How the world sees Greece
… their lives trying to reach Greece's Aegean islands. The … perpetrated in the Aegean." Greece became the main gateway for … their boat sank off a Greek island. The gesture came 24 … torch will be lit in Greece's ancient Olympia on …
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NICOSIA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have agreed on details for UN-sponsored reunification talks in the coming months, the two said after a meeting on Friday. Sources said on condition ...
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Metsovo, Imerovigli and Galaxidi are three Greek destinations with the best hotels, according to trivago Reputation Ranking survey. Metsovo was rated ...
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A GREEK football match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest in a moving tribute to migrants who have lost their lives trying to ...
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Refugees are traveling through Turkey, taking small boats to Lesbos before being ferried to Athens, GREECE, about 14 hours away. From there, they ...
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A GREEK match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest in a moving tribute to migrants who have lost their lives trying to reach ...
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The International Longshoremen's Union staged a walkout Friday at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the most significant labor action at the ...
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As the crowd entered The Achaeans' annual bal masque, the conversation was a mix of the Carnival season and of how lucky New Orleans was to not ...
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[Footballers Stage Migrants Tribute Before Game]A Greek football match was delayed when players staged a sit-down protest as a tribute to migrants who have died trying to reach Greece's Aegean islands. The gesture happened before kick-off in the second-tier Football League match between AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos in the Thessalian city of Larissa.
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THE WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS OF OUR TIME [2016-01-26-1453849691-4999006-dralisonthompson.png] First, a little bit about me. I'm a volunteer documenting my experience on Lesbos, Greece. Most of my video is raw footage. You might hear my voice in the background asking questions. Dr. Alison Thompson as well as others agreed to explain what is going on when they are in action. Everything is unscripted and some of the footage might be hard to hear or out of focus or even not perfectly shot when trying to document and not be in the way. I arrive to the Island of Lesbos (Lesvos - no one knows the correct way to say it) Greece. It is late and you get the feel of arriving into a small airport, even more so when you exit the plane via stairs outside. Dr. Alison Thompson was waiting for me along with the Third Wave Volunteer group (Maeve from Ireland, Julie from Costa Rica, and driver, Max. We caravanned an hour through the hills to a small fishing village on the other side of the island called Skala Sikawnias. Thousands of Olive Trees and home to its own ouzo liquor brand. This Island is normally closed during this time of year but since the refugees and volunteers are in the area every shop is open. I was told being open in Winter was needed due to the poor summer tourist season. Most people (as I did) think the entire island is run with sick refugees who are freezing and starving. I found it to be very different. On the ride to Skala I rarely found any refugees on the streets. After arriving to the fishing village Skala I checked into my 'Kimpton boutique like' hotel with every accommodation you could imagine (Wi-Fi, hot water, comfy bed, TV, heater, fresh fluffy towels, and an orange tree outside my window). In this video Dr. Alison Thompson and a local fisherman are talking about the beauty of Greece and that it isn't all about Refugees. I woke to birds singing at my window, put on some warm clothes and ventured down to one of the three cafe's. Ordered fresh squeezed orange juice, omelet, and Latte. As I waited for the food I hear volunteers screaming 'A boat is here' and we all drop what we are doing and run at least 400 yards to where a boat of refugees arrive. I found that the Refugees getting off the boats from Turkey are people just like me who have fled their homes with modern clothing and cell phones and families with small children. I rushed into tears seeing the volunteers getting their feet wet and helping the refugees to shore. In this video you will see and hear the refugees landing in a 'good area' of Skala where there are many volunteers. Dr. Alison Thompson talks at the end of the video about what you are seeing. After the boat comes in you see a few vans (1 or 2) able to drive Mothers, children, old people, and handicapped to the Stage 2 of their journey. Stage 2 take you to a smaller camp a few miles up the road. In this video I speak with a volunteer from Jerusalem who is driving one of the vans to stage 2. He also helped me translate asking one of the refugees how much he paid for each of his family to take the boat ride from Turkey. The Syrian Refugee said 1200 euro per person. From the same boat I meet Baby Jude. A Syrian baby with pneumonia. Maeve the Third Wave volunteer nurse from Ireland has the dilemma where she has to abide to her countries rules and regulations and needs to wait for a doctor to arrive and examine the baby and prescribe. Luckily Dr. from Norway was close by. Also in this video volunteer Abraham talks to me about why he is here and shows the Light House camp that helps the refugees as they get off the boats. This is the only facility steps from the boats where they feed cloth and can also accommodate 300 people who come off the boats late at night. Another boat arrives and this one is different. It is full of mostly men (some children) and I felt it to be sketchy when a man got off the boat with a scarf covering his face. Maybe it was because the recent Paris attacks to add to my suspicion. Maeve felt the same way. In this video you will see a man covering his face and Maeve talks about her concerns. After Maeve had been in Skala for a few days she changed her thoughts on the man and thinks he might have been cold. In this video I spoke with a Local and Dr. Alison Thompson about the man in a mask. I ran into a former US Assemblywoman Sally Lieber and asked her who the refugees are and she talks about the surge of young men arriving on the boats. Sally said most of the young men are placed on the boats from family members to get them away from assimilating into ISIS. This is that video [photo http://1drv.ms/1KuFSv0 ] In this video volunteer Julie Santos from United States/Costa Rica describes the process of getting on a boat from Turkey and then she gives her reasons for being a volunteer when she is 5 months pregnant. And then we go back to the cafe and have our lattes, fresh squeezed orange juice and delicious food. It was a weird feeling living in luxury as though we were on vacation then jumping up the help the refugees. I felt like I was a fireman on call waiting for the next fire while watching the beautiful waves. In this video you will find my view As the days turned into nights and everything started to merge together as a really long day I kept documenting and volunteering non-stop. Sometimes the boats would stop for a 1/2 day and sometimes the boats would come in 10 at a time. This video demonstrates a good day for the refugee boat arriving Skala. The Greek lifeguard tows the boat in, waves are low, volunteers are abundant, and no major health issues. Dr. from Norway recaps the status of the boat arriving. This video shows the view the refugees have when they land in the right place that is full of volunteers from Adventis Help, Light House, and Third Wave. Dr. Alison Thompson describes the scene. You might be curious as to the quality of the boat. In this video Maeve looks at one the boats that has just arrived. In this video a local talks about how he is recycling the boats for livestock covers. So that is 1200 to 2000 euro to take the 1 1/2 hour voyage from Turkey. There are 60 to 80 people in each boat and 40-75 boats a day on average. You pay the money and funnel into the boat in Turkey. The lucky person in the back is named captain and gets to steer the motor. If you leave in the morning you have a great chance of arriving in the day light and can steer straight. If you leave or get lost and arrive at night you might not reach the correct area which is trouble. Might I add, Syrians are not water people. Most do not know how to swim and babies are not wearing life jackets. In this video it is starting to get dark. Abraham the volunteer from Light House are waving an orange vest to get the attention of the refugee boat. It is another good voyage from Turkey, the boat got towed by Greek lifeguards, and many volunteers to help. Meet the silent heroes of Lesbos, Greece. The local Fishermen don't want to take any credit for saving refugees from the sea. The fishermen take time out of their livelihood of catching fish and spend it towing in refugee boats and guiding the way for many at night. In this video local Alison talks about the silent volunteer, the fishermen. This is the scene local Alison was talking about. The boat was at sea lost in the dark for 10 hours. Fisherman directed the raft to the closest area away from the treacherous lighthouse beakon. The boat full of refugees landed on the tip of the outside of the marina wall in Skala. [photo http://1drv.ms/1ZRVsgp ] Fishermen whistle and again, the volunteers leave the dinner table and rush to help. This video is a little difficult to watch. lots of screaming, chaos, and a woman faints several times. My main job was to try and keep the rocky pitch black area lighted. Dr. Alison Thompson describes the scene and a woman is treated for exhaustion close to the end of the video. The Lighthouse should be a beaken of light but it is a treacherous hike riddled with pirates. In this video Dr. Alison Thompson talks about the dangers of the Lighthouse for the Refugees on boats. In this video Dr. Alison Thompson is closer to the Lighthouse and explains more. I began to realizing the refugees aren't all Syrian. You have Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the list goes of countries on and on. I even came across a guy from the Dominican Republic. Adventist Help volunteer, Dr. Michael-John Von Horsten is from South Africa is volunteering on the shore indefinitely. He runs the medical bus and is one of the most important places when helping refugees. In this video Dr. Michael-John Von Horsten talks about what he is doing and what he is seeing in Lesbos Greece. One of the constants for the refugees is they all arrive cold, wet, and broken in some way. Here is a video showing cold and wet [https://youtu.be/36w17B4qNIY ] Another video of refugees helped into the Adventis mini hospital with asthma. Dr. Alison Thompson is talking. Mother consoling daughter as they landed in Lesbos Greece Dr. Michael-John Von Horsten (Dr. Mike) from South Africa talks about women fainting and then a pregnant women is helped into the Adventis bus after being crushed on the boat. Then Dr. Mike Helps a 14 year old boy with a gunshot wound in his face Then a man came off the boat who was shot in the hand Another major injury and this man was stabbed in the arms In this video Dr. Alison Thompson talks about the 4 young girls she treated who were raped in Turkey before they got on the boat and then showing another boat arrive with a woman passed out. This video is showing volunteers swimming to bring the boat in and then organizing to bring the babies ashore. No matter which volunteer group you are from they all work together when it really counts. In this video Dr. Alison and Dr. Mike work together to make this child healthy and Happy You get the idea.. as a volunteer you don't know what you will see from boat to boat, day after day. The island is perfect for star gazing but not for crossing the road from beach to refugee aid stations at night. Dr. Alison Thompson brought solar lights (she raised money for them, $15 each) to light the streets and to give to the refugees. After lighting up the road I went back to one of the Skala cafes for dinner and notice a man sleeping in a chair. He was there every night sleeping in a chair as soon as the cafe closed (3am). His name is Aslam and his a Syrian Refugee and a volunteer. This is his video talking about his experience. Then the G20 summit was happening in Turkey and there were no boats all night. The next morning a few more boats. In this video you will see Dr. Alison Thompson and a refugee from Syria talking about going to Germany for school. This video is with a Syrian Refugee (He declined to show his face) talks about his journey and how his family is looking for a 'safe' country. I headed to the treacherous lighthouse with Dr. Alison Thompson & the Third Wave volunteers and a local fisherman on his boat. Third Wave is dropping off supplies to help with any refugee stranded at night. In this video Dr. Alison Thompson shows the scene and then has a conversation with the local fisherman. The local fisherman said they try to steer the refugee boats where to go and he said the refugees just don't listen. He said the refugees just want to get on land. More of their conversation talking about the life jackets Former Assemblywoman Sally Leiber also talks about the life jackets This really is one of the questions, what to do with 1/2 million and growing live jackets on Lesbos Greece. If only the lighthouse was really a beaken of light but right now on the island of Lesbos it is the danger of the refugee arriving by boat. The volunteers are crucial. Santa Ho is a volunteer for Third Wave talks about her parents being refugees and how they managed with 10 children. Then you have the GoDoctors helping the refugees & volunteers cope with acupuncture. They worked on me for 5 minutes putting needles in my ears. After feeling a bit weird and wondering why I was doing this when the hospital was for refugees I started to cry. GoDoctors said it was me being able to focus on my pain and let it out. I did feel better a few hours later. Still weird. [photo http://1drv.ms/1OLsXGI ] Traveling to the Refugee Camp called Moiria (an hour away from Skala on the same Island of Lesbos) is a nightly routine for the Third Wave and Light House volunteers. Dr. Alison Thompson is giving the refugees solar lights The night I went with them Military got involved and closed off the entrance of the camp. We snuck in through a side entrance. In this video I follow Dr. Alison Thompson and speaking with refugees in the Moiria camp. Then Dr. Alison speaks with a very articulate Pakistan Refugee. When we get back to the Skala shore where the refugees land I notice a very clear presence of special forces type military receiving the boats and wondering around the small fishing village. I'm told they were there looking for the Jihad. As quick as they came in the military were gone. Then a full day of no boats from Turkey. This gave me time to look around and see what the volunteers are doing. Franny from the Human Rights Watch seems to be helping the refugees one by one. Finding important needs and solving it for them directly. She was in the Moiria Refugee Camp and found a mother with babies who needed formula and bottles. She got her the formula and the bottles right away. The next day she went back to the camp and asked the mother is everything was ok, the mother said that she couldn't feed her babies because there was not a nipple in the bottle. It took Franny all day to track down 2 bottles with nipples. This is her video explaining. Sally is an independent volunteer and former US Assemblywoman noticed a real need. The refugees getting off the boats are wet, they discard their clothes at the shore and hopefully are able to replace them with dry shoes, pants, coats from volunteers. The clothes at the shore were thrown away. Sally thought of the simple idea of gathering the clothing and taking them to commercial laundries and local homes to wash. The clothes then are sent back to the shore of Skala where the volunteers and offer familiar clothing. This is her video Every evening the volunteers gather to make 1,000 sandwiches for the refugees. Here is the video Seeing a few other journalists in Skala. Usually, I will see photographers for a few hours then nothing. Sometimes I would see a film crew working on a documentary for a few hours. J Carstensen from PRI The world has been imbedded in Skala for 6 weeks and I asked her to give her take on what she is seeing on Lesbos Island. This is her video The next day and my last full day I notice a United Nations presence. The first time I've come into contact with them. Other independent volunteers say they are pushy and looking for photo ops. They try to force them out. The more organized volunteers bring groups together. In this video you will see the first organized meeting with the refugees getting off the boats. I haven't seen this before. Usually, it is come off the boat, change your clothes, eat, medical help, then either get a ride or walk to the next stage of being a refugee. The 10 person United Nations staff directed the refugees off the boats to change to dry clothing a the volunteer stations & of course eat, drink, medical. Then they got a bullhorn and started to have a meeting to let the refugees know what is going on. The UN also took Q&A. They even dispel the rumor of paying $50 euro extra to go straight to Germany at [3:37 in video]. As I dream of returning to Greece on vacation I'm reminded by the conversation with Dr. Alison and the Local fisherman that Greece isn't all about refugees -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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NICOSIA (EJP)---Israel, GREECE and Cyprus have adopted a joint declaration spelling out the areas where the three countries pledged to cooperate in ...
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One picture is worth a thousand words, what a cliche, but one which is ''even'' right on occasions. Alexis Tsipras, Greece's extreme left-wing PM, Nicos Anastasiades , the Cypriot center-right president and Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing Israeli PM were broadly smiling after signing a document, which by all accounts is a strategic alliance. Who would have believed that Tsipras, the vociferous anti-Israel agitator of just two years back, is fast becoming a household feature in the TV screens of the amused Israelis. Well, it can be explained, and to a large extent, but not only, it has to do with the elephant in room, namely Turkey under Tayyip Erdogan, but not only. It is about the common concern about Turkey, but also about the natural gas resource, water , tourism and economic development. It is about the bread and butter of people, as well as national strategic interests. Three democratically-elected leaders give an interesting example to their peoples and their immediate neighbors, as to what diplomacy can achieve, when ideology is seconded in importance, and interest is elevated on its expense. No, this is NOT a piece about political naivete, and NO, this blogger does not live in la la land. Israel's Defense Minister had an important visit in Greece where he made a highly significant statement about Turkey's REAL cooperation with ISIS despite the official rhetoric of Ankara, and that may signal that the Israeli defense establishment finally gave up on Turkey, turning instead to Greece , and this may be a common interest of both Israel and Greece. Greece and Cyprus need Israeli natural gas, and this is also a vital interest, and other common projects declared by the three leaders are of the same mold. Yet, this emerging alliance is a source of fascination for me, at least, because of the unbelievable acrobatic diplomacy of Tsipras. Just weeks ago he hosted Chairman Abbas in Athens, where the Greek parliament recognized Palestinian statehood. Not a word from Jerusalem. As if Tsipras blinked to his new friend Netanyahu, whispering something about "give them their moment of pride, and now to OUR big business." So, if Tsipras is capable of this diplomatic acting, he may be capable of doing it on other fields, and possibly Greece has the leader which it deserves. But then, if Tsipras is the new Diplomatic Houdini, what about his new Israeli friend, BB Netanyahu? What did he think about his Greek counterpart ability to put ideology aside? Did he refer only to a desperate need on the part of the Greek leader, or did he say to himself, that it may be time also for him, to start the painful process of soul searching focused on the question of cost and benefit. In the case of Israel, it is the question of "are we trying to move ahead with the Palestinians, despite the horrendous current terror campaign, or are we indulging in a ritual of self-righteousness and let things take their course?" Netanyahu is highly intelligent and he should know that his new Greek friend is eager to know the answer. Greece does business with Israel, but the recognition of Palestinian statehood reflected their true sympathies. The Cypriots may feel the same, and surely so President Al-Sisi of Egypt and other Arab leaders, who want to warm up their relationships with Israel, clearly an utmost Israeli interest. It is mainly Iran which is their concern, and what seems to be a confused, disoriented American policy, but they need and want Israel to do "something" about the Palestinians. It is the case, that there may be NOTHING, that Netanyahu can do which will really make a difference, if the Palestinians think that they can achieve their goals by stabbings innocent Israelis and with the UN Secretary General issuing moronic anti Israel statements. Especially if that is the case, no huge risk for Netanyahu to use the heavy stick against the terrorists , but also the carrot. More economic incentives to the Palestinians, NO talk about new settlements which are NOT going to be built, and other steps. This is where PM Tsipras come again to the picture. Maybe he could give Netanyahu a little private, friendly sermon about realpolitik, about rhetoric versus action, or ideology versus actual national interests. I, for one, will like to be the fly on the wall. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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Lightly breaded and deep fried calamari is a new addition to the appetizer table at the Glendi GREEK festival this year. This year's Glendi festival is the ...
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With colder temperatures and around-the-clock snow-making, GREEK Peak Mountain Resort is now in full swing. Because of an unseasonably warm ...
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A federal judge on Friday ordered Greek yogurt maker Chobani to stop airing ads that imply its rivals' products are "unsafe or harmful."
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[R._Bowen_Loftin_outside_Mizzou_Arena]Wikipedia via Mark Schierbecker Former chancellor of the University of Missouri, R. Bowen Loftin, is hitting back at an inflammatory leaked email written by former Mizzou president Tim Wolfe. Wolfe sent the email to his friends after he departed Mizzou in the fall amid claims that he failed to address serious incidents of racism on campus. In the email, he said Loftin "shifted the focus" of students concerned about racism towards Wolfe. Loftin characterized these comments as untruthful, ad hominem attacks. "To think that students would be manipulated or somehow be used as pawns by me against him is absolutely ludicrous," Loftin told Business Insider. "I just can't believe that that was a charge he leveled against me." Wolfe says the former chancellor's job was on the line shortly before the protests on campus, but that Loftin used the Concerned Student 1950 student-led protest group to shift focus onto Wolfe. He later writes he "made the mistake of hiring Bowen Loftin" in the first place. "This kind of attack was unexpected," Loftin said. [Tim Wolfe]Wikipedia via Mark Schierbecker Here's the major section about Loftin from Bowen's email: "In Bowen’s short time at MU as Chancellor he had angered the Greeks over proposed changes to women in fraternities, disrupted the health system by pressuring Vice Chancellor Hal Williamson to retire, angered the graduate students by taking away their health insurance and then reinstating it, his decision and testimony on Planned Parenthood upset the faculty, every Dean at MU demanded his removal and he shifted the focus of Concerned Student 1950 to me from him once he discovered his job was in jeopardy in late September." Loftin takes fault with the assertion that he was failing at his job and used protests to transfer the focus off of him. He said he and Wolfe spoke daily and there was never any indication his job was in jeopardy. He also said that he went through a formal review process and was praised by Wolfe in late September. Still, there was some indication of discord in the chancellor's office. In the beginning of November, nine deans from schools across the University of Missouri (MU) system sent a letter to the board of curators calling for Loftin's removal, according to The Maneater, MU's student newspaper. [Protesters celebrate after the resignation resignation of Missouri University president Timothy M. Wolfe on the Missouri University Campus November 9, 2015 in Columbia, Missouri. Wolfe resigned after pressure from students and student athletes over his perceived insensitivity to racism on the university campus. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)]Wikipedia via Mark SchierbeckerThe deans' letter cites Loftin’s “handling of race and cultural issues on our campus,” but also other issues, such as the firing of the dean of the School of Medicine and health insurance issues for graduate students, according to The Maneater. On November 9, 2015, both Wolfe and Loftin resigned from their positions. Wolfe is no longer formally employed by the University of Missouri system. Loftin, however, is still employed by MU and is in a role that develops new research facilities at Mizzou. For its part, The University of Missouri responded to Wolfe's letter by saying it's currently discussing the former president's compensation package. "Since Mr. Wolfe resigned voluntarily last November, discussions have been on-going aimed at reaching an acceptable post-resignation agreement," a statement online read. Racial tensions on the Columbia, Missouri, campus started when Payton Head, president of the Missouri Students Association, said he was abused with racial epithets while walking on campus in the beginning of September. Tensions accelerated when another group of students said it was targeted with hate speech in October. Wolfe eventually resigned as president after students accused him of being an ineffectual leader who mishandled the instances of racism on campus. NOW WATCH: The SAT is getting a massive overhaul — and they’re ditching one of the most annoying parts
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[LAX Takeoff photo] Stocks ripped higher on Friday to close off a positive week for the markets. January, however, was still rough, as stocks had one of their worst months in years to start 2016. First, the scoreboard: * DOW: 16,466, +377, (+2.4%) * S&P 500: 1,938, +45, (+2.4%) * NASDAQ: 4,610, +103, (+2.3%) * WTI CRUDE OIL: $33.60 (+1.2%) NEGATIVE RATES The Bank of Japan has joined the negative interest-rates party. Overnight, the BoJ introduced a -0.10% interest rate on excess reserves parked at the bank by financial institutions. Now, it's not quite as simple as "banks are now being charged money to keep it at the Bank of Japan," because this rate is really only — going to be — being applied to balances above what is required by regulation _and_ any reserves created by a bank's sale of government bonds to the BoJ as part of its quantitative-easing program. There's a chart sort of explaining it: [boj tiered rates] Analysts at Barclays noted that almost no money currently on hand at the BoJ is eligible for this charge, and the amount of money that _does_ eventually become available is likely to be small. But the exciting thing — or scary thing, depending on how you see the world — for the market is that negative interest rates continue to be a bigger part of the global monetary-policy discussion after having, for a long time, been a sort of theoretical exercise. THE US ECONOMY The US economy grew at a pace of 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the first estimate of GDP growth released on Friday morning. This was slightly less than forecast by Wall Street analysts and a slowdown from the pace of growth seen during the third quarter. Overall, the economy appears to have grown at a 2.4% pace in 2015 (this number is still subject to revision), matching the pace of growth seen in 2014 and affirming the steady, if somewhat underwhelming, growth trajectory seen in the US since the financial crisis. The headline figure on growth can prompt declarations of an "anemic" or "sluggish" economy, which we wouldn't really feel compelled to argue with, but with recent discussions around the economy focusing on the chances for a recession in recent weeks, signs that we're at an inflection point where the US consumer — which really drives the economy — is beginning to roll over are still elusive. Consumption rose at a 2.2% pace during the fourth quarter, beating estimates, and in 2015 consumption rose 3.1%, the most in a decade. Economists at Barclays, who forecast a Q4 GDP print showing just 0.5% growth, said this beat relative to their expectations was "driven primarily by consumption and residential investment, which we take as a positive signal for the strength of US households and the broader business cycle." [fredgraph (2)] OTHER DATA Friday was a busy day in the economy with data on wages, manufacturing in the Midwest, and consumer confidence also crossing the tape. The latest employment cost index rose 0.6% increase in the fourth quarter, in-line with estimates. Over the last year this series, which reports a more comprehensive figure measuring both wages and salaries paid as well as benefits, rose 2%. Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna said on Friday this shows wage growth still isn't rocketing higher. Meanwhile, the latest Chicago PMI report came in way better than expected, rising to a reading of 55.6 from 42.9 last month, indicating expansion in manufacturing activity in the Midwest after several months of contraction. Not everyone was convinced this report mattered, however, with Pantheon Macro's Ian Shepherdson taking to Twitter on Friday to say, "Think of a number, anything you like. There you go: you've just generated the Chicago PMI, congratulations." In more trusted data, the final reading on consumer confidence in January from the University of Michigan came in at a reading of 92.0, showing confidence tempered somewhat from earlier this month but still indicating that consumers feel about as good as they have during the post-crisis expansion. "To be sure, the overall level of confidence is below last January's peak, but thus far, the decline amounts to just 6.2%, indicating slower growth, not a recession in 2016," according to Richard Curtin, chief economist for the survey. "Consumers anticipate that the growth slowdown will be accompanied by smaller wage gains and slight increases in unemployment by the end of 2016." GEOPOLITICS, ETC. So we know that oil is the world's big geopolitical focus right now, but a team of analysts at Barclays took a look at the risks that a "Brexit" pose for Europe and global markets going forward and argued that basically, people are being too complacent right now. "First, the referendum is generally seen as a 'UK' or 'GBP' issue, when it is better seen as a _European_ issue," the firm argues. "Second, it has largely been viewed as an economic issue, but should best be analyzed through the lens of political economy." As it currently stands it looks like there will be a vote on whether the UK wants to remain an EU member or leave by the end of next year. But as Barclays sees it, again, this vote will in a weird way almost matter less to the UK than to the rest of Europe. The basic argument is that if a "Brexit" does come to pass it allows future EU members to essentially just throw a temper tantrum and threaten to do the same unless they get what they want. We know it's been a while since we've heard from Greece, but there is _always_ the risk of another Greek debt crisis lurking somewhere. On the markets side of things, you'd of course be looking at a sharp loss of confidence in the euro as a currency project, more or less. The focus of the oil world seems to be turning steadily towards Moscow as headlines continue to swirl regarding a meeting between OPEC heavyweights and other international producers as the price of crude languishes near a 12-year low. As Elena Holodny reported Friday, there are more indications that Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Saudi counterparts could negotiate a cut in oil production in an effort to balance market supply and stabilize prices. Meanwhile, OPEC production jumped to its highest level in recent history in January as Iran increased sales after sanctions were lifted while Saudi Arabia and Iraq also boosted output. This report, of course, cuts right to the heart of what's been the problem all along: you don't want to be the oil producer that "blinks" first and cuts production, which has in turn led to _increases_ in production to protect market share and take whatever money is available. And so prices fall. AMAZON Readers of this newsletter know we are _quite_ interested in what is happening at Amazon. _(Disclosure, Jeff Bezos invests in Business Insider through his personal investment company, Bezos Expeditions.)_ On Thursday, the company reported profit that missed expectations and on Friday the stock got hammered, losing 8%. (After hours on Thursday the stock was off about 12%.) Before the earnings report on Thursday, however, Amazon shares gained about 9% and so really, the stock is flat since Wednesday. The most closely-watched part of the earnings report, however, was results out of Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud-based business services arm. AWS revenue increased to nearly $8 billion in 2015, 70% increase over the prior year. Margins in this business, importantly (for the bulls, that is), continued to expand. But as our Jillian D'Onfro caught in the company's latest 10-K, Amazon now calls itself a "transportation service provider." Which is exciting. Eugene Kim noted that on the company's earnings conference call, CFO Brian Olsavsky sort of reassured Amazon's shipping partners like FedEx and UPS that no, they aren't trying to put them out of business. Which is, of course, exactly what you'd say to a trucking company shortly after you bought a bunch of your own trucks. But with each passing holiday season it becomes more and more clear that Amazon pushes the delivery networks of companies like FedEx and UPS to the brink and, as a result, is taking matters into their own hands. This makes sense. It is also expensive. Amazon, however, has built its reputation on being able to give customers what they want, when they want it, at prices that beat basically every other retailer. For a while, this was great for shipping partners. But as things like Amazon Prime get more popular, a larger and larger percentage of Amazon's customers are going to be guaranteed — by Amazon, not UPS, mind you — that they'll get their stuff in two days. In cities like New York this delivery time is now down to just hours. And so you can see where this is heading: Amazon is just going to do the delivering itself. There will, of course, be partnering with UPS and others and you're not going to suddenly one day see all Amazon packages delivered only by Amazon planes and trucks and so on (if that happens it would take years, obviously). But Amazon is building out a delivery infrastructure that will probably one day not just deliver its own packages but, like UPS and FedEx, serve as the delivery network for another retailer. That's the future. ADDITIONALLY This year's Sundance Film festival was a game-changer. "'We're shooting bullets, but they're using machine guns!' Netflix and Amazon outspent everyone at Sundance" reads Jason Guerrasio's headline rounding up the movies streaming players bought up at the prestige film event held each year in Park City, Utah. This is real disruption. More breastfeeding could save the world economy $300 billion a year, apparently. Earlier this week it seemed that Apple was going to set off a round of bearish commentary about the world economy from tech giants set to report earnings. In the end, only Apple was complaining. Theranos, the much-celebrated-but-now-reviled healthcare startup lost another partner, which leads us to the best hypothetical in markets right now: if Theranos were public, where would its stock be trading? Hedge fund managers apparently used chat rooms inside "Call of Duty" to discuss material, non-public information. They were caught, it seems, but that is a great effort. The US oil rig count declined again. Facebook shares hit an all-time high. Peter Schiff is bearish. SEE ALSO: ANYONE WORRIED ABOUT A BEAR MARKET SHOULD SEE THESE THREE CHARTS Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Hidden Facebook tricks you need to know
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A general strike in GREECE has affected ferry and shipping traffic at the ports of Piraeus, Aspropyrgos, Eleusis, Pachi and Megara. The Seamen's Union ...
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A statement released by Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is advising that the ongoing general strike in GREECE has been extended by another 48 ...
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Spiro Ksera has been part of the leading structures of PBDNJ (Union for Human Rights Party) which defends the rights of the Greek community in Albania. Following disagreements with the leader of this party, Vangjel Dule, Mr. Ksera left PBDNJ and joined the DP and served as an MP and minister of this political party. […]
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A federal court has ordered the makers of Chobani Greek yogurt to stop running a series of new ads that claim similar products from Dannon and Yoplait contain insecticides and chlorine. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, U.S. District Court judge ...
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Associated Press reports that the National Theatre of Greece has cancelled the final performances of director/dramaturg Pigi Dimitrakopoulou's NASH'S BALANCE, following complaints and threats. Called THE NASH EQUILIBRIUM on an English language version of ...
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The trilateral meeting between leaders from Israel, Greece and the Republic of Cyprus put pressure on Turkey to reach a diplomatic breakthrough with ...
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A match today in Greece's second division between AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos began with all players, coaches, and referees sitting down on the ...
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