Demonstrators around Syntagma Square in Athens..[ 2315 ]

Greek strikers hurl yoghurt and stones at Athens police

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BBC., 15 June 2011 Last updated at 12:02 GMT

Greek police have fired teargas at protesters outside parliament as MPs prepare to debate new austerity measures required for the EU and IMF bail-out package.

Demonstrators around Syntagma Square in Athens responded by throwing yoghurt and stones.
Thousands are taking part in a general strike, the third in Greece this year.
Ports, public transport and banks are badly disrupted as the main public- and private-sector unions go out on strike.
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Prime Minister George Papandreou is seeking support for a new austerity programme of 28bn euros (£24.6bn; $40.5bn) in cuts to take effect from 2012 to 2015.
State-run companies have also joined the walkout, while hospitals are only offering emergency care. However, airports are operating normally after air traffic controllers called off their strike.

“Start Quote

For all the leftist iconography plus the presence of that by now familiar demographic, the Facebook youth, or 'graduates with no future', this thing has gone beyond left and right - it's clear that for many people it is the Hellenic republic versus the rest of the world”

Paul Mason Economics editor, Newsnight

• Greeks versus the world in Athens austerity protests

A top credit agency has cut Greece's rating, making it the least credit-worthy nation out of 131 countries it monitors.

The Greek government said the downgrade by Standard & Poor's - from B to CCC - ignored its efforts to secure funding.
In order for the next tranche of rescue loans to go through, parliament must adopt the new austerity plan by the end of June.

'Fight the battle' Police thwarted protesters who were attempting to blockade parliament and stop MPs getting in for the debate.
They sealed off the roads leading to Syntagma Square and created a pathway for deputies.
The Greek demonstrators are calling themselves the "indignants", linking themselves to Spanish anti-austerity protesters who set up camps in Madrid and Barcelona until they were removed by police last month.
The square is awash with Greek and Spanish flags, as well as banners reading "Resist" and the battle cry from the Spanish civil war, "No pasaran" (they shall not pass), the AFP news agency reports.

Greek bail-out timeline

• May 2010: EU and IMF agree bail-out package to prevent Greece defaulting on its debts; in return, Greece agrees to make 30bn euros of budget cuts over the next three years
• February 2011: EU and IMF experts tell Greece it must make further cuts to keep its recovery on track
• April 2011: EU figures reveal Greek deficit revised up to 10.5%, worse than previously thought
• May 2011: Greece begins privatisation programme but is warned the IMF may not release more funds because Athens cannot guarantee it will remain solvent for the next 12 months
• 29 June 2011: Deadline for Greece to agree new austerity package

Mr Papandreou faces the risk of a revolt in his own Pasok party over the plans.

One MP defected from the party on Tuesday, leaving it with only 155 of the chamber's 300 seats.
"You have to be as cruel as a tiger to vote for these measures. I am not," George Lianis, a former sports minister, said in a letter to parliament's speaker announcing his departure from the parliamentary group.
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At least one other Pasok MP has threatened to vote against the new programme of cuts and privatisation of state assets.
Another 14 MPs are wavering in their support for the austerity plan, our correspondent says.
Meanwhile, eurozone finance ministers have failed to agree on how to make private creditors contribute to a possible second Greek bail-out.
Ministers meeting in Brussels continued their discussions late into the night on Tuesday on ways of making private bondholders share the cost of a second rescue package without throwing financial markets into turmoil.
As a result of their failure to reach a deal, the cost of insuring Greek debt against default shot to an all-time high.
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The Greek government has appealed for consensus over its proposals, which would see 6.5bn euros (£5.7bn; $9.4bn) in tax rises and spending cuts this year.
"Every Greek, particularly the new generation, demands that we fight the battle with all our power, a battle to avoid a disastrous bankruptcy which will undermine the future of the country," government spokesman George Petalotis told reporters.
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"We are fighting the battle to serve the common good, in the most crucial moment in the country's modern democracy."
In a sign of possible contagion from the Greek crisis, credit rating agency Moody's said it might downgrade the three largest banks in France because of their exposure to Greek debt.
Share prices for BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale all fell as a result.
France appealed for calm, saying it opposed a Greek restructuring which could entail write-offs for private banks.
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"The French position is voluntary - no restructuring, no credit event and in line with the ECB," government spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters in Paris.
The EU and IMF are demanding the measures in return for the release of another 12bn euros in aid next month which Athens needs to pay off maturing debt.

The statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje ... ...[ 2314 ]

Caustic comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the statue of Alexander the Great in Skopje

Posted: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 21:34 by "agelioforos.gr"

 The name will  be .."Alexandrovski or Alexandrovits ???

"Under other circumstances, the decision of the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to spend almost 10 million euros to commemorate Alexander the Great, by placing a statue of the Greek army in the central square of Skopje, we will honor."

"The political  part of the action, apart from graphical, is the backbone of the effort ownership of Greek history to the growing nationalism and confrontation," said State Department spokesman Rep. Delavekouras answering Questions concerning the information to start assembling and placing a statue of Alexander the Great in the central square of Skopje, under the official name of the alleged "warrior on horseback."

He also notes that: "This policy violates the spirit of the Interim Agreement, it is provocative and reprehensible undermine bilateral relations and falling on the UN negotiations. It comes in stark contrast with the principles of good neighborly relations and will have inevitable consequences for Euro-Atlantic perspective of the country.

Moreover, this action contradicts the recent assertions of the political leadership of FYROM to the United Nations and the international community that they intend to work sincerely to resolve the name issue.

Greece will inform its partners and allies and international organizations for the provocative action, which we had been warned.

It is obvious that Mr. Gruevski feel the pressure to achieve a solution to grow, both domestically and internationally. Name with a geographical determination and use for all, this is the solution that will allow the building of good neighborly relations, will contribute to regional stability and will free up the European perspective of FYROM.

While Greece has pursued a consistent and constructive manner to reach a solution, Mr. Gruevski make challenges to escape reality, undermining the European future of his fellow citizens. We must urgently return to reality. It should work with sincerity and seriousness to achieve a solution. Otherwise, you will take responsibility for the setback of his country. "

NASA Image of the Day , Jun 14,,,[ 2313 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Through the Looking Glass

The NASA logo on Bldg. 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is reflected in the 2.5-meter primary mirror of the SOFIA observatory's telescope. SOFIA--the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy-- is an airborne observatory, built to complement the Hubble, Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes, as well as major Earth-based telescopes. SOFIA features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter far-infrared telescope weighing 20 tons mounted in the rear fuselage of a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. 

 

It is one of the premier space science programs of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. SOFIA is a joint program between NASA and the German Aerospace Center. 

 

Image Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida

Τρίτη, 14 Ιουνίου 2011 7:00:00 πμ

Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece...[ 2312 ]

Standard & Poor's  downgrades Greece, says default likely

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NEW YORK | Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:12pm EDT
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(Reuters) - Greece on Monday became the country with the lowest credit rating in the world after Standard & Poor's downgraded it by three notches, saying the agency would consider a likely debt restructuring as a default.

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A restructuring of Greece's debt -- either with a bond swap or by extending maturities on existing bonds -- looks increasingly likely to be imposed by European policymakers as a means of sharing the burden of Greece's crisis with the private sector, S&P said in a statement.

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"In our view, any such transactions would likely be on terms less favorable than the debt being refinanced, which we, in turn, would view as a de facto default according to Standard & Poor's published criteria," the agency said.

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In such a case, S&P added, Greece's credit rating would be lowered to "selective default," or SD, while the ratings on the country's debt instruments would be cut to D.

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S&P cut Greece's long-term sovereign credit ratings to CCC, just four steps away from default, from B. The short-term rating was affirmed at C and all the ratings were removed from credit watch.

The outlook on the long-term rating remains negative, however, in a sign that another downgrade is likely in the next 12 to 18 months.

--
(Reporting by Walter Brandimarte; Editing by Dan Grebler)

NASA Image of the Day, Jun 13, ...[ 2311 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day",  image.

Preparing for the Future

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NASA continued preparations for the future of space exploration with the installation of a 35,000-gallon liquid oxygen tank atop the A-3 Test Stand under construction at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. 

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The 300-foot tall stand is being built to test next-generation rocket engines capable of carrying humans beyond low-Earth orbit into deep space. 

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Construction of the stand began in 2007, with completion and activation scheduled for 2013. The A-3 stand is the first large test structure built at Stennis since a trio of stands were constructed in the 1960s to test the massive Saturn V rocket stages used to carry humans to the moon during the Apollo Program.

 

Image Credit: NASA

Δευτέρα, 13 Ιουνίου 2011 7:00:00 πμ