Politis invited regular contributors Krysta Kalachani and Maria Patsarika to comment on two recent blog posts discussing revolution, by Christos Giannaras and Politis’ own David Wisner. Why all this talk about revolution now? Are we getting it right? KK: Why don’t you like it? Love it. One reason that you are not sure about it […]
By Alexander Besant The office of Greek app-maker Taxibeat is located in a modern building, surrounded by shuttered shops and streets with cracked pavement, in the upscale Kolonaki neighborhood in Athens. The contrast between the office and its surroundings is more than aesthetic—it’s the difference between where Greece is, a low-tech economy based on tourism […]
Politis reprint The information gradually coming to light regarding corruption in the Greece’s local government demonstrates to what extent fraudulent behavior had spread across the country. Judging from the kind of evidence that is currently emerging, it is becoming increasingly clear that a large number of mayors had developed small fiefdoms based on clientelism, were […]
By David Wisner The title of an article in the English version of Der Spiegel got me thinking about what appears to be a systemic problem throughout Europe and the eurozone. Spiegel claims that Europe needs new blood, not so much in terms of higher birthrates and immigration, but in terms of ideas and thinkers. […]
By Alexis Papahelas It won’t be long before the relationship between Greece and the troika starts resembling that of the United States with Afghanistan. The efficient Americans entered that historical and complex country and tried to set up a modern state, an open economy etc. Not long after they started to realize that they were […]
By Krysta Kalachani Who were the aganaktismenoi, the Greek indignados? They were mostly people who were not supporting strongly any ideology or party. They might have been coming from all parties and all ideologies, meaning that they could have voted for one party or another in the past, but the gatherings in Syntagma Square during the […]
By Krysta Kalachani “I hope for nothing, I fear nothing, I am free.” “And what is the highest command? Deny all consolations-gods homelands, ethical, truths – and be left to conjure, with only your power, a world that does not shame you heart … take upon any responsibility…” — Nikos Kazantzakis Sometimes I cannot seem […]
We all know that Ilias Mamalakis cooks delightfully… Imagine doing this in a prison and publishing a book about it. Cooking as public service.
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 […]
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (ND) Administrative Reform and E-Governance Minister Antonis Manitakis (technocrat, Professor of Constitutional Law) Deputy Manoussos Voloudakis (ND) Agricultural Development and Food Minister Athanasios Tsaftaris (technocrat, Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding) Deputy Maximos Harakopoulos (ND) Defence Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos (ND) Deputy Panagiotis Karambelas (former Lieutenant General – Hellenic Army) Deputy Dimitrios Elefsiniotis (former Vice Admiral – Hellenic Navy, former Chief of […]
By David Wisner I have been watching the anti-gay marriage demonstrations in France for some time now (live blog here). Were one perfectly objective, one would appreciate the degree to which a grass roots mobilization of civil society was seeking to make its point. Granted, there are extremes to this movement, as there are in […]
By Jayde Ashante Hansen I’m not sure words can begin to explain how I feel, being an American citizen, and failing to register to vote. All year I’ve been thinking about this opportunity, after all, it’s my very first opportunity to vote for the president of the United States. I won’t have this opportunity for […]
SEQUESTRATION ORDER FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013 PURSUANT TO SECTION 251A OF THE BALANCED BUDGET AND EMERGENCY DEFICIT CONTROL ACT, AS AMENDED By the authority vested in me as President by the laws of the United States of America, and in accordance with section 251A of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended […]
By Michael Ertel NB Michael Ertel is Supervisor of Elections in Seminole County, Florida, where he has served since 2005. He spoke at two Dukakis Center events during the 2016 election period. Politis reproduces these remarks with permission of the author. When I tearfully hugged our staff as they left the building last night, my […]
The right to vote for and stand as candidate in legislative and municipal elections for women was secured on 28 May, 1952, through law 2159, which gave women equal rights to men. Women did not vote in the elections of November of that year, however, because the electoral rolls had not been yet been brought […]
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” — Aristotle
The folks at First Read had this to say on the ultimate effect of quick fire tweets by new age pundits, with respect to Chuck Hagel’s Senate confirmation hearing yesterday. “We’ll make one more point about Hagel’s hearing yesterday: Twitter and all the instant analysis made a bad performance look even worse — just like […]
By Ruth Sutton Bicycles carrying kilos of fish… rock concerts. the world’s biggest sandwich… art made out of packaged food, NGO network building… 2nd hand designer clothing… online platforms for volunteering solutions… taxis and potatoes… ethical hairdressing salons… professional internships… Youtube playlist? Coffee shop eavesdropping? Twitter madness? No, all of the above and much more […]
The Republican Main Street Partnership, a Washington-based group that has promoted moderate GOP lawmakers and policies, will remove the word “Republican” from its title and welcome center-right Democrats in 2013, Yahoo News has learned. The organization’s board of directors voted Tuesday morning to scrap party identification from its title and be known simply as “The […]