British scientist uncovers 'secret messages' hidden in Plato's ancient text

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 2:43 PM on 29th June 2010

His works have been scrutinised and debated for more than 2,000 years by the greatest minds in history.

But it turns out the Greek philosopher Plato still has a few surprises up his sleeve.

In an extraordinary discovery, a British academic claims to have uncovered a series of secret messages hidden in some of the most influential and celebrating writings of the Ancient World.

The codes suggest that Plato was a secret follower of the philosopher Pythagoras and shared his belief that the secrets to the universe lie in numbers and maths.


A bust of Plato: A British academic claims to have uncovered codes that suggest the Greek philosopher was a secret follower of Pythagoras and shared his belief that the secrets to the universe lie in numbers and maths

Claims that an ancient text contains secret messages should normally be taken with a large pinch of salt.

But the latest study comes from a respected Classical scholar at Manchester University, and has been accepted for publication by a leading academic journal.

Plato, who died around 347BC, is arguably the greatest of all the Greek philosophers. With his mentor Socrates, and student Aristotle, he laid down the foundations of Western philosopher and science.

According to Dr Jay Kennedy one of Plato's most important beliefs was hidden in his writing.

'Plato's books played a major role in founding Western culture but they are mysterious and end in riddles,' said Dr Kennedy.

'In antiquity, many of his followers said the books contained hidden layers of meaning and secret codes, but this was rejected by modern scholars.

'It is a long and exciting story, but basically I cracked the code. I have shown rigorously that the books do contain codes and symbols and that unravelling them reveals the hidden philosophy of Plato.'

He added: 'The result was amazing - it was like opening a tomb and finding new set of gospels written by Jesus Christ himself.'

The key to unravelling the Plato Code lies in a Greek musical scale of 12 notes popular among followers of the earlier philosopher Pythagoras.

Dr Kennedy discovered that key phrases, words and themes crop up in regular intervals throughout Plato's writings and that they match the spacing of these 12 notes in the musical scale.

His most famous work, the Republic, for instance, is made up of 12,000 Homeric lines of text. Dr Kennedy found that every 1,000 lines, Plato returns to the theme of music.

In another dialogue, the Symposium, words describing harmony and unity crop up at the same regularly spaced intervals.

In the Greek musical scale some of the notes are harmonic, or pleasing to the ear. Others are dissonant or grating, and need to be followed by another note to relieve the musical tension they create.

At the location of harmonic notes in his writings, Plato wrote lines associated with love or laughter. But the dissonant notes were marked with screeching sounds or war or death.

Dr Kennedy, whose findings are published in the classics journal Apeiron, believes the pattern of symbols would have been obvious to the ancient followers of Pythagoras.

'As we read his books, our emotions follow the ups and downs of a musical scale. Plato plays his readers like musical instruments,' he said.

A century earlier, Pythagoras had declared that the planets and stars made an inaudible music, or 'harmony of the spheres' and that the secrets of the universe lay in maths.

The presence and nature of the hidden codes suggest that Plato may have signed up to the same belief - and that 2,000 years before the birth of modern science, he was leaving a message in his writing that maths and logical patterns ruled the universe, not the gods.

Dr Kennedy argues that Plato did not use the code for pleasure, but for his own safety. Plato's own teacher had been executed for heresy.

Secrecy was normal in ancient times, especially for esoteric and religious knowledge, but for Plato it was a matter of life and death.

Plato led a dramatic life. He wrote at least 30 books and founded the world's first university, called the Academy.

He allowed women to study at the Academy, against the traditions of the time, was an early defender of romantic love - as opposed to arranged marriages and defended homosexuality.

Dr Kennedy added. 'This is the beginning of something big. It will take a generation to work out the implications. All 2,000 pages contain undetected symbols.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/art...cient-text.html

What an awesome match it was, watched live and I gotta tell you boy's a fine performance by Greece !

ΕΤΣΙ ΓΑΜΑΕΙ Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ !!!

Greece beat Nigeria in first-ever World Cup victory

Greece earned its first-ever World Cup victory on Thursday, coming from behind to score a 2-1 win over Nigeria. The group B team now stands a good chance to enter the second round of the tournament.
By News Wires (text)



REUTERS - Vassilis Torosidis scored Greece's winner as they beat Nigeria 2-1 to seal their first ever World Cup victory and keep alive their chances of progressing from Group B on Thursday.
Torosidis pounced in the 71st minute after Dimitris Salpingidis's first half strike had cancelled out a Kalu Uche freekick for Nigeria, who also had Sani Kaita sent off.

Greece's win puts them on three points with South Korea who earlier lost 4-1 to table-topping Argentina on Thursday, while Nigeria have no points from two games.

Nigeria grabbed the lead on 16 minutes when Uche's 35 metre freekick floated past everyone including stricken goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas and nestled in the net.

The African side were in control until a moment of madness in the 33rd minute saw Kaita red carded for foolishly kicking out at Torosidis - the midfielder remorsefully walking off with his shirt over his head.

The game turned immediately in Greece's favour. Coach Otto Rehhagel replaced defensive midfielder Socratis Papastathopoulos with striker Giorgos Samaras, who minutes later had a shot cleared off the line. Then came an equaliser.

Salpingidis etched his name into Greek record books by scoring his country's first ever World Cup goal with a 44th minute strike that wickedly deflected off Nigeria midfielder Haruna Lukman before flying into the net.

Salpingidis, who celebrated jubilantly with the whole Greek squad, had previously scored the winner in the World Cup playoff against Ukraine to take his country to South Africa.

The second half started at frantic pace. Greek striker Fanis Gekas was superbly denied by goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, while at the other end substitute Chinedu Obasi missed an open goal after a swift Nigeria counter-attack.

With their usual defensive approach firmly abandoned, Greece went close again through Samaras before Torosidis stabbed home a second after Enyeama had spilled a low Alexandros Tziolis shot.

Greece had lost all four of their previous World Cup games without scoring.

http://www.france24.com/en/20100617-greece...-fifa-world-cup

Nothing like Greece Maniatis levendi, hoping we meet up some day in Greece sort of a Hellenic Planet meet up who ever can make it ? It'll be good to meet most of you on here in person !!!

To alo Makedoniko forum xoria apo to MOTW to ekanan fully hack pop po !!! Someone is nervous...

Click here for an explanation from MOTW's front page...

Oh man, i just visited MOTOW and it appears to have been a huge hack job ! The site is up with my id having been deleted, I am a guest now.......Maniatis have you been deleted too ?

Someone is getting desperate.

Geia sas ! paidia…Am I glad to see you boy’s on here again ! “tears of joy” :’)

Yep my life since November last year has been turned inside out and upside down, a complete 180 degree turn for the better ! With almost no time on my hands now days am unable to be here like old times. Also I do want to stress “I do not plan to close this site down at this stage” hard to say as in future wise as life can be full of surprises, expect the unexpected I say !!!. Unbelievable how life can be turned around in a matter of a blink of an eye ! Life truly does work in mysterious ways…In my case for the best “touches wood” hopefully.

Registrations were disabled to stop new members “spam bots” registering and flooding the pm “private message system” apologies if there was any inconvenience caused by this, will reactivate registrations once a bug has been fixed for this version.

I’ll come on here time to time and see you also on FB from time to time !

This site is open for all those who still wish to post…For the love of Hellenism…

Sorry took this long to respond. Missed ya guy's...

“Archaeological sites of Macedonia” exhibition in Alexandria

The Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC) has organised a photography exhibition entitled "Archaeological sites of Macedonia" from October 27 – November 27, featuring the northern Greece sites of Dion, Vergina, Pella, Olynthos, Samothrace, Philippi, Thassos and Thessaloniki.
Meanwhile, cooperation between World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) and Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC) has entered a new phase following a meeting in Alexandria between SAE President Stefanos Tamvakis and HFC President professor Giorgos Babiniotis. The two presidents decided that SAE and HFC jointly participate in activities and initiatives such as the effort aimed at winning the return of antiquities to their countries of origin, Greece included.
Babiniotis also briefed Tamvakis on the establishment of the new HFC Centers in Bucharest, Belgrade, Sofia and Tirana that will contribute to the upgrading of expatriate Hellenism.

http://www.voiceofgreece.gr/news-in-englis...-alexandria.htm

Greece Conditions EU Entry on Name Resolution

Skopje | 15 October 2009 | Sinisa-Jakov Marusic

The only way for Macedonia to join the EU is through settling its name row with Greece, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas confirmed in a press statement.

Droutsas was commenting on the positive progress report Macedonia received from the European Commission on Wednesday, in which the start of Macedonia-EU accession talks was proposed.

Drougas noted that, although his country supports the swift entry of all western Balkans countries into the EU, this support is not unconditional.

“With regard to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, in particular, this means finding a solution on the name issue”, Droutsas said, using Macedonia’s provisional appelation at the UN.

The Athens-Skopje name row has been lingered for 18 years, seriously hampering Skopje's efforts to achieve its top strategic priorities: entry into the EU and NATO.

Last year, Athens blocked Skopje’s NATO membership bid, arguing that its neighbour must first change its formal name, Republic of Macedonia, which clashes with that of a northern Greek province. Athens argues that this name indicates that Skopje is making claims on Greek territory.

Macedonian observers fear that Greece could use its influence in the EU to block their country's entry into the bloc.

On Wednesday, Macedonia received the desired recommendation, but not a date for the start of its EU accession talks. If the long-standing name row is resolved soon, some analysts argue that a date for the start of EU-Macedonia negotiations could be set in December by the EU Council.

However, all 27 EU member states, including Greece, would have to approve this move.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/22924/

World Cup Qualifying Preview: Greece - Luxembourg

Greece will be eyeing a win over Luxembourg on Wednesday night, but their hopes of automatic qualification to the World Cup Finals in South Africa relies on another result...

Uncontrolled Destiny

A four-goal performance from Theofanis Gekas fuelled a 5-2 defeat of Latvia in Athens on Saturday night, which all but assures the Greeks of at least a play-off spot – provided Otto Rehhagel’s men overcome Luxembourg, of course.

The race for top-spot is still open, but the door is quickly closing on the Greeks. Even if the 2004 European Champions collect maximum points against Luxembourg, their hopes of earning top spot, and more importantly direct passage to the Finals in South Africa, depends heavily on Israel’s clash with Switzerland in Basel.

The Swiss lead the group by three points; hence, a win for the Greeks and a loss for the group leaders is the only combination capable of satisfying Greece’s hunger for pole position in Group Two.

But it will be important for Greece to focus on the task at hand as complacency has cost them dearly in the past. They’ll feel confident, however, as their attack – one that has lagged on many occasions throughout this campaign – appears to have rekindled a lethal chemistry.

Luxembourg Playing for Pride

Lightning didn’t strike twice for Luxembourg over the weekend, as Switzerland struck early to overwrite a shock loss to the minnows in the reverse fixture.

Their hopes of reaching South Africa are long gone by now, with their only objective now to avoid a last-place finish. Pride, however, will be on the line in Athens.

The Luxembourg defence will have to be at its defense if they are to stymie a Greek attack, and avoid a shellacking similar to the one they suffered against Israel last month.

The campaign has been relatively successful by Luxembourg’s standards as five points to their name marks a huge improvement over their qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Set to sign-off on another campaign, manager Guy Hellers will be hoping his side can walk away with some confidence as his squad targets their next task: the qualifiers for 2012 European Championships.

FORM GUIDE

Greece

Apr 01 - Greece 2-1 Israel (WCQ) 



Aug 12 - Poland 2-0 Greece (Friendly) 
 


Sep 05 - Switzerland 2-0 Greece (WCQ) 
 


Sep 09 - Moldova 1-1 Greece (WCQ)

Oct 10 - Greece 5-2 Latvia (WCQ)

Luxembourg

Apr 01 - Latvia 2-0 Luxembourg (WCQ)

Aug 09 - Luxembourg 0-1 Lithuania (Friendly)

Sep 05 - Moldova 0-0 Luxembourg (WCQ)

Sep 09 - Israel 7-0 Luxembourg (WCQ)

Oct 10 - Luxembourg 0-3 Switzerland (WCQ)

TEAM NEWS

Greece

The defensive pairing of Avraam Papadopoulos and Sotirios Kyrgiakos return to the line-up after sitting out Saturday’s tilt with Latvia through suspension. Their return could demote either Vaggelis Moras or Sokratis Papastathopoulos to the bench. The rest of the starting XI is expected to remain the same – including ‘keeper Alexandros Tzorvas, who replaced Kostas Chalkias in the Greece goal.

Possible Starting XI: Tzorvas- Torosidis, Kyrgiakos, Papastathopoulos, Seitaridis- Karagounis, Katsouranis, Patsatzoglou- Gekas, Salpingidis, Samaras

Luxembourg

The visitors arrive in Athens with a fully-fit squad at Guy Hellers' disposal, and he will be keen on fielding his best side in a bid to dent Greek hopes.

Possible Starting XI: Joubert, Strasser, Hoffmann, Kintziger, Janisch- Blaise, Peters, Lombardelli, Bettmer- Payal, Pupovac.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Theofanis Gekas (Greece)

With nine goals to his name, Gekas is the joint-leader at the top of the scoring charts in Europe alongside England’s Wayne Rooney. Although Gekas declared his impressive tally takes a back-seat to the team’s success, a further marker on Wednesday could propel the Bayer Leverkusen striker into sole-control at the top of the charts.

Jeff Strasser (Luxembourg)

Captain of the Luxembourg national team, Jeff Strasser is the pinnacle of experience for the national team with his 90 caps a record for the national team. It will be Strasser’s veteran leadership that will be called upon on Wednesday night, with the defender required to lead by example if Luxembourg are to avoid a rout in the Greek capital.

PREDICTION

Had Greece not given such a convincing performance against Latvia on Saturday, the chances of an upset would have been substantially higher; however, the Greeks’ recent success solidifies an expected win for the home side. Luxembourg might have intentions of winning, but their main task will be to contain a potent Greek attack.

Greece 3-0 Luxembourg

Peter Katsiris, Goal.com

http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-201...eece-luxembourg

Henry Kissinger and Cyprus: A War Crime?



Henry Kissinger is perhaps the most controversial U.S. Secretary of State of the 20th Century. Like any famous political personality he has two sides, one bright and one darker: The prominent Harvard Scholar, father of the so-called ’realpolitik’ doctrine who became an expert in International Relations, but also the head of a shady diplomatic machine, whose name has been involved in political tragedies around the world. From the Vietnam war to the establishment of dictatorial regimes in Latin America.

One of these tragedies that has insolubly wounded Kissinger’s reputation is the 1974 Cyprus events - the Turkish military invasion which led to the island’s division. A situation which remains quite the same until today, making Nicosia the only divided capital city in the world. Actually, what was the role of Nixon and Ford’s Secretary of State in Cyprus?

From his side, Mr.Kissinger has supported that the United States couldn’t intervene in order to prevent Turkey’s invasion in northern Cyprus. For more than 30 years, the former U.S. Secretary has tried to "wash his hands" over the Cyprus Issue by arguing that he hadn’t the needed information in order to predict the aftermath of the coup against Makarios. However, Kissinger’s allegations have been decomposed, since the U.S. State Department published specific declassified documents. An important number of such documents certifies that the then U.S Secretary of State had in his hands relevant C.I.A. reports which were prognosticating the Turkish military operation.

In his book "The United States and the Making of Modern Greece, History and Power, 1950-1974", American historian James Miller supports that the State Department knew what was going to happen: Kissinger was actually informed about the actions of Grivas, leader of EOKA ’B, who in co-operation with Athens’ colonels planned the July 15th coup d’etat against Archbishop Makarios. These events eventually led to the Turkish invasion and island’s division. Reviewing Miller’s book, former U.S. diplomat John Brady Kiesling writes that "Miller is properly tough in condemning Kissinger for diplomatic incompetence as well as ideological blindness" while he mentions that "(ambassador) Tasca made himself persona non grata with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger by fervently urging 6th Fleet intervention to save Cyprus".

According to Cypriot journalist Makarios Drousiotis, Mr.Kissinger constructed his strategy on the Soviet threat. But, in fact, he knew that there wasn’t any serious interest from the side of Moscow - apart from verbal support of lawfulness in the island. Drousiotis, a correspondent for the Greek daily ’Eleftherotypia’, has presented a very interesting document of a conversation between Henry Kissinger and the Soviet ambassador in Washington Anatoly Dobrinin, just after the coup against Archbishop Makarios on July 1974: When ambassador Dobrinin says that "there are information that the British and the Turks are planning to do something (regarding the situation in Cyprus)" Kissinger replies that "we (the US) know for sure that Turkey is not going to do anything". Miscalculation, diplomatic mistake or just pure lies?

In any case, Drousiotis successfully comments that Kissinger was actually trying to avoid the "internationalization of the Cyprus case" and therefore was seeking a U.S. - U.S.S.R. regulation on the issue. Furthermore, the perspective of Turkey’s withdrawal from NATO was a nighmare for the then leader of U.S. diplomacy. Mr.Kissinger himself had expressed that fear during a discussion with Archbishop Makarios on October 2, 1974 in Washington D.C. (Eleftherotypia, 12 August 2009).

Apart from the various C.I.A. reports, Henry Kissinger had received relevant information from the then head of State Department’s office in Cyprus, Thomas Boyatt (Ta Nea, 19.8.2009). Just after the coup against Archbishop Makarios in Nicosia, Boyatt proposed the immediate restoration of Archbishop’s authority and the eviction of the Greek military officers who took active role in the events of July 15. That was probably the safest way to avert the Turkish invasion - nonetheless, Mr.Kissinger inexcusably rejected Boyatt’s proposals.

Unfortunately for Cyprus and its people, the U.S. Secretary of State repeated the same stance a few months after the first bloody invasion. He consistently rejected the proposal of the then British Foreign Minister James Callaghan to pose the threat of war against Ankara, in case of a new Turkish attack on Cyprus. It could be another strategic "mistake" of Kissinger, but in fact it was a conscious decision. Moreover, American Intelligence officers seem to have confirmed that Kissinger allowed arms to be moved to Ankara (The Raw Story, 27.6.2007). The results of the Kissinger tactic towards Cyprus are quite known.

More than 1500 Greek Cypriots still missing (the bones of three young men were found recently in a mass grave), thousands of uprooted families and continuous violation of Human Rights* from the side of the Turkish army. Unfortunately for the fame of U.S. Foreign Policy, Henry Kissinger and his policy contributed to this war crime. Since then, he has remained in the collective memory of the Greeks as an active - negative - protagonist in one of the darkest events of modern Greek history. And many of us would agree that a whole nation’s collective memory is perhaps stronger and tougher than any court’s decision. The truth is that Mr.Kissinger’s reputation - both moral and political - died in Cyprus, 35 years ago.

* In 1976 and again in 1983, the European Commission of Human Rights (E.C.H.R) found Turkey guilty of repeated violations of the European Convention of Human Rights, while numerous U.N. resolutions have condemned the 1974 effort of ’ethnic cleansing’ against Greek Cypriots.
P.S.
Published in the American Chronicle and it’s editions, September 24, 2009.

http://www.phantis.com/cosmos/spip.php?article559

Put Greece back on the diplomatic map



The result of the October 4 elections may determine the process of Greece’s economy; it could possibly mean some long-awaited changes in public sector, in the health and education systems. However, it seems it will have little impact on Greek foreign policy. Why?

Greek foreign policy is not likely to change because an “unofficial” consensus has operated over the last decade between the two largest parties, New Democracy and PASOK. The consensus is built on four fundamental pillars.

Firstly, the two parties have an on-going commitment to Greece’s political and economic integration into the European Union. Unlike other European countries there has not been any internal political conflict in regards to Greece’s on-going relationship with Brussels.

Secondly, both PASOK and ND agree on exercising Greece’s power of veto over FYROM’s NATO and EU ambitions if there isn’t an acceptable solution to the name issue (e.g. a compound name for all uses).

Thirdly, both Mr Papandreou and Mr Karamanlis have been strong supporters of Turkey’s EU aspirations. This support for Turkey’s entry into the EU has been an essential part of Greek diplomatic strategy, no matter which of the two major parties is in government. They both understand that it is in Greece’s interest to have a neighbour that is obliged to comply with European standards and not behave like the region’s bully.

Fourthly, both New Democracy and PASOK support a solution for Cyprus based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation. Both Papandreou and Karamanlis favor a reunification plan, based on the rejected 2004 Annan Plan.

However, the above make up one side of the coin. On the other side a newly elected Greek government will be tested by Ankara. The test will take the form of another crisis over the Aegean. That happened when Costas Simitis became Prime Minister in 1996 and was repeated eight years later during Costas Karamanlis’ first weeks in government.

Nevertheless, the recent history of Greek-Turkish relations has taught us one thing: neither having friendly personal relations nor being “best man” at your neighbour’s wedding can provide solutions to the decades-long disputes between both countries. What the new Greek government will need to do is to create a brand new diplomatic strategy, based on Greece neighbors’ EU aspirations. That should be the unwavering weapon of Greek diplomacy.

“No solution, no membership” should be the clear message from Athens to Ankara and Skopje. The need for a new “Helsinki Process" with a pressing timetable urging Ankara to fulfil its obligations as a prospective EU member - has become apparent.

For Greece to return to the centre of EU politics it needs to become a country that takes initiatives within Brussels, to strongly cooperate with its counterparts and to take active part in Europe’s effort for the creation of a Common Foreign and Security Policy. The government that will be elected on October 4 will need to make onerous, but necessary decisions.

In a few words, it has to put Greece back on Europe’s diplomatic map.
P.S.
Published in the English Edition of "Neos Kosmos", September 14, 2009.

http://www.phantis.com/cosmos/spip.php?article546

With an eye on Australia, Papandreou seeks talents of 'the other Greece'


HELENA SMITH, ATHENS
October 10, 2009

ALL his life, George Papandreou, the son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, thought of himself as being part of a world that was not confined to the borders of his homeland.

Born in the US and educated in Sweden, Canada and Britain, he identified more with the diaspora, ''the other Greece'' that flourished out of the sight and the minds of most of his compatriots.

Days after his socialist Pasok party's resounding electoral victory, Mr Papandreou is determined that the diaspora - 7 million strong and often highly skilled - should play a role in rescuing Greece from the problems it faces after five years of conservative rule. Australia - partly because of the strength and size of its ethnic Greek community, partly because a Greek-Australian is among the new leader's senior advisers - will be at the centre of that drive.

''I have spent my life in a number of educational systems and countries … so part of my identity is being a Greek of Greece and a Greek of the diaspora,'' the 57-year-old Prime Minister said. ''I think in many ways being Greek is being ecumenical, open to the world.''

Before he even won the election, the Harvard-trained politician announced he would approach international experts for advice on how to ''fix'' Greece's shattered finances, cumbersome bureaucracy and corrupt state system - ills that in the past year have sparked violence, riots and social unrest.

With the economy poised to go into recession, the new government is unlikely to have a honeymoon period.

''The diaspora also has a wealth of untapped talent and that is what we need to move the country forward,'' said Dimitris Dollis, a former deputy leader of the Victorian ALP and one of Mr Papandreou's closest aides. ''There is a lot of talent here, but whether it be the economy, arts or reorganisation of the bureaucracy, we want the diaspora to contribute too.''

Australia stood out because of the role it played during the 1967-74 military dictatorship, when Mr Papandreou's father, Andreas, headed the left-wing resistance movement abroad.

''It is possibly the only country in the world that impounded Greek ships when they reached its ports,'' Mr Dollis said. ''The reception Andreas Papandreou got when he visited Sydney in 1972 was unbelievable. That, and the special place that both George and his father have in the hearts of Greeks in Melbourne, have not been forgotten.''

To lure experts and people with specialist knowledge, the Papandreou Government plans to recognise foreign university degrees, facilitate residence permits and abolish compulsory military service.

''For too long, successive Greek governments have got it wrong,'' said Theodore Kassimis, the outgoing deputy foreign minister in charge of diaspora affairs. ''The diaspora is very dynamic, a great source of strength, but it has been under-utilised because it has never been properly approached. Instead, we gave money to communities to hold events in tavernas.''

Only recently, he said, had Athens created a network of prominent Greek professionals in the diaspora.

''In the case of Australia, I discussed the idea of annual graduate exchange programs with the former government and state governors of Victoria, Perth and New South Wales,'' Mr Kassimis said. ''Papandreou, I know, will want to take things further.''

Mr Dollis said Mr Papandreou would soon act on his pledge to visit Australia.

''In the international world in which we live, it doesn't matter if they are not fully able to speak and understand [Greek]. The most important thing is that they are skilled, want to contribute, and love Greece.''

http://www.theage.com.au/world/with-an-eye...91009-gqsk.html

Tarpon Springs to Turkey: 'Get out of Cyprus'

TARPON SPRINGS - The City Commission entered the arena of international politics to "oppose Turkey's illegal occupation of Cyprus."

A resolution the commission approved Tuesday night proclaims: "Turkey's continuing military occupation and policy of importing illegal settlers violates international law...relevant United Nations resolutions and continues to violate the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Cyprus."

The resolution passed 5-0, even though one commissioner questioned the extent of its criticism of Turkey in the decades-old dispute over the Mediterranean island.

Mayor Beverley Billiris said she recently traveled to Larnaca, Cyprus. A diplomat with the Republic of Cyprus asked Tarpon Springs to lend its voice to efforts to unify the island, she said.

Billiris traveled to Larnaca, a port city on Cyprus' southern coast, to accept it as a sister city of Tarpon Springs.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in response to a coup attempt against the Cypriot government spurred by the military junta that then ruled Greece. Most of the world recognizes the control of the Republic of Cyprus over the island.

Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which controls the northern third of the island. Turkey has about 30,000 troops on the portion of the island it occupies.

Commissioner Robin Saenger supported the resolution, but questioned if it should offer such a strong condemnation of Turkey. The dispute between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus has gone on for decades, she noted.

Strife between the majority Greek Cypriots and the minority Turkish Cypriots broke out almost immediately after Cyprus gained its independence from Great Britain in 1960.

Tarpon Commissioner Chris Alahouzos, a native of Greece, said turkey invaded Cyprus just to get access to a port. The Turkish forces killed many Cypriots and displaced others from their homes, he said, adding, "The country needs to be united again so these people can go home."


http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/20...of-cyprus/news/

U.S. NATO chief blames Turkey for 'ethnic cleansing' of Greeks, including own family

U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the senior American officer in both the U.S. European Command and NATO, blames Turkey for violence against its Greek minority, including his own family, almost 90 years ago.

In a first-person book he published last year, before he took over as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Stavridis termed Turkey's moves "ethnic cleansing" and a "pogrom," whose victims included his grandparents, expelled from their hometown of Izmir, and his father's uncle, who was killed by violent anti-Greek Turks.

Fighter planes from United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and other elements under Stavridis' command were to have taken part in the Anatolian Eagle exercise, from which the U.S. withdrew earlier this week, after Turkey barred Israel from participating. Stavridis is closely supervising the upcoming American-Israeli Juniper Cobra air and missile defense exercise, and is scheduled to visit Israel soon.

After being nominated to his current position, a mere year after publishing these charges against Turkey, Stavridis dropped the negative reference to Turkish treatment of his family and other ethnic Greeks. His current, sanitized version depicts Turkey as a starting point for a one-stop journey west to America.

Stavridis, a 1976 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was born in Florida and hardly speaks any Greek. As a child, he lived for two years in Athens, where his father, a U.S. Marine Corps officer, served in the American Embassy alongside a U.S. Navy officer whose daughter Stavridis later married. The four-star admiral is widely acclaimed as a brilliant officer, with a Ph.D. in international relations and an impressive record of command and staff positions. Currently, he wears two hats: In addition to his job at NATO - of which Turkey is a member, with forces serving in Afghanistan and working to prevent terrorist penetrations across its border with Iraq - he heads the U.S. European Command (EUCOM), which includes Greece, Turkey and Israel among its dozens of countries.

A prolific writer of books and articles, with his own blog ("From the Bridge") on the EUCOM web site, Stavridis kept a journal of his experiences during the 28 months he commanded the destroyer USS Barry, from early fall 1993 to December 1995. During that time, the Aegis-class warship, armed with powerful radar and anti-missile missiles (of the sort taking part in Juniper Cobra), was deployed in crises the world over - off Haiti, in the Mediterranean and in the Persian Gulf.

In 2008, before he learned he would be appointed NATO's military chief - the first ever from the navy - he published his 1990s journal as a book, "Destroyer Captain: Lessons of a First Command." Thus the manuscript he authored in his late thirties, as a relatively junior Commander, was launched into the public domain more than a dozen years later, when he was five ranks higher.

In "Destroyer Captain," Stavridis does not try to be diplomatic. "In the early 1920's," he wrote, "my grandfather, a short, stocky Greek schoolteacher named Dimitrious Stavridis, was expelled from Turkey as part of 'ethnic cleansing' (read pogrom) directed against Greeks living in the remains of the Ottoman Empire. He barely escaped with his life in a small boat crossing the Aegean Sea to Athens and thence to Ellis Island. His brother was not so lucky and was killed by the Turks as part of the violence directed at the Greek minority."

The "most amazing historical irony I could imagine," according to the author, was when a multinational NATO exercise off the coast of western Turkey brought him to the place his grandfather was forced out of: "His grandson, who speaks barely a few words of Greek, returns in command of a billion-dollar destroyer to the very city - Smyrna, now called Izmir - from which he sailed in a refugee craft all those years ago."

In an interview about "Destroyer Captain" on the U.S. Naval Institute web site, Stavridis remarked, "I'll let others decide if it's a good book, but I truly believe it is an honest book."

He was, however, less than fully candid last March, during his Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. The ethnic cleansing he sharply rebuked in the book (and which he contrasted with U.S. efforts worldwide to prevent) underwent some semantic cleansing. "It's probably worth noting that although I'm ethnically Greek, my grandfather was actually born in Turkey and came through Greece on his way to the United States," he said, as if equally proud of his double origin, much like the child of divorced parents boasting that he now has two families rather than only one.

Last July, having visited Turkey as NATO and EUCOM chief, he again chose similar words to describe his personal connection to the country that ill-treated his grandparents. "Turkey is a vital and important NATO ally," he blogged, "and for me it was a chance to return to the nation from which my grandfather and grandmother emigrated to the United States, after stopping briefly in Greece."

The Turkish military is not in the habit of ignoring criticism, even from fellow officers. Last February, when Haaretz reported the stinging attack on Turkish actions in Cyprus and against Armenian civilians voiced by Israeli Ground Forces commander Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi, the uproar in Ankara made Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi call his counterpart, Gen. Ilker Sasbug, to distance the IDF from Mizrahi's "personal" opinion.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121249.html

UPDATE 1-Greek unemployment jumps to 9.6 pct in July 10.14.09, 06:32 AM EDT

rose to 9.6 percent in July from 8.6 percent in June as weak construction and tourism led to job shedding, the country's statistics service (NSS) said on Wednesday.

Year-on-year, Greece's jobless rate jumped by 2.6 percentage points from 7.0 percent in July last year. The rate is not adjusted for seasonal factors.

After a decade of booming economic growth and three years of falling unemployment, Greece's economy is on the verge of recession with tourism and construction feeling the slump.

'Unemployment increased particularly in the greater Athens region and I estimate this happened because of reduced building activity and job cuts in tourism,' said NSS chief Manolis Kontopyrakis.

About 19,000 jobs in the tourism sector were lost in the first half after a 9.6 percent drop in visitor numbers, the tourism industry association SETE said in July.

Joblessness is higher in the younger age groups, with the unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group rising to 23.9 from 20.9 percent in the same month last year.

Unemployment was also affecting women more than men with the jobless rate at 13.8 percent versus 6.6 percent for the male population.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, writing by Harry

Papachristou, editing by Toby Chopra) Keywords: GREECE UNEMPLOYMENT/

(harry.papachristou@thomsonreuters.com; +30 210 3376455; Reuters Messaging: harry.papachristou.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/10/14/afx6998629.html

Hundreds of tourists evacuated in Greek forest fire

Tue Oct 13, 2009 11:24am EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - A forest fire forced the evacuation of about 500 mostly French tourists from a Club Med hotel on the Greek island of Evia on Tuesday, officials said.

"They have been evacuated with three ferry boats and two large passenger ships," a coastguard official said. "This is a preventive measure, no one is in danger." The tourists were taken to the nearby port of Edipsos.

More than 60 firefighters battled the blaze in a fir tree forest, using 23 fire engines and 11 eight aircraft. There were no reports of injuries.

In August, wildfire tore through scores of homes and thousands of acres of forest near Athens, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

(Reporting by Harry Papachristou and Renee Maltezou; editing by Robin Pomeroy)

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/i...E59C3MV20091013

EU nod for FYROM despite name

European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn announced yesterday that Brussels had approved the launch of accession negotiations between the EU and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), despite ongoing negotiations aimed at solving the dispute over FYROM’s official name.

Noting that FYROM “has made convincing progress and substantially addressed reform priorities,” Rehn said the former Yugoslav republic now “sufficiently meets” the political and economic criteria for opening negotiations.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Stavros Dimas, the Greek EU environment commissioner, had expressed his opposition to the move in a letter sent to Brussels.

Perhaps in response to this letter, Rehn added that he viewed the launch of talks with FYROM as “a very strong encouragement to settle the name issue and thus remove this from the agenda, and I trust that the government in Skopje gets this message as well.” Reacting to Rehn’s comments, FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said, “We are aware of the importance of this report and... will actively and constructively negotiate and seek a solution with Greece under the United Nations auspices.”

Rehn also revealed that the EC was dissatisfied with the progress made by Turkey, another candidate for membership.

He called on Ankara to “revitalize” reform in the areas of “freedom of expression” and “women’s rights” and also stressed Turkey’s obligation as an EU member state to open its air and sea ports to EU member Cyprus, whose northern half is occupied by Turkish troops.

In a related development, the new PASOK Foreign Ministry made its first complaint to Ankara after Turkish authorities sent radar warnings to an aircraft of Frontex, the EU’s border-monitoring agency, that had been conducting a patrol in the Aegean as part of the organization’s efforts to curb the influx of illegal immigrants into Europe. The harassment of the Finnish aircraft, which came on the same day as a visit to Athens by a senior Frontex official, was the fifth incident of its kind in just over a month, according to Greek defense officials.

The pilots of the Frontex aircraft, which was harassed while flying east of Farmakonisi, in the eastern Aegean, ignored the Turkish radar warnings and completed their patrol as scheduled, Greek defense officials said.
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http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_artic.../10/2009_111575

In my opinion all E.U member states have lost their sovereignty to Brussels the capitol of Europe...Hence why Greece looks like a paper tiger these past years imo.

Miro exhibition in Thessaloniki

An exhibition of more than 400 works by the noted Catalan artist Joan Miro (1893-1983), the largest ever hosted in Greece, was formally inaugurated on Tuesday at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's (AUTH) Teloglio Foundation of Art in the presence of Spain's Queen Sofia.

The exhibition, "Miro of Majorca", a collaboration between the Teloglion Foundation and the Foundation Pilar i Joan Miro of Majorca, presents one of the artist's greatest exhibitions in the country that includes a significant number of his works and documents featuring paintings, sculptures, etchings, drawings, sketches etc.

The works date back to 1908 (his only salvaged early landscape painting) until his death in 1983. However, the exhibition mainly presents mature Miro in Majorca and the works he created in the workshop designed by his architect friend Josep Lluis Sert in 1956.

The exhibition, that opened for the public on Sept. 6, 2009, has already been visited by roughly 2,000 people, art lovers and pupils, and will run until Feb. 5, 2010. It is held under the auspices of the President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias and the Spanish embassy in Athens.

The Queen of Spain arrived in Thessaloniki from Athens where she was on a private visit since Monday. After visiting the exhibition she will return to Athens and on Wednesday she will tour the New Acropolis Museum.

http://www.ana-mpa.gr/anaweb/user/selectla...26service%3D102

That’s true ! For them to come back on the pretend that they are refugees isn’t possible unless they face up to their parents war crimes "by acknowledging it" which their parents committed to the Greek state. Worst case scenario for them to come back would be to face their relatives who still hold some of their properties or have been sold off. Things aren’t easy especially when all this happened some 5 decades ago or so. Not sure how it is in Serbia in regards to properties, in Greece the best of friendly or closely loved families are at each others throats at the mere mentioning at discussing these issues “properties to be split, settled etc;

It's any bodies guess now how this isssue will end up say in 10 years !

True love !


Lasagna or Spaghetti ?

Greek Socialist leader sworn in as prime minister

(AP) – 2 days ago

ATHENS, Greece — Greece's new Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou has named his government, in which he will also be responsible for foreign affairs.

The new Cabinet merges several existing posts while creating a new ministry for the environment, and places women in key posts.

The key Finance Ministry has gone to 48-year-old party spokesman George Papaconstantinou while Louka Katseli, a 57-year-old economics professor at Athens University, was appointed to the new post of economy, competitiveness and shipping minister.

The new Environment, Energy and Climate Change Ministry will be headed by Tina Birbili.

The 57-year-old Papandreou was sworn in earlier Tuesday, after trouncing the conservatives in a landslide election victory.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's Socialist leader George Papandreou was sworn in as prime minister Tuesday, after trouncing the conservatives in a landslide election victory won on promises of reviving the country's faltering economy.

Papandreou, a 57-year-old former foreign minister and scion of one of Greece's top political families, now follows in the footsteps of his father Andreas and grandfather and namesake George, both of whom served several terms as prime ministers.

He was sworn in by Greece's Orthodox Church leader Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens during a brief ceremony at the presidential mansion. He then walked to the neighboring prime ministerial office for the hand-over from outgoing prime minister Costas Karamanlis, who has run the country for the last five years.

Karamanlis, faced with his New Democracy party's worst election defeat ever — 33.48 percent of the vote compared to 43.92 percent for the Socialist PASOK party, resigned as head of the conservatives Sunday night.

A small crowd of onlookers gathered outside the presidential mansion, cheering Papandreou as he walked to his new office, with some well-wishers hugging him or planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I believe that George Papandreou will be the best prime minister of all time," said supporter Petros Arapis.

But not everyone was quite so gushing.

"I'm waiting for him to do what he said he would," said Athanasia Konstantinopoulou. "If he doesn't, he'll also be shown the way out."

Papandreou was to announce his ministerial appointments later Tuesday, and was expected to create a much leaner Cabinet than Karamanlis' outgoing one. One of the anticipated changes is likely to be the creation of a separate environmental ministry, addressing an issue that is particularly resonant in a country ravaged by a series of devastating forest fires in recent years.

But arguably the new prime minister's top priority will be reforming the ailing economy, which is expected to contract this year after years of growth.

Ahead of the elections, Papandreou offered a radically different solution from that of Karamanlis to dig Greece out of the crisis. Instead of the conservatives' pledges to cut spending and freeze salaries, pensions and public sector hiring, he proposed a stimulus package of up to euro3 billion, giving public sector workers above-inflation pay raises and boosting infrastructure investment.

"We need to first jump start the economy for a short period, to give us the breathing-space to make the changes and then move on to a different type of economy within the next few years," Papandreou told The Associated Press in an interview a week before Sunday's election.

He advocated "a combination of the immediate measures to help small- and medium-sized companies, to strengthen employment, help the unemployed, to help the poor citizens of our country not fall off the cliff and be marginalized."

Karamanlis had dismissed the Socialists' plans as irresponsible, saying Greece could not afford to spend its way out of the crisis.

Analysts say the different approaches to the economy were instrumental in the election result.

"The (economic plan) that PASOK and George Papandreou presented is one that ... is more optimistic," said political analyst Anthony Livanios. "And the other one that New Democracy presented was more pessimistic. So the one that was more optimistic was the one that made the voters go for PASOK and George Papandreou."

But Papandreou's stimulus package alone cannot put the country's economy back on track.

"There is a symbolism in this package. If only Greece's problems were so simple that with 3 billion euros it could change the course of the economy," said political analyst and publisher of the City Press and Free Sunday newspapers Giorgos Kyrtsos.

Papandreou himself has said that Greece faces difficulties, saying Sunday after being elected that "nothing is going to be easy."

However, with a comfortable majority of 160 seats in the 300-member parliament, he will have a strong government able to push through reforms.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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