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The Troika Turns Europe Into A Warzone
Submitted by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,
So now they do it. Now the IMF comes out with a report that says Greece needs hefty debt restructuring.
Mind you, their numbers are still way off the mark, in the end it’s going to be easily double what they claim. Not even a Yanis Varoufakis haircut will do the trick.
But at least they now have preliminary numbers out. The reason why they have is inevitably linked to the press leak I wrote about earlier this week in Troika Documents Say Greece Needs Huge Debt Relief. If that hadn’t come out, I’m betting they would still not have said a thing.
It’s even been clear for many years to the IMF that debt restructuring for Greece is badly needed, but Lagarde and her troops have come to the Athens talks with an agenda, and stonewalled their own researchers.
Which makes you wonder, why would any economist still want to work at the Fund? What is it about your work being completely ignored by your superiors that tickles your fancy? How about your conscience?
Why go through 5 months of ‘negotiations’ with Greece in which you refuse any and all restructuring, only to come up with a paper that says they desperately need restructuring, mere days after they explicitly say they won’t sign any deal that doesn’t include debt restructuring?
By now I have to start channeling my anger about the whole thing. This is getting beyond stupid. And I did too have an ouzo at the foot of the Acropolis, but I’m not sure whether that channels my anger up or down. The whole shebang is just getting too crazy.
For five whole months the troika refuses to talk debt relief, and mere days after the talks break off they come with this? What then was their intention going into the talks? Certainly not to negotiate, that much is clear, or the IMF would have spoken up a long time ago.
At the very least, all Troika negotiators had access to this IMF document prior to submitting the last proposal, which did not include any debt restructuring, and which caused Syriza to say it was unacceptable for that very reason.
Tsipras said yesterday he hadn’t seen it, but the other side of the table had, up to and including all German MPs. This game obviously carries a nasty odor.
Meanwhile, things are getting out of hand here. It’s not just the grandmas who can’t get to their pensions anymore, rumor has it that within days all cash will be gone from banks. And then what? Oh, that’s right, then there’s a referendum. Which will now effectively be held in a warzone.
It’s insane to see even Greeks claim that this is Alexis Tsipras’ fault, but given the unrelenting anti-Syriza ‘reporting’ in western media as well as the utterly corrupted Greek press, we shouldn’t be surprised.
The real picture is completely different. Tsipras and Varoufakis are the vanguard of a last bastion of freedom fighters who refuse to surrender their country to an occupation force called the Troika. Which seeks to conquer Greece outright through financial oppression and media propaganda.
Tsipras and Varoufakis should have everyone’s loud and clear support for what they do. And not just in Greece. But where is the support in Europe? Or the US, for that matter?
There’s no there there. Europeans are completely clueless about what’s happening here in Athens. They can’t see to save their lives that their silence protects and legitimizes a flat out war against a country that is, just like their respective countries, a member of a union that now seeks to obliterate it.
Europeans need to understand that the EU has no qualms about declaring war on one of its own member states. And that it could be theirs next time around. Where people die of hunger or preventable diseases. Or commit suicide. Or flee.
All Europeans on their TV screens can see the line-ups at ATMs, and the fainting grandmas at the banks, the hunger, the despair. How on earth can they see this as somehow normal, and somehow not connected to their own lives?
They’re part of the same political and monetary union. What happens to Greece happens to all of you. That’s the inevitable result of being in a union together.
Don’t Europeans ever think that enough should be enough when it comes to seeing people being forced into submission, in their name? Or are they too fat and thick to understand that it’s in their name that this happens?
The July 5 referendum here in Greece is not about whether the country will remain in the EU, or the eurozone, no matter what any talking head or politician tries to make of it. The narrow question is about whether Greeks want their government to accept a June 26 Troika proposal that Tsipras felt he could not sign because it fell outside his mandate.
That the Troika after the referendum was announced then pulled a Lucy and Charlie Brown move on Syriza, and retracted the proposal, is of less interest. Lucy always pulls away the football, and Charlie Brown always kicks air. He should wisen up at some point and refuse to play ball.
However, at the same time, though it’s highly unfair to burden the Greeks’ shoulders with this, the referendum has a far broader significance. It is about what and who will rule Europe going forward, and we’re talking decades here.
It will either be a union of functioning democracies, or it will be a totalitarian regime in which all 28 nations surrender their independence, their sovereignty, their votes and then their lives to Brussels and Berlin.
Democracies are about one thing first and foremost: the people decide. If you can’t have that, than why would you have elections and referendums? Those then become mere theater pieces. Like we already have in the US, where if anyone can explain to me the difference between the Clintons and the Kardashians, by all means give it a go.
Since it’s clear that Berlin is by far the strongest voice in the three-headed monster the Troika has become, it’s no exaggeration to say that what we see unfold before our eyes is yet another German occupation of Greece. There are no tanks and boxcars involved yet, but wars can be fought in many ways. And scorched earth can take up many different forms too. It’s the result that counts.
In the meantime it has somehow become entirely acceptable for politicians and media from foreign countries to tell the Greeks what to do, who to vote for, and what to make sure happens after.
European Parliament chief Martin Schulz even dares claim that Syriza should resign if the vote is yes, and it should be replaced with a bunch of technocrats. It’s none of your business, Martin. Or yours, Bloomberg writers, or Schäuble, or anyone else who’s not Greek. Shut up! You’re all way out of -democratic- line.
It’s up to Greeks to decide what happens in their country. It’s both a sovereign state and a democracy. The utmost respect for this should be the very foundation of everything we do as free people, whose ancestors fought so hard to make us free.
How come we moved so far away from that, so fast? What happened to us? What have we become?
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When you're ill prepared, you don't act.
Translation: they fucked up.
Have you noticed how the “Troika” has become the “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named”?
Those bureaucrats should’ve named this monstrosity “Voldemort” from the get-go. ;-)
Looney
Welcome to the Matrix
The EU is not about the denial of democracy. To the contrary, it's its glory, its epitomization. It's the integration of democracy - on a Continental Level.
But democracy itself is the problem, not whether it is imposed upon to 11 or upon 500 million of individuals at a time. A republican form of government, decentralized and superseded by the governed, by definition abhors democractic mob rule.
Food for thought: if individuals indeed supersede the institution, it means the latter can have no prerogative which cannot have been delegated to it by its masters, the individuals - i.e. if neighbours club together to hire a common security guard, that guard cannot do anything that cannot be done by his employers, and anything that has not been explicitely delegated to him. So he can confront burglars, but cannot force his way into anyone's home to rearrange the furniture. He cannot extort additional money for his services, or take the wife's earrings away. Whether a subset of his employers want it or not. That's a good way to answer for a neophyte the question "should the government do this", whatever "this" is.
... Welcome to the Matrix
Well, I took the BLUE PILL with Pfizer on it. ;-)
Looney
Let me know if you go blind?
I brought out the hookah.
...Soon all over the world, university educated grandchildren.will have to share their parent's basements with their grandparents
Any kid who has ever had a paper route or mowed the neighbor’s lawn to raise some cash understands this problem better than all the central bankers in the world. Real money only comes from productivity, you can't borrow your way to prosperity and fractional reserve banking is a ticking time bomb.
Time for a new 4th of July holiday Golden Jackass interview on TFMR
Turd and the Jackass for 1.5 hours...what could possibly go wrong? haha :-)
It's on the house, so if ya wanna kill some time and hear Jim Willie's thoughts on the geo-political and economic collapse underway as we speak, here's the link:
http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/podcast/6968/jackass-our-own-yankee-doodle-dandy
Enjoy this 4th of July, folks. Think about what it means and what it stands for. The future of freedom not just in America but the rest of the world hasn't been in this much jeopardy since WWII. The new threats to freedom and liberty are hitting us from all angles. Get prepared. By this time next year the scumbags in charge will be banning the 4th of July just as they're banning everything else and driving us into another world war situation.
Or share their bomb shelter.
fuck it i'll die like a man, not like a rat.
You have some time to read this then.
http://www.transsexual.org/basicsoftransition.html
So why did the EU never allow "We the people" to decide on anything? Sorry but that is BS, you must be a Troll...
because it's not that kind of "union". and the matter was decided by referendums. specifically, the two national referenda on the EU Constitution, one in France, the other in The Netherlands
how can you call for a EU referendum... if it is not a political union? Raul here moans about "political union" as if we had common/federal taxes and common/federal debt, and we simply don't
the EU, for all it's faults, has no constitution, ergo it has no EU referenda. and the main reason is.... the supremacy of the national elected parliaments (aka the "master of the treaties")
you can't have a treaty-based org for common trade/economic policies on a confederational model and a political union on a federal model at the same time
and so the EU has no common debt, no federal taxes and is not a "political union", without a EU constitution and EU referenda
much to Raul's chagrin, as I can read. nevertheless, Greece is having a national referendum for a Greek decision, and frankly I find it anyway better this way
Agreed. It simply doesn't make sense. And the peoples of Europe don't want it the way it is, so let's just go back to it being a Free Trade zone amongst sovereign States, each with their own traditions, languages and legal systems (Common or Civil). No Flag, Anthem or paraphenalia of a Centralised State represented by unelected bureaucrats (Oops, sorry that might mean that Ghordo loses his job?!!). In particular the most despicable Juncker ("When it gets serious, you have to lie") who created a Global Tax Haven in Luxembourg yet who now pretends that The glorious EU should take the moral high ground against Tax evasion. I'm sorry but such overt hypocricy turns my stomach.
In that way, also, there would be no more "Greece" situations, no more "Troika" situations and we could all live in peace again.
Cue Ghordius in 3..2..1.."That's such an Anglo-Saxon perspective and it is The UK that never understood the glorious union and we would be better off without it and blah blah blah.....
you are defining yourself your perspective as "Anglo-Saxon". but yes, there is a typical British view that the EU ought to be a free trade zone only
it is not mine and it is not common on the continent. in fact, the prevailing continental opinion is that it's all about the Four Freedoms of the EU in a common regulatory environment
freedom of movement of people, capital, goods and services (with common regulations on top)
now, the City of London's banks are all about freedom of movement of capital. but the British Torys and UKIP are not fond of the idea of not being able to discriminate against Polish workers in the UK, for example. they would like to have the freedom of treating them as second-class, below British and Irish workers. or even restrict their freedom to work in the UK
and so, frankly, the UK has to either decide if they like the package as it is or leave, because it won't wash to even scratch on those principles in earnest (cosmetics might help?)
but I always have a good laugh when Nigel Farage get's all huffed and puffed at the sight of an EU anthem or EU flag. could not care less if we have one or not
Yawn.......
And I told you before, I am in Asia NOT The UK. I am a person of the World and look at all issues from a rational perspective with no Agenda and no vested interests. I am independent and have no dependencies on anyone. As opposed to those who may be receiving a nice living, including expenses, from a bloated and undemocratic dependency. Without going into details, I have observed the enormous waste and inefficuency within the EU at fiorst hand.
"I am in Asia NOT The UK"
It means horseshit where you "are". What matters is how you self-identify and where your loyalties are.
Fair point. I am now Indonesian and my loyalties are to Indonesia and my family who live in Australia, Indonesia and The US.
Ok thanks for clarifying. horshit was a bit strong. Let's say it matters little.
Identity is a very mysterious issue (to me). Despite all "rational arguments", it is (too) often what it seems to boil down to.
It may surprise you, but I self-identify as European, among other things.
Know Thyself
That's fair enough and completely understood. I have many friens who identify themselves as European yet who despise what the EU has become. And I mean friends from Germany, Italy, Spain, France although, again in fairness, these are mostly folks who left Europe and now livw overseas.
hey, you brought this: "Cue Ghordius in 3..2..1.."That's such an Anglo-Saxon perspective and it is The UK that never understood..."
sure, from a global perspective anything that is not globalized is inefficient. But so it's American workers employed instead of cheaper Asian workers
Please re-read what I said. You are obviously NOT a Lawyer?
no, I am NOT a lawyer. is that a problem? yes, I did re-read. yes, you "challenged" me. yes, I answered accordingly. yes, some of your points are global in perspective. so? is the EU about efficiency and globalization? I would dare to say this is the whole contention about the EU, what it ought to be or not
I love it when you talk dirty. Don't take yourself so seriously Ghordius because people like me love to wind you up. I'm now off for a late dinner on the beach with firends and will probably drink a lot of (Australian) wine. But I will be thinking about you......
cheers, then. I am already on water / at sea, just watching a few Greek dolphins. but I don't think they identify themselves as such. traitors! methinks they have an Asian smile on their faces... ;-)
Ah, so even closer to the Greek situation than I thought. Enjoy the Dolphins.. I really must logoff now. No disrespect intended. It's important to be able to agree to diagree? ;-)
of course. perhaps I should add here, for the sake of the original argument, that I am not giving a legal point of view on the matter
I am giving a constitutional and political point of view
which could be summarized like this: at the end, the principles of national parliamentarism trumps all the others, in european politics
the lesson I took from all those discussions around the EU's constitution
Wrong Ghordius. Wrong !!! British Capitalists would happily import cheap labour from Poland, Africa, anywhere to keep unions weak. Labour under Brown-Blair used it as a way to keep wage costs under control. Just as blacks were imported in the 1950s by the Conservatives to keep wage costs down and cheap Kashmiri textile workers came when women were banned from night shifts in the mills.
Workers still have votes even if they have no jobs - they watch flooding immigration changing towns and schools and start to vote for parties to stop the inflow.
It gets tiresome hearing Polish or even Russian in English towns or Portuguese - go to towns like Boston or even Peterborough - they are alien to English people. Ask why the British Government imports foreign labour - yes it does advertise in Polish press - and then have to pay tax credits to subsidise low wages or why housing benefit is paid largely to people IN WORK in London because they cannot afford rents
Of course. That's all a prat of the EU "Equality" and "Fairness" involving the equalisation of goods and services across ecross a series of economies which are clearly NOT equalised. Which is precisely why it isn't working? It encourages excesses of crony capitalism just as seen in The US.
ok, though how do (those) statements of yours make my statement wrong? I repeat: the four freedoms. some Britons don't like them. interestingly, they seem in general to think that no EU would mean less immigration. their business, I'd say, their decision, their government, their London real estate market, their tax schemes, and if we witness a BreXit we'll see if they will or not have less immigration
Their immigration nightmare is of their own making. At this point they've fallen so deep into madness that they ban discussion of the very obvious and odious rot amongst the. Newsflash: countries that continue to offer superior living conditions for no effort input, catering to endless waves of chain migration from literal shitholes, will continue to receive immigration from such places. Even as living conditions get relentlessly worse. Because it so much worse elsewhere.
Ghordo, I got a NewsFlash for you: EU's principle (one of the union's 4 original foundation pillars) of free movement of capital has been abolished twice so far: in Cyprus and now in Greece.
There's no more EU, all you have now is a technocratic fascist zombie sitting in Uncle Sam's back pocket and acting as Europe's ultimate overlord. Eurosceptics and 'conspiracy theorists' might claim that this has been their plan all along...
While it tickles us to think of Europe ever being our bitch, even for a day, the trouble is Europe more like a defenseless dependent, or an overgrown child that can't ever seem to fly on its own.
Ghordius, I consider you to be one of the few posters on here that make reading this section worthwhile.
But you are wrong NOT calling it a political union. A political union is not solely defined by a common tax/debt system (though we are drifting towards a de facto common debt system). Creating common law is in my eyes the strongest characteristic of a political union - which we do have. European law supercedes national law - as it must, otherwise we would never find common legal ground. BUT because it supercedes national law - it would in theory require a referendum for every change in law that affects constitiutional law - at least if the individual national constitution requires a referendum on changes in its constitution. The legally binding contracts signed by member states elevates the contract between states to constitutional level. In my eyes there have been a series of constitutional violations of late, which have gone unchecked - for instance the monetary intervention by the ECB which has been a de facto fiscal policy intervention and in violation of a few constitutions - such as in Germany and in violation of the contracts signed. The constitutional court weaseled its way out of condemming the ECB move which in my opinion is a disaster, because it was blindingly obvious that the ECB policy was circumventing contract and constitution and NOT acting in the interest of all Europeans, but only for a select clientelle at the cost of the remainder - including me.
I would agree that the EU is a political union of sorts.
My interpretation :
Ghordius is a very political person. The EU is currently under pressure from many different sides. So he says it is not a political union, to counter the "EU threat" narrative. (would not be my personal choice)
The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak that breaks in a storm ?
(Confucius)
my emphasis was on "not that kind of union"
yes, the basis of my discourse is more political then anything else: I look at the EU and see a treaty-based org
as a reminder, all that vaunted "EU law that supersedes national laws" is, nevertheless, restricted to what the EU is allowed to legislate
i.e. a treaty-based org that makes common regulation for a common market
highly political nevertheless
Sorry Gordo, I can't allow you away with that. Both referendums in France and Holland rejected the EU constitution. In Ireland, due to our own Constitutional imperative, we had to have a referendum also. It was also rejected by the Irish voters.
However, in the case of Ireland, our answer just wasn't acceptable, so it was insisted that we vote again, this time under considerable duress as the financial crisis broke. Unfortunately, the majority succumbed to the scare mongering, and the second vote was passed.
This however was not the first time that a no vote was deemed unacceptable. Ireland also carried out a referendum on the Nice treaty, and it was rejected. In the glorious display of Euro democracy, it was required that we would have to vote again, which we duly did, and with all of the usual elite suspects telling us that this was the path to nirvana, the electorate did their duty by the elites.
What this tells us is that when one is required to vote on Euro issues, a yes vote is pocketed by the elites and that's the end of it. However, if you give the wrong answer, you'll just have to keep trying until you get it right. It doesn't matter how you vote; if you get it wrong, you'll have to keep doing it till you get it right. Now that's democracy!!
Hear hear!
We need this sort of decentralized system. Democracy can be good but it must be tempered with something like the US Constitution's Bill of Rights to prevent killing of rights. Unfortunately here in the US our masters are getting better and better at finding ways around that dreaded document, and the Supreme Court happily obliges them.
@ New Jefferson 32 .
"The Eu is not about the denial of democracy " ... Really ! You must have ham in front of your eyes !
I guess you didn't get what I meant. I am not defending the EU, but criticizing "democratic" centralized governance (whether in Athens or Brussels).
When Tsipras says "the EU denies Greek democracy" the EU replies "but Greece isn't alone, there are 18 democracies". And the EU is correct (which doesn't make it right).
Furthermore, a majority of EU citizens still favour the EU. Most members democratically agreed to the Maastricht treaty (either directly or through their elected representatives).
So "democracy", as in the majority imposing a certain form of collectivism to a minority, is antinomic to individual liberty. Arguing that the Greek situation is dire because "there isn't enough democracy" is wrong and idiotic.
Now granted the Swiss by referendum have rejected joining the EU in 1994 despite it being favored by nearly all media, politicians and intellectuals at the time. I was too young to vote, so I thank them for that.
Any form .. democracy or the republic concept can be hijacked.. as it has in the USSA .. Europe .. the mob does not rule . the plutocrats and oligarchs do . its the new fuedalism . a technocratic monarchy of sorts.. a bureaucratic dictatorship of the many by the few .. political systems only survive and remain healthy when some kind of LIMITS are placed on the ruling classes .. and they are not allowed to be bought out by .. .. shadow governmennt . .deep state . new lords and monarchs in the West or East .. at its core the EU is.. technocratic fuedalism .. rule by banker and corporate statists... the mob are now debt slaves.. hardly conducive to healthy or sustainable government ... hardly a bright future . the idea of republic or democracy .. perhaps time to rethink both .. The republic system can be hijacked as easily as the democracy .. it has been so in the USSA and now in Europe. Reality is that every so often we have to reboot . problem is making sure the same forces that screwed up the last 100 years or so . are not in charge next go round.
+1. RE your last sentence...
you do this by doing what's Necessary; you take them out of the gene pool. If you look at history, some have prolonged that peace that followed, by preventing revenge and subterfuge from their relatives, by taking out their entire family.
If you think that's ruthless and harsh, ask Moses and Joshua, who slaughtered many of their own tribe, to achieve Ideological Cleansing. ISIS style. If this had happened today, they'd be going to the Hague on war crimes -- if they didn't have the Exceptional status of the (Self-)Chosen people.
It is about a bankster super state looting countries and the citizenry.
The same bankster red shield familes who have murdered tens of millions in Europe and Russia for the past 200 to 400 years in their WARS$$$$$$$.
Duh, now maybe you yankees have a better understanding of the American Civil War. When southern states (who voluntarily joined the union) succedded, elected their own president and tried to leave, the American Troika declared war. "Same as it always was"
Yes, notice how in America it is okay to say "black lives matter", but if you say "white lives matter" you are immediately labelled a racist...
the devolution of humanity continues...
Black lives matter? Only to white guilted progressives. Don't say that to the legions of dead black children in Chicago, they know its bullshit.
They also matter to blacks but in the context that they do not have to accept blame for black deaths by black hands. Just like Europeans watch what's happening in Greece and think somehow they are above the fray.
People are fucked up. And the fact that we've been desensitized by a sensationalistic 24 hour news cycle makes it harder and harder to figure out what's worth caring about such that most people who don't have the temerity to think for themselves just end up parroting the sound bite of the week as if they're informed and taking part.
Think this is the reason why. Remember, I'm a raycyst, right....but actually, I'm just reporting the facts jack.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7404/fig_tab/nature11128_F4.html
well, I have no bone to contend neither for the case of the US nor the case of the CSA, being european and in the eurozone
I can just note that the contention here it at most about Greece leaving a monetary "union", which for all purposes is built on the confederational model of members being allowed to leave it
and yet we witness a Greek government (that Raul here defends) that would be very happy to do that, while Greek popular opinion and majorities... would not
One big Debt Circle jerk.................little Monies go to Greece it's self mean while Citizens have to cough up the interest payments and debt.......................over years.......................all so the Debt Holders don't lose.
That's not real life................it does not matter who made the BAD choice lender or borrow..............in this case one or both have to take a hair cut................I am supprised Greece still hanging in.
If your underwater on your payments and have no chance of paying it back .................YOU would hand in the keys and call it a day
Yes agreed that this is an all-out assault by the Banksters and the Oligarchy to strip Greece of any further productive assets and that the rest of Europe should wake up. BUT the reason I think they get away with it is that Greece is not entirely innocent either. Tax evasion in Greece has always been the National Sport and the pension and public sector pay schemes are absurd. That is no fault of the present Government but it does put their position at a disadvantage.
Tax evasion is the national sport. Ok, then exactly how did this country apply for and get 72 billion into debt with no ability to pay, everyone knew they had no ability to pay. Lets do some root failure analysis here, who authourized this debt and what exactly was it spent on, it should be clawed back.
It was totally irresponsible lending (Started by Goldman Sachs then followed by the EU "Institutions") and borrowing (By corrupt Greek Governments, with most of the funds shipped into Swiss Bank Accounts) all controlled by the Banksters who always knew that they could come in and strip the assets for nothing at this point. I rest my case.
I am not so sure the lending was "irresponsible" as it was calculated. The borrowing was surely "irresponsible", as the Greeks walked into the trap set by the lenders, who preyed upon the Greeks' propensity to borrow now and pay it back "next Tuesday".
So the lenders are correct in that they have a right to the collateral upon default. The borrowers are asking a different question, that is, can the borrowers be held to account when the lending is predatory by its very nature?
TPTB are on the side of the lenders, and they will defend to the death their willingness to prevail. The rest of us are witnesses to the folly of man, and the willingness of mankind to screw over some part of themselves, for the selfish benefit of others. Not a pretty sight.
But it's so much easier to blame the People.
the central bankers ability to asset-strip a country in the 21st century using computers with ones and zeros beats the snot out of any military asset-stripping project in history.
in the absence of a militray presence, it will be interesting to see how long they can keep at it however
Flounder, You trusted us - You f*cked up!
https://youtu.be/zOXtWxhlsUg
Daily allowance of cash from many ATMs has dropped from €60 to €50 as polls are neck-and-neck
Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will be forced to leave the eurozone in the next 12 monthsThe Institute of Directors, an industry group, carried out a survey of its members which showed that 73pc thought Grexit was "likely" or "very likely".
62pc said that Grexit would lead to a messy default and exit which negatively affects financial markets and leads to pressure on other Euro members, and 45pc also think there was a risk of widespread bank runs in other southern European countries.
45pc of members say there is a good chance Grexit will be followed by other countries leaving the Euro.
Only 9pc of members surveyed have direct exposure to Greece.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11715198/greece-crisis-live...
Oops! Double-post ;-)
Looney
"country to run out of essential food and medicine within days"
good point - supply lines disruptions due to complete distrust between vendors and retailers is a big issue in greece right now
in order to avoid the mess in greece someone has to get serious about this issue and provide insurance that the goods delivered will be paid for
if not - expect starvation in a week and a revolution soon after
Warzone? Do we have armored divisions advancing? House to house fighting in brutally contested zones? Bombers? Helicopters blowing up shit?
Didn't think so.
Hyperbole.
Maybe you missed the "More than One Type of War" class. Check your schedule.
Yes, it's a silly hyperbole. The Germans and friends are just refusing to give more handouts because the Greeks refuse to live up to the terms of the last handout.
You do not get it .. in the context of what war is .. economic and trade and currency wars end in hot wars or are part of hot wars.. . nearly EVERY single time .. you have a limited idea of what war is .. you can destroy a country through economic warfare as easily as through bombs and tanks . .prior to NATO invasion of the Balkans . the IMF had already softened it up with things like 'shock therapies' leaving the country in chaos as the former Yugoslavia and its various provinces could not service the debt.. the result within a few years . the former Yugoslavia started to break down along ethnic and religious lines ..... before the various groups started at each other .. and NATO intervened and made it WORSE .. George Soros .. an evil bastard almost single handedly has destroyed countries thorugh economic means .... learn more about economic warfare . . before you call it a silly hyperbole.... http://globaleconomicwarfare.com/
Sort of like giving your kid the beating they deserve because they did not clean their plate of brussel sprouts.
After all, the kid knew he had to eat them...
We all know that.
Yes, it's a silly hyperbole. The Germans and friends are just refusing to give more handouts because the Greeks refuse to live up to the terms of the last handout.
"Banksterism is an extension of Policy by Other Means."
- Ned
{Clausewitz would have said that given current circumstances}
Yep - doubt we will see many pensioners with AK-47s....
Because the rest of the PIIGS and France are next in line to use the ATM?
Bill BLACK: ''Well, the same people are getting bailed out that have been getting bailed out from the beginning of the Greek crisis, and that is foreign banks. So this money just moves in sort of an elaborate circle from the Troika, which is the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the IMF, through the Greek government, through the Greek banks, and then they pay the foreign creditors. And they pay them just enough that they don’t have to recognize a loss for accounting purposes.
As Michael Hudson will explain, of late the big investors tend to be American hedge funds, as opposed to what used to be primarily French banks.''
http://www.unz.com/mhudson/greece-on-behalf-of-europe/
"Since it's clear that Berlin is by far the strongest voice in the three-headed monster the Troika has become, it's no exaggeration to say that what we see unfold before our eyes is yet another German occupation of Greece. There are no tanks and boxcars involved yet, but wars can be fought in many ways. And scorched earth can take up many different forms too. It's the result that counts."
It is just the beginning: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland..... and finally France. England stayed out. That's the new form of Europe domination by the finacial wermach.
To the tanks, Greeks. Gas up for the trip to Berlin!
Eurail looks quicker.
http://www.eurail.com/plan-your-trip/railway-map
~"Gas up for the trip to Berlin!"~
Anybody have a credit card? Where's an ATM?
This is a clusterfuck. On the one hand you have a borrower who borrowed amounts that they knew they would never be able to repay, on the other hand you have a Troika smartasses who loaned HUGE sums to a deadbeat knowing TOO WELL that they would not be able to pay... and now they still continue with the idiotic pretending that a "deal" is possible! NO DEAL - Greece will never repay those debts, - the sooner this is officially announced the better!
sounds similar to zero-down, no doc subprime lending
That describes 90% of the american people.
"The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks."
- Lord Acton
So it's all the fault of the Troika that they won't give Greece yet more handouts? Even after the latter lied about their economic state of affairs and refuses to live up to the terms of the last handout? Forget it.
If Greece wanted to get better and have a sustainable economy they should have done it. The world needs Greece as an example of what not to do. And the Greek government is eagerly pushing them down that path.
The lender/ investors need to bear the consequences of making/buying stupid loans.
Ya know,,, you might have a point IF we were talking REAL MONEY. The Troika like every other bankster scum just creates their worthless fiat with the Enter Key. The only reason their currency can 'buy' anything is due to Legal Tender Laws. Try to use something else and off to jail you go,,, do not pass go. Only they are allowed to counterfeit and debase. Add to that the sad state of money illiteracy they have imposed on most of us and our children through those fine teachers we all support at their funded government education centers.
If we were talking Gold, silver or even a currency backed by sweat,,, you might have a point, but this click crap they're forcing us to use?
And as many point out,,, the lender is responsible for ensuring the borrower is solvent enough to make the loan. You want to go after somebody,,, try Goldmans and those Greeks that helped rig the books. This new Greek government has the opportunity to right things by bringing charges against them. If they don't all their effort is for naught.
"How come we moved so far away from that, so fast? What happened to us? What have we become?"
It's called the "love of money".
The prominent Jewish-Zionist author, Maruice Samuel, accurately epitomized these destructive inclinations within Jewry in his book, You Gentiles, pg. 155: “We Jews, we the destroyers, will remain the destroyers forever. Nothing that you will do will meet our needs and demands. We will forever destroy, because we need a world of our own, a God-world, which it is not in your nature to build.”
Goldman Sachs Jews do Greece:
http://www.realjewnews.com/?p=482
Your nickname + your comment reminds me of that time when right-wing extremists in Germany set fire to their own parliament, and then blamed this act on the Communists.
It is how the Nazi party originally came to power. Through lies, deceit, and crimes.
Lets hope you are as brave when a Mosque burns in scandiland and the .gov moves to take every right you have away. Of course you could appease your immigrants by sacrificing a blond or two per week. But of course you essentially do that now, how is that working out?
did you ever make an effort to verify that story ?
@BolshevikPartyPlanningCommitee
Just keep on generalising people of the same religion or etnicity and pretend nothing horrible has ever resulted from that.
-----
"How about your conscience?"
I am sorry, banksters, tax-free employees, plunderers, conscience ??
There is no national sovereignty left among the Rothschild central banking syndicate captives.
Of course, this has been the intention all along for the past 250 years ever since MA Rothschild erected this usurpation scheme we all endure.
Greece, and any other country who attempts to assert it's sovereignty including the USA will be beaten down by the ZWO syndicate who now controls the money, media and everything else.
Eveabody need some Gawddam restucturing but ain't none gettin done.
No soup for you.
Euro Zone symbol .... a circle of twelve stars .... how original .... all they had to do .... was trace a clock dial .... Betsy Ross did 13 stars .... in a circle .... that took some geometry .... happy 4th of July !
As soon as i read the headline and summary i could tell who wrote it before clicking on it. Can ZH please stop publishing this guy's complete bull?! I know a lot of readers want to see the EU collapse, but it is a oroject that has long helped unify Europe. this continent is now at risk of splintering entirely if every country gets a free lunch just as Greece demands it. states like Estonia and Slovakia that today are in the euro area had to make extreme sacrifices to get their economies in shape. Greece cheated its way in with the help of Goldman Sachs and yet ZH readers who normally hate this kind of behaviour think somehow Greece is some underdog, some Braveheart-era Scotland fighting against evil dictators. So called Libertarians here should be embarassed supporting this narrative. their bad choices, live with them, none of us get a bailout after all. Debt relief in exchange for leaving the EZ and EU. Time they fended for themselves. Or who here wants US taxpayer money to keep funding current Greek policies?
Bad debt needs to be written down. If the underwriter concealed material information, investors sue. And yield chasing investors may need to suffer the consequences of their own negligent due diligence.
The "investors" you're talking about did their due diligence all right... they got rid of the bad debt quite a while ago so the burden of this mess rests on the European taxpayer - yet again the main street is paying for the mistakes of the parasites... and that is something that finally needs to change!
You do not know anything about Greece, democracy or your own country.
@HTZMR
Or who here wants US taxpayer money to keep funding current Greek policies?
Well have you ever thought about what US taxpayers money keeps funding.
ISIS?
CIA?
FBI
MIC
ETC ETC ETC............................hard choices US Gov makes on your behalf.
Glad you accept thier choices
You make very good points sir, but this is an extremist doom blog powered by massive world-class deposits of naked rank hypocrisy and double-think, so unfortunately we're going to have to decline your erudite encouragements to maturity, proportionality and the common good, at this time. Thank you, and try us again in about 18 months, as you never know, we may be flip-flopping back in the other ideological direction by then.
All the best.
Oh, come on!.... The EU was aware of the falsifications, who do you think Goldman's client was,,, sure wasn't Greece. Why doesn't the fascist EU go after them? The U.S 'taxpayer funds very little of what the rogue government throws away,,, whatever the government wants, the bank provides,,, whatever the financials want, the bank provides,,, simple as that. The Bank has 'given' trillions to its members and other financial institutions around the globe and I might add,,, with very little citizen concern.People act as though the U.S. is the epitome of solvency. If one checks it out the U.S is more insolvent than Greece.
$380 billion is about 4 months of QE money printing. yes?
pff youre talking about the old rounds of QE. that aint nothing. just wait for the brand spanking new, turbo charged jet engine, fukushima nuclear thruster QE muthafucking infinity model!!! it's going to blow you away!
the eu is funded by the dollar. without the dollar the euro is just another piece of paper. so it is the usa tax payer, as the deep pockets of last resort, who will pay for this mess ultimately in blood and tears and lots of taxpayer fiat. if the eurozone wants to remain intact it will pay. it is not up to the greeks even if they are the catalyst for collaapse.
This is about the future of Europe: will it be in the hands of people or of big corporations and banks? Not that the average European understand cause just like his American colleague he has been dumped down (but still not as much) and only interested in the next idol or whatever shit is on TV.
This IMF report on how austerity does not work and only debt relief being the remedy while imposing exactly the opposite on Greece should be an indication of the vicious game that is being played. Greece is sacrificed and the message sent out to other countries is that you better submit to the giant squid.
What happens to Greece happens to all of you. That’s the inevitable result of being in a union together.
That's the whole point of this mess now isn't it. Others have already, somewhat successfully, gone down the austerity route, and yet others are now embarking on it in the background while this Greece drama is playing out. If the Greeks get "off the hook", why not everyone else? It's no wonder that the smaller countries who have already reformed are the toughest on Greece.
ICELAND .. finally figured it out . . and they are doing well . thanks very much. Not sure the Greeks have the same cultural framework to do the same . .but to remain in a bad UNION .. let them default .. bankrupt .. the only reason we the USSA .. do not default yet .. is because we have the digital printing press and reserve currency .. and the rest of the world is still dumb enough to buy our worthless paper ...... otherwise we would be Greece NOW. There are times a system has to allow bankruptcy or debt forgiveness ... otherwise you get revolution or commit national suicide or end up in a complete tyranny .. even that comes to an end sooner or later. 'Other" countries that have reformed.. are you serious .. you mean Ireland . .been there lately or checked out their prognosis . .sooner or later those countries are going down . Ireland, Italy, Spain, etc .. down the crapper unless they figure out a way to bankrupt they are permanently on the HOOK servicing a debt that will NEVER BE PAID off . . that is debt slavery . and its one of the most destructive forces ever.
What's funny about this whole thing is the Greek government refuses to touch defense spending.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0PB5E120150701?irpc=932
Tsipras' office issued a one-sentence statement saying: "There is not, there was not and there will never be a proposal by the Greek government to cut defense spending."
So starving in streets blah blah blah. Tsipras is just another empty suit to continue to buy weapons from Germany, France and the U.S. while boning the pensioners. They're just a pass-through for MIL welfare.
The Greek military is a potent force, and it has a history of coups. If there's one thing they shouldn't do in a time of crisis it's aggravating the military. Soldiers want their money and if they don't get it they'll take it.
"Greek government refuses to touch defense spending"
they will need that to defend their assets from angry creditors...
He has to.
Or the Greek gouverment risks being replace forcefully by the military.
He just doesn't want to go there (for now).
Will be different if Putin or Li has a say in that.
The final reason Athens may have been reluctant to cut defense spending is political pressure from Germany and France, the Guardian notes. Berlin sent almost 15% of its arms exports to Greece in 2012, with France sending almost 10% in 2012.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Greece continued to buy large quantities of weaponry from the two countries between 2010 to 2014, some of the worst years of its economic depression. During this time, Athens bought $551 million worth of military equipment from Germany and $136 million of equipment from France.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-greeces-military-budget-is-so-high-20...
Submit to get what? Obedience is rewarded? Give in to the stick to get more stick?
We need to be more pragmatic.
The troika is not an invading force.
The banks and the supra national agencies performed a public service by enabling
the integration of the younger european states into the union. This a great thing.
But to do this, the EU knowingly circumvented its own fiscal rules and cooked the
books. Everybody was complicit in this. We can't just bail out the creditors alone
and tighten the screws on the Greek people. So we need some semblance of a
jubillee. A huge haircut and discount, coupled with massive restructure. Right now
a huge proportion of the workforce are babyboomers sitting on state jobs or holding
undeclared rentier income from tourism. It's time to put all these old people out of
work with forced retirement, retroactive capital gains and property taxes, pension cuts.
Greek families are multi generational. Nobody will be in the streets with this: it's just that
instead of being dependent on indolent parents, the dynamism of the young will now fund
the household. We need to fund the youth, with the quid pro quo that all new hires have
their income tax deducted at the source. We favour tech startups with subsidies to ward
from the inflation inherent in a tourism-curse (single industry skews inflation). We fund
infrastructure, high speed trains, merchant shipping terminals, oil and gas terminals to
leverage resources from the bosphorus, crimean, and beyond. Greece is the gateway
from the Orient to the Occident: it's clear that Europe needs some naval muscle in the
region for the years to come. Slash generals and invest in admirals and in the navy.
It's also naive to look at this crisis as a mere class conflict or organised predation.
This is the culmination of a cultural and demographic situation that has plagued most old
wealth (conservative, religious) southern european states. we need to get women to work,
we need to get the young to work, and we need to slash the "savings" of the elderly that
price out the young from participating. Those saving are futures on the productivity of
their kids, and nothing else. Now it's time to redistribute. It's also clear that Europe can
only function as a federation, with high density urban centers subsidizing poor remote
areas, of which Greece is one. So in short restructure: jubilee + cuts + more funding.
A very good prescription, with one upper-level problem:
If you transfer the income to the young, then they will have children. As I read the Guardian's interviews with a hundred Greek voters over the referendum, this issue keeps cropping up: no money, no job means no marriage and no children.
The world is suffering from roughly twice the human population that it can sustain. This is the guts of Global Warming: not that we burn carbon, but that so many of us burn too damned much of it.
So Depression in Greece is translating on the ground to a reduction in reproduction. While I'm not happy for that reduction to occur in a nation with some of the highest intelligence in Europe, still, it's a roadmap for how to encourage a decline of population overall.
Leaving the assets in the hands of the elderly funds the survival of geriatric "useless eaters". Passing them on to the young adults funds the production of another generation of USEFUL eaters. The question is, can we afford to encourage any increase in the population?
There is absolutely no solidarity left in the union (if there ever was any) . Its Every country for itself like it historically always has been.
The promise of peace has always been the one only argument that the babyboom generation ever needed. This argument dismisses and beats every other. Its so strong that even pointing out that there is almost no democratic proces in Brussels doesnt cut it.
Most of the younger generation here in the Netherlands is sleeping
and doesnt care about anything that has to do with politics.
But there is a positive side to this story. Namely, the younger people that do care are actualy noticing the terrible undemocratic direction that we're moving in to. Even the ones that dream about a job in Brussels.
I can only conclude that we have to wait for this generation to come to power. Hopefully they won't forget the fuckeduppness that were in now when they get older. hopefully they Will be less corrupted by power and less driven by succes and greed.
End of post
There was no fucking reason and no law which involves paying for the debts of one EU-country form another. The complete opposite is written down in the law for the EU. But they did not bother, they just started paying or as one might name it transferrring and in reality it is to steal. That's what the EU has done do all ciritzens.
First they came for the Irish, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not selling tax avoidance.
Onward they marched, through Iberia, and I did not speak out—
Because I was a thrifty worker,
They came for the Cypriots and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a commie Russkie.
Then they came for me—
with a gift of serfdom sold as non-refuseable.
Meijer the neo commi again. The lesson is very easy, if one group of society doesn't pay taxes another group will not receive their pensions/ wages. To make other countries pay is an utmost stupid idea.
the only stupid ones here are the dumbasses who lent the money in the first place. the troika benefit the most from the euro. they, therefore, are exposed to the most risk if it is mismananged. it has been mismanaged so the troika should pay for their mistakes. the greeks are simply pointing that out and the troika refuses to accept the reality at the risk of humpty dumpty falling off the wall.
It is all just reult of IGNORANCE ... on all sides .... ignorance of the 0.01%, ignorance of the 99.99%. Ignorance of the leaders as well as the sheeple. Ignorance of the past - and ignorance of the present.
You earn what you seed.
If you listen to folks who in all publicity declare "there are times where you have to lie" - then you deserve to be strangled by thee poeple.
Throw them out - and you deserve a new chance.
Elect the old criminals AGAIN - and you deserve to get AGAIN fucked and strangled.
It's YOUR choice. Thanks to Tsipras and Varoufakis.
You have the choice to stand up and stand together and refuse to pay just interest for generations - or you have the choice to again get fucked by the EU criminal puppets fighting for the banks, which are the one and only true hellish force behind all this shit.
Your choice: a proud human being - or a strangled idiot begging for another life of getting fucked and strangled.
My guess: no change - no change since Stonage - just dumb and ignorant and short memoried and short sighted animals. I would be glad if you prove me being wrong.
This article is reasonable enough pointing out the futility ( see Wilfred Owen and Smedley Butler ) of War.
A War waged by Criminal Enterprises against the Sovereign and in the interests of a select few.
Nothing changes unless you are willing to take the fight to the door of your elected officials. Not seeing that yet!
The author goes on to spoil his narrative ( kabuki theatre ), asking us to explain the difference between the Kardashians and the Clintons.
Allow me to help him:-
To the best of my knowledge the Kardashians are not on the .Gov Teat (unlike the Clintons who have spent a LIFETIME on it).
The Kardashians do not receive Payments into their Foundation by Foreign Despots for signing off on military contracts.
The Kardashian don't instigate Wars to overthrow Sovereign Leaders.
I'm not a Kardashian Fan but they will live or die working on a level playing field with all the other mediocrity out there. I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys success on those terms.
the clintons are relatively new to the .gov teat sucking. the bushes have been using the entire whore for almost a century.
This is one of the very rare chances that EU poeple have a say.
Now let's see if the EU poeple are just clueless useless dumb sheep and deserve to get fucked for another decade or so by the banks - or whether they stand up, yelling "Get the hell out of Dodge/Greece you cretins and motherfuckers".
I bet they'll choose the first ... some shit on the table is way ways more important than anything else. They are selling their freedoms for pennies. Useless sheeple, useless crap.
Enough said.
It's YOUR choice.
this is not a choice but a referendum on how effective the bottom half of the class has been cowered by their masters.
I feel a Nobel peace price coming soon....
Lets look at the real reason for the vile German led attack on Greece today.
Greece and its partisans stood in the way of nazi domination and control of Europe.
It fought bravely for the allied cause.
Make no mistake this is not a little about the revenge of the Fourth Reich for the defeat of the Third.
Nazis like Leopards never change their spots.
Greece is being made to pay but its not the first.
It was the Germans who initially de stabilised Yugoslavia.
They connived to free their nazi allies from the yoke of the YUgoslavian state.
Croatia - check this concentration camp - Jasenovac - run by the Croatians.
So vile the Gestapo were sickened - some 700,000 or more Serbs - fighting for the allies - met their deaths there.
Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, many Poles, and most of eastern Europe bar Greece and Serbia backed the nazis.
It is no coincidence that both Serbia and Greece who both suffered cruelly from the Nazis are the two nations attacked, ripped apart and been brutally wronged
And both have been betrayed by the allies for whom they sacrificed so much - huge numbers dead and their countries ravaged - no reparations to speak of.
Germany has a long memory.
This is German revenge served cold - make no mistake.
Really ? And those "partisans" were screwed over by the British in 1947 who put the monarchy back in power after it had been abolished in 1935 and waged war against those "partisans"
You clearly are mad, sir. Enough of this nazi shit, which ethnicity do you belong too? Am sure we can find some skeletons in your closet
Martin Schulz was/is an alcoholic; Jean-Claude Juncker is/was an alcoholic. Somewhere in those impaired cerebral functions lurks dangerous pathology
First they came for the Irish - and I said nothing because I'm not Irish. Then they came for the Cypriots - and I said nothing because I'm not a Cypriot. Then they came for the Greeks.....
If governments can print endless money, why is there debt?
A good question. As regards sovereign debt, the answer is twofold.
First, it's a holdover from the days when that debt really existed -- paper money was a promissory note for gold, and governments had to borrow the gold to promise over. Because the transition occurred over the course of about forty years and many of the governments were trying to hide the fact that their paper was now nothing except a promise to pay more paper, they kept "borrowing" that paper from banks and selling bonds, even though they still printed whatever they needed.
Secondly, they continue to do this as a payoff to the banks, which had already "captured" all the governments of Europe before they were finally forced by WWI debts to go off the gold standard. Lending money (as in gold) to governments had become the core business of many large national banks. In order to keep the banks in business, preserve the illusions that underpin society, and keep some of their wealthiest backers from revolting, governments continued to cloak the printing of money in the illusion of "borrowing" it from banks, even though now it was the governments that owned the original money, and the banks that were borrowing it. This is why the entire domain of "reserves" is so complex -- it's a shell game to keep the banks in business while concealing the fact that money is now an abstract accounting chit issued by governments.
At some point, possibly Real Soon Now, this house of illusions will collapse, and money will have to either be honestly acknowledged as a fully fiat creation of government, or it will revert to a commodity basis such as gold or silver. A return to gold fixing is eminently possible, given that the economic Power To Be, China, has been assiduously collecting the stuff.
re Europeans need to understand that the EU has no qualms about declaring war on one of its own member states
Fat chance of that!
EUians are just as fkin dumb as USSAians - and THAT is saying something!
No Raul Ilargi Meijer - what's happening in Greece isn't normal. But it is what happens when a piece of crap country turns to Socialism as a "solution", and instead of working decides to live off of Big Government handouts financed by money borrowed from other countries. I hope this serves as an example to the rest of the Socialist/Marxist morons (such as Raul Ilargi Meijer) that are in plentiful supply elsewhere around Europe and the USA too!
piece of crap country .... please elaborate.
In my book both have huge piles shit on their head: those who make it happen (politicos and speculators) - and those who let it happen - the sheeple.
Speculators should pay - because there is a good reason for 25% interest. There should NOT be free lunch for irresponsable greedy specs.
Sheeple should pay - because they are relentless ignorant and always just choose/elect those who promise the sweetest and fastest dreams. Sheeple have long forgotten what is honesty and loyality to the poeple.
Both groups are acting irresponsable - so both should pay for their ignorance and shortsighted greed.
BTW "it" will happen - whether they like it or not. Either earlier or later. No way out for neither of them. And rightly so as the lessons need to be learned.
The writer of the article asks Europeans for solidarity, but what about solidarity from other Greeks? 15% of Greeks is extremely rich, a further 10 million Greeks live abroad (at least they call themselves Greeks) in USA, Canada, Australia, UK and all over Europe.
How about asking them for solidarity first? If the rich Greeks hadn't drained the country of wealth and paid their taxes Greece wouldn't be in this situation. Hell, if all Greeks would have paid their fair share they wouldn't be in this situation. Greece is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, let's not forget.
So, if you ask for solidarity, the FIRST thing you need to do is to get your own house in order, and Tsipras had 5 months to do that. But NOTHING has been done. Trust has been destroyed.
The vote should be NO, a no to more loans, to more austerity, a no to the Euro, a no to the EU. Leave, and then let the ordinary European man and woman support the ordinary Greek man and woman. But forget about the political and financial show. It's over.
"... and then let the ordinary European man and woman support the ordinary Greek man and woman ..."
but first the specs need to get back their shit - with 25% interest of course - as there is no way the bankers and their muppets give a free pass ... so no - it's not over yet
Greece likely will end up similar to the Ukraine ... in blood and tears .. while the oligarchs are pulling the strings - behind the curtain ...
First destroy them, make the citizens flee the country - so that just dust is left .... then buy valuable assets dirt cheap.
Fuck the whole rotten system of growth for the oligarchs and sheeple paying the bills.
I said this yesterday.
Thieves.
Martin Schulz is a high-school dropout (SEE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Schulz) who wouldn't know a workable national economic proposal from a tax return. Schauble is a lawyer specializing in ethics who got caught taking illegal campaign contributions (SEE: http://www.dw.com/en/the-scandal-that-rocked-the-government-of-helmut-ko...). LaGarde is an anti-trust lawyer. Angela Merkel is a chemist. Juncker is trained as a lawyer but has never practiced law in his life -- he has NEVER held a job outside of politics. In other words, every one of the major officials willing to destroy Greece by dictating terms regarding the Greek economy, is completely clueless in technical economics. Nevertheless, these are the people who demand total obedience to their dogmatic fixations on "reform" (aka doctrinal neo-liberalism) and label the only trained expert in the field (Varoufakis) an "amateur". They may very well destroy Greece and Europe with the combination of their ignorance and their complete unwillingness to admit to that ignorance.
Here is something that Alexander the Great taught me: political leaders are obsessed with their dominance. The appearance of control outweighs ALL other considerations, because their power is in actuality a fragile thing composed mainly of the belief of others that they are omnipotent. Fracture that illusion, and a leader almost immediately loses his power, and often his life. They survive by never backing down, never admitting that they are wrong, and always giving the appearance of knowing what they are doing, even when they are in far over their heads. If you confront them directly, you must have the power to take them out completely, because they will not retreat and they will not surrender. This is the situation with the leaders of Germany, the EC, and the IMF. They CANNOT back down without losing their positions, so they will either grind Greece into a pulp or take the entire Eurozone down with them.