Greece Gets a Deal, A View of Pluto
Monday, July 13, 2015
Vol. 4, No. 194
Agreekment: European leaders worked long into the night before agreeing to a bailout deal for Greece, potentially ending the drama that threatened to fracture the Euro zone and leave Greece broke and adrift. The details have yet to be worked out, but the agreement allows the European Central Bank to funnel cash to Greek banks, keeping the country alive.
The deal does not appear to include debt reduction, which some economists have said is critical to putting Greece on the path to recovery.
Euro zone leaders told Greece yesterday that its parliament must pass financial reform laws by Wednesday to be considered for a bailout. That includes changing the value-added tax and pension systems, and reforming bankruptcy rules. German Chancellor Angela Merkel isn’t giving Greece much room to wiggle. “The most important currency has been lost and that is trust,” Merkel told reporters. “That means that we will have tough discussions and there will be no agreement at any price.”
NukeDeal: As the Greek drama drags on, the nuclear talks with Iran have also gone into overtime.
Some reports say Iran and six world powers are expected to soon announce a deal that would limit Iran’s nuclear development for 10 years while lifting crippling international economic sanctions.
Secy. of State John Kerry said, “I think we’re getting to some real decisions. So I will say, because we have a few tough things to do, I remain hopeful. Hopeful.”
Among the issues have been what limits to place on Iran’s nuclear research, how quickly to lift sanctions, and whether to continue an arms embargo on Iran.
Permawar: A series of bombings in Baghdad yesterday killed 29 people and wounded 81. The bombs included a man with a suicide vest and a suicide car at another location.
It was a tough day in Afghanistan, too. A suicide bomb hit a military checkpoint near an American military base in eastern Afghanistan, killing 17 civilians.
The Gathering Crowd: Union busting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced by Twitter this morning, “I’m in. I’m running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them.” He’s #26 in the Republican parade of candidates. Walker rocketed to national fame by stripping public employee unions of the right to collective bargaining and then fighting off a subsequent recall campaign.
Nation: Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan was named Miss USA last night at the pageant in Baton Rouge. She’s in favor of better race relations.
World: Eighteen prison employees are being questioned about the escape of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who disappeared into a tunnel out of the shower area. Guards found a 32-foot ladder descending to a long tunnel. A massive manhunt is underway, but Guzman is clever and may disappear into the mountains of his home state, Sinaloa.
>The collapse of a Russian military barracks in Siberia has killed 23 young men. A section of the four-story building simply peeled away, revealing the interior of the rooms and crushing airborne trainees.
Plutocracy: Mankind is expected to get its closest look at the planet Pluto just before 8 am eastern time tomorrow. NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has travelled 3 billion miles over 9 ½ years to get within snapshot range of Pluto — 7,767 miles. Fourteen minutes after a driveby photo shoot of Pluto at 30,000 mph, the spacecraft will take pictures of Pluto’s giant moon Charon. Scientists promise that the view will “knock your socks off.”
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