A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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Coming to grips with children trying to earn money on the streets
Posted July 11, 2013 by Politis
By Alyssa Olivo Even though I’m used to seeing homeless people begging on the streets of New York City, I’ve been surprised at the amount of children trying to earn money on the streets in Greece. I can count on both hands the amount of times I’ve had a child come up to me, play […]
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Initiative for Democracy in Greece
Posted March 4, 2013 by Politis
A group of Hellenes in London have announced their intention to circulate the following petition and then submit it to the current Greek government, with a view toward raising awareness regarding what they call a rise of fascism and racism and the erosion of democracy and civil rights in Greece. At the time of publication […]
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Human rights watchdog says racist violence in Greece ‘a real threat to democracy’
Posted February 1, 2013 by Politis
From today’s Kathimerini English edition: “Europe’s top human rights watchdog on Friday urged Greek authorities to take action against the burgeoning wave of attacks against migrants in the country describing racist violence ‘a real threat to democracy.’ ‘Impunity for the rising number of racist crimes in Greece has to end,’ Council of Europe Commissioner for […]
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New media and the future of journalism
Posted June 28, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani Let me bring to your attention a very interesting discussion (in Greek) about the new media and new types of journalism in the context ERT, as ERT was / is supposed to be. Worth watching, it tackles specifically the situation in the Greek media.
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Riding in the buff to save the world
Posted May 29, 2013 by Politis
The World Naked Bike Ride will take place again in Thessaloniki on June 7 for the sixth consecutive year. Organizers are calling citizens to say STOP to indecent exposure of humans and to the pollution of the planet. The World Naked Bike Ride is a worldwide movement that supports the use of the bicycle as […]
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Civic engagement in the digital age — a Pew report
Posted May 12, 2013 by Politis
Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign. This means that more Americans are now politically active on social networking sites […]
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Would you pass? Citizenship tests in the UK, Canada, Australia, and the US
Posted March 16, 2013 by Politis
What does one need to know to be eligible for citizenship in a country not of one’s origin? Take Greece, for instance. According to the site Living in Greece, “For foreigners of no Greek origin who have long-term residency in Greece… [m]arriage to a Greek citizen does not automatically grant citizenship or a Greek passport […]
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Saying of the day: 3/31/13
Posted March 31, 2013 by Politis
“Obama is very possibly a world-historical political figure, and until those who oppose him come to grips with this fact, they will get him wrong every time.” — John Podhoretz
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The Bourgeois of Calais
Posted November 13, 2015 by DW
Le référendum a été un désastre : tels les bourgeois de Calais, Tsipras a dû se rendre à Bruxelles le 12 juillet avec un projet d’accord encore plus dur que celui qu’il avait soumis à référendum. It’s not an allusion I expect a Greek journalist would make under the circumstances. I so took for granted […]
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Of games and empathy: virtual public service?
Posted October 13, 2013 by M P
By Maria Patsarika The world of video-gaming is usually discussed in these controversial terms: does it promote violence or is it simple entertainment, in the same way that films are? I discussed this issue in depth recently with a group of college students, over a series of presentations that they had prepared on the subject. […]
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ERT: Burning down the house
Posted June 14, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani Maria Houkli has a point in her editorial on the closure of ERT in glimatikotika.gr Friday morning. But there can also be strong criticism to what she says. In my view the way that the government decided to close down ERT sends messages drawn from other political systems: the public or state […]
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Looking at strangers in a globalized world
Posted November 29, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Franchesca Verendia Leaving for Greece from the US I was expecting plenty of things—good food, a nice view, rich history, and some beautiful weather. I was even expecting some initial culture shock. What I was not expecting were the long stares when I walked down the street, the second-guessing questions (“So where are from?” […]
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How Long Until Junta?
Posted January 30, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Bill Frezza. It is often said that to get a glimpse of our future we should study the lessons of the past. Or we can observe the fate of those marching a few steps ahead of us down a road we seem determined to travel. Take Greece. Long hailed as the birthplace of democracy, […]
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What is the gagging law (UK)?
Posted September 6, 2013 by Politis
There has been a lot of talk in the UK about the so-called “Gagging Law” and its implications for democracy in Britain. Here the folks of 38 Degrees explain what all the fuss is about.
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Female, Aboriginal, Educated, and Idle No More
Posted January 20, 2013 by DW
A great story published in today’s Globe and Mail focuses on the driving forces behind Canada’s Idle No More movement. They call themselves an “indigenous rights revolution” aiming at honoring and fulfilling Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. The movement is the brainchild of four women, which, as Friesen writes, is “one of […]
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He’s back! (HH, that is)
Posted June 27, 2013 by Politis
COULD Adolf Hitler come to power today? Timur Vermes poses this question in his debut novel “He’s Back” (“Er Ist Wieder Da”). Told in the first person, the plot sees Hitler randomly wake up from a 66-year sleep in 2011 Berlin. There is no explanation for how or why this has happened, but that is […]
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The injustice of the Greek justice system
Posted April 2, 2013 by Politis
Politis asked EU law expert Anna Maria Konsta for her comments on a recently published review of the Greek justice system compared to other EU member states. Here are her remarks. “Even if these data date back to 2010, they are still indicative of the inefficiency of the Greek judicial system. In Greece, it takes […]
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Ready to govern?
Posted February 27, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner I read Guy Dinmore’s characterization in today’s Financial Times of the members of the M5S party of Beppo Grillo elected to one or the other of the houses in the Italian Parliament with a sense of wonderment. “How coherent a unit his parliamentarians will prove to be remains an open question, notes Tommaso […]
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Livebloging and streaming at ACT
Posted April 10, 2013 by PR
Live streaming by Ustream
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Nerdy citizenry
Posted April 29, 2013 by Politis
By Politis Are geeks the model citizens of the 21st century? Bill Moyers and Co. think so, with compelling evidence. “… we see hackers getting involved in so many different domains of politics… there are some bread and butter issues: free speech and privacy, civil liberties. This is something that a lot of hackers who […]