Greek protesters attack finance ministry building

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/key-greek-austerity-vote-passes-134028804.html

Greek protesters attack finance ministry building

CBC – 31 minutes ago

Greek protesters set a fire inside the building housing the ministry of finance

in Athens Wednesday, as protesters threw fire bombs and riot police responded

with tear gas, in the wake of a vote by Greek lawmakers approving a widely

unpopular austerity bill.

Fire services arrived to try to put out the flames in a post office on the

ground floor of the building located in the city's central square.

The bill passed 155-138, with the support of all but one government member.

There were fewer protesters Wednesday compared with the thousands who

demonstrated Tuesday as police cracked down on access to the square outside

parliament, but the confrontations were more violent. Many of those taking part

were described by the police as anarchists.

As hooded young men, some wearing gas masks, fought battles with police, several

hundred protesters tried to hold a peaceful demonstration in the centre of the

square.

CBC journalist Ormiston reported witnessing an " unbelievably violent " day.

She saw 50 police on motorcycles charge into the square, trying to push rioters

back and end two days of disturbances.

Some demonstrators told Ormiston they felt ashamed that the parliamentarians did

not come outside to hear what they had to say.

Police with truncheons occasionally charged the demonstrators, but pulled back

just as quickly.

Police stun grenades boomed and flashed, often drawing jeers and boos from the

crowds.

Most of the anti-government protesters who marched to the square stayed clear of

the fighting, but they vented their anger at the political establishment with

chants and insults.

The austerity bill provides for tax increases, spending cuts and privatization

of facilities such as ports and airports due to raise $40 billion, but which has

provoked days of rioting in the streets of Athens.

Greek legislators must next turn their focus to an additional bill to be voted

on Thursday that details how the austerity will be implemented.

Both measures must pass if the European Union and International Monetary Fund

are to release the next €12 billion slice of the country's €110 billion ($155

billion) bailout fund — and prevent a default that could drag down European

banks and shake the European and world economy.

Prime Minister Papandreou's Socialists have a slim majority of five seats

in the 300-member parliament, and he has faced an internal party revolt over the

new punishing four-year program of spending cuts and tax hikes on even those on

minimum wages.

Papandreou needed 151 votes to pass the bill, and by the late afternoon local

time in Greece, it became clear the government had enough votes to win it. Many

lawmakers apparently abstained from participating in the controversial vote.

Greece has said it has funds only until mid-July, after which it will be unable

to pay salaries and pensions, or service its debts, without the next bailout

instalment. The country is also in talks for additional help in the form of a

second bailout, which the prime minister has said will be roughly the size of

the first.

Dissatisfaction over the new measures, and the realization that harsh cuts and

tax hikes imposed over the past year have not worked as expected, has prompted

sharp criticism even from within Papandreou's party and led to a political

crisis earlier this month that saw the government nearly collapse.

Britain is also facing austerity protests beginning Thursday, when 750,000

public-sector workers — from teachers to driving examiners to customs officials

— walk out for the day, closing thousands of schools and leaving travellers to

face long lines at airport immigration offices.

In Tuesday's violent protests in Greece, police and health officials said 37

policemen and nine protesters were hurt. Rioters set fire to giant parasols at

an outdoor cafe, using some to form barricades, and smashed windows of a

Mc's outlet and other snack shops. Staff at upscale hotels handed out

surgical masks to tourists and helped them with rolling luggage past the

rioting, over ground strewn with rubble.

Services across the country were disrupted by the second day of a general strike

that left ferries tied up at port, forced dozens of flights to be cancelled or

rescheduled and saw hospitals functioning with emergency crews.

During the debate inside parliament, riot police fired volleys of tear gas to

push back protesters, who were pelting police with bottles and trash and

overturning barriers.

" The air here is just thick with tear gas, " said CBC News reporter Tom Parry

outside parliament. " It's difficult for anyone without a gas mask to breathe.

People are coughing, retching, running away from the huge clouds of tear gas

that are just floating through the streets. "

[Guest guest]

Its just like when Philip of Macedon was about to conquer Greece. A century before Athens was rich, powerful and had a proud people. Then they started with a simple theatre subsidy for everyone. A century later, Athens has about a quarter the tax income, business was in the toilet, and over half the population was on the dole in one way or another. The people couldn't be motivated to pay for an army even as their allies began falling one after the other. Then there they were with no allies and Philip at the gates.

The same is happening now, save there is no Philip. What's happening is those on the dole refuse to take any cuts to for the good of the nation, so the country is just going to tank. That will probably happen over here too as the public unions refuse to take cuts even as the economy is collapsing.

In a message dated 6/30/2011 5:01:25 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Greek protesters attack finance ministry building

[Guest guest]

Its just like when Philip of Macedon was about to conquer Greece. A century before Athens was rich, powerful and had a proud people. Then they started with a simple theatre subsidy for everyone. A century later, Athens has about a quarter the tax income, business was in the toilet, and over half the population was on the dole in one way or another. The people couldn't be motivated to pay for an army even as their allies began falling one after the other. Then there they were with no allies and Philip at the gates.

The same is happening now, save there is no Philip. What's happening is those on the dole refuse to take any cuts to for the good of the nation, so the country is just going to tank. That will probably happen over here too as the public unions refuse to take cuts even as the economy is collapsing.

In a message dated 6/30/2011 5:01:25 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Greek protesters attack finance ministry building