Greek Vote Approves a Despised Property Tax

Greek Vote Approves a Despised Property Tax

The Greek Parliament voted late Tuesday in Athens to back a hugely unpopular property tax, one of a series of new austerity measures. The vote could clear the way for a crucial injection of international financing meant to at least temporarily stave off a default on government debt.

The property tax,cheap coach handbag the first of its type in Greece, would raise 2 billion euros, or $2.7 billion, this year alone, according to government calculations. The question is whether enough Greek people can or will pay the tax to meet those forecasts.

“I know that a lot is being asked of the Greek people,” the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Tuesday in Berlin during a joint news conference with the Greek prime minister, George A. Papandreou.

Mr. Papandreou was in Berlin for talks with Mrs. Merkel,,wholesale POLO Ralph Lauren SERIES, who sought to sway public opinion ahead of a vote Thursday in the German Parliament on a bill that would bolster the main European bailout fund,Louis Vuitton Handbags wholesale known as the European Financial Stability Facility.

“Through the euro we are closely bound together and the weakness of one affects us all,” she said during the joint news conference.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Slovenia voted Tuesday to approve their share of the rescue fund’s guarantees. Finland’s Parliament is expected to reluctantly approve the fund measure in a vote on Wednesday, despite formidable domestic opposition. All 17 members of the euro zone must ratify the expanded fund, a process that has delayed its adoption.

The Greek vote on the property tax was widely seen as a crash test for Mr. Papandreou’s embattled Socialist Party, which must in coming weeks pass bills for similarly controversial measures, like a plan to place 30,Golf Ladies Clubs000 public workers on reserve status with reduced wages for the next 12 months. Greek opposition parties say the reserve-status plan is a prelude to layoffs.

Food safety tip-off reward raised

Food safety tip-off reward raised

SHANGHAI is looking to increase rewards paid to people who report breaches in food safety.

The sum paid out will not be less than 500 yuan (US$78) and there is no upper limit, the city's food safety authorities said over the weekend.

The money will come from the city's revenue,Breitling watches wholesale according to the Shanghai Food Safety Commission.

If members of the public can name the people they are reporting and can help officials investigate the case, they can receive between 2 and 5 percent of the money involved. Those unable to help the investigation will receive between 1 and 2 percent.

Officials are keen to hear about the illegal addition of prohibited chemicals and non-edible substances, recycling expired food,Anime distributor excessive use of food additives and the use of swill oil.

The commission said people reporting food safety concerns must not blackmail, threaten or cheat the people involved.

Officials are currently seeking the public's views on the proposed reward system. The draft document is available at the official website of Shanghai Food and Drug Administration www.Prada handbag saleshfda.gov.,Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys,cn, but only in Chinese.

The reward system is intended to help improve the city's food safety condition.

In recent years, food safety scandals, such as melamine-polluted baby formula and recycled expired buns, have hit consumer confidence in domestically produced food, officials said.

In 2007, the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration issued a regulation saying reports of illegal food production could lead to rewards of up to 50,000 yuan.

Pelous also justifies the benching of William Servat

Rugby World Cup: French Cup side 'far from throwing it'

The French stand accused of losing the battle to win the war. So: are they throwing tomorrow's match against the All Blacks by putting out a second string side? Definitely not, according to France's most capped player.

Former French captain Fabien Pelous is also a member of Les Bleus' selection committee. "This isn't a B team, far from it. We don't yet have a definitive first team, but this selection is pretty close to what I think the quarter-final team will look like.

"I can understand that the selection of Parra at 10 raises questions, but [Francois] Trinh-Duc was never going to play all the pool games, and we don't have much of a choice in terms of rotation. Marc Lievremont has always said he planned to mix the squad up for pool games."

Trinh-Duc has also been well below par; the back-up first five-eighths,Moncler women's jackets David Skrela, has gone home injured, and his replacement, Jean-Marc Doussain, has only just arrived in New Zealand, having been held back to play in a Top 14 game with Toulouse - where he plays at halfback inside Luke McAlister (who, incidentally, is carving up the French championship at the moment).

Pelous also justifies the benching of William Servat, widely seen as first choice hooker: "Servat has played the first two games, he's coming back from injury - and [Dimitri] Szarzewski is in good form and could be first choice himself."

Still,Cheap moncler jackets if it was the quarter-final, would Lievremont have chanced his arm with Parra? "I couldn't say."

"The thing is, it isn't the quarter-final. There are other games to play - and unless I'm mistaken, Carter and McCaw didn't play against Japan."

But this is the big game - France v New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup.

"Perhaps for the French it isn't the big game. It's a pool game. Playing against NZ is always special, but it isn't yet a crunch match. We don't have the knife at our throats."

Not exactly a statement of intent, but talking up your team's chances against the All Blacks is rarely a good policy.Louis Vuitton Handbags wholesale Does Pelous have an explanation for the eternal unpredictability of the French? "We bring a lot of emotion to playing the game. The Latin temperament is part of this ... and we are able to lift ourselves occasionally, to get up when we have to.

"We hover between fourth and sixth on the IRB rankings - which is about our level when we play at 100 per cent - but for a one-off we can play at 120 per cent and be as good as number one. This emotional side mystifies the Anglo Saxons and gives us an edge."

A prediction? "I think it will be quite close, but the All Blacks will probably win. It would be a bit much to beat you twice in your own country, once in the pool and once in the final."

Yes, the French probably will lose this round - maybe even by an embarrassingly wide margin - but chances are they will come out stronger for it.

It's also worth remembering that Bernard Laporte, the previous French coach, controversially benched his two stars - Frederic Michalak and Sebastien Chabal - at Cardiff in 2007 before bringing them on in the second half.Golf Ladies Clubs We know how that turned out.

If the French needed any extra motivation, they'll have found it on Wednesday's Herald front page - which may well end up on the wall of the French dressing room.