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And another one bites the dust. The year 2014 was the warmest ever recorded by humans. Then 2015 was warmer still. January 2016 broke the record for the largest monthly temperature anomaly. Then came last month.

February didn’t break climate change records – it obliterated them. Regions of the Arctic were were more than 16C warmer than normal – whatever constitutes normal now. But what is really making people stand up and notice is that the surface of the Earth north of the equator was 2C warmer than pre-industrial temperatures. This was meant to be a line that must not be crossed.

Two degrees was broadly interpreted as the temperature that could produce further, potentially runaway warming. You can think of it as a speed limit on our climate impact. But it’s not a target speed. If you are driving a car carrying a heavy load down a steep hill you’re often advised to change down from top gear and keep your speed low, as if you go too fast your brakes will fail and you will be unable to stop. Less braking means more speed which means less braking – a dangerous runaway feedback loop. Hopefully the hill flattens out and you have enough straight road ahead to recover. If you don’t then you will be stopping much more abruptly.

We are currently swamping the Earth’s ability to absorb greenhouse gases. 2015 saw the largest annual increase in carbon dioxide since records began – far higher than the Earth has experienced for hundreds of thousands of years.

More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means higher temperatures. There is already one positive feedback loop in operation; the extra warming from our emissions is increasing the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, which further increases temperatures. Fortunately, this is not a very strong feedback loop.

Unfortunately, there seem to be other, much more powerful ones lurking in the event of further warming. Tipping points such as the thaw of permafrost and release of the very powerful greenhouse gas methane in large quantities would drive world temperatures well beyond the 2C threshold.

Even if we came to our collective senses and rapidly reduced carbon emissions at that point, we would still have to revert to drastic geoengineering to rein in further warming. There is no guarantee that such climate brakes will work. If they fail, our civilisation would be on a collision course with a much hotter planet.

The safe–unsafe threshold of 2C recognises the significant amount of uncertainty there is over where dangerous warming really begins. It could be at more than 2C. Hopefully it is. But it’s not impossible that it is less. We need to bear in mind that it was only the northern hemisphere that crossed the 2C line. Also, we need to factor in the monster El Niño that is having an effect on temperatures across the globe. In 2014, I predicted that 2015 would break record temperatures. This is not due to any psychic powers on my part, but the then very clear El Niño signal that was emerging.

So while temperature records may continue to be set for the rest of 2016, by the end of this year the situation should have cooled somewhat. Right? At times, it feels as if such statements are offered up as prayers in the hope that we are not in fact witnessing the beginning of abrupt and sustained climate change. But what’s even scarier is the political, economic and social reaction to these landmarks in climate change.

Have you heard any political speeches referring to these recent climate change records? Not one of the major Republican presidential candidates even “believes” in human-produced climate change, let alone that it is something to worry about.

How was the stock market this morning? It appears febrile enough to lurch from euphoric boom to catastrophic bust on the basis of bland statements from central bankers but proves remarkably deaf to evidence that the entire industrial and financial system is headed for disaster.

Know what’s trending on Twitter as I write? A photoshopped giant dog, the latest Game of Thrones trailer and Kim Kardashian’s naked body. Actually, it’s mainly Kim Kardashian’s naked body and people’s responses to it. Followed by people’s responses to the responses.

It would be churlish of me to deny people the pleasure of looking at pictures of a photograph of a cuddly dog adjusted in order to make it appear both cute and monstrous. But we appear uninterested, either through denial or desensitisation, in the environmental changes happening right in front of our eyes.

There are sure to be more climate records broken this year. But we treat them as we treat new fashions, phones or films. More novelty, newer features, more drama. We seem unable to understand that we are driving such changes. Record breaking changes that will ultimately break our civilisation, and so scatter all that we obsess and care about.

source:theguardian.com

Greek Cyprus threatened on March 15 to derail a proposed EU deal with Turkey to curb the flow of migrants to Europe, insisting on longstanding demands including that Ankara recognize its government.

EU President Donald Tusk, meanwhile, said the deal needed to be rebalanced to be accepted by all 28 member states and EU institutions.

“Cyprus does not intend to consent to the opening of any new chapters if Turkey does not fulfil its obligations,” Greek Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades was quoted as saying by AFP on March 15 after talks with Tusk in Nicosia.

EU and Turkish leaders agreed last week to a tentative proposal including the return of migrants landing in Greece and a “one-for-one” swap of Syrian refugees.

Anastasiades said Greek Cyprus would not accept “Turkish demands without [the] implementation of Turkey’s long-pending obligations” in its EU membership bid.

Turkey expects the accord to lead to the opening of new chapters in Ankara’s longstanding EU membership bid and to ease visa requirements in Europe’s passport-free Schengen area.

Tusk, who headed to Ankara after meeting Anastasiades and was scheduled to hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu ahead of negotiations on the EU-Turkey proposal, admitted “we are not there yet” in terms of a deal.

“The Turkish proposal… still needs to be rebalanced so as to be accepted by all 28 member states and the EU institutions,” he told reporters.

The plan to expel migrants en masse from Greece has sparked international criticism, with the U.N.’s top officials on refugees and human rights questioning whether it would be legal.

Officials have also expressed concern over the potential need for compromise with Ankara, as fears grow over freedom of expression and rights abuses.

“One of the issues to be sorted out is the key question of legality,” Tusk said.

A Cypriot refusal of the migrant-swap deal would effectively block the largest diplomatic push yet to ease Europe’s burden of accommodating hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of whom enter the EU through Turkey.

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops intervened in its north in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempt.

Turkey does not recognize the government of Greek Cyprus and Nicosia has blocked six key chapters of Ankara’s negotiations for EU membership since 2009, effectively halting the process.

Cyprus insists Turkey must first meet its longstanding demands for recognition, and to open up trade ties, ports and airports.

The Greek and Turkish Cypriot administrations are conducting U.N.-backed peace talks aimed at reuniting the island.

At one point last week in Brussels, Anastasiades was involved in a heated confrontation with five key European figures, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which he came under heavy pressure to back the accord, European sources told AFP.

Germany registered a record influx of asylum seekers that reached 1.1 million in 2015

source:hurriyetdailynews,.com

The star explains why it took her almost 15 years to write the follow-up script for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Nia Vardalos became the face of the diaspora back in 2002 with her blockbuster romcom My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the highest-grossing movie of its kind in the history of film.

Her stereotypical story of a Greek migrant family even scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, making her a Hollywood household name.

Nia’s main character, 30-year-old Fotoula (Toula) Portokalos, falls in love with a gorgeous, non-Greek, upper middle class professor of Anglo-Saxon descent, Ian Miller.

When the couple decides to take things seriously, they are confronted by the cultural and religious clash of their backgrounds.

Ian is a Protestant and Toula’s Greek Orthodox family is by no means prepared to accept a non-Orthodox wedding.

Her overly-patriotic father Costa, or Gus for short, played by Michael Constantine, is adamant.

Ian loves Toula so much that he decides to convert, and is baptised at a Christian Orthodox church, receiving the name Yianni (John).

Ian’s determination to pursue Toula’s love and do everything within his power to marry her finally earns Gus’ respect, and consequently the acceptance of the rest of the family.

The ‘love-conquers-all-obstacles’ movie ends on a high and happy note, with an epilogue showing the new couple’s life six years later. Ian and Toula are parents to a six-year-old daughter, who complains that she would prefer not to go to Greek school.

The film inspired the brief 2003 TV series My Big Fat Greek Life and a sequel titled My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which is set for release on March 25, 2016.

What was it that kept Nia from writing the much awaited sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding earlier?

“The reason I kept saying no to the sequel, the reason it took me more than a decade, is that at the end of the first movie Toula was a mother and in reality I was not a mother,” Nia told Neos Kosmos.

“Then suddenly I became a mum! I got to adopt my daughter and it all resonated with me.”

After many painful and unsuccessful attempts to become a mother, in hindsight, Vardalos feels grateful she could not have a biological child.

“I have my daughter and I couldn’t be happier that life happened the way it did. It healed me and made me think the time to write about what it’s like to be a mom had finally come.

“On my daughter’s first day at kindergarten I got the idea for the sequel, and it wasn’t just because I realised I had packed moussaka in her lunch.”

In the years between the two films, Vardalos published a book, titled Instant Mom, where she shares her hilarious and poignant ‘road-to-parenting’ story leading her to become a major advocate for adoption.

In the book, moments after the star finds out she has been Oscar nominated for the screenplay for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, she is alone and en route to a fertility clinic, trying yet again for a chance at motherhood.

Vardalos tried everything from holistic health approaches, alt medicine, acupuncture, to working with two surrogates. Finally, she and her husband, actor Ian Gomez, came across a free service: Foster Family Agencies.

One unexpected day, the social workers ‘matched’ her with a three-year-old girl, with whom Nia connected instantly, as if she were her biological daughter.

“As you probably know from my book, the story is about me being a mom, and I can’t write about something I haven’t experienced, since I create stories on improvisation and based on personal experiences,” she repeats. “It’s just that simple. “The struggle to become a parent was so difficult for me that there was no way I could do the sequel directly after the film because I was in a private, secret hell. I was in a very bad place emotionally.” Vardalos could finally connect with the feelings of motherhood. In fact, she found she connected a bit too much. In the flick she returns as Toula Miller, mother of teenage Paris Miller, played by actress Elena Kampouris. Chicago couple Toula and Ian are struggling not only to keep up with a demanding Greek family which is putting a lot of strain on their marriage, but also with their only daughter’s decision to study in New York in an effort to escape her ‘Greek reality’.

“Through Toula’s story I discovered I’ve actually become the overbearing mum. I’ve become my mother. I am Toula, I am my family,” she says, admitting that like her leading character, she wants to be around her daughter all the time, which can sometimes be a little suffocating.

“I have found myself always too close to her, never knowing when to step back. My Greek excuse is that it’s what we call good parenting.”

When Vardalos finished the script, she only sent it to her on-screen husband John Corbett, the first person to come on board. When she finally got the green light to film the sequel, she brought back the entire cast from the original movie.

“I am so excited that every person who was in the original film is back; showing where the Portokalos family is at right now.”

“When My Big Fat Greek Wedding was released 15 years ago, you all told me that you saw your family in my family, whether you are Greek, Italian, Chinese or from Peru. You all seem to have an aunt Voula with a lump on the back of her neck which she thinks is her twin!”

Vardalos has a special connection with Australia, which is why she chose it for the world premiere. In both Sydney and Melbourne she was joined on the white carpet by dozens of Australian relatives and fellow actors.

“I can definitely tell you that there will also be a third one,” she enthused jokingly, endorsing the idea of a shoot in Australia.

Finally, when asked what she would say to those who might find the film is promoting a ‘stereotype-laden’ and ‘offensive’ image of the Greek diaspora she said: “I actually never met anyone who is offended by the movie. At the end of the day it’s just comedy.

“This is my story, this is me, I’m Toula and my approach to comedy is ‘Come laugh with me’.”

*Universal has slated My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 for a March 25 release.

source:Neos Kosmos

House and unit prices are in decline across the nation’s capitals with Melbourne and Sydney weaker than other cities.

House prices across national capitals have fallen in January for the first time in three years as booming costs discouraged buyers and regulators slugged investors’ loan costs.

Both house and apartment prices fell for the first time since late 2012, but performances varied across state capitals.

Median house prices were down 0.4 per cent across the nation’s capitals to $695,788 in the December quarter. It was the first fall since the December quarter of 2012.

Neville Sanders, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, which produced the figures, said Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne were acting as a drag on the rest of the capitals.

0312housing-trends03“Strong growth in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, followed by marginal increases in Darwin and Perth, were unable to offset falling median house prices in Sydney and Melbourne while Adelaide recorded no change over the quarter,” Mr Sanders said.

Sydney has been slugged

“Sydney, the strongest market in the recent years, showed the largest decrease in median prices leaving some commentators speculating whether the city’s housing market has reached its peak,” Mr Sanders said.

Melbourne was reasonably steady with prices falling just 0.1 per cent to $718,000. Sydney was down 2.5 per cent to $1,025,478 while the largest rise, 9.8 per cent, was recorded in Hobart where the median price is $392,000.

Overall, apartments performed slightly worse than houses with the national capital city median price falling 0.7 per cent to $543,468.

There still aren’t many bargains

Despite the latest softening, median house prices were 7.4 per cent higher than in December 2014 and units are 5.7 per cent higher.

Housing still appeared to be over-valued with prices 18 per cent above the long term trend.

The weakness continued with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing a 4.3 per cent fall for new owner occupied housing loans to $20.5 billion for the month of January.

Enthusiasm from investors continued to wane, with investor housing loans down 1.6 per cent to $11.36 billion for January. Regulatory moves to push up the cost of investment loans is affecting the market strongly, with investor loans down 14.8 per cent to compared to a year ago, when they totalled $13.32 billion.

That decline results from moves by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to discourage investors by pushing up the cost of investment loans.

Action on negative gearing by stealth

Shane Oliver, chief economist with AMP Capital, told The New Daily that the move away from housing investment was so marked that “it could mean that APRA has done to a degree what the supporters of restrictions to negative gearing aim to do”.

“Labor’s plan is to slow investor demand and raise revenue,” Mr Oliver said.

APRA’s moves have slowed demand but do not boost government coffers so an incoming Labor government may still choose to ban negative gearing on exiting properties, Mr Oliver said. “That could hit the market. If it had too much of an effect they might wind it back,” he said.

APRA seemed concerned that wealthy investors are getting around its tough investor rules by shifting their investment loans onto their owner-occupied mortgages to take advantage of lower rates.

The regulator has written to the major mortgage lending banks warning them to make sure they submit accurate figures on the breakdown of different loan types.

Mr Oliver says housing prices have been volatile over the last year with Sydney leading the field. “Auction clearing rates are back around 70 per cent in Sydney.”

Australian house prices are higher than comparative markets overseas.”Until recently Australia had a chronic under supply of over 100,000 dwellings.”

“Completions are at record levels but they are just catching up with the undersupply of prior years,” Mr Oliver said.

source:thenewdaily.com.au

Authorities in Greece hope an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border can be emptied within two weeks, as people are slowly persuaded to move to nearby government-built shelters.

Nikos Toskas, a deputy minister for public order, ruled out using force to move the 14,000 people camped out at the border near the village of Idomeni in increasingly desperate conditions.

‘We have to persuade them (to move) and we can’t do that using tear gas. Half the people there are women and children,’ Toskas told private Mega television. Authorities say about 800 people have agreed so far to leave the camp, but more arrive daily.

Macedonia closed its borders to all migrants and refugees this week after several Balkan countries and Austria began imposing restrictions in February.

Meanwhile, around 650 migrants have arrived in the main port of Athens from islands in the eastern Aegean Sea.

They continue to take the dangerous sea route despite the route into northern Europe remaining closed.

The had arrived from Lesbos and Chios.Some could be seen leaving the port on foot while others made for the passenger terminals, which more than 3,000 people are currently using as a shelter.

source:skynews.com.au

Malaysia Airlines planes on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where the ill-fated MH370 flight took off. Photo: Joshua Paul

Johannesburg: A South African teenager has found debris that will be sent to Australia for testing as part of the investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane two years ago, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) says.

Liam Lotter, 18, told South Africa’s East Coast radio on Friday he found the piece of debris on a beach in Mozambique while on holiday in December and his family took it back to their home in South Africa.

He said that after a suspected part of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was found in Mozambique last week, his family made the connection with his find.

That white, metre-long chunk of metal is being tested by officials in Australia, with help from Malaysian authorities and representatives of manufacturer Boeing Co.

South African authorities plan to hand over the debris found by Lotter to the same Australian team.

Johnny Begue (right), who found plane debris in August 2015 on this beach in Saint-Andre, on the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. Photo: Reuters

“We are arranging for collection of the part, which will then be sent to Australia as they are the ones appointed by Malaysia to identify parts found,” said SACAA spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba.

Beijing-bound flight MH370 disappeared shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board. It is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.

A piece of the plane’s wing was washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July 2015.

source:www.smh.com.au

Ο συνθέτης Χρήστος Ιωαννίδης

Για τα τριαντάχρονα του Αυστραλιανού Ινστιτούτου Μακεδονικών Σπουδών

To Αυστραλιανό Ινστιτούτο Μακεδονικών Σπουδών, γιορτάζοντας τριάντα χρόνια παραγωγικής δράσης στην Αυστραλία, οργανώνει εντυπωσιακό κονσέρτο στο πλέον άρτιο μέγαρο μουσικής, που διαθέτει η Μελβούρνη, το Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, με θέμα «Μέγας Αλέξανδρος: Πρωτοπόρος Πολυπολιτισμού» («Alexander the Great: Pioneering Multiculturalism»). Το μουσικό αυτό έργο έχει συνθέσει με πολύ μεράκι ο γνωστός μουσικοσυνθέτης Χρήστος Ιωαννίδης και αναφέρεται στη γέννηση, την εφηβεία και τον Αριστοτέλη, το στρατιωτικό έργο, την κατάκτηση της Ασίας, την προβολή της ελληνικής ιδέας και πολιτισμού, τη λειτουργία της πρώτης πολυπολιτιστικής αυτοκρατορίας, τον θάνατο του μεγάλου Έλληνα στρατηλάτη και τους διαδόχους του, τη σχέση της Μακεδονίας με την Ελλάδα στο παρελθόν και στο σήμερα.

Η μουσική εναλλασσόμενη ανάλογα με τη θεματική, εμπεριέχοντας στοιχεία και μελωδίες σε ύφος άλλοτε δωρικό, άλλοτε μακεδονικό και άλλοτε της ανατολής, συνοδεύεται από μία υπερπαραγωγή από εικόνες, χρώμα και φως στις τεράστιες οθόνες του Elizabeth Murdoch Hall. Το όλο έργο στόχο του έχει μέσα από τη θέαση και τη μουσική να προωθήσει τη μουσική των αρχαίων Ελλήνων, το νόημα της Αλεξανδρινής κατάκτησης, το μήνυμα του ελληνικού πολιτισμού, γλώσσας και παράδοσης στην ασιατική ανατολή, και τις ιδιαιτερότητες της Μακεδονίας ως αναπόσπαστου πολιτισμικού χώρου της ελληνικής γης.

«Το κονσέρτο απευθύνεται στους Ελληνοαυστραλούς δεύτερης και τρίτης γενιάς, στους μη ελληνικής καταγωγής Αυστραλούς και σε όλους εκείνους που σέβονται την ενότητα και τη διαχρονικότητα του ελληνικού πολιτισμού και τη θέση της Μακεδονίας σε αυτόν τον πολιτισμό.

Ο Χρήστος Ιωαννίδης εμπνεύστηκε και συνέθεσε, προφανώς, το πλέον ώριμο έργο της μουσικής του παραγωγής, ως συνέχεια των «Ελεύθερων Πολιορκημένων» που είχε συνθέσει πριν αρκετά χρόνια» τόνισε ο πρόεδρος του ΑΙΜΣ, Καθηγητής κ. Α. Τάμης

Την ορχήστρα του κονσέρτου «Μέγας Αλέξανδρος: Πρωτοπόρος Πολυπολιτισμού» που θα αποτελείται από 25 μουσικούς θα διευθύνει ο διεθνούς κύρους μαέστρος και καθηγητής της Μουσικής του Πανεπιστημίου της Μελβούρνης Douglas Haywood. Τη μουσική του Χρήστου Ιωαννίδη θα αποδώσει χορωδία της Μελβούρνης από 40 άτομα με δύο τενόρους, μία σοπράνο και μία μεζο-σοπράνο.

Για την υλοποίηση του κονσέρτου εργάζεται ένα δίκτυο παραγωγών εικόνων και ηχητικών εφέ που συνοδεύουν τη μουσική, θα υπάρχουν τουλάχιστον δύο κάμερες καταγραφής του έργου και η όλη σύνθεση θα μαγνητοφωνηθεί από τους τεχνικούς του μεγάρου, με στόχο την προβολή του έργου στην Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο, αλλά και σε άλλες χώρες της Ευρώπης και της Αμερικής. Συνεργαζόμενοι φορείς είναι η Ελληνική Κοινότητα Μελβούρνης και Βικτωρίας και η Παμμακεδονική Ένωση Μελβούρνης και Βικτωρίας, ενώ εκτιμάται ότι κονσέρτο θα αποτελέσει μέρος των εκδηλώσεων των ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΩΝ 2016.

«Με το κονσέρτο αυτό επιχειρούμε συνειδητά να αναβαθμίσουμε τα εργαλεία προβολής του πολιτισμού μας στην Αυστραλία» δήλωσε ο υπεύθυνος εκδόσεων του ΑΙΜΣ, επίκουρος καθηγητής του Πανεπιστημίου Monash, Δρ. Βασίλειος Σαραφίδης.

«Το οπτικο-ακουστικό αυτό γεγονός καθορίζει ότι μετά τα χρόνια της εδραίωσης του Ελληνισμού στην Αυστραλία, μπαίνουμε στην περίοδο της διαδικτύωσης του Ελληνισμού. Μέσα από το έργο δίνουμε το μήνυμα, ότι στις δύσκολες συνθήκες που ζει ο ελλαδικός Ελληνισμός, η Ομογένεια είναι σε θέση από μόνη της να παράξει έργο και να προβάλλει τον ελληνικό πολιτισμό στην Αυστραλία» είπε ο κ. Σαραφίδης.

Το ΑΙΜΣ σύντομα θα κυκλοφορήσει ειδική διαφημιστική αφίσα και θα ανακοινώσει το ύψος της τιμής των εισιτηρίων, δηλώνοντας ότι θα υπάρχει πρόνοια και για οικογενειακό εισιτήριο και για τους ανέργους Έλληνες, που πρόσφατα μετανάστευσαν από την Ελλάδα και την Κύπρο. «Θα πλησιάσουμε μεγάλο αριθμό χορηγών και θα ζητήσουμε τη συστράτευσή τους» δήλωσε ο Ταμίας του ΑΙΜΣ, κ. Χρήστος Μάντζιος. «Προσβλέπουμε στη γενναιοδωρία τους καθώς και στη στήριξη των υπευθύνων των μέσων ευρείας ενημέρωσης για την προβολή του κονσέρτου» κατέληξε ο κ. Μάντζιος.

ΤΟ ΑΙΜΣ

Το ΑΙΜΣ είναι ένας επιστημονικός φορέας έρευνας και μελέτης του Μακεδονικού Ελληνισμού, που απαρτίζεται από επιστήμονες και πάτρονες της τέχνης και του πολιτισμού και λειτουργεί στη Μελβούρνη της Αυστραλίας από τον Αύγουστο του 1986. Το Ινστιτούτο έχει στο ενεργητικό του τέσσερα διεθνή συνέδρια, πλήθος σεμιναρίων και δημόσιων διαλέξεων, την έκδοση πέντε συλλογικών τόμων και τριών περιοδικών για την ιστορία, γλώσσα και πολιτισμό της Μακεδονίας και καλεί ετησίως επισκέπτες καθηγητές για διαλέξεις σε ολόκληρη την Αυστραλία.

Το 2016 επισκέπτες καθηγητές του ΑΙΜΣ είναι ο γενικός γραμματέας της Εταιρείας Μακεδονικών Σπουδών, και πρώην πρόεδρος της Διακομματικής Επιστροπής για τον Απόδημο Ελληνισμό, Δρ. Βασίλειος Πάππας (Μάϊος 2016), και ο καθηγητής Νεότερης και Σύγχρονης Ιστορίας του Αριστοτελείου Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης, ελλογιμότατος κ. Ιωάννης Μουρέλος (Νοέμβριος 2016). Το ΑΙΜΣ ενισχύει οικονομικά, με ετήσιες επιδοτήσεις, εφορίες αρχαιολογικών μνημείων στη Μακεδονία, υποτροφίες, χορηγίες σε ακαδημαϊκά συνέδρια που λαμβάνουν χώρα στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Έχει προσυπογράψει συμφωνίες συνεργασίας με το Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, το Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης, το Μουσείο Μακεδονικού Αγώνα, το ΕΚΠΑ, την Εταιρεία Μακεδονικών Σπουδών και το Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης.

H επόμενη έκδοσή του έχει προγραμματισθεί για τον Απρίλιο του 2016.

Για άμεση επικοινωνία, μπορείτε να επικοινωνήσετε μαζί μας στην ηλεκτρονική διεύθυνση panosgogidis@hotmail.com

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Νίκος Μπόλκας: «Απαράδεκτο επί 23 χρόνια η Ελλάδα να μην εφαρμόζει τη συμφωνία με βίζα σε νέους για να έρχονται στην Αυστραλία»

«Έφθασε η στιγμή να επέλθει συμφιλίωση και στην Αδελαΐδα. Πιστεύω πως τώρα είναι η καταλληλότερη ώρα για να ξεκινήσει ο διάλογος μεταξύ της Αρχιεπισκοπής και της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας για την επίλυση του εκκλησιαστικού προβλήματος».

Την δήλωση αυτή έκανε, με συνέντευξή του στην αγγλική έκδοση του «Νέου Κόσμου» το περασμένο Σάββατο, ο ομογενής πρώην υπουργός Μετανάστευσης, Νίκος Μπόλκας.

Ο κ. Μπόλκας που γεννήθηκε και ζει στην Αδελαΐδα, σε παλαιότερες δηλώσεις του στην εφημερίδα μας, είπε ότι τον θλίβει το γεγονός ότι ενώ το εκκλησιαστικό έχει λυθεί σε όλη την Αυστραλία και έχει επέλθει συμφιλίωση στην ομογένεια, στη Ν. Αυστραλία εξακολουθεί να επικρατεί «διαίρεση».

«Δεν υπάρχει καμιά δικαιολογία για τη διαιώνιση αυτής της κατάστασης» μας είπε και άφησε να εννοηθεί ότι ο ίδιος δεν θα είχε αντίρρηση να παίξει διαμεσολαβητικό ρόλο.

Στην ίδια συνέντευξη, ο κ. Μπόλκας δηλώνει πως αν και πρωτοστάτησε στο να αναγνωρίσει η Αυστραλία τα Σκόπια ως «FYROM», εντούτοις, μερίδα της ομογένειας τον αντιμετώπισε άδικα, κυρίως, λόγω των εμπρηστικών δηλώσεων του πολιτειακού πρωθυπουργού, Τζεφ Κένετ, σε βάρος του, παραγνωρίζοντας το γεγονός ότι ήταν υπουργός Μετανάστευσης.

Δηλώνει ακόμα εξοργισμένος, που αν και ο ίδιος πρότεινε τη σύναψη διακρατικής συμφωνίας Ελλάδας-Αυστραλίας για χορήγηση τουριστικής βίζας σε νέους με δικαίωμα εργασίας (όταν ήταν υπουργός Μετανάστευσης) έχουν περάσει 23 χρόνια χωρίς να υλοποιηθεί ακόμα.

«Αυτό είναι απαράδεκτο. Πολλοί νέοι στερήθηκαν μιας μοναδικής ευκαιρίας και άλλοι έπεσαν και πέφτουν θύματα εκμετάλλευσης επειδή δεν έχει εφαρμοστεί ακόμα αυτή η συμφωνία» είπε.

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Από αριστερά η Νία Βαρδάλος με τις συντάκτριες του «Νέου Κόσμου», Νέλλυ Σκουφάτογλου και Αναστασία Τσιρτσάκη

Η σεναριογράφος και πρωταγωνίστρια μιλά στο «Νέο Κόσμο» στην πρεμιέρα του «Γάμος α λα Ελληνικά 2»

Η εφημερίδα μας συνάντησε την Ελληνοαμερικανίδα ηθοποιό και σκηνοθέτη, Νία Βαρδάλος, το βράδυ της Τρίτης, 7 Μαρτίου, πριν από την επίσημη πρεμιέρα της ταινίας της «Γάμος α λα Ελληνικά 2», στη Μελβούρνη.

Η διάσημη σταρ μίλησε για την επιστροφή της στον κινηματογράφο, η οποία, όπως τόνισε, οφείλεται αποκλειστικά στην υιοθεσία της κόρης της.

«Η πρώτη ταινία μου έκλεισε, με την Τούλα να γίνεται μαμά. Δεν μπορώ να γράψω για κάτι που δεν ξέρω, άρα, δεν μπορούσα να γράψω τη συνέχεια» είπε, εξομολογούμενη ότι είχε εξαντληθεί ψυχολογικά από τις προσπάθειές της να γίνει μητέρα.

«Όλη μου η προσοχή, καθώς και του συντρόφου μου ήταν στραμμένη στο να αποκτήσουμε παιδί. Όταν πια η κόρη μας μπήκε στη ζωή μας, όλα άλλαξαν. Ξαναβρήκα το νόημα, ξαναβρήκα τον εαυτό μου και ήμουν έτοιμη να επιστρέψω πιο δυναμικά από ποτέ».

Η φανερά ανανεωμένη και ευδιάθετη Νία Βαρδάλος, σε άπταιστα ελληνικά μας είπε ότι δεν μετάνιωσε στιγμή για την απόφασή της να αποτραβηχτεί από τα φώτα της δημοσιότητας και να αφοσιωθεί στην προσωπική της ζωή.

«Δεν ήθελα να κάνω κάτι άλλο μέχρι να προσαρμοστεί η κόρη μας και δεν μετάνιωσα ποτέ ούτε για μια στιγμή, όπως εξηγώ και στο βιβλίο μου “Instant Mom”».

«Σε ό,τι αφορά τα κοινά χαρακτηριστικά μου με την Τούλα, αν και στην πρώτη ταινία ένιωθα ότι ενσαρκώνω απλώς έναν χαρακτήρα, τώρα θα παραδεχθώ, ότι, ναι, είμαι η Τούλα, είμαι η μάνα μου, είμαι η τυπική Ελληνίδα μάνα».

Γελώντας η πρωταγωνίστρια συνέχισε, τονίζοντας ότι ως παραδοσιακή Ελληνίδα μαμά, μπορεί να γίνει ασφυκτική καθώς δεν μπορεί να διανοηθεί να μην ξέρει ανά πάσα στιγμή πού βρίσκεται και τι κάνει η κόρη της.

«Εντάξει, η δική μου είναι μικρή ακόμη, αλλά παίζοντας την Τούλα κατάλαβα ότι δεν θα διαφέρω και πολύ από εκείνη όταν μεγαλώσει το παιδί μου. Κάπως έτσι με φαντάζομαι».

«Από τώρα την στέλνω στον παιδικό σταθμό με ταπεράκι γεμάτο μουσακά. Δηλώνω ένοχη, αλλά έτσι αγαπάμε εμείς».

Τέλος, όταν ρωτήθηκε τι θα απαντούσε σε όσους θεωρούν πως η ταινία ενισχύει με υποτιμητικό τρόπο το στερεότυπο του Έλληνα μετανάστη είπε «Κατ’ αρχάς, κανένας δεν ήρθε να μου πει ποτέ πως βρήκε την πρώτη ταινία υποτιμητική ή προσβλητική. Επίσης, είναι σάτιρα, είναι κωμωδία. Είμαι εγώ, η οικογένειά μου, η αλήθεια μου. Ελάτε να γελάσετε μαζί μου. Δεν έχω κανένα απολύτως πρόβλημα με αυτό!».

Πηγή:Νέος Κόσμος

Effy Alexakis and Leonard Janiszewski.

A book by Leonard Janiszewski and Effy Alexakis

In an Australia we still remember, in each suburb and every country town, was the Greek café or milk bar – open all hours, 7 days a week.

Remember The Niagara, The Parthenon, The California, The Astoria and Paragon?

They gave us more than milkshakes, lollies, ice cream and home-style meals.

With Modernist designs, American gadgetry and coloured light, cafés brought atmosphere, a touch of glamour, at times a hint of Hollywood – a little break from the mundane reality of local life.

As the good old days faded away, Effy Alexakis and Leonard Janiszewski took their camera, tape recorder and pen into this vanishing world.

They captured the faces and stories, the style and the ethos that gave our popular culture one of its most memorable expressions.

Acclaimed actor Lex Marinos will try to convey some of our communities’ most inspiring stories.

The Sydney launch will take place at NSW Parliament House at 6.30 pm as part of the 2016 Greek Festival of Sydney, on Tuesday 15 March.

For further details or if you want to register early, please see the following website: http://www.greekfestivalofsydney.com.au/festival16/events/march/greek-cafés-and-milk-bars-of-australia.html

The duo will also be presenting a public lecture at the famous Paragon Cafe, Katoomba, on Sunday 3 April at 2.00 pm. Afternoon tea will be available for $12.

Copies of the book will be available from early April via http://www.cafesandmilkbars.com.au

source:Neos Kosmos