Don’t Cry for Greece—Argentina Sets the Example for Surviving After Default

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Jul 1, 2015 In Argentina, there's a name for what Germany and other troika members who've attempted to profit from Greece's austerity-induced suffering have become: "buitres," the Spanish word for vultures. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Greek Banks Close Indefinitely After Weekend That Shook the Euro

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jun 29, 2015 Greeks found their savings blocked and banks closed Monday morning after a standoff between the country and its bailout creditors that cast doubt on the future of Europe’s single-currency zone. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Greek Finance Minister Says Austerity Is Bad Medicine

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Apr 22, 2015 Greece's new left-wing, anti-austerity Syriza Party raises concerns over international creditors’ demands to restructure the country's labor market and curtail its pension system in exchange for a new package of bailout funds scheduled for release Friday. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis speaks with “Democracy Now!” Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

German TV Sensationalized Greek Minister’s Flipped Bird, Says Cameraman

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Mar 18, 2015 German media pounced this week on footage of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis raising a middle finger for foreign debt managers during a presentation on his country’s debt crisis. The man who filmed the talk says the clip was taken out of context to divert public attention from the substance of the crisis. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Greece Can’t Do It Alone: Austerity Victims of the World, Unite!

By Ismael Hossein-zadeh, Counterpunch Mar 6, 2015 For the anti-austerity struggle in Greece and elsewhere to become effective and sustainable, it must be raised from the national level to the international level. Dig deeper ( 11 Min. Read )

Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis Wants Austerity … for the Rich

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 25, 2015 “The finance ministers of Europe are not all in favor of balancing the budget if it has to be balanced by taxing the rich,” says economist Michael Hudson (not pictured) of the ongoing confrontation over the Greek debt crisis. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Scourge of the Greeks: German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble

BLANK Feb 22, 2015 After the financial troika triumphed over the Greek government in debt negotiations last week, Germany's veteran minister “indulged himself with some patronizing comments,” observed economics correspondent Phillip Inman at The Guardian. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Is Syriza in Retreat?

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 20, 2015 Greece's anti-austerity party has declared itself willing to sign the leaked “Moscovici document," which a central committee member says defangs the Greek government in its struggle against its creditors. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Greece’s Economy Looks Like Germany’s After World War I

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 16, 2015 “Austerity”—the redirection of funds away from government and public services and toward a country’s creditors—“has devastated Greece just about as much as defeat in total war devastated imperial Germany,” economist Paul Krugman writes in The New York Times. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Why Ireland’s Political Elite Are Terrified of Syriza

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Feb 2, 2015 Irish leaders -- eager to maintain that compliance with the demands of international creditors after the 2008 crisis was the best choice for Ireland -- are concerned that the defiant tactics of Greece's newly elected Syriza party may expose their program as flawed if Syriza wins concessions from the troika of lenders. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

EU Showdown: Greece Takes on the Vampire Squid

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jan 10, 2015 The Greeks have been threatened by the European financial troika with a “Cyprus-Style prolonged bank holiday” if they “vote wrong” in an upcoming presidential election that looks likely to favor the EU-skeptic, anti-austerity, leftist Syriza party. But they have been bullied for too long and are saying “no more.” Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Ignoring the Social Costs of Austerity Is Dangerous for Greek Leaders

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 17, 2013 The financial governing authorities classed as the "troika" are obsessed with budget targets rather than human needs, and needs are what protests underway in Greece on Tuesday are all about, writes Helena Smith, Greek correspondent for The Guardian. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )