A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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Do we want our politics to be nimble?
Posted August 3, 2014 by Politis
In an article published this past weekend on TechCrunch, Michael Papay and David Timby ask what politics cannot work at the swift pace that contemporary business, aided by developments in information technology, can. In this high political season (the 2014 mid-term elections) “there’s not much constructive debate,” they lament, “and political gridlock has become the […]
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Center right, center left: the original
Posted March 24, 2013 by Politis
“The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue. Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking with strong, proactive advocacy and outreach. As the only Washington, DC-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship, BPC […]
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How European is Greece?
Posted January 13, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Alexandros Petersen For many, the realities of life in pre-crisis Greece, now exposed to the world, conjure images of large-scale corruption and petty bribery more associated with the Middle East than Europe. In the Western and Northern European mind, not to mention many in North America, the question of whether Greece should have ever […]
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Destination: bankruptcy (and not just moral)
Posted March 27, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Nikos Chrysoloras It is now official: Cyprus will pay a heavy toll for turning its economy into an offshore financial haven and allowing its banking sector to hyperinflate. But if the purpose of the dramatic eurozone all-nighters was not just to punish and make an example of the island, but to solve the issue, […]
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Occupy Barbie Dream House
Posted May 18, 2013 by Politis
By Politis A group of activists have been protesting the opening in Berlin of the European Barbie Dreamhouse, a new theme park which the protestors are calling “pink hell.” In an interview in Deutsche Welle, the leader of the “Pink Stinks” movement, Stevie Schmiedel, described their action as follows. “Basically we have a press stand […]
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The world is watching
Posted October 7, 2016 by Politis
By Lydia Richards I am a study abroad student and a Dukakis Center intern at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT) from the US, where I attend the University of Northern Iowa and major in flute performance. At ACT, I am taking several International Relations classes. As someone who has not spent a great deal […]
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The NSRF phenomenon – or, The dangers of ΕΣΠΑ
Posted December 2, 2012 by M P
By Maria Patsarika Some months ago I had an interesting conversation with a friend about what it means to achieve fulfillment in life. This was prompted by the dilemma that we face nowadays perhaps more acutely than ever: how can someone retain one’s ethos and character when modern times is characterised by such fluidity, uncertainty […]
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Environmental activism
Posted May 12, 2014 by Politis
The Greek office of the World Wildlife Fund is circulating the following open letter with regard to pending legislation regarding potential private development along Greece’s Aegean seacoast. …/… Αγαπητοί φίλοι, Με κομμένη την ανάσα παρακολουθούμε τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις που αφορούν το νέο σχέδιο νόμου του Υπουργείου Οικονομικών για τον αιγιαλό. Ίσως έχετε ακούσει το θέμα […]
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Can Facebook remake government?
Posted September 5, 2013 by Politis
Excerpts below from an article in TechCrunch last about about the prospect of Facebook and other social media to remake government around the world. Is there hope? Mark Zuckerberg has a grand vision that Facebook will help citizens in developing countries decide their own governments. It’s a lofty and partially attainable goal. While Egypt probably […]
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Lecture by Thomas de Waal: The Great Catastrophe, then and now
Posted June 8, 2016 by PR
Live streaming video by Ustream
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Independence day, for whom?
Posted March 25, 2014 by DW
Politis found this note on Facebook today. Apparently citizens were discouraged from attending today’s Independence Day parade in downtown Athens. “When the public cannot be trusted to celebrate their country’s independence, what independence is it, exactly, that they have to celebrate?”
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Strategic agility in Greek human resource management
Posted December 12, 2012 by DW
By Konstantinos Bouas and Petros Katsimardos Introduction Human Resource Management policy is probably the most important challenge for Greek public administration, given the severe on-going crisis and the need to sharply reduce public expenditure. The high remuneration cost of Greek public servants (13,6% of GDP in 2009, against only 11% of OECD member countries [1]), […]
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Users trust social media as news source
Posted January 17, 2013 by pdcadmin
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 […]
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Editor’s Choice: Event of the week
Posted June 1, 2012 by laura
Parallaxi, a free-press magazine inThessaloniki who began the well known “ThessalonikiAllios” are organizing the 2nd annual effort to clean up the city ofThessaloniki. Thessaloniki Allios willbe reviving an area of Thessaloniki that has been left abandoned for a longtime, the coastline from Aretsous until Macedonia Airport. One mission will be to clean up the coastbehind […]
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Center right, center left
Posted December 23, 2012 by Politis
The title of a recent analysis in Politico – “The disappearing independent” – struck this reader as personal. I looked down at my hands, at my feet; checked in the mirror to see that my nose, ears, and eyebrows were still there; I even dug out my blood pressure gizmo to make sure my heart […]
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A public service announcement on uninsured vehicles
Posted March 10, 2016 by Politis
Is your vehicle currently insured? A penalty of 250 euros will apply for any uninsured vehicle the next few days, as soon as the cross check will be made by the Greek Ministry of Finance, since yesterday, was published the relevant law. If your vehicle is not then insured within two months, further penalties will […]
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Saying of the day: 3/18/13
Posted March 18, 2013 by Politis
“If you make people’s lives better they will pay you for it — bottom line.” — Rob Markey
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GoodNews is good news
Posted February 1, 2013 by KK
GoodNews is a collection of good news related to or coming from Greece, to “whoever contributes to Greece and its citizens, whatever makes life in their country unique and drives it forward.” Their goal is to launch a “revolution of goodness.” The page exists in Greek and in English. The site has lots of categories, […]
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What They’re Saying About Us Now
Posted July 12, 2012 by MK
Greece in the news up to July 12! In this article from The New York Times on July 1, Paul Krugman offers a logical vindication of Greece as it has been portrayed in the media. Krugman claims that unduly blaming southern Europe for the crisis is preventing progress. There is merit to this idea, […]
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Diaspora Perspectives
Posted June 28, 2013 by Politis
By Elizabeth B. Seliotes Bolling [Editor’s note: Politis welcomes Alaska-born Hellene Elizabeth B. Seliotes Bolling, who will contribute notes on the experience of a diaspora Greek during the crisis.] Being an American of Greek blood who grew up in Alaska but is living in Greece, I experience treatment from the older Greek generation that sometimes […]