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!