Saturday, 06 October 2012 07:21
'In Athens, the beginning of autumn coincides with the return of an all too familiar scene: inside Parliament, politicians are quarrelling over details of the austerity requested of them by the Troika; outside, protesters are shouting their anger at what they see as unfair, unsuccessful and unsustainable policies.
Nikos Charalampopoulos, an Athenian teacher and trained political scientist in his early thirties, normally would be looking forward to the birth of his son, due any day now. Instead he worries about the uncertain future. He sees his countrymen isolated and abandoned, as they come back from the summer: "The kids are back in schools that lack basic necessary books; they will be taught by teachers whose salaries have been slashed.
University students know that they have to work hard for a diploma, which still won’t find them a job. And the only answer the government can come up with is to cut even more, to deploy even more layoffs, to break up strikes and round up immigrants.”'
Saturday, 06 October 2012 07:18
'Watching Wednesday night’s presidential debate, you’d have to be a crack political code reader to know what Obama was really saying about Social Security. It was quick. It was subtle. But it was one of the most telling moments of the debate.
First, let’s get a few things straight. Social Security is solvent. It’s America’s most successful retirement plan to date. It’s extremely popular across party lines . Social Security adds not a penny to the deficit. And, as Nancy Altman has argued , it's “the poster child for fiscal responsibility.” The program is prudently managed, cost-effective, and carefully monitored.'
Saturday, 06 October 2012 07:03
'“Rocket and mortar fire. Turkey takes revenge after an attack from the Syrian side. Yesterday afternoon Syrian rebels fired on a Turkish village close to the border. For weeks Ankara had warned against provoking Turkey. Meanwhile Syrian rebels officially claimed responsibility for the provocation.”'
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