And the government is cracking down on union strikers who are making life hellish for Greeks in Athens. Reuters: The scuffles erupted after police detained members of the Communist-affiliated PAME group who had forced their way into the ministry and occupied Labour Minister Yannis Vroutsis's office for about two hours. Police fired teargas and used batons to disperse roughly 300 demonstrators who rallied outside the ministry in solidarity, with banners reading "No to cuts!" and "Take to the streets!" Greece has seen a surge in protests - many of which have turned violent - since imposing tough austerity measures demanded by its European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders as the price for bailout funds to stave off bankruptcy. Last week, the government ended a nine-day transport strike by threatening metro workers with arrests if they failed to return to work. Transport unions and electricity workers plan more anti-austerity strikes on Thursday despite...(Read Full Post)