View Full Version : Greece general strike: Unions act amid cuts debate
Trade unions in Greece have begun a 48-hour general strike, hours after PM George Papandreou urged parliament to back an austerity package.
Huge crowds of protesters are expected on the streets of Athens, while public transport is set to grind to a halt.
On Monday, Mr Papandreou said only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity programme would get Greece back on its feet.
If the government loses, the EU and IMF could withhold 12bn euros of loans and Greece could run out of money in weeks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said French banks are ready to offer new 30-year loans to Greece when its current debts fall due.
He said other European countries whose banks had lent money to Greece were considering the same model to help prevent a default. But the UK denied it was pressing banks to "take a haircut".
'Massacre'
More than 5,000 police officers are due to be deployed in the centre of Athens on Tuesday morning, when tens of thousands of striking workers are expected to march towards parliament at 1000 (0700 GMT).
The general strike will disrupt or halt most public services, with doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists and even state-funded actors taking part.
Airports will be shut for hours at a time, with air traffic controllers walking out between 0800 and 1200 (0500-0900 GMT) and 1800 and 2200 (1500-1900 GMT). Ferries, buses and trains will also stop running.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400
Note: 28 June 2011 Last updated at 00:27 GMT
I think the Greeks are about to get a cold dose of reality.
Like, welcome to reality :yep:
Hottentot
06-28-11, 09:38 AM
Wow, they are really trying to convince the rest of Europe of their character. Sounds like a real solid investment to loan money to people like these :yeah:.
Their previous politics driven, the country into the ground :nope:
Hottentot
06-28-11, 09:54 AM
I know. It's never the fault of the individual person, neither am I saying that the Greek as people are bad. But I simply can't fathom this. There are bad politics and bad politicians anywhere, yet not everywhere the solution is strikes and violent rioting.
What are they gaining with this? Their government so far is still going with austerity programme and at least in my uneducated foreigner's eyes they have made complete fools of themselves. I initially liked the idea of supporting them when the first package was discussed, was somewhat reserved but still mostly positive when the idea of second package was revealed but now...now I couldn't really care less, as long as it's not my money going there. And as a matter of fact, it is most likely going to be.
Greece has certainly always benefit from the euro since 2002, and received loans here and there, but the government has not taken, the hangover, this has been for the country, and what other countries within the Union, will have to pay .... stuff like that,can suck hard.
Jimbuna
06-28-11, 11:00 AM
Like trying to douse a fire by dousing it with petrol.
Like trying to douse a fire by dousing it with petrol. not too cut on you jimbuna, it's gasoline on a house fire feel free too use it anytime like, a bandaid on a gun shot wound, looks like death suckin on a lifesaver.
Let them go under and live with it.
Jimbuna
06-28-11, 12:40 PM
My daughter is going there on holiday next month...I might give 2 or 3 grand and have her buy me a holiday villa with a pool :DL
My daughter is going there on holiday next month...I might give 2 or 3 grand and have her buy me a holiday villa with a pool :DL Ha,Ha great price :DL
Jimbuna
06-28-11, 12:54 PM
Must have four bedrooms and a kebab maker on the rear patio.
Police have fired tear gas in running battles with stone-throwing youths in Athens, where a 48-hour general strike is being held against a parliamentary vote on tough austerity measures.
Thousands of protesters have gathered outside parliament in the capital where public transport has ground to a halt.
PM George Papandreou has said that only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity plan would get Greece back on its feet.
If the package is not approved, Greece could run out of money within weeks.
Without a new plan in place, the EU and IMF say they will withhold 12bn euros of loans which Greece needs to repay debts due in mid-July.
'Declared war'
More than 5,000 police officers were deployed in the centre of Athens as the protesters marched towards parliament.
The rally started peacefully, but escalated into running skirmishes on the fringes of the main demonstration.
Hundreds of protesters with faces covered by scarves or gas-masks started throwing stones, debris and bottles at the police in one corner of the central Syntagma Square.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13935400
Note: Update Record, 28 June 2011 Last updated at 17:05 GMT
I don't know what to think about this whole deal.
Another victim of communism?:hmmm:
You mean socialism? Leaving the euro would probably be a good option for the whole Union (EU) and then get them to start from scratch, replace the entire government .... and make sure that the people working after age 50 to get tax money, and take a harsh austerity program a few years.
Some economist here said that Greece was never really ready to join EU with its economy.
Its was just politics.
Some economist here said that Greece was never really ready to join EU with its economy.
Its was just politics. True, I think so :yep:
Jimbuna
06-28-11, 02:25 PM
Some economist here said that Greece was never really ready to join EU with its economy.
Its was just politics.
Not just Greece apparently.
How about turning the whole of Greece in to a riot school?
The worlds police can get all the training they need while the Greeks riot.
Jimbuna
06-28-11, 05:46 PM
How about turning the whole of Greece in to a riot school?
The worlds police can get all the training they need while the Greeks riot.
Today Greece...perhaps tomorrow the UK :o
Bakkels
06-28-11, 06:05 PM
Some economist here said that Greece was never really ready to join EU with its economy.
Its was just politics.
Yup. Too many countries were able to join the EU way too easy. The EU on a whole I think isn't a bad concept, it just should have been handled very differently. (Ofcourse I realise that that is easy to say in hindsight)
If we want the EU to work, it should have way more economical power. I know a lot of people wouldn't agree, but if you want a European Union that actually works, then for god's sake give it more power over economies.
If a country doesn't want to sacrifice it's economical autonomy, than it shouldn't join / have joined in the first place. In fact, my belief is that the EU's core business should be economics in the first place.
Here's how I see it; either shut down the entire EU concept (aside from the Euro and the open borders; liquidating the euro would cost a lot, and it actually made us a lot of money up to now. The problem is not the euro as a currency; it's the countries that shouldn't have been allowed to participate in the first place that make it a costly project)
But IF you want to go forward with the EU:
- Uphold the rules that were set in the first place; a lot of countries
have been violating rules regarding inflation and debt for years
without any serious penalties.
- Move the lot to Brussel permanently. The situation as it is now, is
ridiculous. In fact, I'm surprised non-European forum members never
made fun of us for that. They would be so right.
A breakdown of the EU parliament:
It's Secretary-General resides in Luxemburg, most of
the activities of the Parliament and it's members work from Brussel.
But each month the four-day general meeting of the Parliament is
taking place in Strassbourg, France. So each month, six removal vans
(or how do you call them? You know, the U-Haul things) transport
3700 boxes with documents to Strassbourg. And 700 officials
travel either by plane, car or train. Total annual costs of these
ridiculous back-and-forth travels: 250 million euro's. All because the
French insisted on the plenary sessions being held in France :shifty:
- Let the EU concentrate on monetary business and economical laws
that influence other member states. It was what the EU was meant
for in the first place. Don't meddle with laws in member's countries
that don't have anything to do with Europe as a whole.
- Completely quit the agricultural subsidies. At present, 70% (!) of the
EU's 135 billion budget goes to subsidies to (small) farmers.
In Europe, small farmers have no economical reason of existance.
The only way they can make profit is because of these subsidies. I'm
sorry to say it, but once again it was France (and Spain) that insisted
on this, as they have a lot of small-scale agriculture. But it's an unfair
competitive advantage. Which does three bad things: it keeps down
Africa, a continent that could make a lot of money on producing and
exporting food. It creates an unfair competitive advantage against
American, Russian and other farmers. And as I said above; it
gobbles up 70% of the EU's budget! That doesn't make any sense at
all...
Well there's my 2 cents anyway. Sorry for the wall of text. Let's just see what will happen in the years to come. Maybe it will take a real crisis (like a country going bankrupt) to wake up the EU and make it restructure itself. Perhaps we'll be doomed and everything goes to hell!!! :haha: Well I'm a cynic and an optimist at the same time; a solution will always be found. The problem is, most of the time it'll be a short-term solution. But that seems to be our fate as human beings trying to govern on a large scale; when push comes to shove, short term will always > long term...
Europe as a whole won't go bankrupt, but I hope to see the EU becoming more pragmatic, and less political.
Personally I think that the big problem with the EU is that it is attempting to achieve a major goal of every European potentate since Caesar.
Popular suspicion and distrust runs many centuries deep. Talk about a hard sell.
Bakkels
06-28-11, 07:15 PM
The principle difference being that the EU isn't lead by a single person. It didn't come into existence because of a single person's desire to gain power. It came into existence because of the profit to be made, and the potential benefits the members would experience. And they certainly have for at least the first 40 years of the EU's existence. But big things tend to grow bigger. And not always at a healthy speed. Which caused the problems we see here today. But it has nothing to do with any potentate.
It's a hard sell, I'll give you that. When there was a referendum about the European Constitution a lot of people voted against it just because governments took the 'hard sell' approach. Saying all kinds of terrible things would happen if we didn't vote for it. Which in turn caused a situation where there were only losers.
However there ís something worthwhile in the concept of the EU in my opinion.
Bakkels not all European empires were started by individuals as you imply. Rome and Republican France are two examples that come to mind.
The point is that i'd think you Europeans ought to have a pretty healthy distrust of empire building groups by now, regardless of their apparent benign motivations.
Bakkels
06-28-11, 08:26 PM
No they weren't always individuals, I understood it like that when you said 'potentate'.
But I was actually thinking Europe should -economically- reform it self and take the US as an example. (Bet you didn't expect me to say that :03:)
All countries have their fallacies, but also their strengths. And we might as well learn from those and try to incorporate those.
I think as an economical union, and concerning trade, the US doesn't do that much of a bad job. Within it's own borders there are generally no weird laws that inhibit free trade from state to state, and those laws are all made in a government body that rules over all these states. Plus I get the feeling each state still has it's own distinct culture. For Europe, forming an economic union also doesn't necessarily take anything away from countries cultures I think.
Now there might be a lot of history in Europe of countries waging war and whatnot, but nowadays, there isn't any real animosity between EU countries.
As far as 'empire building' groups; the initiative lies with many different countries, so it's not empire building, it is forming a cooperation of nations. So unless you believe in NWO theories (and I take the liberty of assuming you don't) this can't be compared to building an empire the way you put it. If you look at it pragmatically, uniting Europe on an economic basis is a good thing. That's just my opinion of course..
So unless you believe in NWO theories (and I take the liberty of assuming you don't) this can't be compared to building an empire the way you put it. If you look at it pragmatically, uniting Europe on an economic basis is a good thing. That's just my opinion of course..
It's all just opinions but in this case I bow to yours. I won't presume to tell someone how things are in their own country. It's just the impression I get from way over this side of the pond.
Greek politicians are to vote later on austerity measures that have sparked nationwide strikes and the worst rioting in Athens for more than year.
PM George Papandreou has said that only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity plan will get Greece back on its feet.
The package is expected to be approved by parliament by a narrow margin, but correspondents say it is unlikely to bring an end to the unrest.
If it is not approved, Greece could run out of money within weeks.
Parliament is scheduled to finish debating the bill at 1300 (1100 GMT), with the vote taking place some time after.
Greek officials say 46 people were injured in the capital on Tuesday, including 37 policemen, after an anti-cuts rally turned violent.
Police used tear gas against groups of youths in the streets around parliament, and arrested at least 14 people.
The roads of the capital were left strewn with broken paving stones and other debris after the first day of a 48-hour general strike against the planned austerity measures.
Greece's austerity package and its implementation law must be passed in separate votes later on Wednesday and on Thursday for the next instalment of the country's 110bn-euro bail-out to be released by the EU and IMF.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13953077
Note: Update Record,29 June 2011 Last updated at 07:27 GMT
A great deal of ignorance on this thread. :down:
The Greek parliament has voted in favour of a drastic package of austerity measures intended to save the country from defaulting on its debts.
The proposed tax hikes and spending cuts have been deeply unpopular with the Greek public.
A nationwide 48-hour strike is under way and violent clashes are continuing in the streets of the capital, Athens.
Greece is heavily in debt and the package is needed to win the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan.
MPs passed the measures by 155 votes to 138.
They will hold a second vote on Thursday aimed at changing a law allowing the package to be implemented.
'No time to step back'
Ahead of the vote, PM George Papandreou urged MPs to approve the package by consensus.
He had faced wavering support from within his governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok), which has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament. But in the end, only one Pasok deputy voted against the package.
Mr Papandreou says his austerity plan is the only way to get Greece back on its feet.
"We must avoid the country's collapse at all costs. Now is not the time to step back," he told deputies.
Were his 28bn-euro austerity package to be rejected, Greece could run out of money within weeks, as the EU and the International Monetary Fund want the measures implemented before they release more funds to help Greece pay off its vast debts.
But tensions are running high in Greece, where unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts that have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13960947
Note: Update Record, 29 June 2011 Last updated at 13:40 GMT
Hottentot
06-29-11, 08:48 AM
A great deal of ignorance on this thread. :down:
Fortunately not anymore.
As in many cases, measures too little too late, and the Greeks have been aware of this long time.... and that there would come a day when they are forced to produce "balls" but they are dependent on other countries within the EU, in order to continue the journey.
Today Greece...perhaps tomorrow the UK :o
Well that be for the PC riot police using feather dusters and giving away free holidays if they stop rioting. :haha:
Jimbuna
06-29-11, 11:59 AM
Well that be for the PC riot police using feather dusters and giving away free holidays if they stop rioting. :haha:
LOL :DL
sidslotm
06-29-11, 12:42 PM
I would love to able to give someone else's money away, how cool is that, just think of the fun you could have stopping folks in the street and giving them a shed load of dosh.
mookiemookie
06-29-11, 01:08 PM
Follow the money...who's being bailed out?
The creditors of the Greeks. Not the Greeks themselves. The German, French, Japanese, U.S. banks...not the Greek on the street.
I'd be pissed too.
Throughout the EU, has been easier on the wallet .... and then Portugal and Spain are in trouble, it sucks :doh:
Trying to plug holes in a bucket will not work, the bottom is rusty and about to give way.
Jimbuna
06-29-11, 06:09 PM
Not forgetting the strike in the UK tomorrow.
Not forgetting the strike in the UK tomorrow.
Love the way the media has reported this in such a way the country will grind to a stop and fall off a cliff! What a bunch of tarts that work in the news.
Clashes in Athens continue overnight with tear gas and smoke from fires filling the city centre.
Greece's parliament is to hold a second vote on its austerity programme, which it needs to implement to secure the country further financial support.
The vote is about putting into practice the tax hikes, pay cuts, privatisations and public sector redundancies approved in principle on Wednesday.
The vote was a retreat from the "grave scenario of default", the EU said.
Public reaction has been very hostile, and the debate has been accompanied by strikes and violent protest.
Clashes continued on Syntagma (Constitution) Square outside parliament overnight, as police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths.
Protesters set fire to a post office in the finance ministry building, on another part of the square.
But Athenian street cleaning crews have now come out in force removing debris from two days of battles in the square, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
Police have restricted access to the city centre to prevent demonstrators from obstructing members of parliament heading to vote on the new law.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13970916
Note: Update Record, 30 June 2011 Last updated at 08:54 GMT
As in many cases, measures too little too late, and the Greeks have been aware of this long time.... and that there would come a day when they are forced to produce "balls" but they are dependent on other countries within the EU, in order to continue the journey.
What "balls"? I know many including relations, who work long hours (in the private sector) or 2 or more jobs - like the lazy macho southerners they are - while the government was wasting money and cooking the books to join the Euro. :nope:
Before any of you arrogant **** from "other" parts of Europe or North America (yes including Canada) pipe up, how often have I heard that the political elites in other countries, even in supposed democracies have dragged other nations in directions like the headlong rush into the Euro some of you claim are leading to ruin in spite of the "will of the people". In other words spitting out ethnic stereotypes is insulting and obscuring the real reasons for the crisis. :x:down:
Yes I am a Canadian of Greek origin so perhaps a little bias. I am angry at the crisis and also the reactions to it-while I am angry at some stuff I have read here I almost lost some friends on another forum over this issue so I better not say anymore.
And what do you think the main reason why the country finds itself in this situation, for it can hardly have been a novelty for you, even if you do not live in the country that there have been financial problems like other countries in Europe, or in the world as a whole.
Jimbuna
06-30-11, 06:39 AM
Love the way the media has reported this in such a way the country will grind to a stop and fall off a cliff! What a bunch of tarts that work in the news.
I doubt there are enough people who can afford to take a day off to have any real major impact.
Hottentot
06-30-11, 08:26 AM
Before any of you arrogant **** from "other" parts of Europe or North America (yes including Canada) pipe up
As a tax payer from "other part of Europe" the matter concerns me. Therefore I believe I am allowed to have an opinion. That doesn't make me arrogant.
I know that, along others, my country has loaned money to Greece.
I know that we are likely going to loan more money to Greece.
I know my country too has problems that could use the money and that money doesn't grow on the trees.
I know what I have and haven't seen and heard on this matter.
I know my opinion regarding the loaning and helping has changed based on that.
So I am asking myself: should we support Greece and why? Because they are part of Europe? Because we get into trouble if we don't? Because it's the right thing to do? Because there is going to be improvement and they are going to pay us back with interests? I have been forced to ask and I haven't found a proper answer.
Does that mean I hate Greece or the Greeks? Hardly. I hate idiots. What I see in the media is idiotic behaviour, so that makes me dislike the news I read, but not the entire people. But it also makes my opinion of supporting these same people more negative.
Does that make me arrogant? I can't see how.
Does that make me ignorant? Perhaps.
Does barging into a thread and basically calling everyone else idiots help me to change it? No, not really.
So educate me. Help me get rid of my ignorance. Help me see the other side of the fence. I don't speak Insult, so try Reason instead. Because I have seen you write in other threads, I know you are reasonable and therefore assume that you have better motive to participate in a thread than to rant and make yourself look childish. I suppose I am right?
I doubt there are enough people who can afford to take a day off to have any real major impact.
Agreed. :yep:
Yet to see today's news which will be a good laugh no doubt. :rotfl2:
Greece's parliament has passed a second vote on its austerity programme, which was needed to secure the country further financial support.
The vote approved putting into practice the tax hikes, pay cuts, privatisations and public sector redundancies approved in principle on Wednesday.
Greek PM George Papandreou hailed its passage as "a crucial step" for Greece.
Public reaction has been very hostile, and the debate has been accompanied by strikes and violent protest.
But had the package been rejected, Greece could have run out of money within weeks. The EU and the International Monetary Fund had demanded that the measures be implemented before they extend further loans to Greece.
With the votes passed, Greece can now receive the latest tranche of a 110bn-euro (£98bn) loan, instead of defaulting.
"We have still many difficult and crucial battles ahead of us," Mr Papandreou told a cabinet meeting after Thursday's bill was passed by 155 votes to 136.
His ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) has a slim parliamentary majority, with 154 out of 300 deputies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13970916
Note: Update Record,30 June 2011 Last updated at 15:57 GMT
Published 01:46 30.06.11
Latest update 01:46 30.06.11
A white elephant in northern Greece
The foul child of the deadly marriage of megalomania and easy credit
By Doron Tsur
How is it possible, in today's information age, that Greece is facing bankruptcy? The very fact of a Western nation, a member of the euro bloc, defaulting on its liabilities, calls for sober consideration on the part of anyone involved in economics and investments.
How is it that despite all our accrued experience and economic knowledge, our models and theories, our monitoring and controls, the mistakes of 50 and 100 years ago are repeating themselves? There was no information then. Today there is. What happened?
Last year at about this time I toured northern Greece by car. I highly recommended visiting this area, which is absolutely lovely.
On one serpentine mountain road, a surrealistic vista suddenly opened before me - that of my narrow hill track feeding into a superhighway of monstrous dimensions - at least for Greece. It tunneled through mountains and spanned valleys over vast bridges. This state-of-the-art roadway outdid the German and Austrian Autobahnen and the Italian Autostrade of my experience. Israel's Route 6 is a goat track by comparison to the grand Greek road.
My astonishment only grew as the days passed and I availed myself of this extraordinary road. Mainly because I was all but alone on it. Traffic was ludicrously thin.
Since one doesn't run into a white elephant like that every day, my curiosity was piqued. How did such a gigantic project come into being, and why? And above all, how much did it cost and who footed the bill??
The bill: 6 billion euros
In our information age, obtaining information is easy. The project turned out to be the New Via Egnatia, a 670-kilometer speedway connecting Igoumenitsa in the west to the Turkish border in the east. It crosses the Pindus Mountains, which stretch from northern Greece to southern Albaria, maintaining roughly the same altitude throughout, thanks to that impressive arrangement of bridges and tunnels.
In some places the highway parallel the original Via Egnatia, an ancient Roman road.
Construction took a decade and was completed in 2009, with some ancillary works still being carried out. The cost of the project - at least 6 billion euros - was financed by the Greek government, the European Development Bank and the European Union.
The logic underlying the New Via Egnatia was as follows: Turkey will be accepted into the EU, after which overland traffic to and from that country will increase dramatically. Its neighbors - Greece, Bulgaria and Macedonia, as well as Albania and Montenegro - will see a surge in growth. They will want to connect to Europe in the northwest and to Turkey in the southeast. The road will go on to link up with the great pan-European highways, and has the potential to become a key axis of development of the region.
But Turkey isn't a member of the EU, not yet. The Balkan nations and the rest of southeastern Europe are not growing like weeds. The result is a 670-kilometer white elephant.
It was not Greece's only mega-project of the past decade. Athens got a spanking new airport and subway system. The 2004 Olympics were a terrific boost to development, whose bill the Greeks are still paying for.
The whole world is pointing fingers, accusing Greece of laziness, profligacy and living high on the hog at the expense of others (mainly the Germans ). True in part, but not the whole story.
Some of Greece's economic problems lie in its desire, in the past decade, to bring its basic infrastructure closer to the European standard. The reason? Sheer, human envy.
Take the ease of obtaining big financing for big projects (that masquerade as investments in the future ). Marry it to the natural tendency of politicians to approve any project that will entail a photograph of them cutting a ribbon. This unholy union is an incubator for white elephants.
It happens with people, cities, companies and countries: At some point, everyone takes a bite that is too big to chew.
Greece is a small state, with a widely scattered population of 11 million. Its north is mountainous, and much of the south consists of numerous small islands: not promising conditions for building Western-European-style infrastructure.
Considering the size of the population that has to foot the bill, there is no way to make building such infrastructure projects economically feasible. One cannot expect a nation with just 81 people per square kilometer to create projects like the ones in Germany, where the population density is nearer 230 per square kilometer. (The population density in central Israel was 329 people per square kilometer in 2009, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Today it is about 340. )
A company making huge investment in building production capacity, for which it has to borrow money, could flourish if its underlying assumptions were correct. But if its assumptions turn out to be nonsense, its borrowing could wipe it out. That is Greece's problem in a nutshell. There are other reasons, such as a high standard of living not supported by the country's resources, not to mention the willingness of creditors to lend money, which greatly exacerbated Greece's problems.
Several conclusions can be reached from the story of Greece.
1. Big national projects can lead to prosperity. Or they can turn out to be megalomaniac fantasies that will bury their investors alive.
2. Easy credit can create a kind of blindness to the merits of a project, which can end up charging forward with no controls, or even serious thought. That is true of people, of companies, and of nations. We all have a touch of megalomania, and when it meets easily available credit the result can be economic dynamite.
3. Sometimes a drive through the mountains can bring economic insights just as profound as sitting at a desk in front of a computer monitor glowing with spreadsheets.
The author is the CEO of Compass Psagot.
..............
Taken from The Marker-Ha'aretz
@MH Very interesting article!
Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski has criticised Europe's handling of the Greek debt crisis.
He suggested that too much emphasis had been put on austerity measures and not enough on growth.
And he accused some opposition parties in eurozone countries of showing a "breathtaking short-sightedness" over decisions to support Greece.
His comments come after Poland took over the six-month presidency of the European Union (EU) on Friday.
Mr Rostowski will now chair meetings of EU finance ministers, and hopes to join talks among eurozone finance ministers - even though Poland has not adopted the euro as its currency.
The EU and International Monetary Fund provided Greece with 110 billion euros in emergency loans in May 2010, with the next instalment due in the coming weeks to stave off the imminent threat of default.
Eurozone finance ministers are discussing the details of a second bail-out designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14002520
Note: Update Record,2 July 2011 Last updated at 15:12 GMT
Jimbuna
07-02-11, 05:56 PM
Agreed. :yep:
Yet to see today's news which will be a good laugh no doubt. :rotfl2:
I was left with the impression it didn't have the impact that was hoped for.
I was left with the impression it didn't have the impact that was hoped for.
Even the government said it was a flop. As I said jim, they should have gone on strike and stayed out on strike. Maybe there get the point sooner than later I hope.
Jimbuna
07-03-11, 11:13 AM
Even the government said it was a flop. As I said jim, they should have gone on strike and stayed out on strike. Maybe there get the point sooner than later I hope.
It simply boils down to the 'affordability' factor then...how many working class do you know that can afford to go on a prolonged strike?
I'm not sure I know any.
It simply boils down to the 'affordability' factor then...how many working class do you know that can afford to go on a prolonged strike?
I'm not sure I know any.
The Miners did it back in the 80's, problem was the coal stocks were high but in the case of the public sector they should think about it. After all Pinky & Perky are a couple of wet behind the ears upper class twits. Not like the iron bitch Thatcher which clearly they will never get any where near her level.
You want change you must fight for change.
Jimbuna
07-03-11, 02:32 PM
The Miners did it back in the 80's, problem was the coal stocks were high but in the case of the public sector they should think about it. After all Pinky & Perky are a couple of wet behind the ears upper class twits. Not like the iron bitch Thatcher which clearly they will never get any where near her level.
You want change you must fight for change.
I'm talking about now....I wore a uniform in the days of the miners strike and do realise matters were 'different' then....there is actually less animosity towards the present government (working class wise) than there was back then but that could be down to the simple fact there are less people working today than there was then :03:
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