Month: December 2016

Farewell to Obama

Lili Gans Politics

The President of the U.S is ending his administration just the way he began it,  by bending over forward to kiss the hand of the Arabs in the settlements vote in the U.N Security Council yesterday.

It was about eight years ago that Mr President was kissing the hand of the Saudi King. He had actually bowed before him in such a subservient manner that I winced in embarrassment.

There he was sucking up the way he has continued to do for the past eight long years.

Very demeaning,  I thought. It made a mockery of the dignity of the U.S.  As I have always maintained,  I love America and don’t want to see it degraded in such a way.

Here’s hoping that the New Year will bring back some pride to the country that helped save my life.

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Dear Aldi, please don’t call us “Dear Customer”.

Lili Gans Society

I realise that in the German language as well as in other European languages it is acceptable to refer to someone as “My dear…whatever”.

In Australia, however,  this sounds patronising and sarcastic.

Our Australian culture is much more casual than the German one and even irreverent at times. We don’t bow and scrape and act obsequiously even when we are courteous.  So being called “”Dear Customer” is strange to our ears, especially when the announcement is “Dear Customer we are closing Checkout 2. We  are opening Checkout 3”   and you feel like clicking your heels together  and saluting  “Jawohl”.

Dear Aldi, you can always simply announce that you are closing a checkout by saying  “We are now closing Checkout 2 and opening Checkout 3. Thank you.”