Posted on 08/20/2011 3:19:53 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
‘Finland puts bomb under EU bailout plans’, headlines De Volkskrant, reporting on Finland's demand that Greece put up collateral against Helsinki's participation in the Greek bailout. According to the Dutch newspaper, the two countries have now struck a deal, and four others – Austria, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia – are now demanding similar guarantees, leading to fears for the stability of the July 21 agreement to save Greece.
In the Netherlands several MPs have already asked the finance minister to take action. De Volkskrant says it is unclear what Greece could offer as collateral to Finland. Probably not islands or railroads: more likely a cash payment of €0.5bn-1bn. Because Greece has no money of its own, the paper fears that the deposit will have to come from the European fund.
Collateral is in order. I would suggest the Elgin Marbles. They are ancient perfection and of immense, imeasurable valuec
Proving once again that the whole bailout is impossible. If everyone’s broke, they can’t bail each other out except in a big check-kiting scheme.
I'd bet they'd give the Greeks an island of comparable size somewhere in the Gulf of Bothnia ~ any time!
Demanding collateral is smart, but the problem is that other than Ouzo, Greece doesn’t produce anything, and has nothing in the entire Country that is worth what these loans cost.
And what will our creditors require of us?
Perhaps the Parthenon instead. Of the Greeks default the Finns pack it up and move it to Helsinki.
-——Unfortunately the Elgin Marbles are in the British Museum.——
Which is why they make great Greek Collateral. On default the creditors will have to make the Brits cough them up
The Finns are blockheads but my Dad told me that they were the ONLY country to pay back their loans to our country following the 2nd World War and had his respect.
Other than sunburns and skin cancer, the Finns would jump at the deal. The Greeks would freeze to death the first winter and would no longer be a problem.
I saw they’ve got a new guaranteed cure sort of treatment for skin melanoma ~ just in time for some serious negotiations with the Finns.
It's only called that when the little people do it. When corporations or governments do it, it's called "finance."
Greece has lots of land that could be valuable, if inhabited exclusively by people who wanted to work. Take some islands, move the Greeks off, and make the islands forever-more Finn territory. Move a bunch of Finns with rifles there.
What about those notorious Finnish gals who go to Greece for the Greek Experience?
>> The Finns are blockheads <<
So that’s why they were so successful in fighting the Russians to a standstill during the Winter War?
They can just as easily check out nearby Turkey for the “Turkish Experience”.
Where’s the European fund getting the money? American taxpayers?
For that matter, much of the ancient marble architecture and statuary that remains in Greece is reportedly deteriorated horribly from the effects of local air pollution, poor maintenance, and indifferent stewardship.
*Apparently, Greeks don't like to hear these national treasures referred to as “Elgin” marbles and prefer the term “Parthenon Marbles”.
Yes. If they had any sense, they would have given in on the front end rather than fight a loosing war and having the same result as the Reds originally sought.
>> rather than fight a loosing war <<
Uh, sorry pal, but you need to brush up on your history. The Finns didn’t lose the Winter War. They inflicted huge losses on the Russkis and basically achieved a stalemate.
The result was that Finland thwarted the Soviet plan to take over their entire country. I’d say that was quite an admirable accomplishment for a country of about 4 million, going up against the USSR’s 100+ million.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.