On the Delphi Declaration by MICHAEL HUDSON

Many readers of the European and American press must be confused about what actually is happening in the negotiations between Greece (Alexis Tsipras and Yannis Varoufakis). The European Troika (the IMF, European Central Bank and European Council now object to the name and want to be called simply “the Institutions”) have stepped up their demands on Syriza. What is called …

IMF Violates IMF Rules, to Continue Ukraine Bailouts By Eric Zuesse

The IMF, whose bailout operations are absorbed by the taxpayers in the member countries whenever a particular bailed-out nation defaults, announced on Friday, June 19th, that it will “continue to support Ukraine through its Lending-into-Arrears Policy even in the event that a negotiated agreement with creditors in line with the program cannot be reached in a timely manner.” Though this new “Lending-into-Arrears” policy violates …

Russia, China and the Battle Against Dollar Hegemony by MICHAEL HUDSON and THE SAKER

The Saker: We hear that the Ukraine will have to declare a default, but that it will probably be a “technical” default as opposed to an official one. Some say that the decision of the Rada to allow Iatseniuk to chose whom to pay is already such a “technical default”. Is there such thing as a “technical default” and, if …

What Europe and the IMF Are Doing to Greece: A First-Hand Look By Steve Weissman

t the moment, we see only the dark face of Europe,” said Leonidas Fotinos. “They want to buy Greece cheap.” A large, young-looking man in his early 50s, Leonidas studied economics at university and was now running a small tour business on the historic Aegean island of Milos. He could hardly have been more removed from the street protests and …

The escalation of global financial parasitism – Nick Beams

The announcement last week by the European Central Bank (ECB) that it was going to front-load asset purchases under its quantitative easing program was another revealing insight into the state of global financial markets. It underscored their volatility and the lack of any overall plan by the financial authorities, supposedly in charge, who rush from one trouble spot to another …

Are EU Officials Plotting Regime Change in Greece? – MARK WEISBROT

There are various narratives for what is happening to Greece as another deadline looms – the April 24 gathering of finance ministers in Riga — and European officials show no sign of compromise. The most common is that this is a game of brinkmanship, with the Germans and their allies pushing for “reforms” that the Syriza government in Greece doesn’t …

Greece Demands €278 Billion World War II Reparations from Germany, More Than its Debt to EU

Germany owes Greece no less than €278.7 billion in World War II reparations, Athens said, referring to the destruction wrought upon the nation during the Nazi occupation. The sum exceeds Greece’s total debt of €240 billion to the EU. “According to our calculations, the debt linked to German reparations is €278.7 billion euros, including €10.3 billion for the so-called forced …

Greeced Lightning! Will Greece Default? Will Athens Cut a Financial Deal with Moscow and Beijing?

We seem to have finally arrived at some sort of moment of truth regarding Greece and their inclusion in the EU.  The speculation is they will be out of money by April 9th, this Thursday, unable to make a less than 500 million euro payment.  Please keep in mind they have already been raiding the country’s pension plans to fund day to day …

The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water

The biggest con job perpetrated on the consumer is not some shady operation selling bogus cures through TV infomercials. America’s biggest snake-oil salesman is actually the beverage industry, or Big Bev, which resells the simplest and most vital product for thousands of times its value. That product is drinking water. Multinationals like PepsiCo, the Coca-Cola Company and Nestle rake in a …