Monthly Archives: August 2014

Κρατούσε στο σπίτι το πτώμα του συζύγου της, το οποίο ήταν σε αποσύνθεση, για εννιά ολόκληρους μήνες  προκειμένου να το… ταΐσει στα πουλιά! Ο λόγος για την  54χρονη Ίλα Σόλομον από τις ΗΠΑ η οποία δήλωσε στις αρχές ότι η αποτρόπαιά της πράξη ήταν επιθυμία του αποθανόντος συζύγου της, Γκέιβαν.

Παρά τους ισχυρισμούς της Σόλομον ότι ο 88χρονος βετεράνος του Β΄ Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου είχε πεθάνει μόλις πριν πέντε ημέρες, ο ιατροδικαστής έφερε στο φως την ανατριχιαστική αλήθεια.

«Απλά πιστεύω ότι κάποιος που έκανε τόσα πολλά για τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες θα πρέπει να έχει το θάνατο που θέλει και αυτό ήθελε ο άντρας μου. Να φαγωθεί από τα πουλιά και να γίνει κομμάτι του κύκλου της ζωής», τόνισε η Αμερικανίδα στο κανάλι newsnet5, συμπληρώνοντας: «Το καλύτερο θα ήταν να τον βγάλω έξω ή να πεθάνει στον κήπο για να τον φάνε τα πουλιά, ωστόσο απεβίωσε μέσα στο σπίτι».

Μετά το θάνατο του Γκέιβαν, η Ίλα παρέλειψε να ενημερώσει -ως όφειλε- τις αρμόδιες αρχές, αφήνοντας απλά την πλαϊνή πόρτα ανοικτή, με την ελπίδα να μπουν μέσα στο σπίτι της τα πτηνά. Υποστήριξε πως ο άνδρας της ήθελε να ταφεί βάσει μιας παραδοσιακής ινδικής τελετουργίας, κατά την οποία οι σοροί γίνονται τροφή για τα πουλιά.

«Βλέπω ότι υπάρχει μια πραγματικά μεγάλη ανάγκη για παροχή συμβουλών αντιμετώπισης της θλίψης και έτσι σκεφτόμουν να γίνω σύμβουλος θλίψης», κατέληξε η Σόλομον.

Η 54χρονη περιμένει από τις αρχές να της ανακοινώσουν εάν διώκεται για εγκληματική ενέργεια.

Πηγή: madata.gr

THE groaning burden of buyer’s remorse has been acknowledged by the Abbott government, and the Prime Minister last week began steps to placate his political customers.

Opinion polls and stark anecdotal evidence has made clear that while voters are not ready to switch to Labor, they are not happy with the Coalition product they bought at the last election. The Tony Abbott era has not been the clean, efficient transition they hoped.

It hasn’t been simply a matter of switching off the turmoil of six years of Labor, and the absence of an untroubled changeover has troubled many voters.

Here are seven issues contributing to that buyer remorse.

1. THERE GOES THE KNIGHTHOOD

Tony Abbott’s surprise decision to revive Australian knighthoods and damehoods immediately became the subject of national mockery which the Prime Minister seemed to take personally.

More important, Mr Abbott’s move to deliver something he hadn’t promised at the election highlighted things he did promise but which hadn’t arrived.

Labor called them broken promises and the Government’s credibility was knocked about. The Prime Minister appeared more interested in creating a modern versions of medieval British aristocracy than dealing with current problems of ordinary families. And to many, that was confirmed in May.

2. THE BUDGET LEAD BALLOON

The May Budget arrived as a shock for families who had been told their household expenses would be eased but who instead faced extra costs on health care, motoring and tertiary education, lower tax concessions, and the prospect of having to work for 50 years before qualifying for the aged pension.

There were immediate questions about the fairness of the Budget, the lack of pre-Budget consultation with premiers and industry peak bodies, and the attempts to bring voters along with the Government’s fiscal thinking.

It remains a big problem for Tony Abbott. History shows Budgets eventually get passed, but some with greater political pain — and unnecessary pain — than others.

3. AND BABY MAKES THREE

Mr Abbott has stuck by his paid parental leave policy in the face of the bulk of opinion the money should be used to help defray high child care costs, the greater barrier to women returning to the workforce in a child’s early years.

The pressure forced Mr Abbott to lower the income threshold from $150,000 to $100,000 but not to dim his determination to get the measure passed.

He claimed that those rejecting his prized plan were motivated by anti-Liberal politics. In that case they included almost every The Prime Minister has stuck with his paid parental leave scheme against the bulk of advice employer group, the head of a bank, the audit commission he created, and some of his own backbenchers.

4. THE VIGILANTE GANG WHO COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT

The Government initially failed to deal with the July arrival of a 10-strong Senate cross bench and in particular the three Palmer United Party senators who were guided by mischief making party founder Clive Palmer.

The confusion over the Palmer troops was highlighted by the aftermath of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull dining with Mr Palmer and a few others in Canberra at the Wild Duck restaurant.

Mr Turnbull then had to duck some wild swings from right-wing Liberal activists in the media — led by 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones and News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt — who saw the meal as a sign of a Turnbull putsch.

However, all they did was bring to the forefront the suggestions Tony Abbott’s leadership — rating poorly in polls at the time — was at risk; that Mr Turnbull was working for a change; the Budget was hugely unpopular. Only the latter was true.

Labor was delighted, but Prime Minister Abbott was reminded even some of his strongest supporters were rattled by the Government’s performance.

5. 18C OF HEARTBREAK

Mr Abbott had promised to modify the Racial Discrimination Act and in particular section 18C which deals with offensive material. It was a promise to a small number of close advisers including Bolt who had been found guilty of breaching it by a court.

The Prime Minister and a small group of backers said it was a free-speech issue. However, community groups, and his own Aboriginal affairs adviser, saw it as a bid to take free shots at minorities.

Attorney General George Brandis supported the removal of 18C but did more than most to keep it in place by claiming we all had a right to be bigots.

The Prime Minister last week bowed to the numbers and took the proposed changes off the table.

6. WHICH ONE’S THE ‘ANY’ KEY?

The Government’s overall competence was portrayed badly after mistaken statements on the important matter of security agencies having access to our digital messages.

In a Sky News interview Attorney-General George Brandis tripped over definitions and appeared to not understand the very measures he would have to oversee. It wasn’t a ‘Gotcha’ interview, just intelligent, valid questioning, and the senator mucked it up.

Interestingly, Communications Minister Turnbull was rushed into calm the waters chopped up by his cabinet colleague, coming to the rescue of Mr Abbott.

There have been other issues on which ministers have not seemed to be masters and mistresses of their duties, but the Brandis example was the most spectacular, reminding some of John Hewson attempting to explain how his proposed GST would affect the price of a birthday cake.

7. IT’S NOT MY FAULT I’M TREASURER

Joe Hockey has told audiences and fellow members of Parliament he is the most disliked politician in Australia. The man who is Treasurer and a high profile hater of wind turbines has also indicated it’s everyone else’s fault.

A friendly biography released recently showed Mr Hockey has leadership ambitions which he feels were betrayed by others including Malcolm Turnbull.

There is not wholehearted agreement with this within the electorate, or within the Liberal Party where Mr Hockey is being seen as something of a sook. Worse, he is being seen as being unable to do his job, which includes optimising the politics of tough economic decisions.

source: news.com.au

O Δρ. Παναγιώτης Διαμάντης, καθηγητής του Πανεπιστημίου Τεχνολογίας του Σίδνευ μιλάει με τον Θωμά Τσαμούρα του SYMBAN RADIO AUSTRALIA για το μυθιστόρημα “Μακεδνώς: Τέκνο Ενός Θεού” που είναι γραμμένο από τον Αυστραλό συγγραφέα Paul Hansen και το οποίο περιγράφει τον κόσμο της Αρχαίας Μακεδονικής μυθολογίας.

Πηγή: studio3newcasle.com.au

Minister for Immigration Scott Morrison has called for an urgent briefing on allegations of visa rorts and corruption. Photo: AAP/Gary Schafer.

A new study combined with the publication of internal Immigration Department documents has dropped a bombshell on the Australian government’s immigration program and questioned the integrity of Australia’s visa procedures.

Research undertaken by Monash University’s Centre for Population and Urban Research reveals a visa system open to manipulation and incapable of implementing Australia’s immigration strategy.

The publication of the Monash report coincided with the release of confidential Immigration Department documents by Fairfax Media, who weighed into the government’s record on visa integrity with allegations of corruption, fraud and mismanagement.

The Monash report titled ‘Immigration and Unemployment in 2014’ shows that recent overseas-born arrivals to Australia have “taken almost all of the net job growth” since 2011, and that the Skilled Occupation List that purports to identify priority occupations for Australia’s skilled migration program – is seriously flawed.

The government claims the skilled migration program attracts workers who have skills required by Australia that cannot be supplied by the domestic workforce.

Authored by immigration experts Dr Bob Birrell and Dr Ernest Healy, the Monash report shows that 380,000 arrivals to Australia since 2011 found jobs while over the same period, net job growth was only 400,000. Dr Birrell has called for the Australian Government’s “out of control” visa system to be “fundamentally reviewed” because of the findings.

Dr Birrell’s research using the latest ABS data, identified that over the past three years skilled migration visas were awarded to thousands of foreign cooks and accountants, despite a surfeit of local candidates being available for the same jobs.

Meanwhile, confidential Immigration Department documents obtained by Fairfax show that many foreign workers who gained permanent residency through the skilled migration program first arrived as students, many of who are suspected of enrolling in fraudulent international education schemes operating between 2006 and 2010.

In October 2009, an internal department report said the Department of Immigration and Citizenship “may have been responsible for granting a record number of student visas to people who may not be considered genuine students as well as granting permanent residence to skilled migration applicants who do not have the appropriate skills being claimed.”

Dr Birrell has called for the recruitment of migrant workers whose occupations are in surplus in Australia or have potential resident candidates, to be halted immediately.

Immigration Department data used in the Birrell/Healy research shows overseas-born cooks and accountants made up the leading occupations granted visas under the permanent entry skill program in 2012-13.

More than 8400 cooks and over 1000 pastry chefs and bakers were given visas under the permanent entry skill program in 2012-13.
In the same period, cooks also made up the largest occupational group given temporary 457 visas, despite cooking having been deleted from the government’s skilled occupation list for more than four years.

The Monash report also highlights how Australia granted visas under the permanent resident skilled program and 457 category to nearly 7000 foreign accountants in 2012-13.

In 2012, 7200 domestic students completed bachelor or higher degrees in accounting, with the Commonwealth Department of Employment declaring that “a more than adequate supply of accountants” existed in Australia.

Dr Birrell says that Australia’s immigration program encouraged rorting of a number of visa categories in order to obtain permanent residency, rather than educational outcomes.

Extracts from Immigration Department documents obtained by Fairfax Media suggest departmental investigators highlighted their concerns over student visa and skilled migration visa rorts between 2006 and 2010, but their warnings were ignored.

In 2009, one Immigration Department report identified “significant concerns” in Victoria’s international educational industry and “in particular, related pathways to permanent residence”.

The report stated: “The department’s investigators reported that foreign students were paying about $50,000 to achieve permanent residency through a ‘significant cottage industry’ involving ‘migration agents, employers and education providers who are linked to a significant level of organised fraud and crime.”‘

In 2011 the then Labor government made changes to try to prevent the rorting of the student visa program

Speaking to Neos Kosmos Dr Birrell said that concessions (including allowing graduates a two-year stay after completing their courses) and visa extensions offered to thousands of foreign students in the mid to late 2000s created a backlog of applicants for residency visas.

Many of these students enrolled in cooking courses and only began to be processed by Immigration in 2011-12.

“This is why cooks and accountants have been the major occupations given visas in that year and following years,” said Dr Birrell.

“In 2012-2013, 142,000 students got another visa, including over 28,000 who were granted tourist visas. Most of these are likely to be working illegally.”

Dr Birrell has called for a reduction in the permanent entry program where there is strong evidence that the occupations are in short supply, and for the number of temporary entry visas issued to be reduced – particularly to working holiday makers who compete with young Australian resident job seekers for entry level jobs.

Peter Jasonides, Managing Director of the Institute of Tertiary and Higher Education Australia (ITHEA), one of the leading vocational training providers for international students in Victoria, told Neos Kosmos: “While recent changes have made it harder for students to abuse visa regulations, more can and should be done to police the student visa and skilled migration programs.

“Our Vocational Education and Training sector regulatory body the Australian Skills Quality Authority is constantly monitoring the quality of operation of colleges throughout Australia.”

source: Neos Kosmos

William Kontaxis was nominated for the Lawyers Weekly ‘Young Gun Award’

Salvos Legal solicitor, William Kontaxis, was one of six candidates for the illustrious Lawyers Weekly Young Gun Award. Based in New South Wales and born to Greek parents, Kontaxis said the nomination alone was a highlight in his short career.

“It means a lot, a big recognition so early in my career. My managing partner here actually nominated me, his name is Luke Geary.”

“It certainly opens more and more doors, not that I’m looking to leave this one soon, but absolutely nice to be recognised for my talents and hard work.”
Salvos Legal, set up in 2010, comprises two law firms, the first a commercial practice, specialising in commercial and property work. All profits made are set aside for its sister firm, which provides free advice for people in need. Both firms are owned by the Salvation Army.

Kontaxis began his legal career at MBP Legal, where he was involved in tax and intellectual property law, before moving to Salvos Legal, where he is now involved in commercial and general corporate cases.

“A lot of the work I do is for the Salvation Army generally, and a lot of other not-for-profit clients as well. So just general commercial work, whatever pops up on a day-to-day basis. We have some banking work as well, community sector banking is one large client as well, so I do a lot of banking work for them.”

He became interested in law at a very young age and is the first in his family to venture into a legal career.

“When I was about 12 I think I thought to myself ‘I want to be a lawyer one day’ and it just happened all the way through. There’s no family members as lawyers, so there’s no following on in anyone’s footsteps, it’s just something that I wanted to do and thankfully it’s all panned out.”

His nomination came on the back of his dealings with a large privacy law project, where he worked with two institutional not-for-profit clients, to help them become compliant in new privacy laws.

“In March this year there were large privacy law changes and I set up a team here. There was about five working under me at any one time, holding teleconferences with clients right across the country with different departments and business units, and drafting privacy notices and statements and helping bring their procedure up to date.

“My privacy policies for the two clients are online and easy for anyone to see and the notices themselves are distributed to thousands of Australians everyday, so that’s why the boss thought I was a worthy candidate and we went from there.

“There were other bits and pieces thrown in for colour along the way, but that was the main effort.”

Despite missing out, Kontaxis is grateful for the opportunities he has been given in his short three year career.

source: Neos Kosmos

Nickolas Varvaris MP (L) at the launch of the Green Army program with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Naji Najjar, chair of the Georges River Combined Councils Committee and Greg Hunt MP, Minister for the Environment.

Coalition rolls out environmental traineeships – just don’t call it work for the dole.

Young people in the Barton electorate of Sydney will be among the first 17 to 24-year-olds to join the Australian government’s Green Army and become part of what it calls “the largest environmental movement” in Australia’s history.

Federal Member for Barton, Nickolas Varvaris, joined Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Environment Minister Greg Hunt at Carss Bush Park in Sydney last week to officially launch the program.

An initiative of the Department of Environment – the Green Army’s mission is to undertake environment and heritage conservation projects across Australia. The program has been given a budget of $525 million over the next four years.

“The Green Army provides opportunities for young Australians to gain training and experience in environmental and heritage conservation fields and explore careers in conservation management, while participating in projects that generate real benefits for the Australian environment,” said Mr Varvaris.

The Barton MP will see the one of the first Green Army teams established in his own electorate to rehabilitate the Georges River.

Participants who sign up for the Green Army receive an allowance of between $10.14 and $16.45 per hour (less than minimum wage but higher than the Newstart and Youth Allowances), and are promised accredited training in conservation and land management, heritage conservation and trade skills.

At the launch, Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the program as “six months of good work and good comradeship that you can come back and look at in the years ahead and say ‘I did that for my country’.”

Mr Abbott added: “This is not a work for the dole project, I want to stress this. It’s an environmental traineeship.”

Some 2,500 young people are expected to enlist for the Green Army in 2014 to work on 250 projects around Australia. The program is targeting the training of 15,000 young Australians by 2018.

source: Neos Kosmos

Only the City of Athens can prevent the deterioration of the square.

As architect Nikos Kazeros was walking through Monastiraki Square in central Athens recently, he noticed a group of workers repositioning the coloured tiles that pave the western side of the square.

“In what order are you repositioning the tiles?” he asked.

“It’s all random,” the men replied.

Their answer came as no surprise. Over the past year, the square has seen a drastically increased number of arbitrary interventions. Public utility employees have repeatedly disrupted the pattern of the paving tiles – a key element in the design of the architects who won the competition organised by the Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens SA for the square’s renovation: Nikos Kazeros, Zinovia Kotsopoulou, Vasilia Manidaki, Christina Parakente and Eleni Tzirtzilaki.

But that’s not all. In the part of the square which covers the Iridanos River, the metal grates that have been stolen or destroyed have been replaced with different ones.

Moreover, the wooden benches have grown shabby and need to be replaced, as does the metro ventilation shaft which is covered with graffiti. Sprawling cafes and food businesses on the eastern side of the square have hampered access to Mitropoleos Street, while street vendors selling fresh and dried fruits have set up shop in front of the entrance to the ISAP train and metro station.

Finally, there have been a number of random interventions around the Byzantine Church of the Pantanassa which are out of synch with the overall design.

The revamping of Monastiraki Square, which cost 3 million euros, was completed in 2008. It came with a rule book regulating permissible interventions. The sorry state of the square today suggests that the rules have been mostly ignored.

Only the City of Athens has the power to halt the square’s deterioration. A number of TV commercials have been shot at Monastiraki, and it might be a good idea to use a part of their revenues to ensure the square’s upkeep in line with the original design, unless of course it would be preferable to throw another 3 million euros out of the window.

Source: ekathimerini

• Dump GP fee, Costello tells Hockey
• Budget will increase crime, says crossbench senator
• Comment: New budget would be a second chance for PM

Treasurer Joe Hockey has rejected advice from his mentor, Peter Costello, to drop the proposed $7 fee to visit a doctor.

And Mr Hockey has said there is still hope for some measures in the budget to get through citing the inconsistency of the government’s opponents in the Senate and warning  commentators against “counting their chickens” in declaring individual items dead.

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello has urged the government to “reboot” its budget sell and ditch unpopular measures that are unlikely to pass the senate, including the $7 GP fee.

But Mr Hockey has rebuffed the advice saying the fee is crucial to making Medicare sustainable in the future.

“It’s not good advice because frankly our budget is part of an over-arching economic action strategy,” he said.

“We are dealing with issues one at a time.”

Mr Hockey stressed that there was still plenty of time to negotiate on key measures before they were due to begin next year or later.

”I think it is important that we carefully and methodically go through a process of engagement, which is exactly what we are doing,” he said.

”It is not unusual to have various initiatives held up in discussion in the Senate.”

The Treasurer has hit the road in the past fortnight, visiting cross-bench Senators in their home cities to negotiate on the remaining individual measures still to pass the Senate.

Mr Hockey said that the crossbenchers had given him various pieces of information to analyse and he in return had invited them to meet Treasury officials for a more detailed explanation of the budget.

And he hit out at “inconsistency” of some of those he is dealing with and singled out Labor for attacking the deficit levy and then voting for it.

“So I am very sceptical about public pronouncements by individuals versus how they actually vote in the Parliament,” he said.

“We’re dealing with people who are entirely inconsistent; there is a level of inconsistency from our political opponents that we have to deal with,” he told ABC Radio.

But Mr Hockey’s seems to still have some way to go to persuade crossbenchers of the merits of his budget, with Democratic Labour Party Senator John Madigan predicting at the weekend that the measures would produce an increase in domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues.

Interviewed on ABC TV on Sunday, Senator John Madigan said he believed the budget was unfair because it hit the poorest hardest.

”If we attack those people with the least, I believe we’re going to have more domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, vandalism, mental health problems – and what’s the cost going to be to mop that up?” Senator Madigan said.

And the Palmer United Party has also refused to support deregulation of university fees when the Abbott government presents legislation to the Senate. PUP leader Clive Palmer’s stance was backed by one of his senators, Jacqui Lambie, who called on the Nationals to ”grow a set” and oppose fee deregulation.

Labor leader Bill Shorten will be at Melbourne University on Monday also arguing against the changes to university fees.

source: smh.com.au

Joe Hockey has been urged to reboot his budget and scrap the unpopular $7 GP co-payment, with former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello saying governments have to cut their losses.

The Treasurer is struggling to convince crossbenchers to back his budget, with key measures such as the Medicare co-payment and welfare changes facing defeat.

Mr Costello said the Coalition should ”reboot the whole argument” by bringing forward the next intergenerational report, which highlights long-term pressures on government spending.

It should also dump measures unlikely to pass the Senate, he said.

”Sooner or later you have to cut losses,” he told the Ten Network on Sunday. ”The $7 co-payment … it’s just not going to happen, so let’s move on.”

Mr Costello rebuked Mr Hockey for complaining that business had not adequately backed his budget. ”There is no point blaming business … he’s got to get it through, it’s his responsibility,” he said.

Mr Costello’s advice came as crossbencher John Madigan questioned whether Mr Hockey has empathy for those that would be hit hardest by the unpopular budget.

Mr Hockey met with the Democratic Labour Party senator on Thursday as part of his campaign to woo the crossbench.

But Senator Madigan on Sunday said he still

believed the budget will exacerbate social problems like domestic violence, vandalism and drug and alcohol abuse. ”I wonder how much empathy he’s got for those people who are going to be hit hard by this budget,” Senator Madigan told ABC TV.

Education Minister Christopher Pyne appeared to criticise the approach to budget negotiations taken by some colleagues. ”Any minister who goes to the Senate with a package and says it’s either this or nothing is essentially daring the Senate to vote down their whole package,” he told Sky News.

source: smh.com.au

Συνεργείο της εταιρείας, που εκτελεί τα έργα τηλεθέρμανσης στην κοινότητα Φιλώτα στη Φλώρινα βρέθηκε μπροστά σε ένα μακάβριο θέαμα, που αφορά όμως την αρχαιολογία και όχι την αστυνομία.

Κατά τις εργασίες εκσκαφής για την τοποθέτηση σωλήνων, ήρθαν στο φως ανθρώπινα οστά, που πιθανότατα προέρχονται από τρεις ανθρώπινους σκελετούς.

Σύμφωνα με το ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ, που επικοινώνησε με τις τοπικές αρχές,  έχει αποκλειστεί το ενδεχόμενο πρόσφατης εγκληματικής ενέργειας, που δεν είχε αποκαλυφθεί.

Το πιθανότερο ενδεχόμενο είναι, τα  να οστά ανήκουν  σε ανθρώπους, που πέθαναν πολλά χρόνια πριν -ενδεχομένως την εποχή της Τουρκοκρατίας- και ενταφιάστηκαν σε ομαδικό τάφο.

‘Ηδη,  στελέχη της αρχαιολογικής υπηρεσίας βρίσκονται στο σημείο του ευρήματος, προκειμένου να προσδιορίσουν με μεγαλύτερη ακρίβεια την ηλικία των οστών.

Πηγή: matrix24.gr