Athens Greece. Ruins of Parthenon temple on the Acropolis.
You might expect some pity by European business interests on Greece. But exactly the opposite is taking place—special interests are pushing to stomp further on Greece while it is down, including European Dairy Oligarchs.
Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on the complex Greek tragedy that has unfolded over the last several years. My sense is that there is blame enough to hand around. But at this stage, with Greece facing nearly endless economic depression, it would seem that the right thing to do would be to try to find constructive ways out of the morass. Instead, Germany and other northern European countries seem intent on continuing to kick Greece when it is down.
Why am I writing about Greece? I have enough difficulty making sense out of what is happening in the food arena in the U.S. But it seems as if one key area where the European vultures are circling is over Greece’s tiny dairy industry.
Here is what a prominent economist had to say yesterday in a New York Times assessment projecting a grim long-term future for Greece, despite supposedly coming to terms with European bankers:
“There is a widespread belief here in Greece that special interests, in and out of the country, are using the troika (the international and European lenders) to get what they could not have obtained by more democratic processes.
“Consider the case of milk. Greeks enjoy their fresh milk, produced locally and delivered quickly. But Dutch and other European milk producers would like to increase sales by having their milk, transported over long distances and far less fresh, appear to be just as fresh as the local product. In 2014 the troika forced Greece to drop the label ‘fresh’ on its truly fresh milk and extend allowable shelf life. Now it is demanding the removal of the five-day shelf-life rule for pasteurized milk altogether. Under these conditions, large-scale producers believe they can trounce Greece’s small-scale producers.
“In theory, Greek consumers would benefit from the lower prices, even if they suffered from lower quality. In practice, the new retail market is far from competitive, and early indications are that the lower prices were largely not passed on to consumers….One underlying problem in Greece, in both its economy and its politics, is the role of a group of wealthy people who control key sectors, including banks and the media, collectively referred to as the Greek oligarchs.”
Yes, every country has its oligarchs. No matter where they are, or how bad domestic conditions become, oligarchs care little about patriotism or national interests or the suffering of the poor. They care about one thing, and one thing only: increasing their profits.
Between trying to deal with arrogant German bankers and heartless Greek oligarchs, I’d say Greece truly is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Greece should probably have left the European Union a good while ago, and gone off on its own, instead of leaving its fate in the hands of distant politicians, bureaucrats, and bankers. The Greek people have long been terrific farmers and entrepreneurs, and could probably have pulled off a re-make as well as any people. At least there would have been some reason for hope, instead of endless insurmountable debt.
On the dairy front, Greeks could have just looked to the U.S., which has lost just about 90% of its dairies since 1970 to the relentless pressures of America’s dairy oligarchs, in concert with distant Washington politicians. Unfortunately, it seems as if Greeks are going to have to endure the ultimate humiliation: paying high prices for ultra-high-pasteurized European milk, and watching more of its own farmers bite the dust in the process.
If the Greeks think that a shorter work week is a way to sustainable economics in a workd of competitive capitalism….they are not in reality. Especially in the First World reality of very hard work and long hours. I will say that I loved Corfu in 1983….when we were first married. Corfu is the EU destination for youth vacation and all beaches are nude….what a blast. Talk about British girls with really bad sunburns and road rash from bad moped accidents. Ouch!!
The suvlacki and ouzo is great and the Parthenon is timeless. The Greeks gave us Hippocrates and Do No Harm. They also give us….Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food. Ancient brilliance.
“Yes, every country has its oligarchs. No matter where they are, or how bad domestic conditions become, oligarchs care little about patriotism or national interests or the suffering of the poor. They care about one thing, and one thing only: increasing their profits.”
Indeed David, we are all caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to debt. A parallel can be drawn to any nation that has attempted to assert its financial sovereignty. Take the American revolt against the British for example; there is no question that “national interests” is what prompted the revolt against the British, or to be more exact, against the British oligarchs who controlled the purse strings of the American colonies via taxes and debt. When push came to shove however, it was all about money and the American peoples crime was that they used gold to pay off the debt and started printing their own currency. This is anathema in the world of oligarchs.
Americans may have won the battle but they didn’t win the war against the oligarchs and I am not so sure that if Greece had gone on her own that it would have made a difference.
In his book “Rulers of Evil”, Tupper F Saussy presented mind-blowing evidence substantiating his theory that : rather than the American Rebellion being for the sake of “national interests”, it was a masterpiece of Jesuitical cunning, fomented / accomplished to dis-engage Protestant Britain from their overseas kinsmen, to suit geo-political ends of the Vatican. With freedom of religion the cornerstone in the Republic, Roman-ism then had the foothold it wanted. The Central Intellligence Agency, being its apparatus here + now.
…. for bonus points, what’s the statue atop the Capitol-eum in Washington D. C.? Just a mere co-incidence that Persephone, goddess of the dead, also known as ‘Mary Queen of Heaven’, has pride of place in the verymost prestigious position in the land?
…. “Behind every idol there is a demon”
Yes it would make a difference if they got rid of the Central Bank. Is there pain involved? YES ! ! ! But it ends quickly and a new fee market evolves from the dust.
The Federal Reserve is the head of the beast. If it were gone, the feds couldn’t do 10% of what they do: no huge DEA, no huge armed FDA/USDA/EPA, small unarmed IRS, no armed Park and Wildlife cops (what a ridiculous notion to arm park guards)… the list is endless. They can only do what they do TO us because they can print money. Which they loan to us at interest… we are paying for all this safety and protection.
Many years ago back in the old country I had a cousin who was a prosperous carpenter and had a philosophy that you should never buy anything you can’t afford to pay for in cash, avoid debt and wait until you can buy in full. Alas, he decided to launch a construction company in the boom times and it grew so quickly that he soon had to borrow to sustain the growth. It wasn’t long before he was buried in debt and lost his shirt then his house and eventually his business too. Lesson learned but too late.
If the Greeks had had a good government and not such a corrupt government, and such a corrupt people that do not pay taxes, that just want to work in black, then they would not be where they are today. German people are getting crap, despite that every German citizen has now paid 1000s of Euros to Greece. Little Greece is not suffering from Europe. The EU has pumped huge amounts of money into that little country. Greece are suffering due to the internal problems. We Europeans are now being forced to continue to pump huge amounts of money into a corrupt hole… and what do we get for that? We get people thinking that the EU, Germany, and the other countries are not being fair enough. I think that the EU has already done way to much for Greece. There is no country is a good financial situation to just give away money to another country that does not even appreiate the help.
I have no pity for Greece, they are suffering due to their own internal corruption and laxity.
Catharina, please keep in mind that the Greek people are not the guilty parties, just as the average American on the street is not either for our governments rampant destruction of other countries (other that we the sheeple continue to vote for them – but I’m not even sure that’s true since they also control the vote counting machines.) David’s article says it all: It’s ultimately the oligarchs that make the decisions that hurt all of us who are powerless to do anything about it.
Bora, what percentage of ordinary Greek citizens avoid paying income tax? This is not the fault of the oligarchs. Google “Greek tax evasion” — or, just skip to “How Greek tax evasion helped sink the global economy” – http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/09/how-greek-tax-evasion-sunk-the-global-economy .
Sam, I’m not going to discuss politics or taxes here, but suffice it to say that individuals skirting taxes is 150 times more likely to be just a drop in the bucket compared to corporate tax doging in Greece or anywhere else especially in America. To me, the WAPO has zero credibility since they are corporate owned and slant galore.
This article goes a long way to explaining the situation in Greece. I have no reason to doubt its authenticity.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/greece-and-the-european-union-first-as-tragedy-second-as-farce-thirdly-as-vassal-state/5465321
D, that was an illuminati ng read, thaks for sharing
That article totally ignores the Goldman Sachs predatory lending to Greek govt, then raising it’s rates and making the loans ready to default, at which point another loan – which needed larger payments – just deferred……
Goldman Sachs screwed Greece. It is the bankers of all the European countries (+) run by Rothschilds. These people are killing the planet and are factually the least civilized on the planet other than raving lunatic versions of psychopaths. The Rothschild/Rockefeller/Gates/billionaire types are not the raving sort, but still are provably psychopaths.
Cat, I am certain you reflect accurately much of the European public opinion. As an American, I am struck by your comment, “There is no country in a good financial situation to just give away money to another country that does not even appreiate the help.” The European Union was originally conceived as a U.S. model–“The United States of Europe.” Unfortunately, there is just too much (bad) history there, and though the countries are in a “union,” they can’t stop thinking of themselves as separate, competing countries. In the U.S., I doubt one particular state could get as far off the road as Greece did, nor could it just walk away. In Europe, the Germans remain the conquerors, and the Greeks remain the conquered.
David, the U.S. has the advantage of being a single government with a single monetary, economic, and employment policy for the whole nation. It is not that EU nations “think of themselves” as separate – they ARE separate. Consider what would happen if the U.S., Mexico, and Canada were to try to form a union like the EU — would it succeed? I think you’d find that Mexico would be the “Greece” of the partnership, the U.S. would be the German economic engine, and Canada would be the equivalent of the UK with the same endless internal squabbles among its populace bout staying or leaving.
It wasn’t too long ago that you needed a passport to go from one country to another in Europe even on the roads, or have to hit the banks to exchange currency. International boundaries and rules have changed not always for the better. The US states also historically had much internal struggle and that continues today on the food freedom aspect, somehow raw milk is front and center go figure. I still maintain that it’s more of a corporate control vs freedom of individual choice and I’m glad David is shining a beacon on it and we can all be a small part of it.
The Greeks have very much embraced a culture of “The Government will take care of me attitude”. This is a slippery slope. Jobs are created by the private sector, through desperation, inspiration, innovation….and lastly, plenty of perspiration. When a paycheck comes from the government, hard work is actually discouraged. When government workers complete their jobs, they are out of work and more work is assigned to them. So the incentive is to do work slower and postpone efforts towards completion. We see this all the time. The incentive then becomes to strike for less work with shorter work weeks. How can a nation be competitive working less and less….?
If you want to see kick ass action….visit the private sector. The Greeks could take a lesson in this competitive evironment. Striking against the government to win a shorter work week as short as 28 hours is a symptom of government dependency. When everyone is employed by the government…and the incentives are to do less….you got problems. Who pays taxes so the government can pay out checks to those that work less and work slower and slower??
Greece gives socialism a really bad public view. Even the Chinese embrace uber capitalism under a strange cloak of communism. They force their economy to do what they want it to do. This is about work ethic and motivation. Who you work for and why you work matters?
Mark I think you just coined a new word, evironment. I like it now let’s find ways to use it for good in the cyberworld and on the ground in the real world.
I love maxims which sum-up a Big Idea : vis, “who you work for and why you work, matters” = the essence of the Protestant work ethic, being : we are co-laborers with God as He establishes the Kingdom of Heaven here on this planet. Versus ; the goal of His enemies who are installing their antichrist vision of a global antichrist government. Choose you this day whom you shall serve.
…… Relevance of the foregoing, to the Campaign for REAL MILK ? People who realize how we’ve been deceived as to how our very food supply is de-vitalized + poisoned, soon grasp that it’s all not just an accident. They’re then ready to consider how the race traitors got into the high places of government, so that = we are ruled by people who hate us.
Most of us will spend our entire lives paying off debt.
Really? We need more piggy bank change, not more borrowing
Debt Slaves: 7 Out Of 10 Americans Believe That Debt ‘Is A Necessity In Their Lives’
Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/debt-slaves-7-out-of-10-americans-believe-that-debt-is-a-necessity-in-their-lives/#GHjABWILkdOdgYl0.99
I find it interesting that the news has not had much on raw milk outbreaks in the last year. What is it that has caused this change of raw milk Risk? Perhaps those in the raw milk world are taking food safety more seriously? Just a guess. I know that everyone is testing….literally everyone that is taking raw milk seriously has data that they can refer to. Ignorance is not bliss and knowing your numbers changes everything.
Mark, you may be onto something. I just took a look at the data on the Real Raw Milk Facts site and the latest year it tracks for raw milk illnesses is 2013. It lists 86 reported illnesses attributed to raw milk, which is comparatively low for the most recent years. Some 25 come from queso fresca cheese it says was likely bought from a street vendor. Hmmm, take away those 25 and you have 61. Now we’re talking absurdly low numbers. http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/PDFs/Raw-Dairy-Outbreak-Table.pdf
Real Raw Milk Facts hasn’t kept up with 2014, so to obtain that data you’d need to go into the CDC database and sort through the 15,000 reported illnesses. A few hours work. But you can assume the number is probably pretty low, or else the CDC would have taken the trouble to report it, and they haven’t.
I’m curious as to why the comments don’t update? On the intro page, where all the most recent comments are listed, it’s always about three days behind the times. Where is your webmaster??
silly milliie I THINK dAVE’S on vacation
or over and under the weahter
Well, David isn’t his own webmaster/web designer, I don’t think, is he? This would be something out of David’s control, I believe.
**Actually, I just went to the intro page and they are now updating. Don’t know if it will be a permanent fix, but it’s updating for now. Good deal!
Oh Lord. Now it’s putting a slash before every apostrophe. What next.
I’ll ask the webmaster to take a look. She’s been away the last few days.