How the world sees Greece
 Kathimerini | Fitch praises Greek effort to contain deficit and state debt Kathimerini Greece has achieved its fiscal targets for 2012, registering a small primary deficit despite the recession, Fitch rating agency noted on Tuesday, attributing the government's success to the major curtailing of expenditure and the reduction of state ... |
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 Business Insider | Greek Neo-Fascist Party Golden Dawn Is Making A Move To Germany Business Insider Members of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn are believed to have set up a cell in the southern German city of Nuremberg with the aim of recruiting young Greeks who have flocked to the country in search of work. Greek community leaders in Germany ... 'Golden Dawn' Fosters Ties with German Neo-Nazis Rise of Golden Dawn: A presage of doom? |
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Greece Police Investigating Communication Between Teacher & Student 13WHAM-TV Greece, N.Y. - Greece Police and the Greece Central School District are investigating alleged inappropriate communications between a teacher and a student. District leaders said they became aware of the situation in December and alerted authorities. Greece Police investigating teacher Greece CSD, police investigating communication between teacher and student |
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 Eurovision.tv | Song titles revealed for Greek selection Eurovision.tv There are four songs in contention to be the entry of Greece in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, and today further details were released concerning the titles and the language they will be performed in. The date of the selection programme Ellinikόs ... |
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Greece teacher reassigned over emails to student Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Chris Tanev, a 23-year-old defenseman, scored with 20 seconds left in overtime Monday to give Vancouver a 3-2 win at Edmonton. Tanev played for RIT in the 2009-10 season and was a key member of the Tigers' surprising run to the NCAA Frozen Four. |
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Greek neo-Nazi party believed to be in Nuremberg with aim of recruiting young Greeks flocking to Germany in search of work
German and Greek rightwing extremists have been forging close contacts in Germany in a bid to strengthen their power base in Europe, German authorities have said.
Members of the Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn are believed to have set up a cell in the southern German city of Nuremberg with the aim of recruiting young Greeks who have flocked to to the country in recent months in search of work.
Greek community leaders in Germany have condemned the arrival of the party, also known as Chrysi Avgi, and called on authorities to clamp down on a group that they said had shown its readiness to use violence in Greece and could attempt to do the same in Germany.
Golden Dawn, which has close to 20 seats in the Greek parliament, has described the move on its website as the "answer of expat Greeks to the dirty hippies and the regime of democratic dictatorship in our homeland".
German authorities expressed their concern at the development. In a statement, the intelligence agency the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution said: "We are keeping an eye on developments."
It said Golden Dawn had "an international network of contacts, including contacts with neo-Nazis in Bavaria. These contacts are cultivated via mutual visits as well as at meetings at rightwing extremist events in Europe." It confirmed that members of Golden Dawn and far-right German groups had organised reciprocal visits to each other's countries as well as meeting at rightwing extremist meetings outside Germany and Greece.
In an open letter, the Greek Community of Nuremberg said it "condemned unanimously and categorically" the establishment of the Golden Dawn cell. "Racist slogans, messages of intolerance as well as the stoking of anti-foreigner sentiment, divisions and fears, have no place in the Greek community," the group wrote.
It added that it believed Golden Dawn had chosen the southern German city precisely because of its historical links with Adolf Hitler's Nazi party. Hitler chose to stage Nazi party rallies in the city due to its connections to the Holy Roman Empire and the Nuremberg laws, which stripped Jews of their German citizenship, were passed here.
"The attempt of this party to bind itself to the history of this city is blasphemous and condemned to failure," it said.
The leader of the Federation of Greek Communities in Germany, Sigrid Skarpelis-Sperk, told the Guardian: "The German authorities should be alarmed at this development and should be very thorough in its monitoring of them, so as to keep them in check."
"A party that has shown itself willing and able in Greece to carry out aggressive attacks on people with dark skin and foreigners, to deliver blows to politicians in public, is capable of behaving the same way in Germany," she said.
An estimated 380,000 Greeks live in Germany, mainly in the industrial Ruhr valley, though the actual figure – many do not register with the authorities – is believed to be nearer 900,000. Roughly-speaking in modern times they have come in three waves – after the second world war and then during the Greek dictatorship, when many Greek communists were given refuge, particularly in East Germany. The third wave is occurring now as many, particularly young Greeks, come to Germany looking for work and to escape unemployment at home.
German neo-Nazi groups, such as the Bavarian-based Freies Netz Süd, have been following the political successes of Chrysi Avgi for some time, making open reference to the Greek party on their websites.
The anti-Nazi organisation Nuremberg Union Nazi Stop said it would be monitoring Golden Dawn's activities in Germany.
Over the past months Golden Dawn, which is widely considered to be racist and antisemitic, has been held responsible for numerous attacks on foreigners in Greece. The party, whose symbol resembles the swastika, won 18 parliamentary seats in last year's election. Its popularity currently stands at around 12%.
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Tips on exploring Greece and Turkey offered today at Hoover Public Library al.com (blog) Greece statue.jpeg.JPG A marble statue of ancient Greek philosopher Plato stands in front of the Athens Academy in Athens, Greece. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis). HOOVER, Alabama -- Travel planners Bill and Judy Lewis today will give tips on how to ... |
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Wealthy Greek Diplomat Underwrites Mexican Ex-President Calderon At Harvard Forbes No, it's not Carlos Slim, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Emilio Azcarraga Jean or any other Mexican billionaire underwriting Mexico's former President Felipe Calderón's controversial one-year fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, but rather wealthy Greek ... |
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 BBC News | Selective zero-tolerance: is Greece really a democracy anymore? New Statesman The abuse suffered by four young anarchists, arrested for a bank robbery, at the hands of the police proves it's time to call Greece's coalition government what it is – a far-right authoritarian group. By Yiannis Baboulias Published 05 February 2013 9 ... Greece probes police 'beatings' Investigation into police treatment after altered police mug shots in Greece ... Greek court orders probe of alleged police beating |
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 CBS News | Greece Orders Striking Ferry Crews Back To Work NPR ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For the second time in less than two weeks, the Greek government invoked emergency laws to order strikers back to work Tuesday — in an attempt to end a seamen's walkout that has left islands without ferry services for six days. Greek ferry seamen extend 6-day strike Greece says in 2012 it met deficit-cutting targets Greece orders seamen back to work |
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While France, Italy and Spain post dreadful service figures, Germany thrives. Should the eurozone try football-style leagues?
It cannot be long before economists in France, Italy and Spain contemplate a vision of the eurozone without Germany. The heartfelt plea on Tuesday from French president François Hollande for a lower exchange rate illustrates the power of the German economy and its influence on the euro.
Nearly all the major economies of the eurozone are heading in the same direction as Portugal and Greece. Surveys of the services sectors in France, Spain and Italy on Tuesday were shocking, and must lead to higher unemployment and lower GDP growth over the coming year.
Paris, Rome and Madrid need to retain their export markets but, as Hollande's intervention shows, they are panicked that a high euro will raise costs and encourage customers to turn away.
Germany, on the other hand, is thriving. In Berlin the euro is a huge benefit. It is cheaper than the Deutschmark would ever be. And small rises have so far failed to dampen the Chinese lust for high-end cars and industrial equipment.
Overall, the gains of membership far outweigh any costs that might be borne in the future from loan write-offs to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
It was said at the height of the Greek crisis in 2011 and it will be said again. The outlier is not Greece but Germany. The Finns and Austrians will disagree because they also benefit from a euro that is cheaper than any of their hypothetical currencies, though that is an argument for letting them spin off into a separate northern currency zone with the Germans, and possibly the Dutch and Belgians (though they would be deluding themselves if they thought their workers/managers could keep pace with the Germans).
Maybe the euro currency issue could be resolved with football league-style divisions. A premier league and championship with different exchange rates. France would spend its first season in the championship vying for promotion, while Belgium and Holland battled relegation from the premiership before they all settled into their respective zones. And the UK? Exporters would gain an edge against German companies, which would find themselves in the same situation as the Japanese.
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Children must quit the classroom in some villages on the border with Greece to tend crops
For the children of Ribnovo, the winter marks a brief respite, when the tobacco crop in this Bulgarian village on the border with Greece needs no tending. In spring schoolchildren aged from seven to 17 work up to nine hours a day planting. In summer they weed, then harvest, bent double under the burning sun. Come autumn they iron leaves, stifled by clouds of dust. Now at last they may sell their meagre tobacco harvest.
Giultena Gusderov, 13, is stacking leaves. "It's a relief," when the season is over, she says, straightening up. "The planting part is back-breaking and when you're ironing, you cough all the time," she adds, wiping her brow. Even in the fields she dresses smartly, although she doesn't get paid for her work. She knows all about the latest mobile phones, has a Facebook account and would love to see the film Twilight. Her teachers hope she will continue her studies, but Giultena knows otherwise. "In the country dreams don't often come true," she says.
"None of the families can do without their children," says Feim Talamanov, Giultena's chemistry teacher. "They're hard-working kids but they have no time to study."
Kadri Gusderov, 45, Giultena's father, picks her up every day from school and takes her to the fields. Until recently he worked as a farm labourer abroad for six to eight months a year. "I've never been afraid of hard work," he says. He used to bring home €2,000 to €3,000 ($2,500 to $3,750) a month. The tobacco was just a sideline, looked after by his wife. "My father was able to set aside money for my studies," Giultena explains. But since the start of the financial crisis, work has dried up across Europe.
In the early 2000s the outlook for the Rhodope mountains in southern Bulgaria was rosy. Bulgaria was poised to join the European Union, growth was touching 6%, and everyone thought the area would become a tourist destination. Three huge ski resorts were built on the edge of the national park.
In the five years from 2004, dozens of NGOs toured the country, packing farmers' children off to school as part of a programme to eradicate child labour led by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In 2007 Bulgaria joined the EU, but a year later the economic crash halted hopes of development and the children returned to the fields.
The walls in Dragisa Pejovic's office are bare, but for the tobacco-related calendar. The leader of Ribnovo town council is also a tobacco farmer and he is fed up. "It's high time Europe opened its eyes. International buyers are trampling tobacco farmers underfoot ... Just look at my contract," he says, brandishing a form. "The buyers turn up at the start of the season, dish out seeds and get us to sign agreements which don't mention the price." He points out the parts left blank. "When it is time to sell, either you accept their price or you have to refund the seeds."
In 2009 the EU ended subsidies for Bulgaria's tobacco farmers. At the same time Sofia opened the market to competition. The multinationals could then negotiate better terms for the tobacco preferred in the developed world. The price paid to farmers plummeted. "At best we only earn €300 a month," Pejovic protests.
But price is not the only issue. In 2001 Dr Sdravka Tonova, of the Academy of Science in Sofia, produced a report for the ILO on child labour in Bulgaria. "We highlighted the many diseases affecting children who work on tobacco farms," she says. "Because they bend over to work, their lungs cannot develop properly. During the harvest they inhale tobacco dust containing carcinogenic substances. As adults they suffer from chronic bronchitis, TB, sometimes even cancer."
Four men have arrived at Debren, south of Ribnovo. They work for one of the largest tobacco merchants. They settle themselves in village's concrete market hall and wait for sellers. The harvest was good and farmers hope their crop will fetch €2.80 a kilo, but most get little more than €1.50. Bulgarian tobacco is the cheapest in the EU.
• This article appeared in the Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde
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 New York Times | Resolve the Real Greek Crisis New York Times FOR Greeks suffering from the wrenching pain of a long economic crisis, a youthful savior has emerged. Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the second-strongest party in Parliament, the Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, is not yet 40, but his ... |
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CBS News | Greek ferry seamen extend 6-day strike MiamiHerald.com ATHENS, Greece -- Greek seamen on Tuesday defied government warnings and extended for another 48 hours a series of rolling strikes that have left Greece's islands without ferry links with the mainland for six days. Ships will remain tied up in port ... Greece says in 2012 it met deficit-cutting targets Greece meets budget targets in 2012: govt Greece Has Met 2012 Budget Goals -Deputy Finance Minister |
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Research and Markets: Greece Dental Devices Investment Opportunities ... Fort Mills Times Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wzrlw9/greece_dental) has announced the addition of Global Markets Direct's new report "Greece Dental Devices Investment Opportunities, Analysis and Forecasts to 2018" to their ... |
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Tarpon Springs Greek Food Company Goes Viral Patch.com Customers and friends from Island House's following began to ask Houllis where and how they could purchase the soup, which is also known as "Greek penicillin" for its said-to-be healing properties. "In Greek culture, as soon as our grandmothers would ... |
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We wanted to explain how the benefit system works - and who will be hit hardest by the Government's reforms. You can watch the video animation here - this is the script and the data that lies behind it
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Is it really "skivers" v "strivers"? Everyone thinks they know what should happen about Benefits. But what is the problem anyway?
The government wants to crack down on the welfare state. The Chancellor, George Osborne, says he wants to look after the "person who leaves their home early in the morning, they pull the door behind them, they're going off to do their job, they're looking at their next-door neighbour, the blinds are down, and that family is living a life on benefits."
The government says it is Strivers(or people who work) v skivers (people who don't).
So, how did we get here? 70 years ago, in the middle of the Second World War, Sir William Beveridge helped create the modern welfare state. It would be a safety net to protect those at the bottom of the pile with support for people who were: Unemployed, Disabled, Bereaved.
It would banish what Beveridge called the five "giant evils" of: Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness
So, what happened?
In 1948, the British government spent £11bn in today's money on benefits.
Since then the benefit bill has soared. In 2012, it spent around £200bn on benefits. That's more than the gross domestic product of Greece, Ireland and New Zealand And equivalent to £3165 for every man, woman and child in the UK.
Income support for sick and disabled people is up from £520m in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher came to power. To £6bn in 2012. In 1979, the government spent £633m on income support for lone parents. In 2012 it was £1.8bn.
So, is Britain's benefits bill out of control? This is how it compares to other areas of public spending. In 2011-12, we spent six times as much on Disability Living allowance than we did on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. We spent nearly as much on Winter Fuel Allowance as we do on hospital accident & emergency departments. And more on rent rebates than on academy schools.
But do you know what the biggest state benefit is in the UK? State pensions.
In 2011-12 they cost £74.2bn. That is more than we spend on schools and five times what goes on universities.
But how do we compare? Well, we do spend more of our national income on welfare than the United States, Canada, Australia. And Estonia. But we spend much less than other European countries like France, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.
Public opinion is turning against those on benefits. Support for increased spending has gone down. Even Labour supporters are less likely to think the government should support unemployed people.
The government says it is cutting benefits to help the strivers not the skivers, those that work rather than those who stay at home. And new changes would increase benefits by just 1% a year. Even though the cost of living measured is rising by 2.7%. This shows how benefits will slip behind average earnings
But are the cuts really targeting the "skivers"?
Many benefits go to people who are working but on low incomes. And the Children's Society says that the changes the government made recently have hit thousands of working people on low incomes: 300,000 nurses & midwives; 42,000 soldiers; 510,000 shop assistants; 150,000 teachers.
The government has already scrapped child benefit for families where one person earns more than £60,000 and cut it for those earning above £50,000
But two people with a combined income of £100,000 could still get it.
Are there other benefits which could be cut more fairly?
What comes next?
More changes: to benefits like Housing Benefit and the Disability Living Allowance. Which often go to people in employment.
Whatever happens, thousands of people will feel the pain.
Will they be the skivers?
Or the strivers?
Or all of us?
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