The Olympic Lists (8 of 10) Alpine and Mediterranean Nations Combined

We have 8.5 minutes to complete this entry; let's see if we can do it!:

1) Coline Mattel. (pictured) 18. France. Women's Ski-jumping.

2) Adam Lamhammedi. 18. Morocco. Men's Alpine. Adam is a dual-citizen with Canada.

3) Elise Pellegrin. 22. Malta. Women's Alpine. First athlete to represent Malta She is the only athlete from the tiny island nation at the games. Was born and raised in France. Featured in a "Mental Floss" list of athletes who are solely representing their nations.

4) Emre Simsek. 26. Turkey. Men's Alpine.

5) Anna Fenninger. (aka "The Cheetah Girl"). 24. Austria. Women's Alpine. Won gold.

6) Armin Zoeggler. 40. Italy. Men's Luge. Won bronze.

7) Tatjaa Hufner. 30. Germany. Women's Luge. Won Silver

8) Ander Mirambell. 30. Spain. Men's Skeleton.

9) Dominique Gisin. 28. Switzerland. Women's Alpine. Won gold in downhill.

10) Alexi Bychenko. 26. Israel. Men's Figure Skating. Has also skated for his native Ukraine.

http://www.myswitzerland.com

http://www.visitaustria.info

http://www.ski-france.com

Top Five More Countries Turkish PM Erdogan Should Defect To

Wow! The Bulgarian flag (pictured bottom) sure looks funky on this blog, as its white stripe at the time seems invisible.

Bulgaria is one of ten countries, we think disgraced Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should escape to; the other five are listed on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire" http://www.nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com


Here we go:

1) Uzbekistan (pictured top): This former Soviet Republic is Sunni Muslim and has close ties with Turkey and lots of open spaces; it is also supposedly a dictatorship. Erdogan should be at home there.

2) Morocco (pictured middle): Unlike other Erdogan critics, I think the prime minister's traveling to Morocco at the height of the Gezi Park protests in Istanbul wasn't a mistake. His faux pas was returning from there!

3) Bulgaria: Why not?!

4) Sudan: Lots of desert, and the dictator of Sudan has a solid partnership with the current Turkish government. In normal times, this was an outrage and embarrassment to those of us of Turkish heritage. But, now if Sudan takes Erdogan, all of us will jump for joy like children at the zoo in Gulhane Park in Istanbul. Oh! I forgot. Erdogan had that demolished.

5) Tunisia: The second country Erdogan visited on his north African tour. Perhaps, he stayed at a hotel in Tunis that he can imagine spending 30 years in.

Quote of the Day- Jose Saramago

Today, we conclude our quotes from famous figures associated with each of the 16 countries represented in the Euro Cup 2012 with a quip from the Portuguese novelist Jose Saramgo (1922-2010).

Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals today with a 2-1 win over Denmark; they will join Germany who defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in advancing from the dreaded group of death.

Saramago was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, which in recent years has gone to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk and the late British playwright Harold Pinter.

The Portuguese writer was a communist politically which forced him to live a portion of his life in exile in the Canary Islands, joining the likes of the late Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet, who lived in Russia, and the late American novelist William Burroughs, who lived in Morocco (but lived the later years of his life in Lawrence, Kansas)  as writers who lived in exile for either political or personal reasons.

Saramago's most famous novels include "Baltasar and Blimunda" (1982), "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ" (1991), which was very controversial, and "Blindness" (1997).

Here is his quote:

"As citizens, we all have an obligation to intervene and become involved_ it's the citizen who changes things."

Sports Desk- Disappointing Big Game in Turkish Soccer

The major Turkish soccer game of the week was yesterday's clash between two Istanbul powerhouse rivals, Galatasaray and Besiktas, but in spite of all the hype, the game ended in 0-0 tie.

But, some teams in the league scored major victories. This included Bursaspor (pictured here) which scored a 1-0 home win in Bursa over Samsunspor today with a goal from Moroccan national player Michael Chretien, who previously played for the French team Nancy, in the 72nd minute.

In other games, Liberian national Tonia Tisdell scored the game-winner in the 74th minute for Ankara Gucu in the team's 2-1 win over Karabukspor.

For traditional soccer power Fenerbahce (Istanbul) Cameroonian national player Henri Bienvenu scored the game-winner early in the 14th minute over Eskisehirspor in the team's 1-0 win.

And, second place Trabzonspor, which is also competing in the UEFA Cup, tied the port city of Mersin's Idmanyurdu team 1-1. Turkish national player Giray Kacar scored for Trabzonspor and Brazilian Andre Moritz scored for Idmanyurdu.

Here are the complete results:

Trabzonspor 1 Idman Yurdu (Mersin) 1

Bursaspor 1 Samsunspor 0

Galatasaray 0 Besiktas 0

Fenerbahce 1 Eskisehirspor 0

Ankara Gucu 2 Karabukspor 1

Kayserispor 1 Orduspor 0

Gaziantepspor 1 Manisaspor 1

Antalyaspor 2 Istanbul BB 1

Sivasspor 1 Ankara Genclerbirligi 1

Top Ten Places to Move to if Sarah Becomes Prez

My good friend Debbie Collins, a public librarian in Bethesda, Md., (pse- see other blog) has told me that if Sarah Palin becomes the next president, she will leave the country for The Land of Blue Frogs (Costa Rica).

I made a similar list in October on our other blog "The Daily Vampire," in which I named Iceland as my top choice, but Ms. Collins is inclined to go with warmer weather.

Interestingly enough, Mrs. Collins picked two Muslim countries in Morocco (she told me she's always wanted to go to Tangiers, the setting of William Burroughs's cult novel "Naked Lunch") and the United Arab Emirates (she said: "I hear there's lots of money in Dubai). She is not Muslim herself.

Two cold countries, Canada and Denmark, made her list, but she professed I was nuts for putting France on my top ten 'Escape from Sarah' list (it was number six on my list).

Canada was also one of three countries to make both of our lists, along with Argentina and Greece.

Here is her list, if you have one of your "Escape from Sarah" lists, email me at tango74@aol.com

1. Costa Rica

2. Greece

3. Brazil

4. South Africa

5. New Zealand

6. Argentina

7. Canada

8. Denmark

9. Morocco

10. United Arab Emirates