Politicians point fingers while Greece burns

Picture from leading newspaper Ta Nea- http://www.tanea.gr/

As Athens woke up this morning to the smell of burning fires and witnessed their cars covered in a fine sheet of ash, the reality of events began to settle.

While i was writing yesterdays blog, politicians came out and announced that recent upgrades will ensure no power outages or restrictions and no-one had to fear the fires as everything was ready. Hours later a major power station in the region of Macedonia, overburdened by electricy demand, blew its fuses sending a casquede effect down the lines, plunging the whole of northern Greece into a blackout.

Meanwhile the fires increased in intensity and numbers jumping to over 300 flare-up according to government news media. Of the 22 fire fighting planes, only nine were capable of flying and of those, two returned to base for maintence. Politicians who were previously telling everyone that everything was under control began to realise that we were now facing the most devastating fire in a decade. People whose houses were under threat from the fires appeared on tv to plead for firefighters to make an appearance to save their homes, firefighters in turn blamed understaffing (They claim that there are 4000 positions to be filled in their ranks). The government blamed the opposition for years of lax management. The opposition blamed the current government for not implementing any change, and the Communists... well they blamed the dominant two party system and the imperialist capitalist system and advocated a fundamental change to the political system.

Firefighters clock out - Volunteers clock in

Meanwhile the mayor of Parnitha, home to the last vestiges of green forest in the Attica basin, Athens lungs so to speak came out and pleaded for HELP and pointed out that finger pointing can be done later, but that he needed help NOW, before it was to late. Help did come. Apparently as the firefighters shift ended last night they abandoned two water tankers, these were commandeered by some 50 volunteers, some of them army, who went out by themselves to fight the fires.

Already at the sites of two fires evidence of foul play was found. At one a warning flare was found and at another a petrol jerry can with 30 shotgun shells. Some of the morning media have already pointed the finger at building companies who have been eyeing these green areas for building development for a number of years.

Right now Greece is asking for help from its neighbours in fighting these fires, unfortunately when the fires are quenched i fear that the same complacency that existed before will return. Sure much finger wagging will be had, voices raised on the television and a number of good plans raised, but if those who are at fault don't step up and admit fault nothing will change.

And to whom do i point and wag my finger - Well the fault is our own. Sure some can say that the government is corrupt and inneficient, or that many of the firefighters were only chosen according to whom they voted and only wanted a job where they were not expected to do anything. And those poor 'innocent' people who appeared on tv and cried for their houses to be saved, houses which were built not ten meters away from the forest (In Greece it is illegal for houses to be built any closer to 50 meters from the forest) - sure we could blame them, or even cheer at some sort of cosmic karma, but that's too easy.

We are to blame because we do not DEMAND from OUR government accountability, even NGO's such as WWF who have been pointing out the lack of fire breaks and proper forest management seem to be content to just point things out but do not follow up. No one does.
Partly its our own greed. "Atrocious that houses are being built where forests used to be, but if i save up, i too can own a house there..." Another part is our own complacency or lack of fight, the current system has been so ingrained in us that we don't believe we can fight it.

That being said action should be done by the government, they are the only people who can legislate after all. Do what Spain does, ban any building on burnt areas for 20 years, that is a first step. Do what Australia does - educate children on dealing with fires and the law. I never lived near a forest yet i know what i should look out for if i live near a forest.

The forest fires are still burning, while this is tragic i hope that this will be a catalyst for change.

Here are some pictures from local newspapers;

http://www.e-tipos.gr/

Greece burns - Civil servants take the day off

Record Highs

This week has seen record tempratures all over Greece. Last Tuesday the temprature hit a whopping 47C degrees in the centre of Athens! In an effort to fight the heat all the air-conditioners were put on max which contributed to the high tempratures.

Living in a concrete city like Athens only excacerbates the high tempratures. Green gardens in front of apartments have been built over to increase the inside apartment space in many suburbs. A culture of car dependence (car showing off) means that many have bought the latest luxury/sporty car and drive it everywhere, even if its to the local shop for some milk, just so they don't have to walk and to show off. This too increases the temprature highs.

This has also caused a strain on energy supply, the government is informing everyone to shut off all non-essential appliances in an effort to reduce energy use. Greece imports a lot of its energy from near-by countries such as Bulgaria, Italy and Turkey. I should also mention that Greece is far behind in reaching its commitment to renewable energy, such as wind turbines etc.
A recent wind energy park proposal on an island is being faught by nearby residents citing concerns that it would impact tourism. Another dirty coal burning plant scheduled to be shut down is still operating, not because of the energy it produces, but the locals who are dying at the age of 50 because of the pollution the dinosaur of a plant produces, demanded it be kept operational for the jobs it supplied. And since they die earlier because of it, the least the government could do is give them government jobs.

The government has also ordered that public services cease at 12:00 midday. This is so that energy consumption can be reduced. Unfortunately many left and forgot to turn them off, meaning that nothing was achieved. That sort of sums up the public service actually.

Greece has also been struck by at least 75 seperate fires. The government is calling on other governments to help them combat the fires. While many of the fires may be accidental there is a lot of cynicism in the country regarding them. Many blame the excessive smoking which goes on and people just throwing their cigarette butts out the window. A greater majority however blame the citizens and builders. Previous fires have cleared large sections of wooded areas where it is illegal to build. After the fires, no wood/forests, building becomes no problem!
Penteli which still has some forest left was the site of major fires a few years ago. Now it is becoming heavily populated by houses and apartments.

Why haven't the media brought it up you ask and bring it to public attention?

I don't know. Of course what many Athenians cite is that many top rated journalists have bought houses there, so really they should know first hand about whats going on. But there are some very nice houses up there now, wouldn't have been possible without the fires...

...and so it goes.

Al Gore in Athens

While George Bush was getting his watch stolen in Albania, former Vice President Al Gore was touring giving a personal presentation of his award winning documentary of an Inconvenient Truth.

Now is it just me or am i always the last person to find out things that are happening in Athens. I moved to Athens because there are always a lot of things going on. Unfortunately, they happen so fast that they are usually over if you don't pay special attention. This is true for independent movies to lectures and presentations.

I had heard about the Al Gore lecture a week ago but could not find details on the where and the when, it was only when i picked up a free daily newspaper that i saw 'Tonights Happenings'. When i arrived at the Megaro Mousikis it was clear that many had heard. Admission was free and the hall he was presenting in was full within minutes (Granted many of these seats were reserved for dignitaries and journalists). A second hall was quickly filled to near capacity were we could see the presentation on the big screen via a live feed. A simultaneous interpretation into Greek made it easy for the Greek speakers to follow. Unfortunately when it became apparent that we would not be able to hear him in English, many left, i assume they were English speakers, American who wanted to hear him.

My impression on the night was varies, a lot of what he 'revealed' I was taught in High School back in Australia, and i went to a normal government school. So half of what he said was not new. The other half i suppose was just continuing on from where i had graduated school. In other words, Few shock revelations.
What was revealing was the power of Photographs, images were presented of what is happening to our earth and in this digital Youtube age it is easy to forget the power that a single frame image can have.

What was revealing was the statistics which a University study came up with.
Roughly - From over 900 academically refereed articles on Climate Change/Global Warming, none - 0- nada zilch presented it as though it was open for debate, in other words - it is happening and we are witnessing the early stages. In contrast
From over 600 news articles - 53% reported it as if it was still debatable. If that is the case - who are the Academics backing up these news articles - who do these journalists quote if it is debatable?

Why is it so I wonder?

On the whole however not being in the same room as Al Gore meant that i missed some of the enthusiasm and vigour he puts into his presentation and we only heard bits and pieces of it, from the vigorous applause he was receiving I assume he went down well.

Another thing I noticed is that cargo pants and satchel bags were the dress code of the day.

But too many questions for one day...

Taxi driver apprehended, thousands still free

I should note that the Champions League final was marred when a taxi driver beat up a Liverpool fan. According to news reports the fan and his children took the taxi from the airport to their hotel in Nea Makri. Upon arriving the driver requested 95 euros as his fee, when asked by the fan "why is it more than the 25 euros indicated by the meter" the driver offered him a discount and asked for only 75 euros. Most probably having had enough the fan asked for a reciept where he was then beaten in front of his children, and the taxi driver drove off with his luggage and more importantly his match tickets.

Now we hear that the police have actually caught the taxi driver in question (when asked he apparently didn't realise he left with their luggage but when he did find out he left it on the pavement so that a "concerned citizen" could return it to the rightfull owner.

HAH!

I have relatives who are taxi drivers, unfortunatly however it can be really painfull and stressfull should you have to deal with taxi drivers. You could wait half an hour shouting out your destination to 70 taxis in the hope that one of them will take you to where you want to go. When you get in, if you are female you will of course be chatted up (and if you're really lucky invited out to a night of Cretan dancing!). You will be driven through random suburbs, slowly so that the driver can pick up a second or third passenger. Another trick they do is flick the thumb up while changing gear and change the meter from zone 1 to zone 2. Zone 2 is double and is used only after midnight. So if you land in Athens at 11:30 and need a taxi, forget it. They all dissapear until midnight so that they can charge double.

Without Discrimination

Taxi drivers may be the least racist of all Greeks. If its female they will hit on her. Foreigner or local, no difference, they will cheat both without discrimination.
When tourists come here they feel pity for them "Oh my how can they survive on such a low wage". Since these are the only working greeks they meet they fail to realise that wages are low for the vast majority living here. Its a tough place to survive.
What this has done however is given taxi drivers a feeling that they are entitled to more and entitled to cheat others to supplement their low income. Regardless of the fact that they are amongst the biggest tax evaders out there (up there with doctors and lawyers). Every second or third passenger is money in the pocket as there is no evidence of them using their service. Whenever the meter is not running, that too is money in the pocket.

Know your rights

When catching a taxi you might want to know that they are legally required to indicate that their taxi is Vacant (using the Eleuthero - Vacant sign on the dash) this is almost always turned down.
When they stop they are required to take you where you want to go - You don't have to stand like a hooker on a corner soliciting taxis for an hour or a minute.
They must ask your permission if you want another person to share your taxi.
They must leave you at the destination you specified otherwise they forfeit the fare.
You are entitled to a reciept (Legally speaking i think you are legally required to ask for one)
If you suspect that they are driving you in circles you can ask to be driven to a police department.
You can also take down their details and present them to the tourist police if you believe that you have been wronged.

Another note, the income they recieve from the taxi meter is decided upon by government in association with the Taxi drivers association. What is indicated on the meter, even if its a trip from Athens to Thessaloniki has been deemed enough for the taxi driver.
If you think thats low, well welcome to Greece!

PS. I just walk or try to take the Metro, who has time dealing with these clowns

Notes on a long weekend

Yesterday, Monday, was a public holiday here in Greece, i believe it was Aghios Pneuvmatos (correct me if i am wrong) which does not translate into Saint Lung, but something like Holy Spirit.

So since it was going to be a long weekend i decided to stock up on emergency food, basically bread, cheese and ham. If all else failed, i could make myself something to eat - no worries, i wouldn't starve. And of course as is always the case in these situations but that a friend sees me. Over she comes, has a look in my basket and of course notices the lack of fruit, vegetables and any real food in the basket.
So of course she thinks typical guy living by himself incapable of feeding himself beyond a ham and cheese toast. But i can do more than that, honest! (I have pickles at home! Another good emergency food) Anyway after that, partly from the embarrassment, i went by a new Organic shop that has opened up near me.
Living in Athens i am quite lucky because the open air fruit and veg markets are excellent! You can find excellent quality fruit and veg at very cheap prices, especially compared to Australia. Unfortunately because of work i can't make it that often. So this organic shop is a good alternatitive. I have noticed quite a few of them opening up over the recent years and you should pop in because as i discovered they have a whole lot more. Things like Organic Beer from Crete, Wines from all over Greece as well as cheese, milk, bread fruit and veg. Fantastic!
I left the store with some fruit, some really crispy apples as well as Hazelnut milk which made for a great ingredient in pancakes. They added a real nutty flavour to them.
So pop into and try them out!

BBC Bias in their reporting
Thanks to those of you out there who gave me a heads up on the BBC reporting on the Final in Greece last week. I managed to catch some of their reports. While Athens was inundated with English fans for the final and did cause a mess (see previous posts) they did behave themselves. They didn't riot or attempt to overthrow the government. The BBC reports on match night made it sound as though the English were rioting everywhere in the streets and that the police were clubbing anyone they could find. Why did they feel the need to hype everything up? Why were their journalists so sloppy or did they just want to make headlines out of nothing?

So what did i eat on the weekend you ask?
Ham and cheese toast. This week i will cook something, i promise!

Taxation in Greece is taxing

Applause!
Yes, yes thank you so very much.
After little over a week i finally managed to submit my tax form. *woohoo*
All i had to do was to wait in line at two different tax buildings, get redirected to another office just the once (for those of you who have been redirected countless times will realise how amazing this is) and hey presto one hour and three official stamps later, i managed to hand in the form.

Submitting your tax form in Athens can become complicated.
These forms can only be submitted at your 'local' Tax office which is based on your current residence. If you don't know ask your nearest tax office where you have to go.
If you have moved you also need an official stamp from your new tax office on your form before you hand your form in. Why i hear you ask? I dunno, thats just the way it goes.
I found out the hard way, after waiting in line for 50 minutes i was told that they couldn't accept it because it hadn't been stamped, as well as being told off for writing it by hand. Since this was my first time i had no other option.

Another confusing point is that throughout the document whenever it asks a question it asks you to cross (well you have to guess that you have to mark the box with an x) either Yes or 1.
Yes or 1? Whats that mean!!! Has anyone asked you to become a member of the church of Scientology and you replied with 1? I don't understand! Anyway with that cognitive hurdle sidestepped I manged to hand it in.

Soccer Fan Update
Athens is also looking a lot cleaner now that Soccer fever has died down. I was talking to a Milan supporter the day who was ripped of by a tourist agency back home. They sold him fake tickets and failed to book him a hotel room. But still he came on the off chance he could still find a ticket. He must have been one of the lucky ones because the first group of Milan fans he encountered he found someone who had a spare ticket. First though he had to listen to them chastise him for travelling without a ticket. "Whats this, how can you travel without a ticket? Where did you think you were going?" To each response he replied with the same answer "I am here now, is there a ticket?" So after half an hour of this someone said "Hang on, someone here has a spare, his friend couldn't make it" Without any hesitation he went for it.

But why is it that 10 000 English fans think it normal to travel without hotel booking, let alone without a ticket to watch the match, but completely strange for the Italians?

Anyway while i kind of miss them and the atmosphere, i can now walk in Syntagma and just lounge and wind down. Till next time.

The day after!

A lone Liverpuddlian sleeps it off next to another vagrant.

Well its over and Milan finished conquerers, beating Liverpool 2-1.
It was an exciting match, with Liverpool hammering away at goal for the fist half. But unfortunately not managing to get past the excellent defence of Milan.

Which brings me to an interesting point for those of you surviving Athens, the sports commentators on the state run channel here suck, or should i say SUCK with capitals. They are so incompetent they make monkeys look like geniuses. That's because they are incapable of making any intelligent comments on the match. It's always 'lathos' a mistake by the attacker. Not once did they say good defence by the defenders! And to top it off they didn't know who was playing. They knew this match was coming yet they made no effort to find out.

All through the first half the commentator was calling Liverpool player Kuyt - Couch. At half time he made a comment that "The correct pronounciation of his name is Couch and that's how the English pronounce his name and they should know". Why the English should know how to pronounce a Dutch name, i don't know. Then 15 minutes before the end, Crouch comes on and low and behold Kuyt is called Kuyt. Where did Couch Go?!

Nowhere! It's just that the commentator was an idiot, no, he was an idiot and a half. I bet he was the same guy he yelled for an offside during a Basketball match. *sigh*
If you wanna survive in Athens you have to get used to the idea that idiots are everywhere in high places, and especially on state run tv!

On a side note, local council cleaners spent over 8 hours cleaning up the mess made by the Liverpool supporters in Syntagma square. They estimate that 200 litres of cleaning products were used to get rid of the stench of urine and beer, and over 98 tonnes of aluminium beer cans were collected.
Despite their best efforts however the place still smells.
Maybe there should be an open festival held this weekend in Syntagma selling air freshners? It's just an idea.

Scenes from a wall

Though late in arriving, some Milan supporters enter the lions den.

But where have the Milan fans gone?

Liverpool fans in Syntagma









Yes, you're quite right, i have been focusing on the Liverpool fans, but thats only because the Milan fans are only just arriving.
The Milan fans have been delayed in arriving due to airport strikes which struck the nation just before they were due to leave. As a result the Liverpool fans have had Athens almost to themselves. According to the police and customs, 10 000 fans have arrived in Athens without tickets, without hotel bookings and without a clue.

For the most part they have been well behaved, if we overlook the drunkeness and public vagrancy. They are behaving like school kids without parent supervision. I'll explain.
In the UK now it's hard to relax, everyone is soooo uptight, can't say anything for fear of being called racist, sexist or intelligent. Blair has got them so worried that terrorists will enter their homes and blow them up that they have 24 hr sureveillance on them, oh and the pubs close early.
Now all of a sudden they arrive in Athens, The police ask them who they think are going to win, let them sleep in the parks and joy of all joys for them, they can purchase beer! from a Periptero, little shops and drink outdoors, in the sunshine!!! So of course these vagrant (30+ year old ) school kids are living it up!

The unfortunate side effect is that Syntagma square now smells like an english pub -- of spilled beer and urine -- 8 o'clock and there's a queue stretching out of Mc'donalds onto the road.
8 o'clock and there are dozens of poms walking around with two beers in their hands, i assume they drank the other four from the six pack.

So if you want to experience this go pop on by and have a beer with them, but if you do
remember to step really carefully.


Does that sign say Mum i'm gay?

Well why not if thats how he wants to express himself.

Champions League In Athens continued

Of course the biggest news this week is the Champions League final.
It seems that wherever you turn there is a kid walking down picturesque Ermou with a soccer ball or loud fans sharing a beer (either drinking them or just sloshing it all over the place).
They reckon that around 50,000 fans have decended from Italy and the UK to watch the event, thing is many of them have arrived with no tickets, hoping to purchase them here on the black market. Apparently this is making the black market go into overdrive with prices reaching at least 3 times marked value. Good news if you managed to be lucky enough to snag a ticket as this means you can now put that down payment on that house you wanted to buy.


Speaking of fans, as i mentioned yesterday a lot of the Liverpuddlian fans are sleeping outdoors, in Syntagma square and in a number of the other squares and parks surrounding Athens. I also saw a few of them selling a variety of Liverpool shirts at the flea market and on the streets over the weekend.
Now of course the Greek economy relies on tourism, but the way i see it these fans are not doing much to boost the economy. The government here is not doing anything to make the situation any better. All i am saying is try sleeping on a park bench in Italy, you can't because the Carabinieri will move you on. Try entering Israel without proof of a hotel booking. You cannot, and of course they are doing a lot better than Greece.

The symbolically striking Police have also struck upon an interesting idea, Paintballing, and they aren't for recreational use. Police officers will be using the paintball guns to shoot hooligans in the event that there are any clashes between fans. It is hoped that once marked the suspects can be arrested by police later on.

Hmmmm

Like i said an interesting idea but i have my doubts over how practical it is.