Just another piece of the posting puzzle:
"Greek premier moves forward with call to speed up presidential elections" by Suzanne Daley, New York Times December 10, 2014
As if we really cared about rigged elections between selected slaves of elites anymore.
In deciding this week to accelerate the selection of a new president, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of Greece has sent the country hurtling toward a fateful decision: whether to ratify his grip on power or open the door to a fundamental rethinking of the austerity policies that have defined life in the economically depressed nation for five years.
What that means is they want to get the elections over now, claim a mandate, and then go back to $erving the bankers and themselves.
Samaras’ call for the parliament to elect a new president — a largely ceremonial post — amounts to seeking a vote of confidence in his center-right government that will play out between now and the end of the year. If it succeeds, he will retain the backing he needs to continue working with the lenders that have helped keep Greece afloat, and do so before having to negotiate further budget cutbacks.
I know it's the new York Times, but the propaganda pre$$ is such a banker's mouthpiece.
I know that is who the paper is of and for, but it's so obvious when the NYT writes that it's the lenders that put Greece in the hole with rotten deals (that enriched themselves, of course) are the ones who have kept it afloat (by piling even more debt upon them!).
If it fails, it could trigger national elections early next year, giving the left-wing Syriza opposition party, which at this point is leading in the polls, a chance to take over and make good on its promises to steer Greece away from austerity.
They won the last time, but the results were rigged and afterwards the center-right and $ociali$t-left formed a coalition government -- the center-right in office because the former $ociali$t regime was outed as a $ervant of those $ame old intere$ts.
Sorry, but that's the truth about recent Greek elections -- and the Globe hasn't even covered Greece that much. Most of my paper is filled with Islamic terrorists when it comes to the World Section.
The maneuvering elicited a spasm of anxiety from the financial markets and watchful concern from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank, which together have negotiated the terms of Greece’s bailout and domestic economic policies since the financial crisis erupted in 2010.
What was I saying about ma$$ media mouthpieces again?
In moving up the vote for a Greek president, Samaras is gambling that an earlier election will help him secure the 180 parliamentary votes, out of 300 seats, he needs to hold on to power for another year and a half.
Before the $hit hits the fan, $o to $peak.
His announcement late Monday came just hours after eurozone ministers approved a two-month extension on the current Greek bailout program, allowing Samaras to seek the votes he needs for the presidency ahead of any new, no doubt painful agreement with Greece’s creditors.
Like I said, a rigging in the offing like in Scotland, Spain, and anywhere else you find an election.
The selection of the new president had originally been anticipated to take place in February.
In announcing his decision, Samaras said the aim of the election was to restore political stability.
That means $ati$fying the IMF, EU, and ECB.
But Samaras’ decision rattled the Athens stock market, which closed down 12.78 percent, the biggest plunge since 1987. Bank shares were down 16.6 and 10-year bond yields rose above 8 percent, a level that effectively blocks Greece from raising money in the markets.
The economic PTB didn't like it!
Under the Greek constitution, if the parliament cannot choose a president after three rounds of voting and at least a three-fifths majority, then it must be dissolved and a new general election held. Right now, most analysts believe that Samaras is short about 25 votes of the 180 votes necessary in the third round.
“The advantage to holding the decision now is that he does not have to agree to further austerity measures which will hurt his popularity further and would make it that much harder for anyone to cross the divide and vote with him,” said Nick Malkoutzis, the founder and editor of MacroPolis, the political analysis website.
Does voting in rigged elections mean anything?
But Malkoutzis and many other analysts said it would still be difficult for Samaras, who is holding on to a thin majority in parliament. The prime minister nominated Stavros Dimas for the job, a 73-year-old former member of the European Commission and fellow conservative.
Some analysts speculated that Samaras would not have made his move if he did not have the votes. But others thought they were simply watching desperation.
And yet it was the lead in my World section that day?
If a new general election is held, polls suggest that Samaras’ party, New Democracy, would come in behind Syriza, though many pollsters say that there are still a large number of undecided voters.
The head of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, has the political advantage of having had no part in the bailout agreements that have forced the government to raise taxes, cut pensions, and lay off thousands of workers.
But he has said repeatedly that he wants to break from austerity policies and restructure the government’s huge debt burden, which stands at 174 percent of gross domestic product.
I say eliminate the debt entirely. Let the banks take the lo$$ for once. Greek people had nothing to do with it anyway; was their $hit government, be they "left" or "right."
--more--"
Now about that budget:
"Greek Parliament passes 2015 budget
Greece’s Parliament passed the 2015 budget which projects a narrowing deficit and an economic growth rate of 2.9 percent. The budget passed early Monday on a vote of 155 to 134, with one deputy voting ‘‘present.’’ The budget’s approval, coming at the end of a five-day debate, was expected. One independent lawmaker, formerly of the Democratic Left party, joined members of the government coalition in supporting the budget. The budget forecasts that the Greek economy will grow at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2015. The budget projects Greece’s primary surplus — which excludes interest payments on outstanding debt — will be 3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, but Greece’s creditors anticipate a lower surplus. The budget sees the deficit narrowing to 0.2 percent of GDP next year, down from 1.3 percent this year."
What will cost them money:
"Greek Navy aids disabled ship carrying hundreds of migrants" New York Times November 27, 2014
ATHENS — Mounting its biggest and riskiest sea rescue in years, the Greek navy towed a disabled freighter with hundreds of migrants aboard toward the Aegean island of Crete on Wednesday, fighting strong winds and high seas, officials said.
The 250-foot-long ship, the Baris, sent a distress signal Tuesday when its engine broke down, according to a spokeswoman for the Greek Merchant Marine Ministry, who spoke on condition of anonymity under government rules. She said 500 to 700 people were believed to be on the ship,
“This is not a simple operation,” the spokeswoman said. “It is the first time such a large vessel with so many people aboard has run into problems in Greek waters.”
Hundreds of migrants a week, many of them from war-ravaged countries like Syria and Afghanistan, try by land or sea to slip illegally into Greece, one of the closest European Union member states to the Middle East.
They are war-mongering Obama's immigrants, he owns them in my mind.
Related: Migrant boat sinks off Turkey; 24 dead, 6 rescued
As someone said, what the hell?
The Baris is registered in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati but is managed by a Turkish company, according to the Equasis marine database.
That explains the above, I gue$$.
A Greek navy frigate took the Baris in tow Tuesday and the vessels were expected to arrive Thursday in Ierapetra.
Aid workers and local officials in Ierapetra were scrambling to collect blankets, mattresses, and food for the migrants, who will initially be taken to a basketball arena in the city.
Concerns have been mounting in Europe over the perilous illegal sea crossings attempted by of migrants, and the strained ability of countries like Greece and Italy to cope with them.
As the wars turn.....
--more--"
They keep coming:
"For 600 migrants, harrowing sail ends in Greece" by Nicholas Paphitis, Associated Press November 28, 2014
IERAPETRA, Greece — Hour after hour, the coast guard boats shuttled from the crippled freighter to a concrete pier, discharging a steady flow of humanity: Families with young children, black-clad elderly women, fatigued teenagers with backpacks.
For nearly 600 migrants, most of them fleeing conflict in Syria for Europe, the harrowing journey on a smuggling ship that broke down in gale-force winds ended Thursday in the southern town of Ierapetra on the Greek island of Crete.
Are they sure there are not any lone-wolf terrorist sleepers or cells in there?
The Baris cargo ship lost engine power Tuesday in international waters, and limped into Ierapetra at sunrise after being slowly towed for 40 hours by a Greek navy frigate.
In brief interviews while being shepherded by police, many said they had fled violence by militants from the Islamic State group in Syria or Iraq.
It's the perfect cover!
‘‘They attacked us and killed our people, so we came here to save ourselves,’’ said one man who said he was from Iraq. He only identified himself by his first name, Mohaned, to protect his kin, who stayed behind, from retribution.
He fled Iraq first and became one of those refugees, and now he has to flee Syria.
Another who identified himself as Qassim, from the besieged northern Syrian town of Kobani, said he and his family had spent 11 days on the Baris.
‘‘It was a very challenging operation: A large number of people in a confined space . . . after leaving stressful circumstances,’’ said Serafeim Tsokas, the head of Greece’s Civil Protection Authority. ‘‘After serious illnesses on the ship were ruled out . . . everyone was brought ashore safely.’’
Why did Gaza just cross my mind?
Authorities said its passengers were exhausted but overall in good health. The number of immigrants on board was revised down from an estimate of more than 700 to 585, after all were brought to shore.
Nineteen of them were arrested on human smuggling charges.
As dozens of Ierapetra residents looked on from behind a police cordon, newly disembarked passengers received preliminary care and food before being taken to temporary shelter at a basketball arena. One young woman knelt and kissed the rough harbor concrete, and a child held a piece of cardboard that read: ‘‘Thanks for Greece government saving children in the ship.’’
Not that I'm for children fleeing Obama's wars dying (Lord knows he's killed enough), but aren't the Greek citizens and taxpayers under the painful cuts of austerity by the same government?
It was one of the largest single crossings of its kind in recent years. Tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East risk the journey to Europe every year, paying smuggling gangs to transport them in usually unseaworthy craft ranging from dinghies to aging rust-buckets. Most end up in Italy.
Yeah, the globalists and bankers in charge of this world the last thirty years have done such a great job!
According to Greek security and health officials, about 500 of the migrants said they were Syrians. One official involved in the operation said the passengers had been charged $2,000 to $6,000 to be taken to Italy, and about 20 suspected smugglers were arrested on the ship. He asked not to be named as he was not authorized to brief journalists.
According to the latest figures from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, at least 3,000 people have drowned or disappeared trying to make the trip this year — almost 2 percent of the estimated total of 165,000 to attempt the journey.
The 250-foot cargo ship lost power the same day Pope Francis called on European governments to do a better job of welcoming migrants in speeches to the European Parliament and Council of Europe. Francis said ‘‘we cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery.’’
The mayor of Ierapetra, a town of 16,000 people on a wide, open bay overlooked by jagged hills, said he sympathized with the migrants. But stretched local authorities couldn’t offer shelter indefinitely, Theodossis Kaladzakis said.
‘‘Ierapetra can look after these people for a week, but afterward, unfortunately, we simply won’t have that ability,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not that we don’t want to. We just can’t.’’
Doctors conducted preliminary health checks and polio vaccinations for children from Syria, where the disease has made a comeback, senior Greek public health official Panayiotis Efstathiou said.
At least $omeone is $elling their product.
Kurds, Afghans, and Palestinians were also aboard the ship, which originated in Turkey, Efstathiou said.
What the hell?
--more--"
Also see: Greece irate over loan of sculpture
