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Why Greece Must Leave
Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,
French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel published a piece in the Guardian last week that instantly revived our long nourished hope for the European Unholy Union to implode and be dissolved, sooner rather than later. The two gentlemen propose a ‘radical’ reform for the EU. Going a full-tard 180º against the tide of rising euroskeptism, the blindest bureaucrats in European capitals are talking about more centralization in the EU.
Here’s hoping that they follow up with all the energy they can muster, and that we’ll hear a lot more about the ‘reforms’ being proposed. Because that will only serve to increase the resistance and skepticism. Let them try to ‘reform’ the EU. We’re all for it. If only because if they do it thorough enough, referendums will be required in all 28 member nations, which all need to agree, in a unanimous approval vote.
The gents know of course that that is never ever going to happen. So sneaky ways will have to be found. Something Brussels is quite experienced at. They’ve shown many times they won’t let a little thing like 500 million citizens get in their way. We’re curious to see what they’ll come up with this time.
Meanwhile, though, the rising skepticism threatens to rule the day in many countries, and Greece is by no means the leader in the field. Germany has a rising right wing party that wants out (just wait till Merkel leaves). Marine Le Pen has vowed to take France out as soon as she gets to power, and she leads many polls. Britain’s Ukip is merely the vanguard of a broad right wing UK ‘movement’ that either want out or have treaties thoroughly renegotiated.
Portugal’s socialists are soaring in the polls on an EU-unfriendly agenda. Spain’s Podemos is no friend of Brussels. In Italy, M5S’s Beppe Grillo has gone from skeptic to outright adversary over the past few years. There are varying levels of antagonism in all other countries too.
Now obviously, not all countries in the union carry the same weight, politically speaking (why do we so easily agree that’s obvious, though?). You have Germany, then a big nowhere, then France and Britain.
Greece, equally obviously, has no say. They can elect a government that wants to change things even just at home, and be told no way. If Germany would elect such a party, all EU policy would change in the blink of an eye. A true union of sovereign nations it therefore is not. And that of course was never possible, it was just something people wished for who never contemplated the details or consequences.
Still, given that the whole project has always been represented as a one-way street from which escape is not possible, the weight of the smaller nations should not be underestimated. Perhaps all it will take is one defector to make the entire edifice unstable. Statements to the contrary are made only by people who eat hubris for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
If either France or Germany leave -the former looks far more likely right now-, it’s project over. The same would probably hold for Italy. Spain would be a grave blow. Britain might be quite a bit easier (no euro), though negotiations -let alone referendums- over treaties could cause a lot of havoc and unrest. While various bigwigs try to fool you into thinking that letting small nations leave can be ‘ringfenced’, that is utter nonsense, they have no way of knowing.
David Cameron tries to convince himself that he can get away with establishing some sort of status aparte for Britain, but others may want such a status too, and they may have a list of points they want to discuss if and when treaty changes are put on the table. Multiple that by 28 and before you know it either nothing changes, or everything does.
The Union was hastily and sloppily cross-stitched together when everyone was still exclusively dreaming more of mass lift-all-boats profits in the offing, than caring about the fineprint of compromise squared treaties or considering possible future consequences if and when the profits would turn out not to be unlimited. Ergo, everything that happens now is an improvised play performed by 28 at best mildly talented actors trying to convey an air of confidence. That’s all that is left.
Throw all this in a pile, and renegotiating any EU treaty will to a high degree of probability be akin to opening Pandora’s cesspit. And besides, any changes would never pass if a referendum were held. Macron and Gabriel are all too aware of this pesky factoid:
“What’s important is the project,” Macron said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche. “Treaty change is a method that would ensue and that we have to prepare in due time,” he said, warning that European people would probably reject a new treaty if asked in a referendum.
Meanwhile, British demands to opt-out from “ever closer union” could be accommodated by a special “protocol” to the EU treaties, according to Manfred Weber, a Christian Social Union MEP who is a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But in return, Britain would have to accept losing its veto in areas where others forge ahead with deeper integration, the German MEP warned.
In 2005, both France and Holland rejected the EU constitution in respective national referenda. But Brussels just ‘forged’ ahead as if it didn’t matter. Today, however, let’s see them try that again.
Ten years ago, the profits were still in vogue. But things have changed, and problems are everywhere. Problems that Brussels seeks to ‘solve’ by gifting itself with ever more centralized powers. But the undoubtedly biggest problem of all they have is that not 10% of Europeans would vote to give them these powers. So please, please, try.
As for Greece, all the negotiations really are just a matter of fiddling while Rome burns. But that is not because Greece is in trouble; it’s because of what the EU has become. A club that depends on its ability to scare members into submission, the same vein the IMF operates in. The negotiations are about amounts of debt that were imposed upon Greece by the troika when it decided to bail out banks of Europe’s most powerful member nations and put the Greek people on the hook.
Europe’s high and mighty will yet come to regret the decision not to restructure these banks, because this will be the catalyst that blows up the Union. The reason why will become apparent as debt rises further and asset markets start falling off so many cliffs.
Greece should get out as fast as it can, all member countries should, especially the poorer ones. There is no benign or even economically viable future for any of them in the Union. A future inside the union is infinitely more frightening than one outside.
What is evident by now is that the troika creditors don’t come to the table to negotiate, they come to impose their will. And those countries that carry the most debt are most vulnerable to the threats flung across the table. If you don’t get out, in time Germany will decide what you can eat, what your children learn in school, and how you are to behave. You will no longer live in sovereign nations.
The eurozone must fail. And so must the EU. That is better for everyone who’s not inside the power circles, in the long term. What countries should do now is ‘ringfence’ themselves as best they can from the nuclear fallout the failure will lead to. Focus on resilience.
While the leadership everywhere dreams of ever more centralized power, economic reality dictates decentralization. It can only be halted through propaganda and violence. But that will merely be temporary.
Even if Brussels somehow ‘solves’ the Greece issue, others nations will follow, be targets of financial markets, and once it comes to Italy or Spain, who are both in very precarious places, the EU and the ECB are simply not strong enough to absorb the blow. And then where do you think that leaves you?
I’ve said many times before that all governments, power structures and supra-national organizations are a magnet for the last people you would want to lead them: sociopaths. That’s not an opinion, it’s a description of the dynamics of human group psychology. Greece itself before Syriza is a prime example of this.
The smaller the countries, states, regions that politicians are allowed to rule over, the less likely leadership posts are to attract sociopaths. Other considerations count too, remuneration, chances to forge ties with an elite and serve their purposes. Larger entities are certain to attract pathological minds. Exceptions to the rule are far and few between. Also: the more a society manages the field of propaganda, the likelier it is to get -and keep- a sociopath as its leader.
The US is a good example. So is the EU. And obviously, the IMF, World Bank, NATO, FIFA. We always fail at ‘doing large scale’ for the benefit of the people. The large the scale, the less the people benefit.
Just when its moment of glory seems to arrive, globalization will lead towards decentralization and protectionism. Just as stability leads to instability.
The EU’s socio-pathological trait is evident in the way the organization’s leaders deal with Ukraine, with the refugees off its southern coasts, and, inside its very borders, with Greek society, unemployment, hunger and hospitals. There is no compassion, no conscience.
In the EU, the idea(l)s have become the problems, argues Stratfor’s George Friedman:
Is The European Union Already On The Brink Of Inevitable Disaster?
The fact of the matter is that a free-trade zone in which the black hole at the centre, Germany, absolutely overwhelms all of its competition, and the competition can’t protect itself, is untenable.
[..] many of the great ideas that the European Union began with have turned, as it frequently happens in history, into the problems.
Q: [..] ..you said a group of squabbling nations, and you’ve alluded to the history, from the Franco-Prussian wars right up to 1945, the history is very, very unpleasant indeed. Is the corollary that Europe will eventually descend back into war?
George Friedman: Well, the question is really has it ascended? From ’45 to ’92, Europe was occupied by the Soviets and the Americans. The fundamental questions of sovereignty were not in the hands of London or Berlin or Rome, it was in the hands of Washington and Moscow. In ’92, the Soviet Union collapsed, and for the first time since WWII, Europe became genuinely sovereign. And for 16 years, they made a go of it. For the last seven years, it’s been rather disastrous, and the question is, can they reverse it?
And if they don’t reverse it, what prevents them from returning to the kind of history that is normal in Europe? And what I’m arguing is that basically, the period of ’92 to 2008 was an interesting aberration. We are now back to the old normal, and how bad it becomes really depends on a bunch of (inaudible) issues. But first we have to really recognise that the Europe that was envisioned in the European Union is not going to return.
We had better not forget that. If Europe will never be what it was supposed to be, then why would anyone want to be part of it, apart from the few that profit most? If the corollary truly is that Europe will eventually descend back into war, isn’t it time to take care of your own? And isn’t that, really, what the Greeks are already trying to do today?
Very timely for this article, Tyler Durden posted a piece by Jeff Thomas today that delves deeper:
The New World Order – A Faustian Bargain
[..] most people in any given country seem to believe that the political parties that rule them do not collude in their own collective interest and against the best interests of their respective constituents.
Similarly, they are unlikely to accept that fascism exists in their country—that members of their favoured party collude with industries. Further, most people seem to disbelieve that the leaders of their own country collude with the leaders of their country’s enemies in such a way that might create loss or danger to their own people. This is naive. Such collusions are the norm rather than the exception.
Those who tend to be more informed, readily acknowledge that collusion exists between all of the above, to one degree or another. If this group errs, it is often in the opposite assumption—that the collusion is all-encompassing.
There can be no doubt that a New World Order is being sought by some—this has been made clear for at least a hundred years by many who regard themselves as an Elite. It is therefore an open secret.
In my experience in dealing with political leaders (and political hopefuls) from several jurisdictions, I’ve found there to be a consistent sociopathology (by definition, the desire for dominance over others, undeserved self-confidence, lack of empathy, a sense of entitlement, lack of conscience, etc.).
Sociopaths are drawn to political leadership for obvious reasons. First, they’re prone to collusion, as they recognise that it may further their interests [..] Trouble is, the same sociopathology would drive the same individuals to seek to dominate each other.
It has been postulated by many that those who see themselves as an Elite are nearing the completion of what they perceive as world dominance. However, should they succeed, they will betray their partners the very next day, as it’s their nature to do so.
First, there most assuredly are extremely domineering forces (regardless of how closely associated they might be), which, in the near future, will do immense damage to the cause of freedom in the world, particularly in those countries where they are most dominant, or will become most dominant. Second, the situation does appear to be reaching a head.
The two greatest uncertainties will be how much damage will be done before the dust has settled, and how protracted the period of destruction and struggle for dominance might be. [..] The best that can be done is to work at placing ourselves as far outside of their sphere of influence as possible.
That describes how the EU functions, and why Greece -first of all, and first thing in the morning- needs to leave. There is no future in the EU that anyone wants to live in. It’s not a tide that will lift all boats, it will sink them.
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Throw those pathetic Greek dead beats out of Europe already.
Obviously in your haste to be first you didn't bother to even read beyond the title and first few lines. Not that it would have helped much.
I am anxiously awaiting Ghordo's
"We'll but per the democratically ratified treaties ... balh blaah blah"
If the Euro Media wasn't owned by Europhiles and there was a fair representation of what is going on here -- the EU wouldn't exist. Until there is balance in the media here in Rainbowland -- any democratic consent given is intentionally un/mis- informed and thus lacks the democratic consent necessary for its existance.
I wish this thing would just blow up already.
How the EU is sold to the people;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jiaU0xbOKs
What the EU really is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BulFwGSi8bc
and once Juncker gets his goose-stepping EuroCorps funded like he wants, it'll be this too;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WqwFhX6Cqg
On an aside -- Raul from Automatic Earth Blog /didn't read
Bundestag says Koalition government won't approve a 3rd bailout.
Greece can tap 7 billion by end of June and maybe another 11 billion from some emergency bank fund they haven't tapped yet (not ELA).
That's the end of the road for Greece.
Those meetings are all a waste of time. There's no more political will to help Greece anymore because it would be political suicide come election time. Voters are taking notes and German voters are unforgiving when it comes to wasting tax payer's money.
Unless there's a gun to the head of the German political establishment, there is no more funding for Greece - deal or no deal doesn't even matter.
Greece has to learn to swim on its own, collect taxes and go after the 2000 billionaires with accounts in Switzerland. Otherwise Greece has no choice but to default and then potentially exit the Eurozone.
Why some are still talking about a possible "happy ending in the Greek drama" or thinking that a deal is possible, is beyond me. What deal? Nobody is willing to give anymore money. The ECB can only do so much. Greece is in arrears with the IMF and has technically defaulted two weeks ago.
Greece has been kiting for a while now.
It's done. For good.
Excellent Article, I couldn't have put it better myself. Now, where is our Brussels diplomatic correspondent Ghordius when you need him?
He is either in a bunker in Brussels or Frankfurt, feverishly typing out a post the length of War & Peace explaining to us why we are wrong, and the EU and EMZ are nothing but a collection of innocent little treaties, just doing their job, not getting in the way of anybody, save the Greeks who don't want to play by the rules.
Or something along those lines.
Europäische Einheit über Alles!
(Different century, same bullshit)
And he will, of course, work into his reply his favourite theme which is that all EU problems are the fault of the English who never really understood "The Project". Whereas what ALL the peoples of Europe THOUGHT they were establsihing was Free Trade zone like EFTA, but NOT an unelected extra-National Government that creates 75% of all new laws in wgat are supposed to be Soveriegn States?
On a side note, and a bit related;
zeee Germans today, front page of "Die Welt" (think the Daily Telegraph the Islanders of ZH)
http://www.welt.de/
Lasst lieber die Griechen gehen als die Briten!
"We'd rather have the Greeks go than the British."
http://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article142294764/Lasst-lieber-die-...
I assume you all know how to use Google Translate. For the 9 or so of us that speak German, this article is a good read.
Thanks, I agree. The brits at least bring some differentiated opinions into the EU, which would help the "one direction only" mindset that has befallen Brussels. Unfortunately both France and Germany seem to be thinking more lik Brussels.
I am actually not totally against the EU, there is a lot of good in greater collaboration and some economic integration. The authoritarian tone, the undemocratic attitude and the stiffness of the bureaucratic machine is what i dislike. And the fact that rules only need to be enforced by some and other, bigger players can do what they want.
Yes I completely agree with what you say, except about France. Marine Le Pen is leading in many opinion Polls and if she is elected she will also organise a referendum like Britain. It;s also interesting that it is "The Right" who are proposing change, whereas, in fact shouldn't it be "The left" which has issues? Not that it makes any difference which is in power nowadays.
The problem is that the EU has been hijacked by the US as an easier way to control Europe as one block rather than dealing with individual nation states and by the NWO crowd as an experimental precursor to more Global action. And to assess just how much BS "We the people" will put up with before revolting. Spoiler alert: Quite a lot......
With the current grouping of countries AND the current EU's mindset, I don't think I could ever - in good faith - support it.
If however, the things was reorganized to make, at least a little bit of financial sense, and without the in sufferable political correctness I think I could get behind it. I actually wouldn't mind a little more leadership from the Eastern European countries, as they are traditionally more socially conservative than their Western brethern.
That being said -- with the current PC status-quo only a complete collapse will reshuffle the deck. Its badly needed.
Agreed completely. The 75% of all new laws from Brussels which the individual EU States must now implement are mostly either completely stupid or drowning in their own Political Correctness. What worries me most in terms of the future of our societies is that it is our young folks who seem to have swallowed the PC crap hook, line and sinker. University campuses these days are a very poor shadow of what they were in the 1960's, just a generation ago.
My antidote to Political Correctness is to read a new Fred every two weeks:
http://www.fredoneverything.net/
I'll never understand this obsession with greeks paying their taxes. Tax evasion is indirect stimulus, the equivalent of a tax cut. Tax cuts are supposed to be good and grow the economy, right? The creative disrupters daring enough to evade taxes must be those spirit-enriched people that grow the economy, thus enabling higher tax revenues, right?
My Grandfather taught me what Greece now painfully understands:
When you take a man's money you also have to take his shit.
Lesson, borrow as little money as possible in life because debtors are never free! Simple as that.
Ain't that the truth? As I get older, I find very few reasons to borrow money. If I don't have cash, then I wait. The only reason I can see to borrow is to save my child's life.
The problem is we're born into an economy structured such that someone else alread owns the whole world. So we're born into a world of shit. You start out a debtor. Any money you ever get is on loan from the central bank.
the Greek people are not going to be served better by Grexit... on the contrary they are going to fall pray and exploited by their own corrupt political system... case in point
VAT 23% was not requested by the creditors as was the popular propaganda BUT by the government
the government is set to drawn the people in a tsunami of new taxes in order for the political system to save themselves and their clientele...
The Greeks will suffer either way. If they stay in the EU, they will meet their creditors' demands. If they leave, no one will want to do business with them because they don't pay their bills. How will anyone have confidence in their Drachmas? The Greeks will have to find a way to restore others' confidence in them.
No way out of a period of painful economic chaos.
Greeks have been suffering for 5 years now....
10000 have committed suicide out of desperation.. In Germany when a dog dies they make it first news.. did anyone care about the suicides in Greece
unemployment has skyrocketed
people lose their homes cuz they cannot withstand the heavy taxation
younger people are forced to immigrate
etc.
I understand, wiser. No matter which way the Greeks go - Grexit or meeting creditors' demands, the situation will get worse for the common people. Those who sold the Greeks into this mess & those who now hold them to their obligations do not think of the suffering of the people.
Before someone rips on me because the Greeks voted for the easy money which got them into this predicament, do not forget that people are easily sold on what they wish to believe. Hope & Change anyone?
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Thank you Stu. Why have you been recorded?
Strong beat and the kids can dance to it.
Rated 3.5 of 5
Are TONY nominations just for American theater?
my money is on Gerxit preceding a Grexit.
Those dead beat Greeks have lovely beaches, Not only do they (zee Germans) want to get their towel on it first . They want to own it
Tsipras is such a weakling he will never man up and leave
He's probably afraid he'll suddenly pick up a nail gun and shoot himself in the head repeatedly.
Sovereignty is sooooo passe. The rulers collude to eliminate it and the peasants are so far removed from being sovereign over their individual lives they are afraid of it...like a child afraid to look under his bed.
If sovereignty is passé, then I wonder if the formerly sovereign will get to choose their new master or have one forced upon them? Humans tend to rebel if forced but if they can be convinced that they have chosen, they willingly accept the situation.
Greece must leave becasue in the end it's all greek to them, which in greek is pretty much unrecognizable to anyone
"troika creditors don’t come to the table to negotiate, they come to impose their will. And those countries that carry the most debt are most vulnerable to the threats flung across the table. If you don’t get out, in time Germany will decide what you can eat, what your children learn in school, and how you are to behave. You will no longer live in sovereign nations"
with debt 185% of GDP, 60% unemployment you dont have much negotiating power...
what happens when a business goes bankrupt? do the banks continue to give money to a deadbeat that went bankrupt? NO! what happens is business restructuring and reorganization. Unless a new business model is agreed upon to replace the one that lead to bankruptcy no new money is expended.
i think this is what happens with Greece and its creditors.. Greece knows that it has structural and institutional problems. Those problems lead to excessive debt and bankruptcy in the first place. Leaving the union does not solve those problems. Leaving is not a solution.
Tsipras goes for a bigger deal than what the creditors are willing to offer because of luck of trust and rightly so. In the past they have been screwed many times by successive Greek leaderships promising this and that and delivering jack shit.
I have to point out that the businesses that went tits up after they sold rafts of deriviatives based on shitty mortages are back again, putting together even more crook derivatives based on shitty mortgages.
Fool them once, shame on you. Fool them twice, shame on the pension funds that keep funding their bullshit.
The entire financial world seems to be based on LIAR loans.
all loans! autos, now college loans with no collateral. ponzi crumble folks. bailed out by the printers creating debt to bail bad debt. reread that and say "it aint real" ten times and then try to explain to your(my)self, how this goes on. fucken-eh...
They only still exist as before, because of the actions of our government. Without the government giving free money to these banks/businesses, they could not have survived to do the same stuff again. Much like the Greek situation, there is no way out of the derivative mess & liar loans without a painful correction. It seems that no one in government is willing to stop the charade because of the consequences, so they prop up the system to the detriment of the people. The correction now will be much worse than it would have been years ago, so on & on we go.
Got to slap you on the back for that quip
The European Union was created sub rosa in Washington and introduced to the Continental public as a great benefit to its member states when it was nothing more than an agreement of indenture and servitude.
The house niggers, like England and the Scandinavian countries, are content with the food falling at the feet of their American master.
The field hands, or PIIGS, now know the size of their debt and the length of their indenture.
Stay tuned to find out what happens when Oliver Grexit says to Mr Bumble, "Please, Sir, I want some more.
If the 'PIIGS' start throwing 'BRICS' who do I sue for my broken window!
Noodleman
I agree with the article. And, especially yesterday's article. Sociopaths are only pack animals while the food is easy to come by. Once it gets scarce they all turn on each other and they lack the character to succeed in creating a system that is stable. They lash out an turn on one another. At the same time this goes on outside forces form and decide to attack. Here I'm thinking the military moves in to "restore order" and arrest the vermin. But the military is a machine with a dictator at the top. It is best for the militaries to move in now before physical destruction begins.
I mean is there anyone that thinks Obama, Pelosi, Feinstein, Lindsey Graham, Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon, Oh my God Boehner, would be able to be a world leader like Putin or Xi. Those two men are like very highly developed characters. If you look at NATO miitary you see faces with the contenances of alcoholics. That is the thing. The banksters put these wooses in position to be able to bribe them into doing what they want them to do and now they got their tit in the ringer and these fools are in charge. Behind the scenes you have think tanks and elite collectivism deciding how best to pillage the west instead of world leaders that are capable of meeting the needs of the times. Add to this western circus weapons manufacturers that have the ability to convince the banking elite that for only 10 billions upon billons more their weapons will protect them. Hot damn, it does seem like NATO will push the button. Help. We are all doomed.
wooses? Wimp ass pUSSIES= wussies.
Other than that, no complaints.
All these countries in the EU deserve to rot; a four year old could have told them the EU was a dumb idea.
My sister, who bless her heart knows not a single thing about finance or money thinks the EURO is a stupid idea.
"I just don't understand how all these different countries sharing a currency is a good idea. They are all so different."
It's not actually the people of those countries who jumped into the EU. It was the thieves who they foolishly elected. 'The People' are constantly frozen out of votes on matters that would determine the future of the EU bureaucracy.
Same as it is everywhere.
I absolutely agree with this author, As a recent example corroborates the sociopathic mind wishing to control others. An acquaintance recently became inspired to run for office, local goverment. this individual is a bully/control freak/sociopath and as such will do very well in serving his own interests along with the other cronies, he will undoubtedly seek out.
Bring on the world changing Astroroid,let's start again,
the purpose of the euro was to consolidate all the euro currencies into one. why? having all those separate currencies was the greatest obstacle in front of a new world order. that was premised on the continuing omniscience of the west. a defiant russia, a surging china and the brics alliance were not factored(but i am sure someone brought it up and was ignored) but is even more reason to keep the eurozone together for europe. greeece has provided the conduit for a eurasia connection. putin has essentially bailed greece out and therefore the eurozone(germany). if greece were alone then they would simply be within russia's sphere of influence.
And what's wrong with being under Vladimirs Russia, ?.
And what's wrong with being under Vladimirs Russia, ?. If Edward Snowden (unless he happens to be a stooge) can live under Vlads influence, bring on the russky hoards comrade, or is it now bad form to use the term 'comrade'
i think it is ironic that the cradle of democracy and individual liberty would be the decider of the fate of the formerly sovereign nations of europe with the help of the nation that liberated europe from the nazis.
the purpose of the union was to contain belligerent Germany (who had started 2 world wars) inside a union and to end war in Europe...
If I understand Germany correctly!. After losing two wars, they decided 'there's 'more than one way to skin a cat'!
The Germans did a fair job of increasing and integrating the East, after the fall of the wall.
The EU concept allowed economic expansion of the other powers and promoted some of the smaller countries into larger players.
The PIIGS have always been some part of self inflicted economic train wrecks and in the modern age it is no different.
Yep, shouldn't have accessed that debt to become bigger than themselves. We've got that attitude here in student,mortgage, treasury and ad nauseous debt.
Answer? Stop digging.
There, fixed all by myself.
Germany is not a sovereign state ... a top secret treaty signed on 21 May 1949 restricts state sovereignty of the federal republic of Germany until 2099...
in west Germany 52 thousand American troops are still stationed there
Germany continues to pay war reparations to Israel and to America including military assistance
The second part is correct.
the purpose of the euro was to help german manufacturer sell his goods to the rest of europe
The purpose of the Euro was to boost french pride. Mitterrand could not stand to see the German Mark always appreciate, his adviser Attali called the DM, the german atomic bomb, and blackmailed Kohl with the German reunification. French "Le Figaro" wrote the euro (Maastricht treaty) is Versailles (= Germany paying ...) without war. And that's happening. Germany has financed the south's luxury trip. The money is gone ...
Germany is exporting a lot, that's true, but what is it getting back? Worthless paper claims (Target2 ...). So who is really profiting? Who has the manufactures goods without beeing able to "pay" (redeem) with something valuable? The Eurosystem ist prone to fail, again a big european catastrophy caused ONLY by french pride.
it should be illegal to borrow money in someone else name. This includes issuing bonds backed up by tax payer money
Why Greece must leave?
What if Greece CAN'T leave?
The sooner Greece leaves and the sooner the others leave, then the sooner they can put an end to the stupid policies that the US has imposed on Europe in an effort to impose its will on Russia.
As matters stand, Europe is just another colony of the US. Of course Germany is holding on not because it enjoys the dictatorial manner of the US but because it enjoys a devalued currency which is to her benefit.
As colonial magistrates we demand your Beer and Beaches in tribute.
-- Your Uncle Sam
Waiting for Greece to pay their bills is like waiting for the Detroit Ghetto-Rats to pay their water bills.
Greece is a broke Mud-Hutter Country. It ain’t gonna happen.
that means banksters lose their money on a bad bet....
The banksters ‘lost’ their money the day they loaned Greece the first dollar.
It’s just like Detroit. Detroit erased $8,000,000,000 of debt in the BK. Like a freshly divorced woman, Detroit immediately started running up the bills – new stadiums, new river trolley’s, new street car systems. LOL
the question is did Detroit change its behaviour or they are still going at it running up the bills again after the debt write off.. i would presume some kind of restructuring would have taken place
"What is evident by now is that the troika creditors don’t come to the table to negotiate, they come to impose their will."
Well, GEE...it's THEIR money which Greece took.
Their money, their will.
Or, are you one of those "it's not theft if I say I'm morally superior in my theft" kind of jerks?!?
The Greek political banksters took the money, fucked off, giving the finger to stavros!. If curruption were a country, that would be Greece.
"Well, GEE...it's THEIR money which Greece took.
Their money, their will.
Or, are you one of those "it's not theft if I say I'm morally superior in my theft" kind of jerks?!? "
The money went to pay the IMF the BCE and others . The Greeks got very little .
Technically, the Parthenon was restored. The Greeks get to look at that.
The EU needs to wait for a real panic emergency, and then pass a new Constitution in the dead of night that turns it into a true dictatorship. They need to recreate the Office of the Caesar, and appoint a real tough German as Angela Merkel Caesar Augutus Maximus with control over a new EU army, and thus true absolute power.
Any discussion of Europe's problems which does not mention the tribe is merely a smokescreen. There is no solution apart from the truth. Tell the truth about them and you can at least start solving problems. The same of course is true for America's problems.
http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/
The author of the article presents free trade with Germany being a bad thing because they are 'great at making things'. The logic is flawed, and where is their evidence to back this up? My household is in away its own economy, and has no problem importing 100% of its food, oil, etc etc. Hong Kong is a place that thrives on nothing but a policy of free and low tax rates alone.
There is also a bit of a double standard in that logic. The USA free trade with other countries is supposedly something that was bad for the extensive manufacturing that the USA previously had. But its good for Germany? No, German manufacturers can now outsource to cheaper and lower quality places just like the USA did. But economies don't quite work that simply that it will always happen. A better argument, still wrong, would be that free trade would be bad for Germany and better for the poor places.
Its the DEBT, that is affecting Greece negatively, not their free trade policies. The European countries who are going to have the problems are the ones with crushing debt loads, which would be Spain, Italy, and Portugul.