People are concerned that Andrew Breitbart is charging that Alexi didn’t meet his military obligations in Greece? This is of concern in a US Senate race?
It appears he probably didn’t have to serve because he wasn’t there for over six months in any calendar year, but what’s amusing is that if you look at a few of the sites explaining the obligation around the internet, the Greek army often cannot explain who has to serve and when. Midnight Review covers some of the basics here.
The Greek Basketball season generally runs from October to June, but Alexi was hurt according to what I’ve read and may have left earlier. None of this is explicitly on a time line because nobody actually cares.
My favorite bit is this explanation:
There is a saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Nothing could be more true than the issue of army obligations for Greek nationals living abroad; The laws, if we can call them that, are as ambiguous and arbitrary as when I was drafted 18 years ago. Then I got off because of a loophole in the law. There are more loopholes than Swiss cheese. I am a third generation Greek which means my father and I were born and raised in the States; that was an advantage then but not now. Whether you are 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation it’s the same. Before I start deciphering the complicated laws, I want to say that all people born outside of Greece who have Greek background up to the 3rd generation are Greek nationals whether they like it or not.
All the information below is taken from personal experience , helping others, and quoting the latest written laws. Believe me they are as confusing to the army as they are to me. Why is it that two people the same age, education, generation Greek that one serves or has reduced time and the other pays some of it off or at least partly or doesn’t serve at all. When it happened to me the army,after I asked when do I serve, the answer was and still is, “it is a case by case basis.” That means even your twin brother is not the same as you when it comes to the army. We’ll see why later on. Whatever is in quotations is taken from the latest written laws or spoken to me personally.
That an anonymous article at a site run by a notorious liar gets to interrupt the political discourse is rather amazing. Think of what happens when Andy Martin brings up slop?
Yeah it is likely nothing, but… Two things.
Did he have a Greek passport? If so that is different than some third generation guy who feels no real tie to his or her homeland..
Also if this is completely nothing why not come out and say so, prove it, use it as an attack on those who brought it up and as a way to try and raise some money (since the right wing blogs are out to get you) Alexi sure could use some money. (They could be doing this right now as I type this).
I’m checking on the first.
They might. I think they’d rather be on message though. That to me is the real problem with having to deal with these things.