G.G. Bain Three-ton electric sign blown into Broadway, New York. 1912 The troika of Greek creditors has gone into full-frontal morals-be-damned attack mode, handpicking arms from a weapons arsenal we haven’t seen used before, and that we never should have seen in an environment that insists – and prides – on presenting itself as a union, both in name and in spirit. Now that they are being used, there no longer is such a union other than in name, in
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Wynand Stanley Cadillac touring car at Yosemite in snow 1919 • Greece Is Solvent But Illiquid. What Should The ECB Do? (Paul De Grauwe) • Greek Central Bank Is Playing With Political Fire (AEP) • Tsipras Says ‘Blind Insistence’ On Pension Cuts Would Worsen Crisis (Reuters)
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Jack Delano Street scene on a rainy day in Norwich, Connecticut 1940 For a while now, I’ve had a German saying floating around my files, that I didn’t really know what to do with. I know now. The saying is: In der Not ist der Mittelweg der Tod. Which loosely translates as: In emergencies, the middle ground is lethal. It seems like the Greek parliament thinks along just those lines. A preliminary report issued today declares all debt illegal. You
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Theodor Horydczak Sheaffer fountain pen factory, Fort Madison, Iowa 1935 • The Euro: Portrait Of A Devastating Failure (MarketWatch) • IMF “Defense” Of Its Actions vs Greeks Is An Unintended Confession (Bill Black) • Sovereign Debt Restructuring Needs International Supervision (Joseph Stiglitz) • Many Low-Income Americans Can’t Even Afford To Rent (MarketWatch) • What Is the Real US Unemployment Rate? (CH Smith) • US 2040 Deficit To Nearly Double As Percent Of Economy-CBO (Reuters) • Greek PM Tears Into Lenders
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Jack Delano Conductor picks up message from operator on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 1943 While I’m on the Greece topic again today, I can’t help but pointing out some of the changes in tone I’ve noticed in the press recently, shifting towards outright oftentimes vicious if not ridiculous antagonism vs Greece. Remember, there is an agenda, there are pre-cooked narratives galore, and these people are not your friends. I won’t be able to cover all the things I
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Dmitri Kessel Protest against Britain’s murders of partisans, Athens 1944 Next week, on June 25, I will come to Athens (I wish Nicole could join me, but she moved to New Zealand and will be there for now). There is no large fixed agenda set, but through contacts with readers of the Automatic Earth -they’re absolutely everywhere- it’s already clear that there will be a lot to do. Obviously, I will continue to publish everyday on the Automatic Earth site
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Dorothea Lange Crossroads grocery store and filling station, Yakima, Washington, Sumac Park 1939 • Greece Accuses Europe Of Plotting Regime Change (AEP)
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DPC City Hall and Market Street and west from 11th, Philadelphia 1912 • Tsipras Hardens Greek Stance After Collapse of Talks (Bloomberg) • Greece Has Nothing To Lose By Saying No To Creditors (Münchau) • Varoufakis: Debt Restructuring Is The Only Way Forward (Reuters) • Syriza Left Demands ‘Icelandic’ Default As Greek Defiance Stiffens (AEP) • IMF ‘Blocked EU Compromise Proposal’ To Let Greece Cut Military Spending (AFP) • Doctors At Greek State-Run Hospitals At Risk Of Burnout (Kathimerini) •
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Milton Greene “Actress Marilyn Monroe in bed” 1955 Through the last decades, as we have been getting ever more occupied trying to be what society tells us is defined as successful, we all missed out on a lot of changes in our world. Or perhaps we should be gentle to ourselves and say we’re simply slow to catch up. Which is somewhat curious since we’ve also been getting bombarded with fast increasing amounts of what we’re told is information, so
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Harris&Ewing Newsie, Washington DC 1920 • The IMF Knew In 2010 That The Greek Memorandum Would Increase Debt (SYRIZA) • Why Greece Should Reject the Latest Offer From Its Creditors (Philippe Legrain) • The Saga Of The Greek Review That Never Ended (Kathimerini) • Endgame Looms For Greek Crisis As Both Sides Take Talks To The Brink (Guardian) • Greece’s Last-Ditch Talks Aim at Agreement Before Monday (Bloomberg) • Germany Is Bluffing On Greece (Weisbrot) • Spain Swears In Leftist Mayors
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