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The Cradle of Democracy Rocks the Autocrats
The StealthFlation Blog
On the old continent, this December 29th, a succinct political showdown is scheduled to take place which may well become a defining moment for our entirely unsettled new millenium. What is at stake is none other than the prosperity of the common man pitted against the privilege of concentrated power. Lamentably, this deliberate dogmatic divide has relentlessly defined human civilization for the ages.
What is at hand isn’t so much about lofty ideals. It’s not about Socialism. It’s not about Capitalism. It’s not about Communism. It’s not about being a progressive, a conservative or a liberal. It’s not about left vs right. Forget all those dumbed down dichotomies. It’s much more fundamental than all of that. Quite simply, it’s about People vs. Power, that’s it, nothing more. Those that have and wield institutional power, and those that do not. It’s as elementary and base as that I’m afraid.
Take a good look around, I defy you to point to a single socioeconomic construct in our supposedly enlightened and advanced society of today which is not essentially determined by that crude polarizing characterization. Whether it be our bought and paid for Political Class, our rapacious Banking Sector, our completely captured Regulators, our entitled Multinational Corporations, our entrenched Governmental Agencies, our marauding Military Industrial Complex, our fleecing Healthcare Providers, our muzzled Free Press, our hijacked Justice System, or our grossly overpaid CEOs, Athletes, and Entertainers, they all have one thing in common, and I assure you that it’s not the common good that they share. What they seek above all else is to expand existing institutional dominion and their own privileges within it.
Sad to say, but at the end of the day, perhaps dog eat dog is what we humans are really best at, and the only state of being we’re actually capable of. Maybe all those exalted ideals of enlightened forms of governance are just a load of crap to make us feel better about ourselves. Judging by the overt self seeking avarice that dictates the pace of just about everything these days, it sure seems that way.
The odd thing about all of this, especially for our nation, is that America was actually born out of a revolt against the oppressive power of institutional entitlement. Does the following ring a bell:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The founding fathers certainly understood the suffocating and stifling nature of undue privilege. Thank God they had the enlightened foresight to realize that liberating men, not subjugating them, was the most effective way to both govern and grow a nation, not to mention the righteous and moral thing to do. We’re not talking about mandating equality here, we are talking about demanding the liberty and opportunity for each of us to strive to become equals to the most admired and successful among us, should we so choose.
The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, awoke Western civilization to the advancement and empowerment of the individual over the authority of the State, which was central to our founding fathers’ declaration. This powerful liberating social-political philosophy of their times traces its roots all the way back to the ancient Greek philosophers that roamed the halls of the Acropolis pictured above. The likes of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle insisted that society should be ruled by merritt. In his most famous work The Republic, Plato makes this clear.
Interestingly, in his most famous work, The Republic, Plato critiques democracy, condemns tyranny, and proposes a three tiered merit based structure of society, with workers, guardians and philosophers, in an equal relationship, where no innocents would ever be put to death again, citing the philosophers’ relentless love of truth and knowledge of the forms or ideals, concern for general welfare and lack of propertied interest as causes for their being suited to govern. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_philosophy#Western_philosophy
“In a democracy,” the Greek historian Herodotus wrote, “there is, first, that most splendid of virtues, equality before the law.” Cleisthenes’ demokratia abolished the political distinctions between the Athenian aristocrats, who had long monopolized the political decision making process, and the middle and working class people who made up the army & the navy. This obviously did not yet included slave labor, but clearly the foundations for self governance were established, and the seeds of equality of opportunity were certainly planted by the ancient Greeks.
Having laid out the above narrative, let’s get back to the crucial showdown about to take place on the 29th of this December, 2014. As you may know, today Modern Greece is in the midst of a parliamentary procedure to elect a new president. As a parliamentary democracy, the President of Greece, much like the Queen of England, plays mostly a ceremonial role as the figurehead of State. It is the Prime Minister and Parliament that actually govern the State’s affairs. So why is this important you ask?
Well, here’s the deal. To be elected president, the proposed nominee must receive a supermajority of votes from the parliament, and should the current governing coalition fail to achieve the required number of votes, it is promptly dissolved and national elections are immediately held to elect a new government. Moreover, it is widely believed that the next ruling coalition to be voted in would likely be controlled by the popular SYRIZA party led by a new Prime Minister in Alexis Tsipras.
I’ll be perfectly blunt here. The current Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy party, is exactly who the Autocrats and financial Kleptocrats in Brussels want to work with. I’ll be equally blunt here again. Mr. Tsipras of the Syriza party is their worst nightmare. We’ll get back to this shortly, as first we must wade through some procedural parliamentary protocol to get you up to date.
Thus far, two separate votes have taken place to elect the new Greek Presidential nominee, Stavros Dimas, who has been put forward by Prime Minister Samaras and is favored by Brussels. During the first round, which took place on December 17th, he received 160 votes, well short of the required 200 supermajority threshold required. The December 23rd second round also fell short of the 200 needed with 168 votes, but here’s the catch, when it comes down to a final 3rd round, which is now the case here, the supermajority tally required drops down to only 180 votes out the 300 member Parliament. So, to make a long story short, on December 29th, the current Samaras led Government needs 12 additional votes to stay in power.
The European establishment, as reflected by the 30% drop in the Athens Composite Index, is certainly not encouraged by these developments. Infact, Jean-Claude Juncker, the sitting president of the EU Commission, the man who once categorically stated that when things get serious you have to lie, has instead decided to make, a not so subtle, direct threat to the Greek people.
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the EU Commission, stated during a debatethat he does not want Syriza to assume power in Greece. “I think that the Greeks […] know very well what a wrong election result would mean for Greece and the Eurozone.”
Apparently, Mr. Junker feels the EU’s own institutional interests should take precedence in determining the outcome of the Greek presidential elections over the Sovereignty of Greece itself. Last I checked, the European Union was an association of Sovereign member States, not an official body presiding over internal domestic national elections. Should the people of Greece decide they want a new government in Parliament to represent their objectives and aspirations, that’s entirely their prerogative, not Junker’s.
To add some additional insight, below is a brief profile on the EU establishment’s preferred candidate for the Greek presidency. Wikipedia brings you Stavros Dimas:
In 1968 he began working as a lawyer for a firm on Wall Street, moving to the World Bank the following year, where he worked on investments in Africa and the Middle East.[1] In 1975 he returned to Greece to take up the post of deputy governor of the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank(ETVA), while also being a member of the committee preparing Greek accession to the EEC.[1]
Dimas served briefly in the Prodi Commission. He was appointed European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs in March 2004, taking over the role from the previous Greek Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou. A major focus of his work during this time involved making it more difficult for states to opt out of the Working Time Directive. The Greek government nominated Dimas for the incomingBarroso Commission which took office on 22 November 2004.
Sound familiar, yet another technocratic global banker background, who would have guessed it? Clearly, should Greece want to reconsider its current fiscal relationship with Brussels and the European int’l banking community by dismissing their current government, that’s entirely within their rights as a sovereign nation. Junker’s EU can certainly refuse any newly proposed solutions or initiatives put forth, and the int’l banks can decide not to play ball, but what they can not do is force the Greek people to choose a hand picked negotiating partner, that’s for the people to decide, which is exactly what is taking place at the moment.
For the record, most objective observers agree that the dictated debt regime combined with the strict austerity measures which were imposed on Greece by the TROIKA (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund), shortly after the global debt crisis had metastasized from its initial epicenter during the US Subprime meltdown debacle, has now created an entirely untenable situation for the Greek people. However, the EU doesn’t want you to understand this, they are too busy orchestrating a smear campaign painting any opposition to their self serving plans as radical Marxism.
The fact of the matter is that you can only effectively restructure debt if their is enough income to service that debt at a reduced rate of interest, period. If the income side of the equation is not there, simply adding more to the debt load, no matter what the terms, will get you nowhere. Extending and pretending is precisely what got the int’l financiers in all this trouble to begin with. Let’s face it, you don’t solve a debt crisis with more debt, especially when you can’t pay off your existing obligations to begin with.
Below are general points of contention for renegotiation which Syriza wants to reopen with the TROIKA. Sure doesn’t sounds like something Trotsky would draft. It reads more like a resolution by existing shareholders of a corporation (in this case the Greek people) to put in place new management and restructure with creditors. In fact, it actually offers to give the EU more explicit control of the Greek banking system itself moving forward. Hardly seems radical or revolutionary to me? See for yourself:
Negotiating Stance with the Troika: Reconstruction of the Banking Sector and Debt Relief
Reconstruction of Greece’s banking sector
Offer to pass ownership and direct managerial control of Greek banks requiring recapitalisation to the ESM under certain conditions (see below). Such a transfer of ownership (i.e. common shares) and management will entail disbanding the GFSF (the Greek Financial Facility) and passing all its, newly acquired assets, onto its parent the ESM-EFSF, together with the responsibility for future recapitalisation phases. The conditions under which the Greek government will consent to this transfer include:
- No existing member of the Board of these banks must be retained.
- New Boards to be appointed by the ECB, in association with the ESM-EFSF and the European Commission; possibly under advisement from the European Banking Authority.
- The new Boards will replace top management and proceed with bank mergers and resolutions as required and under the supervision of the ECB.
- All depositors to be protected in full, whether guaranteed and not, during the period of insolvency and resolution, with a “deep insolvency” insurance fund funded by the ESM.
- Remaining shareholders and subordinated bondholders are not protected.
- Eventually, the shares of the reconstituted banks are to be sold back to the Eurozone private sector at a profit to the ESM-EFSF.
- ESM-EFSF investments for the purpose of recapitalisation of Greek banks not to count as part of the Greek national debt.
Re-negotiation of loan repayments re. Bailouts Mk1 and Mk2
- Invite the troika to negotiate a schedule of repayment for past loans that is tied to the growth rate of the Greek economy. This way the troika acquires a stake in Greek stabilization and growth.
- Use the profits of the ECB from the SMP program (up to €14 billion so far), and of the Greek Central Bank from the ELA program, to establish a Solidarity Fund to provide food relief, through a food stamps program, and minimal electricity security for eligible Greek citizens and legal residents.
Moreover, there can be little doubt that the predatory international banking institutions was clearly complicit, along with the disgracefully corrupt Greek politicians (many who still hold office) and high ranking government officials, as well as most of the Ionian elites at the highest levels of society in the near total abrogation of their financial responsibilities to their country. They completely failed the common man in this regard, who understandably counted on them for proper sustainable fiscal governance.
Simply put, the provincial woman on the streets of Athens pushing her Gyro cart up the steep hills of Kolonaki is certainly less responsible for the lamentable state of affairs her beloved country finds itself in, then those whom should have clearly known better. Along with the privlige of leadership comes responsibility. Yet, today she is the one being asked to bare the brunt of the terribly onerous predicament her Nation is suffering through. Meanwhile, the bankers get more free Euros, and no one is buying her Gyros.
The EZ bankers need to promptly step up to the plate here, by offer greater forbearance for their own egregious culpability in this Greek tragedy. After all, if you are going to demand harsh self sacrifice from the bottom and middle of slice of society, you best show the example at the top, particularly if you want peace on the streets. It is simply unacceptable to force feed the lion's share of the sovereigns’ financial resources through the EFSF/ESM/OMT bailout mechanisms in order to desperately ressistate what are essentially failed EU banking procedures & a broken EZ monetary regime.
The entire EU financial system has to be soundly restructured, and realistically reconfigured for the long haul, as a monetary union without a corresponding fiscal union is an abomination. Finally, it is the people of the Eurozone who must have the final say on how that is to be done, for in the end, they are the ones footing the bill, not the floundering self serving bankers and bumbling self seeking technocrats Either the Europeans create a an actual Fiscal Union to go along with their Monetary Union, or they dismantle and abandon this grand experiment abomination. Can't have it both ways.
The Eurozone's monetary system which the Eurocrats were in such a rush to put forth was most certainly structurally off base from the outset. Anecdotally, all one had to do was visit sublime Greece, as I did in the Summers of 2009 & 2010, and notice the excessive number of brand new yellow BMW & Mercedes taxis on the streets of Athens to realise something had been too good to be true. Unwittingly, the exporting nations' multinational banks had accelerated the flow of cheap money into the periphery States to such a degree that they had over stimulated the consumption of imported durable goods from abroad, which created destabilizing capital flows and unsustainable trade imbalances. Economies which grow dependent upon excessive debt financing always end up creating precarious misallocations of capital. We may well be about to find that out ourselves, right here in the good old USA.
The Greek people understand all of this more and more with each passing day. They are turning to Alexis Tsipras, not because he’s a radical Socialist as the establishment and captured media would have you believe, but rather because he simply better represents the only viable hope and aspirations of the common man on the streets of Athens. I have recently read nearly 50 articles in the western press covering the current tenuous situation in Greece, every single one of them branded Tsipras as a dangerous “Radical”. You would think that Lenin himself had come back from the dead to dismantle the EU’s Tsarist autocracy and execute a few top European Commission members. Talk about dirty tricks, cheap scare tactics and disingenuous obfuscation. Just exactly what is it that they are all so afraid of here?
The following passage below was written by one of our esteemed contributors, Yanis Varoufakis, who just happens to be a close advisor to Alexis Tsipras. He’s a professor of Economics at the University of Athens, and Visiting Professor Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas Austin, USA. Yanis is clearly in the thick of it, and knows of which he speaks. Listen up.
SYRIZA, a growing political party in Greece, is an acronym that stands for “Coalition of the Radical Left.” For Americans, the idea that a party on the radical left could gain power is unthinkable, and it was for Greeks, too—until very recently. But the harsh austerity measures that the European Union imposed on Greece after its economic collapse have created extreme conditions in Greece: six in ten young people are unemployed, wages and pensions have been cut, national income has fallen by one quarter.
Europe is currently caught in a negative feedback loop, from which the established political process is unable to escape. For three years now, an endless stream of spending cuts and tax hikes has dominated the Greek Parliament’s agenda. A SYRIZA win may be the jolt that Europe needs: a victory by a pro-European party committed to keeping the country both in the Eurozone and in the European Union, but a party that, importantly, because of its radical disposition, is prepared to open up the conversation at the level of the European Council so that, at long last, European leaders address the problems they have been ignoring over the past five years. Back in June, in a New York Times op-ed, James K. Galbraith and I alleged that “SYRIZA may be Europe’s best hope,” and six months later this still holds true.
At the end of the day, is enlightened civilization about protecting the interests of institutions, or about creating institutions that protect the interest of people? You tell me. Let the Greeks decide! Just as our founding fathers threw off the yolk of our regal oppressors, so does Tsipras seek to throw off the straight jacket stranglehold imposed on them by the odious oligarchs and their financial technocrats in Brussels. Furthermore, Tsipras isn’t even calling for their overthrow, he’s simply demanding a more realistic approach to the situation at hand. What’s the problem with that Mr. Junker? Is it about people or only about institutional privilege for you sir? Will you be nefariously working to circumvent the sovereign vote by offering parliament members bribes in Syntagma square, is that what you have been reduced to?
As for me, I would be more than happy to see the cradle of democracy put the imperial autocrats and financial kleptocrats in their place, teaching them a thing or two about enlightened self governance. Perhaps the ascent of Alexis Tsipras simply reflects the frustration of the everyday Greek citizen, who’s completely fed up with their notoriously corrupt old guard political class, the self seeking oligarchs in Brussels and the self interested banking elites that keep offering up the same poison pill to cure a lethal debt epidemic that they themselves were central to spreading in the first place. It’s high time somebody wakes up these all knowing, self-serving, self important, bogus bureaucrats..................Opa!
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well written. notice that none of the founders were women.
covert.co.nr
I think I'll take David Stockman's vote of confidence over yours fruitcake.......
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/
http://davidstockmanscontracorner.com/the-cradle-of-democracy-rocks-the-...
again, did the woman pushing the cart cast her vote based on priinciple or for the politician selling the package with the most free shit?
Written by a bunch of rich guys who made their living off the backs of the slaves they owned.
Sounds like a big anti-union campaign. There's been a lot of arm-twisting, bribes and threats in the past few days I guarantee that.
So far the theme has been 'save assholes at any cost' and everytime something has been pulled out of the hat last minute--even if it's something they just made up out of thin air.
That being said i'll believe it when I see it. There's a lot of pent-up anger in the world it may be best to deflate it with a pin prick vs. having it explode all at once which is looking more and more likely.
Will Durant, American historian: "India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all".
http://hinduism.about.com/od/history/a/indiaquotes.htm
Eurocentrism is propaganda. Lie.
"kchrisc
Only two questions need be asked of yourself regarding any government:
1) Are they legitimate?
2) Do they have your consent?
If they fail one, or both, then they must go. They can go "soft," or they can go "hard," but they must go.
That is why illegitimate and criminal governments spy, make lists, and control speech, they want to know who has asked of themselves, and answered to the negative, those two questions.
The banksters need to repay us."
Have an exit plan.
I am wondering what a 'legitimate' government might be? Strong men 'elected' by a majority of the citizens? If so, Cuba and NK must be legitimate in some way.
India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy.
Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all. Nothing should more deeply shame the modern student than the recency and inadequacy of his acquaintance with India....This is the India that patient scholarship is now opening up like a new intellectual continent to that Western mind which only yesterday thought civilization an exclusive Western thing.
-- Will Durant (American philosopher)
Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance and spoliation, India will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit, and a unifying, a pacifying love for all living things.
-- Will Durant (American historian)
The land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendour and rags, of palaces and hovels, of famine and pestilence, of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps, of tigers and elephants, the cobra and the jungle, the country of hundred nations and a hundred tongues, of a thousand religions and two million gods, cradle of the human race, birthplace of human speech, mother of history, grandmother of legend, great-grandmother of traditions, whose yesterday's bear date with the modering antiquities for the rest of nations-the one sole country under the sun that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for lettered and ignorant, wise and fool, rich and poor, bond and free, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of all the rest of the world combined.
-- Mark Twain
In religion, India is the only millionaire......the One land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.
-- Mark Twain
So why is India so f*cked up then?
Too large to rule.
Except; they're not white.
INDIAnaJohn
Sorry... had to do it.
My compliments Bruno. I enjoy a contributor who engages (you and CD notably).
Not mentioned at all in this item is one of the basic causes of the Greek debacle: the unwillingness to pay taxes at all levels.
The same can be said of Italy and Spain. Apparently the Greco-Roman concept of the citizen is no longer anywhere to be found.
Let me put it this way.
Will you pay Criminals to save you from their Family and friends? (The owners of the Bank of Greece)?
You will find out thet Varoufakis=(Baroufakis) is a friend of GAP as in "Mind the Gap" G Papandreou of Pasok, AND Kyriakos Mitsotakis New No Democracy Party, (Illegitimate son of some Greek singer, so the roumer has it) of the Family of Mitsotakis from Crete, that has nothing to learn from BYZANTINE Politics. He is the Guru of Treachery and Backstabbing, in whichever party he happens to reside, same goes for His Mum, Dora Bakogiannis. His Grand Father Konstantinos Mitsotakis former Prime Minister and former Finance Minister that Shafted Greece in 1964, still alive for the past 2 millennia is giving advice to protect the one that, back stabbed him in the '90s. Yes today's Prime Minister SomeAreAss. Conclusion the MONEY must be in the HUNDREDS of BILLIONS . Of which they MUST have a stake. That means that all those politicos are Part Creditors to the Greek State.
Tsipras has been given the Green light from the Power Elites from Brussells , Texas and The Brooking Institute. So more of the same with DIFFERENT COLOUR. Expect the same with other Machiavellis in the wings. He is too young to know but is a fast learner apparently.
Golden Dawn is a branch from the New Democracy Owners. We do not know what they are going to do or if they are going to push them in the ratings with the Negative approach. For the next Phase, After Tsipras in order to finish the job of enslaving the Greeks.
THERE IS a Movement called EPAM which is banned from the Media at ALL COSTS. one of the most prominent is somebody called Dimitris Kazakis, a communist that left the Greek Communist Party in the '90s on PRINCIPLE, fancy that.
They is this Movement the most Dangerous of the Lot, they have a programme to GET OUT OF THE EURO, (Good Heavens), Leave The European Union, (God Almighty),
In order to Trade with All Nations on EQUAL TERMS.
Denounce all the Odious Debt. Wall Street will send in the Drones.
To indict all the perpetrators of this Greek Calamity (Most of the present Political Elit) and sit them in the Dock. (That would cause the Heavens to fal on our heads). And if found Guilty Imprison them. (Give me strength)
And institute a new Constitution with Democracy as the End Result.( REAL this time) and Citizens will be Armed (Hoplites Polites) . In the same manner as in the American constitution or the Swiss Model for the Patriots to bear arms to DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION.
You won't hear of this Movement, because it is Radical it Includes Communists, anarchists , Former Conservatives, former Pasok members, former indifferent citizens, retired generals land Army nad Naval , also A patriot retired Ambassador, also secretly Army officers and a lot of very angry Citizens. this movement will not have Old Party Dogs of any political Party.
You wiil find out that the Press did not say anything a bout Beppe Grillo. He was working hard for the past 10 years, this movement started about 2,5 years ago.
I have said enough But for more on the Press in Greece here is a Link, Dialogos Radio
The Author of this misleading article needs to tell us who his sponsors are . 80% reasonable, 20% Treasonable
Never told us about the Odious Debt if it is even real. CAN'T PAY, WON'T PAY.
Good point, I should have made mention of that crucial issue. Although, at the end of the day, is it not the government's responsibility to balance its budget, set up effective tax collection, and create efficient revenue streams.
What then is the role of government? To play at war or to erect a life of splendor for the government leaders?
Bruno, What role is Greek Orthodox church, with all their varied interests in land, business investments etc. playing in election game. In Ukraine , which is more religeously diversified, Orthodox sects, Catholics and Jews are unfortunatly major players which leads to polarization and animosity.. Obviously church view can be pivitol in Greece
Very good question Geno. Will ask Yanis Varoufakis that very question, and revert back to you. Getting late here in France for the Holidays. I'll let you know what I find once I get the info.
Good night
@Geno - CON
That is a loaded question.
Latest from the Greek front : A nightmare scenario for Greece and Europe
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"Simply put, the provincial woman on the streets of Athens pushing her Gyro cart up the steep hills of Kolonaki is certainly less responsible for the lamentable state of affairs her beloved country finds itself in"
This statement really jumped out at me. ALL sectors of greek society bear responsibility in their current mess, not just the bankers, politicians and elite. The greek population itself voted for increased government social "benefits" to themselves without a care in the world as to who would pay for it.....this had been going on for DECADES before now. And yes, you can place much of the blame for this generous "social spending" on the so called "progressive movement" and their incoherent pseudo-Keynesianist economic theory. So, sorry, the citizen of Greece ultimately isnt just some poor victim in this, they were an active participant.
The same is true for us, here in the USA.....we arent blameless either.
When the Saving and Loans blew up in the 80s, who was at fault? The small depositors, or those that were handling the banks' investments?
The smal depoitors were never beneficiaries of the bad loans in the S&L blowup. Further, the small depositor was not resonsible for choosing management.
Every Greek got some piece of the plunder from the EU.
@august - you might want to look elsewhere for the real reasons ... like Goldman Sachs?
I had to dig this old BBC documentary just for you, I hope you are sincere in your comments and might be open to understanding the real reasons. If BBC says this much one can assume what must be under the covers.
I recall Soros visiting Greece few times to help greek people with negotiations. For what is worth I do not think this is just Greece ... it is most probably everywhere, just waiting to come into surface ... soon we shall see.
Here it is the brief video how 2.8 billion loan has turned into 1-2 trillion in few years time. I doubt the regular Greek got any part of it ... it is just numbers changing hands outside Greece, most probably money doesnt even touch Greece, is being done through bank accounts outside Greece.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17108367
the BBC has long been a hot bed of socialism and of giving minorities more say than their contributions to society would dictate
the greeks show the need for a reason for the start of a new political system - you vote depending on how much you have contributed - no taxes, no votes
Please................along with the privilege of leadership comes responsibility.
Get real, the little old lady pushing a Gyro cart had no way of knowing Goldman Sachs was helping a corrupt Greek Government conceal the true value of the junk sovereign bonds that they were pushing. Quite naturally, she trusted that the people that put in charge of her nation's fiscal matters knew what the hell they were doing.
Don't be such an apologist for the overt corruption that was taking place by those that clearly should have known better. Not to mention that the little guys are taking it on the chin a hell of a lot harder than those with the resources to get out of harms way.
I'm an apologist for pointing out that Greeks themselves voted for their own bankrupcy????
That "little old lady" may not have known about the VampireSquid helping a corrupt Greek government, true enough....BUT....the Greek electorate voted FOR the ever increasing public funding largesse that ruined their country....oh....that needed to be "bailed out" by other members of the EU.
Its no different than here in the US with our electorate that votes for politicians that promise government dollars for anything and everything you can think of....case and point...DETROIT....the classic example of "progressive" economic thinking here in the US. There were plenty of people in and out of Michigans state government who warned about public obligations that city had taken on and were ignored.
So, yes, the electorate was part and parcel of the problem.
You obvously NEVER HEARD of Electoral Fraud.
In Greece they are quite competant in having even the dead to vote, in an election where so many things are at stake..
It was not Goldman Sachs which made the sovereign bonds of Greece into junk bonds.
Sure, Goldman advised on tactics to hide it, which the Greeks implemented with success. That allowed the Greeks to continue their mismanagement at the expense of other EZ countries as Greece immediately received subsidies. The improved credit asessment made it possible for Greece to borrow and spend at much lower interest rates when they would otherwise not have had access to credit markets at any price.
The Greek corruption is accepted throughout the society.
You are a Goldman apologist.
It is Goldman corruption which is trying to destroy the society. It will come to your neighboorhood soon... it is there already.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17108367
Actually you're both pretty much right. As I said above Greeks at all levels voted themselves a higher standard of living without worrying who was picking up the tab. BUt sure, GS is all about squeezing every last drop of blood out of everyone on the planet. No real contradiction here.
It was GS who "advised" the Greek government and thereby set the policy.
Noblesse Oblige
The powerful have lost this concept.
I the mid 20th century, after the wars, they had the choice to work towards dignity and prosperity for all or obscene wealth for a few. It is pretty obvious they chose the later.
Indeed!
Ok, did the article mention 'rejecting austerity'? How does the crack addict reject being cut off for non payment? Greece will demand more handouts?
Plus, I don't think the article mentions the risk of default by Syrzia.
So they will demand more handouts and better loan payments?
Okley dokley
You want to talk handouts?
The self seeking Brussels Bureaucrats in cahoots with a self interested int'l banking class always seem to be the first in line and certainly way ahead on that score.
If it takes the likes of Tsipras to rattle some heads, I'm all for it. Bring on Le Pen, Farage, Grillo and Lucke, while we are at it, and let's get it on democratic republic style.
It's not about the politics anymore that's a sideshow. Divide and conquer...........................both the left and the right fall into the trap which has been set.
You need to move beyond politics my friend when outright theft is taking place behind the scenes.
Do yourself a favor, turn off Fox & CNN sonny.
Well said, wake the fuck up you idiots!! People are still looking for the thieves to fix stuff, believing that they did it by accident and have our interests at heart................
Astonishing levels of stupidity in the western populace brought us here, they do my head in!!!!!
MOUTHBREATHERS!
If Putin invited Greece to be part of his Eurasian trade association and extended trade credits to Greece, it would confuse everyone, and bracket the Ukraine. It would be a new chess game. Even if Greece didn't join the EU policy toward the Ukraine would be disrupted. Interesting possibility. Plus Putin had wanted the southern gas pipeline going through Greece but is on hold now. Don't anyone on ZH tell Putin about this idea.
The Present political class has to reside in Prison till all the debts are repaid before we proceed with your suggestion which seems very reasonable.
If you allow a drunk to share your credit on a bar tab you will have a new friend.
How many of those friends can Russia afford when near default aready?
Where do you get the idea that Russia is near default? Their soverign finances are in good shape. Much better than the US, UK and EU.
Yes, JustUsChickensHere, the Russians have one of the few countries left in the world which still has enough natural resources to be able to continue to strip-mine, in order to keep the basic social pyramid systems in tact. Objectively speaking, the ratios of natural resources to the population are better in Russia than most other countries in the world!
The international banksters are otherwise running out of natural resources in other countries, sufficient to sustain generating the credits, in the form of more "money" made out of nothing, in order to "pay" for being able to continue to strip-mine the planet at an exponentially accelerating rate. The recent levels of demonization of Putin and Russia, promoted by the mass media that the banksters dominate, are due to the overall situation I just outlined above. The international banksters are able and willing to risk world war in order to destroy Russia, to thereby keep the banksters' globalized systems of enforced frauds going ... at least for a little while longer.
The bigger picture is that the established social pyramid systems are fighting each other for their survival, in the context where none of them will be able to survive. They all must radically transform. However, they will probably not do that, without almost destroying themselves first. Since our globalized civilization is controlled by systems of enforced frauds, facing any of the real environmental and ecological facts is practically impossible for the vast majority of people, because they are not able and willing to face the degree to which almost everything they believed in was backwards bullshit.
Here's what I don't get. How does Greece even still exist as a country? If it's as bad as everyone says, and I believe it is, it seems like the country would simply implode. How do you maintain a country where the unemployment is so high and revenues collected by the government are so low? OK, the sovereign debt can be increased to maintain the facade for a while... I get that. Am I still not thinking on a long enough timeline?
Greece ain't fixed. It's still broken. Why doesn't the country go ahead and act like it?
Only two questions need be asked of yourself regarding any government:
1) Are they legitimate?
2) Do they have your consent?
If they fail one, or both, then they must go. They can go "soft," or they can go "hard," but they must go.
That is why illegitimate and criminal governments spy, make lists, and control speech, they want to know who has asked of themselves, and answered to the negative, those two questions.
The banksters need to repay us.
"What they seek above all else is to expand existing institutional dominion and their own privileges within it." Bingo!
The sentence before that was spot on as well, as is the article.
Slavery by any other name, and it is a system most Western nations are under.
The Brussels Bandits and Wall Street Warlocks are plantation owners operating under the guise of "banking" and "accounting" and we are their slaves.
Hang the money-changers and their complicit accomplice politicians!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZIINXhGDcs
David Graeber, DEBT: The First 5,000 Years
"If history shows anything, it is that there’s no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem moral, than by reframing them in the language of debt — above all, because it immediately makes it seem that it’s the victim who’s doing something wrong.
If you look at the history of world religions, of social movements what you find is for much of world history what is sacred is not debt, but the ability to make debt disappear to forgive it and that’s where concepts of redemption originally come from."
The first recorded word for “freedom” in any human language is the word for freedom from debt. The history of debt is also a history of morality and culture. Everyone was taught that money was invented to replace the messy business of barter. But economist Charles Goodhart, anthropologist David Graeber, and other experts on the history of money, say that this is a myth. Instead, they say that money was invented to finance war, and to keep score while armies went about pillaging and looting. The original concept of "money" as metal coins emerged with the history of paying soldiers. That later was transformed to become "money" based on the force of governments to back up the banksters' frauds.
Everyone has some power to rob, and power to kill to back that up, as the most extreme form of robbery. Governments were the ways that the history of warfare selected for those powers to be channeled and assembled. That is how we ended up with the current social situation, where governments are the biggest form of organized crime, controlled by the best organized gangs of criminals, the banksters. However, anyone who blames ONLY the governments, or ONLY the banksters, is deliberately ignoring that there are chronic political problems inherent to the nature of life. They tend to promote the lopsided morality of the people who fill the roles of the productive prey, against other people whose roles are to act as the predatory parasites. That lopsided perception of those overall systems results in the false fundamental dichotomy of People vs. Power. To define the problem that way automatically results in being unable to operate any realistic solutions, based on unitary mechanisms. To stop all robbery is to stop life.
There should be this three step process: 1) we see the governments are robbers, currently controlled by defrauders; 2) we try organizing resistance enough to rob the robbers and defrauders back to better balances, by changing the path of least resistance; 3) we attempt higher consciousness to become more aware, in order to become better robbers, thereby operating better systems which defraud, in the sense of better overall dynamic equilibria between the different systems of organized lies operating robberies.
The false fundamental dichotomy between People vs. Power is a sterile dead end, for several different reasons. The deeper issues are how much of a bigger frame of reference is one willing to use to observe human ecology, and the political economy within that, and finally, to what degree will one face the paradoxes that it is impossible to fully separate the observers from the observed. I regard it as a grossly over-simplified expression of the need for systematically better death controls to assert: "Hang the money-changers and their complicit accomplice politicians!"
The three step process is somewhat confusing. I surmise that, in essence, there is no solultion to problems inherent to our nature; therefore let's get mystical. IMAGINE THAT!