john g.

Embarrassing, surely, that the UN General Assembly was mostly empty regardless of who was speaking?

Democracy is when even this absolute arsehole was allowed to continue breathing for even a day after incarceration. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-41345128   Maybe scientists will something worthwhile in his brain one day. Otherwise, good riddance and , yes, democracy is uncomfortable. It is..different opinions, different emotions..all within the concept of living together and hoping for a better solution.  So, in the spirit of democracy, fuck off, arsehole, and I hope you rot in Hell.

..and at a really local area, Rajesh..jeez. In our village here, there are three tavernas next to each other. Do they cooperate? Do they hell? The owners all greet you but stop it if you choose to sit at taverna A instead of B or C. The next evening, you go to taverna B and the taverna A guy from the previous evening stops greeting you.   We asked taverna D from the beach area if this Futterneid is changing amongst younger Greeks and he said: " No ". Money is tight, I suppose...every customer helps ..but if they cooperated more (in my opinion ) to make the whole street more attractive, they´d all earn more..but no...that would require cooperation..sigh ( and would require making more of an effort... ).  

Gentlemen: " stoned " is the word ..NOT " stunned "... You can´t get the staff!!!

Yes, lisa! Language is ALWAYS a big deal. Same everywhere. You get a lot of smiles/laughs/pats on the back here on Crete, for example (but everywhere else I´ve been in my life ) if you give your best re a language nobody expects you to speak.   Yesterday, at our local taverna, which has a play area for children and " a blow up castle ", I asked Girogos, the owner´s son, how to say castle in Greek and he said " castro ". I answered " not Fidel? ". He laughed. Then I said, ok," my home is my castle "... " is that: to spiti mou eivai to castro mou ?", and he said " yes, great! ).   I turned to my German partner, Nicole, and asked her: " how do you say that in German?". " We say it in English ..my home is my castle ! "      

H, language is always a sensitive issue, EI...Wales, Ireland , also Scotland (Scots Gaelic ..though not an offical language of the UK ) are nations with more than one language and many there don´t/wouldn´t like the idea of a sole official language. I fully understand that. Definitely a political potato historically speaking in those nations...   I don´t really have a strong opinion re Catalonia one way or the other---anecdotal from me, though (), I have long had family ties to the relatively poor Extremadura region of Spain and many there think the Catalans are rich and arrogant and just want to forget the poorer parts of Spain.

  I don´t know if the wording on the red sign is deliberate black humour but it made me smile. Wishing the islanders well, of course, in their recovery from the storms. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41344586

Hello green-eyes! Does your sister have a website? That would make her services more attractive and credible! Is she allowed to offer insurance advice and sales? If not, she´s treading on dangerous ground.   https://www.bafin.de/DE/Verbraucher/Versicherung/Vermittlung/vermittlung_node.html

And its advantages, katheliz! I´m happy cos it´s my daughter´s birthday today and she´s out to dinner with friends in Ireland and has at the same time successfully been awarded a three trip  to Egypt (not related to her birthday! ) to co-run a seminar for her company. She was the " best " of ten candidates...proud, proud...

Come to Greece, EI! It´s more than anecdotes. I don´t believe in collective guilt at all but the general way of life/thinking is: somebody else should sort out my problems. Especially some idiotic foreigner - that starts with people throwing cats and dogs over your fence without a word - YOU idiotic foreigner sort it out. Don´t believe me? So, come to Greece.

Basically, the only use I have of a sledge hammer is to open a bottle of beer. Modern bottle openers are too complicated!

I can´t lift it, Luke!

I managed to carry a heavy and very big (well, biggish ) ceramic flower pot 100 yards to the nearest rubbish container without getting a hernia! You may mock away!!! I´m proud of my old bones and muscles (well, the bones ..!!)...   PS: after a rest of 12 hours or so, I will carry the small one to the rubbish place tomorrow!!!

Cooking yourself at home? That sounds painful, Leon!

Here you go, Answer! https://www.krankenkassenzentrale.de/zusatzbeitrag#