Europe

Hospital doctors join thousands protesting Greece’s austerity layoffs

"Greek doctors on Tuesday joined the latest wave of strikes to hit the debt-stricken country, with thousands of public sector workers protesting against government plans for lay-offs and redeployments. In Brussels, however, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during a visit by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that the unpopular policy of austerity was showing results in Greece and must be pursued to the end. Teachers from schools and universities, civil servants and lawyers are also on strike, in protest at reforms that Samaras’ centre-left coalition government is undertaking in return for international bailout funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHospital doctors join thousands protesting Greece’s austerity layoffs

Greece axes vacation bonus for civil workers using computers

"Recession-wracked Greece plans to scrap a perk for its civil servants who enjoy an extra six days of holiday per year — if they use a computer at work. Greece’s civil service union, Adedy, said the perk stemmed from a decision in the 1990s to give employees 20 minutes off per day to protect them from eye damage from staring at a computer screen. This was then extended on an annual basis, resulting in six days off per year. Now in its sixth year of recession, Greece has been obliged to adopt austerity measures, including pay and pension cuts that have caused widespread resentment, in return for a massive EU-IMF bailout deal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece axes vacation bonus for civil workers using computers

Young Greeks Helping Each Other to Combat Crisis

"The political class may have set the rules, but almost everyone adhered to them. Now the game is over, and there is no money left for fakelaki and rousfeti, corruption and nepotism, two basic principles of Greek political life until now. Suddenly there is room for those who want to set up new rules, and who want change and more cooperation. Some 3,000 initiatives were established throughout Greece in the last three years. They all have the same goal: to do things better than before. There are food cooperatives, community gardens, social pharmacies and neighborhood assistance programs for the poor. In Crete alone, there are now five alternative currencies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYoung Greeks Helping Each Other to Combat Crisis

Pirate Party Crashes Spy Drone in Front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel

"As Merkel and members of her team stood on stage, a small object could be seen in the sky. After hovering around for a while onlookers could see that the UFO was in fact a small drone. It proceeded to swoop down just a few feet in front of Merkel, apparently taking photos and recording video of the event. Seconds later with its Pirate Party operator apparently having been approached by the police, the drone crash-landed into the stage and was taken away by an official. While Merkel seemed to be amused, Germany’s defense minister in the dark suit to her left looked rather less impressed. The party later confirmed that the stunt was a protest against the EU’s use of surveillance drones." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPirate Party Crashes Spy Drone in Front of German Chancellor Angela Merkel

French navy intercepts Syrian ship carrying 20 tons of marijuana

"The French navy said Thursday it had made a record cannabis seizure in the Mediterranean sea after intercepting a ship carrying 20 tonnes of cannabis worth up to 50 million euros. 'To the best of our knowledge it is the biggest seizure by the French state in the Mediterranean,' vice-admiral Yves Joly told a news conference in Toulon. The market value of the cannabis was 'between 40 and 50 million euros ($53 and 66 million),' said regional customs head Hugues-Lionel Galy. The eight-member crew, who claimed to be Syrians, set the cannabis on fire and a part of the clandestine cargo was destroyed. The men will be tried in France and could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench navy intercepts Syrian ship carrying 20 tons of marijuana

Nigel Farage offers Barroso some cooling news on euro and climate change

"The euro which you believed would give us monetary stability has done the very opposite, it was a misconstruction from the start, and it's pretty clear that youth unemployment, at nearly 50% across the Mediterranean, is probably nearly double what it would have been as a direct result of the misconstruction that is the euro. They're in the wrong currency, but I know that you'll never ever admit to that, and the euro I think will die a very slow and painful death. But it's the green agenda that I find really more interesting. You keep telling us that climate change is an absolute top priority, and you've been greeted with almost hysteria in this place over the last ten years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage offers Barroso some cooling news on euro and climate change

Czech communists to return in office for first time since 1989

"Many people associate the Communists to 41 years of repression. But by being out of power for so long, the party has escaped the taint of sleaze that has tarnished the governments that took over from it. Sobotka added that if his party formed a government, its economic policy would be more leftist than the previous centre-right coalition government, with plans to raise taxes for the biggest corporations and for high earners. Jiří Stránský, a dissident writer imprisoned under Communist rule, said he believed today's Communists were dangerous populists. 'I am saddened that after nearly 24 years the country has ended this way, when we started out so amazingly,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCzech communists to return in office for first time since 1989

Belgium’s finance minister has no objection to bitcoin

"Minister of finance Koen Geens responded to a parliamentary question about bitcoin, commenting that he wouldn’t see the Belgian National bank having any objection to bitcoin, and stating that for the moment its use is limited to a handful of traders. Geens reportedly added that although privacy and anonymity were a big part of bitcoin, there was no indication that the cryptocurrency is used on a large scale for money laundering. Any exchange of large amounts of bitcoin would be detected by the financial control systems, he argued. Germany made its own advances in this area last month, when its own finance ministry officially recognized bitcoin as private money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelgium’s finance minister has no objection to bitcoin

How Bitcoin Is Blossoming in Germany

"'In our neighborhood there are a few dozens of bitcoin-accepting businesses by now and a bitcoin-based economic cycle starts to develop,' says Joerg Platzer, owner of Room77 and principal of the Crypto Economics Consulting Group in Berlin. 'I do not have to change the bitcoins we take in back into euro. I can pay my beer supplier, my printer and other goods and services with it already. We call it our 'alternative local currency with global reach.'' In Switzerland, Matonis says Bitcoin is being considered for a three-digit ISO currency code (XBT)—a code that most online currency conversion tools already utilize." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Bitcoin Is Blossoming in Germany