Followers of former president Donald Trump surrounding the US Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021. Notice the tall platform for hanging the enemies of Trump. Wikipedia.   I worked on Capitol Hill for a couple of years – in the 1970s. I used to visit the Capitol, primarily for pleasure. Here was America’s center of political life  designed and built with classical Greece in mind. The architecture and paintings of the large Capitol building do in fact mirror the polis of Athens.    Electing tyrant Trump   However, the election of Donald Trump, a corrupt businessman, to the presidency in November 2016 brought to a head decades-long boiling undemocratic forces in America. January 6, 2021 was a dark day during which Trump launched an unsuccessful coup.   Like an experienced tyrant, Trump invited his followers from all over America to Washington. He was determined to keep his power. He told his followers to go to the Capitol in order to prevent Vice President Mike Pence and the Senate from certifying th

Philippeion honoring King Philip II of Macedonia in Olympia, Peloponnesos, Greece. Photo: Evaggelos Vallianatos.    Olympia is in northwestern Peloponnesos. Its name comes from the sanctuary dedicated to the Olympian Zeus.     The sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia   For more than a thousand years, the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia was at the center of Greek life and civilization. This is where every four years the Olympics took place. The Olympics was the greatest Panhellenic athletic and religious celebration. Greek men and the best athletes from mainland Greece and from the entire Mediterranean went to Olympia, sometimes as many as 40,000.    They camped near the sanctuary of Zeus. Its monuments included numerous temples and thousands of statues of gods, heroes, and athletes. The visitors anxiously waited for the five-day athletic competition and ceremonies exalting Zeus.   Olympia and the Olympics   Olympia and the Olympics were magnets for victorious poleis (city-states) and ambitious po

Kolobrextis wetland in Central Euboea, Greece. Courtesy citizens for the protection of Kolobrextis. A hurricane of ecocide   My Greek friends in the large island of Euboea and Boeotia (Central Greece) are telling me -- and the world -- that a “hurricane” of solar and wind technologies are wrecking their lives and the countryside.   I am all for solar and wind alternatives to the Earth-warming fossil fuels. The faster they replace  dangerous petroleum, natural gas, and coal, the better. The world is in real danger from anthropogenic climate chaos.  Climate nemesis  is hanging over the planet like the sword of Damokles.    Nevertheless, Greece has been abusing solar and wind energy. Instead of placing solar panels on the roofs of houses and buildings, the local Greek municipal governments and the Ministry of the Environment are licensing private companies to install solar panel arrays on archaeological sites, wetlands, valleys, and mountains.   The situation with wind turbines, some of w

  Δρ. Εὐάγγελος Βαλλιανᾶτος   Κλιματικό ανθρωπογενές χάος   Έμαθα για τον την επικίνδυνη κατάσταση του υγροβιότοπου Κωλοβρέχτη από φίλους στην Εύβοια.    Και βέβαια πρέπει να αντικαταστήσουμε το φυσικό αέριο, κάρβουνα, και πετρέλαιο στην παραγωγή ηλεκτρισμού. Η κλιματική αλλαγή, η πιο σωστά, κλιματικό χάος δεν είναι αστεία. Τα δάση καίγονται παγκοσμίως, και καταιγίδες καταστρέφουν τα πάντα. Όλες αυτές οι καταστροφές είναι ανθρωπογενείς. Δηλαδή, το καύσιμο του πετρελαίου, του φυσικού αερίου, και του λιγνίτη προξενεί την αύξηση της θερμοκρασίας του πλανήτη, με αποτέλεσμα τον κακό καιρό, την ανίδρυα, τις φωτιές στα δάση, και τις καταιγίδες.   Ο Ήλιος και ο άνεμος είναι τεράστιες και αιώνιες πηγές ενέργειας χωρίς τις δηλητηριώδες  οικολογικές και ανθρώπινες επιπτώσεις του πετρελαίου, φυσικού αερίου, και λιγνίτη. Τα φωτοβολταικά στις οροφές των σπιτιών παράγουν ηλεκτρισμό για τις ανάγκες φωτισμού, μαγειρικής, και φόρτιση ηλεκτρικών αυτοκινήτων. Το πρόβλημα στην Εύβοια είναι η τοποθέτηση των

Judges are not supreme   The word “supreme” fits kings and tyrants. It is definitely monarchical and, therefore, undemocratic. A supreme commander does what he wants. No one can interfere, much less have oversight of his actions. The same thing is true with a court with the title supreme court. It issues decisions / edicts that only Congress can overturn.    The other inappropriate custom with this high court is giving its judges names / titles they don’t deserve. Justices, for example.    Judges are usually trained in law. They are not Justices. Justice is an ideal of virtue rarely apparent in human beings. To be just is beautiful and perfect, but extremely difficult. So calling judges Justices gives them the illusion they are much better than they are. It elevates them to heights they don’t deserve.   Besides, judges of the high court are chosen by the president. This means they mirror the politics and corruption of the president. They are appointed for life, which tempts them to bec