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The BBC shows pictures of the blue supermoon from different parts of the world including Brazil, Israel, Japan, Russia, US, England. It is a unforgettable sight in the night sky that people all over world were able to see on August 30, 2023. This one is over an old fort in Israel. Other pictures show it with a flower in Srinagar, India, and spectacular over the ancient temple of Poseidon in Greece.

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Polls taken before the June 16 elections in Greece show the leading New Democracy party and the Syriza party running very close to each other. Both Tsipras of the Syriza party and Antonio Samaras of New Democracy are calling for renegotiating the agreements with the IMF, EU and the EC, referred to as the troika, so that austerity programs do not fall too hard on ordinary Greeks. Tsipras says the goal is to reach "a just and viable European solution." He added in a news conference in Athens that "We don't claim there is plenty of money. Greeks are not asking for money. They are asking for work and the ability to make a living." The troika imposed a 22% reduction in the monthly minimum wage of 751 euros, or $930. This is unpopular in Greece and both New Democracy and Syriza now support reversing this, and extending unemployment benefits. Syriza proposes a moratorium on debt payments till growth is restored, and stabilizing public spending at 43% of GDP, below the 46% that is the eurozone average and above the 37% demanded by creditors. Syriza says it will scale back the value added tax which falls largely on the poor, raise taxes on the wealthy, and reduce tax breaks....

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There is a sharp decline in investor confidence in Greece as the Syriza Party leads in polls in Dec. 2014, with a 3-6 point lead over New Democracy Party of prime minister Samaras. There was a sharp selloff on the Athens stock exchange and yields on Greece's 10 year government bonds went up to 8.5% by Dec. 11, 2014. The government needs 180 votes for a presidential election vote in parliament. The outcome is uncertain and could lead to early parliamentary elections on Jan 25, 2015, with Syriza a potential winner. Syriza had taken a strong line on Greece's debt in 2012 elections, including a possible debt default. It now says it is willing to renegotiate and maintain relations with IMF, EU and the ECB creditors to Greece. In fact, Syriza leader Tsipras has met with ECB chief Draghi, former ECB official Joerg Asmussen of Germany, and Greece's central bank chief. Syriza has changed its party promises to reflect its move to the mainstream- such as not offering to hire back workers or make tax relief measures apart from specific ones, only insisting on freezing public sector layoffs and reversing minimum wage cuts. The EU programs for Greece lapse on 28, Feb. 2015, and an EU official say it is important that Syriza agree to a program following that date to reassure financial markets....

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This editorial deserves an award for best editorial on international economic matters in 2011. The editorial, goes right to the point, when it says the French, the Germans, and the European Central Bank are deluding themselves if they call this weeks resolution of the Greece debt crisis a realistic solution. It is anything but a solution. The Journal calls it a French deception. It is unworkable because the main problem, the high ratio of Greek debt to GDP -which is now 155% and is expected to reach 170% by the end of 2011- is sure to get worse under the arrrangement designed in the interest of French and German banks. Under the arrangement French and German banks and other creditors will get to double their return from 4-5% today to an effective interest rate of 10% if Greece grows by 2% a year, on 49% of the bonds they hold. These bonds will be converted into 30 year bonds. This effectively doubles the interest cost for Greece in servicing this debt. On the other approximately 51% of the bonds the French and German banks would redeem the bonds for cash and a triple A, sovereign zero coupon bond. The Journal asks what is the point of making Greece's debt problem worse than it is now and calling it a solution. The austerity cuts are already expected to lead to a deep recession, something that is also happening in Portugal, leading to a worsening of the debt situation. Creditors are not sharing in the losses under this arrangement, as Germany and the Netherlands have insisted. As the Journal points out they are instead taking out half of their investment and doubling their return on the remainder. And the fears of contagion for Spain are not lessened, as financial markets can clearly see through this for what it is- unworkable and unrealistic. ...

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Left party Syriza did better than the government parties in the EU elections. A new parliamentary election would have to be called if prime minister Samaras cannot find the 180 votes needed to elect a new president in Feb. 2014. Syriza is calling for writeoff of some of the massive 318.6 billion euros of debt owed, 85% of it to France, Germany and other foreign governments and IMF. To offset Syriza's popularity Samaras is likely to use the improved confidence of investors in Greece to raise funds on capital markets, and access funds from a Stability Fund. By exiting the IMF program early and not taking 12 billion euros of IMF funds due for 2015-2016, Samaras can take independent steps to revive the Greek economy and reduce the burden of cuts. Greece will run a primary budget surplus before interest payments in 2014, as it did in 2013. GDP is down about 25% and unemployment is at 26%. Anger in the early years reflected in Athens riots, is now replaced with anguish and despair among ordinary Greeks and some public suicides. The current debt repayments is for debt to be repaid to IMF in 10 years and the EU loans in 32 years, with 10 years of interest payments at 1.5%. Even then the debt is already at 178% of GDP, way above the initial target of 124% of GDP set by IMF-EU for 2020. As a backup strategy German officials including Asmussen and Schauble, and ECB's Draghi are meeting with Mr. Tsipras of Syriza to ensure a smooth transition if this becomes necessary, without the uncertainty in financial markets created by earlier Greece elections....

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The relationship from college years at Amherst College in the U.S. of Greek political leaders Antonis Samaras and George Papandreou. The efforts to setup a national unity government that failed. The increasing support for the opposition New Democracy Party led by Samaras- with 16% unemployment- and the prospect of new elections. Samaras supports spending cuts. He also favors tax cuts, and a flat tax rate of 15% on business. Greece has a long history of tax evasion and distrust of central authority going back to centuries of Turkish rule. Samaras believes that the lower tax rate of 15% would help change the Greek cultural trait of evading taxes becaue it would be on the honor of people to pay such a basic tax. EU leaders are skeptical that lower taxes are the right policy to reduce the deficit. This adds to the political uncertainty as the new government would have to implement the measures agreed to between the current Greek government and the EU leaders. A similiar situation existed in Portugal but the recent elections there, participation of the opposition party in talks, and the newly elected government conducting its own negotiations, has removed that element of uncertainty which exists in Greece. ...

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New Democracy has 22% and Pasok 18% in polls before the Greece elections. A New Democracy-Pasok coalition is one possible outcome of the election. New Democracy leader Samaras sees a coalition government as tying his hands for policy actions, and feels he can win another election if it took place later this year. By then the thhinking goes Greeks will have vented their anger and will be looking for a stable government. Both parties have seen supporters shift to fringe parties with 22% unemployment and rising taxes.

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A professor at the University of Texas, Yannis Varoufakis returned to Greece in 2014 to run for parliament at the request of Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras. He is the new minister of finance in 2015. Three professors lead the key enlarged economics ministry, foreign affairs, and finance.

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This WSJ editorial says Greek voters have made a choice in the referendum, and Europe is better off letting Greece exit the eurozone. That the referendum also means Greeks made the choice, and were not pushed out of the eurozone. The editorial points out that Tsipras's claim was that the vote was for further negotiations with the EU, yet taxpayers in Germany and other parts of the EU do not see it this way. In the long run it is better for the euro that Greece leaves if it chooses, says the Journal.

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The historical allusions in the media in Greece, Italy and Germany, and cultural perceptions which have increased differences in the European Union. This comes at a time of austerity programs in the Southern tier of EU countries and pressure on Germany to fund the debt reduction in some EU countries.

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Athens is far from being her normal self with high unemployment, shuttered shops and periodic violence. Unemployment at about 23% and the worsening economic crisis is leading to dwindling support for the main parties Pasok and New Democracy. Support is growing for fringe parties, including neo-nazi type parties. The mood is shifting in Europe, with the presidential elections in France and the likely election of Socialist candidate Hollande, who has described the EU's handling of Greece as deplorable. New elections will take place later in 2012 in the Netherlands.

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Questions raised by analysts at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the European Policy Center in Brussels, about the lack of leadership from Chancellor Merkel of Germany and EU leaders in addressing swiftly the crisis facing Greece and countries in southern Europe. Facing voter displeasure in Germany Merkel stalled in the hope of delaying adecision till after a regional election in Germay on May 9. In the process Merkel turned a smaller crisis in Greece into a crisis facing many countries in Europe including Spain, Portugal and Italy, and a crisis for the euro currency. French member of Parliament Juvin, told the French press: "are they waiting for the collapse of the euro?" One sticking point is that the Lisbon Treaty has no provisions for coordinating fiscal policies, and Germany did not insist earlier on oversight of Greek statistics which were generally known to be false since the 1990's. Another French member of the European Parliament, Le Grip, insisted on the need for a new European economic government, and the creation of new institutional responsibilites. The problem lies in the feeling in countries like Germany not to cede sovereignty on economic matters to a European economic body. ...

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Austria, Greece, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Israel, are smaller countries that have formed a group that is meeting every 2 weeks with videoconferences to coordinate strategy for tourism and reopening their economies.

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Krugman says the European Union countries were not ready for the euro and the current crisis shows this. Spain with its peseta could have regained its competitiveness with a 20% devaluation, after years of inflation as money flowed into Spain from other countries including Germany and fueled the housing boom. Or Spain would have received stimulus funds from the central government, if it was an American state like Florida. Instead Spain now has to work through this crisis with high unemployment and painful deflation. Greece faces severe austerity measures and is more to blame for its mess, because of faulty accounting to cover up its problems.

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The German and French positions on solutions to the eurozone debt crisis are in conflict. As a result the negotiations between France's Sarkozy and Germany's Merkel are deadlocked. The basic differences revolve around three basic issues. Germany wants to see a lasting solution in which Greece debt is restructured so that banks and other creditors that loaned money to Greece voluntarily take losses so that Greece's debt can be reduced to a sustainable level of no more than 50% of what it is now. France, the ECB and the French banks do not want to restructure Greek debt in this manner beyond the 21% reduction in value of debt under the July 2011 agreement. The voluntary reduction in Greek debt by the banks would prevent a default by Greece and unsettling of the financial markets. France fears market contagion from the restructuring of Greece debt that would place pressure on French banks as the value of the Greek, Spanish and Italian sovereign debt French banks hold declines in value. That would require a major recapitalization of French banks and additional cuts to the French budget. Additional twists to the negotiations are that Sarkozy is unpopular in France with elections six months away. For this reason Sarkozy would prefer to recapitalize after 9 months. A way to get around the need for more deficit cutting (austerity measures) in France, is for the European Financial Stability Fund to be able to borrow money from the European Central bank. The ECB can print euros in that situation. Germany's chancellor Merkel has to consider German public opinion and experts from the German central bank, who are adamantly against using the ECB to print money and Germany committing itself to bankrolling most of the effort. Germany wants France to use its own money to recapitalize French banks, with Germany only responsible for recapitalizing its banks. Merkel told her parliamentary caucus in Berlin that "the path is closed for using the European Central Bank to ease liquidity problems." Because of Germany's insistence on financial soundness for any solution, France being in the more difficult financial position and Sarkozy facing elections willing to come up with a short term fix, and the unwillingness of French and German banks to take the losses necessary for a lasting solution, the Germans see a real solution taking a long time. ...

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Experts say there is no Mediterranean diet anymore. The World Health Organization says this historic way of eating healthy is on its way out. In Italy, Spain and Greece fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil are being replaced by sweets, fizzy drinks, colas, and junk food. Now more than 40% of nine year olds in Italy, Spain and Greece are obese or overweight. Protests against the spread of fast food outlets in Italy have failed over two decades. Now cities such as Florence, Venice and Verons are banning the opening of new fast food outlets. A diet developed over millenia has fallen as marketing of fast food expanded. Olive oil lost its foothold in the sixties and seventies as it was replaced by seed oil and margarine. A leading expert says she is optimistic the situation can be reversed in the next generation. For this to happen there has to be a change from the proliferation of fast food courts such as this one near Madrid airport of 138 shops and dozens of food outlets.  ...

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What did Biden mean when he said- "history is watching," about his call for Ukraine aid to Congress. After a swift course of events and British withdrawal from Greece and Turkey by March 1947 this is the address to the US Congress made by US president Harry Truman on March 12, 1947, for $351 million in aid to Greece and Turkey facing Soviet threat to the two democracies after German armies had destroyed most of the infrastructure in Greece, thousand villages burned, 85% of children tubercular, with no savings, tragic conditions and facing political chaos. Truman said in this address aid was one tenth of one percent of the $341 billion spent to fight threats to democracy in World War II. "One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion. This was a fundamental issue in the war with Germany and Japan. Our victory was won over countries which sought to impose their will, and their way of life, upon other nations." "At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms." "I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way."   ...