Yanis Varoufakis

“Are You Totally Stupid”: Varoufakis Reveals Outburst Against Tsipras

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– “Are You Totally Stupid”: Varoufakis Reveals Outburst Against Tsipras :

Remember the Summer of 2015 Greek tragicomedy, when Athens bluffed, then double bluffed it was going to exit the Eurozone only to realize all its deposits are held hostage by the ECB, resulting in “pro-austerity” PM Alexis Tsipras becoming a vassal of Brussels, and firing his firebrand finance minister Yanis Varoufakis who demanded Greece hold until the bitter end?

Well, it now appears that the bad blood between the two is still there because as The Greek Reporter writes this morning, Yanis Varoufakis revealed he accused Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of being “totally stupid” in accepting a demand by Greece’s creditors for big primary surpluses.

During an interview with Greece’s Parapolitika radio, Varoufakis said when he learned that Tsipras in 2015 accepted, without consulting him, a primary surplus target of 3.5% he confronted the premier:

“I told him: ‘Are you totally stupid? What have they given you in return?’ And he replied: ‘Oh, maybe I was stupid. I will retract from the promise’.” Amusingly, Varoufakis actually said he used a stronger word than “stupid”.

Read more“Are You Totally Stupid”: Varoufakis Reveals Outburst Against Tsipras

Yanis Varoufakis Issues a Major Warning to the Greek People

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Greece-IMF

– Yanis Varoufakis Issues a Major Warning to the Greek People:

Varoufakis said that Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister and the architect of the deals Greece signed in 2010 and 2012, was “consistent throughout”. “His view was ‘I’m not discussing the program – this was accepted by the previous [Greek] government and we can’t possibly allow an election to change anything.

 “So at that point I said ‘Well perhaps we should simply not hold elections anymore for indebted countries’, and there was no answer. The only interpretation I can give [of their view] is, ‘Yes, that would be a good idea, but it would be difficult. So you either sign on the dotted line or you are out.’”

– From last year’s post:  Everything You Need to Know About the Greek Crisis and ECB Fascism in Two Paragraphs

By now, most of you have heard about Wikileaks’ release of internal deliberations between the top two IMF officials in charge of managing the Greek debt crisis – Poul Thomsen, the head of the IMF’s European Department, and Delia Velkouleskou, the IMF Mission Chief for Greece.

Read moreYanis Varoufakis Issues a Major Warning to the Greek People

Former Finance Minister Compares Current Financial Crisis to Great Depression

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Former elite puppet finance minister …

And as I’ve said many, many times: This is the Greatest Depression.

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– Former Finance Minister Compares Current Financial Crisis to Great Depression:

Greece’s financial crisis, unprecedented in scope, reached a pivotal moment last summer when the Greek people voted overwhelmingly against further austerity programs — ostensibly imposed to help the country pay back enormous debt. Overseeing the matter was Syriza Party Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis — a staunch opponent of the crippling austerity measures that had effected a stranglehold on the country’s economy.

Greece’s debt to the so-called Troika — the International Monetary Fund, European Commission, and European Central Bank — turned out not to be the true reason for the proposed austerity. As Varoufakis discovered, the Troika actually, if somewhat covertly, intended to decimate Greek organized labor and the country’s modest social safety net. After the Greek populace stunned the world with its ‘no’ vote, Varoufakis sensed the coming accession by Syriza to implement the plans — and he hastily and quietly resigned his post.

Read moreFormer Finance Minister Compares Current Financial Crisis to Great Depression

Varoufakis Tells All: Tsipras Was “Dispirited” With “No” Vote, Referendum Was Meant As “Exit Strategy”

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Most notably, Varoufakis says Tsipras was “dispirited” by the “no” vote and that many in the Greek government were indeed depending on a “yes” vote to give them a way out of what seemed like an intractable situation.

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– Varoufakis Tells All: Tsipras Was “Dispirited” With “No” Vote, Referendum Was Meant As “Exit Strategy” (ZeroHedge, Aug 5, 2015):

In the wake of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’ seemingly inexplicable decision to disregard a referendum outcome he had aggressively campaigned for on the way to accepting a deal with Athens’ creditors that looked far worse than the proposal that 62% of Greek voters indicated was unacceptable just a week prior, some began to question whether Tsipras intended to win the referendum at all. 

Read moreVaroufakis Tells All: Tsipras Was “Dispirited” With “No” Vote, Referendum Was Meant As “Exit Strategy”

Concerned About “Treason” Charges, Varoufakis Issues Public Statement On “Cloak And Dagger” Drachma “Plan B”

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– Concerned About “Treason” Charges, Varoufakis Issues Public Statement On “Cloak And Dagger” Drachma “Plan B” (ZeroHedge, July 27, 2015):

Over the weekend, the media world was abuzz with the leaked recording made during a July 16 “Greek Day” meeting by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) which included a group of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and life insurers  in which it was reveaked that Yanis Varoufakis had been in the process of preparing Greece for a cloak and dagger “Plan B” which included as its highlight a process for returning to the Drachma.

Previously we presentted both the Kathimerini framing of this leak, as well as the recording itself (which was hardly supposed to be made public).

Overnight, the Telegraph’s Ambrose-Pritchard reported that “Mr Varoufakis told the Telegraph that the quotes were accurate but some reports in the Greek press had been twisted, making it look as if he had been plotting a return to the drachma from the start.   

“The context of all this is that they want to present me as a rogue finance minister, and have me indicted for treason. It is all part of an attempt to annul the first five months of this government and put it in the dustbin of history,” he said.

“It totally distorts my purpose for wanting parallel liquidity. I have always been completely against dismantling the euro because we never know what dark forces that might unleash in Europe,” he said.

Read moreConcerned About “Treason” Charges, Varoufakis Issues Public Statement On “Cloak And Dagger” Drachma “Plan B”

Goodbye Troika: Germany Rides Into Its Greek Colony On The “Quadriga”

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Quadriga

– Goodbye Troika: Germany Rides Into Its Greek Colony On The “Quadriga” (ZeroHedge, July 27, 2015):

With creditors’ motorcades having officially returned to the streets of Athens in the wake of Greek lawmakers’ approval of the second set of bailout prior actions last Wednesday, tensions are understandably high.

After all, these are the same “institutions” which Yanis Varoufakis famously booted from Greece after Syriza swept to power in January, and they’ve come to represent the oppression of the Greek people and are now a symbol of the country’s debt servitude.

Although an absurd attempt was made to rebrand the dreaded “troika” earlier this year, the new and rather amorphous moniker – “the institutions” – never really stuck and perhaps because everyone involved felt the need to put a new name to the group that Greeks regard as the scourge of the Aegean in order to make negotiators feel safer on their trips to Athens, creditors have now added the ESM to their collective and rebranded themselves “The Quadriga.” 

Apparently (and unfortunately), this is not a joke. Here’s MNI:

Read moreGoodbye Troika: Germany Rides Into Its Greek Colony On The “Quadriga”

The Full Audio Recording Of Varoufakis’ Drachma Plan B

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– The Full Audio Recording Of Varoufakis’ Drachma Plan B (ZeroHedge, July 27, 2015):

On Sunday, in “Reports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis“, we outlined an alleged “cloak and dagger” (to use Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s words) plot spearheaded by Yanis Varoufakis, to set up a parallel banking system for Greece that could be activated in the event pressure from Brussels and the ECB crippled the country’s ability to transact in euros.

According to a recorded teleconference between the former FinMin and “international hedge funds” heard by Kathimerini, Varoufakis planned to create secret accounts using tax filer numbers for individuals and corporations which he would obtain by hacking into the troika-controlled General Secretary of Public Revenues. Greeks would be made aware of the accounts’ existence in the event the banking system ceased to function altogether, and Athens would effectively facilitate payments through the new system in defiance of the EMU. Clearly, this would not have been well received by Brussels – especially the bit about hacking their software – but ultimately, because the new system would be entirely controlled by Varoufakis’ finance ministry, it could be converted to the drachma immediately.

Read moreThe Full Audio Recording Of Varoufakis’ Drachma Plan B

Reports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis

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Tsipras-hand-sign

– Reports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis (ZeroHedge, July 26, 2015):

On Friday, we brought you the shocking story of the rebellion that never was in Greece.

According to FT, Former Greek Energy Minister and maverick among mavericks Panayotis Lafazanis convened a “secret” meeting at the Oscar Hotel in Athens on July 14 at which he attempted to convince Syriza hardliners (including, in FT’s words, “supporters of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez [and some] old-fashioned communists”) to storm the Greek mint, seize the country’s currency reserves, and, if necessary, arrest central bank governor Yannis Stournaras.

Lafazanis

(Lafazanis)

Obviously, the plan was never implemented, but if the story is even partly true it betrays the degree to which Greece teetered on the edge of social upheaval and even civil war in the days that followed PM Alexis Tsipras’ decision to concede to creditors’ demands and abandon not only Syriza’s election mandate but the very referendum outcome he had himself campaigned for just days prior. 

Read moreReports Of Secret Drachma Plots Leave Tsipras Facing Fresh Crisis

Varoufakis Slams Bailout #3 As “Greatest Macroeconomic Disaster In History” While Tsipras “Doesn’t Eat Or Sleep”

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Varoufakis-oligarchy

Let’s take a look where his wife, Danae Stratou, is coming from:

– GreekReporter:

“Stratou was born to an elite family in Athens, Greece, in 1964. She graduated from London’s St. Martins College of Art and Design and evolved into a remarkable artist. However, even if she is the girl that wanted to live like common people and did so, Greece’s society would not allow her to be seen as a commoner because of her family name. This is why she probably left the country at an early stage of her life.

The artist is related — on her father’s side– to the Stratos family, who founded the Piraiki Patraiki textile industry in the Peloponnese, the largest textile company in Greek history.

Her mother is Eleni Potaga-Stratou, a legend in modern Greek art, whose projects are hosted in galleries and venues in Greece and abroad.”

* * *

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– Varoufakis Slams Bailout #3 As “Greatest Macroeconomic Disaster In History” While Tsipras “Doesn’t Eat Or Sleep” (ZeroHedge, July 18, 2015):

n an rare convergence of Greek and German viewpoints, overnight former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told the BBC that “economic reforms imposed on his country by creditors are “going to fail”, ahead of talks on a huge bailout. At the same time, Germany’s most noted Eurosceptic, Hans-Werner Sinn, in an interview with the newspaper “Passauer Neue Presse” also earlier today warned that any new aid would be “totally worthless” and “would never come back.”

In what was practically a race who can find harsher terms to describe the Greek bailout, Varoufakis said that Greece was subject to a programme that will “go down in history as the greatest disaster of macroeconomic management ever”.

Read moreVaroufakis Slams Bailout #3 As “Greatest Macroeconomic Disaster In History” While Tsipras “Doesn’t Eat Or Sleep”

Presenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis

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– Presenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis (ZeroHedge, July 15, 2015):

The Greek “deal” has already been dubbed “a new Versailles Treaty” for good reason: for Greece, the agreement which effectively abdicates sovereignty to Germany, is precisely that.

And while few if any in Greece – and certainly its parliament – have carefully read the actual contents of the Summit statement, and instead are rushing to pass the deal with hopes that just approving its contents may lead to the ECB blessing a prompt reopening of banks so Greeks can resume withdrawing their frozen deposits before the public realizes it was betrayed by its rulers, one person who has read it is the former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

And not only that: just hours before what may be the most critical vote in Greek history, he has released an annotated version of what the Euro Summit statement really means for Greece.

In his words: The Euro Summit statement (or Terms of Greece’s Surrender – as it will go down in history) follows, annotated by yours truly. The original text is untouched with my notes confined to square brackets (and in red). Read and weep… [For a pdf copy click here.]

Full annotated statement:

Read morePresenting The “Greek Terms Of Surrender” As Annotated By Yanis Varoufakis

HUMANITY vs INSANITY: The Greek Tragedy Pt2 – ‘There Is No Way That Greece Can Ever Recover From This’ – with F. William Engdahl (Video)

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FYI.


Jul 14, 2015

Description:

Read moreHUMANITY vs INSANITY: The Greek Tragedy Pt2 – ‘There Is No Way That Greece Can Ever Recover From This’ – with F. William Engdahl (Video)

Complete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup”

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– Complete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup” (ZeroHedge, July 14, 2015):

Months ago we said the following about the future of Greek politics:

It is becoming increasingly clear that the Syriza show will ultimately have to be canceled in Greece (or at least recast) if the country intends to find a long-term solution that allows for stable relations with European creditors although it may be time for Greeks to ask themselves if binding their fate to Europe is in their best interests given that some EU officials seem to be perfectly fine with inflicting untold economic pain upon everyday Greeks if it means usurping the ‘radical leftists.’

At the risk of overstating the case, that assessment has now proven to be almost entirely accurate. 

Read moreComplete Humiliation: Greek Parliament Pressed To “Approve” German “Coup”

Varoufakis: Greek Deal Is “Coup”, Turns Greece Into “Vassal” State, And Deals “Decisive Blow” To European Project

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VFak

– Varoufakis: Greek Deal Is “Coup”, Turns Greece Into “Vassal” State, And Deals “Decisive Blow” To European Project (ZeroHedge, July 14, 2015):

Yanis Varoufakis, fresh off a few relaxing days at his island getaway, will be back in the Greek parliament this week to weigh in on the “compromise” deal his successor Euclid Tsakalotos and PM Alexis Tsipras struck in Brussels over the weekend.

Considering the eyewitness accounts of the highly contentious Eurogroup meeting – out of which came the exceedingly punitive term sheet which would serve as the basis for Greece’s agreement with creditors – one can only imagine what might have unfolded if Varoufakis had been present for the “crazy kindergarten” finance minister free-for-all which reportedly took place on Saturday night.

For those curious to know what Yanis thinks about the deal, below are some “impressionistic thoughts” from the man himself. Highlights include the characterization of the Greek deal as a “decisive blow against the Euorpean project”, a “statement confirming that Greece acquiesces to becoming a vassal of the Eurogroup”, and the “culmination of a coup”.

Read moreVaroufakis: Greek Deal Is “Coup”, Turns Greece Into “Vassal” State, And Deals “Decisive Blow” To European Project

Yanis Varoufakis: “Merkel’s Control Over The Eurogroup Is Absolute, They Are Beyond The Law”

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Bilderberg

Bilderberg and Illuminati puppet Merkel.

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“We Are On Our Own“

In other news:

– ‘1984’ Has Arrived In Europe – The End Of Freedom Of Speech In Spain

Change we can believe in!

yanis-varoufakis

– Yanis Varoufakis: “Merkel’s Control Over The Eurogroup Is Absolute, They Are Beyond The Law” (ZeroHedge, July 13, 2015):

Submitted by Harry Lambert via The New Statesman,

Read the full Q&A Transcript here

Greece has finally reached an agreement with its creditors. The specifics have not yet been published, but it is clear that the deal signed is more punitive and demanding than the one that its government has spent the past five months desperately trying to resist.

The accord follows 48 hours in which Germany demanded control of Greece’s finances or its withdrawal from the euro. Many observers across Europe were stunned by the move. Yanis Varoufakis was not. When I spoke with Greece’s former finance minister last week, I asked him whether any deal struck in the days ahead would be good for his country.

“If anything it will be worse,” he said. “I trust and hope that our government will insist on debt restructuring, but I can’t see how the German finance minister [Wolfgang Schäuble] is ever going to sign up to this. If he does, it will be a miracle.”

Read moreYanis Varoufakis: “Merkel’s Control Over The Eurogroup Is Absolute, They Are Beyond The Law”

Varoufakis’ Stunning Accusation: Schauble Wants A Grexit “To Put The Fear Of God” Into The French

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The Greek Job - Varoufakis-car

– Varoufakis’ Stunning Accusation: Schauble Wants A Grexit “To Put The Fear Of God” Into The French (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2015):

Earlier we reported that Yanis Varoufakis, seemingly detained by “family reasons” would be unable to join his fellow parliamentarians and personally vote in what is likely the most important vote of Syriza’s administration: the one in which he and his party capitulate to the Troika and vote “Yes” to the proposal he and Tsipras urged everyone to reject just one week ago.

Subsequently, it was made clear what these family reasons are:

Read moreVaroufakis’ Stunning Accusation: Schauble Wants A Grexit “To Put The Fear Of God” Into The French

The First Post-Referendum Head Rolls: “Toxic” “Martyr” Yanis Varoufakis Resigns

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varouangry

– The First Post-Referendum Head Rolls: “Toxic” “Martyr” Yanis Varoufakis Resigns (ZeroHedge, July 6, 2015):

The Greek referendum landslide “No” vote came and went and just hours after its passage claimed its first head, which was – perhaps somewhat surprisingly – that of the Greek finance minister himself, Yanis Varoufakis, who many say orchestrated the referendum seen as a loud endorsement of the government’s actions. As of this morning he is no more. Here is why in his own words.

Minister No More!

The referendum of 5th July will stay in history as a unique moment when a small European nation rose up against debt-bondage.

Read moreThe First Post-Referendum Head Rolls: “Toxic” “Martyr” Yanis Varoufakis Resigns

European Banksters are afraid of Yanis Varoufakis

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FYI.

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‘We are going to destroy the Greek oligarchy system’ said Varoufakis. (Image credit: channel4.com)

– European Banksters are afraid of Yanis Varoufakis (The Real Agenda, July 6, 2015):

The former Greek Finance Minister resigned because the Troika is not confortable with him in the room.

The Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, announced Monday his resignation because he believes that this can help the government to reach an agreement with the European institutions, hours after the victory of the ‘no’ in the referendum.

Varoufakis, who said he would resign if the YES won on Sunday’s referendum met on several occasions with Greek creditors as he represented the toughest wing of his government. He even accused the Troika of using “terrorism” against the Greek people.

Read moreEuropean Banksters are afraid of Yanis Varoufakis

Greece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks

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acropolis now

– Greece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks (ZeroHedge, July 5, 2015):

As we said earlier today, following today’s dramatic referendum result the Greeks may have burned all symbolic bridges with the Eurozone. However, there still is one key link: the insolvent Greek banks’ reliance on the ECB’s goodwill via the ELA. While we have explained countless times that even a modest ELA collateral haircut would lead to prompt depositor bail-ins, here is DB’s George Saravelos with a simplified version of the potential worst case for Greece in the coming days:

Read moreGreece Contemplates Nuclear Options: May Print Euros, Launch Parallel Currency, Nationalize Banks

Greek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI

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Greece-Alexis-Tsipras

– Greek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI (ZeroHedge, July 5, 2015):

Congratulations Greece: for the first time you had the chance to tell the Troika, the unelected eurocrats, and the entire status quo establishment, not to mention all the banks, how you really felt and based on the most recent results, some 61% of you told it to go fuck itself.

Now comes the hard part.

Read moreGreek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI

Greece Votes In Bailout Referendum – LIVE UPDATES

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece July 5, 2015.(Reuters / John Liakos)

– Greece votes in bailout referendum LIVE UPDATES (RT, July 5, 2015):

Polling stations have opened across Greece as millions of people are expected to cast ballots on whether to accept more austerity in exchange for international aid. Recent polls have predicted a knife-edge result, with ‘Yes’ having a slight advantage.

Sunday, July 5

11:11 GMT:

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has reiterated in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper that he will resign if Greeks vote “Yes” in Sunday’s referendum.

But he added: “There will not be a majority for ‘Yes’,” Reuters reported.

Read moreGreece Votes In Bailout Referendum – LIVE UPDATES

What Stinks About Varoufakis And The Whole Greek Mess?

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Varoufakis

– What Stinks about Varoufakis and the Whole Greek Mess? (New Eastern Outlock, July 3, 2015):

Something stinks very bad about Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the entire Greek mess that has been playing out since the election victory of the nominally pro-Greek Syriza Party in January. I am coming to the reluctant conclusion that far from being the champion of the hapless Greek people, Varoufakis is part of a far larger and very dirty game.

The brilliant psychologist Eric Berne, author of the seminal book Games People Play, would likely call the game of Varoufakis and the Troika, “Rapo,” as in the rape of the Greek people and, ultimately of all the EU, Germany included. How do I come to this surprising conclusion?

Read moreWhat Stinks About Varoufakis And The Whole Greek Mess?

The Greek Bluff In All Its Glory: Presenting The Grexit “Falling Dominoes”

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Greek dominos

– The Greek Bluff In All Its Glory: Presenting The Grexit “Falling Dominoes” (ZeroHedge, July 4, 2015):

Earlier today, Yanis Varoufakis reiterated his core thesis driving the entire Greek approach from day 1 of its negotiations with the Eurogroup: “Europe [stands] to lose as much as Athens if the country is forced from the euro after a referendum on Sunday on bailout terms.”

This is merely a recap of what we said 4 years ago when in July of 2011 we explained “How Euro Bailout #2 Could Cost Up To 56% Of German GDP“, recall:

Read moreThe Greek Bluff In All Its Glory: Presenting The Grexit “Falling Dominoes”

Varoufakis accuses Greece’s creditors of ‘terrorism’ ahead of crucial referendum

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Flashback:

– Max Keiser on Greece: ‘The IMF is a Financial Mafia’ (April 28, 2010):

The only solution for Greece is to arrest the Goldman Sachs bankers immediately and all those involved in the fabrication of Greek economic data in 2000, when you became a member of the eurozone. The next step is to nationalize all banks like Sweden did in 1993. The International Monetary Fund is that last thing you need. You will lose your sovereignty. It exercises terrorism. You will be raped in such a way, that it will be the worst pain you have ever felt.

– Varoufakis accuses Greece’s creditors of ‘terrorism’ ahead of crucial referendum (RT, July 4, 2015):

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has described the actions of Athens’ creditors as “terrorism,” but said agreement with them was inevitable in an interview published hours before a landmark referendum to accept or reject the bailout terms.

“What they are doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis told Spain’s El Mundo daily. Why have they forced us to close the banks? To make people frightened. And when it comes to spreading terror, this phenomenon is called terrorism.”

Read moreVaroufakis accuses Greece’s creditors of ‘terrorism’ ahead of crucial referendum

Varoufakis Will Resign If Referendum Passes, Says Would Rather “Cut Off Arm” Than Sign

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– Varoufakis Will Resign If Referendum Passes, Says Would Rather “Cut Off Arm” Than Sign (ZeroHedge, July 2, 2015):

“With banks shuttered and Greece’s economy hobbled by capital controls, Varoufakis said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Athens that he would “rather cut my arm off” than sign a deal that fails to restructure Greece’s debt.”

…