Snow = chaos for those living in a parallel universe

"What we are witnessing on either side of the Channel is the double whammy of a debt-ridden public sector making cuts wherever it can and a bonus-addicted private sector making cuts wherever it’s profitable — with the resultant disaster foisted on a general public now so cowed and coddled and fearful and risk-averse in the age of terror and technology that an inch or two of snow sends everyone into a blind panic.

Add to that dismal stew a pinch of global warming, which some people, including Matthews, apparently took to mean the end of European winters, and you end up with the current farce. Europe, thy name is pitiful. When the budgetary cuts really bite next year, all bets are off."

So writes Roger Cohen, op-ed writer for the IHT and The New York Times as he reflects in his latest column "Snow! Hit the Panic Button" on how London and Paris airports ground to a halt because of severe snow conditions the other day. How was this allowed to happen? he asks. Hasn't it snowed before? And don't other countries cope with these conditions and situations too?

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