Violence flares at Greek teen's funeral

Protests and fighting in Greece has initiated after angry protesters went berserk over a teen-age boy's funeral after the boy was shot by the police. Thousands of people paid their respects to the boy, but a small number of them became violent at the end of the ceremony which sparked the rioting. Over 10,000 people marched into the country's  parliament street in Athens on Tuesday to protest. They were expressing their anger over the teenagers death and other major issues such as jobs, the economy, and allegations that the government is corrupt. The various protest groups clashed with the riot police all over the city of Athens. The riots started over the weekend after Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot by the police as he tried to throw a fuel-filled bomb at the police car. The event happened in an area of Athens were there has been regular tensions with the police. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis vowed on Tuesday that those responsible would be punished for their crimes. As the cities clean up crews worked around the city the effects of the devastation could be seen everywhere as rows of shops had all their windows broken and vandalised. The Prime Minister quotes that "No one has the right to use this tragic incident as an alibi for actions of raw violence."  Various schools and universities around the country have been closed because of their students violent uprising. The government officials have condemned the shooting and the officer who shot the boy has been charged with "manslaughter with intent". 

This is a terrible day for Greece. So far Greece has seemed to be a peaceful country with calm and non-violent people. I understand that people would go rioting about issues on the economy, jobs, and possible government corruption but to use the death of a boy does not make sense. The police officer that killed him shot him because the boy was about to throw a fuel filled bomb at him. From what it seems, the officer was just defending himself because he would have died if the bomb hit him. In addition, the fact that people are using this incident as an excuse for violence is ridiculous. What the Greek Prime Minister said may be one of the few memerable moment of his term. The ruling party may have corruption allegations against them but at least they recognize the need for security in the capital. 

Obama to fill out national security team

 President Elect Barack Obama has just announced that he will name Senator Hillary Clinton as secretary on Monday. Hillary Clinton claimed to be excited about the job and cannot wait to take on the position. The Obama team has also confirmed that they would help Hillary. Obama sources have also said that Obama will nominate Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador; Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary; and Eric Holder as attorney general. Some say that these choices show Obama's bipartisanship and his confidence as a leader. Some observer believe that Hillary's husband may create problems for the up coming commander-in-chief and may become a serious obstacle in the way of his governing. The former president has also reportedly received funds for his global foundation from international business figures connected to human rights abuses, including the governments of Kazakhstan and China. To ensure that there is no influence on Hillary from these donors Bill Clinton is required to publicly disclose all future donors.

I think it was a good choice to chose Hillary as Secretary of State. She is qualified for the job and it seems from her present reactions that she would take this job seriously. It is still hard to believe that there really are no hard feelings for losing the democratic nominee for president.  It seems that Bill Clinton is a threat to the Obama administration and might influence Hillary negatively. Bill Clinton's global foundation is something for people to worry about because of the donors who are connected to human rights abuses. Obama cannot afford to have people like them influence the members of his cabinet and inner circle. On the other hand Hillary may be the most quilified for the job for this elections.