Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

[llanlad2]

It looks like the Germans really want to give it to them Greek style. It's going to be very difficult for the German politicians to countenance any bailout.

"The chancellor cannot promise Greece any help," Schaeffler told Bild in a story under the headline: "Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks! And sell the Acropolis too!"

And the Greek response:-

"When we were carving beautiful statues like the Venus de Milos," he said, referring to the cover of a German magazine which showed the statue gesturing obscenely under the headline 'Greek cheats', "they were living in caves and growling like dogs."

They've also set a consumer group up to boycott German goods

Five days after it was launched, the 100,000-strong consumer group says the boycott of products and shops is going splendidly. "The response has been immense,"

It should help with their trade gap. Full article here.

[big67]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Just a little Schadefreude, mein Herr?

[don]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Meanwhile, Greeks are reminding the Germans, and the world, of the 300,000 dead from the invasion. And then there's those missing Greek gold reserves, never seen again after leaving for the Reich. (The Bunds Bank is well endowed with yellow bars :rolleyes

You are hereby declared gold miners of the Reich! When you find it, send it home. Achtung!

[D-Mack]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Meanwhile, Greeks are reminding the Germans, and the world, of the 300,000 dead from the invasion. And then there's those missing Greek gold reserves, never seen again after leaving for the Reich. (The Bunds Bank is well endowed with yellow bars :rolleyes

You are hereby declared gold miners of the Reich! When you find it, send it home. Achtung!

It was the idea of Mussolini, he botched the invasion and Hitler didn't really want to

Hitler furious over Italy's debacle in Greece


On this day in 1940, Adolf Hitler meets with Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano over Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece.
Mussolini surprised everyone with a move against Greece; his ally, Hitler, was caught off guard, especially since the Duce had led Hitler to believe he had no such intention. Even Mussolini's own chief of army staff found out about the invasion only after the fact!
Despite being warned off an invasion of Greece by his own generals, despite the lack of preparedness on the part of his military, despite that it would mean getting bogged down in a mountainous country during the rainy season against an army willing to fight tooth and nail to defend its autonomy, Mussolini moved ahead out of sheer hubris,

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...acle-in-greece

[don]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

It was the idea of Mussolini, he botched the invasion and Hitler didn't really want to

It interfered with their invasion of Russia timetable.

Meaning Germany was fundamentally reluctant to pillage a couple of more European countries (Yugoslavia got 'picked up' on the way)?

Il Duce Made Me Do It :rolleyes:

[D-Mack]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

It interfered with their invasion of Russia timetable.

Meaning Germany was fundamentally reluctant to pillage a couple of more European countries (Yugoslavia got 'picked up' on the way)?

Il Duce Made Me Do It :rolleyes:

Probably, I believe Halder wrote in his diaries that it was planned for autumn of 1940.

[iyamwutiam]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

I think the bigger point here is different. It is not Germany per se that is doing this. It is this cartel of financial agencies/persons/institutions that dictating and annexing Greek land and property (Bonds anyone). IF this happens -thats it -it is the perfect symbol.

The true birthplace of Democracy will have OFFICIALLY been replaced by Corporatocracy. We have seen in our lifetime -corporations take over a country and annex land. I mean this is awesome -no a single bullet fired , debt made by compounded abnormal principles and principals and you LITERALLY take over the country.

There is officially no place to go -because this is going on in broad daylight and they want you to know on a certain level -so you really really get it -as to who really is in charge.

[don]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

I think the bigger point here is different. It is not Germany per se that is doing this. It is this cartel of financial agencies/persons/institutions that dictating and annexing Greek land and property (Bonds anyone). IF this happens -thats it -it is the perfect symbol.

The true birthplace of Democracy will have OFFICIALLY been replaced by Corporatocracy. We have seen in our lifetime -corporations take over a country and annex land. I mean this is awesome -no a single bullet fired , debt made by compounded abnormal principles and principals and you LITERALLY take over the country.

There is officially no place to go -because this is going on in broad daylight and they want you to know on a certain level -so you really really get it -as to who really is in charge.

That's a great point. The Germans did it the old fashion way- outright conquest. They either incorporated the new lands into the Greater Reich (Manifest Destiny) or pillaged the occupied countries labor and general wealth. Under neo-liberalism it's like magic. No muss, no fuss...no tanks, no thanks. Throw in the Stockholm Syndrome, what's not to like :rolleyes:

[Thailandnotes]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Goldman's financial alchemists formulated a scheme to allow the Greek government to hide the extent of its rising debt from the public and the European Community's budget overseers. Under this diabolical deal, Goldman funneled new capital from super-wealthy investors into the government's coffers.

Fine. Not so fine, though, is that, in exchange, Greek officials secretly agreed that the investors would get 20 years' worth of the annual revenue generated by such public assets as Greece's airports. For its part, Goldman pocketed $300 million in fees paid by the country's unwitting taxpayers.

The financial giant dubbed its airport scheme "Aeolus," after the ancient Greek god of the wind - and, sure enough, any long-term financial benefit for Greece was soon gone with the wind. By hiding the fact that the government's future revenues had been consigned to secret investors, Goldman bankers made the country's balance sheet look much rosier than it was, allowing Greek officials to keep spending like there was no tomorrow.

Last month, however, tomorrow arrived.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/03-3

[llanlad2]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Under neo-liberalism it's like magic. No muss, no fuss...no tanks, no thanks. Throw in the Stockholm Syndrome, what's not to like :rolleyes:

If only it were that easy for the larger powers. After the Icelanders give the big finger to the UK and Holland tomorrow there's no way the Greeks won't do the same. Politically it will be very difficult to sell the austerity measures (and their islands) to the populus as unlike the zombified people in the US and UK they won't aquiesce to the demands of others so easily. Greece will leave the Euro and inflate big style.

[GRG55]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

If only it were that easy for the larger powers. After the Icelanders give the big finger to the UK and Holland tomorrow there's no way the Greeks won't do the same. Politically it will be very difficult to sell the austerity measures (and their islands) to the populus as unlike the zombified people in the US and UK they won't aquiesce to the demands of others so easily. Greece will leave the Euro and inflate big style.

I see no reason why you won't be correct about the defaults. Argentina is the poster child for defaulting on sovereign debt, and has apparently had no difficulty, after each episode, finding new lenders to buy its government bonds...which behaviour on the part of both borrower and lender simply set up the circumstances for the next default episode. I highly doubt the latest episode was the last...:rolleyes:

So why wouldn't tiny Iceland, or Greece do much the same, as you point out.

The only part I don't agree with is that Greece has no reason to exit the Euro currency zone. It's bond interest and ability to borrow is enhanced by that association - does anybody seriously think that Greece could borrow on more advantageous terms on its own and with its own currency? In a variation of Gresham's law, I continue to believe if the Euro currency zone breaks up, it will be Germany that leaves first.

[iyamwutiam]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

I see no reason why you won't be correct about the defaults. Argentina is the poster child for defaulting on sovereign debt, and has apparently had no difficulty, after each episode, finding new lenders to buy its government bonds...which behaviour on the part of both borrower and lender simply set up the circumstances for the next default episode. I highly doubt the latest episode was the last...:rolleyes:

So why wouldn't tiny Iceland, or Greece do much the same, as you point out.

The only part I don't agree with is that Greece has no reason to exit the Euro currency zone. It's bond interest and ability to borrow is enhanced by that association - does anybody seriously think that Greece could borrow on more advantageous terms on its own and with its own currency? In a variation of Gresham's law, I continue to believe if the Euro currency zone breaks up, it will be Germany that leaves first.

I think the other way. They have every reason to dithch the Euro and be given a stable loan by some other country. As Venezuela did with Argentina's payment. Even if this does not happen -thats fine -they should default and get out of the airport/island deals - because when you default as a nation -U still have tax revenue from your base and you have no debt servicing. So you will definitely get by -the only thing that may happen is that banksters would try to have countries embargo you -and since all the rich countries are already in debt -I don't see Britain/US etc spending millions servicing a fleet to prevent Greece from transacting commerce.

Even as a rogue nation with China/NKorea/Venezuela/Argentina/Iran etc.

[llanlad2]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

Greece leaving allows it to inflate and get the pain over and done with ASAP rather than a really long process. Yes it would pay higher rates , but let's face it, lower rates haven't done it much good anyway. Even if it does stay in it still has to loan at a fair number of points above the German rate anyway and will probably only manage to forestall another day of reckoning down the line.
As for Germany leaving the EURO,I think GRG55 is right but backwards. It will be Gresham's Law in reverse. ie the Germans will drive all the Club Meds who can't handle the pain out of the Euro.

[llanlad2]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

One of the most popular newspapers in Germany "BILD" has written an open letter to the Greek Prime Minister. The gist- work harder you lazy, bribe-taking, tax-dodging, swindlers.

Dear prime minister,
If you're reading this, you've entered a country different from yours. You're in Germany.
Here, people work until they are 67 and there is no 14th-month salary for civil servants. Here, nobody needs to pay a €1,000 bribe to get a hospital bed in time.
Our petrol stations have cash registers, taxi drivers give receipts and farmers don't swindle EU subsidies with millions of non-existent olive trees.
Germany also has high debts but we can settle them. That's because we get up early and work all day.
We want to be friends with the Greeks. That's why since joining the euro, Germany has given your country €50bn.

[iyamwutiam]

Re: Germans to Greeks"Sell your islands and the Acropolis too!

One of the most popular newspapers in Germany "BILD" has written an open letter to the Greek Prime Minister. The gist- work harder you lazy, bribe-taking, tax-dodging, swindlers.

Seriously though -I am quite spoked that this is the birthplace of democracy. You know that government for the people by the people kinda stuff. O know people will trot out the rhetoric regarding debt and responsibility etc -but the point is they could save loads defaulting on their central banks period. At the barrel of the gun -all bank debts/ bonds etc would be liquidated by the government and it would keep all the tax revenue -with none going to interest payments or whatever.

I really hope these countries default hard -all over Europe particularly eastern europe - institutions built with generational toil will annexed by 'bankers' etc in the name of loans and interest payments. So its like that new movie coming out Repo Men. Where they go after your transplants if you can't keep up the payments!!

There needs to be a series of national defaults and burn speculators so badly that they would never dare finance countries to these levels.