Protesting raising prices,

Protesting raising prices,, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

I took this picture at a demo in which people were protesting rising cost of living. As is the case with many places in the world oil and food prices have gone up dramatically in the last few years.

However, the situation in Greece has become desperate as the cartels and monopolies that control so much of the economy have used the current international climate to hike up prices at a far greater rate than in other European countries.

On the other hand wages have remained more or less static for the best part of decade.

Robbed blind

, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

In scene redolent of the 60s a group of 20 demonstrators entered a supermarket in the Exarxeia neighbourhood of Athens, Greece filled up shopping trolleys and left without paying. Afterwards the food was distributed in a street market nearby. The group also handed out leaflet protesting rising food prices.

The protests come at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the
government of Kostas Karamanlis whose administration has been involved with a number of sexual and financial scandals since its re-election in 2007. In addition rising food and petrol prices have caused hardship amongst those on low incomes and a general climate of discontent.

Many accuse the government of negligence over its inability to curb the spiralling cost of living which has seen price hikes in the cost of basic goods five times greater than in other European countries .

NowPublic.com