User talk:NikoSilver

NikoSilver is currently working his ass off in real life and has decided that it is about time his long RealLifeBreak in favor of WP was interrupted. He will make frequent brief RealLifeBreaks, but you won't see him as much as you may be used to. (Yeah, he knows you're better off!)

This talk page is automatically archived by Werdnabot. Any sections older than 10 days are automatically archived to User_talk:NikoSilver/Archive12. Sections without timestamps are not archived.

Archives
Jan 28 – Mar 28, 2006 Mar 28 – May  2, 2006 May  2 – May 29, 2006 May 29 – Jun  8, 2006 Jun  8 – Oct 12, 2006 Oct 12 – Nov 15, 2006 Nov 15 – Dec 31, 2006 Jan 1 – Jan 24, 2007 Jan 24 – Apr 13, 2007 Apr 14 – Sep 10, 2007 Sep 10 – ... , 2007

Remarks

_*

1. I will post responses below your comment right here, so "watch" my page (or select to watch whatever you edit in your prefs). Same I will expect from you when I message you. Otherwise, continuity is completely lost.
2. You can spy if you want... Only morons don't use e-mail when they want to conspire...
3. My e-mail application actually has a bell thingy. I'll read them faster if you don't message me as well that you sent me one. Actually, it'd be more alarming to send me an e-mail, telling me you've left a message in my talk! :-)
4. This talk is being automatically archived using User:Werdnabot/Archiver. All comments that are older than 10 days are removed and placed in the respective archive. In the rare case I don't respond to a comment, please remind me so.
5. Sign your comments using four tildes (~~~~) that produce your name and the datestamp. The automatic archive doesn't work if it doesn't see a timestamp!

Δε θα κάνεις archive το talk page σου ποτέ; Telex 1 3 : 0 5 , 2 M a y 2 0 0 6 ( U T C )

Μπα! :NikoSilver: ^{(T) @ (C)} 1 3 : 1 8 , 2 M a y 2 0 0 6 ( U T C )

---

Panhellenic Socialist Movement leadership election, 2007

Very well done, thanks! Any idea when it's likely going to take place? —Nightstallion 14:31, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

The party "conference" was set to take place on Feb 8th 2008, yet political analysts argue that it will be done much earlier in Oct-Nov 2007. No definite date has been announced as of yet. BTW the new candidate will have to be nominated by 10% of the party members and PASOK "friends" (=nobody knows what that means!), which is a rather high number given that Papandreou had amassed one million votes, being the only candidate. We'll wait and see. NikoSilver 15:08, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

nods I can only hope -- both Karamanlis and Papandreou are absolutely horrible, IMO. Normally, I'm all for parties left of centre, but I can understand why the choice between either of the two parties would be rather difficult currently... —Nightstallion 11:36, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

IMO the economic policy has to be right of center in Greece, because for the task of "giving money to the people" I trust more the entrepreneurs through their investments, than I trust the politicians through their looting. How much do companies earn? 5%? 15%? Well, they are compelled to invest at least half of it to be viable, thereby creating new jobs and hiring higher-paid executives. On the other hand politicians are notoriously stealing 30% and, of course, invest zero. For the rest of the policy I'd say I am center-left. I guess it takes a split personality to match my ideal candidate! NikoSilver 21:53, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps we are both 'center-right free-market socialists'. See you at the next elections! Politis 11:49, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

I've read (in the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, see this article) that Venizelos might be the catalyst of a large change in the Greek political structure, maybe leading to some sort of alliance between PASOK, the Communists and the Left Coalition -- is that likely? —Nightstallion 12:18, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

New Democracy briefly governed with the Communist Party in 1989. So anything is possible. But in this case it is unlikely. Venizelos is on the right of his party and does not wish such alliances; it will create a Socialist Tower of Babel. But even in such a coalition, they have no majority. Politis 12:57, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

No, they don't, but they'd have a far easier time to become the largest party when in an alliance... Why did the Communists govern with ND back then? —Nightstallion 16:23, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Heard about this? If he was on his way to a meeting to decide the procedure for the election, does that mean we'll be getting a date some time soon? ;) —Nightstallion 11:55, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps he read the instructions in the coffee cup :-) In 1989 ND won the largest number of votes but no overall majority in parliament. Joining with the communist party buried the hatch and, besides, there was no other party that could have provided it with sufficient MPs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Politis (talk • contribs) 12:07, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Why ND governed with the left: In 1989 (or so) Andreas Papandreou had foreseen he'd lose the elections, while he was also accused of major financial scandals. Legal action against the former government could only be done by the immediate next due to the law. So Papandreou altered the election law to deprive parliamentary majority from the ruling party even with the (quite astonishing) 47.8% that it got. The left decided to co-govern with ND in order to prosecute the previous government, and then, after 5 months, new elections were made. NikoSilver 16:52, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

A side issue

It is said that in 1993 PM Mitsotakis and Kiro Gligorov had agreed for the name "Slavomacedonia". MFA Samaras disagreed and turned down the government (which due to the still-active crazy electoral law had only 151 members despite a majority of 47% or so). Papandreou came again to power guns blazing about "no Macedonia in the title at all". The result is the situation we have today as you know it.

Today, the Greek parliament consists of the following:

• A flimsy parliamentary majority (152) for the ruling party (any bells?)
• Samaras returned in ND and a parliament member (any bells?)
• Strong left parties (who are traditionally pro-"Macedonia"-name due to the Greek Civil War etc)
• Far right present in the parliament with minimum voice, that can put its disagreement on record

And now something for conspiracy theorists: If I were to "design" the ideal parliament composition that would "sell" the Macedonia dispute, I wouldn't be able to think of a better one! Being a Laokoon, I foresee a stable solution proposal by ND (such as New Macedonia), which will be disagreed by the left (who will want just Macedonia), by the right (who will want "no Macedonia at all") and by PASOK (same), and will end up in new elections (because the government will be again overthrown), that will lead to PASOK ruling again with a firm position, that will lead to the situation becoming irreparable for Greece (much like it is today, only worse). Well, it may not happen like this, but if it does, you'll know I had said so. NikoSilver 18:29, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Frankly, Greece's position in this is untenable, as more and more countries are simply adopting RoM as the official name instead of FYROM -- another decade or so, and there'll be barely any FYROM-countries left... —Nightstallion 12:58, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Indeed, as illustrated here, there may have been quite an arm-twist from the Republic's part. Extremists say that Greece should pay in the same currency. Still, the problem of official repeated misinformation internally and externally remains, and I've lost hope that it could be solved any other way but with a freaking disambiguating qualifier that would "demote" the country and the ethnic group from their perceived region-wide status to a sub-region status (as it actually is). The worst part is that I've never seen any user from that country here who would not strictly follow the doctrines of Macedonism, which leads me to the conclusion that they are not insisting on calling themselves plain "Macedonians" for reasons of "self-identification" alone; but for reasons that they all actually believe to their bone that their country should be a United Macedonia, that they descend from the Ancient Macedonians, and that their language derives from the Ancient Macedonian language. I'm generally a good-faith person, and if I had met one that says otherwise, then in the hope that his views would eventually spread amongst them, I'd probably change my mind and let them be called as they like. Have you met anyone? NikoSilver 13:13, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

shrugs Frankly, the identifying with Ancient Macedonians and claiming to derive from them doesn't hurt anyone (neither Greece nor Macedonia has too much of a right in that regard); the revisionism is the only worrying part, IMO, and even that can't seriously be considered an issue as the Greek Macedonians would never democratically choose to become part of the RoM. This whole issue could be ignored, IMO, if it weren't for popularity contest issues in Greece (and Macedonia, too, of course)... —Nightstallion 14:22, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Creativity award

Dear Niko, some good guy put in your photos in the greek mountza article. My congratulations on your photos. Someone should have thought of that before, but then again better late than never. Well done!!. I would like to give you a creativity star, but my best idea would be one of those photos and come to think of it, maybe it would be stretching your wonderful sense of humour too much, therefore, please accept my award, without a star.--FocalPoint 18:48, 27 September 2007 (UTC)