Monthly Archives: February 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades

Cyprus signed a deal with Russia allowing its navy ships to make regular port calls on the island.

The deal with European Union member Cyprus, which also hosts British military bases, comes amid Russia-West tensions over Ukraine, the worst since the Cold War times.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with visiting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades that the agreement would primarily refer to Russian navy ships involved in international counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts. He added that military cooperation between Russia and Cyprus isn’t directed against any third party.

“Our friendly ties aren’t aimed against anyone,” Putin said. “I don’t think it should cause worries anywhere.”

Russia has sought permission for navy ships to use ports in various parts of the world to replenish supplies and undergo maintenance, deals that would allow Moscow to expand its global military presence.

Russian ships already have made port calls at Limassol, but the new agreement apparently aims to create a more solid legal basis for that.

Speaking to Tass news agency before his trip to Moscow, Anastasiades said that Cyprus and Russia were also discussing a possibility for Russian planes to use an air base near Pathos for humanitarian relief missions.

Source: AP

‘Grexit’ might be a catchy term but the repercussions are immense.

To misquote Mao Zedong, creating a single currency is not a tea party. Despite former U.S. central banker Alan Greenspan’s disparaging comments about the future of the euro, Americans had far worse problems creating a single currency.

The question facing the Europeans as they hammer out a deal with Greece is whether the long-term advantages of the euro outweigh the pain of the current ructions. If the American experience is any guide, it is worth it.

Greenspan has been widely quoted as predicting the collapse of the eurozone, led by the forced exit of Greece. In the interview on the BBC, however, Greenspan did not specifically link the two, as in cause and effect.

But he did say that, in the long term, the European currency union is untenable.

“There is no way I can conceive of the euro continuing unless and until all of the members of the eurozone become politically integrated,” Greenspan told the BBC’s Mark Mardell.

What Greenspan conveniently seemed to forget is that for Americans (and even Canadians), settling on a single unit of payment was a long and painful process. It costs money. And if U.S. history is any guide, it does not depend on perfect political integration.

In some ways, the U.S. states are less integrated than the countries of the European Union. Certainly they were much less so when they were getting their currency together.

Texas, as just one example, only joined the currency union in 1850 after the Texas redback collapsed. The bankrupt state was bailed out to the tune of $10 million as part of the Compromise of 1850.

The size of that bailout comes into proportion when you know that in 1853 the entire U.S. federal debt was about $50 million.

Then, of course, there was the U.S. Civil War, with its Confederate States of America dollar. Even the Union dollar collapsed. That was when the name “greenback” appeared because the currency was no longer backed by gold. In 1862, the U.S. dollar fell in value to 38 Canadian cents.

Even after the U.S. Supreme Court declared Washington to be sovereign over the individual states, it was privately owned banks that issued currency. Central banking was an innovation imported from Europe only after the U.S. financial collapse of 1907.

In the case of the eurozone, Greenspan said that’s not good enough.

“Fundamentally, what clearly was the driving force was the fact that they had two world wars on European soil within 20, 25 years,” he said dismissively.

I don’t know about Greenspan, but I’d say avoiding a third world war is worth a bit of trouble getting through the current rough patch.

*Don Pittis has been a Fuller Brush man, a forest fire fighter and an Arctic ranger before discovering journalism. He was principal business reporter for Radio Television Hong Kong before the handover to China and has produced and reported for CBC and BBC News. He is currently senior producer at CBC’s business unit.

source: Neos Kosmos

The facebook page set up to get Mercedes noticed.

Well, it started off as a bit of a pipe dream, but Maria Mercedes is currently one of the most popular acts to be considered by the Australian Eurovision selection committee.

While many have been tipping Kylie Minogue or Delta Goodrem as the most likely acts, the internet has other ideas.

The organisers of the Australian act selection, SBS and Blink.tv, were so inundated with requests to pick Maria Mercedes as the Australian representative that it crashed their servers.

Hundreds of comments flooded in, especially on the Popsugar site that had posted a news article entitled ‘Who Do You Think Will Perform at Eurovision?’.

The poll had 10 artists listed, with the option of picking none and nominating an act in the comments section.

In just a couple of hours, more than 50 comments appeared, all nominating Maria Mercedes.

The popularity spread even further, with someone creating a special Facebook page entitled ‘Maria Mercedes to sing for Australia at Eurovision’. It has more than 350 likes.

The whole experience has been overwhelming, Maria Mercedes admits.

“I just posted it on Facebook, and it went haywire, people just went ballistic,” she tells Neos Kosmos.

An avid Eurovision fan herself, Mercedes dreamed of one day representing her country in the song competition, but knew her chances were slim considering Australia’s location.

“Being Australian by birth, unless I went over to Greece and tried to represent Greece, it was going to be difficult,” she says.

If she does make it and gets selected, she says she’s already well prepared.

“I’ve got a song already up my sleeve,” she admits.

“It’s a song called Kouraio (Courage), which is basically my take on the whole migration thing and how it feels to embody two identities.”

She hopes the song will be a truly multicultural representation of Australia.

“It’s not just representing myself, I’m representing the journey of all our parents and I’m representing what can be achieved by sacrifice,” she says.

The final date for artists to submit their application expired on Friday. SBS and Blink.tv will announce the Australian act shortly.

In the meantime, Maria Mercedes is working on reprising her role as Maria Callas in the play Masterclass, touring NSW and Melbourne soon.

source: Neos Kosmos

Michael Zavros Lover’s Temple – 2006, Oil on Canvas

The Australian art scene is one that beams with a magnitude of colourful difference. This is evident through the ‘2015 Power Trip’, a list which states the 50 most powerful people in the contemporary Australian art scene. Comprised of curators, gallery owners, artists and those with public profiles in the art scene, two places were given to Greeks in this year’s list: Michael Zavros at number 41, and Barry Keldoulis, placed at number 7. Both men have a prominent existence in the Australian contemporary art scene and their involvement invaluable for the sustenance of contemporary Australian art, with Zavros contributing to the scene with his multitude of different works and Keldoulis a prominent gallerist and director of the Sydney and Melbourne Contemporary Art Fair.

Michael Zavros is a leading Greek Australian artist whose works are a charming display of his multidimensional artistic talent. Graduating from one of the longest-running and modern art schools in Australia, the Queensland College of Art, Zavros has had his works displayed in prominent museums throughout Australia, Asia, Europe and New Zealand. Alongside these achievements, Zavros has attained a plethora of awards, the most recent and prestigious being that of the inaugural Bulgari Art Award, presented to Zavros by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, in 2012. Zavros’ talent varies from paintings and drawings to sculptures as well, and his works are consistent in presenting to the audience a skilful double entrendre through holding both a modern and classic aesthetic. One of the most prominent of Zavros’ talents is the skill he possesses in photorealism; ultimately a very strong capability to couple the human eye with artistic precision and detail, in order to generate a painting that has audiences baffled at just how the painting is not a real photo.

Barry Keldoulis is another Greek Australian placed in this year’s Power Trip, whose presence over the past thirty years as a gallery owner, curator and director of the Sydney and Melbourne Contemporary Art fair has made a powerful impact on the Australian art scene. Keldoulis began his interest in art as a viewer in high school and upon leaving school, did not start work in the field of art until 10 years later in the booming city of New York. Keldoulis began his career in the art world as the private secretary and chief of staff for the honourable Henry Geldazhler, Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of New York, and also held relations with Andy Warhol at the time. While in New York, Keldoulis derived an immense amount of artistic knowledge and brought this back with him to Australia in the mid-’90s. The Australian art scene has had the pleasure of Keldoulis returning home with this knowledge, allowing him to open up his own gallery in Sydney and to become director at the contemporary Sydney and Melbourne Art Fair.

Art has always been one of the most charming ways for a society to reflect its internal identity. From ancient Hellinistic art in 4BC Greece, whose existence was reflective of ancient society through both subject matter and material, to the modern street art of Athens whose variegated existence stands as a form of political activism, art has always in many different ways reflected the reality of a society at its present time. In Australia, the multi-layered nature of the art scene and the diverse array of artists that vary from street art to fine art particularly stand as a charming ode to the multidimensional nature of this contemporary land.

The strong presence of both Zavros and Keldoulis in this multidimensional scene is something the Greek community should hold with great pride. Michael Zavros and Barry Keldoulis are indeed two major players leading Greek presence into the future of Australian art. Congratulations to both Zavros and Keldoulis on their placements in this year’s Power Trip.

source: Neos Kosmos

Yanis Varoufakis

In 2005, Yanis Varoufakis was suspended from an SBS radio show for what the station called the promotion of anti-Jewish stereotypes.

Varoufakis, who at the time was an economics professor at the University of Athens, defended himself a few years later by stating that in his criticism of Israeli policies he was merely basing himself on reports in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

During his weekly broadcast at the Greek language radio program Australian of SBS on August 29, 2005, Varoufakis had claimed that Israel used the blockade of Gaza as part of “a strategy for retaining a large part of the West Bank” and called the West Bank security fence a “concrete monster”, according to his blog.
Varoufakis claimed that the then Howard government legislated to terminate his services from SBS.

SBS has since denied this.

source: Neos Kosmos

Bill Shorten addressing the crowd at the Lonsdale Street Festival. Photo: Kostas Deves.

After touching on the topic of the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles at the Lonsdale Street Festival, federal opposition leader Bill Shorten has gone a step further and promised diplomatic assistance to Greece on the issue.

Mr Shorten said he would use Australia’s “close ties” with the United Kingdom to help the reunification talks go in Greece’s favour.

“Labor will, through our diplomacy, good offices and close ties with the United Kingdom, look to assist the Greek government in this respect,” he told Neos Kosmos.

Mr Shorten believes Australia’s experience in successfully securing the return of indigenous remains to the country will help the Greek government improve their case.

“As Australia has sought the return of the remains of indigenous Australians taken abroad we can fully appreciate the cultural significance placed on these objects by the Greek people and their desire to see them returned home.”

At last week’s Lonsdale Street Festival, Mr Shorten received the biggest applause when he passionately voiced his support of getting the Parthenon Marbles returned to their country of origin.

Currently Australian David Hill heads the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

He, alongside famous international lawyers Geoffrey Robertson, Amal Clooney and Professor Norman Palmer visited Greece late last year to help the Greek government work on a legal case to get the marbles back home.

source: Neos Kosmos

Multicultural NSW CEO Hakan Harman.

Ethnic community leaders in Sydney are demanding the removal of the NSW government’s most senior official in charge of the state’s multicultural affairs, claiming guidance he gave to local councils promotes the agenda of his Turkish homeland.

Chief executive of Multicultural NSW Mr Hakan Harman has been accused of serving Turkish interests by issuing guidelines which say public memorials should not “assign blame” where a memorial is constructed to mark what he described as a “contentious” historical event.

Mr Harman’s actions – without first advising Minister for Communities Victor Dominello – has been widely condemned by Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian community leaders who have released a joint statement demanding Mr Harman’s resignation.

Signatories to the statement include the Assyrian Universal Alliance, the Australian Hellenic Council of NSW, the Greek Orthodox Community of NSW, the Cyprus Community of NSW, the Armenian National Committee of Australia, and the Korean Society of Sydney.

The statement said that in October 2014, the Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance (ATTA) presented Mr Harman with a set of draft guidelines relating to the recognition of historical events, and that the Multicultural NSW CEO had adopted a version of the ATTA-conceived guidelines without the approval of NSW’s Minister for Communities Victor Dominello.

According to the statement, Mr Harman subsequently distributed the guidelines to local councils “to negatively influence recognition of important historical events, such as the Assyrian Genocide, the Korean and Chinese Comfort Women, and the Armenian Genocide in this Centenary year”.

While the published guidelines did not specifically mention the Armenian Genocide, Neos Kosmos understands that a letter from the ATAA to Mr Harman encouraged him to introduce criteria that would restrict public money being used by “specific ethnic groups” to promote their “own interpretations of historical events”.

“We do not believe that it is appropriate for government, at any level in Australia, to ‘weigh in’ on those historical matters,” the letter added.

On February 3, the ATTA issued a media release applauding Multicultural NSW for adopting the guidelines prior to their official distribution.

Mr Harman was forced to withdraw the guidelines eight days later after the intervention of Minister Dominello, who had been only made aware of their existence by community leaders. Mr Harman said this week that he had “made an error of judgement by not consulting more widely”.

In 1997, the NSW Legislative Assembly unanimously acknowledged the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks between 1915 and 1922 and a memorial marking the Legislative Assembly’s resolution – which “condemns and rejects all attempts to deny or distort the historical truth” – was erected at Parliament House.

Genocide scholar Dr Panayiotidis Diamidis told Neos Kosmos that Mr Harman’s position as head of Multicultultural NSW was now untenable.

“Nothing less than [his] resignation or dismissal is satisfactory action, given the severity of his actions in jeopardising NSW Government policy-making.

“Harman’s attempted manipulation of Multicultural NSW, his blatant attempt at entrenching a denialist position – in contradiction of the positions of the Parliament and Government he works for – only adds to Harman’s offence.”

The Armenian Apostolic Church is planning to erect a new memorial in Willoughby to mark the Genocide later this year.

Chinese and Korean Australians also have intentions to erect a statue in Strathfield to commemorate hundreds of thousands of so-called “comfort women” – sex slaves from occupied countries who were abused by Japanese soldiers during WWII.

After meeting with representatives from Assyrian, Armenian, Greek and Cypriot community organisations this week, Minister Dominello said that the guidelines supplied to local councils had been circulated without his approval and without prior community consultation.

The minister added that he has asked Multicultural NSW to conduct a review of the process by which the guidelines were developed.

Η μεγάλη έκπληξη στους πρώτους αγώνες των «16» του Champions League έγινε στο «Εμιρεϊτς». Η Μονακό του Λεονάρντο Ζαρντίμ, νίκησε 3-1 την Αρσεναλ και απέκτησε ξεκάθαρο προβάδισμα πρόκρισης στους «8», για πρώτη φορά μετα το 2004 όταν είχε παίξει στον τελικό της διοργάνωσης.

Η πρώτη αναμέτρηση του Αρσέν Βενγκέρ εναντίον της Μονακό, 20 χρόνια μετά την αποχώρησή του από το πριγκιπάτο, έκρυβε μια… τραυματική εμπειρία για τον Αλσατό.

Στο 38′ ο Κοντογκμπιά άνοιξε το σκορ, καθώς το σουτ που επιχείρησε βρήκε στην πλάτη του Μερτεζάκερ, άλλαξε πορεία και ξεγέλασε τον Οσπίνα. Οι «κανονιέρηδες» μπήκαν δυνατά στο β΄ ημίχρονο, έχασαν δύο σημαντικές ευκαιρίες με τον Ζιρού, αλλά στο 53΄ σε μια υποδειγματική αντεπίθεση, ο Μπερμπάτοφ από ασίστ του Μαρσιάλ έγραψε το 0-2.

Στο πρώτο λεπτό των καθυστερήσεων (90+1′) ο Αλεξ Οξλέιντ-Τσάμπερλεϊν με εξαιρετικό σουτ έξω από την περιοχή μείωσε σε 1-2 και έδωσε δικαίωμα στην ελπίδα στους Λονδρέζους. Ομως, οι ελπίδες… έσβησαν στο 90+4΄ σε ακόμα μία «φονική» αντεπίθεση των φιλοξενούμενων με τον Φερέιρα Καράσκο να «εκτελεί» τον Οσπίνα και να διαμορφώνει το τελικό σκορ.

Η Μονακό του Λεονάρντο Ζαρντίμ βρίσκεται πλέον στο «κατώφλι» των προημιτελικών. Οσο για την Αρσεναλ, συμμετέχει για 15η διαδοχική χρονιά στους  «16», όμως κινδυνεύει να αποκλειστεί στην ίδια φάση για πέμπτη συνεχόμενη σεζόν!

Διαιτητής: Ντενίζ Αϊτεκίν (Γερμανία)

Κίτρινες: Κοκλέν, Μπεγερίν, Οζίλ – Ελντερσον, Μουτίνιο

AΡΣΕΝΑΛ (Αρσέν Βενγκέρ): Oσπίνα, Γκιμπς, Μερτερζάκερ, Κοσιελνί, Μπεγιερίν, Οζίλ, Σάντι Καθόρλα (82΄ Ροζίτσκι), Κοκλέν (68΄ Οξλέιντ-Τσάμπερλεϊν), Ζιρού (60΄ Γουόλκοτ), Αλέξις Σάντσες, Γουέλμπεκ.

ΜΟΝΑΚΟ (Λεονάρντο Ζαρντίμ): Σούμπασιτς, Φαμπίνιο, Αμπντενούρ, Γουάλας, Έλντερσον, Τουρέ, Ντιράρ (82΄ Κουρζαουά), Ζοάο Μουτίνιο, Κοντογκμπιά, Μπερμπάτοφ (75΄ Φερέιρα-Καράσκο), Μαρσιάλ (84΄ Μπερνάρντο Σίλβα).

H Λεβερκούζεν… λύγισε την Ατλέτικο

Κατώτερη του αναμενόμενου εμφανίστηκε η Ατλέτικο Μαδρίτης στην «Μπάι Αρένα» του Λεβερκούζεν και γνώρισε την ήττα με 1-0 από την Μπάγερ, η οποία θα πάει στη ρεβάνς του «Βιθέντε Καλντερόν», στις 17 Μαρτίου, έχοντας ένα μικρό προβάδισμα στα προγνωστικά για την πρόκριση.

Η γερμανική ομάδα κυριάρχησε στο μεγαλύτερο διάστημα του αγώνα απέναντι στην (ανεξήγητα) κακή πρωταθλήτρια Ισπανίας, είχε δοκάρι στο 26΄ με τον Σπάχιτς και τελικά έφτασε στο γκολ με τον Τσαλχάνογλου στο 57΄, από ενέργεια του Μπελαραμπί.

Σαν να μην έφτανε η τραγική απόδοσή της, η Ατλέτικο έμεινε με δέκα παίκτες στο 77ο λεπτό, όταν αποβλήθηκε με δεύτερη κίτρινη ο Τιάγκο, κι ενώ ούτε ο Γκοντίν θα είναι διαθέσιμος στη ρεβάνς, αφού επίσης συμπλήρωσε κάρτες.

ΔΙΑΙΤΗΤΗΣ: Πάβελ Κράλοβετς (Τσεχία)

ΚΟΚΚΙΝΗ: 77΄ Τιάγκο (2η κίτρινη)

ΚΙΤΡΙΝΕΣ: Γουέντελ, Κ. Παπαδόπουλος, Μπέντερ, Κάστρο, Κίσλινγκ – Τιάγκο, Γκοντίν, Τόρες, Γκάμεθ

ΜΠΑΓΕΡ ΛΕΒΕΡΚΟΥΖΕΝ (Ρότζερ Σμιντ): Λένο, Σπάχιτς, Χίλμπερτ, Κ. Παπαδόπουλος, Γουέντελ, Κάστρο, Μπέντερ (68΄ Ρόλφες), Τσαλχάνογλου (87΄ Μπραντ), Κάστρο, Μπεραλαμπί, Σον Μιν, Ντρμιτς (80΄ Κίσλινγκ).

ΑΤΛΕΤΙΚΟ ΜΑΔΡΙΤΗΣ (Ντιέγκο Σιμεόνε): Μόγια, Γκοντίν, Σικέιρα (38΄ Γκάμεθ), Χουανφράν, Μιράντα, Τιάγκο, Γκριζμάν, Τουράν (64΄ Τόρες), Γκάμπι, Σαούλ (42΄ Ραούλ Γκαρθία), Μάντζουκιτς.

Σε αναμετρήσεις για τη φάση των «16» σημειώθηκαν τα αποτελέσματα:

Παρί Σεν Ζερμέν (Γαλλία)-Τσέλσι (Αγγλία) 1-1 (11/3)

Σαχτάρ Ντόνετσκ (Ουκρανία)-Μπάγερν Μονάχου (Γερμανία) 0-0 (11/3)

Σάλκε (Γερμανία)-Ρεάλ Μαδρίτης (Ισπανία) 0-2 (10/3)

Βασιλεία (Ελβετία)-Πόρτο (Πορτογαλία) 1-1 (10/3)

Μάντσεστερ Σίτι (Αγγλία)-Μπαρτσελόνα (Ισπανία) 1-2 (18/3)

Γιουβέντους (Ιταλία)-Ντόρτμουντ (Γερμανία) 2-1 (18/3)

Λεβερκούζεν (Γερμανία)-Ατλέτικο Μαδρίτης (Ισπανία) 1-0 (17/3)

Άρσεναλ (Αγγλία)-Μονακό (Γαλλία) 1-3 (17/3)

Πηγή:in.gr

Here displaced people from the Yazidi sect flee the Islamic State in Sinjar, Iraq. Amnesty has accused governments of “pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power.” Photo: Reuters

World leaders have proved “shameful and ineffective” in failing to protect civilians from groups like Islamic State (IS), Amnesty International said Wednesday, calling 2014 a “catastrophic” year.

In its 415-page annual report detailing abuses in 160 countries, the group accused governments of “pretending the protection of civilians is beyond their power.”

It said millions of civilians had been killed from Syria to Ukraine, Gaza to Nigeria, while the number of displaced people around the world exceeded 50 million last year for the first time since the end of World War II.

Amnesty International France President Genevieve Garrigos holds a copy of the 415-page annual report, which details abuses in 160 countries. Photo: AFP

“2014 was a catastrophic year for millions caught up in violence,” said Amnesty’s secretary general, Shalil Shetty.

“The global response to conflict and abuses by states and armed groups has been shameful and ineffective.

“As people suffered an escalation in barbarous attacks and repression, the international community has been found wanting.”

Islamic State militants force Egyptian Coptic Christians to kneel before beheading them in Libya in just one of many atrocities committed by the terrorist group. Photo: Reuters

It warned that the situation would get worse this year unless leaders took immediate action.

Amnesty singled out the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for criticism, with Shetty saying it had “miserably failed” to protect civilians.

The five permanent UNSC members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US – “consistently abused” their veto right to “promote their political self-interest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” he added.

Syrian refugees failed by EU

Amnesty is now urging the five states to give up their right to veto action in cases where genocide and other mass killings are being committed.

This proposal is similar to a push being led by France with the backing of 70 countries, but Amnesty hopes its support will give the idea fresh impetus.

It believes the move would give the UN a better chance to save civilian lives in conflict zones.

Amnesty also urged all states to abide by a treaty regulating the international arms trade which came into force last year, saying this could help stop huge shipments of weapons to countries like Syria and Iraq.

In addition, it called for new restrictions on the use of explosive weapons like mortars and rockets in populated areas.

The human rights group, which says it has seven million campaigners worldwide, sharply criticised the European Union’s response to the four million Syrian refugees displaced by conflict in the world’s worst refugee crisis.

By the end of 2014, only 150,000 Syrian refugees were living in EU states, it said, while 3400 refugees and migrants had died in the Mediterranean Sea trying to make their way to Europe.

“The response of the EU and its member states was, with few exceptions, driven above all by the desire to keep them out,” the report said.

Shetty added that the European response to the problem was “actually pushing people into the water of the Mediterranean.”

The report said only two per cent of refugees from Syria had been resettled by the end of last year, and called for this figure to at least triple this year.

Overall, armed groups like IS, Boko Haram and Shebab were found to have committed abuses in 35 countries last year, Amnesty said – over one in five of those investigated for the report.

Across the border from Syria in Iraq, Amnesty said there was a “marked deterioration in human rights” across the board, as fighting against the IS group intensified.

“IS fighters committed widespread war crimes, including ethnic cleansing of religious and ethnic minorities through a campaign of mass killings of men and abduction and sexual and other abuse of women and girls,” the report said.

“Government forces carried out indiscriminate bombing and shelling in IS-controlled areas, and government-backed Shiite militias abducted and executed scores of Sunni men in areas under government control.”

source:smh.com.au