athinaios

UEFA seems to be content with PAO's arrangements so far with its creditors and others who are owed money. But this is not so great if you think there's no income for a while, until they sell some players in January. This is the best team and it's only 4 points clear of relegation. Things won't get easier in the second half of the season. The last effort by someone to come up with a financial plan ended in immediate failure. I don't see how the fans can come up with money (even if it's 50e a person) in such difficult times. The rich owners who made the horrible decisions and mismanaged players and money should be paying. But, unfortunately this isn't happening. I'm afraid a historic team may soon go under.... I don't see any solution now. If there was someone interested with enough $ $$ to really save the club, they would have appeared by now, don't you think? As for the article above, why haven't they applied for such extensions with the bank? DOn't they know about it? The longer the Nova money goes to the bank (all of it) this season, the less ability the club has to pay its expenses. The bank should be aware that if PAO goes to 2nd div, no tv contract; also the league will lose.

There's lots of debates about economic theories and their outcomes. What surprises me is that we see the same arguments for economic growth* that have no evidence of their efficacy. Today, in the US, the conservatives are pushing a tax bill that would give further tax breaks to the super rich and the idea is that the rich & big corporations will generate more jobs and a bigger economy. There's no proof that such a policy works. So, after 30+ years of conservative economics, the gap between the super rich and everyone else has grown tremendously. This is a fact. Same with health outcomes. You may hear how the US health care model is good and how bad the Canadian, French or German are, but we can definitely see & measure the health outcomes in all of those countries..... with the US not doing so great! * there might be growth but the lower classes don't benefit; in the US, the middle class has lost ground since the 1970s.

Never underestimate the stupidity of people.... It'd only take 1 disgruntled person owed money by PAO to send the club down to 3rd div. if they're not willing to settle. Likewise if a player with a long(er) contract doesn't like the payment situation and has found a team offering him a good contract, what do you think he'd do? Players who aren't paid according to their contract, can demand 100% payment, and if the club doensn't pay on time, they can be free to go to another team.

Too many people don't really understand government and how it works. They vote for a party that is for the interests of big business and the very wealthy. They voted for a president because the other candidate was not liked and she had some "secret" emails... Many voters don't think that electing a president and members of Congress greatly impacts their daily lives and their future, from the environment, to consumer protection, to retirement, to education and health care. These days I see so many people willing to camp outside stores to get a sale deal for few bucks but aren't willing to spend 10' voting. @Bananas you ask, "what gives?"... In 1832, Britain passed the Great Reform Act that allowed the common people to vote. The conservatives were panicking because they had been openly advocating for the aristocracy, banks, big business, and generally for nothing to benefit the lower classes. However, they figured out that their party could forge an alliance with the working class. How? They'd would sell patriotism, law and order, xenophobia, identity politics, religion, morality, and a ..great Britain! Today the cons are in power. Sounds familiar?...

It's way past midnight, and I'm watching the Senate debate a horrendous tax bill. Even conservative think tanks acknowledge it's a big give-away to the wealthy. Those (the majority of taxpayers) who make under $70/year will see taxes go up. This bill is very unpopular and the GOP is trying to cram this through with little debate and, most importantly, without time for the Senators to know exactly what's in the bill. This will add to the deficit but no worries, cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are coming in order to reduce the deficit. I'm sorry but this is a new low for the conservatives.

Look, only some very rich person who's a bit crazy would spend* the money to get control of the club and make it into a great (for Greek standards) club again. (*I almost said "invest" but this would imply the possibility of some $ returns). The league is bad, attendance is down, corruption and incompetence abound, and there's a good chance that the fan base would curse you out. So, they should find a masochist or someone very rich that $100 mil. isn't a problem. I mean if you're a billionaire (and some Greeks are multi-b) buy this club and show off to the other big 3 club owners!

The majority of gun owners do agree that a gun is a dangerous thing to have so a license has to include training on how to use a weapon. I don't see gun ownership from an ideological point of view. I want to figure out a way to reduce violence. * Guns in the wrong hands kill. The abundance of guns is a dangerous thing in a modern, civilized society. Statistics show that more guns=more deadly violence, including unintended consequences of gun availability, like suicide, accidents, domestic disputes, etc. Crime also does not go down when there are more guns. [cities have strict gun laws but it's not the laws, it's the availability of guns that matters the most] It's misleading to say that if you stop 2 out of 10 mass shootings proves the point that guns everywhere is the solution.This would mean 20% and simply hasn't happened to that extend. It's more like 3% when a good civilian with a gun has stopped a bad gun guy. You have to weigh the benefits versus the costs of gun ownership. Let's stop pretending.... You want to have guns because you like them, and I can totally understand such an argument, but at least let's have an honest discussion. *you can't administer a solution that is worse than the problem; artificial intelligence in the future will be able to eliminate violence... by killing all humans!

Not a good game by either team. Final, PAO-AEK 1:1

I missed the first half, but PAO is up 1-0 with Moledo scoring. Moledo got injured and was subbed. Even ball control now, but AEK is more threatening, about 20' left.

Yes, I read the article(s) about this archaeological find; it's amazing in its detail. One of the things I admire about the Hellenic civilization was its emphasis on the human condition. It wasn't all about glorifying the kings or the gods. Even their religion was humanly based! The human form was idealized. Also, their attempt to understand the physical world by using reason and the scientific method--extremely rare for the times then. As for things back then and even today, we have to define what greatness is! So, what were the "great civilizations" or the people that achieved extraordinary things? One was military power, brute force, battle tactics. Genghis Khan conquered huge swaths of lands. The Vikings were great warriors too. Same with Assyrians, Babylonians, et al. The other one was ideas, science, philosophy, etc, that survived and influenced thousands of future generations. The Athenian model of organizing tribes on a more open, tolerant political system, gave rise to all these things, which in turn produced greatness. For me, ideas and culture matter as to what possible outcomes are likely. It could have been an accident of history that the Athenians did what they did, but they ..did it! Not many other societies copied them.

It doesn't have to be a conspiracy by the established powers/elites.... Actually such "powers that be" would want to maintain the old order since anytime you empower one group (like women), there's a power shift by definition. {I may paraphrasing your point} I'd want the best for my sister, wife, girlfriend, etc, to pursue their own bliss. If it's a career they seek, so be it. At least in the last 50 years, in the advanced countries, this is a possibility for them. By the way, the birth control pill (or other methods) empowered women. In the US, before the 1970s, many professions that required a loooong commitment of time were dominated by men. Delaying becoming a mother, allows women to get education, jobs, etc. Indeed, one of the reason (glass ceiling and prejudice are others) women aren't advancing as fast as men is that they take time off for motherhood.

If you wanted to bring every human to the level of affluence and comforts of modern life, you wouldn't be able as you'd need 3+ Earths to do it..... (not enough resources). So much of humanity is still suffering in the 21st c. Maybe technology will make things easier, but population growth has to stop at some point. One way to reduce population growth is to raise the status of women!

The latest mass shooting in Texas, dozens dead, shows that good people with guns can't stop a bad person with a gun. It's only 3% of cases that armed civilians stop a perp with a gun). But no matter what the numbers and statistics show, many people don't change their minds nor do they change their tune. You show them the facts and they keep repeating the same nonsense. In the latest incident, it's the availability of guns, plus an inadequate system of background checks. The shooter had a history of violence and even craziness. But the NRA and many Repubs don't want sensible background checks, which is crazy. By the way, guns for all isn't the solution. We tried this in early America. Oh, I like westerns.... By the way, I'm looking forward to season 2 of WestWorld

Thanks Tantra, very interesting. The geographical area of Greece produced some great civilization. Yes, the genetic code shows that there's a lineage from the ancients to the modern Greeks, but also a mixing of the populations of peoples who lived in the area. Does DNA carry qualities that make one people more special or even superior to others? Is there genetic memory that makes people predisposed to something? I think that people can make themselves what they want. It certainly feels good to have ancestors with a history of greatness, but it's up to you to learn from them and carry on the tradition. Also, should you be given privileges because your ..father won the Nobel Prize? You can certainly feel proud, but I'd ask you, have you done anything of importance? I see DNA lineage the same way. It's nice to have but show me something new, say your generation has done.... Also, nobody prevents anyone from adopting great ideas from the ancients, or from anywhere really, even if they don't have direct lineage, and I think this is beautiful.

What is the problem of bringing in people to a country whose population is declining? .. Is it their color of skin? Their culture? Their ethnicity? I don't think that a population decline is necessarily a bad thing. I believe humanity doesn't need 10 billion people. At any rate, rapid increases or decreases present problems since transitions are abrupt. If you want to maintain your population, and you don't have 2.2 children per couple (to maintain population size), then you have to bring in people. So, the key is how to do it. You do it smartly and not by creating ghettos but by making the newcomers feel patriotic.* Many immigrants to the US become more patriotic than older groups. The story of the creation of the modern state itself is based on giving benefits to people who in turn become nationalists/patriots. As for having fewer kids, because women seek to further their careers.... well, so what? I'm all for that. They have no obligation to churn out many children to satisfy anyone's grand nationalist desires. In my view, women should pursue their own happiness the way they seem fit... and now they have that opportunity which was denied since ..ever. * when children want to carry the country's flag and you have knuckleheads saying "only Greeks can carry the Greek flag" is NOT the way to make people call a country their "home." Anyone who calls a country their home has created an emotional attachment and a commitment to their adopted/adoptive country. Greece should have a smart immigration policy. Admit, even invite those who want to stay and prosper, and, why not, have a better life than in their country of birth. PS. If the neo-fascists of today knew Greek history they would.......... Hmmm, forget it, they'd still be morons, because they don't care for facts; they have an infantile obsession to feel superior to others, though the truth is they're dumb as bricks. So, yeah, many of those who fought for Greek independence (like the Αρβανιτες) wouldn't be accepted as Greeks today by those morons.

Special investigator Muller (former FBI chief) will get to the bottom of this. His top deputy was the one that broke up the Italian mafia in NY and put away many gangsters, so he knows how to get people. Obviously one tactic is to get insiders to testify on the big bosses.... One thing for sure so far, there was ..eagerness for a collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Trump Jr has admitted so, and he's not the only one. But, I think there's a bigger story here, besides Trump colluding with a foreign power to win the election, in that I think there are links, like bankrolling the Trump business, money laundering, etc. Trump said he'd release his tax returns after he was elected... We're still waiting... I wonder why he's not doing that when everyone one has...

Hmmm, I don't know if I said that....because: ..In a system whereas the checks and balances actually work, I'd say, OK, Congress and the courts could curtail presidential power. But, I don't think this system works today in the US when the same party controls both the executive and legislature. I'm amazed that only 2 Repubs (both retiring) are clearly critical of Trump when others keep mostly mum. I also know that presidential power is ..powerful, so there's only so much the other 2 branches can do. Presidents can sign executive orders (instructing the bureaucracy), appoint people to important positions, start (not declare, but this is a detail) a war, etc. A test of the checks and balances will (?) be if Trump fires special counsel Muller or violates the constitution... .let see if a Republican Congress would act. PS>Just yesterday, VP Pence broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate to pass a law that reduces consumer protection, in that if you're screwed by a bank you can't sue!

In the group stage, PAO defeated Anagenisi Karditsa today, 1-2 and will advance to next stage. Many subs played but from what I read they didn't do all that well. However, this is the first game PAO wins away from home in ages. The cup is the only thing this team can vie for this season, and possibly next since it seems PAO will be out of Europe and not good enough to compete for the league title. The next big game is this coming Saturday when we play Oly at home.

All of our intelligence agencies agree that Russia interfered with the last US election and helped Trump. There lots of indications that Trump, his family and businesses, and his campaign have had ties to Russia. This, by the way, will be resolved one way or another. I'm waiting to see what special counsel Muller (former FBI chief) will find. Of course, Trump may fire him like he fired Comey, but this will be an obstruction of justice offense. Trump is such an irresponsible person, a dangerous moron, who's totally unqualified for the important job ..Russians helped him get. It beats me why so many people don't see this.

Oh, great. Now we'll be training animals to do our job of being responsible. That doesn't bode well for our civilization... I'm looking forward to days of A.I. taking over and whipping humans into shape.

I would not allow Trump to define what the national anthem means. It's not about "his country" but about mine too. The flag represents freedom of expression, including the right to protest the flag, the president, the whole damn country if one chooses. And, don't tell me, leave politics out of a sport, because it's already politicized. The Pentagon has given money to the NFL to display patriotism, have jets fly over stadiums, etc. Before 2009, the national anthem wasn't televised, many players stayed in the locker room, and there wasn't too much fuss about standing, kneeling, or running to the bathroom or buy a hot dog and a beer. But, that's what Trump does to rally his base. He is not going to help them get better jobs, have health insurance (good coverage), consumer protection, etc. But, he gets involved with an issue for which he has no authority to do anything about, and his supporters say, "yeah, that's my guy!"

I don't remember if right after the mass shooting at the Orlando club done by Muslim man whether anyone tried to politicize the event... Do you recall? 'Cause every time there's a mass shooting in the US, I hear many voices that instruct us not to politicize such event and give time to the victims and families.... Thoughts and prayers are what's needed during those times we're told.

The problem with all plans that ask for PAO fans (rich and poor) to contribute and help save the club is the uncertainty! You may want to put your hand deep in your pocket to buy tickets, donate, etc, but if you're not sure this would help, you may not do so. Someone may shell out $25/month for next year's tickets, but they'd probably want to know if PAO plays in div 1 or 3....

^^^^ is that money enough for the team to complete the season without being relegated? how about UEFA? I heard the penalty can be up to 3 year ban from euro play. now, if they sell everyone, they may pay their bills but they still have to earn enough points not to fall to div 2...

Many who oppose the new law made similar statements that the gov is trying to redefine the Bible, morality, Greek tradition, etc. In other words, God made Adam and Eve.... so I guess this defines traditional and heterosexual relations as the only appropriate and moral condition. If some persons feel trapped in a body whose gender doesn't suit them, it's their problem.... so it would seem. But, even though Greece is still very traditional, including very religious compared to western European countries, a lot of changes have taken place in my lifetime. I think it was until the 1980s that adultery was a criminal offense. Divorce was rather rare and it was the male that got custody of kids (unless he agreed to pay child support to mother). No civil/secular marriages were possible. Remember the huge fight about the "Orthodox Christian" designation on the national ID cards?