An excellent story by Reuters just went up today describing why it is a people known to be as siege-prone, strike-happy, and demonstration-loving as the French have not followed Greek, Spanish, American, British, Indian, and other protestors staging relatively successful Occupy movements these days. The piece notes how that docility …
Greece
Greek Referendum Threatens EU Debt Accord Ahead Of Crucial G20 Summit
As predicted, the relief and relative calm produced by the Oct. 27 agreement between European Union leaders battling the tightening euro zone debt crisis didn’t last long. Markets just aren’t ready to do with the fruits of optimism when there’s still so much to be made from low-hanging pessimism. Less expected, however, were …
Greece’s Turmoil: A Brief History of the General Strike
As Greece withstands the second day of a 48-hour general strike shutting down much of the country, it’s worth considering the history of this radical, dramatic tactic. The pervasive feeling in the debt-ridden Mediterranean country seems to be a sense that something has altogether broken in their society. One middle-aged Greek told TIME …
Can French Bank Deal On Greek Debt Save The Euro?
Could the end of the Greek debt crisis be in view—and with it the pressure that has put the very future of the euro in jeopardy? That’s the hope behind a draft deal French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed Monday, under which France’s private banks holding some $21 billion in Greek sovereign debt would roll nearly 70% of that …
Couch Potato Briefing: Rambo’s Afghan Warning, Women-Sex-and-Cars, and More
Global Spin’s weekly selection of five rental movies to bring you up to speed on world events, presented by Tony Karon and Ishaan Tharoor
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Rambo III
Anyone wanting to understand why the U.S. continues to struggle in its efforts to subdue Afghanistan a decade …
Since 2008, Greek Protesters Have Had a Canine Companion
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Loukanikos hates Greece’s austerity measures, corrupt politicians, and the plight of the Greek everyman. And, as a dedicated protestor, he is willing to brave riot police and tear gas for his beliefs.
Either that, or Athens’s most famous stray dog just likes the food …
Why Greek Tumult Signals the Coming of Europe’s Own ‘Arab Spring’
Are the youth-led protests rocking Greece and other European countries a sign Arab Spring uprisings have jumped the Mediterranean? Kinda-sorta, say experts watching these movements. They warn that even if democratic systems in Europe can’t be compared with the brutally authoritarian regimes under fire in the Arab world, the angry …
The Political Machinations Underlying Greece’s Debt Crisis
Joanna Kakissis examines for TIME the anti-austerity protests in Greece this week. After a year of austerity economics, even some formerly complacent Greeks have taken to the streets of Athens to protest Premier George Papandreou and his PASOK political party and their plan to institute an IMF-mandated second round of budget counts that …