Greece public transport strike hits capital again

AP reports:

Public transportation ground to a halt in Greece's capital once again Thursday as workers began a 48-hour strike against new austerity measures imposed by the government.

In a separate protest, state power company employees occupied a power company building to prevent electricity bills from being issued that include a new property tax that many Greeks say they cannot pay. The government has threated to cut off power to those who do not pay.

"Electricity ... cannot be used as a means of blackmail against the unemployed, the poor, the wage-earner," the GENOP-DEH union said. "(We) will not allow our poor fellow citizens to be left without power."

Great moments in the welfare state.