[phunel]

I second the parent's comments. I'm living in Greece at the moment (am actually on a ferry to the islands typing this right now) and the country, which of course has seen better days, is still humming along strongly. The cafes are packed, the hotels are booked, and people are living, I assure you, a spectacularly fortunate life. One of the primary disconnects is that the economy has traditionally been cash based, and to an extent still is. This means much of the money coming in and out of the country is not declared, making accurate statistics of the country's financial health difficult at best.

People are anxious and have been through a lot, no doubt, but the exaggeration by the media is extraordinary. Though, I have to admit, I don't blame the ship owners for repairing in other ports. The bureaucracy and union strikes are maddening drains on productivity.