Alex Leontaritis is a director and co-founder of Desmida
Desmida Visual Creations, a start- up creative and production team was created recently to focus mostly in making Internet commercials. The founders of the team, Alexander Leontaritis and Greg Terzakis who have both experience in the area of Films and commercials, have created a new venture based in new technology methods. Specifically, it provides 3D and Green Box Film Shooting with HD cameras, animation and visual effects as also aerial shootings by helicam operators for the more demanding clients.
“Our goal is to use improved technology methods for film, commercial and music video shootings that aren’t very familiar so far to the Greek Film Industry Market and also to provide these services in cost effective solutions” says Alexander Leontaritis who also works as a director and a creative executive for the projects that are made by Desmida. Leontaritis has lived in Los Angelesand New York, where he started as an intern at well known Hollywood Production Companies and later continued his career working as an assistant director and production manager in Features and Commercials. He is also an award winning director, having made several short films that have participated in international film festivals.
“We provide a total solution package for a project, starting from scratch and delivering it in a completed form to our potential clients. Our services also include the advertising concept, film shooting, animation graphics, Green Box technology, scriptwriting, casting, film shooting, post production, interactive applications and original soundtrack creation” continues Greg Terzakis, also founder of Desmida. Terzakis grew up in Canada and later he moved to Greece where he has been staying for the past few years. He is a Control and Computer Systems Engineer with a degree from the University of Westminster and a professional actor with a Diploma in Performing Arts and Acting from Drama School MVT of Athens. Terzakis has made hundreds of corporate presentations and business deals in every continent around the globe, has had hands on experience on the development and production of cutting edge digital systems, he is experienced in the creation of Hologram Systems and also has a deep understanding of high technology digital production projects.
“We are very happy to announce that we recently completed our first brand name project for the Crowne Athens City Hotel. Another aspect that characterizes our work is that we use a more cinematic approach. The commercial will soon have a wide public release according to the marketing strategy followed by the Hotel. This period we are in talks for making new Projects for other important brand name companies” said Terzakis.
“Our target market doesn’t confine us only to Greece. We believe that because of the economic crisis many opportunities have appeared that make it much easier than it used to be, in doing business with other companies from countries around the world. Specifically, we are expanding our activities, starting from Los Angeles, where we are creating this period a shooting team that will also deal with projects there” says also Leontaritis.
To find our more about Desmida Visual Creations you can go at www.desmida.com
Pictures and videos from the forced cancellation of several commemorative parades in Greece yesterday, on the occasion of the October 28 anniversary, have made up the forefront of many international mass media reports.
According to Washington Post, CBS and ABC, thousands of protesting people overflowed the place, where the military parade of Thessaloniki marking the country’s entry into World War II takes place every year. The outraged protesters booed politicians and forced the President of the Hellenic Republic to flee.
All of the three American news agencies have uploaded in their e-platforms the Associated Press telegram, which closes up by mentioning that tension escalated in the students’ parade of Athens and many other cities around Greece too.
The foreign media have all referred to Karolos Papoulias furious statements before leaving the parade stand, “When I was 15, I fought against Nazism and the German occupiers. Who are they calling me a traitor? Shame on them”.
French TF1 and Nouvelle Observateur have also covered yesterday’s episodic events analyzing the social turmoil breaking out in Greece after the continuous implementation of unpopular austerity measures.
After the October 24 meeting of Greek Orthodox parishioners regarding their Church leader’s decision to split the Salt Lake City community into two parishes, the outraged parishioners decided to sue Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver — the Greek Orthodox leader for a 12-state region including Utah — for his decision to disregard both the parishioners will and the directive of the Synod.
Back in 2007, a survey amongst parishioners has shown that 87% were against the split of the Greek Orthodox Community into two parishes, the Holy Trinity Cathedral located in Salt Lake City downtown and the Prophet Elias Church in Holladay.
In the October 24 meeting, 90 community members discussed ways of keeping the 105-year-old community intact, which included possible suing and judicial action on behalf of them.
Holy Trinity Cathedral was the original parish church and then in the 1960’s the community added a second church, the one of Prophet Elias. Today, the combined parish has more than 1,200 families.
Metropolitan Isaiah claimed that the two churches have been “de facto” separate parishes for several years, and he has become convinced that most parishioners want them to formally separate.
“The anger and the animosity between these parishes, involving an increasing number of members, have verified the fact that this situation could last for many more years,” Metropolitan Isaiah wrote, “and this would be a continuing detriment to the teachings and traditions of our holy Orthodox faith.”
Parishioner John Saltas finds no particular reason to undo what the community has built over more than a century. “Our community has been neighbors, work partners and communes at the holy altar for over 100 years,” he said. “The majority of us do not want this to happen, and that’s by a wide, wide, wide majority.”
Now, the concerned parishioners are planning to continue with the legal actions against The Metropolitan and the Proistameno of Prophet Elias Church, since their only wish is to get things back the way they were before the arrival of the Proistameno.
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders Mr. Christofias and Mr. Eroglu will meet anew on Sunday in order to overcome basic differences in terms of solving the Cyprus Problem.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon had called the two sides’ leaders to reach an agreement by the end of October in order for the reunification negotiations to commence. However, his special adviser Alexander Downer said after the leaders met last week in Nicosia that differences remained.
According to information, the two sides have not agreed on key issues including what to do with private property lost during the war, territorial boundaries, details of a federal government and elections.
Despite the encouraging progress made, the Secretary General “wants to hear about what those difficulties are, and to hear from the leaders the sorts of ideas they have for overcoming those difficulties”, Mr Downer said.
The talks will take place at the secluded Greentree estate in Manhasset, NY.
Greek shipowners have warned of havoc on vital international ocean trades if the menace of piracy is not curtailed more effectively.
The message was spelt out “in no uncertain terms” by a delegation of Greek owners who visited Washington this month, meeting rule makers and officials including US Secretary of Transportation Ray La Hood.
“They understand the implications if the transport chain is disrupted, which obviously it may be if seafarers are not willing to go into the Indian Ocean, for example,” said a source close to the trip, which took place under the auspices of the Union of Greek Shipowners.
One owner said: “There is a tendency in the US to think that piracy in the Indian Ocean has very little to do with them. But they understand the implications for trade and we also pointed out the mounting cost of piracy to the American consumer.”
A report in IFW’s sister publication, Lloyd’s List, said Greek-controlled shipping was estimated to carry about 20% of US imports and exports, a share partly reflecting the fact that Greek owners on average operate larger ships than many other nationalities.
The Union of Greek Shipowners has called for “self-protection of seafarers and ships by using private armed guards on board”.
For two and a half weeks, my commute to work has involved step-stoning through wide expanses of trash. Plugging my nose has become second nature. Like the rest of Athens, I have started to forget that there were once marble and cobblestone sidewalks beneath the mountains of garbage. The trash men are striking indefinitely as a result of the severe cuts to their wages, along with the dramatic tax hikes.
In the face of this lethal combination, an alarmingly large portion of the population is sinking below poverty level. My resentment for the men that are allowing the stench, grime, and health hazards to settle upon this city begins to fade as I realize they won’t be able to put food on their tables for much longer. Say hello to the dumpster in front of my apartment
While my commute to my internship at Deree College involves gingerly tiptoeing amidst the trash bags, the commute to my internship downtown is arguably worse. Well actually, if the public transportation system is striking, as it does two or three times a week, there is no commute at all. I find myself emailing the Consulting Firm yet again, asking if there is any work I can do from the comfort of my home. If the public transportation system does happen to be operating, the commute is harrowing at best. Because everyone else living in this delightful city must take full advantage of the limited window of time within which the transportation system will be running, I find myself wedged between smelly people far too often for my liking.
Occasionally, I can coerce friends into driving me to either work or Greek class, but they are always reluctant to do so, as the price of gas has gone through the roof. Moreover, it’s not that unlikely that every gas station in the Athens area is on strike, or at least planning a strike. Or perhaps the container trucks that transport gas into Athens have decided to strike and the gas stations will be out of gas indefinitely. Just before a strike is scheduled to begin, cars will line up at gas stations like the end of the world is upon us. Sometimes, the gas stations will call off the strike just moments before it was scheduled to begin, as they have successfully wrung out every last cent from the pockets of panicked drivers.
On the one hand, I cannot respect this automatic instinct to strike. Powering down the public transportation system seems so counterproductive. How can you expect the economy to recover when people can’t get to work? How can you expect capital to circulate when people can’t leave their immediate neighborhoods? Stores are closing left and right partially because customers have such limited means of getting to these stores. As the piles of trash strewn across roads and sidewalks threaten to create severe public health problems, supporting the garbage men’s strike is close to impossible.
But on the other hand, I understand the message that these strikers seek to convey. Firstly, they are saying something like “you need us.” If you deprive us of our rightful pay, we will not be of service to you. Strikes are a form of passive disobedience; they are the peaceful protests. As harsh austerity is imposed upon the country from above, the people feel that they have lost their voice. In times of desperation, striking serves as the default action. It is the only way the people can get their point across. It is the only way they can make their statement. Hence, strikes convey the true plight and wretchedness of the times by revealing that the people have no other outlet. There is the implicit message that the people simply cannot handle the cutbacks. Even the kiosks go on strike
Rather than turn to face the austerity measures, the Greeks choose to reject this harsh new reality. Strikes carry an underlying element of revenge and punishment. The people that have hit rock bottom figure they might as well bring everyone else down with them. In Greece, there is the widespread belief that the economic situation is not the fault of the people, but the fault of the government and the elite. The fat cats remain in their Kiffisia mansions, while the average Joe pays for their sins. The people’s anger and frustration originate in their belief that they played no role in the mammoth deficit. The harsh austerity measures place the Greek people in a Promethean situation– chained against a cliffside with crows picking at them– through no fault of their own.
From both outside and within Greek borders, the situation appears to be unraveling with no end in sight. Like Sisyphus, the Greeks are condemned to endlessly push the rock up the steep mountainside over and over again. The international community views Greece with a mix of pity and annoyance. The media continuously draws attention to the profligacy and fiscal irresponsibility that nearly brought about the demise of the euro. But as austerity rips across the land, uprooting everything in sight, the international media sadly shakes its head at the rapid degeneration of things. Continued criticism seems cruel. As wages nosedive, taxes skyrocket, and unemployment abounds, Greece appears to teeter on the verge of Third World status. Financiers turn their backs on the hopeless situation, believing the risk of investment to be far too acute. Greece seems to have been branded with the scarlet letter, as tourists look to switch their reservations to less volatile countries and Greek youth endeavor to find a more promising future abroad.
Yet amidst the rubble springs a brilliant idea. It is not a cure-all remedy, but it is certainly a start. While the deficit might take decades to atone for, involving years of cruel austerity and hardship, the image of Greece is something that can be refit and refurbished within the immediate future. Initiated by a variety of academics, diplomats, and technocrats, RepowerGreece.com is a social awareness campaign coordinated by the Institute for Regional Dialogue and Strategy, a non-profit organization.
The campaign seeks to transform perceptions of Greece by showcasing the individuals and businesses that have harnessed entrepreneurship, ingenuity, innovation, and a devoted work ethic. It endeavors to create the perfect springboard for change and growth by isolating and elevating a side of Greece that will impress the international community and motivate the Greek morale. In this way, RepowerGreece will fundamentally alter the assumptions and understandings upon which Greek society is perceived to function, thus allowing Greece to strategically reposition itself on the international chessboard.
The cornerstone of the online campaign involves the stories of people who, through determination and perseverance, managed to achieve their objectives in spite of overwhelmingly hostile contexts. These stories revolve around the country’s sectors of strategic interest: education, culture, innovation, agribusiness, tourism, energy, and shipping. The website represents those who find solutions and create opportunities. In highlighting these success stories, the campaign strives to promote a new-and-improved Greek mentality that combines critical thinking with result-oriented perceptions.
The second piece of this multi-layered public relations program involves opinion-editorials discussing the county’s current predicament. These pieces promote new ways of thinking by suggesting innovative strategies and solutions. Then, the initiative solicits and integrates “snap-thoughts,” or quick and simple ideas that seek to motivate and inspire, in an effort to engage the grassroots. The campaign therefore seeks to repower Greece by “rebranding” Greece as a country with a constructive new mindset that can adapt and evolve. It creates a platform for progress by redefining the role and enhancing the image of Greece, both at home and abroad.
This ground-breaking initiative is the most practical and worthwhile solution that Greece has produced during these bleak times. It strives to promote Greece to strategic key audiences, while fostering dialogue between critically thinking citizens and serving as a forum for new ideas. And most importantly, the campaign is not profit-oriented in any way. The sponsors behind the initiative, namely the Bank of Attica and the Hellenic Postbank, cover publicity and advertising expenses, while also offering access to the audiences with which they interact.
One of the primary objectives behind the initiative is to create a viral effect, to maximize outreach within both Greek and international public opinion. Here’s how you can get involved: first, participate in the movement. Go on RepowerGreece.com and explore the website; read the stories and contribute a “snap-thought.” Follow the Facebook page, and find RepowerGreece on Twitter and Linkedin. Then, help spread the word. Promote the initiative via your social networks (Facebook/Twitter/Linkenin), and recommend the site to your friends, family, and other contacts. Encourage them to visit, support, and participate in RepowerGreece.com.
The desperate need for an initiative like this is evident wherever you look. The Greek people need this. With its strategic geographic location, ideal climate, and superb human capital, Greece could be vibrant and flourishing. The country can emerge from this crisis strong and reinvigorated. Don’t allow it to fade into the Third World. Don’t allow it to be forgotten.
Greeks protesting austerity measures sabotaged the national school student parades in many areas of Greece.
In Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, the demonstrators heckled President Karolos Papoulias and other attending officials, calling them traitor. Some anarchists spat at retired military officers.
In the city of Trikala of South Greece, a protester attacked an MP of PASOK political party, Magkoufis.
As far as North Greece is concerned, in the small town of Florina, students from the School of Art created a coffin, joining the parade carrying the coffin as a symbol of the current dead economy in Greece. Then, the coffin was transferred to the central square of the town, so that people could visit it.
In several other Greek cities, officials were heckled but most of the commemorative parades went ahead as scheduled, two days after Europe’s leaders announced a strengthened financial rescue plan that includes bigger write-downs of Greek debt and new injections of capital into weakened European banks.
The protesters included leftists, anarchists, neo-Nazis and people fed up with the government’s austerity policies.
Sergeant of the National Counter-terrorist Agency was arrested on Wednesday in the region of Agios Dimitrios for an armed robbery at the agency of the betting operator OPAP.
The 46-years-old officer is accused of entering the agency armed with a gun and stealing money.
The alleged offender was witnessed by a special guard not on duty, who immediately called the police to capture the offender.
The offender was led to the Directorate-General of Home Affairs, where an investigation of the crime is to be conducted.
Harvard Prof. Kenneth Rogoff says Greece will eventually wave bye-bye to the euro
A plan to wipe out 50 percent of Greece’s debt to international lenders is not enough to keep the economy from collapsing and eventually forcing Greece to leave the Eurozone, the 17-country institution of members using the euro as a currency, Harvard University economist Kenneth Rogoff has predicted, adding that it will likely leave within the next 10 years.
“It feels at its root to me like more of the same, where they’ve figured how to buy a couple of months,” Rogoff said as a compensated speaker at the Bloomberg FX11 Summit in New York. “It’s pretty darn clear the euro does not work, that it’s not a stable equilibrium.”
That came after European Union leaders boosted their rescue fund for Eurozone members to $1.4 trillion and convinced holders of Greek bonds to take a 50 percent “haircut” on their investments as it became clear the country could not pay back the first bailout of rescue loans of $152 billion from the Troika of the EU-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank, which is also considering a second one of $157 billion. While that created an upsurge in the euro’s value, and stocks in Europe and the U.S., Rogoff said the initial bloom will wear off.
“My read of this is that the markets are cheered that they’re still alive,” said Rogoff, 58, a former IMF chief economist. “Even in a fairly short period, doubts will start to grow again.” Still to be worked out and susceptible to infighting and whether banks will revolt, is whether the EU can sustain Greece and its overall rescue fund institution. Next week there is a meeting of G20 nations that will discuss the Greek and European-wide economic crisis, as other countries, including Spain, Portugal, and Italy, have teetering economies as well. One goal of the agreement is to lower Greece’s debt as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 120 percent. Nations historically have run into trouble when public debt exceeds about 90 percent of GDP, Rogoff said, and without the write-down, Greece’s was projected to hit nearly twice that.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ll see more defaults beyond Greece,” Rogoff said. “The interesting question is will all the countries in the euro still be in the euro? My answer to that is no.” There’s at least as much as an 80 percent chance that Greece will leave the 17-nation common currency in the next 10 years, he said. “There’s just too many inconsistencies,” Rogoff said. Multiple independent countries using a common currency “is missing some big things and it’s just not in equilibrium.” In This Time is Different, a book he co-wrote with Carmen Reinhart, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, stated that a recovery after a financial crisis is especially protracted and that higher levels of debt tend to accompany slower growth.
St. George Greek Orthodox Church will hold its 4th annual Dancing with the Greeks event, 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at Wellman Commons, Masonic Center, 300 Union St.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. They are available at Angelo’s Pizzeria on Hammond Street and Captain Nick’s on Union Street. Admission for youth 17 and under (accompanied by an adult) is $10. Proceeds benefit the mission of the church in its service to the community.
Free Greek dancing lessons before the event will be given, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the St. George Church Fellowship Hall, 90 Sanford St.
For information, visit stgeorge.me.goarch.org or call 945-9588.
Pictures and videos from the forced cancellation of several commemorative parades in 
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders Mr. Christofias and Mr. Eroglu will meet anew on Sunday in order to overcome basic differences in terms of solving the Cyprus Problem.
