End Days

The Jinx guide to survival in the New Age of Fascism states it clearly, always be a member of the majority. That is simply the way fascism works. There is no tolerance for small splinter groups or minorities. You can get away with anything if you are a member of a strong majority, however if you are a member of a visible minority you will be victimized. Do not blame members of Golden Dawn for their actions. It is perfectly logical for them to destroy somebodies livelihood simply because they are not Greek. Worse things will folow. As a political party with 18 MPs they also enjoy clout and power and money. It is the noisy revolution of the 40 to 50 year old man and he is violent and powerless. As a party they have been gaining in the polls and may end up as a big player in the next parliament. As a group they are forceful, efficient, well organized. As individuals they are weak and without convictions or morals. In short they are extremely dangerous and due to this economic crisis a big chunk of the public supports them. The Jinx guide to survival in the New Age of Fascism states it clearly, scared individuals comprise the brave new world, proceed with extreme caution...

Mr. Mihaloliakos picured here is party president of Golden Dawn...Jinx!

Catch 22

Here we are entering the fall political season. People don't usualy see it this way but along with the new tv series and back to school specials another season opens for politicians. Every fall there is new political discussions and activity that always pushes the limits of us working folks. Then by late November our politicians feel comfortable enough to hammer out a new budget. Typically it will include things like cuts to medicare or pensions or wages and increases to things like sales tax or income tax or housing tax. There will also be little handouts to sugar the pill like a small increase to family allowance or the rent deductible. The discussions starts now in September just before Parliament opens. Prominent politicians and party leaders start giving interviews to the radio or the press to test their party line and reasoning. By mid October, the month with the most stock market crashes, everybody has drawn their lines and the trenches start appearing. In Greece this is no exaggeration. By the time December rolls up we will be into general strikes and lock downs. Somebody has to cough up 11.5 billion euros and the poor simply can't afford to pay any more. Most people are umemployed and lack the ability to pay for anything let alone new taxes. Those who still have a job have seen their incomes slashed in half while daily expenses have doubled. Striking is a big risk as there are hordes of people waiting to take your place. Doing nothing means accepting your annhilation. The rich refuse to pay for anything and consider themselves to be above the law. For years they have been covering each others back to the point that there are now over fifty thousand Greeks with deposits of over twenty billion euros in Switzerland. This is all money that has never been taxed or reported to the Greek revenue service and does not include investments in real estate and stocks along with the untaxable offshores. We are looking into a black hole for the Greek government of what must be nearly one hundred billion euros that have been extracted illegaly from the Greek economy over the last ten years. It makes sense too as we always knew that about thirty percent of our economy was "black" and now that the crunch is on politicians are starting to legislate with this money in mind. For years the paraeconomy was allowed to flourich. It was even nourished by crooked politicians on the take in a relationship that is called "customer government". The only way out of our present crisis is the abolishment of this parallel universe with its free for all logic and antisocial morality. How will its very founders who inspired it now demolish it is still to be seen. I think it is very unlikely but in this country the alternative is unthinkable. We all wait to see...

Haratsi part two... full stop

Yes sirree the captain has gone mad and pushed the control lever to full stop! That is what is about to happen to the Greek economy when the new series of across the board taxes come into effect. Our fearless Prime Minister, Andonis Samaras, promises that these will be the last painful measures and that better days are ahead. Hard to believe that stopping an economy cold will help solve any problems. The three ruling parties have spent the summer setting up a series of new laws that will go a long way to scuttling the nation's economy. They have also legislated away any of their own personal responsibility not only in the present but also in the past. Shaddy deals with big companies (the Siemens scandal), questionable real estate swaps (the Vatopedi scandal), shameful arms deals (the German listing submarine) along with an endless list of banking deals and pension plan hedging and trimming are all crimes not to be punished or investigated. The coalition government enjoys a full two thirds of parliamentary support and can do just about anything. Not one protest  or strike to resist these measures all summer long. Could it be the calm before the storm? If so then we are in for a very rough ride as a still ship is no better than a sitting duck...

Choke

To blog or not to blog, that is the modern day question. Should one get their news and information through official channels or through a more personal medium. Is it better to suffer the consequences of propaganda and missinformation or does one need a clearer view on the world. Most people are too busy with their lives to care. We live in a system that loads up the individual with responsibilities, expectations and of course all the time feeding the ego and serving us fear. Most people are nut cases suffering either from extreme neurosis or paranoia or some bipolar combination of hot and cold emotions. Every year newer and "better" consumer products along with myriad other diversions steer people clear of what they realy need in life. In the end the "succesful" ones are detached, lonely, scared and sometimes loveless individuals. In order to reach the upper echelons of this society an individual most sacrifice almost everything that they hold dear. Hollywood calls this "coming of age", a view of maturity that is so bent as to consider anything pure and unspoiled as childish. Even Satan would have a hard time coming up with such a brilliant con. How can people who have become so detached from their own emotions find their path again, how can they come back into communion and avoid the end that is reserved for despots and dictators? Relaxation I think is the key. Stepping away from assumptions and illusions to make room for a more elevated experience. After all is it really worth having an 8 billion euro surplus after having caused over 2000 suicides in a poorer and weaker nation? Is it realy that important to maintain uneven trade balances and play the bookee with an entire nation? It is all irrelevant and non-permanent so why interrupt the natural flow of things? This blogger has not the answers...

Hydra tax revolt

Turns out it wasn't a tax revolt at all just some locals reacting to the arrest of a restaurant owner. They did cut the power to the local police station and the riot police was sent as a show of force. It is all quite ridiculous realy. What is not so ridiculous is the racist inspired beatings that have been taking place. It all got out of hand after a Pakistani national raped and beat a young Greek girl on the island of Paros. The media in its infinite wisdom focused on this case and on its perpetrator. Stories in the news would go over the evidence and many times refer to the accused as already guilty. A nasty habit of the press here when one can't afford a good lawyer. A bank robbery folowed on the same island where a man was killed while trying to interfere with the robber's escape. Then some poor Irani national was murdered by six or eight bikers in Athens. A few other immigrants where beaten rather baddly as well in unrelated incidents. Then we find out the bank robbers are Greek and not "coloured" as some people where suggesting. Members of an obscure group of terrorists. Poverty, violence, Fear-long live the Troika and welcome to the west Greece.

Western dawn...

All kinds of news has transpired since the last time I wrote this blogg.

The Olympics came to a rather uneventful close with a closing ceremony that will live in infamy!

Personaly I would have preferred a closing ceremony with a huge British Bulldog float and Pink Floyd playing a selection from the final cut.I have been too busy to write any entries in my blog.Many will be glad to hear that I am silent these days.I didn't mention any of the many screw ups at the London Olympics.It would be petty to do so.I have also left all kinds of events with the IMF go without comment. Corrupt and indited officials and all kinds of dirty deals. Big news corporations that have vested interests in IMF shady deals that distort the news, wink, wink. It is time we got a grip on events.I mean a real good grip on reality and how IMF policy is bad for the economy, life expectancy and the heart.We need to open new boundaries in the relations of man and to finaly break free from the politics of greed that have enslaved us as people and marred our lives with wars and violence.Let us take a closer analytical look at our problems and possible solutions. Just because we live in the wealthy west does not always mean that we know better. After all necessity is the mother of invention and here are just some examples of how people in the good ol' USA have lived up to that motto. Here are also some examples of why not to use plastic as a part of a cars interior. Next installment I will delve a little into the dawn of violence in Greek society and its many repercussions. It is a Golden Dawn indeed. Oh and a little footnote for high treason as well. It is the only crime that can not be erased through legislation...

Olympic Opening Ceremony....

In a sense, the Olympic Games are coming home tonight. This great, sports-loving country is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern sport. It was here that the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play were first codified into clear rules and regulations. It was here that sport was included as an educational tool in the school curriculum. The British approach to sport had a profound influence on Pierre de Coubertin, our founder, as he developed the framework for the modern Olympic Movement at the close of the 19th century.

You gotta love a good Olympics opening ceremony with lots of high-tech gadgetry and Saturday night romance. I realy enjoyed watching the young coloured couple making out after the boy saves the girl's cell phone. I like the way he phones her on her cell phone that he has found and she answers! I could never have come up with that kind of miraculous continuity. "Hi I'm phoning you from the mobile you just dropped" and the girl answers on her second mobile? "where shall we meet?". The huge house that is also an array of tv screens with hordes of nintendo playing kids was also a treat. So was mr. Bean playing Vangelis and that soccer player driving a high speed boat. Many references to social media also brightened my outlook on the future. The music was great and I would of enjoyed more Culture Club, Flock of Seaguls, and other late eighties classics. Certainly a dissapointment that Stairway to Heaven was left out. British rock is great. Oh and they should have had a bulldog somewhere in there. Out of all this elevated and highly self aware stuff I think my favorite moment was the opening speech of monsieur Jacque Rogge... the olympics finaly return home after that terrible stay in Beijing and Athens before that. We shouldn't allow barbarians to play with the Olympic flame...