«Είμαι συνδικαλιστής, παρκάρω όπου γουστάρω»

Του Πάσχου Μανδραβέλη

Μια ιστορία για κλάματα έξω από τα γραφεία της ΔΑΚΕ στη Ρηγίλλης.

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Είναι παλαιόθεν γνωστό ότι σ’ αυτή τη χώρα «νόμος είναι το δίκιο του συνδικαλιστή». Αυτοί δεν ορίζουν μόνο αν θα πουληθεί η ΔΕΗ («Οχι δεν πουλάμε» είναι το σύνθημά τους), δεν έχουν μόνο λόγο στη δημοσιονομική πολιτική («Οχι δεν βγάζουμε λογαριασμούς» είναι το καινούργιο τροπάρι του κ. Φωτόπουλου). Τους έχει παρασχεθεί το δικαίωμα να κλείνουν τους κεντρικούς δρόμους των πόλεων όποτε κάνουν κέφι, και πολλές θέσεις πάρκινγκ στα γραφεία των συνδικαλιστικών τους οργανώσεων.

German Minister Says Greek Deal May Need Changes

The Wall Street Journal

By GEOFFREY T. SMITH

WASHINGTON—Greece's creditors may need to revise the terms of the July 21 agreement on an additional aid package for the country, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Friday.

"It would surprise me if the conditions for a disbursement of the next tranche of aid in September had changed, but not if the conditions for an additional program had changed," Mr. Schäuble said at a press briefing on the sidelines of a series of international meetings.

The Social Contract

By PAUL KRUGMAN

The New York Times

This week President Obama said the obvious: that wealthy Americans, many of whom pay remarkably little in taxes, should bear part of the cost of reducing the long-run budget deficit. And Republicans like Representative Paul Ryan responded with shrieks of “class warfare.” It was, of course, nothing of the sort. On the contrary, it’s people like Mr. Ryan, who want to exempt the very rich from bearing any of the burden of making our finances sustainable, who are waging class war.

Greek Bond Exchange Has Surprise Upside

The Wall Street Journal

In the continuing drama over whether Greece will get the next slice of rescue funds from its official creditors, another critical financial test has been temporarily forgotten: the country's plan to exchange old government bonds for new. As Greece's disputes with its lenders have intensified, the bond exchange has looked a better and better deal for investors.

STRATFOR προς Τουρκία: «Όχι και τόσο κακή ιδέα ένα ελληνικό πλήγμα»!

ΑΠό το site Defence-point.gr

http://www.defence-point.gr/news/?p=20381

Τεράστια αίσθηση προκαλεί ανάλυση του γνωστού αμερικανικού think tank «Strategic Forecasting» (STRATFOR) αφού προβαίνει σε προειδοποιήσεις προς την Άγκυρα ότι ο δρόμος που έχει πάρει στην υπόθεση των υδρογονανθράκων στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο είναι ολισθηρός…

Του Μιχαήλ Βασιλείου

(Συνεργάτης του περιοδικού ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩΤΙΚΗ ΙΣΟΡΡΟΠΙΑ & ΓΕΩΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ)

Η προειδοποίηση έχει διπλή σημασία εάν αναλογιστεί κανείς ότι η αίσθηση που επικρατεί είναι ότι το συγκεκριμένο ίδρυμα θα μπορούσε μάλλον να χαρακτηριστεί ως φιλοτουρκικό, με τον ιδρυτή του Δρ. Τζορτζ Φρίντμαν (εβραϊκού θρησκεύματος με οικογένεια προερχόμενη από την κεντρική

Τουρκική επιχείρηση διάσπασης του «άξονα» Ελλάδα-Κύπρος-Ισραήλ

Από το site Defence-Point.gr

http://www.defence-point.gr/news/?p=20439

Η Τουρκία δεν πρόκειται να λάβει κάποια στρατιωτικής φύσεως μέτρα «ακόμα» (δηλαδή μέχρι τώρα τι κάνει ο στόλος της στο Καστελόριζο;) ανέφερε ο Ρετζέπ Ταγίπ Ερντογάν από την Νέα Υόρκη. Ο Τούρκος πρωθυπουργός προέβη στην μεγάθυμη λεκτική παραχώρηση να μην προβεί σε στρατιωτικές ενέργειες (εναντίον… ποίου άραγε) αναφορικά με την έναρξη των ερευνητικών γεωτρήσεων στο Οικόπεδο 12 της Κύπρου. Ο Ρ. Τ. Ερντογάν αφού χαρακτήρισε ως «τρέλα» αυτό που κάνουν οι Ελληνοκύπριοι υπογράμμισε πως «ακόμα» δεν πρόκειται να προχωρήσει σε ΑΤΙΛΛΑ ΙΙΙ.

Aggregating Conceals Some Important Facts

The Wall Street Journal

Let us not praise famous men, to borrow from James Agee.

Not Angela Merkel, who asks all players in the euro-zone drama for patience, an attribute of which the market is short, rather than long. But then, markets have never been more than an annoyance to Europe's political class.

Should Busted Greece Stay In Euro Zone?

The Wall Street Journal

Should they stay or should they go? Now that it's (almost) all right to admit that Greece is insolvent, the question can now be asked: When should it default, and should it stay inside the euro zone or not?

The first question is a lot easier than the second. An imminent default, rumored by some on Monday, does nobody any good. The Greek government still has a primary deficit, and can't afford to repudiate its debts while it still can't cover its outlays with tax revenues. It also has no guarantee that the European Central Bank would continue to lend against defaulted Greek debt, and would have to reckon with the risk of its banking system collapsing instantly as a result.

Greek Crisis Exacts the Cruelest Toll

The Wasll Street Journal

By MARCUS WALKER

HERAKLION, Greece—The first time he despaired of his debts, Vaggelis Petrakis drank a poisonous brew of beer and gasoline.

A note he left didn't mention the financial woes of his fruit and vegetable business, of which his family was well aware. Instead, he left instructions for his children on how to look after his animals. "Put mother rabbit in a different place from the little rabbits," the note began.

Then he had second thoughts and called his son, Stelios, who took him to a hospital. Mr. Petrakis survived that suicide attempt. But Greece's collapsing economy and the ruin of his business would soon push him to a more determined effort.

Γιατί αποτυγχάνουν οι ελληνικές μεταρρυθμίσεις;

Από την μία υπάρχει «ροπή προς την αμυντική ακινησία, προς διασφάλιση των κεκτημένων... Από την άλλη, βουβή συσσώρευση ενός άμορφου αιτήματος μεταρρυθμίσεων».

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Το ερώτημα «Γιατί αποτυγχάνουν οι μεταρρυθμίσεις;» τέθηκε από τον κ. Νίκο Μουζέλη τον Ιούνιο του 2003. Το άρθρο γράφτηκε σε μια περίεργη συγκυρία. Κατ’ αρχήν οι μεταρρυθμίσεις της προηγούμενης δεκαετίας απέδιδαν καρπούς: η χώρα με την κολοβή, έστω, απελευθέρωση της

Greece Eyes Fresh Cuts as Default Fears Grow

The Wall Strreet Journal

By ALKMAN GRANITSAS And STELIOS BOURAS

ATHENS—Greece will announce the closure of several state-linked organizations this week and make further spending cuts in its 2012 budget, the finance minister said Monday, as the government scrambles to meet conditions for a fresh infusion of aid.

Greece Eligibility for Next Aid Payment Under Scrutiny

Bloomberg

By Maria Petrakis and Natalie Weeks - Sep 19, 2011 12:01 AM GMT+0300

Greece’s ability to avoid default hangs in the balance this week as international monitors get set to assess whether Prime Minister George Papandreou can meet the conditions of rescue loans.

Greece Seeks Further Cuts

Pressured by Peers, Government Meets; Minister Lashes Out at the Euro Zone

By COSTAS PARIS, ALKMAN GRANITSAS and CHARLES FORELLE

ATHENS—Greece's government held an emergency cabinet meeting Sunday to plan new measures to bring its unruly budget deficit into line, after heated warnings from the other euro-zone nations over the weekend that its efforts were insufficient and might threaten the delivery of future aid.

Geithner presses euro zone to leverage bailout fund

(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed euro zone ministers on Friday to leverage their 440 billion euro bailout fund and free up more resources to tackle a two-year-old debt crisis, a senior euro zone official said.

Washington set up an emergency fund to support U.S. lenders during the global credit crisis but the official told Reuters Geithner made no reference to the 2008 TALF program, which sources had said could be a model for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

Analysts say the EFSF must be increased in size to build market confidence that the euro zone debt crisis can be contained.

Does the euro have a future?

By George Soros

Reutrers

The opinions expressed are his own.

The euro crisis is a direct consequence of the crash of 2008. When Lehman Brothers failed, the entire financial system started to collapse and had to be put on artificial life support. This took the form of substituting the sovereign credit of governments for the bank and other credit that had collapsed. At a memorable meeting of European finance ministers in November 2008, they guaranteed that no other financial institutions that are important to the workings of the financial system would be allowed to fail, and their example was followed by the United States.

Debt-Crisis Summit Aims to Bridge Divide

The Wall Street Journal

By MATTHEW DALTON And RIVA FROYMOVICH

WROCLAW, Poland—Euro-area finance ministers will gather here Friday to seek agreement on several crisis-fighting measures left unresolved despite weeks of talks, amid mounting worries that governments lack the political will to prevent financial catastrophe from striking the southern euro zone.

The celestial economy

The Economist

By 2030 China’s economy could loom as large as Britain’s in the 1870s or America’s in the 1970s

IT IS perhaps a measure of America’s resilience as an economic power that its demise is so often foretold. In 1956 the Russians politely informed Westerners that “history is on our side. We will bury you.” In the 1980s history seemed to side instead with Japan. Now it appears to be taking China’s part.

Greece 'integral' to the eurozone, say European leader

The leaders of Greece, France and Germany have said that Greece is an "integral" part of the eurozone.

It follows a telephone call between Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Geithner to Take Crisis Message to Europe Talks

Bloomberg

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to urge European Union finance ministers to step up their crisis-fighting strategy when he meets with them this week in Poland, a euro-area official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because preparations for the meeting, which takes place in Wroclaw, Poland, on Sept. 16 and 17, are confidential. It will be the first time Geithner has attended a session of Europe’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, known as Ecofin.

Merkel Lessens Fears Over Greece

The Wall Street Journal

German Leader Rejects Suggestions Athens Be Allowed to Default or Leave Currency Bloc, Reassuring Nervous Market

By MARCUS WALKER and NOÉMIE BISSERBE

BERLIN—German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected suggestions that Greece could be forced into bankruptcy soon or even leave the euro zone, lifting European banking shares and broader financial markets that have been gripped in recent days by fears of an imminent Greek meltdown.