to move up and down
‘Now we’re thousands and it’s only the beginning’: Nazi-styled Golden Dawn is no longer marginal in Greece
Arm raised in a Nazi-style salute, the leader of Greece’s fastest-rising political party surveyed hundreds of young men in black T-shirts as they exploded into cheers. Their battle cry reverberated through the night: Blood! Honour! Golden Dawn!
“We may sometimes raise our hand this way, but these hands are clean, not dirty. They haven’t stolen,” shouted Nikolaos Mihaloliakos as he stood, floodlit, in front of about 2,000 diehard party followers filling an open-air amphitheatre at Goudi park, a former military camp near Athens.
“We were dozens, then a few hundred. Now we’re thousands and it’s only the beginning,” cried the leader of Golden Dawn, a far-right party that is seeing its support soar amid Greece’s economic collapse. Last month’s rally revealed the party, which describes itself as nationalist and pledges to expel all illegal foreigners, has a new-found sense of triumph, even a swagger, that some find menacing. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)
Greek protesters hurl gasoline bombs, rocks at riot police ahead of austerity vote
An anti-austerity demonstration by more than 80,000 people in Athens degenerated into violence on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote on new spending cuts.
The vote is the toughest test yet for the country’s fragile four month-old coalition government, which must pass the $17 billion package of measures to ensure Greece continues receiving vital bailout funds from its international creditors to avoid bankruptcy. (Dimitri Messinis/AP)
Clashes erupt at Greek anti-austerity protests amid general strike
ATHENS — Greek police clashed with anti-austerity protesters hurling stones and petrol bombs on the day of a general strike that brought much of the near-bankrupt country to a standstill.
In the second major walkout in three weeks on Thursday, almost 40,000 protesters marched in Athens in a bid to show EU leaders meeting in Brussels that new wage and pension cuts will only worsen their plight after five years of recession.
Tensions mounted when a small group of protesters began throwing pieces of marble, bottles and petrol bombs at police barricading part of the square in front of parliament, prompting riot police to fire several rounds of teargas to disperse them.
A cash-strapped Greek soccer team found a new way to pay the bills: Their practice jerseys feature the logos of the Villa Erotica and Soula’s House of History. You guessed it — they are sponsored by brothels.
League organizers have banned the jerseys during games, saying the deal violates “the sporting ideal” and is inappropriate for underage supporters.
Soula Alevridou, the brothel owner and the team’s new benefactor, has already paid more than $1,284 for players to wear her jerseys.
“Here is where it all begins, with amateur sport. It’s where the talent is bred,” Alevridou noted. “I am a Greek woman, and I love my country.”
She watched quietly, holding a cigarette and wearing a straw fedora with a leopard print band, as her team struggled.
“The team will get better,” she said. “I’m certain of it.”
Nazi flags, furious protests greet Angela Merkel as German leader arrives in Greece
ATHENS — Greek riot police fired stun grenades, pepper spray and tear gas to push back protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs during rallies this morning against visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel arrived in Greece on her first visit since Europe’s debt crisis erupted here three years ago, braving protests to deliver a message of support — but no new money — to a nation hammered by recession and fighting to stay in the euro.
Thousands of Greeks defied a ban on protests, gathering in Syntagma square in central Athens as Merkel’s plane touched down. Two protesters dressed in German military uniforms waved a red-black-and-white swastika flag and held out their arms in the Nazi salute. Merkel was meeting Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras only a few hundred metre away from the clashes, where austerity-weary Greeks are taking to the streets in one of the biggest protests in months. (Photos: REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis)
Tens of thousands of Greeks take to the streets in largest anti-austerity protest in a year
Greek police clashed with hooded rioters hurling petrol bombs as tens of thousands took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday in Greece’s biggest anti-austerity protest in more than a year.
Violence erupted after nearly 70,000 people marched to parliament chanting “We won’t submit to the troika (of lenders)” and “EU, IMF Out!” on the day of a general strike against a new round of cuts demanded by foreign lenders. (Photos: AP Photo; AFP/GettyImages)
The Quantified Month
From Rock of Ages to Euro 2012, Sarah Lazarovic has a look at the cultural highs and lows of the month that was.
Gary Clement ’s week in review for June 17–23, 2012
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Fans are pictured under a German flag during the Euro 2012 football championships quarter-final match Germany vs Greece.
Graphic: Greece and Germany – Europe’s economic extremes
As the Greek Prime Minister warned of potential dire consequences ahead of the country’s election, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described her country as Europe’s “stabilizing anchor and growth engine.” So how does Greece — an economic basketcase — compare to Germany — an economic powerhouse?
The new Paul the Octopus: Paul the amazing clairvoyant octopus may be dead but now he has a worthy heir, a Polish-based Indian elephant named Citta.
Weymouth-born but German-based Paul went down a storm during the last European Championships and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with his remarkable ability to predict the winners of various matches, mostly involving Germany.
According to zookeeper Jerzy Pirog, Citta correctly predicted the outcome of the Champions League final last month and has now been put to the test to predict the results of Poland’s group matches. The co-hosts open their Group A campaign against Greece on Friday and according to Citta, they can expect to win.
Photo: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Gary Clement ’s week in review
Ok, this is a little late this week, but still funny.
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Greek election set for June 17, as public withdraws millions from banks
Greece put a senior judge in charge of an emergency government on Wednesday to lead it to new elections on June 17 and bankers sought to calm public fears after the president said political chaos risked causing panic and a run on deposits.
Greeks have been withdrawing hundreds of millions of dollars from banks in recent days as the prospect of the country being forced out of the European Union’s common currency zone seems ever more real – although there has so far been no sign of a run on bank branches in Athens.
