Page last updated at 21:54 GMT, Wednesday, 5 May 2010 22:54 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Greek protesters urged to retreat from 'abyss' Greece is "on the brink of the abyss", President Karolos Papoulias has warned, after three people died during protests over planned austerity measures. "We are all responsible so that it does not take the step into the void," the president said in a statement. It followed a day of violence during which protesters set fire to a bank, killing three employees. Greece's government has vowed to pursue the spending cuts - a condition of its 110bn euro ($142bn; £95bn) bail-out. "We are prepared to pay the heavy political cost," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament during Wednesday's debate on the bill. "We will not take a single step backwards." The bodies of two women - one pregnant - and a man were found inside the Marfin bank branch on Stadiou Avenue in central Athens. They were among 20 people working there when the petrol bomb was thrown. Most of the employees managed to escape the fumes as the flames took hold, but the three found their way blocked as they tried to escape to the roof and they suffocated. Prime Minister George Papandreou told MPs in parliament the killings were a "murderous act". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8663734.stm
at the end of the day the protests are about maintaining quality of life not absolute pverty. the fact people are prepared to kill others to make a point is very worry. this is concerning at the moment i think this recession will be worse than others because of peoples attitudes.
The Greek people are getting this bailout shoved down their throats. Who is getting bailed out? ... not the Greeks. The banks who loaded up on their debt and the hedge funds who bought the stuff as yields shot up the past few weeks are going to be made whole while the Greeks will endure a brutal, brutal recession. There is no question that it would be better for the Greeks to default and restructure the debt, but that can't happen because god forbid the bankers ever have to book a loss.
From the cradle of democracy to the cesspool of socialism. Now at the edge of the abyss, let me give you a little push. :eek:
either way the greek civil servants take a pension cut, god forbid a useless retired civil servant has to take a 'pay' cut
A huge Depression is imminent for Greece. Greece's GDP will contract >20% within the year. As for European Bankers, I agree. But the problem was contagion. The bailout and IMF emergency top up just bought the world another 12-18 months. Had Greece defaulted and restructured, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, France, then the UK would have shortly followed suit. And to be honest, I welcome it. The gigantic flushing will happen regardless. Better now than later...
i say default and restructure. the endless stream of paper money has to come to an end. the stupid bankers that took that debt will have to record a loss and move on. the world is way better with half the banking institutions that exist today, anyway.