The main event

Yes has gone quiet ,there's been a few mentions on the news, but nothing other than a quick mention, thing is with china a lot of infrastructure has been built on the back of the boom, there's brand new town stood empty, hope china survives as i buy a lot of stuff from china, it's the only way i can afford a lot of tools and equipment, another issue is goods are cheap with free delivery, how that's sustainable I'll never know but it's almost like Taiwan years back, good cheap goods ,then when the prices went up manufacturers found cheaper countries, probably happening there too

Germany: Give us our money
Greece: No
Germany: Give us our money
Greece: NO!
Germany: Our patience is not limitless
Greece: What you going to do about it, Fritz?
Germany: Don't tempt us, Stavros.

Thing is ,doesnt germany owe greece billions of deuchmarks (cant spell in english let alone german.
the germans were paying greece repatriations for invading during ww2 , i seem to recall after a few payments(not the full amount) with the official end of ww2 wwhen the russians withdrew from east germany, that germany stopped paying.

the above is true , however i heard greece will never pay a penny to anyone until stavros flatley and his sone are handed over to a greek court

the greek argument hinges on several things, damage during the war,sufferage etc, but the interesting ones are they were like all occupied countries to pay a monthly maintenace fee for the german troops based there , and they had forced bank loans totaling 476m Reichsmarks(ish), they were paind some in the 60's and signed a waiver saying they would seek no more, but the greeks have now decided to take thesae figures and add interest to it, so understandably the germans are telling them to pish off, One thing that really irks me is how people think we should (not just germany but everyone) some how feel guilty for and payfor things our ancestors did ,now these things may have been vile and horrific, but we wernt there so why should we feel guilty for it.

Forgot to say that incidently the figure greece wants from germany would funnily enough clear the greek debt and leave the country in credit.

Exactly bags, so would most of the world, was trying to point out that greece are trying to get the debt washed away by playing on the heartstrings of the world, ,and also trying to say, that we(everyone alive that is) cannot and should not be held to ransom because of what our ancestors done, we wern't there, we didn't do it, personally i think the germans have been brainwashed by the world into a guilt trip that is not of their making and shouldn't still be held accountable(but that particular one is for another thread ).

The euro is a scheme devised from the devils arse grapes

Hang on just a minute.....She Who Casts No Shadow may be German, but her Mother is Greek. So we have a Greek side of the family and they........ah, I understand you now.

With part of the family being Greek, I've had to hear a lot of crap about their situation. I've also just returned (last Friday) from the Peleponnese where we had a holiday and also visited members of the family. She Who Casts No Shadow is also fluent in Greek, so we often have the Greek news channel on the tele. I'll list some of my personal observations:-

1. Like most languages, Greek has a 'high' level (aka Oxford English) and various other lower levels. I've been told by the family that the Greek spoken by the politicians and on tv is High Greek, and it is also spoken very quickly. This means that a lot of people living in the countryside ie. the majority, cannot understand what is being said ! This is a problem.

2. Pensions - The pension in Greece is usually based on your final earnings, and could be as much as 80% of those earnings. It is standard that when someone retires, usually around the age of 50, then in their last week at work they receive a huge pay rise. It was common for someone like a bin man to receive a pension of 1700 euros per month (about 1200 English Pounds). Most of those have now been reduced to 900 Euro  (650 English Pounds) which is still substantially more than the state pension in the UK or Germany. Don't forget that the cost of living is far lower in Greece than in the UK or Germany. Greece can only pay those pensions by borrowing the money.
This one is a cracker.....If you are a man receiving the state pension and you die, if you have a daughter then she will receive the pension for as long as she lives. It does not transfer over to a son, only a daughter. WTF is that all about? It's basically the old Greek mentality that says a man should be able to get a job and look after himself, whereas a woman couldn't. Make of that what you will.

3. Bribes - Standard in Greece. You see your Doctor and you need hospital treatment, you'll probably have to wait three or four months, unless you slip him 1,000 Euro, then you're in before the week is out. This has been going on for years. It's the way it works.

4. Jobs - Getting a job can be difficult. Everything to this day still depends on "who you know".

5. Tax - Only one tax office in Greece has computers. All tax declarations are self-checking, in that you submit them, and nobody checks them. This means that no Doctor in Greece earns more than 12,000 Euro per year, which funnily enough is the limit where tax starts to be paid. This also applies to many many other professions. As before, if someone does bother to check, then a payment of about 2,000 Euro will get it all rubber stamped. You have to understand the Greek mentality, where they will tell you that if you pay tax then you are stupid. They pay no tax because they are clever. It's the way it is and cannot be changed overnight.

Can't afford the plates.

India has a space programme and we send it aid.

That's just Dam mental.