4 ms·

It's part of their (and our Dutch) culture. Protestant / Calvinist. 'We were born in to sin and must work hard to reach paradise'. This is why the Greek bashing

It's part of their (and our Dutch) culture. Protestant / Calvinist. 'We were born in to sin and must work hard to reach paradise'. This is why the Greek bashing in the papers has been so effective. They were 'lazy, bureaucrats, and what not. (Southern country's are more laid back. Catholic faith has forgiveness and starting over as main themes.

mafribe 11y ago
Greek bashing? The Greek airforce has [1] 156 F-16s, an airplane that's $165 million a piece new. Why on earth does Greece, a NATO country need 156 F-16s? Could they easily be sold for a couple of billions on the second hard market? Nah perish the tought! Greece needs to be the largest importer of conventional weapons in Europe and its military spending must be the highest in the European Union (relative to G.D.P) [2]. Greece must be “by far” the country with the largest share of military personnel to population in the EU. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Hellenic_Air_Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Hellen... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Greece#Conscription.2C_budget.2C_international_operations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Greece#Conscriptio...
- digitalengineer 11y ago
  The military hardware was part of the deal. Bought from Germany and France in large parts...
  - mafribe 11y ago
    What are you talking about? Neither the German or the French airforce operate or did operate F-16s [1] to the best of my knowledge. The article [2] makes it sound like the planes were directly acquired from General Dynamics, the manufacturer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon_operators#Greece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting...
    - digitalengineer 11y ago
      (1) "Athens' fondness for weaponry, and willingness of Germany and France to feed it, under fire as Greece struggles with debt crisis" (2) (1) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/greece-military-spending-debt-crisis http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/greece-military... (2) The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink Greecehttp://www.lepointinternational.com/it/politica/europa/550-the-submarine-deals-that-helped-sink-greece-.html http://www.lepointinternational.com/it/politica/europa/550-t...
      - mafribe 11y ago
        Did you read the articles? Merkel's reaction was instant. "She immediately said: 'But we never asked you to spend so much of your GDP on defence, Quite. Don't by weapons if you don't need them and can't afford them. And nobody prevents Greece from selling a few of those sweet F-16s.

mafribe 11y ago

Greek bashing? The Greek airforce has [1] 156 F-16s, an airplane that's $165 million a piece new. Why on earth does Greece, a NATO country need 156 F-16s? Could they easily be sold for a couple of billions on the second hard market? Nah perish the tought! Greece needs to be the largest importer of conventional weapons in Europe and its military spending must be the highest in the European Union (relative to G.D.P) [2]. Greece must be “by far” the country with the largest share of military personnel to population in the EU. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Hellenic_Air_Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_of_the_Hellen... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Greece#Conscription.2C_budget.2C_international_operations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_Greece#Conscriptio...

digitalengineer 11y ago
The military hardware was part of the deal. Bought from Germany and France in large parts...
- mafribe 11y ago
  What are you talking about? Neither the German or the French airforce operate or did operate F-16s [1] to the best of my knowledge. The article [2] makes it sound like the planes were directly acquired from General Dynamics, the manufacturer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon_operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon_operators#Greece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting...
  - digitalengineer 11y ago
    (1) "Athens' fondness for weaponry, and willingness of Germany and France to feed it, under fire as Greece struggles with debt crisis" (2) (1) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/greece-military-spending-debt-crisis http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/19/greece-military... (2) The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink Greecehttp://www.lepointinternational.com/it/politica/europa/550-the-submarine-deals-that-helped-sink-greece-.html http://www.lepointinternational.com/it/politica/europa/550-t...
    - mafribe 11y ago
      Did you read the articles? Merkel's reaction was instant. "She immediately said: 'But we never asked you to spend so much of your GDP on defence, Quite. Don't by weapons if you don't need them and can't afford them. And nobody prevents Greece from selling a few of those sweet F-16s.