A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
0
comments
Circle dancing with the Greeks
Posted April 19, 2012 by DW
By David Wisner I first drafted this note over a year ago. If anything, the tendency I described, and its implications for the future of Greece and the EU, are all the greater. A worldly Greek acquaintance likes to tell the following anecdote. Foreign investors of a bygone era come to Greece, only to lose […]
comments
Good citizenship: Not a theoretical concept… simply a “good thing”
Posted March 5, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Ruth Sutton “1066 and All That,” a spoof history of England, gently assists its readers through the complexities of social change by inserting the regular insightful and analytical comment: “This was a good thing.” Looking back on this period of instability in Greece and Europe in general, I can’t help wondering if, years on, […]
comments
This is citizenship in action!
Posted February 24, 2012 by pdcadmin
By Maria Patsarika October 27, 2011 may now seem as a distant instantané of the eurozone crisis. However, at that time, it was seen by many as a victorious day, after having agreed a deal that slashed the Greek debt to 50%. As with all such deals, however, this one, too, had winners and losers; […]
comments
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 […]
comments
Democracy: reinvented
Posted December 13, 2012 by DW
By David Wisner I’ve been looking for an adjective with which to describe this recent op ed article by Bill Keller in the New York Times. Curious, perhaps. It’s not quite a celebration of a certain place where democracy has flourished. Hardly, in fact. On the other hand, as a test case, South Africa, does […]
comments
Lansie Sylvia at the Dukakis Center
Posted April 20, 2016 by Politis
The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service at the American College of Thessaloniki presents An Inspiration Exchange! workshop in nonprofit communication, community partnerships, and engagement strategy with Lansie Sylvia Director of Engagement, Here’s My Chance, Philadelphia Wednesday, April 20, 4 PM, Municipality of Pilea-Hortiatis, Panorama Cultural Center, Litsa Fokidi Hall “Here’s […]
comments
Greece: growth target pipedreams
Posted May 23, 2013 by Politis
In response to recent media commentary that Greece has turned the corner in its economic woes, Bloomberg’s Megen Greece had this to say earlier in the week. “The nature of economic activity in Greece also suggests that the European Commission’s growth target is a pipe dream. Although hedge funds have been active in buying Greek […]
comments
In defense of quiet activism
Posted April 4, 2012 by M P
By Maria Patsarika Last week I went to an interesting talk about the role of social sciences in these days of financial, political and social crisis and insecurity for Greece. Throughout the talk a critical question was lingering in the air, like the elephant in the room: “Why do most social scientists and intellectuals typically […]
comments
What makes a [good] citizen?
Posted March 17, 2013 by MK
By Maria Patsarika What makes a citizen? I wonder, reading Matthew Engel’s article“UK citizenship tests: why we need them.” Does a certificate personify all attributes of citizenship in all its complexity? During the seven years that I spent in the UK the prospect of coming back home (to Greece) kept at bay the anxiety of […]
comments
Wanted: A new narrative for the nation
Posted February 5, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Alexis Papachelas What Greece really needs right now is a fully-fledged plan to regenerate the nation. People are in despair. Some over the extra taxes they are forced to pay at the end of each month, and others because they simply cannot afford to pay the emergency property tax on their house. The conservative-led […]
comments
News on the street
Posted November 8, 2013 by Politis
A picture says more than 1000 words, or so they say. And now, the news.
comments
Double standard on immigration?
Posted July 17, 2013 by Politis
By Alyssa Olivo Coming from the United States, immigration isn’t a new issue for me. The US is filled with plenty of people from other countries. Grab five people off the street in New York and ask them where they’re from, you’ll probably get five different answers. The real issue is illegal immigration. Some come […]
comments
Celebrating WordPress and freedom of expression
Posted May 29, 2013 by Politis
A nice article in today’s Deutsche Welle celebrates the tenth anniversary of the launch of WordPress, one of the main platforms for blogging world wide. “Over the last decade, WordPress transformed from a simple platform to write a blog into an online content management system used by multinational corporations to maintain their Internet presence. A […]
comments
Ageing, but with grace?
Posted January 20, 2013 by DW
The editors of Kathimerini write in today’s online English edition that “The prime minister knows better than anyone else how difficult the job ahead is, and how many problems he has to deal with… he is making a gigantic effort to hold the country together even though he is dealing with a shattered public administration and […]
comments
Saying of the day: 2/7/13
Posted February 7, 2013 by Politis
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” — Aristotle
comments
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, […]
comments
Relief fund for victims of flooding in Serbia
Posted May 17, 2014 by Politis
A relief fund has been created by the Serbian government for anyone who wishes to support victims of the terrible flooding in Serbia. Thank you for taking note and sharing this information with your friends and acquaintances.
comments
European Greece, Greek Europe, and Modern Identity
Posted March 10, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Dimitrios Machairas [H]ow are we to interpret the insistence on the part of Greece to accept, at whatever cost for the last three years, almost all the measures that have been imposed by its international lenders and the EU to rescue the country from default and remain in the Eurozone? Is it an indication […]
comments
The evolution of political discourse
Posted March 27, 2013 by Politis
Politis is keen to understand how we talk about citizenship and politics. Our friends over at The Week have come up with this essential lexicography of early 21st-century Washington-speak. snollygoster — A politician who will go to any lengths to win public office, regardless of party affiliation or platform. dummymander — A gerrymandered district drawn […]
comments
Criminal matters
Posted October 30, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner There has been a lot of talk recently, both in Greece and in the US, about criminal behavior at the highest levels of political life. In the US, one party has allegedly sought to blackmail and extort the government in the recent standoff over the shut down of the federal government. Here […]