Moderate 5.1 earthquake shakes Athens

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale northwest of Athens briefly shook the Greek capital Wednesday morning, officials said. The National Geodynamic Institute said the quake's epicenter was near Amfikleia in the Fthiotida region. The United States Geological Survey said the quake occurred at approximately 9 a.m. local time. The European-Mediterranean Seimological Center said ...

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Jobless Greeks Shun Mundane Jobs

There's plenty of Greeks working in restaurants and tavernas in Athens, but elsewhere around the country in tourist areas you're hard pressed to find them despite a record jobless rate as many apparently won't work for low wages. The young waiter in my hotel apologized. She was Hungarian, she said, and her English was not perfect. She went and got a colleague, who was Polish, to ...

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Earthquake Rattles Area Around Athens

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- An earthquake which the US Geological Survey says had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has rattled central Greece and was felt in the country's capital, Athens. There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries. The Aug. 7 quake occurred about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southeast of the central city of Lamia and 125 kilometers (77 miles) northwest of Athens shortly ...

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SAPVoice: The 20 Best Latin Phrases For Business Leaders

Bringing out a good Latin phrase in a discussion is like brining a gun to a knife fight.  It gets people's attention. But if you are quoting Lucretius at the start of every meeting "nil igitur mors est ad nos" (Death, therefore, is nothing to us) you will sound like an absolute tool. Even if you are already using a few of these, chances are that you are using some wrong in the first place. Therefore, learn these phrases and use them effectively - and in the right context - to reinforce your ideas, amaze your friends, and verbally stun your detractors. 1. Ad Hominem To the man or At the man.  The process of criticizing the person, instead of their ideas in a debate, in an attempt win the argument.  "Why should we listen to the ideas of someone who didn't graduate from the Ivy League?" is an example of an ad hominem attack.  The idea being that weakening the perception of the person weakens the argument. As a business leader, be prepared to recognize and call this out  "There is no reason for the ad hominem attack here.  Not all good ideas only come from the Ivy League." 2. Bona Fide In good faith. Reference to the sincere, honest, intentions of a person,  as in "They made a bona fide attempt to address the situation." Adding an -s does not make it plural, but changes the meaning to Bona Fides, which are credentials attesting to identity. 3. Caveat Emptor / Venditor / Actor (Buyer, Seller, Doer) Let the (buyer, seller, doer) beware.  Typically used to denote who has the burden of research and that there may be no expressed warranty, like in real estate transactions, but can we used to help draw awareness to risk for business leaders. "I think it is a great idea to buy from that company that has only been in business this week, but caveat emptor." 4. Eo Ipso (similar to 'Ipso Facto') By this act (or fact).  It is about consequence.  "If a married person marries second person, the second marriage is void ipso facto." Can be used as a substitution for therefore. 5. Exempli Gratia (e.g.) vs. Id Est (i.e) For example vs. that is/which means/in this case.  Use e.g when you have a series of examples to prove the point.  Use i.e when you want to state that same point in other words.  I love reading blogs (e.g. Forbes and Huffington), but my sons (i.e. Holden and Beckett) just like cartoons.  I read many blogs by example, but I only have two sons in this case. 6. Ibidem (ibid.) In the same place.  This is typically used as a citation to refer to the last source referenced.  Instead of naming the source again, just say or note ibid. 7. In Camera In secret. Any meeting or aspect of a meeting held private and/or not divulged in the meeting minutes.  While usually referred to in court cases, in camera board meetings may be part/all of a board meeting that discusses personnel, financials, or private matters that are not for public consumption. 8. Lorem Ipsum Sorrow itself.  A fragment from Cicero, it is usually used as typographer filler for nonsensical text to show fonts.  Geek out your friends with this dead language trivia. 9. Ne Plus Ultra Nothing more beyond. This is the best or apex of what something can be. Nothing can be better.  It is THE bold statement when you want to be bold.  "This is the ne plus ultra blog about Latin phrases for business leaders." So there! 10. Pari Passu With equal step. Together. If something is done equally, and without preference, it is done pari passu.  Usually used in legal proceedings or for distribution of an inheritance, it can be used denote situations where you need work or bonuses divided equally amongst the team. 11. Per Se Through itself.  You probably know and use this one a lot.  It also means "as such," or "one would expect from the name."   Think "fundamentally" or "innately." 12. Post Hoc, Ergo Procter Hoc After this, therefore because of this. A logical fallacy where you inaccurately assume that because something happened first, it caused the second.  This is a great one to memorize and bring out when you see your teams attribute causation because something happened first.   "After we started tweeting 'have a good weekend' every Friday, we saw a spike in our revenues.  Wishing people a good weekend, therefore, drives revenue."  Uhm . . .I am gonna say . . . no! 13. Potest Solum Unum There can be only one.  Break this out in front of a Highlander fan, and watch the geekfest occur. (You have to say it in a breathy Scottish accent) 14. Pro Rata For the rate. Proportionally.  Some proportion that can be exactly calculated.  Can be used for subscription models where you will only charge for the percentage of time used.  "We will charge a pro rata amount for their 23 days of use this month." 15. Quod Erat Demonstrandum (Q.E.D.) What was to be demonstrated. Noting or saying Q.E.D. at the end of an argument is a way of saying "the conclusions is exactly as I had predicted or set out to prove."  It is a big exclamation point to saying you have proved your argument, Latin style. 16. Sanctum Sanctorum Holy of Holies.  The most sacred sealed place.  While this has its origins as the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel, the modern usage can be used to mean "there are secrets . . . and then there are secrets.  This should be considered sanctum sanctorum.  Make sure you never speak of this to anyone - - ever.  It is a clever way of saying "super secret and secure." 17. Sine Qua Non Without which not. It refers to a key critical ingredient or aspect of a larger whole.  Without this piece, the whole is nothing. "Patience is sine qua non for this role." 18. Stet Let is stand. A shorthand way for editors to let writers and typesetter know to disregard prior changes or alterations.  Disregard prior notations.  Frequently used to edit and review documents. 19. Sub Rosa Under the rose. Means "private or secret". From the Middle Ages (and with roots in Greek Mythology) where a rose was suspended from the ceiling and what was said under the rose was secret. It is a way to denote that the conversation is private and confidential. 20. Vox Pop Vox Populi. Voice of the People.  Often thought of as a Man On The Street (M.O.T.S) interview.  It is a way to get a spontaneous viewpoint from an unrehearsed interview of a person in a public place.  "The voice of the people is the voice of God."  However, if you watch late night talk shows, these vox pop interviews rarely show the divinity of the common person.

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5 Things To Do Before Seeing 'Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters'

Source: hollywoodcrush.mtv.com - Wednesday, August 07, 2013
by Jessica Marshall The next installment in the chronicles of a certain dreamy demigod and his mythological pals is here at long last. The sequel to 2010's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" hits theaters this week. This time, Percy Jackson, the half-human son of the sea god Poseidon played by Logan Lerman , finds himself on the hunt for the magical Golden Fleece in an effort to save his home, Camp Half-Blood, from certain destruction. While the movie may be the stuff of legend, it's no myth that we have a list of things for you to do before seeing this film. So before you dive into " Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters ," try these five things: Read the Book The life and times of the spawn of Poseidon are detailed in a best-selling book series by Rick Riordan. There are five books in the series, of which "Sea of Monsters" is the second. Watch "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" "Sea of Monsters" is the long-awaited sequel to "The Lightning Thief," which introduced us all to the adorably angsty Percy Jackson, an average Joe who discovers his divine heritage. Study up on your Greek mythology If you want to understand what's going on in this film and in the books, you'd better brush up on your Bulfinch's. There are a lot of references to classic figures and objects of Greek and Roman mythology strung throughout. And it will especially enhance your enjoyment of it all if you can name all the siblings of

All Related

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Philosophy Revived at Plato?s Academy

Philosophers from around the world gathered at the place where their practice really had its roots – Plato’s Academy – in an Athens neighborhood as part of a series of events for the 23d World Philosophy Congress which is meeting through Aug. 10, in Greece for the first time. "At the site of Plato's Academy you cannot but feel awe for the philosophers who thousands of ...

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Greece Shuts Down Restaurant After Tax Inspectors Forced to Flee

Greece Shuts Down Restaurant After Tax Inspectors Forced to Flee Businessweek Greece's Finance Ministry temporarily closed a restaurant on the island of Crete after its owners forced tax inspectors to abandon an on-site audit. A team from the Financial Crimes Squad was heckled and jeered by the restaurant's proprietors and ... and more »

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Plans To Grant Investor Residency Could Revive Spain's Real Estate Market

A new programme offering residency by investment is starting to breathe new life in Spain's flagging property market—even though it is still at draft stage. After a bubble that saw the price per square metre (about 10.76 sq ft) for new build property soar by almost 182% between June 1997 and June 2007,  according to appraisers Sociedad de Tasación, the Mediterranean country was among the worst hit by the 2008 credit crunch and the ensuing recession. As thousands of units languished unsold, values declined rapidly—again, Sociedad de Tasación data shows that the price per square metre for new builds dropped by nearly 27% between June 2007 and June 2013. Alex Vaughan of Barcelona-based realtors Lucas Fox thinks the overall decline was even higher. “From my personal experience, I’d say prices have gone down 20% to 50% and in some areas even more than that, although I think the market partly needed a retrenchment.” However, hope is on the horizon for the Spanish real estate sector. Last May, borrowing a leaf from the book of other beleaguered countries, including Portugal and Cyprus, the Spanish government put forward a bill, the Proyecto de Ley de apoyo a los emprendedores y su internacionalización, granting residency to investors from outside the European Union who spend €500,000 or more in local property. The bill is currently making its way through Parliament but is not expected to see significant amends. Experts at Residency in Spain, a joint venture between Lucas Fox and Spanish law firm Ecija, explain that, if the draft law remains unchanged, it will grant qualifying investors a special visa allowing them to stay in Spain for a year (up from the current 90 days), plus a further two-year residency permit, renewable every two years. Buyers will have to meet some basic financial and personal criteria, including having no criminal record and being able to cover their living expenses, and must fund the first €500,000 of their purchase with fresh capital, although financing may be permitted above that threshold. The residency permit is expected to extend to the investor’s family, including children under 18 years of age. Residency by investment is not in itself a novel idea—a number of countries, including St Kitts & Nevis, have long been offering residency or even citizenship incentives to attract foreign capital—but in the case of Spain, Latvia, Malta and Portugal, residency comes with the added advantage of unrestricted movement within the Schengen area, the group of 26 countries that have removed checks across common borders (Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,  Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland). “–free travel within the Schengen area is what’s appealing to buyers,” confirms Joanne Leverett of global real estate advisor Savills, who has seen very high demand for Portuguese property, particularly from mainland Chinese buyers, since the country introduced its Golden Visa scheme, and expects much the same to happen in Spain. Another attraction is that the residency bill, unless amended, only requires applicants to travel to Spain at least once during the initial residency period, and allows them to keep their tax residency where it best suits them. However, Spain also adds to the mix a number of lifestyle draws, from a warm climate to centuries of history and vibrant culture, that make it stand out among the many countries offering this kind of package. “Spain already is one of Europe’s top second home destinations,” notes Vaughan. “Those who are registering their interest are mainly people who want to be here anyway. All the lifestyle reasons to come to the country are still there and property has become more affordable. “ “Spain is much better known than Portugal and has more to offer,” agrees Leverett. “For example, South African buyers are more interested in Spain but have no interest in Portugal, even though the visa conditions are similar.” Although it is not expected to come into force until later this year or even early in 2014, the residency programme has already whetted international appetite. Vaughan reports enquiries from foreign investors, mainly from the Far East, India and Russia, have tripled since the measure was announced. Plus, he adds, “We have also had quite a lot of interest from America, which rather surprised me. It may be these people were already looking at Spain and now this has come up they have decided to take advantage of it.” According to Leverett, the rapid surge in enquiries for Spanish property has partly been driven by “a bit of confusion” as some people misunderstood the Spanish government’s announcement earlier this year and assumed the law had already been passed and would soon become effective. Partly, however, this early interest is linked to the fact that “the draft as it stands today suggests that you don’t necessarily need to make a new investment—if you have already bought a Spanish property and you meet all the requirements, you should get residency,” Vaughan says. Both he and Leverett are optimistic about the future impact the programme will have on the Spanish market in months to come: after all, Leverett says, “if we see already see interest now, we’ll definitely see an increase in demand when the scheme is ready.”

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Greece riots: People have lost trust in government, says opposition leader

Greece's main opposition party has accused the government of failing to protect the country as it experiences the worst unrest in decades. The Socialist opposition leader, George Papandreou, speaking after emergency talks with the prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, said Greeks had lost trust in the government after three days of disorder across the country, triggered when a schoolboy was shot ...

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Public Breastfeeding Protest in Santorini

"Breastfeeding is health". With this slogan young mothers with the support of the PanHellenic Network of Voluntary Groups of Support of Breastfeeding and Motherhood and the IBFAN Greece, held a public breastfeeding in Santorini on August 6. The young mothers were triggered by an incident which occurred a few days ago. A woman went outside a restaurant at Fira to breastfeed her baby and ...

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Troika Wants Greek Homes Repossessed

Greece’s international lenders are pressuring the coalition government led by Prime Minister and New Democracy Conservative leader Antonis Samaras again to lift a ban prohibiting banks from confiscating homes worth more than 200,000 euros ($260,000) of Greeks who can’t afford to pay their mortgages because of daunting austerity measures. Some banks have refused to restructure ...

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Cretans Beat Tax Agents At Festival

With tax inspectors and investigators from the Greek financial crimes squad SDOE stepping up checks of businesses that don’t issue receipts or pay taxes, a crowd of some 200 people at a religious celebration in the village of Archanes of Heraklion on Crete assaulted government agents, it was reported. The agents were caught up in the crowd which became aroused after it determined who they ...

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Earthquake hits Greece

An earthquake measuring 5.3 degrees on the Richter scale rattled central Greece Wednesday, according to the Euro Mediterranean Seismic Institute. No injuries or material damage have been reported. The epicentre was located near Amfiklia town, some 120 km from here. But tremors were felt across central Greece, including the Greek capital Athens, Xinhua ...

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Greece, an African tragedy

Kathimerini

Greece, an African tragedy Thought Leader Greece has, in essence, become another African tragedy. The IMF's structural adjustment programme (or SAP) was introduced in the late 1970s in response to debt crises in Latin American and African states. In the case of Africa, the IMF imposed ... SYRIZA: Greece's Democratic, Unified Social and Political MovementCenter for Research on Globalization Troika Wants Greek Homes RepossessedGreek Reporter Austerity's Failure in Greece: Time to Think the Unthinkable?Truth-Out Kathimerini -Capital.gr (press release) all 6 news articles »

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Protestors against gold mining in Greece demand alternatives to austerity

The International

Protestors against gold mining in Greece demand alternatives to austerity The International The region of Chalkidiki in northern Greece has become the center of a growing protest movement against the government's economic policies and foreign investment. Local people have taken to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to investments ...

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BRIDGEWATER: Here Are 5 Reasons Why The Euro Crisis Is Far From Over

Interesting note here from Bridgewater on the Euro crisis (via ValueWalk).  They cite 5 reasons why the Euro crisis isn’t over:

1) Financial institution stress tests could raise worries about specific banks

2) Plans for dealing with problematic banks could lead to Cyprus type situation

3) Portugal’s debts problem signals worries for other countries as well

4) France’s continuing debt build up could cause serious problems

5) International attention to all these problems could exacerbate the issues.

They go on to detail several core problems in Europe.  I’ve maintained a similar message in recent years though stated a bit more simplistically.  In my opinion, the single currency system remains unworkable because it has no rebalancing mechanism.  Any single currency system like the Euro or the Dollar will create trade imbalances (for its users – the states in the USA and the countries in Europe).  If those trade imbalances are not rebalanced by a federal tax that redistributes funds then the heavy lifting results in deflationary wage and price rebalancing.  Obviously, there can be no currency rebalancing because they all use the same currency.  So we get what’s going on in places like the periphery of Europe where a crushing deflation is ravaging the economy.

Now, I know “redistribution” is a dirty word, but when you lock yourself into a currency union you have to realize what you’re signing up for and the basic math behind such an arrangement.  And the math in Europe remains ugly.  The debt outstanding in many of these peripheral countries is not declining relative to GDP because the growth in the peripheral countries is not outpacing the rate of debt increase.  So we’re actually seeing debt:GDP levels increase despite austerity.  From a political perspective, this is a disaster because improvement in these ratios is central to the sustainability of the ECB’s bond buying programs.  And yes, that bond buying program is about the only thing holding the Euro together at this point.

The bottom line is, Europe isn’t fixed until the single currency is either broken up or built up into a full union with a proper form of redistribution as exists in the USA (yes, poor states regularly get more federal funding than they pay into the system and that keeps them from turning into Greece).  Until then, it ain’t over til it’s over!

Join the conversation about this story »

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PM to meet with Greek-American investors in NY

Kathimerini

PM to meet with Greek-American investors in NY Kathimerini Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due to meet with the heads of big Greek-American investment firms in New York as part of a three-day US visit that includes a key meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington DC on Thursday. Samaras will ... Samaras in Washington, Kerry First MeetGreek Reporter Samaras prepares for meeting with ObamaCapital.gr (press release) Greece: 'Defensive front against the troika'Presseurop (English) all 4 news articles »

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Greek Wildfire Risk 'Exceptionally Critical'

euronews

Greek Wildfire Risk 'Exceptionally Critical' The Weather Channel ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities announced a series of emergency measures Tuesday to prevent the outbreak of wildfires during a week of high winds and warm temperatures, after firefighters and soldiers spent the night battling a large blaze north of ... Greek authorities announce emergency measures as wildfires rageeuronews Wildfires in Greece prompt emergency measuresUPI.com Residents flee as fire rages at Marathon, near AthensYahoo! News Greek Reporter -Sky News -Neos Kosmos all 21 news articles »

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5.1 magnitude quake hits central Greece Observatory

Athens Observatory , with no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The observatory said the quake hit after midday near the central city of Lamia, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of Athens. It was felt in the capital. It had been preceded by a weaker 4.2 magnitude tremor, the observatory said. "It was a medium quake, in (an) area capable of 5.0-5.5-magnitude quakes," ...

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Greek cop arrests arson suspect

(45 mins ago) A 60-year old Greek man has been arrested as the suspect for an attempted arson near Athens, police announced on Wednesday, as emergency measures to prevent more wildfires were put in force. The elderly man is said to have been detained late Tuesday night near the suburb of Varibobi where a forest fire burnt for several hours causing damages to a bearby house and scorching ...

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5.1 earthquake strikes southern Greece jolts ?felt? in Athens

Natural disasters A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit southern Greece some 125 km north of Athens Wednesday. Witnesses said tremors were felt in the capital. The quake was registered at the depth of 15.6km, the US Geological Survey ...

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No debate please were Europeans

By Nick MalkoutzisOn the eve of Greece agreeing its first EU-IMF bailout in May 2010, the CEO of investment firm PIMCO, Mohamed El-Erian, expressed doubts about the package, what it demanded of Greece and whether the Europeans would be able to manage the process. "This is a daunting challenge," he wrote in ...

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Destroying Greece To Save It

Greeks are being left for dead by a government critics said doesn't care about health care and has ignored protests even when people were lying in the street. Troika scoundrels are looting Greece. They're destroying it. They're waging financial war. They partnered with corrupt Greek officials. They're strip-mining Greece for profit. It's the epicenter of global pillage. ...

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Samaras in Washington Kerry First Meet

Beginning an eight-day visit to the United States, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will start on Aug. 7 with a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry, a day before sitting down with President Barack Obama to talk about Greece’s crushing economic crisis and foreign policy issues. The meeting with Kerry is expected to be focused on bilateral issues, as well as the general situation ...

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Movie review

Inquirer.net

Movie review | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters: Potter-like Greek romp seems ... Columbus Dispatch Any thoughts that a second “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” film would drag Rick Riordan's “ Greek godchildren” franchise out of the shadow of Harry Potter are dashed the moment that Percy and his “half-blood” friends pile into a supernatural taxi in ... Rick Riordan taps Greek myths for his popular 'Percy Jackson' seriesInquirer.net Plausibility aside, bedtime story fit for the Greek godsVancouver Sun Watch These Instead:IGN Filmoria -ScreenCrush -ComingSoon.net all 143 news articles »

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Earthquake rattles Greek capital

Sky News Australia

Earthquake rattles Greek capital Inquirer.net ATHENS — An earthquake which the US Geological Survey says had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has rattled central Greece and was felt in the country's capital, Athens. There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries. Wednesday's quake ... 5.1 Earthquake Strikes Southern GreeceGreek Reporter Moderate earthquake hits central GreeceXinhua all 14 news articles »

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