Keep Talking Greece

SYRIZA MP: “Greeks Face an Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe”

September 21, 2012 4

“Greeks face an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as health, education and public administration collapse, salaries and pensions shrink, while the unemployment is on the rise with one out of two young people without job,” Rena Dourou, MP from left-wing SYRIZA, told Austrian newspaper “Wiener Zeitung“. “The policies of IMF bring nothing except deeper recession and …

Greek Municipality Suspends Operation Due to Economic Problems

September 21, 2012 Comments Off on Greek Municipality Suspends Operation Due to Economic Problems

A first in Greece: Acharnon Municipality, a suburb of Attica prefecture, suspended its operation due to economic problems. The decision was taken on Thursday evening at the meeting of the city council. Acharnon Municipality said, it was unable to pay employees and to cover fixed costs. A notice uploaded on the municiaplity’s website …

Greek FinMin Got a New Idea: Poll Tax of 150 EUR on the Way…

September 20, 2012 2

And when you think, you’ve seen everything, Greece’s Finance Ministry is always good for surprises – under the Troika pressure, of course… Finance Ministry reportedly surprised coalition governemtn partners Venizelos (PASOK ) and Kouvelis (Democratic Left) during their meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Thursday: A poll tax of minimum 150 euro. Imposed to whom? …

Do You Have an Idea What’s Really Going On in Greece?

September 20, 2012 21

Many trees make a big forest. And many puzzle pieces make a big picture. Let’s take the example of a normal day, like today: September 20th. It would be a normal day some years ago. Let’s say in 2005. People would go to work without any problems, would do their duty and return home. Members …

Santorini: Two Nigerians Arrested for Selling Varnish as Euro-Multiplier

September 20, 2012 Comments Off on Santorini: Two Nigerians Arrested for Selling Varnish as Euro-Multiplier

Have you ever thought about unconventional ways to multiply your money? I’m not talking about “tax evasion” and things like that. I’m talking about a magic formula that would turn your 300 euro into …30 or 300 thousands or even better to 30 million. Unbelievable? You think… A 34-year old …

Athens: Protesters Boo FinMin, Riot Police Fires Tear Gas Against Protesting Policemen

September 20, 2012 Comments Off on Athens: Protesters Boo FinMin, Riot Police Fires Tear Gas Against Protesting Policemen

This that did not happened a couple of weeks ago, occurred on Thursday morning. Riot Police fired tear gas against protesting policemen, firefighters and coastal guards. Riot Police vs Protesting Police According to Greek media, the unionists had formed a human chain outside the Maximos Mansion in order to prevent …

Greek FinMin Confirms “List” of 32 Corrupt Politicians; Supreme Court & SDOE Probe

September 20, 2012 3

Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras confirmed on Thursday morning, that there is indeed a list containing the names of 32 politicians and that Financial Crimes Squads (SDOE) are currently investigate the cases. However, “the number of the political persons under investigation is not stable but it changes at given time,” Stournaras said …

Athens: Strikes, Work Stoppages, Protest Rallies, Sept 20/2012

September 20, 2012 Comments Off on Athens: Strikes, Work Stoppages, Protest Rallies, Sept 20/2012

Traffic jams in all major streets of downtown Athens occurred on Thursday morning as thousands of residents had to use their vehicles to go to work due to the 24-hour strike at Metro, Tram and urban train ISAP. Workers protest wages cuts and demand the ticket fares to go down to one euro (from …

IMF Applauds Itself for the Success its Bailout Programs

September 19, 2012 1

No, it’s not a joke. In IMF’s scores-reviews published on Monday, International Monetary Fund among other “applauded itself for the success of its bailout programs”… Hm… should I mention the wrong predictions on recession? The bailout programs that crash the health care system? The end of welfare state? The grabbing of social contributions translated into sharp pension …

Greek State “Forgot” To Pay Employees at Alzheimer’s Daily Centres

September 19, 2012 Comments Off on Greek State “Forgot” To Pay Employees at Alzheimer’s Daily Centres

Employees at daily care centers for patients with Alzheimer’s, Dementia and related disorders, centres for patients with memory loss, have not seen any euro cent for the last six months. 250 social workers, psychologists, speech therapists, nurses, gym instructors and administration personnel, in the country’s centres and hostels are forced to seek other ways to cover …

Greek Tax Evasion in 2009: €28 Billion – Austerity Package 2012: €11.5 Billion

September 19, 2012 7

It looks as if the total amount of uncollected taxes, included the Value Added Tax, in 2009, is more than twice the amount of austerity measures Greece needs to take in order to receive the next trance. That was the result of an academic research published a week ago. € …

Greece to Impose 10% Tax on OPAP-Winnings from Online Gamble & Slot Machines

September 19, 2012 3

Greece’s finance ministry said on Wednesday it had agreed with the European Commission to set a flat 10 percent tax on player winnings from both online and slot machine games operated by state-owned betting agency OPAP from next year. OPAP, one of the prime assets set for privatisation as part …