User talk:LMRusso

Thanks...
...for your additions in Kastoria in the Jewish community section. I would appreciate if you could also cite the source for these events, especially given that most of them may create quite bit of controversy. Those are terrible facts you included there, and they should of course be mentioned provided they are sourced by reliable sources. I found especially appalling the fact that certain compatriots of mine confiscated Jewish properties unilaterally, and since I consider that highlighting one's past mistakes can only lead to improvement, I would be most grateful if you could include the sources. NikoSilver 12:37, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

helpme Thanks for your guidance to this wiki-newbie I think I did this incorrectly the first time and emailed you instead of adding to this talk page... here's what I'd sent you-

Please find the following references regarding the requested citations.

1) "In 1943 the Jewish population in Kastoria numbered over 980"

2) "By the end of the war in 1945, 38 of the original population survived -the vast majority of the community killed in concentration camps"

Besides the spoken word during interviews I've conducted with many of the survivors, there is a monument in the Saint Athanasios area of Kastoria that details these facts and their numbers (the monument rounds the numbers expressing 1000 in the community and only 35 surviving, but my research showed slightly different results).

I posted photos of the monument for you at: http://longbeachreunion.com/images/Kastoria_1.jpg http://longbeachreunion.com/images/Memorial.jpg

3) "The survivors who returned to Kastoria found their homes occupied by villagers who claimed the properties as their own."

Although I know this to be a fact verified by many of the surviving Kastoriali Jews I don't have a published reference for it yet -but will work on it & get back to you. Please note that, unfortunately, it is absolutely true (it was actually a common event to many surviving Jews all over Europe).

4) "Those remaining men who struggled to stay in their hometown were subsequently drafted and served in the Greek army to fight the communists during the Greek civil war".

I suppose I'll have to work on getting a published reference for this one also- Again, forgive me if my freshman status to Wikipedia is causing me to ask stupid questions... but many of these facts are likely unpublished yet can be verified through photos and interview testimony. It would be a shame to omit such points when they are absolutely true. How do I get a reference for such a point?

Revision: Ok, I see the laws about No Original Research.... I suppose that makes sense- Ok, I'm learning. Gotta get some published stuff to you-

One site I'm looking through is: http://www.sephardicstudies.org/

I suppose I've got homework to do-

5) "By 1950, most of the scattered remnants of the Jewish community eventually decided to leave Greece entirely". I don't believe this point is likely to be challenged, but if you require I will attempt to find references for it.

6) "As of June, 2007 one Jewish family remains in Kastoria."

This is common knowledge among any of the residents in Kastoria. This fact is definitely not likely to be challenged by anyone with any bit of knowledge of the city. However, in consideration and privacy to the one Jewish family that remains in Kastoria- perhaps the line should just be deleted anyway.

If possible, I would appreciate a reply to let me know if I'm going about this properly or not. Thanks again-

Four tildes eh? Let's see here...

LMRusso 15:26, 27 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Dear LM, I haven't received your e-mail yet, but your post here suffices (if identical). I'll copy it on the article's talkpage (Talk:Kastoria) for others to see and comment too. Right now, I am extremely busy in real life, and I won't be able to respond in essence for the next few days. If these pictures are your own, you can upload them in WP (left in the toolbox, where it says 'upload' and use 'self' as license, but I think you need four days after initial login to be allowed do so). We'll be in touch. NikoSilver 16:22, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

I copied it there. Now please post whatever more information only there for others to see as well. Best regards, and again, WELCOME! :-) NikoSilver 16:33, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks again Niko, I look forward to hearing from you once things settle down a bit in "real" life. LMRusso 09:49, 29 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Look in books, encyclopedias, websites or other reliable sources to find an answer. What is common knowledge to you, since you live in the town in question, isn't common knowledge to people who live outside the area.   Mi r a n da   13:42, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your suggestion Miranda, the problem is that my entry regards a relatively obscure point in written history. There is very little if anything written about the topic (and I am one of only three people currently working to change that). The only published works regarding the subject are mainly in Greek or Hebrew- for which I'm working to try and get English translations.LMRusso 09:49, 29 June 2007 (UTC)


 * You don't have to translate them. Just mention them. I'll go ahead in the article talk and reply in all points... NikoSilver 20:38, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm working on it... LMRusso 05:11, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Your recent edits
Hello. In case you didn't know, when you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion, you should sign your posts by typing four tildes ( &#126;&#126;&#126;&#126; ) at the end of your comment. You may also click on the signature button located above the edit window. This will automatically insert a signature with your username or IP address and the time you posted the comment. This information is useful because other editors will be able to tell who said what, and when. --SineBot (talk) 04:51, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

About me (Fcreid)...
I've never "supported" Palin, at least in the sense I inferred from your question on Talk. I did not vote for her ticket in 2008, and I'm one of those 70% who believe she remains unqualified for POTUS today (and I'll bet bottom dollar that dog never hunts). I differ almost categorically with her personal views across the social spectrum: abortion, gun control, gay equality... you name it. I agree with her platform of fiscal responsibility in government (and I will add that I'm disgusted with how we're spending today, which is not the beneficial change I envisioned). I believe corporatism in America can be both our benefactor and our enemy, and that corporations should be taxed proportionately to the benefits they derive from being here to offset that duality. I believe the resulting income should finance those functions that the majority of Americans agree are inherently governmental in nature. I believe universal healthcare is such an inherently governmental service, but that anything less than a single-payer system (that controls both demand and supply of goods and services) simply exacerbates the problems of the current system. Finally and above all, I believe I have innate individual freedoms that should never be encroached upon unless they impact the freedom of others, and I loathe government programs that create a net effect of instilling a sense of dependency or entitlement as these undermine the innately human mandate for individual and social responsibility. Without such freedoms, including the risks they entail, we can never achieve more than what others will allow. Fcreid (talk) 15:22, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

P.S. I lived in Alaska more than twenty years ago while serving in the military. I was on a tiny island at the tail end of the Aleutians (and very definitely close enough to see Russia from my window on a rare clear day!) Fcreid (talk) 15:26, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the note. Sorry I'm responding so late but I hadn't logged in until I saw that Bonewah apparently took it upon himself to delete the poll data again.

I believe I agree with you on a lot of what you write. In general, to me it all boils down to the Golden Rule (don't do unto others what you wouldn't want them to do to you). Basically, unless what a person does hurts someone else, they should be free to do what they want.LMRusso (talk) 03:58, 4 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Have you tried searching for the new polling data? That's been my point all along, LMRusso.  I shouldn't have to inform you that a newer CBS poll was released nearly a month ago that invalidates the previous.  I objected to polling data being included in the biography in the first place for exactly this reason, and it's certainly not mine or anyone else's place to maintain constantly fluctuating data in a current state.  The fact that you didn't know about the newer poll indicates you aren't interested in the value of the data itself, but instead are trying to insert a commentary that affirms some positions you hold.  As I've stated below, that's simply not the type of thing that belongs in any biographical article. Fcreid (talk) 15:47, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

You'll have to refresh my memory (and provide some edit data) to bring me up to speed on your question today. As I've stated here, on my own talk page and on the article talk page, I object vehemently to polling data being included purely on its face. Everyone knows it's spurious, unscientific and nearly always developed by a poller with some bent towards a specific conclusion. Recently, dKos had to admit that virtually none of its polls (which reached exactly the conclusions they wanted) were ever based on actual science or fact, as I've long suspected. To your question, none of what you referenced in your note today seemed to include poll data, so apparently it didn't raise my interest. If someone had entered raw polling numbers, like those we discussed above, I would have objected as I have in the past. Finally, for what it's worth, I do not know and have nothing to do with those others whom you named in your note. Fcreid (talk) 21:27, 24 July 2010 (UTC)