Police clash with protesters as Greeks fight cuts

Reuters/YahooNews ^ | 3/11/10 | Renee Maltezou and Ingrid Melander

[Kartographer]

Police clashed with stone-throwing youths in Athens on Thursday as tens of thousands protested draconian cutbacks aimed at pulling Greece out of a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.

About 50 black-hooded youths hurled sticks and pieces of marble broken from the steps of the Bank of Greece at police, who responded with several rounds of tear gas.

The youths threw petrol bombs, smashed shop windows and set garbage containers on fire, but the level of violence was much lower than during 2008 riots that paralyzed the city for weeks after the police killing of a teenager.

[Kartographer]

Maybe 'Zero' can have them over for some uzo and talk it out. (sarc0

[pnh102]

The youths threw petrol bombs, smashed shop windows and set garbage containers on fire ...

And the cops are responding with tear gas? Try using live ammunition instead.

[mlocher]

It is quite possible that the only building left standing in a few weeks after the rioting stops will be those on the Acropolis.

[hal ogen]

It sounds like as great time to be a tourist in Greece. NOT!

[rahbert]

I thought at first it said “Greeks fight cats”.

[Psycho_Bunny]

We’re going to be seeing this in the US in the not too distant future. It’s inevitable.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

Don't mess with anyone's ‘free stuff’...

[MrB]

As soon as the first person gets denied his/her AFDC check at the welfare office,

riots will ensue,

and they’ll first burn down their own neighborhoods,
causing HUNDREDS of dollars in damages.

[Kartographer]

“and they’ll first burn down their own neighborhoods,
causing HUNDREDS of dollars in damages.”

Just consider it ‘Urban Renewal’!

[Nosterrex]

This is what withdrawal looks like when the government runs out of money. These students are addicted to government programs and entitlements. I expect the same thing to happen in America when the government can no longer support people's addiction to government entitlements. People really do need to become self-reliant for their own welfare. Survival is the name of the game.

[unkus]

We’re going to be seeing this in the US in the not too distant future. It’s inevitable.

---

Yes, we will.

[Stat-boy]

“We’re going to be seeing this in the US in the not too distant future. It’s inevitable.”

I agree. Look at the factors:

1. US current Federal deficit (admitted) is currently approx = to US GDP; Greece deficit is slightly more than Greece GDP

2. Actually, when we start adding the costs of SS and Medicare in a few years, US Federal deficit will be WAY more than US GDP

3. Greece has a large population accustomed to Gov handouts; US has a large population accustomed to Gov handouts

4. Many Greek politicians are socialists/communists; same with US

5. Greece had to cut back Gov benefits because they are broke; US will probably be in the same situation in a few (say, about 10) years

[Kartographer]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2448876/posts

[longtermmemmory]

the usual suspects just causing problems.

same old anachists, see a few years ago when they were lighting forest fires.

[verity]

and they’ll first burn down their own neighborhoods...

I believe that is referred to as the Watts syndrome. ;-)

[RC2]

We’ve already seen a small portion of this with our college kids. Has anyone asked these kids the question “We are out of money, where do you suggest we get more?”

[Buckeye McFrog]

“and they’ll first burn down their own neighborhoods,
causing HUNDREDS of dollars in damages.”

Just consider it ‘Urban Renewal’!

A professor in college once told me with a perfectly
straight face that this was a legitimate tactic and
was the only way to bring about “change” (there’s
that word again)

[ETL]

Here's something I put together last year on the riots there...

From Marxist.com, January 12, 2009:
Revolutionary ferment in Greece – a taste of what is to come for the whole of Europe:
http://www.marxist.com/revolutionary-ferment-greece-taste-for-europe.htm

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

From Wikipedia with references at site...

Anarcho-syndicalism

A common Anarcho-Syndicalist flag.

In the early 20th century, anarcho-syndicalism arose as a distinct school of thought within anarchism.[78] With greater focus on the labour movement than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism posits radical trade unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society, democratically self-managed by the workers.

Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions. Important principles include workers' solidarity, direct action (such as general strikes and workplace recuperations), and workers' self-management. This is compatible with other branches of anarchism, and anarcho-syndicalists often subscribe to anarchist communist or collectivist anarchist economic systems.[79] Its advocates propose labour organization as a means to create the foundations of a non-hierarchical anarchist society within the current system and bring about social revolution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

__________________________________________________________

In this photo from a December 11, 2008 Marxist.com article, the protesters can be seen giving the communist fist salute.

Marxist.com is obviously a pro-communist website.

And here they are with large red (communist) flags...

"After four days of struggle we can now start to draw some first clear conclusions. Without any doubt this movement deserves the title of 'teenager uprising'. We have here a new generation of tens of thousands of school students erupting in a huge explosion, the biggest for 20 years, if not even more, in Greece. We have clear symptoms of an instinctive revolutionary spirit, and a clear tendency to target not only the present bourgeois government but also the bourgeois state and the capitalist system as a whole."

http://www.marxist.com/greece-teenager-uprising-big-general-strike.htm
___________________________________________________________

Greece: massive school student attack against police stations all over the country!
By Editorial Board of "Marxistiki Foni" December 10, 2008
http://www.marxist.com/greece-school-student-attack-police-stations.htm
___________________________________________________________

The “masked ones”, as they are known, hold informal assemblies each day, where everyone has a chance to discuss where this “revolution” is headed. They even debate whether it is a revolution. “It is a social riot,” said another gate guard, “and it’s still going on. We don’t know yet where it will lead.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5333758.ece

[ETL]

We’re going to be seeing this in the US in the not too distant future. It’s inevitable.

It's all part of the international revolutionary communist movement. The new SDS (Students for a Democratic Society, of which the Weather Underground emerged) is leading the protests/riots here in the US.

[antiRepublicrat]

Funny thing, how much do these protesters think they’re costing their government by their antics?

The government is going to have to fix damage to public infrastructure, hire police, pay for these people to be in jail, etc., all at a time when they’re broke.