Greece Should Prosecute Golden Dawns Crimes Not Beliefs

Rapt members of the extremist Greek Golden Dawn party at a rally where they are regularly whipped into a frenzy against immigrants, Jews, bankers and politicians. In a Financial Times column, Weekly Standard Senior Editor Christopher Caldwell agreed with Greece's process in attempting to prosecute the far-right Golden Dawn Party as a criminal organization, but cautioning that as unpopular ...

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The fear and the fury

by  Monnet Matters

Greece is clamping down on the Golden Dawn. After years of steadily rising support, which now sees them as the third largest party in the state, the authorities have decided that the political party is indeed not a political party, but a political party masquerading as a criminal organisation. Justice, it seems, is to be administered at last.

Of course, by reacting in this way, the authorities, the government and judiciary, are running huge risks. In the wake of the recent murder of left-wing musician, Pavlos Fyssas, by a self-confessed Golden Dawn supporter, and which drew international headlines, the government was stirred into action against the party. It’s leaders, Nikolaos Michaloliakos and Christos Pappas have both been arrested; newspapers told of night raids, the police snatching them from their beds. Their supporters have reacted angrily. The political system is once again in crisis mode.

The Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi party straight out of the 1930s, are the sad symptoms of not just the financial and social crises, but of the inability of politicians, both at European and national levels, to address it firmly. Golden Dawn has 18 MPs, meaning a clampdown or a proscribing of the party could de-stabilise an already fragile situation further. 

Greece takes over the presidency of the European Council in January. During its six-month tenure, there will be elections to the European Parliament. It wants to clean its house before presiding over its EU colleagues. It appears to be using a cudgel instead of a feather duster. 

But the panic being felt in Greece, is a panic that, if not manifested in the same way, is rising elsewhere. Across Europe, the crisis has brought about an alarming shift to the far-right, as well as it’s slightly-less extreme cousin, populism. In the former category, are the likes of Golden Dawn and, in Hungary, Jobbik. Both, with their insignias and dress code, closely resemble fascists of the past; those who stalked Italy, Germany, Span and the UK, for example, in the inter-war years during the depression. When a group of economists recently warned that we are in danger of repeating the mistakes of the Treaty of Versailles, it is perhaps these parties, more than others, that typify this; if only for their obvious visual parallel. 

Elsewhere, parties such as the Danish people’s Party, The True Finns and the Swedish Democrats, not obvious throwbacks in the same way as the other two, but each with a hardcore Nazi-inspired centre, are seeking to gain ground electorally. In Austria, the far-right Freedom party extended its support in the recent elections. In France, the National Front is on the brink of respectability. Even Norway, has seen the rise of an anti-immigration party, Progress. 

Only in the UK, it seems, is the trend is reversing, with its own National Front seeing support shrink dramatically. Those votes, though, are, in some ways, being picked-up by the Eurosceptic Ukip. That party, like the spanner-in-the-works jokers of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star movement in Italy are cashing-in on the anti-politics feeling. Populism is another fear facing the establishment.

In the UK, the swift decline of the National Front, so soon after it peaked electorally around 2004-2005, is due to a political response from, not just the left, but the centre-right. Anti-fascist campaigners exposed their workings and agendas, as is now been done with Ukip. Greece has taken the other route, attempting to shove the problem out of the spotlight. Nobody wakes up one morning and decides to be a fascist; but this phenomenon can be overcome with ideas. But the one thing that the political establishment is short on these days is ideas. They fear discussion. Survival beyond the next election is what matters. If that can be achieved, then maybe everything else will sort itself out somehow. Now, what could possibly go wrong?

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Bad bank model gains ground in Greece

KathimeriniBad bank model gains ground in GreeceKathimeriniGreek banks will have to isolate their troubled assets from the rest to help build the trust of investors and depositors, put an end to doubts and make a fresh start. The top executives of two large banks said last week they intend to do this in the ...

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Greece vows to eradicate police links to neo-Nazis

Athens (AFP) - Greece is determined to rid its police force of any links with Golden Dawn, the minister for public order said Sunday, after the arrest of officers with ties to the neo-Nazi party.

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Opa!

Greek pastry isn’t all just nuts and honey. There’s a lot more to the Greek pastry plate than meets the eye. In fact, there’s really very little honey in it.

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Serbia and Greece stroll through Group 6

Both teams had already secured elite round berths after two games following wins against Andorra and Estonia. Hosts Serbia took first place, though, a superior goal difference proving decisive after Branislav Nikolic's charges played out a goalless draw ...

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Turkey replies to Greek criticism on Halki recalling lack of rights of Turkish ...

Hurriyet Daily NewsTurkey replies to Greek criticism on Halki recalling lack of rights of Turkish ...Hurriyet Daily NewsThe situation of the Greek Orthodox citizens in Turkey are more progressive than the rights of the Turkish minority in Greece, spokesperson of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Levent Gümrükçü said in a written statement. Reforms made for the minorities of ...Promised legal reforms disappoint Turkey's religious minoritiesChristianTodayall 2 news articles »

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RIVERSIDE: Festival brings Greek culture alive

RIVERSIDE: Festival brings Greek culture alivePress-EnterprisePeople view the art work under the large dome on top of St. Andrew Church modeled after the 14th Century Church of Saint Katherine in Thessaloniki, Greece during a tour the 2013 Riverside Greek Fest at the St. Andrew Church in Riverside on Saturday, Oct.

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A Good Night: A Different Greece

It was a night dedicated to a Greece that has been wounded by its long-running economic crisis. But it was different. It was an event that evoked unity and displayed purpose and dynamism. Everybody - almost everybody - was there. A former U.S. President and the current Prime Minister of Greece. Presidents of large companies. Entrepreneurs. Professionals, including doctors, lawyers and journalists, and spiritual leaders from across the country. They packed the elegant hall on Park Ave and 63d Street for the inaugural banquet of The Hellenic Initiative, whose aim is the immediate and long term economic development of Greece.

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Tsipras Disputes Report His Phone Tapped

The leader of the major opposition party Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA,) Alexis Tsipras, has said a report that he told his party’s lawmakers during a meeting with them that he believes the government is listening on his telephone calls and has tapped it unlawfully was false. The allegation was reported by RealNews which […]

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Italian Tour Operators Visit Crete

Some 170 Italian tourism operators visited Crete with the aim of increasing visitors from their country to the popular island. The Italian tour operators represent more than 3,500 travel agencies and arrived in Heraklion to make their travel plan for the season of 2014. They were welcomed at the airport Nikos Kazantzakis by the local […]

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Bundesbank expecting new bailout for Greece

The required cuts Greece has already received two bailouts from the European Union and IMF totaling 240 billion euros, with 90 percent of those funds already paid out to Athens. It is to receive the rest of the funds by the end of 2014. Last week ...

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This Chart Shows The Relationship Between Hours Worked And Productivity

BERTRAND RUSSELL, the English philosopher, was not a fan of work. In his 1932 essay, “In Praise of Idleness”, he reckoned that if society were better managed the average person would only need to work four hours a day. Such a small working day would “entitle a man to the necessities and elementary comforts of life.” The rest of the day could be devoted to the pursuit of science, painting and writing.

Russell thought that technological advancement could free people from toil. John Maynard Keynes mooted a similar idea in a 1930 essay, "Economic possibilities for our grandchildren", in which he reckoned people might need work no more than 15 hours per week by 2030. But over eighty years after these speculations people seem to be working harder than ever. The Financial Times reports today that Workaholics Anonymous groups are taking off. Over the summer Bank of America faced intense criticism after a Stakhanovite intern died.

But data from the OECD, a club of rich countries, tell a more positive story. For the countries for which data are available the vast majority of people work fewer hours than they did in 1990: 

And it seems that more productive—and, consequently, better-paid—workers put in less time in at the office. The graph below shows the relationship between productivity (GDP per hour worked) and annual working hours:

The Greeks are some of the most hardworking in the OECD, putting in over 2,000 hours a year on average. Germans, on the other hand, are comparative slackers, working about 1,400 hours each year. But German productivity is about 70% higher.

One important question concerns whether appetite for work actually diminishes as people earn more. There are countervailing effects. On the one hand, a higher wage raises the opportunity cost of leisure time and should lead people to work more. On the other hand, a higher income should lead a worker to consume more of the stuff he or she enjoys, which presumably includes leisure.

Some research shows that higher pay does not, on net, lead workers to do more. Rather, they may work less. A famous study by Colin Camerer and colleagues, which looked at taxi drivers, reached a controversial conclusion. The authors suggested that taxi drivers had a daily income "target", and that:

When wages are high, drivers will reach their target more quickly and quit early; on low-wage days they will drive longer hours to reach the target.

 Alternatively, the graph above might suggest that people who work fewer hours are more productive. This idea is not new. Adam Smith reckoned that

[T]he man who works so moderately as to be able to work constantly, not only preserves his health the longest, but in the course of the year, executes the greatest quantity of works.

There are aberrations, of course. Americans are relatively productive and work relatively long hours. And within the American labour force hours worked among the rich have risen while those of the poor have fallen. But a paper released yesterday by the New Zealand Productivity Commission showed that even if you work more hours, you do not necessarily work better. The paper made envious comparisons between Kiwis and Australians—the latter group has more efficient workers.

So maybe we should be more self-critical about how much we work. Working less may make us more productive. And, as Russell argued, working less will guarantee “happiness and joy of life, instead of frayed nerves, weariness, and dyspepsia."

Join the conversation about this story »

    

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TAXIDI: Nine Top Greek Islands

(CNN) - Greece's 1,400 islands - 230 of them inhabited - are one of the Mediterranean's most beautiful assets. From the Ionians, up by Albania in the northwest, to the Dodecanese, near Turkey in the southeast, they offer vacations you can't get many other places. Each of the island groups has its unique allure, plus some of the most picturesque seascapes on Earth. But for sheer variety in a small radius, proximity to Athens' ferry port at Piraeus and the best inter-island boat connections, none compete with the Cyclades. We present the top nine islands in and around the Cyclades, each with its marquee attraction (for ferry schedules, check www.gtp.gr or www.greekferries.gr).

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Greece should crack down on crimes, not beliefs

By Christopher Caldwell In mid-September, polls showed that at least a 10th of Greeks would consider voting for the nationalist and anti-immigrant Golden Dawn party. One of its MPs was looking the favourite to become mayor of Athens in next year?s elections. And at just that moment, a group of about 30 men, allegedly party sympathisers, surrounded a leftwing singer outside a cafe near the Athenian waterfront and killed him. The man who confessed to the deadly stabbing was a regular visitor at party offices in nearby Nikea. There had been reports that Golden Dawn members bullied immigrants, extorted money from street vendors and showed traits of a paramilitary organisation. Too few people paid attention. But before dawn on Saturday last week, police dressed in balaclavas began arresting dozens of party members. Eventually, six parliamentarians, including the party?s leader and deputy leader, were arrested, along with several police officers.

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Cyprus Antiquities Department Introduces Tours for the Blind

The Cyprus Department of Antiquities has launched a pilot tour program for the Blind, giving the opportunity to people with visual disabilities to visit various archeological sites of great importance. On Saturday, a group of people visited the famous House of Dionysos, part of the Paphos Mosaics in the southwest coast of the island. The […]

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Tsochatzopoulos Verdict Due This Week

After 18 months in detention, and already sentenced to eight years in jail for failing to declare the source of his wealth, former Greek defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos and his 18 co-defendants charged with the crime of money laundering and corruption will know their fate soon, with a decision expected from a three-member judiciary panel. […]

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Greek system at UA (Your view)

A recent writer characterizes the fraternities and sororities at the University of Alabama as"bratty,elite, rich and racist." As a graduate of the University and a member of a fraternity there, I believe that he paints us with too broad a brush.

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The Folly of Banning Golden Dawn

Last June, an incident on Greek television revealed a disturbingly prescient commentary on Golden Dawn, the far-right political party whose rise over the past two years has shocked Europe. Ilias Kasidiaris, a young party member and Parliamentarian, was sitting alongside two female politicians on a political chat show. When Rena Dorou, a member of the upstart radical SYRIZA party, challenged him over his alleged role in an assault on a university professor, Kasidiaris dumped his glass of water over her head. Outraged, Communist Party member Liana Kanelli stood up in protest to reprimand him, leading Kasidiaris chivalrous young - chivalrous young Fascist that he is - to slap the 58-year-old woman hard across the head three times. The assault by Kasidiaris - whose other great claim to fame was his denial of the Holocaust during a June parliamentary debate - comes immediately to mind in light of the news that Greek authorities have belatedly decided to crack down on Golden Dawn, a neo-Fascist movement that has existed, in one form or another, for over 30 years and whose political platform can roughly be ascertained by a mere glance at its logo (One of the party?s foundational texts claims that Adolf Hitler, who invaded and occupied Greece, was a ?visionary of new Europe,? a description that, though factually true, Golden Dawn meant as an accolade).

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FOTOGRAFIA: G-Bo's in the House!

He never played a minute for Greece's national team (although he did play for the Under-20 team at the world championships where he fizzled out in a disappointing performance) but the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association thought enough of the potential of Giannis Antetokounmpo, son of Nigerian immigrants who settled in Athens, to make him their number one draft pick this year. He was the star attraction during the team's media day on Sept. 30 in St. Francis, Wisconsin and Milwaukee fans, not wanting to deal with that long moniker of a name, have tabbed him G-Bo. Bet the announcers are glad too because if they tried to say his name during the game the play would be over before they did. Only 18, the 6-10 forward said he knows he's not ready for the bump-and-grind of the NBA, a league that eats up young prospects, but the Bucks like his potential.

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Should women change their names after marriage? Ask a Greek woman

Since 1983, Greece has required women to keep their birth names for life. It's a model worth thinking about

To change or not to change our last names when we marry. For many women in the UK, US, Australia and beyond, this is a complex dilemma that requires much angst, pondering, and discussion over drinks with girlfriends. I have even been asked by a boyfriend what my "surname intentions" were. Do we go the traditional route or keep our own personal and professional identity? Recently, Kate Winslet jumped into the foray with revelations about why she kept her name during her three marriages, and Emma Watson stirred things up by tweeting that Hermione Granger would almost certainly keep the Granger name.

But here's a little advice you probably haven't heard before. If you're contemplating whether or not to change your name, talk to a Greek woman (or man).

When I called Maria Karamessini, director of the Center for Gender Studies at Panteion University in Athens, she was stunned when I told her how much debate recent articles in the Guardian and other publications had generated on this topic.

You see, Greece enacted a law in 1983 that all women must keep their birth surname. Period.

It was part of a major set of reforms Greece enacted in the late 1970s and early 1980s as the country emerged from a dictatorship and re-wrote its constitution and laws. Maria Karamessini was a college student at the time and took part in feminist movement campaigns for gender equality. As she tells it:

For women, it was an emancipation to keep our own names after marriage. Greece had the most progressive laws in Europe in 1983, and not only for the last names of women. Our feminist movement changed mentalities, but it was gradual. We went from a very traditional society with traditional gender roles.

For the past 30 years, Greece has been a test case for what society would be like if women never changed their last names. It offers a very different model from how women in Britain and America have come to think about this debate. The conclusion most feminists come to is that the ideal is for women to have the ability to chose what they want and men to go along with it. But as studies have shown (or just a casual look around your circle of friends), many women still adopt their husband's name, even when they have other options. In short, societal norms and pressure are hard to alter.

For Greek women, the 1983 law change coincided with a period of great strides for females. They got out of the home and began earning more college degrees and playing a bigger role in society. Of course, these advancements weren't just because women could keep their own surnames, but it set a dramatically different tone in a country known for tradition and godfather patriarch types.

Young Greeks in their 20s and 30s today accept it as the norm. They think about names and identities a lot differently than most other countries do. Boyfriends don't ask their girlfriends about their surname intentions. Violet Tsagkas grew up in Athens, came to the US for graduate school and now writes for Fem2.0. As she told me: "It never occurred to me that [Greece] was unique until I started interacting more with foreigners, particularly after I moved to the US."

Overall, Greeks have had very few problems with the new system. Occasionally, it causes confusion. One Greek woman who helps administer a school told me that it can be challenging to call up students' parents, especially the mothers. She has taken to simply ringing them up and saying something to the effect of, "Are you John's mom?" No one finds that offensive.

The other issue that has arisen for some Greek women is traveling abroad, especially to the Middle East. Greek couples show up with different last names in their passports and some conservative societies don't believe they are actually married. It's not a widespread problem though, and it could be easily solved with a simple marriage certificate that Greek couples could carry abroad if needed. But the conservative government in 2008 used it as justification to change the law slightly so that spouses can decide if they want to add the other spouse's last name to their own. Women (and men) still have to keep their birth name, but they can have both last names now. Data are hard to come by on how many women have taken this option.

One of the big debates in feminist circles is whether it's really any better for women to keep their maiden names, which often are their father's last name. Is that really liberating? Here, too, Greece is progressive. When children are born, parents are get to decide if the child will have the mother's last name, the father's last name or both.

Yes, the name issue only goes so far to help women. Iran, for example, has had a similar system to Greece for about a century, yet Iranian women continue to struggle for many rights. Narges Bajoghli, a scholar on Iran, says that one benefit of Iran's system is that women still have a clear connection to their birth family, which has been valuable to women who find themselves in abusive relationships or other troubles and want to leave their marriages. The flip side, however, is that it has made young girls' "honor" an important part of family life.

This debate will continue in many countries, but Greece's example has altered my thinking. Perhaps we shouldn't just be talking about giving women options, but questioning why we are 30 years behind Greece.

WomenGenderMarriageUnited StatesGreeceHeather Longtheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Jewish-Greek businessman's struggle against anti-Semitism

Israel haters thought they could teach me a lesson, that I would shut up through personal disapproval, but it didn't happen." He further claimed his personal persecution was intentional: "I am a successful and young businessman, and since I made aliyah in ...

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The ABC of Greek cuisine

Times of IndiaThe ABC of Greek cuisineTimes of IndiaIt's strange to list this last when Ouzo — Arak for the Arabs, Pastis to the French and Raki or "lion's milk" to the Turkish — is actually the first thing to be thrown back at any Greek ge together. First mixed by 14th century monks on the turquoise ...Greek 101Mumbai Mirrorall 2 news articles »

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Smoke and mirrors

by  Cillian Donnelly

As the European Parliament prepares to vote on the tobacco products directive in Strasbourg, the institutions and industry appear to be heading towards a collision course on how certain products should be regulated. 

The legislation, which has proved controversial after apparent industry pressure to delay the vote until after the European Parliament elections (and with it an attendant new European Commission) has dominated pre-vote discussions. As it turned out, the conference of presidents in the European Parliament have allowed the vote to go ahead on  8 October. 

The legislation essentially centres around five key issues; the main ones being regulation f next generation products, a ban on menthol and slim products, health warnings and packaging and e-cigarettes. 

The last point has proved the most controversial, with particular focus on the activities of the tobacco giant Philip Morris, whose lobbying tactics have gained it huge scrutiny. 

In an effort to have input into the directive, the company has hired 160 additional staff, primarily designed to target the EU institutions, has held around 230 meetings with MEPs, and, as an additional investment, spent €1.5 million on lobbying on this specific dossier. 

“At some point lobbying amounts to intimidation,” one European Council source said. The main substance of the directive was negotiated under the Irish presidency of the firs half of this year. Irish sources acknowledge the industry tactics. Any splintering of the parliament will undermine its negotiating mandate with the council if it to receive a first reading. A second reading, which would mean picking-up the pieces from where this directive leaves off – disrupted, as it will be, by a new parliamentary and commission mandate in may next year – is something that benefits industry. The situation is “on a knife’s edge” according to council sources.

On 4 October,  health ministers from 16 member states released a joint press staement urging an institutional agreement. Those member states were Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Absent from the list are those “blocking minorities” as well as key tobacco-growing states such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania. 

According to Irish sources in the council, who remain strong on clamping down on tobacco usage, they are confident an agreement can be reached under the Lithuanian presidency, which expires at the end of the year. 

But even there is an acknowledgement of a steeping over the line from the “huge lobbying campaign.”

Tobacco giants Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) have both  being lobbying heavily around the area of novel cigarette products and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes); the latter being a particular concern of BAT, where it has stated ambitions to be the market leader. By 2023, it is predicted sales of e-cigarettes will outsell traditional cigarettes. 

The intense lobbying assault caused much concern in Brussels, with accusations that the tobacco industry has being virtually writing amendments. Despite denials, the main amendments, largely tabled by centre-right MEPs, are close to how industry would like things. One centre-right MEP, Karl-Heinz Florenz, tried to resist the lobby effort, but was over-ruled by this EPP group. He has been dubbed “the good one” by the Greens, who want tougher regulations on tobacco products, including a ban on menthols cigarettes and plain packaging. Prominent health warnings should also be placed at the top of cigarette packets, rather than the bottom, as favoured by industry.  

The group is also resistant to products such as cigarettes being covered by consumer legislation. However, the Greens admit that the numbers are stacked against them. “We don’t have enough liberals and right-wingers on our side” Green MEP Carl Schlyter said on 3 October. “There is a big risk we will lose e-cigarettes to consumer legislation.”

According to Green co-president, Rebecca Harms, the tobacco industry specifically targeted would-be allies amongst MEPs. Certain key member states, particularly those that benefit economically from tobacco, have also been identified as forming a potential blocking minority in council; France, Italy, Poland, and  possibly also Germany and Spain. 

The tobacco lobbying effort proved to be “a very dark experience” for the parliament, Harms told journalists on 3 October. “We have to re-thing the rules, of what happens between lawmakers in our house and representatives of industry.”

Harms, along with Shylter, the group’s negotiator on the directive, wrote to the  European Parliament President, Martin Schulz, requesting a “zero tolerance” attitude for members who break conventions on meeting with representatives of the tobacco industry. The EU institutions are supposed to follow World Health Organisation rules on contact with the industry, but the Greens allege they are constantly breached. It was on this basis that European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, justified his dismissal of former health commissioner John Dalli.

“You can draw clear conclusions from this,” said Schylter, “when Barroso sacks someone on these grounds, but there are no consequences for MEPs. They are breaking the rules, if not the actual law.”

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Solidarity no more

by  New Europe

Europeans, especially those living in countries affected significantly by the economic crisis, have seen their lives mired in uncertainty for the past few years. 

Living standards in some countries have dropped dramatically, a drop precipitated - if not engineered as some say- by the policies of strict austerity proscribed from Brussels. 

A series of revolutions in neighbouring countries have been metastasising ever closer and transforming into wars, coups and rule by militia. 

As a result of those and other wars a steady stream of people is landing, if they are lucky as the Lampedusa tragedy shows, on European shores, stressing the already crumbling state services of member states crippled by the crisis like Greece. 

The global economy is transforming, the personable age is being raised, education is in some cases becoming a paid-for luxury. 

But all these plagues on all our houses, even though in many cases they have resulted in a drop for support and trust for the EU, have also made most Europeans appreciate its founding principles. 

Greeks and Cypriots have moved money and in some cases even businesses abroad and individuals from all crisis-sticken countries, have made their way to other EU member states to find employment and a better future. 

Now as we report in this issue, politicians from member states on the receiving end of internal migration are asking for caps on the numbers of people moving within the EU, undermining not only the reason for which the Union was founded, but what little trust and support this supranational construction of ours has. 

Commissioner Malmstrom recently spoke of the need for solidarity with members states that receive great number of immigrants from outside the Union. How about starting with solidarity for Europeans who find themselves in difficult times and use the Union for the purpose its founders envisaged.

Perhaps Solidarity is not the right word and it's use might be counter – productive in Europe today? Why not exchange it for “Self – preservation” that might better reflect the situation the European Union finds itself rapidly approaching?

Self – preservation not as in a  “free for all” as any individual country trying to secure for themselves exceptions and researching means to circumvent the major cornerstones on which the European Union is based, but collective self – preservation on a European level by at least resisting the short-sightedness that seems to be gripping the continent lately.

 

 

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Golden Dawn Plummets, Still In Third

A second poll in a week has seen support for Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party fall like a rock after its leaders were arrested on charges of running a criminal gang, but the extremists barely maintained their standing in third place among voters, not far ahead of the once-might PASOK Socialists. As the party’s leaders […]

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Olympic flame handed over to Russia for Sochi games

AFP The Olympic flame that was lit last Sunday at the birthplace of the ancient Games in Olympia and taken on a six-day trek across Greece was handed over on Saturday to the Russian organisers of next year’s Sochi Winter games. Standard

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New Greek & Italian wine bar brings local ingredients to the table

New Greek & Italian wine bar brings local ingredients to the tableThe Bowdoin OrientEnoteca Athena, a new restaurant and wine bar, joins The Little Dog Coffee Sshop, Little Tokyo and Little Saigon on Maine Street, as the little sister Tratorria Athena, a Parents' Weekend favorite. Enoteca Athena has the same cozy atmosphere and ...

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Tackling slowdown Tips India can take from Greece to boost tourism

Not the most predictable of destinations, Greece is attracting a large number of tourists - despite, or perhaps because of, a precarious ...

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Olympic Flame Ceremony Draws Gay Protesters In Greece

ATHENS, Greece -- ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Olympic flame was handed to organizers of the Sochi Winter Olympics in a ceremony at the site of the first modern summer games on Saturday. Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a high priestess, who lit ...

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The 62nd Annual Greek Festival in Portland (photos)

OregonLive.comThe 62nd Annual Greek Festival in Portland (photos)OregonLive.comSunny weather brought out some big crowds to the 62nd Annual Greek Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Saturday in Northeast Portland. The event, featuring authentic Greek food, dancing and music, continues on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, ...

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