Category: GREECE

Source: sun-sentinel.com

St. Mark iconography project should be completed in February

St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton is wrapping up its project to paint the interior of the building with Biblical iconography. Artist Laurence Manos has been painting the saints for 10 years for the project. (Amy Beth Bennett / December 19, 2013)

Source: independent.co.uk

Source: gazette.com

Source: Hürriyet Daily News

Greek Cypriots have long hesitated about signing a final settlement over Cyprus’ division, but the necessity of a lasting solution is slowly dawning on the island’s southern half, according to Turkish Cyprus’ foreign minister. Economically, the only way forward is a solution, Özdil Nami says

Southern Cyprus is coming to the realization that it can accrue more benefits from a peaceful solution to their island’s division than maintaining the status quo, according to Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Özdil Nami.

Greek Cyprus has the realization that “it may be a better idea to tackle the real problem and reunite Cyprus and start benefiting from what peace can offer,” Nami recently told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Where do we stand on the efforts for a settlement?

We are engaged in a process that will result in the formation of a joint statement, to be read by both leaders at their first meeting which will signal the start of the new round of negotiations that will be a continuation of past efforts with the goal of establishing a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in Cyprus with political equality with Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots.

What are the remaining hurdles that have prevented a finalization of it?

It is the final phase. The Greek Cypriot leader put forward some concepts as vital issues for him. These included the issues of single sovereignty, single citizenship and a single international identity. The Turkish Cypriot side counteracted by saying that though it is true these concepts are important, concepts like political equality, internal citizenship and residual powers are also very important. At the stage we are at, we have managed to overcome difficulties we faced and created a common language on these issues. Having said that, both sides are trying to inject a few sentences that will reassure their voters that the deal has not jeopardized their well-known positions. I think it is natural that both leaders are attempting to do this; it is also natural that some suggestions while being accepted some may not be. In particular, the Turkish Cypriot side attaches a lot of importance that after our federation is established, the bitter experiences of the past when Turkish Cypriots were kicked out of the republic they co-founded will not be repeated. From our point of view, we would like this to be addressed in a clear fashion.

Greek Cypriots have their own needs for clarification; they are afraid that any wording that may indicate a potential for two independent states be formed with a settlement is dangerous so they are acting very cautiously to avoid any sentencing to that direction; so the final touches are being done right now.

As someone who has been witness to so many failed past initiatives, how would you describe the current chances for settlement?

We now have the potential to finalize the statement within the coming days; we don’t need months of negotiations; we are nearly there. It is going to be a historic document that addresses many of the controversial issues that have been in dispute between the two sides. This in itself is both good news but it also carries a lot of responsibility and if we are unable to finalize it despite the fact that a lot of work has been done and a lot of convergence has been achieved, this will be a signal in particular to the United Nations that we are unable to solve our own problem. At that point, how will the international community react? We don’t know. I think both sides would act responsibly and take the matter in their own hands instead of delegating it to third parties and bring it to a successful conclusion. I feel this spirit existing on both sides of the island and that’s what I am counting on.

What would make it different from past initiatives?

We had similar opportunities in the past. In the history of states, sometimes people do not grab the opportunity there and that’s what happened to Cypriots before. This time around, there is another golden opportunity presenting itself to us. It’s totally up to the Cypriots to grasp it or not; so we would have nobody to blame but ourselves if we don’t make good use of it. It is an important opportunity not to be missed.

Turkish public usually believes that Greek Cypriots don’t genuinely want a solution that will be acceptable to both sides since they are better off and they are EU member?

They are not well off; they have lost almost half of their bank deposits, their pension funds have evaporated. Without a comprehensive settlement, it will take them 20 years to fully recover. Youth unemployment is reaching 40 percent; it is a dire situation. Although they attained EU membership, their aspiration to use that membership to the detriment of Turkish Cypriots has turned to be futile expectation. At least on these two counts, there is a realization that rather than chasing these empty dreams, it may be a better idea to tackle the real problem and reunite Cyprus and start benefiting from what peace can offer.

On the other hand, we have the natural resources being discovered around Cyprus. The best way; the way with the least cost and risk would be to sell it through Turkey and the only way to achieve that will be through finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. Energy can be one of the game-changers if handled properly; it can be an incentive for a solution.

In comparison to the last decade, circumstances have changed, you say. How about the terms of the agreement? Usually, it is said that everybody knows what the solution looks like, but it is a matter of taking the decision. Is the new initiative bringing about surprises?

There will be no surprises. There already exists a very important U.N. body of work; there are guiding principles defined by Security Council resolutions, and room to maneuver is well-defined. Negotiations will not resume from scratch but it will be built on what has already been achieved by the past leaders. What it will look like is already well-known.

Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiadis is known to be pro-solution. Has he acted in line with that view about him so far?

One would hope they would act in a more courageous way and by now we would be talking about finalizing a settlement, not finalizing a joint statement. But both sides have political realities; on the Greek Cypriot side there are big agenda points regarding the economic crisis; the loss of confidence in Anastasiadis is a reality, so there is this level of caution. It is important not to lose the balance and not to go overbroad because that would trigger deep suspicions on the Turkish Cypriot side. It already started; we had much higher expectations from him which were not fulfilled, if he fails to show the necessary leadership to finalize the joint statement that he initially requested, then that would send a signal that Cypriots have tried but failed to reach a settlement. At that point, the U.N. would have to take a look at want is going on exactly.

The economic crisis could increase nationalist feelings and might poison the negotiation spirit.

From what I can gather talking to the business community on the Greek Cypriot side, they are seeing great potential for economic development with a settlement. Especially looking at Turkey like the rising star of the region, they see big economic benefit. During economic hardship, nationalist sentiments also come to the fore, but if I am to judge, the expectation of economic benefit from a settlement is higher now and at least the business community is looking forward.

There is a coalition in Turkish Cyprus and the president is coming from a different party? Has it been difficult to forge a common position?

We are using it to our benefit and telling Greek Cypriots that although we have a president coming from a right-wing party and a government dominated by a socialist party, all these political forces are united in supporting the peace talks and achieving a rapid solution. We are giving the message that on the Turkish side, with its government, main opposition, president and Turkey, we are all in.

You are relatively from a younger generation; is the passing of time making it easier or more difficult to reach a settlement?

It is a mixed picture. Younger generations do not carry the same bitter experiences with them; they don’t have good experiences of the past generations either. But as time passes there are more realities created on the ground like more property development and that will make many issues like territorial adjustments or a property regime more difficult to tackle in the future.

I don’t think it is a good idea to play for time and hope that future generations will find it easier to come to a settlement. Each generation gets more used to the status quo and lives and grows up with the status quo, and it is very difficult to convince people to change what they are accustomed to. As time passes, our job is getting more difficult, not easier.

Source: bbc.co.uk

With predictions of growth in 2014 and unemployment down slightly, there is a feeling of optimism in Athens – but Greeks say they know there are still difficult days ahead.

They come just before sunset – those magical few minutes in which Athens bathes in a deep purple glow.

It is a light I have never seen anywhere else. I often wait for it, looking out at the late afternoon sun.

It sets behind the Acropolis, where the ancient Gods were worshipped, glinting onto the Aegean nearby. Rays dance across the mountains.

And then they reach the one skyscraper in the city: the Athens Tower, as it is called, poking above a skyline where nothing is allowed to stand taller than the Parthenon.

The colours change – for a few seconds it seems like the building is on fire, the glass now reflecting the shot of orange that hits it square on.

It is an almost spiritual moment in a city revered throughout the centuries – but now associated with darker times.

And as I watch the scene today, I can hear the distant voices of protest, the megaphone shouting anti-austerity slogans: who is it this time? Doctors? University staff? You lose track.

But even as the rallies continue and the exhaustion of four years of financial crisis deepens, Greece goes on.

This is something that many outside fail to grasp: that even at the height of the meltdown, when petrol bombs and tear gas enveloped the main square, when parliament argued into the early hours over more cuts, when there were crisis talks in Brussels about how a country might transition out of the Euro – this one would pick itself up, dust itself off and go on living.

Shops would stay open, cafes remain busy, offices work and tourists arrive. What is known is the story of Greece’s decline, how a once-confident country has lost a quarter of its economy; of 27% unemployment – double that among the youth – of pensions slashed and homelessness up.

And that is all true, it has been heartbreaking to see the tearing of the social fabric. And yet perhaps the story correspondents have not told enough is about how Greece has not actually collapsed.

It has made me reflect. Hospitals and schools cannot afford basic equipment, the number of suicides has risen, some people who burned wood for their heating because oil was too expensive have died of suffocation, a party that denies the Holocaust and attacks immigrants is polling 10%. Does that not constitute collapse?

The far-right Golden Dawn party is the third most popular party in Greece

But on the other hand, Greece functions. The government has not fallen and this year the protest movement has faded. Far fewer have taken to the streets, there has been almost no violence. Why?

That the opposition here is split is certainly one reason. Communists, unionists, the weary middle class and anarchists converge clumsily in demonstrations, knowing what they are fighting against but not unified in their goals.

I joined students protesting this autumn who chanted the same tired slogans that have been heard here for 40 years. The importance of the family unit in Greece has shielded many. And people here love life: even if some cannot afford essentials, they still find pleasure in their climate, landscape and culture.

But perhaps it is also that there is a large proportion that quietly supports what has happened. I sat in a bustling bar last week with a lawyer who is among them.

The crisis is changing Greece for the better, he told me. The bloated, clientelist public sector that employed unqualified people in return for political support, is being reformed.

Greeks are learning to live within their means. Tax evasion is no longer accepted. A new culture of solidarity has emerged: a feeling of “we are all in it together”.

There is even a spirit of entrepreneurialism being born. It is, he said, a painful transition – but a necessary one. Psychiatrists talk of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Maybe Greece, which has known much grief, is edging towards the final stage.

I meet far more now who tell me that if they could choose between going back to 2004, when Greece basked in the Olympics and European football victory and felt wealthy – or now, pushing on, out of all this – they would take the latter.

The realisation has dawned that pre-crisis Greece was an illusion: it was a party which just had to end.

For sure, this country is changing in fundamental ways. Yet visitors here always remark how “normal” it seems – that is perhaps above all, a testament to Greek resilience. Beneath the smiles, though, there is a fear of the future.

The government talks of the worst being over, of an end to recession next year, of unemployment starting to fall. On paper, the figures do look better.

But as another tumultuous 12 months come to a close, nobody can tell if that sunset over Athens really does mark a true glimmer of hope.

Source: wiwibloggs.com

As you all know, Helena Paparizou, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, will participate in this year’s Melodifestivalen, the Swedish national selection. It seems that 2014 will bring her only happiness, as it is highly rumoured that she is getting married to her longtime boyfriend Andreas Kapsalis.

 

THE ROLE OF MELODIFESTIVALEN

The couple has not decided on the dates, as their wedding plans will be affected by Helena’s future in the Eurovision Song Contest. They want their marriage take place in late spring or during the summer. However, dates will change if she wins Melodifestivalen, and the opportunity to represent Sweden at Eurovision in May.

 

WHERE WILL IT TAKE PLACE?

Helena would love to marry Andreas in her birthplace, Oksia, the village in Karditsa (Central Greece) where her father grew up. The marriage can also take place in Aigina, the island where the groom comes from, or Athens, where they both spend a great deal of time.

 

WHO IS THE GROOM?

Born in 1970, Andreas is a successful business man in Greece. He comes from a prosperous family, with two other brothers, both of whom have also found great success. Having studied finance in the University of Athens and technology in Zyrich, he has worked as Construction Site Manager and Project Manager in his father’s company. He has been very close to his brothers, especially after their father died. At the age of 18 he already knew that he was going to have golden future. He knew that the resume was more important than playing sports or having relationships with girls. That demonstrated his focus. Now he promises that he will take care of Helena.

Source: bates.edu

Dana Professor of Anthropology Loring Danforth. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Co-written by Bates anthropologist Danny Danforth, the first comprehensive study of two children’s evacuation campaigns during the 1948 Greek Civil War has received the prestigious Edmund Keeley Book Prize.

Published in 2012 by the University of Chicago Press, Children of the Greek Civil War: Refugees and the Politics of Memory was co-written by Danforth, the Charles A. Dana Professor of History at Bates, and Riki Van Boeschoten, associate professor of social anthropology and oral history at the University of Thessaly, Greece.

Based in Brunswick, Maine, the Modern Greek Studies Association awards the Keeley Book Prize to an academic book first published in English and dealing with modern Greece or a Hellenic theme. Children of the Greek Civil War shared this year’s first prize with The Balkan Prospect: Identity, Culture, and Politics in Greece after 1989 by Vangelis Calotychos.

The warring sides in the Greek Civil War evacuated 38,000 children from their homes in the mountains of northern Greece. The Greek Communist Party relocated half of them to orphanages in Eastern Europe, while their adversaries in the national government placed the rest in children’s homes elsewhere in Greece.

A point of contention throughout the Cold War, this controversial episode continues to fuel tensions between Greeks and Macedonians and within Greek society itself.

Marshaling archival records, oral histories and ethnographic fieldwork, Danforth and Van Boeschoten analyzed the evacuation process, the political conflict surrounding it, the children’s upbringings and their fates as adults cut off from their parents and their homeland.

They also give voice to seven refugee children who, as adults, recount their experiences and efforts to construct new lives in diaspora communities throughout the world. A much-needed corrective to previous historical accounts, Children of the Greek Civil War is also a searching examination of the enduring effects of displacement on the lives of refugee children.

“Danforth and Van Goeschoten grippingly tell the stories of thousands of Greek children relocated” during the war, writes K. Dubinsky for Choice Reviews Online. “Amid charges of communist baby snatching and fascist child manipulation, the book charts an astonishingly evenhanded and supremely well-researched course.

“Insisting that refugee children ought to occupy center stage in their own history, the authors support their argument with two chapters of testimony from the historical actors themselves remembering their own childhood experiences,” Dubinsky writes. “This innovative book ends with some insightful thinking about the production of historical memory. Highly recommended.”

Danforth has written three other books, all published by Princeton University Press: The Death Rituals of Rural Greece (with photographer Alexander Tsiaras; 1982); Firewalking and Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement (1989); and The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World (1997).

Source: dailymail.co.uk

The villagers of Anogia appear to have developed a rare genetic mutation, protecting them from the risks posed by obesity and weight-gain

A village in Crete could provide the missing link in the battle against heart disease, researchers have found.

The high-fat Greek diet, typically rich in cheese, lamb and pastries, should cause most people health problems.

But the inhabitants of Anogia, and the surrounding area, nestled high in the island’s mountain range, appear to have developed a rare genetic mutation, protecting them from the risks posed by obesity and weight-gain.

A team of researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge have discovered that the variant, which decreases levels of bad fats, is 40 times more common in the isolated Cretan community.

They hope the discovery could be a key piece of the puzzle, which has intrigued scientists and health experts for years.

The protective genetic variant, known as R19X, was first found in the Amish population in 2008.

Project leader professor Eleftheria Zeggini said she is hopeful the protection afforded by the variant could be replicated in other people, to lower the incidence of heart disease across the world.

The study, published this week in the journal Nature Communications, involved scientists examining samples taken from 1,200 villagers.

AP News

Greek lawmakers have passed a law on property tax, as demanded by the country’s creditors, but the ruling coalition of conservatives and socialists has lost another member when a former conservative minister voted against it and was immediately expelled from the party.

The law passed in the 300-member Parliament Saturday, with 152 lawmakers voting for and 143 against.

It consolidates previous taxes and replaces a property charge imposed in 2011, which was paid through electricity bills.

Immediately after the vote, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that a veteran lawmaker and former minister, Byron Polydoras, who voted against the law, has been expelled from the ruling New Democracy party.

The new law envisages that land plots over 1,000 square meters (10, 764 sq. feet) will be taxed for the first time.

ΕΚ ΜΕΡΟΥΣ ΤΗΣ ΔΙΕΥΘΥΝΣΗΣ
ΣΑΣ ΕΥΧΟΜΑΣΤΕ
ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ ΚΑΙ
ΚΑΛΗ ΠΡΩΤΟ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ,
ΜΕ ΥΓΕΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΧΑΡΑ ΣΕ ΟΛΟΥΣ

.

.
ΚΑΙ ΚΑΛΗ ΠΡΩΤΟ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ

.

;