Striking truck drivers in Greece were ordered back to work after a three day old strike effectively choked off the supply of fuel to consumers. Prime Minister George Papandreou gave the order yesterday after taking into consideration the “serious upheaval to the country’s social and economic life and the serious risk to public health from the lack of adequate supplies to citizens of fuel, food and medicine.”
Around 33,000 licensed truck drivers walked off their jobs on July 26 to protest against government plans to open up the freight industry and issue new licenses.
Ta Nea newspaper reported that no fuel was available on the island of Rhodes, and tourists were leaving rented cars by the roadside when they became stranded without fuel.
Why the strike? Well, money of course. This article in the WSJ discusses some of history behind the precious trucking licenses-–worth anywhere between €90,000 to €200,000 -- that are set to expire in three years.
posted on Thursday, July 29
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Gastarbeiter between Germany and Greece, which opened the door for Greek guest workers to head to the country to find work. While numbers are hard to estimate, it is believed that up to one million Greeks at one point or another lived, worked or passed through Germany as part of the program. Today, a significant community remains thoughout the country, with an extensive network of Greek schools and associations. (Community estimates say that more than 350,000 Greeks live in the country today.)
The Goethe Institute in Athens is marking the anniversary with the opening of a new exhibition in October called "Expatriation, Emigration, Return. Souvenirs from the first and second home country." The exhibition will highlight the lives of the Greeks living in Germany throughout the years. The link has information about the exhibition in Greek and in German.
Other News:
1 Million Russian Tourists. That is the goal of Deputy Tourism Minister Giorgos Nikitiadis who was in Moscow promoting tourism there. Greece will send up to 30 more staff to the Consulate in Moscow to push the new initiative.
posted on Wednesday, July 28
Nearly 60% of Greeks admit openly to overeating, while a a third of them have an overexaggerated idea of what healthy eating is. This is according to a survey carried out by the Greek website, www.mednutrition.gr, which promotes the so-called Mediterranean diet, based on lots of fruit, vegetables and olive oil.
Some of the results break down like this :
- 61% of respondents admit eating everything on their plate whether eating at home or at a restaurant. (It's intereseting to note that the average plate size in Greece has increased from 25 cm in 1990 to 30 cm today.)
- 55% of respondents admit that they do not measure out food portions while cooking at home.
- The majority of those surveyed responded that gourmet restaurants offer too small of portions, and prefer eating more generous portions at tavernas. (Heck who doesn't like a good taverna.)
- When asked what a healthy portion of meat consisted of, about 31% answered a handful, while a healthy serving is about half that - 90 grams.
Here is a take away for our readers today. When those surveyed were asked what would be a healthy dose of french frieds would be per serving, 34.8 percent said they believed a healthy serving of fries is 15 to 30 pieces, while 11 percent thought that a decent serving comprises at least 30 fries. What does MedNutrition.gr say? 10 to 15 fries...
DF: Do you think that our eating habits are getting out of control?
Kathimerini
MedNutrition.GR
posted on Tuesday, July 27
A new museum which recently opened in Magna, Utah commemorates and documents the importance of the waves of immigrants that came to the state of Utah to help develop the mining industry in the area. The Magna Museum is also home to the Western Hellenic Family History Library, which tracks the descendants of Greek immigrants who came to Utah to work in the mines. A computer database has about 3,500 names, and the museum is working to add genealogical information on immigrants from other parts of the world.
Magna Museum
Thousands of Greek immigrants settled in Utah in the early 1900s during the robust mining years. A Greektown even developed in Salt Lake City.
Facts you might now know about the Greek community of Salt Lake City..
The Greek community of Salt Lake City is the only one in the United States where two churches are under the jurisdiction of one parish council - Holy Trinity Cathedral and the church of Prophet Elias.
The community runs a full day time school - The Saint Sophia Hellenic Orthodox School -which has been open for 14 years.
The large Greek festival in Salt Lake City draws up to 50,000 people when it is held every September.
Other Tid Bits Today -
Holandros Station opens up to the public
The new metro station at Holargos opened to the public on Friday. The new station on metro line three is expected to serve some 20,000 passengers a day, chiefly from the municipalities of Holargos and Halandri but also from Neo Psychiko. Those taking the train at Holargos will now be able to travel to Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens in just nine minutes.
Sudbury Greek Canadian Community celebrate their heritage
The annual Greek Festival drew about 4,000 people to the Hellenic Centre affiliated with the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Sudbury, Canada over the weekend.
posted on Monday, July 26
An ambitious draft bill that aims to curb illegal construction on forestland by drawing up comprehensive maps delineating the boundaries of the country’s forests is to be submitted in Parliament next week and the first few maps are to be put on public display in September, Environment Minister Tina Birbili said yesterday.
The ministry’s priority is to protect eight municipalities in Attica that were hit particularly hard by forest fires last year and in the catastrophic blazes of the summer of 2007, Birbili said. So the first maps that are to be finalized and displayed will be those delineating forestland in the municipalities of Aghios Stefanos, Anthousa, Kifissia, Marathon, Nea Makri, Pendeli, Nea Pendeli and Stamata.
Over 300,000 structures are believed to have been built illegally in areas where forests should be preserved in Attica alone. While destroying these buildings is not feasible, hopefully these maps are a start of better recognition of how vital and importat the forests are for Athens and all of Greece.
Kathimerini
Plant your Roots in Greece
posted on Friday, July 23
With aircraft grounded due to an air traffic controller strike, the harsh glare of the media spotlight once again shines on Greece. Prime minister Papandreou continues to make himself available for interviews to tell his side of the story. In this interview with Foreign Policy magazine, he touches on a lot of topics... including the future of the EU ("we need more, not less Europe..."). Read the interview after the jump.
...via Foreign Policy (Interview)
The clip below is also worth watching. The reported bounces around Athens trying to get to the bottom of why the government can't seem to collect the tax money its due. Pretty good.
...via PBS
posted on Thursday, July 22
A Greek investigative journalist has been shot dead outside his home in Athens in an attack linked by police to leftist militants. Sokratis Giolias, 37, was shot more than 15 times in the Athens neighbourhood of Ilioupoli.
According to colleagues, he had been about to publish the results of an investigation into corruption. Giolias, wrote for the blog Troktiko that often reported on scandals.
Police said ballistics tests tied the killers' guns to previous attacks by the Sect of Revolutionaries.
The Sect of Revolutionaries (SR) has threatened members of the media in the past. Last year they attacked the headquarters of private broadcaster Alter TV, without causing any injuries.
No group has yet said it was behind the killing of Mr Giolias.
International Business Times
Marathon Fever
In light of the upcoming 2,500th Anniversary of the Marathon a German mam plans to run 2,200 km from his home in Heilbronn to Athens this autumn.Click here for the story.
posted on Wednesday, July 21
36 years ago, Turkish warplanes began their assault on Cyprus. Operation Attila began when heavily armed troops landed around the port of Kyrenia. Turkey was saying it was invoking its right under the Treaty of Guarantee to protect the Turkish Cypriots and guarantee the independence of Cyprus. (There had been a growing movement for Enosis, Union with Greece, for Cyprus with mainland Greece.)
After an initial three days of fighting, Turkish forces had occupied about 3% of the land of Cyprus, and had forced approximately 5,000 Greek Cypriots to flee. Instability in Greece and Cyprus, led to Turkey sending successive waves of troops to the island which led to the eventual occupation of the northern third of the island, and forced nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriots to flee.
Several human rights abuses took place at the time of the invasion including killings, rapes, loss of property and destruction of religious monuments; and violations continue to this day.
36 years later, the island remains divided. The north is still occupied, and hundreds of thousands of Greek Cypriots are not allowed to return home. For all those that perished during the invasion, and for those still missing and suffering due to the invasion, our thoughts are with you. May justice come to Cyprus soon.
Blue dots indicate occupied towns and villages of Cyprus.
posted on Tuesday, July 20
Traveling to Greece next month? If so, be aware that purchasing a cell phone SIM card at the local periptero will not be as easy as it was in the past. After July 30th, Greek citizens and visitors will have to submit their personal information at an authorized cell phone retailer in order to obtain a new cell phone number. Once the cell phone is registered, you can still buy prepaid minutes at the local periptero. All existing cell phones subscribers (including pre-paid) have until the end of the month to register their phones or risk losing their phone numbers.
DF: The terrorists have won :(
Quick hits for July 20, 2010
» Is this Russia or Greece? Journalist shot dead in Athens...via APTN
» Now this is going to be good television...'Real Housewives of Athens' coming soon. "Like its American sisters, this version will follow affluent Greek ladies as they bustle about the cradle of democracy." ...via OC Register
posted on Tuesday, July 20
While many often focus on the beaches and coastal areas of Greece for vacationing, Greece has a wide array of very unique landscapes, boutique hotels and mountain resorts that are often overlooked. A growing market has been to stay at wine estates, often located in beautiful vineyards and offering wonderful facilities. Ktima Kalaitzis is a wine estate offering luxury accommodation, fine dining, supreme meeting and event facilities in the foothills of Pieria and Vermion mountain ranges, overlooking the majestic Imathia valley and Aliakmona lake.
Discrete luxury, privilege of exclusivity and privacy, all the comforts of a gourmet countryside retreat, personal service and quiet desolation are the hallmarks of this charming vineyard hotel, offering vintage hospitality that is genuine and from the heart.
The estate offers four different rooms and has an option for adding a bed for children under 3 for free. Check here for pricing.
posted on Monday, July 19
