making Windows 8 Look and Feel more like Windows 7
  
  
• #317 - Virus Advisory: CryptoLocker
  Interview with Adam Kujawa from Malwarebytes.org about Cryptolocker virus.
  
  
• #274 - Brother's Business Smart Printers
  Interview with Brother printer manufacturer.
  
  

Microsoft Phone Scam
I want to point your attention to the Category5.tv episode #327 - Fake Support Call Scams where they have video footage of what the phone scammers have people do on their computers.  The show notes page for that episode has a link to the last 30 minutes the guy spent on the phone with the scammers.  Now if someone says to me, "They called me up and asked me to do 'x-y-z'" I have a better idea of what they went through.

The scammers were clever, but not clever enough to notice that the machine they were hacking was a freshly installed Virtual Machine specifically set up for this purpose.

This was the first email and here is the additional note he sent with his permission to publish his information here:

One note about the shows being available on the Roku and similar devices...

Revision3 and TWiT have their own channel/app for various devices, while I believe Category5.tv has to be added as an ordinary RSS feed.

When TechTV went off the air, I missed not having that stuff to watch.  Now, there is more "Tech TV" than I have time to watch.  I am still getting caught up on episodes of Category5 that I have missed.

The video of the scam phone call includes little popup notes on the screen that briefly explain what the scammer is really doing, while he is saying something else.

Well, that was this. I publish this information without any warranty to be fit for any purpose.

But again I want to thank Jeremy R. very much for theeffort he put into assembling his email.

As usual I welcome comments and suggestions right here in the blog. Thank you in advance.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

Merry Christmas

My prayers for a blessed Christmas

and my best wishes for a happy, healthy 

and successful 2014.

Windows 8: What the Rest of the World Thinks

Recently on a Microsoft run web site and Windows 8 blog I ran across a reply to an article written by a Dutch IT consultant.

It summarizes what I have glanced from many, many similar comments I have read. I have modified some language and grammar quirks and fixed some misspelled words to convey the meaning correctly and in correct English.

Yes  it's true; Microsoft wants us to massively migrate to Microsoft based cloud based services. But in my country that will not happen as Microsoft wants it, especially   because these "virtual cloud services" are to 85% physically located within the USA.  

That is for most foreign people simply unacceptable. It's not only for reasons like privacy, piracy, taxes, company secrets - there is also a difference in mind-sets.

What if our sensitive data sits there in a physical data center somewhere in the US of A, and 'shit' really starts happening, like for instance war, wide spread diseases, natural disaster, terrorism attack, you name it -  anything could happen anywhere.

Foreigners don't trust CIA/FBI/NSA that much, we learned from the past months.

My customers are saying..., even refusing, to migrate their financial and sensitive business data to somewhere in the 'Microsoft' or even  the 'Amazon cloud'; abroad, unknown where it really is, in a far away foreign country, and nobody knows, or even checks what is happening to their data. It may be leaked to the NSA, via a built-in back door when Micro$oft sold this opportunity to the NSA/US-Government.

 No, sorry, not with us!  We aren't like that!

We even don't come close to this kind of behavior.

Yes, people in other countries don't trust their sensitive data into American hands; they approach privacy questions with a totally different mind set.

Maybe Microsoft's management better begin to acknowledge that not everybody will follow to where they, Microsoft and others, want to lead us?

What may be good for Microsoft may not be that good for the other 310+ million Americans. And what may be "good for Microsoft's America" may not be that good for the other 95% of the world population. 

In my opinion this is NOT a technical problem, it is an ethical problem. There are just too many of us who check their ethics and morals at the entrance of the office building before they begin their daily jobs.

No, it's not government agencies or organizations or companies that "do the wrong thing"; all these entities are run by people that collectively make questionable decisions.

As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

Cybercrime

If you ever wondered about the how and why of virus programs, cyber crime and all that nasty stuff then please take 18 minutes out of your busy schedule and watch this video.

As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

Is Government Data Collection Bad? (PRISM)

Just yesterday a customer asked me verbatim what I think "about all the fuss about the NSA having all our phone records".

I said that my personal opinion might be irrelevant because of my status in the country. And today I find this 10 minute video.

Be warned though: The speaker is a German stutterer with a strong accent. But what he says and visualizes made me shudder.

As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

545 vs. 300 Million People - NOT computer related at all!

Please read this as an expression of a totally personal opinion; I just think the man is right! A Facebook posting by my stepson brought me to put that article out here. Even as a guest (legal alien) in this country I concur; should you disagree I explicitly ask for your democratic tolerance. Rude comments and comments inappropriate for families with children will will not be published, simple as that. I have not changed the text at all except for optics. If you have any doubts or questions about the veracity of the origin please refer to this article on Snopes.com and do your own research from there. Here we go:

 ----------

Charlie Reese is a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel. He has been a journalist for 49 years. He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN. A very interesting column, it seems to be COMPLETELY NEUTRAL Be sure to read the Poem and the list at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is neither anti-republican nor anti-democrat. Charlie Reese has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.

545 vs. 300,000,000 People  By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House now? He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 peoples, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses. Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

What you do with this article now that you have read it... is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom, if agreed, stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!

-------------

As usual I welcome comments and suggestions right here in the blog. Thank you in advance.  

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

I Do Not Sell Any Hardware

All too often I receive emails from customers with a stement similar to the following:

 "I just purchased an XYZ computer from you....".

To keep the record straight I have to correct such a statement because it gives the incorrect impression that I sold the computer which is not the case.

I advised you to buy this computer and you bought it in your own name and with your credit card from ..... (fill in your store name).

Because your computer was according to your own words not working at all or possibly virus infected or too slow we physically may have used my computer for the purchasing process.

I have to insist on this clarification for reasons buried deeply in the tax codes of the United States and of the State of Wisconsin and the implications it would have for me if I would actually sell any hardware.

I do not sell computers or any (other) hardware.

As usual I welcome comments and suggestions right here in the blog. Thank you in advance.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.

Danger - Wild Parsnip

Through a chain of emails from one concerned nurse to many others and so on finally to my wife I got a warning about Wild Parsnip, a non-native, invasive and poisonous plant that is appearing alarmingly fast and widespread now. I have seen lots of wild Parsnip along the roads here in the wider Hartford, WI area.

I want to pass this warning on to as many people as I possibly can. The original email read (some emphasis added and typos corrected):

I wanted to take a moment to write to you to tell you our county is now completely covered with wild parsnip plants and these plants are very dangerous. Unfortunately very few people know about them. I feel it is urgent that you be aware of these plants so that you may effectively treat your patients and also educate your community too.  
 
Wild Parsnip causes phytophotodermatitis to the skin.  When plant juices come in contact with the skin nothing happens but when this same skin is exposed to sunlight a rash with significant blistering can occur.  The skin discoloration and sun sensitivity from this plant can last months, even years.
 
Please familiarize yourself with this plant as it truly has taken over our county and the accompanying burns will most likely be something you will be seeing more and more of in your practice.

In the beginning paragraph I have linked to Wild Parsnip on Wikipedia. Please read the paragraph titled Dangers.

And here are examples of what Wild Parsnip looks like:

"Harmless" little plant...

... with nice leaves and ...

... many of these plants by the roadside can actually look quite nice!

But the rash and the blisters show the plant's ugly side!

I hope many of you see this and take action when you see the plant! Thank you.

As usual I welcome comments and suggestions right here in the blog. Thank you in advance.

Click here for a categorized Table Of Contents.
 

Atlantis Resort - A Five Star Disappointment!

You find my experiences with the Atlantis Resort here.

Sorry for the additional click but this grew step by step; it is done now.

.

Letter To The Greeks (not Computer Related)

 

The following “Open Letter To The Greeks” was published in the German magazine “Der Stern”, best described as Life, Time Magazine, venerable (Saturday Evening?) Post and US News and World Report rolled into one. I received this text via email on a long and twisted path.

What strikes me most about it is the thought that one day some Chinese might write an astonishingly similar letter to the Americans.

This is an unauthorized free translation; please don't bust me.

Dear Greeks!
Do you know in your country the kind of money-aunt that for all childhood and youth has been feeding your piggy bank? The first bike, the first radio, your first vacation, she always added a few bills. And she expected nothing more than a friendly “Thank you” every once in a while.

Dear friends, this is a letter from your money-aunt. Don't worry, you're not even expected to say thank you.

The thing we are hoping for: Put yourself in our situation. Since 1981, over 29 years, we belong to the same family, the EU. In this time no other member of the family has paid as much money into the common budget as we did, a net of 200 billion Euro. And per capita nobody has received vaguely as much as you, altogether almost 100 billion net. About half of what we have poured into the EU pot, you have skimmed off with a big ladle.

In other words: Statistically over the years we Germans have given all you Greeks, from infant to the elderly, a gift of more than 9,000 Euro. Wasn't that nice, right? Probably there has never been a people voluntarily and generously supporting another people over such a long period of time. You truly are our dearest friends.

You have never asked how we fared in all those years . I suspect that even today you don't really want to hear anything about our worries But I'll tell you anyway:

Our roads are full of holes like old buildings because we lack the money for maintenance. Libraries and swimming pools have to be closed.  At night some cities have to turn off every other street light because otherwise they can't pay the electricity bill.

Since the introduction of the Euro unlike your wage increases our wages have had virtually no increase at all. And now we are expected to save you Greeks. That concern is just what we have been missing.

You did fairly earn our distrust: Every summer you set ablaze this beautiful land that God has given you and then you call for our fire department because you can't extinguish it yourself.

All of  you want to work in public service, but no one wants to pay taxes. If only a part of the reports that we read in the last few weeks are true, then you are only willing to work after you receive a bribe. Especially your doctors and hospital staff seem to ask for big bribes.  You are cheating yourselves whenever you can get away with it.

That does not matter to us. But you also deceive us. For many years. About that we do care. You collected EU subsidies for more olive trees than fit in all your country.

Obviously, you know something about accounting; to meet the stability criteria for the Euro you have systematically cooked and falsified your books; for years you've done that so well that [the EU government in] Brussels has not noticed anything.

In truth you have never deserved the Euro. Despite your fake data, since the introduction of the Euro Greece has never been able to meet the stability criteria. In 2006 you came up with  a neat sleight of hand to enlarge your GDP: You  just added the proceeds from money laundering, drug trafficking and smuggling in the annual economic output of your proud nation.

It just will not work out over decades to continually spend more money than you earn, to continually live out of other people's pockets, to continually deceive and trick – it never works out okay. Eventually the house of cards will collapse. Eventually is now. Strictly spoken you are bankrupt, bust.

Have no illusions. If [German chancellor] Angela Merkel promises "Greece will not be left alone" she is more concerned about us Germans than you Greeks. Our only concern is for our own future The trouble is: We are chained to you. If you drown, you draw us under water as well.

For example by the 300 billion debt, which you piled up over the years. About 30 billion of which belong to savers in German banks, given to you in the form of government bonds. Will you ever repay that?

Because of you the Euro is in free fall. We are facing inflation. This means that German savings accounts and life insurances for the future will always be worth less and less. And that is because of you. 

Of course you are strangers to such thoughts, for saving or investing is not your thing. You prefer to just spend  your funds. In the EU, Greeks are the people that squander by far most of their money for consumption.

The EU leaders have indeed decided that you should not receive any direct financial aid. For now. But you need help. And in the EU help in the end means more money; more precisely, our money.

Slowly it becomes clear to Germans: First, we had to rescue banks, now we need to save the Greeks and eventually all PIIG countries with rotten economies; the PIIGS are Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain.

A national bankruptcy of any one of these countries, experts exceptionally agree, would be a tragedy; the banking crisis would appear to be a comedy compared to this. Wise German constitutional lawyers have warned before the introduction of the Euro, warned that an Economic Union will not work without a political union.

They were right. Now we see the dramatic democratic deficit. We Germans depend on decisions of the Government of Greece. But we can not elect it. Only you Greeks can elect it, but you have completely different interests. We want your Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou to runs his austerity program. At least that. It would even be better if he accelerated the reforms.

But obviously you don't want that. You do what you always do: Your go on strike. Last week the public sector, next week all of you in a general strike.

Dear Greeks, if you go on strike next week, if you demonstrate, then you do not you protest against your government but against us. The Zorro, who has always saved you and whom you expect to do even more saving, that guy you kick right between his knees.

Dear Greek IRS officers, please do not go on strike next week, but finally get the taxes due from your millionaires by whom you have been royally paid for looking the other direction.

Dear Greek doctors, please do not go on strike next week but treat your patients; from now on without first asking for a money envelope. And then just pay the taxes on your income. Yes you have to order the next Porsche a year later. You will survive.

Dear retired Greeks, when in our country someone worked all his life he gets not even 40% of his average income as a pension. We are on the fourth place from last among the OECD countries.

And who is number one? Correct: You. Over 95% of your average income you allow yourselves as a pension. To get this done you again get deep into the bag of tricks:
You simply determine the amount of pension benefits not on the whole life, but only on the last three to five years of employment. Usually your employer pays you considerably more towards the end and again this increases your pensions. From the money that we have sponsored you with for almost 30 years, you have allowed yourselves a more comfortable retirement than we can afford. Does that seem fair to you?

So, dear pensioners in Greece: You are the generation that has caused this misery. Now is the time to keep the feet still, do not go to demonstrate and let the government pull through their savings plans.

And, dear citizens of Greece, do not excuse yourselves by saying that solely your politicians are to blame for the disaster. You did invent democracy and you should know that you, the people, govern and therefore are responsible. No one is forcing you to evade taxes, to accept bribes, to strike against any sound policy and to elect corrupt politicians.

Politicians are populists. They do exactly what you want. Surely some of you will now argue: You Germans, you are not better off at all. Right. A pension scheme in which nobody has any trust anymore. Pensions for civil servants that no one knows how to pay for in the future. A tax system that looks as invented  by experienced tax evaders. Above all a mountain of debt on a slippery slope that eventually will bury everything – we too have exactly these problems. And on this path of vice you're not as far ahead of us as many believe.

Long ago you Greeks have led the way, you have given democracy to the world, philosophy and first understanding of national economics.

Now you show us the way again.

Only this time it is the wrong path.

Where you are is a dead end road.

Sincerely,
[signed] Walter Wüllenweber [editor at Der Stern magazine]