http://www.businessinsider.com/golden-dawn-incident-at-theater-in-athens-2012-10
Greece is examining several ways it could cover its funding gap should it be granted a two-year fiscal extension after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde backed the idea of Athens being given more time to bring down its public deficit.
The government has been pushing more publicly this week the idea of its consolidation period being extended to the end of 2016 and Lagarde’s comments appear to have given the Greek cause a boost. “I have said repeatedly that an additional two years was necessary for the country to actually face the fiscal consolidation program,” she told journalists in Tokyo.
Eurozone officials, however, are concerned that granting Greece more time would also lead to demands for more funding from Athens. The coalition is convinced, though, that it can get through the extra two years without asking for any more money.
Sources said that the government estimates that there will be a hole of up to 12 billion euros in its budget due to extending the 13.5-billion-euro austerity package demanded by the troika over four years rather than two.
However, shortfalls in the privatization program, a possible need for more capital for Greek banks, a deeper-than-expected recession and any deviation from the budget could take the amount needed to cover the gap to 25 billion euros, according to Finance Ministry estimates.
The government sees six ways in which this gap can be covered: for the European Central bank and eurozone central banks to return to Athens the profit they will make on Greek bonds bought on the secondary market; a reduction in the interest rates on the bilateral loans agreed as part of the first bailout; an extension to the maturities of Greek bonds the ECB holds in its investment portfolio (about 10 billion euros; of which 6.5 billion is due in 2016); rolling over the debts the state owes itself (such as a 5.2-billion-euro loan from the Bank of Greece); the sale or renting out of public property (which could raise 1 to 2 billion euros) and an increase in the issuance of T-bills by 9 billion euros.
During A Violent Incident At A Greek Theater, An Elected Official Went On One Of The Most Vile Rants Imaginable
Earlier we reported that a Greek journalist (@manolis on Twitter) tweeted his experience of getting beaten up by Golden Dawn members during an incident in Athens today.
We must warn you before going on that there's a lot of crude language throughout this post, but it is what it is, and it reflects what's happening in Greece right now.
The website Radio Bubble translated his tweets:
"At the entrance of the theatre, there were Golden Dawn and priests tearing down the show posters and stepping on them. I took out my mobile to take pictures for the blog. 5 Golden Dawners and a cop surrounded me. They ask 'Are you a journalist?' I say "I write for lifo", hoping to escape a beating. Quite the opposite. They pull me aside, call me 'faggot' and 'queer', pull my beard, spit in my face, hit me in the stomach. Cops nearby. I shout "They're beating me, do something?" Reply : I've nothing, move along please. The cop's wearing 3 stars. They put a lit cigarette in my pocket. A woman standing near warns me, in front of the cop. He pretends he hasn't heard. I start to get scared, move away from the entrance. They shout after me 'Go away, you dirty faggot, go suck someone's cock!' I turn back to observe. A known Golden Dawn MP follows me, punches me twice in the face, knocks me down. Downed, I lose my glasses. The Golden Dawn MP kicks me. The police are exactly 2 steps away. Their backs are turned. Repeatedly, I shout to the cop "THEY"RE PUNCHING ME, DO SOMETHING!" Back still turned, he walks away. The rest of them shouting at me next to the police officer "Cry, you pussy, queen, little girl" We pass dozens of cops hanging out. I tell them I was beaten at theatre entrance. They ignore me. One blows me a sarcastic kiss."
So what's the full story?
The blog KeepTalkingGreece (via Evan Fleischer) reports that the Golden Dawn (along with some conservative religious leaders) were protesting a showing of the play Corpus Christi, which depicts Jesus and the Apostles as gay.
After failing to get a court to halt the play, they tried to storm the theater unsuccessfully.
But in their protests, they caused a major ruckus, and in addition to the aforementioned beating, one of protesters (a Golden Dawn member of parliament) managed to get physically un-detain someone from the cops. There's video of that happening right here.
If all that isn't enough to freak you out about the rise of the Golden Dawn, watch this video of a guy in a white shirt shouting during the protest, and that read the translation below.
It turns out that guy is Golden Dawn MP Ilias Panagiotaros, who you might have seen in this picture, which we use sometimes when we write about the Golden Dawn:
AP
Big time Greek twitterer and all around man-to-know-in-Athens Stratos Safioleas posted a translation of his shouting, and before you read any further, we must warn you it is incredibly vile stuff:
You little cunt, wrap it up.
Did you get that?
Wrap it up you little faggots.
You “sticking-it-in-the-ass”, fuckers, actors my ass.
Yes, just keep staring at me you little hooker.
Did you get that?
Wrap it up you little faggots.
You “sticking-it-in-the-ass”, fuckers, actors my ass.
Yes, just keep staring at me you little hooker.
Your time is up.
Film, go ahead film [me]
[Something I don’t understand ending] you are fucked by the Pakistanis.
You fucking Albanian assholes, eh, you fucking Albanian assholes.”
Film, go ahead film [me]
[Something I don’t understand ending] you are fucked by the Pakistanis.
You fucking Albanian assholes, eh, you fucking Albanian assholes.”
Reminder: This is a member of parliament we're talking about.
Reminder II: Since the last election, the standing of the Golden Dawn has only grown in polls.
Stratos added in his translation: "In times like this the importance of European solidarity is paramount. If you are a friend of Greece, your help is needed. Now, not later."
and news of the day....
Finance Ministry denies 'island evacuation' report
The online version of Proto Thema newspaper earlier on Thursday reported that the country's foreign lenders suggested that Greeks residing on islands with less than 150 inhabitants, be relocated elsewhere. The newspaper was quoting comments allegedly made by Merhcant Marine and Aegean Minister Costas Mousouroulis during a meeting with representatives of Greece's shipping industry. “I told them [the troika] that they must be out of their minds. This is not something we will negotiate,” Mousouroulis was quoted as saying. In a statement, the Finance Ministry said the reports were just “rumors.”
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Government mulls ways to cover gap if extension is granted
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The government has been pushing more publicly this week the idea of its consolidation period being extended to the end of 2016 and Lagarde’s comments appear to have given the Greek cause a boost. “I have said repeatedly that an additional two years was necessary for the country to actually face the fiscal consolidation program,” she told journalists in Tokyo.
Eurozone officials, however, are concerned that granting Greece more time would also lead to demands for more funding from Athens. The coalition is convinced, though, that it can get through the extra two years without asking for any more money.
Sources said that the government estimates that there will be a hole of up to 12 billion euros in its budget due to extending the 13.5-billion-euro austerity package demanded by the troika over four years rather than two.
However, shortfalls in the privatization program, a possible need for more capital for Greek banks, a deeper-than-expected recession and any deviation from the budget could take the amount needed to cover the gap to 25 billion euros, according to Finance Ministry estimates.
The government sees six ways in which this gap can be covered: for the European Central bank and eurozone central banks to return to Athens the profit they will make on Greek bonds bought on the secondary market; a reduction in the interest rates on the bilateral loans agreed as part of the first bailout; an extension to the maturities of Greek bonds the ECB holds in its investment portfolio (about 10 billion euros; of which 6.5 billion is due in 2016); rolling over the debts the state owes itself (such as a 5.2-billion-euro loan from the Bank of Greece); the sale or renting out of public property (which could raise 1 to 2 billion euros) and an increase in the issuance of T-bills by 9 billion euros.
In a meeting with troika representatives on Thursday, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras attempted to prioritize the 89 structural reforms Greece’s lenders want to see implemented before the next bailout tranche is dispersed. The government hopes that it can agree to pass the most urgent of measures to receive the loan, with the rest following in due course.
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