Το λάθος του Γκρίνσπαν

Η παγκόσμια οικονομική κρίση θα περάσει στην ιστορία ως λάθος του Γκρίνσπαν. Πρόκειται για μια κρίση, για την οποία ευθύνεται, κυρίως, το συμβούλιο αξιωματούχων της Φέντεραλ Ριζέρβ, στη διάρκεια της εποχής εύκολου χρήματος και χαλαρού ρυθμιστικού πλαισίου στο χρηματοοικονομικό τομέα, μια εποχή που διήρκεσε από τα μέσα της δεκαετίας του '90 μέχρι σήμερα.
Η πολιτική εύκολου χρήματος, η οποία είχε την υποστήριξη ρυθμιστικών αρχών που στην πραγματικότητα απέτυχαν στη σύσταση ενός πλαισίου κανόνων, δημιούργησε άνευ προηγουμένου «φούσκες» στους τομείς κατοικιών και καταναλωτικής πίστης σε ΗΠΑ, αλλά και σε άλλες χώρες, κυρίως εκείνες τις χώρες που είχαν υιοθετήσει τακτικές ανάλογες με την πολιτική των ΗΠΑ.
Και η «φούσκα» έχει πλέον σκάσει και αυτές οι οικονομίες οδεύουν προς βαθιά οικονομική ύφεση. Και στον «πυρήνα» της κρίσης βρίσκεται η υπερβολική άνοδος μετοχικών αξιών και τιμών κατοικιών, μια άνοδος που είχε παρεκκλίνει σε μεγάλο βαθμό από τα ιστορικά δεδομένα. Ο κ. Γκρίνσπαν δημιούργησε δύο φούσκες -τη φούσκα εταιρειών Διαδικτύου, κατά το χρονικό διάστημα 1998-2001 και τη φούσκα στην αγορά κατοικιών, που έσκασε πρόσφατα.
Και στις δύο περιπτώσεις, η υπερβολική αύξηση στην αξία στοιχείων ενεργητικού έκανε τα αμερικανικά νοικοκυριά να σκεφθούν ότι είχαν γίνει πλούσια, με τους Αμερικανούς να μπαίνουν στον πειρασμό να αυξήσουν δυσανάλογα δανεισμό και δαπάνες -για σπίτια, αυτοκίνητα και άλλα καταναλωτικά διαρκή αγαθά.
Και οι χρηματοοικονομικές αγορές ήταν πρόθυμες να δανείσουν σε αυτά τα νοικοκυριά, εν μέρει διότι οι πιστωτικές αγορές λειτουργούσαν κάτω από ένα χαλαρό ρυθμιστικό πλαίσιο, το οποίο εξυπηρετούσε ως «πρόσκληση» για ανεύθυνο δανεισμό.
Και εξαιτίας του κλίματος ευημερίας σε χρηματιστήρια και αγορά στέγης, το καθαρό εισόδημα των αμερικανικών νοικοκυριών αυξήθηκε περίπου κατά 18 τρισ. δολάρια στη διάρκεια των ετών 1996-2006. Και η ενίσχυση της κατανάλωσης με βάση αυτόν τον πλούτο συνέβαλε σε περαιτέρω αύξηση των τιμών στέγης, πείθοντας νοικοκυριά και δανειστές να τροφοδοτήσουν ακόμη περισσότερο τη φούσκα.
Και κάποια στιγμή, όλα αυτά άρχισαν να καταρρέουν. Οι τιμές κατοικιών έφθασαν στα ανώτατα επίπεδα το 2006, και οι τιμές των μετοχών το 2007. Και με την κατάρρευση της φούσκας σε χρηματιστήριο και αγορά στέγης, τίτλοι περιουσιακών στοιχείων αξίας που ενδεχομένως να φθάνει και τα δέκα τρισ. δολάρια -ή μέχρι και τα 15 τρισ. δολάρια- θα καταστούν άχρηστοι.
Ορισμένα πολύπλοκα πράγματα συμβαίνουν ταυτοχρόνως.
Πρώτον, τα νοικοκυριά μειώνουν σε μεγάλο βαθμό τις καταναλωτικές τους δαπάνες, καθώς αισθάνονται -και συμβαίνει πράγματι- πολύ φτωχότερα εν συγκρίσει με την οικονομική τους κατάσταση πριν από ένα χρόνο.
Δεύτερο, ορισμένοι χρηματοοικονομικοί οργανισμοί υψηλής επιρροής, όπως η Bear Stearns και η Lehman Brothers κατέρρευσαν, σε μια εξέλιξη που συντέλεσε σε μεγαλύτερη απώλεια πλούτου (στους μετόχους και πιστωτές των συγκεκριμένων χρηματοπιστωτικών ιδρυμάτων) όπως και μεγαλύτερο περιορισμό των δανείων που κάποτε παρείχαν αυτές οι εταιρείες.
Τρίτον, οι εμπορικές τράπεζες έχασαν πολλά από ριψοκίνδυνες συναλλαγές, με το μεγαλύτερο μέρος του κεφαλαίου τους να εξανεμίζεται. Και την ώρα που η κεφαλαιακή τους βάση συρρικνώνεται, μειώνονται αναλόγως και τα μελλοντικά τους δάνεια.
Τέταρτο και τελευταίο, η κατάρρευση της Lehman Brothers και η παρ' ολίγον κατάρρευση του ασφαλιστικού ομίλου AIG προκάλεσαν έναν χρηματοοικονομικό «πανικό», στο πλαίσιο του οποίου ακόμη και οι οικονομικά υγιείς εταιρείες δεν είναι σε θέση να εξασφαλίσουν βραχυπρόθεσμα τραπεζικά δάνεια ή να πωλήσουν βραχυπρόθεσμο εταιρικό χρέος.
Η πρόκληση για τους διαμορφωτές πολιτικής είναι να αποκαταστήσουν την επενδυτική εμπιστοσύνη σε τέτοιο βαθμό που να μπορούν και πάλι οι επιχειρήσεις να εξασφαλίσουν βραχυπρόθεσμη πίστωση, ώστε να καλύψουν τις ανάγκες μισθοδοσίας εργαζομένων και να χρηματοδοτήσουν τα αποθέματά τους. Η επόμενη πρόκληση είναι τα μέτρα για την αποκατάσταση του κεφαλαίου των τραπεζών, έτσι ώστε οι εμπορικές τράπεζες να μπορούν και πάλι να παρέχουν δάνεια για μακροπρόθεσμες επενδύσεις.
Αλλά αυτά τα βήματα -όσο αναγκαία και αν είναι- δεν πρόκειται να αποτρέψουν την ύφεση στις ΗΠΑ και άλλες χώρες που έχουν υποστεί πλήγμα λόγω πιστωτικής κρίσης.
Οι αγορές κατοικιών και μετοχών δεν αναμένεται να ανακάμψουν σε σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα. Κατά συνέπεια, τα νοικοκυριά είναι φτωχότερα και θα περιορίσουν ακόμη περισσότερο τις δαπάνες, καθιστώντας -βραχυπρόθεσμα- αναπόφευκτη την ύφεση.
Οι ΗΠΑ θα υποστούν το ισχυρότερο πλήγμα, αλλά και άλλες χώρες με «φούσκες» σε αγορές κατοικιών και υπερβολική κατανάλωση (φούσκες που όμως έχουν σκάσει) -ειδικότερα Βρετανία, Ιρλανδία, Αυστραλία, Καναδάς και Ισπανία- αναμένεται να δεχθούν πλήγμα.
Η Ισλανδία, που ιδιωτικοποίησε και απελευθέρωσε τις τράπεζές της πριν από μερικά χρόνια, τώρα βρίσκεται στα πρόθυρα εθνικής χρεοκοπίας, διότι οι ισλανδικές τράπεζες δεν θα είναι σε θέση να αποπληρώσουν τους ξένους πιστωτές από τους οποίους είχαν πάρει μεγάλα δάνεια.
Και δεν αποτελεί σύμπτωση το γεγονός ότι -με εξαίρεση την Ισπανία- όλες αυτές οι χώρες είχαν υιοθετήσει την αμερικανική φιλοσοφία των ελεύθερων αγορών και των χαλαρών ρυθμιστικών πλαισίων για τα χρηματοοικονομικά συστήματα.
Όμως παρά τα προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζουν οι αγγλο-σαξονικού τύπου οικονομίες, κανένα δεν είναι τόσο σοβαρό που να εγκυμονεί τον κίνδυνο παγκόσμιας οικονομικής καταστροφής. Δεν διακρίνω κάποιο λόγο για ύφεση της παγκόσμιας οικονομίας, ούτε καν για επιβράδυνση της παγκόσμιας οικονομίας.
Ναι, οι ΗΠΑ θα βιώσουν μια φάση μείωσης του εισοδήματος και δραματικής αύξησης της ανεργίας, περιορίζοντας τις εξαγωγές των υπολοίπων χωρών του κόσμου προς τις ΗΠΑ. Αλλά οι οικονομίες σε πολλά άλλα μέρη της Γης συνεχίζουν και αναπτύσσονται. Πολλές μεγάλες οικονομίες -συμπεριλαμβανομένης Κίνας, Γερμανίας, Ιαπωνίας και Σαουδικής Αραβίας- διαθέτουν πολύ μεγάλα πλεονάσματα εξαγωγών, έχοντας έτσι τη δυνατότητα να δανείζουν στον υπόλοιπο κόσμο (και ειδικότερα τις ΗΠΑ) αντί να δανείζονται χρήματα.
Αυτές οι χώρες έχουν μεγάλες ποσότητες μετρητών και δεν επιβαρύνονται από την κατάρρευση μιας φούσκας στην αγορά κατοικιών. Παρόλο που τα νοικοκυριά τους κατά κάποιον τρόπο έχουν υποστεί πλήγμα από την υποχώρηση των μετοχικών αξιών, όχι μόνο έχουν τα περιθώρια να συνεχίσουν να αναπτύσσονται, αλλά μπορούν να αυξήσουν την εσωτερική ζήτηση ώστε να αντισταθμίσουν τη μείωση της εξαγωγικής δραστηριότητας προς τις ΗΠΑ.
Θα πρέπει να μειώσουν τους φόρους, να χαλαρώσουν τις προϋποθέσεις δανεισμού και να αυξήσουν τις κρατικές επενδύσεις σε δρόμους, ηλεκτρική ενέργεια και στέγαση. Οι χώρες αυτές διαθέτουν αρκετά μεγάλα αποθέματα ξένου συναλλάγματος, ώστε να αποφύγουν τον κίνδυνο χρηματοοικονομικής αποσταθεροποίησης λόγω της αύξησης των δαπανών στην εγχώρια αγορά, αρκεί να κινηθούν με σύνεση.
Όσο για τις ΗΠΑ, το αδιαμφισβήτητο βάρος που επωμίζονται εκατομμύρια Αμερικανοί -βάρος που θα μεγαλώσει την επόμενη χρονιά, καθώς αυξάνεται η ανεργία- αποτελεί μια καλή ευκαιρία για επανεξέταση του οικονομικού μοντέλου που υιοθετήθηκε επί εποχής του προέδρου Ρίγκαν, το 1981. (???)
Οι χαμηλοί φόροι και το χαλαρό ρυθμιστικό πλαίσιο συνέβαλε σε μια «ευφορία» καταναλωτικών δαπανών που ήταν ωραία όσο διήρκεσε, αλλά παράλληλα δημιούργησε τεράστια ανισότητα μεταξύ των εισοδημάτων, διόγκωση του ξένου δανεισμού, συνέβαλε στην παραμέληση του περιβάλλοντος και των έργων υποδομής, συντελώντας στο τεράστιο χρηματοοικονομικό χάος των ημερών. Έχει έλθει ο καιρός για μια νέα οικονομική στρατηγική -στην ουσία, για μια Νέα Συμφωνία.

JEFFREY D. SACHS, καθηγητής οικονομικών και επικεφαλής του Earth Institute, στο Πανεπιστήμιο Κολούμπια. Παράλληλα, ασκεί καθήκοντα ειδικού συμβούλου του γενικού γραμματέα του ΟΗΕ, αναφορικά με τους αναπτυξιακούς στόχους της χιλιετίας.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2008

Police nab migrant smugglers

Police nab migrant smugglers

A 52-year-old Piraeus resident believed to have been running a migrant-trafficking operation has been arrested after being caught transporting 10 Iraqis inland from the Turkish border, police said yesterday.

Border guards detained the 52-year-old, along with two suspected accomplices – a 32-year-old Syrian and a 28-year-old Iraqi – after stopping them for questioning on the Xanthi-Kavala national road early yesterday morning.

The three had allegedly picked up the Iraqi immigrants at some point on the Greek-Turkish border in two small trucks. Police seized the two trucks along with five mobile phones, believed to have been used by the suspects to coordinate their alleged migrant-trafficking activities.

The would-be migrants lacked any official documents, police said. It was unclear whether any money had changed hands for their transfer from Turkey to Greece.

The three suspects are due to face a Xanthi prosecutor on charges of people trafficking.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100010_20/08/2007_86929

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

Mediterranean fish are in troubled waters

Mediterranean fish are in troubled waters http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100009_24/02/2007_80485 A survey of the Mediterranean Sea has revealed that the fish population is dwindling at an alarming rate, with serious consequences for the fishing industry, scientists said yesterday. Research over the last 10 years that has been conducted as part of the International Bottom Trawl Survey in the Mediterranean (MEDITS) has found that large fish, young fish and lobsters in particular are under threat. "The tastes of consumers, which drive demand in the market, are what are responsible for the declining population of many types of fish," said Argyris Kallianiotis, the head of the Institute for Fisheries Research (INALE) which is based near the city of Kavala in northern Greece. He told Kathimerini that big fish, such as cod, which used to swim unperturbed at depths of 80 to 100 meters, are suffering because fishermen are going ever deeper to secure their catches. Some types of fish, such as sargo and blackfish, have been forced deeper to avoid fishing nets. They are currently found at a depth of some 40 meters in the Mediterranean, researchers have discovered. "If the bio-societies do not work, the balance is upset and there is a distinct danger that some types of fish will disappear from Greek seas," Kallianiotis told Kathimerini. He said that the rapid reduction in the number of monkfish in the Aegean Sea had led to a drastic increase in the number of tiny shrimp that they usually feed on. They have multiplied at the expense of other types of fish, the scientist said. Kallianiotis called for specific research to be conducted in Greek waters, as opposed to the Mediterranean as a whole, to establish which types of fish need to be protected.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Students paid for diplomas & question on FYROM decision endangering flight safety

Students paid for diplomas

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100010_09/02/2007_79913

Up to 5,000 students obtained diplomas from private technical high schools (TEEs) and used those qualifications to apply for public sector jobs even though they had not met graduation criteria and, in some cases, had never attended classes, sources told Kathimerini yesterday.

Public sector inspectors found that seven private schools in Larissa, three in Kavala, two in Trikala, two in Arta and one in Athens had accepted up to 20,000 euros in tuition fees from each student to give them diplomas that they allegedly should not have been awarded.

Three of the schools in Larissa have already been shut down but the other institutions are being investigated by authorities.

Sources said that the suspect diplomas have been used to apply for jobs at hospitals and nursery schools.

Private and state-run TEEs were set up a few years ago to provide students with an alternative source for vocational training.

                                                                                   -------------------------

Parliamentary acts
02:04 pm - Saturday
European Parliament: question on FYROM decision endangering flight safety

Strasbourg, France - By Georgios Karatzaferis (IND/DEM)
(WAPA) - "Written question E-0050/07
by Georgios Karatzaferis (IND/DEM)
to the Council
http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=73804&pagina_chiamante=index.php

Subject: FYROM decision endangering flight safety

The government in Skopje recently decided - in breach of the interim agreement with Greece - to rename that city's airport 'Alexander the Great', after the great Greek military commander and civiliser.

The Greek Civil Aviation Service and the Hellenic Air Force, however, registered the airport of Chrysoupoli (Kavala) under that name with the ICAO (and with all other international organisations) 15 years ago. The result of this situation is that enormous risks have now been created which endanger flight safety owing to the fact that two neighbouring FIR will be using the same name for two airports in close proximity.

How has the Council responded to make FYROM (which aspires to EU accession) understand that its decision endangers the safety of thousands of passengers?".

(Avionews)

(006) 070209140410-73804 (World Aeronautical Press Agency - 2007-02-09 02:04 pm)

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.

Forged degrees

Greek students caught with forged degrees

Jan. 28, 2007 at 6:24PM

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20070128-051610-3123r.htm

The Greek Education Ministry has caught 310 students trying to gain recognition of forged degrees from foreign universities.
      The false certificates were discovered before they were officially recognized, as a result of improved regulations by the National Academic Recognition and Information Center, the Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported.
      DOATAP President Georgios Leontaris said it remained unclear whether those universities named had any knowledge or involvement in the forged documents.
      "The involvement of universities has not been proven," he said. "We are obliged to re-examine the issue of their legality and, of course, we need to cooperate with the countries' authorities to find out who is responsible for the fraud."
      Most of the schools involved are in Russia, Albania, Romania and Bulgaria.
      With Greece exporting more tertiary students than another other country, DOATAP was given the responsibility of assessing and officially recognizing the manner in which degrees are obtained.

 

Kiosk owner printed forged bus tickets

Kiosk owner printed forged bus tickets

A kiosk owner was arrested in Kavala, northern Greece, after she was caught producing and selling forged bus tickets, police said yesterday.

The woman, who was not identified, was using a printer that produced high resolution copies. However, the forged items still had inferior quality paper and colors that differed from the real items, according to authorities.

Bus company officials said that the suspect is not believed to have been selling the tickets for long but did not mention the exact period of time the operation may have been running.

Police were led to the kiosk after an inspector came across a university student who had purchased one of the forged tickets.

A search of the woman?s home also uncovered cutting equipment and some ticket books.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100017_24/11/2006_76965

Bravo to the Greeks Abroad... Correction to a review..? !

Food can?t be to everyone?s taste

Aa the manager of Steki's Taverna in Brighton, I am deeply disappointed with Xenia Gregoriadis's review (The Guide, October 27).

She called our calamari "soggy"

and complained it wasn't taken off her bill. I thought it was cooked perfectly so didn't take it off her bill but did offer her a glass of wine or dessert.

 

She said our green salad was uninspiring. It has shredded lettuce, spring onions, cucumbers and olives, sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil and either fresh lemon juice or vinegar. This is the way a green salad is served in traditional Greek tavernas back in Greece.

This is not a fancy restaurant, it is a taverna. The difference between the two is simplicity.

Our customers love our meze and 80 per cent of our customers are Greek. We've had many excellent reviews in the past and these can be read at www.steki.co.uk Our customers give us excellent feedback - people who are Greek, have been recommended by Greeks or have been to Greece and say this is traditional Greek food. One customer said our potato balls and courgette balls are "better that her Granny's".

Our desserts are made in Greece at a small factory in Kavala which feeds almost all the patisseries in town. Our souvlaki comes from Greece and our recipes come from well-known chefs in Greece.

The same weekend the review was published, a reservation for six was about to cancel but decided to ignore the article and try us. They had almost all of the menu and loved our food.

We are not here by chance.

Greek customers from Brighton were coming to our other restaurant in Portsmouth and have been asking us for eight years to open a taverna in Brighton.

There were also mistakes in the article. Miss Gregoriadis said I am the owner. I am not, I am the manager. The owner is Mrs Emmanouil Lykidis.

She also called me Maria Tsorpidou not Vicky Tsorpidou - Maria was the waitress who served her. We are open Sunday to Friday, 12pm-11pm and on Saturday 12pm-midnight.

We have never had a single complaint after eight years of running a taverna in Portsmouth, so obviously our food is not to her taste.

Vicky Tsorpidou, manager, Steki's Taverna, King's Road Brighton

 

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1037342.0.food_cant_be_to_everyones_taste.php

 

Kinigito stin Kavala.. by Indiatimes...

Police chase of teen covers land and sea

KAVALA, Greece, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- An unidentified 16-year-old boy led police through the streets of Kavala, Greece, before unsuccessfully trying to elude officers by swimming away.

The police chase began early Saturday morning when the teen, driving a stolen car, failed to stop at a routine check in the city and then tried to outrun officers with his reckless driving and swimming abilities, Ekathimerini.com said.

After failing to shake the police by running numerous red lights and driving the wrong way on one-way streets, the teen gave up on his automobile tactics jumped into the water.

The officers managed to get boat and rowed out in time to foil the teen's attempted amphibious escape.

The Web site said the teen was found to have escaped from an institute in Volos, where he was serving time with other young offenders for theft.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/55218.php/Watercooler-Stories

Travel to Greece By Guardian unlimited

Peninsular paradise


http://travel.guardian.co.uk/countries/story/0,,1801898,00.html?gusrc=rss

Turn your back on the island crowds and explore Greece's spectacular mainland peninsulas instead, says Chris AldenBeen there?

Share your tips on Greece and its islands with other readers

Tuesday June 20, 2006

The real hidden Greece... Fakistra Beach in Pelion. Photograph: Sakis Papadopoulos/Getty.
Here is a description of a mystery place in Greece. It's the land of mythical centaurs, flanked by forests and olive groves, with sandy beaches and perfectly restored mountain villages. It's the place Greeks almost universally agree is the most fertile and beautiful in the country. No mass tourism here; it seems untouched by the passing of time, yet offers a high standard of tourist accommodation.
When a Greek relative recently asked a local where he came from, he replied: "I come from paradise." The place is called Pelion.
If you haven't heard of it, there are two reasons. First, understandably, Greeks want to keep Pelion to themselves. Second, and more importantly, Pelion is not an island. It's a peninsula. And because "peninsula" is not as marketable as "island", Pelion receives nowhere near the number of visitors it deserves.
And it is not alone. All over Greece, there are scores of accessible, unspoiled places which - by virtue of being attached to the mainland - have no ferry service, and are ignored by the island-hopping hordes. Yet these peninsulas of Greece - long, sandy fingers stretching out into the Aegean and the Mediterranean - offer some of the quietest beaches, the best walking, and the most atmospheric ancient sites in the country.

Here are six of the best:

Pelion
Why go? Classical scholars will know Pelion as the land of the centaurs - the mythical beasts with the torso of a man but the hindquarters of a horse - but Greeks know it as the place to go in summer to escape the heat and the tourists. Jutting out into the Aegean in the shape of a claw, the peninsula has chestnut forests and sandy beaches on its northern slopes, a narrow-gauge steam railway on its southern slopes, and picture-postcard villages on the heights.
In the mountains, each village has several archontika - stone mansions with overhanging upper stories converted for tourism and, unusually in this car-worshipping land, a network of kalderimia - cobbled donkey paths - with some of the best walking in Greece. Buy the excellent Road Editions 1:50,000 Pilion map from Stanfords and you're away.
How to get there: Charter airline Excel Airways flies to nearby Volos, an hour's drive from central Pelion, once a week, mostly carrying tourists who have booked through Greek specialists Sunvil or walking specialists InnTravel.
Where to stay: If you're travelling independently, try to stay in a traditional archontiko such as Archontiko Michopoulou in Vyzitsa (+30 24230 86861).

Mani
Why go? Immortalised by travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, this Peloponnesian peninsula is famous for its square "clan towers" which, up until the 19th century, feuding Greek families built to assert their superiority over each other. To win the feud, you had to destroy the opposing clan's tower, and for maximum kudos, smash in its roof. These days, many towers have been converted into accommodation for Greek tourists, who come to enjoy the stark landscape - strangely reminiscent of Scotland - and to visit Pyrgos Dhirou, Greece's most famous network of caves. Cape Tenaro, the southern tip of mainland Greece, has an end-of-the-world feel. On the exterior of the Mani, Kardamyli is an urbane resort among beachside olive groves.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata, the centre of olive-oil production in Greece, with Thomsonfly. Walking specialists InnTravel also hosts tours in Mani, as do Greek specialists Filoxenia. Spirit of Life Holidays offers holistic breaks in the peninsula.
Where to stay: If you want to stay in a converted "tower hotel", Hotel Tsitsiris Castle in the village of Stavri offers unforgettable views of the mountains that run down the Mani's central spine (+30 27330 56297), with doubles from 65-90 euros .

Monemvasia
Why go? This rock, connected to mainland Greece by a causeway, is the ancient port of the Byzantine city of Mystras - and conceals two medieval villages on its seaward side. A restored, lower village offers several upmarket hotels, bohemian late-night bars, and attractive restaurants in shaded courtyards. A ruined, upper village offers the opportunity to explore sprawling ramparts while enjoying a timeless Aegean view.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata with Thomsonfly. Or you could visit Monemvasia as part of a Byzantine history tour of the Peloponnese, with Martin Randall Tours.
Where to stay: The two best hotels in Monemvasia are the Malvasia and the Byzantino, which offer attractively restored upmarket rooms with sea view for around 100-120 euros.
MessiniaWhy go? Thanks to its once-strategic position on the southwest tip of the Peloponnese, the Messinian peninsula is attractively fortified by Venetian castles at the towns of Koroni and Methoni, and a medieval fort at Pylos.
How to get there: Fly to Kalamata with Thomsonfly and drive over the winding mountain road. Or go with Greek specialists Sunvil to Chrani, a village with spectacular views to Mani.
Where to stay: The Achilles Hotel in Methoni is a neoclassical building with large balconies and attractive rooms (doubles 45-65 euros, breakfast extra).

Mount Athos
Why go? Mount Athos is Greece's "holy mountain" - a strange, semi-autocratic republic inhabited and run only by Orthodox monks. Sadly, it's inaccessible to all women and to most overseas tourists - but get past the border post, and you'll find yourself staying in medieval monasteries linked only by ancient footpaths and the occasional boat. A typical Athonite day might involve getting up at five in the morning to hear Matins sung as the sun rises, eating a vegetarian breakfast, and then spending the day walking in the hot sun from one monastery to the next, among paddy fields tended by monks in black cloaks. Arriving in the next monastery, you'll attend Vespers, eat a vegetarian meal in silence, then retire early to your cell with its view of the sea. From late spring, you can also walk to the summit of Mount Athos itself.
How to get there: With patience and perseverance: it's not called a pilgrimage for nothing. As an overseas (male) visitor, you'll need to apply by phone to an office in Thessaloniki - and, as even Orthodox visitors have a complex paper trail to follow, it's best to start the process a few months in advance. For details, see Wikitravel.
Where to stay: In a monastery. Some of the most beautiful are Ayios Dhionyisios, Osios Georgios, Simopetra and Ayios Pavlos - each perched on the dramatic west coast of the peninsula. You only pay once for the permit (around 35 euros).

Sithonia
Why go? The next finger along the three-pronged Halkidiki from Athos, Sithonia is a fertile, pine-covered peninsula with outstanding beaches at its southern reaches, and views of the holy mountain rising out of the sea. Its forested slopes are popular with both Germans as well as Greeks - but if you can't visit Athos directly, it's the next best thing.
How to get there: Fly British Airways, Olympic or Thomsonfly to Thessaloniki. Thomsonfly also go to Kavala.
Where to stay: Kelyfos Hotel near Porto Carras, offers comfortable rooms and studios with views of sea and mountains (doubles 60-100 euros) while Pension Parthenon in Parthenonas is a mountain retreat (60-70 euros, +30 23750 72225).

http://travel.guardian.co.uk

Chef in Prague's "KAVALA" restaurant suggests..

Poseidon's gift

Seafood dish has storied past

June 14, 2006

From the chef Dimitrios Kouraris

For centuries, this has been a dish popular with local fishermen. The ingredients consisted of whatever their island offered — tomatoes and onions from the gardens, olives (grown all over the island) and the daily catch from the sea. Only rice had to be imported. The locals believed that everything in the sea was a gift from the god Poseidon.
In the past, they did not prepare the meals at home but immediately after fishing, often while still aboard their vessels, where they mixed what the sea had to offer in a pan with vegetables and rice. Ouzo was part of daily life as well. It helped kill time during cold nights on the open seas.
It is said that adding Ouzo to food was originally pure coincidence. One day a ship was tossed around by the waves, and some Ouzo spilled into the pot where the cook was preparing lunch for the fishermen. The cook did not admit to this, but he received nothing but praise for his meal. That's because Ouzo evaporates during cooking and leaves behind a unique herbal taste. A new idea was born.
Today, you can find this dish on the menu of many fine restaurants. It is best served with white wine or a dry ros?.
Dimitrios Koursaris is the chef at Kavala, located at Charlese de Gaulla 5 Prague 6–Dejvice. Tel. 603 516 840


CORFU RICE (Serves six)
2 cups rice
400 grams (14 ounces) shrimp
500 grams mussels (with the shell)
100 grams calamari (rings)
2 ripe tomatoes
2 onions cut in slices
Half cup Greek olive oil
1 teaspoon Corfu butter
2 tablespoons Ouzo
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper


Wash and clean mussels and calamari thoroughly.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot.
Place onions in the pot and allow to cook until brown, stirring occasionally.
Add the shrimp, calamari and mussels and saut? for two to three minutes.
Deglaze with the Ouzo, scraping the bottom of the pan.
Add the tomatoes, Corfu butter and aromatic herbs and stir while bringing to a boil.
Add two and a half cups water.
When water begins to heat, add the rice.
Boil for 12–15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley.

Source: http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2006/Art/0615/featu2.php

To Navagio ths Thassoy

 

Salvaging job

A firm will soon begin salvaging the remains of a cargo ship that foundered off the northern Aegean island of Thassos more than six months ago, port authorities in nearby Kavala said yesterday. Local authorities, concerned that the shipwreck discouraged potential tourists to the island, had been pushing for government intervention since November. The remains of the ship, which have been littering one of the island’s most popular beaches, are due to have been cleared by the beginning of July.

London-Jerusalem rally... passes from Kavala

London-Jerusalem rally attracts car enthusiasts

By Christine Pirovolakis, dpa
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)
05/30/2006

Kavala, Greece (dpa) - While not as harrowing or as deadly as the Paris-Dakar rally where competitors have to to battle sandstorms, landmines and bandits - 60 car enthusiasts have set off from London and will make their way across eastern Europe before heading to the Middle East.

This year, 30 vintage cars, jeeps and sports cars signed up for the JNF rally that began May 14 in London and cut a winding path through France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Liechtenstein, Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey before reaching Israel at the end of the month.

The rally which has lured drivers for a decade covers nearly 4,000 kilometres and involves automobiles as old as a 1926 Rolls Royce and as new as a 2006 Porsche and Mazarotti.

"We cannot really be considered a quick rally but more a historical one," said rally organiser Martin Hone.

Starting off in the port of Dover, drivers have already ploughed a trail through nine countries - passing by Lake Geneva before climbing the lower slopes of the Alps and the mountainous peeks of Macedonia before winding their way along the northern shores of the Aegean to the Greek town of Kavala.

With almost two weeks on the road, many of the drivers have suffered a number of setbacks from broken speedometers to faulty fuel-gadgets.

Initially starting off in a 2005 Renault Megane, duo Ashley Bernstein and Michael Irving arrived at the historical Imaret in Kavala in a rental car after their automobile broke down in the mountains just outside of Skopje.

"We realised we had a problem when we arrived in Skopje and we ended up getting ourselves down the mountain in neutral and with no breaks ... needless to say we are lucky we are still here," said Irving.

Driving their 1963 Ginetta, David Gutenberg said that he and his wife Louise were driving without a speedometer and were using a bamboo shoot to check for gas after their fuel gadgets broke down somewhere at the early start of the rally.

In this year's race drivers will cross the border from Greece into Turkey and will be following the plains running alongside the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul.

Due to security reasons, organisers took the precaution of transporting rally cars with a cargo carrier to Tel Aviv from Istanbul rather than make the journey through Lebanon and Syria.

"Because the race is organised by the Jewish National Fund we thought it best to bypass several countries as a precaution," said Hone.

The rally will continue along the northern borders of Israel before slaloming down south to the Dead Sea, through the craters and mountains of the Negev Desert into Jerusalem.

Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

http://www.cjp.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=184483

 

Illigal immigrants arested in Kavala

ATHENS, Greece (UPI) -- Greek police arrested 142 people trying to cross the country`s borders illegally in three different groups by truck and boat.

All three groups had come from Turkey, Ekathimerini.com reported.

The first arrests involved 73 people found in a refrigerator truck in Kavala in northwest Greece. The group included individuals from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Palestine, with 16 women and a boy as well as men.

The driver of the truck fled, but three people in cars escorting the truck were arrested.

Another 32 people were rescued off the island of Chios from a leaky wooden boat. A second boatload of 37 illegal immigrants was found early Monday off the island of Samos.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1166266.php/142_illegal_immigrants_detained_in_Greece

Prince Charles in Kavala

Prince Charles in northern Greece for visit to monastic sanctuary

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) _ Britain's Prince Charles arrived in northern Greece on Thursday before a planned visit to the 1,000-year-old monastic community of Mount Athos, officials said. 

The heir to the British throne landed at an airport near Kavala, about 173 kilometers (107 miles) east of the northern city of Thessaloniki, accompanied only by members of his guard. 

A private yacht later Thursday was to take him to the sanctuary, an important site for Orthodox Christianity that is only open to male visitors. 

Charles has made several trips to the self-governing community, and is due to stay at the Vatopedi Monastery. 

Both Charles and his father, Prince Philip, are members of the Friends of Mount Athos, a group that supports the community, which has 20 monasteries. 

Mount Athos, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) east of Thessaloniki, has been an autonomous monastic state since Byzantine times.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/5/11/apworld/20060511215551&sec=apworld