Free beer, more time to drink it

A new planet has been discovered and the earth is slowing down – which means the crime rate will increase. Perplexed?

Nevermind, there’s news of free beer in Zev’s Kafenion – but you have to be a registered member to find out more!

Click on the ELSOKAI Forums link, on the right >

Shortage of olives?

Greeks saw their wealth grow by a healthy 7 percent in 2004 (hmmm… ) and olives may be worth more as the serious shortage of rain in Spain threatens an olive oil shortage.

A dead daughter, a wedding dress and a funeral parlour were some of the components of a scam a 36-year-old man had set up in different parts of Greece and a Norwegian woman was arrested trying to smuggle stray dogs out of Greece – a contentious issue as some people these animals (in general) are bound for animal research and not caring homes.

More details at ELSOKAI, feel free to post other news, or comments. Registered users have access to the Asklepion pc help centre, plus there’s a chance to be sociable, on-line. ELSOKAI Forums link on the right >

Gone in 60 seconds

Today’s air strike has been deemed illegal and called off and there’s a call to clean up strays from the streets of Greece. All in the National news.

In the International section, Italy and Germany have fallen out about the behaviour of German tourists on Italian beaches and a British teenager has been shot dead while on holiday.

In the UK, a crime occurs every seconds and a tornado tore through Birmingham, causing serious injuries.

All at ELSOKAI

Bigfoot, big....

Drinks companies have been ordered to hire paunchy, balding men for advertisements to meet new rules forbidding any link between women’s drinking and sex.

Er, just excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor after pi**ing missen laffing.

Residents of a small town in Canada claim to have a hair sample from a Bigfoot… hmmmm….

All the humour at ELSOKAI. Register and log on to read more, in the Temple of Athina.

Spam problem solved?

Food and drink tops the headlines this lunchtime (groan!)

Rum and tequila drinkers may be risking their health the next time they sip their favourite alcoholic beverages at a bar, after government tests indicated that 100 percent of the two spirits served at inspected nightspots was adulterated.

A very large quantity of nuts have been confiscated on health grounds.

And a pacifier has been withdrawn from sale, on safety grounds.

More details in the Agora at ELSOKAI

Continuing on the food link… a leading spammer has been slain. Registered users can log on and get more news in the Asklepion, at ELSOKAI

[Must be the heat… the gags are getting (even) worse…]

Feel free to add your own news and views.

For pc help - including less drastic ways to stop spammers - check out the Asklepion, or the CARMA Forums link.

EUjet grounded

More than 5,000 people are stranded abroad after EUjet, the Kent-based budget airline, ran out of money and grounded all flights.

And it looks like ther will be no more Tiny Time machines, either.

More details at ELSOKAI

Closed Windows?

The first Chinese package-tourists arrived in London yesterday and, from what I’ve heard, it’s a typical British summer over there, so I guess it’s a case of sleet ‘n’ shower?

A church in Naples is packing them in to see a moving Madonna.

And did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle really write the Hound of the Baskervilles, or did he poison the real author and claim it as his own? See if you can solve this mystery after you’ve read more of the story at ELSOKAI.

And for anyone interested in their computer, news that Microsoft are going to be checking to see if your version of Windows is genuine. More news in the Asklepion, at ELSOKAI

Find bugs, earn cash

Lots of strikes planned for this week… how it affects rural Greece we’ll have to wait and see.

But the lack of cash circulating in Greece already is likely to have more knock-on effects as many Greeks say they can’t afford to holiday this summer.

Find bugs, earn cash ? Registered users can log on to ELSOKAI and find out more in the Asklepion.

All the details in ELSOKAI, click on the link on the right.

Please may this never happen here

Costa del Concrete

Welcome to the Costa del Sol where almost all the restaurants seem to offer egg, sausage and beans - the one notable exception being Burger King.

Few come here to experience local customs or cuisine and younger holidaymakers prefer trendier resorts. But, at midnight, the seafront is thronging with families from Britain, Germany and eastern Europe, mingling with Spaniards who own second homes here.

The crowds here conceal the truth: this is the heart of a holiday business whose rotten health is causing growing alarm in Spain.

After 40 years of breakneck development, vast stretches of the Spanish coast have been concreted over, including three-fifths of the Andalusian seafront - destroying the environment and deterring visitors.

So concerned is the government in Madrid that it wants to buy seaside land itself to stop developers getting their hands on it. Along the Costa del Sol, of course, there is nothing much left to buy.

Full Independent article at ELSOKAI, click on link on right

Lost, lonely, miles from 'home'

The latest London bombing, and especially the shooting of a Brazilian with no apparent links to terrorism, continue to dominate the UK news. Interesting article here, though:

A new life abroad ends in misery for many - women, especially - and thousands choose to return. Isolation is the most common reason for expats to give up living abroad. In fact, according to the Office of National Statistics, about half the people who set off to live abroad eventually return. And the sense of isolation afflicts women most of all. Far more than men, they miss their social life "back home" and find new friendships abroad superficial.

More of the story in the International section, click on the link to the ELSOKAI Forums

Shoot to kill

The latest London (would be) bomb attacks and the police shooting of a suspected terrorist continue to dominate the UK news, including the ‘shoot to kill’ (before any possible bombs are detonated) policy.

Quite a bit of Greek news: a UK-based Greek student has been sentenced for ripping-off IBM; Alpha bank has been fined for pushing credit cards on people; the health service has trouble recruiting staff on the islands; yet another Chinese-made electrical product has been withdrawn from sale due to safety concerns; Greece may go short of peaches; and yet another cruise boat has run aground on Kefalonia.

Click on the ELSOKAI link for more details.

In the pc news, Microsoft has unveiled the replacement for Windows XP, codenamed ‘Longhorn, now named ‘Vista’. Registered users can log on and read more in the pc section at ELSOKAI.

Hmmm, as Rover has been sold to Nanjing Automobile, I wonder if it will be renamed… ‘Lover’?

Police shoot terrorist in London

A man has been shot dead by armed officers at Stockwell Tube station, England, as police hunt four would-be bombers.

Greek police have broken up an international pornographic ring that displayed photos of underage girls on the Internet and live images taken from cameras hidden in women’s dressing rooms in a downtown Athens department store.

Fishermen have caught a 1,191lb (540kg) tiger shark, which had a large turtle still intact in its stomach.

There are no lifeguards at 186 of the 496 Greek beaches that are required to have them.

And yet another cruise boat has run aground on Kefalonia

More details via the ELSOKAI Forums link on the right – feel free to add news or comments.

Party time

Really interesting news, especially about Greece, seems a little difficult to find this morning, so:

Bars, cafes and nightclubs in Greece’s tourist areas will be allowed to open around the clock on Fridays and Saturdays under a pilot scheme unveiled yesterday by the Public Order Ministry.

More details at ELSOKAI

Sleeping with the enemy

British banks are accused of ripping off the tourists, and the hidden costs of ‘last-minute bargain holidays’ are revealed, in an article from the Independent.

Sleeping with the boss may constitute sexual harassment in the States.

A nation-wide strike is planned next week.

Anyone with a pacemaker may want to read an article from Kathimerini concerning faulty pacemeakers.

And the heat is pushing up demand for electricity as more people switch on their a/c units.

For more details, click on the link to the ELSOKAI Forums.

NO to the €uro, EU, Turkey and... Greece?

Greeks are unhappy with the €uro and the EU, and a big majority don’t want Turkey to join the EU. And they aren’t altogether happy about their lives in Greece, either.

OK, we’ve heard it’s the “wrong kind of snow” on the lines, now it’s “too hot for a/c” – according to South West Trains. Bring back BR!

Bit of a fish-y story in the news – Michael Fish has been accused of wife-swapping.

And the world’s rarest cat faces extinction – due to a new oil pipeline.

For more details, click on the ELSOKAI link on the right.

For the latest in computer protection online, click on the CARMA link.

Early elections?

Although Greece does not favour limiting civil liberties it is prepared to implement new, EU-wide, anti-terrorism measures in the wake of the London bombings.

New Democracy admits it could call an early election if it cannot pass proposed legislation which is being fiercely opposed by the unions.

Click on the ELSOKAI forums link on the right for more details.

Dick needs ladies undies to make it big?

Late night x-tra:

“Sir Richard Branson's dream of making it big in ladies' underwear”… oh deary me!

Ars(e) Gratia Artis?... about 1,700 men and women have appeared naked in Tyneside in the name of art...

All revealed at ELSOKAI - click on link on right

Happy Birthday, please leave your spouse now

A court in Nigeria has sentenced a woman to two and a half years in prison for her part in the country's biggest ever international fraud case.

State-of-the-art mobile phone jamming equipment is being employed against a new target: cheating university students.

The Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) detected more than 8,500 irregularities in the checks that it performed during the first half of this year, as the government steps up measures against tax dodgers to save the budget from possible derailment over the next few months.

Click on the ELSOKAI link for more details.

And a new range of greetings cards has been launched (hey, Jo, seen this?)… for adulterous lovers. Registered users (no, I’m not suggesting you’re drug addicts) can log on and read more in the Temple of Athina.

Four killed in new Turkey bombing

Four people have been killed and others, including tourists, injured when a bomb exploded in a minibus in Turkey, in what may have been a suicide bombing.

The environment features heavily today, with news that the EU has plans to curb big 4x4’s. The EU has also criticised Greece for failing to protect its environment.

Good news may be that wolves, wild boars and brown bears are expanding across Europe.

More details in the National and International news, click on the ELSOKAI link on the right.

Anti-terrorism vs. liberty

A day after EU justice and interior ministers agreed to speed up the implementation of tough new anti-terrorism measures, in the wake of last week’s London bombings, Greece openly admitted that it had doubts about some of the enhanced powers.

Athenians are the least satisfied in Europe with the living conditions in their city but good news may be that the Greece’s economic growth was the highest of the 25 member states of the EU, and unemployment is falling. More details in the National news section.

In the International news, MyTravel, formerly Airtours, have been heavily fined for misleading the stock market.

ELSOKAI: http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php

Two minute silence

The atrocities of the London bombings continue to dominate much of the news and two minutes silence will be observed in public offices throughout Greece at 14:00 today.

In the other news, the government has called for petrol prices to be monitored, yet another Chinese-made electrical product has been withdrawn from sale on safety grounds and the country’s museums and archaeological sites will be shut today. More news at ELSOKAI:
http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php

Parking rage

Little news today, and little time to find it, but parking rage has claimed a victim on Lesvos. More details at ELSOKAI, click on link on right.

Athens news?

In the news today:

Well, news is only news if it happens in Athens – that seems to be the verdict of a survey released yesterday by the Univrsity of Athens. Hopfully that is something PanHellas and ELSOKAI can help redress. If you have any news, big or small, post it at ELSOKAI – the media are welcome to pick up on it!

Something else that concerns me, seeing that I own a car and rent them out, is the diluting of petrol by filling stations. The government are on to it and have imposed fines totalling almost €1,000,000. Well done!

The Greek driver of the bus involved in the London bombings has been taken in to protective custody as a key witness.

News from around Greece, and about Greece, at ELSOKAI. Click on the ELSOKAI link.

London bombings 'virus'

News today of a sick new virus that attempts to infect pc’s by showing a claimed amateur video of the London bombings. Registered users can log on and get more information here: http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php?c=6

In the Greek news: In a telephone survey, 84.6 percent of Greeks condemned the attacks on London “unequivocally” as a criminal act and there’s been another ferry boat accident on Paros – this time, no-one was seriously hurt.

In the local news: if anyone would like to do some volunteer work, and see a different part of Greece, have a look in the Kefalonia & Ithaka section.

Local, Greek and International news here:
http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php?act=SC&c=4

New geeks = female, under 40, with money !!!

OK, bit of a rush today - just read an article that reckons the 'new geeks' are female, under 40, interested in 'puters and have bags of money. Just gotta read it again to see if it says where to find them.

More news in ELSOKAI, click on link...

Greeks caught-up in London terrorist bombings

In today’s Greek news: several Greek and Cypriot citizens were among those caught-up in the terrorist bombings in London, which have been condemned by Greece and the UN.
The government has introduced a new program to deal with state services online.
Yamaha have recalled two of their motorcycle range.
More news here:
http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php?showforum=11

In the International news section: it seems Americans have awoken to the dangers of spyware on the internet, and the creator of the Sasser ‘virus’ has been tried and sentenced. More news here:
http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php?showforum=35

Registered users of ELSOKAI can log on and get more information about the latest version of Foxit pdf reader, a smaller and fast substitute for the mega-huge and slow Adobe reader. Also, the latest version of the Real Alternative has just been released, for those who don’t want to risk Real’s reputation for spyware. More news here:
http://s10.invisionfree.com/ELSOKAI/index.php?c=6

Welcome to PanHellas

Welcome to PanHellas, the weblog of the ELSOKAI forums.