Fascinating Flicks at 9th Los Angeles Greek Film Festival Impress

NEWS
oCV
ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
www.thenationalherald.com
June 13-19, 2015
th
anniversary
1915-2015
A weeKlY greeK-AmericAn PublicAtion
VOL. 18, ISSUE 922
100
cv
$1.50
1
Fascinating Flicks at Merkel to Tsipras: Reform Actions, Not Words
Greece Commits
9th Los Angeles Greek
To Intensifying
Film Festival Impress
Its Efforts
By Vasilis Papoutsis
West Coast Correspondent
LOS ANGELES - The LA Greek
film festival concluded its five
day run at the Egyptian Theater
in Hollywood with the spectacular Orpheus Awards ceremony,
honoring two hugely successful
Greek-American professionals in
the entertainment industry and
giving out top awards in each
category of the 35 films shown.
The two honorees were Evan
Spiliotopoulos and Kary Antholis. Evan Spiliotopoulos the successful screenwriter of Hercules,
who has also written numerous
animated films for Disney,
shared the story of his high
school teacher asking him to
tame his imagination. But he
said he made the decision not
to follow her advice. He spoke
of his subsequent struggle for
more than ten years after he arrived from Greece with no connections in the industry. While
he was enduring constant rejections he made another decision,
to stay here and follow his
dream rather than go back to
Greece. He eventually was able
to break through and make his
first movie deal with a major
studio.
His advice is ''do not allow
other people to tame your
dreams."
Kary Antholis is president of
HBO Miniseries and Cinemax
Programming responsible for
Golden Globe and Emmy winning projects such as Mildred
Pierce, John Adams and From
the Earth to the Moon. He is
also an Academy Award winner
for his documentary ''One Survivor Remembers'' about Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann
Klein. Through her experience,
he was better able to understand his mother's suffering
while growing up during the
Nazi occupation of Greece that
also claimed the life of his
grandfather who was killed by
Nazi collaborators.
The festival opened with
Pantelis Voulgaris' film ''Little
England,'' a tragic love story of
two sisters who fall in love with
the same man and the devastating effects on all involved. It
also shows the sacrifices that the
women of Andros made as they
had to carry on the family life
while their husbands were absent for long periods of time
working on the ships.
The festival closed with
Panos H. Koutras' film ''Xenia''
that was warmly received at the
2014 Cannes film festival. It is
the story of the two brothers'
emotional trip to reunite with
their father after their mother's
death.
The two brothers are also the
faces of the new immigrants in
Greece, born to an Albanian
mother and living in Greece under an uncertain legal status.
They are also the targets of
racist attacks. The younger
brother is also pushing his older
brother Odysseas, an aspiring
singer, to audition for a spot on
the popular talent TV show
''Greek Star.''
Even though their plans do
not always fall in place and the
movie runs a bit long, at the end
it provides a spark of hope that
the brothers will be fine.
Top Jury Orpheus award for
Best Feature Film went to Yannis
Economides' redemption drama
"Stratos.'' The award for Best
Short went to a film by Basile
Doganis, ''Citizen Day'' examining racial and class issues in
France.
''Agora," a superbly produced
documentary, won the Orpheus
award for Best Documentary at
the festival. It chronicles the
Greek financial crisis through
testimonies of bipartisan finance
ministers, foreign economists
Continued on page 10
AP Photo/Yorgos KArAhAlis
Never Forget: President of Greece Visits Distomo Mausoleum
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos pays tribute inside a mausoleum with the remains of the
victims of a massacre after a memorial ceremony at Distomo village about 160km (100 miles)
northwest of Athens, Greece, on Wednesday, June 10, 2015. Nazi troops executed 214 civilians
on June 10, 1944 in Distomo village, central Greece, and the Greek government has revived the
issue of German reparation for crimes like these.
Report from Rhodes: Tourism & Crisis
By Constantinos E. Scaros
[As some of the interviewees
felt more comfortable to remain
anonymous, all of the names are
withheld. The quotes are all
firsthand comments made to
TNH.]
RHODES, GREECE – “They
are playing games,” a lifelong
hotelier on Rhodes – the largest
and most populous of the Dodecanese islands – told TNH
about the crisis in Greece. “Then
again, we have a minister who
majored in playing games,” he
added, referring to Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, a former
professor and expert in game
theory.
“Everyone is so insecure,” another veteran hotelier said. “If
there is one word to describe
the Greek state of mind right
now, well, two words, they are:
anxiety and insecurity. Let something happen already!” he
pleaded, rhetorically. “Let’s either stay in the euro or go back
to the drachma! Let’s get it over
with already!” he exclaimed,
proclaiming that the uncertainty
is driving everyone crazy.
“Rodi – la dolce vita (Rhodes
– the sweet life)” said an Italian
waiter who doesn’t plan on staying on the island too much
longer, as there is no money to
be made. He might return to the
United States, where he had
lived and worked for a while, in
order to make a better living.
What he prefers about Rhodes,
however, which reminds him of
his native Italy, is that “here, no
one is in a hurry.”
“The media has ruined us,”
said the owner of a classic rock
Continued on page 10
Former Dow Anastasiades and Akinci Play out Unification
Auditor on
CEO Liveris’
Practices
Dow Chemical CEO Andrew
Liveris, who oversees a $58 billion company, was charged in a
secret report by the company’s
former chief auditor with using
his position to finance a lavish
lifestyle, help friends and families and a charity that gained
him acclaim in Greece.
The assertions came from
Doug Anderson and were detailed in an investigative report
by the Reuters news agency in
findings that cast a cloud over
one of the Greek-American community’s biggest success figures,
a man who has had the ear of
Presidents and Greek Prime
Ministers.
The agency said it had seen
a raft of information in court
documents as well as from Anderson’s two-page memo,
dubbed “DOW CONFIDENTIAL”
he sent to Liveris on July 31,
2013, warning that what he’d
found could put the company in
peril of wrongdoing and concerns that shareholders and U.S.
regulators were being misled.
It wasn’t the first time that
such charges were aimed at Liveris, 61, as at least three other
Dow employees, who, like Anderson have the company, said
the CEO was misusing his position for fame and personal gain.
Earlier, the company’s former
fraud investigator, Kimberly
Wood, made similar allegations
about Liveris in suits filed in
state and Federal courts. She
worked for Anderson during his
nine years as the top auditor.
In 2011, Dow disclosed that
Liveris had reimbursed the company $719,923 for expenses inContinued on page 5
For subscription:
718.784.5255
[email protected]
LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) – The
rival leaders of Cyprus attended
a theatrical play on June 8 that
implores the divided island’s
Greek- and Turkish-speaking
communities to confront the
wrongs of a tortured history to
drive home their shared commitment for a reunification deal.
In an added touch of symbolism, Nicos Anastasiades, the
69-year-old President of the internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus and the 67-yearold leader of the breakaway
Turkish Cypriots, Mustafa Akinci, watched the play in their
common hometown of Limassol,
a bustling, cosmopolitan tourist
resort on the island’s south
coast.
It’s the first time opposing
leaders in Cyprus have watched
a play together in long-standing
efforts to reunify the small, east
Mediterranean island nation,
split along ethnic lines in 1974
when Turkey invaded in the
wake of a coup by supporters of
union with Greece.
“On this island, we commitContinued on page 11
Students
Inspired by
TNH Pen
By Demetris Tsakas
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The announcement of the winners of the essay
contest on the occasion of the
celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Ethnikos KyrixNational Herald at the newspaper’s headquarters in Long
Island City was a modest yet
brilliant affair.
The faces of the winners who
were present beamed with pride
and evoked feelings of admiration among the educators, officials, priests, parents, and National Herald Staff who
participated.
The ceremony, hosted by
Publisher-Editor Antonis H. DiaContinued on page 4
BRUSSELS — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said June 11
that Greece has committed to
work intensively with international creditors in coming days
to resolve outstanding issues
holding up its access to vital
bailout loans but that she wants
deeds, not words.
The creditors, the troika of
the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European
Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB)
have made clear that Greece
must improve an offer of reforms it would introduce in exchange for 7.2 billion euros
($8.1 billion) in bailout loans it
needs to repay debts due at the
end of the month.
Merkel said that in overnight
talks with Greek Prime Minister
and ruling Radical Left SYRIZA
leader Alexis Tsipras a clear consensus emerged that, "Greece
will now work emphatically and
at full steam with the three institutions in coming days to try
to clear up all the outstanding
issues."
That's essentially the same
speech both sides have publicly
been giving the last four
months, after Greece on Feb. 20
got a four-month bailout extension on the promise to produce
a credible list of reforms, which
it hasn't.
Privately it was reported they
are at loggerheads and nowhere
near a deal as the country goes
broke, can't borrow from the
markets because of prohibitive
interest rates and is seeing tax
revenues plummet and deposits
fleeing bank accounts as depositors fear a default and Eurozone exit or capital controls and
confiscations if the government
gets desperate enough.
Merkel expressed "hope that
the necessary progress can now
be made," and underlined that
"each day counts." She told reporters: “The willingness is
there to cooperate with the
three institutions, it’s now a
matter of acting on that."
She added that, “There was
absolute unity that Greece will
continue to work emphatically
and resolutely with the three institutions in the coming days to
clear up all open questions as
far as possible," diplomatic lanContinued on page 11
Greek-Am.
Jazzists of
Twentieth
Century
By Steve Frangos
TNH Staff Writer
Rider, who invited Right Rev. Andrew M.L. Dietsche, the Episcopal
Bishop of New York to offer the
invocation. ”We ask your protection for all who are sailing on the
seas now and you blessing on the
honorees and their families and
all mariners,” he said, and asked
blessing for their families.
Prior to the dinner three musicians in traditional Celtic garb
– including two bagpipers – honored the memory of those lost at
sea through the ages and the
video presentation included
sailors expressing their thanks for
the SCI’s assistance.
Closing remarks were presented by Richard T. du Moulin,
the chairman of SCI’s Board who
also served as the event’s chairman. When he introduced her,
he said “In an industry dominated by men known by their last
names, such as Onassis, it’s refreshing that everyone around
the globe knows and respects An-
CHICAGO- In any search for
contemporary Greek-American
jazz musicians one can find literally dozens of individuals.
Without exaggeration, Greek
Jazz musicians are scattered all
across the planet. What we are
missing is a chronological history of these individuals and
their careers. Given the available
documentation
Ellis
Stratakos (b 1903) seems to be
the first professional musician
of Greek descent to play jazz in
this country. As a teenager
Stratakos, living in Gulfport MI,
played the snare drum in the
self-styled Gulfport Band. Sometime before 1920, Stratakos returned to New Orleans where
he frequented black jazz clubs
to listen and learn. By 1921,
Stratakos formed his first band
with himself as leader the New
Orleans Louisiana Jazzers.
By at least 1924, and perhaps
earlier, Stratakos was playing
trombone in the Johnny DeDroit
and his New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. On March 15, 1924,
Stratakos appears as trombone
player on “Nobody Knows
Blues” a popular release of the
Johnny DeDroit and his New
Orleans Jazz Orchestra on Okeh
Records (40150). On October
29, 1924, this same orchestra
had entered New York City studios to record but available documentation is unclear whether
or not these recordings were issued. Without question the late
1920s, was a time of change and
musical exploration for Ellis
Stratakos.
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 7
AP Photo/Petros KArAdjiAs
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades (L) and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, drink a
traditional Cyprus spirit at a coffee shop at the south part of the divided capital Nicosia on Saturday, May 23. Cyprus’ rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders took a stroll together on both
sides of the divided capital’s medieval center to raise the feel-good factor as talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically split island kick into gear.
Angeliki Frangou Honored by SCI
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – With the mighty
Hudson River and its great maritime history as a backdrop, the
Seaman’s Church Institute (SCI)
not only honored in style at the
elegant dining hall of Pier 60
three titans of the maritime industry, including Angeliki Frangou, it raised $1 million to support programs that assist the men
and women who are the backbone of the industry, and their
families.
Frangou, the chairman and
CEO of Navios Maritime Holdings, Inc. was the principle honoree of SCI’s 38th Annual Silver
Bell Awards Dinner on June 4
where Lifetime Achievement
Awards were presented to Captain Robert E. Johnson, who just
retired from a 45-year career at
Oversees Shipholding Group that
began as Third Mate on an oil
tanker in 1969, and Dr. Craig E.
Phillip, who spent 35 years in
Angeliki Frangou
leadership positions throughout
the transportation industry.
The guests who filled the banquet hall at what was once Pier
60 of the Port of New York were
welcomed by the Rev. David M.
COMMUNITY
2
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
GOINGS ON...
HELLENIC HAPPENINGS FROM COAST TO COAST
TNH Staff
TAMPA, FL – As the Tampa Bay
Lightning continue their quest
of a Stanley Cup against the
Chicago Blackhawks in this
year’s National Hockey League
Finals, a furious debate continues to rage online regarding the
ethnicity of two of the team’s
players, Steve Stamkos and
Mike Angelidis. Both players’
surnames clearly indicate Greek
descent, but many contend that
the two are technically descended from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(FYROM). This, of course, feeds
the ongoing discussion about
use of FYROM’s name “Macedonia,” the Hellenes’ proclamation
that “Macedonia is Greek” and
FYROM’s
counterposition
thereof. Meanwhile, Stamkos
and Angelidis continue to play
well for the Lightning, which is
the league’s most prolific scoring team. Generally, in American major sports championship
games, defense tends to matter
more than offense – but in the
Lightning’s case, an offensive
juggernaut seems to be the winning remedy.
Both Stamkos and Angelidis
are natives of Ontario, Canada.
LANCASTER, PA – Gust C.
Kraras, a 94 year-old GreekAmerican and a member of the
Sts. Constantine and Helen
parish in Reading, PA is one
of the oldest surviving members
of the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor of the CIA.
On June 11 he delivered a presentation of his experiences in
Greece during that capacity during World War II, to the Lancaster Historical Society.
Recently, AHEPA Chapter 61,
based in Reading, on the occasion of its 90th anniversary, re-
Steve Stamkos and teammate Mike Angelidis of the Tampa
Bay Lightning are on the verge of winning pro hockey’s Stanley
Cup Championship. Their Greek names instilled a surge of Hellenic pride among Greek-Americans, while Americans of FYROM descent point out that the hockey duo is of FYROM-Macedonian descent.
named its chapter The Gust C.
Kraras Chapter No. 61 of the Order of AHEPA.
WASHINGTON, DC – Those
straight A-s in high school and
scores of “5” on her Advanced
Placement (AP) exams helped
Floridian Yeorgia Kafkoulis
win the 2015 Archimedes
Award, a new scholarship for
outstanding Hellenic American
students pursuing studies and
careers in science, technology,
engineering or math (STEM) related fields. Kafkoulis, a graduating high school senior from
Miami, FL and daughter of
Greek immigrants, who is on
her way to Caltech in September, where she will be majoring
in mathematics and physics. The
Award, established through
Washington DC’s Next Generation Initiative by Dr. Andrew
Economos of New York, is ac-
companied by a scholarship
which provides $5,000 annually
towards the award-winner’s tuition. Additional scholarships
were awarded to four young
scholars who were recognized
as Archimedes Award National
Finalists: Sophia Kioulaphides,
Bronx High School of Science,
New York, NY; Andrew
Moshova, Manhasset High
School, Manhasset, NY: Georgios Samaras, North Oconee
High School, Bogart, GA; and
Athina Valioulis, Anatolia College, Thessaloniki, Greece.
“I am extremely pleased with
the Archimedes Award candidates,” said Dr. Economos, a retired scientist and entrepreneur.
“They were able, accomplished,
and intelligent — an astonishing
group. I know the judges found
the task of choosing among
these wonderful students to be
daunting. Good luck and congratulations to our winner, the
brilliant and accomplished Yeorgia Kafkoulis.”
“Now we can sit back and
wait for the Nobel Prizes to roll
in!,” says Dr. Economos. “This
is the very first scholarship to
be offered through the Next
Generation Initiative ,” says Executive Director Leon Stavrou.
“And it represents a significant
new addition to the Initiative’s
programs that already reach
thousands of students and professors on 200 campuses across
the United States. We are proud
that the founder of the
Archimedes Award, Dr. Andrew
Economos, has chosen to make
the Next Generation Initiative
the home for the Archimedes
Award — and thrilled to be able
to offer this new means of advancing the careers of young
people, and to be able to do so
in areas of such vital interest to
our nation.”
tnh/costAs bej
Stephen and Areti Cherpelis Greek School Holds Graduation
A new graduating class that will carry its knowledge and passion for Hellenism into the world and the next generation
pauses for a commemorative photo after graduation cere-
monies on June 6 at the Stephen and Areti Cherpelis Afternoon
Greek School with Fr. Paul Palesty, pastor of St. Nicholas in
Flushing, and the benefactors the school is named for.
Show us your colors!
Celebrate Independence Day by placing your greetings
in our special July 4th insert.
Deadline: June 27, 2015
n THRU NOV. 1
TARPON SPRINGS, FL – Night
in the Islands returns to the
world-famous Sponge Docks of
Tarpon Springs for 2015! Saturdays, 6-11PM: Jul. 11, Aug. 1,
Sept. 12, and Oct. 3. A free
event of Greek music, dancing,
and dining! And we will offer
an hour of free Greek dance
lessons by the Levendia Dance
Troupe from 6-7 PM. The festival is supported in part by a
grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Come join us
for authentic island fun in the
warm Florida sun and mark
your calendar and make this a
regular destination! And if
you’re just in town for a week
or two, make sure to mark your
calendar as you will not want
to miss this! Tarpon Springs is a
unique Greek experience in the
United States, one unlike any
other Greek community. Come
be part of this one-of-a-kind
American experience that will
make you feel as if, truly, you
are back in the homeland!
n JUNE 12
LAWRENCE, MA – Soccer Legends from Portugal and Greece
coming to battle it out in
Lawrence, MA. The Legends
Cup match-up between Portugal
and Greece will be coming to
Lawrence to face off at Veterans
Memorial Stadium on Friday,
Jun. 12 at 7PM. Some of the
legendary stars from Greece includes: Charisteas, Basinas,
Seitardis, Papadopoulos, Tsiartas. Some of the Legendary stars
from Portugal includes: Nuno
Gomes, Maniche, Fernando
Couto, Rui Barros Simao Sambrossa, and Costinha and many
more in this legendary matchup.
The game offers soccer fans the
rare opportunity to watch this
“Legends Cup Rematch Battle”.
In ‘04 European Champions
Greece defeated Portugal on
their home soil. The Portuguese
players are not calling this a
friendly and are traveling to
Lawrence to win. Tickets for the
Portugal v Greece Legends soccer match will start at $20 and
fans can purchase tickets via
ETIX.com or by calling 1-800514-3849.
n JUNE 13
MANHATTAN – The GreekAmerican Writers Association
invites you to a special evening
of comedy and poetry. Ellen
Karis, the “Greek Queen of Comedy” humorist, actress and
stand-up comedienne – will perform. Dean Kostos will present
work from his new This Is Not a
Skyscraper (Red Hen Press),
winner of the prestigious Benjamin Saltman Poetry Award.
Penelope Karageorge will make
the New York debut of her justpublished poetry collection, The
Neon Suitcase (Somerset Hall
Press). Enjoy the special ambiance of Greenwich Village.
Meet old friends and discover
new at the easy-to-reach Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia
Street,
located
between
Bleecker and West Fourth
Streets. Subways A, C, E, B, D,
M to West 4th Street or 1 to
Christopher Street. 6-8PM. $8
admission includes a glass of
wine, beer, or soft drink.
n JUNE 17
EASTCHESTER, NY – The Make
a Difference with Loukoumi
Dance Party and Awards Gala,
which celebrates Loukoumi’s
10th anniversary, takes place at
the Lake Isle Country Club, 660
White Plains Road in Eastchester on Wednesday, Jun. 17 at
6PM. Guests include Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis and Tony
Award Nominee Constantine
Maroulis. Loukoumi, a fluffy little lamb, is the main character
from the Loukoumi book series
that wants to make the world a
better place. The Loukoumi
Make A Difference Foundation
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks to teach children to follow Loukoumi’s lead
and to make a positive difference in their lives and the lives
of others. For more information
about the organization and the
event, visit loukoumifoundation.org.
n JUNE 22
MANHATTAN – The Hellenic
Lawyers Association cordially
invites you to attend our annual
Judiciary Night Cocktail Reception Honoring Members of the
Judiciary Monday, Jun. 22, 68PM at the Friar’s Club - 57 East
55th Street in Manhattan. More
info on Eventbrite and on our
website at http://www.helleniclawyersassociation.org/judiciary-night2
n JUNE 26
CINCINNATI, OH – The St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox
Church of Cincinnati, at 7000
Winton Road, is happy to present its annual Greek festival on
the Weekend of June 26-28. Friday, Jun. 26: 5-11PM; Saturday,
Jun. 27: 3-11PM; and Sunday,
Jun. 28: 1-8PM. Admission is $2
per person and children under
12 may enter for free. For additional information, please contact the Church office at: you
can contact our Church office at
(513) 591-0030.
IRVINE, CA – St. Paul’s Greek
Orthodox Church, 4949 Alton
Parkway in Irvine, celebrates its
36th Greek festival Friday-Sunday, June 26-28. Friday 5-10PM,
Saturday Noon-10PM, Sunday
Noon-9PM. Delicious Greek
Food and Pastries,
Greek Folk Dancing, Carnival
Rides, Opportunity Drawing,
Church Tours, Boutique and Gift
Items from around the world,
Carnival Rides, and Cooking
Demonstrations await! $3.00
per person, Children under 10
are free, Seniors 65+ are free
Saturday 12-5pm. For more information,
please
visit
http://irvinegreekfest.com or
call the Church at (949) 7332366.
SHEBOYGAN, WI – The St.
Spyridon Greek Orthodox
Church, 1427 South Street in
Sheboygan will hold its Greek
festival Friday through Sunday,
June 26-28 at the following
times: Fri: 6-9PM; Sat: 11AM9PM; Sun: 11AM-6PM. Featuring authentic Greek food and
dancing at Deland Park on the
beautiful Sheboygan Lake
Michigan shoreline. Free admission, ticket purchase for food,
beverages and children's activities. Lots of free parking. Liturgy
on the grounds at 9 a.m. Sunday. Dine with us, or carry out
available. For a complete list of
entertainment and hours, call
(920) 452-2296.
RACINE, WI – The Kimisis Tis
Theotokou Greek Orthodox
Church, 1335 South Greek Bay
Road in Racine, will celebrate
its Greek Festival from June 2628 (Friday thru Sunday). Friday
5-10PM, Saturday 12Noon10PM, Sunday 12Noon-8PM.
Authentic Greek Food & Pastry,
Greek Wines, Beer Tent, Carnival Rides, Greek Dancing & Music, Greek Coffee Bar, Agora
Shopping, Church Tours, "Mysteries of Orthodox Christianity",
Cooking Demos. etc., can you
say "OPA!"? For more information, please call: (262) 6325682.
n JUNE 29
MANHATTAN – Hellenic Professional Women and Hellenic
American Women's Council present a special cultural event featuring Ioanna Lalaounis, Director of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry
Museum Monday, Jun. 29 69PM at Hughes Hubbard and
Reed, One Battery Park Plaza in
Manhattan. The presentation
will be illustrated with some of
Lalaounis' most exquisite designs and will explain how history and the material remains
of the past provided inspiration
for modern Greek jewelry in the
second half of the 20th century,
while at the same time enabling
the revival of a traditional craft.
Greek goldsmith and jewelry designer, Ilias Lalaounis, found
that ancient motifs and designs
could become agents of the
spirit of their times, as well as
prove desirable adornments for
a modern clientele. More than
25 of the 50 jewelry collections
designed by Lalaounis draw
their inspiration from the arts
of the past: from prehistoric,
classical and Byzantine Greece
to the arts of ancient Persia and
Scythia, and from London at the
time of the Tudors to Istanbul
under Suleiman the Magnificent. For more information, visit
http://www.lalaounis-jewelrymuseum.gr/en/default.asp.
n JULY 10-12
LIBERTYVILLE, IL – The St.
Demetrios Greek Orthodox
Church, 1400 N. O'Plaine Road
in Libertyville will hold its annual Greek festival from Friday,
Jul. 10 through Sunday, Jul. 12
from 11AM-11PM on all three
days. Our annual Greek Fest is
one of the many ways that our
parish hopes to share our beautiful Greek heritage and traditional Orthodox Faith with our
entire Lake County community.
When you are ready to sample
a taste of Greek hospitality, we
have prepared a number of traditional Greek delicacies for
your dining pleasure! At the
Food Booth, choose from succulent
Souvlaki,
Athenian
Chicken, Roasted Lamb, Tasty
Gyros, Spanakopita (Spinach
Puff) or Tyropita (Cheese Puff).
For information contact us at: [email protected] or call at: 718-784-5255, ext.101
E
LD
TH
NA
TI O
E
N AL H
RA
100
th
anniversary
1915-2015
1
The National Herald
www.thenationalherald.com
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Does the crisis play a role as to whether or not you will visit
Greece this summer?
Please
email
your
response
to
[email protected]
We may publish some responses as Letters to the Editor in
a future issue.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
COMMUNITY
3
GREEKS AROUND THE US
Fulfilled Promise – a Plane Crash Survivor Perseveres and Graduates
By Dr. Constantina
Michalos
HOUSTON, TX – This year,
American colleges and universities will award over 2 million
undergraduate and graduate degrees. However uncertain their
job prospects, however high
their debt, as they walk down
the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance, these graduates are optimistic about their futures. And
they should be. They have
worked hard to get to this place.
For most, the line from high
school through college was
straight. For many others, the
detours and road blocks seemed
insurmountable. Family responsibilities, military service, finances, births, deaths, marriages, divorces. Perhaps every
university sweatshirt should
read, “Life is what happens to
you when you’re busy making
other plans.”
This aphorism is probably
nowhere more true than for the
student commencement speaker
at the University of St. Thomas.
Kechi Okwuchi graduated with
a degree in economics from UST
on 16 May 2015. I never taught
Kechi, but she distinguished herself in my Center as our economics tutor. She first ap-
struck me was her tenacity and
optimism.
Kechi grew up in Aba, a city
near Port Harcourt in Nigeria,
and attended Loyola Jesuit College, a respected boarding
school and college preparatory
in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. On
her way home for Christmas
break with her classmates – a
90-minute flight – something
went terribly wrong. All that
Kechi remembers from that day
are the sounds of her friends’
screams and the prayers she uttered as the plane crashed. She
is one of two survivors from
among 107 passengers. She was
16 years old.
Kechi suffered 3rd degree
burns over 65% of her body. After a year of treatments in South
Africa, Kechi was transferred to
the Shriners Hospital in Galveston in 2007. Though her treatment was completed, during almost every school break, when
other students are vegging,
Kechi undergoes yet another reconstructive surgery. But to hear
her tell it, it’s business as usual.
No complaints. No “Why me?”
Kechi had never planned on
coming to America for school;
she hoped to attend the London
School of Economics. Once she
decided to stay here, she applied
to Rice, the University of Houston
and the University of St. Thomas.
She chose UST because the close
Christian environment made her
comfortable and reminded her of
home. She was 20.
St. Thomas has an interesting graduation tradition. Students are invited to submit commencement speeches, and the
one chosen closes the ceremony.
After a couple of hours of official remarks, honorary degrees,
endless students walking across
the stage, who wants to hear another speech? Everyone – because this is the one that counts
the most. It is from a student to
other students. They speak the
same language. Have the same
angst. It is their day, and they
want to hear from one of their
own. Knowing that Kechi would
be a perfect representative of
the student body, Dr. Roger
Morefield, one of her professors,
encouraged her. “I think that her
speech will reach out to students and inspire them. She’s
been through a lot, but her attitude is so positive, and she’s an
ideal student and a good representation of UST’s dedication to
building leaders of faith and
character.”
He was right. Swathed in
academic regalia and wellearned honor cords, Kechi spoke
to over 1000 graduates, their
families, and faculty. Her message was simple – it’s okay not
to know what the next step is.
“Now, I know that everyone
here has their reasons for pursuing a higher education, and I
want to tell you mine. You see,
to me, this degree is not just a
degree. It is a gift to the 60 stu-
through her support of an organization like this. You can’t say
enough about people like that
and the example that they set for
the rest of us.”
Stratakis and Corinna where
happy to be at Chelsea Piers to
honor their friend and her companies, but it would be hard to
top the Navios thrill they experienced last week in the shipyard
of Japan Marin United in the Sea
of Japan when the latter christened the ship Navios Amber.
“She cut the cord and smashed
the champagne bottle…it released balloons and streamers
and launches the ship,” he said.
There was interest in the description – presented with humor
by du Moulin – of the “Text Your
Pledge” that enabled guests to
add to the funds collected
straight from their cellphones. He
said about $30,000 was collected
at last year’s event and if the
guests tripled that, the 2015 gala
would raise a total of $1 million
for the cause. By the end of the
evening they reached the goal.
Navios had contributed $50,000
prior to the event and donated
$20,000 that evening.
Kechi Okwuchi is one of the two survivors of the devastating
crash of the Sosoliso Airlines flight bound to Port Harcourt
from Abuja in December 2005.
proached me for a job during
the fall 2013 semester. I already
had an economics tutor, so I
suggested she return in the
spring, and we could talk then
about the following academic
year. Sure enough, right after
spring break, there she was. And
I hired her. She came with impeccable
recommendations
from her professors, but what
A. Frangou
Honored by
Seaman’s
Church
Institute
Continued from page 1
geliki.”
After outlining her personal
achievements, he noted she is
considered a pioneer, her being
steeped in the traditions of five
generations of sea captains
notwithstanding. He added that
she was not gifted her first ship.
The loan she received from her
father, Captain Nicholas Frangou,
was paid back promptly as success came quickly, and now her
groups employ some 500 staffers
and 5000 mariners.
“Her success has been influenced by her engineering training
and Wall Street background has
changed the way maritime commerce is done…and her business
acumen is supplemented by the
human element,” which is reflected in her concern for her
companies’ personnel, du Moulin
concluded.
As she thanked SCI for the
honor, congratulating her fellow
honorees and warmly acknowledging her global staff, in whose
behalf she accepted the award,
Frangou beamed with pride in
her industry – “we feed and
clothe the world,” she said, and
echoed the words spoken earlier
that “shipping connects more
people than Facebook.”
Frangou thanked her father,
brothers and forebears, many of
them captains, and described the
bond they all have with those
who sail on their ships as a “sacred pact.”
“I never turn off my cell
phone. I must always be available,” she said. “We are different
from other industries, in our concern for the physical safety and
spiritual well-being of crews,”
and who are away from their
families for months at a time,”
ABOVE: Angeliki Frangou
thanked SCI for honoring her
with its Silver Bell Award and
expressed her appreciation to
her companies’ staff and seamen. RIGHT: Angeliki Frangou receives the Silver Bell
award from the Right Rev. Andrew M.L. Dietsche, Episcopal
Bishop of New York and
Richard T. du Moulin, the
chairman of SCI’s Board.
and she praised the work of SCI
“which picks up where we leave
off, at the shoreline.”
Nicolas Bornozis, founder and
president of the Capital Link, the
international investor relations
and financial advisory group who
also promotes business between
the U.S. and Greece, told TNH
“Angeliki is well-known and very
respected not only for her business success but also for upholding very high ethical standards
through very transparent ways of
operating…that impacts everything she does, through her colleagues, the mariners who work
for her group, to the investors
who entrust her with their investments. When you can combine
great business acumen with
morality, ethics and success, it is
unique.
Maritime Attorney John
Stratakis told TNH “SCI is an organization that plays right to Angelike’s hear because he all know
her as a top-notch business person but her philanthropy shines
dents that died in a plane crash
I was in 10 years ago. It represents the fulfillment of a
promise I made, to those students and to their parents that I
would reach this important
milestone on behalf of those
they lost.
“As a plane crash survivor, I
have been through many trials
and have had to overcome numerous obstacles in order to
make it this far. By the time I
was deemed ready to rejoin the
student population, I was
overeager and overzealous despite the fact I wasn’t sure at the
time what I wanted to do with
my second chance at life. But
all that time away from school
had caused me to forget the
struggles that came along with
being a student: the rigors of
pulling all-nighters for exams
and preparing for presentations,
all while trying to be responsible
in our personal lives and disciplined in our preparation for the
outside world.
“Considering this, I had to reflect on the meaning of the term
“survivor.” In my reflection I realized that the struggles of a student are real, and to overcome
them all in order to be here today… that word “survivor” undoubtedly applies to us all. It
was in this reflection, still, that
I learned a very important lesson, and that is the fact that one
cannot judge the extent of another person’s struggle based on
their own experience. While I
will not underestimate the difficulties I have faced in my journey toward full recovery, I will
instead pray that you all join me
in surviving all future challenges
with the help of God and those
around us.
“So, fellow “survivors,”
where do we see ourselves 10
years from now? Many of us
have finally found the perfect
response to that question. “I will
be a neurosurgeon at a
renowned medical facility.” “I
will be a middle-school teacher
with a family of my own.” “I will
be the CEO of my own business.” But for the rest of us who
still get palpitations at the mere
thought of being asked this
question, I want to tell you
something exceedingly important: it is okay to still not know.
“As I have already said, this
is the beginning of the rest of
our lives. There is no doubt that
today represents a significant
landmark that we simply cannot
undervalue. However, it is also
significant that we realize we
are not expected to have all the
answers yet. What this great
school has done for us is to set
us on a path of self-discovery
with more knowledge and life
experience than when we first
arrived at UST. Added to that,
we are also taught to carry the
qualities of faith and character
into whatever career path we
choose to follow. This is a core
teaching which sets us apart as
UST graduates, and no one out
there in this big, exciting world
can take that away from us.
“And so, my prayer for us all
is that in response to that mindboggling question, we can at
least say this: “Ten years from
now I see myself happy in a field
of my choosing that makes me
feel like I matter, and where I
can make a difference as a
leader of faith and character.”)
I did not know Kechi before
the plane crash, but I assume
she was a wise, generous, humble young woman before she
had to fight for her life. I do
know that her strength of character helped her to survive, and
that came long before we educated her at the University of St.
Thomas.
Dance party & make a Difference awarDs
DJ!
fun food
it’s
LOUkOUmi’s
BirtHDay!!
silent auction
wednesday
mulino’s @ Lake
isle country club
660 white plains rd
eastchester, ny
JUne 17
6pm
Honoring
michael psaros
inspiration award
performance by
Guest Host
Olympia Dukakis
constantine
maroulis
special Guest
nick Gregory
make a
Difference
award
for tickets & information: www.Loukoumifoundation.org; 212-397-2804
COMMUNITY
4
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
ΦωΤΟΓΡΑΦΙΕΣ: WR/ΚωΣΤΑΣ ΜΠΕΗ
Above: Students and their families, accompanied by Right Rev. Ierotheos Zacharis and Deacon
Evgenios Kalafatos, Very Rev. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, Yannis Efthimiopoulos, Stella Kokolis,
President of the Federation of Greek American Teachers surround Antonis and Litsa Diamataris
at TNH Headquarters. Above right: Antonis H. Diamataris, TNH Publisher-Editor, welcomed
everyone as the guests, below right, listened with interest.
Students Inspired by TNH Pen Essays, Inspire Adults in Turn
Continued from page 1
mataris, was held two weeks after the community celebrated
the 100th anniversary of the
newspaper at the main branch
of the New York Public Library
on Fifth Avenue.
Dr. Yannis Efthimiopoulos,
the Director of the Archdiocese’s
Office of Education, Stella Kokolis, President of the Federation
of Greek American Teachers and
the others who attended called
the anniversary Gala, "exceptional,” "brilliant," "touching,"
and "worthy of the history of the
National Herald and the Diaspora," and the contest announcement was a fitting and
touching continuation of the celebration.
Students were asked to write
on the theme: "National Herald
– 100 years of Journalistic Service Informing the diaspora and
Hellenism, from Petros Tatanis
to the Present.”
There were 185 contestants
from the day schools and afternoon Greek programs of the
Archdiocese, as well as from
charter schools and independent
schools.
A special ten-member committee met to grade the essays.
Argyro Brouzouki of the
Socrates Academy of Charlotte,
NC and Anna Maria Mangafa
and Miltiades Pierides of the
William Spyropoulos School in
Flushing, won first and second
prize respectively for the day
schools.
Fotis Michalopoulos of St.
Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria
was awarded first prize and his
classmate Martha Passadis won
second prize for the afternoon
schools – those four received
monetary awards, for which
Kokolis donated $3000.
The other winners received
certificates, including Sophia
Pelekasis of St. Katherine’s of
Falls Church, VA, Eleftheria Papadopoulos and Panagiotis Persianis of The Cathedral School
of New York City; Maria
Chrysostomou,
Irene
Efthimiopoulos,
Irene
Fanourakis, and Theodora
Athanitis of A. Fantis of Brooklyn; Arthur Quattrochi (Athanasios Kouatrotsi) of the Hellenic
American Academy of Day
School of Lowell. MA, Eleni
Kafkis and Katerina Fasarakis of
Stella Kokolis, president of the Federation of Greek American
Teachers, with board members at her side, presents Dr. Yannis
Efthimiopoulos, Director of the Archdiocese’s Office of Education with a $10,000 check in support of the Archdiocese’s textbooks “Ta Ellinika Mou – My Greek.” The funds were raised at
the May 3 luncheon that honored Efthimiopoulos.
From left to right Dr. Yannis Efthimiopoulos
and Irene Fanourakis of A. Fantis. • Stella Koko-
Athena Krommydas and Katerina
Levi, of the afternoon school of St.
Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria.
the Hellenic Classical Charter
School of Brooklyn, Fragisko Xidiaris of the Greek American Institute Day School in The Bronx;
Katerina Levi, Markos Agathokleous, Electra Dovas of the afternoon school of St. Demetrios
in Astoria; Vasilis Kontodimas of
St. Demetrios H.S.; Sofia Maria
Baktidy of Holy Trinity of
Hicksville; Anthoula Tsoulis of
St. John the Theologian of
Tenafly, NJ; and Anthoula Kritikos of the Greek Afternoon
School of Plato in Brooklyn.
The four top essays will be
published in the July 20-21 “Periodiko” magazine insert of the
Greek edition.
The afterglow of the May 22
gala continues. Kokolis praised
the Gala and expressed her appreciationfor the newspaper’s
annual Educator of the Year
award ceremony.
Efthimiopoulos said he was
very pleased that the student’s
award ceremony was held just
two weeks after the 100th anniversary Gala, which he called
one of the finest events he experienced in his career. He marveled at the quality of the writing of the students and
congratulated them, along with
their parents and teachers.
Diamataris said the choice of
the Library, New York’s “Temple
of Knowledge” had spiritual significance, but it was also picked
because
the
newspaper’s
archives reside there.
He connected the Gala with
the award ceremony for the students by reminding that retired
Senator Paul Sarbanes said on
May 22 that TNH was a school
that teaches, guides and inspires
the community.
Diamataris noted the hard
work the essay contest entailed
– the process was designed to
be transparent and meritocratic
– and thanked all who worked
on it.
Most of all, he marveled that
the students “were able to analyze and recognize the role of
the Ethnikos Kyrix, which contributes to the survival of the
Greek language, traditions and
culture in the general sense and
the cultivation of Greek consciousness."
lis with Theodora Athanitis of A. Fantis. • Stella
Kokolis presents award to Eleni Kafkis of the
Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos and
Electra Dova of St. Demetrios Afternoon Greek School of Astoria, NY.
Antonis H. Diamataris, Publisher-Editor of The National Herald, presents certificates to Anna
Maria Mangafa of the William Spyropoulos School in Flushing (Left photo) and Martha Passadis
of the school of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Astoria (right photo).
Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris awards Katerina Fasarakis of the Hellenic Classical
Charter School of Brooklyn and Miltiades Pierides of the William Spyropoulos School.
Dr. Yannis Efthimiopoulos, the Director of the Archdiocese’s Office of Education, Fr. Nektarios
Papazafiropoulos presents Vasilis Kontodimas of St. Demetrios H.S. his award. Right photo:
Dr. Efthimiopoulos gives Maria Chrysostomou of the A. Fantis school her award.
independent Hellenic Classical Charter School
of Brooklyn. • Stella Kokolis and Fragisko Xi-
Fr. Nektarios Papazafiropoulos and
Sofia Maria Baktidy of Holy Trinity
of Hicksville, NY.
diaris of the Greek American Institute of the
Church of the Zoodhos Peghe in the Bronx.
Right Rev. Ierotheos Zacharis and
Anna Megaris, principal at St. John’s
of Tenafly with Anthoula Tsoulis.
Eleni Karageorgiou, the principal of
the Greek School of Plato in Brooklyn with Anthoula Kritikos.
COMMUNITY
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
5
Ex-Dow Auditor Cites Liveris’ Spending
Continued from page 1
Community Leaders From
Across USA Gather in
Washington, DC For 31st
Annual PSEKA Conference
The International Coordinating
Committee “Justice for Cyprus”
(PSEKA) held its 31st Annual
Cyprus and Hellenic Leadership
Conference June 3-5 in
Washington, DC. Conference
participants met with high level
administration officials who
formulate U.S. policy toward
Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.
Above: (L-R) Phil Christopher,
Rep. Smith, receiving the Barbed
Wire award, Mayor of Famagusta,
Cyprus Alexis Galanos, Mayor of
Kythrea, Cyprus, Petros Kareklas,
Andy Manatos. Left photo: Mike
Manatos (L) presents an award to
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH),
the Ranking Democrat on the
Senate Banking Committee.
curred from 2007 to 2010. Its
annual proxy statement offered
no details about the expenses,
beyond characterizing them as
“not primarily business related.”
In her lawsuits and OSHA
complaint, Wood gave a laundry
list of questionable spending by
Liveris, including a safari; hundreds of thousands of dollars for
Super Bowl parties; and
$13,000 in uniforms for his
son’s basketball team.
Wood claimed that internal
auditors identified $13 million
in cost overruns on the renovation of the company-owned hotel H involving the CEO’s wife,
Paula Liveris. Wood also claimed
that the company was its $16
million contract with a consulting firm to channel money to a
charity co-founded by Liveris –
a claim that Dow’s lawyers
called “shrill,” “reckless” and
“utterly unsupported.”
Dow initially said it would
fight the suits it characterized
as “reckless” claims from a “disgruntled” former employee but
then settled with her in an
agreement with a confidentiality
clause gagging her from talking
about it further.
The findings also indicated
Liveris was vindictive toward
complainants and tried to stifle
criticism and dissent. He allegedly told top Dow executives
that it was “time for retirement”
for a manager who had voiced
concerns about the hotel cost
overruns, according to emails
included in Wood’s OSHA complaint.
Dow’s chief counsel, Charles
Kalil, replied to Liveris the next
day: “Remind me never to piss
you off,” the document showed,
Reuters said. In his deposition
in the Wood lawsuit, Anderson
said that Kalil, one of the company’s highest paid employees,
told him to look the other way
when it came to Liveris’ spending and to “let these things go.”
Dow snapped back although
it wasn’t said if it was at the direction of Liveris. In a response
to Wood’s OSHA complaint, the
company didn’t deny that Paula
Liveris had a big hand in the H
hotel renovation but said nothing was unlawful about it.
“Simply put, federal law does
not prohibit corporate renovation projects from running over-
well as Dow’s rebuttals to
Wood’s allegations – information that has never been made
public.
Anderson said he became
disillusioned about what investigators found and retracted his
own reports of the audit committee that had glossed over the
spending practices because he
said he feared he was vouching
for inaccurate reports.
Reuters contacted him but
said he also couldn’t talk because of an agreement he too
signed with the company not to
speak ill about Dow. His confidential memo though he was
fearful about possible “errors in
tax and proxy reporting,” which
Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow, Inc.
budget,” the company’s lawyers
wrote. “Nor do they prohibit executives’ spouses from being involved in such projects.”
The documents reviewed for
this story include more than
1,000 pages from Wood’s federal and state lawsuits. Hundreds of other documents that
are part of her OSHA complaint
were obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Reuters
also reviewed the sworn testimony given by Anderson, as
are scrutinized by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are required by law to
be correct.
Anderson acknowledged in
the memo that his concerns
came from information that he
heard “first, second, and thirdhand.” In at least one of the
seven matters he cited – the renovation of Dow’s H Hotel – an
independent auditor determined that the company had
broken no rules.
Metropolitan Greek Chorale Celebrates a Half Century of Excellence
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – Every great institution, commercial or cultural,
is founded on and flourishes to
some degree by generating a
feeling of family among its people. That is how the members
Metropolitan Greek Chorale
feel, which celebrated “half a
century of musical excellence”
in the words of its current Music
Director Marina Alexander, with
a Golden Anniversary concert at
Manhattan’s Kaufman Music
Center.
Titled “Odyssey: A 50-Year
Journey of Extraordinary Music,” the music was interspersed
with tasteful tributes to members and music directors past
and present, including George
Tsontakis (1978-1995) who
served longest and was present
and whose music was performed, inaugural conductor
James Stathis (1965-1967), and
Dino Anagnost of blessed memory (1968-1977). Constantine
Kitsopoulos, currently Music Director of the Queens Symphony
Orchestra, served conducted the
Chorale from 1999-2004.
The Odyssey has been both
geographical – from Carnegie
Hall to the ancient amphitheaters of Greece, and musical –
with composers as diverse as
Hadjidakis and Handel.
The program put together
with care by Alexander was as
diplomatic as it was tasteful and
enjoyable. The first part began
with Mikis Theodorakis’ Canto
Olympico: Ode to Zeus and after
intermission the guests first
heard the same composition’s
Ode to Apollo. “Three Byzantine
Hymns” arranged by Tsontakis
represented the glorious middle
period of Hellenic history and
modern and traditional songs
were presented also by the
chorale and guest singer Grigoris
Maninakis,
whose
Mikrokosmos Ensemble added
Greek spice to the offerings of
the classical musicians who
stretched across the stage.
Alexander, who told the audience “I am so delighted you
could join us for this august
evening,” arranged the second
song, “Kapios Giortazi – Someone” is Celebrating, begun by
soloist Kristina Semos, soprano,
later joined by the full chorus.
The emphasis of the occasion
was equally on the achievements of the past and moving
forward into the future with
pieces like “Megales Kyklades –
Petites Cyclades,” also by
Theodorakis, which
Alexander believes had is
choral premier that night.
here were moments when
chorus and orchestra blended
perfectly,
especially
with
“Saranta Palikaria – 40 Brave
Lads” when the ethereal females
voices were complemented by
the modern harmonies of the instrumentalists.
The men’s voices resonated
in the hall, joined by the audience – who were often invited
by Alexander to sing and clap for pieces like “Ena to Helidoni
– A Solitary Swallow” and “Tis
Dikeosinis Ilios Noite – The
Transcendent Sun of Justice.”
Oriental strains transported
the listeners deep into Asia Minor for Two Greek Dances,
arranged by Anagnost and
Alexander. Its passionate climax
evoked loud applause to end the
first half.
The audience was thrilled by
Tsontakis’ dramatic and modern
setting of Hadjidakis’ “Milise
Mou- Talk to Me” and Megan
Gould’s poignant passages on violin. A member of Mikrokosmos, Gould was joined by Konstantinos
Psarros,
whose
bouzouki veritably sang “Kathe
Limani kai Kaimos – Every Port
and its Sorrow.” Richard
Khuzami on percussion, and
George Stathos on Clarinet.
The concert featured two
The mutual admiration between Marina Alexander, Music Director and Conductor of the Metropolitan Greek Chorale, and Grigoris Maninakis, founder of the Mikrokosmos Ensemble, was
echoed by the audience’s applause at the Chorale’s 50th Anniversary concert.
fine pianists as Glafkos Kontementiotes of Mikrokosmos alternated with the Chorale’s Yannis
Xylas.
The program drew to a close
with Hadjidakis’ “O mythos –
Holy Cross Parish Removes
Afternoon School Director
By Theodore Kalmoukos
BROOKLYN – The parish council of the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Brooklyn dismissed Michalis Kakias from his
position of the Director of the
Afternoon Greek School, after
seven years of service.
The Council provided no specific reason to him for the dismissal, other than that “a
change was needed.” Kakias
also teaches Greek in the
parish’s Greek Day School and,
as of this writing, continues in
that capacity.
TNH asked Kakias about why
he was dismissed. He replied:
“Fr. Gerasimos Makris called
and announced it to me. I don’t
know the reason; nobody has
said anything to me. You have
to ask the parish.”
Makris, Holy Cross’ presiding
priest, told TNH “it is a matter
of the Parish Council. After examination the decision was
made that it was time for a
change at the school.”
Michalis Kakias was removed as Holy Cross’ Afternoon School
Fr. Makris added that there
was “no compelling reason.
There is no a scandal or anything like that, just that change
is taking place.”
He added that Kakias will
The Legend,” prompting Alexander to declare “I have had fun; I
hope you did, too.
She said “My tenure has been
a continuous joy.” She praised
the orchestra and singers and
said “It was a great pleasure to
collaborate once more with Mr.
Grigoris Maninakis.
Marinna Colitis, Board member and concert co-chair acknowledged all who contributed
to the evening’s success, including her dear friend and co-chair
Tina Padas-Mavroudis, and
Chrissi Nicolas, singer and treasurer, who created the attractive
and informative commemorative journal.
Padas-Mavroudis presented
awards to the Chorale’s longestserving members, including
Matthew Bistis, still singing
continue teaching in the Day
School for the remainder of the
year, and that contracts are renewed every year and, of
course, the School Committee
oversees that.”
tenor at 90 years old. The
chorale honored the 50 year
memberships of Kolaitis, George
Haikalis, Peter Lewnes, and his
wife Barbara Lewnes, who was
the musical glory of Good Friday
services at Three Hierarchs in
Brooklyn for decades. Helen and
Peter Kehayes were cite for their
48 years of service.
The chorale was established
in 1965 by the Council of Greek
Orthodox Choir Directors of
Greater New York. Peter Lewnes
said Chis Constantakos, the
choir director at Three Hierarchs in Brooklyn, Ernest Villas,
the director of the Metropolitan
Greek Choir, Spiros Semos, and
James Stathis “got together and
said ‘why don’t we set up a mutual choir group from all the
Churches.”
POCKET-LESS
PITA BREAD
Kontos Foods
The Leading Company in Flat Breads
Well known for the Pocket-Less Pita
manufacturers of Authentic ethnic
hand stretched Flat bread.
Kontos the first family in fillo dough and fillo products.
www.GreekKitchennyc.com
Fillo KAtAiFi, bAKlAVA, sPAnAKoPitA, tYroPitA
nut roll, melomAKAronA
and the trAditionAl mediterrAneAn desserts.
excellent quality and service.
We distribute in USA and Canada.
The National Herald Bookstore
(718) 784-5255
[email protected]
ab
special prices for communities, schools, churches
festivals and other events
Kontos Foods, Inc
box 628, Paterson, nj 07544
tel.: (973) 278-2800 Fax: (973) 278-7943
Kontos.com
COMMUNITY
6
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
Words of Wisdom and Tears of Joy at Saint Demetrios HS Graduation
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
ASTORIA – The well-organized
graduation ceremony of a wellrun school produced an expected
but no less thrilling result on St.
Demetrios High School graduation day, tears of joy, expressions
of pride and inspiration for students and guests alike.
Once again the most touching moment was the processional when the kindergarteners
of the St. Demetrios school system – the class of 2027 – accompanied the class of 2015,
many of whom have warm
memories of sharing the graduation spotlight 12 years ago.
The speaker’s words seemed
to blend into one message the
students could take with them
into the world of higher education and beyond.
The prudence advised by Supervising Principal Anastasios
Koularmanis, who developed the
words of Socrates’ “know thyself” by emphasizing the importance of adding knowledge of
one’s limits to self-confidence,
and Dr. William Tenet, who
urged the graduates to supplement awareness of their abundant talent with humility, were
balanced by the “the sky is the
limit” message to their classof
Valedictorian
mates
Demetrios Neophytou and double-Salutatorians
Kristina
Kalemkerides and Demetra Papadopoulos.
The messages of the speakers
and the meaning of the ceremony
were summed up in the closing
remarks of Very Rev. Nektarios
Papazafiropoulos, the Dean of St.
Demetrios Cathedral.
After saying “paideia is not just
a school, it is the community –
all of us,” and spoke about one of
the messages he worked to convey to them: “I wanted you to
open up your minds…not to take
for granted what is presented to
you, but to have judgement.”
He also advised them: “Embrace who you are – nobody is
perfect – everyone has strengths
and weaknesses …look for something that conforms to what you
like to do in life. We all have an
inclination – look for it, find it,
and you will all be great.”
The speakers, all of whom
congratulated students, parents
Photos: tnh/costAs bej
ABOVE LEFT: (L-R) Dr. Apostolos Tambakis, Dr. George Liakeas, Anastasios Koularmanis, Dr.
Demetrios Karides, and Emmanuel Dritsas. ABOVE RIGHT: Salutatorian Kristina Kalemkerides
addresses her classmates, including Co-Salutatorian Demetra Papadopoulos. BOTTOM LEFT: Nick
Andriotis, current School Board president brimmed with pride for the graduates as he addressed
the guests. BOTTOM RIGHT: Dr. William Tenet, who offered the commencement speech, paid
tribute to his parents and all the immigrants to sacrifice for the sake of their children’s future.
and teachers alike, included Emmanuel Dritsas, Parish Council
President, Nick Andriotis, School
Board Chairman, and representatives of the Hellenic Medical Society, which was a strong relationship with the school and donated
$5000 for scholarships.
Eleni Karagiorgos, history
teacher and college advisor,
served as the Emcee, praised the
achievements and diversity of the
graduating class and said that
they depart with the love and
blessings of the St. Demetrios
community.
Koularmanis introduced Dr.
Tenet, who said “Thank you for
inviting me. I would like to share
my story because it is also your
story…about the hard work and
dreams of our parents…the circumstances and the cast of characters are different, but the struggles are the same.”
He said “Struggle has always
been part of the Greek experience,” but he added “those who
pursue struggle will be happier
than those who pursue pleasure.”
“My father was a great man.
He left Albania – the coastal town
of Cheimara in Northern Epiros –
“with a second grade education
at the age of 12 to work in the
coal mines of France…facing unbelievable hardships to support
his family back home.”
He eventually reached the
land of opportunity, and his hard
work led to owning a coffee and
later a diner in Little Neck,
Queens.
His mother Evangelia also
born in Northern Epiros has a
more dramatic story. Her uncle,
a physician, was assassinated. Her
family was evacuated by the
British and she spent two years
in a refugee camp in Italy. After
finding her way to Greece, she
met John, her future husband and
arrived in America eight months
pregnant with their.”
The focus of Tenet’s studies
shifted from chemistry to biology,
but what happened to his uncle
inspired him to pursue medicine.
In Greece Tenet was often cited
as “the nephew of the doctor” and
was impressed by the reverence
with people spoke about the lat-
ter.
He and his twin brother
George, even separated by the
distance between New York and
Washington often comforted each
other through difficult times –
William noted the his brother’
enormous challenges at the CIA
– but they would always acknowledge their days were not as back
as what their parents experienced.
Among the brothers’ formative
experience was serving as altar
boys at St. Nicholas of Flushing,
to which they travelled by bus
since their parents didn’t drive.
He called the priest their “our
guiding light. We wouldn’t be
where we are today,” without his
wisdom and support,” and urged
the students, “Choose not just a
career, but a vocation,” echoing
Fr. Papazafiropoulos’ words about
callings.
Tenet spoke for a portion of
his presentation in Greek and
concluded by reminding the students that by using the tools they
were given at St. Demetrios “you
will be very successful in the future,” but he noted they also have
“a great responsibility…our parents came a long way to build the
community and the Astoria neighborhood…continue to build the
community.”
Demetrios Neophytou thanked
Tenet “for his inspiring speech,”
and the entire St. Demetrios staff
and faculty, with special thanks
to Rita Syntillas.
After warm words for his parents and siblings, he expressed
appreciation “to my classmates
and friends for always being by
my side, through thick and thin,”
and proceeded to reminisce about
the time from Kindergarten to
that moment.
Seventh
grader
Melina
Tsiropoulou then entertained the
guest with “Wind beneath My
Wings.”
Kristina Kalemkeridis said, “I
was blessed to spend 14 years of
my life here,” among the people
she called “my second family,”
and thanked the schools’ “generous benefactors for believing in
us…we will be forever grateful
and we will never forget where it
all began.”
After a special message to her
siblings, parents and grandparents in Greek, she told her classmates “I wish you every joy and
success. I love you very much.”
Demetra Papadopoulos also
spoke in praise of the Greek language, and looking around and
noting the tears of joy in many
eyes, she thanked all the parents
“for doing everything for us…and
our teachers for their support,
guidance and inspiration…we
promise we will make you
proud.”
To Karagiorgis she said “thank
you for preparing us for college
and the rest of our lives,” and she
told Koularmanis and his col-
leagues “you love and dedication
helped shape us as individuals. “
She concluded with tears in
her own eyes, saying, “Dear classmates – or should I say brothers
and sisters – we made it! Congratulations to each of you,”
Irene Panikidis received the
Three Hierarchs Award for excellence from Mary Makedon, but
the program also listed her
among the high achievers of virtually every field.
Manos Koubarakis, the Greek
Consul conveyed the congratulation of the Greek Consulates to
the educators, students and their
parents, and also emphasized that
a school is a family.
Andriotis reminisced that
when he spoke in the same role
13 years ago, he could not imagine how successful the school
would eventually become. “
We succeed and I am very
happy” he declared, and to the
graduating classes he said “You
have presented yourselves very
well… I want the rest of your lives
to be as bright as tonight.”
Fr. Papazafiropoulos placed a
noble seal on the proceeding
when he said to the graduates:
“Tonight, we appreciate all you
have to offer. Congratulations.
Panta axoioi. Always be worthy.
Before the diplomas were distributed and the formalities
passed into a reception for all,
five students sand “I Hope You
Had the Time of Your Life.”
NY’s Holy Trinity Cathedral School Celebrates its 65th Commencement
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The historic 65th
graduation of The Cathedral
School (THS), the day school of
Holy Trinity Cathedral in Manhattan, was marked with a moving ceremony on June 8.
As the students and their
friends and families waited in the
Church lit with candles and the
light of the setting sun, Archbishop Demetrios of American entered, walking down the center
aisle escorted by Fr. John Vlahos,
Cathedral Dean, and Theodore P.
Kusulas, Head of the School.
During the reception in the undercroft that followed, the Archbishop said “we did not have
Pomp and Circumstance,” the traditional processional music by Sir
Edward Elgar, “we had joy and
success,” a reference to both the
achievements and prospects of
the graduates and the future of
the school following the first year
of Kusulas’ tenure.
After the invocation two students, Nikiforos Papadopoulos
and Manolis Lambrakis joined
Head Chanter Athanasios Minetos
in singing the hymn of Pentecost.
Of the graduates, Fr. Vlahos
declared “we are exceedingly
proud of them,” and told the
LEFT: Panagiotis Persianis receives Philoptochos award. (L-R)
Archbishop Demetrios, Dean Poll, Dimitra, Manis, Luke Constas,
Julianna Fazone, Elisavet Tsakou, Jennifer Stalic, Panagotis
Persianis, Bill Hessert Catherine Moutousis, Dr. Miranda Kofinas, and Theodore Kusulas. RIGHT: The graduates of The
guests “We thank each of you for
your love and support of our
school, where we hope we have
offered the best education in the
most pleasant and encouraging
environment for them to grow as
wonderful and dignified human
beings. Hopefully many lasting
friendships and connections that
will lead into high school, college,
and beyond.”
Pride overflowed the nave for
a very gifted and promising grad-
uating class that included
Amanda Burch, who won the
Presidential Award for Academic
Achievement (PAAA), Nicholas
Klederas (PAAA), Dwayne Lewis
(PAAA), Kit Mattikow, Leander
Moe, Presidential Award of Academic Excellence (PAAE), Comptroller’s Award of Service (CAS),
Eleftheria Papadopoulos, (CAS),
(PAAE), Panagiotis Persianis,
Valedictorian (PAAE), and Kristen
Saintilus (PAAA).
Cathedral School shined in the light of their achievements,
their potential, and Hellenic blue. (L-R) Kit Mattikow, Dwayne
Lewis, Kristen Saintilus, Eleftheria Papadopoulos, Amanda
Burch, Leander Moe, Panagiotis Persianis, and Nicholas Klederas.
When he invited Panagiotis
Persianis to make the valedictory
address, Kusulas anticipated the
humor that spiced the student’s
address by quipping that while
the former was accepted by the
prestigious public Stuyvesant
High School, he has chosen to
spend his parents’ money,” at the
renowned Horace Mann private
school. The principal’s smile also
reflected pride in a student he
called “a truly gifted individual.”
Cathedral Soiree a Hit and an Inspiration
By Constantine S. Sirigos
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – A unique setting
does not guarantee an extraordinary event, but it helps. Good
music also contributes, but there
is one thing that makes a gathering memorable and inspires
attendees to deepen their devotion to the host organization
and return with friends next
time: the dedication and spirit
of the hosts.
The guests at the spring
Soiree of the Archdiocesan
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
heard live and DJ music from
PowerStation – there was also a
jazz singer guests said was fantastic – but when they left they
were not only humming the
tunes or singing the praises of
the organizers.
Since the event at Guastavino’s – built under the magnificent vaulted spaces of the
59th Street Bridge – on June 5,
the organizers, including chairpersons Justin Bozonelis and
Stella Pantelides, have been told
by people they now wanted to
be more involved with the
Cathedral and its ministries and
organizations.
The party went on past midnight and “All the feedback I got
is that this was the best one in
terms of raw energy and fun,”
Bozonelis told TNH.
Pantelides told TNH “to me
it was special because the community turned out to welcome
Father John Vlahos, the Cathedral’s new Dean, and to honor
industrialist Dennis Mehiel, and
also because there was a feeling
of togetherness, especially
among the young adults.”
After a lull in organized
young adult activity in recent
years, she finds that there is a
hunger among them for such
events. “They are basically
telling us, the older generation,
that they want to get together…
I remember there was always a
party, almost every weekend,
where Greek-Americans could
meet one another.”
Those days are history, but
today’s social traffic can bear at
least two or three big bashes a
year. “It doesn’t have to be the
Cathedral,” Pantelides said, but
its events can anchor the calen-
dar.
And it doesn’t have to be
only the very young. Every generation was delighted to see
grandparents dancing near their
children’s children on Friday
night. About 300 of the more
500 guests were said to be
young adults.
Jim Pantelides’ words of praise
to TNH for his wife and Bozonelis’
efforts were echoed by enough
others to be deemed objective, although he also credited Fr. Vlahos
and the Board for the Soiree’s success: “Of my 12 years of serving
on the Board of Trustees of the
Cathedral, this was our best
event,” Pantelides said.
Mehiel, who in addition to
his achievements in commerce
and his philanthropic endeavors
was also instrumental in the resolution of the dispute with the
Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey that was blocking
the construction of the new St.
Nicholas at Ground Zero, was
the first recipient of the Holy
Trinity Cathedral Award.
Welcoming the guests, Stella
Pantelides thanked the organizing committee for its work and
Bozonelis further thanked the
volunteers and sponsors and
Dean Poll, president of the
Cathedral’s Board of Trustees.
Poll thanked the young
adults for supporting the event,
words which were echoed by
Bozonelis who said “we know
it’s Friday night in Manhattan
and that you could be anywhere
you want to be, but hundreds
of you have shown up in support of the Cathedral.”
Archbishop Demetrios attended and thanked everyone
and expressed his appreciation
for Mehiel’s contribution to the
community.
Business mogul John Catsimatidis introduced Mehiel, his
good friend. With his usual passion and humor, Mehiel spoke
to the guests and thanked the
Cathedral for the honor. He was
then presented with an icon that
symbolized the Holy Trinity.
Bozonelis told TNH the
Soiree was also the most successful spring event of the
Cathedral in terms of raw ticket
sales and sponsorships and 100
percent goes to the Cathedral’s
operating budget.
With humor and passion, Persianis spoke of his experience at
TCS – he spent the last two years
there - beginning with an enumeration of “its extraordinary assets. The first is its community
spirit.”
He remembered the warm
welcome he received on first day
of class from his news classmates
and teachers “I never received
such a warm welcome before.”
He praised the school’s first
class teachers, all of whom he
named, and told them “thank you
very much for your incredible
support.”
The valedictorian said he most
appreciated the way he was challenged intellectually and was
urged to care for others and the
rest of society, and for the dedication of the Greek department,
who made sure “we all speak and
feel Greek.”
Persianis also highlighted the
talents of his classmates, and
noted that he also learned much
from them, a sentiment echoed
by Kusulas and validated by the
Archbishop.
He praised his mother, called
his father “the best dad in the
world,” and said his sister was his
biggest cheerleader.
The Direct Archdiocesan District Office of Education presents
the Three Hierarchs Award of Excellence in Greek Language and
Culture at area schools and
teacher Elisavet Tsakou awarded
it to Persianis, who was also given
the Philoptochos Valedictorian
Award, a cash prize, by Catherine
Moutousis, Cathedral Philoptochos President, and Dr. Miranda
Koufinas.
Each spring the Philoptochos
luncheon raises $10,000 for TCS
scholarships.
Kusulas introduced the salutatorian, Eleftheria Papadopoulos,
who was one of two graduates
who attended TCS since nursery
school, and explained that her
function is to greet and salute the
graduating class.
Papadopoulos began her
speech with a number: 14,000.
That is her estimate of the number of hours - excluding extracurricular activities - she passed at
TCS since nursery school, which
she called her second home.
She knows every student in
every class by name, so that the
place where she was imbued with
the love of the Greek language
and Hellenic culture also became
a second family.
The guests were touched
when she cited her classmates individually and highlighted their
talents, budding artists, scientists,
musicians, mathematicians, athletes, and dancers, to name just
some of their fields of endeavor
where they can be expected to
shine given the top high schools
which will be lucky to have them
as students.
She herself was presented the
Parents’ Association Salutatorian
Award by Bill Mihas and Live Diakolios, outgoing and newly
elected presidents respectively.
Kusulas explained that as the
new Head of School, he was inspired to create an award by that
name, but he chose to call it the
TCS Spirit Award for “the student
that exemplifies the creative force
and spirit that we have created
here.”
The first winner was Kristenn
Saintilus, “a young lady whose
pride and perseverance” and love
of learning were sparks that enabled her to meet her potential.
Archbishop Demetrios was
very impressed with the ceremony and the students’ presentations. “These were not middle
school quality speeches, nor even
high school caliber, these were
college level speeches,” he said,
adding Persianos’ blending of serious themes and humor marked
him as a fine speaker.
The Archbishop noted that “a
good school replaces ignorance
with knowledge,” and that TCS
has helped the students build “a
tremendous foundation with Hellenic traditions that go back at
least 5000 years.”
He urged them to flee from
the “ignorance is bliss” philosophy
modern life tempts people with.
“There is no such happiness,” he
said, and challenged them to add
to the world’s stock of knowledge.
“Getting knowledge and wisdom might be painful. It necessities work and long hours, and the
omission of the easy pleasures of
life, but there is no reward equal
to the reward of the knowledge
and wisdom imparted by God to
the people who look for it.”
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
FEATURE
7
ALL HISTORY
A Look at Greek-American Jazz Musicians throughout the 20th Century
Continued from page 1
On January 29, 1927, news
accounts report the success of
Stratakos and his Pine Hills Orchestra. By June 1, 1927, Ellis
Stratakos and his New Orleans
Orchestra were playing at the
American Legion at Ocean
Springs. While the line-up for
the Ellis Stratakos Orchestra
changed over time and even at
times job-by-job the regular personnel included Ellis Stratakos,
as director and trombonist;
John Hyman and Howard Reed,
on clarinets; John Reininger and
Joe Loyacano, on alto saxophones; Eddie Powers, on tenor
saxophone; Joe Wolf, on piano;
Fred Loyacano, on guitar, banjo
and vocals; Dave Fridge, bass
saxophone and Von Gammon,
on drums. It is this line-up of
musicians who, by sometime in
the late-1920s, were showcased
as the Ellis Stratakos and his Orchestra at the Jung Hotel in
New Orleans. It is this essential
line-up of musicians that
Stratakos headed playing not
only at the Jung Hotel but also
on annual tours back and forth
along the Gulf States from
Louisiana to Florida.
Stratakos is especially remembered, within the inner circles of jazz musicians and historians, as one of the earliest
proponents of “sweet” and so
(as the jazz musician’s lingo has
it) “hot” jazz. Contemporary
Jazz revival groups such as the
New
Orleans-based
New
Leviathan Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra proudly credit Stratakos
and his Orchestra for a number
of their recordings.
Yet curiously, the references
to Stratakos and his orchestra
also involve as dispute as to how
long of a professional career this
collective of musicians actually
experienced. No one challenges
the fact that the Ellis Stratakos
Orchestra in the late 1920s
through the early 1930s was the
house orchestra at the luxurious
New Orleans’ Jung Hotel’s rooftop dance lounge. In Samuel
Charters’ book, A Trumpet
Around the Corner: The Story
of New Orleans Jazz, Stratakos
is credited after 1925 as contin-
days at the Jung Hotel: “Ellis was
such a stickler for perfection…
not only with music, but how we
looked: tuxedos with spats
even…His favorite song was
“Sweetheart on Parade”—we’d
play it over and over whether we
got requests or not.”
The talk of requests brought
up a memory of an especially
notable fan: “You know which
one [request] we’d get the most
for: “Every Man A King”…Huey
Long would give each one of the
band members $20 every time
we would play it…Remember
how he’d come up all the time,
dressed to the nines, straw hat,
walking cane and bodyguards.
He always punched the elevator
button with the tip of his cane…
Above: The WOWL New Orleans Broadcast band at their
first live performance. (L-R)
Frank Mutz, Ed McCarthy,
Pinky Gerbrecht, Eddie Powers,
Ellis Stratakos, and Ray
Bauduc. Right: Ellis Stratakos
Orchestra aboard the S.S. Mexique on Mardi Gras Night 1936.
uing “ to be an important local
jazz artist, with a group that included
several
important
younger musicians among them
cornetist Johnny Wiggs, trumpeter Louis Prima, clarinetist
Irving Fazola, saxophonist Joe
Loyocano, pianist Freddie Neuman and drummer Augie Schelland.” Other names such as
Frank Federico (b 1912) and
saxophonist Dave Winstein
could be added to this list of
younger musicians Stratakos
hired. What can be drawn out
of the available literature are
two stories: one suggests that
Prima, Fazola, and Winstein
were fired by Stratakos and the
other (claimed principally by
Prima) that the Ellis Stratakos
Orchestra was an inherently inferior musical group and simply
disbanded in 1929.
How long exact the Ellis
Stratakos Orchestra played at
the Jung Hotel remains uncertain. But the fact that the
Stratakos Orchestra played at
this venue for a number of years
at least speaks to its professionalism to say nothing of its pop-
ularity. In fact given that the
Stratakos Orchestra played not
simply at the Jung Hotel but all
along the Gulf Shore well into
the 1940s argues strongly
against any claims that this jazz
orchestra was anything but at
the very top of their field.
The Jung Hotel roof-top
dance lounge has been described as “eighteen stories
above ground level. A marvelous Terrazzo dance floor. Just
like dancing on a hill. All the
windows on four sides open and
disappear into the roof, which
itself opens wide. Air from all
sides and the top, “Like dancing
in the open air, with immense
blower fans aiding the natural
ventilation. No chance for a
headache from confined air.””
Ellis Stratakos and his Jung Hotel Roof Orchestra at the Bayshore Colonial Resort in Tampa
FLA in 1936. From left to right: Louis Massinter, Johnny Reininger, Irving Fazola, Augie Schellange, Ellis Stratakos, Frank Federico, Freddie Neuman, Louis Prima and Dave Wenstein.
Even after the Ellis Stratakos
Orchestra left the Jung Hotel,
which seems to have been after
1935, they continued to perform
all along the Gulf shore from
Louisiana to Florida at only the
largest and most well-appointed
resorts, hotels, night-spots, and
even on cruise ships touring the
Gulf. In addition the Ellis
Stratakos Orchestra also appeared on radio station WOWL
out of New Orleans. How a flashin-the-pan orchestra could have
done all this and in very short
order as is stated in Prima and
companies claims is impossible.
In late 1980, the four surviving members of the Ellis
Stratakos Orchestra Al Hessemer,
Don Peterson, John Reininger,
and Howard Reed recalled their
He was a cut up, literally: they
all recalled the time when the
piano wouldn’t fit into a certain
space…”So Huey just took a saw
and cut off the legs.”
There is an enduring mystery
related to the Ellis Stratakos Orchestra. As far as can now be
determined this popular group
only recorded one single disc
while performing in New Orleans. Documents at the
Brunswick Record company’s
Vocalion label attest to the fact
that sometime in February 1929
the Ellis Stratakos Orchestra
recorded two songs “A Little
Thing Called Love (No. 13215792)” and “Weary River (No.
133-15792)” both of which can
be heard on the Internet
Youtube.com site. Other individ-
ual songs seemed to have been
recorded at the February 1929
recording session but for the
moment it does not seem they
were pressed into records. Why
this popular orchestra would
only record and release one
commercial record is difficult to
understand.
Some accounts claim that
Stratakos
performed
and
recorded under a variety of
names. Whatever the case may
one day prove to be Stratakos
as a solo performer, band member and orchestra leader was
popular with dancers along the
Gulf Coast resorts. So the release of one and only one record
makes no sense whatsoever. Especially given the enduring interest of jazz musicians and historians alike for this man and
his orchestra.
For his own part Ellis
Stratakos, sometime in the
1940s, returned to Gulfport and
took up the family confectionary
business. While this may seem
anticlimactic we must recall this
choice came after more than
twenty years of Ellis Stratakos
performing as a highly successful professional musician.
Clearly the full story of Ellis
Stratakos Orchestra has yet to
be told. I first came to hear of
Ellis Stratakos and his Orchestra
at a party in Bloomington Indiana from Professor Thomas W.
Jacobsen of the Classics Department. It was Dr. Jacobsen who
told me of the New Leviathan
Oriental Fox Trot Orchestra out
of New Orleans and their praise
for Stratakos. As a dedicated
jazz fan Jacobsen was in contact
with the band and asked me if I
ever heard of the Greek Foxtrot.
I went on to tell him of Tetos
Demetriades and other who had
released 78rpm records of such
music. Today, Thomas Jacobsen,
is a retired professor emeritus
and author of the book, The
New Orleans Jazz Scene, 1970–
2000 A Personal Retrospective.
As with so much in Greek
American history and culture we
need to learn more about the
extraordinary jazz trombonist
Ellis Stratakos.
[email protected]
The second image shows the Ellis Stratakos and his Jung Hotel Orchestra, posing on the bandstand with their instruments arranged in the foreground. From left to right: Eddie Powers, Al
Hessemer, Dave Fridge, Howard Reed, Freddie Loyocano, and Johnny Bayersdoffer.
GREEK AMERICAN STORIES
Yiannis’ Downfall
By Phylis (Kiki) Sembos
Special to The National Herald
In Dixon’s, that Sunday, our
favorite five sat around, coffees
in hand, an array of donuts in
the center, waiting for Yiannis
who hadn’t yet arrived.
“Think he’s alright?” asked
John, his eye at the door. “Don’t
worry about him! Nothing happens to him. But, my wife told
me he had an accident in his
building,” George related. Dimos looked up. “Hurt badly?
What happened?” George
shrugged, “Probably not! He’d
make sure nothing bad happened enough to see a doctor.
Cost too much!” Kipreos commented, “Areti has health insurance, doesn’t she?” George nodded, reaching for a donut.”Sure!
But, Yiannis just doesn’t like to
see any doctor for any reason. –
unless he found a doctor that’ll
pay him.”
Just then, Yiannis was seen
coming in, his wrist bound and
a black sling round his neck,
cradling his arm. He approached. “Can someone help
me get coffee, please?” Kipreos
jumped up, quickly volunteering
to help his friend. When they
both arrived back to the table,
Yiannis asked, “Can someone
pull out my chair, please?” John
obliged, eyeing the sling.
George, annoyed at Yiannis’
need for assistance, said, “Do
you want us to chew your
donut, too?” Yiannis, ignoring
him, sat, reached out for a
donut and sighed. “I tell you it
was a terrible ordeal.” Dimos
knew, instinctively, that Yiannis
wanted to talk about his ‘ordeal’.
He asked, with the appropriate
amount of sympathy, “O.K. Yiannis! Tell us what happened.”
Wishing to conjure up an aura
of suspense, Yiannis began to
tell about his accident.
He began with a shake of his
head. “They say that most accidents happen in or near your
house. Well, that’s true! All I did
was take the garbage down to
the cellar of my building.
Garbage is collected every Tuesday. So, I emptied our dispenser
and took along the pile of newspapers and headed for the door.
I needed help to open the door
when I realized that my hands
were full and couldn’t open the
door. I called Areti.” George,
drumming his fingers at the
table’s edge, said, “Get to the
good part, Yiannis!” Yiannis
turned a disgruntled face at his
intruder. “Shut up, George! Only
you’d be entertained by my
pain.”
Then, returning his attention
to the others, he continued.
“Areti came and opened the
door of our kitchen and I went
out into the hallway. The lights
in the hallway are always dim. I
was thinking of complaining to
the super or the landlord. I
should’ve, before – before my
accident. I’m thinking of suing,
you know.” He told them, seriously. Dimos said, “You’d have
to find someone else who had
an accident for the same reason,
I think. Has anyone else complained about the dimness in
the hallway?” Yiannis, after a
few seconds of deep reflection,
said, “I don’t know. But, that’s a
good idea. I’ll ask around.”
Drawing in a breath, Yiannis
continued his sad tale. “So, I
started down the stairs – carefully. But, I could hardly see my
feet – the bags of garbage and
newspapers were too much, I
realized too late.” George
squinted. “You can read the
newspapers?”
Giving him no mind, Yiannis
continued as if George didn’t exist.” I was on the third floor
when it happened!
Suddenly, everything went
flying out of my arms and down
I went – dub, dub, dub, until I
landed on the second floor. A
whole flight of stairs!”
He looked around at the others for signs of suspenseful sympathy. He continued with
drama. “No one opened their
door. I could have DIED!” No
one commented.
“That’s when I realized that
my shoulder and wrist hurt –
BAD!” Still, little emotion from
the others.
“Then, it happened! An angel
appeared – one of the neighbors
opened their door, finally, and
saw me sprawled out, garbage
everywhere. She helped me up;
I limped to her kitchen and she
went out to pick up the garbage
for me. She took it to the cellar
and dumped it all. When I told
her about my shoulder and wrist
– she – she said she’d take care
of it. She’s a nurse.” Kipreos’
face lit up. “Wow! What a piece
of luck finding a nurse!” Yiannis
nodded. “Yes! God was good to
me. She wrapped my arm in this
sling and I went upstairs.”
George grinned. “God knows
you well, Yiannis. He knew you
didn’t want to spend money at
a hospital.”
“But, I hope you learned a
lesson, Yiannis,” Dimos told
him, meaning he’d never try and
take down too much garbage
again. Yiannis, nodded, seriously.
“Oh, I did! I did! It’ll never
happen again!” The others sat
back, glad of Yiannis’ newly
learned common sense, until,
they heard Yiannis announce,
“Next time, I’ll send Areti down
with the garbage.”
Law Firm
G. Dimitriadis & Associates
our company aims to provide high quality services, adapted to the
specific needs of our clients.
the main areas of our activities include:
• Legal services
• Financial managerial services
• Real Estate
our wide network of contacts in greece guarantees the immediate
and unified handling of our clients’ matters.
Phone: 01130 210 3390080 • cell.: 01130 6977 469888
Fax: 01130 210 3390044
e-mail: [email protected]
www.dimitriadislawfirm.gr
OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS
8
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
CLASSIFIEDS
Georgia James Macris, an Acclaimed Designer, Passes at 67
HOUSE FOR PURCHASE
Georgia James Macris, age
67, of Wilmington, NC, died Saturday, June 6, 2015, at New
Hanover Regional Medical Center.
She was born in Wilmington
on July 9, 1947 to James Spiro
and Fani Malavakis Macris, and
was preceded in death by a
brother Billy (Vasili), who died
in early childhood.
She is survived by a brother
Spiro James Macris, a sister
Mary Macris Swansbrough, a
nephew
James
Raymond
Swansbrough (Annie), a great
niece Wynton Swansbrough,
and a niece Christina Swansbrough Gleason (Michael).
Georgia attended Chestnut
Street School and New Hanover
High School and graduated
from Wilmington College in
1970 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
She taught at Delco High
School for four years. She attended the Corcoran School of
Art in Washington, DC, 1974 1975.
She attended Parsons School
of Design in New York City 1975
- 1978 and graduated with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts.
For the next ten years Georgia worked in New York City as
a graphic designer for various
advertising agencies. She received a number of awards for
her work.
She returned to Wilmington
in 1987 to care for her father
who had a terminal illness. She
remained in Wilmington following his death to be with her
mother, and was employed by
her brother as a receptionist in
his orthodontic practice. She
served as caretaker for her
mother during her terminal illness in 1998.
Georgia was a lover of sports
and completed the New York
Marathon as a race walker in
1986. She was a member of the
New York Roadrunners Club.
She was deeply involved in her
church, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, and served as
president of the Philoptohos Society, a woman's philanthropic
society of the Greek community.
She served as editor of the 50th
Anniversary Album of the
church in 1992. She also served
as president of the local chapter
of the Daughters of Penelope,
an auxiliary of the AHEPA, the
American Hellenic Educational
Progressive Association. She
edited "A Greek Feast," a book
of Greek recipes collected from
the Greek community of Wilmington. In her introduction to
the second edition of the cookbook, she wrote the following:
" "A Greek Feast' is more than a
book of Greek recipes. It is a gift
to the greater community of
Wilmington from a small Greek
community which traces its
roots back only to the turn of
the century. Just as an invitation
to a Greek home for sweets and
coffee, for mezedes, or for dinner, is a sign of respect and
friendship, so this book is presented to the public with respect
and friendship. Come into our
home - enjoy a Greek Feast - and
let us become friends."
Georgia worked at the Greek
Festival for a number of years
as coordinator of the cooking
demonstrations.
Prior to her illness and during the early part of her eight
year battle with brain cancer,
Georgia enjoyed working in pottery at the Pancoe Clay Studio
at the Cameron Art Museum.
With the assistance and under
the direction of Hiroshi
Sueyoshi, she created a number
of beautiful pieces of pottery.
Georgia was a caring and
selfless individual who deeply
loved her family and who enjoyed the beauty of the world:
the beauty of the flowers in her
yard, the beauty of clay becoming pottery, the beauty of sports,
the beauty of the religious icons
of her church.
She will be missed by family
and friends. May her memory
be everlasting. The family
wishes to thank Dr. Annick Desjardins and the staff of the Duke
Brain Tumor Center for their
care of Georgia over eight years,
as well as the many doctors in
Wilmington who had a part in
this care. In particular the family
wishes to thank the staff of the
7th floor of New Hanover Regional Medical Center who
cared for Georgia the last five
days of her life.
An evening prayer service
will be held at Andrews Mortuary Market Street Chapel on
Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at 7pm.
The family will receive friends
from 6pm to 8pm at the chapel.
Funeral services will be held
Wednesday, June 10, 2015, at
11am at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, officiated by Father Jon Emanuelson. Interment
will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family
suggests memorial contributions
to The Preston Robert Tisch
Brain Tumor Center at Duke,
DUMC, Box 3624, Durham, NC,
27710; or to the Philoptohos Society of St. Nicholas, 608 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC,
28403 Condolences to the family
at www.andrewsmortuary.com
Andrews Market Street Chapel.
Looking to buy HOUSE or
APARTMENT in central ATHENS
or in nearby suburb. Approximately 1000 s.f. (or more).
Payable in US or Greece.
(01130) 6942-423-144 or
[email protected]
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of K&A BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
LLC. (DOM. LLC) Articles of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of New York
(SSNY) on 03/03/15. Office location: Nassau
County. SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail copy of process to: K&A
Business Solutions LLC, 57 Eastwood Lane,
Valley Stream, NY 11581. Purpose: Any lawful
purpose.
Α/Α14
274422/19526
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of KFS SALES GROUP,
LLC a (DOM. LLC), Articles. of Organi-zation filed with the SSNY on 03/27/15. Office location: Nassau County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process
against the LLC may be served. SSNY
shall mail process to: KFS Sales Group,
LLC, 86 Doyle Street, Long Beach, NY
11561. General Purposes.
LEGAL NOTICE
Uptown Physical Therapy PLLC. Art. of
Org. filed w/ SSNY 4/6/15. Office in NY
Co. SSNY designated for service of
process and shall mail to: The LLC, 355
Old Tarrytown Rd. #604, Greenburgh,
NY 10603. Purpose: Physical Therapy.
274432/18796
274460/19557
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
H & Z Associates LLC. Arts of Org filed
with Secy of State of NY (SSNY)on
10/03/14, Office located in Nassau Co.
SSNY desig as agent of LLC upon whom
process against it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process to: H & Z Associates
LLC, 150 George Street, Brooklyn, NY
11237. Purpose: General.
274457/19555
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of 1420-44 STREET
ENTERPRISES LLC. (DOM. LLC) Articles of
Organization filed with the Secretary of
State of New York (SSNY) on 04/23/15.
Office location: King County. SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom
process against it maybe served. SSNY shall
mail copy of process to: 1420 - 44th Street
Enterprises LLC, 1420-44th Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11219. Purpose: Any lawful
purpose.
274427/19533
245 KINGSLAND LLC, a domestic LLC,
filed with the SSNY on 5/5/15. Office location: Kings County. SSNY is designated
as agent upon whom process against the
LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail
process to The LLC, 11 Rolling Hill Rd.,
Old Westbury, NY 11568. General purpose.
274450/10709
LEGAL NOTICE
Maxine Blake PLLC. Art. of Org. filed w/
NY Sec. of State 6/2/15. Office in NY Co.
SSNY designated agent for service of
process and shall mail to 175 West 93 St,
New York, NY 10025. Purpose: Law Practice.
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of FISCHER FLOOR
PLANS LLC. (DOM. LLC) Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New
York (SSNY) on 02/05/15. Office location:
Kings County. SSNY is designated as agent of
the LLC upon whom process against it may be
served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to:
3R,
Seth Mulvey, 240 Jefferson Street
Brooklyn, NY 10237. Purpose: Any lawful
purpose.
274398/19500
LEGAL NOTICE
274462/18796
LEGAL NOTICE
DEATH NOTICES
n ANDRELOS,
CONSTANTINOS
TROY, NY (From the Albany
Times Union, published on May
29) – Constantinos N. “Gus” Andrelos, 81, died suddenly on
Monday, May 25, 2015. Born in
Troy, he was the son of the late
Nicholas Andrelos and Stenia
Dogias Andrelos and beloved
husband of Marguerite Moraitis
Andrelos of Troy. On August 22,
1965 Gus married his loving
wife Marguerite in Athens,
Greece; they moved to Troy,
they would have celebrated 50
years of marriage in August.
Raised and educated in Troy, he
was a graduate of Troy High
School. Gus was a United States
Army veteran serving from 1954
to 1956. He worked in production for the Norton Co. in Watervliet for 36 years, retiring in
1996. Gus was humble and gentle by nature; he gave of himself
wholeheartedly to his wife, children and grandchildren. His
family was a source of great joy
to him and he was especially
proud of his three grandsons.
Gus was an avid NY Mets and
NY Giant fan and avid gardener,
Marguerite and Gus would
spend many hours planting and
caring for their beautiful gardens during the summer months
at their home. He enjoyed his
winter stays in Deerfield Beach,
Florida and attending St. Mark
Greek Orthodox Church in Boca
Raton; Gus was an active member of St. Basil’s Greek Orthodox
Church in Troy and was a member of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) and the Capital
District Pontos Society. Survivors
in addition to his wife, Marguerite, include his two sons
Nicholas C. Andrelos (Debra) of
Boca Raton, Fl., Adam Andrelos
(Jennifer) of Mechanicville, his
daughter Franceska S. Lockwood (Chris) of Ballston Lake,
three grandsons Niko Andrelos,
Alexander Andrelos, Christopher Lockwood, his sister Penelope Cantar (George) of
Kingston, nephew Nicholas Cantar (Lizanne). Gus was predeceased by his two brothers Edward and James Andrelos,
nephew Dean Cantar, niece Ann
Marie Andrelos, and sister in
law Marie Andrelos. Funeral
services will be held 10 AM on
Friday, May 29th at St. Basil
Greek Orthodox Church, 909
River Street, Troy with Fr. Emmanuel E. Mantzouris officiating. Burial will follow at Elmwood Hill Cemetery, Belle
Avenue, Troy. Calling hours will
be held on Thursday from 4 to
7PM at McLoughlin & Mason
Funeral Home, corner of 109th
Street and Third Avenue, Lansingburgh. In lieu of flowers, donations in Gus’s memory may
be made to St. Basil’s Greek Orthodox Church, 909 River
Street, Troy, NY 12180.
n APAZIDIS, CHRISTOS
NORWALK, CT (From The Hour,
published on May 29) – Christos
Apazidis, age 62, passed away
on May 27, 2015 in Norwalk
Hospital. He was born April 15,
1953 in Greece and came to the
United States in 1975, where he
worked as a cook. He was later
partners in several food businesses. He was an amazing chef.
days and dates of funerals,
memorials, and other events directly correspond to the original
publication date, which appears
at the beginning of each notice.
Survivors include his beloved
wife Effie Apazidis; his mother
Anatoli Apazidis; his loving children Anatolia Tsilfides and husband Jimmy, George Apazidis
and wife Athena and John
Apazidis; his siblings Avraam
Apazidis and wife Linda, Eugenia Kotzageridis and husband
Christos; grandchildren Yianni
and Eleni Tsilfides; many nieces,
nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins,
and godchildren Funeral Service
will be on Saturday 1:30PM at
St. George Greek Orthodox
Church. Interment will follow in
St. John’s Cemetery, Norwalk.
n CURUSIS HARRY C.
BELMONT, CA (from San Francisco Chronicle, published on
May 20) – Harry Constantine
Curusis was born on December
12, 1923 and passed away
peacefully on May 17, 2015.
Truly a man of the Greatest Generation, his zest for life and determination started as a young
boy growing up on a ranch in
Colma during the Depression.
Harry was the son of Gus and
Stella Curusis who immigrated
from Greece. After graduating
from Jefferson High School in
Daly City, he received a "Greetings from Uncle Sam" letter
inviting him to serve in the military. Harry then enlisted in the
Army Air Corp. During WWII he
was a Navigator and achieved
the rank of First Lieutenant. Flying B-24 and B-17 aircraft, he
flew 33 missions over Germany.
Upon his return from war, Harry
met and married the love of his
life, Artemis Eurotas. They were
married for 65 years and had
two devoted daughters. After
earning an accounting degree
from Golden Gate University,
Harry started many successful
business ventures. Ever the pioneer, he stared the first Toyota
dealership in Northern California, Daly City Toyota Motors at
Top of the Hill and later Daly
City Volkswagen. He was a
founder of First National Bank
and Peninsula Bank of Commerce. He opened Bayhill
Lounge, a night club and restaurant in San Bruno. He was a real
estate broker who developed
many properties in his home
town of Daly City. Having a passion for all things fast, he rode
motorcycles, flew planes, collected classic cars and enjoyed
boating on the San Francisco
Bay. He will be remembered as
a generous and caring friend, a
devoted family man and his
great affection for his dogs.
Harry lived a full and happy life,
traveling in his later years with
his beloved Artie. He will be
missed greatly by his friends and
family. He is survived by his
daughters, Patricia Herriott
(Don), Donna Curusis Bailey
(Mike), granddaughters Lisa
Humphreys (John McNamara)
and Dana Moffitt (Mike) and
great-grandchildren Evan and
Jenna Moffitt. The Funeral Service will be held Friday, May 22,
2015 at 11:30AM at the Church
of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda
de las Pulgas in Belmont.
n DEMETER, GEORGE P.
BOSTON, MA (from The Boston
Globe, published on June 3) –
After an especially courageous
battle with cancer, George Panagiotis Demeter passed away
peacefully at home on June 1,
2015, surrounded by his family.
He was born in Mytilene,
Greece, son to Panagiotis and
Merope Papadimitriou, but lived
most of his adult life in Boston,
MA as beloved husband to Ka-
terina; loving father to Panagiotis Demeter and his wife Sara,
Alexandra Psikarakis and her
husband Michael, Evangelia
Demeter, and stepdaughter
Elena Archimandritou and her
husband Konstantinos and son
Alexandros; cherished grandfather to Sebastian, George, Yasmine, and Anastasia; faithful
brother to Irene Paleologos;
adoring uncle to Merope
Kapetanakis and her husband
Constantine, and their daughters and grandson, Irina, Corina,
and Lucio. George, a real estate
visionary, purchased his first
piece of real estate in Boston's
Back Bay in the early 1960s
while working at MIT. While
many developers at the time
were compromising the integrity of these buildings,
George was busy restoring the
properties back to their original
grandeur. In 1974 he purchased
the well-known Beacon Hill real
estate brokerage firm of A.F.
Doyle and Company. In 1987,
he and a group of investors
founded Mercantile Bank and
Trust Company, where he was
Chairman of the Board of Mercantile Capital Corp until it was
sold to Commerce Bank of
Worcester. George was an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, involved in the St.
Athanasius the Great parish of
Arlington, MA, and a philanthropist to countless organizations and causes. He was a former Trustee of Hellenic
College-Holy Cross School of
Theology and an active council
member of Alpha Omega. He
was a lover of the arts and avid
supporter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was Chairman of the Board of Alea III, a
contemporary music ensemble
at Boston University. George
was a kind and generous soul
who always helped friends and
family in need. He truly was a
remarkable man who was loved
by all who knew him. Services
will be held at the St. Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox
Church, 4 Appleton St, Arlington, MA. Visitation hours will be
held at the church on Wednesday, June 3rd, from 5-9PM. and
the funeral service will be on
Thursday, June 4th at 10AM.
Arrangements will be made by
Faggas Funeral Home. In lieu of
flowers, contributions in his
name can be made to Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, St.
Athanasius the Great Greek Orthodox Church, and Hellenic
College-Holy Cross School of
Theology of Brookline, MA.
n DEMOSS, CAROLYN
LA JOLLA, CA (from the La Jolla
Light, published on May 28) –
Carolyn DeMoss, 87, of La Jolla,
California, passed away peacefully in her home on May 18,
2015. She was surrounded by
family. Born to Greek immigrants in Cleveland, Ohio, on
March 7, 1928, Carolyn was the
fourth child of George and Eugenia Scarvelis. She was the
younger sister of the late Nolan
"Nick" Francis, the late Anne Triant and brother, Steve Scarvelis.
She moved with her family to
Los Angeles after World War II
where she attended Hollywood
High School and subsequently
El Camino Community College.
Proud of her parents' heritage,
as a young woman she was active in the Greek Orthodox
Church, teaching Sunday School
and serving as a youth counselor. A true pioneer in her career, as in her life, Carolyn was
one of the first ever woman
vice-presidents of a company.
Her career included bookkeeper
for Hollywood Bank, Assistant
Vice President for Continental
Bank, escrow officer for Escrow
Administrators and Malaga
Cove Escrow and vice president
of the title insurance company,
Ticor. She moved to La Jolla in
1978 where she established a
real estate brokerage practice
and was an active member of
the La Jolla Board of Realtors
for many years. Carolyn devoted
herself to numerous La Jolla
charitable activities, including
the Museum of Contemporary
Art, the Darlington House and
The League House and Meals
on Wheels. Throughout her life
she impressed all with her style,
charm, wit and graciousness.
Carolyn lived her life with dignity, perseverance, focus and
courage. She loved art, the
opera, ballet, traveling and
shopping. She was a great friend
to many people, even those
from different generations, who
were impressed with her sharp
mind and active body, practicing
yoga even into her 80's. A loyal
daughter, sister, aunt and friend,
Carolyn will be remembered for
her love of family and her generosity. Her legacy and lessons
will continue through those she
left behind. She is survived by
her devoted brother, Steve
Scarvelis; sister in law, June
Francis; and beloved nieces and
nephews, Penny and Nickolaos
Travlos of Athens, Greece,
George and Alexandra Scarvelis
of Santa Barbara, Reverend Fr.
Costas Constantinou and Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou of
San Diego, Diana Dennen of
Lake Havasu, and Stella
Scarvelis of La Jolla. She is also
survived by her cherished greatnieces and nephews, Marianna,
Alexandra and Mia Travlos,
Steven, Nicholas and Stamatia
Scarvelis, Christopher Constantinou and Bobby and Nicole
Schindler. A Trisagion memorial
service will be held on Monday,
May 25, 2015, at 6:30PM at El
Camino Memorial Park, with a
funeral service 9:30AM Tuesday.
Both services to be held at the
St. Demetrios Chapel at El
Camino Memorial Park, 5660
Carol Canyon Rd., San Diego,
followed by burial at Oakwood
Cemetery in Canoga Park. May
her memory be eternal.
n DORKOFIKIS, NICHOLAS
RIDGEFIELD, NJ (from The Jersey Journal, published on May
30) – Nicholas Dorkofikis, age
80, of Ridgefield, entered into
eternal life on Friday, May 29,
2015. Devoted father of Maria
Dorkofikis and Sophia Dorry
and her husband Bryan. Cherished grandfather of Tess and
Max Dorry. Dear brother of Helen Kirkilis. He will be sadly
missed by his beloved dog,
Coco. Nicholas is predeceased
by his wife, Athanasia (nee
Tsakonas), Nicholas was born in
Meligalas, Greece and emigrated to Canada in 1965 and
then to the U.S. in 1970. He was
the Owner and Manager of
Nick's Pizzeria in its original location in Bergenfield and in
North Bergen. Nicholas was an
avid spectator at horse races and
enjoyed spending time playing
checkers with his granddaughter, Tess, and playing with his
grandson, Max. Funeral Mass
Monday, 12 Noon, St. John Theologian Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Tenafly. Interment to follow at Hackensack Cemetery,
Hackensack. Visitation Sunday
3-7 PM, with a Trisaigon Service
"Notice of formation of George Folias &
Assc. LLC. Articles of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on April 14, 2015. Office Location: Nassau County. SSNY designated for service of
process to C/O The LLC, 408 Waukena Avenue, Oceanside, NY 11572. Purpose: Any
lawful activity."
LEI Smart LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ SSNY
5/7/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY designated for
service of process and shall mail to: LEI Smart
LLC, 225 Rector Place Ste. 3M, New York, NY
10280. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
274409/18796
FUNERAL HOMES
274444/19544
APOSTOLOPOULOS
LEGAL NOTICE
"Notice of formation of C 2 HEALTHCARE
CONSULTANTS, LLC. (DOM. LLC.)
Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on
05/18/2015. Office Location: Nassau
County. SSNY designated for service of
process to: THE LLC, 8 Roads End,
Brookville, NY 11545. Purpose: Any lawful
activity."
274442/19279
Apostle Family Gregory, Nicholas, Andrew Funeral Directors of
RIVERDALE
FUNERAL HOME Inc.
5044 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
LEGAL NOTICE
Basura LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ SSNY
2/27/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY designated
for service of process and shall mail to Reg.
Agent: U.S. Corp. Agents, 7014 13th Ave.
Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any
lawful activity
274440/18796
(212) 942-4000
Toll Free 1-888-GAPOSTLE
CONSTANTINIDES
FUNERAL PARLOR Co.
(718) 745-1010
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of Formation of BEEKMAN PICTURES,
LLC a (DOM. LLC). Articles of Organization
filed with the Secretary of State of New
York, (SSNY) on 04/28/2015. Office
location: Kings County. SSNY is designated
as agent upon whom process against the
LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process
to: THE LLC, 2111 Beekman Pl. Apt. 3G,
Brooklyn, NY 11225. Purpose: Any Lawful
Purpose.
Services in all localities Low cost shipping to Greece
ANTONOPOULOS
FUNERAL HOME, INC.
Konstantinos Antonopoulos -
274447/19548
Funeral Director
LEGAL NOTICE
38-08 Ditmars Blvd.,
5TH 26 LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ SSNY
5/20/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY
designated for service of process and
shall mail to: 5TH 26 LLC, 225 5th Avenue
Ste. 12C, New York, NY 10010. Purpose:
Any lawful activity.
274431/18796
Astoria, New York 11105
(718) 728-8500
Not affiliated with any
other funeral home.
to PlAce Your clAssiFied Ad, cAll: (718) 784-5255,
ext. 106, e-mAil: classifieds@ thenationalherald.com
at 5 PM at the Frech Funeral
Home, 161 Washington Avenue,
Dumont.
n ESKENAZI, MORRIS
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (from the
Syracuse Post Standard, published on June 1) – Former Syracuse resident Morris Eskenazi
passed peacefully with his wife,
Josephine (Polomino) and son,
Michael Copani at his side on
May 29, 2015 in San Francisco,
CA. He is survived by his wife
of 44 years, Josephine; and
sons, Mike Copani of San Francisco and Mark Copani of Camillus, New York.
Mr. Eskenazi was born in
Greece, served as a POW for 4.5
years in Auschwitz during WWII
before becoming a Sergeant in
the Greek Civil War. He immigrated to America/Syracuse in
1951 where he worked for Marcellus casket before becoming a
General Contractor. He moved
to San Francisco in 1977 to be
near his only surviving brother,
Saby. Funeral services will be
held at Eternal Home Cemetery,
1051 El Camino Real, Colma,
CA 94014 on Tuesday, June 2,
2015. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jewish
Family Children's Services.
www.jfcs.org.
n EVANGELIDIS,
CHRYSANTHI
WORCESTER, MA (From the
this is a service
to the community.
Announcements of deaths
may be telephoned to the
classified department of
the national herald at
(718) 784-5255,
monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. est
or e-mailed to:
[email protected]
Worcester Telegram & Gazette,
published on May 25) –
Chrysanthi "Chris" (Evangelou)
Evangelidis, 86, resident of
Worcester, MA passed away at
St. John's Hospital in Yonkers
on the morning of Saturday,
May 23, 2015 surrounded by
her loving family. Her husband
of 41 years, Kostas Evangelidis
passed away in 1995. She is survived by her son Fr. Evan Evangelidis, her daughter Dr. Vicky
Sakellson and her husband, Dr.
Stanley Sakellson, her granddaughter Alexandra Evangelidis,
her daughter in law, Dr. Oxana
Popescu, as well as her brother
Harisi Evangelou and his family,
along with many other family
members in Greece. She was
born in Konitsa, Greece and immigrated to the United States in
1972. She was the daughter of
the late Demetrios and Garoufalia Evangelou. Chysanthi was
a loving, kind and gentle
woman who was loved by all
who knew her. She enjoyed
cooking, sewing, gardening and
crocheting. Chris was an avid
reader and could always be
found with a book in her hands.
She was a devoted wife, mother
and grandmother who cherished her family and would do
anything for them. Chris lived
with her children in New York
for the last few months of her
life. She will be dearly missed
by all who knew her and will
always be remembered with
love, affection, and fondness.
Her funeral is Wednesday, May
27th with a service at 11AM in
St. Spyridon Orthodox Cathedral. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Chrysanthi's memory to St. Spyridon
Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 102
Russell Street, Worcester, MA
01609 which she loved and
adorned greatly.
PRESS CLIPPINGS
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
9
FT’s Munchau on Greece’s “Dismal” Economic Plans
TNH Staff
[The following article, by
Wolfgang Munchau, appeared in
the Financial Times on June 7.]
If Europe cannot bend it
will break
[The following article, by
Gideon Rachman, appeared in the
Financial Times on June 8.]
Neither man would appreciate
the comparison, but Alexis
Tsipras and David Cameron are
in remarkably similar situations.
The Greek and British prime
ministers both say that they have
secured a democratic mandate at
home to demand changes in their
national relationship with the EU.
Both leaders have calculated that
the other Europeans will meet
their demands rather than risk
seeing Greece leave the euro or
Britain leave the EU. But both Mr
Tsipras and Mr Cameron are encountering a wall of opposition
in Europe that could lead them
to the destinations that they are
keen to avoid — Grexit and
Brexit.
Both the Greeks and the Brits
have found that an argument
based on the results of their own
national elections can go only so
far in an EU of 28 member-states.
When Mr Tsipras claimed that he
had a democratic mandate to demand change in Europe, Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, is said to have
responded: “I have also been
elected.”
But the difficulties of changing
Europe go well beyond a clash
of national democratic mandates.
They are rooted in the size and
legal complexity of the EU — an
organisation that is now so large
and unwieldy that it finds radical
change almost impossible to contemplate.
The British say that securing
the changes they want in Europe,
on issues such as immigration
and the rights of national parliaments, will require treaty change
— that is changes to the EU’s basic legal documents. But treaty
change requires the agreement
of all EU countries, some of
which will also hold referendums. The very process of renegotiation also invites every member of the EU to come forward
with their own clashing demands. Rather than contemplate
that nightmarish prospect, it is
easier for the EU simply to refuse
to shift — other than in small or
symbolic ways.
It is important to realise that
this aversion to change is largely
divorced from the merits of the
reforms that are being requested.
Different EU governments have
different views on whether Greek
or British demands are reasonable. There is some sympathy in
France and Italy for Greek arguments that the country’s debts
are unpayable and that further
deep austerity would be counterproductive. There is some sympathy in northern Europe for
British arguments on welfare and
increasing the role of national
parliaments. But, regardless of
the merits of the Greek and
British cases, there is a deep reluctance to open the Pandora’s
box of profound reform.
The problems involved are not
simply legal, they are also political. The worry is that concessions
made to the Greeks or British
would generate a backlash, with
German or Dutch voters resenting a write-off of Greek debt, or
Polish voters outraged by restrictions on the rights of EU migrants. Elsewhere, the sight of a
radical left party such as Syriza
or Eurosceptic conservatives,
such as Britain’s Tories, extracting
concessions from the rest of Europe could boost similar parties
across the continent, making the
EU even harder to manage.
As a result key governments
in Europe, in particular Germany,
are more willing to contemplate
Grexit and Brexit than the Greeks
and British may have realised.
The German government has
been saying for some time that
the eurozone can withstand a
Greek exit from the euro. While
Angela Merkel, the German
chancellor, still seems keen to
keep Greece inside for geopolitical reasons, the German finance
ministry, led by Mr Schäuble,
now seems inclined to let Greece
go, believing that this could actually have a salutary effect on
the other members of the eurozone. Whether or not Grexit happens, the German consensus is
that the lesson of the whole
Greek crisis is that Europe needs
to be even less flexible, with the
eurozone requiring tougher rules
and stricter enforcement, including tighter supervision of national
budgets from Brussels.
The British problem is less urgent than the Greek one and involves less money, but a similar
German approach is already
emerging. I spent part of last
week in Germany at the
Konigswinter conference, which
has been bringing British and
German decision makers together for 65 years.
The Konigswinter atmosphere
was, as ever, friendly and frank.
Markus Ederer, the head of the
German foreign ministry, told the
British visitors: “Germany will go
to great lengths to support London, even help London, but it
cannot go to any lengths.” Allowing EU countries to choose
which of its principles to follow
would “curb the union’s strength,
maybe even more than continuing in a smaller but punchier
union.” That looked like a quietly-stated, but direct, warning
to the British that Berlin is prepared to see the UK leave the
EU, rather than risk the union’s
internal coherence.
Germany’s tough approach is
based on a realistic assessment
of how hard it will be to get reforms through a 28-member EU
— as well as a profound aversion
to rolling back the process of EU
integration. But it is also an
alarming commentary on Europe’s inability to respond to
changed circumstances, whether
it is a 25 per cent shrinkage in
the Greek economy, or the unanticipated migration of millions of
people across the EU. That failure
to be flexible about change is
dangerous. A Europe that cannot
bend is much more likely to
break.
There are now two proposals
on the table — one from the
creditors and one from Greece.
What they have in common is
that neither of them will fix the
Greek economy. They do not
even pretend. Both deserve to
be rejected flat-out.
Whenever European technocrats enter long negotiations,
they get lost in the technical detail and become constitutionally
incapable of seeing the bigger
picture. They can spend weeks
discussing whether the 2016
primary surplus, before payment of interest on debt, should
be 1.5 per cent or 2 per cent —
seemingly unaware that the error margins of any of their projections exceed that small gap
by a large multiple. The economic diplomats have lost sight
of what this is all about — allowing Greece to survive, and
eventually to prosper, within the
eurozone.
There is a less charitable explanation. They might simply
not care. Some of the creditors
are only interested in keeping
the show on the road come
what may. In particular, they
refuse to recognise officially that
their loans to Greece will never
be repaid. They know they misled their electorates about
Greece, and do not want to be
exposed, at least not while they
are in office.
The main goal for Alexis
Tsipras, Greek prime minister,
meanwhile, is to stay in power.
An agreement of the extendand-pretend variety, which is the
likely outcome of these negotiations if they end in success,
may suit him. And thus the
probability of a lousy deal that
suits the negotiators but that
will not help the Greek economy
is high.
So what’s wrong with the
two proposals? The Greek one
is dishonest. The creditors’ proposal demands a level of austerity that is impossible, but also
necessary if Greece is to bring
down its debts to a more sustainable level while meeting its
obligations. That is a bad combination.
What makes the Greek proposal dishonest is that the numbers do not add up. The fiscal
adjustments are milder than
what is needed to achieve a primary surplus to 3.5 per cent, a
demand made by the creditors
with which Mr. Tsipras says he
agrees.
Mr. Tsipras may as well be
saying to them: I am happy to
put in any number you like. I
am going to cheat anyway. If a
loss of mutual trust is the problem, this proposal will not fix it.
Step back a little and the solution is not hard to see: less
austerity, more public sector reforms, and some clever debt restructuring. That was the overwhelming conclusion of a recent
conference by some of the
world’s leading experts on this
issue, as reported by Richard
Portes and co-authors from the
London Business School in a recent article.
We are not talking about re-
forms of the ideological variety,
on hiring and firing for example,
or on ending collective bargaining, but socially useful reforms
such as credible tax collection,
a modern public administration
or a working legal system.
Without a modernization of
Greek public-sector infrastructure, there is no way that Greece
and large parts of northern Europe can coexist in a monetary
union. It would be a recipe for
a never-ending, structural
slump.
How about the argument
that Greece should accept a bad
deal now, as it would buy time
for a more comprehensive negotiation during the summer?
The trouble with that argument
is a false premise. Once Greece
accepts the current deal, it will
have accepted the basis of the
next agreement as well because
the fiscal calculations will not
change. If you accept austerity
now, you have accepted it.
The best negotiating tactic
for Mr. Tsipras would be to reject the creditors’ offer flat-out,
and come back with an intelligent plan, one that has a chance
to work. It would have to include more reforms than he is
offering right now. He would
need to go beyond his famous
red lines — on pensions or on
value added tax, for example.
A realistic program would
commit Greece only to a balanced primary budget this year,
and modest surpluses in the future linked to economic performance. This may not be acceptable to the creditors. It might
already be too late for it. But at
least Mr. Tsipras could claim the
moral high ground. His current
proposal is not in that league.
The worst possible outcome
would be another extend-andpretend type deal, leaving an
unreformed and cash-deprived
Greece in a perma-depression.
The eventual consequences
of such a path could be a breakdown of civil society and
democracy. A bad deal also increases the likelihood of an
eventual exit from the eurozone.
Grexit, as the latter is known, is
not a good option. The eurozone has no rational interest in
it.
But we have to understand
that, from a Greek perspective,
it is not the worst of all options.
We are approaching the Macbeth moment of the Greek
drama: “If it were done when
’tis done, then ’twere well it
were done quickly.”
How SYRIZA Has Managed to Set a Greek Trap for Itself
[The following article, by
Roger Cohen, appeared in the
New York Times on June 7.]
ATHENS – Trying to save Greece
has become an exercise in the
absurd. Greece is near-enough
bankrupt. Most Greeks know
that. It can never repay its debts,
no matter how many deals with
creditors are pulled out of a hat.
The country is now run by a
radical left party whose ministers
have close to zero executive experience. Their executive experience nonetheless exceeds their
diplomatic experience. This
stands at less than zero – and it
shows.
The party, SYRIZA, includes
people who want to re-fight the
Greek Civil War (1946-49) in the
belief the Communists will triumph this time.
For now, the party’s main enemies are international creditors
and of course the Germans, who
want the Greeks to present a
plan of some sort to balance
their books before doling out
more cash — about $8 billion in
fact – as part of an enormous
bailout program.
The thing is, however, that
SYRIZA was elected precisely to
say foreign-imposed austerity
had already done enough damage to Greece.
The country, which desperately needs the $8 billion, is
drowning under a welter of statistics that present a devastating
picture of unemployment, unpayable pensions, youthful pensioners, uncollected taxes, drastic fiscal adjustments, and of
course debt.
Given all this, Alexis Tsipras,
the prime minister, declared the
latest proposals from creditors
“absurd” – you see what I mean
about diplomacy – a view that
reportedly caused Jean-Claude
Juncker, the chief executive of
AP Photo/thanassis stavrakis
A pedestrian walks near stenciled graffiti in Athens, Wednesday, June 10, 2015.
the European Union, not to pick
up a call from Tsipras over the
weekend.
There’s one thing about reality: It tends to come back and
kick you in the teeth. Forcing
Greece and Germany to coexist
in a currency union will always
be an exercise in smoke and mirrors. Their economies are mismatched, their temperaments
even more so.
Many Greeks are awaiting the
worst. The rich, of course, already have their money elsewhere. Just about everyone has
a few thousand euros stashed
away – 5,000 per person where
possible.
Stores are taking out antilooting insurance. Public hospitals are making contingency
plans for operating when money
dries up. More than $5 billion
was pulled from bank accounts
in April alone by companies and
individuals.
Speculation is rampant – absent a debt deal – of a bank run,
capital controls and the issue of
i.o.u.’s (that will promptly lose
50 percent of their nominal
value, especially if adorned with
the face of Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis). Shortly thereafter follow economic collapse,
unrest and new elections.
That sounds terrible, but I’m
not sure. It would represent reality rather than the repetitive
evasion of it. Things are very bad
here. But just how bad is not
clear because it has not been
fully tested. The surface has a
way of glimmering.
The Greek bailouts have
given time to other countries in
the Eurozone – including Italy,
Spain, Portugal and Ireland – to
either get their houses in order
or embark seriously on the task.
Euro-unraveling contagion is
now far less likely. One thing is
sure: If a deal is reached with
Greece, it will only be the prelude to the next crisis in a few
months or so.
Creditors could tell SYRIZA:
You have a century to repay the
debt, but now you’re on your
own. Fix the country, whether
inside the euro or out. Get for-
eign corporations to put their
money in Greece.
You want to try the Putin
route, with Gazprom stepping in
for the I.M.F., go for it! We’re off
your back now – so find a way
to make Greeks believe in Greece
again without the ready excuse
that Berlin, or the International
Monetary Fund or the European
Commission is to blame.
The European Union has
done its healing work here.
There will not be another civil
war, come what may. The sun
will still shine; a gazillion islands
will still delight; Greeks will still
curse every form of authority;
they will still smoke in every
restaurant in defiance of the law;
they will still have more money
than they appear to have; tables
in cheap “tavernas” will still offer
views that have no price. A
Greek meltdown is not the same
as a Slovakian meltdown. Life is
not just.
So many mistakes have been
made. They began with the sentimental illusion that the cradle
of Western civilization was also
an economy competitive enough
to join the euro. It was not.
Then came all the easy credit
handed out in the era when the
view was that risk had ceased to
exist. The inevitable Greek implosion was followed by austerity measures whose symbol was
Germany.
These failed to offer Greeks a
positive vision of what all the
sacrifice might produce. The
consequent anger created
SYRIZA and its election victory
and incoherent promises of a
new way forward. Everyone is
now caught in the web of their
own contradictions.
More of the same might gain
a few months. It will resolve
nothing, sapping Europe’s energy, and Greece’s potential, for
years to come.
COMMENTARY
The Scorecard on Unity: June 2015
By George Matsoukas
The Assembly of Bishops has
been meeting for six years. June
2015 is a critical month and
time period in their efforts to
develop a plan to make the administrative life of the Orthodox
Church in the United States
canonical. Orthodox ecclesiology dictates that the Church be
organized in geographic areas
with one bishop in one city.
Overlapping
jurisdictions
weaken the Commandment of
Christ to make disciples of All
nations.
Bishops are not foreign
agents. Governments of other
countries have no place in directing the actions of Bishops in
the United States. We need a
single Synod of Bishops in the
U.S., and they need to elect
their head. Fourteen different
groups trying to do the same
work here is counterproductive
and inefficient. It is also uncanonical.
The charge that was delivered to the bishops in the United
States six years ago was to develop a plan bringing the
Church into canonical order before the convening of the Great
and Holy Council, now set to be
convened in 2016.
The Bulgarian and ROCOR
(Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) Bishops do not
think the Church in the U.S. is
ready for unity, because jurisdictions have different practices.
They state that they will work
with the other Bishops toward
unity when the practices of all
the groups are conformed. This
can come about if there is a U.S.
Synod of Bishops, and they
work together.
It is good that they are forthright and have expressed themselves. But it seems this past
year that a difficulty has
emerged with the commitment
of the Antiochian Archdiocese
to the overall process of the Assembly. Since the death of Metropolitan Philip who was an advocate of unity and who
prepared his flock for the eventuality it seems that the commitment has diminished under
the leadership of Metropolitan
Joseph. Why is he the only invited hierarch not committed to
attending the meeting in Istanbul? Lebanon is two hours away
from Istanbul. Are the difficulties between the Patriarchs of
Antioch and Jerusalem still impacting the work of the Assembly of Bishops in the USA? Why
did it take seven month for his
committee report to be released? It was completed in November but released in May?
Paying lip service to unity and
not supporting the process by
encouraging the bishops to work
in concert with the other Bishops in committees, conferences
call, meetings makes the process
of achieving unity more difficult. The Metropolitan needs to
set the example. Does he favor
bringing the Church in the
United States into canonical order? Or, is he being instructed
by the Patriarch in Damascus to
without his support for the work
of the Assembly?
The Assembly has been organized into committees. Many
Committees are doing excellent
work.
In early 2015, the survey of
the Assembly of Bishops developed by the Committee for
Canonical Regional Planning entitled, Exploring the Path to the
Future of Orthodoxy in America: A Study of Opinions of U.S.
Orthodox Bishops on the Possible Reorganization of the Orthodox Church in the United States
after the 2016 Great and Holy
Council, was tabulated and evaluated. Fifty two Bishops responded, and I would say 87 per
cent understand and support
Canonical Unity. Why is this
document not posted on the Assembly of Bishops web site? The
laity is part of the Church and
need to know the facts and
where the work of the Assembly
is taking the Church in the U.S.
The passivity of the laity is impacting the work of the Assembly of Bishops.
A preliminary report was
supposed to be in place and presented to the Patriarchate of
Constantinople, so that it could
become part of the Pre-Conciliar
Planning Process that is taking
place for the Great and Holy
Council to be convened in 2016.
This report is not ready, but the
Executive and Secretariat of the
Assembly and the first Hierarchs
and Metropolitan Tikhon will go
to Istanbul to meet with Patriarch Bartholomew and the Pre
Conciliar Staff. Maybe this will
energize the Assembly so that it
can reach a consensus in its September 2015 Meeting in
Chicago.
In these final stages of the
process it may be necessary for
the Assembly to employ a full
time administrator to assist
them. We are grateful to Archbishop Demetrios for convening
the Assembly. He has the respect
of all the Bishops to begin the
process. But at this stage in the
development of the work of the
Assembly a full time administrator who has consensus building skills and leadership skills is
needed to bring the work of the
Assembly to a positive conclusion.
It is the assumption of some
close to the meetings of the Assembly of Bishops that the Bishops feel no sense of urgency
about developing a blueprint for
unity, because they feel that the
laity does not want unity. But
they have done nothing to accurately measure the sentiments
of the laity. The laity has been
shut out of the process. Many
do not even know that the Assembly exists and what it is
charged to do. The clergy are
not talking up the work of the
Assembly in their parishes because they do nothing unless
they are instructed to do so by
their bishops. The bishops have
not taught the laity about the
process and progress of their
work. The work of the Assembly
has been very guarded.
The laity must now be proactive and get in touch with their
Bishops and let them know that
we want Unity, because it is
canonical, cost effective, and
will enable Orthodoxy to be able
to be a more effective missionary presence in our country. The
recent Pew Study is a wakeup
call for all Christians in the
United States, but especially for
the Orthodox. Administrative
unity is a first step for renewal
of the Orthodox Church in the
U.S.
George Matsoukas is Executive
Director of the Orthodox Christian Laity.
GREECE
10
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
Report from Rhodes: Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, on the State of Tourism
Συνέχεια από τη σελίδα 1
pub on Bar Street, Rhodes’ premier nightlife hotspot for
tourists (the equivalent frequented more by locals is in the
Old Town). “The newspapers
and the television stations write
all kinds of [expletive] about the
crisis and they scare tourists
away! They’re the reason
tourism is down this year!”
Tourists are cancelling their hotel reservations because they are
afraid, “here on Rhodes and on
[nearby island] Kos, too,” he
added.
Others have a different take.
“We can’t expect every year to
be like last year” said another
hotel owner – about 2014, a
record-setter for tourism. “Besides, it is only the first week of
June, anything can happen.”
Though some estimate the drop
in tourism from this time last
year is somewhere around 40
percent, as one longtime restaurateur told TNH, a statistician
with extensive reports shared
with TNH his own finding, that
while tourism is down “30-35
percent from last year,” it has
only fallen 5 percent as compared to 2013. “Let’s not go
crazy here,” he said. “It is not
fair to compare this year to
2014, which was an exceedingly
good year. This year,” he said,
“is only a mid-level normal
one.”
Reports that “the island is
empty” are greatly exaggerated.
The umbrellas at Aquarium
The sea of umbrellas on Rhodes’ aquarium beach are mostly filled with people, even as the Aegean Sea is still a bit too chilly for
many beachgoers in early June. The structures seen, from left to right, are: the Rhodes Casino, a cluster of hotels, the Rhodes
Aquarium, and the famed “Trampolino” diving board. RIGHT: Late Friday night into early Saturday morning, June 6, on Bar
Street in Rhodes Town. Whether it will be utter mayhem there by partiers until dawn later in the summer remains to be seen.
For now, there is some breathing room, but it is far from deserted.
Beach, on the Northernmost tip
of Rhodes and in the heart of
Rhodes Town, are filled with
beachgoers – even as some find
the early June Aegean Sea a bit
too cold for swimming. The
streets, the tavernas, the supermarkets, though not overcrowded, are not devoid of patrons, either. There are no
endless lines at the immensely
popular Stani, makers of ice
cream using fresh milk of the
day, but the vats still empty out
several times a day, and are replenished right away. The store
is open from dawn until at least
midnight.
SHACKLED BY BRACELETS
Perhaps the biggest problem
for Greece’s “little guy,” the business owner trying to make a liv-
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
23
21
24
27
28
37
43
45
46
49
59
55
47
50
56
60
32
40
42
54
31
35
39
44
53
30
34
41
12
26
29
38
11
22
25
33
36
10
51
57
48
52
58
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
www.CrosswordWeaver.com
ACROSS
1 Wells __
6 Used to attract attention
9 Pokes
13 The one left
14 Adam's wife
15 Ablaze
16 European river
17 Constellation
18 City in Ohio
19 Yield
20 Writers
22 Concord e.g.
23 Vane direction
24 Celibate
25 Totals
27 Active
29 ___ Beach, ca. city
33 Winter hazard
34 Sea eagle
35 Margarine
36 Hit
39 Eye infection
40 Opaque
41 Greek soccer team
42 Resort hotel
43 Bro.'s sibling
44 Decency
46 Cadet
49 Prevaricator
50 Tiger
51 Incorporated (abbr.)
53 Pixy
56 Broils
58 Detest
59 Land
61 Casino roller
62 Tree product
63 Mediterranean island
64 Spoiled
65 Construct
66 A Cartwright
67 Gain
68 Loses its color
DOWN
1 Impose
2 Greek godess of wisdom
3 Largest Dodecanese island
4 Heredity component
5 Unrefined metal
6 May 21st Saint
7 Baker's need
8 Small freeholding farmers
9 DDE's successor
10 Ventilates
11 Sisters sibs.
12 Mailed
15 Root beer brand (3 wds.)
20 Undiluted
21 Eve's garden
24 Rangers' Fotiu
26 Mate
28 Christmas tree decoration
30 Hoary
31 Crimson
32 Dolly
34 Seventh Greek Letter
36 Surface to air missile
37 Professional
38 Succor
39 Iakovos' successor
40 Pappas of baseball
42 Sun
43 Baths
45 Eigtheenth Greek letter
47 One-sided
48 Decoy
50 Split
52 Small money units
53 Writer Bombeck
54 Guide
55 Syllables used in songs (2 wds.)
57 Animation
58 Zeus' wife
60 Long-term memory
62 Ump
WORD BANK: Aandw, adam, adds, afire, aid,
airs, akron, aris, astir, athena, biased, bros, cat,
cede, cents, cleft, die, eden, elf, ene, entice,
erect, erma, ern, eta, eve, fades, fala, fargo,
force, gene, grills, hate, helen, hera, hoy, ice,
inc, jabs, jfk, lead, leo, liar, life, ltm, malta, milt,
modesty, muddy, net, newport, nick, nun, off,
old, oleo, ore, other, oven, penmen, plebe, pro,
pure, realm, red, ref, resin, rhodes, rhone, sam,
sent, sigma, sis, spa, spank, spas, spouse, spyridon, sst, star, sty, tinsel, toy, yeomanry.
Solution to last week’s puzzle
Solution:
S
C
O
T
O
H
I
O
S
A
S
H
C
L
U
E
B
I
G
O
T
E
T
H
A
N
F T
I E F
L E R
M
A D
O P A
U L P T
G A E
L K
N
Y
B A
R E P
S P E A
E M S
W E
I
A R
S
X A
M
A
R
G
A
L
O
B
A
K
E
O
X
Fascinating Flicks at L.A. Greek Film Festival
and experts from the EU. It
shows the violent encounters of
members of Golden Dawn with
immigrants and most importantly it shows the pain and suffering of the Greek people, devastated by the crisis. The despair
of the father who has nowhere
to house his child, the elder
Greek who loses his job and cannot find another one while moving from place to place, too
proud to ask his friends and
family for help.
Among the high caliber films
shown at the festival that made
impressions were, Asteris Kutulas' film ''Recycling Medea,'' a
fascinating motion picture adventure. Kutulas; cinematic canvas mixes ballet dancing with
opera music composed by the
iconic Mikis Theodorakis, narration, images of youth protests
in the streets of Athens and a
character inspired by Anne
Frank. Visually stunning and
masterfully choreographed by
Renato Zanella, the dancing
vividly conveys an array of feelings ranging from love, hate, revenge and ultimately Media's
denial of the unbearable crimes
she has committed.
Another is ''A Night in
Athens,'' Angelo Tsarouchas' one
hour stand-up benefit performance at the Michael Cacoyiannis Foundation theater in
Athens, Greece. It is a hilarious
take on Angelo's challenges
TNH's Crossword Challenge
2
tourists by the dozen through
travel agencies for an all-inclusive package.
“They go to the hotel and
never leave,” said the mom of a
mom-and-pop restaurant, wellknown for its authentic home
Continued from page 1
THE HERALD SQUARE
1
ing as the nation’s economic and
political uncertainty hang in the
balance, is the “bracelet”: not
the blue and white ones sold at
souvenir shops on every street,
but the ones issued by larger resort hotels, which import
cooking. “They eat there, they
buy gifts there, they don’t even
go to the beach – they just swim
in the hotel pool. That’s why the
rest of us can’t make any
money.”
This has been a problem for
a few years now, “but this year
it’s even worse,” she said. But
why on earth would tourists
forego the heralded beaches of
Rhodes for a hotel swimming
pool? “What can you say?” she
shrugged. “But it’s early yet, so
we hope for the best.”
DAILY ANGST
Yet another hotelier described the situation of waking
up with uncertainty, every day
for five years, as “something you
can never really understand unless you experience it. It has
been going on for five years
now, and we just don’t know if
we’ll wake up and have money,
or not.”
“I blame the government,”
said the mom and pop proprietor – a slight variation of the
classic rock publican’s theory.
“The government tells the media here what to write, and they
write all these scary stories
about running out of money.
Who would want to visit a country where the rumor is that the
ATMs won’t have any money in
them? Who would want to be
stuck here with no way out?”
T S E A
E I G N
E N O A
M
S L
D E T R
H A N O I
A D D S
W
N O S
A A
E
Y
A R N
A B C D
A P I A
D R
D S
S E
E I
M
E S
R
A
T
I
O
C
I
N
D
I
A
G
L
E
T
T
A
R
O
I
D
O
L
M
E
N
D
T
O
G
A
A
S
H
Y
R
S
T
O
Scene from “Little England”.
growing up Greek in Canada
and includes stories about his
Greek mother to which almost
all of the Greeks growing up in
the Diaspora will make an immediate connection. Also portrayed are his adventures from
his visit to Greece where he
filmed his documentary. The audience will be laughing during
the entire performance. For
complete info on all the films,
visit the festival's website at
www.lagff.org.
The festival has grown
tremendously in the nine years
since its inception and this year
it expanded to five days. Most
importantly, the quality of the
films has noticeably improved.
In his closing remarks Festival
Director Aris Katopodis said,
''This year we are proud to host
42 filmmakers and 35 films
from all over the world," and
continued, ''LAGFF has reached
a milestone with an attendance
that boasted a double-digit rise
in patronage." He went on to
thank the sponsors and audience for their support and invited everyone back for next
year's festival, the MEGA 10th
year celebration scheduled for
June 1-5, 2016. I look forward
to it!
A common misconception is that the Greek city of Alexandroupoli was named after Alexander
the Great. In fact, it was named in honor of the early 20th century Greek king, Alexander I.
This Week in Greek History:
Greece’s “Other Alexander” is Made King
This week, on June 11, 1917
King Alexander assumed the
throne of Greece. Alexander was
born at Tatoi Palace in Athens
on August 1, 1893. He was the
second son of Crown Prince
Constantine of Greece and his
wife Princess Sophia of Prussia.
Alexander was third in line to
the throne. His education was
expensive
and
carefully
planned.
During World War I, his father followed a formal policy of
neutrality, yet he was openly
benevolent towards Germany,
which was fighting alongside
Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and
the Ottoman Empire against the
Triple Entente of Russia, France
and Britain. Parts of Greece
were occupied by the Allied En-
tente forces, but Constantine I
refused to modify his policy and
faced increasingly open opposition from the Entente and the
Venizelists.
Entente's High Commissioner
in Greece, Charles Jonnart, ordered King Constantine to give
up his power. On the threat of
Entente forces landing in Piraeus, the king conceded and
agreed to go into self-exile. On
the afternoon of June 11, 1917
Alexander swore the oath of loyalty to the Greek constitution in
the ballroom of the Royal
Palace. Apart from the Archbishop of Athens, Theocletus I,
who administered the oath, only
King Constantine I, Crown
Prince George and the king's
prime minister, Alexandros Za-
imis, attended. Apart from the
Archbishop of Athens, who administered the oath, only King
Constantine I, Crown Prince
George and the king's prime
minister, attended.
Under Alexander’s reign the
several Aegean Islands and a
majority of Thrace, previously
split between Bulgaria and
Turkey, became part of Greece,
and the region of Smyrna, in Ionia, was placed under Greek
mandate. Alexander's kingdom
increased in size by around a
third. Alexander visited the
newly acquired territories of
West Thrace, and on July 8,
1920 the new name for the region's main town, Alexandroupoli, was announced in the
king's presence.
GREECE CYPRUS
11
AP Photo/thAnAssis stAVrAKis
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
SNF Lights Up The Night
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Cultural Center (SNFCC) will offer
its first major public programming,
presenting four days – and nights –
of events for the whole family,
which will take place from June 21st
to the 24th. The events will combine
music and photography, architecture and the environment, sports
and creative workshops, all-night
video art screenings and art, offering a multifaceted experience, filled
with Magic and Surprises. Every
day, the events – titled collectively
“Light Up the Night at the Stavros
Niarchos Park” – will start early in
the afternoon and last all-night-long
until dawn of the following morning. They will welcome thousands
of people, for the first time, to
Stavros Niarchos Park, the development of which has already been
completed to a very large degree.
Anastasiades and Akinci Playing out the Hopes of Unification of Cyprus
Continued from page 1
ted mistakes, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,” Akinci
said after the play. “The point is
to derive lessons from these past
mistakes and build a better future for younger generations.”
Akinci said Anastasiades
would reciprocate a visit to the
breakaway north to attend a
similar event.
Anastasiades said he would
ask his education minister to
perform the play in all Greek
Cypriot schools in order to convey the message that mistakes
were made on both sides from
the time the island gained independence from British colonial
rule 55 years ago.
“We will work tirelessly with
my dearest friend Mustafa to
bring peace, to give a chance to
younger generations to live in
peace and prosperity,” Anastasiades said.
Anastasiades greeted Akinci
on the steps of the historic Rialto Theater with some onlookers clapping their approval.
“I want a solution and this is
a step forward, things can’t
stand still and without bold
steps forward you regress,” said
53-year-old Lefki Antoniou, a
bystander who was among the
crowd to cheer the two leaders
on as they arrived at the theater.
IS IT REAL THIS TIME?
Anastasiades said he’s optimistic that an agreement can be
reached,
possibly
within
months, to end the 41-year-old
conflict that divided the
Mediterranean island.
Akinci said a key lesson from
the last attempt to reach a peace
deal in 2004 is the critical need
for political leadership on both
sides to convince Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots that it’s
time to reunite the country –
and that failure to do so could
have serious consequences.
“Time is not on the side of
settlement,” Akinci warned in
an interview with The Associated Press. “With the passage of
time collective memory is getting lost, and unfortunately
younger generations are becoming more alienated from each
other.”
If Cyprus isn’t reunified now,
Akinci said, he is very afraid that
succeeding generations “will be
seeking a different kind of solution which will be more along
the lines of division.”
Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek
Cypriot south and a breakaway
Turkish Cypriot north in 1974
when Turkey invaded after a
coup by Cypriot supporters of
union with Greece. Turkish
Cypriots declared an independent state in 1983, but only
Turkey recognizes it and keeps
35,000 troops there. Cyprus
joined the European Union in
2003, but only the south enjoys
membership benefits.
Akinci, a veteran politician
with a strong track record of
reaching out to rival Greek
Cypriots, said his motivation in
pursuing a peace deal is to end
decades of isolation for some
300,000 Turkish Cypriots and
ensure that they become “equal
partners” in the international
community.
“We need to continue in this
AP Photo/PAVlos Vrionides
The Greek Cypriot President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, center right, and leader of the
breakaway Turkish Cypriots Mustafa Akinci, center left, watch a theater production at the
Rialto Theater in their hometown of Limassol on Monday, June 8, 2015.
manner and, more importantly,
we need to finalize in this manner,” Akinci said. “We haven’t
discussed the main issues yet.
We started with certain confidence-building measures.”
Those measures include connecting the electricity grid and
mobile systems between the rival communities, making the
first-ever plea from both presidents for information on missing persons from the 1974 war,
and stopping a requirement that
Greek Cypriot visitors fill out a
visa form when entering Turkish
Cypriot territory which kept
many Greek Cypriots from
crossing the dividing line, Akinci
said.
Akinci and Anastasiades
agreed to hold U.N.-facilitated
peace talks twice a month, next
on June 17.
Anastasiades said after their
last meeting that both leaders
are focused on delivering a swift
peace accord that lives up to the
expectations of Greek and Turkish Cypriots and “ensures that
this state will fully comply with
the European norms of other
(EU) member states.”
The Turkish Cypriot President met with U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon, who gave
his strong backing to the peace
talks.
Akinci cited two “triggers”
for a solution that weren’t there
in 2004 when the two sides
voted on a peace plan backed
by Kofi Annan, then the U.N.
secretary-general. In simultaneous referendums, Turkish Cypriots approved the plan but Greek
Cypriots rejected it.
The first trigger is Cyprus’ financial crisis.
What perhaps is changing on
the Greek Cypriot side, Akinci
said, is the realization joining
the EU didn’t solve Cyprus’ financial problems. It also didn’t
enable them to dictate or impose a solution to the conflict
with Turkish Cypriots, he said.
The second trigger is the discovery of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean off Cyprus.
This has led to the realization
in some quarters, Akinci said,
that rather than having natural
gas be a source of tension between the communities and with
Turkey, it would be wiser to solve
the Cyprus problem and make
the gas “an asset for a solution.”
If a peace agreement is
reached, he envisions combining
Cyprus’ gas field with Israel’s
larger one and channeling the
gas to Europe via Turkey “instead of trying to imagine much
more expensive solutions.” He
said this would also require improved relations between
Turkey and Israel, Cyprus and
Europe.
Akinci said he believes the
majority of Turkish Cypriots
support an end to the conflict.
The parameters of a deal are
well known, he said. “We’re
talking about a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. We are talking about a two-constituent
state that will have powers for
themselves and a central government.”
Merkel Tells Tsipras She Wants Reforms Action, Not Talk
Continued from page 1
AP Photo/geert VAnden wijngAert
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, second right, speaks with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel during a round table meeting at the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
FROM OUR TRAVEL WEBSITE
No Lies to about Lies Beach on Nisyros
By Constantinos E. Scaros
If you're touring Nisyros by
car or motor scooter - it doesn't
take particularly long on either,
to visit the island' four villages you might come across a sign,
or a map, or a reference, to
"Lies" beach.
Though spelled exactly like
the English word that means
falsehoods or deceptions, this
hidden gem of a beach's name
is pronounced "Lee S." Situated
as far along the seaside as the
paved road will go, Lies bridges
the beaches of Pali - one of the
town's waterfront villages, and
Pahia Ammos (Thick Sand), an
aptly-named beach that requires
a short hike on foot to reach a
sea greeted by thick, brown volcanic sand.
But for those who don't want
to rough it at all, and want a
clean, unspoiled beach where
you can see your feet as you
stand waist-deep in water, and
change into your bathing suit
without a changing booth
needed - because no one else is
there!
Heard of swimming with the dolphins? At Lies, you might
swim with the cows. And that’s no lie!
It is also a good beach at
which to swim when there is
"kyma," i.e., when the water is
wavy, as opposed to being silky
smooth, as most Greeks prefer
their swimming water to be.
Generally, Lies is less windy.
There is a mix of pebbles and
smooth, round rocks, both in
and out of the water, but it is
mostly thick sand, just like at
Pahia Ammos. And be forewarned: you are really roughing
it - for the following reasons: 1)
there are no beach umbrellas;
2) no concession stands; 3) no
showers; and 4) a herd of cows
might come along and swim
alongside of you. Heard of swimming with the dolphins - well
here, you're swimming with the
cows. And that's no lies - at Lies.
guage that usually means nothing is happening and Greece will
be squeezed behind the scenes.
In early trading, the Athens
stock exchange was up 5.5 percent on hopes of an impending
deal. European markets were up
too, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index gaining 0.7 percent.
Tsipras plans to meet with
Jean-Claude Juncker, the head
of the European Union's executive Commission, which is helping to supervise Greece's bailout
program.
On June 6, he refused to take
a phone call from Tsipras, irked
that the Greek Premier had broken promises to give him a reform plan and that Tsipras had
described the troika plan as "absurd," demanding the creditors
bow to his plan, which is still
being kept secret.
After his talks overnight with
Merkel, Juncker and French
President Francois Hollande, the
Greek Premier said: "We decided to intensify the effort to
bridge the remaining differences," without explaining why
there weren't intense efforts before as the economy continues
to slowly implode again after
being on the verge of recovery.
The lack of progress in the
negotiations over the past weeks
has revived fears Greece could
default on its debts and drop
out of the euro, a move that
would create huge uncertainty
for Europe and global markets.
THE GREEK JUNKYARD
Piling new pressure on
Athens, Standard & Poor's in
New York downgraded Greece's
credit rating one notch further
into junk territory, saying it's
likely the country will default
on its commercial debt within a
year if it can't strike a deal.
Another ratings agency,
Moody's, noted that while
Greece's problems were mounting, there appeared to be little
impact on the markets of other
Eurozone states, even the economically weaker ones.
Finance ministers from the
19 nations using the euro currency will meet in Luxembourg
on June 18, less than two weeks
before Greece's bailout program
expires and it has a big debt repayment due.
Greece missed a June 5 pay-
ment to the IMF of 300 million
euros ($337.87 million), exercising a rarely-used option to
bundle it together with other
payments due the agency and
must repay 1.6 billion euros
($1.8 billion) on June 30 or
technically go into default,
which would set off new fears
of a Eurozone exit and spook
the markets.
EXTEEEEEEEENNNND
Playing for time and kicking
the can down the road again,
the government reportedly
wants a new extension, this one
of nine months through the end
paign pledges to roll back austerity and not negotiate with the
lenders at the same time he
needs their money and they are
demanding more austerity,
putting him in a damned-if-hedoes and damned-if-he-doesn't
position and as SYRIZA dissenters want a Eurozone exit.
Greek voters want it both
ways too, urging him to hang
tough with the troika and also
relent to the lenders, the msot
recent survey shows.
The Marc poll of 1,001 people conducted for Alpha TV
found 50.2 percent of respon-
ΕΥΡωΚΙΝΗΣΗ
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, left, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker participate in a bilateral
meeting on the sidelines of the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels
on Thursday, June 11, 2015.
of March, 2016 to come up with
reforms, but wants the loan
monies released in the meantime on the promise it would
eventually do something although it hasn't yet.
The troika wants more pension cuts, which Tsipras vowed
he would never do, and he’s also
trying to keep pledges to restore
collective bargaining stripped
from workers and to increase
the minimum wage from 580
euros ($653.53) a month before
taxes, back to the rolled-back
level of 750 euros ($845.09).
The lenders want him to break
those promises and follow their
orders.
Tspiras is caught in a
dilemma, trying to stick by cam-
dents said Greece should accept
the creditors’ plan compared
with 37.4 percent who said
Tsipras should stand firm, although other polls want him not
to bend but also to keep Greece
in the Eurozone, a contradiction
in terms.
Despite the mess it's gotten
Greece into, SYRIZA leads the
main opposition party, New
Democracy, by 34 percent to 20
percent and 77 percent said
they wanted Greece to stay in
the Eurozone at all costs although not at the cost of relenting to troika demands, the only
way to stay in the bloc.
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report)
EDITORIALS LETTERS
12
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The National Herald
A weekly publication of the NATIONAL HERALD, INC.
(ΕΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΚΗΡΥΞ),
reporting the news and addressing the issues of paramount interest
to the Greek-American community of the United States of America.
Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris
Assistant to the Publisher, Advertising Veta H. Diamataris Papadopoulos
Executive Editor Constantinos E. Scaros
Religion Editor Theodore Kalmoukos
Senior Writer Constantine S. Sirigos
Online Managing Editor Andy Dabilis
Production Manager Chrysoula Karametros
The National Herald (USPS 016864) is published weekly by
The National Herald Inc. at 37-10 30th Street, LIC, NY 11101-2614
Tel: (718)784-5255, Fax: (718)472-0510,
e-mail: [email protected]
Democritou 1 and Academias Sts, Athens, 10671, Greece
Tel: 011.30.210.3614.598, Fax: 011.30.210.3643.776, e-mail:
[email protected]
Subscriptions by mail: 1 year $66.00, 6 months $33.00, 3 months $22.00, 1 month $11.00
Home delivery NY, NJ, CT: 1 year $88.00, 6 months $48.00,
3 months $33.00, 1 month $14.00
Home delivery New England States:
1 year $109.00, 6 months $57.00, 3 months $41.00, 1 month $18.00
On line subscription: Subscribers to the print edition: 1 year $57.60, 6 months $39.50,
3 months $25.00; Non subscribers: 1 year $90.00, 6 months $45.50, 3 months $22.50
Periodical postage paid at L.I.C., N.Y. and additional mailing offices.
Postmaster send change of address to:
THE NATIONAL HERALD, 37-10 30th Street, LIC, NY 11101-2614
A Pioneer Celebrates
Its 100th Anniversary
To the Editor:
The highly-recognized communication institutions of yesterday, today, and tomorrow
have one thing in common: they
are the gatekeepers of trust,
truth and transparency, the
three towers of our democracy.
In my lifetime, I have been
fortunate to have been exposed
TO OUR READERS
the national herald welcomes
letters from its readers intended for publication. they
should include the writer’s
name, address, and telephone
number and be addressed to:
the editor, the national herald, 37-10 30th street, long
island city, nY 11101. letters
can also be faxed to (718) 4720510
or
e-mailed
to
[email protected].
we reserve the right to edit
letters for publication and regret that we are unable to acknowledge or return those left
unpublished.
National Dignity
For months now, Greece has been negotiating hard with its
lenders, with the economy clearly collapsing from the swinging of
the pendulum from optimism to pessimism and the consequent
lack of liquidity.
The bright spots and tentative optimism that appeared in the
past have been replaced by deep pessimism. Unemployment, as
recent data shows, remains unacceptably high for a Western nation.
Businesses are closing by the dozens each day.
The country was unable to make a recent, relatively small payment – 300 million euros – to the IMF, thereby earning a not-sohonorable distinction: becoming the first country since Zambia to
request its payments be bundled and postponed until the end of
the month.
The nerves of all, collectively and individually, have now been
stretched to the limit.
But there are many who, despite the continuing uncertainty
and threat of collapse, feel vindicated and even proud. Opinion
polls show this.
Small Greece resists, defends, and protects its dignity! The
Greeks, they argue, are the bastion of the defense of self-determination and heroism. They have finally found their voice, and
pursue an independent foreign policy. Regarding these notions,
they present as proof the new relationships developed by the government with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, despite the opposition of
the West.
But, really, is that reality?
How can it be said that that national dignity is being protected
when the country is vilified daily in the international media, by
the most prestigious television networks, websites, and newspapers? Where is our national dignity when our non-Greek friends
and acquaintances ask us with sadness about what is going on in
the homeland, and on the other hand often wonder, skeptically,
whether Greeks are genuinely in danger of impoverishment and
are truly suffering so much?
How proud can we really be when we hear countless negative
and derogatory comments all around us, even doubts about
whether it is advisable to travel to Greece under the present circumstances?
There is a huge difference between hard bargaining and our
threats that for the sake of national pride the Greeks are willing to
fall in battle. In other words, they are willing to let the country
plunge into the abyss and to lose substantially and for a long time,
its dignity and prestige, and to expose it to multiple risks.
Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and other European countries have
recently faced the same dilemma. They preferred to negotiate
about – not reject out of hand – the tough conditions, and implement the reforms and make the sacrifices many of them know is
the only way to modernize their economies, reduce unemployment,
and increase their national wealth. They know that is the way to
protect national pride in the long run, by moving their countries
out of their tragic economic situations. Everything else is transient.
The feeling of national dignity can be changed overnight. But
empty statements can lead to serious negative developments, such
as the imposition of restrictions on bank withdrawals, nonpayment
of salaries and pensions, etc.
National pride is – or should be - directly linked to the degree
of national success, not failure.
Parliament’s Poor Debate
Absent were the orators of yore – the transformation of partisan
leader to statesman, the dominant figure who rises above narrow
political boundaries and no matter what adversity permeates the
state of the nation, raises Greece’s shoulders, making it respectable.
There was an exception, though, in that June 5 Parliamentary
gathering. Evangelos Venizelos did speak about five words of philosophical and national interest substance.
Worst of all, though, is the impression that they – inside Parliament – do not seem to realize, the Greeks outside those walls are
suffering. And this all took place on the same day the country was
unable to pay its IMF installment, rendering it to a rare and undignified status of nations that have to bundle their payments for a
later date.
As for the strategy of Prime Minister Tsipras, this is really tricky.
On the one hand, he blames Germany’s Angela Merkel and Co.,
asserting that they impose “absurd” demands upon Greece. He
deemed this as a “bad moment for Europe,” and a “bad negotiating
trick” on the lenders’ behalf that will soon be exposed for what it
is.
Yet, on the other hand, he emphasizes that this time, a solution
is really very close at hand. Can these two seemingly contradictory
statements be reconciled?
As Hugo Dixon explained it in a Reuters piece, “For months,
Tsipras has been trying to ride two horses simultaneously. He
wanted to find a deal with Greece’s creditors that kept the country
in the Eurozone while jacking up public spending and unwinding
reforms that are making Greece more competitive.”
Meanwhile, on that same day of the Parliament debate and the
IMF nonpayment, Mr. Tsipras had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin – apparently to send a message of
their emerging ties.
But at the G7 summit, a convergence of the most developed
democratic countries in the world, it was clear that President
Obama’s aim was to strengthen their unity against Putin.
Deputy National Security Council Director Ben Rhodes described
the Council’s focus on the preservation of unity in sanctions it has
taken against Russia’s economy as most urgent. He said: “we will
affirm the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia…to
serve as a deterrent against further Russian aggression. It’s very
important coming out of these G7 meetings that the world is seen
as speaking with one voice in support of those important consequences that have been imposed on Russia, and to demonstrate
that Russia will continue to face those sanctions until a diplomatic
solution is fully implemented.”
We can almost hear Minister Lafazanis quip: “Well, what are
we, an American colony?”
Our reply to him: Why is all of Europe aligned with America
except for us Greeks? Are we the only smart ones? Are we not all
part of the same alliance?
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
and to work for some of the
gatekeepers representing this
Fourth Estate: NBC, CBS and
ABC.
The Sarnoffs, the Paleys and
the Goldensons were pioneers
who built and guided these institutions, at times through uncharted waters. It was their entrepreneurial spirit that enabled
them to survive years of challenges and opportunities. Certainly, their passion for innovation
has
exceeded
all
expectations.
While the communication industry has changed over the
years, its responsibility to the
public has remained the same.
Today, media companies are
able to keep our nation informed of every second, minute
and hour of each day using innovative digital media. From its
very inception, innovation has
defined the character and survival of our institutions.
The 100th Anniversary of the
National Herald reflects the
spirit of Greek-American pioneers like Petros Tatanis and
others that guided the newspaper over the last 100 years. As
Publisher-Editor, Antonis H. Diamataris honors them and our
Hellenic roots, continuing to en-
lighten our community with
journalistic content. Like the
broadcast news and entertainment networks, the Herald was
also a pioneer, promoting Hellenism. Congratulations, National Herald, on achieving this
magnificent milestone. Keep the
fire lit as you meet the chal-
lenges and opportunities of tomorrow. Without a doubt, all
Americans benefit, when great
traditions are preserved.
James B. Zafiros
White Plains, NY
James B. Zafiros was a Vice
President at NBC Television.
george sArAFoglou / sPeciAl to the nAtionAl herAld
AGORA – THE ORIGINAL MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS
By Dan Georgakas and
Constantinos E. Scaros
From time to time, an issue emerges and
inspires various minds to converge, often at
odds with one another, to discuss it. Hopefully,
collective enlightenment will result from such
conversations. The Ancient Greeks did that in
the Agora, the original marketplace of ideas,
and we, their modern-day descendants, aspire
to continue that tradition. We respect one another’s opinion very much,
but often times we will disagree on particular
issues. We would never fabricate a difference
of opinion for the sake of writing an interesting
column.
Rest assured, anything we write here are
our sincere, heartfelt thoughts.
We will share them with you every two
weeks. We hope you enjoy them, and we look
forward to your taking part in the discussion
as well – by contributing letters to the editor in
response, and/or commenting on our website:
www.thenationalherald.com
Too Much ado about Climate Change, or Not Enough?
SCAROS PRESENTS HIS
POINT OF VIEW
Dan, the climate change
drama queens are at it again.
Granted, climate change is real.
Fine. And it is a legitimate concern. Also fine. And if we don’t
do something about it, the consequences could be disastrous
sometime down the road.
Agreed. All that said, how about
a little perspective?
Both major parties have their
share of drama queens. Just as
the radical rightwingers think
that legally recognizing same-sex
marriage will cause the breakdown of the American family –
as if millions of heterosexuals secretly yearn to wed a person of
their own gender but curb their
temptation all because of those
dastardly legal restrictions – or
think that legalizing marijuana
will result in a nation of stoners
(maybe a munchies break for
Congress during session?), so do
looney lefties think that any conservative Constitutionalist who
sits on the Supreme Court will
result in the overturning of Roe
v. Wade and the imminent resumption of back-alley abortions
(a theory that’s been proven
wrong countless times), or that
climate change is the biggest
threat to humankind since Adolf
Hitler’s rise to power.
Regarding the latter, the current melodrama stemmed from
a speech President Obama gave
at the U.S. Coast Guard graduation ceremony, in which he described climate change as “a serious threat to our national
security.” Four months earlier,
in his State of the Union speech,
he called it “the greatest threat
to future generations.” Of
course, serial Obama-bashers
wasted no time irresponsibly
comingling the two statements,
purporting that Obama said that
currently, climate change is our
greatest national security threat.
That would have been preposterous, given there are groups
running around the Middle East
right now chopping off people’s
heads. Then again, some people
are so obsessive in their contempt for Barack Obama – just
as others were about George W.
Bush and practically all of his
predecessors – that the more outrageous the purported Obama
offense, the more likely they are
to believe it, and repeat it. Back
to climate change…
Let’s assume for the moment
– and I do mean for the moment
– that scientists are correct in
sounding the alarm that climate
change will have disastrous effect on the environment beginning 20-35 years from now. All
of that is assuming that we do
absolutely nothing different –
which of course would mean we
as a planet would have to reverse
all the “going green” initiatives
of the past decade or two. But
even so – let’s say there was a
worldwide effort to pollute, to
burn fossil fuels, etc. Even so,
how is this a “serious threat” to
our national security now?
Following that logic, we can
also say that if every couple has
an average of five children, the
population on the earth would
be so out-of-control that the
planet couldn’t sustain everyone.
That, too, would be a threat to
our national security, but not
right now.
Does this mean we should ignore climate change, overpopulation, the eventual depletion of
global oil reserves and other
problems that won’t come to a
head in a month or two? Of
course not.
At the same time, however,
we should not make climate
change the centerpiece of our
national security policy. With
ISIS refusing to relent, Vladimir
Putin trying to recapture the
“glory days” of Soviet aggression, Kim Jong-un attempting to
turn back the clock even further
than that, the Castro Brothers
still running things in Cuba, our
porous borders (which includes
aliens who arrive in the U.S.
legally but then stay beyond
their allotted time and just
blend into society) vulnerable
to a handful of jihadists sneaking in among the multitudes of
well-meaning potential day laborers (all it takes is one person
to become a human bomb), a
government that no matter
which party is in charge continues to borrow obscenely high
amounts of money every single
minute of every single day
(whether a million per minute
or half a million, it’s all so insane), climate change hardly
seems to be what should cause
us to lose sleep at night.
Then again, there is an upside
to the climate change histrionics.
It might be the best way to overcome our enemies, after all. Because as members of ISIS continue to decapitate with
impunity, if they get wind of our
emergent national movement to
identify climate change as our
top threat to national security,
they might just bust an artery
from laughing so hard. What do
you think?
GEORGAKAS RESPONDS
Dino, politicians in both major parties love to use national
security as an excuse to promote
their favored projects. Obama
presenting climate control as a
security issue is such an effort.
How climate ranks against other
political challenges is a matter
of opinion. What is not a matter
of opinion is that climate change
is real and has enormous consequences for our national standard of living and economy.
Scientific data has established
that our planet is getting warmer
and our oceans are rising. Climate change skeptics argue that
these changes are a natural periodical cycle. Even if this wishful
thinking were true, there are
many actions we can take or
cease taking that can be effective. Climate change is obviously
a global phenomenon, but I will
confine my discussion to what is
happening in the United States
regarding energy and water, two
often-entwined problems, and
what we can do about it regardless of what is done elsewhere
in the world.
Much of the United States is
running short of water. The
drought in California has gotten
considerable press, and in state
after state, we see farmers and
others tapping irreplaceable underground aquifers. Schemes are
advanced to divert the course of
rivers, actions that would only
reallocate a dwindling supply.
Numerous agriculture resources are being affected.
Warming also affects the fishing
industry. Many salmon now
raised on fish farms are being released directly into the ocean
rather than in sluggish rivers.
Whether these salmon will have
the same instinct to return to
their traditional spawning
streams when they mature remains to be seen.
Given that half of the nation
is sun-drenched most of the year,
we should be a leader in solar
power. Instead, China commands the field and America is
playing a poor game of technological and manufacturing catchup. We need to reverse solar policy by increasing rather than
decreasing financial incentives
for cities, corporations, and individuals to go solar. The shortterm income loss would be more
than offset by generating viable
permanent production and service industries. Moreover there
would be a lessening need for
climate-warming petrochemical
energy.
Our energy priories remain
massive government aid to oil
companies and opening more
land and sea areas to drilling.
The long-term consequences of
oil spills are momentous. Ten
years after an oil spill in Alaska,
the fishing industry was severely
impacted by the near extinction
of local mackerel. The recent
spill in California has brought oil
bowls as far south as the beaches
of San Diego. The safety of
shrimp and bottom feeders since
the spill in the Gulf remains
questionable.
Hurricane Sandy revealed the
rising dangers of massive oceanfront construction on the Atlantic. Hoboken was just of many
cities that remained flooded for
weeks. Battery Park, one of the
most exclusive neighborhoods in
NYC, had to be evacuated. New
York subways, including those
serving Wall Street and mass
transit from New Jersey were
closed, some for weeks. The Jersey shore was devastated.
The immediate response has
been defensive: measures such
as putting houses on stilts, building new sea walls, and erecting
barriers to lessen flooding of
mass transit. This implies a de
facto assumption that major hurricanes will not recur even
though the polar glaciers continue to melt, air masses are becoming more turbulent, and
ocean levels are rising.
The water problems I’ve
touched on briefly are only one
of the environmental challenges
we face. In that sense, Obama is
right: America is becoming less
rather than more secure. That
gradual insecurity will continue
until righteous rhetoric is replaced by a viable national policy
on climate change.
Observations By Antonis H. Diamataris
A New Magna Carta
Yet again, negotiations between Greece
and its creditors did not yield fruit.
And they will continue not to as long as
the objectives of the two sides are so opposed.
But they promise to continue their efforts
today, and tomorrow, and the day after
that...
This newspaper’s opinion pages have
criticized successive Greek governments –
in the context of accurately informing our
readers – for the their negotiating methods.
And, of course, we will continue to do so, if
warranted by the facts.
But we have to be critical equally – if
not more so – of the other side, the Troika,
and mainly Germany.
In the first place, we have noted the lack
of clarity of the final goal at which they
aim.
And second, it is rather clear that Germany has failed in its role as the leading
power in Europe.
A Eurozone country, Greece has crawled
from crisis to crisis, providing only halfmeasures from the start. Greece has been a
victim of strongarmed intervention in its internal affairs to the point of imposing
change of governments leadership, with the
new one unable to articulate a new European perspective, just like the old one.
The obvious truth is that there has been
a rapid transformation of the Eurozone from
the dream of the people for economic prosperity and democracy into a source of economic uncertainty and political authoritarianism.
Therefore, a new Magna Carta is needed:
a new ambitious vision capable of recapturing the promise of Europe, especially for
the people in the Southern countries.
But there is another truth: Germany has
accomplished much – very much – in the
economic sphere. For example, it achieved
an economic miracle a few decades after
its destruction in World War II. But it has
failed miserably in its role as leader. Specifically, it soaked the world in blood twice in
a century.
This does not mean – necessarily – that
history will be repeated once again.
But history cannot be ignored and, by
extension, we cannot grant Germany the
role of moral judge in Europe, which it
seeks.
Yes, we Greeks have our shortcomings,
but certainly not to the degree of the Germans.
Yet Germany’s moral sermons abound.
Let us look, therefore, at the substance
of what is needed to preserve a united Europe – which includes Greece – for the sake
of economic prosperity and the security of
the peoples that comprise it.
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015
VIEWPOINTS
13
Problems with Orthodoxy Sometimes, Even Horror Fantasies Actually Come True
(and Christianity…Religion)
tion with the words
“we believe.” If the
“we” meant me
(the priest), that
would be fine. But
when the “we” includes the questioner, that presents
a problem. It would
be as if you grew up
in a family of
hockey fans but you
liked basketball betby CONSTANTINOS E.
ter, and both types
SCAROS
of games were on
TV last night, and
Special to
The National Herald
you asked your dad
if you could change
thenationalherald.com through- the channel to the basketball
game, and he replied: “No, beout the week.
One reader questioned “these cause you believe that hockey is
so-called scientific findings” and a better game than basketball.”
advised they ought to be “taken The point is: you can certainly
with a grain of salt.” He also tell people what you believe, but
pointed out that religion in how on earth can you tell them
America is on the decline; that it what they believe?”
Moreover, the “we believe”
is not just Orthodoxy. In response, another reader wrote implies “this is what we are supthat although parishes in large posed to believe.” Again, how
cities may seem unaffected, in can you believe something that
small towns they are “dying out.” you don’t believe, or vice versa?
Yet another reader chimed in, de- It is logically impossible.
POMP AND SCANDAL
fending the accuracy of Pew’s reWhile the words of the Early
search.
All of these website com- Church Fathers, as well as the
menters, and others, make valid words from the Bible, which we
points. I particularly agree with presume to be those spoken by
the observation that affiliation God and Christ, are beautiful elowith organized religion as a quent, majestic, and awe inspirwhole is on the decline in the ing, the whole hierarchical strucUnited States, and that in- ture of the church – with gold
evitably, that affects Orthodoxy crowns, thrones, and hand-kissas well. Some of the general ing, seems too much like a dogcharacteristics that apply to reli- and-pony show, contrary to the
gion in general apply to Ortho- teachings of Jesus. The Lord
doxy and contribute to why that taught us to be humble, and yet
denomination specifically is wan- our Church worships in his name
ing, too. To the latter point, and with too many people on egotisin no particular order, here are tical power trips.
Worse yet, far too many
some of the reasons:
clergy have been mired by scanLITURGY VS. SERMON
Today’s
Greek-American dal. When things get too hot,
adults, as children, sat with their what happens? Termination?
parents in Church services con- Nope, just a transfer elsewhere
Our lead story
last week, “Half of
Americans Raised in
Orthodoxy
Stay
with Faith,” focused
on the decline of
Orthodoxy in America – and more
broadly, in Christianity and in religion overall – according to a study
by the Pew Research Center. Our
readers vigorously
debated the topic
on our website
Seen here are Primates of the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople and Russia. While the Church has detailed reasons about
every detail of the clerical garb, to the layperson it often seems
like a lot of gold and glitz, contrary to the teachings of Jesus.
ducted almost entirely in Greek.
I was one of them. We’d hear
“tou Kyriou deithomen” Sunday
after Sunday, year after year. I
never once wondered what it
meant (we spoke Greek at home,
but the word “deithomen” never
came up in casual conversation).
I just figured it was some highlysophisticated prayer, probably
too cerebral for my brain to
grasp. Little I know that it simply
means: “let us pray to the Lord.”
It was in my later teens, after
moving away from the St. Spyridon parish in Upper Manhattan’s
Washington Heights neighborhood to suburban Northern New
Jersey that I first heard the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom conducted in English.
“That’s it?” I thought to myself.
“That’s all there is to it?” It
sounded like a lot of the same
“God is good, God is great, we
are not worthy of His love, we
beg for His forgiveness,” over
and over and over again. The
same thing, more or less, week
after week. In the Orthodox
Church, the Liturgy dominates
the service. The priest’s sermon
only takes a few minutes, and is
often interspersed with announcements along the lines of
“The 347th chapter of the Philoptochos Society is holding its 38th
annual dinner-dance on…”
Wouldn’t more people be interested in going to church if the
service involved an interesting
theological interpretation? Why,
for instance, did God drown babies, kittens, and bunny rabbits
in the great Flood? That’s what
a church service should be more
about – something different
every week, explained by theologians to the laity.
“WE BELIEVE”
Time and again, I’ve heard
priests explain a difficult ques-
and a look the other way, as if
nothing is wrong.
THE PARTY LINE
Religion and politics are eerily
similar, and often not in a good
way. When confronted with an
obvious contradiction, major
party candidates, leaders, and
supporters (Democrat or Republican, take your pick) stick with
the party line. Rarely do they say
“I was wrong” and even more
rarely “my opponent was right.”
Likewise, religious leaders do not
allow logic, common sense, and
deductive reasoning to trump
Scripture. Rather, they employ
the opposite process: they begin
with the premise that accepted
church doctrine is infallible, and
then work backwards from that
conclusion. Whether that approach is disingenuous or appropriate, it is a turn-off to many.
The Pew research also indicated a correlation between age
and allegiance to organized religion. This is true of politics as
well. In both cases, the younger
the person, the less likely he/she
is likely to identify with a specific
religion, or a specific political
party.
Those in the Orthodox
Church who lament at the notion
that the denomination is on the
decline ought to ask themselves:
“exactly why is it that we do not
want our Church to lose member?” That would be a good
starting point for a muchneeded, honest, self-assessment.
Constantinos E. Scaros’ latest
book,
about
the
2016
presidential race, will be published this summer. It is titled
Grumpy Old Party: 20 Tips on
How the Republicans Can Shed
their Anger, Reclaim their Respectability, and Win Back the
White House.
The Greek crisis will play out
according to the playbook of
politicians and not economists.
In mid-February this column
suggested that German Chancellor Merkel intended a “bait
and switch.” Unwilling to tell
German voters that her vaunted
austerity policies had failed, she
would slither out of the trap by
pushing Greece into a catastrophic default and then pivot
smartly and “save” the rest of
Europe with a dramatic reversal
of economic policy.
She would count on the
short-term mentality of today’s
electorate who would panic at
the impending unraveling of the
Eurozone and welcome her
heroic gesture, voting her back
into office again. Mrs. Merkel
has a far loftier mission than
saving Greece; she must save
the political hides of the establishment political parties in Europe who have rallied behind
her and ganged up on Mr.
Tsipras and his very anti-establishment leftist SYRIZA Party.
Tsipras demonstrated his
well-meaning but now damaging political inexperience by assuming that the resident political parties in power in Europe
care more about their countries’
fate than about their reelection.
His surprise that Spain, Italy,
Portugal, and Ireland all joined
the lynch mob led by Mrs.
Merkel show that he failed to
understand that his success
would doom those governing
politicians to defeat and obscurity. Mrs. Merkel and her fellow
political oligarchs got their most
serious warning in May when
outraged Spanish voters brutally
punished the pro-austerity ruling party in regional elections.
Polls indicate that if nothing
changes, the SYRIZA-like antiausterity Podemos Party will
devastate the ruling Popular
Party. The Germans have almost
explicitly articulated their view
that destroying SYRIZA would
protect their interests. Certainly,
the viciousness with which
Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy
joined the anti-Greek campaign
would indicate he shares that
view.
Germany’s negotiating tactics
indicate that the first step of this
plan has been implemented. (I
use “Germany” as a shorthand
substitute for the now-abandoned term “Troika.” The other
outcome would, in
elements of the exBerlin’s
calculaTroika have lined
tions, produce the
up behind Mrs.
necessary terror
Merkel. The Euroamong Spanish votpean Central Bank
ers who would fear
is little more than
that
Germany
a branch of the
would visit the
German Central
same
economic
Bank and the IMF
blitzkrieg on them.
has abandoned all
They
German’s
pretense of indehave time; Spain’s
pendence despite
Prime Minister can
the fact that the
by AMB. PATRICK N.
legally
delay elecheads of both instiTHEROS
tions until Decemtutions have gone
ber 20th.
record indicating
Special to
The National Herald
The Germans
that austerity failed
are not fools. They
in Greece.) The
Germans have successfully recognize that this policy has
brought Greece to the point of dangers. They would prefer that
no return. For weeks, Greece Tsipras capitulate and accept the
has put alternative plans to se- new harsher terms. They know
cure a bail out now and debt re- that austerity has failed in
structuring later on the negoti- Greece and that there is no posating table. The Greek plans sibility that Greece can avoid dehave as their central theme at- fault under the austerity protempt to revive the economy grams either now or in a few
and make it productive once months. Forcing Tsipras to camore. The Germans review the pitulate will delay the inevitable
Greek position, spend days ne- Greek default for several
gotiating the Greek plan and months. This will give the Spanthen pronounce it “inadequate,” ish Prime Minister time to call
“vague,” “unclear” or some snap elections before December
other derogatory term and then and campaign for reelection on
reintroduce new, much harsher, the lesson taught Greece. So far,
demands as a take-it-or-leave it Tsipras has failed to demonstrate the political acumen and
ultimatum.
The Germans have two ob- dexterity to prove Mrs. Merkel
jectives: (1) force the Greek wrong.
The Germans calculate – perGovernment into a humiliating
acceptance of the ultimatum, haps correctly – that Tsipras will
which they hope will then cause act like any other politicians and
the Government to fall through try to survive by surrendering
the defection of its doctrinaire to fight another day. They would
extreme left components or, (2) prefer that Greece not default
force Greece to default. Either before Spain goes to the polls.
A Greek bankruptcy could set
off a series of chain reactions
that Germany could not predict.
Germany and the ECB believe
they may have immunized the
rest of Europe from a Greek collapse but recent history has
proven that the ordinary, fallible
and often clueless people make
the financial markets of today.
In the early days of uncertainty
following a Greek bankruptcy of
uncertainty, moment of panic, a
wayward computer program, a
false news report or an external
shock (e.g., Russian tanks enter
Ukraine) could spook the markets into a 1929 type selloff.
If Berlin has calculated correctly, the Germans will wait until their ally in Spain has defeated
the
anti-austerity
movement and then move to
phase two of their plan. Berlin
would declare victory and reflate the European economy by
a number of easily accomplished
measures such as dramatically
raising German domestic spending. And we all live happily ever
after buying German products.
The Hon. Ambassador Theros is
president of the U.S.-Qatar
Business Council. He served in
the U.S. Foreign Service for 36
years, mostly in the Middle
East, and was American Ambassador to Qatar from 1995 to
1998. He also directed the State
Department’s
CounterTerrorism Office, and holds numerous U.S. Government decorations.
Angela Merkel, seen with Greek PM Tsipras, has far loftier goals than saving Greece. She aims
to save Europe’s establishment parties.
LETTER FROM ATHENS
Good Riddance, PASOK/Evangelos, We Knew Ye too Well
Mixed in with all the dreary
news coming out of Greece was
the joyous news that Evangelos
“Opportunist” Venizelos, a/k/a
King Arrogance I-X, has stepped
down as the non-leader of the
PASOK Anti-Socialists after taking the alleged political party
into near-oblivion.
He finished the job begun by
his predecessor, George “The
Money is There” Papandreou,
whose father Andreas, the late
Premier and Patronage King,
first got rolling four decades ago
with his spendthrift way.
In 2009, George Papandreou
won with 44 percent of the vote.
But after eating his words and
being forced to beg for a bailout
from international lenders, he
was hounded out of office in
2011 by relentless protests,
strikes and riots against austerity measures he imposed on the
country’s weakest and most vulnerable.
His Finance Minister was
Venizelos, who went along with
betraying the party’s supposed
principles (it really doesn’t have
any beyond political expediency
and greed) by stiffing investors
- including Diaspora suckers –
with 74 percent losses by devaluing Greek bonds. A number
of them killed themselves, sadly
none of them politicians who
pushed them beyond despair.
In 1985, Andreas Papandreou, the American-educated
American-hating master manipulator, spoke to an adoring
crowd of scores of thousands of
people in the center of the western city of Patra, in his district,
and it seemed like the fervor
would last a thousand years.
The New Left had emerged and
he offered Greeks bigger pen-
Monetary Fundsions and a brighter
European Central
horizon.
Bank
(EU-IMFHe didn’t tell
ECB) that put up
them he would
what turned into
bankrupt them to
two bailouts of
provide it, and con240 billion euros
tinued his policy of
($267 billion).
hiring just about
But it wasn’t a
everyone who voted
memorandum. It
for PASOK, beginwas a death warning the ruination
rant for Greece
of the party, and
and all that money
country, that his son
by ANDY
did nothing, deGeorge, and VenizeDABILIS
spite Venizelos’
los would help bring
stiffing of investors
30 years later.
Special to
The National Herald
too, to do anything
PASOK
posito write down the
tioned itself as the
party of the people but was re- country’s unsustainable staggerally just a front for what all par- ing debt of 388,808,404,200 euties have on their real agenda: ros, or about $437,333,143,768
get as much money and power (as of this second but it goes up
for themselves they can while 687.60 euros a second, or
the gravy train still has their dri- 41,265 euros a minute). That
took about a minute to do so
ver.
Alternating administrations add another 41,265 euros, or
of PASOK and their alleged rival $46,415.
When Venizelos took over
New Democracy (all parties
speak the same language – the shattered party he had almoney) spent Greece into bank- ready served as a Minister in six
ruptcy and put so many people different Ministries, the ultimate
on the payrolls it was a wonder patronage haven for political
there were any clients outside hacks rewarded for unflagging
public office windows because devotion to party leaders. A
Constitutional lawyer, he fancies
there were more inside.
The
Papandreous
and himself the smartest man in
Venizelos and New Democracy Greece and lusted so hard to be
leaders right up to the recently- Prime Minister you could see it
defeated former Premier Anto- on his face.
He didn’t get there, the closnis Samaras used the country as
a personal ATM and job office est coming when Samaras
for their supporters and friends, named him Deputy Prime Minand if you didn’t have political ister/Foreign Minister as a reward for ironically backing the
cover you were on your own.
George Papandreou, spitting firing of public workers both
in the face of everything his fa- parties had spent their whole
ther’s party purported to be, careers hiring. When push
signed the first memorandum in comes to shove in politics, the
2010 with the troika of the Eu- politicians always side with each
ropean
Union-International other and not their minions.
Venizelos never got near the
masses and traveled in a
750,000 euro bullet-proof BMW.
SYRIZA’s Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis prefers a motorcycle
although it must kill him to
wear a helmet so people can’t
see his preening peacock moves.
Venizelos escaped prosecution for not going after tax
cheats on the so-called Lagarde
List of Greeks with 1.5 billion
euros ($1.68 billion) in secret
Swiss bank accounts, avoiding
it because he was then Samaras’
guy. He’d be anybody’s guy to
stay in power.
When SYRIZA ended the
New Democracy-PASOK coalition and Venizelos saw he got
about 4 percent of the vote, a
91 percent fall from Papandreou’s showing, he saw the
handwriting on the wall too and
decided to bail before PASOK
goes under so far you won’t be
able to see the air bubbles come
up.
As he gave up the seat and
the ghost of PASOK, Venizelos
said he’d stay in politics so we’ll
still have him to kick around
some more if he starts a new
party, although the kind of guy
he is means he’s just as likely to
join whosever in power and try
to take the driver’s seat on the
current bandwagon. George Papandreou has already been forgotten except by all those he
hurt.
With polls showing PASOK
unlikely to get the 3 percent
needed to enter Parliament the
party can’t even have a parade
of its members because one is
sick and other’s refusing to
march alone.
[email protected]
14
THE NATIONAL HERALD, JUNE 13-19, 2015