How are things in YOUR country?
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Mike,
The political election system is really in decay, but we have so much to adress to right now, that we can't see that this is really at the bottom of things.
What happened in Portugal was really a matter that was in the hands of those "elected few". People are now paying for bad management, bad political decisions, corruption, waste, and so on...
A person or organization with 5 years of (sometimes absolutistic) power is really too much responsability for being on the loose.
That's why we are talking more and more of democracy of participation. I didn't know that was like that in Greece, but what I do know is that we must have a system where more decisions must be transparent and being taken by people to whom they matter, and not top down.
There is an absolute need right now of political education of the people. People should be held responsible for much more than just voting. They should participate politicaly as much as they know how to drive or wash they're teeth everyday.
For me, some religious habits that are being lost, like praying before going to bed, should be compensated with some habits of political thinking taking matter in hands.
Me, as a father, should ask my kids at night, before they go to bed, what have you made to change something today?
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You ask how things are in my country, Like Andy I feel our health care is a train smash, I mean for a wealthy country that spends billions a day on a military that is the biggest single employer in the history of mankind and has all the cool toys and an industry supporting it by means of military contractors which is bigger than most 3rd world countries GDP, yet we cannot offer a basic health care to our population, just the Iraq war spending's would have funded full universal healthcare for 17 years.
Then we have the incredible divide in the country, Obama has certainly brought out the crazy folk, I have never seen so much hatred and open racism from folks around me (Texas) even when I lived in apartheid South Africa, it's absolutely shameful, I have seen posters on lawns with images of him being lynched, bumper stickers calling him the N word, T-shirts with hateful messages, it's out of control and shocking.
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Things are semi-OK over here in Belgium. I've been to Spain recently, though, and I can tell you: people are having a hard time down there. Never seen so many dumpster divers in my life.
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@solo said:
You ask how things are in my country, Like Andy I feel our health care is a train smash, I mean for a wealthy country that spends billions a day on a military that is the biggest single employer in the history of mankind and has all the cool toys and an industry supporting it by means of military contractors which is bigger than most 3rd world countries GDP, yet we cannot offer a basic health care to our population, just the Iraq war spending's would have funded full universal healthcare for 17 years.
Then we have the incredible divide in the country, Obama has certainly brought out the crazy folk, I have never seen so much hatred and open racism from folks around me (Texas) even when I lived in apartheid South Africa, it's absolutely shameful, I have seen posters on lawns with images of him being lynched, bumper stickers calling him the N word, T-shirts with hateful messages, it's out of control and shocking.
Thanks for your slant on things Pete. You have some very frightening things mentioned there, 'just the Iraq war spending's would have funded full universal healthcare for 17 years'. Wow! that is crazy! I'm wondering what is the point of all the militarisation these days when 'World Opinion' can now rule against an attack on Syria not to mention Iran!
From what I can see there is most definitely a currency war going on at the moment and there appears to be no clear winner in sight! On the other hand it might well be physical gold if / when it is emancipated from paper gold.
@unknownuser said:
Things are semi-OK over here in Belgium. I've been to Spain recently, though, and I can tell you: people are having a hard time down there. Never seen so many dumpster divers in my life.
Glad to hear things are not too bad in Belgium, then again its within the central EU hub so should stay reasonably stable unless the sh^t hits the fan.
My wife was in Spain recently for a week and she could see things had really slowed down a lot and in some cases gone into reverse with lots of shops closing. Still the Med countries have nice weather.
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@unknownuser said:
I've been to Spain recently, though, and I can tell you: people are having a hard time down there. Never seen so many dumpster divers in my life.
99% of those are not Spanish people ! Or at least they weren't about 5 years ago when I left. Spain was like the Holy Ground for many people including Romanians(I had a salary of 1100euros which is 2/3 of our president's official salary ), now things are pretty harsh for (most of?) the " extranjeros " and even for (some of?) the locals .
How I feel about things(in my country)? We are living in a wicked world where individuals are getting more self centered than ever, and this divides everything, from economy to relationships.
Rich people are getting richer and poor people are getting poorer, laws are made by the top category for the top category.
We are deceived by a false appearance but everything is like a wormhole: you scratch the surface and there you go,scandals,dismissals,trials and at the end nothing is fixed or better. One goes one comes, everyone looking for his own wealth and ready to step over everyone else head.
Mass media has a fatal influence on masses(after all it is named mass media) and it is also controlled by the richest.
I don't watch TV, I don't listen news, at the age of 27 I am already tired of tyranny. I have never liked theatre, why should I start watching or listening now ?
The End will come, in a way or another(most likely helped by us), but before that, how would you want to live you life ? DO the best, BE the best then(just then) act like the best! Best paid job is ACTING ! May God help us !Sorry for the slightly off topic !
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@ely862me said:
99% of those are not Spanish people ! Or at least they weren't about 5 years ago when I left.
Well, now they are. Just take a look at Spains unemployment numbers.
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@unknownuser said:
@ely862me said:
99% of those are not Spanish people ! Or at least they weren't about 5 years ago when I left.
Well, now they are. Just take a look at Spains unemployment numbers.
Yes, I see youth unemployment is running at 55%! This is bad!
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The people I saw rummaging through dumpsters were indeed, for the most part, young. They didn't look like the usual suspects either -they weren't junkies or homeless. It's disgraceful their government doesn't look after them better. Apparentely, the average citizen is good enough to cough up cash when banks are in trouble, but doesn't deserve to be bailed out himself.
There's a rising tendency in Europe, or at least there is in Belgium, to blame the unemployed themselves for their misfortune. 'They don't want to work', 'all they want to do, is claim benefits' etc. Some go as far as to claim the rising number of unemployed is the cause of the worsening economy -which, of course, is populist poppycock.
We'll see more cuts, and the popularity of the right will continue to rise. Which saddens me. If anything, we need more solidarity. Pointing fingers isn't going to solve anything.
@solo said:
(...) Obama has certainly brought out the crazy folk (...)
That he has. The Republicans seem to have transformed themselves into a band of extremist lunatics with a single goal: to obstruct any meaningful change, even to the point of almost bringing the US's economy to a grinding halt. Their lack of responsibility makes me cringe. What self-respecting political party, by the way, would allow such people as Bachmann, Palin or Santorum in its ranks?
I have nothing against politicians as such, but currently, there seem far too many out there who excell in stupidity, obscurantism and cynicism, both in the US and the EU.
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When liberal capitalism is in crisis it feeds and support hate to revitalize. This process is called fascism. Look at Ukraine. Liberal capitalism is supporting fascism, like in 1939....
I was lately in EU country Bulgaria. It was a surprise. It looked like after nuclear bomb, but there was many corporate boxes landed on ruined land like alien ships colonizing market.
My country Serbia is also occupied by matrix of lies. It is currently under control of the western corporate power (after bombing in 1999), which is stilling resources from Kosovo and Metohija (coal mines, etc.) against all international laws and peoples rights. There is the biggest USA military base in Europe in Kosovo protecting it. I have to say to Solo that, when given for military, your money is invested in very profitable business, so don't worry about your public health, they will keep you dreaming.
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We have 500.000 people less in Serbia than 10 years ago. I see all this as WW III going on, but shown on TV as something good and divine. -
Saw this some time ago. Found it interesting.
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Mike, quoting you "Thanks for your slant on things Pete" is exactly spot on.
I live in the deep south, work in Houston, and I can say I never seen these signs in any states that I have visited or worked in. I point this out, because you should not believe that this derogatory racial attitude is the general feeling of this country. Note, I am not implying that these types of signs are not present, or have not been seen by some, but I have never seen any in my travels.
As for the hateful speech, I agree. The name calling, the total lack of respect for the other side. Not sure how we are ever going to be a country again. The TV talking heads are our problem in molding the hateful perception of what is happening here at the present. What I wouldn't give for ten old fashion investigative reporters and a dozen special prosecutors.
This is a country being led by a complete neophyte when it comes to governing. As a small recent example with the highest number of people out of work,(note didn't say unemployed) the highest number of people on food stamps and welfare, the big new program for our country is MyRA. Look, any one over the legal age can go into a bank an start an IRA for saving. So another IRA, with all the people out of work and on welfare is the big news? Where in the hell are they going to get the money to save, when there are no jobs.
I could go on, but prefer not to, just wanted to clarify, that as I said in the beginning, you are spot on if should happen to say, "Thanks for your slant on things Pete and Ken."
Ken
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Hello Mike,
Look at the situation we have in Italy.
There is nothing cheerful.P.S. In the area of "artisan" ,a simple replacement of a window glass (about 50,00 Euro)
is paid with installments of € 10 per week!
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Roberto - that 30 Euro seems very low for daily wage.
What is that figure from? average of everyone working or not?@micione said:
Hello Mike,
Look at the situation we have in Italy.
There is nothing cheerful.P.S. In the area of "artisan" ,a simple replacement of a window glass (about 50,00 Euro)
is paid with installments of € 10 per week! -
@unknownuser said:
Mike, quoting you "Thanks for your slant on things Pete" is exactly spot on.
I live in the deep south, work in Houston, and I can say I never seen these signs in any states that I have visited or worked in. I point this out, because you should not believe that this derogatory racial attitude is the general feeling of this country. Note, I am not implying that these types of signs are not present, or have not been seen by some, but I have never seen any in my travels.
As for the hateful speech, I agree. The name calling, the total lack of respect for the other side. Not sure how we are ever going to be a country again. The TV talking heads are our problem in molding the hateful perception of what is happening here at the present. What I wouldn't give for ten old fashion investigative reporters and a dozen special prosecutors.
This is a country being led by a complete neophyte when it comes to governing. As a small recent example with the highest number of people out of work,(note didn't say unemployed) the highest number of people on food stamps and welfare, the big new program for our country is MyRA. Look, any one over the legal age can go into a bank an start an IRA for saving. So another IRA, with all the people out of work and on welfare is the big news? Where in the hell are they going to get the money to save, when there are no jobs.
I could go on, but prefer not to, just wanted to clarify, that as I said in the beginning, you are spot on if should happen to say, "Thanks for your slant on things Pete and Ken."
Ken
Thank you!!!
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@unknownuser said:
This is a country being led by a complete neophyte when it comes to governing.
He's been in politics since the mid-nineties, and he's currently serving his second term as president. Calling him a 'complete neophyte' is a bit of a stretch.
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@unknownuser said:
I live in the deep south, work in Houston, and I can say I never seen these signs in any states that I have visited or worked in
Maybe you are not looking, I know what your opinion is of Obama so I hardly expect you to ever acknowledge it anyway.
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Greetings from the frozen North.
Ah Canada.
Our banking system, which is highly regulated, pretty much dodged the sub-prime debacle, which had the effect of keeping our keel even.
But since our #1 trading partner is the U.S. it has a profound effect on some sectors in particular manufacturing.
In Canada we are so spread out it means economies are really regional, and therefore some provinces feel the economic downturn more than others.
In the western Provinces, where I live, I believe there is really more talk of hard times than actual hard times. Mining in mining exploration and development, oil, both from standard sources, and the much debated tar sands, are both booming. Forestry has been hard hit although recent markets such as China are putting it on the upswing. Construction, commercially is doing well, but residential is down, but that is mostly because of a built up surplus, and a real estate bubble keeping prices high.
I think the difference I see in the past few years is the labour force lives in one area, and works in another.
I know that Central Canada, has been harder hit, as this is where the manufacturing primarily takes place. There has also been down sizing of the auto manufacturing here moving plants to where workers are not so highly paid.
I'm not well connected with the Eastern Provinces, so really not sure how they are faring. -
andybot,
the average pay of an employee
can vary from € .700.00, to € .1200.00 "netto".
For companies the cost of labor affects more than double.
Serious problems afflicting Italy:
Our public debt is totally in the hands of banks (38% foreign),
that, at this time, strangling the State in order to fill their holes.
Our political system (bad) creates, always unstable.
Corruption is rampant in all sectors.
It lacks a true "STATESMAN" with long views.
We no longer have a entrepreneurial system with balls.
Many companies close down or re-open in other states most convenient.
Our best "brains" are fleeing abroad and no longer fit.
And I might continue indefinitely.
Certainly still cut pensions and health.
So the poor will still be poor.
Only a few families (10%) holds a great wealth.
Hard to radically change these things.
Our people are very angry.
My fear is that everything could, over time, degenerate into popular revolts.
I do not know how it will end.
I still think that after the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the disappearance of "Communism", even the "Capitalist" system
is destined to disappear. First there was a strange "balance":
as the day has the night, the white has black, good and bad, etc..
Now we see the "Globalization" ...
We hope in God ! -
I'm glad I started this thread as we are seeing honest and forthright opinions from many of SCF members around the world. Hopefully more will row in and we might then start throwing ideas around that might shine some light on WTF is really going on .......... I have a feeling about what is actually happening but hope I am being paranoid ...... time will tell.
Fortunately the average man on the street these days is in a great position to get a true picture of what is happening world-wide. Even reliable information on North Korea is available if one delves deep enough. Then we have the whistle blowers! I think they deserve support from the ordinary man.
As mentioned above in a number of threads, Big Corporation and Big Government are being identified as root causes for much of the turmoil. I have purposely not used the word 'globalization' as I don't feel the true meaning of the word is our problem. Here is a definition, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization
I read a short but very concise and informative article this morning in the Telegraph (UK newspaper) by Jeremy Warner which explains in simple straightforward language what is causing the continuation of the financial crisis. Well worth the read here,
Argentina is no danger to the world - but the eurozone is
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10607595/Argentina-is-no-danger-to-the-world-but-the-eurozone-is.htmlAnother article by David McWilliams, a very well respected economist here in Ireland shown some light for me on what the big multi-national pharmaceutical giants are doing here in Ireland. The article is here, An Economic Renaissance in Cork?
http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2014/01/30/an-economic-renaissance-in-corkOne particular paragraph stuck out for me. It reads,
'But just look at the bargain the multinationals are getting in Cork. In 2011, Co Cork had the highest value of gross output per person engaged in Ireland at €1.18m. So the multinationals are making on average €1,180,000 per employee and they are paying each employee €44,800. This is a phenomenal deal for multinationals.'
They (multinationals) are making €1,180,000 per person engaged in Ireland! If this is the case there is something totally out of balance. I don't know what as I am still thinking about it.
My immediate thoughts are the cost of the medicine I need each month. I pay on average €140 and this figure is subsidized by the Health Authority. I am lead to understand that the actual cost of the medicine is over €240! I imagine the profit margin MUST be gigantic, possibly many 100s of percent!
Still thinking
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Greece on high alert after extremists declare war on ‘German capitalist machine’
It looks more and more that Greece is the ticking time-bomb of the EU. I just watched a short report from RT News, an NET based alternative news media, that shows pictures of the German Embassy in Athens with walls peppered by machine gun bullet marks, they said 50 hit the embassy. No one hurt thankfully.
Blame is laid on 'The Popular Fighters' (Party / Movement). They are being described, as a 'Leftists' on the media and I imagine many would brand they as terrorists of sorts but at the same time I think they may feel its the only way they can express their feelings about what is happening in Greece, the 'Home of Democracy'!
This happened in late December 2013 and I did not hear a word about in on the Irish national broadcaster, RTE. I wonder why? I have however a fair idea why this important news was not reported to the masses.
The RT News items includes a comment from a sympathetic German citizen. It reads as follows,
"As a German my advice to the Greek people is: declare bankruptcy and get out of the EU. Iceland did and it seems they are doing ok now. Harneis is spot on, by far most of the "bailout" money goes right back to the banks and not to the Greek people. As an occasional vacationer I have to admit that Greece is off my list, though. And btw, lots of ordinary Germans are suffering also-over the last 10-15 years our social safety net has been shred to pieces".
The comment speaks for itself .... "by far most of the "bailout" money goes right back to the banks and not to the Greek people"
I think the whole EU 'experiment' is going to come to a bad end very soon. The May EU elections will determine the will of the people of Europe. There are signs that the next EU parliament to be elected will be heavy with Euroskeptics! In my case I don't think I will be voting for more of the same ..... change is needed
The link to the RT news item is here, http://rt.com/news/greece-germany-leftist-group-866/
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