First as Tragedy, Second as Farce, Thirdly as Vassal State
Introduction: The Greek people’s efforts to end the economic depression, recover their sovereignty and reverse the regressive socio-economic policies, which have drastically reduced living standards, have been thrice denied. First, the denial came as tragedy: When the Greek majority elected Syriza to government and their debts increased, the economy plunged further into depression and unemployment...
Read MoreBack in January upon coming into office, Syriza probably could not have won a referendum on whether to pay or not to pay. It didn’t have a full parliamentary majority, and had to rely on a nationalist party for Tsipras to become prime minister. (That party balked at cutting back Greek military spending, which was...
Read MoreThe Greek debt is unpayable. It is simply too large to be repaid. The austerity that the EU and IMF have imposed on Greece has worsened the problem by driving down the Greek economy, thus making the burden of the debt even heavier. Despite the obvious fact that the EU’s austerity policy is a failure...
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Paul Craig Roberts’ address to the Conference on the European/Russian Crisis, Delphi, Greece, June 20-21, 2015
Paul Craig Roberts, formerly Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy, Associate Editor, Wall Street Journal, Senior Research Fellow, Stanford University, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, Washington,...
Read MoreSyriza, the new Greek government that intended to rescue Greece from austerity, has come a cropper. The government relied on the good will of its EU “partners,” only to find that its “partners” had no good will. The Greek government did not understand that the only concern was the bottom line, or profits, of those...
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How the ‘Hard Left’ embraces the policies of the Hard Right
Introduction: Greece has been in the headlines of the world’s financial press for the past five months, as a newly elected leftist party, ‘Syriza’, which ostensibly opposes so-called ‘austerity measures’, faces off against the “Troika” (International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and European Central Bank). Early on, the Syriza leadership, headed by Alexis Tsipras, adopted...
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The Saker Interviews Michael Hudson
Cross-posted from The Saker The Saker: We hear that the Ukraine will have to declare a default, but that it will probably be a “technical” default as opposed to an official one. Some say that the decision of the Rada to allow Iatseniuk to chose whom to pay is already such a “technical default”. Is...
Read MoreWashington in its arrogance, seeing itself as “indispensable,” poses a continuing threat to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. The extraordinary number of dead that Washington has murdered in the 21st century–”The American Century”–is dismissed as “collateral damage” in the “war on terror.” The war on terror is a hoax. It is a...
Read MoreThe Moscow-Berlin deal in Minsk shows the way forward for Germany and the EU – gain greater public appeal and...
Germany holds the key to where Europe goes next. A fragile deal may have been reached on Ukraine, but there’s still no deal with Greece. In both cases, there’s much more than meets the eye. Let’s start with the grueling Eurogroup negotiation in Brussels over the Greek debt. Greek officials swear they never received a...
Read MoreIntroduction: The Greek government is currently locked in a life and death struggle with the elite which dominate the banks and political decision-making centers of the European Union. What are at stake are the livelihoods of 11 million Greek workers, employees and small business people and the viability of the European Union. If the ruling...
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Don't Tell Anyone in Berlin
If you haven’t been following developments in the Greek-EU standoff, you’re really missing out. This might be the best story of the year. And what makes it so riveting, is that no one thought that little Greece could face off with the powerful leaders of the EU and make them blink. But that’s exactly what’s...
Read MoreMonday's Deadline
Monday is a crucial deadline in Greece’s struggle against Brussels-imposed austerity. Eurozone finance ministers are set to meet in the morning to decide whether Greece has made sufficient progress on previous agreements to justify further support. The new leftist government of Greece, Syzira, has rejected provisions in the so-called bailout, saying that the loans have...
Read MoreGreece’s new Finance Minister is a highly intelligent person. His likes are not to be found in any Western government. As he stands in the way of those who are determined to complete their looting of Greece, the Western looters are out to get him. The BBC, as the interview in the link below demonstrates,...
Read MoreMussolini tried to warn his ally of the danger of bringing the country to its knees. So should we
Here are some quotes from the diaries of Count Ciano (Mussolini’s foreign minister and son-in-law), referring to Greece a year and a half after it was invaded and occupied by Germany. 6 October 1942: “Clodius [the Third Reich’s economics minister] is in Rome to discuss the Greek financial question, which is very bad. If it...
Read MoreHaving just written that Greece needs Spartans in order to prevail over its creditors and the EU, the new Greek government is showing signs of being Spartans. Listen to these words from Greece’s new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras: “We should not accept or recognize the government of neo-Nazis in Ukraine.” “The EU lacks democracy, and...
Read MoreWe will find out the answer to the question posed in the title in the outcome of the contest between the new Greek government, formed by the political party Syriza, and the ECB and the private banks, with whose interests the EU and Washington align against Greece. The Spartans, whose red cloaks and military prowess...
Read MoreCompared to the crises revolving around Isis and Ukraine, the Greek situation is 'wholly soluble'
In ancient Greece, city states often rebelled against their overlords, who then besieged them to punish those responsible and re-impose outside control. Modern Greeks have likewise rebelled against EU authority by choosing a government led by the anti-austerity Syriza party and now face an economic siege aimed at forcing them to abide by past agreements...
Read MoreCountry gears up for prolonged austerity battle
The radical left leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece today after the decisive victory of his Syriza party over establishment parties supporting the European Union programme that has impoverished so many Greeks. Mr Tsipras was swiftly able to form a government by reaching an agreement with the Independent Greeks, a...
Read MoreSuccess for Syriza party may provoke economic siege by European Union
Greek voters have rebelled against the austerity programme imposed by Brussels and Berlin in return for loans to fund Greece’s massive debt. The radical left Syriza party, which promises better terms for Greece, won a decisive victory in the general election today and is close to winning an absolute majority in parliament. Syriza, led by...
Read MoreIt was raining yesterday in central Athens, which creates a problem for those feeding the homeless. “Normally, people living on the streets stay at a single spot where they can get heat from an air vent from underground, so they’re easy to find,” says Yanis, a diver and engineer in the navy who runs a...
Read MoreIntroduction: Greece is experiencing a triple crisis which has a profound impact on the economy, society and political system. The economy has experienced a deep, prolonged depression lasting six years and continuing. Workers and employees have suffered a 40% loss in income and a commensurate decline in medical, pension, educational and welfare benefits. The political...
Read MoreThe Old Regime Pulls One Out
The Greek election produced a knife-edge result yesterday, with the establishment parties snatching victory in a narrow race. “The Greek people voted today to stay on the European course and remain in the eurozone ... there will be no more adventures, Greece's place in Europe will not be put in doubt,” said the leader of...
Read MoreGreeks Face Momentous Elections
Athens As Greeks prepare to vote in the most important election in their history on Sunday, people in Athens fear they are facing a future full of uncertainty, poverty and violence. Well-publicized crimes help create an atmosphere of violence as the wealthy and vulnerable immigrants alike come under attack. In one incident this week two...
Read MoreTimes are very tough, but…
Maria Svoronou has three jobs and was finishing a twelve hour day as euro zone leaders were finalizing Greece’s rescue package in Brussels. For all her hard work, she earns only Eur 870 a month and says that “if the situation gets any worse, I won’t be able to survive.” Ms Svoronou, aged 33 and...
Read MoreSell Them Tanks, Then Call Them Profligate
Athens As Greeks waited for a second eurozone rescue package to finally be agreed in Brussels today, many were blaming Germany and France for encouraging and benefiting from some of the much-criticized profligate spending that reduced Greece to near bankruptcy. About 1000 protesters gathered in front of the Greek Parliament in central Athens yesterday, while...
Read More"We had to choose between the certainty of disaster and the doubt of salvation. You can't be independent when you have...
Greeks expect to agree a deal with the Eurozone leaders today, Monday, that will cede much of their country's independence. Greece will become an economic – and to a large extent a political – colony of Germany and its allies. Berlin will have a say in everything from the choice of prime minister to the...
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