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How the world sees Greece
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Public Workers Continue Strike in Greece
Athens, Sep 25 (Prensa Latina) The two-day strike by Greek government workers to protest planned massive layoffs continued today with significant participation. Most schools and all universities were closed, hospitals provided only emergency services, and social security, employment and tax offices were all closed, as were museums and other cultural offices. Port workers also joined the 48-hour ...
Thousands Rally Against Far-Right Party in Greece
The protests comes as the government steps up its crackdown on Golden Dawn, following the killing of a left-wing artist last week.
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Greek WWII Veteran to be Honored in Washington
When the U.S. later entered the war, he was transferred to the Army Air Corps and was deployed ... further education at the US Industrial College of the Armed Forces and US Army Command and General Staff College. He served in numerous positions ...
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With Angela Merkel's Germany at the helm, Europe will remain a tortoise
Don't expect much more from Merkel and Brussels – but the US and Chinese competition has problems too
So the German people have spoken, and the European Union will continue to be a tortoise. Next May, following elections to the European parliament, we will discover just how slow and unhappy a creature it is. Then, across the next decade, a larger, Aesopian question will be posed: can the European tortoise somehow outrun the American eagle and the Chinese dragon? Or will it at least keep pace with them?
Resounding though Mutti (Mummy) Merkel's election victory was, Germany's new government still has to be formed. In the federal republic, such coalition talks traditionally happen at the pace, and with all the grace, of tortoises mating. Assuming the result is a so-called "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats, there should be a small but desirable adjustment in Germany's policy towards the eurozone.
On Monday, Merkel suggested that there would be no change in her own approach to a southern Europe traumatised by debt, austerity and depression (in both the economic and psychological senses of the word). Referring to the impressive way Germany managed down its own unit labour costs and restored its competitiveness, she said: "What we have done, everyone else can do."
The Social Democrats understand a little better, or perhaps just express more frankly, that the economics of eurozone recovery are not that simple. Some debt burdens are just unsustainable. Improved supply also requires demand. But since the Social Democrats will be the junior partner in this coalition (if that is what emerges), since the results on which they will be judged by voters are primarily domestic, and since most German voters don't want to pay another cent for allegedly feckless southerners, those eurozone policy adjustments will be modest.
At best, the soft underbelly of the European tortoise – a debt and depression-ridden southern Europe – will continue to bleed. At worst, it will haemorrhage, politically as well as economically. As Costas Douzinas noted in the Guardian on Tuesday, the Greek economy has shrunk by 25%, with youth unemployment at around 70% and a growing national debt-to-GDP ratio approaching 175%. In Greece more social misery and political extremism seem inevitable. Elsewhere, in Spain and Ireland for example, painful reforms are beginning to show some slow, uncertain results.
In the German election, the political centre held. In next May's 28-country elections to the European parliament, that is less likely. Representatives of protest parties of all shapes and colours – from Greece's fascist Golden Dawn to Ukip, from the partly post-communist The Left party in Germany (which is back in the Bundestag, unlike the liberal Free Democrats) to Geert Wilders' Freedom party in the Netherlands – might fill those parliamentary seats in Brussels. If this happens, the European parliament will become a glasshouse full of people throwing stones. Yet that fragmentation will also compel the mainstream, pan-European alliances of conservative, liberal and socialist parties to work more closely together, thus producing a kind of implicit grand coalition in the Brussels parliament, as well as (probably) an explicit one in the Berlin one.
At the same time, Merkel will be even more inclined than she is already to run the European show by pragmatic inter-governmental deal-making, whether in the eurozone of 18 states (when Latvia adopts the euro in January) or the EU of 28 (now that Croatia has joined the larger club). But Merkel's problem is that she does not have a strategic partner in either of the EU's other two leading powers.
France's François Hollande is the Little President Who Would – but his country is weakened by its own domestic economic problems and slowness to reform. Britain's David Cameron, with a stable coalition government and a slowly recovering north European free market economy, could in theory be that partner. In practice, his Eurosceptic Conservative party and his own tactical miscalculations have launched him on a foolish course of attempted "renegotiation" of the terms of Britain's membership of the EU. In short, Britain could, but won't; France would, but can't. That leaves Merkel as Europe's single Mutti. She has a few solid medium-sized partners in countries such as Poland, but they alone are not enough.
So there you have the EU for the foreseeable future: a giant, weary tortoise, with chancellor Merkel sitting astride its shell, trying to steer its woozy head and coax its bleeding underbelly across stony ground. Yet before one falls into deepest melancholy, as a European, it's worth taking a leaf out of Aesop's book and looking at the competition – the American eagle and the Chinese dragon. After all, in Aesop's fable, it was as much the hare that lost as it was the tortoise that won.
I'm watching the German and European slow motion spectacle from the United States. But my TV screen is filled with a partisan style of politics that is the diametric opposite of Germany's centrist, consensual, coalition-building democracy. While Berlin's Christian and Social Democrats negotiate their incremental differences, Washington is engulfed in shrieking brinkmanship, like a giant game of "chicken", with Republicans threatening not to lift the country's national debt ceiling unless that ghastly European-style Obamacare can be brought down. There is even talk of a government shutdown in just a few days' time. Imagine that happening in the United States' erstwhile governance pupil, and now exemplar, Germany. While the US private sector is recovering some of its legendary dynamism, it still faces deep problems of imperial and welfare overstretch, and neglected infrastructure.
And rising China? The failure of president Xi Jinping's new administration to show any signs of political reform makes a deeper crisis in that country ever more probable at some point over the next decade. Jamil Anderlini, of the Financial Times, reports a professor at the Party School of the central committee of the Communist party of China saying this: "We just had a seminar with a big group of very influential party members and they were asking us how long we think the party will be in charge and what we have planned when it collapses. To be honest, this is a question that everyone in China is asking but I'm afraid it's very difficult to answer."
In short, the world's three giant economies all have substantial political problems, of strikingly different kinds. Europe's Merkelian tortoise will not gather speed any time soon, but nor is it now likely to take a big fall. Can we say the same of the eagle and the dragon?
Twitter: @fromTGA
GermanyAngela MerkelEuropean UnionEuropeUnited StatesChinaAsia PacificEuroEconomicsEurozone crisisEuropean monetary unionTimothy Garton Ashtheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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Greek rapper Killah P's death sparks anti-fascist protests
A week after a Greek rapper was fatally stabbed – allegedly by a member of Greece's extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party – Greeks have staged protests against the party. Golden Dawn denies any role in the killing.
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Dolihi of Mt Olympus: The Giants’ Necropolis
According to a survey conducted by the Greek journalist and author Giorgos Lekakis, whose article was cited in the newspaper Eleftheros Tipos, the ancient Perrhaebian city, Tripoli was located in a strategic point, connecting Macedonia with Thessaly, such as the current road which links Elassona and Kozani. That is the reason why ancient Dolihi was […]
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Hellenic Post Celebrates 185th Anniversary
The Hellenic Post (ELTA) celebrates 185 years of its existence, since September 24, 1828, the day that Greece’s first Governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias, signed the resolution that founded the General Post. With the same resolution, the first five central posts were established in Argos, Tripolitsa, Epidaurus, Aegina island and Syros island, all in Greece. On the […]
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Unfaithful Wives Choose Greece
The Greek islands are on the top of cheating women’s preferences. In the crystal blue waters of the Greek seas they can satisfy their craziest sexual desires, stimulate their libido with spicy extramarital relations and escape from everyday life routine. According to a survey conducted by Asleymadison.com, most women who used the application TravellingWoman.com chose […]
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US Service Reveals Greek Corruption in Thessaloniki
An investigation is being held concerning the rake-off of 95,000 dollars after the denouncement that a female taxes inspector in Thessaloniki received by representatives of a US tobacco products company. The case was brought to light by the US Anti-Corruption Agency. According to what the company’s representatives denounced, in March 2013, they bribed the taxes […]
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Greek Riot Police Battle Anti-Fascist Protesters
ATHENS (AP) ? Clashes have broken out in Athens during an anti-fascist demonstration by thousands of protesters marching to the headquarters of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party.
Demonstrators threw bottles and rocks at riot police, who were blocking the avenue leading to the party headquarters. Officers were responding with tear gas and stun grenades.
The protesters were marching in honor of an anti-fascist rapper who was stabbed to death last week. The man arrested for the killing identified himself as a Golden Dawn member, sparking a government crackdown on the party.
Thousands marched in anti-fascist rallies across Greece on Sept. 25, a week after the fatal stabbing of a singer sparked a government crackdown on the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party.
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Angelopoulos Leads Lessons of Global Leaders
NEW YORK - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a Hellenic Ambassador-at-large, hosted a Topic Dinner on the subject of Forging Alliances for Good ? Lessons from Leaders at the Loi Restaurant on Manhattan?s Upper West Side on Sept. 23, where she urged a collaborative approach to solving difficult world issues.
Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who was appointed in 1998 after her victorious campaign to bring the 2004 Olympics to Greece, was joined by Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico from 2006?2012 in a discussion that included the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
The guests were delighted, however, when former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright appeared as a surprise participant. After the guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres with a Greek touch during the cocktail hour and a wonderful dinner created by chef and owner Maria Loi, the three took the stage for a discussion moderated by Diane Brady, Senior editor at Bloomberg Businessweek.
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Greek Life Info Night
With the beginning of the fall semester, recruitment season is right around the corner. Greek Life Information Night was held on September 18 for all prospective sorority and fraternity members. At the meeting, a panel assembled to discuss ...
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Greek University of Ioannina Faces Closure
Due to the strict fiscal policy and mobility scheme that the Troika imposes, the Greek government took great measures in order to reform the educational system of Greece. These measures led to a series of unfavorable modifications, for both ...
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Clashes cap anti-fascist protest in Athens
Athens (AFP) - Greek police clashed with protesters in Athens late Wednesday at the end of a huge march sparked by the murder of an anti-fascist musician, allegedly at the hands of a self-confessed neo-Nazi.
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Clashes break out in Athens anti-fascist rally
About 30 protesters threw firebombs, rocks and bottles at riot police blocking the ... The government ordered an investigation into Golden Dawn's activities after Fyssas' death, with the case being handled by Greece's Supreme Court and anti ...
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Thousands March in Greece Over Rapper Killing
ATHENS — Thousands of Greeks marched towards the headquarters of the Golden Dawn party in Athens on Wednesday in the biggest show of public anger at the fatal stabbing of an anti-racism rapper by a supporter of the far-right group. Golden Dawn is Greece ...
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ICAP fined £55m over Libor scandal; protests in Greece
World's biggest money broker becomes fourth firm fined over rate-fixing scandal. Three former employees face prosecution in the US
Graeme Wearden |
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Greek Diversity SGA Senate seat remains vacant
Even as the Student Government Association diversity engagement committee explores better connecting traditional, predominantly white Greek organizations with black and multicultural Greek groups, the senate seat representing minority sororities and ...
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Clashes erupt as thousands march to Greek far-right party's offices
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired tear gas at anti-fascist protesters who hurled petrol bombs and stones near the Athens headquarters of Golden Dawn on Wednesday following the killing of an anti-racism rapper by a supporter of the far-right party. Thousands of Greeks marched towards the party's offices earlier on Wednesday in the biggest show of public anger so far at Pavlos Fissas' stabbing ...
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Golden Dawn remains defiant amid Greek revulsion at musician's murder
The GuardianGolden Dawn remains defiant amid Greek revulsion at musician's murderThe GuardianThousands of Greeks have taken to the streets to denounce the murder of a rap musician stabbed to death by a member of the far-right Golden Dawn as a government inquiry presented evidence of the widespread infiltration of security forces by the party.Greek police raid neo-Nazi party's officesFox NewsGreek police raid far-right Golden Dawn party officesPress TVGreek hip hop bands unite against neo-NazismFRANCE 24Reuters UK -RT -The Independentall 76 news articles »
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Golden Dawn’s Parliamentary Group out of Greek Parliament?
After the latest developments concerning the Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn political party, which were triggered by the killing of the anti-fascist hip-hop artist, Pavlos Fyssas, by Golden Dawn’s member, Giorgos Roupakias, there are lots of scenarios being discussed in the Greek Parliament. The negative impact, political and judicial, that Fyssas’ killing had on Golden Dawn […]
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Battles Break Out at Anti-Fascist Rally
An anti-fascist rally Sept. 25 in Athens to protest the killing of a hip-hop artist by a man police said belonged to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party turned violent when demonstrators threw bottles and rocks at riot police who barred them from the road leading to the headquarters of the extremist party. That came as […]
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Fresh Air in U.S. Foreign Policy
On a sun-drenched day ? there was not a single cloud in the sky ? the UN General Assembly began the work of its new annual session. Once again this year the President of the United States, the country which hosts ? not coincidentally ? this international organization, presented the first address.
And, as usual, the speech focused on the Middle East. (Are there no other international issues, such as Cyprus or Greek-Turkish?) Only this year the concerns of President Barack Obama expanded from the Iranian issue to the problem of Syria, but with an important difference: both now suddenly have diplomatic tracks.'To succeed, conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable,? Obama said.
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Police fire teargas during anti-fascism march in Athens
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police fired teargas at dozens of demonstrators pelting them with stones and bottles in Athens on Wednesday during a protest against the far-right Golden Dawn party, a Reuters witness said.
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Greece's Anti-Fascism Protests Draw Hundreds In Wake Of Golden Dawn's Alleged Stabbing Of Rapper Pavlos Fyssas
Anti-fascist rallies planned to ... Fyssas's killing has led to an investigation into the party for evidence linking it to the attack. It has also prompted an unprecedented shake-up of Greek police following reports that Golden Dawn party ...
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Thousands march towards Greek rightist party offices over rapper killing
The GuardianThousands march towards Greek rightist party offices over rapper killingReutersATHENS (Reuters) - Thousands of Greeks marched towards the headquarters of the Golden Dawn party in Athens on Wednesday in the biggest show of public anger at the fatal stabbing of an anti-racism rapper by a supporter of the far-right group.Greek police raid neo-Nazi party's officesFox NewsGolden Dawn's rise signals breakdown of the Greek state's authorityThe GuardianGreek police raid far-right Golden Dawn party officesPress TVFRANCE 24 -RT -The Independentall 72 news articles »
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Anti-fascist rallies held in Athens after stabbing
ATHENS, Greece (AP ... stabbing of a singer sparked a government crackdown on the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party. The man held in the death of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas admitted to police that he had stabbed the 34-year-old, and identified ...
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Good Wars and Bad Anti-Wars?
Accurate history is messy, because reality is messy -- and that is no more apparent than over Syria. The lines between good and bad are never as clear and bold as we would like. Take the example of the Second World War, which most of us accept as about as clear-cut a battle between good and evil as one could conjure up -- and so it was, in very broad brush strokes.
But that war was won with the aid of a brutal Soviet Union, which from 1939 was an effective ally of its later enemy, Nazi Germany, and which had, by 1941, far more blood on its hands than did Hitler's regime. After the war, both sides overlooked collaborators and propped up regimes that left little to choice. In East Germany, first the KGB and then the Stasis took over Gestapo establishments and persecuted opponents with equal fervor -- and on occasion the same opponents!
However, as Orwell said, in most wars one side stands more or less for progress, and in the case of the Second World War, that was the Allied side. While the United Nations that emerged from the war has many resemblances to the former League of Nations, there were fundamental differences in its approach. Following the First World War, Europe's former nation states were dissolving, so under the influence of Woodrow Wilson, the League oversaw plebiscites and referenda that dismembered sovereign nation states, with some respect for self-determination of the peoples. One could argue that the multinational Ottoman and Habsburg realms had more to offer the future of humanity than their squabbling sanguinary successor states, but that is for another time.
There were major exclusions to the application of the principle of self-determination: Wilson was, after all, a racist Southern Dixiecrat, albeit more cerebral than most. In Europe, German speakers discovered that the rules did not apply to them, and in the rest of the world Arabs, Kurds and others soon discovered that the Great Powers were "only kidding."
It was this period that saw the invention of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Jewish nationality as opposed to confessionality. When dealing with concepts so subjective and fuzzy it is hardly surprising that logic was lacking, however. Greek-speaking Muslims became Turks, Turkish-speaking Orthodox became Greeks, and Catholic Lebanese/Syrians tried to become French, while other Christian Arabs helped invent Arab nationalism.
The Second World War showed little respect for national self-determination, as peoples from the Baltics southward discovered, and of course the Germans paid all over again. But once the mayhem was done and the boundaries adjusted, the foundational principle of the United Nations was the sanctity of state sovereignty and boundaries -- no matter how illogical.
This amounted to restoration of an old principle, enshrined in the messy pragmatic details of the Treaty of Wesphalia that ended Europe's Thirty-Year War -- that of national sovereignty. In the context of the time, it meant that if a monarch was Catholic and persecuting his Protestant subjects, or vice versa, it was nobody else's business.
Generalized and refined, that principle is now enshrined in the U.N. Charter as "all Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," and of course emphasized in Security Council Resolution 242 as "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force."
That is why, since the arbitrary redrawings of boundaries at the end of World War II, aggressors like Indonesia in East Timor, Morocco in Western Sahara, Iraq in Kuwait, and of course Israel in Palestine have never been able to gain legal recognition of their conquests. It is why, only recently, a federal court ruled that the State Department could refuse to put "Jerusalem, Israel," as the place of birth on U.S. passports for Americans who want to have their Aliyah and eat it, too.
Ironically, however, while under old style international law Palestinians living in Gaza can claim protection under the Geneva Conventions -- even if it does not help them much -- Syrians being shelled and strafed by their own regime cannot.
However, since then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan steered the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) concept through the 2005 General Assembly, international law has changed, building on the International Criminal Court and its jurisdiction. The international community can now hold governments responsible for their failure to protect their own populations and indeed hold them to account for persecuting their "own" citizens.
The big problem with humanitarian intervention, even when called "Responsibility to Protect," is that it is susceptible to expedient abuse. Hitler justified intervention in Czechoslovakia on the grounds of mistreatment of the Sudeten Germans, who had indeed been denied their right to self-determination in the Versailles settlement. Tony Blair invoked the plight of Iraqi civilians to justify his and George Bush's crusade against Iraq.
Russia, while it voted with the rest of the world on the general principle of R2P, invokes national sovereignty to ensure that it cannot be effectively implemented, at least against its allies. As in Libya, Moscow can draw support from the ineptitude of American diplomacy, which stands self-evidently guilty of egregious hypocrisy in its dealings with, above all, the Middle East.Syria, but not Palestine
So, while Washington has been instrumental in preventing effective action to stop Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories, American politicians are wringing their hands and saying "something must be done" about Syria. Perhaps the sole concession to rationality is that, apart from the lunatic neocons who gave us Iraq, there seems to be a general concession that U.S. forces cannot play a prominent role in intervention. On the other hand, U.S. diplomacy for decades seems to have specialized in rubbing the wrong way all the other major players, like Iran and Russia.
Washington's inaction is made easier because of public confusion about who the good guys are, and Russian media in particular highlight the barbarisms committed by the fundamentalists in the Syrian opposition. There is, sadly, much to highlight. However, that does not negate the reality that the Assad regime began by attacking unarmed protesters and since then has sought to win hearts and minds by bombing and shelling its own cities. Certainly some of the opposition have carried out atrocities, but the regime as a whole has pursued a policy of violent wholesale repression.
The reason so many oppose Assad's regime is because it is ruthless and murderous -- so there is absolutely no excuse not to denounce such behavior when committed by some of "our" side. Indeed, there is even more reason to do so, since to be silent implies complicity.
One other, almost unrecognized act of non-partisan balance has come from the U.N., in its reports on Syria, which suggest that people on both sides have used chemical weapons and violated human rights. It has resisted attempts to provide the smoking chemical canisters that neocon hawks pine for, even though it has indeed made plain that the balance of crimes weighs heavily down on the regime side. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has called for an investigation into credible allegations of murders by fundamentalist elements of the opposition.
The human rights bodies of the U.N. have often made for strange bedmates. Iran, Syria, Libya and Iraq, when they were each embroiled in bitter conflicts between them, always seemed to unite to ensure that human rights pariahs were represented on the Human Rights Committee and its successor Council. However, their active conspiracy could not survive without the tacit connivance of other members. This year only seven countries -- China, Iran, Jordan, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Vietnam -- were candidates for the four Asian seats on the Human Rights Council.
Pro-Israel activists harp on about Iran and Syria, because they are more actively anti-Israel than the others. But none of them really pass muster. The Maldives is the only one that has any serious pretensions to democracy, and even there a semi-coup recently took place.
If countries with pretensions to human rights and democracy cannot bring themselves to stand for such positions, one can see the difficulties in corralling together an effective bloc that could intervene in Syria. Sadly, short of spillover into neighboring countries, it is difficult to see what motivation could inspire such a coalition, diplomatic or military.
And the one "indispensable country" that could at least inspire, if not lead, such a move is hopelessly compromised by its record of partisanship in the region. But at the very least, armed with Pillay's demonstrable non-partisan commitment to human rights, the Security Council should mandate International Criminal Court investigations into crimes by both sides in Syria.
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13 Everyday Phrases That Actually Came From Shakespeare
Just the mention of William Shakespeare makes some people cringe. Even I'll admit his writing seems daunting at times.
Whether a fan or not though, you probably use many of Shakespeare's phrases on a regular basis.
Here's a list of 13 popular, albeit strange, sayings The Bard coined. In fact, we say or write some of these so often, they've become clichés.
1. "Green-eyed monster"
Meaning: jealousy.
In "Othello," Iago uses describes jealousy as a monster which devours its source.
"Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on" (Act 3, Scene 3).
In this case, Iago uses romance as an example. He thinks a man would rather know his wife is cheating than suspect her without proof.
2. "In a pickle"
Meaning: a difficult or uncomfortable situation.
In "The Tempest," King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" (In modern language, "how did you get so drunk?")
The drunk Trinculo responds, "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last ..." (Act 5, Scene 1).
Trinculo's drinking does cause trouble for him, the way we use the phrase today. Shakespeare's original intent makes sense though. Many pickling processes use alcohol.
3. "The world is your oyster."
Meaning: being in a position to take advantage of life's opportunities.
In "The Merry Wives Of Windsor," Falstaff refuses to lend Pistol any money. Pistol retorts, "Why, then the world's mine oyster, which I with sword will open" (Act 2, Scene 2).
Since Falstaff won't help him financially, Pistol vows to obtain his fortune using violent means.
We've dropped the angry undertones for modern use.
4. "Catch a cold"
Meaning: to get sick.
In "Cymbeline," one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, Iachimo says to Posthumus Leonatus, "We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should catch cold and starve ..." (Act 1, Scene 4).
In other words, if the deal takes too long, it will fall apart. Shakespeare created the idea of "cold" causing illness for the first time.
5. "It's all Greek to me."
Meaning: that something is indistinguishable or incomprehensible.
In "Julius Caesar," when Cassius asks Casca what Cicero said, Casca responds, "But, for mine own part, it was Greek to me" (Act 1, Scene 2).
Cassius didn't understand because he doesn't speak Greek. The phrase has obviously morphed and expanded its meaning.
6. "Love is blind"
Meaning: an inability to see shortcomings in a lover; doing crazy things when in love.
In the "The Merchant Of Venice," Jessica disguises herself as a boy just to see her beloved, Lorenzo. Needless to say, she feels a little silly but simply has to see him.
"But love is blind, and lovers cannot see The pretty follies that themselves commit ..." (Act 2, Scene 6)
7. "Wild goose chase"
Meaning: a hopeless and never-ending pursuit.
In "Romeo and Juliet," Romeo makes a play on words comparing his shoe to his penis, and Mercutio can't compete with Romeo's wit. He tells Romeo to stop joking, but Romeo implores his friend to continue — an impossible feat in Mercutio's mind.
Mercutio says, "Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five" (Act 2, Scene 4).
8. "A heart Of gold"
Meaning: a very kind or honorable person.
In "Henry V," King Henry disguises himself as a commoner, and Pistol, unaware of the King's true identity, speaks to him. When the King asks if he considers himself a better man than the king, Pistol says, "The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame ..." (Act 4, Scene 1).
9. "Break the ice"
Meaning: to start conversation.
"And if you break the ice, and do this feat, Achieve the elder, set the younger free ..." (Act 1, Scene 2).
In the "The Taming Of The Shrew," Baptista Minola has two daughters: a sassy one and a modest, beautiful one — the younger daughter. He refuses to let any suitors even speak to his younger daughter until his older daughter marries. Tranio (as Lucentio) suggests that another man marry the older daughter, so he can try to win the younger one's affection.
10. "Laughing stock"
Meaning: a person subjected to ridicule.
In "The Merry Wives Of Windsor," Doctor Caius says to Sir Hugh Evans:
"Pray you let us not be laughing-stocks to other men's humours; I desire you in friendship, and I will one way or other make you amends" (Act 3, Scene 1).
Here, Doctor Caius thinks the two will make fools of themselves if they fight — exactly what people want and expect. They should end the conflict and save their reputations instead.
11. "Wear your heart on your sleeve"
Meaning: to express your emotions openly, especially when others notice without much effort.
In "Othello," Iago says he'll "wear my heart upon my sleeve. For daws to peck at: I am not what I am" (Act 1, Scene 1).
The phrase most likely stemmed from jousting matches in the Middle Ages. Knights would wear tokens (such as scarfs) from their ladies tucked into the sleeves of their armor. But the first recorded use appears in Shakespeare's play.
12. "Dogs of war"
Meaning: soldiers; the brutalities that accompany war.
In "Julius Caesar," Mark Antony says to Brutus and Cassius, "Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war ..." (Act 3, Scene 1) shortly after Caesar's assassination.
Here, Mark Antony predicts that Caesar's ghost will come back, with help from the goddess of vengeance, to start a massive war in Italy.
He continues, "This foul deed will stink up to the sky with men’s corpses, which will beg to be buried" (Act 3, Scene 1).
Thus, the phrase today carries a serious connotation.
13. "Method to his madness"
Meaning: Someone's strange behavior has a purpose.
In "Hamlet" Polonius says as an aside, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t" (Act 2, Scene 2).
In the previous scene, Hamlet just read a letter and criticized its author for being rude. But Polonius knows something that Hamlet doesn't and understands the "method" behind the author's "madness."
SEE ALSO: 12 Famous Quotes That People Always Get Wrong
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Greece set to lose WRC slot to Poland in 13-round 2014 calendar
The Acropolis Rally will be replaced by Poland in a 13-round schedule for 2014. Australia stays on the itinerary in the second of a three-year deal the New South Wales ... no reason why it should not be on the calendar. "On the other hand, I don't think ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.autosport.com |
Greek minister: 'Merkel is a great friend of Greece'
Greece has seen fresh public sector strikes as Greece's international creditors - the so-called lending troika - met to assess how effective the tough austerity measures have been - and to decide whether the country will get a 1bn euro (£844m) instalment ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk |
Europe falling behind in digital era
by
NEOnline
The EU launched today its Opening up Education initiative, the Commission's response to the opportunities of the digital era in the field of education.
"Digital technology and content has improved, and countries around the world, from the US to Asia, are starting to reap the benefits out of it, Europe is falling behind," Commissioner Neely Kroes, responsible for Europe's Digital Agenda said."It’s not just the way we teach and learn that is changing. It’s also the specific skills people need to get good jobs in the growing digital economy."
More than six out of ten 9 year olds are missing the digital equipment and fast broadband they need at school, not enough teachers are confident about using ICT technology in the classroom and some countries, like Greece and Croatia, fewer than half of pupils have internet at school, Kroes pointed out.
Opening up Education is "about becoming more open and flexible, so that pupils and students get the start in life they need, and adult learners get the chance to join this digital movement," Kroes said.
Opening up Europe aims to strengthen the integration of digital technologies and contents in formal, non-formal and informal education and training, in order to ensure the provision of skills needed by the current and future generations of European students and workers, and increase efficiency of the delivery of education and training in the EU.
"Let's be clear: it is not enough to bring a few computers in our schools. We need to provide a comprehensive response," Androula Vassiliou, Commissioner responsible for Education said.
"We are focusing on 3 drivers of change: teaching methods, digital content, and infrastructures."
The initiative will focus on improving and updating digital infrastructures for education and training, including connectivity, up-scaling the creation, use, re-use and sharing of quality digital education contents, including Open Educational Resources, and modernising learning, teaching and assessment practices through digital technologies and increase equity.
To address the content arm of this equation, the Commissioners launched the first of their Opening up Europe projects, the Open Education Europa web portal.
This will provide an online meeting place where students, practitioners and educational institutions can access and share open educational resources.
"Open Educational Resources will increase the economic efficiency of education and training and lead to the development of new teaching and learning practices, which will improve the quality of education throughout Europe," Vassiliou said.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu |
Greek Community Sets up Special School for Newcomers
It is highly important that the cost of the lessons is low, as the Greek Community understands the financial difficulties of the Greeks that only recently came to Australia. The Educational Committee of the Community has created a questionnaire ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT au.greekreporter.com |
Beware promises of 'cheap' Greek property
Telegraph.co.ukBeware promises of 'cheap' Greek propertyTelegraph.co.ukBeware promises of 'cheap' Greek property. Comment: Speculators say there are good reasons to buy in Greece – ignoring the potential sting in the tail. Hot tub of Olia's Dream, a villa in Santorini. Greek tragedy: The price of property, even in ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.telegraph.co.uk |
Anti-fascist rallies in Athens after fatal stabbing prompted crackdown on extreme right party
ATHENS, Greece - Activists are holding anti-fascist rallies in Athens a week after the fatal stabbing of a singer sparked a government crackdown on the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.canada.com |
Mentally Ill Stabs 20-year-old
A 50-year-old man who stabbed a 20 year-old man with a pocketknife on the night of September 24 in Keratsini, Piraeus, Greece, appears to be facing mental health problems. According to police reports, the perpetrator has in the past been hospitalized at a psychiatric clinic. The 20-year-old was transferred by ambulance to the Thriasio Hospital […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Papoulias to Award DIAS Group Policewoman
The President of the Greek Republic, Karolos Papoulias, is going to award the young policewoman from the DIAS group who arrested the alleged killer of Pavlos Fyssas in Keratsini, Giorgos Roupakias, the 45-year-old Golden Dawn, neo-Nazi member. Papoulias, made an official announcement on September 24 that next week he will invite 24-year-old Aggeliki, in order […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Athens Nightclub Singers in Prostitution Ring
Famous singers –and not only- are consigned to prostitution by a ring in Athens which has spread its tentacles throughout Greece and over the Internet. The police have already arrested a 29-year old man from Rethymno, and a 31-year old woman who sings at a nightclub on the coast of Athens. The case was revealed, […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greece's OTE says to invest 1.2 bln eur in next four years
ATHENS, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Greece's biggest telecoms company OTE, a unit of Deutsche Telekom (LSE: 0MPH.L - news) , said on Wednesday it planned to invest 1.2 billion euros ($1.62 billion) to upgrade its Greek network over the next four years. A big part ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.finance.yahoo.com |
Goodbye Greek Forests, Hello Hotels
International Business TimesGoodbye Greek Forests, Hello HotelsInternational Business TimesGreece may pass a law relaxing restrictions on building in public and private forests even if they are considered protected, a Greek online news agency, ekathimerini.com, reported Wednesday. Under the new legislation proposed by the Environment ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ibtimes.com |
Gianna Angelopoulos Announces Commitment to Support Greek Youth Entrepreneurs at Clinton Global Initiative
Participating in the CGI Conversation were Chelsea Clinton, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, and Cisco CEO John Chambers. CNN's Piers Morgan moderated the event. Of the up to 25 students she will sponsor at CGIU 2014, Ambassador Angelopoulos said ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
Fascism on the rise in crisis riven Greece
The local politicians have started saying - openly now – that fascism is on the rise in Greece today ... Among other things, because they can’t use tough measures against migrants, fearing that Brussels will disapprove of that. Thus, they have secretly ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT voiceofrussia.com |
Austerity measures push Greek universities to point of collapse
The GuardianAusterity measures push Greek universities to point of collapseThe GuardianUntil now government posts had been guaranteed by the Greek constitution. But almost four years into its worst financial crisis in modern times, Athens' troika of creditors has ridden roughshod over that taboo, saying deficit-reducing targets demanded ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
Greece: admission fee of 25 euros at state hospitals in 2014
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, SEPTEMBER 25 - Patients being admitted to Greek state hospitals will be asked to pay a 25-euro admission fee from January, 2014, Kathimerini online reports quoting Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis as saying. The admission fee will not ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ansa.it |
Blanket criticism
It goes without saying that the Greek Police (ELAS) cannot have ties with criminal organizations of any type.
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias has handled recent allegations regarding possible links between the force and members of the far-right Golden... ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Greek nightmare
I have this recurring nightmare about what Greece would come to look like if fate did not smile down upon us and save us at the last minute.
What really worries me is whether the crisis-hit country already resembles a runaway truck with no brakes on an en... ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Abandoned Greek school in İstanbul hosts thought-provoking sculptures
The names of the artworks also evoke these various hardships, such as “Mermaid Coming out of a Well,” “Deer on Altar,” “Hen on Crutches,” “Hanging Hare” and “Hen with Two Faces.” The show is a representation of some of the unspeakable ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.todayszaman.com |
Greek migration to Australia increases
1414 Cypriots visited Australia in 2012-13 as temporary offshore visitors compared to 1395 in the 12 months before, while 128 Cyprus nationals came to Australia on Working Holiday visas, an increase of nearly 100 on 2011-12. Immigration's latest figures do ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT neoskosmos.com |
Gen. Korkas Oxi Day Award Recipient
The Washington Oxi Day Foundation announced that Greek WWII veteran and four-star Lieutenant General Konstantinos Korkas has been selected to receive the 2013 Oxi Day Greatest Generation Award, in recognition of his courageous service in World War II.
Previous recipients of this award have included former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and presidential candidate Bob Dole, former Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Benjamin Gilman, Greek-American veterans Andrew Athens and Mike Cokinos, and Greek veterans Panagiotis Sakellaris and Antonios Kounalakis. Each year the Washington Oxi Day Foundation honors a Greek, Greek-American and American WWII veteran with this honor.
Korkas spent his career serving in the Greek Army in multiple capacities earning numerous commendations for his valiant service. During World War II, Korkas participated in the 1941 Battle of Crete in Greece.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Greece: after Killah P's murder, a battle for democracy?
It's a crime scene that still has the power to shock. The shop front at Keratsini, a suburb in Athens, bedecked with flowers, candles, a crucifix and a note promising revenge. Pavlos Fyssas, the man killed here, was not the first person to die at the hands ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.channel4.com |
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