Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Yanis Varoufakis abruptly quit his role as Greek finance minister this morning. The announcement came within hours of a referendum in which Greeks roundly backed the position of his Syriza party. Just over 61% of voters rejected a bailout proposal from Greece’s creditors, which the outspoken Varoufakis said amounted to “terrorism” on the eve of…
Greece voted overwhelmingly against enduring more austerity in exchange for a new round of bailout funding from its creditors. With roughly 91% of the vote in more than 61% of voter cast their ballot against the deal, in a victory for Greece’s left-leaning government and a rebuke to the troubled country’s euro zone creditors. It’s…
On Sunday, Greek citizens took to the polls in a controversial referendum asking them whether they support a plan calling for continued economic austerity in exchange for debt relief. Their answer—with more than 70 percent of the votes counted—was a resounding “no.” The outcome means that next steps for the nation, which has fallen into…
Jim Webb is now the fifth Democrat to pursue the 2016 presidential nomination. He made the announcement Thursday on his website, acknowledging that other candidates in the race are likely to have more money and bigger campaign machines than he does. “I understand the odds, particularly in today’s political climate where fair debate is so…
On Monday, after Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’ dramatic referendum call sparked a run on Greek ATMs, grocery stores, and gas stations, we did our part to help ameliorate the situation by sending a subtle message to Athens: Dear Greece, if you want to apply for a loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, send an…
(Corrects the date that Puerto Rico’s law for individual investors was enacted in the second paragraph, and corrects spelling of Kim Rueben’s name in the 31st paragraph.) It’s 2 a.m. at the La Factoria bar in Puerto Rico’s Old San Juan, a hipster joint with a sagging couch, tile floors, and Christmas lights that wouldn’t…
Here’s the full text of the letter from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the heads of the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission: I am writing to inform you on the position of the Hellenic Republic towards the list of Prior Actions of the Staff Level Agreement as published on the…
Alexis Tsipras is asking for only a few changes to proposals, reports say Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has offered new concessions to the country’s creditors, media reports say. A letter to creditors obtained by the Financial Times says Mr Tsipras is prepared to accept most conditions that were on the table before talks collapsed…
Mount Zion A.M.E. Church in Greelyville, South Carolina, was ablaze on Tuesday evening. Photos were posted by local firefighters and journalists on social media: The prominent African American church was burned down by the KKK in 1995. The cause of this latest fire is unknown. There have been a string of fires at African American churches throughout…
Faced with almost impossible choices… And just as promised earlier in the week, Greece has now passed the midnight deadline for repayment of the €1.6 billion bundled loans due to the IMF and in thus in default. As AP reports, Greece’s international bailout formally expires, country loses access to existing financing. Yes we are…