Greek Parliament Passes New Austerity Program | 'Explosion of Rage' as Rioters Torch Buildings, Police

February 13, 2012:  GREECE'S PARLIAMENT HAS PASSED A NEW AUSTERITY PROGRAM in the very early morning hours of Monday, February 13 (local date). The MPs voted even as the streets outside were in violent turmoil, the result of riots that started several days ago.

"The historic vote paves the way for Greece's European partners and the International Monetary Fund to release euro130 billion ($171 billion)," the Associated Press reports, "in new rescue loans without which Greece would default on its debt mountain next month and likely leave the eurozone — a scenario that would further roil global markets.

"After three days of rioting, the Greek parliament Sunday approved a new set of austerity measures that are likely to cause much pain for its already-struggling citizens," says an Associated Press report. "The measures clear the way for the nation to reduce its debt and gain another bailout from the other European nations and the International Monetary Fund. Greeks took to the streets Friday in protest of cuts including a 22-percent drop in the minimum wage. This comes with the unemployment rate over 20 percent and the economy in the fifth year of a recession. Riots and fires continued all throughout the weekend."

Greece fire ~ The Telegraph

"The 200-74 vote was passed against a backdrop of serious violence on the streets Athens," says The Telegraph (UK), "and in other Greek towns and cities, including the holiday islands of Corfu and Crete."

Rioting has been destructive in Athens. This has the potential of increasing the intensity of the violent protests. Greek leftists have been using destruction and violence to protest the of deep cuts in government programs and employment if Greece adopts yet another austerity program. Rioters have thrown petrol bombs  and Molotov cocktails at police and torched more than 10 buildings, some historic. The government is faced with complete insolvency if it does not take more, very deep austerity measures.

Violence erupted on Sunday as over 100,000 protesters marched to parliament to rally against drastic austerity cuts that will axe one in five public service jobs and slash the minimum wage by more than a fifth. In October, 2011 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European nations gave Greece a new aid package. That was in addition to the May, 2010 bailout of 110 billion euros. It was hoped that those funds would help Greece to survive until 2016. It was not enough, however.

Athens police attacked with petrol bomb ~ Daily Mail

"On March 20, Greece faces a EUR14.4 billion bond redemption that it cannot pay unless it secures that aid," reported the Wall Street Journal today. "That has raised the specter of a disorderly default by the country, which would make it the first country in the history of the euro to do so."

Leftist protesters are using the wanton destruction of public and private property to protest the bitter medicine that's needed to cure Greece's catastrophic economic ills.

The rioters and their sympathizers have caused and cultivated those ills by demanding more and more socialism over the decades. Like a junkie who just realized he's run out of drugs, the rioters are reacting violently in an infantile attempt to get more.

"Police have fought running battles in central Athens," reports The Australian, "as Greek MPs debated legislation that would introduce severe austerity measures to stave off bankruptcy. The riots engulfed central Athens with at least 10 buildings in flames in mass protests as MPs prepared for the historic parliamentary vote on tough austerity measures. TV footage showed a three-storey corner building completely consumed by flames with riot officers looking on from the street, and firefighters trying to douse the blaze. A closed cinema, a bank, a mobile phone dealership, a glassware store and a cafeteria were among the burning buildings, the fire department said."

"Historic cinemas, cafes and shops went up in flames," says The Daily Mail, "as Greek riot police struggled to pin down black-masked anti-austerity protesters roaming around central Athens ... Youths fought with police outside parliament for hours."

Earlier, the Mail reported that "Legislators are hoping to secure the deeply unpopular multi-billion-euro bailout and avert what Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned would be 'economic chaos'. But as parliament began debating the bill anger over the new round of cuts spread and riots broke out again outside the building."

Not content with destroying property, some rioters used homemade bombs in an attempt to kill or maim police: "The air over Syntagma Square outside parliament was thick with tear gas," The Mail say, "as riot police fought running battles with youths who smashed marble balustrades and hurled stones and petrol bombs."

To be fair, however, not all leftists in Greece are acting that way. Greece's Socialist party leader George Papandreou, says WSJ, again called on lawmakers on Sunday "to support a tough package of reforms the country must take to secure a new 130-billion-euro ($178 billion) aid package from its international creditors." Papandreou made his remarks before a parliamentary vote on a loan memorandum "with Greece's European partners and the International Monetary Fund," and he "defended the austerity measures despite widespread belief in his party that the previous loan terms had driven the economy deep into recession."

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos's government, says The Australian, is "an unlikely coalition of the majority Socialists and their main foes, the conservative New Democracy." They speculate that  the austerity measure is expected to "carry the vote, even by a narrow margin."

"There are very few such moments in the history of a nation," Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said. "Our country has an acute issue of survival," and "The question is not whether some salaries and pensions will be curtailed, but whether we will be able to pay even these reduced wages and pensions," he added. "When you have to choose between bad and worse, you will pick what is bad to avoid what is worse."

Related articles

• Five Days Before a Deal Deadline, Greeks Protest Austerity Measures (theatlanticwire.com)
• Greece set to defy protesters and accept eurozone bailout deal (guardian.co.uk)
• Athens Aflame (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
• Greece debates bailout as police battle protestors (business.financialpost.com)
• Greece plunged into turmoil over austerity measures (mysanantonio.com)
• Greece: Riot police go up in flames as protesters armed with petrol bombs rampage through Athens (dailymail.co.uk)
• I fear for a social explosion: Greeks can't take any more punishment (guardian.co.uk)
• Greek Police Union Threaten to 'Arrest' EU/IMF Officials (ibtimes.com)

Video: Trader Tells BBC People Can Profit in the Coming Crash

Governments don't run the world, Goldman Sachs runs the world. "In less than 12 months," the trader said, "the saving of millions of people is going to vanish. And this is just the beginning." You better read this... September 30, 2011 - An independent market trader made world news headlines earlier this week by telling the BBC that the euro rescue plan will fail and, as a result, markets will crash (video below). He warned people to "get prepared" to survive the next depression. Alessio Rastani was interviewed on the BBC on September 26, and what he said stunned those in the studio. Although Rastani's predictions are full of doom and gloom, some of his words are actually encouraging even for little guys like you and me.

Full interview at BBC...

"I'm very confident that this particular rescue plan - it doesn't matter how much money they want to put in - it's not gonna work," Rastani said. "This problem cannot be solved," he said. "I'm fairly confident the euro is gonna crash, and it's gonna fall pretty hard because markets are ruled right now by fear. Investors and the big money, the smart money, I'm talking about the big funds, the hedge funds, the institutions, they don't buy this rescue plan. They basically, uhm, they know the market is toast. They know the stock market is finished." That's all pretty ominous, and very bad news for Europe if Rastani is correct. Not everyone will inevitably suffer, however, as he went on to say. "The euro, as far as they're concerned, they don't really care," Rastani said of the "smart money" and institutions. "They're moving their money away to safer assets, like treasury bonds, 30-year bonds, and the U.S. dollar. So, it's not gonna work." There, did you catch that? Rastani listed "safer assets" that could provide shelter, if you will, for some of us in the coming economic typhoon. There's even more hope, as you will see in a moment. When asked by the news anchor what could raise investor confidence and possibly avoid the financial meltdown that Rastani predicts, he shook his head and raised an eyebrow. He then provided a shocking answer to the anchor's naive question. "That's a tough one. Uhm, personally, it doesn't matter. See, I'm a trader. I don't really care about that kind of stuff. If I see an opportunity to make money I go with that. So, for most traders it's not about, we don't really care that much how they're gonna fix the economy, how they're gonna fix the whole situation. Our job is to make money from it. And, personally, I've dreaming of this moment for three years." In other words, Rastani and other traders are not afraid of the coming economic tsunami. They will profit from it, just as many profited in the Great Depression of the 1930's. Does that make Rastani and his fellow traders evil? Well, no, it does not. Remember that Rastani did not cause Greece to spend itself into bankruptcy, nor are he and his trader colleagues reponsible for decades of the socialist programs that have put so much of the rest of Europe into the financial dumpster. Rastani and his friends, as traders, respond to the buffoonery of nations and corporations. Vultures have an unfairly bad reputation, but it should be remember that they do not kill anything. They merely swoop in to wait and watch the dying gazelle, then take advantage of the fact that it died without their intervention. Traders don't kill. They scavenge, and like the vulture, that means cleaning up messes that most others don't want any part of. "I have a confession," he went on to say, "which is, I go to bed every night, I dream of another recession. I dream of another moment like this. Why? Because people don't seem to really remember, but, the depression in the Thirties wasn't just about a market crash. There were some people who were prepared to make money from that crash, and I think anybody can do that. " That bears repeating, because Rastani indicates that ordinary people can survive the predicted Great Depression Two. "The depression in the Thirties wasn't just about a market crash. There were some people who were prepared to make money from that crash, and I think anybody can do that." Yes, you and me! "It isn't just for some people and the elite," Rastani said, "Anybody can actually make money. It's an opportunity. When the euro and the big stock markets crash, if you know what to do, if you have the right plan to set up, you can make a lot of money from this." Sounds good, right? While your employer crashes, you could right the wave and end up on top, right? "For example," Rastani explained, "hedging strategies is one. Investing in treasury bonds, that sort of stuff." This is not complicated stuff, assuming you still have any cash left to invest. Rastani urges those of us who are able to invest to do it now, without delay. "This economic crisis is like a cancer," Rastani told the nervous news anchor in studio. "If you just wait and wait, thinking this is going to go away, just like a cancer it's gonna grow and it will be too late. What I would say to everybody is, get prepared." He cautioned that it is useless to hope that governments will "sort things out." His reason for saying that: "Government don't rule the world, Goldman Sachs rules the world. Goldman Sachs does not care about this rescue package." People need to learn how to "make money from a downward market," Rastani said. The first thing you should do, he said, is protect your assets (assuming you still have any). "Because in less than 12 months," he said, "the saving of millions of people is going to vanish. And this is just the beginning." Excuse me. I'm off to buy some ammo and freeze dried food. RELATED: Newsmaker: Alessio Rastani - Sydney Morning Herald

Euro Falls, Wall Street Drops as Spain, Italy Turn Backs on Greece

May 23, 2011 - As the Greek debt crisis continues to linger, one of Europe's other debt "PIGS" has shown the chutzpah to lecture Greece. Spain is one of the "PIGS" (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) that threaten to drag the euro and Europe into the slop of a worsening recession. Without drastic action, the PIGS of the eurozone seem doomed. The New York Times has a good article about the Greek economic tragedy today that says, "When Greece’s financial decision makers were summoned to secret talks at a Luxembourg castle by their euro zone partners this month, they knew a tongue-lashing was coming over the country’s stumbling reform efforts." Greece deserves that tongue-lashing, but the Times went on to note that, "What they did not expect was that it would be Spain and Italy, as opposed to Germany, that would take the lead in upbraiding Greece for not pushing faster on privatization and tax overhauls." Reuters-Africa reports that Wall Street's bad day today was due largely to fears over the fate of the sickly euro. Greece's credit rating was lowered by Fitch Ratings last Friday, which gave Wall Street an entire weekend of angst before they acted out today. None of this is helping investors' confidence. The Wall Street Journal reports today that stock market's volatility index "rose to its highest level in two months on Monday as investor concern over the worsening European debt crisis carried over to U.S. markets and drove stocks down."

EURO FALLS OVER GREEK CRISIS

May 11, 2011 - We paid some attention to this yesterday in our post "S&P Lowers Greek Credit Rating; Slumping UK Growth Forecast?" Today, the feta is hitting the fan as the financial crisis, complete with riots, in Greece worsens. The euro dropped against most major currencies on speculation European leaders are slowing the drive to grant Greece additional aid, fueling concern the nation may be forced to restructure its debt. The pound surged as the Bank of England said U.K. inflation may reach 5 percent this year. More at BusinessWeek... There has been talk of Greece pulling out of the Eurozone altogether, which would be foolish in the long run. To do that would be to pull the rug out from under the very people - their fellow Eurozone members - who have invested billions in their bailout. It would weaken the European economy so badly that it would drag Greece down with it. On the other hand, however, I could be wrong. "For countries like Italy and Greece," writes Jacob Wolinsky at GuruFocus.com, "having the benefit of gaining from the healthy competition within the European Union was out of the question since the beginning, as their economies were not in sync with those of more powerful countries like France and Germany." They're all screwed, most likely, and many Greeks have been stashing their own money outside of Greece for some time now, fearing a crash of the euro. For those who have kept their cash in Greece, or themselves for that matter, they have this to deal with today as listed by The Daily Mail: - Petrol bombs, stun grenades and tear gas thrown during clashes in Athens - Government aims to sell off casinos, marinas and former Olympics venues to service debt - Greece could require second bail out of 60billion euros - Demonstrations against harsh austerity measure boil over into riots Good luck, Greece. Good luck, Europe. The fruits of your decades of crazy acid trip spending are now falling all around you. It's a bitter, rotten fruit.

S&P Lowers Greek Credit Rating; Slumping UK Growth Forecast?

May 10, 2011 - Many experts are expecting the growth forecast for the United Kingdom to be lowered by the Bank of England tomorrow. From Bloomberg today: The pound weakened versus the dollar and the euro on speculation the Bank of England will lower its economic growth forecasts when it releases its inflation report tomorrow, making higher interest rates less likely."

The report continued: "Sterling declined against most of its major peers, falling from the highest in more than a month versus the euro. The currency depreciated even as data today showed U.K. retail sales and a house-price gauge rose last month. More at Bloomberg.com... Meanwhile, the euro is still in need of urgent care and is still threatened by the crises in Greece and Portugal. Reuters reports now that "Euro zone finance ministers are likely to back a bailout for Portugal on Monday and tell Greece it must deliver on agreed fiscal and privatisation targets if it wants new emergency financing next year." Tell me if I'm wrong: That doesn't sound good. More at Reuters... The Independent Online (South Africa) reports this evening that the euro "tumbled 3.45 percent in the final two days of last week, the biggest back-to-back loss since 2008, as the European Central Bank (ECB) signalled it was in no rush to raise interest rates and Der Spiegel magazine said Greece might withdraw from the currency bloc. EU officials denied the report and said Greece would need more aid after investors drove yields on its two-year notes to more than 25 percent." More at Indpendent Online... HOWEVER: The S&P credit agency has "reduced the credit rating of Greece to B level and noted that new reductions were possible, pressured the euro. Therefore, the EUR/USD dropped to $1.4250." That report acknowledged that rumors of a Greek withdrawal from the Euro-zone have not been confirmed. More atStockMarketsReview.com... A related report at France 24 says that Greece admits to "talking with EU partners about ways to plug a 27 billion euro funding gap next year after it conceded it was unlikely to be able to return to bond markets as planned" and that Greece's borrowing has "hit record highs on concerns a 110 billion euro EU/IMF bailout is not enough to avert default." As for the US Dollar, it rose against most other major currencies overnight "despite rising commodities and equities," reports IBTimes. "The move goes against recent trends as lately the dollar has gained largely as a benefactor of risk aversion, and not on its own legs. However..." There's always a "however," isn't there?