Even Cows Enjoy Wine in France

French cows reared on fine wine - Telegraph

The Waiting Game

Greece is expected to run out of cash in late July and remains unclear whether it will be given cash to meet funding needs over the summer.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels Tursday Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras said he had been given assurances that Greece would get "some kind" of interim funding over the summer to repay a 3.1-billion-euro bond, held by the European Central Bank, maturing Aug. 20.
The country will not get fresh bailout money before September and doesn't expect to get more time to meet creditor-imposed fiscal targets until the country gets its austerity program back on track, Stournaras said after a two-day euro-zone finance ministers meeting.
Any changes to the bailout terms would be hammered out only after the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund make an assessment on where Greece stands in relation to meeting its targets, said Luc Frieden, Luxembourg's finance minister. He added that officials from the so-called troika of creditors were expected back in Athens July 24 to assess the country’s short-term financing needs.
To meet 2012 fiscal targets under the "tough demands", Greece would have to find another 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) of savings "in the coming weeks," Stournaras said.
After a prolonged period of political instability, culminating in elections in May and June, Greece now needs to find the savings urgently.

Ta Yp' Opsin 
Sources: AP, Dow Jones Newswires

A Protest Resignation

Deputy minister resigns over debt talks

Nikos Nikolopoulos, deputy labor minister, resigned on Monday as a protest for the handling of debt talks. He said the new coalition government should have pressed harder to renegotiate the terms of the country's bailout agreements.
Debt inspectors held talks in Athens last week to "correct serious distortions in the labor, pension and benefit systems." Known as the troika, the inspectors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, visit Greece frequently to check on the state of its struggling public finances.
Nikolopoulos announced his resignation hours after the new conservative-led government won a confidence vote in parliament.

Παραιτήθηκε ο υφυπουργός Εργασίας Ν. Νικολόπουλος

Στην επιστολή παραίτησής του ο Νικολόπουλος αναφέρει ότι μόνη αιτία της παραίτησής του είναι η πεποίθησή του «πως το ζήτημα της επαναδιαπραγμάτευσης με την Τρόικα και η διόρθωση των σημαντικών στρεβλώσεων στα εργασιακά, συνταξιοδοτικά, ασφαλιστικά και προνοιακά ζητήματα, θα έπρεπε να έχουν τεθεί εμφατικά στο τραπέζι των συζητήσεων από την αρχή. Εύχομαι να κάνω λάθος," συνεχίζει στην επιστολή, "Ωστόσο, επειδή προσωπικά μου είναι αδύνατο, να αισθάνομαι ανακόλουθος με τα πιστεύω μου και σε όσα διεκήρυττα ως Τομεάρχης Εργασίας της Ν.Δ., προτίμησα να αποχωρήσω από την κυβέρνηση, μη θέλοντας να της δημιουργώ εγγενή προβλήματα από την αρχή κιόλας του βίου της. "
Ο πρωθυπουργός Αντώνης Σαμαράς όρισε νέο υφυπουργό Εργασίας, Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης και Πρόνοιας τον βουλευτή Καβάλας, Νίκο Παναγιωτόπουλο.

Consider These   Source: AP

Τα υπ' όψιν  Πηγή: ΑΜΠΕ

Sad, Humane Goodbyes

Taiwan photographer hopes images of doomed shelter dogs encourage pet owners to be responsible
By Tassanee Vejpongsa, The Associated Press 

Taiwanese photographer Tou Chih-kang has been visiting dog shelters for two years now, making human-like portraits that give a sense of dignity and esteem to some 400 canines, in hopes of educating the public on the proper care of pets. This year Taiwanese authorities will kill an estimated 80,000 stray dogs at 38 pounds scattered throughout the island. In the photo, taken on Monday, April 9, 2012, in a makeshift studio, Tou Chih-kang and his assistant steady a scared dog for a portrait in the final moments of its life before being put down by lethal injection at a shelter in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Relief!

Rain brings temporary relief to hot, hot Chicago!


Photo George Zorbas/TYO

Ας αρχίσει με την Καρυάτιδα

Έξυπνη απάντηση απο χρήστες του διαδικτύου στον Ντέιβιντ Κάμερον, πρωθυπουργό της Βρετανίας, για δηλώσεις ότι «αν πτωχεύσει η Ελλάδα θα κλείσουν τα σύνορα της Βρετανίας για τους Έλληνες".

July 1st Podcast

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1KU27prGcwUbV8xdEdfZjU5a1U/edit