http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295809,00.html , Submitted by Jim Sandell.
The mayor of the Siberian oil Town of Megion has ordered city officials to stop using expressions such as “I don’t know” and “I can’t.” Officials who use those words in the city risk losing their job. Mayor Alexander Kuzmin banned those phrases and 25 others in an attempt to make his administration more efficient. Spokesperson Oksana Shestakova said, “It’s a suggestion to the staff that they should think before saying something. To say ‘I don’t know’ is the same as admitting your helplessness.” To reinforce the ban Mayor Kuzmin put a framed list of the banned expressions on the wall outside his office. Other prohibited phrases include “What can we do?”, “It’s not my job”, “It’s impossible,” “I’m having lunch,” “There is no money,” and “I was away/sick/or on vacation.”
Kuzmin posted a statement on the town’s website saying, “Town authorities are there to make town residents’ life comfortable and prosperous. Town officials must work out mechanisms to solve and remove problems, not to avoid them.” Industry in the area has caused Megion to grow quickly, but construction has not kept pace and the city suffers a lack of adequate housing. In response to the mayor’s orders, his chief of staff Anna Borovikova says the approach has improved discipline. She said, “Before it was easy to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Now before reporting to the mayor we prepare several proposals on how one or another problem can be solved.”
Luke 9:59-62 (CEV) Jesus told someone else to come with him. But the man said, "Lord, let me wait until I bury my father." [60] Jesus answered, "Let the dead take care of the dead, while you go and tell about God's kingdom." [61] Then someone said to Jesus, "I want to go with you, Lord, but first let me go back and take care of things at home." [62] Jesus answered, "Anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn't worth a thing to God's kingdom!"
