Bananas

This is crazy talk. If PAOK spends 500K on a player we expect him to be a superstar, and now we're talking about buying a player for 6 million. No way. As far as I know we've only every spent "serious" money (not including loans) on Lucas, Leovac and Cimirot.

True, it's almost an inherent part of the fiat money system, as is inflation. But what is the alternative ? A return to the gold standard! I'd rather stick with what we have now. Too many people think that when "money" was backed by one specific precious metal, that the economic landscape was more stable than today, and it was anything but. What is really needed is a way to get more money into more hands rather than the accumulation or concentration of money as has been happening in recent times. For some perverse reason, the Fed and commercial banks don't seem to understand this. Every economist with even half a brain has been saying for years now that the bail outs can't work. That Greece needs not just debt relief, but much much more importantly growth and investment. Even the IMF has been threatening that if Greece needs another bail out (which is likely) that they won't participate if it's the same old formula, because it just won't work. This isn't about good or bad anymore. It's not a morality play. It's about what will get the country kick started again. The EU formula has been tried for 5 years now and the results are there to see for everyone. I can assure you that if Germany or France were in a similar position the EU would not have sat so idly. This is what I mean by the small players have to play by the rules, but the big players can move the goal posts. Just like the U.S. did in the 70's when the Bretton Woods system and the gold standard was not working anymore for them, so they changed the rules!

Did you read Manolara's post before posting ? He is clearly stating that Greece is and has been a dysfunctional nation economically. They should never have received the loans they got. As to why the loans were given, we can only speculate. 1) The EU, IMF, ECB did not know this. In this case they are manifestly incompetent. 2) The EU, IMF, ECB knew this but were optimists. In this case they are manifestly unwise. 3) The EU, IMF, ECB knew this but gave the money knowing there was a good chance Greece would get into trouble. This then begs the question, why did they do it ? And that question has many possibilities. When you are a small player you have to play by the rules. But when you're a big player you can always move the goal posts. My understanding of Manolara's post is that ALL of the blame going onto Greece and its citizens is grossly unfair, as they are not 100% to blame. Now if we want to work out what percentage of the blame should be on the current Greek government, what percentage on previous Greek governments, what percentage on its citizens, what percentage on the EU, what percentage on the IMF, what percentage on the ECB ... that is another study in itself. As to "good" citizens in Australia paying their taxes, I can assure you they wouldn't be such good citizens if they could easily get away with not paying tax. They pay because they must. Because it's not easy in Australia for the average person to get away with not paying. Because if the ATO catch you out, they are relentless in collecting the due amount and are also very well staffed. P.S. I really hope the upcoming vote for Brexit leads to the UK leaving the EU. It's time the EU copped a good kick in the teeth.

His half time show at the Super Bowl was something else.

So basically Meli is a billionaire but has the spending power of this guy.

He should never have opened his mouth in the first place. If he sticks to his word, we start next season with -3. I'm sure Meli and Alafouzos will applaud such a move. If he doesn't, he looks like a tool and his reputation takes a hit. Either way we lose.

According to reputable media reports ... the invitation for Salpi was forgotten. The club tried to rectify the gaffe at the last minute, but Salpi was too upset.

Astounding. I thought Meli had ambitions and a couple of spare dollars in his back pocket.

David Lee Roth has been trying to expose this for decades, but alas, who was listening ? So many clues in the video, so many clues ...

Haven't you learnt yet that when you comment on games while they are being played that you are a jinx!

The real victim here is the NT. I don't want Grexit, but If it goes ahead, I will have no sympathy for the clubs. They are all responsible in their own way for the state of the GSL. They have all been selfish and never really tried to improve the league. Let's face it, the GSL is full of thugs and criminals. The EPO as well have pocketed money and have done zero to benefit football in Greece.

Is this not true of every politician ? I don't see anything unusual in this. I am sure there are many politicians with plans on how to get into office. I wonder if there are any with plans on what to do once in office. As to Lagarde's criticisms (probably justified) of the failure of previous Greek governments, I can only surmise that she is naive. She is basically asking politicians to implement policies that will make them extremely unpopular.

I love the little frown at the end.

Assuming the difference between us and AEK stays at 10 points, if we receive a -5 penalty, then it means we'll start 3 points behind AEK in the playoffs. Any reduction from the -5 and it will be 2 points. At least as far as I understand it.

Kraftwerk - some of the (wierd) grand daddies of electronic music. Oh those joyless Germans, lol. And one of the best electronic music songs ever made.

Surely you jest ? When you say both countries are preparing, I assume you mean Russia and Turkey ?

You are mistaken. No one was screaming anything from the trees. No need to get so emotive. The only one individual I was praising was Varoufakis and that was pre the referendum joke. I was for voting for Syriza, only because it was an alternative to the "establishment" and because I felt that with Syriza (and Varoufakis) we had a 0.01% chance of exiting the EZ (not EU), which I still believe is the only way Greece can move forward economically. ND/PASOK were 100% against EZ exit. They felt and still feel that Germany slowly strangling the economy and allowing the worst economic slump since the great depression is the best way forward. I couldn't care less about ND/PASOK/KKE/Syriza/GD. Let's be clear, I think they are all a bunch of thieves, bigots, liars and incompetents. I've said it before, if the EU/EZ dictates what you do economically, and dictates how you control your borders, then why even have a government ? Just close the Parliament and let the EU take full control, since this is effectively what we've had now since 2008.

1789's post was used out of context. There is nothing wrong with searching for clarification (which is essentially what he was asking for), especially where we know there are uncertainties concerning the specifics of this event. The search for truth is the noblest of goals. Problem arise when others misinterpret the search for accuracy as an attack on their belief system. There really is nothing to fear.

Russia is going to attack Turkey, defeat it and then hand over Constantinople to Greece ... as a present. I know people that firmly believe this. It's sad to think that their vote counts as much as mine.

Not really a fan of remixes. I thought this one was good though. I like the tortured intro.

He's done very well for himself. He's looks in great physical shape too. Too bad when he played for us he was always on the tubby side.

Taliban .... zzzzz.

Out of the designs there, #7. Good to see you have some taste Blackhawk. Overall, most of the designs are poor. #1 - what the hell is Berbatov doing there ? He's scored like maybe 2 goals from open play and all of a sudden he deserves to be amongst the PAOK legends. Ase mas, m*****es. #2 - looks amateur. #3 - seriously ? #4 - I'm a big fan of Subbuteo (still got the game in good condition) but not good enough. #5 - eh, not bad but not great either. #6 - I think I'm going to have an epileptic fit. #7 - best of the lot. #8 - seriously, cartoon eagle ? #9 - just no. #10 - actually don't mind this one, minus the picture of Koudas and Garcia. I like the style of the "90".

Of that, there is no doubt. Maybe some economists who extol the virtues of austerity are too stupid to realise. Maybe they are firm believers in the Austrian school of economics and were brought up on a diet of Ayn Rand literature. You would be surprised at how some trained economists believe the way the world "should" work.

Rigged ?