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"Only Greeks and Brits Were Left Standing": Why Europe Stands to Lose if Greece is Forced Out

Greek women & men from Greek People's Liberation Front during WWII

"there is also an ethical argument: modern Europe exists thanks to ancient Greece and modern Greece exists thanks to the European powers that guaranteed its independence in the early 19th century. Since then, Greeks have more than repaid their debt. They fought to defend western ideals and interests in every corner of the world – from the trenches of Europe, to the hills of Korea and the deserts of the Gulf. When Germans fell into the darkness of Nazism, when the empires of old (Belgium, Netherlands, France) surrendered within days, only Greeks and Brits were left standing. Ask those who were cowering from the pounding of Luftwaffe in the tube stations of London, during the long winter of 1940, and they will tell you that the only pieces of good news they were getting for months, were coming from the Greek mountains."

From an article on the Guardian on "What Europe Loses if Greece is Forced Out" mentioning several reasons beyond the ethical ones: Greece being the barrier to the tons of illegal immigration from Asia, the Nato efforts to assure stability in the Balkans, the undiminished geopolitical strategic point that Greece and Cyprus present in the area, betraying the sacrifices already made in the name of European directive.

"We should remember that those who sacrifice Greece on the altar of speculation, hoping that economic fascism will be satisfied with this small country and that they will escape ...those are the same ones who reliquinshed Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler in Munich in 1938, hoping that this new prey offered him would suffice, after they had already reliquinshed the democratic Spain."
from the Nantes announcement on "Je Suis Grec aussi, solidarité avec le peuple Grecque"

click to enlarge

The Dec. 1, 1940 New York Times editorial reported: “The hypnotism of gloom has become dangerous as the wishful thinking that preceded it in the prewar years. We can thank the people and soldiers of Greece for ridding our minds of a foul superstition…It will be the glory of modern Greece in history to have shattered the myth of invincibility of the Axis and to have given to all free men a new proof of the worth of courage.”

Further Reading:
"Heroes Fight Like Greeks, The Greek Resistance Against the Axis Powers in WWII" (Hardcover) by Ronald J. Drez
"Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44" [Paperback] by Mark Mazower


pics via the National Herald and absinthemakeyouawhore.tumblr.com

"I too am Greek!": Solidarity with the Greek People

Saturday 18th of February, International Mobilization Day: We are all Greeks! When one people is attacked, all people are attacked.

Thousands of people are coming out in the streets today all over the world (France, Portugal, Denmark, New York City) in solidarity to the Greeks, who are brought down to their knees by the demands of the Troika, the IMF, the European Central Bank and the leaders of the Eurozone by enforcing austerity measures the people cannot possibly meet.

A trilingual weblog called Je suis Grec/I too am Greek documents the solidarity idea of people against the powers that try to harness their sovereign rights and their free speech & right to protest. From the people who began a campaign for the symbolic claim for Greek nationality.

"I do not like violence. I do not think that very much is gained by burning banks and smashing windows. And yet I feel a surge of pleasure when I see the reaction in Athens and the other cities in Greece to the acceptance by the Greek parliament of the measures imposed by the European Union. [...] The joy is the joy of seeing the much-trodden worm turn and roar. The joy of seeing those whose cheeks have been slapped a thousand times slapping back. How can we ask of people that they accept meekly the ferocious cuts in living standards that the austerity measures imply? Do we want them to just agree that the massive creative potential of so many young people should be just eliminated, their talents trapped in a life of long-term unemployment? All that just so that the banks can be repaid, the rich made richer? All that, just to maintain a capitalist system that has long since passed its sell-by date, that now offers the world nothing but destruction. For the Greeks to accept the measures meekly would be to multiply depression by depression, the depression of a failed system compounded by the depression of lost dignity.The violence of the reaction in Greece is a cry that goes out to the world"

From a piece in the Guardian exploring the secret pleasure in seeing someone rebel against the "debtocracy system".

"Greece is at the cutting edge of the austerity measures that are being introduced across Europe. All the evidence shows that while these measures may protect the interests of the rich, they just make matters worse for the majority of the population. What happens in Greece today we will see in Portugal tomorrow and in Ireland the day after. In Britain, the coalition government is pursuing similar measures which will see workers' earnings reduced, see them working longer for a smaller pension, and the NHS dismantled, along with other public services."

From a piece in the Guardian on the solidary between European peoples.

pics via hellenesonline.com & xpolis.blogspot.com

Why & How Iceland Has Resurfaced After the Bankruptcy in 2008 (Example for Greece?)

Compare and contrast with the situation of the Greek crisis. Similar track? Terrifically different courses of actions, to be sure. Could it be because Iceland is not a geopolitical corner of utmost importance as a way to the Middle East? Or a prime holiday spot for the rich & powerful to own like Greece can be? Could it be because someone had a wonderful idea about transforming a society into one where everything and everyone could be working in transparency? Could Iceland have been left to remedy things their way while Greece won't be?

What happened  to Iceland?

2008. The country's main bank is nationalized. The currency collapses, the operation of the stock market stops. The country is bankrupt.
2009. The protests in front of the parliament succeed and early elections and declared, causing the resignation of the Prime Minister and the entire government. The plight of the economy continues. A proposed law regarding the debt to the UK and to the Netherlands suggests for it to be paid several millions, drawn from all Icelandic families monthly for 15 years with a 5.5% interest rate, should be amassed.

2010. The people come out on the streets asking for a referendum. In January 2010 the president refuses to put the law into effect and announces there is demand for popular verdict. March is the month for the referendum and 'no' to pay wins by 93% of the votes. The government is beginning research on judicial responsibility for the crisis. They begin the arrests of bankers and executives. The Interpol issues an order and all involved bankers responsible for the crisis leave the country.

Amidst the crisis, a body is elected by citizens in order to write the new constitution. 25 people are elected, with no political dependence out of the 522 that were presented as candidates. The application requirement was being adults and be recommended by 30 people.The law-making body begins its work in February 2011 and will present a Magna Carta taking into account the unanimous recommendations of different meetings that take place throughout the country. It must be approved by the current parliament and the next revisioary administrationg that will result from the next election.
This is the brief history of the Icelandic revolution: resignation of the entire government, nationalizing the bank, a referendum on crucial economic decisions, the crisis magnates put in prison and rewriting the Constitution by the citizens.

Watch the documentary.

Work Like the Bees

Time travel on the tiny wings of a bee...into the Greek Outlook.

The Minoan Bee was found in the Old Palace cemetery at Chrysolakkos, outside the Palace of Malia, the 3rd largest Minoan Palace on the island of Crete (after Knossos and Pheastos), in Greece. It dates back to the Bronze Age during the Protopalatial Period (1800 - 1700 BC). This is very detailed representation of two bees carrying a drop of honey to their honeycomb. The two bees flank the drop of honey at center in perfect symmetry.

The Myceneans continued well into the Homeric tradition the admiration for the bee.

Mycenean signet ring (Reynold Higgins, Minoan and Mycenaean Art, Thames and Hudson)

Beeswax candles represent the sobriety of Easter Week and the sense of community.

Greek Orthodox church beeswax candes

Greek brand Apivita Queen Bee night cream via NYTimes

The bee enters many a care. Skincare on this instance. Give Greece a chance.

Anonymous

And then you have Anonymous busy like little bees hacking Greek state sites and media, fascinated by how far this master plan of world terror is going to go.


pics via NYTimes, aeoluskephas.blogspot.com, paintingskiathos.wordpress

Rebranding Greece: What Greece Needs to Do

Peter Economides (responsible in part for probably the best EOT campaign ever) gives a marketing talk to end all marketing talks about rebranding Greece in this current smearing international campaign that has altered our core characteristics into the image projected to the world.




To quote him: "Greece is on the verge of bankrupcy. But we are not a bankrupt nation. We are Greeks. People with  the power to imagine. People with the intelligence to turn imagination into reality. We imagined democracy. We imagined the Acropolis. Now is time to imagine the future."

I couldn't have summarised it better. 

Live your Own Virtual Reality

George A. Papandreou (ΓΑΠ): "There is a need for radical changes and the Greek people want these changes, no matter how painful they are" (quote 13 October 2011)

Caption: Live your own virtual reality