Keep Talking Greece

Muslim Association of Greece receives letter with sick threats

keeptalkinggreece — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:23:39 +0000

The Muslim Association of Greece received a letter containing sick threats and insults and urging them to leave Greece by June 30th 2013. The letter was sent to the head offices of MAG and “had the stamp of a central post office in Athens,” so the Greek police in a statement.

“The Muslim Association of Greece (MAG) has asked authorities to investigate a letter sent to its head offices in Neos Cosmos, central Athens, threatening violence against Muslims in Greece if they “don’t shut down their brothels and go to hell” by June 30.
The letter, which was unsigned but typed on paper bearing the insignia of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, says – in Greek, English and Arabic – that “from July 1 onwards those who are still here will be slaughtered like chickens on the road.”
MAG called on authorities to “ensure that all citizens can enjoy equality in the eyes of the law and that we are not prey to every asymmetric threat.” (ekathimerini)

Speaking to Newsit.gr, the president of MAG said the association “considered the letter to 99% as a provocation . But who can say that nothing can happen?” MAG urged authorities to find out the sender of the letter who openly threatens all Muslims in Greece.”

Eurovision 2013: Euro-skeptics sent clear message to Brussels

keeptalkinggreece — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:50:20 +0000

Eurovision song contest 2013 ended with Denmark and Emmelie de Forest winning this year’s festival with 281 points. Greece and KozaMostra got the 6th place, after Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Norway and Russia. The temptation is high to see a political and an economic aspect in the results: that not a single eurozone member country managed to get a high score.

The results sent a clear message to Eurozone in particular and European Union in general: Euro-scepticism is growing. It’s not a coincidence that Germany with its authoritarian finance policies landed on the 21st place, is it?

Alcohol is NOT free

Greece’s participation Koza Mostra could certainly have received a much higher score, had the group modified its song title “Alcohol is free” into “Alcohol has 23% Value Added Tax”.

The title was misleading as it implied that growth, development and prosperity finally prevailed in the debt-ridden country. I’m sure Koza Mostra would have drawn the endless sympathy of millions of eurovision-voters had it name the things as they are.

Video: Agathon & Koza Mostra

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Third bailout?

While watching the tense moments of voting results announcement last night, I have to admit that many Greeks were scared to death. Hearing the presenter announcing that countries like San Marino and Cyprus gave 12 points to Greece, or Albania and Russian gave 10 points… well.. for several moments I personally had a eurovision-win nightmare scenario: That

Greece would need a third bailout to come up with the organization of Eurovision 2014.

But at the end the real euro-skeptics won, and we got home with 152 points. And yes, indeed, we escaped the torture of a third bailout.

PS No, the Greek Tourism Agency did not issue a correction press release, saying something like “Attention tourists! Alcohol is NOT free in Greece!” Neither did the government issued any statement declaring “the 6th place definitely shows Greece moves forward against all odds of misery, Grexit etc etc”

EU-Absurd to ban olive oil jugs & dipping bowls from restaurants tables

keeptalkinggreece — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:17:07 +0000

Sometimes I sit there and I wonder what weird committees must be sitting in Brussels wasting the money of taxpayers for issuing absurd orders. An European Union Common Agricultural Policy directive “will ban olive oil jugs and dipping bowls from restaurant tables as of 1. January 2014 for reasons of hygiene and for the protection of olive oil ,” I read in UK’s Daily Telegraph:

“The small glass jugs filled with green or gold coloured extra virgin olive oil are familiar and traditional for restaurant goers across Europe but they will be banned from 1 January 2014 after a decision taken in an obscure Brussels committee earlier this week.

From next year olive oil “presented at a restaurant table” must be in pre-packaged, factory bottles with a tamper-proof dispensing nozzle and labelling in line with EU industrial standards.
The use of classic, refillable glass jugs or glazed terracotta dipping bowls and the choice of a restaurateur to buy olive oil from a small artisan producer or family business will be outlawed.
Sam Clark, the food writer, chef and proprietor of the award winning Moro restaurant in London, told The Daily Telegraph that the ban would stop him serving his customers specially selected Spanish olive oil in dipping bowls with bread when they are seated at their table.

“This will affect us. It is about choice and freedom of choice. We buy our oil, which we have selected from a farm in Spain, to serve our customers,” he said
Mr Clark attacked the regulation as one that would kill off artisan producers and accelerate the demise in Europe of traditional ways of making and serving food, in favour of large industrial producers. “It is very upsetting. Haven’t they already done enough damage to artisan products?,” he said.
The European Commissions justification for the ban, under special Common Agriculture Policy regulations, is “hygiene” and to protect the “image of olive oil” with a measure that will benefit struggling industrial producers in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.
Officials defended the ban as a protection for consumers who would know that they were getting a safe, guaranteed product with proper labelling of its origin and with tamper-proof, hygienic dispensers.
“This is to guarantee the quality and authenticity of the olive oil put at the disposal of consumers. The aim is to better inform and protect consumer. We also expect hygiene to be improved too,” said an official.
The decision, which will be automatically adopted by the commission in next few days, has dismayed many officials who are concerned that a ban crafted to help industry will damage the reputation of the EU at a time of growing hostility to Brussels bureaucrats. (full story Daily Telegraph)

“Safe and guaranteed product with proper origin labelling”? But they don’t buy it..

“The choice of restaurateur to buy olive oil from a small artisan producer or family business will be outlawed”? Oh Oh Oh – I see the scheme of cracking down of small businesses in Greece spreading across Europe and thus there were the money is: in olive oil.

If EU bureaucrats were sincerely concerned about the consumers’ protection and the products’ hygiene they should also ban unpacked bread, olives, cheese and butter from restaurant and hotel tables. Also they should close down open salad bars and sandwich services. Not to mention the nasty mixed nuts offered in small bowls to accompany a drink. Do the nameless bureaucrats have any idea, how many fingers have grabbed some nuts and left the rest into an ever recycling chain?

They probably have. But in case of olive oil jugs and bowls, it seems that some large business interests seem to have done some good lobby work in Brussels.

Here in Greece, we call it “oiling”

LET’S HAVE ALL OUR FOOD WRAPPED AND PACKED EU STANDARDS! LOL

A very good point on the issue was submitted by Charlotte H. in KTG-Facebook page: ”

But the EU bureaucrats don’t mind that the Greek people have to eat salad they have collected from the garbage thanks to their policies. Where is the concern for hygiene then?”

Edinburgh activists demand from TEDGlobal to remove ex PM Papandreou from the speakers list

keeptalkinggreece — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:05:10 +0000

Ops! Activists of Real Democracy Now in Edinburgh are collecting signatures to hinder the appearance of former Greek prime minister George Papandreou at TEDGlobal 2013 conference scheduled for beginning of upcoming June in the Scottish capital. Sharply criticizing TED for inviting the ex Greek premier as a speaker, RDN stresses among others:

“Papandreou and his government neither “inherited a deficit” as described in the TED website, nor did he enter Greek politics in 2009.
At the same time, Papandreou continues to support the neoliberal policies that led to the current situation and travels around the world in luxury giving speeches on the “lessons learned from the Greek crisis”. This is an insult to those who have learnt the “real lessons” from the crisis. All those who have been stricken by the rise in unemployment, the reduction in pensions, the collapse of public welfare, those forced to emigrate.”

Real Democracy Now demands that organizers of TEDGlobal conference remove George Papandreou from the speakers list.

While the petitioners’ aim is to reach 750 signatures on avaaz petition, so far 677 people have signed.

PS I wonder, how TED conference organizers would react to the signed petition.

If half of PM Samaras’ heart is in Greece, the other half is in China…

keeptalkinggreece — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:37:27 +0000

Greece’s prime minister Antonis Samaras is visiting China in an effort to get investment in the debt-ridden country. On Thursday, the first day of his official contacts, Samaras invited the Chinese business community to join “Greece’s success story.” On Friday Samaras reiterated his invitation to the Chinese political and business world assure them that “Chinas must see Greece as Europe’s investment gateway.” The visit continued with the exchange of promises for the future economic cooperation but also long-range strategic plans. The friendship and good intention was sealed with the signature of several agreements by both governments.

“Chinese companies desire involvement in Greece’s infrastructure sector,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and asked Samaras to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the process for visa issuing.

“We are global shipping powers and we can cooperate in many areas. Since 2010 there has been heightened cooperation, while Chinese companies desire to become active in the infrastructure sectors. We will take action to boost commercial transactions, with the target of increasing the volume of transactions to eight billion euros in 2015.” Li Keqiang said among others.

Greek premier Antonis Samaras noted that the new investment law made provision for fast-track procedures that will make Chinese investment easier, adding that the Greek government “is here to look at everything, step by step, and facilitate our cooperation.”

Greek media reported that the two premiers discussed also expanding the activity of the Chinese container company Cosco at Greece’s biggest port Piraeus, the possibility of Chinese investment in Greek railroads and regional airports and ports. Also Chinese investments at airport Eleftherios Venizelos was discussed.

Antonis Samaras is accompanied by more than 60 Greek businessmen seeking mainly to export in China.

The Greek PM will be in China until May 19th 2013.

As the visit of Samaras in China has been much promoted and praised as THE chance to boost the Greek economy, I cannot help but upload a song written by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet and translated into Greek by Nobel Laureate Yiannis Ritsos.

“If half of my heart lies here, the other half is in China”

Video: Maria Dimitriadi “H alli misi moy kardia stin Kina vrisketai”

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Nazim Hikmet, a Turkish communist, wrote this poem on the execution of Greek resistance leader Nikos Beloyiannis in 1952. In his poem, Hikmet praises among others Mao’s Zetong’s “Great Leap Forward”.

No matter whether the Mao’s communism or the communist neo-liberalism, China will always be a source of inspiration and hope for the folks in our Eastern Mediterranean area

PS Details about the signed agreements see here