“The European parliament’s bureau, its administrative office, has earmarked £4.3m for an ‘IT mobility project,” Pancevksi reports. “Bad as the financial crisis may be, the bureau has decided that all 736 MEPs need to become more ‘connected’ and that the iPad, a portable tablet computer, is just the device to enable them to do more on the move.”
MacDailyNews Take: The fact that there are 736 of them is appalling enough on its own.
Pancevksi reports, “The iPads, likely to cost more than £500 each, will be highly coveted when they are released on to the European market on May 28. Although MEPs have recently been equipped with new Hewlett-Packard laptops, some have told the bureau they find them cumbersome in comparison with the iPad.”
MacDailyNews Take: Gee, no, ya think? Never mind the iPad, an HP laptop is cumbersome in comparison with an anvil.
Pancevksi continues, “The driving force behind the idea is Klaus Welle, the parliament’s German secretary-general, who is known as an enthusiast for the iPhone, already a popular Apple product. The iPad plan was disclosed by a senior bureau source who was too worried to reveal his name… ‘The majority of MEPs have already got iPhones and they are very happy with them. The PC was good for its time but the iPad is a much better device.'”
MacDailyNews Take: The “PC” was never “good for its time,” Dr. Doofenshmirtz. At any time in the dark history of Windows PCs, you could’ve had a superior Mac (and saved beaucoup dinero in the process; please see releated articles below).
Pancevksi continues, “A parliament spokeswoman denied that there were plans to obtain iPads for MEPs in the ‘immediate future’ and said she was not familiar with the bureau initiative.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]
At least they now can’t be accused of always making bad choices. The got an Apple device and service!
Good for you guys (and gals). Obama would say that you r are distracted. Maybe we could get some for our team in DC? More distractions less damage.
Signing off this thread immediately…
… although I will say that this time the right wing will have a point.
Why don’t these guys buy their own? Aren’t they well-paid enough?
Kevin J. Weise, they could afford a car, a PC, an office, … it is an addiction. There is nothing that modern politicians will not feel they absolutely have to spend our money on!
UK government said they are making changes to save hundreds of £’s in IT costs. They must be replacing Windows…
Good for them. Long term cost savings and likely tech that will actually get used.
Now the HP laptops, that was a waste of money.
Yes lets not give the best tools to our leaders. Let us not help them, lets just make their lives a miserable as possible so they can’t help but screw up and waste our tax money. Yes let us hate our leaders and hinder them any way we can. We will be much better off that way.
Good choice of hardware there, but us Eurotaxpayers will foot the bill.
Grrr…
The onslaught continues
Socialist gits! They also get free autos and gas. As do US crooked politicians. If this idiot, now in the WhiteHouse, stays in, that’s what we’re in for also.
At least Apple is selling more stuff. Wait! Isn’t that capitalism?
I am all for it. Politicians spend tax money no matter what. They might as well spend it on something beneficial to them and their work rather than wasting it on useless pork.
Ron, please answer the clue phone.
I don’t know about “crooked US politicians” – they may well get free autos and gas – but US taxpayers do not fund autos / gas for the overwhelming majority of federal,elected officials. State / local? I don’t know about your locality. It’s like these “tea party” geniuses who spout off about the incredible full-pay retirement that congressmen get after serving one term… Incredible because it is, in fact, NOT CREDIBLE. As in, FALSE.
I know a lot of government officials who pay lots of money out of their own pockets to cover their legitimate business expenses, simply because government reimbursement rules are so stringent as to be ridiculous.
Incidentally – 700+ members of the European Parliament is not at all unreasonable, considering the population of the EU. It’s not a far cry from our 535 legislators representing the citizens of the US – which, by the way, is a number that is far too low to do an effective job of representation. See for example: http://www.thirty-thousand.org/
I guess this guy has never considered the savings of money that those iPad’s can achieve. Provided they have a person(s) that will use them as a paper reducer. Plus, the simple communication they can have between all aspects of daily or yearly operations.
Plus, it will be so much easier to keep track of all that money the special interest are providing. Let us not forget the meeting with those attractive lobbyist we all so admire.
Well, I think they will like them! Uh, the iPad’s.
What is a ‘clue phone’ clueless?
“It’s da gubmint, so it’s gotta be evil!”
Walt Kelly had it right: We have met the enemy and he is us!
Oops — didn’t copythe whole link. It should be We have met the enemy and he is us!
The statement “Ron, please answer the clue phone.”
is, I believe, a somewhat antiquated way of implying that Ron should get a clue. The OP can correct me if I’ve got that wrong.
You need to open your eyes. You’re buying the European parliament these ipad’s thanks this US administration’s generosity. The US federal reserve is reopening its currency swap line with the European Central Bank. The Fed will get euros in exchange for dollars so the ECB can then extend dollar-based loans to euro-zone banks that need them. The Fed has agreed to trade our dollars for euros. The program won’t have any cap, meaning the Fed’s exposure could theoretically be unlimited! Guess who will be left holding the bag after all the loan-defaulting settles?
The US Congress doesn’t need iPads or any other type of information device. They get all the info they need from the lobbyists.
4 300 000 / 736 = 5 842 quid
WTF? Almost 6000 pounds per unit?
Some of the commentary inserted into the article by MDN is racist. Shame on you for using hateful, stereotypic, bigotted references.
The iPad plan was disclosed by a senior bureau source who was too worried to reveal his name…
… Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Good on ya’ Maxwell, now go and find No.99
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“this US administration’s generosity.”
I get what you are saying in the rest of what you wrote, but you do realize that the “US federal reserve” is not controlled by the US government.
The “US federal reserve” is made up of private banks.
The numbers don’t add up. 750 iPads should cost less than £400 thousand, not £4 million.
I call bullshit on the whole thing, a fanservice to the euro haters in Britain. Thank you, Rupert Murdoch.
The past two administrations, run by Goldman Sachs guys Paulson and Geihtner, bailed out AIG, who then gave Goldman Sachs a big part of that. Bernanke went along with it all, so Goldman Sachs and Bernanke are in cahoots. AIG execs won’t get prosecuted because they would reveal any goods they have on Goldman Sachs and Bernanke. There’s obvious collusion between this administration and Bernanke to rob the country and inflate like the Weimar Republic so as to delay the pain they’re gone. To these in-deep guys, it’s just other people’s money.
Sorry but 4.3m / 736 members = ~5842 pounds (not 500)
Thats a theft!!!