Salem-News.com Greece articles Page 1

The Banks Got Us Into This Mess, Yet Refuse to Take More Than a 20% Reduction in Their Debt

It's a joke, how developing nations have been raped and developed nations milked by the elite!

(SEOULE, South Korea) - The banks got us into this mess, but yet refuse to take more than a 20% reduction in their debt re Greece's bailout plan with the euro. Angler Merkel wanted the banks to take a 60 % reduction which is more like justice!

But the banks refused, after all, how would they afford to pay their exec's exorbitant fees, salaries and fat cat bonuses if they took such a big hit.

Somali Pirates Release Greek Bulker After 11-Month Hostage Ordeal

Ship manager of MV Blida is Sekur Holdings Inc. of Piraeus, Greece and registered owner is International Bulk Carrier of Algeria.

(NAIROBI, Kenya) - The Motor Vessel Blida was released today and the crew is in good condition, given the circumstances, Ecoterra Intl. reports. Captain Vitali and the Chief Officer called Ecoterra Intl. at midday to relay the message to the diplomatic missions, thanking everybody involved in the release efforts.

The captain confirmed that the remaining crew of 25, two sailors had to have a medical evacuation earlier, is all right and happy that they will reach in about five days Mombasa in Kenya.

The Audacity of Diplomatic Failure in Athens

Three crew members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla II boat are still aboard with no contact...

(ATHENS) - Day 16 of the imprisonment of the U.S. Boat to Gaza, The Audacity of Hope, at a U.S. Embassy shared pier near Piraeus, Greece, just outside of Athens.

The U.S. Embassy has done absolutely nothing to help us in 100 + degree heat at a U.S. Government shared pier!  No shore power, no alternatives provided. No consular visits to see the conditions for themselves. NOTHING, ABSOULTELY NOTHING!!!

Israel`s crackdown grows with boycott bill

The Knesset recently passed a bill making it illegal to advocate boycotts of goods produced in Israeli settlements.

(JERUSALEM) - Political change is slow. One doesn't go to sleep in a democracy and wake up in a fascist regime. The citizens of Egypt and Tunisia can attest to the fact that the opposite is also true: dictatorship does not become democracy overnight.

Any political change of such magnitude is the result of a lot of hard work and is always incremental, indicating that there really is no single historical event that one can claim as the moment of conversion.

Message in a Bottle for the Kids of Gaza

A small act in Athens for the most significant problems children in Gaza face each day.

(ATHENS / SALEM) - Members of the Freedom Flotilla II will always have a set of stories to tell from their turbulent trip to Gaza that was stopped cold in its tracks by the long arm of Israel.

Greta Berlin, who has exited Greece and is presently in France, is no stranger to Gaza, where she has successfully sailed in past blockade breaking runs. She tells this story from the end of their saga.

Induced Fraud

This is the third in a four-part series.

(TEMPE, Az.) - Even as the Berlin Wall was being reduced to rubble, the forces that have since dismantled the US economy were gaining power. Driven by the all-pervasive force of a consensus mindset, US firms embraced financial returns as their sole metric of success.

By that measure, corporate performance steadily improved even as the US economy steadily declined.

Imbedded crises

"Our financial health is directly related to our national security." - Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs
This is the second in a series of four articles...

(TEMPE, Az.) - Those old enough to remember the promise of a post-Cold War peace dividend also recall how we segued seamlessly from a global Cold War to a global War on Terrorism.

The fiscal cost for the US component of the Cold War topped $20 trillion in 2011 dollars. But for the Cold War, what might America have accomplished with those resources?

July 4th statement of support from Israelis for the Gaza Flotilla

Reports in Israel create the impression that Greece in fact caved in to political pressures of an unacceptable kind, applied by the government in Israel.

(TEL AVIV) - We, Israeli organizations, Jews and Arabs, full-heartedly support Freedom Flotilla, aim of sailing to the Port of Gaza with the proclaimed goals of breaking through the sea and land siege and blockade of Gaza, which is a manifestation of a continuing occupation by Israel.

We condemn the campaign of slander which the government of Israel is waging against the flotilla and those who take part in it.

Crisis by consensus

This is the first in a series of four articles

(TEMPE, Az.) - Greece is in crisis because it has too much debt. The US is in crisis because it needs to issue more debt.

The debt-hobbled economies of Europe are known as the PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Their fiscal health may determine the future of the euro.

Who`s afraid of the Holocaust survivor?

Thunderous laughter keeps coming from a gym where an American team is training. I am sitting in the neighboring room where ordinary guests resembling retired military are ironing their clothes.

(MOSCOW RT) - Passengers from the US boat of the second Freedom Flotilla take turns in giving me interviews. My interlocutors are changing. So do the tough men with steam irons in their hands.

Two hours passed. Then finally I saw a tiny fragile woman. Her eyes were shining with happiness. We hugged each other.