Greece: The General Confederation of Employees of Greece and the civil servants' union federation declared a 24-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest against the finalization of the new package of austerity measures demanded by Greece's creditors.
Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated outside Greece's parliament on 26 September against austerity measures. The strike included doctors, teachers, tax workers, ferry operators and air traffic controllers. The Greek government is looking for ways to cut 11.5 billion euros ($14.7 billion) from the country's budget.
Comment: The economic hardships and austerity measures carry the risk of a breakdown in civil order. The key indicator of a spreading, unmanageable breakdown is the duration of protests. Thus far they have been short lived in Spain and Greece.
The international media has suggested the Eurozone crisis is now on a more stable trajectory. The protests suggest otherwise. European bankers and financial experts continue to fail to distinguish financial risks from real threats. There will be more outbreaks of civil disorder and more violent clashes.
Phi Beta Iota: We now know that financial assets inflated seventeen times verus the five times normal inflation (under a corrupt Federal Reserve) for physical assets. We now know that the financial mandarins and “control fraud” on the part of various governments has led to the internal looting of European Union and Americas commonwealths. Spain will be the next to collapse because the Spanish government has resolutely refused to consider the Iceland example. It is difficult to stop doing the wrong thing righter, we know this. Prospects for the USA in 2013-2014 are terrible. This is particularly troubling since there is nothing wrong with the USA that could not be fixed rapidly with the restoration of intelligence and integrity to governance.
