h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, you would be welcome if I had done.

Jabberwock.

All the scare-mongering from the media as the stock markets
rise and fall with every rumour or speculation about the
danger of Greece defaulting and leaving the eurozone has
worn most of us down to a pessimistic level of disinterest.

The 'positive' result of the election has stabilised things
again for some short time - at least until they get into the
struggle to form a working government.

But in the run up to the election I was shocked to learn that
Greece has a population of only 11 million. 11 million? That's
less than the population of many cities. Quite nuke-able really.

How can a mere 11 million people hold 7 billion hostage?
Talk about the tail wagging the dog!
It boggles the mind.


~jwf~

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/drunk-dutch-fans-life-misery-local-reporter-150621165.html

Drunk Dutch fans embarrass stupidly misplaced Ukrainian reporter. What were they doing placing her there? etc etc.

After obligatory ad...

Corsets are making a comeback.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18409752

~jwf~: Calm down. Message is that individual tax evasion is bad. Problem translates well. Sometimes things are their opposite in politics.

>>How can a mere 11 million people hold 7 billion hostage?

I don't pretend to understand it all, but I was wondering how the prospect of Greece exiting the Euro could be such a calamity, when there's so much continuing strife in places like Syria, Egypt, and loads of other places.

Refreshing to read Senor Jose Barroso's comments in today's paper.
Kind of echoes what I feel.
http://tinyurl.com/898fhot

It's late, you're hungry, the kebab shop's shut, what do you do?

http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/thieves-hobble-off-with-70lb-of-meat-in-late-night-raid-1-2362598

How in the name of Bob do you cook one of those at home anyway?

Must have been a desperate cache of the munchies.

Ah, Steve Bell tells it like it is...
http://tinyurl.com/84w4a9b

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jun/20/jobcentre-supervisors-suicide-risk-benefit-claimants

I was reading that article before I came online. Depressing reading.
Message from the government is, don't get old,don't get sick
and hurry up and die.

It´s time to wonder why people in Britain is suffering the same problems that are appearing in those countries of the European periphery, where, according to some brill minds they are the fault of citizens.

In Britain you have:
Increasing number of suicides, raising levels of poverty, for first time since times of war, children are suffering poverty( the only decent meal they have is what they receive at school) absurd cuts on social services that cater for basic human needs, etc.

Sorry, but if people don´t see the ideological scheme behind all this, they are part of the problem.

To dismantle the social state, the welfare state is the main aim, in all Europe. And please, let´s all of us tell politicians that the tale of "there´s no money" is an unsufferable glaring lie.

Too true money is available. It's the distribution that causes the problem Physicians can heal themselves, by raiding other public service pension funds. On the other hand they could hand over their state old age pensions to the less fortunate aged and infirmed.

>>Physicians can heal themselves, by raiding other public service pension funds. On the other hand they could hand over their state old age pensions to the less fortunate aged and infirmed<<

That's not the issue AB. As much as the ConDems would like to present it as such, this isn't an "us vs them/they have it better than us" issue. Doctors signed a contract and have kept to it, the government has decided to unilaterally abrogate that contract. Why should they keep to their contract if the government won't?

Well I admire the Doctors. It must take a lot of resolve to insist on keeping a massive pension when you see your patients suffering from their poor circumstances.

A solution to the doctors dilemma could be to withhold their services from those public servants who formulated and agreed the terms of the current pensions agreement.

Nye Bevan only succeeded in persuading the Doctors to support the NHS by "stuffing their mouths with gold". Some things never change. When Labour sought to make changes a few years ago, the price was reduced working hours for doctors allied with salaries for some exceeding £100k. I expect they'll have to be bought off again in some way - probably by palming even more of their job onto nurses.

Just as any worker has the right to withdraw their labour any doctor who does not want to take advantage of the the new terms and conditions should be allowed to withdraw from the scheme with their pension frozen and put on hold. The facility to do this must already be written into the present terms an conditions.