Σάββατο 16 Μαρτίου 2013

European Coup d' Etat in Cyprus

Euro-area finance ministers agreed to an unprecedented tax on Cypriot bank deposits as officials unveiled a 10 billion-euro ($13 billion) rescue plan for the country, the fifth since Europe’s debt crisis broke out in 2009.
Cyprus will impose a levy of 6.75 percent on deposits of less than 100,000 euros -- the ceiling for European Union account insurance -- and 9.9 percent above that. The measures will raise 5.8 billion euros, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who leads the group of euro-area ministers, told reporters early today after 10 hours of talks in Brussels. The euro region’s bailout kitty and, possibly, the International Monetary Fund will look to make up the shortfall. A partial“bail-in” of junior bondholders is also possible.
Officials have struggled to find an agreement that would rescue Cyprus, which accounts for just half of a percent of the euro region’s economy, without unsettling investors in larger countries and sparking a new round of market contagion. Policy makers began meeting at 5 p.m. yesterday in a hastily convened gathering, seeking to overcome differences on bondholder losses while financial markets were closed.

Bank Runs

“Further measures concern the increase of the withholding tax on capital income, a restructuring and recapitalisation of banks, an increase of the statutory corporate income tax rate and a bail-in of junior bondholders,” according to a communique released by ministers after the talks. It didn’t specify whether bank or sovereign bond holders could be affected.
The European Central Bank will use its existing facilities to make funds available to Cypriot banks as needed to counter potential bank runs. Depositors will receive bank equity as compensation.
Finance Minister Michael Sarris said the plan was the“least onerous” of the options Cyprus faced to stay afloat.
“It’s not a pleasant outcome, especially of course for the people involved,” said Sarris. The Cypriot parliament will convene tomorrow to vote on legislation needed for the bailout.
While the tax on deposits will hurt wealthy Russians with money in Cypriot banks, it will also sting ordinary citizens. Some ATMs in the country have run out of cash, Erotokritos Chlorakiotis, general manager of the Cooperative Central Bank, told state-run CYBC.

Frozen Funds

Funds to pay the levy were frozen in accounts immediately, ECB Executive Board Member Joerg Asmussen said. The levy will be assessed before Cypriot banks reopen on March 19 after a March 18 national holiday. Sarris said electronic transfers will also be limited until then.
“As it is a contribution to the financial stability of Cyprus, it seems just to ask a contribution of all deposit holders,” Dijsselbloem said, noting the country’s financial industry was five times the size of its economy. The plan includes “unique measures” that address the “exceptional nature” of Cyprus and show “inflexible commitment to financial stability and the integrity of the euro area.”
The IMF will consider contributing money to the rescue, said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who travelled to Brussels for the talks. “We believe that the proposal as outlined by Jeroen is actually sustainable,” she said.
Euro ministers expect the region’s bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, will approve a bailout proposal“by the second half of April 2013 and subject to completion of national procedures.”

Skeptics

Cyprus pledged to step up asset sales and enact budget cuts amounting to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product. The aid program, which should be completed by the second half of April, calls for its debt to be 100 percent of GDP by 2020. The EU forecasts it at 93 percent this year. The deal calls for the banking sector to shrink substantially by 2018.
Skeptics including Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker had said that imposing investor losses in Cyprus risked reigniting the financial crisis that has so far pushed five of the euro zone’s 17 members to seek aid. Last year, the euro area took what officials called a unique step to ask Greek bondholders to absorb losses.
Asmussen said tapping deposit holders was needed to expand Cyprus’s tax base. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called the assessment a strictly fiscal measure. Rehn had warned against so-called haircuts on depositors to avoid setting a destabilizing precedent.
When asked if a deposit assessment could be ruled out for future rescues, Rehn said in an interview: “It can and there is no concrete case where it should be considered.”

ECB Role

“This kind of stability fee is clearly a much better choice from the point of view of financial stability and Cypriot citizens than a full-scale bail-in, which would have led to very chaotic consequences in the Cypriot economy,” he said.
Cypriot banks are on track to regain access to ECB emergency lending facilities once they have been successfully recapitalized, Asmussen said. Cyprus is “systemically relevant” and needs assistance to ensure stability of the euro, Asmussen told reporters.
The ECB also will be available to euro-area banks that may need extra liquidity, Asmussen said. Authorities plan to ringfence Cypriot bank branches in Greece, through transactions with Greek banks that won’t require money from Greece’s rescue funds, he said.
Corporate tax rates in Cyprus will rise to 12.5 percent to 10 percent as part of the deal, Dijsselbloem said. Rehn told reporters that Russia, whose banks have loaned as much as $40 billion to Cypriot companies of Russian origin, would ease terms on its existing loans to Cyprus as the rescue unfolds. Cyprus’s finance minister is scheduled to fly to Moscow on March 20.
At the talks, the ministers also agreed to give extra time to Ireland and Portugal to repay loans to the European Financial Stability Facility. The euro group, IMF and ECB will approve the details of the extensions and the Cyprus deal once technical details have been ironed out and national parliaments have acted as needed, the finance ministers said in a statement.

Παρασκευή 15 Μαρτίου 2013

El Dorado should mine but not refine Gold in Greece!

Eldorado needs a social license to mine Greek gold
History shows that the Canadian miner faces determined and sustained opposition on environmental grounds, but it could have its treasure if it pledged a measure of it to the local population

Protesters shout slogans during a rally in Athens, as they oppose a copper-gold mine project in the Halkidiki region in northern Greece on March 12.  (Yorgos Karahalis, Reuters)

Protesters shout slogans during a rally in Athens, as they oppose a copper-gold mine project in the Halkidiki region in northern Greece on March 12. (Yorgos Karahalis, Reuters) Last Saturday, a crowd of approximately 15,000 people from Thessaloniki and the Halkidiki peninsula flooded the commercial high street of Greece’s northern port city. They paraded placards with the faces of politicians who had helped sell four mining concessions to a series of Canadian and Australian companies over the past decade, and chanted, “We want forests, earth and water, not a tomb made of gold.” On Monday the protests spread to Athens and Komotini, and more anti-mining events are planned.
Why, at a time of desperately high unemployment (nominally 27 percent nationwide, but forecast by the Labour Institute to rise to 31 percent by the end of the year) is a foreign investor having such trouble establishing himself?
The tomb of gold the protesters refer to is a series of environmental calamities they fear will befall the area if Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corporation, the current holder of the concessions, proceeds with plans to extract and refine gold ore. Chief among those concerns is the poisoning of the water table from naturally occurring arsenic in some of the ore and from cyanide used in the leeching process. Many are concerned about the demise of air quality from dust produced by the pulverisation of millions of tonnes of the ore. Greece’s Geological Research Institute found low-content gold deposits across northern Greece in the 1980s, and many locals suspect that Eldorado will one day extend its operations uncontrollably, turfing up hundreds of thousands of hectares.
It is not the current lead, zinc, copper and silver mining operations the locals object to – only the extraction of gold. For Eldorado and for Greece, the stakes are huge. Eldorado estimates that its concessions at Stratoni, Skouries and Olympias in Halkidiki and Perama in Alexandroupolis contain provable reserves of some 12 million ounces worth more than $20 billion on today’s market. If the mines were to operate as planned, they would account for a fifth of Eldorado’s worldwide gold production by 2016. They would make Greece Europe’s leading gold producer and bring in export revenues of a billion dollars a year, helping to reverse what many economists now believe was Greece’s worst problem before the crisis – its massive trade deficit.
Eldorado says it has invested $100 million over the past year and would invest ten times that amount over the lifespan of the mines. But it also knows that Greece ranks poorly as an investment environment and that the people of Halkidiki have already seen off a number of suitors.
If the history of the goldmines is full of unfulfilled potential, it is also replete with lessons for a mature investor. Another Canadian mining company, TVX Gold, went bankrupt over the mines. It alienated locals with layoffs in 1995 and did little to win them back. A series of legal challenges that local authorities lodged with the Council of State delayed development for so long, that by 2003 TVX was forced to write off its Greek subsidiary and merge with another Canadian miner.
Eldorado has learned from TVX’s layoffs, and rather than paring down operations it has doubled the size of the payroll to 800 in a year. That increases the number of families invested in the mines’ future and gives the impression that it is about to make something happen. But Eldorado cannot ultimately buy everyone off with jobs. It will have to address broader environmental concerns. Greece generates a quarter if its income from tourism, transport and trade. By contrast, little more than three percent comes from primary industry, and most of that comes from farming, which is environmentally sensitive. It is hardly surprising that most people in Halkidike, a peninsula of white sandy beaches, forests and wildlife, are already employed in hotels, restaurants, farming and fishing.
Frontier Pacific, the Canadian firm from which Eldorado bought its Perama concession, understood that beyond its legal license from Athens, it had to win what its CEO, Peter Tegart, called “social licensing” from the local population. Eldorado needs to do the same. Politicians in Athens will change a dozen times during the lifetime of the mines; the locals are there to stay; and it is they who do not currently feel like stakeholders.
Unfortunately for Eldorado, central government has lost so much authority during the crisis, that winning licenses in Athens probably sets its chances back in the local constituency. Any ministers who claim to be in a position to deliver the population are simply overstating the case. And while some local opposition may be politically driven, much is based on genuine conviction. Winning Halkidiki, therefore, has to be seen as a wholly separate exercise from the legal and bureaucratic one, and one that Eldorado must undertake alone.
This will take a lot more than the company’s current tactics of press conferences in Athens or flyers inserted in Sunday papers suggesting that environmentally aware protesters do not represent “the true Halkidiki”. A well-advertised town hall meeting in Thessaloniki, where Vancouver-based CEO Paul Wright and the company’s top brass in Greece answered concerns, would be much more in the right vein.
Forthrightness is key. For instance, Greenwich Resources, a UK company trying to develop a small gold mining concession at Sappes, near Alexandroupoli, has decided that no amount of persuasion will do away with cyanide concerns. It would forego the cyanide leeching process altogether and ship crushed ore for processing elsewhere. This sacrifices about a tenth of the gold content, but it kills a potentially deadly argument.
Eldorado insists that its cyanide process is fully contained (as opposed to open-air) and would produce storable cyanide bricks, not vats of poison. Local activists are still not convinced. If Greenwich Resources is prepared to sacrifice 10 percent over cyanide, Eldorado could do the same in a slightly different way. It could volunteer to deposit 10 percent of profits in a foundation dedicated to environmental restitution, improving schools and hospitals, scholarships to Canadian universities and even modest pensions for those whose health is affected by mining activity.
Ultimately Eldorado has to be prepared for failure. The people of Halkidike may simply decide that they are not prepared to accept the risks at any price. That decision would have to be respected. Governments in Athens will not teargas them into submission, and academics and activists will seize every possible opportunity to file injunctions. Eldorado can argue that it is a canary in the investment goldmine that is Greece, and that its demise will deter others; but it can only do so convincingly if it has made honest and direct efforts to engage the people it most affects.
Greeks are aware that resource-based industries are finite. Themistocles stressed the point in the early 5th century BC, when he convinced Athenians to use newly discovered deposits of silver to produce a mighty fleet rather than a handout. His leadership saved Greece from a second Persian invasion. Eldorado needs to convince the Greeks that it is Themistocles, not Xerxes.

Πέμπτη 14 Μαρτίου 2013

Mark My Words!!! By Yorgos Potamitis



Greece’s dept crisis has led some sharp minds to creativity. One of them is Yorgos Potamitis, a Greek Canadian who has studied in Toronto and now lives in Athens. George has created a mobile game called Mark My Words. The Quotations Game which is now available for both androids and IOS phones. It is a game for adults and kids as well, which leads to the quotations of the great personalities of humanity throughout the centuries.

 You can download it here: www.mmwgame.com,https://www.facebook.com/markmywordsgameis the game's facebook page

You can watch  the game’s trailer on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imm0KI3FsaUis the link to the game’s trailer on youtube

 Who is Yorgos Potamitis
I could give you a brief background of the game and myself as well. Firstly for me Canada is like my second home. I spend 8 years of my life in Toronto since I got my BA from University of Toronto in IR and History and then also went to Ryerson’s University where I finished the Radio and Television Arts dept. And I also have the Canadian Citizenship so in a way I am also a Canadian product! However the game is in reality created by Greeks in Greece and it was an attempt to explore new avenues available in order to overcome the new realities that we are faced with here, which I am sure you are aware of!

 Mark My Words, the game

 Now, the game. It’s a game obviously based on quotations . The player is presented with a quotation whether it’s serious, witty, silly or even stupid and he or she has to discover who was responsible for it. There are 4 alternative answers and if this is not helpful enough the player can use 4 clues in order to make a more educated guess.

 This is the game play in an nutshell. I have tried to keep only quotes by people who to some degree are, if not famous at least recognizable by most. In addition you will find in the game quotes by people like Confucius and Socrates, Lady Gaga and Wayne Gretzky . Napoleon , Churchill, Oscar Wilde and Albert Einstein, in other words you will come across with representatives of all human activities!.

 Right now there are 800 such quotes and soon they will be 900. And the fact is that people love quotations and this is the first game exclusively based on them, with the innovative addition of the clues.

 The site of the game is www.mmwgame.com,https://www.facebook.com/markmywordsgameis the game's facebook page and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imm0KI3FsaUis the link to the game’s trailer on youtube

 Justinaki

Τετάρτη 13 Μαρτίου 2013

Leo Housakos considers Multiculturalism an insult!




Multiculturalism’s an outdated insult

LEO HOUSAKOS

The Globe and Mail

PublishedMonday, Mar. 11 2013, 6:00 AM EDT

involving public servants allegedly wooing the ethnic vote is a sign of the times. Multiculturalism in Canada is a fraud used for political gains.

The Liberal Party of Canada created multiculturalism in the 1960s to integrate new immigrants into Canadian society. The stated goal was to encourage and celebrate cultural diversity within a bilingual Canada.

But beneath any good intentions was a political strategy to buy ethnic votes. Multiculturalism became a state-financed marketing program. The government used tax dollars to buy photo ops with ethnic leaders – usually in culturally diverse cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. It would translate into broader support in general elections.

Although the Trudeau Liberals introduced the strategy, successive governments of different stripes led by Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper also embraced it to exploit the voting potential of so-called ethnic Canadians. The policy has been around for half a century and its results paint a disturbing picture. Although we Conservatives refer to it as “outreach” to the ethnic communities, I’m afraid we’re continuing the Liberals’ policy of profiling Canadians based on race, colour and religion.

My parents were targets of the policy when they arrived in Canada in the 1950s. Like most Canadians who aren’t of French or British origin, they learned the policy was not only misguided but derogatory.

Its biggest achievement seems to be the creation of hyphenated Canadians. My parents remind me that people – usually politicians – always call them Greek Canadians. Others are called Italian Canadians or Chinese Canadians. They went through a period of “integration” with this label that created more confusion and challenges than any benefits. The hyphenated labels made it harder for ethnic communities to adjust and achieve success in their new homeland.

I am a Canadian who is of Greek origin – my nation is Canada, my nationality is Canadian and my cultural origin is Greek. Canadian governments should not tolerate the classification of our citizens based on racial profiling.

Canada is a bilingual, multicultural and multifaith society but one made of equal citizens. We should replace multiculturalism with a policy of integration. We should find ways to help newcomers settle in Canada and assume their responsibilities as citizens. We should be more rigid in expecting new Canadians to share a commitment to uphold our fundamental liberties, to respect the rule of law and to respect human rights.

Members of various ethnic communities are fed up with platitudes. They are active members of our society at all levels, and they demand no special status – they just want an equal opportunity to contribute to the continued development of their communities. That’s what they should expect and that’s what we should demand of them.

Our policy of multiculturalism is outdated and doesn’t respond to the challenges faced by new immigrants to integrate and adapt. Multiculturalism insults our status as Canadians. The most recent statistics reveal that 28 per cent of the population is of British origin, 23 per cent is French, 15 per cent is European, 6 per cent is Arabic, 2 per cent is Amerindian etc. Yet, the most remarkable statistic is that 26 per cent of the population is of a variety of mixed backgrounds – should these be double-hyphenated Canadians, or should we abandon this demeaning policy?

Leo Housakos is a Conservative senator.

 

Τρίτη 12 Μαρτίου 2013

Souvlakigate!!!

Justine Frangouli-Argyris
Huffington Post



The Greek restaurant owners in Quebec are an extremely lucky lot given the fact that their ever-popular souvlaki has a legitimate French translation. Called "brochette" and served in countless "brochetteries" all around Canada's French-speaking province, the Greeks have avoided the fate that has befallen their Italian confreres. There is, to this day, no ''souvlakigate'' of which to speak of.
Recently, the Office Québécois de la Langue Francaise or Quebec Board of the French Language, a government body charged with the task of policing the use of Quebec's official language, sent a letter to a renowned Italian eatery in Montreal informing the owners that they were in violation of the law by daring to use the words 'pasta,' 'polpete' and 'bottiglia' on the menu instead of their French equivalents.
'Pastagate,' as it has come to be known, has made its share of the world's news headlines and become a major embarrassment to the minority Parti Québécois government of Pauline Marois, forcing it to call its language inspectors to task and to ouster the Office's president, Louise Marchand.
It should be noted that Quebec's language laws are very strict, pervading all aspects of the province's society and clearly stating that French must be dominant, be it on restaurant menus or anywhere else. On external signage over buildings and businesses, for example, English is permitted only if the lettering used is half the size of the corresponding French characters whereas legal documents may be prepared in English only if expressly requested by the parties concerned.
The recently elected government, in its zeal to placate its more radical wing and maintain the unity of the party base, began its term by attempting to play up its defence of the French language, sending its 'language police' into the streets to seek out violators that refuse to comply with the law. The tactic has backfired, however, making the government the brunt of ridicule and the darling of cartoonists everywhere, where its officers are no longer portrayed as sporting rulers to measure letter sizes but, rather, as perplexed inbeciles rifling through dictionaries in the quest for translations of words such as 'pasta.'
Undaunted, however, the Marois government has attempted to introduce legislation to further strengthen the Charter of the French Language in the form of Bill 14. This highly controversial measure that appears to have little chance of becoming law, calls for, among others:
1) the designation of a minister responsible for language matters;
2) that educational institutions take steps to ensure students receive sufficient training in French to prepare them to flourish in Quebec society;
3) that small businesses employing between 26 and 49 employees make French the language of the workplace;
4) that businesses that serve the public communicate with customers in French;
5) that the bilingual status of numerous municipalities be revoked;
All this, in an effort to 'strengthen' a Charter that already proclaims that:
1) French is the official language of Quebec and a "fundamental factor of its social cohesion;"
2) every person has a right to live and receive an education and work in French in Quebec;
3) immigrants to Quebec have a right to learn French and to benefit from reasonable measures to facilitate their integration.
Not surprisingly, these developments have irked the ire of the Anglophone and Allophone communities who see these initiatives as fresh attempts to infringe on their rights as equal citizens and who have launched a petition that has already garnered over 20,000 signatures in a drive to have Bill 14 never see the light of day.
The Parti Québécois government may have only been in power for a very short period of time, however, it appears that the nine long years it spent slumped in the opposition benches have taught it little. For, instead of trying to promote the beauty of the French language through the channels of art and culture, it attempts to impose its dominance by limiting that of any other. And, rather than funding a worthy and dynamic Francophone education, it resorts to legislation to impede its citizens from attending schooling in the language of their choice.
All this is turning the "Francophonie" that is Quebec into a "Francophobie" and may well end up, once again, causing the best to leave the province in their quest for a brighter future elsewhere in Canada. Already, the first signs are appearing with last month's employment figures showing that the country as a whole generated a very strong 50,700 new hires while Quebec, on the other hand, had a large drop, shedding 11,300 jobs.
The government continues to believe that it must use the language card to enhance its popularity with the predominantly Francophone electorate in order to cling to power. The right approach, however, is one which builds on the province's French character, emphasizing its strengths and uniqueness, rather than attempting to legislate all else into extinction.
As for "souvlakigate" or "pastagate," these are policy blunders that can only result in international ridicule and lampooning.

Δευτέρα 11 Μαρτίου 2013

Diaspora against new tax law

From the Greek Australian paper Neos Kosmos

Eugenia Pavlopoulou
More than 200 community members gathered on Monday at the hall of The Pammesinian Brotherhood "Papaflessas"; and those there, entered the door of the Brotherhood angry.
The issue of the open meeting, organized by the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, was the new tax bill of the Greek government; specifically the necessary paperwork Greeks abroad had to submit to the relevant tax authority in Greece in order to prove that they are permanent residents of countries other than Greece, so as to not be taxed as residents of Greece.
As demonstrated throughout the meeting, those present were determined to ignore their obligations of the new law and fight for it to change.
The atmosphere was electrifying, even before the meeting started. Five minutes of delay on behalf of the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, Eleni Lianidou and the crowd started to protest.
Also present at the meeting was tax law specialist from Greece, Yannis Tripidakis, and the president of Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Bill Papastergiadis as well as members of the board.
The information night started with Mr Papastergiadis informing those present that the community has already sent two letters to the Greek Minister of Finance, Mr Yannis Stournaras, asking him to consider amendments to law in regards to those articles that relate to Greeks abroad.
"We will not forget the issue. It is unfair for the Greek tax authorities to ask us to prove that we are not 'elephants'. The community requests and demands a fair response and deserves a proper solution on this issue," said Mr Papastergiadis, referring to the changes of the new tax law.
Then, Mr Tripidakis came to the fore explaining in a summary how the provisions of the new law and supporting documents must be submitted to the Greek Tax Department. According to the current law, those who have any form of income or asset in Greece, and they file a tax return in Greece, must also file a confirmation from the Australian Tax Office to the relevant Greek authorities which shows their income, or their Australian Tax Return for the relevant year will be taxed in Greece.
Mr Tripidakis clarified that those who file a tax return in Greece, but are not required to file one in Australia, must submit another document from the municipality they live in, or another authority, to show that they and their family (if there is a spouse or underage children) are permanent residents of Australia.
All these documents, as required by law, must be submitted in the relevant tax authority in Greece from the taxpayer himself, or through a duly authorized person in Greece.
Mr Tripidakis stressed that expatriates should be very careful about whom to appoint as their authorised representative to Greece, saying it is no longer so easy for a relative to carry out these tasks as the system has become more complex.
The lawyer also stressed that those who have property in Greece must check their E9 (tax declaration of properties in Greece form) and make sure that their properties are listed there in detail.
The briefing by Mr Tripidakis was often interrupted by disappointed members of the crowd, complaining about how unfair it is for the community to have to go through this process just to prove they do not live permanently in Greece.
The protesting crowd became even more vocal when the Consul General of Greece in Melbourne, started her address to them.
"Do not send any documents to Greece. I will not allow this injustice to go ahead."
The microphone decided to "die" at the beginning of her speech. However this worked (at least semantically) in a positive way for Ms Lianidou who was forced to leave the lectern and mix with the crowed, due to the electrical malfunction, to inform them of the steps she has taken to make the situation fairer.
"Why us? Why do we have to pay for the bad economic situation in Greece?" members of the crowd declared before Ms Lianidou even started to explain the financial situation Greece is currently facing.
Ms Lianidou eventually managed to calm the restless crowd. The key to this change of mood was her evident determination to fight for a change to this "unjust bureaucratic requirement on behalf of the Greek state" as she called it.
"I want you to send a message to those who lodge your tax returns in Greece that, for now, you will not send any documents, until further notice. If they ask you why, tell them because our Consul General here in Melbourne told us so.
"And if we do not manage to solve this issue by March 30, we will get another extension, until June 30," the Consul General declared and expatriates broke into loud applause, proving that they are determined not to succumb to the whims of Greek bureaucracy.
Ms Lianidou added: "The goal is to abolish any provisions that create unnecessary problems for the expatriates, and I mean all kinds of problems. Because I hear that many of you fear for your pensions. I hear that many of you fear for your property.
"For those homes or small blocks of land that you inherited from your mothers and fathers. For properties that you kept as a treasured piece of your forefathers for your children and grandchildren, I have to tell you this:
"First, to declare it in Greece. Make sure that there is no piece of land or other property that you have not declared on the E9 form. This I advise you to do without fear. So nobody can touch your assets. And do not sell a metre of it despite pressures to do so".
The decisive tone of Ms Lianidou, assuring that the issue will be resolved and that no one should send the documents to Greece until further notice, gave birth to discussions.  It can be noted that these discussions serve as a further reason for members of the community not to send their documents to Greece, as yet.

Κυριακή 10 Μαρτίου 2013

Brogurt, Greek Yogurt For Men By Men



Nothing screams masculinity quite like shirtless, hairless, physically fit men eating Greek yogurt--at least, it doesn’t seem that way to Powerful --the company behind a new all-natural snack/meal substitute called Powerful Yogurt.
Packed with protein and “specifically designed to meet the health and performance needs of busy men with an active lifestyle,” Powerful Yogurt is said to help those who eat it lose fat, gain muscle and improve digestive health. According to the website, the yogurt, which is sold in “man-sized” packages with six flavors including banana, apple-cinnamon and mango, was designed by sports nutritionists, trainers and food scientists. Powerful Yogurt also boasts the tagline “find your inner abs.”
"In a niche typically dominated by female consumers, we decided to develop a new Greek yogurt specifically suited to address the unique health and nutrition needs of the most neglected consumers in the category: men," the website says.
Grubstreet was quick to coin aptly-nicknamed “brogurt” -and other websites such as the Atlantic Wire posted images of screen grabs from Powerful Yogurt's website claiming that the yogurt contains mineral zinc, "which according to studies done at the University of Michigan can help male fertility..." These claims have since been removed from the company's site.
Powerful has not yet responded to FoxNews.com’s inquiry as to why they are no longer advertising that ingredients in the yogurt may help improve the quality of a man’s sperm.
No word on whether it is safe for women to enjoy Powerful Yogurt, but the brand’s blog does include a picture of what looks like an attractive woman they claim is a nutrition consultant eating


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/02/26/brogurt-greek-yogurt-for-men-by-men/#ixzz2N8tDZFCg