The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth...

12
The National Herald A WeeKLY gReeK-AMeRIcAN PUbLIcATION August 8-14, 2015 www.thenationalherald.com VOL. 18, ISSUE 930 $1.50 c v O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 NEWS 100 th anniversary 1915-2015 For subscription: 718.784.5255 [email protected] ATHENS – Repeating what he’s been saying for six months, Greek Prime Minister and Radi- cal Left SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras said the country is in the home stretch of an agreement with international lenders for another rescue package. “We are at the final stage of completing an agreement with the (creditor) institutions,” he said of the just-resumed negoti- ations with the Quarter of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Cen- tral Bank-European Stability Mechanism (EU-IMF-ECB-ESM). Tsipras has asked for a third bailout, of 86 billion euros ($94.38 billion) after reneging on campaign promises to reject austerity measures that come with the money. During his cam- paign ahead of the Jan. 25 snap elections, he said that Greece couldn’t afford to repay two bailouts of 240 billion euros ($261.54 billion) and would ask for debt relief. His dilemma is that he vowed to reject more austerity measures but has caved in to the lenders with Greece facing a financial catastrophe: unable to borrow from markets because of prohibitive interest rates, tax revenues falling and banks un- der capital controls, strangling investment and recovery. Greece needs assistance fast as it faces a 3.5-billion euro ($3.8 billion) payment to the ECB on Aug. 20 and defaulted last month on a series of bun- dled options of 1.6-billion euros ($1.74 billion) to the IMF. European Commission Pres- ident Jean-Claude Juncker said he believes Greece and its inter- national lenders will make a bailout deal by Aug. 20 but it still must be ratified by the Greek Parliament and those in the other 18 Eurozone coun- tries. “All the reports I am getting suggest an accord this month, preferably before the 20th,” Juncker told AFP in an inter- view. The government said it was shooting for an Aug. 18 tar- get date. The negotiations in Athens, which took some time to orga- nize, are now making “satisfac- tory” progress, Juncker said. He said if an agreement is not reached, “then we will have to arrange another round of bridge financing” similar to July, when Juncker helped put to- gether an emergency loan of 7.0 billion euros ($7.6 billion) so Athens could pay the ECB and make up arrears due to the IMF. SYRIZA REBELS RESIST Tsipras is, however, under mounting pressure from dis- senters in the ruling SYRIZA party to abandon the process. The revolt could trigger an early general election in the fall, less than a year into Tsipras’ mandate. The negotiators are pressing Greece to speed up a program to cut early retirement rights, impose stricter rules for tax ar- rears payments, and allow stronger creditor oversight of a privatization fund. The European Union’s exec- utive Commission, one of the main negotiators, said the talks are progressing in a satisfactory way and believes an agreement can reached by Aug. 20. “This is an ambitious yet pos- Euro Pres. Juncker Cites “Satisfactory” Progress for August 20 Target Date California technology entre- preneur George Macricostas, who started the off-site data backup management site Rag- ingWire, has donated $1.1 mil- lion so far to the campaign of Republican Presidential candi- date Rand Paul, a Republican U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Macricostas ranked 29th on a list of donors of more than $1 million to presidential cam- paigns more than a year before the election and as the Republi- can field has swollen. Paul, a physician, is the son of former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul from Texas. Sen. Paul is a libertarian and strong sup- porter of the ultra-right Tea Party movement who an- nounced his candidacy on April 7, 2015 and has seen Macricostas being his prime sup- porter among the $6 million raised so far for the campaign. Paul is known for being ac- cessible to the media but he ad- mitted in an interview on CNN to being "short-tempered" with the press. The big donations flow through so-called Super PACs (Political Action Committees). Leading the list of donors to candidates is Robert Mercer, co- Chief Executive of Renaissance Technologies, who gave $11.3 million, 98 percent to Texas Re- publican conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, and the rest split between Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fio- rina. RagingWire is largely owned by the Japanese company NTT Communications. Macricostas gave his donation to Paul through America’s Liberty PAC, which is run by Paul’s former campaign manager Jesse Ben- ton, the Huffington Post said. Macricostas donated to the 2012 Presidential campaign of Paul's father and to a joint fundraising committee provid- ing money to Rand Paul's Presi- dential campaign, 2016 Senate account, and leadership PAC. RagingWire started as a co- location center providing off-site data backup for financial and technology companies. George Macricostas was a founder in 2000 and served as the com- pany’s first CEO. In a profile, the Sacramento Business Journal reported that he led the company from its somewhat rocky birth — com- Tech Whiz Gives $1.1 Mil to Paul Campaign Macricostas One Of Pres. Hopeful’s Prime Supporters TNH Staff MYKONOS, GREECE – For an entertainer and a would-be burn victim on Mykonos, “drag” has a whole new meaning. On July 24, James Davis, a Miami drag queen better known by his stage name, “Elaine Lan- caster,” pulled a young man out of a burning car on the island of Mykonos, the Miami Herald reported, just before the vehicle was consumed by flames. Davis saw the car rolling back and forth outside “my beautiful villa,” which is being occupied by Davis while he works the 54 Club with fellow drag queens Brooks and Lady Bunny through August, the Her- ald reported. There were three people in the car, tourists from Italy, two men and a woman. Davis saw the flames first, and alerted the visitors. The woman, driving the car, jumped out when she saw the flames, as did one of the men, who was sitting in the back seat. The other man, though, sit- ting in the front seat passenger’s side, was frozen, Davis said, “as if he were hypnotized.” Davis ran to him, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him out of the car. When the man snapped out of his panic-induced intertia, he said to Davis “you saved my life.” Brooks relayed the story on Facebook, pointing out that “Elaine is too modest to tell you this herself,” and called Davis a “Mykonos SHEro.” Davis said, the Herald re- ported, that at the time he saved the man from the flames, “I had on a pair of shorts, no shirt, no shoes. I was dressed as a boy.” On Mykonos, New Meaning to “Drag” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras listens to a speech during a gathering at the Agriculture Ministry in Athens on Aug. 5. He is hopeful that a new bailout package will come any day now. It’s the Mr. Loukouma Man! Move over, Mister Softee, the “Mr. Loukouma” truck is making its way through Astoria. It is a business created by three Greek-Americans, Angelos Kambitsis, Yiannis Arvanitopoulos, and Panagiotis Papadatos, offering fresh loukoumades, yogurt, and frappe. The business pledges that 20% of the proceeds will go to help crisis victims in Greece. With a penchant for creating world-class drugs, George Yan- copoulos, 55, has gone from do- ing research at Columbia to su- perstar status in his industry, and made himself a billionaire doing it. Pushed by his father, a first- generation Greek immigrant who complained how little the university life paid, Yancopoulos in 1988 jumped ship to a small Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past five years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine, showed how his sci- entific ability and humility com- bined to help him develop drugs for patients with illnesses from asthma to cancer and made the company a force to be reckoned with in its field. Yancopoulos: A Big Pharm Phenomenon By Steve Frangos TNH Staff Writer CHICAGO- The Camarinos brothers were among the first Greeks to settle in Hawaii in the 1880s. Originally from the vil- lage of Tsintzina near Sparta the Camarinos family relocated to nearby Goritsa. What might seem a minor point of family history becomes a prominent factor in this clan’s future busi- ness interests. Three Camarinos brothers eventually traveled to Hawaii, Demetrius (1856- 1903), Panayiotis (later Peter) (1862-1942) and John. Understanding the collective actions of these brothers can serve several historical pur- poses. First, given the leadership role of the Camarinos brothers we learn more about the collec- tive impact of the Greeks in Hawaii. Next, the Camarinos brothers’ business advance- ments inform the success of many Greek immigrant confec- tioners in North America that until very recently was not known. And finally even a causal review of the experiences of the Camarinos brother’s lives confronts the reader with a case study in the manner by which American history can gloss over terrible crimes. Demetrios Camarinos is cred- ited with attending the Univer- sty of Athens where he was studying to be a priest. However, by 1877, Demetrios abandoned his theo- logical studies and traveled to New York City looking for work. Displeased with the city, Ca- marinos moved westward, end- ing up in San Francisco. Like the vast majority of Greek immi- grants Camarinos’ first job was a dishwasher. In 1879, using savings and money sent by his father Camarinos purchased a fruit store on East Street near Clay. In 1887, Peter Camarinos joined his brother. Once to- gether the brothers decided to start a fruit company in Hawaii and from there to export fruit to California markets. In 1884, the twenty-two year old Peter Camarinos traveled to Hawaii to establish just such a business, the California Fruit Market. While this move would only seem logical, today, it must Hawaii Pineapples: Camarinos Bros. By Constantine S. Sirigos TNH Staff Writer NEW YORK – Retired 4-Star Ad- miral James Stavridis, Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and former Supreme Allied Com- mander at NATO, will present a lecture titled, “21st Century Se- curity Challenges and Opportu- nities” at the Kimisis Church of the Hamptons on August 8. The lecture is one of the ma- jor summertime events of a parish that does not slow down after June. Fr. Alexander Karlout- sos, Protopresbyter of the Ecu- menical Patriarchate, Fr. Con- stantine Lazarakis, and the Parish Council, led by President Gus Karpathakis, will welcome the guests. Stavridis, who will be signing copies of his book, The Acciden- tal Admiral, is the author of six books and hundreds of articles. He told The National Herald his presentation is “a look at the global security situation which I think we can all agree is pretty dangerous.” “There will obviously also be a conversation about Greece and its economic challenges and the challenges in the eurozone,” he said. “It’s important that we recog- nize that Greece is in an incredi- bly important geographic posi- tion, right on the nexus of terrorist routes, in a very con- tentious area for NATO, and is a willing participant in all NATO operation. It has been a very good and constructive partner from a geopolitical perspective and it affords extremely impor- tant strategic bases for the al- liance and the United States,” he said. So “Point 1 is: Greece Mat- ters,” and not just in the financial scheme of things,” he continued. His second point is that “Greece has an incredibly diffi- cult time ahead and it is vitally important that the U.S., the Stavridis to Speak on Challenges By Constantine S. Sirigos TNH Staff Writer NEW YORK – In an important message of solidarity and sup- port for its longstanding ally and acknowledgement of the role the Greek-American community can play in Greece, the Obama Administration has invited com- munity leaders to a discussion at the White House with Senior Administration Officials on the current situation on August 6. Approximately 40 commu- nity leaders are expected to be present, and there is reportedly an emphasis on people and groups already on the ground in Greece providing humanitar- ian aid and promoting economic development. Former Massa- chusetts Governor and 1988 De- mocratic Presidential Nominee Michael Dukakis is reportedly among the invitees. Denis McDonough, White House Chief of Staff, will be among those who will make re- marks along with Caroline Atkinson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Na- tional Security Advisor for In- ternational Economic Affairs, and other Senior Administration Officials. The meeting will take place in the historic Indian Treaty Room in the East Wing of the Executive Building, where sem- inal documents such as the UN Charter and the Bretton Woods Agreement were signed. Philip Christopher, president of PSEKA, looks forward to the gathering. “Greece deserves this kind of support during the crisis, a situation which has been com- pounded by the flood of refugees into the country,” he said. Andy Manatos, the founder and president of the Coordinate Effort of Hellenes, said the meeting constitutes “positive fallout from the activity of Pres- ident Obama and Treasury Sec- retary Jack Lew’s activities dur- ing the recent negotiations. “The American government is taking a look at what we have that might be helpful to Greece. It’s an opportunity for the ad- ministration to share its assess- ment of what might be possible and enlist the community’s sup- port for such an effort,” he told TNH. Manatos agrees that it is rare that when policymakers think about America’s interest in help- ing other countries they can draw on the resources of a suc- cessful and engaged Diaspora community. John Galanis, Supreme Pres- ident of AHEPA, will send rep- resentatives. “It is commendable that the Obama Administration White House Hosts Greek- Am. Leaders Discussion AP PHOTO/YORgOS KARAHALIS TNH/DIMITRIS TSAKAS Tsipras Says Debt Deal is Imminent, Wants a Third Bailout Continued on page 4 Continued on page 7 Continued on page 2 Continued on page 5 Continued on page 9 Continued on page 5

Transcript of The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth...

Page 1: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

The National HeraldA weeKlY gReeK-AMeRIcAN PublIcATIoN

August 8-14, 2015

www.thenationalherald.comVOL. 18, ISSUE 930 $1.50c v

o C VΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ

ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915NEW

S 100

1

th

anniversary

1915-2015

For subscription:

[email protected]

ATHENS – Repeating what he’sbeen saying for six months,Greek Prime Minister and Radi-cal Left SYRIZA leader AlexisTsipras said the country is in thehome stretch of an agreementwith international lenders foranother rescue package.

“We are at the final stage ofcompleting an agreement withthe (creditor) institutions,” hesaid of the just-resumed negoti-ations with the Quarter of theEuropean Union-InternationalMonetary Fund-European Cen-tral Bank-European StabilityMechanism (EU-IMF-ECB-ESM).

Tsipras has asked for a thirdbailout, of 86 billion euros($94.38 billion) after renegingon campaign promises to rejectausterity measures that comewith the money. During his cam-paign ahead of the Jan. 25 snapelections, he said that Greececouldn’t afford to repay twobailouts of 240 billion euros($261.54 billion) and would askfor debt relief.

His dilemma is that hevowed to reject more austeritymeasures but has caved in tothe lenders with Greece facinga financial catastrophe: unableto borrow from markets becauseof prohibitive interest rates, taxrevenues falling and banks un-der capital controls, stranglinginvestment and recovery.

Greece needs assistance fastas it faces a 3.5-billion euro($3.8 billion) payment to theECB on Aug. 20 and defaultedlast month on a series of bun-dled options of 1.6-billion euros($1.74 billion) to the IMF.

European Commission Pres-ident Jean-Claude Juncker saidhe believes Greece and its inter-national lenders will make abailout deal by Aug. 20 but itstill must be ratified by theGreek Parliament and those inthe other 18 Eurozone coun-tries.

“All the reports I am gettingsuggest an accord this month,preferably before the 20th,”Juncker told AFP in an inter-view. The government said itwas shooting for an Aug. 18 tar-get date.

The negotiations in Athens,which took some time to orga-nize, are now making “satisfac-tory” progress, Juncker said.

He said if an agreement isnot reached, “then we will haveto arrange another round ofbridge financing” similar to July,when Juncker helped put to-gether an emergency loan of 7.0billion euros ($7.6 billion) soAthens could pay the ECB andmake up arrears due to the IMF.SYRIZA REBELS RESISTTsipras is, however, under

mounting pressure from dis-senters in the ruling SYRIZAparty to abandon the process.

The revolt could trigger anearly general election in the fall,less than a year into Tsipras’mandate.

The negotiators are pressingGreece to speed up a programto cut early retirement rights,impose stricter rules for tax ar-rears payments, and allowstronger creditor oversight of aprivatization fund.

The European Union’s exec-utive Commission, one of themain negotiators, said the talksare progressing in a satisfactoryway and believes an agreementcan reached by Aug. 20.

“This is an ambitious yet pos-

Euro Pres. Juncker Cites “Satisfactory”Progress for August 20 Target Date

California technology entre-preneur George Macricostas,who started the off-site databackup management site Rag-ingWire, has donated $1.1 mil-lion so far to the campaign ofRepublican Presidential candi-date Rand Paul, a RepublicanU.S. Senator from Kentucky.

Macricostas ranked 29th ona list of donors of more than $1million to presidential cam-paigns more than a year beforethe election and as the Republi-can field has swollen.

Paul, a physician, is the sonof former U.S. CongressmanRon Paul from Texas. Sen. Paulis a libertarian and strong sup-porter of the ultra-right TeaParty movement who an-nounced his candidacy on April7, 2015 and has seenMacricostas being his prime sup-porter among the $6 millionraised so far for the campaign.

Paul is known for being ac-cessible to the media but he ad-mitted in an interview on CNNto being "short-tempered" withthe press.

The big donations flowthrough so-called Super PACs(Political Action Committees).Leading the list of donors tocandidates is Robert Mercer, co-Chief Executive of RenaissanceTechnologies, who gave $11.3million, 98 percent to Texas Re-publican conservative Sen. TedCruz, and the rest split betweenRepublican Louisiana Gov.Bobby Jindal and formerHewlett-Packard chief Carly Fio-rina.

RagingWire is largely ownedby the Japanese company NTTCommunications. Macricostasgave his donation to Paulthrough America’s Liberty PAC,which is run by Paul’s formercampaign manager Jesse Ben-ton, the Huffington Post said.

Macricostas donated to the2012 Presidential campaign ofPaul's father and to a jointfundraising committee provid-ing money to Rand Paul's Presi-dential campaign, 2016 Senateaccount, and leadership PAC.

RagingWire started as a co-location center providing off-sitedata backup for financial andtechnology companies. GeorgeMacricostas was a founder in2000 and served as the com-pany’s first CEO.

In a profile, the SacramentoBusiness Journal reported thathe led the company from itssomewhat rocky birth — com-

Tech WhizGives $1.1Mil to PaulCampaignMacricostas OneOf Pres. Hopeful’sPrime Supporters

TNH Staff

MYKONOS, GREECE – For anentertainer and a would-be burnvictim on Mykonos, “drag” hasa whole new meaning.

On July 24, James Davis, aMiami drag queen better knownby his stage name, “Elaine Lan-caster,” pulled a young man outof a burning car on the islandof Mykonos, the Miami Heraldreported, just before the vehiclewas consumed by flames.

Davis saw the car rollingback and forth outside “mybeautiful villa,” which is being

occupied by Davis while heworks the 54 Club with fellowdrag queens Brooks and LadyBunny through August, the Her-ald reported.

There were three people inthe car, tourists from Italy, twomen and a woman. Davis sawthe flames first, and alerted thevisitors. The woman, driving thecar, jumped out when she sawthe flames, as did one of themen, who was sitting in theback seat.

The other man, though, sit-ting in the front seat passenger’sside, was frozen, Davis said, “as

if he were hypnotized.” Davisran to him, grabbed him by thearm, and pulled him out of thecar. When the man snapped outof his panic-induced intertia, hesaid to Davis “you saved mylife.”

Brooks relayed the story onFacebook, pointing out that“Elaine is too modest to tell youthis herself,” and called Davis a“Mykonos SHEro.”

Davis said, the Herald re-ported, that at the time he savedthe man from the flames, “I hadon a pair of shorts, no shirt, noshoes. I was dressed as a boy.”

On Mykonos, New Meaning to “Drag”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras listens to a speech during a gathering at the AgricultureMinistry in Athens on Aug. 5. He is hopeful that a new bailout package will come any day now.

It’s the Mr. Loukouma Man!Move over, Mister Softee, the “Mr. Loukouma” truck is making its way through Astoria. It is abusiness created by three Greek-Americans, Angelos Kambitsis, Yiannis Arvanitopoulos, andPanagiotis Papadatos, offering fresh loukoumades, yogurt, and frappe. The business pledgesthat 20% of the proceeds will go to help crisis victims in Greece.

With a penchant for creatingworld-class drugs, George Yan-copoulos, 55, has gone from do-ing research at Columbia to su-perstar status in his industry,and made himself a billionairedoing it.

Pushed by his father, a first-generation Greek immigrantwho complained how little theuniversity life paid, Yancopoulosin 1988 jumped ship to a smallTarrytown, NY Biotech firmcalled Regeneron and helped itsworth rocket 2,240 percent inthe past five years.

His career, featured in Forbesmagazine, showed how his sci-entific ability and humility com-bined to help him develop drugsfor patients with illnesses fromasthma to cancer and made thecompany a force to be reckonedwith in its field.

Yancopoulos:A Big PharmPhenomenon

By Steve FrangosTNH Staff Writer

CHICAGO- The Camarinosbrothers were among the firstGreeks to settle in Hawaii in the1880s. Originally from the vil-lage of Tsintzina near Sparta theCamarinos family relocated tonearby Goritsa. What mightseem a minor point of familyhistory becomes a prominentfactor in this clan’s future busi-ness interests. Three Camarinosbrothers eventually traveled toHawaii, Demetrius (1856-1903), Panayiotis (later Peter)(1862-1942) and John.

Understanding the collectiveactions of these brothers canserve several historical pur-poses. First, given the leadershiprole of the Camarinos brothers

we learn more about the collec-tive impact of the Greeks inHawaii. Next, the Camarinosbrothers’ business advance-ments inform the success ofmany Greek immigrant confec-tioners in North America thatuntil very recently was notknown. And finally even acausal review of the experiencesof the Camarinos brother’s livesconfronts the reader with a casestudy in the manner by whichAmerican history can gloss overterrible crimes.

Demetrios Camarinos is cred-ited with attending the Univer-sty of Athens where he wasstudying to be a priest.

However, by 1877,Demetrios abandoned his theo-logical studies and traveled toNew York City looking for work.

Displeased with the city, Ca-marinos moved westward, end-ing up in San Francisco. Like thevast majority of Greek immi-grants Camarinos’ first job wasa dishwasher. In 1879, usingsavings and money sent by hisfather Camarinos purchased afruit store on East Street nearClay. In 1887, Peter Camarinosjoined his brother. Once to-gether the brothers decided tostart a fruit company in Hawaiiand from there to export fruitto California markets.

In 1884, the twenty-two yearold Peter Camarinos traveled toHawaii to establish just such abusiness, the California FruitMarket. While this move wouldonly seem logical, today, it must

Hawaii Pineapples: Camarinos Bros.

By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – Retired 4-Star Ad-miral James Stavridis, Dean ofThe Fletcher School of Law andDiplomacy at Tufts Universityand former Supreme Allied Com-mander at NATO, will present alecture titled, “21st Century Se-curity Challenges and Opportu-nities” at the Kimisis Church ofthe Hamptons on August 8.

The lecture is one of the ma-jor summertime events of aparish that does not slow downafter June. Fr. Alexander Karlout-sos, Protopresbyter of the Ecu-menical Patriarchate, Fr. Con-stantine Lazarakis, and theParish Council, led by PresidentGus Karpathakis, will welcomethe guests.

Stavridis, who will be signingcopies of his book, The Acciden-tal Admiral, is the author of sixbooks and hundreds of articles.He told The National Herald hispresentation is “a look at theglobal security situation which Ithink we can all agree is prettydangerous.”

“There will obviously also bea conversation about Greece andits economic challenges and thechallenges in the eurozone,” hesaid.

“It’s important that we recog-nize that Greece is in an incredi-bly important geographic posi-tion, right on the nexus ofterrorist routes, in a very con-tentious area for NATO, and is awilling participant in all NATOoperation. It has been a verygood and constructive partnerfrom a geopolitical perspectiveand it affords extremely impor-tant strategic bases for the al-liance and the United States,” hesaid.

So “Point 1 is: Greece Mat-ters,” and not just in the financialscheme of things,” he continued.

His second point is that“Greece has an incredibly diffi-cult time ahead and it is vitallyimportant that the U.S., the

Stavridis toSpeak onChallenges

By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – In an importantmessage of solidarity and sup-port for its longstanding ally andacknowledgement of the rolethe Greek-American communitycan play in Greece, the ObamaAdministration has invited com-munity leaders to a discussionat the White House with SeniorAdministration Officials on thecurrent situation on August 6.

Approximately 40 commu-nity leaders are expected to bepresent, and there is reportedlyan emphasis on people andgroups already on the groundin Greece providing humanitar-ian aid and promoting economicdevelopment. Former Massa-chusetts Governor and 1988 De-mocratic Presidential NomineeMichael Dukakis is reportedlyamong the invitees.

Denis McDonough, WhiteHouse Chief of Staff, will beamong those who will make re-marks along with CarolineAtkinson, Deputy Assistant tothe President and Deputy Na-tional Security Advisor for In-ternational Economic Affairs,and other Senior AdministrationOfficials.

The meeting will take placein the historic Indian TreatyRoom in the East Wing of theExecutive Building, where sem-inal documents such as the UNCharter and the Bretton WoodsAgreement were signed.

Philip Christopher, presidentof PSEKA, looks forward to thegathering. “Greece deserves thiskind of support during the crisis,a situation which has been com-pounded by the flood ofrefugees into the country,” hesaid.

Andy Manatos, the founderand president of the CoordinateEffort of Hellenes, said themeeting constitutes “positivefallout from the activity of Pres-ident Obama and Treasury Sec-retary Jack Lew’s activities dur-ing the recent negotiations.

“The American governmentis taking a look at what we havethat might be helpful to Greece.It’s an opportunity for the ad-ministration to share its assess-ment of what might be possibleand enlist the community’s sup-port for such an effort,” he toldTNH.

Manatos agrees that it is rarethat when policymakers thinkabout America’s interest in help-ing other countries they candraw on the resources of a suc-cessful and engaged Diasporacommunity.

John Galanis, Supreme Pres-ident of AHEPA, will send rep-resentatives. “It is commendablethat the Obama Administration

White HouseHosts Greek-Am. LeadersDiscussion

AP PHoTo/YoRgoS KARAHAlIS

TNH/DIMITRIS TSAKAS

Tsipras Says Debt Deal is Imminent, Wants a Third Bailout

Continued on page 4Continued on page 7Continued on page 2

Continued on page 5

Continued on page 9

Continued on page 5

Page 2: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

TNH Staff

BALTIMORE, MD – Everyoneloves a small plate of deliciousfood. Long time Greek-Ameri-can friends opened up a CavaMezze in Baltimore, reportedthe Baltimore Sun. Mezze is nota new concept in the Baltimoredining scene but it is definitelynot overplayed, wrote the Sun.Cava Mezze opened in late Junein Harbor East. It is “a welcomeaddition to the city and alreadyfeels familiar. Its Greek-inspiredsmall plates are mostly well-con-ceived and nicely prepared, andservice is friendly and knowl-edgeable, though not perfectlypaced.” This is the fourth loca-tion for Cava Mezze. The otherrestaurants are located aroundthe DC area. The owners havenational plans for Cava Mezzeand her sister Cava Grill.

The Sun reported that the“Baltimore restaurant's newlybuilt space is loud, dimly lit andmodern, with dark fixtures andmetal and wood accents. On arecent Monday night, '90s rapgave the space an upbeat, chattyvibe that felt appropriate for thecrowd — couples and smallgroups of friends, mostly in their30s — though the space couldskew sexier (or younger) withnothing more than a change inmusic.” Cava Mezze adds a littleflair by frying happens table-side; where waiters ignitesaganaki and flames shoot intothe air. “Flaming dishes are dra-matic and fun.” Although CavaMezze has a solid list of localbeers and gamely offers a fewGreek beverage selections, thecocktail menu branches out a

bit. Some suggestions from theSun about what to eat: “Groupsshould consider the dip sampler,which includes small scoops ofCava Mezze's five dips, servedwith pita triangles. Tzatziki,hummus and roasted eggplantspreads, all well-seasoned, werefamiliar takes on the classicGreek dips. Taramosalata, is abright pink spread made withsalmon roe, was subtly fishy anddressed up with truffle oil anda sprinkling of salty caviar. Ourfavorite of the dips was the"crazy" feta. It is Whipped andinfused with jalapeno, the fetawas spicy, salty and very lik-able.”

And for dessert: “Challahbread French toast served withberries, and loukoumades, frieddoughnuts drizzled with honeyand sprinkled with choppedwalnuts. Both were fluffy andsweet but not too sugary. Theloukoumades were better –crispier on the outside and more

interesting all around.”

PITTSBURGH, PA – This weekwriter Gabe Rosenberg wrote anarticle on Carrie Weaver, a lec-turer and recent Kenneth P. Di-etrich School of Arts and Sci-ences Postdoctoral Fellow at theUniversity of Pittsburgh, thePittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.Weaver analyzed 258 burials andskeletons from the Passo Mari-naro necropolis in Kamarina,which were excavated in the1980s by Italian archaeologistGiovanni Di Stefano but neveranalyzed. Rosenberg says,“Sometime between 500 B.C.and 200 B.C., residents of theGreek colony of Kamarina inSicily dug two graves for twobodies. They pinned down eachbody with large rocks or pottery;if the bodies awoke from thedead, they could not escape. Re-animated corpses did not, to thebest of anyone’s knowledge, rav-age the Greek Empire then, but

ancient Greeks certainly believedthey could. Instances of bothnecrophobia (fear of the dead)and necromancy (the practice ofcommunicating with the dead)are common in ancient Greekculture, and are the focus of newresearch by Weaver.”

Rosenberg laughably saysthat “The zombies of AncientGreece would put the zombiesof American pop culture toshame — if only because theywere really, truly feared.”Weaver, a classical archaeologistwho specializes in human oste-ology and funerary archaeology,was working in Sicily when shefound these skeletons had beenleft unexamined in a museum.Two burials stood out to her.Weaver said that, “Any time thata body is buried differently fromthe rest of the members of thecemetery, it’s termed a deviantburial,” the Gazette reported.Weaver found that ancientGreeks belief in the supernaturalextended to convictions that cer-tain individuals were predis-posed, predestined or compelledto become “revenants,” or theundead. “Illegitimate offspring,victims of suicide, mothers whodied in childbirth and victims ofmurder, drowning, stroke orplague could all becomerevenants. Improper treatmentof a body, such as not providingproper burial rites or allowinganimals or insects to leap or flyover a body, could cause it totransform.” Weaver’s examina-tion of the Kamarina cemeterywill appear in her book, “TheBioarchaeology of Classical Ka-marina: Life and Death in GreekSicily.”

Cava Mezze

n THRU OCT. 31CHICAGO, IL – The NationalHellenic Museum, 33 S HalstedSt., in Chicago, pays tribute tothe legendary actor and artistAnthony Quinn, who brought tolife one of the greatest and mostlife-affirming literary charactersof our time – Zorba the Greek.Quinn’s creative genius is show-cased in an exhibition of morethan 80 of his emotive paintingsand powerful sculptures. Visi-tors will see reflections ofQuinn’s life experiences and theimpact of his long friendshipwith the Greek people.

n THRU OCT. 3TARPON SPRINGS, FL – Nightin the Islands returns to theworld-famous Sponge Docks ofTarpon Springs for 2015! Satur-days, 6-11PM: Sept. 12, andOct. 3. A free event of Greekmusic, dancing, and dining! Andwe will offer an hour of freeGreek dance lessons by the Lev-endia Dance Troupe from 6-7PM.

n AUGUST 21-22MONESSEN, PA – The St. Spyri-don Greek Orthodox Church,1207 Grand Boulevard in Mon-essen, invites you to join our cel-ebration at our Annual GreekFestival on Friday, Aug. 21 andSaturday, Aug. 22 11AM-10PM.Our Festival is part of the 47Greek festivals throughout thePittsburgh area this summer,and the last of them to takeplace in August.

n AUGUST 21-23ANCHORAGE, AK ¬¬– TheHoly Transfiguration Greek Or-thodox Church, 2800 O’MalleyRoad, Anchorage, AK 99507, in-vites you to join them for theirannual Greek Festival. The fes-tival will be on Friday, Aug. 21and Saturday, Aug. 22 from11AM to 10PM and SundayAug. 23 from 11AM to 6PM. Ad-mission is free. There will be livemusic, cooking demonstrations,church tours, and Greek danceperformances. Bring the kids, asthere is many fun activities forthem too. Parking is free onchurch grounds and across thestreet. Free shuttle parking isalso available. See festival web-site for more details.

RENO, NV – Be Greek for theday at the annual 2015 RenoGreek Festival. Authentic Greekcuisine crafted by the membersof the St. Anthony’s Greek Or-thodox Church, 4795 LakesideDrive in Reno. It infuses theneighborhood with scents oforegano, olive oil and lemon.Traditional Greek dance, music,desserts, and imports create aMediterranean atmosphere anda family friendly environment.Sharing the Greek culture withthe community for nearly 40years, The Reno Greek Festivalhas proven to be a signature cel-ebration in our hometown. Fri-day, Aug. 21: 5-10PM, Saturday,Aug. 22 12 Noon-10PM; Sun-day, Aug. 23 11AM-3PM. Formore information, please con-tact the Church at (775) 825-5365.

n AUGUST 28-30CARMEL, IN – The Holy TrinityGreek Orthodox Church, 3500W. 106th street in Carmel invitesyou to join them for their annualGreek Festival. The festival willbe on Friday, Aug. 28 from 4PMto 11PM and Saturday, Aug. 29from 11AM to 10PM and Sun-day Aug. 23 from 11AM to 4PM.Admission is free. There will belive music, food and pastries, aguided church tour, and Greekdance performances. The Hel-lenic Dance Troup will be per-forming, as well as the Ormi Or-chestra. The whole family willenjoy the Children’s ActivityTent. Face painting, Greek flagtattoos, lollipop draw, braceletmaking, and guessing the num-ber of olives in a jar will be someof the fun everyone will enjoy.Make a Greek flag, an Olympiclaurel wreath to wear, and apostcard. A “Cell Phone Selfie”

center will allow children to useprops to take pictures of them-selves in front of a backdrop onFriday and Sunday. There willbe a puppet show every 90 min-utes on Saturday only duringthe duration of GreekFest. Seefestival website for more details.

n AUGUST 29-30HONOLULU, HI – Aloha andYeia Sas! We invite you to joinus in our annual Greek Festival,to take place at Ala Moana Parkin Honolulu on Saturday, Aug.29 and Sunday, Aug. 30. Bothdays, Noon until 9PM. Generaladmission is $3, but activemembers of the U.S. militaryand children 11 and under getin for free! Also, if you wear atoga, you get in for just $1! Wehave our “Nisiotes” dancers ofour Sts. Constantine and HelenGreek Orthodox Cathedral en-tertaining you with varioustypes of traditional islanddances (the Greek islands, thatis!). There are three dancegroups: the adult group is theNisiotes (Islanders) Dancers,our middle group is the Ni-siotopoula (Young Islanders)and the Nisiopedea are the littleisland children. We are non-profit and depend on donationsto buy, repair, and clean cos-tumes. Our dancers are Greek,half Greek, part Greek, and non-Greek. What binds us togetheris our Orthodoxy and the loveof Folk dancing so we keep ondancing year after year!

n SEPTEMBER 5TOLEDO, OH – OPA! Join HolyTrinity Greek Orthodox Cathe-dral for our 44th Annual Greek-American Festival, Sept. 5, 6 &7. Come and enjoy authenticGreek Food, Greek Pastries &Greek Dancing. Browse throughour Greek Boutique, Greek Cul-ture, Greek Language & Reli-gious Education Booths. Tourour beautiful Byzantine Cathe-dral. Attend the Greek Language& Culture Presentations, andwatch the Greek CookingDemonstrations.

n SEPTEMBER 16LEMONT, IL – There's nothinglike a day spent among friendsand colleagues in an informalsetting, especially as we enjoythe end of summer. MariyanaSpyropoulos, President�of theMetropolitan Water Reclama-tion District, is having a GolfOuting at the Gleneagles Coun-try Club,13070 McCarthy RoadLemont, IL. We hope you'll joinMariyanna at her first annualgolf outing, in memoriam of TedSpyropoulos, at GleneaglesCountry Club on Wednesday,Sept. 16. Join us as we take afew swings, enjoy a beautifulday on the course, and cap offeverything with relaxing cock-tails and food. Registrationopens at 8AM and the shotgunstart will be at 9AM. There willbe lunch on the course at noon.There will cocktails at 2PM fol-lowed by dinner at 3PM.

n OCTOBER 11LOS ANGELES, CA – By populardemand, Peggy Zina is comingto Los Angeles for a special en-gagement. Peggy will be per-forming live at Club Nokia, 800West Olympic Blvd, in Los An-geles. Peggy has a career whichhas lasted over 20 years withmany hits going multi-platinum.We are excited to present heralong with her band directlyfrom Greece for the only westcoast performance! Peggy willbe here Sun, Oct. 11 at 7PM andMon, Oct. 12 at 12 Noon. To gettickets call (877) 639-9715.

n NOTE TO OUR READERSThis calendar of events sectionis a complimentary service tothe Greek American community.All parishes, organizations andinstitutions are encouraged toe-mail their information regard-ing the event 3-4 weeks aheadof time, and no later than Mon-day of the week before theevent, to [email protected]

GOINGS ON...

QUESTION OF THE WEEKHow long do you think Donald Trump will remain at the

top of the Republican presidential polls?Please email your response to

[email protected] We may publish some responses as Letters to the Editor in

a future issue.

HELLENIC HAPPENINGS FROM COAST TO COAST

COMMUNITY2 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

By Demetris TsakasTNH Staff Writer

ASTORIA – The name of the lateDennis (Demosthenes) Syntilas,prime mover of the project thatbecame Athens Square in Astoriawill soon grace the street signson 30th Avenue between 29thand 30th Streets, the southernboundary of the slice of Greecein America he helped to create.

Syntilas, the first presidentof the Athens Square Commit-tee, will be honored through astreet “co-naming” after legisla-tion passed in the New York CityCouncil on July 23 authorizedthe establishment of DennisSyntilas Way.

The measure, which will alsoaffect 51 other thoroughfares inthe city, is expected to be ap-proved by Mayor Bill de Blasioand the ceremony expected inthe Fall.

The touching act of civic ap-preciation is the initiative ofCostas Constantinides, the firstGreek and Cypriot-American toserve on the City Council.

Constantinides previously in-troduced the measure, pro-moted by the Federation of Hel-lenic Societies of Greater NewYork, to rename the street infront of the church of Sts.Catherine and George in Asto-

ria’s Ditmars Boulevard districtin honor of the late prelate.

At the unveiling of the signsfor Archbishop Iakovos Way onMarch 28, the day that also sawthe unveiling of the statue ofSophocles, the latest work of artto be placed in Athens Square,Constantinides, as was revealedby The National Herald, dis-cussed with the spouse of thedeceased – educator Rita Synti-

las – and her family his idea forDennis Syntilas Way. Theyagreed, accepting his proposalwith emotion.

That day was the first timein thirty years that Dennis Syn-tilas was not present for a majorAthens Square event.

Constantinides immediatelyproceeded to gain the necessarysupport of other neighborhoodorganizations. The Greek-Amer-

ican Homeowners Association,where Syntilas once served aspresident, received the proposalwith enthusiasm.

The National Herald re-ported that Syntilas died on Jan-uary 7, 2015 at his home in As-toria, plunging into mourninghis wife, children and grandchil-dren, and his friends and otherrelatives.

Syntilas was for many yearsa branch manager for AtlanticBank in Astoria and worked ashard as anyone else on issues ofconcern to the Greek-Americancommunity. He also served aspresident of the AesculapianThessalian Brotherhood.

Both of those organizationspurchased building in Astoria,great achievements, but thegrand opening of the AthensSquare, which has become abeacon of Hellenism in NewYork as a venue for culturalevents, was his finest moment

Syntilas belongs to the "we,"in the immortal words of Greekrevolutionary hero YannisMakrygiannis, by virtue of hisgentleness, simplicity, consis-tency, dedication, patience andperseverance. Syntilas was alsodistinguished for his ability toget Greek-Americans to dip intotheir savings accounts to fundAthens Square.

Street in Astoria is Renamed “Dennis Syntlias Way”

Dennis (Demosthenes) Syntilas had the power to turn his visionfor Athens Square in Astoria into a reality. The Street borderingthe beloved park will soon bear his name.

troika, Greece, all work in a con-structive way and not throwstones at each other.”

“I spent a lot of time in nego-tiations over the years and per-sonality matters,” he told TNH.“How people address each othermatters – whether it is with re-spect or lack of respect – and Ithink there is plenty of blame forboth sides. Those negotiationswere not conducted in my viewin an entirely professional wayon both sides. There were per-sonal attacks and it was coun-terproductive,” he said.

It was noted that Yanis Varo-ufakis, the former Greek FinanceMinister, said he was running ontwo hours of sleep per night formonths. “How it is possible forpeople to be making optimal de-cisions,” under those conditionsTNH asked. “I think you an-swered your own question,”Stavridis replied.

“I am not an economist,” hesaid, shifting into that area, “butmost economists agree – eventhe IMF says that – we will haveto see some restructuring ofGreek debt, and provide somemeans of lift to the Greek econ-omy. We will not solve the prob-lem simply by a series of cutsthat bring more downward eco-nomic pressure… you have touse some form of expansionarypolicy to stimulate growth toavoid an endless downward spi-ral.”

He emphasized, however,that Greece must also take actionon matters like reducing tax eva-sion and other structural reformslike raising the retirement ageand reducing the bloated publicsector. “Most responsible Greeksrecognize this, and that’s thepainful part of this, but it has to

come with some kind of stimulusor the boat won’t float.”

Stavridis agreed that the op-portunity dimension must be ad-dressed, for example, making iteasier for entrepreneurs, espe-cially young people, to openbusinesses.”

CHALLENGES ANDOPPORTUNITIES

The presentation will includea discussion on ISIS and the mas-sive migrations that are fromAfrica and the Middle East to Eu-rope, and he will also look at cy-ber risk, the situation in Ukraineand China.

“It’s a walk around the worldto look at the challenges, but Ihate talks that suddenly stopwith the message ‘there it is. It’sa pretty dangerous world. Whatdo you think of that?”

He said he tries to then talkabout opportunities, to also focuson what is going well.

A Q & A and reception will

follow.Stavridis is enjoying the sum-

mer. His only regret is that thereferendum interfered with hisplanned trip to Greece. “It wasnot going to be productive tohave meetings with governmentofficials.”

He is looking forward to a va-cation trip and visit to his familyin Florida next week, where hegrew up, his father Paul GeorgeStavridis being stationed thereas a U.S. Marine.

His paternal grandparentswere refugees from the Smyrnaregion, and his mother, ShirleyAnne, is of Pennsylvania Dutchstock.

Asked if he ever pursued ge-nealogical research, Stavridissaid his sister was more inter-ested in that. “I am one to lookforward. I’m very proud to be aGreek-American and proud ofmy family’s courage, cominghere during difficult times,” pass-

ing through Ellis Island and set-tling in Allentown, PA.

Stavridis and his father haveled parallel lives. After his mili-tary career “He was still a rela-tively young man. He earned aPhD in higher education and be-came the president of AlleghenyCommunity College in the Pitts-burgh area.

He acknowledged that hispath was inspired by this father“his example based on patriotismand courage, and the fact thathe became president of a collegewas very much on my mind.”

Paul George “loved to mentoryoung people and was a naturalteacher. Throughout his time inthe Marine Corps he spent a lotof time helping young peopleand he wanted to continue thatas a civilian and the same ratio-nale applied to me.”

“He was a fabulous father,”Stavridis said, and added he wasalso blessed with great mentors,including Admiral MichaelMullin, Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff, Vice Admiral Cut-ler Dawson, Secretary DefenseRobert Gates – “the was instru-mental in recommending I be-come an educator…he later be-come the president of TexasA&M.”

Among the things he learnedfrom them are: “Never lose yourtemper. Stay calm at all times.Always focus on the positive –be an optimist. Optimism is avery powerful force.”

They also reinforced the valueof education, and last but notleast, they showed him the valueof family, which means “Makingsure that you put your familyfirst in your heat, knowing thatthere will be times when youhave to take on hard jobs andcannot always be the perfect fa-ther or husband.”

The National Herald BookstoreFor your summer reading...

(718) 784-5255 • [email protected]

Adm. Stavridis on Challenges and OpportunitiesContinued from page 1

Admiral James Stavridis (Retired) will present a wide-rangingtalk on international affairs, including the Greek crisis, at theKimisis Church of the Hamptons on August 8. μ.]

2: l 4

ch e,

to

μ.] ry,

n:

Page 3: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

By Constantine S. SirigosTNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – If nobody knowsthe truth, is it still the truth? Be-neath the Olive Tree, the re-markable documentary aboutthe concentration camps forwomen during and after theGreek Civil War, is provokingthought and tears across Amer-ica.

Narrated and co-produced byOlympia Dukakis and directedby Stavroula Toska, the movie,decades after the fall of theGreek junta, is shattering sometaboos about “the junta beforethe junta” – the repression underpost WWII rightwing govern-ments which used the Cold Waras cover to crack down on theirnon-communist opposition.

The Truth, which is healingand liberating for societies andindividuals, is often inaccessibleand buried, sometimes literally.

Seven journals found be-neath an olive tree on the islandof Trikiri, near Volos, becamethe basis for Eleni Fourtouni ‘sbook Greek Women in Resis-tance.

Trikiri was a concentrationcamp for women and childrenwho were relatives of membersof the EAM-ELAS, the commu-nist WWII resistance movement,and Toska told TNH the note-books were kept by young

women under the guidance ofeducator Rosa Imbrioti.

“They did not know if theywere going to get out there aliveor not…their hope was at somepoint someone would discoverthem and learn what happenedon those islands – the torture,the executions, everything,” shesaid.

Toska was inspired to turnthe stories into a movie, andDukakis opened the door to thehearts and memories thewomen who have been condi-tioned by their life experiencesto distrust.

“Oh, if Olympia Dukakis isinvolved, we’ll talk to you,” theytold her.

Their stories are not merelypolitical; they have humanitar-ian power.

“I will never forget the storyof the 60-year-old woman whoin the mountains finally learnedto read,” Dukakis said.

Once Toska gets the distrib-ution deal her dream is for herteam to go to Greece for ascreening with the women andtheir families. In the meantime,she is thrilled to convey to themhow people are inspired by theirlives.

PLEASING WHOM?“It all started the moment

Olympia handed a book to mein 2010.”

Toska came into Dukakis’

apartment brimming with ex-citement about a project thatjust wasn’t appetizing toOlympia.

We had an honest, toughconversation,” Toska said, “I waswriting scripts I thought I couldsell to television and get me tothe next level of success, but Iwas not expressing myself…Olympia changed my life withtwo simple questions: why areyou writing this and whom areyou trying to please?”

The Oscar-winning actresswho loves the role of mentor,told her “Forget everybody.Whatever you do, do it for your-self, do it because you have noother choice…If you are goingto write, write what you know,or stories that strike a chordwith you.”

Toska said “I could tell heranything without be afraid ofbeing judged and I know she hasmy best interests in mind…whatever she says to me,whether I want to hear it or not,it’s always for the best.”

But on that day the disap-pointment was too great, andToska was in tears as she walkedout of the light and plant-filledhome of the renowned actressand teacher.

Dukakis ran out to her andshouted “wait!” – and handedher the book.

“Something compelled me…To find the book and give it toher…I wanted her to havesomething she could be passion-ate about…I did not spend mycareer looking for success. I wassearching for things thatgrabbed me,” Dukakis told TNH.

After Toska read the book,she came back “a different per-son” Dukakis said.

“Olympia, who are thesewomen? I went to school inGreece but I never heard ofthem.”

Dukakis, impressed with theresponse, told her “If you wantto do something about this, evenif you don’t know yet was it is, Iwill support you any way I can.”

Greeks say everything hap-pens for a reason, but there arealso accidents.

“I think I may have juststumbled onto the book, and I

wanted to do what Stavrouladid, but I ended up running atheater and I always felt bad be-cause I dissuaded someone fromdoing it.”

It was obviously meant tocome to life through Toska, buther connection Greek Women in

Resistance ran deeper than thetwo women could imagine.

After pressuring her motherabout, “I discovered that my ma-ternal grandmother was one ofthose women…She was impris-oned for 3 ½ years.”

Dukakis became excited ,pounded her fist as exclaimed“Can you believe that!”IF THEY CRY IN DUBUQUE…

The film was completed inApril “after five years of incred-ible patience…but Olympia keptme going and she has been thebiggest cheerleader.”

Dukakis praised Toska’s for-titude - “And she is not evenfrom Mani” – where Dukakis’mother is from – she said.

The movie had its world pre-miere at the prestigious SarasotaFilm Festival. At the Interna-tional Film Festival in Dubuque,IA Toska said she had an amaz-ing experience “It didn’t thinkthat people in Iowa of allplaces… would come to us withtears in their eyes.”

Their first award came fromThe First Time Film Festival inNew York in March and at theLos Angelos Greek Film Festivalshe won the inaugural Van Vla-hakis award for the Most Innov-ative Film Maker.”

The East Coast premiere iscoming up, which her team isvery excited about.

“I was blessed with talentedpeople willing to work hard forlittle or no money. They said Iwant to be a part of it.”

Sophia Antonini, Toska’sbusiness partner with OramaPictures, produced and co-wroteit, and Greek-American filmmaker Nick Efteriades also co-produced. Lauren Jackson madea significant contribution as ed-itor, Tao Zervas wrote the haunt-ing score, Paulina Zaitseva did

the animation sequences, andEleni Drivas was the historicalconsultant.

Orama just launched Livingthe Dream, a web series aboutfilm makers trying to make it inNew York – which Toska plansto turn in a network comedy se-ries, and she is developing pro-jects dealing with domestic vio-lence, which Dukakis is alsopassionate about.

“It’s very exciting stuff,”Dukakis said.

They are also looking for-ward to the documentaryOlympia Dukakis Undefined, di-rected by Harry Mavromichalis.

He filmed her with her familyand at work, including arts andsocial activism projects, but partof the movies magic is scenesfrom a special trip.

“I had the feeling take thefemale members of my family,my daughter and my two grand-daughters – the matrilineal line– to my mother’s village inMani.”

She is deeply grateful that aprominent Greek-American pro-ducer who admires her workmade it happen. “He paid forthe transportation – plane fare,helicopters to the village andplaces like Mycenae and Epidau-rus, which is so moving to me –and my granddaughters couldnot get enough.”

All of Dukakis’ children – shehas been married to Serbian-American actor Lou Zorich for53 years – have a touch of theartist, if not the teacher in them.

Among the family treasures inher Manhattan apartment – theLowell native loves New York –are framed drawings made byher children and grandchildren.

Without even mentioningpolitics, one learns of genes formany talents in the Dukakisfamily – Dukakis is also a re-markable athlete and herbrother Apollo is also an actor –but their source is beloved Hel-las, and the Greek crisis cameup often in the discussion.

It was noted that societies,like individuals, are damaged byrepressed truths, and they arepleased the movie illuminatesthe current crisis. They pointedto the rise of the far left despitethe decades of suppression, andalso to the fascist elements inGreece, and interference fromoutside powers, the timing isamazing.

It can be argued that therewas a double taboo, in Greece,first against talking aboutrightwing persecution of the left,and also the resistance withinthe left, perhaps because theyprovoked persecution, to a re-examination of treasured prin-ciples and policies. Across thespectrum parties must “Adapt ordie,” Toska said, but sclerosis inGreece comes in all political col-ors.

Dukakis pointed out the farleft should be supporting re-forms that fight corruption andtax evasion among the rich, butin Greece, the supposedly pro-gressive far left seems opposedto change of any kind.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasthey agreed, however, is show-ing signs he can distinguish thenecessary structural reformsnecessary to build a New Greecefrom the Troika’s other de-mands.

COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015 3

Olympia Dukakis Narrates Beneath the Olive Tree

TNH Staff

[On August 2, Newsdayfeatured an article titled “Claimsof religious miracles on LongIsland and in New York City,”focusing on various accounts ofmiracles over the decades relayedby residents of Long Island andNew York City. Some of thoseindividuals were Greek-American; we provide excerpts ofthose stories here.]

NORFOLK RD. MIRACLE“In 1960, Pagora Catsounis

was praying before an icon ofthe Virgin Mary that hung onthe wall in her bedroom in Is-land Park,” Newsday wrote,“when she says she saw a tearemerge from the figure's eye.The icon, given to Pagora andher husband, Panagiotis Catsou-nis, by a Greek nun as a wed-ding gift, was apparently weep-ing, Newsday reported at thetime.

“Hundreds were drawn tothe small apartment to see thelithograph, calling the event the‘miracle of Norfolk Road.’ HisEminence Archbishop Iakovos,then primate of the Greek Or-thodox Archdiocese of Northand South America, traveled tothe home and verified reportsof the apparent miracle, as didFather George Papadeas, priestof the Greek Orthodox Cathe-dral of St. Paul in Hempstead atthe time.

“The icon reportedly tearedfor several days. The icon waslater moved to St. Paul's wheretens of thousands of people vis-ited to witness the event.”“THE ICON IS CRYING!”Newsday also reported about

a similar instance, one most re-cent and in the heart of theGreek-American community inAstoria: the weeping icon at St.Irene Chrysovalantou: “In therear of St. Irene in Astoria inJanuary 1992, ArchbishopPaisios, leader of the congrega-tion, said that in December 1989he took the icon on tour toChicago, to St. Athanasiuschurch. There, following a cere-mony, the archbishop says hewas at a reception in the churchhall when suddenly people camerunning up, shrieking, ‘the iconis crying!’ As St. Irene is the pa-troness of peace, the archbishopsaid that she was crying becauseof the outset of the Gulf War.

“This icon in Astoria is saidto have performed so many mir-acles that people left their pre-cious jewelry in thanks, whichwas placed in the frame aroundthe icon.

According to a New YorkTimes article in 1992, the lead-ership of the Greek OrthodoxChurch cast doubts on theweeping icon. The press officer

of the archdiocese issued a newsrelease describing the saga as‘an affront to ‘the Greek-Ameri-can community.’ But not all con-gregants and religious leadersdismissed the claims. The Rev.Milton B. Efthimiou told the

Times that he had experiencewith weeping icons, and he wassure the St. Irene icon had wept.

SIGHT TO THE BLINDA former Long Islander

named Michael, Newsday re-ported, claims that a local priest

cured his blindness. “In 2013,Michael approached FatherDimitrios Moraitis, formerly ofSt. Paraskevi Greek OrthodoxShrine Church in Greenlawn,NY wanting to walk his guidedog around the church property,according to an interview onAncient Faith Radio.

“Unbeknownst to Michael, inthe Greek Orthodox Church, St.Paraskevi is the patron saint forhealth, specifically of the eyes.In the late 1960s, a family fromthe Church built a shrine in theSaint's honor and brought backholy water from a natural springthat flows from a church builtat the place of St. Paraskevi'smartyrdom in Asia Minor. BothSt. Paraskevi and the water werethought to have healing powers.Since the shrine's conception,hundreds of people have re-ported receiving miraculouscures from the holy water,Moraitis told Ancient Faith Ra-dio.

“Moraitis invited Michael towalk the property and invitedhim inside the church for aprayer service and anointing.When Moraitis put his hand onhis head and read a prayer, hesays a vibration went throughhis body and Michael shud-dered. They both cried, asMoraitis helped him up and ledhim to the shrine for anotherservice.

“After Michael washed hisface with the holy water,Moraitis says he took a step backand said, "There's a womanhere!," pointing at the icon ofSt. Paraskevi. He turned toMoraitis and remarked, "I seethe color of your eyes! I haven'tseen a color in seven years andI see the cross over here and Isee this round icon."

“Michael's doctor was dumb-founded, according to Moraitis,who told him, "because theycan't tell you why you shouldbe able to see, it tells me thatevery time you open your eyes,it's a miracle. You are a walkingicon."“SO OPEN TO MIRACLES”“I admire the Greek Ortho-

dox, because after all theseyears, and here in the UnitedStates in the twenty-first cen-tury, they are still so open andaccepting of miracles,” aLutheran minister told TNH. “Ibelieve, too, and have laidhands [faith healing], but hav-ing been raised in the West, it isdifficult for me to be as open.

“But I have to commend theOrthodox,” he continues, “be-cause they have not waveredfrom their beliefs for centuries.”Not everyone is comfortablewith strict church traditions anddoctrine, but “there is some-thing to be admired about that,”he said.

Greek-Americans and Miracles over the Decades

www.GreekKitchennyc.com

ABOVE: The famously-known “weeping icon” of St. IreneChrysovalantou, in Astoria. BELOW: (L-R): Rev. MiltonEfthimiou, Rev. George Papadeas, Archbishop Iakovos, PagoraCatsounis, and her husband, Panagiotis, look at the lithographicon of the Virgin Mary in Catsounis’ Island Park apartment,about which she says she saw a tear emerge from Mary’s eye.

Oscar-winning Actress Olympia Dukakis

Top photo standing, 3rd fromR, composer Elli Nikolaidou,and 5th from the right isMaria Giftodemou-Kara-georgi. Middle: Women fromThessaloniki and Kilkisl; at farright is Nitsa Gavriilidou. Bot-tom: Women imprisoned onMakronnisos, off the coat ofAttika.

Page 4: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

is reaching out to the commu-nity…it is very encouraging andit should prove to be helpful toGreece and to America,” he said,adding that “AHEPA will bethere to listen at this point andmake recommendations later.”

Mark Arey, The Hellenic Ini-tiative’s (THI) Executive Direc-tor, said that “knowing thatmany THI Board members havebeen invited, and given that itengaged in crisis relief, workingwith NGOs (Non-GovernmentalOrganizations) and workingwith the entrepreneurial ecosys-tem to promote economic de-velopment, we are very pleasedthe White House is taking thisinterest in the situation inGreece, which is quite grave.”

Phillip Angelides, the formerCalifornia State Treasurer, toldTNH “Like many other Greek-Americans, I am hopeful that wecan find ways to help Greece atthis time of immense challengeand I am appreciative of the ef-forts that the president and theadministration have made insupport of Greece.”

The meeting shows how con-cerned Washington is about thesituation in Greece in the after-math of the July 12 agreement.

The outreach was reportedlypartly spurred by conversationsof administration officials withGreek-Americans, economistsand other analysts, who havebeen working with officials inGreece. In that regard, some ofthe impetus for exploring howthe Diaspora can help is ema-nating from Athens.

PRES. MUST REMAINENGAGED

One prominent communityleader noted to the endeavorwill require the continued en-gagement and interest of Presi-dent Obama, who can spur thebureaucracy to move forward.The president is not expected tobe present at the meeting, butis believed “to be behind whatis happening now.”

Endy Zemenides, the Execu-tive Director of the HellenicAmerican Leadership Council(HALC) told TNH the meetingmust be seen in the context ofthe many meetings the Obamaadministration has been havingwith community leaders onabout the crisis.

“It’s yet another indication ofthe U.S. government’s commit-ment to helping Greece as a crit-ical ally – it is reiterating itscommitments to standing byGreece.”

COMMUNITY4 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

By Theodore KalmoukosTNH Staff Writer

NEW YORK – John Kiriakou,the Greek-American counterter-rorism expert and former CIAemployee who served 23months in federal prison for dis-closing classified information tojournalists, visited Greece lastweek.

Kiriakou and his supportersbelieve he was punished for be-ing the first U.S. government of-ficial to confirm that water-boarding was used tointerrogate Al Qaeda prisoners.

Kyriakou, who has roots inRhodes, knows Greece very wellsince he worked at the embassyof the United States for twoyears.

Kiriakou told TNH that "I hada specific purpose for this trip. Iwork for a think tank in Wash-ington called The Institute forPolicy Studies, which collabo-rates with the Australian thinktank Blueprint for Free Speech.We have drawn up a plan to-gether, which helps countriesaround the world make newlaws against corruption and alsoprotects whistleblowers who ex-pose corruption."

He told TNH he met withPanagiotis Nikoloudis, the Min-ister of Transparency and Anti-Corruption and other Greek of-ficials.

“Basically we dined togetherfor many hours deep into thenight;” he said, and emphasizedthat "all of them, member of allparties without exception,treated me like an old friend,with respect and friendliness.”He also had meetings with Non-Governmental Organization(NG) officials.

Former PASOK Minister AnnaDiamantopoulou told him heshould visit Greece every twomonths.

Speaking about the generalsituation in Greece, he said:

"I cannot figure out how thecountry will survive if Europedoes not offer any plan for eco-nomic relief. There must be debtreduction or a lengthening of

the payment period – some-thing, anything."

He said the aid Greece hasreceived is only going for payingback previous loans, causing thecountry to lose “its most edu-cated people, doctors, lawyers,engineers, professors, who arenecessary for the reconstructionof Greek society, and this is agreat sin."

He said he saw "Greeks sleep-ing on sidewalks who werewearing good clothes - middle-class people.

The only thing they had leftwere the clothes they werewearing, and it seems that themiddle class is disappearing.

“I was struck by the factthere was no traffic in Athens. Iwent to a meeting in Halandriand asked the taxi driver andhe said no one can afford to runhis car."

Kiriakou believes that "theausterity measures are not pro-ductive and probably will neverbe productive. This I can sayfrom my experience from theMiddle East and especially inYemen."

Kiriakou has already com-pleted two new books. One willbe released close to Christmasand other next spring called Let-ters from Loretto – the Federa-tion prison where he spent mostof his incarceration time – andone that describes his everydaylife in prison, the state of theprisons in America, and the ju-dicial system titled Doing TimeLike A Spy: How the CIA TaughtMe To Survive And Thrive InPrison.

When TNH asked him whythe authorities were so strictwith him yet so lenient withGeneral David Petraeus, Kiri-akou said "I am convinced thatthey were strict with me be-cause I aired the dirty laundryof the CIA. I went on televisionin 2007 and I said three things,1) The CIA tortured prisoners.2) Torture is an official policyand practice of the United StatesGovernment; and 3) that thispolicy was endorsed and signedby the president. "

John Kiriakou Now HelpingFight Corruption in Greece

Greek-Americans John Kiriakou and attorney Plato Cacheris.The latter defended the whistleblower in court at a discount.The former’s book sales will help pay his defense costs.

Not Even the Sponges Can Soak up all the WaterTarpon Springs, the Gulf Coast city with more Greeks percentage-wise than anywhere else inthe United States, usually escapes Florida's hurricanes and other inclement weather. But thissummer it hasn't been so lucky, as massive flooding has closed down the road of its maintourist attraction, the historic Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard.

White House Invites Greek-Am. Leaders for DiscussionContinued from page 1

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden greet Archbishop Demetrios at the GreekIndependence Day reception at the White House, annual event for community leaders.

Church of the Dormition ofBurlington Hosts Festival

After the Divine Liturgy performed by FatherEphraim Ehrs on July 26, the annual festival of theDormition Greek Orthodox Church in Burlingtonkicked into high gear. Food and fun were the orderof the day, but in addition to its usual hospitality theparish also proved to be a good neighbor throughmajor recycling/composting efforts. Clockwise fromtop left: Lilly Anemikos and George Bonacos preparesalads;the youth dances, with Stella Papaseraphimand George Bonacos in the lead (Center). Also, with(L:R): Zoe Papaseraphim, Ellie Yialiades, IlyanaValadakis, Cassiani Austin, Steven Valadakis andManolis Anemikos; (L:R): Paul Henninge, GusPoulos, Argie Economou, Nectar Rorris man thegrills; Philoptochos members share a joke as theywork hard to sell pastries to benefit the Church andlocal charities.(L-R): Theodora Contis, AlexandraMichaelides, Manolis Anemikos, Nancy PappasTrombley, Deb Rorris. Left: Anita Danigelis (L) andPat Oleszkiewicz keep track of food line payments.

MIAMI, FL – John Liappas has a whole Lotto love for theFlorida lottery after winning $28 million in a July 22 drawing– but the 63-year-old says he’s going to keep working for awhile yet.

Liappas has just come forward to claim his winnings. “Idon’t plan to retire right away out of courtesy and gratitude tomy employer who has been great to me all these years,” Liappas,63, told the Miami Herald Aug. 4.

“My only regret is that my parents aren’t here to enjoy thiswith me.”

His winning numbers were: 10-26-29-38-42-46.Liappas told lottery officials that he has played the same

numbers for 15 years, the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel said.He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum pay-ment of $19,151,244.65 instead of spread out in an annuity.

He said his first splurge will be taking his wife to Europe fora vacation and that he’ll keep buying lottery tickets hoping toget lucky again.

Publix Super Market at 1401 Monza Ave. in Coral Gableswill receive a commission of $135,000 for selling Liappas thewinning ticket.

Lottery winner John Liappas with Florida Lottery SecretaryCynthia O’Connell.

FloRIDA loTTeRY

Liappas Wins $28MFlorida Jackpot

Page 5: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

By Constantinos E. Scaros

READING, PA – Greeks areeverywhere in the United States,literally. From Maine to Florida,Alaska to Hawaii. North Dakota,to the best of my knowledge re-mains the only state in the na-

tion without a Greek OrthodoxChurch, but even they haveGreeks there (and I happenknow one personally)!

But in Central Pennsylvania,where there are several GreekOrthodox Churches and plentyof Greeks that fill the pews week

in, week out, there is nary aGreek deli/food store/importspecialty store to be found.

You Astorians know what I’mtalking about: a place like Titan,or Mediterranean Foods, the lat-ter of which, at the rate it’s go-ing, will soon have more storesthan Sylvester Stallone madeRocky movies.

A store that sells those great,Greek cheeses, the sweetenedcondensed milk for frappe (notto mention the coffee itself),those wonderful Greek butterbiscuits, and of course, theGreek chocolate bars. A place tobuy a komboloi, some tarama(especially the kind in a tube!),Amita fruit juices, and The Na-tional Herald.

We Central Pennsylvanianshave one place like that – Man-dros Imported Foods in Lan-caster, a thriving small city, inwhich the Annunciation Churchis located. Mandros does nothave the variety of the AstoriaGreek food giants, but it is theoasis in our Greekless desert.

But what about Reading,

home of the Sts. Constantineand Helen parish – which justcelebrated its 100th anniversarylast year? How can there be noGreek store there? At theChurch’s annual bazaar lastyear, which featured merchantsselling a variety of Greek fooditems, I asked them where’s thenearest Greek foods store: “oh,you have to go to Mandros,”they replied.

“Yes, I know about Mandros,”I said. “Isn’t there anythingcloser?” I asked (Mandros is

about 35 miles away from theChurch.) “No, that’s about theclosest one.”

Not exactly. There is also awonderful Italian Deli calledRusso’s Gourmet Foods andMarket in Wyomissing, a subur-ban town adjacent to Reading.Russo’s is hands down the bestbona fide supermarket-style Ital-ian deli in the area, and it doesdevote an aisle to Greek foods:the aisle even has a Greek flagflying atop to indicate whichone it is. But it is still only one

aisle.And what about the state’s

capital, Harrisburg? How canthey be no Greek deli there?There is certainly a thrivingGreek community, and the HolyTrinity Greek Cathedral and itsparish.

Quick, somebody, read thisand open up a Greek foods storeout here. Not only will youmake this writer happy, butyou’ll have bunches andbunches of other happy Greekcustomers, too.

COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015 5

“We were a tiny company,but we had the most powerfultechnology,” he says. “Andsometimes that’s what counts,”he told the magazine.

Sanofi , Regeneron’s partneron most of its drugs, just re-upped on the value of the tech-nologies Yancopoulos has cre-ated. On July 28 it announcedit would pay $640 million tokick off a new partnership inwhich Regeneron will inventcancer drugs that harness theimmune system.

“George sees and feels biol-ogy in ways very few scientistsreally can,” said Elias Zerhouni,the President of Global R&D atSanofi. “It is this creative intu-ition combined with scientificrigor that makes him special inmy view.”

Yancopoulos defers to his

team of scientists and the manwho hired him, fellow billion-aire Leonard Schleifer, who saidhis find has “immense talentand genius.”

Yancopoulos’ fourth drug,Praluent (for lowering choles-terol in people already maxed-out on statins), was approvedon July 24 and expected to be abig seller.

He's also working on a bigproject to sequence patients’DNA and Deutsche Bank esti-mates that his experimentaldrug for allergic conditionscould generate $10 billion in an-nual sales by 2025.

Yancopoulos said he wantedto be in R & D what his rolemodel, Regeneron’s Chairman,Roy Vagelos created.

Yancopoulos works at his sci-ence like a scientist, not a maninterested in the money it bringsand is deeply involved in Regen-eron’s drug discovery, as well asa principal inventor on all thetechnology patents that underliethe invention of all of Regen-eron’s drugs.

It hasn't gone to his head. Hedrives an eight-year-old HondaPilot, does his kids’ laundry anddresses in the worn Oxfords andkhakis of an academic scientist,Forbes wrote.

He is uncomfortable dis-cussing his wealth but hopesthat the very thought of it, gen-erated by lifesaving drugs,might serve “as an inspirationto kids who (might) otherwisebecome hedge fund managers.”

Pharmaceutical Phenom: George Yancopoulos Turns Ingenuity into a FortuneMaster scientist George Yancopoulos is happiest in the lab doing research anddevelopment andcreating pharmaceuticals.

ing just as the dot-com crash oc-curred — to rapid growth.

In October he struck a $350

million deal to sell 80 percentof the company to NTT Corp.aimed at allowing the businessto continue rapid growth.

With the deal, RagingWire

overnight went from from beinga local company to a major in-ternational player, part of aJapanese giant and now with150 data centers.

Law Firm

G. Dimitriadis & Associates

our company aims to provide high quality services, adapted to thespecific needs of our clients.The main areas of our activities include:• Legal services• Financial managerial services• Real Estateour wide network of contacts in greece guarantees the immediateand unified handling of our clients’ matters.

Phone: 01130 210 3390080 • cell.: 01130 6977 469888Fax: 01130 210 3390044

e-mail: [email protected]

www.dimitriadislawfirm.gr

George Macricostas (C) is a big backer of Republican causes and made his fortune in InformationTechnology services

Learn the Greek Language

In the heart of Astoria, we have been teaching the Greeklanguage to adults for fifteen years. In a friendly, warm andwelcoming environment you will feel right at home, whilelearning Greek and understanding the culture.

Our location is within walking distance from the N and Q trains, where

you have access to restaurants, cafes and shops.

The program is tailored to small groups and instruction is based on

student’s level, interest and requirements. Lessons incorporate learning

through conversation, grammar and audiovisual aid. Whether you are a

beginner, intermediate or advanced student, our lessons are structured

to meet your needs, advance your knowledge and make it work for you.

Classes are held on Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

at St. Demetrios School

located at 30-03 30th Drive, Astoria, NY 11102.

Tuition fees are $500 per year (September to June)

St. Demetrios Hellenic Community of Astoriaoffers weekly

Greek language lessons for adult learners

For additional information and registration please call (718) 728-1718

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Macricostas Gives $1.1Mil. to Rand Paul

Wanted: an Imported Greek Foods/Gifts Superstore in Central Pennsylvania

Mandros Foods in Lancaster: an oasis in a Greekless desert.

From our Website’s Food Section

By Anna Skamangas-Scaros

I am a huge fan of takingclassic recipes and trying tomake them better or more in-teresting. Adding fruit to the fla-vors of baklava is mouth-water-ing! You can use just about anyfruit in this recipe if you can’tfind fresh apricots.

Serves 8Ingredients:1/3 cup honey1/2 cup sugar, divided1 pound ripe apricots, quartered1/3 cup almonds1/3 cup walnuts1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon10 sheets filo dough1/2 cup melted butterDirections:

Preheat oven to 375°. Bringhoney and 1/4 cup sugar to asimmer in a saucepan, stirringto blend. Remove from heat andadd apricots; set aside.

Whirl nuts, cinnamon, andremaining 1/4 cup sugar in afood processor until mostlyground. Set aside 2 tablespoons.

Lay a piece of parchment pa-per on a work surface. Workingwith 1 filo sheet at a time, seton paper, brush with some but-

ter, and sprinkle with a scant 2tablespoons. nut mixture; re-peat, stacking filo and pressingdown to seal.

Spoon apricots with a bit ofhoney mixture on filo stackalong a long side. Roll up.Arrange roll on a diagonal on a

rimmed baking sheet lined withparchment. Brush with morehoney mixture; sprinkle with re-served nut mixture.

Bake until browned andjuices are bubbling out the ends,15 to 20 minutes. Let cool com-pletely before slicing.

Apricot Baklava Log

Page 6: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS6 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

DEATH NOTICES

n DAVIS AVLIHOS, TERRYMONTGOMERY, TX (from theBeaumont Enterprise, publishedon Aug. 2) – Terry passed awaypeacefully, at the age of 92, onTuesday, Jul. 28, in MontgomeryTX. Born Oct. 24, 1922, in Pa-tras, Greece, she was one of 4children born to Yanni andKristina Avlihos. Terry was thebeloved wife of the late John A.Davis and is survived by her lov-ing children, Andy J. Davis, MDand wife, Stella of Montgomery,Texas; son, Johnny Jr. of Hous-ton, Texas; and sister, MariaToumbaniaris of Athens, Greece.She was preceded in death byher grandson, Andrew JoshDavis, parents and other sib-lings. Terry lived her life withintegrity, elegance and a deeplove for her family and God. Shewas a kind and generous womanwho was always smiling and herpresence possessed a childlikegrace. Terry was a very tradi-tional woman, who loved theGreek culture and never lostsight of her heritage. A privategraveside service was held inBeaumont, Texas on Thursday,Jul. 30, where Terry was laid torest by her husband John. Theyspent 40 years together in Beau-mont raising their family andwere very active in the GreekOrthodox Church. Terry wasblessed with many friends andactivities since moving to Mont-gomery. Donations, in lieu offlowers, may be sent to: TexasChildren's Hospital-NICU, InHonor of Terry Davis, Office ofDevelopment, Ste. 5214, P OBox 300630, Houston, TX77230-0630 or online at:waystogive.texaschildrens.org.To leave condolences for thefamily go to: www.shmfh.comor mairl to: The Davis Family, P.O. Box 357, Conroe Texas77305.

n DELIS, BARBARACANTON, OH (from the Repos-itory, published on Jul. 28) –Barbara Delis age 91, passedaway peacefully on Jul. 25, inher home in Canton, Ohio. Shewas the widow of George A.Delis, who owned and operatedtheaters in Ohio and West Vir-ginia, including the operation ofthe Palace Theater in downtownCanton for many years until hisdeath. She was the daughter ofthe late Peter and Anna Katchi-anes and was preceded in deathby her two brothers Nicholasand George Katchianes and herbeloved sister Mrs. DorothyEconomou. Survived by her lov-ing children, a son, AnthonyGeorge Delis, a daughter, VassaDelis- Parker, and her adoredgrandson, Anthony GeorgeParker, sister-in-law Mrs. AliceKatchianes, cousins Mrs. Car-olyn Spilios, Mrs. Estelle Tender,and Dr. George Vasilion, rela-tives Mrs. Diane Foradas andMrs. Veti Vasilion, cherishedfriend Mrs. Aurelia Krugliak,and many much-loved niecesand nephews both from thiscountry and Athens, Greece. Shespent much of her life in Athensand Varkiza, Greece and consid-ered it her second home. Bar-bara was a member of St. Har-alambos Greek OrthodoxChurch and St. HaralambosPhiloptochos Society. She was abeautiful and gracious lady andan amazing cook and hostess.She was loving, devoted, per-ceptive, and very intelligent.Barbara will be greatly missed.Barbara's children would like tothank her doctors, Dr. PaulManuszak and Dr. David Schu-maker, and their staffs for theircompassionate and dedicatedcare. Calling hours are onThursday, Jul. 30 from 5PM to8PM at the Rossi Family FuneralHome with a Trisagion Serviceat 7PM and on Friday, Jul. 31from 10AM to 11AM at St. Har-alambos Greek OrthodoxChurch with funeral services at11AM, the Reverend Dr.Nicholas V. Gamvas officiating.Interment will be in Forest HillCemetery. In lieu of flowers, do-nations can be made to St. JudeChildren's Research Hospital.

n DOHRN, NINAVISALIA, CA (from the VasaliaTimes- Delta, published on Aug.1) – Our beloved mother andgrandmother went to be withthe angels early in the morningof July 27, 2015, and though weare so very sad, she is now atpeace. Nina was born "EdeltraudTaufer" on Sep. 30, 1924 to Ottoand Wilhelmine Taufer in Trop-pau, Czechoslovakia. She andher younger brother, also namedOtto, lost their mother when shewas just six. However, hermother's family (grandmother &siblings) took them in and pro-vided a very loving and happychildhood. In March 1939, Hitlertook over Czechoslovakia and inSeptember 1939 took overPoland, changing lives all overthe world. After serving in themandatory youth group workingon a farm, climbing telephone

poles, and working as a trolleyconductor, Nina survived thewar but found herself all alonewalking with no place to go be-cause she was not allowed to gohome. She eventually made herway to a displaced person'scamp in Linz, Austria. There shemet Art Dakessian, whose familyhad survived the ArmenianGenocide, and they raised Artand his brother in Athens,Greece. After knowing eachother only six weeks, she speak-ing only German and he speak-ing Greek, French and a little bitof German, they married onAug. 22, 1945. Through thesponsorship of the CatholicChurch, Art and Nina werebrought to America on a trooptransport to New York (coinci-dentally arriving on Aug. 22,1949), put on a train to SanFrancisco and picked up by acouple to work on their farm inHappy Camp, CA. They movedto Weed, CA in Jun. of 1950where they both worked for thelumber company as well as do-ing any side jobs to make money.They raised 2 children. They di-vorced in 1970 and went theirseparate ways. Nina marriedJohn T. Dohrn of Weed in Nov.of 1970. They moved to Sacra-mento where they managed andowned apartments. John(Jimmy) and Nina retired in1990 and moved to Galt, CAwhere they lived very happilyuntil Jimmy's death in Oct. of1999. They went on 7 cruisestogether visiting 5 continents.They also went to Germany tosee Nina's family, and when theBerlin Wall came down, she evengot to see her brother whom shehad not seen in 30 years. Shealways loved President Reaganfor that. In Nov. of 2000, Ninamoved to Visalia, CA to live withher eldest daughter. Soon, there-after, her other daughter andgranddaughter moved just downthe street. She was very gener-ous with her family introducingthem to her love of cruising. To-gether, she took her girls on 3cruises to Hawaii and Europecreating beautiful memories thatwill never be forgotten. In thelast year her health deterioratedbut in Sep. of 2014, we threwher the 90th birthday party forwhich she had asked and shesaid it made her feel like aqueen. It was a wonderful night!Nina is survived by her daughter,Marlene Dakessian, and herpartner, Eric Komar and familyof Visalia, CA; her daughter,Elaine Dakessian, and grand-daughter (Elaine's daughter)Gabrielle Dakessian, of Holly-wood, CA; her cousin, Monika,and her husband, Fritz Hucke ofLincoln City, OR and their fam-ily; her stepchildren, RonaldDohrn and Gary Dohrn of Weedand their families; and many rel-atives and friends scatteredthroughout the world. There willbe a private Celebration of Lifeat the home where Nina residedon Aug. 22, at 12:00PM.

n EPIOTIS, NICHOLAS D.SEATTLE, WA (from the SeattleTimes, published on Aug. 2) –An internationally respectedscholar and lecturer and a dis-tinguished author and charis-matic professor of organic chem-istry at the University ofWashington from 1972 until hisemeritus status in 2008, Profes-sor Epiotis died suddenly at theUWMC, surrounded by his lov-ing wife, Linda Daniel, and car-ing doctors and nurses. Over thecourse of his long illness he hadthe good fortune to be treatedby a number of doctors who hadbeen students of his over theyears, most with an amusinganecdote or two from their O-Chem course to relate. Thehistrionics of teaching were in-nate to him and his widely ac-claimed gift for storytelling andfor providing real-life analogiesto the difficult concepts of or-ganic chemistry captivated andinspired his students. ProfessorEpiotis received various awardsand honors throughout his pro-fessional life. These included anAlfred P. Sloan award, anAlexander von Humbolt awardand an invitation from the RoyalSwedish Academy of SciencesNobel Committee for Chemistryto submit a proposal for theaward of The Nobel Prize inChemistry in 2007. He publishedseveral widely-cited books andnumerous widely-cited papers innational and international schol-arly journals, but what matteredmost to him, a theoretical scien-tist, was his critically acclaimed1996 groundbreaking "Decipher-ing the Chemical Code," an over900 page tome in which he chal-lenged the conventional theoriesof chemical bonding. Passionateabout opera, and sympathetic tothe "unconstrained nature of art"as opposed to the "constraineddiscipline" and "self-consistency"of science, he dedicated thiswork to the renowned Italiantenor, Franco Corelli, whose Metperformances in the 60's greatlyinspired him during his time atPrinceton and thereafterthrough live broadcasts from theMet and from recordings. It wasshortly after this publication thathe was diagnosed with the firstof a series of brain tumors that

were to plague him until the endof his life. He had an insatiabledesire for learning and receivedhis greatest pleasure from mind-related pursuits. Even with theirony of his illness, he continuedto pursue his quest for truth andunderstanding (particularly ofthe philosophical mind/bodyquestion) until the very end.Nick was born in Athens, Greecewhere he attended Athens Col-lege, an American private schoolwhere he excelled both in acad-emics and in sports, earning aletter in basketball. Upon grad-uation, he began his college ad-ventures at Ripon College inWisconsin where he graduatedsumma cum laude in two yearsand was a member of Phi BetaKappa. He received his Mastersdegree from Harvard where hewas a Teaching Fellow and hisPhD from Princeton where hewas a University Fellow. Thisman had a commanding pres-ence and was a kind, gentle, lov-ing soul (often clothed in a cer-tain Zorba the Greek bravado)and above any level of pettiness.He did not suffer fools gladly,was intellectually curious andengaged those with whom hecame in contact with his quickwit, playful sense of humor andgenuine interest in them. Sum-mers in the Aegean islands,where he played in his youthand rejuvenated in adulthoodwere essential for him, but hefound solace in Hawaii wherehe, a Pisces, swam with spinnerdolphins and marveled at thevastness and mysteries of the Pa-cific Ocean. He was a polymathwith a beautiful mind as rare asthe aggressive, recurrent braintumors he faced with dignityand grace and to which he ulti-mately succumbed. His wife con-siders it a privilege to haveshared a rich and meaningful lifewith such a fine, fun, ever-fasci-nating and caring husband,whom she cherished, and whocharmingly addressed her as "mytreasure." Every moment to-gether was precious. Their spiritswill remain together eternally.This extraordinary man will begreatly missed by all those wholoved him and admired by allthose who appreciated his intel-lect. He was preceded in deathby his parents, Demetrios andParaskevi Ipiotou, of Athens,Greece. He is survived by hiswife, Linda Daniel, of Seattle,WA; his sisters, Dr. Maro Nianiouand Dr. Lena Ipiotou and theirrespective husbands, Nassos Ni-aniou and Giorgos Petrakis; hisnieces, Dr. Eleana Nianiou, DafniNianiou, Martha Petrakis andAnna Petrakis; grand nephew,Phivos Taylor, and extendedfamily members, all of Athens,Syros and elsewhere in Greece;brother-in-law, Allen CurtisDaniel of Cashmere, WA andbrother-in-law and sister-in-law,Ronald Craig and Sandi Danielof Phoenix, AZ. and extendedfamily members elsewhere inthe US. Many celebrations of hislife will occur at future gather-ings in Athens. Any memorialsmay be donated to the FredHutchinson Cancer ResearchCenter, Seattle Cancer Care Al-liance or The Nature Conser-vancy.

n MIHOS, STEVE P. TOLEDO, OH (from the ToledoBlade, published on Jul. 31) –Steve P. Mihos, 85, of Toledo,passed away Wednesday, Jul. 29.He was born Apr. 4, 1930, inDrepano, Greece and was theson of Panayotis and Ageliki Mi-hos. Steve worked on AristotleOnassis ships, as a boiler opera-tor. He married Evangelia Petros,on October 12, 1958, and theirfirst son, Panyotis was born in1960. In 1966 the family movedto Magna, Utah, where Stevetook over a bar business fromhis aging uncle, George Zaros.Their second son, George wasborn in 1966. Steve retired fromCity Auto Stamping, as a boileroperator. Steve enjoyed garden-ing, cooking, Bar-B-Que cookingand listening to Greek music. Healso made his own homemadewine. The only time Steve sawhis family in Greece, since hemigrated to the United States,was in 1996. He always enjoyedcooking for any visitors whocame to the house and treatedthem to a glass of his homemadewine. The last 3 years of his life,he developed dementia alongwith diabetes. Steve was a mem-ber of Holy Trinity Greek Ortho-dox Cathedral, downtownToledo and he volunteered nu-merous times at the Greek Fes-tival. He is survived by his wife,Evangelia Mihos; sons, Pete Mi-hos and George Mihos; grand-children, Stephen and Marisa,and niece, Tina. He was pre-ceded in death by his brother,Christos; sisters, Eleni andMaria, and his first grandson,Peter Mihos, age 14, in 1997,due to a tragic car accident.Friends are invited to visit from4PM to 8PM Friday Jul. 31 inthe Ansberg-West FuneralHome, 3000 Sylvania Avenue,(between Secor and DouglasRoads), where Trisagion Prayerswill be held at 7PM. Funeral ser-vices will be held at 10AM Sat-urday, at Holy Trinity Greek Or-thodox Cathedral, 740 North

Superior Street, Toledo, OH43604. Interment in ToledoMemorial Park. Memorial con-tributions may be made to HolyTrinity Greek Orthodox Cathe-dral or Hospice of NorthwestOhio, 30000 E. River Road, Per-rysburg, OH 43551.

n PALAMIOTIS, MARIASAVANNAH, GA (from the Sa-vannah Morning News, pub-lished on Aug. 3) – Maria D.Palamiotis, 79, passed away Fri-day Jul. 31, at St. Joseph's Hos-pital in Savannah GA. She is sur-vived by her husband DenoPalamiotis of 49 years, herdaughters Helen and Nikki, herstepdaughter Stephanie andgrandson Nick Richardson. Sheis preceded in death by her sonAthanasios. Her sister Dena Pag-oni of Lamia Greece survives heralong with numerous nieces andnephews of both Greece andAmerica. She was born andraised in Lamia Greece andresided in US since 1966. Shewas a pillar of the St. Paul'sGreek Orthodox Church of Sa-vannah Ga where she was a ded-icated member of several orga-nizations including Daughters ofPenelope, St. Barbara's Philop-tochos and chairperson of GreekFestival Food Committees. Ser-vices: Visitation hours are Tues-day Aug. 4, from 5PM to 7PMwith Trisagion service immedi-ately after. Funeral Services areWednesday 11:00AM. Burial atGreenwich cemetery. Donationsto St. Paul' s Greek OrthodoxChurch of Savannah, GA in lieuof flowers.

n PAPPAS, VASILIOSHOLDEN, MA (from the Worces-ter Telegram & Gazette, pub-lished on Aug. 2) – Vasilios "Bill"Pappas, 61, of Holden died un-expectedly, early Friday, Jul. 31in UMASS Memorial MedicalCenter. He leaves two brothers,Theodore Pappas and his wife,Ourania of Holden and Themis-toklis Pappas and his wife, Geor-gia of Psina Ioannina Greece;three sisters, Vasiliki Pappas andher husband, Athansios of Syd-ney, Australia, Pangiota Giotisand her husband, Evangelos ofFall River, and Margarita Zois ofGermany; several nieces,nephews, great nieces, greatnephews and cousins. He waspredeceased by a nephew,Theophilos Pappas and abrother in law, Demos Zois. Hewas born Jul. 22, 1954 in Psina,Ioannina Greece, son of the lateKostasdinos and Sevasti (Ster-gious) Pappas. Bill emigrated toWorcester in 1970. He was amember of Saint SpyridonGreek Orthodox Cathedral andthe American Hellenic Educa-tional Progressive Association.He worked in several pizzarestaurants over the years andfor the last eight for the Mass-DOT. He was beloved by hisfamily and friends. Bill's greatestpleasures were playingbackgammon with his friends atthe Ahepa house and sharing hiscalm smile and easy going de-meanor with his family. He hada unique close relationship withall of his nieces and nephews al-ways presenting a warm heartfelt hug and a reassuring word,for them and their children. Hewill be greatly missed. A callinghour will be held on Wednesday,Aug. 5 from 10:00AM to11:00AM in St. Spyridon GreekOrthodox Cathedral, 102 Rus-sell Street followed by his fu-neral service at 11:00AM. Burialwill be in Hope Cemetery. In lieuof flowers memorial contribu-tions may be made to St. Spyri-don Greek Orthodox Cathedral,102 Russell Street, Worcester,MA 01609. O'Connor BrothersFuneral Home, 592 Park Av-enue, Worcester is directingarrangements.

n RANGOS, NICHOLAS W. AIKEN, SC (from the AikenStandard, published on Aug. 3)– Nicholas William " Nick " Ran-gos, loving husband of IreneSango Rangos, died Aug.1, athome. Trisagion Service andviewing will be held from 6PMto 8PM Tuesday, Aug. 4, atShellhouse Funeral Home. TheTrisagion Service will be held at7PM. Funeral services will beheld at 2PM Aug. 5 at Holy Trin-ity Greek Orthodox Church, cor-ner of 10 the and Telfair St., Au-gusta, GA with the Father VasileBitere officiating. Interment willfollow at Historic BethanyCemetery located in Aiken, SC.A reception will follow at Wood-side Country Club, Aiken, SC.Mr. Rangos was the son of thelate Vasilios and Stella Chala-paos Rangos. He moved herefrom Greece and started a cater-ing business. He provided cater-ing services for the Masters GolfTournament for forty five yearsmaking his famous PimentoCheese and Egg Salad. He hada soda fountain at WoodruffDrug Store, owned Nicks Grill,operated the Ramada InnRestaurant and Lounge, cateredfor over thirty years for OwensCorning Fiberglass, catered forthe Aiken Steeplechase, and allaround catering for many eventsin the Aiken and Augusta area.He was an entrepreneur, he hadthe insight for business and hard

working drive to realize success.He was very diverse in real esteas well as various businessesaround Aiken Co. He was al-ways a very active member ofHoly Trinity Greek OrthodoxChurch, Augusta, GA where hetruly loved his church. He wasa 50 plus Year Life Member andpast president of AHEPA Chap-ter 407, member and past pres-ident of the Church ParishCouncil, recipient of theArchangel Michael Honors fromthe Greek Orthodox Metropolisof Atlanta, and cooked for theGreek Cuisine for many years.He truly loved his friends,church and family. This is whatput a smile on his face, and al-ways grateful to be in such greatcompany. To his friends, thankyou for being a part of a life thatwas truly very full, and thefriendships that will never goaway. To the Holy Trinity GreekOrthodox Church, anything hedid to help was a true labor oflove for the church family, thisis where his faith and heart leadhim to serve. Our husband, fa-ther, grandfather, great grand-father, uncle, will always be aguiding light and example forall of us, a light that will liveforever deep in our hearts. MayHis Memory Be Eternal! Sur-vivors besides his wife includehis daughters, Stella (Richard)Alexander, St. Augustine, FL,Crystal Katherine Rangos,Aiken, son, Nicholas Basil Ran-gos, Aiken. Grandchildren: Hi-lary Rangos, Paris, France,Amanda Alexander, Orlando,FL, Bryan Alexander, St. Augus-tine, Fl, Nicole Cook (Mike), Mt.Pleasant, SC, Robert Molden-hauer, Aiken, great grandchild,Caleb Cook. Harriet Jackson (fi-ance' to Nicholas Rangos) andher two sons Peter and FrankJackson. Brian Connelly (fiance;to Amanda Alexander). And abeloved dog, Pepper. Pallbearerswill be, Peter Jackson, FrankJackson, Bryan Alexander, MikeCook, Kenneth Keaton, andCosta Trapalis. Honorary pall-bearers will be Chuck Ballas,Gus Magoulas, George Gregory,and AHEPA Member Chaper407. Memorials may be directedto Holy Trinity Greek OrthodoxChurch, 953 Telfair St., Augusta,GA 30901 or AHEPA Chaper407 , 953 Telfair St., Augusta,GA 30901.

n STAVROPOULOS, ETHOLEMALBOROUGH, MA (from theShrewsbury Chronicle, pub-lished on Aug. 3) – EtholeStathoula Stavropoulos, 86, ofWestborough passed awaypeacefully at home on Saturday,Aug.1. She was the wife of thelate John Stavropoulos. Born inSaga, Greece, she was thedaughter of the late Andreas andAkaterini (Koutzoulis)Vasilopoulos and was educatedin Greece. Mrs. Stavropouloscame to the United States in1968 settling in the Chicago, Illi-nois area. She was employed inthe packing department forNabisco Co. prior to her retire-ment. She and her family movedto Westborough in 1998. Shewas an active member of Sts.Anargyroi Greek Ortho- doxChurch in Marlborough. Shealso contributed to the Worces-ter Food Bank and in 2013 wasgiven recognition for her contri-butions to the food bank. Sheenjoyed travelling throughoutthe world with her sister and en-joyed gardening and flowers. Et-hole is survived by one daughter,Theodora S. Choros and her hus-band, John, of Westborough;one brother, Fr. VasiliosVasilopoulos of Greece; three sis-ters, Vasiliki Gatseos of Greece,Christina Demos of Chicago andMarina Kolovos of Palos Hills,Illinois and three grandchildren,Konstantina, Efstathia and Yian-noula Choros. Relatives andfriends are invited to attend call-ing hours at the Rand-Harper-Pickering Westborough FuneralHome, 62 West Main St., West-borough, on Wednesday, Aug. 5,from 5PM to 8PM. Fr. Greg willoffer Trisagion Prayers at7:30PM. Funeral services andburial will take place in Greece.In lieu of flowers, donations inher memory may be made to theSts. Anargyroi Church BuildingFund, PO Box 381, Marlbor-ough, MA 01752.

n TASSOPOULOS, MARIALANSING, MI (From the LansingJournal, published on July 29)– Maria Tassopoulos passedaway Sunday, July 26 at homesurrounded by family andfriends. She was born in Theok-tistos, Arcadia, Greece. She em-igrated to Montreal, Canada in1962, and Lansing, Michigan in1967. From 1967 until her re-tirement in 1997, Maria and herhusband George Tassopoulosowned and operated The BestSteak House on 3020 East Kala-mazoo Street in Lansing. Mariawas vibrant, energetic, and fullof life all her days. She leavesbehind sister-in-law EleftheriaTassopoulos, nephews Andreasand Dimos Tassopoulos, great-nephew and niece Ioannis(Yanni) and Lydia Tassopoulos,brother Pericleas Giammas, andmany other relatives.

This is a service to the community.

Announcements of deaths may be telephoned to the classified Department of The National Herald at

(718) 784-5255, Monday through Friday,

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eST or e-mailed to:

[email protected]

Days and dates of funerals,memorials, and other events di-rectly correspond to the originalpublication date, which appearsat the beginning of each notice.

NY Comfort and Style LLC. Art. of Org. filedw/SSNY 10/17/14. Office in Kings Co.SSNY designated for service of process andshall mail to Reg. Agent: US Corp. Agents,Inc, 7014 13th Ave. Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

274555/18796

Notice of formation of MYMNGR, LLC Arts.of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY(SSNY) on 6/12/2015. Office location,County of Kings. SSNY has been designatedas agent of the LLC upon whom processagainst it may be served. SSNY shall mailprocess to: 3 Seeley St., Brooklyn, NY11218. Purpose: any lawful act.

274553/11629

RONDE FOODS, LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/SSNY 5/22/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY des-ignated for service of process and shall mailto Reg. Agent: Ronald Decavalcanti, 108Perry St 1A, New York, NY 10014. Purpose:Any lawful activity

274545/18796

ETI Empire Holdings, LLC, a domestic LLC,filed with the SSNY on 3/24/15. Officelocation: Kings County. SSNY is designated asagent upon whom process against the LLC maybe served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC,162 Falmouth St., Brooklyn, NY 11235.General purpose.

274535/10709

Zavien Capital Management, LLC. App forAuth filed w/ SSNY 5/20/15. Formed in DE3/16/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY designatedagent for service of process and shall mail to:The LLC, 1133 Broadway Ste. 640, New York,NY 10010. Auth Officer: DE Div of Corps, POBox 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Anylawful activity.

274538/18796

BWSF Developers Of NY LLC, a domesticLLC, filed with the SSNY on 5/14/15. Officelocation: Kings County. SSNY is designatedas agent upon whom process against theLLC may be served. SSNY shall mail processto The LLC, 1274 49th St., Ste. 445,Brooklyn, NY 11219. General Purpose.

274536/10709

Notice of Formation of STRETHER CERAMICS,LLC. (DOM. LLC) Articles of Organization filedwith the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY)on 05/20/15. Office location: Kings County.SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC uponwhom process against it may be served. SSNYshall mail copy of process to: Paul Dougherty,128 Cinton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Pur-pose: Any lawful purpose.

274526/19602

Notice of Formation of FINFEED, LLC. (DOM.LLC) Articles of Organization filed with the Sec-retary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/03/15.Office location: Kings County. SSNY is designatedas agent of the LLC upon whom process against itmay be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to:c/o United States Corporation Agents, Inc., 701413th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Pur-pose: Any lawful purpose.

274502/19575

EASTERN APPAREL LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/SSNY 7/2/15. Office in NY Co. SSNY designatedagent for service of process and shall mail to: TheLLC, PO Box 1175, New York, NY 10013. Purpose:Any lawful activity.

274518/18796

Notice of Formation of LIMITED LIABILITYCOMPANY RHD Electric, LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Or-ganization filed with the Secretary of State of NewYork (“SSNY”) on April/14/2015. NY officelocation: Nassau County. The SSNY has been desig-nated as agent of the LLC upon whom processagainst it may be served. The SSNY shall mail copyof process to: c/o RHD Electric, LLC, 237 Willard Av-enue, Farmingdale, NY 11369. Purpose: Any lawfulact or activity. Latest date upon which LLC is to dis-solve: No specific date.

274506/19576

APOSTOLOPOULOSApostle Family - Gregory, Nicholas, Andrew - Funeral Directors of RIVERDALE FUNERAL HOME Inc.5044 BroadwayNew York, NY 10034(212) 942-4000Toll Free 1-888-GAPOSTLECONSTANTINIDESFUNERAL PARLOR Co.(718) 745-1010Services in all localities - Low cost shipping to Greece

ANTONOPOULOS FUNERAL HOME, INC.Konstantinos Antonopoulos - Funeral Director38-08 Ditmars Blvd.,Astoria, New York 11105(718) 728-8500Not affiliated with any other funeral home.

FUNERAL HOMES

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

LEGAL NOTICE

CLASSIFIEDS

To PlAce YouR clASSIFIeD AD, cAll: (718) 784-5255, exT. 106, e-MAIl: classifieds@ thenationalherald.com

Page 7: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

be recalled that the first com-mercial Hawaiian pineappleplantation was only establishedin 1886. With Peter in Hawaiiand Demetrios in San Franciscothe brother’s business interestsgrew with incredible leaps andbounds. Each brother began totake advantage of the local busi-ness situations to increase theircollective interests. By March25, 1890, Demetrios Camarinospurchased the Emerson, Butler,and Co. Fruit Company in SanFrancisco. Focusing on farmersand wholesalers in Californiaand Mexico Demetrios securedstore fronts and packing houses.Peter focused on fruit availablefrom Hawaiian growers as wellas those from Australia and NewZealand which he saw shippedto his San Francisco offices.

Critical to our understandingof the role the Camarinos broth-ers played in the history ofGreeks in North America is theircomplex association with Chris-tos Tsakonas. Tsakonas helpedestablish literally hundreds ofGreek immigrants in the fruitand confectionery businesses.Tsakonas like the Camarinosclan was born in Tsintzina andit was from that village andthose in the immediate areafrom which Tsakonas drew hiswork force.

Tsakonas arrived in Chicagonot long after the Great Fire of1871. Moving to MilwaukeeTsakonas by 1882 he started afruit and confectionery storewith a handful of young menfrom Tsintzina and/or theTsintzina area. Once the storewas established Tsakonasmoved on to start yet anotherstore only to hand it over (some-times completely/sometimes re-taining a partnership) to yet an-other group of young maleimmigrants from his villageand/or district (such as the vil-lages of Vasara, Goritza, Ara-hova and others). Tsakonas con-tinued moving eastwardfounding one store after anotheruntil his retirement in upstateNew York.

Speaking about DemetriosCamarinos historian Peter W.Dickson writes in his article TheGreek Pilgrims: Tsakonas andTsintzinians: “There can be littledoubt that Camarinos was inclose contact with the Tsintzini-ans in Chicago because he sup-plied them with bananas andpineapples from Hawaii throughhis own export –import firm—the California Fruit Market—based in Honolulu. This enter-prise in Honolulu was managedby Camarinos’ brother and

nephews, several of whomworked for Tsakonas in Chicagoin the early 1880s before head-ing to the West Coast.” In thespirit of the Greek proverb of“one hand washes the other,”Camarinos had a ready marketfor his goods and his fellowTsintzinians scattered across theUnited States had a bulk whole-saler from which they could col-lective purchase goods at a dis-count.

By the 1880s, Hawaii was thecenter of trade in the Pacific. By1892, at the latest, the Camari-nos brothers owned one of thetwo largest pineapple planta-tions in Hawaii. As we read inthe Hawaiian Planter’s MonthlyNovember 1892, “Mr. Camari-nos of the California Fruit Mar-ket has a plantation at Kalihi-kai of 50,000 plants, all ofimported varieties, and intendsto put in 100,000 plants during1893.” Augmenting this planta-tion was the fact that the Ca-marinos brothers had built thefirst refrigerator storage com-partments aboard ship capableof transporting 2,000 lbs. offresh fruit exports per shipment.It is roughly at this point thatpolitics and personalities enterthe lives of everyone on theHawaiian Islands.

Two political factions existedon the islands at this time theEuropean and the Missionary.As their names suggest thesetwo groups were formed of Eu-ropean immigrants on the onehand and the other by descen-dants of the Protestant mission-aries and later other Anglo-Saxon arrivals. From 1810onwards Hawaii was recognizedas an independent kingdom.

Nonetheless, the Missionaryclass wanted annexation of theislands to the United Stateswhile the native Hawaiians(backed by the Europeans)maintained their right to inde-pendence. The result of this con-flict was gunboat diplomacy.

“The 1887 Constitution ofthe Kingdom of Hawaii was alegal document by anti-monar-chists to strip the Hawaiianmonarchy of much of its author-ity, initiating a transfer of powerto American, European, and na-tive Hawaiian elites. It becameknown as the Bayonet Constitu-tion for the use of intimidationby the armed militia whichforced King Kal�kaua to sign itor be deposed. The documentdenied the King most of his per-sonal authority, empowering thelegislature and cabinet of thegovernment. These anti-monar-chists, known as the HawaiianLeague, were mainly whitemales of American origin, andthey quickly appointed them-selves as government officials,providing themselves with al-most complete control of thegovernment” Omitted from thisquote was the fact that an Amer-ican gunship was in Honoluluport to ensure the success of this“annexation.” On January 17,1893, the Kingdom of Hawaiiwas overthrown and annexed tothe United States.

Not only are these eventscited as the beginnings of Amer-ican imperialism abroad, it iscredited with informing nativistattitudes that led to the Span-ish-American War in 1898 andthen the subsequent 7 year un-declared war in the Philippines.A long ignored aspect of Ameri-can Labor history is that it wasveterans from this undeclaredwar that would eventually serveas militia against striking work-ers in the United States duringthe 1900s. Louis Tikas and theother twelve adults and childrenkilled by the Colorado StateMilitia were killed by such vet-erans.

From our perspective in his-tory it is easy to agree with Gen-eral Smedley’s assessment that"War is a racket. It always hasbeen. It is possibly the oldest,easily the most profitable, surelythe most vicious. It is the onlyone international in scope. It isthe only one in which the profitsare reckoned in dollars and thelosses in lives. A racket is bestdescribed, I believe, as some-thing that is not what it seemsto the majority of the people.Only a small 'inside' groupknows what it is about. It is con-ducted for the benefit of thevery few, at the expense of the

very many. Out of war a fewpeople make huge fortunes. WarIs a Racket is the title of twoworks, a speech and a booklet,by retired United States MarineCorps Major General and twotime Medal of Honor recipientSmedley D. Butler. In them, But-ler frankly discusses from his ex-perience as a career military of-ficer how business interestscommercially benefit (includingwar profiteering) from warfare.Butler’s speech "War is a Racket"was so well received that hewrote a longer version as asmall book with the same titlethat was published in 1935 byRound Table Press, Inc., of NewYork.”

Peter Camarinos and various

other Greeks in Hawaii were ag-gressively in favor of the coun-terrevolution in open oppositionto the Missionary class. Camari-nos was a major planner andsponsor of the insurgency andhe is credited with saying, “I willgive half that I am worth to seethe damned Missionary sons ofbitches hung.”

A four year lawsuit fromroughly 1890 to 1893-4 be-tween the two largest pineapplegrowers in Hawaii Kidwell andCamarinos ended in Camarinos’favor but not until the longdrawn out affair destroyed hisbusiness interests. After the an-nexation of the Islands in 1893,the entire extended Camarinosfamily was deported from

Hawaii. While Demetrios Ca-marinos would later return, Pe-ter died in California and theirfirm would never be reestab-lished.

As we can see, the Americanmilitary and even unintention-ally I am assuming the courtshave been used for purposeswell beyond what the averagecitizen would allow. For thosewho would dismiss Greek-Amer-ican history as nothing morethan a “ghetto literature” of lit-tle consequence, I would say thelimitations they see does not ex-ist within the literature but itsinterpretation(s).

[email protected]

FEATURETHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015 7

The Brothers Camarinos: Hawaii Pineapple Entrepreneurs Pre-Statehood

The Camarinos brothers hadan important relationshipwith Christos Tsakonas, seenhere, who is widely creditedfor bolstering the earliestGreek immigration wave tothe United States.

By Dr. ConstantinaMichalos

HOUSTON, TX – Back in lateApril, the ice cream man cameto our street. It was a quietspring day, a reminder of whywe lived in Houston while therest of the country dug out fromthe previous weekend’s snow-storm.

Thoughts of an endless sum-mer of heat, humidity and hur-ricane warnings did not cloudthe sapphire sky. He parked histruck at the end of the block andwaited. It was a blue van with awhite roof, not very big, with apicture of Shrek on the side fac-ing me and a stop sign on thedoor. “Caution. Children Cross-ing!” it announced, and cars du-tifully stopped, like they arelegally required to do for schoolbuses. The only law enforcedhere is the law of childhood –that kids have the right of waywhen it comes to ice cream! Ajaunty tune played on what issupposed to sound like a circuscalliope but is really a synthe-sizer in a studio somewhere. Noone cared. The endless loop ofmusic floated on the afternoonair, and like the Pied Piper’ssong, drew out the children.

The scene reminded me ofthe many ice cream trucks weraced to daily in WashingtonHeights. They would ring theirbells as they came down thestreet, and we would stop what-ever game we were playing andyell up to our mothers in the4th and 5th floor apartments.“Ma!” “Ma-a!” Coins wrapped innapkins would float from thewindows like a brigade of para-chutes, and we were ready,waiting on the sidewalk, for theBungalow Bar Man or the GoodHumor Man to park his clean,white truck. We already knewwhat we wanted: red, white andblue ice rockets, sundaes in acup, toasted almond, chocolateéclair…

The Bungalow Bar trucklooked like a little house onwheels, Good Humor was a bigbox, and both were decorated

with mouth-watering decals ad-vertising their many treats. Wedidn’t care which ice cream mancame because it wouldn’t be ouronly ice cream for the day! Ifwe had a strawberry shortcakenow, we could get a rocket later.And that didn’t count nighttimeice cream, when the grown-upssat watching us play under thestreet lights, and they treated uswhen the trucks rang past onemore time before retiring untilthe next day. Nor did it countthe occasional walk to Mr.Solomon’s, the candy store onBroadway.

Mr. Solomon sold everything– candy, ice cream, soda, comics.He would stare down at us aswe lined up in front of thecounter and ordered ice creamcones with sprinkles. Vanillafudge was an adventure! If oneof us didn’t have enough money,we improvised. Everyone hadbubble gum – Bazooka or Dub-

ble Bubble. It didn’t matter. Wechewed feverishly and mashedall of our gum together into agiant wad, stuck it to the bottomof a long string and someonewent fishing for coins. The sub-way grating outside of Mr.Solomon’s store was over eightfeet long. In the winter, it pro-vided a warm respite from thecold as we walked from Broad-way to Fort Washington Avenueand toward the Hudson River.But in the summer, it was asunken Spanish galleon. Peoplethrew trash into the grating, butcoins often fell out of unsuspect-ing pockets only to be retrievedby us months later. So one ofthe boys – Jimmy or Frankie orDean – would lie on his stomachand fish for coins. We alwaysgot enough money so thateveryone could have a cone.

The ice cream man wouldpark and step out of his cabaround to the back while we

waited on the sidewalk, rollingour coins around in our sweatypalms. He opened a freezer doorthat guarded heaven andreached through the vaporcloud into paradise. He didn’teven have to look. Magically heknew where every treasure layand out emerged a fudgesicle(we pronounced it “fudge-ickle”), a vanilla pop, a coconutcream. We sat on the stoop ofour apartment building or thesteps to the schoolyard andcarefully unwrapped our treats,pushing the paper to the baseof the pop to create a makeshiftcuff that caught any stray piecesof chocolate or chunks of deli-cious.

We each had a different wayof eating our ice cream. Theboys just bit into it and sufferedmajor brain freezes in theprocess. The girls gingerly brokeoff the chocolate borders withour front teeth, then daintily

lifted off the solid chocolatesquares with our fingertips. Thevanilla underneath had softenedby then and just melted in ourmouths. And everyone tastedeveryone else’s ice cream, evenif we had just eaten the samething an hour or two before. Noone was grossed out. No onehad cooties. At least not whenit came to ice cream. We all heldon to the sticks long after wewere done, sucking the wooddry until it splintered on ourtongues.

When it came to ice cream

cones, we were alike. We lickedand licked until the dome of icecream was even with the cone.Then we bit the bottom of thecone and sucked the ice creamthrough the hole. Finally, the pa-per came off and we bit the conelike feverish beavers in ever-shrinking concentric circles untilit was gone. We licked off ourfingers, wiped our hands on ourclothes and went back to play –until the next jingle of bells.

So on that spring day two or

three months ago in my SugarLand neighborhood, what struckme as odd about the ice creamscene on my street was howquiet it was. The only sound wasthe music from the truck. Thekids walked quietly, almost ro-botically toward the sound andstood patiently as the man dis-pensed ice cream from a freezerjust behind him. He never cameout of the truck, but I could seethat he was wearing a Hawaiianshirt and khaki shorts, not thestarched white uniform andcrisp cap of a real ice cream

man. The kids got their icecream and quickly returned totheir houses before it couldmelt. They didn’t comparechoices, they didn’t unwraptheir treats, they didn’t tasteeach other’s treasures. They did-n’t speak. They just hurried backhome and ate their ice cream inthe air conditioning behindclosed doors. The street wasquiet and empty again.

The ice cream man hasn’tbeen back since.

I Scream! You Scream! We All Scream for Ice Cream! Childhood Joys

ALL HISTORY

GREEKS AROUND THE US

Exercise your mind with the latest books from The National Herald Collection

THE NATIONAL HERALD BOOKSTORE

FLAVOURS & DELIGHTS

$46.99

FLAVOURS & DELIGHTSTastes and pleasures of Ancient & Byzantine Cuisine

The flavours of classical greeceMakedonisi(on). Parsley, the Macedonian herb.byzantine diet and cuisine. In between ancient and modern gastron-omy. All in the cooking pot. Advances in the study of byzantine diet.eating flowersbyzantine aphrodisiacs & delicacies.liutprand of cremona. A critical guest at the byzantine emperor'stable.TimarionHens, cockerels and other choice fowl. everyday food and gastro-nomic pretensions in byzantiumPallikaria of lentils. The "brave boys" of beans.everyday food in the Middle byzantine periodDining with foreignersFood for SaintsThe emperor's salad"The Raw and the cooked" way of cooking and serving food inbyzantium

O R D E R F O R M

Please return this form with your check or money order payable to:The National Herald, 37-10 30th street, Long Island City, NY 11101-2614or charge your credit card: o American express o Master card o Visa o Discover

αCCOUNT: εxPIRATION DATE:ναμε:αDDRESS:CITY: STATE: zIP CODE:PHONE / CELL: FAx: E-MAIL:# BOOKS:

SIGNATURE

A Good Humor ice cream truck back in the day, when it wasn’t just a snack, it was an event.

A Mister Softee ice cream truck on 175th and Broadway inWashington Heights, just a couple of blocks away from wherethose coins wrapped in napkins descended like parachutesfrom apartment windows just a few short decades ago.

Continued from page 1

Page 8: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

GREECE8 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

AnalysisBy Constantinos E. Scaros

NEW YORK – A new global pollconducted by the Anti-Defama-tion League (ADL), in whichmore than 10,000 residents of19 countries around the worldwere asked to respond to 11statements that the poll links toanti-Semitism. Greece finishedsecond on the list, with 67% ofthe respondents deemed to beanti-Semitic. Only Turkey, at71%, finished higher. The onlyother country to finish in whichmost of the population wasfound to be anti-Semitic accord-ing to the poll, was Iran (60%),whose former leader MahmoudAhmadinejad ominously de-clared that Iran would do any-thing “to destroy Israel.”

In the introduction of its2015 report, in which it statesthe results of the 19 nations,comparing them to the 2014numbers, the ADL indicates aconclusion based on a correla-tion found in the data: that theless satisfied respondents werewith political and economic con-ditions in their country, themore likely they were to harbornegative stereotypes of Jews.GREECE QUALITY OF LIFE

Before delving into Greeks’specific references to Jews, theirgeneral responses to quality oflife in Greece are telling inthemselves, and important toshare, accordingly.

A startling change in just ayear’s time is to the question:“Do you think things in yourcountry are headed in the right

direction?” Last year, just 16%responded yes, as compared toa staggering 61% this year –even as Greece remains miredin crisis.

Conversely, 80% a year agoclearly stated things in Greecewere getting worse, as com-pared to only 29% this year.

In a related question only17% described the political cli-mate as stable in 2014, but thatnumber more than doubled, to39% this year.

Nonetheless, only 2%thought political conditionswere “very stable” last year, andonly 9% think they are very sta-ble today.

The changes had very littleto do with personal finances, as

0% of last year’s respondentsdescribed their financial condi-tion as excellent, with only 1%giving it that rating in 2015.

Although those who de-scribed it as poor in 2014 were47% as compared to only 38%this year – almost a 10% drop.

The disparity could mean ac-tual economic relief, or perhaps

an overblown panic last yearthat never materialized, withoutany actual economic improve-ment having taken place.

ANTI-SEMITIC ORXENOHOBIC?

The Greeks’ responses onquestions aimed to investigateanti-Semitism yielded mixed re-sults, with Greeks not necessar-ily more averse to Jews than toother non-Christian groups. Inan overall favorability jump ofapproximately 10% as com-pared to last year, Greeks foundthe following groups favorable:Christians (94%), Buddhists(52%), Jews (50%), Hindus(48%), and Muslims (45%).These numbers basically meanthat almost all Greeks have pos-

itive feelings about Christians,whereas for various non-Chris-tians, it’s a 50-50 chance.

As the remainder of the ques-tions were about Jews specifi-cally, it is difficult to concludethat Greeks are specifically anti-Semitic – there is a good chancethat, to a significant extent, theyare more xenophobic in general.

MONEY AND POWERMost reactions deemed as

negative on the ADL anti-Se-mitic index to which Greeksscored high (meaning moreanti-Semitic) had to do withmoney, power, and global influ-ence. An overwhelming 90% ofGreeks think Jews have toomuch power in the businessworld, up from 85% a year ago.In related questions, 85% thinkJews have too much power ininternational financial markets,72% think Jews are too power-ful in global affairs, 58% thinkthey have too much power overglobal media, and 65% ofGreeks think Jews have toomuch control over the U.S. gov-

ernment.GREECE V. U.S. TOWARD

JEWSThere is a startling difference

as to how Greeks and Americansperceive Jews. (Note: Less than2% of the U.S. population isJewish so, all other things beingequal, over 98% of the Ameri-can poll respondents are notJews themselves.)

Do Jews still talk too muchabout what happened to them inthe Holocaust? In Greece, 70%of the people seem to think so,compared to only 20% in the U.S.

Only 13% of Americans thinkthat “Jews don’t care what hap-pens to anyone but their ownkind,” as compared to 51% of

Greeks who feel that way.Almost half of Greeks, 44%,

think that “Jews think thatthey’re better than other peo-ple,” but only 13% of Americansbelieve that.

Only a minority in bothcountries – 33% in Greece andonly 5% in the U.S. – think that“Jews are responsible for mostof the world’s wars.”

Finally, in a denial of anti-Semitism itself, 41% of Greeks,and 14% of Americans believethat “people hate Jews becauseof the way Jews behave,”thereby alluding that it is notbecause of religious or ethnichatred, but rather that the Jewsbring it upon themselves.

A Poll that Finds 67% of Greeks anti-Semitic Reveals a Great Deal More

ABOVE: Is the Greek government doing something right? It seems that way, considering almostfour types as many Greeks as last year think the country is heading in the right direction.LEFT: According to an ADL poll, Jews are apparently on the minds of Greeks – and not in agood way – more so than they ought to be.

This week in 1991, on Au-gust 4, the Greek cruiseshipOceanos sank while sailingalong Eastern South Africa’sWild Coast near Transkei.

Although all 571 people onboard were rescued, and thoughthe cause of the sinking was dueto rough weather (that floodedthe ship), the Oceanos sinkingbecame famous because of theheroics of the entertainers onboard, and the lack thereof onthe part of the captain and thecrew.

Yiannis Avranas, the ship’scaptain, and his crew members,

upon realizing the danger, ap-parently fled to their cabins,grabbed their personal belong-ings, put on their life jackets,and attempted to jump ship tosafety, without informing thepassengers.

The power had gone out, andthe passengers had no idea whatwas going on. British musiciansMoss and Tracy Hills and CruiseDirector Lorraine Betts were in-strumental in organizing therescue effort and trying to main-tain some semblance of order asthe ship continued to flail. Themusicians played Beatles songs

on their guitars to try to keepthe passengers calm.

Avranas later justified his ac-tions by stating there was noway for him to inform the pas-sengers about the danger, as theOceanos’ power had gone out,thus rendering his communica-tions equipment useless. Be-sides, he added, “when I sayabandon ship, it applies toeveryone. It doesn’t matterwhen I leave. If some peoplewant to stay, they can stay.”

Avranas and his crew werefound guilty of neglect by aGreek Maritime Board.

This Week in Greek History:

The Sinking of the Oceanos

ACROSS

1 Austin novel5 African country9 Beach14 False bible god15 Hellenic American RepublicanAssn. (abbrev.)16 Brownish-orange color17 Stare at18 Within19 Wash off20 Snip21 Scotsman22 Halter part23 Joanie Loves ______ (Happy Days spinoff)25 Patron Saint of Nisyros29 Oxi's opposite30 Away31 Young Christian Assn. (abbrev.)32 __ -garde35 Torn up fabric36 Sun's name37 Dalai ____38 Actor Penghilis40 Wrongdoing41 Former USSR's secret police42 "Cat on _ ___ Tin Roof" (2 words)43 Actor DeVito44 Japanese singer-songwriter45 Rocket builders46 Attack47 City of Tigers and Lions, but not Bears49 Approach hostilely52 Asner and Sullivan53 Not there54 Crank56 Protruding59 House, to Fernando60 N.A. Indian61 Unfasten the pins of62 A spinning toy (2 wds.)63 Beautiful bird64 Thick65 Representatives66 Cult

DOWN1 Black2 Earvin Johnson's nickname3 Surname of Richie's and Potsie's friend Ralph4 Brew5 Fashionable6 Capital of Vietnam7 Avg. Round Trip Time (abbrev.)8 Chinese philosophy

9 Cuffs10 Island11 Possess12 They work with MDs (abbrev.)13 Quite a looker?21 Get out!22 Popular game in church halls24 Saint honored on December 925 Nat'l Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. (ab-

brev.)26 Chicken brand27 Oak nut28 Briny30 Non __ (not welcome)32 Synthetic resin33 Imprecise34 Perimeter38 Thailand dwellers39 Legion40 Mexican fast food42 Relieving pain43 Cube46 Table leftovers48 Morning talk show host Philbin49 Famous fabler50 Maine's Olympia51 Rapper Shakur53 Love's razor's edge55 Tone56 Develop57 Univ. in Armidale, Australia (abbrev.)58 Licensed practical nurse59 Automobile60 Health Serv. Support (abbrev.)

Solution to last week’s puzzle

THE HERALD SQUARETNH's Crossword Challenge

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40

41 42 43

44 45 46

47 48 49 50 51

52 53 54 55

56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63

64 65 66

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

From our Website’s Food Section

By Anna Skamangas-Scaros

August is here, which meansit’s time to pick those ripe figsright off the tree (or buy themfrom a quality supermarket –that’s the next-best thing).

Picking up from last August’sfig recipes, here is a new one:

Roasted Chicken with Pota-toes and Figs

Once again, figs complementa savory dish. Chicken and pota-toes never looked so good!

Serves 4-6Ingredients:1 large yellow onion, peeled

and trimmed3 large Yukon gold potatoes,

washed and quartered1 large roasting chicken10-15 large figs, halvedGreek olive oilSea salt and freshly ground

black pepperDirections:Preheat the oven to 450 de-

grees.Slice the onion into thick

rings and place them on a bak-ing sheet. Top with potatoes.Place chicken on top.

Drizzle the chicken with oliveoil and sprinkle with salt andpepper. Arrange the figs around

the chicken.Place the pan in the oven and

reduce the heat to 400. Roastthe chicken for 50 minutes untilthe skin is crispy and the juices

run clear.Remove the chicken and let

it rest for 10 minutes beforecarving. Serve with the roastedfigs and onion rounds.

The captain ran out on his ship.

Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Figs

Page 9: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

ATHENS – Greek’s stock ex-change took a pounding theweek of Aug. 3, reoopening fiveweeks after being shut downalong with banks amid fears thecountry was on the verge of be-ing forced out of the Eurozone.

It was especially bad forbanks, who lost half their valuein the first three days the marketoperated after the sudden shut-down that came with no warn-ing.

It was the worst week yet forthe exchange which has lost 88percent of its value since 2007but taking a particularly hardbeating now under the rulingRadical Left SYRIZA which im-posed capital controls that ana-lysts said have brought the mar-ket to the edge of ruin.

The index on Aug. 4 finished1.22 percent down after sufferingits steepest ever fall of 16.32 per-cent on Aug. 3 when trading re-sumed after a shutdown imposedby the country’s debt crisis.

Banking shares have fallenclose to the maximum 30 per-cent allowed for two straightdays with the country’s fourbiggest banks – Pireaeus, Alpha,National Bank and Eurobank –all teetering. The National Bankshowed some signs of stabilitywith a 2.3 percent climb afterfalling 50 percent in the twoprevious days.

The index tumbled the mostsince at least 1987 on Aug. 3and now has hit its lowest levelssince 1995 with no signs yet it

will come back with investors innear-panic mode.

Under capital controls, trad-ing on a stock halts when it risesor falls 7 percent in 10 minutesor 30 percent daily and buyerscan’t access their bank accountsto make purchases because of adaily withdrawal limit of 60 eu-ros ($65.15.)

More than 131 million ASEshares changed hands on Aug.

4, or about four times the pre-vious day’s trading volume, thenews agency Bloomberg said.The exchange’s first day of trad-ing since June 29 saw the leastvolume since November.POLITICAL INSTABILITY

HURTINGGreece’s government con-

ceded that dissent within theruling party was likely to forcean early election, while bank

shares plummeted again on thestock market, which reopenedthis week after a long closure.

The leftwing government isrelying on opposition party sup-port for approval in parliamentof new austerity measures de-manded by bailout lenders, fol-lowing a revolt by nearly one-fourth of its own lawmakers.

Government spokeswomanOlga Gerovasili said the govern-

ment would not form a nationalunity government and describedearly elections as “likely.”

“A solution will be found,since the country needs a stronggovernment,” Gerovasili toldprivate Skai television. “(Early)elections are likely but thatdoesn’t mean we will be dealingtoday with when they will takeplace.”

Amid the uncertainty, themain stock index lost another1.2 percent, the second day themarket has been open followinga five-week shutdown.

Most shares traded higherbut banks tumbled, once againhitting the 30 percent lowertrading limit. The overall indexon Aug. 3 plummeted 16.2 per-cent, its worst drop in decades.

Greece’s economy is reelingfrom the impact of limits onmoney withdrawals and trans-fers that the government im-posed on June 29 to avoid a col-lapse of the banking sector.Uncertainty over Greece’s nego-tiations for a new bailout andover the stability of the govern-ment have heightened concerns.

European markets were un-affected by the Greek marketnosedive, however, which Ital-ian Finance Minister Pier CarloPadoan described as “normalmarket behavior in exceptionalcircumstances.

“Frankly I am not concerned.Looking at the figures, I thoughtthis was more or less what oneshould expect after weeks of

stocks being closed in a countrywhich is indeed in deep reces-sion,” he told reporters in Rome.

The political outlook appearstenuous, with Panagiotis Lafaza-nis, a prominent dissenter andlawmaker of the ruling SYRIZAparty, urging colleagues to joinhim in voting against the gov-ernment when the bailout dealis brought to parliament.

“I personally will not vote fora new bailout that will continueto destroy the country and hurtits people,” Lafazanis told RealFM radio. “SYRIZA lawmakersmust fight to the last minute tostop the government signing athird bailout.”

Finance Minister EuclidTsakalotos was holding newmeetings with bailout negotia-tors from the European Com-mission, European Central Bankand International MonetaryFund.

Gerovasili said the govern-ment remained committed toconcluding the talks by Aug. 18and that work on drawing upthe text of a draft agreementwould start this week.

Greece faces a loan repay-ment on Aug. 20 worth morethan 3 billion euros to the ECB.To avoid defaulting on it, Greecewould need more money fromthe bailout program it is negoti-ating or, short of that, an interimloan from its creditors.

(Material from the AssociatedPress was used in this report.)

GREECE CYPRUSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015 9

After a 5-Week Shutdown, Greek Market Plummets upon its Reopening

The UN Security Council hasurged Greek and Turkish Cypriots“to grasp the current opportunity”of renewed talks to reach a peaceagreement that would reunite thedivided Mediterranean island.

A resolution adopted unani-mously by the UN’s most power-ful body welcomed progress inthe new talks led by Cypriot Pres-ident Nicos Anastasiades andTurkish Cypriot leader MustafaAkinci as well as the ongoing ef-forts to reach “a comprehensiveand durable settlement.”

Cyprus was split into a break-away Turkish Cypriot north andan internationally recognizedsouth in 1974 when Turkey in-vaded after a coup by supportersof a union with Greece. Cyprusjoined the European Union in2004, but EU law only applies inthe south which enjoys full mem-bership benefits.

Peace talks resumed in Mayafter an 8-month pause triggeredby a feud between the Cypriotgovernment and Turkey over theisland’s right to explore for gasand oil deposits off its shores.

The Security Council stressedthat “the status quo is unsustain-able.” It welcomed “the positivemomentum” and commitment bythe leaders to reach a settlementas soon as possible and encour-aged the two sides to intensifynegotiations on unresolved issues.

The resolution extended themandate of the UN peacekeepingforce in Cyprus until Jan. 31,2016. The 1,100-strong mission,which has been deployed on theisland since 1964 to deter erup-tions of inter-communal fighting,includes about 860 troops andover 60 international police.

Espen Barth Eide, the UN Spe-cial Adviser of the Secretary-Gen-eral said that the basis for the re-unification talks is a bizonal,bicommunal federation with fullrespect for the values and princi-ples of the EU is based.

TURKEY KEEPING ITSDISTANCE

Before a summer break Eidemade the statement when he wasspeaking to reporters after ameeting with Anastasiades, whichfollowed a discussion with Akinci,

who also has to deal with TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan,a hardliner whose official policyis not to recognize Cyprus nor al-low admittance of its ships andplanes.

Cyprus is a member of the EUwhich Turkey wants to join butthe stalemate over the island’s re-unification has been a catalysthurting its chances of becominga member. But Turkey, the onlycountry to recognize its own ter-ritory on Cyprus, is maintaininga hands-off policy during the cur-rent Cyprus negotiations, accord-ing to the Turkish Cypriot ForeignMinister Emine Colak.

In an interview with Hurriyet,Colak said that during the recentvisit to the north by Erdogan, herimpression from private meetingswith him was that Ankara wassincere in wanting a settlement.

Colak said Turkey “of course”had its own interests and theCyprus issue was a majorheadache in terms of its EU path“and there are a lot of reasonswhy Turkey wants to see theproblem resolved,” she said.

“I see this support. Turkey isnot intervening or trying to ma-nipulate or being part of specificcontent that are being discussedbetween our leaders. There is nopressure, intervention or anyparanoia about what is beingagreed at the table,” Colak said.

“I get the feeling that they arethinking that if the Turkish Cypri-ots are able to reach a consensus,that would be okay with [Turkey]– with the provision that when itcomes to the guarantees, in thesame way that Greece and Britainhave a say, Turkey will also havean opinion in relation to the newunited Cyprus.”

As for Erdogan’s “harsh reac-tion” toward Akinci’s statementearlier this year that relationsshould be on an equal basis, Co-lak said though relations withTurkey were very important tothe Turkish Cypriots, they had“strong feelings that we want tobe masters of our own home”.

“Turkish Cypriots will respondto anything that Turkey does orsays which makes them feel thisis under threat. Following Erdo-

gan’s statements that were seenas offensive to our newly electedleader, Turkish Cypriots reactedto it, saying he should not speakto our president like that. Wewant to have Turkey on our side,but we also want to stand on ourfeet,” she added.

“There is a positive climate, inwhich there are active, frequent,constructive negotiations. The is-sues are being discussed and, asfar as possible, convergence is be-ing secured. There is good speed;we can see that progress is beingmade,” she said. The combinationof Akinci and Anastasiades as“two leaders who want peace anda solution” was important, Colaksaid. “It needs courage. Peoplehave a lot of concerns. In orderto face [criticism] and gain confi-dence, it needs courage and a lotof commitment,” she added.

“If there is hope for peace,then you get enthusiasm forpeace, but if there is nothing hap-pening, people get on with theirlives. I believe that a solution isstill preferred by at least morethan 50 per cent or 60 percent.

There is not pessimism butlethargy. But they are able to com-pare with past processes. I thinkthey feel this change in the cli-mate, the good chemistry be-tween the two leaders,” she said.

Yiannakis Omirou, the actingPresident of Cyprus’ House ofRepresentatives said one of themost critical issues is the returnof the Varosha suburb of TurkishFamagusta.

CNA reported the act “wouldconstitute an important step forthe creation of a positive climatein the efforts to find a solution tothe Cyprus problem on the basisof international and Europeanlaw principles.” Omirou spoke atan anti-occupation event orga-nized by the Famagusta Munici-pality in Deryneia an noted, ac-cording to CNA, “that the returnof Varosha constitutes an obliga-tion for Turkey on the basis of theHigh Level Agreement of 1979and the UN Security Council res-olutions 550 and 789.”

(Material from the AssociatedPress was used in this report)

Stock prices are displayed on a ticker screen inside the Athens' Stock Exchange in Athens.

TNH Staff

ATHENS – There is a noticeablerise in Greek burglaries, be-lieved to be a side-effect of therecent bank run caused by cap-ital controls and other aspectsof the Greek crisis.

Essentially, when it appearedthat Greece was on the brink ofexiting from the euro, panickedGreeks rushed to the banks totake out their savings, eventu-ally forcing the government inearly July to limit the amountthey could withdraw (from theirGreek bank accounts which, es-sentially, was what most Greekshave).

As the New York Times re-ported (“Greek Debt Crisis Addsto a Spike in Burglaries andRobberies,” Jul. 31), mostGreeks do not have the means(knowledge and resources) totransfer their money to foreignbank accounts, and so theywould bring it home and keepit “under the proverbial mat-tress” or in other parts of thehouse.

Thieves know this, and so thespike in household burglarieshas risen. As Mary Mantou-valou, a lawyer for the AthensBar Association’s Legal Aid De-partment explained, the Times

reported, the burglars are mostlikely part of organized crimerings, they are not poor peopleseeking to steal so they can eat.

A couple in Kiffisia, for in-stance, went to the movies lastmonth only to receive aphonecall, halfway through themovie, from their home alarmsecurity company, the Times re-ported. Burglars had broken in,placed the alarm in a bucket ofwater (presumably to disengageit), opened their safe, and stolethe jewelry inside. “The speedand sophistication of the crimewere astonishing,” the Timeswrote.

“They knew they had 10minutes until the police came�they put everything in a pillow-case, and they were gone,” thewoman told the Times.

Although more seriouscrimes have not risen this year,and although robberies are usu-ally not of businesses – such asgas stations and grocery stores– household burglaries have in-creased precisely because, as theTimes analogized, the bad guys“know where the money is,” toparaphrase Willie Sutton, whosaid that is why he robbedbanks.

SENIORS AT RISKOlder Greeks are victims of

the crisis in more ways thanone: even as pensioners strug-gled to withdraw money onwhich to live last month, gangshave concentrated on burglar-izing their homes.

In a case of staying one stepahead, Greeks now hide theirmoney in sheds, the Times re-ports, instead of inside theirhouses, but criminals havelearned to go straight to theshed and search there.

The Times reported that theextreme rightwing GoldenDawn Party, whose rise in thepolls peaked before SYRIZAcame to power in January, hasseized the moment to advanceits anti-immigrant agenda by es-corting the elderly to ATM ma-chines and then back home, toprevent them from being robbedby “foreigners.”

ISLANDS NOT EXEMPTThe Times article also points

out that the rise in crime doesnot affect only Athens, but theSouthern Aegean islands aswell, where both homes andbusinesses have reported an in-crease in burglarly. But PoliceSpokesperson Petros Vasilakisdid not conclude that the rise islinked to the crisis, the Timesreported, stating that crime al-ways rises during tourist season.

sible timetable if everyone sticksto the commitments,” the Com-mission spokeswoman, MinaAndreeva, said.

Lead Eurozone lender Ger-many refused to say whether adeal was possible within thattime frame. “A series of pointsstill have to be cleared up,” Ger-man Finance Ministryspokesman Marco Semmelmannsaid.

A German government offi-cial told Bild daily, that reachinga deal by Aug 20was "notachievable” however.

Andreeva said that, "WhatPresident Juncker himself said… in an interview remains validthat the negotiations with theGreek authorities are 'progress-ing in a satisfactory way', thathe believes 'an agreement thismonth preferably before August20 is possible' because, as you

know, August 20 is the date foran important payment to theECB."

"We believe that this is anambitious and yet possibletimetable," she told a daily newsbriefing in response to a ques-tion about the Bild story.

NO MOREBRIDGE LOANS

Nikos Fylis, a parliamentaryspokesman for the rulingSYRIZA party, insisted a pro-posal by rescue lenders to pro-long the talks and give Athensan interim loan was “off thetable.”

Greece is hoping to get a bigfirst loan installment, worth 25billion euros, as soon as thebailout deal is approved. It aimsto then start negotiations beforethe end of the year on how toease the country’s massive debtburden.

Eurozone lenders stronglyoppose writing off a portion of

Greek bailout debt but are will-ing to discuss better repaymentterms.

With Greece widely expectedto slide back into recession thisyear, debt repayment is becom-ing increasingly difficult.

The National Institute of Eco-nomic and Social Research, a re-spected London-based think-tank said that Greece wouldneed to write off at least 95 bil-lion euros, or 55 percent of itsGross Domestic Product, tomake the national debt sustain-able.

Apart from payment dead-lines, Greece is trying to find away to ease the pain on banksand markets from the limits onmoney withdrawals and trans-fers that the government im-posed in late June to avoid abanking collapse and failures.

(Material from the AssociatedPress was used in this report)

AP PHoTo/YoRgoS KARAHAlIS

Tsipras Says Debt Deal is Imminent;Wants 3rd Bailout; Juncker OptimisticContinued from page 1

A man walks at an alley in front of a mural over which is written: "I'm tormented", in Athens,on Aug. 4. Greece's economy is reeling from the impact of limits on money withdrawals andtransfers that the government imposed on June 29 to avoid a collapse of the banking sector.

AP PHoTo/YoRgoS KARAHAlIS

Noticeable Rise in Greek Burglaries

Greek police officers guard an ATM machine, but much of the increase in crime is related tohome burglaries.

United Nations Again Pushes for Cyprus Deal, Wants the Moment Seized

Page 10: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

EDITORIALS LETTERS10 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

Saving Greece Via the e-Euro

To the Editor:The Greek debt crisis domi-

nates world news and has trig-gered endless discussions overrescue plans, bailouts, and polit-ical solutions. Having followedthe issue very closely and havingstudied meticulously all parame-ters and conflicting economic ap-proaches, I have concluded thatthere is only one way to saveGreece: the e-Euro.

Specifically, the only way forGreece, to see the light at the endof the tunnel is to not only stopborrowing more billions of eurosfrom its EU partners, but also tooutlaw the use of the paper euroand replace it with a European

Central Bank-regulated e-Euro ofequal value. The e-Euro wouldthen be a currency acceptedworldwide, able to be trans-ferred, stored, or traded electron-ically. Needless to say, euro coinswould remain in circulation forsmall purchases, allowances, etc.

The exclusive use of the e-Euro would bring about an un-precedented transparency intransactions, which would in turnbring about numerous benefits,such as eliminating massive taxevasion, ending the vast govern-mental corruption "greased" bykickbacks, eradicating other so-cietal endemics – like the under-ground economy (estimated at25% of GDP), illegal immigra-tion, undocumented labor, drugtrafficking, and robberies – and

terminating the overinvoicingof imported products and ser-vices as a means to funnel unre-ported profits to bank accountsabroad.

Under such a system, all trans-actions would be performed on-line and would be directly linkedto Greece's tax department elec-tronic transaction center. Thetrading of the e-Euro would bebased on instantly verifiable per-sonal and/or business tax IDnumbers and transacted via debitcards, credit cards, e-invoices, e-checking, e-wallet, e-wire trans-fers, e-tax payments, e-payroll,etc. Tourists would not be al-lowed to use cash for any kind ofpurchases; instead they wouldexchange cash with a debit cardissued by authorized banks or

foreign exchange outlets locatedthroughout the country.

Further, discounted electronicprocessing fees of the POS secureelectronic transactions would besubsidized by the Greek tax de-partment. In case of failure at dif-ferent transaction processing cen-ters, all effected debit and creditcard transactions would then beperformed by the old method oftriple-copy manual processing.

Naturally, in parallel with theuse of the e-Euro, Greece wouldalso need business-friendly struc-tural reforms aimed not only atthe elimination of overregulationand endless bureaucracy, but alsoat attracting foreign investmentcapital, through generous tax in-

centives, to create new export-oriented businesses, leading theway towards growth, with lowunemployment and a rapidly de-creasing national and privatedebt.

All it takes for the e-Euro tobecome a reality is political back-bone. As a welcome conse-quence, the e-Euro would onceand for all cease the criminal ac-tivities of the untouchable thusfar corrupt politicians and busi-nessmen, who have been robbingGreece's treasury for the past 40years, bringing about economiccatastrophe, misery, and despairto its citizens.

Achilles LigerasNew York, NY

The White House-DiasporaMeeting: a Good First Step

America is playing a critical role in the great crisis facingGreece.

That Greece remains in the Eurozone – many people believe– is due to the pressure President Barack Obama has broughtto bear on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The U.S. position is, of course, based on a rational assess-ment by American authorities about the key geopolitical roleGreece plays in the region, and especially on the importancefor the West of the base at Crete’s Souda Bay.

It is also based on concerns about the possible collapse ofGreece and the impact of a “failed state” on the region, openingthe sack of Aeolus in the Eastern Mediterranean.

But it is also grounded on the fact that the Obama Adminis-tration and the Democratic Party have strong ties to our com-munity dating back many decades, which, logically, it does notwant to disturb.

Nonetheless, America remains shockingly uninvolved on the"soft” side of the Greek issue: addressing the humanitariancrisis facing the country.

Of course, the government can raise various excuses for itsstance.

For example, that it does not want to provoke negative re-actions from Europe, or perhaps it is due to the relatively luke-warm response of the community’s organizations on this is-sue.

Despite coming late in the game, the Aug. 6 meeting in theOld Executive Office Building next to the White House of seniorObama Administration officials with a group of communityleaders – although it is too large a gathering for it to be ofmuch substance – is a good first step.

We hope that our representatives will take the opportunityto argue for immediate humanitarian assistance based on twobasic principles: First, a strong ideal of the Republic that Amer-ica should respond warmly to those facing deep economiccrises.

Certainly Greece is included in this category. Therefore, overand above any other thought or calculation, it is especially im-portant for America to remain faithful to itself, that is, to sendsubstantial assistance immediately, worth at least $1 billion,which in cooperation with reputable and effective local NGO's– the Stavros Niarchos Foundation has shown the way – willbe used for the relief of the suffering of Greece’s neediest.

Secondly, we hope that the Greek-American leaders will em-phasize what is self-evident, that doing so would serve vitalAmerican interests. After the storms that Andreas Papandreoubrought to Greece’s relations with the United States, nowadaysthey are in the best state in which they have been in a longtime.

Solidarity displayed by the United States toward the Greekpeople will consolidate and deepen this friendship at a momentwhen it counts most, during an emergency.

Accordingly, let us emphasize that by doing the right thing,the United States would also be serving its own best interests.

Greek FatigueBe careful what you wish for.That is the thought that ought to keep sleepless those who

govern Greece nowadays, lest their desire for the hated Troikato depart actually comes true.

After all, that was one of SYRIZA’s hallmarks: it would oblit-erate the memorandum and drive the Troika off of Greek soil.

At first, they simply renamed the Troika “institutions,” anOrwellian act that insults the intelligence of the people, whoseopinion they claim, they regard highly.

Then, there was – fortunately – the sweeping change ofcourse that will lead to a new memorandum, though unfortu-nately with more stringent terms due to the delay.

Consequently, this ushered in a new, this time army of Troikapersonnel, who once again bask in the same Hilton Hotel ac-commodations as before.

So much for pre-election promises.But the saga continues…From the prime minister to the labor minister, they keep on

making statements to the effect that they don't believe in theagreement, that they consider it detrimental to Greece, that itwas forced upon them by the Germans. The other day, thelabor minister made the interesting statement that he met withthe Troika “voluntarily.”

And MP Panagiotis Lafazanis, of SYRIZA’s leftmost radicalleft, called on his fellow Syrizans in Parliament to vote againstthe new deal.

This to some may sound good but, dear readers, the worldsof fantasy and reality at some point have to clash. A strongdose of reality is that the international markets are indifferentto the free fall of the stock exchange in Athens since it reopenedon Monday.

The major American newspapers reported on the marketplunge in Greece…only on their inside pages. These, and manyother indicators, point to Greek Fatigue.

Moreover, precautions have been taken by the internationalmarkets to limit as much as possible the damage of a Grexit.The IMF and the German finance minister are keeping theirdistances from Greece as well. The great danger, thus, is forthe boy to cry wolf once more, with no good Samaritan steppingforward to help.

As long as discussions, visits, and negotiations persist, thereis some hope for a reasonable solution. But if they stop, whatwill that mean?

Be careful what you wish for, indeed.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORThe National Herald

A weekly publication of the NATIONAL HERALD, INC. (ΕΘΝΙΚΟΣ ΚΗΡΥΞ),

reporting the news and addressing the issues of paramount interest to the Greek-American community of the United States of America.

Publisher-Editor Antonis H. DiamatarisAssistant to the Publisher, Advertising Veta H. Diamataris Papadopoulos

Executive Editor Constantinos E. ScarosReligion Editor Theodore KalmoukosSenior Writer Constantine S. Sirigos

Online Managing Editor Andy Dabilis

Production Manager Chrysoula Karametros

The National Herald (USPS 016864) is published weekly byThe National Herald Inc. at 37-10 30th Street, LIC, NY 11101-2614

Tel: (718)784-5255, Fax: (718)472-0510, e-mail: [email protected]

Democritou 1 and Academias Sts, Athens, 10671, GreeceTel: 011.30.210.3614.598, Fax: 011.30.210.3643.776, e-mail:

[email protected]

Subscriptions by mail: 1 year $66.00, 6 months $33.00, 3 months $22.00, 1 month $11.00Home delivery NY, NJ, CT: 1 year $88.00, 6 months $48.00,

3 months $33.00, 1 month $14.00Home delivery New England States:

1 year $109.00, 6 months $57.00, 3 months $41.00, 1 month $18.00On line subscription: Subscribers to the print edition: 1 year $57.60, 6 months $39.50, 3 months $25.00; Non subscribers: 1 year $90.00, 6 months $45.50, 3 months $22.50

Periodical postage paid at L.I.C., N.Y. and additional mailing offices.Postmaster send change of address to:

THE NATIONAL HERALD, 37-10 30th Street, LIC, NY 11101-2614

TO OUR READERS

The National Herald welcomesletters from its readers in-tended for publication. Theyshould include the writer’sname, address, and telephonenumber and be addressed to:The editor, The National Her-ald, 37-10 30th Street, longIsland city, NY 11101. letterscan also be faxed to (718) 472-0510 or e-mailed [email protected] reserve the right to editletters for publication and re-gret that we are unable to ac-knowledge or return those leftunpublished. geoRge SARAFoglou / SPecIAl To THe NATIoNAl HeRAlD

Observations By Antonis H. Diamataris

The Immigrant’s Story

Dear friends,It’s good to be with you again.A dip in the astonishingly blue waters of

the Aegean, some days of rest with the fam-ily, and an on-the-spot examination of theactual situation in Greece by speaking withthe “real” people was in many ways neces-sary and beneficial.

The life of the typical immigrant, dearfriends, is difficult, at least when he firstarrives on foreign shores.

The uprooting is painful. Man, by nature,was made to live in surroundings familiarto him since childhood, with people heknows, who speak his native tongue, andto engage in time-honored professions. Thatis his natural environment.

When he is cut off from those surround-ings, when his lifestyle is dramatically upset,when he is forced to adapt to unfamiliarsituations – language, customs, attitudes –then life becomes very difficult, indeed. That

is when he seriously may doubt whetherhis decision to emigrate was correct.

These dilemmas are not new for theGreeks. They took their current form in thelate 19th century when the catastrophic warof Greece with Turkey in 1897, along withdisastrous drop in price of raisins – it wasthe country’s main export – plunged Greeceinto even deeper poverty than it had en-dured until then.

That is when mass migration to theUnited States emerged as the nation’s re-demption from the curse of poverty. Hun-dreds of thousands of young people fledtheir villages in the Peloponnese and theAegean islands, boarding vessels at the portsof Patras and Piraeus, like flocks of sheepherded onto ships. After weeks of terribleliving conditions, they finally arrived in NewYork.

Most stayed in America. Others, how-ever, returned to their homeland after awhile. They could not endure the newlifestyle, the hard work, exploitation, theweather.

It is a story that, taking everything intoconsideration, continues until now.

Then and now, one thing is constant: al-though the vast majority of Greek immi-grants to the United States made superhu-man efforts to put down roots here the greatmajority of them did not experience eco-nomic despair.

Even in dark moments, they felt hope intheir souls, unlike what our brothers andsisters in Greece today feel.

Yes, we work hard, but we are able atleast to put bread on the table. We can ed-ucate our children.

Shortly before my departure from GreeceI said goodbye to my friend Dimitris – nothis real name – who has a relatively goodjob. “What’s the matter with you?” I asked.

"Brother, I have no hope," he replied.That is the tragedy of contemporary

Greeks. They live in a world without hope.We immigrants miss Greece, so we return

as often as we can. But our visits would bemore pleasant if the people there lived withhope, as we do here.

AGORA – THE ORIGINAL MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS

GEORGAKAS PRESENTS HISPOINT OF VIEW

Dino, a recent article in theWall Street Journal inadvertentlyaddressed concerns I have re-garding the current presidentialcampaigning. The Journalquoted a famed poem by WilliamButler Yeats lamenting politicalmoments when: “The best lackall conviction, while the worstare full of passionate intensity.”

I immediately thought ofDonald Trump announcing hiscandidacy to a crowd he hiredto shout encouragements. Theydiligently cheered when Trumpstated that most illegal Mexicanmigrant workers were criminals.He proposes to build a physicalwall between Mexico and theUnited States that he assures uswill be paid for by Mexico.

Trump followed up some dayslater by stating that Senator JohnMcCain was not a hero becausereal heroes are winners, not pris-oners. McCain who had volun-teered for combat was offeredearly release by the Vietnamese,but he refused as his fellow pris-oners would not also be released.His reward was five years of tor-ture. That doesn’t count as hero-ism to Trump, who had avoidedmilitary service during thosesame years.

If the public had respondedangrily to Trump’s nonsense, hisoutrageous language would havebeen a service. What has hap-pened, however, is that Trumphas vaulted to second place inpolls of voters in Iowa and firstplace in New Hampshire. Hissuccess may be temporary, but ithas sparked imitation by otherRepublican contenders.

Senator Rand Paul, the liber-tarian favorite, burned the bulkytax code in public and declaredit could be replaced by a one-page return. Unsaid was that aone-page return involves a flattax with few if any deductions.Such a tax would lower the tax

rate for the rich and be a de factoincrease for everyone else.

Bush III played the hard-nosed businessman by declaringthat Americans have to workharder. Never mind that Ameri-cans are noted for being amongthe most productive workers inthe world. Or why it now takestwo working adults in a familyto maintain the standard of livingonce possible on one salary. BushIII quickly backtracked by sayinghe was only referring to part-time workers. That is not whathe said. I believe this scion of anotable wealthy family has lethis economic cat out of the bag.

Senator Ted Cruz played aTrump card by asserting thatSenator Mitch McConnell, hisown majority leader, was a liar.They disagree on the transpacifictreaty, but to simply agree to dis-agree doesn’t generate coverageby mass media.

McConnell, in turn, flexed hispolitical muscles by stating thatif the proposed Iran agreementis not to his liking, he will moveto “toughen” the sanctions nowin place. It doesn’t seem to mat-ter that the other nations nowsupporting sanctions stated theywill end or greatly weaken theirsanctions if there is no agree-ment. McConnell’s empty threathad no effect on Iran but servedto appease the know-nothing el-ements of his party while seem-ing reasonable in indirectly sup-porting the treaty.

President Obama assumedthe role of the soft-spoken toughguy when he sternly declaredthat ISIS is “a terrorist organiza-tion, plain and simple.” Not so.ISIS is an insurrectionary massmovement based on religious ex-tremism and regional disgustwith the behavior of the West inthe Middle East. Terrorism is justone of ISIS’s tactics. The droneand bombing strategy thatObama endorses is not sufficientto dismember such an enterprise.

An exception to Yeats’ lamentthat the best lack conviction isSenator Bernie Sanders. We needto seriously analyze his proposalsin a future Agora.

SCAROS RESPONDSDan, you’ve focused on a lot

of different characters of the castof “2016,” and I agree withmuch, though not all of it.

To your last point first, I havea lot of respect for BernieSanders. I can’t see voting forhim, though, as I think some ofhis proposals are well-meaningbut unrealistic, much like thoseespoused in previous presidentialcampaigns by Rand Paul’s now-retired father, Ron. That Sanders’presence gives the Hillary Clin-ton campaign fits, though, is awonderful treat.

I agree with you that JebBush’s point that Americans needto work harder renders him achip off the old block. His father,George H.W., was perceived asthe quintessential out-of-touchrich guy in 1992, whichprompted independent RossPerot and Democrat Bill Clintonto do so well by invoking pop-ulist themes (Perot got 19% ofthe vote, and Clinton won theelection altogether).

As for Rand Paul, he is morepragmatic than his dad andthereby more formidable a can-didate. The flat tax is not quiteas simple as being a tax breakfor the rich and no one else.Though I prefer the gradual im-plementation of the fair (na-tional sales) tax, coupled withthe commensurate gradual elim-ination of income tax across theboard, I think the flat tax is amuch better alternative thanwhat we have now. I don’t thinkit’s really a bigger break for therich, because now, they havesuch loopholes whereby billion-aires like Warren Buffett pay alower percentage in taxes thando their secretaries. As for the

working class, they deserve bet-ter than they’re getting overall,but I think every working Amer-ican should pay some amount oftax. Currently, too many pay ab-solutely nothing. My main issuewith Rand Paul are that he is tooisolationist in an age where thatis neither a viable nor a respon-sible approach.

Ted Cruz disappoints me be-cause he is loaded with potential,but his abrasive language turnspeople off. He’s like the guy whocooks and serves a wonderfulThanksgiving dinner for 1000homeless persons, but when it’stime for dessert, smashes the pieinto their face.

Donald Trump is Ted Cruzturbocharged. Using the sameanalogy, he’d set the Thanksgiv-ing dinner venue on fire. Theonly thing about his candidacythat gives me hope is that thesupport he gets is neither be-cause he has long wanted to seePresident Obama’s birth certifi-cate, nor because he said JohnMcCain is not a real hero. Rather,it is because of his strong posi-tion against aliens entering or re-maining in the United States il-legally. (As you know, I avoidcalling that phenomenon illegal“immigration” because techni-cally, under U.S. law, an “immi-grant” is someone who has gonethrough the formal, legal immi-gration process.)

If Trump really believes that“Mexicans are rapists eventhough there are some goodones, I guess,” then that iswrong, and statements like thoserender him far too undignifiedto be president. On the otherhand, if the GOP expects to winthis time around, some othercandidate had better convey aforceful plan to end the contin-ued influx of illegal aliens, in-stead of tiptoeing around the is-sue on eggshells.

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?

In 2016 Race So Far, the Best’s Conviction is Trumped

By Dan Georgakas and Constantinos E. Scaros

From time to time, an issue emerges andinspires various minds to converge, often atodds with one another, to discuss it. Hopefully,collective enlightenment will result from suchconversations. The Ancient Greeks did that in

the Agora, the original marketplace of ideas,and we, their modern-day descendants, aspireto continue that tradition.  

We respect one another’s opinion very much,but often times we will disagree on particularissues. We would never fabricate a differenceof opinion for the sake of writing an interestingcolumn.

Rest assured, anything we write here areour sincere, heartfelt thoughts.

We will share them with you every twoweeks. We hope you enjoy them, and we lookforward to your taking part in the discussionas well – by contributing letters to the editor inresponse, and/or commenting on our website:www.thenationalherald.com

Page 11: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

VIEWPOINTSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015 11

Put yourself in this position:you’re in the hold of a ricketyboat being battered around thesea, packed like sardines in a tinwith scores, maybe hundreds ofother migrants leaving a situa-tion so desperate they’re willingto risk drowning to get to an-other country.

For some 70,000 this year sofar, including those who cameby land, that destination wasGreece, either to seek asylum oruse it as a stepping stone to getto another European Unioncountry more tolerant ofrefugees.

Sixty have died making thevoyage, many coming from war-torn countries such as Syria,Iraq, and Afghanistan; some car-rying children or babies, somepregnant, all poor and fright-ened and left with nothing afterpaying smugglers who tookpretty much all they had.

What they found in Greece,on the islands off Turkey andthen in the detention centerswhere they were being sortedout, were people trying to sur-vive themselves in a crushingeconomic crisis, unable to caremuch about the illegal immi-grants for whom Greece was afar, far better place than fromwhich they came.

Many Greeks were hos-pitable, offering food and waterand clothes and caring. Manywere not, either uncaring aboutthe plight of the immigrants orhostile to them, especially thexenophobic whack-job Hitler-loving Nazi-type wannabes ofGolden Dawn, perhaps some ofwhose grandparents and great-grandparents were migrantsthemselves, to the United States,Australia and other countrieswhere they too were seeking abetter life and work and hope.

The ruling Radical LeftSYRIZA Party is closing deten-tion centers but doing almostnothing else to help the immi-grants who suddenly aredumped back in Athens usually.

Greece even has the Euro-pean Union immigrant chief,former Athens Mayor Dimitris

Avramopoulos, whohas done just as lit-tle to help those inhis own country orothers such as Italy,another beacon formigrants.

Greece and Italyare the initial tar-gets because of theirgeographical posi-tion near the MiddleEast and NorthernAfrica, anotherjumping-off post toget to Europe.

The EuropeanUnion funds a pa-trol agency called Frontex tospot them but then does verylittle indeed to help Greece andItaly care for the hundreds ofthousands of illegal immigrants.It’s not an easy problem becausecompassion goes only so farwhen the numbers become un-manageable as they have.

The EU said it was going torelocate 40,000 illegal immi-grants into other countries butthen ran into the NIMBY syn-drome: Not In My Back Yard, asthey were unwanted so will sitin Greece and Italy while politi-cians have conferences at 5-starhotels, steaks for lunch and talkabout the plight of all those poorpeople. The politicians decided

they’d do some-thing about it – inDecember.

No country canabsorb the num-bers pouring intoGreece and itsneighbor Italy, andhuman rightsgroups have donea lot of barkingabout the poorconditions await-ing the illegal im-migrants but that’sall. If the migrantscould be spreadout among the 27

countries of the EU instead ofdumped into two that soundslike a good start.

The International Organiza-tion for Migration said that1,990 migrants have died so farthis year crossing the Mediter-ranean; 1,930 of them trying toget to Italy, fleeing hardship andISIS and strife and horrors noneof us will ever know.

CLUELESS IN ATHENSThe haphazard way of man-

aging the crisis is adding to theproblem. SYRIZA has no cluewhat to do about it and hasNGO’s and officials talkingabout relocating illegal immi-grants, most from Syria, whonow live – so to speak - in the

Pedion to Areos park in Athens,a lush, green 6.8-acre area ren-ovated at a cost of 9.663 millioneuros ($10.53 million) sevenyears ago, turning tarmac intoa space with 1200 trees, 50000flowers, 7500 topiaries, 2500roses – and almost 500 immi-grants squatting in bushes, intents, living on handouts andsuffering in 100-degree heatwhile the government fiddlesand diddles.

An unused military base andtwo state-owned campsites onthe outskirts of Attica are amongthe locations being consideredto house the Syrian and Afghanrefugees who have been campedout in the park the past fewweeks.

“We need an immediateemergency plan,” DeputyAthens Mayor Antonis Kafet-zopoulos told Kathimerini afterthe meeting. No kidding. Howabout five years ago instead offive minutes ago?

After a meeting was heldabout what to do, Deputy Re-gional Governor for Attica Er-mina Kyprianidou said, “This isthe first time that all the rele-vant public entities, local au-thorities, NGOs and other par-ties involved in the matter havesat down at the same table andheld an extensive discussion,”without explaining why it tookso long.

So while people who aren’thungry or living in tents in apark, or are on the next boathoping to make Greece’s shorestalk and talk and talk, more peo-ple will die, believing they wereclose to the salvation offered byhumane, decent people.

Alternate Minister for Citi-zens’ Protection Yiannis Panousissaid the government is facedwith a humanitarian crisis, whichis also an issue for the UN.

“We are looking for a solu-tion within the rule of law. Wecannot throw (these people)into the sea or let them live likeanimals.” And why not? That’sthe plan that’s worked so far.

[email protected]

Pardon an old diplomat’s re-sort to the once de rigeur foreignlanguage of his profession; onlytour de force can properly de-scribe Turkish President Erdo-gan’s “feat of ingenuity” that notonly extracted Turkey from thepickle into which its sub rosasupport of the Islamic State hadlanded it, but the added benefitof securing international supportfor reigniting, virtually unpro-voked, the war against the Kurds.

He also prepared the groundfor a new smashing electoralvictory. One can legitimately at-tack Erdogan as maniacal,power-hungry, glory-seeking,and repressive, but we must ac-knowledge his brilliant abilityto snatch victory from the jawsof what looked like self-inflicteddefeat.

A few days ago, pundits werepredicting the end of his domi-nation of Turkish politics. Hehad badly miscalculated the po-litical dynamics in Turkey. Hefailed to realize that a prolongedperiod of internal peace with theKurds had made the Kurdish-connected HDP Party politicallyattractive beyond its ethnic con-stituency. That, combined withthe continued deterioration inthe public perception of the con-ventional opposition parties(not unlike the contempt inwhich most Greeks hold theirown traditional politicians),gave the HDP enough votes tosecure the third position inTurkey’s Parliament and denyErdogan a majority sufficient toform a government, let alonethe two-thirds majority he re-quired to change the Constitu-tion in his favor. His AKP Partyhas stalled negotiations on acoalition government becausethat would trap Erdogan in thepowerless position of Presidentof the Republic. Before callingnew elections, Erdogan and theAKP had to find a way to severthe ties between secular Turksand the Kurds and thus deny theHDP the ability to clear the 10%

voting thresholdfor entry into Par-liament.

Turkey had alsoincurred the hostil-ity of the UnitedStates and its otherNATO allies bygaming its supportfor the IslamicState’s fight againstTurkey’s rivals inthe region, such asthe Syrian regime,the Kurds in Iraqand Syria, and, notleast, Iran, the onlyother regional ac-tor big enough to challengeTurkey for regional leadership.Turkey had facilitated the move-ment of volunteers, money andweapons to the Islamic Stateand denied the same to the Syr-ian Kurdish militias battling the“caliphate.” Turkey allowed ISto sell crude oil in Turkey, facil-itated thousands of European ji-hadist volunteers crossing theTurkish border into Syria and,as Turkish newspapers repeat-edly documented, sent militarysupplies in police trucks to the

IS. Ankara also se-verely limitedAmerican capacityto conduct militaryactions from Turk-ish bases. Finally,Turkey did its ut-most to prevent aKurdish victory inthe Syrian town ofKobane for weeks,blocking suppliesand reinforcementsand stepped upclose air supportstrikes supportingthe Syrian Kurdsdid Turkey grudg-

ingly agree to allow a small unitfrom the Kurdish Regional Gov-ernment (KRG) in Iraq (whichdepends on Turkish Govern-ment support for its existence)to cross the border in supportof Kobane.

Then deus ex machina, someidiot, perhaps associated withthe Islamic State, (or perhapsan agent provocateur of theTurkish security services) blewhimself up at a peaceful rally ofyoung Kurdish and liberal Turk-ish youth, killing dozens andwounding dozens more. The fol-lowing day some activists of therevolutionary Kurdish PKK –which had meticulously ob-served a cease-fire with Turkeyfor the three years – killed twoTurkish policemen they accusedof helping the Islamic State.

The next day, Turkey com-menced military operationsagainst both the Islamic Stateand the Kurds, arrested literallyhundreds of Islamic State andPKK sympathizers, and securedAmerican support for a “safezone” inside Syria into whichTurkey could confine the mil-lions of Syrian refugees floodinginto the country. Simultane-ously, Erdogan gave the US ac-cess to Incirlik Airbase (built byUS taxpayers), which, admit-tedly, greatly improves the ef-fectiveness of American air op-erations against the Islamic

State. Two days later, Erdogandemanded the Turkish Parlia-ment remove the immunity of“subversive” (i.e., Kurdish mem-bers of that body, and his policehave already started preemptivearrests of Kurdish members ofParliament without waiting forthe lifting of immunity. Turkeythen called for a high-levelNATO consultation meeting thatendorsed Turkey’s right to de-fend itself against “threats” bothforeign and domestic. (The USand Europe trapped themselvesyears ago by agreeing to list thePKK as a terrorist group to makea previous Turkish Governmenthappy.) If anyone doubtsTurkey’s real intentions, theSunday August 1st WashingtonPOST indicates that the TurkishAir Force launched hundreds ofair strikes against Kurdish posi-tions while making no mentionof significant Turkish actionagainst the Islamic State.

One’s eyes swim with the ef-fectiveness and speed of Turkey’sability to exploit (or perhaps cre-ate?) an incident that com-pletely reverses its isolation,gains international support forcrushing an insurrection Turkeythat provoked into restartingand moves the dynamics in Syriain the direction that Turkeywants. I take my hat off to hisgenius, supported by one of thebest diplomatic services in theworld. This may sound like para-noia, but Greece should worryabout a brilliant megalomaniacrunning a powerful revanchistcountry next door.

The Hon. Ambassador Theros ispresident of the U.S.-QatarBusiness Council. He served inthe U.S. Foreign Service for 36years, mostly in the MiddleEast, and was American Ambas-sador to Qatar from 1995 to1998. He also directed the StateDepartment’s Counter-Terrorism Office, and holds nu-merous U.S. Government deco-rations.

A “Feat of Ingenuity: Erdogan’s Awesome Tour de Force

LETTER FROM ATHENS

Greece’s Migrant Tragedies: the Shame We All Live With

by ANDYDABILIS

Special to The National Herald

By Andreas C. Dracopoulos

What is philanthropy’s appro-priate role in the midst of theGreek socioeconomic crisis? TheStavros Niarchos Foundation hasbeen trying to address this ques-tion since the beginning of theongoing crisis. We have, so far,committed €300 million ($378million) to grants in response tothe crisis, thus bringing our totalgrant commitments in Greece towell over €1 billion, in additionto our regular grantmaking ac-tivity, but we continue to con-sider the question carefully.

In our approach, we haveadopted two primary principles.First, philanthropy should not at-tempt to assume or substitute fora government’s responsibility to

offer public services. A govern-ment has its rightful role to ful-fill, together with certain obliga-tions to its citizens. It is notphilanthropy’s role to attempt toensure government’s capacity tofulfill its own obligations. Sec-ond, the main priority of philan-thropy’s support efforts must bethose that are most vulnerable.They are confronting unprece-dented challenges as a direct re-sult of the crisis, namely home-lessness, hunger, lack of basichealthcare services, severe anxi-ety and depression. They alsoface other critical everyday chal-lenges, such as job security, theacquisition of new job skills, cre-ating new opportunities, and es-caping the dead-end by exposingthemselves to education, arts,and the promise of a better lifethat all of those entail. Address-ing those needs by supportingthe nonprofit organizations thatfocus on them, should be amongphilanthropy’s main goals.

The Stavros Niarchos Foun-dation’s commitment of €300million in response to the crisishas been allocated through twomajor initiatives: In June 2012,the Foundation committed aninitial €100 million to the initia-tive “Against the Greek Crisis”.In 2013, an additional €100 mil-lion was directed towards our“Recharging the Youth” initiative,aiming to help address Greece’soverly high youth unemploy-ment rate, by seeking to createbetter employment prospectsand new opportunities for theyoung. In June 2015, the Foun-dation committed an additional€100 million to the initiative“Against the Greek Crisis”.

The first of those initiatives“Against the Crisis” was com-pleted earlier this year. A full re-port is available online. Throughthat first €100 million, the Foun-dation provided 377 grants, sup-porting social programs that as-sist those most exposed to theconsequences of the crisis, andalso ensuring the sustainabilityof hundreds of Greek nonprofitorganizations, and consequentlythe sustainability of their vitalprograms that have multiple pos-itive effects. The grants primarilysupported the areas of SocialWelfare and Health, but also Ed-ucation and Culture.

The second initiative“Recharging the Youth” was an-nounced in October 2013 and isstill underway. A report on its ac-tivities to date is also availableonline. The realization that sig-nificant changes in Greece’s cur-rent job landscape cannot be at-tained through the commitmentof funds only – however signifi-cant they may be – is inherentlypart of the grant-making effortsin relation to this initiative. Weare fully aware of our limitations

to change the current landscape,given the complexity of the issueat hand. We continue our efforts,however, knowing that the cre-ation of new employment oppor-tunities requires innovation andthe collaboration and conver-gence of all different sectors, in-cluding the public, private, andphilanthropic ones.

Our new commitment, whichwas announced last month, al-locates an additional €100 mil-lion. Our goal is to allocate thefunds within the time frame ofone year, intensifying, in thisway, our efforts against the on-going crisis in Greece, and pro-viding immediate support toGreek society’s most vulnerablegroups. As a matter of fact, theFoundation has already providedsupport for a number of grantswithin this new initiative. Specif-ically, the Foundation has ap-proved a grant of €10 millioneach (€20 million in total), tothe Municipalities of Athens andThessaloniki, for the purpose ofaddressing the immediate needsof citizens in these large urbancenters, who are experiencingthe consequences of the deepen-ing crisis more severely. At thesame time and as part of thegrant, these two municipalitieswill have the opportunity toserve as collaborative hubs, as-suming the responsibility of co-ordinating and cooperating withthe neighboring municipalitiesfor the implementation of syner-gistic actions.

In moving forward with theimmediate allocation of thesetwo grants, we are recognizingthese municipalities’ capacity toidentify and respond to urgentnew needs and to serve as an ef-fective mechanism for address-ing them.

Furthermore, as part of thislatest €100 million program, theFoundation has also approvedgrants totaling €3.7 million toaddress urgent healthcare needsby supporting hospitals andother nonprofit organizations,which are facing unprecedentedchallenges.

All three of these €100 mil-lion initiatives are funded aboveand beyond the Foundation’sstandard grant-making activities,which continue as usual. Theyalso come in addition to theFoundation’s ongoing funding ofthe construction of the StavrosNiarchos Foundation CulturalCenter (SNFCC) in Athens,which will provide new, much-needed facilities, for the NationalLibrary of Greece and the GreekNational Opera, as well as the42 acre Stavros Niarchos Park.

The ongoing crisis has raisedthe issue of whether constructionat the SNFCC should continue inthe presence of other urgent so-cietal needs. Following internalcomprehensive and detailed dis-cussions on this very topical is-sue, we have concluded that it isin the best interest of Greece tocontinue with the completion ofthe project. The SNFCC is an im-portant economic stimulus, asource of crucial jobs, and a tes-tament and a commitment to thecountry’s future.

This is, broadly speaking, theoverall approach that the StavrosNiarchos Foundation has takenas an answer to the crisis. Otherphilanthropic institutions may, ofcourse, choose to implement dif-ferent strategies and approaches.It is crucial, however, that phil-anthropies in Europe and aroundthe world consider carefully thecurrent situation and come to theaid of the most vulnerableGreeks. Greece’s unprecedented,for a non-war era, loss of 25 per-cent of GDP and overall unem-ployment rate approaching 30percent (with youth unemploy-ment exceeding 50 percent), hashad staggering consequences fora large percentage of the coun-try’s population, resulting in ahumanitarian crisis of significantproportions. Leaving aside per-sonal opinions on how the crisiscame about, who’s to blame, andhow it should be resolved, thereis one fact that should not be upfor debate: the most vulnerablevictims need our support.

In the end, it is in times ofcrisis that our humanity definesus.

Andreas C. Dracopoulos is co-President of the StavrosNiarchos Foundation.

The Role that PhilanthropyShould Play in Greek Crisis

Andreas C. Dracopoulos

by AMB. PATRICK N.THEROS

Special to The National Herald

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan: Greece shouldworry about a brilliant mega-lomaniac running a powerfulrevanchist country next door.

Syrian refugees about to go ashore on Kos.

Page 12: The National Herald 100€¦ · Tarrytown, NY Biotech firm called Regeneron and helped its worth rocket 2,240 percent in the past fiv e years. His career, featured in Forbes magazine,

12 THE NATIONAL HERALD, AUGUST 8-14, 2015

AHEPA Supreme President John W. Galanis and the 2015-16 Supreme Lodge of the Order of AHEPA

are proud to announce -

Over $500,000 donated to Apostoliand to the IOCC for the purchase of Food for those in need in Greece and Cyprus

Shipped for over $10 Million in medical equipment and materials

to Hospitals throughout Greece

Proud supporter of the “Rebuild St. Nicholas Fund” the only church destroyed on 9/11

Donated Millions in Educational and Charitable funds in our local communities

DONATE TODAY TO THE AHEPA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

(a 501 C (3) Foundation)and support AHEPA’s efforts

93 Years of Service to the Community

www.ahepa.org • [email protected] Headquarters 1909 Q St., NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20009 • Phone 202.232.6300 • Fax 202.232.2140To join AHEPA, visit www.ahepa.org