Greek crisis: Yanis Varoufakis accuses Europe of terrorism - as it happened

[freshwest]

28. Surya Gayatri, I was surprised to read this piece yesterday:

Last edited Sun Jul 5, 2015, 04:13 AM - Edit history (1)

The Digital Demagogue



By David Auerbach - July 2 2015

The Greek prime minister’s faceoff with Europe is something new: a bold, imperfect, high-velocity form of mass democracy made possible by the Internet.... Whether Tsipras is a bold contrarian or a foolish nihilist, his political approach heralds a new kind of digital democracy, one that’s as scary as it is revolutionary...

Tsipras and Syriza have made use of the Internet to circumvent media intermediaries and exhort their supporters in far more direct ways than one might expect from a ruling party. Whether putting out daily YouTube videos or posting the creditors’ austerity demands online, Tsipras has aggressively pushed the impression that it is not just him but the Greek people themselves who are negotiating with the creditors. He has drawn on Twitter to bid for national and international support: “Our people have remained calm in face of blackmail,” he tweeted Monday. “Outside attempts to sway them only strengthens their resolve.” That fire-breathing didn’t let up this week even as he appeared to flinch, telling creditors that he is open to accepting a version of their terms: “After the #referendum was announced, better proposals were received- especially in regards to restructuring the debt,” he tweeted with a note of self-congratulation. Even if Tsipras is exaggerating in order to save face, it reveals Tsipras’ strategy of bolstering his negotiating position by invoking the weight of the Greek people, as well as appealing to international supporters.

The stakes are unprecedentedly high for both Greece and the EU as a whole. Wolfgang Münchau wrote in the Financial Times that the referendum risks showing that “a monetary union without political union can only exist in violation of basic principles of democracy.” Tsipras is appealing to that fundamental power asymmetry here: Greece owes national debts, yet it does not autonomously control its currency, leaving its monetary policy in large part in the hands of Europe’s leaders. Tsipras’ objection is that Greece should not be forced to adopt further austerity measures when it has already been running a surplus, but on account of the euro, it cannot directly control its own monetary policy, through which it could devalue its currency to spur exports and growth. Imagine if, in the U.S. the Federal Reserve were really as unaccountable as conspiracy theorists think it is. It’s like that...

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/07/greece_referendum_the_standoff_couldn_t_have_happened_without_the_internet.single.html

I think what you linked will take me a while to read. This link is a story that seems like a fluff piece but really isn't. Reading the last paragraph I posted brings up important questions.

There is a lot more there. I'll get to reading the links you made through the thread, but can't say I understand the meanings to people on the ground in Europe. They pay more in taxes taken from them for their work and resent the more lax policies that have been in Greece for years.

Greece is a volatile nation that is in a crucial area of Europe and been invaded more times than one can count. The simple answer was 'let them go and join with Putin's economic union.'

But I'm betting the rest of Europe is also feeling 'terrorized' by the thouht of an even more unstable Greece with ISIS blustering at them, killing people through stochastic terrorism, and ISIS refugees on their doorstep. There is no infinite wealth nor are there infinite 'resources.'

I've read the Greeks were already making concessions to Putin and their own oligarchs. I don't hold socialism or faux socialism in the regard I once had when they are now playing footsie with oligarchs under the table and out of sight like Putin, making him more wealthy than the Koch brothers. I regard a lot, from Yanis and any other source, a diversion from real wealth being transferred.

People seem so eager for a hero to take care of them, and complain when they don't give them all they wanted. That's magical thinking. A faith based belief on the 'evil' others with more stuff that 'are why my life sucks.' Yeah, there are some evil rich fuks.

But are regular folks in Europe who are angry about Greece rich? I really doubt that.

The people have to work with each other, some are telling us they will. Whether they will or not, or if they align themselves with a rich patron to fleece others, and history has shown some certainly will, is an unknown thing. Then above it all, there is climate change. The pressure is not going to let up.

It appears other Europeans - you are not the only one, others have, for several years now - say they were being taken advantage of by Greece. There will be bad feelings.

But I thought this might be an interesting add to your thread. The picture isn't so clear from this side of the Atlantic, we just don't know how you guys really live.