Karel Van Isacker - Personal Blog

Sat Dec 12 2009 | Immigrant drowns off Lesvos

Coast guard officials on Lesvos yesterday recovered the body of a drowned immigrant and rescued another 26 migrants after the fishing boat in which they had been trying to reach the Aegean island from neighboring Turkey foundered amid choppy waters. A coast guard vessel was yesterday scouring the area where the boat sank for signs of another female migrant who is believed to be missing.

Source: H KAΘHMEPINH

Posted on Dec 12, 09 | 2:52 am |

Sat Dec 12 2009 | Bankrupt Greece

CDs at eBay USA | eBay UK | eBay DE

Prime Minister George Papandreou (PASOK) indicated yesterday that his government would attempt to revive Greece’s economy by stamping out corruption rather than cutting back on public sector salaries and levying more taxes on the middle class.
The premier spoke in Brussels after talks with fellow European Union leaders, who wanted to know what measures Greece will take to reduce its 300-billion-euro debt, which stands at 113 percent of GDP, as well as its public deficit, forecast at 12.7 percent of GDP.
Papandreou insisted that Greece would not default on its debts and does not intend to ask for financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We are not on the precipice,” said Papandreou. “If we were, we would be cutting wages. We will make changes but they will only hurt those that have to be hurt. Salaried workers will not pay for this situation, we will not proceed with wage freezes or cuts,” he said. “We did not come to power to tear down the social state; we are here to put right inequalities.”
The prime minister is due to unveil on Monday the measures that his government plans to take to get the economy back on track. He told European leaders that the reasons behind Greece’s economic problems are not the same as those that have caused crises in other countries. “They are our distinct problems. We know them and we will tackle them,” said Papandreou, adding that his government aims to make institutional reforms that will combat systemic corruption and patron-client relationships while also slashing waste and fighting tax evasion.
This may fall short of what Greece’s partners in the eurozone are expecting, given that Ireland has announced cuts of 4 billion euros in public spending and a reduction of public sector wages of between 5 and 15 percent.

Source: H KAΘHMEPINH

Greeks really will never understand that PASOK and the Papandreou clan is the root cause of the entire mess they are in now ...

Posted on Dec 12, 09 | 2:50 am |

Thu Aug 27 2009 | LIFE IN 5 BOTTLES

CDs at eBay USA | eBay UK | eBay DE

Posted on Aug 27, 09 | 11:46 pm |

Mon Aug 03 2009 | GREECE PROTECTS ITS CITIZENS

CDs at eBay USA | eBay UK | eBay DE

The Greek government has decided that the swine flu vaccines will be available for everyone and calls for the inoculation of entire population in September as the action plan for a possible pandemic was unveiled.

Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos yesterday heralded the intended vaccination against swine flu of Greece’s entire population of 11 million, including thousands of illegal immigrants, as the government’s action plan for tackling a possible pandemic was unveiled.

“It was decided under the order of the prime minister to vaccinate all citizens and residents of the country, without exception,” Avramopoulos told reporters after an Inner Cabinet meeting chaired by Premier Costas Karamanlis. Avramopoulos added that authorities will order some 24 million doses of the flu vaccine, to secure the recommended two shots for each resident, and will start administering the drugs once they have been approved by international authorities. The drugs are to be administered from mid-September, when deliveries are expected to arrive, starting with health workers and vulnerable citizens, including children, the elderly and the sick. Each citizen will have to sign a form registering for his or her inoculation.

Another matter discussed by members of the Inner Cabinet was a national action plan for dealing with a possible pandemic of the H1N1 virus. The plan envisages the establishment of special vaccination centers as well as the mobilization of the private health sector and includes seven alternative scenarios for tackling the spread of the virus. The more serious scenarios foresee the use of military and private hospitals and even hotels to treat patients and the mobilization of trainee and retired doctors, according to sources.
Source: H KAΘHMEPINH

Posted on Aug 03, 09 | 3:13 am |