Thursday 30 April 2015

Dorset: Walking Near Golden Cap; Far From The Crowd



This morning's "circular" 8- mile walk,
from Stonebarrow Hill to Westhay Farm, Golden Cap, Seatown and back.







All photos by Jim

With many thanks to walk-leader, Graham.

Greece: Some ("Unconstitutional"?) Concessions Coming...What next? Rattling the "Red Lines"




Greek Government's "Deep Red Lines" in Negotiations, Mignatiou; and on the stance of the Left Platform-

 η Αριστερή Πλατφόρμα καθώς σε κείμενο που αναρτήθηκε στην ιστοσελίδα iskra γίνεται λόγος για ταπεινωτική συνθηκολόγηση και αναφέρεται: “Οι κυρίαρχοι αντιδραστικοί κύκλοι των διεθνών πολιτικο-οικονομικών ελίτ και οι ‘θεσμικοί’ εκπρόσωποί τους επιχειρούν να σύρουν την ελληνική κυβέρνηση σε πλήρη συνθηκολόγηση – συμφωνία νέο-μνημονιακής κοπής, με εφαλτήριο και την ετεροβαρή συμφωνία της 20ης Φλεβάρη. Στρατηγικός τους στόχος είναι να ταπεινώσουν τον ελληνικό λαό και να παραδειγματίσουν, παράλληλα και τους υπόλοιπους λαούς που συνθλίβονται από τις αντιλαϊκές και αντεργατικές πολιτικές που θέλουν να επιβάλλουν ως μονόδρομο”.

IMF considerations, Kathimerini

From Kathimerini: Court verdict on pension cuts expected

Quick Brussels breakthrough unlikely

From Reuters  - "Greece's government signaled the biggest concessions so far as crunch talks with lenders on a cash-for-reforms package started in earnest on Thursday, but tried to assure leftist supporters it had not abandoned its anti-austerity principles"

The Country of Dreams? -  "Tsipras squandered Greece’s opportunity, because he and other Syriza leaders were unable to see beyond the horizon of their party’s origins in radical opposition activism. They did not understand – and did not want to understand – the difference between campaigning and governing. Realpolitik, in their view, was a sellout".

Bloomberg - Greece, mired in a protracted financial crisis and at loggerheads with its bailout stewards, will leave the euro, according to the majority of investors, analysts, and traders in a Bloomberg survey.

BBC: What next for Greece?

Pension payments (FT)

Pension cuts "unconstitutional"

Greece's Credit Rating (Svenska Dagbladet)

Reuters -  "There's no drawing a line under the history," Merkel said, dismissing a yearning that many post-war generations of Germans harbor. "We can see that in the Greece debate and in other European countries. We Germans have a special responsibility to be alert, sensitive and aware of what we did during the Nazi era and about lasting damage caused in other countries. I've got tremendous sympathy for that."

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Greece: On Photographing Shepherds With Their Flocks; Epirus



I have sometimes found that shepherds do not wish to be photographed with their flocks of sheep.

I discovered a possible explanation in "The Dangerous Hour" by Richard and Eva Blum (1970).

This brief  shepherd's "narrative" or anecdote appears on page 39, under the section subtitle "The Stranger" (item 43):

"Well of course one must be hospitable to strangers, but there are problems, you know. For example, when a traveller comes by while we are on the road with our flocks, that's a bad omen. One can never be sure; the sheep are so delicate, and we are afraid of the evil eye."

It should be mentioned that the authors' field work, during which the villagers' narratives were gathered, was carried out back in 1962.


Some goatherds seem delighted to be photographed!



And the delicate sheep don't seem to mind (they seem rather indifferent):



Mind you, if you were a shepherd, would you like it if a succession of random strangers or tourists
stopped their cars to take a photo of you - as a quaint and picturesque figure in a landscape?

Thomas Hardy, writing about Dorset farm-labourers and shepherds in "The Dorsetshire Labourer" (1883), made it clear that in the South West of England country people would not have wanted to be perceived as "frozen in time" in their old (or old-fashioned) working clothes "for the pleasure of romantic spectators",  however charming or picturesque to the eyes of outsiders, or whatever the artistic merit of the resulting representation.

Greece: The Cultural Politics of the Greek Crisis; University of Birmingham/AHRC Research Project; Workshop - Culture and the Politics of Austerity



About the project



The workshop: Greece in Crisis: Culture and the Politics of Austerity

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF HISTORY AND CULTURES

CENTRE FOR BYZANTINE, OTTOMAN AND MODERN GREEK STUDIES



23 May 2015

ERI building G51


This workshop is part of a two-year research network funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). For further details and for abstracts of papers please visit the project’s website: http://culpolgreekcrisis.com/



Programme


9.00-9.15 Introduction and Welcome

Professor Dimitris Tziovas (University of Birmingham)



9.15-10.45 Session 1: Economy, Culture and Institutions

Chair/Discussant: Professor Dimitris Tziovas



Professor Roderick Beaton (King’s College London)

Foreshadowing the crisis: Lord Byron and the cultural and economic politics of Greece in 1824



Professor Dimitris Plantzos (University of Athens)

Amphipolitics: archaeological performance and governmentality in Greece under the crisis



Dr Lina Molokotos-Liederman (Uppsala University & Paris GSRL)

The Orthodox Church of Greece and the Economic Crisis: A Moment of Challenge and Opportunity



10.45-11.00 Tea and coffee



11.00-13.00 Session 2: Literature and Street Art

Chair/Discussant: Dr Alexander Kazamias (University of Coventry)



Professor Patricia Felisa Barbeito (Rhode Island School of Design)

‘Nothing feels right about this case’: Gender malaise and economic disorder in Petros Markaris's Crisis Trilogy.



Ms Lambrini Kouzeli (Athens)

Creative writing workshops: A growing trend during the Greek crisis

Ms Julia Tulke (Berlin)

Visual Encounters with Crisis and Austerity: Reflections on the Cultural Politics of Contemporary Street Art in Athens



Professor Maria Boletsi (Leiden University)

From the Subject of the Crisis to the Subject in Crisis: Middle Voice on Greek Walls



13.00-14.00 Lunch



14.00-15.30 Session 3: Cinema and Music

Chair/Discussant: Dr Erato Basea (University of Oxford)



Dr Lydia Papadimitriou (Liverpool John Moores University)

The economy and ecology of post-crisis Greek cinema: Between production, circulation and reception



Professor Vangelis Calotychos (Brown University)

On Being Good, Very Good, and Breaking Bad in Killer Times: The Film Economies of Yannis Economides



Dr Katerina Levidou (University of Athens and King’s College London)

Feasts in Time of ‘Plague’: Festivals of Western Art Music in Greece during the Crisis



15.30-16.00 Tea and coffee



16.00-17.30 Session 4: Festivals and Performance

Chair/Discussant: Professor Dimitris Papanikolaou (University of Oxford)



Dr Eleftheria Ioannidou (University of Birmingham) & Dr. Natascha Siouzouli (Freie Universität Berlin)

Imperceptible Performances: A Recent History of the Hellenic Festival

Dr Philip Hager (University of Birmingham)

Performances of Democracy and Dramaturgies of the Crisis: The Return of History



Dr Alexandros Efklidis (Greek National Opera)

An opera for the crisis: Yasou Aida! (2012)


The workshop is free and those interested in attending should contact Professor Dimitris Tziovas (d.p.tziovas@bham.ac.uk) by 18 May 2015.

Italy: Tony Cragg Sculptures at Duomo di Milano; Anthony Gormley in Florence, from April 2015; Gormley at Clavell Tower, Dorset



Read here

Duomo of Milan Terraces
16th April – 31st October 2015

Opening 16th April 2015 – 6.00 pm
Admission to the Terraces is free by steps on the Northern side
(Piazza del Duomo / C.so Vittorio Emanuele II)
on a first come first served basis from 5.00 pm

A great Contemporary Art event held for the first time on the Terraces of the Duomo of Milan:Tony Cragg, an internationally renowned artist, with his works animated by movements ascending towards the sky, competes with the Spires and the centuries-old history of the Cathedral.


See also Anthony Gormley, "Human" in Florence

Florence, Forte di Belvedere, 26 April 2015 – 27 September 2015

Exhibition promoted by the Comune di Firenze, Organised by Mus.e with the support of Galleria Continua and White Cube.

From 26 April, Florence will host the work of Antony Gormley, one of the most acclaimed sculptors working today. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Arabella Natalini, Human brings together over one hundred works by Gormley in the inner rooms of the villa, the bastions, the staircases and the terraces, to occupy every side of the 16th century fortress with its extraordinary views over the city and the surrounding hills.

Gormley at Clavell Tower, Dorset - "a striking life-sized cast iron sculpture on the shoreline specially created for Landmark’s 50th anniversary by renowned artist Antony Gormley".

Artsreach

The Sun: Love/Hate - A Short History of Changing Attitudes



From BBC News Magazine - by Paul Kerley - "Avoided by some, worshipped by others - the sun's relationship with health-conscious humans is a delicate one. Attitudes towards the sun's rays have swung almost full circle in a little over 100 years".

Le Soleil, sung by Brigitte Bardot

Greece; "Besa"; Varoufakis: "Our EU/Eurogroup Partners Have No Besa"; No «μπέσα» or no "mesa"? The meaning of words.



From Kathimerini - Βαρουφάκης: Δεν έχουν «μπέσα» οι εταίροι μας


They lack good faith? They don't keep their word (of honour), their solemn promises? No «μπέσα»?

Their are some Greek words ("besa" is pehaps a loan word), like besa, mesa, filotimo that are notoriously hard to translate adequately, with their full range of connotations.

Maybe the minister has lost his mesa?

"Besa" is an Albanian (Arvanitika?) word and concept which implies showing good faith towards one's friends, giving and keeping one's word of honour, a solemn promise. The etymology may be more complicated.

To have "mesa" means to have an insider's advantage or special influence as result of friendship, relationship or a reciprocal obligation or favour. I think. I stand to be corrected.

On the meaning of "philotimo" (filotimo) I have written at length in my book "Corfu Blues".

More on besa

Μπέσα= Πίστη, εμπιστοσύνη, λόγος τιμής

Μία έννοια που έχει σχεδόν ταυτιστεί με τους Αρβανίτες είναι η μπέσα,ο λόγος τιμής δηλαδή. Πράγματι,στους αρβανίτες, στον αξιακό και ηθικό κώδικά τους, δέσποζε η εντιμότητα και αυτό που λέμε «καθαρό κούτελο». From the Arvanitika Blogspot

Just checked Babiniotis Big Greek Dictionary:



But the Arvanitaka blog suggests a different (less convincing) etymology:

Η λέξη μπέσα παράγεται από το ρήμα πείθω (Μέλλοντας: πείσω ,Αόριστος: έπεισα Μετοχή Παρακειμένου:πεπεισμένος κ.λ.π.).

From Wikipedia:

Besa e shqiptarit nuk shitet pazarit (the honour of an Albanian can not be sold or bought in a bazaar)
Shqiptaret vdesin dhe besen nuk e shkelin (Albanians would die rather than break honour)
Besa e shqiptarit si purteka e arit (the Albanians' honour is worth more than gold)

From Avgi

«Εμείς πήγαμε στη διαπραγμάτευση με το δεδομένο ότι, μια συμφωνία είναι μια συμφωνία δεν αποδείχθηκε όμως, ότι και η άλλη πλευρά διέθετε την ίδια προσήλωση «στη μπέσα» εξήγησε ο Γ. Βαρουφάκης, στο ΣΤΑΡ αναφορικά με την παραπλάνηση από τους δανειστές...

Reuters - "There will be no easy access to the ECB's windows until there's a solid agreement with the Eurogroup," he told RTL Nieuws. "That's been made clear to them time and time again."

Bloomberg View: Support for Varoufakis

Greece: U-Turn on Property Tax (ENFIA) - and other twists and turns



On Property Tax

"After its pre-election pledge to raise the minimum salary to 751 euros per month, two more of the government’s promises have now been postponed for 2016: the abolition of the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), which will continue this year as it was in 2014, and the increase in the income tax-free threshold to 12,000 euros per year, which won’t happen until next year", Kathimerini

Related, Piraeus Port Privatisation

More on privatisations

Washington, Moscow and the Oil, Forbes

Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides on the impact of a Grexit on incomes

Reuters -  "a senior euro zone official involved in the talks said that to secure any deal, Greece would have to make a substantial concession on at least one of three disputed issues - pensions, labor market reform and taxation".

Cash transfer decree and the Constitution

A "Holiday Tax" or illegal accommodation tax

Protagon - Γιατί είναι αδύνατη μια γρήγορη ενδιάμεση συμφωνία

Reuters - Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem says Greece will not make it without aid

Vote on Re-Opening National TV Station, ERT

Athens University overtime investigation

in.gr poll (vote count as at 10am UK time, 29 April):

If the government and the country's lenders do not come to an agreement, what should be done to break the deadlock?


Referendum                                3621    33.83%


New elections                              1724    16.11%


Government of National Unity  5007   46.79%


I do not know / No answer           350     3.27%


Total:                                          10702







The Uncompromising Lafazanis "Pro-Rupture" article, The Greek Analyst

Holding firm, The Telegraph

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Dr William Ferris; USA Southern Life Films; Folk Art; Blues; Gospel



About Bill Ferris

More

"Give My Poor Heart Ease"

Films on Folkstreams by Ferris, Bill

Black Delta Religion
Fannie Bell Chapman: Gospel Singer
Give My Poor Heart Ease: Mississippi Delta Bluesmen
Gravel Springs Fife and Drum
Hush Hoggies Hush: Tom Johnson's Praying Pigs
I Ain't Lying: Folktales from Mississippi
Made in Mississippi: Black Folk Art and Crafts
Mississippi Delta Blues
Ray Lum: Mule Trader
Sonny Ford, Delta Artist
Two Black Churches


Try Coursera's free online course: "The American South: Its Stories, Music, and Art", The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Zagori, Greece: A Song from Zagori (Lyric in English Translation)




I don't know this traditional Zagori song in Greek, but it appears in Hilary Pym's translation in "Songs of Greece, A Companion for Travellers, London, 1968:



Friends, why aren't you eating and drinking?
Maybe you don't like our bread?
We'll send next door and change it.
Maybe you don't like our wine?
We've other casks, we'll change it.
Is it the food that you don't like?
We've other cooks, we'll change them.
Maybe it's my poor wife that you don't like?
She's all I've got, can't change her.




Ghika, Sketch of Chef 
(Benaki Museum)

Can anyone supply the Greek text, or further information about the source of the song?






Monday 27 April 2015

UK Drivers Hiring Cars Abroad; Car Hire Chaos?



BBC Report

"Motorists going abroad after 8 June are being warned they will need to take a special code with them if they want to hire a car. From that date the paper counterpart of British driving licences - which records endorsements and fines - is being computerised. Anyone wanting to hire a car abroad will officially need a code to show convictions for offences like speeding".

The Independent

The Guardian - Fears growing those hiring cars may be turned away - "Holidaymakers are being warned to expect a summer of car hire disruption after it emerged that the DVLA is to scrap the paper counterpart of driving licences from 8 June, with drivers told to obtain a special online code before heading abroad – or possibly be refused a rental car".

The UK Economy and the EU: What if...




From The Independent - EU exit would hit UK economy much harder than neighbouring countries, study finds

EU Observer - Juncker calls for 'fair deal' on EU for Britain

Greece: A New Week Begins; New Negotiating Team (Reshuffle/Sidelining?); Tsipras TV Interview (with English Translation)




 The Times, front page, 27 April, 2015

From Bloomberg - Greece’s Day of Reckoning Inches Closer as Payments Loom

“Despite the inelegant way the government did it, we will deposit our reserves at the Bank of Greece,” Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, said in comments on Mega TV....Germany’s Bild newspaper reported Monday that Tsipras asked Merkel to convene an emergency European Union leaders’ summit. A Greek government spokesman denied the report in a text message".

Bloomberg - Greece Just Clipped Varoufakis’s Wings (numbers or personalities?)

New York Times - Greece Says It Is Changing Team That Negotiates With Creditors

From Reuters - German Chancellor, Greek PM agree to stay in touch to reach debt deal

The Guardian - Greek government reshuffles negotiating team after eurogroup clashes - live updates

More from The Guardian - Greek finance minister denies being sidelined from debt talks - Yanis Varoufakis renews outspoken attack on eurozone partners despite being replaced as leader of bailout negotiating team

EU Observer

The Telegraph

FT: Varoufakis sidelined?

Protagon: The first measures  "Ορισμένα από τα μέτρα της λίστας Βαρουφάκη έχουν γίνει δεκτά από τους δανειστές (π.χ. ηλεκτρονικές πληρωμές), όμως κάποια άλλα μπορεί να θεωρηθούν μονομερείς ενέργειες, όπως η προστασία από τον πλειστηριασμό πρώτης κατοικίας".

Observing Greece blog - Whose Idea Was the Grab-the-Cash Move?

The Times, leading article - "Instead of reforming a sclerotic economy, Greece's government espouses fantasy"

The Telegraph - Greek creditors rule out massive new bail-out as embattled Varoufakis is sidelined

Kathimerini - Marginalised in negotiations with partners

Kathimerini - University rectors and mayors stall over cash

Tsipras TV Interview, CNBC

Tsipras TV interview with Nikos Hatzinikolaou, Video, enikos.gr - In three parts, in Greek

Tsipras TV Interview with English Translation

The Heat Is On, CCTV, YouTube


' poker game bailout negotiations: KAL's cartoon in


Australia/UK; "Enduring Civilisation"; British Museum; Poms, Critics and Indigenous Art



Jeremy Eccles writes in Aboriginal Art Directory

More from Jeremy Eccles

British Museum

Press Release

Also writing on the subject:

Christine Nicholls

Jonathan Jones

Paul Daley

Zoe Pilger

Related (I Require Art blog) - Australian Aboriginal Contemporary Art


THE BRITS EXPERIENCE INDIGENOUS CIVILISATION


THE BRITS EXPERIENCE INDIGENOUS CIVILISATION
'Kungkarangkalpa' by Kunmanara Hogan, Tjaruwa Woods, Yarangka Thomas, Estelle Hogan, Ngalpingka Simms and Myrtle Pennington, (2013), Acrylic on canvas © The artists, courtesy Spinifex Arts Project





Posted by Jeremy Eccles | 23.04.15
Dates: 23.04.15 : 02.08.15
Location: British Museum, Fitzrovia, London








Sunday 26 April 2015

David Cameron in Yeovil, Somerset- " If you want political excitement maybe you could go to Greece".



Telegraph report - People demanding "political excitement" should go to Greece while those who want more "theatre" should look to Hollywood,

"If you want political theatre, go to Hollywood. If you want political excitement maybe you could go to Greece. That's an exciting country, I am told. I don't think that's exciting, I think that's terrifying.


The Times, 27 April, 2015

Antigone Tonight!



BBC TV

"Cameras exclusively capture the Oscar-winning French actress Juliette Binoche playing the title role in Sophocles's tale of family loyalty, courage and tragedy. The Barbican's visionary new English language translation by TS Eliot Prize-winning poet and classicist Anne Carson is directed by renowned Belgian theatre director Ivo van Hove".

BBC 4, 8pm (BBC iPlayer immediately after broadcast- available for 28 days)

Saturday 25 April 2015

Approaching Poundbury (Dorchester, Dorset)




A tree with both pink and white blossom, today


An older view:


More recent:




ANZAC Day; Slim Dusty; Eric Bogle; Gallipoli; Didgeridoo; Centenary









A didgeridoo was played at the service

In Canberra: "An Indigenous sailor broke the silence and begun the service playing the didgeridoo in commemoration of the Anzac sacrifice. The sound of Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Alan Paterson's didgeridoo split the dawn and echoed across the parade ground on a mild Canberra morning"





Dorset families

Bathing at Glymenopoulou, Andrew Motion (excerpt)

The concluding section:
Military History Monthly article

Friday 24 April 2015

Patrick Leigh Fermor: Archival Programme in French



Listen to the programme

Link: thanks to the Patrick Leigh Fermor blog






John Craxton Exhibition in Dorchester, Dorset; Dorset and Greece; Cranborne Chase and Crete



A truly inspiring exhibition, especially if you love the landscapes of Dorset and Greece. Craxton captured the movements, posture and stances of Greek dancers, bouzouki players, fishermen and goatherds.

Dorset Country Museum: A Poetic Eye (A Poetic Eye: John Craxton on Cranborne Chase and Crete)

David Attenborough on John Craxton, BBC video

Dorset Magazine article (also features Alderholt Mill)

BBC Your Paintings, 33 John Craxton works

Four Figures in a Mountain Landscape

Hotel By The Sea

Pastoral for P.W.

The Dancer

Three Dancers

Knowlton Church (Bonhams)

Knowlton Church, Dorset (Christie's)

Artnet image

“The Dorset landscape is not an obvious physiognomy but, like a person, has many hidden aspects – the mysterious enigmatic earthworks, tumuli and barrows, the atmosphere of conspiracy from the great days of smuggling still lingers, the deep, impenetrable forests with King John’s hunting lodge to prove that time is ever relative. Nearby Knowlton Church could have been a set from an M.R. James ghost story, and had me in awe from the first - a ruin in the middle of a double prehistoric earthwork, the pagan temple and the Christian church each crumbling away back to earth.” John Craxton

Ian Collins' book (outstanding - essential)

A pity the book doesn't contain a reproduction of the 1946 British Council Athens exhibition photograph of John Craxton with Nico Ghika and Rex Warner. It's on display in the Dorchester exhibition.

A book that inspired David Attenborough:





Greece On The Edge - no cash until full economic reform deal agreed; Eurozone Finance Ministers categorical; «Χρειάζεται μια ολοκληρωμένη και λεπτομερής λίστα μεταρρυθμίσεων»



From The Economist

"Unless Syriza suddenly capitulates—and a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers on April 24th is one of its last chances to do so—Greece will fail to pay its creditors. If that happens, its exit from the euro will be just a step away".

From Reuters

Reuters 2 - Some (partial) concessions - "The current disagreements with our partners are not unbridgeable," Varoufakis wrote in the blog. "Our government is eager to rationalize the pension system (for example, by limiting early retirement), proceed with partial privatization of public assets, ...create a fully independent tax commission," he said.

From RTE News

EU Observer - Tsipras asks for quick deal with lenders

EU Observer Update - Eurozone slams door on Greek hopes

Reuters - Euro zone warns Greece no cash till full reform deal

Bloomberg -  Varoufakis Chided as EU Shuts Down Shortcut Bid for Aid:

"Euro-area finance ministers hurled abuse at Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis behind closed doors as they shut down his bid to find a shortcut to releasing financial aid. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch chairman of the euro-zone finance chiefs’ group, categorically ruled out making a partial aid payment in exchange for a narrower program of reforms after a stormy meeting in Riga, Latvia, in which Varoufakis was heavily criticized by his euro-area colleagues over his failure to deliver economic reforms. Euro-area finance chiefs said Varoufakis’s handling of the talks was irresponsible and accused him of being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur, a person familiar with the conversations said, asking not to be named because the discussions were private".
“It was a very critical discussion and it showed a great sense of urgency around the room,” Dijsselbloem said at a press conference after the meeting. Asked if there was any chance of a partial disbursement, he said, “The answer can be very short: No.”

Bloomberg, The Rumble in Riga - Varoufakis: 'They are unanimous in their hate for me; and I welcome their hatred,” Varoufakis said on his Twitter account on Sunday. The quotation is “close to my heart (and reality) these days," '

Reuters - Varoufakis isolated?

Financial Times -  EU frustration over Greece hits boiling point at eurogroup meeting: "Months of mounting tensions between Greece and its creditors boiled over at a high-level EU meeting on Friday with eurozone finance ministers angrily accusing their Greek counterpart of backtracking on commitments and failing to grasp the deep differences that still divide them".

Kathimerini/Bloomberg - EU frustration mounts as Greeks try to sidestep aid process

Mignatiou - «Χρειάζεται μια ολοκληρωμένη και λεπτομερής λίστα μεταρρυθμίσεων», είπε. «Είναι απαραίτητη μια ολοκληρωμένη συμφωνία προτού υπάρξει οποιαδήποτε καταβολή (χρημάτων). Όλοι γνωρίζουμε ότι ο χρόνος τελειώνει»

Greece's "Grand Plan" - The Telegraph

More from The Telegraph

Plan B? (Kathimerini)

Reluctant Municipalities, Mayors and Nomarchs- Governors to accept decree forcing handover of spare cash as temporary move

Huffington Post  - "Athens is a troubled city, tortured from the festering debt crisis that is squeezing its citizens, forcing them towards the penultimate stage prior to suffocation, as the country's lenders insist on a new austerity deal while its government plays up the trump card of a possible bankruptcy.
In most places, the roads are dirty with overloaded garbage containers strewn around like a bad joke. It looks like it's been years since the city has had a good cleaning, both inside and out. It appears as if it is hiding the deep pain of its residents who prospered until 2010 when, suddenly, the economic crisis hit..."  Justine Frangouli-Argyris

EU Observer



The World's Languages; Multilingualism



Charts and article from The Washington Post - by Rick Noack and Lazaro Gamio

Multilingualism and the EU, Prospero, The Economist