Zeta Makripoulia ( Ζέτα Μακρυπούλια)

JUDAS PRIEST, JULY 5TH, ATHENS GREECE

Recognition of Higher Education Degrees in Greece

The minister of education has hinted that 3 year undergraduate programs may be eligible for Higher Education status in Greece, equivalent to the current Greek programs.

Greece currently does not recognize 3 year undergrad programs from European Canadian and American universities as equivalent to the local Greek university curricula.

The reason for this is that Greece, through the ministry of education and the NARIC assessment body (DOATAP or ΔΟΑΤΑΠ) considers as an equivalence parameter the number of years of the program rather than the quality of the program.

For instance a 3 or 4 year undergraduate engineering program from McGill, one of the world's top universities, is not considered equivalent to the 5 year program of the National Polytechnic Institute (Ethiko Metsovio Polytechnio or EMP, ΕΜΠ) since the EMP program is a five year program while the McGill program is a 4 year program.

So according to the DOATAP, the fact that McGill (or MIT) is a world class university that makes the grade in every assessment and accreditation list and consists of rigorous courses taught by world reknown professors (example Dr. Peter Caynes)in a framework consisting of heavy research and academic excellence makes no difference (to DOATAP - ΔΟΑΤΑΠ); the important thing is that McGill's program is 4 years, while the local program is a five year program, and that's what counts (without any mention of the composition, quality or relevance of the program).

In addition, the MInistry of education does not take into account extra years spent in pre university programs (in Canada and the US) such as the 2 years Quebec residents need to spend in college in a pure and applied science program, these years consisting of courses that are more than equivalent to the first two years of EMP (for example the linear algebra curricula in Quebec CEGEPS is equivalent to a freshman course in MIT).



The Minister of Education's goal of reexamining how programs are assessed and accredited in Greece is expected to meet stiff competition both from the academic environment as well as from the local order of engineers; both entities have been severely critisized in the last couple of years as contributing to Greece's inertia.

Of course with Greece's demise and the eventual disintegration of the public sector, the fact whether DOATAP will eventually recognize or not any of these degrees is to say the least....irrelevant.

Greece in Crisis : Crucial Vote Result

Live Web Cam from Syntagma (Constitution Square) Athens Greece.


Crucial Vote regarding the future of Greece,  the Eurozone and the world economy resulted in a positive vote in the Greek parliament regarding the medium term austerity measures. 155 votes favorable , 138 votes not favorable, 5 votes neutral and the rest out to lunch...

Watch live streaming video from stopcarteltvgr at livestream.com

Greek Governmnet Vote of Confidence Results

Positive : However, if  the misfirings of a dinky economy like the Greek economy (which is probably smaller than the annual snow cleaning budget of Montreal) threatens to set ablaze the world economy, then there is something wrong with the design of the world economy. Maybe the world economy deserves to be nuked anyway.

WIND HELLAS

HELLO HUAWEI, GOODBYE ERICSSON

XING Athens Networking Business Event

Starts: Thursday June 09, 2011, 07:00PM EEST
Ends: Friday June 10, 2011, 12:00AM EEST
Event Type: Networking/Meetup
Location: Roof-Top Lounge Bar (Galaxy Hotel),

39, Posidonos Ave. & corner Kalamakiou Ave

Kalamaki Athens, Αττική 17455 GR

To Ireland with Hope

We just received a very sad letter from an Irish friend who jost lost her job.

We can't divulge further information, but we would just like to share with our Celtic friend our sincerest belief that these times will pass, and better ones will come.

From one ancient bankrupt race to another : Cha d'dhùin doras nach d'fhosgail doras

Thousands of Greeks Protest in Central Athens

Greek residents, following their Spanish counterparts, organized a protest via facebook and amassed in Central Athens today protesting the Greek government's austerity measures and the memorandum issued by the IMF (international Monetary Fund) and the European Union.

The Greek government announced on Monday the sell off of a number of public corporations including Helenic Telecom (OTE) as well as the Hellenic Post. These measures which were assembled in a haphazard manner reflected the government's reluctance to tackle the real issue beleaguering the country, that being the core public sector costs where employment is protected by the constitution.

About twenty thousand Greeks have so far assembled in central Athens outside the Hellenic Boule, or Greek parliament buildings. Similar protests are taking place in other Greek cities notably Thessaloniki Macedonia and Patra Achaia.

The protesters have maintained that the protest will be carried out in a peaceful manner, without any hidden intentions leading to violence or catering towards anarchy.

The Greek protest is an awakening to the calling of the peoples of Spain for the Greeks to wake up and take control of their destinies.

"YA ES HORA"

The Quintessential Greek Woman

“Herself again a wife – a mother – lovingly watchful of her children, ever careful that they should have a childhood of the mind no less than a childhood of the body, as knowing it to be even a more beautiful thing, and a possession, any hoarded scrap of which, is a blessing and happiness to the wisest? Did Louisa see this? Such a thing was never to be." ~Charles Dickens, Hard Times

Born into a society which boasts respect for ancient values while praising the virtues of modern day human commoditization, the quintessential Hellenic female is expected from day one to serve two masters: Tradition, and the expectations of the modern day industrial world.

In a country where 97 percent of the population is deemed literate with higher education levels surpassing the 50% threshold, the modern day Greek woman is pressured from early childhood, at the risk of being labelled a “doormat”, to achieve the highest education level possible, become a successful careerist, and by the time she is in her mid thirties marry, procreate (so as not to be chastised by members of her gender as barren or frigid) possibly with the “magic” of modern medical technology, while providing for her family, her employer, and the State at large.

Job equality in Greece is commonly implemented by adapting the human to the working environment and not the working environment to the human. In the not so distant past, the majority of the working population was male and job design adhered -and still conforms - to the working habits of a masculine dominated workforce.
Jobs were designed, implemented and supervised by fanatics of a Mediterranean form of scientific management where the labourer -blue or white collar- was expected to be complacent and thankful.

The modern day Greek woman is expected to work in this environment, to conform to the existing job parameters, and to work 12 hour shifts. Family and children are out of the question for the modern day quintessential Greek woman, who is always viewed with suspicion by potential employers, lest the employer incurs extra costs by a possible pregnancy.


It thus goes without saying that the tough Greek private sector and the frequent outrageous working conditions (which may frequently include double standards with overshadowing harassment tendencies) induce many a Greek female to opt for the once secure –regarded by many as inefficient- public sector; whose humane working conditions and limited hours, strong union representation, highly effective grievance mechanisms, and controlled environment allow a woman to rightly earn her daily bread while simultaneously reap the benefits and of a fulfilling private and family life.

The unavailability of public and company day care centres –taken for granted in western societies- which are considered a luxurious non necessity in the Hellenic working world -which prizes profits over posterity- leave underpaid and overworked Greek mothers in general and single mothers in particular at the mercy of expensive nannies; or out of reach private day-care centres.

The Greek corporate biosphere views the modern day Greek woman as equal to her male counterpart: If a man can dig a ditch in one half of an hour so should a woman in addition to the strict requirement that the quintessential Greek female maintain that much desired charm, sensuality, attractiveness and mystique that characterizes Mediterranean femininity.

The Quintessential Greek Woman:

Caring daughter,brazen careerist,welcoming lover,warm companion,lovely bride, loving wife, and responsible single mother in a society that demands everything, but returns nothing.

Athens By Night

A cop came to my door a couple of days ago. He gave me a traffic violation; I drove in one of those bus lanes and lost 5 demerit points with a 200 euro fine.

While the cop was "busy" collecting Euros for the ministry of finance, Manolis was being slaughtered in the Centre of Athens. His child will never celebrate a birthday since on the day the girl was born, her father died.

And where the wind don't blow, you really shouldn't go...