#dateline atlantis

[elladastinkardiamou]

Essentials of the Greek national holiday – an illustrated guide

25th March and 28th October are the two Greek national holidays which are marked with great ceremony. The first celebrates the start of the revolutionary war against the Ottoman Turks in 1821; the second, known as “OXI day”, marks the anniversary of Greece’s entry into WW II by saying “No” to Mussolini’s demand to march through Greek territory. It probably says a lot about our national psyche that we celebrate the start of wars rather than the end of them – something of the small nation syndrome perhaps, a big “don’t mess” to would-be invaders. If you are Greek-American you may have been treated to this surreal video marking the “OXI day” with world leaders praising Greek courage with remarkable lack of context and self-awareness. I thought it would be useful as a counterpoint to give some flavour of what a national holiday is like on the ground in Greece.

[elladastinkardiamou]

Farewell to arms?

What leaving gift do you give the man who has everything? Outgoing Defence Minister Panos Kammenos is a man of expensive tastes. One can well imagine him having a Geneva shop front’s worth of gold watches in the closet behind his collection of plus-size military uniforms accumulated during his four years in the post – none of them earned in military service. This morning, Kammenos got the chicken-hawk’s wet dream of a send-off: a parade attended by top military brass, complete with a fighter jet fly-past. In order to allow him his pomp and ceremony, parliament delayed by two hours the debate on a vote of confidence in the government, triggered by Kammenos’s well-signposted but still rather inconvenient departure. ...Having demonstrated that he is content to be the tail wagging a much bigger dog, this Tinpot Trump (or Puny Putin – he is a great admirer of both men) appeared doomed to the political oblivion that is the fate of junior coalition partners until this gift of a cause landed in his lap and gave him a new lease on life. It has become commonplace in Greece in the years of a crisis for people to throw around words like “junta” and “coup” to casually describe governments or policies they disagree with. It is still a shock to wake up to such a spectacular deployment of the trappings of totalitarianism in plain view, using public funds, with consent at the highest level. Kammenos now returns to the political fray weakened but unfettered, leaving in his chair a man who – as he was ominously reminded at the handover ceremony – may owe his health to a religious dedication made by the outgoing minister himself.

[elladastinkardiamou]

The best cure?

Talking about wildfires - Article from Dateline Atlantis from 2016.

“Every summer there are hundreds of forest fires in Greece. It is estimated that about 50,000 hectares of forest are burned each year. The Aleppo pines, with their high resin content, burn particularly well, and the explosion of the burning cones spreads sparks far and wide, igniting other trees in a wide circle, often giving rise to elaborate conspiracy theories of multiple arson. The pattern is as often as not a natural one, even if the first spark is ignited by human action.

When a major forest fire gets under way, a predictable series of events is put into motion. The fire service responds to the call and the appropriate dousing measures are activated. The media appear soon after, eager to fill their airtime in the quiet summer months (I mean, inform the public). The videos accompanying the first breathless TV descriptions usually have a faint “archive footage” watermark in one corner, as one shot of an ageing yellow Canadair dropping water on flaming Aleppo pines is much like another. A Government Minister cuts short his vacation and is rushed to the scene to “coordinate the operation” (I say “his” because it always seems to be a male minister on such occasions, and he makes sure that the TV cameras are rolling to capture his arrival). The same, or another, minister and the local MP are subsequently filmed looking serious, meeting with the representatives of local groups whose property or livelihood have been affected, and making concerned statements. Soon after this, an opposition leader and/or local MP visits to be filmed expressing outrage at the tardiness and incompetence of the government efforts and the lack of sensitivity to the interests of the local population. Occasionally, things turn ugly.”

[wolfdownthewords]

stories about the olive

I don’t know how or why I remembered this series of posts by Dateline: Atlantis (somehow my brain made that association during conversation and I looked for the links feverishly ).  Thought some of you might be interested:

stories about the olive part I: Civilisation or Curse?

stories about the olive part II: The Urban Olive

stories about the olive part III: Thales on Wall Street

stories about the olive part IV: Oiling the Wheels