GreekNewsBlog: johnmetaxas.com

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Vol. 3, #4

Sunday, July 15, 2007

The Athens Affair: Engineering group analyzes Greek mobile phone spying case

From InfoWorld:

A highly sophisticated spying operation that tapped into the mobile phones of Greece's prime minister and other top government officials has highlighted weaknesses in telecommunications systems that still use decades-old computer code, according to a report by two computer scientists.

Read the report in IEEE Spectrum Online:

The Athens Affair

By Vassilis Prevelakis and Diomidis Spinellis

How some extremely smart hackers pulled off the most audacious cell-network break-in ever

On 9 March 2005, a 38-year-old Greek electrical engineer named Costas Tsalikidis was found hanged in his Athens loft apartment, an apparent suicide. It would prove to be merely the first public news of a scandal that would roil Greece for months.

The next day, the prime minister of Greece was told that his cellphone was being bugged, as were those of the mayor of Athens and at least 100 other high-ranking dignitaries, including an employee of the U.S. embassy. [See sidebar "CEOs, MPs, & a PM."]

The victims were customers of Athens-based Vodafone-Panafon, generally known as Vodafone Greece, the country's largest cellular service provider; Tsalikidis was in charge of network planning at the company. A connection seemed obvious. Given the list of people and their positions at the time of the tapping, we can only imagine the sensitive political and diplomatic discussions, high-stakes business deals, or even marital indiscretions that may have been routinely overheard and, quite possibly, recorded.

Even before Tsalikidis's death, investigators had found rogue software installed on the Vodafone Greece phone network by parties unknown. Some extraordinarily knowledgeable people either penetrated the network from outside or subverted it from within, aided by an agent or mole. In either case, the software at the heart of the phone system, investigators later discovered, was reprogrammed with a finesse and sophistication rarely seen before or since.

CLICK TO CONTINUE.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Bill Richardson is first presidential candidate to respond to AHI questionnaire on Hellenic-American issues

“As Ambassador to the United Nations, I came to understand that the continued illegal occupation of Cyprus by Turkey adversely affects stability in the region and violates basic human rights.

Although the United States recognizes only the Republic of Cyprus as the only government on the island of Cyprus, as President, I would assure that no organ of the United States government would act in any way that may compromise the effect of that recognition. I would also support legislation pending in Congress that would enable U.S. citizens to seek reimbursement for their exclusion from the continued use of their property by Turkey and persons acting under the protection of the Turkish occupation.”

Bill Richardson, June 27 policy statement on Cyprus in response to AHI questionnaire

In May, the American Hellenic Institute sent a detailed Questionnaire to each of the 2008 Presidential Candidates regarding Cyprus, the Aegean, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Halki, the Visa Waiver Program, FYROM and Turkey. Bill Richardson is the first candidate to respond to the questionnaire in a letter to the AHI.

Richardson is to be commended for responding so quickly and positively. While other candidates also are supportive on these issues, Richardson was first to speak. Although that is no guarantee of any actual outcome if he is elected, it reveals that he is at least cognizant of the importance of these issues to our community.

Bravo, Bill Richardson!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The court had no jurisdiction to deny the patriarchate its ecumenical status, says Bartholomew

From AsiaNews:

A group of Turkish extremists try to prevent non-Turkish members of the sacred Synod from entering the Phanar. The patriarch talks about the difficult situation Christians face in the country. He remembers the murder of Father Santoro, journalist Hrant Dink and three Protestant men in Malatya. He remembers his predecessor, Athenagoras, and the latter’s meeting with Pope Paul VI.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – More police officers were deployed in front of the Phanar, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate when a Turkish nationalist lawyer, Kemal Kerinçsiz, took advantage of a Turkish Appeals Court’s ruling denying the Patriarchate its ecumenical status, to try to enforce the decision by denying entry to five members of the Synod who are not Turkish but come from the world’s five continents.

CLICK TO CONTINUE.

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Michael Sarbanes enters race for Baltimore City Council President

From Hellenic News:

Michael Sarbanes, son of Senator Paul Sarbanes and brother of Congressman John Sarbanes, has entered the race for City Council President in Baltimore. Michael brings over fifteen years of experience working on the complex problems that face our cities. He has been an attorney working with communities, director of the Maryland Office of Crime Control and Prevention, and head of Baltimore�s leading advocacy organization working on housing, transportation, drugs and other city issues.

Michael and his father Paul have the distinction of being the only father-son to both win the Pyne Prize at Princeton University, the highest prize conferred by the university on an undergraduate. Michael attended Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship and New York University Law School.

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Friday, July 6, 2007

Islamic group protests restrictions on Ecumenical Patriarchate

Our friend, John Sitilides, of the Southeast Europe Project, brought the following statement to our attention:

From the website of the Center for Islamic Pluralism:

CIP Protests Turkish Restrictions on Orthodox Christian Ecumenical Patriarch

Washington, DC, USA

July 1, 2007

The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) joins with others in protesting the judgment of a Turkish court on June 26, 2007, reaffirming state limitations on the religious status of the Orthodox Christian Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomaeus I, who resides in Istanbul. The Turkish authorities have curbed the freedom of movement and other activities of the Ecumenical Patriarch in ministering to Orthodox believers outside Turkey. The Turkish government insists that the Patriarch function only as a local religious official of Turkish nationality, subject to harsh state regulation. In so doing, the Turkish government denies the Ecumenical nature of the Patriarchate.

This policy, with other Turkish restrictions on Orthodox Christian religious life, represents one of several significant failures by the Turkish government in recognizing the rights of religious minorities – Muslim as well as non-Muslim – within its borders. Turkish media also engage in demagogic propaganda alleging that the Ecumenical Patriarch seeks to undermine the Turkish Republic.

CIP calls on the Turkish regime to bring its policies in line with European democratic standards in the treatment of all religious minorities, including Alevi Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenians, and Jews.

CIP is an organization of Muslims committed to moderate theology and practice, with affiliated members and correspondents in the U.S., Europe, and across the Muslim world.

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Thursday, July 5, 2007

A Greek blogosphere is developing

by John Metaxas

In the past few months, several websites have come to our attention that either deal with Greek-related topics or are published by Greek-Americans. Primarily we've learned of these sites by receiving an email, or simply by noticing the traffic to our site that comes from links from theirs.

Nancy Biska publishes a very informative site at Hellotia.com.

Chris Galakoutis, who publishes HellenicAthletes.com writes: "If we can get a group of us, 5-10 sites that truly work hard to advance quality content, and help each other, then that would be a good thing."

Lornion, who publishes the "O Topos Mou" blog in Greek at lornion.blogspot.com, posted the following recently: "Have you noticed that Time Magazine’s Man of the Year is … you, me, and anyone who uses the internet for writing, buying, selling, spreading of ideas, news, images, jokes, business, marketing, research, books, entertainment and any scientific topic."

We've instituted a reciprocal links section that sends links back to these sites. Among the other sites linking to us are: Tony Phyrillas, My Greek Odyssey and ThePlaka.com.

Also take a look at a unique site, YourGreekNews.com, which offers weekly podcasts out of Canada.