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sarkozys magic


woody2122
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Here's the rub.

You can use said C word to denote stupidity/folly and it's not necessarily a huge deal.

Use the full form of the C word to describe someone and it is, apparently, a stronger insult.

The M word can be used for everything from 'break a leg' to 'oh s(ugar)....'.

You hear the P word used as a stronger form of M, but then again you can hear that slip out on any quiz show - you'd be hard pressed to hear a Brit say S(ugar) on a quiz show...

In English there are degrees of swearing denoted by the actual words used, in French it appears that context is key (though not always).

The use of tu between strangers is probably a prerequisite for any serious swearing, so immediately the context is affected and the words used take on a stronger meaning.

I asked the missus (French) about Sarko's riposte and she seemed more concerned about the 'pauvre C' part of things; she felt it was a way for Sarko to belittle his interlocutor almost on a class level: like he was calling him feeble and worthless in comparison to himself.

Again, this is coming from a woman well versed in English expletives and the subtlety of their usage and even she had trouble explaining why his comments were offensive in French. It was as if she wasn't quite sure herself.

Bizarre.

(edited hastily after the M word was auto asterixed: use your imagination!)

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Thank you Bones, that was most illuminating and I can relate to most of it.

My French is good enough now to defend my corner in some robust arguments, it's not that I necessarily want to swear but more to understand the degree of emotion of the other.

I started the other thread which has also helped me recognise some key differences, that the conjunction of two words that individually may be innocent has a much stronger meaning.

I can now see why "pauvre con" was reported to mean b*****d as I remembered that "sale con" meant "dirty b*****d"

Perhaps if he had said "degagez-vous con" it would have been a reasonable "go away fool" the Tu form and the addition of the "pauvre" seem to be what lifted it to be a real insult.

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Hang on, I start reading a thread about Sarkozy and end up reading a debate about wiping damaged paintings with exotic cloth??

To drag the debate back to UK property prices, there is one thing that many people do not notice. The property boom took off under Thatcher simply because she sold the Crown Jewels (utilities) and prompted the avalanche of Building Society sell outs. What this did was flood the market with liquid capital due to the huge profits that were being made by investors.

Next up, people were 'told' to invest in equities, which they did until 2001. The markets collapsed when 911 happened.

All of that cash had to go somewhere, the banks were awash with cash to lend, and they did. This fuelled the housing demand and in a country now ruled by a free market economy, prices rose.

In recent years Reality TV programmes have fuelled the Buy To Let, Renovation, and Luxury housing markets. They also fuelled the mad rush to France 5 years ago.

Usually the swing in investment goes between property and equities. When one rises the other drops and vice versa. The money movers switch their cash ahead of the event, that is how they make their profits. When the UK housing boom disappears, the Stock Market will rise again.

France is a different ball-game. The French prefer to rent so there is no ready supply of buyers, and they are not a nation of equity investors either. There is no see-saw to play on. Property has become sought after in France due to foreign investment, rather than home-grown. One agent has told me the UK buyers are getting wary of buying because the exchange rate is forcing them out of the market, however, the Irish are already Euro rich, and it is they who are now buying.

We can now throw the wholesale collapse of the dollar into the equation, and the effect that this will have on other currencies. The Euro will benefit as it is the currency of choice for the Middle East , as they are fully aware of the economic damage that they can do to the US by trading in Euro's rather than dollars.

Next up is China. It is now the world's top super power bar none, and looks set to continue that way. They have the potential to manufacture everything that the world needs within the next few years...so that leaves old empires like Europe and America with agriculture and finance on which to base their economies.

There are also plenty of 'dark forces' to be reckoned with, and previous comments about Bush, Blair, Cheney etc are well worth considering. You can throw Hallyburton, The Carlyle Group, the RC Church, The Royal Family and many others into that melting pot.

So, back to France. It has an agriculture based lifestyle. It could easily feed everyone in the country. It still has a manufacturing base (at least for a few years). However, it has what has been described as a 'totally unsustainable' taxation and benefits system. Sarkozy knows that, and he knows that unless he does something pretty drastic, pretty soon, then the country will be up to its eyeballs in debt in 5-20 years time. Then a recession will bite. Take my advice, reduce your debt and increase your savings. You will need it soon!

The optimum method is to pay off the UK mortgage and keep the property, buy a place in another country (France will do), then rent out the UK place and live in the other one. No matter what happens to the economy the rental income will provide inflation linked income, and you still have all of your capital.

I will now don my tin hat and head for the login screen.

Cheers

Rob G

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[quote user="Wibblywobbly"]

The optimum method is to pay off the UK mortgage and keep the property, buy a place in another country (France will do), then rent out the UK place and live in the other one. No matter what happens to the economy the rental income will provide inflation linked income, and you still have all of your capital.

I will now don my tin hat and head for the login screen.

Cheers

Rob G

[/quote]

Well I am in the position that you advocate but it does not seem as rosy as you portray.

Rental incomes have dropped progressively over the last few years so hardly inflation linked.

The sterling income used to live in France has dropped by 15% in just the last few months.

The second may well reverse somewhat but I am not betting on the first.

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Much to my surprise the Council of Mortgage Lenders this week reported that the amount of mortgages granted for buy to let properties continues to grow compared to other mortgages which are in decline.

Could I suggest J.R. that you either started to rent out when there were special circumstances driving up the cost of rentals in your particular area or you should be seriously talking to your letting agents.

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I read an article stating that the first repossessions will feature buy to let properties. Save your cash and buy them at auction!

"Next up is China. It is now the world's top super power bar none, and

looks set to continue that way. They have the potential to manufacture

everything that the world needs within the next few years...so that

leaves old empires like Europe and America with agriculture and finance

on which to base their economies."

Apparently the huge building industry (suburbs) in China is keeping commodities prices bouyant (oil, lumber, metal).

I also read that over the next twenty years Europe will be enduring a massive energy crisis and that we'll probably deal with it by binning the idea of manufacturing altogether. The huge increases in electricity bills will self regulate our home consumption.

Germany is relying on France's elecy from their nuclear power plants and the rest of Europe has no chance of catching up in time as building these things takes years.

The funniest part of the article was about the UK constructing a huge coal fired generator. The govt gave it the go ahead based upon new technology designed to deal with the associated pollution. They said, at the time, that there was no way of knowing exactly when this technology would appear, now they're saying that it probably won't appear, ever!

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