Daily Archives: December 16, 2014

Greek salads form part of the Mediterranean diet. Photo: AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett.

The Mediterranean diet, one of the most researched regimes in history, has again been found to be one of the most beneficial.

La Trobe University’s Dr Catherine Itsiopoulos, who specialises in dietetics and nutrition, told Neos Kosmos that greater benefits are continually being associated with the cuisine, predominately followed in countries like Greece, Italy and Spain.

“Following a Mediterranean diet promotes longevity, reduces risks of heart disease, prevents diabetes and more recently there’s evidence suggesting it prevents Alzheimer’s, so neurodegenerative diseases.”

“It can also affect your mood, happiness, and also your cognitive functions, to think clearly. So the benefits are very widespread and there’s evidence from around the world to support this.”

Comparatively, Dr Itsiopoulos said the Mediterranean diet’s benefits far outweigh those of other popular dieting regimes.

“The Paleo diet (for example) is based on a principle of a ‘caveman’, carnivore diet of mainly meat. There weren’t many grains, and it dates back to pre-historic man, so I guess the translation of that into modern times has been quite varied.

“If we reflect on caveman times, the life expectancy was not beyond 40-45 years. Whereas when we’re looking at Mediterranean diets and studies, and particularly some of the areas of the Mediterranean which are part of the long-living populations, like the island of Ikaria and the island of Sardinia, we see quite a high proportion of people living over 95.”

Whilst the Paleo diet might reap greater short-term weight-loss results through its strict high protein, low carbohydrate agenda, the Mediterranean diet’s ingredients, including legumes, greens and fish, is high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Accordingly, studies published last year in Spain, through 7,500 participants, found those adhering to a traditional diet native to Greece, Italy and Spain had a 30 per cent reduced risk of dying within five years, which Dr Itsiopoulos said could be translated to the same increase in life expectancy.

source: Neos Kosmos

Helena and Vicki a ratings success

Helena and Vicki helped bring ratings gold to Channel Seven this year, as My Kitchen Rules ranked as one of the most watched TV shows of the year.

My Kitchen Rules got four spots in the top 10 reality shows of the year, and came second overall in the most watched programs of the year.

My Kitchen Rules’ winners announced show saw 2,712,00 viewers tune in, while mid-week shows raked in close to 2 million viewers.

The on-air feuds between Greek Australian twins Helena and Vicki and the well-travelled friends from Western Australia Chloe and Kelly proved a cash cow for Channel Seven. The rivalry proved insatiable for fans, who would take to social media to chastise or congratulate the duos.

Helena and Vicki’s presence also saw thousands of Greek Australians tune into the show for the first time, being encouraged by the traditional recipes the girls would cook up, even if they were slightly bastardised or not executed with the best technique.

Despite not getting to the final, the twins have enjoyed success from the show, being involved in many cooking demonstrations at Greek festivals all around Australia, and are in the process of releasing a cookbook.

The most watched TV program of the year was unsurprisingly the AFL Grand Final, with 2,828,000 viewers tuning in.

Fat Tony and Co, directed by Peter Andrikidis and staring Costas Kilias, Maria Mercedes, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Steve Mouzakis, Jason Gianginis, Odette Joannidis and Alex Tsitsopoulos also took out top ratings gongs, coming in at fourth and fifth in the top 10 dramas of the year. The first and second episodes of the show had close to 2.5 million viewers combined.

source: Neos Kosmos

Την θεωρεί υπεύθυνη γιατί προσβλήθηκε από μεσοθηλίωμα.

Ένας ομογενής μήνυσε την κυβέρνηση της Αυστραλίας την οποία θεωρεί υπεύθυνη γιατί προσβλήθηκε από μεσοθηλίωμα.

Ο Χρήστος Γεωργίου υποστηρίζει ότι η αυστραλιανή κυβέρνηση, αν και γνώριζε τους κινδύνους που εμπεριέχει η έκθεση σε αμίαντο, εντούτοις δεν έλαβε έγκαιρα μέτρα για να προστατεύσει το κοινό, αλλά και να απαγορεύσει τη χρήση του συγκεκριμένου προϊόντος.

Την υπόθεση του κ. Γεωργίου έχει αναλάβει η ομογενής δικηγόρος, Θεοδώρα Αχίλα, η οποία υποστηρίζει ότι υπάρχουν έγγραφα που αποδεικνύουν ότι η κυβέρνηση γνώρισε έγκαιρα πόσο επικίνδυνος είναι ο αμίαντος αλλά επέτρεπε να χρησιμοποιείται σε κατοικίες.

Η κ. Αχίλα έχει αναλάβει πολλές υποθέσεις θυμάτων του αμίαντου.

Ανάμεσά τους είναι και ομογενείς, κάποιοι από τους οποίους πέθαναν καθώς όλες οι σχετιζόμενες με τον αμίαντο ασθένειες είναι πολύ σοβαρές και ως ένα βαθμό ανίατες αν και από τη χρονική στιγμή της έκθεσης σε επιβαρυμένο περιβάλλον ινών αμιάντου μέχρι την εκδήλωση των ασθενειών, μεσολαβεί ένα αρκετά μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα (από 20 έως 40 χρόνια).

Η περίπτωση του κ. Γεωργίου παρουσιάζει μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον γιατί αν δικαιωθεί από τη Δικαιοσύνη αναμένεται να ακολουθήσουν και άλλες δικαστικές διεκδικήσεις από την ομοσπονδιακή κυβέρνηση της Αυστραλίας.

Υπενθυμίζεται ότι η έκθεση σε αμίαντο μπορεί να οδηγήσει στην εμφάνιση προβλημάτων υγείας για όσους εκτίθενται στις ίνες του αμίαντου που υπάρχουν στον αέρα και οι οποίες μπορεί να εισέλθουν στον ανθρώπινο οργανισμό μέσω του αναπνευστικού και του πεπτικού συστήματος. Μέσω του δέρματος δεν γίνεται απορρόφηση. Σε ιδιαίτερες περιπτώσεις και σε εκτενή έκθεση σε επιβαρυμένο περιβάλλον διείσδυση ινών αμιάντου μπορεί να οδηγήσει σε τοπική εναπόθεσή τους κάτω από το δέρμα. Το ανθρώπινο σώμα μπορεί να αποβάλλει τις περισσότερες από τις μεγαλύτερες εισπνεύσιμες ίνες γιατί η αναπνευστική οδός είναι εφοδιασμένη με μηχανισμό άμυνας που απομακρύνει και καταστρέφει τις ίνες που έχουν διάμετρο μεγαλύτερη από 3 χιλιοστά, ενώ επίσης μπορεί να αποβάλλει με φυσικό τρόπο τις ίνες που πιθανόν να ληφθούν με την τροφή και το νερό.

Οι μικροσκοπικές ίνες αμιάντου, όμως, με διάμετρο μικρότερη από 3 χιλιοστά και μήκος πάνω από 5 χιλιοστά μπορούν να εισέλθουν στους πνεύμονες. Αυτές οι ίνες αμιάντου αν φθάσουν στις πνευμονικές κυψελίδες δεν μπορούν να μεταβολιστούν και είναι σχεδόν αδύνατον να αποβληθούν. Παραμένουν εκεί και δρουν ως φλεγμονώδη στοιχεία διά βίου, προκαλώντας έτσι μόνιμη εστία φλεγμονής. Σημαντικό ρόλο επίσης παίζει το είδος των ινών αμίαντου όσον αφορά την διεισδυτικότητα τους στους πνεύμονες. Οι ίνες των αμφιβολιτών (κροκιδόλιθος και αμοσίτης) έχουν μεγαλύτερη διεισδυτικότητα από τις ίνες του χρυσότιλου και γι’ αυτό θεωρούνται πιο επικίνδυνοι από τον χρυσότιλο.

Σήμερα που οι γνώσεις μας για τις ασθένειες που σχετίζονται με τον αμίαντο είναι αρκετά προχωρημένες, παρά τις όποιες αντιπαραθέσεις, μπορούμε να θεωρήσουμε τρεις βασικές αρχές που συνδέονται με τις ασθένειες αυτές:

ι) Η εισπνοή ινών αμιάντου για κάποια χρονική περίοδο (είτε μέσω συνεχούς έκθεσης είτε μέσω επαναλαμβανόμενων εκθέσεων), έχει σαν αποτέλεσμα την εμφάνιση ασθενειών.

ιι) Από τη χρονική στιγμή της έκθεσης σε επιβαρυμένο περιβάλλον ινών αμιάντου μέχρι την εκδήλωση των ασθενειών, μεσολαβεί ένα αρκετά μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα (από 20 έως 40 χρόνια) που ονομάζεται ‘λανθάνουσα περίοδος’.

ιιι) Όλες οι σχετιζόμενες με τον αμίαντο ασθένειες είναι πολύ σοβαρές και ως ένα βαθμό ανίατες. Για τον λόγο αυτό αποκτά πολύ μεγάλη σημασία η πρόληψη κατά την διάρκεια της έκθεσης ώστε ν’ αποτραπεί η πιθανή εκδήλωση των ασθενειών αυτών.

Οι ασθένειες που αποδίδονται στην έκθεση ινών αμιάντου είναι οι ακόλουθες:

1. Η αμιάντωση

2. Ο καρκίνος των πνευμόνων

3. Το μεσοθηλίωμα

4. Άλλες ασθένειες

Η εξέλιξη των νόσων γίνεται σταδιακά και συχνά μπορεί να οδηγήσει έμμεσα και στο θάνατο λόγω της ευπάθειας του ατόμου σε πνευμονικές λοιμώξεις ή σε ανακοπή της καρδιάς λόγω δυσλειτουργίας του αναπνευστικού συστήματος.

Πήγή:Nέος Κόσμος

O Man Haron Monis

Στις 2.00 τα ξημερώματα ώρα Αυστραλίας γράφτηκε η τελευταία σελίδα της πολύωρης πολιορκίας που έσπειρε τον τρόμο στο κέντρο του Σίδνεϊ, όταν ένοπλοι αστυνομικοί εισέβαλαν με πυροβολισμούς στην καφετέρια Lindt όπου άγνωστος αριθμός ομήρων κρατούνταν για πάνω από 16 ώρες από τον αυτοπακαλούμενο κληρικό Man Haron Monis.
Η αστυνομία επιβεβαίωσε ότι δύο όμηροι μία 38χρονη γυναίκα, ένας 38χρονος άνδρας και ο ένοπλος άνδρας που κρυβόταν πίσω από την επίθεση είναι νεκροί.
Μετά την εισβολή των αστυνομικών κάποιοι από τους ομήρους εθεάθησαν να βγαίνουν τρέχοντας από την καφετέρια ενώ κάποιοι άλλοι μεταφέρονταν εκτός της καφετέριας σε φορεία. Αρκετοί από τους ομήρους μεταφέρθηκαν σε νοσοκομεία της περιοχής.

Σύμφωνα με τα όσα έχουν γίνει γνωστά μέρι τώρα ο Monis είχε αφηθεί ελέυθερος με εγγύηση πριν από λίγο καιρό και αντιμεώπιζε κατηγορία για συνεργεία στην δολοφονία της πρώην συζύγου του αλλά και 40 συνολικά κατηγορίες για άσεμνες σεξουαλικές επιθέσεις. Είχε επίσης κριθεί ένοχος για την αποστολή πρσβλητικών επιστολών στις οικογένειες αυστραλών στρατιωτών που είχαν χάσει τη ζωή τους στο Ιράκ.
Λίγο μετά την δημοσιοποίηση της ταυτότητάς του ο ομογενής Manny Conditsis, πρώην δικηγόρος του Monis δήλωσε ότι επρόκειτο για ένα περιθωριακό άτομο που πολύ πιθανόν έδρασε μόνος του.

“Πιστεύω ότι οι σκληροπυρηνικές ιδεολογικές του πεποιθήσεις τον τύφλωσαν” δήλωσε ο ομογενής δικηγόρος που εκπροσώπησε τον Monis πέρσι όταν ο δράστης εμφανίστηκε στο δικαστήριο κατηγορούμενος ως συνεργός για την δολοφονία της πρώην του συζύγου Noleen Hayson Pal που μαχαιρώθηκε και μετά πυρπολήθηκε έξω από διαμέρισμα στην περιοχή του Δυτικού Σίδνεϋ.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

For three successive generations, the family of the legendary Cretan singer-songwriter Nikos Xylouris and his brother, the equally famous Antonis Xylouris, known as Psarantonis, have kept the Aegean island’s music tradition alive, adapting and spreading it to thousands of people around the world.

“A Family Affair,” a new documentary due to open at local theaters on January 8, tells the story of the multi-talented Xylouris family by zooming in on Psarantonis, his son Psarogiorgis (Giorgos Xylouris) and his children, who are at university in Melbourne, Australia.

Together, they make up the Xylouris Ensemble, performing in concerts around the world.

Filmmaker Angeliki Aristomenopoulou followed family members into the recording studio, at rehearsals and concerts, and recorded their thoughts about their music and their professional challenges. The documentary was shot over a period of two years, showing some major changes that occurred in the protagonists’ lives and how they responded to them.

“The film captures how music is passed on from father to son to grandchildren, in a contemporary Greek-Australian family, brought together by their love of music,” says Aristomenopoulou on the film’s website.

The filmmaker quotes something Giorgos Xylouris says on the film to explain what it’s all about: “We don’t carry this tradition as a family weight. It’s part of our lives, of who we are. We need this tradition to live like we need oxygen.”

Cretan roots

Nikos Xylouris (1936-80) was born in Anogeia, a rugged mountain region in the hinterland of Crete, and penned soulful songs seen as expressing the indomitable Cretan spirit. He was also linked to a generation of young music artists who emerged in the 1970s, during or in the aftermath of the student uprising against the colonels’ dictatorship at Athens Polytechnic, such as Yiannis Markopoulos and Stavros Xarchakos, who gave Greek music a political and tonal edge it previously lacked.

Like his brother Psarantonis and nephew Psarogiorgis, Nikos Xylouris was a master on the Cretan lyra, evoking from the Byzantine-era instrument sounds that inspired hundreds of young Greeks, then as now, to try their hand at traditional Greek instruments.

Psarantonis has also built a strong domestic and international following in his own right, not only by propagating his brother’s music but also through his own personal work.

The Athens premier of “A Family Affair” will take place on January 8 at the Danaos (109 Kifissias, tel 210.692.2655), the only theater in the Greek capital that will be screening the film. Starting on January 15, screenings will also take place on Crete, at Technopolis in Iraklio as well as at theaters in Hania and Rethymno. On January 29, Thessaloniki will have its turn, at the Olympion Cinema.

“A Family Affair” will see its international launch at the end of January in France, before traveling to others parts of Europe, the US and Australia. It is also due to feature in a number of film festivals.

Aristomenopoulou is a documentary filmmaker who studied in London and Barcelona and who has specialized in music-related subjects. From 2005 to 2010 she worked as a director on the popular documentary series “Music of the World,” produced by former state broadcaster ERT. She has directed more than 30 music documentaries about different genres of music from around the world and her work has been shown at international festivals and by foreign broadcasters such as CBC Canada, Al-Jazeera UK, and Czech and Slovenian state television.

source: ekathimerini.com

Shortly after 2am local time a loud bang was heard coming from the building, followed by shouts from police, and several people ran from the scene.

A sustained mix of what appeared to gunfire and flashbangs went on for 10 to 15 seconds as police stormed the cafe. At the sound of a second bang an officer in bomb disposal gear appeared and there was another short burst of gunfire.

Paramedics moved in and took away several injured people on stretchers. One injured female hostage was carried out by two police officers, and paramedics brought another three out on stretchers. Paramedics performed CPR on one.

The NSW ambulance service said it was “treating and transporting a number of hostages”.

The chaotic scenes began as between five and seven hostages were seen running from the cafe, the second group of captives to escape since the siege began at about 9.45am on Monday local time. Later, other groups of what appeared to be hostages could be seen running out.

A gunman carrying a blue sports bag had reportedly entered the cafe on Monday morning and a hostage situation quickly developed, with heavily armed police surrounding the cafe and closing off the streets of the central area of Australia’s biggest city.

Early images showed some hostages apparently forced to hold a black and white flag against the window bearing the Islamic creed. Other terrified hostages inside the cafe could be seen with their hands pressed against the glass.

A black flag in the window of the cafe appeared to bear the Shahada, an Islamic affirmation of the oneness of God, reading: “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

The creed is common in the Islamic world and appears on the Saudi Arabian flag, but has been embraced by Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The man reported to be behind the siege, Man Haron Monis, who was on bail facing dozens of charges of indecent and sexual assault. A fringe figure in Australia’s Muslim community, Monis had been spurned by Shia leaders, who had reportedly urged federal police to investigate the man over his claims to be an ayatollah, or Shia cleric.

The Iranian-born 49-year-old, who apparently converted from Shia Islam to Sunni only last week, was infamously involved in sending “grossly offensive” letters to parents and relatives of Australian victims of terrorism and troops killed in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009. He unsuccessfully challenged the conviction in the high court last year.

He has also been accused of being an accessory in the killing of his former wife, a charge for which he remains on bail.

He told ABC News in 2001 that he fled Australia five years earlier after falling foul of the Iranian regime, which he said had placed his wife and children under house arrest. “I can say they are hostage,” he said at the time.

His former lawyer, Manny Conditsis, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “This is a one-off random individual. It’s not a concerted terrorism event or act. It’s a damaged goods individual who’s done something outrageous.”

The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, made a short statement during the siege, urging Australians to be resolute. “We don’t yet know the motivation of the perpetrator, we don’t know whether this is politically motivated although obviously there are some indications that it could be,” Abbott said.

“We have to appreciate that even in a society such as ours, there are people who would wish to do us harm, that’s why we have police and security organisations of the utmost professionalism that are ready and able to respond to a whole range of situations and contingencies including this situation that we are now seeing in Sydney.”

Australia’s grand mufti, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, said he was devastated by the news of the standoff.

“The grand mufti and the Australian National Imam Council condemn this criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam,” he said.

“We, along with the wide Australian society, await the results of the investigation about the identity of the perpetrators and their underlying motivations behind this criminal act.”

source: theguardian.com

Lawyer Stefan Balafoutis, centre, races to safety from the cafe. Source: Getty Images

The 49-year-old, who lives in Sydney’s southwest, stormed the Lindt cafe in Martin Place yesterday morning, brandishing a sawn-off shotgun and sparking one of the biggest hostage dramas in the nation’s history.

The heart of Australia’s biggest city was locked down and thousands of office workers were evacuated or kept trapped in their buildings after a gunman stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe in the CBD about 9.40am.

The man, understood to be a fringe Islamist, is understood to have taken about 20 people hostage, a figure that dropped by five after three men and two women fled the cafe into the arms of heavily armed assault police. It is understood they were not released by the gunman but had escaped. One of the remaining hostages was last night identified as an Infosys worker.

The gunman, who arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1996, achieved notoriety after he sent letters to the families of Diggers who lost their lives in Afghanistan, accusing them of being murderers.

In November last year, he was charged with being an ­accessory before and after the fact to the murder of his ex-wife, who was allegedly stabbed and set alight in her apartment complex. In March, he was charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman in 2002.

As police negotiators settled in for a night talking to the man, sources close to the incident urged caution in labelling the attack as one organised or inspired by al-Qa’ida or any similar terrorist group, such as Islamic State. Instead, they painted a picture of an unstable individual well known to NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police and whose moti­vations were not ­entirely clear.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione last night suggested the siege could last for days.

The attack came at the end of a year dominated by terrorism, with the number of Australians seeking to take up arms for terrorist groups overseas, particularly Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, causing concern for security agencies.

ASIO recently raised the ­nation’s terror threat level to “high’’, meaning an attack is likely, with police conducting the largest counter-terrorist operation in the country’s history following their discovery of a plot to abduct and behead a member of the public.

Increasingly, authorities fear a “lone-wolf” attack by an individual rather than mass casualty event such as the Bali bombings.

Yesterday’s incident began when the man wearing a headband inscribed with Arabic script walked into the Martin Place cafe and produced a shotgun. Terrified hostages were forced to hold a black flag bearing the ­inscription of the Shahada — the Muslim profession of faith — against a window, as black-clad teams of assault police and ­horrified members of the public looked on.

source:theaustralian.com.au