Happy Mother's Day

My Mother, my friend so dear, Throughout my life you’re always near, A tender smile to guide my way, You’re the sunshine to light my day.

Mothers' day founder and her daughter Anna

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis' work with women's organizations inspired the creation of Mother's Day as a national holiday. She was born in Culpeper, Virginia, on September 30, 1832, the daughter of the Rev. Josiah W. and Nancy Kemper Reeves. The family moved to Barbour County in present-day West Virginia when the Rev. Reeves was transferred to a Methodist church in Philippi. In 1850, Ann married Granville E. Jarvis, the son of a Philippi Baptist minister. Two years later, Granville and Ann Jarvis moved to nearby Webster in Taylor County.

Jarvis organized a series of Mothers' Day Work Clubs in Webster, Grafton, Fetterman, Pruntytown, and Philippi, to improve health and sanitary conditions. Among other services, the clubs raised money for medicine, hired women to work for families in which the mothers suffered from tuberculosis, and inspected bottled milk and food. In 1860, local doctors supported the formation of clubs in other towns.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad made Taylor County a strategic site during the Civil War. Ann Jarvis urged the Mothers' Day Work Clubs to declare their neutrality and provide relief to both Union and Confederate soldiers. The clubs treated the wounded and regularly fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area. Jarvis also managed to preserve an element of peace in a community being torn apart by political differences. During the war, she worked tirelessly despite the personal tragedy of losing four of her children to disease. In all, eight of her twelve children died before reaching adulthood.

Orthodox Easter Day

Many Orthodox churches base their Easter date on the Julian calendar, which often differs from the Gregorian calendar that is used by many western countries. Therefore the Orthodox Easter period often occurs later than the Easter period that falls around the time of theMarch equinox.


What do people do?

Millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide, including about six million in North America, observe Easter, also known as Pascha, each year. It is estimated that there are more than 250 million Orthodox Christians in the world.

In Lebanon, many Orthodox Christians attend a church liturgy at Easter, whether it is on Sunday morning or midnight liturgy between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. On Easter Sunday, many families hold a special lunch consisting of turkey or chicken stuffed with nuts and served with rice. The afternoon is spent visiting friends and family members. Many homes have maamoul (cookies) on a plate with other delicacies such as chick peas covered with sugar and sweet almonds.

In Bulgaria, many worshippers celebrate outside churches after midnight liturgy, carrying candles to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Painted eggs are cracked or smashed and richly-painted Orthodox churches are filled with clouds of incense and choir songs.

In Greece, Easter Sunday is also a widely celebrated occasion. Lambs are roasted on a spit and the provision of wine is abundant. The roasted lamb is served in honor of Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed and rose again on Easter. Lamb is the most traditional Greek Easter food. Red-dyed eggs are cracked against each other and the person with the last remaining uncracked egg will have good luck. Easter Sunday is a time of festivity and people eat, chat or dance throughout the night.

Dionysios Solomos!

Dionysios Solomos (Greek: Διονύσιος Σολωμός; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos. He is best known for writing the Hymn to Liberty (Greek: Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν, Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían), of which the first two stanzas, set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, became the Greek national anthem in 1865. He was the central figure of the Heptanese School of poetry, and is considered the national poet of Greece—not only because he wrote the national anthem, but also because he contributed to the preservation of earlier poetic tradition and highlighted its usefulness to modern literature. Other notable poems include Ὁ Κρητικός (Τhe Cretan), Ἐλεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι (The Free Besieged) and others. A characteristic of his work is that no poem except the Hymn to Liberty was completed, and almost nothing was published during his lifetime.


Early life and education
Born in 1798, Dionysios Solomos was the illegitimate child of a wealthy count, Nikolaos Solomos, and his housekeeper, Angeliki Nikli. Nikolaos Solomos was of Cretan origin; his family were Cretan refugees who settled on Zakynthos in 1670 after Crete's conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1669. The Italian version of the family name is recorded as: Salamon, Salomon, Solomon, and Salomone.[1] It is possible that his mother Angeliki Nikli came from the region ofMani.[2] Count Nikolaos Solomos was legally married to Marnetta Kakni, who died in 1802. From that marriage, he had two children: Roberto and Elena. Since 1796, Nikolaos Solomos had a parallel relationship with his housekeeper Angeliki Nikli, who gave birth to one more son apart from Dionysios, Dimitrios (born in 1801). His father married Dionysios' mother a day before he died on 27 February 1807, making the young Dionysios legitimate and a co-heir to the count's estate, along with his half-brother. The poet spent his childhood years on Zakynthos until 1808, under the supervision of his Italian tutor, abbot Santo Rossi. After his father's death, count Dionysios Messalas gained Solomos' custody, whereas his mother married Manolis Leontarakis in 15 August 1807. In 1808, Messalas sent Solomos to Italy in order to study law, as was customary with Ionian nobility, but possibly also because of Dionysios' mother's new marriage.

Greek War of Independence 25 March 1821

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution (Greek: Ελληνική Επανάσταση, Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman: يونان عصياني Yunan İsyanı "Greek Uprising"), was a successful war of independence waged by theGreek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1832, with later assistance from Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and several other European powers against the Ottoman Empire, who were assisted by their vassals, the Eyalet of Egypt, and partly by the Beylik of Tunis.

Following the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, most of Greece came under Ottoman rule. During this time, there were some revolt attempts by Greeks to gain independence from Ottoman control.[3] In 1814, a secret organization called the Filiki Eteria was founded with the aim of liberating Greece. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in the Peloponnese, the Danubian Principalities, and in Constantinople and its surrounding areas. The first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, but was soon put down by the Ottomans. The events in the north urged the Greeks in the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821, the Maniots declared war on the Ottomans. This declaration was the start of a "Spring" or revolutionary actions from other controlled states against the Ottoman Empire.

By the end of the month, the Peloponnese was in open revolt against the Turks and by October 1821, the Greeks underTheodoros Kolokotronis had captured Tripolitsa. The Peloponnesian revolt was quickly followed by revolts in Crete,Macedonia, and Central Greece, which would soon be suppressed. Meanwhile, the makeshift Greek navy was achieving success against the Ottoman navy in the Aegean Sea and prevented Ottoman reinforcements from arriving by sea.

The touching message from Mick Jagger

I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way.

We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves.

She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me.

I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received.

I will never forget her,
Mick

Fashion's L'Wren Scott found dead in NY in apparent suicide

BY PATRICIA REANEY  NEW YORK Mon Mar 17, 2014

Musician Mick Jagger and designer L'Wren Scott pose following her Fall/Winter 2012 collection during New York Fashion Week, February 16, 2012.
CREDIT: REUTERS/CARLO ALLEGRI

(Reuters) - Fashion designer L'Wren Scott, the girlfriend of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, was found dead from an apparent suicide in her Manhattan apartment, police said on Monday.

Scott, a former model whose slim-fitting, dresses were favorites among Hollywood's A-list stars such as Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams and Penelope Cruz, was found hanging from a scarf.

"We are investigating it as a suicide," said New York police Detective Kelly Ort.

Police said they had preliminary information that Scott was 49, although that had not been confirmed by her family.

Jagger, 70, said through a spokesperson that he was "completely shocked and devastated." Scott's family issued a statement asking for privacy.

The glamorous pair had been dating since 2001 and were often seen at celebrity events, with the 6-foot, 3-inch tall, raven-haired Scott towering over her rock-star boyfriend.

Greece will not give up WWII claims

German President acknowledges only a "moral responsibility"


President Karolos Papoulias on Thursday raised two controversial issues with his visiting German counterpart Joachim Gauck - Greece's ongoing demands for WWII reparations from Germany, as well as the return of a forced loan given by the Bank of Greece to the Nazis - but failed to elicit the desired response.
Gauck, who met with Papoulias amid high security as protests were banned in the city center, said he was not in a position to differentiate his stance from the official position of the German government, which has repeatedly said there is no case for the reparations Greece is seeking. "I believe the legal course for it is closed," Gauck said after Papoulias stated that Greece "has not relinquished its claims" relating to WWII reparations.

The German president acknowledged, however, that his country carried a "moral responsibility" for dozens of massacres carried out by Nazi soldiers during the war and offered to set up a special fund to boost German awareness of Nazi war crimes in Greece. Without providing details, Gauck said the fund would "dispense substantial sums to make Germans confront that part of their past."

Just wanted to thank you from bottom of my heart for all things you do! Happy Womens Day!!!

History of International Women's Day

Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity...
If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior...
If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with women...

Mahatma Gandhi



Introduction

International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day on 8 March. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. In adopting its resolution, the General Assembly recognized the role of women in peace efforts and development and urged an end to discrimination and an increase of support for women's full and equal participation.

International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.

New York Today: A Winter to Remember

By ANNIE CORREAL



Good morning. It’s Ash Wednesday.

And it’s a temperate 29 degrees.

So let’s give up winter, for now.

And take a look back at some of the things that it brought us:

• Trash. Lots of it. With sanitation workers busy plowing, sidewalks resembled interactive installations.

• Alternate side parking was suspended for 22 days, the longest stretch since 2001, though nowhere near the record of 62 in 1978.

• Heated sidewalks. So-called snow-melt systems are a rarity in the city, but they exist. They are popular among “the doggies,” as one doorman put it.

• Heated bus stops. A publicity stunt by a Florida tourism board, complete with models in bathing suits. The concept is unlikely to catch on.

• Drinks, sandwiches and signs outside liquor stores riffing on the term “polar vortex.”

Acropolis Museum

   

http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr

George Clooney hits back at Boris Johnson Hitler comparison: ‘Too much hyperbole washed down with a few whiskeys’

Johnson’s comments came after The Monuments Men star suggested that Britain take proper steps to return the 2,500-year-old Elgin Marbles

JENN SELBY Monday 17February2014

George Clooney has struck back at Boris Johnson, after the wily-haired Mayor of London compared the affable Hollywood heartthrob to one of the evilest men in history.

Johnson's comments came after The Monuments Men star suggested that Britain take proper steps to return the 2,500-year-old Elgin Marbles to it's original home of Greece.

As part of his column for the Telegraph, the Mayor wrote that Clooney had "lost his marbles" over the Elgin affair, before adding: "And where were the Nazis going to send the Elgin marbles? To Athens! This Clooney is advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for London's cultural treasures."

And the usually good-humoured Clooney wasn't about the let Johnson's words go unchallenged.

Snow again, but finally, a warmer week

Originally published: February 16, 2014 8:51 AM
By JENNIFER BARRIOS  jennifer.barrios@newsday.com

Luis Lituma, of Patchogue, cleans snow off his car Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, in front of his home on Oak Street. (Credit: James Carbone)

While this week will begin as usual -- with another helping of snow -- it'll end with a welcome warming trend that could peak into the 50s, according to the National Weather Service.

Sunday will be cold, with highs in the low 30s and the possibility of flurries later in the day, said Joey Picca, meteorologist with the service's Upton bureau. Temperatures will drop into the teens Sunday night.

Monday, Presidents Day, will see highs stuck in the low 30s, with some colder areas only reaching the upper 20s, Picca said. The day will remain dry, but come evening, expect a 70 to 80 percent chance of "a few inches of light, accumulating snow," Picca said.

"We're not expecting anything significant," he said. Lows on Monday will be in the upper teens to low 20s.

Ice storm paradox: It's colder because the Earth is warmer

With the American South locked in a deep freeze, you can be sure that plenty of the folks suffering through the snow and ice storms are interpreting the big chill as more proof that global warming is a hoax. “Warming?” they scoff. “How can the planet be warming when it’s so darn cold?”

People in other parts of the world seem to have no great difficulty understanding the science but, in the good old USA where quite a few people consider science just another political opinion, it is going to take a lot longer to get most people to accept the cold facts about a warmer world.

Put very simply, here is what the predominant science says: Average global temperatures have been rising in recent decades. Some of the warming could be part of a natural cycle but, almost certainly, increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels are a pivotal factor in intensifying the phenomenon. The starkest evidence of the temperature jump is the rapid melting of the polar ice caps and the disappearance of the world’s glaciers. 

Is George Clooney correct? Should Britain return the Elgin marbles?

While promoting his new film Monuments Men, about returning art taken by the Nazis to its rightful owners, George Clooney has said that the UK should give back the Parthenon marbles to Greece. Are you with him?


The Elgin marbles from the Parthenon on display at the British Museum. Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

Should Britain return the Elgin marbles to Greece?
87%	Yes
13%	No

Poll closes in 1 day

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/poll/2014/feb/12/george-clooney-elgin-marbles-monument-men-poll

George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon back return of Elgin marbles

Hollywood actors say Greek sculptures have had a "very nice stay" in Britain but should be returned


Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and George Clooney promote their new movie The Monuments Men. Photograph: Dave M. Benett/WireImage


Part of the Athens marbles, taken by Elgin. Photograph: PjrTravel/Alamy

They came to promote a film showing how millions of artworks were rescued and returned to their rightful owners after plunder by the Nazis. But George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon left implying that Britain, too, needed to have a long, hard, look at itself.

The Hollywood actors had become embroiled in one of the fiercest of all heritage controversies: should the Elgin marbles, removed from the Parthenon 200 years ago, be housed in London or in Athens?

At the National Gallery, Clooney repeated his belief that it would be a good thing if the British Museum gave the 2,500-year-old sculptures back to Greece. He was backed by Murray, who said they had had "a very nice stay here" but now should be returned.

The actors joined a dispute which has simmered ever since enormous chunks of the Parthenon's statuary were removed by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman empire, in the early 19th century.

Later bankrupt, Elgin sold them to the British government for £35,000 and they made their way to the British Museum, where they have remained a star attraction ever since.

In Berlin, on Saturday, while promoting his new movie The Monuments Men – based on the second world war platoon which rescued and returned thousands of artworks stolen by the Nazis – Clooney said it would be "very nice" if the marbles went back to Greece.

Foto olympics 2014 Sochi

Greek Byzantine Church in the Heart of Russian Olympic Games

Those who are in charge of organizing the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, together with with the Moscow Patriarchate’s authorities, constructed a glorious Byzantine style Greek Orthodox church.

It is an impressive Byzantine temple devoted to Christ the Savior. In fact the temple’s name is The Holy Face of Christ the Savior Church. There is no other church in Russia built-in such a uniquely impressive way. When observing the church, one can notice the byzantine influence by the astonishing domes gracing the outer shell.

However, the temple’s interior has been decorated with beautiful religious icons, as the Russian school dictates.

Yesterday, the Russian Patriarch Kirill held a divine liturgy at the church. Members of the Russian Olympics along with the Olympic teams from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldavia were in attendance.

http://eu.greekreporter.com/2014/02/06/greek-byzantine-church-in-the-heart-of-russian-olympic-games/

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Στην αρχαία Αιτωλοακαρνανία

Δύο είναι οι βασικοί άξονες όπου η Αιτωλοακαρνανία μπορεί και οφείλει να στηρίξει κάθε αναπτυξιακή της προσπάθεια: Το φυσικό περιβάλλον και ο πολιτισμός. Δύο είναι και οι χαρακτηρισμοί του νομού μας: Μοναδικό υπαίθριο αρχαιολογικό μουσείο και μνημείο της φύσης. Πολιτισμός και περιβάλλον δεν πρέπει να αντιμετωπίζονται ως διαφορετικές έννοιες, αποκομμένη η μια απ’ την άλλη. Είναι τόσο αλληλένδετες όσο ακριβώς και η ανθρώπινη δημιουργία ανά τους αιώνες στο συγκεκριμένο περιβάλλον.

Και είναι συνυφασμένες με σκέψη και ενέργεια, με κάθε αιτία και κάθε αποτέλεσμα δράσης των ανθρώπων του σήμερα, του χθες και του αύριο. Η δημιουργία, συνεπώς, ενιαίων δικτύων πολιτισμικών διαδρομών και φυσικού περιβάλλοντος, είναι ίσως το όχημα μετάβασης σ’ αυτό που η Αιτωλοακαρνανία πραγματικά είναι… στη σχετικότητα του χρόνου που γίνεται χρόνος μυθικός, αλλά και του χώρου.

4 Dead in Metro-North Train Derailment in the Bronx

By J. DAVID GOODMAN and JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
Published: December 1, 2013

At least four people were killed after a Metro-North Railroad train derailed Sunday morning in the Bronx along the Hudson River, officials said.

A total of 67 people were injured, including 11 critically, a New York Fire Department spokesman, Jim Long, said.

The derailment occurred when several cars of a train headed south from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., left the tracks about 7:20 a.m. near the Spuyten Duyvil station under the Henry Hudson Bridge on the Hudson Line, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman, Aaron Donovan.

At a news conference, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the operator of the train was among the people injured and was being treated. The families of the four victims had not yet been notified as of midmorning, he said.

“It’s obviously a very tragic situation,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Three of the four people who were killed were thrown from the train during the derailment, fire officials said.

Any curve in the tracks would have speed restrictions, officials said. They said that investigators would examine the track, the equipment, the signal system and the operator.

Joel Zaritsky had just fallen asleep in the fourth car of the train when the train started to roll over and landed almost on its side, he said.