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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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.” […]

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 […]

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 […]

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] […]

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. […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

By Krysta Kalachani Exostis seems pretty interesting, a “place” where residents of Thessaloniki can find interesting cultural and other types of events. The good things that happen in the city, as they assert. I am not familiar with the site or the magazine (which I understood circulates as well), but it seems a good site […]

By Maria Patsarika The latest article in Kathimerini English edition by Takis Theodoropoulos makes a very good point: “The [second person] singular is the form of the collapse, which is often falsely equated with democratic equality” (free translation). Let us not be so naive as to fall for the casual manners and elusive straightforwardness that […]