Keeping A Close Eye on Greece

Apparently, nothing is sacred anymore.

When we heard the announcement in the Newark airport that our flight to Athens was leaving early to beat the impending strike, we were disconcerted, to say the least...wondering how we would ever get back home if such a strike were protracted. Turns out the Greeks only strike four hours at a time...regularly...and our trip was uninterrupted.
However, being familiar with the situation of unrest in the country has encouraged me to follow events on the BBC (because American newspapers/TV would never be interested unless a professional athlete or a Snooki-like public embarrassment were involved). Thus, the latest unrest comes as no surprise, but things are getting serious, and I think we'd better pay attention or we will soon be in similar dire straits (not the band).
Starting tomorrow, the trade unions in Athens have called a general strike. That means that airports will come to a standstill, ferries, buses and taxis will stop running, as will the subway trains. More than 5,000 policemen have been called in to "handle" the proposed demonstration of thousands upon thousands of angry Greeks...upset by new austerity measures proposed by the government that will add taxes to the workers who are trying to survive on minimum wage! If this sounds eerily familiar, it should.
Unemployment in Greece stands at 16%, and people have had enough. I mean, if they are willing to stage a protest on the Acropolis hill, they ARE definitely serious. Back to the strike, though.
For the next two days, vital services will stop from 8-12 and from 3-7. Yeah, I know...odd, isn't it? I got on a subway during a protest while we were there, and a pickpocket could not have stolen anything from me if it had been hanging out of my pocket...think "Who Concert" without anybody being ABLE to move.
So, why the problem, and why should we be so concerned? money. In 2002, Greece dropped the drachma as its national money and joined with other countries in adopting the euro. The problem became immediate because it become much easier for Greece to borrow money to keep the country going...starting to feel a bit nervous? Exactly the same problem we have here with 14 trillion dollars owed to various countries, notedly China.
I'm just saying...