26th September 2012 - General Strike in Greece
We were supposed to be visiting Knossos today and the Archeological museum in Irakleio. However unlike the tour representative we were aware that the 26th is a general strike in Greece.
Over the past few days I've noticed a few posters fly-posted on empty buildings around town, but that aside there was little around the town to make the public aware of the pending strike. For most local businesses trying to take advantage of the last weeks of the tourist season it was very much "business as usual".
Today walking around Rethmyno the only sign that there was a strike was the number of teenagers crowding around certain bars and cafes. The local school teachers and the university are obviously closed. It is little wonder that the public sector are taking industrial action given that the three party conservative coalition is proposing a 15% pay cut, on top of last years 15%. Not surprisingly the people are saying that they can't withstand another bout of austerity.
The Greek TV stations and BBC World ( our main source of news) focus on the march and demonstration in Athens. Greek TV suggested that 50,000 marched on the Greek Parliament. That figure came from the Grrek police and is widely reported as an under estimate. However the media rather than focussing on the 50,00 peaceful demonstrators prefers to show a relatively small number who sought to engage the police in armed combat.
The message is that the public are telling the new government that took power only in June, that they will got accept austerity quietly. Meanwhile in Crete the sun shone and mosttourists seemed blissfully unaware.
Key Quotes
"Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist."
(Kenneth Boulding)
"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. "
(Raymond Chandler)
"Live simply so that others can simply live." (unknown)
"I cannot live without books" (Thomas Jefferson)
"Sport is war without the shooting" (George Orwell)
"New York is a great city to live in if you can afford to get out of it" (William Rossa Cole)
The secret of a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits (Patterson Hood)
(Kenneth Boulding)
"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. "
(Raymond Chandler)
"Live simply so that others can simply live." (unknown)
"I cannot live without books" (Thomas Jefferson)
"Sport is war without the shooting" (George Orwell)
"New York is a great city to live in if you can afford to get out of it" (William Rossa Cole)
The secret of a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits (Patterson Hood)
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