Things that go boom in greece and more

[Delirium]

THINGS THAT GO BOOM IN GREECE AND MORE

Greece is one of those States that are jumpin'. The people of Greece are so pissed off about so many things, I just can't keep up. Sometimes they blow things up, sometimes they just battle police in the streets, and the other day they even took over toll booths.
The first article below is from ekanthimerini, as is the second.. The third is from TVNZ.
Guerrilla group claims ministry letter bomb
Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire said it sent package in solidarity with members facing trial
The urban guerrilla group, Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, on Sunday claimed responsibility for a letter bomb that was sent to the Justice Ministry in Athens last Wednesday but destroyed by police before it could go off.
The group, which also claimed responsibility for a powerful explosion at an Athens court building in late December as well as a wave of parcel bombs sent to embassies in Athens in November, said its latest initiative was intended to express support for some of its suspected members who are currently facing trial.
“To show our solidarity with the battle of the imprisoned members of Conspiracy of Fire Cells and to our worthy brothers, we sent a letter bomb to Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis,” the group said in a written proclamation published on the Greek version of the anti-capitalist news network Indymedia. The statement reproached Kastanidis for refusing to satisfy the demands of defendants for the minutes of the trial to be tape-recorded (a procedure that was foregone to save money).
The statement also condemned the minister for claiming that last Wednesday’s letter bomb had contained enough explosives to kill him, noting that the “precautionary measures” were the same as those taken in the letter bombs used in November.
*****************************
Protesters occupy toll stations
Hundreds of protesters gathered at toll stations across the country on Sunday, forcing open barriers and allowing motorists to pass through without paying.
The protests, which peaked between noon and 3 p.m., are part of a broader initiative by citizens who are refusing to pay road tolls or purchase public transport tickets.
A spokesperson for the crowd that gathered at the Afidnes toll station, north of Athens, said that demonstrators did not simply object to the increase in toll charges but that they demanded the revocation of the contracts signed between the government and the consortia who are to manage the country’s national roads. “We pay higher taxes on fuel and road tax for maintenance works. We are not going to pay through the nose for toll charges too,” said Stratis Loupatatzis.
Last week Justice Minister Haris Kastanidis provoked vehement protests from opposition parties after suggesting that the government should show some “understanding” for a growing number of citizens’ movements that have united under the “I won’t pay” banner. “Laws must be enforced,” he said. “But there has to be a balance between the strict enforcement of a court decision and social reality.”
*********************
Greek police clash with residents over landfill
Greek police have clashed with residents protesting against the planned construction of a landfill dump close to an archaeological site near Athens, officials said.
Police fired several rounds of teargas at residents and hooded youths in the town of Keratea, who hurled petrol bombs and stones at them.
"Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Keratea, both residents and anarchists. Police are firing teargas to disperse them," said a police official who declined to be named.
Four protesters were slightly injured and about five cars damaged, and more police were expected to reach Keratea later in the evening, the official said.
Residents have clashed with police several times over the planned waste dump. In December, a local court ruled that the project should be suspended temporarily, but residents say police are still guarding the area.
Greece has been fined in the past for failing to meet EU targets for waste management.

link (http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20110208221920141)

[Hasek]

About the waste in Athens, I was there at the 6th december demonstration in rememberance of Alexis, and I simply lol'd when at the 7th they were cleaning the graffitis of the anarchists claiming for a revolution, while the waste was accummulating for days in the street. Picture related:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Rbf_hOEWzVo/TP-Lf0O-n3I/AAAAAAAAAEA/TM0qigTWLRk/s320/IMG_2916.JPG

[Delenda Carthago]

2 other big things that run for the past time, are the hunger strike of 300 migrants and everything this has produced(solidarity demos,concerts,occupations etc) and a big campaingn that anarchists have put out about the public transpotation, demanting transopation for all the people for free,more organised etc. this is a big campaign that has dozens of acts and it has stirr up even the goverment.

[Widerstand]

2 other big things that run for the past time, are the hunger strike of 300 migrants and everything this has produced(solidarity demos,concerts,occupations etc) and a big campaingn that anarchists have put out about the public transpotation, demanting transopation for all the people for free,more organised etc. this is a big campaign that has dozens of acts and it has stirr up even the goverment.

There will be a solidarity party / info event in Hamburg soon, for the hunger strike.

Can you give more information on that free transport campaign though? What kind of actions have the Anarchists done? Is the populace supportive?

[Delenda Carthago]

There will be a solidarity party / info event in Hamburg soon, for the hunger strike.

Can you give more information on that free transport campaign though? What kind of actions have the Anarchists done? Is the populace supportive?
Well there is a variety of things happeining again and again.Mostly its going to a bus,taking it over,"canceling" the check machines and giving away leaflets to the passengers talking about the crisis and how the State wants to raise the prices on the tickets in order to make us pay for it and how we should organise in order to defend ourselfs and our class...that kind of stuff.Kinda the same thing with the metro too.And,except a small miniority of conservatives who insist on paying, everybody is pro that concept.

This is getting connected with the tolls movement under the same "I m not paying"(ie their crisis) movement that grows in greek society.

[Black Sheep]

The thing with the tickets is a major economic bleed.

Bus tickets in minor provinces (not attica or thessalonica) have had an increase around 80 % since '05.

[Delenda Carthago]

Reuters on the "Im not paying" movement(Reuters) - A movement more insidious than crippling strikes or anarchist fire bombings is threatening to undermine Greece's efforts to escape a debt crisis shaking the euro zone.
The "I don't pay" movement -- a sullen form of uncivil disobedience -- is beginning to starve the government of vital revenue from transport and public services as it struggles to plug a giant budget hole.
Fed up with wage cuts and tax hikes while corrupt politicians seen as responsible for the crisis enjoy impunity, more and more Greeks are refusing to pay for road tolls, bus tickets and other public charges.
"It's not easy to take to the streets holding a Molotov cocktail, but it's easy to say I won't pay," pollster Costas Panagopoulos said. "The 'I don't pay' movement is now the main risk for the government."
The ruling Socialists must show within months that tax evaders and those who profited from past corruption are being punished if they want to contain the movement, he said.
The political and legal system grants politicians almost blanket immunity from prosecution, and efforts to fight tax evasion have been slow to show results.
Despite tough austerity measures, social unrest has so far been more subdued than expected as the majority of Greeks have grudgingly accepted that some sacrifices are necessary.
But growing numbers of people are choosing to show their anger by refusing to pay for highways, public transport and state TV licence fees.
More than 56 percent of Greeks approve of this kind of protest compared to 39 percent who don't, according to an MRB poll published in a Sunday newspaper.
Launched as a fringe disobedience movement by residents living near the Afidnai toll gate on a main highway into Athens, the 'I don't pay' action group initially only dodged road tolls.
But it has gathered support from leftist groups and gained momentum since recent rises in public transport fares and now claims more than 10,000 registered members.
GROWING MOVEMENT
Its website denplirono.wordpress.com (http://denplirono.wordpress.com/) has more than 82,000 hits. The site calls on people not to validate tickets and offers instructions on how not to pay tolls -- politely asking collectors to lift the barrier.
"We want free roads," said Vassilis Papadopoulos, 59, an ophthalmologist who drives 60 km on a toll road every day but has not paid a single euro in the last year and a half.
"We are not willing to suffer the results of mismanagement, corruption and the crisis of a system we never chose," he said. "It would have cost me at least 2,000 euros (1,696 pounds) a year only in toll fees to go to work."