And Now, To Greece..

Greece: Prime Minister George Papandreou survives by just 12 votes

GREECE'S prime minister survived a key confidence vote, keeping alive a government bid to avert a debt default that could spark a financial maelstrom around the world.

MPs voted 155 to 143 along party lines last night to back George Papandreou, who now faces a critical vote next week on a massive austerity package that Greece's international creditors have said must pass by the end of June.

He is seeking 28 billion euro (s24.8bn) in budget cuts and new taxes and 50 billion euro (s44.3bn) worth of privatisation of public assets. Unless the new measures pass, Greece will not receive the next batch of bailout funds worth 12 billion euro (s10.6bn), and will face a disastrous default in July, when it runs out of money.

A default by Greece could drag down Greek and European banks and renew fears over the finances of other eurozone countries such as Portugal, Ireland and Spain.
And:
As deputies voted, several thousand protesters gathered outside parliament chanting "Thieves! thieves!", shining green laser lights at the parliament building and into the eyes of riot police. Continuing strikes by electricity company workers objecting to privatisation caused a second day of rolling power cuts.

This anger doesn't seem to be factored as a tangible power.  But it is, and it's just begun to fester.

Greece As 6 Million Dollar Man..

"She's breaking up! She's breaking up!"(heh..) The question remains: Can we rebuild him?? Suddeutsche Zeitung: EU prepares for Greece to declare bankruptcy Short, and not sweet excerpts:

According to EU sources in the European capitals it is already running the preparation on Greece to declare bankruptcy, German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung announced.
..
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance denied preparing an emergency plan for Greece.

Not that Greece isn't going bankrupt, mind you, it's just that France doesn't have an emergency plan in place. Already gone (and probably not ever coming back) is Greece's refugee/asylum system, at least from the German perspective.. Excerpts:

Berlin announced this week that it is halting deportations to Greece for a year, despite European Union rules stating that the first country a refugee arrives in is responsible for processing any asylum request.

Germany's Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday that the new measure is aimed at reducing the burden on Greek authorities, who are struggling to deal with the volume of refugees reaching the country's shores and borders.
And:
Humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), have voiced concern about the conditions that asylum seekers and illegal immigrants are forced to endure in Greece, with overcrowded detention facilities and a dysfunctional and overstretched system of assessing asylum claims.

Kind of like their banking system! Speaking of which, the Finance Minister says that Greece won't try debt re-structuring(read; anything new) as it might worsen the country's financial situation. Instead, they'll continue to follow the EU/IMF approved directives for their bailout. Although they wouldn't mind to(unofficially) stretch those payments out a little..

Hell, it's worked really well so far!

Forget South Korea: The Greeks Know How To Throw A Riot..

Raw Footage from Russia Today via Godlike.  Intense.  Yesterday was their General Strike, and it erupted into a pretty major riot.  Not full scale, as the police didn't shoot to kill, but with more riots possible, full scale fighting will happen.  See for yourself:

You can, if you'd rather, read about it here. 

Amazing video.  Greece is just the first, and this was just the beginning.  The Global Financial Crisis is already ugly, and now it's turning violent.

Just In Case You'd Forgotten Greece Was In Meltdown..

2,000 locals attack riot police with Molotov's, sticks, stones and gun shots in Keratea, Attica; Athens gears up for long week of anti-cuts mobilisations and General Strike

In the past two days, local residents of the area of Keratea in Attica (Greater Athens) have been engaged in a fierce battle with riot police (MAT). The riot police are there to protect the construction of a waste burial site (HITA). Such burial sites have not only been judged to be illegal by European courts but additionally, the site in Keratea is of archaeological significance.

On Saturday, riot police arrived at the site to protect the ongoing construction works from the enraged locals. Clashes quickly erupted, with locals attacking the police with sticks, stones and scores of Molotov cocktails. The police responded with tear gas while for the first time ever in Greece, water cannons also made their appearance. On Sunday evening, gunshots were aimed in the direction of the police from nearby hills.

And there's a General Strike scheduled for Wednesday. As Greece's economy deteriorates, so does Grecian society. Don't look for an improvement in Greece's overall situation, either. No one seems to be getting anything right that might prevent catastrophe.

And, please don't forget who caused this crisis in the first place.. (Short answer: Creation of the Euro, Bankers gone wild, and Governments guaranteeing banker's gone wild bad debt.)