British Gumballers forgiven by victims' family
You didn't think the Gumball saga was finished, did you? The latest turn: Nick Morley has been completely absolved of responsibility by the family of the Macedonian couple that was killed in a car accident in this year's rally. Morley was the one was was driving the Techart 911 at the time of the 2-car, twin-fatality crash in Macedonia.
We're not conspiracy theorists, but Macedonians are either the most forgiving people on the planet, or the fix is in. The family not only forgave Morley, but retracted their plans to seek compensation of £100,000, asked that Morley be released from custody and allowed to return to Britain, and tacitly blamed Vladimir, the driver of the Golf, for the accident by saying "It was just fate that forced Vladimir to drive wrongly." Morley, for his part, took no responsibility, saying: he was only going 60 kph, he obeyed all laws, it was the other driver's fault, he tried to help the couple, he only got in the other car and left because people started shouting at him, and he planned on stopping at the border to report the accident. Oh, and the Porsche wasn't even his. And he's not rich. And he doesn't know why the media is saying that, because he's "just a simple property developer." And he doesn't feel guilty, but he does "feel regret for the victims."
It turns out, however, that Morley's brother Oliver actually is rich, and has spoken with the family, but there's been no comment on what transpired. Hmmm...
[Source: Daily Mail]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ACG 9:48AM (6/02/2007)
The country was admitted in the UN as FYROM, isn't that right? The name issue is hotly contested with Greece, isn't that right too? Inhabitants of the Skopje region came to the area way after Alexander the Great, but they still lay claim to his heritage and legacy, contrary to any historical fact, isn't that right?
and btw, if it is not the poorest country, FYROM is very close to being the poorest and keeping up the name issue with Greece is a sure way to stay this way, considering that any and all significant growth and development is likely to come from Greek investment.
However, if you wish to live on lala land, suit yourselves. It's just that a reality check every now and then, never hurt anyone. Cheers;)
ACG 9:53AM (6/02/2007)
Lest I forget, we Greeks happen to live in the same area you describe as very important, plus we are on its waterfront, which you are not. So why would we be jealous again?
eightyd 7:10PM (6/01/2007)
Wait, what?
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paul34 7:16PM (6/01/2007)
Maybe someone should check this family's accounts...
A quote from wikipedia - "[Macedonia is] the poorest of the former Yugoslavian republics"
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Nick 8:08PM (6/01/2007)
From looking at the pics it definitely did not look like a 100 mph accident, the 911 looks relatively intact.
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paul34 11:44PM (6/01/2007)
So how much does a human life go for these days in Macedonia?
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ACG 5:04AM (6/02/2007)
It is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM; it is not Macedonia. This is a hotly contested issue and the blogger may or may not be aware of this, but care should be taken if one wants to be at least neutral. The name under which this country is accepted in the UN is FYROM; NOT Macedonia. They would very much like to be called Macedonia, but besides it being historically completely wrong, it is still undecided officially. Just my 2c.
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ACG 5:11PM (6/02/2007)
Ignorance is bliss my friend... Have you ever been here at all? Do the names Latsis, Stelios Hatziioannou, Niarhos, Lemos and numerous other shipping guys mean anything to you? These guys practically own London and form the largest shipping fleet in the world. All this out of a 10 million people country in the SE Med.
Barney 5:13PM (6/02/2007)
This is ridiculous. A comment is made to suggest the family is being paid off. No proof, just insinuations. From there we get people posting it as fact and belittling not only the people involved, but the country they live in. This is beyond contempt.
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ACG 5:50PM (6/02/2007)
I have been very careful not to belittle the country. Just going off on a tangent about something that is mentioned in the article itself. Just stating facts I believe. Sorry if I have offended anyone:)
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ACG 7:53AM (6/03/2007)
Well, you are God, you should know, right?
However, a little company called Lloyd's thinks otherwise regarding shipping in Greece:
"Greek interests now control around 8.5% of the world’s total number of vessels in service and on order, 16.5% of the world fleet deadweight, or 14.0% of the world fleet expressed in gross tons (against 8.4%, 16.1 % and 13.7% respectively, last year). The Greek owned fleet remains the first in the world, and this year reversed the trend of the last few years, of slowly decreasing its percentage of the world fleet. In terms of ships on order in 2007, Greek interests account for 9.2% of the total in number of vessels, 15.2% of the total DW, or 12.7% of the total GT, against 7.2%, 11.2%, and 9.3% respectively in 2006..."
That's from their latest report on Greek controlled shipping. So that settles that.
As for Greece being a "dirt poor country", from the wiki that you supplied I see it ranks #27 in the world, just below the EU average. If that's your definition of a dirt poor country how would you describe FYROM at #85 or Burundi at #179? You should probably (being God that is) come up with some new words in the English language;)
Plus, statistics is a good way to lie with numbers. The average Greek is way better off than the average European, a widely acknowledged fact in the world that makes Greece one of the top 10 tourist destinations worldwide. Hey, you should try it too some time;)
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hitbyastick 8:17PM (6/03/2007)
ACG-
Why do you feel the need to validate your country's importance? Nobody said anything about Greece- in fact, Greece has nothing to do with two Macedonians that got killed due to an illegal road rally. Obviously you feel insecure about something.
By the way- it is fantasy to say a few Greeks 'own' London- London is wholly owned by the English, and don't you ever forget it. No foreigner will ever 'own' the city of London, you fool.
I have been to Greece. The best part of Greece is not its riches but its wonderful PEOPLE, not counting you. And- I know quite well the Greek maritime track record. Seems like you guys sink a ferry and kill a couple hundred people every other week. Greek sailors slop white paint on top of rusty hulls without even trying to kill the cancer first. If the Greeks were so bloody rich why can't they maintain their ships?
Don't tell me about Greece, I already know. Athens is the filthiest place in the entire world besides maybe Baghdad or Beirut.
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ACG 5:28AM (6/04/2007)
Has the hit by a stick caused irrepairable brain damage...?
As for Greeks not maintaing their ships, I guess it's the same with the great big joke called "British railway"...
Plus, as you have probably read in my comments, I never called anyone names like you did in yours, which goes to show that you obviously cannot keep up a conversation in a civilized manner.
Oh, and as for the City being owned by the English, there is some info here you might like to read:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/07/business/recity.php
This thread is done for me. See you in Greece;)
Cheers!
coek 12:18AM (6/18/2007)
My 50 cents (excuse my english):
1. The name dispute between this country and Greece doesnt matter. Many countries incl. members of the UN Security council such as the USA, Russia and PR China have already recognized the country as "Republic of Macedonia" only (not F.Y.R.O.M.). Even the BBC refer to the country as "Macedonia" regarding Morley's case. See link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/6629043.stm.
As far as I could understand from the TOS here, its the US law that applies on Autoblog.com (correct me if Im wrong) so the name "Macedonia" here is rightfully used. End of conversation on this subject.
2. We are not interested to hear about "how- many- ships" or how many souvlaki or giro shops in London are owned by Greeks. Greece is not a rich country, actually it was the poorest country of the EU until the recent expansions. Its my neighbouring country, have been there milion times, met ordinary people and I saw that unemployment, nepotism, worker's strikes and corruption are everyday facts in Greece (we do not count jet setty touristy islands such as Mykonos or Santorini, they do not represent the REAL situation in Greece of course)
After all why would a citizen of a "rich country" need to proove anyhting? If I was rude I would say that I smell complex of inferiority, but I will not say that.
3. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information (any kiddo can edit it), but in this particluar case the information posted above is correct, Macedonia is indeed a poor country, comparing to Western standards (but we are not talking bout Rwanda here). Politicians and judges are indeed corrupted here,so most probably there was 'payola' involved in Morley's release.
This is not a first case like this, there were many others in the recent past. For example a Norwegian soldier (from the "peace" corps) was responsible for the death of a famous Macedonian politician and his family in a car crash.
The local police came on the spot to arrest him but was confronted by the Norwegian military police. He was saved and was sent back home safely.
Well thats the way Macedonia and Macedonian people are treated by the powerful. The government can't do anything, they are either incompetent or corrupted plus they must bend cause of EU/NATO membership. Otherwise boring guys like Solana will come and teach us lessons about the "rule of law", the implementation of the EU standards, Old MCDonald had a farm iya iya ouu and blabla.
In normal countries Morley would have ended on an electric chair. Actually, the rally would not have been allowed in the first place. It is claimed that the Dumboll organizers didnt even bother to inform the authorities about the race. Eh, its just Macedonia, who cares..
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