Dictatorships are nothing new to Greece, right?
"Economist selected to lead Greek unity government; Papademos vows to abide by terms of EU bailout plan" November 11, 2011|By Suzanne Daley, New York Times
ATHENS - Lucas Papademos, a respected economist and former vice president of the European Central Bank, was named yesterday to lead a new Greek unity government that has pledged to abide by the tough terms of a European aid package in the hopes of saving the country from bankruptcy....
Papademos, who has a low-key, avuncular manner, will have to move swiftly to reassure the European leaders there will be no repeat of the shock they suffered in October, when the former prime minister, George A. Papandreou, after negotiating a new $177 billion loan, decided without warning to submit the bailout package to a referendum.
Oh, so that is why Papandreou was chased.
The move infuriated the Europeans, who had concocted the bailout as part of a painstakingly negotiated broader effort to stabilize the euro. It also started the clock on the end of Papandreou’s tenure.
Papademos will have to deal with 2011 budget shortfalls and the passage of a 2012 budget that is expected to call for another round of austerity measures in a climate of growing social unrest.
He will also have to start what are expected to be difficult negotiations with private sector banks that have agreed, in principle, to write off 50 percent of the face value of their Greek bonds as part of the rescue plan.
Yes, GREEKS MUST SUFFER so the SAME BANKERS that STOLE FROM THEM and PUT THEM IN THIS MESS can GET PAID!
Related: Breaking News: Goldman Sachs Screwed Greece
Also see: Greek Budget in Good Shape
Were it not for the damn bankers.
As if to underscore the problems, the national statistics authority reported yesterday that unemployment had jumped to a record high 18.4 percent in August from 16.5 percent in July, a month when the tourist season normally lowers the rate.
Papademos almost did not get the job....
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"Greek economist likely to lead; Battle continues over makeup of a new Cabinet, November 09, 2011|By Suzanne Daley, New York Times
ATHENS - Lucas Papademos, a respected economist, seemed on the verge last night of being named Greece’s next prime minister....
By late afternoon, Greece seemed to face yet a new set of troubles as Antonis Samaras, the leader of the main opposition party New Democracy, balked at a demand by Eurogroup, the European Union’s group of finance ministers, that several top Greek leaders give a written commitment to the terms of an expanded bailout hammered out with Europe’s leaders last month....
His statement came just a few hours after Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told a Cabinet meeting that five top Greek officials were being asked to sign the letter - a demand made on Monday by the chief of Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker - reaffirming their commitment to Greece’s bailout deals and economic reforms before the next tranche of aid to Greece would be released.
Yeah, f*** your people (and you wonder why they are rioting in the streets?)!
The demand landed in the middle of byzantine negotiations that dragged on through yet another day. The choice of Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, came after more than two days of intense wrangling here and growing fear that Greece’s political class would be unable to stop feuding - and positioning themselves for the next elections - long enough to agree on a unity government.
In the through-the-looking-glass world of Greek politics, the argument was not over who could claim the Cabinet positions but who could avoid taking them, particularly the Finance Ministry.
Prime Minister George A. Papandreou, who will resign when the new government is formed, was repeatedly rebuffed when he offered positions in the new government, reports said, because nobody wanted to be associated with the unpopular measures Greece will be forced to impose to qualify for new loans from Europe....
Looks like EXTORTION to ME!
Greece’s new administration has a difficult road ahead. Its first job will be to secure the next tranche of aid, which had already been promised before Papandreou raised the notion of a referendum on a loan deal worked out with Europe’s leaders in October. That proposal set off a political storm that was, in the end, his undoing....
Translation: He PISSED OFF "INVESTORS!"
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"In Greece’s drama, a Bay State thread; Rivals were friends at Amherst" by Peter Schworm | Globe Staff, November 09, 2011
As the embattled Greek prime minister and the main opposition leader clashed over the country’s roiling debt crisis, the friends-turned-rivals could hardly be blamed if they recalled easier times from their college days in Massachusetts.
George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras were dorm mates in the early 1970s at Amherst College, where they bonded over their shared homeland and antipathy for its ruling military junta.
But an international economic one is okay?
The pair, who in Athens attended high school together, grew closer at Amherst, far from home. They became part of a close-knit contingent of Greek students who, over late-night chats, talked of political change, of a new day for their country.
“Their common ground was getting Greece free,’’ said Philip Tsiaras, who knew Papandreou and Samaras at Amherst.
Some four decades later, the two men are fierce political rivals at the heart of a high-stakes economic crisis that threatens to engulf Europe and throw the global economy into chaos....
Weren't we just here like three years ago? We were told back then all the bailouts worked and fixed things, blah, blah, blah. Those who didn't buy it were insulted and disparaged, yet here we are again!
The man who could replace Papandreou also has strong Massachusetts ties. Lucas Papademos, vice president of the European Central Bank from 2002 to 2010, is an MIT-trained economist and currently a visiting professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where this year he taught “The Global Financial Crisis: Policy Responses and Challenges.’’
The New World Order globalists have INSTALLED ONE of their OWN!
Martin Feldstein, a Harvard economist, described Papademos as a “sophisticated and very experienced economist who could put the Greek economy on a better path if the politicians will let him.’’
I can't think of a more damning endorsement!
Since the students’ time at Amherst, Greece has transitioned from a repressive military junta to the establishment of a republic and entry into the European Union. The Socialist party assumed power in 2009, but the country soon faced a financial reckoning caused by years of borrowing and excessive spending....
That was a junta the U.S. supported, and Greeks soon learned that political parties mean nothing. They all serve international finance and private central banks.
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"Greece still in turmoil amid battle over new government; Efforts at forming unity coalition lead to bitter fight" November 06, 2011|By Niki Kitsantonis and Rachel Donadio, New York Times
ATHENS - Hours after winning a crucial confidence vote that makes it more likely Greece will receive the foreign aid it needs to prevent a default on its debts, the country’s leaders appeared to be enmeshed once again in the type of domestic political wrangling that threw Europe and its markets into turmoil last week.
Prime Minister George Papandreou took the first steps yesterday to try to form a unity government with the opposition, a move he said was necessary to steer the country out of danger. But by late afternoon, the two sides seemed stuck in position, with the prime minister making no promises to leave power - a key demand of the opposition - and the top opposition leader reiterating his call for early elections and branding Papandreou “dangerous for the country.’’
It was impossible to determine whether the two sides were merely maneuvering ahead of a deal, trying to win the maximum concessions, or were headed for just the type of poisonous stalemate Europe has been dreading. In either case, the clash appeared to ensure more political uncertainty in the coming days, at a time when Europe can least afford it....
“The crisis has gotten to a point where it’s not just about Greece, it’s about the whole situation of overhung debt in Europe, of Italy and others which are more capable of bringing down the system,’’ said Ian Lesser, the executive director of the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels office.
Fears over Greece have already helped to compromise Italy’s position, leading its borrowing costs to rise to a high of 6.5 percent and forcing the country to accept the International Monetary Fund’s oversight of its austerity programs....
But as the dust settled, it was still unclear whether Papandreou’s referendum gamble was a brilliant strategy to hasten passage of the debt deal that is Europe’s best hope to create a firewall around Greece, or whether it achieved a short-term political gain while dooming the type of unity the government needs to push through unpopular austerity measures.
What was clear yesterday was that Papandreou was still attempting to steer the country to its next phase, even as his political capital appeared to have just about run out....
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"Prime minister of Greece wins confidence vote; Snap elections are avoided; he’s expected to step down" November 05, 2011|By Rachel Donadio, New York Times
ATHENS - Prime Minister George Papandreou of Greece survived a crucial confidence vote in the Greek Parliament early today, a vote that signaled Greek approval of the comprehensive deal reached by European leaders last week to stabilize the euro and help Greece avoid defaulting on its debt.
See why I'm getting sick of reading this shit day after day?
Papandreou pledged to form a unity government with a broader consensus, regardless of whether or not he would lead it. The moves ended a frenetic week that began with Papandreou’s surprise call for a referendum on Greece’s new debt agreement with the European Union, which threw financial markets into disarray and threatened to spread the contagion to Italy.
Yeah, right, it's the referendum's fault Italy is going to hell. Pfffft!
He was then forced to back away in a humiliating about-face and saw his domestic support crumble rapidly, even within his own party....
The bankers made him back down!
The result appeared to avert the risk of snap, or immediate, elections, which would have plunged Greece into political chaos.
It also moves the country closer to receiving the next installment of foreign aid that it needs to prevent a default.
But it did not fully resolve the continuing political drama....
I no longer care about diversionary dog shit, sorry.
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"Greek leader pushes ahead on referendum; Government teeters; world markets slump" November 02, 2011|By Derek Gatopoulos and Elena Becatoros, Associated Press
ATHENS - Greece’s prime minister held firm early today to his shocker of a decision to call for a referendum on a hard-fought European debt deal - despite anger from abroad, market turmoil across the world, and dissent within his own party.
George Papandreou’s government still faced a battle for survival, with a vote of confidence scheduled for Friday and a grilling from frustrated European leaders expected later in the day, ahead of a Group of 20 summit in the French Riviera....
He didn't.
Financial markets were hammered across the world after Papandreou’s surprise Monday night announcement. The fear was that the vote could unravel a deal that European leaders reached after months of complex negotiations among themselves and with banks....
European leaders have made no secret of their displeasure with the Greek leader.
“This announcement surprised all of Europe,’’ said a clearly annoyed President Nicolas Sarkozy of France. He has been scrambling to save face for Europe before he hosts leaders of the major world economies at the G20 summit later this week.
“Giving the people a say is always legitimate,’’ he said, “but....’’
But what?
A top European official warned that Athens could be left to go bankrupt if it went through with the vote and experts said the broader eurozone deal - which hopes to protect larger countries like Italy - could collapse.
Ultimately, analysts have said, Greece could leave the euro union, causing financial havoc and pushing the global economy back into recession.
That prospect could be enough to keep the referendum from happening. Papandreou’s government could collapse before the proposal goes through....
Hey, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, 'eh?
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And what say you, Greek people?
"Civil disobedience is new tack in Greek austerity protests" October 29, 2011|By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press
ATHENS - An antitax rebellion is gaining momentum in Greece, where the embattled government has announced wave after wave of new spending cuts and tax hikes urged on by international creditors horrified at the bleak financial figures coming out of Athens.
:-)
The government’s efforts to reduce the country’s debt burden and qualify for international bailout loans have come up against mounting resistance from a population suddenly squeezed hard between cuts to their salaries, pensions, and benefits on one hand, and rising costs on the other.
Now, even elected local officials are joining the fray in a seemingly random but increasingly prevalent wave of civil disobedience.
Meaning the ONLY PEOPLE who want those austerity measures are the "international creditors" and their political slaves.
Working on the theory of strength in numbers, authorities in the sizable Nea Ionia district of Athens are urging residents not to pay a much reviled new property tax being charged through electricity bills, in the hope of derailing the law.
What's next, a fee for using a debit card?
“Our constituents can’t pay, they don’t have the ability to,’’ said Nea Ionia mayor Iraklis Gotsis, whose municipality has a population of about 70,000 people. “We consider the new tax to be illegal. But in essence, the truth is our people just can’t pay.’’
So, the local council held town hall meetings, pondered going door-to-door with fliers, and this week posted instructions on its website on how to pay an electricity bill without handing over the new levy. A poster on the town hall’s front door bears the slogan: “We don’t owe. We don’t have any [money]. We won’t pay. Enough!’’
And Nea Ionia is not alone.
Groups of lawyers, trade unions, and campaigners have also tried to derail government efforts to collect new taxes, or to suspend tens of thousands of civil servants on partial pay.
State buildings have been occupied, municipalities have stalled in delivering emergency notices ordering strikers back to work, state enterprises have refused to hand over lists of employees eligible for suspension.
The backlash comes alongside strikes so frequent that everyone from garbage collectors to bakers, dentists to taxi drivers and air traffic controllers, have walked off the job at some point.
The Greeks are SHOWING YOU HOW IT'S DONE!
Since May 2010, Greece has been surviving on rescue loans from a $150 billion bailout package from the other 16 countries using the euro and the International Monetary Fund since it can’t afford to borrow money directly from markets.
The government has repeatedly urged for an end to the resistance.
It will end -- when YOU STOP SERVING BANKSTERS over your OWN PEOPLE!
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"Banks struggle to find agreement to trim Greece’s debt" October 23, 2011|By Gabriele Steinhauser, Associated Press
BRUSSELS - A top bank lobbyist insisted yesterday that banks and the eurozone are far from reaching a deal to cut Greece’s debt, despite claims by eurozone finance ministers that they will ask banks to take steeper losses on their Greek bonds.
Although the ministers did not say how much of a cut they are aiming for, a report from Greece’s international debt inspectors suggested that the value of Greece’s bonds may have to be slashed as much as 60 percent to get the country solvent enough to repay its debt.
The ministers yesterday sent their chief negotiator, Vittorio Grilli, to restart discussions with banks and other private investors on a new deal for Greece.
However, Charles Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance, who has been leading the negotiations for the banks, said an agreement remained elusive.
“We’re nowhere near a deal,’’ he said.
Because BANKS DON'T TAKE LOSSES! You get your TAXPAYERS to PAY UP!!
Banks in July agreed to accept losses of about 21 percent on their Greek bonds. However, eurozone leaders have since reopened the deal.
Greece’s international debt inspectors - the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund - say Greece’s economic situation has deteriorated dramatically since summer.
In a report Friday, the inspectors said that under the July deal, Greece would need an extra $347 billion in loans from the eurozone and the IMF - on top of the $152 billion it has been relying on to pay bills since May 2010.
But Dallara said new plans to slash Greece debt would still leave the country as “a ward of Europe’’ for years.
He declined to say how much in losses banks would accept, saying only “we would be open to an approach that involves additional efforts from everyone.’’
Dallara was in Brussels, where eurozone finance ministers have been meeting for two days of talks.
The eurozone has been working to reach a voluntary agreement with banks, rather than forcing losses onto the lenders, because that could avoid triggering billions of euros on payout for bond insurance and could destabilize markets even further. However, in recent weeks some officials have no longer insisted that the deal remain voluntary.
Yesterday, a European official said the EU was on track to agree to force banks to raise just over $140 billion to ensure they have enough cushion to weather further losses on their Greek bonds as well as market turmoil.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions the deal was supposed to be unveiled by EU leaders at their summit today.
“We have made real progress and have come to important decisions on strengthening European banks,’’ George Osborne, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, said as he left yesterday’s meeting. Osborne did not say what the decisions were.
Sounds hollow now, doesn't it?
Strengthening banks and slashing Greece’s debts are critical to solving Europe’s crisis, which is now threatening to engulf larger economies like Italy and Spain and is blamed for dampening growth across Europe and even the world.
The $140 billion figure is likely to disappoint some analysts, although it was above recent press reports. A report by the International Monetary Fund has called for up to $280 billion to be poured into banks.
When do we STOP pouring money into banks, huh?
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"Greece adopts more austerity plans as riot rages" October 21, 2011|By Derek Gatopoulos and Nicholas Paphitis, Associated Press
ATHENS - Ignoring two days of riots, Greek lawmakers passed a deeply resented austerity bill yesterday, meeting the demands of international creditors in order to avoid a national bankruptcy.
The 154 to 144 vote was expected to pave the way for an $11 billion bailout payment so Greece can stay solvent.
Tear gas choked central Athens as riot police intervened to separate rival demonstrators who fought with firebombs and stones, leaving one man dead and dozens injured. The violence erupted after hundreds of masked anarchist youths attacked a peaceful rally of about 50,000 people outside parliament. The Communist-backed union members counterattacked, and chaos ensued.
There are your CONTROLLED-OPPOSITION AGENT PROVOCATEURS!
Just mention GLADIO to any Greek and he will KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!
A 48-hour general strike had brought much of the country to a standstill....
Americans' next step.
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"Greeks riot after initial austerity vote" October 20, 2011|By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press
ATHENS - Hundreds of youths smashed and looted stores in central Athens and clashed with riot police during a massive antigovernment rally against painful austerity measures that won initial parliamentary approval in a vote last night.
The rioting came on the first day of a 48-hour nationwide general strike that brought services in much of Greece to a standstill, grounding flights for hours; leaving ferries tied up in port; and shutting down customs offices, stores, and banks.
More than 100,000 people took to the streets of the Greek capital to demonstrate against the austerity bill, which includes new tax hikes, further pension and salary cuts, and the suspension of collective labor contracts.
All because BANKERS that BROKE YOU DEMAND IT!
Creditors have demanded the measures before they give Greece more funds from a $152.11 billion package of bailout loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund....
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos insisted there was no choice but to accept the hardship.
“We have to explain to all these indignant people who see their lives changing that what the country is experiencing is not the worst stage of the crisis,’’ he said in Parliament. “It is an anguished and necessary effort to avoid the ultimate, deepest, and harshest level of the crisis.’’
Look at the ARROGANT SHIT TALKING DOWN TO YOU!
Hours before yesterday’s vote, one of Athens’s largest demonstrations in years degenerated into violence as youths pelted riot police outside Parliament with gasoline bombs and chunks of marble smashed from buildings, metro stops, and sidewalks.
Need I even type it?
Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Authorities said 50 police were injured in the clashes, along with at least three demonstrators, while 33 people were detained for questioning or arrested on charges of involvement in the rioting.
Long after yesterday’s demonstration was over, violence continued, with police fighting running street battles with youths setting up burning barricades along the back streets near Athens’s Syntagma Square and near the tourist area of Monastiraki.
The general strike is set to continue today, with all sectors - from dentists, doctors, and lawyers to taxi drivers, prison guards, teachers, and dock workers - staying off the job.
That is PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY except SCUM POLITICIANS!
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