Russian Soldiers Want To Parade Alongside Greek Marines on OXI Day

Russia has formally asked to parade alongside Greek soldiers in the military parade on October 28, or OXI Day, which is traditionally held in Thessaloniki every year. According to reports, the contingent which made the request is from a group of marines from the Russian apobatic "Novotserkask" of the Black Sea Fleet, which consists of about 350 Marines, etc. It is actually the same contingent that marched alongside  Greek soldiers in Limnos several weeks ago, and was received with great enthusiasm from the residents there.

The ship is scheduled to be near the northern Greek city between the 26 to 29 of October. Currently the Russians are waiting to see if their request will be accepted by the Greek State.

If the State allows them to join in on the festivities, and if they actually do march alongside Greek marines in next week's parade, it will have immense geopolitical importance for our country as well as send many messages to our (so-called) neighbor Turkey.

Interestingly, Russian marines, or Russian soldiers are very well liked in Greece. Another reason northern Greeks like the Russians -even though this is not related to the parade- is because the presidency of their prized team PAOK was taken over earlier this year by former Greek-Russian parliamentarian and businessman Ivan Savvides. From what it looks like he has taken the team to a whole different level and it is actually performing really well. (SOURCE: defencenet)

Whoever Enters Greece Illegally Will Now Be Detained For One Year!

FINALLY some good news. Up until recently, Greek authorities were only permitted to detain immigrants who entered our country illegally for no more than six months. If during this period, they presented some sort of documentation, they were allowed to leave the detention centers and roam freely across Greece (for a certain time period). Unfortunately, and for reasons which are obvious, many reports claim that most of the illegal immigrants would tear up their formal documents, so that Greek authorities could not register their information properly in fear of being caught and deported.

Well, this is about to change. A new Presidential Decree, which was considered legitimate by the State Council, is expected to deter the entry of illegal immigrants to Greece, because now if they do not have the necessary supporting documents they will automatically be detained in various detention centers across the country for one whole year!

The The Presidential concerns "uniform procedures for identification to aliens and stateless refugee status or subsidiary protection in compliance with Directive 2005/85/EC on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status. "

The one year gives authorities plenty of time to prepare the necessary paperwork to either deport these people back to their countries of origin, or to grant them asylum. 

Article in Greek on protothema

Greek Ambassador To US - A new beginning for Greece

Embassy of Greece in the US, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christos Panagopoulos is ambassador of Greece to the United States.

(GREEK AMERICAN NEWS AGENCY) - Although I just arrived in Washington, D.C., as the new Greek ambassador, America makes me feel right at home. This is not only because I have served in the United States twice in my career ― in Boston and in Los Angeles ― but also because there are so many things here that remind me of my home country’s heritage and radiant culture, bringing out the deep affinities of our two nations, our shared values and our strong ties of friendship and alliance.

The Capitol building, with its neoclassical architecture, the themes of the Federalist Papers and the works of the Founding Fathers of America ― all can find many of their roots in Hellenism. The Hellenic spirit has always transcended its geographic borders ― not just in antiquity, but through the Hellenistic era, the Byzantine Empire, the Age of Enlightenment and onwards.

Our destinies have always been intertwined, from the admiration of the Greek people for this nation’s own struggle for independence to the American people’s support for our War of Independence, and the solidarity to the outnumbered Greek Army’s stand against the Axis forces, which resulted in the first Allied victory in WWII. We have fought side by side throughout all the major conflicts in the 20th century, and your famed Liberty ships launched the modern Greek shipping industry. Our mutual history is also linked by the long presence of the Greek American community: a community that came to America in times of hardship and has managed to thrive and excel through hard work, commitment and dedication to their new homeland.

My arrival in America coincides with Greece’s severe economic crisis and our efforts to implement long-overdue reform. This has deeply affected the Greek people: it has led to a dramatic drop in their standard of living, which was never nearly as high as that in other Western European nations.
We are indeed grateful for the support of our European partners, the U.S. and the international community. This support is not free: it comes in the form of loans that we are paying back with interest; it comes at a cost to everyday people, as we are pushing through painful reforms; and it comes as a response to a crisis that is not just Greek or even just European.

To paraphrase John Donne, “No economy is an island.” In this global economy, our fates are intertwined. However, Greece offers the West an island of stability in a volatile and crisis-stricken region. Understanding this, we take our responsibilities very seriously, implementing drastic measures that no other modern country has taken in such a short period of time. We are also making great strides in an ambitious privatization plan, and doing a great deal to attract foreign investment.

Fiscal crisis aside, Greece is a country of many treasures: its sun-kissed beauty, its rich history and culture, and its Mediterranean climate that yields agricultural products of exquisite quality make it unique. Greece offers well developed tourism, shipping, and service industries; a highly skilled and hard-working labor force; natural resources; and above all, the perpetual will of its people to succeed.
Despite the crisis at hand, Greece is proactively pursuing its foreign policy objectives. Focusing on our region, we are striving to bring the countries of Southeast Europe into the Euro-Atlantic family, on the condition that they meet the necessary criteria and respect the principle of good neighborly relations. Just a few days ago, the Turkish foreign minister visited Athens. We still have pending issues, but we maintain close and regular consultations, trying to find common ground. Also, the Albanian foreign minister paid a visit, after we signed, along with Italy, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), to promote energy security in Europe. We have proposed to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that we sign an MOU to facilitate the resolution of the name issue, trying to break the deadlock caused by Skopje’s lack of any constructive step since the U.N. talks began almost 20 years ago.

In the swiftly changing region of the Middle East and North Africa, we maintain close contacts with the countries in democratic transition, including Egypt, and we are closely monitoring the deteriorating situation in Syria. We are enhancing our cooperation with Israel, to the benefit of stability in the wider Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece has a proven record as a steady and reliable ally that provides critical support to NATO. For example, Greece is taking part in the operation in Afghanistan and provided vital logistical support to the operation in Libya. In the true spirit of cooperation, we are committed to working with you to promote peace and stability, remembering that both countries have given the world democracy, freedom and the inherent value of the individual. I look forward to our future together.

Archaic Greek And Islamized Greeks of Black Sea (VIDEOS) - MUST WATCH

An endangered Greek dialect which is spoken in north-eastern Turkey has been identified by researchers as a "linguistic goldmine" because of its startling closeness to the ancient language, as Cambridge researcher Dr Ioanna Sitaridou explains.

Wikipedia says that the Archaic period in Greece (800 BC – 480 BC) was a period of ancient Greek history that followed the Greek Dark Ages. This period saw the rise of the polis and the founding of colonies, as well as the first inklings of classical philosophy, theatre in the form of tragedies performed during Dionysia, and written poetry, which appeared with the reintroduction of the written language, lost during the Greek Dark Ages. The term archaic covers these cultural aspects as well.

The termini of the Archaic period are defined as the "structural revolution", meaning a sudden upsurge of population and material goods that occurred c. 750 BC, and the "intellectual revolution" of classical Greece. The end of archaism is conventionally marked by Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

The sharp rise in population at the start of the Archaic period brought with it the settlement of new towns and the expansion of the older population centres. The Archaic period is also characterized by the spread of colonization along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts that began about 800 B.C. The reason for this phenomenon is described by Greek authors as stenochoria, or "the lack of land", but in practice it was caused by a great number of reasons, such as rivalry between political groups, a desire for adventure, expatriation, the search for trade opportunities, etc

Here is a great investigative report that was conducted by SKAI channel's Neoi Fakeloi several years ago titled the "Islamized" Greeks of the Black Sea". You will be surprised to discover how many Greek people still live in northern Turkey. Unfortunately these people were forced to embrace Islam, but according to many recent reports they are crypto-Christians. These people were also prohibited from speaking Greek and according to what is stated in this video -from the various interviews made- Turkey's "Grey Wolves" (a radical nationalist and dangerous group) has also forbidden students in this area to speak with the Pontian dialect which is an ancient Greek dialect, or else... (but this never stopped any Greek. it's in the DNA).

So, when Turkish officials come to Greece to feed us rhetoric about strengthening relations between our countries, or when the provocative Turkish Consulate in Komotini begins talking about oppressed Turkish minorities in the region of Thrace -who are fortunate because  at least they have the freedom to speak any language they choose- HellasFrappe will once again PUBLISH THIS VIDEO to remind our neighbors across the sea that at least Greece respects human rights... And that Turkey should do the same.

Finally, this video is dedicated to all the "Ellinarades" who play Turkish shows all day long on their television networks in a ploy to Turkify the Greek population. The people of this video are living proof that they cannot do that, because even though they were oppressed, forbidden to speak their language and even practise their true religion, they have never forgotten 400 years of Ottoman rule and what it means to be a slave and still say they are Greek!

SPIEGEL - Debt Crisis Forces Greeks To Seek Calm in Mt. Athos Monasteries

English: Orthodox monk in the Vatopedi monastery, Mount Athos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A great report was posted in Germany's Spiegel by Daniel Steinvorth on Mount Athos. It says that this self-governed peninsula in northeastern Greece, has been attracting pilgrims to its Orthodox monasteries for centuries. But the debt crisis has led to a sharp rise in the number of guests seeking calm and solace there.

Daniel Steinvorth
Spiegel

"Mornings on the sacred mountain begin with loud blows. A monk stands in front of the monastery church of Agiou Andrea and hammers a block of wood. The medieval percussion instrument, called a simantron, is the wakeup call for the first religious service of the day. Several black-clad, bearded men scurry across the courtyard. It is 4 a.m. and pitch-black, and the air is filled with the sound of cicadas.

In a few minutes, the oil lamps will be lit in Agiou Andrea, one of 12 “sketes,” or monastic communities, on Mount Athos. There’s not a single empty space in the choir benches. Sitting behind the singing, rhythmically chanting monks are pilgrims from Greece, Russia and Romania. They have slept a few hours on spartan beds, gone without electricity and warm water, and spent the night swatting at mosquitoes.

Agiou Andrea is not a place to expect luxury. But no one has come here for that. “I am here to wash myself clean of my sins,” says Ilie, a young Romanian who lives in Germany. “Here, we are closer to heaven than anywhere else.” Nikos, a Greek businessman, has come to the monastery to find himself. “To simply turn off, meditate and forget the material world,” he says.

The “Holy Mountain” of Athos is a special place for Orthodox Christians. The sparsely inhabited third finger of the Halkidiki Peninsula in northeastern Greece is wildly beautiful, with almost 350 square kilometres (135 square miles) of dense forests and hills. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary landed here on her way to Cyprus and was overcome by its beauty. God then gave her the mountain on it as a gift. And since the “Garden of the Virgin Mary,” as the place is known, is devoted to only the “purest of all women,” other women are not allowed in. At least that is the reason given by the monks who have ruled Athos as an autonomous monastic republic since the 10th century. Not even female animals are allowed on Athos, except cats.


Living By the Julian Calendar

Whenever European Union officials argue that the ban should be lifted, the monks point to a Byzantine document over 1,000 years old that promises them eternal sovereignty over Mount Athos. The men there take no orders from the outside world — especially not from the EU. The monks live in another era. They continue to revere and invoke the names of Byzantine emperors, and they still live by the Julian calendar. In Dafni, the only port, the banner of the Byzantine Empire, which came to an end 559 years ago, flies alongside the Greek flag.

It is this defiant renunciation of the outside world that fascinates many pilgrims. But recently it hasn’t just been the pious who are coming. Many Greeks have discovered Athos as a place where they can forget about the crisis.

The monks have been reporting the biggest influx of visitors in years. Those who can get a visa to Athos, known as a diamonitirion, entitling them to a stay of four days at most, can count themselves lucky.

Ilie, the Romanian, has gotten a special permit. He wants to stay there for at least three months. To get it he registered as a volunteer at Agiou Andrea, where he helps out in the kitchen and laundry room. He says there is no greater joy for him than to be allowed to make himself useful in the holiest place on Earth. “Most Christians in the West do not take religion very seriously,” he says. “They don’t believe with their whole heart.” The crusades, the plundering of Constantinople and the attacks on Orthodox monasteries may have happened centuries ago, he adds, but it remains seared into the historical memory of the monks.

Many monks, Ilie warns, are therefore suspicious of non-Orthodox foreigners. But they aren’t the only outsiders in question. Lately, Greek politicians aren’t very welcome either, mainly because of the property scandal that engulfed the Vatopedi monastery several years ago. In late 2005, the head of the monastery, Abbot Efraim, reached a dubious deal with the government led by then-Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis: A lake in northeastern Greece that supposedly belonged to the Vatopedi monastery (proven with Byzantine documents, naturally) was swapped for valuable government-owned buildings.

Air and Water Turned Into Gold

The abbot wanted money for the land, but the prospect of setting up a lucrative real estate empire appealed to him as well. The sale of the buildings earned the monastery some €100 million ($129 million). Abbot Efraim, newspapers later wrote, had performed the feat of transforming “air and water into pure gold.”

The scandal led to the resignation of two members of the government, and Karamanlis had to call a new election. Efraim was arrested in December 2011, to the outrage of the monks. The real culprits, they said, were in Athens. “There are many bad people who want to blame the padres,” is all Ilie wants to say about the affair. Like many pilgrims, he isn’t interested in politics. In any case, Ilie says he wanted to serve God in the austerest environment. And Vatopedi, one of the wealthiest of the monasteries, doesn’t fall into that category.

Dawn is breaking over the church of Agiou Andrea. The morning service lasts almost two hours, and visitors have to wait until it’s over to get a simple breakfast. They have to stick to the rules, and breathing in a lot of incense on an empty stomach is just one of them. Ilie shows how to make the sign of the cross properly and how to kiss glass-encased icons while still drowsy with sleep without banging your head. “That constantly happens to me,” he says with a smile.

After breakfast, the pilgrims bid farewell. The monks allow only one night’s stay in each of the monasteries. The pilgrims walk to the next one, past hills and through valleys covered with olive trees and orchards. The landscape shimmers in silence. The entire setting is perfectly peaceful.