What exactly is the “New World Order”?

by Kevin Barrett

There is talk in conspiracy circles about a bankster plot to reduce the world to slavery.

Unfortunately, the conspiracy theorists are right. John Perkins, in Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and subsequent books, offers convincing first-hand testimony of his exploits in service to the New World Order bankster conspiracy.

Listen to Economic Hotman, John Perkins

The most important thing we can do as we hover on the horizon of One State is to shed the old language rapidly. None of it was real anyway – it was just the parlance of that particular “game.” Grow a new vocabulary of possibilities – the new state will be the dawn of humanity’s great reconciliation. Muslims, Christians and Jews living together in Palestine as they once did.

by Sharmine Narwani

Europe is starting to buckle under the strain of the economic crisis as one doom scenario leads to the next. The spectre of a forced exit from the euro looms large. But do we really have cause to be so gloomy? Are there no winners in the present bleak economic landscape? Radio Netherlands Worldwide put four simple questions to three leading Dutch economists.

-1. Are you positive or negative about the future?
-2. What is the biggest problem that needs to be overcome? How will we manage to do it?
-3. Who will be the winners and who will be the losers?
-4. What is the impact of the economic crisis on you personally?

Goldman Sachs struck a secret deal with Greece to help it mask its vast debts, it emerged yesterday.

The Wall Street giant is claimed to have reaped as much as £192million in fees by entering a complex currency transaction in 2001 that helped Athens borrow cash without putting it on the books as a loan.

The so-called 'swap' deal, while permitted under EU rules, helped Greece meet eurozone limits on government borrowing.

Economists warned that the Greek financial system could crumble within weeks or days unless the European Central Bank steps up support.

President Karolos Papoulias told party leaders that banks had lost €700m in withdrawals on Monday alone as citizens rush to pre-empt capital controls and a much-feared return to the Drachma.

He cited central bank warnings that "great fear" might soon escalate to panic. The leaked details lend credence to claims that capital flight by both savers and firms have reached €4bn a week since the triumph of anti-bailout parties on May 6.

The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number. At this point, the entire Greek banking system is in danger of collapsing.

The following is my prescription for Greece....

1 - Default on all debts.

2 - Leave the euro.

3 - Issue drachmas that are debt-free and that do not come from a central bank. Instead, have the Greek government create them and spend them directly into circulation.

4 - Enjoy a return to prosperity.

Michael Snyder, Contributor
Activist Post

Money is being pulled out of Greek banks at an alarming rate, and if something dramatic is not done quickly Greek banks are going to start dropping like flies. As I detailed yesterday, people do not want to be stuck with euros in Greek banks when Greece leaves the euro and converts back to the drachma.

The fear is that all existing euros in Greek banks would be converted over to drachmas which would then rapidly lose value after the transition. So right now euros are being pulled out of Greek banks at a staggering pace.

So where has all of the cash for these withdrawals been coming from? ...

European politicians failed to see that the single currency's existence is in peril, trying to blame the system's failures on individual countries, Aditya Chakrabortty, lead economics writer for The Guardian newspaper, told RT.

Britain's Prime Minister says the Eurozone must make up or break up. David Cameron told business leaders that the beleagured single currency countries are at a crossroads which demands urgent action to avoid sparking a global depression.

Shares in Spanish bank Bankia have continued their dramatic decline on concerns over the firm's finances.

The share price was down another 25% on Thursday, taking losses for May to 50%.

Spain denied a report in the El Mundo newspaper that customers had taken more than 1bn euros ($1.3bn; £800m) out of the bank, which is set to be part-nationalised, over the past week.

Mr Cameron raised eyebrows at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday when he warned the eurozone it "either has to make up or it is looking at a potential break-up".

Chancellor George Osborne has repeatedly warned against speculating about eurozone break-up, saying it would cause instability amid Greece's ongoing inability to form a government able to push through austerity plans.

But he told MPs earlier on Thursday that the Greek elections had "let the genie out of the bottle" and "some of the things we were happy to say in private we are now also willing to say in public because the issue is out there".

David Cameron has set out a three-point plan to stop Europe's financial problems spiralling out of control, amid growing fears that Greece is about to crash out of the single currency.

The Prime Minister is piling the pressure on Europe to stop the collapse of the single currency by raising money through "Eurobonds".

Speaking in Manchester, he warned the financial crisis of 2008 that led to the near-collapse of the banking system "never really went away".

A tsunami of capital flight from Greece threatens to overwhelm the authorities, forcing the country out of the euro before fresh elections in June.

Economists warned that the Greek financial system could crumble within weeks or days unless the European Central Bank steps up support.

President Karolos Papoulias told party leaders that banks had lost €700m in withdrawals on Monday alone as citizens rush to pre-empt capital controls and a much-feared return to the Drachma.

He cited central bank warnings that "great fear" might soon escalate to panic. The leaked details lend credence to claims that capital flight by both savers and firms have reached €4bn a week since the triumph of anti-bailout parties on May 6.

The Spanish Treasury had to pay around 5pc to attract buyers of three- and four-year bonds. The longer-dated bonds sold with a yield of 5.106pc, way above the 3.374pc the last time it was auctioned.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said yesterday his government, struggling to reduce its budget deficit, could soon find it difficult to fund itself affordably on the bond market unless the pressure eases.

It’s just after lunchtime on a drizzly day in the Amsterdam suburb of Bos en Lommer and the line of people waiting to fill their bags with free rice, juice, potatoes and bread is lengthening.

The market is one of 135 food banks in the Netherlands bailing out people trying to survive on less than 180 euros ($234) a month, the threshold to qualify for the aid. Organizers say demand for the service rose 20 percent in the first quarter.

Chris Martenson is warning everyone to get ready because we’re about to have another 2008-Style crisis, but this time on a global level

Greeks withdraw billions of euros from banks as the country's president warns of 'panic' over Euro exit that will be 'somewhere between catastrophic and Armageddon'.

The news coming out of Europe just keeps getting dire as the run on Greek banks continues prompting the nation's banks to warn of a complete banking collapse as an exit from the EU appears to be inevitable.

At the same time, the a report on the Telegraph warns a Greek exit will be somewhere between 'somewhere between catastrophic and Armageddon' as European leaders warn of civil widespread civil unrest as a result of the fallout.

The damage to the rest of Europe from Greece leaving the euro would be "somewhere between catastrophic and Armageddon", the chief negotiator for the body representing private sector holders of Greek bonds said on Wednesday.

The people of Iceland have overwhelmingly risen up and forced their government puppets of the banks to resign. Primary banks have been nationalized. The debt scam imposed by Great Britain and Holland money printers was declared null and void. A public assembly has been created to rewrite Iceland’s constitution.

The best part is, all of this happened without violence or bloodshed. A whole country’s revolution succeeded against powers that created the current global crisis without a shot being fired. A very good reason exists for the apparent failure of television and newspapers to provide any publicity on this unprecedented event: what would happen if the rest of the EU and the United States took this as an example?

By now many have seen some iteration of various GDP to sovereign debt charts but how many have seen this sovereign debt to government revenues chart?

France’s unemployment rate has risen to 10 percent, with millions of French citizens looking for work as Europe’s economic crisis shows no sign of letting up.

Michael Snyder, Contributor
Activist Post

The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number. At this point, the entire Greek banking system is in danger of collapsing.

Most of the money Greece used to pay in full a 436-million-euro foreign law bond on Tuesday went to a vulture fund, the New York Times has reported.

“Almost 90 percent was delivered to the coffers of Dart Management, a secretive investment fund based in the Cayman Islands, according to people with direct knowledge of the transaction,” the newspaper said.

“Dart is one of the best known of the so-called vulture funds, which have a track record of buying the distressed bonds of nearly bankrupt countries — and if they do not get paid, suing the governments for the money.”

The bank runs that we are watching right now in Greece are shocking, but they are only just the beginning. Since May 6th, nearly one billion dollars has been withdrawn from Greek banks. For a small nation like Greece, that is an absolutely catastrophic number. At this point, the entire Greek banking system is in danger of collapsing.Meanwhile, banks in other troubled European nations are already on shaky ground. The Spanish banking system is an absolute disaster zone at this point and on Monday night Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of 26 Italian banks.

The situation in Italy is especially worth keeping a close eye on. As Ambrose Evans-Pritchard recently noted, things are not looking good for Italy at all....

As leaders in Athens accepted the need for a new general election to end a national stalemate, the International Monetary Fund said Europe’s leaders should prepare for the possibility of a Greek departure from the single currency.

Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF, warned she was “technically prepared for anything” and said the utmost effort must be made to ensure any Greek exit was orderly. The effect was likely to be “quite messy” with risks to growth, trade and financial markets. “It is something that would be extremely expensive and would pose great risks but it is part of options that we must technically consider,” she said.

Fast forwarding from ca 1000 AD until 2003 showing Europe's shifting borders, alliances, unions, territories, occupied land etc.

France’s unemployment rate has risen to 10 percent, with millions of French citizens looking for work as Europe’s economic crisis shows no sign of letting up.

Raising the spectre of a Greek exit, the German chancellor said “solidarity for the euro” was threatened by the ongoing political crisis in Athens.

Stock markets around the world fell sharply with fears mounting that a euro break-up could lead to renewed financial turmoil. The FTSE-100 index of Britain’s major companies fell by two per cent to 5465, with bank shares hit particularly hard.

The cost of Spanish government borrowing also hit a record high since the single currency was introduced because of concerns that the crisis will spread.

The talks turned on implementation of a very tough EU-IMF debt bail-out accord.

Greek socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said: "We are going again towards elections, in a few days, under very bad conditions," he said, while a statement from the president's office noted simply that efforts to form a government had failed.

Minutes ago Bloomberg sent out a notice that things in Greece may be on the verge of the final collapse. From Bloomberg: "Anxious Greeks have withdrawn as much as 700 million euros ($893 million) from the nation’s banks since the inconclusive May 6 election, President Karolos Papoulias told party leaders yesterday, according to a transcript of the meeting posted on the presidency’s website today. Papoulias said he got the information from the head of the Bank of Greece, the central bank, George Provopoulos, according to the transcript."

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - World stocks declined and the euro fell to a four-month low against the dollar on Tuesday after Greece said it would hold new elections and worries increased about its possible exit from the euro zone.

Gold touched a 4-1/2-month low as the euro's weakness unnerved investors over the profitability of holding euro-denominated assets.

Where the eurozone crisis heads will depend not on whether Greece leaves the union, but on how the situation in the region affects debt-troubled Italy and Spain, Aleksey Bachurin, head of Russian Cash Equity Trading at Renaissance Capital, told RT.

“The important thing is not Greece itself: it’s relatively small and the investments in Greece are already written down by most banks. But the potential contagious effect on Italy and especially Spain – this is a real danger,” Bachurin said.

Indeed, as the Greek crisis entered a new phase with the country’s party leaders failing to form a government, Italian and Spanish borrowing costs surged and banking declined.

(Reuters) - Greece abandoned a nine-day hunt for a government on Tuesday and called a new election that threatens to hasten the nation's slide towards bankruptcy and a future outside the euro zone.

At least 100,000 Spaniards angered by grim economic prospects and the political handling of the international financial crisis turned out for street demonstrations in the country's cities Saturday, marking the one-year anniversary of a movement that inspired similar pressure groups in other countries.

“We dance round in a ring and suppose/ But the secret sits in the middle and knows.” – (Robert Frost)

May 14 and 15 are paradoxically days of celebration and catastrophe; victors “dance round in a ring and suppose,” caught in a never ending quest to know if indeed this celebration is for victory or for defeat, while those vanquished understand “the secret that sits in the middle and knows.” Are the secrets Truth that we are afraid to delve into, too ashamed to acknowledge, or fear of a pending Nakba for the victor signaled by a merciful and just God?

A country that is hopelessly enslaved by Jewish money and Jewish power, is not free to report the truth.

America needs to produce politicians who are more honest and less fearful of the wrath of the Jewish lobby (AIPAC).

However, this won’t happen until mainstream America discovers the disastrous role Israel and her agents play in America’s national life.

Another well-done, excellent example of the truth, which has long been apparent.

Media Lies!

Straight up truth served piping hot, with a side of hilarious. Genius.

WARNING: NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT. (No foul language)

Moody's announced, after the bell, they downgraded 26 Italian banks which has sent the Euro sliding following its fall below the $1.30 psychological barrier.

The media had been hyping up the ramifications of Spain failing to find investor's to buy its sovereign bonds over the last several weeks.

Following Europe's Bear Stearn's moment, Spain fell far short of raising funds they needed in their bond offering this morning, sending Spanish sovereign debt rates soaring while the story was barely a hiccup on the media radar, who instead diverts the attention of the masses to the JP Morgan debacle.

As the global financial markets continue on their downward spiral mass anti-austerity protests sweep across Europe as a financial disaster looms.

Markets have fallen heavily and debt yields have risen, as EU finance ministers meet this afternoon for 'political' talks that are expected to focus on the ongoing crises in Greece and Spain.

• EU finance ministers meet this afternoon
• European markets close down, FTSE off 2pc
• Spanish bond yields hit 2012 high of 6.331pc
• Eurozone industrial output slumps 2.2pc y/o/y
• Greek politicians still tussling to form govt

Last week was a truly hectic one for the EU, with violent anti-austerity demos and political deadlock again casting doubts over the future of the euro. In Spain, as many as hundreds of thousands marched in nationwide protest. They chanted slogans and waved banners demanding an end to cuts and painful austerity. In Italy, violent anti-austerity clashes erupted in the city of Naples, after yet another suicide apparently caused by an aggressive government taxation program. But above all that, is the political turmoil in Greece

EU foreign ministers on Monday issued a harsh critique of Israel, saying the gathering pace of settlement-building, settler extremism and ill-treatment of Palestinians threatens a two-state solution.

Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives suffered a humiliating
defeat in key elections in Germany's most populous state yesterday
when voters rejected her party's austerity policies and handed a
resounding victory to her pro-growth Social Democratic Party
opponents.

Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats were shell-shocked by the devastating result they returned in the poll in North Rhine Westphalia, which has a total population of 18 million.

The neocon cabal of Zionist Christians and Jews behind 9/11 have tried to disguise their war on Islam as a “war on terror.” But occasionally one of them blurts out the truth: “I always thought it was a mistake not to say what Iraq really was, that is, a war against an expanding Islam,” opined neocon think-tanker James Schall of Georgetown University.*

If General Dempsey really wants to end the war on Islam, he should go to whatever lengths are necessary to expose the truth about 9/11. To that end, he ought to consider a Constitutional Counter-Coup in which all those complicit in 9/11 and its cover-up are suddenly and without warning detained and charged by military courts rather than the neocon-owned federal judiciary.

It's endgame today in Athens, where political party leaders are beginning a last-ditch effort to form a coalition. If they fail, Greece would have to stage a new election - one predicted to bolster anti-bailout factions even more. And as uncertainty grips Greece, its once unthinkable exit from the Eurozone is looking increasingly likely. In the country itself, banks have reportedly begun to prepare for a switch to the former currency, the drachma. The EU is also deeply worried over the possible consequences - but maintains Greece's exit won't be fatal. But political analyst Dr. Alessandro Politi says it shouldn't be about preserving the Euro, but helping the people...

This week the German Bundesbank waved the white flag. The die is cast. For good or ill, Europe has embarked on a program that will require multiple trillions of euros of freshly minted money in order to maintain the eurozone. But the alternative, European leaders agree, is even worse. Today we will look at the recent German shift in policy, why it was so predictable, and what it means. This is a Ponzi scheme that makes Madoff look like a small-time street hustler. There is a lot to cover.

Mr Pangalos warned: "There is a school of thought that says the Germans are bluffing. They need Greece and will never throw us out of the eurozone. But what will happen, which is almost certain, is they will not give us the money to pay our debts.

"We will be in wild bankruptcy, out-of-control bankruptcy. The state will not be able to pay salaries and pensions. This is not recognised by the citizens. We have got until June before we run out of money.

"I'm sure the Germans don't want Greece to leave the euro. What I don't know is how much they're willing to pay. It depends on the German man on the street. Is he willing to pay his taxes to save Greece? I doubt it."

A millionaire City trader known as the "London Whale" for the vast size of his bets on the markets, has emerged as the culprit behind a $2bn (£1.25bn) trading loss at one of the world's biggest investment banks.

Bruno Iksil was also known in City circles as Voldemort – the Harry Potter bogeyman who is referred to in the fantasy novels as "He who must not be named" – due to the awed regard he was held in. Until this week.

Mr Iksil built up his huge losses by betting on the creditworthiness of big companies. The size of his losses only emerged after the bank took one of its regular snapshots of the current state of its trading books.

In this episode, Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert discuss the alleged meritocracy of old Etonians running the world (into the ground) while the rest of us remain wards of the state - from the President of France to PhDs on foodstamps. In the second half of the show Max talks to John Titus, producer of the new documentary, Bailout.

Greece starts another day without government after wrangling politicians continue to fail to agree a coalition after last Sunday's elections. The leader of the second-largest party has refused to join any administration which pledges to stick to the country's bailout agreement with the EU and IMF.If a last-ditch attempt to form a national unity government fails, new elections will follow. Greeks are deeply divided over harsh budget cuts which came as the price of international cash injections. The EU has already warned that money will continue to flow ONLY if Athens sticks to agreed austerity measures

And there was about 50 Greek people here and there was a fascinating noise. And they kept going back to a very interesting point – we are in Third World War and it’s an economic war and the weapon is debt.

If you look at Iceland – now they are something that is quite inspiring in a sense that they absolutely ignored what they have been told to do. They didn’t go for being bailed out in any way. In fact at the moment they are crowdsourcing their constitution themselves. They dispense with all the leaders they believe to be corrupt and they were banging their saucepans just like in Argentina until they have a leader they believed in. And they are going much further. They are now actually chasing and wanting to bring to court those bankers that brought the country to debt in the first place. So they are taking control themselves and they are doing right.

Welcome to the NWO peasants!

Top EU officials have decreed Greece should leave the eurozone if unable to stick to the austerity measures imposed by European creditors. The political crisis in Athens is making this scenario not altogether impossible.On Thursday the head of Greece's second-placed Radical Left Coalition addressed the EU’s top officials, calling on them to re-examine the strict austerity program Greece is going through. The letter was addressed to EU President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

In his letter Alexis Tsipras wrote that the election on May 6 had exposed a strong anti-austerity mood among the Greek population. As a result, the new Greek parliament proved unable to form a working government. All this has stripped Greece's bailout commitments of “political legitimacy.”

Tony Cartalucci, Contributor
Activist Post

Across the dominion of the corporate-financiers on Wall Street and in the city of London, the reckless Ponzi schemes destroying the West's economy and plunging it into an economic depression have left politicians, the bought-and-paid-for servants of corporate-financier hegemony, wringing the public dry to cover losses. In reality, when an enterprise fails because of criminality, incompetence or both, citizens should not be forced to pass the hat around to "bail them out."

They are declared bankrupt, their assets (if they have any) are stripped, often if fraud is involved, executives and board members go to jail, and society attempts to fill the void with sounder enterprises run by more reputable people...

Two policemen have been injured as hundreds of protesters hurled red paint and eggs at officers guarding Equitalia, Italy's tax collection office, in Naples following the suicide of yet another debt-ridden Italian citizen.

Demonstrators lobbed rocks and bottles at policemen clad in riot gear as the building was quickly closed to the public.

The protesters claimed to have attacked the tax office after its director refused to close it to mourn the latest suicide in Naples, allegedly sparked by the delivery of a bill from the tax recovery office, ANSA news agency reports.

The pound's been rising again this morning, which is plainly good news if you are planning on a foreign holiday this summer, but pretty much rubbish if you are a struggling exporter, or indeed trying to set monetary policy at the Bank of England. Take a look at the pound euro chart beneath. Sterling has now regained getting on for half of the depreciation it suffered in the wake of the banking crisis.

As Europeans rush to get their money out of the collapsing euro, one of the places they are opting for is the UK, and particularly London property.

Gao Xiqing, president of China Investment Corp., said the nation’s sovereign wealth fund has stopped buying European government debt on concerns about the region’s financial turmoil.

Political parties in Greece are struggling to come up with a power-sharing coalition deal, sending the crisis-hit country into further turmoil. General elections on Sunday failed to produce an outright winner, with leading parties so far failing to form a government. Without an agreement, fresh elections would have to be held. On Thursday, Athens is due to receive 5.2 billion euros in bailout funds but several eurozone countries were reluctant to forward this money because of the political instability. As part of the bailout terms, Athens must pass 14.5 billion euros worth of austerity measures in June. But financial chaos has led to public mistrust of pro-austerity parties. For more on this, RT talks to economic analyst, Michael Mross.

Fears austerity cuts needed to get the next EU banker bailout will not be passed as Greece's government splinters into warring factions and violence hits the streets.

Political parties in Greece are struggling to come up with a power-sharing coalition deal, sending the crisis-hit country into further turmoil and sucking Spain into a collapse that has just triggered Europe's Bear Stearns moments.

Meanwhile MP Farage warns a rebellion has started and Europe is now facing an outright revolution.

RT's Sophie Shevardnadze talks to the winner of the Nobel prize for economics, Kenneth Joseph Arrow, about how he thinks the Eurozone debt crisis should be tackled.

**Are you guys seeing any recovery, or is he being paid to say this?

Leading German politicians warned Greece on Tuesday that the country would not receive a cent more aid unless it fulfills all the conditions of its international bailout.

Erik Colin Charles, Contributor
Activist Post

What happens in Greece affects everyone, so we need to root for each others' success rather than simply say 'Not in My Backyard'.

The world knows that you feel the pressures and despair of this economic crisis to the middle of your bones. The crushing blow of austerity makes you feel helpless and weak, but there are solutions ....

It is crunch time in Syria. Allow the jihadist battle to take flight there, and there is no telling how far and wide this fight will spread. The Annan Plan is the “only game in town,” and the Syrian Army the only military force that can take action against these militants.

We have arrived at a determining moment in the Syrian crisis. The choices are startlingly simple:

1) Cautious, incremental movement toward political reconciliation and reform spearheaded by the Syrian government and closely monitored by Kofi Annan’s UN mission, Moscow, Tehran and Beijing.

2) Dangerous escalation of violence and militarization that will increasingly include foreign jihadists and is likely spill over into the broader Middle East.

MP Nigel Farage warns a rebellion is underway and like communism the EU is now one large economic prison besieged by bankers and sinking like the Titanic.

In this short video clip EU MP Nigel Farage gives a striking warning a rebellion has already began in Europe and delivers a riveting speech about the gloomy future of the European continent that has been besieged by bankers.

Spain has nationalised crippled lender Bankia in a dramatic move to contain the esalating crisis and restore faith in the country's management.

Portuguese workers will give up four public holidays beginning in 2013 as part of the government's austerity drive, news reports said Wednesday.

Bend over and spread 'em!

For the first time since last July, right before the market's grand plan collapse, the Dow has fallen for 6 days in a row with a massive sell off this morning.

“No nation ever did nor ever can retain its liberty after the loss of the sword and the purse.” — Patrick Henry

The past few days the Internet has been burning up with these stories:

Yes, The Re-Education Camp Manual Does Apply Domestically to U.S. Citizens

“A shocking U.S. Army manual that describes how political activists in prison camps will be indoctrinated by specially assigned psychological operations officers contains numerous clear references to the fact that the policies do apply domestically to U.S. citizens.”

• Samaras: ending austerity would mean 'destruction of Greece'
• Fitch CEO: Greek euro exit would be manageable
• European markets slump on Greek and French fears
• EU to hold special meeting on May 23 on growth and jobs
• Germany says no to reworking euro fiscal pact
• Greek far left leader criticises "bailouts of barbarism"

Greece failed in its efforts to forge a "pro-European" government last night after a watershed election in which nearly two-thirds of voters rejected the reform programme which has underwritten the country's international bailout.

The prospect of stalemate in Athens, fresh elections next month and a possible exit from the euro sent markets plunging, while Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, warned that Europe's most embattled economy must stick to its commitments to international lenders or face default.

Nervous traders wiped £26 billion from the value of London's leading shares index today as eurozone fears returned to haunt world markets.

The latest sell-off, which followed a similar rout on Friday, left the FTSE 100 Index down 1.8% at its lowest closing point so far in 2012.

The turmoil was triggered after the leader of Greece's left-wing Syriza bloc said he will try to forge a coalition government that would tear up the austerity deal that underpins the country's 240 billion euro (£190 billion) bail-out.

Alexis Tsipras' radical plans would likely see Greece default on its debts and be ejected from the single currency.

Europe elections make Bush tax-cut extension more likely, analyst says

The wave of European incumbent politicians losing due to austerity has made it more likely that the Bush tax cuts will be extended at year end, one analyst says.

(*BUT if every european incumbent got back in , that would make it more likely the Bush tax cuts will be extended at year end . Or ,if Israel wiped europe off the face of the map it would make it more likely the Bush tax cuts will be extended at year's end .)

by Stephen M Walt

Foreign Policy – I did a brief interview for All Things Considered last Friday, on the topic of media handling of the current war scare over Iran. Here's a link to the story, which ran over the weekend.

The interview got me thinking about the issue of media coverage of this whole business, and I'm sorry to say that most mainstream news organizations have let us down again.

Although failures haven't been as egregious as the New York Times and Washington Post's wholesale swallowing of the Bush administration's sales pitch for war in 2002, on the whole the high-end media coverage has been disappointing.

Here are my Top Ten Media Failures in the 2012 Iran War Scare.

With unemployment in Europe at its highest level since the creation of the single currency, resentment has been growing over whether strict budgetary discipline is the best way to brace a spiral of debt.

Street protests have been seen across Italy, Spain and Portugal as people reacted to spending cuts that have slowed economies across Europe.
Savings have been wiped out and in Spain, a real estate crash has helped swell unemployment to 25 per cent of the workforce.
Anti-austerity momentum came to a head on Sunday night, when voters in France and Greece spectacularly ousted governments seen as towing the fiscal discipline line too strictly.

Visling through der graveyard?

Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in Berlin on Monday, rejected the notion that Europe was on the brink of a major policy shift after Socialist Francois Hollande defeated her fellow conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Greek voters punished ruling parties who slashed spending to secure a foreign bailout.

I think the bankers got plunged into uncertainty!

Greeks enraged by the terms of international bailouts which have cut wages, sent unemployment to one of the highest levels in Europe and caused a spate of suicides, deserted mainstream parties in droves in Sunday's poll, plunging their country into uncertainty.

The newly elected president of France is destined to clash with the US and wants to end the era of the US dollar rule of global markets.

Asian and Australian markets crash nearly 3% while US stock futures are indicating a massive sell-off at Monday’s opening following the results of the elections in France and Greece.

I write in the Daily Mail about Europe's rejection of austerity. It's not just the French and Greek election results. Within the past ten days, the Dutch and Romanian governments have also been brought down over their attempts to make savings. The same thing will keep happening across the Continent, at election after election.

Eurocrats, too, are tiptoing away from cuts, belatedly aware of how outrageous it sounded to argue for austerity in the 27 member states while demanding a 6.8 per cent budget increase for themselves. We can expect a very different strategy now, one based on higher spending and deeper European integration. Stand by for Eurobonds, a common finance minister, pan-European taxes, EU-wide stimulus packages etc.

This was, of course, the approach which brought Europe to its present unhappy condition. So why do voters hope to solve the crisis by accelerating the policies which led to it?

Renewed uncertainty over Europe's ability to deal with its
spawning debt crisis following elections in Greece and France hammered
stock markets today, with the main exchange in Athens down a massive 8%.