Little John wrote:You have no more idea than anyone else of what Tsipras thinks other than what he has stated he thinks.
I think that is a pretty good start, however.
Really it is best to go at face value.
Really John Hemming? You want people to judge politicians on face value. That is to say, on the basis of the general impression they give of themselves?
F--k me man. Are you so incapable of grasping the enormous irony of the above?
Little John wrote:You want people to judge politicians on face value. That is to say, on the basis of the general impression they give of themselves?
**** me man. Are you so incapable of grasping the enormous irony of the above?
lol
The old joke - how can you tell when a politician is lying?
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
Little John wrote: He [Tsipras] has more or less stated in terms that what he and his government is being forced to do in the name of the Troika to his country is an unmitigated and disastrous act of barbarism. But, that he had little choice given the act of economic terrorism wreaked on his country.
His only mistake was to assume that the European Union was precisely that. a Union, instead of a Fourth Reich in the making
Agreed. They have been kicked in the bollocks by a Euro Group who wanted revenge (on his audacity to call a referendum) and to show them who was boss. Absolutely Pathetic.
I have lost all desire to remain part of this heinous group - I suspect there are millions more with similar feelings. People may well look back at this time and conclude this was the turning point for the destruction of the European Union. I hope they come to realise their guilty actions.
It's the unelected (the Commission, the ECB, the IMF etc and their corporate backers) who are the problem. We're not part of that group.
There's only one sensible option for Greece - leave the euro and tell the so-called 'creditors' to stick their 'debts' up their gold-plated backsides.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
Here's an interesting document (a pdf) from, of all institutions, the IMF.
Specifically, if the income share of the top 20 percent (the rich) increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term, suggesting that the benefits do not trickle down.
In contrast, an increase in the income share of the bottom 20 percent (the poor) is associated with higher GDP growth. The poor and the middle class matter the most for growth via a number of interrelated economic, social, and political channels.
More succinctly:
we find an inverse relationship between the income share accruing to the rich (top 20 percent) and economic growth
Who'da thunk it?
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
The Euzozone that drove the negotiations is a group of elected finance ministers. The idea that there is a form of corporate underpinning to all of this is nonsense.
Probably higher in Greece, but the rest of the countries are unenthusiastic about paying the Greeks. Hence if you had a referendum in the other countries you would get a different outcome.