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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Jun-2013
4-Jun-13 World View -- Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party popularity grows

Web Log - June, 2013

4-Jun-13 World View -- Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party popularity grows

Russia grabs Georgian territory for South Ossetia

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Greece's bailout under scrutiny again as neo-Nazi popularity grows
Rise of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party splits Greece's governing coalition
Russia grabs Georgian territory for South Ossetia

Greece's bailout under scrutiny again as neo-Nazi popularity grows

Last week's Golden Dawn rally in Athens, commemorating the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople in 1453

Last week's Golden Dawn rally in Athens, commemorating the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople in 1453

The next 3.3 billion euro installment in the bailout of Greece is due at the end of June if Greece is to avoid going bankrupt, and so representatives of the "troika" of organizations bailing out Greece -- the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- are returning to Greece to turn the screws and make sure that the government meets its previous promises and commitments. The big issue is that Greece has committed to sacking 15,000 civil servants by the end of 2014. They've already gotten the concession that only 4,000 need be sacked in 2013, postponing 11,000 to next year. However, as it turns out, only 99 civil servants have been fired since July of last year. Kathimerini

Rise of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party splits Greece's governing coalition

Greece has had six years of recession, and the pressure to sack 4,000 civil servants this year comes as Greece's far-right neo-Nazi Golden Dawn political party is gaining in popularity. (The phrase "far-right" has different meanings in Europe and America.) Violence against immigrants is increasing, and last week several thousand Golden Dawn supporters attended a rally in central Athens, holding Greek flags and fire torches, chanting "Foreigners out of Greece." Both the European Union and human rights groups are pressuring Greek officials to toughen xenophobia and racism, and these demands have split the governing coalition. The left wing coalition partners, the Socialist Pasok party and Democratic Left, favor strong measures such as criminalizing incitement to commit racial violence or denying Nazi crimes during WW II. However, conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his center-right New Democracy party refuse to endorse such laws, saying that new laws would have no effect. The new laws could cause other problems. If, for example, the denial of genocide is explicitly criminalized, then conservative deputies would probably want to tackle the issue of whether someone who denies Armenian genocide should face a prison sentence - a debate that is likely to create foreign policy tensions. Deutsche Welle and AP

Russia grabs Georgian territory for South Ossetia

Russia appears to be using the same kinds of tactics that China uses in India and the South China sea -- just use the military to grab territory and then argue that it was theirs all along. When Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, it took control of two Georgian provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and has discussed the possibility of either absorbing them into Russia or recognizing them as independent nations. Last week, Russian border guards in South Ossetia put up wire fences along the South Ossetia border, and in doing so moved the border 300 meters deep into the village of Ditsi in Georgia, cutting off arable lands and sources of water from Ditsi residents. It's thought that the reason that the Russians are showing contempt for the Georgian politicians is that they want to pressure Georgia into staying out of Nato. Georgia is anxious to join Nato, in order to gain leverage against Russia. Georgia is a significant contributor to Euro-Atlantic security, and is a large troop contributor to the war in Afghanistan. The new incident in Ditsi is raising the Georgian population's sense of insecurity, and is raising concerns in Nato. Jamestown and Azer News (Baku)

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 4-Jun-13 World View -- Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party popularity grows thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (4-Jun-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Jun-2013 4-Jun-13 World View -- Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party popularity grows

Greece's bailout under scrutiny again as neo-Nazi popularity grows

Rise of neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party splits Greece's governing coalition

Russia grabs Georgian territory for South Ossetia

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 4-Jun-2013
4-Jun-13 World View -- Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party popularity grows