Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg - Is history repreating itself?

Julian Assange, founder and spokesperson of Wikileaks yesterday was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Swedish authorities, accused of two cases of rape and molestation in Stockholm and Enkopin, a town one hours drive from the capital. The story hit the headlines after the Swedish tabloid, Expressen published an article which was quickly picked up by the rest of the world via Twitter.

Now it appears that the police in Sweden have withdrawn the charges without explaining either what led to the decision to issue the arrest warrant in the first place and why it was so quickly dropped. Already the internet is awash with conspiracy theories which point the finger of accusation at the American authorities who have been outraged by Wikileaks publication online of 77,000 sensitive military documents connected with the war in Afghanistan, many of them extremely damaging to US efforts to win over world opinion.

It is very hard not to see parallels between the Leaking of the Afghan War Diaries and the Pentagon Papers which revealed American policy in the Vietnam war and produced a furore when published in the New York Times in 1971. In both cases the documents showed just how wide the gulf was between official statements concerning the purpose and conduct of the wars and the bloody reality on the ground.

In both the Wikileaks and Pentagon Papers cases attempts to slience whistle blowers via the courts failed and as a result Ellsberg soon drew the ire of the Nixon administration who used a wide array of dirty tricks to discredit him, including breaking into the office of his psychiatrist in an attempt to find possible blackmail material (the same group of burglars would later go onto set in motion the Watergate crisis) and the hiring of 12 thugs to "totally incapacitate" him at a public rally.

Ellsberg reported in an interview with Huffington Post that Assange might also be the subject of threats by the American government and that just as they looked to smear him in the 70s such an attempt would most likley be made against Assange. With the rape and molestation charges, many believe that such a plan was put in motion and the fact that the charges have been dropped so quickly is likely to fuel such speculation.

Debt kills - International Monetary Fund Special Tactics Division

Debt kills - IMF, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies - Greece

Greeks angry over price hikes in wake of austerity package, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"Dear Messrs. Juncker, Rehn and Trichet,

In the attached update to the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) and the Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality of 3 May 2010, we describe the progress and further policy steps towards meeting the objectives of the economic program that is being supported by financial assistance provided by the euro-area Member States in the context of the loan facility agreement.

The policies of the government of Greece remain fully oriented toward securing fiscal sustainability, safeguarding the stability of the financial system, and boosting potential growth and competitiveness.

We have made a vigorous start with our economic program. The fiscal program is progressing well, financial policies are being strengthened, and structural policies are ahead of schedule in key aspects:

The end-June quantitative performance criteria have all been met, led by a strong implementation of the fiscal program. Not unexpectedly, it has proven difficult to fully control expenditures at some entities, and in anticipation of such problems we significantly under-executed budget implementation at the state level, thereby ensuring that targets for the general government were met. Going forward, we are redoubling our efforts to strengthen controls at all levels of government and are determined to continue to over-perform at the state level until such controls become fully effective.

Reflecting the weaknesses in expenditure controls at some entities, the indicative target on the non-accrual of domestic arrears has not been observed as the monitoring system for general government commitments, accounts payable, and arrears is still being developed and implemented. We commit to bringing these arrears down to zero by year-end, so that only a normal level of accounts payable is carried over into 2011.

While the financial system continues to feel the effects of tight liquidity, sentiment indicators are gradually beginning to improve, and policy progress has been made by establishing the Financial Stability Fund to backstop any capital needs that banks might have in the future owing to an expected increase in impaired loans as the

The government has made significant progress in structural reforms with far-reaching pension and labor market reforms being approved ahead of schedule. Parliament has also already adopted important budgetary reform and reforms of local government. Other major reforms that are at an advanced stage aim at liberalizing the trucking industry and restructuring the railroad system, while reforms of the energy sector, protected professions, the licensing and business regulatory framework and preparations for implementation of the services directive are gaining momentum, as foreseen in our program.

On this basis and the completion of the prior action, we request the disbursement of the second instalment of financial assistance by the euro-area Member States in the amount of EUR 6 500 million, in line with the loan facility agreement.

We believe that the policies set forth in the 3 May 2010 Letter of Intent, MEFP and MoU, and the attached updates, are adequate to achieve the objectives under the program. We stand ready to take any corrective actions that may become appropriate for this purpose as circumstances change. We will consult with the European Commission and the ECB, as well as with the IMF, on the adoption of any such actions and in advance of revisions to the policies contained in this letter.

We are copying this letter to Mr. Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF."

For the full text of the memorandum click here

ENOIKIAZETAI - FOR RENT

ENOIKIAZETAI - FOR RENT, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

As the economic crisis in Greece bites ever deeper more and more of these signs are appearing in shop windows across Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. In some neighbourhoods closed down shops now outnumber those still in business.

Rapidly rising unemployment (up 50% in just one year), shrinking incomes and worry about what the future holds means that Greek families are now cutting back on spending in every category including basics such as groceries, a fact that many of my Greek friend swore blind would never happen no matter how bad things got.

With consumer confidence rock bottom and Greece's GDP set to drop 3.5% this year no wonder 86% of businesses are reporting cash flow problems. The Greek Chamber of Commerce is predicting the closure of 100,000 small enterprises before the year is out with the loss of yet more jobs.

Some parents, especially those on lower incomes are even cutting back on the amount they spend on their children's education, a situation that was almost inconceivable a few years back. The conventional wisdom was that Greek parents would make any sacrifice in order to help their son or daughter get the qualifications needed to get on in life.

The problem is that not only do families have far less disposable income than ever before but also there has been the realisation that the degrees and certificates that have been gained with so much sweat, toil and financial outlay are virtually worthless in terms of getting a decent job. The country s full of university graduates who cannot get work of any kind, let alone jobs that utilise their expensively acquired education.

It is exactly this generation that rose up in December 2008 and were at the forefront of the most violent and extensive civil disorder Greece has seen in a generation. However, the economic conditions then seem positively idyllic compared with the prospects now with one in three of 15-24 year olds jobless. No society, especially one as volatile as Greece can stand such levels of anger and hopelessness amongst its young for long.

Last time it was the killing of a 15 year old teens which caused a month long series of riots and confrontations in virtually every urban area nationwide and led to billions of euros worth of damage. One has to wonder how long it will be before another incident sets off the Greece's disaffected youth.

The invisible hand of the market

The invisible hand of the market, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Greece's richest yet to feel the heat of the economic crisis.

Giorgos Papandreou - Prime minister of Greece, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Sometimes there is such a wide divide between the way news about Greece is presented abroad that you might be forgiven for thinking that perhaps the country is like Slovenia, constantly being confused with Slovakia.

Today the BBC had a lead story that the Greece has fulfilled the conditions for the next installment of the massive 110 billion euro bailout package. To judge from the tone of the article all is well in Athens and now it is business as usual.

The fact that the imposition of the IMF/European Union/European Central Bank measures has crippled the economy seems little more than a perplexing footnote. The reality is that virtually every economic indicator is in the red. Unemployment has risen nearly 50% in just a year, 30 billion euros has been taken out of the country's banking system in the last 12 months and tourism revenue has dropped 25% since 2008.

The Greek Chamber of Commerce is also predicting that over 86% of business are facing liquidity problems and that 100,000 are set to close by the end of the year so further hampering government efforts to raise tax revenue in order to reduce the massive deficit.

However, unable or unwilling to take on Greece's wealthiest prime minister Giorgos Papandreou has followed the safe path and hiked up VAT twice in th last few months and pushed up fuel prices over 70% since taking power last September. Such tactics are a stark admission of how ineffectual the Greek state is in taxing the country rich directly. As a result the burden of the sacrifices being demanded is falling disproportionately on the shoulders of theworking and middle class.

At first glance such measures could hardly be considered an easy option for any democratically elected government but the fact that PASOK would rather go head to head with millions of bitterly disappointed voters than challenge the wealth and power of the country's richest inhabitants speaks volumes about how much influence they wield in modern Greece.

Sensing the growing outrage over falling wages, rising unemployment and the huge tax increases PASOK is mounting a propoganda campaign to convince the electorate that the better off are also being called up to pull their weight. Day after day the state run channels, along with pro government newpapers and TV stations are reporting raids on clubs and bars evading tax.

The problem is that most Greek have seen such campaigns so often that they are very cynical about their supposed results. Most believe that even if businesses are caught a quick word/bribe to the relevent official means that the case will quietly be dropped once the glare of publicity has moved on.

On the other hand Greece has pointedly ignored the opportunities for clawing back lost revenue squirrelled away in Swiss bank accounts by refusing to act on information that the French and Italian authorities were quick to utilise in their crack down on tax evasion.

Apparently not one of the 1000 plus Greek customers of the Swiss branch of HSBC was worth investigating. In contrast the Italian tax authorities found several cases of wrong doing among the 5728 Italian individuals and companies with accounts.

Whether SDOE (Greek IRS) was right in making such a call is less important than the message it has sent to the public that while they are being crushed by the current austerity program those with access to wealth are not feeling much pain at all. Protected by their off shore companies and close connections with those in power, Greece's elite are quite happy to ride out this crisis in the comfort of their villas and yachts.

The sad irony is that the measure to raise state revenues are not working the, more Athens raises VAT and other indirect forms of taxation the greater the gap is between the amount collected and that needed. Fears of unemployment, falling incomes and rising prices of basic goods such as bread and power means that people have far less disposable income and what money they do have left over is being hoarded in case of future emergencies. With the economy entering a graveyard cycle it is becoming harder and harder to believe that Greece will be able to halt the decline without a radical reapprisal of its current economic priorities.

The A21 Campaign - Human trafficking in Greece

The anti - human trafficking organisation A21 campaign has set up a crisis care shelter and project shelter in Thessaloniki as part of their effort to help some of the estimated 20,000 women and girls trafficked into Greece. As well as providing healing and assistance to victims they are also raising awareness of the issue and working with local justice system to deal with the problem.



You can also follow the A21 campaign on Twitter and on Facebook Cause and check out their 21 different ways to help.

Support your local banker

Support your local banker, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The Economist gets punk'd

The Economist gets punk'd, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Listen to your leaders

Listen to your leaders, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

As you've probably noticed I've been doing a lot of work on remixing various posters from the past. This is no exception as it was originally a silk screen print created by students in Paris in May 1968 and entitled Retour A La Normale (Back to normal). However, since I have no real drawing skills nor access to any kind of printing device I decided just to produce my own digitally updated version using GIMP (which is an open source version of Photoshop) and my netbook just to see if I could come up with a credible result.

Well, that and the fact that I'm bored stuck in the city in the middle of a heat wave and sitting in an air conditioned cafe doing anything has to be preferable to sitting at home sweating myself into a feverish frenzy.

Sometimes I go through phases when I do not feel like taking photographs or there are no subjects that really grab my attention. This is one of those times and rather than do nothing I usually focus on some other interest such as writing or designing. The good news is that by doing something different for a change I usually manage to pick up some news skills which often prove useful later on in ways I never expected. For example by working on images such as the one above I have to overcome a number of techincal problems which can be frustrating at times yet when I have overcome them they open up new avenues with my photography.

Usually, I get inspiration from something I've read or heard about in the news, often something that has enraged or upset me and then the germ of an idea is born which may take days or weeks to develop into something I can actually visualise. Other times it just appears in amtter of minutes, there is no way of telling.

The world gets a new super hero - IMF Man

The world gets a new super hero - IMF Man, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Step aside Superman, give it up Spiderman, Batman, time to hang up the cape. There is a new kid on the block - IMF Man.

Able to destroy large economies with a single leap in interest rates, IMF Man is here is here to save the world from depravity and unwarranted public spending. See him crush trade unions with the swish of a pen and bail out out the entire banking system single - handed.

Bitten by a radioactive coackroach when young mild mannered Dominque Strauss - Kahn is a mild mannered finance specialist by day but by night he is a neo-liberal super hero fighting the evils of deficit spending wherever they rear their ugly head.

Targeting benefit thieves

Targeting benefit thieves, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

If you suspect benefit or tax fraud please contact your local Coalition of Resistance representative.

Live your myth in Greece

Greece: Now under new ownership, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Back in the day when I could still afford to travel to the Greek islands I would often read and hear stories about how tavernas and restaurants would have two different sets of menus, one with prices for foreign tourists and another set for Greek visitors. The owners would use the fact that many holidaymakers from abroad found it difficult to get used to paying in thousands of drachmas rather than tens of francs or marks.

It also reflected the fact that then the gap in earnings bewteen the average Greek and northern European was enormous, something that came as a shock when I first came to Greece and realised that the summer job I had had as a lowly clerk paid more than a fully qualified doctor was earning here.

With the passage of time the gap in earnings between the groups has narrowed, though it should be added not disappeared and yet strangely the same system of differential pricing has become inverted with Greeks shelling out far more for their holidays than tourists from other countries. A friend of mine told me that she could save money if she took a charter flight to London and then Rhodes than book a holiday direct via a travel agent here in Thessaloniki.

Unable to squeeze more money from the tour operators hoteliers charge outrageous rates to their fellow countrymen and women, hoping to get the same kinds of profits as in the past, even though the local holiday season has shrunk dramatically as the cost of vacations has risen exponentially. Now the Greek family that spends two weeks at a hotel or pension is the exception rather than the rule. This does not mean that people are not going on holiday but rather the nature of holiday making is changing with more and more people choosing to stay with family or friends or taking a week off rather than the traditional two or three.

There are a number of reasons for this and first and foremost is the current economic crisis which has forced Greeks to think very carefully about how and where they spend their money. With the threat of job losses hanging over everyone's head many are choosing not to spend money unless absolutely necessary.

The Greek trade union congress, GSEE is talking about a million out of work within the year, or approximately one in five of the work force nationwide. Not than unemployment is ever evenly spread and here in the north of Greece that figures is set to be much higher, especially in the towns and cities hit by loss of textile and other manufacturing jobs to other Balkan states and, of course China.

On the other hand tourism in Greece has been in a downward spiral for a number of years weighed down by rising prices which have deterred both foreign and domestic visitors from staying longer. Even those visitors who can take advantage of cheap flights and accomodation are often shocked by the prices of eating out and entertainment which are far greater than at home. How many residents of Dusseldorf, Dieppe or Doncaster think that that 4 euros is a reasonable prices for a cup of instant coffee is open to debate. This is a far cry from the 80's and 90's when even the inflated prices charged in the tourist hot spots were still comparatively cheap for northern europeans.

Chatting with friends recently returned from the island of Kefalonia they told stories of shocked vistors amazed that despite the fact that Greece is in the middle of its worst financial crisis in a generation prices were still so high? When people have no money are they supposed to drop? Apparently not. Adam Smith is obviously not required reading on the beach.

Yet when you talk to the owners of these places they are adamant that the only way they can survive is by charging more and more, so making up in profit margin what they are losing in sales volume. And so the vicious cycle goes on with the holiday season growing ever shorter and prices ever higher as those involved in the tourist industry try to squeeze more and more money out of visitors in the quickest time possible.

Drink for Queen and Country

Drink for Queen and Country, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Government keeps wine cellar contents under wraps

Foreign and Commonwealth Office claim full disclosure of £864,000 collection could 'influence the wine market'

The Guardian

Happy birthday Lydia

Happy birthday Lydia, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

She's now 11. Or 12 as they sometimes calculate it in Greek. I can still remember the first time I picked her up in my arms, terrified that I would break her or drop through fright.

Blair must be arrested by John Pilger

Tony Blair's mug-shot, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"Having helped destroy other nations far away, our former prime minister — “peace envoy” to the Middle East — is now free to profit from the useful contacts he made while working as a “servant of the people.

Tony Blair must be prosecuted, not indulged like Peter Mandelson. Both have produced self-serving memoirs for which they have been paid fortunes; Blair's, which have earned him a £4.6m advance, will appear next month.

Now consider the Proceeds of Crime Act. Blair conspired in and executed an unprovoked war of aggression against a defenceless country, of a kind the Nuremberg judges in 1946 described as the "paramount war crime". This has caused, according to scholarly studies, the deaths of more than a million people, a figure that exceeds the Fordham University estimate of deaths in the Rwandan genocide.”"

Click here for the rest of the New Stateman article

The Greek economic crisis's 600lb gorilla in the room

IMF - What "Internal Devaluation" really means for Greece., originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I'm sure than you have that old medical joke, "the operation was a success but the the patient died" a thousand times but I can't help but recall it when I see on the state - run ET1 and NET news bulletins reports of how quietly optimistic the IMF/EU/ECB are about the progress Athens has been making in implementing the economic reforms needed before they approve the latest installment of the bailout package.

However, nowhere in the constant round of self - congratulation and back slapping are you going to hear anything about the issue that is most worrying to Greeks, namely unemployment. Currently, the official figure is 570,000 or 11.7% however, behind these numbers hide some truely horrifying facts. In some areas such as the Attiki region and Ionian islands the number of those looking for work has risen by up 50% in just one year. According to the latest OECD predictions unemployment is set to reach nearly 15% in 2014 whilst the Greek Trade Union Conference or GSEE (ΓΣΕΕ) is talking about a million jobless by next year out of a total labour force of 5 million.

Even this figure may be an underestimate since unemployment figures only include those signing on, which does not include many of those who have been unemployed more than one year who are considered to be "economically inactive" rather than unemployed or simply do not bother signing on as their benefits have run out. Nor are those working in the black economy (tourism and construction and even education are rife with employers who refuse to pay contributions) without national insurance who cannot claim unemployment benefit.

No provision has been made by the government for the tremendous social disruption likely to be caused by having one in five or even one in four of the work force unemployed, a number which is going to be higher if you happen to be a woman, disabled, under 25 or over 50. No mention was made of unemployment in the joint European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF upbeat press announcement concerning Greece's latest installment of the bailout package.

It's hard to consider any economic plan which produces joblessness on a scale not seen since the Great Depression as a success, yet that is exactly what the Greek government representatives and their supporters in much of the media are trying to do. There seems little awareness of the degree of social dislocation unemployment of such a scale is bound to produce. instead we are feed a steady diet of statistics and projections which are based on economic modela which do not take into account the conditions on the ground nor the fact that many official economic indicators are little more than educated guesses, the product of a state apparatus that does not even know how many people it employs.

On the other hand whilst hundreds of thousands of pensioners face cuts in their incomes to get permssion to borrow 9 billion euros the Greek government has found 25 billion to give to banks in order to improve their credit worthiness, which in addition to the 26 billion given in 2008 amounts to 15% of GDP or nearly four times the amount Greece spends on education per annum

NB the picture is NOT real but a piece of photoshopped fun. Just a reminder for those who had their sense of humour removed instead of tonsils when young.

Fighting the IMF

Papandreou's perfect storm gains strength

Reading some of the foreign media accounts you could be forgiven for thinking that the Greece's embattled prime minister, Giorgos Papandreou has weathered the worst of the storm caused by his attempts to bring in the country's ballooning public debt under control. The mass public protests that rocked Athens and other Greek cities throughout May have stopped, the truck drivers' unions have called off their strike and the PASOK government is rapidly pushing through the changes being demanded by the IMF/EU/ECB troika in return for the next installment of its bailout package.

However, such apparent signs of calm are deceiving, especially if you happen to know anything about how politics in Greece work. Unlike many other countries political conflicts rarely take place during the country's broiling summer when people prefer the beach or countryside to sweating it out in the cities. The drop off in anti-government protests owes more to soaring temperatures than any acceptance on the part of Greeks to the constant round of wage cuts and tax rises.

Come September the beaches will grow quiet as people return from their holidays to deal with the new economic realities being imposed. According to local media reports the troika is demanding still more cuts in public services and is unhappy with government revenue promises which despite two increases in VAT have failed to live up to expectations. Asa result Athens is in the process of raising yet more income from higher VAT surcharges on a raft of items and is drafting more tax increases for the New Year.

In addition tens of thousands of public employees in ailing state owned rail network and the public power provider face prospect of losing their jobs as privatisation becomes more and more likely and across the whole civil service new salary structures are likely to see yet more cuts in public sector pay in the very near future.

Local authority employees are also faced with the prospect of not being paid as more and more town and local councils struggle to service their own massive debt payments which in some cases amount to more 60% of revenue raised.

Given the fact that unemployment is at a ten year high is hardly surprising that consumer confidence is lower than at any point in decade so further adding to the private sector's severe contraction as thousands of small businesses close down, further adding yet more people to the jobless figures.

As the summer ends and autumn begins Greeks have very little to cheer about and this will be reflected in what will be an inevitable wave of strikes and social unrest over the coming months with public sector unions joining trucker, taxi drivers, lawyers and many others as they fight to oppose legislation which will directly affect their livelihoods.

The fact that the two major parties have yet to resolve long running finance and influence peddling scandals just serves to reinforce the impression amongst many that those in power have lost legitimacy and cannot be trusted to run the country properly. Despite Papandreou's claims that he was unaware of how dire the country's public finances really were few believe his claims and feel that his PASOK party is also responsible for letting Greece drift into economic chaos during its two decade stint in power.

With local authority elections looming both the conservative New Democracy and left of centre PASOK parties are at the nadir of their popularity, a point that is likely to rock both organisations which rely as much on the ability to get members elected to public office as ideology to keep supporters in line. With an electorate so negative and a poll debacle imminent its very had to see how Papandreou can keep his party from demanding that IMF/EU/ECB economic reforms be challenged or at least revised to stop what might be the begining of the end for the current political set up.

With so many storm clouds gathering on the horizon Giorgos Papandreou must be wondering if his predecessor, the now reviled Konstantinos Karamanlis had, in fact proffered him a poisoned chalice rather than the reins of power

Laughing all the way to the bank

Laughing all the way to the bank, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I took this picture of Giorgos Papandreou just after a PASOK campaign rally in Thessaloniki last year during the Greek parliamentary elections.

Instead of adoring party supporters the next time he appears in the city in September he will most probably be acompanied by 5 - 10,000 extra police officers to ensure that he and members of his cabinet are not attacked by the very people who voted for him just one year ago.

IMF Chaos and poverty world tour T-shirt

IMF Chaos and poverty world tour T-shirt, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"We are often told that the poor are grateful for charity. Some of them are, no doubt, but the best amongst the poor are never grateful. They are ungrateful, discontented, disobedient, and rebellious"

Oscar Wilde

Welcome to the Afghan War Diaries

Welcome to Afghanistan, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

At long last the Afghan War Diaries has brought to the attention of those countries that have forces stationed in Afghanistan what exactly are the real consequences of waging a nine year war. We no longer have the fig leaf of ignorance to hide the fact that we who live and vote in these nations also are culpable in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, the majority of whom were guilty of nothing more than being poor and powerless.

For years we have all placidly sat by and lapped up the white washed "news", neatly sanitised for our own protection that has come out of Afghanistan. Murderous attacks on unarmed villagers have regularly been mutated into glorious battles between the forces of democracy and supporters of a barbarous ideology whose way of life threatens us all.

It's hard not to see the echo of high imperial thinking in such rhetoric, especially when it comes from the UK press whose ancestors were quite happy to forgive any "mistakes" by the guardians of Empire, safe in the knowledge that The gift of Civilisation to the heathen was worth the sacrifice of lives in the long run.

On the other side of the Atlantic the US media has been not just willing but positively enthusiastic about "supporting out troops" in their war on darkness, happy to burnish the military's view that the best way to save the people of Afghanistan is slaughter them in ever larger numbers. The lessons of Vietnam have been condemned the dustbin of history, seemingly no more relevent to today's world than the speeches of Cicero or buggy cabs.

For years publications such as Time have been running stories on how US soldiers have run mission after mission to thwart insurgents and win the hearts and minds of locals who wish to live in peace. The message being that any group that opposes such goals has to, be definition be either fanatical or evil, preferably both. So stories of widespread abuse of human rights, summary executions, death squads and thousands of deaths "by mistake" cannot be made part of the media landscape, they make no sense and so contradict the perceived consensus that they are either ignored or downgraded in importance.

One has has just to look at these two magazine covers to understand how little has changed in the way the majority of the US mainstream media deals with conflicts that involve their own soldiers. Despite a gulf of nearly four decades the media has learnt little and once again is more than willing to acquiesce in any act of moral appeasement in the name of patrotism and access.

Life magazine Vietnam 1967

Time magazine Afghanistan 2004

Greek truckers' strike bites harder

Greek truckers' strike bites harder, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The latest round of talks this morning between leaders of Greece's truck drivers associations and the government failed to find common ground and so the industrial action which is likely to see the country ground to a halt in the next few days is set to continue.

The dispute was the result of attempts by Athens to liberalise Greece's transport market by opening up the trucking profession to everyone with a heavy goods licence and so doing away with the existing permit system which has meant that like taxis, only those registered can operate.

On the one hand the opening up the profession is part of the IMF/EU/ECB process of making Greek products more competetive by reducing transport costs however, drivers associations argue that the sudden implementation of the system means that many of their members stand to lose hundreds of thousands of euros spent obtaining an operating licence.

Instead of petering out strike actions are set to escalate as Greek international truck drivers associations are also preparing to join the strike so threatening imports and exports to other EU countries.

The Greek media has been speculating on whether the government will be forced to bring in the army to make sure the country does not run out of fuel and other basic goods.

Repent of your debts - Time is running out. IMF

Repent of your debts - Time is running out. IMF, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Life in a Day - Drama, action, turmoil but no pictures

Last week I announced that I would be taking part in the Youtube Life in a Day project. The basic idea being that people from all over the world would upload a video shot on the 24th July that showed something of their life and from all this footage A film could be fashioned that would give future generations an idea of what everyday life was like all over the planet.

So, keeping that in mind I set off on a journey with video camera in hand hoping to capture something of the flavour of a holiday weekend in Greece. What I got was full of adventure, the triumph over adversity, trials and tribulations all set against an exotic backdrop of Mt Olympus. What I didn't get however was images.

Starting off from Thessaloniki in blazing sunshine I decided to take my friends up on an invitation to join them camping on the slopes on Mt Olympus which given the unrelenting heatwave sounded too inticing to pass up. What I didn't count on was a blow out in the back tyre of my Vespa just as I was getting close to my final destination. The scooter ran over a 5" nail and shuddered to a halt on the hard shoulder of the southbound National Road (motorway).

Of course as anyone who has ever driven a Vespa knows that one of its virtues is that you have a spare tyre by your side. But only if you've remembered to fix the previous flat. Whoops! Soon a member of a road crew draws up and asks if he can help but unless he has a spare tyre hidden round his person there is not much he can do. However, he does say that the Vespa can't be left where it is as it constitutes a hazard to other road users and so I end up pushing 130 kg of dead machine half a kilometre to the nearest lay-by in 40C.

But all is not lost as my friends are just a quick ride away, if I call them now they could have me and the spare tyre in Katerini within half an hour so there's no reason to worry is there? Well, there wouldn't be if they didn't happen to be camping half way up the mountain in a spot with no mobile phone reception. More calls, more SMS's but no reply. As time is quickly passing I decide to see if I can make it back into town to find a garage to fix the problem before everything shuts down for the weekend.

An hour and who knows how many hot footsteps later I find a suitable place only to discover that it was closed, "Should have been here a hour ago, he was in" informs me the owner of the petrol station nearby. He does his best to find out if anywhere else is open but timing is against me and considering its already 6pm there's little or no chance of finding a place that is open.

Suddenly remembering something told to me by the road crew guy I ask if he has that spray that allows you to drive on a flat. Yes, he does!!!!! So I'm saved. Haahahaha, who the gods wish to destroy they first make them as mad as hell to paraphrase Euripidis and the frothy mixture in the can proves about as effective as weak cappucino in fixing the puncture.

So sensing that fate is not going to release its sharp fangs from my ass I decide to call it a day and trudge another few kilometres into the centre of Katerini in order to catch a bus back to Thessaloniki and come back on Monday. Exhausted, smelling like a goat and covered in grease and grim I climb onto the coach being very careful to give fellow passengers as wide a berth as possible.

Just as we are leaving the coach station my phone rings and its my friends, "Hi ....re..... all...... here ......so...... ok?..... I....... " I frantically phone back but all I get is the usual message saying the user cannot be contacted.

When I finally get home I'm torn between throwing my clothes in the washing machine or just burning them there and then as a health hazard and then have a shower and cold beer that instantly reminds me of a scene from the movie Ice Cold In Alex when John Mills in full stiff upper lip mode sits at a bar eyeing his lager after dragging himself half way across the Sahara in an attempt to avoid capture by the Germans.

This morning I got the puncture fixed and then caught the bus to Litoxoro, hoping that neither my bike nor any of the stuff in the rucksack I had hidden in the bushes in the lay-by had been stolen. However, just for fun instead of a heatwave the weather is stormy and we drive through pouring rain on most of the journey there. But it was all worth as I see that the bike is still there and so is all my stuff, exactly where I had left it.

Happy ending? Almost. I get the wheel changed and set off in the driving rain. My first thought is to see if I can't reach my friends after all but the riding up a mountain in the middle of an electrical storm seems to be pushing my luck way beyond its limits. So I turn off and start my journey back to Thessaloniki and just as I'm passing the place where I broke down the engine dies on me. NOOOOOOOOOooooooo!!!!! This cannot be happening. But it turns out to be Fate's last little joke and a couple of minutes later I kick start the Vespa into life and drive off, hoping that this is my last adventure for the time being.

But despite all this high drama I didn't take any video of a what happened, I guess that I was a little too close to what was happening and I just couldn't bring myself to record what would have been a seemingly endless list of expletives.

Stress test claims one Greek bank

The National Bank of Greece, Thessaloniki branch, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The much hyped stress test of Europe's banking system is intended to ally fears in the world money markets over the ability of the continent's financial system to weather a meltdown. In the end just seven of the 91 banks failed to make the mark, five Spanish, one German and one Greek.

Athens is claiming this as proof of the rude health of Greece's banking institution and the state run TV channels are running the story as if it was a 5-1 victory in the World Cup. However, by strange coincidence the one institution that failed the test is the state controlled ATE (Agricultural Bank of Greece) which is also responsible for hundreds of million in loans to the country's two largest parties. The ruling PASOK party lead by Giorgos Papandreou owes 98,6 million euros whereas the opposition New Democracy party which was in power till last September has debts of 105 million.

In addition the parties also owe sizeable amounts to Piraeus bank which narrowly escaped the same fate as ATE. It seems strange that the two banks which fared worse in the stress test are the one so intimately associated with parties in government.

A mind more suspicious than my own might come to the conclusion that ATE and perhaps Piraeus have been used as a private piggy bank by those in power and that much of ATE's present weakness comes from the Greek State's chronic inability to maintain a distinction between the needs of the Party (whatever ideological colours it purports to fly) and the needs of the country.

Taking a break

Lydia, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I though I would take time out from the usual stories of doom and gloom and write about something more pleasant. Since, believe it or not the life goes on much as it usually does here in Greece despite all that you may read on this blog or in the newspapers. people work, laugh, fall in love have fun and the like.

Me and Lydia went to a concert a few days ago in the centre of Thessaloniki organised by a soft - drinks company. It was an example of naked self - promotion but despite that I have to admit it was fun. Being surrounded by so many people have such a great time was infectious and any excuse to forget our troubles is always welcome. Lydia was enthralled by it all and along with half the audience decided to record the event on her mobile. I swear Aristotelous square was a sea of cameras and cell phones.

In addition I finally learnt to do something that I have been meaning to get round to for ages and so with some trepidation I set about learning how to make bread. Much to my surprise the whole procedure was a lot less demanding than I had imagined. Buoyed by success with my first attempt I decided to try my luck again, this time with Lydia's assistance. And once again something emerged from the oven that not only resembled a loaf of bread but also tasted a lot like it as well.

Death of Greek journalist Sokratis Gkiolias unleashes wave of rumours and speculation in local media

The Greek mainstream media has been having a field day with the tragic death of 37 year old journalist Sokratis Gkiolias yesterday, shot 13 times by three men outside his home in the Athens suburb of Ilioupoli by serving up ever wilder stories about terrorist attacks on the country's media. One TV presenter, Popi Tsapanidou even went as far as to say that the event was "Greek journalism's 9/11" on Skai TV channels morning news program.

However, behind the hysteria and rampant speculation there are many aspects of the case which do not add up. According to official police ballistic reports the weapons using in the murder have been linked to the terrorist group, Sect of Revolutionaries (Secta Epanastaton) which appeared on the scene for the first time in early 2009, in the wake of the widespread rioting and social turmoil that followed the shooting of 15 year old teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a police officer in central Athens.

Since then the group has been linked with a series of highly organised, often bloody attacks on police officers, news outlets and banks. These hits have been marked by the sophisticated tactics, indiscriminate violence and large amounts of explosives. However, the nature of the Gkiolias's death owes more in style and substance to a gangland hit. The use of three shooters, the large number of bullets and the fact that the killers apparently disguised themselves in something akin to police uniforms (according to eye witnesses) is more reminiscent of the contract killings that sometimes take place in Greece when different criminal gangs seek to resolve their differences.

Also the choice of target is problematic as Sokratis Gkiolias was neither a member of the police force nor a high profile media personality. As the manager of a radio station and supposedly connected with the controversial Troktiko blog (though the exact nature of the connections still remains unclear) he was not a household name in Greece.

These doubts have not stopped the mainstream print and electronic media in Greece from promoting the idea of this as a terrorist act and the sense of fear amongst them is palable as the major TV channel's talking heads seek to paint this as an attack on free speech in particular and democracy in general.

As with so many aspects of Greek public life the truth lies hidden beneath layers of deception, half-truths and calculation that sound more like the plot of an Oliver Stone movie than real life. It seems unlikely that the culprits will be brought to justice any time some, despite government statements to the contrary. There are few leads and the country's anti-terrorism unit has a dismal record in building cases. Despite a string of attacks the authorities admit they have few leads on who exactly the Sect of Revolutionaries are. One only has the remember the 17 November organisation who were able to act with impunity from the mid 70's to 2002, their run of bombings and killing only stopped when one member was unlucky enough to be badly injured when an home made explosive device went off prematurely.

It's hardly surprising that given the dearth of leads and lack of convictions many Greeks across the political spectrum believe that elements within the state (known as "parakratikoi") maybe behind the attacks though reasons for this are wildly diverse. Whether there is any truth at all in such claims is less importance perhaps than in people's willingness to give them credence. Yet another indictation that the Greek's confidence in their public institutions is at rock bottom the victim not only of the current economic crisis but also a legacy of corruption and scandal no government is willing to eradicate.

The Guardian interview with Giorgos Papandreou - life style puff piece?

Giorgos Papandreou - Γιώργος Ανδρέα Παπανδρέου, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"He cuts through the water with agility and speed." gushes Helena Smith, the Guardian's Athens corresponent, who then goes on to describe Greece's embatted prime minister as "statuesque" and later swoons over his "Olympian stamina". Guys, get a room.

This kind of journalism was be hilarious if the story behind it was not so tragic and didn't involved the suffering of so many people. Yet, the Guardian's interview with Papndreou is yet another example of how shallow the foreign media's analysis of what is happening in Greece really is.

We find out from the hard hitting piece that, "you have to make tough decisions in politics" and that "as long as I feel I am doing what I think is right and just for my country, for the Greek people, that is enough for me." While Smith does mention the enormous problems that Greece faces, many the result of the policies adopted by Papandreou's own PASOK party when it was in power she allows many claims by the prime minister to go unchallenged.

For example Papandreou insists that he was unaware of the true extent of Greece's financial woes before taking power in September 2009, a claim that the governor of the Bank of Greece refuted in an interview with the investigative journalism TV show "Neoi Fakeloi" (New Folders) which aired on the Skai TV channel May 2010. According to Giorgos Pavopoulos both the former and present prime minister were told during the national election campaign that the country's national debt was rising fast and likely to reach 12% before the end of 2009.

On the other hand Papandreou is allowed to repeat without challenge the oft heard claims that his government will help mobilise youth to change the country through the setting up of new businesses, especially those connected with renewable sources of energy and "green" initatives. While the sentiments are admirable no details are given about such programs and how they are to be funded when money for services as basic as hospital supplies are drying up. Nor does it seem to be having effect on the growing problem of unemployment which is hitting young Greeks hardest of all with over 30% without work, a figure set to rise still further as the economy continues to shrink.

At no time is the fact that many economists belive that the current IMF/EU/ECB bailout plan is doomed to failure according to many of the world's leading economists who think that the austerity package is most likely to lead to a long term depression reminiscent of 1929. Instead the government's tired old line that the there are no alternatives to the measures is repeated and that the economy will be "reinvigorated". No wonder the interview was warmly and repeatedly quoted on the state run ERT TV news.

What we see is yet another example of how "access journalism" reduces reporters to little more than stenographers and cheer leaders for those in power and that by making so many compromises to gain access to their subject the whole point of a newspaper interview is subverted and allowed to become little more than a life style puff piece. The fact it makes its appearance in a newspaper as serious as the Guardian makes it all the more depressing.

Greek journalist executed on own doorstep

Greek journalist, Socratis Gkiolias was gunned down this morning when he answered his door. According to police reports the gunmen shot Gkiolias, who was married and a father of a two year son at least 16 times and then fled the scene in a stolen Honda Civic which was later found burnt out in the Vouliagmeni district of Athens.

The fact that Gkiolias was associated, at least according to much of the Greek press with the controversial Troktiko blog has sent the Greek language blogosphere into a frenzy of speculation over who is responsible for the murder which bears all the hallmarks of a gangland execution. According to the internet based news site in.gr the attack has drawn the attentions of Greece's anti-terrorist agency whilst contributers to Troktiko hint that those behind the killing have connections with elements within the State or "parakratikoi" as they are called in Greek.

UPDATE

According to latest police reports the weapon used in the killing have been linked to previous attacks by a group calling itself the Sect of Revolutionaries who first came to public notice in January 2009 following an armed attack on a police station in Athens. Sect have also claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on police officers, journalists and banks.

Greece - looking beyond the statistics

As Greeece sinks more and more deeply into economic recession one of the most frustrating aspects of the crisis is the lack of quality coverage from the foreign press. Whilst most Greeks have little of no confidence in the veracity of local media reporting, they do not expect the same kind of low grade journalism from organisations such as the BBC or the Economist.

On Thursday Gavin Hewitt, the BBC's European editor wrote about the current situation in Greece in his blog and while reflecting the widely held belief amongst economists the the current "rescue package" is doomed to failure seemed happy to simply regurgitate Athens's line on how the situation is all under control and that things are going to plan. Hewitt even went as far as to say that;

"It was expected that austerity would persuade Greeks to keep their wallets shut. Private consumption is actually up by 1.5%."

No source is given for this surprising factoid and it flies in the face of virtually every piece of economic and anecdotal evidence I know of. Since the massive hikes in VAT and tax on petrol have lead nearly everyone I know to cut back on spending on everything from holidays to food. According to the national daily Imerisia sales of petrol have fallen 30% since the beginning of the year leading to the closure of over 1000 petrol stations nationwide. In addition foreign retail chains such as FNAC and Aldi have recently announced that they are pulling out of the Greek market and local supermarket chain Atlantik is set to close its doors as well with the loss of 4000 jobs.

These events hardly point to a bouyant retail sector nor do they seem to show that private consumption is on the rise. This is another example of foreign commentators with little in the way of real life experience of the countries they are covering relay on official statistics and second hand accounts. If Hewitt had asked anyone outside the hermetically closed worlds in which foreign journalist often operate he would have seen a different picture from that shown in the officially sanctioned Greek state media which drifts ever further from the shores of reality in its quest to prop up the government's line.

However, the BBC is not alone in swallowing the half truths and full-on misconceptions that often surround Greece's role in the present economic crisis. A hardy perennial in that category is the idea that the country has, in the words of the Economist, "a lavish social security system" and that uncontrolled public spending on the old and poor has bankrupted the country.

Yet what the Economist either do not care to know or did not bother to find out is that while lavsh payments are to be found in the sytem they are limited to the members of the country's state and party nomenclature and that for every 50 year old living high on the hog on their state pension there are hundreds of other OAPs eeking out a living on less than 400 euros a month in a country where the cost of living is only shade lower than in countries such as Germany and the UK.

With the highest rate of poverty in the EU and the largest number of working poor Greece is hardly the worker's paradise that publications such as the Economist would have us believe. Life for those without the right party and personal connections is a hard struggle for survival which is daily getting becoming more difficult as the IMF/EU/ECB measures eat away at the nation's economic foundations so bringing little more than poverty and despair in the name of an economic orthodoxy which failed so spectacularly in 1929.

Poster Activism - The Movie

More posters can be seen on Flickr here and here.

IMF-HAL

IMF-HAL, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

"IMF - I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you."

2001: A Space Odessy

Make juice, not war.

Make juice, not war., originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Thessaloniki newspaper victim of arson attack

As well as writing this blog and putting pictures on Flickr I also work with a left - wing newspaper here in Greece providing pictures of the various political events that happen here in Thessaloniki. Yesterday at 4pm the offices of the Dromos newspaper were the target of an arson attack when an incendiary device was placed in the corridor outside the offices on the second floor. Thankfully, employees inside the newspaper offices were quick to put out the fire and so nobody was injured. If the attempt had been successful the result could have been tragic as the corridor is the only way out for those working on the six floor above.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion has fallen upon far right groups who have been known to use such tactics in the past.

Life in A Day

Sometimes an idea just grabs your imagination and won't let it go. This happened to me when I heard about the Life in a Day project on Youtube in which people are invited to submit clips that show something of their lives during the course of one day, 24th July 2010. The videos will be made into a movie by Kevin MacDonald (director of the Last King of Scotland) and produced by Ridley Scott (of Bladerunner, Gladiator etc, etc fame).

Actually, this is not the first time that such a collaborative framerwork has been used to produce a video. Placebo's version of Running Up That Hill used clips from fans miming the lyrics of the song to produce a video (you can even see my EFL/ESL lesson plan based on it).

I'm looking forward to the 24th July though to tell you the truth I still don't know what I'm going to shot. Whatever happens, it's great to have a project to focus on during the dog days of summer. For details of the Life in a Day experiment check out their Youtube channel.

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki 8th July 2010

Greek general strike - Thessaloniki 8th July 2010, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

About 3-4000 protesters marched through the centre of Thessaloniki , Greece today to demonstrate against government plans to radically reduce pensions and social benefits.

"Stop debt payments now" - "Στάση πληρωμών του χρέους τώρα"

"Stop debt payments now" - "Στάση πληρωμών του χρέους τώρα", originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

Critical Mass Ride starts with a water fight

Critical Mass Ride starts with a water fight, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

The guys with the Critical Mass Ride decided to have some fun while promoting the idea of cycling as an alternative to the internal combustion engine in Thessaloniki by having a water fight. So instead of duelling pistols at dawn it was water pistols at sunset.

It's good to remember that despite all the doom and gloom caused by the economic crisis life goes on, people have fun, joke, laugh, fall in love and have babies and do all the things that the rest of the world does no matter how bleak things seem to get.

Give me debt or give me death

Internal devaluation is just a polite way of saying screw the poor. If you think that the crisis in Greece is nothing to do with you think again.

The Greeks are fighting the first battle in war against those on lower incomes that will, sooner or later involve the rest of the Europe Union. One can only hope that these policies which promise to repeal hard won social reforms are defeated on the shores of the Aegeon.

IMF/EU/ECB - Resistance is anything but futile

IMF - Work will set you free, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

One of the worst aspects of the current economic crisis here in Greece is the way it has sucked the hope out of so many people's lives. The current austerity measures offer nothing in the way of hope for the millions of Greeks on lower incomes whose backs are already up against the wall. This sense of dispair limited to any one group or region but rather has spread like some infectious disease throughout the social spectrum.

Talking to friends the conversation always seems to find its way round to the financial mess the country finds itself in. Everyone I know is worried about the future since the massive economic dislocation we are all going through seems to offer nothing but years of poverty and deprivation, negating decades of hard won progress.

For the young the sense of a future deferred, cancelled, even is strongest. What do they have to look forward to? Unemployment, low wage dead end jobs, a life spent living with their parents? After so many years of study and struggle they are coming to the realisation that much of what they were working towards has disappeared and nothing is being offered to take its place.

Prime minister Giorgos Papandreou may talk about the light at the end of the tunnel but few believe his words as they are the same broken promises that the Greek political class have been manking for years. The same wooden language expressing ideas that no one listens to anymore (not helped by the fact that Papandreou is a monumentally awful public speaker).

The fact is that that the recently elected PASOK party has absolutely no popular mandate for the changes they are making to pension schemes and wages since none of the recent measures were in their pre-election manifesto. Papandreou insists that his party had no idea of the size of the deficit they were inheriting on taking power last year (a contention vehermently dened by the head of the Bank of Greece who says that the head of the opposition knew of the massive overshot in public spending figures). Yet it is a measure of the collapse in public trust in the present political system that few are willing to believe him.

Lacking a mandate the leadership of the PASOK party has resorted to fear and intimidation both within and outside parliament to push through legisaltion demanded by the IMF/EU/EB troika. Any MP refusing to follow the party line faces immediate dismissal form the party whilst outside parliament the presence of riot police has become a permanent fixture of demonstrations of any size.

However, this is just the beginning, the real battles lie ahead of us in September when Greek politics traditionally revive after the lethargy of a long, hot summer. Also the effects of the first wave of cuts in wages, rising unemployment and the fall in income from tourism are likely to combine to form a perfect poltical storm. In the face of such massive unrest it is hard to see how Papadreou is going to maintain party discipline amongst PASOK backbenchers already deeply upset about the route the party is taking. Likewise the party base is unhappy with being identified with such wildly unpopular policies.

In addition there is every likelyhood that the Greece will fail to find enough revenue to fulfill Troika (IMF/EU/ECB) targets and will be forced to borrow even more to pay the bills. Already a second rise in VAT has been imposed on an economy struggling to become competitive, a clear indication that government measures to increase revenue are not proving as effective as Papandreou promised.

With a spiralling debt, massive drop in economic activity and steadily rising unemployment how long is it before Athens is forced to renegotiates its debt load?

Repeat after me: You have no choice

Repeat after me: You have no choice, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

This is the message that the Greek media have been bombarding the country with ever since the PASOK government went cap in hand to the IMF, EU and ECB for a bailout loan that would, it was said save the country from bankruptcy.

Whilst the strict terms under which the the money is being spent may help French and German bankers sleep better at nights the cost of "internal devaluation" have wrecked havoc with those Greeks at the bottom of the ladder. Hit by a triple whammy of large price hikes caused by two increases in VAT, cuts in income and massive rise in unemployment many are struggling to survive, cutting spending on even basic such as groceries to the bone.

This in turn is further deepening the crisis by hammering the country's retail sector which has responded by shedding jobs and so the vicious circle creaks on.Even going to Greece's famed beaches has become a luxury beyond the reach of many as petrol has risen by nearly 60% in less than a year.

The government say we have no choice, there are no alternatives and the measures, as painful as they are are necessary to restore Greece to financial health. However, in the absence of any kind of coherent plan for economic growth the present policy of cutting costs and raising more government revenue through indirect taxation seems a recipe for disaster and is likely to doom the country to a long period of stagnation and poverty the likes of which modern Greece has not experienced in 50 years.

Summer is not traditionally a period of intense political activity here but come September Prime minister Giorgos Papandreou is likely to be faced with an electorate at the end of their tether and outraged by a political system that has been marked by both massive corruption and unbridled incompetence. At that stage even his supporters in the supine national media are not going to be in a position to help him out of the hole he has dug for himself, his party and the country.