German beekeepers have called for a nationwide ban on cultivating GM plants, reports the German NGO keine-gentechnik.de. The call by the German Beekeepers Association (DIB), which represents almost 100,000 beekeepers, comes after Europe adopted controversial legislation enabling member states to opt-out of the cultivation of GMOs that have been approved at the EU level. Under the law, a member state can ban a GMO …
Behind the Greek Crisis By William R. Polk
Focusing exclusively on the monetary aspects of the Greek crisis the media misses much of what disturbs the Greeks and also what might make a solution possible. For over half a century, Greeks have lived in perilous times. In the 1930s, they lived under a brutal dictatorship that modeled itself on Nazi Germany, employing Gestapo-like secret police and sending critics …
The Birthplace (Greece) vs. the Farce (the United States) of Democracy by PAUL STREET
Democracy is among other things the rule of majority public opinion. Plutocracy is the rule of the wealthy few over and against the popular majority. To understand the different meanings of these two terms, you can consult a dictionary. You can also look at the very different decision-making processes on display regarding major political-economic policies in Greece (the ancient homeland …
Are European authorities trying to force regime change in Greece? – MARK WEISBROT
It’s ironic but not surprising that the European Central Bank decided Sunday to limit its credit to Greece by enough to force the Greek banking system to close. This has pushed Greece closer to a more serious financial crisis than the country has had in the past five years of austerity-induced depression. Why did the ECB decide to take this …
EuroZone Profiteers: How German and French Banks Helped Bankrupt Greece – Pratap Chatterjee
Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister of Greece, has called a national referendum this Sunday to call the bluff of the European Union and International Monetary Fund who are trying to force his country to accept severe austerity in return for effectively rolling over much of the countries’ debt. Today Greece owes its creditors €323 billion ($366 billion), some 175 percent of the country’s …
Goldman Sachs Doesn’t Have Clean Hands in Greece Crisis By Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Are Goldman Sachs executives Lloyd Blankfein, Gary Cohn and Addy Loudiadis losing any sleep over elderly pensioners waiting outside shuttered banks in Greece, desperately trying to obtain their pension checks to pay their rent and buy food? Are these Goldman honchos feeling a small pang of conscience over the humiliation by creditors of this once proud country? Perhaps Blankfein, who …
Europe’s Attack on Greek Democracy – Joseph Stiglitz
The rising crescendo of bickering and acrimony within Europe might seem to outsiders to be the inevitable result of the bitter endgame playing out between Greece and its creditors. In fact, European leaders are finally beginning to reveal the true nature of the ongoing debt dispute, and the answer is not pleasant: it is about power and democracy much more …
The Greek Debt Crisis and Crashing Markets by MICHAEL HUDSON
Back in January upon coming into office, Syriza probably could not have won a referendum on whether to pay or not to pay. It didn’t have a full parliamentary majority, and had to rely on a nationalist party for Tsipras to become prime minister. (That party balked at cutting back Greek military spending, which was 3% of GDP, and which …
IMF and Germany Are Hell-Bent on Finishing Off Even a Moderate Left in Greece By C.J. Polychroniou
Negotiations between Greece and its official creditors – the European Commission, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank – are currently in renewed deadlock. Yet, only a few days ago, in the Euro summit on Monday, June 22, all indications were that Europe’s political beasts and the “criminal IMF” were ready to accept thelatest capitulation on the part of …
On the Delphi Declaration by MICHAEL HUDSON
Many readers of the European and American press must be confused about what actually is happening in the negotiations between Greece (Alexis Tsipras and Yannis Varoufakis). The European Troika (the IMF, European Central Bank and European Council now object to the name and want to be called simply “the Institutions”) have stepped up their demands on Syriza. What is called …