EVENTS up to THE PEAK OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS
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Jean-Claude and Martin, call urgently a meeting of the European
Parliament and a meeting of the Commission and pass a binding
statute against building fences in either internal or external EU
borders and back it up with a credible and substantial set of
sanctions against Member States that try to close the Continent
internally or externally. ENOUGH RHETORIC and WORDS;
It is high time you act to implement the wish of the overwhelming
majority of European Citizens. We did not unite our States to
seal them from extra-European influences and interaction with
the ``outside" World. We united our States so that all together
may have a larger and clearer perspective and a wider view
of our World - OUR ENTIRE WORLD.


Μιχαλο-σκατο-λιάκο, οι Έλληνες με τους σκληρούς και πολυετής
αγώνες τους και την ψήφο τους κατάφεραν να ξεφορτωθούν για
τα καλά τη παροιμιώδη βία της ΠΟΡΝΕΔ του νεαρού Βάγγου.
Και δεν το κάνανε για να παραδωθούν στη βία κανενός νεοφασίστα
μιχαλο-σκατο-λιάκου. Καλά κάνεις λοιπόν, αναλαμβάνοντας την
ηθική αυτουργία για πολιτικές δολοφονίες, και τους το θυμίζεις,
για να σε μαυρίσουν στις κάλπες αύριο και να μην ξανατολμήσεις
να εμφανίζεις τη γουρουνόφατσά σου και να περηφανεύεσαι για
την πολιτική και εγκληματική θρασυδειλία σου και τους φόνους
και τη βία που, όπως παραδέχτηκες, στέλνεις άλλους να διατελέσουν...


Message to the Volkswagen shareholders: You should call an
emergency meeting and vote to oust the VW CEO, the Chief
Engineer and the VW America CEO. In addition, you should
file immediately and without second thoughts a law suit on
behalf of the company against at least those three individuals
to recover as much from their bonuses, stock options, their
investments and salaries as possible under law to help defray
the upcoming costs of the heavy fines that will be imposed
by the United States regulating bodies and are exclusively due
to the idiotic and cavalier approach that at least these three
individuals have taken with regards to public policy and
environmental sensitivity. In fact, it is puzzling that a
company of that caliber has appointed to such high posts
such idiots that, in an era when everything is hacked by
every second kid, they were under the illusion and false
expectation that such actions would go unnoticed by experts...


Person A: What is your opinion and what are you going to do with X?
Politician: I hear many people talking about X. We'll look into it.
Person B: What is your opinion and what are you going to do with Y?
Same Politician: I hear many people are worried about Y. We'll look into it.
Person C:  What is your opinion and what are you going to do with Z?
Same Politician: I hear many people discussing Z. We'll look into it.
           They say I know nothing about X,Y or Z. But the day after
           (you, idiots, vote an ignorant for President of the United States,
           the most powerful Nation of the World, that you, idiots, will,
           then, be expecting to play a Leading Role in International Politics)
           I will know more than any of you (idiots) know. (I will google
           everything and become wise, why studying anything in advance?)

Question: Who is the politician whose stunning wisdom is showcased above?

People are wondering why Trump's behavior, relating especially
to the incident regarding the Nationality and Religion of our
President, is so different than that of Senator McCain's, one of
the most gentlemanly and most respected politicians in America.
I guess the intellect of part of our population is so lacking that
they would be wondering whether the Earth is flat or spherical,
or, more relevant, whether there is any difference between Einstein
and an ignorant, uneducated idiot...


I ask Senator McCain, who is, oftentimes, the public's
intermediary when it comes to military issues in Congress,
whether he is ready to divulge how much money was spent
to prepare and train the force of "4-5 remaining fighters"
in Syria. If I am correct in my suspicions, in the current
dire financial situation that our country is going through,
when waste is unacceptable, are lawmakers ready to
tolerate such cavalier and indifferent attitudes from the
Pentagon or are we at last going to see some commanders
being sacked for incompetence and embezzlement of public
funds and some military accountability? The political
hierarchy must act. Some military heads high up must roll.
 

I STAND WITH THE JAPANESE MOTHERS SAYING
NO TO WAR. Shinzo Abe is one of the least visionary and
least wise Prime Ministers Japan has ever had. SHAME
ON SHINZO ABE! SHAME ON JAPAN's DIET MEMBERS
for destroying an extremely significant and invaluable
post-World War II Japanese Pacifist Tradition.
 

BRAVO, BARACK, for inviting our Irving kid to our Capital.
We have reached a stage in our polity that fear of personal and
community safety and fear of legal liability are so debilitating
that our reaction tends to the illogical and the panicky rather
than the naturally kind and nurturing. And even though, with
many of the events that have transpired, stress and angst are
understandable, bigotry and/or discriminatory behavior as a
response, especially vis-a-vis one of our youth, are deplorable
and, for a country owing so much to immigration of various
ethnicities and various characteristics, rather puzzling.
But, Barack, you showed via your invitation that a very simple,
kind and considerate Presidential (or might we say, Princely)
Gesture can quickly act as a catalyst and Rewarm Hearts,
Rekindle Fraternity and Restore the Precious Balance of
one of our Greatest Principles, ``E Pluribus Unum",
Harmony in Unity and Diversity. THANK YOU, BARACK!!


Bravo to Representative Bennie Thompson from Mississippi
calling for openness and accountability in the activities and
the expenditures of the Red Cross and, by extension, of all
other similar humongous Charity Organizations (or, one is
very tempted to say Charity Corporations or Businesses of
Charity). In a Society where Law is supposed to reflect high
ethical standards and assure Good Governance, there is no
excuse for these Corporations of Charity to be shady, secretive
and unwilling to provide full accountability for their operations.
To go a step further and reiterate a statement that I made
previously and wholeheartedly stand by (amplifying Rep.
Thompson's efforts), every Charity Organization in this
Country, where transparency is of paramount importance,
but, also, in all States in our World, should be compelled by
Law to publish yearly a list in decreasing order of the 100
highest compensated employees starting from the CEO
down the ladder. It would be interesting, then, to find out
how many donors would - in full information and in good
conscience - choose to continue their donations. DO NOT
ALLOW the RED CROSS TO BECOME another FIFA.


And Papa Francesco added his voice for more to be done,
at a personal, communal, organizational and State levels
to offer shelter, compassion and hope to those looking for
safety and a better life and to proceed all together as must
be the case. There is simply no other choice. Believing
otherwise is simply not realistic; only a move to evade the
collective responsibility towards our Fellow Human Beings
overwhelmed and exhausted by trouble and desperation.


NO! The State of the Most Victimized People of the Last
Great War does not have the Geographical Space, the
Human Space or the Heart, Mind or Appetite to offer
Shelter and Asylum to any Persecuted (Gentile) Souls...


Bravo to the German Chancellor for having clearly and
unequivocally taken the lead in the Refugee Crisis. And
Bravo, also to the German SPD (that, in addition to its
readjustment to modern needs and adoption of realistic
policies and adaptation to new demanding and challenging
volatile political circumstances, has, nevertheless, never
abandoned its proud roots to the ADAV and SDAP days)
for not forgetting the there is nothing to divide the most
unfortunate and the Workers of this World, and that
under dire circumstances we all face the same perils
and the same struggles for survival and for a better
life and a better future in our travels and adventures
through life and towards the common Destiny of Humans
and Humanity, and, therefore, lending a strong political
support to the German Chancellor's Initiatives. Bravo,
also, to the French President for being another Champion
of adoption of constructive measures and for not sitting
idle, pretending that we are neither responsible for nor
compelled by International Legal Standards to act and
help and accommodate Victims of War and Human
Caused and Human Perpetuated Disasters. The Positions
and the Actions of All of You form the slightest remaining
Hope for an Improved World over an otherwise very very
dim forecast and a very very frail and brittle outlook...
 

Don't tire Donaldinho with History Questions. He just
wants to be President of the United States...


It was astounding to find out that the clerk resisting same-sex
license issuing in Kentucky, not only has been receiving money
from "fans" and "supporters", but had as an underling her
own son. I am wondering... did she have anything to do with
his being hired at that position? Is she part of - this worst of
all American qualities - Nepotism, Favoritism, Partialism and
Preferential Treatment - that slowly, but steadily, erodes the
meritocracy and equal treatment under the Law that this
Country was founded upon and that is so important for our
maintaining a strong position in innovation and in our Place
in the World? Hiring your own Associates, offering them
preferential treatment and promoting them ahead of more
able and qualified people is condemnable and despicable and
speaks volumes about both people employing the technique,
whatever the motivation, reasoning or excuse, and those on
the receiving end of these favors...


At the moment (Second Day of September of 2015), the
only two viable candidates in our Presidential Races
for 2016 are Bernie Sanders on the Democratic Side
and John Kasich on the Republican Side. The remaining
candidates either are completely out of whack with the
views, attitudes and wishes of the majority of the
electorate or have serious handicaps when it comes
to their inspiring trust and confidence as related to
their words versus their abilities and political actions.
I would still wish that the Michigan Governor would
enter the race. Despite several shortcomings in his
policies, I believe that he would be a fair Centrist
compromise and a Moderating Reasonable Voice,
and, as such, could prove beneficial, given the current
state of affairs and the polarization in our political life.
 

The United States and its European and Middle-Eastern
Allies either directly participated or actively encouraged
Wars, Revolutions and Uprisings in the Middle- and the
Farther-East. They thought: A few families will loose loved
ones, a few houses will be destroyed, a few regimes will be
toppled and the human spill will be handled by surrounding
States; no big deal. Now thousands and thousands of
refugees and of economic migrants arrive to European
Lands from those States or Lawless Localities of No Present
and of No Tomorrow and many Europeans are afraid and
heed those eager and anxious to exploit their xenophobia
and other complexes and say they do not want them and
are not ready to accommodate them. Oh Well... That is
NOT how things work and the sooner People and their -
not so enlightened - Governments find out and the sooner
they assume responsibility and adopt constructive and
realistic measures to cope with these issues, and avoid
escapism and wall-buildings, the better the situation for
both the migrants and the European States will become.


BRAVO, ICELAND!!


The Hungarian Neo-Nazis are as furious at Mr. Orban
as Jean-Marie is at Marine for her Political Patricide:
"You are stealing our Principles and our Ideas!
When did YOU become a Nationalist, Misanthropic Pig?"
 

The poor Papa Francesco got really despirited by the
stubborn hard-headed and cold-blooded officials of his
Institution that expect him to show the way rather than
opening their hearts and their minds directly to their
alleged object of worship:
"I told you... Leave me alone!
Who the **** do you think
AM I TO JUDGE?"
And the sad thing is that the flock interprets Papa Francesco
literally literally... They are unable to abstract his dicta by
extension and apply them to themselves, to those officially
lesser stewards of the flock... and, thereby, do the Right Thing
without waiting in every instance for his encouragement and
his permission.


That is, unfortunately, a typical issue with American Domestic
Politics. One airhead utters a stupidity and, then, other brainless
idiots start competing on who will outperform the next in populism
and imbecility. I am wondering whether there will be a Republican
with a genuinely integrated outlook and a Global viewpoint to
summon the courage and find the guts to explain to the electorate
that, not only is building walls a futile, expensive and counter
productive exercise, but, in fact, for a nation based on, and having
benefited enormously from, immigration it goes against its very
essence and sacrifices, in today's Global climate, an extremely
important moral, political, economic and social advantage that
we could harness by welcoming immigrants in a constructive
way and providing them with opportunities to flourish and
adopt new initiatives and contribute with their enthusiasm
and their spirit in our Nation moving forward and in staying
one of the most liberal, respectful, innovative, powerful and
richest in the World. Resist the temptation to forgo these unique,
rare and tremendous opportunities that are for us to develop.


WE ALL STRONGLY SUPPORT A RADICAL FIFA REFORM!


Shame on Malaysia's Prime Minister, who has the shamelessness
of claiming that his embezzling large sums of money from the
public purse constitutes a gift due him because of his "gracious"
services... Shame, also, to those persons, organizations, etc., that
deposited the humongous amount to the PM's bank accounts
to buy favors, without recognizing that such actions, besides
being utterly unethical, are contributing to the nepotism and
corruption at a grand scale and defeat all efforts made by both
Governments and NGOs to ensure Good Governance and
transparency in the dealings of all States' Governments...


As the richest Nation on the Planet, we should also be the One
with the Greatest Heart and with the Biggest Confidence in
the Potential of all People to contribute to our Political, Social
and Economic Future and Well-Being, given the right Chances,
and Equal Opportunities in Education and in the Job Market.
We want Leaders that reflect these Values, that Cherish the
Diversity and Openness of this Nation and the Equality of all
under the Law and the Dictates of Humanity. Racists, Bigots
and Failed Individuals that exploit the letter of the law, without
regard to its Spirit, and use expensive lawyers to enrich
themselves to the detriment of their fellow citizens and that,
at the end of the day, instead of being ashamed and remorseful
of their shady manipulations and shameful actions, are proud
and unrepentant, have NO PLACE IN THE HEARTS AND
MINDS OF HONEST MEN AND HONEST CITIZENS.


The Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate
Apple's CEO. Most likely, Mr. Cook holds Apple shares and,
therefore, his untimely and extraordinary move to divulge
to the press positive financial information on the sales of
his Company in China, in view of the Stock Market turmoil,
involves personal interests and has ulterior motives. Such
moves should be decisively condemned and punishment in
the form of substantial fines should be imposed by a system
that is there allegedly to oversee respect for the rules, to
safeguard fair play and to protect and defend the established
rules and regulations and apply them uniformly and to the
same extent to all.


Η Πρόεδρος της Βουλής είναι τόσο βαθειά κομπλεξική,
ανούσια και ακαλλιέργητη αγριάνθρωπος, που από την
αγριότητά της, δεν έχει καν επίγνωση ή συναίσθηση
ότι, όταν τραβάς μετά μανίας το καζανάκι αφού έχεις
βοθροποιήσει τη λεκάνη, και θα αυτοπιτσιλιστείς με
τα σκ**ά και θα σου μείνει ο μηχανισμός στο χέρι,
και θα κοιτάς απορώντας σα μαλ**ας για το τί συνέβη...


Βαγγέλη, συνεννοηθείτε και με τον Σταύρο και με τη
Φώφη, να δώσουμε όλοι ψήφο εμπιστοσύνης στον
Αλέξη, να διατηρήσουμε και τον Ευκλείδη προς το
παρών για ακόμα 2 περίπου χρόνια, να σταθεροποιήσουμε
και να ισχυροποιήσουμε πρωτίστως την οικονομική
κατάσταση της χώρας, με σταδιακή έξοδο από τους
κεφαλαιακούς ελέγχους, και την πολιτκή θέση της
χώρας εντός των Ευρωπαϊκών θεσμών κατά δεύτερο
λόγο, και στη συνέχεια να συμβάλλουμε σε μία κοινωνική
επανόρθωση, χωρίς να επαναλλάβουμε το τραγικό
λάθος της διόγκωσης του κρατικού προϋπολογισμού
πέραν των οικονομικών δυνατοτήτων της χώρας.
Ελπίζω μέσα απ' αυτήν τη συνεννόηση, όχι μόνο να
ωφεληθεί η Ελλάδα, το οποίο και θεωρώ σιγουρότατο,
αλλά επίσης να δημιουργηθεί μία παραγωγική σχέση
και χημεία προοπτικής μεταξύ των πολιτικών αρχηγών,
ώστε μετά τις επόμενες εκλογές να μην επανέλθουμε
σε παλιές καταστάσεις στείρων διαξιφισμών, αλλά
να βγάλουμε κοινά προγράμματα προς το συμφέρον
της χώρας και να βάλλουμε και πάλι κοινές πλάτες
για να πάμε όλοι μαζί μπροστά. Κανένας πολιτικός
χώρος και κανένας πολιτικός ηγέτης, ακόμα και με
απόλυτη κοινοβουλευτική πλειοψηφία, δεν μπορεί
σε μία μικρή χώρα, σαν την Ελλάδα, με μεγάλη
εθαισθησία σε εξωτερικούς κλυδωνισμούς και εξωτερικές
διακυμάνσεις, διαταραχές και πιέσεις να λειτουργεί
μόνος του. ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΑΣ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΛΑΒΟΥΜΕ ΚΑΙ
ΑΣ ΣΥΝΕΝΝΟΗΘΟΥΜΕ ΟΛΟΙ ΝΑ ΠΑΜΕ ΜΠΡΟΣΤΑ!


The mine operated and a few got rich. The mine was closed,
the clean up was abandoned and the EPA was left with the
expenses and the responsibility of oversight, whereas, in my
view, it should have been, by Law, the responsibility of the
mine operators, that had been profiting, to either assume the
cost of maintenance and safety through time after leaving,
or, alternatively, the cost of complete restoration of the site
to its original state and safety conditions.
In this case what was done is done ``Nullum crimen sine lege"...
BUT A LOUD WARNING TO THE FEDS and THE EPA:
DO NOT ALLOW THE SAME THING TO HAPPEN WITH
FRACKING and then PRETEND YOU DID NOT KNOW.
When companies operate sites and contaminate the substrata
with toxic chemical solutions, they should not be allowed to
leave and be absolved of the responsibility for potential
future catastrophes and for cleanup, when their ``reinforced"
tanks deteriorate and start fracturing or breaking and start
leaking and contaminating the surrounding and, possibly,
far away, underground water horizons to the detriment of
the neighboring communities. Those that get rich in a risky
way should not have the expectation, in a society ruled by
Fair and Impartial Laws, of getting away with the consequences
of the their actions and of leaving others, on the public purse,
to deal with the long-term effects and shoulder the long-term
substantial expenses of repairing the damage they have caused.


I hear that in Ferguson, there are paramilitary - mostly white -
veteran's units carrying semiautomatic weapons imposing or
supporting law and order, under the auspices of the State and
under cover of the ``carry openly registered weapons" Missouri
State Law. On the other hand, I am certain that even if a mere
knife was brandished by any of the protestors, they would have
been interrogated and thrown to jail. And I, also, doubt that
Ferguson Police would have allowed any - even registered -
gun brandishing on the protestors' side. Why such clear,
despicable double standards shown so manifestly on the site
of demonstrations organized and tailored to showcase and
expose exactly the existence of such unacceptable double
standards of treatment? Unfortunately, for one and only very
obvious reason: One side looks like us (politicians, police and
government) and, hence, is not perceived as threatening. The
other side does not look so much like us, we have sufficiently
vilified it and abused it over time to be angry enough, and,
so, we are accustomed and conditioned to presume that its
members are not exactly brothers and sisters, but some
alien, inherently violent and thuggish and unwanted part
of the populace. But, nevertheless, later on, when all gets
``calm and back to normal", the ``Good and Law-abiding
Police Departments" are going to ask other ``Enlightened
Authorities" and ``Enlightened Forces", including the Good
Feds, to come in and provide ``training" on how to better treat
minorities and on how to uphold equal standards and offer
equal treatment under the Law... What a SHAME! What a
parody of pretense, what a tragic comedy of the absurd that
these authorities are trying to market to us, the American
Public, having always treated us collectively, like a passive,
stupid, retarded idiots lacking all - even the most fundamental
- analytical skills, presumed unable to figure out even the
most obvious reality, gaping clear and transparent for all
but the most mistrusting, suspicious and biased to see...


The ex-Secretary has made a serious mistake in handling
the email issue the way she did. My assumption is that
she was cognizant and was told about the basic Official
Rules that were governing emails of High Level Government
Functionaries and that, for her own reasons, chose to either
ignore them or bypass them. Now that, because of her
actions, the various agencies and commissions of inquiry
have to look into her behavior and choices and to investigate
her actions and exchanges, it would seem very reasonable
and desirable to me to demand that she and her associates
PAY FROM PRIVATE FUNDS for these investigations
that were caused in no way by any fault of the taxpayers
or by any fault or omission of the official Government
Apparatus. If this does not happen, I would consider
Secretary Clinton an undesirable candidate with
questionable financial record and ethical standards.
 

Some people lack completely any sense of SHAME and,
I am very tempted to even conclude, intelligence...


I am just wondering: Does the Turkish President even
recognize what is the meaning of the Separation of Powers
and does he even understand what the Principle of the
Independence of the Judiciary Branch entails and does
he really believe in any sense in the Cornerstone Checks
and Balances without which there cannot be Good
Governance and a Corruption-Free and Ethical National
Leadership and Political and Economic Planning?
Erdogan owes it to Turkey and its Citizens to leave
the Fundamental Principles and Values on which the
Modern Turkish Republic was Founded intact and
functioning to Guarantee Continued Political Stability
and Prosperity for the Turkish State and its Citizens.


Tsipras was absolutely justified to tell the Chancellor that
"no deviations" can be accepted on the envisaged deal that
was negotiated between Greece and its Partners regarding
the Third Memorandum on keeping Greek finances afloat.
Reciprocally, Tsipras must also realize that no deviations
would be acceptable from the opposite side from the steps
necessary to faithfully implement the Memorandum.
Greece has been reluctant and has failed repeatedly in
following through with promises and assumed obligations
in Good Faith. This time around, the current popularity
of its Government, the accompanying popularity of the
Prime Minister, the availability of a solid Finance Minister,
as well as the unique situation of firm support in Parliament
from all Eurocentric Opposition Parties and near-Universal
Dedication to the European Orientation and Future of the
Country must convince the Prime Minister to change things
and to genuinely and enthusiastically make an honest effort
to implement the dicta of the Memorandum so that Greece
and its European Partners may realize at last a change
towards stability and improvement in economic conditions
and in multilateral political relations in the, hopefully, not
too distant future.
 

70 YEARS SINCE the TRUMAN ATROCITIES
Japan has the responsibility to keep its Pacifist Constitution
intact. Instead of becoming more aggressive, Japan should
make persistent use of all possible Diplomatic Means at its
disposal to persuade its Neighbors, especially China and
Korea to join her in her Pacifist Outlook and tirelessly work
in the context of Regional and World Structures to Strengthen,
Solidify and Promote further Regional Peace, Security,
Fraternity and Cooperation among All Nations of the
Western Pacific Region and our Entire World.
Finally, IT IS HIGH TIME ALL WORLD POWERS
AND ALL NUCLEAR STATES RESTART WITH renewed
VIGOR AND POINTED DETERMINATION NEGOTIATIONS
TO BAN CONCLUSIVELY ALL MILITARY NUCLEAR
ACTIVITIES, INITIATE IN A COORDINATED WAY
THE STAGED REDUCTION OF NUCLEAR ARSENALS
TOWARDS COMPLETE ELIMINATION and FORM
A CONVENTIONAL WORLD SCIENTIFIC and
MILITARY FORCE TO INSPECT, VERIFY and
CONFIRM COMPLIANCE to THIS DREAMED OF
TREATY OF ALL TREATIES.
It is not too late to do the right thing. It is the least
OUR WORLD OWES TO HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI.
 

Bravo to the Women Founding Members of "Melissa".
We need everybody's help; an effort encompassing
Public, NGO and Private Initiatives, Dedication and
Funding to cope and to have hope, to face the challenges
and create new relationships and find new opportunities.


Kudos to the German MP Martin Patzelt. While, clearly,
such actions cannot untie the Gordian Knot of the Refugee
and Immigration Issue, which requires a coordinated and
sustained Herculian World-wide effort, it does help to
remind the World Community of a Fundamental
Responsibility in Humanity and Fraternity Between
all Nations and to the German and all Other European
People, in particular, that, not so many decades ago,
many of their own ancestors were forced to emigrate
as Refugees in search of Help and Support in faraway
lands and that, in the absence of Fraternity, Solidarity,
Compassion and Dedication to Humanity, it could happen
again.


As a Jew, how personal is to Representative Schiff
that Israel was the first State in the Region to
surreptitiously develop nuclear weapons and,
thus, in essence, initiating the proliferation race
in the Middle East and, how personal is the Illegal
Occupation and the blatant disregard for Legal and
Ethical Standards entailed by the continued
methodical settlement of the occupied territories?
If one is to stand firm in support of the interests of
a certain State, then they should, at least, demand
that that State first and foremost Respect the Rules
that they are asking their Agents to uphold and
promote vis-a-vis other States in our Global
Community; otherwise, a State surrenders the
Moral Standing to do so.


The Michigan Attorney General's Office is mulling
that he is considering a fresh Law Suit (after the
debacle and shenanigans related to our debasement
and public shaming as one of the last States to cling
in a bigoted and antiquated way to pursuing the
marriage bias to the very top) against the EPA's
authority to impose new clean air standards.
I am wondering WHO ARE THE LAWYERS THAT
PROFIT from these questionable pursuits of Bill
Schuette that are, of course, not paid by his own
personal funds, but are assigned on the Authority
vested by the Voters of our State and are enriched
by Public Funds paid by and loaded on the backs of
the State's Citizens. One more time that the awful,
short-sighted and mindless decisions - that I am
also deeply suspicious are made with ulterior,
selfish financial motives - of the Attorney General
are forcing one to demand that the Governor do
the right thing and either deflect his efforts to more
important things for our State, or replace him with
a person willing and able to spend our State's limited
resources in a thoughtful, constructive and smart way.


David Greene interviewed one of the most influential
musicians alive today, the Legendary Buddy Guy, on
the occasion of the release of his latest album Born
to Play Guitar and of his nearing 60 YEARS of
tireless and continued contribution to that one
Genre of American Music that made all genres of
American Music possible and can make even the
most skeptic critic fond of both the History and the
Culture that gave it Birth and made it the Foundation
of Who We Are and what Our Country is all about.
 

Μπράβο στην Ελληνική Πολιτεία γιατί, παρ' όλα τα
οξυμένα και ασφυχτικά πολιτκά, οικονομικά και
κοινωνικά προβλήματα που μαστίζουν τη Χώρα,
φαίνεται ότι δεν ξεχνάμε τους ταλαιπωρημένους
και κατατρεγμένους συνανθρώπους μας που έρχονται
μετά από μεγάλα ρίσκα και κινδύνους στη χώρα μας.
Όλοι μαζί, κι εκείνοι κι εμείς, να προσπαθήσουμε, με
τα λίγα και μετρημένα μέσα που μας έχουν απομείνει,
να κάνουμε ό,τι καλύτερο μπορούμε για όλους μας
και όλους τους συνανθρώπους μας...
On the contrary, the message to the Czech President
is that a little compassion to suffering human beings,
that have risked everything for a better life, never
hurt anyone, nor will it damage the Czechs' standing
and the Humanity, Civility and Kindness of our
- but, alas, apparently not his - Civilization... 
 

My point of view is that Cecil's killer should be extradited
to face justice in Zimbabwe. If he knew what he was doing,
which seems very likely, given the amount of money that,
allegedly, changed hands, he should be punished severely
to the full extent of the Law. If, on the contrary, he was
misled by local guides in search of extra profit, as he claims,
then, having done something so manifestly in violation of
the Law, he should still be held accountable, but his professed
ignorance should serve to mitigate punishment.
In either case, CAN WE - Westerners in affluent personal
circumstances - NOT FIND SOMETHING MORE NOBLE
TO EXCITE OUR IMAGINATIONS and OCCUPY OUR
TIME and FULFILL OUR DREAMS and SATISFY OUR
QUEST FOR PLEASURES THAN HUNTING AND
KILLING OUR PLANET's MOST WONDERFUL AND
PRINCELY FELLOW TRAVELERS in Life and Death?


Unfortunately, as long as the problems are our neighbors'
and partners' problems and not our own, we close our eyes,
our ears and our mouths and we pretend innocence and
ignorance and show a ``your problem" and jemenfoutiste
attitude. When we, at last, realize, through own experience
and pain, that, in a Global Community, there is absolutely
no problem that can be our neighbors' and friends' problem
and stay our neighbors' and friends' problem without
becoming our own in a substantial way, then, if we are
not unconvincingly stubborn and mindlessly careless,
we spring into a, hopefully not too delayed, action...
 

Regardless of who was responsible for downing MH17,
I feel a deep shame and embarrassment on behalf of
Russia for not supporting in our Security Council the
Resolution allowing the establishment of an International
Tribunal to investigate and resolve the case and try the
War Criminals responsible for the deaths of so many
innocent civilians that were targeted in gross violation
of International Humanitarian Law.  Passing the
resolution was, in my opinion, the ONLY REASONABLE
OPTION, the only way to move forward in an honest
way, unless a Nation had reasons to hide or protect others...


Ahmet Davutoğlu should show the calmness and the self
restraint that is needed by a responsible and mature
administration in critical historical moments and refrain
from hasty and punitive actions against the elected
Kurdish Representatives in the Turkish Parliament.
On the one hand, since Turkey has a significant Kurdish
minority and has settled on a Democratic System of
Government, its Parliament will have to embrace and
work with the Legitimate Representatives of the electorate.
On the other, the Kurdish Representatives and their
involvement, harmonious incorporation in the decision
making process and productive cooperation with the
Turkish Government in finding solutions for the
serious and difficult regional problems of the most
sensitive region of the Turkish State are a sine qua non
for Turkey, the entire Region and for Global Stability,
Peace and Security.
 

BRAVO, BOSTON! Not a penny from any SMART CITY
to the SWISS CARTEL of pseudo-olympic OLIGARCHS.


Platini is, of course - like day as contrasted to night - a huge
improvement over the despicable Blatter, but, after all, any
non-criminal would be. In addition, Platini has instituted
and implemented the idea of hosting the Euro in many Cities
and Countries, which has the double advantage of enabling
a wider portion of the football fans to watch in situ some of
the games and, also, of spreading the organizational
burden to many staging associations rather than placing
all the weight and related expenses on a single State.
If this was to happen in organizing the World Cup, it would
also be a very positive development. An additional advantage
would be to reduce organization costs and to distribute much
more of the income to the National Associations for grassroots
development rather than keeping it in Switzerland to enrich
the few top officials. But, in all honesty, my opinion is that
FOOTBALL, at its top executive echelons, NEEDS NEW,
YOUNGER PEOPLE, less tainted by what we have been
witnessing and less entangled in the special interests of
outside groups that have been adversely affecting fair play
and the purity of the game. It is for this reason that I would
like to see other viable candidates, experienced but younger,
come forward to assume leadership with Honesty, Respect
for the National and Regional Associations and Love for
the Game top and foremost among their thoughts, plans
and considerations.


Bravo to Barack, who, with his usual directness and frankness,
did not hesitate in letting his - and our - opinion, that Africa's
Development Requires Genuine Democracy and Good Governance,
be known LOUD and CLEAR, BEYOND the SHADOW of ANY
and ALL DOUBT, in front of leaders that, on many occasions,
have either failed the test miserably, or have, through their inaction
or acquiescence, contributed substantially in disastrous violations
of the Principles of Democratic Power, Respect for Fundamental
Individual Freedoms and Inalienable Human Rights and, perhaps,
above all, of Good Governance.
BRAVO, BARACK!!


Bravo to President Anastasiadis and Prime Minister Netanyahu
for reasserting the close Bilateral Relations between Cyprus and
Israel and for working towards an even closer Cooperation in
the portfolios of energy, economy and security. Developing an
environment of Stability, Security, Cooperation and Economic
Development is beneficial not only for Cyprus and Israel, but
also the Wider Region and, in a globalized business community,
for our entire World.


Ακούω τον Μάρδα να λέει ``Ο καθένας μπορεί να επεξεργάζεται
με το επιτελείο του ό,τι θέλει". Ο Κύριος Μάρδας, και κάθε άλλος
Μ(πουρδ)άρ(-δ)ας, πρέπει να αντιληφθούν ότι τα επιτελεία των
υπουργών, που κατά πάσα πιθανότητα αμείβονται από κρατικά
κονδύλια και από τα χαράτσια των φορολογουμένων, δεν είναι
αυλές σπιτιών, εξοχικά, ουζερί και ψαροταβέρνες, όπου ο κάθε
υπουργός μπορεί να καλέσει τους κολλητούς του και τον
αυλόγυρό του να τα πουν και να κάνουν το κομμάτι τους; Στα
υπουργεία ο,τιδήποτε εξελίσσεται, διαμείβεται και αναπτύσσεται,
είτε ως συζήτηση, είτε ως σχέδιο, είτε, και τελικά, ως υλοποίηση,
είναι ευθύνη μίας ολόκληρης κυβέρνησης και, κορυφαία, ευθύνη
του αρχηγού και συντονιστή μιας κυβέρνησης. Και η σημερινή
Κυβέρνηση πρέπει να το προσέξει αυτό διότι οι πολιτικές
ευθύνες, όταν υπάρχει χονδροαφερεγγυότητα, ανικανότητα
και απερισκεψία, μπορούν πολύ εύκολα να μετατραπούν σε
βαρύτατες ποινικές ευθύνες όλων...


My question to Barack, to Secretary Kerry, to Secretary Carter,
as well as to Ms. Rice, would be why, we chose to be transforming
a straightforward fight against a blatantly terrorist organization,
the Islamic State, into a complicated Political Balancing Act,
by dangerously intervening, in an unpredictable fashion, into
a complicated entangled calculation and a purely Political
Affair between two United States Allies and Friendly Nations,
the Turkish State and the Representatives and Proxies of the
Kurdish semi-Autonomous Administration in Northern Iraq.
Why could we not convince and support both Sides to work
together in a Cooperative Way against a common threat and
use that threat to further Improve Relations in a Tripartite
Way, instead of, in the altar of fighting a common enemy, create
new tensions, enmities and instability in a Relation that already
had been showing signs of improvement, having recently taken
a peaceful and conciliatory direction and having started to exert
a stabilizing influence, after a mutually, albeit informally,
nevertheless faithfully, agreed upon ceasefire through a
promising political dialog?
 

Τσίπρα, αυτά που ακούμε και διαβάζουμε για το πού θα
μείνουν οι εκπρόσωποι των θεσμών, αν θα μπαίνουν ή
όχι στα Υπουργεία για να μπορούν οι άνθρωποι να κάνουν
σωστά και απρόσκοπτα τη δουλειά τους και να προσφέρουν
τις υπηρεσίες και τη βοήθειά τους να στήσουμε επί τέλους
ένα φερέγγυο πολιτικά, οικονομικά και κοινωνικά κράτος,
όχι δευτέρας, αλλά πρώτης ταχύτητας, ώς αρμόζει σε
κράτος μέλος της Ενωσής μας, είναι γελοιότητες,
ανουσιότητες και θυμίζουν, όχι χώρα με Ιστορία και
Αυτοπεποίθηση στο τί μπορούμε να καταφέρουμε, αλλά
μία φοβισμένη, αγχωμένη και ανοργάνωτη μπανανία,
που φοβάται μην τυχόν και ``αποκαλυφθεί" η ολοφάνερη
ανικανότητα και απροθυμία αυτής και των πολιτικών
της να πάρουν γενναία και πρωτοποριακά μέτρα για
την ανοικοδόμηση της χώρας και για το μέλλον των
παιδιών τους... ΝΤΡΟΠΗ...


ΜΗΝ ΤΥΧΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΤΕ ΣΕ ΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ. ΟΛΟΙ ΜΑΖΙ
ΓΙΑ ΜΙΑ ΤΕΤΡΑΕΤΙΑ ΝΑ ΟΛΟΚΛΗΡΩΣΟΥΜΕ, ΕΣΤΩ
ΚΑΙ ΜΕ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΗ ΜΕΙΟΨΗΦΙΑΣ, ΑΛΛΑ ΜΕ
ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΗ ΣΥΝΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ, ΤΟ ΠΡΟΣΑΡΜΟΣΤΙΚΟ
ΚΑΙ ΜΕΤΑΡΥΘΜΙΣΤΙΚΟ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΟΧΙ ΜΟΝΟ
ΓΙΑ ΔΙΑΣΩΣΗ ΑΛΛΑ ΓΙΑ ΑΝΑΠΡΟΣΕΓΓΙΣΗ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ
ΕΥΡΩΠΗ ΜΑΣ.

Μ' άλλα λόγια ν' αγαπιόμαστε...


With all due respect to Mr. Cosby's wife, since her only
fault seems to have been having made the wrong choice
of a partner many years ago, try to save your own
reputation, at this eleventh hour. Your husband seems
to have caused tremendous suffering to many women
and he is under tremendous pressure to confess his
sins and to atone, at last for his actions. If for nothing
else, you owe it to these women to stand with them in
condemning these actions whether having being
perpetrated by someone close to you or someone
unrelated. Moreover, the Department of Justice
should not let similar behaviors, at allegedly such
large scale, go uninvestigated, be it from a famous,
but sorry, TV personality or from an ordinary Citizen.
When the safety, physical, emotional or mental, of so
many of our fellow Citizens seems to have been
compromised, we cannot hide behind our fingers...


To the United States Attorney General: Assume the initiative
to convince the President and the Congress to legislate to the
effect that all uses of lethal force (including Tasers) by Police
Departments are prohibited, unless there is a Clear and
Imminent Threat to Human Life. Using handguns or Tasers
in case of traffic violations and other civil code arrests is
simply unacceptable and threatens severe injuries or death,
when they are manifestly disproportionate to the violations
committed and, therefore, utterly and appallingly unjustifiable.
If we are asking Citizens to refrain from using guns or from
engaging in otherwise violent behaviors, we cannot, a fortiori,
be allowing their Federal or State or City Governments
to use untoward and excessive force against them, especially
so when it is used with racist, biased hues, undertones of
discrimination and under questionable pretenses.


Η διόλου ευγενής Πρόεδρος της Βουλής αγορεύει επί ώρες
και, αν η συζήτηση ήταν επί Φιλοσοφικού-Ακαδημαϊκού
επιπέδου, ίσως κάποια από τα λεγόμενά της να ήταν πιο
κατανοητά (ή τουλάχιστον να προσποιούνταν το κοινό ότι
κάτι καταλάβαινε...). Αλλά κάποιος πρέπει να ενημερώσει
την Πρόεδρο ότι σε μία χώρα που επιβιώνει με δανεικά
και της οποίας οι ηγεσίες είναι απρόθυμες να προβούν σε
ριζικές αλλαγές, ώστε να καταστήσουν βιώσιμη την
πολιτική, κοινωνική και οικονομική κατάστασή της,
τα πολλά λόγια είναι πράγματι ακόμα μεγαλύτερη φτώχεια...

Η ΚΑΕ Ολυμπιακός και η ΚΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός και οι
εξέχουσες και εξάρχουσες οικογένειές τους έχουν συνεισφέρει
τα μέγιστα στο Ελληνικό μπάσκετ και έχουν καταστήσει και
τις δύο ομάδες ισχυρότατες δυνάμεις στο Ευρωπαϊκό μπάσκετ,
με μεγάλη αγάπη και μεγάλη υποστήριξη για το άθλημα και
από τις δύο πλευρές. Είναι αυτό μάλιστα ακόμα πιο
άξιομνημόνευτο όταν λάβει κανείς υπόψιν ότι στην Ελλάδα
πολλά πράγματα είναι μικρής διαρκείας, ενώ οι δύο αυτές
οικογένειες έχουν επενδύσει μεγαλόπνοα και μακρόπνοα.
Μία θερμότατη και φιλικότατη σύσταση, που θα έκανε την
προσφορά τους ακόμα πιο σημαντική και ακόμα πιο ευγενική,
ειδικά λόγω της Ελληνικής αθλητικής (και πολιτικής)
πραγματικότητας, είναι να αλληλοκατανοούν και να
αλληλοεκτιμούν την προσπάθεια της απέναντι πλευράς
και, μέσα στα πλαίσια της ευγενούς άμιλλας αλλά και του
αθλητικού πνεύματος, να ενισχύουν, αντί να υποσκάπτουν,
με τις δηλώσεις τους τις προσπάθειες των αντιπάλων
στις ξένες διοργανώσεις, όταν αυτες αντιμετωπίζουν
τρίτες υπερδυνάμεις του Μπασκετικού γιγνεσθαι...


Θα με χαροποιούσε ιδιαιτέρως εάν ο Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας,
αντί να συνεχίζει τα ``έγιναν λάθη", ``κάναμε λάθη", ``σφάλαμε",
κλπ. κλπ., έδειχνε εξέχουσα πολιτική ευαισθησία και παραδεχόταν
ευθέως σε μία από τις ομιλίες του (είθε ενώπιον φοιτητών) ότι
``εγώ προσωπικά διόριζα ημετέρους και άλλους, διογκώνοντας
αλλόγιστα το δημόσιο τομέα, χωρίς ούτε να έχω σχέδιο μισθοδοσίας,
ούτε μελέτη μεσοχρόνιας βιωσιμότητας, και οι πράξεις μου αυτές
συνετέλεσαν τα μέγιστα ούτως ώστε να κινδυνεύσει η χώρα να
εξέλθει του κοινού νομίσματος, την παραμονή μας εντός του
οποίου σας λέγω τώρα ότι θεωρώ ως αδιαπραγμάτευτη πορεία..."


Unfortunately, Blatter, because of you, ``this has everything
to do with football" and ``you have to clean yourself" in order
to be able to talk about football....


One of the, admittedly, increasingly few times when our
United Nations Security Council takes a firm, unanimous
stand to secure Peace and Security and, thus, making us
proud and allowing a ray of hope that it can function once
more, in  due time, to reassert its Mission as a Stabilizing
Peacemaking Force on our Planet.


Αφού ο Τσίπρας ξαπέστειλε το πρώτο ανίκαννο (με
δύο ``ν"), με τον παρόντα ανασχηματισμό, μ'ένα
δεξιοτεχνικό πολιτικά χειρισμό καίει και το δεύτερο
χαμένο κορμί της κυβέρνησης και το μόνο ανάξιο
σκουπίδι που του απομένει θα σκοτωθεί μόνη της
λόγω βλακείας και ηλιθιότητας, οπότε τώρα έχει,
τουλάχιστον μεσοπρόθεσμα ψιλοκαθαρίσει το τοπίο.


If Jean-Claude makes it to also contribute decisively in
a viable and lasting solution to the Cyprus Problem,
leaving the Island without Foreign Forces (be it British,
Greek or Turkish) and respecting both United Nations
Resolutions as well as the Acquis Communautaire,
then we might as well rename central squares in
Ankara, Athens and Nicosia in his honor and erect
a - by then - amply deserved monument for his efforts.


I strongly support the efforts of Commissioner Margrethe
Vestager in reigning over inappropriate and competition
curtailing practices by MasterCard on behalf of the
European Union and Europe's Citizens. We are all sick
and tired in seeing huge cartels, be it in the Airline Sector,
the Financial Services Sector or the Oil Products Sector,
conspiring and colluding to impose uniform pricing and,
thus, restricting open and unfettered competition to the
detriment of the consumers, in terms of both availability
and variability of choices and lowering of prices. And,
despite these practices, the anti-trust activity on our side
of the Atlantic seems to be very timid and strongly tilted
in favor of the big corporations and the cartels, rather
than on the side of the consumers.
 



The Deal has to do with Peace and Security on our Earth.
But, and perhaps more importantly, it has to do with mending
differences and with reestablishing and strengthening the
strong Historical Political, Economic and Social Fraternal
Ties between the Iranian People and those of the ``Western"
States. All of us, Well-Meaning and Peace Loving Citizens
of our Earth welcome such developments, wherever and
between whichever States they occur. The Destiny of
Humanity is a Common Destiny and we want to Walk
Together in a climate of Peace, Fraternity and Prosperity.
The enmities, hatred and belligerent rhetoric are for the
politicians that are misled into thinking that they are
functioning to their advantage rather than to their detriment.
BRAVO, BARACK! BRAVO, HASSAN! BRAVO and THANK
YOU, JOHN and BRAVO and THANK YOU, MOHAMMAD!


I felt deeply moved by the fact that some of the Powers
that kept breaking, stitching together and re-breaking
Poland apart through their power-plays or their blatant
interventions, were now kept together in a single Family
through a decisive-it seems-intervention of the Polish
Prime Minister (and President of the European Council)
and his determination not to see the Continent or any
of its Members pulled or pushed apart.
BRAVO, Donald!


ΜΗΝ ΤΥΧΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΤΕ ΣΕ ΕΚΛΟΓΕΣ...
Μαζευτείτε όλες οι Ευρωπαϊκού προσανατολισμού
δυνάμεις και ακολουθείστε πιστά το πρόγραμμα
που συμφωνήθηκε στις Βρυξέλλες. Η ΧΩΡΑ ΘΑ
ΣΑΣ ΕΥΓΝΩΜΟΝΕΙ ΟΛΟΥΣ και η ΕΥΡΩΠΗ
ΘΑ ΣΑΣ ΧΡΩΣΤΑΕΙ την προσήλωση στο ΚΟΙΝΟ
ΟΡΑΜΑ.


Η Κατρουγκάλα ήθελε να αποφύγει κατάρρευση και
εκβιασμούς. Πώς θα το κάνει αυτό κάποιος που, για
ίδιον όφελος, επαναπροσλαμβάνει όλους όσους είχαν
απολυθεί χωρίς να υπάρχει κανένα απολύτως σχέδιο
για το πως, όχι μόνο αυτοί, αλλά και όλοι οι υπόλοιποι,
θα μπoρέσουν τελικά να πληρωθούν...

Greeks have the (dis)advantage that they possess very long
Historical Memory; they remember both the Historical
Moments when other States have benefited their position
and helped them survive and develop and those Crossroads
when they have been abandoned and left to their own devices
at times of great peril losing pride and dignity and left to cope
alone with the consequences. Our European Partners and
their bold decisions and actions made Europe much Stronger,
if, for nothing else, because, Greeks will always remember.
From the smallest, like Malta or Cyprus, to the medium,
like Suomi, to the large and powerful, like Deutschland,
España or France, if they ever find themselves in difficulties,
Greeks will be among their most ardent supporters, and will
not forget the Political and Social Dimensions of the Union,
along, of course, the Economic Side. It was not unfair to ask
Greece for tough reforms, since All should follow the same
rules as strictly as possible and be honest and fair towards
one another, but it was also fair to show Solidarity and
Support, since, otherwise, if not for times of turmoil and
desperation, what is the point of going through Life hand
in hand with a Bloc of Partner States or, for that matter,
joining with All Other States in the Greatest Community
of All Nations of our United Nations?


ARE YOU LISTENING? ARE YOU LISTENING?
The whole country, all its citizens in the interior and
all the diaspora, are shouting loud, partly in desperation,
but also in determination! All together, like a
powerful clenched fist, all - from the left of the swastika
to the right of the hammer & sickle - the political
parties of the democratic spectrum and all other social,
economic and political forces must stay united to make
this common effort for the resurrection of our State and
for the common good and the prosperous future of all
its citizens and of our European Partners.


Dr. Filis was interviewed on SKAI on the developing
dynamics of Greece's Foreign Relations in the context
of the present turmoil due to the economic difficulties
faced by the State. His analysis was careful, thoughtful
and informing, worth listening to and taken into
consideration in earnest by the Greek policy-makers.

The caretaker Leader of the Opposition showed again
signs of Chivalry by extending a ``hand of support"
to an admittedly cornered and suffocating Prime
Minister. The gesture resembled his Civilized and
Polite Demeanor when handing over the Presidency
of the Hellenic Parliament to his, not so acculturated,
successor.


The terminology used is not the most important issue.
The crucial object is to remember those horrific acts,
to acknowledge and own responsibility and to show a
sincere will and make an honest effort to bring the
non-human brutes to justice and deliver sentences,
commensurate to the crimes committed, thus, both
delivering a clear message of hope to the future
generations and a sense of closure to those that
have suffered and are still suffering the consequences
of those worst of all human expressions.


The South has also an abundance of ``wisdom" and ``knowledge".
The issue is that the South only uses them at times of extreme
necessity and, only Internationally, are they truly appreciated.
     

Yes to Jeroen's reelection to the Presidency of the Eurogroup.
At first sight, it seems that he has been tough towards Greece
in the State's negotiations to strike a deal with the Eurogroup
and the other Institutions.  But, not only has he steered the
Group and the Union through difficult times with relative
stability, but he has also tried very hard to get across to the
- admittedly not so receptive - Greek Authorities and the -
admittedly not so receptive -  Greek People the Principles
and the Rules that all Member States, on an equal basis and
in the spirit of coordination and cooperation and mutual
understanding and respect, must follow, if this, Our Common
Currency and the Future of Political, Social and Economic
Integration are to be successful and to decisively help to
fortify Peace and Stability and enhance Prosperity in this
tortured, shaky and sensitive Continent.


Paris, merci beaucoup!! Président Hollande, Premier
Ministre Valls et Commissaire Moscovici, tous les
Grecs, mais aussi tout les Européens, seront
reconnaissants et obligés de votre effort.


Είστε γελοία, ηλίθια και ανόητα ζώα. Είναι δυνατόν να
βυθίζεται η χώρα σας στο χάος με δική σας συνενοχή,
σε τεράστιο ποσοστό, κι εσείς να έχετε την ανωριμότητα
να μαλώνετε ποιος πήρε τηλέφωνο ποιον και ποιος το
σήκωσε και ποιος οχι και ποιος κρυβότανε και ποιος
οχι στα μεσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης? Βλάλτε επιτέλους
το σκασμό, σοβαρευτείτε και, αν κάποιος πάρει κάποιον
και δεν τον βρει, ας ξαναπαρει, αντί να βγει να το κάνει
μείζον θέμα στα facebook και στα twitter.

Powerful, Powerful speech. Tsipra, be bold and
break from the past. If you are clueless, ask our
partners for advice and for technocratic aid.
That is where solidarity can and should help;
not in using our allies as alibis, as scapegoats, by
fabricating foreign conspiracies, or in leveling
empty accusations and finding easy targets by
formulating useless economic theories and by
fruitless demonizing...


Κύριε Μεϊμαράκη, η διαφάνεια είναι βεβαίως ποθητή
κάτω από ομαλές συνθήκες. Εάν όμως υπό τις παρούσες
συνθήκες, είναι πιο εποικοδομητικό να συζητούν οι
πολιτικοί αρχηγοί όπισθεν κλειστών θυρών, τότε κάνετε
το καθήκον σας παντιοτρόπως και μην αρνείστε τις
συναντήσεις. Όλοι οι Έλλληνες επιθυμούμε συννενόηση
και νύν και αεί και εις τους αιώνας των αιώνων...
 

Thumbs up to the Greek political leaders for meeting at
last to devise a national coordinated strategy. Thumbs
down to the Greek political leaders for meeting 59 mins
past the eleventh hour under conditions that should
have, by default, imposed a common approach and a
common strategy from the first second.
 

Even if the only outcome of the Greek referendum had been
the resignation/firing of the incompetent finance minister,
then the whole affair would have been worth the trouble.
By no means is Baroufaklas the only person in Greek political
life to deserve the distinction of incompetence, but the lethal
combination of a charlatan at a position of responsibility,
leading a nation on the verge of an abyss was almost fatal.
One more thing: If you happen to be a Dean, Provost or
President at an Institution of Higher Learning or a Think
Tank and have some money to burn by inviting speakers,
but would really like to adopt an ethical stance towards
supporting and fortifying good governance and international
cooperation and coordination, boycott people that, for own
gains, pomposity and glamor, are willing to sacrifice the
solidarity and financial stability of an entire alliance and
partnership of a group of fraternal states and whose
mediocity and utter failure makes them examples to be
avoided rather than emulated.


I find it bizarre at best, and outright irrational at worst, for
the only State in the Euro-zone that has had chronic problems
and has declared bankruptcy to be asking the other eighteen
members, that are relatively healthy, to move toward its way,
instead of accepting the reality that it would itself profit
decisively, even by going through major difficulties, by its
own shift towards the position of its eighteen healthy partners.


The ``Grand" OP found a bully that not only will he refuse
to build bridges, but, on the contrary, will be willing to close
existing ones creating havoc, passing cowardly and shamelessly
the blame to subordinates who, of course, are chickenshit terrified
to whistle blow on their ``robust", ``brave" superior for fear that
they will end up under the guard/``protection"of the ex-KGB
regime in Moscow.


I hear someone said that, in the case of Trump, the media and
others ``cannot handle pressure". The truth is that Trump's
and my generation are passing fast (without realizing it or
wanting to realize it) and the coming generation is tired
of obstinate bigotry, baseless, biased and unfair judgements,
and persistent stupidity that the ``have"s are trying to market
as smartness, frankness and business acumen to the ``have-not"s
and they demand that the politically powerful and the rich be
held to the same norms and standards that they themselves are
held when preached and lectured by them in their didactic
tirades and their hypocritical and pretentious pseudo-virtuous
lecturing. We saw this in the case of the Clippers ex-owner and
that is exactly what we are witnessing in the case of Trump.


Thanks also to the Caretaker Prime Minister of Turkey
for his reassuring remarks. Every little bit of support,
during this needless mess that a small circle of mindless
advisors to the Greek Prime Minister have created, helps.



The French President and the German Chancellor have played
historically a decisive political role in Uniting the Continent.
And it may not seem like as critical a historical circumstance
as past ones have been, but, nevertheless, every step backward
is worrisome and unproductive even in the most favorable of
times. Angela and François must do, with the remaining leaders
of the Council, all that is in their power to re-invite and re-entice
the Greek Government to constructive negotiations towards
re-strengthening multi-lateral relations and normalizing the
political, economic and social balance and re-establish the
equilibrium in Europe.


Ο ίδιος οικονομο-λείχος, που ντελάπαρε με τους ατυ-χέστα-τους
χοιρι-σμούς του την εναπομείνασα ρευστότητα της Ελληνικής
Οικονομίας, ακολουθεί τώρα επιτέλους διεθνή μοντέλα και
διεθνή πρότυπα ``capital controls" να περισώσει τα ασυμάζευτα.
Στερνή μου γνώση να σ'είχα πρώτα... A**hole...


An agonizing plea from a Historically Conscious and a
Firmly Euro-Centric Greek Citizen to Christine, Jean-Claude,
Jeroen and Mario: DO WHATEVER - WHATEVER - IS IN
YOUR HANDS, desipte the ridiculous and Historically
Ignorant and Short-Sighted Machinations of the Greek
Government, TO KEEP GREECE IN THE EURO-ZONE.
This is YOUR HISTORICALLY GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY
and will be judged as your GREATEST CONTRIBUTION
and your GREATEST HOUR IN contemporary EUROPEAN
HISTORY.


Any Government could have done this. The grand question
is who, as Prime Minister, by exploiting the wide margin of
unwavering support for a European Way, would be courageous
and bold enough to take on his/her own shoulders the burden
and the responsibility and assume, selflessly, the, most likely,
fatal political cost of putting his/her signature on the financial
agreement and, more importantly, not just promise, but, also,
implement the painful and radical reforms that are long
overdue in the Greek system of government (asking without
guilt or hesitation for guidance and advice from other more
technocratically developed and soundly built partner-state
governments).


Our Supreme Court Justices have learned Deep Lessons
from past debilitating decisions against the Equal Treatment
and the Dignity of all United States Citizens and the White
House deserves High Praise for Firmly and Unequivocally
Positioning the Full Might of the Executive Branch Behind
Human Rights and the Equal Treatment of All Individuals.
Today the American Wind of Human Rights and Individual
Liberties blew from both Judiciary and Executive as a Highly
Effective Tailwind. ONLY WAY TO GO!!
 

Muslims demand that Europeans and European States
treat their Citizens with Dignity and Respect when they
flood the European Lands. And they are absolutely right
in making those demands; after all it is a Duty imposed
on all humans by our sense of Humanity. But, is it not
Right for Europeans to expect to be shown the same
Dignity and Respect in return, when they visit Muslim
Lands as tourists? After all 1. they contribute to the
well-being of the local economies by sponsoring their
tourism industries and 2. they are there only temporarily
to enjoy the local scene and to participate in the Global
Human Experience and Culture. Just some food for
thought for those Idiots of the Islamic State and other
Extremist Islamic Organizations that undermine this
World's Citizens' drive for Peace, Fraternity, Cooperation
and Prosperity towards a More Positive Common Destiny.


France et Tunisie, L'Afrique, L'Europe, Les États-Unis
et le Monde Entier sont avec vous en ces moments
d'inquietude très difficiles.
 

In this Country, our Country of so many people coming
from so many different places on Earth, having our
multiple Nationalities and all Ethnic backgrounds and
all Colors of all Peoples of our United Nations, all our
Differences, all our Diversity and all our Strives to
become Better, more Tolerant, more Understanding,
more Appreciative of Others and more Sympathetic
towards our Fellow Earth Citizens, either escaping
misfortunes or looking for better lives and a brighter
future, make us Stronger, more Humane and more
Determined. A Presidential candidate that starts his
bid in such a disastrous fashion, regardless of ethnic
origin, sex, color or cultural background, simply stands
no chance, here or in any other State of our Earth.


Europe is having a humongous moral deficit. The United
Kingdom has forgotten the anxiety by which it was looking
forward to the allied help when its very survival and even
existence had been in limbo due to the militarism and
expansionism of the Third Reich. (The pretentious and
boisterous celebrations during anniversary events do
not and should not atone for its general aloofness and
its constant atomistic behavior towards its current, firm
co-travelers in the European adventure.) And Hungary
has forgotten the anxiety by which it was looking towards
its Neighbors for Support and Cooperation in assuaging
its nervousness, its financial problems and its hunger
for a better present and future during the direst hours
of the Cold War. (Its pretentious European feelings
do not and should not atone for its patently anti-European
drive in suggesting adoption of the death penalty or, even
worse, in deciding to raise a several feet-high fence in the
middle of what should have been a United Continent,
instead of a Continent reminiscent of the West Bank and
of the unfortunate Middle-Eastern attitudes.)


Grab this opportunity now: Take the few points where
disagreement still exists between the Greek proposals
and the Troika counter-proposals and let the rates
fixed at the Greek proposals level while, at the same
time, to improve savings, decide on a prolongation of
the pay-off period, with accompanying favorable
adjustments in the Greek budgetary balance of
payments, as demanded by the IMF. Do it NOW and
keep both sides comfortable.


First, it is lamentable that Human Life is used as a bargaining
chip for financial gains and political or social demands, goals
and negotiations. On the other hand, the move by the State
Department to allow ransom negotiations at the personal and
familial level, independent of a coherent and coordinated
uniform Governmental approach, on behalf of captured US
Citizens abroad, will, with Mathematical accuracy, result
in U.S. Citizens and personnel of two very different values:
1. Ethnic backgrounds that are well-connected world-wide
    and will be more proactive than others in saving the lives
    of their own vs. the rest without such connections;
2. Financially well-positioned families and communities
    that will be able to raise money or afford to pay outright
    vs. poorer backgrounds that will have to suffer the
    ultimate fate (as if our domestic troubles were not enough);
3. More politically and socially prominent families, whose
    loved ones will immediately have an advantage in being
    spared vs. the average Citizen, even though (s)he might
    be performing an equally valuable work/mission etc.
    on behalf of NGOs or Governmental organizations
    while abroad.
I am afraid that because of all these and, perhaps, other
reasons, this move by the U.S. Government should be
reconsidered before it causes such civil strife and enmity
that it will be too late and politicians will pretend that
they did not know, they did not suspect and/or they could
not predict, when such claims will, of course, be baseless.


Given his propensity for unfair play (handballs etc.)
and his history of substance abuse, Diego Armando
is not a viable candidate to lead FIFA on the path
of reform and fair play. It is high time that a serious
screening, not based on favors and financial deals,
of the candidates take place that would disallow,
notoriously suspect personalities, like, e.g., Blatter,
from running and running again, to the serious
detriment and potential destruction of FIFA and
the diminishing and ridicule of the Sport.


Talk of a ``plot to protect Bashir" is utter nonsense. What
is simply happening is that the State whose population was
up in arms in the Defense of their own Human Rights under
apartheid, does not care enough and is not clearly eager
and enthusiastic enough to Defend and Protect the Rights
of its African Brothers and Sisters that have suffered a
similar fate of gross violation of Human Rights, allegedly
genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, in the hands of
monsters and brutes that are still shown undue respect
and enjoying undeserved privileges. All the rest is just
pointless talk and unconvincing excuse mongering...
SHAME on South Africa for its deeds and for its words.


Οι τοπικές αρχές και οι πολίτες και στην Κω και όπου αλλού
συσσωρεύονται ανήμποροι μετανάστες και πρόσφυγες έχουν
την υποχρέωση να κάνουν ό,τι περνάει από το χέρι τους ώστε
να μην τίθεται σε κίνδυνο η υγεία και η σωματική τους
ακεραιότητα. Ειναι θέμα 1. ανθρωπιστικό 2. νομικό, καθότι
όταν στεγάζονται σε κτίρια αμφιβόλου δομικής σταθερότητας
και αμφιβόλου υγειονομικής καταλληλότητας, αν ο-μη-γένοιτο
συμβεί κάτι, κανείς δε μπορεί να κάνει την πάπια και να
προσποιείται άγνοια, και 3. εγωιστκό και εθνικό, διότι
καμία μα καμία χώρα στον κόσμο, ακόμα κι αν κάποιοι
πιστεύουν το αντίθετο, δεν είναι άμοιρη συνεπειών διαφόρων
απρόβλεπτων και απρόσμενων πολιτικών, κοινωνικών και
πολεμικών διαφωνιών, συμπλοκών και συγκυριών. Σήμερα
λοιπόν είναι κάποιοι αλλοδαποί συμπολίτες μας που έχουν
ανάγκη της δικής μας αρωγής, αλλά, πιθανόν, αύριο να
είμαστε εμείς οι ίδιοι έχοντες ανάγκη της δικής τους, και
αν δεν φερθούμε ανθρώπινα σήμερα, δικαιολογημένα θα
αντιμετωπισθούμε απάνθρωπα και ανάρμοστα αύριο.
 

Ήξερα ότι πολλοί δικηγόροι δεν διακρίνονται για την τετράγωνη
λογική τους, ούτε για την εξαιρετική τους ευαισθησία. Αλλά νόμιζα
ότι κάποιος δεν μπορεί να γίνει δικηγόρος με σημαντικό σύνδρομο
έλλειψης λογικής και με βαθύτατα ψυχολογικά κόμπλεξ και
προσωπικά απωθημένα. Κι όμως, για ``πρώτη φορά ``αριστερά"",
το βιώνουμε, ή μάλλον το υφιστάμεθα, ΚΑΙ αυτό, και δυστυχώς σε
κορυφαίο αξίωμα του πολιτικού μας συστήματος.


Our Barack said that guns are to blame. Others say it is a brutal
racist hate crime. And the South Carolina Governor said that She
``will absolutely want him to have the death penalty". And Barack
is right - society would be better and safer with meaningful,
powerful gun restrictions, or, even preferably, no guns at all -
and others may be right - without the social strife, the prejudices
and the racism that is so pervasive in our smaller social units
and our society, such incidents would have been much rarer.
But I cannot help noticing that no one interprets meaningfully
the craziness of the statement ``blacks are taking over the world",
because it cannot have any rational meaning or interpretation.
By not paying any attention to the fact that, as a society, by
totally ignoring problems of serious mental health and by
allowing completely delusional and derailed individuals to
walk around uncared for, we are putting ourselves and our
fellow human beings in harm's way, we are not in any way
alleviating our guilt or absolving ourselves from grave
responsibility. And, us not recognizing, at last, our serious
negligence, verging on the criminal, is just another case of
ostrichism, that, again, unfortunately, is so pervasive in our
society these days... especially whenever it suits our economic,
political and social needs, at least superficially...


I hear that the Catholic Conservatives did not appreciate Jorge
Bergoglio's, Papa Francesco's Encyclical on Being Good Stewards
of our Environment. I also hear that this is because, as they say,
it is not the Church's, a religious institution's, place to adopt and
promote strong political positions. I have not heard this imbecile
bund take very strong positions, on the other hand, against the
enrichment of Cardinals and Bishops on the backs of the faithful,
nor have I heard them take very strong positions against the
existence of the Swiss ``Guards", nor have I heard them take
any strong positions against the existence of Vatican Banks and
related accusations of money laundering and other improprieties,
nor have I heard them take strong positions against the existence
of the Vatican Foreign Service. Are these not Political Institutions
without so much of a Spiritual Dimension, lavishly sponsored by
the Church, as contrasted to an intelligent, well-written Article
advocating a Noble Cause, which has a Political Dimension, but,
at least, has also a substantial Mental and Spiritual Side and
that, as a result, should, by definition, be much closer to a
Religious Institution's and to a Spiritual Leader's Prerogative
and Competence?


Finns should be the most ardent supporters - not the most
vocal dissenters - of the cause of keeping Greece in the Euro
zone and the Union and, hence, the Union intact and the
focus on the issues of Fraternity, Mutual Support and
Solidarity. These should not be meaningless words on
EU Instruments, but should be Principles taken by all
Member States seriously and adhered to in Good Faith.
They say that History comes and goes and returns in cycles;
but this is not written in stone. It happens because during
Critical Hours and Historical Crossroads requiring Bold
and Brave Decision Making, instead of Mannerheims,
Paasikivis and Kekkonens, we choose Sipiläs and instead
of Washingtons and Lincolns we choose Bushes and instead
of Venizelos' we choose Karamanlis' and Tsipras' etc.,
and we have the misguided expectations of Leadership
with Vision and Inspiration for a Better Future...


Perhaps not arrested, but, definitely, chased and disgraced,
and, soon to be deceased...


We thank the sibling for pledging to fix the mess that
his brother created, but we will not partake. He can
go offer his help to another audience that is ignorant.


Unfortunately, despite the fact that Tsipras has a degree
in Engineering, probably because of spending his student
time in politics rather than in studying, has a very reduced
capability as related to analytical skills. Otherwise, how
could one possibly justify political moves that are blatantly
contradictory? To defend jobs, opportunities and the level
of income of the Greek people, Tsipras is on the verge of
having the country default on its debt payments and,
consequently, on the verge of abandoning necessary help
provided by its Eurozone partners, while claiming that
the goal is to foster employment and economic development.
But a default and monetary difficulties, that are bound to
be followed by monetary restrictions, are almost guaranteed
to cause worse hardship and reduce the chance of success
towards those stated alleged goals of the Greek Government
and do not seem to be appropriate for successfully negotiating
the dire situation of the State, that, in addition, has been
consistently exacerbated by Government procrastination.


The Justices of the International Court of Justice are not
going around issuing Arrest Warrants without substantial
evidence and probable cause. The States of this Earth that
are bound by the United Nations and the Court's Founding
Instrument should spare no effort in aiding and supporting
the Court's decisive role in maintaining World Order and
contributing towards Peace, Stability and Security in a highly
volatile world and highly unpredictable World political
environment. The fact that many ``leaders" of powerful
Nations that ought to have been indicted by the Court
have not been, despite substantial incriminating evidence,
does not in any way justify State Parties of the Treaty not
fulfilling their own responsibilities vis-à-vis the Court.

Having pointed this out, I would like to hail the efforts
of the African Union to play an active role in keeping
the Continent in a better shape than it would otherwise
have been possible, by, inter alia, fostering Brotherhood
and Cooperation between the Member States, by, to the
extent possible, encouraging States to abide by Universal
Principles of Democracy, Respect for Human Rights and
other Fundamental Civil Rights and by promoting, again
to the extent possible in a Continent plagued by graft,
corruption and mismanagement, Good Governance
and Good Resource Stewardship.

It is difficult to let pass the idiotic and mindless behavior
of the Croatian fans in attempting to cultivate enmity and
hatred during matches of the World's most beautiful and
most popular sport. Football at the International Level
should be an occasion to celebrate our common Humanity
and our common Destiny and to bolster International
Peace, Unity and Friendship. That much more so, in fact,
between Neighbors of the European Family of enviable
Cultural Achievements and substantial historical stock
of mutual influences and interaction.


I am appalled by the lack of professionalism in the ongoing
``negotiations" between the European Union and Greece
concerning the conclusion of the new financial agreement
between Greece and the Troika. It seems that two sides are
not sitting at the same table behind closed doors until a
reasonable mutually acceptable agreement emerges, but
are, instead, sealing their ears while bombarding the press
each with incohesive, haphazard and disconnected proposals
that the other, after a short while, as if to create suspense
purposefully, ignores and, then, subsequently shoots out
- again through the press - new loosely related and loosely
unrelated proposals. Greeks know that that is the way
Greece works, in general, and that is one of the reasons
why Greece has not progressed or taken significant
advantage of European Membership. But the surprising
development is that, under the awkward and unsuccessful
leadership of Juncker, Dijsselbloem and Schäuble, it seems
that Europe has also resorted into operating in the same
unprofessional and chaotic way.


In education, not only in the U.S. but everywhere, we lack
common sense. It is clear that by making for school districts
and individual teachers a measurement of performance
how well their students perform and how many they graduate,
the system is pushing both teaching establishments and teachers
to resort to grade inflation in order to avoid being judged as
poor performers in the eyes of parents, the public and their
superiors. In fact, in this way, the parents and the teaching
administrators (and other parasites) show that they care more
about pushing semi-educated and incompetent students through
the system than about maintaining truly high standards that,
unavoidably, regardless of the quality and the effort of the
teachers, there will  always be a significant percentage of the
student population that will be unable (for various reasons)
to meet.


In this country we cannot expect Police to act decently in all
situations because, as the recent videos reveal, Police in many
cities have in their ranks psychopaths or people that need
serious psychological help and psychological support and,
thus, far from being prepared and qualified for the mission
they are entrusted with, they are in fact in urgent need of
institutionalization and/or incarceration themselves.


The distinct and unusual beauty of the new Miss Japan
provides a good opportunity to ponder over the great
advantages that polymorphism, multiculturalism and
diversity in all respects engender.  As corollaries one
may draw are, first, the unjustifiable negativity of those
that express opinions against ethnic, racial, cultural,
sexual, etc. equality of all human beings and against
the evolution of societies into one, united, global
society. Second, one may draw attention and lambast
the obstinacy and narrow-mindedness of those that,
despite living in multi-ethnic and multicultural
societies, keep restricting their focus, their attention
and their associations strictly to people of their own
kind and their own background, without being aware
that this necessarily entails significant and damaging
losses to their perspective and their outlook and, thus,
makes them citizens of much less imprortance and
consequence as compared to their true potential.


I do no know about the G7, but the Schloss Elmau and
the Bavarian Alps are breathtaking...
 

``Too polite" my a**... Too greedy for sure.
The BBC is too politically correct to call things
by their proper name or tell things as they are.


Regardless of the electoral results in Turkey today,
the Governing Party should review and think very
carefully about the proposed amendment of the
Turkish Constitution. It might be that no harm
will come from the amendment under the current
President and the current political leaders and under
the present political circumstances. It is, however,
the responsibility of enlightened leadership to look
forward to the future and carefully ponder about
the potential consequences of upsetting the current
checks and balances of the Turkish political system
as they are reflected in the Turkish Constitution today.
Avoiding conditions that enhance the possibility of
stretching the limits of one's authority or of abusing
legality and, thus, courting with autocratic tendencies,
or, even, of moderately restricting the freedoms and
of suppressing the liberties of the Turkish People, should
be paramount in the minds of the Turkish politicians.
The Turkish People and the Future of Turkey demand it.


I was exhilarated to hear of a new wondrous drug. For
women that want to do it, it will increase their want by
0.5 times per month; so if they wait for two months,
they may fulfill their dreams. For those, on the other
hand, that, when their men want to do it, resort to
faking fainting and tiredness, now there will be a pill
that actually causes them. So they will not have to fake.
A dynamite pill that is clearly a win-win under all
conditions, rather like the new U.S. Army uniforms.


Africa and Europe are bleeding under the unsustainable
rates of migration and the misery of the World's vulnerable,
but Italians keep playing the same old tunes: Organizing
in Criminal Syndicates to exploit and prey even on this,
the most tragic and painful and heartbreaking of all
human conditions...


Barack should drastically reign on the bias and the short
sightedness of people in the State Department like Amos
Hochstein. The so-called Greek Stream is a project that has
the potential of fostering cooperation and energy security
and our United States should be a supporter of all similar
endeavors. Moreover, it should be clear to anyone with
a sound historical perspective and analytical capability,
unhampered by ulterior motives, that, despite the current
aggressive and intransigent Russian posturing, the pipe
lines are not projects for Putin's or even immediate-after
Putin's era, but, rather, projects with a long-term political,
economic and social value, likely to positively and substantially
alter Euro-Russian Relations and to contribute to Peace and
Stability in the South Eastern Mediterranean and the wider
Region in the long term. That is something Barack and his
administration should be backing despite ephemeral issues.


Bravo to Canadian and other Sports Correspondents that
kept the pressure against FIFA's despicable behavior during
the opening press conference for the Women's (hopefully
Non-FIFA, i.e., Clean) World Cup.


Sad, so sad that people cannot even say ``I accepted bribes
because I did not care about either respecting the law or
doing right by football and was just interested in seizing
the opportunity to enrich myself and keep an undeservedly
high standard of living." They instead say ``I agreed to
accept bribes..." Idiocy and stupidity at its apogee;
``agreed to..." as if, despite strenuous personal opposition
to the act and the best of intentions, accepting a bribe was
a torturing act that they committed under extreme external
pressure and torture. IDIOTS, STUPID, LEPROUS,
LICHENOUS SCAMS, unfit to have any association
with this, the noblest of all sport or with any other sport...
 

High, very high marks, to our Attorney General Loretta Lynch,
who, despite, I am sure, extreme pressure from the proverbially
secretive and entangled Swiss, had the courage and audacity
to go ahead with a much needed and way too much delayed
investigation. Low, very low marks, to the World's second best
footballer of all time, who, even at the padlock of the dusty
trashbag of Football's History, was still trying to attribute
virtue and credit to a completely corrupt and discredited
``leader" without a speck of shame and remorse.
 

I am happy that Blatter is resigning, but I am afraid that, given
his proverbial donkey-ish stubbornness (with my apologies to the
very lovely animal, not to be compared with the monstrosity and
ugliness of the human under discussion), we might find out that
he has stricken a deal with prosecutors under cover of personal
and institutional immunity, something that would be extremely
unfortunate and further discrediting for the organization.


It seems that the appointment of Panaritis at the IMF
was based on her possessing rather obvious qualifications
as a physical, a mental and a political chameleon,
which makes her a very good fit as an opportunist
comrade in arms of both Tsipras and Baroufaklas.
   
 

The situation with FIFA parallels the situation with Greek
politics preceding the last elections. The Governing Body
has been embezzling money that belong to all National and
Regional Federations, but, despite consuming the ``white
meat", has been careful to leave some black meat and dirty
bones for underlings so that it may make, with dubious
justification, the well-known statement of a well-known
ultra-fat gentleman ``όλοι μαζί τα φάγαμε". And the naive
and stupid members of National Federations, taking these
faulty statements at face value, vote again and again for
the same corrupt oligarchs. The prediction for the future
is the same as that for Greece a few years ago. When
Blatter dies in a few years time (better sooner than later,
paraphrasing David Cameron), he will leave behind an
organization in Greece's shape, completely discredited,
with much less wealth for its members than justified by
its true potential, but, nevertheless, with enough wealth
so as to be able to intentionally mislead the public into
believing that he and his associates were doing all they
could for the game, while claiming that phantoms and
foreign powers (Putin's conspiracy theories) were
sabotaging their, otherwise, ``worthy" efforts...


Listening to this report and the ``legalo-administrative"
jargon, full of semi-comprehensible and semi-meaningless
buzzwords, specifically designed to cover Police Brutality and
City and State Complicity and the desperate attempt of an
unjust Governmental mix of Racism and Suppression to
Protect its Istruments and Paid Agents of that Racism and
Hatred and Suppression, it leaves an extremely discomforting
and unsettling biterness in the ears and a scar in the mind.
Especially the realization that this irrationality and such
an outrageously open an attempt at refusing to confront
reality and call things what they are are actually happening
under the watch of the first Black President and of the first
Black Woman Attorney General at the helm of this Nation.
 

Once more, the German spokesman was right to ascertain
that it is the Sovereign Right of every State and part of well
understood Democratic Prerogatives to resort to Referenda
in pursuit of Public Approval for Critical Decisions with
regards to important public issues. On the other hand, as a
Greek, I am appalled by the fact that, in Greece, when the
times are good and the money are plenty for every one to
``eat", and especially for politicians and their relatives to
eat, no one bothers to ask the voters whether they approve
or not of their manipulations and their corrupt policies.
When the times are sour and politicians must make very
difficult and brave decisions to reverse the conditions that
they, themselves, are mostly responsible for creating, they
do not have the courage to take the necessary measures
and are cowering and remembering instead that there is,
after all, something called public approval and something
called genuine democratic decision making. That is one of
the features that make the Greek political life dysfunctional
and deficient, unlike, or, perhaps, in comparison to, that of
other countries where sharing does not reduce only to the
responsibility in the gravest of times, but extends to other,
less critical, aspects of decision making also.


Mr. Orban should realize that Europeans have a certain
firm and deep rooted aversion towards State-sponsored
executions and that, if he wants to reinstate the death
penalty he should ready himself both for the political
consequences and for the ethical repercussions and the
criminal liabilities that will follow with mathematical
accuracy down the road. But, I predict that, like all
other coward politicians, when these erupt, he will
make sure to leave it to others, while hiding away in
comfortable retirement, to suffer the consequences...


We spend limitless resources and limitless efforts for issues
whose answers are obvious and should be default instead of
focusing on real issues and trying to find innovative and
forward looking resolutions. We talk about LGBT Rights,
we talk about War, we talk about Police Btutality, while, if
we looked inward at our Humanity and Common Destiny
on Earth, all these issues would not even have needed to
be debated, but would have clear and obvious resolutions.
Discrimination of all kinds, War used as anything else other
than self-defense and then, only as a last resort, and Police
Brutality and all other forms of Social and Political Violence
are a clear sign of the immaturity of our polities, of the
deficiency of our policies, the imbalances in our social
structures and the humongous deficits in our social
cohesion and social solidarity. All these are unjustifiable
in the light of our Common Destiny and a Real Sense of
Humanity.
 

``It's disruption of a community. The same community they say
they care about, they're destroying. You can't have it both ways."
I guess the Mayor of Baltimore now remembered something
about ``community". And I guess her ``they" does not include
police; Police can and do continuously, while concealing the truth
or even outright lying, destroy the cohesion of the community
they say they care about and this under the auspices of the
authorities. And, they do it mostly, under the auspices of  an
(in)justice system serving the few, with impunity.


A couple of remarks about awards of all kinds: The creation,
endowment and institution of an award is, by definition, an
elitist concept. Its goal is to acclaim excellency and reward
the performance and/or accomplishments of individuals that
stand out, that do something much above average and are
productive/efficient above and beyond the call of duty, which
is not the case with the overwhelming majority of people.
So, instituting an award and, then, to avoid the ``stigma" of
elitism, dishing it out to everyone is not only missing the point,
but, in addition, is a pretentious placebo for reassuring average
performers and rewarding mediocrity with an artificially
concocted, universally distributed pill of pseudo-excellency.

President Obama, why is it that when a white affluent man is
abused or killed we call it a criminal or a murder investigation,
but when a black man is abused or killed, we start instead a
``civil rights" investigation? Are you not sick and tired of this
double standard? How much longer and how many more
abuses and deaths and injuries ahead do we have to look for
this State and its Federal Government to ensure that our own
institutions, the institutions that we are funding that that we
are supposed to respect and whose rules and laws we are
supposed to abide by, start treating all this State's Citizens
Uniformly and Equally, without racial, local, regional and
ethnic biases?


Θεέ μου και Κύριέ μου. πάντα ήταν παχουλός, αλλά τώρα είναι
τριπλάσιος από τον δικτάτορα. Έχουν άραγε ήδη αρχίσει τα
καραμαζώματα και τα καραμιζώματα στο Αμύνης;


The ``brave, gutsy" Sheriff shit diarrhea shit out of fear
(ο μισάνθρωπος και μισαλλόδοξος σεριφάκος έκλασε πατάτες)
of prosecution and revelations by the Federal Government
and offered to donate his questionably earned income to
Latino Civil Rights Protection Organizations. What a joke
of a human being....


We are a Nation of extreme opinions and extreme actions and
reactions. Tests are needed, if for nothing else, to facilitate, in
as an objective way as possible, the evaluation of the performance
of the students and to provide an idea, again in as an objective a way
as possible, to the teachers on how the students, individually and
collectively are doing. On the other hand, a single test should not
be all or nothing for the evaluation of the students, and the overall
performance of a group of students in a single test should not be
held as a timorous sword over the heads of teachers nor should it
be depriving the teachers from their freedom to employ diverse
talents and independent creativity in teaching and in motivating
and in evaluating their students. In conclusion, YES to tests, NO
to the excessive use and misuse of tests, NO to the interference in
the educational process by people other than those who are really
supposed to be involved in it in an ESSENTIAL WAY: Students,
Teachers and Parents. Administrators (that do not teach, but tell
others how to do their job better and more effectively - not to
mention, who are usually paid much more in a parasitical role)
and politicians should step - or rather leap or gallop - out of the
way (after all, the one thing they were entrusted with and were
really supposed to do - keep quality education accessible and
financially affordable for all - they are failing miserably at
achieving).


The BBC writes ``Greece denies accusations of default".
How could anyone be ``accused" of doing something when
(s)he really has no other option? ``Ουκ αν λάβοις παρά του
μη έχοντος"... (Lucian)


Unless Rubio comes out strong that his position is for
discontinuing American ties with all non-democratic
regimes on the planet and stops singling out Cuba for
that treatment under cover and the excuse of freedom,
he is not going to be welcome or convincing in his
fake arguments concerning his foreign policy posturing.
If one uses abstract arguments in favor of general
values and principles, one should be ready to enforce
those values in a pragmatic way, starting, first, from
those dictatorships, oligarchies and aristocracies that
are the most oppressive, the most brutal to their own
citizens and the most harmful to American interests.
If Rubio had used his, hopefully existing, mental faculties
carefully, objectively and precisely for a second, he would
have already figured out that neither Cuba nor Venezuela
are even close to topping the list of States one would be
inclined to place in that hierarchy...


Now we also have senility and imbecility playing a role
in the slaughters as well. Get this super-septuagenarians
off the streets and offer them some hot tea with milk
instead of having them play cowboys around our cities...

The name and terminology may change with time and
they are not the most important things. What matters
is what actually happened and how many people lost
their lives because of a concerted, well-documented,
State directed and State sponsored campaign of ethnic
cleansing to reduce the number of minorities in Turkish
lands. We now have to keep the Memory alive with the
sole goal to confront similar situations that develop in
today's World and to rise against any similar conditions
and to be there as a United International Community
to prevent the perpetrators from acting and to help the
victims before it is too late, rather than solely condemning
a posteriori and fighting later for prosecutions and Justice.


I am not ready for Hillary Clinton. I am hoping for a
younger, more genuine, more unburdened and more
independent from and less intertwined with various
connections, friendships and interests candidate.
But, it does not seem likely that her huge network will
allow any others even getting close or, a fortiori, being
able to successfully compete.


Günter Grass is with us no more.

Not very often anymore, but occasionally, we get to enjoy the
Barack that our Nation elected: A young man fresh out of
Illinois with the mission to do things rather differently than
what we had been used to before, a young man that did have
much to share in terms of our Humanity and much to offer as
the aspiring leader of the most powerful Nation on Earth and
for whom petty differences and meaningless and fruitless
enmities and hostilities were unnecessary disturbances and
obstacles that he would not let stand on the way of our Nation
in its persistent efforts to extend a hand of Friendship and of
Support to all other Nations on Earth that either need it or
are willing to accept it and reciprocate our Good Will.
And Raúl is also to be commended, especially for his
refreshing statement that, despite Cuba's and Fidel's well
founded historical grievances against the United States, if
the modern Cuban State and its Leaders do not, at last,
recognize the obvious fact that our Modern Representatives
and our current Government cannot be held responsible for
each and every misstep and mistake that past American
Leaders and past American Governments have made, then
the Bilateral Relations and the Multilateral Relationships,
influenced by this bitterness, would have continued to be
unnecessarily stuck in eras past and in a stale and obsolete
climate, advantageous neither for the American, nor the
Cuban People, nor for any of the other Nations of our
Americas. BRAVO, BARACK!! BRAVO, RAUL!!


I am deeply deeply moved by the Summit of the Americas
and the Historical Development of Espousing a Comprehensive
Feeling of Peace Fraternity and Cooperation Between all
Nations of our Super-Continent. Tolerance to Other Nations'
Political and Social Structures, no matter how different from
our own, Support towards Other Nations in their Attempts
to fulfill their Political, Social and Economic Dreams and
Aspirations and Universal Respect for Fundamental and
Indispensable Values of Human Rights, Human Dignity
and Human Liberty all seem to be reaching a new level
of maturity. BRAVO to all States Involved and for their
Commitment towards leaving past enmities aside and
working together with the ONE and ONLY GOAL; to
leave behind for our kids and descendants a better place,
physically and otherwise, than was handed down to us.