Is A Greek Military Overhaul An Attempt To Prevent A Coup?

Tyler Durden's picture




While the calls for G-Pap's resignation grow louder and Merkozy's blood pressure rises, we couldn't help but notice a potentially significant action among the top military leaders in Greece. Athens News reports that the Minister of Defense is proposing a complete replacement of the country's 'top brass'.

From Athens News: Top Brass Replaced:

In a surprise move, the defence minister proposed on Tuesday evening the complete replacement of the country’s top brass.

 

At an extraordinary meeting of the Government Council of Foreign Affairs and Defence (Kysea), which comprises the prime minister and other key cabinet members, Defence Minister Panos Beglitis proposed the following changes to the army, navy and air force and the general staff:

  • General Ioannis Giagkos, chief of the Greek National Defence General Staff, to be replaced by Lieutenant General Michalis Kostarakos
  • Lieutenant General Fragkos Fragkoulis, chief of the Greek Army General Staff, to be replaced by lieutenant general Konstantinos Zazias
  • Lieutenant General Vasilios Klokozas, chief of the Greek Air Force, to be replaced by air marshal Antonis Tsantirakis
  • Vice-Admiral Dimitrios Elefsiniotis, chief of the Greek Navy General Staff, to be replaced by Rear-Admiral Kosmas Christidis

It is understood that the personnel changes took many members of the government and of the armed forces by surprise.

 

What better way to consolidate power than to bring in 'your guys' as the country lurches closer to all out chaos?

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Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832973 hedgeless_horseman
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Swapping men in the Greek Navy? 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:35 | 1832985 Hard1
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Maybe some basis traders caught on the wrong side of the voluntary haircut decided to finance a war to increase the probability of a hard credit event

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:37 | 1833018 redpill
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You say you want a revolution 
Well, you know 
We all want to change the world 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:07 | 1833260 fuu
fuu's picture

Why would you remove a gerneral whose nickname could be FragFrag?

Lieutenant General Fragkos Fragkoulis, chief of the Greek Army General Staff

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:28 | 1833383 legal eagle
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I dunno man, they are all Greek to me

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:38 | 1833023 Ahmeexnal
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Sarkozy's foreign legionaires are already operating inside Greece.

G20 meeting will be a perfect arena in which to launch all out war.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:40 | 1833040 redpill
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We will see at least one all out revolution in Europe.  Greece is an obvious first guess.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:10 | 1833273 Buckaroo Banzai
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Replacing Generals with different Generals. But military coups are usually driven by Colonels... they are the ones on the outside looking in. Because if they were on the inside, they'd be Generals!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 15:48 | 1833814 CompassionateFascist
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I barely recall the last Military Regime in Greece, back in the Nixon era...I think it was all General this and General that. I suspect that today's maneuver was by way of forstalling a coup. It'll happen anyway, as the current crop of Greek politicians is terminally rotten and corrupt. Like our own as well...but at least here, the military class is kept happy/busy fighting foreign imperial wars, so they're less inclined to seize power. For the time being.   

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:52 | 1833147 caconhma
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No, G-Pap is a loyal servant of Israel.

Obama will fight to the death just to save G-Pap (even to return his Nobel Peace Prize, if necessary).

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:21 | 1833338 Vergeltung
Vergeltung's picture

that doesn't make any sense. can you flesh that out a bit more?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 22:00 | 1835274 i-dog
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Dude, you just hit the ball onto the wrong fairway!

Wed, 11/02/2011 - 00:55 | 1835723 Hephasteus
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No he just struck out with a 9 iron on a curveball.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832974 Mongo
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German army to guard the Greek parliament?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:36 | 1833010 Wolferl
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Legion d´etranger. They have much experience in third world countries.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:39 | 1833027 redpill
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Q: Why does the French Foreign Legion wear those funny white hats?

A: Because they can double as a flag

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:44 | 1833090 GOSPLAN HERO
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You know very little ...

The Kepi Blanc is earned through blood, sweat and tears.

The original kepis were tan, however, the sun would bleach them white.

 

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:46 | 1833107 redpill
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You must be fun at comedy clubs

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:50 | 1833130 GOSPLAN HERO
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By the by, surrender is not a legion word.

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:52 | 1833142 Ivanovich
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Notice you edited your post from "Your mom is fun".

 

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:02 | 1833229 GOSPLAN HERO
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You take this shit way too seriously, Ivan.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:11 | 1833246 hedgeless_horseman
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They must be tough, or else dressing like this would get there asses kicked in most towns.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:19 | 1833327 GOSPLAN HERO
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Parade uniform...

As a former member of the USMC, I respect these guys.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:49 | 1833518 GoinFawr
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redpill is obviously hopelessly confused about how "The Matrix" started, either that or he is deaf and colourblind.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 16:25 | 1834069 hedgeless_horseman
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As a former member of the USMC, I respect these guys.

I thought there was no such thing as a, "former member of the USMC."

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 17:43 | 1834474 Flanker7
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There are only former Marines, no ex-Marines.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:58 | 1833571 tmosley
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As long as the uniform came with the shit-kicking boots, the rifle, and the sidearm, I think they would be fine.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 16:12 | 1834002 THE DORK OF CORK
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Whatever you do , don't pick a fight in a Corsican bar............

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:07 | 1833251 Tom Servo102
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By the by, surrender is not a legion word.

 

Well of course not, they're French, aren't they?

 

They say "je me rends!  je me rends! aie pitie de moi coquine homme parlant anglais!"

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:12 | 1833286 Buckaroo Banzai
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Actually, they are NOT French. That's why it's called the French FOREIGN Legion. Because it is composed of foreigners.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:15 | 1833304 GOSPLAN HERO
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The foreign legion is the only unit of the French Army open to people of any nationality. Most legionnaires still come from European countries but a growing percentage comes from Latin America. Most of the foreign legion's commissioned officers are French with approximately 10% being former Legionnaires who have risen through the ranks. Membership of the foreign legion is often a reflection of political shifts: specific national representations generally surge whenever a country has a political crisis and tend to subside once the crisis is over and the flow of recruits dries up. After the First World War, many (Tsarist) Russians joined. Immediately before the Second World War, Czechs, Poles and Jews from Eastern Europe fled to France and ended up enlisting in the foreign legion. So did many German soldiers, former members of the Wehrmacht, after the end of the conflict.[citation needed] From 1976, Sri Lankans, in particular the Tamils, started joining the legion. Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, there were many Serbian nationals. Also in the 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the changes in the former Warsaw Pact countries, led to an increase in recruitment from Poland and from the former republics of the USSR. In addition to the fluctuating numbers of political refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants from a wide variety of nations, there has been, since the end of World War Two, a strong core from Germany and Britain and in some cases Ireland. The foreign legion appears to have become as much a part of these two nations' culture as a French institution,[citation needed] and a certain stability in recruitment levels has developed. During the late 1980s, the foreign legion saw a large intake of trained soldiers from the UK. These men had left the British Army following its restructuring and the foreign legion's parachute unit was a popular destination. At one point, the famous 2eme REP had such a large number of British citizens amongst the ranks that it was a standing joke that the unit was really called '2eme PARA', a reference to the Second Battalion, the Parachute Regiment of the British Army. The reasons and intentions of legionnaires joining the Foreign Legion, instead of the armed forces of their own countries, is unconfirmed. Possible reasons include the majority of the foreign legion's ranks being either transient souls in need of escape and a regular wage, or refugees from countries undergoing times of crisis. In recent years, the improved conditions and professionalism of the Foreign Legion have in turn attracted a new kind of 'vocational' recruit, from middle-class backgrounds in stable and prosperous countries, such as the US, Britain and France itself. In the past, the foreign legion had a reputation for attracting criminals on the run and would-be mercenaries, but the admissions process is now severely restricted and background checks are performed on all applicants. Generally speaking, convicted felons are prohibited from joining the service. Legionnaires were, in the past, forced to enlist under a pseudonym ("declared identity"). This disposition exists in order to allow people who want to start their lives over to enlist. French citizens can enlist under a declared, fictitious, foreign citizenship (generally, a francophone one, often that of Belgium, Canada or Switzerland). After one year's service, legionnaires can regularise their situation under their true identity. After serving in the foreign legion for three years, a legionnaire may apply for French citizenship.[16] He must be serving under his real name, must no longer have problems with the authorities, and must have served with “honour and fidelity”. Furthermore, a soldier who becomes injured during a battle for France can apply for French citizenship under a provision known as “Français par le sang versé” ("French by spilled blood"). The foreign legion does not accept women in its ranks. However, there has been one woman officially member, Briton Susan Travers who joined Free French Forces during the Second World War and became a member of the Foreign Legion after the war, serving in Vietnam during the First Indochina War.[17] The foreign legion on occasion inducts honourary members into its ranks. During the siege of Dien Bien Phu this honour was granted to General Christian de Castries, Colonel Pierre Langlais, Geneviève de Galard ("The Angel of Dien Bien Phu") and Marcel Bigeard, the Officer in Command of the 6th BPC. Norman Schwarzkopf is also an honorary member. -- wiki

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:41 | 1833455 GOSPLAN HERO
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Code of Honour Art.

Art. 1 – Légionnaire, you are a volunteer serving France with honour and fidelity.

Art. 2 – Each legionnaire is your brother in arms whatever his nationality, his race or his religion might be. You show him the same close solidarity that links the members of the same family.

Art. 3 – Respectful of traditions, devoted to your leaders, discipline and comradeship are your strengths, courage and loyalty your virtues.

Art. 4 – Proud of your status as Legionnaire, you display this in your always impeccable uniform, your always dignified but modest behaviour, and your clean living quarters.

Art. 5 – An elite soldier, you train rigorously, you maintain your weapon as your most precious possession, and you take constant care of your physical form.

Art. 6 – The mission is sacred, you carry it out until the end and, if necessary in the field, at the risk of your life.

Art. 7 – In combat, you act without passion and without hate, you respect defeated enemies, and you never abandon your dead, your wounded, or your arms.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:54 | 1833141 Ahmeexnal
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Actually he is quite right.  Those who enter the foreign legion have to do so through blood, sweat and tears, on their knees while the commandants pound their asses.  The french foreign legion is a tightly knitted gay fighting force modeled after Alexander the Great's army.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:56 | 1833175 LFMayor
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you an expert on the Legion or just on queer in general?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:26 | 1833366 Ethics Gradient
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He's an expert on everything that makes no sense. Every time I read one of his posts, a little bit of liquidised brain dribbles out my ear.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:41 | 1833176 caconhma
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Do you mean they still use the Stone Age military trategy & tactics?

Holly shit, I do enjoy a fall of the evil EU Empire!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:09 | 1833274 GOSPLAN HERO
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The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique military wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces. Commanded by French officers, it is also open to French citizens, who amounted to 24% of the recruits as of 2007. The foreign legion is today known as an elite military unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills but also on its strong esprit de corps. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a widely accepted solution to strengthen them enough to work as a team. Consequently, training is often described as not only physically challenging, but due to a couple of reasons, extremely stressful psychologically. --wiki

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:26 | 1833363 redpill
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We know what it is.  Go have a bloody mary.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:34 | 1833399 GOSPLAN HERO
GOSPLAN HERO's picture

Thanks, Dad.

... rye whiskey, neat.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:29 | 1833393 GOSPLAN HERO
GOSPLAN HERO's picture

Heavy drinking and chasing babes on the Corsican beaches is normal activity.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:52 | 1833149 Think for yourself
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The Kepi Blanc is earned through blood, sweat and tears.

Mostly tears, though. ~

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:02 | 1833224 Piranhanoia
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You got it right.  The history of the Legion Etrangere makes many elite fighting units in this world look poor by comparison. 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:51 | 1833529 Tom Servo102
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The history of the Legion Etrangere makes many elite fighting units in this world look poor by comparison. 

 

Yeah, but the history of the Girl Scouts makes many elite fighting units in this world look poor by comparison.

 

especially if they speak arabic...

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 15:53 | 1833874 CompassionateFascist
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Yes, the "French" foreign Legion is a legendary and heroic fighting force...because the line-soldiers ain't French. Only the officers.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 18:06 | 1834560 Don Diego
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almost half of the soldiers of the French Foreign Legion are French nationals. The percentage varies but nowadays the Frenchmen are about half of the ranks

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:05 | 1833243 secretargentman
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And why is the Champs-Élysées lined with trees on both sides?

 

... so the Germans can march in the shade.  :)

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:13 | 1833293 GOSPLAN HERO
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There are many Germans in the legion.

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832975 Fips_OnTheSpot
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The same happened the last time there've been early (re)elections

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:35 | 1833001 MindTheGAP
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Yeap, but the elections then were two months in the future. Now it is not a good time to let the country totaly headless since the government is a non-government and placing non-experienced generals in positions because they are members of PASOK, isn't a good idea. Others could take an advantage of that.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832976 Timmay
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A coup could have been bloodless in comparison to a Civil War.

Hey Greece, here come the DRONES!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:33 | 1832988 drivenZ
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C'mon stop with the hyperbole... drones? they don't have any oil. 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:39 | 1833033 GoinFawr
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or deep enough tans

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:40 | 1833038 Timmay
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Um, yeah but they have Sheeple there don't you know.

NATO mission over Greece to quell Greek financial "terrorism".

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:46 | 1833104 NotApplicable
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As soon as I heard that NATO had completed Operation Asset Transfer, I just knew they were headed to Greece.

Gotta protect all that culture.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:41 | 1833049 Joe Sixpack
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Olive oil.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:43 | 1833082 drivenZ
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All your, All your, All your olives are belong to U.S.!!!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:35 | 1832978 GeneMarchbanks
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Seems to be the next step logically speaking. Yet I wonder if chaos is really avoidable at this point? There isn't a scenario where conflict is really bypassed.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832979 fuu
fuu's picture

Always police your brass.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:43 | 1833073 NotApplicable
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LOL

Yeah, that shit ain't cheap.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:31 | 1832980 oklaboy
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nauuuu, skitah

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:32 | 1832981 Inibo E. Exibo
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This is bullish, right?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:32 | 1832983 Thepnr
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SHTF!!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:33 | 1832987 radarsentinel
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Later to be reported that the Health minister ordered them in for their yearly physical.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:58 | 1833194 citrine
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starting with finance minister Evangelos Venizelos. And you thought you were making a joke?

http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/8/49902

 

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:33 | 1832989 323
323's picture

one of their tiremes was badly damaged by a barbarian archer

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:34 | 1832995 fuu
fuu's picture

Should have turned barbs off in the settings.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:40 | 1833044 Big Corked Boots
Big Corked Boots's picture

+1 for the "Civilization" reference. I miss that game.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:45 | 1833093 CPL
CPL's picture

I was thinking Age of Empires...but Civ works as well.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:05 | 1833248 tmosley
tmosley's picture

Miss it?  The fifth one is out.  I still play the fourth one, myself, but I'm considering getting the next one.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 14:36 | 1833424 fuu
fuu's picture

Five is ok.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:44 | 1833087 CPL
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Wolololo!

 

Converted to blue by priest.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:33 | 1832990 disabledvet
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And Biggus Dickus is to confer with Glutious Maximus. I'm tellin ya...this is big! It's Miller time bros!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:33 | 1832991 HelluvaEngineer
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OK, who the hell just floated a rumor?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:37 | 1833000 bob_dabolina
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Greek socialist party member said that Greek Ref. dead

...not that it's even his decision to make

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:39 | 1833030 HelluvaEngineer
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OK, that's better than I thought.  Was afraid it was a market response to G-Pap about do be Gadaffi'd.  Didn't see your white flag, bitchez!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:37 | 1833012 Larry Darrell
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LOL.  Looked like a 100 pt swing in the DJIA over a minute period.

 

Love the volatility.

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:40 | 1833035 Shitters_Full
Shitters_Full's picture

The Health Minister is at it again.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:36 | 1832992 frippy
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"Take the jeep and get some ammo, fast!"

- Talking G.I. Joe

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:36 | 1832994 Ronaldo
Ronaldo's picture

Yeah, what the heck happened bitchez!!!!!!!!

Market just popped higher, big move!

 

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:38 | 1833025 Stoploss
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Auto sales numbers beat, despite consumer confidence. Adding to the sgorts on this.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:43 | 1833081 Zymurguy
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interesting... going to get some popcorn.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:34 | 1832997 SloMoe
SloMoe's picture

Well, this is getting interesting...

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:46 | 1833066 Zero Govt
Zero Govt's picture

Yep, every branch of Govt has its very own Goon Squad and now they're lining up to fight each other ..the clowns are tripping over each other, it's beyond farce

Why don't they just take the Yanks strategic direction... side-line and mothball all 3 branches of the US Govt (President, Congress and Senate) and appoint an unelected Fascist-Communist Commission loosely called a 'Super Committee'  

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:48 | 1833128 NotApplicable
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NOTA, FTW!

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 15:02 | 1833576 GoinFawr
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"Fascist-Communist" ?

Well, at least it would have a chance of balancing itself out.

I prefer 'Anarcho-Monarchies', or 'Stalinist Representative Democracies' myself. (snarck)

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:43 | 1833070 Ruffcut
Ruffcut's picture

IT is theatre. "welcome to my friends, to a show that never ends, step in side, step in side."

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:35 | 1833003 Whoa Dammit
Whoa Dammit's picture

The question of the day is who's guys are they?  Keep in mind that the existing commanders were replaced by the Defense Minister, not by G-Pap.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:35 | 1833004 Comay Mierda
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where is Chuck Norris when you need him?

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 13:47 | 1833122 Schmuck Raker
Schmuck Raker's picture

He's busy gettin' whooped by Sovereign Man.

Tue, 11/01/2011 - 15:17 | 1833653 GoinFawr
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