" If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed."
Adolf Hitler.
" How fortunate for governments that the people they administer, don't think."
Adolf Hitler.
Thessaloniki Trade Fair 2013.
Or: An Amazing Greek Parallel Universe.
Or A major plug for E.L.O's' Mr. Blue Sky'.
Or An Extreme Case Of Cognitive Dissonance
Or You Can Fool Some Of The People......
"" We have turned the corner, " said the blue-suited man with the blue tie who had blue skies in his eyes, blue skies on his tongue and blue skies up his trousers.
Meanwhile in the Troika- German controlled world outside:
" Malnourished children turn up at school with nothing more than rice or stale rusks for months ."*
The blue-suited E.L O. fan(1) man cleared his throat near the microphone in a desperate attempt to drown out
the police outside shouting anti-government slogans.
See:
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/police-officers-uniform-chant-anti-government-slogans-during-photo-202029318--finance.html
He looked at the audience and smiled," yes," he said, " we are on a new page". He looked proud of this statement; he hadn't used this one before and thought maybe his scriptwriters were getting better.
In the real world though:
" The Greek Orthodox Church alone feeds an estimated 55,000 people a day." *
Back in the rose coloured Trade Fair-
" And, what's more we can see the light at the end of the tunnel we are in !"
He beamed with delight at this oh so original statement.
Outside though as these soothing words were being delivered , thousands of people , including Union workers, rallied in the country's second largest city, Thessaloniki to protest against cutbacks and the lay off of public workers.
See:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/08/322659/greeks-hold-mass-antiausterity-protest/
He gently punched his fist onto the desk in front of him as he delivered his next line, steadfastly staring with
what he hoped was a sincere expression , at the strange people in front of him , who had actually turned up to listen to him.
" A new day is arriving !!", he exclaimed triumphantly.
This was said while:
"Municipal Authorities distribute another 7,000 meals at soup kitchens around Athens. "*
The sound of shouts and screams outside where some say 50,000 people were demonstrating
suddenly rose and the faint whiff of teargas could be smelt.
To try and drown out the sound he raised his voice and almost shouted," Greece in an island of stability ".
Just a short distance away 4,500 police were trying to control the angry people in this island of stability.
He moved his head down to read his notes on the lectern. What was this written in red?
Say first part very slowly , and then say second part so fast as to be almost unintelligible.
He took a deep breath and spoke as if speaking to 6 year old children, as indeed , in reality, he probably was.
" Greece's economy will start to recover next year. " He wondered if he had spoken a bit too slowly, but for this soundbite to be headline news , maybe his delivery was about right. He paused, then putting his hand over his mouth mumbled at lightning speed so all the words joined up.
" Andby2020will reachpre-crisis" Suddenly, he stopped, as he saw some more red writing on his script. What was this ? Say very firmly and slowly and raise both hands in the air. Right, he thought, here goes.
"And probably higher levels of prosperity.! "
He wondered whether anyone had caught his bit about 7 more years of austerity, but no, they hadn't twitched. Were they all on some heavy medication, he pondered.
Feeling more confident he came out with the following.
" My optimism is fueled by data ." Unfortunately he was forced to stop as an awful crashing sound could be heard, even though the demonstrators were not allowed near the place where he was speaking. Another whiff of teargas fumes could be detected.
"Fueled by teargas," ,he started to say. He smiled a sort of' it's us wise ones in this room against those fools outside ' smile .
" Fueled by data, " he shouted, " that showed the economy shrank less than expected in the first half of 2013."
Meanwhile, in the real world-
" In Neos Kosmos, a working class district locals are often spotted scavenging for food at the weekly fruit and veg market. " *
" It used to be 1 in 10 who went to soup kitchens, but today it is 9 in 10." *
Back in the world of the have's-
Jeff Lynne's greatest admirer then proclaimed his favourite saying.
" This year, 2013 we have had record tourism." He beamed at his audience as he threw these honeyed words at them.
Well, look at this:
http://mikeselleylyicsplus.blogspot.gr/2013/06/17-million-tourists-in-greece.html
" This could add ," he sounded almost hysterical now, " more than 11 billion euros directly, and 30 billion euro indirectly into the economy.
30 Billion from one tourist season!! Does this guy smoke something ?
There was silence. Phew, he thought, they have, as the finance minister said they would, swallowed this ludicrous statistic.
" No one understands you when you talk about really big figures, because the guy in the street has had no dealings with them; he gets confused." These had been the Finance Minister's words, and he had been right. It must be his Oxford education.
He, with blue skies spewing from his mouth, then told the faithful," Talk of' Grexit,' Greece's departure from the Euro, has been replaced by ' Grecovery' "
He walked back from the lectern, with the look of a man who had just told someone that they have won the lottery.
Not looking at the world through red, red, rose-coloured spectacles though one sees the following.
'' They said the crisis would pass in 2012, and now in 2013, they say we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel ( they really like this saying ) in 2014." *
" The truth is it's only getting worse. Greeks have spent their savings. There's no more fat." *
UNICEF estimate that nearly 600,000 children live under the poverty line in Greece, and more than half that number lacked daily nutritional needs.
" In poorer families we are seeing an inability to cope with children's health, social and educational needs."
This was said by Lambros Kanellopoules, the head of Greek's UNICEF. He added:
" Social exclusion is growing. I am seeing it in the middle class where incomes have been hit hard by the the cuts. "
SEE:See:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/06/greece-food-crisis-summer-austerity
Interesting that no mention of how the Greek people are suffering was even touched on.
To hear and see E.L.O . perform, the classic, ' Mr. Blue Sky' -
See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Ncxw1xfck