Euro Crisis; Relying on Germany

There was an old 2008 joke: "What is the difference betwen Iceland and Ireland?"
The answer was one letter and six months.

To be fair that 6 months dragged out to be two years but the essence of the joke is brutally true.

Dear Angela Merkel is going to have to butter up her German electorate a lot more to get them to pay for not only Greece, but now Ireland. Maybe soon, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

But let us all remember that hard work is what the Germans are renowned for. So perhaps the rest of Europe will let the Germans do what they do best with their 60 hour weeks and unremitting efficiency. Maybe the dynamic German economy can, under pressure, support virtually the whole of Europe.

Then the bankrupt laggards known collectively as the PIIGS (Portugal, Irelend,Iceland,Greece and Spain) can get back to what they are good at... and go down the pub.

Germany Wins?

My dear depressed, disconsolate and despairing English compatriots.
It was not to be.
It might have been legitimately 4-2 but it was never going to be a victory.
We played crap.
Never mind. It was only a game.

Although one more important than life and death.

But look on the bright side.

At least we do not have to pay for the Greek spending extravaganza.

Or the Spanish.
Or the Portuguese.
Or the Irish
or the Italians.

I dare say that there are many in Germany tonight who would happily trade in their football victory for an indemnity against their Euro liability.

But tempting though such a deal would be, I suspect us grieving English losers would rather count the pound coins in our pockets, smile sweetly and walk away.

Love & kisses

Billothewisp

Ten things you did not know about Germans

My dear degraded demonised and dirty little Englander mates. As you undoubtedly know, tomorrow we play the Krauts. That is the Germans to any politically correct plonkers who are just wafting by this blog in a state of shock and horror.

In order to whip you all up into a state of hysteria (well, at least for the duration of the match) I thought I would detail to you ten reasons the German nation en-masse should be regarded with distain and derision.

However before I do this I should inform you that this list was actually formulated and agreed during a brief encounter with a rich blonde German women in the back of a 1972 Mercedes pillar-less coupé in the summer of 1975.

I named the pillar-less coupé Helga. But only because she so closely resembled her owner.

Helga was elegant, sophisticated, drank like a fish and was very, very fast. I hope you appreciate why the name was shared.

Dare I say this, but, my dear mucky English mates, that night, in the back of that car, I had experiences that I am still trying to come to terms with 35 years later.

A bit like post traumatic stress disorder but in reverse. Anyway as part of our fun and games we built a list of the ten most derisory characteristics of the English and the Germans.

Out of shame I will not mention the English characteristics.

But hey! Its the world cup so the Germans are fair game. I have modified the derogation on Germany to be a little to be more contemporary. In fact I had to do this because I simply couldn't remember all the original ones.

Here we go.

10 things to You Need To Know about Germans:

1.Luther was a German. Consequently all Germans are ex-communicated. Which means that all German marriages are null and void. This means that for the last 500 years all Germans have been born out of wed-lock. Consequently all Germans are Bastards.

2.Before they bought Rover group BMW could not build a good 4x4. After they acquired the intellectual property of Land Rover, all of a sudden, they could build X5's. Consequently all Germans are Plagiarists.

3.Greece is virtually bankrupt. Things are so bad there have even been calls for Greek doctors to stop fiddling their taxes. The Germans have been calling for the Greeks to get their house in order before giving them yet more money. The simply show that all Germans are Control Freaks.

4.The PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are all upset that they are going bust.
This is solely down to the bloody Germans who are only grudgingly paying for other peoples profligacy. But the Germans are doing OK. This must surely prove that all Germans are thieves.

5.On a more personal note, have you ever noticed that it is only the bloody Germans who lay claim to the deck chairs with their towels? All Germans are secret colonialists and empire builders.

6.All Germans are decadent perverts. Not only that, their beer is a tasteless fizzy chemical concoction the colour of urine.

7.Why do German women not shave under their arms? It is disgusting. A veritable crime against common decency. All Germans are all fashion criminals.

8.Helga (the car) was a masterpiece. But it should also be remembered that the Germans gave us the Trabant. Germans are inconsistent.

9.If Germany wins tomorrow it will because of one simple fact; All Germans are cheats.

10. Finally. It must be said. Germans, generally speaking, even with their hairy armpits, tasteless beer and sexual perversions are hard working and productive. It can only be assumed then that they must be Satan's Slaves.

Have a good game. Remember it is fun. A laugh. A jolly Wheeze. But if they win... see item 9. If we win, well, it just proves all of the above!

Whatever the outcome, after the game, we should be kind to our German colleagues. They are, after all, keeping the rest of the Euro-Zone in the nationally unaffordable state of luxury they have become accustomed to.

Love & kisses

Billothewisp

The German Cash Cow

Oh Doom.

The Euro is diving.

Billothewisp sends his sincere condolences to our euro-patriot German taxpayer friends.

But never mind.

I'm sure the Greeks, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians and Irish will really pull back on their expediture.

I am sure they really would not want someone else to be picking up the bill for their profligacy.

Surely their honour will not be compromised!

I am certain that they are thinking all the time about the cost to you my German pals.

That is the glory of the Euro.

Everyone contributes spends according to their ability and then they all try and pay the bills.

But, unfortunately, it also looks like paying the bills is going to be done according to ability.

So, our illustrious German friends, it looks like you are going to pick up the tab.

Tough luck my friends.

Life is hard and unfair.

Especially for you and the Euro dream.

The Germans are Rattled (and so am I)

Dear Angela Merkel has done a complete U turn in less than a week about a bank transaction tax. (See TimesOnline Here)

This looks like another desperate ploy to try and shore up domestic German support for the the Greek financial bale-out.

If that falls apart then all hell will break loose.

Meanwhile the Stock market is in a tail spin. The Euro has nose dived against the dollar (as has the already heavily devalued Pound) and in the USA jobless figures are going the wrong way.

In South-East Asia, North Korea is threatening war against anyone who criticises it for murdering 46 South Korean sailors.

Just to round it off the BA strike is back on.

Blimey! Anything else about to turn sour?

A Greek Tragedy and an English Vote.

As we come to the end of the British election campaign, matters in Greece have turned ugly. Greece is nigh on bankrupt and sliding towards anarchy. To maintain their position within the Euro zone they have to make massive cuts . Even our future cuts, that will be very bad, will not match those currently demanded of Greece.

There is a lesson here for us. Greece gave up its sovereignty too easily. It surrendered its national control over its currency and, like us has kow-towed to the Bureaucrats in Brussels. While things were good, the Greeks wafted along on a sea of debt. Now it has all turned sour. Today Germany is calling the shots. Greece does as it is told.

There but for the grace of God we go. I must admit that, several years ago I was of the opinion that joining the Euro was a good idea. How wrong I was.

When we go to vote tomorrow, we should all ask ourselves as to whether the people we are voting for will strive to keep us off the Greek road to ruin.

The European Union has just about cost the Greeks everything. It has also cost us dear.

As the SNP seems ultra Europhile, maybe the primary concern we should express with our vote should be for the sovereignty of (at least) England if not the whole of the UK.

Let us prevent the Greek tragedy becoming the English tragedy.

Examine the manifestos.
Who is really going to protect our sovereignty?

Watch out who you vote for.

John Redwood: On The Nail

Until now I have never really paid much attention to John Redwood.

But Blimey! The bloke has some breath-takingly incisive comment on his blog.

It is really good to see someone from high office who actually seems to understand the need to actually “make things” here in England.

As a couple of examples:

First off, take this post from last year on the banks versus manufacturing (particularly the motor industry). He asks why should we give huge subsidies to the banks and yet be effectively banned from any form of support for manufacturing? He points out subsidies are generally a bad thing-including banks.

The second post I highlight is a lament for the disinterest most of the political elite have for anything that involves producing goods. See here
[quote]
For all the fine politicians words about manufacturing, government often does not want industry.
[unquote]

And that really is hitting the nail squarely on the head.

He also gives the banks a good hammering in his recent posts.

Great stuff.

Interesting Times

On Channel 4 News the other night there was a discussion between three financiers regarding the Greek crisis. Two were issuing the usual soothing words about how all would be well with the world, and the Euro will weather the storm.

The other financier made the claim that in Germany, many people are closely examining their high value Euro Notes. Evidently you can identify the country of issue from the serial number.

The Germans are getting picky about whose notes they accept. If it has been issued by the Bundesbank then thats fine. If it has been issued by one of the PIIGs (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece) the notes are refused. The claim was shunned by the others and the discussion quickly moved onto less controversial ground.

You have to ask, how damaged is the Euro?

We live in interesting times:- In the true Chinese meaning of the phrase.