Links

Weaponized Finance: Ellen Brown: Web Of Debt
Obscuring Occupation: Raul Ilargi: Automatic Earth
As Viewed From The Throne: Bruno Adrie: GlobalResearch
The Humane View: Steve Randy Waldman: Interfluidity
Seeing Blinders: John Aziz: Pieria
As Rotten As Can Be: Kelley Vlahos: American Conservative

Dreams And Nightmares Links

A Dream: James Surowiecki: New Yorker
A Nightmare: Dmitry Orolov: ClubOrolov
A Dim Awakening: Nicole Foss: Automatic Earth
To This?: Saker: Vineyard Of The Saker
Or This?: Stephen Walt: Foreign Policy

Not Yet Checkmate, But Close, Links

What's happening in Greece makes Crassus look dignified. Moderate citizens assuming they live in a European Civilization have now been disabused. A situation so fluid now exists that no one can say how it will resolve, but the bad faith with regard to representative government in the Euro zone is now on open display. Neither the electorates of Greece nor Europe, nor the emperor have had their final say, but that Finland can block a deal or that NATO can force one both belie all democratic pretenses.

It is not to late for Europe to save itself, but the precipice is near. If Eurocrats continue to terrorize the victims of corruption rather than the perpetrators, as they have done now in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Greece while threatening the Italians and French, men with guns will take from them such power as they have. At present it is the comparatively benign guns of NATO insisting on a civilizational deal, but should this fail more radical alternatives are preparing themselves in the wings.

The Eurocrats seem quite happy with the men with guns they've supported and who support them in Finland, Spain and Latvia, but at some point men with guns will not brook bureaucratic power and will turn. And this will complete the cycle. What Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Spain and Portugal all have in common is their recent military dictatorships. While this governmental structure has formally expired in each instance, it's residue of power constitutionally unscripted lives on and is what we like to call "corruption" when it is not found in our allies. Tariq Ali summarizes below.

Athens Dairy: Tariq Ali: LRB
Plus Ca Change: Neil Clark: RT

Links

Greek Lives Don't Mater: Ed Walker: EmptyWheel
Setting Them Up For Slaughter: Raul Ilargi: The Automatic Earth
Neo-Liberal Seas: Ian Urbina: New York Times
It's Not Just Fox News: Thomas Frank: Salon
Fixing Money: Adrian Kuzminski: ClubOrolov

Money is an IOU from civilization. Those who would prefer gold would prefer that they owe nothing to the civilization that feeds them and wish they could extract the richness that is civilization and carry pieces of it away for themselves.

In their folly they cannot see that any piece they pull free and abscond with is worthless once absented from civilization.

Gold, art, real estate, and any financial assets are worthless without the dense network of human bonds that give them what value they have within consensual networks of exchange, only within the constraints of civilization does this so called wealth bear fruit.

War, an acute absence of civilization, is the perennial reminder that it is civilization that lends value to wealth, not the other way around, need we be reminded?

Links

Fixing Greece: Paul Craig Roberts
Pre-World War: Ian Welsh
Financial Nonsense Overload: Dmitry Orolov: Club Orolov
Mediating Democracy: Daniel Little: Understanding Society
Darwin's Casino: John Michael Greer: Archdruid Report

Reality Bites Links

Alaska Burns: Robertscribbler
Greenland Quakes: Chris Mooney: Washington Post
Europe Lies To Itself: Fintan O'Toole: Irish Times
Europe Lies To Itself: Steve Waldman: Interfluidity
Washington Lies To The World: Don Quijones: Naked Capitalism
Greece Votes: Suzanne Daily: New York Times

Greek Links

Bankers Under The Bed: Alepouda: Twitter
A Crisis Foretold: Wynne Godley: LROB
Blinders Of Culture: Mandos: Ian Welsh
Butterfly In The Ointment: Tyler Durden: Zero Hedge
Grexit, No Exit: Anton Muscatelli: Greek Report
Perfect Storm: Toby Helm: Guardian

Links

Paradigm Change: Ed Walker: EmptyWheel
Paradigm In Need Of Change: Chris Hedges: TruthDig
Machine Dreams: John Michael Greer: Archdruid Report
The Insecurity State: John Rob: Global Guerrillas
Masses vs Money: Raul Ilargi: Automatic Earth
Tragedy Of The Absurd: b: Moon Of Alabama

Links

An Affirming Flame: John Michael Greer: The Archdruid Report
Pop Goes The Bubble: Dymitri Orlov: Club Orlov
Keynes On Paradigm Change: Ed Walker: Emptywheel
Now For Something Totally Depressing: Ian Welsh
On A Brighter Note, Psychopaths: Ian Welsh
And Click Through To This One: Ian Welsh

Links

Bubble From The Left: Golem XIV
Bubble From The Right: David Stockman: Contra Corner
Stand Up (against TPP): Gaius Publius; Naked Capitalism
Sit Down (Greece): Leonid Bershidsky: Bloomberg
Fight (ISIS): McFate, et al.: ISW
Fight (Ukraine): AFP-JIJI: Japan Times
Fight: (Saudi Arabia): Gary Brecher: Pando
Where It All Leads: John Michael Greer: Archdruid Report

Links

Missing The Great Game: Alfred McCoy: TomDispatch
Or Maybe Not: Tony Wikrent: Naked Capitalism
Money Power: J. W. Mason
Overproduction And War: b: Moon Of Alabama
Bank Of England Figures Out Money: Bill Mitchell :Billy Blog
Plus Ca Change, Black Panthers: David Finkelstein: Consortium News

Links

My Big Fat Greek Crisis: Satyajit Das: Naked Capitalism
Consequences Of Austerity: Amartya Sen: New Statesman
Darkness Descends On Europe: Joseph Stiglitz: Project Syndicate
Bernanke's Blindness: Steve Waldman: Interfluidity
Manufacturing Equality: TooMuchOnLine
Stripping States Rights: Openureyes: BleedingHeartland
Skynet Ethics: Stuart Russell: Nature
Putin's Opinions: Luciano Fontana: Vineyard Of The Saker
The Era Of Breakdown: John Michael Greer: The Archdruid Report
Growing Up With Slaves: Samuel Clemens: DelancyPlace

Links

Manufacturing Delusions: Bruce Bartlett: SSRN
If We Weren't Deluded: Tim Smeeding: Lane Kenworthy
Ukrainian Delusions: Michael Hudson: Naked Capitalism
American Delusions: Michael Klare: Naked Capitalism
Delusions Of Power : Mark Ames: Pando
Delusions Of Terror: Bruce Schneier: Schneier On Security
My Delusion: Gaius Publius: Naked Capitalism

Links

Ignoring Israel On Nuking Iran: Philip Weiss: MondoWeiss
Ignoring Jeremy Hammond: Kit O'Connell:Mint Press
Ignoring Iraq: Patrick Lang: Sic Semper Tyrannis
Ignoring Al Queda: Jon Schwarz: The Intercept
Ignoring Trade Failures: Elizabeth Warren: Huffington Post
Ignoring Unhappiness: William Davies: Transformation
Programmed To Ignore: Tom Murphy: Do The Math

Links

NeoConservative Stall In Ukraine: Saker: Vineyard Of The Saker
And Where That Leaves Germany: Gilbert Doctorow: USForeignPolicy
NeoConed By Obama: Seymour Hersh: London Review Of Books
NeoLiberal Global Stall: Jeffery Rothfeder: Washington Post
Cracks In The NeoEdifice: Ian Welsh