Greece’s Choice, And Ours: Rule By Democracy or Finance?
A number of nations, including Greece and the United States, are in the process of deciding between being governed by democracy or by finance, Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor Robert Reich writes:
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou decided in favor of democracy yesterday when he announced a national referendum on the draconian budget cuts Europe and the IMF are demanding from Greece in return for bailing it out.
(Or, more accurately, the cuts Europe and the IMF are demanding for bailing out big European banks that have lent Greece lots of money and stand to lose big if Greece defaults on those loans—not to mention Wall Street banks that will also suffer because of their intertwined financial connections with European banks.)
If Greek voters accept the bailout terms, unemployment will rise even further in Greece, public services will be cut more than they have already, the Greek economy will contract, and the standard of…
The Secret History of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Building a Mystery
Site editor’s note: The following is excerpted from The Secret History of Rock ’N’ Roll: The Mysterious Roots of Modern Music by Christopher Knowles (Viva Editions, October 2010). Used with permission.
I like to think of the history of rock & roll like the origin of Greek drama. That started out on the threshing floors during the crucial seasons, and was originally a band of acolytes dancing and singing. Then, one day, a possessed person jumped out of the crowd and started imitating a god.
—Jim Morrison
Most historians believe that the Mysteries began at the end of the Neolithic Age (also known as the New Stone Age, roughly 9000 to 4500 BCE), making them one of the earliest cultural developments known to humanity. Coinciding with the development of agriculture, the rituals were designed to appeal to the grain gods of the Underworld by acting out their myths, which celebrated the cycles of planting, growth and…
China Offers To Buy Greek Debt
China's Permier Wen Jiabao
China has offered to buy Greek bonds to show support for international relations. It’s nice to see China helping out after obtaining the position of the second largest economy. The China Post reports:
China offered on Saturday to buy Greek government bonds when Athens resumes issuing, in a show of support for the country whose debt burden pushed the eurozone into crisis and required an international bailout.
Premier Wen Jiabao made the offer at the start of a two-day visit to Greece, his first stop on a tour of Europe, and also said he wanted to boost shipping and trade ties with Athens, underscoring Beijing’s use of economic strength to win friends.
“With its foreign exchange reserve, China has already bought and is holding Greek bonds and will keep a positive stance in participating and buying bonds that Greece will issue,” Wen said, speaking through an interpreter.
“China will undertake a great…
Zeus Strikes Parthenon With Lightning Bolt
OK, the headline’s a little over the top, but what a photo, from the Daily Mail/AP:
It looks like a narrow escape for one of mankind’s most ancient symbols.
A bolt of lightning illuminates the sky around the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple, high on the Acropolis during a heavy rainfall in Athens early this morning.
Fortunately, the temple is believed to have escaped any damage.
[story continues in the Daily Mail/AP]
Financially Doomed Greece Beset By Plague of Frogs
I thought of Magnolia when I read this headline, granted the frog raining that occurred in Greece wasn’t as bad as in the clip below, but it is a pretty messed up situation over there … Richard Lawson writes on Gawker:
“A carpet of frogs” covered a Thessaloniki highway, forcing closings for two hours. People are guessing they came from a lake nearby, but we know the truth. Hide your firstborns and blood your doors everyone, the Lord’s a’coming.
Congressman Paul Discusses The Crisis In Greece
Congressman Ron Paul discusses the crisis in Greece with Megyn Kelly, and how it relates to the United States.
The Legendary Athens Greece Riot Dog
How long before Riot Dog starts appearing on t-shirts?
Greek Protesters Urged to Retreat from ‘Abyss’ (Video)
BBC News reports:
Greece is “on the brink of the abyss”, President Karolos Papoulias has warned, after three people died during protests over planned austerity measures. “We are all responsible so that it does not take the step into the void,” the president said in a statement.
It followed a day of violence during which protesters set fire to a bank, killing three employees. Greece’s government has vowed to pursue the spending cuts — a condition of its 110bn euro ($142bn; £95bn) bail-out.
“We are prepared to pay the heavy political cost,” Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament during Wednesday’s debate on the bill. “We will not take a single step backwards.”
The euro hit a fresh 13-month low against the dollar and European stock markets were also hit, amid concerns over Greek bail-out plans. There are also fears Greece’s debt crisis could spread to other countries.
The Global Debt Crisis Is the New Cold War
The Bank of Greece in Athens
From New York Magazine:
The news from Greece today is … well, it’s not good. Greek citizens are angry, European politicians are testy, equity investors worldwide are getting nervous, and the headlines are getting increasingly hysterical. This morning, things even took a dip into surreality when Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos, frustrated by Germany’s criticism of his country’s accounting skills, actually whipped out the Hitler card.
“They [the Nazis] took away the Greek gold that was in the Bank of Greece, they took away the Greek money and they never gave it back,” he said. “I don’t say they have to give back the money necessarily,” he remarked to the BBC. “But they have to say thanks.”
Compared to that, the Times sounded like the voice of reason with their story pinning blame on our old friend credit default swaps, which prompted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to announce he…
Riots Break Out In Greece On Anniversary Of Police Shooting
Mark Tran reports for the Guardian:
Police fired teargas at rioters who threw rocks and firecrackers in central Athens as thousands gathered to mark the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager.
Clashes broke out as about 3,000 people, mostly students, anarchists and leftists, began a march to parliament. More protests were expected tomorrow. An evening memorial service was planned in the Exarchia district, where 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot dead.
Violence also broke out in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, where demonstrators threw petrol bombs at police and smashed the front of a Starbucks cafe.
More than 6,000 police were deployed across greater Athens amid fears that the demonstrations under way in the capital and other Greek cities would turn increasingly violent. Concern was heightened by reports that far-left groups and anarchists from other European countries have travelled to Greece for the protests.
Grigoropoulos was shot by a policeman on the evening of…
