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Varoufakis Explains How The Video Of His Middle Finger Is "Turning Proud Nations Against Each Other"
Last weekend, we pointed out that while completely irrelevant if Varoufakis had "stuck Germany the finger" in whatever context, that the German media would have a field day with it. Little did we know the firestorm that the German press would unleash, and how obssessed Germany would become with the topic of the Greek finmin's middle finger (which he claimed was faked, and promptly a German spoof emerged that alleged that the video was indeed fake... before that spoof itself was said to be fake too!).
The problem with this latest fiasco is that it took attention away from the key issues: not just the Greek insolvency, but - at the core - how the European Union is only such when it suits the interests of the majority, bringing Greece once again to the edge of expulsion from Europe.
However, Varoufakis' middle finger was useful in one specific way: to rip away the facade of solidarity and freidnship in Europe, and reveal just how ugly the undelrying truth is, and to hint just how much uglier it will become once the money runs out not only for Greece, but for everyone else, or as Varoufakis himself who in a blog post today summarized his "middle finger" best when he said that it "has sparked off a kerfuffle reflecting the manner in which the 2008 banking crisis began to undermine Europe’s badly designed monetary union, turning proud nations against each other."
Sadly for Europe, which faces an ever uglier face every time it looks in the mirrer, he is right.
* * *
From Yannis Varoufakis:
Of Greeks and Germans: Re-imagining our shared future
Any sensible person can see how a certain video[1] has become part of something beyond a gesture. It has sparked off a kerfuffle reflecting the manner in which the 2008 banking crisis began to undermine Europe’s badly designed monetary union, turning proud nations against each other.
When, in early 2010, the Greek state lost its capacity to service its debts to French, German and Greek banks, I campaigned against the Greek government’s quest for an enormous new loan from Europe’s taxpayers. Why?
I opposed the 2010 and 2012 ‘bailout’ loans from German and other European taxpayers because:
- the new loans represented not a bailout for Greece but a cynical transfer of losses from the books of the private banks to the weak shoulders of the weakest of Greek citizens. (How many of Europe’s taxpayers, who footed these loans, know that more than 90% of the €240 billion borrowed by Greece went to financial institutions, not to the Greek state or its citizens?)
- it was obvious that, at a time Greece could not repay its existing loans, the austerity conditions for giving Greece the new loans would crush Greek nominal incomes, making our debt even less sustainable
- the ‘bailout’ burden would, sooner or later, weigh down German and other European taxpayers once the weaker Greeks buckled under their mountainous debts (as moneyed Greeks had already shifted their deposits to Frankfurt, London etc.)
- misleading peoples and Parliaments by presenting a bank bailout as an act of ‘solidarity to Greece’ would turn Germans against Greeks, Greeks against Germans and, eventually, Europe against itself.
In 2010 Greece owed not one euro to German taxpayers. We had no right to borrow from them, or from other European taxpayers, while our public debt was unsustainable. Period!
That was my ‘controversial’ point in 2010: In 2010, Greece should have borrowed not one euro before entering into debt restructuring procedures and partially defaulting to its private sector creditors.
Well before the May 2010 ‘bailout’, I urged European citizens to tell their governments not to even think of transferring private losses to them.
To no avail, of course. That transfer was effected soon after[2] with the largest taxpayer-backed loan in economic history given to the Greek state on austerity conditions that have caused Greeks to lose a quarter of their income, making it impossible to repay private and public debts, and causing a hideous humanitarian crisis.
That was then, in 2010. What should we do now, in 2015, that Greece remains in crisis and our people, the Greeks and the Germans, have, regrettably but also predictably, descended into a mutual ‘blame game’?
First, we should work towards ending the toxic ‘blame game’ and the moralising finger-pointing which benefit only the enemies of Europe.
Secondly, we need to focus on our joint interest: On how to grow and to reform Greece rapidly, so that the Greek state can best repay debts it should never have taken on while looking after its citizens as a modern European state ought to do.
In practical terms, the 20th February Eurogroup agreement offers an excellent opportunity to move forward. Let us implement it immediately, as our leaders have urged in yesterday’s informal Brussels meeting.
Looking ahead, and beyond current tensions, our joint task is to re-design Europe so that Germans and Greeks, along with all Europeans, can re-imagine our monetary union as a realm of shared prosperity.
—————————–
[1] Whose showing derailed an otherwise constructive discussion on German television.
[2] First in May 2010 (€110 billion) and then again in the Spring of 2012 (another €130 billion).
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The South (of Europe) will rise again.
What is it with the whole north/south thing? The US fought their civil war on a north/south divide. Europe now it's northern Europe vs. southern Europe. How does that keep happening? Is it the Jimmy Buffet reason (changes in lattitude, changes in attitude) or the weather or something?
And I don't want to hear some Ghorious-inspired "we just have policy difference" bullshit. These people fucking hate eachother.
Its the Northern aggressors fault, they are always trying to escape the bitter cold !!!
Bostonians invaded Florida just over a month ago...
Money grows on olive trees. Finger me if you disagree.
Proud nation?
Well, someone should tell him the video is edited, then he wouldn't have to comment on the whole affair.
Oh, he was lying the first time? Well, I bet he is lying again!
Syriza is bought/paid for and this is all just a show to distract the masses.
Regards,
Cooter
Greece, Germany, the entire EU engaged in fraud when Greece joined the EU with fraudulent finanical statements created by Goldman Sachs.
The whole Euro is a fraud - and it figures these crooks who created it would start scrapping as the Euro burns down.
Varoufakis is really Varou F***-up - just another college wonk.
Ahhh... Greece.
Sitting astride the flanks of the EU, destiny constantly penetrates their hopes & dreams.
One moment, CBs are pressing a new, twitching, firm EuroBailout against the soft, yielding Greek-onomy...
Then, suddenly, hot, sticky austerity measures burst into their society, flooding it with uncertainty.
Everything seems to be sliding back & forth in Greece. Slowly.
Slowwwwly
I should point out that I'm not trying to pick on 'ol Ghordo or call him out with my post, beccause he's seems like a good guy to me. But his take on these things is emblematic of how the real, underlying tensions seem to be downplayed like the right policy shift would quickly fix them. I don't believe that.
;-) , the Irish, Portuguese and Spanish governments currently disagree with the Greek FinMin Varoufakis' point of view. Something neither he nor PM Tsipras expected
Because they rightly fear that an emerging, populist party will sweep each of them from power at their next elections.
The North are Germanic and Scandinavian.
The south are Greek, Persian, Arab, Turk, and Roman.
These groups have been killing each other for... well... ever.
That's my point. This shit goes a lot deeper than a "policy reason". If they want to stand any chance of having an actual union (without the requisite Civil War), this shit has to be dealt with up front and in the open. I don't think Europe wants to do that. This is just some banker's world domination wet dream and it's never going to work.
Yeup, thats it.
Its a very soviet mistake. The people who chair the project would love to throw away their national identities to create a new "national" identity -- mosto of the population doesn'T share their enthuasiam.
And using science, trickery,and superior warfighting skills the Nordics will steal more wealth from the brown folk...welcome to the jungle...pick a side...you never had a choice from birth.The lessons of ww II still reverbarate throughout global society.
It has to do with climate. The climates that are warmer, also enjoy longer growing seasons, and because of the higher temps. things spoil once killed/picked quicker. The north is the exact inverse of this.
Over thousands of years when Europe was agrarian, in the South you were trained to only produce (grow or raise) what you can consume and not to save anything because it would spoil. No need to over produce because everyone can produce, never a need to adopt a cultural efficiency. All the great cities in Southern Europe were built/had they "hay day" before the industrial revolution.
In the North, because of the shorter growing season, if you didn't over produce and under consume -- you starved to death and/or froze. All great northern European cities were AFTER industrial revolution.
Anywhere that benefits from warm temps from the Med or the North Atlantic current are less productive.
This is the core problem with the EUR as it ignored thousands of years of culture and "knowledge" and tosses it aside to build a new group of people.
Looking forward to Ghordo telling us its policy failure and all Europeans are the same.
Tremendously insightful and well-presented.
Similarly, every time the North Asians try to conquer the SE Asians, disaster follows.
I'm using that. I just memorized that whole post. Hat tip to you, HT.
haha, well it explains a lot in Europe right now. It isn't perfect, and culture also plays a large role -- but I am of the belief that culture is a product of climate & population density. There is a magic combination of population density and climate that led to some cultures that are super sucessful while others aren't. (Compare for example Russia & Germany. Russia is colder than Germany, but less productive. (If Russia was as productive as Germany is per capita their GDP would be double that of what it is) However, they aren't as densly populated, historically, as those in Germany were).
Its in interesting sociological case study why different groups of Europeans are so different even though they are fairly close to one another.
This is also my basis for being hyper critical of the EU and specifically the EMZ. Its entire existance is based upon the Berkeley School of Sociology's "all cultures are fundamentally the same and worth keeping" and for those that aren't the same "European Socialism" has been RX'ed as the cure. It (the EU but specifically the EMZ) offends nature as it essentially tries to eliminate Social Darwinism - via the elimination of individual cultures. However, because no one gives up who they are for a political super-structure, the system is based upon an Ostriches' "head in the sand" principle. Mark my words -- you'll have some bleating jaw boing moring in Brussels and Frankfurt talking about how great everything is until the thing falls apart. They are the less tan equivlants of Baghdad Bob.
That being said -- those are the end results of a EU and EMZ where its entire population thinks the same way as their leaders. History however is replete with examples of this (being different peoples and cultures being told to abandon their "old" cultures, customs & traditions and "unify" to support a political system) being tried before. The most recent example is the former Yugoslavia (which tore apart in a war), before that it was the end of Czechoslovakia which ended peacefully at the ballot box. Before that was the USSR that ended via bankruptcy and incompetance.
While I would like to think that the EU will end like the former Czechoslovakia listed above, I know at the end of the day -- Europeans are still Europeans and do one thing better than anything else -- killing one another. I think it'll start via bankruptcy & incompetance and end in war. But lemme put my Mrs. Cleo hat on first before expanding further.
I am fairly convinced this is how the EU will eventually end, but I can hope for the alternative. That being said -- I find it horribly ironic -- the thing which was created to prevent another war in Europe is likely the thing which will infact cause the next war in Europe.
such irony seems to appear with alarming frequency in history :-(
1. Note the current discussion among British economists trying to explain why the French are more productive
2. Note the resurgence of local cultures that were reputed as swamped/suppressed by national cultures. Note regionalism
3. Note the effects of AirCon on productivity
Air con cannot change the cultures ghordo. Perhaps after a few thousand years with ac you'll have a credited point. Right now -- most of southern Europe I've visited has had very poor ac if at all.
"I am of the belief that culture is a product of climate & population density"
how about... language? you know, the OS of the human brain?
I don't see how which language someone uses influences the way they think.
If for example Germans spoke Spanish as opposed to Germans and vice versa, everything else being the same -- Germany filled with Spanish speaking Germans would wipe the floor with Spain filled with German speaking Spaniards.
Nope.
Language used can make quite a difference, in it's ability or inability to express nuances or exact details.
However, in the overall picture it's a chicken or egg first problem: I'd guess it was actually the mentality influencing the language, but to an (growing up) individual the language also influences him.
"I don't see how which language someone uses influences the way they think."
question is, how many languages do you speak properly, and in how many of them can you think with seriously
further, you missed that nationalistic tendencies are tightly interwoven with national languages. for most purposes, language is culture
That would have been a great statement, if you had overcome the fear of telling us which languages you speak and in how many of those you can think with/in seriously.
(And if the answer to the latter is more than one, then what you have learned trying to think about the same complex issues in 2 different languages.)
Africa presents an even further difference from Northern Europe. Manifests itself in body type even to this day of young people before their own choices catch up with them. Most northern europeans have lower basal metabolic rates, higher body fat, hair loss (hair being important to defend the brain from the sun's radiation near the equator). Africans are better at entertainment and athletics as these were a more prominent part of culture than just trying to survive a cold ass winter.
Can I apply this logic to California too?
/sarc
@NoDebt: "What is it with the whole north/south thing? The US fought their civil war on a north/south divide. Europe now it's northern Europe vs. southern Europe. How does that keep happening? Is it the Jimmy Buffet reason (changes in lattitude, changes in attitude) or the weather or something?"
Yes, it's the weather's fault! ;-)
Seems Varoufakis and Victoria Nuland have much in common....
Everyone's seen the video showing that the finger is a hoax... right?
Well, in case you haven't. https://youtu.be/Vx-1LQu6mAE
You just like to ruin it for everyone, don't you.
Mirrer, Mirrer on the wall, who is the fairest fascist of them all.
"The problem with this latest fiasco is that it took attention away from the key issues..."
Sometimes they just can't avoid telling the truth.
Nothing that a new cover spread on OK magazine can't rectify.
First, we should work towards ending the toxic ‘blame game’ and the moralising finger-pointing which benefit only the enemies of Europe. ????
Slightly OT...why no headlines of gold n silver 'soaring'..or 'spiking'?
;)
Mr. Schaeuble will never tell the truth of course: that this is a class war, not a war between nations. He is using the obsolete tactic of divide and conquer turning the people of one country against the other.
Well, a war between nations Wolfgang would lose, is losing in Ukraine as we speak. The class war? The bad guys are running the table.
The reason QE is finally happening in Euroland is to allow Europe's banksters to cash out and get out of town before Russian tanks arrive in Frankfurt and/or nuclear sabotage by Europe's former masters leaves Europe unfit for human habitation. France alone has 59 nuclear power plants that can be set to catastrophically meltdown at a moment's notice, by which time the bad guys plan to be half a world away, watching CNN pin it on Putin. Consequences are for proles.
By the early 1800's M.A. Rothschild's first cousin wed offspring controlled every single central bank in Europe, thus they controlled all of Europe.
The Rothschilds and associates came to the USA shortly thereafter with the first central bank of the USA. It's charter was not renewed, causing the war of 1812.
The second central bank of the United States charter was revoked by Andrew Jackson via executive order. Shortly thereafter there was an assassination attempt on his life. He survived two attempts.
Finally the satanic khazar bastards blackmailed and bribed enough politicians to start the FED in 1913, and the USA income tax to fund their unfair system of money which we all endure today.
Yes, FF. That is the head waters for all of it.
"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce."
-- James A. Garfield - shot.
William McKinley in 1901 opposed a private national bank
"Our financial system needs some revision; our money is all good now, but its value must not further be threatened. It should all be put upon an enduring basis, not subject to easy attack, nor its stability to doubt or dispute. Our currency should continue under the supervision of the Government. The several forms of our paper money offer, in my judgment, a constant embarrassment to the Government and a safe balance in the Treasury."
-William McKinley - Shot
I'm seeing a pattern here...
"A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is privately concentrated.
The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men who, even if their action be honest and intended for the public interest, are necessarily concentrated upon the great undertakings in which their own money is involved and who necessarily, by very reason of their own limitations, chill and check and destroy genuine economic freedom."
- Woodrow Wilson [lament of the blackmailed idiot who signed the FED into law, forever enslaving the US population to the Rothschild syndicate]
Correct.
And in the '30s, All the PRIVATE banks that went under were replace by Federal Reserve Banks(ie Red Shields).
No suprise there either...
The Rothschilds are parasites which must be removed from humanity before they kill their host. FINANCIAL TAPEWORMS.
i think they have decided they will have robots bring them their tea and fuzzy slippers now, considering stoopid humans keep waking up and talking back... if everyone would just keep guzzling hooch, swallering their prescriptions, and generally STFU, things would have been just fine - so what now? shoot the serfs (or have them shoot each other), or mandatory inject them (again) so they lose what mental capacity they have fought so hard to develop?
i agree with tsarian on many points, this is a spiritual war.. those incapable of self governance, will be governed, and they can fight for the governance they think they deserve, despite the fact that it cannot truly be achieved outside of SELF...
"green acres is the place to be" - return to the real garden, your garden, and reclaim whats left of your life
He was also duped and/or blackmailed by the same people into railroading America into the First World War.
Don't forget JFK who also strayed off the reservation and got himself offed.
he's pissed off
Maybe Varoufakis' middle finger should be Greece's next FinMin...
Afterall, it seems to have had more effect than the asshat it's attached to!
He started out so promisingly. He said all the right things and seemed so sensible...........only to later reveal himself to be a slick, double-talking politician. Now where have I seen that before?
Proud nation?
"...the new loans represented not a bailout for Greece but a cynical transfer of losses from the books of the private banks to the weak shoulders of the weakest of Greek citizens. (How many of Europe’s taxpayers, who footed these loans, know that more than 90% of the €240 billion borrowed by Greece went to financial institutions, not to the Greek state or its citizens?)"
That is the bottom line money statement. Even on ZH with the comments about Lazy Greeks etc, It's nothing to do with the man on the street. He didn't get the money.
The average citizen of any country NEVER got any moneys when the IMF et al "Helped Them Out"
"Keep the Proles Blaming/Fighting each other, instead of us" is the only order of the day.
That €240 billion borrowed simply rolled over the debt that the Greeks had already taken down and spent. It neither transferred or changed anything in regards to Greek citizens. They already had assume the burden when they got the original funding. Of course, they could have just defaulted then, instead of now. In fact, they did default and give about 70% haircuts to the private lenders. Not being satisfied with that, Greeks have increased their debts to other EU citizens. ViralFukus has continued that practice, and must have increased the debt by 20 - 30 billion.
The only problem ViralFukus has is that the lenders won't lend his government additional funds. He would be just a real happy socialist if he could borrow another 100 billion. Not one complaint about "burden" of spending that would be laid on the weakest Greek citizens.
on one hand is good that today he's presenting the same exact thesis as back in 2010 and on the other (what to do today) he goes on to say lets implement the feb 20th agreement that is interpreted in diametrically opposing terms to syriza and eu
This guy is a fucking retard.
The bailout, any bailout where TPTB are involved, has nothing at all to do with sorting out the problem, any problem.
It's only to allow said PTB to take control of a Sovereign's finances which then enables TPTB to asset strip and enrich themselves and their pals for cents on the dollar.
That's all there is to it and there's ample evidence to back up the fact.
Manipulating a video?? .....Nah.... they'll be telling us they can manipulate the price of money next.
You say, "Europe’s badly designed monetary union". as if the Euro is to blame for the dysfunction of the European economy. That's like blaming dollar problems for the similar globally uncompetitive performance of Americans.
The West lost it's income, jobs and competitiveness when it allowed Big Government to crush their low-cost business expense model. Economist Peter Schiff says that it's excessive regulations and taxes that have killed off our businesses, jobs, income and competitiveness.
Counterfeiting or debasing the money supply is only a short term workaround to this basic deficiency of competitiveness. We will have to wait till most of the toxically handicapped and injured public, that is dependent on Big Goverbnment to die off in the next dollar crises like 2008.
This next crisis is here to stay as we won't be able to paper over it as in 2008. Counterfeiting is only allowed once by our creditors evidenced by the world currently de-dollarizing.
Most of the chemically dumbed down and handicapped sheeple will continue to need high government maintainance and will continue to block government spending-cut reform until they die-off stubbornly loyal to the establishment.
They trade a blind loyalty for complete care and this reminds me of the Ben Franklin quote describing people that trade liberty for security and end up deserving neither in a display of ironic karma.
The economy is not strong by any measure, but it is definitely exacerbated x10 by this shitty currency union. No doubt about it. The Euro only serves to make bad issues exponentially worse where confidence is concerned.
This fellow is so entirely full of bullshit that it has made him delusional, even for a socialist. How else can he make a dead beat borrower seem to be a victim?
the new loans represented not a bailout for Greece but a cynical transfer of losses from the books of the private banks to the weak shoulders of the weakest of Greek citizens. (How many of Europe’s taxpayers, who footed these loans, know that more than 90% of the €240 billion borrowed by Greece went to financial institutions, not to the Greek state or its citizens?)
The new loans refinanced old loans that were on the back of Greek citizens, made weak by failed socialist policies. The transfer of losses was not to Greeks (who gave banks haircuts) but to the entire group of EU citizens.
it was obvious that, at a time Greece could not repay its existing loans, the austerity conditions for giving Greece the new loans would crush Greek nominal incomes, making our debt even less sustainable
But, of course, he claims that incurring those past debts was obviously bad and it was the lender's fault. However, how much additional debt has he run up in just a few months? Pillaged and plundered the pension system and Greek banks to stuff them full of Greek debt which he now admits can never be repaid. His economy would have shut down if not for getting increasing funding from the ELA fund, funded by all EU citizens. Why did he ask for more loans if past loans were simply done for purposes of enslavement.
Facing up to the failure of socialism, while finally being the one to pay the price, must be causing the fellow to hae a brain freeze.
America is in such a better position? Take away the reserve currency and how does capitalism (sarc) compare?
Augustus..it will take more then an American with a Roman name on zerohedge to teach my GLORIOUS brethren politics and political systems. Before you talk, pause for a second and remind your self that you are talking to the BIRTH-GIVERS or democracy and everything you know about living.
When your ancestors were climbing trees to eat cherries, mine had already cholesterol problems from indulging in gastronomical delights.
When your ancestors discovered that by killing an animal with stones could use its fur to keep warm in winter mine where solving the issue of color bleeding on linen garments.
When your ancestors discovered that they can create rhythm by hitting 2 sticks together mine had developed the last note of the Pentagram.
Take it easy next time bro.
GERMANY TO LEAVE THE EURO AND REINTRODUCE THE DEUTSCH MARK, REBRANDED AS DEUTSCH MERKEL
Problems with Greece being staged to allow Germany to kick itself out of the Euro.
Source: www.financialpaparazzi.com
Is this still story still fucking bollocking on?? Christ.
The vibes I'm getting these days, I think I'm going to make the most of that vacation next month (while I still can take one!)
Evil is lurking abouts...
"Little did we know the firestorm that the German press would unleash, and how obssessed Germany would become with the topic of the Greek finmin's middle finger (which he claimed was faked, and promptly a German spoof emerged that alleged that the video was indeed fake... before that spoof itself was said to be fake too!)."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx-1LQu6mAE
THE SPOOF IS CLEARLY NOT FAKED.
Go to the Zagreb "Subversive" 2013 video and see for yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEUWxNifJJ8
Why is it Varoufaki's finger is more offensive then the Venus's finger posted by German's largest magazine in 2011 addressed to my Nation??
http://cdn1.spiegel.de/images/image-205358-galleryV9-uxvw.jpg