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.

World Revolution Update

Update from the re-birthplace of democracy

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IMF open to delayed Greek loan payments if private banks pony up

The IMF is open to giving Greece another bailout and allowing the underwater nation to delay loan payments. Greece has already won a deferred payment plan from it Eurpean Union creditors. The Greek parliament is expected to vote later this month on it's current medium-term austerity plan.
Greek sovereign debt totals €340 billion, or about 150% of GDP.

Details of the new deal to supersede the May, 2010 rescue have yet to be hammered out, but it assumes Greece's funding needs will be covered by a mix of new EU and IMF loans, budget deficit cuts including tax increases and state asset sales, and a "voluntary" participation by private creditors.

One possibility is that creditors would agree to buy new Greek bonds when old ones they hold mature, meaning that Athens would not have to produce the cash up front.

The managing director of ratings agency Moody's sovereign risk group said today it was hard to see how a private sector rollover of Greek debt would be truly voluntary and it would therefore likely constitute a default.
-Irish Times

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.

Largest Protest in Greece Yet

After 12 consecutive days of protests celebrating the 12 consecutive months since Greece first went begging to the bankstas for a bailout, the biggest gathering in Athens' Syntagma square happened today.
80,000 people (that's what the government is admitting) from many walks of life crowded into the central Athens square to protest government corruption and economic mismanagement. Many many more were stuck unsuccessfully trying to get into the square.
Last year, Greece was granted a bailout of 110 billion euros ($161 billion) and launched a severe austerity plan.
A year later, more of the same:

(Greek Premier George) Papandreou agreed to 78 billion euros in additional austerity measures and asset sales through 2015 to secure the 12 billion-euro bailout payment in July and meet conditions for receiving an additional rescue package. He agreed to make “significant” cuts in public-sector employment and establish an agency to manage accelerated asset sales, according to a statement released in Athens on June 3.
-Bloomberg

By “significant,” he meant about 6.4 billion euros, which would be generated through cuts and increased taxes.
Paying more for less.
So, in the birthplace of democracy, a fairly broad coalition of protestors has been doing the democratic thing by taking to the streets to call attention to the fraud.

I spoke with a retired military officer two days ago, who is now working at a private corporation, even his job is in doubt. He too spoke of revolution. As someone who has written a book on Marx’s Politics and long been interested in revolution, now nonviolent revolution, I was amazed to have powerful conversations with two middle class people (out of three I talked with; the third is also for fundamental change) who had straightforwardly expressed the vision and expectation of violent revolution….
-GlobalResearch.ca

Outside of Greece, not many are optimistic in the present course.
Last week, Moody’s warned that there was a 50 percent chance that the country would default or restructure its debts within the next five years.

“I don’t see how Greece can eventually avoid some kind of default,” said Martin N. Baily, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who served as chairman of Council of Economic Advisers under the Clinton administration. “It’s hard to see how you can avoid the need to finance this over the next five to 10 years.”
His sentiment was echoed widely among economists, politicians and analysts gathered here over the weekend for a conference held by the Council for the United States and Italy.
-New York Times

All of Europe has reason to be concerned about contagion.
Oh Greece, you never should have been in the family in the first place.
You had to lie to kick it.
You truly are the eurozone’s Davey Scatino.