SolFocus, a company that develops concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology which combines high-efficiency solar cells (panels) and advanced optics is partnering with the Greek company Samaras Group to build a solar power plant that will be able to provide energy for about 2,500 people while reducing CO2 commissions by as much as 2,800 tons.
SolFocus, which was founded in 2006 and already has a large number of customers in Spain, uses a series of mirrors which concentrates sunlight 500 times is able to use about 25% of the sun's energy and transform it into electricity.
Slated to be ready as fast as the first quarter of 2009 (hmm we will see about that), this will be the largest commercial solar plant to be built in Greece.
WSJ
posted on Thursday, December 18
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the passing last week of Cyprus' former President, Tassos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos served as president from 2003 until March of this year. He will be most likely remembered as leading Greek Cypriots in soundly rejecting a U.N.-drafted plan to reunify the island in a 2004 referendum.
If you recall, the plan (spearheaded by Kofi Annan) had serious flaws for Greek Cypriots when it came to property rights, territorial adjustments and the demilitarization of Cyprus. By most accounts, a well respected leader.
bio
Good news is hard to find these days...
Retailer blues... Riots said to cost retailers about 1.2 billion euros ($1.62 billion) in lost sales. ...via reuters
Quote of the day: "The people who were doing the best business of all were the illegal street vendours who for once in their lives were looking relaxed as they lined Ermou from top to bottom with blankets displaying their wares." Additional on the ground commentary via BOLLYBUTTON
Someone call security: Greek protesters storm television station
posted on Wednesday, December 17
posted on Tuesday, December 16
Some of the news coming from our diaspora the past week:
Toronto, Canada:
Hundreds mourned the death of Greek Canadian soldier Pte. Demetrios Diplaros who was killed in Afghanistan last week in Toronto, Canada.
London, United Kingdom:
The London Daily News discusses how the London Greek community has responded (or had a lack of response) to the recent rioting in Greece.
Adelaide, Australia:
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Modern Greek studies program at St. George Greek-Orthodox College, a group of high school students performed "The Scarecrow's Dream" by Evgenios Trivizas. The talented young group of Greek Australians has also performed in Crete. Congratulations on 25 years!
Chimara, Albania:
There are tensions in some of the Greek minority villages in southern Albania after a quote by an official in the Berisha government was quoted as saying, "we will drive you [i.e. the ethnic Greeks] to the sea." This comes after some land ownership in villages is coming into question.
Bucharest, Romania:
School children will take part in the "Feast of the Christmas Tree" hosted by the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Bucharest tomorrow. (Tuesday December 16). Students from nearby schools will sing Greek and Romanian Christmas carols. the event will be held at the National Museum of Art of Romania and it is organized as part of the exhibition of Byzantine and post-Byzantine icons.
Istanbul, Turkey
Turkish Foreign Ministry Report: 3,000 to 4,000 Greeks are estimated to live in Turkey, the majority living in İstanbul. They have 15 elementary schools and six high schools, all of which are located in İstanbul. The Greeks have 108 churches, and 90 of them are open to worship. The report also noted that in addition to the current population in Turkey, 60,000 Greeks who are Turkish citizens live in Greece.
posted on Monday, December 15
What's wrong with this puicture?
Since the riots started last Sunday, 435 businesses in the commercial centre of Athens have been affected. The turmoil has claimed the total destruction of 37 store fronts and has encumbered an estimated 2,500 workers. Most of the damage was geared to small to medium-sized shops (374), but also 16 banks, 2 supermarkets, 40 big shops and chains, and 3 theatres.
The price tag for all the vandalism and thefts? Estimates vary, but the initial numbers are €50 million worth of damage in the centre of Athens, to 200 or even in the hundreds of millions of euros for all of Greece.
As we brought you last month [Money lost: Economic reality of protesting], there is real economic damage that comes from strikes and protests. Damage that Greece can ill afford.
Around the web...
Greece, the spark that lit a fire? Spain, Denmark, Italy, France hit with protesting youth. ...via MSNBC
A crisis decades in the making. "The Olympics were a utopia:" Now, it's reality time - ...via IHT
Vandal attacks consulate in New York City... ...via NYT
posted on Friday, December 12
Like most of you, we're stunned by the developments in Greece. We'll continue to post the latest events unfolding in Greece in our personal blog, PopGreek as well as the main page here. Check out the latest post that includes a list of Greek Consulates and Missions around the World that have come under attack since the riots began. Keep checking back for more info, and feel free to add/send us info as you hear it.
In other news news:
Greeks rank number one in love making! According to a recent survey conducted by Durex Condoms, Greeks have the most sex in the world. On average, Greeks hit the sack 164 times a year, topping out all their competitors.
Students in Cyprus recently placed 22nd in Mathematics and 33rd in Science among school pupils from a group of 60 countries in a research study out by TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study).
Aristotle University in Thesssaloniki is partnering with the University of Novi Sad in Serbia to create a Greek Language school in Novi Sad.
Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan is suing Greece for 25,500 British pounds after accusing Athens of not protecting him in the Greek Embassy in Kenya in January of 1999.
Pic of the day...
How we wish things we're different this Christmas season....
posted on Thursday, December 11
A tentative sense of calm has come over Athens after 4 days of unrest. Students/rioters/anarchists/protesters/"agents of change" appear to be taking a breather as the country braces for a general strike today, where all domestic and international flights to and from Greece, will be canceled (Wednesday).
The world is watching.
'Economy can't produce enough jobs' - Guardian, UK
"...There is no racial factor here, which there was in France, but it is reasonable to speculate that, as was the case in Paris, the depressed expectations of young men and women in an economy that cannot produce enough jobs even for the well educated, let alone for the less qualified, played a major part in the build-up to this explosion."
'Deteriorating economy' - New York Times, USA
"...Spreads on credit default swaps — a common yardstick for whether a country’s government is in danger of default — continue to signal potential[economic] trouble for Ireland, Italy and Greece.
The authorities in Greece are battling violent street protests in Athens and its suburbs, caused in part by the deteriorating economy."
‘Government scandals’ - Tribune de Genève, Switzerland
Greek society is in crisis - an economic and a moral one.
‘Tragic, isolated case’ - Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
The defensive police strategy had been effective in as far as no one had been seriously injured up to now.
‘Reaction to economic crisis’ - La Repubblica, Italy
"...This Wednesday could be a decisive day for Greece: the first major gale with which the economic storm has hit the west’
"Rebellion is deeply embedded in the Greek psyche” - BBC, UK
The students “...are undergoing a rite of passage. They may be the iPod generation, but they are the inheritors of a tradition that goes back centuries, when nuns would rather hurl themselves to death from mountain convents than submit to the ravages of Greece’s Turkish Ottoman invaders."
Rational thought starting to prevail? Click to watch the video below via The Age, Australia:
Athens protestors throw roses
After two nights of rioting, students in Athens use flowers as symbols of their desire for change in Greece.
posted on Wednesday, December 10
No one knows what exactly what the day will bring today in Greece. After three days of chaos in the streets of Athens, Thessaloniki and many other cities, Costas Karamanlis, Greece's prime minister, has called an emergency cabinet meeting to see what can be done to curb the escalating violence in central Athens. Rioters have set fire to dozens of buildings -including the city's Christmas tree-- and looted many shops around the parliament square.
Karamanlis is expected to declare a state of emergency. Schools will be closed.
Thousands of Greek youths took part yesterday in a third day of violent protests following the killing of a 15-year-old boy by a police officer in Athens.
First hand accounts sent to us from DF readers:
"It's hell. Embarrassing, angry, I do not know who to be more mad at: the out of control anarchists or the police for not stopping them." - Kosta, Pireaus
"They have burned the center, even in my neighborhood there has been damage." - Stelios, Thessaloniki
"I am in my hotel, and they have barricaded us in here because protestors are trying to break in." - Chris, central Athens
Also, thanks to Dariotsa for the comment.
Business Implications ...via IHT and this piece from Telegraph.co.uk
posted on Tuesday, December 9
Riots broke out in cities across Greece both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend after police shot and killed a 15 year old in the downtown Athens district of Exarchia on Saturday.
According to police, 30 youth were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at a police unit. Police responded with three shots, one apparently hitting the 15 year old, who died on the way to the hospital. Once word got out of the death, hundreds of rioters attacked shops, restaurants, banks and cars in several Athens neighborhoods. Rioting also spread to the cities of Thessaloniki and Chania on Crete after a web posting.
Damage was extensive in several of Athens' commercial districts, just as they were gearing up for the holiday season. First damage estimates from the rioting on Saturday include: (Updated 12/8/2008 5 PM CST. There are estimates of at least 130 shops damaged in Athens alone.)
31 shops damaged
9 banks damaged
25 cars damaged
Several police men were hurt, with two being taken to hospitals. On Sunday, there was more rioting, and reports of a supermarket, car dealerships and one multi-unit building (polikatoikia) on fire.
Some citizens have said this is the worst riot activity they have ever seen in Athens. The government has vowed to take matters and has said that two police men have been arrested in connection with the initial shooting.
DF: Did anyone witness the rioting firsthand?
Updated 12/8/08 10 AM CST: There were demonstrations and some riots in the following cities: Veria, Agrinio, Chania, Iraklio, Patra, Ioannina, Volos, Komotini, and Corfu.
Video of aerial view of rioting ...via SKAI TV
DailyFrappe Pop Greek Riots Discussion
posted on Monday, December 8
Athens will unveil its Christmas spirit this Sunday December 7th with the annual lighting of the city's Christmas tree at Sytagma Square on December 7th at 7:30 PM.
Athens' mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis will kick off the festivities which will be followed by music and fireworks.
There will be many sites with related holiday events occuring in the city. Here is a list of some sites and their events for the next few weeks.
National Gardens: The Forest of Fairytales
The Natinonal Gardens will be transformed into a sugar village until January 6th 2009. There children can engage themselves in several activities and meet Christmas characters. Oh by the way, its free admission. (Note: It does get VERY crowded at the entrances so pack some patience with you.)
City of Athens Technopolis: Xmas / New Year's Pulse
Technopolis will be the site of two parties with spinning DJ's on December 24th and December 31st.
New this year - Kanari Square - Kypseli
This year, for the first time, Kanari Square will be converted into one of the city's key Yuletide destinations with its own carousel, a large Christmas tree and plenty of festive lights. The tree will be lit December 16th at 7:00 PM.
Santa appearance at Sotiris Petroulas Square - Kolonos
Santa will be waiting for children to give him their wishlists at Sotiris Petroulas square starting December 16th.
DF: Athens has in the past few years really gotten festive and quite creative with it's Christmas decorations and events.
Christmas in Athens
posted on Friday, December 5
