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February 13th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
More than 100 police were injured by petrol bombs, rocks and other
projectiles, while at least 70 demonstrators also needed hospital treatment.
The violence broke out as parliament approved a package of austerity measures
which included reducing the number of civil servants by a fifth and slashing
the minimum wage by 20 per cent.
The mood on the streets of Athens ranged from anger and bitterness over the
cuts to chronic depression over Greece’s future, with most people fearing
that the situation will get much worse before it gets better.
“I think there’ll be more protests,” said Babis Xerikos, 35, who runs a
stationery shop. “We have filthy politicians who steal from Greece so we
need to protest against them. The politicians reduce the earnings of
ordinary people but they do nothing about their own salaries, in fact
they’re increasing them. That’s why people are out on the streets.”
Sitting on a fence directly opposite the Greek parliament, where protesters
and riot police clashed on Sunday night, Spiros Papachelas, 22, a student,
said he was planning to emigrate. “We’re finished. There’s no future here.
As soon as I can, I’m going abroad.”
All around was the evidence of the violent confrontations. Kerb stones and
paving slabs lay smashed on the ground, broken up into chunks which
demonstrators threw at police.
A large splash of red paint had dried on the facade of parliament, while the
walls of nearby buildings were daubed with anarchist signs.
A marble plinth, on which stood a bronze statue of a boy, was covered in
graffiti: “Rise up! Wake up! Fight now.” Maria Aletras, 46, was watching
glaziers remove the shattered front window of her beads and ribbon shop a
few blocks away from parliament. She had no insurance and faces a bill of
more than 700 euros.
“I’m afraid there will be more violence. People are angry but they are also
depressed – a lot more people are taking medication. It’s getting worse all
the time. A lot of young people are going overseas. My 20-year-old son wants
to move to Melbourne as soon as he’s finished his computer science degree. I
studied there back in the 1980s. Now I wish I’d never left.”
George, a 33-year-old cafe owner who did not want to give his last name, said:
“People are depressed and concerned about their future. My business is down
30-40 per cent. People used to come in and order two coffees and a sandwich,
now they just have one coffee.”
With unemployment at 20 per cent and Greece in its fifth year of recession, he
fears it will take years for the country to get back on its feet.
“We’re not producing anything to sell, to export. We just have tourism, a bit
of shipping, olive oil. It’s not enough. The Italians have cars, wine,
design, fashion — we have none of those things.” As the country came to
terms with the latest bout of violence to mar its international reputation,
commentators said that its very future hung in the balance.
“What is lost in the flames may be greater than the incomes that will be
reduced, greater than percentages of wages and pensions, greater than
deposits lost and hopes abandoned. What is at greatest risk is our identity,
our civilization. If we cannot stay in the euro zone, if we find ourselves
on Europe’s edge, we will be defeated, humiliated and alone,” said an
editorial in the English language edition of Kathimerini, a respected daily
newspaper.
“Our only hope is that within the collapsing political system there are still
enough politicians who dare to carry the burden of this difficult time, when
others think only of their careers, as popular rage grows dangerously. The
flames are licking at our future and at the vision of Europe.”
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