The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.Blogger Tips and Tricks
This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Friday, October 8, 2010

Nobel Peace Prize Outrages China ..[ 1853 ]

China Outraged Over Nobel Peace Prize Selection


Pro-democracy protesters raise pictures of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with Chinese words reading: ‘Release Liu Xiaobo’ during a demonstration outside the China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, 08 Oct. 2010
Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESSPro-democracy protesters raise pictures of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with Chinese words reading: ‘Release Liu Xiaobo’ during a demonstration outside the China's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, 08 Oct. 2010
Stephanie Ho | Beijing 08 October 2010
Sarah Williams' Q&A with VOA Beijing Correspondent Stephanie Ho:
China has lashed out at the Nobel Peace Prize committee after it awarded this year's prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who has long called for political reform in the country.
The Chinese government's reaction was swift and unequivocal. A statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website called the award "an obscenity" that goes against the aims of the award.  It warned the award also will hurt China's relations with Norway, the country where the Nobel Committee is based.
The Chinese government's dismay had been expressed in recent days, in less harsh language, by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

Jiang does not mention Liu Xiaobo by name, but points out that Chinese judicial authorities sentenced him to jail for violating Chinese law.

In December, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison for subversion, although officials have given no details of which laws he has violated.
CHINESE REACTION
VOA Beijing - Stephanie Ho
  • "Inside China... the government has been making an effort, apparently, to have a total news blackout on the fact that he's been awarded a Nobel prize. I mean, China would like to win a Nobel, but the thought of awarding a Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident who is in jail is not something that the Chinese government would want to make public. So there's been no news announcement on TV. In fact, when the international news channels tried to make an announcement, the Chinese apparently tried to pull the plug. My TV has been cut off quite a few times whenever the announcement comes up."

The 54-year-old writer was detained in December 2008, shortly before the release of Charter 08 - a manifesto he helped organize that calls for sweeping political reform.
Patrick Poon, of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, a writers' group that Liu has previously headed, says he thinks a hard-line from the Chinese government will actually inspire more people to speak out.

"As we can also see in the situation in the past few years, there may have been more and more crackdowns, but we have not seen a decreasing number of dissidents, people expressing their views," said Poon.


"On the contrary, we are having more and more petitioners, more and more human rights defenders coming onto the scene.  I think that will only bring a reversal effect, if the Chinese government cracks down on the people, that will have a reverse effect, to get more people in the streets," he added.

The statement expressing the Chinese government's anger was carried on the Foreign Ministry's Webpage and aimed at outsiders.

Other than that, the news of the Nobel Peace prize going to Liu Xiaobo was not carried in Chinese media, and broadcasts of international TV channels carrying the news were temporarily cut.  Internet users could find information about it on the Internet, but only if they used proxies to get around cyber-blocks the Chinese government maintains to filter out information that it deems sensitive or illegal.
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