Θα σημάνουν οι Καμπάνες

Το ιστορικό τραγούδι του Μίκη Θεοδωράκη σε ποίηση Γιάννη Ρίτσου «Θα σημάνουν οι Καμπάνες» επέλεξαν οι ΜΠΛΕ και με την έγκριση του μεγάλου συνθέτη προχώρησαν σε μια (με όλη τη σημασία της λέξεως) διασκευή δίνοντας τον ήχο τους και τη δική τους αισθητική στο κλασσικό αυτό έργο του οποίου το νόημα παραμένει πάντα επίκαιρο.

Η διασκευή είναι αφιερωμένη στη μνήμη του Γιάννη Ρίτσου καθώς το 2009 συμπληρώνονται 100 χρόνια από τη γέννησή του.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lL8aUIDsYk

www.ble.gr

International primary school of kastelorizo CICIOLINA

Διαβάζοντας το παρακάτω άρθρο σε τοπική εφημερίδα μου ήρθαν στο νου πολλά ονόματα.
Τι όνομα θα δίνατε εσείς στο σχολείο σας;





Σχετικό βίντεο.. : http://www.robpongi.com/pages/comboNKHIGH.html


" Σχολείoν η “θρεμένη τσιπούρα”

12 Φεβρουαρίου, 2008

Τα σχολεία πλέον θα αποκτήσουν όνοματα. Σύμφωνα με τα σχέδια του Υπουργείου Παιδείας τα Δημοτικά, Γυμνάσια και παντός είδους Λύκεια όλης της χώρας θα πάρουν από ένα όνομα και δεν θα λέμε 1ο δημοτικό σχολείο Κάτω Βρυσούλας ή 5ο Λύκειο Καρπενησίου. Αλλά θα λέμε Λύκειο Γρεβενών «Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης» ή Δημοτικό Σχολείο Αμφιλοχίας «Εμμανουήλ Παππάς» και τα ίδια και τα ίδια όπως πάντα συμβαίνει στην Ελλάδα σ’ αυτές τις περιπτώσεις. Ονόματα συμβατικά, στερεότυπα, κοινότοπα. Βέβαια δεν γνωρίζουμε με ποια διαδικασία θα γίνονται τα «βαφτίσια» και ποιος θα είναι ο «νονός». Ποιος δηλαδή θα παίρνει τις αποφάσεις. Θα έρχονται «καρφωτά» τα ονόματα από κάτω ή στην ονοματοδοσία θα συμμετέχουν και παράγοντες του κάθε σχολείου ξεχωριστά (δάσκαλοι, καθηγητές, μαθητές, γονείς). Ελπίζουμε να υπάρξει η στοιχειώδης δημοκρατική ευαισθησία από το κράτος και το Υπουργείο ειδικότερα και να επιτρέψουν τους ενδιαφερόμενους τοπικά να έχουν γνώμη.
Όμως όπως αυτό έχει μεγάλη σημασία άλλη τόση σημασία έχει και η ουσία του πράγματος. Τι είδους ονόματα δηλαδή θα δώσουμε στα σχολειά μας. Θα μας πιάσει δηλαδή το γνωστό εθνικοπατριωτικό μας και θα προσπαθήσουμε να ξεπεράσουμε ο ένας τον άλλον σε εθνικοφροσύνη δίνοντας ονόματα από την «εθνικοχριστιανική μας ιστορία και παράδοση» ή θα γίνουμε λίγο πιο σύγχρονοι και ευρηματικοί χρησιμοποιώντας ονόματα σύγχρονα, με φαντασία που να κεντρίζουν, να προκαλούν ή και να ανατρέπουν ακόμη το κλίμα της συμβατικότητας που ζούμε όλοι μας καθημερινά;
Θα μου πείτε «και τι ονόματα να δώσουμε»; Δημοτικό Σχολείο «η θρεμένη τσιπούρα»; Θα σας απαντούσα ναι γιατί όχι; Αν και το όνομα αυτό με παραπέμπει περισσότερο σε ψαροταβέρνα εντούτοις το προτιμώ ας πούμε από το «Μέγας Αλέξανδρος» το οποίο έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί κατά κόρον σε κάθε είδους περιπτώσεις από λιμάνια και αεροδρόμια μέχρι ποδοσφαιρικές ομάδες και κουρεία, τόσο που πλέον και ο ίδιος ο Μακεδόνας βασιλιάς αν ζούσε θα το βαριόταν....."

http://www.proininews.gr/?cat=7

Bulgarian Immigrants living in Greece and.... whose neighbours are not friendly?

READING ROOM: Neigbours, but not always friendly
09:00 Mon 17 Sep 2007

/The 1.5 million Bulgarians that this country has lost since communism
ended in 1989 have gone somewhere -- but where? Most of them left
Bulgaria for economic reasons, for a chance at a better future,
or at least income, elsewhere. Greece, as Bulgaria's most financially
stable neighbour, received many of these economic immigrants.
The Sofia Echo's Features Editor Magdalena Rahn recently returned from
an extended stay among the Bulgarian community in Athens. Here is what
six of them shared./

*Elena*
Recently single and financially at an end, Elena Georgieva went to
Greece in August 1992 on a "three-day holiday" organised by something
that resembles a smuggling ring more than a tour operator. "We were like
a herd of sheep: you set off for somewhere and you do not know where
you're going, but you go with the hope that you'll be able to get
something out of it. This way required the least amount of money to
come; you had to give $200 to the 'tour operators' to get your passport
through at the border," she says. "There is someone crafty who knows how
to get you in but you do not need to do that now."

Thirty-eight years old when she came to Greece, and divorced two years
earlier, she says that her married life in Bulgaria -- which started
when she was 18 -- had been "a fairy tale" before the changes, that the
family was always like a "party", what with her and her husband's
parents and two kids all in one house. She worked, in production and as
a quality controller, because she wanted to, though her mother-in-law
desired the opposite, preferring Elena to stay home with her two children.

In another life, with other possibilities, she says that she would have
been an architect or an engineer. (She graduated from the
elektrotechnikum, a maths- and science-oriented type of trade school in
Sliven, where she was born and had lived her whole life.)
But now she's in Greece and works, for the most part, cleaning houses
and establishments, though she also takes on any odd job possible, from
renting out the other room in her flat to tailoring to handing out
coupons at the supermarket, anything to supplement her income.

The first three months after her arrival in Greece she worked in a
greenhouse for roses in Koutsopodi, a town in the Peloponnese. A Greek
woman there then asked Elena to come to Athens to care for a relative's
children, in a live-in post. When illegal in the country, such jobs
offer the best opportunity to earn money and not be noticed by the
authorities.

When, in 1997, the Greek government decided to register all the illegal
immigrants that had been living in the country -- 373 196 registrees, of
whom 6.5 per cent were Bulgarian -- Elena was "one of the first to
register". She did so to be able to work freely, not out of fear: "I was
not the first and am not the last to do what I did," she said, referring
to her former illegal status.

She had no idea how long the adventure would last, only knowing that she
wanted to dive into the culture with zeal: "I wanted to meet a lot of
people, to learn the habits, customs, foods, characters," she says.

Her grandparents were from Kavala, now in Greece but formerly part of
Bulgaria, so she had grown up hearing about Greek traditions and singing
Greek songs.

To eventually improve her situation there, once legal, she took an
intensive four-month course in the Greek language. Working outside a
house, she says, you have to not only be able to understand what people
are saying, but also to be able to competently respond. "I was very
concerned that people should be able to understand me; you feel like a
foreigner, and you want to be able to do something."

Overall, she likes Greece and has no plans to come back to Bulgaria. Her
life is there now and Bulgaria is just a memory (she says). In 2000, she
brought her son, then 18, to come live with her. He has since learned
Greek, completed undergraduate studies there and is in the process of
obtaining a master's in comparative linguistics from the university in
Patra.

Behind this all, behind the braveness and drive of Elena, you, still,
sense a longing for something better, for less 13-hour days and forced
self-sufficiency. But her enthusiasm and dauntlessness remain.

*Tanya*
Tanya Staneva is also from the Sliven area, from the village of Zlati
Voivoda. She and Elena became friends in Athens, when five women from
their native city met up for coffee.

Before going to Athens in January 2000, Tanya had been a paediatric
nurse. But because her job in Sliven no longer provided enough to
support herself she had to search out her options. "Life in Bulgaria was
very difficult. After communism ended, thing immediately... You didn't
know where things were going, the hospitals, if they were public or
private. It was chaos."

A quick decision led her to Greece, where her sister was. She had wanted
to go to England but was refused a work permit.

At the beginning, she was illegal there, working as an in-house
baby-sitter, ie, 24 hours a day on-duty (and this duty would include not
only watching the children but also thoroughly cleaning the entire
house, daily cooking for the family and cleaning up after their Sunday
lunches). But legally, there were no problems; she says that her
employers knew of her situation. Six months into her stay, she became
legal.

There were no problems with the culture, either, save the language at
the beginning. Self-taught, she now converses in Greek and has a Greek
boyfriend, the owner of a large bookstore.

Tanya, who is 43, had planned to stay long enough to save up enough
money to buy a house in Bulgaria ("A person without a house is a tree
without roots," she quips). Which she did. But she did not return
because her roots are now 863km south of Sofia. "I like it here (in
Greece) and I do not feel like going back. I have insurance, I have work."

She still works as a baby-sitter but in a live-out position, averaging
seven hours a day, so she is able to have her own life. "I like working
with kids," she says.

What does she like about Greece? Besides preferring the climate, she
finds Greek people much more open, accepting and communicative than
Bulgarians. She personally has become more responsible and organised
since arriving. Also, the situation in Greece is not so miserable.

Eventually, she would like to be able to open up a house to help the
down-and-out of the older generation. "When a person is in misery, he
cannot live well," she says, referring to the overall conditions and the
mentality in Bulgaria.

"I had nothing specifically bad (in Bulgaria). I decided, I came. I'll
stay till I die."

*Vanya*
While we're sitting in a centrally located cafe that Saturday evening,
Tanya's friend Vanya Vulchova arrives.

From Byala Slatina, Vanya went to Athens in spring 2004 to escape what
she describes as "a bad family situation, a bad economic situation, no
support for my child, no support from my family". That she got sent back
twice at the Greek-Bulgarian border only made her try again. And she got
in.

To learn the language, she started by living with an older couple for
one-and-a-half months. She quickly became proficient and says that Greek
proved no problem. Once she mastered the language, after other positions
as a live-in baby-sitter and as a cleaning lady, she got her own flat
and decided that she could benefit from her status.

When Vanya, now 27, had enough money, she took courses in hair styling,
in order to have a certified trade skill. "The 3000 euro I'd saved up
would do nothing in Bulgaria. If I put it in a bank account there, it
would just moulder away."

As soon as it is financially possible, she wants to bring her small son
to live with her there.

Living in Greece has taught her priorities in life, namely, that as an
economic immigrant you cannot forget yourself. Meaning that no matter
how much you want to help the folk back home by sending them some extra
euro, you cannot deny your own life and own needs.

Unsure of how long she will remain, she says that if she succeeds at her
profession, she could return to Bulgaria and open up her own hair salon,
to have her own business, to not work for someone else.

"It has always been a personal fight to make a good life for myself. I
do not expect things from others. I now have a future because of my job."

*Nikolai*
Two-thirds of the immigrants to Greece from Bulgaria are women. The
rest, men. More often than not they are single and young and work in
construction/manual labour or in restaurant and taverns as cooks and
waiters.

Nikolai Georgiev from Rousse has done a little of everything.

With an impetus unlike most, he went on a whim at the age of 19, at the
idea of his then-girlfriend's mother who was working on a Greek island.
On his 20th day in the country, after afternoons of fishing and
exploring Lesvos, an Albanian man asked Nikolai if he would want to
start work as a painter. Nothing contrary and he had landed a job.

That was in 2001. Nikolai is still there.

Eventually, he had to get legal. A Greek man who owned an ostrich farm
and some Bulgarian families he knew helped him with the paperwork.

Two years on that island, being paid sub-par wages (23.50 euro a day for
intense physical labour), he knew it was time to move on. Though he had
never set a time limit, he thought that two years in the country would
be enough. But, he stayed "because I still do not see any possibilities
for myself in Bulgaria. I'm looking for a way to return, and live a
normal life. A normal life, you understand?" he says.

In Bulgaria he was a consumate athlete, having specialised in kayaking
at a sports high school. He also worked as a bellboy and in reception at
Rousse's Riga Hotel.

In Greece, before his current position in an atelier that crafts
furniture, he did everything from painting houses to construction to
being a waiter -- which spurred him to improve his knowledge of the
Greek language, which he mastered and still continues to make himself
study. He is now learning English.

Possessing a wealth of knowledge about ancient Greece before arriving,
Nikolai says that he knew little of the current state of the country. In
Bulgaria, he was heavily involved in music and performance as part of
the dance group Spider, a dreamer. "Now I still dream, but not as much,"
he says. "I'm more of a realist; it's easier." As for being an immigrant
in Greece, he says that "however good you are, you'll always be a
second-hand person. Few are the people who value you as a person". This
sentiment is echoed by most Bulgarian immigrants.

Also he says that it is very difficult for a foreigner to be integrated
into Greek society. "Even Greeks themselves ... now divide themselves
into groups. If someone is from Thessaloniki and another is from Athens,
they consider the other a foreigner. You can imagine what they think
about Bulgarians."

He never sets boundaries for himself and is thankful that the random
decision to go to Greece has allowed him the opportunity to know another
culture.

About the future, he says that you cannot lose hope. "I love Bulgaria,"
he says, "but if I had stayed there, I would constantly want to know
what else existed in the world. I hope for the quality of life to
improve in Bulgaria, for people to become more interested in the arts,
to read, to remember from where they come."

*Galena*
With us at one of the numerous Bulgarian establishments in Athens -- in
this case, a cafe called Bedrock -- is Nikolai's girlfriend Galena.

Galena (known to friends as Galya) Dimitrova is also from Rousse, though
they only got to know each other here. She went in October 2006 to visit
her mother, who has been in Greece for five years and earns her living
as a cleaning lady.

At first intending to work a short spell, she then met Nikolai, and
decided to stay. (At that point, Bulgarians were only allowed to remain
in Greece for three months legally. Now, they are allowed to stay as
long as they want but still do not have the right to work without legal
documents.)

She had been planning to attend university in Bulgaria the coming year
and had never before held a job.

In the beginning, she lived with an older woman who she also worked for,
which was hard, because that type of position on-duty is 24 hours a day,
"and you have to be able to get along with different people and all
their various problems". When it was possible, she switched jobs, first
to being a live-in baby-sitter and now to cleaning an office every
morning, starting at 6am.

Having been in Greece once before, on a holiday, she found actual life
there much different and much less pleasant. In truth, Galya, aged 20,
does not want to stay in Greece and longs to come back to Bulgaria, to
her friends, her father and her older sister. "I really want to return,
to study, to be with family, to be able to raise my children there," she
says. "That's where I belong; despite the money. That's what is most
important. People who come here to work, they really are not able to
save up much money." Still aiming to go to university in the near
future, she would like to study management or education.

The good thing about her experience there, in addition to the overall
higher standard of living, is that she herself is now more open to
foreigners -- in Bulgaria and elsewhere --, something she wishes were
also true of Greek people. "Greeks aren't too friendly towards
foreigners. They will never accept you freely," she says.

Most of her acquaintances in Athens are Bulgarian. No wonder, with
official estimates for Bulgarians in Greece from 2004 at about 66 800
and unofficial at something more.

"When you go to Omonia, you often hear only Bulgarian. Sometimes I
think: What? Did Bulgaria move to Greece?"

"If a person is intelligent, they can get along anywhere," she says.
"They just have to know for what to look -- and many Bulgarians have
done this."

*Nedka*
An hour out of central Athens, Nedka Ivanova is taking advantage of her
three hours off a day to cool down at the shore. The Razgrad native has
a live-in position with an older woman, pretty much the same thing that
she has been doing since she arrived in Greece in May 2006. "I am with a
very kind lady; I'm like a member of her family," she says, noting that
not every immigrant is as fortuante.

What should have been a hard-earned retirement from the Bulgarian
pharmaceutical industry was made impossible by her 150 leva-a-month
pension. The job opportunities for, as she puts it, the
not-so-young-and-beautiful in Bulgaria (Nedka is 55) are pitiful. "They
do not want us," she says. "I thought (Greece) would be better, because
it is closer (than Germany or Poland) and many from Bulgaria say that
there is work here."

But she is coming back to Bulgaria soon, where her husband, two married
daughters and "a number of grandchildren" await, saying that a
year-and-a-half in Greece is "enough". The job options are good there,
but it is hard not seeing her loved ones.

And, Nedka says: "There are some people who value us here, some who do
not. There are some of the lowest characters on earth here. We are slaves."

In talking with other Bulgarian immigrants, many said the same thing but
wished to remain anonymous.

As for her home country, she says that she does not know if things will
change now that Bulgaria is in the European Union, but she does not see
things getting any better, only worse.

"When the money is gone, I'll have to come back."

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/reading-room-neigbours-but-not-always-friendly/id_24867/catid_29

/*Comment by Strawberry Juice:*/ Well I believe we Greeks are very very
friendly to our Bulgarian neighbors. I feel sorry about how they
suffered in Bulgaria so they had to look for a better life in Greece and
I' m happy about their lives today. Under a greater European Union
without a fear of any war and with a better growth in both countries
economies, people will stop suffering. As about my town, Kavala, it was
and is a Greek Macedonian town and it was under Bulgarians that took it
from Turkish occupation from 1912 until 1913 when it was freed again
from the Bulgarian propaganda. Also in the second world war 1941-1944
was under Bulgarians and many Greeks were hostages and even tortured.
Now that you know how to read Greek and Greek history, I give you some
links about the subject from our schools web pages:

http://11dim-kaval.kav.sch.gr/main/roads/kountouriotis.htm
http://7gym-kaval.kav.sch.gr/Kavala.htm
http://iek-kaval.kav.sch.gr/kavala.htm

Now you know whose neighbours were not friendly and where Greece could
be by now...

Μετά τα βιβλία Ιστορίας, το δίλημμα της ντομάτας

*Μετά τα βιβλία Ιστορίας, το δίλημμα της ντομάτας*

Ζωγια Κουταλιανου

ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗ. Αν οι ντομάτες που έχετε στο τραπέζι σας εμφανίζονται
ζαρωμένες, καφεκόκκινες και γενικώς η εικόνα τους δεν είναι ιδιαίτερα
ελκυστική τότε σίγουρα δεν είναι μεταλλαγμένες.

Αν όμως είναι ολοστρόγγυλες, κατακόκκινες και καλογυαλισμένες τότε
μάλλον θα είναι γενετικά τροποποιημένες!

Ποιος το λέει; το νέο βιβλίο Βιολογίας της Γ΄ Γυμνασίου, και αυτός ο
διαχωρισμός κατά τον καθηγητή ιατρικής του εργαστηρίου
βιολογίας-γενετικής του ΑΠΘ (και υποψήφιο βουλευτή του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ) κ. Τ.
Κουράκη, δεν είναι παρά μια εκλεπτυσμένη προσπάθεια αποδοχής από τους
νέους των γενετικά τροποποιημένων τροφίμων.

Δυο έγχρωμες φωτογραφίες της σελίδας 124 του βιβλίου που εικονίζουν κατ'
αντιπαράθεση μεταλλαγμένες και μη μεταλλαγμένες ντομάτες, με τις
γενετικά τροποποιημένες να υπερέχουν σαφώς σε εμφάνιση και
ελκυστικότητα, ώθησαν τον κ. Κουράκη να καταγγείλει ότι το σχολικό
εγχειρίδιο «αναπαράγει επιχειρήματα» των πολυεθνικών εταιρειών.

«Οσα δεν κατάφεραν οι πολυεθνικές των εταιρειών βιοτεχνολογίας,
επιχειρεί να πετύχει το υπουργείο Παιδείας στη χώρα μας, το οποίο
στόχευσε μέσα από το βιβλίο Βιολογίας της Γ΄ Γυμνασίου να διαμορφώσει
μια στάση αποδοχής της νέας γενιάς γύρω από τα γενετικά τροποποιημένα
τρόφιμα», ανέφερε μεταξύ άλλων ο κ. Κουράκης.

Επισήμανε δε, ότι «οι φωτογραφίες υποδεικνύουν, όχι απλά μια υπεροχή των
μεταλλαγμένων, αλλά τη μοναδική υγιή τροφή», προσθέτοντας ότι και το
κείμενο που τις συνοδεύει μοιάζει με «διαφημιστικό εταιρειών
βιοτεχνολογίας».

«Είναι αδιανόητο», τόνισε, «ένα σχολικό εγχειρίδιο να αναπαράγει τα
επιχειρήματα προώθησης των εταιρειών» και κατέληξε: «Οι ευθύνες της
κυβέρνησης και του υπουργείου παιδείας είναι τεράστιες, γιατί δεν
πρόκειται περί αβλεψίας και λάθους, αλλά για συνειδητή εφαρμογή
υπερατλαντικών οδηγιών».

Ετσι, μετά το βιβλίο ιστορίας της ΣΤ΄ Δημοτικού και τελευταίως το βιβλίο
ιστορίας της Γ΄ Λυκείου, στο στόχαστρο βρέθηκε και το βιβλίο Βιολογίας
της Γ΄ Γυμνασίου. «Δεν μπορεί για προεκλογικούς λόγους να ασχολούνται
διάφοροι με την ιστορία με εθνικιστικές κορόνες και να μην συζητάμε για
την ποιότητα ζωής μας», κατέληξε.

KATHIMERINI.GR

Holiday in Bulgaria via Kavala in Greece

Passengers still stranded as tensions mount
By John Leonidou

SCORES of holidaymakers destined for Crete, have had their holidays cut short after not agreeing to an alternative flight when the Hellas Jet plane they were set to travel with broke down.

Meanwhile, in Greece, around 80 elderly couples were yesterday left stranded as Hellas Jet was unable to accommodate them with an alternative flight back to Cyprus.

The 140 passengers were initially set to depart on Wednesday with a Hellas Jet flight, but a technical problem left the plane grounded and the passengers stranded at the airport.

The passengers returned to the airport at 5am yesterday morning and were informed by airline officials that because the plane was still experiencing difficulties they would have to travel with a Ukrainian airline.

The majority of passengers refused, with some demanding a refund whilst other demanded that they be given another airline to travel with to Crete. The standoff meant the passengers were left a further seven hours at the departure lounge.

They were eventually taken by bus to the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia but returned to the airport at 5am on Thursday morning and were informed by airline officials that because the plane was still experiencing difficulties, they could still travel with the Ukrainian airline.

With their plane still grounded in its third day, the offer was again snubbed and by now tensions were mounting.

As of 11.50pm on Thursday night, it was announced that there would be no Hellas Jet flights. Yesterday’s departure monitors at the airports didn’t have any scheduled flight for Hellas Jet.

Meanwhile, 78 elderly couples who had flown with Hellas Jet for a holiday in Bulgaria via Kavala in Greece, have since Thursday been trying to get back to Cyprus.

Most of the passengers were still stranded at the airport in Greece.

Commenting on the saga yesterday, Commerce Ministry official Marios Droushiotis said that if the organiser was aware of alterations to flight schedules and did not notify the passengers, then the airline was to blame.

“In this case, legislation says that in instances where there are alterations to an organised trip and they know it, then they are obliged to notify their customers and give them the chance to exclude themselves from the changes or to propose them another change and to make them sign that they agree to that effect.”

Civil Aviation Transportation Operator Doros Theodorou added: “With regards to Hellas Jet, the details we got were that there was a technical problem to the aircraft and that it caused a delay. In these cases, European law offers protection to the passengers and, more specifically with regards to this incident, they are allowed compensation or a refund or an alternative flight.”

Theodorou went on to say that a passenger could refuse to fly with another aircraft, but could only then claim a refund if a complaint was made to the registrar at the Civil Aviation Department. The registrar would then examine complaint and see if the airline was at fault.

“If that is the case, then the passenger will be compensated,” he said.

http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=34205&cat_id=1

Constantine Tzirtziris (Kavala, Greece) will join the rest of the Sycamores

Indiana State track signs six new athletes

The Tribune-Star

With Indiana State track and field athletes preparing to return to campus this weekend, head men’s coach John McNichols has announced the signing of six new additions to his squad.

Cody Arnold (Bedford), Michael Disher (Indianapolis), Tykeen Fulton (Trenton, N.J.), Drake Sterling (LaPorte), Chauntez Tyus (Florissant, Mo.) and Constantine Tzirtziris (Kavala, Greece) will join the rest of the Sycamores’ returnees on the combined track and cross country squad as the new athletics season begins.

The Sycamores secured their third-straight Missouri Valley Conference cross country championship in 2006, then followed that up with second-place finishes in both the MVC indoor and outdoor track and field championships. However, several key contributors from those teams are now gone and McNichols believes his new recruits will help fill those holes well.

“Our goal every year when we recruit is to find the best possible athletes to fill in holes left by graduation,” said McNichols. “We had some significant losses including all-conference performers like Paladin Jordan, Corey Dowden and Jordan Fife. We think these new recruits will fill those spots well and that their futures will be bright in our program.”

Arnold and Sterling are transfers from Vincennes University and bring top-10 National Junior College Athletic Association championship finishes with them. Arnold placed seventh in the hammer throw in the 2007 indoor meet and also placed seventh at the outdoor championships in the weight throw. Sterling placed ninth in the 600-meter run at the 2007 NJCAA indoor meet and sixth in the decathlon with 5,707 points at the outdoor championships.

“Cody should really help us in the throws,” McNichols said. ”As for Drake, he’s really an all-around athlete so we’re not exactly sure how we are going to use him yet. But, he’s a talent and could help us in several events.”

A three-time state qualifier in cross country and in track, Disher should contribute immediately in the distance events for the Sycamores. The Southport High School graduate placed sixth in the state in cross county in 2004 and 2005 and followed that with a 19th place finish in his senior season in 2006.

“Michael had a good high career and will have an opportunity to help out immediately,” said McNichols. ”As he develops, he should fill the void left by Fife nicely and help us down the line.”

Fulton, a Trenton Central High School product, brings a distinguished resumé with him in the hurdles. He was the 2007 NJSIAA Group Four outdoor state champion in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles and added a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash.

“We think we got one of the best hurdlers in the nation in Tykeen,” said McNichols. ”One of our assistant coaches, Geoff Wayton, and his brother, who is a high school coach in New Jersey, discovered Tykeen and we owe a lot to them. ISU has a distinguished tradition in the hurdles and he has all the tools to help further that legacy.”

Tyus, a McCluer High School product, will try to contribute in the horizontal jumps. He placed fifth in the state championships in the triple jump in 2007 and fourth in that same event in 2006. Tzirtziris, who hails from Greece, rounds out the class and will contribute in the sprints.

“Our program is fortunate to have a top horizontal jumper like Tyus to fill the holes we lost by Jordan and Corey Dowden,” said McNichols. “He should be able to contribute immediately and we look forward to seeing what he can do.

“Usually, we don’t recruit international athletes but Constantine really peaked our interest,” McNichols continued. ”One of our faculty members overseas alerted us to him and we were impressed. He could be a good complement to our 800-meter runners and could also help in the relays.”

The Sycamores’ 2007-08 combined season officially kicks off with the annual Sycamore Pride Intrasquad and Alumni cross country meet Aug. 25 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The event will begin at 10 a.m. at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center, with current and former ISU runners participating in the event.

http://www.tribstar.com/collegesports/local_story_229230926.html

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Nuns on the run after their Greek knitting business fails

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2001875,00.html 

 

A group of nuns were last night holed up behind the protective walls of the Xenia monastery in the central Greek town of Volos after fleeing their convent when their knitting business failed, leaving nearly half a millon pounds of debt.

Ignoring pleas and protests to return to the fold from Archbishop Christodoulos, the country's fiery spiritual leader, the order's mother superior signalled that the nuns would be staying put, despite mounting consternation from a number of banks.

Yesterday her stance sparked a mini-crisis for the Greek Orthodox church, which, after convening bishops and other top clerics, described the incident as "a first" for the church.

The order, whose 55 members have been described as a "feisty crowd", are believed to have run up the debt after splashing out on six industrial knitting machines to produce woollens that became highly popular with the local community around their convent, close to the Greek-Bulgarian border. They apparently sold products to some 25 chains around Greece. Store owners complained that the nuns had also run off with a substantial amount in pocketed deposits. Apparently they removed their equipment a few days before they disappeared.

Greece's authoritative Kathimerini newspaper reported that the knitting business began to unravel when the nuns accrued massive debts after attending foreign fashion shows in a bid to keep up with the latest designs in woollen garments. They are then believed to have mortgaged the monastery of Kyrikos and Ioulittis to the hilt to pay off the debt.

With the banks demanding the money back, Greece's holy synod says it is confronting one of its worst crises ever involving an order of nuns.

Last night there was little sign that the nuns would come out of hiding, even if Archbishop Christodoulos agreed to take them under his wing. Religious commentators said their convent would probably have to be liquidated to pay off the debt.