The National Herald€¦ · Greece players celebrate their win against Ukraine in the World Cup...
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The National Herald A WEEKLY GREEK AMERICAN PUBLICATION VOL. 13, ISSUE 632 $1.25 Bringing the news to generations of Greek Americans O C V ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915 www.thenationalherald.com c v November 21-27, 2009 By David Waldstein The New York Times CHICAGO - The first time Alex An- thopoulos called a baseball general manager was nine years ago. When Jim Beattie, then the general man- ager of the Montreal Expos, an- swered the phone, Anthopoulos, just 23, panicked and hung up as if he were a kid making a crank call. A little embarrassed and a lot disappointed, Anthopoulos decided that his dream of becoming a real baseball executive could not end as pathetically as that. “I smacked myself,” he said, “and said, ‘Come on, have some guts.’ ” Almost a decade later, An- thopoulos no longer hangs up on other general managers, not unless they offer a utility infielder for ar- guably the best pitcher in baseball. And the guts he displayed when he called Beattie back looking for a job will be tested again as he prepares to make perhaps the most impor- tant personnel decision in the his- tory of the Toronto Blue Jays. In his sixth week as the Blue Jays’ general manager, Anthopou- los has been thrust into the position of deciding what to do with Roy Halladay, the ace pitcher who will be entering the final year of his con- tract. It is widely assumed that the Blue Jays will not be able to re-sign Halladay and will deal him before the trading deadline July 31. Every team with enough hotshot prospects and young stars to make a deal, and with the financial re- sources to sign Halladay long term, will be checking in regularly with Anthopoulos. Many, including the Mets, already did so at the recent general manager meetings here. The Blue Jays’ goal is to get back at least one or two players who will become the foundation of the team in the near future. But it is a per- ilous task. Last July the Blue Jays put Halladay on the market and did not make a deal, which may have been at least part of the reason J. P. Ricciardi was fired as general man- ager after the season. Now the challenge has been passed to Anthopoulos, a 32-year- old first-time general manager and a Canadian native who is about to shape the fate of Canada’s only re- maining major league baseball team. “I understand he’s one of the best payers in the game and proba- bly the best Blue Jay to ever play and pitch for us,” Anthopoulos said at the general manager meetings. “I understand it’s a big story. What’s important is we need to continue to add good young controllable play- ers to this team.” By Geoffrey T. Smith The Wall Street Journal NEW YORK - A shakeout in Greek government bonds over the past week underscores recurring con- cerns over the country's public fi- nances and its banks. The Euro- pean Central Bank has dropped in- creasingly heavy hints that it in- tends to start unwinding extraordi- nary measures supporting the banking system soon - possibly as early as December - and return gradually to more normal policies in 2010. But the health of Europe's banking system in general - and Greece's banking system in particu- lar - seems so fragile that even mere hints of tightening are enough to cause minor panic. The European Commission al- ready has singled out Greece as the worst offender with wide budget deficits, and earlier this month or- dered the Greek government to present regular progress on cutting red ink. Questions about the accu- racy of Greece's budget accounts are adding to the concern. The gov- ernment acknowledged last month that its deficit will hit 12.7% of gross domestic product this year - the biggest in the euro zone and twice previous forecasts from just two months ago. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an interview pub- lished Tuesday by Le Monde news- paper -- and posted on the ECB Web site - that some countries risked "losing credibility" if they didn't shore up their finances soon. The National Bank of Greece said Monday that it had felt com- pelled to advise Greek banks to "show restraint" at the central bank's next tender of 12-month funds, scheduled for Dec. 16. Many expect this auction to be the last time that the ECB offers un- limited funds so inexpensively for so long, and analysts expect some- thing of a stampede for the funds. Market rumors have circulated sug- gesting that a series of downgrades to Greek government debt will soon disqualify the country from posting its debt as collateral for ECB loans. Greek banks have a particular problem in that a large part of their assets are Greek government bonds, which they also use as col- lateral for their regular loans from the ECB. Currently, these total around 40 billion euro ($60 bil- lion), according to a Greek banking official familiar with the matter. "The concern is that the finan- cial system overall might become over-reliant on the central bank," said Daniele Antonucci, an econo- mist with Morgan Stanley in Lon- don. "The biggest increase in bor- rowing from the ECB has been in Greece." The market value of those bonds has suffered from ratings down- grades. And in a nightmare sce- nario, those bonds could be down- graded to a point where the ECB More Fears Over Greek Fiscal and Economic Mis- Management in Europe By Sophia Stratakis Huling Special to The National Herald The legendary 16th-century Eu- ropean painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos – better known as El Greco – has been called a “re- naissance man,” and the Onassis Cultural Center is demonstrating that more clearly than ever in its latest exhibit. “The Origins of El Greco: Icon Painting in Venetian Crete,” an ex- hibit of 46 rare paintings by 14th to 16th century artists from the island of Crete, opened at the Onassis Center in New York November 17 and runs through February 27, 2010. Curated by Dr. Anastasia Drandaki, a Byzantine art curator at the Benaki Museum in Athens, the paintings are gathered from public and private collections in Greece, Russia, Italy, and North America, some traveling to the U.S. for the first time. The exhibit ex- plores the interaction between Eastern and Western artistic trends in Crete under the Venetians, which was El Greco’s homeland and train- ing ground. It also follows his de- velopment from his roots, through his reinvention in Italy, and ulti- mately to his maturity in Renais- sance Spain as one of the most rec- ognized artists in history. “The point [of the exhibit] is not just to present beautiful objects, but to tell a coherent, important story,” said Drandaki. “From Crete, El Greco moved on to the main stage of European painting through gateways that had been opened up by long-term coexistence, contra- dictions and interactions between Greeks and Latins in Venetian Crete.” In the Byzantine tradition, every element of an icon is designed to express and emphasize spiritual re- alities rather than the actual physi- cal world. Colors, human features, and positioning of people and ob- jects are often not depicted in a “re- alistic” way, but to suggest their spiritual significance. During the Renaissance paintings became in- creasingly naturalistic and realistic, and this was also the case with reli- gious images, sharpening the con- trast between Western and Eastern Christian iconography. Venice conquered Crete in 1211, right after the Fourth Crusade and the Latins’ sack of Constantinople in 1204, which brought about a new dialog between Byzantine and Western art. By the end of the 14th century, Cretan artists began re- ceiving commissions from Vene- Onassis Center Exhibit and The Origins of El Greco The Dormition of the Virgin (above) was painted by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) at the end of his Cretan period. A fine illustration of the cultural fusion that occured in Venetian-occupied Crete, the elaborate painting contains late Byzantine and Italian Mannerist elements. Greece reaches World Cup for 1st time since 1994 Greece players celebrate their win against Ukraine in the World Cup qualifying playoff second leg soccer match at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Greece won 1-0. It is the second time Greece has qualified for the World Cup, the only previous occasion being the 1994 tour- nament in the United States. See related story on page 9. Alex Anthopoulos, Young Canadian American General Manager is Put to the Test By Patrick Healy The New York Times The ancient Greeks had a short- hand for the mental anguish of war, for post-traumatic stress disorder and even for outbursts of fratricidal bloodshed like last week’s shoot- ings at Fort Hood. They would in- voke the names of mythological military heroes who battled inner demons: Achilles, consumed by the deaths of his men; Philoctetes, hol- lowed out from betrayals by fellow officers; Ajax, warped with so much rage that he wanted to kill his comrades. Now officials at the Defense De- partment are turning to the Greeks to explore the psychic impact of war. The Pentagon has provided $3.7 million for an independent produc- tion company, Theater of War, to visit 50 military sites through at least next summer and stage read- ings from two plays by Sophocles, “Ajax” and “Philoctetes,” for service members. So far the group has per- formed at Fort Riley in Kansas; at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md.; and at last week’s Warrior Resilience Conference in Norfolk, Va. The scenes from “Ajax” show the title character plotting to murder Greek generals who have disgraced him. Under a trance by the goddess Athena, he ends up slaughtering farm animals he thinks are the offi- cers. Ajax’s concubine is depicted as trying to bring him to his senses; the final scene shows Ajax in agony, committing suicide. The “Philoctetes” segment por- trays Greek military leaders plot- ting to trick the hero into leading an attack on Troy, and shows Philoctetes struggling with both physical and emotional pain. A special performance was held on Monday night for dozens of ser- vice members, veterans, relatives and Pentagon officials at St. Vin- cent’s Hospital in Manhattan. The actors in the one-hour reading were David Strathairn, Jeffrey Wright, Gloria Reuben and Adam Driver, a former Marine. The investigation of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 at Fort Hood in Texas, loomed over the reading, though it was mentioned only a few times during the post-performance discussion. Still, there were echoes of Fort Hood, especially in the story of Ajax — in the pain that soldiers and their loved ones faced then and now, and in the questions raised by the play about whether war can dri- ve warriors to acts of evil. “These plays are part of a 2,500- year history of mental and emo- tional pain for soldiers that run up to the present day,” said Mr. Strathairn, an Academy Award nominee for his portrayal of Ed- ward R. Murrow in the 2005 film “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Bryan Doerries, a writer and di- rector who founded Theater of War, said the performances were not psychotherapy, noting, for in- stance, that the efficacy of his Sophocles’ Plays & The Anguish of War By Angelike Contis The National Herald Staff Writer NEW YORK –“That I am a sinner is of no great surprise, as I’m sure it is no surprise to anyone who knows me. That I might ask for mercy has been also a long-held, long-em- braced comfort. That I might be- come less of a sinner, less distract- ed, less broken, and more Christ- like (but never seemed to do) has been the nagging thorn in my side to date…” As these lines indicate, there’s humor, poetry and lots of spiritual earnestness in Scott Cairns’ book “Short Trip to the Edge: Where Earth Meets Heaven – A Pilgrim- age” (HarperCollins). The book is a memoir about his spiritual quests to the monastic community of Mt. Athos. In 2005, the poet and University of Missouri professor, who had con- verted to Orthodoxy six years be- fore, realized that while he had a good job and a wonderful family, his life was less full of prayer than he thought it should be. What bet- ter place to learn about prayer than Mt. Athos, the all-male monastic peninsula in northern Greece that has been an important center for Orthodoxy for centuries? The book focuses on Cairns’ first three trips to Mt. Athos, a sovereign ‘Short Trip to The Edge’: A Man’s Search Continued on page 9 Continued on page 6 SAN FRANCISCO - More than 700 prominent members of the Greek American community, as well as Hollywood glitterati and political notables and honorees graced the historic Fairmont Hotel atop San Francisco’s Nob Hill for the Elios Society’s seventh Hellenic Charity Ball on Saturday, November 7. This year’s honorees were four distinguished Greek Americans: Award winning actors George Chakiris and Michael Chiklis, writer and investigative reporter Nicholas Gage, and actress/author Marilu Henner. Greek American singer Kalomira received the Elios Spotlight Award, and television personality Maria Menounos was the gracious and elegant Mistress of Ceremonies. On hand were political figures including former Governor Gray Davis and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Also present were His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco, His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas, Di- rector of the Patriarch Athenagoras Institute, Ambassador Ioannis An- dreades, Consul General of Greece in San Francisco, and The Hon- orary Consul General of Cyprus, Nicolaos Theophanous. During his acceptance speech writer Nicholas Gage challenged Greek Americans to do a better job of channeling their resources and celebrity status to benefit Hel- lenism. Mr. Gage pointed out that “Richard Gere, Harrison Ford and other celebrities travel the globe to champion the cause of the Dalai Lama and to denounce China's oc- cupation of his country. But what Greek American celebrity has spo- ken out against the persecution by Turkish authorities of the Patriarch of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians? Gala Honors Celebs; Gage Challenges Continued on page 5 Continued on page 3 Continued on page 3 AP PHOTO/SERGEI GRITS To subscribe call: 718.784.5255 e-mail: [email protected] Continued on page 6 WITH THIS ISSUE
Transcript of The National Herald€¦ · Greece players celebrate their win against Ukraine in the World Cup...
The National HeraldA WEEKLY GREEK AMERICAN PUBLICATION
VOL. 13, ISSUE 632 $1.25
Bringing the news
to generations of
Greek Americans
O C V
ΓΡΑΦΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΤΟΥ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ
ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1915
www.thenationalherald.comc v
November 21-27, 2009
By David WaldsteinThe New York Times
CHICAGO - The first time Alex An-thopoulos called a baseball generalmanager was nine years ago. WhenJim Beattie, then the general man-ager of the Montreal Expos, an-swered the phone, Anthopoulos,just 23, panicked and hung up as ifhe were a kid making a crank call.
A little embarrassed and a lotdisappointed, Anthopoulos decidedthat his dream of becoming a realbaseball executive could not end aspathetically as that.
“I smacked myself,” he said,“and said, ‘Come on, have someguts.’ ”
Almost a decade later, An-thopoulos no longer hangs up onother general managers, not unlessthey offer a utility infielder for ar-guably the best pitcher in baseball.And the guts he displayed when hecalled Beattie back looking for a jobwill be tested again as he preparesto make perhaps the most impor-tant personnel decision in the his-tory of the Toronto Blue Jays.
In his sixth week as the BlueJays’ general manager, Anthopou-los has been thrust into the positionof deciding what to do with RoyHalladay, the ace pitcher who willbe entering the final year of his con-tract.
It is widely assumed that theBlue Jays will not be able to re-signHalladay and will deal him beforethe trading deadline July 31. Everyteam with enough hotshotprospects and young stars to makea deal, and with the financial re-sources to sign Halladay long term,will be checking in regularly withAnthopoulos. Many, including theMets, already did so at the recentgeneral manager meetings here.
The Blue Jays’ goal is to get backat least one or two players who willbecome the foundation of the teamin the near future. But it is a per-ilous task. Last July the Blue Jaysput Halladay on the market and didnot make a deal, which may havebeen at least part of the reason J. P.Ricciardi was fired as general man-ager after the season.
Now the challenge has beenpassed to Anthopoulos, a 32-year-old first-time general manager anda Canadian native who is about toshape the fate of Canada’s only re-
maining major league baseballteam.
“I understand he’s one of thebest payers in the game and proba-bly the best Blue Jay to ever playand pitch for us,” Anthopoulos saidat the general manager meetings. “Iunderstand it’s a big story. What’simportant is we need to continue toadd good young controllable play-ers to this team.”
By Geoffrey T. SmithThe Wall Street Journal
NEW YORK - A shakeout in Greekgovernment bonds over the pastweek underscores recurring con-cerns over the country's public fi-nances and its banks. The Euro-pean Central Bank has dropped in-creasingly heavy hints that it in-tends to start unwinding extraordi-nary measures supporting thebanking system soon - possibly asearly as December - and returngradually to more normal policiesin 2010. But the health of Europe'sbanking system in general - andGreece's banking system in particu-lar - seems so fragile that even merehints of tightening are enough tocause minor panic.
The European Commission al-ready has singled out Greece as theworst offender with wide budgetdeficits, and earlier this month or-dered the Greek government topresent regular progress on cuttingred ink. Questions about the accu-racy of Greece's budget accountsare adding to the concern. The gov-ernment acknowledged last monththat its deficit will hit 12.7% ofgross domestic product this year -the biggest in the euro zone andtwice previous forecasts from justtwo months ago.
ECB President Jean-ClaudeTrichet said in an interview pub-lished Tuesday by Le Monde news-paper -- and posted on the ECB Website - that some countries risked"losing credibility" if they didn'tshore up their finances soon.
The National Bank of Greecesaid Monday that it had felt com-pelled to advise Greek banks to"show restraint" at the centralbank's next tender of 12-monthfunds, scheduled for Dec. 16.
Many expect this auction to bethe last time that the ECB offers un-limited funds so inexpensively forso long, and analysts expect some-thing of a stampede for the funds.Market rumors have circulated sug-gesting that a series of downgrades
to Greek government debt willsoon disqualify the country fromposting its debt as collateral forECB loans.
Greek banks have a particularproblem in that a large part of theirassets are Greek governmentbonds, which they also use as col-lateral for their regular loans fromthe ECB. Currently, these totalaround 40 billion euro ($60 bil-lion), according to a Greek bankingofficial familiar with the matter.
"The concern is that the finan-cial system overall might becomeover-reliant on the central bank,"said Daniele Antonucci, an econo-mist with Morgan Stanley in Lon-don. "The biggest increase in bor-rowing from the ECB has been inGreece."
The market value of those bondshas suffered from ratings down-grades. And in a nightmare sce-nario, those bonds could be down-graded to a point where the ECB
More Fears Over GreekFiscal and Economic Mis-Management in Europe
By Sophia Stratakis HulingSpecial to The National Herald
The legendary 16th-century Eu-ropean painter DomenikosTheotokopoulos – better known asEl Greco – has been called a “re-naissance man,” and the OnassisCultural Center is demonstratingthat more clearly than ever in itslatest exhibit.
“The Origins of El Greco: IconPainting in Venetian Crete,” an ex-hibit of 46 rare paintings by 14th to16th century artists from the islandof Crete, opened at the OnassisCenter in New York November 17and runs through February 27,
2010. Curated by Dr. AnastasiaDrandaki, a Byzantine art curatorat the Benaki Museum in Athens,the paintings are gathered frompublic and private collections inGreece, Russia, Italy, and NorthAmerica, some traveling to the U.S.for the first time. The exhibit ex-plores the interaction betweenEastern and Western artistic trendsin Crete under the Venetians, whichwas El Greco’s homeland and train-ing ground. It also follows his de-velopment from his roots, throughhis reinvention in Italy, and ulti-mately to his maturity in Renais-sance Spain as one of the most rec-ognized artists in history.
“The point [of the exhibit] is notjust to present beautiful objects,but to tell a coherent, importantstory,” said Drandaki. “From Crete,El Greco moved on to the mainstage of European painting throughgateways that had been opened upby long-term coexistence, contra-dictions and interactions betweenGreeks and Latins in VenetianCrete.”
In the Byzantine tradition, everyelement of an icon is designed toexpress and emphasize spiritual re-alities rather than the actual physi-cal world. Colors, human features,and positioning of people and ob-jects are often not depicted in a “re-
alistic” way, but to suggest theirspiritual significance. During theRenaissance paintings became in-creasingly naturalistic and realistic,and this was also the case with reli-gious images, sharpening the con-trast between Western and EasternChristian iconography.
Venice conquered Crete in 1211,right after the Fourth Crusade andthe Latins’ sack of Constantinoplein 1204, which brought about anew dialog between Byzantine andWestern art. By the end of the 14thcentury, Cretan artists began re-ceiving commissions from Vene-
Onassis Center Exhibit and The Origins of El Greco
The Dormition of the Virgin (above) was painted by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) at the end of his Cretan period. A fine illustrationof the cultural fusion that occured in Venetian-occupied Crete, the elaborate painting contains late Byzantine and Italian Mannerist elements.
Greece reaches World Cup for 1st time since 1994
Greece players celebrate their win against Ukraine in the World Cup qualifying playoff second leg soccermatch at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Greece won 1-0. Itis the second time Greece has qualified for the World Cup, the only previous occasion being the 1994 tour-nament in the United States. See related story on page 9.
Alex Anthopoulos, YoungCanadian American GeneralManager is Put to the Test
By Patrick HealyThe New York Times
The ancient Greeks had a short-hand for the mental anguish of war,for post-traumatic stress disorderand even for outbursts of fratricidalbloodshed like last week’s shoot-ings at Fort Hood. They would in-voke the names of mythologicalmilitary heroes who battled innerdemons: Achilles, consumed by thedeaths of his men; Philoctetes, hol-lowed out from betrayals by fellowofficers; Ajax, warped with somuch rage that he wanted to kill hiscomrades.
Now officials at the Defense De-partment are turning to the Greeksto explore the psychic impact ofwar.
The Pentagon has provided $3.7million for an independent produc-tion company, Theater of War, tovisit 50 military sites through atleast next summer and stage read-ings from two plays by Sophocles,“Ajax” and “Philoctetes,” for servicemembers. So far the group has per-
formed at Fort Riley in Kansas; atthe Uniformed Services Universityin Bethesda, Md.; and at last week’sWarrior Resilience Conference inNorfolk, Va.
The scenes from “Ajax” show thetitle character plotting to murderGreek generals who have disgracedhim. Under a trance by the goddessAthena, he ends up slaughteringfarm animals he thinks are the offi-cers. Ajax’s concubine is depictedas trying to bring him to his senses;the final scene shows Ajax in agony,committing suicide.
The “Philoctetes” segment por-trays Greek military leaders plot-ting to trick the hero into leadingan attack on Troy, and showsPhiloctetes struggling with bothphysical and emotional pain.
A special performance was heldon Monday night for dozens of ser-vice members, veterans, relativesand Pentagon officials at St. Vin-cent’s Hospital in Manhattan. Theactors in the one-hour readingwere David Strathairn, JeffreyWright, Gloria Reuben and Adam
Driver, a former Marine. The investigation of Maj. Nidal
Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatristaccused of killing 13 at Fort Hoodin Texas, loomed over the reading,though it was mentioned only a fewtimes during the post-performancediscussion. Still, there were echoesof Fort Hood, especially in the storyof Ajax — in the pain that soldiersand their loved ones faced then andnow, and in the questions raised bythe play about whether war can dri-ve warriors to acts of evil.
“These plays are part of a 2,500-year history of mental and emo-tional pain for soldiers that run upto the present day,” said Mr.Strathairn, an Academy Awardnominee for his portrayal of Ed-ward R. Murrow in the 2005 film“Good Night, and Good Luck.”
Bryan Doerries, a writer and di-rector who founded Theater of War,said the performances were notpsychotherapy, noting, for in-stance, that the efficacy of his
Sophocles’ Plays & The Anguish of War
By Angelike ContisThe National Herald Staff Writer
NEW YORK –“That I am a sinner isof no great surprise, as I’m sure it isno surprise to anyone who knowsme. That I might ask for mercy hasbeen also a long-held, long-em-braced comfort. That I might be-come less of a sinner, less distract-ed, less broken, and more Christ-like (but never seemed to do) hasbeen the nagging thorn in my sideto date…”
As these lines indicate, there’shumor, poetry and lots of spiritualearnestness in Scott Cairns’ book“Short Trip to the Edge: WhereEarth Meets Heaven – A Pilgrim-age” (HarperCollins). The book is amemoir about his spiritual queststo the monastic community of Mt.Athos.
In 2005, the poet and Universityof Missouri professor, who had con-verted to Orthodoxy six years be-fore, realized that while he had agood job and a wonderful family,his life was less full of prayer thanhe thought it should be. What bet-ter place to learn about prayer thanMt. Athos, the all-male monasticpeninsula in northern Greece thathas been an important center forOrthodoxy for centuries?
The book focuses on Cairns’ firstthree trips to Mt. Athos, a sovereign
‘Short Trip toThe Edge’: AMan’s Search
Continued on page 9
Continued on page 6
SAN FRANCISCO - More than 700prominent members of the GreekAmerican community, as well asHollywood glitterati and politicalnotables and honorees graced thehistoric Fairmont Hotel atop SanFrancisco’s Nob Hill for the EliosSociety’s seventh Hellenic CharityBall on Saturday, November 7.
This year’s honorees were fourdistinguished Greek Americans:Award winning actors GeorgeChakiris and Michael Chiklis,writer and investigative reporterNicholas Gage, and actress/authorMarilu Henner. Greek Americansinger Kalomira received the EliosSpotlight Award, and televisionpersonality Maria Menounos wasthe gracious and elegant Mistressof Ceremonies.
On hand were political figuresincluding former Governor GrayDavis and former San FranciscoMayor Willie Brown. Also presentwere His Eminence MetropolitanGerasimos of San Francisco, HisEminence Metropolitan Nikitas, Di-rector of the Patriarch AthenagorasInstitute, Ambassador Ioannis An-dreades, Consul General of Greecein San Francisco, and The Hon-orary Consul General of Cyprus,Nicolaos Theophanous.
During his acceptance speechwriter Nicholas Gage challengedGreek Americans to do a better jobof channeling their resources andcelebrity status to benefit Hel-lenism. Mr. Gage pointed out that“Richard Gere, Harrison Ford andother celebrities travel the globe tochampion the cause of the DalaiLama and to denounce China's oc-cupation of his country. But whatGreek American celebrity has spo-ken out against the persecution byTurkish authorities of the Patriarchof Constantinople, the spiritualleader of 300 million OrthodoxChristians?
Gala HonorsCelebs; GageChallenges
Continued on page 5
Continued on page 3
Continued on page 3
AP PHOTO/SERGEI GRITS
To subscribe call: 718.784.5255e-mail: [email protected]
Continued on page 6
WITH THIS ISSUE
COMMUNITY2 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
■ THRU FEBRUARY 27, 2010The Alexander S. Onassis PublicBenefit Foundation (USA) will pre-sent an extraordinary group of 15thand 16th century paintings, includ-ing early works by El Greco at TheOnassis Cultural Center at 51stStreet between Fifth and MadisonAvenues. The exhibit is titled “TheOrigins of El Greco: Icon Painting inVenetian Crete and is curated forthe Onassis Cultural Center by Dr.Anastasia Drandaki, Curator of theByzantine Collection at the BenakiMuseum, Athens. The Origins of ElGreco will present 46 exceptionalworks from public and private col-lections in Greece, Europe, theUnited States and Canada, many ofwhich will be traveling to the U.S.for the first time. For more informa-tion call 212-486-4448, fax us at212-486-4744, or [email protected].
■ NOVEMBER 20NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Archdioce-san Holy Trinity Cathedral's Philop-tochos Society will be hosting its el-egant annual fundraising event -The Chrysanthemum Ball honoringHelen Bakalis Nicozisis on Novem-ber 20 at the Metropolitan Club.The event begins at 8:00 p.m.. Tick-ets are $125, including an open barand a light buffet. For those inter-ested in a full evening dinner, callthe Church at 212.288.3215. RSVPprior to November 16, contact: Ral-lou Zervoudakis. 212-737-6267 orStephanie Pantelides at 212-327-0265.
■ NOVEMBER 20NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Dodecane-sian Youth is hosting a party at PearlLounge in Bayside on November 20at 11 p.m. Live Greek music by Chis-tos Zavolas, guest singers and VasilisPatrikis on the violin, will sing a vari-ety of songs including the best of thenisiotika all night. There is a $10cover charge, including a drink stub.Pearl is located at: 45-30 Bell Blvd,Bayside, N.Y.
■ NOVEMBER 21PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – The Amer-ican Hellenic Institute Foundationsponsored by Sigmapharm Labora-tories, LLC in cooperation with theAlexander S. Onassis Public BenefitFoundation (USA), The WorldCouncil of Hellenes Abroad(S.A.E.) U.S.A. Region, TheBehrakis Foundation and co-spon-sored by the Hellenic American Na-tional Council Federation of Hel-lenic American Societies ofPhiladelphia & Greater DelawareValley, the Greek American Cham-ber of Commerce, the HellenicAmerican Lawyers Association ofPhiladelphia, the Hellenic MedicalSociety of Greater PhiladelphiaU.S.-Greece Business Advisory
Council and Hellenic News ofAmerica, present the 8th AnnualConference on The Future of Hel-lenism in America on November21at the Four Seasons Hotel. Reg-istration and coffee begin at 8:00a.m. For more information, visit:http://www.ahiworld.org/hel-lenism_conf/8th_registration.pdf.The Four Seasons Hotel is locatedat: One Logan Square, Philadel-phia, Pennsylvania or call: (215)963-15000.
■ NOVEMBER 28BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – The Pan-IcarianBrotherhood Foutrides Chapter willhost the Ikarian Paniyiri on Novem-ber 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Nikos Ban-quents in Bridgeview, Illinois. Livemusic performances by, ORMI andViolitzi. It will feature a traditionalGreek cuisine buffet consisting oflamb & manestra, chicken & pota-toes, pastitsio, spanakopita, veg-etables, salads, fruit, desserts, un-limited soft drinks, juices and cof-fee. Tickets for the dinner anddance are $50.00; the dance only is$25.00; children 6-12 1/2 off andchildren under 6 are free. NikosBanquets is located at: 7600 SouthHarlem Avenue, Bridgeview, Illi-nois. For advance ticket purchaseor more information call: (708)975-5545
■ DECEMBER 3NEW YORK, NY – The Ministry ofEconomy, Competitiveness & Ship-ping of Greece will host the 11thAnnual Capital Link Forum on,“Greece: Positioning for the Re-bound: Investment & Business Op-portunities in Greece Today,” onDecember 3 at the MetropolitanClub. The Metropolitan Club is lo-cated at: One East 60th Street, NewYork, NY 10022. For more informa-tion and registration, visit:http://www.capitallinkforum.com/greece/2009/main.html
■ DECEMBER 4NEW YORK - Hellenic Public RadioCOSMOS-FM invites you to its an-nual GALA, Friday, December 4 atthe Pierre Hotel at 21 East 61stStreet in Manhattan. This year thelate Dr. Constantine Papadakis willbe honored with the PhidippidesAward for his passionate advocacyof Hellenism. For tickets and info.call 718-204-8900 or visitwww.Gaepis.org
■ NOTE TO OUR READERSThis calendar of events section is acomplimentary service to the GreekAmerican community. All parishes,organizations and institutions areencouraged to e-mail their infor-mation 3-4 weeks ahead of time,and no later than Monday of theweek before the event, [email protected]
GOINGS ON...
By Eleni KostopoulosThe National Herald Staff Writer
NEW YORK - Olga Alexakos is anaccomplished Manhattan real es-tate professional at Prudential Dou-glas Elliman. With a Ph.D. in Eco-nomics, a BA in Psychology and anextensive background in urbananalysis and real estate marketing,Ms. Alexakos has utilized herknowledge and expertise for morethan 16 years of selling Manhattanreal estate.
TNH: Tell us about yourself. OA: I was born in a little village,
Mavrovouni Laconias in the springof 1956. I moved to Athens when Iwas 15. Young people were grow-ing up fast those days. I came toNew York in 1974, I wanted tostudy psychology and live in Amer-ica. It has been a long novel since,with many chapters. The currentchapter finds me in Manhattan, inanother village, Greenwich Village.I’ve become what you may call asoccer auntie. Some of my favoritedays are school trips with my littlenephews. Another passion besidesmy nephews is real estate. Homehas a sacred meaning for me. Shar-ing the joy of my clients when theymove into a new home is a realblessing. I usually become greatfriends with them. I go with theapartment, somewhat! We Greeksare merchant people; we love theenergy of agorapolisia!
TNH: Tell us how you got towhere you are today.
OA: I am a county girl, who fellin love with the big city. Love oflearning, of growing as a humanbeing, understanding and helpingpeople, my faith, have always beingguiding principles in my life. I seemy life as a journey, from birth toGod. And it is a fascinating journey.Some times I get stuck, but moreoften than not it has been a lot offun. I hope to make a positive im-pact on the lives of the peoplearound me. My family is very im-portant to me and my love for themkeeps me strong.
TNH: What is the most challeng-ing aspect of your career?
OA: As a woman, I am blessed tohave a career in a field where theso-called glass ceiling does not ex-ist. But I can get quite absorbedwith work. The biggest challenge isto balance work and family/per-sonal life.
TNH: Do you have any rolemodels?
OA: My role models are mymother and my grandmothers. Igrew up in Mani after the war. Lifewas tough, but people were re-silient and resourceful. Familiespulled together to help each other.My mother was one of the kindestand sweetest persons I have evercome to know. Her soft smile is al-ways with me. My grandmotherswere wise and strong. I am always
trying to assimilate what they’vetaught me. TNH: What is yourgreatest achievement thus far?What do you hope to achieve in thefuture?
OA: My greatest achievement isthe love of my family. The beautifulrelationship I have with my foursiblings, my two sisters-in-law, fivenephews and my beautiful niece.The fact is that at 53, I am full of lifeand as curious to explore the worldas I was at 23! I must also mentionreceiving my doctorate. I am veryproud of that; it took a lot of disci-pline and hard work. For the future,at the personal level, I want to con-tinue to grow wise and happy. Andto be a bit more patient - still work-ing on that. On a higher level, my
family is an ongoing project. I amalso quite devoted to my communi-ty. Recently, I have invested myselfin building a Hellenic Americanbusinesswomen’s organization,here in New York. This has turnedout to be an amazing, humbling ex-perience. We are having our launchevent on December 10. Please joinus and support our efforts!
TNH: What is your most enjoy-able pastime?
OA: My most enjoyable pastimeis being with my nephews andniece. I can spend infinite hourswith them. I play monopoly and goto the playground with the littleones, to the museums and out todinners with the older ones
TNH: Share with us some wordsof wisdom.
OA: The sun may not be shiningbright every day, but everyday is ablessing.
TNH: What part of Greece isyour family from? Have you visit-ed?
OA: Though we were born andraised in Mani, I have family nowliving all over Greece. I go everyyear. I wish I could go every week-end! I miss everybody so much! Idiscovered Skype recently and thatis helping a bit. I think the Greekcountryside is the most beautiful inthe world. I was there last Januaryand celebrated New Years in Mete-ora. Extraordinary!
TNH: Does Greek Orthodoxyplay a part in your life and whatyou do?
OA: Faith guides my path. I findmyself, my strength, my compas-sion and my healing in prayer. Iwas blessed to grow up in the beau-tiful spirituality of Greek Ortho-doxy. Monastic life has always ap-pealed to me, but my curiosityabout the ways of the world hasgotten in the way!
In the Spotlight: Olga Alexakos, Ph.D.
Olga Alexakos is devoted to herprofession, community and family.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Vote on our website!
You have the chance to express your opinion on our website on animportant question in the news. The results will be published in ourprinted edition next week along with the question for that week.
The question this week is: Is it a good goal for Greek Americans tospend one of their college years in Greece?❏ Yes❏ No❏ Maybe
The results for last week’s question: Do you want Congress to passthe House healthcare reform bill or something similar to it?33% voted “Yes”64% voted “No”3% voted “Maybe”
Please vote at: www.thenationalherald.com
By Caryn Rousseau
CHICAGO (AP) — From Greek-town to Chinatown, from the PolishTriangle to Pakistani restaurants onDevon Avenue, Chicago has awealth of diverse ethnic neighbor-hoods to explore.
Chicago is known as a city ofneighborhoods and Patricia Sulli-van, manager of the city’s ChicagoNeighborhood Tours program, saidvisitors need to leave the tourist-heavy Loop and Michigan Avenueareas to really see the different eth-nic and cultural corners of the city.
“They’re distinct and they’rebeautiful,” Sullivan said. “The ar-chitecture is different, as are therestaurants and the stores. It’s real-ly a melting pot.”
GREEKTOWN: It’s clear you’vereached Greektown when you readthe signage on the local Walgreensdrugstore — it’s written in Greek.Greektown stretches along HalstedStreet from Van Buren Street north
to Washington Street in the city’sWest Loop neighborhood.
Fancier restaurants with nameslike Pegasus, Parthenon and San-torini serve saganaki (fried cheese)and spanakopita (spinach pie).
They sit alongside bakeries, can-dle shops and corner fast foodeateries where you can order take-out gyros.
The cultural center focusesaround the National Hellenic Mu-seum (801 W. Adams St.), wheremuseum officials say visitors cansee folk art and textile exhibits. Themuseum also boasts an oral historycenter that lets listeners wear head-sets to hear Greek immigrants telltheir stories.
Each August the neighborhoodhosts a Taste of Greece festival. TheGreek Independence Day Parade isin the spring.
For more information:http://www.greektownchicago.org/and http://www.nationalhellenic-museum.org.
Eat, Shop, Explore Chicago’sMany Ethnic Neighborhoods
COMMUNITYTHE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009 3
Herald’s Bright Future
ST. LOUIS - More than 450 mem-bers of the parish of the Greek Or-thodox Church of St. Nicholas in St.Louis gathered recently for firstbanquet held in the new Family LifeCenter. They were so excited theyscheduled the event before thewalls were even finished.
Parishioners came to participatein the blessing of the new building’sfoundation, celebrate the progressin the construction, and pray that itfulfills its potential to bring new op-portunities for growth in faith andfellowship to the community.
“Take a good look around, be-cause the next time we’re all here,it’s not going to look like this,” Fa-ther Doug said in his remarks, not-ing the exposed structural beams,open sides and the muddy groundbeyond the foundation.
Father Doug Papulis, assisted byFather Michael Arbanas and FatherEmmanuel Hatzidakis, performedthe blessing ceremony.
Before the ceremony, the St.Nicholas Dancers provided enter-tainment and aterward, the Junior
Choir sang hymns of praise as wellas the Troparion of St. Nicholas.Everyone shared in a festive dinner,
and the children enjoyed playingthroughout the complex.
The event was an ambitious un-
dertaking. Because the kitchen fa-cilities at the Family Life Center arenot finished, the food was prepared
at St. Nicholas Church and trans-ported to the site.
The lack of space for parking onthe site, due to the ongoing con-struction, required the use of twoshuttle-buses that traveled be-tween the Family Life Center and anearby church. Despite all the chal-lenges, though, the event was fes-tive.
After dinner, they heard greet-ings from Nicky Antoniou, ParishCouncil President; Tom Whaley,Design Committee chairman; LeonSpanos, Capital Campaign chair-man; and Leo Catsavis, CapitalCampaign co-chairman, andMichael Ferretti, master of cere-monies for the event.
Each one thanked the parish-ioners for their spiritual and finan-cial support of the Family Life Cen-ter, and exhorted all those presentto continue supporting the project.
After the speeches, Nicky Anto-niou, on behalf of the Parish Coun-cil, and Marilyn Jemas, the Philop-tochos president, on her organiza-tion’s behalf, each presented FatherDoug with a check for $5,000 inhonor of the 25th anniversary of
his ordination to the priesthood. Although the groups intended
for Father Doug and PresvyteraChristina to use the money to travelto London, Father Doug formallypresented the checks to CapitalCampaign for the continuedprogress of the project.
“Since we can’t take the wholeparish with us to London, we would
rather see the money go to usehere for the whole parish to enjoy,”Father Doug said.
Papadatos Partnership LLP Ar-chitects of New York City and Chio-dini Associates of St. Louis are thearchitects of record for the state-of-the-art Family Life Center.
The Center will include a uniqueByzantine Chapel which will towerover the entire complex. A two sto-ry atrium entrance will be the fea-tured design element leading to thecombination Banquet Facility andGymnasium.
The facility will also containclassrooms, meeting rooms and of-fices. The second level will be opento the entrance atrium, which willbe experienced as a luminous jewelbox.
Banquet in Unfinished St. Nicholas Family Life Center Promises Bright Future
After the 1997 season, when An-thopoulos was a college student inMontreal, he watched as Beattie,the general manager of his favoriteteam, struggled with a similar deci-sion — what to do with Pedro Mar-tinez, who was traded in the off-season for Carl Pavano and TonyArmas Jr.
Today, Beattie is a financial ad-viser in Boston, and he remembersthe difficulty of making that deci-sion. He does not recall Anthopou-los hanging up on him but does re-member his diligence in the work-place after he gave Anthopoulos aninternship opening fan mail.
“He’s a very smart guy, and he’salways extremely prepared,” Beat-tie said. “But there’s no way to pre-pare for a decision like that one.”
Anthopoulos spent the lastdecade preparing for this decision,and more. His path into baseballwas not typical. Growing up inMontreal the son of a Greek immi-grant, he studied economics at Mc-Master University.
But his life changed drasticallyjust before his 21st birthday whenhis father died of a heart attack.Whatever plans Anthopoulos hadfor a career in finance were aban-doned as he took over his father’sheating and ventilation business,even though it was never his desire.
“In a lot of ways my father’sdeath is the reason I’m here today,”he said during the general managermeetings. “Obviously, I wish I couldhave him back, but it forced me togrow up fast. While my friendswere partying, I had to grow up.”
For two years he and one of histwo brothers worked long hoursand studied heating engineering atnight. But one morning he woke upand admitted to himself that it wasnot his life. He had a dream to getinto baseball, and if he did not pur-sue it now, he might never get an-other chance.
He called Beattie in 2000 andturned down a job offer from Fi-delity Investments in Toronto toopen fan letters for free at OlympicStadium.
“I decided I’m going to be thebest fan mail guy I could be,” hesaid. “I went in the corner, set upmy stuff and shut my mouth.”
When he finished with the mail,Anthopoulos would go sit with thescouts and do his own scouting re-
ports. He had a knack for it, andtwo years later, after Omar Minayatook over as general manager, An-thopoulos was offered his first realjob in baseball as a scout for$25,000 a year.
Within a year he was the Expos’assistant scouting director, but in2003 Anthopoulos moved to theBlue Jays. In 2005 he became anassistant general manager, and onOct. 3 he was named general man-ager with a mission: handle theHalladay situation and revitalizethe organization. He has alreadyoverhauled the scouting depart-ment, and more changes will becoming.
“He’s got to make a big decisionwhere he’ll either be the hero or thegoat,” John Gibbons, the formerBlue Jays manager, said.
“But he’s so bright and likable.There’s just something about thatguy. I think he has the chance to begreat.”
For all his great potential tomake a name for himself amongthe gods of American baseball, AlexAnthopoulos retains a firm grip onhis roots. His Hellenic pride was ap-parent during a brief interviewwith The National Herald. “TheGreek community sent me a letter,”
of congratulations, “and I had itframed,” said the young man whospent most of his summers on theisland of Lemnos. “I am glad I havea long name that is obviouslyGreek. It’s great that people realizethat I’m Greek.”
At an American Hellenic Insti-tute (AHI) business networkingbreakfast in 2007 Anthopoulos thata major highlight of his career wasserving as an advance scout for theGreek National Baseball Team forthe Athens 2004 Olympics, but hisgreatest Hellenic moment was en-tering the Olympic Stadium duringthe opening ceremonies.
Nick Larigakis, The ExecutiveDirector of AHI Larigakis told TNHthat Anthopoulos said that he tooka chance at the start of his baseballcareer. Being an unpaid intern dur-ing the weekend didn’t go over wellwith his family, but his paying jobof bank teller during the week wasnever a temptation. The GreekCanadian loves his baseball, andnow is his moment to shine tryingto bring baseball glory back Cana-da.
The above article includes addi-tional reporting by The NationalHerald.
Greek Canadian General ManagerPursues Baseball Glory
Rendering of the new Family and Life Center of the Church of St. Nicholas in St. Louis, Missouri. The state of theart facility was designed by Papadatos Partnership LLP Architects of N.Y. and Chiodini Associates of St. Louis.
tians to paint in the Western style(alla forma latina). The Cretansquickly adapted the Latin ap-proach, and developed the flexibili-ty to create alla forma Latina or allaforma greka (“Greek style”) as theassignment required. Drandakissaid archives in Venice reveal thatsoon afterward Cretan art wasprized throughout Europe, and de-mand increased with the fall ofConstantinople in 1453.
“Cretan painters were receivinghuge commissions from Venice,from the Dalmatian coast and fromother areas in the Balkans. So theyhad an international appeal,” saidDrandaki. “In this aspect,Theotokopoulos is not a uniquecase among his compatriots.”
Those compatriots includedartists such as Angelos, NikolaosTzafouris, Andreas Pavias, Geor-gios Klontzas, MichaelDamaskenos, and Donatos Bitza-manos, all of whom are represent-ed in the exhibit. Pavias’s “Crucifix-ion” is a highly ornate work inwhich Christ on the Cross is sur-rounded by a vast throng of onlook-ers, soldiers, and riders on horse-back, most wearing 15th-centuryattire. He signed it in Latin andeven added his birthplace, Candia(modern-day Heraklion, the Cretan
capital), to insure the work’s mar-ketability, Drandaki said.
At the heart of the exhibit are 11icons from the church of St. Cather-
ine of the Sinaites in Heraklion(now a museum), thanks to a loanfrom Archbishop Eirinaios of Crete.Only one has ever traveled outside
Greece, and the other ten have onlybeen exhibited once in Athens.Three of them, all anonymous anddemonstrating the purest Byzan-
tine style of the lot, greet the visitorat the entrance to the gallery. Theothers are by Angelos, Klontzas,and Damaskenos.
Four paintings came from theState Hermitage Museum in St. Pe-terburg, Russia, in their first trip sinceentering the Hermitage in 1930.
One section of the exhibit dis-plays three 16th-century paintings,all signed by Nikolaos Tzafouris:“Deisis,” in purely Byzantine style,“The Virgin Madre della Conso-lazione,” purely Western, and “TheRoad to Calvary,” a mixture of thetwo. These are the best examples ofhow Cretan painters executed iconsaccording to the demands of theirclientele, said Drandaki. “If it was-n’t for the signatures, it would verydifficult to tell that they were madeby the same painter,” she said.
Of the seven El Greco works inthe exhibit, three are from his Cre-tan period: “Saint Luke Painting theIcon of the Virgin,” “The Adorationof the Magi” (both from the BenakiMuseum) and “The Dormition ofthe Virgin” (Church of the Dormi-tion, Syros, Greece). Two paint-ings, one from the municipality ofHeraklion and the other from a col-lection at Queen’s University inKingston, Ontario, Canada, are be-ing reunited for the first time sincescholars agreed they were original-ly part of a tryptich: “The Baptism
of Christ” and “The Adoration ofthe Shepherds.” Both of these, aswell as “The Entombment ofChrist,” were produced during histen years in Italy, when he reinvent-ed himself by becoming an appren-tice despite already being a recog-nized artist.
The exhibit culminates with ElGreco’s “The Coronation of the Vir-gin,” (about 1603), owned by theOnassis Foundation, which displayshis celebrated Spanish style.
“It shows us his distance fromhis Cretan and Italian past, but alsothe path he followed through dif-ferent European traditions, com-bining them all in his unique picto-rial universe, where he concludedhis artistic transformation,” Dran-daki said.
“Our objective is never just topresent pieces of art, but to saysomething, to underline somethingimportant about our artistic andcultural and certainly politicalcourse over the centuries,” saidOnassis Center Executive DirectorLoucas Tsilas.
Admission is free. Hours areMonday through Saturday, 10 a.m.to 6 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving,Christmas, and New Year’s Day).Guided tours will be offered everyWednesday and Thursday at 1 p.m.For more information, call the Cen-ter at 212-486-4448.
Onassis Center Exhibit Examines Origins of El Greco in Multicultural Crete
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Continued from page 1
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Dr. Anastasia Dandraki, Curator of the Byzantine Collection at the Benaki Museum, speaks to reporters atthe Onassis Cultural Center who gathered for a press conference ahead of the opening of the exhibit.
NEW YORK – KonstantinosStavropoulos, 65, was fatally in-jured on Friday afternoon, Nov. 13when he was struck by an oncom-ing vehicle. The tragic accident,which left the unlucky Mr.Stavropoulos dead at the scene, oc-curred in Astoria, New York at theintersection of 21st Avenue and23rd Street, at approximately 5:50p.m. Even more tragic is the factthat the fatal accident was causedby another Greek American,George Massuridis, who was dri-ving his Jeep Liberty West on 21stAvenue when he struck Mr.Stavropoulos, who was crossingthe street.
Mr. Massuridis, an Astoria resi-dent, was arrested at the scene foran unrelated warrant according tothe Department of Communica-tions and Public Information of theNYPD, while police announced thatan investigation into the accident iscurrently underway.
The late Mr. Stavropoulos, whowas a resident Jackson Heights andworked as a taxi driver for the Asto-ria Transportation Corporation,which is located near the intersec-tion of 21 Ave. and 23 Street, wasexiting a local grocery store rightbefore the accident occurred.
According to eyewitness ac-counts, Mr. Massuridis was unableto avoid the collision in time, andas soon as he realized what hap-pened, he exited his vehicle andtried to offer first aid to his fellowGreek American, who was lying onthe street in a pool of blood.
Another eyewitness told The
National Herald that the authori-ties were delayed in arriving on thescene.
However, responding to an e-mail by TNH, a police spokespersonwrote that “Based upon the “911”calls and the police reports, your in-formation as to a delay and/or neg-ligence appears to be incorrect.” Itwas also noted that “EMS respond-ed and pronounced him [the vic-tim] DOA at the scene.”
Mr. Stavropoulos’ wife Angelike,
his son Alexander, and dozens ofother friends and relatives rushedto the scene of the accident as soonas they were notified. For threehours, they stood in the stormy au-tumn weather and watched in dis-belief as police officers examinedthe accident scene, leaving onlywhen the authorities removed thevictim’s body from the sidewalk.
James Stefatos, a relative of thedeceased, spoke to TNH about Mr.Stavropoulos. “The deceased was
born in Athens. He was a good fam-ily man, and was what you wouldcall a ‘workaholic.’ He came from awealthy family in Greece, and hisfather owned the Palladion, whichwas one of the best restaurants inits time. He was a graduate of theAnargyreion School in the island ofSpetses, and like so many otherGreek Americans, he came to theUnited States in search of a betterlife.”
Costas Bolkos also spoke about
the late Mr. Stavropoulos, notinghow much he loved his wife andson. “We were friends, and wouldalways spend time together. Weused to watch soccer together,since he was a big fan ofOlympiakos and enjoyed a personalfriendship with the team’s owner,Socrates Kokkalis. He was a popu-lar guy, and everyone liked him.”
Zachary Touratzidis, an eyewit-ness, said that the accident hap-pened while the victim was tryingto cross the street.
“He tried to cross in between thecars and that’s when the accidentoccurred. The driver was a GreekAmerican. He was polite, andseemed to be a straight-up guy. Hetold us that he had no time to react,and that he hit the brakes as soonas he heard the thud, but by then itwas too late.”
Mr. Touratzidis also noted thatthe driver was within the speedlimit, and that he was not goingfaster than 25 miles an hour. Hecalled the accident a case of beingin the wrong place at the wrongtime.
The situation surrounding Mr.Massuridis’ arrest remains unclear,since the Queens County DistrictAttorney’s office has no record of awarrant. “There are no chargespending against Mr. Massuridis forevents relating to 11/13/2009.With regard to a warrant youshould call DCPI/NYPD as myrecords do not indicate any warranthere in Queens,” Kevin R. Ryan, Di-rector of Communications for theQueens County DA said in an e-
mail reply to The National Herald.TNH has twice contacted DCPI toinquire about the charges andwhether Massuridis has been re-leased, but the questions were notanswered.
An eyewitness who wished to beknown only by the name John, saidhe was one of the first people to ar-rive on the scene, and added that“the paramedics took too long toarrive.” According to him, “theycame after a 25-minute delay, andwhen they finally arrived the victimwas laying on the street in a neardeath-state.” Nevertheless, as re-ported above, the police are refut-ing this allegation.
“He had suffered a head injuryand had lost a great deal of blood.He died shortly afterwards,” Johnsaid, adding that he knew the vic-tim for many years. He also notedthat the news of the tragic accidenthas plunged all the employees atthe Astoria Transportation Corpo-ration into a state of grief.
“He was a good man, polite, ahard worker, and he respectedeveryone. Everyone has the finestthings to say about him,” said a col-league of the deceased named An-tonis, who added that Mr.Stavropoulos had just started work-ing at the Astoria TransportationCorporation a few weeks ago.
“We are in a state of shock.Everything happened in just a splitsecond,” he said.
Mr. Stavropoulos’ funeral washeld at the St. Demetrios Cathedralin Astoria, on Tuesday, November17, 2009.
Tragedy Strikes Astoria: Greek American Pedestrian Fatally Injured by Hellene
The tragic scene at the intersection of 21st Ave. and 21st St. in Astoria, N.Y. where Greek America driverGeorge Massuridis’ Jeep struck and killed fellow Greek Konstantinos Stavropoulos on Friday, Nov. 13th.
COMMUNITY4 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
By John P. PsiharisSpecial to The National Herald
CHICAGO - The Pontian Genocidewas the theme for a day-long acad-emic conference held at the WestinHotel in Rosemont, Illinois on No-vember 7. The event titled, “Acade-mic Conference on the Asia MinorCatastrophe” was organized by thePontian Greek Society of Chicago.
The Pontian Genocide was adark chapter in the history of theGreek people. Between 1914 and1923, millions of Greeks, Armeni-ans and Assyrians who resided inAsia Minor, Pontus and EasternThrace were persecuted, deportedor killed in an effort by the Ot-toman Empire to cleanse the areaof Christians with the aim of mak-ing it a monolithic Muslim society.
The Greek presence on the BlackSea coast dates back to before 1000BC. After the fall of Constantinopleto the Crusaders in 1204 AD theEmpire of Trebizond was estab-lished on the Black Sea’s southerncoast and lasted for two hundredand fifty years until 1461 when itwas one of the last parts of Greeceto fall into the hands of the Ot-toman Empire.
Although Greeks resisted extra-ordinary pressure to convert to Is-lam in the 15th and 16th centuries,more than 250,000 Greeks wereforced to convert to the Muslimfaith during the 17th and 18th cen-turies. Despite inherent tensions,
the Greeks of the Black Sea regionco-existed with the Turks until thedawn of World War I. In 1908,Turkish nationalists, known as theYoung Turks, revolted against Sul-tan Hamid and called for the elimi-nation of ethnic Christian minori-ties including the Armenians, As-syrians, Anatolian and PontianGreeks.
The morning session of the con-ference began with Dr. Taner Ak-cam, Associate Professor of Historyat Clark University in Worchester,Mass., who spoke on “The Greek‘Deportations’ and Massacres of1913-1914, A Trial Run for the Ar-menian Genocide.” In his speech,Dr. Akcam presented compellingevidence that the Ottoman Empireconsidered the cleansing of Greeksfrom the Asia Minor region a pre-cursor to the Armenian genocide.Despite significant efforts to coverup their involvement, Dr. Akcamdocumented that the Ottoman Em-pire paid for steamships to accom-plish the forced displacement ofGreeks who lived in the region. Ac-cording to a cable, the Greek pas-sengers were charged a fare to relo-cate. Dr. Akcam believes that theprimary motivation for this actionwas security and that the Ottomansbelieved they could accomplish thisby expelling Christians.” It was notracist”, he maintains. “Their goalwas to keep the Christian popula-tion between five and ten percent.”
Dr. Constantine Hatzidimitriou
an Associate Adjunct Professor atSt. John’s University, presented apaper titled “Official and UnofficialAmerican Reactions to the Asia Mi-nor ‘Catastrophe’ - What the Docu-
mentary Evidence Reveals”. He isthe author of several books includ-ing American Accounts Document-ing the Destruction of Smyrna(2005). During his presentation,
Dr. Hatzidimitriou used the term“Smyrna Gate” to describe “the in-terplay between realities in thefield and what was going on inWashington.”
Dr. Hatzidimitriou presentedconfidential documents and corre-spondence between then U.S. Sec-retary of State Charles Evans Hugh-es, Allen Dulles, who served asEvans’ assistant and would becomeDirector of the Central IntelligenceAgency and U.S. Admiral MarkLambert Bristol, who served as theU.S. High Commissioner in Turkeyfrom 1919-1927.
The evidence revealed that theU.S. was aware of the Turkish ac-tions being taken against theGreeks and others, but chose todownplay these atrocities. Dr.Hatzidimitriou believes that BritishIntelligence officials had shared de-tailed reports on Turkey’s actions inthe region; however the U.S., ledby Hughes and Bristol, did not wishto alienate either Turkey or Greeceand thus covered up much of thetruth.
One example of this was a U.S.State Department memo respond-ing to information requested bySenator Henry Cabot Lodge ofMassachusetts on the burning ofSmyrna. In it, Evans wrote, “TheTurks have a general responsibilityfor keeping order, but they do notknow how the fire was started.”However, the U.S., as documentedin a telegram dated September 15,
1922, had been told that the Turkshad burned Smyrna.”
Leonidas Raptakis, a Rhode Is-land State Senator, was in atten-dance and briefly spoke during theconference. He has the distinctionof sponsoring a resolution in theRhode Island legislature commem-orating the Pontian Genocide. TheGreek Pontian Genocide Remem-brance Day was held on May 19,2008.
Other speakers during the day-long event included George Shirin-ian, executive director of the Zo-ryan Institute’s Interntational Insti-tute for Genocide and HumanRights Studies; Matthias Bjorn-lund, a Danish archival historian;Dr. Alexander Kitroeff, AssociateProfessor of History and AcademicDirector of the Center for Peace andGlobal Citizenship at HaverfordCollege, who spoke on “The Plightof the Greek Refugees After theBreak-up of the Ottoman Empire;”and Dr. Van Koufoudakis, DeanEmeritus of the College of Arts andSciences at Indiana University-Pur-due at Fort Wayne, Indiana whospoke on “Turkey’s Deliberate andSystemic Violations of Internation-al Agreements Since 1923.”
Event sponsors were: The Feder-ation of Greek American Organiza-tions ENOSIS, Pan Pontian Federa-tion of the United States and Cana-da, SAE, Hellenic Link and HANC.For further information, visitwww.pontiangreeks.org.
Academic Conference on Asia Minor and Pontian Genocides Held in Chicago
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Friends and benefactors of the renowned Monastery of St. Catherineshown l. - r. : Katherine, Crown Princess of Yugoslavia, President ofthe St. Catherine Foundation, Maria Jaharis, Angeliki Frangou, OlgaLymperi, Frosso Beys and Doris Trifon at a fundrasing event in N.Y.
Dr. Helen Evans, who holds the Mary and Michael Jaharis Curatorshipat the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is an expert in Byzantine artduring her presentation at the St. Catherine’s monastery fundraisingevent. The great institution was established by the Emperor Justinian.
(L. to. r.) The board of the Hellenic Medical Society of PhiladelphiaJohn Psaltis, Constantine Chrysofos, Fran Zambalas, George Dendri-nos, Dennis Hatzieliades, Alex Poulathas, Elias Eliades, Martina Har-ris, and Tom Tasakis. One of the group’s aims is scholarship support.
Estiatorio Milos the Scene of St.Catherine of Sinai Fundraiser Dr. Helen Evans Speaks about the Monastery of St. Catherine HMS of Philadelphia Serves Medicine and Hellenism
The monastery of Panagia Soumela near Trebizond (Trapezounta) onthe Black Sea is a powerful symbol of Pontian glory and suffering.
FEATURETHE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009 5
By Maria MichelesSpecial to The National Herald
Sometimes live theater can makea more powerful impact than Holly-wood’s profitable action-packed ad-venture movies that may excite anaudience but do not stimulate con-templation. Theater’s primary pur-pose is not to create spectacle, but todelve into issues time and timeagain and re-interpret them. Withthe memory or history play, whichexplores personal experiences inhistorically difficult periods, conflictbetween characters is secondary tothe turmoil they’ve had to undergoin a turbulent world, and they seekin each other ways to subdue thosepangs and recreate a viable world.Maria Logis’s play “The LemonTree”, which just completed a run atNew York’s Wild Project Theater at-tempts to deal with a subject thathas not been sufficiently dealt with:a family’s painful compromises.
The play’s multi-media presenta-tion, incorporating film and live on-stage musicians playing originalsongs, set the tone for 1917 Epirus,with its idyllic life and landscape,and to which the play revertsthroughout the night, with danceand songs recreating the old serenesetting filled mostly with the charac-ters’ longing for love and marriageand the basic things of life whichmake one happy, in contrast to theroad father and son, played byDemetrios Bonaros and Leo Gi-annopoulos, are forced to takewhen faced with regional foodshortages. The father, contrary tohis wife Fotini’s wishes, (ZinaAnaplioti), leaves for Smyrna, thena center for opportunity, to raisemoney to send Dimitri to the U.S.,but the father is left to vanish in theSmyrnan fires, the dramatic footageof which is projected on a screen on-stage.
Dimitri learns of the catastrophewhen he happens to pick up a copyof The Times. To bury the pain,Dimitri works night and day in adiner, sending everything to hismother in Epirus, including a cow,which is bigger and fatter than theones in the village. It is a wonderfulscene, though there is no real cowonstage—the play’s use of minimalprops enables the viewer to experi-
ence the play on different levelsrather than adhering to one. Thesmiles, petting the cow’s skin, gazesat the cow’s eyes, and the milking ofthe cow generate a positive re-sponse, and one begins to think thisis more real, that it more powerfullyevokes the feelings of experiencingthe presence of an animal, than ac-tually seeing a live one onstage.
We follow Dimitri’s trip back toGreece, too late to reunite with hisdeceased mother. He picks up thepieces by taking a young wife, won-derfully interpreted by Maria Niora,who’s both hesitant and excited toleave Greece. She participates in abeautiful dance with her koliti,which celebrates female bonding.The simple movements under thewhite wedding veil are wonderfullychoreographed.
Attending a Radio City movieshow on her first night in America isthe only grand day Eleni experi-ences, as what awaits her is a drablife, stuck indoors all day, wantingto make a dish of stifado with eithergoat, rabbit or baby veal, but in-stead has to do with lentils. De-prived of every pleasure, as Dimitritakes control of the money to realizehis dream of owning a diner, herpredicament is not portrayed as ug-ly or hapless, but as moments ofwaiting and longing, and time alonefor allowing memories to be re-played, and glorified when com-pared to the present - as one wouldimagine nostalgia’s origin to be. Inthose moments human entrapmentin space and time become a chancefor past happenings to be reviewed,extended and possibly reconfig-ured, filling up the time until one isable to participate in the worldagain.
The director, MahayanaLandowne, captures this well, su-perimposing Eleni’s image along-side Ingrid Bergman’s on the screen,so that the two merge - the glitz ofHollywood enjoins with the unexcit-ing life of its viewers. Other popularmovies like “Gone with the Wind”offer respite, allowing one to makethe best of what one has. Near theend of the play, Eleni exclaims thatas Scarlet used curtains to make herdress, she could use her weddingdress for curtains. She walks over toher treasure chest from back home
and begins to cut up her weddingveil, to be able to decorate the win-dows. It is then that Dimitri bringshome the papers that signify thathe’s finally able to buy a diner, atime which came later, rather thansooner. Perhaps too late.
The author did something un-usual, in exploring life throughDimitri’s eyes in the first half, andthen of Eleni in the second, but thisis done to give us glimpses of eachcharacter’s facing their most diffi-cult hurdles and how they are ableto overcome them and get by.
The play’s end conveys that in or-der to have, one must face priva-tions, and to undergo hardship forsome time, even such as remainingin an unhappy marriage temporari-ly, until prospects improve. The playhints, however, that there are thingsthat one or both spouses might do toease the emotional pain of the other.
The production speaks to ourtimes as well, our financial crisis,when some people lose the luxuriesthey had, and all must learn to dowith less, but are able to exploreother things that allow them to gainculturally, until more affluent timesappear.
The Lemon Tree: A Play That Examines Life’s Memories and Aspirations
group’s work had not been studiedin clinical trials. He described theeffort as a public health project tohelp service members and relativesovercome stigmas about psycho-logical injuries by showing thatsome of the bravest heroes sufferedmentally from battle.
“Through theater we’re trying tooffer some ideas and experiences forour troops and veterans to thinkabout when they don’t feel comfort-able opening up about their privatethoughts,” said Mr. Doerries, whosework grew out of an earlier effort,the Philoctetes Project, that drewmedia attention for a performance atthe Juilliard School last fall.
“Sophocles was himself a gener-
al, and Athens during his time wasat war for decades,” he continued.“These two plays were seen bythousands of citizen-soldiers. Byperforming these scenes, we’rehoping that our modern-day sol-diers will see their difficulties in alarger historical context, and per-haps feel less alone.”
Film screenings and theater per-formances have long been staples ofmental health and rehabilitation ser-vices, intended to provoke discus-sions among viewers who might dis-like talk therapy but who can identi-fy with characters or plot points.
For active-duty soldiers, stigmasabout therapy can be even greater,psychologists say. Concerns thatthey might be passed over for pro-motion or regarded as weak have
prevented some from seeking helpfrom mental health professionals.
“There is good evidence that ac-tive-duty personnel worry aboutthe stigma of post-traumatic stressdisorder,” said Richard J. McNally,the director of clinical training inthe psychology department of Har-vard University.
Some troubled veterans do notseek help even after their servicecareers are over, said Dr. McNally,who has worked in the field of trau-ma and memory, especially withwar veterans, since the mid-1980sbut is not involved with Mr. Doer-ries’s project.
“If seeing the Theater of War canreduce stigma and help veteransseek these treatments, then thatwill be wonderful indeed,” he
added.Because of the Fort Hood shoot-
ings the Pentagon canceled an in-terview about the project with Brig.Gen. Loree Sutton, an Army psychi-atrist and director of the DefenseCenters of Excellence for Psycho-logical Health and Traumatic BrainInjury, which awarded the contractto Theater of War.
But General Sutton was on handMonday night at St. Vincent’s,where she told the audience afterthe performance that Theater ofWar was an important vehicle for“sharing pain and the promise oflearning and growing and healing.”
“We knew that never in the his-tory of our republic have we placedso much on the shoulders of so fewon behalf of so many,” she said.
The Anguish of War for Today’s Soldiers Explored through Sophocles’ Plays
David Strathairn, left, Gloria Reuben and Jeffrey Wright performedreadings from Sophocles's “Ajax” and “Philoctetes” for the indepen-dent production company Theater of War, sponsored by the DOD.
Continued from page 1
The family of “The Lemon Tree” includes (standing) playwright Maria Logis, second from left, ActressMaria Niora, Demetrios Bonaros, 5th from left, and kneeling, Leo Giannopoulos (right) and Zinia Anaplioti.
For more information please call (917) 596-1651
www.thenationalherald.com
By Evan C. LambrouSpecial to The National Herald
NEW YORK – Barely a month sincethe sculpture park in Des Moinesbearing their name held its grandopening, showcasing their $40 mil-lion donation in art, venture capi-talist John Pappajohn and his wifeMary committed another $26.4million towards constructing,equipping and staffing a new bio-medical research building at theUniversity of Iowa in Iowa City.
The gift is the third largest sin-gle commitment to the Universityof Iowa Foundation, and the largestever from individual Iowa donors,according to University PresidentSally Mason, bringing the total thePappajohns have given to theschool to $38.6 million.
“The biomedical industry is myarea of expertise” as a venture capi-
tal investor, said Mr. Pappajohn,who has given millions to Iowa uni-versities for entrepreneurial cen-ters, as well as millions to advancemedical research.
The latest gift will help developnew biomedical technologieswhich will “put Iowa on the map,”he said.
The gift will allow constructionto begin this year on a six-story,200,000 square-foot building adja-cent to the Carver Biomedical Re-search Center, according to Univer-sity officials.
When completed in 2013, theJohn & Mary Pappajohn Biomed-ical Discovery Building and theCarver building will create a newresearch quadrangle northeast ofthe University’s main hospital.
The Iowa Board of Regents alsoagreed to rename the University ofIowa Institute for Biomedical Dis-
covery as the Pappajohn Institute,which will be housed in the newPappajohn building, and wheremost of the medical research at theUniversity of Iowa will be conduct-ed.
“Part of the Pappajohns’ giftgoes towards the building, and partgoes to the Institute, which will al-low us to go out and recruit top-notch people,” said Institute Direc-tor Dr. Michael Welch.
The Institute’s primary focuswill be on neurosciences, diabetes,cardiovascular diseases, imagingand regenerative medicine. Mr.Pappajohn also said he will help theInstitute obtain technologies thathis venture capital has helped de-velop, including breakthrough can-cer detection and new moleculardiagnostic discoveries.
Mr. Pappajohn told the NationalHerald he entered into discussions
with University officials about theproject over a year ago, and saidthe cross-disciplinary approach ofthe Institute appealed to him.
The new building was designedby world-renowned American ar-chitect Charles Gwathmey, who de-signed the 1992 renovation ofFrank Lloyd Wright’s GuggenheimMuseum in New York City.
The University engaged the lateMr. Gwathmey, who died this pastAugust, at Mr. Pappajohn’s urging.
Lynette L. Marshall, CEO of theUniversity of Iowa Foundation, wasclearly ecstatic about the Pappa-johns’ gift:
“The Pappajohns are amongthose rare individuals who usetheir philanthropy to improve qual-ity of life in the broadest sense. Weremain deeply grateful to them fortheir generous consideration,” shesaid.
John and Mary Pappajohn Endow Research Building
By Theodore KalmoukosSpecial to The National Herald
BOSTON- The Greek Americans ofBoston paid tribute to former Sena-tor Paul Sarbanes of Maryland for50 years of exceptional public ser-vice. The event, which took place atthe Newton Marriot Hotel and wasorganized by a committee of promi-nent area Greek Americans, alsoserved as a fundraising effort insupport of Congressman John Sar-banes re-election campaign.
In an interview with The Nation-al Herald Congressman John Sar-banes of Maryland explained that,“We are going to a few Greek com-munities; we went to New York andtoday here in Boston because thereis strong Greek community here.These are people who have sup-ported me and my father over theyears and we wanted to come andgreet them. The people who arehere tonight are coming to help mebut more importantly to pay tributeto my father for his long legacy ofservice”.
The Congressman also said that,“I want to emphasize tonight some-thing that I call “Hellenism in thePublic Service” which is the ideathat now that we have achieved in-dividual and community success, itis time to accept the challenge ofgiving to the larger community inthe public service and that does notonly mean to work in the publicsector, but it also means for busi-
nessmen to serve on the boards ofhospital, museums, etc.”
When Sarbanes was asked howthe Greek American community isdoing he said, “I think we are doingbetter and better all the time. Ithink we have reached a point ofmaturity in terms of success interms of education and accomplish-ments and it means we are verywell positioned to answer the Pres-ident’s call to service, which is toserve the larger good, but also todevelop the mindset to do this.”
Speaking about his bid for re-election next year he said, “I fell in-to a good position but you nevertake anything for granted; you al-ways have to stay focused.”
Continuing about the GreekAmerican Community, Congress-man Sarbanes said, “I think wehave to continue to emphasize theimportance of education; to pointto opportunity as the hallmark ofAmerican society and [I believe]that we are in a good position toseek the larger purpose of “service”and that comes from the values wehave in our community [which in-clude] the pursuit of excellence,and to fully realize that we have tothink about how to contribute tothe broader society.”
One year after the election ofBarack Obama, the Congressmansaid, “I think we have began to ar-ticulate a new set of values, one[that is welcomed by] the rest ofthe world; one that is based on co-
operation and collaboration andcoming into conversations with anopen mind and a readiness to worktogether. These are very importantvalues in the international commu-
nity and there is the sense thatAmerica now comes rededicated tothese values.”
Asked if the image of the U.S.has been restored abroad, he said,
“We are in the process of doingthat, but it is a long process; youcan’t do that overnight.”
Regarding the economy Con-gressman Sarbanes said, “We re-main in a very difficult economy; Ithink we’ve begun to see signs thatthings are improving but we haveto focus not only what happens onWall Street, but also what happensto employment across the countryand the jobs picture is very fragile,so we have to commit ourselves totrying to create more jobs.”
He is pleased with the Househealthcare bill, saying, “It is a verygood thing; it begins to build astructure, a foundation that we canimplement [using] all the good re-search that we have developed overthe last few years. I supported thebill, I will continue to support it;the status quo is not acceptable,most Americans recognize that. It isnot without controversy but thereis definitely a sense that we have tomove forward and get this in placeand offer better services.”
Speaking about the very essenceof the bill he said, “Number one,everyone in our society has accessto affordable quality health care;number two, the important pro-grams of Medicate and Medicaidare strengthened to be able to han-dle future demands, and numberthree, to build a health workforcethat can provide these services topeople, doctors, nurses, primarycare practitioners.”
FEATURE6 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
monastic state made up of dozensof monasteries and religious com-munities located on the most re-mote “finger” of Halkidiki. Thememoirs are full of exhilaratinghikes, profound talks with priests,monks and fellow pilgrims, spiritu-al epiphanies – but also frustrationand disappointment.
It doesn’t take long for Cairns–like countless men throughout thecenturies- to come under the spellof Mt. Athos. He writes of his firstAthos service in the Philotheoumain church: “The first thing I reg-istered was a lush beauty, goldensurfaces, flickering candles and oillamps, Byzantine icons reachinghigh along each wall and up intothe overarching dome.” He also re-peatedly marvels, when visiting theSimonopetra Monastery, at thewarmth of the relic of St. MaryMagdalene’s hand on his lips.
Cairns details the pattern of dai-ly life and worship in the manyplaces where he finds refuge. Herecords the times monks awaken(early), their food (from orzo tofish) and drink (often wine withbreakfast). But this isn’t just anoth-er Athos travelogue. Cairns, whowas raised a Baptist, yet embracedOrthodoxy, who is an American,but speaks Greek, serves as aunique insider/outsider. He noticesthat of the drivers on Mt. Athos aregreedy. The American notices onmonk take on a holier-than-thourudeness at the dinner table. Somemonasteries make non-Greek visi-tors feel second-rate. “Pilgrims, inshort, can be jerks,” he writes afterone bad experience.
His descriptions offer detailedexplanations for non-Orthodoxreaders. But the book’s details alsogive women a thorough look insidea place they can never visit.
In an email communication,Cairns explains that he wanted tospare others from arriving with “anidealized notion”. He, for one, sayswas deeply disappointed “at find-ing that pilgrims and monks on theHoly Mountain hadn’t already be-
come angels simply by setting footon the mountain’s blessed soil.”
The main thrust of the story - asCairns becomes increasingly savvyabout all things Athos - is whetheror not he’ll ever find a spiritual fa-ther. In meeting after meeting with
potential spiritual guides, he’s dis-appointed. When Cairns realizes,for instance, that one wise monkwas not yet a priest, he writes in hisbook. “…I slugged down the rest ofmy tea, received his warm embraceand scuttled up the slope to theguest house, where I said myprayers and fell into bed. I keptthinking, I’m just not ready, notworthy. I’m kidding myself.” Later,a visit to Saint Anthony’sMonastery in Arizona also yieldsless than hoped.
Things look up when Cairnsjourneys with his teen son, Ben, toMt. Athos, near the end of the book.“I was convinced once and for allthat the heart of the matter was ourfinding our way together,” Cairnswrites in the book.
When the author first took hisresearch leave from the Universityof Missouri to travel to Athos, heonly intended to write a series ofpoems. “I wasn’t even sure they’dbe publishable poems,” he adds.The book idea came about after hissecond pilgrimage when he re-
ceived an email from an editor atHarperCollins who had the mistak-en notion that he was writing anovel.
Things moved fast after that. ByDecember 2006, he had a finaldraft of “Short Trip to the Edge”. AGuggenheim fellowship helpedCairns make the last few trips andcheck some details. Cairns admits itmay have been too fast. “If I’d had abit more time, I might have done abetter job.” He says: “My one regretis having revealed the names of fa-thers and friends I met along theway.”
With the book, a personal questbecome more general. Cairns ex-plains in his email: “My simple pur-pose, initially, was to find a way tobring that stillness and watchful-ness into my own diffused and dis-tracted life.” Then, he consideredhow the book could “encourageothers to taste of the sweetness [ofprayer] themselves.Most recently Cairns wrote anothernonfiction religion book, “The Endof Suffering” (which is on the Pub-
lishers’ Weekly list of the BestBooks of 2009). There will be apodcast of his work soon too on An-cient Faith radio.
One of the points the Baptist-raised Cairns (who first found Or-thodoxy in Wichita) underlines, isthat the Orthodox church shouldnot shut out faithful by focusing onethnic lines. He adds: “I’ve visitedmore than a few parishes - of everyjurisdiction, by the way - where ourOrthodox brothers and sisters pre-fer to keep things ethnic, exclusive,and largely uninviting.” He points,by contrast, to his Columbia, Mis-souri parish of St. Luke the Evange-list as “the sort of place most of ourparishes are destined to become -an American Orthodox church, amelting-pot of cultures and ethnici-ties, well poised to receive thosewho are being drawn to Ortho-doxy.” He adds: “Our coffee-hour isthe best in the world.”
You can contact Angelike.Contisat [email protected].
‘Short Trip to the Edge’: One Man’s Spiritual Search on Mt. Athos
“Many celebrities includingBrad Pitt speak out for the preser-vation of architectural landmarksaround the world,” Gage noted,“But what Greek American celebri-ties have uttered a word against thegreatest cultural rape of a people inhistory - the abduction of half of theParthenon marbles from the Acrop-olis by Lord Elgin?” Gage remindedthat they are still held hostage atthe British Museum, “despite therecent completion of a magnificentNew Acropolis Museum in Athens.”
It was pointed out by the famouswriter that “Many Jewish celebri-ties from Kirk Douglas to AdamSandler shout protests at any af-front to Israel, and even the Pales-tinians have Vanessa Redgrave. Butwhich Greek American celebritieshave ever spoken out against theoccupation of almost half of Cyprusby Turkish troops for the past 35years?”
Gage acknowledged that theblame does not lie only with thecelebrities, “who are not familiarwith these issues,” saying, “Thoseof us who are need to do more to in-form and engage them.” He noted
that, “We Greek Americans honorthe achievements of our celebrities.But as our parents and grandpar-
ents faced hardship and pain tosmooth the way for us to enjoy thefruits of America, I would like to
challenge Greek American celebri-ties…to pay back their ancestorsand honor their heritage by usingthe power of their fame to advancethe just causes of the communitythat nurtured them.” His remarksdrew thunderous applause and astanding ovation.
Former honorees who were pre-senters included artist Rip Kastaris;actor John Aniston; Tony Tho-mopoulos, former President of ABCBroadcast; CEO MTM Entertain-ment; Founder of Morning LightProductions; composer/musicianChris Spheeris; Sid Ganis, formerPresident of the Academy of Mo-tion Pictures Arts and Sciences,Founder of Out of the Blue Enter-tainment; and Helene Alexopoulos,former Prima Ballerina with NewYork City Ballet.
The Hellenic Charity Ball beganin 1997 and is presented bienniallyby the Elios Society. Proceeds fromthis year’s Hellenic Charity Ball willprovide financial support for thepresentation in 2010 of “The Eye ofthe Painter: Ancient Greek Pottery”at the Legion of Honor, Fine ArtsMuseum of San Francisco. The Hel-lenic Charity Ball has enabled theElios Society and its Elios Founda-tion to donate more than $550,000to a variety of not-for-profit organi-zations.
The Elios Society was foundedin 1994, and is comprised of 75 dis-tinguished Greek Americans from
the San Francisco Bay Area. Themission of the organization is topreserve and promote the spirit,values and ideals of Hellenic cul-ture and heritage for the benefit of
society in general, Greek Americanyouth, and the Greek Americancommunity of Northern California,through a process of mutual en-lightenment and fellowship.
S.F. Gala Honors Greek American Celebrities; Writer Nick Gage Issues Challenge
Storm SeasonI can’t make sense
of these offshore winds.
One lumbering comber crests this way,
the next one crests the other,
and in between we’re bandied about,
barely afloatin our steep-hulled ship.
A brakish bilge water floods the hold,
day by day a slack in the cabled
wooldings grows, and like rent silk
the threadbare, tear-pocked mainsail
leeches a guttering sunlight through.
Alcaeus(Translated by Sherod Santos)
GREEK POETRY
Greek American actress Maria Menounos, born in Medford, Mass. was theMistress of Ceremonies at the Elios Society’s 7th Hellenic Charity Ball.
Honorees seen left to right: writer Nicholas Gage, Marilu Henner,Michael Chiklis at San Francisco’s historic Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill.
Continued from page 1
Continued from page 1
Eremite
—Katounakia, 2007
The cave itself is pleasantly austere,with little clutter—nothing
save a narrow slab, a threadbare woolenwrap,
and in the chipped out re-cess here three sooty icons lit by oil lamp.
Just beyond the dim cave’saperture,a blackened kettle rests among thecoals,
whereby, each afternoon, agrip of wild greens is boiled to a tendermess.
The eremite lies prostrateneartwo books—a gospel and the Syri-an’s
collected prose—whosepages turnassisted by a breeze. Besides thethread
of wood smoke rising fromthe coals,no other motion takes the eye. Theold
man’s face is pressed intothe earth,his body stretched as if to reachahead.
The pot boils dry. He feedson whatwe do not see, and may be satisfied.
Boston Honors Retired Senator Paul Sarbanes, Supports Son John
Author Scott Cairns’ photo of Moni Grigoriou on Mt. Athos. Author Scott Cairns’ photo of Simonopetra monastery on Mt. Athos.
Poet/author Scott Cairns in Thes-saloniki.
Seen l. to r. George Sakellaris, Congressman John Sarbanes, GeorgeChrysis, and former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.
See page 11 for additional ex-cerpts from Nick Gage'sspeech.
TNH Blog...wwwwww..tthheennaattiioonnaallhheerraalldd..ccoomm
ATHENS - A unique christeningtook place in Athens, Greece a fewweeks ago when Stylianos Zavvos,a prominent member of the GreekAmerican community, and SophiaDoxiadis, heir of the historic family,baptized their daughter, Christian-na Isabella at the church of AgiosDionisios Areopagitis.
The proud godfathers werenone other than Petros Pappas, shipowner and classmate of Mr. Zavvosat Athens College and GeorgeSoros, the financier, philanthropistand Wall Street “prophet” who flewto Athens especially for this event.Mr. Soros, a close personal friend ofMr. Zavvos, was also his best manat his wedding. At the conclusion ofthe ceremony, a personal letterfrom Ecumenical PatriarchBartholomew blessing ChristiannaIsabella and her parents was read.
Leading business, political andsocial figures from Greece andabroad gathered to convey theirbest wishes to the proud parentsduring the ceremony and the cock-tail reception held at the MegaronSarogleion.
Following the reception, a pri-vate sit-down dinner consisting ofMinisters of Economy from the re-gion and the elite of industry andshipping was held at Mr. Zavvos’residence. The discussion ad-dressed major economic and politi-cal issues for the Southeastern Eu-ropean region.
The next day, a closed lunch fo-rum with fifty participants was heldin the Athens Club, hosted by Mr.Zavvos in honor of Mr. Soros. Theparticipants consisted primarily ofambassadors, ministers and politi-cians from the new and old govern-ments of Greece, top Greek indus-trialists, ship owners and journal-ists.
Major geopolitical issues con-cerning the future of the UnitedStates, China, the global financialmarkets, and the position of thedollar as an international reservecurrency were addressed.
In these events, the participantsincluded, among the Ambassadors,U.S. Ambassador to Greece DanielSpeckhard and his family, and UKAmbassador to Greece Dr. DavidLandsman.
Among politicians, Minister ofFinance George Papakonstantinou,Minister of Economy, Competitive-ness and Shipping Louka Katseli,Deputy Minister of Education Mr.Ioannis Panaretos, Speaker of theParliament Petros Efthymiou, for-mer Ministers including Mr. Gerasi-mos Arsenis, Christos Folias, PanosPanagiotopoulos, Yannos Papanto-niou, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, werepresent, as well as members of par-liament such as Kyriakos Mitso-takis.
Among the ship owners, GeorgeEmpirikos, Mr. Nicolas and Ando-nis Lemos, George Prokopiou,
Panagiotis and Nicolas Tsakos,George Vardinogiannis attended,along the industrialists, DimitrisDaskalopoulos, the Chairman ofthe Greek Industrialist Federation,Efthimios Vidalis, Takis Kanel-lopoulos, Anastasis Leventis, Panos
Marinopoulos, George Peristerisand Eftyhis Vassilakis.
Other eminent Southeastern Eu-ropean politicians included Edi Ra-ma, Mayor of Tirana and head ofthe Albanian Socialist Party, DanielDaianu, Former Minister of Finance
of Romania, and Rami Makhzoumi,a leading political and business fig-ure of Lebanon.
All these meetings that followedthe christening were intended forMr. Soros to better apprehend thecurrent economic and political situ-
ation in the Balkans and to explorepotential investment opportunitiesin Southeastern Europe and partic-ularly in Greece.
The National Herald adds itsheartfelt best wishes to ChristiannaIsabella and her parents.
FEATURETHE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009 7
GREEK GASTRONOMY
By Georgia KofinasSpecial to The National Herald
ATHENS - Long before sweets de-veloped into the fancy desserts weknow today, the ancient Greeks of-fered natural sweet foods such ashoney and fruit with the meal assupplements to satisfy hunger. Ac-cording to Plato, the purpose ofserving something sweet at the endof the meal was to provide a calmfinale to balance out the “excite-ment” of the taste buds from savorydishes. The well-established Greeksymposium was not complete with-out something sweet to accompanythat last bit of wine. Ceremony andcelebration served as a cause formaking most of the sweetsthroughout Greece’s cultural histo-ry. From the sacrificial flatbreads toappease the gods and the paganceremonial breads rose the celebra-tory breads of the Byzantine andChristian traditions. Even after sug-ar was introduced to Greece byArab traders in the 13th century,these sweet breads were enhancedwith such ingredients as walnuts,almonds, sesame seeds, dried fruit,grape molasses, olive oil and winewhich still serve as the basis of mosttraditional Greek sweets.
Today the use of these naturalingredients has found favor withmodern trends in “back to nature”health foods. They offer a healthyalternative to the plethora of prod-ucts of advanced food technologywhich promise to satisfy our “sweettooth” while retaining a “healthybody”. Based on artificial sweeten-ers or sugar substitutes, these prod-ucts may actually cause weight-gain due to the synthetic com-pounds which increase the body’scravings for sweets. Moreover, theymay claim to have a lower caloriecontent, but offer very little nutri-tional value. On the other hand, abrief look at some of the age-old ba-sic ingredients of Greece’s staple di-et will reveal how sweets madewith these ingredients can actuallybe beneficial to our health.
Honey, a natural sweetener,known to the Greeks as far back as2500 BC, is an antioxidant that candestroy biologically destructivechemical agents linked to many dis-eases such as cancer. It also con-tains many vitamins and mineralsand is a good source of energy. Onehundred grams (seven table-spoons) of honey contains eighty-two grams of carbohydrate (27% ofthe daily requirement), no fat and avariety of vitamins and minerals. Inaddition honey helps the body ab-sorb both calcium and magnesium.
Nuts (almonds, walnuts,macadamias), both a staple food
and a delicacy of ancient Greece,provide energy and are a goodsource of unsaturated fatty acids,vitamins and many minerals andfiber. They are also antioxidantsand contain no cholesterol. Sesameseeds, a rich source of protein, cal-cium and anti-aging elements,were mentioned as far back as thetime of Philoxenus, Aristophanesand Athenaeus as an ingredient inflat cakes and sweet breads.
At the ancient symposiums,dried fruit, falling under the samecategory as nuts, in Greek called“xiroi karpoi”, were served at the“second tables” to be nibbled alongwith wine. Dried apricots, especial-ly, are a powerhouse of nutrientsalong with dried figs and pruneswhich are rich sources of vitamins,minerals and fiber.
One of the most significant nat-ural ingredients used in Greekcookery since classical times andfinding a respectable place insweets is extra-virgin olive oil. As amonounsaturated fat, it helps re-duce the level of bad cholesterolwhile maintaining the good choles-terol. Olive oil’s antioxidant prop-erties help fight many diseaseswhile its high content of oleic acidprotects the arteries from fatty acidbuild-up. Even frying with olive oilis healthier than frying with veg-etable oils due to its high smokepoint (350Γ F) and ability to retainits flavor and nutritional value.
While researching for tradition-al sweets for my Lenten cookbook, Icame across many old recipes con-taining a combination of nuts, fruitand honey much like those foundon the shelves of health food shopstoday. Pasteli, mentioned by Homerin the Iliad, is a thin bar made ofhoney and sesame seeds packedwith calcium, phosphorus, iron,magnesium and vitamin E. In thetime of Herodotus it was even con-sidered to be an aphrodisiac! Alongthis same line is a thick chewyround sweetmeat called “sykomai-da”, originating from the island ofCorfu, made with a paste of driedfigs soaked in ouzo, often with anaddition of other dried fruit as well,nuts and various spices. The natur-al sugar of the dried fruit is the onlysweetener used in this energizingsnack that also provides naturalfibers.
Ground nuts and nut pastes arealso the base of many sweetmeatsprevalent in the Greek islands.Kythira is noted for its chewy“rozedes”, a mixture of ground nutsand sesame seeds, mixed with hon-ey and “tsipouro”(a local distilledspirit), then shaped into tiny ballsor small cylinders. “Amygdalota”, akind of rough-textured marzipan of
ground almonds scented with rosewater is another nut-based delicacyfound on the Cyclades Islands, theAegean Islands, or seacoast villagesof the Peloponnese. Dusted withpowdered sugar and shaped intotears or little “bells”, they are oftenserved at baptisms, name day cele-brations or even weddings.
Nuts also find their way into thetraditional Greek spoon sweets. Be-sides being added to various pre-served fruit sweets, they are pre-served on their own, whole. Thepistachio spoon sweet, a specialtyof the island of Aegina, calls foryoung immature nuts still incasedin their green shells.
Making walnuts into a spoonsweet entails a more complexprocess of thinly peeling the skinand soaking the immature nuts inwater for weeks to remove the bit-terness before being preserved insyrup. The Cretans prepare a spoonsweet from immature almonds aswell.
Another most unusual use ofnuts is found in a traditional al-mond milk drink called “soumada”,often served at baptism and wed-ding receptions. This is made byblanching and pulverizing almondsand then mixing the “milk” withsyrup. Although the island of Chiosis most noted for its soumada, theislands of Crete, Lesvos and Lefka-da also enjoy this nutrient packeddrink.
Besides honey, many of Greece’solder recipes are made with a nat-ural sweetener called “petimezi”,
or grape molasses, made by merelyboiling down fresh grape must, ob-tained from crushed grapes, to asyrupy consistency. It is easilystored in air-tight jars to be used allyear round in breads, cakes, pud-dings and cookies. One example isCrete’s wholesome grape molassescake, “petimezopita”, made with asimple batter of grape molasses,olive oil, orange juice and spicesand sprinkled with sesame seedsbefore baking.
Before becoming “petimezi”,grape must is used in such sweetsas “moustalevria”, or grape mustpudding, made by thickening thegrape must with flour or semolinaand sprinkling it with nuts and cin-namon. “Moustokouloura”, orgrape must cookies, served withGreek coffee or Greek herbal teasare popular during the grape har-vest and the winter Lenten periods.When mixed with tahini (pulver-ized sesame seed paste), petimezimakes a great spread served forbreakfast with good wholesomewhole wheat bread.
Walnut halves threaded onto astring, dipped and coated in thick“moustalevria” and hung out to drybecome the popular “soutzoukia”, along chewy bar that looks like aspicy sausage of the same name.Cut into thick slices, they can beplaced with other dried fruit andnuts to make a wholesome platterof healthy snacks.
Another basic ingredient foundin many traditional sweets is tahini.Made of pulverized sesame seeds, it
serves as the base of Greece’s popu-lar halvah, a sweetmeat made oftahini mixed with honey (or whitefondant) and kneaded into a tackybar which is allowed to set beforebeing cut and served, or wrapped.Varieties include an addition ofchocolate, pistachios or other nuts,or dried fruit. Mostly served with asqueeze of lemon juice or drizzledwith a Greek spoon sweet, halvahbecomes a staple food on theLenten table adding a boost of en-ergy, protein and calcium duringfasting periods.
Tahini is also a main ingredientin many traditional Lenten sweets.Crisp tahini cookies often flavoredwith mastic are rolled in sesameseeds before baking, while moisttahini cakes with nuts, dried fruitand honey are standards for serv-ing during fasting periods. “Tahino-pita” is yet another nutritious treatmade with a yeast dough, tahini,sesame seeds and spices, pulledand swirled into a flat round “pita”.Its origin lies in the ancient Greekcommunities of Asia Minor, but ithas made its way onto the shelvesof many bakeries and health foodstores in Greece, especially duringLenten periods.
With the simplest of natural in-gredients and a little imaginationwe can all develop a rich repertoireof sweet delights sure to please thepalate while avoiding the refinedsugar-laden desserts which do littlemore than add empty calories toour diet. To get started, I recom-mend trying out one or both of thefollowing recipes for two of my fa-vorites for this season. You will nev-er miss the eggs and butter.
Lenten Walnut Cake
Ingredients for 16-20 pieces
4 cups all-purpose flour2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon soda 1 cup light olive oil1 cup dark unrefined sugar2 cups water1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped wal-nuts1/2 cup black raisins1/2 cup while raisins1/2 cup brandy (or Greek Metaxa)2 teaspoons cinnamon1 teaspoon ground clove1 tablespoon finely grated lemonzest 1/2 cup slightly heated honey 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts mixedwith 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon fortopping
Method:1. Beat sugar with oil on high
speed until combined and slowlyadd water. Dissolve soda in cognac
and add to mixture.2. Mix flour with baking pow-
der, cinnamon, clove and lemonzest and add to mixture.
3. Combine raisins and dustwith 1 teaspoon flour. Lower mixerspeed, add raisins and nuts and mixjust until incorporated.
4. Pour into oiled and flouredrectangular pan and bake in pre-heated oven at 250o for about 55-60 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and whenslightly cooled, brush top withwarm honey and sprinkle with nutsand cinnamon.
Note: Try adding some choppednatural-dried fruit to the batter aswell.
Grape Must Cookies
Ingredients for 30-40 cookies
3/4 cup olive oil2/3 cup unrefined sugar1 cup grape must (see note below)1/2 cup water2 tablespoons lemon juice1 teaspoon soda2 teaspoons baking powder3 tablespoons brandy or GreekMetaxa1 teaspoon cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground clove1 1/2 lb. all purpose flour (approxi-mately)
Method:1. Beat oil and sugar until light
and add grape must. Dissolve sodain water and add to mixture alongwith lemon juice, brandy andspices.
2. Mix baking powder with 2cups flour and add to mixture tomake a loose batter.
3. Remove mixture from mixerand stir in enough flour by hand tomake a soft cookie dough.
4. Pinch off pieces the size of awalnut and shape into a thick cord.Join ends to make a circle.
5. Arrange on a cookie sheetlined with baking paper and bakein preheated oven at 250? for about30 minutes. These cookies areslightly soft and chewy.
Note: If fresh grape must cannotbe obtained, then dilute 2/3 cupgrape molasses with 1/3 cup water.Or, crush enough grapes over astrainer to produce 1 ? cups grapejuice and simmer in a small pot un-til liquid is reduced to 1 cup.
Georgia Kofinas is a food writer,cookbook author and chef in-structor at Alpine College, a hotelmanagement and tourism schoolin Athens, Greece. Her culinaryjourneys have taken her to manyregions of the Eastern Mediter-ranean and Asia Minor.
Natural Ingredients in Traditional Greek Sweets Provide Healthy Alternatives
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Business and Governmental Elites Attend Zavvos Baptism, Discuss Economy
From left to right:Petros Pappas, newly-christened Christianna Isabel-la Zavvos, George Soros, Stylianos Zavvos, Sophia Doxiadis-Zavvos
From left: Sophia Doxiadis-Zavvos, Stylianos Zavvos, His ExcellencyUS Ambassador Daniel Speckhard, Dr. Ann Speckhard, Ms. Speckhard
From left to right: Former Minister of Economy Gerasimos Arsenis,George Soros, Minister of Economy Louka Katseli, Stylianos Zavvos.
OBITUARIES CLASSIFIEDS8 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
By Richard Chin Pioneer Press
Thanks to Spero Daltas, an octag-onal "Emerald City" rose in thedeserts of Saudi Arabia, a Persianprincess got her palace and universitybuildings, libraries, banks and em-bassies were built around the world.
Daltas grew up in St. Paul in aGreek immigrant family that ranrestaurants in the Twin Cities. But heroamed the world as a pioneering in-ternational architect with offices inBoston and Rome and projects insuch far-flung locations as Iran, Bur-ma, Uganda, Turkey, Somalia andMexico.
Throughout the years, Daltasmaintained a Summit Avenue homein St. Paul. He died Sunday in St. Paulafter suffering from pneumonia andrenal failure. He was 89.
Daltas was the creative partner inBrown Daltas Associates. TheBoston-based architecture firm wascreated by Daltas and BenjaminBrown, two young American archi-tects who were working in Iran for anEnglish firm when they were hired todo a side project: a home for Princess
Fatemeh, the younger sister of theShah of Iran.
A 1962 Time magazine article de-scribed the resulting "jewel-like resi-dence," built with canopies of locallymade glazed brick and water flowingthrough the house in blue and goldglazed tiled channels. It caught theattention of Saudi Arabian officialsand the newly formed Brown Daltasfirm started designing buildings inthat country, leading to the grandestproject of them all, designing an en-tire city from scratch.
King Khalid Military City was an$8 billion project built in the 1970sand '80s by the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers to defend the Saudi north-eastern border. The resulting octago-nal city could house about 65,000people, including several brigades ofAmerican and Saudi troops, withschools, airfields, hospitals and a pio-neering underground utility system.
The project reportedly was thelargest single military constructionproject in U.S. Army Corps historyand employed the world's largestprecast concrete plant. Dubbed the"Emerald City" by U.S. soldiers, itserved as a base for U.S. forces during
the Gulf War.It also changed the lives of a hand-
ful of young Minnesota architects.When his company was hired for theproject, Daltas recruited recent grad-uates from his alma mater, the Uni-versity of Minnesota, to help on themassive design job. By then, the ar-chitecture firm had moved its officesfrom Tehran, Iran, to Italy.
"For a bunch of guys in Minnesota,living in Rome, it was a great thing,"said C. Ron Ostberg, one of the Ugraduates Daltas hired. "He reallytransformed our lives by giving usthis opportunity." Ostberg said thescale of the project, including a $60million design fee, was "completelyoff the charts."
"This was pretty much like puttingtogether a city like Rochesterovernight," said Dale Mulfinger, aTwin Cities architect also hired byDaltas.
Daltas didn't just supervise thework. "He was the designer," Ostbergsaid. "He controlled the design of theproject down to the hardware. "Ihave never in my life met or wouldexpect to meet a person with thattenacity. He was a bulldog in that
way," Ostberg said. Ostberg andMulfinger said Daltas' buildings man-aged to blend modern construction,materials and international influ-ences with local design and culture.
For example, in the King Khalidproject, Daltas insisted on specializedlarge acoustic ceiling panels withraised Islamic patterns, said WilliamShannon, president of an architectur-al consulting company who workedon the project. "He was very used topeople saying, 'We've never done itthat way before,' " Shannon said. "Hewas very stubborn that that was theway it was going to be done."
"He always tried to get to knowthe people, the culture, what was go-ing on there," nephew Arthur Daltassaid of his uncle's international work.
Shannon said Daltas would bemore famous in the United States ifso much of his work hadn't beenoverseas. "He was working in placesother people hardly ever heard of,"Shannon said.
Daltas was one of six children ofAthanasia and Paul Daltas, Greek im-migrants who met and married inWisconsin before moving to St. Paul,where they ran a series of restau-
rants. Daltas went to Central HighSchool and joined the Navy duringWorld War II. He served as a gunneryand torpedo officer on the USSNicholson, a destroyer that fought inthe Battle of Leyte Gulf.
After the war, he graduated fromthe University of Minnesota, wherethe left-hander captained the golfteam. He was also the 1954 Minneso-ta State Amateur golf champion.
Daltas won a scholarship to at-tend MIT for graduate work andwent to Rome on a Fulbright Fellow-ship and a Prix de Romefellowship."Spero had a tremendouspassion for Rome. Rome is an intoxi-cating place for an architect," Ostbergsaid. After Rome, Daltas apprenticedwith Eero Saarinen, the notedFinnish-American architect, workingon the new U.S. Embassy in London.
Ostberg and Mulfinger said theirformer boss was both a graciousfriend and a hardworking taskmasterwho was uncompromising about hisprofession. "One time, many of uswere saying, 'Spero, it really isn't go-ing to make a difference if it wasdone one way or another.' He refusedto believe that," Ostberg said. "He be-
lieved it made a difference. What youdesigned was always going to make adifference."
Daltas never married. Survivinghim are three sisters, Katherine, Hil-da and Evelyn Daltas; three nephewsand two nieces. Visitation will befrom 4 to 8 p.m. today at Willwer-scheid Funeral Home, 1167 GrandAve. in St. Paul. Funeral services willbe at 11 a.m. Friday at St. GeorgeGreek Orthodox Church, 1111 Sum-mit Ave. in St. Paul.
St. Paul Architect Spero Daltas, 89, Built Globally and Mentored Locally
■ BOURAS, SOCRATESLOWELL, Mass. – The Lowell Sunreported that Socrates G. Bouras,84, passed away unexpectedly onNovember 5. He was the belovedhusband of Polyexene(Tsechrintzis) Bouras with whomhe celebrated 50 years of marriageon July 19. He was born in Kalama-ta, Greece on September 4, 1925,and was a son of the late Georgiosand Alexandra (Papadopoulos)Bouras. Socrates served six years inthe Greek Army prior to immigrat-ing to the United States in 1956.He was an excellent scuba diver,who collected killer clams, corals,and rare shells. Socrates was bap-tized in the River Jordan. He wasemployed by GTE as an AssociateElectronics Technician. Socrateswill be remembered for his willing-ness to lend a hand and offer hishelp to many. He is survived by hischildren, Alexandra (Christos)Roussakos and George S. (Sharon)Bouras; his grandchildren, Helene(Craig) Modeski, Peter C. and An-drew G. Bouras, Diamond andDemetrios Roussakos; and twogreat-grandchildren, Rachel P. andNicholas C. Modeski. He was pre-deceased by his daughter, MargoElaine Roussakos; his son-in-law,Elias Roussakos; and his brother-in-law, Spyros G. Tsechrintzis. Fu-neral services were held at theTransfiguration Church. In lieu offlowers, donations in his memorymay be made to the Hellenic Amer-ican Academy, 41 Broadway Street,Lowell, MA 01854. For condo-lences, please visit www.mcken-naouellette.com
■ BOYACI, PETETULSA, Oklahoma – The TulsaWorld reported that Pete GeorgeBoyaci, 78, fell asleep in the Lordon November 5. He was born onMay 29, 1931 in Imbroz, Turkey,the son of George and Angeliki (Co-standinides) Boyaci. He married
Freda Kademis on September 28,1958 in Tulsa. Pete founded BoyaciAuto service in 1978 that continuestoday under his son, George. Hewas predeceased in death by his sis-ter, Maria Halvaci and his brotherStelios Boyaci. He is survived by hiswife of 51 years, Freda; sons,George (Amanda), Nick (Tian),Dimitri (Kellie) and Dean (Sandy);his grandchildren, Eleni Boyaci,Garrett Conner Boyaci, StelianosBoyaci, Pete C. Boyaci, Vasilia Boy-aci and Sophia Boyaci; and his sis-ter, Vasiliki Haztouthi. Trisagionprayers were held in Ninde Brook-side Chapel. The funeral was heldin Holy Trinity Church. Memorialsmay be made to Holy TrinityChurch, 1222 S. Guthrie, Tulsa, OK74119.
■ BAZIGOS, NICHOLASNEW YORK, N.Y. – The New YorkTimes reported that Nicholas M.Bazigos passed away on November7. He was a distinguished engineer.He was predeceased by his wife,Mary. He is survived by his sons,Michael, William and John; hisgranddaughters, Ariadne andAlexandra; and Krystyna Krukar, aloving family friend who cared forhim in illness. Viewing was held atMcLaughlin Funeral Home. Funer-al services were held at Holy CrossChurch.
■ CANOUTAS, NICKOLASCHARLOTTE, S.C. – The CharlotteObserver reported that NickolasConstantine Canoutas passed awayon November 10. He was born in1931, in the village of Voutiro inEvrytania, Greece. He immigratedwith his mother and sisters to theUnited States in 1947 because hisvillage was ravished during WorldWar II. They joined his father whoowned and managed a restaurantcalled Sanitary Lunch. He wasdrafted into and completed his ser-vice in the United States Army. Nick
married Hariklia Xristos Tiggeli in1967. Nick loved nothing morethan traveling to Greece with hiswife and children, gardening andquail hunting. He will always be re-membered for his hard work andgood humor. He was predeceasedby his sister, Kassiani Nicopoulos;and brothers-in-law, GeorgePsilopoulos, Bill Nicopoulos andEmilios Papanastasiou. He is sur-vived by his wife; his sisters, Vasili-ki Psilopoulos and Helen Papanas-tasiou; his children, Gus, Chris andEva; his grandchildren, Isabella Re-becca, Nikolas Constantine, SofiaAriadne, Alexi Elizabeth and RafaelNikolaos; and many nieces andnephews. Visitation was held atCecil M. Burton Funeral Home andfuneral services were held at theShelby Presbyterian Church withFather Michael Varvarelis officiat-ing. Online guest registry: www.ce-cilmburtonfuneralhome.com
■ CASSIMATIS, EMANUELYORK, Penn. - The HonorableEmanuel A. "Mike" Cassimatis ofYork, 82, died of a heart attack onWednesday, November 4 while va-cationing in Europe. Born Decem-ber 2, 1926, in Pottsville, he wasthe son of the late Andrew andMary Cassimatis. He graduatedfrom William Penn High School,Dickinson College, and The Dickin-son School of Law and was a veter-an of the United States Army. Hewas an active member of the An-nunciation Greek Orthodox Churchof York, American Legion York PostNo. 127 and was a 33rd degree Ma-son. From 1951 to 1978 he was anattorney in private practice in York.He was elected to the William PennSenior High School Hall of Fameand was awarded an honorary Doc-tor of Laws Degree from York Col-lege of Pennsylvania. He served asJudge of the Court of CommonPleas of the 19th District of Penn-sylvania (York County) from 1978
to 1996 and as a Senior Judge from1996 to 2006. He was a memberand president of the PennsylvaniaConference of State Trial Judgesand president of the Juvenile CourtSection. He was passionate inworking for children and youth. Hewas founder and co-chairman ofthe York County Youth Commissionand a member of the InternationalTribunal for Children's Rights. In1952 he married the former TheclaKarambelas. They were married 50years at the time of her death in2002. A son, Andrew Cassimatis,also preceded him in death in1963. In 2005 he married the for-mer Janet Bergdoll Gemmer. He issurvived by his wife, Janet Cassi-matis; a daughter, Mary Ann Maza,wife of N. John Maza of York; twosons, John Cassimatis, husband ofDorothy Cassimatis of Hillsbor-ough, N.J., and Gregory Cassima-tis, husband of Renee Cassimatis ofEtters and seven granddaughters.The funeral service was heldChurch of the Annunciation. Giftsto benefit the youth of York Countycan be made to the "York CountyCommunity Foundation" at 14 W.Market St., York, PA 17403, in thename of Emanuel A. Cassimatis.The Etzweiler Funeral Home, 1111E. Market St., York, is in charge ofarrangements. www.etzweiler.com
■ PANAGIOTOU, ZOITSAWORCESTER – The Telgram &Gazette reported that Zoitsa(Economou) Panagiotou, 97,passed away on September 4. Shewas born in Douviani, ArgyrokastroNorthern Epirus, Albania. She waspredeceased by her husband Vassil,a daughter, Alexandra and a broth-er Vlasios Economou. As her nameimplies, Zoitsa "Zoe" loved life, herfamily and friends. For many yearsshe and her husband lived in WestDennis, where they had an abun-dance of friends and wonderfultimes. Zoitsa loved flowers and gar-dening, was a great cook, enjoyedreading novels in Greek and was ameticulous homemaker. She was agreat hostess and loved to enter-tain. Her greatest joy in life was thereunion with her elder son Dhimoand his family when circumstancesallowed them to emigrate to Amer-ica from Albania. The separation al-ways cast a palor over her life andwas only removed when they ar-rived in Worcester. The Ladies'Epirotic Society-Horos Tou Zalon-gou honored her in 2006. She wasa member of the CathEdral of St.Spyridon and the St. GeorgeChurch in Centerville, Mass. Aslong as she was able, she volun-teered her time to the Grecian Fes-tivals held in Worcester and CapeCod. She leaves two sons, Dhimoand his wife Sophia, and Matthewwith whom she lived; two grand-children, Vaso and his wife Genta,and Rita and her husband Gokulan;three great-grandchildren, Christi-na, Alexa-Julia and Theodore. Shealso leaves nephews, Alkiviadesand his wife Maria and their daugh-ter Effie, Paul and Eleni Economou,a niece, Leonora and her husbandMisto Dhima and their childrenPinellope and Andrea of Albania. Inaddition she leaves many niecesand nephews and their families.Great gratitude goes to her caretak-er Elly Nasti who cared for her withlove and tenderness. The funeralwas held in the Cathedral of St.Spyridon. In lieu of flowers pleasemake donations to the Cathedral ofSt. Spyridon, Building Fund, 102Russell Street, Worcester, MA01603 or Holy Trinity Nursing andRehabilitation Center, 300 BarberAvenue, Worcester, MA 01606.
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TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - MichaelGeorge Cantonis, entrepreneur andphilanthopist passed away peace-fully on November 17 at the age of94 at Morton Plant Hospital inClearwater, Florida.
He was born on the Island of Sy-mi, Greece on May 25, 1915 toGeorge Michael and Chrysanthi Gi-allourakis Cantonis and At the ageof 17, Michael left Greece for theUnited States, arriving through El-lis Island in 1934. He first workedfor his uncles at the GiallourakisBrother’s Sponge Company inFlorida before moving to New Yorkin 1938. Soon after moving to NewYork, Michael borrowed $1,000and founded ACME Sponge &Chamois Company, Inc.
In 1947 He married the love ofhis life, Anastasia Harras. Michaeland his wife moved to Chicago, Illi-nois in 1947. The couple settled inPark Ridge, where they raised theirthree children, George, James andCynthia.
In 1977, after 30 years in Chica-go, Michael moved his company toTarpon Springs, Florida, to be adja-cent to the location of the existingchamois manufacturing plant andnatural sponge operation. Until hisfinal days, Michael remained activein ACME and also served as Chair-man of the Board of the CantonisCompany. In addition to his roles asfounder and president of ACMEand Chairman of the Board of theCantonis Company, Michael’s otherlife-long commitment was to sever-al philanthropic organizations.
Always active in the communityhe supported an endowment fundat Hellenic College Holy Cross for aChair in Byzantine Studies, an en-dowment fund at the University ofFlorida in Gainesville for the De-partment of Greek Studies and heestablished the Michael G. Canto-nis Sanctuary Fund at St. Michaelthe Archangel Church in Lecanto,Florida, in order to build a newchurch and community center..
Michael’s other philanthropic inter-ests included: Morton Plant Hospi-tal; Berkeley Preparatory School;Tarpon Springs Public Library; He-len Ellis Memorial Hospital; RuthEckerd Hall; UPARC; The Greek Or-thodox Ecumenical Patriarchate inIstanbul, Turkey; the Greek Ortho-dox Archdiocese in New York; St.Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Churchof Chicago and St. Nicholas GreekOrthodox Church of TarponSprings.
Michael made numerous otherdonations to churches, hospitals,schools and art centers throughoutthe United States as well as dona-tions to his native Island of Symi,Greece.
Throughout his lifetime,Michael received the following andhonors: Officion (Award) of Ar-chon Ieromnimon of the Ecumeni-cal Patriarchate by the late Patri-arch Demetrios; Medal of the HolyCross of the Crusaders of the HolySepulchre by the late Patriarch ofJerusalem, Venediktos; Gold Medalof the 50th Anniversary of the St.
Andrews Community of Chicago,where he served for 24 years asTreasurer, Vice President, Presidentand Chairman of the Board; Decla-ration as a Great Benefactor andthe Key to the City of TarponSprings Award; Ellis Island Medalof Honor and numerous awardsfrom the University of Florida.
He was an Archon of the Ecu-menical Patriarchate in America, amember of Leadership 100 of theGreek Orthodox Archdiocese andan Executive committee member ofthe Archdiocesan Council. In 1946,Michael was raised a Master Masonin New York City before transfer-ring to Hellenic Lodge No. 1084A.F. & A.M. in Chicago.
Honored as an entrepreneurand a philanthropist, Michael’sforemost passion in life wasdemonstrated by his love and loyal-ty for his wife, Anastasia, his chil-dren and his grandchildren. Heviewed his grandchildren as hislife’s greatest accomplishment.
He was predeceased by hisyounger brothers, Ted G. Cantonisand Constantine G. Cantonis of Tar-pon Springs, Florida.
He is survived by his loving anddevoted wife of 63 years, AnastasiaHarras; his three children and theirspouses, George and Maria Canto-nis, James Cantonis and CynthiaCantonis Heller and Steve Heller;his four grandsons, Michael, Spiro,Matthew and Leigh; his two grand-daughters, Anastasia and Alexan-dra; and his younger brother, CarlG. Cantonis of Fullerton, Califor-nia.
The funeral service will be heldFriday, May 20 at St. NicholasGreek Orthodox Cathedral. In lieuflowers, the family requests thatdonations be made to The MortonPlant Mease Foundation, 1200Druid Road S., Clearwater, FL33756. Funeral arrangements areunder the direction of Dobies Fu-neral Home-Tarpon Springs, FL do-biesfuneralhome.com
Community Mourns Michael Canton of Tarpon
Michael George Cantonis
GREECE CYPRUSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009 9
Hidden Greece presents pictures of the country that tourists don't see,the main streets but also the back streets and balconies and the wayof life of people outside the normal spotlight: workers, the homeless,ordinary citizens and some more celebrated, and the places they liveand work and define modern Greece, as well as its legacy.
HIDDEN GREECE
Nobody's Buying
You know times are tough when even in Syntagma Square, Athen'sbusiest place, the lottery ticket seller can only stare at unsold tickets.Not too far away, in Parliament, the new governmnt tries its luck.
TNH/ANDY DABILIS
ATHENS, Greece (AP/ANA-MPA) -- Greek police detained up to 200suspected rioters following clasheswith anarchists after thousands ofpeople marched through Athens tomark the 36th anniversary of a pro-democracy student uprising.
Five youths were arrested onsuspicion of attacking police afterthe mostly peaceful march to theU.S. embassy, in which more than15,000 took part among heavy se-curity.
The annual rally is held to com-memorate the bloody Athens Poly-technic uprising in 1973 andprotest American support for the1967-74 military dictatorship.
The march was marred by minorscuffles between stone-throwinganarchist demonstrators and riotpolice, who responded with teargas and stun grenades.
After the end of the rally, about500 anarchists attacked a group ofmotorcycle police, smashing theirbikes, and set fire to rubbish bins.Running street fights followed, in
which rioters threw petrol bombsat police.
At least three demonstratorswere injured.
Authorities say 6,000 policewere deployed for the march. Theheightened security comes as fearsof violence are rising before Dec. 6,the first anniversary of massive ri-ots sparked by the police killing of ateenager.
Rival student groups clashedbriefly Tuesday during a similarmarch by some 10,000 people inthe northern city of Thessaloniki,and anarchists threw stones andpetrol bombs at police. No arrestsor injuries were reported.
Greek President Karolos Papou-lias and Parliament President Filip-pos Petsalnikos on Tuesday laidwreaths at the Polytechnic monu-ment commemorating the uprisingand those who died, while PrimeMinister George Papandreou, andmain opposition New Democracy(ND) former education deputyminister Spyros Taliadouros laid
wreaths at the monument on Mon-day. Communist Party of Greece(KKE) leader Aleka Papariga laid awreath on Sunday.
In a message marking the 36thanniversary of the Athens Polytech-nic uprising, President Papouliasstressed that it was for all Greeks "areference point, a reason for collec-tive self-respect and conviction thatlight can emerge from darkness."
"Those who had stood upagainst the junta of 1967-1974serve as models for their behavior,stance, and values," Mr. Papouliassaid.
"In reality, uprisings do not be-long to those that start them, but tothose in whose name they takeplace. And they are almost alwaysexpressions of revolt and demandsby a younger generation that al-ways leads the way in major socialupheavals. This is one of the rea-sons that young people deserve ourunderstanding, even when it comesto their mistakes," the Presidentstated.
by Valentina PopEUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS – Greece is perceived asthe most corrupt of EU countries,along with Bulgaria and Romania, anannual corruption perception rank-ing released on Tuesday (17 Novem-ber) by Transparency Internationalshows.
Carried out in 180 countriesaround the world, the 2009 Corrup-tion Perceptions Index measures thedegree to which corruption is per-ceived to exist among public officialsand politicians on a scale where 0 isthe most corrupt and 10 is graft-free.
As in previous years, Denmark isperceived as the least corrupt among
EU countries, with a score of 9.3, fol-lowed by Sweden, Finland and theNetherlands. At the lower end,Greece, Bulgaria and Romania sharelast place with 3.8. They are followedby Italy, which also registered a ma-jor slide compared to last year, andnow ranks below Poland and Lithua-nia as well as EU candidate Turkeyand Cuba in the corruption stakes.
"Greece's poor score shows thatjoining the EU does not automatical-ly translate into a reduction in cor-ruption. Immediate and sustained ef-forts are required to ensure the coun-try lives up to acceptable levels oftransparency and accountability," theanti-corruption watchdog concludes.
The newly elected left-wing gov-
ernment in Athens recently promisedto clamp down on corruption and re-vealed that the public deficit datakept by the previous cabinet wereembellished.
This prompted the EU statisticsoffice Eurostat to express "reserva-tion" on the Greek data in its reporton EU government debt levels for2008.
"Graft and corruption have al-ways been an integral part ofGreece's political culture, thanks tothe existence of a paternalistic statewhere kickbacks constitute routinepractice for the provision of publicservices," writes Chronis Polychro-niou, a professor with the British uni-versity of Teesside.
A special report published in Julyby the Greek general inspector ofpublic administration concluded thatthe public sector is riddled with cor-ruption. Urban planning offices,state hospitals and townhalls wereidentified as the sectors where cor-ruption is the most acute.
While Brussels has a special mon-itoring mechanism in place for Ro-mania and Bulgaria, it lacks any realleverage on Greece's poor perfor-mance in tackling corruption andspeeding up lengthy trials.
A proposal included in a list of EUpriorities in the field of justice andhome affairs - known as the Stock-holm program - asks the EU commis-sion to set up a similar auditing sys-
tem for all member states and to de-velop a "comprehensive anti-corrup-tion policy."
The program still needs the ap-proval of EU leaders at a summit on10-11 December. Greece, along withother Mediterranean states, is said tobe opposed to the monitoring pro-posal.
Big EU donors such as Germanyand the Netherlands are growing in-creasingly irritated about the poten-tial mismanagement of EU funds inrecipient countries, however.
Greece was the largest recipientof community money in 2008.Athens received roughly 6.3 billioneuros, far ahead of Warsaw, in sec-ond place, with 4.4 billion euros.
Out of the 5.9 billion euros agri-cultural aid recovered by the EUcommission in the last ten years,1.3 billion euros were clawed backfrom Greece. On regional funds,the EU executive recovered 842million euros from Athens in 2000-2006.
In 2005, the commission decidedto reduce by 518 million euros theaid given to Greece "due to seriousweaknesses found in the manage-ment and control systems," particu-larly relating to public procurementand contract modifications. Thesame weaknesses in public procure-ment procedures were found lastyear, when regional aid was reducedby 26 million euros.
by Christopher TripoulasThe National Herald Staff Writer
NEW YORK -- The Greek OrthodoxChurch is urging Christians acrossEurope to unite in an appealagainst a ban on crucifixes in class-rooms in Italy.
The European Court of HumanRights in Strasbourg ruled lastweek that the presence of crucifixesviolated a child's right to freedomof religion. The court did not ordercrucifixes to be removed, however,and the Italian government is plan-ning an appeal. The governmenthas defended display of the crucifixbased on the fact that it is morethan a religious symbol and alsopoints to Italy's social and culturalhistory.
Greece's Orthodox Church fearsthe Italian case will set a precedent.
It has called an emergency HolySynod meeting for next week to de-vise an action plan.
Although the Greek OrthodoxChurch has been at odds with Ro-man Catholicism for 1,000 years,the judicial threat to Christian sym-bols has acted as a unifying force.
The European Court of HumanRights found that the compulsorydisplay of crucifixes violated par-ents' rights to educate their chil-dren as they saw fit and restrictedthe right of children to believe ornot to believe.
Upholding a complaint filed bySoile Lautsi, a Finnish woman wholives in Italy and has Italian citizen-ship, who complained that her chil-
dren had to attend a state school ina town near Venice which had cru-cifixes in every classroom.
The court awarded the pro-claimed atheist 5,000 euros in"moral damages," which will haveto be paid by the Italian govern-ment unless it is successful in anappeal. The judges stopped short ofordering authorities to remove cru-cifixes from all state-run schools,but the long-term implications ofthe ruling were unclear.
"The presence of the crucifixcould be ... disturbing for pupilswho practiced other religions orwere atheists, particularly if theybelonged to religious minorities,"the court said.
"The compulsory display of asymbol of a given confession inpremises used by the public author-ities... restricted the right of par-ents to educate their children inconformity with their convictions,"it added.
Crucifixes were an undeniablesymbol of Catholicism, the courtruled, and as such were at oddswith the principle of "educationalpluralism."
The head of the Greek Church,Archbishop Ieronymos of Athensand all Greece, shares Catholiccomplaints that the court is ignor-ing the role of Christianity in form-ing Europe's identity.
“It is not only minorities thathave rights but majorities as well,”said the archbishop.
One of his fellow bishops, Met-ropolitan Nikolaos of Phthiotis,
whose see is in central Greece,lamented that at this rate young-sters will not have any worthy sym-bols at all to inspire and protectthem.
“Football and pop idols are verypoor substitutes,” he said.
The Greek Church has ostensi-bly intervened in this case in re-sponse to an appeal by a Greekmother whose son is studying inItaly.
But without doubt it is con-cerned that its omnipotence inGreece is under threat.
A human rights group calledHelsinki Monitor is seeking to usethe Italian case as a precedent.
It has demanded that Greekcourts remove icons of Jesus Christfrom above the judge's bench andthat the gospel no longer be usedfor swearing oaths in the witnessbox.
Helsinki Monitor is urging tradeunions to challenge the presence ofreligious symbols in Greek schools.
The socialist government here isalso considering imposing new tax-es on the Church's vast fortune, butat the same time is urging it to domore to help immigrants and poorGreeks.
Italy will ignore an “unreal” Eu-ropean court ruling that bans cruci-fixes from state-run schools as it ap-peals the decision, Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi said.
Meanwhile, the decision by theECHR sparked protests from otherEuropean leaders as well. PolishPresident Lech Kaczynski said his
country will never agree to removecrosses from its schools. Bishop’sconferences from all over Europedecried the decision as well.
“Nativity plays at school Christ-mas parties cannot be regarded aspracticing religion, but rather as re-lating to a tradition,” according toMarjo Kyllonen, the head the Cityof Helsinki Education Department.
The Catholic News Agency is re-porting that Italian officials in somecities have actually acquireddozens more crucifixes to displaythem in public schools.
Some 84 percent of Italians op-pose a ruling by the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights that cruci-fixes should be removed from Ital-ian classrooms, according to a pollon Sunday.
The poll in the Corriere dellaSera newspaper showed 84 percentof Italians want the crucifixes tostay, 14 percent said they should betaken down and two percent hadno opinion.
Those in favor included manywho are not practicing Catholics.Some 68 percent of those who saidthey never attended Mass said theystill wanted the crucifixes to stay inschools.
This story incorporates reportsfrom the BBC, the AssociatedPress, Reuters, Bloomberg, theCatholic News Agency, and Zenit.
To contact the reporter on thisstory: Christopher Tripoulas [email protected]
Controversial European Court Ruling vs. Crucifixes
Thousands March on 36th Anniversary of 1973 Greek Student Revolt
Greek riot police detain a youth suspected of taking part in clashes be-tween stone-throwing anarchists and officers in Athens on Tuesday.
By Christopher TripoulasThe National Herald Staff Writer
NEW YORK - Greece, which sur-prised the soccer world by winningthe European Championship in2004 with a series of gritty defen-sive displays, surprised the worldtoday.
After being held to a 0-0 tie inAthens in the first game of its 2010World Cup playoff series withUkraine, the Greeks were under-dogs for the return match in Donet-sk, Ukraine, but a first-half goal byDimitris Salpigidis near the half-hour mark earned Greece athrilling 1-0 victory.
Salpigidis timed his run to per-fection just after the half-hourmark to clip a composed finish be-yond Ukraine goalkeeper AndreiPiatov, following Celtic strikerGiorgos Samaras' superb through-ball.
That was enough to make it the28th country to secure its place inthe June 11-July 11 World Cup inSouth Africa. It is the second timeGreece has qualified for the WorldCup, the only previous occasion be-ing the 1994 tournament in theU.S.
"I'm proud of my players. Theyput all of their heart and soul intotoday's match," said Greece manag-er Otto Rehhagel.
"It was really tough to containUkraine's attacks throughout thematch but we did our best and luck-ily we managed to do it and achievethe desired result."
Greece and Ukraine, who weredeadlocked at 0-0 after the first legin Athens on Saturday, struggled toimpose themselves early on in a
match played on a rain-soakedpitch of the half-empty, 50,000-seater Donbass Arena.
The hosts pressed the Greeks
under the watchful gaze of Ukrain-ian President Viktor Yushchenko,but Greece defended well, turningUkraine's attacks into fruitless
long-range shots and replying onthe counters.
Greece striker Angelos Charis-teas toasted another significantchapter in Greek football after OttoRehhagel's team claimed a place atthe 2010 World Cup at the expenseof Ukraine.
''This is a very important mo-ment for Greek football. It's simplyfantastic,'' said Charisteas, the manwho scored the winner in the finalagainst Portugal at Euro 2004. ''Weplayed very well throughout thegame, especially in the first half.We got the lead thanks to a beauti-ful goal from Dimitris Salpigidisand then we held them comfort-ably, I thought.
''We had to defend well in thesecond half but we were deter-mined and we are going to theWorld Cup.''
''It's a massive success for us,''added goal hero Salpigidis, whoshowed great composure to slot theball past Alexei Piatov after beingplayed in by Celtic frontman Gior-gos Samaras' sublime through-ball.
''It's a day of celebration forGreeks all over the world. All thosepeople who have made negativecomments during these past fewdays now have their answer fromwhat we have done on the pitch.We have answered our critics.''
This story combines reportsfrom the Los Angeles Times,ESPN, and AFP. You can contactChristopher Tripoulas [email protected].
would impose a 5% penalty on thecollateral posted. In that case,Greek banks would have to find atotal of ?2 billion in extra securityfor the ECB overnight, an eventthat would be almost certain tobring some of them to the point ofinsolvency. Currently, that dire sce-nario seems only a remote possibil-ity.
Even after the latest down-grades, Greek debt's lowest rating,single-A-minus from Fitch andStandard & Poor's, is three notchesabove the ECB's penalty threshold.The single-A-minus rating is wherethe threshold used to be until the2008 crisis. The ECB has said itsmore relaxed criteria will stay inplace until the end of 2010.
Colin Ellis, an economist withDaiwa Securities SMBC in London,argues that the state of Greek fi-nances is so parlous that furtherdowngrades are quite possible.However, he and others say there islittle chance of a default, and stillless of Greece being forced out ofthe euro zone, for which EuropeanUnion treaties have no procedure.At worst, the ECB would be morelikely to soften rules for Greekbanks to maintain their access toECB liquidity operations.
As of Tuesday afternoon, themarket priced that risk at 1.49 per-centage points. At the height of thefinancial crisis in the middle of Feb-ruary, that premium hit three per-centage points.
Alkman Granitsas and EmeseBartha contributed to this article.
More FearsOver Fiscal &Economic Mis-Management
Greece Scores Worst in EU Corrupton Rankings of Transparency International
Continued from page 1Greece Celebrates: Qualifies for World Cup for First Time Since 1994
Dimtris Salpingidis of Greece, left, reacts after scoring a goal against Ukraine as teammate GiorgosKaragounis looks on during their World Cup qualifying playoff second leg soccer match at the DonbassArena in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009.
AP PHOTO/KOSTAS TSIRONIS
Jean-Claude Trichet, head ofEuropean Central Bank ECB.
AP PHOTO
AP PHOTO/THANASSIS STAVRAKIS
EDITORIALS LETTERS10 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
Three Cheers for Chicago GreeksAnd a Bronx Cheer for New York
And a Bronx Cheer for New Yorkers
I was very impressed by the ef-forts of the National Hellenic Muse-um in Chicago in raising a substan-tial sum of money for their institu-tion with their annual gala.
I think New Yorkers can followthis fine example of a collective at-tempt to maintain Greek culture ina big, diverse city.
It’s a shame that we don’t havean institution of our own in thiscity, where so many waves of Greekimmigrants have passed and whereso many generations of GreekAmericans still reside.
There are several dedicated peo-ple who have already tried to makethis dream a reality, but it’s time fora bigger contribution to get goingwith a museum in New York City.
The gala itself was well-attend-ed by many notable Greek Ameri-cans, so we know the support is outthere - it does indeed exist.
It’s a matter of being more orga-nized, more driven and more in-volved as the many passionate peo-ple of Chicago have proven to be.
The National Hellenic Museumhas held so many wonderful ex-hibits and events, and is a true tes-
tament to what a museum repre-senting Greek American cultureshould look like.
Let’s follow in their footstepsand work together to achieve allthat they have achieved with dedi-
cation and optimism.Joanne Kalipetsis
New York, NY
A lost opportunityThe Greek government’ s choice to overturn the previous government’s
decision to transfer the 140 soldiers stationed in a relatively quiet area ofAfghanistan to a war zone is a major mistake with potentially broad conse-quences affecting everything from the foreign relations issues Greece iscurrently facing to the country’s worsening financial situation.
The new government ought to, instead, to increase its contribution tothe war in Afghanistan and on top of that, seek a more active role for itsforces.
The government cited the security of its forces, the financial burdenthat it entails and the opposition to the war by the majority of the peopleas a justification for this decision. While we agree that these issues are re-al - and important - they can not and should not constitute the bases forsuch major decisions. The foreign policy of a country- any country- can notbe made based upon criteria of domestic politics.
It should have been obvious by now that formatting foreign policy onthe bases of such criteria leads to nowhere.
It is also a worrisome sign that the new, all-powerful government, notfacing any real opposition in parliament, missed a great opportunity tomake a break with the past and set the course of the foreign policy of thecountry on a different, more dynamic direction.
It should have realized by now, that the policy of avoiding the risk thatis associated with the participation of Greece in NATO ’s expeditions, espe-cially in those that involve wars, under pressure from the body politic,does not promote the best interests of the country.
The country comes out as weak, as having lost its ways, resulting in thecumulative devaluation of its importance in comparison to other coun-tries, especially neighboring countries, which on the contrary, seem to bemore than willing to participate in the alliance’ s decisions, thus giving theimpression of faithful allies upon which NATO can depend.
Greece needs to understand that to have the cooperation of its allies onthe issues it is concerned with, it does not suffice to be right and ethical.Nor is it enough to claim the justifiably tremendous contribution the an-cient Greeks made or more recently in all the big wars. Greece also needsto play along and carry out its responsibilities to the alliance the best wayit can.
Crimes in the name of... The details are sketchy, but the case of the attack on the Greek Ortho-
dox priest by a Marine Reservist in Tarpon Springs is disturbing on manylevels. Given that the incident is being investigated, we can only commenton appearances, but strong indications are that Father Alexio Marakis wasthe victim of a hate crime.
A few days after a man murdered 13 and injured 30 people at FortHood, Texas, Father Marakis was attacked by someone to whom hispriest's garb suggested that he was a Moslem.
If our scenario is correct, which is credible enough given the events ofpast 20, if not 4,000 years, a man took it upon himself to exact revenge forthe Fort Hood killings.
We will also suggest that when a man repeatedly hits someone in thehead with a tire iron, he is not looking to make a point, he is trying to killhim.
In this case, in the name of his country or his religion. How sick.Now is the time for men and women of good will of all faiths, be they
clergy or laity, to dedicate themselves to direct, personal action in thename of humanity and, yes, whatever they call God.
They must never miss an opportunity to tell their co-religionists andanyone willing to listen that this kind of hatred is a spiritual sickness. Wemust keep quoting the Declarations of Berne (1992) and the Bosphorus(1994), which state that "a crime committed in the name of religion is acrime against religion."
And higher up the ladder of religious authority, the more often and themore strongly the better, religious leaders must declare that God, who isFather of us all, seeks peace and toleration among His children, who aresisters and brothers. Let us set as a task for the subtlest and most articulateminds among them to explain the mystery of why there are different scrip-tures and competing faiths in the world, and to express the idea, even if itis impossible for us to understand, that somehow this serves God's purposefor us and it is not for us condemn or to lift a finger, let alone a weaponagainst someone simply because he is of a different faith, or denomina-tion.
Let us grow up. Our Father in heaven may be losing patience.
A Place of ShameThis is some record!! Greece is the most corrupt country in the Euro-
pean Union, along with Bulgaria and Romania, according to Transparen-cy International. Hard to believe it, is it not?
We would like our homeland to be different, to be a model country, toshine among the countries of the world - at least when it comes to thesekind of moral issues.
However as this annual report indicates things are quite different. Al-most anyone who has dealt with the public sector of Greece will tell you,you need to usually pay off a number of public employees to get a jobdone, or is not going to be done. It could very well be that corruption is thereason so many people beg to be appointed to public sector jobs.
According to a report issued by a Greek Attorney General, all sectorsare corrupt and especially the Health system, the agency granting homebuilding permits and the local authorities.
This horrific situation has got to stop. No one doing any sort of businessin Greece should accept this terrible situation without a fight. No oneshould feel helpless. No one should give up and go along with the waythings are done.
It is upon all of us, both those who are within the borders of Greece andthose who are abroad to change things. Bribing government officials is acrime in the USA and it is not only wrong but a real, serious threat to thefurther development of Greece, to its economy and security.
The new government of George Papandreou should take immediate ur-gent action to turn things around, now that it still can, as it has not beingaccused of being involved in a scandal itself. If it waits any longer, it maybe too late.
Corruption is a sort of cancer that, if left uncured, will destroy the fab-ric of society. It terribly damages those who are guilty and innocent alike.
Just consider this: Greece slipped from 51st to 71st place within a yearamong 181 countries surveyed. It is a shameful position that should con-cern us all. And it is a strong indication of the moral collapse of Greek so-ciety.
But it is also troublesome that the United States of America is not in-cluded in the list of the ten least corrupt countries in the world. As usual,the Scandinavian countries lead and Canada – and not the USA – occupiesspot number 8.
And that is not something we should be proud of either.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
COMMENTARY
By Christopher TripoulasThe National Herald Staff Writer
As the European Union preparesto implement the Treaty of Lisboneffective December 1, 2009, thepreparations are accompanied by arecent controversial decision fromthe European Court of HumanRights effectively banning the dis-play of crucifixes in Italian schools.The decision is troubling because itcould eventually force review ofthe use of religious symbols in allstate-run European schools.
The judgment said that having acrucifix in the classroom was a “vio-lation of the right [of] parents toeducate children as to their ownwishes and a violation of liberty ofreligion of pupils.”
The decision drew the ire of notonly the Vatican, but also theChurch of Greece, which is likely tofield similar challenges over thedisplay of icons in classrooms andother public buildings. The Arch-bishop of Athens argues that “ma-jorities, not only minorities, haverights.”
Although the ECHR is not an EUcourt, when the Lisbon Treaty takeseffect, the EU is expected to signthe Convention on Human Rights,which would make the EuropeanCourt of Justice bound by the judi-cial precedents of the Court of Hu-man Rights. This begs the question,just how far will the EU go in im-posing the ban on religious sym-bols? Will the EU forbid public em-ployees from wearing crosses, oroutlaw the use of the word ‘Christ-mas’ in schools, or perhaps nix Na-tivity plays? Perhaps it will orga-nize a book burning of Dickens’ AChristmas Carol, simply because aslothful student will object to hisschool’s assigned reading of thebook.
The Court’s ruling is a clear ex-ample of the Manichaeanism thatpervades Western thinking. In aworld where everything is blackand white, and there are no shadesof gray, the Court’s decision is a tes-tament to the myopia of the mod-ern-day EU framework. The ECHRconsiders a crucifix hidden in thecorner wall of some classroom “dis-turbing,” but has no problem withthe legal brainwashing known asmarketing and advertising…
If you want to talk about dis-turbing, try driving in traffic andhaving all your favorite radio sta-tions play the same senseless jingleof some stupid car insurance ad atthe same time (as is usually thecase). Try watching a movie forlonger than 5 minutes withoutsome intrusive ad telling you toswitch cell phone companies orchange Internet providers. Trywatching the news without somedolled-up reporter whose collagenand silicon count far outweigh theirIQ telling you what to think andwhen to think it, as opposed to juststating the facts of a story.
Sadly, the ECHR will not inter-fere with these things, because theyaffect a modern citizens’ most im-portant responsibility – con-sumerism. Modern day republicsdon’t want citizens, they want“consumers.” Crosses, icons, andother such religious references donot aid in this undertaking, andeven if they did, the money wouldnot end up going into the coffers ofthe multinational conglomeratesthat prop these “European” institu-tions.
In the EU of 2009, euro zonecountries can no longer print theirown currency, or set their own nu-mismatic policy. Monetary policy isdictated by the technocrats in Brus-sels. Perhaps now, countries will
soon loose the sovereignty to exer-cise their religion and culture freelyas well, or promote their history.
A cross or an icon is more thanjust a religious object, it is a symbolof a people’s values and beliefs. Theword symbol comes from the Greek“to throw together.” Conversely,the Greek word ‘diavolos’ (devil)means ‘to throw apart-diavalein’.And indeed, it is a truly devilishthing to throw apart the culture of anation and its people, for fear of asymbol.
Make no mistake, faith is not im-parted upon others rationalisticallyby school instruction or court de-crees. It is acquired empirically,through relationships and experi-ences. Looking at a cross or icon inthe classroom is not going to makea Muslim student Christian or makean atheist become religious. Thesymbol for them will be nothingmore than an inanimate object. Butfor the believer, it will represent anobject with ‘logos’ that holds lifeand significance because of theunique meaning that its makergave it. The meaning only speaks tothe initiated, just as the Jesus fishsymbol did to early Christians,while the pagan authorities werecompletely oblivious. The Court’sdecision to remove the ‘logos’ froma public display – for the supposedbenefit of precisely those persons towhom the objects should hold noparticular significance and to thedetriment of those for whom theydo hold a significance – is in itselfillogical and deceitful.
Unless of course the path to Eu-ropean integration goes throughthe totalitarianism of ‘the lowestcommon denominator.’ If that’s thecase, then the decision of neophyteEU members like the Czech Repub-lic and Poland to negotiate opt-outsto certain provision in the Lisbon
Treaty before agreeing to sign onseems quite wise, while the deci-sion of longstanding members likeItaly and Greece to approve theTreaty carte-blanche (and withoutreferendums) seems to testify tothe foolishness of their politicians(and the voters who support them).It might be worth researching howmany of these MPs actually both-ered to read the treaty that they sooverwhelmingly supported…
Prophetically, Greek revolution-ary war hero General IoannisMakryiannis commissioned a por-trait of a dance between “someonewearing a Frankish outfit dancingwith a Greek…The Frankish-dressed fellow wants his dance,and the Greek his, and they willsoon argue, because one cannotlearn the other’s dance.” Nearlytwo centuries later, Makryiannis’point remains ever relevant.
Fortunately, we have Pericles’words to offer us some solace. Cit-ing the shortcomings of the Pelo-ponnesians (ancient Greece’s ver-sion of the EU), he notes “they haveno regular general assembly, andtherefore cannot execute theirplans with speed and decision. Theconfederacy is made up of manyraces; all the representatives haveequal votes, and press their severalinterests. There follows the usualresult, that nothing is ever doneproperly.”
Once again, Pericles’ words arealso prophetic.
Christopher Tripoulas is an ad-junct professor of Speech and In-terpersonal Communications atSt. John's University. He also spe-cializes in translation, and sever-al of his translations from Greekto English have been published.You can contact him [email protected].
Modern-day Iconoclasm Rears its Ugly Head in New Europe
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CHRYSANTHI LIRISTIS / SPECIAL TO THE NATIONAL HERALD
ΛΟΓΟΣ
re-tire-ment: withdrawal from one's position
or occupation or from active work-ing life
I recently read an interview withactor/entertainer Mickey Rooney(born Joseph Yule, Jr., in Brooklyn,New York) who, at 89 years young,has not retired from show business.Imagine a show business career thatspans some 87 years! Yes, that’show long Mickey has been activelyentertaining—and inspiring—oth-ers, almost his entire lifetime. Jaw-dropping, isn’t it? During one of thelongest careers of any actor, Rooneyhas won many awards, including anOscar. While he is perhaps bestknown for his work as the AndyHardy character. I will always re-member him for his equestrian-themed movie productions, espe-cially his role as the drifter, “Mi Tay-lor,” opposite a young Elizabeth Tay-lor as “Velvet Brown” in the nowclassic, Academy Award-winningfilm, “National Velvet”. And whocould forget his award-winning tele-vision performance as “Bill,” inwhich he played a mentally chal-lenged man attempting to live on hisown after leaving an institution?
In the interview, Mickey ac-knowledged that a lot of peoplehave long wondered why he hasn’tretired. His quick, pistol-like reply:“Don’t retire—inspire!” So now heand his seventh (yes, I said, seventh)wife are touring the country togeth-er in a two-person musical revue ti-tled “Let’s Put On a Show!” Accord-ing to Mickey, it is positive thinkingand a can-do attitude that have en-abled him to remain so vibrant overthe years and ignore the age-old pull
of retirement. In contrast, I re-
member a Canadianadvertising campaignby a financial institu-tion some years backthat was called Free-dom 55. It promisednot only financial inde-pendence beginning at55 years of age, but al-so the lure of freedomto do whatever youwould want for the restof your life. With theaverage life-span in-creasing for both menand women (accordingto the U.S. Census Bureau, the aver-age life expectancy in the USA cur-rently hovers around 80 years, withwomen living on the average 5?years longer than men), I rememberwondering what this kind of “free-dom” would ultimately mean forsuch young retirees. What wouldthey do with—and for—the rest oftheir lives in retirement?
Let me suggest that it’s time to“retire” retirement and redefine theway that we look at life expectancy.Economic conditions notwithstand-ing, more and more people, espe-cially those over the age of 50, areasking the existential question: “Isthat all there is?” Indeed, as increas-ing numbers of America’s 79 millionbaby boomers reach age 62, it ap-pears that they are going to changethe meaning of the word “retire-ment.” Surveys by AARP (conduct-ed before the current economic cri-sis) have demonstrated thatmostolder workers—some 70%—want to continue working in some
way. Importantly, theyalso know what theywant from work at thistime in their lives.They put a very highvalue on meaningfulwork that keeps themactively engaged inlife, that allows them to“reinvent” themselves,and that demonstratesthat they haven’t “giv-en up” on life:
• 86% report thatstaying in the work-force keeps themhealthy and active.
• Nearly 60% feelthat their jobs contribute to societyor help people.
• Less than one-third say thatthey look forward to full retirement.
Such findings are further valida-tion that our search for meaning,which has become a “megatrend” ofthe 21st Century, is not only aboutfinding a higher purpose or a truecalling. It’s about finding meaningin every moment, every day. As Ishare in my book, “Prisoners of OurThoughts”, it’s our personal respon-sibility to discover that meaning,and it is clear that many “boomers”are now taking this on as a personal,life-affirming mission.
I find this shift in consciousnessand new meaning of retirement to bean exciting prospect at this time ofturmoil and uncertainty in theworld. Why? Because in my ownpersonal and professional experi-ence, I’ve found that people whotake the time to find meaning in theirlife and work are happier and health-ier—they’re more joyful, more pas-
sionate, and more fulfilled thanthose who have either given up ornever thought that meaning was orshould be an integral part of theirlife. Importantly, these people, bothmen and women, I’ve also observed,are more resilient to the stresses ofeveryday life. And, in effect, they be-come the “light” and beacon of hopefor others. Like Mickey Rooney, theirdecision to “inspire” rather than re-tire serves as a much-needed plat-form for getting through hard times.From an attitudinal perspective, it al-so helps to focus our energies onseeking to thrive, not just survive, inthe face of life’s many inevitable(and formidable) challenges.
Regardless of your age, there ismuch to learn from this example ofthe ongoing search for meaning inour lives. So consider these ques-tions: What are you doing now (orwhat do you intend to do) in your“retirement?” Will you discovermeaning during your “retirement”that will help you be more joyful,more passionate, more fulfilled, andmore resilient, so that you can be alight for others? Will you “put on ashow” or simply withdraw?
Dr. Pattakos, author of Prisonersof Our Thoughts, is currentlyworking on a new book on how tolive a meaningful life inspired byGreek culture (see: www.theop-away.com). His column is pub-lished weekly in The NationalHerald. Readers may contact himwith questions, comments,and/or suggestions for topics at:[email protected] visit his web site: www.prison-ersofourthoughts.com.
Meaningful Words from Mickey Rooney: Inspire Don’t Retire
by Dr. ALEX
PATTAKOS
Special to The National Herald
VIEWPOINTSTHE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009 11
I attended an event a couple ofweekends ago that showcased MikeHuckabee, the former Arkansas gov-ernor and 2008 presidential candi-date, who appears to be one of thefront-runners for the 2012 Republi-can nomination. While waiting inline to meet him, I took part in a po-litical discussion with various atten-dees, many of whom were unapolo-getic and single-minded in their dis-dain for our current president,Barack Obama.
Every discussion point began, in-nocuously enough, with what iswrong with America – from the econ-omy, to health care, to the wars over-seas – and how to fix it. The conver-
sation always seemed to reach a boil-ing point, however, upon the first ut-tering of that dreaded “O” word –Obama. As soon as the president’sname was mentioned, an outpour ofvenomous diatribe ensued. Obamawas, according to those observers,“evil,” “Marxist,” “socialist,” “disas-trous,” and “clueless.” Interestingly,no one said “fascist,” which the presi-dent is also labeled by some, andwhich, juxtaposed with “Marxist”and “socialist,” is quite amusing.” Itwas only w
hen I mentioned that Democratand Republican members of Con-
gress alike should beblamed if they pass ahealth care bill that theydid not even read thatthe group agreed withme, and sidetracked theonslaught against ourcommander-in-chief.
The un-merry bandof Obama-haters may beformidable, but they arecertainly not original.They were preceded bythe Bush-bashers of thepast eight years – actual-ly, nine years and count-ing, because some of therabid, anti-Bush fanat-ics, including the editor-ial board of the New York Times, sim-ply cannot let go of the hate. The ad-jectives have not changed, only thenouns. Bush, like Obama, was alsocalled “evil, disastrous, and clueless,”but he was not a “socialist.” Instead,he was a “murderer” and a “war crim-inal.” Bush was also “an incompetentidiot,” which make his simultaneous-ly being an “evil mastermind” as im-probable as being a Marxist and a fas-cist all at once.
None of these myopic malcon-tents, past or present, would admitwhat is obvious to the more astutefollowers of the presidency: thatBush and Obama are more alike thanthey are different. On domestic is-sues, Bush talked a conservativegame, but made many fiscally frivo-lous concessions reminiscent of moreprogressive politicians. Obama, inturn, preached about change, but tothis point has been a friend to bigbusiness, and has kept the sociallyliberal faction of his followers in
check. As for foreignaffairs, it is hard to dis-tinguish where Bush’spolicies end and Oba-ma’s begin, because thetransition has been vir-tually seamless.
The most apparentsimilarity between thetwo presidents, and it isan unfortunate one, isthat neither amassedthe type of public rela-tions campaign neces-sary to thwart the neg-ativity spewed by theirrespective detractors.Bush was never able toshake off the percep-
tion of incompetence, and Obama upto now has not been able to convincemany skeptics that he is not bent onfulfilling a global socialist agenda.
Let us not give credit to the Bush-bashers, either, for inventing thepractice of presidential sabotage.That system was well established inthe 1990s, when the Republicanstook every opportunity to vilify BillClinton. Before, that, Democratscringed at Ronald Reagan’s unparal-leled popularity and did everythingthey could to discredit him. In fact,presidential sabotage can be tracedback all the way to George Washing-ton, although today’s Internet-driven24/7 news frenzy has intensified theprocess to obscene proportions.
The real front-runner in presiden-tial politics, then, is negativity. Itseems a slew of discrediting attacksshortly follow every newly inaugu-rated president, and serve to subverthis effectiveness in leading the na-tion. The great Abraham Lincoln
once said: “a house divided againstitself cannot stand.” Lincoln wasparaphrasing an even greater speak-er, Jesus Christ, who had utteredthose very words many centuries ear-lier. But modern societies often over-look the wise lessons of history.When will America realize that divi-siveness leads to inferiority and fail-ure, and that the people must unitebehind their president?
In the National Football League,players are often penalized for “un-sportsmanlike conduct,” usually as areaction to a play that benefitted theopposing team. If only Americanscould live up to the standard of goodsportsmanship, and learn to acceptand support a president for whomthey did not vote.
Getting back to Mike Huckabee,he is an amiable fellow who mightmake an interesting president some-day. Interesting because, at least tothis point, he seems to be above themudslinging fray. If there are anylessons for him to learn, if and whenhe runs for president in 2012 or2016, it is to mount a top-notch pub-lic relations team to combat the bilethat will undoubtedly be hurledagainst him by the sore losers of theday.
Constantinos E. Scaros is a pub-lished author and expert in Ameri-can presidential history, with abackground in Ancient Greek his-tory. He teaches history, politicalscience, and law at New YorkUniversity, and is the Dean ofCriminal Justice at KatharineGibbs College. He welcomes com-ments at his blog atscaros.blogspot.com
In Presidential Politics, Negativity is the Front Runner
By Alexis PapachelasKathimerini
The risks are obvious and thestory an old one. The governmentdecides that its credibility in termsof its pre-election promises shouldcome first. It doesn’t really matterthat a billion euros will be pouredinto the black hole of education be-fore the minister, Anna Diaman-topoulou, has time to get the sectorinto shape.
The same goes for other areassuch as healthcare, where the gov-ernment appears determined to
spend every cent it promised beforeOctober.
At the same time, however, itmust also heed its critics fromabroad, such as the European Cen-tral Bank and Moody’s. But since itappears unable to adopt immediaterelief measures such as freezingpublic sector pay increases or re-turning nursing staff to their properassignments, it begins makingvague promises: that it will tacklesocial security reform, labor re-form, crack down on tax evasion,deregulate restricted occupationsetc, etc.
Our European assessors haveheard all the same promises fromprevious administrations and maybe excused if they take them with apinch of salt.
But the government is makingone more mistake. It is allowing abarrage of ideas about how to dealwith the public deficit to be madepublic, such as raising the so-called“objective” real estate prices onwhich tax is calculated, with the re-sult that tax dodgers are given timeto make plans to protect them-selves, while everyone else freezesspending.
The phenomenon of “I shall ap-pear to be breaking some eggs butin truth I dare not make an omelet”was more than apparent in the pre-vious government and the resulthas been devastating. There is a re-al possibility that we will see it be-ing repeated in the very near fu-ture.
Recent experience has taught usthat tough decisions need to bemade while the mandate is stillfresh, when the opposition is on itsknees and the public knows thatyou are not responsible for themess.
Needed: Greek Pols with Courage to Make Omelettes
Well, that didn’ttake long. Little morethan four months afterGreece allegedly putinto effect a phonysmoking ban that wasdoomed from the startbecause no one wasgoing to enforce it andGreeks were going toignore it knowing noone would enforce it,it has not been en-forced because it’sbeen ignored. The newgovernment of PASOKsaid the ban begun un-der New Democracyon July 1 amid great fanfare andpromises to crack down on viola-tors, particularly restaurant andbar owners, with big fines, said theban “is not being adhered to nor ap-plied properly” and would be “re-viewed,” which means it’s going tobe scrapped or diluted.
Translation: it’s being ignoredbecause it’s not being enforced, justas anyone who’s been in Greecemore than an hour and could seehow virtually all laws are flauntedcould tell you. This time, it’s thesmokers blowing smoke in the faceof the government, as well as thenon-smokers who are the minorityin Greece, the only country in theworld where a majority of peoplesmoke. The World Health Organi-zation reports that 51.8 percent ofadults in Greece smoke, and thecountry won the dubious honor ofbeing ranked number one on theLos Angeles Times list of smokersparadises for travelers. Health Min-
ister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulousaid she noted “great gaps in theapplication of the smoking ban”(Translation: the government can’tand won’t enforce it so it’s ready torun up the white flag) and wouldbe re-examining the legal frame-work supporting it.
There have been more than2,500 complaints about people vio-lating the ban, but those will befiled in the ash trays on the desks ofsmoking government workers. Theban was supposed to apply to allpublic places, although in a loop-hole that would render it useless,premises smaller than 70 squaremeters could declare themselvesexclusively smoking and wouldneed only a permit to do so – so far,2,200 have applied but almostnone have been processed so smok-ing continues. They were also sup-posed to have air-conditioning andsmoke-removal units installed anddisplay a special sticker showingonly smokers were allowed, a realdeterrent.
Larger establishments were sup-posed to restrict smoking to a sepa-rate section, limited to not morethan 30 percent of the area. Livemusic venues had to separatesmokers with a two-meter-highglass wall, which magically keepssmoke on the other side, while inprivate offices, businesses employ-ing fewer than 50 workers were re-quired to ban smoking on thepremises.
Companies employing morethan 50 people could keep smokingrooms. Translation: No one gives adamn about the law that was nevergoing to be enforced and none of itsprovisions apply, so it’s business asusual in Greece, where smokers getto make the rules.
Smoking goes on in flagrant vio-lation of the law everywhere andmost restaurants are still likesmoke-filled opium dens. Insteadof ash trays, which are not allowed,
restaurants give youplastic cups half full ofwater. Teachers – realrole models – smoke inthe halls and play-grounds and let theirstudents light up nextto them. Clerks in of-fices and post officessmoke while theywork. What else canyou expect in a coun-try where the govern-ment puts advertise-ments on the very bill-boards that have beenbanned by the stateand the European
Union? This one will be a nice littletest for new Prime Minister GeorgePapandreou, who is properly con-centrating on foreign policy andwhat seem like bigger issues, ex-cept what other practice in Greecekills 20,000 people a year? Thatdoesn’t include another 600 whodie from the second-hand smoke,the exhaust fumes they breathe infrom smokers, numbers that willonly go up because while smokingis going down in many places in theworld, it is rising by 10 percent ayear in Greece.
How pathetic that governmentscrack down on cocaine and mari-juana but allow cigarette smokingbecause they can put a lucrative taxon it, even if worldwide it kills 5.4million people annually – almostthe equivalent of the Holocaustevery year.
When the ban went into effectin Greece, smoking ban enforcerswere all over the television withtough talk that has evaporated likethe clean air in the lungs of smok-ers. 33 to 50 percent of the smokerswill die from their habit and costthe government untold millions ofeuros in costs to care for themwhile they are alive. One dies every6.5 seconds.
What can you expect from acountry where six-year-olds canwalk up to a periptero and pick up apack of smokes for their parents,and a couple of beers too.
So now it’s up to the EU, whichpressured Greece to pass the ban,to step in - but it won’t. And there’sgrowing pressure from countriesdepending on tourism and enter-tainment, such as Greece, to repealthe bans, as Croatia did afterrestaurant and bar owners com-plained they were losing customers- not including their smokers whowere dying by the dozens andneeded to be replaced.
The EU’s response has been topass legislation raising cigarettetaxes 30 percent – Greece has someof the cheapest prices for cigarettesin Europe - but those governmentpolicy wonks don’t get it.
Cigarettes could cost $20 a packand it wouldn’t deter smokers, soyou have to hit them not wherethey live, but where they eat anddrink and pass on their deathclouds to innocent people sittingnearby.
The President of the NationalCoordinating Committee againstSmoking, Panayiotis Behrakis, rec-ommended the government not al-low any exceptions to the law andban smoking in all public places.Well, not ALL, he said, recommend-ing that those who want to allowsmoking could get a license, whichmeans they all will and the smok-ing will go on, so even he doesn’tget it.
Get those coffins ready. Putthem right outside the restaurantsand bars to save time.
Mr. Dabilis was the New Englandeditor for United Press Interna-tional in Boston, and a staff writerand assistant metropolitan editorat the Boston Globe for 17 yearsbefore relocating to Greece. Hiscolumn is published weekly in theNational Herald. Readers interest-ed in contacting him can send e-mails to [email protected].
Greece Ready toSurrender to Smokers
LETTER FROM ATHENS
by ANDY
DABILIS
Special to The National Herald
How pathetic that
governments crack down
on cocaine and marijuana
but allow cigarette
smoking because they
can put a ...tax on it,
by CONSTANTINOS E.
SCAROS
Special to The National Herald
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This weekSenate Republican leader MitchMcConnell said that the decision tobring Khalid Sheikh Mohammadand other accused 9/11 plotters toFederal Court in New York for trialwould put Americans “unnecessari-ly at risk.” Somewhat more graph-ically, Rush Limbaugh, the spiritualleader of the Republican Party said“what’s going to end up on trialhere is the United States, the CIA,our interrogation techniques, all ofthis is being done to satisfy the ra-bid radical far Left that hates thiscountry, that hates George W. Bush,that hates the U.S. military.”
For good measure, he called theidea of putting terrorists on trial a“disgusting travesty.” It would ap-pear that Limbaugh hates theAmerican system of justice andprefers killing suspects without tri-al. Limbaugh exploits our fears byinsisting that the trial of the 1993World Trade Center bombers was aproximate cause of the 9/11 at-tacks. This is, of course, politicalfear-mongering in the hope that if
enough Americans panic at theirown shadows they might be terri-fied into voting Republicans backinto office. This tactic depends forsuccess on the assumption thatAmericans are craven cowards,who wet their pants at the slightestscare and are terrified at the slight-est sound in the night. They cer-tainly have reason to believe thatwe are indeed such cowards.
They terrified us into supportingtwo poorly conceived and worseexecuted wars. They so frightenedus that we went along with whatcan only be described as a treaso-nous perversion of the Constitutionby jailing Americans withoutcharge and without trial. They ter-rified Americans into believing thattorture works or worse, into believ-ing that torture of people with fun-ny names or strange beards is ac-ceptable.
The Republicans and their radi-cal right wing allies have extendedtheir psychological terrorism toother subjects as well. The cam-paign against health care reform
has plunged into thedeepest of deep guttersagain, relying on theirbelief that they canfrighten the Americanpeople into irrational ac-tions. Anyone literateagrees that the currenthealth care system in theUnited States will lead toa national train wreck inthe not too distant fu-ture. Any decent, com-passionate man orwoman understands thatabandoning a fifth of ourpopulation and especial-ly ten million children tothe vagaries of emergency rooms isabominable. (Ironically, those whowould deny Christian compassionto the poor are those who masquer-ade the loudest as “Christians.”)Anyone who has spent time in Eu-rope knows that their health caresystems produce much better carefor the bulk of their population atmuch lower costs. Confronted withreality, Limbaugh and Palin know
that they cannotprevail in a rea-soned debate. Sothey have chosen in-stead to launchcampaigns of per-sonal vilification,similar to what Cas-tro does in Cuba, toscare the Americanpeople into believ-ing that “Obammu-nism” will spell “theend of democracy inAmerica.” One par-ticularly hate-mon-gering member ofCongress, Rep.
Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)called on protesters to “scare”members of Congress into killingthe proposed health care reformbill in the name of democracy.
Rush Limbaugh Republicans,the leaders of what used to beknown as the Grand Old Party, ap-pear to have concluded that Ameri-cans are cowards. Otherwise, theywould have no reason to believe
that this campaign to intimidatedemocracy through psychologicalterror could not work. Perhapsthey believe that their fellow citi-zens are so easy to frighten becausethey themselves are the mostcraven of cowards. Vice PresidentCheney, who so cheerfully sentthousands of American kids to diein a war of his own personal choice,managed six (6) draft defermentsduring Vietnam.
He explained once that he had“more important things to do” thanpresumably serve his country. Orperhaps his aversion to being shotat focused on his own personalsafety? The other “chicken hawks”who took us to war in Iraq, such asPerle and Wolfowitz avoided mili-tary service as well. Rush Lim-baugh avoided service by havinghis physician certify his medical un-fitness due to an “inoperable pi-lonidal cyst” and “a football kneeinjury from high school.” He laterdenied having such a cyst and noone in his high school remembersRush ever being injured during his
one year career on the junior varsi-ty.
These tactics have been effec-tive. For example, a majority ofCongress voted against allowingany Guantanamo detainees to bejailed in the United States. Oddly,the fear-mongers neglect to pointout that high security parts of thefederal penal system have neversuffered a successful escape sincethe 1930’s. But the truth is rarely atissue here. The question Ameri-cans have to ask is whether or notLimbaugh and Palin are right in be-lieving that we are as big cowardsas they are.
The Hon. Ambassador Theros ispresident of the U.S.-Qatar Busi-ness Council. He served in theU.S. Foreign Service for 36 years,mostly in the Middle East, andwas American Ambassador toQatar from 1995 to 1998. He alsodirected the State Department’sCounter-Terrorism Office, andholds numerous U.S. Govern-ment decorations.
America’s Far Right Screams - Do They Think We Are as Cowardly as They Are?
by AMB. PATRICK N.
THEROS
Special to The National Herald
SAN FRANCISCO - Before morethan 700 prominent members ofthe Greek American community, aswell as leading figures of the enter-tainment industry and the politicalworld at San Francisco’s FairmontHotel on November 7, writer NickGage issued a challenge to the com-munity. The occasion was the EliosSociety’s seventh Hellenic CharityBall. The society, a non-profit orga-nization based in Northern Califor-nia, honored Gage along withGeorge Chakiris, Michael Chiklisand Marilu Henner at its HellenicCharity Ball. During his acceptancespeech Gage said the following,which was received with thunder-ous applause and a standing ova-tion:
Greeks in America have triednot only to become successful butalso to win respect for who we areand what we do. In our emphasison performance we have followedthe lead of our new country and inour attachment to family andfriends we have held to the tradi-tions of the old. In so doing, I thinkwe have chosen the best of bothworlds.
We are immensely grateful forthe opportunities America has giv-en us Greeks over the past 100years and we can take great pridein what we have accomplished.And as we complete our first centu-ry on these shores I can assure youof one thing: we’ve only just begun.So I salute the recognition of
celebrities like George Chikiris,Marilu Henner and Michael Chiklisbecause it inspires young GreekAmericans all over our country topursue their dreams and demon-strate what talent and determina-tion can achieve. I must confess,however, that I am surprised and alittle bothered by the failure ofGreek American celebrities tochampion the great causes thatconcern Greeks all over the world.Richard Gere, Harrison Ford andother celebrities travel the globe tochampion the cause of the DalaiLama and denounce China's occu-pation of his country. But whatGreek American celebrity has spo-ken out against the persecution byTurkish authorities of the Patriarchof Constantinople, the spiritualleader of 300 million OrthodoxChristians?
Do any of our celebrities evenknow that the See of the Patriarch,once as extensive as the Vatican,has been reduced to a few dilapi-dated buildings? That he is jeeredwhen he ventures outside his en-clave, berated and threatened bypetty bureaucrats, and blockedfrom opening any of the schoolsand seminaries that once servedthe entire Greek Orthodox world?
"You have always been braveand never from a safe distance,"Vice President Biden told the Patri-arch at a dinner he hosted for himWednesday night, which I attend-ed. "you have stared down those
who seek to erode the authority ofthe church tirelessly, professing theGreek Orthodox way for millions offollowers."
Many celebrities, including BradPitt, speak out for the preservationof architectural landmarks aroundthe world. But what Greek Ameri-can celebrities have uttered a wordagainst the greatest cultural rape ofa people in history— the abductionof half of the Parthenon marblesfrom the acropolis by Lord Elgin
which he then sold to the BritishMuseum, where they are still heldhostage, despite the recent comple-tion of a magnificent New Acropo-lis Museum in Athens that is able toexhibit them in the light and at thesite for which they were created?
The Parthenon marbles are themost cherished symbols of our cul-tural and political heritage. Theyrepresent the peak of achievementof the Greek people, the GoldenAge when drama, poetry and artreached levels that have never beensurpassed. Yet, what Greek Ameri-can artists have raised their voices
for the return of the Parthenonmarbles let alone organized an in-ternational campaign to recoverthem?
Many Jewish celebrities fromKirk Douglas to Adam Sandlershout protests at any affront to Is-rael, and even the Palestinians haveVanessa Redgrave. But whichGreek American celebrities haveever spoken out against the occu-pation of almost half of Cyprus byTurkish troops for the past 35years?
Now the blame for all this doesnot lie only with the celebritiesthemselves, who are not familiarwith these issues. Those of us whoare need to do more to inform andengage them, and I hope when wedo they will be receptive. We GreekAmericans honor the achievementsof our celebrities.
But as our parents and grand-parents faced hardship and pain tosmooth the way for us to enjoyfruits of America, I would like tochallenge Greek American celebri-ties, both near and far, to pay backtheir ancestors and honor their her-itage by using the power of theirfame to advance the just causes ofthe community that nurtured themand of all Greeks all over the worldwho swell with pride at theirachievements.
As I do whenever I see a Greekname on a marquee, a movie posteror a book jacket.
Thank you and god bless you all.
Nicholas Gage Challenges Greek American Celebrities
I would like to
challenge Greek
American celebrities,
both near and far, to
pay back their
ancestors
None of these myopic
malcontents… would
admit what is obvious
to the more astute
followers of
the presidency
12 THE NATIONAL HERALD, NOVEMBER 21-27, 2009
