[ohanian]

GREEK invented NARCISSISM
by Paul Sheehan

Narcissus was Greek. That explains a lot. The Greeks created the figure of Narcissus and thus were the first to diagnose narcissism. The consequence for Narcissus in Greek mythology was severe.

The great "Oxi" no vote of the Greek people on July 5 may have been a national outpouring of defiance but it turns out to have been a national act of self-delusion. After the referendum, social media around the world were full of euphoria for the glorious outcome, but the referendum was a tactical charade by the Prime Minister.

Greece is in default. Its banks have been shut for a more than a week. Cash machines are running dry. The country has become a cash economy. Factories are closing down. The nation is subsisting on an estimated 40 billion euros hoarded during the past year. Foreign suppliers are refusing to provide goods or credit. Greek companies with large foreign-held debt face bankruptcy. The tourism industry is facing a melt-down of forward bookings.

Most bizarre of all, the Communist-led Syriza government has capitulated to creditors' terms that were expressly rejected by the people in the referendum. The government itself campaigned in favour of rejection. Yet, just days after the people spoke, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted the reviled terms of the creditors.
...

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was undone by Nemesis, the spirit of retribution against vanity. In the evolving modern Greek mythology, Nemesis has another name: Germany.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-greeks-invented-narcissism-and-it-has-caught-up-with-them-20150713-giak9y

[americandream]

Tsipras is a social democrat. So are many in government who profess to be economically circular in theory but accumulative in application.

[onlooker]

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/07/ ... fight.html
Good explanation of how EU in particular Germany pushed Greece into this situation. The only fault of Greece was too think that Germany and EU would not let Greece be completely destroyed. Well they were wrong. Germany wishes to set an example with Greece so that no other country would dare even think of leaving. Just another example of so many of how the Powers that be have no empathy or compassion as part of their calculations.

[americandream]

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/07/greece-brought-a-latte-to-a-gunfight.html
Good explanation of how EU in particular Germany pushed Greece into this situation. The only fault of Greece was too think that Germany and EU would not let Greece be completely destroyed. Well they were wrong. Germany wishes to set an example with Greece so that no other country would dare even think of leaving. Just another example of so many of how the Powers that be have no empathy or compassion as part of their calculations.

Germany can wish all it likes but the real power in our global machine lies in London and NY and not with exporting nations. These two determine the flow of the liquidity that pays for the manufacturing and exports. Hitler did not learn this lesson, nor did Napoleon and the Kremlin in the USSR.

One cannot manufacture the dethroning of the current power structure. It has to occur organically through the conscientising process. Merkel is a good factory manager at best.

[sparky]

.
It's not simply Germany versus Greece , ten other countries are furious at this charade .

Slovakia has pointed out that their pensions are half those of Greeks and they are asked to pay for it,
Finland is adamant that Greece should assume the consequences of their repeated cheating and lying,
Holland do not see why they should throw repeatedly billions of their tax payers money into a crybaby bunch of cheats who wasted one year of negotiations avoiding any form of reforms .
then when the pressure got to them decided that they were not able to negotiate without a referendum !!

they got elected on a Santa Claus platform , then declined to take their responsibilities ,
then campaigned for a no !
then as of today , are going to shove it into the Greeks , just to show what kind of integrity those guys got .

Finally , the Germans have told them there is no negotiations , the wasted time is not coming back
the Greeks are going to be TOLD what is good for them , like children , which they apparently are!

[americandream]

.
It's not simply Germany versus Greece , ten other countries are furious at this charade .

Slovakia has pointed out that their pensions are half those of Greeks and they are asked to pay for it,
Finland is adamant that Greece should assume the consequences of their repeated cheating and lying,
Holland do not see why they should throw repeatedly billions of their tax payers money into a crybaby bunch of cheats who wasted one year of negotiations avoiding any form of reforms .
then when the pressure got to them decided that they were not able to negotiate without a referendum !!

they got elected on a Santa Claus platform , then declined to take their responsibilities ,
then campaigned for a no !
then as of today , are going to shove it into the Greeks , just to show what kind of integrity those guys got .

Finally , the Germans have told them there is no negotiations , the wasted time is not coming back
the Greeks are going to be TOLD what is good for them , like children , which they apparently are!

If only life were as simple. Greece is the first casualty this tide will bring up. Be patient. However, the momentum of flows will not be sacrificed to the vagaries of consumer folly.

edit: nice market to trade though.

[sparky]

.
To be anti Austerity is about as cogent as being anti Gravity ,
if some people wish to jump of a cliff on the belief that they can fly , that's OK
any politicians which encourage them to jump is , in my mind , a criminal just good enough to be shot

there is a bunch of countries with 100% debt to GDP ratio ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-to-GDP_ratio
the latest making the news , this week ,are Greece , Puerto rico ( like who care ) and Ukraine
next year we got Italy , France and the financially moribund PIGS
the US is not exactly rosy either

in a world which has no real growth ,that means they'd better tighten their government spending belt
or invest in imaginary parachutes

[americandream]

.
To be anti Austerity is about as cogent as being anti Gravity ,
if some people wish to jump of a cliff on the belief that they can fly , that's OK
any politicians which encourage them to jump is , in my mind , a criminal just good enough to be shot

there is a bunch of countries with 100% debt to GDP ratio ,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-to-GDP_ratio
the latest making the news , this week ,are Greece , Puerto rico ( like who care ) and Ukraine
next year we got Italy , France and the financially moribund PIGS
the US is not exactly rosy either

in a world which has no real growth ,that means they'd better tighten their government spending belt
or invest in imaginary parachutes

Bearing in mind that capital accumulates globally, whom does austerity benefit?

[sparky]

.
It's not a question of winning , it's a question of minimizing losses
big banks were stupid and short sighted enough to be exposed to massive losses on Greek government and private bonds
the EU , good girl , stepped in to take 50% of the tab ,the rest was the haircut
the financial institutions walked away with as much cash as they could hope for ,
after all their losses are tax deductible !
now Greece own the EU countries , with not a chance in hell to get repaid this decade
some governments objected to throwing good credit at a rather unimpressive bunch of demagogues
the German government is pushing for a deal ,
but insist it will be a harsher deal than the one the Greeks foolishly refused .

welcome to the land of the fools ,
now Alexis Tsipras will have to convince his people that they mush accept a worst deal that what he told them was unacceptable last week
some negotiator !!

[Tanada]

I think this is a problem with the EU model of governance. In the USA almost half the states have laws requiring them to maintain a balanced budget while some others do not. As a result Michigan and Ohio, two states I have lived in, have their financial houses in order while California and Puerto Rico spend money like drunken sailors on liberty after a long deployment. There were rumbles a few years ago that the USA could not let California default because it would destabilize the entire countries economy, but if the USA as a whole has to bail out California that means the citizens of Michigan and Ohio and all the other balanced budget states will be punished for California's decades of irresponsible spending.

The EU is facing the same problem, Germany has a fine budget without any massive over head debt ready to destroy everything but is stuck in a system with Greece, which has the opposite attitude. If anything causes the EU to fall apart it will be financial considerations like this. Membership should be a reward received for responsible government in your individual country, not something handed out to anyone who asks to be let in.

[onlooker]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-1 ... ture-and-m
This following quote captures the essence of this "agreement" which looks more like a conquest. "In other words, Greece will be liquidated piecemeal to repay creditors. In even other words, the proceeds from the Third Greek Bailout will not only reach the Greek people, but Greece will have to sell itself in pieces to top off the creditors' funding needs".
As the article stated this is more like an unconditional surrender. Akin to what Western powers did to Germany after WWI.

[Outcast_Searcher]

.
welcome to the land of the fools ,
now Alexis Tsipras will have to convince his people that they mush accept a worst deal that what he told them was unacceptable last week
some negotiator !!

And this after a solid majority of citizens voted in favor of him standing up to the EU and saying "No".

This scenario should be the prime example of irony.

What I find amusing is how excited all the left of center commentators including Bloomberg News were babbling on and on about in the wake of the "No" vote saying how much "debt relief" etc. Germany and the EU were going to have to provide Greece. (Because in their world, people getting "free stuff" is nirvana, and of course there are no consequences). Well the real world is certainly proving otherwise, since as you said, the EU is now demanding a much worse deal for Greece.

In fact, from what I read last night (on Bloomberg), the "humiliation" is continuing and the EU is demanding a CREDIBLE economic reform plan from Greece before even DISCUSSING another bailout and keeping Greece in the Euro.

Alexis Tsipras certainly isn't the "genius" his supporters claim. It's high time this was made obvious.

[Outcast_Searcher]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-13/what-assets-did-greece-just-hand-over-europe-airports-airplanes-infrastructure-and-m
This following quote captures the essence of this "agreement" which looks more like a conquest. "In other words, Greece will be liquidated piecemeal to repay creditors. In even other words, the proceeds from the Third Greek Bailout will not only reach the Greek people, but Greece will have to sell itself in pieces to top off the creditors' funding needs".
As the article stated this is more like an unconditional surrender. Akin to what Western powers did to Germany after WWI.

1). Beggars can't be choosers.

2). How many times should a total financial slacker with NO credibility be given tens or hundreds of billions of Euros without reasonable assurances there are reforms and assets backing the loans to have SOME REASONABLE chance it will be paid back?

3). Do you give all your extra money to street people, expecting they'll pay it back because they earnestly say they will? (If so, lots of luck. If not, I rest my case).

[dolanbaker]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-13/what-assets-did-greece-just-hand-over-europe-airports-airplanes-infrastructure-and-m
This following quote captures the essence of this "agreement" which looks more like a conquest. "In other words, Greece will be liquidated piecemeal to repay creditors. In even other words, the proceeds from the Third Greek Bailout will not only reach the Greek people, but Greece will have to sell itself in pieces to top off the creditors' funding needs".
.

It's worth remembering that Scotland lost its independence because it couldn't repay a loan from Britain.

[onlooker]

Outcast, Actually what really happened is this:
After the debacle of 2008, in which Greece like many countries were suckered into the real estate-subprime bubble. Greece got hit bad
So the Western Banks imposed their "cure" loans with interest and with austerity to boot. Well Greece could not right it's economy this way
as we see nobody really does. These loans do not fix economies they bind them like an addict to need ever increasing bailouts as the money does not address the underlying economic malaise rather these loans with their austerity requisites just make things worse over time. So here we are Greece a ruined country with more to follow.

[Lore]

This is true. Austerity is not the solution. Making people poorer is not going to pay the bills.

[onlooker]

I think it is instructive to look at how the US built its potent economy. I will try and make this brief. First US built up its manufacturing base. In doing so it began to export products which allowed it's companies to become stronger as well as the currency. Then with many people employed the US government stimulated economic growth with subsidies of different kinds ie. New Deal. Of course the key is built up base with onerous borrowing a country cannot build up its manufacturing base and in fact skips this step by just creating some sort of safety net and importing. The key is US built up its economy nowdays countries do NOT precisely because of being hooked on a loan regiment which becomes more onerous over time by virtue of interest and attendant requisites such as austerity and allowing multinational corporations to take over a nations economy via privatization and imports which happen also to be many times requisites of the loans.

[dolanbaker]

Short answer is "not this time" but eventually they will.