Two excerpts from the article that caught my attention... ""The drivers are refusing to obey an emergency government order for them to end a crippling strike. The strike, now in its fourth day, has paralysed Greece, depriving petrol stations of fuel and prompting tourists to cancel holidays."" and this one.. ""The Greek government has used a rare emergency order to force the lorry drivers back to work. The measure is usually reserved for times of war or natural disaster."" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10802239 The US Media is, for all practical purposes, ignoring this story. Is this because we're rolling towards this scenario?
Greeks can't afford to have these tourists cancel their reservations. Less tourist money = more unrest = less tourist money = more unrest, etc.
I'm in Greece right now, on an island in the Ionian. There is only one gas station that has gas near the capital city of Kefalonia Island. I passed by it about 2 hours ago and there was a line of cars about a half mile long. The neghboring island of Zakynthos just furloughed all municipal workers. Police are funded by the state, so they are still employed. That island's local governemnt is as BROKE AS CALIFORNIA. I hear that tourists that drove to Greece are stranded, ferries aren't running as often, hospital supplies aren't being delivered as frequently. I spoke with friends of mine and they are frustrated and extremely self critical describing this as typical Greek stubborness. My take? That's the easy answer to say that lazy greedy unions want money. I see the macro picture instead. It's a fucking global financial crisis and the manifestation of the symptoms of this crisis will unravel in ways no one can anticipate. The global architecure of international trade and finance is crumbling - being held up by the spending of "stronger" countries. This is collapse mode. Most will take the easy intellectual route and blame this current Greek crisis on a "weak and lazy people" narrative. To me, thats denial on just how fucked up things will get globally. Most don't want to face the fact that this will be affecting them, and where they live as well.
Half-mile long gas lines, even on the islands, is not being reported in the U.S. Please keep describing what you see in Greece.
Aren't the REAL reasons for all of this, (1) bloated government with overly generous lavishing of salary and perks onto itself and its employees, and (2) overly generous "social programs"? Unsustainable? At some point, the greedy government kills and eats the goose that "lays the golden egg".... and everybody is left with ZILCH! Same as happening in the US now...
I'm one of a handful of people who welcome your comments and observations, especially considering your eyes are on the situation as it's unfolding. As another astute poster requested, yes, please keep us informed!
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/26/2106623/amid-strikes-imf-inspects-greek.html Ya'll need to see the pic with this article, from last Monday!