Museum of the History of Polish Jews

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which will open in 2012 on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto, was the focus of attention at a lavish reception hosted by Mrs. Wanda Presburger and Mrs. Helena Krol, at the Krol's beautiful Beverly Hills, California residence.

Ms. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Head of the Core Exhibition Planning Team gave a detailed presentation on the Museum, the first and only museum to focus on the history of Polish Jews.

Poland was once home to the largest Jewish community in the world and center of the Jewish Diaspora. Many Jews trace their ancestry to Poland, which was one of the largest countries in Europe and one of the most culturally diverse. As a result, the legacy of Polish Jews extends also to areas that are today Lithuania, Belarus, and Latvia, as well as to parts of Ukraine, Estonia, and Western Russia. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be a portal, a place to begin an exploration of the world of Polish Jews.

Initiated by the Jewish Historical Institute Association in Warsaw in 1996, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be a unique institution. It will seek to explore the Jewish presence in Poland across the ages, including the first settlements; the unique guarantees offered to Polish Jews in the 13th century; the “golden age” of Polish Jewry in the 16th and 17th centuries; the Shoah and the remnants of the extinguished presence in post-war Poland. Visitors will be taken on a virtual journey to a lost world in which countless generations lived and flourished. The Museum will discover the vibrant civilization of what was once the largest Jewish community in the world and center of the Jewish Diaspora.

In attendance was the Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles, the Honorable Krystyna Tokarka Biernacik, the Honorary Consul of Poland in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable John Petkus, the U.S. Representative to the World Federation of Consuls and Honorary Consul of Chile in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable Paulina Biggs-Sparkuhl, the Honorary Vice Consul of Guatemala in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable Dr. Aldo A. Aguirre, the President Emeritus of the Consular Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Jonathan Warren, Mr. Stanley Kolodziey and Peter Krol, from KROL Vodka.

Cocktails with The Consuls

Inaugural event attracts overwhelming, diverse crowd Consuls General of Uzbekistan and Japan fly in day before; Seven honorary consuls take part.

The first annual Cocktails with the Consuls took place at the Parisian Palace in Las Vegas, to the acclaim of an at-capacity, unusual collection of guests.

At-capacity crowd of dignitaries converges on the Parisian Palace for Cocktails with the Consuls
International business people, political candidates, personal and corporate security specialists, former CIA, FBI, State Department and Special Forces officers mixed with diplomats, entertainers, celebrities, corporate sponsors and local Las Vegas society, in a renaissance of international business and investment opportunity.

It was a great function. Congratulations to the Las Vegas Consular community for this great evening. Ditto on the recognition of Nico, Jonathan and Paulina. Nico’s design skills are incredible. What a wonderful venue. I will see you all again soon. Thanks for the opportunity, I enjoyed it very much. -Gary Furlong, Honorary Consul General of Uzbekistan.

Included in the honored guests were:

• Mr. Ken Walther, decorated former CIA officer
• The Hon. Gary Furlong, Honorary Consul General of Uzbekistan
• The Hon. Kathleen Blakely, Honorary Consul General of Japan
• The Hon. Paulina Biggs Sparkuhl, Honorary Consul of Chile and Member of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Consuls
• The Hon. Jerome Snyder, Honorary Consul of Great Britain
• The Hon. John Petkus, Honorary Consul of Poland
• The Hon. Dr. Aldo Aguirre, Honorary Vice-Consul of Guatemala
• The Hon. Dr. Geoffrey Vanderpal, Honorary Consul of Slovakia*
• The Hon. Senator Roberto Benvenuti (ITALY)

Guests were treated to a brief talk by Consul General Gary Furlong, who’s legendary and daring work in the former Soviet Union is chronicled in the book “Who the Hell is Bob” by Steve Rudman.

Following Gary our keynote speaker was Ken Walther, a decorated veteran of nearly three decades as a CIA officer. Ken’s work in 100 countries is chronicled in several books, and the unique secret technology department he helped develop is the subject of the book “Spycraft“ by Robert Wallace. Event photos available on the Facebook page of The Palace Club: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=139578899396

*Dr. Vanderpal is the immedate past consul in Las Vegas, Nevada and is Consul Applicant in Austin, Texas

Guatemalan Organizations Elect Representative to CONAMIGUA

In an election held at the General Consulate of Guatemala in Los Angeles, CA, 19 Guatemalan community organizations elected Julio Villaseñor as their representative to the Advisory Council of the National Council for Migrant Services of Guatemala (CONAMIGUA).


A total of 19 community organizations registered to participate in the election process, disputed among four candidates, Julio Villaseñor, Marvin Pinto, Rosa Posadas, and Dr. Carlos Roberto Calderon. Julio Villaseñor and Marvin Pinto were elected after a second round of votes was held to break up an initial tie, Villaseñor as the Representative, and Pinto as the Alternate.

In attendance from were Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Ambassador Miguel Ángel Ibarra, as well as Congress Members Sonia Segura, Julio López Villatoro and Carlos Bautista. Secretary of CONAMIGUA Erick Maldonado oversaw the process, which was directed by General Consul of Guatemala in Los Angeles, CA, Consul Pablo Garcia Saenz.

Election observers included the General Consul of Spain in Los Angeles, His Excellency Ambassador Inocencio Arias, and the General Consul of Costa Rica in Los Angeles, Xenia Vargas. The Honorary Vice Consul of Guatemala in Las Vegas, NV, Dr. Aldo A. Aguirre was also present to observe the process.

"This has certainly been clear proof of the power of the Guatemalan immigrant community in Los Angeles, California, to unite behind one common cause through a completely transparent democratic process. I was very pleased to witness such an important event and look forward to assisting Mr. Julio Villaseñor in getting in touch with the Guatemalan community of Nevada. We anticipate he will visit Las Vegas sometime in the Spring of 2010," concluded Vice Consul Aguirre.

Hungry in Guatemala

The Atlantic - Samuel Loewemberg writes about how solutions in Guatemala, plagued by chronic malnutrition, keep coming up short. The real problem: poverty and income inequality.


At the G8 meeting in Italy last month, the world’s richest countries agreed to devote $20 billion to food security and agricultural development. President Barack Obama declared that the "purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed, to help people become self-sufficient, provide for their families and lift their standards of living." The initiative was primarily spurred by concerns about the effects on struggling populations of global warming and the economic downturn. But it is also perhaps a reflection of Obama’s stated intent to put a greater emphasis on what his administration calls “smart power” – diplomacy and development, as opposed to primarily defense – in his approach to foreign policy.

Here’s an unlikely candidate to be the poster child for the new program: Guatemala. The Central American nation has the sixth-worst rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, despite being what might be described as a relatively well-off lower-middle class country. Indeed, the situation there bears little resemblance to the well-worn picture of skeletal children in African refugee camps. Measured by average GDP, Guatemala is doing fine economically. But that fact hides dramatic income inequality: while wealthy citizens live luxuriously in sequestered Guatemala City neighborhoods, the poor are barely noticed, living like feudal peasants in the countryside. Nearly half the children in this country of 13 million are chronically malnourished, according to the World Food Program.

FULL ARTICLE