They’re finally figuring it out. The Greek “bailout” deal, the terms of which seem ever-changing, includes “austerity” for the masses, but also includes this gem:

From the New York Times, regarding Greece:

Ms. Katseli, an economist who was labor minister in the government of George Papandreou until she left in a cabinet reshuffle last June, was also upset that Greece’s lenders will have the right to seize the gold reserves in the Bank of Greece under the terms of the new deal…

Greece holds a little more than 100 tonnes of gold. I wrote about “asset-stripping” in June of last year.

And then there’s this, from the same article, in the “DUH!” department:

While their country’s fate is being decided in abstract, high-level negotiations in Brussels, Berlin and Paris as much as in Athens, many Greeks said they had begun to feel that the debt writedown and new loan is aimed at saving the banks more than the country and its citizens.

Shut up, slave, and get back to work. The interest on these loans is already accumulating, and taking up an ever-larger share of your “earnings.” Your future is to work harder, for less. After all, the bankers must be paid. When your betters want your opinion, they’ll ask for it. Or not.

Addendum: I previously remarked on something I called the “narrative.” This just in from the alternate universe that is Nancy Pelosi’s brain; whom is she trying to fool?:

Independent reports confirm that speculators are driving up the cost of oil, hurting consumers and potentially damaging the economic recovery. Wall Street profiteering, not oil shortages, is the cause of the price spike.

…

We call on the Republican leadership to act on behalf of American consumers and join our efforts to crack down on speculators who care more about their profits than the price at the pump even if these spikes harm the American consumer and our economy.

 

Which speculators would those be, dear? The ones in the administration and on both sides of the Congressional aisle who are rattling the sabres for war with Iran? So we impose sanctions on Iran, and the Iranians retaliate by stopping oil shipments to Europe, and “speculators” are driving up the price of oil? Huh? Now, if she would like to investigate just who profited from advance knowledge of those sanctions (in other words, which members of Congress, their families, and “campaign contributors” went long in the oil markets before the sanctions were announced?), then I am all for it.

But we all know how likely that is, don’t we?