Germany’s demands are directed at nations with high total debts — e.g., Italy, Spain, Greece. Their new governments are now composed of just elected deficit hysterics (Spain), unelected “technocrats” who are also deficit hysterics (Italy) and bankruptcy conservators (Greece) appointed by creditors (Germany and France). As a condition for not really solving their immediate debt problems, Germany would demand they comply with stringent austerity programs to slash spending, worker salaries or pensions, or increase revenues while — and this is never explained — simultaneously boosting their economies to avoid the onrushing recession.

Talks to create a unity government in Greece collapsed last night without a resolution, because the two parties could not agree on the terms. Then, at the last minute, Lucas Papademos was named Prime Minister. He is a political outsider and European leaders hope that he will have the ability to hold the unity coalition together long enough to pass bailout/austerity measures decided on last month. Papademos did not acquire written agreements on austerity from the opposition New Democracy party, as requested by the EU.

Everyone knew it was a losing battle, but everyone showed up anyway. In an uprising virtually unprecedented in its size, scope and diversity, malcontents united across Greece to push back against the government’s assault on working people.

So there we have it; Thomas Friedman is once again letting his poor grasp of economics and arithmetic invent grand problems where there are none. What would be do without him?

The Aegean – the ancient Greek word for it meant “chief sea” – is, of course, the body of water Agamemnon, Odysseus, Achilles and the other Achaeans crossed in their assault on Troy. Odysseus sailed its waters at the outset of his journey home.

In other words, it was Aegean waves that washed the shores where Western history began. And it’s hard not to think of the ancient sea’s destruction at the hands of greed-soaked cyclopean giants of finance as, at the very least, a symbolic end of that history.

Economic forecasting is a tough business: most stock analysts have trouble predicting the earnings of the companies they cover over the next three months. That doesn’t seem to intimidate Daniel Altman, the author of “Outrageous Fortunes: The Twelve Surprising Trends That Will Reshape the Global Economy.” The book’s dozen prognostications cover every corner of the planet and extend many decades into the future.

The Portuguese government isn’t as deeply committed to keeping the banking system afloat as the Irish government, but the banks are experiencing significant liquidity problems as a result of the contracting economy and the increasing pressure from international bond markets. So once again we have the government of an EU member state willing to adopt draconian austerity measures on a more or less voluntary basis and it isn’t making the problems go away.

Last year and in February, we watched as the EU balked at US demands for data-sharing under the SWIFT program. The Belgian cooperative in charge of the international money transfer database moved its servers to the EU, but the US still wanted the same access it had had when the servers were in the US. The US had tried to push through a last-minute deal before EU Parliament changed hands last year, but the Parliament rejected that deal. So now the EU is trying to decide what kind of data-sharing they’ll have with the US.

Over a hundred thousand Greek protesters took to the streets and shut down the country as popular unrest grew, aimed at a viciously strict austerity program, dictated by the Germans and the IMF to help pay for an economic bailout of Greece. The crisis has threatened the stability of both the European Union and the Euro, and is sending political tremors across the continent.

Goldman Sachs is in trouble in Europe, first over their role in helping Greece hide its true debt picture from the EU, and now for the actions that landed them in hot water with the SEC. There’s one more little wrinkle to this story, though, that could make it much more complicated for the US government, and that wrinkle’s name is Philip D. Murphy.