Archbishop of America Calls Meeting To Discuss Cyprus Issue

Archbishop of America Demetrios is expected to hold a meeting on Wednesday with leading Greek Americans in order to discuss the situation in Cyprus as well as ways to help the Cypriot people. Cyprus' Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides is expected to address those attending the meeting by teleconference and at the same time brief them on the latest developments on the divided island.

Kasoulides is also set to outline Cyprus' needs and inform everyone on the solidarity fund which the Cyprus House of Representatives has decided to set up.

    "The National Solidarity Fund", according to legislation passed by the Cyprus House, aims at providing funds for credit institutions and help recapitalize them, in addition to providing funds for the Republic of Cyprus.

The New World Order – Part 3

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2.

Never in human history has this wonderful planet and its inhabitants  been subjected to such an evil satanic regime! Never since its creation has an organisation create so much damage to its environment, government,  people, finances and it industrial base and kept us all at war chasing non existent terrorists!

Peter Eyre
Broadcaster – Investigative Journalist
Middle East Consultant – Political Analysis
eyreinternational

In my last article I discussed some aspects of the religious side of the New World Order and then continued into the fiscal infrastructure.

One must understand that although the Rothschild s, Rokkerfella’s and many others  form this evil satanic organisation it is the Crown Templar and Rome that truly administrate this vast empire in both the fiscal and judiciary sense.

We now all fully understand that most of the world’s Reserve Banks or Central Banks are nothing more than private sector financial institution with most coming under the control of the Rothschild’s, add to that the fact that governments are basically corporate institutions and one can see how massive fraud and corruption runs rife.

Bankers and Politicians  run the largest criminal enterprise that has ever existed. Dark secrets and criminal conspiracies between politicians and bankers are what impoverish the people. It is all executed through what is known today as the Central Banking System, a privately owned enterprise made of privately owned banks that are tied into the geopolitical spectrum. Secret funds and secret controls with market manipulation, that in dire secret, steal from the masses.

The people are never taught about money, what it is and how it works. The people never know how they are entrapped into being chattels and slaves of bankers. The people are not allowed to know that the operations of banks today is all based on the fraudulent use of licenses banks hold that allow them their special and privileged position in Society. The people are not allowed to know that when a bank forecloses on a mortgage and takes possession of a home, that in fact and in law, this is theft and fraud.

The banks are almost never a party in interest.

The banks use administrative procedures to steal the hard won property of the home owner. The people are not allowed to know that when a bank lends money on a secured loan, that the bank never actually loaned them anything. What the bank did was simply ledger the loan as a debt of the National Treasury and as an asset of the bank. This is fraud against the People and theft against the National Treasury. The People have no idea how much Banks steal from them.

As promised here is the list of those private sector banks that are directly controlled by the Rothschild’s:

The Rothschild-Owned Central Banks of the World

• Afghanistan: Bank of Afghanistan
• Albania: Bank of Albania
• Algeria: Bank of Algeria
• Argentina: Central Bank of Argentina
• Armenia: Central Bank of Armenia
• Aruba: Central Bank of Aruba
• Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia
• Austria: Austrian National Bank
• Azerbaijan: Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic
• Bahamas: Central Bank of The Bahamas
• Bahrain: Central Bank of Bahrain
• Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bank
• Barbados: Central Bank of Barbados
• Belarus: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus
• Belgium: National Bank of Belgium
• Belize: Central Bank of Belize
• Benin: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Bermuda: Bermuda Monetary Authority
• Bhutan: Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
• Bolivia: Central Bank of Bolivia
• Bosnia: Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Botswana: Bank of Botswana
• Brazil: Central Bank of Brazil
• Bulgaria: Bulgarian National Bank
• Burkina Faso: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Burundi: Bank of the Republic of Burundi
• Cambodia: National Bank of Cambodia
• Cameroon: Bank of Central African States
• Canada: Bank of Canada – Banque du Canada
• Cayman Islands: Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
• Central African Republic: Bank of Central African States
• Chad: Bank of Central African States
• Chile: Central Bank of Chile
• China: The People’s Bank of China
• Colombia: Bank of the Republic
• Comoros: Central Bank of Comoros
• Congo: Bank of Central African States
• Costa Rica: Central Bank of Costa Rica
• Côte d’Ivoire: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Croatia: Croatian National Bank
• Cuba: Central Bank of Cuba
• Cyprus: Central Bank of Cyprus
• Czech Republic: Czech National Bank
• Denmark: National Bank of Denmark
• Dominican Republic: Central Bank of the Dominican Republic
• East Caribbean area: Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
• Ecuador: Central Bank of Ecuador
• Egypt: Central Bank of Egypt
• El Salvador: Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea: Bank of Central African States
• Estonia: Bank of Estonia
• Ethiopia: National Bank of Ethiopia
• European Union: European Central Bank
• Fiji: Reserve Bank of Fiji
• Finland: Bank of Finland
• France: Bank of France
• Gabon: Bank of Central African States
• The Gambia: Central Bank of The Gambia
• Georgia: National Bank of Georgia
• Germany: Deutsche Bundesbank
• Ghana: Bank of Ghana
• Greece: Bank of Greece
• Guatemala: Bank of Guatemala
• Guinea Bissau: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Guyana: Bank of Guyana
• Haiti: Central Bank of Haiti
• Honduras: Central Bank of Honduras
• Hong Kong: Hong Kong Monetary Authority
• Hungary: Magyar Nemzeti Bank
• Iceland: Central Bank of Iceland
• India: Reserve Bank of India
• Indonesia: Bank Indonesia
• Iran: The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
• Iraq: Central Bank of Iraq
• Ireland: Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland
• Israel: Bank of Israel
• Italy: Bank of Italy
• Jamaica: Bank of Jamaica
• Japan: Bank of Japan
• Jordan: Central Bank of Jordan
• Kazakhstan: National Bank of Kazakhstan
• Kenya: Central Bank of Kenya
• Korea: Bank of Korea
• Kuwait: Central Bank of Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan: National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic
• Latvia: Bank of Latvia
• Lebanon: Central Bank of Lebanon
• Lesotho: Central Bank of Lesotho
• Libya: Central Bank of Libya
• Lithuania: Bank of Lithuania
• Luxembourg: Central Bank of Luxembourg
• Macao: Monetary Authority of Macao
• Macedonia: National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia
• Madagascar: Central Bank of Madagascar
• Malawi: Reserve Bank of Malawi
• Malaysia: Central Bank of Malaysia
• Mali: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Malta: Central Bank of Malta
• Mauritius: Bank of Mauritius
• Mexico: Bank of Mexico
• Moldova: National Bank of Moldova
• Mongolia: Bank of Mongolia
• Montenegro: Central Bank of Montenegro
• Morocco: Bank of Morocco
• Mozambique: Bank of Mozambique
• Namibia: Bank of Namibia
• Nepal: Central Bank of Nepal
• Netherlands: Netherlands Bank
• Netherlands Antilles: Bank of the Netherlands Antilles
• New Zealand: Reserve Bank of New Zealand
• Nicaragua: Central Bank of Nicaragua
• Niger: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Nigeria: Central Bank of Nigeria
• Norway: Central Bank of Norway
• Oman: Central Bank of Oman
• Pakistan: State Bank of Pakistan
• Papua New Guinea: Bank of Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay: Central Bank of Paraguay
• Peru: Central Reserve Bank of Peru
• Philippines: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
• Poland: National Bank of Poland
• Portugal: Bank of Portugal
• Qatar: Qatar Central Bank
• Romania: National Bank of Romania
• Russia: Central Bank of Russia
• Rwanda: National Bank of Rwanda
• San Marino: Central Bank of the Republic of San Marino
• Samoa: Central Bank of Samoa
• Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
• Senegal: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Serbia: National Bank of Serbia
• Seychelles: Central Bank of Seychelles
• Sierra Leone: Bank of Sierra Leone
• Singapore: Monetary Authority of Singapore
• Slovakia: National Bank of Slovakia
• Slovenia: Bank of Slovenia
• Solomon Islands: Central Bank of Solomon Islands
• South Africa: South African Reserve Bank
• Spain: Bank of Spain
• Sri Lanka: Central Bank of Sri Lanka
• Sudan: Bank of Sudan
• Surinam: Central Bank of Suriname
• Swaziland: The Central Bank of Swaziland
• Sweden: Sveriges Riksbank
• Switzerland: Swiss National Bank
• Tajikistan: National Bank of Tajikistan
• Tanzania: Bank of Tanzania
• Thailand: Bank of Thailand
• Togo: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)
• Tonga: National Reserve Bank of Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia: Central Bank of Tunisia
• Turkey: Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
• Uganda: Bank of Uganda
• Ukraine: National Bank of Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates: Central Bank of United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom: Bank of England
• United States: The Dirty Nasty Stinky Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
• Uruguay: Central Bank of Uruguay
• Vanuatu: Reserve Bank of Vanuatu
• Venezuela: Central Bank of Venezuela
• Vietnam: The State Bank of Vietnam
• Yemen: Central Bank of Yemen
• Zambia: Bank of Zambia
• Zimbabwe: Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

By now you are probably on the floor having been bowled over by the sheer size of this skullduggery but this is only just touching the surface, as an example they talk about the national debt of America as being something in the region of US $16 trillion but this is far from the truth.

I believe the factual debt could be three or four times above this with the Reserve Bank actually owing much more when it did not pay interest on a hidden loan of “Gold Bullion” (that was stolen during WW2) at the rate of 4%, if one could picture thousands if not millions of tonnes of gold at today’s prices and then calculate the interest of 4% over a 50 year period (that has never been paid) you can see that the total combined national debt of the US is well and truly unsustainable and in actual fact could never be paid back i.e. an infinite permanent debt!!!

Yes another NWO imbecile - credit - eyreinternational

Back to the main theme again:

Don’t you find it so hard to believe that those that were/are so critical of Nazi War Crimes (the Zionists and the Church) are all in bed together when it comes to the New World Order!!!

Let’s again look as to how this Zionist Controlled, Nazi Controlled, Crown Templar Controlled and Jesuit Controlled  New World Order came together and as usual use the USA as a template in its development and how the “true axis of evil” is in actual fact the City of London and Rome who basically control it all.

No better way to demonstrate some of their skullduggery than to open up a chapter on the Bush regime who in actual fact are not Bush’s at all but a German Nazi family called the Scherff’s. George H Schreff Sr who was born and bred in Germany had extremely close ties with notable Nazi’s of the period. He had a son called George H Scherff Jr, otherwise known to you as George HW Bush (Sr), later to become the 41st President of the United States but maybe this is racing along too quickly so lets turn back the clock and see how all this ties in with the banking system in the US as we see it today.

This extract by Don Nicoloff:

   What we are taught about history in American schools is not history, but a fairy tale. Better yet, it is propaganda designed to hoodwink an unsuspecting society about its true heritage and the treasonous acts and sabotage that were conceived in order to bring about a New World Order. You are about to learn the real identities of those who have infiltrated your nation on behalf of secret societies intent on bringing about the total slavery of mankind.
   In the past, others have written about the numerous conspiracies to control natural resources, energy, food and our sovereign right to live on planet Earth - not as slaves of a wealthy few - but as free men, women, and children exercising the free will given to them by God.
   Imagine you were a member of a secret organization whose sole agenda was to control the entire planet. If your plan was to accomplish this goal without being perceived by your intended victims, discretion would be paramount. Your organization would devise a series of historical events that, on the surface, would appear to be everyday, happenstance occurrences (natural disasters, man-made diseases, acts of murder, assassination, terror, manipulation of money and energy supplies, contamination of foods, pollution of natural resources, and war).    The timing of these events would require patience, careful planning, cooperation from others in positions of trust, stealth and deceit. In essence, the whole mission must derive its power through deception and concealment and must have a master plan.

credit - eyreinternational

The Master Plan & The Arrival of the Bankers

At the turn of the 20th century, a plan to slowly take over the government of the United States began to unfold. Many works have been written about the Nazi machine that instigated two world wars, though few have traced the footsteps of the foreign financiers and the actors we prefer to call “politicians.”

A brief glance at shipping records, passenger manifests, and financial transactions on Wall Street indicates a pattern of deception which was masterminded by this same machine. The level of cooperation from government agencies and their elected officials was not only disgraceful, but blatantly treasonous.

The Federal Reserve was created in 1913. The architect of the plan, Paul M. Warburg, was a representative of the Rothschild banks in England and France and his brother Felix headed the Warburg banks in Germany and the Netherlands.

A secret meeting between Republican Senator Nelson W. Aldrich and six of the most powerful bankers in the world took place and this meeting had to be conducted in a secret, clandestine island location (Jekyll Island) which indicates the level of deception, concealment - and treason.

Paul Warburg, a German national, spoke English well enough to craft a financial document (a volume consisting of 1,750 pages) resulting in the Federal Reserve Act designed to control the finances of the United States (from Europe) was no small feat. Of particular interest was how Warburg was able to establish these important connections prior to his arrival in the U.S. in 1913 and then orchestrate this financial coup. Warburg had to have known his co-conspirators before coming to America.

Of special interest in this October 13, 1903 passenger manifest, is the fact that other prominent passengers in the elite financial community were also on the same passenger manifest such as Harry Sachs (of Goldman Sachs fame).

These Germans and many other German bankers  formed the backbone of the current US Banking system that to this very day continues to rape the country that gave them a home (as it did with ex Nazi and SS members) and start the foundation blocks of the CIA and other covert outlets that we now call the New World Order.

Later another very famous figure arrived on the shores America, that being Nikola Tesla, a scientist who would not only create some wonderful inventions but also who would be spied upon and have all his creations stolen, one of those inventions would turn into the most satanic weapons in existence (HAARP) and be taken over by the US Military, it was Tesla who eventually was joined by George H Scherff (Sr), George H. Scherff.

Scherff often advised Tesla about pending patent litigation, contracts, proposals, demonstrations and financial affairs.

As Tesla worked on secret U.S. government projects at Colorado Springs, Colorado, Scherff communicated to Tesla the status of his business affairs. Tesla spoke of hopeful, future financial successes, though Scherff repeatedly delivered the news of dwindling funds. Tesla had begun construction of a wireless power transmission tower (“Wardenclyffe,” Shoreham, Long Island) with funds invested by J.P. Morgan.

When Morgan discovered that the tower would transmit free electricity and radio waves, he cancelled the project and had the tower dismantled, then sold for scrap. Morgan was not about to allow Americans to receive free electricity, television and radio. Tesla was devastated when he received the news.

It should be noted that even in those dark days the Zionist kept everything under lock and key as they do to this day and so J.P.Morgan canned the whole thing as you can see, it is ironic that to this day many such inventions exist that could bring us very cheap or free electricity but the New World Order cabal have every invention and patent under their thumb!

It may come as no surprise to learn that George Scherff (Sr) had connections with the Rockefellars as well as interlocked interests with J.P. Morgan and other German interests.

Friends and acquaintances of Nikola Tesla recall him complaining about Scherff’s son, George, Jr., always snooping around Tesla’s lab. George being George Bush (Sr). Tesla caught the 14-year old Scherff looking at his notes, poring through his books, and stealing small items from his lab.

Tesla gave him the nickname, “Curious George” and likened him to a “mischievous monkey.”

According to Skorzeny, (Adolph Hitler’s former bodyguard) in a deathbed confession to Eric “Orion” (Eric Berman) in S. Miami, Florida, Tesla, “hated the younger Scherff.”

In short, Otto Skorzeny claimed that the true identity of George H.W. Bush was “George H. Scherff, Jr., the son of Nikola Tesla’s illegal-immigrant, German-born accountant, George H. Scherff, Sr.”

This was not the only bombshell Otto Skorzeny delivered that day in late-1999. Skorzeny, producing a shoe box full of 60-years worth of his personal photographs, showed them to Berman, describing each one in great detail.

The collection featured a photo of a young, majestic Skorzeny in full S.S. Nazi military dress, next to his Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler. Then there were photos of Reinhard Gehlen (S.S. spy and assassin) Dr. Joseph Mengele (the “Angel of Death”) Martin Bormann (Hitler aide and S.S. assassin) and Adolph Hitler (photographed in 1997).

Does this mean that not only did the US President and Government allow German Nazi and German SS war criminals into the US illegally but also allowed a very much alive Adolf Hitler to reside there until his death?

credit - eyreinternational

According to Otto Skorzeny, pictured above is the Scherff family and a few friends (circa 1938). Holding “Mother” Scherff’s hand at left is Martin Bormann. In front is Reinhardt Gehlen. In back is Joseph Mengele and to his right is Skorzeny as a young man. At center right (in the German navy uniform) is George H. Scherff, Jr. and his father George H. Scherff, Sr. Bormann became Hitler’s second in command.

Reinhardt Gehlen was a chief SS officer and assassin who was smuggled out of Germany under Operation Paperclip. Skorzeny was Hitler’s bodyguard and SS spy/assassin who came to the U.S. after the war under Project Paperclip. Skorzeny and GHW Bush were instrumental in merging Nazi (SS) intelligence with the OSI to form the CIA with “Wild Bill” Donovan and Allen Dulles.

These guys were also part of CIA mind control experiments such as MK-ULTRA.

SS officer and physician Joseph Mengele, the notoriously sadistic “Angel of Death” of Auschwitz, escaped Germany to South America after the war. George H. Scherff, Jr., became the 41st President of the United States as GHW Bush and George H. Scherff, Sr., was Nicola Tesla’s “trusted assistant.”

credit - eyreinternational

The unmistakable Otto Skorzeny with Adolph Hitler. George H. Scherff, Jr., who, Skorzeny explained, was trained as a spy and sent to America to work for Adolph Hitler. “He was given false identification and adopted by Prescott Sheldon Bush as his “son,” George Herbert Walker Bush,” Skorzeny went on. “He forged a birth certificate in order to enter the military before he turned 18. He was 16 at the time.”

In the family photo, a young Scherff and Bormann both sported a German Navy uniform. Scherff later enlisted in the U.S. Navy as “George H.W. Bush.”

In even greater detail, Otto Skorzeny described how (“contrary to the CIA-written history books”) he helped Hitler escape to Austria in a plane flown by a female pilot, Hanna Reitsch.

    “Hitler did not commit suicide,” Skorzeny recounted. “His double was shot between the eyes, and the dental records proved he was not Hitler. The Americans kept it a secret, worried the truth might anger the Russians.”

Eric “Orion” (Berman), in a live radio interview on Republic Broadcasting Network, January 17, 2006, detailed how:     “Skorzeny died on December 31, 1999. His body was cremated, I have a copy of his death certificate, and I saw his ashes. After the war, he helped George Bush found the CIA through Operation Paperclip and ODESSA.”

It is said that Scherff either murdered or assassinated Tesla and much more startling information came out as to the names used by many ex Nazi/SS members of staff once they settled in the US.

Here is part of that statement:

Skorzeny did not stop with these soul-cleansing disclosures. He went on to describe the aliases of himself Frank Edward P, of south Florida (according to Berman, who claims he is trying to protect Skorzeny’s daughter), Reinhard Gehlen (Hank Janowicz, Wayne, N.J.), and Dr. Joseph Mengele (Steven Rabel).

According to Berman, “Gehlen was tipped off by the FBI about Skorzeny’s unveiling of his identity and location, and Gehlen (Janowicz) then went into hiding. Mengele (Rabel), through a series of anti-aging hormone injections, a black hairpiece, and ‘cannibalism’ had maintained a youthful appearance.”

Berman had contacted the U.S. Justice Department to inform them that Nazi spies were being harbored by certain factions of the U.S. intelligence agencies, in particular, the CIA.

    “My thoughts were that, uh, I needed to try to bring these wanted SS Nazi war criminal, holocaust killers - terrorists, basically - to justice. I wanted to call our government and tell ‘em, ‘Hey, that they’re still alive.’ I wanted to bring ‘em to justice. That was my whole intention. I initially had contacted, or tried to contact Eli Rosenbaum, who was the Director of the United States Justice Department, Office of Special Investigations. Basically, they, uh, thought it was a hoax and they told me that I was mistaken, and that according to the CIA, ‘all of them were all dead and I was mistaken.’ That’s what they told me. I was wrong."

Don’t you find it hypocritical to learn that Israel, especially those that attempted to hunt down those involved in the holocaust, knew about all this activity and met the Bush family with open arms, could it be that we are all living in a dream of fairy-tales and that Israel and some of their political elite are all part of the same cabal? For my part I have always thought this!

George HW Bush as you know became part of the CIA and who better suited when he was born on a background of Nazi/SS hatred and suppression and then along came his “Brain Dead Son” George Bush Jr (George Scherff Jr the second) later to become another US President and who took everyone on one  permanent war campaign which continues to this day!

The United States developed on the backbone of the Crown Templar, Jesuit influence (linked with Freemasonry), Zionist Mafia (both Cristian and Jewish), German Nazi/SS and such powerful families as the Rothschild’s and the Rokkafella’s etc and between them and their counterparts in London and Rome created the New World Order that exists to this day.

In my next article (Part 4) I will cover their aims and objectives followed by how they actually control the US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia and all the old Great British Empire, British Commonwealth countries etc via their vast International Judiciary/Banking, mechanism in London/Rome, their Zionist based organisations and the many think tanks that basically advise and control governments. You will be shocked to learn that in the true sense you have no Independent Sovereign State and your Constitutions and Bill of Rights are not worth the paper they are written on!

Eldorado Gold Is Going To Remain In Greece - Does Not Plan To Leave

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Eldorado Hellas Company is determined to stay in Greece and on Tuesday it dismissed recent reports that claimed that the company was thinking about leaving the country. While speaking to reporters at a news conference in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, the vice-chairman of Eldorado Hellas, Mr. Eduardo Mura said:

    "There is no evidence that the company was considering to leave".

At the same time he added that Eldorado has tripled the number of its workers in one year and reiterated that exports could reach US $1.0 billion annually when its activities reached full production capacity.

Mr. Mura noted that the company has offered a 50 million Euro letter of guarantee to safeguard environmental restoration and stressed that the investment was boosting liquidity in Northern Greece by 800,000 Euros a day. He also revealed that the company has completed investments worth 100 million Euros in the last 12 months in its goldmines in Chalkidiki as well as in the region of Thrace and was planning to invest a further 1.0 billion Euros over the next five years.

He said the company "has many reasons to believe it had the support of the majority of citizens in the municipality of Aristoteles. "We are open and receptive to a rational dialogue to win the the confidence of those reacting," he said.

On his part, Petros Stratoudakis, who is the chief executive of "Hellenic Gold", said that the company is going to soon become the first company in Greece “since the crisis- to sign a wage increase contract with its workers.

Life Sentences To Terrorists For Terrorist Acts Against Greece

credit - ProtoThema

Five people were convicted with terrorism-related charges on Wednesday in relation to a militant anarchist group which claimed responsibility for a string of bombings over six years. Reports in Athens claim that the same group also fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the US Embassy in Athens.

Two of the suspects, Nikos Maziotis and his wife Panagiota Roupa, were convicted in absentia. (They absconded in 2012 following their release after spending the maximum 18 months in pre-trial detention.)

The court, which convened in a maximum-security Athens prison, sentenced Maziotis, Roupa and Costas Gournas to 25 years in prison, and handed out 7 and 7 1/2-year terms to two more men.

Three other suspects related to the case were apparently acquitted.

Maziotis, Roupa and Gournas have admitted "political responsibility" for actions of the Revolutionary Struggle group, but all the other suspects in this case deny any wrongdoing.

The ruling ended the third major domestic terrorism trial in recent years in Greece, which suffered from extreme left-wing political violence for decades.

Article in Greek - ProtoThema

State Reveals Plan For New Intercity Road Transport System

Greece's Minister of Development and Transport, Costis Hatzidakis, revealed a new and innovative system of intercity road transport, which is expected to be fully operational by 2015. While presenting the plan, and noting that a restructuring of the intercity road transport system was a State commitment, Hatzidakis noted that timetables were progressing according to a plan agreed with the troika.

Under the new draft legislation, the new system is going to operate under three categories of transport lines, paving the way for participation to every kind of buses, such as tourist buses. The Greek Minister stressed that the draft legislation was not final and noted he was open to dialogue with all interested parties.

    "It is a reform based on a specific method, according to community legislation, envisaging a transition period by 2019. However, basic procedures must begin now to have results the soonest possible and to avoid facing any vacuum in the domestic transportation services," he said.

From Greece to Stockton, California - The System Fractures

Stockton, California (credit: calwest)

Greece is a sovereign nation; its government is responsible for the totality of its citizens, for all of the services it provides, for maintaining the nation as a nation. And in order to do that, Greece has -like other nations- borrowed money, oftentimes by issuing bonds. Such government bonds carry risk, like all investments, but in first-world nations -particularly those in the EU, the United States, and Canada- the risk has always been considered to be minimal (since they're backed by the full faith and credit of the nation), hence the generally low interest payments on such bonds.

The Greek debt crisis changed all of that, as private bondholders were basically forced to take a loss on their investments. Not simply a loss on any gains, but a loss on actual principal, an unheard of thing for sovereign debt in an EU nation. But the potential outrage over this was easily muted by those who pointed out that the alternative--wherein bondholders did not take a loss, or receive a "haircut"--would be disastrous for the people of Greece, along with the Greek government.

Thus the bondholder became the lone villain, despite the rest of the picture:

    It's easy to see the bondholders and the EU as villains in all of this. After all, their demands are essentially destroying Greece and will leave it in rubble, with or without the riots. And to be fair, many of the bondholders have made tidy sums loaning money to Greece and many other nations. Eating the losses here won't break them, at all (most of them). Looking at it through the credit card analogy once again, these bondholders kept extending Greece credit, in return for interest payments (maybe a loanshark is a better analogy). But they should have known--and probably did know--that the end-game was bankruptcy/default.
    But what of the Greek government's culpability? On what basis did it think it could keep borrowing money? Olive oil futures? It's tourism industry? No, the Greek government was certainly aware that it was living on borrowed time. And that begs the question, where did all of the money go?

This has been viewed -by most- as an extreme and unique situation (like the one in Cyprus), something that did not represent a general change in the way bonds worked, particularly government bonds, with regard to risk. It occurred, after all, in Greece, a small nation that had overspent like mad, created a bloated government bureaucracy, and basically showed no sense of fiscal responsibility whatsoever. The EU's "haircut" on bondholders wasn't supposed to be a new standard.

And yet...

Stockton, California -which declared bankruptcy last year- has just won a ruling in court allowing the city to remain in chapter 9 while it attempts to resolve its financial woes. The city's various creditors -its bondholders- had argued that the city was not following bankruptcy law because it was unwilling to take steps to increase revenues or cuts services, particularly with regard to pensions, thus it should not be allowed to remain under bankruptcy protection.

The court found the opposite to be the case, stating in the ruling that the bondholders' refusal to negotiate with the city- to lower the amount owed -meant there was no good faith on their part:

    U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Klein in Sacramento rejected arguments from creditors including Assured Guaranty Corp. and Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) that the city isn’t eligible for bankruptcy and found that creditors “absented themselves from all further discussions” with the city before it filed.
    The city of 296,000, an agricultural center about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of San Francisco, is among three municipalities that have said they will try to force creditors, including bondholders, to take less than the principal they are owed. The others are San Bernardino, California, and Jefferson County, Alabama.

The city leaders of Stockton may very well feel they have no choice here, that there is simply no way to repay the full principal on the bonds. Be that as it may, this is no small thing if it happens.

As the Bloomberg piece notes:

    No city or county since at least the 1930s has used the power of a U.S. bankruptcy court to force a reduction in its debt principal.

That fact is exactly why cities and other municipalities have been able to fund pretty much anything under the Sun by issuing bonds: there is a widespread belief that the principal -at the very least- is secure for all kinds of municipal-type bonds.

True enough, not all munis are created equal. The most secure kind are general obligation bonds. Such bonds are very much like sovereign debt; they are guaranteed by the issuer's "full faith and credit." On a municipality's balance sheet, general obligation bonds equal real debt that must be figured against revenues, year in and year out. Because of this, such bonds are often required to be voter-approved.

But in recent decades, municipalities have often opted for other kinds of bonds, correctly assuming that the market would still view them as secure, as safe investments. These are generally termed to be revenue bonds. Their repayment is drawn from revenue streams supposedly created by whatever the borrowed monies are used to finance, from parking garages to sports stadiums, or from special taxes tied to the same.

Such bonds do not technically represent debt for the issuer, thus can be issued without voter approval. Some of the most popular kinds involve the issuance of certificates of participation--kind of like stock--wherein the holder is granted a share of the revenue produced by whatever is being funded.
The problem is the issuer has full authority to determine when and if payments are made. These are, by and large, the bonds at issue in Stockton. There are no general obligation bonds, just revenue bonds.

Stockton expanded right and left from 2001 to 2007, fueled mostly by the housing bubble (and the City of Stockton thanks you for that idea, Paul Krugman) and the assumption of increased revenues from the same. It built stadiums and docks, bought new buildings, increased the number of public employees, and loaded up on benefits (one had to only work for the city for a single month to receive lifetime health insurance in Stockton).

It did all this by issuing bonds. And true enough, investors were more than happy to help Stockton in this regard, because they all assumed there was just no way a major California city would try to renege on its debt obligations.

And yet that is exactly what Stockton is doing. Once again -as was the case in Greece- it is the bondholders who are being cast as the villains in all of this.

They enticed the city into this, according to many experts. They knew the debt was too much, knew the revenue assumptions were unrealistic, but they bought the bonds anyway. So screw 'em, right? The ridiculous pension commitments made by the city? That's a different story. That money must be paid because it affects everyday people.

Such populism plays well -just ask the Democrats and President Obama- but the actual application of it is, in fact, a real fracture in the system. If more municipalities follow Stockton down this road, if Stockton gets away with shirking its financial obligations, municipal bonds in general may cease to be viewed as safe investments. And if this happens, costs will go up across the board for access to new capital throughout the country. It will happen quicker in places like California, of course, but the effects will reverberate throughout the land, no doubt.

And I guess there's an argument to be made in favor of this, in ending the popularity of revenue bonds as a whole. But the consequences in the short term will be extreme, with regard to economic growth and development.

Yet the pundits on the left still insist there's no danger of another Greece here ... all is well, remain calm.

Cheers, all.

thepondsofhappenstance

Job Fair 2013 at Technopolis Starts Today!

The annual "Job Fair Athens" opened its doors today at the Athens municipality's Technopolis facility. The event, which will wrap up on Thursday and is being held for the 3rd consecutive year, is set to give university grads the opportunity to come into contact with major companies for employment. 

In the previous two Job Fairs, more than 60 companies and 2,000 students and graduates of polytechnic, technological and economic schools took part. The purpose of the event, which runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days, is to brief visitors on the conditions on the job market, as well as for them to find jobs or internships with the participating companies.

The event is organised by the student organisations EESTEC LC Athens (Electrical Engineering STudent European assoCiation) and IEEE NTUA S.B. (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), in collaboration with more than 100 higher-education students from all over Greece, under the auspices of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA-Athens Polytechnic) and the Secretariat General for Research and Technology (GGET).

Appeal to Expat Imvrians to Return Home

Pantelis Vingas, representative of the non-moslem minorities in the board of Turkey's benevolent foundations has apparently extended an appeal for the repatriation of ex-residents on Imvros island. In the newspaper Sabah, Vingas said that the Imvrians who emigrated to Greece, as well as to Australia, the United States, France and even South Africa, should return to their homes.

    "Here, the school opened. The island is waiting for you," Vingas remarked.

His statements come a little after Turkish Education Minister Nabi Avci announcement last week claiming that the licence for the operation of the Greek Orthodox elementary school on the island Imvros was finally approved.

New Transliteration Rules for Greek IDs, Passports Urged

The Greek ombudsman has asked the public order ministry to re-examine current rules for transliterating Greek names into Latin script on IDs and passports issued in Greece, following numerous complaints from citizens. The independent authority noted that deviation from the approved transliteration model ELOT 743 has until now only been allowed if it was requested by the interested part and there was a previously existing public document using the alternative version, issued either in Greece or by a foreign authority.

The current rules, based on a past ruling of the Legal Council of State, forbid any deviation from the transliteration model that could be seen as a 'loose translation', with the additional of nonexistent letters or changes to the ending of the surname in the female and male forms or the omission of letters. Effectively, this means that the Greek Police, which is the body responsible for issue IDs and passports, has completely abolished the originally foreseen option of deviating from ELOT 743.

The ombudsman then sought and obtained a new ruling from the Legal Council of State on this issue in 2011, which allowed a double rendition of the document holder's name in Latin script, one in the 'approved' ELOT 743 version and the second in the previously established form.

The authority notes that this has 'cancelled out' the option to request an alternative rendition of one's name in the form already established in other documents and creates problems for the document holder, especially with transactions abroad.

The Greek Police, however, replied that the problem has been resolved by adopting the 2011 ruling prompting the ombudsman to demand that the ministry re-examine the issue. (AMNA)

Greek Descent MPs Abroad intensifying Action for Recovery

As Greek decent members of parliament around the world are intensifying action aimed at helping Greece's economic recovery, deputy Foreign minister Costas Tsiaras hosted a working dinner on Monday night for the board of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA), currently on a visit to Athens.

    "We must coordinate our action in the best possible way, particularly at this crucial period for Greece. It is imperative to activate all the forces of ecumenical Hellenism and seek the way in which we can attain the best possible results," Tsiaras told AMNA (the Greek state news agency).
    "This can be confirmed at political level, in an effort to strengthen Greece's relations with the countries they (WHIA members) represent and have political activity, in the promotion of issues or sectors in which there can be further cooperation, such as trade and tourism," he added.

WHIA president and member of parliament in the state of Victoria, Australia John Pantazopoulos said "wherever we reside, we are Greeks," adding that "in such moments we must all do what we can to help Greece, to help the economy of Greece and to strengthen Greece. This is our aim."