Greece: When the guillotine is too good for its leaders

Greece..  the story that never ends.   Quite frankly, they make us sick to our stomachs.  No, we do not mean the Grecian people or those with Greek heritage or ancestry cause such illness.

A&G's venom is specific to Greece's political leaders who are leading a nation they supposedly love, to complete and utter ruin.  As much as we may criticize political leaders in America, they are saints of high moral character compared to Greece:

"The two Greek parties supporting the government of technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos expelled more than 40 deputies on Monday for failing to back an austerity bill needed to avoid the country's chaotic default." --  Reuters

Can you imagine that in US politics?  Think about it--  Putting aside the fact that the American people would never EVER tolerate a leader who was put into power by its debt holders (a technocrat is nothing more than a banker), imagine the President proposing legislation which would severely hurt the nation economically and then having the power to dismiss or fire all those who did not support him and vote accordingly--  Would you peaceably accept it?

Obviously in Greece tonight, they're not in the mood to tolerate much of anything:

"Cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens as black-masked protesters fought riot police outside parliament... Shops were looted in the capital where police said 34 buildings were ablaze... The chaos outside parliament showed how tough it will be to implement the measures."

~ Athens: today, February 12th

Apologies for offending but, Good for them.  In all likelihood, the protests and expressions of rage at Greece's leaders will not lead to any real policy changes. Then again, maybe it will scare Germany off from accepting the agreement and believing Greece will keep their end of the bargain in exchange for the billions  of euros.  Greece Needs to default-- it should have done it voluntarily but if not, then it needs to be pushed and prodded...

But what other options are there for a Grecian- to sit at home and quietly stew?  People will say that violent expression is never the answer.  We simply respond with one question- 'How do you think the American colonies earned their independence from Great Britain in the 1770s?'   And if you say something akin to 'well, we wrote the Declaration of Independence, then 'Ta Da!', you may need to brush up on your elementary school history studies.

Or perhaps this is a better example:  Imagine a pair of strong hands are firmly grasped around your throat.. and then it squeezes... and grips.. and Squeezes tighter.. firmer.. cutting off air.. more pressure.. more.. More..  When do you fight to remove that pair of hands from crushing your larynx?  Or do you simply allow it because to react violently would not be 'civilized'...

One elitist Greek lawmaker said this today in response to the people's fury:

"We cannot allow populism to burn our country down," 

Hmm..  its funny.  Politicians here and abroad make the word 'populism' sound so dirty and outright offensive.  Populism simply means "political ideas and activities that are intended to represent ordinary people's needs and wishes" (Cambridge Dictionary).  It is a movement that urges social and political system changes.   

~ Athens tonight, February 12th

In simple terms, populism represents the basic needs and wants of you and we.. every day people living everyday lives; need and wants that leadership commonly ignore because they do not experience the same hardships, and thus possess no familiarity with basic daily struggle nor empathy for those experiencing it.  

It was quite a terrible day for Greece and we speak solely about what occurred inside Parliament and not anything which occurred outside its walls.

Repeating what we've said many times: Greece should have defaulted when it had the upper hand and the financial world was terrified of what it would mean to the global markets.   Now- everyone's had time to prepare and minimize the damage.  

And the Grecian people are fucked no matter what happens next.

Its just sad.