PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev was widely ridiculed by his countrymen this week after his televised New Year’s address praising the “unique beauty” of Bulgaria showed a photo of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Tourism officials and much of the Bulgarian Internet criticized Plevneliev for failing to apologize for the mistake. But the president insists the gaffe was not his fault. “Ask yourself the simple question whether the president is a technician sitting behind a computer and composing images,” he said. The average elevation of Bulgaria’s mountains is a bit over 4,000 feet, while the Rockies soar to more than 14,000 feet.