The BBC, Kossovo, and ranting

In an early morning story, this morning (i.e. around 5:30 a.m. Feb 17th), the BBC News channel aired a short report on Kossovo.

With serious and concerned faces, presenter, an EU official with the cushy job of doing nothing (or maybe, supervising... traffic? noting the weather? watching grass grow?) and an anchorwoman sur place informed us that there may be a problem in Kossovo. It took considerable air time and a trip over there for at least two persons (i.e. the one on the screen & the one behind the camera that recorded the scene) to tell us what we already know; those of us who do not, are not interested.

We got some not so touristy background views of couleur locale, however, the BBC correspondent quite appropriately dominated the screen most of the time; her image is arguably aesthetically superior to what was behind her.

All in all, the inanity of the presenter's story was only out shadowed by the vapidity of the correspondent's reporting.

This said, neither of the two can hold a candle to the officious official representing the EU (Mr. Pieter Feith). He was beyond description.

First of all, the aforementioned pair still have to work and worry about ratings.
Our officous official, having landed the cushy job, has a number of arguments that say he does not have to do, or be, or try to be, anything any more: EURO: 184.000 tax-free, + private insurance + pension plan, + support for kids' tuition, + travelling expenses, + business & extraordinary expenses... etc.

Am I envious? Yes I am!

Australians need help -- not from Greece, please!

While part of Australia is under water, another part is surpassing itself trying to survive fires... as well as looking for possible perpetrators.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Greece is recompensing setting trees and forests on fire.
Especially when it leads to real-estate development. Presently, homes built without planning permit and on grounds cleared by fire are receiving legalised status.

Greece is the country where burning down trees is the consecrated ticket to obtaining a home. Or the most profitable method to engage in real-estate development. It is slow in producing its yield, but it is dependable.

Yup. While Australia is in literal mayhem, Greece is presently and yet again legalising tree-burning of the '90s vintage. In other words, buildings of that era and before, erected on burned land, are now being legalised. The later millesimes have yet to reach the age of maturity, so fresher home dwellers & tree-burning societies have to be patient; their turn will come.
On a more financial note, it is cheaper to burn a few bushes, trees, forests, other peoples' land... and build and wait patiently for the thing to be legalised -- than purchase the legal equivalent.

The Greece paradigm affords an important lesson to the global community: burn to build.
(The greenery in the pic was added post-building.)

Hopefully Australia will not follow the Greek example. I don't think it will.


For now, however, for stricken and threatened Australians, any and all talk is useless. Let's all pray; and let those who can do more, do it.

Terrorism Greek(?) style: "shoot thems working class wogs"

Yuuuup.
In Greece, the "Anti-somethingorother" group sent a "declaration" to an obscure Athenian paper, claiming responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks making them out to be cool man and, more importantly, making no bones about their intentions to crush (the) police(men).

Under a purported left-wing cover, this group seems to be revealing itself, unintentionally perhaps, either as a case of neo-fascists or, just as likely, as the Eton vs Comprehensive, Working-classes- trying-to-assert-themselves-and-being-violently-shunned by an armed militia of privileged classes offspring.

Which is probably where this anti-somethingorother group members come from: privileged classes.

They are certainly not working class or lower middle class, or small farmers' children; that what their enemies, the police(men) are... working class, poor, farmers' kids mostly.

Let us end this short epistle asserting our revolutionary support to the upper classes and their gracious militia, by borrowing the words of an erstwhile emperor:
"Cock your pistols, KKK! Don't let gun-carrying snots and the wogs assert themselves! Kill them all, God will recognise his own"

BEST WISHES for a BETTER everything

BEcause, you deserve it,

BEcause, it's about time,

BEcause, it's against all odds and sometimes against the odds works better than with them,

BEcause....


Haappy(ier) New YEAR!

Intrusion, confusion, obfuscation. Athens resists... WHAT?? The LOSER syndrome perhaps???

The question is, who / what / are they resisting? Rebelling against???

In the minds of all the people I have spoken to, this is not clear.

Many (all?) feels that youth (and not so youth) are expressing something very important in a very unorthodox manner. Others, who analyse situations, have a great way of hiding behind their analyses to deflect situations.

All this lead me to speculate profusely and propose a number of bullet-point advocations.

In contemporary Greece a loser psychology seems to prevail:

• Dispense with your neighbour's goat if you haven't got one yourself. Thus you both will have nothing -- rather than try to acquire two goats & surpass your neighbour.
• Question anything and anyone who is perceptibly and subjectively superior.
• No one succeeds on merit alone.
• Multinationals are bad; they are success stories, hence reprehensible. We are glad when they stumble and make a mess of things. We forget we may be part of the mess.
  
• Whatever happens is somebody else's fault.
• Whatever happens is somebody's fault: while we debate whose fault it is (not ours) nothing is done about it.
• Whatever happens I want to dispute over it. I dispute therefore I am. I exist through controversy.
  

Is this what youth is protesting against?

Further interestingly illuminating conundrums:
In the absence of a common enemy, the enemy of any contemporary Greek is any and every other contemporary Greek.

The multiple and confusing facets of the contemporary Greek dream:
The untold dream is, money in the bank and/or property enough to live on without relying on a steady job; a Porsche Cayenne is the ultimate -- but any auto conspicuously parked on the pavement in front of the cafe is OK.
The traditional dream is, arrange for the kids (the daughters especially) to become public servants and enjoy lifetime employment and early retirement.

The major problem is that the above is NOT available to everyone. Yet, the majority of people in Greece feel entitled to the above. The disillusion of not being one of the chosen ones...

Another point: People will support a perennial corruption system hoping their turn comes around one day...

Further:
Anyone resisting any authority, except mine, is OK.
No one should be a teacher's pet, not even at 30, 40, 50... the anal phase and adolescence in Greece last forever.
Anyone beating up a cop must be OK. I mean, it's a cop, right? That's what cops are for.

Need one go on?
Maybe people are revolting against all the above and more?

If by working I get nowhere, by creating I can hardly survive and I have no connections, and the price of an average flat in town is more than 32 years of an entry-level salary... where's hope and what's the vision?

Television Democracy and Riotous Awakening

Kids entered the premises of Greek state-owned ERT (television) bandying a slogan loosely translated as, "stop watching (TV) and start walking (the streets)".

Amen!
Amen.

The revolutionary intifada has yielded at least one spark of common sense. Life seen through Greece's trash tv is depressing indeed. It is also very polarising and reductionist; cops are bad, non-cops are good, teacher's pets are bad, it's us against them (without any "them"), it's all their fault, down with authority (except mine). In other words, "Stereotype thy name is television".

Of course, all channels hastened to deplore this "undemocratic" act. Amazingly, so did some newspapers! So, what else is new?

The truth of the matter is, few (if anyone) in Greece dare challenge the media, esp. tv, despite distorted news reporting, thinly disguised short-cuts to programming, relentless tabloid content fed under the banner of "serious news and analysis". The "you know who I am?" syndrome seems deeply rooted in many contemporary Greeks; there is also a certain pomposity that comes with it. Both these traits are rampant on TV; one needs only watch the analyses and random pontifications by all and sundry whose face appears on the screen, to get sufficient grip in a very short time.

For that and more, yay to the banner -- even if storming other peoples' workplace may not be the most elegant way of doing it.

Just a thought: what would TV have to say if it were the police entering the building with a similar banner???

Athens-Riots and rebellions; a quick overview

35 years ago, there was mayhem in Athens because of a military junta. In many ways, the results of that mayhem went a long way towards justifying the sacrifice..

Yesterday there was mayhem in Athens seemingly because of the lack of a military junta. At a heavy cost in all & every way, the only ones to benefit are the television planners: they get free content. The usual soggy sincerity from the usual pseudo-scientists and analysts flows from most channels.

But let us go down there and participate and get a feel of what it's all about...
Free all that pent up hatred. I feel cornered, I cannot create, I cannot be heard.

If I cannot create let me destroy.

If I can't create, let me at least break a few windows -- through the breaking glass, I can hear my existence.
While we're at it, look over there! The usual thugs breaking a few shop-windows -- preferably shops with useful stuff: electronics, clothes, maybe a cash register/ an ATM or two for cash?
While they're at it, see the entertainment industry making the best of free content; it beats Grey's Anatomy any time (that was nearly 12.000 euro/episode, and this is free) !
And while we're at it, let's remember... why are we officially doing this ??? Oh yes, give them that 15 year-old (what was his name again???). Yes, yes, that's why we are rioting.
Of course.
After 20 years in Athens -- on and off -- someone else beat me by a few hours to what I wanted to say; he also beat me by very many strokes of very fine prose.

RowanThorpe ends his rant thus: "Educate yourselves. Or we will all drown in hate-filled ignorance..."
I would add, "...and the non-ignorant will pack up and leave."

And this is already happening, slowly. People are fleeing absurdity that can turn lethal.

Why? Riots, police shooting, riots... in Greece.

As my grandmother used to say, these things usually end badly.

This one couldn't have been worse: a 15 yrear old got killed by the police, no less.

In Greece it's unacceptable to lose one's life; it's even worse to lose it through police action.

But, unfortunately, it hasn't ended for the victim. In fact, the party has only just begun.

Robbing the grave in their usual manner, Greek television is happily saving money on content by speculating on this unfortunate youth's death. It rarely gets better than this: youth, policemen, and death -- for free!

And then there are more riots.
Why is this happening?

a) Politicians, as other rodents, hope to capitalise. "Yipee!" exclaimed the socialist party spokesman, and patted his communist namesake on the back. They both quickly resumed appropriate gravitas.

b) More importantly and aptly put by an expatriate living in Athens, Greece:
"Children, adolescents are not given any outlet to look forward to, any hope, any vision of a future... somewhere, somehow. Their schools give them no outlet, no direction, no hope for something that is there for them in the future; they live with parents who are living their own dead end.
Youth feels completely closed in and cornered, and ignored ...parents and television don;t offer much. A dream, a vision, something...
Just rules & nothing to look forward to.

So the kids lash out at the only figure of authority that's easily accessible and is newsworthy: the police."

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Police-shooting-sparks-riots-Greece-Athens-December-7-Greece-police-station/ss/events/wl/120708greeceriots/im:/081208/photos_ts_wl_afp/c2af016900785dc0ea0f5cbdc82a0547/;_ylt=AvdfZ0iSUPEVkNzsNuPxDlcFO7gF

Americans' capacity to amaze and their 2008 presidential election

The man you see portrayed on your left was voted, early November 2008, into the presidency of the federal democracy named "United States of America", one of the largest and wealthiest (if not the) industrial countries.

For voting in majority for Obama, American voters deserve a brownie and three stars. They deserve hope for a better future, hope for a President who will restore their dignity in the world... and most importantly, for a President who will motivate people and give people a sense of purpose. That is all Mr Obama can offer and that is enough, for others can thereby do the rest.

Unbeleivable but true, Americans have made history!

Kudos to these people then; they voted into office a man whose father was Kenyan (i.e. African, the real item -- not the politically correct afro-american variety), and who looks African. Basically, Mr Obama is black. He is also very intelligent (not appealing to rednecks), well educated and a tad intellectual (i.e. a suspicious character), comes from educated parents (hmmm, intellectuals & office workers, pansy) but worse of all he's, well, just look at the colour of his skin!

And he is a shrewed orator -- not necessarily manipulative -- just very good. So good in fact that I, citizen of other nations, actually listened to part of his speech; admittedly, it had moving moments. Very light on political bullshit.

On the other hand though, were we to say that the President is the embodiment of Americans' national identity... well, therein lies another secret, I think. Americans are probably looking for a national identity and voted for Mr Obama to get help in finding their way. Even if ultimately it doesn't look like Mr Obama.

They need a leader and, if nothing else, Mr Obama does have a leader profile. They need a doer devoid of the plagiarism and conniving of the past.

Thus Mr Obama, precursor of change, in his speech early Wednesday, stated that we will initiate change; change takes time to be completed.

Give the man time!

We all deserve better leaders. The Americans got theirs.
3cheers for President Obama!

(U.S.) Elections -- the hidden provocation

Not the US elections in particular, but election campaigns in Western countries in general.

• The provocation is this: millions are spent on an elections show.
• On the other hand, people out there are suffering to the tune of a minute fraction of the millions spent on the elections show.
• The elections show is officially for the benefit of "the people".
• With or without the show, some people are still starving. They could do with a little bit of that money.
  

From the view point of the needy, the whole election campaign thing is either very ironic or very tragic or a very tragic waste of money... or any combination thereof.

Again, it's not a matter of the yanks' elections -- it's all elections. It's just that the show being currently aired is the yanks' show. Since the US elections are imminent and Americans prepare to vote (or some of them do), their the whole shenanigan has received much airing. Hence the reference to them. It's also a really grand show, and their campaign seems to last for ever.
Now, how about if someone requested the candidates bail out a bank or support a few jobs being cut... say for a year?

Wealth is Relative

...the road to wealth may not be relative or theoretical, however.

Wealth is relative to what other peoples' wealth may be. No doubt. As we found out in the past fortnight without a shadow of doubt, some forms of wealth sometimes tumble and crumble easily and fast. Indeed, wealth did tumble fast and easily for very many; some of these people were even well off until one month ago. Some probably planned to sit back and enjoy whatever life was left to them.
No longer.

Here's a very short story:
It was the 1st of September. A day I expect I'll remember.
A man, senior executive in a global corporation, wanted to purchase a small house on a Greek island. For many reasons, he believed this would be a good purchase, a useful asset and a family abode that would be put into frequent and good use. Frequent is the operand word. He had no real assets to use towards that purchase; a loan would be crippling.

He discussed with family, but most of the family was average income or cash-stripped. He ended up asking one member to consider. It was a bold move: on total net worth of, say, 10, the man was asking for a considerable share: no less than 10% of that family member's net liquidity.
As that member had no children and a monthly guaranteed income, the man promised a pay back and hedged the request with house ownership and other considerations.

Unfortunately, the two did not see eye to eye, and the family loan did not come through.

Unfortunately the money the man was asking for was tied up in stock.

• By 30 days later (to the day) the family member was sustaining losses of 40% of her net worth.
• The amount of her losses could subsidised the purchase of 5 houses.
• Those houses would have provided something; as we discovered through this crisis something for nothing. I.e., by substituting an entry for cash and using said cash to purchase real estate.
  
• Now, in our story, we are left with 40% less of the nothing we had 31 days ago.
  

What a shame no-one can predict the future!

Kaput: banks, shares, savings, younameit...

The US parliament (Congress?) did not approve the bankers bailout plan. Markets are going kaput.

Of course, why should failed bank executives' employers, i.e. the banks, be saved from annihilation just because they failed?
Answer: Because the extent, the reach, and the consequence of their failure is tremendous.
Savings will topple, people are left without a penny, and those banks' senior management is left without its golden parachute...

Of course, some say that it is better this way. I'm not sure I wouldn't support this view myself: why use our children's money to bail out out bankers' fathers?

Whatever the case may be, it is useful to pray. Buying power in many European countries is down by 35% in the past 8 years. The erstwhile middle class is getting poorer. And in becoming so, it is breeding widespread discontent.

Easy to grasp, if you think of this in the following way: see your children worse off than you were.
In the hitherto inalienable grand scheme of life, offspring were supposedly bequeathed a better world than their forefathers.

No longer! Pray, pray, fast, right now, immediately. Who else is there to save us but God & ourselves. We are incapable of saving ourselves.

That leaves only God. Yet again.