THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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Opinions
I am saddened to see the public’s perception that rule of law is still not working effectively in Lithuania
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“It seems that some of the country's leaders simply are not ready to or interested in implementing urgently needed reforms. I am saddened to see the public’s perception that rule of law is still not working effectively in Lithuania.”
US-Lithuanian attorney Regina Narusiene in a recent interview with VilNews
To read the interview, go to
Section 11 – LITHUANIA IN THE WORLD
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The emotion I felt when I first saw the Lithuanian flag flying over Gedimino Pylis was overwhelming
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Vilnius captured my soul on my first visit in 1998. In an ideal world, I would own an apartment in old town and fly back and forth several times a year.
The emotion I felt when I first saw the Lithuanian flag flying over Gedimino Pylis was overwhelming. Lithuania is free and can grow and develop like never before. Thank you vilNews for keeping us informed and in touch!
Jurate Kutkus Burns, Florida
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Photo: www.kastu.lt
Dear Aage, this is just to compliment you with VilNews new style. It's a great pleasure reading this e-magazine every time and I think you can be really proud of your achievement!
Ambassador Joep Wijnands
Royal Netherlands Embassy, Vilnius
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What bothers me is the intolerance it exhibits towards Lithuanian born citizens who no longer live in Lithuania because of wars and other extenuating circumstances.
Aleksas
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Lithuania is doing just fine without perfume or a ‘look at me’ attitude. Lithuania is a quiet nation with strong, rich history taken and followed by all Lithuanian descendents in the U.S. I don’t need to be reminded that my country is there. I know it is and I am proud to call it mine.
Patricia Giedraitis, USA
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What a shame…
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Lithuania's identity presented with "a bottle of perfume"??? What a shame...
Since when has Lithuania anything related to perfumes?.. We are not French....
I am just wondering for what we, the tax payers, are paying to our state companies?.. Another example of the possible money washing....?
Irma Ramaskaite,
Vilnius
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Keeping the conversation going about famous Lithuanian American sports giants: Johnny Podres, born in Upstate New York, helped the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles Dodgers) win their first series championship in 1955 against the formidable New Yankees. The links have invaluable information about Podres who as pitcher won 2 games (4-2 and 2-0) in October, 1955. Please place him in your gallery of great players.
http://www.usbaltic.org/celebrities/johny_podres.php
Aciu ir linkeimais,
Tony Mazeika,
Mission Viejo, California, USA
P.S. You have put together an outstanding interactive website. Congratulations.
TM
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About spring and my song ‘Lithuania forever’
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Mickey Michael
Dear Aage,
Your latest issue of VilNews about Spring in Lithuania in which you included my song "Lithuania Forever" filled my heart with joy!
Thank you for sharing my song with your international readers!
I look forward to meeting you in Vilnius this summer and having together a delicious local beer. Your editorial's positive outlook and belief in Lithuania's people's amazing rise from Soviet oppression gives me the greatest inspiration.
Kindest regards,
Mickey Michael, Canada
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Why visit Lithuania in 2011?
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Amber is Lithuania's gold.
I would encourage everyone to visit Lithuania! There are many places to discover and eat some tasty food!
Barbara Rapaport
Excellent. Covers a lot of topics
Matthew Saweikis
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FROM MADHUR IN INDIA:
Am planning for a trip to Lithuania very soon... The pictures which you have uploaded haunts me....they are so beaaaaaaautiful.. I fully agree it is Europe's best kept secret!
I am forwarding it to all my friends and acquaintances to promote Lithuania ... It's worth a venture... Honestly!
FROM SANDRA IN THE US:
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading this issue
and using the links provided. Four of us are traveling to Lithuania in May and are very much looking forward to visiting the land of our ancestors. Thank you for the information.
FROM SHARON AND CHRIS IN THE US:
Thanks so much for sharing. I'm going to forward to the rest of the family so they have a chance to see how beautiful a place Lithuania is and maybe visit there to see where their ancestors lived.
FROM ALDONA IN SWEDEN:
Fantastic. Keep up the good work. That is the way to present a positive view of Lithuania.
Linkiu sekmes, Aldona is Svedijos
FROM ANTANAS IN AUSTRALIA:
Many Thanks for Your last Email with VilNews. Such beautiful present. I am not a stranger to Lithuania anymore. After 43 years of absence I managed to sneak in just before The Baltic Way (Baltijos kelias). Much water went under the bridge since. Lithuania is looking now like a paradise. Thanks to You and others who come to Lithuania and helped Lithuania to recover. Your Names ought to be written in gold in Lithuanian history books.
Antanas Kramilius
FROM VYTAUTAS IN CALIFORNIA:
Aage:
Let me say simply - you are an amazing person and the best foreigner that ever came to Lithuania. Your February 25 VilNews issue is the best presentation for publicizing Lithuania's culture, beauty and arts.
I will visit Lithuania for two months this late spring and early summer and would like to have the pleasure personally grasping your hand.
Thank you for loving the country more than many Lithuanians.
Vytautas Sliupas,
Burlingame, California
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Oh, dear Lietuva :(
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Tony Olsson
Apparently you have no vision; your President is being knocked for standing up to the USA; and your young people are leaving in droves for better job opportunities and education in foreign lands.
I have been visiting Lietuva since 2003, before you joined the EU. Previous to that I had contacts with Lithuanians who spent their holidays in England. In those eight years I have seen Lietuva changing, going places, advancing, taking its place in the modern world. At the same time, my country (Britain) has been going down the pan.
Clearly corruption in public life is a problem in Lietuva, as it is in Britain. The difference is that Lietuva impeaches its politicians, whereas we literally let ours get away with murder. It is virtually impossible to have corrupt politicians removed from the British Parliament. The new British Government has promised reforms to remedy this situation, but as recent events have shown that corruption is endemic at all levels in both our Houses of Parliament, the chance of a swift adoption of anti-corruption measures is unlikely...
Tony Olsson,
North Devon, United Kingdom
To read the rest of the letter and participate in the discussion, go to
Section 3 – CHAT AND DICUSSS!
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Lithuania has no VISION!
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Jeff Lewis.
Lithuania has no VISION ! riddled with corrupt practice - offer to help and even friends take advantage, poor education standards , and poor quality of life. They leave to achieve a better qualification and job opportunity. Let each company linking with schools produce a common policy to address corrupt practice, energy conservation and its still icy underfoot in the countries capital ...
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Enjoyed this interesting VilNews issue. Especially, your article on Holy Grail and Sforza family connection even though you did not provided any supporting historical data to prove this. Nevertheless, legends do sell and we need them to market this country.
It is worth to mention that later on starting from 1779 Vilnius and the Lithuanian Grand Duchy, as many other nations around the world, was an invisible battleground between Jewish led Illuminati freemasons and Vatican Jesuits fighting each other in order to gain and maintain control. Maybe It is worth to mention some colourful names and their activities like Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman known as the Vilna Gaon or Elijah of Vilna who was an exceptional Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist, and the foremost leader of non-hasidic world Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha'Gaon ha'Chasid mi'Vilna, "the saintly genius from Vilnius."
Arvydas Arnasius, Vilnius
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Dealing with Russian occupation, as difficult as it was, may have been easier than dealing with ourselves
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Dear Editor
There has been a lot of negative commentary in Vilnews recently from some of your readers and even from Regina Narusiene in the recent piece about the need for change in attitudes toward what the Lithuanian diaspora can do for the country and what volunteerism can do within Lithuania.
I guess I don't disagree at all, however…
Sitting here on the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland I'm reminded of the battle flag of Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, USN during the decisive battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. On the blue flag were the words "Don't Give Up the Ship" which he had to transfer from his sinking flagship to the sistership, Niagara. Commander Perry ultimately won that battle against the Royal Navy and altered the military balance on the Great Lakes. In his report to superiors he stated "We have met the enemy and they are ours".
To all my Lithuanian friends and friends of Lithuania I exhort "Don't Give Up the Ship" . And especially to my Lithuanian friends I quote the "Pogo" cartoon paraphrase of Perry " We have met the enemy and he is us!" Maybe our modern Lithuanian example of heroism needs to be Bishop Valancius who came to the conclusion that in the mid 19th century Lithuanians needed to sober up before they came to any national reawakening or effective resistance to Russian domination.
Dealing with Russian occupation, as difficult as it was, may have been easier than dealing with ourselves. But we have sort of been here before, haven't we? Onward!
Rimantas Aukstuolis, Vice President Structured Trade Finance Fifth Third Bank, Cleveland, Ohio
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Are you between 13 and 23 years old – with some sort of connection to Lithuania?
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We want now to find young people with some sort of connection to Lithuania, preferably in the age group 13 – 23.
We hope to receive emails from you that belong to this age group around the world. What we want to know is:
- What are you doing, where do you live, what are your hobbies, etc.?
- What kind of connection do you or your family have to Lithuania?
- What kind of impression do you have of Lithuania and Lithuanians?
- Do you speak Lithuanian?
- If you do not live here - have you been to Lithuania ever?
- If not - do you want to come here?
- Would you like to get in touch with other young Lithuania-related people in different parts of the world?
- Do you have thoughts and ideas of and about Lithuania that you think could be of interest to others?
- Do you have suggestions for Lithuania's leaders?
- Do you have suggestions for our e-magazine, how we could help build bridges among young people etc?
You may of course also write about other things and issues having to do with this country or Lithuanian people/activities around the globe.
If you are less than 18, please ask one of your parents to confirm that we may publish your email and potentially a photo of yourself. We look very much forward to hearing from you!
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Courage and clarity
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Bravo on an excellent issue. I congratulate you on your courage and clarity. Whether people agree or disagree with whatever point, I do hope many understand how much love, care and constructive friendship you are offering to your adopted country. Nothing can be better for a new democracy than a spirit of free civic debate and encouraging more and more local people to.... stay and debate!
Professor Dovid Katz, North Wales
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OPINIONS
Have your say. Send to:
editor@VilNews.com
Ph. D., Chicago
A wave of unity sweeps the international Lithuanian community on March 11th every year as Lithuanians celebrated the anniversary of the Lithuanian Parliament's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the sense of national unity engendered by the celebration could be short-lived.
Human beings have a strong tendency to overgeneralize and succumb to stereotypical us-them distinctions that can shatter even the strongest bonds. We need only search the internet to find examples of divisive thinking at work:
- "Those who fled Lithuania during World II were cowards -- and now they come back, flaunt their wealth, and tell us 'true Lithuanians' how to live."
- "Lithuanians who work abroad have abandoned their homeland and should be deprived of their Lithuanian citizenship."
In Lithuania Christmas Eve is a family event and the New Year's Eve a great party with friends!
Lithuanian say "Kaip sutiksi naujus metus, taip juos ir praleisi" (the way you'll meet the new year is the way you will spend it). So everyone is trying to spend New Year's Eve with friend and have as much fun as possible.
Lithuanian New Year's traditions are very similar to those in other countries, and actually were similar since many years ago. Also, the traditional Lithuanian New Years Eve party was very similar to other big celebrations throughout the year.
The New Year's Eve table is quite similar to the Christmas Eve table, but without straws under the tablecloth, and now including meat dishes. A tradition that definitely hasn't changes is that everybody is trying not to fell asleep before midnight. It was said that if you oversleep the midnight point you will be lazy all the upcoming year. People were also trying to get up early on the first day of the new year, because waking up late also meant a very lazy and unfortunate year.
During the New Year celebration people were dancing, singing, playing games and doing magic to guess the future. People didn't drink much of alcohol, especially was that the case for women.
Here are some advices from elders:
- During the New Year, be very nice and listen to relatives - what you are during New Year Eve, you will be throughout the year.
- During to the New Year Eve, try not to fall, because if this happens, next year you will be unhappy.
- If in the start of the New Year, the first news are good - then the year will be successful. If not - the year will be problematic.
* If New Year's night is cold and starry - look forward to a good summer!
* If the during New Year Eve trees are covered with frost - then it will be a good year. If it is wet weather on New Year's Eve, one can expect a year where many will die and dangerous epidemics occur.
* If the first day of the new year is snowy - the upcoming year will see many young people die. If the night is snowy - mostly old people will die.
* If the New Year time is cold - then Easter will be warm.
* If during New Year there are a lot of birds in your homestead - then all year around there will be many guests and the year will be fun.
Christmas greetings
from Vilnius
and epic battle for the
future
Philosopher, political theorist, historian of
ideas, social analyst, and political
commentator
Ukraine was and continues to be perceived by the EU political class as a sort of grey zone with its immense potential and possibilities for the future, yet deeply embedded and trapped in No Man's Land with all of its troubled past, post-Soviet traumas, ambiguities, insecurities, corruption, social divisions, and despair. Why worry for what has yet to emerge as a new actor of world history in terms of nation-building, European identity, and deeper commitments to transparency and free market economy?
Right? Wrong. No matter how troubled Ukraine's economic and political reality could be, the country has already passed the point of no return. Even if Vladimir Putin retains his leverage of power to blackmail Ukraine and the West in terms of Ukraine's zero chances to accede to NATO due to the problems of territorial integrity, occupation and annexation of Crimea, and mayhem or a frozen conflict in the Donbas region, Ukraine will never return to Russia's zone of influence. It could be deprived of the chances to join NATO or the EU in the coming years or decades, yet there are no forces on earth to make present Ukraine part of the Eurasia project fostered by Putin.
want to learn about the
new, scary propaganda
war between Russia,
The West and the
Baltic States!
believe their government
is corrupt
students say no to
bribes for doctors
During Soviet times, government was administered for the people in control, not for the local population, court decisions were decreed, they were not the administration of justice, and academia was the domain of ideologues. 25 years of freedom and openness should have put those bad experiences behind Lithuania, but that is not so.
Today, it is a matter of expectation that court pronouncements will be governed by ideological dictates. Few, if any Lithuanians expect real justice to be effected. For foreign companies, doing business in Lithuania is almost impossible in a situation where business people do not expect rule of law, so, surely Government would be a refuge of competence?
Lithuanian Government has not emerged from Soviet styles. In an attempt to devolve power, Lithuania has created a myriad of fiefdoms of power, each speaking in the name of the Government, each its own centralized power base of ideology.
Chepstow, Wales
Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Lithuania? Ah, but I didn't mention the mountains of Snowdonia, which would give the game away.
I'm talking about Wales, that part of the UK which Lithuanians used to call "Valija", but later named "Velsas" (why?). Wales, the nation which has welcomed two Lithuanian heads of state to its shores - firstly Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, who has paid several visits and, more recently, President Dalia Grybauskaitė who attended the 2014 NATO summit which was held in Newport, South Wales.
ENGLISH VERSION OF THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS.
Although Lithuanian activities have thinned over the decades as that postwar generation died out, the Lithuanian Martyrs' parish hall is crowded with many, many hundreds of visitors who come to the Lithuanian cemetery for All Souls' Day. Similarly, the Franciscan parish has standing room only for Christmas Eve mass.
Although I am firmly embedded in the literary culture of Canada, my themes are usually Lithuanian, and I'll be in Kaunas and Vilnius in mid-November 2015 to give talks about the Lithuanian translations of my novels and short stories, which I write in English.
If you have the Lithuanian language, come by to one of the talks listed in the links below. And if you don't, you can read more about my work at
www.anatanassileika.com
http://www.vdu.lt/lt/rasytojas-antanas-sileika-pristatys-savo-kuryba/ https://leu.lt/lt/lf/lf_naujienos/kvieciame-i-rasytojo-59hc.html
"My love and best wishes to all. As long as VilNews exists, there is hope for the future,"" she writes.
Irena Veisaite means very much for our publication, and we do hereby thank her for the support and wise commitment she always shows.
You can read our interview with her
Facing a new reality
Dear readers of VilNews,
For a number of years, the EU and Russia had assumed the existence of a strategic partnership, based on the convergence of values, economic integration and increasingly open markets and a modernisation agenda for society.
Our agenda was positive and ambitious. We looked at Russia as a country ready to converge with "European values", a country likely to embrace both the basic principles of democratic government and a liberal concept of the world order. It was believed this would bring our relations to a new level, covering the whole spectrum of the EU's strategic relationship with Russia.
The likelihood of Putin
invading Lithuania
.jpg "lithuania today")
Founding Director at Summer Literary Seminars
Are all Lithuanian energy
problems now resolved?
Lithuania as a country does not have significant energy resources. Energy consuming infrastructure after WWII was small and totally supported by energy imports from Russia.
First nuclear reactor begins power generation at Ignalina in 1983, the second reactor in 1987. Iganlina generates enough electricity to cover Lithuania's needs and about 50%.for export. As, prerequisite for membership in EU, Ignalina ceases all nuclear power generation in 2009
The Klaipėda Sea terminal begins Russia's oil export operations in 1959 and imports in 1994.
Mazeikiu Nafta (current ORLEAN Lietuva) begins operation of oil refinery in 1980.
Have Lithuanian ties across
the Baltic Sea become
stronger in recent years?
The two decades that have passed since regaining Lithuania's independence can be described as a "building boom". From the wreckage of a captive Soviet republic, a generation of Lithuanians have built a modern European state, and are now helping construct a Nordic-Baltic community replete with institutions intended to promote political coordination and foster a trans-Baltic regional identity. Indeed, a "Nordic-Baltic community" - I will explain later in my text the meaning of this catch-phrase.
Since the restoration of Lithuania's independence 25 years ago, we have continuously felt a strong support from Nordic countries. Nordics in particular were among the countries supporting Lithuania's and Baltic States' striving towards independence. Take example of Iceland, country which recognized Lithuania in February of 1991, well in advance of other countries. Yet another example - Swedish Ambassador was the first ambassador accredited to Lithuania in 1991. The other countries followed suit. When we restored our statehood, Nordic Countries became champions in promoting Baltic integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. To large degree thanks Nordic Countries, massive transformations occurred in Lithuania since then, Lithuania became fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO, and we joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2015.
Have you heard about the
South African "Pencil Test"?
But that is exactly what happened to me when I came back from South Africa. I will tell you how.
VilNews e-magazine is published in Vilnius, Lithuania. Editor-in-Chief: Mr. Aage Myhre. Inquires to the editors: editor@VilNews.com.
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