Greek letter bomb sent to Merkel - Disarmed, no one harmed

[Serafina]

Spiegel Online article

Employees in the mailroom at the Chancellery in Berlin discovered a suspicious package on Tuesday containing black powder thought to be an explosive material. The parcel was addressed to Chancellor Angela Merkel, but was destroyed before it could detonate.

A suspicious package containing black powder thought to be an explosive material was found in the mailroom of the Chancellery in Berlin on Tuesday. The package was reportedly addressed to Chancellor Angela Merkel and carried the return address of the Greek Economics Ministry. It was delivered by the US-based package delivery company UPS and officials believe that it likely originated in Greece.

Security officials in Berlin say that the package was disguised as a book delivery and arrived at the Chancellery at 1 p.m. During a routine screening, a kind of pipe bomb containing black powder was discovered. Experts say that, had the explosive detonated, it would have produced a hot flame which could have resulted in serious injury.


Upon discovery of the explosive parcel, the mailroom was sealed off and the package was sprayed down with a water cannon and rendered harmless. Nobody was hurt.

The Chancellery's mailroom is located just outside the main building and all incoming packages are screened for suspicious materials. Security measures at the Chancellery were intensified, but the building was not evacuated. Merkel was in Belgium on Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

"It looks as though someone wanted to make a point," the daily Tagesspiegel quotes unnamed security officials as saying.

Similar Parcel Bombs in Greece

The bomb scare in the Chancellery mirrors a series of similar suspicious deliveries to several embassies in Athens, including the German Embassy. Indeed, German officials say that the package discovered in Berlin on Tuesday had a similar construction to the five combustible packages found in the Greek capital on Tuesday. Two of those parcels, one delivered to the Swiss Embassy and another to the Russian Embassy, burst into flames. The packages destined for the Bulgarian Embassy, the German Embassy and the Greek parliament were all discovered and destroyed before they could detonate. Greek police say no one was hurt.

On Monday, four other explosive packages were discovered in Athens, addressed to the Belgian and Dutch Embassies as well as to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. A further package, bound for the Mexican Embassy, exploded at a delivery firm slightly injuring an employee.

Berlin officials have notified all government ministries and state government facilities to exercise increased caution with packages originating in Greece and all book deliveries. They say that further parcels could be on their way to other European capitals.


It is thought that the package bombs may have been sent by leftist extremists. A connection with al-Qaida is seen as unlikely.

Last week, two package bombs sent from Yemen to the United States were intercepted in Britain. The parcels, thought to have been sent by al-Qaida, were transported via UPS.

cgh -- with wire reports

Posted without comment for now.

[Psychic_Sandwich]

I guess some of the more wingnut Greeks aren't happy with the rest of Europe forcing them to stop spending other people's money like a drunken sailor.

Also, it really, really irritates me that whenever something like this comes up, Al Qaieda is always mentioned, as if they're the only organised terror group in the entire world.

[Big Orange]

Merkel, for better or worse, has decided to let the economically weaker EU nations (the PIIGS) to face bankruptcy:

Angela Merkel consigns Ireland, Portugal and Spain to their fate

Germany has had enough. Any eurozone state that spends its way into a debt crisis or cannot adapt to a monetary union set for Northern rhythms will face orderly bankruptcy.

Bondholders will discover burden-sharing. Debt relief will be enforced, either by interest holidays or haircuts on the value of the bonds. Investors will pay the price for failing to grasp the mechanical and obvious point that currency unions do not eliminate risk: they switch it from exchange risk to default risk.

What were investors thinking when they bought Greek 10-year bonds at 26 basis points over Bunds in 2007, below the spread between British Columbia and Quebec?

We must keep in mind the feelings of our people, who have a justified desire to see that private investors are also on the hook, and not just taxpayers, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Or in the words of Bundesbank chief Axel Weber: Next time there is a problem, (bondholders) should be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. So far the only ones who have paid for the solution are the taxpayers.

These were the terms imposed by Germany at Fridays EU summit as the Quid Pro Quo for the creation of a permanent rescue fund in 2013. A treaty change will be rammed through under Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty, a trick that circumvents the need for full ratification. Eurosceptics can feel vindicated in warning this escalator clause would soon be exploited for unchecked treaty-creep.

Mrs Merkel needs a treaty change to prevent the German constitutional court from blocking the bail-out fund as a breach of the EU law, and a treaty change is what she will get. This will strengthen my position with the Karlsruhe court, she admitted openly.

One might argue that bondholders should have been punished for their errors long ago. The stench of moral hazard has been sickening, on both sides of the Atlantic. An orderly bankruptcy along lines routinely engineered by the International Monetary Fund is exactly what Greece needs. It makes no sense to push Greece further into a debt compound spiral by raising public debt from 115pc of GDP at the outset of the rescue to 150pc at the end of the ordeal.

If you strip out the humbug, the Greek package allows banks and funds to shift roughly 150bn of liabilities onto EU governments, or the European Central Bank, or the IMF. Greek citizens are being subjected to the full pain of austerity under false pretences, without being offered the cure of debt relief.

It is in reality a bail-out for investors. There is a touch of cruelty in this. Needless to say, the Greek Left has noticed. A socialist dissident from the anti-Memorandum bloc (ie anti EU-IMF) is likely to win the Athens region in coming elections.

Note (Stockholm: NOTE.ST - news) too that the ruling socialists have fallen to 25pc in the Portuguese polls, while the Communists and hard-left Bloco are together up to 18pc. Aint seen nothing, you might say.

Yet opening the door to bondholder haircuts at this delicate juncture -- with spreads reaching fresh records in Ireland last week, and Portugal struggling to pass a budget is to toss a hand-grenade into the eurozone periphery.

We now know that that ECBs Jean-Claude Trichet warned EU leaders on Thursday night that it was dangerous to stir up this hornets nest, and moreover that the politicians did not understand what they were unleashing. He was slammed down acrimoniously by French President Nicholas Sarkozy, who later denied that he lost his temper.

Mr Trichet expressed a number of reserves. There was a debate, there is always a debate, but the European Council took its decision, he said.

It is wrong to say I was irritated. You can reproach heads of state for all kinds of things in a democracy, but I dont think you can reproach them for not being aware of the seriousness of the situation, he snorted.

Mr Sarkozy was not going to let his Brussels `triomphe slip away after stitching up EU affairs once again in a pre-emptive deal with Germany and imposing his will. The notion that the Franco-German axis still runs Europe is potent politics in France, even if the decisions actually reached are often of little value or as in this case ill-advised. Such is the chemistry of EU summits, where mad things happen.

Spains premier Jose-Luis Zapatero knew he had been mugged. We need to listen carefully to what the head of the ECB says about the rescue mechanism. Great care is called for because this message is risky, he said.

Eurozone sovereign states must issue 915bn in new bonds next year, according the UBS (Virt-X: UBSN.VX - news) , either to roll over debt or to cover very big deficits though it is hard to outdo Irelands deficit of 32pc of GDP in 2009. Yet investors have just been told in blunt terms to charge a hefty risk premium on any peripheral debt that expires after 2013, with great confusion over what happens even before that date. Can any investor be sure what the terms will be if Ireland or Portugal needs to access the EUs bail-out fund next week, or next month, or next year? Are haircuts already de rigueur?

A study by Giada Giani at Citigroup (NYSE: C - news) entitled Bondholders Moving Back Home said data from the second quarter reveals a sharp drop in foreign ownership of debt from Greece (-14pc), Portugal (-12pc), Spain (-8pc), and Ireland (-5pc).

Local banks have stepped into the breach, borrowing cheaply from the ECB to buy their own state debt at higher yields in a `carry trade that concentrates risk. These four countries account for the lions share of the 448bn in ECB funding for banks (Spain 98bn, Greece 94bn). Frankfurt is propping up this unstable edifice. Mr Trichet may well fret.

A strong case can be made that Spain has decoupled from other PIGS in pain, though the deficit will still be 6pc next year, and the economy is at serious risk of a double-dip recession as wage cuts and higher taxes bite in earnest. But none are safe yet.

An ominous pattern has emerged across much of the eurozone periphery: tax revenue keeps falling short of what was hoped. Austerity measures are eating deeper into the economy than expected, forcing further fiscal cuts. It goes too far to call this a self-feeding spiral, but such policies test political patience to snapping point.

There is little that these nations can in the short-run as EMU members. They cannot offset fiscal tightening with full monetary stimulus or a weaker exchange rate as Britain can. All they do can is soldier on, sell family silver to the Chinese and Gulf Arabs, beg the ECB to join the currency war to bring down the euro, and pray that the fragile global recover does not sputter out.

Chancellor Merkel is ultimately correct. A mechanism for sovereign defaults is entirely healthy. Had it been in place long ago, EMU would have been stronger. The proper timing for this was at the Maastricht Treaty, or Amsterdam, or at the latest Nice (Milan: NICE.MI - news) , but in those days the EU elites were still arrogantly dismissive about the implications of a currency union. To wait until now borders on careless.

Yahoo Finance

[LaCroix]

First Fed-Ex, now UPS. Makes me wary the next time the parcel boy rings the doorbell.

[Stofsk]

Why? Have you pissed off any terrorists?

[Stark]

Maybe he's a major public figure making deciisons that affect whole countries. Or paranoid.

[LaCroix]

The latter it is ...

[Stofsk]

Somehow I think you're safe, no terrorist will bother targeting you.

[Broomstick]

Maybe he's a major public figure making deciisons that affect whole countries. Or paranoid.

Or merely attends a synagogue in Chicago, which is where the toner-cartridge bombs were headed.

Really, while being a major public figure might increase the likelihood of a bomb being delivered to your home or office it's not the only risk factor.

Well, OK, his location says "Vienna" - odds say he's not Jewish, but maybe he belongs to some other group that has been or could be targeted.

[Serafina]

Actually, this incident is NOT related to any of the other ones that occurred lately, since it has no islamic background. It's the work of some greek autonomous group.

[Broomstick]

Sure - someone else already pointed out that Al Qaeda is not the only Mad Bombers around. Here in the US we've had Bad Things go through the mail, and as far as I can recall none of them were from Al Qaeda, or from Muslims. Doesn't seem to be their style, until the most recent shipping thing.

[Pelranius]

At this point, it seems that Al Qaeda is fishing around for any options to hit us with.

[Narkis]

A similar bomb was sent last June to our minister of Public Order by the same organisation. It exploded in the building, killing one of the minister's guards. It was widely speculated back then that now that the terrorists had the know-how for the attack, it would be only a matter of time before they tried it again.

Other targets that weren't mentioned in this article were the HQ of Europol, the European Court and Berlusconi. The bombs were defused safely in the airport. Two people were arrested carrying bombs addressed to Sarkozy and the Belgian Ministr and the police have issued warrants for five more members of this organisation, which, btw, is called "Conspiracy of the cores of fire".

[D.Turtle]

At this point, it seems that Al Qaeda is fishing around for any options to hit us with.

Are you illiterate or only fucking stupid?

It is not the work of Al Qaeda, but of a greek group.

[LaCroix]

And to address my original comment - it doesn't matter much to the bomb if it has already been delivered or still in the truck if it chooses to explode prematurely.

Guess where I stand right next to when I sign for the parcel?

[folti78]

And to address my original comment - it doesn't matter much to the bomb if it has already been delivered or still in the truck if it chooses to explode prematurely.

Guess where I stand right next to when I sign for the parcel?

Dude, you're living in rural western Hungary, it was right after 1956 when the there were terror there the last time.

Of course if your day job involves fucking with Greece's economy( and you are well known for it), or having been widely known for using Koran as toilet paper, or maybe pissing off the local mafia regularly, you should worry...

Other than that, you're safe.

[White Haven]

Am I the only one who got really wierd and hilarious mental images at the phrase 'Greek letter bomb' taken out of context?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Given the rabble of anarchists these days taking their frustrations out at just about anything, this isn't surprising.

[Pelranius]

At this point, it seems that Al Qaeda is fishing around for any options to hit us with.

Are you illiterate or only fucking stupid?

It is not the work of Al Qaeda, but of a greek group.

I was talking to Broomstick's post which mentioned Al Qaeda changing their MO.

[Broomstick]

And to address my original comment - it doesn't matter much to the bomb if it has already been delivered or still in the truck if it chooses to explode prematurely.

Guess where I stand right next to when I sign for the parcel?

Dude, you're living in rural western Hungary, it was right after 1956 when the there were terror there the last time.

Of course if your day job involves fucking with Greece's economy( and you are well known for it), or having been widely known for using Koran as toilet paper, or maybe pissing off the local mafia regularly, you should worry...

Other than that, you're safe.

I'm sure the 2002 victims of Midwest Pipe Bomber would find that comforting. Luke Helder rigged randomly chosen mailboxes to explode when opened. His motivation was creating a "smiley face" on the US map, he neither knew nor cared about his victims. Fortunately, that brand of crazy isn't common, but while the uninvolved, low profile common person is at much lower risk than public officials or celebrities the risk is not zero.

There is also a distressing tendency for mayhem sent through the mail or via package delivery to hit the wrong target. In the 2001 Anthrax letters (or "Amerithrax" as the FBI apparently labeled it) 5 people died and 17 became ill, none of them the intended targets of the attacks.

If you deliver packages, work with mail in any capacity, or fly on an airplane that carries mail and packages as cargo (and commercial passenger flights do this frequently) then some nutjob mailing or shipping bombs or biowarfare spores puts you at risk. Doesn't mean you should get hysterical about it, but don't ignore the situation either. Be alert, pay attention, report suspicious stuff.

[Thanas]

Meh. Nothing to lose sleep over. The risk is miniscule.

[Broomstick]

At this point, it seems that Al Qaeda is fishing around for any options to hit us with.

Are you illiterate or only fucking stupid?

It is not the work of Al Qaeda, but of a greek group.

I was talking to Broomstick's post which mentioned Al Qaeda changing their MO.

What? I specifically said Al Qaeda was NOT the only Mad Bombers around. Go back and re-read my post. I think you skipped a word.

[Pelranius]

Doesn't seem to be their style, until the most recent shipping thing.

I was commenting on that specific part of your post, which I probably shouldn't have done in this thread.

[folti78]

And to address my original comment - it doesn't matter much to the bomb if it has already been delivered or still in the truck if it chooses to explode prematurely.

Guess where I stand right next to when I sign for the parcel?

Dude, you're living in rural western Hungary, it was right after 1956 when the there were terror there the last time.

Of course if your day job involves fucking with Greece's economy( and you are well known for it), or having been widely known for using Koran as toilet paper, or maybe pissing off the local mafia regularly, you should worry...

Other than that, you're safe.

I'm sure the 2002 victims of Midwest Pipe Bomber would find that comforting. Luke Helder rigged randomly chosen mailboxes to explode when opened. His motivation was creating a "smiley face" on the US map, he neither knew nor cared about his victims. Fortunately, that brand of crazy isn't common, but while the uninvolved, low profile common person is at much lower risk than public officials or celebrities the risk is not zero.

There is also a distressing tendency for mayhem sent through the mail or via package delivery to hit the wrong target. In the 2001 Anthrax letters (or "Amerithrax" as the FBI apparently labeled it) 5 people died and 17 became ill, none of them the intended targets of the attacks.

If you deliver packages, work with mail in any capacity, or fly on an airplane that carries mail and packages as cargo (and commercial passenger flights do this frequently) then some nutjob mailing or shipping bombs or biowarfare spores puts you at risk. Doesn't mean you should get hysterical about it, but don't ignore the situation either. Be alert, pay attention, report suspicious stuff.

When did Austria and/or Hungary became part of the US? Knowledge, tools and ingredients for explosives and construction of mail bombs not a common commodities around here, pretty much out of reach for the random nutcases. Illegal possession of explosives by civilians or attempts to create them are also forbidden by law (IIRC it's similar to possession of illegal firearms in Hungary: 5-8 years of prison). Local terrorists who are into the bombing business, has more direct targets than J. Zufallkerl LaCroix. Like this guy, who was the only mail bomber I can remember and it's likely that he was only the fall guy of a bigger organization. Also his mailbombs were so crude they failed to go off.

The last terrorist organization in Hungary's* biggest stunt was blowing up some buses in the transport company's parking lot(well the bombs only damaged the buses, it was the resulting fire which put them out of comission), but their targets were law enforcement officials(zero results), Roma and LGBT people(property damage only). Mafia showdowns sometimes involve explosives, but mailbombs are not their preferred weapon.

Prank mails containing white substances were in vogue in the recent years, but all of them were harmless. (turns out, in commiesocialist Europe it's much easier to procure harmless white powder than anthrax).

So yeah, the possibilities for all you scenarios are there, but he's got a better chance to get himself killed confronting some Roma burglars in his house or simply got fucked by some retarded future laws made up by the Hungarian government (who use the 'we got supermajority, eat dick' as their only government policy), than getting killed by a mailbomb.

[Broomstick]

When did Austria and/or Hungary became part of the US?

It's not of course, when ever did I say it was? Of course, in giving examples, I'd give those I was most familiar with, which would most likely be in my own country and not elsewhere.

Knowledge, tools and ingredients for explosives and construction of mail bombs not a common commodities around here, pretty much out of reach for the random nutcases.

Knowledge may not be common, but the required tools and ingredients most certainly. You don't need C4, dynamite, or commercially made explosives to make pipe bombs. The average household contains chemicals that can be combined into dangerous devices if you know how.

Illegal possession of explosives by civilians or attempts to create them are also forbidden by law (IIRC it's similar to possession of illegal firearms in Hungary: 5-8 years of prison).

But I'm certain that rather common chemicals that are precursors to explosives are readily available. Do your local farmers use diesel fuel? Do they use ammonia based fertilizer? Then they have the means to build a bomb to do this:


There are other, common, every day chemicals that, properly combined, can be very effective explosives.

Truth is, most pipe bombs and IED's made in the US are ineffective as well. Or the builders blow themselves up. But you only need one effective one to really ruin your day.

Prank mails containing white substances were in vogue in the recent years, but all of them were harmless. (turns out, in commiesocialist Europe it's much easier to procure harmless white powder than anthrax).

We got lots of "prank" mailings like this, too, because it's near impossible to get anthrax in the US. Or at least pure anthrax.

In reality, anthrax is as common as dirt. Literally. Go out in your back yard and if you know how you can almost certainly isolate anthrax spores. Of course, it's a shit load of work to weaponize that, which is why diesel fuel/fertilizer bombs are more "popular".

So yeah, the possibilities for all you scenarios are there, but he's got a better chance to get himself killed confronting some Roma burglars in his house or simply got fucked by some retarded future laws made up by the Hungarian government (who use the 'we got supermajority, eat dick' as their only government policy), than getting killed by a mailbomb.

True here as well - you are far more likely to die by other means. Nonetheless, people sending bombs in the mail is a problem. You wouldn't want that to become a common means of "protest" world wide.