21–29 of 29 posts
According to other news reports, this is just the latest in a string of attacks on American companies in Greece. McDonalds, Citibank, and Starbucks were hit in Athens. If this continues, you might see multinationals scale down operations or even close up shop in Greece, adding to the unemployment ranks - just what the Greek economy does not need.
Sources?
My guess would be that Microsoft's Greek office didn't want to pay protection money to some or other criminal racket -- or something else along similar lines also involving criminals. This kind of violent activity tends to become more prevalent and audacious when grown men and women can no longer provide food and shelter for their families. Greece is truly in the midst of a Great Depression . According to official st…
According to other news reports, this is just the latest in a string of attacks on American companies in Greece. McDonalds, Citibank, and Starbucks were hit in Athens. If this continues, you might see multinationals scale down operations or even close up shop in Greece, adding to the unemployment ranks - just what the Greek economy does not need.
Sources?
A Reuters wire story.
My guess would be that Microsoft's Greek office didn't want to pay protection money to some or other criminal racket -- or something else along similar lines also involving criminals. This kind of violent activity tends to become more prevalent and audacious when grown men and women can no longer provide food and shelter for their families. Greece is truly in the midst of a Great Depression . According to official st…
I have a feeling most grown men there do not have families.
My guess would be that Microsoft's Greek office didn't want to pay protection money to some or other criminal racket -- or something else along similar lines also involving criminals. This kind of violent activity tends to become more prevalent and audacious when grown men and women can no longer provide food and shelter for their families. Greece is truly in the midst of a Great Depression . According to official st…
I doubt there's much overlap between "people who would commit armed extortion against a giant company" and "people who can't feed their families".
This isn't a crime of desperation, it's a crime carried out by organized criminals who have been in the business for a long time.
My guess would be that Microsoft's Greek office didn't want to pay protection money to some or other criminal racket -- or something else along similar lines also involving criminals. This kind of violent activity tends to become more prevalent and audacious when grown men and women can no longer provide food and shelter for their families. Greece is truly in the midst of a Great Depression . According to official st…
> "This kind of violent activity tends to become more prevalent and audacious when grown men and women can no longer provide food and shelter for their families." I doubt there's much overlap between "people who would commit armed extortion against a giant company" and "people who can't feed their families". This isn't a crime of desperation, it's a crime carried out by organized criminals who have been in the busine…
Consider the case of the US during the Great Depression, which "brought a rapid rise in the crime rate as many unemployed workers resorted to petty theft to put food on the table. Suicide rates rose, as did reported cases of malnutrition. Prostitution was on the rise as desperate women sought ways to pay the bills. Health care in general was not a priority for many Americans, as visiting the doctor was reserved for only the direst of circumstances. Alcoholism increased with Americans seeking outlets for escape, compounded by the repeal of prohibition in 1933."[1]
Some of the most audacious criminals in US history, like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde, rose to fame during the Great Depression of the 1930's.
I'm truly baffled by what they were protesting, here. I'm no MS fan, but I haven't heard of any particular ire pointed at them for anything, much less the troubles Greece is going through now. Was this just a wanton act of petulance?
I think it'll be hard to guess unless more evidence surfaces. With a machine gun, gas canisters, etc., it sounds pretty organized, not a random splinter group of angry students or anything. The "mass" left movements (KKE, Antarsya, various squat-based anarchist groups, etc.) tend not to carry out military-style armed actions like that, and are more into the mass marches with Molotovs and rocks. There could be a small…