Greece on Survivor mode - support your caste.

With the advent of the television reality show Survivor people in Greece have lost interest in politics and found a new distraction. A distraction from what though? Why would anyone prefer watching two teams compete for food in what is probably the most inhumane reality show ever? The answers to these questions and more probably lie in the Greek media culture and its imposed caste system on our culture. Thus the two teams competing on the show are the "famous" vs. the "fighters" (note: titles mention famous players by their first and last names while the not so famous fighters are mentioned by first name only).

In what is a seemingly unrelated event almost a month before Survivor went on the air a spectacular accident caught on camera. Certainly a shocking crash and one that is in regular motion. According to early reports here in Greece the culprit was a tire blow out that sent the Porsche reeling off the highway and into the public toilets. Also there was an attempt to blame the ill design of the toilets, bad highway maintenance, road conditions, anything but the driver. The press would have stuck to their story too if it wasn't for public outrage on the internet. People seemed to think that speed and the driver's negligence had something to do with the accident and were very vocal and abusive towards the press. So after airing the 5 or so seconds of impact consecutively 100 times or more, the idea that excessive speed may have been the culprit surfaced in the news. Reporters were very careful not to lay blame on the driver but did mention that after 100 feet of skidding the car entered the pull off at a speed in excess of 180 km/hour (estimators put it at 280km/h). At this point, a couple hours after the accident happened, they also mentioned the name and identity of the driver. The unlucky man was the young son of the owner of Jumbo, the largest toy store chain in Greece. Media was trying to protect and stay loyal to their biggest advertising customer.

Jumbo's advertising campaign for summer may include this spot complete with a sexy "accident". Yes a little slip of the pillow and maybe some flesh will be exposed. You may think this is a tacky and tasteless ad for a company to run but these are mere details in the face of profits. Going back to the first accident you will notice in the video that there is a car parked at the toilet stalls that is obliterated during the accident. A man exits the toilets to see his vehicle in flames. His family (wife and three year old child) perished at impact. Seems that everything is ok now and we may see an ad with the lighter side of "accident". This is just one more symptom of the apathy that is growing amongst some circles in our little country. It is also what happens when you allow the press to play the role of a moral guide and advisor. Like mixing Brahmins with Pariahs all consideration for the truth and morality is lost in an attempt to guide and manhandle public opinion.

Listening to the news on private television one gets the impression that Greece has slipped into third world status. Looking at the numbers on ELSTAT, the official Greek statistic service, things are bleak but have leveled off and are now improving. Unemployment is still hovering above 20% and poverty is also at the same high level. Child poverty for the month of March, according to the news, is touching 45%. Greece is very much a country in crisis. The new year has brought in more taxes and most households are now bankrupt, the country has been bankrupt since 2010. Officially we are in bailout mode but the reality is we are in Survivor mode. Eight long years of this fake economic crisis have left us penniless (centless) and senseless. Antonyms for famous include: common, contemptible, inferior, ineffective, regular, obscure, normal, insignificant, weak, stupid, unimportant, unimpressive, usual, unremarkable, little, powerless, and bad. The famous are members of the tv culture whereas the fighters, their antithesis, are picked from amongst all of us, the supposed antonym of famous. I think the show will end up proving the opposite; it is the common man or woman that shines like a diamond. It is the "upper" caste that is the true Pariah. Calling yourself "famous" doesn't make you better.


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Imagine Obama.

Imagine if Obama had been as aggressive on delivering his promises as Trump is. Imagine him passing executive orders one after the other to challenge the rotten, ineffective and unfair system that had evolved. Certainly no man can live up to all his promises but to fail and fall this short of the mark is rare indeed.
 

Just take a look at lobby groups. Obama was the first president to be elected without relying on them for funding. Does anyone even remember that now that Trump is the second to be self and crowd funded. No five dollar button here, anyone can express their support to Trump at anytime in large amounts and without the trouble of hiring a lobbyist. Imagine if Obama had rid Capitol Hill of all these special interest groups who enjoy such close ranks with power. Imagine him giving glowing speeches about Republicans who wrap themselves in the flag while burning down their own country. "Fake patriotism" he'd call it and then would tear through their ugly party history.

Imagine a decree or executive order suspending the operating licence of any hospital that turns away patients that are in labor or bleeding to death. Wow, that would be better than "obamacare", with a name like that nobody else will support it. Canada is so close by; he should have used that example. He needed to give direction on medicare as humanitarian and totally necessary.

Imagine an executive order suspending entire police stations while investigating trigger happy cops who shoot unarmed minors, or break their backs, or kill them with their bare hands. For any number of violent cop crimes that are now investigated under the watchful eyes of the local chief of police. Cooperation it is called.

Imagine the Arab Spring having been seen as the opportunity to democratize and bring the Arab world up to date. A chance for Muslims to truly blossom and develop worldwide. Instead it has been seen as an opportunity to rape and divide further the Arab world. There is no denying that the ongoing wars in all the former Soviet aligned Arab nations is anything less than the neoliberal achievement of Clinton and Merkel. Just follow the money and weapons trail to the Saudis and back. Almost forgot, follow the cheap ISIS crude trail to German interests as well.

The democrats are going to pick really loud politicians to lead the "fight" against Trump but I mostly suspect that it is a wall of smoke. Backroom deals, old boys and golden boys clubs, business as usual, that is the order of the day. How else will Democrats, politicians that is, preserve the butter on their bread? Don't despair though; we may still see a woman in the White House.