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| Another day of greves.... Hey is that Sarkozy?? |
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| Boule anyone? |
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| Love that Clio!! |
We will do what most people in this area do and drop in on a chestnut festival in Ceriana, Italy, about an hour northeast from Nice and across the french-italian border. It seems like every small town in these parts of France and Italy has a chataigne festival at this time of year and we are told that they are a fun way to spend a day and sample chestnuts in ways one could never imagine. We shall see! At some point we will also make our way to Alba, the white tartufo (truffle) capital of the world (who knew that such a thing existed) which is holding the worlds largest and most widely attended white tartufo festival over the next 4 weeks. The pungent smell of the white truffle is a gastronomic delight that can fetch up to 4000 euro per kilo and Alba for some reason or other is where the most prized white truffle is to be found. Sounds like a tourist trap to me but what the heck - when in Rome...... White truffle risotto with a glass or two of locally produced Barolo or Barbaresco is reason enough to get into our Clio and head for the hills.
Sal
Sal, Re:Sarkozi's "courage." Aren't we all socialists now with the bailout to the global banks? .....Why should French Unions, senior citizens, people on welfare, students, etc have to pay for the failures and malfeasance of corrupt global financial institutions? At what point does the public good stop serving the interests of private profit?
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephen, while your comment is not without some merit and you raise fair questions, I'd suggest that the financial, social and structural problems here in France and throughout Europe are attributable to more than the banks and the past few years. There is a definite sense of unease among many that reliance on the public purse and the extent of social handouts are simply unsustainable. As an outsider, I am amazed at how many retired mid-50 year olds I meet who tell me that its only right that after working 30 years that they should now be able to retire. Who knows maybe they have a proper and balanced perspective on work but there is a palatable uneasiness among many young people starting their careers. Thanks for the comment and BTW is this Stephen Gallay, Chakowitz, Robinson or..... some Stephen I've not met. Just curious.
ReplyDeleteSal
Sal...I'm Sofia's dad...you know, the guy who retired at 43 and thinks the French are working too long....30 years, ugh....... The trillions and trillions given to global financial institutions(socialism for the rich) was all about "rescuing banks and the "wealthy." Yet, governments, individuals such as Sarkozy, and the media are trying to convince us that what ails France, Greece, Ireland, England, Iceland, America, Canada, Spain, Portugal, is all the fault of welfare queens, "generous" union benefits, public health care, social security, people who retire "early," and other costs to, as you say, the "pubic purse? " Oookay, but I don't buy it. Although, given your reply Sal, the media is having some considerable success in making the case with you that the public good is not only subordinate to private profit interests, but Sarkozy and other G-8/Euro leaders are right to enforce the interests of private profit by any means possible, to save the obviously corrupt and corrupting global financial system which created this fiasco. Many may call this capitalism, but from where I'm sittin' I'll simply refer to it by its proper name; theft. So, no way, the unions and the French people have it right. The public good has to be at some point protected over the interests of bank share/bond holders and private profits. Let the banks fail. Allow capitalism to work. Have the share/ bond holders take a bath first, while at the same time Governments take them over in a Chapter 11 GM style bankruptcy. Put in new management until such time as the restructured banks are ready for a new public offerings....but not one cent more, and one more dime from the public until the share/bond holders and current management are completely decimated and are made to pay for their monumental incompetence, arrogance and greed. ......Sarkozy is an idiot
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