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Gwen Gall <ggall -at- CA -dot- ORACLE -dot- COM> wrote:
> David Dubin wrote:
> <If you have not encountered German bureaucracy, you have no idea what
> <frustration can be. I mean, after all, whom do you think invented the word an
> <the concept?
> My Oxford tells me "French bureaucratie, see BUREAU". Mind you, there's
> probably a common Sanskrit root--there have probably always been bureaucrats.
Travelling friends have assured me that the Indian subcontinent has
achieved the highest and most evolved form of the concept. One friend had
to actually travel to the office crammed with paper to find, retrieve and
have stamped the official entry permit to trek in Nepal that she submitted
months in advance.
Another friend described an outraged tourist complaining to the train
conductor that he had paid for a First Class ticket and this coach was
crammed to the bursting with passengers, luggage, and livestock, and...
"Oh no, sir," said the unflappable conductor, "this is a First Class
compartment. Read your ticket."
Well, my dictionary doesn't go all the way back to Indo-European, but...
OF *borc* , fr. L *burgus* fortified place, of Gmc origin;
akin to OHG *burg* fortified place
+ L *crassus* thick, gross; akin to L *cratis* wickerwork
Ray Bruman In this establishment,
Raynet Corp. we DO NOT DISCUSS
rbruman -at- raynet -dot- com race, religion, politics,
415-688-2325 or nutrition.
