OPINION

On Keratea, Katerina Thanou, arms procurements, the Archaeological Museum

No more jets

If the European Union had one air force patrolling all of the EU countries? borders then there would be no need for Greece to keep buying jets. War means money and what?s happening in the Arab world is dollar signs for the Americans becase their economy along with those of France and Germany need fear to sell arms to stay in business. It is a vicious circle and we all know there is no end to a circle!

JOHN TZELEPIS

Thanou mess

[Former Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou?s ongoing court case] is an example of why people around the world don’t take Greece seriously. It is 2011 and the Olympics were in 2004, seven years ago. Is there any real reason that this is taking almost seven years to be in court beyond payoffs and favors? It appears that every year Greece is dropping more and more into a Third World country. I say that sadly, as an American with a Greek wife. We have been here many times as a family and love the beauty and history. Please go back to making Greece a country that works and that people want to visit. There are other countries people can spend their money in.

MICHAEL HAYES

A response to John Mavrakis

It?s not only a question of the name that the Slavs of Vadar demand. It?s the theft of cultural heritage and history. There are many questions that come with the name.

1) If we call them Macedonians or even Northern Macedonians, what do we call their language? Macedonian? Ancient Macedonians spoke an ancient Greek dialect. Does this mean that a derivative of the Bulgarian language is now call Macedonian?

2) History — If the Slavs are given the name, do they then own the history? Do they own the heritage of Alexander the Great? We Greeks know that the rest of the world would now look upon the Skopjians as owners of Greek history.

3) Are the Slavs now genetically Macedonians?

No — It’s not just a name. It’s Greece’s heritage and history! I hope the Greek government would veto any name or convention that includes the word Macedonia. Enough is enough.

One last question — if a Skopjian Cola company came out with a new Cola product and called it Coke, would the Coke corporation allow this?

KOSTAS KARACHRISTOS

Falling government revenue-Debt Default

Why is the minister of finance surprised at a fall in revenue? Well it?s simple really: When an economy contracts (gets smaller, Mr Minister), then of course tax revenues fall as there is less economic activity across all sectors.

There has been no serious attempt to reduce the size of the public sector, simply transfers of people from one organisation to another. But the government keeps on increasing taxes on a shrinking tax base and contracting economy.

So the spiral goes on down.

How can it help a country that is already in debt to take on more loans? How will they be paid back? How will growth return in 2013? In fact, as the Greek economy has contracted by approx 7%, any growth will be in fact and in reality just catching up to the position before the crisis, and it will take at least 10 years to recover.

That is why a recent survey of top economic advisors forecast a Greek default.

So was the summit in Brussels ?very positive?? Possibly for the bankers but not for the Greeks.

ALEXANDROS DEARGES-CHANTLER

Keratea landfill

I wonder why Keratea was selected in the first place instead of finding a landfill space outside of Attica in uninhabited regions. it would cost a bit more to transport the waste there but the southeast area of Attica will not be destroyed. It seems to me this is another case where the Greek state has taken a decision based on someone’s narrow interests and not based on the wellbeing of the people. A new solution should be found immediately!

GEORGE B. GEORGELLIS

Paying for National Archaeological Museum improvements

It is wrong to expect that improvements to the museum should be partly paid for by «foreign institutions.» By all means, Greek sponsors can help pay for it, but it is time for Greece to start learning how to stand on her own two feet. Since she was on her knees in 1923, after Venizelos’s tragic and foolish attempt to regain Asia Minor, Greece has been the recipient of endless sympathy, loans, and donations. It is time for Greece to forget about glamorising its museums and so forth, to forget about the superficialities. Greece needs to concentrate entirely upon generating income, being productive, setting up industries, putting people to work in factories, ridding the country of its black money and corruption, and thus eventually being able to pay for all and any luxuries, such as improvements to the National Archaeological Museum.

EDDY BENTLEY

It is truly a shame that someone of a degree of intelligence like Alexis Papachelas, though initially admitting not knowing what is actually going on in Keratea, proceeds to comment, in so doing degrading the Keratea locals who are fighting tooth and nail to preserve a picturesque, green, archeologically significant area situated only a short distance from the oldest known ancient theatre in Greece, namely Thoriko, from total destruction by a money-hungry and corrupt government.

Please, before publicising such comments I would strongly advise checking the true facts.

When this corrupt, money-grabbing government insists on making illegality (for the landfill is illegal according to EU law) possible, even legal — amazing what can be accomplished in the higher echelons of power — who is left to prevent such an abomination from happening but the local taxpaying residents who are in this case the ones being treated with a total lack of respect or consideration.

Preservation not destruction should be the motto of this country famous for its ancient heritage but unfortunately in this case money talks louder than antiquity.

KERATEA RESIDENT

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