Greek Fire, Part 51

And so the Greeks are left with their own Pompeii of Austerity, and it just blew up today.

Greek political leaders said they had clinched a deal on economic reforms and spending cuts needed to secure a second bailout, but euro zone finance ministers demanded more measures and a parliamentary seal of approval before providing the aid.

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund have been exasperated by a string of broken promises and weeks of wrangling over the terms of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out to avoid a default.

Finance ministers of the 17-nation euro zone meeting in Brussels warned there would be no immediate approval for the rescue package and said Athens must prove itself first.

Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup, set three conditions, saying the Greek parliament must ratify the package when it meets on Sunday and a further 325 million euros of spending reductions needed to be identified by next Wednesday, after which euro zone finance ministers would meet again.

And so it goes.  Another Greek "deal" equals another EU austerity shakedown and another promise to bury the Greek people under the ashes of debt.  How long before the Greeks actually stop going on daily strikes?

It's going to get ugly fast, folks.  Keep an eye on this one.