ERT-Simos says...

So we're back with more news from our Greek reality. I can only say that things here remind one of a zoo. Liapis is back from his trip to the east. He has already blamed the media for his "spiritual relaxation" trip to Kuala Lumpur. Seems that they gave him too much attention after his arrest and he needed relaxation and relief in the far east. They sure know how to pamper you over there, especialy if you have been a naughty boy. No need to ponder on your own behaviour when you are rich and powerful. Below is the fromer minister pictured in handcuffs and on the return of his relief trip.

Hope you got it out of your system mate! In our local politics the same kind of spoiled brat behaviour is quite common. Our former mayor was uploading touching pictures of his wife to local internet news sites last year. It was the event of her funeral and we all got to see pictures from their life together in a sort of tv reality recap, you know the kind they play when a player is leaving Big Brother or any similar reality show. This year the same former mayor is all over our local internet news sites testing the waters for his new candidacy for mayor. He is busy uploading pictures from his recent wedding to his second wife complete with closeups of important guests, mostly Members of Parliament, in a glamorous second wedding ceremony complete with fireworks. All this at the peak of mt. Lycabetus, the most visible church in Athens. No understatement here. I sure feel for his kids from his first wife. Me, me, me.

Who are these fine looking gentlemen? The three wise men they are not! You are looking at what can only be described as payback. In the middle is Emil Liatsos, in charge of news at ERT, to his right is Bill Tomopoolos second in charge. To the left of them is Nick Simos general manager of ERT. You can bet your last beans they are still on the payroll but ERT, our public broadcaster, is no more. After a year of trying to censore the news on public television, and failing, they moved to plan B.

Say hello to Simos Kedikoglou, government representative, who informs us of the gross misuse of funds over there at ERT, Greek public television. How crews charge overtime and how they use more employees than nescessary when doing on location work. "All this till now. Today we are shutting down ERT". With that phrase the government pulled the plug on public television blackening our screens. Simos says... reminiscent of the good old days with the dictators deciding what we get to see on YENED, the only tv station back then.

Then along came the public outcry that kept public television open from that day, June 11th 2013, till the 7th of November. During that time, 5 months, the workers maintained control of the building and managed to broadcast via satellite everywhere. It must suck to work without pay for that long. Not only without pay but without compensation either for if you are fired from a healthy corporation you must be payed severance according to Greek law. Having fired all two thousand employees, but not the board of directors, the government refuses to pay severance. The details are boring but the final result is the same. 2000 illegaly fired employees, no public television for the rest of us, a fascistic regime style democracy for all. I will make a note here that in 2012 public television showed a profit of 86 million after taxes. Euros that is.

A suicide by a distraught female former employee of ert channel 3 did nothing to change the tide. Bullies will be bullies to the bitter end and there seems little one can do to get them out of government. They are not alone of course. A good chunk of Greek society supports them. After all what seems like bullying to me seems just to those who for years support our New Democratic Party, our own lovely conservatives. Believe me their supporters are not about to bite the hand that feeds...
One can still access public television here:
http://www.thepressproject.gr/

I would also like to list some of the achievements of ERT over the years but I will do that on a later post. Happy Holidays to all!

Liapis-Maggali rocks! Happy electric Christmas...

Above is pictured a maggali. It was a popular way to heat your home, if you were too poor to afford a chimney, a couple of centuries ago. One can load it up with coal, like a barbie, or wood or even coke if that is available. It must be lit outdoors so that the dangerous fumes related with an open fire do not enter ones' home. Once all the dark spots dissapear from the coals it is safe to drag indoors. The one pictured here is clay with wrought iron legs and a very practical cover if one has some socks to dry by the coals.

 Above is pictured a former minister of Transport. That is to say a Greek former minister, now retired, who was in charge of regulating all things to do with motor vehicles. Insurance, licence plates and all other things where his jurisdiction. Other things in Greece include our annual licence fee in order to drive our car. Whoever cannot pay this fee is required to immobilize their car and return their licence plates to the nearest revenue Greece office. Having a larger vehicle, anything over 2000 cc, is extremely expensive and includes a luxury tax. Total annual cost to drive your car, if it is a VW Touareg that is, is 5000 euros.

 Above is pictured a modern day maggali, constructed out of an old oil barrel with re-bar legs. Many out of work construction workers prefer this do it yourself model as it fits many cut up planks and scaffolding. You need lots of scrap wood in order to end up with enough coals to heat your apartment for one night. So a barrel being almost ten times bigger than the old maggali is ideal. You light it up on the balcony and feed it wood until there is enough coals to last the night. Once the dark spots dissapear you may drag it indoors.

 The little girl pictured above is the latest victim of this maggali heating process. People of course would simply use an electric space heater if their power hadn't been cut off. This girls mother had a 2000 euro utility bill, of which only about 200 euros would be actual electricity, that she couldn't pay. As a result the power was cut off a couple of years ago. Living without electricity in a modern city is nearly impossible. Using camping gas for cooking and candles for lighting, the balcony for a fridge and a maggali for heating. I can't imagine living only with cold water while raising kids. Anyway the poor woman dragged in her maggali before all the dark spots had dissapeared from the coals. The result was the carbon monoxide poisoning death of this young girl.

 Our benevolent former minister of transportation, pictured above before, was kind enough to turn in his licence plates on his luxury SUV. However he did have a counterfit plate printed so that he could boogie around at will thus saving himself about 10000 euros over the last two years. All this till last week that is, when he was caught red handed and arrested. Check him out in the after caption below explaining to us how he just wanted to charge up the battery. No explanation for the counterfit plates though...

So in the aftermath of all this the government decided to reconnect all 350000 (three hundred and fifty thousand) households to the grid that had been disconnected thanx to that unconstitutional Haratsi tax. It will cost the rest of us a measly 50 cents a year to pay for the bill. It took one more death to change the tide. As for Liapis he is spending his x-mas with his favorite escorts in Singapore while staying in a five star hotel. I kid you not. At least every little kid in Greece will have electricity this x-mas.

http://ellinomangia.blogspot.gr/2011/11/haratsi.html

Oh and I would like to say that at least in this country the suffering of the poor is a direct result of the greed of the rich. They will never have enough. Also the suffering of anyone that comes into close contact with our former minister while he visits Singapore should also be factored in. In Greece if you are affluent we say that you have "chimney" ancestry. Liapis would be said to have been bred  from a political "chimney"... no maggali for him.

High rollers... Foondoolis-Capellonis

It would be unfair not to mention here that there are over 300000 (three hundred thousand) households without power in Greece today. It is a result of the Haratsi tax that was attached to our power utility bill. That combined with a hike in the cost of electricity and other taxes that are attached to that utility combined also with a fine for exceeding 2000 kwh in a four month period... many households owe in excess of a thousand euros to the power utility. Many families have reached a dead end. Consider that in the last two years families with an annual income of a measly 6000 euros where facing a tax bill of over one thousand euros. The cost of living in Greece is higher than most of the euro zone. Keeping a family in milk and bread alone costs in excess of 800 euros a year. Add to all this the one and half million unemployed and one can imagine that the country is on the brink of either a revolution or a civil war. Many desperate youths joined the Golden Dawn party. A party that openly proposed the violent oust of democracy and the rekindling of Nazi ideology with a full dose of hatred. All this Goebbles style propaganda culminated in the stabbing murder of Fyssas this past fall. What followed, nearly two months later, was a drive by shooting of anyone standing outside the Golden Dawn party offices in New Heraklion. Two youths payed the hatred with their lives and a third got away. Fast reflexes indeed. This shooting did more to change the political climate of polarization in Greece than anything else in the last six months. And I say six months because it has been that long since the government locked down our public tv. If you can't make sense of any of this I don't blame you. I will keep blogging but don't expect things to become less nebulous just by reading this blogg. 

An ironic application of the GD parties motto Blood Honor Golden Dawn.

Next installment will be on the closing of public tv last June and the 70th anniversary of the Kalavryta slaughter.

See also:  http://ellinomangia.blogspot.gr/2011/11/haratsi.html

alea jacta est - so long Killah P aka Paul Fyssas

To all my friends and family overseas I feel like I owe you an apology. It has been so long since the murder of  Paul Fyssas by a member of Golden Dawn that you would think I would have written sooner. The truth is that our present government has no qualms about taking things to an extreme end and we were all living in fear. All of my Greek friends who have moved here from abroad that is. For those who have never been outside the countries borders to live and be part of a different culture this did not strike a nerve. I feel that for Killah P, p is for past, he also may have felt dissapointment but most likely not fear even as the knife entered close to his heart ending his young life on a sidestreet in Athens. Fascists are everywhere these days in Europe and despite their "nationalistic" image have managed to hammer out a common agenda. In my previous post I describe how the core leaders of Golden Dawn ended up in jail after this sorry event. Below I publish the lyrics of the song that supposedly inspired the specific member of Golden Dawn to fataly stab this young man in the chest. I must also say here that if it was not for the outstanding courage of a young female officer who defied her superiors orders there would have never been an arrest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qUVGzyrUmgA

Έγινε ο κόσμος μια μεγάλη φυλακή                                  The world has become a huge jail
κι εγώ ψάχνω έναν τρόπο τα δεσμά να σπάσω,                  and I am searching for a way to break the chains,
έχω ένα μέρος που με περιμένει εκεί,                                I have a spot that is waiting for me there,
σε μια πολύ ψηλή κορφή πρέπει να φτάσω.                      at a very high peak that I must attain.

Γι αυτό απλώνω ξανά πολύ ψηλά                                    That is why once more my hands
        τα δυο μου χέρια,                                                         I reach out high 
για να κλέψω λίγο φως από                                            to steal a little twinkle from the stars
        τα λαμπερά αστέρια.                                                    that brightly shine.

Μου είπαν να μην κάνω όνειρα τρελά,                              They told me not to dream such wild dreams,
να μην τολμήσω να κοιτάξω τα αστέρια,                           avoid daring to stare up at the stars,
μα εγώ ποτέ μου δεν τους πήρα σοβαρά,                        but I never took their words to heed,
πήρα τον κόσμο ολόκληρο στα δυο μου χέρια.                 I took the world entirely into my two hands.

Δεν αντέχω εδώ κάτω και κοντεύει να με πνίξει                 I can't stand it down here and it has nearly drowned me

των ανθρώπων η μιζέρια τόσο, όσο κι η θλίψη.                 in human mizery but also human sadness.
Δεν αντέχω άλλο κι όλοι αυτοί δε μου ταιριάξαν,              I can't stand it anymore and I can't relate with them
πήρα τάλλο μονοπάτι κιόχι αυτό που μου χαράξαν.         I took another path not the one they carved out for me.

Εκτός ελέγχου, μοιάζει με επανάσταση που αρχίζει,       Out of control, it seems like a revolution started,
ο σκύλος λύσσαξε και άρχισε να βρίζει,                         the dog has gone rabid and begun to cuss,
το ποτήρι όμως έχει ήδη ξεχειλίσει                                 the glass however is already overflowing
το όνειρό μας έχει βρει την λύση...                                 our vision has found the answer...

Ήταν δύσβατο, σκληρό και με παγίδες πολλές,              It was unpassable, tough and with many trappings,
αγάπες σκάρτες και φίλοι φαρμακερές οχιές.                 rotten lovers and friends as poisonous as asps.
Είχε τέρατα με παράξενες στολές                                 It had monsters clad in strange uniforms
που παραμονεύαν πάντοτε κρυφά μες στις σκιές,           that lurked constantly hidden in the shadows,

Μην κοντοσταθείς αν πρόκειται ακολουθήσεις,               Do not stand still if you intend to follow
τα δόντια σφίξε γερά και μη δακρύσεις.                         clench your teeth and do not shed a tear.

Εγώ το πήγα και το έφτασα στο τέρμα                         I followed through to the very end
κι όπως γράφουν στα βιβλία οι παλιοί σοφοί,                and as the wise write in books of old,
όταν θα φτάσει ο ήλιος στο τελευταίο γέρμα,                when the sun has reached its final turn,
θα βάλουνε φωτιά από ψηλά οι αετοί.                          the eagles will set the fire from above.

Για όσους με πρόδωσαν με πίσω μαχαιριές                 To all of those who betrayed me with backstabbings 
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μην κλάψω.                          I want you to know I wont even weep.
Και για αυτές τις αγάπες τις παλιές                            And for those lovers from the past
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μην κλάψω.                           I want them to know I wont even weep.
Κι όσοι μ'απείλησαν με πύρινα δεσμά                          And to those who threatened with fiery restraints
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μη φοβηθώ.                           I want you to know I wont even wince.
Ναρθούνε να με βρουν στην κορυφή ψηλά,                   Come find me here on this high peak,
 τους περιμένω και σιγά μη φοβηθώ.                            I await thee and I wont even wince.          

Μου είπαν να μην κάνω όνειρα τρελά,                              They told me not to dream such wild dreams,
να μην τολμήσω να κοιτάξω τα αστέρια,                           avoid daring to stare up at the stars,
μα εγώ ποτέ μου δεν τους πήρα σοβαρά,                        but I never took their words to heed,
πήρα τον κόσμο ολόκληρο στα δυο μου χέρια.                 I took the world entirely into my two hands.

Θέλουν τώρα να μου φτιάξουν μια φωλιά,                        They want to set me on a lower perch,
που εκεί πάνω της το φόβο, την ασχήμια                         to place it upon the fear, the ugliness
κι ένα κλάμα γοερό και μια αλυσίδα βαριά,                    and a wailing cry and heavy chain,
κουβαλάει την κατάρατων θεών και τη βλασφήμια.          carrying the blaspheme and curse of the gods.

Δε θα δακρύσω μια και δε θα φοβηθώ.                          I will not weep a tear once nor will I wince in fear.
Δε θα αφήσω να μου κλέψουν τα όνειρά μου,                 I will not alow them to rob my dreams,
ελεύθερα, ψηλά, πολύ ψηλά πετώ                                Free, high, way on high I fly   
κι'όλοι ζηλεύουν τα περήφανα και αδέσμευτα                 and all envy my proud and unhindered wings.
 φτερά μου.

Και περιμένω κι'άλλα αδέρφια για να'ρθούν                    And I await more brothers to arrive
σ'αυτήν την κορυφή που όλους περιμένει,                       to this peak that awaits everybody
αρκεί να μη δακρύσουν και να μη φοβηθούν                   as long as they do not weep or wince  
σ'αυτήν την έξυπνη απάτη, την καλοστημένη.                 at this deceptive scam, this smooth con. 

Για όσους με πρόδωσαν με πίσω μαχαιριές                 To all of those who betrayed me with backstabbings 
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μην κλάψω.                          I want you to know I wont even weep.
Και για αυτές τις αγάπες τις παλιές                            And for those lovers from the past
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μην κλάψω.                           I want them to know I wont even weep.
Κι όσοι μ'απείλησαν με πύρινα δεσμά                          And to those who threatened with fiery restraints
 θέλω να ξέρουν ότι σιγά μη φοβηθώ.                           I want you to know I wont even wince.
Ναρθούνε να με βρουν στην κορυφή ψηλά,                   Come find me here on this high peak,
 τους περιμένω και σιγά μη φοβηθώ.                            I await thee and I wont even wince. 

http://www.madata.gr/epikairotita/social/300533.html

Έγινε ο κόσμος μια μεγάλη φυλακή
κι εγώ ψάχνω έναν τρόπο τα δεσμά να σπάσω.
Έχω ένα μέρος που με περιμένει εκεί,
σε μια πολύ ψηλή κορφή πρέπει να φτάσω.
Γι αυτό απλώνω ξανά πολύ ψηλά τα δυο μου χέρια,
για να κλέψω λίγο φως από τα λαμπερά αστέρια.
Δεν αντέχω εδώ κάτω και κοντεύει να με πνίξει
των ανθρώπων η μιζέρια τόσο, όσο κι η θλίψη.
Δεν αντέχω άλλο κι όλοι αυτοί δε μου ταιριάξαν,
πήρα τάλλο μονοπάτι κι όχι αυτό που μου χαράξαν.
Ήταν δύσβατο, σκληρό και με παγίδες πολλές,
αγάπες σκάρτες και φίλοι φαρμακερές οχιές.
Είχε τέρατα με παράξενες στολές
που παραμονεύαν πάντοτε κρυφά μεσ στις σκιές,
Μην κοντοσταθείς αν πρόκειται ακολουθήσεις,
τα δόντια σφίξε γερά και μη δακρύσεις.
Εγώ το πήγα και το έφτασα στο τέρμα
κι όπως γράφουν στα βιβλία οι παλιοί σοφοί,
όταν θα φτάσει ο ήλιος στο τελευταίο γέρμα,
θα βάλουνε φωτιά από ψηλά οι αετοί.Για όσους με πρόδωσαν με πίσω μαχαιριές θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μην κλάψω.
Και για αυτές τις αγάπες  τις παλιές θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μην κλάψω.
Κι όσοι μ απείλησαν με πύρινα δεσμά θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μη φοβηθώ.
Ναρθούνε να με βρουν στην κορυφή ψηλά, τους περιμένω και
σιγά μη φοβηθώ.Μου είπαν να μην κάνω όνειρα τρελά,
να μην τολμήσω να κοιτάξω τα αστέρια,
μα εγώ ποτέ μου δεν τους πήρα σοβαρά,
πήρα τον κόσμο ολόκληρο στα δυο μου χέρια.
Θέλουνε τώρα να μου φτιάξουν μια φωλιά,
που εκεί πάνω της το φόβο, την ασχήμια
κι ένα κλάμα γοερό και μια αλυσίδα βαριά,
κουβαλάει την κατάρα των θεών και τη βλασφήμια.
Δε θα δακρύσω μια και δε θα φοβηθώ.
Δε θα αφήσω να μου κλέψουν τα όνειρα μου,
ελεύθερα, ψηλά, πολύ ψηλά πετώ
κι όλοι ζηλεύουν τα περήφανα και αδέσμευτα φτερά μου.
Και περιμένω κι άλλα αδέρφια για να ρθουν
σ αυτήν την κορυφή που όλους περιμένει,
αρκεί να μη δακρύσουν και να μη φοβηθούν
σ αυτήν την έξυπνη απάτη, την καλοστημένη.Για όσους με πρόδωσαν με πίσω μαχαιριές θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μην κλάψω.
Και για αυτές τις αγάπες  τις παλιές θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μην κλάψω.
Κι όσοι μ απείλησαν με πύρινα δεσμά θέλω να ξέρουν ότι
σιγά μη φοβηθώ.
Ναρθούνε να με βρουν στην κορυφή ψηλά, τους περιμένω και
σιγά μη φοβηθώ.

Next instalment will be on the victims from the other side of the rainbow...

Golden Sunset

I have been blogging for a number of years now. I started with News from Zoos and later with Newsofthewired and now with Elinomangia. Until this last week I never felt fear for my wellbeing or that of my family. I have a very small following of readers and should feel safe in my anonymity. With the murder of Paul Fyssas last week came the feeling inside me that I should just take down this blogg and leave well enough alone. It seemed throughout the week that the members of Golden Dawn that carried out this stabbing murder would once again get away with it. And then out of the blue yesterday, Saturday, a day when the courts are at rest and the Attorney Generals office is closed, Democracy returned to this troubled land. The entire leadership of the GD party was arrested and carried off to jail before they could even plan their next move. Poor bloody Nazis, seems murdering a local rap singer wasn't such a good idea after all. The charges of establishing a criminal organization are the very same used to jail terrorists. Looks like they will be gone for twenty years. Six members of parliament so far and I suspect that more will follow. A development that goes beyond my wildest expectations as until last week the ruling conservatives were busy flirting with the GD party. Hoping for a possible coalition with the Nazis... now this, I wonder what comes next?

General Order number 1

General Order number 1 is non interference, General Wesley Clark however gives an interview where he admits US plans for the middle east while casting the blame elsewhere, "...came from above..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aL_KxtYZCRw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL_KxtYZCRw

The truth about the middle east and Syria is that petroleum is running out everywhere else. The other truth about the region is that religion offers an excellent point for leverage. Everytime there is turmoil in the area analysis eventualy boils down to differing Muslim factions and religious leaders along with their fanatic followers. There is an endless pool of victims of violence who would like to become perpetrators in turn. It is a simple process. Everytime that a car blows up the only victim that is not random is the suicide bomber, becoming one gives the individual this sense of control along with the distinction that seperates them from the crowd. Of course nobody would take their own life simply as a fashion statement so religious leaders offer spiritual incentive to commit the double sin of murder-suicide. The "higher cause" clause is good mental food for western military servants who also need a moral excuse or reasoning to start shooting or bombing at random in some far away country. Typically though once the fun begins there are many volunteers who will do any number of unspeakable acts just for the hell of it. Putting an end to terrorism is simply fodder for the public ear. I have a feeling that everyone in the military knows who's next and is simply biding their time.Trekkies know that intervention only leads to worse violence and hopefuly the Trekkies will rule the day with the non-interference prime directive. Gotta love those Vulcans.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive

Whose watching who?

Looking back not too long ago, when the foundations of the Alexander the great plan (http://ellinomangia.blogspot.gr/2011/10/alexander-great-plan-unmasked.html) where laid out, one can trace the causes of this crisis. It did not start out with debt at all but instead with the control of the central bank of Europe and the allotment of debt. We were told as Greeks that we had escaped the worst when the bubble burst back in 2008. Greek banks had not invested in "toxic" funds and derivatives. So as the financial world reeled under the weight of trillions in unpayable debts Greek as well as Cypriot banks seemed to have escaped the worst. What happened in the meantime to bring us into this unbelievable nightmarish circumstance? What laws and mechanisms have alowed the hardest hit nations of the last financial crisis, Germany, to escape relatively unscathed? They managed to use creative accounting to sweep their debt under the carpet while exposing the debt accumulated by smaller EU members. These smaller countries that where relatively debt free, appear to have surpassed their GDP in loans. It only makes sense when you take into account the lack of a national bank.
      So when exactly did the European Union enter this phase. Well it didn't exactly, not all of it anyways. Some countries opted to hold onto their national currencies and their national banks. The most prominent one being Great Britain. The former Cyprian currency, the Cyprian Lira or pound, enjoyed a healthy price as it was always closely tied to the British currency. It was actualy stronger than that. The Cyprians also signed onto the euro currency and became part of that majority of EU countries that share a common currency. At what price though? Well today the price is crystal clear as a country without an independent fiscal strategy or central bank is like a ship without a rudder. In this case it is more like a train rolling down a preset track. Our measly little politicians here in Athens got to gloat as they pointed out the price of the Cyprian governments resounding "NO" to the central European bailout plan. What they shouldn't forget is how much more they have agreed to sell out than the Cyprians have been forced to since their refusal. The thing is that all these countries, including Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and all other nations that boast the euro currency, have already agreed on Private Sector Involvement (PSI) and trimming of large depository private accounts. The law was ratified in Brussels two or three years ago by a majority of the European parliament. It is specific and all those who have read it did not lose a single cent in Cyprus or in Greece. It will come into full effect in 2015.Shocking eh!
     As for my title it is of course inspired by those wonderful Whos that live in Whosevile under the watchful eye of the Grinch. The Grinch has been watching this and other bloggs. He used to be mostly American and Russian but as I have been tracking my trackers as of this year, 2013, the Grinch is mostly German...

Cyprus and European instability

Certainly it comes as no suprize to me that the opening of banks in Cyprus did not lead to a panic. How could it anyways with all the restraining laws on withdrawals and transfers. As for writing a cheque well, it wont be honored in Cyprus. So the citizens of this island watch as forces much larger and way beyond their control play with their fate. After the unanimous rejection of the five to eight percent trim deal that the Eurogroup offered the talk was of a fifty to eighty percent trim on all deposits over 100000 euros. It is hard to guess what will happen. The fallout from this financial bust will be felt in ripples across the continent. Certainly the Cyprians where not the only people whose economy was based mostly on banking. There is Malta and Luxemberg who are also a part of the European Union. So this union has become uneven, undemocratic, economic only in its nature. There is still no real constitution or even a roadmap of what human rights and rights of the individual that this union would be willing to guarantee or at least protect for its member citizens. There are no borders to this union and no guarantee to its members of any kind for protection of their independence. What the union does offer, and this thanks to the Maastricht deal signed not so long ago, is the ability to plunder. Big members can plunder smaller ones without having to pay any kind of taxes, without any kind of hinderance that a national bank might offer. There is no way to resist this and I am not sure when the concentration of power and sovereignty to one member only will stop. The only sure thing is that if things continue this way Germany will once again become a superpower. Her influence on the lesser union nations already has reduced them to the status of satellite states.

Cyprus fulcrum...

Certainly it would be a feat of German engineering to balance east and west on a point. Question is will they be able to balance so many opposing interests in such a small amount of time. The last year has passed through the hourglass with little or no change to the status quo so why now? There is a big scuffle over the first six or so billion of funding needed to get Cyprus out of its present situation. If the Cyprians sign the deal then there will be no problem for an additional twenty or more billion euros. It is truly a cunundrum this German financial engineering that can shut down a country for nearly ten days now. No money, food and medicine shortages, you know, the stuff that is typicaly done to former colonies... there is a ring around the moon tonight, I wonder if it is a healing ring or not. Such a highly orchestrated inability to reach a deal on both sides. So many players and so much at risk in the eastern mediterranean. The little island where east meets west...

Cyprus says... no.

After a weekend barrage of scare tactics and lightly veiled threats by the Troika the Cypriot parliament settled in to vote for its salvation. Then a funny thing happened. Instead of this little pipsqueak nation ratifying the deal, like Greece and Portugal and Ireland and Spain, with the usual two thirds that the troika requires, Cyprus did something totaly unheard of. Its parliament voted a resounding no with not a single vote in favor. Not one member of any faction voted yes. Merkel and her merry band of thieves found their first bit of resistance. Sure they are very busy trying to convince the entire world that they have the only viable solution. Sure they insist that Europe can't keep funding little Cyprus. Sure they are dropping hints that all this Russian money in Cyprian banks is somehow illegal. Certainly they had no qualms about taxing it. They are ridiculous and at last someone has found the power to resist the beast. The bankers and that little clique of theirs can now, as the Greeks say, fart mentos (farting mint flavoured candy is a reference to a chill that passes through you). Shine on you crazy diamond...

The Cypriot Affair

This blogger is always looking for something interesting to write about. The news today is a real whopper. Seems that our global village has become so intertwined that nobody can do anything without disturbing someone elses slumber. After the exceedingly brave and humane stance taken by the EU bankers on a "bail-in" plan for the failing Cypriot banking system the fall out begins. Comments like "the Cypriot economy is too small to affect us" or "we do not need to bail you out" did alot to arouse public sentiment on that small island. The political leaders, just like back in the days of the "Internationalists", new how to play their game. Simply put everything on the playing board when you know you have a better hand. Now Soimble and Merkel and their merry gang have to back peddle and reword their previous comments. You simply can't ask a tax haven, similar to the Swiss model, to start taxing deposits. The Russian bear awakes and kicks out all foreign banks from her soil in reaction. Then Putin gives the go ahead for Gazprom to draft its own bail-out plan for Cyprus with hard cash in return for natural gas development rights. The ace up the sleeve? Cyprus has already signed with Israel for military protection of its exclusive economic zone. To re-cap last weeks events, European bankers and the IMF both refuse yo bail out little Cyprus. Cyprus agrees to a "bail-in" plan as prescribed by her European partners. The Cyprian political leaders insist on full participation even from small depositors. Russia reacts. Europe rescinds. Everyone waits to see. Germany can't survive without Gazprom gas. Will the house of Fugger finaly fall? Will there be a Lutherian reaction to this constant transfer of debt to the small guys with the inevitable suffering that it produces? We wait to see on this first day of Orthodox lent...

After-Before Kozani

What can I say about the latest piece of artistry and technological wizardry. It was just last week when we turned on our t.v. sets to see the results of a bank robbery gone sour. The faces of the arrested assailants were splattered all over the screen of our receivers as we gazed upon a brave new world. A world all too familiar where the state knows no bounds and no laws apply to it. A world where dissidents are marginalized and end up having no voice. An unfriendly polarized and violent world where in the flash of a moment years and years of lawmaking and earnest efforts at a moral and just society with deep democratic tradition and beliefs are shattered as a broken glass. These youths where no ordinary bank robbers of course but where in fact members of a hard left group with a long winded name. Their beating and the subsequent illegal publication of their photos are meant to send a message to others who would folow their example of armed struggle. I fear the opposite message has been sent. Determination is part of human nature and after a total of 3000 suicides over four years directly linked to this economic crisis the country is quickly turning into a powder keg. The fuse of violence is lit and now it is simply a matter of time. Will wiser men and calmer voices prevail? Here are some photos of the same robbers before the photoshop touch ups:

Greece attacks...

What can one say after two consecutive wekends of terrorist attacks in Athens. The first weekend we saw six small bombs placed in the residences of prominent members of the press and politicians. Last weekend just passed we had a bomb go off in one of our busiest malls, "Athens the mall". No victims so far. It was an expected consequence of two years of extreme tax hikes and wage reductions that have more than doubled our personal taxes and reduced our incomes in half, our real income by more than two thirds. This means that more and more people are being driven into the only tax bracket that pays no taxes. It is the zero income tax bracket but you will pay there too if you own your house up in that village where you are hiding. You simply wont pay income tax if you have no income. 26 percent unemployment and that does not include the long term unemployed, anyone more than two years without a job. Things are tough in this country and with an oligarchy that still refuses to cough up taxes and spends its time travelling and shopping abroad, with over 600 billion euros in untaxed money stashed abroad and with over a third of the population being driven to starvation and poverty I guess bomb attacks are on the agenda. Sure doesn't suprise me when the present government will not alow peaceful demonstrations by choosing the unrestrained use of tear gas and violence. It is too much to ask of one to shut up and cough up while the crooks of the past run off scott free. 

Right Lagarde Stick

                                                                                                                                      

This stick is designed to make you sweat! It is the Lagarde stick, a usb stick that Christine Lagarde gave to Greek tax authorites with a list of names of possible tax evaders. The list includes names of politicians as well as businessmen and journalists all with large bank accounts abroad. The usb stick ended up in the hands of the finance minister last year and a copy of it was later published by a journalist. A new copy of the stick was provided again and as it turns out the original had been tampered with and names of relatives of the then finance minister had been erased. How Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, became privy to information of individuals private bank accounts remains a mystery. Also the ability to investigate this list further and to uncover more names is questionable. Has this information been legally obtained and is the list complete or just a pot pouri of corrupt officials excluding some that are equaly guilty in order to serve some darker political purpose. What are the motives behind the sharing of this sensitive information. Why would Lagarde use this method to finger point specific members of the Greek parliament as well as the private sector. The ruckus that has been created in public life here has a clear purpose. It is dividing the country dangerously with an ever deepening rift. Will we be able to keep it together or will we end up seeing the first signs of civil war? Civil unrest is part of everyday life but has been considerably thwarted by the desperation created in our daily struggle to survive. The little guy has little chance in the present state of affairs to either survive, protest or even complain.  

Souleiman says...

It is sometimes so difficult to cut through all this sky that is put before us in order to see the truth... It has been a long twelve months of machinations to create a hard right body tank of mindless automatoms willing to do the dirty work of the system for the system. There is now the possibility in Greece of that type of intervention that in Latin America was named paramilitary. If you were pondering why Greeks do not react to the tough measures and unfair policies that are enacted against them herein lies the answer. Everyday we are bombarded with Turkish soap operas on prime time television. Before the news, or directly after, the privately owned channels will air some imported soap opera or another. These are expensive productions complete with palaces and splendor for Souleiman the magnificent or family estates and expensive cars and yachts for the series that are set in modern Turkey. The sets are overwhelming and remind one of  "Dallas" the series that had so negatively affected Greeks back in the eighties. One of the big driving forces for the selling out of traditional values and the onslaught of capitalism and corruption in the nineties was to achieve the "Dallas" lifestyle. To be like Alexis... The toughest part to stomach though is that all these Turkish soap operas are in Turkish with Greek subtitles! It is amazing what a little Troika can do...
ps. Happy New Year everybody and all the best for 2013!