Greek protest turns violent during general strike
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Police clashed with protesters hurling petrol bombs and bottles in central Athens Wednesday after an anti-government rally called as part of a general strike in Greece turned violent.
Riot police used tear gas and pepper spray against several hundred demonstrators after the violence broke out near the country's parliament. Protesters also set fire to trees in the National Gardens and used hammers to smash paving stones and marble panels to use as missiles against the riot police.
About 50,000 people joined the union-organized march in central Athens on Wednesday, held during a general strike against new austerity measures planned in the crisis-hit country. The action, the first large-scale walk-out since the country's coalition government was formed in June, closed schools and disrupted flights and most services.
Everyone from shopkeepers and pharmacists to teachers, customs workers and car mechanics joined the demonstration, seen as a test of public tolerance for more hardship after two years of harsh spending cuts and tax hikes.
"People, fight, they're drinking your blood," protesters chanted as they banged drums.
As the strike got under way Wednesday, Greece's prime minister and finance minister hammered out a €11.5 billion ($14.87 billion) package of spending cuts demanded by the country's international lenders.
Greece's politicians have struggled to come up with more austerity measures that would be acceptable to its rescue creditors, with disagreements arising between the three parties that make up the coalition government. The country has been dependent on international loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund since mid-2010. Without them, Greece would be forced into a chaotic default on its debts and possibly into an exit from the 17-country bloc that uses the euro.
The country's lenders have demanded more fiscal reforms if they are to continue issuing more rescue payouts. The next payment of €31 billion hinges on the government agreeing to further cuts.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras formulated a deal on the new €11.5 billion austerity package for 2013-14, along with another €2 billion in improved tax collection, a finance ministry official said Wednesday morning.
The other two party leaders were to be briefed by Samaras on Thursday, a party official said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Wednesday's strike shut down the Acropolis, Greece's most famous tourist site, and halted flights for hours. Ferry services were suspended, schools, shops and gas stations were closed and hospitals were functioning on emergency staff.
One of those striking was Athens hospital worker Alkis Betses, who has seen his monthly salary fall from €1,300 to €800 (($1,680 to $1,035), says new cuts will bring it down to €600 ($775).
"How can you survive on 600 a month, with ever-rising taxes, and continue to pay bills and buy necessary supplies?"
Betses said hospitals have been hard hit by spending cuts, with staff shortages and long delays in doctors' overtime pay for night shifts.
"The resentment has been there for long before the new measures. Imagine what will happen when they're made public," he said.
Riot police used tear gas and pepper spray against several hundred demonstrators after the violence broke out near the country's parliament. Protesters also set fire to trees in the National Gardens and used hammers to smash paving stones and marble panels to use as missiles against the riot police.
About 50,000 people joined the union-organized march in central Athens on Wednesday, held during a general strike against new austerity measures planned in the crisis-hit country. The action, the first large-scale walk-out since the country's coalition government was formed in June, closed schools and disrupted flights and most services.
Everyone from shopkeepers and pharmacists to teachers, customs workers and car mechanics joined the demonstration, seen as a test of public tolerance for more hardship after two years of harsh spending cuts and tax hikes.
"People, fight, they're drinking your blood," protesters chanted as they banged drums.
As the strike got under way Wednesday, Greece's prime minister and finance minister hammered out a €11.5 billion ($14.87 billion) package of spending cuts demanded by the country's international lenders.
Greece's politicians have struggled to come up with more austerity measures that would be acceptable to its rescue creditors, with disagreements arising between the three parties that make up the coalition government. The country has been dependent on international loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund since mid-2010. Without them, Greece would be forced into a chaotic default on its debts and possibly into an exit from the 17-country bloc that uses the euro.
The country's lenders have demanded more fiscal reforms if they are to continue issuing more rescue payouts. The next payment of €31 billion hinges on the government agreeing to further cuts.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras formulated a deal on the new €11.5 billion austerity package for 2013-14, along with another €2 billion in improved tax collection, a finance ministry official said Wednesday morning.
The other two party leaders were to be briefed by Samaras on Thursday, a party official said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.
Wednesday's strike shut down the Acropolis, Greece's most famous tourist site, and halted flights for hours. Ferry services were suspended, schools, shops and gas stations were closed and hospitals were functioning on emergency staff.
One of those striking was Athens hospital worker Alkis Betses, who has seen his monthly salary fall from €1,300 to €800 (($1,680 to $1,035), says new cuts will bring it down to €600 ($775).
"How can you survive on 600 a month, with ever-rising taxes, and continue to pay bills and buy necessary supplies?"
Betses said hospitals have been hard hit by spending cuts, with staff shortages and long delays in doctors' overtime pay for night shifts.
"The resentment has been there for long before the new measures. Imagine what will happen when they're made public," he said.
It's hell when you run out of other peoples money.
We are in hock far more than the Greeks, with a black hole of a moneypit compared to their old mineshaft. Changing our rules daily at every level to imitate the idea that we aren't in runaway inflation already. All that is doing is limiting the amount of actual cash possessed by the populace as the government prints more for itself and to be able to pay the rich for keeping money in gold and houses while refusing to expand the domestic job market. Greece is falling faster because they are a microcosm, but we are falling further on more levels with everything that's been allowed here.
The simple fact is that Greece can never repay those âloansâ. You can not get out of a hole by digging it deeper. Put another way, you can not spend your way out of debt. Greece needs to go back to a national currency and get off the Euro. Once their currency floats and finds its actual value, they will have made the first step to recovery. The new Drachma, or whatever, will have little buying power outside Greece at first but will increase as thing stabilize. They may need help with medical supplies and a few other things, but that can be handled without sinking deeper into an increasing morass of unsecured debt. Spain may need to follow suite, as may a few other EU members. Once the smoke clears, I think the EU will find that their biggest problem is France.  Their banks are way over leveraged, and a large chunk of the âsecurityâ they show will disappear if Greece and one or more other nations default. That will bring about a complete collapse of the banks. Our banks have foolishly sold a lot of default insurance, and we will be hit hard as well. Just remember that the insurance pays only (I think) 70%. For France, with leverages exceeding 100 to 1, that amounts to 70% of 1% so basically nothing. Donât let them direct your attention to Greece; France is where you need to look. France is way too big to bail out.      Â
Dear Greece,
  When we first got together, everything was all feta and uzo. We envied your low retirement age and loved your colorful culture. We thought that even with your faults, you would realize that you need to get your spending under control. We wrote this letter to let you know that the honeymoon is over. You have spent like a drunken Greek sailor in a Rotterdam brothel house.We wish you the best with your new relationship with Mr.Bankruptcy and Mr.Poverty. See, all the upper middle class and rich as you call them, moved their funds to Switzerland and will no longer pay your credit cards that you maxed out.  We'll visit your beatuiful country once in a while and feel free to call (not collect).
                                                      Love always,
                                                      Euro Zone
Â
Seattle 2016? Think about that on November 6.Â
You can always tell a story that does not line up with Obama's Euro Socialist agenda. The have to report it if the story is to big to ignore but they move it off center stage (front webpage) as fast as possible to say they covered it....what a joke the main stream media is.
@Truth Percolates Dude, this is unreal. Once wasnt enough, you had to post the same thing again, blaming this on obama. Wow man, I am at a loss for words.
The greeks need to stop being lazy and accept the fact that draconian measures have to be taken. Stop fighting the police, they did not do this.
Absolutely brilliant..... fight the police.... that will teach your government a lesson! (sarcasm off) If you feel entitled to a better life as a people free from a constrictive, abusive and overinflated government plan to sacrifice all or nothing. Kickin' up dirt and carrying signs ain't going to change government spending or capitalistic greed.... (my opinion)
@Funky-Munky There is more to it than just government spending. Look into the issue a little deeper. The country received billions in loans from the EU for projects intended to promote and jobs, which would generate tax income to pay the debt back. Instead, the money was handed out to people, yes, people, not just government officials, to spend on whatever they felt like. The debt got called and there is no revenue to support the loan. hence the need for drastic cuts.
Obama's vision for Euro Socialist USA!!
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Yesterday it was OWS today it's OWS on steroids!
@Truth Percolates And here you are again, blaming a story on Obama, that has nothing to do with american politics. Do you dream about politics at night when you sleep?
@northwestsurfer This is where our own country is headed if we leave the socialist minded Obama in charge. Wake up.
@TheBronze nice try, blaming this on Obama. If Obama were trying to turn this into socialism everyone would be on the same level. You wouldnt have CEOs making tens of millions per year, and collecting similar amounts in bonuses, while their companies lose money. Last time I checked, capitalism was alive and well in this country, and it doesnt look like it is going anywhere. But if thats what you feel the problem is, join Truth Percolates, ByeByeBarry, and odramamustgo and pool your anger together. I have better things to do with my time and consume myself in useless discussions of politics
See what socialism gets you? Empty promises that can't be kept. Please note how unions are causing this. They tell workers you deserve this, the accountants say we can't afford this. So the government makes the deal and then what do you have....entitlement. Greece and I mean everyone needs to solve the problem instead of protesting. Protesting is not going to solve the problems. No one wants to loan them money because they are so stupid with it. It's like they think the whole world owes them.
@justsayin You do realize that the global financial crisis started here in the States right? Or do you not even know that? It was out triple A rated scam with the derivatives that WE sold the world on that did this to Greece among many others. They were just foolish enough to buy into it. Go study Iceland's collapse and see where that started and who is responsible.
If taxes were where they were at in the 70's everything would be fine for a while longer. But the fact is you can't run an economical system based on debt and not have it collapse every couple of decades. End the federal reserve so that we quit wasting taxes on having them print money when the dept of treasury is supposed to be doing it. And then its time for the major banks to take a hit and write off a lot of this debt. It was strictly business and sometimes business doesn't work. The banks had too much phoney assets on paper and now its time to just write those debts off. @justsayin
@justsayin And look what capitalism has done to this country? Its equally as bad. The banking failures, housing mess, corporate executives taking home multimillion dollar salaries and bonuses of tens of millions of dollars, while their companies layoff tens of thousands of employees. Thats all driven by capitalism; getting as rich as you can.
@northwestsurfer "And look what capitalism has done to this country? Its equally as bad."
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I dont mind capitalism so bad its just the deregulated, predatory capitalism that is nothing more then a ponzi scheme that always needs new players or it collapses.
Good to see they care enough about their country to get out there and protest. Spain did the same thing yesterday. Austerity is a very dangerous direction to head and we're about to head there next year.
@Blindman  Yep. Auserity is such a terrible thing. Imagine, expecting nations as well as individuals to live within their means? Next thing you know people will demand that their elected officials actually be held responsible for their actions. What a world.
Yep, would make a big difference if corporations and central banks lived within their means too but in the world of capitalism thats not the way it works. Without debt the whole system collapses which is exactly why the system needs to collapse. @Mej47
@BlindmanÂ
You really need to study a little recent history. Every socialist society has ruling elite who live well beyond the means of the common folks; it's not just something endemic to capitalism.
No society has lasted forever; the American experiment will be no exception. Franklin warned people about keeping the Republic. Our representative democratic republic is devolving into a real democracy and no society can last long once it resorts to mob rule.