SPECIAL REPORT - Papademos Invites FYROM PM To Find "Acceptable Solution" - To What... the Name?

photo by defencenet

The decision by interim Premier Lucas Papademos to formerly invite FYROM Prime Minister N. Gruevski to Athens in order to discuss the issue of Skopje can only be seen from a suspicious eye. The news which is raising many eyebrows in Athens claims that Papademos wants to QUICKLY find a "mutually acceptable solution" to the differences between the two countries. Friends... we here at hellasfrappe do not need to remind all of you that Papademos is a high-ranking member of the Trilateral Commission, and has not been elected by the Greek people, but rather was placed in this position by the Troika (banking elites). Whose interests would he be serving? Ours... or the West's?

FYROM is registered at international organizations as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia because of the name dispute with Athens which has proved on more than one occasion that the name "Macedonia" spurs territorial claims to Greece's northern regions.

According to reports Papademos specifically proposed that the meeting be held in Brussels during the weekend of March 1-2 on the sidelines of a European Council meeting. News reports also characterized the move as something that goes beyond logic (on a national scale) since the FYROM Premier has filled Skopje's squares with statues of Alexander the Great, schools with expansionist maps that show Thessaloniki as being part of what they call their Macedonia, and has also apparently began raising provocative flags (as shown in the photo above) that were prohibited by the interim agreement that was signed between the two countries in the 90s.

The report can be viewed on the military site defencenet

A representative from Papademos circle noted in the report that following the court case at the International Court in the Hague, Greece "must reconsider some things!"

This statement left us dumbfounded here at hellasfrappe. What does he mean... we  "must reconsider some things?"

Papademos who is the epitamy of banking (or rather the new world order) is going to review Greece's foreign policy which refused the accession of FYROM into NATO (at the Bucharest Summit in 2008) before the issue of the name is resolved?

This alone should sound an alarm to every Greek organization across the globe.

But wait. There is more!

On Tuesday German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Gruevski in Berlin and according to reports the main topic of discussion was FYROM's accession to NATO and the "parameters" that are not in favor of this move before the issue of the name is resolved. Excuse me... was she referring to us... the Greeks?

We here at hellasfrappe are certain that Germany is only looking after its interests, as are other members in NATO who force their allies to spend ridiculous sums of money for defense systems but certainly Germany cannot use this opportunity to further its clientele by activating their "chosen" prime minister to dabble in Greek foreign affairs.

Greek foreign affairs involve representatives that are elected by the people. And the people of Greece have not voted for this government and they have especially NOT VOTED for Lucas Papademos.

Besides, we already started questioning some things about Mrs. Merkel and her government several days ago when the "Nea Filiki Etaireia" published a very shady letter to Angela Merkel with 18 questions that can only be described as scandalous.  Here are the questions (or click here to link to the article). 

• 14. Is it true Mrs. Merkel, that your government funded and supported the actions of the Skopje government (FYROM) at The Hague (on the case against Greece)?
• 15. Is it true Mrs. Merkel that in a recent discussion, with officials from two separate countries, you predicted that in the near future some areas of Western Thrace and a belt around Florina will become independent, to provide protection to the minorities living there?

Is Germany purposely keeping our minds focus on the economy and using Papademos to resolve the issue of Skopje since we know he was "chosen" by Berlin?

And is this why our "European allies in the north" do not want us to hold national elections since the next NATO summit is getting set to be held in Chicago on May 20-21, 2012?

Tick tock... tick tock.... Draw your own conclusions....

Are Global Socialists For Real?

Is the global socialist party for real? In an article that was posted on their website today they note that the austerity measures demanded by the Troika are driving Greece toward revolution! Do we need to remind them that the president of the international organization of socialists is none other than George Papandreou who signed for these damn measures in the first place!

The article said that the protest in front of the Greek parliament Sunday evening (with over 100,000 people) and the rioting that broke out after the police violently attacked the demonstration marked a sharp turn in the mood of the Greek population.

It notes that there are very few people that believe that the austerity measures will lead Greece out of the crisis. The government’s repeated claim that the only alternative to brutal cuts is state bankruptcy and economic disaster no longer has any impact because the current austerity measures are already producing a catastrophe.

And we ask... are they for real? We repeat... George Papandreou, who is the president of the international socialist party is responsible for bringing the Troika to Greece and he is also responsible for both memorandums!  In fact he urged and pressured his ministers to sign the damn memorandums in the first place! Now the socialists of the world claim that it won't work? Where were they before this all happened?

They also say that the working class in Greece, which has experienced Nazi occupation, civil war and military dictatorship, will not accept a new dictatorship of finance capital without a fight, and if that is the case, then why does Papandreou's government continue to send the riot police to clash with the people?

Knock... knock... are you people in a coma? The President of the International Socialist party VOTED for these measures!!!!


Here is an excerpt of what they posted on their site

The austerity measures demanded by the troika (the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank) are driving Greece toward revolution. The protest by 100,000 people in front of the Greek parliament Sunday evening and the rioting that broke out after the police violently attacked the demonstration marked a sharp turn in the mood of the Greek population.

Hardly anyone believes that the austerity measures will lead Greece out of the crisis. The government’s repeated claim that the only alternative to brutal cuts is state bankruptcy and economic disaster no longer has any impact because the current austerity measures are already producing a catastrophe.

“We are only allowed to choose between different forms of death,” declared one 50-year-old protester to a journalist.

Eighteen months of austerity have produced a social decline that is unprecedented in peacetime. Wages and salaries in the private sector have decreased by 20 percent and in the public sector by up to 50 percent. Over one million Greeks, one in five adults and one in two young people, are unemployed. Only a third of these receive unemployment benefits, which are now due to be reduced from €460 ($600) to €360 ($470) per month.

The new austerity package passed Sunday evening will reduce the working class and broad layers of the middle class to a naked struggle for survival. By 2015, an additional 150,000 state employees are to be laid off and an additional €11.4 billion slashed from the budget, with even more cuts in public-sector wages. With prices for basic commodities at Western European levels, survival will be impossible for many, especially if they have to support destitute family members.

One does not have to be a mathematical genius to see that these measures will not solve, but only worsen the debt crisis. All economic indicators are pointing downwards. The economy shrank by 7 percent last year, industrial output by 16 percent. Despite an increase in the VAT rate, revenues from the tax declined by 19 percent because 60,000 small and family businesses went bankrupt. A further 50,000 bankruptcies are expected this year.

The government budget is now in the black, if one discounts spending on interest and debt repayment. But the level of debt servicing is so high that the total debt has risen over the past year from 140 to 160 percent of gross domestic product.

It is obvious that the shock treatment prescribed for Greece by the troika and implemented by the Greek government is not aimed at “rescuing” the country or rebalancing its budget. Rather, its purpose is to set an example and intimidate the working class in other European countries, making clear once and for all where the real power lies.

The class character of the cuts could not be more evident. While the unemployed and both public-sector and private-sector workers are bled dry, the country’s wealthy elite escapes unscathed. They have long since transferred their assets to financial and property markets abroad.

The Greek austerity measures are the spearhead of an international offensive by the financial aristocracy aimed at offloading onto the working class the full impact of the 2008 financial crisis, precipitated by the very same financial elite. The incomes, past social gains and democratic rights of workers are everywhere under attack. The German government, which has adopted a particularly arrogant stance towards Greece, proceeds with the same arrogance against unemployed workers in Germany and will act toward them in an even more ruthless manner if it succeeds in Greece.

The Greek working class, which has experienced Nazi occupation, civil war and military dictatorship, will not accept a new dictatorship of finance capital without a fight. The combination of despair and anger expressed Sunday evening will inevitably intensify and turn in a revolutionary direction.

The parliamentary elections scheduled for April offer no solution, if they even take place. The two parties that support the current government are rapidly disintegrating and will barely be able to assure a government majority. According to the latest polls, the social democratic PASOK party, which won the 2009 elections with 44 percent, has slumped to 8 percent, and the conservative New Democracy to around 30 percent.

The three largest “left” organizations—the Democratic Left (DIMAR), the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and the Stalinist Communist Party (KKE)—together are currently polling over 40 percent. But all three organisations have a long history of subordination to the bourgeois state.

The Democratic Left defends the European Union, has indicated that certain cuts are inevitable, and proposes to transfer 60 percent of Greece’s debt to the EU. SYRIZA has long defended PASOK and now calls for cooperation between all of the “left” parties in the elections.

The KKE campaigns against the austerity measures, calls for separation from the EU, for a unilateral cancellation of the country’s debt, and even for “workers’ and people’s power.” But the party has never broken with its Stalinist tradition and in times of crisis has repeatedly promoted nationalism, collaborated with the ruling class and betrayed the working class. In 1989, the KKE even formed a coalition government with the conservative New Democracy party.

Should any of these parties enter the government in April, they would work to hold back the working class and prevent it from fighting. By paralyzing the working class, they would strengthen the extreme right, which is attempting to exploit the crisis, and pave the way for the military to take power.

Such a “leftist” government would be comparable to the Popular Front government of Léon Blum that came to power in France in 1936 on a wave of labor militancy, only to stab the working class in the back in the course of the subsequent general strike. The betrayal by the Popular Front paved the way for the right-wing to return to power. Four years later, these right-wing forces acted on their election slogan “Better Hitler than Blum” and established the authoritarian Vichy regime, which partnered with the Nazi occupation of France.

To fight the austerity program of the troika, the Greek working class needs an independent revolutionary program and new organisations dedicated to struggle rather than class collaboration. When the government and the parties supporting it are working to destroy the livelihoods of the people and gut health care and the education system, the working class must itself take responsibility for running the country. READ PRESS RELEASE HERE

Turkish "Bilim-2" Surveyor Looks For Hydrocarbons Off Of Samos And Rhodes!

photo by Samiaki Gnomi

While the country focuses on the Eurogroup meeting, and while citizens desperately try to find ways to make ends meet day to day, the Turkish surveyor ship "Bilim-2" took the opportunity to begin surveying the area around Samos for natural gas and oil!

According to a report from the local Samiaki Gnomi news site the ship anchored near Kusadasi and northeast of Samos and conducted several surveys for hydrocarbons and what is more the ship will apparently be "surveying the area" until February 26. According to its coordinates, the Turkish NAVTEX 109/12 vessel will carry out surveys near the southeastern part of Rhodes as well, in an area located within the Greek continental shelf!

photo by Samiaki Gnomi

 (Is our government aware of this???)

The move by Turkey comes at a time when Cyprus has completed the process of licensing a second round of exploration plots in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), but also while the Hellenic government is getting ready to proclaim a global tender for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons south of Crete

An article in the ETHNOS newspaper said that the "Bilim-2" will also be conducting surveys just off of the Mersina coast and then move west. It will then move north and do more surveys in Cyprus (where the pseudo-state has granted the rights to Turkey to conduct such research) and it will then complete its course and head for the Bay of Marmaris.

The latest reports noted that the "Bilim2" passed through the Strait of Mycale.

Democracy Now - Despair Sweeps Through Greece as Austerity Demanded by E.U.-IMF Cripples Nation

Discussing the latest in Greece, Amy Goodman from Democracy Now on Tuesday interviewed Maria Margaronis, a London correspondent for The Nation magazine. Margaronis who had just returned to the UK after covering the economic crisis in Greece, said that every social policy in Greece is crumbling, unemployment is sky-rocketing, people are looking through the rubbish to find food to eat, and the health care system has totally deteriorated.

AMY GOODMAN:  To discuss the latest in Greece, I’m joined by Maria Margaronis, London correspondent for The Nation magazine. She has just returned from Greece covering the economic crisis there. Describe what is happening in Greece, Maria.
MARIA MARGARONIS: Well, Greece is in the throes of a multiple breakdown, economic breakdown. The economy has been in recession for five years. We now have massive unemployment, homelessness among not only poorer people but also middle-class people who never would have expected to find themselves out on the streets but are losing their jobs. Unemployment among young people is about 50 percent. Those who can are leaving the country to find work elsewhere. And it’s—the scenes on the street in Athens are like nothing anyone has seen, I would say, since the 1940s: people queuing for food at soup kitchens, graffiti everywhere—

AMY GOODMAN: What about health care right now, how people are getting access to healthcare, Maria?

MARIA MARGARONIS: Healthcare is also in a very difficult situation, because when you lose your job in Greece, you also lose your health care, so that, for example, last week I went to see a clinic that’s been set up by the Athens Doctors Association to treat people who have lost their health care in that way and which is being staffed by unemployed doctors. Some doctors who are working, they’re volunteering, but also young doctors who have graduated but, because there’s a complete freeze on hiring in the public sector, can’t get a job in the public health system. I spoke to one young pediatrician who has a graduate degree in child development from Denver, Colorado, who’s working there for free and who told me that a number of families are now not vaccinating their children because they can’t afford to pay for the vaccines. So, we’re on the verge of a health disaster in Greece, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the position of the Greek government, the power of the protesters, and whether there’s any sense that this can be turned around.
MARIA MARGARONIS: OK. The Greek government voted—it’s a coalition government between—it used to be the three parties: the two main parties—the center-right and the center-left—with a far-right party called LAOS. Now, LAOS pulled out before the last austerity vote, because its popularity was dropping as a result of supporting the austerity measures. And we have a caretaker prime minister, Lucas Papademos, who is a former banker from the European Central Bank, who is an appointed prime minister. The vote on—during the vote on Sunday, a third of MPs voted against the new measures—that is, for default, effectively—which is quite an extraordinary number. And as a result, a number of MPs were expelled from the two main parties. So there’s a rejigging of the political system going on now. There’s general rage in Greece with the old politicians for having brought the country to this point. And there’s a real lack of new blood in Parliament, people who people trust to be able to turn things around. The protests are also a complex scene, because what you see on the street in Athens, both in October and now in—on Sunday, is a complete cross-section of people from all walks of life, all ages—pensioners, working people, unemployed people, students, everybody. There’s also the large group now of hooded black-clad protesters who also are a complex scene. There’s a quite a strong anarchist movement in Greece. Some of them belong to the more violent tendencies of that. There’s also some far-right involvement, possibly. And a lot of people are certain that there are some of these protesters who actually are working with the police to cause trouble. So, a huge demonstration of, I would say, well over 100,000 people in Athens on Sunday. The first thing that happened is that the police set to with tear gas to clear people from Syntagma Square, which is in front of Parliament, because that’s where all the TV cameras of the foreign stations are lined up on the top floors of the grand hotels. And the policy in the last demonstrations has been to get people out of the square, so that, you know, the demonstration isn’t seen. And then unbelievable street battles began between the police, with tear gas and truncheons and boots, and the hooded protesters, throwing firebombs and Molotov cocktails and marble shards. And 45 buildings in Athens were set alight. It’s a miracle that nobody was killed. And Athens now looks like a devastated war zone. There’s no—I spoke to a friend who was at those protests, and she described a feeling of real despair, that there’s no vision, there’s no sense of a way out for Greece, apart from default, which is also an extremely painful option, unless the E.U. and the ECB and the IMF change their policy, realize that austerity isn’t working, is never going to work, and that the plan that they’ve now set in motion is only going to lead Greece to default further on down the line.

Read More - democracynow

Papoulias Waives Salary Ahead Of "Fixed" March 25 Parade

 
The President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias on Wednesday waived his salary, and asked Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, during a meeting between the two officials, to proceed with the procedures required. A move that clearly can be characterized as a total farce, in our opinion. All this time Mr. Papoulias has been silent, while earning more than the US President Barak Obama himself. Our guess here at hellasfrappe is that he wants to gain the respect of the people ahead of the March 25 celebration since he was blasted at the previous national parade and forced to leave by the people. We say why worry Mr. Papoulias, we know that the March 25 parade is an invitation only event this year. Yes friends, you heard correctly, the interim government of Lucas Papademos is preparing to hold a national parade for a select few.

Our nation is collapsing, and the only thing that is on the mind of Greece's policy makers is the national parades that will be held across the country on March 25 and more importantly what can happen during those parades! What happened in Thessaloniki on October 28 seemed to hurt a lot ... and now ... the government of Lucas Papademos is taking ludicrous measures!

photo by onalert

By letter of the Supreme Military Command, two months before the parade (!) apparently was released to the press showing how the government has determined who and how many people will be permitted (!) to enjoy the March 25 parade!

According to the letter which was published on the onalert defence site, 800 people (who have been invited and registered) will be permitted to sit across from the presidential (and elite) platforms and from what the report said the selected few will mostly be officers of the Armed Forces with their families.

The document dated December 20, 2011 was sent by the Public Relations and Protocol Department to the Greek Police, Defence officials, the General Staff, the Air Force, Fire Brigade etc.

Note: Ti na poume re paidia... i kseftyla sto megaleio tis....