Dr. Peter Nanopoulos
(Computer Science Department Chair, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Information Technology University of Indianapolis-Athens).

Copyright: Peter Nanopoulos on line

Until recently, we used to teach our students that economic development is driven by four   foundational factors of production:  Land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.   In the digital age we need to add one more latent element, Information Technology, in recognition of the fact that technology defines the competitiveness of agriculture, the efficiency of industrial production, and the productivity of the steadily rising services sector, which includes governmental output.

Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis
(Department of History and Political Science, King College, USA; Senior Editor at intelNews.org)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Diplomatic observers were surprised in November 2008, when the then Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Dimitris Christofias, during the latter’s official visit to Moscow. Considering the traditionally close bilateral ties between Russia and Cyprus, the excuse from President Putin’s office, that he was too busy attending his United Russia party’s national conference, appeared unconvincing.

For the second time in two years, Greece will shortly have an early general election. Prevailing atmospherics are rather awful. The country is stumbling into its worst recession in over twenty years. Unemployment is rising and many smaller and medium enterprises are in their death throes. Liquidity to sustain daily operations and business expansion has all but disappeared, with banks refusing to ease their purse strings. Disposable income for most Greeks is shrinking, in some cases dramatically. Consumption has been affected accordingly, leading many retailers to desperation. Post-dated checks -- an illegal financial instrument dear to almost all Greek businesses, large and small -- have inundated the market, highlighting the straits faced by the majority of business owners.

The devastating wildfires that burned in Attica, home region of the Greek capital, Athens, between August 21 and 24 have subsided – but the reasons that spawned this unprecedented disaster remain very much in play.

Fortunately, the fires did not cause human casualties this time around. Exactly two years ago, a similar conflagration in the southern Greek region of the Peloponnese killed 76 people, laid waste to hundreds of  communities, and consumed an estimated 670,000 acres of forest, shrub, and farm land. In the two years between the two holocausts, however, little was done to help the areas affected and even less accomplished in terms of learning the lessons and trying to implement critical reforms.

Marcus A. Templar
(Balkan Expert, holds a Master of Science Degree in Strategic Intelligence)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Greek Cypriots, the majority population on the Island of Cyprus, overwhelmingly rejected a plan for reunification with the island’s small Turkish minority developed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in a referendum on April 24, 2004.  The majority Greeks regarded the solution offered by Annan as impractical and unfair, while the government of Turkey praised it as very doable and accommodating to both parties. 

Greece Teeters on the Verge of Bankruptcy

Greece is on the brink of bankruptcy despite the fact that the global recession has yet to hit the country with full force. Strikes are paralyzing the country and the EU is putting on the pressure. But the government is still trying to put a positive spin on things. Read more