Torching Banks and Riots ... there is a pattern Torching Banks

[lovuian]

Associated Press: Burning barricades stretched across streets in the capital Athens. And as night fell, gangs again torched stores and smashed bank branches in the city center, and clashes broke out in the streets near Parliament.... Violence often breaks out between riot police and anarchists during demonstrations in Greece. Anarchist groups are also blamed for late-night firebombings of targets such as banks and diplomatic vehicles.

Xinhua: Fires were burnt in the center of Athens and hundreds of people were wandering through the streets, some attacking banks, businesses and vehicles.

Reuters: Protesters angry at the boy's shooting late on Saturday clashed with police and rampaged through Athens, destroying banks, shops and torching cars. There was no official estimate of the damage, expected to come to millions of euros.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLR64845420081127

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Dear Agent Mike, please note I did not rec this thread and only accidentally kicked it. n/t

[Gonzo Gardener]

2. Finger spasm

I was really just trying to hit Hide Thread but hit Recommend instead.

[Truth2Tell]

3. I coughed and next thing I knew.....

Rec 5. :shrug:

[alittlelark]

5. My cat stepped on the keyboard..... oops

[Jim Sagle]

22. I'm shocked and revolted at this thread.

[eridani]

4. Anybody got some serious backstory on this? n/t

[Hannah Bell]

6. General strike, spreading protests rock Greek government

By Chris Marsden
11 December 2008

Yesterday's one-day general strike paralysed much of Greece, while 10,000 marched in Athens against the right-wing government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis...

There were battles between police and youth on the main demonstration as well as outside the central courthouse where two officers involved in the fatal shooting of student Alexandros Grigoropoulos were testifying. High school students chanted "Cops! Pigs! Murderers!" Riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators advancing on the parliament building in Athens. Many shops stayed closed and boarded up their windows.

A group of around 100 Roma attacked a police station in the suburb of Zefyri. Clashes broke out during demonstrations in Thessaloniki, Kavala and Patrus. Two universities in Athens remain occupied. University teachers have been on strike since December 8 and high school and primary school teachers have struck since December 9...

Stathis Anestis, spokesman for a federation of private sector unions, said, "Participation in the strike is total. The country has come to a standstill."

The strike was scheduled some time ago by the Greek General Confederation of Workers (GSEE) and the Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council (ADEDY), representing 2.5 million workers—half the Greek workforce. It was called to press demands for higher wages, pensions and social spending and to protest austerity measures. But it has become bound together with the massive popular reaction to the killing of Grigoropoulos, which has become a focus for widespread anger toward both the police and the Karamanlis government...

Amnesty International has called for the Greek authorities to end the "unlawful and disproportionate use of force by police" and noted "mounting evidence of police beatings and ill-treatment of peaceful demonstrators."

...Fresh elections would have the aim of stabilizing a situation that is spiralling out of control. With unemployment at 15 percent, forcing many to emigrate in search of work, social anger, especially amongst the young, is visceral...

Odysseas Korakidis, who took part in the Athens protest, told Reuters, "There is demand for change: social, economic and political change. It's not unusual here to hold down two jobs to get just 800 or 1,000 euros a month. In other countries, that's inconceivable!"

"This is not just about the kids. It's about our dreadful education and economic situation. That's what pushed us onto the streets," one protester said. "It's our belief and hope that this is the beginning of a rebellion against the system."

A young woman told the Guardian, "I have two degrees but I am a waitress. There is no opportunity for young people here any more but I don't think this is confined to Greece. The economic situation leaves a lot of young people across Europe feeling bleak and hopeless."

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/gree-d11.shtml


15% unemployment...I'd guess that's the underlying malaise, with the police killing of the student the trigger.

I find wsws has better coverage of economic stories than the msm.

[Connonym]

7. Meanwhile in the US...

We contentedly accept yet another pay cut, drink our polluted water and eat our foods of unknown chemical origin, take another Prozac and then watch American Idol

[robinlynne]

8. But the strike in Chicago and the huge support they are recieving from the public gives us hope....

[Connonym]

12. I really hope so

Because my post-election euphoria has worn off a bit and I'm feeling rather gloomy about the future

[robinlynne]

16. of course. The feeling comes and goes. We are living in an historic era.

But it WILL change. (And I'm not saying the Democrats will fix it. Only the people can.)

[Chulanowa]

9. But we're free!

Unlike those socialists in Old Europe! Guffaw, guffaw, cough cough...

[ColbertWatcher]

23. "watch American Idol " Who's winning!? n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

24. The kids are not alright.

[struggle4progress]

10. Fears Greek teen's funeral may spark further riots (ABC)

Posted Tue Dec 9, 2008 3:41pm AEDT
Updated Tue Dec 9, 2008 3:51pm AEDT

A funeral being held in Greece tonight for a teenage boy shot dead by police is expected to provoke more riots.

During the past three days, thousands of protesters have burned and looted shops in central Athens and set cars on fire.

There have also been disturbances in other parts of the country; dozens of people have been injured and police have made about 150 arrests.

While the riots were sparked by the teenager's death, there is also widespread public anger about government scandals and its unpopular economic policies ...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2441764.htm?section=world

[struggle4progress]

11. Protesters clash with police in front of Greek parliament (ABC)

Posted Tue Dec 9, 2008 10:39pm AEDT
Updated Tue Dec 9, 2008 11:57pm AEDT

Students and teacher protesters in Greece have clashed with police guarding the parliament in the capital Athens, in the latest riots over the police shooting of a teenager at the weekend.

The funeral of the 15-year-old boy is underway and there are fears it could spark more violence.

The incident caused three days of the worst riots the country has seen in decades.

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has begun emergency talks with the opposition parties on how to restore calm ... http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/12/09/2442044.htm?section=justin

[struggle4progress]

13. Spirit of student rebellion governs Athens' hand (FT)

By Kerin Hope
Published: December 10 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 10 2008 02:00

... The centre-right government of Costas Karamanlis, the prime minister, appears to have lost control as unrest triggered by the killing by police of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old student, continued unabated ...

The violence highlights the unwillingness of successive governments to tackle young people's concerns, from the poor quality of education provided by a deeply politicised university system to frustration over the lack of job opportunities ...

"You come back from abroad with a master's degree and have to work for €600 <$779, £526> a month in an unrelated field," said Panayotis Adamopoulos, an electronics engineer. "How are you supposed to build a career?" ...

Unemployment among young graduates is believed to exceed 20 per cent, although overall jobless rates have averaged less than 8 per cent in the past two years ...

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e9e61f0a-c65b-11dd-a741-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

[struggle4progress]

14. Rioting Picks Up as General Strike Hits Greece (Deutsche Welle)

... Despite pleas from Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to cancel the general strike, Greece's two largest unions went ahead with planned 24-hour strikes Wednesday to protest the government's austere economic policies.

The prime minister said he feared a nationwide strike could fuel more large-scale rioting, triggered by the weekend shooting. Due to the tense situation, the unions said they would limit their rallies to certain locations and cancelled plans for demonstrating in Athens' streets, Greek state radio said.

The strike will shut the nation's airports, although there were no stranded travelers since airlines had refused to take bookings for the days affected, according to news reports. Schools and government offices were also scheduled to close.

The unions are protesting the government's recent pension reforms, which raise the retirement age and cut back on benefits. The unions are also upset about recent labor reforms, privatizations and tax measures ...

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3862430,00.html

[struggle4progress]

15. Thousands demonstrate in Athens (Deutschew Welle)

In Greece a nationwide general strike is underway which has closed down banks, schools and hospitals. Hundreds of flights have also been cancelled. The strike has been planned for weeks but comes after four nights of rioting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager. Thousands have gathered in the capital Athens to march on parliament in a protest at the government's handling of the crisis. Demonstrators chanting anti-government slogans have joined a rally called by Greece's two main unions against economic policy. The opposition socialist party says the ruling New Democracy party, which has a one-seat majority, has lost the trust of the people and has called for elections. One policeman has been charged with murder over the shooting of the youth last Saturday.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,,12215_cid_3863745,00.html?maca=en-en_nr-1893-xml-atom

[struggle4progress]

17. Firebombs greet court arrival of Greek police accused (AFP)

Protesters hurled two petrol bombs outside an Athens court as two police officers arrested over the shooting of a teenager, which led to nationwide riots, went before a magistrate for questioning, police sources said ... http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=10816&icid=4&d_str=20081210

[struggle4progress]

18. A battle outside, and it's raging (Guardian)

... The rights and wrongs of the original incident, in which police fired their weapons after being stoned by a group of young men, have yet to be established. And the balance between genuine protest, radical provocation and sheer hooliganism among the demonstrators is unclear. But the level of the violence suggests that something is seriously amiss in Greece - something going well beyond the relationship between young people and the police, never an easy one in any country ...

Greece has moved and changed in recent years in fundamental ways. Largely gone is the old anti-American and anti-European Union feeling which sustained the Greek left, but the old-fashioned conservatism which was its counterpart on the right has survived in the form of the present government. Its democratic credentials are authentic, but it has seemed to lack vision and, with its narrow majority, to have no strategy except one of getting by. It is slipping in the polls against the main opposition party, Pasok, whose fortunes, together with those of its leader, George Papandreou, may well be transformed by the events of the past few days ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/10/leader-greece-riots-news

[struggle4progress]

19. Greek police officers accused of teenager murder testify in court

... One of the two officers is accused of murder and the illegal use of weapons, while his colleague is charged as his accomplice.

The officers' lawyer Alexis Kouyias told reporters he believed the killing was accidental because the initial findings of the ballistic examination showed the bullet appeared to have ricocheted before hitting the teenager.

"The bullet is flattened on one side and the point of entry into the student's body is from above going down," he said ...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/11/content_10486086.htm

[struggle4progress]

20. In Greece, Protests Echo European Students' Ire

By IGHLIGHT;IN ATHENS and DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS in Paris

Thousands of students were joined by striking workers in a fifth day of protests in Greece, an uprising that mirrors growing discontent among youths in many European countries over outdated education systems, lack of jobs and a general apprehension about the future ...

The backdrop for Wednesday's demonstrations was a general strike -- planned by unions before rioting started Saturday -- to protest the conservative government's economic policies, including changes to pension laws and privatizations.

Thousands of high-school and university students walked out of class and joined the demonstrations to protest their discontent with the government's higher-education and employment policies ...

Some 25% of Greeks 15 to 24 years of age are unemployed, meaning the benefits of the country's economic expansion haven't been equally distributed, said Claude Giorno, an economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122895550635596477.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[struggle4progress]

21. Thousands march in Athens rallies after riots

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and ELENA BECATOROS – 21 hours ago

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 10,000 people are marching past burned out and looted shops in central Athens, heading toward Parliament after four nights of rioting sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager.

The demonstration is part of a previously scheduled nationwide general strike, but is developing into a protest at the government's handling of the crisis.

Labor unions rejected an appeal by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to cancel Wednesday rallies, saying Greeks have a right to protest economic hardship ...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hBFlGGEp5P_Xn83Bw3PLwJ020A-QD94VPHC80