Flights were grounded, schools shut and civic offices closed in a nationwide strike Wednesday to protest the government's austerity measures. Riot police in Athens clashed with protesters and fired tear gas.
STOP WARS! Military machine needs no more games cause there is no money to pay for the silly killing games for the military! We disrespect the military!
Looks like the Arab spring evolved into the European summer which is now devolving into the America FALL...which will inevitably lead to the winter of our discontent. Revolutions anyone? Welcome to the state of entropy !
Looks like the Arab spring evolved into the European summer which is now devolving into the America FALL...which will inevitably lead to the winter of our discontent.
These greedy, lazy Greek people need to learn to live within there means & stop complaining. Dont they realize the whole world is trying to save there economy & country? There government MUST make cuts to stay a float & these greedy blood sucking unions just want more & more. I say to Hell with Greece let them starve & fall into a 3rd world country. Its there own fault in the end, the promised too much money to the greedy unions & they can suffer for it. Why should Germany, England, Finland & the USA give them more money to pay the unions over inflated benefits & wages SCREW THEM!
It appears that Greeks will not abide by the EU austerity plans laid down by their creditors and agreed to their Government. Shutting down the country only adds to less GDP and more debt to be bailed out, so more debt relief will be required. It's a vicious cycle that will consume all parties, with no solutions on the horizon. The social compact in Greece cannot be honored and those impacted by the fallout lash out in frustration, whilst private capital flees the Nation along with any hopes for a recovery. The Euro Zone will surely fail within the next year, thereby bringing down the rest of the world with it, because the haves will not subsidize those who insist on better social benefits than the ones who are footing the current bills, via a bailout every 2 months. The Greeks needed a Tea Party 10 years ago, but instead they cooked the books and partied on their EU credit card. The party is over and the hangover is not a pretty sight.
From Public Education you go to Public Lifetime employment and can't even figure out that Broke means B R O K E! Don't you Greeks KNOW that you are living in a welfare state supported by BORROWED $ just like here in America? Watch for our riots next OCTOBER!!!
by John Steele (not verified) - 06/10/2011 - 16:28
The riots are because they have run out of other peoples money and your seeing the end result of Socialism... It spreads the poverty and misery equally
The failure of Greece is a glaring example of the failure of socialism where ever and when ever it was tried with devastating results for the common people.
The socialists (and that includes Obama) don't understand that in order to satisfy the socialist needs one has to raise the money in three ways. A) Taxes, B)borrow and C) print. The result is a nanny state that consumes other people's labor and produces nothing in return. They don't understand capitalism and the free enterprise system because it involves taking risks and hard work. That's precisely what happened in Greece and is happening through out Europe. And the sad thing is we here in America are following in their foot steps full steam ahead to jump over the cliff and joint them.
As an American of Greek origin, I feel sad, but my fellow Greeks have no one to blame but themselves. Good luck.
by Barry bin Inhalin (not verified) - 06/10/2011 - 14:49
Greece on strike? Hmm, so thier GDP went from what to what (where you can't technically have less than zero of something)? If the riot police would go home they'd be completely shut down....
Just how much ongoing productivity loss and impact on lower growth or is higher negative growth is built into the model that says if other nations give up wealth for Greece it pays off in the end?
Wonder Shay year the model says it all works out? Are the bankers telling anyone?
The irony is that these protests and strikes only make things worse for the people protesting and striking. With business shut down, and damage done by the demonstrators, they're deepening the debt and causing damage they cant afford to repair.
Greek police entered the metro station in syntagma,throwing tear gas in the enclosed area of the station ,trying to poison hundreds of peacfull protesters ,workers of the metro (who were beaten for trying to prevent the police from throwing the gas canisters inside)
The situation is one of terror.the goverment has given the green light to the police to terrorise and destroy anyone who demonstrates,without provocation ,or excuse.it is a clear attempt to silence the greek people,and force them to subdue to the measures that lead to total poverty for the greek population and more profits for the bankers .
and in order to achieve its purpose is willing to not only sacrifice the dignity of greeks ,sell our country to big corporations ,and destroy anything that reminds theworld of the existence of greek civilisation as we knew it until today.There is an organised (by who i dont know ) attempt to eliminate slowly greek nation,culture,education.it is starting from school books that are not printed any more ,but instead given in DVD but not in greek,(written with latin characters ,an issue that has come up lately ,because it is making illiterate all students ,as what they learn is not a languyage but a product of the electronic era.thus eliminating our inheritance from the ancients).and they dont stop there.they baptise islands as grey zones thatmaybe turkey has a right on ,they do not ,i repeat they do not want to enforce the greek commercial zone ,allowing turkey to take posesion of the underground wealth of the aegean,(propably because this suits the plans of USA).and the list can go on forever.even from the first days of PASOK goverment it was clear they are here with a purpose,to destroy,decompose greek state and citizens ,and deliver them to the IMF,and its cronniew,for nothing.or propably in exchange for mr.papandreou a seat on the board of the IMF,the UN,or some other organisation...i dont know.but all indications are showing that all this election-default IMF troika thing seems to some people as preplanned with accuracy.even today that all the world is saying that the greek crisis is not goingto be solved with the present solution,here the goverment,is pressing on.they seem to be on a mission to destroy everything ,to demoralise greeks ,and weaken the defences of the society.for what purpose i can only guess......
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
Signed, IAmSoHappyIGotOutAfter9Years
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps anyway and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps anyway and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
Poor Greece, caught in its own socialist death spiral. You milked the money, gave it away to non-productive people and now you have to pay the piper - who is NOT a government employee.
spend spend spend 5 weeks vacation time off for that this and the other thing..hmm monies falls from heaven, gov pensions..hmm more monies from heaven. got give em credit, i would do the same thing if i could...ahhhh what a life it would be...only to dream...
Greeks are clearly demonstrating their total lack of responsibility for their condition.
God knows why the EU leaders allowed them to join the eurozone in the first place when it was well known that Greeks are financially irresponsible.
The solution is to let the country default then kick them out of the eurozone. Then they won't be able to riot anymore because they will be too busy trying to find ways to pay for food and shelter.
Shame on the Greeks (as well as the Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese).
It's ironic how the Greeks do not get it! They are in a deep financial crisis, yet they strike when they need to work. These strikes, which occur often, set them back much farther each time. This is a time to work together not apart. Tough sacrifices must be made to work through these difficult times.
Everybody who gets a government handout is protesting. Greece hasn't fired a single public worker. They're going to default on their debts. It's only a matter of time.
by ultor et veritos (not verified) - 06/10/2011 - 02:30
In the last 40 years, 10 trillion dollars of redistribution policies in the United States have striped opportunity makers of their ability to create opportunity for opportunity seekers. In less than 5 years from now, the ultra-rich will have sold the notion that material wealth can be redistributed to enough poor people, that they will never be able to achieve the equality they have always sought. Soon, society will blame their every problem on income, and the materialism promulgated by those on the commanding heights will have been achieved; total control of human potential, and the ultimate progressive science project will be realized. Always the tools of manipulation, the propensity of the human being to identify with sub-groups, coupled with the simultaneous desire to seek fulfillment in the material world, will cause the human autogolpe which completes the final solution sought by the 2% of humanity that we never knew.
This is socialism collapsing, not enough money to pay for all the perks, pensions, early retierments, etc. The welfare state imploding and the entitled ones don't like it. They don't want to work for a living they want it handed to them by the few who still work and pay taxes. The same thing is happening and will happen here in the US.
Where do these communists think the money will come from? The problem with socialism is sooner or later you run out of other people's money. History tells us this is so.
Greece - Democracy was a good idea - but you've lost your touch - Socialism is a total disaster. Now where are your womb to tomb freebies going to come from....certainly not from other Greeks.
this is our future in America.
We cannot endure the transfer of our jobs to 10 dollar a day employees either.
The trade agreements ushered in by our governments was designed to bolster corporations and leave starving loyal citizens behind.
The Banks now own most of the military so unless someone in government can perform some shoe throwing into the machine, we are doomed to fight for our futures.
Lets hope that the conscious patriot in the military won't shoot his neighbor, but since our gov. got ready by using the national guard to kill innocent civilians in the middle east, they are hoping that they will kill us too.
I can understand their frustration. They mortgaged their future and their kids future and the check has come due. It is time for the rest of the world to pay attention and learn from their mistakes, because there is no easy way out once you're in it.
Right on! See, “Capitalism Hits the Fan”, by Professor of Economics, Richard Wolff, PhD, which can be found on youtube (the Prof. doesn’t actually start his talk until 7:00). As much as big business people want to blame Socialism or the Greeks as people or anybody and everybody other than themselves, it was big business that brought-about this crisis (see FCIC and Levin-Coburn reports) and the fundamental flaws and people-crushing exploitation of Capitalism.
Regaining Our Republic: Phase I
Big business is sustaining its ever increasing profit margins at the expense of the American people, particularly the unemployed. Big business always operates at an optimum profit level, so they can always increase their workforces, among many other options, at a relatively small cost to their profits; yet whenever this option is put forth, they exaggerate this as if it would destroy their corporation; that is a corporate propaganda lie. They could also stop, “outsourcing”, which they began extensively in the 70s as a means of “disciplining” labor [1], and correct unemployment over night.
Instead, big business has decided to forsake the people that permit them to operate in the, “Republic”, and are, via the state, business partners, in order to further enrich their own gargantuan mountains of loot and, more irresponsibly, keep people, “their labor”, or what they refer to openly as their, “human resources”, cheap, plentiful, desperate, and, above all, obedient. Big business hasn’t been, “unable”, to hire because of the economy that they tanked [2] or because it would cost too much, when they can actually afford it quite easily; they don’t want to hire people for many reasons to include the facts that they are just that greedy and, at their own peril, couldn’t care less about people [3].
Don’t be fooled by their propaganda, to include the posts made by their imps, drones, wannabes, etc. They all have political, philosophical and vested interests in keeping this diseased version of, “Capitalism”, continuing to oppress and exploit the people of the world, which Adam Smith [4], were he alive today, would find wholly despicable.
The first and most egregious sin of big business is the rampant Corporatism [5], if not out-right Fascism [6], that they’ve nurtured for well over a century to make a flailing, dull-witted corporate minion out of the First American, “Republic”. How? Big business and big money, select, support and heavily fund the only two candidates in any election that the people perceive to be electable and, in so doing, they control those candidates. See, “The Corporate Takeover of U.S. Democracy”, by Professor Noam Chomsky [7] under articles on his website at Chomsky dot info, for more specific information, to include references and sources, of which the good Professor is well known, aside from being a highly respected intellectual and Professor of Linguistics at MIT.
In affect, a vote for either a Republican or a Democrat is the same as voting for big business/money against you as a private citizen of this country. Voting for a Democrat, for example, as I did with President Obama, may yield some social justice in the form of human rights, etc., but, in the end, even a Democratic President isn’t immune to Corporatism and will, as the President and other Democrats have, fold when the interests of the people conflict with the interests of big business/money. Indeed, throughout this crisis, although President Obama is supposedly a Liberal Democrat, the vast majority of what he has done and supported, to include who he selected in his cabinet etc., has further enriched big business/money and done practically nothing for the people of this country in this financial crisis that they didn’t cause and also decimated state/federal programs, all for the benefit of big business/money at the expense of the devastated people.
What’s the alternative? Big business and big money has made voting for any Independent, whatever their political views, all but pointless. How? By throwing monumental amounts of corporate and wealthy contributors’ money only at those two parties, this provides an overwhelming advantage in resources that has consistently squashed nearly every single Independent candidate. Indeed, so virulent is the GOP in this regard that a new “party” has arisen to be even more extremely in favor of big business/money, called the, “Tea Party”.
What can be done? Just voting for some Independent will get you nowhere while most people still believe, and with good reason, that they’re wasting their vote and indirectly electing the other party’s candidate. In order to really counter the above Corporatism that has almost destroyed the Republic, the people must do three things just to get started.
First, the people must lobby to strip corporations from their absurd legal status of, “persons” (See, “Corporate Personhood”, via Wikipedia). Secondly, the people must also lobby to make it illegal for any, “entity”, like corporations, that are not simply living breathing individual human beings as citizens to influence the government in any way whatsoever, to include lobbying and especially political contributions; thus only people can donate their own private funds to political campaigns, and not, for example, corporations. Thirdly, there should be an absolute maximum amount of money that any candidate can accept for use in a campaign, with any additional funds being returned to, or not used by those candidates; this maximum should be relatively tiny in comparison to the massive amounts of capital used for the two “main” parties; it is estimated that it will cost for the 2012 Presidential election, will be over $2,000,000,000, but of course, only for the Democrat and Republican candidates. Shear money can not be permitted to control the Republic, which was made by the people and for the people not to pander to the highest bidders, especially when they aren’t even real people, but entities run by people that are oppressing, exploiting everybody but their own.
"Julie Labrouste" (me)
[1] See, the RSA Animation of, “Crises of Capitalism”, by David Harvey, on Youtube for more information and, “In Defense of David Harvey”, which is a rebuttal to criticism of the original video.
[2] See the FCIC and Levin-Coburn reports on the financial crisis. Both of these completely refute the corporate propaganda that immediately claimed that this crisis was the result of a “perfect storm” to moment that the crisis was made public knowledge. Both reports also place the vast majority of blame for the crisis on the financial sectors of big business, and the, “regulators”, that they controlled through transparent conflicts of interest. I submit also that big business in general also facilitated this crisis by using their vast wealth and power the above-described Corporatism to coerce the state into crippling the regulations created by FDR to protect the people of this nation from precisely what happened.
[3] “Corporations were given the rights of immortal persons. But then special kinds of persons, persons who had no moral conscience. These are a special kind of persons, which are designed by law, to be concerned only for their stockholders. And not, say, what are sometimes called their stakeholders, like the community or the work force or whatever.”
- Noam Chomsky
[4] Adam Smith (baptized 16 June 1723 – died 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. His theories on Capitalism, which are often sighted by scholars and supporters of big business, are considered virtually sacrosanct, but whose warnings of the horrific social consequences associated with the abuses of Capitalism have been almost completely ignored. Much, if not all, of what has happened with regard to the current social consequences of this financial crisis were heralded by Adam Smith over 200 years ago.
[5] Corporatism can have different meanings depending upon who you’re talking to at the time. In this context, it means the use of corporate funds to heavily influence the government away from its primary charge, which is to serve the people, not corporations.
[6] “Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power. The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living. Both lessons hit home. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.”
“We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. ‘Necessitous men are not free men.’ People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
“(People should have the) right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation (and the) right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation”.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
[7] Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) of in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and a major figure of analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology.
It’s just another country the IMF is squeezing to subordinate its people to the banking system the we already have in place around the world. Boycott Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America, the big three that make up the Federal Reserve. Watch zeitgeist: Addendum for more info.
If they would just sell off some of thier land or use it as the basis for the loans then we would have no problems. The Greeks are being selfish. I would love the chance to be a partner in the purchase of an island that would not be part of any existing country.
Let the little piglets squeal and cut off all funds and let the govt bank go dry and then they will not get any more milk from the giant government sow with dry teats.
I suggest Greece handle the debt the way Iceland did. Why should taxpayers be on the hook for the bankers gambling debts. Let those who took the profits also take the loss.
I know they want more free money. But that seems to have run out. Do they want to 'tax the rich' like our free loaders here want. Or do they want to just default and let the banks take the hit. I'll bet no one has explained that most of their jobs are going to disappear if the banks default on the loans as international trade will dry up over night including tourism.
The Greek youths are destroying their own country. They think this is cool to riot and create chaos?
Too bad for Greece, a once proud and noble country now is spiraling downward like a Third World country as a result of the self-entitled government workers.
by eddie the geek (not verified) - 05/10/2011 - 20:38
Silly Greeks, YOU HAVE NO MONEY! And the rest of the world isn't going to lend it to you any more! Riot and strike all you want, but you've reached the limit on your credit card.
This scenario is, unfortunately, going to repeat itself much closer to home and much sooner than we think.
We're gonna have to collect more taxes to fix all that marble you guys like throwing at the tax paid police. Now if we could only get about half of you off the couch and out of the street and into a private sector job. Then you can be tax payers instead of tax leaches.
by the gray lensman (not verified) - 05/10/2011 - 20:09
The strikers cry for the Greek government to obtain money from the rich instead of making tax increases and pay cuts on them. I would observe that there probably isn't enough bucks available to confiscate from the rich even if the Greek government decided to do that. The situation reminds me of the sinking of the Titanic. There were not enough lifeboats and too many people on board. The Greek Titanic is going to sink. The strikers can demand as many financial lifeboats as they wish, but there aren't going to be enough to meet the demand. People are going to go down with the ship and nothing can be done to prevent that from happening.
I have no animous toward the Greeks or any other nation for that matter, but lazy union slugs really chafe my backside... it is so natural for many folks to take a free ride...Well, the party is over and it's time to fend for yourself, please let the Euro bubble burst so my gold & Silver will skyrocket in value.... God Bless.
Hey rich Greeks, you're welcome to bting your millions to the U.S. The vast majority of Americans don't hate the rich (besides maybe Obama and the 25% hard left)
The sooner it is that Greeks, such as Fani Gourgouri and Sotiris Pelekanos, get over the trauma of having their public-sector/source of sinecures diminished, along with the restrictive practices that hopelessly limit any potential to develop a viable private-sector, the sooner it is that Greece will be in a position to attract the local and foreign investment needed to develop the Greek economy and provide wages higher than an average of under €1,000 per/mo, that Greeks need to earn, so that they can reliably pay the higher taxes that will pay off the Greek debt.
Police and rioters clash as nation goes on strike
Flights were grounded, schools shut and civic offices closed in a nationwide strike Wednesday to protest the government's austerity measures. Riot police in Athens clashed with protesters and fired tear gas.
Back to the article
React to the article
(71) Reactions
15 OCTOBER
Posting about the Greek strikes isn't a bad thing--but how many people will actually read your post?
You have a RARE chance to get the attention of your officials, the media, and the world:
15 OCTOBER: SIMULTANEOUS WORLDWIDE PROTESTS PLANNED
GO TO 15october.net
FIND THE LOCATION OF THE PROTEST NEAREST YOU
MEANWHILE, CONSIDER CHANGING YOUR SOCIAL-MEDIA OR WEBSITE-POST PICTURE TO SIMPLY READ "15 OCT."...
AND THEN SPREAD THE WORD!
NO MORE CYNICISM.
DON'T MISS THIS CHANCE!
STOP WAR!
STOP WARS! Military machine needs no more games cause there is no money to pay for the silly killing games for the military! We disrespect the military!
STOP CHEMTRAILS!
LIMIT size of CORPORATIONS!
Reduce size of the government!
Investigate 9/11 properly!
European summer
Looks like the Arab spring evolved into the European summer which is now devolving into the America FALL...which will inevitably lead to the winter of our discontent. Revolutions anyone? Welcome to the state of entropy !
European summer
Looks like the Arab spring evolved into the European summer which is now devolving into the America FALL...which will inevitably lead to the winter of our discontent.
Riot Dog!!! @1.06.
Riot Dog!!! @1.06.
The government is broke (has
The government is broke (has no money) and the protesters what more spending!!! Maybe they need to go to school. Wait isn't that where they came from.
Greece
These greedy, lazy Greek people need to learn to live within there means & stop complaining. Dont they realize the whole world is trying to save there economy & country? There government MUST make cuts to stay a float & these greedy blood sucking unions just want more & more. I say to Hell with Greece let them starve & fall into a 3rd world country. Its there own fault in the end, the promised too much money to the greedy unions & they can suffer for it. Why should Germany, England, Finland & the USA give them more money to pay the unions over inflated benefits & wages SCREW THEM!
It appears that Greeks will
It appears that Greeks will not abide by the EU austerity plans laid down by their creditors and agreed to their Government. Shutting down the country only adds to less GDP and more debt to be bailed out, so more debt relief will be required. It's a vicious cycle that will consume all parties, with no solutions on the horizon. The social compact in Greece cannot be honored and those impacted by the fallout lash out in frustration, whilst private capital flees the Nation along with any hopes for a recovery. The Euro Zone will surely fail within the next year, thereby bringing down the rest of the world with it, because the haves will not subsidize those who insist on better social benefits than the ones who are footing the current bills, via a bailout every 2 months. The Greeks needed a Tea Party 10 years ago, but instead they cooked the books and partied on their EU credit card. The party is over and the hangover is not a pretty sight.
You are BROKE!
From Public Education you go to Public Lifetime employment and can't even figure out that Broke means B R O K E! Don't you Greeks KNOW that you are living in a welfare state supported by BORROWED $ just like here in America? Watch for our riots next OCTOBER!!!
Greek Riots
The riots are because they have run out of other peoples money and your seeing the end result of Socialism... It spreads the poverty and misery equally
Greece
Ain't socialism great?
Socialism has failed
The failure of Greece is a glaring example of the failure of socialism where ever and when ever it was tried with devastating results for the common people.
The socialists (and that includes Obama) don't understand that in order to satisfy the socialist needs one has to raise the money in three ways. A) Taxes, B)borrow and C) print. The result is a nanny state that consumes other people's labor and produces nothing in return. They don't understand capitalism and the free enterprise system because it involves taking risks and hard work. That's precisely what happened in Greece and is happening through out Europe. And the sad thing is we here in America are following in their foot steps full steam ahead to jump over the cliff and joint them.
As an American of Greek origin, I feel sad, but my fellow Greeks have no one to blame but themselves. Good luck.
Greece on strike? Hmm, so
Greece on strike? Hmm, so thier GDP went from what to what (where you can't technically have less than zero of something)? If the riot police would go home they'd be completely shut down....
Bear Grills
Is that Bear Grills reporting the news?
Are Riots Cost in EU Econ Model
Just how much ongoing productivity loss and impact on lower growth or is higher negative growth is built into the model that says if other nations give up wealth for Greece it pays off in the end?
Wonder Shay year the model says it all works out? Are the bankers telling anyone?
Perpetuating the problem
The irony is that these protests and strikes only make things worse for the people protesting and striking. With business shut down, and damage done by the demonstrators, they're deepening the debt and causing damage they cant afford to repair.
Greece-syntagma square-police murderous attacks in metro
Greek police entered the metro station in syntagma,throwing tear gas in the enclosed area of the station ,trying to poison hundreds of peacfull protesters ,workers of the metro (who were beaten for trying to prevent the police from throwing the gas canisters inside)
The situation is one of terror.the goverment has given the green light to the police to terrorise and destroy anyone who demonstrates,without provocation ,or excuse.it is a clear attempt to silence the greek people,and force them to subdue to the measures that lead to total poverty for the greek population and more profits for the bankers .
and in order to achieve its purpose is willing to not only sacrifice the dignity of greeks ,sell our country to big corporations ,and destroy anything that reminds theworld of the existence of greek civilisation as we knew it until today.There is an organised (by who i dont know ) attempt to eliminate slowly greek nation,culture,education.it is starting from school books that are not printed any more ,but instead given in DVD but not in greek,(written with latin characters ,an issue that has come up lately ,because it is making illiterate all students ,as what they learn is not a languyage but a product of the electronic era.thus eliminating our inheritance from the ancients).and they dont stop there.they baptise islands as grey zones thatmaybe turkey has a right on ,they do not ,i repeat they do not want to enforce the greek commercial zone ,allowing turkey to take posesion of the underground wealth of the aegean,(propably because this suits the plans of USA).and the list can go on forever.even from the first days of PASOK goverment it was clear they are here with a purpose,to destroy,decompose greek state and citizens ,and deliver them to the IMF,and its cronniew,for nothing.or propably in exchange for mr.papandreou a seat on the board of the IMF,the UN,or some other organisation...i dont know.but all indications are showing that all this election-default IMF troika thing seems to some people as preplanned with accuracy.even today that all the world is saying that the greek crisis is not goingto be solved with the present solution,here the goverment,is pressing on.they seem to be on a mission to destroy everything ,to demoralise greeks ,and weaken the defences of the society.for what purpose i can only guess......
I'm left wondering
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
Signed, IAmSoHappyIGotOutAfter9Years
I'm left dumbfounded
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps anyway and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
I'm left dumbfounded
In response to Stavros and Helena, Greece has been expensive for far longer than this current crisis! When the government is your employer, learn what job security means (or lack of it). As for losing everything, if the wages you were earning were overblown and being paid to you from the ever shrinking tax base, well then go back to my observation #2. These people never cease to amaze me. It's sad really, they wouldn't know how to pull themselves up by their bootstraps anyway and fix their own lives. One more point, in response to Helena, the government doesn't have to put you on a boat to send you away, you have to find your own way out. Back to observation #3.
Greece caught in death spiral
Poor Greece, caught in its own socialist death spiral. You milked the money, gave it away to non-productive people and now you have to pay the piper - who is NOT a government employee.
spend spend spend 5 weeks
spend spend spend 5 weeks vacation time off for that this and the other thing..hmm monies falls from heaven, gov pensions..hmm more monies from heaven. got give em credit, i would do the same thing if i could...ahhhh what a life it would be...only to dream...
Police and rioters clash as nation goes on strike
Greeks are clearly demonstrating their total lack of responsibility for their condition.
God knows why the EU leaders allowed them to join the eurozone in the first place when it was well known that Greeks are financially irresponsible.
The solution is to let the country default then kick them out of the eurozone. Then they won't be able to riot anymore because they will be too busy trying to find ways to pay for food and shelter.
Shame on the Greeks (as well as the Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese).
Greece
The main problem with Socialism is, eventually you run out of other peoples money.
It's ironic how the Greeks do
It's ironic how the Greeks do not get it! They are in a deep financial crisis, yet they strike when they need to work. These strikes, which occur often, set them back much farther each time. This is a time to work together not apart. Tough sacrifices must be made to work through these difficult times.
Greek sacrifices
Let the Greek people to LIVE! The European Union was a scam to get the money away from the Greek people!
Everybody who gets a
Everybody who gets a government handout is protesting. Greece hasn't fired a single public worker. They're going to default on their debts. It's only a matter of time.
What do they want?
What EXACTLY do the rioters want or hope for? They can strike all month, but the reality is that there is NO MONEY for them or their benefits. NONE!
Protesters: Give me my free
Protesters: Give me my free stuff, I'm entitled to it all, to hell with working for a living.
Greek protests
What is the alternative? Either the government borrows money at the terms offered or it goes broke. Cutbacks are worse than catastrophe?
THE FUTURE
In the last 40 years, 10 trillion dollars of redistribution policies in the United States have striped opportunity makers of their ability to create opportunity for opportunity seekers. In less than 5 years from now, the ultra-rich will have sold the notion that material wealth can be redistributed to enough poor people, that they will never be able to achieve the equality they have always sought. Soon, society will blame their every problem on income, and the materialism promulgated by those on the commanding heights will have been achieved; total control of human potential, and the ultimate progressive science project will be realized. Always the tools of manipulation, the propensity of the human being to identify with sub-groups, coupled with the simultaneous desire to seek fulfillment in the material world, will cause the human autogolpe which completes the final solution sought by the 2% of humanity that we never knew.
The Greek rioters should hold
The Greek rioters should hold their breath until they get what they want.
It boggles my mind
Are these people completely devoid of any understanding of economics? The entitlement makes me sick.
This is socialism collapsing,
This is socialism collapsing, not enough money to pay for all the perks, pensions, early retierments, etc. The welfare state imploding and the entitled ones don't like it. They don't want to work for a living they want it handed to them by the few who still work and pay taxes. The same thing is happening and will happen here in the US.
rioters clash
Where do these communists think the money will come from? The problem with socialism is sooner or later you run out of other people's money. History tells us this is so.
Riots
These people did nothing. What right does a government have to take away everything a person has worked for.
After a 300 year absence,
After a 300 year absence, serfdom returns to Europe. Greeks aren't serious about being free and prosperous under a socialist banner.
Dimitri
Dimitri should get a job instead complaining no one is paying for his college...bum
News Flash
You have already lost everything... you just don't know it yet.
Socialism - the gift that keeps on giving
Greece - Democracy was a good idea - but you've lost your touch - Socialism is a total disaster. Now where are your womb to tomb freebies going to come from....certainly not from other Greeks.
Must have been hit hard by GATT and WTC
this is our future in America.
We cannot endure the transfer of our jobs to 10 dollar a day employees either.
The trade agreements ushered in by our governments was designed to bolster corporations and leave starving loyal citizens behind.
The Banks now own most of the military so unless someone in government can perform some shoe throwing into the machine, we are doomed to fight for our futures.
Lets hope that the conscious patriot in the military won't shoot his neighbor, but since our gov. got ready by using the national guard to kill innocent civilians in the middle east, they are hoping that they will kill us too.
A Shame
I can understand their frustration. They mortgaged their future and their kids future and the check has come due. It is time for the rest of the world to pay attention and learn from their mistakes, because there is no easy way out once you're in it.
strikes
all those years of wasting time on government jobs, you should have seen this coming.. get a real job and produce something that can be sold.
GREEK STRIKE!
Right on! See, “Capitalism Hits the Fan”, by Professor of Economics, Richard Wolff, PhD, which can be found on youtube (the Prof. doesn’t actually start his talk until 7:00). As much as big business people want to blame Socialism or the Greeks as people or anybody and everybody other than themselves, it was big business that brought-about this crisis (see FCIC and Levin-Coburn reports) and the fundamental flaws and people-crushing exploitation of Capitalism.
Regaining Our Republic: Phase I
Big business is sustaining its ever increasing profit margins at the expense of the American people, particularly the unemployed. Big business always operates at an optimum profit level, so they can always increase their workforces, among many other options, at a relatively small cost to their profits; yet whenever this option is put forth, they exaggerate this as if it would destroy their corporation; that is a corporate propaganda lie. They could also stop, “outsourcing”, which they began extensively in the 70s as a means of “disciplining” labor [1], and correct unemployment over night.
Instead, big business has decided to forsake the people that permit them to operate in the, “Republic”, and are, via the state, business partners, in order to further enrich their own gargantuan mountains of loot and, more irresponsibly, keep people, “their labor”, or what they refer to openly as their, “human resources”, cheap, plentiful, desperate, and, above all, obedient. Big business hasn’t been, “unable”, to hire because of the economy that they tanked [2] or because it would cost too much, when they can actually afford it quite easily; they don’t want to hire people for many reasons to include the facts that they are just that greedy and, at their own peril, couldn’t care less about people [3].
Don’t be fooled by their propaganda, to include the posts made by their imps, drones, wannabes, etc. They all have political, philosophical and vested interests in keeping this diseased version of, “Capitalism”, continuing to oppress and exploit the people of the world, which Adam Smith [4], were he alive today, would find wholly despicable.
The first and most egregious sin of big business is the rampant Corporatism [5], if not out-right Fascism [6], that they’ve nurtured for well over a century to make a flailing, dull-witted corporate minion out of the First American, “Republic”. How? Big business and big money, select, support and heavily fund the only two candidates in any election that the people perceive to be electable and, in so doing, they control those candidates. See, “The Corporate Takeover of U.S. Democracy”, by Professor Noam Chomsky [7] under articles on his website at Chomsky dot info, for more specific information, to include references and sources, of which the good Professor is well known, aside from being a highly respected intellectual and Professor of Linguistics at MIT.
In affect, a vote for either a Republican or a Democrat is the same as voting for big business/money against you as a private citizen of this country. Voting for a Democrat, for example, as I did with President Obama, may yield some social justice in the form of human rights, etc., but, in the end, even a Democratic President isn’t immune to Corporatism and will, as the President and other Democrats have, fold when the interests of the people conflict with the interests of big business/money. Indeed, throughout this crisis, although President Obama is supposedly a Liberal Democrat, the vast majority of what he has done and supported, to include who he selected in his cabinet etc., has further enriched big business/money and done practically nothing for the people of this country in this financial crisis that they didn’t cause and also decimated state/federal programs, all for the benefit of big business/money at the expense of the devastated people.
What’s the alternative? Big business and big money has made voting for any Independent, whatever their political views, all but pointless. How? By throwing monumental amounts of corporate and wealthy contributors’ money only at those two parties, this provides an overwhelming advantage in resources that has consistently squashed nearly every single Independent candidate. Indeed, so virulent is the GOP in this regard that a new “party” has arisen to be even more extremely in favor of big business/money, called the, “Tea Party”.
What can be done? Just voting for some Independent will get you nowhere while most people still believe, and with good reason, that they’re wasting their vote and indirectly electing the other party’s candidate. In order to really counter the above Corporatism that has almost destroyed the Republic, the people must do three things just to get started.
First, the people must lobby to strip corporations from their absurd legal status of, “persons” (See, “Corporate Personhood”, via Wikipedia). Secondly, the people must also lobby to make it illegal for any, “entity”, like corporations, that are not simply living breathing individual human beings as citizens to influence the government in any way whatsoever, to include lobbying and especially political contributions; thus only people can donate their own private funds to political campaigns, and not, for example, corporations. Thirdly, there should be an absolute maximum amount of money that any candidate can accept for use in a campaign, with any additional funds being returned to, or not used by those candidates; this maximum should be relatively tiny in comparison to the massive amounts of capital used for the two “main” parties; it is estimated that it will cost for the 2012 Presidential election, will be over $2,000,000,000, but of course, only for the Democrat and Republican candidates. Shear money can not be permitted to control the Republic, which was made by the people and for the people not to pander to the highest bidders, especially when they aren’t even real people, but entities run by people that are oppressing, exploiting everybody but their own.
"Julie Labrouste" (me)
[1] See, the RSA Animation of, “Crises of Capitalism”, by David Harvey, on Youtube for more information and, “In Defense of David Harvey”, which is a rebuttal to criticism of the original video.
[2] See the FCIC and Levin-Coburn reports on the financial crisis. Both of these completely refute the corporate propaganda that immediately claimed that this crisis was the result of a “perfect storm” to moment that the crisis was made public knowledge. Both reports also place the vast majority of blame for the crisis on the financial sectors of big business, and the, “regulators”, that they controlled through transparent conflicts of interest. I submit also that big business in general also facilitated this crisis by using their vast wealth and power the above-described Corporatism to coerce the state into crippling the regulations created by FDR to protect the people of this nation from precisely what happened.
[3] “Corporations were given the rights of immortal persons. But then special kinds of persons, persons who had no moral conscience. These are a special kind of persons, which are designed by law, to be concerned only for their stockholders. And not, say, what are sometimes called their stakeholders, like the community or the work force or whatever.”
- Noam Chomsky
[4] Adam Smith (baptized 16 June 1723 – died 17 July 1790 [OS: 5 June 1723 – 17 July 1790]) was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. His theories on Capitalism, which are often sighted by scholars and supporters of big business, are considered virtually sacrosanct, but whose warnings of the horrific social consequences associated with the abuses of Capitalism have been almost completely ignored. Much, if not all, of what has happened with regard to the current social consequences of this financial crisis were heralded by Adam Smith over 200 years ago.
[5] Corporatism can have different meanings depending upon who you’re talking to at the time. In this context, it means the use of corporate funds to heavily influence the government away from its primary charge, which is to serve the people, not corporations.
[6] “Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power. The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living. Both lessons hit home. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.”
“We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. ‘Necessitous men are not free men.’ People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
“(People should have the) right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation (and the) right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation”.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
[7] Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) of in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and a major figure of analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology.
Boycott Wall Street Bankers
It’s just another country the IMF is squeezing to subordinate its people to the banking system the we already have in place around the world. Boycott Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America, the big three that make up the Federal Reserve. Watch zeitgeist: Addendum for more info.
Greece
If they would just sell off some of thier land or use it as the basis for the loans then we would have no problems. The Greeks are being selfish. I would love the chance to be a partner in the purchase of an island that would not be part of any existing country.
Squealing piglets
Let the little piglets squeal and cut off all funds and let the govt bank go dry and then they will not get any more milk from the giant government sow with dry teats.
Coming to a town near you
So this is what we can expect here in the US from those who would TAX THE RICH, make them pay! Take care of me! Sounds good huh?
I believe that it is time to
I believe that it is time to cut loose these Greeks.
"They should just put us on a
"They should just put us on a boat and send us away," they told AFP. if only they would go...
Greece...
I suggest Greece handle the debt the way Iceland did. Why should taxpayers be on the hook for the bankers gambling debts. Let those who took the profits also take the loss.
What do the protesters want
I know they want more free money. But that seems to have run out. Do they want to 'tax the rich' like our free loaders here want. Or do they want to just default and let the banks take the hit. I'll bet no one has explained that most of their jobs are going to disappear if the banks default on the loans as international trade will dry up over night including tourism.
The Greeks finally awaken
The Greeks finally awaken from their slumber to riot for more vacations!!!!
Greece Protestors
I bet these protests are the most work these people have done in their lives. Protesting is more work than lying on the beach and collecting welfare.
The Greek youths are
The Greek youths are destroying their own country. They think this is cool to riot and create chaos?
Too bad for Greece, a once proud and noble country now is spiraling downward like a Third World country as a result of the self-entitled government workers.
Greece
I bet these protestors are now working harder in these protests then they ever have before.
are u ready?
this is what o/demcoms want for USA; is every1 ready for what is coming? do u have Plan B?
No pay cuts for
No pay cuts for politicians?
No pension cuts for retired politicians?
No curtailment of rich govt officials perks??
What gives?
The Greeks are unbeliable snobs!
They lived the high life for years. Suck it up! Time for austerity measures. The alternative is far worse. Wake up, Athens...
Greece
How come you news hounds never report on any sacrifices the Greek Fat Cat, Ruling Class needs to endure?
Is that because there are none??
Silly Greeks
Silly Greeks, YOU HAVE NO MONEY! And the rest of the world isn't going to lend it to you any more! Riot and strike all you want, but you've reached the limit on your credit card.
This scenario is, unfortunately, going to repeat itself much closer to home and much sooner than we think.
Stupidity
The RICH don't have to pay.......THEY can just leave....with ALL their money. Go ahead... push 'em hard enough they will!
More Taxes
We're gonna have to collect more taxes to fix all that marble you guys like throwing at the tax paid police. Now if we could only get about half of you off the couch and out of the street and into a private sector job. Then you can be tax payers instead of tax leaches.
the demands of the Greek strikers
The strikers cry for the Greek government to obtain money from the rich instead of making tax increases and pay cuts on them. I would observe that there probably isn't enough bucks available to confiscate from the rich even if the Greek government decided to do that. The situation reminds me of the sinking of the Titanic. There were not enough lifeboats and too many people on board. The Greek Titanic is going to sink. The strikers can demand as many financial lifeboats as they wish, but there aren't going to be enough to meet the demand. People are going to go down with the ship and nothing can be done to prevent that from happening.
Greek Fire!
I have no animous toward the Greeks or any other nation for that matter, but lazy union slugs really chafe my backside... it is so natural for many folks to take a free ride...Well, the party is over and it's time to fend for yourself, please let the Euro bubble burst so my gold & Silver will skyrocket in value.... God Bless.
The smart rich are gonna flee
Hey rich Greeks, you're welcome to bting your millions to the U.S. The vast majority of Americans don't hate the rich (besides maybe Obama and the 25% hard left)
Can't wait when
I can't wait when someone in Greece states they wished there was a war somewhere to deflect the attention on them.
Self-destruction
Ahhh, the Greeks, hastily destroying the one industry that even begins to sustaim the country, tourism. Who wants to go there will all this going on?
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher was a economic genius.
"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of everyone elses money."
Greece
Just where is this world headed? It is getting more frightening by the day. Just be ready - it will be OK.
Keep calm, and carry on.
The sooner it is that Greeks, such as Fani Gourgouri and Sotiris Pelekanos, get over the trauma of having their public-sector/source of sinecures diminished, along with the restrictive practices that hopelessly limit any potential to develop a viable private-sector, the sooner it is that Greece will be in a position to attract the local and foreign investment needed to develop the Greek economy and provide wages higher than an average of under €1,000 per/mo, that Greeks need to earn, so that they can reliably pay the higher taxes that will pay off the Greek debt.