Greece calls snap elections for April

In Watchmen, Rorshach says: This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout “Save us!”… and I’ll look down and whisper “No.”

In the early hours of Saturday, Cyprus agreed to a "bailout" with the EU and IMF that is very  controversial because it imposes an immediate one-time tax on everyone with money in a Cypriot bank before banks reopen on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday). The deal still needs to be passed by Parliament and that's not a sure thing.

Australia's parliament rejected controversial carbon-trading legislation on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd before UN climate talks and raising the prospect of snap polls.The upper house, or Senate, voted down the scheme 33 to 41 after days of tumultuous debate which saw the opposition Coalition leader deposed by a maverick climate-change sceptic.The legislation's second failure since August gives Rudd powers to dissolve parliament and call early elections, which could be held as late as October.

Australia's parliament rejected controversial carbon-trading legislation on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd before UN climate talks and raising the prospect of snap polls.The upper house, or Senate, voted down the scheme 33 to 41 after days of tumultuous debate which saw the opposition Coalition leader deposed by a maverick climate-change sceptic.The legislation's second failure since August gives Rudd powers to dissolve parliament and call early elections, which could be held as late as October.

Yesterday, when we described the latest Cyprus bailout proposal being (belatedly) debated by the Cyprus parliament and soon to be voted, we wondered how long before the Troika rejects it outright.  After all the "Solidarity Bailout" Plan C (or whatever it is) did not do what Germany more than anything wanted to accomplish - punish Russian depositors as this entire farce has been nothing but a political gambit dictated by Germany from the onset.

It's been crystal clear for weeks, if not much longer, that Germany has been actively seeking to persuade Greece to abandon the Euro. Confirmation came on February 7 with Merkel's Official Denial "I will have no part in forcing Greece out of the euro"; Schäuble Starts Salami Tactics on German Participation, Calls for Vote .