Greece scraped together enough funds to avoid a domestic default on Friday, as the near-bankrupt government bought itself vital breathing space before a crucial series of international obligations are due next month.
Athens successfully paid out half of its monthly public sector wage, pension and social security bill, according to the Greek ministry of finance. The obligations are thought to be around €500bn.
I don’t think that public sector wagews and pensions are twice annual GDP every two weeks. Somehow I really just don’t.
€500 mln I would believe.
Is this the same kind of math that allowed the US to win the Vietnam War by killing the entire population of S. Vietnam 5 times?
They probably do mean 500 billion. 500 million go to pay the civil servants. The rest is moved into a series of Swiss bank accounts under the name of Tsipras’ wife’s cousins.
Aryeh Friedman – “Is this the same kind of math that allowed the US to win the Vietnam War by killing the entire population of S. Vietnam 5 times?”
As trolling goes, you are not getting better. Why would anyone on a mainly British website care about your little troll?
What you need to do is claim that the Spitfire was grossly over hyped and the Hurricane was a much better plane. Or better yet, that allowing lifting in the line-out really improves the game. You know, fighting words.
Lifting in the line out *has* improved the game.
Bad subbing is all it is. Last sentence of the second par should be at the end of the first.
Lifting in the line out has reduced violence in rugby, unfortunately. I’m an old codger now but back in the 70s/80s when I was propping up the scrum I used to look forward to the line out. No heavy second row to lift up to shoulder height and a chance to swing a haymaker at the obnoxious bastard opposite. Happy days – ruined forever by progressive milksops.
The US did win in Vietnam, right up to the point the democratic controlled congress voted for every South Vietnamese soldier to be equipped with 20 rounds and a hand grenade, and the US would pull out.
But to get to more relevant matters, @Interested and @SMFS; the restoration of lifting in lineouts has improved the game.
@Weetabix
There’s still plenty of thuggery (of which I personally approve, to a point) in the amateur game.
It wasn’t lifting which took away thuggery in the pro game but TV cameras and the ludicrous notion that fans don’t want to see the odd fight, or that mums wouldn’t want their kids playing.
The point is, lifting allows more options – front, middle or back – to be executed better and allows the ball to be got away quicker.
If you really want to hurt people you can still do it legally – ask M. Plisson.
I don’t know anyone who seriously things rugby was a better game in the 1970s – allowing that there were great individuals and teams as there always are – than today (though I accept professionalism and better drainage are big factors).
“The US did win in Vietnam, right up to the point …” when it lost.
“I accept … better drainage [is a] big factor”: you bet. I had never played either rugby or football on a properly drained pitch until the first time I played on the stadium pitch at Murrayfield. It even made me feel more intelligent, as well as faster, fitter, stronger, nimbler, better co-ordinated ….. Bliss it was.
How do the pitches at the modern grounds cope with the huge stands blocking out so much sunlight? Special varieties of grass?
Glen D
Yes special varieties, but this is an inexact science. Twickenham is lucky, but Stade de France and Millenium import turf for their matches, usually too late so the turf cuts up, they have higher ranks of seating, so a better viewer experience but a worse amount of natural daylight to bed down the imported grass. Floodlights tend to promote greenery when what the groundsman wants is roots.
Usually even in Scotland you get dry pitches by May, so I don’t know what the others are on about. December for props, May for taking the piss out of them.
There’s a book on amazon, look for “grass”. Under books, obvs
On the subject of stadium pitches, I was interested to hear the other day that Real Madrid’s head groundsman is an Englishman. Good job, that.
Spitfire, Hurricane, all very well; the Mossie was the war winner…
I quite enjoy lineout lifting – it needs a decent combination of teamwrk/co-ordination and physical strength, the 2 key factors in my enjoyment of the game.