athinaios

The fact that you find transgender people and vegans as "c*nts" and "disgusting" does not give you license to say so here. The stated reason for the warning was "inappropriate language" and my post was to remind everyone where they are and the rules that govern this forum. And, yes, we welcome all genders and foodies here. We could have a conversation as to the definition of "normal" and how we should react to the "abnormal".... But, if I may offer an opinion on the subject, it's very ..uncool to feel the need to label others disgusting based on dietary or lifestyle choices and how someone is born. Com'on now.

First, PAO has shown that they're getting competitive with Euro teams despite the results against the last 3 teams. Those games could have had much better outcomes for our team. On the other hand, silly mistakes cost. It's not the fault of refs when we accept silly goals both in Euro and domestic games Also, the small details or moments of inattention determine close games. And, running out of steam there's no excuse at this stage. Not so long ago, we had a horrible fitness managers and worse of a medical team. They fixed it for a while and PAO outplayed the other teams in terms of fitness with fewer injuries. This is extremely crucial, just as coaching, because with aging players they have to manage every player's health, minutes played, etc, with precise scientific rigor. About the refs.... If mistakes are spread all around without a constant benefit for a select number of teams, then they're part of the game where humans make calls within a fraction of a second and without the benefit of slow motion or many camera angles. In Greece, we've seen that officiating has been helping one particular team and that's unacceptable, because it's not luck whether you get a call in your favor or against you. In an honest game, calls even out over time. Sometimes you get luck sometimes you don't. But, I think it'd be a mistake if the team believes their bad results are not their fault. Yes, Xanthi got lucky (it's not the first time those bastards escape with 3 points having only 1-2 wild chances to score) but if PAO can't put away another team after having a 70% possession, and not creating chances then they can't complain too much.

I'm offended that you're offended Look, individuals can believe whatever they want but this is a private club with certain rules of behavior. We think such rules make it a better experience for all to hang out here. I think we push the limits of free expression, but we have to remember this is not a place for a bar brawl. Check your guns at the door, and keep any racism, homophobia, hate, and vile comments inside yourself, until you find another venue to express them and fight with other knuckleheads.

This is an example how Greeks, since the Revolution, couldn't manage their own affairs and had foreign bodies tell them how to do it or Greeks brought them in to be in charge of Greek affairs. This is when conspiracies fall short, you know, that everybody hates Greece and can't let this country be what it can be, etc.... Two sections of society, sports, and education where Greeks have been 100% in charge show which is true...

The official name is something like Dept of Education and Religion! I think they recently added "research" to the title. For all the leftist (Marxist) talk of SYRIZA, they remain partners (in crime). It's a crime to have a sub-standard education. And, all the frequent changes aren't good. They need to have a national policy on this. The political parties are criminally responsible for turning the universities into battle zones. Nowhere in the advanced world there is this chaos and violence seen in Greek U's. I wonder what kind of teaching the professors are able to do when they're interrupted during lectures, their offices are smashed, and even the buildings set on fire during "occupation" stints! I also hear that some years there is no teaching going on for months because of various reasons. How do you expect the students to get proper instruction and experience in this kind of environment. Maybe they should turn the whole thing into online "learning" so no need to have bldgs and face to face interaction. Obviously I don't think online learning is good, or as good as in-class, but it can't be worse than what's going on in the U's for decades.

I don't know much about the recent developments under SYRIZA, but it's my impression the educational system is failing. I know about how difficult it is to get to higher ed (universities), so it's even more important to have a great high school, since for most Greeks this is the education they'll ever get. The curse of the tutoring system has been around for at least 50 years. It's not only unfair but questions whether education is free for all. Yeah, taxes pay for it, but if you want your kid to learn you have to pay extra for tutors. So, it's got to be something else they can do to fix the problem. What other advanced countries do? It can't be a secret. Education is learning about the fundamentals, not necessarily the most obscure details, and above all how to think, how to analyze, find the relevant points, express your thoughts in a coherent way. You want educated citizens, who have been exposed to good pedagogy. All goods flow from this. Society, politics, business, etc, all benefit from a good educational foundation. But, if you teach religious bullshit (stories that would not pass any serious mind as true or logical or even probable) and try to indoctrinate students into sheeple, then this is a sign that good reform ain't happening. One Greek academic (a lady I forget her name) recently said that Greece has not been touched by the Enlightenment (17-18th+ centuries), and I shook my head in sadness.

One other fundamental problem is that (not only in Greece) that people want to get a higher degree in order to get a job--and some jobs pay you more because of it even if the degree has nothing to do with your profession. They don't care about the subject of study, and if I'm not mistaken high school grads just want to get in to higher ed schools regardless of the course of study. If I couldn't study what I liked, I'd not be motivated, like any degree in chemistry, medicine, etc, would not motivate me. Yeah, keep taking those exams for 10 years, maybe I'd get lucky or they'd get tired of me.

1976-1985: Αρχικά η ΔΑΠ-ΝΔΦΚ σταθεροποιείται και μετά το 1981 αυξάνει σημαντικά τα ποσοστά της. 1987: Καταλαμβάνει την πρώτη θέση στις φοιτητικές εκλογές με ποσοστό περίπου 27% 1990: Σημειώνεται το μεγαλύτερο ποσοστό που κατακτά ποτέ και αγγίζει το 47% 2010: Η ΔΑΠ-ΝΔΦΚ παραμένει πρώτη με ποσοστό 40% Στις φοιτητικές εκλογές του 2012 αναδείχτηκε για 26η συνεχή χρονιά πρώτη φοιτητική παράταξη με ποσοστό 42,89% στα Πανεπιστήμια και 54,61% στα ΤΕΙ,πανελλαδικά source

You may be right, but it's a broad statement, don't you think? For years, it was the ND youth branch that won student elections. So all sides have used higher ed (universities) to peddle their party politics and ideologies. As for "leftist" propaganda, it's the SYRIZA gov that kept the teaching of religion as indoctrination* course in high school. This is a violation of the principle (leftist?) of church-state separation. In my opinion, all parties have mishandled education in Greece, worse with higher ed, but also with high school where most Greeks get their education from since only a tiny % gets to higher-ed schools. *not at comparative, analytical study of religion(s) but as a tool to keep Greeks faithful to the church

I don't understand how you can advance and even take other courses if you don't pass a course. In the US, it's either you pass or you don't. If you don't you can retake the course once more. However, if you don't maintain a "C" average, you're thrown out. It's the same in private and public universities. Actually, the public U's are becoming harder, and better, because the demand is so great, due to high tuition at private colleges, so the publics can raise their standards. It's not good that you have "students" in Greek universities that have been there forever. They take seats and resources away...

I think one of the foundations of a modern, enlightened, and successful society is the educational system. Unfortunately, this is one of the many institutions that has been in crisis. Even the various governments don't know what to make of it other than proceed with big reforms only to be undone by the next government. What are your thoughts? I will write more, but I'm sure you have lots to say about this topic, so fire on....

I was away for a while and missed the excitement here. The biggest scam/bullshit artist is Trump. If he has millions of Americans thinking he's a good businessman... tsk Here's a Pulitzer winner journalist, David Cay Johnston explaining how Trump steals from others (that's what it is if you don't pay for services rendered), lost tons of money when real estate market was booming, etc, etc. [link] But, Donald is good at selling, especially if it's a scam. The definition of a con artist: "con" stands for "confidence"! (who knew?) and for your entertainment:

It seems to me that some of those charges are serious legal violations under any circumstances. But, if it's true that Oly benefited from such criminal activities, the club should be demoted and titles taken away. If corrupt Italy could relegate Juventus, Greece should too.

Well, that was in 2012 when Alafouzos said "we'd build a great team"... But, it's been very obvious that Oly has been largely benefited from the system. I don't have proof whether Marinakis is guilty of criminal violations but because of his money he got whatever he wanted all these years. He fixed the system to promote Oly, win titles, automatically go to the CL and get 30+ millions, then buy better players, fix games, and repeat the process. Do you think this is a serious case that has legs or it's one of those fireworks for public consumption? And, if it is a serious case, do you think the Greek state has the will and the ability to see this through?

History has no future! But, seriously, it makes me happy to hear someone wanting to be a teacher. My best wishes for success!

Meanwhile in Greece.... http://www.thisamericanlife.org/greece/# This American Life has a couple podcasts on this subject with lots of interviews on the several issues of the refugee problem there. It's worth listening. The interactive map is also helpful.

It must be zombie apocalypse time.... Metal Man appears!

There has to be more transparency, which I believe it's also a requirement since the clubs are not private properties anymore. Proper audits and accounting must be available to everybody. This way we can see how much money circulates and where it goes. But, I'm expecting too much in the mess the whole country is in....

George K: Jerry, It's not a lie if you believe it! (From Seinfeld)

Number one in lost revenue are the low rates big corporations pay in taxes. I'm talking about the effective rate not what the books say as the highest rate that may be applied. OK, this is not wasteful practice technically, but an item that weighs in the national accounting. Second, it's the Pentagon and DoD. In violation of the law, the Pentagon cannot pass an audit. All other agencies know where the money flows, but not the DoD. They know how much comes in but where it's spent is a mystery!! We're not talking about your $100K, which is like the change you find behind the pillows of your couch. It's in the billions.... Now, do you think we know, anyone does, where we spent hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq? Halliburton alone got tens of billions in no-bid, open ended contracts....

OK. Fair point. But, what is it that makes, say, Canadian POs, or British, etc, react differently? Mentally disturbed persons or those who don't pose immediate harm to others, or even irate and threatening persons are dealt differently, but not necessarily in the US. You've seen the videos, just in the last year of POs shooting a barrage of bullets when a taser might have been more appropriate. It's my impression that due to lack of training and the prevailing culture within most police dpts POs tend to escalate a confrontation. Whether "we can afford" to train them better, well, I don't have the answer to this. But, cities pay millions in fines for wrongful deaths, treatment, etc.

boy, aren't you sensitive... I wasn't talking about you. As to your quotes, well, police are supposed to be the professionals. "Dealing with sh&t" doesn't mean doing so by shooting or beating up people. As long as there's no violence, civilians should yell whatever they want in a civil protest. Unfortunately, in the US some police dpts by policy and most cops by temperament and training are ready to escalate instead of de-escalate tense situations. Someone said 20% of cops are very decent people, 20% are total scumbags, and the rest go along with the flow... I say, everyone in a police encounter should be careful how they relate to a cop, and that they should keep in mind the cops are like lethal robots that can have a major malfunction at any moment.

^ I'm not in favor of "dislikes" as it may lead to animosity. Plus if a group has a lot more fans it'll skew the ratings. I agree with you that reputation should not be based on "likes"... as you said, post often, in areas people are bound to agree with you, hang around for a while, and you build up a "reputation." Not to mention trolls can help themselves out by liking each others' posts. Over the years, there have been some members who have gotten lots of warnings, even banned, but had an "excellent reputation"

I'd like to repeat something: Anecdotal or isolated incidents don't necessarily reflect trends or reality. For example, with all the videos surfacing nowadays due to mobile phones, one may think that violence has escalated. That's what Trump and Giuliani portray the US as under Obama. Crime statistics compiled by the FBI and other reputable sources (newspapers, academics) show a reduction of crime. Likewise with videos regarding police brutality, shootings, etc. Before you jump into a conclusion (you may already predisposed to), check the numbers... And, by the way, White Lives Matter group is a neo-nazzi, KKK front.

Today I heard that PAO is looking to get Simao, free from Levante, but, again, he's not a Euro player and therefore no available spot. Isn't today the deadline for transfers?