'Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization.' -- Eugene V. Debs

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Blockade of Greek Parliament Planned for Tomorrow 

My mother is ill, and I am visiting her to assist with some medical issues. Meanwhile, there is a blockade of the Greek parliament planned for tomorrow to prevent it from approving yet another, more severe austerity plan imposed by the IMF, the EU, and the European Central Bank. For an anti-authoritarian perspective as events unfold, go here. While protesters are about to engage in a massive direct action, the bankers are haggling over the terms of the destruction of the Greek social welfare state, which may, if successful, serve as a model for application throughout the EU. Rumors of a possible coup, or other methods of extreme social repression, should not be discounted. I was troubled by the fact that Obama made an explicit reference to the importance of resolving the Greek problem, a subject that I never heard him speak about before, during a meeting with Chancellor Merkel of Germany last week. More recently, the New York Times published an article about the Greek crisis, suggesting that a default would result in an economic catastrophe analoguous to the 2008 one that it claims was precipitated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Will the EU, ECB and the IMF, with US approval, impose austerity upon Greece through the barrel of a gun? It is a question that we should start taking seriously.

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