Away from Soccer for Greece

[poutismalakas]

is it because they are muslim??
no it is because EU overall economy would be hit with a lower level large economy! One thing is if Albania gets in because she is a small economy but Turkey with 70 million as appose 6million ;)

[Codythebest]

I remember I watched greek soccer on my PC at (nice try NO ADS!!!!)
when Zetterberg was playing there. Great Player...:p

[plato-ny]

wow how did you figure that out?? :lol: BRAVO

What i'm saying is that Turkey doesn't need EU! like some other countries like albania, bosnia, croatia, serbia etc

Looks like Bosnia will have to wait a very long time before it can join the EU. Now how did I figure this out? This article below published today. BRAVO to me!!!

EU summit to put brakes on enlargement

BRUSSELS (AFP) - European leaders are set to put the brakes on EU enlargement, at a two-day summit in Brussels, to allow time to put the bloc's constitutional house in order.

The European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of reforming the EU's institutions before admitting any more member states, a called endorsed by the European Commission on the eve of a summit where enlargement tops the agenda.

The buzzwords are "integration capacity" or "absorption capacity," putting the emphasis on the EU's ability to handle new members more than the readiness of candidate states to join up.

The Euro MPs agreed by 398 votes to 99, with 36 abstentions, that "ahead of any future enlargement it is necessary to reform the European Union to allow it to function in a more efficient, transparent and democratic manner."

The vote does not question the integration of Bulgaria and Romania which will join next month.

However the proposition acknowledged that the Union is currently confronted with "difficulties to honour its commitments towards South-East European countries" and called for institutional changes to improve its "integration capacity." Croatia, at the head of the queue, is not expected to be allowed in before 2010.

"A new institutional settlement should have been reached by the time the next new member is likely to be ready to join the Union," Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told euro MPs.

"We need it to strengthen the legitimacy of the Union. We need it to strengthen Europe's role in the world," he said, adding that the steps to achieve that settlement should be taken before 2009.

Bulgaria and Romania will become the 26th and 27th members of the European club on January 1, but under the strictest conditions ever imposed on new members amid continued concerns over corruption and their judicial systems.

After that there is general agreement that the doors must be closed while serious EU housekeeping is done.

A new method of introducing the institutional reform is needed after French and Dutch voters last year rejected an EU constitution that was meant to do the job.

The heads of state and government will stress that the Union should "maintain and deepen its own development while pursuing the enlargement agenda," according to draft conclusions for their Thursday-Friday summit.

As the summit's draft puts it: "The European Union honours its existing commitments towards countries in the enlargement process while it considers carefully any new commitments."

That spells a longer wait for Croatia, which began membership talks in October 2005 along with Turkey but has since forged ahead.

Turkey's bid took a severe knock on Monday when EU foreign ministers agreed on a partial freeze to its membership talks as punishment for Ankara's refusal to open its ports and airports to EU member Cyprus.

Those heated talks, successfully negotiated, averted the possibility that the Turkey-Cyprus issue would hijack the summit.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a staunch advocate of Turkey's bid to join the EU, is expected to pay a brief consolatory visit to Turkey immediately after the summit on Friday.

European parliament rapporteur Alexander Stubb stressed the need to gain public support for further enlargement.

"If you are not able in the two to 10 years (before further expansion) to explain the benefits of enlargement, you are miserably failing to your job," he said.

Mindful of enlargement fatigue, or plain hostility, which set in after the big bang of 2004 when 10 mainly ex-Soviet members joined, the European leaders will also put the accent on communication.

"The European Council recognises the necessity to ensure public support to the enlargement process and agrees to increase the communication transparency of the enlargement process," they are expected to say.

[plato-ny]

is it because they are muslim??

No. That an excuse. If thats the case, than Bosnia and Albania can t join.

Here's a very good link in wikipedia about Turkey and EU:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Turkey_to_the_European_Union

[Fenerliyim]

I believe Turkey shouldnt enter the EU. They want us to change way too many things. I think we should just have a deal that would boost both our economies.

The reason the Eu doesnt want Turkey is we have a population of 70 mil which will most likely be 80 mil when we join. We would be second to Germany. Thats y its easier to have smaller countries join the EU.

[plato-ny]

I believe Turkey shouldnt enter the EU. They want us to change way too many things. I think we should just have a deal that would boost both our economies.

The reason the Eu doesnt want Turkey is we have a population of 70 mil which will most likely be 80 mil when we join. We would be second to Germany. Thats y its easier to have smaller countries join the EU.

Its been suggested about a special partnership where Turkey would enjoy full EU benefits and have full voting power but not be an actual member.

[PAO_HELLAS]

What i'm saying is that Turkey doesn't need EU! like some other countries like albania, bosnia, croatia, serbia etc

Justify this.

[plato-ny]

Kosovo rich in Orthodox Heritage

Although the issue is a hurdle in the status talks, Kosovo boasts a rich cultural heritage of Orthodox churches and monasteries -- some of which are under the protection and patronage of UNESCO.
By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 14/12/06

The Visoki Decani Monastery made the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/images/2006/12/14/IGORphoto.jpg

A sticking point in the Kosovo status talks is that of cultural heritage between the Kosovo Albanians and the Serbs. During the seventh round of talks in July, the two-day meeting focused on the protection of religious and cultural heritage. The two sides remain deadlocked on a number of issues, including Serbia's calls for protection zones around 39 Orthodox monasteries, churches and other sites.

The Serbs see the province as both the cradle of their state and their spirituality since the Middle Ages. Kosovo was once considered Serbia's cultural centre. The Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when Serb nobles stood up to the Turks, is seen as one of the most important events in Serbian history, and inspired generations of Serbs who have fought for freedom through the centuries. After the battle, the Turks began their domination of Serbia that would last 500 years.

The Albanians, on the other hand, see themselves as the descendants of the Illyrians, a pre-Roman people that disintegrated in the 3rd century. This lineage leads the province's majority population to say they are "the true autochthon population of the Balkans".

However, there is no firm scientific evidence of this. Serbian historians say that Kosovo, when it was inhabited by Serb tribes around the 10th century, was mostly unpopulated. Kosovo's many cultural monuments originated in the Middle Ages when Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanja (1166-1199) united the divided lands and laid the foundation for a prosperous medienal state. A flourish of creative and artistic expression that made its mark in Kosovo's monuments dates from this period and lasted until the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when the province came under Turkish rule.

Some of the most beautiful Byzantine architecture is found in present-day Kosovo, a crossroads of cultures, traditions and influences. Today Kosovo has a visible, rich array of Byzantine-style Orthodox churches and monasteries dating from the Middle Ages.

Some of the most important monuments are the Visoki Decani Orthodox monastery built in 1334, the Holy Virgin of Ljevis cathedral in Prizren, built in 1307, and the monastery of Gracanica dating from 1320. These monuments, inspired by Byzantine architecture, were built largely by the Western masters, featuring frescoes of impressive beauty with scenes from the Gospels, as well as selected portraits of Serb rulers of the time.

The synthesis of Western and Byzantine medienal traditions, of Romanesque architecture found in the expression of Serb-Byzantine fresco paintings, accounts for much of the richness of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

In recent years, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's World Heritage Committee has approved the addition of some of the monuments to its list, such as the Visoki Decani Monastery in 2004, making them part of the cultural heritage of all Kosovars.

[plato-ny]

Baby trafficking thriving in Greece

By Niki Kitsantonis and Matthew Brunwasser

ATHENS: An increasing number of people unable to adopt children through official channels are resorting to other methods in Greece, where private adoptions are unregulated and a traffic in babies is thriving, according to legal experts and the police.

Most of the babies for sale in Greece are brought here by impoverished women from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, these experts say.

In the most recent case to come to light, a 16-year-old Roma girl from Romania is under arrest after complaining to the police that she had been cheated out of €14,000, or $18,000, promised to her by a British woman who allegedly abducted the infant in Athens during negotiations over the price last week.

But most prospective baby buyers are Greek. With birth rates in Greece the lowest among the original 15 European Union member states — 1.29 children per woman, according to EU statistics — adoptions here are steadily increasing. But, faced with six-year waiting lists at state adoption institutions, 9 out of 10 prospective adoptive parents prefer to sign a private agreement with a natural mother willing to hand over her infant, Greek statistics show.

This is perfectly legal in principle, the police and legal experts say. But the absence of state control over private adoptions is helping profit-seeking mediators, including doctors and lawyers, to hijack some of these transactions, the experts say.

"There are no illegal adoptions under Greek law, so illicit networks have plenty of room for maneuver," said Eleni Glegle, legal adviser to the Pendeli Children's Hospital in Athens, one of just four state adoption institutions in Greece.

The police say that babies are being sold — mainly in Athens, northern and central Greece and the island of Crete — for up to $33,000, with male blue- eyed infants fetching the highest prices. According to Bulgarian officials, most of the mothers are from Roma, or Gypsy, settlements in Bulgaria and are paid about $4,000 for relinquishing their infants.

"This is an escalating problem, the scale of which is impossible to grasp," said Lieutenant Colonel Antonia Andreakou, director of the Greek police's public security division, which handles cross-border crimes.

The main obstacle faced by the police is that the sales are concealed behind the facade of legitimate adoptions, and few are exposed.

"We need to prove that money has exchanged hands — as this is what makes the transaction illegal — but this is very difficult to do," Andreakou said.

The case of the Romanian teen mother, who is being held on the island of Cephalonia, is exceptional because she actually went to the authorities. The name of the 41-year-old alleged British buyer could not immediately be confirmed.

Anti-trafficking activists maintain that the infants' mothers are victims of traffickers. But other human rights activists counter that the women willingly give up their babies because of their desperate need for money.

Andreakou said her department had traced nine sales of Bulgarian infants in the first six months of this year and arrested 33 suspected mediators — 24 Bulgarians, 7 Greeks and 2 Albanians. The Greeks included doctors and lawyers, she said, adding: "This is definitely just a fraction of the real number of cases."

Greece has intensified cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities to tackle the problem, but concerns are not limited to Bulgaria. The arrest in November of five Albanians near the Greek-Albanian border for the alleged sale of eight Roma infants has fueled speculation about an Albanian baby-trading racket.

A prosecutor from the northern Greek town of Yiannitsa who is investigating the Albanian connection said he had been probing not just the sale of babies, but also a more grisly trade. "We were looking at the possibility that this ring was removing organs for sale," said the prosecutor, Constantinos Samaras.

Bulgaria outlawed baby trafficking in 2004, targeting middlemen by criminalizing "facilitation" of the trade. Amendments to the law, which took effect two months ago, criminalize mothers who sell their babies. Critics say this will be counterproductive.

"The new law works in the interest of the traffickers because the women will no longer go to the police," said Tihomir Bezlov, a sociologist who analyzes organized crime at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia.

"It's a new type of crime that we didn't experience a few years ago," said Dobromir Dochev, who heads the fight against human trafficking with the Bulgarian police. He linked the trade to "the market for babies that has arisen, most likely as a result of strict adoption procedures" in Greece.

In some cases, he said, middlemen offered loans of 500 to 1,000 Bulgarian levs, about $335 to $670, to pregnant Roma women, who were then pressured to sell their babies in Greece if they could not make the payments.

Stoyanka Stoyanova of Sliven, Bulgaria, interviewed in a documentary aired by Bulgaria's Nova television in August, said she had given birth in a hospital in Greece and had spent 40 days with her infant before it was sold. The buyers, she said, gave the middleman his fee for the baby "in an envelope, so I couldn't see how much money it was. They promised me €1,000 and didn't pay me anything. Then they put me on a bus and sent me back home."

Another woman in the documentary, Velichka Vicheva, 17, said that when she went to Greece she had been instructed to tell her father that she was going to pick grapes. "They gave me injections, and I didn't feel anything," she said of the birth, which was induced in a hospital in Larisa. The trafficker and the Greek couple argued about the price, she said, and the deal was suddenly off. The middleman then took her to Athens, where she waited only an hour before her baby was sold.

Krassimir Kanev, chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organization, said poverty was at the root of the problem, along with the failure of Bulgarian society to integrate the Roma.

According to the United Nations Development Program, 70 percent of the Roma in Bulgaria live on the equivalent of less than €1.70 a day.

"The Bulgarian state can do very little," Kanev said, "except for prosecuting the traffickers, which it doesn't do well."

But Greece can do a lot more, according to Spyridon Kloudas, an Athens- based defense lawyer for victims of trafficking. Kloudas called for stricter penalties to discourage baby traders— the maximum jail sentence is currently five years — and for a reference to illegal adoption to be added to the criminal code.

"Even if the woman consents," he said, "it is still trafficking, as she is being exploited by a third party for profit."

Kloudas added that some foreign infants sold in Greece were being registered not as adopted babies but, falsely, as the birth children of Greek women in a scam facilitated by doctors in maternity clinics.

Andreakou said that the anti-trafficking efforts of the police would be helped by improvements in Greece's state adoption process. "If the state system was less time-consuming," she said, "we would not have such a problem with Bulgarian babies."

Glegle, the legal adviser in state adoptions, proposed the establishment of family courts, which do not exist in Greece. "This would speed up the state adoption process and encourage more prospective parents to use it," she said.

Official figures confirm that the vast majority of adoptions in Greece are being conducted beyond the reaches of state control.

A total of 603 adoptions were recorded by Greece's courts in 2005, an increase of 20 percent over the previous year, according to government statistics. But fewer than 60 of these adoptions were carried out through state channels.

"There are simply not enough babies at the state institutions to satisfy demand," said Evangelia Velentza, director of the Mitera Infants' Home in Athens.

Matthew Brunwasser reported from Sofia.

[plato-ny]

How the Greeks greatly influenced the outcome of WWII (and some say Greeks are not heroes or warriors)

STALIN:

"I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek People, whose resistance
decided WWII."
(From a speech of his broadcast by the Moscow radio station on 31 January
1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of marshal Paulus)


HITLER:

"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all
the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest
disregard of death.. "
(From speech he delivered to Reichstag on 4 May 1941)


CHURCHILL:

1. "The word heroism I am afraid does not render the least of those acts of
self-sacrifice of the Greeks, which were the defining factor in the
victorious outcome of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII, for
the human freedom and dignity. If it were not for the bravery of the Greeks
and their courage, the outcome of WWII would be undetermined."
(Paraphrased from one of his speeches to the British Parliament on 24 April
1941)

2. "Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall
say: The heroes fight like Greeks."
(From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the
Greco-Italian war)


DE GAULLE:

1. "I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel for the heroic
resistance of the People and the leaders of Greece."
(From a speech of his to the French Parliament after the end of WWII)
Quoted by Maurice Schumann Minister of the exterior of France 1969-1973, member of the
French Academy
1974

2. "Greece is the symbol of the tortured, bloodied but live Europe.. Never a
defeat was so honourable for those who suffered it."
(From a message of his he addressed from the BBC of London to the enslaved
peoples of Europe on 28 April 1941, the day Hitler occupied Athens after a
6-month war against Mussolini and six weeks against Hitler)


ZHUKOV, 1896-1974 Marshal of the Soviet Army

"If the Russian people managed to raise resistance at the doors of Moscow, to halt
and reverse the German torrent, they owe it to the Greek People, who delayed
the German divisions during the time they could bring us to our knees."
(Quote from his memoirs on WWII)


MUSSOLINI:

"The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that
surprises always await us."
(From speech he delivered on 10/5/1941)


GEORGE VI, King of Great Britain 1936-1952

"The magnificent struggle of Greece, was the first big turn of WWII"
(Paraphrased from a speech of his to the parliament in May 1945)


ROOSEVELT:

1. "On the 28th of October 1940 Greece was given a deadline of three
hours to decide on war or peace but even if a three day or three week or
three year were given, the response would have been the same.
The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. When the entire world
had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of
the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom."
(Paraphrased from speech he delivered on 10/6/1943)

2. "The heroic struggle of the Greek people... against Germany 's attack, after she so thunderously
defeated the Italians in their attempt to invade the Greek soil, filled the
hearts of the American people with enthusiasm and moved their compassion.)
(Paraphrased from a speech of his on 25/04/1941)

Sir Harold Alexander British Marshal during WWII

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. We wonder what would have been Soviet Union's position without Greece."
(speech to British parliament on 28 October 1941)

[GentiaNi]

No. That an excuse. If thats the case, than Bosnia and Albania can t join.

Here's a very good link in wikipedia about Turkey and EU:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Turkey_to_the_European_Union

it is true that Europe ignore us because we are muslims countries. but in the other hand what is so good to be in the european union, we are in europe allready, shall we join their union too, so that everything we do have to share with all of them!!
nah

but we as Albania, we are greatly proud of that we are descendant of ancient Illyrians, and that we are Europes biggest Muslim Country, besides nationality we are highly proud to be be Muslims too, the true Religon of God!

[PAO_HELLAS]

Thread closed temporarily for a cleanup because some unschooled ignorants here can't control their selves.

[PAO_HELLAS]

The thread reopens. I had to delete or edit at least 50 posts to reinstate the peace and protect it from the brainless. From now on the ones who don't have something logic to post they better not post at all.

[Fenerliyim]

Good job Pao

[poutismalakas]

yes Great Pao and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FRIENDS!!!

[PAO_HELLAS]

Thanks re. Happy New Year :).

[plato-ny]

Tarpon Springs Florida

Tarpon Springs was once the step-child of the upscale Pinellas County, but this modest Greek Sponge Fishing Community is now home to a $20-25 milllion-a-year tourist industry. It is also, not coincidentally home to the highest percentage of Greek residents of any city in the United States. And it is precisely because Greeks don't leave home without bringing home with them that after four generations of Greek life, the colourful traditions, tastes, architecture and atmosphere of the Mediterranean are drawing tourists from around the world to this little piece of Greece on the Gulf of Mexico.

It all started in 1905 when Greek immigrant John Cocoris convinced his employer that the gathering of sponges through diving would greatly increase the yeild of the newly established sponge industry. To accomplish that goal, Cocoris brought the first Greek divers (mainly from the Dodecanese) along with their mechanised diving equipment to Tarpon Springs. The idea became so successful that for decades so many of the original divers' countrymen followed, that in the 1930s the sponge industry was a multi-million dollar business (the biggest industry in Florida at the time). Tarpon Springs was recognised as the sponge capital of the world, and the character of this Floridan community had shifted permanently in the Mediterranean.

Although ecology and economics have reduced the role of harvesting and selling sponges, the historic Greek community's picturesque homes, two dozen restaurants and about a hundred shops clustered around saltwater bayous near the docks have become a destination of distinction. With the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop, tourists saunter year-round between quaint one story turn of the century buildings and the harbour hosting the shrimp and sponge boats. It isn't sedate. Barkers enthusiastically beckon tourists into restaurants and hand them maps and coupons for 'the best' Greek food, as well as treasures from the ocean, souvenirs and religious icons. Many find it hard to believe they're in the United States.
info from Odyssey magazine

Florida
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Tarpon_Springs_FL.png
map wikipedia

Sponge Docks

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5903/zztarponsprings17ot7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9506/zztarponspringsfloridawe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

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http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/7265/zztarponsprings20hr3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/562/zztarponsprings6rt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

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http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6632/zztarponsprings8zr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Historic District
A mile south of the Sponge Docks is downtown Tarpon Springs, which is listed in The National Register of Historic Places. A mixture of stately homes, antique homes, art galleries, specialty shops, grocery stores featuring Greek coffee, cheeses and lamb and restaurants, this area is also home to the Cultural Centre and Historical Society.

Cultural Centre (formerly town hall)

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1474/zztarponsprings12ns7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Stately homes

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/976/zztarponsprings26ok4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/603/zztarponsprings25kf1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/7896/zztarponsprings19ls5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/5397/zztarponsprings18ev6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral (1943) The church was funded through the sponge industry and features marble from Greece, recycled from the Greek exhibition at a world's fair held in the U.S. The church runs a pre-school and parochial school and is a centre of the Greek community's activities.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3783/zztarponsprings14lj3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2052/zztarponsprings3nn3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

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http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/4026/zztarponsprings13hy6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Spring Bayou

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2318/zztarponsprings10zv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Nearby beach

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6903/zztarponspringsbeachrz9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Tarpon fish, from where the place gets its name

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/1728/zztarponsprings34qt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Epiphany
What started over a century ago as a small observance of the baptism of Christ by the city's Greek immigrants is now the largest such celebration in the U.S and attracts pilgrims from all over the country. The day-long ceremony includes a morning service at St Nicholas Cathedral, dive for the cross in the Spring Bayou and releasing of the peace dove. And of course it all ends with Greek food and dancing.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/57/zztarponepiphany6zj4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6900/zztarponepiphany3yk4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The procession before the Epiphany

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/2766/zztarponspringsprocessibd2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/6282/zztarponepiphany2en7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2576/zztarponsprings27ul8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9138/zztarponsprings28vs9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/6366/zztarponepiphany5on9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
It's on...

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4982/zztarponsprings30ay1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

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Festivities after the ceremonies. Many dance groups from across North America come to strut their stuff at this celebrated destination of Greek culture in the U.S.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2051/zztarponsprings33nd3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

There have been four full-length Hollywood movies about the Tarpon Springs story, and more than 40 documentaries in several languages. ABC, CBS, NBC, United Press and the Associated Press have done countless stories on Tarpon Springs.

[benfica64]

How the Greeks greatly influenced the outcome of WWII (and some say Greeks are not heroes or warriors)

STALIN:

"I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek People, whose resistance
decided WWII."
(From a speech of his broadcast by the Moscow radio station on 31 January
1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of marshal Paulus)


HITLER:

"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all
the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest
disregard of death.. "
(From speech he delivered to Reichstag on 4 May 1941)


CHURCHILL:

1. "The word heroism I am afraid does not render the least of those acts of
self-sacrifice of the Greeks, which were the defining factor in the
victorious outcome of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII, for
the human freedom and dignity. If it were not for the bravery of the Greeks
and their courage, the outcome of WWII would be undetermined."
(Paraphrased from one of his speeches to the British Parliament on 24 April
1941)

2. "Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall
say: The heroes fight like Greeks."
(From a speech he delivered from the BBC in the first days of the
Greco-Italian war)


DE GAULLE:

1. "I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel for the heroic
resistance of the People and the leaders of Greece."
(From a speech of his to the French Parliament after the end of WWII)
Quoted by Maurice Schumann Minister of the exterior of France 1969-1973, member of the
French Academy
1974

2. "Greece is the symbol of the tortured, bloodied but live Europe.. Never a
defeat was so honourable for those who suffered it."
(From a message of his he addressed from the BBC of London to the enslaved
peoples of Europe on 28 April 1941, the day Hitler occupied Athens after a
6-month war against Mussolini and six weeks against Hitler)


ZHUKOV, 1896-1974 Marshal of the Soviet Army

"If the Russian people managed to raise resistance at the doors of Moscow, to halt
and reverse the German torrent, they owe it to the Greek People, who delayed
the German divisions during the time they could bring us to our knees."
(Quote from his memoirs on WWII)


MUSSOLINI:

"The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that
surprises always await us."
(From speech he delivered on 10/5/1941)


GEORGE VI, King of Great Britain 1936-1952

"The magnificent struggle of Greece, was the first big turn of WWII"
(Paraphrased from a speech of his to the parliament in May 1945)


ROOSEVELT:

1. "On the 28th of October 1940 Greece was given a deadline of three
hours to decide on war or peace but even if a three day or three week or
three year were given, the response would have been the same.
The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. When the entire world
had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of
the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom."
(Paraphrased from speech he delivered on 10/6/1943)

2. "The heroic struggle of the Greek people... against Germany 's attack, after she so thunderously
defeated the Italians in their attempt to invade the Greek soil, filled the
hearts of the American people with enthusiasm and moved their compassion.)
(Paraphrased from a speech of his on 25/04/1941)

Sir Harold Alexander British Marshal during WWII

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. We wonder what would have been Soviet Union's position without Greece."
(speech to British parliament on 28 October 1941)

Nothing like getting praise from Stalin, Hitler and mussolini must make your feel proud.

[Panathinaikos2]

Nothing like getting praise from Stalin, Hitler and mussolini must make your feel proud.We feel proud becuase they along with the Allies as well admired us for our bravery, courage, and how well we fought during World War 2. This does not mean that we actually support these people. Stalin and Hitler admiring us is not in any way bad or embarrasing.

[benfica64]

We feel proud becuase they along with the Allies as well admired us for our bravery, courage, and how well we fought during World War 2. This does not mean that we actually support these people. Stalin and Hitler admiring us is not in any way bad or embarrasing.

do you have your very own special salute to these 3 heroes you and plato

love ( Hitler, Stalin and Mussollini) ? again must make u feel proud.

[Panathinaikos2]

do you have your very own special salute to these 3 heroes you and plato

love ( Hitler, Stalin and Mussollini) ? again must make u feel proud.Yes we are all "Fascists" and we support these "heroes" like our very own :rolleyes:

[benfica64]

We feel proud becuase they along with the Allies as well admired us for our bravery, courage, and how well we fought during World War 2. This does not mean that we actually support these people. Stalin and Hitler admiring us is not in any way bad or embarrasing.

good to see you edited what you previously wrote, and that is calling people a moron???? I was that close to showing them your conduct yet again.

[Panathinaikos2]

good to see you edited what you previously wrote, and that is calling people a moron???? I was that close to showing them your conduct yet again.Go ahead 40 year old virgin. See if I give a shit.

[plato-ny]

Benfica64 never learns. Being banned once didn't teach him anything. The greek mods have not seen his posts yet but I reported his posts to them.

He even mentions my name in one of his posts, unnecessarily, and implies that myself and Panathinaikos2 have a "special salute" for fascists. He completely took my post about Greeks during WW2 where the Allies and Axis Powers praised the Greeks for being heroes and twisted it around and made it look like the Greeks were aligned with the Axis Powers and were proud for being hailed as heroes by fascists which is not what my post is about.

This is the same Benfica64 who made racist and stereotypical remarks about Greeks and Italians through various parts of SFN and his posts prove as such. My post, Benfica64, was about the Greeks being valiant warriors during WW2 which helped the Allies WIN WW2 AND helped DEFEAT the Axis Powers which the Axis Powers acknowledge IN ADDITION to the acknowledgement of the Allies. Observe:

MUSSOLINI:

"The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the military and that
surprises always await us."
(From speech he delivered on 10/5/1941)

Mussolini forces tried to invade Greece through Albania but lost. Even though his army had the guns, Greeks had the numbers which was why Mussolini lost. That loss was a turning point which Mussolini had acknowledged.

HITLER:

"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all
the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest
disregard of death.. "
(From speech he delivered to Reichstag on 4 May 1941)

Hitler's mighty Nazi army had their problems with the Greeks, which was, again, another major turning point, which Hitler also acknowledged.

STALIN:

"I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek People, whose resistance decided WWII."
(From a speech of his broadcast by the Moscow radio station on 31 January
1943 after the victory of Stalingrad and the capitulation of marshal Paulus)

Here, Stalin, praises Greek resistance which decided WW2 AND which helped the Allies DEFEAT the Axis Powers.

The Greek forum was very quiet for awhile until you, Benfica64, decided, out of boredom, a need for attention, and a need to be mischievous, to take my post, which you misinterpreted, intentionally or unintentionally, depending on one's viewpoint, and instigate a war on a post which had nothing to do with Portugal or any of Greece's political enemies.

You cleverly twist it around and make it seem like its intent was something else. You decided to start a war between the Greeks and those who believe your interpretations. You need to stop being an instigator, pal. Although, I am curious how you'll twist this post around and make me the bad guy.

[Panathinaikos2]

Benfica just wants attention...

[Al-SamI]

SANDRO and you have the SAME Ip!!!!!! Sandro1 continue.....

[poutismalakas]

eh lol sounds crazzy.. :eyebrows:
CHANGE YOUR SIG to LEAVE OUT Jews and Christians I FIND THAT OFFENSIVE!!!!!!

[Fenerliyim]

it is true that Europe ignore us because we are muslims countries. but in the other hand what is so good to be in the european union, we are in europe allready, shall we join their union too, so that everything we do have to share with all of them!!
nah

but we as Albania, we are greatly proud of that we are descendant of ancient Illyrians, and that we are Europes biggest Muslim Country, besides nationality we are highly proud to be be Muslims too, the true Religon of God!

lol hhahaha europes biggest muslim country, u might be forgetting the 70 million people who live in Turkey. :lol:

[Centarfor9]

yeah but he probably didn't count Turkey as being in Europe

[plato-ny]

Greek archaeologists discover theater
Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but it was never found

ATHENS, Greece - Sections of an ancient Greek theater were discovered on Thursday during construction work in an Athens suburb, archaeologists said.

Until now, only two such buildings were known in the ancient city where western theater originated more than 2,500 years ago.

Fifteen rows of concentric stone seats have been located so far in the northwestern suburb of Menidi, according to Vivi Vassilopoulou, Greece's general director of antiquities.

"Another section appears to lie under a nearby road," she told The Associated Press.

"(The remains) were discovered during excavation work, supervised by archaeologists, for a new building," Vassilopoulou said. "But it is still very early to offer any conclusions."

The structure has not yet been dated, and further details are expected to emerge following a full excavation.

Menidi is thought to be built over the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of rural settlements outside ancient Athens. Ancient writers mention a theater at Acharnae, but no traces of it had been found until now.

The village was linked with Dionysos, the ancient god of theater and wine, as the Athenians believed that ivy — his sacred plant — first grew there.

Built in semicircular tiers on hillsides, ancient theaters were monumental, open-air structures that could seat thousands of spectators.

Theater first emerged as an art form in late 6th century B.C. Athens, where ancient playwrights competed for a prize during the annual festival of Dionysos — in whose cult the art originated.

The works of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Aristophanes were performed in the theater of Dionysos under the Acropolis.

Originally a terrace where spectators sat on the bare earth above a circular stage, it was rebuilt in stone during the 4th century B.C. and could seat up to 14,000 people.

Another smaller theater has been discovered in southern Athens.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[PAO_HELLAS]

It is the known ancient theater of Acharnae. They found it 2 meters under the ground when they were placing the substructure of a new apartment building.

A group from the Ministry of Culture is going to check the area.

[Centarfor9]

^ wait what kind was it :smoking: (joking)

[PAO_HELLAS]

^ wait what kind was it :smoking: (joking)

An open amphitheater made by marble and stone :p .

[Centarfor9]

An open amphitheater made by marble and stone :p .
yeah i was more thinking of what kind of entertainment did they show there :p

[plato-ny]

Sign the petition to save the Diolkos:

http://www.greece.org:8080/opencms/opencms/HEC_Projects/DIOLKOS/

[plato-ny]

The White House issued a Proclamation by President Bush designating March 25, 2007 as "Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy, 2007".

US President George Bush has issued a Proclamation on the occasion of the March 25 Greek Independence Day.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios of America will preside over the celebrations in Washington on Thursday and Friday marking the anniversary, which will culminate in a special event at the White House on Friday to be addressed by both Bush and the Archbishop.

The White House event will also be attended by Greece's foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, who is currently in Washington on a US visit that also included talks in New York with UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.

Βush Proclamation

The full text of the Proclamation is as follows:

"The United States and Greece share a long friendship built on common values and an abiding love for freedom. On Greek Independence Day, we underscore the warm ties between our countries, recognize the Greek Americans who enrich our society, and commemorate the anniversary of modern Greece.

"The ancient Greeks entrusted their citizens with the right to govern, and they believed in the power of freedom to protect human dignity and basic human rights. Many of America's Founding Fathers studied Greek history and took inspiration from these democratic ideals as they framed our Constitution. The founders of modern Greece had the strong support of our own young democracy when they declared their independence in 1821, and our nations have stood as allies in the major conflicts of the 20th century. Today, we continue to defend freedom together in the global war on terror, as Greek and American Armed Forces work to lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.

"On Greek Independence Day, and throughout the year, we celebrate the universality of freedom and the enduring bonds between Greece and the United States.

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2007, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first."
Washington events

Archbishop Demetrios of America will preside over the commemorative events in Washington on Thursday and Friday, culimating in a special ceremony at the White House on Friday marking the proclamation of March 25, 2007 as "Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy".

On Thursday, Demetrios will host a brunch in honour of the newly-elected members of the US Congress who are of Greek origin, and will also have a private meeting with visiting Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis.

Later, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will host a luncheon in honour of the Archbishop and Bakoyannis, after which Demetrios will have consecutive meetings with Greek-American Senator Olympia Snowe, US Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).

On Thursday night, the US president's Assistant for Homeland Security director Frances Fragos Townsend, also of Greek-American descent, will host a dinner in honour of the Archbishop on the occasion of the celebration of Greek Independence Day at Blair House, where traditionally the White House guests are hosted.

On Friday, the Archbishop will have breakfast with the US president's special envoy for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, who is a Greek-American, followed by the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) at Arlington National Cemetery.

The celebrations will culminate with the special event at the White House, which will be addressed by President Bush and Archbishop Demetrios.

[plato-ny]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/21/lklw.00.html

Catherine Zeta-Jones' name is "Zeta" from her grandmother's name who was of Greek origin. Jones is not Greek but its still interesting information.

[kanaryamerika]

what's up with this? they say 1 person diesd and 5 seriously wounded?

http://www.internethaber.com/images/news/19792.jpg

at a women's vollyball agme between olympiakos and panathinaikos or something.

[PAO_HELLAS]

Yes, an 25 year old was killed and 6 more were injured seriously at a clash between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos supporters. After the incident for many hours they were clashes between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos supporters all over Athens.

That's the murder of sports :sad: .

[kanaryamerika]

wow that's crazy. these team wars are like gangs (everywhere). a shame. will they impose any penalties on wither side?

[plato-ny]

what's up with this? they say 1 person diesd and 5 seriously wounded?

http://www.internethaber.com/images/news/19792.jpg

at a women's vollyball agme between olympiakos and panathinaikos or something.

Thats correct. A 25-year old was murdered and others were seriously wounded, one of them being 3 knife stabs to the neck.

MURDER AND VIOLENCE OVER A WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL MATCH!!! BUT ITS REALLY BETWEEN THE OLYMPIAKOS AND PANATHINAIKOS FANS WHO ARE OF THE HOOLIGAN-TYPE. BUT ITS STILL PATHETIC!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Greece has suspended all team sports matches for 15 days after a fan was stabbed to death during clashes between rival hooligans before a volleyball game

Government spokesman Theodore Roussopoulos informed reporters of the decision after a cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister.

"Violence at stadiums concerns society as a whole," Roussopoulos said. "All (controlling) bodies must act with determination and with the support of the state to wipe out this sad phenomenon."

Greece's Football Federation said in a statement it was abiding by the government's decision.

"We announce the suspension of all soccer championship games of all professional and amateur leagues until Friday April 13," it said.

Fans clashed in an eastern Athens suburb ahead of a women's volleyball match between the country's biggest clubs Olympiakos and Panathinaikos on Thursday.

One fan was stabbed and run over by a car, at least six people were injured, one of whom was in critical condition, and police made 13 arrests following the 20-minute battle.

Among those injured were bystanders as well as several minor soccer league players on their way to training. Their team logo and colors resembled those of Panathinaikos.

Police have said they were not aware of the fans' gathering in the suburb of Peania and the public order minister expressed his sorrow over the incidents.

Both clubs have teams competing in many sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, water polo.

Clashes among supporters of the two teams date back decades. The most recent death of a spectator in Greece, in 1995, was after clashes between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos fans during a basketball match.

The fan's death on Thursday dominated the front pages of daily papers and television news. Political party leaders issued statements condemning the violence.
Overhauled

Greece, whose national soccer team are European champions, overhauled the premier league this season by handing control to professional managers instead of club officials in an effort to halt falling ticket sales, accusations of match-fixing and bad refereeing, as well as regular clashes between fans.

"It is time that all of us in soccer come together and once and for all eradicate violence from sports," Superleague chief Petros Kokalis told Reuters.

"The Superleague would like to express its condolences to the family of the victim," he said.

Roussopoulos said matches would resume after April 13. He said the government had also decided a series of other measures, including setting up an inter-ministerial committee to make sure laws are enforced.

He said fans convicted for violence during clashes in future would not have the right to a suspended sentence but would face jail terms. This law was passed last year but has never really been enforced.

Roussopoulos also said camera systems and electronic ticket stalls would be installed in every stadium as of next season. He did not clarify whether this would include minor sports arenas across the country.

Reuters

[PAO_HELLAS]

The day after the incidents, the results are one death, seven serious injuries and many other minor injuries.

Till now they are 13 arrests by the police , but the ones who killed the supporter ARE NOT arrested yet.

After this new violence incident, Karamanlis himself ordered the stop of every sport activity in Greece for the next two weeks.

Kanaryamerika, I don't think a penalty to any team is possible as the events did not took place inside or near any stadium.

[plato-ny]

Video:
http://www.eurovision.tv/addons/mediaplayer/video/gre.html

http://www.eurovision.tv/images/stories/runningorder/10_final.jpg

[Fenerliyim]

happy bday poutis

[SiN]

Is it his bday!?

Happy Bday Poutis!!! :D

[Cihangir]

What? Whose birthday? Where's the "partay"? :D

[poutismalakas]

mine! it was last week!

[Centarfor9]

damn son

happy what is it 40th birthday?

[PAO_HELLAS]

Record-high heat wave across Greece

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas took to the streets in central Athens yesterday to hand out pamphlets calling for consumers to be careful with power usage. High temperatures over the last few days have tested the country’s power grid as Greeks switch on air conditioners to cool down.

Three people died yesterday as continued hot weather across the country kept temperatures well above the 40 degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) mark in what is set to be the the hottest June ever recorded.

The Health Ministry said that three pensioners, aged 76, 84 and 103, died of medical conditions aggravated by heat stroke in central and southern Greece.

The government ordered all public offices to work only half-days today and tomorrow, closing at midday to reduce energy consumption and allow people to stay out of the sun during the peak hours of the day.

“Based on the forecasts, temperatures are expected to be very high for the next two days, so we have taken these extraordinary measures,” said Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Temperatures are expected to remain high for a second week, reaching 43C (109F) in Athens.

National electricity consumption exceeded 10,000 megawatts to hit a record high yesterday, fueled by heavy air-conditioning use and causing limited power outages in parts of Athens and Thessaloniki.

The government urged the public to avoid unnecessary energy consumption but insisted that the national grid had been adequately strengthened to avoid widespread outages.

“The system had been reinforced to withstand even higher levels of consumption,” said Nikos Stefanou, general secretary at the Development Ministry.

Greece has been relying on importing electricity from neighboring countries to help meet demand.

Temperatures are not expected to ease until Thursday, according to weather experts.

Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ

Cities with the highest temperatures yesterday (June 25) :D:

Eleusis... 46 C (115 F)
Palaiochora, Crete... 44 C (111 F)
Chania... 43 C (109 F)
Athens... 43 C (109 F)
Tanagra... 43 C (109 F)
Kalamata... 43 C (109 F)
Trikala... 42 C (108 F)
Amphikleia... 42 C (108 F)
Larissa... 42 C (108 F)
Kythira... 41 C (106 F)
Lamia... 41 C (106 F)
Volos... 41 C (106 F)
Herakleon... 41 C (106 F)
Tripolis... 40 C (104 F)
Milos... 40 C (104 F)
Santorini... 40 C (104 F)

[poutismalakas]

damn son

happy what is it 40th birthday?
34th ;)

[Cihangir]

mine! it was last week!

Oh happy birthday then. :) Sorry I missed it. =P

[poutismalakas]

Hey if you lived in socal you could have come dowm for the party! I have a BDay tradition in that I go this dive bar and get semidrunk while avioding my Greeks friends from getting me trashed! :D so far so good ;)

[Fenerliyim]

Record-high heat wave across Greece

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas took to the streets in central Athens yesterday to hand out pamphlets calling for consumers to be careful with power usage. High temperatures over the last few days have tested the country’s power grid as Greeks switch on air conditioners to cool down.

Three people died yesterday as continued hot weather across the country kept temperatures well above the 40 degree Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) mark in what is set to be the the hottest June ever recorded.

The Health Ministry said that three pensioners, aged 76, 84 and 103, died of medical conditions aggravated by heat stroke in central and southern Greece.

The government ordered all public offices to work only half-days today and tomorrow, closing at midday to reduce energy consumption and allow people to stay out of the sun during the peak hours of the day.

“Based on the forecasts, temperatures are expected to be very high for the next two days, so we have taken these extraordinary measures,” said Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

Temperatures are expected to remain high for a second week, reaching 43C (109F) in Athens.

National electricity consumption exceeded 10,000 megawatts to hit a record high yesterday, fueled by heavy air-conditioning use and causing limited power outages in parts of Athens and Thessaloniki.

The government urged the public to avoid unnecessary energy consumption but insisted that the national grid had been adequately strengthened to avoid widespread outages.

“The system had been reinforced to withstand even higher levels of consumption,” said Nikos Stefanou, general secretary at the Development Ministry.

Greece has been relying on importing electricity from neighboring countries to help meet demand.

Temperatures are not expected to ease until Thursday, according to weather experts.

Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ

Cities with the highest temperatures yesterday (June 25) :D:

Eleusis... 46 C (115 F)
Palaiochora, Crete... 44 C (111 F)
Chania... 43 C (109 F)
Athens... 43 C (109 F)
Tanagra... 43 C (109 F)
Kalamata... 43 C (109 F)
Trikala... 42 C (108 F)
Amphikleia... 42 C (108 F)
Larissa... 42 C (108 F)
Kythira... 41 C (106 F)
Lamia... 41 C (106 F)
Volos... 41 C (106 F)
Herakleon... 41 C (106 F)
Tripolis... 40 C (104 F)
Milos... 40 C (104 F)
Santorini... 40 C (104 F)

man same with Turkey, its burning

and america is just as bad

[el Turco]

man same with Turkey, its burning

and america is just as bad

Yeah, it's burning over there, and tomorrow will be hotter.

We must ask Cihangir how it was in Istanbul today? :D

[Cihangir]

I hump my blower time and time again still doesn't work it out for me. I'm gonna put some ice on my bed man. =P

[Cihangir]

I just answered it without seeing your post. =P It's HOT! :( Worst part is I love winter.

[el Turco]

I just answered it without seeing your post. =P It's HOT! :( Worst part is I love winter.

yeah i was talkin with my friend in Turkey today, and he was talkin about how hot it is over there all the time.

Tomorrow will even be hotter my friend, good luck. :)

[Cihangir]

I was out yesterday and that's it. Not gonna step out of my home again plus I'm leaving Istanbul this Friday.

[Cihangir]

Well of course my yesterday is still your today. =P

[PAO_HELLAS]

Cities with the highest temperatures yesterday (June 26):

Athens... 47 C (117 F)
Argos... 46 C (115 F)
Eleusis... 46 C (115 F)
Megara... 45 C (113 F)
Tanagra... 44 C (111 F)
Spata... 44 C (111 F)
Lamia... 44 C (111 F)
Larissa... 44 C (111 F)
Volos... 44 C (111 F)
Kalamata... 43 C (109 F)
Velo... 43 C (109 F)
Trikala... 43 C (109 F)
Amphikleia... 42 C (108 F)

[Fenerliyim]

I hump my blower time and time again still doesn't work it out for me. I'm gonna put some ice on my bed man. =P

wats a blower?

[OCFP]

I hate the summer man. The best time of the year is fall and spring. not to hot and not to cold.

[el Turco]

wats a blower?

It is a fan, or ventilator.

What were you thinking of? :D

[Cihangir]

LMFAO blower. Yes it's a fan. =P

[dannymex]

Cities with the highest temperatures yesterday (June 26):

Athens... 47 C (117 F)
Argos... 46 C (115 F)
Eleusis... 46 C (115 F)
Megara... 45 C (113 F)
Tanagra... 44 C (111 F)
Spata... 44 C (111 F)
Lamia... 44 C (111 F)
Larissa... 44 C (111 F)
Volos... 44 C (111 F)
Kalamata... 43 C (109 F)
Velo... 43 C (109 F)
Trikala... 43 C (109 F)
Amphikleia... 42 C (108 F)


wow, ***k that!
thats soo hot! i hate summer

[Fenerliyim]

lol there are a lot of things that blow, ac, leaf blower, hair dryer, something i cant say cause its inappropiate.

[el Turco]

lol there are a lot of things that blow, ac, leaf blower, hair dryer, something i cant say cause its inappropiate.

do they have blowers in Rutgers? :D jk

Dont get me wrong. The weather might get hot, u never know. :D

[Fenerliyim]

Theres plenty, but nothing of high quality lol

[el Turco]

Theres plenty, but nothing of high quality lol

:D :D

Ask Cihangir to bring some blowers from Turkey. They must be high quality. :D

[Fenerliyim]

no need, i'm goin there next week :D

[el Turco]

no need, i'm goin there next week :D

Have fun! (not with the blowers :D)

Can someone please move all the conversation between Turkish people from here to there. Thanks. :)

http://forums.soccerfansnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=55244

[Cihangir]

We're bunch of big mouths... :/

[el Turco]

We're bunch of big mouths... :/

thanks to you who started all this blower mess. :D :lol:

I hump my blower time and time again

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He humps his blower. :D :lol:

[Cihangir]

LMAO Blame it on the vacation boy! Doesn't matter he's leaving anyway. :lol:

[plato-ny]

(From Forbes magazine)

The Exchange That Launched 1,000 Ships
Tatiana Serafin 07.23.07

Greece, Europe's New Hot Spot

With little fanfare, Greece has become one of Europe's best-performing economies and stock markets.

Greece, birthplace of the Olympics and home of ancient relics and honeymoon hideaway isles, is noteworthy for another reason. Over the past ten years its gross domestic product has grown at an annual rate of 6%, putting this economy far ahead of three of the largest European Union economies (Germany, France and Italy).

In 2000 Morgan Stanley Capital International, which tracks global stock markets via hundreds of indexes, promoted Greece out of the emerging-market category. The catalyst for this change: Greece's 2001 entry into the eurozone, which had imposed strict fiscal and monetary policies. The MSCI Greece stock index has a 12-month total return of 42%, a tad ahead of 41% for the MSCI Europe index.

Greece can now capitalize on its central Mediterranean location, says Harris Siganos, a managing director at Alpha Asset Management in Athens. One way is with ships. Over the past four years Greek shipping companies have benefited from increased trade with China and India, and freight rates have more than doubled. Today the shipping industry leads tourism in fund inflows from abroad. Greece has 3,800-plus ships of 1,000 tons or more, the largest fleet in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. Helped by cheap bank financing, shippers have at least 260 new vessels on order.

Danaos Corp., which listed on the New York Stock Exchange at the end of 2006, is the country's eighteenth-largest maritime shipper by vessel tonnage. Its container ships are less exposed to the volatility found in bulk cargo. Profit in 2006 was down 18% to $101 million, on revenue of $245 million. The company attributes the decline in part to its investment in 28 new ships, 8 of which are already under 10- to 15-year contracts.

Tsakos Energy Navigation, Greece's third-largest shipper by tonnage, trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Last year sales rose by 45% to $428 million and net by 21% to $196 million. As of March Tsakos, which specializes in the more volatile oil tanker market and recently added a liquefied natural gas carrier, had nine ships under construction.

Two of Greece's big banks, both available as American Depositary Receipts, provide exposure to southeastern Europe. National Bank of Greece is the country's largest banking group and recently made a big acquisition in Turkey. Net income for 2006 was up 23% to $758 million, 20% derived from abroad. ADRs of the Athens bank sell for 14 times their Thomson IBES 2007 consensus earnings forecast.

(Added in) National Bank of Greece in Balkans:

*89.9% of the United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).
*Majority stake in Stopanska Banka (Skopje, FYROM).
*Owns Banca Romaneasca, a Romanian bank, and holds 88.7% of shares.
*80.4% of the shares of Finansbank in Turkey.
*99.44% of Serbia's Vojvođanska Bank)

Alpha Bank, with $12.8 billion in market capitalization, has been expanding in Romania and Bulgaria. Last year 10% of net income came from abroad; the bank expects this to double in three years.

(Added in) Alpha Bank in Balkans

*A few branches in Albania
*Sole owner of Alpha bank Skopia
*Owns 63% of Alpha bank Romania
*Owns 88.64% of Alpha Bank Beograd

Consumer goods is another Greek sector with exposure to the Balkans. In the first quarter revenues at Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling were up 18%, driven by growth in emerging markets such as Romania. With $7.4 billion in sales, Hellenic is the second-biggest Coca-Cola bottler in the world.

(Added in) It controls Coca-Cola distribution in all of the former Soviet Union except the central Asian republics and all of the former communist nations of eastern Europe except Albania and eastern Germany. It is also the bottler in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as well as Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Nigeria and the northern two-thirds of Italy.

Greece still cashes in on its sunny Mediterranean climate and 15,000 miles of coastline. Over 12 million tourists a year visit Greece (more than one tourist per inhabitant), contributing 17% of GDP. The government took advantage of the 2004 Olympics and its tourist traffic to open up the funding spigot for improving roads and railways.

Two companies listed on the Athens exchange offer investors an opportunity to take part in the building boom. Hellenic (or Elliniki) Technodomiki, which posted a 38% gain in first-quarter revenue, to $242 million, has a project backlog of $5.2 billion. Lamda Development, the real estate development arm of the billionaire Latsis family, is behind the two largest shopping malls in Greece as well as office and residential complexes. The company has announced plans to invest $520 million by the end of 2008 in Greece and the Balkans. Lamda sells for 12 times its 2007 consensus earnings forecast.

http://images.forbes.com/media/magazines/forbes/2007/0723/Forbes_0723_p160_f2.gif

(Greece has 10 companies on the New York Stock Exchange, just as many as that with Italy and only 5 other countries in Europe have more: UK (48), Holland (31), France (16), Germany (15), and Switzerland (13). Greece has more than Spain (7), Russia and Ireland (5), Finland (4), Norway (3), Luxembourg (2) and Turkey, Belgium, Guernsey (British Island), and Portugal each with one.)

Current Greek companies on NYSE:

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A.
Danaos Corporation
Diana Shipping, Inc.
Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd.
Hellenic Telecommunication Organization S.A
National Bank Greece SA
Navios Maritime Holdings Inc.
Navios Maritime Holdings Inc.
Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited

[OCFP]

I found the 07/08 Serie A schedule. Anyone find out the results yet???????? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: j/k

[PAO_HELLAS]

We are having early elections in September 16 2007 - it is finalized:

http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=824559&lngDtrID=244

[plato-ny]

NEA DIMOKRATIA is my party so I'm hoping for another victory.

[PAO_HELLAS]

The Presidential Garisson Commander presented the decree-law for the dissolution of the Parliament yesterday. So the Parliament is closing and the pre-election period started officially now. The candidates are starting their tourings and they can't keep appearing on TV anymore before the elections.

Georgios Papandreou started his touring yesterday by visiting Achaia, while Karamanlis started today by visiting Drama.

The full candidate lists for each party aren't announced yet, but they are going to be announced the next days.

Regarding the upcoming TV debates, they are different proposals by each of the two big parties. ND proposes one debate where the leaders of the parties currently represented in the Parliament will participate. PASOK proposes two debates, one between the leaders of PASOK and ND, and a second one between the leaders of the parties represented in the Parliament but also with the participation of the leader of LAOS.

[PAO_HELLAS]

ND candidates announced: http://www.greekrealm.com/forum/15938-post3.html
PASOK candidates announced: http://www.greekrealm.com/forum/16038-post8.html

[poutismalakas]

With the fires going on in Southern Hellas has anyone been affected and if so how badly?

[PAO_HELLAS]

The deaths are about 65 so far.. Hundreds of villages and towns are burned, the homeless will be thousands. The forest land which is burned has to be more than 1 million hectares. A part of ancient Olympia destroyed. No matter what else I say, nothing can explain the situation Peloponnesus and Euboea is the last 4 days... Not only there but in other parts of Greece they are new arsons even the previous hours. Let's not talk here about who can be behind all this.... The country is declared in a state of emergency, that's why everything is postponed (sport events etc.)

[plato-ny]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0827/csmimg/OFIRES_P1.jpg
http://img.iht.com/images/2007/08/26/greecefiresarticle.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44080000/jpg/_44080187_aircraft416ap.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44080000/jpg/_44080181_hose416ap.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44080000/jpg/_44080184_farmer416ap.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44080000/jpg/_44080211_car245afp.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44080000/jpg/_44080199_athens416ugc.jpg
http://i17.tinypic.com/6cfdcua.jpg

[plato-ny]

Video footage of the horror:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5grACh1MfM
http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/fullscr?videoRef=http://skynews-clips.videoloungetv.com/public/skynews/latest/flash/fire_260807_0800.flv
http://news.sky.com/skynews/video/fullscr?videoRef=http://skynews-clips.videoloungetv.com/public/skynews/latest/flash/greece_p12811.flv
URL]

A special fund was set up so individuals could make donations. Anyone wanting to donate money can so by visiting the branch of any commercial bank and making a deposit in Account No 2341103053 of the Bank of Greece.

http://ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100002_27/08/2007_87149

--------------------------------------

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shar...eece_Fires.html (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Europe/Greece_Fires.html)

An unusual excerpt from the link:

"I think it is unlikely that land development was an incentive behind the arson," said Nikos Bokaris, head of the Panhellenic Union of Forestry Experts. "The afflicted areas are not prime targets for construction. These are mountain areas where land is not that valuable."

An official of the WWF (World Wide Fund not World Wrestling Federation) environmental group also dismissed the notion of an orchestrated arson campaign.

"I think these are very dangerous assessments, particularly when the evidence so far does not seem to back them," said Theodota Nantsou, the group's conservation manager for Greece.

[PAO_HELLAS]

Any text from the internet news websites can't explain the situation. Such a thing never happened again in Greece after WW2. And if you focus at the natural disaster, it never happened again before. From what posted I think only the satellite picture can explain the situation better.. :sad:

[plato-ny]

IS THERE ANY END TO THIS MADNESS?

Earthquake strikes fire-ravaged Greece
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 5:49 AM
ELENA BECATOROS

ATHENS, Greece-A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 struck fire-ravaged southern Greece Tuesday, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 12:05 p.m. (0905 GMT) and had an epicenter 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Athens, 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Pyrgos near Ancient Olympia, the institute said.

The quake panicked residents in the region and was felt in areas where firefighters were battling blazes.

Greece-Foreign firefighters and aircraft joined the battle Tuesday against blazes in southern Greece, and officials expressed optimism that wildfires burning some of the country's lushest landscape could be brought under partial control.

The fires, which began about five days ago, have killed at least 64 people and burned olive groves, forests and orchards. Beyond the loss of life and environmental damage, Greece braced for the economic impact of the worst wildfires in memory, with the government budgeting upward of $410 million for immediate relief. The bill was expected to be much higher, the finance ministry said.

The fire department said 56 fires broke out from Monday to Tuesday. The worst were concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in the south and on the island of Evia north of Athens, spokesman Nikos Diamandis said.

He said most of the efforts would be concentrated in those two regions, with most of the firefighters that have arrived from 17 countries operating in the Peloponnese.

A group of 55 Israeli firefighters would be used to assist in combatting one of the worst fires in Krestena, near Ancient Olympia. Large parts of the world heritage site, which was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, were burned over the weekend.

Diamandis said that 18 planes and 18 helicopters, including four from Switzerland, would be used in the southern firefighting effort.

"The picture we have gives us some optimism" in the south, Diamandis said. "We have a good picture and hope for some good results."

Diamandis asked people to heed instructions from authorities and evacuate villages when asked to do so. Greece's civil defense agency said there was a high risk of fires around the country Tuesday because of high winds and temperatures, especially in the Athens region.

From the northern border with Albania to the southern island of Crete, fires ravaged forests and farmland. Residents used garden hoses, buckets, tin cans and branches in desperate, and sometimes futile, attempts to save their homes and livelihoods.

In some villages, firefighters sent helicopters or vehicles to evacuate the residents, only to find people insisting on staying to fight the blaze.

"We are asking people to be calm and to follow orders," Diamandis said.

A helicopter airlifted five people to safety Monday from the village of Prasidaki in southern Greece, fire department spokesman Yiannis Stamoulis said. Another was sent to the village of Frixa, but the residents refused to leave, he said.

The destruction was so extensive that authorities said they had no way of knowing how many acres have burned, or how many people had been injured.

New blazes broke out faster than others could be brought under control, leaving behind a devastated landscape of blackened tree trunks, gutted houses and charred animal carcasses.

The destruction and deaths have infuriated Greeks, already stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July, and appear likely to dominate political debate before early general elections scheduled for Sept. 16. Many blamed the conservative government for failing to respond quickly enough.

[Saraj Fanatico]

RIP to the people killed. This is very tragic. We can only hope the situation calms down.

[poutismalakas]

IS THERE ANY END TO THIS MADNESS?

Earthquake strikes fire-ravaged Greece
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 5:49 AM
ELENA BECATOROS

ATHENS, Greece-A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 struck fire-ravaged southern Greece Tuesday, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 12:05 p.m. (0905 GMT) and had an epicenter 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Athens, 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Pyrgos near Ancient Olympia, the institute said.

The quake panicked residents in the region and was felt in areas where firefighters were battling blazes.

Greece-Foreign firefighters and aircraft joined the battle Tuesday against blazes in southern Greece, and officials expressed optimism that wildfires burning some of the country's lushest landscape could be brought under partial control.

The fires, which began about five days ago, have killed at least 64 people and burned olive groves, forests and orchards. Beyond the loss of life and environmental damage, Greece braced for the economic impact of the worst wildfires in memory, with the government budgeting upward of $410 million for immediate relief. The bill was expected to be much higher, the finance ministry said.

The fire department said 56 fires broke out from Monday to Tuesday. The worst were concentrated in the mountains of the Peloponnese in the south and on the island of Evia north of Athens, spokesman Nikos Diamandis said.

He said most of the efforts would be concentrated in those two regions, with most of the firefighters that have arrived from 17 countries operating in the Peloponnese.

A group of 55 Israeli firefighters would be used to assist in combatting one of the worst fires in Krestena, near Ancient Olympia. Large parts of the world heritage site, which was the birthplace of the Olympic Games, were burned over the weekend.

Diamandis said that 18 planes and 18 helicopters, including four from Switzerland, would be used in the southern firefighting effort.

"The picture we have gives us some optimism" in the south, Diamandis said. "We have a good picture and hope for some good results."

Diamandis asked people to heed instructions from authorities and evacuate villages when asked to do so. Greece's civil defense agency said there was a high risk of fires around the country Tuesday because of high winds and temperatures, especially in the Athens region.

From the northern border with Albania to the southern island of Crete, fires ravaged forests and farmland. Residents used garden hoses, buckets, tin cans and branches in desperate, and sometimes futile, attempts to save their homes and livelihoods.

In some villages, firefighters sent helicopters or vehicles to evacuate the residents, only to find people insisting on staying to fight the blaze.

"We are asking people to be calm and to follow orders," Diamandis said.

A helicopter airlifted five people to safety Monday from the village of Prasidaki in southern Greece, fire department spokesman Yiannis Stamoulis said. Another was sent to the village of Frixa, but the residents refused to leave, he said.

The destruction was so extensive that authorities said they had no way of knowing how many acres have burned, or how many people had been injured.

New blazes broke out faster than others could be brought under control, leaving behind a devastated landscape of blackened tree trunks, gutted houses and charred animal carcasses.

The destruction and deaths have infuriated Greeks, already stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July, and appear likely to dominate political debate before early general elections scheduled for Sept. 16. Many blamed the conservative government for failing to respond quickly enough.
It MUST be that the Ancient Olympian Gods are punishing us for forsaking them and allowing GREAT ZEUS' temple to be burnt by the arronist's torches! The Gods implore us to return our True Religion and then they will give us the Strength to regain Mega Greica for them!

JK

The Earthquake is nothing new for Greece it just happened while Greece is suffering through those fires. I havn't heard anything from my dad or my cousin so Im assuing Mantinea is hopfully fine. My heart and prayers go out to all the people affected by this tragic occurence!!

[PAO_HELLAS]

The situation is better today as more and more fires are getting under control.

IF what is said about that Kosovar (see this (http://assets.in.gr/dGenesis/assets/Content60/Issue/2007/08/28/16_h.jpg)) is true and he is still in Greece, he and his minions must be caught by the people and be dropped together in one of the fires they started :mad:. They say that Czech who was arrested cooperates with him. An Albanian and a Romanian are also arrested for arsons in Peloponnesus and Attica, and they can be related with this story.

Also, an Iraqi was arrested by EKAM yesterday after he started 3 fires in the forest of Peristeri, in West Athens.

According to EYP, the fires that started in the Greek-Albanian borders are started by an Albanian who enters Greece, starts fires and then moves back to Albania. He does this for revenge, as his brother was shot dead by a Greek farmer when he tried to steal some animals from him a few years ago. He isn't arrested.

http://news.antenna.gr/articleDetail/0,3091,164537,00.html

[poutismalakas]

If all that is true then we may see some nationalist parties gaining ALOT of votes!!!

[PAO_HELLAS]

If all that is true then we may see some nationalist parties gaining ALOT of votes!!!

Definately this situation is going to affect people's preferences in the upcoming election, but not tremendously because the elections are very close and the people will need some time to make any conclusions. For the present, shock is what dominates.

[plato-ny]

Spanoulis, Greece Compete With Heavy Heart

With the EuroBasket tipping off in four days, most players are fully concentrated on their opening-day games.

Those with European champions Greece, though, cannot be.

Forest fires have burned whole villages to the ground in the Peloponissos and claimed the lives of 64 people.

Vassilis Spanoulis, the Greek guard, wrote about the fires in his blog on www.sport24.gr.

"I don't think that we can talk about basketball with everything that is going on around us," he said.

"People are suffering. We also have (Greek team-mate) Panagiotis Vassilopoulos who was born in Pyrgos.

"His telephone is ringing all the time. We are trying to support him. I wish we could do something for everybody that is suffering.

"We are living a tragedy as a country."

Vassilopoulos has spoken of the heartfelt sympathy he has received.

"I want to thank everybody for showing such an interest in me and my birthplace all these days by calling me, checking if I am okay," he said.

"And I want to thank all my team-mates for their support."

Spanoulis does say the fires have given Greece's players additional incentive to win the title in Spain.

"We want to play in the EuroBasket also for the people who are suffering right now," he added in his blog.

"We want to try harder, just to bring a smile to the faces of the all the people who have lost everything. For us, this is a commitment we make to them."

--------------------------------------------

Greek Press Slams UEFA
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=398062

[poutismalakas]

THANK GOD!


ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- All major blazes in Greece were under control Friday, and firefighters were working to extinguish smaller fires in the southern part of the country.

One week after hundreds of wildfires broke out across Greece, killing 64 people and costing the country at least $1.6 billion, the fire department said the last major fire near the town of Kato Kotyli "no longer has an active front and is receding."

But it warned in an announcement that just because "we are in a phase where fires are receding, that does not mean that the danger has been eliminated."

Meanwhile, thousands of people lined up outside banks for a third day to receive emergency aid. The government said 20,000 people have received a total of $98 million since banks started to hand out the funds Wednesday.

But officials said they would tighten checks on the fast-track aid process after at least 15 people from other parts of the country were arrested in the southwestern city of Pyrgos for allegedly making false claims.

Initial government estimates indicate at least 1,500 homes were gutted in the southern Peloponnese peninsula and on the island of Evia, just north of Athens. But there are concerns that figure could double. At least 4,000 people were left homeless, but that number also could double.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces a close race for re-election in less than three weeks, promised to rebuild all homes destroyed by the fires through a new disaster relief fund made up of state and private contributions. He said homeless families would initially be provided with prefabricated homes.

Karamanlis did not say how much that would cost.

The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hubner, was expected to tour the burned regions Friday to assess how much aid Greece needed.

A help line set up for fire victims and offers of help has received tens of thousands of calls so far, mostly from people who want to contribute aid. Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said private donations from Greeks has amounted to more than $52 million. The government has so far budgeted around $450 million for such aid.


The fires are dominating political debate before the Sept. 16 elections. Criticism that the government failed to respond quickly enough -- and its suggestions the fires resulted from an organized attack -- could hurt Karamanlis.

A series of polls have indicated that the conservatives had a razor-thin margin over George Papandreou's main opposition Socialist Party.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[PAO_HELLAS]

Most of the destructive fires got under control, but in Arcadia things are becoming worse as the fires there as spread. There is also a new fire at Zakynthos.

[plato-ny]

Greek fires under control. Greece wil receive millions in aid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070831/ap_on_re_eu/greece_fires

----------------------------------------------

Security briefing on the wildfires in Greece (Open Source material for the wildfires in Greece)

Greece over the past three months and in the midst of the summer period was inflicted by a series of wildfires that have destroyed so far probably more than 1 million hectares of forests and arable land, along with thousands of buildings leaving some 77 people dead and as much as 30,000 homeless. In most respects this was the worst catastrophe that the state has witnessed over the past decades.

The current available information points out towards a coordinated arson plan that aimed to destabilize the country’s social and political climate, as well as, a sort of wide range punitive measures against the incumbent Greek Administration.

The first official to name arson as an instrument against Greece’s ecological system, was the deputy head of the firearm service in late June, just a few days after the destructive fire in the Parnitha natural reserve in the outskirts of Athens. Currently the statements by the Minister of Public Order -Asymmetrical warfare-, the Minister of Foreign Affairs-Likewise- and the Prime Minister’s admittance of an “Organized plan” leave no much space for a spontaneous cycle of wildfire eruption in tune of as much as 300 per day in remote regions in Greece and at night hours.

Moreover the Greek TV Station ANT1, revealed late last week that EUROPOL had informed the Greek government of a plan against the country using fires as an instrument, since early last June. The weekly newspaper “To Paron” had already revealed the effort by the National Intelligence Service throughout the summer to apprehend the culprits, whilst the latest news from across the spectrum of the Greek press, note for the Interpol’s warnings over the past few months, again for the same reason.
It is interesting to note the statements made by ” Sergey Makarin” a Russian pilot that assisted in the effort against the extinguish of the fires. He said to an interview in the newspaper “Eleftheros Typos”: “I feel like I participated in a war zone! I have experience with fires in Russia, Portugal, South Korea, Italy and France, but the case of Greece is totally different. These fires are man-made for certain. There is no doubt about that!”

Another element that further attests to the scenario of a well-coordinated destabilization plan, is the continuous arsons near power factories, such as the case of Aliveri, Megalopoli, Domokos, Lamia transmission network and Parnitha peripheral power center, amongst other. Mrs. Bakoyanni the Minister of FA, stated on the 30th of August in a TV appearance in the Greek station “Extra Channel” that the above could not be a coincidence and she feels there are strong probabilities for a plan against the state.

Even though it might be early to tell, the plan could only have been executed with the assistance of international criminal networks that have the ability to muster personnel, logistic support and manage their escape routes effectively. Further, it would also need the collaboration of Greek individuals in order to ensure maximum destruction and knowledge of the particularities of every locale.

Thus, only an internationally networked factor could have organized the whole scheme, preferably associated with illegal industries such as narcotics, trafficking and weapons smuggling. According to off the record statements by a Greek SOF Officer with practical knowledge of the organized crime networks, “There has been a merge between crime & terrorism in Greece at least over the past decade. Long are the days where the security forces could distinguish between them, and certainly they have aid if not association with foreign mafias in Europe and beyond”.

The latest information that is being circulated within the journalist world, along with revealing data from the newspaper Aegean Times, point out to a sophisticated method of operation for the arsons. Specifically the Greek Police has already found a device used nearby the Papagos area on the 22nd of August that was ignited with a mobile phone. By calling the number on the phone the device explodes and creates the necessary conditions for a fire. This can be done from a safe distance even from abroad. It is similar to the method used in the Madrid bombing in March 2003, albeit for another purpose.

Also it is vital to note that the first time globally this method was used was in the Greek city of Larissa, outside a provisional court by an obscure terrorist group of ultra-left wing direction. That evidence alone, reveals the interconnection between local “Anti-systemic” groups in Greece with international terrorism and consequently with the organized crime in and outside the Greek borders. It is safe to assume that this could well be the case in this summer’s arsons.

Another device that allegedly has been used and it is already under examination by the Greek Anti-terrorist team, is one similar with darts that via remote control “fire” small quantities of material that can ignite fire. These devices could be used months after installation in any forest and could be easily be monitored by the culprits via GPS. It provides a tremendous advantage to the arsonists of controlling the space and time they want to ignite fire and confuse the fire brigades and the police. Also as far as the prefecture of Ileia is concerned that was hit most of the others in last week’s fires; it was also the target in a bombing attack against a water-bank of the river Alfeios, last spring. Up to date there are no tangible evident on who participated in this terrorist action, that failed to most extent because the dam was not destroyed saving thus the lives of many citizens and the agricultural production of the area, at least until the fires started in the same locale.

In addition to the continuous attacks against Athenian police stations since late 2006 with machine guns and hand grenades and the tens of suspicious homicide attempts against police officers patrolling the city of Athens; the wildfires brought the destabilization scenario all across the country and just a few days before the general elections. If the hypothesis that it is a transnational well-organized plan is valid, then the Greek state should be prepared for more asymmetrical-nature challenges at least for the near future. As for the causes of such a hostile behavior against the Greek state, one has to take into consideration the important economic-political and geoeconomic events that took place over the past few years in Greece and in the wider Balkans-Eastern Mediterranean region.

New pipeline networks, importation of Chinese, Arab, Russian, and new American capital & corporations along with the political instability that hinders an area from Bosnia to Iran and from Sudan to Caucasus. Furthermore, the all-pervading criminal networks have gained a lot of strength over the past decade due to the opportunities the globalization process provides for their communication, transfer of funds and recruitment. A combination of political aims, business ill-aimed strategies, and abundance of “executionary personnel”, is a first clue of what might have caused the current situation and what lies ahead, not just for Greece but for the whole world.

The statements by the EU Commissioner Fratinni on “Territorial terrorism”, are a crystal-clear evidence that the EU has been to an extent prepared to face tough challenges for the future relating to a new form of terror aimed into subduing governments and the whole society under the realm of transnational criminal entities that have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Notes:
Fires by arson inflicted also the wider Mediterranean region. In Italy the Mafia reportedly paid locals to destroy land for development and as a retaliation method against competitors. In the Balkans most of the fires are centered on the Kosovo issue (Southern Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, South-West Serbia and West-FYROM). Lastly in Turkey the Kurdish group “The hawks of Kurdistan” stated that it participated in 17 cases of arson in order to destroy the tourism industry in the country.

[PAO_HELLAS]

Greek fires under control. Greece wil receive millions in aid

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070831/ap_on_re_eu/greece_fires



No matter how many millions are going to be given, the dead people can't come back and Peloponnesus will need a lot of years to recur. The total material damage is estimated 5 billion euros so even with the best help, Peloponnesus will need at least 10 years to become as it was economically. As for the physical part, I am afraid that none of us will be able to see Peloponnesus again as it was before the disaster.

[Panathinaikos2]

Greece is the greatest nation in the world ;) Despite all the hardships we have been through Greece is still around giving light to the world :) Jealouse Albanians and brainedwashed Skopian can say whatever they want about our history but the truth will always prevail! I will always be proud to be a Hellene!!

http://students.ceid.upatras.gr/~giannoul/sport/ec/ec04ims/flag.jpg

EDITED: watch your language!

[ARBANITAI]

The situation is better today as more and more fires are getting under control.

IF what is said about that Kosovar (see this (http://assets.in.gr/dGenesis/assets/Content60/Issue/2007/08/28/16_h.jpg)) is true and he is still in Greece, he and his minions must be caught by the people and be dropped together in one of the fires they started :mad:. They say that Czech who was arrested cooperates with him. An Albanian and a Romanian are also arrested for arsons in Peloponnesus and Attica, and they can be related with this story.

Also, an Iraqi was arrested by EKAM yesterday after he started 3 fires in the forest of Peristeri, in West Athens.

According to EYP, the fires that started in the Greek-Albanian borders are started by an Albanian who enters Greece, starts fires and then moves back to Albania. He does this for revenge, as his brother was shot dead by a Greek farmer when he tried to steal some animals from him a few years ago. He isn't arrested.

http://news.antenna.gr/articleDetail/0,3091,164537,00.html

That is the worst lying propaganda i have ever heard yet by greeks, that a kosovar and albanian to start fires in Greece !!! :rolleyes:

WTF is that ! GET A LIFE MAN! No one will pay any attention to these faking stories!! :boo:


sorry but these fake claiming cannot be taken serrious... nice try though...lol

ROFL :ronaldo: better luck next time.. anyway

[Saraj Fanatico]

Panathinaikos2, no reason for that language. This forum looks very unstable.

[ARBANITAI]

lo I dont care if ur proud of ur country or not, though what i care and made me post this one is when i suddenly saw the word "Albanian" in your massage plus what makes me more curiouz to read was when i see you even claimed us "jalous" which looks very funny, and is not true, and that we have nothing to be jalous at you at all.

second: you have no right to insult nor macedonians or albanians! go ahead post your "proudnes" but do not insult somone else while doing it!
'

[PAO_HELLAS]

That is the worst lying propaganda i have ever heard yet by greeks, that a kosovar and albanian to start fires in Greece !!! :rolleyes:

WTF is that ! GET A LIFE MAN! No one will pay any attention to these faking stories!! :boo:


sorry but these fake claiming cannot be taken serrious... nice try though...lol

ROFL :ronaldo: better luck next time.. anyway

What was said about the Kosovar can be anything. It was just a newspaper article, and I had to mention it. Nothing is confirmed.

Regarding the one who was starting fires in the borders, it's confirmed by EYP.

[poutismalakas]

Panathinaikos2, no reason for that language. This forum looks very unstable.
I don't long in for 16 hours and now it is unstable? :rolleyes:

Also Panathinaikos2 I warned you because of the use a homosexual slur to disgribe our Northern neighbors! Please refraim from the use slurs

[Panathinaikos2]

edit..

[Panathinaikos2]

second: you have no right to insult nor macedoniansI have never insulted a Macedonian and I never will. Macedonians are fellow Greeks who live in northern Greece. Why would I insult them?? Mabey your talking about the brainedwashed Skopians of Vardarska?

[Panathinaikos2]

lo I dont care if ur proud of ur country or not, though what i care and made me post this one is when i suddenly saw the word "Albanian" in your massage plus what makes me more curiouz to read was when i see you even claimed us "jalous" which looks very funny, and is not true, and that we have nothing to be jalous at you at all.

second: you have no right to insult nor macedonians or albanians! go ahead post your "proudnes" but do not insult somone else while doing it!
'I do not regret what I wrote. You Albanians here are just a bunch of jealouse guys that want to steal our Greek history by writing propoganda in your forums and using Greek revolutionary heroes as your avatars! Go create your own histories and stop stealing from us :boo:

EDITED

[ARBANITAI]

I do not regret what I wrote. You Albanians here are just a bunch of jealouse guys that want to steal our Greek history by writing propoganda in your forums and using Greek revolutionary heroes as your avatars! Go create your own histories and stop stealing from us :boo:

EDITED

To be Honest PAO_HELLAS, you as a MOd of this section. you really have to check it out properly good enough when you have to edit someones post, and make it sure if you have deleted all his "insultingwords" because only now i still can see alot of these "words" back in his masagge !! AND as you can see, earlier in his (pana2) post, HE then called Fyr-Macedonians "Brainwashed" and Albanians as "bunch of jalous" and even as "Stealers"!!!
He also made an Straight Insult to whole Albanian people and it's HISTORY!!!!

If this is not "insult" for you, then what is it??

I beg you you either advice him to stop, or either clean his mess up good next time, so that we dont have to see more of his nonsense insults back in his post.

Or else if you dont do that, I expect here very soon another albanian-greek flamewar because of your not awareness. and his aggression, and that I hope non of us like it here to happen again. so be aware.

thank you.

[ARBANITAI]

What was said about the Kosovar can be anything. It was just a newspaper article, and I had to mention it. Nothing is confirmed.

Regarding the one who was starting fires in the borders, it's confirmed by EYP.


OKAY. But remember that it's never a good idea to post just everything from the Newspapers here, and then let others believe it as it's true. Because "GOD KNOWS" what these "weird Journalists" can come up in mind to write, I my self often realizes many of their Errors in their everyday articles, and putting its faith in it, is really a big foolish.
and yet they only do this just to make the audience more aware of (to read) their own articles and nothing else.

About the second one, that ppl from both sides were setting fires up in eachothers territory im not sure about it either, as you can see its very cheap, and doesnt claim much, We as well had to deal with fires in some southern Albanian villages, Now I cant just stand up and say Hey, "greeks" did it. Right? It was a Natural Catastrophy and we have to deal with it. (have to understand such situations)

[PAO_HELLAS]

To be Honest PAO_HELLAS, you as a MOd of this section. you really have to check it out properly good enough when you have to edit someones post, and make it sure if you have deleted all his "insultingwords" because only now i still can see alot of these "words" back in his masagge !! AND as you can see, earlier in his (pana2) post, HE then called Fyr-Macedonians "Brainwashed" and Albanians as "bunch of jalous" and even as "Stealers"!!!
He also made an Straight Insult to whole Albanian people and it's HISTORY!!!!

If this is not "insult" for you, then what is it??

I beg you you either advice him to stop, or either clean his mess up good next time, so that we dont have to see more of his nonsense insults back in his post.

Or else if you dont do that, I expect here very soon another albanian-greek flamewar because of your not awareness. and his aggression, and that I hope non of us like it here to happen again. so be aware.

thank you.

He has the right to express his opinion about a group of people, even if it is negative, as long as he is not using swear words. All the swear words he used were deleted and he was warned about this.

[Panathinaikos2]

To be Honest PAO_HELLAS, you as a MOd of this section. you really have to check it out properly good enough when you have to edit someones post, and make it sure if you have deleted all his "insultingwords" because only now i still can see alot of these "words" back in his masagge !! AND as you can see, earlier in his (pana2) post, HE then called Fyr-Macedonians "Brainwashed" and Albanians as "bunch of jalous" and even as "Stealers"!!!
He also made an Straight Insult to whole Albanian people and it's HISTORY!!!!

If this is not "insult" for you, then what is it??And you calling Skopians as Macedonians is a big insult to us aswell! Anyways I don't believe I have said anything wrong. The fact that most Skopians are brainedwashed is true and the fact that most of you Albanians here are jealouse of our superior history is also true! So please get off our backs and go back to your own forum.

[PAO_HELLAS]

Running results of the elections - 00:05 o'clock - 46.83% of the votes are registered so far.

ND - 43.65 % - 157 seats
PASOK - 38.52 % - 103 seats
KKE 7.31 % - 19 seats
Synaspismos 4.40 % - 12 seats
LAOS - 3.43 % - 9 seats