We face a "Worldwide Banking Meltdown"

IMF advisor Robert Shapiro warns of a meltdown worse than 2008.
So what’s a country to do when faced with sovereign default?
Well in the birthplace of democracy, as the Greek government circles ever-increasingly down the toilet of fiscal insolvency, it apparently has found enough money to purchase 400 M1A1 Abrams tanks from the United States.
Well, I guess if they can’t afford to provide the Greek people with good governance, I guess they will NEED 400 tanks to keep the Greek people in line.

To the west, Spain tops that by offering Uncle Sam a navy base.

Under the agreement, four U.S. Aegis ships will be based at the Rota naval base near Cadiz in Spain. The agreement is part of U.S. President Barack Obama's phased adaptive approach to missile defense, under which ship-based, anti-ballistic missiles are being deployed in the eastern Mediterranean followed by ground-based systems in Romania and Poland.
The agreement "reflects a commitment of both countries to the alliance" and marks "an important step forward to protect NATO territories against missile threats," Rasmussen said. "It is smart defense at its best," he said, describing it as "countries working together and sharing together to provide something that benefits us all."
-Defense News

Come to think of it, considering that 169,000 Americans lost their job in September, Uncle Sam might need some more tanks and missile boats too.

Greece paying pensions to dead people while the living continue drawing down their savings

So as the world waits for the latest news on Greece's impending default-by-another-name, two interesting Reuters stories posted this morning.
First, it has come to light that 4500 dead people are still collecting pensions from the Greek government.

(Reuters) - Thousands of Greeks have been receiving pensions despite being long dead, the Labour Minister said on Monday, promising to crack down on social security fraud that is costing the debt-laden country millions each year.

Minister Louka Katseli also said the government is investigating a suspiciously high number of people over the age of 100 and still drawing their pensions.

Data crosschecks had revealed that about 4,500 deceased civil servants continued getting their pension cheques, burdening taxpayers with more than 16 million euros (14 million pounds) each year, Katseli told daily Ta Nea in an interview.

Based on that news, this next piece should be no surprise: There's a slow run on Greek banks that has been going on for quite some time. April deposits shrunk by another 3.5 billion euros.

Deposits have shrunk by about 13 billion euros since the beginning of the year. In 2010, they contracted by 29.1 billion euros or 12.2 percent.