Daily Archives: November 27, 2014

As a Sydney boy, nothing beats playing for this club … except maybe beating the Wanderers in front of a sold-out derby crowd.

I’ve been at Sydney FC for four years now and every time I pull on the sky blue jersey I feel so proud to be representing the club that has given me so much.

I may have only just turned 21 on Wednesday but I feel like I’ve seen a lot already and the last two derby wins over the Wanderers have been some of the highlights of my career so far.

To win in front of the Wanderers home support on Saturday night would be an unbeatable feeling. That’s the perfect 21st birthday present.

But all celebrations are on hold until after the game – all week we’ve only been focused on winning on Saturday night. It’s the most important thing. When you play for your home town club, bragging rights mean everything.

There may be bigger rivalries overseas with longer histories, and maybe one day I’ll have the chance to play in one of those games, but for me the Sydney derby means so much more.

I grew up in Bankstown, so the emotional connection I have with both Sydney FC and the derby is something unique that I wouldn’t get anywhere else.

I extended my contract with Sydney just last week, and being able to represent the club and play in big matches like this was a big part of my decision. The feeling of winning the last derby in front of a sell-out crowd at Allianz Stadium, and celebrating with the fans was unbelievable.

Coming from two goals down to beat your biggest rivals like that is something I dreamed of as a kid and to have my whole family there to support me just made it even more special.

There are some great derbies around the world and I even had the chance to watch a Merseyside derby when Everton tried to sign me as a teenager.

The fans created a great atmosphere and being in the stadium you really felt that it was much more than just a regular game, there was just that added bit of passion.

Watching Timmy Cahill go up against the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in the Everton-Liverpool derbies was a great experience and Sydneysiders are so lucky to now have a similar rivalry growing right in our own backyard.

We’re starting to find our form and the Wanderers are hoping to get their first win of the season. The boys have been training especially hard this week, everyone is so pumped to go and get another win over them.

We’re expecting a fiery atmosphere at Parramatta but we’re confident we can get the result, especially with the Cove packing out the away end to support us.

This game means so much to the fans and it would be great to repay their loyalty with a second derby win this season.

In years to come, these are the moments that will mean the most to me when I look back on my career.

source: smh.com.au

Σε εξέλιξη βρίσκεται η διαδικασία αποβίβασης των περίπου 700 μεταναστών από το φορτηγό πλοίο «Μπάρις», που αγκυροβόλησε στις 10 το πρωί της Πέμπτης μισό ναυτικό μίλι ανοιχτά της Ιεράπετρας, μετά την πολύωρη ρυμούλκησή του από τη φρεγάτα «Υδρα».

Οι επιβαίνοντες, ανάμεσά τους και εκατοντάδες γυναικόπαιδα, επιβιβάζονται σε πλωτό του Λιμενικού που τους μεταφέρει στη στεριά.

Στο πλοίο έχουν ανεβεί γιατροί που εξετάζουν τους μετανάστες, με αρνητικά έως τώρα αποτελέσματα για ασθενείς με ιό Εμπολα.

Λιμενικοί έχουν ήδη εφοδιάσει με τρόφιμα και νερό τους μετανάστες, που μεταφέρονται στο κλειστό γυμναστήριο της πόλης, όπου και θα φιλοξενηθούν προσωρινά.

Νωρίτερα είχαν επιβιβαστεί στο φορτηγό και άνδρες του Κλιμακίου Ειδικών Ελέγχων και της Μονάδας Υποβρυχίων Αποστολών του Λιμενικού, για να ελέγξουν τις πληροφορίες περί ενόπλων μεταξύ των επιβαινόντων. Για την ώρα, πάντως, οπλισμός πάνω στο «Μπάρις» δεν βρέθηκε.

Από τον δήμο Ιεράπετρας και τη Γενική Γραμματεία Πολιτικής Προστασίας ανακοινώθηκε ότι, στο πλαίσιο της φιλοξενίας των μεταναστών στην πόλη, υπάρχει ανάγκη για συγκέντρωση ειδών πρώτης ανάγκης. Για τον λόγο αυτόν, στον χώρο του κλειστού γυμναστηρίου στην οδό Ολυμπιονικών θα συγκεντρώνονται καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια της ημέρας τρόφιμα, κλινοσκεπάσματα, κουβέρτες, σεντόνια, πετσέτες, ρούχα και είδη προσωπικής υγιεινής.

Ο δήμος καλεί όσους πολίτες, φορείς και σύλλογοι επιθυμούν να ενισχύσουν με τις προσφορές τους την προσπάθεια.

Στην Ιεράπετρα έφθασε ο γενικός γραμματέας του υπουργείου Δημόσιας Τάξης, Σεραφείμ Τσόκας, ο οποίος ανέλαβε τον συντονισμό των προσπαθειών της φιλοξενίας των μεταναστών και πραγματοποίησε σύσκεψη στον δήμο με φορείς για την αποτελεσματική αντιμετώπιση της κατάστασης.

Το χρονικό

Το φορτηγό πλοίο «Μπάρις», υπό σημαία Κιριμπάντι, τα ξημερώματα της Τρίτης έμεινε ακυβέρνητο ενώ έπλεε 30 μίλια νοτιανατολικά της Ιεράπετρας – εκείνη την ώρα οι καιρικές συνθήκες ήταν αντίξοες

Η φρεγάτα «Υδρα» του Πολεμικού Ναυτικού είχε αναλάβει τον συντονισμό των ενεργειών, ως τοπικός διοικητής, έπειτα από εντολή του Ενιαίου Κέντρου Συντονισμού Ερευνας και Διάσωσης του υπουργείου Εμπορικής Ναυτιλίας.

Κοντά στο πλοίο βρίσκονταν, επίσης, παραπλέοντα εμπορικά σκάφη, ενώ στην περιοχή πετούσε ελικόπτερο Super Puma της Πολεμικής Αεροπορίας.

Στο φορτηγό πλοίο είχε κατέβει ένας εκ των διασωστών του ελικοπτέρου Super Puma, με σκοπό τον συντονισμό των ενεργειών.

Υστερα από την αποτυχημένη προσπάθεια παραπλέοντος εμπορικού πλοίου να ρυμουλκήσει το ακυβέρνητο σκάφος, η φρεγάτα «Υδρα» είχε αναλάβει να το προσεγγίσει προκειμένου να το ρυμουλκήσει προς την Κρήτη.

Η επιχείρηση διεξαγόταν σε απόσταση 60-70 μιλίων νοτιανατολικά της Ιεράπετρας.

Πηγή:in.gr

Following the story about a monster Murray River cod pulled from a Canning Vale lake last week, Perth’s urban fishing community has weighed in with another “tail” to tip the scales.

Clay Anderson of Langford sent in a photo of an 83-centimetre, eight-kilogram carp caught in a similar man-made lake at Tom Bateman Reserve in Thornlie last year.

From the Vasse River: 1.9kg goldfish Photo: Stephen Beatty

Over the years, Mr Anderson reckons he’s caught “hundreds” of carp at the unassuming spot – though he admits it is likely he’s caught the same kind of fish over and over.

“I put most of them back, because they’re not going anywhere,” he told Fairfax Media.

A keen Swan River fisherman, Mr Anderson’s curiosity was first piqued two years ago when he saw someone sitting patiently by the lake, rod in hand”.

“I saw him a few times and wondered what the hell he was doing, so I went down there and tried myself and have been pulling them up ever since,” he said.The secret to catching carp was a piece of bread on a small hook with a tiny sinker, he said.

“They’re easy to catch because they’re everywhere,” Mr Anderson said.

 

“Rumour has it that when the council was building the lake, some of the locals decided to fill it with carp.

“It gets quite busy with fishermen over the weekend.”

But it’s not just drains and lakes around Perth’s south-eastern suburbs that are full of foreign species: Mr Anderson claims they’re everywhere, and have built up quite a following amongst urban fisherfolk.

Clay Anderson with a slightly smaller carp. Snickers Bar for size comparison.

“I’ve seen carp caught all over Perth,” he said. “They’re getting them in Lake Monger, Emu Lake and everywhere.

There have even been a few caught in the upper reaches of the Canning River.

“A lot of the fishermen are Poms [British] or Asians, who are used to fishing for carp in their own waters.

“Some even take the fish home to eat – but you won’t get me doing that!

“That’s all grey water from drainage – the fish are probably all full of mercury”.

Murdoch University freshwater fish researcher Stephen Beatty said he “wasn’t surprised” to learn of Perth’s urban fishing community and their exploits.

“We’ve caught [carp] up to that size as well,” he told Fairfax Media.

“It’s a little bit disappointing, really, that people have been putting these invasive species in – we’d be far better off if people put native fish in there.

“But I understand that quite often a lot of these introductions are from a lack of understanding of the impacts these things can have.”

Dr Beatty said foreign fish species now outnumbered native species in WA’s south-west waterways by 14 to 11.

“Most new species are from aquariums,” he said. “And despite what people think, they can still get into river systems during floods etc.

“Eradicating them is almost impossible once they’re up and breeding.”

Dr Beatty said carp were an especially destructive species.

“They stir up sediment and release nutrients which is no good for algal blooms,” he said.

“It’s also the things you can’t see, like disease and parasites, that can have the most damage.”

The most common introduced fish species in South West WA is the gambezi, which is known to aggressively attack native species by pecking their fins off.

It’s arguably the “cane toad” of invasive fish species as it was introduced by the government in the 1930s to control mosquito populations – hence it’s nickname, “mosquito fish”.

source: theage.com.au

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras is second favourite as leader

A new poll conducted by Pulse shows the distance is growing between the coalition and SYRIZA.

SYRIZA got 27 per cent in voting intention, leaving New Democracy way behind with 22 per cent, while the second coalition partner, PASOK, appears third with 7 per cent, followed by Golden Dawn with 6.5 per cent, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) and “To Potami” with 6 per cent, Independent Greeks (ANEL) with 3.5 per cent and former government partner Democratic Left (DIMAR) with 1 per cent, same as ANTARSYA.

Around 1000 people were surveyed, with 59 per cent saying the believed SYRIZA would win the next general election and only 29 per cent saying New Democracy would win.

Antonis Samaras still remains favourite as leader at a 30 per cent approval rating, with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras at 28 per cent.

Source: Greek Reporter Greece

Short-term rentals or small lodgings getting away with tax evasion. Photo: Anthony McPhee.

President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (CHC), Giorgos Tsakiris says tax evasion from the tourism industry will cost the country 1.5 billion euros in lost revenue in 2014.

Tsakiris links the lost revenue to the failure to prosecute or tax short-term rentals or small lodgings. 80 per cent of those rentals do not have legal certification according to industry data, and is a major problem for legally operating hotel who have to foot large tax bills and comply to certain regulations.

Mr Tsakiris made the comments while attending an international tourism forum on the effect of the new international trend of “Sharing Economy” in Greece.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni gave the opening speech at the forum where representatives of the tourism industry presented data showing the phenomenon’s negative impact in the country.

Source: Greek Reporter Greece

The amazing physical transformation of Jordan Tirkeridis. Photo: A Current Affair

A weight loss success story, Mr Tirekidis lost a whopping 203 kilos without the use of surgery, dropping from 310 kilos to 107 kilos in two and a half years.

After seeking medical advice, the 47-year-old realised he needed to take drastic steps to control the severity of his obesity before his body weight resulted in death.

“That much stress and weight is unbelievable,” Mr Tirekidis told A Current Affair.

“I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I knew I had to do something to reclaim my life.”

To comprehend the severity of Mr Tirekidis’ obesity, in order to find out his starting weight a conventional scale was inadequate being made to use a commercial scale at a local tip used for the weighing of trucks. Due to his excessive weight, he had also broken chairs and beds, in addition to removing the front seat of his car for the simple act of driving.

To assist in the extreme dietary and lifestyle changes necessary to lose the weight, Mr Tirekidis sought the help of motivational speaker and hypnotherapy guru Mark Stevens.

Deciding to make the move to the south coast of New South Wales, he lived at Mr Stevens’ Little Forest health retreat where he underwent hypnosis and worked on strengthening his mind through meditation, referring to the mind as the biggest ‘weapon’ in losing the weight.

Additional lifestyle changes included learning to cook, growing his own vegetables and the employment of two personal trainers to help him introduce an exercise regime into his life.

A Current Affair reported that Mr Tirekidis had put the weight gain down to the stresses of taking over and running the family business, and the convenience of fast food.

It’s not surprising that after having undergone such a remarkable transformation, extending beyond the physical, that Mr Tirekidis looks back on old photos as though it were a “bad memory”.

“I feel like a different person,” Mr Tirekidis told A Current Affair.

“It was like standing at the bottom of Mount Everest and climbing up in thongs. I did it the hard way. Now I’m at the top, the view’s good.”

Going from wearing a 9XL to XL, Mr Tirekidis has had to undergo several hours of surgery to assist in the removal of excess skin due to the extreme weight loss.

But he will not be stopping there. In the journey of transforming his body, Mr Tirekidis’ next goal is to put on 20 kilos of muscle.

source: Neos Kosmos

The ancient Greek amphora returned home.

A 90-year-old French citizen has been personally thanked by Greek Culture Minister Costas Tasoulas for returning an ancient ceramic amphora he had in his possession for 40 years.

The amphora was found by the Marseilles man while swimming off a beach in Crete 40 years ago.

The man said he felt the need to return the artefact after he was influenced by the recent international interest on the return of cultural treasures to their country of origin.

Mr Tasoulas stressed the importance of international cooperation on the issue of cultural artefact smuggling, and said there should be new and more strict legislation on antiquities smuggling.

Source: Greek Reporter Greece