Even with a deal with two of his three coalition partners about a modest austerity program that would cut pensions and other benefits, Greece seems poised to come apart at the seams. Massive strikes and messages of sympathy with the protestors from police and even the finance ministry reveal a nation on the brink. Reuters: Police fired teargas as black-masked protesters threw petrol bombs, stones and bottles in central Athens. The biggest police trade union said it would issue arrest warrants for Greece's international lenders for subverting democracy, and refused to "fight against our brothers." As public rage seethed, the leader of the far-right LOAS party, the smallest of three parties backing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, said he could not support the harsh austerity program. "I explained to the other political leaders that I cannot vote for this loan agreement," LAOS leader George Karatzaferis told a news conference. His party has 15 deputies in the 300-seat parliament,...(Read Full Post)