Monday, July 20, 2015

seville orange marmalade

organic seville oranges from kurrajong

leftover pips and pith

the potted results labelled and dated

ominous clouds


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Varoufakis on Greek bailout

Yanis Varoufakis said Greece was subject to a programme that will "go down in history as the greatest disaster of macroeconomic management ever".

The German parliament approved the opening of negotiations on Friday.
The bailout could total €86bn (£60bn) in exchange for austerity measures.

In a damning assessment, Mr Varoufakis told the BBC's Mark Lobel: "This programme is going to fail whoever undertakes its implementation."

Asked how long that would take, he replied: "It has failed already."

Mr Varoufakis resigned earlier this month, in what was widely seen as a conciliatory gesture towards the eurozone finance ministers with whom he had clashed frequently.
He said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has admitted that he does not believe in the bailout, had little option but to sign.

"We were given a choice between being executed and capitulating. And he decided that capitulation was the ultimate strategy."

Monday, July 06, 2015

Greece: Historic Victory Against Imposed Austerity


Greece’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, is addressing the nation:

Today, he says, Greece has proved that democracy cannot be blackmailed; Greeks have made a brave choice, and one which will change the debate in Europe.

I understand that voters have not given me a mandate against Europe, but a mandate for a sustainable solution.

And he warns that there are no easy solutions -- but a fair solution can be found, if both sides want it.

Nikos Papastergiadis, School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne
A profound recognition has been given now, not just by economists, but by the people of Greece, that the economic policies pushed by the troika are counter-productive.
The government can now walk into negotiations in a strengthened position. They can honour their promises. They have no intention to leave the eurozone, let alone the EU, but can focus on a debt restructure, tackling tax evasion and modernising the state.
I expect some sort of financial resolution in the next 24-48 hours, because a move back to the drachma would be catastrophic.
When politicians in Europe say things like ‘It’s not a problem for us there is no risk of economic contagion,’ that is a profoundly immoral comment given there’s a real risk Europeans will die this winter as a result of their policies. Their sense of solidarity with the union is profoundly blinkered. The risk is not just economic contagion, it’s political contagion. They don’t want Syriza to be the example for other European governments. They wanted Greece to be humbled and crippled by these austerity measures. This divide and conquer attitude means there will be long-term political consequences.
I am so proud of the courage demonstrated by Greeks who have stood up in the face of their own oligarchs, who launched a smear campaign against the government, and said ‘enough is enough’.