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Tone it down guys, both of you. Please, no personal insults.

PatrickT?

Hey, is the last photo from Monastiraki? Is this that frozen yoghurt place? Right down the street from there there's an amazing gelato place too. This place was easily comparable to the gelato I had in Rome. Amazing flavour.

This is what a week in Greece does to people

Education institutions may not be doing a stellar job, but there are many smart kids in Greece who are excelling based on their hard work and abilities. I knew many of them growing up, and I'm sure that there are still plenty of smart kids in Greece right now who would be able to grab any good opportunities which would come their way. The only problem I'm seeing is that during the last 20 years or so most educated Greeks have become quite lazy. The minute someone gets an education they think that they don't need to try hard anymore. They think that they'll have everything handed to them just because they now hold a useless piece of paper saying that they're educated. They almost feel that they're entitled to a lifetime of laziness since they now have a degree. Moreover, since most young people in Greece can now get a higher education one way or another (private universities, studying abroad etc.) the number of people with degrees has skyrocketed. I've talked to some of these people in the past and their standards seem to be set quite high as compared to what the bring to the table. They all want what they call an "office job", a pretty high starting salary accompanied by full benefits, pension etc. Worse yet, parents encourage and reinforce this behaviour saying things like "my child spent 4 years in university and got this degree, they're not going to work for peanuts. I'd rather if they stay home and I provide for them." So of course since no company is going to offer those "educated" morons the high salaries they're expecting they just do nothing and hang out at home, and continue mooch off their parents. It's a sick situation, unfortunately encouraged by parents/grandparents.

I would gladly work from some beach in Kos Anyone interested to partner up? Problem is that starting a business in Greece and jumping through all the hoops and red tape makes ideas like this a dream.

http://www.hellenism.net/greek-forum/index.php/topic/955-dolmades-vinegrape-leaves-stuffed-with-rice/

Little bites of heaven! A great vegetarian appetizer made from tender vine leaves wrapped into little rolls and stuffed with rice and fresh herbs. This is an authentic Greek dolmades recipe for you to recreate this delicious traditional delight from scratch. These extra juicy stuffed dolmades, often served as part of a meze platter, are the ultimate bite-sized appetizer and my personal favorite! Dolmades (stuffed vine/ grape leaves) often come canned, but nothing compares to homemade dolmades, which are far superior in quality and taste and really easy to make with this detailed step by step recipe. Check out the prep photos below as well! Dolmades recipe variations Dolmades refers to Greek dishes made with either cabbage or vine/ grape leaves, stuffed with a delicious herb-y rice mix, shaped into little rolls and boiled until wonderfully tender. Some dolmades recipe variations besides rice, herbs and seasonings also include minced meat (beef and/or pork). The most popular meat dolmades variation are the Lahanodolmades (Greek cabbage rolls), which are best suited as a main course. Meat dolmades are served warm and usually garnished with egg lemon sauce (Avgolemono), while meatless vegetarian dolmades are served cold or at room temperature with a last minute squeeze of lemon juice and some thick creamy yogurt. And did I mention that they are the perfect recipe for lent! These Greek dolmades recipe may take little bit of time to prepare (mainly to roll) but they are absolutely worth every minute of preparation! Ingredients 60 vine leaves, drained and rinsed 250g rice (1 cup) 1 cup olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 2 cups warm water juice of 2 lemons 2 tbsps dill, chopped 1/2 a cup parsley, chopped salt and pepper Instructions To make this traditional Greek dolmades recipe (stuffed vine/ grape leaves), start by preparing the vine leaves. For this dolmades recipe, you can either use vine leaves sold in jars or fresh (if you are lucky enough to find them). If you use the ones in jar, rinse the vine leaves, remove the stems and leave them in a colander to drain. If using fresh vine leaves, wash them thoroughly, remove the stems and blanch them in boiling hot water. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander to cool down completely. Prepare the filling for the stuffed vine/ grape leaves (dolmades). Place the rice in a colander and rinse with running water. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, add 1/3 of the olive oil and the chopped onions. Sauté the onions, until translucent (but not coloured). Add the rice and sauté for 1 more minute. Pour in 2 cups of warm water and half lemon juice and simmer for about 7 minutes, until the rice absorbs all the water and is parboiled. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the herbs, remove from the stove and set aside to cool down for a while. This will be the filling for the dolmades. Layer the bottom of a large pot with some vine leaves (use the ones that are little bit torn) and start rolling the dolmades. (This is probably the most difficult part of the traditional dolmades recipe). Place one vine leaf (shiny side down) on a flat surface and add 1 tsp of the filling at the bottom end (stem). Be careful not to overfill the dolmades, as the rice will expand during cooking. Fold the lower section of the leaf over the filling towards the center; bring the two sides in towards the center and roll them up tightly. Place the stuffed vine leaves (fold side down) on the bottom of the pot and top in snugly layers. Be careful not to leave any gaps between the dolmades to prevent them from cracking open when cooking. Drizzle the stuffed vine leaves (dolmades) with the rest of the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place an inverted plate on top to hold them down when cooking and pour in enough water just to cover them. Place the lid on and simmer the dolmades for about 30-40 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the dolmades remain only with the oil. Remove the pot from the heat, remove the lid and plate and let the dolmades cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve this delicious Greek appetizer cold or at room temperature with a squeeze of a lemon. Give this traditional dolmades recipe a try and enjoy your own fresh homemade stuffed grape leaves (dolmades)!

I think we had discussed this in the old forum The Russians would still own any pieces that will crash on earth and they'd have to pay for the damages if it happens to land on your house http://www.livescience.com/33519-falling-satellite-damage-liability.html

Looks like you're into the social media and video. How would you like getting involved with Hellenism.Net? Maybe you can help us out with the social media, possibly do some video interviews with some Greek people in the US etc.

Well done!

Also, this whole area (Thrace) was heavily colonized by Miletians, Athenians and other Greeks since the 8th and 9th centuries BC. If I'm not mistaken that's way way before any Slav set foot in that land The Slavic people were obviously not the original inhabitants of these lands as they came there way later. In any case, I don't understand what the point of this conversation is and where you're going with this?

Yes, most Canadians understand that the Ancient Macedonians were Greeks (Greeks culturally) so it seems weird to them seeing people calling themselves Macedonians and speaking Slavic. They're expecting to hear them speaking Greek. I have no problem with anyone calling themselves whatever they want. In fact, I praise and accept into my culture people who are not born and raised in the Greek culture yet they choose to call themselves Greek. The case of the Slavic people you mention above is a bit different. They're trying to fake history and claim that they have some cultural connection to the ancient Macedonians. They don't. The ancient Macedonians were not Slavs.

Greek speaking people lived in the region of Macedonia since ancient times. The Greek speaking people of today's Greek state are the ones who are a rightful claim to the name Macedonia. The name Macedonia is not Slavic anyway, so I don't see why Slavic people would want to use a name which doesn't reflect their current and past heritage. I have no idea who are those Arvanite you're talking about in Macedonia. There were (and still are) pockets of Arvanite in Peloponnese and Attiki, but not in Macedonia.

The ones who you call "Macedonian" are Slavic people who came to the area in much later times. They have nothing to do with the ancient Macedonians. It's like me moving to Canada and calling myself a Blackfoot Indian because I now live in the lands the Blackfoots used to live.

Those people who "created" the new Greece, the new Greek state (and they mostly started theorize about it in between the 17th to 19th centuries) saw all nationalities within their ideal Greek state as equals, equal members of the Greek state they'd like to create in the Balkans (Greeks - who were mostly those who were Christian Orthodox - Albanians/Arvanite, Vlachs, Pontians, Bulgarians etc.). Even though the Greeks of the time (17th - 19th century) had already started identifying themselves as the continuation of the ancient Greeks (and they had started giving their children ancient Greek names such as Odysseus, Alexander etc.) it was mostly foreigners like Lord Byron who added in the revolutionary mix the ancient Greece angle. If you read the original texts of the first revolutionaries like Rigas Ferraios it will be made clear that they didn't see the new Greek state as a specifically "Greek" country/land, in the sense we see it today. They're mostly talking about a multicultural society where everyone is equal and all nationalities and religions leave harmoniously together. I found one of Rigas' texts which is a very interesting read and telling of how those people viewed the people of the Balkans at the time ( unfortunately it's only in Greek): http://www.imerodromos.gr/dikaia/ In one of the "articles" it says: "The Bulgarian should care for the Greek, and vice versa, and both should care for the Albanian or the Vlach". This is a very different world view and approach as compared to today's nationalistic fervour.

ajax, αντε πες σ'αυτη τη γιαγια οτι δεν ειναι Ελληνιδα http://www.pontos-news.gr/article/118286/89-eton-pontia-giagia-krata-psila-tin-patrida-ston-kaykaso

Fixed

As the "unofficial" leader of the European Union Germany's government should be looking after all countries who are part of the EU. A weak EU (and a weak Euro) is not to the benefit of anyone within the EU. It's certainly not the benefit of Germany or Greece. Greece is at fault for many things. This is a given. However, the financial system in place is flawed too and needs to be fixed. Greece has been receiving financial help from EU to pay its creditors. Not to better the life of its citizens. This is the fundamental issue. Of course Greece needs to fix many things too. The country's output is ridiculous, there's decent production in only a few areas. Tourism, the country's main source of income needs to be revived, incentives need to be given to several industries to flourish, the technology sector needs a boost, bureaucracy needs to be minimized etc. There's a lot of work to be done and many areas need close attention. Unfortunately, by pushing the Greek people to the limits you forced them to start looking to the extremes for solutions (extreme left and extreme right). Many people became ultra-nationalists for all the wrong reasons. I think that a return to the drachma and a possible exit of Greece from the EU will be disastrous for everyone involved. Mostly for Greece of course, but it will certainly hurt the EU as well as it will create a lot of doubt on EUs direction and future. I hope that a solution will be found soon.

It's an issue now because they lost the game

He got his warning too yesterday, see earlier message.

Please keep the personal insults in check. Last warning.

Who are the "cultured people in Europe"? The descendants of Attila the Hun? Or possibly the descendants of the Vikings? Or maybe you consider pretty cultured what the "cultured people in Europe" did to the Jews, gypsies etc. and of course to your fellow Greeks in WWII. Very cultured indeed. You don't even need to go further back in time but if you insist you can take a look at all the achievements and all that culture which came from the "cultured people in Europe". From the eradication of the indigenous people of the Americas, to the enslavement of the people of Africa and Asia and the rest of the goods and enlightenment the cultured people of Europe brought to this world.

Yes, you do. As far as the blue eyes go: http://nell-rose.hubpages.com/hub/Do-Blue-Eyes-Originate-From-The-Black-Sea Would you ever think that this woman is Turkish?

I'm trying through satire and joking to get the message through as it doesn't seem to resonate when we're talking seriously. The point is that modern humans are around for nearly 200,000 years give or take. During this time they've moved around, mated with each other, mixed their genes etc. Today we identify ourselves with a specific "race" or "culture" or "nation" not because our gene pool is 100% Greek or German or whatever, but because we associate ourselves with this group of people who mainly share a common culture, experiences and language. Like ajax I too have distanced myself from Greek communities, Greek churches etc. here in Canada. I don't participate in any of their events, my kids don't go to the Greek school, and I don't really hang out with many Greeks in the cities I've lived over the years. I have many good and close friends who are not Greeks and I love spending time with them, however, sometimes when I do happen to meet a Greek or go out with a Greek for a coffee or dinner or whatever, something clicks. There's a different connection, and this connection has to do with our shared heritage. Sure, there are many many Greeks in Greece and outside Greece who are jerks. But there's more of them who are great warm and friendly human beings who really appreciate and enjoy seeing and talking to a compatriot. I've shared some stories of my experiences with Greeks around North America- and the world for that matter - in this forum in the past (and unfortunately these stories have now been lost...), but the point is that wherever I've met a Greek, in the most remote places, I've been treated like gold. This is something that always makes me proud of my heritage. My wife, after all the years we're together, is still amazed at the way all Greeks treat me, anywhere in the world we go, when I tell them I'm Greek. 19 years later it's still mind boggling to her. We've been in the company of Indians, Mexicans, Italians, Romanians, Brits, Canadians, Americans...you name it...and every single time the minute a Greek anywhere in the world realizes that I'm Greek they'll go out of the way to treat the whole group like family. No other culture does this as regularly as Greeks do. This is our shared culture. Has nothing to do with our genes or whether we have Turkish or Italian or Albanian blood in our bloodline. It's our share psyche as a people.