Italy isn't Europe's only problem
Italy's political crisis has everyone's attention, as well it should.
But there are other crises building in Europe that shouldn't be ignored, such as Italy's banking system.
The FTSE Italia All-Share Banks Index has fallen 21 percent since reaching this year’s high on April 24. Banco BPM SpA, Banca Generali SpA and Unione di Banche Italiane SpA are among lenders to have dropped more than 20 percent in the same period.
However, the real "other" European crisis is happening in Spain.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will face a vote of confidence in his leadership on Friday as corruption convictions handed down to dozens of people linked to his center-right People's Party (PP) threatened his six-year rule.
...Opposition parties are taking advantage of Rajoy's weakness after 29 people linked to the PP were convicted last Thursday of crimes including influence-peddling and falsifying accounts, in the culmination of a long-running corruption trial.
The fact that the opposition parties are hopelessly divided just make it unpredictable.
Almost completely forgotten is Greece, which is undergoing yet another general strike.
But the big problem in Greece is what is happening at the street level.
On Saturday, the anti-fascist group ORMA said that affiliates of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party attacked them in Perama, an impoverished suburb of Piraeus.The attack comes amid surging violence, including a brutal attack against the mayor of Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki.
"We were attacked by Golden Dawn members with crowbars outside of the offices of Saint Nicholas Union," ORMA wrote on Facebook, referring to a ship worker union linked to the far-right party.
The post added that the anti-fascists pushed back the attackers. When they went to a police station to file a complaint, ORMA members were arrested, the group said.
A full decade of brutal austerity and depression ha left Greek society on the edge of collapse.
Greek society in economic decline: Three out of four are long-time unemployed. 51% of the households depends on pensions. One in five households is afraid to lose its home. 70% of the young Greeks want to look for a work abroad. 16.3% say they cannot afford to cover an extraordinary expense of 500 euros.
Comments
There are a few more countries to keep an eye on.
You never know what might happen with regards to Ukraine, Hungary and Poland.
Greed is destroying the planet and everyone on it.
It is amazing how much destruction can be done by so few. In a previous essay there was a comment made about returning to sovereign nations as the best way to preserve democracy. I'm all for that.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
This is what happens
when American ideas are exported around the globe. Societies are destroyed. People die needlessly. All in the name of capitalist profits.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
If I remember history correctly
Capitalism a la Adam Smith was invented in England not the USA and the East India Company was the first too-big-to-fail crony capitalist corporation.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Enough of the 'crony' capitalist bullshit.
It's just capitalism. Late-stage to be precise. No matter what you do there's always gonna be cronies. They're a feature, not a bug, no matter what right-wing Repigs, Dims or Liberturds scream.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
I say this
as a person who only sees capitalism vs socialism in a general way, not as a person educated enough to know about the workings of either system or to write as knowledgeably as gjohnsit, but what I think The Aspie Corner means in saying,
is that our government has deregulated and encouraged absurdly high risk gambling with the assumption that the socialist taxpayer will reimburse the criminals, which is what we did. And they will keep doing this as long as we keep bailing them out. Because they can. I think this is what is meant by "American ideas," separate from capitalism or socialism.
Indeed! It's a sick, destructive concept
where the American dream of a free, egalitarian society held by the more progressive Founders was repackaged as a 'get rich quick and devil take the hindmost' psychopathic ideology forming an American nightmare. It's unsurvivable.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
The Founders were anything but egalitarian.
At the end of the day they were only looking out for themselves.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Weren't they kind of a mixed batch?
As far as I know, (which, granted, makes for rather a short run, lol,) the Bill of Rights was written and supported by a relative few who fought to have it included - while the rest seem to have been, indeed, anything but egalitarian.
Nonetheless, the ideals embodied in the more progressive bits were those which have been promoted in propaganda as being those of America overall so, as far as I (and, seemingly, many Americans and much of the rest of the world) feel that those ideals are what America really ought to be living up to.
The part about 'no standing Army' also needs to be revived in the interest of a more reasonable modification in the size, intrusiveness and expense of the worlds largest military, IMO...
The fact that criminals ignore public-protective laws/Constitutions doesn't magically actually make the public-protective laws/Constitutions invalid, it just means that they aren't being enforced due to corruption among those therefore breaking Oaths of Office swearing to uphold these, disqualifying themselves from said public office.
The criminals may frame it differently to change public perceptions, but they can't actually change reality, even if they repeatedly claim they can until some come to believe it.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Maybe, but the Bill of Rights was little more than crumbs.
And besides, the criminality you speak of was written right into the US constitution to begin with, especially in the Bill of Rights itself.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Well, you'd know better than I,
but I still feel that such ideals would be worth fighting for, in any and all democracy-labeled countries.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
EU will move aid money from E. Europe to South members
Looks like Poland and the Baltic countries will get less aid in next budget cycle. Wanna bet that suddenly press is told by deep state that Russia is ready to invade Estonia.
You have to admit
That somehow the cray cray keeps on going like that truck in mad max fury road. Swelt tricked out hellion Charlize mad dash out into the desert and then back again. No place like home, you will note two important things that Immortan controls. Oil and water.
But to my point ...I would have thought that all this PIIGS would have blown up long ago. But no... somehow it just keeps going. Look at Greece, shaved , bent over, branded and gelded...and what? Like the soft beauties in back of Fury's truck...swell to look at but essentially the embodiment of learned helplessness. All I see is they are pissed off at Turkey, and ancient grievance at that. It seems that our masters are smarter than we thought. Heh! And Italy...well they are Italians. Where's my ruby slippers.