2 Day Strike in Greece turns violent

Greek Protests Turn Violent‎  from the Wall STreet Journal begin quote below.

By ALKMAN GRANITSAS , STELIOS BOURAS and COSTAS PARIS

Protestors took to the streets in Athens as Greek officials met to vote on extremely unpopular austerity measures, Charles Forelle reports on the Markets Hub. Photo: AP.

ATHENS—Pressure on the Greek government intensified Wednesday as a general strike and mass protests focused on a parliamentary vote for even deeper spending cuts to prevent the country from defaulting on its massive debt load.
More than 100,000 Greek workers, students and business owners marched through the streets of the Greek capital Wednesday, gathering in front of the parliament in protests that featured clashes with riot police. Large protests also were held in the Greek cities of Thessaloniki, Patras and Heraklion.

Protests Grip Athens

A woman shouted during an anti-austerity rally in central Athens Wednesday.

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The protests marked the first day of a 48-hour strike by civil servants and private-sector workers in opposition to the new cutbacks. It follows weeks of almost daily strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins, as well as a two-week-long protest by municipal workers that has left uncollected garbage festering on the streets of Athens and other cities.
"We have reached the limits of our endurance and, what is worse is that there is no ray of hope," said Stathis Anestis, spokesman for the big GSEE private-sector union. "We want to send a message that these austerity policies have been a catastrophe for Greece."end quote.

I think we should all look very carefully at Greece right now. This sort of thing we may also see in Italy, Spain, Portugal and eventually even France, the way things are presently going economically in the European Union. The way I look at it, the European Union will stand or fall on what is happening now in Greece. The precedent of how the situation is handled in Greece likely will set the tone for what will happen in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France eventually. Will they create a stronger European Union or will it all collapse in despair? Or will there be some new way forward none of us have thought of yet?

Given the present problems in the European Union one can also understand why the United Kingdom (England and all of Great Britain) didn't join them and kept their Pound Sterling instead as their currency. Switzerland did this too by keeping their Swiss Franc. In fact I found the following quote in regard to Germans and the Swiss Franc:

  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a9d0b84a-89cc-11df-9ea6-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1bFXSQBR8

FT.com / Markets / Insight - The Swiss franc is the new German mark begin quote below:

The Swiss franc is the new German mark

By Mansoor Mohi-uddin
Published: July 7 2010 15:05 | Last updated: July 7 2010 15:05

Europe’s crisis has exposed the eurozone’s structural flaws, German citizens want the Deutschemark back, and foreign investors would like a hard currency alternative to the dollar. However, a break-up of the euro seems unlikely for now; instead, investors once attracted by the safety of the Deutschemark are likely to hold more Swiss francs as a substitute.
First, Switzerland’s currency already acts as a proxy for the German economy. Germany is the leading destination for Swiss exports, accounting for almost twenty per cent just last year. As a result, Switzerland’s economy is tied to Germany’s, with Swiss GDP growth and Germany’s IFO index of business confidence exhibiting a close relationship.