It's tough to live in Greece and have knowledge
All right, maybe we have taken shots at Greek Daily Eleftheros Tipos, here and there (it's hard not to).
Sure, they publish nonsense information and are an extended hand of the Greek Government, but today we realized that news to Greece travels very slow.
Perhaps Madame News is stopped at the Greek Border to clean up the area, show it has no intention of spreading un-Greek news that may in any way influence the Greek population. You see, Greeks are a sensitive bunch. They have so much history they have been told they have, that, well they are just sensitive to it.
Eleftheros Tipos became popular with their "New Name News Breaking Coverage" HERE. Earlier today, I read a news article on E-Tipos, and became a bit worried, and yes, I understand Koine.
We have reported on Macedonian University EURM opening up an Affiliate in Britain (buying the Westminster College of London), and working to open an Affiliate at Oxford University. EURM named its Faculties for Art&Design, Economics and IT with: Alexandar the Great, Philip II and St Nicholas. We reported this over 3 weeks ago HERE. Tipos reported this TODAY . It took 3 weeks for Tipos to get a green light to publish this? We could have given you the green light much sooner, in 2 weeks.
Change of subject. 'Real' Greeks aren't the problem, it's their settlers who unfortunately are in Government. Settler #1, Karamanlis. This man has nothing Greek in him, his family is 2/3 Turkish, and unfortunately the rest is Macedonian, this is a fact folks. Somehow, the non Greeks feel bigger Greeks than the Greeks.
Change of subject #2. Greek Delegation today is in Skopje, guests in the Cultural Center "Tocka-Point", where an antinationalist tribune takes place. The Delegation is led by a representative of the Socialist Workers Party, Mr. Janis Sifakakis. -I feel bad for writing his name, he may have some issues getting back to Greece.
The goal of the discussion is an attempt to stop the further deterioration of relations between the two countries and put a stop to ever increasing nationalism and nationalist stereotypes.
At the Cultural Center, a book will be promoted which the Socialist Party had published back in Greece, in 1993. The book reveals information on historical facts and calls on Greece to not meddle with Macedonia, because Macedonia has always been Macedonia. The book was forbidden for sale and is completely anonymous in Greece, like any other book that has information contrary to Official Athens. Unfortunately, the information in the book sent five leaders of the Socialist Workers Party to Court, and quickly afterwards to jail. This has happened to dozen Greek Authors who dared to say anything different from the Greek Government, in particularly when it comes to History.
Macedonians always wonder why Greek Customs Officers take away any pamphlet or any written information before they enter Greece, even if it's a recipe. Paranoia is a difficult thing.
The group of Greek activist believe their book should be known to the Greek Public. I am not sure things will turn out well for Mr. Sifakakis and the rest of the delegation in their attempts to make their book public. Judging from what Greece has done to other Authors! One that comes to mind is Anastasia Karakasidou who not just that she was threatened to be killed, (she doesn't live in Greece now), but the actual publishers and employees of Cambridge University Press were threatened. The world press took notice of Anastasia's saga, read below.
Gorazd V.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By SARAH LYALL c.1996 N.Y. Times News Service; Fair Use reprint for non-profit scholarly use only.
LONDON - Anastasia Karakasidou's first book, a 300-page study of ethnicity and identity in the northern Greek province of Macedonia, seemed poised for publication after surviving months of grueling academic review at Cambridge University Press and winning high praise from academic specialists for its insights and fairness. But in December, Ms. Karakasidou received surprising news: The press had decided not to publish the book after all, it said, because it feared for the safety of its staff members in Greece. Back home in Stony Brook, N.Y., the Greek-born Ms. Karakasidou, an assistant professor of anthropology at Queens College, still sounds stunned. She had appreciated that her subject was a potentially provocative one -Greeks bristle at suggestions that residents of that province consider themselves anything but true Greeks - but she never expected this. ``They had my manuscript for more than a year and a half,'' she said in an interview this week. ``I had no idea that this was happening, and I had no way of defending myself.''
The immediate result of the Cambridge University Press' decision not to go ahead with the book, Fields of Wheat, Rivers of Blood, was the outraged resignation of three of its academic advisers in anthropology, who charged that the publisher, one of the most prestigious in the world, with violating the author's freedom of speech and caving in to a threat that was largely hypothetical. But what in the old days might have remained a controlled protest by a small group of disgruntled academics has now expanded into a full-scale offensive, via the Internet. Earlier this week, two of the three people who resigned as editorial advisers to Cambridge University Press - Stephen Gudeman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, and Michael Herzfeld, a professor of anthropology at Harvard - sent a battle cry to colleagues around the world, calling for scholars not to submit manuscripts to, or review books for, Cambridge. "By hindering the production and reviewing of new manuscripts,'' their message said, "we hope to demonstrate the academic world's collective dismay."
Although it is too early to gauge the effects of the Internet manifesto, it is clear that the word is getting out, fast, as E- mail messages zoom from campus to campus. "It's gone out to thousands of anthropologists," said Herzfeld. "I think the historians are getting it as well." At the University of Florida, Thomas Gallant, a professor of modern Greek and Balkan history, said that he no longer wished to be published by Cambridge, even though he was about two-thirds finished writing a book for the publisher on the social history of modern Greece. "I am having legal counsel examine my contract because I think that ethically I cannot remain committed to the press," he said.
Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood, is a study of three villages in the Greek province of Macedonia that asserts, among other things, that many of the residents speak Slavic dialects and consider themselves Slavo-Macedonian, not Greek. The findings challenge the official position of the Greek government, which remains at odds with the neighboring Republic of Macedonia, a part of former Yugoslavia, and denies the existence of a Slavic ethnic minority within its own borders. In the past, the Macedonian question has spurred nationalist-led violence in Greece. Ms. Karakasidou herself was threatened by right-wing groups two years ago after she published articles with conclusions similar to those in her book. But, she says, she continued to live in Greece without incident. Ms. Karakasidou submitted her manuscript to Cambridge more than 18 months ago, sending it on a well-worn path of academic reviews and revisions. Finally, its reviewers deemed it ready to go, and Ms. Karakasidou, though she had no contract in hand, had every reason to assume that Cambridge would publish it.
"It is easily the most carefully researched and balanced assessment of the on-the-ground situation, from a historical and ethnographic perspective, that I have ever seen," Herzfeld said. But a nervous Cambridge Press decided to seek advice about the potential for violence in Greece. Among other things, the publisher asked for an evaluation from the British Embassy in Athens, which sent a two-paragraph response saying no one at the Embassy had read the book, but that its subject was potentially controversial. "It is impossible to judge the extent of a likely reaction, since so much depends on the political situation at the time of publication," said the letter, "but it could take the form of public criticism, protests and demonstrations, or violence or threat of violence against the author or publishers." That was enough for the publisher, which has about five employees in Greece. In December, after consulting its 20-member ruling body, it decided not to proceed with the book.
Cambridge Press says it is unlikely to change its mind. "At no stage was there a contract signed or a commitment made," said Adrian du Plessis, the publisher's communications director. "Given the way we are established in Greece, it would be inappropriate for us to publish the book. It is not accurate to say that we banned it or censored it."
Some of the publisher's critics charge that Cambridge was also worried about local boycotts if the book went ahead. Cambridge has a lucrative market for English-language books in Greece, and administers English exams to hundreds of thousands of people each year. du Plessis disputes this interpretation. "I've been involved in every discussion," he said, "and at every occasion I have never heard any economic motivation discussed. The issue was the risk to staff." At the same time, the notion that the book was bound to spur violence has annoyed Greek scholars, who say that with the recent thawing in relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, the possibility of reprisals has ebbed considerably. "There really, really, was no tangible threat to the press, its personnel, or its property," Gallant said. One thing the publicity has done is to draw unexpected attention to Ms. Karakasidou at a relatively early point in her career. Several publishers have expressed interest and this week, the University of Chicago Press offered her a contract. While Cambridge Press has been forced to defend itself against irate anthropologists, it is also even facing the wrath of some Greeks for its timidity.
Elias Gounaris, the Greek ambassador to London, sent a scathing letter to the Guardian newspaper, defending his country's 'honor'. "The worst possible fate that could befall a Cambridge University Press book on an anthropological subject in Greece would be indifference, spiced perhaps with the odd verbal attack against it in the column of some obscure extremist publication," the letter said. "Intolerant voices do of course exist, as in most countries, but so far they have always dismally failed to silence anyone. In Greece, at least."
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All right, maybe we have taken shots at Greek Daily Eleftheros Tipos, here and there (it's hard not to).
Sure, they publish nonsense information and are an extended hand of the Greek Government, but today we realized that news to Greece travels very slow.
Perhaps Madame News is stopped at the Greek Border to clean up the area, show it has no intention of spreading un-Greek news that may in any way influence the Greek population. You see, Greeks are a sensitive bunch. They have so much history they have been told they have, that, well they are just sensitive to it.
Eleftheros Tipos became popular with their "New Name News Breaking Coverage" HERE. Earlier today, I read a news article on E-Tipos, and became a bit worried, and yes, I understand Koine.
We have reported on Macedonian University EURM opening up an Affiliate in Britain (buying the Westminster College of London), and working to open an Affiliate at Oxford University. EURM named its Faculties for Art&Design, Economics and IT with: Alexandar the Great, Philip II and St Nicholas. We reported this over 3 weeks ago HERE. Tipos reported this TODAY . It took 3 weeks for Tipos to get a green light to publish this? We could have given you the green light much sooner, in 2 weeks.
Change of subject. 'Real' Greeks aren't the problem, it's their settlers who unfortunately are in Government. Settler #1, Karamanlis. This man has nothing Greek in him, his family is 2/3 Turkish, and unfortunately the rest is Macedonian, this is a fact folks. Somehow, the non Greeks feel bigger Greeks than the Greeks.
Change of subject #2. Greek Delegation today is in Skopje, guests in the Cultural Center "Tocka-Point", where an antinationalist tribune takes place. The Delegation is led by a representative of the Socialist Workers Party, Mr. Janis Sifakakis. -I feel bad for writing his name, he may have some issues getting back to Greece.
The goal of the discussion is an attempt to stop the further deterioration of relations between the two countries and put a stop to ever increasing nationalism and nationalist stereotypes.
At the Cultural Center, a book will be promoted which the Socialist Party had published back in Greece, in 1993. The book reveals information on historical facts and calls on Greece to not meddle with Macedonia, because Macedonia has always been Macedonia. The book was forbidden for sale and is completely anonymous in Greece, like any other book that has information contrary to Official Athens. Unfortunately, the information in the book sent five leaders of the Socialist Workers Party to Court, and quickly afterwards to jail. This has happened to dozen Greek Authors who dared to say anything different from the Greek Government, in particularly when it comes to History.
Macedonians always wonder why Greek Customs Officers take away any pamphlet or any written information before they enter Greece, even if it's a recipe. Paranoia is a difficult thing.
The group of Greek activist believe their book should be known to the Greek Public. I am not sure things will turn out well for Mr. Sifakakis and the rest of the delegation in their attempts to make their book public. Judging from what Greece has done to other Authors! One that comes to mind is Anastasia Karakasidou who not just that she was threatened to be killed, (she doesn't live in Greece now), but the actual publishers and employees of Cambridge University Press were threatened. The world press took notice of Anastasia's saga, read below.
Gorazd V.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By SARAH LYALL c.1996 N.Y. Times News Service; Fair Use reprint for non-profit scholarly use only.
LONDON - Anastasia Karakasidou's first book, a 300-page study of ethnicity and identity in the northern Greek province of Macedonia, seemed poised for publication after surviving months of grueling academic review at Cambridge University Press and winning high praise from academic specialists for its insights and fairness. But in December, Ms. Karakasidou received surprising news: The press had decided not to publish the book after all, it said, because it feared for the safety of its staff members in Greece. Back home in Stony Brook, N.Y., the Greek-born Ms. Karakasidou, an assistant professor of anthropology at Queens College, still sounds stunned. She had appreciated that her subject was a potentially provocative one -Greeks bristle at suggestions that residents of that province consider themselves anything but true Greeks - but she never expected this. ``They had my manuscript for more than a year and a half,'' she said in an interview this week. ``I had no idea that this was happening, and I had no way of defending myself.''
The immediate result of the Cambridge University Press' decision not to go ahead with the book, Fields of Wheat, Rivers of Blood, was the outraged resignation of three of its academic advisers in anthropology, who charged that the publisher, one of the most prestigious in the world, with violating the author's freedom of speech and caving in to a threat that was largely hypothetical. But what in the old days might have remained a controlled protest by a small group of disgruntled academics has now expanded into a full-scale offensive, via the Internet. Earlier this week, two of the three people who resigned as editorial advisers to Cambridge University Press - Stephen Gudeman, a professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota, and Michael Herzfeld, a professor of anthropology at Harvard - sent a battle cry to colleagues around the world, calling for scholars not to submit manuscripts to, or review books for, Cambridge. "By hindering the production and reviewing of new manuscripts,'' their message said, "we hope to demonstrate the academic world's collective dismay."
Although it is too early to gauge the effects of the Internet manifesto, it is clear that the word is getting out, fast, as E- mail messages zoom from campus to campus. "It's gone out to thousands of anthropologists," said Herzfeld. "I think the historians are getting it as well." At the University of Florida, Thomas Gallant, a professor of modern Greek and Balkan history, said that he no longer wished to be published by Cambridge, even though he was about two-thirds finished writing a book for the publisher on the social history of modern Greece. "I am having legal counsel examine my contract because I think that ethically I cannot remain committed to the press," he said.
Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood, is a study of three villages in the Greek province of Macedonia that asserts, among other things, that many of the residents speak Slavic dialects and consider themselves Slavo-Macedonian, not Greek. The findings challenge the official position of the Greek government, which remains at odds with the neighboring Republic of Macedonia, a part of former Yugoslavia, and denies the existence of a Slavic ethnic minority within its own borders. In the past, the Macedonian question has spurred nationalist-led violence in Greece. Ms. Karakasidou herself was threatened by right-wing groups two years ago after she published articles with conclusions similar to those in her book. But, she says, she continued to live in Greece without incident. Ms. Karakasidou submitted her manuscript to Cambridge more than 18 months ago, sending it on a well-worn path of academic reviews and revisions. Finally, its reviewers deemed it ready to go, and Ms. Karakasidou, though she had no contract in hand, had every reason to assume that Cambridge would publish it.
"It is easily the most carefully researched and balanced assessment of the on-the-ground situation, from a historical and ethnographic perspective, that I have ever seen," Herzfeld said. But a nervous Cambridge Press decided to seek advice about the potential for violence in Greece. Among other things, the publisher asked for an evaluation from the British Embassy in Athens, which sent a two-paragraph response saying no one at the Embassy had read the book, but that its subject was potentially controversial. "It is impossible to judge the extent of a likely reaction, since so much depends on the political situation at the time of publication," said the letter, "but it could take the form of public criticism, protests and demonstrations, or violence or threat of violence against the author or publishers." That was enough for the publisher, which has about five employees in Greece. In December, after consulting its 20-member ruling body, it decided not to proceed with the book.
Cambridge Press says it is unlikely to change its mind. "At no stage was there a contract signed or a commitment made," said Adrian du Plessis, the publisher's communications director. "Given the way we are established in Greece, it would be inappropriate for us to publish the book. It is not accurate to say that we banned it or censored it."
Some of the publisher's critics charge that Cambridge was also worried about local boycotts if the book went ahead. Cambridge has a lucrative market for English-language books in Greece, and administers English exams to hundreds of thousands of people each year. du Plessis disputes this interpretation. "I've been involved in every discussion," he said, "and at every occasion I have never heard any economic motivation discussed. The issue was the risk to staff." At the same time, the notion that the book was bound to spur violence has annoyed Greek scholars, who say that with the recent thawing in relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, the possibility of reprisals has ebbed considerably. "There really, really, was no tangible threat to the press, its personnel, or its property," Gallant said. One thing the publicity has done is to draw unexpected attention to Ms. Karakasidou at a relatively early point in her career. Several publishers have expressed interest and this week, the University of Chicago Press offered her a contract. While Cambridge Press has been forced to defend itself against irate anthropologists, it is also even facing the wrath of some Greeks for its timidity.
Elias Gounaris, the Greek ambassador to London, sent a scathing letter to the Guardian newspaper, defending his country's 'honor'. "The worst possible fate that could befall a Cambridge University Press book on an anthropological subject in Greece would be indifference, spiced perhaps with the odd verbal attack against it in the column of some obscure extremist publication," the letter said. "Intolerant voices do of course exist, as in most countries, but so far they have always dismally failed to silence anyone. In Greece, at least."
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