Phoebus the tiger from Trikala, on his way to San Diego

Phoebus the tiger said goodbye to the Trikala Zoo late on Tuesday afternoon and he is now on his way to San Diego, California in order to be operated on for hip dysplasia problem at a specialised centre that is located there. His sister Athena, who died last year, apparently also suffered from the same condition.

Officials in Trikala (central Greece) claim that the funds for the operation were collected through an online effort launched last spring by David Barnes, former director of Animalaction (former Greek Animal Welfare Fund, GAWF).

As such, many animal lovers from all over the world, especially from the UK, helped to raise more than 7,779 GBP, and the remaining amount was donated by the BBC, to a total of 11,500 GBP.

A team of specialists in the presence of a vet placed Phoebus in a transport cage; he had to be sedated after refusing to enter the cage.

A BBC television crew and David Barnes visited Trikala Mayor Christos Anastassiou on Tuesday morning. His interview and the entire procedure of Phoebus' transfer is expected to be aired on BBC prime time on Friday (December 12).

101-year-old Greek could be Europe's oldest driver

Britain's Fancis Morris

A 101-year-old Greek man reportedly renewed his driving licence for another three years, and has probably become the oldest driver in all of Europe, a report on the kefaloniapress news site said.

The report states that the elderly man travelled from the island of Cephalonia to the city of Patras in order to renew his license for another three years.

Newer reports, this time from inkefalonia, state that the elderly man is originally from Akrata and only owns a summer home on the island of Cephalonia.

Looks like Greece just beat Britain's Fancis Morris who at 100 years old held the title as the oldest recorded driver on the European continent for 2014.

Article in Greek: kefaloniapress.gr

Hey psst... Wanna buy Some Oregano? Officials Crack Down On Illegal Herb Trafficking

If you thought the trafficking of narcotics, illegal immigrants, women, cheap labor, arms and energy fuel were the norm, think again. Greek officials patrolling the border with Albania have now been called to also deal with illegal herb smuggling!

According to a report by AFP, citizens from several villages that are close to the Greek-Albanian border alerted Greek authorities on this illegal trade, which they say primarily takes place at a high altitude.

     “We discovered a camp in the middle of the mountains and more than a dozen Albanian pickers at work” police officer Christos Mousafidis told the news agency, and added that mules were standing on the ready to transport the harvest. 

If you live in Greece, then you would smirk at the remarks that were made by the villagers because it is a well known fact that Albanians smuggle quite a few "green herbs" in and out of the country but these herbs are not used in Greek salad but are rather used for smoking funny looking cigarettes, nonetheless the story is true, and from what it looks like there is definitely a problem.

Quoting the Greek police, the report claims that 4.5 tonnes of a type of sage were getting loaded to leave for neighbouring Albania. It also revealed that illegal herb pickers have also been arrested in Tripoli, Arkadia (in the Peloponnese), with a load of 200kgs of wild oregano.

How ridiculous can some get in order to make a fast buck? The only thing that some foreigners have not looted from this country is the seawater. Or have they? Hmm...

Reference: AFP

Riot Dog "Loukanikos” Passes Away

During the anti-austerity demonstrations in Athens a couple of years ago, Loukanikos (a stray dog in the center of Athens) wowed photographers from all over the world, and in return they made him a world-wide sensation. News networks such as the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera covered all his actions while he barked at the riot police and was the star at the front lines of most of the demonstrations. So much so, that Time Magazine had even included this four-legged pup in the top 100 personalities of 2011.

Nonetheless, "Loukanikos" (real name “Thodoros”) passed away. Reports on Friday said that the ten-year old pup recently passed away while taking a nap. The same reports added that his veterinarian, who was taking care of his health, said that the dog was in poor health.

Looks like he has gone on to canine heaven.

Only in Greece - Cop by day, priest by night!

In the afternoon Priest Konstantinos Spanos serves at the Church of the Dormition of All-Holy Theotokos in Ilioupolis, and in the morning, from 7 a.m. he is on his beat as a junior lieutenant at the Attica Police Central Administration, says a report in Romfea.

He explains his stand on the matter in his interview with the Democratia Greek newspaper:

     “Since early childhood, my time spent in church was the most inspiring and joyous time in my life. To help our parish priest during services was for me a special blessing of God. However, in spite of all my love for the Church, I resolved first to enter to the Greek Police service. But with the course of time I wished more and more to dedicate myself to the ministry of preaching. Thus I decided to become a priest.”

Fr. Konstantinos has also noted that his choice was approved by his colleagues and church parishioners alike:

     “Their support was particularly important for me. I am grateful to God and to Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, who put himself in my place and blessed this form of ministry. I also won approval of my confessor and, of course, my spouse”. 

If hippopotamuses can't swim, how did they land on Crete and Cyprus?

There is no published account where hippopotamuses are demonstrably shown swimming or floating at the surface of any body of water. But if they can't swim, how did they reach and colonize islands?

Experts say that widely accepted models for the methods, patterns, and timing of the colonization and dispersal to several islands (e.g. Cyprus, Crete, and Madagascar) may need to be reconsidered.

"Although land bridge connections between these islands and the mainland are not currently supported by positive geological evidence, neither is there any contradictory evidence to exclude it," said Dr. Paul Mazza, author of a Lethaia article on the topic.

Greek Waiter Gets 2000 Euros Tip From Rich Arabs

Five Arab tourists having lunch on the Greek island of Kos, apparently decided to tip their waiter with a whopping 2,000 after only paying a bill of 230 Euros! According to press reports, when the owner of the restaurant asked them if they had make a mistake, the tourists said they were actually glad in leaving such a big tip.

A report from kosinfo.gr, said that the five tourists who had lunch at the restaurant on the eastern Aegean island, along with their wives, were very impressed by the service they received.According to the site, the lucky waiter had allowed the puppy of one of the women to sit on a chair while the group was dining and even gave it some water and this pleased the Arabs who in return decided to award their waiter handsomely.

Source in Greek: kosinfo.gr

Jailed Oligarch In Bribery Scandal Orders 2,500 Euros In Caviar & Cigars

We have come across quite a few offbeat stories here on HellasFrappe but this next bit of news totally astonished us. According to reports, one of the suspects currently detained for his involvement in a major arms bribery scandal paid an intermediary a whopping 2,500 Euros so that he could bring him black caviar, champagne and Havana cigars to his cell.

According to an article that was featured in the Ta Nea daily, the prosecutors investigating an ongoing corruption case related to an armament program were shocked to hear that the unnamed man was living the good life while in prison.

It should be reminded that the armament scandal involves many former high-ranking government officials and ministers who signed oblique deals to buy armaments at exorbitant prices.

The report in Ta Nea states that the intermediary who within an hour delivered the goods to the jailed oligarch also proved to be a black marketeer. And this is because he bought the above luxury goods for only 500 Euros from several retail shops at Athens' main airport, and kept the remaining 2000 Euros as "commission".

And then some people ask themselves why we never march forward as a nation...  ELEOS

CREEPY - Greek Woman Kept Mummified Remains of Mother At Home For 2 Years!

A landlord seeking to evict a tenant who hadn’t paid him rent for four years made a grim discovery on Thursday, when he found the mummified remains of the tenant’s mother inside a trunk in the apartment. The landlord and a lawyer arrived at the apartment, located at Edesiou 19 in Pangrati, central Athens, to serve an eviction notice on the 49-year-old tenant, who is a French national.

Using a spare key, the two men entered the apartment. During an inspection of the property, they found the mummy in a large chest.

Police said they believe the remains are those of the tenant’s mother, who is said to have died two years ago in her mid-80s. An autopsy will now be held to establish the cause of death.

According to media reports, the daughter worked as a chemist and used chemicals and other materials from her work to preserve the remains.

Neighbours said that when they enquired about her mother, the woman told them that she was fine.

The 49-year-old woman has been detained and is helping police with their enquiries.

Eleytherotypia

LOL - Thessaloniki-Athens Train Derailed After Hitting Cow

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is one of those offbeat stories that definitely needs to be told, even though it does not have a happy end. Train schedules between Athens and Thessaloniki were restored on Sunday following a derailment of an Intercity 55 earlier. According to Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) officials, there were no injuries among 200 passengers of the train running on the Thessaloniki-Athens schedule, which was derailed when it hit a cow.

Reports said that the accident occurred between the Karya and Styrfaka stations, outside of Lianokladi and interrupted south-bound train schedules. Damages to the train were light, while service in that section of the rail lines was carried out by buses.

Authorities noted that this is the second such accident, with the first one occurring on December 10 in the area of the town of Bralos, near the Papadia bridge.

There was no report about the cow, but we can guess that local butcheries were featuring a special on minced meat on Monday morning.

(We are kidding of course...)

India - Giant Python Strangles & Swallows Sleeping Man

Python (Photo credit: Aoife Cahill)

A giant python strangled and swallowed a male resident of India, who fell asleep near a liquor shop. The snake could not move after a hearty dinner.

The incident occurred in the state of Kerala, in the south-west of the country. The drunk man was peacefully sleeping near the shop, when the python approached him, strangled the man and swallowed him whole.

The next morning, local residents found the gigantic bloated python on the doorstep of the shop. People had to kill the snake to take the man's body out. pravda

LOL- Jesus Was Not Born In Bethlehem Stupid He Was Born In FYROM, Say Slav Archaeologists (VIDEO)

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Next Christmas, forget Bethlehem and rush to Bethlehemo!  (With a casino nearby!)  Friends... The situation is very grave and regrettably its becoming a Déjà vu from "One flew over the cuckoo's nest". After Alexander the Great, Mother Teresa and Bulgarian kings, even the greatest figure in Christianity was discovered to be FYROManian.

If you thought that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, well then think again! FYROManian archaeologists claim he was actually born in a village near Ohrid in FYROM, and the Son of God was even known as the "FYROM" boy!

Yes close those history books, FYROManian archaeologists miraculously "discovered" that Jesus Christ was their native fellow and they say they can prove it!

The archaeologists, calling themselves, descendants of Jesus Christ, maintain that they have found the exact place where Jesus Christ was born and state that the son of God was not born in Bethlehem, but in the village of Bethlehemo near the town of Ohrid, FYROM.

There is evidence that this is the place where Jesus was born. This place existed in ancient times and this is proved with texts in the Bible which was revised by FYROM's government several months ago. During the rule of Justinian, the village went through an economic revival. In the period of the early Christianity this place was famous for the birth of Jesus," scientist Avram Jakov explained. (Article in Greek Taxalia)

Editor - Oh my.... no comment

Turkish Islamists Now Against ... Santa Claus!

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After Barbie and Mickey Mouse ... they are now after the idea of Santa Claus.

The streets of Constantinople recently flooded with members of the radical Islamist "Youth Association of the East" organization and believe it or not they protested against none other than Santa Claus, because in their opinion his bag of gifts is not as it appears but rather contains sinful items that are not acceptable to the Muslim faith. People all over Europe and the Americas usually perceive Santa Claus, or St.Nick, or even Agios Vassilis, as a figure of generosity, but this group of radicals argues that this legendary holiday figure is dangerous and that those of Muslim faith should totally ignore him. In their manifesto the protesters argue that Santa's bag does not contain gifts but is rather full of narcotics, alcohol and propaganda, which is inconsistent with Muslim beliefs. Moreover, they also called on all Muslims to even ignore celebrating New Year's eve.

Editor - First it was Barbie.. then Mickey Mouse, now Santa... who is next? The tooth fairy? By all means.. all comments are welcome

PASOK Locking Up Toilets Because It Cannot Afford To Maintain Them

 (credit: Wikipedia)

It looks like the hole in the bucket has no end for the once mighty socialists. A mountain of electricity bills, water bills, and tens of thousands in unpaid wages to many permanent workers, and no money to come clean with their debts has forced the once mighty socialists to lock up their washrooms because they cannot afford to maintain them. According to blog reports, PASOK's offices on Ippokratous Street have added padlocks (metaphorically speaking) on most of their restrooms -used by personal and visitors- because they cannot afford their maintenance. In other words, they cannot afford the basics such as toilet paper, soap and the personnel to clean them. The workers that are still in it for the long-run -hoping and praying that they will one day be paid by their rich "VERY RICH" socialist mentors- apparently run from floor to floor in order to find a toilet opened. My... my...

Sex Brothels On A Role - Donation To Patras School Rejected

Greek brothels are on a role, making us believe that many are indeed "living their myths" in Greece (wink, wink). After funding a soccer team in Larissa, a separate brothel in Patras, sensitive to the needs of a local school there, raised much criticism this past week when it decided to donate a copy machine to a local education institute. More exactly, the donation of a copy machine to an elementary school in the western port of Patras by the owner of a registered brothel generated widespread media coverage, and the regional elementary and secondary education director here rejected the offer. Believe it or not, the donation, made through the school's Parents & Teachers Association, caused a firestorm of criticism, leading to a decision to return the copy machine to the woman that donated it. Schools are indeed suffering in Greece on account of the austerity cuts, and many will not even have heat this winter, let alone the luxury of a copy machine, but the thought that a brothel could fill the void that the State cannot in regards to the specific elementary could not "sit well" with local officials (and we agree with them). We also agree with school officials, who said in a statement, that what is sometimes legal is not -and cannot- be necessarily moral.

Sex, Brothels, & Soccer - Madam In Larissa Sponsors Local Team (VIDEO)

Surfing the web this week for an awesome Offbeat story we found out that Larissa has devised a unique way to market some of its services. The city, just like any other major city across Greece, hosts scores of soccer teams, but it is also home to several well-known brothels. Well one such amateur team, or the "Voukefalas Soccer Team" was in desperate need to find sponsors, and guess who decided to pay the tab? Why the city's two leading brothels of course! The brothels, which are also suffering from the credit crunch, felt the need to advertise their services and what better way than to sponsor an amateur soccer team! The players were then obligated to wear a bright pink uniform with the names of Madam Soula Alevridou's two love shacks, or rather the "Villa Erotica" and "Soula's House of History" (which sounds more like a folklore museum than a brothel!). We could just imagine how these young boys must of felt everytime they had to wear these shirts and head on to the field where they would probably have to compete with other (testosterone-loaded) jocks. (my my... ) On her part, Madam Soula insists the investment is not a ploy to attract new customers (ok... we believe her), the reason she said is because she really wanted to help the team. Although prostitution is legal in Greece, or rather licensed brothels are (and government regulated), soccer league organizers did not really take a liking to the idea and have banned the uniforms from the games claiming that it violates "sporting ideals and is inappropriate". Soula's business must be booming, because her thousand euro investment is now going to increase ten-fold in the weeks and months to come. Wonder if the players get a rebate... hmmmm....

11 Things You Won’t Believe That Have Been Banned By Govt's

1Australia: Porn Featuring Small Breasts
Are you an adult woman in Australia with a cup breasts? According to Australia, you don’t exist. Do you happen to be a man who likes to watch adult films starring small-breasted women? According to the Australian government, you secretly love child porn. If none of this makes sense to you, then you must not work for the Australian Classification Board who has banned multiple adult films from distribution because, in their opinion, the actress’ smaller breasts made them appear to be under 18. While the law doesn’t outright ban porn featuring small breasts, the ABC has the right to ban all adult films that depict a woman as being under 18. While this idea sounds fine in theory, the group has actively rejected some films based solely on the breast size of the actresses involved. Reference


2China: Game Consoles
Most game consoles are made in China and Chinese prisoners are often forced to play World of Warcraft so the government can collect their loot and sell it to other players, which is why it seems so utterly bizarre that China doesn’t allow the sale of gaming consoles. The ban took place back in 2000, when the government expressed its concern that the country’s youth would waste their time playing games instead of working. Even so, gamers are still permitted to buy non-console games, making the ban notably ineffective –which is probably why it is not extensively enforced. Reference


3Greece: Video Games
China’s not the only country to ban video games. Greece did too, although for a much different reason. In 2002, the government tried to crack down on electric gambling machines, but their legislators wrote the law so broadly that it managed to cover all forms of electronic gaming machines –meaning all video games. Amazingly, someone was even caught and arrested for violating the poorly written law by playing an MMO in an internet café. They were actually forced to serve time in prison for playing games. Fortunately, after receiving pressure from the EU and video gamers everywhere, the law was found to be unconstitutional by the end of the year. Reference


4China: Avatar in 2D
While the army in Avatar is undoubtedly American, the idea of people siding with an indigenous population against an imperialistic force is something that China was not comfortable with. That’s why shortly after the release ofthe movie in China, the authorities decided the movie could only be shown in 3D. Since there are very few 3D theaters in China, the move was effectively a ban on the film. Reference


5Russia: Emo Clothing
Plenty of people don’t like emo fashion, but while it’s not that weird for a parent to tell their kids they can’t wear that crap outside the house, it’s entirely different when the whole government takes such a drastic stand. When the Russian government was trying to stop high suicide rates amongst teens though, they decided emo fashion were to blame. The government went so far as to dub the style “a threat to national stability” before banning people from wearing emo clothing to public schools or government buildings. Don’t worry sullen teens of Russia, you can still listen to all the forlorn emo music you want, you just can’t dress like you listen to it. Reference


6China: Reincarnation Without Prior Consent
On the face of it, the idea of banning someone from reincarnating without obtaining the state’s permission is preposterous and something they absolutely can’t control. In reality though, the measure is their way to trying to take control of the Tibetan Buddhists (including the Dali Lama himself) by trying to rule over one of their most sacred beliefs. Reference


7Iran: “Western” Hair Cuts
Like many Middle Eastern governments, Iran hates the impending spread of decadent Western culture. In order to better protect their people from the depraved culture of Europe and North America, the government of Iran has banned all hair cuts that are not included in their list of government-approved styles. Banned styles include mullets, ponytails and spikes. Barber shops that fail to follow the law can be shut down and penalized in the years since the law took effect. Reference


8Saudi Arabia: Valentine's Day
Similarly, Saudi Arabia finds Valentine’s Day to be in violation of Muslim beliefs. In order to ensure residents don’t secretly send gifts to their Valentine’s, the government orders all florists and gift shops to remove anything red or otherwise considered to be a symbol of romance prior to the holiday. Apparently the ban on the holiday isn’t entirely successful and the country now has a thriving Valentine’s Day black market where lovers can buy red roses and other tokens of romance at around six times their ordinary prices. Reference


9Denmark: Ovaltine and Marmite
In America, it’s practically impossible to purchase milk that isn’t fortified with vitamin D, but in Denmark, this would be completely illegal. That’s because the country has put a ban on all fortified foods, effectively banning fortified breakfast cereals, Ovaltine and Marmite.
Update: According to the Denmark Embassy in England, it’s not illegal to sell or possess Marmite, just to advertise it. Reference


10Denmark: Most Baby Names
Fortified snacks aren’t the only thing Denmark wants to put an end to. The country also has some of the strictest child naming guidelines in the entire world. In fact, citizens of the country can only select names on a list approved by the government or they must seek permission from the government for an exception to the rule. Right now, the officially approved names list contains only around 24,000 names.Reference


11China: Jasmine
After the “Jasmine Revolutions” in Tunisia, Chinese protestors were inspired to spark their own revolution. As a result, authorities cracked down not only on the rebels, but on the flower itself. The plant is now banned in the country, as are songs about the flower and text messages including the word “jasmine.” Reference  (mryoungscholar)

Unbelievable ... Blogger Ready To Stage Corpus Aris Velouchiotis if Corpus Cristi Play Continues

We read some of the blog posts on ygro-pyr.blogspot from time to time, and we believe it when the blogger says that he will do it. Besides, when there is a will there is a way and everything is possible.

On his web page he states:

Anyone who does not like, the Constitutionally recognized formal religion of Greece and does not respect the majority of the Greeks who embrace this religion, should simply leave this country. They are completely free to go and they will be doing us a favor by emptying up space for us anyway. We have had enough with self-seeking, anti-Greek hypocrites.
If I, as a filmmaker decided to stage a similar play like Corpus Cristi (the play portrays Jesus and his disciples as being gay) with the title Corpus Velouchiotis, starring Aris Velouchiotis (as a gay man) who runs in the mountains and valleys with his guerrillas, then I would be termed a fascist and all these people who today are calling all of us (Christians) who were offended by the  play fascists would forget about what they said (the following day to the mainstream media) about democracy, and the freedom of expression. Greece's prosecution should have convicted all these wannabes a long time ago, because they use blaspheme against the prevailing religion of Greece. Isn't the United States the land of expression? Then why were the creators of the satirical film about the prophet Mohamed arrested there?
Why is it that in Greece we continually allow certain individuals to purposely insult our  beliefs (whatever they are)? And why are they never punished?

Source in Greek - http://ygro-pyr.blogspot.gr/2012/10/blog-post_12.html

Aris Velouchiotis was the leader and chief instigator of the Leftist Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), the military branch of the National Liberation Front (EAM), which was the resistance organization in occupied Greece from 1942 to 1945. Aris Velouchiotis was appointed military leader of ELAS at the beginning of the Resistance Movement, by the EAM leadership, being at the same time a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In other words he is to the Left what Thatcher is to the Right.

Editor's Note - I have a feeling we are going to see many "Brokeback Mountain" type of movies and plays... oh my oh my...
 

Naked Protestor Identity Finally Solved (VIDEO)

While provocateurs hurled Molotov bombs and stones at riot police on Tuesday during Chancellor Angela Merkel's brief visit to Athens, a man stripped from his clothing and for no apparent reason began running in front of the Greek Parliament and around the Syntagma Square. His bold appearance astonished everyone who saw him, and it even forced the troublemakers and the riot police to pause for a moment and stare in complete awe so there were no stones and tear gas being hurled through the air.

Until Tuesday night, the identity of the man was literally unknown, but the mystery has finally been solved. The ProtoThema newspaper said that he is a British national who simply wanted to join the protests. The only thing is, his terms were a little too bold, and that is why he was chased down by authorities and detained. The video below shows him running between the protesters and the authorities trying to slow him down.


And if you think that our bear-it-all friend was ridiculed, think again! Many anti-austerity demonstrators began cheering him on!

Editor - Talk about making a "bold statement"

DEH Cuts Off Illegal Electricity Usage By Roma, And They Attack DEH (VIDEO)

While looking for a great offbeat article on Tuesday we stumbled on a real jewel. The gypsies or Roma people in Thiva took to the streets on Monday to protest against the Public State Corporation (DEH's) decision to finally cut off their power. Sounds cruel huh? Think again. This group has never paid an electricity bill in their lives, and were illegally consuming the electricity for years! This inflated the electricity costs for the area and local residents were forced to pay the bill.

But the Roma does not seem to comprehend why they cannot continue to steal electricity and force the bill on others and for this reason they decided to assemble. When they reached the DEH building in this regional town, they were greeted by security officials and riot police. After realizing that they could not seize the building, they decided to take drastic measures and began pelting the building with tomatoes and eggs.

In our opinion the State acted wisely, the illegal usage of electricity is a crime.

But did the Roma people "get it" or better yet... did they finally realize that this was against the law? Not on your life.. as announced in the video below, they plan to escalate their protests....!!!

Go figure!

Επίθεση με ντομάτες και αυγά στην ΔΕΗ Θήβας, από... από LAMIASTARGR