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Think Our Cable Chat Shows Are Raucous? In Greece They Slap Each Other

We're not recommending that CNN, Fox, MSNBC or Talk of the Nation follow this format, though it might generate some big ratings:

Correspondent Joanna Kakissis tips us off from Athens, Greece, about what happened during a live debate on Greek TV when a spokesman for the far-right Golden Dawn movement got fed up with what he was hearing from a leftist member of parliament.

First, Golden Dawn's Ilias Kasidiaris threw water at the woman. Then, all Helena broke loose (pun intended). Kasidiaris threw three slaps at a woman from the Communist Party, after she came to the leftist's defense.

There's video of the melee. Fast forward to about the 1:10 mark if you're only interested in the fireworks.

Now, Joanna tells us, there's a warrant out for Kasidiaris' arrest.

We'll say it again: Don't go there, Neal Conan.

Update at 7:17 p.m. ET. Joanna Kakissis has filed a story for All Things Considered on the incident.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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