Alexis Tsipras: Austerity Will Send Greece (and Europe) ‘Directly To Hell’ – Common Dreams staff Alexis Tsipras, head of Syriza, Greece’s ascendent left-wing political party, appeared on CNN’s evening news showAmanpour on Wednesday to voice his party’s position on the ongoing economic crisis in his country and across Europe. “We want to change the [...]
François Hollande, France’s newly elected president. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP This is what passes for bad news these days. A proper election process looks to have rejected austerity. That’s bad apparently. In two elections candidates at least claiming to want to give people a voice may be elected or govern as part of a coalition. That [...]
(photo: Odysseas Gp) Germany to Greece: Cut Safety Nets for Citizens But Keep Buying Our Weapons – Common Dreams staff As Germany insists that Greece submit to harsh austerity measures leaving pensions cut, unemployment soaring and the healthcare system slashed, one area it believes needn’t be cut is Greece’s weapons purchases, provided in great [...]
Mourners stand around the spot where a man committed suicide at central Syntagma square in Athens, Thursday. A cash-strapped Greek pensioner shot and killed himself on Wednesday saying he refused to scrounge for food in the rubbish, touching a nerve among ordinary Greeks feeling the brunt of the country’s economic crisis. (John Kolesidis/Reuters) ATHENS, [...]
Getty Images As Greece struggles to master its devastating debt problem, decades of mismanagement have taken their toll on the country’s once-proud capital. Athens has degenerated into a hotbed of chaos and crime, where tensions between Greeks and immigrants have led to attacks on foreigners by the far-right. Massoud starts walking faster as the shadows lengthen. He glances at the [...]
Photo Credit: AFP Eliot Spitzer: How Wall Street is Gaming the Greek Bailout The credit-default hypocrites are back in business. March 5, 2012 | A funny thing happened on the way to the Greek bailout: Credit-default swaps involving Greek debt—the same kind of financial instruments that triggered the 2008 fiscal cataclysm—were set aside, once again protecting [...]
Lessons from Greece on democracy and debt-bondage BY DAVID MCNALLY | FEBRUARY 28, 2012 It is a truism to say that democracy began with the Greeks — less so to say that it originated in popular rebellion against debt and debt-bondage. Yet, with the Greek people ensnared once more in the vice-grip [...]
Many Greeks resent the troika‘s demands for economic austerity in Greece [GALLO/GETTY] This page has consistently said that austerity is simply a lie foisted on an unwilling public by the elites and their managers and then espoused by an army of dishonest intellectuals who have constructed entire parts of logic and reasoning based on [...]
People shout during a huge anti-austerity demonstration in Athens’ Syntagma square. (Photo: Reuters)“The IMF has consistently underestimated the depth of the Greek recession,” saidMark Weisbrot, CEPR Co-Director and lead author of the paper. “At some point, it becomes rational for Greeks to ask, is the euro worth this kind of punishment?” Published on [...]
The Nitty Gritty on How and Why Greece Will Leave the Eurozone As riots rage across Greece, financial blogger Ed Harrison outlines a proposal for the country’s exit from an unworkable eurozone and the creation of a New Drachma. February 13, 2012 | Note from author: This post is a special members-lengthweekly (for Credit Writedowns) that I am making [...]
“The leadership of the EU thinks that Greek people are, collectively, childish enough to require adult supervision to ensure they spend the so-called bailout package in the most responsible way possible,” says author [GALLO/GETTY] Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain - More than two hundred years after the death of Immanuel Kant, the question of political enlightenment is still a [...]
AFP photo It can not be stressed enough that the Greek bailout is really about getting present investors some return on their money. It is not a loan to tide over the Greek economy while they look to carry on helping their own people. The ultimate price to be paid is for Greeks to become [...]
Germany at odds with Dutch and IMF boss over eurozone bailout fund You could be excused for thinking that there is a very short story to the Greek bailout. Apparently Greece is less than 2% of the Eurozone capability. Letting it sink, if that is the correct term, may very well mean nothing [...]
Photo by Reuters http://blogs.aljazeera.net/europe/2012/01/17/greek-politicians-feeling-wrath-public Greek politicians are finding it more and more difficult to mingle in public places. The former foreign minister, Dora Bakoyiannis, became only the latest to be singled out for abuse just a few days ago, when, according to this report, she was attacked with yogurt and stones by an angry crowd who [...]
Greece‘s finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, talks to reporters on Friday. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images Greece is on the verge of a breakthrough in talks with its creditors that could wipe out up to 70% of its debts and alleviate the crisis in the eurozone. An outline deal, hurriedly endorsed by Brussels, came after a frantic three [...]
Thousands Hit Athens Streets Demanding End to Austerity Strikes affect public transportation, other services – Common Dreams staff watch video at http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/17-1 Agencies are reporting that thousands of Greeks have taken to the streets and have taken part in strikes in ongoing protests over the country’s harsh austerity measures. Greece has entered its [...]
DPA Concerns are growing once again about Greece. Hopes that Greece can be saved are dwindling. Athens had hoped to reach a deal with its creditors on a 50 percent debt haircut, but banks have now made it clear that efforts to reach an agreement could fail. Should the country go bankrupt, the European Central [...]
AP Christmas lights shine in front of the Parthenon on top of the ancient Acropolis Hill in Athens: “If this government doesn’t get it right, Greece will go hungry.” Six weeks after forming a transitional government to overcome its crisis, Greece is still failing to deliver its promised reforms. The cabinet of Prime [...]
Dimitris Gasparinatos had asked Greek authorites to take four of his 10 children into care because he could not afford to feed them. Even before Greece‘s economic crisis engulfed his own home, Dimitris Gasparinatos found it hard to provide for his six sons and four daughters. His wife, Christina, who was struggling to make ends meet [...]
Greece in chaos Personally and collectively, the Greeks don’t understand and can’t cope with what’s happening now, let alone what will happen next. The welfare state is being swiftly and deliberately dismantled without any time to set up replacements by Noëlle Burgi “Who knows what tomorrow will bring?” people ask in Athens, Salonika and right across [...]
As lawmakers debated the budget, hundreds of youths clashed with police outside the parliament [Reuters] Greece‘s parliament has approved an austerity 2012 budget aimed at shrinking its debt mountain with tax hikes and spending cuts, hours after protesters clashed with police outside parliament. Three major parties backing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos voted on Wednesday for the [...]
Greece braced for major protests Uprising of 1973 against military rule to be remembered on a day expected to be marked by anti-austerity protests Demonstrators are set to gather in Athens for a march marking the anniversary of the 1973 uprising that helped bring down the military rulers. The march on Thursday is [...]
Papademos will lead a coalition to push through a bailout to prevent the country from going bankrupt [Reuters] Greek party leaders have agreed to name Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice-president, as prime minister of a new interim government until early elections, the president’s office said. “The president, after recommendations by political leaders [...]
Greece edges towards naming new cabinet Opposition and ruling parties locked in negotiations to decide who should be the debt-crippled country’s next leader. Greece’s two main parties are reportedly close to forming a new government, and naming a new prime minister, after extended talks to appoint an interim [...]
Greek crisis: Referendum cancelled amid chaos – Thursday November 4 2011 • Public vote on bailout now off the table • Opposition demand Papandreou’s resignation • New national unity government could now be formed • Finance minister Venizelos opposes vote on euro membership • ECB cuts interest rates • Emergency cabinet meeting held • Latest summary Image [...]
George Papandreou‘s future as PM is still uncertain as he is to face a vote of confidence on Friday [EPA] The Greek prime minister has announced he will scrap the idea of a referendum on a vital bailout package and hold talks with the opposition to resolve the country’s political and economic crisis. In a speech to [...]
I am getting angry. Angry and depressed. And tired. Angry at the state my country and my ethnos has descended to. Depressed at what the future appears to have in store for us. And tired at having to listen everyone else blame Greece for the world’s woes. Sure we the people are [...]
Papandreou’s move to put the EU package to a national referendum is being seen as a gamble [Reuters] Greece‘s cabinet has decided to back Prime Minister George Papandreou‘s proposal for a referendum on a European Union aid deal, a government spokesman said. “The cabinet expressed its support,” said government spokesman Elias Mossialos early on Wednesday. “The [...]
Greek government teeters on brink of collapse in wake of referendum plan France and Germany battle to save the single currency as Europe is plunged back into turmoil days after rescue deal reddit this Phillip Inman, and Helena Smith in Athens guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 November 2011 21.19 GMT Article history Nicolas Sarkozy makes a statement [...]
Greek referendum plan causes global stockmarket panic Traders at the New York stock exchange. Markets have become rattled over the prospect of a Greek referendum. Photograph: Richard Drew/AP Anxiety grows that a possible disorderly default by the country could cause greater than expected losses for banks reddit this Jill Treanor and Katie Allen guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 [...]
In this brief article you can see that the last asked in a so called democracy is the people. In this way decisions made by others can be enforced against a country seen as weaker in what is called the economic sense. The poor attempts to make the Greeks look like [...]
Demonstrators and riot police have clashed as Greeks oppose austerity measures imposed by the IMF and EU. Photograph: Stefanos Rapanis/EPA Civil disobedience campaign puts pressure on Athens government as it pushes EU/IMF austerity measures reddit this Helena Smith in Athens guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 October 2011 19.12 GMT Article history The Greek authorities are bracing for [...]
Photo by AFP The talk is all of EFSF, firepower, leverage and haircuts. But amidst all the jargon of the Eurozone crisis, it’s easy to forget that there are livelihoods at stake, and that real people are seeing their world turned upside down. Nowhere more so than in Greece. So here are a couple of reminders. [...]
Greek MPs vote through fresh cuts This is what governing in the national interest is all about. Keep those who say you owe them money paid up as much as possible from the people’s funds then make the people keep paying for the folly of others. It is governing in the elite’s interests and once [...]
Greek MPs pass austerity measures There were chaotic scenes as violence flared on the streets of Athens Continue reading the main story Global Economy Eurozone crisis explained Q&A: Eurozone rescue proposals Experts debate eurozone options Euro crisis originsWatch The Greek parliament has given its final approval to the latest package of austerity measures. All but [...]
The Greeks Are Being Unfairly Maligned by Global Financiers: The Truth Is Very Different Photo Credit: AFP Yiannis manages a small inn in Crete. The 50-year-old from Heraklion with salt-and-pepper hair and a hefty moustache has a son just graduating from college. “We tell the young people to leave,” he says quietly. “There’s nothing for [...]
Clashes in Greece as strikes begin – European debt crisis live People demonstrate in front of the Greek parliament in Athens Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images • Shop windows smashed in protests in Athens and Thessalonikias 48-hour strike begins • Shares rise as euro deal nears • Bank of England MPC unanimous on QE • Lunchtime round-up • Today’s agenda [...]
Thousands of protesters have marched in the Greek capital Athens at the start of a two-day general strike, as parliament prepares to vote on sweeping new austerity measures designed to stave off a default that could trigger a crisis in the wider eurozone. Police were deployed in force in central Athens on Wednesday [...]
General strike brings Greece to a standstill as public sector closes down Greeks protesting in Athens over the austerity measures. Photograph: KeystoneUSA-Zuma/Rex Features Greece edged deeper into chaos as workers brought the country to a standstill with a general strike. The closure of the entire public sector – from schools to hospitals to government [...]
Greece increased its police force with 2,000 policemen and recently bought new anti-riot equipment [EPA] In the old days of the European colonial expansion eastwards, the Great Powers (England, France, Russia, and Austria) would rack their heads over the fate of what they called “the sick man of Europe“: The Ottoman Empire, whose bankruptcy [...]
EU given six weeks to protect itself against ‘inevitable Greek default’ The EU has been warned that it must plan for the fallout of what it believes is Greece‘s inevitable default. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images IMF tells eurozone EFSF may need to be boosted five-fold to £1.7tn to convince markets that default could be [...]
Europe’s leaders battle to keep faith with euro as Greek bailout flounders Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi after his government narrowly won a confidence vote for its €54bn austerity package. Photograph: Ism Agency/Getty Images Amid fresh setbacks in struggle to rescue Greece, US treasury secretary prepares to join euro crisis meetings in Poland reddit [...]
Greek Default Looms Eurozone At Death’s Door by MIKE WHITNEY “After almost two years of fighting to contain the region’s debt crisis and providing the biggest share of three European bailouts, Chancellor Angela Merkel is laying the ground for what markets say is almost a sure thing: a Greek default.” – Bloomberg News Greece is hurtling [...]
Antonis Samaras, who once shared digs in the US with George Papandreou, has become an anti-establishment figure in Greece as well the EU. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images In his ultra-modern office, seated behind an array of photographs autographed by the likes of Ted Kennedy and George Bush Snr, Antonis Samaras does not come across as [...]
The accident and emergency ward at a hospital in Athens – hospitals here face regular shortages of materials and equipment. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian Adonis Kostakos is unemployed and diabetic. Aged 50, he last worked regularly four years ago in the port of Piraeus. Back then he usedGreece‘s public hospital system to have [...]
Manolis Glezos was teargassed by a riot policeman outside the Greek parliament in March last year. Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images Seventy years ago Manolis Glezos scaled the walls of the Acropolis to tear down the swastika, hoisted over the monument that Hitler had triumphantly described as a symbol of “human culture”. This single act of [...]
