Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘greece’

It appears as though the people who attacked the U.S. Embassy in Athens were domestic terrorists:

An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. Greece’s Public Order Minister said the blast was probably an act of domestic terrorism — raising fears of resurgent violence by far-left Greek militants.

“It is very likely that this is the work of a domestic group,” Vyron Polydoras said. “We believe this effort to revive terrorism is deplorable and will not succeed.”

He said Greece “strongly condemns” the attack on the heavily guarded building — the first major attack against a U.S. target in Greece in more than a decade.

“We believe it is a symbolic act,” Polydoras said. “It is an attempt to disrupt our country’s international relations.”

Polydoras said police were examining the authenticity of phone calls to a private security company claiming responsibility on behalf of a militant left-wing group.

Or, maybe it was the work of some French tourists who were tired of having to compete with so many Americans for the good beach hotels in the Greek islands each August.

An epidemic of plane crashes seems to have hit the globe.

In this past month alone, a plane crash-landed in Toronto – an episode in which, miraculously nobody was hurt. But not everyone was so lucky. A terrible crash in Greece killed 121, and a devastating crash in Venezuela killed 160.

There were also smaller crashes, such as the plane that went down in Switzerland, killing 4, a crash in Acupulco, Mexico that killed two people, and a crash in Durban, South Africa that was survived by all six people aboard. And that’s not even all of them.

Then last week, a crash in Peru killed dozens of people.

Now there’s been another plane crash in Indonesia that has claimed 149 lives. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of terrorism.

And a plane crashed in the Congo, killing 7. It seems that the pilot tried to land in poor visibility and crashed into a tree.

I’m seriously starting to question the statistics that tell us that flying is so much safer than driving. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not out to spread conspiracy theories or anything. By all accounts, these crashes happened due to bad weather or pilot error, and their timing is just a coincidence. But what on earth is going on here?

I still don’t have time to properly blog, but I wanted to at least mention some of the newsworthy items in the passing show these days.

Disengagement is depressing. I can barely read the news – from any perspective – because it just gives me a giant headache. The whole issue is so clearly lose-lose that I can hardly work up the energy to take a position. Of course the terrorists are viewing this as a victory and an excuse for more violence. Of course it’s tough on the families who have to uproot. Of course Israel is dangerously close to civil war, as people are pitted against each other in a gut-wrenching emotional issue. And of course it has to happen, now that the die is cast – and maybe it’s the only way to break the stalemate. But there seems to be very little to say that hasn’t been said by many others already.

A plane crash in Greece killed 121 people yesterday. There don’t seem to be any signs of terrorism.

Here’s a new one: a Muslim cleric suspected of terrorism agreed to be deported from the United States. Usually these guys drag the fight against deportation out for years. I wonder what this guy’s in such a rush to get to Pakistan for. I doubt it’s ballroom dancing lessons.

The CBC has locked out most of its unionized workers, because they’re fighting over whether they can hire less full-time people and more contract people. So now, not only are billions of tax dollars going to fund a useless network that also competes for advertising money and shows no programming anyone wants to watch… but it’s also operating without 60% of its staff. Would someone finally yank the cord on the CBC and put it out of its misery?

Regular posting should hopefully resume shortly.

Construction delays… now security concerns… it seems the Athens Olympics are cursed:

Wednesday’s pre-dawn explosions, preceded by an anonymous telephone warning, badly damaged the station in the densely populated Kalithea district near hotels to be used by Olympic officials during the August 13-29 Olympics.

The third bomb went off 30 minutes after the first two blasts while dozens of bomb experts were combing the cordoned-off area for forensic evidence.

No one has yet claimed responsibility, but police said initial evidence pointed to small local anarchist and leftist groups that regularly stage minor bomb attacks around Athens, sometimes in protest against the Olympics.

Even if the bombings were linked to international terror, you’ll never see anyone admitting it. The last thing they want to cause is panic. And ss the summer gets nearer, it seems nothing will derail the games. Let’s hope that despite the rocky road to get to Athens, the games themselves go smoothly.

Home sweet home. Had a great two weeks in Greece – although getting sick with a cold on vacation is not my idea of fun. (And to anyone contemplating flying while sick, here’s a word of advice: don’t.) Other than that I had an amazing time.

Having spent the last two weeks disconnected from TV, newspapers, internet, and anything not written in Greek (which I don’t speak), I know there’s probably a lot that’s been happening in the world, but right now I’m pretty out of it. My brain stubbornly insists I’m not really home but still having drinks in Mykonos, partying in Ios, or lying on the black-sand beach in Santorini. I expect to be caught up by Monday. In the meantime, back to my vacation.