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Drivers For $40-Billion-Uber Face Death Threats In Greece

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Having raised money at a mind-numbingly bubblicious $40 billion valuation this week (which as a reminder is triple the value of the entire NYC tax medallion business), we thought the pushback from the world's tax-driving unions was at least worth noting as they resist 'disruption'. Nowhere is that pushback more evident than in Greece, where as KeepTalkingGreece reports, the President of Attica Taxi Association (SATA) said that taxi drivers cooperating with Uber “should be hanged at Syntagma Square” for being traitors.

 

Via Keep Talking Greece blog,

Unprecedented! In an apparent outburst of uncontrolled brain cells, the President of Attica Taxi Association (SATA) said that taxi drivers cooperating with Uber “should be hanged at Syntagma Square” for being traitors – “Judas” as he called them characteristically. President Thymios Lymebropoulos uploaded his threats on the Facebook page of SATA on December 2nd 2014.

“Thymios Lymberopoulos, the outspoken president of Attica’s taxi federation, on Thursday declared that any cab drivers found to be working with international ridesharing service Uber, which recently extended its operations to Greece, should be “hanged.”

 

“Any cabbies who betray the taxi, like modern-day Judases, for 30 pieces of silver, should be hanged,” Lymberopoulos wrote in comments on his Facebook profile page. “The war has just begun,” he wrote, adding that all taxi owners should keep their eye on drivers renting their vehicles.

 

“The driver may be passing through the profession and might not care about tomorrow,” the federation chief said and warned against “allowing every opportunist to play with and undermine our wealth and our profession.” (ekatimerini, protothema)

During a promotion meeting of Uber with new cooperating taxi drivers on Thursday, Lymperopoulos and some other SATA unionists entered the hall, created some tension and police was called in to diffuse the tension. Lymperopoulos got the data of two Uber co-workers and is apparently preparing to file a law suit.

Apart form the law suit and the “hanging threats, the war SATA has declared against Uber includes also the expulsion of Uber-drivers from the Association.

Controversial ridesharing company Uber that has triggered strong reactions by professional taxi-drivers around the world, launched its Athens service last Tuesday.

*  *   *

If only the Greeks were so vociferous against their true nemeses - the Brussels-based antagonists...

 

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Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:21 | 5524988 Joebloinvestor
Joebloinvestor's picture

I wonder which one will pay taxes.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:54 | 5525043 Frolf
Frolf's picture

The slow motion Greek death spiral

 

http://y2u.be/tOW5eljyjms

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:08 | 5525072 Publicus
Publicus's picture

Hanged they will be.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:12 | 5525087 chumbawamba
chumbawamba's picture

The relentless grind of evolution faces off with the dinosaurs.

I am Chumbawamba.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:30 | 5525115 Pool Shark
Pool Shark's picture

 

 

And, in other early 20th century news: Buggywhip manufacturers protested in front of the Ford Motor Company, demanding that the manufacture of automobiles be immediately halted...

 

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:58 | 5525163 LetThemEatRand
LetThemEatRand's picture

No way can Uber drivers defy the laws of physics like NYC taxi drivers.  

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 00:09 | 5525187 savagegoose
savagegoose's picture

since the spinning jenny people have revolted against change. especially those in a posistion of of loss of benefits, unaware or uncaring of the greater benefit to society of innovation and efficiency gains... these guys will really have a fun time when robot drivers hit the roads in about 5 years time and replace the fucken lot.

 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:44 | 5525299 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

Uber will be out of business as soon as the lawsuits for rapes and robberies kick in.

Until then, they will rip a lot of dumbshits off with this stock valuation dream.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 02:11 | 5525333 Harbanger
Harbanger's picture

Whatever it takes to stop them, we'll bankrupt them if we have to.  The old guard has no idea how to deal with change, the internet is their biggest enemy.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 05:04 | 5525406 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

Not about the Internet or the "new" thing, it is about trust.

Since when would you be o.k. having your Daugther hitch a ride online with a stranger?

Yet another robot technology pipe dream born of Silicon Valley trust fund fuckwads and douchebags.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:15 | 5525552 Stackers
Stackers's picture

And you think just because they got a taxi license this somehow makes them more trust worthy or any less a stranger ?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:16 | 5525555 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

Anybody who thinks Uber is some kind of revolutionary new product should go to a few of the Uber driver chat forums. Uber is just like any other taxicab company-- out to rape its drivers for all they are worth. They just do it with a cellphone app instead of a radio dispatcher.

As far as the rider is concerned, I suppose the cellphone app provides some additional value over your typical radio-dispatched taxi. But cellphone apps aren't rocket science, it won't be long before regular taxicab services simply develop their own apps. In fact, I'm surprised someone hasn't developed app technology and licensed it directly to cab companies. That seems like a smarter business proposition than trying to build up a national network of independent contractors, who you then try to fuck up the ass, thus creating turnover and confusion.

Of course, if you consider Uber to be just another internet pump-and-dump stock play, then you probably would organize it exactly the way they are doing so.

The scuttlebutt on the Uber board I trolled recently is that Uber is positioning itself for the Obama immigration amnesty, as this will give them an underclass of thousands of new desperate drivers to exploit.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 10:25 | 5525652 DetectiveStern
DetectiveStern's picture

I'd rather my local taxi firm made money employing local people and keeping the money local than the profits be offshored to fuck knows who.

Fuck globalisation!

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 15:05 | 5526248 RyeWhiskey
RyeWhiskey's picture

If by Buggywhip you mean the multi-billion dollars Silicon Valley uber-fraud then yeah, sure. Uber masquerades regress under the pretense of progress. Enslavement under the pretense of free market.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:26 | 5524992 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture
Uber driver allegedly rapes passenger in Delhi; is Uber safe for women?

In a shocking incident, an Uber passenger was allegedly raped in Delhi yesterday night. The passenger, a 27-year-old finance executive had hailed the cab from Vasant Kunj around 9:30PM, NDTV reports. The passenger claims she fell asleep and woke up to find the cab parked in a secluded area and the doors were locked.

When she tried to raise alarm, the driver allegedly thrashed her and raped her. He later dropped her to her residence near Inder Lok and threatened her to not tell anyone about the incident. According to the report, medical tests have confirmed rape. The driver is absconding.

Uber, which has been one of the most recent entrants in the Indian cab hailing market and has disrupted the industry, calls itself a technology company that acts like a middleman between free cabs and customers. However, it also claims it does thorough background checks of drivers and users can share details of their rides with others so they can be tracked while the trip is on.

However, in this case, the driver is allegedly untraceable because he deleted the Uber app from his phone and his phone number on Uber’s records, according to the report, is not registered under his name.

http://www.bgr.in/news/uber-driver-allegedly-rapes-passenger-in-delhi-is...

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:29 | 5524998 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

The Uber wealthy are raping everyone. 

 

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:01 | 5525063 Ignatius
Ignatius's picture

The issue is always resources and markets.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:59 | 5525165 Bunga Bunga
Bunga Bunga's picture

Uber Wall St is raping you!

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 11:58 | 5525787 PKF
PKF's picture

Uber leader is just another Union Busting Bully.  "Yeah, dude let's bust another working class job and get rich in the process."  This is not a Change in Enterprise or productivity.

Uber smells of Peak Greed.  Hope it and all of WS lands hard on their collective asses...and jail time is required.  Or what the Greeks deem as sufficient punishment.

 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 00:14 | 5525194 10mm
10mm's picture

It's India. They been raping/gang raping for who knows how long.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 14:12 | 5526100 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

India is a good example where the West should have stayed until the population learned some fucking decency.

The British should never have left the country.  The should have stayed, raised the army presence and make them accept the Anglican church.  Castes and shitty religious ideas are Indias problemNot civilized enough.

Just my opinion. 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:26 | 5525282 Larry Dallas
Larry Dallas's picture

Rape in Delhi is like coughing on an airplane. Happens every day. So what?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 11:38 | 5525740 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

This flies directly in the face of Uber's claim of driver verification and background checks, that's what.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 13:07 | 5525930 123dobryden
123dobryden's picture

are you going to rape a financial executive?   No

 

checked verified satisfied?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:17 | 5525553 RafterManFMJ
RafterManFMJ's picture

...medical tests have confirmed rape.

Wow, I had no idea medical technology was THIS advanced, especially in India.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 10:11 | 5525623 knukles
knukles's picture

They take a class of filthy Ganges River water and pour half it in her snortch while she's forced to drink the other half and if noting bad happens she was raped. 
If she has an allergic reaction or dies, she was innocent. 

Same paradigm as with witches in Massachusetts. 
Say, talkin' about witches in Massachusetts, old Pocahontas should be tested for raping the voters, no?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 10:20 | 5525644 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

You mean Fauxcahontas, right?

I prefer "Princess Lie-awatha" myself.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:27 | 5524996 alexcojones
alexcojones's picture

"You tawkin' to me? You tawkin to ME?"

 

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:33 | 5525008 Aeternus
Aeternus's picture

Take it easy Bickle..... Don't get any ideas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCtzQRkrj0U

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:28 | 5524997 FredFlintstone
FredFlintstone's picture

What is Uber and how can it be worth this much? It relies on people using their own cars to taxi people around. WTF, no assets.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:31 | 5525003 Peter Pan
Peter Pan's picture

The answer to that is that valuations and value are two different things these days.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:55 | 5525045 wintermute
wintermute's picture

In the global digital internet economy valuations come from the size of a corporation's network effect, not its assets

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:01 | 5525059 FredFlintstone
FredFlintstone's picture

Sounds familiar. Deja vu all over again.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:23 | 5525563 Buckaroo Banzai
Buckaroo Banzai's picture

The value of their network is, unfortunately, just about nil. There is an existing network of taxicabs that has done a pretty good job of making itself ubiquitous using old-fashioned technologies like telephones and radio dispatch...which still work great.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 03:18 | 5525368 813kml
813kml's picture

I'm wating for the Uber/Snapchat merger, $50 billion of valuation to make passengers disappear.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 08:23 | 5525511 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

It's the Internet WWWeb scam thingie. It allows IPOs and stock markets and CEO's to lie like crazy and have insane valuations.

Just a looting operation, 15 years into this new version of the scam. They are all cashing in before everyone realises its not magic and internet IPO's get no atttention in 20 years.

Because most people have no clue about technology they get to play Magic Priest of the Temple and say that it's worth so much more than Caterpiller.

Good if you ride it and get off with monies intact. Not so good if you held Pets.com for the long haul.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 12:21 | 5525829 markar
markar's picture

It's the app silly. We all know how an app can be worth $60 bil.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:34 | 5525010 AustrianJim
AustrianJim's picture

I think he was talking metaphorically and would actually want them to be shot, not hanged.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:41 | 5525020 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 You forgot 1/2 of South America, after Venezuela. I guess Ebola gets equatorial Africa?

  Anyone that thinks SDR's are happening is 1-2 hundred years ahead of their time. Anyone that thinks Europe is going to cave in before Asia, is 1-3 years ahead of their time.

  The tidal wave of Asian deflation is coming. The Fed. will print  massively to save Europe. Europe won't cave in, until the Fed. does.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:32 | 5525127 Pool Shark
Pool Shark's picture

 

 

Indeed. We have seen this movie before:

Japan circa 1989 - 2014

 

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:51 | 5525150 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

  I'm a big fan of  "Pool Sharks".  ;-)

  Minnesota Fats & Willy Mosconi /

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 06:16 | 5525443 eXMachina
eXMachina's picture

You don't think they will dump the SDR "solution" on the world at the next crisis? I think they just might.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 22:50 | 5525029 Seize Mars
Seize Mars's picture

I have yet to see a labor union that doesn't use violence or the threat of violence. Fuck 'em, you cannot rail against the coercion force of the state, and then theaten your competitors.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:09 | 5525080 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 I'd like to share a really good story with Z/H readers.

  I've loved exotic cars from a VERY young age. I hope Tyler enjoys this article.  Gotta love those Aussies ;-)

  Rare car collection worth millions found in barn - Yahoo!7

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:37 | 5525133 Pool Shark
Pool Shark's picture

 

 

Amazing collection!

It's a shame they don't appear to have been well protected from the elements; possibly a lot of rust damage below the surfaces?

btw, who in his right mind piles books and magazines on top of a rare Ferrari????

 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:12 | 5525155 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Did you see that 250 GTO spider? What a beautiful piece of art....

 That car that Enzo did!  It had the matching " navy "  top intact. that is 1 of the misisng 23!

 I'm sorry folks. I love vintage cars. The expression and design is unmatched.

 The men and women that shaped those fenders and grills are true " artisans".

  Those Bugatties\\\ and that Hispano Suiza?  I'm in love

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:56 | 5525319 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Beyond belief.  How did the top remain intact?

The Ferrari factory videos are incredible especially the casting of the engine parts.   Even today the stitching of the interiors is done by hand.

The other cars like the Bugatti and Hispano were possible priceless if they were in good shape.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 02:04 | 5525330 Freddie
Freddie's picture

The rarest and arguably the most beautful except the back end is not perfect.  Ferrari 330 P4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awArTC8iQ3Q

This one too Ferrari 512 M - Needs red versus the N/A blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=404PMZtqopA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ_1lUQ4Y7M

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 02:46 | 5525355 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Freddie I'm absolutely impressed. You also caught the other One'offs?  Last time I checked , some dum Chinaman payed 16 million $usd for a Ferrari

 I guess we could use exotic cars for fiat valuations?

 For the forum/ My personal favorites? Ferrari BB512i / Lamborghini Miura/

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 08:35 | 5525527 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

With finds like these, the purchase price and value will get some hardcore fanatics who will spend 6-figures to restore them.

The rusted body panels can be electo-bathed and re-converted back to something close to the original metal, paint will have to be modern no way around that, the rest can be rebult, replated, rust treated. Many ways to do this not all are destructive.

Gonna require some real pros, and it's gonna cost ya...

Look for these at Pebble Beach in a few years.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 08:36 | 5525521 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

The books. That one was covered and garaged, less moisture. Books did the rest by keeping the sun, dust, elements, water and animals away.

Darn near a Holy Grail find. All of these productive white guys who are dying or getting old, accumulated some great stuff. Cars, vinyl LP's, reel to reel tapes, Betamax tapes, 8-tracks and Elcasets...

I have one Elcaset>320MP3 bootleg and it sounds so much better than any cassette or digital boot...a shame they never caught on. They simply sound better.

 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 10:12 | 5525626 Graph
Graph's picture

To answer your question:

Remember the goofy chuckle when told the estimated price at Antique Road Show with: "You mean to tell me that that painting is worth ($....) while all this years I was covering my electrical fuse box in the basement with it !"

THOSE people.

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:22 | 5525107 Meat Hammer
Meat Hammer's picture

Freedom of choice?  We'll have none of that.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 00:02 | 5525171 XqWretch
XqWretch's picture

This coming from the birthplace of democracy no less

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 00:19 | 5525202 JetsettingWelfareMom
JetsettingWelfareMom's picture

And the Roman empire...no surprise here...

Sat, 12/06/2014 - 23:37 | 5525132 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Why is knowing the identity of driver, passenger and vehicle worth 40 billion again? Sounds like "identity theft" is "only the beginining."

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:03 | 5525263 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

  I remember as a child going fishing and hunting with both my Grandfathers.

  No silicone chips , iphones, tablets. 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:01 | 5525543 IndianaJohn
IndianaJohn's picture

With me it was with my Father. Were so analog then. My Father passed in '98. He did have a computerized car. But the rest of his life was analog.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 01:31 | 5525287 RyeWhiskey
RyeWhiskey's picture

Fuck uber fraud.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 04:43 | 5525401 Viglud Nov Simse
Viglud Nov Simse's picture

Somebody threatens my business, hang em! This guy is dead (business wise), he just does not know it yet. 

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 05:39 | 5525426 smacker
smacker's picture

What's going on in Greece is just an extreme example of most of Europe. Europe has been a socialist construction for many decades.

In Spain, pick-up/drop-off car rental where either end is an "airport" costs far more (typically 3x or 4x) than pick-up/drop-off in town centre rental locations. All this to protect taxi cab drivers who service airports and charge thru the nose.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 08:39 | 5525531 Leraconteur
Leraconteur's picture

I take airport shuttles wherever and whenever I can. I can afford a taxi, but it just chaps my hide and so many cabbies in all countries are grifter scamster scum.

Get on the local bus and take my time into town. Subways and high speed rail are best, natch.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:13 | 5525551 smacker
smacker's picture

Sure, I also take trains and buses when convenient and available or when I have little luggage. Other times it's not an option. Try getting from Alicante airport to Benissa in Spain with a lot of luggage. A taxi or rental car are the only real options. Therein lies one of the rip-offs.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 09:52 | 5525600 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

Greece and the EU was set-up by Goldman. Who reaped the benefit of getting countries such as Greece into the EU? The failure was designed in from the get go.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 08:23 | 5525509 Oldrepublic
Oldrepublic's picture

They are called the airport taxi mafia, found all over the world!

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 10:30 | 5525657 Tom Green Swedish
Tom Green Swedish's picture

Strange thing is America is much aligned with Greece in terms of labor type.

Some folks printed about 10 trillion.  Now thats what I call a recovery.

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 13:33 | 5526002 anita22
anita22's picture

People keep bashing the EU. It's not that I'm against that, but... which do you think is the model to follow?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 13:33 | 5526003 anita22
anita22's picture

People keep bashing the EU. It's not that I'm against that, but... which do you think is the model to follow?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 13:32 | 5526004 anita22
anita22's picture

People keep bashing the EU. It's not that I'm against that, but... which do you think is the model to follow?

Sun, 12/07/2014 - 14:19 | 5526118 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

If your picture is real, then the model to follow is called anita22!

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!