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!

gsis help us...

It is no joke and by no means a wordgame of my invention. It is the portal of the Greek taxation system through wich we apply for all kinds of government programs and subsidies. It is in the news all the time, to apply for exemption from the new property tax or to apply for a partial return on heating oil tax we do not go to the "taxisnet" portal but simply type gsis in our search engines instead. So I say Gsis help us with our tax exemptions before the troika and the IMF take away our food, our homes, our lives. As for all you born again freaks who may think this is some kind of end day other Jesus prophecy being fulfilled I say to you that my eternal soul belongs only to me and is not a commodity that can be traded. My life though I am worried about.
ps. gsis- general secretary of information - again not a play on words on my behalf or a reference to the ministry of information from the movie BRAZIL. One thing is for sure, since banks started running the world the only people that get any government handouts are the ones that can prove they don't need it. Just like a bank loan eh!