The newly-elected Syriza government of Greece and its creditors from the 19-nation Eurozone have reportedly reached a draft deal to extend bailout funds to the country for another four months.
The specifics of the accord, and the conditions imposed on Greece, have not yet been revealed to the public.
The details have since been released, and it is basically a continuation of the December agreement with a couple tweaks. Now the pro-Grexit crowd are screaming that Syriza “bailed” and the pro-EU crowd are screaming the Troika “won”.
Four months gives Syriza time to firm up and prepare it’s options, as it was only in the EU/bankster’s interest to force a quick deal.
Think about it this way: Syriza still has the Russia/BRICS alternative in its back pocket, and both China and Russia would prefer a functional EU economy to trade with. Breaking the EU is not good business. Only the US is operating like a spoiled three-year-old being told he has to share the nursery toys, but will break said toys if he can’t have them all to himself.
The problem is that Varoufakis has always said he wouldn’t consider an exit from the Euro, because it would severely damage all parties, both in Greece and the EU. As long as he stands by that, he’s at the mercy of the Troika, and he’ll never get a satisfactory agreement for the people of Greece. I doubt if the Greek people will be very happy with this “deal”. They’d better take to the streets en masse this weekend to protest, if they want to stop what looks like a developing surrender. And I hope I’m wrong about the “surrender” part, but it doesn’t look good.
It’s not clear if BRICS aid would be accepted by the negotiating parties, or by BRICS, if Greece remains in the Euro under the Troika’s thumb. Think of it in terms of debt levels. If Greece leaves the Euro and defaults, it’s a much better bet for the BRICS people, since Greece wouldn’t have all that additional debt. Otherwise, BRICS is throwing money into a huge pit of existing debt …
Is Greece a litmus test for banksterism and top accounting firms having squirmed their ways to tax evasion to the detriment of societal and ecological integrity?
What is the Euro$204B in real terms? Minus the funny money in finance and accounting is it actually 1/2 currency and the other half the dregs of corruption sucking Greece dry?
Can the corrupt doing the sucking tell their a*** from a hole in a wall?
Why does the troika insist on funneling funny money through failing privatization scheme that has a 30+ year track record of intense usurpation via corruption and insist on more? Is one really to believe that the accounting firms will angelically kneel to democratic balances and bid adieu to their corporate embraces that have set up this global debacle ?
It would appear that resistance has never been more honorable. Don’t let them splinter you, Greece!
methinks Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Spain, South America and Africa
need to form an anti-US/troika cartel.
Many Greeks want it all. The want to remain in the EU, use the Euro and not pay back their loans at the same time. Syriza is trying to do that, but it appears that only if Greece bails on the Euro, can they walk away from their debts, start a new currency and implement a functional socialist government that will at least provide full employment and perhaps develop closer ties with BRICs and other countries that are outside of the corporate orbit. This could be achieved with relative ease for the 99%, but it is that small group of extremely wealthy Greeks who will lose the most. Expect them to fight an exit from the Euro to the death.
I suspect that the trouble there might be that those countries have nothing but too many hungry people and predatory rulers. The only way for them to become self-sufficient would be to somehow develop desirable trade goods and do it consciously from as close to a 18th-c. tech level as they must to avoid debt.
The psychopaths getting fat off of their current thralldom would have to be boxed up first, and then they’d all basically have to consciously drop out of the rat-race and start innovating like mad to meet their own needs without recourse to trade debt. Could they? Or would the bigger psychopaths invade to “restore order”?
Even if there were no invasion, trying to build basic functional centers --food, shelter, clothing, recycling, heavy and light manufacturing, transport-- from the ground up, especially if they’ve no natural resources, would be bloody hard.
4 months is enough time to plan an orderly euro zone exit and rally public support for it. Does anyone think this is the Syriza strategy? They have promised too much in thinking they could move the bankers and that they could repay their full debt if they only had more lenient playback terms. Maybe Syriza said what the Greek people wanted to hear but it is not the truth. Time to give the Greek people a sober and honest message of what it will actually take to be free of their Euro banker masters. When the people see what will actually be required of them they will respond.
“Never a borrower nor a lender be, for a loan does oft lose both money and friend”. W. Shakespeare
The International Monetary Fund may do good in a few countries but the IMF is mostly thieves that rob the country they pretend to help. IMF’s goal is control of resources and infrastructure. GO GREECE GO!!!
We’ll know in 4 months. Ukraine, Syria/Iraq/Yemen, North Korea and Iran will also have become clearer.
The one thing the US/NATO/EU Bretton Woods club does NOT have is time. US’s debt/GDP ratio is about 115% (depending on whose numbers you pick). Russia’s is about 15%, no matter whose numbers.
$200Trillion in “printed money” world-wide debts which keep coming due, only to be renegotiated generating yet more interest for taxpayers to “owe” to banksters.
Both Russia and China are divesting US$ reserves, buying/producing physical gold at record levels. The artificially strong US$ and low gold price have made for a perfect storm in undermining the US’s ability to play economic war. Lowering the price of oil was a Hail Mary, and it failed spectacularly. US/NATO economies are tanking on shrinking retail and housing sales. The Saudis have quietly sold oil to China to top up China’s strategic reserves.
It will soon be a BRICS multi-currency world, and the US needs to get on-board or suffer the full cost of economically and militarily screwing the rest of the world. Greece is but one symptom of a long string of countries that are seeing a developing alternative to the corrupt and bankrupt US$/Bretton Woods/IMF/WTO/World Bank system. Many EU countries have quietly set up direct yuan/renminbi exchanges with China, in preparation for business from the New Silk Road, expected to terminate in Barcelona and Berlin. Incidentally passing through… Greece.
If Greece hangs on and plays persistent hardball with the banksters they’ll get a lot more concessions from those fat cats. The European elite will in no way let Greece exit the EU and set a precedence for other struggling members to follow suit. The thought in their mind is that in the long run they will replace Syriza in due time just as they have successfully destroyed the gains made by Arab spring uprising. There is also continuing schemes by the CIA to overthrow the popularity elected Venezuelan government.
I could see the unraveling of the US/EU debacle over Ukraine when gas prices took a sudden jump upwards, that’s when I realized the phone must be ringing with calls from Houston and NYC Wall street banksters telling the politicians game over, Russia will not be intimidated into backing down over Ukraine. So now watch the Russian bear rise again bringing the demonic Anglo/Zionist domination to a sudden halt.
Centralized power of any kind is a threat to egalitarian polices and home rule. Central banks have to be eradicated along with its predatory system of capitalism. There will never be justice of any kind under such anti-democratic operations.
Bush-Cheney/Obama has instituted a global cabal of patently unfair economic measures designed to impoverish 99% of humanity under a “new world order”. Slavery is capitalism and capitalism is slavery.
www dot wsws dot org/en/articles/2015/02/23/pers-f23.html
While Tsipras and Syriza apologists attempt to present the
government’s miserable betrayal as a heroic victory, the capitalist
press in Europe and the United States has not minced words about the
scale of the prime minister’s capitulation.
“If this was meant to be the challenge to German economic orthodoxy, it failed,” writes the Financial Times of London. “The Germans prevailed on all the substantive issues.”
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung states, “With the new
government led by the left-wing Syriza party, Greece is continuing the
old bailout program. Funding will only be provided if the country
undertakes reforms.”
Le Monde describes the agreement bluntly: “Athens is
promising to finish the work of the previous conservative government of
Antonis Samaras, enacting reforms imposed by the troika of creditors
(IMF, ECB, EU) that have not yet been implemented.”
And The Wall Street Journal, enjoying the spectacle of
Tsipras’ surrender to the EU, predicts further humiliations. In an
article titled “Tsipras Can Expect More Humble Pie,” the principal voice
of US finance capital writes: “Mr. Tsipras has capitulated on many
issues in the past week … But he will have to capitulate on plenty
more if he is serious about putting Greece’s place in the euro zone once
again beyond doubt.”
Gasoline prices probably temporarily jumped on the news of the US refinery explosion. Another factor for the jump was due to the fact China increased imports to max out its strategic reserves as US war rhetoric and regime change (Umbrella Revolt/Hong Kong) increased. China’s reserves are close to full (at cheap prices), so we should see the price of oil drop until the Saudi’s realize they will never get to realize Kerry’s promise that they will divide the Middle East with Israel.
The US really does not have much inexpensive domestic strategic resources left, especially not compared to China and Russia. Long supply lines are vulnerable, and few US-vassal states still have major manufacturing to convert to war-production. The US//NATO will not win a conventional against China and Russia with drones and hi-tech gimmickery. And we can only hope the US/UK/Canada chickenhawks comprehend both Russia and China will ensure North America does not escape unscathed in WW3. Think Washington looking like Hiroshima.
But just keep on pushing the economic hard-line austerity BS in Greece, Ukraine and anywhere the IMF/WTO/Wolrd Banksters land. The BRICS+ will not take kindly to inheriting the mess that a WW3 will leave. The US/NATO can expect a resurgence of reparations-type policies for starting all the wars and economic disruptions since WW2.
Yanis Varoufakis: How I became an erratic Marxist
You can find this article over at informationClearing house
I would have put the link but it tells me that “new users”, cannot post links…
New user? Been coming here for many years!
