StopCartel TV broadcasts live from Athens, Greece weeknights @ 6 pm Athens time. The following post is a loose transcript of the 12 September 2012 broadcast.
By greydogg and snake arbusto, 99GetSmart
- Several rallies and marches are taking place in Central Athens this week in the latest battle against severe austerity measures and wage cuts.
On Wednesday, teachers gathered in Central Athens for a rally and march.
Nikos Papachristos, the President of the High School Union, told reporters, “The budget cuts for schools are 50% this year. There is a lack of teachers and with salaries of 629€ a month for new teachers, we cannot talk about modern education. We are fighting for the rights of the Greek citizens.
Today teachers, doctors, citizens of Athens have united together. We must protest against these policies that are killing our future. We are going to escalate our actions in the coming period in order to overthrow this wide attack against our lives.”
Doctors and hospitals are on a 24-hour strike. The center of Athens was closed for several hours because there were five different marches.
The President of the Public Servants Union of Greece, Kostos Tskirikas, made comments to reporters, “We must not permit the Troika regime to devastate the social state with the destruction of public services, and particularly education, health and social security. The battle will continue until we are victorious.”
Dimitris Georgakopoulos, a member of the Administration of the Union of Municipal Workers, told reporters, “We have decided that at the moment the government submits the new round of austerity measures to Parliament, we call on all citizens of Greece to come out into the streets to protest.”
Postbank and Post Office workers also held a rally in front of the Greek Parliament building in Syntagma Square.
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- The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, aka ‘Mr. Nothing,’ made statements today, “In the past, Greece has never had the luxury of divisions. The common way of thinking is the formation of a very strong national front in light of the challenges we are facing.”
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras responded, “Our country, despite the very serious economic crisis we are experiencing, has a very significant geopolitical dynamic. We will not allow the present circumstances to risk our sovereign rights.”
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- A member of the European Parliament, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, made statements concerning the catastrophic situation in Greece on the floor of the European Parliament on Wednesday.
“The current situation in Greece is very serious. It’s not even possible for a Greek woman to earn 150€ a month for a part-time job in a supermarket. The extreme Right in Greece (referring to the neo-fascist Golden Dawn Party) is go ing door-to-door giving 20 or 30€ to families. When you earn 150€ a month for a part-time job, 20 or 30€ is a lot of money.”
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- Handicapped and disabled people joined children with cancer for a rally and march in Central Athens on Wednesday.
The President of the Union who represents the Greek children suffering from cancer and who are being treated at Agia Sophia Hospital in Central Athens made the following statements to a reporter on the scene:
“Many people and unions have gathered here today. We are simply demanding the heath status to come back to where it was before. We are also demanding medicines and examinations – something that is totally reasonable.”
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- The Greek military participated in an organized rally and march in Central Athens on Wednesday. During the rally, uniformed military proudly sang the Greek national anthem. This is not the first time the Greek defense forces and officers have been out in the streets to protest. In fact the Greek military forces have organized several demonstrations over the last two years.
Those serving in the military are out in the streets to protest looming wage and pension cuts. When a reporter asked why the group was demonstrating, a spokesman replied, “We are here to fight against the poverty the government-of-the-regime is imposing on our lives. We are going to resist against any austerity measures. We came out on the streets today to say that we have had enough!”
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- European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso delivered his annual “State of the Union” address before the European Parliament on Wednesday. We have taken the liberty of including our own interpretation of Barroso’s remarks in [brackets]. – greydogg and snake arbusto
From the Telegraph
Barroso and the European Commission have laid down the gauntlet to the British people. It is time for the Prime Minister to respond with a robust defense of British interests, and a pledge to hold a referendum ahead of the next general election, on the biggest attempted power grab by Brussels in the history of the EU.
According to the Telegraph, here are the most important sections of Barroso’s lengthy address:
Jose Manuel Barroso: State of the Union Address, Brussels, September 12, 2012
A federation of nation states
A deep and genuine economic and monetary union, a political union, with a coherent foreign and defense policy, means ultimately that the present European Union must evolve.
Let’s not be afraid of the words: We will need to move towards a federation of nation states. This is what we need. This is our political horizon. This is what must guide our work in the years to come.
A New EU Treaty
Creating this federation of nation states will ultimately require a new Treaty [ that will legalize all of our crimes and lock us into a finance-dominated system ]. I do not say this lightly. We are all aware how difficult treaty change has become. It has to be well prepared. [ I suspect that, like the USA Patriot act, it’s already in the bag. ] Discussions on treaty change must not distract or delay us from doing what can and must be done already today. [ Let’s continue to pursue our illegal activities while our puppet lawyers assist us with our unprecedented power grab by torturing the language into unreadable legalese that will codify the power we’ve already stolen. ]
A deep and genuine economic and monetary union can be started under the current Treaties, but can only be completed with changes in the treaties. [ Admission of guilt for illegal economic policies? ] So let’s start it now but let’s have the horizon for the future present in our decisions of today. [ Let’s continue to pursue our illegal activities ... ]
… Before the next European Parliament elections in 2014, the Commission will present its outline for the shape of the future European Union. [ Before the next European Parliament elections in 2014, the Commission will present our outline for the total destruction of anything that looks like sovereignty in the Eurozone, with finance as the real power. ] And we will put forward explicit ideas for Treaty change in time for a debate. [ We will codify our crimes and enjoy complete immunity for plundering and murdering our way across the continent and we will cram it through the legislative process while no one is watching. ]
More unity demands more integration
The reality is that in an interconnected world, Europe’s Member States on their own are no longer able to effectively steer the course of events. [ The citizens of Member States are helpless against our successful extortion efforts against their ‘leaders’ ] But at the same time, they have not yet equipped their Union – our Union — with the instruments needed to cope with this new reality. [ Now that all the puppet politicians enjoy bloated foreign bank accounts, the terms of the Faustian Pact are due. ] We are now in a transition, in a defining moment. This moment requires decisions and leadership. [ We are thisclose to complete dictatorship! ]
Yes, globalization demands more European unity. More unity demands more integration. More integration demands more democracy, European democracy [ ‘European Democracy’? What’s that? Does it come with a swastika? ]. In Europe, this means first and foremost accepting that we are all in the same boat. It means recognizing the commonality of our European interests. [ Accept your fate, peasants! ]
It means embracing the interdependence of our destinies. And it means demanding a true sense of common responsibility and solidarity. Because when you are on a boat in the middle of the storm, absolute loyalty is the minimum you demand from your fellow crew members. [ Along with absolute submission. We own you, bitches! ]
A Banking and Fiscal Union
We must complete the economic and monetary union. We must create a banking union and a fiscal union and the corresponding institutional and political mechanisms. [ Fascism is alive and well in the Eurozone. ]
Today, the Commission is presenting legislative proposals for a single European supervisory mechanism. This is the stepping stone to a banking union. [ The Troika has complete control of the money supply. ]
… To deliver lasting results, we need to develop a fully equipped Community economic governance together with a genuine, credible Community fiscal capacity.
Political Union
Ultimately, the credibility and sustainability of the Economic and Monetary Union depends on the institutions and the political construct behind it. [ The rioting police are in place to protect us from the revolt of the peasants. ]
This is why the Economic and Monetary Union raises the question of a political union and the European democracy [ What is the difference between ‘European’ democracy and regular old democracy? ] that must underpin it.
If we want economic and monetary union to succeed, we need to combine ambition and proper sequencing. We need to take concrete steps now, with a political union as a horizon. [ We need to bring all of our force to bear against any resistance to our complete takeover of the Eurozone. ]
I would like to see the development of a European public space, where European issues are discussed and debated from a European standpoint. We cannot continue trying to solve European problems just with national solutions. [ Absolute nonsense. Problems are best solved on a local level. ]
Foreign and Defense Policy Integration
The world needs an EU that keeps its leadership at the forefront of development and humanitarian assistance. [ Humanitarian assistance? To an early grave? ] That stands by open economies and fights protectionism [ While putting all vital services up for sale? ] That leads the fight against climate change [ By entrusting it to corporate interests?].
The world needs a Europe that is capable of deploying military missions to help stabilize the situation in crisis areas. [ War is Peace. ] We need to launch a comprehensive review of European capabilities and begin truly collective defense planning. [ I mean, offense planning. ] Yes, we need to reinforce our Common Foreign and Security Policy and a common approach to defense matters because together we have the power, and the scale to shape the world into a fairer, rules-based and human-rights-abiding place. [ Human rights? Forcing the Greek people into abject poverty is ‘shaping the world into a fairer place with rules based on human rights’??? ]
Timetable for the future of the European Project
The sequence I put before you today is clear. We should start by doing all we can to stabilize the euro area and accelerate growth in the EU as a whole. [ We need to widen our attack on sovereign nations. ] The Commission will present all the necessary proposals and we have started today with the single supervisor to create a banking union, in line with the current Treaty provisions [ until we can sneak in treaty provisions that are more favorable to the banks].
Secondly, we will present our blueprint on a deep and genuine economic and monetary union, including the political instruments, and this will be done still this autumn. [ The banking cartel lords are growing impatient. ]
We will present here again all proposals in line with the current Treaty provisions.
And thirdly, where we cannot move forward under the existing treaties, we will present explicit proposals for the necessary Treaty changes ahead of the next European Parliamentary election in 2014, including elements for reinforced democracy and accountability. [ We must create immunity for our crimes in order to continue to escape any accountability whatsoever. ]
This is our project. A project which is step by step but with a big ambition for the future with a Federation as our horizon for Europe. [ Heil! ]
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- Meetings between Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and the heads of the Troika are in progress. Yiannis Stournaras, Paul Thomsen, Klaus Mazouch, and Matthias Morse are presenting a new austerity package containing 11.9€ billion in cuts to the Troika for approval. Each new austerity measure will be evaluated one by one. The government-of-the-regime is standing by to take their orders from the Troika, who will ultimately decide the fate of Greece.
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- Greece’s main opposition party, SYRIZA, made the following statement on Wednesday:
“The austerity measures imposed by the government-of-the-regime are neither the first or the last in this saga of leveling the country and hastening the current humanitarian disaster. The current government hypocritically justifies bleeding the income of workers by constantly repeating that they are saving the country.”
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- For the last three months, the government-of-the-regime has communicated to the Greek people that the new austerity measures would amount to 11.5 € billion in savage cuts to wages, pensions, health, education and our natural wealth.
However, as a new round of meetings with the Troika are in progress, the truth was finally blurted out – the total package must include 22€ billion in cuts.
For the last two days, the demands of moneylenders have become more explicit. Employees will be fired, the retirement age will be increased and the worst-case scenario is expected – that eventually no one will get a pension.
Here is a partial list of the new requirements for labor in Greece:
- imposing a six-day work week.
- a repeal of the 13th and 14th salary
- reduction of salaries and pensions
- 50,000 public-sector employees to be placed on reserve
- an additional layoff of 40,000 public-sector workers
- increase the retirement age from 65 to 67
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