Philoptochos Shares Info on Ovarian Cancer

Transcription

NEWS
OCV
ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ
ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
The National Herald
cv
A wEEkly GrEEk-AmEriCAN PuBliCATiON
Bringing the news
to generations of
Greek-Americans
www.thenationalherald.com
February 1-7, 2014
VOL. 17, ISSUE 851
$1.50
Greek-U.S.
Relations
“Excellent”
Says Amb.
Ex-CIA
Kiriakou in
Jail One
Year Now
Panagopoulos
Talks Greece,
Community, in
TNH Interview
Transfer to Halfway
House Maybe Prior
To 2015 Release,
Attorney Tells TNH
By Theodore Kalmoukos
By Constantine S. Sirigos
Translated from the Original
Greek
TNH Staff Writer
WASHIGKTON, DC – Ambassador of Greece in Washington
Christos Panagopoulos, in an exclusive interview with TNH
spoke about the Greece in the
presidency of the European
Union, and what that means to
both the country and the continent. He also spoke about the
economic crisis, the GreekAmerican relations – which he
called “excellent” – the GreekAmerican community, terrorism,
and economic development.
Panagopoulos said that “the
EU presidency is not an option;
it is an obligation according to
the ordinances of the EU and
we are going to exercise it with
full responsibility towards Europe and the big issues that are
open today.” He emphasized
that “it is an opportunity to
show, despite the economic crisis, that Greece is here, a credible partner that looks towards
the future.”
As to how much, if at all, the
economic crisis influences the
presidency, Panagopoulos, who
is experienced diplomat with
previous tenures in the U.S. as
Consul General of Greece, said
“let us not kid ourselves: an economic crisis influences everything and, of course, the presidency in the sense that you
don’t have the ability to do
things that were done in the
past. It is also an opportunity to
correct some of the bad habits
of the past.”
Continued on page 4
TNH STAFF PHOTO
Joan Breton Connelly presented her new book, The Parthenon
Enigma: a new understanding of the world’s most iconic build-
ing and the people who made it, in Manhattan on Jan. 28. She
enthusiastically discusses her alternative theory.
Was Parthenon Built to Glorify Human Sacrifice?
By Constantinos E. Scaros
Revered
for
centuries
throughout the world, the
Parthenon “has become the icon
of western art, the very symbol
of democracy itself,” writes Joan
Breton Connelly, in her latest
book, The Parthenon Enigma
(New York, NY: Knopf, 2014).
But the renowned classical
archeologist – who has taught
at some of the finest universities
in the world and is currently a
professor of classics and art history at New York University –
has turned Ancient Greek scholarship virtually on its ear
through a startling and groundbreaking theory that may be
construed as the iconic temple
was built to glorify human sacrifice. Though the experts are
mixed in their responses, the
common denominator is that
The Parthenon Enigma has
gained a lot of attention.
Dr. Robert B. Koehl, Professor of Archeology and Chair of
the Classical and Oriental Studies Department at the City University of New York’s Hunter
College, told TNH that Connelly’s is a “new and exciting interpretation.”
Though many of our readers
possess quite a bit of expertise
in Ancient Greek history, archeology, mythology, art, and literature, a brief overview may be
helpful here in properly presenting and classifying Dr. Connelly’s hypothesis as well as
commentary by Koehl and other
experts in the field whom TNH
interviewed for this piece.
PARTHENON
AND ACROPOLIS
the
words
Although
“Parthenon” and “Acropolis” are
sometimes used interchangeably, the former refers to the actual temple built in Ancient
Athens – part of which remains
standing in modern-day Athens
– and the latter to the highest
point of a city (derived from the
Greek words “acros” meaning
high or highest, and “polis”
meaning city). The Parthenon,
therefore, is situated at the
Athenian Acropolis.
The historian Herodotus
wrote about a previous
Parthenon, which was destroyed
by the Persians in 480BC. The
Athenians left the rubble atop
the Acropolis undisturbed, a
shrine commemorating that
somber moment in the citystate’s history. The other preeminent Ancient Greek historian,
Thucydides, wrote about why
the Athenians had a change of
heart and rebuilt the Parthenon
roughly 50 years later: Pericles,
arguably the most influential
leader of Ancient Athens. It was
Continued on page 9
Gounaris’ Rift with Council is Widening
By Theodore Kalmoukos
TNH Staff Writer
Honorary Degree by Fordham to Anastasios
A large crowd at Fordham University saw Archbishop Anastasios
of Albania lecture and receives an honorary doctorate. (L-R)
Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou, Dr. George Demacopoulos, Joseph
McShane, President of Fordham, and Archbishop Anastasios.
NEW YORK – The crisis that
started a year and a half ago at
the Holy Trinity Archdiocesan
Cathedral in New York continues to deepen due to the strong
contentiousness between the
Cathedral’s Presiding Priest
Anastasios Gounaris and the
Parish Council, as it was manifested yet again during the
council’s meeting on January
23.
Gounaris dismissed Steve
Hantzarides from his position as
Administrative Director at the
Cathedral, without the knowledge, approval, or even the notification of the Parish Council.
The Council members became
extremely upset, despite the fact
that
they
also
wanted
Hantzarides out, but they
strongly stated that Gounaris
does not have the authority to
hire and fire personnel at the
Cathedral.
A Council member made the
motion to rehire Hantzarides
and refire him on the spot just
to prove the point that they are
the ones who do the hiring and
the firing. Thus, eight voted to
fire Hantzarides and two abstained.
Gounaris, Parish Council
President Dean Poll, and
Hantzarides did not respond to
TNH’s request for comment.
The Cathedral’s dire financial
situation was discussed at the
meeting and it was stated once
again that Gounaris spends
money for various projects without even asking the Council.
The parish decided to make reductions starting with the choir,
which is comprised of professional singers, some of whom
are not even Orthodox, and it
costs $200,000 per year, as TNH
had revealed in September. The
Cathedral’s annual budget is
$1.9 million, not including the
School.
The continuous dwindling of
congregants was also discussed:
there are now only an average
of 25 during the Matins and between 80 and 100 for the
Liturgy.
The distance that exists between the priest and the Parish
Council President was revealed
again in an e-mail sent by
Gounaris to the Council members that the meeting was
scheduled initially for January
21 and it was going to be
chaired by Vice President Steve
Cherpelis. Gounaris’ e-mail
made president Poll angry. The
meeting was canceled due to inclement weather and it was
rescheduled for January 23. Poll
appeared and chaired the meeting, saying that he continues to
be the president until his tenure
is exhausted or if the archbishop
replaces him. At the same time,
Continued on page 6
Mario Frangoulis Launches
2014 US Tour in New York
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – International
tenor Mario Frangoulis is one of
those artists who connects with
his audience both through his
unique interpretations of new
and beloved songs and with his
electric personality. He will follow up his 2012 North American
tour that included a performance with Alkistis Protopsalitis
in Queens on November 17,
2012 with concerts in New York
on March 21, San Francisco on
April 4 and Chicago on April 7.
Apropos of his concert on the
For subscription:
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first day of spring at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater,
Frangoulis told TNH it will be a
different from his Queens concert, where he sang opera, popular music and art songs. “You
have to respect the venue,” said
the man whom the website
www.classical-crossover.co.uk
named 2011’s “Best Male Classical Crossover Artist.”
The concert has a dual purpose: artistic and philanthropic.
A portion of the proceeds will
be donated to Apostoli – Mission, the social service arm of
the church of Greece. “Their
work is very important; they
help the people of Greece during these difficult moments.”
Frangoulis will hold a reception at Thalasssa restaurant in
honor of Apostoli, where he will
meet and thank fans who purchased the concert’s VIP charity
tickets.
He believes performers build
Continued on page 5
TNH/COSTAS BEJ
TNH Names Maria Makedon as its 2013 Educator of the Year
Maria Makedon, holding the plaque she was awarded as 2013 Educator of the Year, receives
flowers from her niece and nephew, Metaxia and Nikita Kessaris, at TNH’s offices on Jan. 28.
NEW YORK – At a time when
Edward Snowden – who is accused of stealing and willfully
revealing vital classified information - is enjoying “temporary
asylum” in Russia – John C. Kiriakou, a former CIA operative
and father of five who has been
hailed as a hero for his role in
capturing high level al—Qaeda
terrorists, is languishing in the
Federal Correctional Institution
in Loretto, PA.
The National Herald, which
has interviewed Kiriakou in the
past , contacted his attorney,
Plato Cacheris to learn about his
status. He said “we still support
Mr. Kiriakou,” but noted “There
is nothing to report at this time.”
He added that, “They may send
him to a halfway house,” five
months before his sentence expires. It will presumably be near
Washington so that he can at
least be able to see his family.
On January 25, 2013, he was
sentenced to 30 months in
prison for admitting he violated
the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. The New York Times
reported that he e-mailed “the
name of a covert CIA officer to
a freelance reporter, who did
not publish it... In more than six
decades of fraught interaction
between the agency and the
news media, John Kiriakou is
the first current or former CIA
officer to be convicted of disclosing classified information to
a reporter.”
Kiriakou has said in interviews that he believed that the
covert officer had retired.
Attorney General Eric H.
Holder Jr. said at the same time
that “safeguarding classified information, including the identities of CIA officers involved in
sensitive operations, is critical
to keeping our intelligence officers safe and protecting our national security.”
Kiriakou is paying the price.
He will be in prison until May,
Continued on page 6
Two Greeks
Nominated
For Oscars
By Johanna Voutounou
HOLLYWOOD, CA – When most
people imagine Los Angeles they
envision palm tree-lined neighborhoods and shiny convertibles
carrying Hollywood starlets
dressed for success.
This is not the case most of
the year. The majority of Angelinos have less to do with the
sparkling movie lights but instead spend their day dealing
with smog and traffic. However,
once a year the fairytale comes
true and our city takes center
stage to host one of the most
glamorous events of the year: the
Academy Awards.
This year, the spotlight is
turned onto a Greek dynamic
duo that after many years
of friendship have each
snagged Oscar nominations for
their film Nebraska.
Alexander Payne directs this
whimsical tale of an estranged
father and son who reunited for
a life changing road trip. Payne’s
grandfather changed their name
from Papadopoulos after he
moved to Boston from Greece as
a result of anti-Greek riots that
were common on the East coast
in the 1900s. His father then relocated to Omaha, where Payne
grew up grew up and his love
for his hometown is captured in
this beautiful film.
However, Payne credits Phedon Papamichael, his friend and
collaborator, for the breathtaking
cinematography that highlights
the beauty of his beloved state.
Papamichael moved from Athens
when he was six years old and
Continued on page 2
COMMUNITY
2
GREEKS AROUND THE US
GOINGS ON...
2 Greek-American Academy Award Nominees
Continued from page 1
became interested in film while
watching his father, a renowned
set designer who worked closely
with John Cassavetes.
Papamichael and Payne have
been friends since the early
nineties, when they met fresh out
of film school. Both struggling
artists in Los Angeles, they felt
united by their Greek roots and
stayed friends for over 20 years
until they finally came together
to collaborate on the film Sideways (2004). Papamichael went
on to shoot every film Payne has
written and directed since. This,
however, is his first Academy
Award nomination and Payne is
thrilled for his longtime friend.
Papamichael and Payne will
take to the red carpet on March
2nd. The Academy Awards will
take place at the Dolby Theater
(formerly known as the Kodak).
This decadent, state-of-the-art
theater can seat over 3000 guests
and has been the ceremony’s
home since 2001. Unless you
have been nominated for an Oscar or have worked on one of
the films, however, you will have
to watch the event from your living room couch. That was not
Greek-American filmmaker/director Alexander Payne has been
nominated for an Academy Award for the film Nebraska, as
has his friend and collaborator, Phedon Papamichael.
always the case, though. The first
Academy Awards ceremony took
place on May 16th, 1929 at the
Blossom Room in the Hollywood
Roosevelt Hotel, it was open to
the public and tickets were only
$10.
If you happen to be visiting
Los Angeles, you can still experience some of the glamour of
the day. Guided tours of the
Dolby Theater are held every day
between 10:30AM and 4PM. The
tour includes a viewing of an Oscar statuette and a visit to the
Dolby Lounge, where all the winners relax after their acceptance
speech. All this for $17 (adults),
$12 children, and you can leave
your ball gown and tuxedo at
home.
An insider’s tip, if you happen
to be in town on the day of the
event, avoid Hollywood Boulevard unless you want to be stuck
behind a line of limos for hours.
Instead, pack a picnic dinner and
head up to the Griffith Park Observatory. The views of the city
from this vantage point are magical and with the help of the public telescopes you can catch a
glimpse of the red carpet, and
maybe even spot Payne and Papamichael. After dinner head inside the observatory to look at
some real stars, in a less crowded
state of the art theater – the Los
Angeles Planetarium.
Greek Antiquities Featured by Field, Hellenic Museums
tario, followed by the co-presentation in Chicago, and finally the
National Geographic Museum in
Washington, DC.
Both Museums are embarking
on extensive preparation for the
exhibition. The Field Museum
will host The Greeks, while new
permanent and temporary exhibits at NHM will complement
the traveling exhibition, as will a
variety of lectures, demonstrations, and other education programs linking the development
of Greek civilization to its deep
impact on the American way of
life. NHM has an excellent reputation for making the ancient history accessible to its audience including outstanding children’s
education program. Additionally,
NHM and The Field plan to ex-
plore opportunities to display
Greek artifacts from The Field
Museum that have rarely – if ever
– been on public display.
Both organizations are seeking funds to pay for the enterprise, with NHM Chair John
Calamos leading local and national fundraising efforts in conjunction with The Field Museum.
“This is a momentous opportunity for Greeks in America, for
the city of Chicago, and for both
museums. We are honored The
Field Museum is joining with the
National Hellenic Museum to
make this possible. It is our hope
and my belief, this amazing exhibition will remind people of the
importance of Greek culture to
this country and the world at a
magnitude similar to the Tu-
tankhamun exhibits of past
decades.”
The Field Museum was
founded to house the anthropological and biological collections
assembled for the World’s
Columbian Exposition of 1893
while the National Hellenic Museum (NHM) was founded in
1983 as the only national museum in the United States dedicated to the display and celebration of the cultural contributions
of Greeks and Greek-Americans.
The Field Museum is an icon for
the Chicago area, while the new
NHM building (opened in 2011)
is rapidly becoming a source of
pride to the city and its prominent Greek American community.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The National Hellenic Museum is America’s only national
institution to document and present the legacy of Greek Americans and their contributions to
the American mosaic, while celebrating their rich Greek history
and culture and the profound impact of their Hellenic heritage
upon the world.
The Museum is located in a
40,000-square-foot, three-story,
eco-friendly building which is
home to interactive exhibits, children’s education center, research
library, oral history center, museum store, special events hall,
and rooftop terrace.
For more information, visit
http://www.nationalhellenicmuseum.org or call 312-655-1234.
Follow NHM on Facebook and
Twitter!
Knowledge without boundaries!
EC
IA
L
O
FF
ER
!
CHICAGO, IL – The Field Museum of Natural History and the
National Hellenic Museum will
co-present an extraordinary exhibition of ancient Greek antiquities—The Greeks: From
Agamemnon to Alexander the
Great, coming to Chicago in November of 2015. This is the first
time the two museums have copresented a project of this magnitude. The museums decided
to partner around the exhibition
to take advantage of the unique
attributes of each institution.
Together, the museums will offer
Chicagoans an unprecedented
chance to experience both the
exhibition and its links to the
Greek-American experience.
The Greeks is the most comprehensive exhibition about Ancient Greece to tour North America in a generation. It will
feature more than 500 outstanding artifacts from 22 Greek museums. The exhibition invites
visitors on a journey through
5,000 years of Greek culture,
from the Neolithic Era to the age
of Alexander the Great. The artifacts — many of which have
never been exhibited outside
Greece — include the iconic bust
of Alexander the Great from
Pella, the impressive statues of
Archaic-period Kouroi, and
golden jewelry from famous
tombs. The exhibition is organized under the leadership of
the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The first stop on
the tour will be at Gatineau, On-
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n THRU MARCH 2
WASHINGTON, DC – Heaven on
Earth: Art of Byzantium from
Greek Collections will be presented at the National Gallery
of Art from Oct. 6 2013-Mar. 2,
2014. In the first exhibition devoted to Byzantine art at the
Gallery, some 170 rare and important works, drawn exclusively from Greek collections,
the exhibit will offer a fascinating glimpse of the soul and
splendor of the Byzantine Empire. Recognized masterpieces,
many never lent before to the
United States, will be on view
with newly discovered and previously unpublished objects
from recent archaeological excavations in Greece. The exhibition is organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Education and
Religious Affairs, Culture, and
Sports, Athens, with the collaboration of the Benaki Museum,
Athens, in association with the
National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the J. Paul Getty
Museum, Los Angeles. After
Washington, the exhibition travels to the J. Paul Getty Museum,
Los Angeles, where it will be displayed at the Getty Villa from
April 9 through August 25,
2014.
n JANUARY 31
ASTORIA – The Hellenic Relief
Foundation presents: A boite revival with tunes we love and
sing along to on Friday, Jan. 31
at 8PM at the Stathakion Center,
22-51 29th Street in Astoria.
Live music with: Eleni Andreou,
Grigoris Maninakis, Tassos Papaioannou, Makaria PsiliteliKazakos Special Guests: Anna
Eliopoulos, Yanna Katsageorgi,
Athina Krikeli, Elias Makrynos,
Alexandra Skendrou, Stavroula
Traitses, Nikitas Tambakis,Elena
Toumaras. Glafkos Konementiotis-piano
Kostas
PsarosBouzouki Guitar Megan GouldViolin Baglamas. Donation $50
includes mezedakia and wine (1
bottle per 4 persons) Traditional
cutting of the Vasilopita will precede the program. For reservations: (347) 201-1821, (718)
204-8900
n FEBRUARY 2
DC
–
WASHINGTON,
“SMYRNA: THE DESTRUCTION
OF A COSMOPOLITAN CITY,
1900-1922” with the kind support from the STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION will be
featured at Georgetown University in Washington, DC on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014. The idea behind the project is to familiarize
students at some of the finest
universities in the United States
and Canada with the history of
Smyrna. The Modern Greek
Studies programs are collaborating with the departments of
history, film as well as with
other departments so that as
many students as possible have
the opportunity to see the film.
Many of them are preparing papers on the subject of the destruction and the history of
Smyrna is now being taught at
various universities. Maria Iliou
who wrote and directed the film
as well as historical consultant
Alexander Kitroeff will be presenting the documentary and
the screenings will be followed
by a Q&A. For more information, including time and specific
location, please contact the director of the film Maria Iliou at
[email protected].
79th St. in Manhattan. This is a
complimentary event, but RSVP
is required. Kindly RSVP to:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/p
resentation-and-wine-receptionwith-dr-katherine-a-schwabtickets-10316351485.
n FEBRUARY 6-9
SARASOTA, FL – Come join us
at our 30th annual Greek festival from February 6 through 9,
2014, at St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church, 7671 North
Lockwood Ridge Road, in Sarasota. The Festival, which is a celebration of Hellenic Culture,
features authentic Greek foods
and delicious pastries, Greek
music by the band Ellada, Greek
folk dancing by our Hellenic
Dancers, bargain shopping at Yiayia’s Attic, and an Agora including an eclectic variety of
jewelry and crafts. The festival
is from 11AM-9PM on February
6 through 8, and from Noon to
8PM on February 9. Our raffle,
sponsored by Alex Karras Lincoln, features a 2014 MXZ or
MXK (car or hybrid) as the first
prize! Second prize is $7500 in
cash and third prize is a
roundtrip ticket to Greece and
the islands, for two (a $5000
value). There are daily church
tours, as well as children’s’ activities from February 7 to 9. For
more information, call (941)
355-2616.
n FEBRUARY 22-23
PALM DESERT, CA – Be Greek
for a Day (or a weekend!) The
18th Anniversary Palm Desert
Greek Festival 2014 will take
place on Saturday and Sunday,
February 22nd & 23rd at the St.
George Greek Orthodox Church
of the Desert at 74-109 Larrea
in Palm Desert. For directions,
festival hours, and general information, please contact the
Church office at (760) 5689901. Contact church or visit
their website(s) to confirm
dates, times, and location.
Be Greek for a Day! Festival
Highlights: Live Greek Bouzouki
Music & Traditional Greek
Dancing. Authentic Greek Food,
Appetizers & those heavenly
Pastries. Greek Wine, Greek
Beer & Greek Coffee. Hercules
Kids Zone. But the heart of our
festival is the wonderful homemade Greek food and pastries
created from generational, family recipes. In any Greek village,
the natural gathering place is
the Kafenion or coffeehouse.
Here you can sip both Greek
and American coffees and iced
Frappe as you enjoy the mouthwatering Loukoumades (honeysweetened fritter pastries prepared in front of you) - all while
playing a game of backgammon
or Tavli. Greek and American
specialty coffees are also on
hand to accompany the delicious pastries and deserts at our
village Kafenion.
n FEBRUARY 5
MANHATTAN – The Agape Circle of the Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity First
Wednesday Series Presents
Matchmaking Yourself: Secrets
to a More Healthy Relationship,
Wednesday Feb. 5 at 7PM at the
Cathedral Center Ballroom, 337
E. 74th Street in Manhattan. Admission Gratis, Reception to Follow. Led by Maria Avgitidis,
award-winning founder of
Agapeme.com. Nick Lionas, our
humorous and dynamic special
guest, will lead an interactive
discussion on "what people look
for in a meaningful relationship.”
n MARCH 27
MANHATTAN – The Officers
and Directors of Greek American
Professional
Women
(AGAPW) cordially invite you to
our 2014 Women’s History
Month Celebration Gala and
“Greek American Woman of the
Year” Award, in honor this year
of Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Koulanakis, on Thursday,
Mar. 27 7-9PM at the Century
Association Penthouse Suite, 7
West 43rd St. in Manhattan.
There will be a presentation by
Ms. Evgenia Soldados, J.D. on
“The Historical Contributions of
Greek American Women to our
Country and Community,” and
a live performance by renowned
composer of world fusion music
and sitarist Nana Simopoulos
and soprano Flora Kirou. Reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres. Requested minimum donation: $100. Students and
seniors $35. Pre-registration is
required. Kindly RSVP to
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/
womens-history-month-celebration-tickets-10316818883. For
further information, please contact Dr. Olga Alexakos at [email protected] or (917) 4056833.
n FEBRUARY 6
MANHATTAN – The Association
of Greek American Professional
Women (AGAPW) cordially invites you to a presentation and
wine reception with Dr. Katherine A. Schwab on the occasion
of her exhibit: “An Archeologist’s Eye: Drawing the
Parthenon Sculptures,” on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 6-8PM, at the Consulate General of Greece, 69 E.
n NOTE TO OUR READERS
This calendar of events section
is a complimentary service to
the Greek American community.
All parishes, organizations and
institutions are encouraged to
e-mail their information regarding the event 3-4 weeks ahead
of time, and no later than Monday of the week before the
event, to [email protected]
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Offer expires Januray 31, 2014.
For information contact us at: 718-784-5255, ext 108, email: [email protected]
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COMMUNITY
3
Greek Community Mourns Tragic Loss of Rising Star Alexandros Petersen
NEW YORK – Friends, colleagues, and the Greek-American community are mourning
the tragic death Alexandros Petersen, who was one of 21 people who died in a suicide bombing and attack in Kabul. The
January 17 attack, the worst on
civilians since the war began,
was apparently done by the Taliban.
Petersen, praised for his brilliance and character and already
a distinguished scholar of Central Asia at the age of 29, was
in a Lebanese restaurant popular with Westerners. He went to
the capital of the war-torn country to teach political science and
provide hope for a better future
for the country’s youth at the
American
University
of
Afghanistan.
He had been in the country
for only a week.
Petersen’s adventurous side
was as obvious to people as his
great intellect, and both from
an early age. “Boyhood friends
of Alexandros Petersen used to
tease him that he was born a
century or two late, because he
was at heart a gentleman explorer in the grand tradition of
Lawrence of Arabia,” the Washington Post reported.
What the general media
missed, however, tugs at GreekAmerican intuitions. He didn’t
call himself Alexander, and if Petersen wanted to be Lawrence,
he would have gone to Arabia.
He was Alexandros, so it is not
surprising that he followed the
footsteps of the Greek genius
and conqueror – Megas Alexandros (Alexander the Great) –
Alexandros Petersen, a dedicated American but proud of his
Greek heritage, was a rising political thinker and academician,
who was tragically killed in the prime of his life, just a week
after moving to Afghanistan to teach university students there
about American values.
who spread Hellenism deep into
Asia, into Afghanistan.
His death was followed by
moving tributes by colleagues
and representatives of the organizations for which he worked.
Ruby Gropas, a Research Fellow at the European University
Institute, met Alexandros when
he was an intern at the Wilson
Center.
“There was something exceptional about him that came
across strongly as soon as you
met him, and I was certain that
he would have a bright professional future ahead. His talent
and sharp-mind, his curiosity
and sincere entrepreneurial
spirit…and the ways in which
he was able to articulate his
thoughts and insight were truly
impressive,” she told TNH.
“He also had incredible manners and a respectful politeness
in the way he addressed people
that is rare to find these days,
Gropas added.
Andrew Apostolou, who has
worked in Washington DC policy institutes, was impressed
with his personality and character: "Alexandros was charming and adventurous. He went
to Afghanistan to teach at a university. He went to help others.
Alexandros set a fine example."
The story of Petersen’s life is
in “the apple does not fall far
from the tree category: His parents are also patriotic Americans, devoted public servants
and world citizens – his mother
works for the IMF and his father
at the World Bank.
John Sitilides, President of
Trilogy Advisors and former director of the Western Policy
Center, a think tank and research foundation that later
merged with WWC, was among
the first to detect Petersen’s talent and uniqueness.
While visiting his parents in
when Petersen was attending
King’s College in London, “He
applied for an internship. We
were impressed with this resume, then when we met him,
he looked very young but
sounded and acted much more
mature than his years, and
when we began to have discussions, we tapped into someone
with intellectual and analytical
talents beyond his years,”
Sitilides said.
They were also very impressed by his writing. “We
never published anything by our
interns before, but he wrote a
terrific piece for us.”
His assessment of Russian
perceptions just after NATO extended its reach into the Black
Sea with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria was remarkable in a City that is still struggling to accurately see that
important country in a non-Cold
War context.
Petersen wrote: “However,
the Russians will likely perceive
any NATO intrusion into their
"near abroad" as inherently
menacing. Therefore, it would
be useful if NATO and the U.S.,
either through the NATO-Russia
Council, or more directly
through a special diplomatic
team, were to make it clear to
the Russian government that an
alliance presence in the region
strengthens Russia's security. Intensive negotiations will have to
begin in order to include Russia
as a major partner of NATO efforts in the region.”
After the merger, Petersen
won fellowship with the WWC
and “really before anyone else
was talking about energy issues
in Southeast Europe, he planted
that seed at the WCC,” he said.
Eventually his abilities and
interests enable him to get involved “in the grand strategy
discussion regarding Central
Asia.”
“At the age of 29 he had already done work in four think
tanks in Washington over the
course of 10 years. People who
knew him understood that he
was writing his ticket on any
foreign policy issue that he
wanted to.
“It’s a horrific loss of a man
who was cut down way too
early in his life,” Sitilides said,
but and he noted that it was a
great intellectual loss. “It will be
a loss for those issues and regions that were in his portfolio
because he was giving them serious thought and therefore elevating them in Washington in
ways that most others could
not.”
“The family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of
affection from so many people
so that decided to hold a service
this past weekend for family and
close friends, so they encouraged the institutions he was affiliated with to jointly organize
a commemoration in the next
few weeks,” he said.
“It is also a profound loss for
those Greek-Americans who got
to know him well. This was a
man who touched a lot of people and we are saddened by his
loss.
When he last saw Petersen –
friends called him Alex – he congratulated him on a piece he has
published in the Weekly Standard. “I know the editors there
and they are very demanding
on who they allow to be published. It was a significant professional threshold for him to
pass.”
Sitilides had no idea he was
on his way to Afghanistan.
It was mostly a casual conversation on the human level
that they shared that day, and
they promised to communicate
and get together over coffee or
lunch. “We didn’t get around to
it and that’s the last conversation I had with Alex. Nobody
knew we would lose him two
months later.”
NY Politicos, Community, in Warm Turnout for Constantinides Inauguration
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The auditorium
of Long Island City High School
(LICHS) was packed with
friends, constituents, and many
of New York’s political heavy hitters who turned out to congratulate and offer best wishes to
Costa Constantinides, the first
Greek and Cypriot elected to
New York’s City Council.
Constantinides was rivaled in
the excitement he experienced
and the praise he received by
his son Niko, who took it all in
from his front row seat and later
from the lap of his mother, Lori.
Niko was lauded for his impeccable behavior and was asked
to take a bow by none other
than U.S. Senator Charles
Schumer, the headliner among
the political stars.
Schumer wowed the audience with a passionate tribute
to American democracy and the
importance of citizen participation and dedicated public servants like Constantinides.
Before being sworn in by Peter F. Vallone, Sr., distinguished
both for being a former Speaker
of the City Council and for his
29 years of service as Astoria’s
City Councilman, the public officials paid tribute to Constantinides for his years of community
work and for the excellent campaign executed by his talented
young staff.
Those present included NY
Comptroller Thomas di Napoli,
NYC Comptroller Scott Stinger,
Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz, NY State Senator
Michael Gianaris, Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, Public
Advocate Tish James, and City
Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito. Mayor Bill de Blasio
was unable to attend, but the
sent his head of community affairs, Marco A. Carri n.
Vivian Selenikas, LICHS principal, welcomed the guests. She
also thanked Vallone for helping
build the school and his family
and Constantinides for fighting
for it.
Constantinides was introduced by Gennaro, who echoed
the words of many when he said
“Costa will make an exemplary
and supremely effective City
Council Member.”
Before administering the
oath of office, Vallone said he
was also there on behalf of his
son Peter Jr., who served Astoria
for 12 years before term limits
led to the open seat to which
Constantinides was elected, and
who would have been there but
for the virus that had recently
affected so many in the City, including Constantinides.
Vallone added to Schumer’s
praise of Democracy and said of
Constantinides, “I know in my
heart and soul that he is going
to do the exact same thing that
you expect from every one of
us, never to look down, but look
you straight in the eyes and say
‘we are one of you, but because
of you, we have the power to
make a difference.’”
“Thank you, so, so much - it
is so humbling to have you all
here,” an emotional Constantinides said when he finally addressed the crowd that braved
snow and cold. He said, “I want
to start off with a few thank
yous. First, my beautiful wife
Lori, my rock. I could have
never made it this far without
you. And my beautiful son
Nicholas,” who by then was fast
asleep in his mother’s arms.
“My story begins with my
family, which came from
Cyprus. My grandfather was a
short order cook and my grandmother was a seamstress.” He
continued his paean to the
American Dream, which he exemplifies, and to his neighborhood, by declaring “Western
Queens is more than its restaurants and parks, it is a confluence of aspirations and hopes
for a better future,” for all.
He thanked and praised the
Vallone Family, and then Gennaro “who was my boss, my
friend, my mentor.”
He reserved his warmest tributes for Gianaris and Simotas,
whom he noted, along with
him, are now being called “The
Astoria Three,” and for his campaign team.
“They worked so hard. I may
be the name on the door, but
each of you are what makes up
Team Costa,” he said.
Next he thanked his new
constituents, “each and every
one of you. It’s your victory, your
community, and I promise to
work as hard as I can.”
Gennaro was the surehanded Emcee for the rich program, which included performances by Youth Dance
Division-Pancyprian Association,
whose president and founder,
Philip Christopher, was in attendance, and the LICHS Modern
Jazz Dance Group and Chamber
Choir. Food and refreshments
were offered by the LICHS Culinary Class and Zenon Taverna
at the reception that followed
the ceremony.
LICHS
alum
Gianaris
brought humor to the occasion
when he told Gennaro, who is
no longer a sitting Councilmember, that he is happy people who
used to confuse them will stop
calling him James – but added
“there is no one I’d rather be
confused with.”
Simotas, noted the importance of his election for the community, and called Constantinides “one of those people who
does everything from the heart
and is so passionate about issues, and he works so hard. All
you have to do is call Costa.”
The newly-inaugurated Katz
told TNH, “We have a good
Greek-American team in Queens
and we are excited about Costa
and what he brings to the office.”
Asked how Greek-Americans
can contribute more to Queens
and how they fit into her vision
for the borough, she said “They
already fit into our vision: running small businesses, supporting our school system and celebrating the culture and
traditions they bring from
Greece – that is also an important part of this borough,”
whose diversity was celebrated
by many of the days speakers.
Elias Tsekerides, the President of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New
York, was very proud. He recalled being at an event three
years ago and lamenting to Constantinides that the community
could not elect a City Council
Member.
Constantinides responded: “I
will run and I will win,” and
Tsekerides told him “I will be
there for you.” Constantinides
told TNH “He stayed true to his
word and the Greek and Cypriot
community stayed true to theirs
and supported me in a way that
I can’t fully thank them for. It’s
now my mission to make them
proud and everyone proud.”
“I am so happy. It’s a good
day for Costa, for Hellenes, for
Astoria and for the City. He is
an energetic guy and will do a
great job,” Tsekerides said.
Theodore Kasapis, who is active in the Queens County De-
mocratic Party, said “It was a
wonderful event. It was a pleasure to see such a great turnout
on a cold and snowy day, and
see so many elected officials
come out to honor Costa.”
“I am very proud of Costa,”
said Effie Lekas, the Assistant
Director of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies,
of the program’s alumnus. “He
is a superb role model for our
students. Everything was said
by others today, but I believe if
he stays authentic, and true to
his progressive beliefs…the sky
is the limit for Costa.”
Nikos Neocleous said “It’s a
beautiful day for all of us, for
me also because Costa is a patrioti of mine, from the village
of Asgata in Cyprus.”
Timoleon Kokkinos, the principal of afternoon Greek School
of St. Demetrios Cathedral, said
“It’s a day that honors all GreekAmericans.” He said Constantinides, Gianaris and Simotas “are
great examples for our children,
whom we want to see progress
in all fields, including public service.”
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Peter F. Vallone, Sr. administers the oath of office as Costa Constantinides, the first Greek and
Cypriot elected to New York’s City Council, and his wife, Lori, clasp the bible.
COMMUNITY
4
Sen. Schumer, Amb. Nominee Tsunis, Grand Marshals for Greek Parade
By Demetris Tsakas
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The Federation of
Hellenic Societies of Greater
New York presented the Grand
Marshals of this year’s Greek Independence Day Parade at the
Greek Press office on January
24. U.S. Senator Charles
Schumer and George Tsunis,
businessman, philanthropist,
and nominee to be the United
States’ ambassador to Norway,
will be leading the community
along Fifth Avenue on March
30.
The ceremony was organized
by the Federation and its Parade
Committee and was attended by
Archbishop Demetrios of America, Consul General of Greece in
New York George Iliopoulos,
New York State Senator Michael
Gianaris, State Assemblywoman
Aravella Simotas, City Councilman Costas Constantinides, and
representatives of all the Federation’s member organizations
and other community groups.
The ceremony on Friday
evening had a festive character,
as was pointed out by PSEKA
President Philip Christopher,
who called it the inaugural
event of the parade.
Schumer and Tsunis expressed their gratitude for being
chosen and expressed their belief that this year's parade will
be the best both in terms of participation and dynamism.
Archbishop Demetrios and Iliopoulos congratulated the Federation and the Parade Committee for the efforts they make in
organizing the Parade, on their
choice of Grand Marshals, and
for their general support for
Greece and Cyprus on important
ethnic issues.
The president of the Federation, Elias Tsekeridis, congratulated the honorees and expressed his appreciation their
acceptance of the invitation to
lead the parade. He noted that
he first met Senator Schumer in
1996 when they both delegates
at the Democratic National Con-
ABOVE: Public officials and officers of the New York Federation and other community
organizations pose for a commemorative photo. Front row:
Consul General of Greece
George Iliopoulos, Federation
president Elias Tskerides, Senator Charles Schumer, Archbishop Demetrios of America,
George J. Tsunis, and 2014
Parade Committee Chairman
Petros Galatoulas.
LEFT:
Senator
Charles
Schumer,
who
always
marches, is thrilled to be
Grand Marshal at this year’s
Greek Parade. He spoke
warmly of his friendships in
the Greek-American community.
vention in Chicago, which nominated Bill Clinton for reelection.
George Tsunis said, with evident emotion, about the importance of the community, and
among other things spoke of his
appointment as Ambassador to
Norway. He feels he is also serving as the community’s ambassador since “my appointment is
due first and foremost to the
community,” which, as noted,
gave him opportunities to play
leadership roles.
"I am grateful to the GreekAmerican community, which
taught us and nurtured us with
the best virtues of our nation,”
and declared that "my selection
as Grand Marshal in the is the
most important and touching
honor of my life."
He then referred to the role
of the family and emphasized
that his parents, like all Greek
immigrants, came to America
for better opportunities for their
children. He also expressed his
gratitude for his wife, Olga, who
was present and was touched
by her husband’s speech.
Finally, he mentioned his re-
cent confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and expressed
his gratitude to Charles
Schumer who spoke passionately in his behalf when introducing him to the other Senators.
The philhellene Schumer
spoke warmly about his ties
with the community, his friend-
ship with Kostas Nikolopoulos,
and his relationship with the
Three Hierarchs parish in Brooklyn.
"The Greek community embraced me and I put them into
my heart," said Schumer to illustrate what he has gained his
relationship with Cypriot and
Greek-Americans.
"Through this relationship I
learned a lot about Greek culture and have come closer to
your community," he added.
He praised Tsunis as a successful businessman who has
not forgotten where he came
from and said Greek-American
community is blessed to have
people like him.
He also discussed the immigration reform bill and his and
his proposal that his enable
more Greeks and Cypriots to
come to America.
"The Greeks love America
and New York, and the more
Greeks who come, the better for
New York and America," he said
to a burst of applause.
The Senator also said he was
pleased to see Astoria’s three
elected officials in attendance,
noting that for the first time
Greeks are present in New
York’s three most important legislative bodies.
Archbishop Demetrios of
America congratulated the organizers and said among other
things that that the announcement of the grand marshals “has
evolved into a substantial and
extraordinary event."
He then praised Schumer as
“a person has and offers solutions," to society’s challenges
and problems. Referring to his
contribution to the immigration
bill, he said "It will change the
lives of many people in Greece,
who will have the opportunity
to come to America for a better
life."
The Archbishop congratulated the Federation for the
"smart," as he called it, decision
to choose Schumer and Tsunis,
whom he called “two real activists."
TNH Interview with Greece Amb. Panagopoulos
The five previous Greek presidencies were marked by some
huge and serious challenges
such as the crisis in Serbia and
Iraq. Panagopoulos stated that
“we have some external issues
of global dimensions that are
open, such as the situation in
the Middle East which influences Southern Europe, and
also the situation in Ukraine,
which is taking a difficult turn
these days.”
The ambassador said that
“Washington cares deeply about
the Greek presidency. I remind
you the two visits of the Prime
Minister of Greece Antonis
Samaras to Washington. He met
with President Obama in August
and Vice President Biden in September, and also with prominent members of the Congress
and representatives of think
The ambassador of Greece
Christos Panagopoulos gives
an in-depth interview to TNH
tanks with global sphere, and
all these expressed interest
about the Greek presidency.
Also, recently the minister of external affairs of Greece and vicepresident of the government visited Washington and met with
his counterpart John Kerry.”
Panagopoulos believes that
Greece is nearing the end of the
economic crisis. He said that
“our top priority is growth” and
that “economic crisis is not only
a Greek issue, it is a pan-European issue as well.” He said that
“the first signs of recovery are
already visible. Greece has regained a big part of its ability to
compete, but much more should
be done in order for Greece to
regain its credibility and go to
the markets.”
The ambassador stated that
“growth is synonymous with
small businesses, which are the
backbone of economic activity.
Today, even healthy businesses
in Greece face difficulties because they don’t have access to
inexpensive capital funds and fi-
nancing. The interest that a
Greek businessman pays is 7%
or 8%, in comparison to a German businessman, who pays 5%
or less. The German pays 30%
of the energy cost that a Greek
does. Just imagine the conditions of competition in which
the Greek businessman finds
himself. These issues should be
dealt with in the long run. For
now, we want Greece to exit
from the economic crisis.”
When asked how and why
Greece got to such a point of
crisis, he said “it is a long story.
Of course, many things went
wrong not only in the economic
sector but in general, and also
Greece found itself in the eye of
storm. The crisis was imported
to Europe and consequently to
Greece, which had some weak
structures, and, accordingly, we
arrived to the present situation.”
If Greece was used as an experiment, Panagopoulos said “it
has proven itself by the events
that the mechanism of Euro was
ill,” and even that there was no
mechanism to facilitate a successful exit from the crisis.
Panagopoulos said that “the
government of Greece is doing
everything possible to recapture
terrorist Christodoulos Xiros,”
referring to killer from the notorious terrorist group November 17, which spread terrorism
in Greece for decades. He was
furloughed from prison but
never returned.
The ambassador said that
“the Greek-American community is very well-respected by all
Americans starting from President Obama, to Congress and
the American People,” and that
relations between Greece and
the United States are excellent.
He also said that “the climate of
the Greek-Turkish relations is
not bad between the two governments; there is communication on all levels, but the
essence of the problems has not
been dealt with. The issue of
Cyprus remains unsolved. A
new effort is underway for a
permanent solution.”
Jan 28, 2014: it’s the State of Disunion
By Constantinos E. Scaros
Olga Bornozis – The Connecting Link of Capital Link
The Gynaika magazine insert of this weekend’s Greek Edition presents Olga Bornozis, Vice
President of Capital Link, the top investor relations firm with offices in New York, London,
Oslo, and Athens founded by her brother, Nick. Despite her busy business and social schedule,
she retains her love of simplicity, and most of all, people.
To presidential buffs and
other political junkies, the State
of the Union speech very much
their Super Bowl. And it is a
handshaking, backslapping, feelgood time, when opposition
party members clap for the president more times in that one sitting than they do the entire rest
of the year.
Above all, to patriots, it is
when our government’s unique
virtues are displayed on the world
stage: the president presents his
annual report to Congress as the
nine Supreme Court Justices observe from their seats – and it all
takes place in the chamber of the
House of Representatives: “the
people’s house,” as it’s called.
Few can watch this glorious
phenomenon without marveling
at the American government’s
magnificent workings, established by the U.S. Constitution,
225 years old and still going
strong.
Many might not realize, however, that the Constitution is not
our first form of government, but
our second. The first was based
on the Articles of Confederation,
and it was a disaster. In fact, the
mighty United States we know
and admire today almost disintegrated 11 years after it was established. It almost became a
footnote in the dustbin of history,
along these lines: “A nation
founded in 1776 by 13 rebelling
British Colonies. It collapsed in
1787 and returned to being a
subject of the British Empire.”
Why did our nation almost fall
apart so soon after it was cre-
ated? Because of lack of compromise. Essentially, each state to be
a “mini-nation,” so to speak. The
federal government had a hard
time agreeing on virtually anything. Sound familiar?
Many of today’s Tea Partyers,
who rail against the federal government and strive for far more
expansive states’ rights, often do
so at public rallies dressed in colonial costume. When they’re not
The U.S. almost fell
apart 11 years after
it was created, due to
inability to compromise.
calling President Obama a “socialist,” they call him a “statist.”
Ironically, they don’t understand
that many of the men like whom
they dress – George Washington,
John Adams, Alexander Hamilton
– were the original statists. The
ones who implored the states not
to seek much autonomy, and that
for the good of the nation, they
had to compromise. Come together as one group. Learn to
“play nicely in the sandbox with
the other children.”
January 28’s, State of the Disunion became apparent immediately early on, when Obama
proudly proclaimed: “for the first
time in over a decade, business
leaders around the world have
declared that China is no longer
the world's number one place to
invest; America is!” That should
have brought the house down in
a barrage of thunderous applause, but did so only halfway.
Following VP Joe Biden, Democ-
rats stood and clapped. Republicans, in turn, taking a cue from
House Speaker John Boehner, politely sat in their chairs, barely
making a peep.
Lest anyone think that the Democrats are inherently more mature, don’t forget how they behave when the president is
Republican. It’s all the same, just
the names, faces, and parties
change.
The state of disunion endured
through most of the night. No
wonder Congressional approval
ratings sank to a record-low of
9% just a few weeks ago, following a government shutdown that
each side insisted was the other’s
fault.
There was one, bright, shining
moment of reprieve, though,
when Obama introduced Army
Ranger Sgt. Cory Remsburg, visibly suffering from debilitating injuries, seated next to First Lady
Michelle Obama. Sergeant Remsburg was severely injured by a
roadside bomb in Afghanistan,
found by his comrades with
shrapnel in the brain. He continues recovering every day, and his
presence in the House chamber
not only was inspiring, but was
the evening’s only moment when
our elected representatives truly
united.
The last time Congress banded
together so strongly about anything was during President
George W. Bush’s speech following the attacks of September 11,
2001.
If only it didn’t take vicious
bombings that result in loss of life
and limb for our politicians to
converge in a true state of union.
COMMUNITY
5
Betty Harlafti to Sing at the Chian Cultural Center in New York on Feb 9
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – When Betty Harlafti sings at the Chian Cultural
Center on February 9 in a concert presented by Orpheus Foundation for Greek Music and the
Arts, the audience will have immediate validation of her advanced studies of classical song
and dramatic art. What they will
remember, however, are moving
songs by a mezzo soprano who
sings the gamut from cotemporary, folk, and opera to jazz,
retro and rebetika.
The concert is a presentation
of the Orpheus Foundation for
Greek Music and the Arts as a
tribute to Michalis Souyoul, the
early 20th century composer
from Asia Minor, whose music
is experiencing a revival at this
time in Greece.
He was renowned during his
time as a composer of modern
songs of a light quality and his
music filled the salons of the
Greek world.
The theme will be “From Old
Athens to New York” and Har-
Greek mezzo soprano Betty Harlafti’s voice – and her ruby
sneakers - will transport her Chian House audience to early
20th century Athens through the music of Michalis Souyoul.
lafti will be accompanied by the
orchestra of Glafkos Kontemeniotis, and she will be joined by
special musical guest Tasos Papaioannou.
Harlafti will present songs
that will resonate with the audience’s memories of growing
up with Greek music in the
home, but they might not be
able to identify the composer or
the titles.
Her mission is to make them
memorable as the creations of
Souyoul by performing 30 of his
songs.
“The timing is ideal,” Polys
Kyriakou, Founder and Director
of the Foundation, told TNH, because Greek-Americans of all
ages, but especially the community’s youth, will able to experience an important part of the
Greece’s musical history that has
continuing influence.
One of the evening’s highlights will be a five-minute video
message from the daughters of
Souyoul, who died too young at
52 years of age.
LET ME FIRST HEAR THE CD
Kyriakou first encountered
Harlafti when he interviewed
her for his Sunday morning radio program for Cosmos-FM
about one year ago.
“Her manager asked me to
interview her, and I send I will
listen to the CD, and if I like the
songs I will interview her,” he
told TNH.
“The listeners’ reaction was
enormous,” Kyriakou said. “People called me to find out how
they could get her songs and
that made me think about how
much our people love this music,” and that it would be a good
idea to bring her to America.
Harlafti has performed with
Maria Farantouri, and since winter 2012 she has been working
with the Mikis Theodorakis Popular and Lyric Orchestra.
Harlafti has performed the
classical repertoire at productions of the Athens Festival and
the Library of the Athens Concert Hall, and she has sung at
numerous other tribute concerts, including those for Manos
Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis, in various venues such as
Parnassos Hall, Ianos and the
“Half Note Jazz Club.”
Her new CD “Who may you
be” includes songs by Souyoul.
This is the Foundation’s third
event, following presentations
of a Maria Callas monologue
and Greek Cypriot singer Doros
Demosthenous.
The goal of the not-for-profit
Foundation is to present Greek
music and art of the highest
quality to all audiences in America and to Greek-Americans, especially the young.
They will draw upon talented
artists from Greece, Cyprus and
the United States. “At this time
we have a small group of people,”
including
Elisavet
Tzoumaka.
Kyriakou, a poet and lyricist
who has worked with many
Greek composers and artists, is
ideal for that bridging function.
The Foundation plans to present new Hellenic music, theater, poetry recitals and art exhibits.
For tickets: Titan Foods (2556 31st St., Astoria NY. Tel: 718626-7771) for information, call:
917-485-8683.
Superstar Singer Mario Frangoulis Launches 2014 Tour at Lincoln Center
bridges between cultures and “if
the arts can help put food on
people’s tables, that is a good
thing to do from far away.”
“I urge them to come to the
concert. It’s one way of helping
the homeland,” said the man
whose family has known struggle and triumph.
Frangoulis was as born in
Africa and after a visit to Greece
when he was four years old, his
parents decided that was a better place to grow up, and he was
raised by his beloved aunt
Loula. “Africa at the time was a
very dangerous place,” he said.
His mother Eleni undertook
a great trip from Corfu to seeking a better life and her mother
Eftychia was among the Greeks
who had to leave Constantinople
in the mid-1950s. He remembers
the wonderful she told of life
there and was influenced by her
positive energy and desire to
make the world a better place.
Another relative on his
mother’s side was a well-known
Greek singer, actress and comedienne Rena Vlahopoulou. He
called her one of the sources of
his “crazy Greek side.”
“She loved jazz and had offers to work in America but she
loved Greece and could not bear
to be away – a longing he often
experiences. He credits her for
the spontaneity he expresses onstage.
His mother met his father,
Yianni, whose grandfather was
from Kasos and went to Egypt
and then to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where Mario was born.
His grandfather and father were
mechanics working on cars and
boats.
Hi grandfather played the violin, and he called his father,
who played piano. “a workaholic, a charming mechanic who
played the grand piano very
well.”
As a third generation Diaspora Greek, he appreciates the
efforts of Greek-Americans who
“keep the flame of Greece burning.”
He said he did not feel good
Named 2011’s “Best Male Classical Crossover Artist,” in a
tuxedo or more casually dressed, in a variety of venues and
languages, Mario Frangoulis dazzles and delights his fans.
staying behind in Greece when
he was four, but he sees now
that it was the right choice. Of
his aunt he said “If I had to leave
this planet and could take only
one picture with me it would be
my Aunt Loula’s.”
If he were ordered to take
only one song with him, like a
good Greek, he would take two:
John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and
the poignant aria “Che Gelida
Manina” from La Boheme.
“It describes the feeling of
someone falling in love and who
says “I may not be a rich man,
but I am rich inside…that represents a lot of who I am.”
Told that on that planet
might be seen walking on the
seashore singing that aria he
said “I could be singing that, I
could be singing Imagine…that
is the good thing about being
classical-crossover singer.”
Asked about performing during the difficult moments in his
life: “Do you sing your pain, sing
through it, or ignore it,” he said
“I cannot ignore it. I sing my
pain, and I write about my pain
– but I am not a painful singer,”
evoking laughter among friends
overhearing the conversation. “I
find catharsis.”
He loved the violin and
played until he was 17. When
he was 14 he was named violinist of the year for Greece, but
he decided his future lay in
singing.
“I feel the voice is the perfect
instrument – no disrespect to
anyone else who is a musician.”
He said it is extremely sensitive
to a singer’s internal and external environment and he constantly reminds himself that he
must take care of it.
“With the voice, you are not
allowed to go wrong…the audience feels it immediately. You
must be absolutely 100 percent
tuned and ready,” but explained
that warming is a tricky matter:
a singer must avoid little or too
much.
Asked if he thought a singer
comes closest to being able to
express his soul musically, he
said “the voice and the violin
are very similar, “I feel I am a
much better singer because I
studied the violin.”
He was also able to study
Mario Frangoulis met with TNH at Thalasssa restaurant, where
he will greet and thank fans who purchase VIP charity concert
tickets at a reception in honor of Apostoli – Mission.
drama in London, where he
learned skills that differentiate
him from other singers. He began on stage playing Marius, the
romantic lead in Les Miserable
in London.
And he has the gift of being
able to sing in ten languages –
Frangoulis is fluent in four or
five – and he likes to present
concerts with themes and he
alone does the research.
“A few years ago we performed The Light of Greece in
America…It was very important
for us to present the poetry and
music of our great writers and
composers.”
He feels that his challenge is
to convey the soul of the nation
that has produced the music
that he sings, and up to the
same standard as songs in his
native Greek - and he agrees
that in that regard he is an ambassador of cultures to the rest
of the world, especially of
Greece.
SINGER AS POET
He told TNH that although
he has written many songs –
Mouskondis State of the Union Honoree
President of Nicholas & Company, Inc., a third generation
family-owned and operated
broadline foodservice distribution company, employing
roughly 500 people.
Nicholas & Company is
known for its culture of mutual
respect and care among and for
its employees, emphasizing
work-life balance and benefits,
including maternity, paternity,
Peter, Nicole, Bill and Elyce Mouskondis on the floor of the
Nicholas & Co. warehouse, located in Salt Lake City, UT.
and bereavement leave, among
others.
Peter and his wife Nicole
were honored to be among the
24 people in the special box
with Michelle Obama and he
told TNH they were thrilled to
be able to have one-on-one conversations with the President
and the First Lady.
They also enjoyed private
tour of the White House, and
they also met with Secretary of
Labor Thomas Perez.
The
atmosphere
that
Mouskondis and the leaders at
Nicholas & Company have developed is paying off – the
workforce is more productive
and the company is expanding.
Mouskondis said “our success
at Nicholas & Company is directly related to our familyfriendly approach and the work
of my grandmother, mother,
and wife in making work-life
balance an essential part of our
culture.”
Nicholas & Company has
been honored with many
awards under Peter’s leadership
including: the Sloan Award for
Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility, 2013
and the Utah Department of
Work Force Services Work/Life
Award Legacy, 2001-2012.
Nicholas & Company has delivered food to restaurants and
businesses in the Intermountain
West for the past 75 years.
Tutoring: Internet/Telephone
Special Features:
1) Phonetic method / Personalized
ab
WASHINGTON, DC – Having
Philotimo, the love of honor, the
quality to which Greeks of good
character aspire, does not guarantee success in life, but it probably ensures good press.
Peter Mouskondis of Salt
Lake City, UT, was among President Barack Obama’s special
guests during his State of the
Union address.
Mouskondis is the CEO and
lyrics and music – he does not
call himself a composer, and
“when I am on my own I have
written a lot of poetry,” that has
never been published.”
Being a poet is part of his
musical being also. “When I finalize the songs for a new
record, I work hard on the message for my audiences of each
song.” His love of poetry helps
him find “the true essence of
every song.”
He is pleased that he is often
asked to include his own songs
in performances, and he noted
that they are usually quite personal, like “Ton eafto tou pedi,”
which associates with “with my
inner child, having to do with
my early childhood.”
It was traumatic being separated from his nuclear family,
especially his brother Simeon,
who is 1 ½ years older, “and
Africa, which was my country,
my birthplace… and live in a
new country with a new language.”
He wants to reconnect with
Africa, but looks forward to a
homecoming with a philanthropic dimension.
His is an Ambassador of
Peace for the World Centers of
Compassion for Children organization and a Global Ambassador of the Horatio Alger Association which assists and
inspires youth around the
world.
“I care about education and
I care about young people realizing their dreams, especially if
they have faced adversity.”
“My path was not strewn
with roses but I learned to turn
negative situations into a positive situations,” and that is message he likes to convey to youth.
He also believes it is important to help young artists and
musicians.
He created a young artists
program for composers and
singers that has generated circumstances that launched careers, including going on tour
with Frangoulis and having
their work on CD’s like “Kipos
ton efhon – Garden of Hope.”
“This was a vision of mine
for years. I was lucky enough to
have great mentors early in my
life,” including the great soprano Marilyn Horne. “And
when I won the Maria Callas
scholarship, that dramatically
changed my circumstances.”
He felt as young as 20 years
old that “it’s not just about a career and creating a name for
yourself. You have to really find
a way,” of giving back to society.”
He also never hesitated to
help those who might be his
competition because he believed
he would always find a path.
“What is meant to be will be,”
Frangoulis said.
He agreed that even during
a crisis, a country needs to encourage its young artists because art is its soul. “A country
needs to give them that chance,
and support, and not just say
‘we believe in young people’” he
said.
Frangoulis said “young artists
are doing remarkable things in
Greece, even the ones who perform in town squares and every
corner of Greece with the intention of lifting the spirits of the
people and giving them a voice.”
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awarded "The Medal of Saint Paul" - the highest honor
COMMUNITY
6
Now 1 Year Since Ex-CIA Operative Kiriakou Was Jailed for Info Leaks
2015.
There was more fallout. The
Times reported that his wife,
“though accused of no wrongdoing, resigned under pressure
from her CIA job as a top Iran
specialist. The family had to go
on food stamps for several
months before she got a new job
outside the government. To
make ends meet, they rented
out their spacious house in Arlington, VA, and moved to a
rented bungalow a third the size
with their three young children
(he has two older children from
his first marriage).”
slammed Kiriakou after he
pleaded guilty on Oct. 23, 2012.
Just a few weeks before he
resigned disgrace, Petraeus said
the prosecution was “an important victory for our agency, for
our intelligence community, and
for our country…Oaths do matter…and there are indeed consequences for those who believe
they are above the laws that
protect our fellow officers and
enable American intelligence
agencies to operate with the
requisite degree of secrecy.”
That is not how Kiriakou’s
supporters see it. On the website
created by “Friends of John Kyriakou,” www.defendjohnk.com,
John Kiriakou (R) with his attorney Plato Cacheris (L) outside
court in January, 2012. His sentence runs to May, 2015.
Numerous groups and individuals have come to his defense, providing both financial
relief for Kiriakou’s crushing legal bills and vital moral support.
Among the groups supporting Kiriakou are the Government Accountability Project and
American’s Who Tell the Truth,
a unique organization that produces and presents portraits and
narratives of “citizens who
courageously engage issues of
social, environmental, and economic fairness.”
The Times also reported that
Cacheris’ firm “without explanation…cut his outstanding bill
from more than $700,000 to
$492,264.16.”
There has also been sympathy and support from his former
CIA colleagues and high officials, but David H. Petraeus,
then the C.I.A. director,
they declare:
“This is not a case about
leaks…It is a case about whistleblowing. John spent most of his
career protecting American security. He served honorably in
the CIA and helped achieve major counterterrorism successes
that made the world safer. John
received 10 Exceptional Performance Awards, a Sustained Superior Performance Award, and
the Counterterrorism Service
Medal, as well as the State Department's Meritorious Honor
Award.”
ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero weighed in by
saying the case will have a
“chilling effect on defense counsel, government whistle-blowers, and journalists.”
Kiriakou led the team that
captured Abu Zubayda and others in Pakistan in 2002. It was
hailed as a “notable victory after
the Sept. 11 attacks.”
He wrote about the mission
in his memoir, The Reluctant
Spy – My Secret Life in the CIA’s
War on Terror. The New York
Times’ reporting in January
2013 reads like a screenplay:
“Looking back, John C. Kiriakou admits he should have
known better. But when the FBI
called him a year ago and invited him to stop by and “help
us with a case,” he did not hesitate…’Anything for the FBI,’ Mr.
Kiriakou replied. Only an hour
into what began as a relaxed
chat with the two agents…did
he begin to realize just who was
the target of their investigation…Finally, the older agent
leaned in close and said, by Mr.
Kiriakou’s recollection, ‘In the
interest of full disclosure, I
should tell you that right now
we’re executing a search warrant at your house and seizing
your electronic devices.’”
Some observers who acknowledge that the punishment
does not fit the crime say that
the only way to stop serious
leaks was to make an example
of someone, and Kiriakou was
unlucky enough to have committed an offense that could not
be ignored at the wrong time.
Others see payback.
Kiriakou walked into the
spotlight when he spoke out
about the practice of waterboarding, which the public considers torture, on television in
2007, with ABC’s Brian Ross.
Ironically, when he first appeared on ABC News, Kiriakou
“defended the agency’s resort to
desperate measures but also
said that he had come to believe
that waterboarding was torture
and should no longer be used
in American interrogations,” the
Times noted.
The Times spoke with Bruce
Riedel, “a retired veteran C.I.A.
officer who led an Afghan war
review for Mr. Obama and
turned down an offer to be considered for C.I.A. director in
2009. Kiriakou worked for him
in the 1990s and Riedel called
him, “an exceptionally good intelligence officer” and said he
did not deserve prison.
It’s a muddy issue, which
makes the prosecution of Kiriakou look arbitrary, if not a convenient excuse for punishing
him his views on waterboarding.
PATRIOTISM ROOTED
IN THE APPRECIATION
OF IMMIGRANTS
Kiriakou was raised in small
town Pennsylvania. In The Reluctant Spy he, wrote: “I grew
up in a Greek-American household, with first generation parents who were teachers and
who pressed me to excel in
school and extracurricular activities.
TNH/COSTAS BEJ
Peggy Zina Visits St. Demetrios
Greek pop singer Peggy Zina, fresh from a 4-night engagement at the new Melrose Ballroom,
sings with students of the day school of the Cathedral of St. Demetrios in Astoria.
Robert Shetterly, founder of Americans Who Tell the Truth, creates portraits of Americans,
past and present, whom he deems role models. Above is his portrait of John Kiriakou.
Joining the CIA two years after finishing graduate school, he
“signed up as analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence, figuring that I would use my education, build on my fascination for
international affairs… and eventually make a real contribution
to the nation’s understanding of
the forces beyond our shores.”
After Kiriakou left the CIA in
2004 he did consulting work for
Deloitte, worked with Hollywood filmmakers and was an
investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior
to his imprisonment, he taught
at Liberty University, which has
been supportive.
Father Costas Pavlakos, who
has been the pastor of the
Church of St. Katherine’s in
Northern Virginia for the past
11 years, expressed concern for
Kiriakou when he spoke to TNH.
Fr. Pavlakos said Kyriakou has
been a member and active
parishioner, and he knows him
as “an extremely warm person
and a great dad…His brothers
in AHEPA chapter 438 are very
supportive,” he said.
JUSTICE THROUGH
PORTRAITS
Among the people nation-
wide who have come to his defense is Robert Shetterly, the
founder of the organization
whose website is www.americanswhotellthetruth.org.
Shetterly is a self-taught
painter who lives in Maine. He
began his project to raise national consciousness about injustice and heroism 12 years ago
because he was “extremely upset about the way the country
was being manipulated into the
Iraq War.”
He has supported his family
through his painting or 35 year
but until 2002 he had not
painted portraits. “I suddenly
felt that I need to have a voice…
and to take my anger and grief
and use it in a positive way,” he
said. After thinking about it for
several months he realized “I’ll
feel better if I surround myself
with people I admire rather than
obsess about Dick Cheney another day.”
He began painting 19th century figures in the most direct
way possible, “without interference from any style,” he said,
but he hit upon the idea of
scratching a representative
quote onto the paintings, which
soon included contemporaries.
He was shocked at the positive response, including invitations to local schools to talk
about the people he painted.
“It has now become a national education project.” He
and the big 31” by 37” heavy
panels are on the road constantly to libraries, schools and
museums.
Shetterly and Kiriakou first
met in Washington in the offices
of the Government Accountability
Project, which he said supported
and helped guide the latter.
They write each other about
once a week. “He is keeping up
his sprits and is writing a new
book about his experience…I
think he has undergone a considerable change, as you’d expect,” Shetterly said.
Kiriakou’s situation is sometimes compared with that of
Jonathan Jay Pollard, an American convicted of passing classified information to Israel while
working as a civilian intelligence
analyst.
While the Pollard case is not
really similar, it is notable for
the strong support he has received from Jewish Americans,
who have continually lobbied
the government for his release.
Philoptochos Shares Info on Ovarian Cancer
TNH Staff
[Paulette Geanacopoulos, a
social worker licensed by the State
of New York, is the Director of
Social Work at National
Philoptochos in New York City
where she assists Orthodox
Christian individuals and families
throughout the United States,
regardless of their immigration
status, to address and resolve issues
of poverty, health, mental health
and substance abuse, housing and
homelessness, family and older
adult services, and domestic
violence. She has asked TNH to
provide the following information
as a public service to the
community.]
Ovarian cancer is a deadly disease that kills more women than
all other reproductive cancers
combined. Because it is hard to
detect - there is no one reliable
test to identify it - and as some of
its symptoms are similar to other
conditions, it is important to recognize its signs so that we can act
quickly and appropriately. As a
women's organization, it is
equally important for us to "get
the word out" - to our mothers,
aunts and grandmothers, to our
daughters, neighbors and friends
so that they know what to look
for. To help you do so, we have
prepared an "Ovarian Cancer Fact
Sheet" both in Greek and in English – ask your priest to print out
copies in both languages for the
congregation.
We urge you to take one or
more of the actions to broadly
distribute these Fact Sheets
throughout your Philoptochos
Chapter, parish, and community:
Distribute copies to the organizations in your church, including Parish Council, GOYA, Greek
and Sunday Schools, Parent Organizations, senior citizen groups,
and more. Post both Fact Sheets
in ladies’ rooms and in public areas of your church.
Ask a local newspaper to publish the Fact Sheets and ask the
local "health editor" to write an
article on ovarian cancer. Invite a
gynecological oncologist from a
local hospital or cancer society to
one of your general meetings to
give a presentation on ovarian
cancer.
Use your imagination - what
else works in your community to
get the word out?
The Fact Sheets and more information is available on the
Philoptochos
website:
http://philoptochos.org/socialservices/news.
S.I. Parish Honors Assemblywoman Malliotakis
Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church of Staten Island honored New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis for her extraordinary recovery efforts following Hurricane
Sandy at their dinner dance on January 26. (L-R) Fr. Nicholas
Peteropoulakos, Malliotakis and her Chief of Staff Paul Marrone. Diane Vernados was the Chairperson of the Gala.
Rift Between Cathedral Priest and Parish Council Continues to Widen
Cherpelis traveled to Chicago
for the Archdiocesan Finance
Committee meeting and he was
not present at the Cathedral’s
meeting.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral is
the only parish in the entire
Archdiocese in which the Council is not elected by the members
of the parish, but handpicked
and appointed by the archbishop. This practice was established by the late Archbishop
Iakovos and it continues with
Archbishop Demetrios.
Gounaris’ ministry at the
Cathedral has been problematic
since his appointment by
Demetrio. The archbishop proceeded with Gounaris’ appointment despite the revelations by
TNH about Gounaris at his previous parish, the Holy Trinity of
Indianapolis. TNH reported in
October that Gounaris sent a
scathing e-mail to Poll, wishing
him “to lose everything and to
end up homeless on the streets
of New York.”
Poll is a prominent GreekAmerican businessman and the
owner of the famous Boathouse
Restaurant in Central Park.
Gounaris’ email followed
Poll’s TNH interview in September, in which he cited problems
at the Cathedral, including
dwindling attendance for
church services, a mounting
$250,000 deficit resulting from
a $1.9 million annual budget, a
large chunk of which is more
than $200,000 toward the choir
– which includes expenses to
hire professional singers, many
of which are not Orthodox.
He also had spoken about the
settlement of a lawsuit that the
sexton’s family had brought
against the Cathedral for unpaid
overtime, but did not disclose
the amount.
The sexton continues to work
at the Cathedral.
Though he did not directly
link the low turnout of congre-
gants to problems involving the
Cathedral Dean and Gounaris,
Poll acknowledged his relationship with Gounaris has been
strained at times.
Demetrios became aware of
Gounaris’ polemic email to Poll.
Sources close to the archbishop’s office told TNH that
Demetrios is extremely upset
with Gounaris’ behavior generally but he is not doing anything
about it because he does not
want it to appear as if selecting
Gounaris to lead the Cathedral
had been a mistake in the first
place.
Demetrios prefers to see the
Cathedral in a disarray condition than to dare and take action as many close to him have
advised him to do.
Gounaris was succeeded at
the Cathedral Rev. Frank Marangos, whose ministry was also
marked by problems. Marangos
now works in fundraising area
of a Roman Catholic nonprofit
organization based in Florida.
TNH ArCHiVES
Father Anastasios Gounaris (left), the embattled Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Manhattan,
receives a blessing from Archbishop Demetrios as Bishop Philotheos of Meloa looks on.
COMMUNITY
7
ALL HISTORY
Madame Calliope Charissi and Her Ten Children: Stars of the Vaudeville Stage
By Steve Frangos
TNH Staff Writer
PART ONE
CHICAGO- The life and career
of Calliope Charissi has much to
offer, not simply Greek-American studies, but also the early
history of American vaudeville.
The enduring influence of
vaudeville in America performance arts is not usually understood. Part of the reason for this
disconnect is the sheer variety
of performers common to
vaudeville. As one definition of
this most American of all art
forms has it: “Vaudeville developed from many sources, including the concert saloon, minstrelsy, freak shows, dime
museums, and literary burlesque…Each performance was
made up of a series of separate,
unrelated acts grouped together
on a common bill. Types of acts
included popular and classical
musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, female and male impersonators, acrobats, illustrated
songs, jugglers, one-act plays or
scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels, and
movies (Wikipedia).”
Known as ‘the heart of American showbusiness, vaudeville
was from the early 1880s until
the Great Depression of the
1930s the premier variety entertainment in the United States
and Canada. The era of mass
migration of Greeks to North
America was the early 1880s to
the early 1920s. That acclaimed
Greek performers of all sorts
would travel specifically to the
North America to appear on the
vaudeville stage is a topic well
beyond the considerations of the
current generation of GreekAmerican scholars. That these
very same Greek performers
would go on to teach later generations of American performers
is equally beyond the common
understandings now allowed. As
we shall see it is part of the public record that Madame Calliope
Charissi and a number of her
children were a living link between the early vaudevillian
stage and the known stars of
This is a photography from the Library of Congress taken in
January or February 1924 on the occasion of Madame Calliope
Charissi's visit with her ten children to see Calvin Coolidge,
who became president of the United States in 1923.
Hollywood during and after its
Golden Age.
Both the life and professional
career of Charissi begin in Europe and so must our account.
Charissi was born in Athens
around 1882.Her maiden name
may have been something close
to “Svalopulus,” but this comes
from later American-based
sources. At the age of 14 Calliope was married to Georges
Charissi, who lived in Paris
working as a civil engineer. Over
the course of the next decade
or so, Calliope and Georges
Charissi had eleven children. As
if all that were not enough,
somehow, Calliope was able to
maintain a place in Paris’ highest artistic and social circles. We
know this because persons such
as Isadora Duncan (1887-1927),
internationally-famed dancer
and Alphonse Bertillon (18531914), police official and biometric researcher of whom we
will hear more, later.
It is unclear exactly when
Isadora Duncan first began to
teach Calliope Charissi how to
dance but it was sometime dur-
simply as Greek dance, changed
forever how Western Europeans
understood the art of dance.
Sometime around WWI,
George became severely ill and
was unable to work. Faced with
a financial crisis Charissi decided she would take to the
stage and earn her living as a
dancer, after the fashion of Duncan. During Various stories for
this period exist that involve her
children. Without question,
Jean, her oldest son enlisted and
served with the French army. It
is said that, during WWI, as a
means to distract her children,
Charissi taught them all to
dance after the manner of Duncan. Working with them regularly, the ten children became
an accomplished, if at that moment, amateur troupe of
dancers.
It is at the point of George’s
illness that good family friend
Alphonse Bertillon comes to
their aid. But here events and
exact chronology become uncertain. Bertillon’s fame as a criminal investigator is well beyond
our interest here. An interna-
ing Duncan’s early visits to Paris.
For those unfamiliar with Duncan, she was an American
dancer who sought to revive Ancient Greek dance. Duncan’s
method was to examine ancient
vases and other artistic remains
from classical times that showed
women in motion. Duncan’s belief was that if she became could
recreate, as closely as possible,
the physical positions and movements of Greek women as seen
in the remains of ancient art she
could revive ancient Greek
dance. Following the classical
images of Greek women, Duncan dressed in sheer cloth robes
and danced bare-foot. Following
her understandings (or imaginings) of the classical period
Duncan’s dances were viewed
by her (and all those who followed her) as based on sacred
inspirations.
All this may sound absurd to
the modern reader, but Duncan’s style of dance (and its
philosophical base, if you can
call it that) electrified audiences
around the world. Duncan’s life
and her style of dance, known
tional figure, Bertillon’s contributions to forensic science, such
as the mug-shot, the systematic
photography of crime-scenes
and other innovations were all
his creations. It is said that
Bertillon used his influence to
secure Charissi her first professional performance in Paris.
Since Bertillon died in 1914,
and that WWI began on July 28
of that year, exactly when
Charissi began her professional
career will have to wait for future research to uncover.
We do know from existing
ephemera such as promotional
advertisements, posed photograph-post cards showing
Madame Charissi and her children and other such items that
the family was performing,
across Europe, together no later
than 1920. As later recalled by
various members of the Charissi
Family in 1923, a talent scout
the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO)
theater chain brought the family
to America, where they appeared as headliners for the
opening of the New York Hippodrome.
On November 19, 1923, the
internationally-acclaimed
dancer
Madame
Calliope
Charissi (claiming her age to be
42 on official papers) arrived at
Ellis Island with her ten children
from Cherbourg, France aboard
the steamship Cunarder Tyrrhenia. According to Ellis Island
Records the given names and
ages of the ten were: Rita age
7; Irene 8; Andre 12; Marie 12;
Helene 13; Costas 15; Nicholas
16; Noel 17; Beatrice 19 and
Ketty 20. For the record,
Charissi Family recollections
have the birth order slightly different with the birth sequence
being Jean, Ketty, Beatrice,
Noel, Nico, Costa, Helen, Andre
and Marie as twins, Nenette and
finally Rita. The family was immediately stopped by immigration authorities. As the New
York Times (and other newspapers around the nation) announced the very next day, the
Charissi Family arrival might be
short-lived, “Greek Quota Out;
Dancers Detained.” The cryptic
language of this headline reflects the immigration laws of
this era in that because the
quota for Greece has been exhausted for the year 1923-24
the Charissi Family might be
sent back.
Madame Charissi could not
have asked for better publicity.
Especially since she arrived in
America with ‘ten children, a
dog, a cat, a canary, 25 trunks
and no knowledge whatsoever
of the English language.
With a handful of days,
Charissi and her ten children
performed the opening act for
prima ballerina Anna Pavlova
(1881-1931) at the Hippodrome
and were a national sensation.
Pavlovna, by the way, was a
Russian prima ballerina of the
late 19th and the early 20th centuries who became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the
world. Not long after the entire
Charissi family was greeted in
Washington by President Calvin
Coolidge. And all this was only
the beginning of the Charissi
Family’s series of adventures in
North America.
[email protected]
GREEK AMERICAN STORIES
The Cure
By Phylis (Kiki) Sembos
Special to The National Herald
Kipreos came early to Dixon’s
that Sunday, looking pale and
distressed. He explained, “I
awoke two days ago with a
pounding in my chest. I never
had that before. Is that serious?”
he asked no one in particular.
Dimos, nodding, said, “It
could be. Do you have shortness
of breath?” He said not that he
recalled.
“When was the last time you
saw a doctor?” asked John.
Kipreos blinked, “When I applied for my job at the hotel.
That was ten years ago. But, I
have health care benefits.”
“Then, the smart thing to do is
see a doctor. Might as well use
it!” Dimos told him.
Kipreos appeared anxious.
“Suppose they find something.”
“That’s why you go to a doctor,
Kipreos – to find out if there’s
something wrong,” John impressed on him. Yiannis waved
his hand, “It’s, probably, indi-
gestion.”
George set his coffee down,
“Look! Make an appointment
and we’ll go with you. Won’t we,
guys?” They agreed.
Monday found the five in an
office off Seventh Avenue where
a nurse asked Kipreos questions.
“Where are you coming from?”
Kipreos responded, “Cyprus.”
She looked up, squinting. “I
mean, NOW?” “Eighth Avenue.”
His fingers fumbled, nervously.
“What do you do?”
“I work!” Tapping her pen,
she asked, pointedly, “What kind
of work?” “He works in a hotel
on Park Avenue – pastry chef,”
responded Dimos, patiently. She
got up and spoke, privately, to
the doctor, explaining that they
may have a group of ‘nut cases’
on their hands.
The doctor patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry, Nurse Crachet! I’ll take care of him. He’s
a patient. That’s what’s important!”
After answering thirty questions he was told to undress and
lie down on the gurney. As the
others sat in the waiting room,
the doctor looked Kipreos over
like a car mechanic. Then he
was told to get dressed and go
back outside.
Finally, the doctor, who
looked, amazingly, like Vincent
Price, called him back into the
small office, the others, followed, explaining that they had
to make sure he understood the
results. Looking across at the
backup crew, then down at his
papers, the doctor said, “Hmmmm.” Kipreos grew very concerned at that utterance. Dimos
bent and told him in Greek,
“Don’t worry. All doctors make
that noise. They learn it in medical school.”
“Hmmmm,” the doctor said,
once again. “Everything looks
alright but...we have to do more
tests.” “But...” Kipreos stuttered,” If – if everything looks looks alright, why - why do I ha
-ve to do more tests?” The doctor looked up, his expression
grim. “Because we have to make
sure.” “But, if everything is alright...” he pleaded, beginning
to sweat.
The doctor, throwing up his
hands, said, “It’s up to you.” “It
is?” he smiled.
“That’s right!” he told him,
looking at his watch. Kipreos got
up, smiled again, thanked the
doctor and started for the door
when the doctor said, “Of
course, there is a possibility that
those palpitations could happen
again – this time with...sad results.”
Kipreos fell back into the
chair, his stomach feeling
queasy. “But, like I said, it’s up
to you,” the doctor repeated.
Kipreos started to get up, again.
“What...kind of tests, doctor?”
he asked, nervously. Instead of
explaining, he handed Kipreos
a prescription, saying, “The hospital is eight blocks from here.
Good day!”
Outside, on wobbly feet,
Kipreos asked Dimos what was
written on that paper. Dimos
read, “Just a lot of letters: C.A.T.
Scan, X-ray, MRI, Angogrm,
B.W.” Yiannis snatched the paper from Dimos’ hand and wrote
in capital letters, CADAD.
They looked over his shoulders, “What’s that? I never
heard of that treatment!” said
John. Yiannis told them, “The
Cure!”
George studied the word,
carefully, “Whose cure?” Yiannis
pointed a finger uptown.
“Kipreos’ cure! Guaranteed! “
“CADAD is Kipreos’ cure?” asked
Dimos, dubiously, as Yiannis
march off.
“That’s right! C-offee A-nd Donuts A-t D-ixon’s”
emerge from the bar and find
another seat in the smoke filled
house and watch and talk to the
league bowlers. Thursday night
the Greek league bowled and
George seemed to know some
of the men. Some nights and
days he would fall a sleep with
his cigar in his mouth. His suit
coat, shirt and tie were always
covered in ashes. Little George,
no more than five-feet four, always wore a suit. Mostly the
same one!
George had an interest in
politics. During the 1960 presidential campaign he was quoted
more than once as saying
“Kennedy’s my man,” At eightyseven, he was a proud Democrat. You didn’t want to disagree
with him or you might find
yourself on the business end of
his old wooden cane.
During the evening, with his
old felt fedora in hand, he
would approach the desk man,
[the person who runs the bowling alley] look toward the clock
on the wall and ask in his broken English, “What time is it?”
George’s eyesight was failing
and was made even worse by
the fact that he never seemed
to clean his old specs. The desk
man’s reply in a louder than
normal tone was “it is eight o’clock” With his question answered Little George Leventis
started towards the door with is
old wood cane in hand.
George’s future is in the
hands of time, and time permitting, he will return again to sit
on his fourth stool from the end.
FICTION
Little George Leventis
By Kim Gregorios
Special to The National Herald
All cities have their collection
of older men. Little George Leventis is one such gentleman. He
sleeps in an old run-down hotel
room and at eleven every morning Little George, who is eighty
seven passes by the corner of
2nd South and 2nd East on his
way to his “place.” He has been
doing this for as long as it has
taken youth to mature. His place
is a bowling alley, and over the
years the two of them have
shown signs of wear and tear.
“A man’s home is his castle,”
and so it is with little George
who has as many servants as a
King. There is the lady at the
luncheon counter, the man who
runs the desk at the bowling alley, and the bartender in the Ten
Pin Tap lounge, all of whom are
more than happy to fill his every
need.
Within his home his habits
haven’t changed. He eats at precisely the same time and on exactly the same stool, fourth from
the end of the counter. Unlike
others his age he shows great
patience. If someone is occupying his stool, he stands behind
them and waits! Inflation hasn’t
affected his economic system.
He pays the same price now for
his meals that he has paid since
he first entered the building.
Management long ago gave up
trying to reason with him concerning price changes.
When George is not sitting
on the fourth stool from the end,
he is sitting behind the bowling
lanes watching his favorite regular bowlers competing for
dough [money]. George was one
of a few that made up the gallery
each day. His favorite seat was
behind alleys eleven and twelve.
The “pot game” always started
on these alleys around one a
clock and would expand to alleys thirteen and fourteen as
more bowlers joined the game.
His friends were few and their
conversation was limited to the
events at hand, bowling. George
would sit there until the pot
game broke up around four o’
clock. At that time the bowlers
paid for their games put their
balls in their locker and said
their good byes. Most bowlers
made a point of acknowledging
Little George’s presence. The big
winners sometime slipped
George a few dollars.
Those few moments of attention fueled his being. Now it
was time for George to up- root
himself from his seat and takes
a walk around the place. He
walked with the aid of an old
wooden cane. His right leg
seemed to have an impingement. After stretching his old
muscles George would head to-
wards his fourth stool from the
end. It was time for his dinner
meal and the bowling alley had
to prepare for the evening
league play.
After dinner George would
head to the Ten Pin Tap for a
beer or two. He would stay
there until the nightly leagues
were under way. Then he would
OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS
8
DEATH NOTICES
n ANTALIS, STEPHEN
DALTON, GA (From the
Charleston Post and Courier,
published on Jan. 13) – Retired
Lt. Colonel Stephen Jonathan
Antalis, 95, of Dalton, Georgia,
formerly of Charleston, SC,
peacefully passed away Wednesday, January 8, 2014, at the residence of his son, Dr. John S. Antalis. To the very end, Mr. Antalis
lived a life full of learning, laughter, and love. Mr. Antalis was
born in Weirton, West Virginia
on September 19, 1918. He was
one of six children born to the
late John and Anastasia Antalis,
both immigrants from Greece.
He attended Fairmont College in
West Virginia until he enlisted in
the United States Army Air Corps
in 1941, later known as the
United States Air Force. During
World War II, he was proud to
arrive at Omaha Beach at DDay+7 and later served as a
member of the United States Auditor General Group. He faithfully served in the military for
twenty four years and was
awarded numerous medals for
his exemplary service. His fondest memories included dining at
the White House with Mrs. Roosevelt, observing part of the
Nuremburg trials, and rescuing
his Uncle Roge;t, who was in a
German prisoner of war camp.
Education was always a priority
to Mr. Antalis. As a young man,
he helped support his older
brother Angelo in his pre-medical education. Mr. Antalis graduated summa cum laude with a
Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration from Ohio State
University in 1951 and received
a Master of Arts from Central
Michigan University in 1975. e
had a keen mathematical mind,
which he applied in his work for
the Ford Motor Company as a Finance Manager and for Nielsen
Electronics as a Business Manager and teacher. He also used
his skills in finance in service of
the Greek Orthodox Church of
the Holy Trinity in Charleston,
where he served as member and
bookkeeper. Even in his 90s, he
still taught his family lessons like
how to say "I love you" in Greek
("Se Agapo"). He kept his mind
sharp by playing pinochle and
doing crossword puzzles. Mr. Antalis was ever a gentleman.
Those closest to him will remember the little things he said that
put a smile on their faces. He enjoyed good food, music, and
sports. For Mr. Antalis, the best
meals included koulourakia,
fried catfish, coffee, and dolmades. No matter the season, he
followed his teams in baseball,
football, and basketball, sometimes watching three different
TVs at the same time. He also
loved to dance, particularly to
the music of the big band era.
Even at 90 years old, you would
find him at the local Dalton Senior Center dancing to "Stardust"
on Monday nights. Above all
else, Mr. Antalis treasured his
family. He was preceded in death
by his beloved wife of 48 years,
Erma Gelegotis Antalis, whom
he married in 1950 and lovingly
cared for at home during an extended illness prior to her death
in 1998; his sister, Liberty Marian
Antalis; his brothers, Dr. Angelo
John Antalis (A.J.), Stanley John
Antalis, and Dr. James Peter Antalis (Jimmy). He was a loving
father to his surviving three children, John Stephen Antalis, MD
(Cathy) of Dalton, GA, Toni
Marie Antalis, PhD of Potomac,
MD, and Darlene Antalis Johnson (Steve) of Yonges Island, SC;
a beloved "Papou" to his seven
grandchildren, F. Steven JohnDays and dates of funerals,
memorials, and other events directly correspond to the original
publication date, which appears
at the beginning of each notice.
son, Jr. (Erin), Michael Ziozoas
Johnson (Sarah), Stephanie
Johnson Sanders (Seth), John S.
Antalis-Mattick, Christina Marie
Antalis, Stephen John Antalis
and Catherine Denise Antalis;
five great-grandchildren, Emma
and William Sanders, Steven
Johnson, and Scarlett and
George Johnson. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Antalis
Georges of Shadyside, Ohio and
nieces
and
twenty-eight
nephews. Mr. Antalis moved to
Dalton, GA to live with his son
and their family during the last
six years of his life. The family
would like to thank all those involved in his care for their love
and support during that time, especially Jessica. Online condolences may be viewed or sent to
w w w. m c a l i s t e r - s m i t h . c o m
Arrangements by McalisterSmith Funeral Home, James Island
Chapel,
347
Folly
Rd,Charleston, SC 29412.
n HAYDON, ATHANASIA
HARRISBURG, PA (From the
Harrisburg Patriot-News, published on Jan. 23) – Athanasia
"Donna" Haydon passed away at
the Holy Spirit Hospital on
Wednesday, January 22, 2014,
in the loving arms of her daughter, Annamaria. Athanasia was
born on January 1, 1935, in Arta
Greece and moved to the United
States in 1967. She was the
widow of Konstantinos "Gus" M.
Haydon. She is survived by her
children Olga, wife of Eugenios
Stergioulis and Annamaria, wife
of Marwan Selmane and her
beloved grandchildren Pavlos,
Yasmine, and Salma. She is also
survived by her sisters Afroditi
Mitrogianni and Eleutheria
Pappa, her brothers Dimitri Jounis and Polivios Jounis, her sister-in-law Anne Scotes Haydon
and many nieces and nephews.
She was a member of the Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Camp Hill. A Trisagio service will be held at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in
Camp Hill on Saturday, January
25th at twelve (noon). A viewing
will be held at the Cathedral
starting at 11 am. There will be
no burial service as her wish is
to be buried alongside her husband in Greece.
n KANARIS, MARK
CHICAGO, IL (From the Chicago
Tribune, published on Jan. 22) –
Dr. Mark Kanaris, 91, of Belleair
Beach, Florida, died peacefully at
home. He was a longtime resident of the Chicago area and a
Family Physician for more than
30 years with offices in Oak Lawn
and Chicago. He is survived by
his loving wife of 55 years,
Dorothy, nee James, daughter
Evangeline, son Peter (Katie),
grandchildren Alexandra, Mark
and Christopher in addition to
many nieces and nephews. Dr.
Kanaris' life embodied the American dream. Born in 1922 in Serres, Greece, he was part of the
Greek Resistance during WWII,
was captured and endured 2
years in a POW camp. After the
war he graduated from the Aristotle School of Medicine and in
1958 married Dorothy James,
immigrating to the United States.
He settled in Chicago, joining the
medical staff of Evangelical Hospital and later Christ Hospital
where he became Chairman of
the Department of Family Practice. Committed to education, he
first affiliated in 1974 with RushPresbyterian-St. Luke Medical
Center, eventually becoming an
Associate Professor of Family
Practice. Active in the American
Academy of Family Physicians,
he was a former member of the
Board of Directors and past
Chairman of the Commission on
Continuing Education. His Peers
selected him in 1989 as Illinois
Physician of the Year. In lieu of
flowers, memorials to Autism
Speaks, and the, www.nkfi.org
under "donate" tab. Family and
friends will meet Saturday, Jan.
25 for funeral service at SS. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox
Church, 11025 S. Roberts Rd.,
Palos Hills at 11:00 AM. Nick Collias Funeral Director. Info 708636-1200 or www.chapelhillgardenssouth.com.
n KATSOUNAKIS, MANUEL
LONGMEADOW, MA (From the
Republican, published on Jan. 21)
– Manuel (Manny) Katsounakis,
avid bowler, golfer, Red Sox fan,
father, husband, grandfather, died
on Monday, January 20, 2014.
Born in Chicopee on April 7, 1927
to the late Nicholas Katsounakis
and Ariadne Theodorakis of
Crete, Greece, Manny moved to
Springfield at an early age where
he attended the former Springfield Technical High School.
Manny came from a large family
with much love. He passed away
peacefully, surrounded by his
family. He married the love of his
life and best friend, Joan Roche,
10 years ago. Together the two
were accomplished travelers, having joined their family on European vacations and on golfing
road trips to the Balsams, NH and
Florida. Manny was previously
married to Sylvia (Lehane) Katsounakis, of Delray Beach, FL,
with whom he has four children.
He is survived by his three
beloved children son, Nicholas
Katsounakis, and daughter-in-law
Pam (Ziemba) Katsounakis of
Southwick, MA; his daughters
Lori and Lisa Katsounakis of
Martha's Vineyard, MA; his
beloved son-in-law, David Reed
of Belchertown, MA; and his five
grandchildren, Jason and Sarah
Reed of Boston, MA, and Marissa,
Nicole, and Gianna Katsounakis
of Southwick, MA, niece's Thea
Katsounakis, Kathi (Malfas)
White, nephews Michael Katsounakis, Steven and Ted
Koundourakis,and sister in law
Helen Katsounakis. Manny is predeceased by his eldest daughter
Pamela Katsounakis Reed; three
brothers George, Theodore and
Michael Katsounakis; and two sisters Irene Koundourakis and Elizabeth Katsounakis. Growing up
in the Depression, serving in the
Navy during World War II and
working as owner and operator
of Manny's Plumbing and Heating
Inc., Manny taught his family the
importance of hard work and the
significance of appreciating what
you have. He worked hard his entire life, but always with a smile
and willingness to help those less
fortunate. Besides spending time
with his friends and family,
Manny's favorite pastimes included bowling with the Shaker
league; golfing at the Elmcrest
Country Club, where he is a
founding member; and cheering
the Patriots and Red Sox to victory. Manny Katsounakis was a
friend to all that knew him and
will be sorely missed. Relatives
and friends may call at the
Forastiere Smith Funeral Home
at 220 N. Main Street, E. Longmeadow, MA on Thursday from
4:00 - 7:00 p.m. His funeral will
be held on Friday, January 24, at
9:30 a.m. at the St. George Greek
Orthodox Church at 8 Plainfield
Street, Springfield, MA. Burial
will follow with military honors
at the Massachusetts Veterans
Memorial Cemetery 1390 Main
St. Agawam. In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to Mercy
Hospice Program, P.O. Box 9012,
Springfield, MA 01102-9012 or
to St. George Greek Orthodox
Church.
n MAHERAS, JAMES
RACINE, WI (From the Racine
Journal-Times, published on Jan.
21) – RACINE - With his family
at his side, James J. Maheras, age
87, passed away peacefully at his
residence on Sunday morning,
January 19, 2014. James was
born in Hrani, Arcadia, Greece
on March 26, 1926, son of the
late Ioannis and Nikoleta (nee:
Vazdaris) Maheras, and immigrated to the United States in
1954. On July 19, 1959, James
was united in marriage to his
love, Georgia Voulgaris, who preceded him in death May 29,
2010. In his younger years, he
was employed with Eisendrath
Tanning and later for many years
as a carpenter at JI Case Co until
his retirement in 1988. James
also was co-owner of Maheras
Bar. In his spare time, he dedicated his time working at the
monastery and the Kimissis
Theotokou Greek Orthodox
Church. He enjoyed his many
travels, but his greatest love was
for his family, especially his
grandchildren. Survivors include
his daughters, Nicolet Maheras
(Douglas Wray), Mary Helen
(Bruce) Luccas, Patty (Daniel)
Moreno; grandchildren, Michael,
James, Matthew and Marina Luccas, Alexandra Moreno, Demetri
and Thomas Maheras; special
nephew and niece, Paul Maheras
and Danielle Bull; Godsons, Paul
Maheras, and Peter Kyriazes;
brothers-in-law,
Demetri
(Sophia) Voulgaris, Konstantinos
Nanos; other beloved nieces,
nephews, relatives and friends.
Jim was also preceded in death
by two brothers, four sisters, his
nephew, William Maheras and
Godson, Dean Kokkinakis. Funeral services will be held at the
Kimissis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church, 1335 S. Green Bay
Rd, Thursday, January 23, 2014,
with Rev John Ketchum officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials
to Kimissis Theotokou Greek Orthodox Church have been suggested. Please send condolences
to www.meredithfuneralhome.
com.
n MICHAELIDES, ANASTASIA
ESSEX JUNCTION, VT (From the
Burlington Free Press, published
on Jan. 23) –
Anastasia
Michaelides, 89, of Essex Junction, passed away peacefully on
Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, in
Fletcher Allen Health Care in
Burlington. She was born in
Greece in June 1924. She emigrated with her husband and two
sons from Greece to the United
States in April 1964, hoping for
better opportunities for the family and a good college education
for her sons. Anastasia was an
excellent cook and dressmaker
and loved to help friends and
neighbors with dress alterations.
She enjoyed visiting with family,
friends and neighbors. She loved
visiting Greece frequently with
her husband, John Michaelides,
after retirement, until he passed
away while visiting Greece in August 2002. She was a member of
the Greek Orthodox Church in
Burlington, and a member of the
Philoptohos Society. She is sur-
vived by her two sons, Paul
Michaelides and wife, Maria, of
Essex Junction, and Demetrios
Michaelides and wife, Aleka, of
South Burlington; four grandchildren, John Michaelides and
wife, Laura, Athamantia Hodgdon and husband, Corey, Costa
and John Michaelides; four
great-grandchildren, Alessandra
and Darrian Michaelides, and
Ethan and Maia Hodgdon. A
memorial service will be held on
Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014, at 1:30
p.m. at the Greek Orthodox
Church, Burlington. Memorial
contributions in Anastasia's
memory may be made to the
Greek Orthodox Church, 600 S.
Willard St., Burlington, VT
05401.
n PANTEKIDES, GIORGIOS
JAMAICA PLAIN, MA (From the
Boston Globe, published on Jan.
21) – Pantekides, Georgios Of Jamaica Plain, MA, January 19,
2014. Beloved husband of the
late Eleftheria (Kosmidis) Pantekidis. Devoted father of
Zachary Pantekidis and his wife
Katerina and John Pantekidis
and his wife Meletia. Loving
grandfather of Irene, Eleftheria
Elpida and Amalia Eleftheria
Pantekidis. Brother of Nikos Pantekidis and his wife Meropi,
Kostas Pantekidis and his wife
Magda, Leonidas Pantekidis and
his wife Roula and the late
Parthena Kelemis. Brother in law
of Haralambos Kosmidis and his
wife Elpida. Loving uncle of Debbie Demos and her husband
George. Great uncle of Maria and
Harris Demos. Also survived by
many relatives and friends here,
in Greece and Canada. Funeral
Service on Thursday, January 23,
2014 at 10am in St. John The
Baptist Greek Orthodox Church,
15 Union Park St., Boston, MA.
In lieu of flowers donations in
his memory may be made to the
above named church.
n PARMAGOS, MARY
JERSEY CITY, NJ (From the Jersey Journal, published on Jan.
7) – MARY PARMAGOS Mary
(nee: Abagis) Parmagos of Jersey
City passed away at her home
while surrounded by her family
on January 5, 2014. Mary was
born in Antissa, Mytilene,
Greece, and moved to Jersey City
shortly after her marriage to her
beloved husband, Peter in April
1960. The family settled into the
Evangelismos Greek Orthodox
Church Community where they
were surrounded by wonderful
friends. Peter Parmagos was a
key member of the Alps Restaurant family on Bergen Avenue
while Mary raised their children.
Mary was a devoted homemaker
who pursued all things creative
with a passion. She loved her
family and expressed that love
while pursuing her creativity,
showering her family with her
cooking, baking, crocheting,
sewing, dress making and decorating. Though Alzheimer's diminished her memory over the
last 10 years, it never diminished
her generous, kind-hearted and
loving spirit. She is survived by
her loving husband, Peter Parmagos, son Kleamthes "Klem"
Parmagos and his fiance' Aida;
daughter Efy Parmagos and her
husband Patrick McCarthy,
JCPD; her sister, Antonia and
grandchildren, Melissa and Jessica McCarthy and Maria and
Cristina Parmagos. She was predeceased by her sisters Panogiota
and Vasiliki. Visitation will be at
McLaughlin Funeral Home on
Wednesday from 4:00 to 8:00
p.m. The Trisaigon service will
be at 6:30 p.m. Relatives and
friends are invited to assemble
for the mass at Evangelismos
Greek Orthodox Church, Jersey
City on Thursday, January 9,
2014 at 10:15 a.m. Entombment
will follow at Garden of Memories Mausoleum in Paramus. In
lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to Evangelismos
Greek
Orthodox
Church. Mc Laughlin Funeral
Home 625 Pavonia Ave Jersey
City, NJ 07306 (201) 798-8700.
n RAMOS, CHRIS P.
KANSAS CITY, MO (From the
Kansas City Star, published on
Jan. 8) – Chris P. Ramos, 88, of
Kansas City, Missouri, passed
away January 4, 2014. He was
born August 15, 1925 in Kansas
City, Missouri to Helen and Peter
Ramos, immigrants from Greece.
Chris graduated from Central
High School and the University
of Nebraska. He received degrees
in Business and Architecture. He
was a respected and accomplished architect for over 50
years. His companies, Chris
Ramos Architects and Associates,
The Ramos Group Architects and
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COMMUNITY
9
New Book by Classical Scholar is an Alternative Theory about Parthenon
TNH Staff Writer
NEW YORK – The Parthenon
may be the most famous building in the world, but in her new
book, The Parthenon Enigma: A
New Understanding of the
world’s most iconic building and
the people who made it, NYU
Professor of Classics and Art
History professor and archaeologist Joan Breton Connelly asks
how well we really know it –
and offers some surprising answers.
After a research odyssey of
some 20 years, Connelly has finally “come to port at Ithaca,”
at the Corner Bookstore on
Madison Avenue in Manhattan
where she presented her book
on January 28.
Connelly briefly introduced
“that miraculous building” that
was completed in 438 B.C. –
plus six more for the magnificent sculptures before focusing
on the magnificent 525 footlong Parthenon frieze.
She believes Her studies –
which included examining a
“lost” play of Euripides that was
literally peeled off an Egyptian
mummy 100 years ago – reveal
what the temple of Athena
meant to Ancient Athenians.
Connelly said that for centuries the frieze was seen as “a
representation of 5th century
Athenians in cavalcade marching in their annual city festival
of Athena, set in the time of Pericles, in the time the Parthenon
was built.”
The procession “culminates at
the east end with a single scene
above the doorway in which we
see five individuals – a woman, a
man and three younger people.”
On the right a man and a
child display a piece of cloth,
about which the question was
raised in the 1780s whether it
could be the dress, called the
peplos, of Athena that was ritually placed on her statue each
year.
That question “has hardened
into dogma,” Connelly said, despite the fact that all other
Greek temples display mythological, not contemporary
scenes.
The dogma is called into
question by Euripides’ play “The
Erectheus,” which was recovered in the 1960s from papyrus
fragments discovered on an
Egyptian mummy in 1901 by a
French archaeologist.
It tells the story of King Erectheus, who asked the Delphic
Oracle how to save Athens from
attack, only to be told he had to
sacrifice his youngest daughter.
Troubled, he asked his wife
Praxithea, who said not even the
royal family, can put its life
above the common good – an
extraordinary sentiment for ancient times.
Praxithea ended up losing
her entire family, the king died
in battle, and unbeknownst to
the queen, her two older daughters vowed to follow their
youngest sister.
Joan Breton Connelly (6th from left) said of her book presentation: “What a pleasure it was! A
vibrant audience of Greek Americans, neighborhood readers, students, and colleagues” and a
contingent from her current archaeological expedition on Yeronisos island off Cyprus.
A grieving Praxithea was visited by Athena, who told her to
bury her daughters in a common tomb and to create a separate space for her husband on
the Acropolis. Athena then
made Praxithea the priestess of
the sacred precincts.
Connelly noted that visitors
can see the Erectheum today on
the left and the Parthenon on
the right, but she noted that in
Greek the latter word ends with
an omega, indicating genitive
plural: “Of the maidens.” It is
not in the singular for Athena,
for whom the temple was a gift.
Connelly at first wondered
why the woman on the frieze
who was supposed to be the
priestess did not possess a key
to the temple, the universal attribute of priestesses. She then
thought, “what if she is the first
priestess, Praxithea?” Before the
temple was built, there was no
key for her to hold.
That’s when she thought the
scene on the eastern frieze was
a family portrait, depicting the
preparation of the youngest
daughter for her death, changing into her funerary dress –
meaning that the cloth in the
frieze was not Athena’s peplos.
Another clue in the play is
that Athena told Praxithea not
to offer her daughter libations
of wine, but of honey and river
water. On the frieze are seen
men bearing water, and carrying
trays – when Connelly examined
casts of the frieze, she discovered texturing in the trays that
looks like honeycomb.
Connelly believes the frieze
is classic Paidea; “This is teaching the next generation where
they came from and why they
do what they do today.”
“The Parthenon is a billboard
that communicates a set of values,” she said, and the “core
value, the spiritual backbone of
this young democracy is self-sacrifice for the common good.”
That is what she called astounding message that results
from her research, not a glorification of human sacrifice. The
Greeks were not like the Aztecs.
“We learn a lot from their
democracy, because as we focus
on individual rights and interests, the Ancient emphasis was
very solidly on the collective
good…it’s worth contemplating
as we think about the sacrifice
of the most elite people in the
city…not even the royals put
themselves above the people.”
Before beginning her talk,
she thanked the Corner Bookstore, which is owned by Philhellenes, Ray Sherman and Ms.
Lenny Golay, who lived in
Athens in the 1970s. Connelly
then acknowledged “Team
Parthenon,” the students and
colleagues who helped her for
two decades, and her editor,
George Andreou, who was also
present. With a mother who has
roots in Olympia and a father
of Trapezounta stock, Andreou
feels compelled to say that it is
his fascination with Connelly’s
ideas rather than his heritage
which drew him to the book.
The Parthenon Was Built to Glorify Human Sacrifice, Research Shows
Pericles who appealed to the
Athenians sense of glory, motivating them to erect a temple
befitting the greatness of
Athens. From a practical perspective, Pericles also made it
evident that the eminently ambitious project would be a boon
to the economy – as it would
create jobs for the multitudes.
The Acropolis had been like
an ancient version of Ground
Zero, writes James Romm of the
Wall Street Journal, who recently reviewed Connelly’s
book. The Parthenon, then, became like the Freedom Tower.
WHAT’S A “LOW-RELIEF”
FRIEZE?
Connelly’s theory centers
around the Parthenon’s frieze,
more specifically, a “low-relief
frieze,” which basically means a
sculptured strip/band, often at
the top of the edifice in question, which may be of varying
Joan Breton Connelly’s explosive new book, the Parthenon
Enigma, introduces a revolutionary new theory about the
purpose of why the Athenians
built the Parthenon: to glorify
human sacrifice.
degrees of relief – meaning
depth – as compared to the
background plane. Most of the
surviving Parthenon Frieze can
be found in the British Museum
of London, and comprises in
great part the Elgin Marbles –
which, via authorization by the
Ottoman Empire – were taken
from the Acropolis to England
by agents Earl Thomas Buce of
Elgin, between 1801 and 1812.
The Ottoman permit given to
the Earl was highly controversial
and continues to be, as many
consider the removal of the
Marbles outright thievery. The
assailment is not necessarily ethnocentric or one-sided, as Henry
Porter of the respected British
newspaper The Guardian wrote
in his 2012 piece: “The Greeks
Gave Us the Olympics; Let Then
Have Their Marbles.” Porter
writes that “it's hard to fathom
a logic that suggests that the advantages of this order of pillage
include saving the sculptures
from vandalism. That would justify cutting a section of Botticelli's Birth of Venus from its
frame to preserve it from any
future vandals.”
Further establishing his case,
Porter writes: “many works of
art are acquired dubiously. But
the Parthenon marbles are different because they were the
height of man's achievement in
the fifth century BC, and for
about 2,000 years after that.
They represent the core of
Greek civilisation, and they are
the beating heart of modern
Greek identity. And, as important, the sculptures really represent half the building that was
constructed between 447BC and
432BC to mark the defeat of the
Persians by Athens.” That last
sentence, however, depicting
the conventional beliefs about
why the Parthenon was built, is
what makes Connelly’s book,
which argues something entirely
different and controversial, so
compelling.
Scholars widely agreed that
the Parthenon Frieze was a depiction of the Panathenaic procession, an essential component
of the Panathenaea, which was
a festival in tribute to the Goddess Athena. But “the subject of
this matchless narrative,” writes
Caroline Alexander in a review
of The Parthenon Enigma for
the New York Times, “is a matter
of extraordinary significance for
understanding the ancient people we so admire.” And the revolutionary interpretation Connelly delivers is that the Frieze
depicts a human sacrifice, one
based on the long-lost play
Erechtheus, by Euripides, which
had been long-overlooked until
it was republished in 1967.
ERECHTHEUS
Erectheus is about the title
figure, king of Athens, who must
sacrifice his own daughter in order to save the city. The daughter is the “crop-haired” child depicted in the Frieze, Alexander
writes, an essential key to solving the puzzle of what the frieze
as a whole represents. The image of a child and a man holding a piece of cloth, writes Connelly, is not the sacred dress of
Athena – the peplos – as Eric
Wills points out in a review of
her book for the Washington
Post, but rather the dress in
which Erectheus’ daughter is to
be buried.
Connelly’s discovery, Alexander writes, leads her to ask questions
challenging
the
Parthenon’s purpose is to depict
the Panathenaea, such as: why
are there not commonly-identifiable Panathenaic features
found on the Frieze? Why are
male water-bearers shown,
when only females carried water in the Procession? And why
is the “kanephoron,” the maiden
basketbearer, whose task it was
to lead the entire Procession,
not shown at all?
LEST WE BE TOO HASTY…
Despite the fanfare Connelly’s book has received thus
far, by prominent publications
such as the Times and the Post,
no less, Romm takes a more
skeptical view. He reminds that
Connelly first published her theory in 1996, in a scholarly journal, but the idea was widely rejected by her peers. The
Parthenon Enigma, then, Romm
writes, is less an imminent
breakthrough than Connelly’s
subsequent appeal: to take her
case to the general public.
Romm does point out, however,
that Connelly’s argument in the
book is fuller than the version
in her 1996 article.
Nonetheless, Romm questions why the Athenians would
have based the Frieze, if not the
entire Parthenon itself, on an arguably obscure play – its obscurity evidenced by its conspicuous absence from other
surviving Athenian antiquities.
Moreover, Romm wonders, why
would the Frieze depict the
dark-message of self-sacrifice
when it was created during a
period of euphoria in Athens:
“the bright mid-morning of a
new golden age”?
Dr. Barbara A. Barletta, Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology at the University of
Florida has yet to read Connelly’s new book, but is quite familiar with the her 1996 journal
article and was happy to share
her perspective on the latter
with TNH: Connelly’s “theory requires that a young figure at the
center of the east frieze with buttocks exposed [the peplos depiction] be a female and this is not
at all clear,” she said, because
Athenian artists and sculptors
were careful not to depict female
subjects that way. If a figure with
a buttocks was drawn or
sculpted, chances were very high
that it was a male. Barletta also
finds the role of Erechtheus’
daughter of martyr/heroine difficult to reconcile, because at the
time the Frieze was created,
“women were seen more as
child-bearers than saviors from
military threats.”
A leading authority on the
Parthenon Frieze, Dr. Jenifer
Neils, Professor of Art History
and Classics at Case Western Reserve University and author of
The article of clothing depicted in this portion of the Parthenon
Frieze, long believed to be not the sacred garment of Athena,
but the funerary dress of a subject of human sacrifice.
several books the field, was
more pointed in her criticism of
The Parthenon Enigma. Connelly’s theory is “unproven and
easily refutable,” Neils told
TNH, and though this contrarian hypothesis may help book
sales, it “does little to advance
scholarship on the topic.”
Koehl, however, discusses the
lack of closure about what the
Parthenon represents: the
Frieze’s interpretation, he informed TNH, “has long been a
subject of scholarly debate.”
Dr. Rhys Townsend, Professor of Art History at Clark University, welcomed the opportu-
The Parthenon’s neighbor is named after King Erectheus, whom
Connelly spotlights. Tourists can see an olive tree symbolizing
the one Athena gifted to the people of Athens.
nity to comment as well. He told
TNH that Connelly’s journal article caused a great deal of controversy among academics who,
particularly in the United States,
did not respond with strong support. Though the argument
about the meaning of the Frieze
might have been trivial if it had
been any other ancient work of
art, “the Parthenon has become
perhaps the most famous icon
of western civilization, so the
stories of its sculpture resonate
deeply, Townsend said. “I think
that Professor Connelly's thesis
is brilliant and may well be
right. But right or wrong, I am
glad to see it back in the arena
of public debate, a practice the
Athenians themselves first established some 2500 years ago,
right around the time the
Parthenon was built,” he added.
ATHENIANS IN OUR IMAGE
An old saying, in response to
“God made man in His image,”
is: “man made God in his image.” The latter, a twist on the
former, suggests that human beings turn their gods into whatever they think they ought to
be, based on their own human
qualities: smart, strong, angry,
jealous, vengeful, impulsive,
just, forgiving, etc. On that
point, Alexander, Wills, and
Romm agree. All prominent in
their fields (Alexander and
Romm are Classical Scholars,
Wills is Senior Editor of Architect magazine), they emphasize
that the Parthenon symbolizes
what we as a people want it to
symbolize. “We honor the
Greeks because in their art, literature, philosophy and civic
history we discern the early stirrings of our own ideals – rationalism, humanism, democracy
– which first took firm root in
Athenian soil,” Alexander
writes, “but this romantic selfidentification is deceiving.”
“What we see in the building today often reflects what we want
to see, not what the builders intended,” Romm adds. That Connelly contends that the Frieze
glorifies human sacrifice, Wills
concludes, will come as a surprise to those who project their
own preference for individual
rights and reason over belief
onto the Ancient Greeks.
Koehl told TNH that the book
contains a “wealth of information” about the Parthenon’s history and construction, and is
“sure to become a standard reference in Parthenon studies.”
Lastly, while Publishers
Weekly, which has been reviewing books continuously since
1872, seems less conclusive
about the merits of Connelly’s
thesis, and invites the reader to
“savor” this “detailed, smart,
and tantalizing study.”
U.S. NEWS
10
Manning up for the Big Game: Here’s our Prediction for Super Bowl 48
By Andy Dabilis and
Constantinos E. Scaros
As New Jersey prepares for
what should be a freezing Super
Bowl 48, amid a lot of speculation about the cold weather, fans
are talking too about the
matchups of the toughest defense
in the game, the Seattle
Seahawks, trying to stop the gun
of the Denver Broncos QB Peyton
Manning’s
record-breaking
season of 55 TD passes.
The
National
Herald’s
Executive Editor Constantinos
Scaros and Online Editor Andy
Dabilis took a look at how the
teams sized up and both picked
the Broncos to come out on top.
This one is no AGORA debate,
folks. The subject is football, and
we’re both going with the
Broncos. We are pitting this game
on the arm of Manning, and we
think he’ll come through, big
time. So, on Monday morning, if
we are right, a simple “good call”
will do just fine. And if we’re
wrong, we are prepared for the
onslaught of comments about
what lousy sports prognosticators
we are.
SCAROS SAYS BRONCOS
Super Bowl 48, between the
Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, basically can go four different ways: Denver winning
big, Denver winning close, Seattle winning close, or Seattle
winning big.
First, what I’d like to see happen: I want the Broncos to win
because I want Peyton Manning’s comeback to be complete.
Besides, it always irritated me
that his brother, Eli – who although is probably more clutch
than his big brother, doesn’t
even come close to possessing
Peyton’s gifts as a field general
– has won two Super Bowls to
Peyton’s one.
Then again, Eli had an ab-
solutely dismal year while Peyton broke the all-time single season touchdown passing record,
throwing an unbelievable 55
touchdowns, so I think the
“who’s the better Manning” debate has been settled once and
for all.
Druthers aside, what does
my head tell me? Denver has
the league’s top offense and
Seattle the top defense, which
makes this a battle for the ages
indeed. But a closer look reveals
that Denver’s forte, its passing
offense, might be overinflated
because the Broncos have
played against only a couple of
the top-rated defensive teams
all year.
Similarly, Seattle held teams
to an average of 14 points per
game but did not exactly play
the NFL’s most explosive offenses. Essentially, then, both
teams’ identical and superb 133 regular season records were
boosted by rather easy schedules.
That said, Seattle had impressive scoring bursts even
against some good defenses,
whereas Denver, which scored
an average of 37.9 points per
game in the regular season, had
games of only 29 and 12 against
some of the better defenses.
Seattle scored about 26
points per game, Denver allowed about 24, and so if Seattle musters 25 for the Super
Bowl, that is to be expected. The
real disparity is with how many
points Denver is accustomed to
scoring per game (nearly 38)
and how many Seattle gives up
(just 14).
The scenario seems tailormade for Manning – known to
blow big games – to fall apart,
as Seattle laughs all the way to
the Lombardi Trophy. A 37-19
final score, with the Seahawks
on top, seems very likely. But
I’m sayin’ otherwise: Broncos
A second Super Bowl ring for Broncos QB Peyton Manning (R) would be the capstone to a
career year, in which he threw a record-breaking 55 TDs in the regular season to guide NFL's
best offense. The Seahawks' star DB, Richard Sherman, won't be smiling during the game (as
he is here with Manning). The outspoken Stanford grad is all business on the field, leading his
team's top-rated defense.
28-21.
Theirs is not your run-of-themill high-octane offense. This is
Peyton Manning’s career year –
55 touchdowns – and he just
seems to be getting better and
better. He has taken adlib playcalling to new levels of greatness,
and even the Seahawks’ ferocious defense won’t be able to
stop him. Manning has had an
outstanding season, and has
shown real mettle in the playoffs
this year, spreading the ball to
numerous targets. This is no
Manning to Marvin Harrison or
to Reggie Wayne-type offense
like in Indianapolis, where all the
defense needed to do was clamp
THE HERALD SQUARE
TNH's Crossword Challenge
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www.CrosswordWeaver.com
OSS
ACROSS
1 Cash mach. (abbrev.)
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FDA: Food Labels will be Easier to Read
20
WASHINGTON, DC (AP) –
Those nutrition labels on the
back of food packages may soon
32
33
become easier to read.
The Food and Drug Admin38
39
40
istration says knowledge about
nutrition has evolved over the
45
last 20 years, and the labels
need to reflect that.
As the agency considers revisions, nutritionists and other
53
54
health experts have their own
wish list of desired changes.
The number of calories
should
be more prominent, they
60
61
62
63
64
say, and the amount of added
sugar and percentage of whole
68
wheat in the food should be included. They also want more
clarity on how serving sizes are
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"There's a feeling that nutrition labels haven't been as ef41 Type of whiskey
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8 Had the weight of the world on his
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grams, the metric system's basic
35
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68 Jackie's second husb. (init.)
the FDA first introduced the label at the behest of Congress.
Solution to last week’s puzzle
"It's important to keep this upSolution:
dated so what is iconic doesn't
C A N D Y
N E
N I X O N
become a relic."
O G
D I A N A
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The FDA has sent guidelines
L O L
P N E
L I C
M R
for the new labels to the White
House, but Taylor would not esU R A L
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S
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R I C E
D O N
O
I
recent years.
E
T N
F A L L O N
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According to an Agriculture
X I
H
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O K
Department study released this
month, a greater percentage of
G A R Y
S
S U G A R
O
adults reported using the nutriA L S O
P
O
L A I R
tion facts panel and other claims
P O
G A L A
B E T T Y
on food packages "always or
B O B B Y
N A P
E X E S
most of the time" in 2009 and
2010 compared with two years
28
31
34
19
24
27
30
55
18
23
DABILIS SAYS BRONCOS,
TOO
Being old enough to remember the very first Super Bowl,
when it seemed the Kansas City
Chiefs might actually hang
tough against the indomitable
Green Bay Packers before Bart
Starr found Max McGee, and
old enough to remember when
the New Jersey Giants were the
New York Giants and the New
England Patriots were the
Boston Patriots (and still should
be) I can add some perspective
to this one 47 years later.
First, the Seahawks’ braggadocio defense back Richard
Sherman may be a Stanford
grad but he apparently didn’t
study football history or he
would know what happened
when Chiefs DB Fred “The Hammer” Williamson promised to
knock cold Green Bay receivers:
it was Williamson who found
himself prone on the field with
his lights out. And while no one
wishes injury on anyone, we
could settle for Sherman being
so embarrassed by Peyton Manning that he hangs his head in
the shame he deserves for being
a big-mouthed bad winner in
the game against the San Francisco 49’ers.
Sherman may have tipped
the end zone pass, but he didn’t
intercept it and a word of praise
for his teammate who did, Malcolm Smith, and the rest of the
Seattle players – plus just a
touch of humility and recognition that but for a tipped pass
12
13
41
7
down on the marquee receiver.
Given all those factors, not
to mention experience (by contrast, Seahawks’ QB Russell Wilson, a fine player in his own
right, is in the Super Bowl for
the very first time), I pick the
Broncos. Of course, given my
opening remarks, it could just
be wishful thinking.
A very good friend of mine,
who played high school football
and is a lifelong student of the
game, likes to say: “offense sells
tickets, defense wins championships.” This year’s Broncos are
going to do both.
his team would have lost –
would have made him American’s football darling instead of
its loathed loudmouth.
This game will disprove the
much-loved football axiom that
a good defense beats a good offense because there’s a more apt
boxing term: a good big man
will beat a good little man every
time, and Manning is the big
man in this one, even if he’s not
the best QB in Denver history:
John Elway is.
When the Super Bowl annals
are written, no one will remember who Russell Wilson was because he’s just a poseur compared to Manning, even though
this game shapes up to be one
that is not a big draw compared
to many of the others in its history.
And while everyone’s talking
about Seattle’s Big D you have
to remember that if Denver took
care of Tom Brady that it can
handle a guy named Wilson,
who’s not even in the same
league. This game will be won
on the arm – of Manning – not
on the legs of Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch or Wilson’s passing. Lynch is a strong, tough
runner but he’s not Jim Brown,
still the greatest football player
ever.
Manning had a Joe Namath
kind of year, except that he had
four more games to set the
record of 55 TDs passing, and
what’s even more important is
that he didn’t throw an interception against the Patriots.
The two strengths – Seattle’s
defense and Denver’s offense –
are even. But Denver’s defense
is better than Seattle’s offense,
an overlooked factor in all the
building hype, and it will come
down to who’s cooler under
pressure, Manning or Wilson,
and Manning has just too much
experience to be rattled in such
a big game. Plus, as he said: “I’m
an AFC guy.” Me too, so this
one’s for the Boston Patriots and
the AFL. And if there’s any justice, it will end with Manning
throwing a fadeaway winner
over Sherman and then having
enough class – like Jim Brown
– not to boast, but to walk away
a winner and like someone,
who, as Brown said, acts like
he’s been there before, because
he has. Denver 24-21.
67
29
AP PHOTO/J. DAViD AkE
The nutrition facts label on the side of a cereal box is photographed in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014.
earlier.
The USDA study said 42 percent of working adults used the
panel always or most of the time
in 2009 and 2010, up from 34
percent. Older adults used it 57
percent of the time during that
period, up from 51 percent.
One expected change in the
label is to make the calorie listing more prominent, and Regina
Hildwine of the Grocery Manufacturers Association said that
could be useful to consumers.
Her group represents the nation's largest food companies.
Hildwine said FDA also has
suggested that it may be appropriate to remove the "calories
from fat" declaration on the label.
It's not yet clear what other
changes the FDA could decide
on. Nutrition advocates are hoping the agency adds a line for
sugars and syrups that are not
naturally occurring in foods and
drinks and are added when they
are processed or prepared. Right
now, some sugars are listed separately among the ingredients
and some are not.
It may be difficult for the
FDA to figure out how to calculate added sugars, however.
Food manufacturers are adding
naturally occurring sugars to
their products so they can label
them as natural — but the nutrition content is no different.
Other suggestions from
health advocates:
— Add the percentage of
whole wheat to the label. Many
manufacturers will label products "whole wheat" when there
is really only a small percentage
of it in the food.
— Clearer measurements.
Jacobson of CSPI and others
have suggested that the FDA use
teaspoons, as well as grams, for
added sugars, since consumers
can envision a teaspoon.
— Serving sizes that make
sense. There's no easy answer,
but health experts say that single-size servings that are clearly
meant to be eaten in one sitting
will often list two or three servings on the label, making the
calorie and other nutrient information deceptive. FDA said last
year that it may add another
column to the labels, listing nutrition information per serving
and per container. The agency
may also adjust recommended
serving sizes for some foods.
— Package-front labeling.
Beyond the panel on the back,
nutrition experts have pushed
for labels on the package front
for certain nutrients so consumers can see them more easily. The FDA said several years
ago it would issue guidelines for
front of pack labeling, but later
said it would hold off to see
whether the industry could create its own labels.
Tracy Fox, a Washingtonbased nutrition consultant, says
clearer information is needed to
balance the billions of dollars a
year that the food industry
spends on food marketing.
"There's a lot of information
there, it's messy," she says.
"There may be a way to call out
certain things and put them in
context."
GREECE CYPRUS
11
Greece, Though Short on Funds, Vows to Help Earthquake-Hit Kefalonia
TNH Staff
In the aftermath of a 5.9
magnitude that hit the Ionian
island of Kefalonia – scene of a
devastating quake in 1953 that
killed hundreds – the Greek government said despite a crushing
economic crisis that 100,000 euros ($136,500) was being dispatched to help provide aid.
Some of the monies will also
go to the nearby island of Ithaca
that was also hit, although both
suffered relatively minor damage and only a few injuries despite the strength of the earthquake that rattled them.
The Jan. 26 quake, whose
magnitude the Athens Geodynamic Institute revised to 5.9
from the preliminary 5.8, was
followed by dozens of aftershocks that continued through
the next day, forcing some 900
people to spend the night on a
ferry boat in chilly weather.
Buildings erected in the area
since 1953 have been constructed to strict anti-seismic
specifications, and serious damage from the quake was limited.
Rockslides shut some roads and
many homes and stores suffered
cracks and broken windows.
Schools were shut for two
days to allow engineers to inspect school buildings to ensure
they are safe, the government
said in a statement.
Two ferries with a combined
capacity of nearly 4,000 passengers were dispatched to provide
housing for residents whose
homes were damaged.
quake and no serious damage
has been reported.”
Michelakis added that rockfalls had damaged roads on the
island, which suffered extensive
damage during an earthquake
in 1953.
The quake was followed by
aftershocks as powerful as magnitude 5.2, according to the Institute of Geodynamics in
Athens.
The temblor's epicenter was
about 280 kilometers (175
miles) west of Athens, near the
town of Lixouri on the island,
and its depth was 17 kilometers
(11 miles), the Athens Geodynamic Institute said.
A local news website, kefaloniapress.gr, reported some damage on roads and buildings in
the towns of Lixouri and Argostoli, the island's largest. There
were some slight injuries from
falls, and falling objects inside
apartments.
Local media reported several
rock falls as well as damage to
the local airport's control tower.
One of the injured inhabitants,
Kleon Moros, said that many of
the local hospital's windows had
been damaged and, as a result,
patients needing X-rays had to
be moved to another building.
In the first three hours following the earthquake, there
have been 12 aftershocks with
a magnitude over 3. The
strongest was 4.5. Costas Papazahos, a seismology professor
at the same university, said the
5.8 was a preliminary reading.
The quake, which struck at
3:55PM, was felt in several parts
of Greece and as far away as
Karditsa in the north. It has
been followed by a series of aftershocks measuring between
3.5-4.4 Richter.
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report)
AP PHOTO/GiANNiS SOuliS
The collapsed wall of a house after an earthquake in Lixouri town on the island of Kefalonia.
Authorities also sent rescue
vehicles and disaster response
units on standby to Kefalonia,
as well as police reinforcements.
Prime Minister Antonis
Samaras late on Jan. 28 visited
to inspect relief efforts as thousands of residents stayed away
from their homes amid continuing aftershocks.
Samaras made an unsched-
uled overnight stop, diverting
the government jet that was carrying him back from Brussels,
where he held meetings under
Greece's assumption this month
of the rotating European Union
presidency.
The Jan. 26 magnitude 5.9
quake damaged roads, homes
and public buildings, mostly
around Lixouri, the island's sec-
ond largest town.
Interior Minister Yiannis
Michelakis said building repairs
could not start until the aftershocks had subsided.
“We had some minor injuries, with initial information
indicating that seven people
were wounded, mostly from
falling masonry,” he said. “The
buildings withstood the earth-
Despite 1 Bil. Euro Surplus, EU Impatient with Greece
By Andy Dabilis
TNH Staff Writer
ATHENS – With the government
touting an estimated one billion
euro ($1.37 billion) primary
surplus as a sign the economy
will start to recover soon, the
country’s international lenders
are still anxious over delayed reforms and a big hole in the 2014
budget.
Much of the primary surplus
– which doesn’t include interest
on the country’s staggering
$430 billion debt, nor budgets
for state enterprises, cities and
towns, some military costs and
social security – could also be
eaten up by a court ruling that
pay cuts to the military as part
of austerity measures were unconstitutional and have to repaid, estimated at more than
500 million euros, about $685
million.
The primary surplus, which
excludes interest payments, is
being closed watched because
twice-bailed out Greece is eligible for debt relief from the
Troika of the European UnionInternational Monetary FundEuropean Central Bank (EUIMF-ECB).
The latest surplus forecast
compared with an estimate of
at least 812 million euros in the
budget presented in December.
The EU’s statistics agency Eurostat will pronounce in April
whether Greece achieved a primary surplus in 2013.
Greece must reach an agreement with its international
bailout creditors to get the next
installment of its 240 billion
euro ($328-billion) emergency
loan package in order to avoid
default in May, when it has to
pay back bonds worth about 10
billion euros.
The negotiations between
Greece and the Troika are
months behind schedule amid
disagreements over cost-cutting
measures and reforms.
“We call on Greece and the
Troika to do the utmost to conclude the negotiations,” said
Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen
Dijsselbloem, who is chief of the
18-member Eurozone. There is
“far too little” progress, he insisted.
Samaras promises
structural reforms,
not more austerity,
but coalition partner
PASOK is skeptical.
“I am sorry to say that the
review is not yet concluded and
further work is needed in
Greece before the Troika can return to Athens,” he said. “We
call on Greece and Troika partners to do their utmost to conclude negotiations as soon possible,” he added.
The Eurogroup of finance
ministers, which Dijsselbloem
chairs, will not approve paying
out the next bailout loans unless
there is a final agreement with
the Troika, he warned, although
that has often been the Troika’s
tactic only to always relent in
the end, fearing instability in
Greece would jeopardize the entire financial bloc.
Dijsselbloem spoke after a
meeting in Brussels where the
creditors briefed the officials on
the outstanding issues with
Greece, including what he
called a fiscal gap in this year’s
budget and a lack of implementation of structural reforms.
The Troika puts the hole in
the 2014 budget at up to 2.4
billion euros ($3.27 billion) al-
though it could get wider after
Greece’s highest court is reportedly set to rule that pay cuts to
the military and emergency services personnel as part of austerity measures the lenders demanded were unconstitutional
and must be repaid, at a cost of
more than 500 million euros
($682.86 million) and the salary
levels restored.
THE FULL-COURT PRESS
For the past four years,
Greece has been relying on
emergency loans after years of
fiscal mismanagement left it
with a mountain of debt and
gaping budget deficit. In return,
successive governments have
had to slash salaries and pensions, raise taxes and sell off assets to reduce debt and make
the economy competitive.
However, Greece is still
struggling to emerge from a
seven-year-old recession that
saw its Gross Domestic Product
fall by almost a quarter. Unemployment has risen steadily and
stands at about 27 percent.
As they headed into the
meeting in Brussels, ministers
from other Eurozone nations
suggested their patience is wearing thin as the latest negotiations with Greece keep dragging
on.
“Greece must continue its
successful trajectory, but further
efforts are needed,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble. “Greece must stay its
reform course.”
Austria’s Michael Spindelegger also acknowledged that
Greece had made significant
progress, but added that Eurozone finance ministers are “indeed concerned regarding farreaching reforms and the
privatization program.”
Schaeuble
noted
that
Greece’s fiscal data “looked
good” but that “further efforts
are needed,” while Spindelegger
expressed concerns about structural reforms and a lagging privatization program.
Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said that further
rescue funding is unlikely to be
approved before March as European officials meeting in Brussels pressed Athens to intensify
its reform efforts.
He said he hoped a deal
could be reached with Troika officials next month, paving the
way for the release of aid in
March, and suggested that a primary surplus for 2013 would
help plug a fiscal gap for 2014.
“The matter has been solved in
a way that cannot be disputed,”
he said.
PLUGGING THE HOLE
Stournaras added that any
fiscal gap would be covered
with structural reforms, not further austerity measures. Troika
envoys have pressed government officials to adopt a raft of
proposals aimed at removing
barriers to competition.
The proposals are set in a report by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the government is prepared to adopt
80 percent of them, it was reported after New Democracy’s
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, and PASOK chief Evangelos
Venizelos discussed the matter.
But
the
newspaper
Kathimerini said it was told by
unnamed sources close to Development Minister Costis
Hatzidakis that there is resistance to many reforms, particularly among the ranks of PASOK.
“Nothing has been resolved,”
the source said.
(Material from the Associated
Press was used in this report)
Golden Dawn Spokesman Eyes Athens Mayor Run
TNH Staff
ATHENS - Although he – along
with other party leaders – was
arrested on charges of operating
a criminal gang, the spokesman
for the Golden Dawn far-right
extremists, Ilias Kasidiaris, said
he will run for Mayor of Athens
next year.
With the government vowing
to dismantle the Party, and with
6 of its 18 Members of Parliament – including Kasidiaris –
facing charges, the party is still
running third in popularity
polls.
If elected, he would use deserted buildings in the capital,
currently occupied by illegal immigrants, to house homeless
Greeks. Golden Dawn, which
wants all immigrants deported,
has also been accused of beating
them, which it also denies despite witness accounts.
Golden Dawn is running
third in surveys that Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ New
Democracy Conservatives have
slipped to second behind the
major opposition Coalition of
the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and
with the Premier’s coalition
partners, the PASOK Socialists,
barely above the three percent
threshold needed to win seats
in Parliament.
Golden Dawn rose from ob-
scurity in 2009 when it garnered
only 0.29 percent of the vote to
gain 18 seats in Parliament in
the 2012 elections when it got
6.97 percent of the vote, a figure
it doubled before the murder of
an anti-fascist hip-hop artist,
Pavlos Fyssas, in September,
2013 by a Party member saw its
popularity plummet before a recent rebound.
Golden Dawn ascended on
the back of an anti-immigrant
platform and its opposition to
harsh austerity measures the
government has imposed on the
orders of international lenders,
and also has a stated stance that
is anti-Semitic, anti-gay, antiCapitalist and has pushed for
prosecutions for blasphemy. It
has been declared neo-Nazi by
critics.
“I will be a candidate for
mayor of Athens, even from
jail,” Kasidiaris said at a gathering of party supporters at a central Athens hotel, according to
the Reuters news agency. He
hasn’t said how he would campaign as Golden Dawn routinely
refuses to talk to reporters.
The surly, defiant Kasidiaris,
who is out on bail, has been the
face as well as the voice of the
extremists and after being arrested last year was shown
pushing away a camera and
shoving a reporter.
There haven’t been any polls
that would show whether he
would be a serious or fringe candidate for the position now held
by New York-born Giorgos
Kaminis, who is an Independent, and who was attacked by
a Golden Dawn member, Giorgos Germenis, after prohibiting
the Party from distributing food
to Greeks only. Kaminis’ fiveyear term expires next year but
he hasn’t said whether he will
run for re-election.
UNDER A CLOUD
Germenis is among the six of
the party’s 18 MPs who were arrested on the charges of being
in a criminal gang and is being
prosecuted for that charge. Kasidiaris is also facing criminal
charges in another unrelated
case and is famous for slapping
Communist MP Liana Kanelli on
a live TV show.
Despite its extremist positions, Golden Dawn has managed to maintain a nuclear of
hard-core supporters although
its polling numbers show it
would be unlikely to win the
mayor’s office although some
analysts have said the arrests of
party leaders could backfire and
build more support from people
who feel aggrieved by austerity
and disenfranchised.
Party officials have called the
government’s prosecution a
“parody.”
Kasidiaris was released after
being arrested although party
leader Nikos Michaloliakos remains in detention.
They all deny any wrongdoing and said they are victims of
a political witch hunt to blunt
their popularity although investigators said the extremists
wanted to bring down the government.
Two opinion polls published
in the newspapers Proto Thema
and Ethnos showed the party
would get 8.9 to 10.3 percent
of the vote, respectively, if elections were held now, ranking
steadily in third place.
The same surveys by pollsters Alco and Metron Analysis
showed the anti-bailout leftist
opposition SYRIZA as the most
popular single party, leading the
conservatives in the ruling coalition by 0.7 to 1.2 percentage
points. Parliamentary elections
are due in 2016.
With Michaloliakos absent
from public view since his arrest, Kasidiaris has been carrying the ball for Golden Dawn
and overshadowed his party
leader in recognition.
Some of the more than
10,000 pages of evidence, and
videotapes, show Kasidiaris
holding guns and firing at road
signs.
AP PHOTO/GiANNiS SOuliS
Elderly women gather inside a church as one sleeps after an
earthquake in Lixouri town on the island of Kefalonia.
Anastasiades Says that
Recovery will be Sooner
TNH Staff
With his country locked in a
fiscal crisis and banks still under
capital control, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the
difficulties will be overcome and
the economy will recover sooner
than expected.
“Despite the difficulties
which we are facing due to the
ongoing economic recession, we
can achieve a miracle,” said
Anastasiades. He added that,
“Cyprus had previously achieved
the same goal in the past,” referring to economic troubles in
1974 when Turkey unlawfully
invaded the island, still occupying the northern third.
In a meeting in Doha with
businessmen from Qatar and
Cyprus, he outlined the government’s efforts towards recovery
while trying to persuade possible investors that Cyprus is still
attractive for them.
Anastasiades pointed to the
potential of energy reserves and
hydrocarbon deposits in the
Cypriot Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) which has drawn international attention for exploration.
He didn’t say how he expects
to drag the economy back at the
same time the government is
imposing austerity measures
and confiscated 47.5 percent of
the monies in private bank accounts over 100,000 euros
($137,000) to make depositors
pay for the mistakes of banks
who triggered the crisis.
The banks took more than
4.5 billion euros ($6.13 billion)
in losses with big holdings in
Greek bonds that were devalued
74 percent and in big loans to
Greek businesses that went
belly-up in that country’s fiscal
crisis.
The government, in return
for a 10 billion euros ($13.67
billion) loan from the Troika of
the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European
Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) has
had to come up with revenues
or cuts equivalent to 13 billion
euros ($17.72 billion) because
the lenders said the debt would
otherwise be unsustainable and
could not be repaid.
Anastasiades – as he has a
number of times before without
coming through – promised yet
again that the capital controls
limiting depositors to taking out
only 300 euros ($409) per day
and put similarly strangling ceilings on businesses would be
lifted in coming months.
“The capital controls imposed on the Cyprus banking
system are to be completely
lifted in the near future, in the
coming months, and we are
now witnessing increased inflows from foreign residents,”
he said, appealing to Qatari
businessmen to invest in Cyprus,
according to the Cyprus Mail.
Anastasiades said that during
his meeting with Emir of Qatar
both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further enhancing
Cyprus-Qatar cooperation, at all
levels, including economic cooperation.
“Attracting investments is the
Cyprus government’s top priority,” he said as investments were
the catalyst for economic
growth, job creation and prosperity.
He said despite its economic
woes, Cyprus still retained its
competitive advantages. These
included its competitive corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent,
and an extensive network of
double taxation treaties, including one with Qatar itself.
Cypriot had been criticized
“Opportunities for Growth
exist in most economic
sectors… shipping,
tourism, large-scale
development projects,
education, health, and
renewable energy.”
before the crisis for offering depositors easy terms and now is
under siege from others who
warned that the government, if
the recovery fizzles, could again
seize money from private accounts.
Anastasiades, however, during his visit to Qatar, said there
is opportunity in crisis and that
Cyprus was a safe bet for investors even though the banks
aren’t lending or letting companies access their money.
“Opportunities for growth
exist in most economic sectors,
including shipping, tourism,
large-scale development projects, education, health and renewable energy,” said Anastasiades. Cyprus’ hydrocarbons
discovery created excellent
prospects for investments and
cooperation, he added.
Evaluating his visit to Qatar
after its conclusion, Anastasiades described it as very “important and productive”, and
announced forthcoming visits to
Cyprus by delegations from various investors, or even “on behalf of the Emir himself,” The
Mail reported.
The imminent visits are “an
important element”, he said. “If
we can be persuasive, we will
benefit.”
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides also waved the flag for
Cyprus. “We did not come here
to ask for free funds. What we
want is to ensure that investments
by any party – whether state or
private – will offer mutual benefit
to both sides,” he said.
EDITORIALS LETTERS
12
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The National Herald
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Greece in the Mainstream Media
We note with interest that after a considerable period of media
frenzy, the American and international mainstream press essentially
has stopped paying attention to Greece.
No more banner headlines, or continuous coverage by the electronic media. Even the teasing from our American friends and acquaintances has stopped.
You might say this is good thing, that they have stopped focusing
on Greece since the news about the crisis and its ramifications was
overwhelmingly negative.
We are not sure, though, that this is necessarily a positive development. Usually, media focus shows interest. That they stopped covering Greece might mean that international public opinion and foreign officials are sick and tired of Greece. That, in turn, might be
due to frustration over the fact the country’s progress, however improved, is slow.
The same is true the with the book publishing industry. Even
though it has never produced that many books on Greece, one would
expect that after many years of a deep and largely unprecedented
economic crisis, journalists, economists, and political scientists would
rush to write books about Greece. Incredibly, that is not the case.
Even when Greece is mentioned in a book, it is usually just a casual reference. For example, in his celebrated book titled Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, all former Defense Secretary Robert Gates
writes about Greece is: "In what appeared to be a dress rehearsal for
an attack on Iran, one hundred Israeli F -15 and F-16 fighters flew
from Israel into the eastern Mediterranean to Greece and returned.”
That is the only thing a U.S. Secretary of Defense seems to remember about Greece. That’s it.
But in The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their
Secret World War, written by former New York Times correspondent
Stephen Kinzer about Eisenhower’s Secretary of State and the Director of the CIA, there is a longer – and more interesting – reference:
"One of his favorite friends, Queen Frederica of Greece came to the
United States [in 1953] on a tour with her son, the future King Constantine II, and just as her trip was about to end, she announced
without explanation that she would stay for another week . She
came to Washington, discussed ‘spiritual values’ with President Eisenhower in the Oval Office, and then visited Allen [Dulles].
“They had been alone in his office for nearly an hour when an
aide knocked. Hearing no response, he entered. He found the office
empty but heard noises from the adjoining dressing room. Later,
Allen and the Queen emerged. As she was being driven back to the
Greek Embassy, the Queen suggested one reason why Greek-American relations were so strong: ‘We just love that man [Dulles], she
said.”
Disillusioned Dreamers?
A sense of pessimism about the course of the country is reflected
in a significant percentage of the American people in recent years,
polls show.
Of course, this can be explained by the severe economic downturn
that spread out after the banking system nearly collapsed in 2008.
Ironically, the problem that hurt the country to some extent – the collapse of the housing industry – was rooted in home purchasers living
above their means, but the drastic bubble burst caused consumers to
curb their spending habits severely, to the point where they were
downright timid about buying homes, goods, and services.
But this pessimistic sentiment runs contrary to the spirit that has
traditionally prevailed among the American people, who by nature
are optimistic. They never let anything stand in their way.
This is the essence of the American Dream: “the poor can become
rich if they work hard, obey the law, and a have a bit of luck.”
It is an extension of the logic of Pericles’ famous Funeral Oration
(as presented by Thucydides): "Being poor is not a bad thing – not
trying to get out of poverty is.” That is the basis of the diversity and
exceptionalism on which America was built.
But now, what seems to be contributing to the impression of the
weakening of the American Dream is that the gap between the rich
and the poor has reached unprecedented levels. You have to go back
to the 1920s to find such great economic differences. If the president
of a company makes 50 times more than a janitor who works in the
building, that is to be expected. But 5000 times more? That is simply
outrageous.
What the study also discovered is the importance of the family
into which a child is born, which they call the “lottery of birth.” The
more affluent the family, the greater the chances of the child’s future
economic success.
How do these findings relate to our situation as immigrants or
children of immigrants?
It seems to us that we are a special case, because while immigrant
families possessed below-average wealth in the countries they came
from and did not have the qualifications demanded by advanced
economies, like that of the United States, they possessed qualities
that made those shortcomings secondary, and which gave their children the impetus to succeed financially in life. For example, immigrant
families are typically close-knit, hard-working, forward-looking, principled, ambitious, and not involved in criminal activities. They instilled these values into their children.
These values more than compensated for any weaknesses.
Moreover, immigrants have another advantage that many of their
American-born counterparts lack: because they made the tremendous
sacrifice of leaving behind their homeland to seek the dream of a
better life, they are less likely to squander the amazing opportunities
that their newfound home – the United States of America, has to
offer. Rare is the instance when persons do not miss the place where
they were born and raised – and that, to a great extent, also makes
it unlikely they would take for granted the new land in which they
settle – particularly one historically known as “then land of opportunity.”
It is not a coincidence, then, that the bankrupt city of Detroit is
inviting 50,000 immigrants to help rebuild it. The “Motor City,” famous for being the center of the American automobile industry
which, for a century has been one of the pillars of the American
economy, found itself in a heap of trouble amid the Great Recession.
But the American car market is doing better now than it has done in
decades.
The American Dream, then, is alive and well, for those who dare
to realize it.
From our website…
In response to “The Tea May
Be Losing its Flavor,” by
Constantinos E. Scaros (posted
on Jan. 22):
I am constantly amused at so
called “moderate Republicans”
struggling to find linkage with
a radical leftist, ideologicallydriven Democrat Party, which,
frankly, has essentially purified
its own “moderate” ranks.
Where are the national security or fiscally conservative
Dems? Hubert Humphrey and
JFK could not get elected dog
catcher in today’s Dem Party.
Even FDR’s Vice President
[Harry Truman] spoke out
against FDR’s progressive plan
to pack the courts with New
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Dealers that would march right
along with him.
The Dems are lock step in
sync in statist ideas. They are a
messaging machine that really is
to be applauded. They smartly
use their allies to form a successful and incestuous relationship
with their ideological fellow travelers of their messaging organs:
NY Times, MSNBC, and the networks of CBS/ABC/CBS/CNN.
Sites like Media Matters, Daily
Kos, the Huffington Post, and Democrat Underground block and
tackle for the Dems as well to
funnel soundbites and talking
points.
They are on message all the
time while Republican establishment types struggle to make
friends who support them for a
while, like John McCain, Lindsay
Graham, and Chris Christie, until
either a scandal comes up or they
run against a Democrat, then
they are thrown to the dogs as
we see currently with Gov.
Christie currently.
How many times has our
president complained and
whined about evil straw man
forces such as Rush Limbaugh,
Fox News, and the Drudge Report as keeping him from his imperial desires and whims? Lately
he has said “I have a pen and a
phone and I will use either to
do what I want if Congress does
not agree to what I want.”
Shameful. No consideration for
separation of powers and limited government. Let the execu-
tive orders fly. What if a Republican rained down all these executive orders? There would be
hell to pay. Let’s re-establish the
rule of law, no matter what
party is in charge.
The facts are, the Tea Party
was born of many people who
were not a part of the political
process before 2010 and rose up
out of concern for the escalating
high spending Washington ways
that continued from the profligate George W. Bush days to the
astronomical times of the
Obama Administration.
Many of these tea party people had been going to local town
halls and voted and maybe
wrote a letter to the editor or
once in a while…that was it.
When they marched on Washington, I remember all the WWII
vets and old ladies with their
folding chairs who respectfully
spoke their mind and who were
outraged and scared regarding
the massively-growing federal
leviathan and the debt that
came along with it and finally
organized in a formal way for
the first time in their lives. They
cleaned up after themselves, left
the grounds they protested on
as clean as they were before
they got there, and went home.
Unlike the anarchist wannabe
spoiled brats of the “Occupy”
movement.
ppoulos
GEOrGE SArAFOGlOu / SPECiAl TO THE NATiONAl HErAlD
COMMENTARY
Climate Change: Does it Present a Crisis or Oppourtnity?
By Mariyana Spyropoulos
Whether or not one agrees
that climate change directly affects our lives, there is no disputing that weather patterns
have changed in the last few
years. According to the 2013
United Nations climate report,
scientists worldwide can now
state with 95% certainty that
humans are causing most of today’s climate issues. Many think
that these changes are only
causing polar ice caps to melt,
but there are serious long term
health consequences that can
occur as a result. These consequences affect us and future
generations.
As a result of these shifts and
extremes in our environment,
scientists report that the population will experience more air
pollution and water borne diseases. In addition, the shifts will
compromise our water resources and as a result our food
supply. News reports indicate
that last summer’s heat waves
in Europe resulted in 70,000
deaths in 11 days. Government
statistics indicate that in one
month of temperatures over 100
degrees in Russia, 55,000 died,
one million acres burned, and
crop production dropped by
25%. The phenomenon of environmental refugees, only recently looked as a result of climate change, could rise as a
result.
Recently, the White House released a memo on how the administration was preparing for
the impact of climate change,
building on plans started in October 2009. The memo states in
part, “the impacts of climate
change – including an increase
in prolonged periods of excessively high temperatures, more
heavy downpours, an increase
in wildfires, more severe
droughts, permafrost thawing,
ocean acidification, and sealevel rise – are already affecting
communities, natural resources,
ecosystems, economies, and
public health across the United
States. These impacts are often
most significant for communities that already face economic
or health-related challenges,
and for species and habitats that
are already facing other pressures.
The memo went on to state
that “managing these risks requires deliberate preparation,
close cooperation, and coordinated planning by the Federal
Government. In addition, stakeholders need to be involved to
facilitate Federal, State, local,
tribal, private-sector, and nonprofit-sector efforts to improve
climate preparedness and resilience; help safeguard our
ing policy development of urban
areas is one of the first steps we
have to make; with climate
change included in regional infrastructure plans. Our planning
processes must change and become proactive, not reactive.
We cannot view global warming in the abstract and think it
only affects distant ice caps.
News reports indicated that Lake
Michigan, for example, had a
new record low water level in
December 2013. The latest studies have shown that in the past
changes could save up to 500
lives a year, with 100,000 hospital admissions avoided. Swapping pedals for tailpipes is a
small change that could pay
huge dividends by reducing
heart attacks, cancer and road
traffic crashes. Many cities
across the United States are developing plans to shift the focus
from cars to alternative transportation.
President Obama spoke
about climate change at his inauguration in 2009 and created
economy, infrastructure, environment, and natural resources;
and provide for the continuity
of executive department and
agency (agency) operations, services, and programs.”
Further, the Journal of Nature indicates that since 1979,
40% of the polar ice caps have
melted. The Journal cites that
future summers will be warmer
than the warmest on record.
These weather changes will affect many health conditions, including lung diseases. Rising
temperatures will be felt most
by city dwellers, and although
it might be a slow process, it
does not mean that actions
shouldn’t be taken immediately.
As high-intensity rainstorms
and heat events increase in frequency, the question must be
asked what have we have done
to address these events. Further,
an assessment of where residents are most vulnerable is
necessary. This is why reassess-
40 years ice covering of Lake
Michigan has declined about
71%. These lower water levels
and warmer temperatures may
increase the amount of mercury
in the food chain, not to mention
their effect on the millions of
people depending on Lake
Michigan for drinking water.
What are some of the things
we can do now to stop the effects of this phenomenon in our
day to day lives. Government reports indicate that three million
people die each year due to
physical inactivity with an additional three million deaths annually due to urban air pollution. As a result, the World
Health Organization recently
suggested reducing car use by
taking all round trips of five
miles or less with alternative
modes of transport, if possible.
For example, if only half of short
trips could be accomplished by
bike that would reduce auto
emissions by 20%. These
a Climate Action plan in June
2013. Part of that plan is to
build resilience against climate
effects which includes a climate
profile, vulnerability assessment, disease burden and making projections for 50 years from
now.
There is no single fix to this
problem. In addition, the recent
pattern of extreme cold temperatures is another component
and its implications cannot be
solved with a narrow focus and
lack of conversation. We must
look at climate change as a reality and be the best stewards
of our planet as possible, if not
for our sake, then for the sake
of future generations.
Mariyana Spyropoulos is an attorney based in Chicago, IL as
well as an elected Commissioner at the Metropolitan
Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago. @m_Spyropoulos
Observations By Antonis H. Diamataris
Special Limited Time Offer
formation.
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This is an annual offer that thousands of
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The National Herald has maintained –
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So, rush to take advantage of it!
As always, we are available 718-7845255 with clarifications and additional in-
A Distorted Record
The otherwise great newspaper, America’s “paper of record,” the New York Times,
published in its January 25 edition one of
the most superficial articles I have ever read.
It was titled “Greek Orthodox Rally Support
for Troubled Home.”
The article was written by... the Times’
religious editor, under the label “On Religion.”
Thus, one can imagine where and by
whom he was guided.
That is why the unsuspecting writer presented Archbishop Demetrios as a tireless
worker for the relief of the suffering of the
Greek people.
The National Herald is clearly more familiar with the realities of our Archdiocese
than is the New York Times, which produced
that superficial and exaggerated article.
But if the people in the Archdiocese
caused it to be published out of a guilty
conscience, then at least that is a good
thing. I doubt it, though, given the erroneous information that was printed.
Of course, had the newspaper praised
the role of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
and its substantial donations to the people
in Greece of need, that would be another
story – and one more accurately reflecting
“the record.”
The positive thing about the article is
that it highlights the efforts of a group of
ladies from the Philoptochos of the Church
of the Holy Cross Brooklyn, which, along
with other community organizations – such
as the Hellenic Relief, for instance – have
strived to exemplify honor of the community on this major issue. Specifically, the
Times noted the work of women like Valerie
Markou, Stella Panagakos, Eleni Psaras, and
published a photo Psaras of doing something quite admirable: delivering food to
the needy in Athens.
It is not as if the Greek-American community has done nothing to help its fellow
brothers and sisters in the homeland. To
the contrary, some of the aforementioned
individuals and groups – along with others
– have responded to the Greek crisis quite
admirably. Any implication, however, that
the Greek Orthodox Church in America has
been the exclusive, or even the predominant, catalyst behind the financial relief is
simply not true.
The Milgram Experiment
and Misuse of Authority
they’ve done the
Books don’t make
right thing because
people, people make
they’ve agreed with
books. This saying
the authority figure
never rang truer, al(the priest, for exthough it can be easample)? At what
ily forgotten by the
point, then, does
false pride and psythe alarm bell
chological illusions
sound alerting one’s
of superiority afconscience that they
forded by offices, tiare not serving the
tles, and the everHellenic Orthodox
changing balances of
by Christopher
ideals, but Caepower that exist
TRIPOULAS
saropapism
inwithin the group dystead?
namic. And most
Special to
The National Herald
Of course, this
certainly, if people
example is not limare making books,
then they are also the ones mak- ited to the clergy, although it
ing the schools. And therein the should be noted that because the
tragic irony of life makes one of clergy plays a prominent role in
its many center stage appear- the Greek Community their misances. In the Greek-American use of power or overstepping of
Community alone, we have wit- boundaries has a force multiplier
nessed the phenomenon of so- effect, resulting in greater damcalled “uneducated” people build- age.
Yale University’s Stanley Miling schools, which subsequently
end up getting shut down by their gram is famous for an experi“educated” successors. This phe- ment bearing his name in which
nomenon is also observable in he investigated obedience to auGreece, where previous genera- thority figures. His series of extions who lacked the resources or periments measured the willingyears of schooling that the current ness of study participants to obey
generation possesses managed to an authority figure who inspeak and write better Greek, structed them to perform acts
readily exhibiting their literary conflicting with their personal
and poetic talents despite their conscience. The experiment inlack of formal education. The volved three individuals: the Exmemoirs of General Makryiannis perimenter (an authoritative
serve as a prime example, con- role), the Teacher (a role insidering this unschooled Greek tended to obey the orders of the
revolutionary war hero taught Experimenter), and the Learner
himself how to read and write (the recipient of stimulus from
and ended up producing one of the Teacher). The "teacher" was
the most seminal literary works given a list of word pairs which
he was to teach the learner. The
in modern Greek history.
And so, it is not just the learner would press a button to
amount of the schooling or quan- indicate his response. If the antitative knowledge that deter- swer was incorrect, the teacher
mines one’s “per capita cultiva- would administer a shock to the
tion,” but their spirit and ethos. learner at the instruction of the
How was it that poor Greek im- experimenter, with the voltage
migrants were able to raise our increasing in 15-voltincrements
parishes and schools out of noth- for each wrong answer. The subing with only a rudimentary jects believed that for each
knowledge of the workings of wrong answer, the learner was
the American system, while sub- receiving actual shocks. In reality,
sequent generations have strug- there were no shocks, only an
gled to rival these achievements actor pretending to be shocked.
Milgram summarized the exor even failed miserably to maintain that which was passed on periment in his 1974 article, "The
Perils of Obedience", writing:
to them?
All it takes is participation in “The legal and philosophic asone dysfunctional committee to pects of obedience are of enormake one realize that the dan- mous importance, but they say
gers in dealing with “unedu- very little about how most people
cated” and self-styled “educated” behave in concrete situations. I
people is that the latter can com- set up a simple experiment at Yale
mit follies of equal magnitude, University to test how much pain
with the sole difference being an ordinary citizen would inflict
that they do so using bigger on another person simply because
words or speaking for longer pe- he was ordered to by an expeririods of time – which is probably mental scientist. Stark authority
was pitted against the subjects'
worse, come to think of it.
And since the annual celebra- [participants'] strongest moral imtion of Greek Letters is at hand, peratives against hurting others,
let’s examine a (fictional?) sce- and, with the subjects' [particinario involving the establishment pants'] ears ringing with the
of a charter school (since it does- screams of the victims, authority
n’t look like any new parochial won more often than not. The exschools will be founded anytime treme willingness of adults to go
soon). Precisely who is responsi- to almost any lengths on the comble for the selection of the found- mand of an authority constitutes
ing group and board members? the chief finding of the study and
Will they come together sponta- the fact most urgently demanding
neously, or after careful discus- explanation. Ordinary people,
sion within the Community, or simply doing their jobs, and withwill they be selected by some out any particular hostility on
(qualified?) authority figure? their part, can become agents in
And if the last scenario plays out, a terrible destructive process.
will this figure exhibit the pru- Moreover, even when the destrucdence to choose fairly, or will he tive effects of their work become
or she favor friends, promise jobs patently clear, and they are asked
to people before even accom- to carry out actions incompatible
plishing the proposed mission, with fundamental standards of
leverage his or her authority and morality, relatively few people
any management of facilities that have the resources needed to remay accompany their office to sist authority.”
Greek education, in particucurry political or other types of
lar, does not have the luxury of
favor?
If members are removed from sustaining the whimsies of exa committee for expressing dis- perimenters. There needs to be
senting views or questioning prac- serious dialogue across the hiertices of self-styled authority fig- archical structure and between
ures (or just thinking critically), Community institutions if we are
will the other committee mem- ever to rival the accomplishbers defend their fellow members’ ments of our “uneducated” forerights and use their education and fathers and establish schools,
schooling to try and safeguard the rather than close them down as
democratic process, or will they paradigms of semi-education.
opt for the false psychological security of groupthink, fooling Follow
me
on
Twitter
themselves into believing that @CTripoulas
GUEST EDITORIALS
The National Herald welcomes manuscripts representing a variety of
views 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 St., long island City, Ny 11101. They may also
be e-mailed to [email protected]. we reserve the right
to edit any manuscripts that we publish, and we do not return or
otherwise acknowledge unpublished ones. Due to considerations of
space we enforce a strict 850-word upper limit.
VIEWPOINTS
13
The Obama Report Card: Another Year, Another C Plus
I’ve given Barack Obama a
grade in this column for each of
the first four years of his presidency: 2009, B Minus; 2010, B
Minus; 2011, C Plus, and 2012,
C Plus, for an overall C Plus first
term. Now, in the first year of
his second term, I give him yet
another C Plus – his third in a
row.
For all the Obama-bashers
who continue to insist that he
deserves an “F,” to me an F
should go only to someone who
intentionally tried to destroy the
country. For example, who sold
our nuclear secrets to Al Qaeda,
set fire to the White House, tried
to blow up Mount Rushmore, or
proposed to make Osama bin
Laden’s birthday a national holiday. In other words, neither
Obama nor any of his predecessors deserves a grade of F. That
said, let us turn to Obama in
2013. If we take Obamacare off
the table, the president had a
rather good year.
Unemployment enjoyed a
slow and steady decrease all
year long, and the stock market
hit a series of record highs. In
foreign affairs, we have continued our aggressive stance
against terror – I applauded it
under Bush, and I applaud it under Obama – with arguably even
better results nowadays, though
with not as much swagger and
bravado (regretfully, I think) as
during the Bush years. (I think
a little American exceptionalism
chest-bumping every now and
then is good for the soul.)
Illegal immigration – an issue
always at or near the top for me
– continues to fall. Even though
much of that remains attributable to a slow economy, there
continue to be comparatively
fewer illegal crossings even as
financial indicators look more
promising.
Yes, indeed, it would have
been a very good year for
Obama were it not for that albatross around his neck: Obamacare.
Oh, I don’t think Obamacare
Iran and Syria can(i.e., the Affordable
not be fully evaluCare Act – ACA) is
ated just yet, anya failure – not by
way.
any means. But I
Like
Obadon’t think it’s a
macare, they, too,
success, either. You
are merely topics of
see, ACA has just
speculation at the
been implemented.
moment. NonetheLike it or not, we
less, people overall
really won’t know
are not particularly
whether or not it
happy with the
was worth enacting
president’s lack of
for, say, another 20
by CONSTANTINOS E.
strong leadership,
years. That’s how it
SCAROS
particularly
on
works in the presiObamacare.
dential history biz.
Special to
The National Herald
His retort reMy
problem
garding the website
with Obamacare,
then, is the perception. The lack snafu, that the government is
of public confidence overall in not particularly good at such
things, is only a smidgen less
it thus far. The website glitch.
The Democrats in Congress damaging than Jimmy Carter’s
running for cover to avoid being malaise speech.
By the way, Carter never aclinked to it (even though they
are the ones who wrote it!). tually used the word “malaise”
Obama’s woeful inability to in that speech, just as Cary
lead. His bully pulpit is some- Grant never said “Judy, Judy,
Judy” in any movie. Quite often,
times more like silly putty.
To be fair, his positions on perception is everything, and
Obama did not generate a positive one in 2013.
For those reasons, a rather
solid foreign policy (that remains his forte) earns Obama a
B, the improving economy gains
a B Minus, Obamacare a dismal
D Plus, and his leadership a
barely-above average C Plus.
Put together, that amounts to a
low C Plus overall.
To put it another way, Barack
Obama’s presidency is very
much like the state of Florida.
When I think of the Sunshine
State, it is sunshine that I think
of, indeed. And palm trees, and
beautiful beaches. Other people
think of oppressive humidity
and hurricanes. In reality,
Florida is neither a constant
haven of sunshine nor an endless hurricane magnet. It is the
number one state in the nation
with a typical weather forecast
of: Partly Cloudy.
Similarly, Obama’s presidency, thus far, has been partly
cloudy, too.
In 2013, and, more broadly, in five years as president thus far, Barack Obama has been neither
spectacular nor horrible. At this rate, he will not be rated the best president ever or the worst
– he’ll probably wind up somewhere right in the middle. A "partly cloudy" presidency.
LETTER FROM ATHENS
The Consequences of a Golden Dawn Mayor of Athens
The best political job in
world has to be President of
France, a real babe magnet, because it led super model Carla
Bruni to cozy up to Nicolas
“Pepe Le Pew” Sarkozy and a
less-classier version, Julie Gayet,
to pair up with his successor
Francois Hollande, a sallowlooking frog-eyed little invertebrate who’d have to pay someone like her a thousand bucks
for the night otherwise.
One of the worst has to be
Mayor of Athens, because you
preside over a city and really
have relatively little power, are
overshadowed constantly by a
Prime Minister who’s just blocks
down the street from the City
Hall, have to deal with public
workers who wouldn’t move if
they had dynamite in their underwear, and are a target for nut
jobs with imagined grievances.
On top of that, you oversee
a cement gray city that looks
filthy in the brightest summer
sunlight, has little public art
even though Ancient Greece created that idea of urban aesthetics, even less green space, and
the mayor has almost no say on
anything.
The prime minister decides
what will happen on almost
anything that matters and the
mayor has to deal with a City
Council that’s so obscure if you
gave any Greek on the street
one million guesses to name one
of them they couldn’t.
Which brings up the question
of why anyone would want the
job, including the current office
holder, Giorgos Kaminis, who
was born in New York and since
taking office five years ago has
been assaulted by workers angry
over pay cuts and barely missed
taking a shot from Giorgos Germenis, a lawmaker of the superduper-ultra-far-right (some even
say neo-Nazi) extra-extremist
Golden Dawn Party, who reportedly had a gun.
Germenis has since been arrested, along with party chief
Nikos “Little Adolf” Michaloliakos and four other Golden
AP PHOTO
spite witness accounts.
Golden Dawn is running
third in surveys that show Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras’ New
Democracy Conservatives have
slipped to second behind the
major opposition Coalition of
the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and
with the Premier’s coalition
partners, the PASOK Socialists,
barely above the three percent
threshold needed to win seats
in Parliament.
Golden Dawn rose from obscurity in 2009 when it garnered
only 0.29 percent of the vote to
gain 18 seats in Parliament in
the 2012 elections when it got
6.97 percent of the vote, a figure
it doubled before the murder of
an anti-fascist hip-hop artist,
Pavlos Fyssas, in September,
2013 by a party member and
saw its popularity plummet before a recent rebound.
Golden Dawn ascended on
the back of an anti-immigrant
platform and opposition to
harsh austerity measures the
government has imposed on the
orders of international lenders.
It also has a stance that is antiSemitic, anti-gay, anti-Capitalist
– if you add womanizer you
could get elected in France on
that platform - and has pushed
for prosecutions for blasphemy.
But let’s wait until his announcement speech, which
won’t be passed out to reporters
because the party’s antispokesman doesn’t speak to reporters, probably because he
has trouble getting through a
single sentence coherently without spitting the bile of hate on
his black shirt.
What’s scary is that polls
show 10 percent of Greeks believe in people like this Profile
in Cowardice and his gang that
goes around beating immigrants, but only if the odds are
30-1 because otherwise they’d
turn and run faster than the
President of France galloping after a young model or starlet
with stars in her eyes.
Ilias Kasidiaris Golden Dawn’s spokesman and Ourania
Michaloliakos, wife of imprisoned leader Nikos Michaloliakos.
[email protected]
as Michaloliakos
Dawn MPs who are
had a seat on the
charged with running a criminal gang
City
Council
although it’s going
where one of his
to be hard to confirst orders of the
vince anyone these
day was to snap
into a Heil Hitler
guys could run a hot
dog stand.
salute faster than
the Nazi played by
The
party’s
Kenneth Mars in
spokesman Ilias KaThe
Producers
sidiaris, also an MP
who wrote a play
and arrested in the
Samaras Sweep of
idolizing Hitler.
by ANDY
But it must be
Golden Dawn, is
DABILIS
throwing his hat
a reflex motion
into the ring for the
like
Dr.
Special to
The National Herald
job next year and it
Strangelove, Peter
Sellers character in
must be a convertible fedora given the size of his the black comedy of the same
head and the peanut-sized brain name, which is what Athens
inside it.
would be if Kasidiaris, as unFor those who don’t know or likely as it seems, ever becomes
remember, Kasidiaris is the surly its mayor. What an illustrious
little thug who slapped Liana day that would be for the city
Kanelli, a rather smart law- that withstood Persians and real
maker from the KKE Commu- Nazis only to fall to a cartoon
nists – who have so few of them. caricature.
That was on a live TV show
If elected – and if not conwhere she was making him look victed and jailed – Kasidiaris
like Howdy Doody when he said he would use deserted
talked so he resorted to what buildings in the capital, curbullies do, even against women, rently occupied by illegal immiand then ran away and hid for grants, to house homeless
a couple of days so he couldn’t Greeks. Golden Dawn, which
be arrested. There’s mayoral wants all immigrants deported,
has also been accused of beating
timber for you right there.
There’s some precedent here them, which it also denies de-
14
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