A Citizen’s Guide to Greece 2015
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Citizen conductors
Posted October 11, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner The latest initiative from the group Improv Everywhere in New York: citizen conductors! What a great idea! Here is the description from their website: “For our latest mission, we put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with […]
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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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Public service is a calling — even when the government is shut down
Posted October 13, 2013 by Politis
Excerpts from an opinion piece in this past Saturday’s Washington Post by Ann Marie Oliva, director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs. “The past two weeks have made me ask myself two fundamental questions: What does public service really mean, and what is my responsibility when I […]
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Entrepreneurship in Greece: the state of play
Posted October 17, 2013 by Politis
Excerpts from an article in the Harvard Business Review by Michael G. Jacobides of the London Business School. “On the economic front, the government is trying its best to play up Greece’s ‘success story’: its return to stability, the achievement of a primary surplus, and the increasing interest of global investors such as John Paulson. […]
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How to make policy that is good and represents what people need and want
Posted October 18, 2013 by Politis
An excerpt below from an article by Brian Heaton in Governing relative to an Online Public Policy Simulator to be put into use in the US state of Massachusetts. “Estimating the financial impact of a new public policy is an uncertain science at best, even for the most experienced government official. What if [policy makers] […]
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Crisis, what crisis?
Posted October 23, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner Some years ago, when I first settled permanently in Thessaloniki, I met another ex-patriot who had been here for decades already. How long? I asked her. “Long enough to think the Greek way of doing things is the normal way,” she replied. Won’t happen to me, I thought, naively. And continued to […]
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Enough with meaningless political speeches
Posted October 23, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani I’ve read Kyriakos Pierrakakis’ recent interview in Ethnos. Any thoughts, you ask? A bunch of words describing what has to be done in order to find solutions in this country, seemingly through the left. But without any practical substance in it. I mean we all (almost all) know what has to be […]
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Hands on the roof of the car
Posted October 24, 2013 by Politis
What say we reverse roles. A regular reader of Politis sent this arresting image our way this morning, with the following caption by Banksy. “The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It’s people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre villages.” […]
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Civic Work, Civic Lessons
Posted October 25, 2013 by Politis
Civic Work, Civic Lessons explains how and why people of all ages, and particularly young people, should engage in public service as a vocation or avocation. Its authors are 57 years apart, but united in their passion for public service, which they term “civic work.” The book provides unique intergenerational perspectives. Thomas Ehrlich spent much […]
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What is exactly the character of this democracy?
Posted October 26, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani Have you seen this article on EnetEnglish? It circulated a lot on twitter the other day; you can find more info with the hashtag #skouries. The article is about Police files containing transcripts of interviews between Tolis Papageorgiou, the founder of Hellenic Mining Watch, and 11 newspapers, news agencies, and websites both […]
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Illiberal and un-European
Posted October 26, 2013 by DW
By David Wisner A few months ago I filed my Greek tax return, as I have every year since 1995; just recently I payed the first installment of my remaining income tax obligation for 2012. This year, like last, I had to submit all the receipts I had amassed over the course of the calendar […]
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America’s very own Golden Dawn
Posted October 30, 2013 by pdcadmin
America’s Very Own Golden Dawn By Francesca Kareivis As I am enrolled in several political science classes in my study abroad program, the issue of Golden Dawn has been brought up in discussion quite a bit. Many students and professors have referred to them as neo-Nazis and fascists. I decided to do some research of […]
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Are we all gypsies?
Posted October 30, 2013 by Politis
Politis invited regular contributors Krysta Kalachani and Maria Patsarika for their reaction to a recent commentary by Andreas Zamboukas in capital.gr entitled “The identity of being a gypsy,” in reference to the spate of media attention to the blond gypsy girl found by Greek authorities in a gypsy encampment in central Greece and erroneously believed […]
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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 […]
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Honest Abe
Posted November 4, 2013 by DW
“Honesty is a virtue.” Not only in the realm of the proverbial, but also according to classical ethical theory. How often do we ascribe this virtue to contemporary politicians? Do we celebrate our national heroes, our great statesmen and women, for their dedication to the truth? I saw the film “Lincoln” some months ago and […]
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Paid for services rendered
Posted November 4, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Fotinie Efstratiadou Here is a story about a public servant — an employee at the public ambulance service in Northern Greece — who missed work for five years from 2006 to 2011 and yet was payed throughout without his superior having been notified. One is almost left speechless. What can one think of these […]
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The broken shackles of social media
Posted November 5, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Jiya Pinder Some weeks ago, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made the decision to shut down the state broadcaster, The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. The decision has sparked the discussion of social media role and origins in Greece. Rachel Donadio, the author of “Greeks Question Media, and New Voices Pipe Up” in the New York […]
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The invisible Greek crisis
Posted November 6, 2013 by pdcadmin
By Diego Salas Before coming to Greece, the talk of crisis had me shocked; I didn’t know what to expect (people in the streets is what I imagined) — all the riots and talk I had heard were making me apprehensive. After spending almost two months here I can say that this crisis is practically […]
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Macropolis
Posted November 6, 2013 by KK
By Krysta Kalachani Now on to the Macropolis site. I just read a couple of texts there. It is a pretty good effort to show an ecumenical picture (καθολική εικόνα) of Greece’s political, economical, and social life in the context of the crisis, and not only. It shows they have a few serious experts writing […]
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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.