Yet another article from the Guardian's site this time it is on the "Rich Greeks" I keep referring to.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/greek-election-blog-2012/2012/jun/13/greeces-super-rich-low-profiles

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Greece's super-rich maintain lavish lifestyles and low profiles

Scudding across the turquoise waters of the Argo-Saronic gulf, Ioannis Arnaoutis singled out the pearl-white sands of a little bay. The shore glistened in the midday sun. "It was especially imported from Asia by the owner of the mansion above the bay," said the boatman, one hand on the steering wheel of his water taxi, the other pointing in the direction of the cove. "It's a private beach, which is why there is only one umbrella on it."

Nearly three years into their country's worst crisis in modern times, life goes on as normal for Greece's super-rich. As the sun sets, oligarchs, shipowners, singers and media stars gather at the Poseidonion hotel on the island of Spetses opposite the little bay. They tuck into a menu that includes pasticcio laced with foie gras. Among them is a middle-aged man in a T-shirt proclaiming: "More is less".

Three days before Greeks cast their ballots in a make-or-break election, their country could not be more divided. Here there is no talk of the pain of crisis – the only topic of conversation elsewhere in Greek society. The destitution and despair of Athens is a world away – and for many quite clearly it is best kept that way.

"Greeks brought this crisis upon themselves," said a London-based shipowner upholding the sector's vow of silence by insisting on anonymity. "They allowed crooks and corruption to prosper."

Almost 100 years after it was built by a tobacco tycoon, the elegant Poseidonion remains the favourite playground for Athenian high society. The former King Constantine, who was schooled on the island, is a frequent visitor. Tonight, as the crowd sits on its terrace sipping cocktails, staff with long-handled brooms clean the bows of their mega-yachts moored in front of the hotel. A tiny pony takes their children – all guarded by nannies – around the plaza. While locals fret that Spetses, already known as the "new Monaco", is at risk of becoming a "club for the rich" there are also obvious payoffs.

Christina Ioannidis, who runs a high-end clothes shop on the island, says one of them is that the crisis has not affected her at all. "If truth be told, business couldn't be better," she says, knocking on wood. "I've had to employ an assistant all year round because there's such demand, even in winter."

Pumping money into the economy of Spetses – or the islands from which they hail – is a far cry from the world of philanthropy with which Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos and other fabled shipowners were associated. Known as the Golden Greeks, both men left large bequests in the form of charitable foundations. The Niarchos foundation recently gave €100m (£81m) to help civic society fight the crisis's many ills, with the aid including food vouchers for the children of the new poor and support for organizations dealing with the homeless.

But since the outbreak of Greece's runaway debt crisis, its moneyed class has been notable more by its absence than presence. Oligarchs, who made vast fortunes cornering the oil, gas, construction and banking industries, as well as the media, have been eerily silent – often going out of their way to be as low a profile as possible.

Greek shipowners, who have gained from their profits being tax-free and who control at least 15% of the world's merchant freight, have also remained low-key. With their wealth offshore and highly secretive, the estimated 900 families who run the sector have the largest fleet in the world. As Athens' biggest foreign currency earner after tourism, the industry remitted more than $175bn (£112bn) to the country in untaxed earnings over the past decade. Greece's debt currently stands at €280bn.

As ordinary Greeks have been thrown into ever greater poverty by wage and pension cuts and a seemingly endless array of new and higher taxes, their wealthy compatriots have been busy either whisking their money out of Greece or snapping up prime real estate abroad.

An estimated €8bn flowed out of the Greek banking system in May as speculation over the country's possible exit from the eurozone mounted. Another €4bn was reported to have been withdrawn in the last two weeks – on top of an estimated €20bn since the start of the crisis  in late 2009. Stories of rich Greeks sending their wives and best friends on "shopping missions" to remove secret hoards kept in banks in Switzerland and Cyprus are legion.

"At a time when Greece, more than ever, needs symbolic gestures from its rich citizens, they seem to be doing practically nothing to help their country," said Theodore Pelagidis, professor of economic analysis at Piraeus University.

"We need to see cool-headed entrepreneurs not only complain about bureaucracy and corruption but do something for Greece."

In an atmosphere that has become increasingly aggravated between the haves and have-nots, displays of wealth are clearly being downplayed, especially in Athens, where the majority of the 11 million-strong Greek population lives and which has been worst hit by the belt-tightening.

Over the past year, Pelagidis said a growing number of very wealthy Greeks had even taken to inviting academics, like himself, to their mansions, in the capital's leafy northern suburbs, to be apprised of the situation. Lectures in particular demand were political, economic and historical in nature.

"They are so cut off they know nothing," he said. "I'm not sure whether it's a case of the spoiled and uneducated rich trying to overcome their remorse, or a case of them simply wanting to fight their boredom but after going once I decided never to go again. I came away thinking it was like a form of psychotherapy for them."

What is sure, however, is that the super-rich appear to have come up with contingency plans to disperse their wealth as the crisis deepens. In recent months, acting on a trend that began soon after Greece's debt woes erupted, a growing number have been snapping up property in London. Increasingly, many have made their way to the door of 88 (London) Ltd, a high-end property brokerage run by Panos Koutsogiannakis. Suddenly the Greek Australian has found himself investing in properties worth £5m and more.

"We're talking about blue-chip areas such as Mayfair," said Koutsogiannakis, who frequently flies to Athens to meet clients. "Shippers, bankers, entrepreneurs all want to buy properties with many now looking at fantastic office blocks in central London. The demand is just huge."

Greece's wealthy have long cited their country's crushing bureaucracy as preventing them from investing in their homeland.

But it has not been lost on ordinary Greeks that those who benefited most from the crooked system that has brought Greece to its knees – starting with the construction firms that had contracts with the state – are now leading the exodus as the ship sinks.

I keep going on and on about the Lagarde list - here is an article from the respected British newspaper "The Guardian" about this matter.  The bold emphasis is mine.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/16/greek-editor-kostas-vaxevanis-retrial

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Greek editor Kostas Vaxevanis faces retrial over 'Lagarde list' revelation

A Greek journalist who published the names of more than 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts faces a retrial, barely two weeks after he was acquitted of breaking data privacy laws.

Kostas Vaxevanis was arrested, tried and found not guilty within days of the list's publication. But court officials said on Friday the verdict "lacked credibility". Vaxevanis told the Guardian he was "dumbfounded" at the news, and attributed the move to concerted efforts on the part of the judiciary to silence the press.

"It's absolutely unprecedented. The court has yet to even write up its decision finding me innocent and the prosecutor's office is already ordering a retrial," he said. "They not only acted illegally, resorting to violence when I was arrested last month, they not only ridiculed Greece internationally trying to censor the press, when I am found innocent they want to overturn the judgment, doing whatever they can to get the result that they want."

Vaxevanis, whose case has aroused international uproar over media censorship in the crisis-hit country, said he wanted the new trial to take place as soon as possible. Announcing that the acquittal on 1 November was erroneous, the Athens public prosecutor's office said the journalist should be retried by a higher misdemeanour court on the same charges.

"The prosecutor believes that the decision in favour of the journalist is legally wrong," a court official told Reuters.

Three people named on the list have also requested an appeal on the verdict, the official added. If found guilty, Vaxevanis could be jailed for up to two years or face a fine.

"No trial date has been set, as far as I know, but if I have to be tried again I want the hearing to happen straight away," he said.

"They clearly want to terrorise me, and in doing so shut up the press so, and I don't want to be their hostage. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

Greeks were outraged by the initial decision to prosecute the reporter who published the so-called "Lagarde List" in his bi-monthly magazine Hoc Doc. In a nation hit by relentless rounds of austerity, many had publicly praised the editor for revealing the names of the 2,059 Greeks who had opened accounts at the Geneva branch of HSBC amid widespread speculation that the account holders were also suspected tax evaders. Although successive governments had been in possession of the list – first given to Greek authorities by the IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, who was then French finance minister – it had never been acted on with one former finance minister, George Papaconstantinou, going so far as to had "lost" the catalogue of names.

"Instead of chasing tax evaders they are chasing me," said Vaxevanis, who had described his original trial as "targeted and vengeful". The journalist, who has become an unwitting international media star, has vowed to continue unveiling the truth in a country he insists is governed by a "corrupt clique".

"There's a huge problem in Greece, a problem of democracy and essence," he told the Guardian recently. "The country is governed by a poisonous combination of politicians, businessmen and journalists who cover one another's backs. Every day laws are changed, or new laws are voted in, to legitimise illegal deeds. Had it not been for the foreign media taking such an interest in my own story, it would have been buried."

Greece has so far failed to convict any big names of tax evasion, fueling popular disenchantment with a political class that has promised but failed to force the wealthy to share some of the pain of the debt crisis that erupted in Athens three years ago.

Yes it is.  Of myself and my three students/training partners, three of us (including myself) are making do without heat.  So far its not been really cold, but it certainly makes one feel that things are indeed hitting "close to home"

I do not know what the best way would be to focus on growth.  But I do feel that the well-off are not only more insulated, but are not being made to pay their fair share.  By well-off I do not mean people who are doctors or layers, I mean people whose families are connected to some member of parliament, or to some rich business or media personality.

Also, I do not mean that the rich should be taxed so as to kill incentive for business growth.  But there continue to be tax evaders who are not pursued.  As I noted before, the Lagarde list was handed to Greek authorities over a year ago, and some minister I believe resigned exactly because it was being hushed up.  Then there is the famous singer Tolis Voskopoulos who owes 5 million euro in back taxes and has not payed - in part because his beautiful wife is an MP. 

Now getting the rich tax evaders to pay is not going to solve all of Greece's problems - but the austerity is disproportionately hitting those less able to pay.  How is the economy ever going to get off the ground when many people can barely afford to heat their homes?  There have also been record numbers who have had their electricity cut off because  they can no longer afford to pay.  The electricity bills keep going up.  WHY ?  people are hurting, so why does the power company (owned by the state), which has done everything to stifle competition from private firms, keep raising its rates? 

Then there are the billions (yes BILLIONS, not millions but BILLIONS) of euros stashed away by rich Greeks in foreign accounts.  As far as I know, if the political will was there, it is possible to go after them to pay taxes, but unfortunately, it is lacking.

It sounds like I keep going on about the rich are to blame, but the economy will never recover by getting those least able to afford it, to dig deeper into their empty pockets.  It simply can not work that way.

Before answering, it might be interesting to note that a few hours ago, I learned that in Athens, sales of heating fuel and natural gas to heat people's homes has fallen 80% (yes eighty) since last year.

As far as what should be done, my suggestions are as follows:

• ensure that all money loaned to Greece is accounted for - have VERY strict controls on it, no matter how many howls of protest there may be by the Greek government that national sovereignty is being infringed upon
• focus on growth - too much austerity is not helping - there is enough evidence for this already
• give it time - two, even more additional years, if necessary - even if it means additional compromises by Greece's creditors

Greece itself must be encouraged (to the point of making it a condition for the bailout) to go after those rich Greeks who are not paying their taxes.This is a real problem - not just for the money, but because it undermines accountability and thus perpetuates the whole culture of corruption.  The individuals whose names are on the Lagarde list should have been investigated, long ago.  The Greek journalist who made it public is being hounded.  What a sick SICK charade.  I wish the foreign media would be more active in exposing, and shaming the corrupt Greek elite, since the Greek media itself (with the exception of two struggling TV channels) is basically owned and operated by these crooks..
End of rant...

As most of you know (and especially with a name like mine) I have been living in Greece since 1993.

I don't much listen to the news or read the local papers here, but I do get interesting information from the people around me who do.

The bad news we get here on the local media, has been fairly constant since about 2009.  One really does not know what to believe anymore.

Here are some "snapshots" - bits of information and some personal thoughts..

In my opinion, a sizable portion of Greeks believe that..

• the business moguls who own the private television stations and newspapers in Greece are bribed by politicians to be "careful" about what news they make public, and how often
• their own corrupt  business and political elite has had much to do with the resulting mess
• the harsh economic medicine will not help - only make things worse

Other bits and pieces...

• In many (yes many, not just a few) apartment blocks in Athens, there is no heat - people can no longer afford to pay the cost of natural gas or heating oil
• Most young people live with their parents (for economic reasons).
• I used to encourage people to visit Greece - I haven't done that in years

To me and many others who live here, Greece is well on its way to becoming more like a poor former-East-bloc country, than a "western democracy" - and the austerity is helping that along.

I'd be glad to help post the charts on this board.  Just send me an e-mail with more info, or with the charts themselves.  You can find out my e-mail by clicking on my name, as it appears here.

Thank-you, bigdog! 

Some years ago, I started corresponding with the author of a martial arts blog at http://dojorat.blogspot.com/

After my 1st Gathering in 2009, I was encouraged to write a brief article on what it was like for a 1st-timer to fight at a Dog Brothers Gathering.  I did so, and after it was checked by Crafty Dog, it got posted.

Three years later (meaning Sept. 2012, i.e. this month) I was asked to do an update.

This can now be found here

I tried as best I could to write something which would be interesting, and also relate my own experiences, without having them become the focus.

Hope you all enjoy it.

Thanks all 

Dogzilla has already responded in the affirmative, so in the days and weeks ahead, we will be working together on this.  I am excited - indeed the Hawaiian clan has been around for many years, but to some of us (especially those of us in Europe), they are not very-well known.

Oscar has responded, but prefers to remain "under the radar".  e-mail sent to Dogzilla, and I will send one to Nicolas regarding the group in Argentina, soon.

Just sent an e-mail to Dogzilla, about doing an article on the Hawaiian clan.

I am not familiar with Ildefonso and his group - I think most of us are not - good candidates for an article.
.

Thanks for the additional info, Guro Crafty.  

I expect it will be September, before I post some new articles (have not forgotten about the Hawaiian clan as well).

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog...

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog

The following videos are of Oscar "Spider Dog" Bernal and friends.

Notice Oscar fighting without any hand protection whatsoever!

For this particular group's activities (in Spanish), see http://sociedaddelosguerreros.com/

Some photos, posted on behalf of Crafty Dog.

These are from an e-mail Crafty received some time ago, via a German practitioner, and demonstrate the injury received from an "aluminum knife" (I assume this means an aluminum trainer).

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog...

Congratulations to both of you, I notice there no longer appears a C- before your names 

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog...

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog...

Its interesting to see how there are a good number of relatively-unknown groups out there, doing such great work!

In the months ahead, I'll bug him about helping me do a feature on the Hawaiian clan (as was done for the three European Groups).

Nice to hear from the Hawaiian clan, and I wish them good luck with the event !!!

Dog Sigi is a strong fighter...I think he will do well.


 

Link above has been changed..details follow:

Group	URL	Comments
Slovenia	http://www.dogbrothers.gr/en/articles001.html	Completed
Bulgaria	http://www.dogbrothers.gr/en/articles002.html	Completed
Sardinia	http://www.dogbrothers.gr/en/articles003.html	Completed

I'd like to do groups in the US as well, so in the months ahead I'll be looking to discuss this further with those of you who may be interested...

Firstly, thanks to Guro Crafty for the encouragement..

The link above is the first installment of a feature I have been working on, and which I announced a few weeks back.

The idea came about when I attended Gatherings of the Pack and met a number of European Groups which are relatively unknown in the U.S.  I was impressed with the dedication and with the exuberance they showed.  Furthermore, it seemed to be a pity that American and European Groups don't always know about one another.

And so I decided to write about some of these lesser-known groups - beginning with DBMA Slovenia.

Eventually, I would like to also feature groups in the U.S. and elsewhere.  I would also from time to time feature individuals who are part of the tribe, and either are not-well known, or exceptionally energetic.  Hopefully also a feature on the female fighters, sometime down the road.

I have incorporated the "Google Translate" bar which displays on top only if your browser is NOT an English one.  This way, people in say Slovenia can translate the article with a single click.  For training groups without a web site of their own, this gives them a bit of publicity, something which may help to attract new members.

In any case, I hope you all enjoy it - thanks to Group Leader Andrew Bole for his help.


Kostas (C-Spartan Dog) Tountas
DBMA Training Group, Athens Greece

Glad you liked it - this is the site I put up a few weeks back, hoping to attract the occasional new person to our training group.

I plan to add new articles every six weeks or so, on some of the lesser-known European Dog Brothers training groups.  The first such article should be out within the next few days (for a preview, see below).  This will eventually be expanded to cover non-European (mostly US) groups.  If you still have a training group, I'd be interested in doing an article on that.

About the photos - those of the 2011 Euro Gathering I got from other European tribe members, who, I believe got them from Guro Lonely.  Photos from pre-2011 Euro Gatherings, are made available to European tribe member through Guro Lonely.

The fellow with the purple sarong (there was a baseball in that) is Heiko "Crossover Dog" Zauske from Germany.  He fought at a US Gathering when several Germans visited, a year or two ago, so you may have met him.

Though I am not much interested in guns, I thought the following might be an interesting starting point for a discussion...

The above link is not correct...see below for what PC intended to share...

I will pass this idea on - thank-you for suggesting it 

On behalf of Crafty Dog...

Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog 

Thank-you.  Yes, I was struck by some of the lesser known tribe members I came across - how they fought so well, with few training partners to help them prepare  There are also such people and groups in North America (the NoHo and Hawaiian clans come to mind) - known to those who attend the US Gatherings, but barely "visible" to those of us abroad. There is also a group down in Argentina, who has been training faithfully for quite some time now.

There are other "stories" here as well - the German groups (of which there are several) have for some time now, gotten together every few months to train and test one another.  In the UK, such a "multi-clan fight day" has been happening too (Point Dog has been involved in this).

So there have been various events/stories that may require a bit of chasing down, but I think its worth looking into  

Hi All.

This is mostly for those of you who are DBMA Group Leaders.  I've posted a similar message on the member's Forum, but its important that it be on the Public Forum as well, so all can view it.

Before I say anything else, let me state that I've checked with Guro Crafty and Guro Lonely regarding the idea I am about to present here, and they agree its worth trying out.

As some of you know, the site I have developed (dogbrothers.gr) is now at a satisfactory stage. Its primary purpose is to provide info on the Dog Brothers and DBMA to Greek-speakers, but its also in English.

Now then...whenever I attend a Gathering in Switzerland, I am amazed at the number of small DBMA training groups, who are relatively unknown in the 'States, but work hard and  IMHO are worth getting to know.

So what I propose, is every few weeks, on the dogbrothers.gr site, I add an article with photos on

• a DBMA training group

  or

• a tribe member who may be training with a few friends/students

I propose starting with three such write-ups (at once), and then an additional one every three to six weeks.

I would also like to feature groups in the US, and elsewhere (to introduce the to European audiences), but at the beginning, there will be a focus on those about whom there is relatively little information.

The idea is to

• help the various US and European groups get to know one another a bit better
• give relatively unknown groups exposure in their own country

The last point, is done in the following way:  I developed the dogbrothers.gr site so someone with a non-English browser, will see the Google translate bar at the top - allowing them to translate the English into their own language with one click.  In this way, an article on a group in France or Slovenia, can be understood by people there.

I hope it will prove to be interesting and beneficial to all.

 

Please note the new information (as of December 2011) :

Kostas Tountas
DBMA Group Leader
Athens, Greece

e-mail       : kosta@dogbrothers.gr
Web Site   : http://www.dogbrothers.gr/

The above link points to the following...posted on behalf of Crafty Dog

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Posted on behalf of Crafty Dog...

Thanks for sharing that, and taking the time to write in detail...I look forward to more 

On behalf of Crafty Dog...please use the scroll bar at bottom to see the right-side column (it has not been cropped)

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At the request of Crafty Dog - photos  by Frisbee Dog

Point Dog...many thanks for some interesting background info on the martial traditions of Scotland 

Just in case some do not already know, the person with the 3-section staff is none other than C-Gong-Fu Dog, who I may add, has on several occasions, finished his opponents with arm-bars and leg locks - thus covering not only the long range with his 3-section staff skills, but also the short range with BJJ/grappling.

 


What is happening in Greece is, as you know, different than the UK riots.   There are serious underlying social problems here, as compared to the UK and US.  These in turn have greatly contributed to the economic mess.  Things now are quiet only because most people here are on holiday (I wonder how it is that they still can afford it).  This fall there may be further disturbances.  

Yes, the focus here was "political", but I think it might more accurately be described as economic.   There are specific segments of society here who are at the forefront of the "disturbances" - trade union activists, unemployed young "anarchists", etc...These people tend to be the ones who actually try and goad the police into fighting.  The majority of people are upset, may protest, make noise, but the ones actually throwing the moltov cocktails and confronting the riot police are not a sizable proportion of those actually demonstrating.

I am reluctant to say much on the Greek situation, because there are several segments of Greek society who are partly responsible for the mess, each in different ways.  But to get back to the topic of this thread, Greece may not be in full-fledged social breakdown, especially now that it got another loan, but the repercussions are going to be felt for years, and I think that there is great potential here for further rioting, though different in character than that in the UK.

I can only hope that in the long term, at least some lessons will be learned.  Over and out Point-Dog