Greece set to pass an Amendment on Monday to its Loan Agreement with the Troika wherein it expressly waives its sovereign immunities - now / or which could arise in the future - as to Greece itself or its assets . If that passes Monday - Greece becomes a de facto vassal State of the Troika ..... ! Additional news items - Greece pays its Troika ordered tax bill , Judges still striking - but what could possibly be more important than agreeing to just let the Troika have its way with Greece ?

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/11/greek-finmin-purchases-over-e500-only-via-credit-card-check-or-bank-transfer/

Greek FinMin: purchases over €500 only via credit card, check or bank transfer

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy

Greek Finance Ministry plans to put an end to cash payments. Purchases worth more than 500 euro will be not possible with cash money anymore. Finance minister Yiannis Stournaras told the Parliament on Thursday that he examines that “the expansion of electronic transactions with credit cards and other electronic payment methods for a wide range of transactions for amounts much smaller than those required by current legislation,” which is currently at 3,000 euro.

All transactions worth more than 500 euro will have to be made only through money transfer through banks, or credit/debit cards and checks.

It looks as if the finance ministry considers to give bonuses of 5% reduction to the Value Added Tax for if payment via credit/debit card etc.

Stournaras claimed that this measure targets to combat tax evasion.

It’s not clear when exactly the planned measure will go into effect – most probably we will know after the new taxation system voting later today.

Blame for all Greek misery the ‘tax evasion’ and you’re cleared of any responsibility…

PS I’m going to check my credit card limit as I plan to buy a real estate for 200,000 euro :p Until the bank gives me the green light, I’m pleased to have 100 euro in cash for the purchase of wood for the fire place.

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/11/samaras-vip-aircraft-almost-stuck-in-berlin-due-to-outstanding-fuel-debt/

tagged: Berlin, fuel, Germany,Greece, outstanding fuel debt, run out, Samaras, VIP aricraft

Samaras VIP aircraft almost stuck in Berlin due to outstanding fuel debt

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

 The aircraft that carried prime minister Antonis Samaras to Berlin beginning of the week was almost forced to remain landed at the airport due to a fuel debt of 5,000 euro. The unexpected incident occurred during the fueling process for the return trip to Greece.

According to daily Eleftherotypia,

“the supplier company declined to provide fuel service, citing there was an outstanding debt and it did not accept the so-called ‘fuel-card’.

The amount was available however it had been blocked by the audit council. Nevertheless, an alternative solution was found and thus without political interference.  The dispute was over 5,000 euro.”

However Eleftherotypia does not mention how exactly the problem was solved and if Samaras himself or somebody from the Greek mission accompanying the prime minister in Germany came up for the needed amount.

Greek government owes three VIP jets – one GULFSTREAM and two EMBRAER. Each take off of these jets costs the Greek taxpayer 46,000 euro, according to some press reports in the past.

According to onalert.gr, Samaras government was planning last August to sell or even lease the three VIP aircrafts in an effort to reduce expenses. The cost of the VIP aircraft is 3,193 euro per flight hour. However the VIP flights continue uninterrupted until today.

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2013/01/11/athens-self-made-devices-explode-outside-homes-of-five-journalists/

tagged: Athens, disputes,explosive devices, Greece,journalists, ND, PASOK, syriza,Terrorism

Athens: Self-made devices explode outside homes of five journalists

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Politics

 UPDATE: an organization that appears for the firt time claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a statement uploaded in athens-indimedia, the organization calling itsself “Cycles of violators/Cell of lawlessness lovers” claimed responsibility on Friday evening. Statement here but in Greek.

Self-made devices exploded outside the homes of five well-known journalists in the early morning hours of Friday in Athens. The attacks occurred in the suburbs of Kolonaki, Agia Paraskevi, Penteli, Maroussi and Alimos causing damages at the entrances of the buildings.

The attacks took place with a few minutes time difference leaving open the possibility that it was a coordinated plan. All devices were consisting of two small gas canisters.

The first incident occurred at 3:40 am in Kololonaki, the second at 4:10 am in Agia Paraskevi. A couple of mintues later, one explosion occurred in Marousi and Penteli and the last one at 4:45 in Alimos. The targets were located in a a radius of some 10-15 km.

The journalists who became target are Giorgos Oikonomeas (MEGA TV), Antonis Liaros (former MEGA TV, later PASOK candidate), Antonis Skyllakos (Athens news agency APE-MPA director), Christos Konstas and Petros Karsiotis (ALPHA TV).

ND accuses SYRIZA

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou condemned the attacks and accused main-opposition, left-wing SYRIZA as having links to the attackers.

“Yesterday, live interventions in radio stations. Today explosions in journalists’ homes. There are open terrorism attempts in the media sector, an essential sector of our democracy. What does SYRIZA need in order to denounce its hoodies?”

Commenting on Kedikoglou’s blaming, SYRIZA said among others in a statement:

For one more time,  such deadlocks and dangerous practices give an alibi to a government that has adopted the strategy of division, violence and intimidation of the Greek society, to continue its work of curtailing democracy itself. A striking example are the statements of the government spokesman that preach the division and the intolerance in a funny but dangerous way.”

ND-PASOK against SYRIZA

A major dispute broke in recent days with coalition government partners conservative Nea Dimocratia and socialist PASOK launching massive verbal attacks against SYRIZA. The campaign targets SYRIZA at two fronts: PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos is furious as SYRIZA submitted a motion to parliament asking inquiry against him about the Lagarde list. Nea Dimocratia blames SYRIZA for covering up the hoodies and the anarchists movements.

On Thursday, SYRIZA MP Vasilis Diamantopoulos told private radio Alpha FM, that he was determined in the anarchist area, that an anarchist was a direct democrat and that the incidents of 2008 [the riots after killing of teenager boy Alexis Grigoropoulos] were an uprising.

The pick of the dispute was reached on Wednesday, after massive police police operations against two squats in Athens where abandoned buildings were occupied by anti-authoritarians. 140 people were detained – but later set free -, while solidarity protests ended in tear gas clouds in downtown Athens. Supporter groups in entered a state radio station (ET3) in Thessaloniki and a private radio (Real fm) in Athens and read solidarity messages.

and............








http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_11/01/2013_478081

Tax bill voted into law after heated debate in Parliament

 Coalition MPs come together to back revenue-raising bill
Parliament late on Friday approved a revenue-raising tax bill that has proved a source of friction between the coalition and SYRIZA, replacing – at least temporarily – the regular clashes between the parties over the handling of the Lagarde list.
The bill was passed into the law with the backing of the coalition's 163 MPs following the approval of the bulk of the articles and separate votes on four articles by roll call, as requested by SYRIZA.
The legislation, which includes income tax rises for most taxpayers and a hike in corporate tax, aims to increase revenues by 2.3 billion euros over the next two years as Greece attempts to meet the bailout terms set by its lenders.
Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said that each euro raised from taxes would mean that a euro could be spared from public spending cuts. However, he was on the receiving end of criticism from SYRIZA, which opposes the hikes. Leftist MP Panayiotis Lafazanis accused Stournaras of being a “political terrorist.”
SYRIZA had clashed earlier with the government after one the left-wing party’s lawmakers, Dimitris Vitsas, suggested during a discussion on Skai TV that if the leftists come to power, they will try to nationalize any public assets that are sold off, including the container terminal at Piraeus port run by China’s COSCO.
“As much as the SYRIZA leader [Alexis Tsipras] tries to appear like a European by talking about serious foreign investments, he is disrobed by the actions and comments of his deputies,” said government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou.
However, Tsipras, who is due to meet German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Monday, suggested in an interview on Real FM Friday that he intends to tone down SYRIZA’s staunch opposition to the terms of Greece’s EU-IMF bailout and will instead try to focus on alternative policies.
“I do not need to tell you how bad the memorandum is, but what we need are solutions,” he said. “SYRIZA wants to have normal relations with the governments that play an important role in Greek and European affairs.”
“The Germans are very practical people,” he added. “They can see that SYRIZA could be the next government and they want to prepare the ground by having direct contact with us. We want the same.”
Another SYRIZA MP, Yiannis Milios, accused the government of an “unprecedented” surrendering of rights to protect its assets from creditors. He referred to the text of an amendment to Greece’s loan agreement, which is due to be submitted to Parliament on Monday as a legislative act.

The text of the amendment states that Greece “irrevocably and unconditionally waives all immunity to which it is or may become entitled, in respect of itself or its assets, from legal proceedings in relation to this Amendment Agreement, including, without limitation, immunity from suit, judgment or other order, from attachment, arrest or injunction prior to judgment, and from execution and enforcement against its assets to the extent not prohibited by mandatory law.” http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_11/01/2013_478078 Cases build up as judges’ strike prevents rulings The ongoing protest by judges and lawyers prevented the Council of State issuing verdicts on Friday on a number of significant issues, such as the legality of The Mall in Maroussi and the diversion of the Acheloos River, as a case backlog at lower courts continues to grow. It is now estimated that as a result of the judicial officials’ go-slow protest the Council of State, Greece’s highest administrative court, has 40,000 cases outstanding. Another 50,000 cases are waiting to be heard at lesser administrative courts. The Athens First Instance Court has yet to rule on more than 10,000 cases. At its Piraeus counterpart, more than 4,500 cases are still to be heard. Judges have been protesting reductions to their wages, which are part of the government’s spending cuts. The Council of State’s plenary is due to attempt to meet again on February 15. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_11/01/2013_478090 Bondholders protest against debt restructuring Holders of Greek state bonds staged a protest rally outside the General State Accounting Office on Friday, demanding amends for their substantial losses after the PSI debt restructuring last year. The president of their association, Yiannis Dokos, was found dead on Wednesday afternoon, and protesters claimed he was killed by anxiety.