Will a breath of fresh air sweep through Greece on Sunday - and upset the EU applecart?

[Magda Hassan]

Oh, fuck it. I'm disappointed already. KKE were right. As usual.

[Peter Lemkin]

Strange bedfellows, that...... Ah, politics is usually done with the lights off....::doh:: So, is it correct to assume that the ONLY point on which they agree on is not liking the austerity matters dictated by the EU and banks? This coalition should last weeks, if that..... If it lasts longer, then the 'far left' is not left and not far, methinks. ::

[David Guyatt]

Curious timing isn't this?

Greek F16 fighter crashed in Spanish exercise killing 10 French and Greek nationals and injuring a further 21.

[Magda Hassan]

Yes. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard about it. Curious that it happened in Spain too which will probably be the next country to break free of the banks with Podemos. They should both break free of NATO as well though.

[Magda Hassan]

Apart from the incredibly poor choice of coalition partner, and I will be watching that, things are going well. Symbolic but Tsipras' first duty as new Prime Minister was to go to the war memorial in Kaisariani and lay roses to the memory of the Greek resistance fighters that were shot there by the German Nazis. Today they reinstated the cleaning ladies. Looks like they will double or more the VAT on the all inclusive resorts. I like the new Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who has branded the EU a fundamentally anti-democratic, irrational cartel that has put Europe's peoples on a path to misanthropy, conflict and permanent recession'. Can't argue with that. The EU and banking poobahs hate him already so he can't be all bad.

Cleaning ladies first winners in new anti-austerity Greece

© AFP / by Sophie Makris, Alvaro Villalobos | Sacked cleaning staff chant slogans outside the finance ministry in Athens on January 28, 2015 ATHENS (AFP) - The reinstatement of the cleaning ladies at Greece's finance ministry was perhaps the most symbolic measure announced by the new anti-austerity government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday.
In news greeted with tears, the women were told they could return to their jobs that were cut in September 2013, as the radical new government began rolling back money-saving measures.
"We've got justice. We were nothing more than mere numbers for the troika but we showed courage and determination," said one of the women, Katerina Kapodistria, employing the terms Greeks use for its creditors the IMF, EU and the European Central Bank.
The protest by what was originally 600 cleaning ladies became one of the emblems of the austerity years in Greece, as they camped outside the ministry in central Athens during burning summer days and chilly winter evenings, their mops and buckets visible for all to see.
Several times they clashed with security forces as discontent spilled over into violence on the streets.
The women's cause struck a chord with the Greek public and it has even been reported that left-wing British director Ken Loach has contacted them about turning their epic struggle into a film.
The radical Syriza party made the women one of its cause celebres -- and on Wednesday, after being swept into government in place of the unpopular conservatives of New Democracy, it kept its promise to put the women back to work.
They celebrated the news under their scruffy improvised shelter adorned with a portrait of Cuban resistance leader Che Guevara.
"History is written through disobedience," shouted one of the women through a megaphone.
Yanis Varoufakis, the media-friendly new finance minister who characteristically took office dressed in a casual blue open-necked shirt, said it would be simple to find the money to pay their wages.

"One of our first moves will be an immediate and spectacular reduction in the expenditure of the ministry which will allow the cleaning ladies to have their jobs back," he said.
Only 300 of the women will be re-employed -- the others have either found other work or retired.

"Under the new government we expected a better life for the poorest," said Lilly Giannaki.
"We also expect the young to have a better future. So many of them have moved abroad. We hope things will now improve for everyone in our situation," said Hara Petsiou.
When Varoufakis strolled into the ministry for the first time, rucksack on his back, he was cheered by the cleaning ladies. For the first time for a long time, the police were nowhere to be seen.
http://www.france24.com/en/20150128-clea...ity-greece

[Magda Hassan]

Alexis Tsipras "Open Letter" to German Citizens Regarding Extend-and-Pretend Unserviceable Debt

The background to this story is SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras' "Open Letter" to German Citizens, published on Jan.13 in Handelsblatt, a leading German language business newspaper.

Alexis Tsipras, now prime minister of Greece, sent this letter to Handelsblatt:

Most of you, dear Handesblatt readers, will have formed a preconception of what this article is about before you actually read it. I am imploring you not to succumb to such preconceptions. Prejudice was never a good guide, especially during periods when an economic crisis reinforces stereotypes and breeds bigotry, nationalism, even violence.

In 2010, the Greek state ceased to be able to service its debt. Unfortunately, European officials decided to pretend that this problem could be overcome by means of the largest loan in history on condition of fiscal austerity that would, with mathematical precision, shrink the national income from which both new and old loans must be paid. An insolvency problem was thus dealt with as if it were a case of illiquidity.

In other words, Europe adopted the tactics of the least reputable bankers who refuse to acknowledge bad loans, preferring to grant new ones to the insolvent entity so as to pretend that the original loan is performing while extending the bankruptcy into the future. Nothing more than common sense was required to see that the application of the 'extend and pretend' tactic would lead my country to a tragic state. That instead of Greece's stabilization, Europe was creating the circumstances for a self-reinforcing crisis that undermines the foundations of Europe itself.

My party, and I personally, disagreed fiercely with the May 2010 loan agreement not because you, the citizens of Germany, did not give us enough money but because you gave us much, much more than you should have and our government accepted far, far more than it had a right to. Money that would, in any case, neither help the people of Greece (as it was being thrown into the black hole of an unsustainable debt) nor prevent the ballooning of Greek government debt, at great expense to the Greek and German taxpayer.

Indeed, even before a full year had gone by, from 2011 onwards, our predictions were confirmed. The combination of gigantic new loans and stringent government spending cuts that depressed incomes not only failed to rein the debt in but, also, punished the weakest of citizens turning people who had hitherto been living a measured, modest life into paupers and beggars, denying them above all else their dignity. The collapse of incomes pushed thousands of firms into bankruptcy boosting the oligopolistic power of surviving large firms. Thus, prices have been falling but more slowly than wages and salaries, pushing down overall demand for goods and services and crushing nominal incomes while debts continue their inexorable rise. In this setting, the deficit of hope accelerated uncontrollably and, before we knew it, the 'serpent's egg' hatched the result being neo-Nazis patrolling our neighbourhoods, spreading their message of hatred.

Despite the evident failure of the 'extend and pretend' logic, it is still being implemented to this day. The second Greek 'bailout', enacted in the Spring of 2012, added another huge loan on the weakened shoulders of the Greek taxpayers, "haircut" our social security funds, and financed a ruthless new cleptocracy.

Respected commentators have been referring of recent to Greece's stabilization, even of signs of growth. Alas, 'Greek-recovery' is but a mirage which we must put to rest as soon as possible. The recent modest rise of real GDP, to the tune of 0.7%, signals not the end of recession (as has been proclaimed) but, rather, its continuation. Think about it: The same official sources report, for the same quarter, an inflation rate of -1.80%, i.e. deflation. Which means that the 0.7% rise in real GDP was due to a negative growth rate of nominal GDP! In other words, all that happened is that prices declined faster than nominal national income. Not exactly a cause for proclaiming the end of six years of recession!

Allow me to submit to you that this sorry attempt to recruit a new version of 'Greek statistics', in order to declare the ongoing Greek crisis over, is an insult to all Europeans who, at long last, deserve the truth about Greece and about Europe. So, let me be frank: Greece's debt is currently unsustainable and will never be serviced, especially while Greece is being subjected to continuous fiscal waterboarding. The insistence in these dead-end policies, and in the denial of simple arithmetic, costs the German taxpayer dearly while, at once, condemning to a proud European nation to permanent indignity. What is even worse: In this manner, before long the Germans turn against the Greeks, the Greeks against the Germans and, unsurprisingly, the European Ideal suffers catastrophic losses.

Germany, and in particular the hard-working German workers, have nothing to fear from a SYRIZA victory. The opposite holds. Our task is not to confront our partners. It is not to secure larger loans or, equivalently, the right to higher deficits. Our target is, rather, the country's stabilization, balanced budgets and, of course, the end of the grand squeeze of the weaker Greek taxpayers in the context of a loan agreement that is simply unenforceable. We are committed to end 'extend and pretend' logic not against German citizens but with a view to the mutual advantages for all Europeans.

Dear readers, I understand that, behind your 'demand' that our government fulfills all of its 'contractual obligations' hides the fear that, if you let us Greeks some breathing space, we shall return to our bad, old ways. I acknowledge this anxiety. However, let me say that it was not SYRIZA that incubated the cleptocracy which today pretends to strive for 'reforms', as long as these 'reforms' do not affect their ill-gotten privileges. We are ready and willing to introduce major reforms for which we are now seeking a mandate to implement from the Greek electorate, naturally in collaboration with our European partners.

Our task is to bring about a European New Deal within which our people can breathe, create and live in dignity.

A great opportunity for Europe is about to be born in Greece on 25th January. An opportunity Europe can ill afford to miss.

[Lauren Johnson]

Call up the economic hitmen, the jackals, and a big load of terror. The voters will turn on this government once things go to hell. Sorry. I can't imagine how this thing will last.

EDIT: Greece votes for sanctions against Russia.

[Magda Hassan]

Call up the economic hitmen, the jackals, and a big load of terror. The voters will turn on this government once things go to hell. Sorry. I can't imagine how this thing will last.

EDIT: Greece votes for sanctions against Russia.

::face.palm:: Oy vey.

I need to check this more closely because yesterday the finance minister and Tsipras were both complaining that the EU had just taken their vote on sanctions for granted. There was no vote. The EU did not even ask.So is this after or before the 'no vote'? His Tsipras' statements on Ukraine would indicate that he is opposed to the sanctions against Russia. Also who ever is in the EU votong for Greece could be from the previous government and not yet replaced with Syriza's person. The outgoing government seems to be having a hissy fit as they didn't leave the new government anything. No wifi password. No soap or toilet paper. No computers or modems. It all went with them when they shut the door on their way out.

As for what you say Lauren I agree. The economic hit men and jackals are on their way. I also noted that already 'they' are now saying Greece has become a hub for terrorists. http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/01/27/an...errorists/

[Lauren Johnson]

Here is more from the Saker website: The Limits on What Can Be Expected From the SYRIZA Government

The above analysis of the politics of SYRIZA and its government does not say anything that is untrue, but it leaves out of account a number of points that are relevant in estimating the political potential of the new Greek government.

For a start, SYRIZA does not touch on any taboo "conspiracy theory" issues, such as 911 and/or the militarization of climate. They have systematically and resolutely refused to engage any of them. They line up with the side of the climate debate that attributes all anomalous "natural" phenomena to "global warming" (of course the other side of that debate is also manipulated).

On Ukraine and Russia there are also limitations to what they can say or do. The senior member of SYRIZA most committed to policies not hostile to Russia, Nadia Valavani, who was foreign policy spokesperson before the election, has now been assigned to economic issues.

Giulietto Chiesa, the journalist and former Europarliamentarian who, I would say, has a "Vineyard of Saker" political orientation http://main.cse-initiative.eu/?p=242 , tried to work with SYRIZA in Greece and its equivalent in Italy but has been, and is, treated like a persona non grata by them. I don't think there is anything personal about this. It is a reflection of political differences.

SYRIZA has continued the traditional Greek "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" orientation towards the Kurds, which in the new post-ISIS geopolitical environment involves a convenient alignment with American and international policies of border changes at the expense of Turkey. Greek and Turkish geopolitical interest are arguably converging, with the two countries having more potential common interests than diverging interests. Of course this is a complex issue but categories of "left wing" and "right wing", while not entirely irrelevant, also probably do not have as much importance as is attributed to them by SYRIZA.

On the subject of "empowerment of citizens' participation", SYRIZA's declared politics deserve more rigorous thought than they are getting. "Citizens' participation" in a context of corporate mass media control is no guarantee of politics that are in the objective interests of citizens. It can be a Trojan horse facilitating imposition of policies by foreign-controlled NGOs. Possible first steps towards dealing with this problem have been put forward and discussed to a very limited extent https://epamaegina.wordpress.com/2012/04...-assembly/ but the discussion has not acquired any traction within SYRIZA. SYRIZA's policies in this area are as vague as they are in other parliamentary parties.

[Magda Hassan]

Here is more from the Saker website: The Limits on What Can Be Expected From the SYRIZA Government

The above analysis of the politics of SYRIZA and its government does not say anything that is untrue, but it leaves out of account a number of points that are relevant in estimating the political potential of the new Greek government.

It makes me laugh when I hear the media describe Syriza as 'extreme' left or hard left. Syriza is firmly in the capitalist camp. That is why KKE wont be in a coalition with them. The fact that media talking heads are describing them thus with a straight face only goes to show how far to the extreme right the public debate has been shifted over the years. Just that they are not of the neo-con reactionaries seems to permit them to be called extreme left. They are not going to abolish the banks and shoot the class traitors. They might make some people pay more tax and get away with less highway robbery but not much more. Apparently that is terrifying enough.