General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTHE GREEKS...They know how to live, eat, dance, sing, eat, shtoop, and have oodles of FUN
&feature=relatedwe should learn different cultures of the world lest we become xenophobic as some of the
GOPers seem to be...tis a Happy World if we can repair the damn thing
villager
(26,001 posts)opihimoimoi
(52,426 posts)left coaster
(1,093 posts)Warpy
(111,115 posts)For that reason alone it's an unhealthy culture.
We're working too long and too hard for too little reward and never have the chance to do anything outside our work life but try to play catch up and fail.
That's also the reason the 99% are furious, whether or not they've figured it out.
villager
(26,001 posts)n/t
Burgman
(330 posts)Things have gone bad here in many ways economically.
Strides in Civil Rights and continuing progress in LGBT matters are very good and seem to be progressing but the economic picture for all seems to be a developing maelstrom.
left coaster
(1,093 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,513 posts)That was a great clip.
Made my fingers dance!
Demonaut
(8,914 posts)drank too much reka, ate great food
one thing I noticed that they are kind to stray cats and dogs, saw many dogs with collars, assumed they were owned but when I petted one I noticed the blue collar said "homeless", many blue and green collared dogs
The locals would leave food out for them, I've since found the females were fixed but the males are left whole
Great people as a whole
deaniac21
(6,747 posts)Earthbound Misfit
(13 posts)The scale of Greek tax cheating was at least as incredible as its scope: an estimated two-thirds of Greek doctors reported incomes under 12,000 euros a yearwhich meant, because incomes below that amount werent taxable, that even plastic surgeons making millions a year paid no tax at all. The problem wasnt the lawthere was a law on the books that made it a jailable offense to cheat the government out of more than 150,000 eurosbut its enforcement. If the law was enforced, the tax collector said, every doctor in Greece would be in jail. I laughed, and he gave me a stare. I am completely serious. One reason no one is ever prosecutedapart from the fact that prosecution would seem arbitrary, as everyone is doing itis that the Greek courts take up to 15 years to resolve tax cases. The one who does not want to pay, and who gets caught, just goes to court, he says. Somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of the activity in the Greek economy that might be subject to the income tax goes officially unrecorded, he says, compared with an average of about 18 percent in the rest of Europe.
The Greek state was not just corrupt but also corrupting. Once you saw how it worked you could understand a phenomenon which otherwise made no sense at all: the difficulty Greek people have saying a kind word about one another. Individual Greeks are delightful: funny, warm, smart, and good company. I left two dozen interviews saying to myself, What great people! They do not share the sentiment about one another: the hardest thing to do in Greece is to get one Greek to compliment another behind his back. No success of any kind is regarded without suspicion. Everyone is pretty sure everyone is cheating on his taxes, or bribing politicians, or taking bribes, or lying about the value of his real estate. And this total absence of faith in one another is self-reinforcing. The epidemic of lying and cheating and stealing makes any sort of civic life impossible; the collapse of civic life only encourages more lying, cheating, and stealing. Lacking faith in one another, they fall back on themselves and their families.
The structure of the Greek economy is collectivist, but the country, in spirit, is the opposite of a collective. Its real structure is every man for himself. Into this system investors had poured hundreds of billions of dollars. And the credit boom had pushed the country over the edge, into total moral collapse.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/05/kicking-the-can-to-the-end-of-the-road/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBigPicture+%28The+Big+Picture%29
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)but it could just as easily be of a Greek island!
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)The mediterranean ocean is one of the best playgrounds. Nothing better then going down the oceans spear fishing and bring home the kill to eat. The fun is still in my soul and am now 64. The expression see Rome and die is so true. Like the greeks they are wonderful and will show you a good time and great food.
opihimoimoi
(52,426 posts)peace
HillWilliam
(3,310 posts)and then we dance!"
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I don't think that dancing and singing is predicated on "other people's money"
However, I can readily understand those who do indeed believe money is necessary to be joyful.
G_j
(40,366 posts)Are we having fun yet?
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Sorry, bzzt.
Bombero1956
(3,539 posts)We only met the in-laws in July but from the first meeting we were made very welcome and they couldn't do enough for us. The wedding itself was beautiful and the reception was alot of fun. This is some video from the reception.
opihimoimoi
(52,426 posts)Bombero1956
(3,539 posts)I was happy not to be invited to get up there. That dance was strictly for the guys with the women presenting drinks to the best dancers.
opihimoimoi
(52,426 posts)MellowDem
(5,018 posts)I think they're overrated personally.
opihimoimoi
(52,426 posts)Come, we go South of the Border
ai ya yai yai