A Greek default and exit must be taken in the people's interests – not entrusting the process to the EU, IMF and banks. Costas Lapavitsas for guardian.co.uk Greece is facing an economic and social disaster, the result of its so-called rescue by the "troika" of the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. Greece must change course to avoid a grim future for its people: it must defau ...

In Griechenland heißt es, man habe Deutschlands Hilfe mehr als verdient. Immerhin seien aus dem Weltkrieg noch Rechnungen offen. "Welt Online" hat nachgerechnet. Autor: Sven Felix Kellerhoff on www.welt.de Here you can read it in English by NYT. In der aktuellen Debatte um eine mögliche Staatsinsolvenz melden sich in Griechenland immer mehr Stimmen zu Wort, denen zufolge Deutschland noch enorme Schulden aus ...

by ERIC TOUSSAINT In July-September 2011 the stock markets were again shaken at international level. The crisis has become deeper in the EU, particularly with respect to debts. The CADTM interviewed Eric Toussaint about various facets of this new stage in the crisis. CADTM: Is it true that Greece has to commit to paying about 15% interest rates to be allowed to contract ten year loans? Eric Toussaint: Yes, ...

Sep 12th 2011, 18:13 by R.A. | WASHINGTON MANY people have been linking to this Spiegel piece, on how the Germans are preparing for the possibility of a Greek default. It's a remarkable read. Consider: "The rest of Europe is losing patience with Athens. And after 18 months of crisis in the country, there is still no improvement in sight. Key economic figures are worsening, and there are growing doubts over ...

By LANDON THOMAS Jr. LONDON — No bank likes to take a loss, especially those in Europe that already suffer from a toxic mix of thin capital, troubled financing and weak loan books. But in the case of the proposed second bailout for Greece — the one that is supposed to make private investors feel the financial pain along with taxpayers — the biggest banks in Europe are on the road now promoting the plan. It’ ...

Britain likes to pretend it has moved on: but birth determines our destiny and income more now than it did 50 years ago. By Polly Toynbee Class is a dangerous subject, taboo in mainstream politics. The riots brought out a rash of comment implying that there is one great, respectable middle class and an inexplicable underclass beneath, quite unconnected to what's been happening to wages, incomes and the stre ...

In July, 2008, on the eve of the biggest financial crisis in memory, the European Central Bank did something both predictable and stupid: it raised interest rates. The move was predictable because the E.C.B.’s president, Jean-Claude Trichet, was an inflation hawk; he worried about rising oil and food prices and saw a rate hike as a way of tamping them down. But the move was also remarkably ill timed. The cr ...

We found it on www.trouw.nl and you cand find the translation in Greek here. Een onderpand in ruil voor nieuwe leningen aan Griekenland is en blijft een harde eis voor de Finse regering. Maar wat dat onderpand precies moet zijn, daarover valt te praten. Geld, grond, staatsbedrijven en goud zijn de opties. Ze hebben allemaal voor- en nadelen. Geld. Die optie heeft de Finland met de Griekse regering afgesprok ...

In the last few years, a wave of ‘reforms’ within the European Union and throughout the world has subjected Higher Education to the logic of the market. Higher Education has increasingly been transformed from a public good and a civil right to a commodity for the wealthy. The self-government of Universities and the autonomy of academic processes are also being eroded. The processes of knowledge production a ...

by Michel Chossudovsky at http://www.globalresearch.ca For the last twenty years, Somalia has been entangled in a "civil war" amidst the destruction of both its rural and urban economies. The country is now facing widespread famine. According to reports, tens of thousands of people have died from malnutrition in the last few months. The lives of several million people are threatened. The mainstream media ca ...