Naomi Klein tells EnetEnglish how her bestseller The Shock Doctrine relates to Greece

Naomi Klein
(Author, The Shock Doctrine)

Copyright: www.enetenglish.gr

Lynn Edmonds
According to bestselling author Naomi Klein, the systemic use of shock and fear by the power elites to undermine vulnerable communities is very much evident in post-bailout Greece. From the rise of racism to the sell-off of the country's oil and natural gas resources – much of what will shape Greece's immediate future are, she argues, predictable consequences of the politics of austerity.... Read more:   English version   &   Greek version

Kostas Vaxevanis
(Investigative Journalist)

Copyright: http://www.darkernet.in

The Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis, who published the Greek section of the Lagarde list (names and details of Greeks with secret Swiss bank accounts – many of whom are politicians and leading business people) was recently awarded the prestigious  Freedom of Expression award from Index on Censorship.

Below, we present his acceptance speech in London in which he warns of the dangers to democracy in Greece.

Note that Vaxevanis was also honoured with the first International Journalism Award, ‘Julio Anguita Parado’, “for his courageous and independent struggle against the corruption at the heart of Europe.” They singled out his work and courage in speaking out, and fighting censorship and injustice within the framework of both personal and professional vulnerability in a period of serious economic and social tensions in Greece and Europe. Last year Vaxevanis was acquitted of charges of violating the privacy of the account holders but the government, unsatisfied with the verdict, is going to re-try him on the same charges as there is no double jeopardy law in Greece........   Read more

Yiorghos Leventis
(Director of International Security Forum, Cyprus)

Copyright: www.inter-security-forum.org

The current financial crisis vexing Cyprus makes the history aware and sharp-eyed observer ponder over the recent course of the small Mediterranean state's financial and political troubles, more often than not the two being inextricably intertwined. To put it in plain words, the birth of the Republic of Cyprus was imperfect by design, hence the new state was mutilated, incapacitated by birth. It has been described as the stillborn Republic. Burdened by a cumbersome constitution designed to serve the interests of the principal minority - the Turkish - and the neo-colonial overlord rather than the interests of the Greek overwhelming majority, the young state already in 1963-64 was deprived of its means of subsistence... Read more

The EU, which boasts that solidarity is its founding principle, is forcing Greece into destitution and chaos

Copyright: www.guardian.co.uk

Greek democracy is being destroyed. Not by soldiers marching with insane slogans on their lips about the inevitable triumph of the German master race, international proletariat or global jihad, but by moderate men and women who think themselves immune to ideological frenzy.Greece's enemies are novel, but no less frightening for that: extremists from the centre ground; the respectable running riot….   Read more

John M. Nomikos
(RIEAS Director)

Copyright: International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence (IJIC)

During the 1990s the immigration problem in Greece began having explosive dimensions due to not only political and economic developments in southeastern Europe, but also to continuing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. Italy also was affected by this episode – the first “mass migration” – that was solved through bilateral agreements. In order to have access to the Journal... Read more

By Barbara Van Haute
(A recent resident of Almonte and has a background in political analysis. She has done graduate work in Political Science and International Relations at Carleton and is currently a Research Fellow for the Centre for Security and Defence Studies at the University of Manitoba. Barbara has also worked with the Conference Board of Canada and various national Aboriginal organizations)

Copyright: http://millstonenews.com

Editorial Note: Of all the nations experiencing traumatic economic difficulties during the course of the current Great Recession, Greece has suffered the most adverse consequences. The country’s five year economic problems have been longer and deeper than that of any developed country. In fact, Greece has gone through a catastrophic depression otherwise unknown in the West....  Read more

Dr. Polly Thanailaki
(Dr. Polly Thanailaki holds a Ph.D. in Modern History from Democritus University of Thrace, Hellas and was a visiting- scholar at Harvard University, USA. She is the Coordinator of the working-group for Gender Equity of the Institute of Geopolitical Studies “National Regeneration” (IGMEA) based in Athens, Greece).

Prof. Philippos Tsalides
(Professor of Electronics at Democritus University of Thrace and he is the President of the Executive Board of the Institute of Geopolitical Studies “National Regeneration” (IGMEA) based in Athens, Greece).

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Thrace has always been the field of religious propagandas and a contested area on the part of its neighbors in history, because the aforementioned region had- and still has- a profound strategic value, as it is situated in a significant geopolitical spot in the Balkans being the portal between East and West. Since the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), the population of the Muslim minority in Thrace has increased, contrasted to the Hellenic Orthodox minority in Turkey, which is collapsing as the community is now far too small to sustain itself demographically.

Georgios Protopapas
(RIEAS Media Analyst)

The mass media use the power of communication to influence the public opinion in order to affect political and social affairs. The terrorist use the attacks to attract the public attention. The correlating element between these two actors is the attraction of the public attention.....  Read more  

Copyright: World Pan-Macedonian Associations on line

Ως εκπρόσωποι των 3.500.000 Μακεδόνων σε όλο τον κόσμο  (Έλληνες που κατάγονται από τη Μακεδονία, βόρεια περιοχή της Ελλάδας), σας γράφουμε για να εκφράσουμε τη βαθιά μας απογοήτευση με τις απόψεις σας κατά τη διάρκεια της συνέντευξής σας με την Ivona Televska της εφημερίδας Večer της ΠΓΔΜ στις 20 Οκτωβρίου 2012...  Read more

Professor Anis H. Bajrektarevic of the University of Applied Sciences in Krems, Austria gave a printed interview to the Greek weekly newspaper “Ependytis” for the Greek financial crisis and the role of Germany and European Union.

RIEAS publishes the interview of Prof. Bajrektarevic exclusively in English language.

By George Protopapas
(RIEAS Media Analyst & Journalist)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Do you think that Germany accepts as only means to deal with the financial crisis the tight fiscal policy? Are there any alternatives possible? 
The current so-called financial crisis and the weak euro that came along is actually a big time for German exporters. They are many losers in Europe right now, but we should not miss from our sight who are the winners......  Read more

Σημαντική υστέρηση της Ελλάδας στην έρευνα και την καινοτομία

Copyright: www.oecd.org

Σημαντική υστέρηση στον τομέα της έρευνας και της καινοτομίας, παρουσιάζει η Ελλάδα σε σχέση με τις υπόλοιπες χώρες-μέλη του ΟΟΣΑ, σύμφωνα με τη νέα έκθεση του Οργανισμού «OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2012», στην οποία επισημαίνεται ότι η οικονομική κρίση οδηγεί σε περαιτέρω συρρίκνωση τόσο των δημοσίων όσο και των ιδιωτικών επενδύσεων για έρευνα και ανάπτυξη στην χώρα μας. Read more (Full Report)

Harris Ikonomopoulos
(President, British-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce)

Copyright: Harris Ikonomopoulos on line

Following the Greek State’s reconciliation agreement with Siemens AG and OECD’s recent anticorruption compliance report, Harris Ikonomopoulos, the Greek President of the British Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, by letters to the Chairman of the Central Association of Greek Chambers and presidents of professional, local and bilateral chambers of commerce in Greece calls for a joint anticorruption initiative from professional associations of the Greek private sector. 

Η ΕΛΛΑΔΑ ΣΕ ΚΑΘΕΣΤΩΣ ΕΠΙΤΗΡΗΣΗΣ ΛΟΓΩ ΔΙΑΦΘΟΡΑΣ

Copyright: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/greco/default_en.asp

Η Ελλάδα τίθεται (με βάση το άρθρο 32 του Κανονισμού της Επιτροπής) σε καθεστώς αυστηρής επιτήρησης μέχρι το τέλος του έτους, διάστημα κατά το οποίο οι ελληνικές αρχές θα πρέπει υποβάλλουν έκθεση, σχετικά με την ενδεχόμενη πρόοδο που θα έχουν παρουσιάσει στον τομέα πάταξης της διαφθοράς.  Read more (Full Report)

Petros Makris-Kourkoulos
(RIEAS Research Associate and Energy Security Analyst)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

It was quite obvious and more than expected. Burgas, the fourth-largest city in Bulgaria and an important industrial, transport and tourist center in the Black Sea, became the place of an outrageous terrorist incident when five Israeli tourists were killed by unidentified suicide bomber, whose roots are suspected to come from Hezbollah or Al Qaeda Islamist groups. It was the second attempt against Israeli targets the last month but the first was successfully deterred in Cypriot ground by the Cypriot Intelligence Service when a supposed member of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was trying to strike on Israeli citizens. The incident gives a chance for further reflections on co-existence between Islam and the European Security Model. .......  Read more

Effi Lambropoulou
(Professor, Criminology, Department of Sociology,
Panteion University of Social & Political Sciences, Athens, Greece)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Greece’s debt crisis, shrinking economy, surging unemployment and the continuous waves of illegal immigrants have transformed Athens, once considered one of Europe’s safest capitals, into a city with a growing public sense of insecurity.  Today, a part of the city centre of Athens is actually being divided into 'sectors of influence' by several criminally-involved immigrant groups,  while two out of seven Athenian communities are largely controlled by organised crime. Previously bourgeois quarters have been gradually 'colonised' by 'legal'-illegal immigrant groups with the support of certain locals and in particular real estate 'gangs' and proprietors, bookkeepers, civil engineers and lawyers. For years now, with the inertia of Greek governments, national and local, concerning immigration, this deteriorating situation has occurred relatively quickly........    Read more

Το RIEAS παρουσιάζει ενα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο της Δικηγόρου/Συγγραφέας  Δρ. Φωτεινή Ριζάβα με θέμα: “ Οργανωμένο Εγκλημα: Θεωρητική Προσέγγιση, κατ’άρθρον ερμηνεία και νομολογιακή αντιμετώπιση”, Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη (2012).   Διαβάστε εδώ

Nikolas Stylianou
(RIEAS Research Associate, Security Analyst & PhD candidate in Security-Strategic Studies) 

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

In the last years, cyberspace has been transformed into a distinct theatre of war operations, a sub-arena within the overall theatre of war which is characterized by its own norms, patterns and dynamics. Cyber-warfare is associated with the fifth dimension of defence with the rest four being the land, the sea, air and space. To the time, several states have developed cyber-security strategies and have incorporated cyberspace as an integral part of their national security strategies. Specifically, European states that have developed cyber-security strategies are Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Germany, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The United States, Canada, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand set the puzzle in regards to the countries that have developed comprehensive cyber-security strategies. The afore-mentioned list explicitly indicates the global recognition in regards to the emergence of challenges that affect the security of cyberspace. More countries are expected to extend the list of countries possessing cyber-security strategies in the coming years. Cyber-space is aptly called the battlefield of the 21st century.

Daniel Little
(RIEAS Senior Advisor)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Given the economic malaise of the Eurozone, speculation over whether Greece will exit or not takes full stage over the more insidious impacts of such crises.  Looking around Europe, right-wing extremism is on the ascendancy against a backdrop of anger, resentment and finger pointing over who is at fault.  As a result, xenophobic if not outright neo-Nazi activity is now prevalent in countries victimized by the original version several decades earlier.  Since we have been there before, the issue now arises whether we recognize and give pause to the implications of future economic decisions on the people.  Unless it addresses the sentiment on the street, history teaches us that charismatic people waiting in the wings have a ready list of scapegoats to bear this brunt instead....... Read more  

Harris Ikonomopoulos

Copyright: Harris Ikonomopoulos on line

The majority of people in Greece today realize that the country's core problem is the absence of governing -- whether there is a government in place or not.

The recent first round of the French elections resulted in vote tallies very similar to those scored by Greek political parties in the May 6 election. The key difference though between France and Greece  is that the former had a government in place following its second round of elections, two weeks after the first, while Greece still lingers in a political vacuum as its political parties quarrel over who can form a government. Imagine the instability and the panic in France itself and across Europe if the French were to emulate the Greeks. But France possesses a firm political system that provides administrations of steady life cycles, while Greece has nothing of the kind.