Keep Talking Greece

Athens: students protest controversial education ‘reforms’

March 6, 2013 3

Students took to the streets of downtown Athens on Wednesday to protest the so-called education ‘reforms’ that will shut down universities and technical colleges in the name of Troika-imposed austerity. The controversial plan carrying the euphemistic title “Athena” , the ancient Greek Goddess of wisdom, foresees the merger and shutting down of …

Athens: One metro station to close after 4 p.m. Mar 6/2013

March 6, 2013 Comments Off on Athens: One metro station to close after 4 p.m. Mar 6/2013

Greek police ordered the closure of Athens Metro station <Megaro Mousikis> as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6th 2013. Several rallies will take place in the area, among them an event to commemorate 15 years after the death of former PM Konstantinos Karamanlis. Protests will be held by the …

UPD Channel 4: Greek student films the true face of Golden Dawn

March 6, 2013 23

National Film and Television student Konstantinos Georgousis spent a month in summer 2012 filming members of extreme-right party Golden Dawn – wandering through the streets of Athens, harassing migrants. The result is shocking. So shocking that I refuse to display the video footage here. Speaking to UK Channel 4 News about …

Greek FinMin grabs last €129 euro from jobless’ bank account – without permission!

March 5, 2013 Comments Off on Greek FinMin grabs last €129 euro from jobless’ bank account – without permission!

What we have been reading about the decision that the Greek finance ministry may grab money from bank accounts without the holder’s permission came true. A Greek jobless, father of three, saw his last 129 euro disappear from his bank account and thus without previous warning or his explicit permission. This …

IKEA pulls almond cakes after faecal bacteria found

March 5, 2013 Comments Off on IKEA pulls almond cakes after faecal bacteria found

After the horsemeat scandal another food scandal will cause thousands of consumers to reconsider buying ready made food. IKEA pulled a batch of frozen almond cakes (made in China) from its restaurants in 23 countries after Chinese authorities said they contained coliform faecal bacteria. “Swedish furniture giant Ikea pulled a …

Eurostat: With 67 years Greeks rank 3. in life expectancy among EU27

March 5, 2013 Comments Off on Eurostat: With 67 years Greeks rank 3. in life expectancy among EU27

Reading the latest Eurostat report on life expectancy, I couldn’t help but thinking “no wonder the Troika wants to hack into a minimum the pensions and cut health care to the absolute necessary.” Together with Irish and Luxembourgians, Greeks rank third among the folks of EU 27 member states when it …

Greek General Stab forbids soldiers to protest in uniform

March 5, 2013 1

Chief of Greek General Stab, Gen. Michalis Kostarakos explicitly forbade soldiers to hold protests wearing their uniforms. The order was issued last week, just days before the protest rally scheduled for upcoming Saturday, March 9th 2013. Active and retired members of the Greek Armed Forces will launch a march rally in order to …

Farmers from all over Greece launch protest rally in Athens

March 5, 2013 Comments Off on Farmers from all over Greece launch protest rally in Athens

More than 4,000 farmers staged a protest rally in downtown Athens on Tuesday noon. Farmers from all over Greece gathered outside the Ministry for Agricultural Development and marched towards the Greek Parliament. There, they wanted to hand out a list with their demands to the Parliament speaker. Video: farers protest video …

Is it true, the Troika complained about the Athens strays & demanded measures?

March 5, 2013 16

Are we just about to see austerity measures imposed to Athens strays? Do the Troikans gave up numbers and balance sheets and started to deal with the stray dogs of this city? There are reports in the Greek media, that the Troikans complained to finance minister about the incident on …

Athens: PPC cuts electricity to IKA branch due to outstanding debts

March 5, 2013 Comments Off on Athens: PPC cuts electricity to IKA branch due to outstanding debts

Greek Public Power Company (DEH) cut on Tuesday morning the electricity supply to IKA branch in Acharnes suburb due to outstanding debts. Unconfirmed information claim the debts reach several thousands of euro. Speaking to news portal NewsIt, the branch director said they were looking into the problem of power outage. …

Greek FinMin tells BILD, he can’t enjoy life anymore…

March 5, 2013 5

Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stourrnaras picked up German tabloid BILD to recount the dull lifestyle he had to live after he was appointed to the most crucial ministerial post of the debt-ridden country. Bild reporter visited Stournaras in his office in Athens and started right away with a personal question: “He is …

Athens police finds 4 bags with explosives after warning phone call

March 4, 2013 Comments Off on Athens police finds 4 bags with explosives after warning phone call

Greek police found four bags each containing small amounts of explosives in four different locations in the north of the city and after a warning phone call reached a newspaper. According to Greek media reports, an anonymous caller called at 9:30 a.m. Eleftherotypia newspaper, claiming that four bombs would explode …