Year: 2008

Writing for the Foreign Policy Research Institute on Dec. 19, Cornelia A. Tsakiridou rightly points to the breakdown of the rule of law as one of the most deplorable outcomes of these riots. Tsakiridou is Associate Professor and Director of the Diplomat-in-Residence Program at La Salle University.

The spectacle of young people (and assorted criminals, leftwing extremists, and self-proclaimed anarchists) on a smash-and-burn spree wrapping themselves in the mantle of justice, martyrdom, and victimhood is only rivaled by that of a government incapable of making a clear and effective distinction between political grievance and thuggery, lawlessness and the rule of law.

Despite attempts in the national and international press (among them Le Monde and The Guardian) to give a deeper dimension to the Greek riots and to offer a mix of elaborate psychological and sociological explanations, the truth may actually be rather plain. The riots happened because the legal mechanisms designed to protect the public interest remained idle. The reasons are not difficult to surmise.

First, in Greece the public domain is the designated arena of political and personal advancement. Thus, except in rhetoric, there is effectively no concept of public interest to uphold and defend. There have been no counter-demonstrations demanding that the violence, looting, and destruction stop because they are against the public good. Second, many in the public apparently sympathize with the rioters’ stance that state corruption justifies state disruption. Third, an increasing number of Greeks across the political spectrum believe that the riots are the result of sinister foreign designs too powerful for any Greek government to deter.

In a commentary, Kathimerini’s AthensPlus points to Greece’s inability to “escape the burdens of the past” and the break down of major institutions, including the Orthodox Church. Continue reading →

Asia News reports that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a new report “which denigrates the ‘minority’ presence of the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey, and refuses to recognize the ‘ecumenical’ character of the ancient patriarchate.”

It seems that the Turkish foreign ministry is trying to make the patriarchate “disappear,” continuing to call Bartholomew I “the patriarch of Fanar [editor’s note: the neighborhood where the patriarch resides],” refusing to use the title “ecumenical” and acknowledging only that he has spiritual responsibility for the domestic Greek minority, and not for the Orthodox communities connected to Constantinople. It also seems almost a concession from above to accept that Bartholomew I uses the title “ecumenical” abroad.

Said the Patriarch: “We are not finished, or hopeless.”

The news service also cited a source who said that Turkey “was highly disturbed by the emphasis that the Russian media gave to the presence of ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew at the funeral for Alexy II.” Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed an interest in visiting the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the news service said.

Read more on Asia News.

Sad news today. Paul Weyrich passed away. Here’s part of the news release:

Paul M. Weyrich, 66, who helped found the Heritage Foundation and at one time was one of Washington’s most visible conservatives, died this morning. At his death, he was president and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.

Heritage announced this morning: “Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and first president of The Heritage Foundation, died this morning around 1 a.m. He was 66 years old. Weyrich was a good friend to many of us at Heritage, a true leader and a man of unbending principle. He won Heritage’s prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Award in 2005. Weyrich will be deeply missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, including son Steve, who currently works at Heritage.”

Paul Weyrich was a conservative in the true sense of the word: a man who drew from the enduring principles, most of them rooted in his deep faith in God. Mr. Weyrich was a deacon in the Melkite Church, an office he faithfully served in gratitude to His Savior whom he now sees face to face. I saw this in a visit with him last January. I attended the March for Life in Washington, DC and called Mr. Weyrich for an appointment to see him. He graciously consented and we talked for over an hour. He invited me to address his legendary Wednesday afternoon luncheon and tell his audience about AOI, which I did.

Continue reading →

At least the “Obamakis and Bidenopoulos” crowd won’t have to create a phony Greek name for Alexi. The Chicago Sun-Times in “Obama’s Basketball Pal for Governor?”:

Giannoulias’ close association to Obama, even if Obama does not formally endorse him, could be a big advantage to Giannoulias in a crowded primary, especially if no major African-American candidate jumps into the mix.
[…]
Giannoulias, 32, was born in Chicago to Greek parents, played professional basketball in Greece and got to know Obama shooting hoops on the University of Chicago campus when Giannoulias was a student and Obama a senior lecturer. He was a vice president in his family’s Broadway Bank before being elected Treasurer.
[…]
Giannoulias faced heat last year when he had to testify about a $1 million loan he made to an 86-year-old woman described by her family as “feeble-minded.” The woman initially applied for the loan with co-borrowers who had a history of fraud allegations against them. After Giannoulias raised concerns, they were taken off as co-borrowers and he approved the loan. A judge ruled Giannoulias handled the loan properly.