By Cristoph Dreier - WSWS

Attempts by New Democracy (ND), Greece’s largest ruling party, to appeal to the fascist Golden Dawn vote...are a clear warning to the working class...These moves are part of a broad campaign by the Greek ruling class to integrate Golden Dawn into official politics. The party...has been systematically built up in recent years. Financed by influential sections of the Greek bourgeoisie and supported by the police, it is currently polling up to 14 percent.

By Joshua Stephens - Znet

Students of post-WWI Germany likely see little new in Golden Dawn's strategy. Fascism has historically emerged from the splintered beams of economic wreckage and failed states, mobilizing widespread anxieties, circulating a currency of idealized national identity as a buffer against shame and defeat. What's less well-understood in Greece's case is that Golden Dawn has set about this process, in part, by aping efforts on the other end of the political spectrum, dating back to the winter of 2008, when the police murder of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos sparked riots across the country.

By Robert Stevens - 2 March 2013

Former high-level Greek diplomat Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos [said]...last week that discussions had taken place between senior Greek politicians and the armed forces on the military’s response to what Chrysanthopoulos described as an “explosion of social unrest” expected to occur “quite soon”...Since the onset of mass austerity in Greece in 2010 there have been constant rumors of coup discussions among high-ranking military personnel.

10th January 2013 | Issue 835 - SchNEWS

The rapid expansion of Greece's homegrown neo-nazi movement, the Golden Dawn, should set alarm bells ringing for anti-fascists across Europe...Until the last couple of years the Golden Dawn, with their Swastika-lite logo, were a fringe far-right group...In the last elections...Golden Dawn received 7% of the popular vote and gained eighteen seats in parliament. Their strength on the streets hasn't gone anywhere either and they can draw thousands to rallies.

By Martin Kreickenbaum - 28 January 2013

A report by Human Rights Watch documents the way in which Italian border police are deporting groups of asylum seekers to Greece without any attempt to examine their grounds for asylum...In the second half of 2012, Human Rights Watch interviewed 29 refugees deported from Italy to Greece. All testified to human rights violations and abuses committed by the Italian and Greek security authorities.

By Martin Kreickenbaum - 28 January 2013

A report by Human Rights Watch documents the way in which Italian border police are deporting groups of asylum seekers to Greece without any attempt to examine their grounds for asylum...In the second half of 2012, Human Rights Watch interviewed 29 refugees deported from Italy to Greece. All testified to human rights violations and abuses committed by the Italian and Greek security authorities.

By Yiorgos Vassalosl - Znet

...[S]omehow Golden Dawn continues to deny that it is a neo-Nazi organization. ‘Let everyone know that they should not speak of neo-Nazism,’ says [Golden Dawn MP] Ilias Kasidiaris...‘For us, this is hubris and criminal defamation. We are Greek nationalists.’ This is a man who...wrote that [Hitler] was ‘a great social reformer and an organizer of a model state’.

By Tonia Katerini - December 07, 2012

In the past, homeless people were mainly those who had problems with drug use or illness. Now many are homeless because they lost their jobs. There are least 20,000 homeless in Greece now – some estimates are much higher. And state-provided shelter only covers around 250 people...Salaries have fallen substantially – by up to 70 per cent in some cases.

By Matthaios Tsimitakis - Al Jazeera

...[A]nti-fascists know very well that they will have to face the police when confronted with Golden Dawn members...On September 30, 15 demonstrators were arrested and tortured for demonstrating on motorbikes and trying to defend members of the Tanzanian community who were being attacked by extreme far-right men.

Greece exhibits failed and rogue state characteristics. It governs irresponsibly. It's beholden more to foreign interests than its own. Banker needs are prioritized. Ruling authority outside Greece dictates terms.

By Christoph Dreier - 8 November 2012

...[I]n line with the latest package, a further 13.5 billion euro...is to be cut. The plan is to destroy 150,000 jobs, reduce wages by up to 30 percent and slash pensions by between five and 15 percent. Additional cuts in the health care sector, which is already completely under-funded, total 1.5 billion euros. Similar cuts are on the agenda for the education system. Universities are to be shut down with massive reductions in teaching staff. The retirement age is to be raised from 65 to 67.

By Christoph Dreier - 7 November 2012

Tuesday saw the beginning of a 48-hour general strike in Greece against the government’s austerity measures, which are being presented to parliament for agreement today. The fourth mass protest in the last six weeks, it came amid escalating strikes and protests spreading throughout the Greek workforce...“They should go to hell, and beyond...They should ask me how I feel when I have to go to church to beg for food...I would happily behead one of them.”

As a writer and radio host, I'm often asked why I don't discuss good news. My answer is when I find some I will. Today I did, and here it is.

Ordinary Greeks face deepening Depression conditions. At a time vital help is needed, force-fed austerity is policy. Corrupt governance mandates it. Severe repression targets resisters. Now they've got another woe. Press freedom isn't tolerated.

Doing the right thing is risky. Greek magazine publisher Costas Vaxevanis faces charges of violating state privacy laws. Potentially he faces two years in prison.