Greece: Awaiting the Troika’s Report, Mixed Signals From Germany

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 232012
 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 22 August 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- The President of the Eurogroup and of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, is in Athens to meet with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras this week. On Wednesday, Juncker told reporters that there will be no decisions on Greece before October. He said that the Eurogroup is awaiting the Troika’s October report and that no decision will be made about Greece before then.

During his visit, Mr. Juncker opted out of a meeting with Alexis Tsipras, leader of SYRIZA, the main opposition party. It was reported that the head of the IMF instructed Mr. Junker to reject a meeting with SYRIZA, citing ‘impropriety.’

In a recent speech, German Chancellor Angela Merkel parroted Juncker’s exact sentiments, stressing that no decisions should be expected during the scheduled meeting this week. “We won’t have a solution on Friday,” Merkel said Wednesday during a visit to Moldova. “We will wait for the report of the Troika. Then we will decide.”

Meanwhile, Germany and Europe remain hostile to Greece’s request for a two-year extension to fulfill the terms of the Memorandum. Several German MPs declared their opposition to any form of renegotiation with Greece.

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- Finance ministers Yannis Stournaras and Antonios Manitakis have signed off on a program of more austerity measures for public workers. This time, 150,000 or more employees will be dismissed from their public-sector jobs ‘by 2015.’ These policies prove that once again, the government-of-the-regime is hell-bent in its efforts to demolish the social contract and disenfranchise workers.

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- Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was interviewed in the August 22 issue of Bild, Germany’s most-read newspaper. Some take this interview as a sign that Germany may be willing to relax its hard line of no renegotiations for Greece. Several German officials have made conflicting public statements regarding approval for easing the terms of the Greek Memorandum.

“All that we want is a little breathing room to get the economy going and increase revenue,” Samaras told Bild during the interview, two days before his first trip to Berlin as head of government. “More time does not automatically mean more money.”

According to the New York Times:

The debate about Greece has intensified before a report to be issued next month on the country’s progress in attaining its fiscal goals. Officials have been hinting that parts of the report from the Troika of international lenders — the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank — may be more positive than expected. But the debate is also pressuring Eurozone leaders to acknowledge that the austerity program imposed on Greece by the Troika has taken such a toll on living standards that it has become counterproductive.

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- Another victim of the Troika: On Wednesday, a 51-year-old accountant leapt to his death from the 4th floor of an apartment building on Makropoulou Street, a few meters from where he lived. The cause of death was cited as “dire economic problems.”

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- According to an article in the Flemish De Tijd, the government of Wallonia, the French region of Belgium, has chosen to honor Greece as the guest country in this year’s events that will take place on September 13-17, in celebration of the anniversary of the secession of Belgium from Holland in 1830.

The Minister-President of the Walloon government, Rudy Demotte, explained, “The choice of Greece is a highly symbolic act. We owe a lot to the Greeks that is not valued in money but is associated with a whole culture that we inherited.”

The event will highlight Greek films, songs, dances and cuisine. It is worth noting that these events will take place in the city center and be attended by over 250,000 people.

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The Future is Present

Every morning I open my eyes and the first thing I feel is an indeterminate sadness. In a few seconds as it passes from sleep to life, the mind begins to work and “scan” my being to identify the cause of sorrow. I get up from the bed with a heart as black as Chios.

I do not know when it will get over all this. I’m not a commoner who would go to the closed cage of the city and will not see, you forget. I live in nature and have daily contact with her.

The fire still burns. Fifth day. And travels only over the living parts. I cross burning pine forest whenever I decide to go down to the town of Chios. The dense smoke of fate takes us south along the Aegean.

Chios burned. By civilized capitalists who care about green building and green energy. By technocrats and every class of politicians, who chatter about development.

The future of Greece is present on the island. Whoever has the slightest doubt need only wait. The country will be completely destroyed as my island will be. Will build hotel complexes everywhere, settle everywhere with solar mirrors and giant wind turbines. I had long heard tell of it, but could not imagine it would go so far.

Chios annihilated, by “civilized” people who care about the future of the economy alone. The civilized criminals with connections, who on top of their crimes sold us stories about the environment and pretended to care about the future of the planet.

We are told that firefighting operations have already cost four million euros. Soon we will be told it is not good to fight fire since it is not good for the “wind strategy,” and so they guard their villages and lands only and let the rest turn to charcoal. Already TV and newspapers spread the message that the mastic trees of Chios have burned, the precious trees that are the source of 80% of exports that strongly affect by the national economy. But about the pine and the real wealth of the island, silence.

We were also told that tomorrow, shamelessly, will come the task force’s Pasha Reichenbach, sent by Berlin to prepare a scorched-earth development plan.

We were even told that the Forestry Services will leave the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Rural Development to become more “flexible” and to the development and not the stagnation caused by adherence to the protection of forest species. In a few months we will belong to the Ministry of Development, or such measures will be simply abolished as expensive and useless.

This is our homeland, dear readers. The last days have seen this website literally flooded and we are very touched by your mail.

People; strangers who feel the pain of others. Thank you again and I’m writing all this to keep in mind what will happen the next time.

Chios was a paradise that had been spared from the plague of tourism development over the past decades because Chios’s people had the resources of the sea, now turned to tourism. This paradise has become a hell with the change of the use of the land; sold out. This is the policy followed in Greece today. We will soon be able to live nowhere but in cages in the cities where we are guarded by cops on every block, where we are slaves for cheap labor. Have no doubt about it. Already half of Greece lives so. There will be no one left able to feel even a moment of freedom.

Personally I live just like the ant. And yet they even bother me. And destroy my place, my habitat – not for anyone’s livelihood, but in order to exploit everything. The “civilized” people, the bourgeois capitalists who care about the environment, about “green growth” for the future of the planet on which they bring up their children… These days I feel like a wild animal whose habitat is being destroyed and whose existence human stupidity threatens, without the hapless understanding of why it is done.

Friends predicted a gloomy future. Nothing can stop the descent of man, and Greece is leading it. Wielding the Olympic flag for the decline of humanity.

In a few days the elite of society will go to the North Aegean Regional Council and vote positively on the environmental impact assessment to be submitted shortly by the multinationals, on turbines off Chios. With the heat of its burning alive, the island will be prey to multinational green growth.

I’m tired of shouting out the obvious.

Please, anyone who wants to send the following text to the e-mail address of “Constantine Ganiaris Antiperifereiarchis Chios” email to: k.ganiaris@chios.pvaigaiou.gov.gr

Please do it, with a blind copy to me at akridaki@gmail.com to show ​​the pressure we can all exert together:

“To Mr. Antiperifereiarchis Ganiaris of Chios

Following the biblical destruction suffered by Chios from your fire I consulted the Regional Council information on the issue of the “Aegean Zeuxis” Environmental Impact Study Project. The data on environmental conditions on the island during the period this study was commissioned for were quite different from those prevailing today. As a Greek citizen I hereby request the withdrawal of the study as outdated under the present environmental conditions on the island. The island needs to be protected; it does not need gigantic investment.

Thank you”

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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: The Troika Even Sets the Sales-Tax Rate for Restaurant Meals

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 172012
 


StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 14 August 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto,99GetSmart

- The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party, who won 18 parliamentary seats in Greece’s June 17 election, published an article on their official website calling for the sterilization and killing of all handicapped people or diseased people.

It should be noted that 50% of the Greek police force cast their votes for this ultra-nationalist party who ran a campaign that was openly hostile to immigrants, both undocumented and documented.

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- The Vice-President of the union of small and medium-sized businesses was interviewed on Greek TV yesterday and made statements regarding the issue of lowering the VAT (sales tax) in Greek restaurants. Contrary to last month’s announcements made by the government-of-the-regime, the VAT will remain at 23% and will not be reduced to 13%, as originally promised.

After five years of a brutally imposed manufactured economic crisis, restaurants in Greece are struggling to remain open. The VAT remaining at high levels will lead to thousands of closures of restaurants in Greece as well as the loss of many thousands of jobs.

The union VP said he spoke directly with the Troika’s representatives and was told that the Troika does not have a problem with lowering the VAT in restaurants and that it was an issue for the government to decide.

But last week, in a meeting with the Undersecretary of Finance, he was told that the Troika would not permit the government to lower the VAT in restaurants. According to the Undersecretary of Finance, the intention of the government is to re-examine lowering the VAT next year.

The consequence of the VAT remaining high will make it even more impossible for families to be able to afford dining out in a restaurant. Small businesses in Greece like the restaurant industry have taken a huge hit because of the soaring unemployment rate and dramatically reduced pensions and wages. Within the last eight months, the number of visits the average Greek family makes to restaurants has dropped 80%.

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- There is a fear, among the Greek people, that the Troika will insist on more austerity measures on top of the 11.5 billion €. It is being reported in the Greek press that an additional deficit of 1.5€ billion exists. Many people are speculating that it will be translated into new austerity measures.

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- A recent Der Spiegel article is promoting the idea that nothing can help Greece avoid bankruptcy and that bankruptcy is the only way for Greece to be liberated from debt and begin anew. Der Spiegel reported that once again, Greece has managed to disappoint its lenders and questions whether Greece will remain in the euro zone.

Many Greeks realize that if the current administration is allowed to remain ‘in power’ it will be a real catastrophe for the country. Giorgos Kosmopoulos from StopCartel TV proposes new elections for a new government who will represent the people and reject the failed IMF programs that are specifically designed to devastate and plunder sovereign nations.

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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: Cities Without Streetlights, Self-Financed Olympic Athletes, Ports Privatized

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 162012
 

 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 14 August 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- There are no street lights in Thessalonika! Extensive areas of the city of Salonica are dark during the night because street lights no longer switch on at dusk. For more than a year, the streets and sidewalks have been completely dark at night.

According to city officials the reason is that there are no longer funds for light bulbs or maintenance of the city’s streetlights. Twice, the municipality has requested a procurement to rectify the situation and twice, their request was refused. They are currently waiting for a response to their third request for funds.

People who live in the city no longer feel safe at night and have asked the police to increase their presence on the streets.

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- An illustration of the deteriorating conditions in Greek society can be found in the struggles faced by the Greek athletes who took part in the recent Olympic games in London. They did so without coaches or equipment. Stella-Iro Ledaki, a champion pole vaulter, told reporters that due to the economic crisis in Greece, she was obliged to pay for all her own expenses.

She stated that not enough training is provided for Greek athletes, who must make an effort to hire and pay for their own coaches, in order to ensure they have the best preparation. Ms. Ledaki paid all of her own expenses, even though she has no income herself. She is mostly unemployed, working sporadically in her profession as a speech therapist.

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- On Monday, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement regarding their decision to transfer the rights to the ports to the Greek Privatization Agency (TAIPED).

Here is the list of the 23 tourist ports that will be privatized:

Zakynthos, Katakolon, Tourlos/Mykonos, Chios, Pylos/Messinia, New Epidaurus, Glyfada, Poros, Skiathos, Skyros, Agios Nikolaos/Crete, Itea, Phocis, Kalamaria (Aretsou), Kos, Alimos, Hydra, Rethymno, Rhodes (Mandraki and Akantia) , Suda and Argostoli.

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- It was reported that Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has given sharp instructions to the Minister of Labor to proceed with drastic cuts across the board on pensions, even for those getting pensions below 600 euros a month.

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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: Reduce the Population to Poverty to “Attract Foreign Investment”?

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 142012
 

 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 13 August 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- StopCartel TV will interrupt its regular schedule this week. Due to the public holiday, there will be no Live Broadcast on Wednesday 15 August, 2012.

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- The closure of small and medium-size businesses, along with mergers, pensions, and allowance cuts, are the unpleasant issues of the day in Greece.

With daily drastic changes abound in Greek society, one thing remains constant and predictable. The state-controlled media can be counted on to regurgitate the daily meme in support of the traitors located in Parliament.

TV’s all over Greece blare out the daily farce being played out on the stage of the Greek Parliament. Like obedient puppets, ‘reporters’ gaze into a camera and tell the people that the government-of-the-regime is struggling to figure out where to cut (steal) the next 11.5€ billion from the Greek people.

Meanwhile, back in reality land where awareness prevails, despite the ongoing propaganda efforts of the mass media, many Greek people understand that the current occupants of Parliament are nothing but the Troika’s clerks and no longer make decisions.

The government-of-the-regime sold out Greece’s sovereignty to foreign interests for their own personal profit. Now, the traitors are paid to follow and carry out orders from those foreign interests, at the expense of the Greek people.

Within the next 20 days, before the Troika returns to Greece, all new austerity measures must be accounted for.

It is highly probable that publicly-controlled companies will face mergers with private companies. This is expected to contribute to a rise in the unemployment rate.

As it is, new austerity measures will put 40,000 public servants “on reserve” (meaning a 60% cut in salary preparatory to being fired in a year). Pensioners will also experience more huge cuts. All of the new austerity measures will be imposed within the next four years.

The mass media continue to deceive the Greek people by ‘reporting’ that Greece needs foreign investments in order to bring development and jobs back to Greece!

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- According to reports, 53,000 babies will be kicked out of nurseries and kindergartens in Athens this fall. Even though there were 95,000 applications for nursery and kindergarten admissions, there are only 41,000 available places because the government has refused to allocate enough money to cover the costs.

The 2012-13 budget only covers 42,000 of the 96,000 who applied for admission. The municipalities have asked the Department of Development to increase the budget due to the huge demand, which has increased due to five years of severe austerity measures and cuts. People can no longer afford to send their children to private nurseries and kindergartens and are turning to the public schools they paid for with their taxes.

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- In the principle and spirit of volunteering, 60 doctors, nurses, dentists and other medical personnel operate a social outpatient clinic in central Athens. Their slogan is: NOBODY IS ALONE IN THIS CRISIS.

The social outpatient clinic and pharmacy offers free medical examinations to people who do not have health insurance – mainly the unemployed and the homeless.

The clinic depends on donations for medicines and basic medical supplies from all over the world. The good doctors at the clinic share many donations with local hospitals, who are in dire need of even the most basic medical supplies. Around half of Greece’s hospitals are threatened with closure. The government has already tried to close some hospitals.

There are many citizens with no access to medical service because of this crisis. These people are direct victims of the crisis.

Greek people face huge health risks as hospitals deteriorate from lack of funds. Draconian cuts for healthcare are unacceptable. These issues must be addressed immediately.

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- Several sectors of the Greek economy are being forced to proceed with drastic new cuts in salaries, averaging about 20%. The new measures will come on top of the deep cuts inflicted over the last three years.

In order to force even more horizontal cuts to minimum wages, the ECB propaganda promotes the lie that the problem in Greece is the public sector.

During the first 6 months of this year, 44,122 workers were forced to reduce their working hours from full-time to part-time status, a negative trend that is gaining traction among greedy employers.

The ‘latest’ salary cut agreement has been decided upon, finalized and announced. New cuts include:

- 800,000 workers in daily commerce – recent wage cuts of 6.7%

- 150,000 tourism sector cuts of an additional 15%

- 7,000 private medical clinic salary cuts of 20%

- 300,000 restaurants and bakeries  – 15% cut in wages

These kinds of obscenely punitive policies only serve to enrich the rich. The Troika and their puppet government-of-the-regime have commenced an economic war on Greece. Together, they have extinguish the sovereignty of Greece for the sole purpose of maximizing their profits by minimizing salaries. Clearly, they seek mass slavery – first in Greece, and then in the rest of the Western world.

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- In the last 5 months, there have been more than 500 violent attacks on foreign immigrants committed by local fascists who are members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. As previously reported, 50% of the Greek police force voted for the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in the June 17 election.

KeepTalkingGreece reports:

A 19-year-old Iraqi immigrant died in the hospital after he was stabbed by five unknown assailants riding motorcycles. The attack took place late Saturday night in the center of Athens. The assailants had earlier targeted two other foreigners, one from Romania and one from Morocco, who managed to escape.

Greek police are looking for five people riding four motorcycles. The testimonies of the Romanian and the Moroccan, who were attacked in the same area, did not provide clues about the assailants.

Attacks on immigrants by assailants on motorcycles revived last week, after a Pakistani was arrested for having severely injured and sexually abused a 15-year-old girl on the island of Paros at the end of July.

Attacks against Immigrants – August 7-13, 2012:

A bloody incident occurred in Heraklion, Crete. A group of young men attacked a group of Pakistanis. Police detained a Greek on charges he had hit an illegal immigrant with an iron rod.

 A man from Bangladesh complained to police that two people on motorcycles had hurled smoke bombs into the yard at his home in Heraklion.

Four unknown assailants attacked a group of immigrants from India waiting at a bus stop. The incident occurred in Rethymnon, Crete.

Two Pakistanis were attacked and injured in the home they were living in Vonitsa/Preveza.

A group of 15-20 people attacked a place of worship in Piraeus where 20 Pakistanis were praying. The attackers threw smoke bombs and attempted to harm the foreigners. The Pakistanis blamed extreme-right Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) for the attack, but the party dismissed such claims on its official website.

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- The children of a 47-year-old woman who recently died of cancer submitted a lawsuit against the landlord of their mother’s flat. The accusation states that while their mother was in an intensive-care unit, she was slapped with an eviction notice for being two months behind on her rent, even though the landlord was aware of her health issues.

Immediately after the death of the woman, the landlord changed the locks on the flat. The family was unable to bring their mother home for the traditional evening of mourning before her funeral the next day.

The landlord’s callous behavior reflects the culture of a small part of Greek society, particularly the rich.

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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: 40,000 public servants to be fired; unemployment soars

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 102012
 

 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 9 August 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snakearbusto, 99GetSmart

- The Greek version of StopCartel’s blog was hacked yesterday morning. But thanks to StopCartel’s excellent tech team, it is up and running again. Many thanks to the tech team!

In the course of the repairs, the tech team discovered a spying program embedded in one of StopCartel’s computers. As soon as it was discovered, the stealth spyware was removed.

StopCartel believes this was the criminal work of the Greek ‘intelligence’ agency and that this event was an attempt at preventing the free circulation of political ideas in Greece.

StopCartel called the Department of Electronic Crime Prevention and requested an immediate investigation of the hacking and malicious spyware installation. Despite the fact that it is part of the Greek Intelligence Agency, StopCartel expects the Department of Electronic Crime Prevention to fulfill its duties – to prevent and investigate electronic crime.

If the Department fails to proceed with an investigation within 24 hours, StopCartel plans to file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor of Athens against the Greek intelligence agency and request a full investigation.

StopCartel announced that its voice will not be silenced and that they will continue the work of informing the people inside and outside of Greece.

SOLIDARITY with StopCartel!

StopCartel blogs:

Greek version @ stopcartel.info/

English version @ stopcartel.net/

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- A year ago, the unemployment rate in Greece was high, at 16.8%. Today, it was reported that unemployment in Greece currently stands at 23.1% from 22.6% a month ago, and nothing seems to be able to stem the tide.

According to the official data, which represent only a portion of the unemployment rate in Greece, there are 1,147,372 unemployed. But the real number is over 1.7 million.

Within the last month, 34,141 more people lost their jobs.

The statistics are grim. The unemployment rate is higher for women at age 26.8 than for men at 20.3. For people between the age of 15-24, the unemployment rate is a staggering 54.9%. Employment prospects are not much better, at 31.6%, for those between the ages of 25-34.

34-44 year olds are experiencing unemployment numbers at 19.4% while the rate for those between 45-54 years old stands at 17%.

These high unemployment numbers illustrate the dire conditions that have plunged Greece into the current humanitarian crisis that ravages the country.

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- Today, Reuters reported an item the Greek media ‘neglected’ to report – the news that 40,000 public servants are about to be listed on the “labor reserve,” which means they will be placed in the preliminary stage – meaning a 60% salary cut – before being permanently dismissed from their jobs a year from now.

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- Nikos Manesis, a private citizen and the owner of the Hellenic Halyvourgias Steel Mill, is intensifying his orgy of terrorism against the steelworkers. Today he sent notice to the President of the Steelworkers’ Union, Giorgos Sifonios, accusing him of several trumped-up charges.

The trend in Greece is unfavorable to workers as several factory owners are following suit by serving workers with a threatening summons, in an act of economic terrorism.

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- The President of the Athens Medical Council was on TV talking about a social outpatient program organized by priests of the Greek Orthodox Church. UNBELIEVABLY, he is in favor of  a ‘STATE CHURCH’ in Greece.

The doctors of the social outpatient clinic have reported that within 6 months, they have examined over 4,000 uninsured people.

The social clinic offers the first level of medical assistance, but in instances where medication is required, the patient must fill the prescription at a state pharmacy.

If a patient needs hospitalization, they are referred to hospitals that will accept the uninsured. In many instances, people who suffer from serious illnesses such as cancer were not able to be hospitalized. And, in Greece 2012, unemployed pregnant women with no insurance will not be able to give birth in a hospital unless they pay for it.

On this issue, the Minister of Health is as clear as he is callous – people who are uninsured must pay for their own health care. The problem is that health insurance is tied to employment in Greece. What is obvious to everyone except the Greek Minister of Health is that the unemployed who are not insured have no money to pay for health care. The catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Greece rages on all levels of society.

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- The former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Schmidt, appeared on German TV and made statements regarding Greece and the EURO zone.

From  EUReferendum:

On the day that Juncker said that a Greek exit from the euro would be “manageable,” the grand old man, Helmut Schmidt, appeared on a German TV program, cigarette in hand, to tell the world that letting Greece join the euro in the first place was “a mistake.”

[…]

Nevertheless, while manageable, Greece’s leaving is “not desirable” says Juncker, and he rules out the exit, “at least until the end of the autumn – and after that, too.” That could be never, of course – except that this man openly admits that “When it becomes serious, you have to lie.”

But how do we know when Juncker is lying?

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- The wildfires in Greece are as out of control as the political situation.

In central Greece, huge fires continue to rage out of control. For several hours, 20k of the main highway in the Peloponnese was closed due to unsafe conditions.

In Arcadia, authorities arrested a 45-year-old man suspected of starting one of the huge fires by carelessly disposing of a lit cigarette in the dry forest.

Wildfires are being reported on the island of Kefalonia in western Greece, in Corinth, 90 km from Athens, and in Kos, in the eastern region of the island. Currently, there are an estimated 45 wildfires all around the country.

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-  In reaction to the recent raids on immigrants in Greece, Amnesty International is sounding the alarm on the Greek police.

Amnesty International stated that Greek authorities have no right to handle people in the streets as if they were criminals based on the color of their skin. Their demands include that Greek authorities must terminate its attack on ‘irregular’ immigrants and are calling on the government to allow people to be granted asylum in Greece.

More than 7,500 people without legal papers have been detained in Athens since last Thursday.

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- The recent clashes in Ierissos in northern Greece persist. According to SYRIZA MP rioting police / armed forces are using rubber bullets against the local citizens who wish to exercise their right to protest the establishment of a gold mine by a Canadian company. Nearly all the trees in a nearby forest are to be cut down for the project.

For more information: 

THE IERISSOS RESISTANCE: Private citizen George Bobolas dispatched local riot police to act as his private army against Ierissos residents in northern Greece – VIDEOS @ http://99getsmart.com/?p=2883

This is not the first time the Greek riot police were dispatched as a private army against Greek citizens, by a private citizen. BOBOLAS IS A REPEAT OFFENDER!:

THE KERATEA RESISTANCE @ http://99getsmart.com/?p=2359

THE HISTORY OF GOLD MINES AND GREEK RESISTANCE – FULL DOCUMENTARY FILM:  http://99getsmart.com/?p=2969

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Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: In a major European capital, people are starving and in despair

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 082012
 

 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the August 7, 2012 broadcast 

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- In the second week of August, things are quiet in Athens. The Athenians who can manage it financially are leaving the city for the villages, to visit relatives and to forget, if only for a few days.

The situation in Athens remains the same, in the government offices in and in the city’s flats where life continues. Many people live in flats without electricity, some without water. In a major European capital, people are starving and in despair. The daily suicides continue – yesterday another two. For every two official suicides reported, another ten go unreported.

There is a common feeling of deep disappointment and heightened expectations. Many people are expecting an explosive situation in the next few weeks. Conditions in Greece are visibly deteriorating daily and no one knows how long the Greek people will remain tolerant.

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- Clashes between local citizens and the rioting police persist in the town of Ierissos, located in northern Greece. On Tuesday morning, local citizens gathered in the town square for an organized march down the road to the gold mine to defend the region from the personal gold mining interests of Greek industrialist George Bobolas.

Protesters were met by a barricade of riot police who blocked the public road and refused to allow them access. A Member of Parliament who was among the group of demonstrators tried to negotiate with the police, asserting the peoples’ right to protest peacefully against the establishment of a gold mine in the nearby forest.

The police officer responded that he has orders to prohibit passage on the public road leading to the mountain where the mine will be established. The reason given was “to preserve public order.” He said this decision was taken for the security of the citizens.

The people responded by saying that they don’t need to be protected by the police and they don’t like the ‘security’ provided by the police.

The officer said that he was following the orders of the regional public prosecutor.

The people requested a written copy of the orders and told the police that they do not want them there and do not want police ‘protection.’

One woman challenged the police directly, stating that the police are not there to protect the local people, but are there to protect the personal financial interests of Bobolas, the owner of the mining company. She went on to explain that Bobolas is operating the mine illegally and in the process, is destroying the forest that belongs to the Greek citizens as well as destroying the lives and property values of the local citizens.

The rioting police responded by unleashing massive amounts of tear gas against the group of demonstrators.

A local SYRIZA party member explained that multinational companies create a division in society between those who want the mine to be created because they need the jobs and others who realize the enormous environmental damage it will cause the region. There is a court case underway in Greece to prevent this gold mine from being established.

In the peoples’ court, the verdict is in. Many have decided that they will not permit Bobolas to destroy their mountain and they are determined to use any means to kick them out.

——————

- High theater in the Greek Parliament drags on featuring a repeat performance of the ongoing battle the government-of-the-regime pretends to have with the Troika.

The Troika has repeatedly made clear its demands that all terms of the Memorandum must be met, with no possibility of renegotiations.

Nevertheless, the coalition parties and the media they control play out their designated roles in the public sphere. Even though everyone knows that the Faustian Pact, aka the Memorandum, was signed and sealed long, long ago, the media is falsely reporting that the government-of-the-regime is in the process of renegotiating the 11.5€ billion austerity package with the low-ranking clerks the Troika left behind in Athens.

The media ridiculously suggest that the government is in the throes of an epic battle to save pensions, wages etc.

Just last week, it was officially announced that there will be massive cuts to the so-called 13th and 14th salaries, but the media reported that the government is fighting with the low-ranking clerks to protect those salaries from cuts.

On Tuesday’s main stage, the Minister of Finance visited the President of the Republic to inform him of these pretend negotiations.

——————

Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://stopcartel.chipin.com/stopcartel-tv-gr

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: Suicide rate soars; more taxes, higher prices, no jobs

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 072012
 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the August 6, 2012 broadcast 

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- In the birthplace of the Olympics in Northern Greece, two young men committed suicide over financial problems. Greeks and supporters from around the world mourn daily as the suicide rate soars in Greece, as the crisis worsens. Some believe these are not suicides, but financial murders.

——————

- In the city of Ierissos, in Northern Greece, extensive clashes between demonstrators and rioting police were sparked when demonstrators attempted to protest the establishment and activation of a gold mine in their region and the environmental damage it will cause.

Around noon on Sunday, 5 August, a group of 400 local citizens along with six members of parliament from SYRIZA attempted to walk on a public road towards the designated area of the gold mine.

In response to the demonstration, the Mayor of Ierissos called the police. A public road was barricaded and the police refused to permit access to the group. When citizens verbally protested, they were attacked with chemical weapons and violence, turning the area into a battlefield.

MPs at the scene requested an official explanation from the police, in writing, of why citizens were not permitted to walk on a public road. The response from the police was negative.

An MP complained that at the same time members of parliament were attempting to negotiate with the leaders of the police, the rioting police unleashed massive amounts of chemical weapons on the demonstrators.

An elected local member of SYRIA stated that the MPs spent hours trying to convince the authorities to let them pass. They defended their right to have access to public roads and to protest at the site. Their efforts were met with more tear gas.

The people are aware that the police are acting as a private security force for big industrialists. The presence of the rioting police and their behavior against their own people creates a feeling that the region is under occupation, and this is quite unacceptable.

It is the right of every citizen to demand and exercise their right to walk on any public road and go wherever they wish. The citizens want to exercise their fundamental right of free movement.

Tensions in Ierissos escalated throughout the day – tensions created by public employees who engage in acts of violence against local citizens in order to protect the private interests of George Bobolas, owner of the gold-mining company.

The situation in the region remains very tense. Chemical weapons were being used throughout the night, transforming the city into a living hell.

Officials from the police defend their actions by laying the blame on the Mayor of Ierissos, who they claim falsely reported that the townspeople had set the Ierissos Municipal Building on fire. Obviously there was no fire, but that ‘technicality’ was ignored by the police.

For more background information on the Ierissos resistance:

The Ierissos Resistance: Private citizen George Bobolas dispatched local riot police to act as his private army against Ierissos residents in northern Greec. Videos @  http://99getsmart.com/?p=2883

The Ierissos Resistance: Anti-gold protests escalate into violence and “hostage” situation – Photos @  http://99getsmart.com/?p=2937

This is not the first time the Greek riot police have been dispatched as a private army against Greek citizens by a private citizen. BOBOLAS IS A REPEAT OFFENDER!: The Keratea Resistance @  http://99getsmart.com/?p=2359

Gold Mines and Greek Resistance – Full documentary film @  http://99getsmart.com/?p=2969

——————

- In Athens this weekend, police conducted an extensive racist attack against the city’s immigrants. The police reportedly rounded up thousands of suspected ‘illegal immigrants’ in a large-scale deportation drive. More than 6,000 people were detained over the weekend.

Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said the rounding-up of illegal immigrants would continue, arguing that their unchecked entry has brought Greece “to the brink of collapse.” “Whoever is arrested will be detained and deported,” he said.

—————

- The average income for Greek families has decreased by at least 25%. At the same time, certain goods are sold in Greece for 25% more than in other EU countries.

Examples:

Pasta

Italy .59€

Greece .70€

Cereals

France 1.32€

Italy 1.81€

Greece 2.38€

Jam

France .94€

Greece 1.58€

Soft drinks

Germany .45€

Bulgaria .51€

Spain .52€

Greece .62€

Beer

Germany .89€

Bulgaria .81€

Spain .71€

Greece .98€

Cleaning products

Germany 1.52€

Greece 1.56€

——————

- The unemployment rate for young Greeks age 25 and under stands at 53%. Due to the uncertain future of Greek society, many students are choosing to emigrate to northern Europe.

Within a year the interest in studies in other countries has increased by 162%. Young people are trying to combine their studies with an eye towards future employment. They are seeking to study in countries that will permit them to enter the job market after completing their university studies.

The report states that this mass emigration to northern Europe also applies to students in Italy and Spain, where youth unemployment is also around 50%.

——————

- Starting in September, another unbelievable economic attack on Greek citizens by their government will come in the form of a so-called ‘tax tsunami.’ The first round of emergency tax bills have already been attached to the electric bills and posted.

In mid-September homeowners will have to pay another extra tax on their property. And at the end of the year, an emergency tax on automobiles will be due.

Current economic conditions in Greece make it impossible for citizens to pay the extra ‘emergency’ taxes. However, nonpayment will result in the state seizing private property and evicting the owners.

——————

Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an extremely important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed and we need your support. Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens @ http://99getsmart.com/?p=3667

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

 

Greece: What fresh hell for the newly poor?

 Activism, Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Aug 012012
 


StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the July 31, 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart 

- On Tuesday, 31 July, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras announced his proposal concerning the Greek universities. His main point is that in September, the universities must be reopened.

Tsipras stated, “Whatever we are suffering in this country, we cannot accept that the universities will not be open this September. If the universities are closed, it will be the spiritual death of Greece.”

Tsipras’s proposal includes appointing an intermediary for one year, whose position is designed to function as that of a student advocate, with the support of the university. This also provides an opportunity for a necessary dialogue in order to form a new University Constitution.

Tsipras, the main opposition leader, has submitted his proposal to the Greek Parliament.

——————

- A new taxation will be imposed on drivers without insurance. There are over 1.5 million uninsured drivers in Greece due to high unemployment and lack of funds. People choose to use what little money they have left to buy food to feed themselves and their families.

On the news, ‘reporters’ try to ratchet up the fear by fretting, “What happens if you are in an accident with someone without insurance?”

The answer is simply that people with insurance will get paid by their own insurance companies. Another option is, if you don’t wish to file a claim with your own insurance company you can file a claim through a government fund, but the process will be difficult and payment will be slow.

A representative of the insurance industry put his spin on the issue by stating that the cost of the punitive tax is nothing compared to what it will cost to be in an accident without insurance.

The majority of people who do not have automobile insurance are the newly poor. They wonder where the government thinks the money for a penalty tax will come from. Sadly, the government continues to be blind, deaf and dumb when it comes to serving the people they were ‘elected’ to represent.

The kind of thinking reflected by the government-of-the-regime completely ignores the plight that the newly poor find themselves in, after being pummeled by failed IMF policies for the last 5 years. Most economists admit that brutal austerity measures DO NOT lead to growth. Even the IMF admits that their policies always fail.

The Digital Journal reports:

Former Greek finance minister and Greece’s representative to the IMF until January, Panagiotis Roumeliotis, has spoken of the bail-out Memorandum imposed on Greece by its Troika of lenders, the IMF, EU and ECB. Roumeliotis accused the Troika of underestimating the negative affects the austerity program would have on the Greek economy, pushing it deeper into recession.

In an interview with the New York Times Roumeliotis revealed officials at the IMF knew the program was doomed to failure. He said “We knew at the fund from the very beginning that this program was impossible to be implemented because we didn’t have any – any – successful example.”

He added that whilst the IMF uses Greece’s failure to implement structural reforms as an excuse for the programs failure, the real cause “is that the severe cuts contributed to the downward spiral by decimating economic demand within Greece.”

Roumeliotis’s words reiterate those of German Chancellor Angela Merkel who admitted in June that Greece’s program of austerity was important even if it did not succeed, in order to set an example to other European countries to adhere to their future obligations within the EU.

——————

- Many unemployed tradesmen in Greece (plumbers, electricians, etc.) are leaving the country in droves and are heading to Germany.

German construction companies are aware of the crisis in Greece and are offering massive job opportunities to Greek tradesmen. Knowing the German language and having a current CV gives a Greek tradesman an advantage in that job market.

Many Greeks are drawn to this offer because they have been unemployed for over a year and believe they have no future in Greece.

——————

- SYRIZA claims that the government-of-the-regime has already decided on new anti-social austerity measures. They are currently meeting to reach an agreement about when and how they will announce the new cuts to the citizens.

A favorite meme of the government-of-the-regime is to repeatedly tell the Greek people that they must fulfill the terms of the Memorandum, and afterwards the government will renegotiate with the Troika.

This is just one more ridiculous piece of propaganda to fool Greek citizens into accepting cuts first and renegotiation later. It’s a bogus plan because after the terms of the Memorandum are fulfilled, there will be nothing left of Greece and nothing to negotiate for.

——————

- Fewer and fewer Greek people are able to go on holidays this summer. A 50% drop in holiday revenue has been reported.

After 5 years of brutal austerity measures, high unemployment, homelessness, starvation and daily suicides, holidays in Greece are unattainable for the majority of Greek people. Only 3 in 10 will be able to afford a small holiday this year.

Of the 30% of Greeks who are taking a holiday, most are not renting a hotel room or an apartment. They are choosing to save money by staying with friends or relatives instead.

Last weekend, the number of people leaving the cities was 15% lower, compared to previous years during the same time period. Reports state that 7,000 fewer people traveled via Piraeus, the port of Athens, than last year at the same time. Not only are fewer people taking a holiday, they are going for a much shorter period of time, in order to keep expenses as low as possible.

The head of the Greek Hotel Owners union said that this year, the drop in Greeks going for holidays is 50% compared to last year. The union is hoping that August will show an improvement.

Prices have dropped dramatically to attract local tourism, but despite the myriad of discounts, the vast majority of Greeks cannot afford to take a holiday anymore. Most people are spending their holidays at their local beaches, because they simply don’t have the money to spend on transportation and accommodations.

——————

- Bakeries in Greece are reporting a 10% loss of sales this year. Thing are so bad that Greek families are even making cuts in their daily bread consumption!

Ignoring the reality of how difficult daily life has become for people, the criminal Greek government scrambles to please the Troika by promising to implement 21 new austerity measures. What fresh hell is this?

——————

Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media are an extremely important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens:  http://99getsmart.com/?p=3667

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @  http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

Greece: Promises to Renegotiate Already Forgotten – Except by the People

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Jul 202012
 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the July 19, 2012 broadcast

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

StopCartel TV broadcasted live from Syntagma Square on Thursday night, where a small crowd gathered for a rally and march to the Finance Ministry on the Square. People protested the new austerity measures, additional cuts to social spending and the willingness of the Greek government-of-the-regime to act against the best interests of the Greek people. Not even one month into the new, puppet government, all the campaign promises of renegotiations with the Troika are already long forgotten – by the government, that is, but not by the people.

The StopCartel crew weaved their way through the crowd asking people why they attended the rally. Here are some responses:

- From a young woman: Because we are in despair. We have no jobs and therefore, no money. This rally is an indication that people are awake in Greece. Right now, we are small in numbers, but as soon as the new tax bills begin to arrive, you will see people rise up. It won’t be long before millions of Greeks are on the street again.

- Another gentleman commented: It’s almost September and next month, the Troika will arrive in Greece and people will see the reality of what we are dealing with here. There will be no saviors. We must face these difficult problems and we have to fight against them. We must fight and save ourselves.

- A young man made this statement: I am here on the street, as I always am, to show my presence and resistance against the measures the Greek puppet regime is taking against the people. I hope the demonstrations will become massive, once again. I believe more people will participate when they realize the lies they have been told by fraudulent election promises. 

A young woman gave a short speech at the rally. She lamented that educated people are leaving Greece en masse but assured the crowd that the Greek people are going to resist the plans the Troika has for them and the actions they take against them. “There is only one way, one choice: RESISTANCE. It is in our hands to stop the plans they have for us and for all of Europe. Altogether, in solidarity, we must resist. It’s the only choice,” she said.

——————

Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an extremely important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://99getsmart.com/?p=3667

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 6pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

The Current and Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in Greece

 Greece, StopCartel TV transcripts  No Responses »
Jul 102012
 

 

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights @ 10pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript from the July 9, 2012 broadcast.

By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart

- On Sunday evening, StopCartel broadcasted LIVE from Syntagma Square during the confidence vote in Parliament. Unfortunately, there was not a huge gathering in the square, but it did give StopCartel the opportunity to reflect on what was happening there a year ago.

From 22 May to the end of November, StopCartel broadcasted LIVE from Syntagma Square daily, reporting on the events, activities, and protests organized by OccupySyntagmaSquare.

StopCartel was also there recording the brutal attacks by the rioting police against the Greek citizens who were gathered in the Square to exercise their right to protest against the Memorandum, austerity measures, and the attack against their lives.

One year later, things are even worse than before. There is a current and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Greece.

——————

- On Sunday, there were two suicides and one suicide attempt.

In Preveza, a city in the northwestern region of Greece, a man climbed a very tall tree and threatened to jump to his death due to extreme financial problems. In the end, he could not go through with it.

Tragically, over the weekend, suicide claimed two more victims. A 42-year-old man hanged himself, and in a small town on the Island of Evia, another 40-year-old man shot and killed himself. Both men ended their lives in order to escape the suffering caused by extreme economic problems.

——————

- In Peristeri, a suburb 6 km. west of Athens, a free Socio-Medical Out-Patient Clinic is being initiated. StopCartel is organizing an ongoing medication drive to help supply the clinic, to enable it to offer free prescription drugs to its patients. Over the weekend, StopCartel received the first donation from friends in Belgium. Thank you, Belgium!

If you are interested in making a donation, please contact Giorgos via email at: info@stopcartel.org

——————

- While the government-of-the-regime discusses the best way to serve the interests of their masters, some EU officials have been loud and clear about their unwillingness to accept any changes in the Faustian pact they made with corrupt Greek politicians.

- Nikos Nikolopoulos has resigned from his post as Deputy Labor Minister, in protest of Antonis Samaras’s refusal to renegotiate changes to the Memorandum with the Troika, despite his campaign promise to do so. Nikolopoulos’s resignation is an early blow to the newly formed government. The resignation came just hours after a vote of confidence was won.

Nikolopoulos released an official statement explaining why he resigned:

The sole reason of my resignation is my personal conviction that the issue of renegotiating with the Troika, as well as the correction of significant distortions in labour, pension, social security and welfare issues, should have been emphatically put on the table from the start.

His resignation is a great political sign. Not only does it illustrate the current situation in Greece, it also confirms and validates what the protesters have been saying all along about the government – that the Greek government is a huge political fraud. Samaras lied. He said his government would attempt to renegotiate the terms of the Memorandum. But the day after the election, ND immediately forgot their promises.

——————

-  There is a 30% decrease in the price of rents in Athens because of a depressed real-estate market and high unemployment.

——————

- The current news coming from Spain and Italy regarding climbing interest rates on government bonds is reminiscent of events unfolding in Greece a year ago.

——————

- Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the opposition party Syriza, commented on the recent developments in Greece. He stated that people who signed the agreement to sell off Greece’s public assets will go to jail for their treasonous pact.

——————

- Nouriel Roubini gave an extensive interview to Bloomberg over the weekend. He pointed out that not a single bankster has gone to jail for the financial crisis they caused.

Roubini stated:

‘Nobody has gone to jail since the financial crisis. The banks, they do things that are illegal and at best they slap on them a fine. If some people end up in jail, maybe that will teach a lesson to somebody. Or somebody hanging in the streets.’

Bloomberg’s video interview with Roubini can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/c6r2t3z

——————

Information is the backbone of the effort to liberate ourselves, not just in Greece or Europe, but the whole world. Independent media is an extremely important conduit of unfiltered information. We must build and support a network of information in order to succeed.

Please consider contributing:

ONGOING FUNDRAISER FOR StopCartel Livestream from Athens: http://99getsmart.com/?p=3667

——————

StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece on weeknights at 10pm Athens time @ http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr

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