Mayor Threatens Fines for Wrong (Weather) Forecasts

[quaoar]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60365-2005Feb28.html

Moscow Leader Wants Greater Certainty in Predicting Weather

By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 28, 2005; 2:00 PM

MOSCOW, Feb. 28 -- Weathermen of the world, beware!

The mayor of this city, where in winter -- stop the presses -- it tends to snow a lot, is furious that weather forecasts are sometimes inaccurate. And he has proposed fining the weather service every time it gets a forecast wrong.

"We are paying and would like to receive a quality product," thundered Mayor Yuri Luzhkov at a meeting last week of the city government during which a number of forecasters sat in the audience. "Instead of that you are giving us ."

The mayor's hot flash was prompted not by a failure to predict snow, but by the Moscow Weather Bureau's inability in January to say exactly when a blizzard would arrive and how much snow it would dump on the city. On Jan. 28, the city endured its heaviest snowfall since record-keeping began in the 19th century, and local public services were unable to cope.

[aden_nak]

1. Mayor threatens fine for not predicting the fucking future.

[NYC Liberal]

2. Uh-oh. Don't give Bush any ideas.

Even though he has a completely subservient media, he likes as much control as possible.

[lazarus]

3. watta maroon

I can accurately predict the weather with ease.

There's a 5% chance of rain tomorrow.

If it rains, I'm right. If it doesn't rain, I'm right. Hooray me!

[madinmaryland]

4. That's one way to raise revenues for the city.

Though here in the us the weather forecasting industry's lobbyists will be sure to put an end to that idea.

:evilgrin:

[RedCloud]

5. updated Moscow forecast!

Tonight's forecast: Dark, with gradual lighting trends after sunrise.

I guess the mayor cannot argue with that!.

[mermaid]

8. You Just Gave Me A George Carlin Flashback...

Que pasa...que whatcha call your pasa??

Al Sleet here, your hippie-dippy weatherman with all the hippie-dippy weather, man.

Tonight's forecast - Dark continued dark most of the night with widely scattered patches of light come moring!!

Ahh, the good old days of WWWWWWWWWWW IIIIIIIIIII NNNNNNNNNN OOOOOOOOO
Wonderful WINO Wadio!! Wondeful WINO...in Western Walla Walla!!

Fuckin' LOL!!!

[GiovanniC]

6. Forecast: Clouds and Fog in Moscow Mayor's Brain

Leading to high-pressure system against meteorologists.

[DemoTex]

7. Maybe he needs the Williams/Cronauer/Cronkite weather forecast:

The weather out there is hot and shitty, with continued hot and shitty in the afternoon. Tomorrow a chance of continued crappy weather. A pissy weather front coming down from the north. Basically it's hotter than a snake's ass in a wagon rut.

(from Good Morning Vietnam)