Athina Onassis to wed

Athina Roussel Onassis is set to wed Alvaro Affonso de Miranda in a lavish wedding in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Civil servants employed at state-owned companies will no longer enjoy job-for-life status.

Ministers announced Internet price cuts of 50% for 600,000 students and that Greece will host the 2006 World Conference in Computer Science.

Police in Athens arrested a 57-year-old man who made at least €25,500 euros a month from running two child pornography websites

More in the ELSOKAI Forums

'Unity' on terrorism & illegal immigration

An agreement reached in Barcelona yesterday between European Union member states and Mediterranean-rim countries on key issues such as immigration and terrorism was hailed as being of ‘special significance’ for Greece by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. European countries and their Muslim neighbours vowed to unite in the fight against terrorism yesterday, but only after papering over a deep disagreement about who is a terrorist and who is a freedom fighter.

A joint Israeli-Palestinian football team has arrived in Spain for a match on Tuesday against Spanish champions Barcelona aimed at promoting peace.

The modern era of capital punishment reaches a macabre milestone tomorrow with America's 1,000th execution since it reintroduced the death penalty in the 1970s. Over the past 28 years the United States has, on average, executed one person every 10 days.

Firefox 1.5 is due to be available for download from today.

More in the ELSOKAI Forums

UK sex-slave gang broken

Five Albanian pimps have been convicted of sex trafficking offences in the UK. Teenage girls lured from abroad were forced to sleep with as many as 10 men a day, earning the pimps around £800 a day - of which they received nothing.

One of the brothels alone took between £3,000 and £18,000 a day. The gang were making huge profits and several of them drove around in new Mercedes cars.

The girls – at least one a virgin - were cowed into submission by threats and by their predicament - strangers in a foreign country, without their passports, unable to speak the language, understand their rights or even be sure where they were.

In the ELSOKAI Forums

Vested interests and naked profiteering

While a lot of attention recently has been focused upon problems perceived to be caused by immigration, some news articles today tackle how vested interests and naked profiteering are blighting Greece.

And three large insurance companies seem financially insecure after they didn’t pay compensation to their insured.

As usual, more on these stories in the ELSOKAI Forums

Respecting European values

"If Turkey indeed wants to approach the Union, it should respect European principles and values. Human rights will be respected and European principles and values will be enforced." Karamanlis.

The family and friends of an 18-year-old girl, doused with petrol and set alight in broad daylight by the man she refused to marry, led a silent march through a Parisian suburb yesterday.

And in the UK, husbands who kill their wives in a fit of jealous rage will face tougher jail terms under new sentencing guidelines to be issued by the Lord Chief Justice.

A graphic film, apparently of an initiation ceremony of Commando recruits, is at the heart of a full-scale criminal inquiry by the Royal Military Police Special Investigations Branch.

Over in the States a hoaxer has been calling dozens of fast food restaurants over the last decade pretending to be a police officer/area manager/whatever. He would tell the store manager that a particular employee/customer had committed an offence and instruct the manager to strip search the accused. Amazingly, the managers obeyed the instructions.

When I read that I thought it was rather wacky. When I read the article it was based on I found it a little disturbing. I’ve posted it in the
Weird, Wild & Wacky section so you can have a look and post your views.

And if you’re using a Sygate or Kerio firewall, check out the pc section.

There's more on all these items at the ELSOKAI Forums

The European sex-slave trade

Young women from across Eastern Europe are being imprisoned in secret underground bunkers in FYROM before being trafficked to Britain as sex slaves.

But is Britain becoming a nation of frantic masturbators? More vibrators are sold every year in Britain than washing machines and tumble dryers combined and vibrating penis rings are now on sale in supermarkets and high street chain stores. Definitely one for Weird, Wild & Wacky.

More on these stories at the ELSOKAI Forums

Chain emails & 'virus warnings'

Just recently I’ve been emailed a couple of chain letters and a virus warning. I’m a bit sceptical of these things, at best. At worst, I wonder what sort of crap they might be carrying – anything that says ‘pass me on’ gets me worried!

One of the chain letters was for a school project, the other a petition against drinking and driving.

Luckily, I’d read about a website that debunks the junk: BreakTheChain.org

Worth a look, if just for a bit of light amusement.

Generally, I don’t bother passing on virus warnings, especially by email – new ‘viruses’, or variations thereof, tend to ‘break out’ about every hour or so. If there’s a really nasty one about (as there is at the moment), I’ll post about it at ELSOKAI and mention it here, but that’s about it. Basically, I keep my OS and anti-malware programs regularly updated, am careful opening emails, check out those ‘great little free programs’ before I download them and have a HOSTS file – so I should be reasonably safe on the net (I hope!)

Anyway, as I’d heard about a site that debunks urban myths, I checked out the ‘virus warning’: (a) it was a hoax and (b) it had been circulating for four years! So, by the time it arrived it was well out of date, anyway.

Genuine virus warnings are often posted at sites such as CARMA. You can usually find the hoax virus warnings listed here at Snopes.com. Again, worth a look, if only for amusement.

Immigration = crime ?

Intolerance and the confusion of problems such as crime, unemployment and other social ills associated with immigration are the two main challenges facing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece.

Immigration and organized crime go hand in hand, according to a study by Britain's National Criminal Intelligence Service.

A forgery ring involving at least one doctor and a lawyer has issued 1,800 fake health certificates to immigrants this month alone.

Greece has become a significant drug-trafficking hub as seizures of some drugs increased by almost 500 percent last year, according to the police drugs squad.

A tragic gun accident on Crete left a 16 year old boy dead, shot by his younger brother.

SOME 38 Greek Air Force personnel left Athens for Afghanistan, where they will run Kabul airport.

And Florianópolis is the hottest beach resort. So why haven't we heard of it?

All in the ELSOKAI Forums – everyone is welcome to register and post (or you can post in the Guest Spot).

Tax exemption for first-time buyers

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Greek Justice Minister, Anastasios Papaligouras, presented the new bill on combating domestic violence in Greece.

Tax exemption for first-time buyers has been approved, w.e.f. 01/01/06

Another brand of children’s milk has been recalled from the Italian market.

And Turkey has experienced a 9/11 –type security crisis.

More in the ELSOKAI Forums – feel free to add a comment or post a new item.

Is the Parthenon subsiding?

The severe weather around Greece has brought newspaper reports that the foundations of the Parthenon are under threat of subsiding, and a woman drowned in Gytheio on Thursday night after a dried-up stream overflowed, sweeping her away in her car.

Orthodox monks traded blows yesterday in the Mount Athos monastic community in northern Greece as a bitter fight between church authorities and a rebel monastery turned violent.

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with the abuser usually someone known to her.

The French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, has dismissed claims by some of his party colleagues that rap music fuelled suburban rioting in France.

Former football star George Best has died in hospital at the age of 59. Bertie Ahern said, "He was quite simply a football genius."

And a Royal Navy parrot with a reputation for embarrassing top brass with her salty language has been ordered ashore.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums

'Music inspired riots, racism and murder'

A French MP has publicly accused rappers of inciting riots and racism with their songs.

‘Death metal’ has been linked to one of the most shocking crimes in post-war Italy - a tale of Satanism and violence that has gripped the country for more than a year.

And Elton John says he will marry next month.

More in the ELSOKAI Forums

Migrants contribute significantly

The support offered by migrants to social security funds is significant, according to a report released yesterday by the Immigration Policy Institute.

Two armed, plain-clothes police officers who were removed from a trade-union meeting have sparked a political row over the role and control of the police.

Greek universities will likely see private sponsors become a main source of income - a practice that is illegal under current legislation.

And for 24 hours, millions of people around the world will avoid the frantic consumer-binge on International Buy Nothing Day.

More on these stories at the ELSOKAI Forums

Watch out for a new 'virus' which is spreading rapidly. More details in the ELSOKAI pc section here

Greek media on strike

All the Greek unions of employees working in the Media and Press sectors are proceeding with a 24-hour nationwide strike from 06:00 Thursday to 06:00 Friday. No news bulletins or news shows will be broadcast by ERT, or any of the other radio and TV networks, due to the 24-hour strike.

The Greek Armed Forces have sworn in top athletes as honorary officers.

Women are suffering "crisis levels" of rape, domestic violence, sex abuse and harassment in the UK, say campaigners.

And Irish fisherman netted a surprise Christmas present off the coast of England - bottles of Irish cream liqueur, complete with two glasses per bottle.

All in the ELSOKAI Forums

iPod's "party in your pants"

Men from Northern Greece who have tied the knot with Bulgarian brides live in marital satisfaction and success, according to a new report.

Some 450 children who have disappeared since 2000 are still listed as missing.

Nestle Greece has stopped distributing NANI 2 formula milk due to a health scare.

Police yesterday advised people to be on the lookout for fake banknotes after arresting two people in Athens who allegedly sold forged euro notes over the Internet.

A bungee-jumping spot at a Cypriot beach popular with British tourists is the site of an ancient campsite that has yielded what archaeologists say may be the earliest evidence of Mediterranean seafaring.

Russia's far-Right is locked in a contest to see who can best exploit rising nationalism by producing the most racist television election advert.

And a Russian scientist claims he has invented a technology to steer turtles on remote control that can be successfully used in covert missions.

All in the ELSOKAI Forums

And the new iPod vibrator promises a 'party in your pants' - the mind boggles. Read about it here

A lack of info kills women in Greece

Greece is a hospitable country which gives equal opportunities to all, says the Minister for the Interior.

Greece's Supreme Court has ordered the extradition of a Croatian businessman wanted in connection with a fugitive Croatian war crimes suspect.

And a lack of information is killing women in Greece.

A village council in Pakistan has said five young women should be abducted, raped or killed.

Austrian authorities have prepared charges against British historian and holocaust denier, David Irving, who was arrested 11 days ago.

And the new Archbishop of York has made a powerful attack on multiculturalism, urging English people to reclaim their national identity and culture.

All in the ELSOKAI Forums

The FBI aren't watching you

A family in Greece needs 1,792.28 euros per month to cover its consumer needs. A shift of expenses towards communications was noted.

Fares for taxis, KTEL buses, urban transport and trains will increase as of 2006.

Greek scientists addressed an appeal to the citizens to remain alert against the increasing threat of AIDS.

And the head of Interpol has warned that the world must face the inevitability of a bio-terror attack by al-Qaeda (uh, ethnocentric technophiles again).

Meanwhile, the FBI said e-mails made to look like they come from the agency are warning computer users that the FBI is monitoring their Internet use.

"These scam e-mails tell the recipients that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI and that they have accessed illegal Web sites," the FBI said in a statement.

"The e-mails then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions."

"These e-mails did not come from the FBI," the statement said. "Recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner."

Opening e-mail attachments from an unknown sender is risky, the FBI said, because such attachments can contain viruses that infect the recipient's computer.

So there we are. The FBI isn’t monitoring your internet usage. It’s probably the CIA. Hi guys, everyone’s welcome here, come over to the ELSOKAI Forums and join in. You can find info on a new anti-phishing tool from Microsoft, too!

Police losing control in Athens?

Two people were injured by gunfire outside the Athens office of Golden Dawn, an extreme right-wing group.

More than 50% of Athenians have little or no faith in the police force and seven in ten of the city's residents feel unsafe walking alone in their neighborhood at night.

A poll in the UK has revealed "disturbing attitudes” on who is to blame for rape.

And forget ‘Beaver Espania’, Club 18-30 is trying to change it’s image - next year's destinations include a Black Sea resort in Bulgaria - with the opportunity to visit monasteries and go hiking. (Have I lost track of time? It’s April 1 already?)

22,000 foreign IT workers were issued with work permits for the UK last year, of whom 85 per cent were from India.

And in the Weird, Wild & Wacky section: a woman has admitted attempting to open an airplane door mid-flight so that she could smoke a cigarette.

All in the ELSOKAI Forums

Cleansing the French ghettos

OK, bit of a provocative title but if you’re an ethnocentric technophile with a loathing of the French rioters, the chapters on mass murder by nanotechnology in the French ghettos may have a lot of appeal.

If, on the other hand, you just like a good thriller, ‘The Lazarus Vendetta’ by Robert Ludlum and Patrick Larkin will probably still appeal.

I’ve posted a short review under A novel idea? at the ELSOKAI Forums

The "Internet of Things" - a brave new world

Following on from Bridging the digital divide, here’s how the - not too distant - future looks to be:

Humans may become the minority as initiators and receivers of internet traffic as smart homes and fridges, as well as automatic machines and mobile phones, become the main users of the Internet.

The latest designs in technology (i.e. in robotics, sensors and nanotechnology) will render the Internet the basic ingredient of all electronic objects.

Smart fridges will soon be able to communicate with supermarkets to order food, mobile phones will be linked to the Internet and used as credit cards, and vehicles will be automatically updated on their position through special networks, while managers will know exactly where their workers are through Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) embedded on their phones.

At the same time, it is believed that the "Internet of Things" will create new markets and will offer business opportunities both in the industrial sector as well as in telecommunications.

Well, that’s absolutely hunky-dory, if you can / can afford to access the internet. Looks like Greece won’t be creating many new markets or new business opportunities.

I’ve previously posted at ELSOKAI about a kettle you can switch on by phoning it and the spy in your car boot.

Personally, I’m not sure I want my fridge phoning the supermarket to order my next meal for me.

Large-scale snooping is about to get up close and really personal, with radio tags in everything from bus tickets to new knickers. Big Brother will have his beady eye on our affairs as never before, if we allow it, and a simple trip to the supermarket could reveal far more about us than we’d ever imagined — even after we leave the store.

Radio tags have a promising place in society, but it’s not in our shopping bags or underwear. If retailers want to turn us into walking inventories while we are in their shops, they might at least have the decency to turn off their electronic snooper when we leave their premises. Now is the time to stand up for our right to privacy, before Big Brother has moved into the home.

And in case you think I’m a paranoid loonyleftie (good guess, btw), those two paragraphs came from an article at The Times.

The report on the "Internet of Things", written by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a body within the United Nations, points out the need to educate the public on the consequences of the invasion of those devices in everyday life. As they say,

The focus lies on privacy protection, which governments, the private sector and other agencies must act upon from the outset to safeguard.

As things stand, the internet can be a very dangerous place.

Internet of Things – ERT report

Internet of Things – BBC report

Dodgy goods go back on the streets

Interesting bit of news on ERT online, first reported on NET news: products confiscated from shops as being unsuitable on safety grounds are often auctioned off… so they find their way back on to the streets, often sold by street vendors. And it seems the procedure for granting CE labels, which should ensure some kind of quality, is full of loopholes.

Yesterday I mentioned John Dimitri Negroponte here. Today I came across this article. A bit worrying, when you consider his statement about how Greek values have influenced his life? I’m not convinced many Greeks would share his apparent values. But correct me if I’m wrong.

Aristidis Lakiotis, who’s name had been on the police “most wanted” list for extortion and manslaughter, died in hospital yesterday morning after being fired at 15 times in a gangland-style shooting outside his Nikaia home.

I know there’s a few folk on Kef who come from Bradford and I’m sure we were all sorry to hear about the death of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, murdered yesterday in the line of duty. Latest news is that three men have been arrested in London in connection with her murder.

And there’s an interesting post by Roger on internet prices, which you can find here, and a question about using Skype. Must admit, I haven’t got around to Skype, or VoIP at all, so if you’ve got any info or views, please let us know – you can always post in the Guest Spot at the ELSOKAI Forums

"Migrants are sacred" - ND

“This society and people considers the migrant sacred”, according to the Greek Interior Minister. That was in reply to a comment that immigrant ghettos are forming in Athens.

OTE appeared to backtrack yesterday on its decision to raise Internet connection rates by up to 500 percent (hmmmm)

I’ve posted my blog bit (original below) about ‘Bridging the digital divide’, with some additional info

As the government submits proposals on the latest version of Olympic… whatever… news on another - very successful - ‘Greek’ airline.

And talking of flying, the cost of UK passports is set to rise considerably – but that’s OK, we’ll all be living longer to enjoy the ‘benefits’ – and working until we drop, if the UK government have their way.

Well, at least olive oil is good for you… isn’t it?

The weather in Athens has been crap.

And a couple of guys have found a way to make money – print it.

All this, and more, in the ELSOKAI Forums

Bridging the digital divide, the Greek way

As Greece commemorated the 24 deaths outside Athens Polytechnic campus in the 1973 uprising against the military junta, OTEnet delivered another blow to freedom of liberty by announcing proposed price increases of between 75% - 500% to connect to the internet for people who have to rely upon dial-cup connections. Although public outcry has dented OTE’s chances, it still plans to increase costs, albeit in stages.

Internet usage in Greece lags far behind the rest of Europe and the number of people on broadband is a miserable 0.7% of the population. At the same time, connection costs are amongst the highest in Europe.

So while Greece drags its feet, FYROM, among other countries, realises that the internet should stand alongside roads, water and electricity as essential infrastructure and is rapidly becoming a wi-fi hotspot.

The ‘digital divide’, between countries – and people – who have access to the net and those who don’t, is such a serious concern that it has been discussed this week at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis where some 170 countries and more than 20,000 delegates are taking part in the UN's largest ever summit.

The aim of the three-day meeting is to look at ways of using information communication technologies to help improve living standards in some of the world's poorest nations.

A key aim under the UN's Millennium Development Goals is to connect all the villages of the world to the internet by 2015.

To achieve this goal access to computer technology and the internet is, obviously, essential. This means making it affordable. Remarkably, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab has developed a $100 laptop.

The laptops are powered with a wind-up crank, have very low power consumption and will let children interact with each other while learning.

Nicknamed the 'green machine', it can be used as a conventional computer, or an electronic book.

"… when we make this available, it is an education project, not a laptop project. The digital divide is a learning divide - digital is the means through which children learn learning. This is, we believe, the way to do it."

"Every single problem you can think of, poverty, peace, the environment, is solved with education or including education," said Professor Nicholas Negroponte, founder and director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.

So, what can a $1000 laptop do that the $100 version can't?

Not much. The plan is for the $100 Laptop to do almost everything. What it will not do is store a massive amount of data.

To take part in the initiative, governments have to commit to buying a million machines for around $100 each.

That is a lot of money for any government to commit. As Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN said, “nations have to show the political will to bridge the digital divide”. The cost of not committing to the information age is incalculable.

If there is any further incentive for Greece to bridge the digital divide and join the information age, surely it is, as ERT News pointed out, that Nicholas Negroponte is Greek: born (in the USA) the son of a Greek ship owner.

And a second member of the €100 Laptop scheme Principals is also Greek. Michail Bletsas, Director of Computing at MIT Media Laboratory, holds a diploma in electrical engineering from Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, and was involved in the development of one of the first ADSL Internet-access test beds. He was born in Chania, Crete.

So, while two Greeks promise to crack the digital divide wide open, Greece itself seems determined to move backwards and join countries where free speech and use of the internet is severely limited. Lack of commitment and investment – lack of political will - in education, in infrastructure, in actual accessibility, leads to the same end, just by different means.

Greeks: 80% think immigrants "take, don't contribute"

Turkey could be banned from the 2010 World Cup after Fifa launched an investigation into the violence that followed their play-off with Switzerland in Istanbul last night.

Osama bin Laden wants the United States to convert to Islam, ditch its constitution, abolish banks, gaol homosexuals and sign the Kyoto climate change treaty... and CoE archbishops have condemned the Church of England as evil!

An FBI-style website aimed at tracking the UK's most wanted crime suspects is being launched by Crimestoppers.

Sony has now published a list of all 52 titles that use its much criticised anti-piracy system, and is under fresh criticism as the patch it issued to solve the problem leaves a new security hole in pc’s. Oh my!

Is splog the new spam? That's the question being asked by an increasingly irate weblogging community as it grapples with dodgy sites.

A prototype of a cheap and robust $100 laptop for the poor has been welcomed as an "expression of global solidarity" by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan…

… as politicians and a leading consumer group called on the government yesterday to intervene and block a decision by phone company OTE to hike Internet charges by as much as 500 percent as of next month.

Greece has been tackling money laundering for the last 10 years using two men and a borrowed computer. Well, let’s hope they are among the lucky 0.7% of the population on broadband, or they will be facing up to a 500% increase to connect to the net, too.

And almost eight in 10 Greeks believe that immigrants have contributed to a rise in crime and have offered little to the country, according to statistics revealed by immigration experts at a conference in Athens yesterday.

All this at the ELSOKAI Forums

Killing the 'net in Greece

Dialing up to the Internet will cost some 75% more, as per the new price rates of OTE enforced as of December 6.

From now on, users surfing via the Single Access Dial-up Number (EPAK) will be charged with 23 units per hour, as opposed to 13 currently in force, while the night rates, which were cheaper, will be abolished.

This means that the user, for one hour of connection, will pay 0.60 euros, as opposed to 0.34 euros.

Story here

Who said it?

Who has called for "affirmative action" in France to tackle higher than average unemployment among minorities - one of the problems angering rioting youngsters in run-down suburbs – saying,

“I challenge the idea that we all start at the same starting line in life, some people start further back because they have a handicap - colour, culture or the district they come from. So we have to help them.”

President Jacques Chirac
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy
DeviousDiva
Zevs (Mike)

Cast your vote here: Who said it?

Greeks are the most religious in Europe

Greek hospitals seem to be getting ‘ripped-off’ by suppliers, e.g. it costs 26,235 euros to buy a pacemaker in Greece, whereas the same equipment cost almost 11,000 euros less in France (uh, maybe demand will be going up there?)

And three million dangerous syringes and catheters imported from Germany but made in China have found their way in to Greek hospitals. Bit worrying.

Greeks are the most religious people in Europe and the eighth most devout in the world, according to the results of a worldwide survey conducted across 68 countries over the summer and made public yesterday.

Youths attacked a French car dealership and a Greek-French supermarket chain with petrol bombs in Thessaloniki early yesterday.

“Greece... has international obligations which it has to live up to” and more Greek soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan.

Turkish union members filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola Co. and its Turkish bottling subsidiary after police attacked workers trying to join a trade union with "a particularly lethal form of tear gas".

Genocide allegations against Turkey have taken a place among a group of works on “Crimes against Humanity” in London.

Good news of the day? I’m getting the bar stocked up (and just gotta sample the stock!)

More news at the ELSOKAI Forums >

2,000 kids a year trapped in to child sex rings in Greece

Some 2,000 children are drawn into child sex rings in Greece each year, United Nations officials said in Athens yesterday.

‘Anarchists’ attacked an Athens police station as security measures intensified in the capital ahead of the annual anti-junta rally on Thursday.

Around 800,000 Greeks are affected by “smoker’s cough”. Many are unaware that this itself is a serious disease.

Fossils of animals which lived 5 million years ago have been found during road works near Thessaloniki.

Two articles from the Guardian which appear contradictory: in today’s Guardian, a report that Britain has become more racially integrated over the past decade; from Friday’s Guardian, a report stating that race-hate crimes are on the increase.

And millions of shoppers face a “rip-off” Christmas after a decision by leading electronics companies such as Sony.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Respect among all crucial to the nation

Two Greek soldiers were wounded on Monday when their convoy was attacked in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT) has been voted the best in Europe.

And the tatty royal palace at Tatoi is to be restored.

French President Jacques Chirac said he would uphold law and order by bringing rioters to justice and cracking down on illegal immigration, but warned that equal opportunities and respect among all French nationals were crucial to the long term strength of the nation.

More new at the ELSOKAI Forums >

'King' Otto to lead Greece

Another quiet day on the news front, at least as far as Greece is concerned. But the good news is…

Otto Rehhagel has agreed to remain at the head of the Greek national football team for another two years.

Seeing as how Greece failed to qualify for the World Cup, Greeks certainly don’t have it in for all foreigners!

More on that story, plus posts on ‘Greeks are anti immigrant?’, ‘Which West? Which Islam?’ and ‘Skippy, spud & spinach curry’ at the ELSOKAI Forums >

And I came across an interesting piece in an article about the rioting in France: French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy - who was blamed for worsening the violence when he called the rioters "racille" (rabble) - took out ads in Google to push his agenda. Business Week magazine reports that French googlers who searched on such words as "riots," "burned cars", and "violence" saw ads sending them to a petition to support Sarkozy. Uh, great search engine, but beware those Ads by Google!

Which West, which Islam?

What is meant by the West?

Does it mean the West that gave birth to nationalism, racism, fascism, militarism, colonialism, imperialism or the West that is the cradle of liberalism, human rights, the rule of law, democracy, multiculturalism that envisages respect for different views, faiths and lifestyles?

What is meant by the US? Does it mean “Red America” or “Blue America”, two Americas wide apart? Does it mean Clinton’s liberalism or Bush’s militarism?

What is meant by the EU? “Old Europe” or “New Europe”? Monoculturalist Europe, EU as a “Christian club” or the multiculturalist EU that is built on universal values?

Does the West mean the one that supports Israel’s domination of Palestinians, Arab dictators, invasion of Iraq or the one that stands for settlement of international conflicts through law, fairness, dialogue and peaceful means?

What is meant by Islam?

The truth is that there are many different religions and cultures in the world, but there is just one modern civilization to which they all contribute; and modern civilization is nothing but the principles that stand for respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, respect for diversity of opinion, beliefs and lifestyles and settlement of conflicts not through force but through law, fairness and dialogue.

More on this article in the International News section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Intel to select Turkey

Most of Albania has been without power for light, heating and cooking for 18 hours a day for the past week.

Following the news that FYROM is set to lead the world on wireless broadband connectivity, Intel, the world’s leading processor producer, is expected to select Turkey as the base for Middle East operations.

Microsoft’s free AntiSpyware program will be including a detection and removal signature for the rootkit component of Sony’s XCP software.

More details on these stories at the ELSOKAI Forums >

FYROM to lead world in wireless broadband

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is on the brink of leading the world in what could be a template for other developing states, becoming the first wireless country.

Some question whether many of these people really need broadband connectivity, others insist the internet should stand alongside roads, water and electricity as essential infrastructure.

What the internet can do in FYROM is what it has done everywhere else: help businesses make money and stimulate the economy.

Macedonia might be the first wireless country. But it is unlikely to be the last. (And if FYROM can do it... )

More in the pc section at ELSOKAI >

Skippy & chips, anyone?

With the United States still recovering from a record hurricane season, which closed much of its oil output, Mr Bush says America cannot afford to leave a huge natural resource undeveloped. Find out where George Bush plans to invade next at ELSOKAI.

A Greek researcher has developed a vaccine which can improve life expectancy for cancer patients.

Three teenage boys who raped a 12 year-old girl filmed it on a mobile phone.

A Greek member of an international phishing ring has been arrested in northern Greece after transferring large amounts of money from bank accounts.

The government is interested in a proposal to establish a cross-party committee dealing with affairs concerning immigrants.

A group of experts from Britain is to begin excavating mass graves on both sides of divided Cyprus.

While radical Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza, is in Belmarsh maximum security prison in south London awaiting trial on charges of incitement to murder and racial hatred, his wife and eight children are living in a £700,000 council house and living on income support and child benefits thought to be worth £1,000 a week, according to a national newspaper.

Sony has said it will suspend the production of music CDs with anti-piracy technology which can leave computers vulnerable to viruses. The move came after security firms said hackers were exploiting the software to hide their creations.

And does anyone remember Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo? Australians are being urged to start eating more kangaroos, defying a traditional reluctance to tuck into a national icon.

Well, we’ve got an ostrich farm near us, and there’s quite a few Australian-Greeks about… kangaroo farming, anyone? Registered users can find a ‘roo recipe in “Pelagia’s Pot”.

More details on all these stories in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Greeks are anti immigrant?

I’ve just found a very interesting post over at DeviousDiva’s blog, here’s the gist of it:

According to the new European Social Survey, Greece is the least welcoming country in Europe as far as foreigners are concerned.

When asked if foreigners make the country worse, 64% said they did. Double the average.

When asked whether migrants should be allowed to settle here, 27% said none. Double the average.

When asked whether foreigners from poor countries should be allowed to come and live here, eight out of ten said no. Double the average.

60% of europeans said that immigrants were good for the economy. Almost 60% (57%) of Greeks said they were not.

As I commented at dd’s blog, I’m gobsmacked. I’ve always regarded the Greeks as being very tolerant. Feel free to comment, either at ELSOKAI or at DeviousDiva’s blog – links to both on the right >

Greek 'anarchists' hit French institutions

About 40 anarchists threw rocks and paint at the entrance of the French Institute in Thessaloniki and around 70 masked young men holding black and red flags attacked the French Institute of Athens.

In France, eight police officers have been suspended over an assault which was filmed by French state television.

There’s a couple of interesting, and somewhat conflicting, reports on how Greeks spend their leisure time (when they're having a break from being the world's most active lovers, I guess!)

And Britain should drop its moral outrage over sexual relationships between pupils and teachers and accept that an "erotic charge" in the classroom can be an aid to teaching, according to a University academic. Hm, not sure about an aid to teaching but I'm always amazed when a strapping 15 year old schoolboy 'complains' that he was 'seduced' by his attractive, 33 year old teacher. Still, rules is rules, I guess.

Half of all vets in the UK have treated pets for the after-effects of cannabis consumption.

Virus writers are exploiting Sony's controversial anti-piracy software to hide their malicious creations.

More on these stories in the ELSOKAI Forums >

There is nothing Islamic about committing mass murder

"There is no doubt that the Internet has opened opportunities for all sorts of people and groups. And some are extremist groups who have used the Internet as a means of propaganda to spread their hate and division," said the Muslim Council of Britain.

“There is nothing Islamic about committing mass murder."

More on this article, and a link, at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Police have an easy life - in Greece

Athens declared itself “very satisfied” yesterday with the European Union progress reports which set out some tough guidelines for Turkey to follow in its accession process and which also set the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the road to membership.

And although the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, blamed the widespread rioting on France’s decision to ban the headscarf in schools, the European Commission for Human Rights has upheld Turkey’s decision to… ban the Islamic headscarf in universities and public buildings.

Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities asked the government yesterday to take police officers out of comfortable office jobs so more of them can patrol the streets and improve community safety.

And in the UK, a young police constable has been reprimanded for using excessive force to save a suicidal man from plunging to his death. (Uh, next time, let him jump).

Sony BMG is facing three lawsuits over its controversial anti-piracy software which surreptitiously installs a spyware-type rootkit onto a user’s pc.

A little-known start-up has demonstrated wireless broadband 1,000 times more efficient than WiMax - and claims the technique could also make wireless LANs that will run for years on watch batteries.

More in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Foreigners to be deported

Interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered the expulsion of all foreigners convicted of taking part in the riots that have swept France for 13 nights.

And a nuclear bunker made to house the government and civil servants in the event of nuclear attack is for sale.

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

Bloggers arrested for incitement to riot

UPDATED @ 19:38

Two bloggers have been detained by authorities in France on suspicion of encouraging people to take part in the Paris riots.

Story and link posted at ELSOKAI >

Religious freedom is alive and well in Greece

Religious freedom is alive and well in Greece, according to the US State Department’s report for 2005. However, the European Commission and the State Department landed a double hit against Turkey, regarding reforms and religious freedom.

Turkey’s European Union accession bid is to be raised today when Brussels assesses the progress Ankara has made over the last year.

Despite the negative comments, Turkey is hoping that the annual EU report will lead to “market economy” status being granted to Ankara. The move would be a significant boost to the Turkish economy and efforts to harmonize its laws with EU legislation.

More details at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Greeks are the world's most active lovers

Greeks have sex 138 times a year, smashing the international average, which does not exceed 103 times annually. Report posted in the ELSOKAI Forums >

A new take on the riots in France?

I've come across a couple of articles on the riots on France which come form a different source to usual, posted them at ELSOKAI >. Feel free to comment.

Drunk in charge - of a wheelchair

Another fairly quiet day, Greek news-wise, but confirmation of the road tragedy in Athens that I mentioned yesterday.

For any fans of Spetses and/or The Magus, I’ve posted a link to an article on John Fowles, who passed away on Saturday.

And in the Weird, Wild & Wacky section, news of a guy who’s been banned from driving an electric wheelchair after being caught drunk in charge. Actually, the ban probably makes sense – guess he could be a danger to others.

If anyone’s using Sun Java, have a look in the pc section.

Finally (almost): Welcome to 'cloverfell', who’s just registered at ELSOKAI. And “thank you” to deviousdiva for her comment on Christmas lights being ‘too Christian’.

All in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Palestian family donate kidney of son shot by Israeli soldies to a Jewish child

Yesterday I posted about a cartoon shown on Iranian tv which glorified child suicide bombers. Today there’s a report about the death of child suicide bomber in Iraq.

In what may seem an incredible story, the family of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed by Israeli soldiers have donated one of his kidneys to an Israeli boy. "It doesn't matter whether the recipient was a Jew or an Arab," they said.

More than a dozen towns and villages in the UK could lose funding for their Christmas lights because a council deems them offensive to non-Christians.

Archaeologists in Egypt have begun to piece together the story of a mysterious massacre more than 4,000 years ago in the former royal city of Mendes, which reached its heyday during the ancient Greek era.

Every British motorist will soon be driving on petrol made from sugar beet and diesel made from oilseed rape as part of the Government's fight against climate change.

And in the Greek news: I’ve heard a story that a driver in Athens ran over a pedestrian and drove a further 3 km without realizing that it wasn’t a plastic carrier bag he had driven over. A driver in another car eventually managed to find the driver by following the blood stains along the road.

And strike actions in various parts of the public sector start today and continue through the week.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Suffer, little children (part 2)

Parents at a primary school in the Athenian suburb of Aspropyrgos have sunk to verbal and physical harassment in their efforts to enforce ethnic segregation.

Iranian state television has broadcast a cartoon that glorifies suicide bombings, depicting a young boy blowing himself up as a noble example for children to follow.

The British Army is to introduce computer games to help to train soldiers for urban warfare.

And Israeli officials say they have discovered what may be the oldest Christian Church in the Holy Land - on the site of a maximum security prison.

More news at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Sony rootkit update

A quick update: Sony have been releasing CDs containing a piece of software which can, at best, be used by hackers to bypass just about all existing anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-trojan software. At worst, Sony’s rootkit can harm your pc without any intervention from hackers.

From what I can make out, the ‘good’ news is that this software has only been released on 20 titles so far, but… these have sold millions. More ‘good’ news is they’ve only been sold in the USA. But some may have found their way across to the UK (etc) via Amazon. And the company may issue this crap on more titles in the future. Or an advanced version of this crap.

This discovery has caused an uproar and been featured on the BBC and the Washington Post, as well as on websites, blogs, etc.

According to most sources, e.g. the BBC, Mr Russinovich, a renowned Windows programming expert, came across the Sony BMG anti-piracy system when performing a scan of his computer with a utility he co-created that spots so-called rootkits.

Rootkits are used to hide malicious software once it is installed and ensure it is not found and removed by anti-virus (etc) programs.

In fact, it seems it was first reported on August 12 by ‘jgk4cfc‘ at CastleCops (Thanks to wawadave at CARMA for pointing that out to me).

But let’s not quibble. It was certainly Mark Russinovich who really brought it to peoples’ attention when he posted his findings on the SysInternals web site, where he said, "Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall."

Intended to enforce digital rights management (DRM), the software was slowing his pc by scanning running processes every two seconds, even when no CD was playing. When he deleted these unwanted drivers, which he had to do manually as there was no uninstall, the CD drive disappeared from Windows explorer. Russinovich was able to fix his system with low-level tools, but the average consumer would have no chance without expert help.

Due to public pressure, Sony have now come up with a way to – supposedly – uninstall this crap… more on that further on.

Windows users cannot listen to tracks on the CD without agreeing to install the anti-piracy program, which merely advises that "it will install a small proprietary software program" that will remain there "until removed or deleted." Washington Post

What this seems to mean is that you can’t play these CDs using Windows Media Player or your favourite player, but only on a player that comes with the CD. I don’t really like that idea.

And what about that bit “until removed or deleted” ???

According to Mikko Hypponen, director of research for Finnish antivirus company F-Secure Corp., users who want to remove the program may not do so directly, but must fill out a form on Sony's Web site, download additional software, wait for a phone call from a technical support specialist, and then download and install yet another program that removes the files. Washington Post

Not quite so easy to remove this piece of crap, then. If, indeed, it removes it. Here’s what Sony say:

Please note, in addition to removing the cloaking, (Sony) Service Pack 2 includes all fixes from the earlier Service Pack 1 update. In order to ensure a secure installation, (Sony) Service Pack 2 includes the newest version of all DRM components. http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/updates.html

So, does Sony’s ‘cure’ remove their crap, or just update it with more crap?

Hypponen agreed that Sony's software could help hackers circumvent most antivirus products on the market today.

He added that installing the Sony program on a machine running Windows Vista -- the beta version of the next iteration of Microsoft Windows -- "breaks the operating system spectacularly." Washington Post

Oh boy, bet Microsoft just love Sony!

And I’ve just read Mark Russinovich’s latest blog.

Sony refuses to admit blame and to make an uninstaller readily available. The uninstall question on Sony’s FAQ page directs you to another page that asks you to fill out a form requesting for uninstall directions to be emailed to you.

There’s no way to access the uninstaller without providing this information, and clicking on the Sony privacy policy link at the bottom of the page takes you to a notice that your email address will be added to various Sony marketing lists.

… I dug a little deeper and it appears the Player is automatically checking to see if there are updates for the album art and lyrics for the album it’s displaying. This behavior would be welcome under most circumstances, but is not mentioned in the EULA, is refuted by Sony, and is not configurable in any way. I doubt Sony is doing anything with the data, but with this type of connection their servers could record each time a copy-protected CD is played and the IP address of the computer playing it

Read Mark Russinovich’s latest blog here.

You’ll see that:

The update is more than 3.5 megabytes in size, and it appears to contain new versions of almost all the files included in the initial installation of the entire DRM system, as well as creating some new files. In short, they’re not just taking away the rootkit-like function — they’re almost certainly adding things to the system as well. And once again, they’re not disclosing what they’re doing.

No doubt they’ll ask us to just trust them. I wouldn’t. The companies claim to have developed “new ways of cloaking files on a hard drive”. That is, new ways of hiding them from anti-malware programs. freedom-to-tinker.com

News & views

More than 50 graves have been vandalized at Athens’s largest cemetery in what officials suspect could be the work of a religious sect.

Tourism in Greece increased by 13% in 2005 but Mediterranean countries face a bleak environmental future with concrete coastlines. Not to mention mountains of refuse, endless oil slicks and rising temperatures.

More details in the ELSOKAI Forums >

And now… a bit of blogging:

It's important to realise that like a car, your computer needs regular servicing if you want it to stay in tip-top condition. Without regular checks, it will eventually break down, sometimes taking all your important data with it. More often than not, your computer has stopped working because you didn't look after it. You just wanted it to work.

It's all so silly: trouble-free computing is simple. Enable your automatic update program, get a free software firewall and some antivirus software. Then download a program to deal with adware and spyware. All that is required is 10 minutes each week to check they're up to date and doing their bit.

That’s from an article in one of Thursday’s newspapers. Very, very basic stuff. I would hope. But it seems quite a lot of folk think an anti-virus program is all they need. Install it and forget. Updates?

Well, as I mentioned a few days ago, whatever protection you’ve got on your pc can be blown away by rootkits. OK, I’m probably coming across as paranoid. I’m used to it. I’ve tried advising friends how to keep their pc’s safe on the net and it’s like I’m from another planet. All they wanna do is download loads of programs for ‘free’.

Anyway, the bad news is, rootkits make viruses seem like child’s play. Sony have attracted a whole load of bad publicity and have issued an update which, ah, supposedly cures their misdeeds. However, I came across this quote, “The (Sony) update doesn't actually remove anything, it just removes the $sys$ cloaking so it doesn't show up as a root kit on a scan any more.” And, apparently, it ADDS more files to your pc. Well, that’s OK, I’m sure we all trust Sony not to do anything nasty to our pc’s.

The good news is, various folk in the anti-malware ‘industry’ (i.e. paid and volunteer) are working on tackling rootkits. I’ll keep you ‘all’ posted.

And I’ll post a few links to more articles on this issue in the pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums>

Greece to overhaul judicial system

The biggest overhaul of the Greek justice system in more than 50 years is set to start. Might be high time, as the Supreme Court yesterday fired first instance judge Anna Korosevi for a lack of morals and not performing her duties properly. And a military judge has been arrested for a second time after being found in possession of drugs. Yesterday it was announced that Greece is going to get tough on paedophiles who peddle child porn on the net.

Although Greece has one of the highest annual rainfall figures in the Mediterranean, about a third of the country is close to desertification.

About 100,000 books in the British Library are going to be scanned and put online by software giant Microsoft. And the first works scanned and put online as part of Google's controversial print project have been unveiled.

A computer game based on the upcoming Da Vinci Code film is being made to coincide with the movie's release.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Greece to tackle child porn on the net

Let me introduce a book: Graham Young’s diary on killing with poison. The autobiography of a man I respect. He murdered someone at the age of 14. To kill a living creature. The moment of sticking a knife into something. The warmth of the blood. The little sigh. It is all a comfort to me. My mother will go to hospital tomorrow and nobody has yet found out what the cause is. To my regret, she is not covered by good insurance, so life will be a little difficult.

Hey, that’s not my writing – that’s from a schoolgirl in Japan who poisoned her mother and wrote about it on the net.

I guess no-one read her blog.

Oh well, I’ve got a friend who’s a bit paranoid about the ‘security services’ spying on people.

Maybe it proves him wrong.

In today’s news:

The Greek government is going to get tough on people who distribute child porn on the net. Well, I think that’s how they see it. Two years in prison might not be as tough as I’d make it.

The government is also getting tough on media owners (ok, I’ll post that one in the jokes section).

Cyprus is joining the €uro.

Lovers of Mediterranean cuisine got some more good news from medical experts.

And rare type of sturgeon has been discovered in the delta of the River Evros in northeastern Greece after an absence of 30 years.

While the prospect of a bird flu pandemic is prompting concerns around the globe, it still manages to cause elation for some. One of those is the US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, who has every reason to smile, since he became richer by $1,000,000 in the last six months.

As usual, more details in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Serious breach in Firefox security

A serious breach in Firefox security has been reported – more in the Lost section at ELSOKAI.

And a computer programmer arrested for spamming people with penis pill adverts has denied the charge, saying that the police were very unsophisticated in terms of computers and seemed to believe spammers met people and collected email addresses one by one. Posted in the National News section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Nero virus warning

Yesterday I posted about Sony including a very nasty piece of potential spyware on their CDs, albeit designed to stop people copying their music, etc, illegally. Today, Nero, widely used to burn CDs and DVDs, issue Nero 7 – with a warning that bogus emails are circulating with an attachment that infects pc’s with a ‘virus’. More in the pc section at ELSOKAI.

In the Greek news, more corrupt judges are set to get the sack and a warning that Greece is in line for actual cases of bird flu.

In the UK, David Blunkett has resigned (again).

More in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Sony CDs install crap on your pc

Here’s a scary story. Sony (and, presumably, Sony labels such as Epic) are including a very nasty piece of software on their CDs and, quite possibly, on DVDs too. OK, lots of folk won’t play DVDs on their pc, but many play CDs on their pc – even if is to (illegally) copy them. And there’s the rub. The new crap that Sony install is part of their DRM (Digital Rights Management), designed to protect their material from unlawful copying.

Removing Sony’s crap (IF you can) risks leaving you with a non-working pc. Not removing it may, ultimately, leave you with a non-working pc too.

More details for registered users in the pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Another quiet day for Greek news, but an investigation into the alleged use of winning lottery tickets to launder huge amounts of money has found that a lack of organization and security at soccer betting and lottery firm OPAP could have left the system open to abuse.

An international charity that sends volunteers to developing countries to share their expertise is calling for computer-literate help.

And in the UK, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly admitted that 5.2 million adults have literacy levels below those expected of an 11-year-old.

The “moral laxity” of UK women during the Second World War was perceived to be so degenerate that it strained relations between Britain and America.

Following the success of budget airlines, the low-cost train fare has been launched in the UK.

Two tonnes of cocaine valued at £200 million was seized by the Royal Navy in a dramatic operation in the Caribbean.

A woman in Oregon, USA, bought a State Lottery ticket and promptly won $1m . However, she used a stolen credit card to buy it and has been busted. More on this one in Weird, Wild & Wacky.

More details in the ELSOKAI Forums >