Greece is rejecting the “Second German Occupation”… what shall this do to the Neoliberal social order? Only God alone knows…
______________________________
On Monday, Greek rightwing party leader Antonis Samaras said that he couldn’t form a coalition government, adding yet more uncertainty to the debt-ridden country’s political situation. The move came hours after the Greek president gave Samaras the commensurate mandate to do so. His New Democracy, which backed the last EU bailout, emerged as the biggest party after Sunday’s election. Samaras said in statement televised on state-run NET TV today, “I tried to form a coalition government with two goals… that the country remain in the Eurozone, and that bailout policies change to include growth measures. I did what I could to get a result, but it wasn’t possible. As such, I’ve informed the President of the Republic, and handed back the mandate”. The mandate to form a government will now pass to Alexis Tsipras, the head of SYRIZA, the second-largest bloc, which has vowed to cancel the bailout terms. Tsipras will meet President Karolos Papoulias tomorrow at 14.00 Athens time (16.00 MSK 13.00 UTC 08.00 EDT 05.00 PDT).
New Democracy needed the participation of PASOK to form a pro-austerity coalition. It’s clear that left-wing elements in PASOK are in the driver’s seat, and that they’re open to an alliance with SYRIZA, rejecting German-imposed “austerity”. This isn’t good news for “pro-business” Neoliberals… Reaganomics is going down the chute, taking privatisation and globalisation with it. Remember, when the rightwing talks about “reform”, they mean that they intend to slam their boot-heel violently into the faces of the weakest to benefit the affluent effluent. Is that on the way out, though? Are they political “dead men walking?” As for me, I’d bet on RED…
BMD
Advertisement
Comments Off on Greek Pro-Austerity Pol Fails to Form Government
On Monday, the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to adopt a range of social measures including significant reduction of mortgage loan rates. Putin bound the government to reduce mortgage loan rates to 2.2 percent by 2018. He also pushed for state measures to increase real wages 1.4 to 1.5-fold by 2018. In his decree, Putin said that the average lifespan in Russia must reach at least 74 years. The president also instructed the government to set forth measures that will help give new homes to at least 60 percent of families who want to improve their living conditions. A decree also laid out that by the end of June, that the state should increase scholarships for first-year and second-year students to the level of minimum living wages. The decree concerns students from poor families and those doing well in studies. Putin also said that, by 2016, pre-school education for children between three and seven years must become free of charge.
Look at two radically-different approaches. VVP says that we must INCREASE social spending to help the common people. Willard Romney says that we must SLASH social spending to enrich the affluent effluent and the One Percent. The trend in Europe is LEFTWARDS. The so-called “opposition” in Russia will fail because VVP will see to it that he delivers on his social promises. The Neoliberalpro-globalist élites in Europe are going down to defeat in one country after another. “It started in Lithuania”… that sounds like the title for a poorly-financed indie flick, but it’s the God’s-honest truth. Willard Romney says that the ordinary people have to pay for the affluent effluent’s mistakes. According to him, low tax rates on the affluent and on corporations (the lowest in the developed world) are sacrosanct. If one looks at the events of the past two years, history’s against him. Its racist hatred of Barack Obama blinds the Republican Party to reality. Anyone who believes that Barack Obama’s foreign-born or a follower of Islam is a chowder-headed cretin, and that’s that.
Don’t forget, the affluent effluent controls the US mass media, so, they’re making it more “competitive” than it is, actually. Rush Limbaugh‘s not an oracle… he’s a blowhard shilling bedpans to an increasingly-senescent audience. Romney will win the South, Southwest, and parts of the Mountain belt. That will be the GOP heartland after Obama’s victory this autumn. I pity those living in those regions… it’ll get worse there as the GOP becomes an exclusively Evangelical/Mormon/Pentecostalist bloc. God help those people… they’re already under the grinding heel of Boss Hogg politicians such as Rick Perry, corrupt sheriffs, ignorant hypocritical preachers, and grasping landshark “biznessmeni”. As Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”… to paraphrase Honest Abe, “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half rightwing and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved… I do not expect the house to fall… but I do expect it will cease to be divided”. How long must we allow the Shame of the South (and Southwest) to continue? How long must we allow rapacious business interests to rape the working people of that region? God alone knows…
BMD
Comments Off on Putin Outlines Social Policy Measures
If I were the cops at the Centre, I’d nose around the OCA Representation parish, St Catherine-in-the-Fields. Buzz has reached me from rather disparate sources (indeed, sources that are opposed to one another) of possible skimming and embezzlement by one of the prominent priests, one Sergei Alikov. When one hears the same story from radically-opposing sources, one sits up and listens. That doesn’t mean that it’s true, it simply means that it bears investigation. The whispers have it that Alikov, who was put in charge at St Catherine parish after the OCA powers-that-be kicked Dickie Wood out, is stealing about 20,000 USD (599,000 Roubles. 15,400 Euros. 12,400 UK Pounds) a month from the income from rent and other income related to the church complex. More than one source told me that various parties have tried to warn the OCA powers-that-be repeatedly that Alikov’s a rum go, yet, the OCA failed to respond to any of the parishioners’ concerns. For an organisation that loves money, it seems odd that they wouldn’t be concerned about such an allegation. Perhaps, the money’s being siphoned for them personally? Hard to know, but something isn’t right.
This needs to be checked by His Nibs, Mayor Sobyanin, the Genprokuratura, and Archbishop Mark Golovkov (as head of the Secretariat, he’s in charge of MP foreign affairs). If it’s reached me, its common knowledge in some circles (trust me, I’m NOT an “insider”). Fathausen does seem to “have money”. Where’s he getting it? Is he in cahoots with Alikov? Was Dickie shitcanned for not going along (he’s an incompetent self-publicising blowhard, but in that he’s no worse than sorts like Lyonyo, Jillions, or Sigrist). This does put a new face on Dickie getting le sabot. He’s incompetent… he’s a liar… he’s an enabler of HOOMie cultists… he’s a typical clueless SVS paladin… his Orthodoxy’s questionable at best… but that doesn’t mean that he’s a thief or that he’d cooperate with such.
The Russian governmental and MP Church authorities should look into this, especially given Paffhausen’s ties with Potapov, a known Langley asset (check it out… Potapov had/has a “red” official US passport). If someone’s embezzling the Representation’s money, where’s it going? Cui bono? I say, let the Prokuratura and Metropolitan Yuvenaly Poyarkov (he’s not the unsinkable satrap for nothing… he has no use for the present OCA) get to the bottom of this. If it’s true… Alikov belongs in the Sakha Republic bustin’ rocks under the Arctic Sun. His Nibs should rip up the OCA Tomos immediately and re-establish the Metropolia under the MP. That’s what should happen. As for Paffhausen, if this is true, he deserves to join his pal, Alikov, but that won’t happen. Shall he form a “Rump OCA?” Only time will tell us…
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo
Monday 7 May 2012
Albany NY
Latest Update Department:
Someone told me that Sergei Alikov isn’t a priest, but rather the starosta of St Catherine parish. I’ve no way to check this out. Nevertheless, the whole incident’s as fishy as stud fees for Kelso. It still bears looking into. That’s the latest buzz…
BMD
Comments Off on 7 May 2012. Multiple-Sourced Whispers in the Loggia on Embezzlement at the OCA Representation at the Centre
The Socialist Red Rose… they’re celebrating today…
******
______________________________
According to the results of an exit poll by the Gallup International Association, five Armenian political groups will pass the parliamentary threshold. Eight parties and one party alliance participated in the elections. The threshold for parliamentary representation is five percent for a party and seven percent for a bloc. Exit poll results at 20.00 local time (19.00 MSK 16.00 UTC 11.00 EDT 08.00 PDT) showed that the Republican Party of President Serzh Sargsyan and the Prosperous Armenia party, both in the governing coalition, are clearly in the lead with 43.3 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively. Centrist Orinats Erkir (Rule of Law), the third party in the ruling coalition, got about 6.2 percent. Other parties likely to succeed in the polls are the opposition Heritage Party with 6.5 percent and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation with 5.2 percent.
It’s unclear whether the main opposition force, the Armenian National Congress of ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, will pass the parliamentary threshold. Exit polls give the bloc 6.4 percent, below the required threshold of seven percent. Vote tabulation is currently underway and results only from 35 polling stations are available so far. According to early results, the Republican Party got 71.8 percent and Prosperous Armenia received 13.21 percent. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was third with 7.77 percent. Other parties got less than 3 percent. According to the Central Election Commission results, more than 1.5 million, or 62.33 percent of almost 2.5 million eligible voters cast a ballot in Sunday’s election. More than 31,000 domestic observers and 647 international monitors monitored the voting. The Armenian police said it received 62 reports about possible election violations; they are investigating all of them, and they’ve already launched three criminal cases. Police also investigated 43 reports on the internet and in the mass media about suspected violations. Officials shall release preliminary results within 24 hours after the vote; the official result is due in a week.
******
With 65 percent of votes counted in Greek parliamentary elections, centre-right New Democracy received 19.8 percent of the vote, whilst its coalition partner, centre-left PASOK was third with 13.6 percent of the vote. The results give the ruling Greek coalition a weak majority in parliament, with New Democracy receiving 61 seats in parliament plus the 50 seats the winner gets under the law. Its coalition partner got 42 seats. Pro-bailout New Democracy and PASOK are amongst the parties likely to pass the 3 percent parliamentary threshold. Syriza, a radical leftist party, was a solid runner-up; its 16.2 percent of the vote gave it 50 parliamentary seats. Other parties that are likely to win seats in parliament are Independent Greeks with 10.5 percent (32 seats), the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 8.4 percent (26), neo-Nazi Golden Dawn with 6.9 percent (21), and the Democratic Left with 6 percent (18). Final results are due on Monday.
******
French Interior Minister Claude Guéant said that François Hollande, the leader of the opposition French Socialist Party, won election as France’s new president with more than 80 percent of ballots counted. With 98.89 percent of ballots counted, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy got 48.33 percent of the vote, whilst 51.67 percent supported Hollande. Gueant said, “On behalf of the government I congratulate the new President of the Republic and wish him successful service, to the benefit of France”. Sarkozy, the incumbent French president, has already admitted his rival’s victory in the Sunday’s runoff presidential vote. Sarkozy said at a meeting with his supporters in Paris, “Hollande was elected President of France; we’ve got to respect this choice”. The official vote count is continuing, with the announcement of official results due on early Monday, but preliminary results, exit polls, and various French media gave Hollande between 50.8 and 52 percent, with about 48 to 49 percent for his opponent, with voter turnout at 81.03 percent. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, German Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have already congratulated M Hollande on his election victory.
******
According to first results, incumbent Serbian president Boris Tadić and ex-nationalist Tomislav Nikolić are likely to face each other in a presidential election runoff. Serbia voted in presidential, parliamentary, and municipal elections on Sunday. According to the country’s election commission’s data obtained by Serbian election officials from 26 percent of polling stations, Tadić received 24.81 percent of the vote and has a narrow lead over his main election rival, who has 24.71 percent. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić was third, with 15.76 percent of the vote. In Serbia’s previous presidential election in 2008, Nikolić led after the first round, but lost 2.3 percent to Tadić in the runoff. The Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) said in its early results that Tadić won 26.7 percent, whilst Nikolić received 25.5 percent of the vote. The candidates’ political parties are also close in the parliamentary election. With 7.5 percent of ballots counted, Tadić’s Democratic Party (DS) received 21.3 percent, and it appeared to be narrowly behind Nikolić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which has 24.2 percent.
There’s no joy in Mudville tonight. The pro-American parties are on the run… with the largest defeat for the neocons coming in France. No doubt, M Hollande will accelerate French withdrawal from the Afghan quagmire, and he’ll not involve France in any more US neocon warmongering. In Armenia, the local pro-Russian bosses won, but the USA won’t trumpet the obvious fraud because of the Armenian-American diaspora (which has about as much clout as the Israel Lobby and Greek Lobby does… Russia gets bad press because there’s no powerful Russian-American Lobby). Serbia’s due for a runoff, a rematch between Tadić and Nikolić. In Greece, the pro-austerity parties only won a very narrow four-seat margin because of the oddbod election law that hands over 50 additional seats to the top vote-getter. The pro-austerity slimers only got a third of the vote (33.4 percent), but this wrinkle in the Greek election law gave the parliament to the pro-oligarch friends of the affluent effluent (shades of “hanging chads”, no?). The majority’s so slim that the chances of a “no confidence” vote are VERY high indeed.
In short, Langley will pull no corks today… and that’s a GOOD thing… bet on RED.
BMD
Comments Off on Elections in Europe Show Anti-American Bias
Voices from Russia 
Putin Outlines Social Policy Measures
Tags: Barack Obama, Boss Hogg, EU, Europe, European Union, Kremlin, Moscow, political commentary, politics, Putin, Republican, Republican Party, right-wing, Rush Limbaugh, Russia, Russian, United States, USA, Vladimir Putin
______________________________
On Monday, the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to adopt a range of social measures including significant reduction of mortgage loan rates. Putin bound the government to reduce mortgage loan rates to 2.2 percent by 2018. He also pushed for state measures to increase real wages 1.4 to 1.5-fold by 2018. In his decree, Putin said that the average lifespan in Russia must reach at least 74 years. The president also instructed the government to set forth measures that will help give new homes to at least 60 percent of families who want to improve their living conditions. A decree also laid out that by the end of June, that the state should increase scholarships for first-year and second-year students to the level of minimum living wages. The decree concerns students from poor families and those doing well in studies. Putin also said that, by 2016, pre-school education for children between three and seven years must become free of charge.
7 May 2012
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/society/20120507/173297034.html
Editor’s Note:
Look at two radically-different approaches. VVP says that we must INCREASE social spending to help the common people. Willard Romney says that we must SLASH social spending to enrich the affluent effluent and the One Percent. The trend in Europe is LEFTWARDS. The so-called “opposition” in Russia will fail because VVP will see to it that he delivers on his social promises. The Neoliberal pro-globalist élites in Europe are going down to defeat in one country after another. “It started in Lithuania”… that sounds like the title for a poorly-financed indie flick, but it’s the God’s-honest truth. Willard Romney says that the ordinary people have to pay for the affluent effluent’s mistakes. According to him, low tax rates on the affluent and on corporations (the lowest in the developed world) are sacrosanct. If one looks at the events of the past two years, history’s against him. Its racist hatred of Barack Obama blinds the Republican Party to reality. Anyone who believes that Barack Obama’s foreign-born or a follower of Islam is a chowder-headed cretin, and that’s that.
Don’t forget, the affluent effluent controls the US mass media, so, they’re making it more “competitive” than it is, actually. Rush Limbaugh‘s not an oracle… he’s a blowhard shilling bedpans to an increasingly-senescent audience. Romney will win the South, Southwest, and parts of the Mountain belt. That will be the GOP heartland after Obama’s victory this autumn. I pity those living in those regions… it’ll get worse there as the GOP becomes an exclusively Evangelical/Mormon/Pentecostalist bloc. God help those people… they’re already under the grinding heel of Boss Hogg politicians such as Rick Perry, corrupt sheriffs, ignorant hypocritical preachers, and grasping landshark “biznessmeni”. As Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”… to paraphrase Honest Abe, “I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half rightwing and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved… I do not expect the house to fall… but I do expect it will cease to be divided”. How long must we allow the Shame of the South (and Southwest) to continue? How long must we allow rapacious business interests to rape the working people of that region? God alone knows…
BMD