By David Wisner Michael Gerson had some interesting thoughts about an offhand remark made recently by retired US General Stanley McChrystal on service to the nation. McChrystal had expressed concern that only 1 percent of Americans serve in the armed forces, resulting in an unequal distribution of burdens and an unequal development of citizens. “Once […]
This just in from Fishbowl DC: After dropping out of the presidential election and a two season-long Republican bashing media tour, Jon Huntsman is ready to lead along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). The pair, along with Republican Strategist Mark McKinnon, are founders of “No Labels” a project aimed at fostering bipartisanship in Congress. Huntsman […]
Living in Europe today is akin to being a subject in some latter day Holy Roman Empire, that “political commonwealth under which the Germans lived for many hundreds of years.” So says Brendan Simms of Cambridge University in today’s New York Times. While the Empire lasted nearly a thousand years, however, the comparison is not […]
By David Wisner Armchair expert on the Greek sovereign debt crisis that I have portrayed myself to be, you can imagine my relative despondency having read Pavlos Eleftheriadis’ article on Greece’s oligarchs in a recent issue of Foreign Affairs. Reading Eleftheriadis’ account of recent Greek history, it appears that one should have given up the […]
By Alexander Besant The office of Greek app-maker Taxibeat is located in a modern building, surrounded by shuttered shops and streets with cracked pavement, in the upscale Kolonaki neighborhood in Athens. The contrast between the office and its surroundings is more than aesthetic—it’s the difference between where Greece is, a low-tech economy based on tourism […]
By Maria Patsarika Whenever I am faced with a dilemma I know that my choices are limited. Dilemmas represent difficult decision making, being torn between solutions neither of which is convincing enough to go for with watertight certainty. (Unless, of course, the dilemma is about choosing between Santorini and Crete for one’s holiday) On the […]
“I’ve never sung anywhere without giving the people listening to me the chance to join in — as a kid, as a lefty, as a man touring the U.S.A. and the world, as an oldster. I guess it’s kind of a religion with me. Participation. That’s what’s going to save the human race.” — Pete […]
Fact checkers and vote counters are legion in the US. Here is site that prides itself for being up on the latest in IT developments. No hiding behind the anonymity of an electronic vote. At issue in this instance is an amendment to cut off funding the the recently divulged NSA spying program. Now, who […]
By Maria Kalogeroudi Two speakers with a common concern: acting against racial prejudice. The one, a journalist, the other, a community organizer. Meet Damian Mac Con Uladh. Damian is an activist journalist who used to work for Athens News. He explained what an activist journalist is: a journalist for whom the boundaries between personal and […]
Mark Mazower, the author of “Salonica, City of Ghosts,” was interviewed in Kathimerini this past weekend. Here is what he had to say about political extremism in Greece today: “The new and highly disturbing feature of the scene in Greece is obviously the rise of the far right. Its emergence forces us to confront the […]
By Byron Tau Voter trust in political information from Facebook, Twitter and other social media services is now on par with that in traditional news sources, according to a new survey shared with POLITICO. Recent years have seen candidates increasingly devoting time and resources to developing their social media presences, with President Barack Obama’s reelection […]
By Jayde Hansen Regardless of how we feel about the elections, there is absolutely nothing we can do about the selection of the president at this point. What we can do is be catalysts for change. Social media has gone absolutely crazy since the world found out that Donald Trump is now the president of […]
“You should love responsibility. You should say, I and I alone am charged with saving the earth. If it is not saved, I am at fault.” — Nikos Kazantzakis
Photo: Thanasis Tsalikis
By Franesca Kareivis I recently attended a debate in the Thessaloniki Municipal Council chamber organized by the British Embassy in Athens. It was an interesting debate, demonstrating that young people have power and should be active members of society. After the four featured speakers debated, the mayor of Thessaloniki spoke a bit about some problems […]
By Politis This past week the Municipality of Thessaloniki has hosted a unique Franco-German initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe, a Dutch-registered NGO based in Thessaloniki with outreach throughout the Balkans. Academics, journalists, practitioners, and above all university students have gathered in Thessaloniki to continue their ongoing series […]
A very interesting yconference organized at the American College of Thessaloniki by Dr. Maria Kyriakidou. Wednesday, May 22, 11-6. The event is open to the general public. For further information contact Maria Kyriakidou at markyria@act.edu.
TechCrunch has announced its pick of Coursera as the 2012 Crunchies’ Best Overall Startup. Their rationale: “because more than anything else our country is heading into a period where higher education and job training is not catching up with the pace of innovation, where the creative part of “creative destruction” has not yet overwhelmingly kicked in.” […]