[LEAPSECS] ITU-R SG7 to consider UTC on October 4

[Rob Seaman]

On Aug 9, 2010, at 2:55 PM, Michael Deckers wrote:


> The text of European Directive 2000/84/EC of 2001-01-19 is

>   issued by the EU in 22 languages, all with equal standing.

>   For the time scale determining the beginning and end of

>   summer time, these translations refer to:

> 

>   -- Greenwich time in 4 cases (EL, ET, HU, LV)

>   -- Greenwich time with GMT in parentheses in 1 case (SV)

>   -- Greenwich mean time in 5 cases (EN, FI, LT, MT, SK)

>   -- Universal time in 5 cases (ES, FR, IT, PT, RO),

>   -- Universal time with GMT in parentheses in 1 case (PL),

>   -- World time (a term for UT according to the IAU) in 2 cases

>      (DE, NL),

>   -- World time with GMT in parentheses in 1 case (CS),

>   -- World time with UTC in parentheses in 1 case (DA), and

>   -- Universal coordinated time in just one case (SL).

>   (Thanks to Steve Allen who first did this comparison.)

> 

>   In my opinion, this shows that the Directive does not

>   intend to prescribe the time scale.


Doesn't this show even more clearly that to the EU's translators there is no distinction whatsoever between "Greenwich Mean Time" and "Universal Time" in all these variations?

The ITU's shell game depends on UTC being legally separable from GMT.  This is yet another example of how unlikely it is that such is possible.

Rob Seaman
NOAO