Anti-austerity protests continue in Greece

Cops in Greece took time out from beating heads to join firefighters & coast guards in front of parliament to protest cuts in their wages & pensions. Here a firefighter raises a flare, perhaps suggesting he can burn  down the place that has hijacked Greek democracy. The parliament just approved a $4.3 billion (3.2 billion-euro) package of spending reductions to the 2012 government budget, as proposed by the “troika” or gang of three--the European Union, IMF, & European Central Bank. The Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos (aka Papaoligarchos), is in Brussels for final approval from the gangster troika. As a former governor of the Bank of Greece & VP of the European Central Bank, you can understand his indifference to how this bailout will impoverish working people because of how it will enrich investors & financial institutions. (Photo by Petras Giannakouris/AP)