Hulk goes Mohican

Hulk is my five-year old tibetan spaniel. I got him from a pet shop close to Monastiraki, on Athina's street, when he was only five-weeks old and raised him as a child.

Currently, Hulk is on vacation with the only people on earth I trust him with; my parents. Before they left I took him for a haircut. I wanted him to be both comfortable and stylish while playing by the sea. So I took him to "Pet Stars" where Litsa took real good care of him!

Litsa gave him a Mohican look due to the wild times going in Athens. The "Sex and the City" days are over giving place to a "Mad Max" time being that has definitely affected style as much as each other part of everyday life.

Litsa started her business two years ago. It was a risk she took and hasn't regretted it. She surely hasn't become rich but she's her boss and she keeps it going. "It's not easy running a pet beauty salon presently but it goes. People rather cut down their own expenses than their dogs'. I threw prices and yet it's difficult since most people just can't afford spending 30 euros anymore. " she says. And it's so true.

In Greece, nearly 1000 people are losing their jobs each day while nearly 1.1 million Greeks are already unemployed. Since 2009, wages have fallen by 25% on average while new taxes were added.

ERT is not for sale

While the Greek Prime Minister goes on to describe ERT as a symbol of waste, the French newspaper L'Humanite, published yesterday a letter from the Director of ERT Financial Services to the leadership of the Ministry of Finance which presents ERT as profitable, noting that the first quarter of 2013 had earnings 40.967.740 euros.

Greek media remain on strike

Participating to the continuing strike in greek media in solidarity with the fired employees at public broadcaster ERT, "The Athenian" will report only about topics related with the closure of ERT.

ERT is ours

What the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras really succeeded to do is to bring people back down on the streets. Thousands protested this morning outside the headquarters of ERT, on Mesogion avenue.

It's not about ERT.
It's about democracy, you idiot.

Even after the protest people wouldn't go. They remain in the courtyard in order to be a human chain in case of police intervention.

ERT's marathon broadcast is continued by the ex-employees that occupy the building for third day. The program is transmitted through various web-sites while the government threatens with closure all channels that dare to transmit it.
As I'm watching right now, despite the rain thousands of people are still there.

People's support is big and it comes from all over.

Tele-Brussels

At the same time, protests take place all over Greece and Europe pushing hard the greek government that probably could not imagine this kind of reaction...to the GREEK SUCCESS STORY.

The last (?) days of ERT

Hundreds of people keep οn going to the headquarters of ERT to express their support to redundant employees as well as their opposition to the government's decision to shutdown the public radio/television.

All greek media are on strike while the political scene seems to be more fluid than ever in the one-year-government of Mr Samaras.

PLEASE WAKE UP
DON'T BE INACTIVE
THEY BARGAIN AWAY EVERYTHING
WHAT EXACTLY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

MY PENSION IS 201 euros

Shock and awe, disappointment and anger are the feelings we all share here.

The building of ERT has been occupied since yesterday by citizens and ...

...former employees that- until this time- continue a marathon broadcast informing us about the dramatic developments. The transmission is taking place through another frequency since the transmitters of ERT were shut last night.

Lots spent the whole night at some corridor since the police intervention is expected.

But most corridors are empty. Only some memories still hanging on the walls remind the good-old days of public television.

No musicians are rehearsing in the Hall of the musical ensembles.

Below you see the atrium located in the center of the building of ERT.

For most of these people it's the last time the meet each other at the cafeteria of ERT.

When I went outside again more people were gathered and kept on coming.

Greek society though is divided. There's a big part thinking that the government did the right thing. Many believe that ERT was totally corrupted but forget that it is not the employees hiring highly-paid secretaries and daughters of ex-ministers. They also forget that less than a year ago. the representative of the government himself stated repeatedly that the shutdown for ERT is only in advantage of private and foreign interests.

ERT IS NOT ALONE

6.30pm - 12.06.2013
Ambassade de Grèce à Paris, métro Kleber, 17, rue Auguste Vacquerie, 75016 Paris

Par une décision autoritaire, prise en catimini et appliquée par simple décret ministériel, le gouvernement grec porte une grave atteinte à la démocratie et conduit 2 656 travailleurs au chômage. Ce coup d'état ne passera pas ! Solidarité avec les travailleurs !

ERTDOGAN

Route of Shame: PSI protest against Greek TV shutdown
June 12, 2013
During the "Route of Shame" cycle ride around Geneva on 12 June 2013 for social
justice and trade union rights, participants will gather in front of the Greek
Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva to protest against the closure of Greek public television.

The Greek government is gradually eliminating workers’ and citizens’ rights, one after another, with the unique aim of satisfying the commitments made to the Troika (the EU, the European Bank, and the IMF). The latest example is the decision of the government which, by a legislative act, ordered the “sudden death” of the public television and radio ERT, blocking public broadcasting, access to information and news pluralism in an unprecendented move that has shocked the Greek population.

They fear that 14,500 workers will be laid off by the end of July.

Together with the Executive Committee of PSI’s affiliate ADEDY, PSI strongly condemns this policy and extends our solidarity to the workers of ERT who are fighting to overthrow the destructive plans of the government and the Troika. They will protest outside the Radiomegaro ERT today, Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 6:00 pm and hold a 24-hour nationwide general strike on Thursday, June 13, 2013.

In solidarity with the workers, participants at the PSI Route of Shame will protest in front of the Greek Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva on 12 June.

This is junta

Today, the greek government announced the shutdown of the ERT public Radio/Television ...by midnight and for some months!

The shock can't be described. It is not only about the 2.656 people that surprisingly found themselves unemployed but also for the authoritative policy of this government.

The government promised to reopen the public Radio/TV channels by September: with journalists of their choice, I'm adding.

The closing of public media is only in advantage of private and foreign interests. ERT IS THE VOICE OF GREECE ALL OVER THE WORLD.

The reactions are intensive. Hundreds of people are already in the courtyard of the main building of the public Radio/TV channels on Mesogion avenue, in Agia Paraskevi.

The Unknown Soldier

Following the movement that arose in Europe a little after the World War I, the dictator Theodoros Pagalos decided that a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier should be built in Athens, too.

After three years and lots of disagreements on where it should be built and how it should look, its construction started in 1929 right infront of the Parliament House, in Syntagma.

Αrtists and intellectuals severely criticized the site selected as well as the form of the monument which was characterized "monsterity" by lots of people.

Criticism was so sharp that both the then President and the Prime Minister of Greece avoided to go to the inauguration which took place on 25 March 1932 in celebratory atmosphere.

The sculpture depicts a dying hoplite. It's the Unknown Soldier who's all the soldiers that gave their lives for Greece.

On the retaining wall are inscribed the important battles of Greece and two quotations by Thucydides, from Pericles' Funeral Oration: "... and one bed is carried empty, made for the unknown ones" and "For eminent men, every place is (worthy) burial ground"

Although this kind of monuments usually content the corpse of an anonymous dead soldier, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma is empty following the relative ancient greek custom.

Anargiros Paschalis: interpreting loneliness

It's really not easy to talk about Anargiros Paschalis' work since words are not always enough to describe some certain feelings running out of certain situations.

Anargiros' work is about these times in life that no matter how long and rough the way may be, we've got to walk it all alone to the end in order to find ourselves and save what's left.

"My work is about spirituality. It's about self-knowledge" explains Anargiros.

"All people have worries, little jealousies, insecurities...that's what makes human world so sweet and tender".

"We all have fears and personal demons. I'm inspired of people that dare to face them. It's a hard procedure and it takes lots of courage to do that no matter if it's about getting rid of a bad addiction or feeling".

"I believe that people who've been through it finally succeed to get along with themselves".

"These people have taken a step forward: they swing in the air".

" I try to interpret iconically the meanings of loneliness and swinging in the air, the relation between the sky and earth..." he goes on.

The element of loneliness is also dominating in Anargiros Paschalis' work.

The funambulists, his personal trademark, always walk alone in a dark, unfriendly universe. It's a personal universe in which loneliness is a state between imbalance and balance on the way to self-knowledge.

Anargiros ' latest exhibition at the Athens Art Gallery, in Kolonaki, ended recently after being extended with four weeks by public demand.

His work has definitely caught the attention of art lovers and has already earned the respect of a fanatic audience that would never miss the chance to step into Anargiros Paschalis' universe.

paschalis.atspace.com