__/ [ jenny ] on Wednesday 04 October 2006 14:35 \__
> Hi, sorry that my question has no direct relation to the subject, but
> could anyone help me understand the context of the European
> Commissioner's comment which I quoted below?
>
> -------------------
> "This is of course an intervention which cannot stand," she said. "Like
> all companies great and small, Microsoft is not above the law. In my
> work, I cannot have a preference. I have, however, a personal opinion,
> but that is for Saturday night."
> -------------------
>
> I would like to know why Ms Kroes refers to "Saturday night". Do the
> words have any spefic meaning? Being a non-native English speaker, I
> sometimes have such questions that native speakers would never think
> of.
>
> Thank you in advance,
>
> Jenny Tanaka
Hi Jenny,
Pushing this through Google News led me to the following (a single match):
http://www.windowsitpro.com/mobile/pda/Article.cfm?ArticleID=93654&News=1
I can now see some context.
,----[ Quote ]
| Kroes says that the DOJ asked her to be "nicer" to Microsoft in the
| days leading up to her fining the company $357 million in July. Kroes
| says the request was inappropriate. "This is of course an
| intervention which...
`----
The guy who told Kroes to be "nicer" is the following figure, as far as I can
recall from something I read previously.
US ambassador to the EU was former Microsoft lobbyist
,----[ Quote ]
| Before C. Boyden Gray was named as George Bush's number one person in
| Europe, he was a lawyer lobbying on behalf of Microsoft.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34706
I think that the last part of the quote, namely:
"In my work, I cannot have a preference. I have, however, a personal opinion,
but that is for Saturday night"
is intended to say that Kroes respresents the law rather than be driven by
emotion, which can lead to bias. She says that she has no preference for
either side of the argument. She does, on the other hand, sympathise with
one side, but this has no place in her daytime work. That, she suggests, is
reserved for weekend conversations with friends and family, not colleagues.
|
|
