Wednesday February 15, 2012

grafton's past comments

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    grafton

    Madverts at 04:59 PM JST - 17th July

    “whilst many Brits here are going back to the UK, though for the life of me I can't imagine why.”

    I suspect the younger ones will be moving to France to get away from the other football shirt British while the older ones are those that live on pensions that were hit by the rate of exchange between the UK and Spain. If only they had had the sense to have some saving and hung on a little. There was a period of instability when the none Spanish residents got hit and hit hard, but that hasn’t lasted long. House prices will regain their value given time and with the Sterling Euro exchange rate improved in favour of the expats they could have managed. However like a lot of people that live in other counties they always blame that country and abandon it as soon as things look bad, loyalty doesn’t come with the purchase of a house and now will be back in the wonderful UK. How sad! NOT.

    “Heh, at least you can still drive fast in Spain....”

    You do know that it is the Guardia Civil that control the roads in Spain? Smile a lot and pay the fine. Though having said that I have to admit they are a lot nicer than those semi military police you have.

    There is an idea that some Spanish friends and I were talking about last week that maybe Spain allowed it self to be portrayed as being a bit on the economically fragile side so that it had more leeway with the big guys up North (mainly France and Germany). Like claiming to be sick so as to avoid having to do a job you don’t want to do. Things were getting out of hand here and needed to be sorted out, maybe you have seen that Sn. Ortis was arrested last week. Plus some serious politicians with him. Like the Japanese the Spanish are often seen as being foolish, yet they do always seem to come out well (for the Japanese and Spanish) in the end. Shouting about how strong you are isn’t always the best way to get what you want.

    Posted in: Debt crisis will strengthen Europe, French PM says

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    grafton

    I suspect that there is something missing from the above story because it would be normal to suspend a doctor during investigation. Yes even in Japan. So there has to be more to this that isn’t finding its way into the story. It is probable that his admissions and excuses relate to his last arrest. It is also strange that there doesn’t seem to be any information about how he was caught.

    Posted in: Doctor arrested for taking lewd photos of sisters during check-up

  • 0

    grafton

    Madverts at 06:34 PM JST - 16th July

    “They seem to have adopted a massive price hike on just about everything down your way as a means to revenue”

    If you were talking about 3 months ago I would have to agree with you, because there really was that feeling. I drove up from Barcelona to the Channel ports about then and felt the same as you when I crossed into France. Today however there seems to be a far more relaxed attitude, bankers and accountants (asesorias) that I know and work with are talking it all down, the danger, the fear has past. There was the semi open secret that the banks were hiding some serious debt but the Madrid government saw that off with it’s forcing of the Cajas to merge. Regional governments here have always found ways to hang on to their money so places like Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Almeria are doing just fine, if not more than fine. The Northern regions have not been so lucky, but when have they ever been? All that is perhaps why Spain usually does scrape through, it has it’s two secret weapons, the semi autonomous regions and the most incredible black economy of any country I have ever seen. And should you really be thinking of a move South, house prices are at an all time low, but I guarantee you that will not last, a year from now and prices will start up again. Of the PIGS Spain is a Wolf in Sheep clothing. I did want to sell up in Europe, and will do, but not for another year, maybe two.

    Triumvere at 01:23 AM JST - 17th July

    “The Euro is on the brink.”

    Wishful thinking on your part I suspect. If you had said Sterling however I would have agreed with you. That is an artificial construct built something along the line of a soap bubble.

    Posted in: Debt crisis will strengthen Europe, French PM says

  • 0

    grafton

    Yes the Euro (and Europe to some degree) does have a bad cold, but it isn’t dying and if it stops thinking of the (not so) almighty Dollar as a cure then it will get better sooner. Whatever the currency Greece would have either gone belly up or needed rescuing, their own lies and dishonesty did that, not the Euro. In fact being in the Euro is the only thing that has kept them afloat. Spain’s economy is far stronger than people want to believe, Portugal and Ireland would have got through without too much pain had Greece not put a spot light on all the EU block countries. Italy? Who would ever trust Italy in or out of the Euro? France and Germany simply have the power to get through even if it does hurt a little on the way. What needs to be avoided is any more shocks from across the Atlantic. The virus that destabilised all the world currencies is called “The Dollar”.

    Posted in: Debt crisis will strengthen Europe, French PM says

  • 0

    grafton

    They have got to be taking the wee wee!

    Posted in: Bowwow

  • 0

    grafton

    If Obama really wanted to put pressure on the wasted money he could as Spain as done and get public sector workers to take a 5% wage cut, a 5% they don’t get back until public sector spending is brought under control. No, he wouldn’t take that risk because he wants a second term in office, though in all likelihood he is going to be one of the few presidents that doesn’t get a second term.

    Posted in: Obama's hard choices for other people

  • 0

    grafton

    I’m not sure where but I have heard that some counties use a system that has a “white” vote that allows those that don’t agree with any of the parties on offer to more or less register a protest vote. If this were to be coupled with what koriyamaboy (at 12:10 PM JST - 13th July) wrote about forcing politicians to live up to their promises we would have a system that would bring both responsibility and right together. A “white” vote could in effect wipe out a whole election forcing some of the liars (sorry politicians) back to the drawing board.

    Posted in: Should voting in elections be compulsory?

  • 0

    grafton

    limboinjapan at 11:57 PM JST - 12th July

    “it is time to stop making excuses and placating Muslims and start demanding that the Muslim community and leaders make a real effort to come out and condemn these acts!”

    A simple and to most an obvious truth. Well said.

    Posted in: Bomb attacks in Uganda kill 64 watching World Cup final

  • 0

    grafton

    MistWizard at 10:18 PM JST - 12th July

    “ At least someone with a suicide belt has the courage to die.”

    Sorry, but you know perfectly well that this is simply not true. The people that go out with the bomb strapped to them are invariably indoctrinated to the point that courage has nothing at all to do with what they are thinking. This is like saying a rocket has courage. What we need to be looking at here are the people that send these bombers out. They are the cowardly manipulators that kill innocents and then send off emails to the press about how they are being forced to die in defence of some idea. Think about how many times we have seen in the press the whole biography of a suicide bomber after he (or she) has killed x number of people whose names we never get to know. Who dies as a bomber and who dies as a victim mean nothing to these people, they only care about how much publicity is generated. I have no feelings one way or the other about the actual bomber, if anything at all they are as much a victim as the people their bomb killed. But there is no courage in what they did.

    Posted in: Bomb attacks in Uganda kill 64 watching World Cup final

  • 0

    grafton

    MistWizard at 10:34 PM JST - 12th July

    Nessie at 10:45 PM JST - 12th July

    You two are really getting tied up on this one. Allow me to add a little extra confusion for you. Firstly I will tell you about something that happened in the UK sometime around the mid 60s I think. Sikhs were given permission to not wear crash helmets when riding their motorbikes, for religious reasons. Some people disliked this but generally it was accepted because it was for a religious reason. Now what we are seeing in France is that the veil is seen as a bad thing because it is a religious form of dress which is against the secular nature of the French state. If it were a cultural form of dress that would, it seems, be alright. But then wouldn’t it follow that if I were an armed robber I would for cultural reasons be entitled to wear my mask? I know, I am being deliberately silly here, but there is a crazy point in there.

    One thing that most seem not to be allowing for is that the veil probably does have a function in the counties that it comes from. As most women will tell you that have travelled in those counties women alone will be harassed by total strangers and maybe that is just a cultural thing for those counties. However we in the west would find such harassment totally out of order and as such it really isn’t very common. So, as an excuse by Muslim women that the veil is a protection it is only true in their home counties, not in Europe.

    Posted in: Survey: Europeans back Islamic veil ban, Americans opposed

  • 0

    grafton

    MistWizard at 10:25 PM JST - 12th July

    Sorry, no insult was intended. I just really couldn’t understand why you needed the adopted child bit, that seemed to add a confusion. I suspect that we would agree that what has happened in Uganda fits exactly into what we both see as a means to an end structure. What was once called the Marxist theory of revolution. The best working model of this would be Cuba where it went like clockwork. I do however have some doubts about how it will eventually work on a global scale, a country is one thing, but globally there are just so many variables. Sadly the press are going to simplify this to Ugandan troops in Somalia and then lose interest quickly moving on to some new outrage and not relate them as being part of a greater whole.

    “My explanation was dumbed down for what I think are obvious reasons. You gave a great example, but do you really think it will be understood?”

    You understood. Thank you. And don’t be so cruel, how will anybody ever learn if we don’t help? Though we might seldom agree on the help.

    Posted in: Bomb attacks in Uganda kill 64 watching World Cup final

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    grafton

    I am always curious about how Western cities (along with many in Islamic counties) will find their streets full of angry protesting Muslims when somebody publishes a cartoon of Muhammad or does something like try flushing a copy of the Koran down a toilet. Yet when people claiming to represent Islam do the most sick and outrageous things in the name of Islam we only ever hear a few muted disclaimers who always mange to make excuses for the killers at the same time as half heartedly denouncing them. Surely it is a far worse insult to Islam to kill innocent football supporters or torture to death a woman by throwing stones at her than publish a cartoon or the act of a single stupid soldier who put the Koran in the toilet? Why is it we never see Islam’s outrage at the misuse of their religion by these killers? Or are we to assume a tacit agreement exits in Islam for what is done in their name? What I want to see this week are the streets of many cities full of Muslims demanding that these Uganda killers stop using Islam as an excuse for their crimes. Can’t see it happening some how. So I will make my judgement of Islam by what the Muslins do as well as what they don’t do.

    Posted in: Bomb attacks in Uganda kill 64 watching World Cup final

  • 0

    grafton

    TumbleDry at 12:58 PM JST - 12th July

    “It's part of the plan. They want western societies to turn themselves against all Muslims to grow even bigger. Some westerners are just to happy to prove their rants.”

    samwatters at 03:28 PM JST - 12th July

    “This comment makes no sense.”

    Sorry Sam but it does, though Mistwizard’s Smith’s and Jones’ example goes off little too far off the subject to really help. Try imagining a small group of terrorists that don’t have much money or equipment, and very probably almost no access to the media so for the most part the people are not that interested in them. Normally the first target would be public transport so that the people are inconvenienced and the economy damaged. The police (and maybe the army) now need to fight back against the bombers and in so doing they become progressively more oppressive with each bombing which in time turns the people against not the bombers that started all this but the authorities who have no choice but to cause the people daily pressure. By trying to counter the bombers the authorities have pushed the people into the arms of the terrorists. This is the primary reason that Western countries have tried so hard to avoid racial profiling at places like airports. The sheeple are for the most part simple and perhaps a little stupid and innocent Muslim travellers being treated “badly” at Western airports would get reported as racism in the press which would feed antagonism toward the West. Which is exactly what the terrorists want. It’s a bit like sending cargo ships full of do gooders into a dangerous place where they might get hurt and then saying “look what those bad people did to these nice do gooders”. The simple minded gullible will always fall for this sort of trap. If things are planned well they shouldn’t clash with other major news stories such as the world cup, news of which might swamp the news of the bombing or embargo busting ship. The ultimate idea is to turn the protector into the oppressor in the eyes of the simple minded. Granted it does help when the press help with this by ignoring the human rights of those that are blown up by the terrorist and only promote the “claimed” grievances and human rights of the terrorists.

    The idea behind the Ugandan bombing is to turn the Ugandan people against the Ugandan government sending peace keeping forces into Somalia and if it works the crazies in Somalia with have that much more of a free hand once the Ugandan peace keeping troops are pulled out.

    So, perhaps not the totally pointless killing that many might see it being.

    Posted in: Bomb attacks in Uganda kill 64 watching World Cup final

  • 0

    grafton

    Islandview

    “Netherlands players have nice hair cuts. They should win.”

    I take it from your in depth analysis of the coming match that your favoured team didn’t qualify for the world cup?

    The Spanish national colours are by the way red and yellow, the same as the national flag.

    Spain will win. No, no deep analysis just stating a simple fact.

    “Is it HOLLAND or NETHERLANDS that is playing against SPAIN?”

    Neither, it’s Paises Bajos. But then different counties do tend to give other counties different names don’t they? English not being the only language in the world.

    Posted in: Who will win the World Cup on Sunday?

  • 0

    grafton

    One of the beneficial side effects to this book will be that I will be able to find restaurants that are not full of other people’s noisy kids. I just hate this melodramatic and emotive rubbish people come up with about their children. If the none smokers take this book as a warning of where not to go that leaves people who want to smoke free to do so without having some nanny like creature telling us about how we are harming their child. The result of my pleasure might be an early grave, but then might the same not be said of their pleasure? They are your children, you be responsible and protect them. Take them where I can’t harm them, please.

    Posted in: Guidebook of Tokyo restaurants where you’re allowed to smoke

  • 0

    grafton

    MistWizard at 06:18 PM JST - 8th July

    “Mistwizard is half right, for many this is a negative reaction to Islam and because of legal safeguards in Europe Muslims have protections in place that mean the only way that a country can defend it’s own culture against Islam is by legal trickery like this. Many people in Europe want an end to this creeping Islamic “culture” that is spreading through many European cites. But because of race laws they are gagged and cannot say what they really feel,”

    “you are proving my assertion that this not about headscarves but rather about worry over Islam”

    I think you will find that is what I originally wrote. But I will simplify it and say that European law makes it extremely difficult to be critical of Islam, so the only way around this is to undermine what can be attacked without being accused of being “racist” or being anti Muslim. Where did my human right to free speech go when Islam highjacked European law to defend what I see as the indefensible?

    For me a right to free speech is far more important that a right to believe in and practice a religion that is backward and oppressive and is encroaching on values that should never be encroached on. You fail to defend my right to free speech while defending the rights Muslims to deny me my rights. Your posts prove that you are not a foolish person so I am left with the feeling that you would argue with yourself if nobody else posted on a thread. You know what is happening in Europe and yet look for ways to defend those that are instigating that. In an ideal world none of what we are talking about would matter, but this is not an ideal world and many of the people you defend are a million times more “anti” me (and you) than I could ever be. No, not all Muslims fall into category but let me ask you why a woman is about to be stoned to death in Iran for adultery and not a single moderate Muslim voice has been raised against this while the out cry among none Muslims is coming from all corners of the globe? There is a quote that I only half remember about while good men remain silent evil wins. I am sure you know it better than I. Now tell me why I should feel anything positive for such a silent and or barbaric religion?

    Posted in: French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

  • 0

    grafton

    Madverts at 08:45 AM JST - 8th July

    Sorry for the rant, though it does say what I think. Not at all interested in football but had been “enjoying” a night out with Spanish friends so wasn’t perhaps as sober as I maybe should have been. It was a good night…….. I do think that things are changing in Europe in respect to how much the Muslim radicals are getting away with, Britain’s Labour government gave them a near free hand and in itself that has created an amazing backlash in the UK alone, but a stand does seem to be being made, sadly maybe too little too late. Like you I may also be voting with my feet if things don’t get better, though selling property in Spain and the UK at this time might not be either that easy or that profitable, we will see. Thank you for you comments.

    Posted in: French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

  • 0

    grafton

    Madverts at 01:46 AM JST - 8th July

    “And football....sorry, "soccer" shirts on every Brit abroad?”

    Yes, please a law that is really hard and cruel and in Spain as well as France. Perhaps especially in Spain.

    “Either you live in Europe or you're well read, Grafton.”

    Yes, no, both. Well read? Perhaps, I hope. I come to Spain every July and August if it is at all possible and have just come up from the bar downstairs (it’s nice having a bar in your apartment block) where I have been watching Spain beat Germany, I hate football but the Spanish are beautifully mad, especially tonight.

    Over the years we use being in Spain as a means of travelling around Europe, London for a few weeks, Prague, Paris, Barcelona, even Madrid if there is a good enough reason. Coming back to visit places we have known over the years we see changes that maybe the locals don’t see because the changes have been gradual, be that here or in England. Add to that friends telling us how things have gone bad and some of those friends are Muslims. I am not the monster that I sometimes make myself out to be, that’s done to “entertain” Mistwizard and Sabi the resident Islamic apologists. Europe is changing, Switzerland took a stand, then Belgium, now France. The Nederland’s is simply a place not to go to any more (well I am older and married so …..).

    When it was simply skinheaded yobs it was possible to ignore what was happening, but now real intelligent people are taking up strong hard line positions and even to small degree governments are making a stand, albeit little stands. Some of the post we read here are from people who left their home land to work in Japan and believe that makes them seasoned travellers when in fact they have no idea. Europe is facing an abyss and pretending that Islam isn’t the fuse that will ignite the fire here is childish. Idealism is simply not going to stop the fanatics pushing and pushing. London was my home, but it has changed into a place I don’t want to go back to.

    Posted in: French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

  • 0

    grafton

    Mistwizard, as you know I always try my best to help wherever I can. Below is a quote from the above article that you obviously didn’t read very well. Now you will have to recalculate and it will be to your advantage. Don’t you just hate getting it wrong? By the way the subject here is about Muslims so that is what I wrote about, but had it been the Catholics I would have been just as negative and treated them as a monolithic group as well, I am not a bigot, I detest all religions.

    “Yet the planned law would be a turning point for Islam in a country with a Muslim population of at least 5 million people, the largest in western Europe.”

    The real difficulty that is faced here is that Islam as a religion is bonded to a culture, no other religion is so closely linked to a culture that it feels the need to carry that culture with it where ever it settles in the world. This is the reason that Muslims find it so hard to integrate into the counties they settle in. They bring with them both barriers and hostilities that make it impossible for them to integrate while demanding protections that no Muslim country would reciprocate. If I live in another country then I accept the laws of that country I do not try to demand exceptions because things are done differently in my country. There is a resentment growing in Europe against Muslims because of their own behaviour. It can only lead to violence and it will. That is not my paranoia, that is just how Europe is today. And Mistwizard I do know that there different types of Muslim, the same way Muslims know that there are different types of American and British and…….

    Posted in: French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

  • 0

    grafton

    Mistwizard is half right, for many this is a negative reaction to Islam and because of legal safeguards in Europe Muslims have protections in place that mean the only way that a country can defend it’s own culture against Islam is by legal trickery like this. Many people in Europe want an end to this creeping Islamic “culture” that is spreading through many European cites. But because of race laws they are gagged and cannot say what they really feel, what they should have a right to be able to say.

    Islamic counties have retained the right to rule as they wish without accusations of being racist while Western counties have hamstrung themselves with laws that protect the freedoms of people that do not themselves believe in freedom. One of the extreme contradictions that show up in this is the European Left’s defence of Islam, a religion that abhors almost everything that the Left stands for. Muslim women are chattels not people, everything the feminists have fought against. Current European laws are protecting Islamic oppression and there can’t be anything more contradictory than that.

    If Islam wishes to maintain and protect both it’s religion and it’s culture then it must realise that the same is true of other religions and cultures. They cannot demand rights for themselves that they are not willing to see others have. But that is what they do. My own view is that any belief in mythical beings is a mental aberration that human kind simply doesn’t need and the idea that a religious ideology can demand rights in a society that put them outside that society is insanity. Islam is an alien religion to Europe and as such its growth is a cancer that is harmful and will eventually lead to social unrest and violence. The majority do not want it but cannot say that openly because of laws that protect it. Remove those laws and Mistwizard would see what people really believe said openly. Though it would not be what he wants to see.

    Posted in: French parliament debates ban on burqa-style veils

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