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Latest update: 28/06/2011
- financial crisis - Greece - strike
Greece grinds to a halt as general strike gets underway
Workers across Greece walked off the job on Tuesday, kicking off a crippling 48-hour strike with a mass protest in the capital, Athens, as parliament debated a new austerity plan. Police fired tear gas in clashes with protesters.
AFP - Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout.
Crowds converged early on Syntagma Square, where parliament will vote on sweeping spending cuts as planes, ships and most public transport came to a halt.
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Europe's economic tsar Olli Rehn in Brussels warned that Greece faced "a critical juncture" and the austerity programme was the "only way to avoid immediate default."
But that view was not shared by protestors, determined to block passage of the package.
"We don't want your money Europe," Iamando, 36, told AFP on the square where police were already out in force at 11:00 am (0800 GMT). "Leave us alone -- please, please, please."
The number of police in the centre of the capital rose to 4,000, according to the authorities, with traffic unable to circulate in central Athens.
Public transport was halted in Athens for the fourth general strike called this year by the country's two biggest unions, with the exception of the metro whose drivers decided not to strike so as to allow Athenians to swell protest numbers.
In the port of Pireus, near Athens, which links most Greek islands with the mainland as the peak tourist season gets under way, around 200 militant unionists staged a picket to prevent ferries from leaving the port.
Banks, too, were closed and even hospitals were operating on reduced staffing while at airports action by air traffic controllers saw domestic flights cancelled by Greek airlines Olympic Air and Aegean and international departures delayed.
A string of rallies got under way, led by a 4,000-strong Communist march to the parliament square -- a magnet for tens of thousands of protesters and an 'indignants' camp where some of thousands involved said they have clocked up 38 straight days.
"We're like the donkey -- the more you hit it, the more determined it gets," one of those who keeps coming back to the square, Omiros (Homer), 29, told AFP.
An employee of the soon-to-be privatised electricity company, he spoke for a generation of Greeks educated abroad -- Bath, England, in his case.
"If they sold the power company in the UK, it wouldn't be for pennies, and they wouldn't hit you with 300 percent price rises," he added of the other principal gripe among a generation of Greeks earning just hundreds of euros per month.
Prime Minister George Papandreou begged lawmakers Monday night to back his plans to slice 28.6 billion euros from government spending by 2015, and sell off the national silver to meet EU and IMF demands for reform.
In Brussels, EU economic affairs chief Rehn urged the Greek parliament to adopt the austerity programme.
"Both the future of the country and financial stability in Europe are at stake," Rehn said in a statement. "The only way to avoid immediate default is for parliament to endorse the revised economic programme."
In a rare criticism of the government, the governor of the Bank of Greece, Giorgos Provopoulos told Tuesday's Kathimerini daily that "piling more taxes on taxpayers has reached its limit."
He said the new plan "does not place enough emphasis on the containment of spending."
Approval of the austerity measures by lawmakers would unblock 12 billion euros of emergency loans from last year's 110-billion-euro bailout and free eurozone finance ministers to start drawing up a second bailout for as much again at talks Sunday in Brussels.
But even a former IMF board member, economist Miranda Xafa of Geneva-based investment managers IJ Partners, says the plan is deeply flawed.
"In the last year, 250,000 people lost their jobs in the private sector -- and none in the public sector," she told AFP.
"Now the country is bankrupt so it has no choice," she said.
She was sceptical about a plan announced by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to persuade private sector creditors to extend their exposure to Greek public debt for the next 30 years, another condition for more eurozone government aid.
She said it would almost certainly be seen by the key international rating agencies as a "selective" default.
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Comments (91)
Yanks
Why don't all you US personnel who keep going on about Greece, socialism, Democrats/Republicans cool it? Whose banks caused the global meltdown in the first place? Mind your own business and let Europe sort out the mess you started here.
Boned up the A** without any Greece
When I think of Greece I am reminded of the Greek sailour who got his head stuck in the ships portal and couldn't get out to save his a**. Like California, Greece has a choice. It can bite the big one and do the right thing LIKE THE BATIC NATIONS and ICELAND DID or it can go under!!! Like California, Greece's private sector has slashed jobs like a MOFO and people didn't blink y-e-t the PUBLIC SECTOR hasn't lost a SINGLE JOB!!! If Greece defaults, Spain, Portugal, ICELAND and Ireland is next and then your precious EURO will be no more. Me? I have the perfect solution that is best for EVERYONE. Restore the Califate, give Greece back to the Turks and give California back to Mexico. You know the country I feel the most pity for? Deutchland!!! They lost WWI and were occupied by the allies, they had two attempted take overs (Knoff Puntch 1919 and the Beer Hall Puntch in 1923), Hyper-inflation that killed the middle class and then the great depression. Some Austrian with a Charley Chaplin Moustashe (I forgot his name) is e-l-e-c-t-e-d Chancellor and he did some real estate trades in Europe that didn't turn out so well [See WWII]. The country is cut in half for 60 years and through tough choices is united and prospers. Now it (and its 'left hand' marrage partner France) risk everything they scrimped and saved for so that the OUZOs down south can maintain their high standard of living?!!! And how did Greece get into this mess? The government and the banks were playing fast and free with accounting rules and it all caught up with them (Greece is no better than Iceland or Albania in the 90's). If Greece goes bankrupt and the Euro goes under, Europe will experience a third dark ages (1200BC, 800AD and 2011AD) and America will be right behind it. Long live Chairman Mao (as in Chairman of the Board Mao now that the Chinamen ain't Commies nomo')
Signed: Long 'Dong' Walmart (An American who knows what side his Pita is buttered on!!!) OPA!!!
Greek Austerity
"We don't want your money" Just leave us alone. what a wonderful idea. It think Europe will.
Greek tragedy
Behold the result of liberalism and socialism. It doesn't work. It has never worked. It only leads to misery for the people and the enrichment of the ruling class and their cronies.
Greece
What a bunch of losers.
This rioting needs to happen
This rioting needs to happen in the US. The Naziesque American pig politicians have been enslaving us for decades now. Time for the egg to crack.
Greece
How's that Socialism workin' out for ya? Yo Obama, is it humanly possible for you to learn something from this? If not think of this as a sneak preview into what will be happening in the U.S. in the near future.
Good luck with all of that.
Greece
This is the slippery slope you go down when you give people handouts for not earning it. oh the austerity!
To quote the song "Only the
To quote the song "Only the Begining"
Freedom on the march
Good for the Greek people; all the power of God be with them; we all need to challenge the tyrannical banksters; the world's 6 largest banks, engaged in ripping off all of our hard-earned monies, charging us loan shark high interest rates, taking our houses that they don't even own, etc.
V for Victory! You are the resistance against big bankster tyranny and TSA tyranny sticking their hands down our pants and pants of our children. Learn more at:
www.infowars.com
Greek Democrats March for More of Other Peoples' Money
In America, we call demonstrating parasites like those in Greece "Democrats". Apparently, Greece has no Republicans, which is why it is bankrupt.
greece
Let them eat feta
Failure of Socialsim
This is what socialism and it's derivatives does to a once proud nation its culture.
Entitlement mentality will lead them to ruin
The general belief is that after years of living off the gov't which has granted its people access to the treasury, when it comes time to pay the piper, the children revolt. The people may not know it, but they are the problem. If there was ever a time when the future of Greece lies in the hands of its people, it is now.
unions
I think this proves union members can't count and don't understand the idea that they are out of money.
There comes a time when you
There comes a time when you have to pay the bill. Nothing is a free ride.
Greece grinds to a halt
No surprise here. Why should the Greek people undertake contractual obligations on which they were no part of?
Greece grinds to a halt
No surprise here. Why should the Greek people undertake contractual obligations on which they were no part of?
Self-inflicted Crisis
[[In a rare criticism of the government, the governor of the Bank of Greece, Giorgos Provopoulos told Tuesday's Kathimerini daily that "piling more taxes on taxpayers has reached its limit."
He said the new plan "does not place enough emphasis on the containment of spending."]]
Hey Barack, are you listening to this? Are you catching a clue yet?
Greek chaos
This is what happens when a country's populace becomes totally dependent on government. Greece is a certifiable nation of grifters. Socialism is an evil and failed world religion that must be abolished.
Grease
Great news....should be some great travel packages in July, August, but I'm waiting until late September when Delos cools a little bit.
The Greeks are enjoying the
The Greeks are enjoying the end-game of socialism - good for them! All of Europe's broke and insolvent socialist entitlement states are going to end up this way, even as they willingly hand their last euro over to their beloved bankers. The unfortunate part of Europe reaching socialism's dead end is that Europe only knows socialism and totalitarianism.
Why?
Do these people get the kind of trouble their country is in? To the person who said they did not want Europe's money..as a tax payer you should have said something to your government before they took the previous loans! It is scary how oblivious these people are.
Pray for the Greek people
""An employee of the soon-to-be privatised electricity company, he spoke for a generation of Greeks educated abroad -- Bath, England, in his case.
"If they sold the power company in the UK, it wouldn't be for pennies, and they wouldn't hit you with 300 percent price rises," he added of the other principal gripe among a generation of Greeks earning just hundreds of euros per month.""
These types of ignorant people need to be invited to move to a police-state, bankster haven. Hopefully Greece will not become one, which is what Britain wants. The stupidity that abounds is acknowledged by the fact that no one wanted to identify this moron.
Go Greece. You have the power. Let the EU collapse.
welcome to socialism
and this is the result of decades of socialism.
first eastern europe failed. now western europe.
when people are given what they have not earned, and don't receive what they have, the result is economic collapse and sometimes anarchy.
and the idiot communists want more of the same.
sheesh.
Grow up Greece
Are the German people really going to continue to work hard and save to pay for this?
I love how Drudge uses the
I love how Drudge uses the dramatic fear inducing picture of a man in a gas mask near a fire to set the tone for the discussion.
We dont want your money
"We dont want your money, Europe"
You already have Europe's money, gumby. That's what this is all about. Europe wants it back.
Future
In the future this same exact story will run with one change. Instead of Greece, it will be California.
Government handouts created this mess.
There is something to be learned by every country in the world, capitalism produces self sufficiency. Socialism produces dependency on governments that will run out of money eventually. When the can not borrow another dime mass protests and anarchy results. I am amazed to see these people rioting in the streets because they have used up all the money the government could get it's hands on. Where do they think the money will come from to keep their pockets stuffed?
Greece Grinds
What a great example of why redistrubtion of wealth doesn't work; people can't afford the taxes, so, to keep the size of government you need more revenue, so, how do you get it, tax some more, don't cut spending or layoff those that aren't needed or cut hours or do something. Is it that hard to see the disconnect? What's amazing is that the Greeks are damaging their own country and at some point in time must realize that everything can't be for free.
Greece
bye bye freedom hello oppression commie style. this trojan horse is history. Lord return soon we need you!
Greece bailout
to avoid financial ruin EU should sell Greece to the Chinese, lock stock and barrel, then if the rest of the PIIGS don't shape up, sell them too!
Bankrupt!
America is bankrupt...err, Greece is bankrupt!
What are the Greeks thinking?
Can someone explain to me what part of "bankrupt" that the Greek workers don't understand. Are they so addicted to a nanny state they don't grasp the idea that the government can not generate infinite amount of money out of thin air?
What is happening in Greece should scare Americans as the Democrats are trying to shove America down the same path.
Unrest
It appears as if the Arab Spring is turning into the European Summer.
Put this effort into working???
If you people put this much effort into actually working for a living your country might not be where it is today.
Accept it, socialism fails.. you have proven that.. now pick yourself up, dust off and go work and earn for you and your family.
We are next. Welcome to
We are next. Welcome to obamaville.
This is why socialism doesn't
This is why socialism doesn't work.
_|_
People are raised to expect something for nothing, regardless if it makes economic sense. The EU has corrupted the concept of rights and creates "rights" out of thin air. Someone has to pay for these rights. Shorter work weeks, longer vacations, earlier retirements, free education, free medical care.
_|_
Who is working to pay for all these "rights"?
Good for the Greek People!
They might as well default now and get it over with, or else their grandchildren will be debt slaves
Looks Familiar?
'In a rare criticism of the government, the governor of the Bank of Greece, Giorgos Provopoulos told Tuesday's Kathimerini daily that "piling more taxes on taxpayers has reached its limit."
He said the new plan "does not place enough emphasis on the containment of spending." '
It seems to me that we in America are hearing exactly the same things from OUR legislators. Is this OUR future, too?
Democracy and socialism are a bad mix
'Government is that great fiction whereby everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else'
The people of greece have gotten so used to living at the expense of others that even now they cannot see their folly.
You vote for socialists who promise you something for nothing and this is the guaranteed result. We are headed for the exact same thing here in the US. The next 20 to 50 years will see the fall of Socialist democracies around the world I think.
Pointless protest
Say the protesters get their way, and no deal is struck to bail out Greece. The country defaults on debt and the rest of Europe buys up the country's assets for pennies on the dollar and Greece no longer remains autonymous. The bailout is painful and sad, but it's also not putting your whole country up for sale at foreclosure pricing. Those 20 yr olds throwing firebombs have no clue and are ruining their country's name and future.
Greek bailout
As an American, I am unsure what the right answer is to solve Greece's problem, but, as usual it appears that the average person in Greece will suffer the most burden from these austerity measures, even though it was the super wealthy who created this problem, along with my own country. This situation seems to be spreading and soon, the entire world will be divided into three groups..the very rich, the poor and the slightly better off...
A bunch of selfish children
"We don't want your money Europe...Leave us alone -- please, please, please."
We don't care if we destroy the Euro or the economies of the other European countries, so long as we can still retire at 50 with 80% pay. It would appear that Socialists don't care about anyone but themselves.
i cant wait til this happens
i cant wait til this happens in the USA,give em' hell Greece!
no one one cares
It seems that actually, despite (or perhaps because of) their intense rioting and childish behavior, most people could care less about Greece. What a nation of spoiled, can't-see-past-their-noses people. Wow. Is all of Europe this way too?
It's eerie
Take a good look liberals/Communists of America. This will be the United States in about 10 years if government spending and entitlement programs for the lazy leeches of society are not radically slashed/reformed.
Greece Riots
This fact says it all, "In the last year, 250,000 people lost their jobs in the private sector -- and none in the public sector" As Margaret Thatcher once said, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. " The public workers of Greece have finally run out of their private citizens' money.
Well the Greeks find
Well the Greeks find themselves wedged between a horrible choice and a disastrous one. In a way I feel sorry for them, but you deserve the gov't you choose - and they have chosen this form of Gov't for too long. It will almost be impossible to change course now and the only thing left is permanent third world status or anarchy and the resulting evil dictatorship!
Here in the US we are delaying this inevitability by a few decades - we are in the 4th Quarter though!
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